Commentary on the Psalms

The Power of God and the Nature of the Word§1

The Distinction of Divinity and Humanity§2

2If someone says: 'For this reason I am rational, because I have a rational father; and for this reason I am mortal, because I have a mortal father,' it is true; for the 'because' shows a cause.ce, therefore, he lives because of the father, what is being said is not life derived from life, but as a fountain of life and as one giving to all; for we say that the living one has life,

but we also say that the life is not one named from life, for life does not participate in something else, but it is life itself.

Thus, he does not live through the father.

A human, therefore, lives because of something, but God is not because of something.

Yet both have run together regarding the arrival of a season.

I do not say the arrival is entirely according to the flesh; for many seasons He desired; He is always arriving.

And thus I have drawn out what is in Micah: 'And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, you are small.

Out of you shall come to me the ruler, and his exits are from the beginning' (Micah 5:2).

For it is not that he came from the father just now previously, from which the need of the administration of saving things comes.

The need of his exit is always happening and happening wherever.

For this reason, he said not one, but many exits. 'For this reason He will give them until the time of birthing.'

The last exit, that of the birthing of Mary, is a certain 'until the time of birthing'; for the Scripture does not praise those plural birthing, but says one birthing, signified by the word.

And 'birthing' in the strict sense is not one who took in seed and conceived and formed and surrounded, but she herself gives birth.

For this reason, he came from a woman.

No one of the others comes from a woman, but all come through a woman; yet all come from men; for the woman comes from the man, and the man through the woman.

And this must be said: that genealogies are made casually, scientifically, and piously when they are descended from fathers; for the genealogy from women is slandered.

Therefore, only this one has given birth without a man.

And for this reason the Savior came from a woman, not through a woman, even if many others are made to be said not 'from Mary,' but 'through Mary.'

So many will seem to be ambassadors speaking thus.

And God is from the Father and not because of something, but the human...

Regarding the descent from David and Mary and for what reason: for the sake of the salvation of the world he has come, to abolish death, to do much for mortals who had cast themselves away through their own negligence.

Why do I say these things in grace?

The things said about the Savior declare his divinity.

And all the things reported concerning divinity are incomparable to any other; for he is the only-begotten.

But the things said about the man touch upon human faults, just as they do those of the dying.

The zealous become imitators of the man.

But they do not imitate the divinity—for this is an unreasonableness—they imitate the man.

Whatever is said about the man could also be said about the angels and about perfect men.

But whatever is said about the divinity, neither about angels nor about holy men will be said.

I do not say that any of the created things is wisdom, or a radiance of glory, or an exact imprint of the divine hypostasis, or the only-begotten Son of God.

But whatever is said as being about the man, it could be said, for example: 'You seek to kill me, a man,' being 'one who has spoken the truth to you, which I heard from God' (John 8:40).

And many others, having learned the truth from God, spoke the truth.

Not this one more, but this one more, this one incomparably.

And again: 'But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me' (John 8:45).

And others speak the truth: for if we grant that no one spoke the truth except Christ himself, we give in to the anonymous heresy.

That is, an anonymous heresy that seems to overturn the truth or to have come from the books.

And many have books and compositions, and they say this too: that the truth never came among men except upon the appearance of the Savior; for 'grace and truth came through Jesus Christ' (John 1:17).

And see where the argument leads them: because they want the old scripture to not be from God, nor the prophets, they say that the truth never came to men except after the appearance having happened.

And saying these things, they divide the one divinity, and they say that the one who was the Creator was before the appearance, and they seek another father for Christ.

But we do not say this, that ever the truth...

The Eternity of Christ's Reign§3

3It has been hidden. It always sends out its own testimonies. Among men, however, it is a matter of either seeing it or not seeing it. And just as it happens to the perceptible sun that those with clouded eyes cannot see it, and we do not immediately say that the sun does not exist, so also we do not say that truth has never existed among men, lest we should disparage the Scripture.

And I say to you: if you bring me two different kinds of fruits, such as figs, because you divided them from the matter, it is necessary that other plants and other things also be. Therefore, it is impossible for the Gospel instruction to have made the truth into men, nor for the one called the old before the advent to have been enlightened according to the truth. They necessarily approached from different fruits and different qualities; not because there is a different divinity, but because of their strange beginning, this followed.

If, therefore, the Savior says: 'I am the truth' (John 14:6) and Shepherd and Door and the others, these names and what is signified by them are unshared from the natural ones. But if he says that 'I am a man', if it is said about him that he is righteous—'you killed the righteous one,' says Peter (Acts 3:14)—these names apply equally to both men and angels.

Take the same manner for me regarding a king; and since a king is something of a nature with the kingdom of the Word, unable to be either taken up or cast off, that itself is kingdom. And just as one is not called righteous because he possesses righteousness, but being righteousness itself, so also a king is not from appointment, but the king himself is from the King, as God is from God. He also has an acquired kingship, which he desired to have by appearing, so that he might also bring down those warring against the human race and bring them themselves into a lawful dominion, so that he might rule lawfully.

If, therefore, he says: 'I have been established king by him upon his holy Mount Zion' (Psalm 2:6), he is not speaking about the innate and eternal kingship, but about that which he received for our sake. And teaching is a kingship upon God. Thus, there was the teaching before the advent, which they said was spoken by him as a Word like God, and there is another for the sake of some. This, therefore, has a beginning and an end. For it has been said in...

To the twelve prophets: 'and the Lord shall reign from Zion from now and until the age'. The 'from' and 'until' signify time. But if it is said concerning a man that he reigns from this time and until that, it signifies a limited reign; for before the time from which his kingship began, he was not king, and at the end of the kingship, he is no longer king.

But concerning the Savior we do not say this, rather he reigned from the time from which he received authority through ordination, and he is no longer reigning when this reaches an end; for that end is through him. Just as divinity does not come to him through another, so neither does the kingship nor the holiness. 'God is our king before the age' (Psalm 74:12). And the kingship before the age is through him.

Again: 'your kingdom is the kingdom of all the ages' (Psalm 145:13). This is said of the Word God. The Word has neither a beginning having kingship nor an ending; for 'Lord' means 'reigning for the age and upon the age and yet more'. He was at a loss to signify the difference between time and age, and said 'and yet more'. We take 'yet more' thus: even if you take another age, he reigns yet more; even if another, yet more; even if all ages, yet more he reigns; from which it is shown that his beginning is without end; for the kingship which he had according to human kingship has sometimes ceased and has taken a beginning; but why is this kingship? Because of the salvation of the world, because of the removal of 'the sin of the world' (John 1:29).

And just as a physician is always a physician from the time he has the art, and as far as he practices it, he has a beginning and an end of being a physician, and for the one suffering, there is a beginning and an end of that physician being 'yet more', when he reaches a possible health and a possible recovery, so also you will say concerning teachers. There is a certain teacher from whom one has received knowledge. He becomes a teacher of this one when he comes to him; and when that one has been instructed and has fully taken up the knowledge like the teacher, he ceases to be his teacher. And it is a kind of virtue for a teacher to sometimes cease to be a teacher of this one; for having perfected them, he is no longer their teacher. But if he remains always a teacher of this one, no one is perfected according to the teaching of him. Therefore, hearing such things, those not understanding the Scriptures in this way—for example:

The Kingly Joy and Reward§4

4"When the kingdom is handed over to God and Father," he no longer reigns in the same way; not that he ceases to reign entirely, but he no longer reigns thus. There, he is called both king and kingdom; for "Lord, the king shall rejoice in your power" (Psalm 21:1). If we take this word regarding the Word of God, he himself is found to be both king and power; for "Christ is the power of God" (1 Cor 1:24), and "the power of the Most High"—who is this?—"overshadowed" (Luke 1:35) Mary, so that she might conceive and become the mother of the temple. Therefore, if we wish to receive power from the Word of God, we look for the king, the Lordly man. He rejoices in the power of God.

Has the success not occurred in those things in which it is necessary to rejoice and be glad? These successes have not happened by the power of the man, but from the power to the man. Likewise, Paul says the resurrection of the Savior happens in this way: "He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God" (2 Corinthians 13:4). We do not say the life is living by the power of God, nor the power is living by the power of God. "Having been put to death in the flesh, he was made alive in the spirit." He is put to death in the flesh, not put to death in divinity. We understand these things said about the man because: "the king shall rejoice in your power" (Psalm 21:1); for even if he has prevailed over wars and subjected them and "given authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions" (Luke 10:19), this has happened by power; for this power strengthened the existing temple and the king himself to become the "author of salvation" (Hebrews 2:10).

"You put to death the author of life" (Acts 3:15). He is first in all things; for he says, "so that he might become himself first in all things." He is second to no one, nor is anyone equal to him in common things. I say, then, that the affairs of the Lordly man and the holy men are common. But no one is equal to him, nor is he second to anyone; therefore he is called the leader. "Lord, the king shall rejoice in your power" (Psalm 21:1). And this could be said of each individual queen according to God. Abraham was a private person regarding his immediate life, yet it is said he was a "king by God." Thus, he had another kingdom: to save the divine laws and the spiritual things.

For he who reigns thus, even if he does not rule others, rules himself; first himself, then others. Again: 'You have reigned without us; and it would have been better if you had also reigned, so that we too might reign with you.' Do not think, O Corinthians—for they were self-willed in this and thought greatly of themselves—he says: do not think that we envy you if you reign. We do not reign for your sake. God does not wish to complete us without you; for this reason we do not reign because you are not yet reigning. If, therefore, you reign, we are ready to reign.

Just as if certain people, being great men, were called to a banquet by the king. The philanthropy of the king called also those inferior to those present. He says: 'Let us not eat without them, so that they might not be left out, those coming later, to be feasted.' They also have those who arrived beforehand and were feasting previously. This also is said in Psalm 1: 'The righteous shall wait for me, until I repay them in kind' (Psalm 142:7). No one is said to wait by chance among those expecting to wait, but rather the one who has received the call, having a purpose to enjoy these things.

Every one of the saints, therefore, is a king. And they were saying that what is fitting for the Savior also fits the righteous, even if in a diminished and lesser way. He says therefore also concerning each saint: 'Lord, in your power the king shall be made glad.' And he did not say 'he rejoices,' but 'he shall be made glad.' When the time of gladness is, then he shall be made glad.

4 Therefore, this can also be said specifically concerning David and concerning his human and sensible kingship, that having ruled the kingdom well, he shall receive a reward upon it; for each one, when he has been entrusted with what, if he endures well, has a reward upon them. Becoming faithful over a little, he enters 'into the joy' (Matthew 25:21) of the neighbor and of God. 2 Lord, in your power the king shall be made glad. He speaks of the saving power that makes the king rejoice, according to how God is the Word. Previously it was said that the words must be taken just as the underlying things are, and not to force the things toward the meaning. With us, the name of power is being worn down. It signifies many things; I say power as equal to strength. I do not say thus the Savior of God...

Kingship and the Distinction of Terms§5

5To have power. I say power means capacity. Someone might think that this is not contained in the Scripture. But it is contained: 'God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will make the way of escape to endure' (1 Cor 10:13). He speaks of capacity; for they say equal to equal. And thus the adversary has the power to endure and to receive the outcome of victory. See then, it is contained.

And again: 'the power of sin is the law' (1 Corinthians 15:56). The law is able and to be transgressed. It does not have it by actual operation. And well and timely the apostle has used this expression: 'the power of sin is the law'; for he wants us to be in the capacity of sin and not in the operation. If it had been said: 'the power of righteousness is the law', we would not have been righteous by operation, but in capacity. And being in capacity, we were unjust by operation. Thus the apostle set down the auspicious word; since it also has the power equally for both, for guarding and for transgressing; but because of what is advantageous.

And power also signifies capacity. And the king's camp also signifies it: 'he cast Pharaoh's chariots and his power into the sea' (Exodus 15:4). 'A king is not saved by much power,' by much hand and camp. The Savior, therefore, apart from these things signified, is called the power of God; for by what word the Father is able, not having this from power, but from essence, and his essence, according to which he is able, might be called power, so also the Son. He says therefore: 'he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God' (2 Corinthians 13:4). As far as it reached human weakness, he underwent the cross. Therefore this God was not able to undergo it, but man was able to suffer this. And indeed he has suffered, but by the power of God he lives. The power, therefore, of God is Christ, as he is God. 'In the power' therefore 'the king rejoices' (Psalm 21:1). And the king was spoken of in more ways. We have said.

Kings are to be understood historically as David, by upward leading as the man from Mary, and by imitation and following as those who imitate him. And we have presented, from the epistle to the Corinthians, another kingship besides the immediate one.

'Lord,' therefore, 'in your power the king shall rejoice.' This is said either from the spirit-bearing man or from the Holy Spirit himself who happens to be in him; for when the Holy Spirit says 'Lord,' he says this not only of a man who is already released, but also when he prepares someone to be spirit-bearing. He is therefore the one saying, as in: 'the Lord says to my Lord' (Ps 110:1). And the Savior says: 'If in the Holy Spirit he said Lord, how is he his son?' (Matthew 22:43). If he is his son, how is he a slave, and if a slave, how is he a son? He thus shows a certain relation and disposition; for even if the Savior says: 'the Lord created me' (Proverbs 8:22), he says it at the right time; for he did not say: 'the Lord begat me'; for to beget belongs to a father, but to create belongs to a lord. When he speaks concerning his own divinity, he does not say 'Lord,' but: 'I am in the Father and the Father in me' (John 10:30). 'I and my Father are one' (John 10:30). And 'Lord' and 'Father' are different things.

Often when we speak concerning a quality, we attribute the things of the quality to the quality, and the things of the quality to the one possessing it. I say that knowledge is to know. It is a falsehood to say that knowledge is ignorant. Opposites are found co-existing, knowledge and ignorance. And I say that the one who knows is knowing. Furthermore, many people often say that a physician ought not to be a lover of money. Then they say that medical science knows how to abstain from greed. He says the habit not apart from the one having it, nor the one having it apart from the habit. Therefore such things are common to both the one having and the one being had. And we have often presented from the teaching of the Apostle, that he calls 'love' the one having love; for when he says: 'love never behaves unseemly' (1 Cor 13:5).

Desire and Petition§6

6He calls the one possessing it by the name of possession. And I say indeed also concerning the one possessing love that it benefits. And it benefits by that benefit which love provides. If therefore I say that the holy one says this, such as the hymnodist, not separating the Holy Spirit from the one possessing it, nor do I say that the one possessing it says these things apart from the Holy Spirit. If then 'David in the Holy Spirit calls him Lord' (Matthew 22:43), so also it is as a partaking, not being severed from the partaker, just as knowledge is not without the knower.

And 'he will rejoice exceedingly in your salvation' (Psalm 21:1). The king, just as he is gladdened by power, so also rejoices exceedingly over salvation. And salvation and power are the same, being understood according to one or another conception. Power is that which sustains all things and leads all things thus as it thinks. So also it is salvation; for what he does, he does for the sake of salvation—what he does in men, he does for the sake of the salvation of men.

You gave him the desire of his soul. You know that the word 'himself' denotes authority, not merely the things adjacent. The desire of the soul is bad when, assuming a bad soul, one says 'soul'. But when I say that the soul itself has desire, I speak of its essential desire. The one using desire in this way sees nothing of the bad things, but of the good things; for he received the desiring faculty and the desire, so that he might pursue the beautiful things, so that he might enjoy the profitable things. If, therefore, it happens that he is a lover of silver of wealth, he did not receive the desire of his own soul, but the desire of the lover of silver. Great, therefore, is the happening of the desire of the soul, without adding 'the bad' to it. Indeed, in another psalm he also says: 'the one filling your desire with good things' (Psalm 103:5). He speaks to the soul. It has been said to us many times in other places that adjacent words do not make an antithesis. If I say, 'the desire of the soul is good,' and again I say, 'the desire of the righteous is good,' the adjacent words do not make an antithesis. But if I say, 'the desire that is shameful, the desire that is evil, the desire of the unrighteous,' an antithesis is made. That desire is not simply of the soul, but of such a soul. Therefore, the adjacent words sometimes agree, and sometimes they contend and make an antithesis. Thus indeed it is said: 'every desire of a righteous man is good.'

There is no distinction between the desire of a righteous soul and the desire of a soul without addition. And he did not withhold the will of their lips, and this appears even regarding the sensible. If I say now: 'so much as a father desires his children to live well', because I have made a memory of a father, I want them to live well. But if I say: 'an evil father wants his children to do such things', I have removed paternal compassion. 'With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you' (Luke 22:15). And the 'with desire' and 'I have desired' is in such a way as: 'rightly I pursued the righteous', the worthy of being desired. And there is sometimes to desire and also the unworthy of being desired, as it says: 'passion, an evil desire'. An evil desire is not a thing to be desired, just as a pseudo-good is not called heretical, even if some call it so.

3 And he did not withhold his lips' petition from him. If the word is about the one from Mary, it is clear that he brings a petition for those for whom he has come to save. You have indeed: 'wherefore also he is able to save to the perfection, always living to intercede for them'. 6 He always lives in interceding. And take 'always' thus: as much as they need, entreating and mediating. 'And if anyone sins, we have a counselor toward the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous' (1 John 2:1). And since the others also run to the teacher with this haste, they also want to intercede for those for whom they were entrusted, not setting their own prior intercession, but following the justification of the one calling them to imitation. According to all the rewards of the king, it is necessary to be careful not to be deprived of his petition. For example, when we speak about the one ruling sensorially, saying that the petition of his lips was not withheld, but it happened in the outcome, we signify his praise. Even if we speak about the saints—for they too are called kings—and there is great praise for them, it is when their petition is well-received. For 'the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears to their petition' (Psalm 34:15), and: 'he hearkens to the prayers of the righteous' (Psalm 34:17).

3 Dipsalmos. 10 The 'dipsalmos' is found nowhere, neither in the Hebrew scriptures, especially in the Psalms. But this also lies in the song of Habakkuk. Those knowing the dialect are able to say what it means.

The Precious Stones of Virtue§7

7However, we speak of what has come to us. Those who say that it signifies a change of face are lying; for we have found changes of faces in the psalms even without the diapsalma. Again, they say that the diapsalma signifies a certain interval—for example, saying 'he ceased and at another time he began'—and this diapsalma signifies a chronological interval. But we cannot say this; for there is no indication that he spoke these verses of the psalm after another time.

But those who have conversed with the Hebrew readings say that this is a musical rhythm, just as they say rhythms and melodies in musical matters. Therefore, these things are not for us to know, but for those who have conversed with the dialect. In every dialect, indeed, it is possible to be appropriate to music. There is no music or rhythm when sounds are arranged unharmoniously. Sometimes I think I know the letters and can comment on the readings. And if we see something in a garden, which a farmer names because we do not know it, we learn from him, and not already, not devaluing learning, we remain uneducated from this. So, even if we do not know the Hebrew dialect, we have heard that it signifies a musical rhythm according to the Hebrew dialect.

'For you have preceded him in blessings of goodness' (Psalm 21:3). God has preceded the king in all interpretations in blessings of goodness. The 'you have preceded in blessings' is equal to: 'While you are still speaking I will say: behold, I am here' (Isaiah 58:9). For example, suppose a certain prayer is being sent up concerning living well, concerning having virtue; it says: 'while you are still speaking,' not yet having fulfilled the word of the prayer, because of the giving, I say I am present.

The 'of goodness' we take here as 'of kindness'; for often we take the 'good' as if toward slander: 'evil characters make the conversations bad,' instead of the pleasant, the kind. And the pleasant itself is taken even regarding praise, when someone has a good character, and regarding the pleasant. Likewise also the innocent: 'for through the good-speaking they deceive the hearts of the innocent.' And also: 'the innocent believes every word.' 'You have set upon his head a crown of precious stone.' If this is said concerning the Lord's man, this crown is that which is placed upon the head...

A crown is woven from his precious stones, that is, from virtues or those possessing virtues. Within the weaving of this crown lie those stones being built up with gold and silver upon the foundation, Christ. It is clear, however, that neither gold, nor silver, nor the stones are taken according to physical sense.

Even regarding each king, such as Abraham was, or as the other saints are, we say this: just as the ruler of Tyre, when he lived well, was placed among the Cherubim in the holy mountain of God, when it was a 'seal of likeness' and a 'crown of beauty,' he was not bound by perceptible stones; rather, one is crowned from such stones. For instance, Joseph contended regarding temperance. Temperance is a precious stone. These virtues crowned him, as well as Susanna and the martyrs. And since virtues follow one another, and he who has one has all, the woven crown is not a single stone. Therefore, 'from a precious stone you placed a crown upon his head.' The 'precious' pertains to that which the precious thing is. We call these stones here, such as pearls and hyacinths and the others, precious, because they are also stones distinct from those. Since, therefore, these great stones are kinds of virtue, behold, these stones are precious and surpass all those appearing to be so in the world.

And that the disciples of the teachers are crowns, Paul taught: 'my joy and crown,' addressing the church that discipled him. 'On that day the Lord of Sabaoth will be the crown of hope.' The material of this crown is the Lord of Sabaoth; for 'the Lord of Sabaoth will be the crown of hope.' And since anyone being there cannot yet have a perfect participation in God, but this will happen when 'God becomes all in all,' becoming a fire perfected in all, in the final desired one; for this reason he called it a crown of hope. For if we are to know Him then, when we see Him as He is, and when we see Him by seeing Him as He is, when we have reached the end, this crown is of hope. It is of end-hope, it is that which we await. 'She sought life from you, and you gave it to him.' We say that the Savior acts according to the man—if indeed

The Nature of Blessed Life§8

8I say 'according to man', do not divide him from the Word—because he is a 'Paraclete' 'towards the Father' (1 John 2:1). Neither is the Word without the man, nor the man without the Word, but the one joined from both becomes a Paraclete and 'living always to intercede on their behalf' (Hebrews 7:25) intercedes. Therefore he asks for that life which he wants to be made alive by. And through him the life-giving happens; for he was 'slain in the flesh and made alive in spirit' (1 Peter 3:18). And the soul of Jesus is not life, but has the living by God measuring and granting it; and all the other souls, as to say each one: 'my soul lives by him'. The soul has a value according to immortality. But 'to live toward God' bears fruit from that which is upon us, just as living again by sin is from that which is upon us.

Length of days into an age and into the age of the age. Again, the length of days we are not able to take up explicitly. But 'into the age' he says 'and into the age of the age'. And these days which are given and become by the sun, are called in this one age only. And it has been said also: 'when will these things be, and what is the sign of your presence and the consummation of the age?' (Matthew 24:3); and: 'until the consummation of this age'. And 'in the days' of the age, if the Scriptures say, they say the days of the age. This one who asked is great and did not send a prayer about a small and indifferent thing, so that even his prayer is remembered, nor about these days which pass by the sun and moon. Otherwise, therefore, these things are to be considered. And it is owed to note that in the Scriptures many times such things fall away and seem as impossible.

'Honor', he says, 'your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you and you may be long-lived on the earth' (Exodus 20:12). But not always the one honoring parents remains for many years in the land. Many younger ones are transferred. For it has been said in the Wisdom of Solomon about such things: 'he was snatched away, not by wickedness, but his understanding changed or deceit deceived his soul' (Wisdom of Solomon 4:13). And he says that: 'having been perfected in a little while, he filled long ages'. And he says that prudence is great and old age is an uncorrupted life. But if uncorrupted life is old age, it does not consist of days, but of virtue; differently it must be taken.

the days. Therefore, 'he asked you for life' is not so that he himself might live, but so that those for whom he offers the prayer might. Concerning life, we are not speaking of the common kind, but that which is according to virtue. He who has not known sin, nor even done it, nor even held a guile in his heart, did not have a mortality extending toward the blessed life. Therefore, asking for life, he did not ask for himself, but he wants that to be given to them for whom he offers the petition; for he is 'living always to the point of encountering' those who are to have life through him.

Therefore, 'he asked you for life, and you gave it to him.' He says this to God, either the psalmist or the Holy Spirit within him. And it is a great testimony when, having sent up the prayer, he receives the requests. So you gave it to him, 'length of days for ever and ever unto the age of ages.' The saints do not wish at all to have a long-lasting common life in this life. For instance, he says, 'it is better to dissolve and be with Christ' (Phil 1:23). And again: 'Woe, that my sojourn has been lengthened' (Psalm 120:5). 'I am a stranger in a land' (Psalm 119:19).

He who is 'a stranger and a sojourner' has a longing and a goal to depart from the sojourn, in order to dwell in the appropriate place. Just as the life indicated there is not a common life, which even impious men and irrational animals live, so also 'length of days' does not mean a long-lasting life, but 'length of days,' just as he who honored his parents will be long-lasting and long-lived. And in Deuteronomy it is said: 'This is your life and this is the length of days,' of 'loving the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul' (Deut 6:5). Behold, even the length of days is that of one loving Him with all the soul and all the power and all the longing.

Therefore, 'length of days unto the age.' These things can be taken regarding the blessed life in this way: for there is a life which is the same as the knowledge concerning God. When it was being said: 'And this is the eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Him whom you sent, Jesus Christ' (John 17:3), this life is the knowledge concerning the Father and the Son. And again: 'He who believes in me has eternal life' (John 6:47). He who believes in the Savior does not have a common life. The impious are often found to be more long-lasting than the diligent. They...

The Continuity of Knowledge and the Eternal Light§9

9They desire this long life, because they consider no other good than such a state. Just as life now is praiseworthy and forthcoming, so also 'length of days' for this age, so that each doctrine of truth may be known and illuminating, having great light. A praiseworthy day is each practical virtue being made straight.

Since, therefore, just as perfect and complete knowledge will receive here the partial knowledge, so also regarding practical virtue, those who have been proven righteous through practical virtue from there—for they have righteousness now and forthcoming—will be differently eager for 'length of days' for this age, not this common one, but the one capable of having come into being, about which they say: 'This is the day which the Lord has made' (Ps 118:24); for they are pointing to it. But no one points to the future, but to that which is already present and has established itself. The future, when that time comes through which it comes, is no longer future. Again, that too will fall under pointing.

Thus, if you take the king, and even the holy man, and even him who has come forth from Mary, they do not pray about that life or length of perceivable days, but about those already spoken of. They receive long-age life and offer thanks concerning this. And the long-age life is not the life of one age. Appropriately, each age receives life, sometimes as beginning and introductory, sometimes as intermediate, and sometimes as complete.

But after all these spoken days—each doctrine illuminating the soul, being shone upon by the sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2), we have called a day. After these, there is a certain complete state of light in the flashes of progress. That day is not interrupted by night, nor does it become a multitude of days. And it is possible to receive it thus; since the virtues have affinity with one another—for each is luminous—one length of days...

It happens from their following, and it is not interrupted. I say: each scientific principle is separated from the others; for the scientist knows many things. For example, as if it were in medicine, a surgical principle or a dietary one; as if it were in grammar, this or that. When someone is perfected, he no longer possesses these different things; for now it is perhaps more possible to possess the surgical, and less the dietary. But when he presents to me a perfect physician having all the principles perfectly and without excess, they are no longer poured out distinctly, nor do they have difference even in matter.

Suppose for me a man having complete health according to the body. He no longer needs diet alone, nor incision. He has cast away those things for the sake of which he needed these, and instead he has health that no longer produces anything else. And for his sake all these things are labored for. And the maintenance of it is labored for with a certain desire; for they are just as if they were producing health, so also things protective, such as the gymnasium or such food.

That long day, therefore, is uninterrupted; for it will be a long time before that time is fulfilled: 'The Lord will be to you an eternal light' (Isa 60:19), when the sun no longer fails, 'nor shall the rising of the moon light the night' (Isaiah 60:19). And these things are not said about the sensible luminaries; for 'immediately' 'after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light' (Matt 24:29). But these lights will no longer give light to those who are friends of this world; for the sun will be sevenfold and the moon like the sun. Generally, it is said concerning the heavens that 'they shall be changed.' And when he says heavens being changed, and the stars and luminaries in them, just as, if we speak concerning the earth: 'all the earth worships,' we say those dwelling in the earth. 'Sing to the Lord, all the earth' (Ps 96:1). 'Great is your glory in your salvation.' If we receive the glory truly, we do not call the most pleasant state glory. For example, we do not call a human beginning glory, nor a dignity; for all these things are...

The Greatness of Christ's Glory and True Splendor§10

10Glory is small for men of little thought and little goodness. Thus, physicians who bring health to those who are well seem to take glory for themselves—it has been thought rather that the healthy person is more glorious than the one suffering—but the glory is not great. Similarly for a pilot.

In the salvation of God, therefore, there is 'great glory'; for this salvation touches the mind and the soul. And of all that is in us, the mind differs and the soul from the body, even if it does not seem so to others. And it is possible even to call the Savior himself 'salvation', as he is found in many places: 'All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God' (Psalm 98:3). 'And all flesh shall see the salvation of God' (Isaiah 40:5), instead of 'every man' or 'every sensitive soul'. In this salvation, therefore, is 'great glory'.

Even if the death which he received seems to be without honor—for 'cursed is everyone hanging on a tree' (Gal 3:13) according to the law—yet this seeming dishonor was able to receive such glory from the purpose of salvation, because salvation has become not of food, nor of men simply, but of soul and mind and spirit, as Paul writes: 'Your whole spirit and soul and body' (1 Thess 5:23). The seeming dishonor is therefore a glory surpassing all.

I wish to remind you of a thought. When I was speaking concerning the Gospel, concerning that place: 'He who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do, and greater than these he will do' (John 14:12), to others this interpretation was also given: if you consider the one who does, the great things are small; as compared to God they are small. For the apostles did not perform sensible works greater than those of the Savior. The Savior raised Lazarus, already on the fourth day being in death and near to decomposing and already having reached the point of stinking. The apostles did not do anything of this kind. Jesus brought the blind from birth to sight. If, however, you consider these works of the Savior, they are small compared to having performed the rational essence, the heavens, the souls. And the works of the apostles, even if they were greater than those of the Savior, since their power is from Him, are rather called greater than those which the Savior did; for they were not able to do greater than these. But Jesus both did and always does. And the apostle says: 'We see the one being humbled'...

Jesus was humbled through the suffering of death. He was humbled through the suffering of death, but he was crowned with "glory and honor." The humbling led to glory, and indeed it led to the greatest. I reason that "the sufferings of the present time are not worthy of the glory that is about to be revealed" (Rom 8:18). And those sufferings of Christ are those which his imitators suffer, having first suffered as he did. Great, therefore, is his glory. Even if it be a cross, even if it be death, if you see the goal of salvation and the Savior, what greatness is there? Not great is the glory of others. For indeed there are times when they had glory, and yet the glory departed even while they were living.

Thus also I have heard what is said in Isaiah: "and of his peace there is no limit" (Isa 9:7). "Justice and an abundance of peace rise in his days until the moon is taken away." Observe the peace that they caused to rise; for it holds until the completion, for nothing else signifies the taking away of the moon except the completion, when "the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light" (Matt 24:29). Peace is not in one nation, nor on earth alone; for he "made peace" through "the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:20), not only "the things on earth," but also "the things in the heavens."

6 Glory and splendor shall be laid upon him. Glory and splendor are laid upon him along with this great glory which exists in his salvation. And splendor consists of things and endeavors in which there is what is becoming. Works done from virtue become fittingly. Many things seem to men to be becoming, but they are not truly becoming; just as I have said concerning glory, that there are honors and dignities which are not such things as men think them to be, but they were supposed by them to be such. Splendor, therefore, they call—take the meaning from the literal sense, from history—such as are gladiators, and if they are small-spoken, they diminish the contests and the expenses from a small intention, and they seem to do what is becoming for the athlete, but they do it little, and they are called these "small-splendid" ones; for they are not found to be surpassing, being less than nothing in the becoming, compared to the gladiators before them. This, therefore, is called splendor, when in...

True Magnificence vs. Vanity§11

11Let there be a size that is appropriate.

But it is most especially magnificence when it is for the sake of the appropriate itself, and not for the sake of anything else.

Let it be said: if one, being rich, spends great things on small matters and small celebrations, he is not magnificent.

It is an excess of magnificence, just as we say that rashness is an excess of courage and impiety is an excess of piety.

For example, if someone provides a feast for his drinking companions and spends as much as no one else spends at weddings, he is not magnificent.

It happens for the sake of vainglory.

But magnificence does not happen for the sake of vainglory.

Let us come from being led by the sensible things to the things about which the word is: the Savior worked the appropriate in great things.

And the righteous man shows the appropriate in great things toward men.

What is greater than saving the inhabited world, and making peace not only of the earthly things, but also of the heavenly things?

What is greater than rectifying that by which the heavenly, the earthly, and the subterranean things bend the knee to the Savior for the glory of God the Father?

This glory is magnificence, and it has a kinship with propriety.

And concerning Him, the God, it is said: 'The Lord has reigned, He has put on propriety' (Psalm 93:1).

This propriety and magnificence are the same.

To whom did it befit to save the men, or he who did not have sin?

He did not have sin, knowing that it is beautiful to abstain from sin, to have righteousness, that it is beautiful to not retaliate against one who insults, and not to defend those who behave wickedly. 'The one suffering,' He says, 'did not threaten' (1 Peter 2:23).

Not only did He not do what was deserved, but He did not even threaten.

A threat is a prior announcement of fearful things.

But when it is no longer a prior announcement, but happens by the outcome, it is no longer a threat.

'Glory and magnificence You will lay upon him' (Psalm 21:5).

And it is good also to say 'You will lay upon.'

In another text, this is also attributed to Him: for not only now when He arrived, did He begin to place this glory and this magnificence in the rational things, but always and everywhere, as He was able, He did this.

And the glory and magnificence through His arrival have become an addition, such as through the cross.

For 'You will give him a blessing unto the age of ages' (Psalm 21:6).

Thus, as we have said concerning life: not so that he himself may have it—for he has it—but that those who approach him, those who occupy themselves with his teachings, may have it.

But this 'unto the age of ages' blessing is distinguished from what seems among mortals to be blessing;

for this too is sometimes called blessing:

'for in his life his soul shall be blessed, unto the age he shall not see light' (Psalm 49:18).

He shall not see the light, even if he seems now to see bright things.

He does not have this glory as lasting.

The spiritual blessings, then, given in the heavenly places, are the same as this remaining 'unto the age of ages';

for if one should consider having received wealth a blessing, he does not have it 'unto the age of ages';

for it departs together with the material life.

But it is possible to say gracefully and ethically that:

if the one having wealth spends it in such a way as to find glory even after these things, concerning which he says:

'Charge the rich of this age not to be high-minded' (1 Tim 6:17).

Then he says:

'laying up for themselves a foundation of good works' (1 Tim 6:19); the blessing of such a one remains 'unto the age of ages'.

And the things done from wealth remain indestructible.

Likewise also in the case of the others:

if one is glorified and blessed for temperance—true temperance—he has it remaining 'unto the age of ages'.

but if one thinks he is blessed for virtue in hypocrisy, he has it being dissolved;

for when the truth shines forth and things appear as they are by nature, the blessing according to supposition is dissolved.

Sometimes it even causes danger.

'You will gladden him with joy with your face' (Psalm 21:6).

The word seems ambiguous;

for on the one hand is signified by it:

'You will gladden him with joy with your face';

gladdening your face, you gladden him also.

or both gladden him:

you gladden him with joy, and your face with you gladdens him.

Some such word is also found in Isaiah:

'And the Lord has sent me, and his Spirit' (Isa 48:16).

Some take it thus:

'The Lord has sent me, and his Spirit has also sent me.'

And they say that the sending of the Savior according to the sojourn has come to pass both from the Father and from the Holy Spirit;

for it has been said:

'The Spirit of the Lord shall come upon you' (Luke 1:35), to her who bore him or was to bear him, 'and power [...]'.

The Nature of Hope and Scientific Expectation§12

12"of the Most High". See: it seems here to have been sent from the Father and the Holy Spirit. Others, however, read it this way, and this reading is better: "and the Lord, the Lord, has sent me; and his Spirit also has sent" (Isaiah 48:16); the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The former version says this: that the Father and the Holy Spirit sent the Son. Each person receives the reading according to his own appropriate understanding, as has already been said. And here, therefore, there is a person of the Lord being spoken of here. And the Son is his image, "the character of his substance."

Concerning the one having taken on a face by the Savior and every righteous man, it is said: "rejoice him in joy with your face" (Psalm 21:6), for when the Son and the Father come, and someone has seen the character immediately and the one of whom the character is: "he who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Rejoicing happens by God and of his own face. And it is also possible to take it this way: "rejoice him in joy with your face." Therefore, this is said concerning every righteous man: for your face, through which "in image and likeness" (Gen 1:26) it has become, shall be revealed of him.

And I say: things that have happened, even if they are separate, often exist together with substances; for example, color: for the body is not first created, and then it is colored; it is created having been colored, and nevertheless we say that color is in certain things among those things that happen and un-happen. I added "in certain things," since among sensible things, it neither comes upon nor goes away from the snow; nor does moisture come upon or go away from water; for it is essential. Since, therefore, the rational is good from the beginning, it is not good in the same way as God; for it is not good according to substance, but according to a state and a disposition. Even if man has become "in image and likeness" (Gen 1:26), this thing which has form is separate, being cast off and being taken up. However, when God saves, every image will be destroyed. But this shall be revealed in the one having been saved.

For the king hopes in the Lord (Psalm 21:7; LXX 20:7). This king hopes in the Lord. He hopes that there will be salvation for those for whom he has come to suffer. The end of the one striving is not in doubt.

But he hopes unchangeably; for 'in the mercy of the Most High he is not shaken' (Psalm 21:7). Therefore his hope does not fall. And I offer a paradigm, though it is perhaps a violent one: no one hopes for things present. The healthy man does not hope to be healthy, nor the rich man to be rich. It is of things to come. Hope and expectation are the same. Expectation is a genus of hope; for hope is indeed the expectation of good things from God.

Of things to come, the former the possible has an existence such that it is able to happen or not to happen as it may turn out, but the latter the certain will certainly happen; for example, what I say scientifically, by way of an image: that after such a period there is an eclipse of the sun. Only the expert hopes for this; for the other person does not know at all whether it happens or does not happen. It is good to remind of this that there are four problems: two simple and two compound. Simple are 'that it is' and 'what it is.' Then compound are 'how it is' and 'why it is.'

It is therefore for the expert to expect these things which will certainly happen scientifically. For he knows both that an eclipse is, and what an eclipse is, namely a running-to-meet of the moon. And how it happens: that, when the moon becomes in opposition under the sun, an eclipse happens. Behold, the 'how it happens.' And the 'why it is so': because the sun, revolving, moves in varying intervals. And under the solar circle is that of the moon. Therefore it does not always happen in opposition. It is as if there are two circles. If it happens thus and again into the lower one, the lower thing happening hides the upper. They say, therefore, that an eclipse is the opposition of the moon toward the sun.

It is therefore for the expert to know this unpassable expectation. And of things happening by chance, let them expect, I say, rain or good fortune. But many dispute these things. He says, therefore: 'Rejoice in him with joy; for the king hopes in the Lord' (Psalm 21:7). The king is the one hoping. And his hope and expectation are unpassable. And he says: 'In the mercy of the Most High he shall not be shaken' (Psalm 21:7). He being shown mercy by the Most High is not shaken; for then he is shaken, when the subjects are found unworthy of his kingship. And he abandons them, he turns away from them. And to hope is as to be persuaded by God, in this way.

The Hand and the Right Hand of God§13

13We receive according to the intention. 'Of the Most High' means to bless the rational things, just as also: 'Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace' (Luke 2:14). 'May your hand be found against all your enemies, and may your right hand find all those hating you' (Psalm 21:8). Just as also regarding the body there is a difference between the right and the hand; for the right hand is a hand, but not every hand is a right hand. We also have here a hand and a right named concerning God.

And concerning David the true, of the seed of David, in another psalm it is said: 'And he shall set his hand in the sea and his right in the rivers' (Psalm 89:25). And see that in the sea the hand is simply placed; for the right is not in the sea, but in his rivers. And again: 'Your hand has destroyed the nations' (Psalm 44:2). See: 'hand' is said many times, and also the military power of a king, and the hands of judges are the executioners. And the devil therefore knew that it is a harmful hand; for he did not say: 'Send your right', but 'your hand, and to grasp all that he has'. 'May your hand be found against all your enemies' (Psalm 21:8). Your hand will be revealed, the one punishing your enemies.

Thus also I hear of: 'But the face of the Lord, to those doing evil, to destroy their memorial from the earth' (Psalm 34:16). Those doing evil think that there is no providence, that there is no vengeance against whom they transgress. But when they receive experience of some wrongdoing, sometimes becoming aware, they see the face of God; and the face is thus: they recognized that God is within. And just as 'from the greatness and beauty of the creatures we observe the Creator by analogy', so from the greatness and the complexity of the administration the Judge is perceived. We have found therefore also Pharaoh despising, then being struck, grasping the understanding of God. For he says at one time: 'The Lord is righteous' (Exodus 9:27). He who says before this: 'I do not know the Lord' (Exodus 5:2), now confesses even to know Him and that He is righteous. 'But I...'

Even if the people are ungodly, if the face of God has become one doing evil in Pharaoh, the hand is found; for they must at some time know that He is a judge, even if not in this life, but when the time comes. Therefore it is said: 'May your hand be found.' 'May your right hand find.' But the hand is found against enemies, and the right hand finds those who hate. And those who hate may be slightly less evil than the enemies. Not every hater acts as an enemy, but every enemy hates.

And just as it was said regarding the sea, that the hand of God should be placed to make the surge and the salt-spray cease by driving them back, the right hand is in the rivers of the Savior—and these are those having a life according to the Spirit, 'from whom flow rivers of living water' (John 7:38). 'The rivers, Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices' (Psalm 93:3)—in this way the saving, lifting-up right hand of the Savior is found, according to what was said: 'The right of the Lord, lift me up; the right of the Lord has made strength; I shall not die, but I shall live' (Psalm 118:16-17).

You have set them as a furnace of fire for the time of your face. Concerning the enemies alone can it be said of those being handed over to punishment. But if even concerning both, thus interpret what is written: See, those building upon the foundation, the Christ, if they are gold or silver, they are only burned, but they are not annihilated, nor are they consumed even if found by the fire (1 Cor 3:12-15). But if 'wood, hay, or straw,' they are annihilated and laid down like a furnace of fire, for they are like smoke. And the smoke is a follower of the beneficial energy of the fire.

Therefore, when wood and hay and straw are 'for the time of the face' of God—for it will be a time when a judge shall be shown, as it lies—those called wood and hay and straw do not be annihilated so as to no longer exist—and it is impossible to be annihilated in this way—but as they are hay, they are annihilated; for this fire of punishment does not work upon essence, but upon states and qualities. The fire consumes...

Divine Counsel and the Face of God§14

14These are not creatures, but such states or dispositions. And teaching does the same: it takes the ignorant and makes him vanish, not as a man, but as an ignorant person; for it makes his ignorance vanish. In this way, righteousness makes the unrighteous vanish, not so that he no longer exists, but so that he no longer exists as unrighteous.

Lord, in your wrath confound them, and let fire devour them (Psalm 21:9). Someone is confounded when he begins to waver and repent. And 'let fire devour them' means so that they no longer are such. 'You shall destroy their fruit from the earth and their seed from the sons of men' (Psalm 21:10). The 'seed' is a homonym. When contrasted with fruit, it denotes the seed of a plant; but when contrasted with children, it is the seed of a man; for we have in the Scripture many times the 'seed' named after children. It is about the difference of the words that is now to be said.

This says: being upon the earth and having drawn near to the earth, they were stuck to it. Instead of the pure soul, the works of the flesh bore fruit. This is 'you shall destroy the fruit from the earth.' The earth is the good and beautiful thing, which, receiving the seed of Jesus that is cast, bears fruit. But the same earth, as a subject, is this one that bears thorns. And the receptive one is a rational substance of seeds. And from ourselves, this earth receives the difference.

'And their seed from the sons of men' (Psalm 21:10). He sowed into the sons of men, not into the sons of God; for they are unfit for these. 'From the sons' therefore, 'of men you shall destroy their seed,' so that also the fitness toward the worthless fruit is lost. If someone has virtue by operation, the seed of wickedness is prevented, and the fitness and the power are there, so that it seems to be destroyed.

'Because they turned to you for evil' (Psalm 21:11), to you, having made them straight. Their choice turned toward the evil. You know that regarding sensible creations and idols, the one who has worked the evil work receives mockery, but the one who has done what is right receives praise. For it is said in Sirach: 'The work of a craftsman shall be praised' (Sir 38:33).... if someone turns away from the 'according to the image.' How much then it reached to them, they judged evils toward you. 'They consulted plans' (Psalm 21:11), which he would not be able...

To stand. And so that, having been led again by history from history—as if by a mere history, though I do not know if it is history—those who wished to build a tower, having the head up to the very limit, deliberated and were not able to stand. Indeed, they scattered. God perfects counsel when it is deliberated rightly and according to his will. He who pursues this 'does all things according to his counsel.' By this counsel, God brings a completion.

"You shall set them at their heels." It is often said of those concerning God that his body is the church; "you are the body of Christ," and in this body eyes, ears, and hands are found. Therefore, "you shall set" "them at their heels." You shall arrange these behind your body. This can be understood thus: the preceding things are called the face of God, and these created, sensible things are behind; for they are with him. Indeed, just as Moses at the end was not able to behold the face of God, God passes by with his glory and shows him the things behind. Indeed, he immediately wrote down the generation. Therefore, he shall set them at their heels; for the face is set toward the saints according to the prayer they offer up: "let your face shine upon us and we shall be saved." "In your remnants you will prepare your face." The remnants are the other saints besides those who "hate," those who were left over in the destruction. And it is well that it is "you will prepare" and not "you will give." It holds it ready so that everyone wishing to see it is able to see it.

"Be exalted, O Lord, in your power." We shall sing and indeed chant your mighty acts. For you do all these things powerfully. And after the beginning of the chanting, the power of God is praised: "Lord, the king shall rejoice in your power." The power that rejoices the king and performs all the things spoken of is exalted, not rising from a low place to a height, but no longer being thought of by men as lowly, but high as it is. And if we say, "I will exalt you, O Lord," we do not mean that we are lifting you up from the low to the height. To exalt is to confess him; that is the height. Therefore, he sings triumphantly—for power is spoken of a king alone, and of this king there are powers—things that can be done kingly. Toward the end, on behalf of the...

The Psalm as the Voice of the Savior§15

15The morning perception; a psalm of David. It is a spiritual day being made by the 'Sun of Righteousness,' about which much is laid down in the Scriptures, and especially in the New; 'as in a day,' he says, 'let us walk decently' (Romans 13:13). You know that even according to the literal sense, those doing something shameful do so in darkness, and especially then, when many good people were present. He who is, therefore, in ignorance of the existing good, is in darkness and does many things bringing shame. But when one is illumined by the light of the true one, 'walking in the day,' that is, progressing—for walking signifies progress—he does and thinks all things decently, nothing of those bringing shame.

The prophet Isaiah also presents this state, saying: 'My spirit cries out to you, O God, in the night' (Isa 26:9). This, therefore, is the morning perception; for even if we have illumination and the beginning of the day, we beg for the light to be present, so that the day may not fail, so that it may not be unable. 'Unto the end,' therefore, 'for the morning perception'; for having begun the day according to the perception of God, if the one perceiving remains in the same intention toward the one helping, he remains in that perception until the whole day; for if he perceives something in the beginning having only a little light, he perceives much more when it becomes midday. You find many such things lying in the Scriptures. God appeared to Abraham at no other time than at midday; for then the light had become at its peak. Moreover, the sun is at its zenith as if to be a shadowless thing to the air around us. But he says these things more allegorically, since even the literal sense leads to this.

This is also what the bride says to her own bridegroom: 'Tell me, whom my soul has loved, where do you graze and where do you gaze at midday?' (Song 3:1-4). At the beginning of the day, by which you graze, I have become. But I seek the midday time, when the light is at its peak. 'Where do you graze, where do you gaze?' so that being there as a companion with you, I may work the work; for I too want those sheep, which you graze, to graze. And the holy women who were shepherds, such as Rebekah, bring a symbol of such a state. 'For the' 'morning perception.' But who has the morning and the...

Is it possible to say at the beginning of the day, 'the night has passed, the day has approached'? For this reason also the women seeking Jesus, when he was crucified, did not see him at the midday hour (Matthew 28:1), but from early morning. You know therefore also that the history concerning the Savior truly holds in general regarding everything significant, in which his works shine more than human things as light. We say that it happens in the morning time, when it takes hold of illumination so as to say: 'early I will stand before you and watch.' Such is also this: 'for you were darkness, but now in the light of the Lord' (Eph 5:8). 'Unto the end,' therefore, since the expected thing attained its end, which the economy of the Savior established and perfect virtue.

Listen then: this psalm is single-personed. That which says 'person' from the beginning until the end is the same. And there occur often in psalms and in prophecies shifts of persons, both of those speaking and toward what is being said and concerning what is being said; for everyone who speaks carries the person of the one announcing. And since he does not speak as it happens, but speaks to certain people, there is also a second person: the one hearing the speaker and the matter concerning which he announces. The speaking part therefore is one person here.

And many things were taken from this psalm in the New Covenant, as if spoken from the person of the Savior, the one the psalm is said to be. Entirely this is so: 'the God, my God' (Ps 22:1); the Savior, encountering the cross, said this voice. And 'they divided my garments among themselves' (John 19:24) was also said by the Savior, having been said in the Gospels. And 'I will announce your name to my brothers' (Hebrews 2:12); Paul in the Hebrews wrote that this was said from the person of the Savior. Since, therefore, three testimonies lie here from the psalm, that the speaker is the person of the Savior, the whole psalm must be received as having been announced from his person.

And I say this necessarily—and I have also inserted it in those works concerning the Incarnation—since they always present to us words as if concerning the body of the Savior having existed, such as: 'but a body I have prepared for myself,' and: 'Christ suffering in the flesh for us,' we say that: if it were appropriate 'only': 'but only a body I have prepared for myself.' There is sometimes to wear more garments. If someone says concerning someone, 'look, I have a cloak, I have a tunic, a garment...'

The distinction between reality and the concept of error§16

16Let him not add 'only', for he is not forbidden to have the others. Again, let one have, bring, a shield and a sword and a helmet and a breastplate. If it is necessary to say that I have a shield, let him not add 'only', for it is not denied that he has the others. We have here said by him concerning the person: 'Save my soul from the sword.' Even if in another place he says, 'I have prepared a body for me', and there was no memory of the soul, and here there is a memory of the soul, and not yet that he says, 'Save my soul from the sword', he has spoken concerning the soul of himself alone.

2 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Psalm 22:1). The name of the forsaking, when spoken literally, does not reveal becoming being in darkness. For the martyrs, indeed, were not forsaken, though they were cast into the boiling pot. But those who sacrifice, even if they suffer nothing, were forsaken. When someone asks not to be forsaken, he asks this so as not to fall from his purpose. It seems that falling into abandonment does not happen to one suffering nothing, but sometimes it happens to him through malice, as I said, of the sacrificers. Abandonment, therefore, is the turning away of God from the one being forsaken.

Which Saul experienced: 'You have not listened to me,' he says, 'nor even in sleep' (1 Samuel 28:6); and he went toward the medium. If ever, therefore, you see a rich Christian having everything well, but having haste toward astrologers or toward necromancers or toward such things, these were forsaken. And if you see a poor man having fallen from wealth, but possessing God, such as Job was (Job 1:1), this one was not forsaken.

Since, therefore, the Savior came to a cross, and it seems to men to be abandonment to fall by such a death, he says this toward their assumption: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Psalm 22:1). Perhaps he also speaks of abandonment as if of his own body; for the Hebrews were a body to him before this. Therefore, that people was forsaken. And he speaks of his own abandonment, since he was their head. 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Psalm 22:1); he demands the cause and the end of the abandonment, for what it is. 'For what reason have you forsaken me?'; he is demanding an end, not so that it might be known to him, but so that it might be known to the body.

His, to his own men. Far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions.

Here, so that we do not begin to mythologize, we are compelled to grasp a deeper theory. A thing and the concept of that thing are not the same. Many know the sensible things, but do not have a concept of them. It is a great thing to have a concept of realities. For in this way we separate a thing from the concept of the thing. And I mentioned color and appearance. But color is one thing and appearance is another, though they are inseparable from one another. Therefore, we separate them by concept. Color receives the more and the less. But appearance does not receive the more and the less, so that the color of the appearance is something different, even if it is never separated from it, even if it never exists without it. These things are said by those having a demonstration by subtraction. We subtract by concept this from that; it will not be sensed, it will not exist. When, therefore, we say that a line is a simple length, the sensible one is not simple. It certainly has width. But we subtract by concept.

I say: those who have transgressions that they will sense and that will exist do not know their concepts; for if they had known that it is harmful, that it turns toward destruction, they would not be acting them out. But there is having the concept of a transgression; for example, let it be a transgression being done against the law of God, such as to murder a man somehow. But when some judicial authority, serving the righteous law, puts to death the one worthy of death, just as Agag was murdered by Samuel (1 Sam 15:33), Elijah had the concept of a transgression, not a transgression, and Samuel. For the Savior says according to the man: for he himself is the one who has lost hope, the one saying these things: "Far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions" (Psalm 22:1). Not "are far from my salvation"; for he did not know sin, he did not do it. But I have it by concept; I know what sin is. And therefore the words of transgressions were far from my salvation. Let my salvation not take a mixture so as to be darkened. For sometimes someone is saved because of something inherent in him as good; if it is evil, his salvation is diminished. Many, indeed, have often asked: if someone does many evils, but does a few goods, does he perish? To say that he perishes is a subtraction of the hope of the persons.

The Manifestation of Mercy in Day and Night§17

17It signifies. I have said many times toward this point: that the punishment is diminished. Let it be said: let more people have done injustice; from these, some did not commit injustice, but showed mercy. His punishment is diminished, and these things have not been done to him sluggishly. When someone previously sinned, he has the works 'going before him to judgment'. They run ahead of him, leading him on to the judgment. But other sins follow. When someone, while acting, does good and a few sins, these follow. 'Likewise', he says, 'also the good works'. As I have said concerning sins, so also concerning good works I will say. However, no one having done good remains without fault above. From it, his punishment is diminished. And he who 'did not know sin nor did it' (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the words of the lapses, has far from himself his salvation; he has his salvation pure, neither sin nor lapse being left to it, but not even this, the word of a lapse.

3 O my God, I have cried days to you, and you do not listen, and night, and it does not come to my mind (Psalm 22:2). The state of the life of men is diverse. It has some profitable aspects, and it has some dark aspects. And in these human things there are days, which are called 'day', and dark things, which are named 'night'. This therefore he says: and in the pleasant and bright things toward you I cry, and you listen, and in the night I do this, and it does not come to my mind; for after your departure and the dark things no longer being unclear, it has become manifest to me. He listens to our crying in the days; and at night, that is to say, being in the dark state, we have him helping, and in the matter we have received knowledge that he helps; for this is: 'and at night, and it does not come to my mind'. And even if it were to others that this were the case, if this were 'the man before God', he was abandoned, this was not to his mind; for he came to this voluntarily: 'I will go to myself toward the mountain of myrrh' (Song of Solomon 4:6). Myrrh...

His body has journeyed to the mountain, because on behalf of all those who were myrrh-soaked, he accepted death. As for why it is so, let us learn from another psalm: that the dark things are ignorance and night; 'by day,' he says, 'the Lord commands his mercy, and by night he will make it known' (Psalm 42:8).

When we clearly and readily see men being pitied, God has commanded his mercy by day. And 'by night' he 'will make it known'; for if you know that God also punishes and hands over in order to make his mercy known—for he does not hand over men to punishments crudely—in this night, the dark one, he will establish it, and the mercy of God will be made known. And by day he commands the mercy when his mercy is manifest, and by night; it is possible to manifest it through the darkness of the state of those being punished. However, even if they also despair, he himself will make known even in the night his mercy.

'And not unto oblivion of me' (Psalm 22:2); I do not cry out in ignorance at night, I do not cry out in ignorance that you listen. 'But you dwell among the saints, O praise of Israel' (Psalm 22:3). See what he says: you who dwell among the saints and are the praise of all those having pure hearts and seeing you—for such people are Israel—you have not abandoned me; for if you dwell among the saints, and the saints suffer something, they were not abandoned; for how could you be in them, and not simply, but the praise of Israel?

And it is also possible that 'but you dwell among the saints' means this: even if you have surrounded some with a pitiful death and it seems to one that you have withdrawn from me, yet in the saints, in those I teach, in those I think upon, you dwell. If you are in these, I have not been abandoned. And it is possible for the holy things to be taken also upon the blessed logical beings, and upon the holy men, and upon the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. For God, being present everywhere, is found in such things, and all such things are his temple, a multi-purpose temple. Therefore, you are a praise in Israel; for he truly...

The Distinction of Universals and the Meaning of the Head§18

18The visionary one, possessing the mind of Christ and seeing God within, is not troubled. You are the praise of Israel; 'in you we shall be praised all day long' (Psalm 44:8). Our fathers hoped in you (Ps 22:4). Our fathers, having hoped in you, were heard 'and were not put to shame' (Ps 22:5); for always receiving their prayers, you brought them to a state of favor, even if they should die through afflictions. For that which hears them when they cry out is not that which makes them be outside of the afflictions, but that which is outside of the harm brought by the afflictions; thus also it was interpreted: 'do not bring us into temptation' (Matt 6:13). Even if the holy ones praying seem not to be heard, all the more they are heard, because by remaining in afflictions they are proven as athletes. For what a failure it would be if one praying should turn away from the afflictions? Furthermore, 'our fathers' is in the presence of the Savior; you know that he counts himself in many ways according to the human manner. They hoped, and you saved them; they cried out to you and were saved. Not by leading them into nothingness, but by overcoming through afflictions. 'They cried out to you.' Having cried out, they were saved. And the cry we take to be the stretched-out prayer; for we do not cry out with a laughing voice, for thought is the word of the soul, and voice is the sound of the inner man.

They hoped in you and were not put to shame. I am a worm and not a man (Psalm 22:6). The fathers, having cried out to you, were not put to shame; for they have attained that of which they expected, that of which they hoped. Here he teaches blindness: 'I am a worm and not a man' (Psalm 22:6). The man does not deny being a man, but he teaches that the man is such, since he does not even perceptually call himself a worm. I am not therefore that man about whom it is said: 'for where there is strife and jealousy among you, are you not men?' (1 Corinthians 3:3); but I have the same disposition toward them, drawing everything for their sake. And this too can be understood: since his body did not come from the casting of a man's seed, but from the mere matter taken from the womb, according to this he calls himself a worm; for the worm does not come from a union, but from simple matter. And here, from the simple matter subject to the female, the body arose for him. 'In it' indeed 'has been born' and 'has been born from it.' But the other bodies are said to be 'through women' by way of the washing...

To receive. Since therefore this one did not have her birth from the seed of a man, it did not happen through her, but from her. A reproach of men and a disgrace of a people. I am a reproach not simply of men, but of the 'men'. All those who, looking at me, mocked me.

Some wish to falsely make the universal many times; for the universal is sometimes cut and becomes universal in another way. If I say, 'All men are mortal,' I say this universally. But if I say that 'all the grammarians,' I speak of certain men, and the universal has come from the grammarian, not from the man. 'All the diligent are righteous.' I do not say this that 'all men are righteous.' So also here: not all those looking at him mocked him—for indeed the apostles, looking, did not mock him—but all those looking at him in this way as a disgrace of a people, as a reproach; for the others did not look at him in this way.

They spoke with lips, they moved the head. If they had spoken from the heart, they would not have moved the head. They spoke with lips to many. And it is not a wonder if they said these things concerning the one who suffered and was seen hanging. And God himself blames them, saying, 'This people honors me with their lips' (Isaiah 29:13). Therefore all the hypocrites, when they rejoice with the holy and the righteous, speak only with lips. And those who indeed boast grandly about the Savior were doing this: 'But he said the one destroying the temple and in three days building it up' (Mark 15:29).

Furthermore: to move the head? Perhaps even regarding history; they did this by cutting corners. And often the head signifies the mind. When anyone thus speaks against the Savior with lips without having seen him as he ought to be, he has a shaken mind, he has a wavering mind. Because the head signifies the mind: 'I have given their paths into their heads' (Ps 101:8), and this head did not possess anything of itself. 'And from thence he will come out, and your hands shall be upon your head; you will say, I have not sinned; for behold, I am judged against you' (Jeremiah 2:37). And coming out of this life, you will have your deeds upon your head. And also: 'His pain shall return upon his head' (Psalm 7:16). But also praiseworthily: 'The eyes of the wise are in his head' (Ecclesiastes 2:14). And he who, being not wise, has become wise, does not have them being carried around.

The progression from milk to spiritual strength§19

19The eyes are moved to another place. Thus he says that the insight of the wise man is in his head according to Christ; for 'his head is the Christ' (1 Corinthians 11:3). He hoped in the Lord; let Him rescue him; let Him save him, because He wills him. Mockers say so. He said that men have also been accustomed to say such things concerning the righteous who are afflicted: 'If he is willed by Him, let Him save him'. And He will rescue him, not because they say this, but because he is willed by Him. He carries out His own plan. He came to fulfill the will of the Father; for 'I have come down from heaven not to do my own will' (Jn 6:38). If therefore he does the will of his Father, He wills him.

For 'you are the one who burst me forth from the womb' (Ps 22:9). And regarding the history, something plausible might be said. Mary received 'the Holy Spirit coming upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowing her' (Lk 1:35). And just as God Himself forms bodies in the womb—as He formed Jeremiah and this body in the womb of Mary. Since therefore the same purity and cleanness were regarding the body, He Himself burst it forth from the womb. He did not do something great in this, but just as having formed Adam he showed him to be a man, so having formed him he brought him forth.

'My hope is from the breasts of my mother' (Ps 22:10). Even while still nursing you showed yourself, that you are my hope, having called the Magi—for while still an infant he mastered magic. In receiving milk I was not acting like an infant as other infants are ignorant of God, but I held hope in you.

'Upon you I was cast forth from the womb' (Psalm 22:10). He, not having done sin nor having deceit in his heart, he who 'before knowing calls father and mother' (Isaiah 8:4) took 'the power of Damascus and the cunning of Samaria', he who 'before evil things came forth' chose 'the good'; for this shows that he neither did sin nor knew it. All men, after the choosing of the evil, choose the good. This one, before evil things came forth, chose the good. And this is that he is sinless, that he did not know sin, because even not according to childhood age he sinned, which things are not very difficult, yet they are presented as preceding virtue. This might also be said concerning every saint, through this same thing becoming so in life. He became...

“Behold the man, sent from God, his name John.” “And he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from the womb of his mother.” (Luke 1:13-15). Each of these is able to say these words to that: “Upon you I have called from the womb,” that is, “From the womb of my mother, my God you are.” But if concerning Samuel it is said: “And Samuel before knowing God” (1 Sam 3:7), it seems to contend with the things previously said. Therefore let us see more wisely how the word is the will of God.

Job says: “And even if I have eaten my morsel alone and have not shared with the orphan, except as a father guided them from the womb of my mother” (Job 31:17-18); for how was he able to provide for and care for orphans from the womb of a mother? Thus, therefore, I take it: a praiseworthy practice is a continuous progression; then the practice takes its beginning when the word is fulfilled. I am able, therefore, to say this: he says that I have done good things not after the evil things, but the word having been fulfilled in me, it began from the praiseworthy things; so that we may leave those things entirely, having been brought from elsewhere this state which is “pleasing to God.”

Since, therefore, there is another generation besides the one at hand, and that generation is in a certain way a mother, someone is torn from a womb, from this womb; for not by God alone can a man be brought from this womb into light. And from the breasts which are suitable with milk, which they receive, beginning now to be God-fearing, from those breasts they have hope toward God. And often milk signifies something else: “those turned away from milk; hope upon tribulation they received.” Not he, having ceased from milk just now and having been torn from the breasts of the mother, is able to receive hope upon tribulation.

Often the infant is said to be in relation to the perfect man, with the intermediate ages being passed over in silence: “When I was an infant, when I have become a man” (Ps 22:10, 71:17). And he has become a man not by a first and single change, but by many changes. Therefore, bearing the state of an infant and having a weaker disposition, he is given milk. But when he is able to become someone great, then he is torn from the milk and then he is prepared for athletic power, to pursue and achieve “tribulation upon tribulation and hope upon hope.” “For indeed, owing to be teachers because of the time, again you have need of the...

The Unity of Essence and Distinction of Persons§20

20To be taught, and you have become in need of milk, not of solid food. You see, that the middle parts were passed over, and the extremes were taken. Often indeed such things are said when the middle parts are passed over.

11 From the womb of my mother, my God, you are (Psalm 22:10). As from the womb of a mother, according to the former explanation from the womb of a mother, Job guides orphans; that is to say, from the womb of a mother, that is to say, from when I began to have knowledge, I served no other god, not my own womb, nor mammon. Or if it is the other, that in this way they descended having God, possessing God. But we do not say this about everyone, but about those who are proclaimed in the Scripture that they have never almost existed in sin, such as John and Jeremiah.

'For you are the one who burst me from the womb.' He said 'to burst' and according to the former probable thought that: since the place in Mary where she gave birth had no opening, she gave birth through the cooperation of God. 'My hope is from the breasts of my mother.' I did not begin to hope after completion, but from the breasts of my mother I had hope in you. If it is understood concerning the holy, we say: the upper Jerusalem is the mother of the saints. From the breasts of this one hope is taken by those who hope, from those who have been discipled by them; for often the breast does not signify the member, but the milk itself.

'Upon you I was cast from the womb, from the womb of my mother, my God, you are' (Psalm 22:9). Upon you I was cast; not toward another was I cast, and then after that toward you. This is given, that from when I began to know piety, I perceived you, I served you. And according to the deeper meaning, that in this way I came to have God with me, just as John. The 'yet shall be filled'; for 'yet' is not said concerning that which has not existed at all.

12 Do not depart from me, for tribulation is near (Psalm 22:11). He speaks concerning the passion. And I need your presence. But when these things are said from the person of the one who was anthropized, it is not said privately toward the Father nor toward the Son, but toward God—one divinity of Father and Son—we say. If, therefore, we say that: 'Christ is the head of every man, but the head of Christ'—he did not say 'the Father', but 'God'; for he receives Christ now as High Priest and as King. Therefore, the head is the divinity.

For if 'the Father' has spoken, he excludes the Son; if 'the Son' has spoken, he overlooks the Father; for he has spoken 'God', since there is one divinity of Father and Son, and one God: indeed, God is one, but Father and Son are not one. Abraham and Isaac are one man, but one is the father and the other the son. Therefore, they are not one according to relation, but one according to essence.

For there is no helper. No one else is able to help. It can also be understood thus: 'for there is not'—I did not cast my care upon another helper. And it can also be: 'for there is no helper to me,' since all are against me, there is no one now, as far as human reasoning goes, who helps. Therefore, do not turn away from me. And it is possible also to say: not even an angel is able to help the one so far off. He does not dare to help because you, being greater than all, that is, the divinity, are present with him, and no one else is of such a kind as to help in this matter.

Many bulls have surrounded me, fattened oxen have enclosed me. Consequently, he speaks of the various factions of the Jews: Pharisees, Sadducees, and the others called Jewish Scribes; for these, in thinking greatly of these animals, are compared to them, especially since these animals are also tillers of the earth. And it is possible to call them bulls, and the fattened oxen are those acting as such, for example: 'the peoples labored in vain' (Psalm 2:1)—these are the bulls. 'The kings of the earth stood up' (Ps 2:2). But we do not always perceive kings and rulers; for even a single king, being small and no longer having a kingdom, has been overtaken by the remaining Roman authority.

But Paul interpreted who the rulers are: those who became the cause of the Lord being crucified, of whom he says there are many wisdoms. And he says: 'If they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory' (1 Corinthians 2:8). If they had known that they were bringing about the destruction of their own order, they would not have dared to do this. As we previously said prophetically regarding 'he who touches you touches the apple of his eye' (Zech 2:8): they, having laid hold of the Savior, destroyed themselves; and they rushed to kill him, thinking they would end his rule. On the contrary, it turned out for them: they themselves were destroyed. Fattened oxen have enclosed me; they opened upon me...

The Scattering of the Disciples as Poured Water§21

21Their mouth is like a roaring lion snatching and roaring. They were prepared to be like oxen. But they changed into ferocity, as if to open their mouth against me, according to the roaring lion; for then especially it harms greatly, when it roars. Therefore, their wildness and their mocking attitude against the Savior signifies—for he says, 'as a roaring lion, they opened their mouth' (Psalm 22:13)—that they are no longer quiet, no longer intending to be quiet. These then, who seemed to be quiet by meditating on the law of God, were oxen, until they desired to open their mouth against me and to say: 'Crucify, crucify him; we have no king but Caesar' (Jn 19:15), according to the lion that was not satisfied, they have done this.

But was the passion not yet? All these things are said prophetically. Things that are possible before they exist, before they come into being by energy, in a state of possibility they both may come to be and may not. And no one has the power to guarantee whether it will happen or not; for toward both sides both possibilities are equally likely. But when someone having foreknowledge, or God himself, foreknows that of the possible things this shall be, as it happens to us, when it already exists; for upon the existing and the having happened already, we have the power to say which is true and which is false, whether it has happened or has not happened. But upon the future things, we do not have the power to say this, but only to say that the other will be, but not this. Since therefore even here a divine eye saw the future in advance, it is no longer to him as possible things. Because of this he says: 'They laid hands on my hands and my feet.' If another were speaking, he would not have said this, but 'they will lay hands' or 'they will not lay hands.'

Like water I was poured out, and all my bones were scattered (Ps 22:14). He speaks of the scattering of the body here, of them, of the disciples, when all were scandalized and it is filled: 'all you will be scandalized' (Matthew 26:31). And the hour will come when all you will flee, you will go to your own, and you will leave me alone (John 16:32). Just as the water that is being poured out.

It always runs and does not stand still; so also here, 'as water they were poured out' (Ps 22:14). He did not say 'they are being poured out,' for they do not remain in such a state always. What he says concerning himself, he says concerning himself regarding the body which is the sum of the faithful of the church. 'My bones'—the support of my body; for the apostles were more supportive than those who believe. And these were scattered. My heart became like wax melting in the midst of my belly (Psalm 22:14); were his bones scattered? This occurred when the disciples were stumbled. This poured-out water, unless it becomes an obstacle, is always carried along. And the disciples, therefore, were scattered, as if they were poured-out water. When they were around him, they were gathered like river water, being a spring. But when they went out from him, it happened at a certain time, like the water that is poured out. And the water will stand one day; for it is not always carried along. So also the disturbance and the stumbling of the disciples will immediately cease, which has already happened.

My heart became like wax melting in the midst of my belly (Psalm 22:14). The heart of this body, which is composed of the sum of those having believed, is the spiritual part. And these, therefore, became like melting wax, those who are the heart of him. However, even if the wax melted, it did not happen outside of his belly; for they are within his belly, so that they may be formed again. After the disturbance, indeed, those who had experienced it were shown again to be sons of the Savior. But what kind of disturbance? It was a passion extended for a little while, not so as to remain. And the melting of the wax does not happen always, but when it melts, it changes into some vessel or some other use, and again it is gathered, not far from the belly of the one producing this heart. But for what purpose the belly? It is the very power of the Savior, through which he forms and begets. If he again produces the procreators of the body, Paul, being of the body, was saying: 'through the gospel I have begotten you' (1 Corinthians 4:15). And: 'those whom...'

Honey, Wax, and the Shell§22

22I suffer pains until Christ is formed in you. They do not become outside of the belly; they are not orphaned. Moreover, 'has my heart become like melting wax?' (Psalm 22:14). I said that what is said about it according to the human might be said also about everything righteous. His heart, when it is not light, but has something material mixed in, melts. But toward the beautiful, the melting happens; for the melting wax does not become outside of the one having it. 'In the midst' therefore 'of my belly.'

Concerning the intelligible, different names signify the same thing. I call the sheep an intelligible thing which is under the true Shepherd. This sheep is also called light in another way. Indeed, having once been asked by a philosopher whether I have something to say from the Scripture that the soul is incorporeal, I said these things: every name of a body signifies only that alone by which it is called. For example, the sensible vine is nothing other than a vine, and the stone which is so named bodily is nothing other than a stone. But when many dissimilar things are spoken of concerning the same essence, it is clear that this essence is an intelligible one. So also we speak concerning God that He is incorporeal, since He is also named light and fire and spirit and spring. These things cannot be anything bodily, but according to an intention. And such intentions concern the intelligible.

If, therefore, the man or the soul is called light, and is also called a sheep and a plant—for it is indeed called both a plant and a sheep—it cannot bodily be all these things, so that it is an intelligible essence. If, therefore, you hear it spoken concerning the soul, you hear it spoken concerning a heart, an intellect, a belly, a spring; and for it is indeed called both a plant and a sheep, do not take it according to sensation. The vessel, therefore, of the soul, in which it receives spiritual nourishments, is called a belly. Furthermore, since it is also generative, one possesses this belly both as receiving nourishments and as giving birth. You know that the wax is a follower of the honey. The composition of the honey existed previously, and because of the honey there is the wax, not because of the wax there is the honey. And just as regarding a plant, the fruit is not because of the leaf, but the leaf is because of the fruit—for it is a protector of the fruit—so the wax is not something preceding, but a follower. If, therefore, the soul...

If it possesses the preceding virtues, it is honey. But if, along with those, it has something of matter mixed in, it is wax. For this reason, he says that the sinners melt like wax 'from the presence of fire'. Honey, however, is praiseworthy; it is a preceding substance, and it signifies sweetness. Just as to sweeten is to have a healing quality. Therefore, the 35 preceding things of the soul—which are good both in movements and in activities—resemble honey; but the second things, having something of the sensible and material mixed in, are wax.

Thus a man sometimes melts; the material sometimes falls away from the intellect and the heart, so that the mind no longer has anything entangled with it, but is entirely incorporeal, just as it surpassed the beginning. 'My strength has dried up like a shell' (Psalm 22:15). My strength has cast off all moisture and all liquidity, as if it had been thrown aside like a shell. And it can be said otherwise: that which is muddy in us—and you know what that is—if it remains mud, it is dissolved by the passing of moisture. But when it takes on dryness and casts off all the moisture from without from the matter, it dries up according to the shell.

Each of the examples taken is taken according to something. This is often said; for if it were taken from everything, it would not be an example, but that very thing which we wish to show. Therefore, the shell is often mocked in this way: a vessel made of shell, if broken, they say, does not receive liquid, nor can it be glued. I say in another way: that which is made from clay, when it is hardened by fire and a kiln, casts off the soft and the easily broken. Thus 'my strength' 'has dried up like a shell'. We take it in both ways: it no longer has any moisture, nor a muddy state. It can also be taken otherwise: it has cast off all bitterness from the much approaching affliction.

'And my tongue is stuck to my jaws' (Psalm 22:15). It is the custom of Scripture to speak of the sticking of the tongue to the throat to mean silence. Since my sweet things are no longer present, and since those concerning me and my listeners are no longer present, lest I seem to carry the word in vain, I have been silent: 'my tongue is stuck to my throat'. But it is not stuck when we are conversing. Through the movement of the tongue, the word is carried forth. But when it is stuck to the throat, it is silence.

The Body of Death and the Nature of Christ§23

23But this silence does not come from the one being silent, but from those who are not succeeding as listeners. For he says in one of the prophets in Amos: 'Many are the fallen in every place, I will cast down silence' (Amos 8:3). If they flee, I cast down silence, so that I may not be honored to bring forth the teaching. And this indeed is one of the aids.

For instance, in Isaiah, he commands the clouds not to pour rain when the vine bears thorns instead of grapes, when, having remained unfruitful of the one watering in order to make righteousness, he makes iniquity. The grape is righteousness, and iniquity is the thorn. And since, being watered, he has not produced suitable fruits, but anxieties and worldly pleasures, he no longer speaks; for most often the wicked rub themselves against the words concerning virtue, learning to despise them. Sometimes, indeed, he endures the rain. And the rain and the voice mean the same thing here; for it reveals the divine teaching. Just as it no longer rains when good fruits are not being borne, so he no longer speaks nor converses when those listening have thoughts concerning other things. And this he speaks to men.

According to the intention of the teacher, the listeners are called disciples, but when he is the shepherd, they are sheep. And since they are no longer sheep nor men, but have become scorpions according to that which was said: 'Son of man, in the midst of scorpions you dwell' (Ezekiel 2:6). 'Many' therefore is 'the fallen in every place, I will cast down silence.' But it is read differently; for the wording is ambiguous. It is possible to take it thus: 'Many is the fallen in every place; I will cast down silence'; in every degree; for here the place signifies the degree, as also in others. Concerning Judas, indeed, it is said that he strayed from the place of the ministry which was entrusted to him. 'Many' therefore is 'the fallen in every place.' In every rank of those owing to be sober and vigilant and to speak of the things of virtue, 'the fallen is many,' except not all. 'I will cast down silence.' And it is possible also to divide the verse thus: 'Many is the fallen. In every place I will cast down silence.'

I do not only keep silent from the mystical things, but also from the ethical things; for in every place in which it was necessary to stand and be established and to be ready for a listening, a fall has occurred, and everywhere I cast down silence. Therefore, the sticking of the tongue to the palate signifies silence.

...the larynx. "If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my tongue cling to my larynx, if I do not remember you" (Psalm 137:6). If I do not remember you (Psalm 137:6), let me take silence. 16 And you have led me into the dust of death. Even if the voice were in the presence of Jesus, even if it were in the presence of the holy men who knew God, having become like the wicked in the place of affliction, having been humbled—"you humbled us in a place of affliction" (Psalm 44:19). For the ones saying this are holy, as the conjunction signifies of the psalm. "Body of death" (Psalm 22:15) is said of that which surrounds us, and it is also said "dust of death" (Psalm 22:15). It is not "dust of death" in essence, but because those being forced from the life outside the body come into this, the body is named death. "Into the dust" therefore "of death you have led me" (Psalm 22:15). If it were life, it would have been led upward; for to be led up is to be brought into life and blessedness and an immortal state. Even if the Savior therefore says this, this: the light "into the dust of death you have led me" (Psalm 22:15). They descended into a body so that I might die on behalf of all, so that "by the grace of God above all" (Hebrews 2:9) I might taste "death."

Differently, therefore, from other men, it is said "dust of death" and "body of death" for the Savior; for if the body becomes death when the one using it sins, and Jesus did not sin, he came into the dust of death being able to undergo death. Therefore, those who stumble, saying that he is either merely a man or a heavenly body having endured nothing, and attributing death to him, are mistaken. It is not so. Divinity, without such a thing, does not undergo death; for it is immortality. And just as for God, being light according to truth and essence, this is not darkness to him, so also in life there is no death. It is impossible for life to receive death. But he took upon himself something capable of undergoing death and division, and this is called death essential to it; for many other things are said of some things as not being essential to them, such as "garment, my footwear." In this way, the body is not essential. If, therefore, he says life receives death, he says receiving according to the outside. And I will say something paradoxical: just as the body receives death, so life vivifies the body. And this common life, the entanglement of the soul with the body, provides the vital movements to the body. How much more then, life itself or the...

The Dogs and the Assembly of Fornicators§24

24A soul having been made alive by the preceding and blessed life; and it is good also to say: 'You have led me into the dust of death' (Psalm 22:15). It was not He who descended into the dust of death, nor did the soul descend into the dust of death. But this happens to those being incarnated through wickedness.

Since He himself, for the sake of the economy and the salvation of all, received a body and God prepared a body for Him, He says: 'to be led by God into the dust of death.' But when men were, who confessing say: 'our belly has been joined to the earth' (Psalm 44:25). When anyone does not nourish himself with the heavenly breads, the heavenly food, but the earthly—not the earthly sensible, but the opposite of the true bread—this food binds the soul being nourished to the matter, and it becomes a humiliation into the dust of the soul.

Here, however, the soul was not humiliated by Jesus into the dust, but was led by God. He came to this in an economical manner; for He had by no means committed sin, even though He was receptive; for if he were not receptive, he would not be praised at all. The abstaining therefore from sins brings praise to the one who has refrained when he was by nature prone to act.

Now, is dust and death the same thing? No; for He did not say: 'and into the dust of death You have led me.' If dust and death were the same, He would have said: 'into the dust of death You have led me'; but: 'into the dust of death.' The mortal body, which is able to be dissolved from the essence carrying it, is 'the dust of death.' And perhaps also by a second sense it is the dust of death, because it brings death to the flesh-loving soul.

'Many dogs have surrounded me; the body of the saints is dead'—for 'always they carry the death of Jesus in the body' (2 Cor 4:10). But the dead body does not have desires; for how is it possible? Is the mortal living? And it lives then when it is entwined with the soul. Then it has desires. Having died, it does not have desires. Having killed the members which are on the earth, it does not have desire.

Now, is the soul found to be the cause of sin? The soul of the one sinning is the cause of the sin; for nothing else is sin except the disobedience of a commandment, the transgression of a law. The body is not under a commandment in order that it might also transgress. The soul, transgressing, leads the body into...

To serve the sinful eyes; it is like an instrument. We do not say that the sword that sheds blood is a killer, but rather the one using it? For how is it possible? If we do not attribute sin or righteousness to a rational animal having a soul, do we attribute these things to the soulless body? By its own logic, the body is soulless.

'For many dogs have surrounded me, a company of fornicators has enclosed me, they have gripped my hands and my feet' (Psalm 22:16). Thus write: 'For many dogs have surrounded me, a company of fornicators has enclosed me,' because of this 'they have gripped my hands and my feet.' The 'for' is a causal conjunction. It is not attached to those following: 'You have led me into the pit of death,' 'for many dogs have surrounded me.' No, but: since 'many dogs have surrounded me and a company of fornicators has enclosed me,' because of this 'they have gripped my hands and my feet.' Humans remaining would not have done this.

But he says 'dogs' here to mean men having a dog-like manner. And he slanders the movements of the dog in many ways. They are entirely base toward filth. Thus, it has become customary to call the lawless and the women 'dogs' in this sense. Indeed, even the law also, suggesting this meaning, counted the dog along with the prostitute: 'You shall not substitute a dog for a change, nor a prostitute's hire' (Deuteronomy 23:18). He did not say a change of a donkey or a horse; for these changes were being brought into the house of the Lord.

And it is both shameless—'and the dogs are shameless to the soul'—and flattering. Therefore, men who have such movements are called dogs in judgment. These, then, surrounded the Savior. When they were sheep of God, they were at least outside the dog-like state. But when the people had become lost sheep, the loss did not turn them into non-existence, but into a dog-like, deficient, and scorpion-like state. And all this was said regarding the Hebrews: 'And all dogs are inward, knowing how to bark' (Psalm 22:16).

When the Israelites thought against the Savior, then they became dogs. And the being a 'company of fornicators' followed their becoming dogs; for when they were sheep, they were a divine flock. So they became dogs around me and a company of fornicators. Because of this they cast me to the cross; for the...

The Garments of the Word§25

25The striking of the hands and feet of the Savior signifies nothing other than the cross. Therefore, consider the things just mentioned: is this assembly, which is not shameless for souls that are unbridled and lustful—those who lust through insults, who hate the one who made the resurrection of the dead and the sight of the blind and the healing of lepers, and who wish to subject them to death—is this not an assembly of fornicators? But there is a praiseworthy assembly.

They struck my hands and my feet (Psalm 22:16), and regarding this history, some have said this: many shepherds became like irrational animals, and it was never recorded that a fold was placed upon a fold, nor a dappled mare upon a dappled mare, nor a flock upon a shepherd, nor horses upon a horse-breeder. Only men placed rulers, and history brings many rulers, and those of good character and earnest mind, to be removed by those ruling. If they remained sheep, they would not have been led away. So when dogs became prevalent, and even humans became dog-like in manner, life, and disposition, they were called an 'assembly of fornicators.' To be 'fornicators' means to rise up against the benefactor, to stand up against the shepherd.

All my bones were numbered (Psalm 22:17). Whatever was in them, they subjected my bones to numbering, even though they were not countable. Therefore, it weaves together the mind. It also rises up according to history, the dividing of his garments and the casting of lots around the weaver's whole cloak (John 19:23-24). In a certain way, the word in the present Gospel text struggles; for the soldiers did this. But the soldiers were not Hebrews; for altogether a Jew was not permitted to serve in the military; but since they in a certain way became the cause of him being handed over to the soldiers as well, they apply the utterance to themselves.

But they understood me and had mercy on me (Psalm 35:11). How? Having understood, they had mercy on me? — Having perceived, they saw the scattering of my bones. And 'to show/pity' is often said regarding the fault-finders.

And the powers of his teaching can perhaps be called bones. 'They divided my garments among themselves' (Psalm 22:18). For this reason, we no longer wish to remain here regarding the historical sense; for it has already been said that even the soldiers divided them into four parts, having made them, and cast lots upon the tunic woven from top to bottom of all.

I say: just as the sum of the believers was called the body of Christ according to a certain figure, as the apostolic testimonies signified, and we used to say that the joints of this body are the useful parts, so again we say that this very God-breathed Scripture is the body of the Savior, but the useful meanings of this body are the contemplations concerning the other superior meanings. And the words are garments; for the Word according to the understanding is clothed by the words.

Even if, therefore, I have enumerated its bones, they were not divided; they only saw them as if they were not; for if they had seen them as they are, they would have been empowered in them and would have made them their own, as it is said: 'All my bones shall say: Lord, who is like you?' (Psalm 35:10). For these are not sensible bones that say this.

Therefore, the garments of the Word are divided by all those who hold different opinions, those who hold false doctrines. They drag the words toward what they want and make them their own, such as: 'The Lord created me at the beginning of his ways' (Proverbs 8:22). The word is a garment of the 40th contemplation. The Arians drag it as they wish and consider it their own. The ecclesiastics, again, receive it as being worn by Wisdom who says this, and others receive others. And it is possible to find the same words almost by all the heterodox being handled differently and differently. So they divided them, they stripped the words of the Word and dragged them naked of the Word toward their own will. 'And upon my clothing they cast lots' (Psalm 22:18). No one, having possessed any lot, casts it upon it, but when he is able, he casts something into many...

The Single Divine Operation and Christ's Victory over Death§26

26They come as partners, and concerning them a lot is cast. If someone leaves an only-begotten son and appoints him as successor, all the things belonging to the deceased are his, and no lot is cast. But when many come upon the true heir saying, 'We too are children of him,' a division of his garments occurs. But they are not divided, only the words; for the same word is not held in different minds by heretics. Each one drags the word toward his own mindset and will. Therefore, the diligent and truly faithful one possesses the whole robe of Jesus, not having it torn; so he does not cast a lot; the whole is his. For even if they cast a lot and use the words, they do not become his, they do not become masters of them; for a wise man according to Christ comes into the midst and shows that what he thinks is his is not his.

And what about garments and clothing? The garments together are called clothing, but each one by itself is not called clothing. And just as many sheep gathered together at once are called a flock, but each one is not called a flock, and people who have come together into one are called a people, but each one is not called a people. 20 'But You, Lord, do not delay Your help' (Psalm 70:5). If they exerted themselves in these things, even if they bring tribulation upon me, I have entreated You not to turn away, 'for tribulation is near' (Psalm 22:11). And the tribulation, if it has become near from those surrounding me like calves and bulls, from those scattering my bones, from those becoming causes to me such that my tongue is stuck to my throat, but You, do not delay Your help. Immediately then the resurrection of the Savior occurred, and immediately those who were scandalized turned back to Him. So the help has not been far.

And these things, according to the intention of man, Jesus says: 'Do not delay Your help.' The help which is required happens from no one else but from God. And I said that, when 'God' is said, it does not always signify the Father, separating the Son, nor the Son dividing from the Father; for the divinity is one. And because it is thus, we call the help the resurrection from the dead. Where it is said that He has delivered Himself and has been raised, and where the Father is said to be...

He has given life and has raised him, from which it is shown that the one resurrection and the one work being done by Father and Son happens through only one divine energy. Even if the Father does it, as God working this, he works it; even if the Son, he does this as God.

20 Pay attention to my understanding. For if you pay attention to my understanding, the help is not far from me, but being near, it worked; for he says previously these things concerning the men: for he did not come so that previously he himself might die and rise, but through others. 'By the grace of God he was raised above all death' (Hebrews 2:9). All died on behalf of them. This one by the grace of God was raised above all. 'The love of God holds us together, judging this thing to be that if one died on behalf of all, then all died' (Rom 6:10), so that those having died might no longer be dead, 'but live by that one who died on behalf of them and rose' (Rom 6:10). Some human power is able to give life on behalf of another, and some reproach is able to be received on behalf of another, and a rebuke. But death, no one is able to receive on behalf of another. And behold: he was raised alone, he was not swallowed by it, nor did it consume him. But he who is being swallowed by death swallows it himself. 'Death, having prevailed, swallowed up' (1 Cor 15:55). This one swallowed death, the one having been laid under it. And since Jesus 'did not commit sin,' and through the seizing of sin death is swallowed and swallows the one sinning—therefore he was raised above all; indeed, he was raised. And he has given the reason: 'so that through death he might render powerless the one having the power of death' (Heb 2:14). In death he destroyed death.

28 Save my soul from the sword (Psalm 22:20). Jesus is also the one saying this verse, and he is able to say this also concerning his own soul, which he had the power to cast out and take back, and concerning every soul made his own. Just as it is said each of the saints is not merely a man anymore, but a man of God, so a soul desiring to please God is not merely a soul anymore, but a soul of God. Thus, in either way, he says these things concerning his own soul and that which he received, and concerning every soul made his own. And the sword sometimes signifies punishment; as if it is said: 'in the sword all sinful people of the people shall perish'; for it has never happened in history.

The Sword and the Unity of the Person§27

27So that the whole people might be cut down by the sword.

Some of them died, but not all.

He says this: all sinners will be tested by execution.

He sometimes reveals both an evil power and the devil himself; for when it is said regarding Mary, 'and a sword will pierce your own soul' (Luke 2:35), he speaks of the adversary.

When he casts thoughts upon someone or wishes to cast them, if that soul does not receive them, they pass through it, like the fifth arrow of the Psalm (Psalm 91:5) when it is sent not at the mark, passing through the archer.

He cast it into Judas; he acted against Judas.

He did not secure himself, he did not guard against it: 'do not give place to the devil' (Ephesians 4:27), and he did not pass it by; for it entered into him.

And he who says, 'I did not know the evil one passing away from me,' had the sword passing through.

To not know here does not mean ignorance, but not having been tested.

Thus, even those who despise to say something, even if it is present, even if it is, say: 'I do not know.'

Regarding 'save': the 'save' certainly means all this: 'save me, having seized me and being under it.'

Save me so that I may not suffer anything from it.

Regarding: who is speaking?

They wish to say this: 'if he speaks about the soul himself, who is the one speaking?

It is a body that is speaking.'

But those saying such things stumble.

In composite things, each of those in the composition is said of the whole composition. 'Your whole spirit and soul and body.'

Is the spirit something else from the men, and the soul something else, and the body?

Therefore they posit them as separate.

We often speak about a city, saying it has a bad city, a bad ruler, a bad people, bad laws, not right ones.

What is the city apart from the bad rulers, the counselors, and the people?

And just as we speak about the human body, saying a head of the body, a face of the body, a hand of the body, feet—is the body something other than these, while each is something else beside itself?

Those who have done the logical things well understand these things easily.

See: everything having sensation and soul is an animal, and I say that the animal is not a man, nor a horse, nor an ox.

But I say this: that man is not the whole genus, nor is he the whole animal.

And I say that the particular species are other than the animal.

but all together I do not say are other than it; I say they are it.

So also in the case of the body I say the hand is other than the man's body, and the foot, the head.

but all are not other than the body; rather, each is other than the whole body.

So it is also in the case of man.

If he says:

'my soul and my body and my spirit,' each is other than the composite man.

But all together are not other than him.

If then he says 'my soul'—for this is not written concerning Jesus alone.

And each of men says this:

'Why are you sorrowful, my soul?' (Psalm 42:5); 'my flesh has been changed because of oil'.

and 'my spirit':

'and my spirit was troubled'.

Each, then, is other than the composite.

But all taken together I do not say are other than the composite; rather, each—if then he says 'my soul,' the composite man is the one saying these things.

Behold, indeed, he said:

'and my bones and my soul,' behold, 'and my spirit'.

'and from the hand of the dog my only-begotten' (Psalm 22:20).

He said:

'for many dogs surrounded me' (Psalm 22:16).

These many dogs he calls, specifically, one dog.

The one rescued from the individual men wishing to plot was rescued from man.

And by 'hand of the dog' he means his action.

'And the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai' (Hag 1:1).

But concerning the worthless it has been said:

'thorns grow in the hand of the drunkard' (Prov 26:9).

From the hand, then, from the action of the dogs who surrounded me, being according to the form of one dog, rescue my soul.

Some are said to be solitary:

'God settles the solitary in a house' (Psalm 68:6).

And it is possible to say that all these who are settled have one manner, and in this respect are called solitary, as in:

'be perfected in the same mind and the same judgment' (1 Cor 1:10).

But it is also possible thus:

the one having a judgment not changing, a manner not becoming different from different, is solitary;

for the wise man is not changed like the fool, but shines like the sun.

And the sun has no changes of illuminations.

Only-begotten, then, to him is this soul.

I said that other souls also, made his own through virtue, come to be.

But they do not have the steadfast, the firm.

This one alone, having neither done nor known sin, is only-begotten.

many [...].

The Humiliation and Exaltation of the People and the Son§28

28He has souls; but this one he has as unique, for it is unshakeable. And I say unshakeable in this way: not being turned; for that which is called unshakeable in a completed sense signifies the unchangeable. When I say that the righteous man is not turned toward injustice, I say the righteous is unshakeable in the measure that he possesses righteousness; for the unshakeable does not turn. But not everything that does not turn is unshakeable.

Therefore, this soul is unique to him among the others, because it alone possesses the capacity to be always with him. No reasoning, no impulse, no disturbance can separate it; for even if it is disturbed, the disturbance stands only as a pre-passion. For this was shown through the 'now', seeing that the 'now' does not signify continuous time, but the significant moment, the non-existent time. All time has three divisions, but this 'now' has none, for it is the edge of time.

"He began to be terrified and to be in anguish" (Mark 14:33). Until the beginning, one cannot receive a pre-passion instead of cowardice; for pre-passion is a testing of nature, not making a quality bad or serious, unless it takes on the following things so that it is no longer a pre-passion. Often these things have been distinguished for us as being four: pre-passion alone releases an inclination, it does not subject one to an inclination; but passion is with a moderate inclination; and the disposition is then malice; and much more is the action once taken up.

"Save me from the mouth of the lion" (Ps 22:20). Here he can also call the devil a "lion", for he attacked in the time of the passion. Indeed, when it was said in the forty-day temptation that "the devil departed from him", it is adjacent in the Gospel to "until a time" (Luke 4:13). Then again, it came when the passion was. And since I was saying that the attacks are brought to the man of the Savior himself and to his own, when Peter says or the Savior says to Peter, "Behold, Satan has demanded you" (Lk 22:31), in a way he wanted to devour the members of the Savior by attacking against the Savior. He says, therefore, "Save me from the mouth of the lion". He can also call that people a "lion", for "it became said my heritage is to me like a lion in the thicket" (Jeremiah 12:8). May I not suffer these things which they want to dispose me toward. He says these things because every rational essence, even if it is perfect, needs the alliance from God. "Save me from the mouth of the lion."

And 'from the horns of the unicorns my humiliation' he can say here, referring to the multitude of the Jews, the people of Israel; for he said in Jeremiah: 'I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance. My inheritance became to me like a lion in a forest' (Jeremiah 12:7). Having been a people whom I placed in Paradise, where there was much fruit, when they had turned into wildness, then consequently they nest in fruitless trees—for the forest is nothing other than a place of fruitless trees. Therefore, they encamp there. And my inheritance, which I had so that it might be a people and a portion of the Lord, was so provoked against me as to be thrown upon a lion, not a lion being tamed—for often lions come into human places being tamed—but as in a forest, as a wild beast.

And it can also be said concerning the devil; for we say this also, that after the temptation in the wilderness it is said: 'He has departed for a time.' 'And from the horns of the unicorns my humiliation' (Psalm 22:21). The unicorn is a strong animal. It is not subject to man, it is not tamed by man. 'From the horns' therefore, 'the humiliation of the unicorns,' the cross and death saying his own humiliation. 'He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross' (Philippians 2:8). My humiliation, therefore, then, flows from these unicorns—and these are also some evil enemies—then, when I rise from the dead; for 'the kings of the earth and the rulers were gathered together' to surround him with death. Then God delivers him from his humiliation; he rises from the dead. And all these things are spoken concerning the man.

Therefore, without delay he immediately brought forward: 'I will declare your name to my brothers' (Hebrews 2:12). 'I will proclaim your name to my brothers; and again: behold, I will be trusting in him, behold, I and the children whom God has given to me.' And again: 'Wherefore he ought to have been made like his brothers in all things' (Hebrews 2:17). Not only according to the body, but according to all things. According to his divinity, the only-begotten Son of God does not have a brother; for if he had a brother, he would not be only-begotten. But to have brothers is opposed to being an only-begotten one. The only-begotten has no brothers. The one having brothers is not only-begotten.

The Firstborn and the Unicorn§29

29Only-begotten. He says 'brothers' referring to the apostles and all those from the circumcision who believed in him; for many believed from among the Jews. And the twelve and the seventy were among them. According to the flesh, therefore, those were his brothers.

But they become his brothers again according to the Spirit, those partaking of the 'spirit of adoption' (Rom 8:15); for if 'he who does righteousness is born of God' (1 John 5:1) and 'he who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God' (1 John 5:1), some are sons of God. These, however, are brothers again, not only-begotten, not according to the divinity, but according to the one who became man. The apostle, therefore, using the word in this way, applied it to the man: 'for which reason he is not ashamed to call them his brothers'; for he left nothing of what is required for a man to be a man. Since if he does not have all things, he is not a man.

I have said many times that there are certain mixtures, like hydromel. If water is removed, it is only honey; or even if it is mixed with something else, it is not hydromel. If, therefore, he had body only, he would not have been made like the brothers in all things; for the appetitive soul is irrational. A soul without intellect is irrational, not even subsisting as a principle, unless it be in the composition; for the appetitive souls are joined to the bodies of which they are souls. Therefore, 'in all things he was made like the brothers', not in some things, and not in others.

The apostle says again: 'so as to be the firstborn among many brothers, whom he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to them' (Rom 8:29). You see that being the firstborn among many brothers was a matter of acquisition, when he became man, when he took upon himself to be a man from among brothers. But if he says 'firstborn' here, say 'more honorable'. And so also the 'church of the firstborn' (Heb 12:23) is so named. It is not possible for all to be firstborn, yet it is possible for all to be honorable. For this reason also Jacob demanded the birthright (Gen 25:31) from Esau, the honor of the firstborn. Therefore, firstborn is in...

He is like many brothers, as the 'firstborn from the dead' (Colossians 1:18). He is the first of every dead person; for when he rises, someone else is able to rise. Therefore he says to proclaim the name of the Father, that is, to make it manifest. And when they know the Father and know the name of the Father, then they have the knowledge of the Son being brought in together with it; for these things bring in one another successively. And I speak according to being and according to knowledge. It is impossible for one knowing one thing to not know the rest regarding that thing.

'And from the horns of the unicorns.' It is also called a rhinoceros. And in the eighteenth Psalm this is so: 'And the beloved as a son of unicorns' (Psalm 29:6). This animal is said to have a size not less than a large calf. But it is very coiled, it is thick, and it has a horn above the nose, and the animal is very strong, and when it is angry, its horn becomes so much the strongest as to be harder than an elephant's. But when it is not angry, it is soft as flesh. And sometimes, when there is heat, it throws large stones so that it may place itself in that place, being cool. This animal, then, as I have said, when having become angry, has the horn very hard. But when being calm, it does not have it.

Therefore they are tested to take its horn; for it is precious. Since, then, they want such a thing, they do not shoot at it without foresight; it does not fall to a beast, nor is it wounded by a polecat or any other. But they throw at it with a bow. So when it is angry, then they shoot at it with the dart. But: toward what kind of person do we take it? Toward Christ? —if it be taken praiseworthily. And it is taken praiseworthily in the eighteenth Psalm: 'And the beloved as a son of unicorns' (Psalm 29:6). It signifies having an only-begotten kingdom. The kingdom of the Savior, therefore, does not have duality, but is simple, like the presence of God. And because of this, it is called one-horned. But when it is taken mockingly, it is taken because of the wildness, not because of the horn. Some say as in...

The Supremacy of the Fear of the Lord§30

30The phrase 'from the horns of the single-horned ones' is a mystery, for the upper ends of the cross had the shape of horns. 'I will declare your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will sing your praise' (Ps 22:22). He who sings to God in the midst of the assembly is one who offers hymns with boldness and decorum. It is necessary for the one singing to God to be righteous; for 'praise is fitting for the upright' (Ps 33:1), and 'there is no beautiful praise in the mouth of a sinner' (Sirach 15:9).

Just as we say that the divine Word is spoken 'in authority'—when someone teaches about temperance while being temperate, he has the Word in authority; but if he is uncontrolled and filthy, he does not bring it forth fully. His conscience trips him up. Just as the one who carries out appropriate works and has the practical life conforming to the contemplative life has the Word in authority, so the one who sings to God in the midst of the assembly is one who lacks no hesitation. For example, if one teaches about temperance so that he may be temperate, then he sings to God in the midst of the assembly; likewise, one teaching about almsgiving should be such, and one speaking about courage should be such. Therefore, when you see someone speaking about courage while being a coward, he is not doing this in the midst of the assembly. For the 'midst' signifies boldness, and this is to be learned from another psalm: 'He did not dwell in the midst of my house, practicing arrogance' (Psalm 101:7). No one wished to appear arrogant to me. He did this in a corner, withdrawing, of the red ones. Thus, the Savior sings to the Father in the midst of the assembly. And when I say the Father, listen to the Son as well. He sings to God, and the divinity is one of Father and Son.

'You who fear the Lord, praise Him' (Psalm 22:23). It is not the one who happens to praise God, but the one having fear toward Him. But not every fear is of God; for there is a fear of punishment. This is not of God. Furthermore, regarding 'perfection' toward God, 'love casts out fear' (1 John 4:18). The one having love toward God from all heart and all mind does not have a passive fear. In this way, the disciples of Jesus were called by the Savior to be outside of passive fear, saying, 'Do not fear those who kill the body' (Matt 10:28). And those saying, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not fear; what can man do to me?' (Ps 118:6). They cast out the passive fear; for the fear of God is not passive, it is not of punishment, but...

Regarding reverence. 'The fear of the Lord surpassed all things' (Sirach 25:11); nothing is second to it, not even love itself. And: 'There is no deficiency to those fearing him' (Ps 34:9). 'All the seed of Jacob, glorify him' (Psalm 22:23). It can also be said explicitly that: since that people from the patriarchs was called to hymn and to serve God, it appropriately stands over all to do this.

For since many have become sinners from them, we take 'all the seed of Jacob' not to mean the evil one—for it was said concerning him: 'evil seed'—but when it is outside of all wickedness, as he himself is whose seed it is. And we take here Jacob the patriarch and say that: since this one has become a wrestler and from this deed he received the appellation, all those wrestling, being surrounded by evil, of the opposing powers, of the evil adversaries, these are Jacob; for in his exploits Hosea arranged this, saying: 'In the womb he wrestled with his brother and prevailed with God and was able' (Hos 12:4). To prevail with God and to be able is a great exploit. Thus indeed he counted the one who wrestled with his brother in the womb.

And the Savior was also said in Isaiah: 'Jacob my servant, I will take hold of him' (Isaiah 42:1). And Matthew said that this word is fulfilled by Christ. 'Let all the seed of Israel fear him' (Psalm 22:23). Not passive fear is glory, but the fear of God, which after much effort comes to those who have strived to have it. 'Son, if receiving the word of my commandment you hide it with yourself, your ear will obey wisdom, but if you direct your heart toward understanding' (Prov 2:1). And shortly after: 'And if you seek it as silver and as treasures you search for it, then you will understand the fear of the Lord' (Prov 2:4-5). Behold, after many rectitudes and perfect virtues. But how we say simply: if you know the exploits and the excellences and the achievements of Elisha, you will see what kind of person the one fearing the Lord is, not a random one.

All the seed of Jacob, glorify him (Psalm 22:23), because he did not make nothing of nor disregarded the prayer of the poor. Here he calls the Savior who came among us 'poor' because he became poor for our sake. And just as it did not become a curse simply, but...

The Paraclete and the Prayer of the Poor§31

31“so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the nations”—and a blessing that is productive is not, in reality, a curse. The productive things of the good are good. The productive things of those pleasing to God are themselves pleasing to God. And the name of the curse signifies the cross, just as the apostle himself, having written this voice, demonstrated. He said: “For it is written: cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree” (Gal 3:13), and just as he became dead, in order to show and make the dead alive, and he became dead in death, in order to destroy death and to set free those held by it; so also he became poor, in order that through his poverty they might become rich for whom the poor became poor.

And behold the difference: “know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor for your sakes” (2 Cor 8:9). To become poor for us, is not to be rich for us; for it has not been said to become rich just as it has been said to become poor, but “being rich he became poor for your sakes.” And just as having the form of God and being in the form of God, having taken the form of a slave of God, he did not cast away the form of God, so he, becoming poor for the sake of others, did not cast away the wealth; for we do not say of his wealth as if it were the virtues of holy men; for he himself is the provider of the virtues, he is the one in whose participation the virtues exist. Thus, remaining rich, he became poor. But he became poor for the sake of others, so that they might become rich.

And when we remain in the prior poverty and do not hasten to take up that wealth which his poverty grants, that which is for us, he remains poor; for if for the sake of others, so that they might become rich, he became poor, when they become rich, he is no longer poor. He became poor by becoming flesh. When we behold “his glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), we have become rich from the poor, and he himself was shown to be rich from the poor, he did not become rich. For his glory has become manifest, that “as an only-begotten” he is “from the Father, full of grace and truth.” “He did not disregard nor make void the prayer of the poor”; for he was interceding for the salvation of all. “And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the...”

righteous, so that he might forgive us our sins. Truly, insofar as we are in sins, we have him as a Paraclete. But when we cease from having sins, he no longer pleads at all concerning this. Therefore also he is able to save to the full those who approach God through him, always living to intercede for them.

If he intercedes for them so that they may live, when they live, he no longer brings up this prayer concerning them, but rather pleads concerning its preservation, concerning its remaining. This, therefore, the prayer of the poor, he neither despised nor disregarded the one bringing it. 'Nor did he turn his face away.' A person turns his face away from one praying when God is not favorable, but also when he prevents the prayer from being sent up. He prevented Jeremiah at one time from praying for the people. Why? For ambassadors and Paracletes ought to bring an embassy for those having repented and no longer sinning.

For he says: 'Do you not see what they are doing? Their fathers' they searched through, being filled with idolatry, and they do not remain. So also the face of Samuel was turned away, when he heard: 'How long will you grieve over Saul, while I have rejected him?' (1 Samuel 16:1). But the face has boldness for those interceding, if those for whom they intercede run together with his will. For he neither despised nor disregarded the prayer of the poor, nor did he turn his face away from me.

The poor man himself says concerning himself. A change of face has occurred. The writing Spirit says: 'He neither despised nor disregarded the prayer of the poor.' Then that same poor man, whose prayer was not loathed, did not turn away, says: 'Nor did he turn his face away from me, and in my crying out to him, he heard me.' And in my crying out to him, he heard me. Great is it to say this. This is not said in mere words, but when it is shown that the thing for which he prayed exists.

And so this happened: 'My praise shall be in you in a great congregation' (Psalms 22:25). Behold, the work of the cry I have accomplished; I have established it as a congregation of peace for me, 'glorious, having neither blemish nor wrinkle or anything of this kind' (Eph 5:27). My praise, therefore, is this, that he accomplished this. Just as indeed not...

The Perpetual Seeking of Wisdom and God§32

32It is a great thing to praise the perfect one in whom wisdom is spoken, rather than to milk; thus it is not a great thing for one having an excessive life. He is not praised for such things, nor for other deeds, but for having made the whole church—and not just any, but a great one—stand upright. And this is possible: my standing upright is a great praise to the church.

"My praise is from you; in a great church I will confess to you; I will pay my vows in the presence of those who fear him" (Psalm 22:25). Vows are paid regarding those who are thankful and who have already acted. A prayer sent up to God is called a petition. But when it is sent up with a confession, saying, "if these things shall be to me, I will pay these," this prayer is a supplication and a vow. Even Jacob said: "If God will give me bread to eat, of all that he gives me, I will give a tenth." This is a vow. No one, having prayed for something and not having received it in due time, will say, "I will pay my vows," or "in the presence of those who fear him"; rather, he says it so that they may be benefited, for they themselves will also learn the vows which they pray to pay. And it is possible to do it "in the presence of those who fear," not in addition to those sacrificing—for those sacrificing cannot know which thanksgiving has been fulfilled or which vow has been paid—but in addition to those who fear.

"The poor shall eat and be satisfied" (Psalm 22:26). "Being rich," he has become poor because of our poverty. Therefore, he not only freed these poor people for whose sake he suffered what he has said, but he also showed them being satisfied from those who were starving; for he is indeed the "bread of life," and his flesh is incorruptible food and his blood is a divine drink. When therefore the rich, having become from the poor through his poverty, partake of these, they eat and are satisfied. Similar to this is: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt 5:6); not ceasing to eat the bread of life, but in chewing and having it sensuously. To him who is to be formed, that which is said in the Wisdom of Sirach seems to oppose; for Wisdom says there: "he who eats shall hunger again, and he who drinks with me shall thirst again." It does not mean the unfulfilling here, but the craving of the drink and the...

The one eating wisdom is never satisfied, but is always in a state of hunger. And the one drinking it as a divine water or wine harvested from the true vine thirsts again; that is, he always desires. Therefore, the desire to place it again and to crave it is to be filled.

The difference between a pauper and a needy person has been said many times: he who has come from wealth into poverty, that one is called a pauper. And you have this from the Scripture: 'the rich have become poor and have gone hungry' (Ps 34:10). But a needy person is one among the needy, who always provides the necessities while toiling. Thus they differ by another and another thought, since they are alike insofar as they are left behind from the abundance of those who crave.

And those who seek Him will praise the Lord, as it was said concerning wisdom, because being drunk, it prepares those who have drunk to thirst again; and divine food—for food is also the breathing of air. When we live, we breathe; we do not live by having been breathed into. Thus it is with the divine food and the holy drink: in being approached and being supplied, it prepares the benefit. And those who seek Him will praise the Lord.

I say: God is always in the state of being sought; for even if someone finds Him, it has been said: 'He is found by those seeking Him' (Ps 105:4). There is, therefore, a certain way of being always in the state of seeking. Even if Eunomius rages, it is possible to find Him according to partial knowledge and according to partial prophecy, and again, He is in the state of being sought. And the seeking of God itself is beneficial. To be entirely in the state of seeking God is perfection.

Even if Eunomius rages, saying that we know God as He knows Himself. He who knows God as He knows Himself, God knows, not by parts; and those who have said, 'we know by parts,' are lying. He who knows God as He knows Himself is not in the state of seeking Him, for he had him and has him. Therefore, those thinking thus speak lies. When, therefore, we know Him in the age to come, or after all the ages in the desired end, we know Him as it is possible.

'Beloved, we are now children of God, and it has not yet been made manifest what we shall be. We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is' (1 John 3:2). Not as He is, but as it is to know in perfection. However, even if...

The Nature of Knowledge of God§33

The distinction between essence and accident in knowledge and soul§34

34It accepts more and less. Therefore, it can sometimes be cast away and sometimes taken up. But that which is hot in fire does not accept more and less, for it is not essential. The knowledge of God is essential, so it is incommensurable with knowledge according to disposition. And the incommensurable things do not accept likeness.

These things are not said in vain; for since the argument establishes that the Son is consubstantial with the Father and establishes the same divinity through the being known by the Father and knowing the Father, they wish to share his knowledge with ours, saying: 'Just as we know God, and he knows, that we know him perfectly, as he knows himself. And the Son likewise has the knowledge concerning him. Therefore he will not rule us.' Their hearts shall live unto ages of ages.

Often things that have happened are called homonymously by those to whom they have happened. We say that there is an essence of the soul; when God says, 'Do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul' (Matthew 10:28). Thus the name 'soul' denotes essence. And when he says, 'Spirits and souls of the righteous, bless the Lord' (Prayer of Azariah 1:64), it denotes essence. For the name of the soul often signifies something that has happened to the soul; for when it is said in Jesus Wisdom: 'An evil soul will destroy the one who has acquired it,' it names the disposition and the intellect 'soul'; for the one who has acquired it, the soul, is the man. And again: 'Having reached those near, in the obedience of the truth.' From this it is also nicknamed, 'You, man, are equal-souled to me,' the one having the same choice as me. And again, if it is said: 'And eat grapes as much as you will fill the soul,' it speaks of the appetitive power as 'soul' in this way.

Not all then the things said denote the underlying essences, but there is also when it signifies things that have happened to them. And it has happened to man to know God. Therefore, it is not said 'knowledge' of the man, but 'knowing.' Here the thing that happened is not homonymous with the underlying thing. But the Savior is called both wise and wisdom, and having knowledge and knowledge, and righteousness and righteous; and I do not say here 'happened' and 'underlying,' but through two parallel names, the same.

The Immortality of the Soul and Heart§35

35It is signified: for if I say that the Savior is righteousness, I do not say him as a person, nor as a disposition; and if I say him just—'but you have denied the just one' (Acts 3:14)—I do not say the one who performs it, but the righteousness. Thus also we say of God in general. I do not say that God is just in the sense of participating in righteousness, but in the sense of providing righteousness. And the soul according to essence does not receive the more or the less. But that soul, by which some are called beautiful-souled, does receive it. Therefore, the disposition is called 'soul' in the same way as the essence.

The heart and the mind mean the same thing; for when it is said: 'Where your treasure is, there also your heart will be' (Matt 6:21), there also is your mind. 'Blessed are the pure in heart' (Matt 5:8). Therefore, to say mind and heart is the same. Not concerning all things, however, but concerning men. See: the soul and the mind of man are immortal. If it is immortal, it is sought, or it is something else and another thing.

And the sinner, having an immortal soul, is never destroyed; for one should not pay attention to those saying that the souls of the wicked turn into non-existence, as the Stoics wish among the Greeks, and the Hieracites among the Christians. Therefore the soul is immortal and has a natural life according to which it is moved. And the sinner also has this life according to which he is immortal.

He does not speak now about this natural life saying: 'their hearts shall live' (Psalm 22:26)—but according to that life which the believer has and the one knowing God has. If the hearts live unto the age of ages according to the blessed life, it is evident that they also remain always according to the essential life, which is common to sinners and to the diligent. And just as I say that everyone has sight when animals have sight, I say that the one seeing well previously had sight; for he would not have seen well if he did not have the seeing, and again he would not have seen badly if he did not have the seeing. Therefore both the soul and the heart have life forever, whether it be wicked or diligent. And natural life anticipates; for he would not have been able to live according to God and to live according to faith, if he were not immortal, if he did not have essential life. Therefore the hearts of these, those having eaten and having been filled, those fearing God and...

Eternal Life and the Return of the Nations§36

36Those praising him shall live not for one age, but 'for the age of ages.' A multitude of ages is signified; for he did not say 'for one age,' but 'for the age of ages.' And just as 'Sabbaths of Sabbaths' is said and 'years of years' for those many years which are the days of a year, so he shall live 'for the age of ages.'

All the ends of the earth shall be remembered and shall turn back to the Lord. He prophesies concerning the salvation of all mankind; for it is necessary that that which is spoken of be brought to pass, about which this holy one says again in another psalm: 'all the nations, all whom you have made, shall come and worship before you' (Psalm 86:9). For God did not make the rational beings so that they might sin, by standing up against Him to worship these things, but so that they might honor God. And since this is the purpose of the Creator, but a purpose of those who have come to be has intervened, the purpose of God must prevail. Therefore, when He is remembered, we provide the cause for being remembered; for He remembers those who remember, as He knows those who are attentive. When we remember, then He remembers us and calls us into salvation. The 'they shall turn back' shows that no one is evil by essence, but by choice. If the evil was able to diminish the choice toward something else, the good will be able to call it back to its former state.

And all the patriarchies of the nations shall worship before Him. After the turning back, they worship. They do not worship first and then turn back; thus it signifies progress. And it is a great thing to worship before God. He who worships Him as is fitting worships before Him. Therefore, the reason: 'because' the kingdom is His. He says 'kingdom' here, not the beginning, but those who are being ruled, as it is said: 'in the gathering of peoples together and the kingdoms of serving the Lord.' If they were bad by construction, they would have been something else.

And He Himself is the master of the nations. Since the kingdom is His and He Himself has made the nations, He is their master. Therefore, they turn back to their own master. They do not enrich God by turning back; for they are His.

From Elementary to Perfection§37

The Twofold Nature of Justice§38

38He says: 'One thing I have asked from the Lord, this I will seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord' (Psalm 27:4)—not to reside temporarily—'all the days of my life.' This applies to the one entering life, the one progressing, and the one being perfected. Therefore, many know life when saying: 'Better is your mercy than life' (Psalm 63:3); for in whatever way I become life, I am held and helped by your mercy.

2–3 He nourished me by waters of rest, he restored my soul (Psalm 23:3). He led me upon paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3). Water is appropriate for the sheep. Those who are being led to pasture and are being fed are watered, not with wine; for where there is bread, there also the wine is named. 'Bread sustains the heart of man'—and a perfect food is indicated through the bread—'and wine gladdens the heart of man' (Psalm 104:15). Therefore, where there is pasture, there is also water, and where there is bread, wine is also found. And the perfect Eucharist is fulfilled from bread and wine; for the sheep-like state is aided by pasture and water.

The 'water of rest' can be said because the one drinking it does not grow weary; for 'the one drinking' (John 4:14) 'from the water which I will give' (John 4:14) will have 'a spring leaping into eternal life' (John 4:14). The water is not moving downward, but it comes toward the drinker by leaping itself. Hence it is 'water of rest.' This water serves for nourishing and for cleansing. And since the soul being cleansed casts out sin—for this was compared to a 'talent of lead'—the water provides rest. It casts out both thirst and filth.

Furthermore, since he remembers about shepherding and pasture and water, he immediately moves to the inner man, the Word, and says: 'He restored my soul' (Psalm 23:3). In the restoration, the change is indicated. I no longer remain a sheep, I am no longer under a shepherd, I do not have a craving for water. 'He restored my soul' (Psalm 23:3). And what has happened by my soul having been restored? God 'led' it (Psalm 23:3) 'upon paths of righteousness' (Psalm 23:3). The paths of righteousness are, in appearance, virtues or the acts of virtues. Often in the divine teachings, the name of righteousness signifies virtue in general; for there is also a specific virtue called so, justice. If we say that there are four general virtues: courage, justice, temperance, and prudence, one of the virtues...

It is signified through 'justice'. And when it says: 'and you, masters, equality and justice', here justice according to merit is signified. And when it says: 'just weights and a just scale', it mentions the distributive aspect of justice. And from it, it distinguishes the justice that is distributive according to merit and that which is, as they say, restorative; for justice is said in two ways, either restorative or distributive according to merit.

This, therefore, is called just which is restorative, and in order that I may demonstrate it from the Scriptures: the law protects, 'tooth for tooth and eye for eye' (Exod 21:24). One who has come by violence and cut out his eye, is defending himself against an enemy with pleasure. The one whose eye was taken is grieved, or the tooth. God gives law that the one who has acted wickedly should suffer the same. And from his pleasure, a removal occurs, and there is added to the one suffering because of the things happening to him, and equality is made. This, therefore, is called just which is restorative.

The distributive is not seen in the equality of the nature of the thing, but in the proportion of the distribution. Thus, the paths of justice that are well-trodden, walked upon by many, are the paths of justice. And the practical activities of justice can also be paths of justice; for justice is most especially suffered and worn down when it is practiced. Since practical virtue is signified by this name of justice, this is confirmed by this: 'walking blamelessly and working justice, speaking truth in his heart, who did not deceive with his tongue and did not do evil to his neighbor' (Ps 15:2-3). And with a little more: 'he who does these things shall never be shaken for ever' (Psalm 15:5).

You see that having gathered all the kinds of virtue together, he spoke of it generally as justice. 'Lead me therefore' (Ps 23:3) 'upon the paths of justice'. And those before the written law observed this justice. Concerning Abraham, it is said that 'he kept all the judgments and commands' of the Lord. Even though they had not yet been given, but he kept them, and lived according to them. And Abel, therefore, is testified to be upon justice. The return, therefore, of the soul is the journey that leads onto the paths of justice, so that it may no longer be a sheep.

The Nature of Divine Evils and the Shadow of Death§39

39He led me on the paths of righteousness because of his name (Ps 23:3). This was not so much because of my own worth, but because of his own designation he provided this for me; for even if someone runs toward good things and has a desire for them, if God does not show mercy, the things being striven for are not achieved.

Likewise also in the 118th Psalm it is said: 'I have run the path of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart' (Psalm 119:32; LXX 118:32). Because you enlarged my heart and gave breadth to my understanding, I have run the path of the way of your commandments. Therefore, through God, the things being striven for are always achieved. For he created the rational beings so that they might share in his designation.

And by designation I mean not a collection of syllables joined together, but a designation showing the quality of the one named; here is how a name is defined: 'A name is a principal designation representing the specific quality of the one named.' And this is especially true of a nickname. One is called 'wise' from wisdom, and it does not have a mere designation, not one consisting of syllables joined together, but one declaring the quality which wisdom provided to the soul. A principal designation is therefore the name that is primarily representing the quality of the one named.

So if you say 'man,' it is representing the quality of a man—and by quality here I mean the specific identity—for you have said the specific quality of the one named. And the specific quality of a man is manliness; for if you were to say another quality, others would share in it; it would not be specific. Let it be said that someone is a disciple of a physician, but he knows nothing of medicine; he does not have the quality of medicine, and he is a reproach to the one who taught him medicine when he knows nothing of it nor practices it.

For even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will not fear evils, because you are with me (Ps 23:4). Since 'because of his name' he 'restored my soul' (Ps 23:3), he is with me. And since he is with me, driving away every evil, not even the shadow of death approaches me.

But 'evils' is said in two ways in Scripture, and perhaps also in common usage. The opposites of virtue, the kinds of wickedness, are called evils; as if one says: 'In the laughter of a fool, he does wrong,' and: 'Turn away from evil and do good.' But they also call unpleasant things evils, since men call pleasant things good.

The good things. And even if they are good things for men, they are not truly good. For this reason, even toward the rich, Abraham said: 'You have taken the good things for yourself.' If he were speaking about the 61 virtues, he would not have said: 'the good things for yourself.' 'The Lord will give good things to those asking him.' He did not say: 'their good things.' For when Job says: 'If we have received good things from the Lord, shall we not also receive evil?' (Job 2:10), he says 'evil' regarding the plague, the most pitiable death of children, and other things.

But it appears most clearly from Isaiah, the prophet saying thus concerning God: 'And he himself was wise to bring evils upon them' (Isaiah 31:2). Even for a wise man it is not easy to bring the kinds of evils that are the 40 evils, how much less for God. Indeed, even the wicked, when they pretend virtue, do not say: 'we are bringing evil to someone.' But it is said concerning God that as a wise one he brings evils. He speaks of things that are harmful. And he views the end of the bringing of evils: 'and his word shall by no means be set aside.'

On account of his word not being set aside, he brings difficult things; for they heard by a commanding word what they must do and what they must abstain from, but they despised this word, and as much as reached their misery, was set aside; so he brings evils, so that his word might not be set aside. And medical surgery and cauterization, bringing health to the one suffering these things, are not evils.

But he speaks here of a shadow, not that one which we say the law has—'for the law has a shadow of the things that are to come' (Hebrews 10:1)—but here he speaks of a shadow standing in the way of death. And sin stands in the way of death. And now I say death, not the common one. See: the painters, before the images and the forms, draw in shadow. And that shadow is the beginning of the image. Therefore death has a shadow, namely sin. And this prefigures and demonstrates death.

For if I become in the midst of the shadow of death, I do not fear it. Such as Joseph, how much, at the exhortation desiring to seduce him into immorality, he became in the midst of the shadow of death, and he did not fear evil, and that did not seize him. But: is the shadow the one in the midst? Since the word is not concerning common death, neither was it necessary to think of its shadow in this way; for just as that which you say is a prefiguration, being a certain sensible thing, shall be seen.

The Banquet of Wisdom§40

40The underlying meaning implies that what follows the shadow is both perceptible and visible; so it is here, since the shadow becomes a matter of the soul, and death touches the soul. 'Sin'—which was a shadow—becomes a mother when 'completed,' meaning it brings about and produces death. 'If I walk in the midst of the shadow of death' (Ps 23:4). Has this happened to those in affliction? Yes, if one were terrified, he was sinning. Is 'in the midst' meant as being in sin? I do not say this. I do not say the shadow of death is the act of being afflicted, but rather the sense of dread and cowardice arising from affliction. For the martyrs were in the midst of the shadow of death, but not in death itself. They were afflicted, but they did not succumb to the tribulation that was promised to follow. A similar thought is expressed in: 'Do not bring us into temptation' (Matt 6:13). For they do not say: 'Do not let us be afflicted.' If that were the case, the apostles would never have spoken, saying: 'In all things being afflicted' (2 Cor 4:8). Therefore, not entering into temptation means not being seized by the will of the one testing. 'I will fear no evil, for you are with me' (Ps 23:4). Having you with me, I fear nothing of those intending to harm. 'Your rod and your staff, these have comforted me' (Ps 23:4). You see that he was not inexperienced with the shadow of death. Your staff, becoming my support, and your rod, disciplining me, comforted me; they brought me out of death, even if I have become within its shadow, even if I have entered into the midst of its shadow. The rod and the staff of God are taken both for discipline and for support: 'He who brings wisdom from the lips, strikes a heartless man with a rod' (Proverbs 10:13). He named the disciplinary and corrective word a rod. And Paul writes to the Corinthians: 'What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod?' (1 Corinthians 4:21). And it is taken for support: 'The staffs are in your hands; and you received it with haste; it is the Lord's Passover' (Exodus 12:11).

He prepared a table before me in the presence of those afflicting me (Ps 23:5). We connect the present things to the prelude; for because of them it has happened, when we said that after the drinking of milk, 'solid food' is given, being the wisdom of God spoken of in the perfect (1 Cor 3:2). And even here, after the beastly conduct, even if it was occurring with stability and gentleness, having been shepherded by you...

I remained late; for the table had received the feast. We had the condition of a sheep; we had need of feasts resembling lessons and having the power of water. But when I advanced, my soul being turned back by you toward the paths of righteousness (Psalm 23:3) so that I might be comforted by your rod and your staff, I have become a man. For this reason we did not prepare a feast, but a table, and you revealed to me before me its beauty, its nourishment, its deliciousness. Your wisdom has prepared this table for me.

She has laid upon it 'having slaughtered her own victims' (Prov 9:2). And she has laid upon it 'her own wine' (Proverbs 9:2), 'mixing' it with this table, and she calls all to eat and drink from this table. And we call here the table of wisdom the divine one for children. And sacrifices are laid upon this; for when we perform the sacred rites and slaughter the doctrines of piety, so that we may make them ready for food, then the sacrifices are laid upon the table. And no one else offered them except Wisdom herself, who 'prepared her own table' (Prov 9:2); for she did not simply say, 'she prepared a table,' but 'her own.' And the table of Wisdom does not have other delicacies laid upon it except the wise teachings.

Furthermore, she 'mixed her own wine' (Proverbs 9:2). She took water to it, so that we, being unable to receive it unmixed, might take wine already mixed. There are certain unspeakable words, which are not let to be called wine. When anyone is able to lead these into explicit teaching, she mixed, adding to them a perceptible gift: the examples of the Scripture, the words announced in parables. Again, since God is the Word and Wisdom is the Word, but we were not able to take the Word unmixed, she mixed it with the Incarnation, and we received, moreover, mixed wine from both the Word of the Incarnation and the majesty of the Only-begotten. 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory' (John 1:14). Behold the mixture. This was not the mixing of anyone else but of her own Wisdom. You know that the one mixing sometimes makes the mixture according to the capacity of the drinker. And so Wisdom mixed her own wine and does not give the same mixture to all, but what each can contain. Therefore, there are those who are sober, in whom this mixture seems more potent...

The Table Set Before Opponents§41

41To be more watery.

The part of the humanization overflows.

When someone 'beholds his glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father' (John 1:14), the wine overflows.

Therefore, he prepared this table not near the one being called, nor far from him, but before him and in front of those distressing him.

The apostle, turning this enigma to something clearer, writes: 'For a large and effective door has been opened to me, and many are standing against me' (1 Cor 16:9).

When someone has a word and a door of a word strong and effective, he has many standing against him.

And the devil himself stands against, wishing to prevent the benefit from the effectiveness of the word, as do sophist men and other evil men.

Not so much, indeed, do they stand against, as having once attacked the one working well.

'In front of those distressing me' he prepared the table.

He once said concerning that saying about the infant Jesus: 'For before knowing how to call father or mother, he will receive power over Damascus and the curs of Samaria in the presence of the king of the Assyrians' (Isaiah 8:4).

It was not a great thing if the curs took things while the king of kings was absent, but in front of him, while he was present, they snatched what he had under himself.

Or did he not plunder the magi in front of the king of the Assyrians?

For they were in the act of practicing magic.

They did not come to the child having previously repented, but while the demons were still active.

Such a thing, indeed, has been seen ecclesiastically, that those, having done their usual things in calling demons, not sparing them, recognized that the magic was dissolved from the child signified by the appeared star.

Having come, therefore, to me, such a thing, these distressing ones were present, and in their very faces the things of the blessing happened.

The 'in front of' can also be thus: they were present in opposition of will, wishing to prevent what is for them, or wishing to harm him. 'I anointed my head with oil' (Ps 23:5).

You showed me Christ; according to what is signified it is said:

'Touch not my anointed ones' (Psalm 105:15; LXX 104:15).

And this holy one was one of the anointed, of those anointed 'with oil of gladness beyond his fellows' (Psalm 45:7)—of Christ.

The man himself was anointed beyond his fellows, beyond the other anointed ones, concerning whom it has been said:

'You went forth for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed ones' (Hab 3:13).

'You anointed' then 'my head with oil' (Psalm 23:5; LXX 22:5).

In many places the head signifies the mind;

as when it is said:

'The wise man's eyes are in his head' (Eccl 2:14).

Indeed, common usage also says that the more foolish have no brain, have no head.

The ruler of a system is called the head of the system.

Since then the mind also rules and leads our whole composition, it is called head.

And many scriptures teach this, which we have often mentioned.

He did not say simply 'was anointed,' but 'with oil';

for there is also worthless oil, concerning which the holy one prays, saying:

'let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head' (Psalm 141:5; LXX 140:5).

'And your cup intoxicating, as excellent' (Psalm 23:5; LXX 22:5).

Since not everyone can drink the whole mixing-bowl which wisdom mixed (Prov 9:2), he distributes to each a cup, which receiving, he can be gladdened.

Some copies have:

'and my cup';

which you have given me.

However, it is said either way.

'Intoxicating,' then, is 'as excellent'.

It brings the drinker excellent intoxication—sober intoxication.

And 'intoxicating' is instead of 'gladdening'.

We often call the wine-bibber drunk.

And even the mere touching and tasting is called intoxication.

And they etymologize intoxication thus:

in ancient times there was no abundance of wine, when immediately the fruit of the vine was found making wine, and in feasts and public festivals they drank after sacrificing.

They did not drink at another time.

And for this reason it is called intoxication.

And intoxication often signifies merely touching:

'they shall be intoxicated from the fatness of your house' (Psalm 36:8), instead of 'they are gladdened';

for intoxication is spoken of differently, with reproach:

'the [...]'.

The Earth and its Fullness§42

The misuse of reason and the metaphor of the soil§43

43It has been founded, and a part of the earth is the inhabited world, and it itself appropriately has this seat by its moist nature. And he says regarding the rivers that it is prepared for them; not to be founded upon rivers, but to be prepared; for it is not possible to say that it is founded both in the sea and in the rivers, but it has been founded upon the sea, having been prepared for the rivers, so that it might be benefited by them, just as certain springs and channels flowing through it. Such bodies, if they do not have water sprinkled throughout them by which they can be held together, become fragments. And these things are to be understood regarding the literal sense.

But since the following things can no longer be taken historically: 'Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place?' (Ps 24:3), it is necessary to say that the way of the ascent and the seat of the standing were not mentioned, but the answer is made to the one asking: 'Who is the one ascending and who is the one standing?' Thus: 'innocent of hands and pure in heart.' That being innocent refers to the hands, and that being pure refers to the actions. Then he says 'a divine character': 'innocent of hands and pure in heart, who has not taken his soul in vain.'

This is understood in two ways. 'In vain' refers to the foolish person taking his own soul, deliberating, choosing, and acting; for often these things—the unseemly, the sensible, the transitory—are signified by the name 'vain'; as if he were saying, 'and you will know where you were, when you were trusting in vain things,' meaning the transitory things. It can also refer to the sins themselves. 'In vain' he took it, the one rising in the morning and drinking wine and staying late so as to be consumed by the wine; for 'woe to those who rise early and pursue strong drink and stay late; for the wine will consume them' (Isa 5:11). Again, they have haste to rise from dawn and hurry to the courts, in which injustice follows; this one 'has taken his soul in vain.' This is also consistent with what is said in Isaiah to certain people: 'Vain is the strength of your spirit' (Isaiah 33:11). Here, 'spirit' is the opinion. Similarly, this applies to what was said concerning the Virgin, that just as she is holy in body, so she is holy in spirit, in opinion and in mind. Therefore, 'vain' is 'the strength of your spirit.' If anyone, then, uses the mind...

His mind is also worn out by 'worldly cares' toward vain things; his strength is in vain. They exhaust the power of reasoning toward vain things. Indeed, one can see such people and even more wicked ones. They exhaust the whole strength of the mind toward these things.

A second explanation for: 'who has not received his soul in vain' (Psalm 24:4). God prepared man as a rational being, not merely so that he might possess reasoning and do nothing according to it; for this He made the rational being, so that he might receive virtue and exercise it. 'He has received his soul in vain' does not mean God gave it thus, but that he himself has taken it thus. As one might say, for example: He made man from soul and body, and there are certain movements of the soul, and there are also movements of the body. We have the activity of members: walking, doing something with the hands, seeing. If anyone, then, for instance, having feet, never walks, he has his feet 'in vain' in a certain way.

And for an upward leading: the following words force even the preceding verses to be led upward. 'The Lord' is that 'earth,' that 'good and noble heart' which received the one whom Jesus cast seed, and bore fruit a hundredfold, or a hundred and sixty and thirty (Matthew 13:8). Often I have said that the intelligible things can be taken in the same way through more various thoughts, when they were saying the soul is a sheep and a plant. Here, therefore, the same earth is both earth and inhabited world. When, therefore, it bears the practical virtues, it is an earth having fullness. But when it has the divine gifts of the Spirit, it is an inhabited world having inhabitants. It is not a desert; for He has not said, 'Come, and let us abandon it,' as it is said to the doomed inhabited world. And this is the assembly of the Jews.

And he extends this also to every soul having, at first, a dwelling, but leaving it by its own fault. Therefore, this is connected to: 'He himself founded it upon the seas' (Psalm 24:2). Sea and seas is the name given to the place of earth and the condition of those dwelling there. Having being in billows and in saltiness, I call the dwelling; upon these seas He founded it. And this sea takes the sting of Jesus, so that from it...

The Integrity of Oaths and the Source of Blessing§44

44Let the diligent catch good animals. But if these hunters are friends of virtue, they are said to be hunted from the sea so that they may come out of it, and in another way to be established upon the sea; for here they are established so that they may appear 'having been rooted and built up in love' (Eph 3:17). And 'upon the rivers' (Psalm 24:2) of those flowing from the belly of the one having the Spirit, they are prepared, so that they may receive these rivers flowing from the belly of each believer. And the various gifts of the Spirit are the rivers.

For the one wishing to learn toward the one being examined: 'Who is he that ascends into the mountain of the Lord and stands in the holy place?' (Ps 24:3). An answer is brought: 'You seek who is ascending and standing? He who is innocent with his hands and pure in heart, who has not taken his soul in vain' (Ps 24:4).' This is the one ascending through progress. And progress is the ascent. And the standing is in the perfection. When someone becomes 'perfect as the Father in heaven' (Matt 5:48), he has stood in the holy place, unless indeed he surpasses the whole such state and takes the beginning of another; therefore also in the psalms it is said: 'I have seen the end of every completion' (Psalm 119:96).

There are many ends, as it is in the learning of letters. One completes the task in the knowledge of the characters, and begins by syllabifying, and again, having attained the end of those, a different beginning becomes. For a circle, one cannot take either a beginning or an end. If, therefore, one recognizes from a sign the beginning of the circle, and completes the whole circle, he comes again to the beginning, as it is with the sun. In such things, ends are always brought according to the same pattern.

The Jews, therefore, perhaps say that 'to ascend to the mountain' means to ascend into the temple and to stand in it. The following things are gathered together by this thought. 3–4 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place? Innocent with hands and pure in heart, who has not taken his soul in vain and has not sworn in vain to his neighbor. It lies in the Decalogue: 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not cleanse him who takes his name in vain' (Ex 20:7). This must be grasped inwardly, perfectly, introductory, and appropriately by those beginning. Chiefly the...

The young man, being ready to receive the laws of God, 'does not swear at all' (Matthew 5:34); therefore he does not take the name of the Lord in vain. He receives it not in vain, being satisfied with 'yes, yes' and 'no, no' (Matt 5:37). It is possible for those introducing this to say: it is not necessary to swear falsely; for he who falsely invokes the name of the Lord, as far as it reaches him, has received it in vain; since he is able to demonstrate even faith to the one disputing, and easily brings him to the oath without an oath. This faith through an oath they call unprovable.

And the external laws, when it was not possible to demonstrate, not through writings, not through witnesses—then also he does not cast himself upon swearing, but the judges, desiring to find every proof and not finding it, flee to this last resort. 'Who did not take his soul in vain' (Psalm 24:4). And immediately he joined: 'nor did he swear upon deceit' (Psalm 24:4); for everyone swears 'upon deceit' perversely; for he does not think he is swearing perversely. It rarely happens through ignorance. Often someone, forgetting, swears, and again there is an accusation, as regarding sins committed while unheard.

I say: some do not blame those who are drinking while saying what should not be said, and doing what is not necessary, saying that drunkenness is an unconscious state by which these things which they are blamed for happen after drinking; but drunkenness itself is voluntary; for it was necessary not to get drunk.

This one shall receive a blessing from the Lord. Having outlined who is the one ascending the mountain and standing in a holy place, and what follows such a person, he says: according to the one who ascended, he is in the mountain of God and standing in a holy place. And after the ascent of the mountain, so that the summit of the mountain may be the holy place, he says that 'this one shall receive a blessing from the Lord', 'a spiritual blessing, the one in the heavens'; for it is said: 'for indeed the Lawgiver will give blessing'. And the Lawgiver gives not to those transgressing the law, but to those turning toward it in deed. And again: 'Behold, thus', he says, 'shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord' (Psalm 128:4). The cause of the blessing is reverence, the fear toward the Lord; therefore it is said: 'The Lord shall bless you out of Zion' (Ps 128:5). If God blesses such a person from Zion, because of virtue having preceded him and right understanding for him...

Desiring the Face of God and the Coming of the King§45

45the diligent one

They want to make a child of you; but desires produce a child of the devil. Again, those having the same desires are one generation. It is thus also with: 'The generation of the upright shall be blessed' (Ps 112:3). Jacob was seeking the face of God. Everyone praying sincerely for the appearance of God prays to receive it, and this is to seek the face of God. The saints indeed send up a prayer saying: 'Let your face shine upon us and we shall be saved' (Psalm 80:3).

And this is also possible because: we have received the inscription of the psalm 'into one of the Sabbaths', and we call the resurrection of the Savior 'the Lord's Day', sometimes as the eighth day and sometimes as the first of the week according to various thoughts. They 'seek the face' of the one about to arrive, having heard that 'bending the heavens, he shall descend' (Psalm 18:9), because 'a Savior is coming' (Isaiah 62:11). For the heralds of the truth, those running ahead of the one arriving, hear: 'Say to the daughter of Zion: behold, a Savior is coming to you' (Isaiah 62:11), and: 'Say to the cities of Judah: behold, our God comes with might' (Isaiah 40:9), to shake off evil, so that we may learn to strike down the adversaries, those working evil, 'the one working in the sons of disobedience' (Ephesians 2:2).

Finally, having enjoyed the economy—for 'still' 'it shall say of your word: I am present' (Isaiah 58:9)—immediately the ascent of the Savior is signified after the arrival; for the word says through the psalms: 'Lift up your gates, O rulers of yours' (Ps 24:7). Your rulers, lift up the gates. Or thus: your gates, O rulers, lift up, which you preside over, which you guard. 'And be lifted up, O eternal gates' (Ps 24:9). The word says 'and be lifted up', presenting the greatness of the one about to descend and enter through the gates. If you remain here, you will not be able to contain his ascent. To lift up and to lift up further can also mean to make them through the middle; for he who is the very distant King does not need an entrance. And again: 'And the King of glory shall enter' (Psalm 24:9). The heralds, angels, announce the Savior.

The Lord of Powers and the Gates§46

46Taking these things up, they speak to the heavenly powers, to those dividing the heavenly gates. Then they inquire, 'Who is this King of Glory, whom you announce is coming, to whom the gates must be lifted and the eternal ones—not the temporary ones—the immortal ones, must be raised up?' Near to this is what is brought forward in Isaiah: 'Who is this coming from Edom, with garments stained red from Bozrah? Why are your garments red?' (Isa 63:1). And they inquire again.

Even if this body, being raised from the dead, and especially the one of the Savior previously, does not possess the characteristics of flesh having been transformed into spiritual, yet by the grace of the one ascending, traces were preserved for the recognition of where the one ascending comes from. And because of this: 'Garments stained red from Bozrah' (Isa 63:1). And just as having risen from the dead and appearing to the disciples, desiring to confirm to them that the body which he had has risen, he showed the marks of the wounds, he showed the side, not that the body possesses a side—for to have a side is difficult and unusual—but so that he might be fully known as the one who rose, so that they might not think badly concerning the resurrection from the sign of the fullness of the resurrection, as if after the resurrection the raised body carries the characteristics of the corruptible, 'he entered through closed doors' (John 20:26); so also here, being taken up, immediately after the ascension, he showed the characteristics of the flesh, not so that they might remain; nor did those things which he showed, such as having eaten and the marks of the wounds and the others, remain with him having them. Not so that we might eat, for he ate after the resurrection, but so that they might see that he, whom he said, was himself the one who rose. This indeed Luke says: 'To whom he also proved himself alive after his suffering, by showing many proofs and by eating and touching' (Acts 1:3). Observe that he also proved himself alive after his suffering by eating.

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient gates, and the King of Glory shall enter (Ps 24:7). Who is this King of Glory? They inquire: concerning whom is this said that he shall enter, so that we may open the doors for him and lift them up? He says: 'The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in war' (Ps 24:8). He makes the answer from His works. As at the beginning of the ascent to...

The mountain of the Lord: 'and who shall stand' (Psalm 24:3). And 'how many' was not used—not that Abraham or John were meant—but 'if anyone is innocent in hands and pure in heart', so also here he did not say 'how many', but by deed he showed the matter: 'the Lord is mighty and strong, the Lord is strong in war' (Ps 24:7, 8). As it began, these things were pre-proclaimed. But when he rose and was ascended, it is no longer said that 'he will come out' (Ps 24:8), the one who transformed the kingdom upon the earth, the one who destroyed the power of death, the devil; but he is 'mighty and strong, the Lord is strong in war' (Ps 24:8). Comparing that prophecy which has it thus: 'the Lord of powers will come out and will crush the war'. As it began, these things were pre-proclaimed. But when he rose and was ascended, it is no longer said that 'he will come out' another 'the Lord is strong in war' having brought down the tyrants.

The Lord is strong in war: 'lift up your gates, O rulers of you' (Ps 24:7). Since they asked who it is, and having said it, they asked 'which are the gates' and to open them, they say: since the Lord is mighty and strong and strong also in war, do not hesitate, do not delay. And behold: to those in charge he says: 'lift up the gates' (Ps 24:7). And since the gates also are rational, and toward them he stretches out, saying: 'and be lifted up, eternal gates' (Ps 24:9). And 'be lifted up, eternal gates, and the King of glory will come in' (Ps 24:10). Therefore he says: 'the Lord of powers, this is the King of glory'.

Often the armies are signified by the name of power. The Lord is of these powers, of the heavenly armies; for such powers appeared to the shepherds praising God when Christ was born. And altogether the Lord is of all these powers, of the thousands and myriads praising and ministering. And it is possible to take the powers thus: each rational substance acting as a power of holiness. Just as we say a musical woman and a grammatical woman, when she possesses these things, so the one participating in 'Christ, the power of God' (1 Cor 1:24), each is a power. Therefore, the Lord is of these powers. But the power is to be understood in two ways: either each rational substance participating in the power of him, the Savior, is called a power, or the army of the rational substances, the...

The Soul and the Flesh; Davidic Authorship§47

47Thus they are arrayed for battle. Who is this king of glory? The Lord of powers, He is this king of glory. Do not seek who He is regarding what we say; for the Lord of powers, He is. And you also are powers, and each of you a power according to the second meaning. 'Lord' therefore; because with authority He said that 'He is the king of glory.'

Concerning this power and this manifestation, Paul also writes: 'The mystery of godliness is great, for He was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit' (1 Tim 3:16), and 'taken up in glory' (1 Timothy 3:16). The one taken up in glory is the Lord of glory, He is the king of glory.

It is not to receive now a word ill-interpreted in an unseasonable way by some. They wish to say that 'the Lord of glory, having been crucified' is the God Word; for those denying the perfect humanity say that 'the one crucified, the Lord of glory' is the same God Word. And such is indeed the syllogism which those who err thus say, and the reasoning of Apollinaris the heretic, who says that 'the Word' became 'flesh' by a change of essence, and such syllogisms which Apollinaris set forth in his writings: Christ was crucified. The one crucified is the king of glory. Therefore, Christ is the king of glory.

And thus they hear the syllogism: 'Christ is the king of glory. Christ was crucified. Therefore, the king of glory was crucified.' And these people speak monstrosities. The cross is manifest; for it is a fixing down of a body; 'they pierced my hands and my feet' (Ps 22:16). He who says that the God Word was incorporeal being crucified allegorizes the cross. And when the cross is allegorized, the resurrection will also be allegorized. And when the resurrection is allegorized, all things that happened are as if they were dreams.

And these people say the same things; for even if they name it for the sake of some deception: body and body? And if you say 'yes', that very body is not other than the God Word. So they are two. So are we not saying two? For what is absurd, to say two, the temple and the one in the temple? For the body is called the temple of the Savior. And it is not said: 'who was manifested as flesh', but 'in flesh'. And again: 'having been put to death in the flesh'. It has not said: 'having been put to death as flesh'. 'Every spirit that confesses in the flesh' (1 John 4:2)...

and having come. Therefore, even if they do not wish, there are two: the flesh and the one seen in it. But we do not call the flesh without soul; for this flesh, having been produced, has become without soul, as it is evident to us. 'The flesh dwells in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to Hades' (Psalm 16:9-10). If it had remained in Hades, the flesh would not have had the hope of resurrection. But previously they inquired: 'Who is this king of glory?' (Ps 24:8) and they heard an answer; then, since the king of glory is not a random person, they inquired with greater precision and a second time, and moreover they received another answer, no longer 'the Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is mighty in war' (Ps 24:8); for perhaps it was possible to suppose that one of the powers had been chosen by God; and he says: 'The Lord of powers, he is the king' (Ps 24:10). Thus I call him the Lord of powers, not as a power.

A Psalm of David. The psalm is said to be 'to David'; for it is one thing to be 'of David' and another to be 'to David'. 'Of David' is said when he himself has composed or is singing. But 'to him' is said when it is brought to him. If, therefore, I say that this triumphal hymn is to the athlete, to the victor, then David has set a subscript. And the things said do not stand only regarding his own person, but also if another should be found according to him. Who then is this David? 'Who will do,' he says, 'all my will' (Acts 13:22). Let the psalm be said concerning everyone who does the will of God.

'To you, Lord, I have lifted up my soul' (Ps 25:1). It is not for everyone to say: 'To you I have lifted up my soul, O God.' But he who is able to say: 'My soul lives to him' alone lifts up his soul to God. God is in highness; I do not speak according to a place—and often these things have been made clear to us—but in a highness of surpassing nothingness. When someone therefore tears away from the things below his own soul, from the devil and the causes of evil and of evil itself, he lifts it up to God, so that it may live to him alone, so that it may dwell with him, so that 'having been joined as one spirit' it may become to him. It is a great thing to say this voice, having an unknowable soul. 'If our heart does not condemn' (1 John 3:21), he says, 'we have boldness toward God.' When the heart is known, being checked by conscience, [it is not...]

Shame and Hidden Sins§48

48One is able to say such things about oneself. But such a person is rare, and because of the difficulty of finding them, they are perhaps thought by some not to exist at all. Furthermore, the rarity is shown by the proverbist saying: 'Who shall boast having a pure heart and shall speak boldly as being free from sin?' (Proverbs 20:9). By saying pure, he means the heart being rightly disposed and thinking concerning piety. He who is persuaded according to the truth, that one has a pure heart. And he who is outside of practical sin speaks boldly as being free from sin.

Because the truth and those things thought truly purify the soul and the heart, Peter the apostle writes: 'having purified your souls in the obedience of the truth' (1 Peter 1:22). And James writes: 'Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded' (James 4:8). They cleanse hands, those making their actions crooked, and they purify their soul, those casting away all double-mindedness; 'and purify' indeed, he says, 'hearts, double-minded.' Most of all, those thinking wrongly are double-minded. Sometimes they are seized by glory and held by it, but when they look at things otherwise, they find them to be having something else, and how they once remain in the grasping bad-glory.

Thus, one is presented as free from sin who has lived a life according to the right way. He has a pure heart, the one thinking the things of the truth, having taken 'the mysteries of the kingdom' (Matthew 13:11) in soul and having been initiated according to them. This one, therefore, lifts up the soul toward the Lord. It is not one who happens to do so who lifts it. To say it is perhaps easy for everyone, but to do it is either difficult or has reached the point of being nearly impossible, not because of his own nature.

And this, since according to the apostle 'no one says Lord Jesus, except in the Holy Spirit' (1 Corinthians 12:3). And these men themselves, when they call the God Lord, do not say it with voice alone, but with deed and disposition. When they act thus, disposed as toward a master, doing what he wills and commands, they are truly slaves; and since what is turned toward him is that of a truly slave, he is truly a master. 'My God, in you I have trusted; let me not be put to shame' (Psalm 25:2). Happy is the one having precise knowledge, having trusted in it, who converses with all and is not put to shame. He who has trusted in virtue is not cut off...

They act wickedly; therefore, they are not ashamed. For those committing sin are the ones undergoing shame. Some say, 'they shall rise up for reproach and eternal shame.' Thus the word prays for the unfeeling that shame may come to be for them: 'fill their faces with dishonor'—speaking regarding faults—'and let them be ashamed and perish and know that you are the Lord' (Psalm 83:16-18). When they feel shame, being such wicked people, they perish according to that state in which they are.

The one who is confident in his iniquities, if he knows that he sins wickedly, is ashamed and perishes as a wicked man, not as a rational substance. Because of this the apostles say: 'we have spoken the hidden things of shame' (2 Corinthians 4:2). We have not spoken only the manifest things producing reproach and shame, but also the hidden things. And it can be so: for some, the things of drunkenness are hidden. When they are intoxicated in wines, such as they were regarding whom Paul writes, 'whose glory is in their shame' (Philippians 3:19), in whom it is necessary to be ashamed, they themselves wish to be honored. Indeed, one finds fifty men wishing to be honored through much variety.

But how are they hidden? I have spoken of the hidden things in two ways: sins are in thoughts. Therefore, not only does the diligent and the simple man refrain from practical deeds, but also from the hidden things, as he also sends up a prayer: 'cleanse me from my secret sins' (Ps 51:3). Otherwise, the unknown things are called hidden. Having been bold regarding all manifest transgressions, that they are forgiven him, the saint says: 'who will understand transgressions?' (Ps 19:12). He who understands transgressions is rare.

Since it is possible for me to be ignorant of them, 'cleanse me from these. Spare your servant from others' (Psalm 19:13)—for they are foreign to me, to my essence, both they and those acting them against me. And furthermore he adds: 'lest they overpower me.' If the hidden things do not overpower me, 'then I shall be blameless.' And he adds: 'and I shall be cleansed from great sin.' We say these things are in thoughts, and to be so as to be unknown to the possessor. How then is the one being cleansed from these 'from great sin' cleansed? You know that the 'great' of it is in relation to what. As for the one desiring to be entirely pure, even the small things of sins seem to be great. And they once took such a pattern: if a garment many times...

Shame and the Universal Affirmation§49

49If it has filth from elsewhere, even if someone touches it or handles it, it does not seem to have been defiled. But if it is immediately brought from a cooperage, and the touch of the fingers seems to be a flaw, it seems to make it something unclean. The entirely clean man considers even a brief thought a great sin. It is possible even to say that the mind is able to benefit all; regarding practical sin, that which is in thoughts is the shortest.

If someone saw a woman for desire and sustained the appetite until pre-passion, he has not committed the practical sin. If that pre-passion is removed, one is purged from a great sin; from practical sin he is cleansed. To such purity the one saying this has arrived, as if saying something certain: 'If I saw injustice in my heart, let the Lord not hear me' (Psalm 66:18). Just as he brings upon himself a request and a punishment, if he has injustice in his heart. He says: 'For this reason God has heard me,' with the implication: 'For this reason God has heard me, because I did not see injustice in my heart.' If he saw injustice in his heart, let him not receive the prayer. Therefore, 'for this reason' means 'He heard me.'

They said this because the one having confidence in God makes all things right that are worthy of being made right; for I do not say that those things which God forbids are made right. They once took that: 'And let them be ashamed and perish' (Psalm 83:17). But what follows being ashamed and perishing, except to know 'that the name is the Lord' (Psalm 83:18)? For God indeed says to someone, after doing evils, to cease doing and thinking such things: 'Be ashamed and take your dishonor.' You have been cast into dishonor. You gave the pretext; for you did those things which bring dishonor upon you. Be ashamed therefore of what you have done, and take your dishonor, not saying: 'I have not sinned'; for he was saying to God: 'I have not sinned,' as if saying to God: 'Behold, I am judged against you in saying: I have not sinned.' And I am judged against you, not in order to condemn you, but in order to...

Having been shamed, let the dishonor cease. 2 Let my enemies not mock me. Then my enemies will mock me, when saying that having trusted in you, shameful things are being worked out. They are enemies to me, not I to them. For this reason also the Savior says: 'Love your enemies' (Matt 5:44). The addition seems to pass by; for it was necessary to say: 'Love the enemies'; but since the slaves of Christ ought not to have enemies, while others wish to be enemies, let them love those. That place by Aristotle, how it once seems to be well for civilization. Saying concerning the preceding and the following, he said: previously we want the just friends to be, even if they are far away. But by what has happened, we want the enemies to be just, so that they may not harm anything. For their own sake we also want this. But the apostles of Christ 51 do not pray for them so that they may not harm, but so that they might not be harmed. 3 For indeed all those waiting for you will not be shamed (Psalm 25:3). The 'all' is often in the Scripture taken instead of the universal decision; for we do not even say this, that of those waiting, some are shamed and others are not, as the particular decision teaches, saying: not all men are just. Here therefore instead of 'no one': no one of those waiting for you is shamed. And continuously in the Scripture the universal decision is signified through the universal affirmation taken from transposition. And you know that the affirmation from transposition often follows the simple decision. 3 Let all those acting lawlessly be shamed for nothing. Hear 'to act lawlessly for nothing' thus: wickedness is worked out for nothing, not to bring glory, not for the promise. It is unstable, its being is in something else. If therefore the one having wickedness wishes to cast it away, it no longer exists. But some again, either through ignorance or more sophistically, say that virtue also is thus, that it too has its being in something else.

Injustice, Lawlessness, and the Two Ways of God§50

50This is a falsehood; for the Trinity possesses goodness essentially. Humans possess the good and the just and virtue through participation in the Trinity. Even if they themselves turn away, it exists. It exists in God, from which they have the capacity to be excellent. But evil, if it is not active, does not exist at all.

For this reason, many scriptures teach that it does not exist; from which we conclude that there are no two opposing principles in essence, and that people are not inherently evil, as many heterodox people also desire, claiming that no one will choose either good or evil. Much that is absurd and impious follows from this. See: if all existing things are such by construction, and the wicked are so in essence, all legislation passes away; for the law cannot make the good good, nor the evil good. And if the law passes away, all exhortation, all encouragement, all counsel passes away, and the reason of man is entirely refuted; for he who does not have choice and will is not rational. And the coming of the Savior is superfluous. Does he make the good? It is such from itself. But does he make the evil good? It is not of a nature to receive the participation of good. Therefore, the one sinning sins in vain.

For it is written in another psalm concerning that great one, the devil, the cause of all evil: 'Break the arm of the sinner and the wicked' (Psalm 10:15). We have said many times that the names lying against the opposing power are names of choice; for indeed, 'devil' is said, he is named 'Satan', which is 'the adversary', 'sinner'; and this name is a name of choice. And with the article, it is even more so itself: 'Behold, I have given you to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power' (Lk 10:19)—not of an enemy, but 'of the enemy'. And: 'Save us' (Mt 6:13)—not from an evil thing, but 'from the evil one'. And here: 'Break the arm of the sinner and the wicked' (Psalm 10:15). Then it brings forth: 'His sin shall be sought, and it shall not be found through it.' Because of its own nature, it is not found. His sin is sometimes sought and is not found, not existing anywhere, not having moved to another place, but because of itself it is not found, since it does not have being by itself.

Unless in the one acting. And furthermore: 'and injustice lied about itself' (Psalm 27:12). Here, to lie, we say in this way, as we often say the earth lies. Injustice therefore lies about itself, so as to no longer exist. It lied about itself because of its own nature. Thus, those who act lawlessly do so for no reason, not to gain something, but rather to be harmed. 'Make known to me your ways, O Lord' (Ps 25:4), those who act lawlessly without having experienced the law.

Now, concerning the written word, regarding the law according to teaching, I say: for those not having received this are called lawless, as also in: 'blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven' (Ps 32:1). But sin after the law is not called simply lawlessness, but transgression: 'transgressions ensnare a man, and each one is constricted by the bands of his own sins' (Prov 5:22). 'Nor do the lawless persist before your eyes' (Psalm 5:5). The lawless person never becomes an addition to God. Under the eyes of God, he does not become so except in a different way according to the word of providence. But according to the command of the diligent, they do not persist. They do not persist in the same way as the righteous, concerning whom it is said: 'the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous' (Ps 34:15). Therefore, by saying 'they do not persist', he shows that they once were, when they were guarding the law, but when they have become transgressors of it, then they have been cast out from the eyes of God.

'Make known to me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me into your truth' (Ps 25:4-5). The ways of God are said to be twofold: either those leading toward Him, or those which He Himself walks, proceeding through all things, as is necessary according to the word of providence or according to benefiting and being in His receptive ones. For he says: 'I will dwell in them and walk about' (2 Corinthians 6:16). But he who walks about has paths, which He Himself walks. Thus, we call the ways of God either those leading toward Him—and these are the virtues—or those which He Himself treads according to His providence and judgment and administration and gift. It is therefore necessary to know the ways of God by Him making them known. 'And teach me your paths' (Ps 25:4). That is, those which those hurrying toward You tread, or those which You tread, proceeding through the works of Your grace. If there are even more to say: you know that before teaching, something must be known; for from pre-known things come understandings and scientific proofs. Both...

The Eternal Age and Repentance§51

51Therefore make known to me your ways; for in this manner I shall learn your paths, following those who have worn them down, those who have proceeded in the good things or those who have proceeded because you proceeded, having a subscript and a pattern, 'that we may follow your footsteps' (1 Peter 2:21). Therefore, to know precedes to teach. Thus it is said that demonstrations and teachings come from things already known. It can be understood in this way: that common concepts are pre-known. And indeed, when we test a teaching, we say we are testing it in reference to common concepts.

For indeed, at times a teacher says something, and the common concept of the learner pre-perceives and knows whether he speaks well or not. You will find even in these human, scientific demonstrations, that sciences are not being led well if those listening do not pre-perceive what it is necessary to pre-perceive. For indeed, this has often been said to us: that when someone learns something that must be foreknown before the instruction, it is not right to speak to him through obscure words, since it is not familiar to him. 'Guide me into the truth' (Psalm 25:5).

After the practical virtues and the guidance according to disposition, the guidance into the truth occurs; for, he says, 'desiring wisdom, keep the commandments, and the Lord will supply it to you' (Sirach 1:26). And wisdom and truth are the same. The Savior, indeed, is said to be both: 'Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God' (1 Cor 1:24). And he himself said: 'I am the truth' (John 14:6).

And teach me, that you are my God and Savior. You are my God, having created me; you are my Savior, willing that I should improve. Therefore, become my teacher. As Creator, so also become teacher. And I waited for you all the day. I waited for you all the time of my life, so that I might have you as teacher and Savior; for 'toward you' I 'lifted up my soul' (Ps 25:1), not toward another. I did not entreat another, so that you might make known to me your ways and teach me your paths, but I deemed you worthy to become teacher of these things to me.

Often the whole of our life's time is called 'a day', according to what has been said: 'for your sake we are dying all the day' (Psalm 44:22), instead of what the apostle has made 'every day' (1 Corinthians 15:31). And 'a day' can be said to be the whole time of the life of the saints, because they are always in light, being illuminated by the truth.

The thin light of 'the sun of righteousness' (Malachi 4:2). This day is not interrupted by nights; it is continuous. For it is said in the Psalm: 'our age is for the illumination of your face' (Psalm 90:8). And the life which is extended by the sojourn here is called an age; for it is said, 'there shall be to you a servant for an age' (Deuteronomy 15:17), and 'I shall not eat meat for an age' (1 Corinthians 8:13), instead of 'through life'. Since therefore the time of our life's day has come to illuminate your face—for we have come to pre-announce your presence—our whole age has become for the illumination of your face because of the illuminating and making manifest to men your visitation.

Remember your mercies, O Lord, and your compassions, because they are from eternity. For even if I have entreated and lifted my soul to you and desired other things to be present to me from you, I do not ask these things according to merit. You provide these things mercifully and compassionately in accordance with the one: 'not of the one willing nor of the one running, but of the God who shows mercy' (Romans 9:16); for even if we have done all things from ourselves, by the mercy of God we strive to attain their end. Hear me as a merciful one, and as a compassionate one receive my prayers. 'And your compassions, because they are from eternity'. For it is not yesterday and the morning that I began to be compassionate. You are eternal, you are eternally good.

Do not remember the sins of my youth and my ignorances (Ps 25:7). You see that concerning former ignorances and sins one prays for mercy and the compassion of God; for there is no longer repentance sending back a prayer upon committed sins. Repentances happen upon things passed away. For it says: 'do not remember the sins and the ignorances of me' (Ps 25:7) which I have, and now I do not have, but those of youth. And it is possible even thus: whatever the age of the one ignoring and sinning may be, he is young in the youth of his mind, in the newness of his conduct. It is possible, therefore, to always find those who confess and bring words of repentance concerning sins passed away, doing this: 'we have sinned, we have transgressed, we have been ungodly' (Daniel 9:5); for how is it possible? The one repenting asks for virtue. How then can one who is still in sins have or receive virtue? 'Turn away' (Ps 34:14) therefore 'from evil and do good'. According to your mercy, remember me. What about 'remember me'? It is a personal idiom of the Scripture instead of 'know me' (Ps 139:1).

The Nature of Testimony and Divine Glory§52

52Because of your goodness, Lord, not because of my own virtue do you remember me. The Lord is good and upright; he who lives with uprightness is good. For often 'good' is taken in a sense of deception: 'bad associations corrupt good morals' (1 Corinthians 15:33). Thus, 'good' is not taken here in a praiseworthy sense, but in a sense of being easy or indulgent. Similarly with 'innocent': 'the innocent believes every word,' instead of meaning 'the well-disposed.' And regarding heretics, Paul writes: 'by flattering speech and blessing they deceive the hearts of the innocent' (Romans 16:18). Because of this, he establishes laws for those sinning in the way.

If he were abrupt, if he were not good, he would not establish laws in the way of salvation for those sinning, but would hand them over to be punished. Therefore, he establishes laws for those sinning in the way, so that having traveled this way, they may possess salvation. And observe: he does not say 'those who have sinned,' but 'those sinning.' And those still sinning, through exhortations, admonitions, and laws, he leads into the way. But how can the written word mean this, considering all the implications of the law?

He will guide the gentle in judgment. Having judged, he guides the gentle; for again, gentleness often signifies indulgence. But when they are guided having been judged, they possess a perfect virtue, which the Savior taught them to have, saying: 'Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart' (Matt 11:29). And 'in judgment' can also be understood thus: judging these gentle ones to be capable of being benefited, he guides them. And the first interpretation is most in harmony with the text: that having been judged, they come upon the way having God as a guide. Or does he not guide, he who says: 'Learn from me, for I am gentle' (Matt 11:29)?

All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. In many places of the Scriptures, mercy is joined with truth. How great is the truth, so that I might say, it is above men. And observe that all things rational, and all things transcendent, and all things above, require truth. Here, however, we require mercy, so that we may be able to know the truth. It has been said in the previous sections: 'Guide me in your truth, O Lord, and in your paths' (Ps 25:5). Therefore, the beginning of walking these blessed ways is from mercy.

It becomes a part of God, and an end from the truth. This is for those who search out His covenant and His testimonies, not for those who search simply, but specifically those who search out them. Those searching the Scriptures, they too are searching out the covenant of God. To search and to seek out are the same thing.

"And His testimonies": His testimonies are the words testified by Him. You know that what has been testified is irrefutable. Therefore, the irrefutable is often signified by the name of 'testimonies' regarding the divine instructions. What? That which He Himself testified? That which He Himself confirmed. And it is possible to call things irrefutable and unshakeable testimonies, not because they were testified by someone, but because their nature is such that they testify by the truth.

"And the witness," He says, "is faithful in heaven." Concerning God, if it is said that God testifies, we do not mean that the one testifying establishes Him. John came "that he might testify about the light" (John 1:7); for John, the one testifying about the light, did not provide faith and standing to the light. The one testifying shows himself to be knowing by his knowledge, and the one testifying is shown to be diligent by his virtue. So also those who have been well-pleasing and have struggled in persecutions are called witnesses as is fitting. They showed themselves to be lovers of truth, they showed themselves to be knowers of the truth. They did not confirm the truth, but they confirmed themselves. Therefore, those things worthy of the one testifying are often called testimonies.

"For your name's sake, O Lord. Not for the sake of our diligence or our life, but because of your name. This indeed is said in another psalm: 'Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory' (Psalm 115:1); for we are enriched by you and you were named our God, so do it for your name's sake. "And atone for my sin; for it is great." We say "it is great" in this way: if so many paths have been made known to Him, and He has been led to the truth, how much sin does He have? It has been said before the next part: "Cleanse me from my secret sins" (Psalm 19:12), because even a small stain is a great sin to the one who is entirely cleansed.

"Who is the man who fears the Lord?" Therefore, he asks: who then is the man who fears God? To this one "he will teach in the way in which..."

The Testament and the Eyes toward the Lord§53

53God himself chose. It is not a random person who fears the Lord. Many of us think this way, and many times we say, 'I simply want to fear God.' But we do not know what we are saying; for 'the fear of God surpassed all things,' as the Scripture says. And further: 'there is no lack for those fearing him.' If the one fearing God has no lack, he is most full. The 'who is' can be both small and spiritual.

He will lay down law for him in the way in which he was chosen. God himself is chosen. But it is possible for the man to be chosen; for virtue is primarily called 'choosable.' Just as that which is worthy of being loved is lovable, even if no one loves it; and likewise that which is worthy of being hated is hateful, even if no one hates it; so the 'choosable' is choosable, even if no one chooses it. For even bad things are chosen, but they are not choosable. Rather, the opinion regarding these things is mistaken. 'He will lay down law for him in the way in which he was chosen.' That is, either the one laying down law or the one receiving law. Both are true.

His soul shall be delighted in good things. This man who fears the Lord has his soul being delighted in good things. And his seed shall inherit the land. 'His seed' is not necessarily the physical—for the bad sons of many holy men were shown to exist—but the seed being generated through instruction and the imitation of virtue.

The Lord is a stronghold to those fearing him. Therefore, he speaks of the magnitude of the one fearing God. Those fearing God have no other stronghold than Him whom they fear. He is their strength, he is their king, he holds them. 'And the name' of Him has become a particular possession of 'those fearing him.' It is not a particular possession of men, but of those fearing; for indeed He gave it to all, but it has become the property of those fearing. And His covenant is to make it manifest to them. Covenants, when they are sealed, are not yet manifest...

It is written to the heirs. Therefore, this testament does not remain forever sealed, but it shall one day be released, so that the inheritance may be given to those written down. Thus he will make it known to them.

And since he often calls the divine word a testament, both the old and the new, the one before the visitation and the one after it, this testament must be made known; it must be released. It is released then when the things foretold are fulfilled by the outcome, according to: 'so that what was said might be fulfilled'. For it becomes valid when the one who made the arrangement has died; for the release happens then. Even if it is not released in the sense of a contradiction, it is released by power; for when the things commanded are being handed over to those who have received them, the testament is released.

15 My eyes are toward the Lord always, because he himself will drag my feet out of the snare (Ps 25:15). Observe that, if we do not attend precisely to the words, opposites are found. It is no longer according to the one saying, 'Great is my sin' (Psalm 25:11), but rather, 'My eyes are toward the Lord always' (Ps 25:15); for he who always keeps his eyes toward the Lord has no sin at all, he has a pure heart. In this way, he is also able to see God himself.

Therefore, when he does not see at one time, and perhaps not at another, yet having his eyes toward the Lord always, he says, 'But I am with you always' (Ps 73:23). And being with you, he does not sin. Unless someone becomes outside of God, he does not sin. 'Those who prolong' therefore 'will separate themselves from you' (Psalm 73:27). And what about 'and his testament'?—the testament of God is made known when someone is proven worthy to receive the things promised.

The testament of God has something paradoxical compared to the other testaments; once, the testaments of men are released. But God is day by day. This, therefore, both makes the testament known to those coming and to those who are worthy. Just as in all other things the things of God deviate, for it was said that this sensible light, when it comes into the middle, illuminates the eye that has it; it does not provide comprehension to the blind. But the thing of...

The Twofold Knowledge and the Eye of the Heart§54

54The light of God is perceived at once, providing sight and enlightening it. To those who are blind and do not know Him when He rises, He grants even more: to have the eyes of the mind and to perceive the light. In this way, the covenant is not suddenly released; rather, if someone today makes himself worthy to be the son of the One who possesses and is an heir, then it is revealed to him. 'My eyes are continually toward the Lord' (Ps 25:15). Since 'the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous' (Ps 34:15), it is necessary that the righteous also have their eyes continually toward Him.

They do not see Him at all times, but sometimes they see one of the forbidden things; for just as 'no one can serve two masters' (Matt 6:24), so no one can have his eyes toward God and toward evil or the maker of evil first. God is a spiritual essence seen by the eyes of the intellect. When the eyes of the intellect are stretched toward Him alone, they see nothing else. And the physical hands are not able to see when we see God, just as one serving God is not able to serve Mammon.

And regarding 'is not able' I say this: he is not able to do justice while he is doing injustice; for I do not say as I say 'it is not possible for a man to fly,' but rather that as far as he is righteous, he is not able toward sin, and when he is a sinner, he is not able toward virtue. 'My eyes' therefore 'are continually toward the Lord' (Ps 25:15). I always see Him. And he who sees God does not sin; 'everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him' (1 John 3:6). And behold the piety of the saints; even if he himself chooses to direct his eyes toward the Lord, it is evident that he is not sinning; the achievement of sinlessness is inscribed by God: 'since my eyes are continually toward Him' (Ps 25:15), because of this I escape the snare which sin prepares; for 'He Himself will rescue my feet from the snare' (Psalm 25:15).

I searched for some of the ancients, which is a fine thing to say, that sometimes the eye is named in the singular of the inner man, and sometimes in the plural. In the Song of Songs, for instance, it is said: 'You have made us one from your eyes' (Song 6:9). 'My eye brought forth tears.' 'My eye was troubled from my spirit.' But in the plural: 'I lifted up my eyes to the mountains' (Song 6:4); and in the present verse: 'my eyes...'

Because of all things toward the Lord. And 'having been enlightened the eyes of the heart' (Eph 1:18). We have a twofold knowledge; for then it is knowledge of truth, when the form of each thing being known is received into itself.

The works of God are both visible and invisible; and from the greatness of these and from their beauty, the one who constructed them is perceived. And our mind is an eye seeing the invisible, the pure heart, which also sees God. And we also have the sense of eyes. And if it applies to the visible works of God in this way, as they were constructed and possess nature, it is healthy. But when, I say, seeing the sun we think it is God himself, seeing the heavenly arrangement we regard as mere idle chatter, this eye does not see correctly; for it was necessary 'that the invisible things of God be seen through the works of the creation of the world' (Rom 1:20).

The invisible things of God are seen then, when we apply our sight to the visible creations of God and thus from the creation of this sensible world we see clearly the invisible things of God. We are not able to see the arts and the sciences in the minds of men except when the mind is invisible. And from the constructed works or scientific contemplations we receive the sense of the mind, according to what science or art has made it. Primarily, therefore, one perceives the science of the mechanic; he who is able to receive the principles of mechanical constructions into his own intellect. Similarly also regarding others; we call that one a physician who knows medical matters as they ought to be, as the science dictates.

When, therefore, someone sees the invisible as it ought to be—and by 'as it ought to be' I say, as it is possible—and sees also the invisible creations of God, of which the human soul is also a creation, he has this eye seeing toward God and pure through all things. When he also correctly perceives the sensible creations and the providence concerning them, he has the sensory desire—not this I mean the one of the body, but the intellect of the sensibles, the visible—succeeding, and thus he has the eyes toward the Lord through all things.

As a slave speaks. And a slave is the one serving God, who both in disposition and in deed confesses the lordship, 'he who does the will of the Father in the heavens' (Matt 7:21). 'Because he himself will drag the feet out of the snare' (Psalm 25:15).

The Uniqueness of the Only-Begotten Son§55

55Even if the trappers and hunters seek to catch my foot, as if to throw it into a trap, I do not suffer this because I keep my eyes toward the Lord at all times. For often the settings of the wicked snares are called the disciplines of the Divine: 'the foot was caught in that trap which they hid' (Psalm 9:15). Frequently the enemies of truth prepare traps, and by catching others in these traps, they themselves are snared. And there is such a thing in history: Haman prepared wood in order to crucify the righteous Mordecai, and he himself was crucified upon it. And concerning this great man it is said: 'He dug a pit and hollowed it out, and he will fall into the pit which he made' (Psalm 7:15). Even if these things do not happen in this life, they certainly happen in the life to come, caught in the trap which he prepared.

For many observe these sensory things and consider themselves to be escaping them, such as: 'all who take a sword will perish by the sword' (Matt 26:51). But this is not a contradiction; rather it says: those who take a sword will fall under punishment. In many places of the Scriptures the sword signifies punishment, as in: 'I will drink my arrows, and my sword devours the blood of the wounded' (Deuteronomy 32:42), and: 'my sword was drunken in heaven' (Isaiah 34:5); for it also touched those who sinned in Psalm 86 and drew them toward punishment in this way: 'our soul was snatched like a sparrow from the trap of the hunters' (Psalm 124:7). And see the difference: perhaps some of those being hunted by these wicked hunters are taken entirely into the traps, while others only their feet. Therefore those saying: 'our soul was snatched like a sparrow' were caught entirely. You say immediately: 'the trap was broken, and we were snatched away.'

Here, since the saint has his eyes toward the Lord at all times, concerning more trivial sins he says: 'my feet became a trap.' Therefore, snap them out of there, so that having become otherwise unfooted, they may run the way of the commandments of God and say: 'I ran without iniquity and I directed my course' (Psalm 59:4). 16 Watch over me and have mercy on me. When God watches, mercy comes to those being watched; for they are worthy of being seen; for the [one who...]

By sinning, one is distanced from the eyes of God and from His face. Adam, indeed, when he sinned along with Eve, 'was hidden from the face of the Lord God' (Gen 3:8). They do not endure being seen by the face of God when they most clearly realize to themselves that they have sinned. But Cain, acting impudently, led himself away from the face of God; for 'Cain went out.' And the one going out does so by choice. Concerning Adam and Eve, it is said: 'the Lord cast them out.' While they were still inside, He cast them out; for it was no longer permitted for them to be inside. Nevertheless, they were surrounded by desire. They are not as evil as the one who went out from the face of the Lord. These are those about whom it is written: 'lawless ones do not abide before your eyes' (Psalm 5:5). But they go outside the eyes of God voluntarily; for the eyes of God, beholding, enlighten those who are looked upon. 'For I am poor and only-begotten' (Psalm 25:16).

Aetius, the leader of the Eunomian heresy, says to some: 'How great a thing you grant by saying that the Christ is the only-begotten of God. And many other creatures are only-begotten. The sun, indeed, is only-begotten.' I say to him: it is not the same thing to be something 'only-begotten' and to be an only-begotten offspring or an only-begotten Son. Therefore, these things said to others as 'only-begotten' are not said with the addition of 'Son,' or 'from the Father,' or 'offspring.' But the Savior, if He is ever so named, is called with such an addition: 'and we beheld His glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father' (John 1:14). And the one who is the only-begotten Son from the Father is the Father's only. And again: 'so God loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son' (John 3:16). I say: since there is an only-begotten Son, it is impossible for there to be another son belonging to that only-begotten Son. And nothing of the creatures is only-begotten; for even if the sun were only-begotten, it is not an only-begotten creature, nor an only-begotten work, but an only-begotten sun. So also among humans we say 'only-begotten child,' not because he is the only one that exists, but because he is the only one to that parent. And that: 'he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God' (John 3:18). Since, therefore, he who says these things is not an only-begotten Son, let us observe how he is called otherwise; for even if he speaks of David the...

The Meaning of Only-Begotten and Tribulation§56

56If you take a man, he was not an only-begotten.

He had six other brothers.

Therefore, it must be avoided to say 'only-begotten' in this way, as in the verse: 'And I myself was left alone, and they seek my soul to take it' (1 Kgs 19:10).

By what logic they say the sun is only-begotten, by the fact that there is no other sun; so when the saint is made solitary and separated from other men by life and contemplation, he is only-begotten. 'Only-begotten' therefore means 'I am and I am poor.'

Yet he who is thus poor is rich; for he 'is rich' in every sense and in all knowledge.

But toward the God who looks upon him and bestows gifts, he is poor; just as Abraham said: 'Since I have begun to speak to the Lord, I am indeed dust and ashes' (Gen 18:27)—for he did not say 'dust and ashes' all at once, but 'since I have begun to speak to the Lord'—so also Moses, though trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and possessing sufficiency regarding speech,

called himself 'heavy-tongued and slow of speech' (Ex 4:10) from the time he began to speak to your servant.

And this man, therefore, even if he is rich—for nothing is richer than he who has his eyes always toward the Lord—yet toward the one looking upon him and showing mercy, he saw himself as poor.

And it is also possible to say 'only-begotten' meaning 'I have only one soul.'

This soul, having been caught, you will draw out from the snare; for to me it is only-begotten.

The tribulations of my heart have widened.

Not in every case, I say, do tribulations widen, but for the one bearing them bravely.

The apostle writes this: 'In all things being afflicted, but not in anguish' (2 Cor 4:8).

Those knowing the Hebrew dialect say that to be in anguish, when it is named after tribulation, signifies the intention of being afflicted, the being in anguish from not bravely bearing the afflictions, such as Job, who 'in all things being afflicted was not in anguish' (Job 1:21); for how could he be in anguish, he who says: 'As it pleased the Lord, so it happened;

let the name of the Lord be blessed'?

And the apostles coming out from the council, because they were dishonored for the name (Acts 5:41), were not being afflicted according to the disposition, but were rejoicing.

And regarding sensible things, the one contending for the crown of expectation, seeing it lying before his eyes, bravely bears the wounds, and rejoices that, being struck, he does not falter.

Therefore the name of tribulation, when one is afflicted but not in anguish, signifies the brave bearing.

The martyrs of the truth, being afflicted, were not in anguish.

'and bring me out of my necessities' (Psalm 25:17; LXX 24:17).

Here he calls the afflictions necessities.

And in other places:

'and they cried to the Lord, and he delivered them from their necessities' (Psalm 107:6; LXX 106:6).

For we must not attend to those who introduce nativity-astrology;

for those say this: that fate apportions something to men.

But if one is godly and becomes wise according to God, he becomes outside the things suspended by fate.

And the learned among the Egyptians, of whom is the thrice-great Hermes, say that the wise man is no longer subject to fate; he becomes outside the world.

As the Savior says it is possible, being in the world, to be no longer of it, when one has the mind above and a heavenly citizenship, so those, babbling from our scriptures, say that the wise man looses fate.

Some of those occupied with nativity-astrology thus hear such sayings, namely:

'There are fateful crises to which I am subject. Make me outside these; loose fate.'

We do not take the saying thus; rather, he calls the demonstrations necessities.

And this is also found in Job:

'Six times he shall deliver you from necessities, and in the seventh no evil shall touch you' (Job 5:19).

What he says is this:

the [...].

The Unjust Hatred of the Wicked§57

57The world came into being in six days. He who does not surpass it is under necessity. This number is perfect. What he says is this: he who is contained by the world and its parts and thus lives is necessarily under necessity. But when he surpasses the world and ascends above it, in the seventh he sabbaths from the works of the world. And becoming in the seventh—which is led, pure, and left to the people of God—he becomes blameless.

To sin against this is to approach it and act it out. If, for instance, he says, 'It is good for a man not to touch a woman,' this does not mean that to touch a woman's body with evil is the only thing. 'Bring me out of my necessities' (Psalm 25:17). Since we have given to your judgment, look at what appears to me; I say, 'Bring me out of my necessities,' so that I may not be compelled by sin and become loose toward virtue. Then you bring me out of these, if you will give me forgiveness of sins. This too can be understood: the coming punishments, the additional and distressing necessities.

The afflictions of my heart have been enlarged (Psalm 25:17). Often regarding different readings we do not doubt. Now it is necessary to know that they 'were enlarged' and not 'were multiplied'; for he who is afflicted in heart is no longer serious but also foolish. It is not permitted to take the things before this verse and after it as foolish for him who says these things, he who has his eyes always toward the Lord. 'See my lowliness and my labor, and forgive all my sins' (Psalm 25:18).

He labors in this world, having reached a peak, 'the body of lowliness.' Along with this evil, it happens to be humbled; for often affliction is called humbling according to: 'You humbled us in a place of affliction' (Psalm 44:19). When we have come into the place of affliction, we were humbled. And it is possible also to say that: when the eyes...

He always had the Lord before him, seeing Him, and then he saw himself humble, even if he is righteous, just as they say concerning Abraham: not always did he see himself as 'earth and ash' (Gen 18:27), but when 'he began to speak toward the Lord.'

'Behold my enemies, for they have multiplied and unjust hatred has hated me' (Psalm 25:19). Unjust hatred is hated by one who hates for no other reason than that he is zealous. In this way, indeed, the disciples of Jesus were hated. Concerning these things he teaches to send up a prayer: 'Pray for those hating you, love those hating you' (Matt 5:44). It is not we who hate anyone; for it has been said: 'Do not hate any man, love every man' (Lev 19:18). But they hate.

And it is not our sin to be hated by some, but rather an accident, when we provide no pretext of hatred. Therefore he says: 'Behold my enemies, for they have multiplied and unjust hatred has hated me' (Psalm 25:19). They do not hate me with righteous hatred. They hated me as an unrighteous man, as a covetous man. And since they hate me having nothing of these things, they hate me unjustly.

And such people multiply; for if the righteous man is hated because of virtue, he possesses all the virtues according to the many things said concerning the sequence of virtues. The unrighteous hate the righteous, the intemperate the self-controlled, the arrogant the humble, and in every way those in wickedness hate the righteous. The righteous man, therefore, is one, even if he has all the virtues; for wickedness divides those having them, for it is not possible to have all the wickednesses at once. Therefore the coward cannot be bold, the superstitious cannot be impious, the rogue cannot be foolish.

In one way, Egypt hated Joseph, making him a prisoner and a captive to be tested as an evildoer. This hatred was unjust. Jezebel against Naboth worked out death, and it was this hatred that was unjust. And Herodias, the wife of Herod, worked out death against John, showing pity, as much as was in her. Of those, therefore, unjustly...

Boldness and the Childlike State§58

58Through the vote and judgment of providence, some things are made manifest and others are not. The fate of John became manifest after his death, but of others before death, such as Susanna and Joseph. Even if vengeance occurs here or not, no one seeks whether it is thus or not here; for the judgments of God happen this way; for 'his judgments are unsearchable' (Romans 11:33). Guard my soul and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I have hoped in you (Psalm 25:20). If you guard my soul without harm or injury, I know that I shall be rescued; for indeed I am rescued from the evildoers or I receive a crown because of having been afflicted. The guileless and the upright clung to me, because I endured you, Lord. Not only did I profit myself by enduring, endurance which brings salvation—for 'the one who endures will be saved unto the end' (Matthew 10:22)—but I profited many because I endured you, and I had many friends. But he speaks of the guileless here as those being crushed by malice, not the well-behaved. Thus the upright were joined with them. According to the reception of malice they are guileless, but according to the taking up of virtue they are upright. For example, one who turns away from evil so as to no longer practice it has become guileless. And since after the turning away from evil he receives the doing of good, the one who turns away from evil becomes upright. It is therefore possible to call the same people guileless and upright according to one thought and another. And it is also possible thus: those who are guileless according to practice being outside of malice, while the upright are those who think the things of piety.

Redeem, O God, Israel from all his afflictions. Since He Himself has attained the petition concerning Himself, He wills also for Israel—for every discerning one and possessing mind—to have the same salvation, to become outside of the afflictions through God having redeemed. It is not out of place, then, to take these things also concerning the man of the Lord. Beginning from where we began the psalm, if we have spoken, it is because the things said concerning the man according to the Savior are common to all the righteous, only His being His own in the theological sense. Judge me, Lord, for I have walked in my guilelessness. The voice is very bold toward God. But he has boldness toward God, whose heart does not condemn, as the great disciple and evangelist John writes in the epistle: 'if... (1 John 3:21)'.

"Our heart does not condemn us; we have boldness toward God." Thus the whole psalm is sent up from much boldness. He speaks of some things as if already accomplished, and of others as present and active, and some things signify a prayer of the speaker; for he says: "Judge me, Lord, for I have walked in iniquity" (Psalm 26:1). He did not say "I shall walk," but "I have walked." And here "iniquity" means guilelessness. He who has turned according to the instruction of Jesus and has become as children, he has become in guilelessness, and such a person is perfect in mind, but a child in wickedness, as the apostle writes: "Be perfect in mind, and a child in wickedness" (1 Cor 14:20).

He who is a child in wickedness does not ignore it—for how could he be a child in it if he ignored it?—but he does not act upon it. This is indeed what he says: "In my iniquity I have walked." Thus, here it is different. In both cases the guileful means what was previously said, "turned according to the children." Therefore, he who has turned according to the teaching of Jesus and has become as children does not lack sense. He does not mean the foolishness of infants, but the immobility toward evils. It was said, therefore, that a child sleeping with a woman does not accept her desire. So when someone, having become perfect, has such a state of being without desire for debauchery, he is a child in guilelessness and has become as children having turned. For observe that these children, according to their age, are not such as to be foolish or easy-going. But the perfect one has become such that it is a matter of choice to be thus a child and thus without guile. Regarding infants, this does not appear; it is not a matter of choice, but of an age that does not permit having a perfect intellect.

The "I have walked" here does not speak of an interruption or a stopping, but that I began this way from a long time ago, or I began this way from the womb; for he says: "Upon you I have been leaned from the womb, from my mother's womb you are my covering" (Ps 71:6). And the saints, concerning whom it is said: "Whom he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom 8:29), belong to this boldness. And hoping in God, I shall not be weak. He no longer says "having hoped," as with "I have walked." But the hope toward God makes one strong and very capable. Since, therefore, I hope in you, "I am not weak." Concerning this...

Sacrifice of the Soul and the Meaning of Kidneys and Heart§59

59Weakness is often produced by the divine disciplines. 'He brought them'—he says—'them'—evidently the Hebrews—'in gold and silver, and there was no weakness in their tribes.' For when God leads anyone in gold, that is to say, in a pure mind, and in silver—a tested word—there is no weakness. Those led thus do not suffer weakness, but are strong 'in the one strengthening' them. And as the apostle says, 'I can do all things' (Phil 4:13), he who is able to do all things does not suffer weakness; so also each of the wise men who is strong does not suffer weakness. For how could he who says to God in Psalm 92, 'I will love you, O Lord, my strength' (Psalm 18:1), suffer weakness? He who hopes in wealth will surely suffer weakness.

And even if the name of weakness signifies sickness—for it does mean—this is what it says: hoping in the Lord, I shall not be sick according to the soul, I am always being healthy; for 'the one keeping the commandment, this one is healthy.' This is not spoken concerning physical health; for many keeping a commandment suffer sickness, and many transgressing commandments are healthy. 2 Test me, O Lord, and try me (Ps 26:2). Behold the boldness; 'refine my kidneys' and see if there is injustice in me. No one is called to examine such hidden things, knowing the marrow, unless he has much boldness. Therefore, some people, because of the excess of the boldness of the one speaking boldly, take the psalm for the man of the Savior. And it has been said to us already many times, that the achievements of the Savior touch the man and all perfect men. 'Test me, O Lord, and try me.' Bring me into the contest. Just as a capable athlete might say to the contest-setter: 'Test me and try me, if I am such a man as I promise.'

To test God in this way means that he is worthy to happen to receive testing from Him. 'But just as we have been tested by God to be believed in the gospel,' 'we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel, but also our own souls' (1 Thess 2:8). Someone shares his own soul with someone when he prepares him according to the quality he possesses. Not only, he says, do we have the readiness to share the gospel with you, but also our own souls. If anyone becomes an imitator of the apostle and has all his disposition and practice, he transfers...

The soul of the apostle is received. This can be grasped easily: for 'we are ready even to risk our lives' because 'he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for one another'. If we, when placing our lives for those we love, were placing some intellectual or allegorical soul, it would be different; but we do this by imitating Jesus, who truly laid down a human and not an allegorical soul.

“Purify my kidneys and my heart. For your mercy is before my eyes, and I have rejoiced in your truth” (Psalm 26:2-3). Behold that through all things he trusts in his own purity. Since these things seem to be beyond human power, he immediately says: “for your mercy is before me” (Psalm 26:3). I know that even if I propose good things, even if I hasten to run after them, if you do not show mercy, I will not be perfected. Therefore, “I have rejoiced in your truth” (Psalm 26:3). One need not be self-deprecating here when the subject is truth. I recall someone saying: if you are asked, “Are you a virgin?”, say: “Because of God, I have been a virgin until now, and I wish to remain a virgin until now through faith, and entirely.” He who rejoices in the truth of God has the mercy of God before his eyes. Having the one who cooperates and perfects before his eyes, he will speak boldly toward those who have already been made upright by him. Therefore I say: “Purify my kidneys and my heart, for your mercy is before my eyes” (Psalm 26:2).

The kidneys and the heart are joined together in many places in Scripture: “God tests hearts and kidneys” (Psalm 7:9). “And even until night my kidneys instructed me” (Psalm 16:7). And just as when we hear 'heart', it does not mean the part of the body, but rather the one who has it sees God; again: “Hear me, you who have lost your heart”, no one loses this bodily part in such a way—if not, if God casts out a stony heart and places a fleshy one in its stead, we understand the intellect. Along with this heart, the so-called kidneys are not parts of the body. It is said that the seminal women are first composed there, and from there they easily pass into the sexual organs. Therefore, the kidneys are procreative and ministers of seed.

True Will and the Seat of Folly§60

60Therefore there are also wombs, according to that which the soul or the mind brings forth; those he calls kidneys along with the named heart. 'You are near,' he says, 'to their mouth, but far from their kidneys' (Jeremiah 12:2). From these kidneys you are far, O God, not from the physical parts. Therefore I have directed my kidneys and my heart, test me (Psalm 26:2). I do not have seeds capable of bearing offspring, such as to become exalted children, destructive children, like those Judas had; for it is said: 'Let them be brought to destruction. Let there be no redeemer for him' (Psalm 109:12), nor a helper to his children, not concerning physical children. Perhaps we do not even know if he had children. He calls all the traitors of the truth his children. Just as Paul brings forth through the gospel, he brought forth through the betrayal of those from whom he came in order to hand over Jesus: 'What do you want me to give you, and I will hand him over to you?' (Matthew 26:15). Through this eagerness, he became the father of all the traitors of the truth. 'And I rejoiced in your truth'. The one rejoicing in the truth of God is not ashamed of his words; for Jesus said: 'Whoever is ashamed of me and my words' (Mark 8:38). But if he himself is ashamed of the one being ashamed, the one speaking boldly and remaining in the truth and preferring it above all, he himself is a weakling; let him remain in him.

4 I did not sit with a seat of futility and with law-breakers, I will by no means enter. The evil and the good are not co-existing. The one having the good cannot partake of evil. The one having been set upon evil, insofar as he is evil, is unfit for virtue. And since abstaining from evil—when one, having a nature toward them, abstains from them by choice—the children do not have intemperance, but I do not say they abstain from intemperance. The soulless and the irrational do not have impiety; and I do not say they abstain from impiety; for abstaining is a volitional movement. In the first psalm, therefore, he blesses the man who is perfect according to the inner man: 'Blessed is the man who walked not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of scoffers' (Psalm 1:1). The sophist and deceiver can say that neither the child, nor the irrational, nor the soulless 'walked in the counsel of the ungodly and in...'

"He does not stand in the way of sinners, nor does he sit in the seat of mockers" (Ps 1:1). Denying the perfect man such things, he says: how can one abstain from these by having "his own will in the law of the Lord" (Psalm 1:2)? For it is not possible for everyone to have "his own will in the law of the Lord." For those who think they do not sin by returning to the law only because they fear punishment, do not have "their own will in the law of the Lord." If indeed someone were to persuade them that there is no punishment, they would do everything that is forbidden. But he who has "his own will in the law of the Lord," even if a thousand trials and many punishments were hanging over him, does not depart from the will of the law. Such were the Maccabees, such were the witnesses of the truth among us.

Just as he does not previously say that the perfect man abstains from evils by having his own will in the law of the Lord, and having said the appropriate good things here, he then says what is forbidden and says: because I walked in integrity (Psalm 26:1) and hoped in you, not having my mercy weak before your eyes, since I am such a person, "I did not sit with a seat of futility" (Psalm 26:4). He did not distinguish the futility of the seat by anything other than being in such a life; for life is divided among men, not a place. Diligence divides the serious man from the base men, and knowledge separates the one who has it from the ignorant. So also here, the one who walked in integrity and having hope in God, and because of this being strong and not weak, "did not sit with a seat of futility" (Psalm 26:4).

And here one might say: "the child and the irrational and the soulless did not sit with a seat of futility." But they did not sit with a seat of futility because of not being by nature, but because of walking in integrity and hoping in God. "And after those who transgress, I shall by no means enter" (Psalm 26:4). I never consented with those who consult in vain and sit in council to do such things, nor did I enter after transgressors. I did not only not sit, but I did not even enter; for after the entrance, the sitting is that which is in the council. Jeremiah also was attaining to this choice and virtue, saying: "I did not sit with those playing, but I was reverent from the face of God" (Ps 26:6-7).

Disposition and the Mirror of Action§61

61“from your hand; I sat alone, because I was filled with bitterness” (Jeremiah 15:17); for these things he says to the Pantokrator. To play and to counsel in vain are the same thing; for here the playing is not praiseworthy, but it turns out to be like that which the butchers had; for they “sat down,” he says, “to eat and to drink, and they rose up to play.” This way of playing turns out to be forbidden. “I did not sit” therefore “among those playing at the council.” And it has been shown many times that the superficial things of life, those who harm rather than help, the ungodly, are called vain. He who has concern with such people, even if he does not sit with them locally, is sitting in the council of vanity.

“And with law-breakers I will by no means enter” (Psalm 26:4). He says “law-breakers” here to mean those transgressing the law, not those who have no law at all—for those are lawless and law-breaking—since he was far from such people. And what about: “I will by no means enter”?—instead of: I did not enter into lawlessness; for to enter with law-breakers, that is, to transgress the law, is just as to enter into virtue means to act according to virtue. I hated the assembly of adulterers and I will not sit with the ungodly. The adulterers are either the same as those sitting in vain, or they are not far from them. And perhaps those sinning in practical matters sit in vain, while those thinking false things and having heretical opinions are the assembly of adulterers. And it is good even to say “adulterers.” No one is said to be adulterating according to his nature, but rather he who is disposed toward acting thus, yet is able to be outside of that action.

“I will wash my hands in innocence” (Ps 26:6). He who says: “In my innocence I walked” (Psalm 26:1), and saying: “Test me and try me, refine my reins and my heart” (Ps 26:2), says: “I will wash my hands in innocence.” We say this: the former achievements are spiritual.

They were a disposition signifying the one speaking boldly that he has no injustice in kidneys and heart, to walk in innocence, to hope in God, to speak boldly and say, 'test me and try me' (Psalm 26:2). Since therefore I am thus according to the opinion, and I have pure actions. The disposition has washed my actions. 'I will wash' (Psalm 26:6) therefore 'my hands among the innocent'; for I am not satisfied with disposition alone.

And I will circle your altar, Lord (Psalm 26:6). And the priests according to the law, washing, circled the altar. And such a regulation teaches that the one officiating must have pure actions. Therefore, without fail, a basin was constructed for washing 'the feet and the hands' not from any other material but from mirrors. Moses took much gold and other vessels from the Hebrews to construct many of the temple's vessels, a lampstand, a table. And the silver ones, and the gold ones, but the basin he made from the mirrors of the women (Ex 38:8), teaching that someone, having washed his actions and the moving powers of the soul, ought to reflect himself.

For such a way is called a mirror, and James writes: the 'one having become a hearer of the word' (James 1:23) and not a 'doer of the work' says: 'he perceived his face in a mirror and immediately went away and forgot what he was' (Jas 1:24). He did not blame the perceiving of the face in the mirror, but the departing immediately. Just as the one looking in the mirror, when he turns away from the mirror, no longer sees himself, so the one returning to the law, if he is not a doer of the law, passes away according to the one departing from the mirror and takes forgetfulness of that according to... 'but we all, with an unveiled face, are being reflected the glory of the Lord' (2 Cor 3:18). In the basin, therefore, that which became from mirrors, and the apostle washed his hands and prepared others to this. To hear the voice of your praise (Psalm 26:7). You see,

Two kinds of destruction and the path of integrity§62

62For after the washing of hands, there comes also the seeing of wonders and the hearing of the voice of praise. For virtue must not stand only up to practice, but also up to contemplation and praise, up to the knowing of that very good thing, the truth, and to narrating all your wonders. The hearing of the voice of praise happens toward the narrating of all the wonders of God. He does not have in his own word any other narration or that concerning the wonders of God.

Thus, the one saying these things is a priest, not one who priesthoods by succession according to the daily shifts of the law, but just as Samuel was always in the house. And each of the saints is able to say, 'I also am with you always.' And here it is said, 'My eyes are toward the Lord always' (Psalm 25:15). He who has his eyes toward God always encircles the altar of God, remaining with Him always, always performing the sacred rites.

Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house and the place of the tabernacle of your glory (Ps 26:8). What is the difference between a tabernacle and a house? It has often been said that the tabernacle signifies progress; for it is a house of travelers, a portable house. But the house is established in one place. It signifies perfection. 'And the place of the tabernacle of your glory I have loved,' when it was progressing. The glory of the tabernacle, that is, of progress, becomes virtue both in the practical and in the contemplative. Magnificent is this one who is able to say, 'All that we were useful to do, we have done.' This one is magnificent. Primarily, the fitting is well when it becomes virtue and godliness. He is beautiful who, through chastity, achieves 'how to please the Lord.' He who is 'holy in body and spirit' (1 Cor 6:19) has beauty. Therefore, I loved the beauty of your house, the perfection.

Do not destroy my soul with the ungodly, nor my life with men of blood (Psalm 26:9). He does not say, 'Being righteous, do not condemn me with the ungodly, do not draw me toward them.' Rather, you do not join with me with the ungodly if you prevent me from entering into ungodliness. I am prevented from entering into ungodliness if there remain to me achievements of what I have confessed, if I remain walking in innocence, if hoping in you so as not to grow weak. I am perfect. And being perfect, I do not perish with the ungodly. No one is excellent with the wicked...

It is said. The type of destruction is twofold: do not punish me with the ungodly, and do not number me among those punished because of ungodliness. And second: guard me in piety, in pleasing with 'your truth'; for 'ungodliness does not save' those who are by it. Not saving him, it destroys him.

And 'with men of blood my life' (Psalm 26:9). Let me not have such a life as those murderous men have. By an analogy: those who are arrogant, being great men, yet stumbling the little ones in the church, are 'men of blood'. Do not let such things happen to me so that I have life with them. 'This life and the length of days is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul' (Deut 6:5). He having this life does not have life with men of blood; he is dead toward the men of blood, but dead because he does not have the life which they have.

Of whom lawlessness is in their hands. Still in their own practices they have lawlessness. They do not possess it, but they have it. And their right hand was filled with gifts. It is possible also to slander judges as bribe-takers. And even those who do not judge, many times we bribe when we show partiality to someone. And if he acquires pleasant things for himself, he bribes; he receives gifts from himself.

But I, in my innocence, went my way. No one of those bribing and having the right hand filled with gifts, no one of the lawless and men of blood, went in innocence. Such was Elymas the sorcerer, ungodly and walking in lawlessness and having the right hand full of gifts; for it seemed to be excellent at deceiving, and it is said concerning him: 'O full of all deceit and all trickery, son of the devil' (Acts 13:10). But he, being full of all trickery, is not able to say: 'In my innocence I went my way'.

Deliver me, O God, and have mercy on me (Ps 51:1). He who walks in iniquities, existing in the iniquities previously mentioned, says 'deliver me'. Even if I am in the most distant iniquities, and with your cooperation all the things of virtue are lifted up for me, yet you have still touched me, the 'body of humiliation', yet 'in the place of my affliction' I am; therefore 'deliver me'. For my foot has stood in uprightness. The same thing as standing in uprightness is the foot of the inner man and that in the rock according to what was said: 'You stood upon a rock' (Exodus 33:21).

The Divine Light and the Armor of Truth§63

63"my feet"; for straightness is like an uncracked and continuous rock. My foot is therefore firm in my straightness. Standing in straightness is the same as standing in faith; for it says, "for indeed you have stood in faith" (2 Corinthians 1:24). Such a standing does not happen without Jesus. Those having this standing stand by him, as he says, "there are some standing here," meaning, here by me.

"I will bless you in the churches, Lord" (Psalm 26:12). In the church I will offer thanksgiving hymns, not outside anywhere. He who promises to give thanks to God outside, contrary to the ecclesiastical opinion, does not bless in the churches.

Of David; before being anointed. The psalms before this were "to David"; this one is written "of David." He himself brought it forth by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He sent it forth "before being anointed." Thirdly, David appears anointed; first, when he went to Samuel and was anointed, and Samuel to Jesse. Second, after Saul had finished; the beginning was preserved; for some were seeking David as king, while others sought Mephibosheth the son of Saul. After the son of Saul was betrayed by Abner because of the appearance of a woman, David was anointed over all the people in Hebron. Therefore, he was anointed a third time. Previously, the peak clearly belongs to a private person. Second, in order that he might rule a part of the people. After the death of the son of Saul, in order that he might also rule the rest of the people, he has been anointed again and again by all. We seek, therefore, regarding what kind of anointing he speaks here. One says that it is generally regarding every anointing; he says the psalm was spoken before being wholly anointed, and quite so; if before the first anointing, it is clearly also before the second and the third. If before the second, not necessarily before the first. If before the third, not necessarily before the first and second. But the psalm seems to have been spoken especially before the first anointing, which is before every anointing. Therefore, the psalm is "before being anointed."

"The Lord is my light and my savior" (Psalm 27:1); whom shall I fear? If God enlightens me and saves me, whom do I fear? Neither man, nor an evil power, nor even the devil himself. And the "who" here is instead of "no one"; for this usage lies here continuously.

In the Scriptures: 'What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?' (Romans 8:31) stands instead of 'no one.' 'Who shall bring a charge against the elect of God?' (Romans 8:33) stands instead of 'no one,' and furthermore: 'Behold, the Lord helps me; who can harm me?' (Isaiah 50:9) because of many things signified by the word, as it has been said elsewhere, now the 'who' lies instead of 'no one.' Therefore, the word is not about sensible life and some sensible illumination; for by the divine light the mind and the soul are illumined. And life is always joined to salvation. This is the same: eternal life and eternal salvation; for 'Israel' is indeed 'saved by the Lord with an eternal salvation' (Isaiah 45:17).

That life is always joined to the illumination, it is seen from many things: 'the life was the light of men' (John 1:4), and again this saint prays: 'enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep into death' (Psalm 13:3), signifying that he who is deprived of the illumination sleeps into death; not the common death, but the one opposed to the blessed life. Therefore, 'the Lord' is 'my light and my salvation' (Psalm 27:1). He himself guides me, speaks to me according to the hidden, enlightens me through which he speaks, and his word prepares to have salvation immediately. Since I said that the one having been illumined has life in every way—the Savior himself also says: 'I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life' (John 8:12).

He who has the light of life is not defeated by anything, especially since the truth of God itself becomes a shield fighting for him; for 'his truth shall surround you as a weapon' (Psalm 91:4). Therefore, it immediately reaches: 'The Lord is the defender of my life; from whom shall I dread?' (Psalm 27:1). The Lord is the defender of my life; from whom shall I dread? Who is able to make me afraid? I am clothed in 'the armor of God' (Ephesians 6:13), I 'have the shield' (Ephesians 6:16) of faith, extinguishing 'all the flaming arrows of the evil one' (Ephesians 6:16). If the shield of faith extinguishes the arrows of the evil one, it does much more for those of inferior archers; for there are also other worthless archers. For indeed, 'behold, the sinners have bent a bow, they have prepared arrows in a quiver to shoot at those upright in heart' (Psalm 11:2). I am not defeated by anything. The armor of God is unhurt and unstriking. His shield is truth. And no one is able against the truth.

The distinction between affliction and enmity§64

64It is to happen; 'for we are not able,' he says, 'according to the truth, but on behalf of the truth.' It is an armor that protects the one equipped and keeps him unharmed. 'Lord' therefore is 'the defender of my life.' He does not say this concerning common life; for many of those reclining toward God and having put on his armor have died the common death, so that I may not say 'all'; but also many violent ones stood by, of whom Naboth is one and many apostles. Isaiah indeed was afflicted. 2 In the approaching of those intending to harm me to eat my flesh. Those intending to harm the soul eat flesh. If anyone is found having flesh, he has strong enemies against him. The flesh is his food. And the flesh, about which Paul says: 'for the mindset of the flesh is enmity toward God' (Rom 8:7), and: 'we are not in the flesh' (Romans 8:9); if he were speaking about the sensory flesh, his word would be false; for all the saints, being in the flesh, pleased God while still surrounded by flesh, and they are not able to say: 'we are not in the flesh.' But when someone kills the flesh and casts down its works, he is not in the flesh. Therefore it is said: 'those of Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its desires' (Gal 5:24) and they have it having been made dead, no longer acting. The one being crucified has his hands free to do and his feet to go wherever he wills. Therefore those having been crucified with Christ crucified the flesh with its desires, they left it dead, as if to carry the death of Jesus remaining in their own flesh: 'always we carry the death of Jesus' (2 Cor 4:10). 'Lord, defender of my life; from whom shall I dread? In the approaching of those intending to harm me to eat my flesh' (Ps 27:1-2), since they did not find that which they desired as food, 'they grew weak and fell' (Ps 27:2). See then what this signifies.

2 Those distressing me and my enemies, they themselves grew weak and fell (Psalm 27:2). They had come to tear me into weakness, to treat me badly. But for them the passion has happened which they intended to inflict on me; for if they had found 'flesh,' they would have devoured me into weakness and consumed me into sickness. But since they did not find 'flesh,' 'they themselves grew weak and fell' (Ps 27:2), having been subjected to famine. 'Those distressing me and...

"My enemies themselves have grown weak and fallen." Not every one who afflicts is an enemy; the good person also afflicts. For many enemies, intending to afflict and surround those against whom they are hostile, are not able to do this unless God permits it. But many also afflict without being enemies. For instance, parents afflict while disciplining children, and masters afflict slaves, and they are not enemies at all.

It can indeed be said that both groups—the afflicters and the enemies—have grown weak and fallen. And this is possible: the afflicters themselves are also enemies, for they do not afflict for the sake of exhortation and instruction. They are not such as it is said of: "He who brings forth wisdom from his lips, strikes a man without heart with a rod" (Proverbs 10:13), and: "What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love?" (1 Cor 4:21); these afflicters are not enemies.

But there is a time when the enemy also afflicts; and not by necessity. But what kind of "killing" is meant?—this is not living according to evil activities. He who carries the killing of Jesus does not live licentiously; he has been killed toward licentiousness, he has been killed toward making his belly his god, he holds his members inactive regarding fleshly desires; he does not allow them to be autonomous, for he has purified desires. For it has been said: "Let not sin reign in your mortal body to obey its desires" (Rom 6:12).

If an ambush is set against me, my heart shall not fear. Therefore, how it does not fear nor tremble is explained by saying: "Whom shall I fear?" and: "From whom shall I tremble?" (Psalm 27:1), since the expression "whom" seems to exceed the scope of the question. Even if a whole ambush of evil men and powers is set against me, my heart does not fear; even if they kill the body, the heart remains unshaken, my mind is not struck. If a whole camp with great generals comes against me, I have a fearless heart, my mind does not fear. For the multitude of armies is called by this name: Jacob, when he was returning from Mesopotamia and was about to meet Esau, saw an ambush of angels; for how could there not be an ambush regarding one who was about to go against an enemy who was rushing and hating him? And Elisha similarly: an ambush.

Progressions and the Single Request§65

65He was stationed like Elisha of Syria. A divine encampment has happened around him, not according to history, but according to the spiritual sense. The soul is led by the mind and is yoked to it. If someone chooses to include the will, it is possible. The name of the spirit of the heart in Psalm 101 sometimes signifies the will, but the mind is to be taken here.

If war rises up against me, in this I hope (Psalm 27:3). There is even more of an encampment if war rises up against me; in my heart I hope, which does not fear, being strengthened by divine fear; 'fear of the Lord surpassed all' (Psalm 34:9), and 'there is no loss to those fearing him' (Psalm 34:9). 'In this I hope.' I am confident that this heart becomes everything to me. The virtues are the weapons of piety. 'Let us put on the weapons of light, let us cast off the works of the flesh' (Romans 13:12). The weapons of light are the virtues, the pious thoughts, the mysteries and doctrines of the truth. In these secure fortunes, no one is shaken, but has unashamed hope. 'In this,' therefore, 'I hope,' not simply in my thought, but in that which is thus secured.

One thing I asked of the Lord, this I will seek (Psalms 27:4). God the Giver is of many good things; for He 'will give good things to those asking Him' (Matthew 7:11), and He fills the desire with His own good things; for He is 'the one filling your desire with good things' (Psalm 103:5). Therefore, it is reasonable to say that these good things are, in essence, virtues and in essence, the mysteries of the truth. When someone—so that I may say it this way—possesses the genus of the virtues, he possesses all. Therefore, he asks for one request, all virtue. When someone does not already possess well-established virtues, he does not send up one request; for if he is in the process of advancing and becoming greater in other things, he pours out requests again and does not ask for one request. But he who sends up a prayer for the whole of virtue and for the piety of the doctrines sends up one. It is also possible to say this: the...

There are many progresses. These are signified by the name of the tabernacle, as it has been shown many times. If anyone becomes in some progress and asks to have God as a helper, to have Him as a succor, he does not remain in this request; for he passes from progress to progress, becoming better than himself. Many tabernacles are spoken of, but there is one house.

Therefore, the one having come to perfection asks one request. 'One' then, 'I asked from the Lord' (Psalm 27:4). And this is also possible: their help—so that, having been prepared for the wars and the encampments that arise, they are able—does not ask one request. They seek much help: a military encirclement, the strength of walls, constructions. But he who has God himself as a helper and asks for this one thing, asks one request. 'All in all' happens, as each of those having been perfected has Him as all things: as bread, as light, as teacher, as shepherd. 'One' then, 'I asked, this I seek out'. He who says 'I seek out' and 'I asked' shows that the one seeking does not yet have it, and longs to find. For no one has perfection unless even if he reaches the very goal and the end of virtue and of union with God.

4 of dwelling with me in the house of the Lord all the days of my life (Psalm 27:4). I did not begin to ask now, but because of the beginning of the end I began; for the one beginning an art begins because of the end of the art. Those having reached this dwell. 'Blessed are all those dwelling in your house' (Psalm 84:4). He who has the blessed life is in the days; it does not happen in nights. Even if ever it becomes in night, but he takes up the beginning of longing for life, he comes out of the night.

4 of beholding my part in the delight of the Lord and sheltering in his temple. Just as I dwell all the days in the house of God, so in all the days I behold the delight of the Lord and I shelter in his temple. But the delight of the Lord is the...

The Body as a Tent and the Mystery of the Incarnation§66

66His participation. And his state is his temple, in which God is found, in which God dwells. Perfect virtue is a house of God. 'And Christ as a son upon his house, of which we are the house,' and; 'Do you not know that you are the temple of God?'; except that we have called both virtue and perfect holiness a house, and secondly, faithful men. For this reason they become a house, because they possess virtue and holiness. It is not that the virtue makes the participants a house of God, but because of the virtue do those sharing in it become a house. And that which is over all is written as an end most especially. But because this does not happen all at once, we call the things before the end 'ends'; for there are also ends before the end: 'I have seen the end of all things' (Psalm 119:96). 'When a man has completed, then he begins.' So when he has completed, he sees the end of a certain progress; then, beginning, he seeks to see another end, and over all things he encounters the end that is over all things.

Take for me an example from the construction of a city: he who desires to build a city magnificently and—what more can I say?—royal, begins the construction. He begins to quarry stones. Often the quarrying completes much. When he has prepared those which are needed and as many as are needed, then he begins to seek a place where he will raise up the city. It becomes 'God all in all' (1 Cor 15:28), not all in each one, but 'in all'. In one he is a mourner, when someone hastens to be such; in another a good judge, in another righteous, in another a dispenser of grace, in another as a teacher to a disciple. And in all, indeed, he becomes all things to those who have drawn near to him, but not all things in each one, but either one, or two, or three gifts. And so that we may make this clear regarding the gifts: 'Receive of the Spirit'; one has the word of wisdom, another the word of knowledge, another the gift of healings. But when someone becomes perfect, no longer having the 'earnest of the Spirit' (Eph 1:14), but the Spirit itself, he becomes all things in each one. I become a perfect bearer and a bishop of the temple of God, not having anything else before my eyes except this, the temple of God, seeing it; for he has hidden me in his tent in the day of my evil. For this reason, 'One thing I have asked and this I will seek: that in the day of my evil he has hidden me in his tent' (Psalm 27:4-5). And progress was being spoken of. Amidst many evils lying ahead and those willing to harm me, he has hidden me. And it is sometimes said...

And the body is a tent; for it is said, 'the earth is a tent for the prudent' (Wisdom 9:15), and, 'we groan being in the tent' (2 Cor 5:4). Often, while we are still dwelling in the tent, the body hides us so that we are not harmed by it when someone, as I said previously, surrounds the death of Jesus in the body and strikes the body and enslaves it.

'He covered me in the secrecy of his tent.' For the secrecy of his tent is not harmful, but a covering. But the accessible part of the tent, which is already laid bare, harms rather. In this way, I am a body dwelling as if not being in a body, being swallowed up of the mortal 'by life.'

To swallow and to swallow up in the Scripture signifies victory; 'in whom they raised us, therefore we would be swallowing living ones,' instead of 'he conquered us.' And, 'Israel was laid waste, now it has become among the nations like a useless vessel' (Hosea 8:8). 'All,' he says, 'who eat him will transgress.' But the eater is being swallowed up. In the tent, therefore, 'in the secrecy of his tent he hid me.'

One who has become in the body is also able, if he perceives the cause and the mystery through which it has happened in him, to be hidden in the secrecy of it; for having immediately known the mystery and the cause, he will harm himself and will not be swallowed up. And this can be said about the Savior or toward the Savior. If regarding him it is said: 'in the secrecy of his tent he hid me,' he had a tent, he became man. The descent of the Savior has a hidden mystery.

He who is able, after the one who became flesh has tabernacled in him, to say: 'we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth' (John 1:14), was covered 'in the secrecy of his tent.' His covering has become the perceiving of the mystery of the Savior's coming. The Jews, indeed, did not perceive, and as many as are such, and they were not covered 'in the secrecy of his tent.'

And it is possible also, according to the previous argument, for the secrecy of the tent to be the end; for because of this they advance, even if it eludes those who advance; for unless someone reaches it, he is not able to see it as it is, seeing God then 'as he is' (1 John 3:2), when he comes to the end of blessedness. But, have we beheld already? — we certainly do not know. In part...

The Commonality of the Righteous and the Rock§67

67We know.

But is it the human race that says these things?

It is not the Lord's man who says these things, but the race of the righteous, the collection of the saints; for even the Son of God does not say according to man, 'The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?'

(Ps 27:1).

Many times I have said that the things said about the righteous men and about the Lord's man are said in common; but they are common not according to equality, for he surpasses all others even in these things.

I say these things are common according to participation, just as I say the medical art is common to the one who has been perfected and holds it without lack, and to those still progressing.

I do not say common according to quantity, but according to quality.

The adulterer is not hidden, but goes outside the tent; for he does not abstain from 'the fleshly desires, which wage war against the soul' (1 Peter 2:11).

But he who clearly lives all things according to the flesh—being uncontrolled, living in luxury, and altogether preferring pleasures over the watchful ones, even if they be unendurable—he has his tent manifest, he has the body manifest; it is evident that a body surrounds him.

For he who says, 'But you are not in the flesh', teaches being outside the passions of the flesh.

But he who is outside the passions of the flesh is hidden in the tent.

According to another sense, the tent is a hiding place, not known to all.

'You have raised me in a rock' (Psalm 27:5).

It is not a great thing to be raised in a sensible rock so as to send up grateful praises.

All things happening by God, on which it is fitting to give thanks, which must be praised, are not at hand, nor are they able to be present to everyone.

The rock, therefore, is the unshakeable Word of God himself, who, becoming the one around, is not cast down.

For it has been said also in others: 'The judges laid hold of a moving rock' or 'their strong ones'; and indeed, rulers being outside the rock seem to be strong and to prevail over the uncertain.

But when they become near the rock, they are immediately defeated.

And I said also yesterday, that the swallowing up signifies the victory; 'in rising up against us living, they would have swallowed us up', and; 'those swallowing up Israel with their whole mouth' (Isaiah 9:12).

The one being defeated is swallowed up, the one surrounding swallows up.

You have, therefore, some enigma having happened in the Exodus, Aaron having thrown his staff according to the guidance of God; and it became a serpent (Ex 7:10).

for the scepter of truth, which the servant of God holds, thrown and stretched forth, swallows up the sophistries of the Egyptians, so that they confess defeat, saying:

'the finger of God has done this' (Ex 8:19).

As then Aaron's rod swallowed up the rods of the enchanters—that is, conquered—and hid them and proved them nothing, so, of the rock in which the one praying gives thanks, the strong ones of the adversaries who drew near were swallowed up, having come near the rock—or their judges.

Those who advocate the things of the heterodox, thinking to construct the heretical arguments as strong and mighty, when the rock, the truth, draws near them, are swallowed up and proved nothing.

And:

'let them not say':

'we have swallowed him,' let them not boast as having prevailed and conquered me.

'In a rock you have exalted me' (Psalm 27:5; LXX 26:5).

The one having his feet standing on this rock sends up thankful praises:

'He put a new song into my mouth' (Psalm 40:3).

When the feet stand upon the rock and the steps of the one thus helped are directed, then he shall say:

'He put a new song into my mouth', a victory song.

The one exalted on the rock, then, sends up victory praises, having his progressive impulses secured.

'And now, behold, he has exalted my head above my enemies' (Psalm 27:6; LXX 26:6).

The one saying 'and now' shows that his head was often exalted above enemies.

And by 'head' he means the mind, as has often been shown.

Indeed, concerning it, it is also said in Ecclesiastes:

'The wise man's eyes are in his head' (Eccl 2:14).

The wise man has a discerning mind.

'And now,' then, 'he exalted my head'.

And always wrestling and prevailing over the enemies—and the attacking enemies are various—he says at each victory:

'and now he exalted my head above my enemies'.

Some rose up inciting to licentiousness, such as the elders against Susanna, the brothers against Joseph, and she herself who later boasted to have become his mistress.

At the same time, speaking thankfully, he shows that he did not have these achievements by his own power, but with God helping.

'I compassed and sacrificed in the [...]' (Psalm 27:6; LXX 26:6).

The Nature of Psalms and Chronology§68

68A shout of victory is offered at his tent. The shout signifies victory, for it is a loud cry made against fallen enemies. For instance, when they encircled Jericho and blew the horns and shouted, the walls of Jericho fell at their shout. Jericho, allegorically, is a place on earth, interpreted as the moon; the place on earth is not according to its increase, but according to its decrease, like the fool: for 'fool' means 'as the moon changes.' Therefore, when he encircles his tent according to all interpretations—the progress was called a tent—the one progressing and succeeding truly becomes a circle of it. And again, the body was called a tent. When the inner man resolutely sets himself against the body, he becomes a circle around it and conquers. When anyone encircles the tent, the body of Jesus, through faith, he is proved a conqueror.

6 I will sing and I will play to the Lord (Psalm 27:6). It was said to us in the earlier psalms that to sing means to have contemplation, to send up praises and songs without an instrument. It was said that to play means to practically pour out the song of triumph. Both, then, he says, are sufficient for me: I will play and I will sing. I sing by contemplating the truth. He who takes in the dogmas of piety and having contemplation of their scientific and wise nature, sings. But he who, taking the body as an instrument, both a lyre and a psaltery, striking its strings which are all the impulses and the senses, being able to bring forth a psalm harmoniously, that one plays. This, then, is the holy man who is promised to do the two: to sing and to play. He who subdues his body and disciplines it and performs the moral virtues, such as one doing almsgiving, one establishing gentleness, one advancing in courage, he plays. But he who contemplates each mystery of the truth and is able to penetrate with knowledge every dogma of piety, he sings.

Regarding: 'In the fiftieth, as if we receive some confession upon sin?'—obviously it lies there: 'When Nathan came' and rebuked him concerning Uriah (2 Sam 12). It was a time of confession, and the psalm there sends up a confession. After he had reigned and entered to Uriah, that psalm occurred. Here, however, 'before being anointed' is sung, so that also...

This one differs from that one in time and in practice. But how then is one singing? For virtue is unchangeable. Judas neither saw nor sang to the Lord. Those handed over to the Satan, in order that they might be disciplined not to blaspheme, had not possessed a certain dwelling place and progress in faith and virtue.

However, observe that the various psalms are not altogether spoken concerning one and the same person; for this we have said, that they depend on what kind of person is established according to virtue or wickedness. It is not the same thing to say that a man is without sin and to say that a righteous man is without sin. The one possessing righteousness is not able to be made subject to sin; for how could it be, if the opposites do not coexist? The one possessing evil is not able to have good, unless he first turns away from the evil. Look to what kind of person, not to this one or that one; for when I say that the faithful man is able to do all things, I do not say this one or that one, but all things for the one possessing faith. And even if ever, being faithful, someone possesses the power to do all things and succeeds, but the things of faith fall away from him, I do not say that the faithful man does not succeed, but that this specific man does not succeed.

But is the psalm after this one not earlier in time? The psalms do not require such an order as you seek. That psalm is the one rebuking the Syrian, David. King Saul was at his peak and very much in strength when David was slandered and fled. But much later happened the things concerning Uriah, and much later happened his reigning over all after the final anointing—and this was the third. And much later happened the things concerning Uriah. He was not yet reigning when David threw him out as having taken loaves and the sword of Goliath. Not thus, therefore, is the order of the psalms sought according to the order of times, but according to the successes, but according to the events.

The number fifty has something exceptional; and because of its virtues, the psalm of confession was placed upon it. Observe, then: according to the number fifty, repentance is accomplished. Immediately, too, when the Savior was murmuring at the grumbling of the Pharisees concerning the woman cleansed by him and who came to wash his feet with her own tears and to wipe them with her own hair three times, he proposed: 'Two debtors were to a lender; one owed ten drachmas...'

The Significance of Seven and Seventy§69

69Fifty, and the other five hundred. And he observes that regarding both of those who repent, he has arranged the number in five; for the five hundred has a relationship to the fifty, since the fifty, having been multiplied tenfold, becomes five hundred.

Therefore, such a mystery is concerning the number, and the psalm of confession is arranged in this; for the number is indicative of mercy. Indeed, those who have conquered a war also receive a fiftieth. And on behalf of those who did not fight, but kept the vessels, the fighters, having survived, give a fiftieth. And the priest, beginning to officiate from twenty-five years until fifty years, remains. After fifty years he no longer officiates, but guards the tent.

And the word shows that it is necessary first to establish and to perform all things priestly and to become a perfect priest so as to reach the number fifty, and then to guard the things in the tent. And the word teaches that in the labors of works and growth there is need, but when one is perfected, he ought to guard what he established. Just as one taking up health is in the healing, in the bringing of aids to him. But when he has firmly obtained health and a stable tent, he subsequently brings to himself things for the guarding of health, not doing those things that create health, but guarding things.

For this reason also God placed Adam in Paradise 'to work and to guard it' (Gen 2:15). To work, so that he might bear fruit, so that he might bring forth perfect fruits; and to guard, in addition, the plants that bore fruit. Just as to work and to guard signifies the two—to work being the exercising of virtue and of the knowledge of truth, and to guard being the keeping of things perfected—so also the priest, as much as remains of the number fifty, is in officiating. But when he fulfills this and is shown to be perfect, then he, such as that is, guards the things in the...

In the tabernacle, he no longer works himself, but receives the firstfruits of others working and takes the tithes. This number is the beginning of a square number. A square is measured equally, twice two, thrice three. Thus this is seven times seven; and moreover, the addition of the unit is cast down as the beginning of another seventy times seven. For this reason, when the Savior is asked by Peter concerning repentance, 'How often does one sin?' he says, 'Until seven times'; he says, 'I do not say to you until seven only, but even seventy times seven' (Matt 18:22). Seven times seven is a square. This has holy sides; for the seven has been shown to us many times to be blessed everywhere: 'God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it' (Gen 2:3), and, 'The eyes of the Lord, looking upon all the earth, are seven' (Zechariah 4:10). I do not say seven as three and four, but it is a most full oversight and supervision.

Thus also in the feast of the weeks, the Pentecost is celebrated according to the old and the new covenant; for you have in the Acts of the Apostles that when the Pentecost was fulfilled (Acts 2:1), the gift of the Holy Spirit was given, and the various gifts of the Spirit were measured; for it was necessary to exceed the seven times seven number and to take the beginning of another such number and thus be perfected. The fifty, therefore, is received over many great things. The seven, indeed, is again perfect. The tabernacling is done in the seventh month according to the Hebrews. Again, for six years the earth was sown, but in the seventh year it was unsown. That year remained, being kept for the poor. And there also, if a festival is led through seven years, that year is again weekly. Seven times seven is also led according to what is called the Jubilee by the Hebrews. The Jubilee is a Pentecostal year. Through fifty years it completed some festive things.

The Seventy Years and the Nature of Prayer§70

70oikonomia (household/management)

He asks: 'Tell me, when do you think that which is in Isaiah will be fulfilled?' 'And it shall be,' he says, 'after seventy years Tyre shall be restored to its ancient state' (Isaiah 23:15). From when of the seventy years are they counted? Not so that I may take them according to history, but seventy cycles of the sun of righteousness, seventy years. For the sun goes around, illuminating souls and making the doctrines of truth manifest and sending forth its rays. Therefore, when anyone is perfected and has reached the end of his progress, then the seventy years are established for him. As for the stated text, the deviation is not appropriate, but as a question, it is necessary.

Listen, O Lord, to my voice, which I have cried out (Psalm 142:1). I cried a voice to You, requesting what it would be good for me to have. And that which is paradoxical: it sends back a prayer of prayer; for he who entreats someone whose prayer has failed, offers a prayer in place of a prayer. Praying, I cried out to You again, beseeching, so that You might listen to this voice, which I cried out to You. For not everyone who cries according to the inner man cries to God, but he who says the things of God, bringing a petition to Him. The Sodomites also cry, but not to God: 'The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has filled the heavens and their sins are very great' (Genesis 18:20). And concerning the Ninevites it is said: 'The cry of their wickedness ascended' (Jonah 1:2), the multitude of wickedness. And in Isaiah: 'I waited to do justice, but he made a cry instead' (Isaiah 5:7). Thus, the cry of the Sodomites is an injunction of wickedness.

But he who prays cries to God when he has an uplifted voice, when he prays concerning great things, not concerning trivial and contemptible things, the one requesting that good things might be given to him. And the other Evangelist, the Holy Spirit, interpreted the good things; for writing in the same place, Matthew says: 'He will give good things to those asking Him' (Matthew 7:11), while Luke says: 'He will give the Holy Spirit' (Luke 11:13). The Spirit, being one, is a multitude of good things according to His various gifts; for he who has the Holy Spirit has the gifts of the Spirit, which are many good things. And in essence He is one, but in His thoughts He is many good things, just as God is one in essence. It is said also that He is many according to various thoughts: good, unshakeable, unchangeable, fountain, light; and likewise the Savior is one.

Satiety and the Divine Light§71

71That which is called life and truth according to its underlying reality. 'Ask,' he says, 'the great things, and the small things will be added to you.' Thus, the one asking for small things says to God, but not with a shouting voice. 'Ask,' he says, 'the heavenly things, and the earthly things will be added to you.' Therefore, the one sending up a prayer concerning sensible things previously does not cry out to God; he speaks to Him calmly. But the one asking for those truly great and heavenly things and those making one god-like cries out to God. For thought is the cry.

7–8 'Have mercy on me and hear me,' my heart has said to you (Psalm 27:7-8). My mind has said to you: 'from you I ask mercy.' My heart expects mercy from you and says to you, 'hear me.' These things turn back toward themselves: the one being shown mercy by God is heard, and the one being heard is shown mercy. It is not possible, then, to say one before the other. But to hear precedes to show mercy. Yet not in time before. And just as it is not possible to say appearance before color, nor color before appearance. If there is color, there is appearance. If there is appearance, it has been colored. Appearance is pre-conceived. It is necessary for there to be an appearance, so that there may be such color. And the 'it is necessary' I do not take according to time, but according to thought.

'My heart has said to you.' It signifies persons. According to every word, the three persons are signified: the one speaking, and that toward which he speaks, and that concerning which he speaks. Therefore, the person of the one praying is the one now announcing. And he announces the petition to no one other than God. 8 'I sought your face' (Psalm 27:8). My heart saying, 'have mercy and hear me.' I did not seek your face before now. Your face, I did not entreat only now: 'let your face shine upon me and we shall be saved' (Psalm 80:3). And 'I sought' signifies a seeking that was not raised. 8 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.' My heart, Lord, will seek your face. Even if 'I sought' and I had it grasping me, I do not cease until this. Again I seek it. 9 'Do not turn your face away from me' (Psalm 27:9). The eye which is healthy and preserves the virtue of sight, when light is present, has a desire for it, and it is never satisfied; for light is insatiable for the eyes: 'sweet to the eyes,' as the Preacher says (Ecclesiastes 11:7). But no one takes satisfaction from the sweet. There is sweet...

Things that satisfy the child, like the sweetness from honey. But that which comes from the light has no satiety, especially when the vision possesses its own inherent virtue. Therefore, moving from the sensible to the intelligible: the eye of the inner man, or the eyes, are never filled and never receive satiety from the face of God; for it is always appearing, illuminating and increasing the desire. 'The light of your face has been marked upon us, O Lord' (Ps 4:6); it remains. But that of the sun, or generally of the sensible light, does not remain. For if anyone withdraws from seeing the light or closes the eyes, he does not have it marked. But the intelligible light appears to remain to the one having been illuminated; it is not cast away.

Do not turn away in anger from your servant (Psalm 27:9). It is possible for one to seem as if God is turning away, but not in anger. Some thought that He turned away from Job when his possessions, his children, and his body were delivered to the one asking; but this did not happen in anger. May it not happen so concerning me, from our own sluggishness, so that you should turn your face away from me in anger. Both are therefore possible; may such a thing not be done to me, so that having been angered, you turn away from me. Or thus: may you not be angered in such a way that I am deprived of your presence. 'Become my helper, do not cast me off' (Psalm 27:9). Some manuscripts have: 'do not forsake me.' To cast off, to reject, to send away, is the same as to cast off. For in Isaiah it is carried: 'and he casts him off' (Isa 17:4). And observe the precision of the word; it does not always mean the occurrence of a becoming, but rather signifies that which the addition intends. And 'become my helper' is applied here. For one who is becoming a helper to someone does not simply 'become.' I have also said at other times that verbs which imply a becoming, if they are spoken unrestrictedly, signify a creative act: 'all things came into being through him,' instead of 'all things came into being through him.' 'In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth' (Gen 1:1). It is not 'what He made,' but this very thing: 'heaven and earth.' And when it says: 'become my helper, do not forsake me,' it says: 'become a helper to me.' The relationship signifies the helper in relation to the one being helped. So we also say: 'become my teacher,' and it does not mean they are a teacher, but 'become a teacher to me.' Such things are also...

The distinction between hating parents and hating God§72

72Things said about the Savior: 'Understand the apostle and high priest of our confession, faithful in him who made him' (Hebrews 3:1-2). He made him an apostle; he did not merely make him, but an apostle. And behold, the essence of the Son is eternal. But to become an apostle happens then, when some depart from him; for he is sent to those far off. And observe that the becoming an apostle co-exists with him being far from certain ones, those having been distanced from him.

Again, he becomes high priest when he is set over those for whom he is consecrated. But it is not then that the hypostasis of the Savior has become, as those think, but the beginning, the high priesthood. Thus also in the deeds of the apostles he says: 'Let all the house of Israel know securely this, that God made him both Lord and Christ' (Acts 2:36). He becomes Lord of those fleeing to serve him. If therefore anyone begins to serve him even today, he has become Lord to him today. And if anyone subjects him to his own kingdom and to his own priesthood, he has become Christ to him today; for the Christ declares nothing other than king and high priest.

Indeed, Aaron was said to be the Lord's Christ, and the kings were said to be the Lord's Christs, and concerning Saul: 'The Lord is a witness, and his Christ' (1 Samuel 12:5). And this: 'Do not touch my Christs.' 'My helper' therefore means 'become, do not lead me astray'; do not send me away from you. Concerning some it is said: 'God will cast them away, because they did not listen to him, and they shall be wanderers among the nations' (Hosea 9:17). When they depart, they were led astray here and there, no longer having a firm purpose. And he assigns the cause to us: 'because they did not listen.' It is not God's will to cast anyone away from him. But it is his will to send away those who did not listen, so that he might not seem to hate virtue. And since they did not listen, 'according to the abundance of their lawlessness, cast them out, because they have turned aside from you, Lord' (Psalm 5:10). This is what it means to be led astray.

And they say also that the word is etymologized such that the iron filings are called the 'koras'. Easily the filings are scattered like dust. May I not become such a thing as to be led astray. I wish to be a vessel of gold or a vessel of bronze, but certainly not the dross.

And it is sent away and cast out. 9 And do not leave me, Lord God my Savior. For you are also my Lord—for I serve you—and my God—for I am a child of Abraham, and God is 'of Abraham and of Isaac' (Exodus 3:6) and clearly of them—I am as a slave toward a lord, as one worshipping sincerely toward God, being healed, as one being saved toward a Savior. Since therefore all these things have become mine, you do not leave me.

10 For my father and my mother have left me. I wish to clarify this with an explicit evangelical sense, so that it may be understood from that. And the Old Scripture and the Gospel and the very exhortations of the Savior teach to love father and mother. Listen: if anyone hates a father, he does not hate him as a father, but as an impious man; and he hates him not in his capacity as father, but in his capacity as impious. And he who loves a father, does so because of this, that he truly pursues him when he is thus trained by fear and instruction, when he is thus trained as a righteous man. 'Well' indeed 'a father trains a righteous man'. I have said therefore that almost all the Scriptures speak against and punish those who fall away from the honor of parents: 'he who slanders a father or mother shall be executed by death'. Therefore listen: 'he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me'. Even though it says 'honor your parents and love father and mother' (Ex 20:12), but when one does so above God, he is slandered; for when he is about to confess the truth while being restrained by persecution, and when he says, 'because of the old age of the father and the mother I do not wish to die', and betrays them, loving the parents above God, he has preferred the disposition toward the parents over the piety toward God. And this is what is slandered.

In the Gospel, indeed, the Savior says: 'Having turned', he says, 'Jesus said to the crowds: If anyone wants to come after me, if he does not hate his father and his mother and his wife and his brothers and his children, he cannot be my disciple' (Luke 14:26). If you have legislated honor concerning parents and promised me great labors saying: 'Honor your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you and you may be long-lived on the earth' (Deuteronomy 5:16), how do you now say: 'If someone does not hate father and mother, he cannot follow me'? The hatred here is called differently, the hatred not...

Virtue as the Foundation of the House§73

73To prefer something over God. Since God is to be loved most in a time of struggle, in a time of persecution, the love of God must be preferred above all. If one pulls away from parents or the old age of a parent, 'honor God, since you are not able to follow me' (Exodus 20:12). Therefore, to hate the father and the mother does not mean that kind of hatred by which we are provoked and loathe, but rather according to not preferring them to God. In this same way, one treats the wife and the children, and in this same way, the brothers. 'And he will hate even his own soul' (Luke 14:26), he says. He hates his own soul while enduring death for the sake of a witness, but on account of the Savior; for see what he says: he who hates a father 'because of me' (Matthew 10:37), not completely. The Savior is to be preferred above all. Just as if someone hates a mother because of the Savior. This hatred does not bring slander. He who thus has hated the parents for the sake of the Savior is abandoned by them. Therefore he says: 'for my father and my mother have abandoned me' (Psalm 27:10). The abandonment is unto the end. Psalm of a song of the dedication of a house; to David.

A resurrection occurs both according to the soul and according to the body; 'Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you' (Ephesians 5:14). Here, the one sinning is dead; for 'the soul, the one sinning, this one shall die' (Ezekiel 18:4); and: 'sin, having been completed, brings death' (James 1:15) to the one sinning. Therefore, awaken this one into the life that was before the fall; for this was the life with virtue. Thus also in Jeremiah it is said: 'Does not he who has fallen rise again?' (Jeremiah 8:4); and a resurrection also happens to the body; for its formation was not its fall, but the corruption after the formation. Therefore also it itself rises. And in general we say this: the beautiful leads the bad. For indeed even bad craftsmanship is after the art, and the error after the correct, and the transgression after the law; for transgression is nothing other than a deviation.

The command is given. And again, the 'para-' prefix is always used to signify deviation: 'to think wrongly', 'to overlook', 'to step aside'. Therefore, virtue is the first thing; for observe where the word flows: the rational has come to be so that it might possess virtue; for it did not come to be so that it might possess wickedness, since virtue was the very thing that was the opposite of wickedness. Since almost all begin from sin when they reach into material life, if it were granted that the soul never lived before material life, then things began from wickedness, and sin is not actually sin, but rather virtue; for no one is said to sin by doing what is natural or what is characteristic of their nature. Those who practice arts and act according to them, when they do what is characteristic of the art, are not said to think wrongly or to step aside.

Thus, it is the building up of the fallen house and the return from captivity. According to a former principle, we say that the inhabitant and the house are the same thing. But it can also be taken more universally: the sum of the faithful, the church, is the house; 'that you may know how one must conduct oneself in the house of God' (1 Timothy 3:15); and 'I have loved the beauty of your house' (Psalm 26:8). And those who inhabit it are these faithful ones, those living according to virtue. But if the soul is the house, the earnest thoughts which are connatural with it are the inhabitants. Then both the building up and the dedication happen at once. And renovation occurs when those who were previously outside of it take up habitation within it again.

'A psalm of song'. We said when we began the twentieth psalm, that they are psalms, they are songs, they are psalms of song and songs of psalms. And we were saying that the psalm signifies the practice. And the one singing strikes an instrument called a psaltery. But it is possible to sing even without a psaltery; for he who uses only contemplation—to understand God, to know the truth and to partake of it, so that he may take it for himself, since it certainly has the practice sung to it, when someone, come now,

Humanity and Divine Capacity§74

74He contemplates and scientifically applies what knowledge is, and what the 'mystery of the kingdom' is, which this one sings. Again, as many as practice—and this alone is what they stand at until they practice—they sing; as we said also concerning the rams, that they have a life that is well-proportioned, but if they are not led, they have neither a life nor the necessary works of life. He sings.

But he who both sings and practices, and sings and contemplates: if he begins from practicing, it is a psalm of song; but if from contemplating, it is a song of a psalm. We see these things happening: often some, wishing to contemplate, stand at the virtues and their works, and taking from the standing itself the possibility to succeed, they come to the practicing. It has become a song of a psalm. The song led, the contemplation.

'Having desired wisdom, he kept the commandments' (Sirach 1:26); the one desiring saw; he kept the commandments, he sang; and again he has songs being provided to him. Sometimes it begins with the song and receives the psalm, and then, with the psalm having made a way for the soul, it brings a song again. If therefore the beginning and the thought of the beginning arise from work as a craft, it is a psalm of song; but when someone, having begun from contemplation, receives the desire to live according to virtue, it is a song of a psalm.

It was necessary therefore for the one being brought in to inaugurate the house to dance thus for the inauguration of the house. This is called a sequence. A sequence is when one follows the other without turning back. But if the following turns back, as it happens that the former becomes the follower and the latter becomes the leader, it is a sequence. The 'to David' indeed refers to this one who succeeded, to whom the victory and the hymn are referred, or to the singer himself. Even if the singer says it, it seems he speaks from the Holy Spirit.

It is not the same to say that 'a man says' and 'a learned man says'; for when we say a man is the one announcing, the things announced are human, but when we say a learned man, they are knowledgeable. The knowledge is subordinate to him, and he becomes as a servant of the knowledge. The 'worthy' one therefore 'with hand' sings this psalm or this song, the psalm of the song or again. And every practical man is 'worthy' 'by hand'. But the Savior most especially has this; and g...

But others receive capacity from him. John, indeed, looking at his greatness, said: 'I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.' Again, if capacity is given from him: 'Our capacity is from God, who made us worthy to be ministers of a new covenant.' Those who are driven to this and seized by love of the matter become imitators of Christ, seeing him acting 'competently' and they themselves act 'competently' according to what is possible for them.

He began saying in the Psalms that what is said about the man whom the Savior took up, might be said about every imitator of him, not only what is said about him as the only-begotten Son and the Word of God; it might be said—I do not speak about humans, nor even about rulers, but about no created thing at all. What is now being said fits the man of the Savior; therefore also others are able to do these things. 'I will exalt you, Lord, because you have lifted me up' (Psalm 30:1). What I have said many times, and now I say: what is said about God, is understood as being about God; but what is said about humans, is understood as being about humans.

Sometimes, what is said about humans, if not as mortals and as men, but as rational beings, is said, and about angels and generally about every spiritual substance; for according to the spiritual, man is of the same kind, according to the capacity for becoming perfect, 'just as the Father in the heavens is perfect' (Matt 5:48). For what more can an angel bear fruit according to what is possible? Then the Savior says to men that I and my Father will come, 'and we will make a single dwelling with him.' What more has a diligent angel to acquire? And furthermore: 'Give, that just as I and you are one, these may be one in us' (John 17:21). What more has the higher being to acquire? We take the difference according to more bodily things: the angel does not have flesh. But it is not the meaning of being rational for man to have flesh, since all things having flesh are rational.

See then: if, therefore, it says among us about being exalted from a lowly place to a higher one and being moved upward above, it is necessary first to change the place. It is impossible for one not changing place to be exalted or to be humbled, I speak locally. When therefore the saint says: 'I will exalt you', this he says: I will give thanks to you. If anyone thinks of Christ according to...

The Healing Ointment and Immediate Response§75

75Not according to the flesh, but when one no longer perceives according to the flesh, but beholds 'his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten from the Father' (cf. John 1:14), and knows that he who has seen the Son sees the Father, and this is to exalt him.

Therefore, because he says this graciously, the following is brought forward: 'because you have taken me up' (Psalm 30:1); having taken me up, you exalted me. When I was exalted, then I knew your height.

And this can also be seen from things held in the hands; one approaches by skill; not yet the magnitude, not yet the beauty, not yet the height of it he sees. But if he begins to grasp it and is improved by considering each part in light of what has already been made known, then seeing the magnitude and the height of the skill and the art, he exalts it, that is, he confesses its height.

For indeed, when he stands over the height and magnitude, he sees much remaining to himself. 'Your knowledge was marveled at from me; it was strengthened, I am not able toward it' (Psalm 139:6). As much as I stand over it and marvel at it, it becomes strong, and I am no longer able toward it, as long as I am in a body.

This also Solomon says concerning wisdom: 'I said, I will be wise, and it was lengthened far beyond what it was, and a deep depth, who will find it?' (Ecclesiastes 7:23-24). It was far from me, and when I desired to receive it, it became far from me beyond what it was before. And therefore he gives the reason: 'a deep depth, who will find it?' The 'who will find' may mean 'no one.' And the 'who' is the smallness and not a joy to my enemies upon me. Many enemies lie in wait for me, intending to harm me.

And they were saying that these things are also commonly said concerning the man the Savior and of those imitating him. And the saints had enemies and the Savior had enemies. And no one at all is able to approach him according to the divinity, in order that he might be tested to harm him. And to hate is to approach not for the sake of another but to harm.

And therefore, in the person of Jesus, it is said according to the man and of every imitator and of his member becoming so: 'because you have taken me up' (Psalm 30:1); for if you had not taken me up, my enemies would have rejoiced having taken me in hand, and would not have exalted you. It is also possible from the person of the Savior, no longer dividing us and saying according to God the Word or according to man, as we were fully saying concerning the skilled man: 'I will exalt...'

You, Lord, have taken me; you took those two for me, for whom I cried out (Psalm 30:1). 'Behold, I and the children, which God has given to me' and 'I will give you the nations for your inheritance' (Ps 2:8). The Savior regards this as his own contest and his own benefit; therefore 'I have not rejoiced my enemies' (Psalm 30:1). For the captives were snatched away because of me, and on my account, and on account of those holding them, I will exalt you, but they do not rejoice.

Lord my God, I cried to you, and heal me (Psalm 30:2). The voice has been heard; for if he cried concerning healing, he already received what he desired. 'I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, because I have sinned against you' (Psalm 30:2). He had not yet been healed, for he who says this is confessing and repenting. The face of the Savior says this: 'I cried to you, and heal me'; I received an ointment, therapeutic and medicinal 'for every disease and weakness.' Why then did I have the ointment? So that he himself might become a medicine for those who were wounded. Then my healing occurs when the ointment heals others being my body. 'Lord' therefore 'my God, I cried to you, and heal me.' If each of the righteous says this, he will be heard by him to whom he cries. 'While you are still speaking, I will say, Behold, I am here.' The 'I will say, Behold, I am here' shows the work for which you are worthy, I find myself present to you; for your prayer does not delay my gift, but it happens at once; you have prayed, you have the thing. Let us take examples from the Scriptures; a leper came to the Savior saying, 'If you wish, you are able to cleanse me' (Matthew 8:2). He says, 'I will, be cleansed'; and the cleansing happened as if there were no delay. By thought alone previously the worthiness occurred before the cleansing, not by time before. Again: 'Do you wish to be well?' Immediately: 'Rise, take up your bed and walk' (John 5:8). And the work of Jesus's command did not happen a second later. You know that the reflection imitates the thing seen, and it is not possible to say which is first, but by thought.

Lord, you brought up my soul from Hades (Psalm 30:3). Having healed me, you brought up my soul from Hades. This could be said concerning Jesus; since I had an ointment and was wounded because of certain sins—perhaps those having sins in Hades—they descended there, so that the ointment, having approached...

Confession and the Life in His Will§76

76May he heal them. For the healing is the bringing up of my soul from there. I became there not to remain myself, but neither to simply depart and return, but to lead up those there. 'Having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he also preached the message to the spirits in prison' (1 Peter 3:19), he led them up. And because of these things he went down there, and because of these things he says he is ascending; for he went down to lead up. If he were not ascending them, he would not have gone up there; for he did not descend or ascend for his own sake.

And this can also be said: the soul is truly our rational being. As it is said of a certain man of God, so it might be said of a soul. 'You have brought up my soul from Hades' (Psalm 30:3). You saved me from those descending into the pit (Psalm 30:3). Those descending into the pit are called the days, because those above are fallen; for the pits are not springs; they do not have water being supplied from anywhere. And Hades because of this is continually called a pit in the Scriptures, because the souls that fall there are falling.

'You saved me from those descending into the pit' (Psalm 30:3). For even if I descended into Hades, I was not seized in the pit like the falling waters, but I was saved, so that what happens to those falling into Hades does not exceed my harm. 'Praise the Lord, you saints of his' (Psalm 149:5). Therefore, while praising and extolling because he was received, he intends to fall upon the hymn even those whom he led up from Hades, the saints having been shown; for those around Abraham and the other saints were there.

And other souls were there too, but some were shown to be the souls of saints, and others were not; for we do not say that the Savior sanctified all, but those souls which were awaiting him there. They were saying, therefore, toward: 'Are you the one coming, or do we await another?' That man knew he was about to die; for being in the prison, he sent this voice, asking: 'Are you coming there yourself, or are you sending another?' Not that he was doubting, but he wished to serve there beside him, having learned from him, being commanded by him. He writes to the saints: the achievement is for us or is common to us and you. Just as therefore I sing a psalm, you also praise; you join in with instruments to our song, which I send up on behalf of you, saying.

“I will exalt you, O Lord.” 5 And you confess the memory of His holiness. Confession here is not called the disclosure of sins; for this too is called confession, as if one says, “Confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16). But most often in Scripture, confession is signified by the word thanksgiving: “We will confess to You, O God, we will confess to You” (Psalm 75:1). The memory is moved here by dogmas, he says, “of His holiness.” Discipleship-remembrances are not now but before. If anyone is sanctified, having shared in the holy, he has obtained holiness. And so it has happened, so that one might be holy not by essence, but by choice, having received the holy and the good in advance. Therefore, do not neglect, while confessing and singing, that holiness is your own; because you have become it, take hold of it; you have become it so that you might be holy, not profane; yet you have become in filth and profanity. Reclaim your holiness, and thus desire to become it.

6 For wrath is in His mind and life is in His will (Ps 30:5). Because of this, I urge you to sing as those having become holy and to confess the memory of His holiness, “for wrath is in His mind” (Ps 30:5), so that you do not fall into wrath and anger; for if you remain in the same state as before my arrival, having me having accomplished so much, and in the same state regarding the things for which I have come, He will receive wrath, because after so many helps and so many benefits and exhortations you remain in the same state. And just as it becomes like wrath in the mind, so also “life is in His will” (Ps 30:5). He who follows His will and works it, asking to know it from Him—indeed, someone sends a prayer saying, “Teach me to do Your will” (Psalm 143:10). Through saying with a reason, “For You are my God” (Psalm 143:10), it is shown that the will of God is alone life. And our own will must also cooperate, so that He does not say, “How often I willed, and you did not will.” Therefore, “life” is “in Your will.” The Word God can also be said to be will here. In Him all things came to be; all things through Him came into being. In the will, therefore, of Him who brought you into existence, life lies. 6 Weeping shall turn to joy in the evening and in the morning (Ps 30:5).

Integrity of Character and the Beauty of the Soul§77

77Rejoicing. The evening is the end of the day and the beginning of the night, just as in the morning the end is of the night and the beginning is of the day. But many times it has been said that the opposites, the good and the evil, are co-existing. It is possible to receive in the evening the end of the shadow, the end of the letter.

But when someone wishes to be among them having received the end of the letter and of the shadow, he weeps rather, no longer seeing the pleasantness of the letter, no longer beholding the flower of the Scripture. But when the life-giving Spirit has risen and the New Covenant has been revealed, it is a beginning of the day bringing rejoicing.

Likewise also the more common things: when the assembly from circumcision received the evening of the powerful Sun of Righteousness—for 'she emptied herself,' 'bearing seven, the sun had not yet departed while the day was still in the midst'—she bore seven; then the Sabbath was reached, so that according to it he might spiritually complete all things and become a mother of good thoughts and works; but she emptied herself: she did not receive the fullness, from which having received, John, who signifies the letter and the old Scripture, says: 'of his fullness we have all received' (John 1:16). Because of this, her soul was discouraged, desiring the sun 'while the day was still in the midst,' while this age is still standing; for he himself is also often called day. 'And into the morning' therefore, 'rejoicing.'

7 'And I said in my prosperity, I shall never be shaken for ever' (Psalm 30:6). The expression is ambiguous. It can be read thus: 'And I said in my prosperity, I shall never be shaken for ever.' When I am prospering, I said this: I shall never be shaken for ever. But it can also be thus: 'I said, In my prosperity I shall never be shaken for ever.' Both markings have meaning. When he prospers, sowing into righteousness and having harvested generations of righteousness, it was determined thus, that I shall no longer be shaken for ever; for if 'he who does the will of God remains for ever' (1 John 2:17) and 'his righteousness' is 'immortal,' having brought the generations...

Regarding righteousness and uprightness, I said: for I said so with my disposition, as if toward the statement 'no one says Lord Jesus,' both in disposition and in life. I confessed this, bringing forth generations of uprightness and virtue, that I remain unshaken for ever according to: 'he who believes, and everyone living and believing, shall by no means die for ever' (cf. John 11:26); and: 'the righteousness of the Lord remains for the age of ages' (Psalm 111:3). And it is also possible thus: to verse differently, 'I said in my uprightness'; when they were being upright and seemed to be resting, he said 'I shall by no means be shaken for ever.' If indeed help had not come quickly, he would have been cut down, because he had encouraged himself, having great confidence in the fruitfulness. If, therefore, the saying is the face of the Savior, let the former thought be held; but if it is of the others, let this also be accepted.

8 Lord, in your will, grant power to my beauty. That is, he says, either gracefully or thankfully. Let us see what kind of beauty he speaks of. He does not speak of bodily beauty, but of spiritual beauty and of the inner man. This beauty, which is perceptible, which is manifested in the face and in the form, has its constitution from the proportion of the members, if the members of the man were proportional to themselves, and not to be such that some exceed and others fail; for the beauty is distorted. It is necessary to have a fitting eye for the nose and this for the mouth; for if the members were disproportionate, even if it might seem beautiful in itself, it does not make beauty for the face. This indeed he says: those virtues which follow your will, the individual ones, so that my thoughts, having been proportioned, are the actions. And in the song of songs, he who praises the bride: 'All beautiful is my beloved, and there is no flaw in you' (Song 4:7). Because of this, 'all beautiful are you,' because there is no flaw and nothing in you is outside of proportion or shame.

9 To you, Lord, I have cried out, and to my God I will help. It is possible, so that we may explain more popularly: To you, O Lord, as...

The Lord's Mercy and the Transformation of Mourning§78

78I have cried out to the High Priest as a physician, and I will help toward my God, without dividing the Father from the Son. He who cries out to God cries out toward the Trinity; for the Trinity is one God, not the same as the numerical identity, if it is necessary to speak of numbers.

What profit is there in my blood, in my descending into corruption? I descended into corruption; what profit has occurred? Behold, they remain in their own evils. But he does not say this at all. Rather it is said: 'you were bought' with the blood of Christ, and that: 'not with corruptible things, silver and gold, were you redeemed from your vain manner of life, but in precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and spotless, Christ' (1 Pet 1:18-19). And this is possible: the whole sum of the saved is called the Body of Christ.

Since, therefore, the Savior arrived and received all that we previously mentioned—the darkness and the cross and the descent into Hades—not all returned, not all took up virtue and faith, but some and others; according to this he says: 'he turned my face away' (Psalm 30:7) from certain things being members of me, being my body, 'and I became troubled.' If, therefore, he saved and redeemed and set free by his own blood, how does he say: 'what profit is there in my blood, in my descending into corruption?' Much profit has occurred—but toward those who remain in evils. As for how much has reached you, no profit has exceeded in my blood, my descending into corruption. He says, moreover, that he stirs them up toward repentance.

For this reason he has said: 'shall dust confess to you or announce your truth?' (Psalm 30:9) Behold, there are some being dust. But I have come to suffer, so that I might transform them and make them heavenly from being swine. Since, therefore, they remain still wearing the image of the swine, they do not confess to you, nor do they even announce your truth. But I have come so that I might also make the truth manifest, exposing the wandering and the falsehood, and so that I might grant confession, so that someone might cast off the image of the swine and take up that of the heavenly. He says therefore: 'shall dust confess to you?' If dust does not confess to you, as much as has reached him, no profit from my blood has exceeded my descending into corruption. Then—since I have said...

He says this because of those being pressed by former evils; and we have confessed that he also redeemed many by his own blood—thus demonstrating them. 11 The Lord heard and had mercy on me (Ps 117:2). By showing the mercy of the Lord, he speaks of their salvation, that they might receive mercy. 11 The Lord became a helper to me. The verb 'became' signifies that they were not previously so: 'A helper and a protector became to me for salvation.' 11 The Lord heard and had mercy on me (Ps 117:2). I was lamenting, because having descended into corruption, no benefit from my blood has occurred to anyone; but building up the pitied ones, and demonstrating those who are at their peak to be such, that they shall one day be saved; the medicine will one day work in them.

12 You turned my mourning into joy for me (Ps 30:11). He was cutting away the dead out of philanthropy, so that he might raise them up; for immediately a certain understanding took hold: if he mourns and laments because of my sinning, I owe much more to do this. Therefore, 'You turned my mourning into joy for me': their benefit is joy to me, and when we were sinning, my lamentation and mourning were theirs. 12 Having torn my sackcloth, you girded me with gladness. I was carrying a sackcloth of mourning, a severe life, rough, but he changed it into gladness. Thus we have also spoken regarding: 'If in Tyre and Sidon the powers became, long ago they would have repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes' (Matthew 11:21; Jonah 2:5). We say that the name of the sackcloth signifies the severe, bitter, and cleansing life of the one lamenting. After this sackcloth, someone takes ashes and sits, no longer acting against it, but sits, ceasing the anger of evil. He groaned over this, which bore chaff, thorns, and thistles; for he was not able to sit among the thorns and thistles, but having burned them and shown them powerless, and that quality by which they were vile, having risen up, he sat upon them.

13 So that my glory may sing to you and I may not be dejected (Psalm 30:12). Some say a hint: 'I shall not be dejected'; while my glory sings to you, I am not dejected. But this reading does not satisfy me. Many in the church read it this way. The term 'dejection' (katanyxis) often signifies a repentance. For when Ahaz repented:

Hope and Divine Justice§79

79"Did you see how Ahaz was consoled?" and "you gave them a spirit of consolation," a spirit of repentance. This is therefore what he says: my glory sings to you, I act according to your will, and I do not repent, I am not brought low by sorrow. He is not brought low as if by evil, so as to no longer be active. Therefore he connects the thought and says: "Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever" (Psalm 30:12). "Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever." Since, therefore, I will give thanks to you forever, singing to your glory, I am not brought low, nor do I repent.

To the end: A psalm of David; of ecstasy. The name of ecstasy is homonymous; for it means many things, one of which is deviation or folly; the one who wanders is in ecstasy (stands outside himself). But the name of ecstasy also signifies wonder; for he who wonders is said to be in ecstasy (standing outside himself): "I perceived your works and was amazed" (Habakkuk 3:2) having seen their greatness, the art by which they came to be. And there are many expressions declaring that wonder is made manifest by the name of ecstasy. Thus also Isaac "was in great ecstasy" when he received the blessing from Isaac. And again, ecstasy signifies becoming something outside of one's former state, as if he says: "But I said in my ecstasy, 'Every man is a liar'" (Psalm 116:11). When he stood outside himself and was no longer a man, but had become God by making room for the Word of God coming to him, then he said: "Every man is a liar"; for if we take this simply, he lies. If every man is a liar and he himself is one of men, he lies. But in him saying "every man is a liar," they are not altogether liars. The things of men are uncertain, unstable. Such is also what the apostle says: "What eye has not seen, and what ear has not heard, and what has not ascended into the heart of man" (1 Cor 2:9). He is not, therefore, merely the same man, but he brings forth: "But God has revealed them to us through the Spirit" (1 Cor 2:10), to us who are no longer merely men, those who are able to say with boldness: "We have stood in ecstasy with God, we are of the same mind with you." He, therefore, who says these things in the psalm was also in ecstasy; he has become another, he has become God by participating in the Word of God; he has ceased to be a man. For certainly, observe that he does not speak human things, but things that it is fitting for a man having been made divine to proclaim.

And to sing. Upon you, Lord, I have hoped, that I might not be put to shame for ever (Psalm 31:1). For I am not put to shame when the things of the petition exist; for then the one praying suffers shame when he does not happen to get what he expected. And if we take 'the age' more simply, this says: in the time of my life, let me not be put to shame, always attaining those things which I entreat to receive from you; for it has been said many times that the time extending the life of man is called 'an age', just as: 'I will not eat meat for ever'. And it is possible also to say thus: since you are eternal and your existence and your kingdom extend through all the ages, and I too am immortal according to the soul, 'let me not be put to shame for ever'; for I am always with you. Now I know in part and I prophesy, but the one who is perfect will receive that which is in part, so that my hope becomes greater, having a greater remainder of expectation. Therefore, the one who hopes in the Lord is without shame.

Save me in your righteousness and bring me out (Psalm 71:2). The beginning of this seventieth psalm has a certain kinship and likeness. And in the seventieth lies the 'bring me out' itself, concerning which it is said: 'righteousness bowed down', when having bent the heaven, it came down. It has come to loose injustice; for the world having come about on earth was full of injustice; for 'the earth was filled' with iniquities (Genesis 6:13), just as before the flood, when 'all turned aside, at the same time they sinned, there is no one doing goodness' (Psalm 14:3). Just as the light rises and becomes there where the darkness is, and the darkness is made manifest by the presence of light, and when virtue shines forth, evil is driven away—so, when righteousness is revealed and those entreating it are saved, all injustice is dissolved.

Incline your ear toward me, hasten to bring me out (Psalm 31:2). Even if I cry out to you, I am small-voiced as toward your majesty. If you do not incline your ear toward me, my cry is not able to ascend to you. If you do not descend with me, you will not receive my voice. And in another way: since he does not observe all the lawlessness of those being judged and examined by him, it is necessary for him to incline the ear, so that he may hear; for whatever kind of knowledge and whatever kind of power...

The Spirit and the Soul in God's Hands§80

80The prayer remains, and does not ascend to him if it does not incline toward him; but it inclines by descending together. When you incline your ear to me, receive me and quickly take me out from those holding me, from those attacking me. Even if enemies are, 'quickly let me be delivered' (Psalm 31:2). Did he say these things in amazement? He did not say that foolishness is shown here, but rather the wonder of becoming outside of himself. You are ignorant of this, that there is not one single perfection. For the one having been perfected says: 'I have seen the end of every arrangement' (Psalm 119:96); for he does not say these things having an end that is beyond all.

Become for me, O God, a protector and a house of refuge to save me (Psalm 31:2). Become for me an invincible fortress, an unpierceable wall; become for me also a protector, your shield, your weapon. When you become my protector, none of my enemies can harm me. A beast cannot overcome me, the very one snatching, about whom we were sending a prayer: 'never snatch my soul like a lion' (Psalm 7:2). 'And into a house of refuge' (Psalm 31:2). Become for me that which is called a stronghold, where one fleeing enters within walls; for a building is a guard by means of salvation.

For you are my strength and my refuge (Psalm 31:3). You are everything to me, both strength and refuge. I flee to no one, not to a ruler, nor to wealth. And my strength: from you I have the power to hold fast, participating in you, just as a king holds fast. For the sake of your name, you will guide me and nourish me (Psalm 31:3). He says this because since your name is called upon me, because of this name of yours which I wear, grant both to me; and guide me, so that I may finish the race without fault and be able to say: 'I have run without lawlessness and I have directed my course' (Psalm 59:4), and: 'I have run the path of your commandments' (Psalm 119:32). And let me be nourished by you. Your way and bread is your Son. 'Way' is he saying, 'I am the way' (John 14:6). He himself is both way and bread. Therefore, 'for the sake of your name,' which you granted to me, so that I may have salvation; for I grew and said: 'O God, in your name save me.'

Bring me out of this snare which you hid for me (Psalm 31:4), because you are my protector. Enemies are many, some deceivers, they have prepared a snare for me, so that they may hunt me. I do not only entreat that you may not let me depart there, but also...

Unless they enter, so that you might lead me out from it. One must examine and thus see 5–6: 'for you are my protector, into your hands I will commit my spirit' (Psalm 31:5). I do not commit my spirit to another, but into your hands.

And if a holy man is the one saying these things, his spirit is that which is joined to the soul, concerning which it is said: 'your whole spirit and soul and body.' Some say the spirit is something other than the soul, others say it is its mind, and others say its will. But in all these interpretations, God preserves the spirit. If it is the soul, it is committed into the hands of God so that, being covered, it might remain unharmed, not being struck by enemies, not being destroyed.

Because it is sometimes said that the soul is spirit, Stephen teaches; for as he was about to die, and he exhorted them not to let the sin of those murdering him stand, he says: 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit' (Acts 7:59), instead of 'my soul.' And James writes: 'just as the body without spirit is dead' (James 2:26), calling the soul spirit. And it is said, as I have said, that something rational is also joined to it, like an inseparable thing, so that it might be a teacher of the soul, namely spirit.

And since this belongs to the soul when it possesses God, he says this: 'may such a thing not happen to me, so that my spirit might be outside your hands, but may all virtue be made straight for me, so that my spirit might be in your hands.' It is also possible to call one's will 'spirit,' so that he also wants it to be guarded in the hands of God.

Therefore, also the interpretative points: the two covenants can be the hands of God. Into these, then, I commit my spirit, wanting to understand both the old, that is, those things protected there, and the new. May both your hands contain my spirit. And it is possible also to say not only two hands of God; for it was not spoken in the dual, but in the plural; and there is no difference between the plural and the dual. However, if the two covenants exist, the hands are spoken of in the dual. But if all the power of God is named his hand—for we say 'the hand of a king' regarding military power—into your military power, finding it to be a guarding hand, I commit my spirit. Toward the...

Divine Wills and the Walls of Ideas§81

Deliverance from Necessity and the Broad Place§82

82He is ransomed by God, being made outside of all disturbance. Thus the God of truth ransoms from deception; since God is the God of truth, He ransoms from deception and false glory. When someone has mistaken and false opinions, he cries out to God, so that by His truth He might make him outside of all deception. Again, the God of righteousness rescues from unrighteousnesses; for it is said: 'Hear me, O God of my righteousness' (Psalm 4:1), so that you might make me outside of all unrighteousness, so that you might bring low those who work unrighteousness against me. And so it is for each one: Joseph called upon the God of self-control, so that he would not fall into the snares of the rebellious toward incontinence; and Susanna, so that she would not fall to the elders toward adultery. The God of self-control hears, not that He is different and different.

You hated those who guard vanities for nothing. Since you are the God of truth, and you hated those who guard vanities for nothing. But vanities are not true. And he said 'for nothing' because in a certain way they do not exist. Every falsehood is unsubstantial. Concerning the one who conceived the temple of Jesus, when I say 'she has brought forth' (τέτοκεν), I speak truly; but if I say, 'she has brought forth from a man,' I lie; it is not that she has brought forth, but the lie occurs regarding the manner. Every evil happens for nothing, it has no end. Therefore he says: You, O God, hated those who guard vanities for nothing. If anyone among those guarding such things receives understanding, who is the one hating such things, will he cease or will he hate himself?

But I have hoped in the Lord (Psalm 31:6). You, O Master, did not 'hate those who guard vanities for nothing,' but I have hoped in you as my Lord; for it was possible to say, 'But I have hoped in you.' Instead he says, 'I have hoped in the Lord.' He speaks these things as a slave. From the disposition of a slave and the work of a slave he speaks these things.

I will rejoice and be glad in your mercy (Psalm 31:7). Upon your mercy; for even if I confess you as Lord and I have hoped in you, it is not by my own power that the end is achieved, but by your mercy. For you have seen my lowliness (Psalm 31:7). You have seen my lowliness which is about to receive mercy. Forgiving, you will not let me fall into it. You saved my soul from necessities. More simply in the Scripture, necessities are called tribulations; 'he...

For it is said, 'he will be brought out from necessity,' and, 'they cried to the Lord, and he heard them, and from their necessities he saved them.' He has brought me out from all tribulation, making it evident by his answering the plea; for a prayer was sent up, so that I might be rescued from enemies, from the impending wars.

It is possible, in a more logical way, to speak of the necessities of evil. Out of necessity, the evil man does not receive righteousness. I do not say that the man is not receptive to righteousness, but the unrighteous man. It is not that the outward state of the afflicted becomes different, but that they are not defeated; for thus we also heard: 'save us from the evil one' (Matt 6:13), and 'do not bring us into temptation' (Matt 6:13). And if the apostles of Christ and the other righteous ones were pleading this, that they might not be tempted, they were never heard, if they are telling the truth saying: 'in everything we are afflicted, but not crushed' (2 Cor 4:8).

'And you did not shut me up in the hands of an enemy.' I am shut up in the hands of those attacking, when I am defeated by necessities and tribulations. But when I am saved from them, I am not shut up in their hands, nor do I do what they want to bring upon me. 'You have set my feet in a broad place.' This too must be understood in two ways. The movement according to the surrounding place, and that which is called broad and spacious according to evil.

It is a great thing having happened in this broad place and spaciousness: not to be dragged under, but to stand. And standing comes from God. Therefore he says gratefully: 'You have set my feet in a broad place.' My feet do not feel the tribulation surrounding me. For those saying: 'who shall separate us from the love of God? tribulation, distress' (Rom 8:35), they will say: 'You have set our feet in a broad place.' Even if the place in which we have come to be, and the road in which we find ourselves, is narrow, we see it as broad, you widening the tribulation. You provide a wider road of tribulation by helping.

'Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am afflicted.' But you say—and indeed you said: 'You have set my feet in a broad place'—so that the saint may pray unceasingly; for there is not one tribulation, for there is not one crisis in life, for there is not one temptation. If anyone, having pleaded, is rescued from one thing or from some people, he again sees others attacking, and again prays concerning those; for they afflict him...

The Unity of the Soul's Attributes§83

83Things are expected. Or, does the prophet foresee them in advance? Such things even a prophet is not able to foresee. I am in a place where many are evil. They hate the righteous one who is there. Even if they once attack and bring a net or a snare and someone comes out of it, knowing their subsequent evil, he remains wide awake expecting such a thing again; 'for not indeed,' he says, 'will they sleep, unless they do evil; their sleep is taken away and they do not sleep' (Proverbs 4:16). And having been rescued many times, he also prays concerning the following.

My eye was greatly troubled in anger (Psalm 31:9). My mind was troubled not in my own anger, but in the anger of the enemies or in your anger; for thinking against those committing sin, having sinned, I fell to the anger and my mind was troubled. My soul and my stomach (Psalm 31:9). Not alone, he says, my eye—that is, the mind—was troubled by anger. And this is also possible: 'in anger my eye was troubled.' When I rage, my mind is disturbed; for the passions are disturbances of the mind. And my soul was troubled, of which the eye is the one troubled by the anger.

And 'my stomach'; he does not mean here the stomach of the body, but that which was receiving from the bridegroom and bringing forth: 'from your fear we have taken in the stomach and labored' (Isaiah 26:18), so as to no longer save what was received, but to cast it away as small things. And this is also possible: because making the stomach calm, I did not receive the bread of heaven, but I received some other food, harmful, a poison, and my stomach has been disturbed. Therefore, he does not cast away salvation.

Or, the soul being disturbed? Some wish to say that the soul is threefold; rather, they say it is thick and divided. And they call the rational part of it the mind; for this is receptive of knowledge, and this is able to have knowledge. The desiring part does not receive knowledge, but sometimes is persuaded by the rational; being persuaded, it does not itself have knowledge. And just as when the winds of the air blow well, it becomes possible for the pilot—the ship not having such motion, but not opposing the skill of the winds not being contrary—and the desiring part again is persuaded by the rational, not having a calculation itself. Therefore, no one would be saying the mind while sinning. But all things together...

The soul is a single thing. Let us take an example. One takes a flower. The flower has such a color, but the color is not the flower itself. It also has such a fragrance, but the fragrance is not the flower. It also has such a shape. Therefore, all these things taken together are the flower. So when we say, 'The flower is fragrant', we signify only one part of it, namely that it emits a sweet breath. And again, if we say it is bitter, we signify not only its juice alone. But the juice is not the flower; rather, all these things together are the flower.

Thus, when speaking about his own intellect or his own mind, saying that it is troubled by passion, the soul also says this. You know that when the helmsman is badly dragged, the whole vessel is damaged, and when the pilot is overturned, the ship is overturned. Therefore, the one called 'eye' is a certain intellectual power that steers the whole soul. If this is troubled, the soul is also disturbed.

And what about the generative womb? —which I have said many times, and now I will say: regarding sensible things, each thing is a specific kind and cannot be something else. A plant cannot be gold, and gold cannot be a man. But regarding intelligible things, it is possible through various relations and thoughts. For instance, I was saying yesterday that when the soul seeks, and seeks indeed to know itself, it possesses the word of both the seeker and the thing sought. And if it cultivates itself like a plant, the plant is not something else and the farmer is not someone else; difference is found in thought alone.

Therefore, if he says 'eye' and 'womb', it is possible to speak of both regarding the same power; because the mind is called an eye because it sees, and the womb is called a womb because it can generate and bring thoughts into the midst. 'For my life has wasted away in pain, and my years in lamentation' (Psalm 31:10). Since my life has wasted away in pain—for I always had it painful—I sometimes lament and sometimes not; I always lament, desiring virtue; I always toil, I always sweat for the sake of the acquisition of the good. Since I suffer this through life, in a way my life has wasted away in pain and my years in lamentation; therefore I beseech you, so that I may no longer endure so much toil; for if I toil again guarding it, it is not the same toil as that of acquiring something and guarding what already exists. And what about how they are kinds in general? —if one requires the word of a man, not...

The Scorn of Enemies and Neighbors§84

84He gives the Socrates example: do not say, 'Bring it, Dion.' The definition is, 'a mortal being is a rational animal.' And if I say, for instance, that the righteous man is outside of injustice, I am not speaking of this specific righteous man, but of the righteous man in general. For indeed the beginning of the psalm has become thus: 'In you, Lord, I have hoped, let me not be put to shame for ever' (Psalm 31:1), regarding everyone who has hoped and is seeking an unashamed end of expectation; all the words take hold of this. For he who speaks in praise does not speak of this one or that one.

11 And my strength has grown weak in poverty, and my bones have been shaken. Here, poverty does not mean the deprivation of material goods. Strength here is spoken of in distinction of weakness. The strength which consists according to the soul is from wealth, but the sensory and bodily strength is not necessarily so; there are strong ones possessing nothing, and weak ones being masters of many goods. Just as if someone were to speak also concerning virtue or knowledge: 'Since I have fallen into poverty from virtue and knowledge, my strength, which I ought to have had from the presence of these qualities, has become weak.' 'My bones have been shaken.' Bones are parts of the body that hold the other parts together. While bones exist, nerves, veins, and the others can also be. Therefore, when the strong powers of the soul, called bones, become weak, the whole soul becomes in weakness.

And that he speaks of bones, not those of the body: 'All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like you?' (Psalm 35:10); for the bones of the body do not have any concept of God, so that they might be able to say, whether there is anyone like Him or not. For it is necessary first to know God, and then thus to say. If therefore he says, 'All my bones shall say,' he means the powers of the soul which are well-proportioned and hold the other powers of it together, the sensory, the phantasic, the mnemonic. And again: 'My bones have been scattered by the netherworld,' those who confess and repent say. But regarding this netherworld, which is accustomed to be spoken of, the bones of the body cannot be scattered. And even if they were, as some say, under the moon, the bones of the dead do not undergo that. But when the powers of the soul, which through well-proportionedness are called bones, become weak by sin,

They were scattered like scorpions by the song, no longer preserving their own harmony. 'I have become a reproach to all my enemies and greatly to my neighbors' (Psalm 31:11). This psalm was said both before and in the presence of the Savior according to the man: 'I have become a reproach to all my enemies.' It alludes to the cross; for he says in another psalm, which Paul took to be from the presence of the Savior: 'The reproaches of those reproaching you have fallen upon me' (Psalm 69:9). I have received them. Some reproach you, O Father or O God, and these reproaches have fallen upon me. And it is nothing wonderful; often even a learned man, when he sees others mocking the learning, draws the reproaches upon himself. Those sinning are his enemies. This is said: 'For being enemies, we were estranged' (Colossians 1:21). The one sinning is an enemy of God, not God is an enemy of him; for God is an enemy to no one.

'And greatly to my neighbors' (Psalm 31:11). His neighbors are those promising to know his Scripture and calling themselves his partakers. Therefore, 'greatly': for example, let the Gentiles be enemies; for they sin and act impiously. I have become a reproach among all those, as having endured the cross, as having descended into death. 'And greatly to my neighbors.' But when those owing to me and promising to have their own buildings near me do the same things to enemies, the reproach among these has become great.

And a fear to those known to me. Those knowing me, having seen me suffering these things, had either a similar reverence, or had a fear of not suffering the same things. Those seeing me fled away from me. Those seeing me, having seen these things happening concerning me before, were seeing from outside me, not having departed from me, but they fled outside. Everyone fleeing Jesus becomes outside of him, outside of salvation. I was cast out as if dead from the heart. The enemies reproaching me, and the neighbors having done this greatly, cast me out from their hearts. And of the dead, a quick forgetting happens. For those undergoing afflictions say thus: 'From where the dead was placed, it is blotted out,' it says, 'the sorrow is blotted out from the soul.' They hasten...

The nature of reproach and shame§85

85Men do this thing quickly. 'I was forgotten' therefore 'from the heart.' They cast me out from their own heart; for he did not have me purely as the apostle says, 'but Christ lives in me' (Galatians 2:20). I no longer lived in them. When anyone having the word in himself no longer works according to it, he rejects the amount of the word in him, and it becomes in his forgetfulness. But hear about forgetfulness thus: not as not knowing that he once had it; for many such things are said both in common usage and in the Scripture. For many times indeed we say to friends, 'You have already forgotten me,' not saying this, that 'you have no memory at all.' But the Scripture says: 'The evil of a time causes forgetfulness of pleasure.' Now the one, having been harmed by pleasure, forgets the time. And again: 'and they shall forget,' he says, 'their former tribulation, and it shall not ascend again upon their heart.' Thus you think, that the one having come out of tribulation forgets it.

Furthermore: 'I have become a reproach to all my enemies' (Psalm 31:11); he did not say 'to all men,' but 'to my enemies.' And enemies are not just bad men who justify, but enemies by disposition; for he himself is an enemy to no one, but many are enemies to him. 'Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word; say, brothers, to those who hate you' (Isaiah 66:5). They hate and are enemies. And you, he says, call them 'brothers' not by voice, nor by utterance, but by disposition, or you demonstrate toward brothers by a disposition of brotherly love. And this is enmity: to have an opposing disposition. If even the Savior says this—let us say that it can be said from the person of the Savior as a man—he says the Jews have become his enemies. But not all have become his enemies; for the apostles also were Jews, they were Israelites. He did not therefore say 'to all the Hebrews, to all the Israelites,' but 'I have become a reproach to my enemies.' They reproach the righteous...

Not according to the first reading. Even the Savior is reproached by the wicked. Not every reproach brings a boast to the one reproached. There are times when those reproaching are themselves refuted, and again, those reproached because of sin.

Indeed, in the writing of Proverbs, it is said to the wise man: 'Do not acquire the reproach of wicked men' (Proverbs 3:31). By adding 'of wicked men,' it showed that even serious men are a reproach. For instance, the disciples rejoice when they are reproached. These are not the reproaches for which the apostles are refuted, namely, the reproaches of wicked men.

Furthermore, since it is up to us to do things worthy of reproach, it commands: 'Do not acquire the reproach of wicked men, nor envy their ways' (Proverbs 3:31); for he who envies their practices and their thoughts has become a bad man, having acquired a reproach of evils. Concerning this reproach, it is said that some rise up 'unto reproach and eternal shame.' But not all rise up 'unto reproach and eternal shame,' but those who seem to be good in that place. When those considered serious and holy men rise up and the shames of their soul are revealed, these rise up unto reproach; for those who are openly evil do not rise up unto reproach, but unto punishment.

And if the Savior says this, he calls the cross a reproach; for this is what the apostle taught: 'The reproaches of those reproaching you have fallen upon me' (Romans 15:3). Again: 'Who, despising the shame, endured the cross instead of the joy set before him' (Hebrews 12:2). Reproach and shame are the same thing. And see how much it reached him, that joy was set before him, a man not having sin. Therefore he despised the shame, he trampled it.

Reproach does not happen from friends and those having the same virtue, but from enemies. Consider, therefore, the reproaches which they bring against the Lordly Man: 'Do we not speak well, saying, You are a Samaritan and have a demon?' (John 8:48). Not serious men offered this to him...

Many vs All and the Fear of God§86

The Encirclement of Jesus§87

87Imposing the mystery upon the invisible, he who also understands the mystery of the presence and the passion. Therefore, those outside are looking at me as outside, those who know Christ only according to the flesh, and such people are those about whom Paul writes: 'For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified' (1 Cor 2:2). They are of the outside and run outside, such as those are who hear in parables; for it is not the parable spoken unclearly that has made them outside, but their own external intellect has led them outside to this.

He became as if dead from the heart. The one understanding Jesus as being life—for he says: 'I am the life' (John 14:6)—and living, is the son of a living Father; for he says 'I live' because of the Father—they never forget him; for being present in their intellect, he always enlightens them, so that each one says: 'But Christ lives in me' (Gal 2:20). Such a person is in Christ and has Christ in himself, living and working. But when someone perceives him not as living nor working, he forgets him as if dead; for Christ does not live in all, but in those working according to him. And those who consider themselves to be Christians, but do not work according to Christ, do not have him living in them.

See: the foolish man lives according to wickedness, being 'more a lover of pleasure than a lover of God' (2 Timothy 3:4), doing all things hedonistically. He considers the righteous man to be dead, because he is stripped of his own foolish life and does not receive it in his intellect. 'I became as a lost vessel' (Psalm 31:12). I have not become a lost vessel, but like the lost vessel. And take for me the example: the other men being crucified beside the Savior seem to have become useless vessels, vessels of destruction. This one saying these things as if he has become the lost vessel, but not lost. Just as sin became not the same thing to others as being sin, but so that they might become the righteousness of God in him, he was made like sin (2 Cor 5:21), he was made like the lost vessel. For that men are called vessels is not unknown, and these indeed are for honor, but those for dishonor. This vessel according to Jesus is not of destruction; for he did not know sin. But it has become like the lost vessel. It has become a curse, so that it might bring blessing. But no curse brings blessing, but rather it diminishes the blessing; not—

For he was a blessed man, though cursed. This one, having become a curse, has become a cause of blessing, and not for one man, but for all who believe.

I heard the slandering of many dwelling around. I heard many slandering me, not having set themselves apart at all. The Israelites were dwelling around Jesus. They slandered him: 'He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons' (Matt 12:24). 'He is a sinner because he does not keep the Sabbath' (John 9:16). They were around. If those saying these things were Gentiles, they would not have been his circle. These have become a circle. For he says: 'And they encircled me like bees, Lord' (Psalm 118:12). They encircled me aggressively.

In the gathering of them all at once against me. He mentioned enemies, neighbors greatly reviling him; he mentioned those attacking him from the heart; he says those dwelling around and slandering. These were gathered together at once 'to take his soul,' especially when 'nations and peoples raged and labored in vain' (Psalm 2:1); for here also nations having raged were not yet entirely set apart from him or separated. 'Why did they rage?' They attacked the Hebrews more arrogantly. And the Hebrews in vain and emptily labored over the prophecies concerning me. All the things said: the hosts 'were gathered together at once, they deliberated to take my soul.' The magnitude of the attack is shown, that 'at once all were gathered together to take his soul.' Not one, nor two, nor ten, nor a thousand, but all at once. The unshakeable and the irresistible, or the not being overturned, of the soul of Jesus is signified. They hardly gathered at once to take my soul or deliberated, and they did not seize it. 'No one takes my soul from me; I lay it down from myself, so that I may take it again' (John 10:18).

They deliberated to take my soul. They have gone as far as deliberating to kill him. If he himself does not give himself, they were not able to do this. For they came greedily to seize him, he says: 'Whom are you seeking?' (John 18:4) and he says: 'Jesus the Nazarene' (John 18:5). 'I am,' as he said, 'they went backward and fell to the ground' (John 18:6). And again a second time: 'Whom are you seeking?' and he said the same to them, and they fell to the ground again. He says a third time: 'I am,' therefore me...

'Seize them, let these go away' (John 18:8); for no one was able to be seized with him. This was said many…§88

88'Seize them, let these go away' (John 18:8); for no one was able to be seized with him. This was said many times, that in order not to give a suspicion to the unstable, that he himself did not excel, but the one who suffered with him, he did not permit this. And when Peter said: 'I am ready to go with you even to prison' and to lay down 'my soul for you' (Luke 22:33; John 13:37), he says: Cease, 'before the rooster crows you will deny me three times' (Luke 22:34). If he had been suffering with him, it would have become doubtful for what reason this happened. And 'he gave himself for our sins' (Galatians 1:4). And the Father is also said to have given him; for this also happened by the good pleasure of the Father. But if Judas is said to have given him, he gave him in another way; he became his betrayer. Psalm 30:15-16: But I hoped in you, Lord; I said: You are my God. In your hands are my lots. Even if those did thus and were gathered together against me, having counseled to take my soul and having done the other things, yet I did not cease from hoping in you. 'I said: You are my God. In your hands are my lots.' The papal explanations say this, that the lots are in the hands of God, such as the ministry, the presbyter, the episcopate. And it is blessed to have in the hands of God the lots which one has been allotted. Such a one is unplotted against; for 'no one' snatches 'from the hand of the Father' (John 10:29). 'In your hands are my lots,' says the Savior. And that we may agree with the given interpretation, we say: those whom I allotted to serve me, whom I set in the Church as apostles and prophets and teachers, are in your hands. And it is possible — and Israel, when it was called 'my people,' was called his portion and inheritance —; all the nations have been given as inheritance to the Son. Many lots are the nations. These lots are in your hands, secured by your active and covering powers, so that no one is able to snatch from your hand; for 'no one' 'is able to snatch from the hand of the Father.' He did not say: unless someone makes himself outside the hand, he cannot be snatched by anyone. For some will say: and yet the diligent later were dragged into impiety. And that I may not speak from mere images, as Judas himself made himself outside the hand; for when it was night when he was considering the betrayal, he says: 'he went out; for it was night' (John 13:30). 'My lots,' then; each of those believing in me is my lot. He is in your hands, equal to inheritance; for the lot follows the inheritance when it is reckoned among many. We speak this also more amply: the hands of God are the two covenants. If someone is his lot, he is in his hands. Psalm 30:16: Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those persecuting me. Not all enemies persecute; but all who persecute are enemies. That the not persecuting here is not for taking, but for ambushing: 'The enemy said: Having pursued I will overtake' (Exodus 15:9). This persecution is not done for the sake of imitation. But one must love those persecuting righteousness. Those persecuting righteousness persecute it for the sake of sharing in it and becoming according to it, as if someone should pursue knowledge in order to contemplate according to knowledge. So also 'seek peace and pursue it' (Psalm 34:14) must be taken. It can be taken more ethically thus: since the hand of the enemies and of those persecuting me is wickedness, a forbidden action, deliver me from this action, lest I fall under their evils, their action. Psalm 30:17: Make your face shine upon your servant, save me in your mercy. If you raise me and make me outside those persecuting, you made your face shine. And I am your face, the 'exact imprint of your hypostasis' (Hebrews 1:3), your 'image' 'of the invisible God' (Colossians 1:15). But since I took 'the form of a servant' (Philippians 2:7), 'make your face shine upon your servant.' Show that this servant has your form, your face dwelt in this servant, that the 'deliver me' may be said according to the thought of the servant, but the 'face' according to the thought of the truth, of the imprint of the divine hypostasis. 'In your mercy,' then, 'save me.' Raise me from the dead. And perhaps he also calls his own salvation the salvation for those for whom he came, that he might become to them 'a cause of eternal salvation' (Hebrews 5:9). Psalm 30:18: Let me not be ashamed […]

Deceitful lips and the hidden goodness of God§89

89I have called upon you. Then I am not ashamed, if the things of the calling exist. For is there not a word of the Savior? Sudden shifts in perspective occur So also it is done in the prophets.

And something else concerning the bare man: just as each of us, frequently narrating about a man, sometimes indicates him from the soul, and sometimes from the body. If I say that he is a beautiful man, 'pyrakis'—so that I may speak from the Scripture, 'with beauty of eyes'—it is immense; then I say that he is a learned man, a slave of God, he is subject to the Lord; for the change of persons is not outside of all things. When it is spoken concerning a composite, the changes of persons are carried from part to part.

Since, therefore, also the one saying these things is not a man alone, nor is he God alone, but God having become man, some things are said as from the man, and others as from the Word of God or concerning the God Word. 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father' (John 1:14).; for he does not say: 'Let your face shine upon your slave,' the other to me; me, your slave.

The ungodly were shamed and were brought down into Hades. The 'were brought down into Hades' again has a certain power. He did not say 'they descended into Hades.' But for those descending voluntarily, there is the descending. These, however, are not being brought down into Hades voluntarily. Also, concerning Capernaum, it is said: 'And you, Capernaum, which shall be exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to Hades' (Luke 10:15). It is being brought down by others. Then they are ashamed when they know that they are ungodly and do not have the impulse of readiness to descend into Hades. Because of this, they are brought down so that, having received the understanding of where they are about to descend, they might be shamed. Furthermore, they will do even more evil to themselves because they have become ungodly.

Let the lips be without sound.

The deceitful ones speak lawlessness against the righteous. He does not cast them down; rather, he blesses them; for he did not say, 'Let their lips become silent.' The 'deceitful ones' become silent when they are deprived of devilish words. Their lips are not entirely silenced, but rather 'the deceitful ones'. Having cast away the deceitful word, they otherwise speak with boldness and truth. Thus it is said: 'The Lord will destroy all deceitful lips and the loud-sounding tongue' (Psalm 12:3). When the loud-sounding tongue—that is, the word—is destroyed, that from which it is destroyed, the person then speaks the remaining word of God.

19 In pride and contempt. Since 'of the righteous' lies absolutely, it can mean both of a righteous man and of a righteous matter, concerning which it is said: 'Rightly the just' (Deuteronomy 16:20). But he who speaks against the righteous and against him who possesses it and is convinced by it, speaks in pride and contempt; for then their lips become silent when they know what kind of lowliness they are, when they know that the one whom they will despise is not worthy of contempt.

20 How great is the multitude of your goodness, Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you. Since it seemed to someone to speak in a strange way, but looking into the intention of the speaker, we say that they are not curses, but rather blessings. And you wish for them to be found good. Since it happened that those not ignoring the goodness and the end of the saved were being rubbed, you hid it from those who fear you. But he says 'fearing' here to mean those having the punishing fear, not the righteous, nor those having that fear which has no deficiency, nor those surpassing all. He says: since your goodness is inborn with your goodness, and you do all for the salvation of all, and you make the dark things and the falling of someone dark to be dark, but because those being rubbed through carelessness were going to be harmed, you hid it from those who fear you, not...

The Manifestation and Hiddenness of God§90

90To those who love: for here we receive the fear that is being set aside for the sake of love—'perfect love casts out fear' (1 John 4:18). And love is perfect when we do not love for the sake of another. Therefore, 'perfect love casts out fear because fear has punishment'—not that which is said concerning it: 'it is no loss to those who fear him.'

I have worked for those who hope in you against the sons of men. I have worked this concealment. Some are sons of men who are not reproached. But men and sons are often reproached when it is said: 'Sons of men, how long will you be heavy-hearted?' (Psalm 4:2) But when it is said: 'The Lord looked down from heaven, he saw all the sons of men' (Psalm 33:13), these sons of men are praised.

And I say a paradox: when they are lifted up toward God, they are righteous men and sons of men; but when they are toward the righteous, the sinners are sons of men, being vile, concerning whom Paul writes: 'For where there is strife and jealousy among you, are you not human?' (1 Corinthians 3:3) and concerning whom: 'But you, indeed, as men, are dying' (Psalm 82:7), having fallen from being the sons of the Most High. Toward the holy men called or named gods, the vile are called sons of men; but toward the sons who are the cause for God, those whom he looks upon, they are diligent.

And again: 'You will save men and cattle, Lord. As you have multiplied your mercy, O God; and the sons of men hope in the shadow of your wings' (Ps 36:7). 'A great man and a precious man is the merciful one.' Here the man who is 'according to the image and likeness' (Gen 1:26) of God is praised in greatness. But when someone, having fallen from being the son of the Most High, becomes a son of man, this man is vile.

'I have worked for those who hope in you against the sons of men'—the diligent ones—and let those know the work: the concealment of the wealth of your goodness. You will hide them in the secrecy of your face, the sons of men for whom I have worked your mercy. And someone is hidden in the secrecy of God thus: God has a face appearing through his own creatures; for it is said: 'Analogously, the Creator is seen from the greatness and beauty of the creatures.' He is seen from the analogy of creation; for just as if someone sees a ship, the imagination of the shipbuilder...

Where is it received even if not present? And he who sees a ship sailing straight from afar immediately comes to the understanding that there is one steering it. And a chariot being carried in order from afar, even if the one seeing does not see the driver, he remembers him. In this way, as the cosmos is being carried in order and having a beautiful nature, a vision of the beauty and greatness of God is known; for if the things created are great, much greater is the Maker.

Therefore, when someone takes a vision of God from the cosmos, the order, the concept, and the judgments of providence, he has not been hidden into the secrecy of His person. Such also are those who have philosophized among the Greeks; for from the greatness of the created things and the beauty, they took a vision of God. But he who, receiving a vision of God without the creation, has seen the Son and through the Son the Father—for 'he who has seen me has seen the Father' (John 14:9)—this one is hidden in the secrecy of the person of God. And the creative Word is a secret.

Again, so that I may speak more popularly: Jesus had two persons, of man and of God. Those who know Him according to the flesh, receive Him in the manifestation of the person. But those who, turning away from knowing Him according to the flesh, have come to knowing Him as the Divine Word, these have been hidden in the secrecy of the person of God. And furthermore, since we were saying that the outward vision of the cosmos is a person, the Word through whom the things created came to be, and through whom they are provided for and governed, is the secret of the person of God; and the creative Word is a secret.

God often hides His own goodness from the small ones who fear Him. We examined yesterday those who fear, abstaining from evil through the fear of punishment, if it must be called this abstention from evil. 'Perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment' (1 John 4:18). The disposition of knowledge of good and evil, and desiring the good and, having bowed to it, abstaining from evil lust, stays away from evil not by the fear of punishment, but turns away from evil. If, however, some word persuades him that there is no punishment, he practices what he chooses as evil. God, therefore, often does not bring punishment immediately, but brings goodness.

The Son of Man as the Archetypal Human§91

91And goodness. He hides the abundance of the wealth of his kindness because of those who fear, because of the small ones, because of those who refrain from evil through the fear of punishment. 'How much indeed is the abundance of your kindness, Lord' (Psalm 31:19). He hid it; for the knowledge of it was making them stumble into evils. If anyone should bring forth words of indignation even unto the point of causing amazement, and hide the kindness as if he were about to punish, if the son had known that the threat is only in form, he would have despised his kindness and would have been lost and become responsible for wrath. In truth, much kindness is his, a great abundance.

For the apostle also says to some: 'Or do you despise the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?' (Rom 2:4). And the one not knowing this thinks that he is not being unyielding to evils, and therefore does not come forward. And Peter, the foremost of the apostles, writes the epistle and has said such words: 'The Lord is not slow concerning the promise, which some count as slowness, but is patient, not wishing anyone to perish but all to come to repentance' (2 Pet 3:9). Behold the kindness. It was not necessary for it to be made known to the many; for they would have despised it even more. You have therefore hidden from those who fear you the abundance of your kindness. 'I have worked for those who hope in you, against the sons of men' (Psalm 31:19). Those who hope are those who are watching for the divine rewards and the promises which God promised to those living well. 'I have worked' therefore this, 'for those who hope in you.' I have worked this, to hide the abundance of your kindness, so that even those who hope in you might not see this, that for a certain reason you do not bring forth wrath. He says therefore, 'against men.' The abundance of your kindness is not hidden forever, but only as long as those men are, concerning whom it is said: 'But you, indeed, as men, are dying.' And: 'For where there is strife and jealousy among you, are you not acting as men?' (1 Cor 3:3). Therefore, against these sons of men, I have worked this hiding according to the abundance of your kindness; for to them also he opens this. The God of all things is called many times human...

It is not that he has become a man or is a man, but because he descends with men, he governs their affairs in such a way, and as their judge, he becomes like a man who sympathizes. 'He shall nurture him as a man nurtures his son' (Deuteronomy 1:31). He observed your ways by nourishing and governing you. This is confirmed by this: 'If he observes iniquity, Lord, Lord, who will stand?' (Psalm 130:3), and: 'His eyes examine the sons of men' (Psalm 11:4). With eyes alone he sees what is being done.

Just as the one who sent the Son, having approved of his coming, governs men as a man provides benefits, so also this one is a 'son of man'; he is the son of a man who is thus led. And another thing: the particulars are in a certain way the offspring of the general. And the general human has become 'in image and likeness' (Gen 1:26) of God; for this was not said only concerning Adam, but the human nature, the general species, became 'in image and likeness' of God. He who preserves the prototype, the almost-general, is therefore the son of man.

Since, therefore, the soul of Jesus preserved the image—for he neither knew sin nor did it—because of this, he is called the son of that man who became 'in image and likeness' of God. It is also said otherwise: although Jesus did not have a father according to the man, he had a mother. And the woman is a human. To refute the opinion, he is called son of man. Even if he does not have the status from a father, he is from a mother. Thus indeed it is said, 'born of a woman' (Galatians 4:4). All are born from men; for Paul also writes: man comes 'from a man,' but 'through a woman'; for from the man the casting of the seed happens, but through the woman the formation and the birth. Since therefore this one does not have the part from a man and through a woman, but from a woman—for he took the whole matter from the woman, not according to other men—'And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Christ was born' (Matt 1:16). He did not say 'through whom'—and because of this, therefore, he is designated 'son of man'; for if he were simply called a man, the doubters would have assumed that he had fallen, a man not having origin from a man or...

The Hidden Face and the City of Protection§92

92Beginning. So that he might show that he is from Mary, he called himself 'a son of man'. And even the Word of God is sometimes called a son of a man; for when he says, 'No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man' (John 3:13), he speaks this against the God Logos. Thus he is called a son of man, just as we often say that the soul is from the parents. Just as we say, 'The holy Jacob is of Isaac', we do not mean that in his nature or essence he is holy, but that he, by whom it happened to be holy, is of Isaac. Therefore, let the God Logos be called a son of man in this way.

If then you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before (John 6:62), we do not even take it to mean the body, so that we may not bow down to those who say that he was brought down from heaven as a body. Almost all the heretics say this, such as Marcion, Basilides, and Valentinus. In this same way, we often say, 'A wise man, holy, a friend of God', and he is a son in this respect: not that he is a son according to such a nature, but he is a son of that lineage. In composite things, we often speak of the parts in regard to the whole; just as if we say, 'A man who is intelligent, sensible, mindful, healthy in body, well-formed, and large-statured', we speak of some things from the body and some from the soul; for some of the things belonging to a composite being cannot belong to each of the individual parts in the composition. But to be awake or to sleep is said neither of the soul alone nor of the body alone; for neither does the soul do this apart from this body, nor the body without the soul. Therefore, it is said concerning the composite.

You will hide them in the secret of your face (Psalm 31:20). The creation of God is sometimes said to be his face; 'in proportion to the greatness of the beauty of the creatures, the Creator is perceived'. They are not in his hidden face, but in his manifest one. If you see a physician working, performing skillfully, you see his face; for the works of medicine demonstrate the physician. But when we are able to see the analogy of the word of the skilled ones and the disposition of the one doing the work, we no longer see his manifest face, but the hidden one. So also we say concerning God that, when we contemplate the created things, from the created things and from the greatness of the...

Regarding others, we fix our mind on God, who is a sea of beauty and greatness in His manifest face. But when we observe, why, I ask, has He made the heavens in such a way, and why in this specific manner, so that we might enter into the hiddenness of His face, into the Word through which He made all things? 'The Word became flesh' (John 1:14). Behold the outward face. 'And we beheld His glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father' (John 1:14). To understand this is hidden.

Therefore, the apostle also agrees, saying: 'Even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, but now we no longer know Him' (2 Cor 5:16). You will cover them from the disturbance of men in a tent, and from the contention of tongues. Those who are now being saved and delivered from the disturbance of men are covered in progress; for he who turns away from evil in order to do good does not at the same time as the turning away from evil have the good perfectly within himself. He becomes a disciple of the unique tongue, the tongue of God. For tongues signify words, and this has often been demonstrated: 'They bent their tongue like a bow' (Jeremiah 9:3), their word; and: 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue' (Prov 18:21). The sensory tongue does not have a hand at all. But it has energy, the Word being called a tongue.

Blessed is the Lord, because His mercy has marveled in a city of protection (Psalm 31:21). Having understood those who were speaking and having become in their knowledge, He sends back praises in a manner of thanks for the remainder of blessing and says: 'His mercy has marveled in a city of protection' (Psalm 31:21). They were saying that He hid the abundance of His kindness for the sake of mercy, in order that He might show mercy. Having known the reason why the abundance of kindness was hidden, he blesses Him who did this and says that 'in the city of protection' we have done this. We are able to call the life there, the sojourn in this world, a 'city of protection'; for in a certain way we are enclosed as if in a fortress. And since in the Kingdoms Zion is also called a 'city of protection'—'who will take me into a city of protection?'—this protection is to be praised; it is an invincible fortress, an unassailable stronghold. Therefore, 'His mercy has marveled in the city of protection' (Psalm 31:21). If anyone is outside this city, he is ignorant of why God hides the abundance of His kindness.

The Eye of the Hand and Perfect Love§93

The Strength of Hope and the Arithmetic of Regeneration§94

94Those participating in the truth are as many truths as there are participants. I say these things before the end, for there will not be many truths, nor many people who are true, nor many experts, nor many knowings at the end; because if from the believing ones there comes 'one heart and one soul' (Acts 4:32) and 'being completed in the same mind and the same judgment' (Phil 2:2)—even if not from all, but rather according to a certain measure—at the final desired end, there will be no difference between one expert and another.

Just as, even if by hypothesis all doctors possessed medicine in an unsurpassed way in all its parts, there were not many doctors; there were many men, but not many doctors. Since therefore the truth is one—for 'grace and truth' (John 1:17) come 'through Jesus Christ'—one truth becomes through itself, not truths as individuals through it. They become through the one, just as partial virtues become through the universal and individual knowings through the universal.

Therefore the Lord seeks these; so strive as far as you are able to receive some truth, for God seeks these. Even if you receive truth regarding practical virtues, the truth of practical virtues is judged from the disposition, if one participates in justice through that very thing. Since 'let the righteous pursue justice rightly' (Deuteronomy 16:20), pursue that very justice rightly, pursue the practice of the righteous with a disposition of righteousness.

'Love the Lord, all you his saints' (Psalm 31:23). He gave a reason; since 'the Lord seeks truth', 'love the Lord', the provider of truths. Thus we also hear righteousness being spoken of in the plural: 'The Lord is righteous and he loved righteousness' (Psalm 11:7). But when he speaks concerning universal righteousness, the essence, 'righteousness descended from heaven' (Psalm 85:11), he calls the Savior righteousness here. And just as it has become to us as wisdom, so also righteousness.

And they repay those who practice pride excessively. Since he showed the smallness of those who fear, for he also said there are men who trouble them, certain sophists and deceivers, he called these proud. But they practice pride excessively. And it is possible even thus: all evil becomes superfluous instead of being in vain. This indeed is also said in Proverbs: 'Do not love...'

against a man in vain; for even one hating a friend cannot do anything to him, unless God gives it. Therefore he does this in vain. And it is not necessary to strive for vain things. And these therefore the proud do pridefully in excess; for not all those of whom they boast will be subordinates to them, unless God gives it.

Be men, and let your heart be strong, all you who hope in the Lord (Psalm 31:24). Having said this, he anoints all the struggles for endurance, for manliness. And he does not speak of those who fear, but of those who hope. And we say that these are those working for the good of the promises with desire. These therefore are ready to become manly and to be strengthened and to draw near to God. And each one, clinging to Him, becomes one spirit with Him. And if each one of those clinging to the Lord becomes one with Him, when many are the ones clinging to Him, by a way of communion all become one spirit.

To David: of understanding. Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses have been forgiven (Psalm 32:1). The forgiveness of sins is a new genesis, a genesis upon genesis. Because of this it is called regeneration. Just as the repetition denotes song upon song, so also the regeneration is another genesis being added upon a genesis that has arrived. It was necessary, therefore, for the psalm concerning regeneration to have certain virtues in number. And from the fourth square, five times five takes an addition and receives the first of the perfect ones, the six; for the first of the perfect ones, having been added to the fourth of the squares, makes thirty-one. The five times five is a square. A square is that which is equal. These therefore, the numbers having been set forth, have become suitable to the regeneration; for it is necessary to have its constitution from a perfect number and from a square because of stability. The former genesis became corrupt. The first-formed ones turned away from perfect virtue and from the keeping of the divine commandment which they had received from God. It was necessary, therefore, for the second genesis to be more stable. The stable one has its quality from the square; it has the perfect one from the six, in the number being composed and partitioned from its own parts. And this must be said: even if the twenty-five is a square, it has its imperfection from sensible things; for the sensible things are five...

Understanding and the Nature of Gospel§95

95the visible, the audible, the tasted, the smelled, the touched

to be among those being instructed. And since it seemed regarding him to be himself the teacher, it is necessary for the teacher to be helped by the students; having hidden it, he says: 'May God give you understanding in all things.' Therefore understanding is manifold; the word is homonymous, and it has many meanings.

And since he speaks about hidden things here, there lies that which is according to knowledge, that which is kindred to wisdom; for the psalm contains mysteries. And this must be said: it is impossible to understand grammatical words if one does not have understanding of letters, and it is not possible to understand the arguments of philosophers unless one has knowledge of their previously proposed thesis. So also the things of God are impossible to understand without divine understanding.

And why is it that grace is given to David alone, or the understanding is said to be from David? Observe that characteristics are known both from the giver and from the receiver, knowing them. For instance, even the Holy Spirit in the Scripture is called at times Elijah and at times John. Likewise also the Gospel is called at times of God, as of God giving and arranging it: 'set apart' for 'the gospel of God'; and at times from the one ministering it: for 'according to' 'my gospel'; and of those preaching, it is sometimes said they have received the gospel, and at times it is said as having been released: 'repent and believe in the gospel.' Such names, when they mean the same both with and without an addition—with a divine addition and without this, as I said, simply gospel and gospel of God—are the same. Therefore it is the same to say simply gospel and gospel of God. Thus, understanding is from the giving God, and from the prophet and his psalmist who received it, the understanding is said to be.

Blessed are they whose lawlessnesses have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered (Psalm 32:1). Sin differs from lawlessness. Lawlessness is the sinful practice of one not having law; for the transgressor of law is called lawless. 'Lawlessness reproaches a man' (1 John 3:4). And: 'The lawless man says that he sins in himself' (Psalm 36:1). Even if in another way sin and lawlessness are the same: for this the divine John writes in the epistle concerning it: 'everyone who does sin and lawlessness does, and the...'

The distinction between active sin and the potential for evil§96

96"Sin is lawlessness." If, therefore, one has sinned, he has in a certain way lawlessness; but he speaks of two things. For by a connective conjunction, he has shown that there are two. Then: "and sin is lawlessness." Sin is a genus of lawlessness; for he was saying that lawlessness is a species, when the one doing evil does not have law. And this is also called sin: the transgression or violation of the law, which I called lawlessness. It is like saying: "everyone having a horse has an animal"; the animal is a genus. Not everyone having an animal has a horse, but he having a horse has an animal. He who has the species has the genus. Thus also here he speaks, as if he were speaking of the same lawlessness and sin. But in thought there is a difference, because one is general and the other is in part; one is genus and the other is species; for he said that the name of sin lies both against transgression and against lawlessness.

Therefore both kinds sin: "for as many as sinned lawlessly" (Romans 2:12). Behold, these who are without law, they sin. "And as many as sinned in law": these are those having wisdom, having transgressions of the law. Both "sinned." But the forgiveness of lawlessness happens when the divine law, the spiritual one, the one "turning back souls," holds the lawless ones. Then the lawlessnesses are forgiven. And I say thus, the forgiveness of sins does not happen immediately. Jesus forgives if he says: "the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins" (Matt 9:6). And: "Child, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5); for he does not say: "Behold, your sins have been forgiven I." He has given a power that is making new. And the energy having come to pass destroyed the evil. Therefore those whose sins were forgiven are blessed. Consequently, they return to the blameless law of God which turns back souls.

Thus the forgiveness of sins happens when the divine law according to the gospel comes; for this is the "spiritual law" by which souls are turned back, as I said. And those sins which come to pass through transgression of the law and are added, have a covering. The sins are covered. But it is impossible for those baptized once to again find the bath. They are covered through works of repentance. But you say that the sins, having been covered, are saved. Not "love," he says, "but...

Does it love remove a multitude of sins? For it does not utterly annihilate sins, but in another way; for he who performs works of love performs them. For no one who shows love toward a neighbor speaks against him, insults him, or acts unjustly. But when he does this, he lacks love toward him.

All these things are examined not as being currently active, not because they are hidden as if they were destined, but because the arriving love has hidden those things, that is, it has departed from them, it has cast them out. And if one must speak briefly, the arriving love stops the sin in its active state, leaving the potential for sin remaining. If anything is examined, it is the activity; for example, the repentant robber had sin in activity; he had repentance; the Savior gave him remission; the activities according to which he had lived were cast away. But the potentials remain, and they are examined.

For one must not pay attention to those who say that evil is a deprivation. There are some, and indeed a whole heresy of the Stoics, saying this: 'It is impossible for one who has cast away virtue to take it up again.' Just as it is impossible for one who has lost sensation to take it back, and therefore through this blindness and deafness are a deprivation, so they reason concerning virtue. But to us, who are simpler, and rather more unlearned, they say that there is no longer such a thing; for they say that there is no repentance after these things, no taking up of virtue again, but the evil remains for ever and brings appropriate punishment.

Therefore, sins are examined in the way I have said; they pass into potentiality; for it is blessed to have the potential for evil. Opposites do not coexist. He who has virtue in activity has the potential for evil, and this is a blessed thing. Therefore, one must not have virtue in potential, but in activity. For this reason also, God from the beginning, having made man 'in image and likeness' (Gen 1:26) of himself and 'upright,' just as the good was in potential, immediately also gave a law to prevent sin, so that sin might always remain in potential.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin (Ps 32:2), nor is there deceit in his mouth. Paul took this regarding those of the circumcision and regarding the Gentiles; 'this blessedness,' he says, 'is upon the...'

The New Covenant and Sincerity of Heart§97

The Readiness of the Heart and the Twofold Creation of Man§98

98But the phrase 'my bones have grown old' has been placed erroneously thus: 'because I was silent,' these things, the 'my bones have grown old from crying out all day long.'

Not 'my bones have grown worn out from crying out all day long,' but 'because I was silent from crying out all day long'; for before this they had the day which 'the sun of righteousness' (Mal 4:2) makes.

And he was crying out, this indeed praying, and that indeed glorifying God who grants me the day.

Since therefore I was silent from crying out all day long, my bones have grown worn out.

It has been said to us also before that 'bones' refers to the vigorous powers of the soul and the doctrines of piety.

Just as these bones hold together the whole body—for from them even the veins and everything is suspended.

It is therefore said: 'All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like you?'

(Ps 145:17); not that these bones have sensation or intellect.

For they do not feel themselves when being ground.

Therefore 'my bones have grown old' was received.

When it was united to God, then it cried out all day long.

But since silence received the cry, my bones have grown worn out.

And I have already said that the unceasing one saw all the sons of men (Psalm 33:13; LXX 32:13), having been cast as 'to the foolish beasts' (Psalm 49:12).

These, therefore, he saw, the sons of men, from his ready dwelling-place (Psalm 33:14).

His dwelling-place is like his temple, the state of his being... his throne.

This throne is ready and a dwelling-place... 'Your throne is ready from of old, and you are from the age' (Psalm 93:2; LXX 92:2).

The ready... about him as a king.

And of his throne we take up the thought...

It comes, and thus when we hear of his temple, we receive him as ready along with it... as if manifesting the state of God, the majesty of God.

A soul which does not... his dwelling-place is ready.

And this is also possible; one becomes ready from the same participation to make room for God's presence; holiness is briefly produced in the one having it; for that one begins to progress through participation..

A dwelling-place of God is not ready; rather, through progress, something small becomes great as it is measured by its being, and it becomes ready.

It is said that the good thing itself is ready, as if one says, 'My heart is ready, O God'; for he who has a prepared heart is a temple of God, a ready dwelling-place for Him.

And again: 'Has it not been announced to you, O man, what is good' (Micah 6:8) and what is pleasant, 'but to do justice and to love mercy and to be ready to walk with your Lord God'?

And again: 'Pay attention with your ear to the preparation of their heart' (Psalm 10:17).

He looked upon all who dwell in the earth (Psalm 33:14).

Others are those dwelling in the earth, apart from the sons of men; for those who have not kept the image, nor have become earthly, dwell.

But the sons of this kind of men do not dwell, but they reside.

For He 'causes the sun to rise' (Matthew 5:45) as it is 'upon the good,' and so also 'upon the evil,' He surveys all the sons of men, and those dwelling in the earth, even irrational animals; for He gives 'food to all flesh' (Psalm 136:25).

He flies into a snare; for we do not say the sons of men and those dwelling in the earth are parallel terms.

He who formed man alone formed their hearts.

In the Scripture, the doing is distinguished from the fashioning; for God made man 'according to His image and likeness' (Genesis 1:26), but He formed the man from the 'dust from the ground' (Genesis 2:7).

And Job indeed says both these things: 'Your hands have formed me and made me' (Job 10:8).

If he says this word strictly, the inner man becomes the result, but the outer is fashioned.

And as it has been said: 'Remember that you formed me of clay' (Job 10:9).

The verb of forming implies a difference; for the one doing is able and will desire to bring into being as parents bring into existence.

In the previously read passages, we say that 'to become' differs from 'to be created'; just as to form is not entirely the same as itself.

Listen then to what he says...

The Shaping of the Heart§99

99He says that the hearts were formed by God in all ways, but 'only alone'. The hearts were formed 'only alone' to join heart to heart in companionship.

They certainly differ, and though many possess them, they possess them with some difference. This indeed is also said in Proverbs: 'Just as faces are not alike to faces, so also the hearts of men' are not alike (Proverbs 27:19). It is therefore difficult to find two similar faces. Even if the myth of Polydeuces and Castor is told, it stands only as a myth. They say the hemispheres are signified by these two names. Therefore they say day by day, living in parts; for the hemispheres are thus: when one semicircle becomes under the earth, the other becomes over the earth, because the semicircles are dissimilar in their likeness. If indeed you cut a circle in the middle, the semicircles are dissimilar. Let that remain a myth to me.

But let us grant that such men have also come to be. It is therefore difficult to join face to face in likeness. 'Just as faces are not alike to faces, so also the hearts of men' are not alike (Proverbs 27:19). For indeed 'no one knew the things of man except the spirit of the man which is in him' (1 Corinthians 2:11). If no one knew the things of man except the spirit in him, the things of men have been formed by God individually, each one.

Having formed there a kind of mixture, for he said that they do not fall to the more sensory understanding, just as a potter forms clay, the hearts, he knows all their works; for since one knows works in a certain way, if from the works themselves. We also say at other times that one who understands mechanical works is able to judge whether the parts of the clock are well or not. And upon an image, therefore, heart does not join to heart. Therefore he alone is called 'the knower of hearts of all' according to the prayer sent up by the apostles, when the disciples were making a selection. No one else is able to know the heart of...

A man to see. Therefore, one cannot separate heart from heart. And Job says, 'He who understands the mind of men' (Job 7:20). Even if another stood by... this is of God. He alone shapes the hearts. Each heart... the name of the shaping does not mean the creation of the heart... and indeed the elders, receiving its right which he... have said, 'Good is the shaping of your heart.' They do not say the essence of the heart is good, but the shaping, by which he skillfully worked. Toward the beautiful, he says, it has become... and it is possible to say by a second sense that the 'shaping of the heart' is then good, when it is protected from wickedness or ignorance, as it was in the beginning.

The man having become 'in the image and likeness' (Gen 1:26) of God is not said to have been shaped, but to have been made. But the man having become from clay and matter is said to be a shaping of God: 'Remember that you formed me of clay' (Job 10:9). And concerning both of the active powers of God it is said, 'Your hands shaped me and made me' (Psalm 119:73). To fashion the heart... is a shaping of the heart, not to sustain it. So that you may know: the first making of our hearts had no difference; therefore it was not said then that each heart was shaped alone. There was no difference from the others. Here this is said after the subtext.

Regarding: 'one heart and one soul' (Acts 4:32) of the disciples? According to this, 'of those believing' according to being of one mind; for we do not take the whole from all. Regarding: so will the shaping ever cease? —the shaping alone, since this also took a beginning from us. And it took the beginning from us and an end it will reach, when it becomes—just as the Father and the Son are one (John 17:21), so all rational things are. I want it to be in this: 'that just as I and you are one, Father, so may we all be one' (John 17:21). Regarding: does making differ from creation? —it differs. To make signifies bringing into being from non-being, not to fashion; and for some, the name of creation also denotes the adornment of that which has become. The name of creation suffices even for the soulless: 'making...'

God's Creation and Transformation of Evil§100

The False Horse and the Fear of God§101

101Everything comes to an end. And a great giant will not be saved by the abundance of his own strength. This also contains a history: Goliath was a great giant and had an abundance of strength, and he believed in nothing other than in his own luck and his own strength and greatness. And he was also arrogant; therefore he was not saved; for he, having armed himself in the 'name of the Lord' (1 Sam 17:45), was defeated and brought down. And we find many in the Scriptures being cast down great, because they cast great confidence upon themselves.

The Amalekite was prepared for war and seemed to be stronger than Israel; for Israel was not fully prepared for military matters, and yet, as the hands of Moses were being lifted up, the Amalekite was being subdued and humbled, and the lifting of the hands was happening to him, and he was not saved because of his own strength. We say again: if anyone, having a god-fighter's attitude, 'building up lofty things against the knowledge of God,' falls by the strength which he had and is swallowed up, he is by no means saved. Sometimes the God-wise one contends with him and casts him down from where he has conceit.

A false horse for salvation. Again, many think greatly upon a horse, but the God-Word shows that even the conceit of horses is easily broken; for 'these are in chariots and these in horses, but we in the name of the Lord our God shall be magnified' (Ps 20:7). See, 'a false horse for salvation.' To many it was promised that Pharaoh would capture the Hebrews with horses. But they did not even possess one horse, and their salvation has become false, having sinned and having failed. And also in Proverbs: 'A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but salvation is by the Lord' (Prov 21:31). You see that it is false for salvation, if this does not exist from the Lord, even if it is according to a spoken word.

And for thought: it is often said that the body is a horse of the soul, and the soul is the rider or the one mounting it; 'I will strike,' he says, 'the whole horse in frenzy and its rider in madness.' When anyone carries...

When one, enjoying pleasures upon the body and fulfilling his own desire, receives a foolishness, then salvation occurs. A horse is trodden down by God in frenzy, becoming outside of itself; for indeed, being subdued and led away as a slave, it no longer moves according to its own impulses, but stands out from these.

Barhesanes lived in former times, in the days of Antoninus the Roman king. He was at the beginning of the school of Valentinus, moved into the church, and became a presbyter.

17 And in the multitude of his power he shall not be saved. That is, either the one using horses or the power of many horses; for both are true: 'a false horse for salvation,' even if it be many; for it is not upon one horse alone. Often the whole cavalry is a horse. That is, therefore, the multitude of the power of the cavalry used by the riders does not save him, nor the multitude and power of the horses.

18 Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him (Ps 33:18). It is equal to: 'the eyes of the Lord upon the righteous' (Psalm 34:15). And this again in the twelfth psalm says: 'Look, hear my prayer, O Lord my God' (Psalm 13:3). Therefore, 'the eyes of the Lord upon those who fear him' is not a fear of passivity, but 'him'; for there is also a passive fear, which perfect love casts out from those having the fear of God. There is fearing and fearing God; for the fear toward God is not passive, but signifies the surpassing of all. Thus indeed it says: 'the fear of the Lord surpassed all' (Sirach 25:11), and: 'there is no deficiency to those fearing him' (Psalm 34:9). Being righteous, they are worthy of being watched over by God.

18 Those hoping in his mercy. Behold, those fearing God hope in his mercy; for having done all things, they expect to be shown mercy by him, as it was said a little earlier: 'not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of the God who shows mercy' (Rom 9:16). And no one is able to keep himself unblemished.

Divine Provision and the Diversity of Instruction§102

102To guard a city, whether it be the body or the soul, is impossible unless God co-guards it. 'Those hoping in his mercy' Ps 33:18; he has mercy on those fearing him, to rescue their souls from death. For this reason, 'his eyes' are 'upon those fearing him' Ps 33:18-19 and 'those hoping in his mercy', so that he may rescue 'their souls from death' Ps 33:19. Death here we do not take to be the common death which the pious and the impious, the righteous and the unjust, all undergo, but it is a death of the soul which consumes the soul from the blessed life.

From this death we are turned away to avoid it; concerning this it is said: 'this soul that sins shall die' Ezek 18:4. And again: 'sin, when completed, brings forth death' Gal 6:8. And since this death follows sins, God, giving the forgiveness of sins, will rescue those who have received grace beforehand from the following death. And he will nourish them in famine, those fearing him and hoping in his mercy. Just as he rescues souls from death, so also he nourishes them in famine.

Indeed, such things have happened many times in history. He nourished the people of the Hebrews during a long journey in the wilderness, providing manna every day by himself. And you will find this in various instances: for example, Elijah was nourished by the widow and by the angel shown to him through bread and the jar of water. And also, while Jezebel was persecuting Elijah and all the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah, the commander of the household of King Ahab, nourished fifty men in two caves, God having prepared him for this. Indeed, he said this without neglect to Elijah when he met him: 'and your servant fearing the Lord' 1 Kings 18:3. And he who feared the Lord nourished them because of the Lord.

If, therefore, he has restorations—these other things have happened according to history—he again nourishes those fearing his fear and hoping in his mercy, providing for them the bread of life, descending from heaven, which partakes of his flesh as 'true food' [John 6:51]. Being the savior of all, he holds them. He does not do this by a single means, but according to the circumstances: he saves in wars from external enemies, making them victorious and not allowing them to fall into captivity, he saves...

He saves those who are doing badly, like a pilot when we are tossed by storms in the sea of life. Furthermore, he gives to each one a spring—in which is 'a spring unto eternal life' (John 4:14)—and he is nourished even when having become in a waterless place. And, 'open your eyes and be filled with bread' (Proverbs 20:13).

The one having opened the eyes of the soul and having been filled by the manner of chewing the bread of the divine logos does not suffer from famine; for 'the Lord will not let the soul of the righteous starve' (Proverbs 10:3). Whoever is in desire for bread but is not opening his eyes to his own bread, lives in famine; for the soul has many foods from God within itself.

Our soul waits upon the Lord. This is what is said: since we have known these things, that the eyes of the Lord are watching those who fear him (Ps 33:18)—even if they have at some time been in death, he rescued them; even if they have at some time been in famine, he nourished them; even if we should at some time be in any lack, we wait knowing that we too shall enjoy these things; and our soul, if it should be in death, shall be saved. For he is a helper and a defender of us.

You see that a remainder has become a multitude: 'the Lord looked down from heaven, he saw all the sons of men' (Psalm 33:13). If at any time something is being said discordantly and oppositely, observe if these things are being said about one single thing; for then an opposition occurs. But if it is being said about a church or a city or a house, they are not opposites; for the things concerning the one are said, and the things concerning the other are said.

And this you ought to know: that the saints do not offer up their prayers and thanksgivings concerning themselves alone, but concerning all things which they consider. It is not the same to say one thing that must harmonize with one, and a multitude, such as a people or a nation or a city. It is impossible for the same thing to be at once good and bad, or temperate and intemperate.

And the apostle writes to the Corinthians that they have become rich 'in every word and in all knowledge' (1 Cor 1:5). Does he not say again, 'fornication is heard among you' (1 Cor 5:1)? If he were saying these things toward one person, it would be discordant. But since the whole church is being addressed, and such and such are in the collections, he says all things, so that each one may receive help for himself. In this way, too, he charges them concerning those erring about the resurrection, and concerning the gifts, and concerning those having become idolaters.

The Nature of Hope and Double Names§103

103How then are these enriched with all word and knowledge? They are others about whom he was speaking. In the same way, the holy one does not speak only about himself—for he was a teacher—but about all those who have death and have fallen into famine because they neglected their own land. He does not say everything about everyone, but he says everything about others, applying each thing to each.

Since he is a help and a protector for us, because of this our soul waits for him. We know that even if we propose some good things, even if we wish to run toward the beautiful things and wish to bring them to an end, unless he himself cooperates and has mercy, we are not able to establish these things. He is a helper of the needs of which we are in need; he is a protector, throwing forward his own shield so that the adversaries may not be able to wound us.

For in him our heart shall rejoice (Psalm 33:21). Others rejoice in strength, in beginning, in status, or in praises, but for us, the cause of joy is the helper and protector himself. And in his holy name we have hoped (Psalm 33:21). We hoped in the one who was called upon for us. And since it seems according to the other group—I do not say those who fear the Lord are even in death—to be so, observe: we hoped in a present thing. But no one hopes in what is present, but in what is coming and expected; for 'hope is a thing not seen' (Romans 8:24).

Even if they sometimes say in the manner of a prayer, 'Hallowed be thy name' (Matt 6:9), they do not say let that which is not holy be hallowed, but let it be shown, let it appear holy. Then indeed it appears holy, when he also helps us and protects us. And when we say toward the Gospel, we say many thoughts toward this: 'Hallowed be thy name,' and this was taken to mean: since we carry it, cooperate so that we may not blaspheme it, hallow it, keep it holy in us; for it is said in imperative words. It was spoken in the optative: 'May thy name be hallowed.' And another meaning: since they now carry your name even to idols and to demons and to the womb—for 'God is the womb' of those—when knowledge becomes to men concerning your majesty so that they make no other god, when 'all is in all' (1 Cor 15:28) becomes, your name is hallowed being snatched away from...

May it be, Lord, your mercy upon us, just as we have hoped in you. 'May your mercy be upon us.' This prayer is sent up not because they already possess the mercy; for he did not say, 'Let your mercy be preserved,' but 'May it be, just as we have hoped in you.' For this reason we hoped in you.

Observe how, according to the proportion of faith, he gives gifts, and not to all everything, nor in the same measure, but according to the measure of the faith received; and so also here: 'just as we have hoped.' Some have hoped perfectly, and some not so, but according to a certain progress, or in another way according to an introduction. 'According to the proportion' of our faith, may your mercy be upon us, Lord; for thus we hoped.

Regarding David, when he changed his face before Abimelech (1 Samuel 21:13), and released him, and departed. To those who read the royal histories, the present narrative is clear. How intensely David was being pursued by Saul and was about to be captured, he departed to Gath toward King Achish. It is here that Abimelech is named. The word is a double name; for double names are also found in the Scripture, such as regarding Moses' father-in-law; and Jethro is called also Reuel. And Thomas is called also Didymus. And many such double names exist; Matthew seems to name Levi in Luke (Luke 5:27). But he is not he, but Matthias who was established in place of Judas, and Levi are two double names. This is evident in the Gospel according to the Hebrews.

Therefore, it is possible both the king of Gath, Achish, and Abimelech to be said. And it is possible also to impose it otherwise; many of the kings are named by a common name and a personal name, just as all those who ruled Egypt are so named Pharaoh. And their names are found, such as Sumach, Necho, as it is a name of the office, Pharaoh, while among the Romans it is Caesar. Therefore, it is possible also this: that Achish has the name of the office, and Abimelech is his personal name. So that if he has it, the mind does not struggle. You wish, then, the one to be the name of the office, and the other the personal. This is what the grammarians say, distinguishing for the sake of the personal name; for the personal name is also spoken of as being divided; it is divided for the sake of the personal name.

The Alteration of the Most High's Right Hand§104

104Regarding improper usage, they say that for a man, the names of species and kinds signify a common essence as appellatives, while 'this one' or 'that one' is used as a master. It is also said that 'master' signifies something else by improper usage.

I say many times: 'isometric' corresponds to 'concordant'. To be isometric is said to be in equal measure. I say that it also means to harmonize and to be in agreement. This is an improper usage; for to harmonize and to be in agreement is said of sounds. And again, we say of those who think the same and are of one mind that they are in concord. 'Master' is indeed used of those who think the same and intend the same, namely 'thinking the same' and 'being of one mind', but 'to be in concord' is an improper usage.

Therefore, it is possible for a master to be a name not distinguished by improper usage, but by appellative use, such as Abimelech, and for a title, such as Anchos. Thus the history is clear: he saw that King Saul was positioned with military power against his one man, David, and they were armed without armor. He fled there; and since it was not safe to enter a foreign city or land—for then suspicion of spies was greatest because the city-dwellers always had war against themselves—he feigned madness and let his saliva flow and acted foolishly, beating the doors of the gate, so that he might seem to be possessed by demons. Thus, those of Anchos slandered him. He says, 'I am diminished,' he says, 'when being seized, for you seize me when I am seized?' (Psalm 34:6). And they released him and he departed.

He named such a state of affairs a 'change of countenance'; for change signifies a change of quality. Thus a change of quality happened voluntarily, not involuntarily; for it happens to change involuntarily, such as when someone, having been frightened, becomes pale, or having been struck, or from some disturbance, seems to be flushed. Thus this change happened voluntarily even unto form.

And since David is often drawn up, as has been said in the preceding sections, to the Savior, you will say that the change of the countenance of the Savior is the taking on of the form of a slave. And here it has not happened as a change from one form into another form, but a concealment of form from another apparent form; for even a change of the countenance of the turning one cannot take place. And concerning him, the Savior, it is said in one of the Psalms: 'This is the al...'

The alteration of the right hand of the Most High. The right hand of the Father—and especially according to the intention of the Psalmist—is often said to be the Savior. But having become flesh, he was altered, a curse. He endured becoming sin, so that the sinners might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor 5:21). Therefore, the alteration is an assumption in this way, not a change; for no one would seek a change regarding the unchangeable. If not, as someone says, it is foreign.

‘This’ then is ‘the alteration of the right hand of the Most High.’ The right hand of the Most High is unchangeable. And he became sin not by chance, but so that he might make righteousness. But sin making righteousness is not a change from non-sin to being sin; for sin makes bad people, it makes injustice. But this makes righteousness of those having it. When therefore the Word becomes flesh and takes the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7), he was altered according to the person, not by change, as I have already often said, but by assumption. And also: ‘We have seen him, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father’ (John 1:14), signifies the glory according to his own nature. He therefore had glory fitting the flesh which was becoming to him.

‘This is the alteration of the right hand of the Most High.’ I do not say that we should speak of an alteration here which he himself received when we were saying that the assumption of the servant's form was altered, but rather ‘this is the alteration’ which he himself alters; for he himself describes the wrath, and makes the mercies effective. He says little about glorifying and praising: ‘For I will remember from the beginning of your wonders’ (Psalm 77:11). ‘And I said, Now I have begun’ (Psalm 77:10). I said all things darkly, that having been troubled I did not speak, that the watchmen had come upon me, but rather: ‘Now I have begun.’ I will now narrate other things after those, those following the dark things.

‘This is the alteration of the right hand of the Most High.’ Therefore he says: ‘Who is God like our God, the great?’ (Psalm 77:13). ‘You made known your power among your peoples’ (Psalm 77:14). Behold, this is the alteration. Then he altered his countenance. You can take the king of Egypt more allegorically as the ruler of this world, the devil. Therefore, the place which is among us is a land of different tribes. And just as when Egypt is named, it is the place upon the earth, Pharaoh is called the one ruling and tyrannizing, and when Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar is called, and when Assyria...

The Diversity of Ranks and Numerical Symbolism§105

105The Assyrian power is like this: from the said place concerning the earth, it was able to strike again some evil power. He 'changed his own face' Phil 2:7, 'having taken the form of a slave'; for it seemed to him that he would hold him, even as he would devise death against him. He tasted 'by the grace of God above every death'. And a sign of this change is: 'he released him'. He is not able to seize him.

And I say the paradox: if he is not able to seize his lowliness, what would he say concerning the divinity? Therefore, you who say that the Word was crucified, the Lord of glory? 'He released him, and he departed'. He departed from him; for he did not come there to wear away life there, but in order that, having completed the economy, he might withdraw and snatch away many from there. It has happened also in the song, and he led up many souls of the righteous from there.

When you hear of bodies, do not look solely at the tents; for many think this. And he did not hesitate to say, alongside the other divine signs, that this paradox has happened; but see, lest it fight against the whole pattern of the economy. Know this: if men had known their own true state, it would be difficult for them to remain in unbelief.

And another thing: Peter, in the Acts of the Apostles, says concerning David: 'and his tomb is until now' Acts 2:29. Consider: if anyone were being raised at all, David was being raised. Therefore, the souls having been carried forth from the earth, we call 'bodies of saints'. And so we say, just as we say the whole church is the body of Christ. And in the resurrection it is said: 'each in his own rank' 1 Cor 15:23. But the individual ranks of those being raised from the dead are characterized by nothing other than the progress of souls. Those having the same virtue, faith, and piety are arranged into one rank. 'Christ is the firstfruits, then those of Christ, each in his own rank' 1 Cor 15:23. Those of Christ...

The ranks are not all the same. To take another example, as on the earth that received the seed, which bear fruit by a hundred, sixty, or thirty, so different ranks are formed; for it is not one single heart that bears a hundred, sixty, and thirty.

Indeed, our commentators say this: those participating in virginity bear the hundred, and those participating in marriage bear the divine thirty. They looked toward the smallness and inequality of the numbers, not toward the nature of the numbers. Some bear perfect fruit. These are signified by the number hundred. And in the promise, indeed, it says: 'The youth shall be a hundred years' (Isaiah 65:20/21:5). And Abraham, having become a hundred, was made a father according to the promise. And altogether the number ten is most beautiful; for the ten, being multiplied tenfold, makes a hundred. And we say that the number ten is all-encompassing; it contains all numbers.

Again, the sixty seems to have a relationship to the world; for it came into being in six days. Therefore, those who become citizens of the cosmos and surpass this and that which is indicated by it—for the number six was called perfect—these are another rank, and they inherit the kingdom. Perhaps those prophets who have two things and the Holy Spirit abounding in them, these are the thirty. And the thirty has a kinship with the worshipful Triad. Or perhaps, since the Savior, having become thirty, began his excellent ministry and his evangelical speech, those who have now come to him bear the thirty.

Listen: virtues follow one another as if one possessing all of them had only one. We take this up regarding the exceedingly perfect. When someone is making progress, he has one virtue at times more dominant than that from which he began or that for which he strove, just as it is with the arts; you see often a grammarian and a musician and a physician, and he has one more dominant, into which he has all others.

The Relation of the Word to God and Participants§106

106the murmur. We are being instructed by this from the beatitudes; for does not the poor in spirit possess the other virtues? The poor in spirit is also a fellow-sufferer; and because of this he mourns; for if he were without sympathy, he would not be poor in spirit. He has meekness; for if he were angry, he could not be called blessed. He has righteousness.

Regarding the one with much power and the more stable condition, the so-called ones are marveled at. Regarding the phrase: 'they saw many in the holy city'; yet Jerusalem was not holy, 'she who killed the prophets' (Matthew 23:37), which the Savior left behind saying: 'Behold, your house is being left to you' (Matthew 23:38). Those who walk upon the earth and have their citizenship in the heavens (Philippians 3:20) were seen in the holy city, the city of the living God.

Concerning the word: 'they were seen';—these thicker perceptions are grasped by the fat ones. He has thirty-three, three, eleven, and thirty-three. They become fifteen. Often the number fifteen has been said to be raised to the two testaments; for it teaches the seven and the eight; for it has been said to us in the additions that it is also a triangle and, having been handed over as a pentad, it has a relationship to the sensible things; for how was it not destined, since a change of face has occurred?

Regarding the phrase: 'if we say that he remained there';—not immediately. In another stay occurring there. This is almost at the beginning of the kingdoms, but concerning the end, that is, when they finished the rest for war against Saul. Regarding the phrase: 'did he not first release and depart?';—by no means, examine the ascents toward the word. Since I say to you also that which is about Abraham: 'He had two sons, one from the slave-girl and one from the free woman' (Galatians 4:22). And he, not being Abraham, had them. Through Hagar he had Ishmael as Abram, but Abraham had this.

And now that: 'it corresponds to the present Jerusalem'. I do not say 'now' in order that you might take the correspondence according to a symbol. But the correspondence is said in many ways. Immediately, even in grammar, the aspirated ones are said to correspond to the unaspirated, and the long to the short. But among those who deal with logic, the opposites are said to correspond. You divide the animal into rational and irrational, and into mortal and immortal, and into having a head and being headless. The rational and the mortal is not corresponding...

not, but the irrational. The correspondence here according to the apostle to the preceding thing is symbolic. In order that I might say it more thickly: there is a sensible sacrifice and circumcision, and both are spiritual. It is not necessary to take the circumcision according to the flesh as corresponding to the spiritual sacrifice, and the more bodily sacrifice not to the spiritual circumcision, but merely a sacrifice.

Furthermore: 'By the word of the Lord the heavens were established' (Ps 33:6), and again: 'For straight is the word of the Lord' (Psalm 33:4)?—the same things, when they are not sensible, seem by thought to be one thing and another. One is the Holy Spirit, and we say of him various gifts. If you look toward the gifts, it seems to be a multitude of holy spirits. You have, indeed: 'and the spirit of prophets is subject to the prophets' (1 Corinthians 14:32). It is also said, the spirit of Elijah and the spirit of Elisha. These are not different things in essence, but by thought and by the relation of the partakers, they are said in the plural, 'spirits'.

And the Word, therefore, the Word of God, when he was still with God—for 'the Word was with God' (Jn 1:1)—has no relation to any other, but to God alone, and secondly also to his partakers: for 'those' he called 'gods, those to whom the Word of God became' (John 10:35). The Word of God was with him. Therefore, his Word is without relation to God, but it became in a relational way toward the partakers of it.

The partakers do not participate in one single imposition, as was said concerning the Spirit: for one has a word of wisdom, another a word of knowledge; for not one and another is this same Word according to the underlying reality. There are some having knowledge of spiritual things, knowledge of the truth, of the dogmas of piety; for they are not able to explain something about them. And we have known thinking men to be very understanding, yet unable to speak even by chance. These have a word of knowledge. But when he has the having of knowledge and the ability to explain and to teach and to carry the thoughts in it to others, it is a word of wisdom. For Wisdom herself says, without fail: 'she examines words', clearly in a teaching manner. The same Word, therefore, becomes toward the prophets, and is toward God, and toward those becoming gods from his union. And

Blessing in All Seasons§107

107We do not seek the same kind of relationship; for indeed, toward the Father it is unsurpassed. The communion toward God is not by condescension, but toward those who have become gods according to their merit, power, and the proportion of their progress. And toward the prophets it happens thus: 'the Word who came into being with Jeremiah' (Jeremiah 1:2). He did not say 'the Being,' but 'the one coming into being.' And coming into being happens according to that measure. And here, therefore, we have explained differently the direct Word of God, whose works are in faith. We have said that the teaching-word is able to be.

Furthermore: what kind of spirit shall we receive? —By an intention, the mouth of God shall receive a spirit instead of: when through the word it leads into the knowledge of those things which it judges to be acceptable. 'Remove the crookedness from your mouth.' 'And his mouth calls upon the bold death.' When the spirit is toward God and toward the Son, it is not called 'spirit of the mouth,' but when it is ministered to those able to receive it by the word. Furthermore: do you not say someone is a participant of righteousness being practical? —The one having righteousness with understanding and being able to make it clear to another just as he himself possesses it. Furthermore: do you not say he does this by the word? —I do not say by the word in the spoken sense.

2 'I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise is continually in my mouth' (Psalm 34:1). He who blesses God at all times is the one who is giving thanks in all things falling upon him. And the apostle also writes: 'giving thanks in all things' (1 Thessalonians 5:18). He who gives thanks to God does not do so only for pleasant things; he does this, but also for unpleasant things. Job, indeed, does not bless God only in prosperity and the salvation of children and the other surrounding wealth, but also when all was taken from him at once. When indeed all his ordered things, the existing things, were taken from him, he gives thanks to God, and 'he did not sin,' he says, 'Job did not act foolishly toward the Lord, nor did he give unfaithfulness to God' (Job 1:21-22). He who speaks concerning providence saying: 'he ought to have done thus or thus,' imputes foolishness to God and speaks of how much he did not consider God regarding what He ought to have done. When indeed someone says: 'it was necessary for the old to die before the young, the parents before the children, and the healthy not to die, but the sick,' he gives foolishness to the Divine...

Being cared for and provided for. Thus, 'he did not give foolishness to God' (cf. Ps 34:1).... 'Blessed is the Lord' (Ps 34:1). Since therefore both times and seasons are different, and it is fitting to give thanks in everything, he rightly says: 'I will bless the Lord at all times' (Ps 34:1). There is no time when I do not bless the Lord. Even if the things coming upon me are unpleasant, I receive them as good.

Another word said: 'Whatever comes to you from the Lord, receive it as good.' You would not say, seeing one who is sick and being treated by a skilled physician, that he is thankful to the physician desiring salvation; for when the physician treats him, even if he divides him with a sword so that he may be saved, he accepts it, not only when the physician gives him pleasant helps. He looks not to the pleasant or the unpleasant of the things coming, but to the profitable and the effective. Therefore every time is a time to bless God. We take the time in two ways: the necessary season and the condition of the one helping.

We say, for example, regarding the healthy, that the time of a skilled physician is midday and the time of dinner is evening; but regarding the one suffering, we do not take the time as a season, but rather looking to how his body is. In both ways the saint blesses God 'at all times' (Ps 34:1); for he knows that it is by providence, and that he who provides knows even better what will be effective for him. 'Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks' (1 Thess 5:16-18). If the saint rejoices always, he is never submerged or cast down when grim things are present; for even at these things he rejoices, he rejoices as if at athletic contests. He who follows the victory sees the contests and expects the crowns and the prizes, and rejoices, even if the surrounding circumstances are unpleasant.

Therefore, 'I will bless' (Ps 34:1). And so that no one thinks the blessing happens by spoken word, such as someone saying by a promise: 'His praise is in my mouth continually' (Psalms 34:1). In praising him, I bless him. 'His praise is in my mouth continually' (Psalms 34:1). But we do not say this so that something impossible might follow, that the praise is in the spoken word continually. But this is impossible; for while sleeping one does not do this, while eating at times one does not do this; but thus it must be praised: all that I do, even if I eat and drink and sleep, I undergo these things thanking God. Thus also it should be heard from: 'Always...'

Praise and the Meek§108

108“Rejoice.” If you receive this by grace through operation, the one sleeping does not have this; by power he has it. “Pray without ceasing.” If you take this as praying in a demonstrative manner, it cannot be performed without ceasing. For indeed, if one is recorded historically, it is said that one prays “three times of the day,” at noon or around the ninth hour; let us grant also the evening. Therefore, to pray without ceasing is such a thing: there is no other prayer or petition for good things from God.

Whenever anyone, through all time, does what he does, he asks God for good things, he prays. Even if he does not do his own specific prayer, having desire to encounter the profitable things, he prays. The desire itself is prayer; for he has the desire. Whatever he may do, even if he is hindered from doing his own prayer, he has the asking of God. Thus also it is said in the Wisdom of Sirach: “Instruct the pious in wisdom through all time” (Sirach 24:23). How can one instruct wisdom through all time? If we take it this way—and such things are often taken this way by custom—as when we often seek something and desire to learn where we might encounter it; they say: “He always sits at this physician's office and is continuously there,” not taking the whole day, but rather, when he sits, he sits there. He did not therefore simply say “through all time is the praise,” but “of Him”; for he who thinks to praise without right thoughts, without the truly theological thoughts, does not praise Him, does not praise Him.

“My soul shall be praised in the Lord” (Psalm 34:2). My soul is not praised upon anything else previously than upon participating in God; for just as another seeks to be praised upon a skill, or upon knowledge, or upon a dignity or honor, so the saint wants his soul to be praised in the Lord. He knew no other praise of the soul except this; for even if, as I have said, someone is praised upon knowledge, this praise, being compared to another occurring upon God, is not praise at all. We say often: “Nothing is as sweet as honey.” There are indeed other sweet things, but they are not sweet as compared to honey. And in another psalm he says: “From you is my praise in a great assembly” (Psalm 22:25). Which praise, which He gives to me, is praise not occurring upon anything else...

Or upon you. 'My soul shall praise in the Lord.' 'In you,' he says, 'we shall praise all the day.' The whole time of our life is called a day. And 'in you' may mean 'upon you' or 'by you.' Both run toward the holy one. And upon you God is praised, and by God one receives the wine. 3 Listen, O meek, and be glad. Just as the foolish man wants to hide what he says and does when he is not known, so the diligent, reclining with God, wants what he says and does to be known by all. He wants his light to shine before men, so that they, seeing, might glorify God. He wants his words to go to others; for it has been said, 'talk in your perambulations' (Deuteronomy 6:7). He who talks to others talks, not to himself previously. Since therefore I have set before myself to praise the Lord at all times and to have his praise continually in my mouth, so that my soul may be praised in him, 'listen, O meek, and be glad' (Psalm 34:2). Imitate me, and you also become such. But if he calls the meek greater than himself, he says, 'listen, O meek,' because I, being educated toward you and having established you, am such; for the lesser exists and belongs to the greater. The disciples are praiseworthy and praising the Lord—much more the teachers, having established them. Therefore take it either way: that the greater than me, the meek, having heard, were glad because they had such a disciple or companion.

4 Magnify the Lord with me. Having spoken about the meek to them, he turns the word further: 'and upon me magnify the Lord with me.' For someone magnifies God not by adding greatness to him from something small, but when he is able to take in his greatness. For the sun, rising, is not viewed as being of its actual size. Rather, it is seen as slightly greater; for it does not himself receive an increase, but the one viewing is improved, seeing him more clearly. 'Magnify God,' think great things about God, 'with me'; for 'magnify God' means to think great things about him. 4 And we shall exalt his name above the same. He—

Seeking God through Prayer and the Light of His Face§109

The Covering of Shame and the Poverty of Sin§110

110They were in all evil; they did not have a garment covering the reasoning faculty, and the word was not being hidden by irrational passions.

But when sin has happened, both the remaining feeling, thought, and life, and shame have increased.

If therefore we approach the light, by which we ceased sinning, our faces are not being shamed, and we have much boldness; for he says: 'if our heart does not condemn us, we have boldness toward God' (1 John 3:20).

If someone sees himself as uncondemned by heart and conscience, he has much boldness toward God, as to say: 'the Lord lives, to whom I stood before him'.

Having spoken with boldness: 'in the morning I will stand before you and I will watch; I will see many things, but even more I will observe; I will observe things to be seen'. 'And your faces will by no means be shamed' (Psalm 34:5).

We say that when sin exists, the face of the soul is covered by shame so that its beauty and the proportion of its melodies can no longer be seen.

But when illumination comes, the remaining 'with an unveiled face, the glory of the Lord is reflected' (2 Cor 3:18).

No one having a covered face reflects the glory of God, but rather if someone has cast off the coverings that came upon him.

Those, indeed, having received perception, that evils have become by themselves, say: 'dishonor has covered our face'.

Dishonor has become a covering for us, the shame, of our face.

7 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him (Psalm 34:6).

Il.

If someone, having become without evil, having cast off the wealth of ignorance, cries to God from this evil, he has Him listening.

Perhaps, as they implied locally regarding the time, that which belongs to the lesser and the greater, encouraging those already illuminated and blessing 'the Lord at all times' (Psalm 34:1) to be rich, he says: and if the poor man approaches and cries, he is heard.

And it is possible also to say this concerning the people from among the Gentiles, that: the people 'not having hope and being godless in the world' (Ephesians 2:12) approached and cried and had Him listening to them.

For he says with other things in the same psalm: 'the rich have become poor and hungered' (Psalm 34:10), saying those from the circumcision have become poor by having cast away the law and the prophets.

Because of this, he also says pointedly: 'this poor man'; worthy.

a poverty that produces wealth; for a poverty productive of wealth is not truly poverty.

And as he becomes 'a curse for us' (Gal 3:13), that we may receive blessing—and a curse productive of blessing is not simply a curse, but this very curse is productive of blessing—so also the poor one:

'who, being in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant' (Phil 2:6-7).

Behold the poverty which he became poor with:

being truly rich, always existing in the form of God and being 'the exact imprint of God's hypostasis' (Heb 1:3), 'having taken the form of the servant,' he underwent all the things of poverty.

He became 'sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Cor 5:21), a curse, that we might inherit blessing, he underwent death and was put to death, that we might receive eternal life.

'We became exceedingly poor'.

Thus we descended, reaching unto your condition, that with God's mercies going before, we might bring you up.

As some have said, such an example concerning the saints:

sailing in the skiff of this life, they saw many fallen from the skiff and, being unable to swim, carried down into the deep; and they leapt into the deep and seemed to suffer the same as those sunk, but they did this for the help of those, that they might bring up those unable to ascend by themselves.

'and delivered him from all his afflictions' (Psalm 34:6).

That 'to be delivered from all afflictions' has already often been rendered to us as not being defeated, not becoming outside the afflictive things.

'The angel of the Lord shall encamp around those who fear him, and shall deliver them' (Psalm 34:7).

An angel encamping around those who fear God delivers them from every enemy, from every affliction, from every wound.

Someone will say, then, that:

'one angel is sufficient to save all those who fear God from the [...]'.

The Nourishment of the Inner Man§111

111Is it against the law? Observe: one angel, at the will of God, struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in a single blow (2 Kings 19:35), and perhaps he was not a pure angel, since he was not acting to punish. Therefore, the perfect man who guards holiness, being God's own eyewitness and servant, is able to save many who fear Him.

If the explanation seems violent to anyone, not so: just as it is said, 'God made man' (Gen 1:26), to be the ruler of irrational animals, and we are not speaking of the individual kind, nor of this specific one, but the whole species. 'I made earth and man upon it' (Isaiah 45:12); thus he named the whole species. Even so, the angel here may signify the general, that those fearing the Lord have angels intervening and surrounding them, saving them from every tribulation.

You have this in the Gospel: 'See that you do not cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble; for their angels always see the face of our Father in heaven' (Matt 18:10). They stand before God, we see His face, they see the invisible one invisibly. Behold, therefore, of the many little ones, many angels are spoken of, but of those fearing the Lord, one angel is said. It is said singularly, for not even one is excluded.

And this can also be said: the little ones do not fear God, but have a passive fear; for 'perfect love casts out fear' (1 John 4:18). And: 'fear has punishment'. 'Do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul' (Matt 10:28); but those who fear God have an excessive fear, about which it is said in Sirach: 'the fear of the Lord surpassed all things' (Sir 1:14), which comes to him who seeks Him with much progress.

Therefore, these who fear the Lord can have one angel intervening and saving them, the Savior himself, about whom it is said: 'His name is called Angel of Great Counsel' (Isa 9:6); for in many writings an angel is mentioned not applying to any single person. Jacob also says of him: 'the angel who saves me from all evils' (Gen 48:16). But no one is able to save from all evils except the Savior who has the authority to forgive all sin. And of the sin...

Once the punishment is assigned, the following afflictions follow, joining together with that evil. It is like a perimeter and a wall surrounding them, keeping them safe from harm. And in Zechariah, namely the eleventh of the twelve prophets, it says: 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited desolately' (Zechariah 2:4), and it says: 'And I will be around them like a pillar of fire and a wall encircling them' (Zech 2:5). But it is fire for the purpose of harming those approaching more; for immediately in that same region of the prophet it says: 'because he who touches you touches the apple of his eye' (Zech 2:8). To touch there means to harm, like: 'Touch not my anointed ones' (Ps 105:15). Taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8).

Many times it has been said to us that the sensible and bodily things are like this: each thing is only what it is; for example, a stream is nothing other than a stream, or bread. But the thing that nourishes the inner man is called food according to various thoughts. It is indeed called light, it is called a spring, it is called bread and flesh, true nourishment. It says, therefore, 'taste' by the incorporeal taste of the inner man, 'and see that the Lord is good' (Ps 34:8), because He is good. Just taste, know that He is nourishment, see the spring of goodness, the spring of kindness.

Blessed is the man who hopes in Him (Psalm 34:8). The one hoping in the good Lord—for he tastes Him—and he will experience His sweetness, and from this food he will have all things, and being nourished athletically he will be strong, so that in the struggle he no longer has it 'not toward blood and flesh, but toward principalities and powers' (Eph 6:12). 'Taste and see that He is good' (Ps 34:8). If anyone is weary and sick according to the soul, let him taste Him as nourishment, as one preparing health, as one removing harm. And this food not only satisfies, but also removes, casting out the harmful things.

Therefore, 'blessed' is not simply the man, but the 'man' who has done away with 'the things of a child' (1 Cor 13:11), who has not walked 'in the counsel of the ungodly' (Ps 1:1), nor sat 'in the seat of scoffers' (Ps 1:1), nor 'in the way of sinners' (Ps 1:1), nor 'on the seat of scoffers' (Ps 1:1), but having 'his will in the law of the Lord' (Ps 1:2). This one has his will in the law of the Lord; for many observe the law so that they may not be punished or so that they may be honored with praise. But the holy one, the...

The Poverty of the Rich and the Fullness of Seekers§112

112A perfect man has his own will within the law of the Lord, in such a way that his will is not something different from the legal will. And this legal will is this: to forbid evil and to protect virtue. Therefore, when someone becomes a law to himself—for 'they are to themselves a law, not having a law' (Romans 2:14)—it is as if he has his own law intertwined with the law of the Lord. 'Fear the Lord, all his saints' (Psalm 34:9), for there is no lack for those fearing him. I urge all the saints to fear him, the Lord. It has been said in Isaiah: 'He himself shall be your fear' (Isaiah 8:13). Let him himself become your fear. And just as food becomes nourishment to some, and wisdom makes others wise, and righteousness makes others righteous, so they also partake of sanctification; for he himself is also the sanctification, 'who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption' (1 Cor 1:30). Therefore, 'fear the Lord, all his saints.' His saints; for they are not merely called holy in a simple sense, but not necessarily his. As many as are being shaped into holiness seem to be saints, but not of God. And he gives the reason why 'all'; for 'there is no lack for those fearing him.' The fear of God makes them unshakable and unabandoned. 'Fear the Lord, all his saints.' Since 'there is no lack for those fearing him,' in order that you might become unabandoned, fear him, the God. And the fear of God is not passive, as I have said, but equal to reverence, equal to piety. When we take up a conception of God, fear immediately increases and piety arises; for we do not fear him as if we were terrified of him, not as if he were some bogeyman, but as something supremely venerable. And since the holy church stands glorious at the right hand of the Savior, all those completing it are saints. Therefore, concerning the calling of the Gentiles, it can be said: 'Fear the Lord, all his saints,' for there is no lack for those fearing him. 'The rich have fallen away and are hungry, but those seeking the Lord shall not lack any good thing' (Ps 34:10). The former, those completing the assembly before the arrival, were rich...

...

Being rich, they fell into poverty. The rich became impoverished and hungered, but those seeking the Lord shall not be diminished from every good thing. When the kingdom of God was taken from them, when the understanding of the divine writings departed from them, when they turned away from the old writing and from themselves, they became poor from being rich; for indeed this wealth fully benefits the possessor—for it becomes for him both food, and a covering, and a garment—so he says that these rich ones, having become poor, hungered. They cast away the spiritual food, they turned away from the 'bread of life'. They became poor; yet even if they themselves became poor, those seeking the Lord are not diminished from the good things, but they become full of them, they shall partake of them perfectly; for just as the kingdom of the heavens was taken from them—this also the mother of Jesus says: 'He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty' (Luke 1:53).

Those formerly rich were sent away empty; for even if they possess the books of Moses and the prophets, they are empty of their divine fullness. Fullness, therefore, of the divine writing is not the shadow, but the truth and the Spirit. 'Those seeking' therefore 'the Lord'—the seeking implies a longing—are filled with all good things. Concerning this also the singer says, conversing with his own soul: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, who fills your desire with good things' (Psalm 103:5). And: 'Trust in the Lord, and he will give you the requests of your heart' (Psalm 37:4).

Upon it, those passing from the shadow of the law and from partial knowledge and prophecy, find all things good. But primarily the spiritual things of the law are good, unceasing and most full; for these lead one toward the truth face to face, that which brings the perfection, in which no one shall be imperfect. 12 Come, children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord calmly, concerning the necessity of taking up fear toward God, and how some, having fallen away from him, have become poor and needy from being rich, and that those seeking the Lord whom they fear, are filled with all good things; therefore, toward all those becoming his children, he composes the teaching, saying: 'Come, children, listen'.

Unity in Virtue vs. Division in Vice§113

113Not according to any flesh. Those rushing toward wisdom are children of the wise; those desiring to be sanctified are children of the holy; those establishing righteousness are children of the first righteous one. For it has been said to us at the beginning of the psalm that even from the face of the Savior, according to the human, it is possible to be proclaimed. But those attending to virtue, those rushing to take up the knowledge of the truth, are children of the Savior.

Therefore he calls them 'forward-moving,' not so that, having moved transitively from place to place, they might come, but from disposition to disposition, from a lesser state to the greater and more perfect. 'I will teach you the fear of the Lord' (Ps 34:11). And these children, toward whom the word is addressed, 'infants in Christ,' are able to have a fear—not the perfect fear, nor the one making one unshakeable, but the one producing an avoidance of practical evil, the fear of punishment; for such people are children found imperfect. For he who fears the Lord is one who has not left Him, and these have not left Him, not possessing the perfect love which casts out the aforementioned fear, but some other thing of the divine participation. 'God' indeed 'is love' (1 John 4:8). And just as the one participating in righteousness is righteous, so the one having approached by this love and having become one with it is a child of wisdom, a son of love.

'Who is the man who desires life?' (Ps 34:12). When they were in the lesser fear, being those who bring on punishment and fearing the punishment so that no one might sin, they were a multitude. But when they henceforth rush to approach the one calling so that they might be taught the fear of God, the things being proclaimed are announced as if to a single one; for having been equipped 'with the same mind and the same judgment' (1 Corinthians 1:10) and each having been joined to the Lord and having become one spirit with Him, they cast off the multitude; for the multitude, especially that according to the soul and the inner man, or from opposition...

It happens either from a difference in being more or less. If all the called possess virtue, but do not possess it in the same way, there is a multitude. And this multitude is not one of opposition. But when they also possess opposing perceptions, many become divided because of the present evil; for evil is not unifying, but rather dividing. Therefore, we speak of a following of virtues, not of vices. It is impossible for vices to follow themselves; for they are excesses and deficiencies. And excesses and deficiencies are oppositions. Therefore, all those receiving virtue perfectly are one, and they become one toward God.

Immediately, therefore, all those believing according to the right faith have one heart and one soul, unlike those not having this. Thus, some are called double-souled. Therefore, the discourse is made toward man alone. For man is one according to essence; even if they become diverse and many men, they have a multitude from the qualities that occur. But according to the first underlying subject, the recipient of the qualities, they are one; for all are of the same substance. It is the task of man to set life, the task of the one saving according to the image, to be a man. A female horse does not set life.

Furthermore: 'What is a man?'—not the small thing, nor the impossible; but the one's own kind which we call individual, so that it may be: if anyone is a man of this kind, let him come and let him learn the fear of God. Do you love to see good days? (Psalm 34:12) Stop your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Immediately there follows the desire of life and the learning of the godly fear, to become in good days; for we are not as sincere as some think, to consider the well-being of the body and the surrounding wealth to be good days; for you have many such things in the Scripture: 'Honor your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you and you may be...'

The Synergy of Wills and the Crucifixion of the Self§114

114"Long-lasting on the good earth, which the Lord God gives to you." If you were to take this regarding this earth and these immediate parents, it is a lie. Regarding the present text, it is not said "which he gives to you."

"Stop your tongue from evil." He calls you to learn the fear of the Lord, so that having learned, you may become holy, undefiled, lacking no virtue. Therefore come, so that you may stop your tongue from evil. Let the tongue of the inner man no longer have evil. Then indeed it becomes all outward, when it has and brings forth the good. And it follows the stopping of the tongue from evil and the lips no longer speaking deceit, and it also calms the hypocrisy; for one who acts deceitfully is to do evil.

"Their tongue is a piercing arrow, deceitful are the words of their mouth." These are those from the heresies, those who stand before ungodliness. One can therefore say regarding the explicit text: since at that time especially when we say this, all were running toward evil, as for the remainder to sing laments over them, he was saying toward such people: for he did not say "each of my brothers" or "each of our brothers", that is, of the saints, but of those desiring to have one father, those born of the devil through wanting to do his desires; for "you are of the father the devil and you want to do the desires of the devil."

Regarding such brothers, born for the father and the evil one, he says: "every brother stumbles"; for indeed their father is such: by deceit he led all under himself and leads those following him by wickedness. "And every friend" is such that he "will fall". He is not speaking about those who are truly friends. Jesus says to the disciples: "You are friends"; and he gave the reason: "because all things of the father I have made known to you." None of these friends will fall. Because of this they are free. Therefore the word is toward those who are such: "they will by no means speak truth." Regarding those not speaking truth, the word is: "he did not stand in the truth." He who is not standing in the truth has once been in it. But we never say about anyone that he does not stand in a craft, unless he has been tested in a craft or in many crafts and...

He might pass from one state to another. If he had not become one in the truth, not standing in it would not have brought him reproach. And behold the doctrine: how 'God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim 2:4)? If no one opposes His will, how is it that some are lagging behind, despite His wanting all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth—so that I may not say, the majority? If He wants it, and if we also want it, and a convergence of the two wills occurs, salvation happens; for no one is good against his will, no one who does not want is saved, and no one hurrying toward approaching God and having kept His law is able to know the truth.

For this reason also the Savior says in the Gospel: 'If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and let him take up his cross and follow me' (Matt 16:24). 'If anyone wants': as far as it concerns the Savior, He wills him to do this, but He does not compel; He moves the choice, He awakens the desire. 'If anyone' therefore 'wants to come after me', 'if anyone wants to follow me'—for this is what 'to come after me' means—, 'let him take up his own cross': let him be crucified to the world, let him put to death 'his members which are upon the earth', let him become inactive toward the world. He who is crucified has his feet hindered from walking as he wants, and his hands from doing what he wants. Therefore, when someone is crucified toward the world, he neither walks according to it anymore, nor does he do its things; and by this, the world is also crucified to the one crucified, so that the world may also be inactive toward him, neither walking according to him, nor doing those things that harm him.

'If anyone' therefore 'wants to come after me': perhaps not, perhaps yes; for virtue, when spoken of continuously, is virtue and perfection, not as in other actions. Just so also the apostle writes: 'Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances' (1 Thess 5:16-18). He who rejoices always possesses the virtue always; for he rejoices not upon anything else except upon being well-pleasing in the pleasing God. 'Loving to see good days' (Psalm 34:12). The 'to see' here means to be tested, and 'to be tested of good days' means to enjoy. 'Keep your tongue from evil'. Let your word be restrained, let it be tested; let it desire to have an unsearchable word; as it writes...

The Pursuit of Righteousness and the Nature of God§115

115The apostle calls the 'healthy word' 'unfailing' (ἀκατάγνωστον). He who possesses an unfailing word fulfills many commandments of Jesus. It is impossible for one not possessing an unfailing word to keep that: 'Let your yes be yes and your no, no' (Matt 5:37); for one who is not believing is sometimes required to swear an oath. But if one always possesses a word that is not scrutinized, no one ever doubts him, whether he previously tells the truth or not, or whether he says and does as he says, when an oath is required and his yes is yes and his no is no, such a word is indeed unfailing. Again, he who goes through the doctrines of the truth and demonstrates them scientifically possesses a word and is unfailing concerning them. No one is able to accuse him of lying, of thinking poorly, or of being outside the truth.

Turn away from evil and do good (Psalm 37:27). This says: if you are already in evil, having settled in it and acting according to it, since I call you to the doing of the good, turn away from the evil. It is impossible to be outside both. Let the infants be circumcised now (cf. Acts 7:50). He who is not in good is in evil; he who happens to be outside of evil participates in the good. Therefore, 'turn away from evil.' And the turning is a matter of choice, for it protects and advises. But no one protects or advises one who does not have choice. I call you to do the good. You cannot do it otherwise and act according to it, unless you turn away from the evil. Thus also it is said in Isaiah: 'Stop from your evils, learn to do good' (Isa 1:16); for as long as anyone is in his evils, that is, his wickedness, he is acting in them, and this one is unable to learn to do good. Again the law-giving apostle writes: 'Test all things, hold fast to the good, abstain from every form of evil' (1 Thess 5:21-22). Therefore also, 'turn away from evil and do good.' It is not sufficient to turn away from evil unless one also does the good; for it is possible to turn away from evil being prevented by fear of punishment from going toward this, but this one does not do the good by choice; for if you bypass the good by will, it is no longer at all good.

Seek peace and pursue it (Ps 34:14). Evil is a crowding thing and works turmoil in the soul; for the race of wickedness has much difference...

Evil things occur either in a small way or in excess, such as cowardice and rashness, or superstition and impiety. One must pursue peace; for to pursue it in this way does not mean that one has driven it away. You have this also in the Proverbs: 'those pursuing,' it is said, 'love righteousness' (Proverbs 15:9), meaning that God clearly loves them, that is, those who pursue. The righteousness that is pursued is all virtue. For Wisdom says: 'Evil men will seek me and will not find me' (Proverbs 1:28). The evil men seek wisdom only to hide it and make it vanish, as much as it reaches them. But those eager to become wise do not seek wisdom in this way, but they pursue it.

And I say, since you love these interpretive things: Herod sought Jesus in order to kill him. Often the Jews sought him in order to kill him. But the disciples sought him in order to be benefited, in order to partake of him. For someone said to him: 'The crowds seek to see you,' because they wanted to believe and see paradoxical works and hear words and chance upon healings. Therefore, 'pursuing' is a homonym.

16 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (Psalm 34:15). Much exhortation again, much instruction. This is what it says: the eyes of God are ready to see and save, and his ears are ready to obey. 'Turn away' therefore 'from evil and do good, and seek peace and pursue it' (Psalm 34:14); for immediately you will have God as a supporter. Only desire to be righteous, to pursue righteousness, and you have the eyes of God lying upon you and his ears ready to receive the requests which you make to him. 16 And his ears toward their prayers.

Often it has been said that what is spoken of humans regarding God must not be taken literally, as they think it is anthropomorphic; for they want there to be a human face concerning God, and they say that the man made according to the image and likeness of God has become so according to the construction of the body. But such a thing has been overturned by wise men; for they say: 'If by this the man is according to the image of God, because he imitates God physically and his body has a likeness to God, how then is God said to have wings: "In the shelter of your wings you will protect me" (Psalm 17:8)?' Therefore, a wingless being is the...

The Nature of the Wicked Death§116

116Man is such that he is not, according to the body, 'in image and likeness' of God. But if you reflect upon what the wings of God are, you will see that man also possesses such wings, intellectual ones, suspending him. Again, the eyes: since they take in all things according to history, the man having two eyes is not 'in image and likeness' of the One having seven, so that those things being lifted up from the sensible, the things concerning man being lifted up from the sensible, they preserve the likeness toward God.

And the face of the Lord is upon those doing evil (Psalm 34:16). This he says because those doing evil are not righteous. And not being righteous, they are not feared by God, nor are they heard. However, they do not remain invisible to him. But when they fall into certain calamities and come to a realization that because of the evil things being done and thought they have come to these, they receive a vision of him. For Moses also pursued Pharaoh and his whole army with great speed, and he said he heard of God saying: 'I shall be glorified in Pharaoh and in all his army, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord'; for how did they know? Having become submerged, no longer being able to escape, they received a vision of God. And it is set forth in the Psalms: 'Let them be ashamed and be confounded and perish, and let them know that your name, O Lord' (Psalm 83:17-18). After the perishing, after the being ashamed, they knew God, and this is to be the appearing of him to be and to have a face upon those doing evil.

But how else does he say: 'And you turned your face, and I became troubled' (Psalm 30:7)? Elsewhere it is said: the voice belongs to the Savior. Listen then: to turn the face he does not say is from those doing evil, but from those having it appearing to them. And having been slightly troubled, they thought it was happening outside the face; therefore also they were troubled. I perceived by sense that something unpleasant was above them. And the turning of the face happened thus, toward stirring up those who previously saw him and did not have him turned away, so that they might encounter him. But for those doing evil, neither is this the cause, but so that they may perceive that by the providence of God they were judged, that by the providence of God they are in calamities. And this also happens to...

The end is useful; 17 to destroy their memory from the earth. It is not merely 'their memory', but 'from the earth', so that they are no longer counted as belonging to the earth, no longer thinking of earthly things. Just as we say that he drove this man out of the country where many prostitutions are; for it is no curse that one should remove him from there, having placed him among the opposites. 18 The righteous cried out, and the Lord heard them. And rightly so, since he has ears toward them; having cried out, they happened to find him listening. Pay attention, for two things are said, one praiseworthy and one punishing; 124 it is praiseworthy that the eyes of the Lord and the ears are toward the righteous, but the face of the Lord is punishing 'to destroy the memory from the earth'; for even if the end is not a decrease, but happens through evil, it is like through cauteries and surgeries and very sharp draughts.

Regarding the other thing, the preceding says: since the ears of God are toward the prayer of the righteous and his eyes watch over them, having cried out they did not fail; for he 'heard' 'them'. And toward the other: 'the face of the Lord toward those doing evil', in the following he says: 'but the death of sinners is evil'. Not every death is evil, but the death of the sinners. And the word is not now about the common man; for that is of a living being, not of one doing, not of a sinner, not of a righteous man. Even if you call him common, when he dies as a sinner, he has an evil death—for he will receive punishment—and if the other, that which is truly appropriate to the sinner, 'sin', he says, 'having been completed, brings forth death'. But sin is completed not from outside those doing it, but in the men doing it. Therefore the death following them is evil.

And regarding the former meaning, we say the death is evil as a maker of evil, as a corruptor. But here we say evil according to the second attribution, that it is outside of goodness. The grammarians therefore read evil as 'evil as a corruptor'. 'And all the evil diseases of Egypt I will not let touch you', the grievous plagues which the Egyptians suffered according to history. And when he says: 'abstain from every form of evil', we do not say...

The crushing of the heart and the path to glory§117

117They are divine matters

"...that the man's heart shall be lifted up." The proud man hears words against pride, and at times he experiences the trial of afflictions, seeing that he is blinded. If you fall by this crushing, which leads you more effectively through the pains concerning humility, the heart is not lifted up. Before the rebuke—so that I may speak thus—and before the lashes, he has a lifted-up heart. For when he falls through afflictions, he recognizes that because of his own pride he has fallen down to the thoughtless.

Thus it must be heard also regarding: "Capernaum, which until heaven you were lifted up, shall be brought down to Hades" (Matthew 11:23). And to be brought down to Hades is a crushing. Before this crushing, he had been proud. "Before glory, one is humbled" (Proverbs 18:12). It is necessary first to be humbled voluntarily, so that one may attain glory; for second, glory comes after the un-blinding. For this reason also the Savior said: "The one humbling himself will be lifted up" (Luke 14:11). And behold, "everyone lifting himself up will be humbled" (Matthew 23:12); he will be crushed here. Before this crushing, he has a lifted-up, vainglorious, proud heart.

Again, glory is brought to the one humbling himself, so that he may be un-blinded. Before this glory, it is necessary to be humbled; it is necessary to work, so that he may receive a reward. Therefore, he receives glory of the un-blinding from God. In this way also Peter exhorts, saying: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that you may be lifted up in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). And Job indeed says: God is the one "making the humble into height" (Job 5:11).

And "crushed" here he says "the heart," not those whose hearts are harmed. And sometimes the name of the crushing signifies such a thing as not having healthy thoughts, not having straight understandings. This crushing of the heart needs a physician, and a physician who heals what is hidden; for it has been said: "The Lord builds Jerusalem and gathers the dispersals of Israel, he who heals the crushed in heart" (Psalm 147:2). These were crushed like wounds. In this way also the...

Humility and the Preservation of the Soul's Powers§118

118Having descended from Jerusalem, that is, to Jericho, that is, to the place around the earth and its city called Jericho because of the interpretation of the name—for Jericho means moon. And it is said, 'The fool is like the moon, changing,' like a moon which does not have increasing light, but diminishing. And the bride who is being hymned in the Song of Songs, 'emerging beautiful like the dawn' (Song of Songs 6:10), becomes 'like a chosen moon.' This change happens toward the better, toward the perfection; for in one way the moon changes: passing from the moon-like, it comes to the full moon. And there are four transitions of the progress of growth: moon-like, half-moon, quarter-moon, and full moon. And again, from the full moon it comes to the quarter-moon, and from the quarter-moon to the half-moon, and from the half-moon to the moon-like. In this way, the bride of the Word, the perfect soul, the church having been betrothed to him, emerges like the dawn. And she changes so as to become beautiful, chosen like a full moon. And after this he says: 'as a sun, a haze.' And from the lunar light it comes to the solar, being fulfilled of that prophecy which says: 'the moon shall be as the sun' (Isaiah 30:26).

Someone, therefore, is being crushed when he is fulfilled of crushed thoughts, of mindsets alien to the healthy thinking of truth. Of these crushings the Savior becomes the physician; for 'he who is being healed' is 'those having crushed hearts and binding their fragments,' binding their wounds (Psalm 147:3). And I take by way of an example: someone is crushed many times in a struggle, contending against the adversary, and he attains a crown. Let not these crushings bring him mockery. But when he is crushed by beasts or robbers, we question him—not according to history I say, for he undergoes this through ignorance—but: 'Why has this happened where the beasts are, or why did you approach the spiritual robbers of wickedness?' 'And he will save the lowly in spirit.' Spirit here means the judgment. This is equivalent to that said in the beatitudes of the Gospel: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit' (Matthew 5:3), those poor in judgment. These are those who through the Word rightly achieve blindness, those having heard from the Savior saying: 'Learn from me, for I am...'

"I am also humble in heart." But opinion and heart are the same. Just as the Savior is humble in heart, so also those learning from him become humble in opinion. And these are the poor in spirit (Matt 5:3), those who do not wish to be rich in arrogance.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, and from all their afflictions he will rescue them. It has already been said to us many times that from all of them he rescues (Ps 34:19). 'Many' are 'the afflictions of the righteous'; he said that through life and until a later breath.

The Lord guards all their bones. If they are rescued from all the afflictions so as not to fall and be crushed, all their sustaining powers, called bones, are guarded by God. And it was said before this that the powers of the soul are called its bones; for they are the sustaining powers of the whole soul, while the bones are the sensible powers of the whole body. It was impossible for the flesh or the others to stand; the things sustaining the members of the body are bones.

And the sustaining powers of the soul, such as the mnemonic or the contemplative or the aesthetic of the beautiful, when they are unbending and perfect, are held by God in this, not by their own power. Therefore, they come by preconception toward this willing, but they are perfected according to this, God having cooperated.

Not one of them shall be broken (Ps 34:20). If they are righteous and have cried out to God and were rescued from all the afflictions, 'one' of their bones 'shall not be broken', instead of 'one power'. And that I may begin from the more aesthetic of the powers: there is a certain visual power. When one does not see, so that he may desire the beauty of women and not be conquered by the desire of beauty, this bone was not crushed by the Lord, but is guarded by him harmlessly.

When, having looked into the heaven, one sees the sun and the moon and does not prostrate himself and worship, but from the seen creation understands Him who showed all things, and by analogously contemplating the greatness of His creatures and their beauty, this bone of the sight is strengthened. Thus I take it as more aesthetic, when someone does not accept a vain hearing, but judges by what kind of words he will be persuaded and by what kind not, and by what kind he will agree and by what kind he will be renewed—'compare your ear to the words of the wise', and 'he will not accept a vain hearing'—this one has...

Passive vs Active Injustice§119

119And the bone, the hearing, the sensation of the hearing, remains uncrushed and healthy. 22 The death of sinners is evil, and those hating the righteous shall suffer lack. For the bones of the righteous are kept by the Lord, and not one of them shall be crushed, but the death of the sinners is evil. It has already been said to us that 'evil' is spoken in two ways. If death, which follows sin, tears one away from the blessed life—according to: 'sin, when completed, brings forth death'—then this death is evil. Again, since they are handed over to punishment having escaped from life, they have died again in order that they might be punished. For it is said: 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints'; for how could this be evil, or death be evil, being planted together with the death of Christ? 'For if we are of the same kind,' he says, 'we have become indeed by the likeness of his death, but also of his resurrection.' And: 'If we died with him, we shall also live with him.' 'And those hating the righteous shall suffer lack.' The sinner, if he receives remission of sin, hates the righteous. But hating the righteous, he hates virtue. For the sinners hate the righteous not as a man—for they do not hate the sinners—but as being righteous. But he who hates a physician as a physician, hates the medical art. Because of this they shall suffer lack, they shall be punished.

23 The Lord shall redeem the souls of his servants. Therefore he says: even if an evil death touches the sinners and for those hating the righteous there shall be lack, yet he redeems the good souls of his servants. He redeems the souls from those who previously held them in a painful grip. Again you take it both ways: he is redeemed from punishment and he is redeemed from sin; for if he is redeemed from sin, it follows that he is to be redeemed from punishment. 23 And all those hoping in him shall not suffer lack. All those hoping in God shall not suffer lack like those who suffer lack, namely those hating the righteous; for if for those hating the righteous the lack signifies punishment and penalty, then for those hoping in the Lord, the not suffering lack signifies not being punished, not being penalized, and not falling to those who cause pain.

1 To David. Judge, O Lord, those doing me wrong, fight against those fighting me. No one

He demands a judge, having thoughts as if he were being wronged. It is not the voice of one committing injustice, but rather of one being wronged, rather than one committing injustice. And no one at all prefers being wronged; rather, when both committing injustice and being wronged are set forth, if it is not possible for both to exist—for it is not possible—one chooses rather to be wronged than to commit injustice; for the one committing injustice undergoes punishment, and unrighteous ones are not able to inherit the kingdom of God. But the one being wronged is not tested by these things; for he is being wronged voluntarily. Let us add that even if he is not able to defend himself, he does not exhaust himself in struggle because he cannot take vengeance, but observing what has happened, he sees that the one being wronged is more sympathetic and has many who pity him.

And the unrighteous man, even if no one punishes him, is worthy of punishment. This whole matter of examining injustice and desiring to defend oneself as if one were not committing injustice—his conscience condemns him. There is much boldness for the one saying the psalm: 'Judge, O Lord, those who wrong me, fight against those who fight against me' (Psalm 35:1). I do not fight them. And I am 'peaceable among those who hate peace' (Psalm 120:7). I am persuaded by the Holy Spirit saying: 'Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: say "our brothers" to those who hate you, so that the name of the Lord may be glorified, but they shall be ashamed' (Isaiah 66:5).

'Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: say to those who hate you "our brothers"', so that I may speak truly and not merely with a voice; for those saying 'Lord, Lord' with voice alone, He says: 'Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?' (Luke 6:46). But the one saying 'in the Holy Spirit' calls Lord Jesus, through the participation of the Holy Spirit, by means of those things which he does and thinks; he cries out 'Lord Jesus' according to the Spirit. Therefore, 'say "brothers" to those who hate you'. Let them hate, but you call them brothers truly, not by speech alone, but you act out the obligations due to brothers toward them; for in this way the name of the Lord is glorified; for it is known that someone performs these things through God; for as far as it reaches the hating, he has not spoken of those who hate brothers. 'And they themselves shall be ashamed' (Isaiah 66:5).

The Transformation through Christ's Passion§120

120For those who are shamed do not rub the wound. Therefore, the saint fights no one. But the one being fought strives not to oppose, but to suffer nothing; and so I shall express it—since it is a violent thing and because of the vividness of the image—that he uses only a weapon, not a sword-shield, nor a defender capable of resisting and opposing.

'Fight those who fight me' (Psalm 35:1). There was still in the act of doing wrong to him and in the act of fighting. So that they might no longer do wrong or fight, he asks God for an ally, not so that he might wrong them or fight, but so that he might remain unharmed while being wronged and fought. And the nature of the rational being, if it does not suffer perversion, possesses this as its own characteristic.

'Fight,' therefore, meaning prevent them from surrounding me with destruction. Take the weapon and the shield and stand up for my help (Psalm 35:2). The shield of God extinguishes the flaming arrows of the enemy, of the evil one. Take therefore this shield, place it around me. I do not say this: 'You shall shield yourself with the shield.' Rather, take it in order to grant it to me, in order to make me secure. The weapon and the shield can be parallel. Perhaps also the kinds of weapons signify something.

One may pray that the incarnation might happen; for when he takes hold of a man who is able to secure us and fight on our behalf, he took hold of a weapon and a shield and rose for our help. He rose from the bosom of the Father, so that, bending the heavens, he might descend, so that he might be seen fighting on our behalf; for he has come not to fight himself, but to fight on our behalf, and he has come not to suffer simply, but to suffer on our behalf. And behold: 'By the grace of God he has overcome death' (Hebrews 2:9).

We were all under death; our whole race was mortal. And the mortal is subject to death. To say of the one suffering through so much that 'he overcame death.' And that he did not suck up the whole mire of death—for it seems appropriate—thus it was made clear to me also in Isaiah: 'By his wound we were all healed' (Isa 53:5). And his wound, they say, is the cross. Regarding the nature of the cross and the greatness of the injury, it is not a wound. But it is a wound in the sense that, as a wound to him, it is not harming the one possessing it, but benefiting those for whom he bore the wound. So also 'by grace'...

He becomes the righteousness of God through death. For having become in death, he loosed death. And the suffering of the Savior is the loosing of the sufferings; for having become in the sufferings, he loosed them, not being mastered by them.

And just as one becoming a curse looses the curse so as to provide a blessing in its place—for we say he became under a curse not so that he might suffer, but so that he might loose the curse and extend a blessing in its place—so too, he did not make sin for us who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (cf. 2 Cor 5:21). Sin becomes the means by which those having righteousness are made righteousness. It is not called sin simply, but sin for the purpose of making those previously mastered by sin righteousness, not simply, but the righteousness of God.

This signifies a participation in the quality; that those who participate are called by the same name as the quality they possess. They possess the quality of the righteousness of God. He conquered so much and mastered so much that not only the unrighteous, but that they might be called righteousness itself. And in many places of the Scripture you will find such things. It says, 'God is love' (1 John 4:8). See the greatness of love: 'God is love' (1 John 4:8). The same essence is signified by both names, God and Love.

Then he says that the one approaching God and loving him with all heart, and with all soul, and with all power, becomes love; for are the things said about love elsewhere—'love does not swell, does not wander, is not unseemly, does not count the evil, covers all, believes all, endures all' (1 Cor 13:4-7)—not things said about virtue? For I do not say that virtue endures or covers or believes. He named the one having love 'love' by the same name. Thus also those holding to righteousness become the righteousness of God from the sin made on our behalf, no longer merely righteous of God but the righteousness of God.

And this signifies perfection, progress. For many of the optative forms in Scripture are presented in the imperative character—perhaps also with others—and so that we may not depart far: 'Hallowed be thy name' (Matthew 6:9), which is 'May thy name be hallowed.' 'Thy kingdom come; thy will be done' (Matthew 6:9), which is 'May thy will be done.' 'Let the deceitful lips be removed'—instead of...

The Pouring Out of the Word and Spirit§121

121"that it might be born"—"those speaking against the law of the righteous". Does one pray to Him? To Him, yes. I say: if I wish to receive something from another, but I say it is from God, I would not be praying to that person, but to God, so that He might give us such a helper, so that He might lead such a person as a general into our midst. But when it is to Him, God: if someone prays to Him wishing to receive something, they bring both the request and the hope of receiving it to Him.

It is as if I say to God: "Drink from my merit," I am sending a prayer about prayer. "Hear my voice, O Lord, for to You I have cried" (Ps 130:1); and I am sending a prayer about a prayer; for since God needs cooperation and for the prayer to be heard, I call Him again a partner through the prayer, so that He might fulfill my prayer by hearing it. This is also what I mean by "arise to my help, not unarmed, but taking up a weapon." Receive my body and my soul; for through these you will be able to help me.

Often a physician, having great capacity, is unable to heal small things or small people. Sometimes, therefore, he prepares one of his disciples, one of the lesser ones and much more advanced than him, so that he might be able to approach this one and heal him. To take up a weapon and a shield means to take up a man, to assume the form of a servant. And such things often happen.

Therefore he says: if he proposes to help me as God, the help is superior. Having become a man, help me. And he says to Him: "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O Mighty One, with your beauty and your splendor" (Ps 45:3). You have beauty and splendor; for you did not commit sin, nor did you know it. "Gird" therefore "the sword upon your thigh." Often the name of the thigh signifies the things of generation, as if saying: "every thigh shall be moistened," meaning euphemistically and decorously through the thigh the functional organs of generation. Because of this also...

Abraham, sending his son for the marriage of Rebekah, says: 'Put your hand under my thigh, and I swear you' (Genesis 24:2); for since he was about to receive a virgin and lead her from a far place to a far place, he necessarily secured his prudence. And it is also possible in this way: since the one coming for the salvation of all is to come from my thighs, there 'put your hand, and I swear you'. And the Scripture very solemnly names many such things.

Concerning the dragon, that is to say, the devil, it says: 'Behold, his strength is upon the loins, and his power is upon the navel of the belly' (Job 40:16). Concerning the man, it named the loins, but concerning the woman, it solemnly said that organ 'the navel of the belly'. From the nearby parts, it revealed the use of what it spoke.

'Pour out your sword and shut against those pursuing me; multiply the sword, give us a sword against the enemies' (Psalm 35:3). And the living Word of God is the sword. And again the word of the Spirit: 'and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God' (Ephesians 6:17).

To pour out signifies always, as if it says: 'I will pour out from my Spirit upon all flesh' (Joel 2:28); it signifies a bountiful gift and a rich provision through the word. 'The love of God is poured out in our hearts' (Romans 5:5). And again: 'Your name poured out as oil'. The poured out oil goes out from the containing vessel and sends out its fragrance to the utmost.

When indeed the Savior was in Israel alone—for 'in Israel great is his name' (Psalm 76:1)—it was as if his name were in a vessel. But when 'how wonderful is his name' has become 'in all the land', and that has been filled: 'As your name, O God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth' (Psalm 76:1), it has become poured out oil. This word therefore signifies a bountiful provision. This then says: make each of us a sword-bearer, pour out the sword; for then you shut against those of the...

The Depth of Judgment and the Nature of Shame§122

122They persecute us; for indeed we become soldiers, approaching them with swords, not in order to strike down, but so that we might suffer nothing.

Regarding: what is the 'confinement'? The 'confinement' signifies many things, but most especially it has become a confinement that is like a gathering of the conclusion, which prevents the impulse of one desiring to philosophize. For even those who engage in dialogue have been accustomed to say, 'I have shut him in.' It also signifies something else, as it lies within the philosophy of Paul: 'God gave them all over to disobedience, so that He might have mercy on all' (Romans 11:32). And observe the sequence of the words: the Gentiles, having believed in the Savior, were descending into the fold from the Jews. And previously, again, the Jews prevented the nations from being called unto salvation; for they were saying, 'You are receiving into salvation those from the descendants of your cursed fathers, from idolaters, from many gods.' Therefore, He has made a confinement; He has reproved both.

And such an image is to be used: let someone have a son remaining with him and another cast out because of a malice that preceded. If, the cast-out having repented, the father wishes to receive him in, the son who remains opposes him, saying, 'Does this man become a co-heir with me? He has done such and such.' He reproves even that one upon other sins, saying, 'It is not for this reason that this one is cut off from the lot; and you cast him out, because you have done such and such.' And eventually he no longer argues; for this one too was shut in, that is, he was shut in by the reproofs, just as that one was.

'So that He might have mercy on all'—this is what He has done; for not so that He might prove them to be such, having pursued the reproofs, but so that He might prevent each one from the rest. For neither does the Greek still ascend above the Jews through the cross presented to the Savior by them, nor do they ascend above these; for all were found under sin. This is therefore what he says: 'Just as once you disbelieved in God,' you Greeks—even if now you have embraced the gospel and set before yourselves to be God-fearing, but once you also were impious—'but now you have been set free by their disobedience'—if Israel had not been disobedient, you would not have had salvation, for they were arguing and preventing—'so,' he says, 'these also,' the Jews, 'disbelieved in your mercy, so that they also might be set free.' Therefore, as a conclusion, it followed...

For God gave them up to all unrighteousness, that He might have mercy on all (Romans 11:32). The depth of the judgment: 'O depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments and untraceable His ways; for who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?' (Rom 11:33)—the one who shut up all into unrighteousness. Regarding wars, 'shutting up' is taken thus: when every way is removed from them to tread upon and to harm severely; for one is shut up in this way.

Just as the Jew reasoned to himself: 'Do not reproach the sin of the Gentiles; for you also have done the same things' (Romans 2:1). Again, the Greeks who were trampling upon the Jews and saying, 'The murderers and such like.' He says: 'When were you unrighteous? You were idolaters.' Having said to my soul, 'I am your salvation.' Say, O God, truly to the soul: 'I am your salvation.' But when do you say, 'I am the salvation'? Either when you save, or when you bring everything to my soul, leading it toward that same salvation?

Those seeking my soul were put to shame and were ensnared. These are the ones doing wrong, these are the ones warring, concerning whom he said: 'Judge those doing wrong to me, war against those warring against me.' 'They were put to shame,' he says, 'and were ensnared.' It is not possible for anger to be in them, but shame because of the things they do; for in this way they will cease. Indeed, those having known this, that they have come into shame, say: 'We have slept in our shame, and our dishonor has uncovered us.' It is 'having known,' that they have come into shame and that they were exposed by dishonor.

And this shame and dishonor came from sin. Something like this also in Ezekiel, toward someone being insolent and acting impudently, he says: 'Be ashamed and take your dishonor.' As if someone, suppose, were condemned to serve in public works, such as in a mine or in metal, and thinks greatly upon this, we say to him: 'Be ashamed, know that you are in dishonor.' But—was it the shame of Adam? For not every shame is of the same kind. The scripture itself says: 'There is a shame that follows sin, and there is shame of glory and joy.' And behold: many regarding those things in which it is necessary to sink and to hide and...

The Wicked as Chaff and the Angel as Tormentor or Corrector§123

123They are glorified for appearing shameful. For the apostle says: 'of whom God is the womb and the glory in their shame, those who think on earthly things' (Philippians 3:19). In those things in which it is necessary to be ashamed, they are bold; and we see such things by nature even among men. But he who awaits the Savior, the God Word, knowing that they are being transformed toward the more glorious and toward becoming conformed to the body which He Himself possessed, no longer thinks greatly upon shameful works.

'Let those who consider me evil turn back and be ashamed.' The word 'backwards' is used differently in various places of the Scripture. The phrase 'to turn back to the rear' carries a reproach. For instance, the wife of Lot, leaving from that place of destruction, heard: 'do not look to the rear' (Genesis 19:17), meaning, do not set your heart upon that which you are leaving behind. Again, in other places it is said: 'my enemies turned back to the rear.' They turned back to their own rear, so that they might no longer pursue the same path as enemies. 'No one, having laid his hand to the plow, and having turned to the rear' (Luke 9:62). It was not said 'of someone,' but simply 'to the rear'; for when the plowman turns, he breaks the furrow. And the breaking of the furrow hinders the work. It is said that someone turns himself to the rear; this is praised, but this is a reproach. If one hastens to flee a path and turns, this turning to the rear is a reproach. But if someone is pressed toward evil and is checked and turns back by words of repentance, this turning which comes from repentance is praised.

For he says: 'since they pursue toward evil and it is their eagerness to harm me, they turned back from this intention.' Thus, they consider me evil in two ways: when they wish to surround me with sin, they consider me evil; when, wishing to attack, they want to bring something evil upon me, again they consider me evil. The two elders who remained, according to Sosannas, both did this: they considered it evil toward her, wishing to lead her into adultery. Having failed in this, they considered another kind of evil, to overthrow her, to stone her. Consider the same regarding Joseph and Egypt: there too, the matter of fornication was considered evil, e—

To which he was determined to destroy him. However, failing in this, he attempted another way of evils, leaving a slander against him, through which his supposed master was driven as a tormentor.

Let them become like chaff before the face of the wind. Let them become worthless. This is also said in the first Psalm: 'Not so the ungodly, not so, but like the chaff which the wind drives from the face of the earth' (Psalm 1:4). Their worthlessness shows not so much of substance as of intention; for 'those who think on earthly things' (Philippians 3:19), having become entirely of the flesh and of the members, are chaff not having a sheaf, nor a stable seat. Thus a wind briefly moves them. And this wind is able to be either tribulation or a deceptive word. For thus some are carried away by 'every wind of doctrine' (Ephesians 4:14) deceptively 'in the gambling' of those professing that cunning teaching of those practicing it.

And an angel of the Lord driving them out. They have an angel of the Lord driving them out. In the preceding Psalm, 'the angel of the Lord encamping around those who fear him rescued them' (Psalm 34:7). Here, however, the angel of the Lord drives them out, being a certain tormentor sent to punish them. But it is possible and praiseworthy to take the angel as 'encamping around those who fear him'; for the one who uses reproof drives out the sinner, persuading him to depart from what he thinks is pleasant.

Let their way be darkness and a slipping place. Their way—not that of God, not that of virtue, not that of the commandments of God, as it is said: 'I have run the way of your commandments' (Psalm 119:32)—but their way, in which they swell themselves, in which they think they run brightly. Let them know what their way is, let them slip; for this fall is shameful. Just as one who departs from running the straight way falls into a great evil, so the one hastening to run toward evil, when having slipped he falls, takes the beginning of repentance.

And an angel of the Lord pursuing them. As I have said, both reproving and striking or punishing them.

Because you have hidden from me for nothing the corruption of their snare. Evil is often called corruption; for it destroys the truth, makes the inner man evil from good, the just man wicked from the righteous, and the God-fearing ungodly from the God-fearing. And because evil is called corruption:

Corruption, Punishment, and Vain Malice§124

124He says, "they corrupt good habits, bad associations." This corruption—for it is not a physical corruption of the members—corrupts the habits. And the corruption of morals is a moral wickedness. "Bad associations" are deceptive associations.

And so that I may use an image of the prostitute introduced in Proverbs, namely false doctrine or licentiousness: the prostitute woman corrupted the good habits of that young man; for she had approached him with some sophistry. "A sacrifice to me is peace, today I pay my vows"—wherever you wish, the word "today"—"because of this, I went to meet you." But she lies. He did not go out in order to pay his vows, but "desiring." "Because you have hidden from me the corruption of their snare for nothing."

Many errors and false thoughts arise for those unable to distinguish homonyms. The name of corruption and of spoiling signifies many things according to the Scripture. "If anyone," he says, "destroys the temple of God, God destroys him." In this very same expression, two meanings of corruption lie: "if anyone destroys the temple of God" through sin, the body, for "your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, which you have from God." Therefore, all wickedness is corruption.

And the kind of wickedness is called corruption, the dissolution of virginity. Thus indeed we say to corrupt the virgin, and to corrupt the child having just tasted of the pleasures of Aphrodite. However, even if the genus of wickedness is called corruption, and even if the species, they are subject to a single signified thing: for such corruption, both soul and body are destroyed and ravaged.

It is said in the prophet: "Because of uncleanness you were destroyed by corruption." And uncleanness of soul is wickedness. It has been said indeed in Proverbs concerning some evil that: "it is crushed because of the uncleanness of the soul." And in the Lamentations of Jeremiah it is said: "her uncleanness is toward her feet," instead of: her way is unclean; for she treads upon the forbidden way of death, the evil way. "Because" therefore "of uncleanness you were destroyed by corruption." And uncleanness of soul is wickedness, as has been said, according to the twofold manner of the said corruption, and according to the genus and the species of wickedness, that is, both according to licentiousness and according to other kinds of wickedness. "Because of uncleanness you were destroyed by corrupt...

And it is also possible to take the other meaning of corruption from this: 'if anyone destroys the temple of God, God destroys him' (1 Cor 3:17). God destroys by testing. And just as the name of loss is taken in two ways regarding the soul, we say both that the sinner suffers loss and that the one being punished suffers loss: 'fear him' (Matt 10:28) who 'is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.' Here, loss is a punishment, which is also called corruption. Thus it is possible that 'because of impurity you were destroyed by corruption'; that is, you have fallen under punishment because you loved to be impure, because you hurried to have the impurity of the soul.

This impurity is the opposite of purity, which, coming upon the heart, brings presence and vision; for 'blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Matt 5:8). Concerning this it is said: 'cleanse your hands, you sinners' (James 4:8)—and they become clean when they pursue 'the righteous thing righteously'—but also 'purify your hearts,' and right understanding through the contemplations of the truth. Therefore, 'they hid it from me in vain' (Psalm 35:7), wanting to corrupt me to bring me down to wickedness, or even to attack and lead me into harm.

But each of these is doing in vain—for 'in vain' here means 'vainly'—that is, that because I did not provide a cause. The one previously set to act unjustly and to suffer evil rather than to do the opposite will say: 'those surrounding me do this in vain, as God becomes my helper' (Psalm 59:9), or: 'they do it in vain because I did not provide a cause.' For example, if Susanna had been condemned by the elders through slander, she would have said: 'they decided against me in vain, since I provided no cause.' Joseph would have said this too, as would the disciples of Christ being persecuted, being denied, and being reviled for the sake of the name of Christ; for if any of the Christians is attacked not for any other reason but because he is a Christian, those attacking him attack him in vain; for sometimes some act against Christians, wanting to harm them, and they find a cause from within them. In vain they reviled my soul. For I did not do anything to cause reviling. And it was also said...

Joy in Providence and the Nature of Trials§125

125By another meaning, it is signified that I suffered for nothing, because no cause was provided for me to suffer for the sake of the name of Christ and for no other thing. And again: 'He shall not take the reproach of evil men' (Psalm 15:3). 'He shall not take,' since it is up to us to acquire. But if, even though we have not acquired it, some surround us with reproaches, 'vainly they reproach our soul.' Do you not say that Jezebel and those who breathed with her vainly reproached Naboth, to hide from him for nothing the corruption of their trap? Furthermore: the 'trap of them'; he says 'traps' not in which they are being trapped, but in which they wish to trap. The drama prepared against Susanna by the elders was a trap of theirs, not in the way that they themselves are being trapped, but in the way they intended to trap her and subject her to punishment and shame.

Let a trap come upon them, which they do not know. This he says: those who are powerful against some, devising machines and attacking them, vainly are never placed before their eyes, that they are able to ensnare those whom they themselves prepared; for example, 'he who digs a pit' (Psalm 7:15) for his neighbor, 'he shall fall into it.' They do not quite consider that they themselves fall into the pit, since they did not dig it. Therefore he did not know that the trap was coming upon them, which they were preparing for another in order to surround him and catch him. 'Which they do not know,' therefore, which they did not have before their eyes, since they were not even preparing it.

And the hunt, which they hid, let him catch them, in order that they might hide from others and without warning hunt those. 'Let him catch them.' 'They dug a pit before my face and fell into it' (Psalm 57:6). And in the trap they shall fall in it. In this one which they prepared for others, they shall fall. Upon the fall of others they themselves have fallen in such devices as some make, and they come against themselves. It happens in some entanglement of providence. The discourse concerning providence has a great entanglement, even if it is ignored by many, lest I say by all. And my soul loves...

She will rejoice in the Lord. Moses says, 'Do to him the way he has done evil to his neighbor' (Leviticus 24:19). Having these things happen, she will rejoice, knowing that she has suffered nothing.

Is she rejoicing over them? No, but marveling at the providence and rejoicing that she was not overtaken. For example, the soul of Susanna rejoiced, not because the elders were judged, but because she was released from the indictment. And it happened according to what was destined.

And indeed, when the saints are in tribulation, they pray, praying only this: 'Let us not be taken by the tribulation' (Matthew 6:13), not rather against those surrounding them with tribulation; for they receive it as a contest, not as a punishment. And he who receives it as a contest is not so against the opponents, as to wish them no longer to exist. 'Bring us not into temptation'; for he has not said, 'Strike those who tempt us.'

I once asked, how did the marriage of the saints come to be without pleasure—not that 'the marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled' (Hebrews 13:4)—and I was told that the saints only understand the marital duties when there is also the occasion of coition. After coition, they do not touch. Therefore, it was said that their intention was not pleasure, which they intended to preserve, but to serve procreation. And pleasure is also necessarily joined, but they do not come together for its sake.

And the same happens regarding food: one is being fed not for the sake of anything else than to satisfy the appetite, in order to be satiated. But if it happens that the things being eaten are pleasant, he does not choose them for that reason because they are pleasant. And especially regarding medical aids, this happens: often the aid is pleasant, but it was not brought for the sake of pleasure. Indeed, even if it is tasteless, it approaches, because it does so for the sake of health and what is beneficial. And if, then, those who inflict trials cause the righteous to suffer the same things, he rejoices that it has not seized him. Therefore, let the 'if' and 'what they have suffered' fall away. But I marvel whether it is perfect according to the holy.

Relational Identity and the Bones of the Soul§126

126This is understood by those making progress: that they have labored to possess something, but not perfectly.

For what is the difference between 'upon the Lord' and 'in the Lord'?

One who takes the prepositions unskillfully will say there is no difference.

But it can be so: for instance, someone is rejoiced upon his child if he is healthy, but rejoiced in a drink of wine.

He has a different cause for each.

Let us take the proof from another word: 'everyone' (as he says), 'who confesses in me in the presence of men' (Matthew 10:32)—he did not say 'upon me'—'and I will confess him.'

If the preposition had been placed simply, 'in' would have been placed even in the denial: 'and everyone denying in me, I will deny in him' (Matthew 10:33).

But it was impossible 'to be denying in Christ' the one denying him, or for Christ to deny the one existing in him.

Therefore, the one denying has been severed.

The one who denies God has been severed, and his God has turned away.

But the one confessing him is in him, so that you may not receive the confession by voice alone; for those honoring with lips confess, but they are not in him.

Since, therefore, our connection to God is also different, at times we say we rejoice upon him as upon a savior, as upon a benefactor, as upon a general who has secured the victory for us, but at other times 'in him' as in wisdom, as in sanctification, as in righteousness.

The one confessing, therefore, is in Christ.

And take from another example: one confessing knowledge cannot confess it otherwise than if he knew it.

But if so, is it as in essence or in quality?

Let these things be left for later; for now the inquiry is about the difference of the prepositions.

Whether one participates in essence or in quality, let it be at another time.

And the same: for God is not a different Father becoming of the righteous, a different Creator of them, or a different King of them, in thought.

From which we take the thoughts, since there is not in it a distribution of thought from thought.

God is light, and is also sanctification and righteousness and wisdom, and it is not possible to separate existence from existence.

But we separate relation from relation.

Let a man be father and master and teacher and ruler; for he does not differ from himself.

If, however...

You may hear that a ruler is a ruler in relation to those being ruled, and a king in relation to those being kinged, and a father in relation to the one born, and a master in relation to the slave, and a physician in relation to the one being treated, and a teacher in relation to the one learning; it is not the person himself in relation to himself that makes the difference,

but the relation which is directed toward one other and another that makes the distinction.

Just as it happens to the same person to be both father and teacher and the others, it also happens for the same disciple to be to the ruler and to the learner.

Again, since one is not always said in relation to one—for it happens to find a son of another and the same one to be a disciple of another and a friend of another—9 he will be delighted in his salvation.

Regarding 'salvation' here he means 'salvation'; for often 'salvation' signifies 'salvation'.

And there is a case where even the agent of salvation is called thus, as if he were saying: 'The ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God' (Psalm 98:3), instead of 'the Savior.'

Therefore the soul 'is delighted' in 'the salvation.'

It does not seek salvation from elsewhere than from this God, from Him, eternal salvation from the one saving; for 'Israel' 'is saved by the Lord with eternal salvation' (Isaiah 45:17).

10 'All my bones shall say, Lord, Lord, who is like you?'

(Ps 62:11).

First, it is theology to know what the holiness of God is and who is able or unable to be made like Him.

Therefore apply this theology and the knowledge of God to your own bones, from which it appears that he is not speaking about his own bones, those which hold together the other members of the body and the flesh and the nerves, but about the agile powers, of which we have often said that they are the bones of the inner man.

Therefore 'all' 'my bones shall say'; the agile doctrines, my agile movements, according to which I recognize and understand, confess God, that no one of the created things happens to be like Him.

Furthermore: the 'who' refers to how? —in the context of the impossible, as in: 'God, who shall be like you?'; regarding the Son we do not take this to mean likeness in the future; for he does not have the likeness in what is to come, but being 'the exact imprint of the hypostasis' he is eternally like.

Therefore two things can be taken: if concerning likeness of essence, no one is made like Him.

But if concerning likeness according to virtue and holiness, he who is made like Him is rare.

The Purpose of Goodness and the Sackcloth of Repentance§127

127Him. Rescuing the poor from the hands of those stronger than he. If the similarity is taken regarding this action, the verse signifies: God rescues the poor and the needy from the hands of those stronger than him. And this is over men, such as rulers, powerful in strength, and also the devil himself. Therefore, only God rescues from these. If, however, as I have said, he is rescued from practical matters, the verse is also able to do this; for it is not a great thing to rescue from lesser things. Those remaining according to Sosannas seemed to be stronger than her; for they were rulers and judges, but that woman was a chambermaid and a private person. And God rescued from the stronger. And this is to be understood: everyone who is of some lesser strength is poor according to this, the one unable to benefit himself, the one not able to help himself and to make himself out of the surrounding circumstance. And poor and needy from those seizing him. And it happens especially according to the underlying subject to be both poor and needy. If he is outside of wealth, he is poor; but if he is satisfied by his toil, he is a needy man; for 'the rich have become poor' (Psalm 34:10). If, therefore, you lift these things up, you take the man from the Jews who believed to be the poor, and the needy as one not having hope, but also being godless.

Unjust witnesses arose, things which they did not know, they questioned me. The unjust witnesses question him about things which the one whom they wish to testify against does not know. Here, 'things which they did not know', is 'things which they were not tested'. Not knowing sometimes means ignorance; 'but at that time not knowing God', it declares ignorance. It also signifies not having been tested, as if I say: 'the one who does not know sin', the one not having been tested by sin. Therefore, he knows her according to something; he understands her nature. But he does not know her without having used her. Thus also regarding wives and women in general, it is said that: 'he did not know her', 'he knew her'. He signifies the experience here. 'And Adam knew Eve his wife' (Gen 4:1). This was said when they had come together; for he approached: 'and having come together, she bore' (Gen 4:1). Therefore, the unjust ones are witnesses who say against someone things which are not present to him. Such also is this: 'as the evil was turning away from me, he did not know'. Repay me evil for good, and barrenness to my soul (Psalm 35:12). It was necessary for him...

They did not realize that I was not being kind to them, nor did they know what I am asking; for I was about to be punished, and because of this, not only will they not be punished for me, but as much as it concerns me. Thus we also interpreted the Gospel: 'Be well-disposed toward your adversary until you are with him in the way' (Matthew 5:25).

And since the word of well-disposition is this: 'Well-disposition is a will of good things for the sake of the neighbor,' for many times I desire to provide good things to him in order to gain something from him. Therefore, they wanted to punish me, who had done them no wrong, but had also provided them an opportunity for salvation. Such also is what is said by Jacob to Laban: 'Know, if there is anything of yours with me, take it' (Gen 31:32). I do not want any of yours; I am well-disposed toward you, I give back to you the things. Instead of the good things which I did for them, I have done good things to them so that they would not be established for the sake of being punished because of me, since I did not show them.

Even Susanna would not have said concerning the elders: 'They intended to tear me away to adultery; I was not well-disposed toward them; I did a good thing to them; as far as it concerns me, they have not committed in sin to make me barren' (Sus 3:7)? The 'they repaid me' is common; just as they repaid me evil instead of good, so also they repaid my soul with barrenness. And what about the offspring of the soul? Right thoughts, excellent deeds. 'From the fear of you we conceived in the womb and labored and brought forth' (Isaiah 26:18).

And I, while they were bothering me, was putting on sackcloth. Behold, their evils and the reason for wanting to make her barren—they bothered her by name, as the one who said, 'sophistical disturbances bother me more than they harm me.' However, I was putting on sackcloth so that, not being abandoned, I would not be captured by them, and on their behalf so that they would cease their insolence toward me; I was putting on a certain strict life, bearing in some way a sign of repentance, so that I might not be harmed by the bothering, and on the other hand, so that they might not be emboldened. And it is much more for the good, if they should cease. And they humbled my soul in fasting (Psalm 35:13). I was not putting on sackcloth alone, that is, strictness of life, but also 'they humbled my soul in fasting,' both according to the literal sense and according to the original sense, no longer being nourished by those painful things.

The Humiliation of the Apostle§128

128And the use of history often happens for assistance; for we have seen many things accomplished through fasting, such as the city of Nineveh not falling to destruction, and the nation of the Jews being saved from Haman. 'And my prayer shall turn into my bosom' (Psalm 35:13). By the name of the bosom, in many writings, the mind and governing principle are meant, as if it says: 'everything shall turn into the bosom of the unrighteous.' It is equal to: 'I have given their ways into their own heads' (Ezekiel 22:31); for again the heads signify the governing principle: 'his labor shall return upon his own head.' The holy man prays that good things might come to be. And there is no other prayer than a 'petition for good things from God.' When someone obtains the good things for which he prayed, his prayer was turned into his own bosom. It was not cast away and remained outside, whose voice was sent up and was scattered into the air, but it brought what he had asked. And this means that his prayer is not sent up in vain, but is received into the heart of the one praying, into what he asked: 'the one filling your desire with good things.' the one who desires them is filled with them. 'This deception is in the land of Egypt, in their bosom' (Hosea 7:16). And: 'the woman who is in your bosom,' whom you love, who is of one mind with you, who is in agreement with you. 'And my prayer shall turn into my bosom.' The one asking good things from God prays. When he obtains what he asks, his prayer turned into his bosom, into his governing principle. And I have diverted from many sayings, that the governing principle is often signified by the name of the bosom: 'this is their deception in the land of Egypt in their bosom.' And again: 'everything comes into the bosom of the unrighteous.'

But the bosom signifies intimacy. So also in the bosoms of the patriarchs Abraham found rest, having the same courage and endurance, and: 'the woman who is in your bosom,' your own, living together with you. As a neighbor, as our brother, thus they were pleasing. This says that: no one has an excuse to be angry with me, no one takes from me a cause to be an enemy to me; for toward each one I was thus as a neighbor, as a brother, and thus they were pleasing through brotherly love, friendship, and sibling-love. As one mourning and dejected.

Living, thus I was humbled. 'Thus I was humbled' because of them. Those whom it seemed to be neighbors and brothers were gathered against me; they waged war against me, as in the beginning of this psalm: 'Judge, O Lord, those doing wrong to me, fight those fighting against me' (Psalm 35:1). Again he says: 'To me they spoke peace, but they were plotting deceit in anger' (Psalm 35:20). Because of this, as one mourning them and as one being gloomy toward them, thus I was humbled; for if I were providing them with things that gladden, I would be exalted, rejoice, and be glad from cheerfulness.

But what about 'thus I was humbled'?—if someone has a son whom he loves and desires, and sees him burning, he is humbled, because not as he wished him to live, thus he sees him suffering evil. Since therefore I was providing opportunities for virtue as toward neighbors and brothers, but they themselves were proving to be enemies and foes, I was humbled toward them, though it was necessary for me to rejoice toward them. What do you think of Paul concerning Hymenaeus and Alexander, was he not humbled seeing them shipwrecked concerning the faith? Was it not previously thus toward them, that he did not love, did not give opportunities toward blessedness? And if these things are said regarding the face of the Savior, he is able to say these things regarding Judas and regarding the whole people of the Hebrews. And they rejoiced against me and were gathered together.

But do you wish to know that the descent upon one sinning is humiliation? Paul writes to the Corinthians, stirring them up toward repentance, he says: 'Lest coming I should find you and my God should humble me' (2 Corinthians 12:21). The holy man is exalted when he sees those being helped by him becoming better. And a father, having rejoiced over children and being glad, is exalted. If I had been preserving the love which I was preserving toward them, toward me, I would not have been humbled, but I would have been exalted, having such as equals, having sharers. 'And they rejoiced against me and were gathered together.' But I was thus toward them from most private compassion; but they, from the opposite, having been gathered against me, rejoiced or, having rejoiced against me, were gathered together, in order that they might bring more evil and misery to me. Scourges were gathered against me, and I did not know. The eagerness is to do evil. I said in the previous readings from one of the psalms, that the same evils are to some as scourges, and to others as contests, when...

The Unawareness of the Virtuous in Suffering§129

129The subject at hand is: 'Many are the lashes of the sinner.' Here, lashes and evil powers may be said to be meant. 'They seized him, and he did not know' is similar to what was said: 'While the evil one was turning away from me, I did not perceive him.' The evil one was approaching; he provided no place for himself, having been persuaded by the apostolic opinion which says: 'Do not give place to the devil' (Eph 4:27).

I have not exhausted his examples. One of the ancient philosophers is said to have scourged himself so that he might fall from his own city, so that he might be accused by his fellow citizens. Fearing lest he should even utter a single word in pain, he bit his own tongue and cut it and threw it to the one who was assaulting him. That man was not able to say 'I did not know'; for indeed he knew a little, unless he had secured safety from some other source. But the holy man did not. Isaiah was sawn with a wooden saw.

And behold the wickedness of Manasseh the apostate, who practiced idolatry. And when the idol that he himself had set up fell, after Isaiah looked upon it and other things, they set forward accusers and two charges were brought against him: one, that, saying Moses said, 'No one has seen my face and shall live,' this man says, 'He saw the Lord of Sabaoth sitting upon a throne' (Isa 6:1). But if he stood precisely in the truth, I perceived his slandering. He did not say at all that he did not see his face. He saw it concealed, so that we might show them to be slanderers according to the word.

This, therefore, was the charge brought against him, and a second, that, regarding the ruler of the discerning race, of the holy priesthood, of the royal people, he said, 'Ruler of Sodom,' and regarding the people whom God loved and whom God honored, he said, 'People of Gomorrah.' Because of these two charges they slandered him, even though they previously knew that he did not say such things about him, but when the idol fell, they acted so that they might not appear as if they were avenging a god who was not manifest, but instead they attached a charge to him.

Isaiah might also say, 'whips were drawn against me, and I did not know.' Consider the malice of Manasseh; so that he might remain suffering for a long time, he was sawed with a wooden saw, so that the flesh being removed by those mills might prepare more pain and more duration.

Regarding the question: do they present punishments as if for a wrongdoer, and because of this they are whips? But I did not know them as whips, for I struggled and was crowned through them. Then I tested them, to see if I was such a person as those seemed to punish. Hypothetically: perhaps they also whipped Susanna, those who worked the slander against her; for there was such terror in her falling, as to say, 'distress is all around me.' If they offered these atrocities as if for an adulteress, they were whips. But she did not know them; for she was not lawless.

Let virtue, therefore, be like fish-glue to the saints. Let fire be offered, such as the burnings of shameful passion. She did not know that the present thing is a burning, that is, she was not tested; but the fish-glue, being bodily, is consumed by the fire, and then the fire of Him who was anointed is poured out, and he was not previously harmed. But for him whose virtue is a bonfire, the fish-glue-like substance remains always, and the fire never prevails against the one possessing virtue.

Regarding: 'He set the Most High as his refuge, and no whip shall strike his tent' (Psalm 91:9-10): we find many having been whipped and having died in the whipping. If, therefore, we say that the one being whipped with sensible things does not feel their pains, it is not a struggle. This is not a great thing, and anyone could endure this. But they did not know, and this happens while being forced by the whips into being tested and being made to do something against their will. Behold, the examples of Susanna have become manifest; let the example of Joseph also be taken: how whips were presented as if for a lawless person, and neither of the two knew anything.

The division of tongues and the meaning of regret§130

130Nebuchadnezzar plotted and was scourged as one who blessed God, just as the devil spoke instead of blaspheming, and he did not realize; for he did not cast off godliness. Furthermore, it is not said improperly: 'I will hide you from the lashes of the tongue' (Job 5:21). What is this 'lash of the tongue'? Do not take it in a sensory way. It is a false word, a slander. In this way also the evil powers, since they are overcome more by the lashes of the ruling faculty being unguarded against them, are called 'lashes.' And that these lashes are such, they 'were gathered together.' This means they were united in purpose, according to some reasoning. They were split apart and were not unified. Agreement upon evils is a great evil, it is harmful.

Thus, those coming from the east and coming into the plain of Sennacherib, where also Nebuchadnezzar raised his image, once agreed in one mind. And see that this is evil. It is interpreted as 'a scattering of teeth.' Often teeth are taken instead of words; for instance, 'he crushed the teeth of the sinners,' and we do not mean these sensory millstones; for this was never recorded. And: 'The Lord crushed the millstones of the lions.' He does not speak of the sensory, four-footed, and wild beasts, but of such humans. Therefore, agreement upon evils is most trivial. But the scattering and the division of these is something good.

If those realize that because of private malice they were scattered from those being in agreement, and by the sparing of God—just as the Sadducees and Pharisees once agreed according to Paul, when they also brought him into the council, and the high priest gave him to them so that he might be bound to know something about him—they had taken haste to overthrow him. But they deemed themselves worthy to have him led away and to stand upon the steps. 'Knowing that the one part belongs to the Sadducees and the other to the Pharisees,' something said that dissolved and split their agreement; for he said: 'Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am judged today' (Acts 23:6), and they were split, some saying: 'He says nothing absurd' (Acts 23:6), and the other part, the lying. If they had realized from this split, they would no longer have plotted against Paul. They were not unified, therefore; they did not know the cause of the division. And David, indeed, prays and says: 'And cut off the tongues...'

Their tongues are divided; for then their tongues are divided when they begin to fight in speech. This indeed happened to the elders according to Sosannas; their tongues were divided, the first saying one thing and the second another. If they had realized their error, they would have ceased the accusation and would not have endured what they underwent.

Thus 'they were split' and 'they did not realize'. The one who split them did so so that they might realize and repent; but they did not know the cause of their splitting and their division. Regarding 'they did not realize'—they did not change their mind. To realize is to set aside one's former thought and original disposition. Indeed, when Ahaziah realized what had passed, God says to Elijah, 'Have you seen how Ahaziah realized?' (1 Kings 21:29), for he returned weeping. And regarding this change of his, He called it his realization. And the Saint, if he says, 'so that my glory may sing to you and I may never realize,' he means 'may I never change my mind.'

Regarding other matters, realization happens concerning things not going rightly. 'They tested me, they mocked me with a sneer.' It was necessary for them, having realized, to cast away their anger against me, but instead they laid upon me, they attacked, they tested me, they mocked me with a sneer. However, even though they tested me, they did not find me as they wished; they did not enter into temptation, I was not seized by the snares of their temptation; for this is also what is interpreted: 'lead us not into temptation' (Matt 6:13). 'They mocked me' means they treated me with contempt. And again, bravely standing against their sneer, I showed nothing.

'They gnashed their teeth at me.' One gnashes his teeth sometimes against another, and sometimes against himself when he changes his mind, having fallen into the cruelties of what he has done; 'there will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth' (Matt 13:42), because knowing that they are punished because of their own impiety and sin, they weep and gnash their teeth in repentance. Another gnashes; therefore 'he gnashed his teeth at me' is said concerning the devil, and concerning the wicked here: 'they gnashed their teeth at me.' Failing in what they were striving for, they gnashed as if having done evil in vain or having fallen into a trial of what they intended to do, suffering what they intended to do to another. Regarding the words, then, must we take the teeth?—if there is repentance.

Restoration from Malice§131

131It also signifies the anger of those who did not endure what he intended to do; we take this from 'they gnashed their teeth', so that the gnashing of the teeth signifies their destruction, or a pain coming upon them because of what they encountered. But if you wish to take the teeth otherwise, it is not derived from this specific word; for often a theological insight is true, though not necessarily derived from this word. And because it is true, those who are unable to harmonize the meanings with the words accept it.

The teeth are often called the masticatory powers of the soul. And with these masticatory powers which mince the foods, if one were to use them properly, he eats the 'bread of life', the fruit of the 'tree of life', the flesh of Jesus. But if he were to use them badly, he eats the flesh of the dragon. And the flesh of the dragon are impious doctrines, they are great sins; for just as the body of Jesus is filled up from the doctrines, as it says: 'vainly puffing oneself up' in haste 'with a mind of flesh and not holding the head, from which the whole body being joined together increases the growth of God'.

This says: he who has a fleshly mind, that is, he who approaches carnally and sensually, has a mind that puffs itself up in vain, being flesh, and does not hold the head of the doctrines, he does not hold the Savior, who is the head of the doctrines. And the great things of those being theologized are the head of such a body, 'from which the body being joined together through every ligament and sinew increases the growth of God'. In this same way also we, when more words and many headings have their reference to one thing, we say the word has been embodied.

If we take that the masticatory powers of the soul are the teeth, we say something true, but not regarding the immediate context. But if you also take this, that some use these masticatory powers treacherously against that: 'if you bite and devour one another' (Gal 5:15), and: 'those devouring Israel with the whole mouth' (Isaiah 9:12), and these refer to punishments, it is also possible to think thus: 'they gnashed their teeth against me'; they gnashed these teeth, and because of this they will undergo destruction; for 'you crushed the teeth of the sinners' (Psalm 3:7). Lord, how long will you look on?

When you visit so as to forbid them, and to make me outside of the harms? For regarding 'to turn away' and 'to look away', we have often said that to pass by signifies long-suffering. 'Lord, when will you have pity?' For if you have pity, you will also do good to me, looking upon me and having mercy on me, and you will set even them outside of their haste toward evil, so that they do not harm me, nor do they remain any longer in that beastly malice which they are still practicing.

Restore my soul from their malice. He says this because lying enemies are present, many and having much planned maliciously against him. And from the beginning of the psalm this is presented: 'Judge, Lord, those doing wrong to me, fight against those fighting against me' (Psalm 35:1), and the following: 'And until I saw, Lord' (Psalm 35:17); 'they gnashed their teeth against me' (Psalm 35:16); 'whips were gathered against me, and I did not know' (Psalm 35:15).

He says therefore: make my soul outside of them; for indeed it was outside of them; for this is what the name of 'restoration' remembers. No one enters into a place where it never was, it is said to be restored, but one having come from one fatherland to another fatherland, or from one place to another place. He says therefore: they wished to ensnare my soul, being holy, to subject it to corruption. Then it is restored from the malice of the wicked, when it suffers nothing from them, when it does not act against them.

Susanna was overturned regarding her self-control, and she was very much self-controlled having been educated according to the Law of Moses, despite how far she had fallen into adultery by the elders attacking her. She pleaded, saying: 'Restore my soul' (Psalm 35:17), to lead her back into that same self-control from the malice of these men. All who are plotting against one say these things. And the soul of the martyrs is restored, having been tested in nothing.

For as to what this 'to restore' signifies, in one of the psalms he says: 'You are the one restoring my inheritance to me' (Psalm 16:5). According to this meaning we say the man is restored into Paradise, because entrance there has become possible for him, when the penitent heard: 'Today you will be with me in Paradise' (Luke 23:43). 'Restore' therefore 'my soul'. They have acted with such malice toward me as to have become wild beasts. 17 Restore me from lions, my only one.

The distinction between unique and only§132

132"Restore my only-begotten from the lions" (Psalm 35:17). He says that he has his soul as only-begotten. He had it as only-begotten; he had it as alone. It is not possible for more than one soul to be tested, since therefore it is only-begotten to me.

And in another way: "God made man upright" (Ecclesiastes 7:29), "in his own image" and "likeness" he created him. When it remains in this state according to which it was created, it does not become outside himself; it does not become outside himself. Since therefore it is the person of the Savior saying this—which Jesus had as a soul—it does not belong to anyone else.

And our souls become those of the rulers; for whoever is defeated by someone, to him he is also surrendered. And it is indeed possible to fall away from the true Lord to other masters and from one to others, when discordant sins occur; for the one having repented is restored from the malice of those surrounding it into goodness. Since therefore the soul of Jesus "has been tested in every way according to likeness without sin" (cf. Heb 4:15), it never belonged to anyone else except to the one who took it. Because of this he calls it his only-begotten.

And it must be said also thus: "my only-begotten"; for all souls become of the Savior: "receiving the end of faith the salvation of souls" (1 Peter 1:9). Concerning salvation, therefore, is the seeking and searching of a prophet. They are, therefore, "receiving the salvation, the end of faith" of the Savior. They are indeed members of him, all of them becoming his body. But this one is to him differently from those; for this one he chose to have as an instrument and a temple, so that through it he might dispense the energies, through it the salvation.

So also, having been born in Hades, he did not remain there; for he was only-begotten of him. And "only-begotten" often signifies "alone." Aetius the Arian, the father of Eunomius, who overwhelmed him, used to say: "as great" (meaning), he says, "are they being granted to Christ because he is the only-begotten of God." He says: "and others are only-begotten; the world is only-begotten, the sun, the earth." I say to him: it is not the same to be called only-begotten and an only-begotten offspring and an only-begotten child. Only Jesus is said to be "only-begotten Son" (John 1:14); for it is said: "we beheld his glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father" (John 1:14). And the "only-begotten from the Father" child...

...

It is not 'only-begotten'. And it is always so: 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son' (John 3:16). He never said 'only-begotten' simply, but 'only-begotten Son'. And again: 'because they did not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God' (John 3:18). If something were a unique creation, as you say, 'monogenes', but not a unique work—for there are also other works of God—it would not be a unique creation.

Therefore, when the saint says: 'Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor', he means 'I am alone'. And Elijah, saying: 'I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it from me' (1 Kings 19:10), it would have been said 'alone', not 'son' or 'child'. And here he says: 'my only one from the lions', the cruel ones, those having risen up against me. Save and redeem my soul, which is mine alone; for this one alone did not know sin, this one alone 'has been tested in all things without sin' (Hebrews 4:15).

Furthermore: how was he restored? He did not fall into sins, but rather, how much he was reverent toward the cruelty of those lying in wait, that he might not suffer this. Now we speak from the perspective of the holy man. And the examples of Susanna and Joseph are clear. And the devil himself has devices, sophistic thoughts, which only he and every diligent person can know. For Paul says: 'we are not ignorant of his devices' (2 Cor 2:11). His thoughts are his methods, his very wiles, the sophistic thoughts through which he wants to campaign against us.

Therefore, 'restore' us; for the state of being frightened was entirely a pre-passion. And he wants to bring us out from that pre-passion; for he did not say 'from my wickedness'. Furthermore: to what state of indifference? He did not say, while being frightened, 'restore me to indifference', but to a state where he no longer even has pre-passion. I have a feeling that I am disturbed. 'Restore' therefore 'my soul'. 'Why are you sorrowful, my soul, and why are you troubled within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him' (Psalm 42:5); for he did not say to another; he spoke to his own mind: 'Why are you sorrowful and why are you troubled within me?'. You have Him who stops the disturbance. As if someone were saying while burning and being agitated: 'Why do you burn so? There is a physician able to...'

Critique of Protagoras and the nature of perception§133

133To be freed from the fever. 'Hope in God, for I will confess to him' (Psalm 42:5). Once she persuaded herself to hope in God, she was restored from dread and turmoil, which dread and which turmoil arose from the malice of evil powers and from the devil himself. 'From lions, my only-begotten one' (Psalm 35:17). He named these malicious ones and lions those who wish to fight, those who attack and come like whips against him.

Since 'he has been tested in all things, yet without sin, according to the likeness' (Heb 4:15), we grant her a pre-passion. But pre-passion is not sin; for if you do not grant this, you bring something foreign into the soul, and it would have neither glory nor worthiness of praise and crowns if it were not shaken. For you have in the Gospel that: 'she began to be terrified and to be in distress' (Mark 14:33); for is not the 'beginning' something other than the pre-passion? This beginning is only the beginning itself; it has nothing with it. This alone, before the choosing of evils, chose the good. This has often been said.

The essence of the rational soul is receptive of those things it is naturally disposed to receive. It is receptive of passion, desire, grief, turmoil, and fear. When something presents itself that moves fear, the rational essence is certainly troubled. Sometimes, however, it establishes the turmoil immediately as if nothing were with it. This they call pre-passion.

You say: is it the same to say 'a man' and 'a doing man'? If I say a man has died, I do not speak of the 'doing' man, such as the righteous man. The death of the righteous is not necessarily the dissolution of the soul from the body, but the ceasing of being righteous. This is the corruption of the righteous. Often, being ignorant of the false opinions of the ungodly, we fall into them. And falling into those, we lose the right opinion. You ask: how do you say that I have not understood? I do not call him righteous. But if another understands as has been said and calls him righteous, he is the same man both righteous and unrighteous. Listen then, because...

What have I said regarding the opinion of the Protagoreans—for Protagoras was a Sophist—they say that being for those that exist is in appearing. They say: 'I appear to you now sitting; but when away, I do not appear sitting; it is unclear whether I sit or do not sit.' And they say that all existing things are in appearing; for example, I see the moon, but another does not see it; it is unclear whether it is or is not. To me, the healthy one, there comes a perception of honey that it is sweet, but to another that it is bitter, if he is feverish; it is therefore unclear whether it is bitter or sweet. And thus they wish to dogmatize incomprehensibility.

If then we also say: 'Since it does not appear to me, by what reasoning has he spoken, I consider him unjust and impious.' If it appears to another, by what reasoning has he spoken, he appears just and pious to that one. And another again does not even stand by the things said by him; neither is he pious nor impious, and we fall into the Protagorean opinion. Let us see then: it is necessary first to understand things and thus to judge or not to judge. He who does not speak of him correctly nor healthily spoken, what kind of intellect of the words does he speak of?

But how then does Job speak? (Job 3:3) If I say: 'Let the day perish in which I was born,' let the genesis perish; for I have come from better things to worse; for it is profitable for me that the evil should perish. As if Jeremiah speaks concerning the people of the Hebrews—and each of the captured Hebrews will say—'Let the day of captivity perish,' he does not say this: 'let there be no more captivity.' 'Let there be no more,' he says, 'that day, it has passed away'; for has it still stood? It had one hundred and forty-eight years when he said these things. How did that day, in which he was born, remain? For it passes away and it is not possible to turn it back. And he says: 'Let it not be a fruitful day' (Jeremiah 20:14); for does someone pray for that day, having occurred in so many years, to turn back again? He therefore curses the genesis of the flesh, the genesis...

The Greek text ends abruptly mid-sentence.

The Nature of Comparative Good and Evil§134

134of the life that is imminent. Furthermore, does he not sin then? — does not he who insults Satan sin? Does the impious one, 'in being cursed,' curse the impious one, 'Satan, he curses his own soul'? He curses Satan not because he is a creation of God, but because he is evil and impious. And he himself is also impious. Therefore he curses himself, and this curse is not empty. If someone curses him because he is impious, he hates the cause, which is that perceived satanic thing. And impiety is the cause. And perhaps he has ceased, or if not ceasing, he will be punished. If the captives are now cursing the day of their captivity, they do not say this so that they might no longer be subject to the captivity—'do they perhaps have the captivity as a cause'—and be exalted by it.

Furthermore, does he then curse 'that day'? And why did he also add 'that'? For one day does not differ from another. Then he says: 'May he who is about to grasp the great whale curse it' (Job 3:8). Why did he not say: 'He who made the sun, he who constructed the cosmos,' but 'he who is about to grasp the great whale'? For the Savior has come and, 'having grasped the great whale,' described the genesis of humans, so as to give them another genesis, the 'from water and spirit' (John 3:5), which is principally called regeneration. And regeneration is genesis upon genesis, just as 'repetition' is song upon song. And he called the resurrection of the dead regeneration; for he says to the disciples: 'You also will sit in the regeneration on twelve thrones' (Matthew 19:28), instead of 'in the resurrection, in the age to come'.

If I say: 'May I not see this day,' being in affliction or disease, do I say 'may I not see' regarding the time, since it has passed? For time does not turn back. Furthermore, has he said that that cause of his genesis is sin? — I do not say this again, but that he who curses a day or blesses a day does not bless or curse with respect to time, but with respect to the things that have happened in time. I say: does he not say 'it is better to dissolve and be with Christ' (Philippians 1:23)? He does not say that being released from this life is better. Furthermore, will he say that being joined to it is better or worse? — neither worse nor better. Furthermore, is it indifferent? — if this is indifferent, then the opposite [is also...]

It is indifferent. Or, is it not considered as evil, but as toward the better? Opposites do not coexist. If one of these is good, the other is evil, and if the other is evil, the other good must be accepted, as it is regarding virtue and vice, injustice and justice, piety and impiety. If the other is bad, the remainder is good. But when neither of the opposites is bad, neither is the remainder. White and black are opposites; and since white is indifferent, being neither good nor evil, so too is the black of the white.

Or, do you say that the outside of the body becomes good according to the one saying 'to dissolve'? Look from the end: the one having dissolved becomes in Christ. Or, is this comparative? Pay attention to what you say. The things said to be comparative are said as being of the same kind, not as being opposed; just as when I say, 'Sodom was justified because of you' (Ezekiel 16:51), it is not that Sodom has been justified. 'Because of your own sins, O Jerusalem', because a prophet was killed and has become a traitor to the Savior. That Sodom incited one man, Lot. 'That Sodom was justified because of you.' Not simply was it justified—for it has not been justified—but 'because of you.' And if it says again: 'He loved wickedness rather than goodness, and deceitful lips rather than to speak righteousness' (Ps 52:3), these things are said comparatively, not oppositely; for this is said because, once one is decided, the other is immediately placed.

The 'dissolving' then is 'and to be in Christ'—if you say it is indifferent to 'remaining in the flesh,' and this is indifferent; for it has been shown to us that the things being compared and added have this state: if the other is bad, the remainder is not important. If it is important to be 'with Christ, the one having dissolved,' the turning away from the world, being outside the flesh, or being in the flesh, even if it is, according to you, inferior, it is good. The inferior is intended to perish, so that he may become a master of the greater. And I say the loss thus: the hindrance, his ceasing. Just now John wished to remain such as he was on the day of his departure. Or, does he not say so? Therefore, he who desires the better knows this, that it is not the better nor even good. He does not wish for such a state to pass away from him. And the passing away of the...

Weighty Riches and the Just Praise§135

135To perish is to no longer endure. One is agitated by the name of destruction and of disturbance. But one ought not to be agitated. Paul, therefore, was not agitated by such things: 'in part,' he says, 'we know and in part we prophesy; if the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with' (1 Cor 13:10). And they think that being done away with is a worse thing than perishing. Thus we have often said that the partial is done away with not utterly, but that the partial exists, and we received such an image regarding the earnest money.

Furthermore: how do we give, as righteous or as a sinner? It is not this alone you wish to learn; for many things are understood by him. If you had remembered what you heard, you would not always have been agitated about these things. I said: let a king be the ruler of the inhabited world, about whom all are filled with the conviction that he is righteous and whatever he does, he does as a righteous man. 'Bless, O my soul, the Lord' (Ps 103:1). If I keep it thus active toward what was set by the Creator, it is only-begotten. But if at other times it acts otherwise and serves someone, it is no longer the only-begotten of the possessor, but at times it is his, and at times it becomes outside of him.

And in order that I might receive according to the Gospel: he who departed from his father's house became a stranger outside of himself; his soul was no longer his own. But indeed, when he repented, he says: 'having entered into himself' (Luke 15:17). Consequently, he became his own; his soul consequently became his own. This is similar to 'know thyself.' He who knows himself is within himself.

'I will confess to you in a great church, in a heavy people I will praise you' (Psalm 35:18). Then a great and many church is called, when it is filled from each side by many; for it is not called a great and many church if it is from small and lowly men. 'He speaks wisdom among the perfect,' says the apostle. These, becoming the same and 'being completed by the same mind and the same judgment,' are a many and great church. And just as I say a wise church when those filling it from each side are wise, and I say a stable and knowledgeable city when the citizens filling it from each side are stable and knowledgeable, so I say a many and great church of those filling it having greatness—but greatness of soul and of mind, not of the body. Again, he says 'a heavy people' regarding the...

For they have become accustomed to call things that are honorable and most precious 'heavy'. This too the Scripture witnesses; for how much the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon, it says, 'in great power' (1 Kings 10:1). And it says the 'heavy power' is her possession, which she had brought. She brought many precious stones, many delicacies, gold, silver, and other accompaniments of wealth. And that power of wealth was called 'heavy' instead of 'precious' or 'valuable'.

Therefore he says that when each of those who complete the people—as I have said concerning the church—is most precious and honorable, for 'glory and honor and peace to everyone who works the good' (Romans 2:10), if the one working the good possesses glory and honor, the people are an honor. Moreover, it is said about it that it was a 'royal priesthood, a holy nation' (Exod 19:6). The 'holy nation' is completed from all those who are holy, and the 'royal priesthood' is composed of many healers of God. Therefore, 'in a people, I will praise you greatly' (Psalm 35:18).

He also prepares him, so that he may also be able to send up a hymn. But he is able to do this when he becomes straight according to the soul and the mind; for 'praise is fitting for the upright' (Psalm 33:1). May those who hate me unjustly not rejoice over me (Psalm 35:19). Great boldness is in saying these things. They hate me unjustly. They do this, though I provide no pretext or cause for them to lie hostile toward me. Since, therefore, the enemies rejoice when I fall into evils, let me not fall into evils so that they might rejoice over me or assail me; for he who wishes to lead someone into lawlessness rejoices over him, being evil, when he falls into what he strove to surround him with. Let this, therefore, not be to me, so as to make those who hate me unjustly rejoice.

Those who hate me without cause and roll their eyes (Ps 35:19). The 'unjustly' and 'without cause' are the same, 'without reason', and 'rolling eyes' against me; they do not only speak against me with words, but they also roll their eyes. And since often, when the heterodox, regarding those who do us harm, agree with those toward whom they roll their eyes with their own minds, they are of one mind in impiety, because to me they are peaceful...

Deception and Divine Patience§136

136They were speaking and calculating deceits in anger. This is a kind of impiety; while speaking peaceably, they were not acting peaceably. This is an injustice. One speaks peaceably to friends and companions as a lover of peace, but calculates deceits in anger. Anyone who approaches a neighbor with any deceit and is angry with him does this. And I say: anger is a desire for punishment. For anyone approaching with deceit wants to harm that person, so that the deceitful one is also an angry one. And many times, appearing not to be, he seems to be speaking peaceably.

This indeed is also said in Jeremiah concerning someone: 'He speaks peaceably to his neighbor, but holds enmity within himself' (Jeremiah 9:8). 'To me,' he says, 'they spoke peaceably.' They did not simply speak 'peaceably,' but 'to me'; wanting to deceive me, they spoke peaceably; for the truly peaceful man does not speak peaceably to someone while holding another intention against him. Immediately also the Savior says to others that 'the peacemakers are blessed,' 'because they are sons of God' (Matthew 5:9). To be peaceful is to be sons of God. And he said 'peacemakers' to mean those making peace. When they lead those who have been divided by intention into harmony and friendship, they are peacemakers. And they are peacemakers toward themselves also.

First, having made peace within themselves, so that they do not have fighting thoughts or works within themselves, then they made peace in themselves. And they carry this peace also to others; for they want those being taught to be as they themselves are. They teach to make peace between the soul and the body and the body and the soul; for when the soul 'subdues the body and brings it into subjection,' and the soul rules and the body is ruled, it is a peace of body and soul. Just as they constructed peace within themselves, so they do this toward others who are beloved and loving, or even toward those fighting. Because of this, it is also said in the Didache, the book of instruction: 'You shall make peace with those who fight.' He who brings others who are fighting into peace and social dealings has first made peace himself; he has no strife within himself, he has no fighting thoughts.

21 And they opened their mouths against me. They opened their word against me, speaking peaceably. But their mind was groaning under the deceit.

Being led to the same end, not in a praiseworthy way, but so as to lose one's own virtues. This is also possible: 'they spread the lie against me' (Ps 50:21), as they spoke peaceably, but while calculating deceits in anger, they thought I was being deceived. Then they began to flatter and to spread their word against me.

You have such symbols in history: Delilah, who was brought in the book of Judges (Judg 16), a prostitute, was plotting with deceits to have Samson brought, so that she might give him to the other nations who wished to kill him. And she was saying: 'In what weakness will your strength be, or in what way will you become as weak as one of the hundred and forty men?' She was not telling him the truth. Then, having thought that he believed, she bound him and did other things, and as she was cutting his hair, she was saying: 'Other nations against you, Samson.' See, she spread the mouth the lie against him. Formerly she spoke peaceably, she was flattering. But when it seemed that she had caught him within her snare, as one cutting hair, she was saying: 'Other nations against you, Samson.' And behold, she who formerly spoke peaceably and calculated deceits in anger, when it seemed he had become self-controlled, spread the mouth the lie while now acting grandiosely.

'Well done, well done, our eyes have seen' (Psalm 35:21). Those who think they have obtained the hand they wanted, thus they speak: 'Well done, well done, what we wanted, our eyes have not seen; we no longer see you as you were supposed to be, but as we desired. We have found you easy to capture.'

'You have seen, Lord, do not remain silent' (Psalm 35:22). The 'do not remain silent' is the 'do not long-suffer any longer' (Psalm 35:22); for from many words we showed this: 'I was silent from eternity, shall I also be silent forever?' (Isaiah 42:14). I was long-suffering, I did not go out against the evils being done. This shall not be forever. Goodness is again known by the one threatening the one already being punished, so that through the threat he may be stirred up and be brought to repentance. And in another psalm he says: 'To the sinner God said: Why do you declare my judgments and take up my words through your lips? But you hated instruction' (Psalm 50:16). Then at the end: 'Having done these things, and I was silent'—not going out—'you assumed lawlessness, that I would be like you' (Psalms 50:21). But long-suffering does not remain always; for 'I will convict' 'you and present against your face' your sins. And therefore the threats of God happen out of much goodness.

The distinction of God as Lord and Creator§137

The Desire for Righteousness and the Praise of God§138

138But facing the sun. Thus it is also said in Job: 'the stars are not pure before him'. Therefore, this 'according to your righteousness' does not at all mean: not according to your unapproachable righteousness, but according to your righteousness, in which you judge human things. Do not judge me according to their enmity, but according to your righteousness; for your righteousness hates the unrighteous.

25 Let them not say in their hearts, 'Well done, well done to our soul.' Even if they do not say it with words, let them not even say to our soul in their hearts, 'Well done, well done.' 25 Let them not say, 'We have overcome him.' Let them not say that we have surrounded him and conquered him; for often this too has been made clear, that according to the Scripture, downfall signifies victory.

26 May those rejoicing in my evils be shamed and put to shame. It brings salvation to those being shamed and being put to shame because of what they are doing badly; for since they want to surround me with evils and rejoice having seen what they strive to complete, let them be shamed; for having been shamed, they will no longer lie in wait for me, having been put to shame, they will no longer do these things bearing mockery and accusation. Moreover: he says 'evil things', not 'wickednesses'? For he who says, 'Judge me, Lord, according to your righteousness,' truly had no wickednesses; he who says, 'those rejoicing in me unjustly.'

26 Let those boasting against me be clothed in shame and confusion. The great ones speaking against me arrogantly and rejoicing, may they be shamed and put to shame, and may they know themselves. But this happens as a call to them, and I no longer have them lying in wait like that. Previously he prays for them, but secondly also for himself. Moreover: the 'to clothe oneself'? As we say to clothe oneself in a virtue, or to clothe oneself in a wickedness, or to clothe oneself in a 'garment of salvation': 'Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation and a robe of gladness' (Isaiah 61:10). The quality becomes like a garment of the thing.

27 May those desiring my righteousness rejoice and be glad. 230 When 'those boasting' are said to 'clothe themselves in confusion and shame', 'those desiring my righteousness and my peace' rejoice and are glad. When the enemies are shamed and put to shame, the friends rejoice and are glad.

They are those who desire my salvation, my virtue, and my righteousness. And let them say continually, 'Magnified be the Lord.' Then they magnify the Lord continually, when I remain continually in righteousness, in not falling to the evil ones.

They are those who desire the peace of his servant—me, his servant. 'Let them say continually, Magnified be the Lord,' seeing me making peace, seeing me not having fallen to trouble or confusion or uprising or war. We have said many times that sometimes the whole is shown through the individual parts, and we used to employ this witness by saying: 'Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place? He who is innocent of hands' (Ps 24:3). Then he says: 'This one shall receive a blessing from the Lord.' He does not say something explicit, but if anyone is such a person, if anyone has ascended the mountain and stood upon the mountain of the Lord and is innocent of hands, everyone, if anyone is such a person, 'shall receive a blessing from the Lord.' Similarly in Psalm 119, it is said: 'The law of the Lord is perfect, converting souls; the testimony of the Lord is faithful' (Psalm 19:7). And he says many things: 'For indeed your servant keeps them' (Psalm 19:11). He does not say only himself, but if anyone is such a servant of God.

Being therefore inferior, when he speaks of achievements, he says 'to the servants of God,' but when of failings, 'to himself.' Some say that those approaching God are sons of God, but those who have reached them are these servants; for from servants they become friends and sons. The greater, then, are 'those who desire,' those who are like sons, those 'perfect as their father' who is the 'perfect one in heaven'; they desire to be the peace of also those who are lower. Or thus, that all desire the peace of each individual servant.

And my tongue shall meditate on your righteousness, all the day your praise. It shall meditate thankfully. When that which I requested exists, my tongue meditates on your righteousness. This I always recount, in hymns I bring it forth, in narrative words I name it. 'Day' here he says, the whole time of human life, just as in others he says: 'Because of you we are being killed all the day' (Rom 8:36), that is, because of strife. And the praise of God he does not say 'lordly'; rather, it is called a hymn and a song upon God, but upon men...

The Nobility of God's Servitude§139

139Praise. It would be rightly called the praise of God and his praise. And 'praise of God' is possible, which he himself gives; for he himself praises those worthy of it. He says: 'and then praise shall be given to each from God' (1 Corinthians 4:5).

1–2 To the end; to the servant of the Lord, David. He says that the lawless one sins in himself. Much has been said about the end, that it is that end for the sake of which all other things happen, but it is not for the sake of anything else, which is called the last desirable thing. We desire certain things for the sake of something else. None of those is the end, but they are makers of the end. But the end is that which does not happen for the sake of something else, but for its own sake all other things happen.

Someone wants to learn grammar; he learns, he meditates, he listens to a teacher, and none of these is the end. But the very attainment of perfect knowledge is the end. Therefore, perfect virtue is the last desirable thing, with which there is no other thing to seek as a completion. We use laws for the sake of virtue; the giving of the laws is not the end. We are persuaded by exhortations, by teachings approaching moral training; but all these things happen for the sake of something else. But perfect virtue, the unsurpassed, established after all progress, is the end. Every servant of God pursues this end. Because of this: 'to the servant of the Lord, David'.

If it says 'to the servant', it is not only the end of this David, the son of Jesse, but of every one who has served God. If, indeed, we praise someone in grammar and say that he is able to write as is necessary, and to read as is fitting, and to explain as it is, the harmonies, we do not speak only about him, but about every grammarian. However, let us look at his service, so that we may thus see the others, the fellow-servants.

'I have found', he says, 'David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will' (Acts 13:22). The virtues according to species are the wills of God. But the general one is called one will; for he says: 'Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter, but he who does the will of my Father' (Matt 7:21). Here he named the general virtue as a singular will. And he performs the virtues according to species by doing all the wills of God, if anyone is a doer of the wills of God, if he...

If one turns his commandments into works, and if he does not cast away the things that are to be thought, then the truth of God has been shown. This one is a servant of God. And behold, he was a king saying these things, and he preferred the servitude of God to kingship; for to be a servant of God is a great nobility.

Indeed, it has been said many times that the saints position themselves in their prefaces thus: 'James, a servant of the Lord God Jesus Christ' (James 1:1), and 'Paul, a servant of Christ', and Jonah being asked, 'From what country and what people?', then he says, 'I am a servant of God' (Jonah 1:9). And just as those who are being promoted by virtue of their ranks claim their rank and dignity, these saints, as if professing a greatest nobility and surpassing fame and great rank, profess the servitude of God. The servant of God, knowing the will of God, knows also the things that are contrary to the will of God. For impiety, lawlessness, and every kind of evil oppose the will of God.

Therefore, the servant of the Lord, having known the end, which is virtue over all things, also knew lawlessness; for of the contrary things, there is the same knowledge. He who possesses medical skill knows not only the healthful things among the remedies, but also the harmful ones, so that he may use the former and reject the latter. Thus the servant of the Lord, being lifted up toward the end, says in the song: 'The lawless one says that he sins in himself' (Psalm 36:1).

The wording is ambiguous. It signifies one thing thus: 'The lawless one says in himself that he sins'. 'He says in himself that he sins'. First, he joins himself to lawlessness and sin, and thus comes to practicing it. It is impossible not to sin if one has not been pre-disposed toward sin. Thus 'he says' 'the lawless one that he sins in himself'. 'He says in himself'. For it is to be read thus: 'The lawless one says in himself that he sins'. But it is also possible to take the other part of the ambiguity thus: 'The lawless one says in himself that he sins'; for he knows that he has no boldness regarding sinning. Everyone who sins while following it hides the evil; for no one indeed makes himself manifest as he is. Even if he were a fornicator and wished to lie with someone, he does not want the one describing him to say he is a fornicator. Therefore, they are even more condemned, because they wish to hide what they are doing. No one...

Distinction between Lawlessness and Transgression§140

140But one who does good wants to be unknown—and sometimes does this because of blindness—but he strives to have such works as being illuminated in addition to men, so that the Father who is in the heavens might be glorified; for 'let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens' (Matt 5:16).

2 There is no fear of God in the face of his eyes. No one having the divine fear before his eyes sins; for the divine fear is a refuter of sin. When men despise it, sinning occurs, having become outside of the divine fear. In the same way also the divine writing of the proverbs introduces wisdom, saying: 'The fear of the Lord hates injustice, and insolence and pride and the ways of the wicked' (Prov 8:13). If the fear of God hates these things, no one having it acts unjustly; for 'the fear of the Lord hates injustice.' He is not an insolent man, he is not a slanderer, he is not self-willed. And the name of insolence (hybris) at times signifies slander, and at other times exaltation and arrogance. 'And the ways of the wicked the fear of God hates.' And the 'ways of the wicked' are the ungodly opinions and the lawless actions. Since, therefore, he does not have the fear of God before his eyes, because of this he says in himself that he sins. 'But from the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil' (Prov 16:6).

3 Because he acted deceitfully in his own presence to find his own lawlessness and to hate it. In his own presence he acted deceitfully. He hides the evil through deceit, knowing that, if he does not hide the lawlessness through deceit, once found, hatred is activated in the one who has found and known it. So that he might not be hated because of the lawlessness, he hides it through deceit; for the one finding it hates it.

232 You know that many times probabilities overshadow evil works, so that they may go unnoticed. For example, the false prophets, being 'snaring wolves' according to the opinion, bring a sheep's fleece, so that they may be thought sheep. And from which they want to be known as sheep, it is evident that they hate the wolf-like way; but they hide it; for if it is found, hatred is activated. And no one is so dishonest as to say: 'I love lawlessness and I hate piety'—for possessing it and finding pleasure in practicing it, he does not want to hate it—for if it were made manifest, he would be shown...

For it also brings punishment. The words of his mouth are lawlessness and deceit. The words which he brings forth are lawlessness and deceits. If he sins morally by being uncontrolled, angry, or unjust, his words possess lawlessness. If he deceives with false opinion, those words possess deceit; for he acts deceitfully so that the impiety of his words may not appear, lest they be trampled upon and some turn away from them.

Furthermore: did he not say 'transgression'? Transgression is lawlessness, but lawlessness is not always transgression. If one acts outside of the law, he is acting outside of it, and that is lawlessness. But if, having received the law, he violates it, he acts contrary to the law, and that is transgression. Therefore, transgression is lawlessness, but lawlessness is not always transgression. The one acting contrary to the law and acting in opposition to the law is judged by the extent to which it reaches into actual deeds. If, however, we see the disposition of the one acting, even one who has received the law but does not act according to it, he transgresses. But if he has no law, I say—as it is written—he only commits lawlessness. 'As many as sinned in the law' (Romans 2:12), he says; those sinning in the law are transgressors. 'They sin lawlessly' are those not possessing the law. However, the thing being done is one and the same. I take the difference from the volition and the disposition of the one acting, so that at times he is called lawless, and at times he is called a transgressor.

He did not will to understand the good. Lest anyone think that it is nature which separates the servant of God from transgression, and the diligent from the wicked, but rather that he has assigned both to volition, and says that according to his own will he is either evil or diligent; 'he did not will.' But another wills to understand the good. The diligent man wills this very thing, to do good things. Again, he who is not in these things will have become outside of them by his own will. Thus the word constructs self-determination and that which is autonomous and free through volition, because no one is a transgressor by nature, and no one is good by essence; for we all humans are of the same substance. But according to our own choice, or flight, we are either wicked or diligent.

He reckoned lawlessness upon his own bed. He says this to mean that not only when he is awake and acting does he work lawlessness, but also upon the bed.

The Straight Paths of Virtue§141

141He is considered to be practicing lawlessness, yet it is necessary to imitate that man who is blessed, the one meditating on the law of the Lord day and night: 'But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he will meditate day and night' (Psalm 1:2). The one meditating on the law of the Lord day and night is not considered to have lawlessness upon his bed, but the law.

It was said by the hierophant Moses from the face of God: 'And all these words, as many as I command you this day, shall be in your heart and in your soul' (Deut 6:6). Then: 'Going on a road, looking, wandering.' If he speaks the words of God and is looking, he is not considered to have lawlessness upon his bed. It is possible even to call the body a bed of the soul.

Even if the soul is in a body, it already meditates on becoming outside of it, subduing the body and leading it as a slave. Thus indeed it is said concerning those having such a mindset: 'You are not in the flesh' (Romans 8:9). Even though they had flesh, they were not in the mindset of the flesh. And again: 'The mindset of the flesh is enmity against God' (Romans 8:7). And again: 'Those who, being in the flesh, seek to please God, are unable' (Romans 8:8).

If he speaks concerning this flesh, all the saints, being in it, pleased God. But the mindset of thinking according to the flesh, being entirely lifted up by the flesh, and consequently becoming fleshly—who is this fleshly person, or he who sells himself to sin? 'But I am fleshly, having been mastered by sin' (Romans 7:14). 'He considered lawlessness upon his bed.' According to the ascent: just as he considered lawlessness in the bed of the body. But it was necessary, while remaining upon this bed, to strip himself and to be pitied, because in the considering there is lawlessness, so as to say: 'With my tears I will wet my bed' (Ps 6:6). The voice of one repenting: but he who repents is not considered to be practicing lawlessness. And concerning others it is said in the prophet Micah: 'He was considered to be thinking of evils upon his bed, and at once with the day he completed them' (Micah 2:1).

They are often covered in the night by lawless things and at the same time complete them with the day. It is necessary, therefore, if an injustice has ever occurred upon the bed, to be convicted of it; for this is what the word protects: 'Be angry and do not sin; what you say in your hearts, be convicted upon your bed' (Ps 4:4). For if you are convicted, the devil finds no place.

He stood in every way not good, but he did not approach wickedness. He turned away every good way. And the virtues are ways. Therefore, do not pay attention to Elymas the sorcerer; the apostle says: 'Will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?' (Acts 13:10). They are straight and good. And the virtues are called straight because of being a mean; for in a straight way there is no deviation. 'God knows the ways on the right, but the ways on the left are perverted' (Proverbs 4:27). And it is also good to say 'not good'; for he did not say 'evil.' Not every thing that is not good is evil. It is impossible for something to stand in every bad way by being contrary to it and concerning wickedness. The cowardly cannot be bold, nor the impious pious. Therefore these things are not good. In decision they are the same, but in condemnation they are not the same. 'He did not approach wickedness' (Psalm 36:4).

Lord, in heaven is your mercy, and your truth unto the clouds (Ps 36:6). Concerning those dwelling on the earth according to the mindset, we say, 'those thinking of things on earth,' whom the God-Word, blaming, says in the prophet Jeremiah: 'You have sunk down into the earth in sitting' (Jer 48:10), if it is possible, and you want to be lower than the earth, thinking of nothing rising, not having 'your citizenship in the heavens' (Phil 3:20), not having your heart there toward those saying: 'Let us lift up our heart to the high one in heaven.' And it is said again concerning some this: 'But they sought my soul in vain, they shall enter into the lowest parts of the earth' (Psalm 63:9). And Moses, in a triumphal song against Pharaoh and those with him, was saying: 'You stretched out your right hand, and you swallowed' (Exodus 15:12).

The Height of Righteousness and Divine Mercy§142

142They are earth. Yet it is not earth that sinks them according to the history, but water. For it has been said: 'Immediately they sank down like lead in fierce water' (Exodus 15:10). And if God stretches out his right hand against the wicked, they are swallowed up from the earth, they become entirely earthly, they are handed over to 'sufferings of dishonor', they are handed over to 'the desires of their hearts unto impurity', they worship 'the creature rather than the Creator' (Rom 1:25). His 'mercy' is therefore 'in heaven'; for he 'makes mercy unto thousands for those loving him' (Exodus 20:6). Just as one ascends a ladder of mercy into heaven; for the nature of the mercy of God is not of the things below, but is above. And if ever it happens in the earth, that is to say, in men—for it has been said: 'the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord' (Ps 33:5)—those being pitied by this mercy are lifted up into heaven.

'And even unto the clouds', he says, 'is your truth' (Ps 36:5). One must not pay attention to those who remove providence from the earth and say it is limited even to the mountains of the moon because of the saying: 'your truth is even unto the clouds'. The prophets are clouds ministering to us a spiritual rain, from which the paradise of God is watered, the seed that fell into good earth, which Jesus cast so that it might become a hundredfold, and a hundred and sixty and thirty (Matt 13:8). Therefore, until these clouds which minister the spiritual rain, concerning which it has been said: 'let the clouds rain down righteousness' (Isaiah 45:8), the truth of God is. If anyone is a cloud able to pour out spiritual rain and righteousness, he has God's truth.

'Your righteousness is like the mountains of God' (Ps 36:6). The mountains of God are interpreted in many ways according to the Scripture. When it says: 'you shine wondrously from eternal mountains' (Psalm 76:4), 'eternal mountains' refers to the saints who no longer look at the things seen as being temporary, but at the things unseen which are eternal. 'Draw near to eternal mountains'. These mountains, the sensible ones, are not eternal. If the earth and the heaven produce, fragments and parts of the earth, the mountains, they depart with it, they produce with it, so that those are not eternal. But you look toward the eternal, the unseen, the superior, the higher; those are mountains of the citizens...

Having a height of pious mindset. Therefore, 'approach eternal mountains' means approach through disposition; take up that same high mindset for them. 'The righteousness' which is 'as the mountains' is 'of God'. The righteousness in humans, when it grows those who possess it, makes them like the mountains of God.

It is possible to call the mountains of God, according to another sense, all the superior things toward which the ninety-nine sheep remained when Jesus came to save the one that went astray from the mountains, having fallen there into error, pursuit, and death. Therefore, 'approach eternal mountains' means approach through disposition; take up that same high mindset for them. 'The righteousness' which is 'as the mountains' is 'of God'. The righteousness in humans, when it grows those who possess it, makes them like the mountains of God.

It is possible to call the righteousness of the descended Savior, according to another sense, those whom he saved. For 'he who did not know sin made sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him' (2 Cor 5:21). Those having become the righteousness of God in him who became sin for us are like the mountains of God, like the angels, like the archangels; for they were perfected in the upper creation. 'Lord, your mercy is in heaven, and your truth to the clouds' (Ps 36:5).

God is merciful in one way and humans in another. The mercy that happens among men and the benefit toward the neighbor is human; for they know how to help and nourish and do other things in a human way, and this mercy is that which draws near to the earth, that is, to human things. But the God who shows mercy lifts up those who are being lifted up so as to carry them into heaven. 'In heaven' indeed 'is your mercy'.

And this too is possible because: when showing mercy, you do not show mercy humanly; for even if you 'give food to all flesh' (Psalm 136:25), and even if you provide health to the sick, this righteousness is not touching the heaven. And so that I may express it more clearly: the things touched by the gifts of God are not only of the righteous, but also of the wicked, and of the rational and the irrational; they are not heavenly. But those alone are of heaven and lead into heaven, which are truly good and heavenly. And in another psalm you have: 'the earth is full of your mercy' (Ps 33:5). He sends down that one to show mercy to the earth.

The Nature of Truth and Knowledge§143

143The mercy, which fits those upon the earth. But the mercy which 'makes into thousands those who love' is heavenly and carries up into heaven. It is possible to speak of heaven here as the rational essence, the spiritual existence; for some have taken it thus: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth' (Gen 1:1), the earth signifying the more bodily existence and essence, and the heaven the rational. For it is said also in other places: 'The heaven of heavens belongs to the Lord' (Psalm 115:16). And it is possible for heaven to be, not this one which is visible, not only that which is in our sight, but all.

But the 'heaven of heavens' which is divided into seven is the divine state; for it is said that God is in heaven, not that He is in a place. For it is said in the Gospel: 'No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man' (John 3:13). And Jesus alone descended from the truly heavenly, that is, from the state which fits God, the likeness of God. For certainly the devil was found in heaven; for there he fell along with those who blasphemed and were puffed up. For it is said toward him: 'You said: I will ascend into heaven' (Isaiah 14:13). Being in heaven, how does he ascend into heaven? He was in heaven, in which also other divine and blessed essences are. But he took a fantasy and a desire to be God. Thinking he would become 'like the Most High' (Isaiah 14:14), he named the likeness to the Most High 'heaven' while being in heaven.

Therefore God alone is in that called heaven, not that it is a place or a body or a creature, but a state, like a state of God, a likeness of God. Therefore, having taken the desire to be God, it seemed to him in vain, since he is able 'to ascend above the clouds and throw his throne above the stars and become like the Most High' (Isaiah 14:14). Because he said in short: 'I shall be like the Most High', he had to receive the understanding that the likeness to the Most High is not in the future. But it carries the same existence as the infinite; from the infinite and unto the infinite He is the same, without beginning and without end. But he who says 'I shall be' showed that he is not at all. And he who is not in this way, would never even become God. So the matter stood for him only as a desire, and he fell even from what was present; for he was otherwise in heaven, and said...

He says: 'I will ascend into the heaven' (Isaiah 14:13), which implies he fell from the heaven he possessed; for how 'did the morning star, rising early, fall from heaven?' (Isa 14:12) by saying 'how did he fall?' He showed that he was in heaven, but by saying 'I will ascend into the heaven and I will be,' he showed that he desired to become in another heaven. It is appropriate to take the clouds as belonging to the heaven.

We said yesterday that divine natures often signify the name of the clouds; for when God speaks concerning Israel as being a vineyard, and that instead of grapes He brought forth thorns—instead of the appropriate fruit He brought forth shameful desire—and these thorns the Savior spoke of—He says: 'I will command the clouds not to rain a shower upon him' (Isaiah 5:6). This shower is not perceptible, whence even the clouds flowing into it are not perceptible. For it has been said: 'The clouds shall rain down righteousness' (Isaiah 45:8). And righteousness flows and descends, not from perceptible clouds.

And I will say something paradoxical: there is a truth which was not previously dwelling with God. Paul says: 'The truth of Jesus is in me' (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:10), as if it were another truth which is not primarily called the truth of Jesus; for all things are His, He is the creator of all. And His creatures, being intelligent, have knowledge inherent in them and truth, which someone is able to receive from the intelligent ones.

There is, then, truth, I tell you, in grammar and in geometry and in the other sciences. He is not speaking of that truth belonging to Jesus entirely, nor that it is not also His; for the intelligent things, in which are knowledge and truth, are His creatures. And I say: let some mechanic construct a clock. There is certainly in the thing constructed knowledge by which it came to be; for he constructed it according to mechanical knowledge. And there is truth in the construction when it has such proportions as make it a faultless clock. If anyone therefore receives that knowledge from the apparent clock, he has received the knowledge from the one who constructed it. And the clock is a middle ground between these two states: that of the one who has made it and that of the one who has come to know it from it. Let us give an example: the intelligent people, in being such, do not possess knowledge in the way they know, but in the way...

The Unfathomable Judgment of God§144

144Such people hasten to be, and they recognize the same things when they ascend to the very boundary and end of knowledge. Therefore, let that knowledge and truth of the knower which is progress toward all things be spoken of, not because it is not of God and introductory; for because of it, this is received. The prototype and every idea of truth is the Savior. And it is possible to participate in this truth. The one participating has received a state called truth, concerning which the saint said: 'There is truth in me' (2 Corinthians 11:10), and: 'I have not hidden your truth in my heart' (Psalm 40:10). This truth has come to be through the truth, by becoming a seal in wax or some other thing through the prototype seal.

So, indeed, do not neglect also the question of another quality of it, so that I may say this: some more human difference is still found. This quality itself does not accept the more and the less. But that which is in the 'quality' the substance accepts it. Yet the receiving and the not receiving are not the same. It is one way and not another way. But if it has come to be in a state and disposition, it accepts the more and the less. But the quality itself can be perceived; for even he who strictly wishes to see quality does not take it from the 'quality' the substance, but from it he knows the quality that has been established. Your judgments, O Lord, are a great abyss (Psalm 36:6; LXX 35:6).

In men, much difference is found, both of those falling from without and of those from their own disposition. It is possible to find difference from the outside. Some are rich, others poor; others are rulers, others submissive; some are healthy, others sickly. Likewise also concerning these capacities: some are naturally sharp and slow in soul, and others having permission toward virtue and others toward wickedness. And of these there is much difference; for no man is in perfect virtue, even if someone hastens toward it, even if he makes progress according to it. There, where there is the more and the less, there is much infinity. Likewise also with wickedness. And to speak well, virtue, accepting the more and the less, will at some time be released into the end, when there is no longer one who is more eager than the eager, or a wise man more wise than the wise. But wickedness is always in infinity. It has no end at all; for how could it be possible for the end of its wickedness to be, while it is discordant and differing?

In excess and deficiency there is infinity, but in a mean there is a determined end. Since we humans cannot say—even if they seem to possess knowledge—why one is poor and another is rich; for if you say, 'he has a certain incomprehensibility.' Often we say that God, seeing that one, having obtained such wealth or status, exceeds and tramples all others, does not give to them, and we find such people trampling and standing up against all, having wealth.

Likewise, regarding health and the movements of the soul, we say that the difference of these things happens by the judgment of God. And that it happens by the judgment of God, let us take the word from the Gospel and clarify it, if it is possible, having been led into this history; in the Gospel the Savior says: 'Woe to you, Chorazin; woe to you, Bethsaida; for if in Tyre and Sidon the powers that occurred in you had occurred, long ago they would have sat in sackcloth and ashes and repented' (Matt 11:21). If the tremendous powers had occurred to the Sidonians and Tyrians, they were called to repentance. But these spoken cities, Bethsaida and Chorazin, having been tested—why did the tremendous powers occur there, where they did not repent? It is a word resembling an abyss.

'Unsearchable' said the apostle, the judgments of God (Rom 11:33). No one searches them, no one is able to grasp their depth. But barely perceiving the things being done and as if being judged, we take a mental image that God is the one judging and ordaining each thing. But the 'why' we are not able to say, why this one, for instance, is strong and another is weak. We do not have the 'whys' to say.

And as I have said once, that there is a cyclical treatment, and if anyone receives each help for himself, he seems to grasp it, stumbling sometimes and blaming the physician. But then he understands it well, if he knew, why these things happened before him and these things will be after him, and until when it is so that health may exist. But the sick man is not able to understand this. We therefore take a mental image concerning them so that we might at last know that these judgments happen by the judgment of God. 'Your judgments' therefore are not simply 'an abyss,' but 'deep.' And the simply 'abyss' is very deep.

The Good Shepherd and the Transformation of Sheep into Men§145

145He has an unbounded abyss, and the 'much' is even greater. His covering signifies through the 'much', just as the 'unsearchable' of the judgments. In other psalms this was said: the hymnodist spoke of theologians, 'the abyss is like a garment, his surrounding' (Psalm 104:6). And in another: 'he set darkness as his hidden covering' (Ps 18:11). He speaks of obscurity and incomprehensibility. This darkness, being hidden, is that of obscurity, that of incomprehensibility, and it is a garment resembling an abyss.

You will save men and cattle, Lord (Psalm 36:6). He saves men and cattle. And if we take cattle according to what is at hand, we also take men in sense perception. But he governs all, both the rational and the irrational animals; the rational according to themselves, and the irrational as things having come to be through the rational; for the irrational fulfill the needs of the rational. Some bear burdens for them, some pull the plow, and others provide service in another way. Since even these he is able to let fall into harm and death, he saves even these. He saves also the man. 'Men and cattle you will save, Lord' (Psalm 36:6).

The same unsearchable quality of the judgments is found in these also, that he saves all men, though differently: some with much suffering, others with some rest and pleasure. But if he speaks of true salvation, of saving men, and prays concerning that which has been said, that 'the Savior became the cause of eternal salvation to all those who obey', the saint, referring to what is signified, said: 'Our God, the God of saving' (Psalm 68:20); here the cattle are to be allegorized; for those who have come to godliness and to the teaching of the Gospel itself, some are called disciples, and others sheep: 'my sheep hear my voice' (John 10:27). They hear a single voice. But the voice is the immediate rendering of the Scriptures which disturbs and strikes the soul and its hearing, not indeed the mind. Of the voice, therefore, of Jesus, the sheep...

They hear of him as a good and true shepherd. When he says to some, 'You call me Lord and Teacher, and you speak well; for I am truly a teacher. And I am your Lord, for you serve me by keeping my laws' (cf. John 13:13)—these are not sheep, but disciples, disciples of wisdom, disciples of the truth. But the sheep, being shepherds, are sheep.

There is another condescending intention of the Savior, that he be a shepherd. Since he wishes to save and improve all, then salvation and improvement ascend when, toward the capacity of being benefited in what is possible, he calls some listeners up to his voice, and others to his word, to his teaching. Thus he saves men and cattle so called. And he saves the sheep so that they may no longer be sheep, but that from sheep men may become.

This indeed is hinted at by the twenty-second psalm: 'The Lord,' he says, 'shepherds me, and nothing shall I lack. Into a place of pasture he has led me; upon waters of rest he has nourished me' (Psalm 23:1-2; LXX 22:1-2). He speaks as a sheep; he reports what exists with the shepherd gratefully. Then he says: 'He has restored my soul. He has led me' (Psalm 23:3; LXX 22:3). And shortly after he brings forth: 'You have prepared a table before me' (Psalm 23:5; LXX 22:5).

It is no longer a place of pasture, no longer a meadow, no longer grazing land, but a table, upon which lies 'the bread of life,' 'the bread which came down from heaven' (John 6:35, 51), the flesh of Jesus, the true nourishment. And after the progress of the table, he partakes also of the cup, of which wisdom 'who has mixed wine for herself' (Proverbs 9:2) offers. It is your cup, if you pour it for me; and my cup, if you have measured it for me, which I am able to drink. O God, how you have multiplied your mercy. By the mercy of God, men are saved. Then the mercy of God is multiplied and his abundance is shown, when he also saves cattle. Even if regarding a teacher...

The Teacher's Goodness and the Wings of the Soul§146

146Regarding perfection, you say that his goodness is known when he instructs wise and perfect listeners; then his goodness is multiplied when he also descends to the simple, attempting to lead them into a greater state.

Indeed, the teacher of Christianity is a debtor to the wise and the simple, to the Greeks and the barbarians.

He is not only a debtor to the wise, but also to the simple.

To the wise he 'speaks wisdom among the perfect' (1 Cor 2:6), but to the simple he does not speak wisdom, but rather proposes those lessons that remove them from thoughtlessness, so that they, no longer being simple, may later receive wisdom.

Again, to the Greeks, he speaks as Greeks, those having a refined intellect capable of following; but as for the barbarians, regarding the soul, he says those things that remove the character of a barbarian nation, of such a wild disposition.

But the sons of men hope in the shelter of your wings (Psalm 36:7).

The sons of these men.

If, according to the previous explanation, 'men' are said to be mortal rational animals and 'cattle' are those serving them, then the sons of these men have hope in the shelter of God's wings.

These wings are intellectual, lifting the mind upward.

Thus the saint says: 'Who will give me wings like a dove?'

(Ps 55:6).

We do not say that he prays to be given wings of a sensible animal; for this is impossible.

And that which is impossible is neither love nor prayer.

'As an eagle upon its young ones has hovered' (Deuteronomy 32:11).

Then they were winged, they were able to be taken up 'upon the transforming ones' of God.

And what is it for us to be thus winged?

Listen to what the prophet Isaiah says: 'Those who wait upon God shall renew strength, they shall fly up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary' (Isa 40:31).

And another prays saying: 'Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's' (Ps 103:5).

When the saint says of being winged, his wings are to be understood as virtue, understanding, and wisdom; for these things, as a catapult, lift man upward. 'They shall be covered from the heaviness of your house, they are covered under the wings of God.'

Their shelter becomes the wings of God.

Then they are covered so that they may become winged, so that they may be made healthy, as they might become under the wings of God.

Their shelter becomes the wings of God.

According to one rendering, the church is called 'house of God';

for it was said to Timothy by Paul:

'if I delay, I write to you, how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which [...]' (1 Tim 3:15).

The Soul as Multi-faceted Reality§147

147It is the church of the living God. The richness of this house is perfect teaching, the wisdom spoken among the perfect, the 'solid food' of which the 'sensory' parts of the inner man partake, 'having been trained for the discernment of good and evil.' And these drink the wine harvested from 'the true vine.' Thus, these partake from the richness of this house of God. The richness of this house of God is perfect teaching, the unceasing knowledge of the truth.

And if he also calls the man the house of the Savior, since he says: 'destroy this temple' (John 2:19). 'This, he was speaking concerning the temple of the body,' not only that the body had a temple, but that this part of the temple could be destroyed by men. For he certainly took the destruction of the temple upon the body alone. But when he says: 'I lay down my soul, so that I may take it again' (John 10:18), he does not say: 'destroy my soul.' Thus they were saying something paradoxical: if he lays down his soul so that he may take it again, 'and no one takes it from him, but he himself has the authority to lay it down and take it' (John 10:18). Observe why: life was not taken from him by a common death. For certainly those crucified with him had their legs cut off so that they might die. Thus, without the Savior undergoing this, he was found dead. For 'bowing his head, he surrendered the spirit' (John 19:30).

And if no one took the soul, but he himself laid it down from himself so that he might take it again, in this way, as it is said in one of the psalms: 'I became like a man helpless among the free dead' (Psalm 88:4), it has happened. And according to the immediate sense, we say that those being delivered from sins while 'being constricted by the chains of their own sins' are not free dead. Since, therefore, Jesus did not commit sin nor even knew it, he was free among the dead. Only this soul was seen to be free there. For certainly the gatekeepers of Hades flew it away.

According to a second sense, 'free among the dead' has happened thus: all those coming out of life and leaving the body, if they are diligent, are led by light-giving angels, while others are led by tormentors of some kind. For it has been said: 'the poor man died and was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham' (Luke 16:22). He did not become there by himself, but angels carried him.

Not led away. And to another animal-loving commentator it is said: 'O fool, in this night they demand your soul from you.' If a soul is demanded and is itself carried away to Hades by certain tormentors, only the soul of Jesus went out free; neither were angels requested to guide it, nor was it dragged away, not having the causes to be dragged. This indeed is to lay down and to take the soul, and 'no one took it' from me, he says, 'I have authority to lay it down, so that I may take it again' (John 10:18). The divine education by the Savior having become human is the sweetness of the house.

And the paradox: things said to be spiritual and intelligible are not paradoxical. Things that exist sensuously are not something else than sensible. But the being that is intelligible can also be sensibly perceived. It is therefore impossible to take the same high priest and lamb through sensation. But Jesus is both lamb and high priest. It is impossible to take the same door and house upon the sensible. But Jesus is both, and the door entering into the house, and that very house into which the door leads. And in a general sense, all intelligible things are such.

And concerning the soul of man, we say, that he cultivates himself, and the plant is the teaching, and that it is a ground receiving seeds and bearing fruit, and that it becomes a bride of the God Word and bears children of salvation. And it becomes also a sheep. And we take it according to various thoughts, names, and benefits. When the soul is called ground, the things capable are the seeds of certain teachings; but if it is called a bride, the women falling into it, and the cosmic things concerning it, are the practical and ethical virtues and the intellectual and perfect virtues. Again, when it is called a sheep, the teachings are called pasture, the educations are called grass. Therefore, all things are able at once to be other things and others.

And this must be understood: the so-called house is also a vine bearing wine; and again it is flesh nourishing; and it is a farmer tending plants so that they may bear fruit. And behold, that he himself is both farmer and vine and shepherd and sheep. According to various thoughts, being taken this way, they show that there is an intelligible essence concerning which these things are said. For instance, when a Greek demands: 'How can you show from your Scripture that, come, the soul is intelligible...'

The Vision of Light and Mercy to the Knowing§148

148Is it so? For all things reported about it signify their own bodily properties, I was saying this: each of the bodies has that form according to which it is; but when it is spoken of in terms of participation, nothing is spoken of sensorially. God is called, Spirit is called, Light is called, as a human form with limbs; for Spirit does not have limbs; God does not have a seat or resurrection or feet and the rest; from which it is evident that the essences, about which these things are said, are certain things intelligible.

9 And you make them drink from the torrent of your delight. The flowing liquid is able toward quenching thirst and leading into a sober drunkenness. He names it a 'torrent of delight,' just as it is said, 'a river of delight issues forth from Eden and waters the paradise' (Gen 2:10). And the provision of teaching, the participation of instruction, is called 'torrents' of 'delight.' 'You make them drink upon it.' And it is well also to say, 'you make them drink upon it,' since after this torrent they come to be and are in that very spring. As infants they are being made to drink, and so that I may speak from apostolic wording: to those being led in, Paul writes, 'I gave you milk' (1 Cor 3:2). And those unable to drink for themselves are being made to drink; those being instructed are being made to drink. When they are made to drink from this river of delight, they consequently come to that life from which this river flows, 'for with you is the spring of life' (Ps 36:9). Since with you is the spring of life. He did not say, 'for with you the spring of life has become' or 'a spring of life shall exist,' but 'with you is the spring of life.' This spring of life is always. But when those being made to drink approach, a stream also flows and becomes from the spring, called the 'torrent of delight.'

10 For with you is the spring of life, in your light we shall see light. Behold the spring again here; he has spoken differently; and the light is spoken of as a spring. But these things are not possible regarding history or bodily imagination. If, therefore, the good things flow from it and it does not receive them from elsewhere like a pit or a head, it is a spring of life. And what am I saying? He himself was saying, 'I am the life' (John 14:6). It is the same to say 'life' and 'spring of life.' Life, indeed, because it vivifies and leads into immortality; but a spring, because it does not receive the vivifying thing from elsewhere, but has it itself within itself. 'In your light we shall see light.'

If this voice speaks to the Father, it says: since he who saw the Son, being true light, sees you as existing in light, in your own light we shall see you as existing in light; for 'he who saw the Son saw the Father' (John 14:9). And 'he is the image of the invisible God' (Col 1:15) indicating the one of whom he is the image, and 'he is the character of the divine hypostasis' (Heb 1:3) revealing the hypostasis of God. Therefore, 'in your light we shall see light'. And if this is also spoken to the Son, in your luminous instruction and teaching we shall see you existing as light.

Where he says: 'extend, O God, your mercy to those who know you' (Psalm 36:10), he speaks of that knowledge concerning which it is said: 'this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God' (1 John 5:20). These ones, having this knowledge, are loved by God. And God 'makes mercy into thousands for those loving' him. We take 'into thousands' in this way: this number has a kinship with the unit. Therefore, those approaching the one God following and becoming one spirit with him, following, become thousands and myriads. But this is said in this sense: 'the chariot of God is myriad-fold, thousands of the straight'; for we do not take thousand in this way, as ten times a hundred, but because of the intimacy with the unit. And mercy becomes for them.

If, then, the mercy of God is extended into a thousand, as it is said: 'for his mercy is unto the age', he rightly says here: 'extend your mercy to those who know you'. Otherwise, he shows mercy to those coming in a manner of repentance, those asking for the forgiveness of sins. He shows mercy to those knowing him so that they may be established and ascend to that which is above all things unto the end. And your righteousness to the upright in heart. And upright in heart and pure in heart are the same. It is therefore good for the pure in heart to see God; for 'blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Matt 5:8).

Let no one of pride come upon me, and let the hand of sinners not shake me. Let 'the pride of the foolish' not strike my intellect, that is, let no path of pride arise in me; for it is often said of the members of even the best and the most skillful. In proverbs, indeed, it is said: 'the...

The Inheritance of Those Waiting on the Lord§149

149The feet of folly lead those who use it after death into Hades. Those who walk according to folly, using the feet of folly, are brought down into Hades. Just as there are feet of folly, so there are feet of pride.

Therefore, 'let not come to me the feet of pride' (Psalm 36:11), meaning let there not be a walking of pride in my soul and in my mind. 'Nor let the hand of sinners shake me' (Psalm 36:11). For hand is often said to mean practice, as if saying: 'Thorns grow in the hand of the drunkard,' meaning the shameful desires, the unrestrained pleasures.

13 There the workers of iniquity fell (Psalm 36:12). Where the foot of pride and the hand of the sinner are, 'they fell, those working iniquity.' It was not nature that led them into the fall, but the energy and work of iniquity. 13 They were driven out and are not able to stand. For since they themselves brought themselves down to the foot of pride, and are handed over to the hand of the sinner, which they chose to have, and this handing over is called their expulsion. And God, being a benefactor, drives them out so that they may not be able to stand in the evil. It is not, therefore, a nature or some external force casting him out, but his own work being iniquity and wickedness. He drives him out so that he may not remain, so that he may not hold a fixed stand in it.

And it is necessary to clarify the Scriptures more greatly. The truly God-wise man does this. However, if they were not clarified in this way, but more inferiorly, neither their magnitude nor that of the God who gave is shown. The Jews, indeed, taking them according to what is at hand and according to the human, are said 'not to perceive even what they say, nor concerning those things of which they are certain' (1 Timothy 1:7). 9 That those committing adultery will be destroyed (Psalm 37:9)—to be destroyed, but they are being destroyed in the way that they are evil, so that they may no longer be such. And it also signifies the punishment. And the punishment is again an impediment to wickedness. 9 But those who endure

They shall inherit the Lord a land. Those waiting on the Lord inherit the land already interpreted as being in highness, lying in the heaven. And this David said: 'I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living' (Psalm 27:13). He was a king. And to be a king is to have the good things of one's own land and to rule over it. But no one believes to receive what he already has, but believes to have received.

And this one says: 'I believe to see,' not 'I have seen' those good things, which God gives 'to those asking him,' when they pray sincerely concerning them. 'Those waiting' therefore 'on the Lord shall inherit the land' (Psalm 37:34). Endurance is a greatest contest of virtue: 'the tribulation works out endurance' (Romans 5:3). You see that after tribulation comes endurance. He therefore waits on the Lord as is necessary, having no endurance other than Him. And just as wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification become to some, so also endurance.

This David himself in another psalm says: 'And now what is my endurance? Is it not the Lord?' (Psalm 39:7). This endurance they always strive to have, those contending for virtue and piety. The hymnodist himself again says: 'Waiting, I waited on the Lord' (Psalm 39:7). Not simply 'I waited,' but 'waiting,' as in: 'to pursue the just thing justly.'

The servants of God have an inheritance. And listen to the paradox: to inherit is that of a child, not of servants. Therefore, the excess of the goodness of the thing inherited, as far as it reaches into their own state and nature, leads servants into an inheritance. And they used to say a parable for: 'By grace you are saved through faith, not of works' (Ephesians 2:8). And they used to say that it is impossible entirely to have faith without works: 'it is dead' indeed 'without works' (James 2:17). He says therefore: 'through faith, not of works.' And they used to say such an image: when a philanthropist is, instead of those whom some are working for and whom he is healing, he gives a reward...

The Place of the Meek§150

150Exalting the value of the reward. And they received such an image: let someone be an owner and let him trust a laborer, and let him say to him: 'If you take care of it as is necessary and work it as is fitting, a gift I give it to you; have it as an inheritance.' We say that he received the inheritance not from works, but from the grace of the one willing. 'There is an inheritance to those serving the Lord' (Isaiah 54:17).

And yet, in a little while, the sinner will no longer exist. This is said: 'Do not be envious of those committing adultery, nor be envious of those practicing lawlessness' (Psalm 37:1). God fashioned a lover of good as a creature. To be a lover of good is not to desire the temporary and present things; for the temporary and present things belong even to sinners. Therefore, do not be envious of them, whether they prosper or whether they are healthy; for they do not remain always. And if gap... I do not speak of the essence, but the quality.

Regarding the 'temporary'; if you wish to take it readily, he who seems to no longer sin is not a sinner. And then he does not enact the things of sin. But 'the enjoyment of sin is temporary' (Hebrews 11:25), as Paul writes. The enjoyment of sin no longer exists. Therefore, we say to the many that he who seems to no longer sin is no longer a sinner; but according to the true word: sin neither was from the beginning nor shall be unto the age (Hebrews 11:25); for concerning the most supreme kind of it, this idolatry, it has been said: 'neither from the beginning nor unto the age.'

And if the most surpassing of evils had no beginning, such as to be unceasing, nor would it ever receive a manifest end, 'yet in a little while the sinner will not exist.' You also have in the ninth Psalm: 'Break the arm of the sinner and the wicked' (Psalm 10:15). He did not say 'a sinner,' but 'the.' And if 'the arm of the sinner' is broken, it is much more than the inferior. 'And you will seek his place and will not find' (Ps 9:10).

Again, readily: for it is necessary to speak even the more popular explanations. The place of the sinner seems to be the place concerning the earth; for here lawlessness happens, here sins are completed. Therefore the earth will pass away along with the heaven. 'And you will seek his place and will not find' (Ps 9:10). Place is mainly called the position of each. And indeed, concerning Judas it is said that he passed by the place of service: 'from which Judas passed by' (Acts 1:25).

A position is a place of service, such as the position according to service; for when Paul says, 'first apostles, second prophets, third,' they are shallow because they are revealed only by their position. Likewise, in military ranks they say one has the place of a benefit-receiver or an assistant, and similarly in the churches.

The place of the sinner will not be found if he is no longer a sinner; his place was sin. 'But the meek shall inherit the earth' (Ps 37:11). Shortly, the sinner will neither be seen nor his place found, even if searched for; the place of the meek remains for ever; for it is eternal, it is immortal. And concerning the righteous it is said, 'his righteousness remains unto the age of ages.'

Therefore the meek, that is, those having gentleness, those perfecting themselves in lack of anger, shall inherit the earth; for the one without anger is gentle; for one should not say of others that he is gentle if he becomes angry at those whom it is necessary to be angry with. This kind of gentleness is more political and rhetorical. What does that mean? For the excellent man is without anger; and it is said in the falling verses, 'cease from anger and leave wrath' (Ps 37:8).

And they shall delight in abundance of peace. When does this abundance of peace occur? When the prayer of those saying, 'grace to you and peace be multiplied' is heard. He who is able to say, 'among those hating peace I was peaceful,' has an abundance of peace, and delights in this abundance of peace. It is possible to say that, having been relocated from this land, where wars and disturbances occur, they become in the land of the meek, where peace is lived out.

I have also said elsewhere regarding this, in matters of practical application, 'what virtue is needed?' and he says that when all are righteous, there is no need for courage. But he calls courage the more political kind, that which stands together in wars. When all are righteous, there is no need for courage; but when courage is present, there is a need for righteousness. And there, therefore, they delight in abundance of peace, when they are gentle. And the gentle man, as it was said to us, has a tranquil disposition toward anger. And from the one teaching and preparing for the imitation of himself, the greatness of the...

The Protection of the Wing and the Character of the Just§151

151Observe virtue: 'Learn from me,' he says, 'for I am gentle and low in heart.' He did not say 'lowly' simply, but 'low in heart.' According to the disposition, I am gentle; according to the heart. He who possesses blindness is 'low in heart.' Since the evangelical word has been uttered, those saying that Jesus lacked mind, but had an irrational soul, must be rebuked. In all the writings, both new and old, the heart is said instead of the mind; for when it says, 'Listen to me, you who have lost your heart,' it means those who have lost the capacity for thought. And 'stony heart' is a stony intellect. If therefore he has a heart and this also has virtue—for he is gentle in heart and low—he has taken up a perfect man.

The sinner will watch the righteous man and gnash his teeth at him (Psalm 37:12). This says that the sinner always wants to be an enemy of the righteous, and not only an enemy, but wants to be a murderer against him. And see how 'will watch' lies; primarily this watching means to observe how one might harm someone. What kind of person is armed? He who wants to shoot him with an arrow watches which part of him is naked, and where he sends the arrow. Since therefore the righteous is protected, he is not naked, but has put on 'the armor of God' (Eph 6:11) and 'has taken up the breastplate of faith' (1 Thessalonians 5:8) and is entirely secured.

If, however, 'will watch' is instead of 'will keep'—for often verbs said after an intention mean the same, such as 'going' and 'descending'; the one descending goes down—if it is 'will keep,' then two things are meant, either that to watch has been said or to guard. If indeed the Savior says in the Gospel, 'Holy Father, keep them' (John 17:11), he says, 'protect them.' 'When I was with them, I kept them' (John 17:12), if it is of 'was guarding.' And those saying, 'You will preserve us from this generation' (Psalm 12:7), say, 'you will protect.' It means, as I have said, to 'keep' is to 'watch/observe.' It is said, therefore, 'He will keep your head, and you his wing.' The saint watches the head of the serpent, so that having risen up the head of his evil, he might leave the whole thing dead. But the serpent is not able to keep the head of the man, but the wing, the extremities...

He preserves his powers that approach the earth. No serious wound or harm occurs upon the wing. For it has been said also in other places: 'The iniquity of my wing will surround me; then I was afraid in the evil day' (Psalm 49:5). If the iniquity had kept my head, it would have clung to my head like that one, concerning whom it is written: 'His pain will turn back upon his head' (Psalm 7:16). And again: 'I gave their ways into their heads' (Ezekiel 22:31), instead of: 'into their mind.' And it is good also to say 'the righteous,' not simply 'righteous,' but the perfect righteous, the irreproachable; for it is said many times also concerning those progressing in name who are accused according to the perfect, such as: 'The wise do not depart from the mouth of the Lord'. No one of the wise becomes outside the word of the Lord, always working with the word. And it is said: 'Rebuke a wise man and he will love you' (Prov 9:8). Behold, a wise man.

The sinner borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. He not only returns what he borrowed, but also becomes a benefactor to others. By showing mercy, he gains. 'He who shows mercy to the poor lends to God' (Prov 19:17). The one borrowing from God is righteous, having gathered a multitude of works and of reasonable silver, and he benefits another; for the evil ones harm those who are with them, but the righteous ones benefit. And that the evil one is harmful is manifest. For it has been said in proverbs that the wise man benefits and improves: 'Rebuke a wise man and he will love you' (Prov 9:8). Being rebuked, he receives the rebukes well as to love the one rebuking him. But having loved the one rebuking him, he no longer works the things upon which the rebuke occurred. Just as 'he is a brother to the one who loathes himself' (Proverbs 18:9), the one doing evil. Therefore, the evil one harms himself above all.

The righteous, therefore, shows mercy and gives, and he is full of grace and simply participates in good things toward his neighbor. Those saying that, 'if a brother or sister are naked and lacking of the daily food' (James 2:15), that is: 'Go in peace, be satisfied,' but do not give to them the necessities, did not benefit them, since they do not 'show mercy and give.' And it is possible also to take it thus: the sinner, borrowing from God the common concepts given to him and the commandments, 'does not repay.'

Blessing and Cursing in Relation to Justice§152

152Neither what he has nor what he received, nor the profit nor the interest. 'But the righteous' Ps 112:5 God even more 'shows mercy and gives.' He who receives does not give back, but he himself even more 'shows mercy and gives.' And I say: then the mercy and the benevolence appear, if the receiver is ungrateful. 'He is kind even to the ungrateful and the evil,' Luke 6:35 he gives. Those receiving are ungrateful—for by not giving back what is necessary to give back, they are found ungrateful and evil—but God is still kind even to these. Therefore the righteous even more shows mercy and provides.

The imitator, therefore, of God, 'who shows mercy to the poor and lends to God' Ps 112:4, even if the one being lent to does not provide what he owes to provide, he is still merciful, he still provides. And take for me the parable of the Gospel concerning the talents: 'to each according to his own ability' Matt 25:15 he gave the rational things belonging to him, not to each according to his nature, but according to the ability which he himself had prepared by choice. 'And to the one he gave five, to the other two, to the other one' Matt 25:15. 'The one having received five talents worked with them' Matt 25:16 and doubled them. Having borrowed, he paid back. The one with two likewise. The one having received the one and having buried it in the earth, neither worked with it nor gave interest, he hid it in the earth Matt 25:18.

When you see a man having the ability to do good or to be a philanthropist and not doing it, he has buried what he received into the earth, he has buried it into his own material choice. And being asked for it, when the time remained to 'gather' Matt 25:19 to those who had received the rational silver, he says: 'See, you have the sponge' Matt 25:24. And he accused God, wanting to write his own slowness upon another: 'I knew,' Matt 25:24 he says, 'I knew that you are a hard man, removing what you did not set, reaping where you did not sow; and having been afraid, you hid your silver in the earth' Matt 25:22-23 and to no one did you give it. From which things he said, he had the rebuke and the condemnation: 'Man, wicked slave, you knew that I remove what I did not set' Matt 25:26, if I remove not what is mine, I overstepped my own, not what was received; if 'I reap where I did not sow' Matt 25:23? In any case, they were taking mine, if you had given it on a table so that it might be multiplied. Therefore, even this was deprived. And the sinner, therefore, many times...

If one is rising up but does not pay back what he owes to pay back, his benefits will one day be taken away. He will no longer receive from the righteous, much more from one pitying and providing. 22 For those blessing him shall inherit the land. Those blessing the righteous. One must receive both kinds of returns: namely, the righteous man or God. He who does those things which God requires of him blesses God, so as to say: 'I will bless the Lord at all times' (Psalm 34:1). And the righteous man is blessed: 'for the blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous' (Proverbs 10:6), and: 'this one shall receive blessing from the Lord' (Psalm 24:5). 'The land,' that land, concerning which it was said: 'and he will lift you up to inherit the land' (Psalm 37:34).

22 But those cursing him shall be destroyed. Therefore the impious one curses the righteous by speaking about him, or toward those whom he speaks to: 'Woe to them, because they have departed from me; they are wretched, because they have done evils against me; I redeemed them, but they spoke lies against me.' 'I,' he says, 'redeemed them,' meaning he led them into the bath of regeneration, having freely granted the complete forgiveness of sins, having wiped out their lawlessness. But they speak lies against me, not doing those things for which they were called. And they had the forgiveness of sins; for not for this purpose did I redeem them, so that they might sin, but so that they might become outside of sin. If, therefore, after the ransoms and the means, someone does something absurd, he speaks lies by saying in a certain way: 'He did not benefit me,' he says lies against him.

23 The steps of a man are directed by the Lord, and he will desire his way (Ps 37:23). The man walks volitionally from the inferior to the superior, from the temporal to the eternal. And to him belongs the willing of the good, since it is 'not of him who runs nor of him who wills, but of the God who shows mercy' (Rom 9:16) to successfully complete the way. 'The steps of a man are directed by the Lord.' The steps are not given; for it is ours to will to walk from the bad to the good. Immediately, indeed, in the epistle of John, he writes: 'We know that we have passed from death to life' (1 John 3:14). 'We have passed,' not 'we were led.' God, directing the steps, did not force us into this by violence.

The Unstumbling Way§153

153By making these things happen, they are set on right steps. And you have many such things in the Scripture: 'I ran the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart' (Psalm 119:32). Because God enlarges the heart and has given breadth to the understanding, someone runs the way of the commandments. Not that he ran and his heart was enlarged, but that God was enlarging it, casting out all narrowness from faulty thoughts and afflictions; because of this, we ran the way of God.

Again, if it is said in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:23), do not think it as an opposition: 'I know that the way of man is not his own, nor does a man direct his steps.' The prophet's meaning is twofold. Nebuchadnezzar threatens the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the whole Hebrew race. The prophet said that, even if the threat existed and we ourselves provided the causes for this to be suffered, 'I know that the way of man is not his own' (Jeremiah 10:23). You are able to prevent his way against us; for even if a man is thought to be great, his course is not made straight if you prevent it.

It is also possible to take it according to the meaning already assigned to: 'not by the willer or the runner, but by the God who shows mercy' (Romans 9:16). Set your intention to run the saving way. It is not within our power to run the way, but to will to arrive at the end of the way, so as to say: 'I have finished the race' (2 Timothy 4:7). From Him is the directing, from Him is the guiding. 'Lead me in your truth' (Psalm 25:5). The one being led by God does not make himself straight. But he intends to be made straight and has given himself to the One who is able to lead him into perfection.

Such things as are according to God, I say, and seeing toward Him, are richly fulfilled, and it is not possible for each to be divided from each other. If someone has set before him the good, he strives to be an imitator of God, to set and to take up virtue; having set it before him, he does not stand still until the setting, but acts, meditates, strives, and disciplines himself.

To aim at good things. 'Has it not been announced to you, O man, what the Lord requires from you: except to love mercy, to do judgment, and to be ready to go with the Lord your God?' (Micah 6:8). He who prepares himself to always go with the Lord your God is entirely unstumbling. Only let him prepare himself for this, saying: 'My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.' And no one among those who are stumbled by shameful thoughts or some impulse can say: 'My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready'; for he has bonds, 'he is constricted by the chains of his own sins.' God desires the path of the one being directed in his steps. And he who has spoken, 'I am the way' (John 14:6), walks willingly, running the way of life. He treads and runs upon it. 'And he shall desire his way' (Psalm 37:23). It is also possible to say this: he whose steps are directed by God desires the way of God, into which He leads him, upon which He guides and escorts him. And even if it should ever happen that he falls, he is not destroyed.

24 When he falls, he shall not be shattered (Psalm 37:24). Take for me such an example: let a runner be excellent, having by nature swift feet and having the art of running most prepared. This one, having sharpness regarding the running and having trained the feet of the inner man, if ever he should stumble while running, receives in some way a brief sensation of the stumbling; for he is neither turned over nor, as if struck by a blow, does he stop from the race. And even if it should ever happen to be some slipping, he is not destroyed. Judas slipped from the way of truth and fell; for it has been said: 'Becoming headstrong, he fell in the midst' (Acts 1:18). But he would not have become headstrong if he had not been shattered. And good is also this: 'When he falls, he shall not be shattered' (Psalm 37:24). And even if some stumbling should occur, it does not provide 'a place for the devil' (Ephesians 4:27), so as to turn him and shatter him entirely. Someone saw a woman toward desire until...

The Judgments of the Righteous§154

154Regarding pre-passion: it seemed as if he were falling, but he was not shattered; for when desire has chosen to follow the thought and conquers it through beauty, he is shattered and has fallen. Such are the elders who remain, according to Sosannas. 24 For the Lord upholds his hand. 'Hand' is often said to mean the practice, the active power. Upholding his active power, He does not allow him to fall down completely. He finds where to rest the hand. And the Lord becomes for him a support, according to what was said before: 'And the Lord became my support.' He holds his power so as to say: 'You have grasped the hand of my right, and by your counsel you have guided me.' Behold the grasping 28 and the seed of the ungodly shall be destroyed.

Ungodliness is this. It is being done toward God. The 'seed' stands for 'the offspring of the ungodly.' But the 'seed' can also mean the disposition of the ungodly. And it is destroyed appropriately. In order that it may not bring forth anything remaining, the seed is destroyed. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and shall dwell upon it for an age of ages. Upon the land spoken of. 30–31 The mouth of the righteous shall meditate on wisdom, and his tongue speaks judgment; his law is in his heart, and his steps shall not be slipped. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom. When the wise man is enlightened, he brings forth luminous words; for it has been said: 'The wisdom of a man lights up his face.' He who speaks this wisdom has a mind illuminated; for 'discourse' means wisdom expressed in all things of the pious one.' And again, he who obeys the one saying to him: 'Open your mouth with the word of God,' saying: 'I opened my mouth and drew in spirit,' speaks wisdom. Therefore, 'the mouth' of the one 'the righteous shall meditate on wisdom.' He always meditates on wise things, not only the theories of piety, but also the wise things of practice. 'His tongue speaks judgment.' Having been judged, he utters all things; an 'idle word' is not brought forth; for he knows that 'from his own words a person is justified, and from his words he is condemned.' Because of this, having been judged, he speaks. And just as the thoughts of the righteous are judgments—for 'thoughts' are 'judgments'...

Regarding 'judgments': they do not simply have casual thoughts, but judged, examined, and established ones. From such judgments, even a word is brought forth as judged. For this reason, 'the tongue of the righteous speaks judgment.' If it speaks what is judged, it speaks judged and examined thoughts, and its word is of this kind. Furthermore, he gives the reason: 'his law' is not in the ears only, but 'in his heart.' For 'God gives his laws into the heart and writes them upon the mind' (Hebrews 10:16). Since his heart is filled with the law of God, for this reason he meditates on wisdom and speaks judgment.

This being present and made straight, 'he does not slip in his steps.' He walks straight, he does not stumble—so that I might say it this way—he has upward-pointing feet. He who has upward-pointing feet does not slip, nor does he fall. For the wise has put on 'the preparation of the gospel of peace' (Ephesians 6:15). 'The preparation of the gospel' becomes the footwear of the righteous; for these shoes are upward-pointing, lifting upwards. For God also says to the soul: 'I have clothed you with hyacinth' (Song 2:3). He did not permit any other to put on this footwear, but He Himself clothed it. And the hyacinth loves to imitate the color of the ether. Therefore, I have clothed you with ethereal footwear.

The sinner perceives the righteous and seeks to kill him. He perceives him not in order to imitate him. Paul writes to the men in Christ: 'perceiving them unto the provocation of love and good works' (Hebrews 10:24) and other things. They perceive in order to imitate them: 'obey' 'those who lead you,' 'who spoke to you the word of God, whose outcome of conduct observing, imitate the faith' (Heb 13:7). Here, perceiving is praiseworthy. But the sinner perceives the righteous, not to imitate, not to accept, but to kill. In both ways the sinner kills the righteous: if he turns him away from righteousness, he kills him, or he kills him by treacherously bringing death against him, as the elders intended to do according to Sosannēs. And he will by no means abandon him into his hands, nor will he condemn him, when...

The Vanishing of the Ungodly§155

155He is judged. Even if he is laid upon, he will not abandon him into their hands. We speak of a difference in the meaning of the word 'abandon'. Even if Naboth (1 Kings 21) was taken by those who attacked him not abandoned into their hands; for then, it was called abandonment if they achieved what they intended. The martyrs were taken by some, but they were not abandoned into their hands. For then, they were being abandoned if they were being sacrificed.

When a sinner is judged by a righteous man, the righteous man is not condemned. The elders were judging with Sosannas, and she was not condemned in the judging of them; for they were shown to be false informers. 'Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will lift you up to inherit the land' (Psalm 37:34). Therefore he exhorts: even if there are many things troubling, even if many are the enemies wanting to harm and take away, but 'wait for the Lord and keep his way', so as to say: 'I have finished the race'; for then he will lift you up and you will inherit the land. The contest of endurance showed that: he will make you high, he will take you up, he will lead you into heaven.

You shall see the sinners being destroyed (Psalm 37:34). This says: you shall see the sinners being destroyed and you will know yourself that you have inherited the land, because you waited for the Lord and kept his way, you did not fall with them. 'I saw the ungodly being lifted up and exalting himself like the cedars of Lebanon; and they passed by, and behold, he was not, and I sought him, and the place of him was not found' (Psalm 37:35-36). Often the ungodly think themselves great and elevate themselves like the cedar in Lebanon.

And it is possible, since it is said after a clause, even the devil himself to take this way: I saw him exalting himself among all the others, saying: 'I will seize the whole inhabited world with my hand, as if I were taking up abandoned things', as if he were taking a plague; you know that he who encounters beautiful things easily takes them. Even if they were just newly born, it has happened again to them to have a strong and elevating wind. From much arrogance and insolence, he thought he had such an inhabited world, that is, all the people, towards...

Not even according to the soulless breaths, according to the sicknesses having been made, was he able to be exalted, but he remains still in the pit. Thus 'I saw' the ungodly, this one saying: 'With my strength I will do, and with the understanding of wisdom, I will remove the borders of the nations and with their strength I will provide care' (Isaiah 10:13), I saw him being highly exalted.

I passed through in thought into the life after these things, into the account of providence, and I no longer saw him, nor was his place found even when sought. Ungodliness has ceased; there is no longer ungodliness. He is not among the immortals, just as concerning righteousness he says: 'Righteousness is immortal.'

For, 'like the cedars of Lebanon' (Ps 92:12)? Often he signifies the haughty ones by this wood: 'And the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon.' There are also praiseworthy cedars. But concerning the great ones in this life, he signifies by this name: 'Open, O Lebanon, your gates; fire consumes your cedars' (Zechariah 11:1). Then he interprets: 'Because the giants have greatly afflicted me.' He said the giants are the cedars. So there are also praiseworthy cedars, but the word is not concerning these now.

'And they passed by, and behold, he was not.' They passed by in thought, and I saw him not existing. I saw him acting insolently because of wealth, because of human rule. They passed by in thought, and I saw that the ungodly is not among those existing. He is still highly exalted according to Lebanon and its cedars; for I searched among the existing things for his place and I did not find it.

God has made all things 'very good' (Gen 1:31). 'From the mouth of the Lord neither the good nor the evil shall come forth' (Lamentations 3:38). He does not say that neither the good nor the evil, but rather that the good shall come forth from the mouth of the Lord, and the evil not. Thus, the good are in the plural. For this reason, there is no place for the evil among the existing things; for God has made all things 'very good.'

And 'He does not delight in the destruction of living things' (Wisdom 1:13). 'The generations of the world are salvific; there is no medicine of destruction nor a kingdom of Hades upon the earth' (Wisdom 1:14). Guard innocence and see uprightness, for it is a remnant for a peaceful man. Therefore he says these things: 'Turn away from evil and do good, and dwell for an age of ages' (Psalms 37:27). He says: 'Guard innocence, see uprightness,' having become outside of all evil. But he is innocent according to the present.

Remembrance and the Sabbath§156

156This is what is meant. The one possessing virtue sees and perceives the uprightness. 'For there is a remnant for man, peaceful' (Psalm 37:37). This says that it is impossible for the peaceful man to be utterly destroyed. Even if he is left behind, he possesses a remnant.

38 But the lawless shall be destroyed in the same way. At the same time the lawless are being destroyed; for this is to fall upon the same destruction. 38 The remnants of the ungodly shall be destroyed. But there is a remnant for the peaceful. The remnants of the ungodly shall fall into destruction.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. This says that even if the righteous should ever think they have not received salvation from men—such as Abel and how many others were targeted, righteous ones—their salvation is from the Lord, the eternal salvation, not the temporary. 39 And He is a defender of them in a time of tribulation. If a time of tribulation overtakes, He is a defender of them. He puts forth His own shield over them, so that they might remain unhurt, not at all in the body, but in the soul.

40 And the Lord will help them and will rescue them. By helping them, He rescues them. If not in this manner, then they shall be rescued at some time; for if they are targeted through piety and think they will die, but not by punishment. This is truly to be helped by God, to be rescued by God. And it has both: helping and rescuing. He rescues them from the surrounding pains. 40 And He will bring them out from sinners and will save them, because they hoped in Him. Since they hoped... for salvation or Him, He will bring them out from the sinners and will place them outside of all... And here the one harming the righteous, as he thinks, harms himself. This indeed God... 'he who touches you as he touches the apple of his eye' (Zech 2:8); for he who targets... does not harm himself. But He took the example to show that he himself is harmful to himself, not that he sets aside that one, but himself. As for the 'bow' how it takes...

A Psalm of David, a memorial for the Sabbath (Ps 51:6: Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger).

Remembrance differs from recollection; for one is reminded when another recalls the first things to him. Thus some have said that those desiring to be saved come 'into the knowledge of truth' (1 Tim 2:4). This is the same as 'into remembrance'. For one is reminded of what he knows. No one is said to be reminded of what he already says. For previously, they recognized Joseph, and he himself recognized them; for they knew him. To take a memorial for the Sabbath is to have the beginning of some good.

The Sabbath means rest. To keep the Sabbath is not to keep it in the six days, but when one goes beyond these. This, in which we spend our time, the visible and the immediate, was brought about in six days. But when one goes beyond these and lives super-cosmically and super-heavenly in the heaven, he keeps the Sabbath in such a way. This is the true Sabbath of the Lord.

And for the one walking on earth but having his citizenship in the heavens, he has his mind keeping the Sabbath in the world while in heaven. And there they will one day have their heart and are already keeping the Sabbath, 'the sweet, holy Sabbath to God', to him who says: 'Come to me, all you who are weary and low in heart, and you will find rest for your souls' (Matt 11:28). We keep the Sabbath in a figurative way, but truly they are not the originals, it is evident; for 'no one', he says, 'is about to...'.

If the festivals and the new moons...

The Nature of Divine Correction§157

157And the Sabbaths—these Sabbaths are shadowy. Gapped... to have rest becoming the people of God. 'In remembrance concerning the Sabbath. Lord, do not reprove me in your anger' (Psalm 38:1). Thus the Sabbath was remembered, in which nothing is worshipped Gapped... is led there, he remembers the most beautiful thing there Gapped... they sing the psalm. He who sincerely repents Gapped... for so shall sincere repentance be shown; Gapped... it seems he does this hypocritically. It is necessary, therefore, to suppose such a repentance, so that its magnitude and its beauty may be seen.

2 Lord, do not reprove me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath (Psalm 6:1). Gapped... then he offers something on account of sin. This is therefore what he says: 'I will be anxious concerning my sin' (Psalm 38:18). Because I am a sinner, discipline me. Having taken remembrance concerning his own sin, he says these things. Gapped... he knows sin in one way but not in another; for in the one way he has experience of it, he knows it, but he does not understand it. If he had understood that it is harmful and both destructive and brings the greatest loss, he would not have understood it [meaning: he would not have been subject to it]. Therefore, he is able to know it and yet not understand it, he who is taking experience of it while being outside of it. The man according to Jesus was said not to have known sin nor to have done it (2 Corinthians 5:21). According to the other meaning of 'to know,' no one more than he knew it; for how had he come to have known it? 'Lord, do not reprove me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath' (Psalm 6:1). Gapped... to have the Gapped.

An outcome: often an anger and a plague that comes upon someone shows that person's sin. He endured much impiety, and was delivered to the Assyrians, and to the Babylonians into their hand; for it did not happen that the handing over of Israel occurred by chance, but because of sins previously committed; 'Jerusalem has sinned a sin' (Lamentations 1:8), and it became a reproach. He sinned much sin, and not simply he sinned, but also 'a sin': 'Jerusalem has sinned a sin'.

Therefore, when someone falls into grievous reproaches because of sins previously committed. He did not say, therefore, 'do not rebuke me at once' nor 'do not discipline me at once', but 'all things being reproved are made manifest by the light'. The reproof through light through teaching happens. The holy person does not waive such a reproof.

Again, someone is being disciplined in anger, not knowing he has acted and thought badly. He wants to be reproved thus as it has been said. But this reproof is not of passion, but of perception, as it has been said. When the sin is made manifest and the person is punished. And that of passion is less, just as the reproof of painful discipline is less.

In the presence of those who have strayed through wickedness, he says: 'Lord, discipline us before the judgment comes upon us; reveal to us the continuing punishment, remove from us—do not bring the threats upon us in their actual operation—and let us be in judgment, reveal to us even clearly what is to be done. The priests profane the Sabbath in the temple and are without cause guilty'. In such a way it is profaned, they are said to do so because of working...

Stages of Development and the Priority of Virtue§158

Instruction vs Wrathful Punishment§159

159To say entirely that this is erring, unless we knew the straight path? For this reason, therefore, it is 'for the remembrance in the Sabbath' (Psalm 38:1). And since keeping the Sabbath is to spend time in virtue and to live pleasingly to God and to serve by doing what God wills, human life began from virtue; but this does not appear in the more bodily life; for virtue is something to be taken up by those with bodies, it is something to be taught. Therefore, the one becoming in the good is remembered.

But what is the thirty-seven? It is not something one can impose on everyone. Now, someone might say this: that the thirty-seven is composed of two holy numbers; for the three is indeed praised in the Scripture. But, neglecting the tithes, it brings only one of the fruits of the holy earth; for 'one hundred, and sixty, and thirty.' And so that we may not always say the same things, it is sufficient to say everything in all things: that the number three is holy, whether it is taken in units, or in tens, or in hundreds. And the seven is also holy; for often regarding this it has been said that it is incorruptible, it is a virgin, it is without seed, it is without womb. 'Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath' (Psalm 38:1). One does not avoid being rebuked or disciplined at all, but in anger and wrath. Yet it is possible for someone to be disciplined logically and systematically, according to what is signified by the holy one praying—or rather praising and blessing—saying: 'Blessed is the man whom you will discipline, Lord, and from your law you will teach him' (Psalm 94:12). He showed that this discipline happens through instruction.

And often there is also rebuke and discipline through anger and wrath, through harsh things, through bitter things. And often there is rebuke when the one in whom the error is, is shown by word to the responsible party; for it says: 'Rebuke the wise, and he will love you' (Prov 9:8). The wise man rebukes the lesser wise man, the one being led in. And again: 'But all things being rebuked are made manifest by the visible light' (Eph 5:13). And many say such things about rebuke, that rebuke is like a syllogism of contradiction. Let us say, for instance, someone is in wickedness. The one dividing the wickedness from virtue, bringing a syllogistic argument and recognizing the good, takes the bad into mind. And this rebuke is not one happening in anger.

But it is in instruction; for the knowledge of opposites is one, if we know the good, we shall have knowledge of the evil. And from the Scriptures one can take examples: the Ninevites had become in much wickedness, as if 'their cry of wickedness had ascended' (Jonah 1:2) to God calling for punishment and retribution. But God sent a proclamation of repentance. They approached the proclamation. They were instructed and reproved, not in wrath or anger. For example, the Sodomites were reproved and instructed in wrath and anger. Therefore, He does not want to be reproved in this way, not even to be reproved properly while setting aside the alternative.

'For your arrows have struck me' (Psalm 38:2). Because of this, I avoid the reproof that is in wrath and the instruction that is in anger, since 'your arrows have struck into me' (Psalm 38:2). They gained knowledge of the punishments being brought against the uninstructed, against the unreprovable. Often, the arrows of divine instruction signify the punishments; as if Job, having become in many afflictions, says: 'The arrows of the Lord are in my body' (Job 6:4). That terrible pull, he said 'arrows of the Lord' finding itself in his body. And the paradoxical thing: providence is introduced through this word. These heavy things, such as arrows, signify to me: that unless by the judgment of God, these heavy things would have risen above me; 'for the arrows are of the Lord, whose wrath pours out my blood; when I begin to speak, they pierce me' (Job 6:4). And see, that the heavy thing and that evil pull, he said 'arrows of the Lord.' And again in the great Psalm 171 of Deuteronomy, God says: 'I will drink my arrows from blood, and my sword shall devour the blood of the wounded' (Deuteronomy 32:42). Often again the sword signifies punishment: 'for if,' he says, 'you will not wish nor listen, a sword shall fall upon you' (Isaiah 1:20). Such also is that which is said in Isaiah: 'My sword has become drunk in heaven' (Isaiah 34:5), instead of: the punishment has touched heavenly things. And if God subjected 'the angels who did not keep their own dominion' (Jude 1:6) to 'eternal chains,' the sword of God—that is, the punishing power—has become drunk, and in heaven. And perceive the same thing even here: if anyone thinks he has a citizenship in heaven, such that heaven is 'to recount the glory of God,' when he falls by an unexpected punishment, then in the...

The Piercing Arrows and the Hand of God§160

160The sword is intoxicated in heaven, regarding the promised possession of a heavenly citizenship.

Such is the saying: 'Sons of the kingdom, you shall be cast into the outer darkness' (Matthew 8:12); for they do not exist.

But it is also taken as praiseworthy: 'Your arrows, having been shot, O Mighty One, shall cause peoples under you to fall' (Psalm 45:5).

Your words, having been shot, are directed toward passion and love; for you are powerful and you powerfully send out your words, and you direct those who are being cast by them toward love.

Likewise, the soul undergoing this—that is, the Church—says: 'Pierced by love am I' (Song 8:6).

Thus, the arrows are both praiseworthy and piercing.

Since these were named with wrath and fury, they are not directed toward passion and love, but are producing a sensation, which brings some harm.

And you have placed your hand upon me.

Often again, the punishing power is signified by the name of the hand of God; as if saying to Pharaoh: 'Now, having sent the hand, I will strike you' (Exodus 9:15).

And: 'Behold, the hand of the Lord shall fall upon your livestock in the fields' (Ex 9:3); for those livestock were struck down with destruction.

And again it is said: 'Your hand has destroyed the nations' (Psalm 44:2).

When the active, creative, and covering hand of God is named, it is called 'the right hand.'

For this indeed leads toward salvation.

He who has experienced being guided by it says: 'You have grasped the hand of my right hand' (Psalm 73:23), the power of goodness.

And there is no healing for my flesh from the presence of your wrath.

The word 'flesh' means different things in Scripture, as it is used in multiple ways.

It is sometimes said that 'flesh' signifies our sensory choice; for when it is said: 'I will break their stony heart from them and put a fleshy one in' (Ezek 36:26), 'stony heart' means the flinty intellect having been deprived of all sensation.

In its place, a fleshy one is placed, sensory and yielding to the laws of God.

Thus, the yielding and the sensory are often called flesh.

And 'flesh' is also said to be being cut off from the spirit. 'Spirit' means the intention, while 'flesh' means that which is being cut off from the intention.

Therefore, when someone thinks of the things of the flesh and acts and lives according to them, he is far from the spirit.

But when he follows the spirit, having left the flesh, he is not troubled.

And perhaps if one, having come to be in the spirit, leaves the flesh, he is not even troubled when anger impends.

But the one still claiming this life is troubled, when something laborious is expected and comes upon him.

Often the composite is signified by one of the things in the composition.

When the holy one says:

'Why are you sorrowful, my soul, and why do you trouble me?' (Psalm 42:5); then he makes the signification concerning the more honorable part.

When again he says that:

'I discipline my body and bring it into subjection' (1 Cor 9:27).

For he does not speak of it as separated from the soul, but since the body is subject and the soul is ruling, when the body is subject to the soul, being ruled, and ruled indeed with the word and with the law of God, it is disciplined and brought into subjection.

Since then I see anger impending—'for your arrows have already wounded me' (Psalm 38:2)—and I perceived this, for this reason my flesh also has been troubled.

For this reason the saints do not fear any hastening death.

He has come to be in forgetfulness of wearing flesh.

But when he considers this very thing, that he is bound in flesh, and [...] flesh capable.

The distinction of flesh and the meaning of bones§161

161Having taken the distinction from the soul, it is troubled by the opposite of death. 'All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is as the flower of grass' (Isaiah 40:6).

Again he says, 'All flesh shall come unto thee' (Psalm 65:2), that is, every man. 'All flesh shall see the salvation of our God' (Isaiah 40:5).

All things that are homonymous are divided from those having the same name by the addition of certain elements.

If Scripture says, 'He who gives food to all flesh,' we hear of every living creature by nature.

But if I say, 'I will pour out from my spirit upon all flesh,' I speak of receiving the bestowed gift of spirit.

4 There is no peace to my bones from the face of my sins (Psalm 38:3), because I see my sins present.

But not everyone takes understanding of the face of them, but he who repents and wishes to flee them.

The one sinning and being ignorant of this very thing that he sins, does not see the face of his sins, nor does he see their shame.

But the one perceiving those things which he does, and seeing that he performs them according to the transgression of divine commands, has the face of the sins appearing to him.

He does not say 'bones' of the body in every way, except according to the lowestly understanding, just as it was also said concerning flesh.

And it has been said in those preceding: 'All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee?'

(Ps 73:26).

If the bones say, 'Lord, who is like unto thee?', they have received the understanding of the Lord and of His form, so as to know that no one is like Him.

For the likeness toward God and the unlikeness which brings knowledge of God and theology makes it manifest; so that he does not speak concerning the bones of the body, but concerning the solid beliefs of the soul and its powers; for then the sensible bodies are held together by the bones; for it was not possible to have nerves and veins and the rest, if he did not have bones.

Where is it said: 'There is no peace to my bones?'—when the powers of the soul follow one another, they are at peace.

When the soul does not divide, when the powers of the soul follow one another in order, there is peace to the bones.

'A man's wisdom shall lighten his face' (Eccl 8:1); by 'face' he means in any case the inner man, the mind.

They have become a heavy burden; they drag me down, though I ought to bear that burden which Jesus lays on and the yoke which he imposes;

for there is a worthless burden, as this very saying says:

'my iniquities as a heavy burden were heavy upon me' (Psalm 38:4).

'Come,' then, he says, 'to me, for I will give you rest' (Matt 11:28); I take the burdens from you and the lying loads;

'for my yoke is kind and my burden is light' (Matt 11:30).

This burden lifts up the bearer; it carries him upward; this burden is winged.

But that of evil weighs down; it casts down.

Indeed, concerning the worthless he says:

'you shall sink as lead in mighty water' (Ex 15:10).

'As a heavy burden they were heavy upon me' (Psalm 38:4).

And this too—to know that evil is a heavy burden—belongs not to everyone, but to the one who has perceived its burdensomeness.

Then, indeed, one of those bearing this burden labors, when he perceives the weight of evil.

And then he comes to Jesus.

And he [...].

The Body of Death and the Nature of the Soul§162

162He finds pleasure in the burden of wickedness rather, and distances himself from Jesus. For this reason it is also said in Isaiah: 'Egypt has grown weary, the commerce of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, lofty men, shall pass over you and shall be your servants and shall worship you, for God strengthens and there is no god besides you' (Isaiah 45:14). 'Egypt has grown weary' at the time when those who are of the wicked have received sensation, practicing idolatry and possessing idle chatter regarding curious things, regarding augury, regarding necromancy, and the demons lying near them. But when they do not have sensation of these, they do not grow weary. 'The commerce' therefore 'of the Ethiopians' or 'the trades of the Ethiopians' grows weary then. And 'Ethiopians' refers to those darkened according to the inner man.

Thus also the devil in the Epistle of Barnabas and in the Shepherd is called 'the black one,' not according to the body, but having been darkened according to the mind, having become outside the brightness of the saints. These therefore the Ethiopians have a journey or a way, where their commerce is. And they grow weary then when they receive sensation, for howsoever one finds pleasure in sinning, he does not grow weary.

'They swelled and my sores decayed from the face of my folly' (Psalm 38:5). I had sores from the arrows of punishment or from the burning arrows of the evil one; for it has also been said to have burning arrows. When someone receives impressions, that is, thoughts and memories of evils and impieties, he is in a sore. But when these have increased and having become unburdened they swell, then they also undergo putrefaction. 'They swelled' therefore 'and my sores decayed.' But from where did I have the sores, from where has their putrefaction happened? — 'from the face of my folly.' It is necessary to expose my folly and to turn away from it. Someone undergoes folly when he does not possess prudence.

The stings of thoughts and of desires, these make sores. It is necessary to heal these quickly. Someone saw a woman toward desire; he had a sore. Let him heal, and until the passion, let him set the anger in order; for in this way neither desire shall swell nor bring putrefaction. But when the mind remains, these bring both putrefaction and stench and uncleanness. When he does not have this prudence so as to know what ought to be done and what not, having the things said in a mixed way as indifferent, in...

It is in folly. And folly, regarding those things that boast of being small sins so as to compare them to madness, nourishes and strengthens, and becomes a stench and corruption. Likewise, regarding the essence of which the word is spoken, it takes the resemblance and the corruption; for nothing bodily appears; for many foolish people are healthy and have strong bodies.

I was wretched and was bowed down to the end. The unseemly and burdensome things often bring wretchedness. And the body itself indeed makes the one burdened wretched. This concept is submitted by the apostolic word which has it thus: 'Wretched am I, man; who will rescue me from the body of this death?' (Romans 7:24). Since indeed I am in the body of death, I am wretched, and not by chance will the Savior make me out of such wretchedness; for he immediately brought forward: 'I give thanks through Jesus Christ' (Romans 7:25), who freed me from the body. We say, therefore, that wretchedness comes to the soul from the body of death.

We do not at once take the body of death to be any body, but a body of this kind. When someone uses this body as if to do sins toward death, a body of death remains surrounding him. But it is possible to make it not a body of death; for when I separate from it those things making it a body of death, it is no longer a body of death. And just as this perceptible body has underlying matter and the form of a body, it is possible to separate this body from the thick body. When it takes only the three dimensions without matter, this body is not essence.

In these readily available things, when it is said, for example, 'color in body,' does it not also mean 'in a certain body,' because by saying 'color in body' it showed that this body means the seen thing, which we touch? But when it says a single form is the quantity of the body, it does not say this; for how can an essence be a genus of essence? So the body is homonymous: for that which is taken according to the three dimensions without matter, this is the quantitative body; for that with matter, we take not only the dimensions but also the underlying essence with them. This body is something else. The body, therefore, is then a body of death, when those things working in it and its movements happen sinfully. It is possible, therefore, to separate this from...

The Lessons of Sin and the Desires of the Soul§163

163Regarding the body: when I take an eye that does not see, seeing in a harmful or adulterous way, I have removed the eye of death from the essence. And upon every member and upon every sense, if this happens, the body of death is cast off. It is not the body we cast off, but the body of death. And if we see a worthless man having changed into a significant one, we say that the worthless man was destroyed, not the man.

'And we were bowed down.' Lowly wickedness is, it bows down the one possessing it; for always the great sorrows lie upon one, crushing and bowing down the one carrying them. Immediately, indeed, regarding her who had that 'spirit of infirmity' for eighteen years, it says: 'she was bent over and could not raise herself to the full.' She never raised herself up. The one sinning, therefore, bends down and looks below. It says, therefore: 'they set their eyes to bend down toward the earth' (Psalm 17:11); and again in Jeremiah it is said: 'having turned away to the earth they have written' (Jer 17:13). Those having turned away from the divine spring are written of, being enrolled in the earth, as having the citizenship below and bearing 'the image of the jar' (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:49). But of the disciples, 'the names are written in the heavens' (Luke 10:20). He does not speak of these designations by combining letters, but of the very qualities which signify them, for the definition of a name is given thus: a name is a principal designation representing the quality of the one named. This is the descriptive name: man, heaven. 'Is written,' therefore, that is, has been arranged.

7 I was walking, mourning all the day. Even if 'I was bowed down to the end' because of the approaching misery, I did not become insensitive to this. Mourning, therefore, I walk, 'working the godliness according to God, the sorrow leading to repentance unto salvation without regret' (2 Cor 7:10). And so mourning I walk all the day. And the 'I walk' is good. It does not remain cast down, but it walks. It did not 'sink down to earth in sitting,' it did not set its transferred habits upon the earth, but it walks. 'Mourning,' therefore, 'I was walking.' Those things were working which were transferring me out of the misery. Then, however, I am transferred out of the misery, if I cast off the causes of the misery. 8 For my soul was filled with instructions. My soul was filled with sins. And instructions are...

Regarding sins: the deceiver plays with the deceived, and thus the soul is filled with lessons. In some copies, it says 'my loins.' It is said concerning these that the seeds consist. When someone is thus drawn into lawlessness and hastens more toward lust or toward being a lover of God, he has the loins filled with lessons.

“And there is no healing in my flesh” (Psalm 38:7). As long as I am filled with these lessons, not only is my flesh not healthy, but having become diseased and thus disposed, it does not receive healing. Just as it is impossible for a sensory person, while still in the state of being sick, to recover health, so the one filled with lessons is not able to make the flesh peaceful, that is, sober, or not divided against itself.

“I was afflicted and humbled exceedingly” (Psalm 38:8). It is possible to say 'I was afflicted and humbled' voluntarily. Since I have become in sensation of the swelling of evil and harm and blindness, I led myself volitionally toward humiliation so that I might be exalted; for “everyone who humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23:12). One must take the affliction and the humiliation from a parallel source. But then it happens voluntarily when, as I have said, the one who was exalted humbles himself, so that he might be exalted by God. It is also possible in this way: from the surrounding oppressors and heavy burdens, “I was humbled, I was afflicted exceedingly.” I had the affliction stretched out.

“I cried out from the sighing of my heart” (Psalm 38:8). Not mockingly wailing about the evils surrounding me, but “from the sighing of my heart”; understanding in what kind of sighing one must sigh, a sigh.

“And all my desire is against you” (Ps 38:9). The righteous man always has love and longing for the virtues and for things done praiseworthily. It is indeed said concerning the righteous: “All the desire of the righteous is good” (Proverbs 11:23). And the good things have the boldness to be additional to God. “Against you,” therefore, that is, before you, is “all my desire.” Praise is therefore to be taken here for “my desire,” which is also what this same one says: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, who fills your desire with good things” (Ps 103:5). All such desires, being the righteous, are bold to be additional to God. But it is also possible to take the word toward the other meaning. Because...

The Light of Knowledge and the Strength of the Heart§164

164This person was humbled and was utterly crushed; because of this, I am consumed, and my groaning comes from soul and heart, since I have come to know that every bad desire I possessed is manifest to you, and no desire is outside of your presence. The term 'moreover' is more appropriate. 10 And my groaning was not hidden from you. Having a good desire and longing to be in goodness and virtue, I groan as much as I see myself failing. This groaning, however, comes from a desire for beauty, from the expectation of something better. Even if I often hide my groaning from many, so that I might not seem to be self-indulgent and appear to be repenting only outwardly, my groaning is 'moreover' to you; it was not hidden from you. The Egyptians indeed oppressed the Hebrews. When the 'sons of Israel' (Exodus 2:23) rejoiced in the works of the Egyptians, their groaning was hidden from the face of God. But when they began to groan over the works, when they perceived that the Pharaonic works were destroying both the land and, even more, were doing evil outside of God, then they groaned, and the groaning was not hidden from God; for He immediately set them free. When they were rejoicing, they were held there, and they did not attain freedom. This groaning corresponds to 'the sorrow that works repentance unto salvation' (2 Corinthians 7:10). This sorrow is another from that of the world, which works death. If, indeed, you see a man groaning because he does not attain what he desires, even if they are bad things, this groaning is destructive.

11 My heart was troubled, and my strength left me. When the heart is troubled, that is, the mind, then strength becomes distant. Strength is that which is appropriate to the peace and stability of the heart. He who learned from Jesus 'that He is gentle and humble in heart' (Matthew 11:29) does not have a troubled heart; for he imitates Jesus. And he who imitates Jesus is outside of all trouble. Until he does not have this trouble, strength remains with him, so as to say: 'I can do all things in Him who strengthens me' (Philippians 4:13), and: 'I will love you, Lord, my strength' (Psalm 18:1). 11 And the light of my eyes is not with me. The light of my eyes has become distant from me. But the light of the true eyes...

For those seeing sharply, the knowledge of truth is present; for it has been said: 'light up for yourselves a light of knowledge' (Hosea 10:12). For the word is not about these eyes nor about sensible light; listen to the one saying: 'the commandment of the Lord is far-reaching, enlightening eyes' (Psalm 19:8). Indeed, the keeping of the far-reaching commandment enlightens the eyes of the inner man; for many are those seeing sharply, yet they are transgressors of the commandment of the Lord, and they guard it in a different way, and being encompassed by it, they are dull according to the appearance.

It is not, therefore, at all about the eyes that it is said: 'and the light of my eyes is not with me' (Psalm 38:10). He has left me, because I turned away from it, because I myself did not guard it to remain with me. 'My heart was troubled, my strength left me' (Ps 38:10). When the intellect is troubled, if it endures, strength becomes far-reaching; for when the intellect is strengthened and the mind is made precise, strength is present to one thus disposed, as to say: 'I am strong in all things in the one empowering me' (Phil 4:13). 'I will love you, Lord, my strength.' But one is left behind by this strength if, when troubled, he endures in the heart, if he has troubling thoughts. Therefore, it must be guarded not to give 'a place to the devil' to the one casting disturbances, so that our strength may remain and we may be able to say: 'The Lord is my strength and my song, and he became for me salvation' (Psalm 118:14).

'And the light of my eyes is not with me' (Psalm 38:10). When the heart is troubled, the strength appropriate to the heart leaves it, and that very light is not with the one having suffered these things; for it is necessary to 'sow into righteousness and reap into a fruit of life' (Hosea 10:12), so that, 'having lightened for themselves a light of knowledge' (Hosea 10:12). Therefore, when the heart is troubled, the strength that empowers the inner man becomes distant, and that very light of the eyes which enlightens the inner man leaves him, having delivered himself to darkness and ignorance.

'My friends and my neighbors drew near and stood opposite me' (Psalm 38:11). Such things happen in circumstantial times. And Job, having been born in distress, said such things: 'My friends have become merciless, they have known others as three times more than I' (Job 19:13). And in the Wisdoms it has been written that friends only then fail and the goodness of friends...

The Devil Standing at the Right Hand§165

165They demonstrate and demand something when someone is in prosperity, whom they perhaps love. But when there occurs in someone a certain perversion of things pertaining to him, and they care for the external things, then those people become distant. For there are three kinds of friendship. There is friendship according to the self, when it does not pursue anything other than beauty or virtue. But if it is because of something, namely wealth, this friendship of theirs will cease when they are gone, and so will the friendship. And this friendship is said to be a second kind, being for the sake of the useful. And a third kind of friendship is the pleasant. Many wish to be friends with monks, not so that they may be monks, but so that they may say, 'Those who live alone love me.' And others wish to be friends with the rich, expecting nothing from them, but sometimes even bestowing things upon them.

One is able to call the neighbor a friend by analogy, or the friend a neighbor. And so, those near by through proximity, and according to kinship, 'my brothers.' And yet, should this be taken regarding bodily matters?—But if you say it spiritually—if they are also friends and kinsmen according to the spirit—observe: when someone diminishes himself and is no longer such, those whom he previously had as friends become strangers to him, because he has diminished himself, so that I may not say that he has become worthless; for the following is no longer reported as concerning the worthless or by the worthless. Having wholly troubled the heart, he is not cast out; for another is the one who destroys this. It has been said, indeed, in Isaiah: 'those who have lost their heart' (Isaiah 46:12). And the heart is lost when the intellect becomes outside of the harmonious state. And it is troubled if it has some confusion. And to be troubled comes from receiving thoughts and impulses that are not fitting. 'From the opposite they approached and stood.' Not as companions, not as friends, not for the purpose of being united to me, but 'from the opposite,' in order that, being present, they might oppose. Such an observation I also had in Zechariah and in the 118th Psalm. It is said concerning Judah that: 'let the devil stand at his right hand.' And concerning 'Joshua the high priest, the great...'

Regarding Josedech: 'the devil stood at his right hand to oppose him' (Zechariah 3:1). And see that for both Judah and Jesus the priest, the great, the purest and holy, the devil stood at the right hand. But concerning Jesus it is said: 'to oppose him.' He stood in order that, being positioned against his right side, he might wage war against him, because he performs practical matters on the right and has such a disposition. But regarding Judah, it is not so. The right side of Judah was already seized. He gave a standing to the devil in these things. And here 'they stood opposite.' For this reason they drew near, in order that they might harm and trouble.

12 And those near to me stood from a distance. There are two kinds of friends; there are two dispositions of those near. When former enemies become pretended friends and flatterers, in order that they might oppose, they do this. And so that I may take from the Pastoral teaching the catechetical meaning, I say: two angels are with the man, and the one suggests evil things, and the other good things, and one is of righteousness, and the other of unrighteousness. If, therefore, the one of unrighteousness becomes near, the one suggesting evil, the good angel is distanced, as soon as he draws near to him, this evil one opposes; for the opposites, the good and the bad, do not coexist; for the evil acts when the good is at hand. If, moreover, this is said in the person of the Savior, he is able to say: my former friends, my sons, whom I begot and raised up, have become distant by having rejected me. But those from the Gentiles having believed and become friends, are besides near and 'opposite to me,' instead of 'against my person'; for we no longer take 'opposite' as 'positioned against,' but as being alongside, in addition.

13 And those seeking the soul were forcing their way, and seeking evils, they spoke vanities to me. No one of those loving my soul forces it, but draws near or becomes one with it. But the others...

The Meaning of Muteness and the Timing of Rebuke§166

166They are driven and, seeking evils against the one who is being driven, they speak vanity; It is nothing but vanity, offering no profit or insight into the truth. For all the evil things, the trivial things, and the transient things are vain, and they are things seen and easily dismissed and easily described and perishing. It is necessary to seek the soul profitably. But to those who approach 'the evils' against 'those seeking my soul and being driven,' it is evident that they are trivial. He who seeks to bring the sinning soul to repentance and guide the one who has strayed from the truth back to it., seeks the soul praiseworthily and profitably. For the Savior indeed 'has come to seek and to save the lost' (Luke 19:10). He, seeking the soul, seeks in order that he might lead it into salvation, so that he might restore it according to its former state. Just as therefore the Savior does this through instruction and through contributing to the good, so also the disciples and angels and men of the Savior do this. And none of these, seeking the soul, speaks vanity, and none seeks evils against it, but good and profitable things.

And they practiced craftiness all the day. They practiced crookedness all their life; for how should they not have practiced? They had 'crooked thoughts which separate from God' (Wisdom 1:3), and their heart had become crooked and stumbling, which the holy man avoids having, saying: 'a stumbling heart has not clung to me.' He who has crooked thoughts practices crookedness all the day, with works and thoughts in accordance with his crooked thoughts. These indeed are the crooked thoughts cast into the soul by the devil; For it has been said: 'a serpent, a dragon, is crooked.' Thus, he becomes crooked. It has also been said carelessly in others: 'all the crooked things shall be for straightness.' The crookedness receives straightness when it casts away the crookedness. But he who practices this all the day has also crooked works, a crooked choice, and a diverted disposition.

And I, as if deaf, did not hear, and as if mute, did not speak. He lets out praise of himself. The one repenting, if the devil casts into him evil or crooked thoughts, let him be as if a deaf man were not hearing, let him not understand them, let him not provide to them the hearing of the inner man, but let him be thus as if mute, as if deaf, not opening...

The mouth is closed. Here, 'mute' does not mean one who has lost his hearing, but one who does not speak; for often, especially according to the Scripture, this meaning lies regarding speech: 'after the demon had gone out,' he says, 'the mute man spoke.' He did not say, 'the mute man heard.' Yet I do not say that this word does not also mean one deprived of his hearing. It signifies both.

Again, God to Moses saying, 'I am slow of speech and heavy of tongue,' said: 'Who gave speech to man, and who has made the hard-of-speech or the mute, the seeing and the blind?' (Exodus 4:11). Here, 'mute' can lie regarding speech or regarding the loss of hearing. And the phrase, 'after the demon went out, the mute man spoke,' means a mute one who does not have vocal organs, one who does not have an active tongue.

'I became like a man not hearing and not having a rebuke in his mouth.' This says: I have not become a man who does not hear, but 'like a man not hearing.' I did not accept the words and the announcements of the deceitful, even though I was able to rebuke them. Knowing that rebukes are not brought against such a person at the right time, as if one were not able to rebuke him, the word shows that both rebukes and contradictions ought to happen at the right time. And we take the 'right time' from the object and the one being argued with. Just as food given at the right time benefits and nourishes, but offered at the wrong time harms more.

'Do not rebuke evildoers, so that they may not hate you' (Proverbs 9:8). The word teaches not to avoid being hated by the wicked, but says this: rebuke, so that you may be useful. Approaching to rebuke not at the right time—for 'there is a rebuke that is not beautiful'—does not benefit the one being rebuked, but rather makes him even more wicked, as to hate the one rebuking. 'Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you' (Proverbs 9:8). If the wise man being rebuked loves the one bringing the rebuke, it is clear that the one who hates the rebuke is wicked.

It has also been said elsewhere: 'He will not love the uninstructed the ones rebuking him, but with the wise he will not converse.' The uninstructed does not love at all those rebuking him, but the wise man intends this. Nothing of what the wise man says is added to the evil man who hates those rebuking.

The Duty of Rebuking and the Silence of the Soul§167

167Regarding 'rebuke'—it is said in a double sense; often one is unable to rebuke.

One lacks such boldness or such power of speech as to rebuke, and so pretends not to hear.

For example, a heretic is present, speaking atheistic doctrines and heretical opinions.

If we are unable to rebuke the things said by him, we are called 'men who do not hear,' for rather than benefiting, hearing such conversations causes agitation.

For it has been said: 'Bad conversations corrupt good morals.'

If anyone possessing a good character knows this—that he cannot stand against bad conversations—he is not obliged to provide his hearing, but rather to become as if deaf.

Another, possessing the ability to rebuke the most shameful conversations, does not do this when he knows that it is not at all effective to rebuke him in that way; for it was said that just as foods are administered medically at the right time, so also are the aids to the soul.

Such things are aids to the soul, for instance: 'rebuke, reprove, encourage.'

When you have made manifest through rebuking the one sinning, reprove.

When you have reproved again, having performed the reproof sufficiently, encourage.

Let the aids to the soul follow one another.

It is not for anyone by chance to know these, but for the one who understands the medicine of the soul. 'For in you, Lord, I have hoped; You will hear me, Lord my God' (Psalm 38:15).

Since I hoped in You, You will hear me.

I am confident that all things that are possible for him to be present with me, shall be present.

Therefore, being confident in You, the Greater One, and the One who knows how to rebuke and whom it is necessary to rebuke, I kept silent, as if I had become deaf, not having rebukes in my mouth.

And thus it must be said: 'Since I hoped in You, You will hear me'; for having become deaf and mute toward him and not having rebukes in my mouth, I cried out toward You in my mind.

So it seems to have happened also in the Exodus of Moses, when Pharaoh violently pursued them with all his power and his army, and the Hebrews were in a certain way hemmed in so as to be even less able to cross over.

The army of Pharaoh and the tyrant himself pursued; the Hebrews, 'the sons of Israel,' were being pursued.

Some were armed, bringing all manner of equipment and military, cavalry, and infantry power, while the others were naked in their hands.

They were hemmed in on every side, with no way of escape.

For this reason I was silent and became as deaf and as having no reproofs, lest, if I dared these things, becoming stronger, they rejoice over me; they shall mock against me.

For this reason the apostle also says:

do not do this, 'lest Satan rejoice over you because of your guilelessness'.

He then rejoices over the one being harmed.

'I will exalt you, O Lord, for you upheld me, and did not gladden my enemies over me' (Psalm 30:1).

For if you had not upheld me, they would have rejoiced, not rightly nor in the fitting manner exalting you.

And in other places he says:

'Rejoice not over me, my enemy, for I have fallen' (Mic 7:8);

'and I shall rise'.

You rejoice over my fall, but know that I shall rise.

When then I stand, your joy turns into mourning, and the mocking songs turn into lamentations.

'And when my feet were shaken, they boasted against me' (Psalm 38:16).

If even a trembling of my feet occurs, against me [...].

Resilience in Discipline and Repentance§168

168They are being greatly shaken. And he is able to say these things because: 'My heart was troubled within me, and my strength has failed me, and the light of my eyes is no longer with me' (Ps 38:10), my feet were slipped, but they did not fall. For such things happen to those who are most penitent, and it is to be learned from another psalm: 'How good is God to Israel, to those of an upright heart. But my feet were shaken but a little, my steps were spilled out a little, because I zealously pursued the lawless ones' (Psalm 73:1-3). It is the countenance of one repenting.

It is not being announced by the one repenting as a countenance from the disposition of one pretending to repent; rather, he knew that 'as good is the God of Israel to those of an upright heart' (Psalm 73:1) He does what He does. And I, the uncertain limit—who otherwise introduces the penitent—must be slipped but a little and fall. And I say an apostolic accompaniment to this: 'We know that the law is spiritual' (Rom 7:14)—we, the perfect, the disciples of the Spirit, those having received the divine and spiritual law. 'But I am flesh, sold under sin' (Rom 7:14). It is not the one knowing that the law is spiritual who is flesh, sold under sin; for he was separating himself from those things. 'We know that the law is spiritual,' he says generally concerning the saints. 'But I am flesh, sold under sin.'

And many doctrines this very brief expression subverts: 'I am flesh'; not by nature, nor am I such by construction, but 'having been sold under sin.' For he who is sold under a certain master in order to become so is not fleshly by nature; for his state has become such through an action. And here: 'How good is God to Israel, to those of an upright heart. But my feet were shaken but a little' (Psalm 73:1-2), makes the soul manifest. And this 'but a little' shows that he is not entirely slipped. For he who says: 'I was slaughtered but a little,' shows that he was not slaughtered. 'My steps were spilled out a little' (Psalm 73:2). I was running well, I was walking as was necessary, I was taking steps straightly. But these were spilled out only a little. And it is spilled out when the runner is startled and turns toward the rear. And from this very word, observe: 'Take me up to a high, sandy place.' I have seen the branch of my feet...

They magnified me as if I were a fallen corpse, speaking words of pride. One might say in another way: 'Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, because I have fallen; I shall stand up.' But he who speaks now says I did not fall at all, but only my feet were shaken; for if one who falls stands up and leaves the enemy's triumph, he is much more than one who never fell. It is easier to stand and steady the feet when one is shaken than to rise up having fallen. Therefore, if the difficult thing happens, the easy thing is much more quickly established.

For I am ready for lashes. Even if I am in motion and my strength has left me and the light of my eyes is not with me and my feet were shaken, I am ready for lashes; for I do not refuse to be lashed by you, as one whom you discipline as a beloved son. 'Do not slight the Lord's discipline; for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He lashes every son whom He receives' (Heb 12:5-6). Since therefore I am a son, even if I have shared in the cause of lashes myself, I refuse to be magnified by them, that is, their treating me as one being overturned. But I am ready to be lashed by you.

And my pain is before me always. I suffer because I have become entirely among those who bring rebukes, those who bring lashes. He who grieves the 'godly sorrow that brings repentance unto salvation' (2 Cor 7:10) has this pain added to himself always. Just as one who has a dead person and wails over him, weeping as much as he sees him, so the one who has come into the bringing of lashes wails and weeps as much as he sees them, and has this pain added to himself always. Let us say, for example, if someone has become ill with an incurable disease; from the pain of this disease, he has pain added to it. If a physician or the help of God describes the cause of the pain as the disease, he immediately casts away the pain and says, 'You have turned my mourning into joy for me' (Psalm 30:11). And he says, 'The Lord has heard and has had mercy on me' (Psalm 30:10). And so that I may speak more clearly: Lazarus, the brother of those around Mary and Martha, died, and in as long as he was in death, those there grieved and wailed as much as those who had come to entreat me to weep with them (John 11). But when he said, 'Lazarus, come out!' and the mourning was cast away, no longer...

The struggle against sin and unjust hatred§169

169They were suffering. Indeed, they were performing thanksgivings and drinking together when he said, and 'Lazarus was one of those reclining' (John 12:2). As far as I have the causes of the pain, I have it continually added to me. If, therefore, you, having heard, offer a helpful secondary remedy like the lashes in a useful way, once healed, I will no longer suffer.

19 For I will proclaim my lawlessness. He says this: by proclaiming my lawlessness, I do not hide the pain; for always remembering and going through it, having the pain, that I have become in it. And I do not proclaim it only so much as to want to find the one healing it. 'I will care' indeed 'about my sin.' Not everyone sinning cares about his sin. Cain sinned and he heard: 'Have you sinned? Be silent.' If he had been silent, I would have cared about his sin, how he might cast it away and no longer let it act, no longer being persuaded to be according to it. 19 And I will care about my sin. Here, lawlessness and sin can be said in parallel. Concerning this, John writes in the epistle attributed to him, saying: 'Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness' (1 John 3:4). Therefore, 'I will care' 'about my lawlessness' being sin. For I proclaim it, I do not hide it, I do not wait for what is from without to convict me, I do not wait for another to say to me: 'You are in sin and lawlessness.' It was said to us that: 'his righteous one,' he says, 'is an accuser in the first instance; as when the adversary brings a charge, he is convicted.' And we took that; he says: 'say you the sins first, so that you may be justified.' Do not wait for the accuser. One must be an accuser in his own first instance; for if this happens, then he is ashamed, since you cared about your sin, how you might no longer act it.

20 And my enemies live and are prevailing against me. For this reason I call upon you as a helper; for this reason I have made myself compliant toward being scourged by you. Since, therefore, from the

To sin and to have lawlessness—'they live and are held fast against me' (Psalm 38:19)—for they nourish my wickedness; therefore, do what I ask of me: 'I am anxious' (Psalm 38:18) 'concerning my sin.' Therefore, strike me, bring near strenuous helps, so that I may be healed; for then the rest become weaker than me, they are crushed under my feet; for Jesus alone is able to crush Satan under the feet of the saints. And again: 'And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet quickly' (Rom 16:20). As long as neither he nor those after him is being crushed, they live.

20 And those hating me unjustly were multiplied (Psalm 38:19). However, great is the praise that he hated not justly. For instance, if someone were to hate someone as if he were proud when he is not proud, but also entirely blind, he hates him unjustly. The elders who rose up against Susanna hated her because they did not find her fault. This hatred is unjust. Egypt hated Joseph. This hatred is unjust.

21 They beset me, because they persecuted righteousness. I did not harm them; for no one is 'justly pursuing the righteous' (Deuteronomy 16:20) and persecuting righteousness—the 'persecuted' here does not mean to pursue in a hating way, but to pursue after, as it signifies. Just as if one says: 'Seek peace and pursue it' (Ps 34:14).

21 And the beloved cast me off as if a dead thing to be loathed. I worked good things for them, and it was necessary for them to receive good from me instead of good. But 'evils' 'instead of good' they provide to me, being unfeeling, as they are of the evil ones; and in what disposition I am toward them, I am such as not rejoicing in their evils, but loving them and desiring to make them outside of the evils. The beloved of me, whom it was necessary to love, they rejected as a dead thing to be loathed, as if they were fleeing from me, a stinking corpse. And it is also good to say 'the beloved,' not 'the one being loved'; for he hated. 22 Do not abandon me, Lord; my God, do not turn away from me. Even if they themselves have abandoned me...

The Tongue as the Beginning of Sin and Virtue§170

170Not because 'righteousness has persecuted me' Ps 22:19, but do not forsake me, do not become distant from me. God forsakes someone when they are worthy to suffer grievous things. I do not say this to mean that He tests them with grievous things; He is not not-forsaking, but when one, having grievous things, is defeated and cast down, then You do not forsake me, if You do not depart from me. I have clung to You; I have become one spirit toward You. When one clings to the Lord, and the Lord to him. 'My soul has clung to You behind You' Ps 63:8.

Cry out for my help, O Lord of my salvation Ps 27:7. You stand away from me if I sin, not if I am hated unjustly, nor even if some magnify themselves against me. And You are Lord and God of my salvation. But salvation does not touch the flesh, nor is it found regarding external things, but regarding the soul itself. This is the said eternal salvation; for it 'became'—the Christ, clearly—'eternal salvation to all those obeying Him.' The flesh's 'eternal salvation', which doctors bring to it, or that which a pilot saves for those sailing, is not eternal; for these will soon die again. But the salvation of God is eternal; He is their salvation.

ways so as not to sin in my tongue. This is one of the Psalms. In Ezra and in the Book of the Remaining, there is a memory of each name of those being submitted. And this, then, is one of them, or perhaps he himself composed the psalm, or received it from David and proclaimed it. And it is the work of the Psalms to say their psalms, both those they themselves composed and those others arranged.

This, then, is a victory song. Often the sinner is troubled by these things, but after conquering and trampling him and taking him under hand, the psalmist sends back the song; for no one sings a victory song while still warring and being warred against, but in the having conquered. Likewise, Moses and all the Jewish multitude did not say a victory song when they were against Pharaoh, but when they saw him become a drowning man: 'Let us sing to the Lord, for gloriously He has been glorified; He has cast horse and rider into the sea' Ex 15:1. When the horse and its rider were cast into the sea, and Pharaoh's chariots and the power of the...

God cast the Red Sea into the sea, and then a victorious song was appropriately sent up. And David says in the seventy-first psalm: 'In the day when he rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, then he said: I will love you, O Lord my strength' (Psalm 18:1), and all the rest which the song contains. It is a prayer before the war and in the war, but a victorious hymn and song after the destruction of the war, after capturing the enemies.

I said: 'I will guard my ways so as not to sin in my tongue' (Psalm 39:1). For almost every practical sin has its beginning in the word. Regarding the young man whom the prostitute—who is personified in the proverbs, that is, being a woman or a false glory or a deception starting from words—is able to ensnare: for it is said, 'She led him astray with much intercourse' or enticement, and 'with the nooses through the lips she hollowed him out' (Proverbs 7:21/7). And behold, the word has become the beginning of sin. And the elders, indeed, those remaining according to Sophronius, started a word toward her.

If, therefore, someone does not sin in the tongue, he guards the ways well; for he said that the beginning of these ways is the word. And from the opposite of all good works, the word is the beginning. But he does not speak only about those ways; he added, 'so as not to sin in my tongue' (Psalm 39:1). Yet sinning in the tongue is not the same as saying, 'My tongue will meditate on your righteousness' (Psalm 35:28). 'The beginning of your words is truth' (Ps 119:160). The cause of saying your words is your truth; I will make this manifest if I know it. Therefore, upon the virtues and the well-flowing ways, truth is the beginning, the cause. But upon the forbidden ways, from which it is necessary to guard oneself and from which it is proper to turn away, the word is the beginning, as has already been said.

I set a guard upon my mouth (Psalm 39:1). Remember how he said 'not to sin in the tongue': 'I set a guard upon my mouth.' Since 'from the words someone is justified and from his words he is condemned' (Matt 12:37), it is necessary for the mouth to place a guard, so that I may say the good things and not the bad, that we may speak the profitable things and be silent about the harmful ones; for no one is able at once to bring forth words that both justify and condemn. Something like this is said with an enigma in the proverbs: 'Death and life are in the hand of the tongue' (Prov 18:21). And the 'hand' of the 'tongue' is the word.

Wisdom in Silence and the Renewal of Sorrow§171

171The activity of the tongue. He who speaks what is beneficial and leads into the kingdom of life has life in the tongue. But he who speaks the opposite and the forbidden things has death in his own word called a 'tongue'. And in another scripture it says: 'With your words make a balance and a weight' (Sirach 28:25). It is necessary to speak having weighed; it is necessary to have a balance and to cast the words upon each scale. And if the upright words are found to be balanced, it is proper to choose those and to proclaim them, but to turn away from the bad ones.

Again it is said: 'The lips of the wise are taught by perception' (Proverbs 15:7). When someone speaks having perceived, the lips are taught, not opening them to every word, but to what is beneficial. 'I will open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise' (Ps 51:14). He who has the taught lips, having perceived that what he intends to speak is beneficial, opened them. But when they harm what is being uttered, he closes and binds the lips with perception; he binds the word.

'In the standing of the sinner against me, I was made deaf and humbled, and I kept silence for the sake of good things' (Psalm 39:1-2). Often appearing, the sinner provokes and is called out to the things pleasing to him. If, therefore, he ever stands against us, it is our part to make him stand; for if we do not give him a place, he is not able to stand. But to stand in this way is to stand in battle. It is necessary to be silent; for he often provokes; because the serpent, having stood against Eve, provoked her word and harmed her. It was necessary to be silent, having received perception of her own weakness or of the sin that had come before, not to speak anything to her, but to keep silence for the sake of good things.

And the 'keeping silence for the sake of good things' does not say 'not to speak the good things', but to have a silence made wise from the good things. For example, having taken up virtue, a prudent man knew that he must not respond out of the good, that is, out of prudence. I kept silence toward the standing revealed and provoking toward sin. If, therefore, that young man had been responding to nothing from right understanding toward the harlot, he would not have 'been led astray by much association' (Proverbs 7:21) nor 'been enticed by the morsels of his lips' (Proverbs 7:21). I kept silence, therefore, when the good things had come upon me, persuading me not to respond to him. He does not say: 'I kept silence so as not to speak the good things', but 'so as not to speak the provoking things'. And this silence has become to me from...

The wisdom of the good things which hinders such a conversation. "He is found wise while being silent." He who thus remains silent is found wise. And it is indeed wisdom to know to whom one must speak and to whom one must not, and when to bring forward words and when not. "He is therefore found wise while being silent, and he is silent, for he has no answer." And this man possesses a certain quietness of mind; for having known that he has no answer, he keeps peace. "And he is wise, being silent, knowing the right time." This man is perfect.

And "my sorrow was renewed" (Psalm 39:2). Then the sorrow is renewed when the sinner stands in reflection upon what he has done, upon which it is necessary to grieve. And just as the sorrow received a renewal, renewal is to dwell in a house at first. A renewal, therefore, is to lead that which has already withered and is silent into flowering. "My sorrow" therefore "was renewed." Having said, "I kept my ways not to sin with my tongue" (Psalm 39:1), I knew that I had sinned. Therefore "my sorrow was renewed." And it is blessed for one who has sinned to experience a renewal of sorrow and not of pleasure; for he who rejoices over what he has done and brings those things back into the midst again, renews the sin. But he who grieves, having perceived that it is necessary to guard the ways and not to sin with the tongue, renews the sorrow, weeping and grieving, "working the sorrow according to God, which is repentance." In this, he grieves entirely in the recognizing that it has entirely happened in such matters.

"My heart was warmed within me" (Psalm 39:3). One may say: my heart has received heat just as warmth, and from the renewal of sorrow. And one may also say this: because I seized myself intensely and I am being consumed and I weep aloud the sorrow, "my heart was warmed," it has become fiery. "In" indeed "my practice, a fire burned up" (Psalm 39:3), consuming and making me ash; for they were hay and wood and other things. I have this consuming fire not only in the being perfected, but also in my practicing the sorrow. And the "within me" is also good. The heart becomes hot so that the heat spreads even to the outside. Those, indeed, who are burning with passion do not have a heart warmed within, but, having spread to the outside, they have the state of one being pressed. It is as if it were said: "I was troubled and I did not speak."

The Number of Days and Enlightenments§172

172Having experienced a disturbance in thought or in reasoning, and having done nothing according to that disturbance of thoughts, nor even having spoken, he possesses the state of having been disturbed and not having spoken. Such a person has within him a heart having been warmed. 'And in my meditation fire shall be kindled' (Psalm 39:3). My inner self. And thus for each of us, two men have stood, One is outside, the other inside. Therefore, when a disturbance arises in the soul and does not transfer the disturbance to the outer man, but keeps it within so as to recognize it and weep over it, he has within him a heart having been warmed, not in order to act, but in order not to act. 'In my meditation the fire burns.' In others, by voice and by action and by thought, a fire burns, consuming them, burning them. 'Their heart was warmed like a fiery furnace.' Here the meditation is like a fire that has burned, with something to burn beneath. And the meditation and the heat of the Holy Spirit is the all-consuming, which comes to pass by the blowing Spirit. Therefore the fire burns in order that it may act, not in order that it may harm and consume. 'Was not our heart burning within us while he opened to us the Scriptures?' (Lk 24:32). This burning is to be praised. And observe also regarding manufactured things: some are heated in order that they may be reshaped and become a vessel, gold or silver. But if wood or something else is set on fire, the heat is harmful.

'I spoke in a tongue.' Even if I did not let it become outward, but it remained within me, through a burning from meditation it made itself for me, and so I spoke in a tongue: 'Make known to me, Lord, my end' (Psalm 39:4). From my own tongue I said this; for the tongue as shaped by its owner is this: for example, the temperate man, speaking the things of temperance, speaks in his own tongue, the tongue of the temperate man, not that of a human deceiver. And the one desiring to learn his own end and to offer his life to God, in my tongue, not in the tongue of a deceitful man, but I, desiring to know my end, spoke in a tongue. This my word is not a counterfeit. When a hypocrite speaks concerning temperance while not being temperate, he does not speak in his own tongue. But the temperate man, when he delivers discourses concerning temperance, speaks in the tongue of the temperate man. No hypocrite, therefore, speaks in the natural tongue, but in the counterfeit tongue. The wolf, when he [is...]

Begging like a sheep to enter Christ's flock, he speaks not in his own tongue, but imitates the voice of the sheep, so that, meeting like with like, he might harm. 'Make known to me, Lord, my end and the number of my days, what it is' (Psalm 39:4). Observe how the one saying this is a repentant person. 'Help me to guard my ways, to set a guard over my mouth' (Psalm 39:1). When the sinner stood against me and was provoking, I received good in my mind from the experience of not speaking to him.

This is therefore what I say; since I saw myself lacking much—for I had only just begun to progress—'Make known to me, Lord, my end,' so that I might know how much time of life remains to me, if it is sufficient for completion and fulfillment. Thus also another was saying: 'Declare to me the brevity of my days; do not bring me back in the midst of my days' (Psalm 102:24). In a certain way, I am in the midst of the days that come from the Holy Light. Do not then bring me back in such a way. Therefore, fulfill my days.

But God fulfills the days of some not by providing an increase of them; for when it is said, 'I will fill him with length of days' concerning the righteous, we do not say that he makes him many-years. There are also impious people who have lived many years. 'And the number of my days' (Psalm 39:4). It is also possible to say 'the number of my days' meaning: you have enlightened me much, I have become composed of days; for each enlightenment is a day. Therefore, reveal to me the number of my enlightenments, so that I might know what I lack.

As if someone, having taken up a desire for art or science, lest he should have a perfect knowledge of his education, says: 'Reveal to me what are the luminous things of science, so that I might know what I have and what I lack.' It is blessed to have things, works, and thoughts that are countable, those worthy of being numbered. Regarding the prostitute, it is indeed said: 'They are countless, whom you have slain' (Proverbs 7:26). This does not necessarily mean that they are infinite, but that they are not worthy of being numbered. They do not exist in any word or number. So that I might know what I lack. If I learn the number of my days and my end, until when it is reached, I recognize in what things I lack, which are the things I have not yet learned. Therefore, those making a desire for science...

The Meanings of Hypostasis and Substance§173

173More completely, they say the insights grasped by them are to be taught at the same time as the beginning, so that they may also know what they lack, and take up a desire to succeed and recover.

"Behold, I have made my days into wrestling matches."

The former reading, this more common one, is: "I have made my days into old wrestling matches."

I am not young or a newborn, not having begun to live just now, but "I have made my days into old wrestling matches."

And this must be said: that which approaches always makes old that which has passed.

Thus also laws grow old.

Therefore he says: the old days which I had, when I lived as a man of old, have grown old and have departed; I have clothed myself in the new.

But the one at hand will say: "Behold, I have become an old man.

Make known to me the end, when I shall die."

"Behold, I have made my days into wrestling matches."

Since the name "wrestler" is homonymous—meaning also the one contending in the arena, and also indicating a certain measure—it is possible to take it both ways.

He says: "I have made my days into wrestling in the arena"; for we always have those who fight against us.

At times human temptation comes and fights and wears out human passions, and at other times evil powers; for "our wrestling is not against blood and flesh"—for us, but for others, yes—"but against the principalities, against the powers" (Ephesians 6:12).

In order that this may be, "I have made my days into wrestling matches."

And it can also be said by measure: as toward the age of the ages, the days which I live hold the character of a wrestler.

And just as he says that all the nations are many things, "a drop from a bucket"—as toward the bucket of rational drops all the nations are—and "a weight on a scale"—until the weight tips and oscillates, not so as to pull the scale plate down—as toward the magnitude of the aging and the length of the days, which the one capable of living well endures:

"the one loving" (Exodus 20:12) "his father and his mother shall be long-lived."

And this is not yet found according to the literal word.

And my hypostasis is as nothing before you (Psalm 39:5).

The name of hypostasis signifies many things.

Regarding the present, there is a need for two meanings.

Sometimes essence is called hypostasis; for instance, when the Son is called the 'character of the divine hypostasis' (cf. Heb 1:3), meaning the divine essence and existence.

Hypostasis is also called perfect endurance, by which someone stands firm against hardships.

Thus he speaks in both senses: 'the essence of my soul is nothing before you' (Psalm 39:5), as if toward you a certain great essence.

And saying that it ought to be perfect according to you, the Father, I diminished it.

And that this is so, he says concerning some: 'Children of Zion, the honored, adorned with gold and silver, how they became earthen vessels?'

(2 Tim 2:20).

Behold, their essence was diminished.

It is clearly necessary to take this: they have become earthen vessels.

The gold, being reviled, is diminished and falls far short of its own value.

He who does not realize the honor coming to him from God 'is compared to the mindless cattle' (Ps 49:20), and his hypostasis, through poverty, was considered nothing.

And since it also signifies endurance, he says: even if I endured desiring to see my end and I entreat you that you make this known to me, yet my endurance is not something brief in this way toward you.

Moreover, all things are vanity, every living man (Psalm 39:5).

This must be known in two ways: all things are vanity through man, as the Preacher has clearly interpreted.

Regarding the things that have ascended above and are perfect and truly eternal, the hypostasis is vain, except 'every living man.'

Thus it is possible to say: even if all other things apart from man are vanity, such as mortal animals, the transient things, even if they are soulless, man alone is living, living according to that life which they live according to Abraham; for 'God is not of the dead, but of the living' (Mk 12:27).

And the man who lives according to the human standard is himself vain.

Therefore, it must be distinguished thus: all these things are vanity; for even if they were mortal, having died.

Treasuring in Heaven vs. Earth§174

174They are no longer. But the man is living. Even if he should die, he still lives. Or in this way: a man living who does not become outside of human life is himself vanity; so that it is thus: 'except all things are vanity and every living man' (Psalm 39:5). Or in this way: 'except all things are vanity, but the man is living'. Beyond this: the essence? Even if the man lives differently than a mortal would live, in view of the excellence and the greatness of the divine life and of God himself, the fountain of life, he is nothing.

The small things and the things no smaller than small are said in relation to something. And the small does not have a limited amount; for it is said in reference to the greater. We say, for instance, that the wrestler is greater than the boxer. Indeed, you have in categories a small mountain and a large gulf. 'But indeed, a man wanders in an image' (Psalm 39:6). I said that he speaks about the others besides the man, saying that 'all is vanity'. Only the man is living. And he has more than the others. He has an immortal soul.

However, even if he is living, he does not always have this motion; 'but indeed', for he says, 'a man wanders in an image' (Psalm 39:6). He did not say whether he wanders in praise or in mockery; but however anyone wanders, however he acts, he is in some image. Taking it more generally, it is to be said that it is either of the heavenly or of the earthly. And it is shown from such a word that the man is self-determining; for if he were good by construction, he would always wander in the heavenly, if he were evil by essence, in the earthly.

And it is possible to divide these general images into kinds. And I say that one is in the image of a fox, another in the image of a lion, and a certain mare becoming a horse carrying another image, and another in the image of a dove, except 'in an image every man wanders'. 'But indeed, a man wanders in an image' (Psalm 39:6), except vainly they are troubled. But the worthless are vainly troubled. 'Except vainly they are troubled'. And he therefore speaks of the vain trouble, because this striving concerning human things is such. For instance, he 'stores up' 'and does not know to whom he gathers them' (Psalm 39:6). He stores up and does not know to whom he gathers them. In Ecclesiastes it was clearly said that: 'he does not know whether he will be wise' (Eccl 2:19), the successor of those who are.

His words 'or fools'. And often what one has treasured, he leaves behind. Sometimes, as a year passes, he falls away into other things. Therefore, it is not necessary to be anxious about treasuring in this way; for 'lawless treasures will not profit, but righteousness rescues from death' (Proverbs 10:2). Therefore, the righteousness that rescues from death and from every other evil is to be treasured. This wealth is treasured in heaven.

'Do not treasure for yourselves treasures on earth, but treasure treasures in heaven' (Matt 6:19-21); because where the treasure is, there also the mind is, which is called the 'heart'. It is to be treasured in heaven so that we may have the mind there, and one should refrain from treasuring on earth, so that we may not have the intellect there. It is said concerning some: 'those treasuring injustice and misery in their lands'.

The man, therefore, wandering in an image, treasuring, did not know to whom he was bringing them; for it is unclear to him what he will bequeath. Therefore, the diligent one hears to treasure in the heavens. He has wealth set aside in good works. This is also what Paul writes to Timothy: 'command the rich of this age not to be high-minded concerning wealth, but in God, who provides all things' (1 Tim 6:17).

It must also be said concerning false wealth, such as the heretical opinion of the dogmas of the atheists. And he who treasures these things did not know to whom he was bringing them. But he leaves them to another; for until the present life, he holds the promise of 'the pseudonymous knowledge' (1 Tim 6:20); for when the truth shines forth, it is dissolved and vanishes.

And what about 'only in an image'?—even if every man is living, he is not living without transgression in the praiseworthy living. For if he had remained in the true image, the first, according to which he was created, he would not have been troubled, nor would he have treasured in vain. But indeed, even if he has become living, he wanders in an image; and not altogether in the first, but rather wandering in an image; for never can the rational animal be able to act outside of acting according to reason. And acting, he acts either praiseworthily or falsely, thinking and doing certain things and certain others.

And what about 'but in vain they are troubled'?—it has often already been said to us that these changes occur in such a way. When they do not guard this image according to which they have become, they are a multitude of the vain.

The Discipline of Correction and the Escape from Punishment§175

175They are being disturbed.

When he signifies the life of man, he says, 'every man lives' (Psalm 39:5), and 'yet a man wanders in an image'—not in the same one, but because the images are diverse, and especially because many are false and deceptive, many are being disturbed.

And now, what is my stability?

Is it not the Lord?

Regarding others, the things spoken have been said.

But as for myself, I say: 'What is my stability?

Is it not the Lord?'

(Psalm 40:17; LXX 39:17) I do not wait for another.

And just as 'wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification become' those who participate, so also stability becomes to the one waiting, the Lord himself.

And my hypostasis is with you.

Concerning the Lord, he says that his stability is.

But toward the Lord, who is, he says his hypostasis is: 'and my hypostasis is with you' (Psalm 39:7).

It is possible to call hypostasis here the strength by which one is able to stand, because, with you cooperating and being my stability, I stand against all things.

And the 'hypostasis from you' is a praise to me.

And it is possible to say hypostasis instead of essence.

And my hypostasis of the rational soul, of the rational animal, is with you; for you have given me a soul; from you I have the soul, not beginning from seeds, not being composed according to an opinion like the Stoic school, but 'my hypostasis is from you' (Psalm 39:7).

Save me from all my lawlessness (Psalm 39:8).

Not from some, but 'from all,' so that I may become outside of every false image.

A reproach of foolishness you have given me (Psalm 39:8).

From the beginning we said that the whole psalm bears the face of one repenting and progressing.

It is a trivial thing to be reproached by a righteous man, but to be praised by a fool.

For the fool indeed reproaches regarding good works and with zeal.

For this reason, even in proverbs, as if there were no difference, reproaches are mentioned: 'Do not acquire the reproach of evil men' (Proverbs 3:31); for he did not say at all, 'Do not acquire reproach,' but 'of evil men.'

Do not reproach regarding triviality; for there are those being reproached regarding good things.

To the well-known, Jesus says: 'Rejoice and be glad when they reproach you' (Matt 5:11).

This kind of reproach is not to be rejected; for it is good and will lead into the kingdom of heaven.

But the reproaches of evil men are to be fled from.

I was made mute and I did not open my mouth (Psalm 39:9).

Who is the foolish reproacher, or he is the sinner who stands against him, as...

"He became mute and did not open his mouth"?

And here again the same thing is signified: "I became mute and did not open my mouth."

He did not answer him regarding what he reproaches.

This is often said by another power, as the apostle teaches this, saying: "Reprove not a contentious man for one exhortation" (Titus 3:10).

Do not open the mouth to him at all.

But so that you may have a defense and a word to say about yourself, "I have done this by myself," exhort him.

If he does not submit to the exhortation, or "and a second"—for some manuscripts have "and a second"—overthrow him, "knowing that he sins."

One who is "self-condemning" should not be set against.

10–11 For you are the one who made me, turn away your whips from me.

Do not lash me; for I am your handiwork.

"But he lashes every son whom he receives" (Heb 12:6), having it clear through which he is lashed.

Therefore, leave these things to me; grant me a remission, for in this way I shall no longer be lashed.

Now I am still liable for the lashings.

278 Therefore, he who has placed the Most High as his refuge (Psalm 91:9) has no approaching evils nor a whip approaching his tent.

Make me therefore such that I am no longer liable for the lashings; turn away the thing that punishes me.

Since therefore I say, "Deliver me from all my iniquities" (Psalm 39:8), when you deliver me, I am no longer liable for punishment.

He was lashing him in a certain way even through the thoughtless man, and says that the reproaches of the thoughtless are the lashes.

Unless God delivers, one is not able even by opposing that which has not been delivered.

11 From the strength of your hand I have failed (Ps 31:9).

The strength of your hand, the educational one, the striking one, the one subjecting to pains, presses upon me.

Since therefore it has become strong against me, I have failed.

I cast away my former life, I left my former state; for I did not fail so as to no longer exist, or to become weak, but so as to fail the state preparing to punish me.

"I have failed."

I, saying these things, confessing, saying, "You have given me reproach through thoughtlessness," have failed, having become outside of my former state.

It is possible to fail praiseworthily, and it is possible to fail shamefully.

"And Esau came from the field, leaving behind" (Gen 25:29), when he desired to eat a meal.

The "leaving behind" here is instead of "having grown weak" and "longing for food."

It is said often...

The distinction between fleshly, psychic, and spiritual states§176

176spiritual

If one attempts things that are different—and one is true and the other is false—one knows from the attempt at opposites which is true and which is false. Indeed, the true itself appears by the showing of the false, because knowledge is of the opposites.

"And you searched out his soul like a spider" (Psalm 39:11). You searched out his soul like a spider, his soul according to which he is psychic. Concerning someone bad it is said, "he was carried by the desires of his soul." When someone reshapes things from the soul, let it be said, as if they were prophecies or as if they were doctrines of piety, "he is carried by the desires of the soul"; he is not carried by the Holy Spirit.

In another book I have stated the difference: that man is fleshly, he who fights in the flesh, he who follows the desires of the flesh, he who is driven by the flesh, he who has become fleshly and is driven by sin. But a man is spiritual who has ascended above the psychic state, when he carries everything by the Holy Spirit and by God-bearing, doing and practicing them. And psychic is he who is neither fleshly nor spiritual.

And perhaps all the wise of the world are such. They think themselves self-sufficient according to the movements and thoughts of their own souls. And because of this they do not receive the things of the Spirit; for they prefer their own and think their own understanding to be great, they do not receive the foolishness of the Spirit, regarding it as such. And indeed there are certain heresies established in their entirety, both among the Greeks and among the Christians, which say that allegories are foolishnesses, they are mere fabrications. And they say that the theorems concerning the intelligible are false, since they think all things to be bodies and sensible.

These, therefore, are psychic men, not receiving the things of the Spirit, regarding themselves as self-sufficient and capable of contemplating all things by themselves. His soul, then, such a soul—not the essence, but the state according to which it is a soul—you searched out like a spider. And the spider is very weak, as it is said, "they weave a spider's web; their web shall not be a garment" (Isaiah 59:5-6). The fragility of the construction of the animal...

Prayer vs Petition and the Tears of Repentance§177

177Regarding the one called a spider, he says there is an extension of the soul. When the soul is stretched out, this extension occurs for its own benefit; for the spider-like quality is weak in it, and moreover it is shown to be an external evil. Therefore, you have examined the soul of this man as a spider, he who is being reproved under accusations for lawlessness.

12 Moreover, every man is tossed about in vain. All men who are outside the instruction of God and the reproofs are tossed about in vain. But this one, even if he is tossed about while being reproved, even if his soul is stretched out like a spider, he does not suffer this in vain; for he receives a change toward better things. But if anyone were such a bare man, not being under instruction, not being under reproofs, he is tossed about in vain according to what was said previously: 'Indeed, man wanders in an image, but they are tossed about in vain' (Psalm 39:6). He who does not wish to be tossed about, but has tranquility, becomes God, having received the word of God; for 'he called those gods, those to whom the word of God came' (John 10:35). And these are not tossed about in vain, but even if it happens that they slip or a passion occurs, they say: 'I was tossed about and I did not speak.' Their tossing stands only until passion.

Furthermore: do they toss about from themselves? — At times they toss about from themselves, at other times from those encountering them. 13 Hear, O Lord, my prayer and my supplication. It seems there is something else that is the supplication of the prayer. He sends up a supplication, the one who has known himself to be begging and lacking, so that he may be filled. But the one praying has this form as well, yet at times asks for the existence of good things from above. The one asking from God to receive something, that is, what he does not have, asks to receive it, or what he has, so that it may remain with him. Primarily this is prayer; it is a request sent up along with the one theologizing, the one wishing, to whom the prayer is sent up. When he says: 'Lord our God, give us peace, for you gave us all things' (Isaiah 26:12). 'The prayer of Habakkuk the prophet.'

He said: 'Lord, I have heard your voice and was astounded. Let him be known in the midst of two living creatures; when the years approach, he shall not be known' (Habakkuk 3:2). Behold, this is a prayer. When one asks for only those things which he lacks while being in need, it is a petition, being sent back like a wish. It is also possible to take it this way: those asking for more bodily things petition, such as health, wealth, and the others, as being in need, and many times they are worthy to receive these. But he who desires to have fullness, says: 'The prayer of Habakkuk the prophet: Lord, I have heard your voice and was astounded. Let him be known in the midst of two living creatures; when the years approach, he shall not be known' (Habakkuk 3:2). Behold, this is a prayer.

'Lord our God, give us peace, for you have given us all things' (Isaiah 26:12). Since even as one lacking, I ask that something might be given to me—for I am still at the peak of childhood—listen to my petition. But since I am about to come by chance to those things of which I am lacking, having become full, I ask for greater things; I ask for heavenly things and I say: 'Our Father who is in the heavens, hallowed be your name' (Matthew 6:9)—not as one lacking does he ask this. 'Let your kingdom come' (Matthew 6:10). Make it come. Then it comes, so that God may reign according to our energy.

Unite them with my tears. Seeing myself lacking, I weep, making that 'godly sorrow working repentance unto salvation' (2 Corinthians 7:10), regarding which I say: 'I will wash my bed every night, with my tears I will wet my couch.' And since he who is lacking perfection and the extremity of virtue—again he pours himself out saying: 'We who dwell in the tent groan' (2 Corinthians 5:4), and again: 'I have poured out my tears before you according to your promise'—you see: 'as in the promise I have poured out my tears.' What tears are these, or those of the ones weeping so that they might laugh? For 'blessed' are 'those who weep now, that they may laugh' (Luke 6:21). These placed the tears as in the promise, so that they might laugh, so that they might be filled with joy.

The Meaning of Non-Existence and the Patient Psalmist§178

178unspoken and glorified. 'Do not disregard me, for I am a sojourner in this land.'

Do not disregard me while I am praying, entreating, weeping, and bearing tears—such things as 'those who sow in joy shall reap.'

Therefore, 'do not disregard me,' but having responded, give what I have requested; for disregard sometimes signifies delay and patience, and sometimes indeed patience, when it occurs regarding sins: 'having done these things, I remained silent' (Psalm 50:21), instead of 'I have not repaid you.'

If I were an inhabitant, I would not have dared to ask and to pray.

For the inhabitants are those responsible for wickedness and impiety.

For it is said in Jeremiah: 'from the face of the north shall the evils be burned upon those inhabiting the land' (Jeremiah 1:14), not 'upon those sojourning.'

And in the Revelation of John, it is said three times: 'woe, woe, woe upon those inhabiting the land' (Revelation 8:13).

If I were, therefore, an inhabitant, I would not have said, 'do not disregard me.'

And I am a stranger just as all my fathers were.

The sojourner and the stranger are one and the same.

For Paul, having made a list of all those who were well-pleasing through faith in the Epistle to the Hebrews, called them sojourners and strangers (Hebrews 11:13).

None of them is an inhabitant, none is a native, but a stranger.

He has come from elsewhere into this place; he was not born here.

Therefore, all the fathers according to virtue were sojourners in the land and strangers, such as the patriarchs and others who produced according to divine instruction, such as prophets, teachers, and lawgivers.

Refresh me, so that I may find refreshment before I depart and no longer exist.

Here, refreshment is called praiseworthy, being equivalent to 'delighting in the Lord.' 'I found refreshment for myself,' says Ephrem.

And that refreshment is a slight thing.

One refreshes praiseworthily when he enjoys virtue, when he 'delights in the Lord,' when he perceives and receives the understanding of the 'paradise of delight.'

Since, therefore, much is lacking to me—for this is why I send up a petition, so that I may be filled of the things lacking—for this also he said at the beginning of the Psalm: 'Lord, make known to me my end and the number of my days, what it is, so that I may know what I lack' (Psalm 39:4).

When he knows the things that are lacking and acquires these, he finds refreshment through such possessions.

Therefore, he says: refresh me to remain in this life, so that having been instructed, I may be refreshed...

I shall refresh myself before I depart from this life and no longer exist.

He does not say, 'I shall not begin to be,' but rather, 'I shall be such a person as I desire to be'; for the soul does not move into non-existence.

Listen, accordingly, to what is said to people: one must take the words in their proper sense.

If the righteous man or the wise man says according to God, 'I strive for all things so that I may become rich' (cf. Prov 28:20), do not take what is said to mean material wealth.

But if someone else were a rhetorician or a physician—and this one is therefore a holy wise man—he says, 'I have no other endurance except the Lord and the hypostasis from him.'

Thus, if this wise man says, 'Let me live most hopefully in this only life, so that I may refresh myself having eaten and drunk according to: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die' (1 Corinthians 15:32), one must take the refreshment appropriately to the person, both the 'let me' and the 'no longer to be.'

He who says this is immortal.

Therefore, if he says, 'I shall no longer be,' he does not say, 'I move into complete destruction, I turn into non-existence,' but rather, 'I shall no longer be in the way that I desired to have been.'

If a sinner says, 'Admonish me, discipline me, so that I may no longer be'—for it is not so that he may move into complete destruction.

1–2 unto the end; the Psalm of David: 'Waiting, I waited upon the Lord, and He attended to me' (Ps 40:1).

The preceding Psalm could have been spoken by any saint who has lived his life with patience and magnanimity, and by the Lord's man; for the Apostle, taking words from it, has set forth in the Epistle to the Hebrews concerning Christ those things having been said.

This is the whole: 'A sacrifice and an offering You did not desire' (Heb 10:5), until: 'It is written about me in the head of a book' (Ps 40:7).

And the Psalm is single-personed.

The same person who began announces and sings until the end of the Psalm.

He therefore says thankfully to God: 'Waiting, I waited upon the Lord, and He heard my prayer.'

The 'waiting, I waited' has such a meaning as if someone were to say, 'I healed medically, I wrote grammatically.'

They are waiting, not in a manner of mere waiting, but either through much insensitivity or sometimes through ambition.

For the Apostle says: 'I will not deliver my body so that I may boast' (1 Corinthians 13:3), because of praise.

The Soul's Descent and Christ's Identification with Human Misery§179

179He does not merely say 'having endured, I remained' as if to please the body and soul; rather, he endured with knowledge and as was necessary, not to receive a prize, glory, or praise from men. To endure thus is to say, as I might say, 'I acted wisely according to wisdom.' It was said in the preceding psalm that God is the endurance of the righteous: 'And now, what is my endurance? Is it not the Lord?' (Psalm 39:7). He who bears the heavy things falling upon him through this endurance says, 'Having endured, I remained with the Lord.' He bore the heavy things with an enduring disposition, for many, as I have said, bear the heavy things for some other reason. God is therefore the endurance of the holy. And in Jeremiah it is indeed said: 'A throne of glory rising, our holiness, endurance of Israel, Lord of Israel' (Jeremiah 17:12). He who is therefore established according to this endurance and is named from it says, 'Having endured, I remained with the Lord,' speaking as a slave. He who serves God calls him 'Lord' through his deeds, his mindsets, and his words. This one says, 'In the Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus'; for not everyone who calls Jesus Lord does so in this Spirit, but hypocrites indeed do this. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord' (Matthew 7:21-23), and what does he say to them? 'I never knew you.' I never knew you having served me. And again: 'Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?' (Luke 6:46). Therefore, he who calls Jesus thus Lord, doing the will of his Father in heaven, is the one who calls him 'in the Holy Spirit' Lord. The voice is therefore that of a slave.

And he heard my prayer. Being in distress, I cried out, and God, attending to my prayer, has fulfilled these things. For I 'having endured, I remained' obeyed the commandment concerning which the Savior said, 'He who endures to the end, this one will be saved' (Matthew 24:13). The 'I remained' is a state of having come to rest. And what kind of face did the Lord have? For we have not spoken out of necessity. If, then, you take it from the face of the Savior—for it has become a matter of pre-passion, it has not become a matter of passions—Jesus 'began to be amazed and distressed' (Mark 14:33). Such things happened to him until the beginning. We do not say that pre-passion occurs without disturbance; for we do not say that anyone other than the Trinity is without disturbance.

For the soul, which Jesus took up, is something other than the Trinity; it is of a nature to receive passion and the beginning of being terrified and distressed. And I say according to the apostles: 'Instead of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising shame' (Heb 12:2). If it had not become a victor in passion, it would not have been a feat or a contest.

Furthermore: the 'pay attention to me' is instead of 'he sighed'. And he brought me up out of the pit of misery and from the clay of matter. If each of the saints says this, 'the pit of misery' refers to the place concerning the earth; for a pit is a place where the waters falling from above gather. Often, in the divine writings, both the place concerning the earth and Hades are signified by this name; for when in the twenty-ninth Psalm it is said according to the man: 'You have saved me from those going down into the pit' (Psalm 30:3), I do not myself go down into a pit. Because of others, I have been there. No one else brought me down.

Moreover, this appears more clearly from: 'I was counted among those going down into the pit; I became as a helpless man among the dead, yet free' (Psalm 88:4). I am not one of those being led into the pit, but I 'was counted'. I counted myself among those. Therefore, I 'became' 'as a helpless man'. Not being helpless, he became as helpless; for when the Jews came to seize him, if he had not delivered himself, they would not have been able to take him. If he is 'free among the dead', he is not one of those becoming members of Hades by nature through choice and action, but he counted himself into this.

Therefore, he 'brought me up' 'from the pit of misery'. He who humbled his own body and enslaved it, and while still walking upon the earth, having acquired his citizenship in the heavens, he was lifted up from the pit of misery and from the clay of matter. And now indeed he was lifted up in power from the world and from matter and from the clay, from which the clay body has sailed. 'And God formed man from dust from the earth' (Gen 2:7). And even Job says: 'Remember that you formed me of clay' (Job 10:9). And Jesus will also say this according to the man: I have become into the pit of misery, I was counted, so that I might free them from misery and from the clay of matter; for because of them, I have become into the clay of matter.

The New Song and the Hope of the Lord§180

180When this corruptible body is changed into incorruption, it is no longer held by the surrounding mud and distress, but has been rescued from these things. 'And he set my feet upon a rock.' Let this be said generally concerning the righteous. Regarding 'rock,' let the unbroken and indivisible Word of God be heard in these matters, which no storm or tempest moves. Often, indeed, the memory of a rock becomes a memorial of the holy words, not capable of being grasped by sensation; for when the saint says thankfully to God, 'Lift me up on a rock,' he does not say, 'He placed me suspended on a sensible rock,' but upon the unbroken and indivisible Word.

Paul interpreted this rock and said who it is, that it is Christ: 'for they drank from a spiritual following rock, and the rock was Christ' (1 Cor 10:4). And again this same hymnographer says with other things: 'their strong ones laid down the rock they were carrying.' Those of the Egyptians, approaching the rock, were seen as nothing. And just as 'Aaron's rod overcame the rods' (Exod 7:12) of the Egyptians who were singing, that is, he conquered them. When therefore it is said, 'Death is swallowed up' (1 Cor 15:54), 'Israel is swallowed up.' When those who think themselves strong—sophists, certain contentious men, or even evil spirits—approach the rock, they are swallowed up, proving themselves to be nothing.

Upon this rock, Christ, whom the approaching strong ones of the Egyptians are swallowed up by, the feet of the one being benefited stand, to be saved from shaking and tempest and having enemies. Endurance is produced. He does not always suffer these things when he is in the pit of distress, when he is in the mud of matter; endurance is produced. But he does not always suffer these things. When he comes out of these, the end of endurance having been received, the feet of the one having been benefited stand, therefore, upon the said rock. 'And he directed my steps' (Psalm 40:2). And see how the Word leads us far into the history. No one standing walks, no one walking stands. When someone is therefore made firm according to Christ so as to be able to say, 'Who shall separate us from the love of God?' (Rom 8:35), his steps have directed paths; for he always hastens toward the higher things, toward the heavenly, being directed by God.

The steps of the runner: for it is 'not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy' (Romans 9:16). And he cast into my mouth a new song (Psalm 40:3). 'Into the mouth' of the inner man, that is, into my word. 'A new song': often for us... regarding the new, how it is said. That which is uninterrupted is always new, while that which has been succeeded is old. And through many examples it has often been demonstrated.

A hymn to our God. He who was lifted up from the aforementioned circumstances of the pit of misery and the mire of matter obtained an uninterrupted victory. The victory of the uninterrupted is a new triumph. What is this new song? It explains: it is a 'hymn' 'to our God.' When we hymn God, when we receive His praise, as far as possible, becoming in perfection, we sing a new song; for that which is in perfection is uninterrupted. Therefore also the hymn which is sent up to God thankfully within it is a new song.

Many shall see and shall be afraid and shall hope in the Lord (Psalm 40:3). 'Many shall see,' having seen me lifted up from the pit of misery and from the mire of matter, and having my feet established upon the rock, and my steps being directed, and me singing and hymning; 'and they shall be afraid' so that they too might come into such a guidance, 'and they shall hope' so that they too might attain these things which already exist for me.

Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord (Psalm 40:4). David once had a single combat against Goliath and did not hope in a shield. You see that the name of the Lord has become his hope. And it is said regarding the Lord being signified by hope—and there is no other hope than the expectation of good things—that often some say of things already existing, 'my hope.' The wealthy indeed say 'my hope,' not regarding what is expected, but what is already present. And therefore, those who already possess the name of the Lord consider it to be hope.

And he did not look toward vanities and false delusions. He who looks toward the Lord does not look toward vanities and false delusions. He does not look toward wealth, nor toward greatness of body, nor toward military might, nor toward any other of those things which are able to fail. And 'delusions' are called 'false,' the divinations. They are...

The Distinction Between Human and Divine Thought§181

181And indeed these manias are not false; for instance, those receiving God or those receiving Christ are god-bearers, and these manias are not false but true, instead of being 'repressed.'

For if they were not also true manias, he would not have said: 'he who has had a false hope regarding madness' (Psalm 40:4).

The Phrygian party, not having been ignorant of how these things are said, understanding both the meaning of madness and of ecstasy, call the spirit-bearing men as having spoken in ecstasy or having prophesied.

And they speak truly regarding ecstasy, but not regarding derangement or insanity.

If indeed Paul says: 'whether we have gone out of our minds, it is to God' (2 Corinthians 5:13), he is not speaking of madness, but of standing outside of human limits and having given.

And this word is also said regarding wonder: 'And after these things the sons of Israel will turn back and will seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will be astonished at the Lord and in His good things' (Hosea 3:5).

He signifies wonder here.

'You have done many things, Lord my God, Your wonders' (Psalm 40:5).

Having been tested by the doing of the things spoken, since he did not merely enjoy these good things, but was drawn to them since childhood—and so indeed His anointing while being a child has happened paradoxically, and he says: 'You have done many things, Lord my God, Your wonders.'

Many and great things are, 'and with Your thoughts' (Psalm 40:5), according to which You do wonders, 'no one shall be like You.'

No one is able to do such wonders; no one is able to bring someone out of the pit of misery and from the filth of material things and set his feet upon a rock and direct his steps and the other things.

the statement 'there is no one who shall be like' if said in reference to the Father, does not speak concerning the Son; for none of the begotten can be like the Father.

But the Son is not to be compared; for He is eternal, the icon and exact imprint of the divine hypostasis.

There is not...

Him; for he is like.

Regarding: the 'thoughts'?

Thoughts are primarily called the thoughts concerning each individual thing.

Just as the act of reasoning is a conversation of the soul, and it is not possible to say many things at once, so also the thoughts concerning each individual thing are called thoughts.

A logical place is given for asking whether knowing is the same as reasoning, and it has been said that they are not the same; for there are many things known without reasoning, and many things reasoned about without being known, so that knowing is not the same as reasoning.

One is able to grasp a concept of a whole genus and of a whole species.

But to know each individual thing, each being reasoned about by itself, it is not possible to do all at once.

Regarding: so that the reasoning is upon sensation?

But it is upon the individual things being reasoned about.

Just as it is not possible to say many things at once while knowing many things, since the intellect is a kind of speech of the soul, it is not possible to reason about many things at once.

God, therefore, has such thoughts that He knows all things at once, yet in a different way than men; for in Isaiah He said: 'As the heavens are far from the earth, so are your thoughts from my thought' (Isaiah 55:9).

He wished to show the superiority of His own intellect through a sensory example; for His intellect has not stayed away from the intellect of men locally, but by a greatness of superiority.

And with your thoughts no one shall be like.

No one is like the thoughts of God.

Just as you would say: 'No one shall be like the creation of God.'

For even if they were creators among men, they do not construct the underlying matter of the things coming into being.

For example, if a craftsman makes a bed or a throne, he does not make the wood by his art.

He only imposes the end upon the previously taken matter.

But God, not finding matter, imposes the form upon it, but rather composes it with the form.

I have declared and I have spoken, they were multiplied beyond...

The Spiritual Sacrifice and the Fulfillment of Scripture§182

182Regarding number.

You know that if we do not conceive something as necessary and do not desire to report it to another, how can we ever say 'thus and thus', when we know that we have not sat down to say what we intended?

And this one therefore says: 'I have reported and I have spoken'.

Since none of your thoughts is like 'I have reported and I have spoken'.

It can also be taken this way: 'I have reported' according to the intention, according to the thought, and 'I have spoken' perceptibly according to the utterance; for first it is necessary to conceive, then thus to speak.

Regarding the statement 'They were increased beyond number' —these thoughts, which no one can match.e can match. You did not desire sacrifice and offering.

Therefore he says: 'He brought me up out of the pit of misery and out of the mire of filth, having set my feet upon a rock, having directed my steps' (Ps 40:2).

How much it was necessary to sacrifice and to offer as a burnt offering to God regarding these Christological words and the even greater benefits!

But you did not desire the perceptible burnt offerings, the bodily sacrifices from the slaughter of animals and others, the shadowy ones. 'A body he has prepared for me' (Ps 40:6).

Instead of these, the apostle has interpreted that this body is the logical and bloodless sacrifice.

When therefore a greater sacrifice is found, then he no longer wants the former; they are no longer desired by him.

Let not the words of the Diimorites trouble you; for they say: 'Do you see that it is a body'? —for the one saying 'a body he has prepared for me', this he says as 'only'; for even one having a perfect man has a body, but not only.

And I said the psalm was one-personed from the beginning; for from the beginning to the end the same speaking person has entered.

Just as he said here: 'but a body he has prepared for me', and in the following he says: 'those seeking my soul, let them seek it'.

Behold, he has a soul also, behold, he has a body also.

And since the passage refers to perceptible sacrifices superseded by the Spirit, he spoke of the new sacrifice.

It is not the soul that becomes the sacrifice according to this meaning, but the body.

And it is also good that it is not 'he prepared', but himself 'he has prepared', 'the Holy Spirit having come upon' Mary 'and the power of the Most High having overshadowed her' (Lk 1:35).

Because of this, you no longer desired those sacrifices and offerings, since 'a body he has prepared for me' which is to be offered on behalf of all.

And this can be said: because of this, he th...

You did not desire a physical sacrifice and offering, since I have prepared for us a body, which we are able to perform as a sacred rite and sacrifice to you; 'I urge you through mercies to present your bodies as a logical sacrifice' (Rom 12:1).

In other interpretations it is said: 'And you have prepared ears for me.'

One interpreter says this: since you did not desire a sensory sacrifice and offering, 'you have prepared ears for me,' through which I hear those things concerning the things made manifest by the sensory, such as the intellectual sacrifice of understanding: 'sacrifice to God a sacrifice of understanding.'

Furthermore, if you call me to a lecture, you no longer seek sensory things being performed, so that what is said might be like: 'The Lord's instruction opens my ears' (Isaiah 50:5).

An unmusical man does not have ears for hearing musical words.

And another of the interpreters said: 'You have dug out ears for me,' since you removed their dullness, you removed that which obstructs hearing.

Furthermore: regarding Jesus, how do we receive him? —I said that the 196 allegories are not smoothed out to match the histories.

And often I omitted the matter of Abraham and the two women.

I said to you that the soul of Jesus is not an unshakeable essence.

It is of the same kind as the others, and everything it has that is good, it has from the Word of God.

Since therefore it also has the ability to hear well, it has that from the Savior.

It surpasses the temple in which it is housed.

7 You did not seek burnt offerings and things concerning sin.

Nor did you seek, nor did you still delight in the things of the shadow. 'What multitude of your sacrifices to me is there?

I am full.

I do not want the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of lambs' (Isaiah 1:11).

8 Then he said: 'Behold, I have come' (Psalm 40:7).

Then I, for whom a body was prepared, said: 'Behold, I have come,' instead of saying: since the purpose of his coming is this, to receive the end of the shadow, so that sacrifices and burnt offerings are no longer brought, I have come, in order to fulfill the sacrifice by becoming a burnt offering.

8 It has been written in a heading of a book concerning me.

The heading of a book is called 'all inspired Scripture'; for the main point of the Scripture is the life rule of life concerning Christ.

According to a second account, let it also be said concerning others; for if the coming were not about to happen, the old writings would not have prefigured the Gospel.

Furthermore: was this written during the Pentateuch? —He says every Scripture is a book, whose heading is the end for which the writings are given, which is salvation, the coming.

Furthermore: the Genesis...

Opposition of Wills and Spiritual Food§183

183Therefore, was the world foretold for this reason? So that He might bring the generation of the world to its completion through humans, and after this generation of humans, so that the visit might take placeLamb' is 'of God, who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:29). Regarding the saying that Adam transgressed 'through disobedience' and the Savior 'through obedience' is justified (Rom 5:19), it is not making a comparison concerning the Savior, who is a type of the one to come, since Adam himself 'is a type of the one to come'; 'this great mystery, which I say refers to Christ and the Church' (Eph 5:32).

But since it is not entirely, es a book upon the hand of God, and says: 'take it and eat, and your belly shall be filled' (Ezek 3:3). 'And I ate', he says, 'and it became sweetness in my belly'. And he says: 'this book is written within and without' (Ezek 3:3). According to the spiritual and intelligible things it is written within, according to the sensible and manifest things without. But the wise man understands both and finds harmony between the symbols and the realities.

And in Isaiah he says again: 'and these words shall be as the words of the book of the sealed, if they give it to a man knowing letters, saying: take, read. He says: I cannot, for it is sealed' (Isa 29:11). And the illiterate man says: 'I do not know letters'. He was asking whether it differed if it were sealed or not sealed. And we take again the inspired Scripture, the one knowing letters but unable to read because of the sealed book representing the circumcised people, and the one not knowing letters being from the Gentiles.

'To do, O God, your will I have desired' (Ps 40:8). Therefore 'I said: behold, I have come' (Heb 10:7), since the will was desired to do your will after you did not desire me for sacrifice and offering. Those who hold false doctrines concerning Christ say that there are different wills; for even here he says: 'I have come, I desire to do your will', in the Gospel: 'I have descended from heaven not to do human will, but the will of him who sent me' (John 6:38). Therefore, concerning those saying that there are two wills, we say that: the different wills occur either according to more or less or...

In opposition. The one progressing in virtue desires righteousness, and the one perfected does too, and the will of the perfected is not the same as that of the one progressing or the one being led in. For there becomes either a multitude or a duality of wills according to the more and the less, and it also happens in opposition, when one chooses good things and another evil, and one wills to be saved and another to sin. Therefore, such a will as this, to approach the Son having opposition, is the extreme of impiety.

Furthermore, I also direct this toward the Manichaeans. One must act toward these: the will of the Savior is found to be good; for he says, having come down from heaven, 'that I might do the will of God' (John 6:38). And to do the will of God is good. And again: 'The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost' (Luke 19:10). And again: 'If you wish, you are able to cleanse me' (Mark 1:40). If this is the will of the Son, he wills all things that are beneficial. But since the will of the Father is being opposite to him, I leave it to you to consider. If it is found according to the more and the less in wills and in disposition, then both the Father and the Son will have a disposition, that is, a way of acting, and the Father is no longer without body, nor is the essence without connection. Nor is it to be said according to the more and the less, nor in opposition; for the will of the Son is demonstrated to be good. Yet it is not right according to God to say, however, that this is his will, to perfect the will of the Father. It is not right according to God to say this. Nor is it opposite, nor according to the more and the less. Therefore, one must take these things regarding the man.

And 'your law in the midst of my belly' (Psalm 40:8). It is spiritual food containing itself in the belly of the inner man. And the law, which is evident everywhere, is spiritual food; for it is not sensible food. This belly is often praised, and in the psalm: 'From the fear of you in the belly we have received' (Psalm 40:8). And just as this belly receives in the belly from the divine spirit—which is the fear of God—so also it receives divine food into itself. No longer desiring your sacrifice or offering or burnt offerings, having the spiritual law as food. I have evangelized righteousness in a great church. 'Great church' is the one of the...

The Union of Truth and Mercy§184

184Consisting of great things, concerning which Paul says, 'we speak wisdom among the perfect' (1 Cor 2:6), so that the sum of these is a 'great church.' This is not the righteousness according to the law, about which the apostle says, 'having become blameless in the righteousness of the law' (Philippians 3:6). This then righteousness I preached to the great church; for if the letter and the shadow were not preached to the great ones, but to infants.

But what kind of righteousness? —about which the Savior was saying, 'unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees' (Matt 5:20), is this not according to the shadow? Therefore yours—of the disciples—the Savior says, let the righteousness exceed theirs. And he says that theirs was with ignorance. Because of this, let us not be ignorant of the righteousness of God, but let us preach it.

10 Behold, my lips I will not restrain. 'Lips' here means the word. Often when he is called to say something to small and imperfect men, we restrain our lips; we do not have them released, but we descend with them, we speak cryptically, we speak proverbially, and our lips are restrained. But when to the perfect and a great church, since he does not restrain his lips, since he does not hinder them from speaking anything. And it is possible also to say this: as the psalmist says: 'and in his law he will meditate day and night' (Ps 1:2). He never restrains his lips, always bringing forth the words of God. And the 'always' hear it thus: as it is necessary and as it is fitting to do this; for even if he is silent, he speaks in his mind, and even while sleeping, when he sleeps as a righteous man, he does this with the word. And through silence, he remembers something good.

10–11 Lord, you have known my righteousness (Psalm 40:9). Since much of what is said has testified to himself—for 'to preach righteousness in a great church' is great and, so that I may say this, beyond man—he says to God: 'you have known my righteousness' (Psalm 40:9). This righteousness, which I announce, I possess and have practiced according to it. And if the psalm were even speaking about the man of the Savior, that: since he did not know sin, but the sin that has come to be, it is productive of righteousness. And this is also possible: even if some, being ignorant, speak blasphemy against me, but you know my righteousness. As also Susanna said: 'you know that...'

What false things testify against me? I have not hidden your truth in my heart. He who has known the righteousness of God does not hide the truth joined to it in his heart. Truth is called joined to righteousness when it says: 'Truth has risen from the earth, and righteousness has stooped from heaven' (Ps 85:11). Regarding the Savior, he says righteousness is stooping from heaven; for he says: 'He bent the heaven and came down.' And 'risen from the earth' means having reached the end of the visitation. But it can also be understood thus: when from the earth, that good and beautiful soul has risen after having heard the word and having been fruitful. Therefore righteousness stoops from heaven. And in another psalm he says: 'Mercy and truth met, righteousness and peace kissed' (Ps 85:10). Those who read histories find that wars and disturbances arise from unrighteousness. But truth has the mercy of God; for if God does not show mercy, no one is able to know the truth, how much and what it is. Therefore 'mercy and truth met.' And mercy is also possible, such as he who loves his neighbor as himself is merciful to his neighbor and himself requires the same mercy from him; for indeed the truth is made manifest. Just as righteousness leads peace, so also the mercy of truth. Moreover, both are one and the same. If then Jesus and his words are ashamed, his truth is ashamed. 'And I have spoken my salvation' (Psalm 40:10). The confession of the truth is my salvation. If he also says the truth concerning Christ, he again says Christ is the salvation, and 'I have spoken my salvation and revealed your truth.' I speak of the salvation being the Christ whom I make manifest. 'I have not hidden your mercy and your truth from a great assembly' (Psalm 40:10). We say that mercy is joined to the truth. And 'a great assembly' means those from the Gentiles who have believed, having been gathered from all the Gentiles. And the wise man says this, and Jesus also according to the man. 'And you, Lord, do not distance your mercies from me' (Psalm 40:10). I have come to your mercies, blamelessly and as is necessary. Do not therefore distance them, so that I may remain such. 'Let the mercy quickly overtake us...'

The text ends abruptly with a fragment of a quote.

The Lawlessness of the Inner Man§185

185“Your mercies, Lord, for we have become extremely poor” (Psalm 79:8). If the mercies are lengthened, poverty occurs. He who is guarded from that from which the mercies did not lengthen is rich; and he is rich in having received the truth and mercy. “Your mercy and your truth have taken hold of me continually” (Psalm 40:11). Your mercy and your truth have taken hold of me, the one in need. “Do not lengthen” therefore “your mercies” (Psalm 40:11), so that your truth, being taken hold of, and the mercy joined with it, might remain thus.

“For evils surround me, of which there is no number” (Psalm 40:12). For this reason, “do not lengthen your mercies from me” (Psalm 40:11), because many evils surround me, not falling under number, that is, because of multitude—if the heavy things are signified, because of multitude they do not have a number. But if the other evils, the practical ones about which it is said, “a fool does evils in laughter” (Proverbs 10:23), they are not in any word or number; for they are not of things that exist, they are thoughts of men, transgressions of divine laws. Therefore, take the double meaning of the evils.

“My iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see” (Psalm 40:12). And it is also possible to take it thus: “for evils surround me” (Psalm 40:12) not falling under number—as has been said now, in two ways—for this reason: “for my iniquities have overtaken me” (Psalm 40:12). But from another beginning it is to be read, joining the “for evils surround me” (Psalm 40:12) to “but you, Lord, do not lengthen your mercies from me” (Psalm 40:11), “for evils surround me, of which there is no number” (Psalm 40:12). Let both then be considered: “your mercy and your truth have taken hold of me continually” (Psalm 40:11). Here, therefore, he says this: he calls the habits iniquities, and the iniquities' powers are being brought under. “My iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see” (Psalm 40:12); for they are harmful to the eyes of the mind, providing blindness to the inner eye of man. Since, therefore, they have overtaken me, I am not able to see. And these habits can also be taken...

The previous explanation dealt with the active powers. And they themselves, having seized me, pursued and seized me by the hand, and because of this I am not able to see; for the lawlessnesses of the inner man are harmful to the eyes. They were multiplied beyond the hairs of my head (Psalm 40:12), and my heart has forsaken me (Psalm 40:12). If you wish, these sins, they seize one when someone falls by them and sins; for having suffered this, the intellect of the soul is harmed. And if also the active powers of them, they are often called similarly by the name of passion.

“And my heart has forsaken me” (Psalm 40:12). Since the lawlessnesses that seized me and removed my sight “were multiplied beyond the hairs of my head” (Psalm 40:12), “my heart has forsaken me” (Psalm 40:12), I no longer have the heart of a wise man; for the heart of the one saying these things is fleshy. When therefore the fleshy heart forsakes someone, it becomes stony.

“Be pleased, Lord, to save me” (Psalm 40:13). Since the lawlessnesses seized me and I am not able to see and they were multiplied beyond the hairs of my head (Ps 51:11), “be pleased to save me” (Ps 51:11), so that the heart may not remain forsaken. If the word was about these hairs of this head, he has spoken hyperbolically; for if lawlessnesses occur, they are not able to exceed the number of the hairs of the head. Therefore it is spoken hyperbolically.

But if not, he says this: for the hairs of my head—that is, the unfeeling movements that are not truly fitting to the mind—are hairs; for the unfeeling things in us are also hairs that touch. This therefore he says: having seized my lawlessnesses and being no longer able to see, the hairs of my head were multiplied, the things unfeelingly thought, the things thoughtlessly intended. Because of this my heart, the mind itself, has forsaken me. It is no longer my mind, being dragged down into sin. Lord, to help me.

The Poor Man's Cry and the Blessedness of Sharing§186

186Pay attention. For I ask you to be pleased to rescue me, not for the sake of another, but so that you might attend to helping me. And help me, if you make me outside of those ruling wars.

Those seeking my soul were greatly ashamed and were simultaneously ensnared. They were saying that the Psalm is about a single person. But if the one speaking is a man, he sends up a prayer concerning both, both for the body and for the soul. Therefore, if 'the Son of Man'—the Temple who has come forth from Mary—says these things, we shall say to those saying that only the body was taken: 'But He said, "He shall keep my body"'—see, even this He says, and it is the same person who is announcing it. Those who know the truth are turned back and are ashamed.

Those wishing evil upon me turned back toward the rear and were ensnared. It is a great thing to have turned the evil toward the rear; for to continue onward is harmful. Therefore, 'turning toward the rear' means 'they turned back' so as not to increase the road, not to rush forward. May those saying to me, 'Well done, well done,' be immediately clothed in shame. There is a wish regarding what he says, 'immediately,' that they may not remain in the evil, that they may not unceasingly say, 'Well done, well done, well done.' To say 'well done, well done' mockingly when something unpleasant is happening to those suffering is wrong.

May all those seeking you, O Lord, rejoice and be glad. Having spoken concerning the adversaries, so that they also might be ashamed and be ensnared and turn toward the rear, saying mockingly 'well done, well done,' he says: 'May all those seeking you, O Lord, rejoice and be glad.' Then we rejoice and are glad when, having sought, we find you; for he who seeks something rejoices and is glad when he finds it. Even if, therefore, troublesome or other harmful things come upon us, we seek to find you as a help. Then, appearing to be a help, you say: 'I will say while you are still speaking: Behold, I am here.'

And let them say at all times: Let the Lord be magnified. Since, having found you, they give thanks, saying, 'Let them say at all times: Let the Lord be magnified,' they might have those things for which they owe praise and rejoicing. It is possible to 'say at all times'; may ingratitude never exist for them. Those who love your salvation. The justice...

salvation, or the cause becoming salvation to them, or about to become salvation. 'Let the Lord be magnified always, let them say.' Loving your salvation, they magnify God always because of it.

18 But I am poor and needy; the Lord cares for me. Therefore I pray that your help may come to me and that you may be pleased to rescue me, because 'I am poor and needy.' I am not able to encourage myself, I am not able to do for myself from the outside regarding the things lying ahead, unless you help. 'Poor' therefore 'I am, and needy.' The difference between these two has been said at other times.

18 You are my helper and my protector; you are my God, do not delay. Since I have called you as a helper and a protector putting forth your shield for me—and this is the truth; for 'truth shall surround you as a weapon' (Psalm 91:4)—'do not delay,' lest the struggle become too much for my strength. When you know it is the right time to care, to help, and to rescue, let this happen; for as far as my power and my nature reach, I am weak to help myself, to do for myself regarding the impending evils.

290 1–2 To the end; a psalm of David. Blessed is he who shows compassion to the poor and needy. And many take this psalm from the person of the Savior because of the way words lying here are received in the Gospel as having been spoken by the Savior and having been done and seen concerning the Savior. 'Blessed,' he says, 'is he who shows compassion to the poor and needy.' And many have explained such things regarding the character of the act, saying: the needy and the poor are different; and he who shares with these ought, according to analogy, to practice sharing; for he acts with understanding. It is not necessary to feed all those who are in want. Nor is it the case of one lacking food because he previously sought it thoughtlessly—he indulged in drinking, and everything he had he consumed unseemly and foolishly—but rather one lacking because of sickness or because of much childhood dependency. It is therefore necessary to provide to each with understanding. If anyone does not have enough to give to all, he ought to do this with understanding to those to whom he is obligated to give; and if he is able, he should also become a benefactor to others, according to the Father in the heavens, who causes the sun to rise not only upon the good but also upon the evil (Matt 5:45).

The Body as a Bed of Suffering§187

187However, since one cannot satisfy everyone, let him do this with understanding. This can be understood regarding the Savior: for he 'became poor through us' 2 Cor 8:9 and not for the sake of another. 'He became poor through us' so that he might free us from poverty and turn us away from want. He says, 'the one who did not know sin, for our sake made sin' 2 Cor 5:21—this is his poverty—'so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.' Fragmentary text It was asked... it was not sustained. Even if sin occurred, it was not so that sin might remain, but so that he might free the... 'You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that being rich he became poor for us' 2 Cor 8:9. And the paradox is this: 'being rich' he is poor, and this poverty makes us rich, for it is a creative poverty. He is not poor at all, but in relation to his wealth.

2 In a day of evil the Lord will deliver him. He delivered Jesus 'in a day of evil' Matt 27:22-23, when those surrounding him were saying, 'Crucify, crucify him; we have no king but Caesar.' And it was also asked from that evil day, how he, having become sin, became a creator of righteousness. The name of understanding is taken for the sake of doing good to brothers in need; for the apostle says regarding an offering: 'Understand what I say; for God will give you understanding in all things' 1 Cor 12:8. And understanding is the knowledge of things joined together and things not joined together. Joined things are those that are similar, those that are equal, when we bring one thing to another and find that it has identity either by similarity or by equality. The one, therefore, having understanding, knows which things are joined to which and which are not.

3 The Lord will preserve him and let him live and make him blessed in the land. This can be said of both: the Lord preserves the poor and the needy. For this reason he also led the one understanding into himself. Where has it ever been said: when you see a suffering person and one who has arrived suddenly under another pretext, look there for a physician; see that the word of the divine providence has touched the physician, a compassionate physician, so that, sympathizing with the sufferer, he might help him medically. But he blesses the poor and needy man and makes him live in the land, or the one understanding and having received understanding upon...

The poor and the needy. If you speak concerning the Savior, you protect him and provide for him to live; for even though 'he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God' (2 Corinthians 13:4). Take 'in the earth' in a common sense.

And do not hand him over into the hands of his enemies. Such a person does not hand over 'into the hands of his enemies.' Such a person has many enemies, many who are attacking him; for he is a blessed man and has understanding toward the poor and the needy according to all the clarifications provided, and he has many enemies attacking him; for God will rescue him from their hands. But he who is given over to them is not rescued from the hand of those persecuting him.

The Lord will help him upon his bed of pain. Here, concerning the poor, he says: even if he should be upon a bed of sickness and such a thing should be painful to him, God helps him. Have the things said in the Gospels concerning the paralytics: one remained in a bed of pain for thirty-eight years, thrown down on a bed so as not to be able to be shaken or to rise up (John 5:5). And others like these were recorded in the Gospels as paralytics. But not everyone upon a bed of pain and sickness is rescued. For instance, one fell from the bed from on high and died.

But if toward a restoration, the body is often called the bed of the soul. And there are many scriptures gathered together for such a theory. When someone is in the corruptible body and dwells in the earth, he 'reaps a much-wise mind' (Wisdom 9:15), he is 'upon a bed of pain'; but when God helps him, he makes him to lift up the body and to carry it away, and he is no longer thrown down upon the body, but he himself afterwards lifts up the bed and walks. The body, therefore, is a bed.

The lover of pleasure, the lover of passion, the one accepting and doing the things of the body, suffers upon a bed, but God helps him and makes him healthy, so that, having become healthy, he may no longer be thrown down upon the bed himself, but he himself may carry it, and as they say, so that the soul may begin of the body. What then are those sixty powerful ones, who are received in blessing, who are around the bed? From Abraham to nineteen and from... these, therefore, are the sixty powerful ones concerning the body of...

Sin against God and the Enemies of the Savior§188

188Having served the Savior by his birth. It must be said thus: the world came into being in six days, and sixty is a perfect number, as it has been often demonstrated; for in tens, sixty-six is present. Therefore, he who surpassed the world and having gone above is able, being a 'man trained for war' (Song of Solomon 3:8), having a sword 'upon his thigh' (Song of Solomon 3:8). Concerning the bed of Solomon, these sixty are able, concerning the Lord's body, circling it, observing, by what cause the Savior was incarnated. 'Sixty' therefore are 'able around it, all holding a sword'. They are swords. And the swords which the wise hold are swords. 'The righteous shall rejoice in glory and shall exult in their throat' (Psalm 149:5-6), 'and a two-edged sword in their hands' (Song of Solomon 3:8). They have two-edged swords in their hands. And they also have it 'upon the thigh'.

And since the drama concerning the marriage of the bride and bridegroom is a bridal chamber, he says the temperate ones concerning the bridegroom, to show, and he says that they have a sword upon the thigh, cutting away shameful desires. 'You turned his whole bed in his sickness' (Psalm 41:3). This says: he did not give a brief healing to the one greatly sickened, but 'turned his whole bed' (Psalm 41:3) away from the sickness, so that he might no longer be sick, but might be healthy, as I said concerning the paralytic. And you also say concerning Lazarus, the one being drawn out having a body, that, when he was taken up from thence by the angels, his whole bed was turned, his whole sickness. He was no longer laid down in sickness. Instead, he was being carried into the bosom of Abraham.

'I said, Lord, have mercy on me' (Psalm 41:4). Instead, he says that: what was upon us was achieved, to be rescued from the bed of sickness and to be helped from the bed of pain; for I did this, 'I said, Lord, have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you' (Psalm 41:4). You see that, when he sinned, then he was in trouble and then he was laid upon a bed and a couch. When therefore anyone knows Him who is able to rescue, he will attain to the one who is striving, similarly to him: 'I want, be cleansed' (Mark 1:41), 'Rise, take up your bed and walk' (Mark 2:11). 'I' therefore 'said, Lord, have mercy' (Psalm 41:4). By saying: 'Lord, have mercy on me', I showed that I was not able to be pitied by myself. I healed.

I have sinned against you, I have sinned against you. In this way, almost all of us sin toward God, knowing much about Him through ignorance and doing much contrary to His laws. 'I have sinned' is thus 'against you'; but having said, 'Lord, have mercy on me,' he possesses the petition.

My enemies said evil things to me: 'When will he die, and will his name be destroyed?' (Ps 54:1). I say that this psalm is to be spoken from the person of the Savior according to man. And since the Jews have become His enemies, like traitors to the truth, having not understood the one who came among them, and since Judas also became one of the disciples, regarding the enemies he speaks singularly of those having risen up against him—once in reference to Judas as the beginning of the betrayal, and once plurally because of those following him and having overthrown Jesus.

And it is not only here that this happens, but also in the 108th psalm it is said: 'They spoke against me with a deceitful tongue, and with words of hatred they surrounded me. Instead of loving me, they attacked me, but I was praying; and they set evil against me instead of good, and hatred instead of my love. Set the sinner upon him, and let the devil stand at his right hand' (Psalm 109:2-6; LXX 108:2-5)—this he says singularly concerning Judas—'in the judging of him, let him go out condemned, and let another take his oversight' (Psalm 109:8; LXX 108:8). Once therefore concerning Judas, and once concerning those who agreed with him, he speaks; and for this reason in the same verses where there is singular, there is plural.

And thus he says: 'My enemies said.' This they said: the evil things which they think are evil, they said against me: 'When will he die, and will his name be destroyed?' (Ps 54:1). For they thought that after the death of Jesus his teaching and his fame would be extinguished, and they said: 'When will he die?' On the contrary, it went the opposite of what they thought. His name did not shine forth less when he lived and was alive than when he was crucified and taken up. And for the correction of those of heterodox opinion, this is to be taken: for as many as do not think rightly, but are being deceived and say impious things concerning the Savior, they are the ones who spoke evil against him. And since there is a leader of the heresies, the false speaker, or even his slandering devil, through...

The Lawlessness of Judas§189

189He also speaks similarly regarding this matter. For, did the soul of the Savior sin? The soul of the Savior is the whole of the significant part, not when it sins. Just as we say 'God is man', so also 'the soul of Jesus'. At times we say the soul of Jesus, which is the one he received, and at other times the soul of Jesus, thus the one made his own, according to what is signified by the saying, 'All souls are mine'. And if all are the Savior's, then each one is too.

For, did the soul of the saints sin? It is said that the soul of the saints sins in this way: when it occurs in a pre-passion. And often we use that example: a garment that has been cleaned, if it receives some stain from touching something, it does not appear at all as stained. But if you take for me a completely clean garment, having just come from the dye-vat, even if you touch it, it is said to be stained.

For, does the body not become in sin? My soul becomes in a pre-passion; for it 'began to be amazed and to be distressed'. From here, those who attribute the so-called irrationality to Jesus are refuted. An irrational animal is able to begin to be amazed, but not to be distressed; for to be distressed is foreign to an animal. From the being distressed and from the being amazed, they attached the beginning to him. But there is no beginning after the pre-passion; just as a passion is not a beginning, but the pre-passion itself is. And in another psalm it is said: 'My upholder; I shall not be shaken any further' (Psalm 62:6). For, what is being distressed? It is sorrow of the rational soul along with the inability to discern the causes of the sorrow.

Regarding the remnant of Judas, he says: if ever 'he went in to see, but in vain he ran' (Psalm 41:6); just as we said recently, that he who possesses something more has more words concerning others than other men, so also Judas had something more than the other traitors; for he benefited from much time and had the legacy and the spark of his instruction. Therefore he entered many times toward Jesus, as also in the fellowship he was found.

It was not the Passover, but rather 'he was speaking falsely' when he said, 'Rabbi,' and loved him. He says, 'Whatever you do, do it quickly.' He was manifesting words of honor toward Jesus. But he was speaking falsely—for in order to show to those coming for his arrest, he had spoken these things, not so that he might truly manifest the reverence he previously showed toward the teacher. Therefore, all things that are not happening according to the truth are spoken falsely.

7 His heart gathered lawlessness unto himself. Even if his heart gathered lawlessness, it was to no one else but himself. 'What do you want me to do? And I will hand him over to you.' His heart gathered lawlessness in doing this when he gave his heart to the devil; 'and the devil entered after the morsel into him' (John 13:27). Therefore, Judas has committed lawlessness. To betray Jesus, the enemy of the teacher who had benefited him so much, was lawless. Thus, this lawlessness, which he gathered thinking that he was surrounding his teacher with death, he gathered for himself; for he did not touch him. He therefore rose from the dead, and all their efforts... greatness was shown.

7 He was going out and speaking. This happened... and after some honor he approached, whether 'he was going out'—his heart regarding... that they would come for the arrest of Jesus, saying, 'This is he, seize him' (Matt 26:48). 'He was going out... and he was going out.' Some indeed have become accustomed to say that there is neither outside nor inside. The end... because he betrayed Jesus. 'Knowing,' he says, 'that he was condemned, having gone away, he despaired.' 'Knowing that he was condemned'—Jesus by Pilate—he was greatly distressed, 'and having gone away, he despaired.' 'Having seen that he was condemned' himself, after the betrayal of such a distant teacher.

The Winging of the Man of Peace§190

190He was handed over, and having gone away, he approached with life as a burden. All my enemies were whispering against me; none of them spoke against me with boldness. And you find the Jews seeking how they might take him secretly; they were whispering to Judas, and he to them; for he did not enter a synagogue and shout this: 'What do you want to give me, and I will hand him over to you?' (Matt 26:14-15). Indeed, they themselves did not come to seize him for forty days.

This is what Jesus himself says: 'I teach every day' (Matthew 26:55) in the synagogue, and now 'as if I had come to a robber.' They set a lawless word against me. They were reading the Scriptures 'every Sabbath' so that they might learn the things of the law. And from the opposite, it was necessary for those reading with the law to know who is the one prophesied and testified to by the Scriptures; they set a lawless word against me, saying: 'This one does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub.' 'If this man were from God, he would not have loosed the Sabbath' (John 9:16). 'Is it not bad that we say, "You are a Samaritan and have a demon"?' This is the one against whom they set a lawless word. And it is possible, since even in the legal briefs 'he set' is often taken; voices were set against Pilate concerning him.

Does he who is sleeping not add to rising? Rather, he himself says: since death surrounded me, I slept; for in the Scriptures the name of sleep sometimes signifies death. Sleep is also called slumber, and the union of a man with a woman is called sleep. And death is also called sleep according to the Scripture because of the expectation of the resurrection; for just as he who sleeps, if he suffers no harm to nature, might be raised, so the dying man will be raised. Thus indeed it is said, 'all shall sleep,' and, 'I do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who have slept' (1 Thessalonians 4:13), that is, concerning mortals. For the Greeks say this.

And indeed the man of my peace, on whom I hoped. The 'I hoped' here means 'I took courage' concerning the man;an;an; for the Gospel also mentioned this, that this one 'the man of my peace lifted up a wing'; for they were saying that even in the fourth Psalm of Pentecost concerning him it says, 'But you, O man, my equal soul' (Psalm 55:13). 'If my enemy...

He would have mocked me, or even if the one hating me had magnified himself against me, I would have been hidden from him. But you, my soul's equal—we take this regarding the one of one accord, and again 'the woman in your bosom' is your equal—'my leader and my savior'. They had as leader, not as ruler, but as my leader, running before me. And here: 'the man of my peace, in whom I hoped' (Psalm 41:9).

It is nothing wonderful if you whispered against me and set a lawless word against me, if 'the man of my peace' has become the beginning of this evil of yours. Therefore he 'raised up' 'the wing', not the head 'against me'. The one eating my bread magnified a winging against me. 'The man of my peace, in whom I hoped' (Psalm 41:9), 'he raised up his wing against me', he wished to wing me. It is a fluttering... and Jacob is called a winger; for he winged Esau when he took the blessing of the elder. To set upon someone with deceit is called a winging. It is someone... to lead them so that he might take his garment. And he who deceives toward the death of someone...

But you, Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up, and I will repay them. Make me outside of the evils and of the bad winging of the lawless word which they set against me. These things again are said more humanly concerning the man Jesus. 'But you, Lord, have mercy, and I will repay them.' I shall be their judge. The one who rises to repay and to judge, as he finds the dispositions, gives back. Many, having experienced harm or seeing that they once condemned him, himself is about to judge them, according to: 'they shall look upon him whom they crucified' (Jn 19:37), they come into knowledge and they know how the due retribution persists toward them.

In this I knew that you willed me. This is knowledge and proof that it is your will to have me; for in this they shall know me. The 'in this I knew' does not refer so much to his own knowledge, but rather that those of mine shall be known in this. Above all, having been condemned, will they know him?—all having received a perception of his greatness, whether they were enemies before or acquaintances. Because my enemy shall by no means be pleased with me. When I am shown as your will, when I rise and...

The Meaning of Understanding§191

191Let it be known that according to your will, both Judas and the devil who worked in him are able. To make them rejoice, he surrounded him with death; but upon his resurrection they do not rejoice, but rather they experience shame and stand in fear, having seen the one they had betrayed. But you took hold of me through my innocence. For I did not know sin, even though I have become sin; even though I have become a curse, I was not shown to be a curse because of a preceding sin, but so that I might loose the curse and provide a blessing. And just as it has become sin so that God might make righteous those for whom sin has become, so it has become a curse, not so that it might be held by the curse. This very thing, then, has become a curse upon a blessing, sin upon righteousness, death received for life.

Innocence, then, often signifies the absence of something, and it is when there is complete purity from sin. But when it says, 'the simple believes every word' (Proverbs 14:15), and also, 'bad associations corrupt good morals' (1 Corinthians 15:33), it speaks of the surrounding good morals. And complete virtue is also called innocence, concerning which he says, 'the simple and upright cling to me' (Psalm 25:21). And you have established me before you for ever. Not for a little time, then, did I not slip, being simple before falling to enemies, but I remained simple; for 'you have established me' indeed 'for ever.' Not simply, then, but 'before you.' And not everyone who is being established is additionally established by God, but he who has the perfection established. 'He who establishes you with us in Christ.' So, you testifying to my innocence.

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel from ever and to ever (Psalm 41:13). Let it be, let it be. The one having mind regarding Israel, seeing God, is a blessed God. To him I write the grace and the victory, not by our power; for even if I am simple, I do not give the whole by my innocence, but by the cooperation of God. The 'let it be, let it be' is similar to the 'amen''amen''amen' as other interpreters say. And the 'amen' is when it is taken instead of an oath; for when it says, 'truly I say to you,' Matthew and Luke write the same word, and Matthew says, 'Amen, amen, I say to you,' but Luke says, 'Truly I say to you.' Indeed, it is also said in the writings, 'Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word' (Lk 1:38).

"Your word." It is also said by those interpreting the Hebrew sounds that it means that which is believed. To the end; for understanding, to the sons of Korah, a psalm. Three sons of Korah became temple singers. And their names are brought forward in Exodus and in the Chronicles. These, just as some take from faith one soul and one heart, so also these, having received one soul from the uniting spirit which grants the singing, because of this they bring forth the verses of the psalm in unison.

And this psalm is not one filled by chance with mysteries. Because of this, "for understanding" is inscribed. Thus also in the thirty-first Psalm we say that it is "of the understanding to David," because he contained mysteries and riddles. And here, therefore, many riddles lie. Therefore, understanding is needed by the one encountering such psalms which are so inscribed. And just as it is necessary "to pay attention" to the "reading" of the "God-breathed Scripture," not only of the scriptures but also of "all," so also these owe to speak and to be heard with understanding.

Since, however, the name of understanding is also made clear by proximity and signifies something else in: "but understanding is good to all who practice it." Here the understanding that comes to be and is practiced is moral virtue; for especially this regulates the character of men. He says, therefore, that this psalm ought not to be spoken by voice alone, but also to be understood by the mind and to practice the works appropriate to it, according to the other meaning of understanding, about which also Paul speaks. Writing about ministry and the service toward the saints, he says: "May God grant you understanding in all things" (2 Timothy 2:7); for he does not say understanding as the knowledge of things combined and uncombined, but the practical virtue; for who is so wise as he who has perfected his own character and regulated it? And for himself and for those speaking and those hearing? The one teaching wisely about prudence possesses the virtue of prudence himself, which also those being instructed with him possess; for this reason the right word teaches as a teacher, and especially the one of ethics, so that those hearing might become such as the speaker is. The manner which he intends is like a light upon the...

The Spiritual Deer and the Single Desire§192

192As the deer longs for the springs of water, so my soul longs for you, O God (Psalm 42:1).

This animal is said to be a destroyer of serpents.

And when it has killed the serpents, it becomes thirsty from their venom and hastens to find a spring of water, so that it may wash away the thirst and be cleansed; for it is said that as the serpents are torn apart by this animal, they cover the face of the deer with blood and other things, and so it goes away to wash itself,

so that the impurity brought upon it from the destruction of the serpents may be washed away.

And something else is said about this animal: that when it grows old and sheds its antlers, it eats serpents and is renewed.

The eating of serpents makes it new again.

But of what kind of serpents?

All the kind of venomous ones, of all the serpents or even of the whole genus.

And this too: when it casts off its horns from old age, it dwells in a den until it grows horns again and becomes strong; for one without horns is vulnerable; for they are its weapons and its defenses.

Therefore, when they pass through the woods, their horns are seized and thus they are torn away; so a proverb like this appears: 'Woe to deer without horns.'

And this proverb alludes to this: woe to the helpless man who does not have the power to help himself.

The other thing of those signified here is shown by the saying: 'In the same way that a deer longs for the springs of water, so my soul longs for you, my God' (Psalm 42:1); he compared the longing toward God to the longing of the deer for the springs; for God is a spring, and His word is a spring: 'You have left the spring of wisdom' (Baruch 3:12). 'For with you is the spring of life' (Psalm 36:9).

And again: 'You have left me, a spring of living water,' God says (Jeremiah 2:13).

And the Holy Spirit is a spring, if indeed all the gifts flow from Him and from Him they have their beginning.

In the same way that the sensible deer longs for the springs of water, so our soul, becoming a deer and a destroyer of harmful things, longs for you, O God.

Those who 'are ready to avenge all disobedience' (2 Corinthians 10:6) are deer, destroying the serpents of injustice.

And those having received 'authority to tread...'

The serpents and the scorpions are deer.

These deer also pursue the high things.

Just as they pursue the springs of waters, so too the high things; for 'mountains are the high things for the deer'.

And again the same: 'He who prepares my feet like a deer' (Psalm 18:33), so that having been prepared, they pursue the intelligible things.

And since I have often said that the intelligible things seem to be different and different things according to each and every different thought, even though they are the same in hypostasis, the springs of waters which the spiritual deer seeks, and high mountains, are the same.

Insofar as they are lifted up and given from above, they are high things; but insofar as they water and give birth to rivers in the plains, they are called springs.

Therefore, it must be said and it is morally right: the serpents are pleasures; for pleasure is diverse.

And 'being led by various pleasures and desires'.

He speaks concerning the faults of women whom the heterodox capture as captives.

These therefore diverse deer do not long to find God; they do not seek one single desire.

But one desire is the Savior and our Lord himself.

Just as he is called wisdom and truth and light and righteousness, so also he is desire.

Furthermore, the bride in the Song of Songs, inquiring about the bridegroom, where she can find him, the doorkeepers whom she inquired of, say: 'What is your brother more excellent than your brothers, the beautiful among women?'

(Song 1:9).

Say tell me your own, the other, among the many brothers.

And he says: 'My brother is white and ruddy' (Song 4:1), he is not one, he is man and God.

Then, passing through his praises, he says at the end: 'His throat is sweet, all desire' (Song 4:16).

His word is sweet.

You know that some desirable things are not entirely so, but they have something unpleasant mixed in; for example, the drinking of sweet wine has something desirable.

But when it is taken to excess, it works a drunkenness and is not entirely desire.

Again, the sun seen is sweet.

But when its flame descends, it has something unpleasant.

Therefore, regarding the discourse concerning the marriage, nothing is unpleasant, it is entirely desire, it is entirely love, according to the one saying: 'My love is crucified' (Song 8:6).

But the loves of others have something bitter mixed in.

Just as 'all desire' is, so also 'all love' is, and for this reason the soul longs.

Thirst for the Face of God§193

193My destroying serpent toward God, according to the deer.

When you see, therefore, a soul being surrounded by various pleasures and many thoughts, the old age of wickedness and the old man are cast off, and the new man is clothed in its place, even if you wish to take it as a proverb or as a literal statement. 'Let a female deer and a colt of graces converse with you.'

Let the word be about a woman.

The woman is a female deer in relation to the man, if she destroys the pleasures being cast upon her by the hunters.

Furthermore, she is also a colt of grace; for she ought to be new according to temperance and grace, to be a colt of the virtues, so that the graces may mount him.

For often the virtues themselves are so called according to that which is written: 'a crown of grace,' a crown of virtues.

Being light and truth and righteousness according to his thoughts of the contests, she is She is a multitude of graces, not in her hypostasis, but in her activities and desires

My soul thirsted toward God, the strong and living one (Psalm 42:2).

To thirst is often to take hold of love.

Thus indeed in another psalm he says: 'O God, my God, toward you I cry out; my soul thirsted for you' (Psalm 63:1); for he who longs for something and asks in order to receive it, thirsts for it. 'Toward God,' therefore, 'the living one.'

Just as the divine men, being altogether filled with spirit and always lifted up toward theology, say: 'The Lord lives,' so Elisha said: 'The Lord lives and your soul lives' (2 Kings 2:2).

Thus your soul lives just as he whom you have shared in lives.

But you, as one sharing in him, live in this way.

Regarding something literal, which the Arian ones interpret badly, to see it beautifully: 'Just as the living Father sent me, and I live through the Father' (John 6:57).

And they took as a pattern that: as if someone were to say: 'Just as my rational father is, and I am rational, and just as my father is living, I am living.'

Since therefore my father is a living thing, and I live through him because he is living.

Son.

Just as man is said to be a living being because of the father, since he is a son of a living being.

When will I arrive and see the face of God?

Men who are still in life thirst for God as the deer thirsts for the springs of the waters (Ps 42:1).

Yet they do not say that their desire stands at this point; for they are still far from God in some way of relation and disposition, not in place; nor is anything locally far from God, for he 'fills the heaven and the earth' (Jer 23:24).

Therefore he who approaches him says: 'Where shall I go from your spirit and from your face, where shall I flee?

If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I descend into Hades, you are there' (Ps 139:7-8).

Thus those in this life having received a vision of the coming age thirst courageously for God, as if they see themselves far off while the evil of the world and the weight of the world and the corruptible are still pressing upon them.

And this is so, since in the feasts of the Hebrews it was customary to see three times of the year; for 'three times of the year all your male shall be seen before me' (Exodus 23:17), and 'he shall not be seen before me empty' (Exodus 23:15).

No one shall be seen before him empty.

Since therefore even this one aims for the springs of the waters, he prays to be fulfilled, so that he may arrive and see the face of God not as a ruler but no longer empty.

Therefore he asks: fragmentary... he reasons: 'When then shall I attain to the perfect good, so that, having seen the face... of the graces being given toward him?'

My tears became to me bread day and night (Psalm 42:3).

He says this because he knew himself still lacking the face of God... fragmentary... a lament completing the ascent to virtue, from toil and... fragmentary... according to this, indeed, the meaning is said: 'those sowing in tears shall reap in joy' (Ps 126:5).

Going...

Tears as Food and Drink§194

194They were going and weeping, lifting up their seeds.

Coming, they shall arrive in joy, lifting up their gleanings (Psalm 126:6).

They sow the seeds of virtue and the Spirit in tears and sweat, casting them down.

When therefore they have harvested, they no longer labor; for they have attained the end of the one striving.

When 'going, we were going,' 'we were weeping, lifting up their seeds.'

When we were still sowing, having cast down the seed, we were awaiting the perfection of the fruit.

When 'we come in joy,' we lift up the gleanings, not yet the seeds.

These, therefore, the tears become food for the one desiring to see God and to be gazed upon by Him.

Therefore he says: 'My tears became to me bread of days and of night' (Ps 42:3).

I do not weep casually, nor in pleasures, so that at times I might occupy myself with luxury and at times with the weeping of repentance, but also in the dark times; for the dark times are called night.

You also find a voice in another psalm that says this: 'You feed us bread of tears and you give me to drink in tears in measure' (Psalm 80:5).

It is necessary to bring forth the tears of repentance in a measured way, so that they may become bread and drink.

And besides, there will be other things that succeed the labor, the offspring produced from the tears.

In that which is said to me every day, 'Where is your God?'; for this reason also I offered so many tears to become food for me, because I heard them saying: 'Where is your God?'

(2 Kings 18:33); this also Sennacherib and Rapsakes said: 'Where is the God your God?'

And you, Israelite, 'Where is the God your God, that he may save you?'

Tears therefore became food for me, but 'in measure,' and I drank them and I ate them; for I knew that the tears and the labor of these things succeed something making joy.

These things I remembered and I poured out upon myself my soul.

When in recollection and memory I became of the insults of these ones who were speaking, these my enemies, I did not go out, I did not pour my soul out outside, but upon myself I poured it out.

It is like the words: 'I was troubled and I did not speak' (Psalm 77:4), and what Paul says: 'But we have received the sentence of death within ourselves, so that we may not be trusting in ourselves' (2 Corinthians 1:9).

This also is said concerning Job: previously he says that 'Job did not sin,' and secondly: 'with the lips.'

lest he become irrational among the irrational; they are not corruptible bodies, lest he become corruptible among the corruptible; but he becomes 'all things in all'.

And he becomes in all things not locally, but by being participated in; neither does his body partake, nor an irrational animal, nor an inanimate thing, much more.

And it is well said 'of the wonderful':

since this tabernacle is divine, it is worthy of wonder.

The progressions of the great ends, becoming ends to other progressions, are beyond ends and have something wondrous, as the same being both tabernacle and house, progression and end.

'with the voice of exultation and confession, the sound of those feasting' (Psalm 42:4).

For the rest he says:

My passing is not made casually nor with a casual disposition, but 'with the voice of exultation and [...]'.

Thanksgiving as Confession of Wonders§195

195Of confession: there is no lamentation when the passage and haste toward the house of God occurs, but rather a rejoicing. For Abraham thus 'rejoiced in order to see my day, and having seen, he rejoiced' (John 8:56). He saw the day of the Lord by arriving into his house, into perfect faith.

The name of confession in the Scriptures signifies two things, so I will not speak of a third meaning. The public disclosure regarding sins is called confession, as if one says: 'having been gathered to confess concerning your sins.' This is found in the Epistle of Barnabas, in the epistle according to him: 'having been gathered to confess concerning your sins.' And again: 'confess your sins to one another' (James 5:16). 'I made my sin known to you, and my lawlessness I did not cover; I said, I will disclose my lawlessness to myself before the Lord' (Psalm 32:5). One confesses while wailing and stripping off his former sins.

It also signifies thanksgiving, as if the Savior says: 'I will confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden the divine things from the wise and understanding, and have revealed them to infants' (Matthew 11:25). He does not give thanks for the fact that 'the divine things are hidden from the wise and understanding,' but for the fact that those who are infants have been enabled to see them revealed. These are the ones from the Gentiles who have believed, whereas the wise and the understanding, from whom the divine things are hidden, are those of the circumcision.

Fragmentary He cried this out: 'How do you say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? For in vain you were born...' Fragmentary 'The wise were shamed and called upon, because they rejected the word of the Lord.' Since they themselves rejected it, the Scripture became in vain to them. For because of the... Fragmentary It is said that, when the letters were first being taken, they were found in small scraps; again, they did it with tablets. And since they understood that those written on tablets... Fragmentary so that they might have various tools for writing these things. Therefore, 'the wise were shamed and were deceived, because they rejected the word of the Lord; what kind of wisdom is in them?' For how... Fragmentary those who reject...

How do you hear the word of the Lord? Thanksgiving, therefore, is manifested through confession. And: 'Let us confess to you, O God; let us confess to you, all peoples. I will recount all your wonders when I take my portion' (Psalm 75:1-2). The one who confesses by recounting the wonders is praising God, not regarding his own sins.

And again: 'I will confess to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will recount all your wonders; I shall be glad and shall rejoice in you' (Ps 9:1). And a third time this is said: often the harmony and the thing joined... 'I will clothe myself in confession and majesty' (Psalm 104:1). There is nothing in you... that of virtue which envies your majesty. And again: 'Confession and beauty before him' (Psalm 104:1).

Again here the harmony... you do not take confession here as the disclosure of sins... remaining in harmony. The voice of those celebrating this is... having become it by voice, but their cry is this: to confess... 'The voice of rejoicing and confession, the tabernacles of the righteous' (Psalm 118:15); in those making progress, 'the voice of rejoicing and confession' is, for they were freed from wickedness.

And it is also possible that 'in the tabernacles of the righteous'... when they look up at them and enslave them, when the temples of him... 'Why are you dejected, my soul, and why are you disturbed?' (Ps 42:5)... until someone reaches the house of God. And you, O soul, having remembered... and saying: 'Where is your God?' do not be dejected, do not be disturbed... become. You are able also to receive the angels who are 'celebrating'... 'but you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the festival of myriads of angels' (Heb 12:22). 'Why are you dejected and why are you disturbed?' You have ready the...

The Light of the Face and the Inner Disturbance§196

196Helping. As if even while laboring you say, and while sick: 'Why have you despaired of health? Behold, the physician is present.' Hope in God, because I will confess to him; salvation of my face and my God. God is present; expect from him to be freed from sorrow and trouble. Then he was freed from these, when the sorrows reached an end, when... for he removes the trouble, he removes the sorrow.

'Salvation of my face.' We say regarding 'the eyes of the wise are in his head,' because in the... and the prudent and the imprudent have their faces. 'Salvation...' is said in the scripture regarding the face, which is often said, not regarding... 'May the Lord lift up his face upon you and give you peace' (Num 6:26); for not face... 'May the Lord make his face shine upon you and bless you' (Num 6:25). Here the face that is revealed... it is also said 'image of the invisible God,' the 'character of his substance' (Col 1:15); salvation and blessing follow, if this face is lifted up and becomes unmixed.

What then is the face? —that which the man took up... a taking up as if it were the face of God, it is made known... I once also explained into that by a second implication... the Son says the form of the Father, form as his character or form as they construct an idea in the soul. Therefore, salvation is of my face. Having become... it is not that of the body, but regarding that which is said... for it does not say that the face of the body without a covering...

Where the face is revealed from ignorance and sin; for 'the wisdom of man brightens his face' (Ecclesiastes 8:1). This bright face does not have a covering of ignorance, nor an overlay of wickedness, but is pure; you are the salvation of the face, O God.

My soul was disturbed toward myself; this is the kind of disturbance. And this was also said, when he says, 'I poured out my soul upon myself' (Psalm 42:4) toward the outside; I did not appear to them being disordered. The one being disturbed by these things, his disturbance is turned toward himself.

Therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan and Hermon (Psalm 42:6). Since my soul is disturbed, even if the disturbance is toward myself, I need a cleansing bath, I have need of baptism. 'I remembered you' therefore 'from the land of Jordan and Hermon'. Hermon is interpreted as 'way of the lamp' or 'offering'. This says that this mountain... acting meteorically, having a divided mind, being illuminated, makes the traveler go straight. And Jordan is interpreted as 'their descent'. It is able to descend, but for their sake it descended, just as an excellent teacher... from a small mountain, the abyss calls to abyss into the voice of your cataracts.

It is, and it is manifest; for 'the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, and let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord' (Isaiah 2:2-3). Even if it is toward us and toward creation, what is being judged together with us. And I say: the Word of God, the God Word, becomes toward each of the prophets; for 'those he called gods, to whom the word of God came' (John 10:35). 'The word of the Lord came to me, saying' (Jeremiah 1:4). If then toward those who are made gods...

The Abyss and the Nature of Numbers§197

197They do not receive the whole power, the whole participation. Regarding God, the Word was not separate from God; the preceding text says the Word was God. The Word was not of a different substance from Him. Then, an eternal light from an eternal light.

From this, therefore, the 'small mountain, abyss calls to abyss in the voice of your cataracts'. Listen: in the eighty-tenth Psalm it is said that 'day calls unto day the word, and night declares knowledge to night' (Psalm 19:2). During the day, that which is shining. The word of God, when it is luminous and shining and demonstrated, calls out in a manner of harmony, and we understand luminous things from such things; but the deep things are hidden, for the depth is darkness and night. 'Uncovering the deep out of darkness'.

This darkness is not the essence, but from that which 'He set as a hidden thing'. Wishing to make clear, we find something else unclear, rather it is for the one being instructed, and from that one the knowledge, from night indeed, and also here, since the 'judgments' of God are 'abyss' by 'much' in name it is signified. For it is said that 'the abyss is as a garment, his covering' (Psalm 104:6). We know the deep things from the deep. And since they do not all have depth, the very deep things are known from those not so deep; the voice of the calling of the abyss to the abyss from those crashing from above it. And it is possible...

But how do the prophets and apostles flow? And the apostles. This is the 'abyss calls to abyss' (Ps 42:7). Descending and lying indistinctly, it reaches as far as the voice is able to interpret the abyss in the manner of teaching and the other things. Then the 'abyss calls to abyss' (Ps 42:7) will clarify it in the manner of harmony.

Now there are 'unutterable words, which it is not permitted for man to speak' (2 Cor 12:4); (2 Cor 12:4) will speak these. For they are indeed words, and the 'words' are so by homonymy. Then especially are they called words. 'But there is a thought in the soul, sometimes without being true or false, and sometimes the thought which by necessity must have these two as something else.'

Psalm to David. Judge me, O God, and judge my cause from a nation of the unrighteous (Psalm 43:1). This psalm can be proclaimed from the presence of the Savior. Both the sacred and the profitable lie here. The number six was said to be how it is perfect. But the seven is incorruptible and virgin, barren and without error, as it were; for the seven is not endowed to give birth, nor to be born. A virgin is that which does not give birth, a virgin is incorruptible. Because of this, many times we say it occurs not into the six units, but into the nature of the number. We say it has come to pass not as a work of the Word needing time, but as he simultaneously willed and underwent those things. It is himself: 'all things, whatever you willed, you did' (Ps 115:3). His willing is sufficient for existence.

The Numerical Harmony of Genealogies§198

198Because of both sequence and harmony, forty-two lies here within a decade. Therefore also in the genealogy there were successions; for it was necessary for the one born from the virgin to be perfect. For every grasping of pleasure comes by the arrival of pleasure.

Just as Saul the grouping is from Abraham to David, which in truth are 'fourteen generations' (Matthew 1:17), but from David to the Babylonian exile there are thirteen successions. And since the number fourteen was necessary because of the mystery, he removed the three generations. And again, from the Babylonian exile to Christ, fourteen generations are not found, but twelve in total. And if you even remove Jesus himself, three generations are lacking from the number of the two weeks; for where he removed from the multitude, he added names in its place. Because of the similarity of the weeks, the omission of the three names occurred.

And in the succession he says Joram, Uzziah. And it seems to have the name Uzziah in similarity to that of Jehoiachin; for some consider it to be an evangelical sin, but the imposition of the sin is rather the skill of the wise man, so that he might save the integrity of the numbers. 'Judge me, O God, and plead my cause from an unrighteous nation' (Psalm 43:1). A holy nation he calls, whereas it says, 'Woe to a sinful nation, a people full of iniquities' (Isaiah 1:4). Since therefore he wishes to be judged by this, for they do not have that which I might charge against him; there are no indictments against them. They say, 'This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath'. And what is it to keep the Sabbath? Is it not necessary in the Sabbath not to raise the dead? How does it become a matter of bringing the 'blind from birth' into sight?

By Beelzebul, the ruler of demons

The Light and Truth of the Word§199

199the power of God.

You are therefore the God... these things are manifest.

But he, being changeable, needed strengthening... and if he speaks these things concerning the Word of God, he announces them thus: since you are king and... we have explained and also the 'I live because of the Father'; since my Father is living, it is a pattern: 'therefore I am rational, because my Father is rational, and therefore I am alive, because my Father is alive'.

If then I am my strength, 'why have you rejected me?'; state the reason for the rejection; for I am neither an unholy nation nor an unrighteous and deceitful man.

Declare then, 'for what purpose have you rejected me?';...

I will plunder him, so that becoming a curse, he may provide a blessing... how a sinner was judged.

And for what purpose do I go about shamed, to afflict my enemy?

The Jews who believed in him, therefore, knew the reason of how... but so that it might be revealed to the others who surround him in affliction. 'Send out your light and your truth.' 'I have come as light into the world' the man Jesus... to him.

But light and truth the Word of God is; for he himself says: 'I am the light of the world', 'I have come as light into the world', and 'was the true light'. 'Send out' therefore 'your light and your truth'.

And may your truth become manifest, then also the reason will be known... and that the man who was benefited by me fights against me unjustly... he wages war against me.

Light and truth are not two... light is, when shining, it illuminates the soul and... the lie, or when it has dispelled the shadow of the law.

He had the light and the truth; for he was a temple—but...

[...] those following me shall arrive there, not that I may become there, but that [...] (lacuna).

'and I shall enter unto the altar of God, unto God who gladdens my [...]' (Psalm 43:4; LXX 42:4).

The Meaning of Thanksgiving§200

200my youth. And this altar, into which someone enters, is an interior one. It is an altar, from which the other of the Seraphim took a coal. And there is an altar in heaven, and the souls of those having been overcome because of the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 6:9) are near it. And the word shows that 'those having been overcome because of the testimony of Jesus' are as a priest near the altar. Not everyone is able, but 'the one having been overcome because of the testimony'. Therefore this altar is an interior one.

It is according to the imitation of another altar; for all things have been made according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain (Ex 25:40). A sacrifice of praise and that of righteousness is set forth; for 'sacrifice a sacrifice of praise to God' (Ps 50:14) and 'sacrifice a sacrifice of righteousness' (Psalm 4:5). 'I will come' (Psalm 43:4) therefore 'to the altar of God', then 'to the God who rejoices my youth' (Psalm 43:4); for the one turning away from the shadow of the law and the exterior altar says: 'What multitude of your sacrifices to me? I am full' (Isaiah 1:11), he enters, 'according to the order of Melchizedek priest' (Ps 110:4) saying: 'I will come to the altar of God, better than the visible things'.

'I will come' therefore away from the sensible, from the literal, 'into the altar of God'. The one surpassing the 'oldness of the letter' which had preserved the shadow of the law and the old covenant, knowing these things, says: 'I will praise you, O God, with a harp' (Ps 108:2). Because I will enter into your altar having youth from the 'newness of the spirit' having been brought near, through this I will praise you gratefully with a harp. And the harp I have said many times that it signifies practical virtue or the body being struck by the inspired soul. Thus the confession...

Speech signifies thanksgiving, for the requests have come to pass. He desired to know the reason for being driven away and for walking in darkness; he desired that the light and the truth be sent to him, since they led him; he desired to enter the altar of God and to experience the tabernacles of God and the holy mountain. Since, therefore, of these good requests it has come to pass through experience by God having given them to him, and not by himself having found them, because of this he may gratefully confess to him, striking the senses, which are nerves or lyres, and various thoughts or members; for when each of the members is tuned toward virtue, it is a stretched nerve, so that it may be struck musically by the striker of truth.

“Why are you dejected, my soul, and why do you trouble me? Hope in God, for I shall confess to him” (Ps 42:5). He asked if something belonged to him, and while he was still speaking of it, he sighed; moreover, before he receives, he has thus faithfully determined as if he had already received. Therefore he rouses his soul and says: “Why are you dejected, my soul?” Since, therefore, I have pre-decided to confess to him, hope in Him; accept that the things of thanksgiving shall belong to you. And the confession here signifies thanksgiving.

“God is the salvation of my face” (Psalm 42:11). “You are the salvation of my true face” (Psalm 42:11). The light is the salvation of your inner man, concerning which it is said: “The wisdom of a man makes his face shine” (Ecclesiastes 8:1). And again the saint says to have “the eyes of the heart” (Eph 1:18) enlightened, and “with an unveiled face to reflect the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18). When the face is reflected by the appropriate and divine glory and is enlightened by wisdom, God is my salvation. Others, having been rescued from sickness, said: “My salvation is the physician”; and another, having been rescued from storm and sea, let him say: “My salvation is the pilot.

To the end: A psalm to the sons of Korah for understanding. Much has been said about the end, that the last thing is desirable, for the sake of which all other things come to be, but it is not for the sake of anything else... to have. He who knows the end knows also the poetic qualities of the end before...

Collective vs Individual Attributes§201

201Of this. And as far as... again a transition through progress to ascend... it is not in the desire that already exists.

It is therefore necessary to understand: 'God, in our ears we have heard, our fathers have declared to us' (Psalm 44:1). In their own ears, the saints say, we heard the words of God. An addition of ears occurs at the common hearing, when someone is able to hear intellectual words. The physician hearing medical words has a medical ear, but another does not. The one powerful enough to say, 'The instruction of the Lord opens my ears' (Isaiah 50:5), does not speak about sensory hearing, but about that which is able to hear the intellectual words of God.

Thus, therefore, 'in our ears' must be heard, and it is not passing by; for it does not signify what is existing, but what is being added. And behold, how the saint says: 'The instruction of the Lord opens my ears.' He says: 'The Lord gives me a tongue of instruction to know when it is necessary to speak a word; He has placed for me first, He has added to me an ear for hearing; and the instruction of the Lord opens my ears.' The ear given according to addition is intellectual; it hears the words in a God-befitting way. And when this is added, His instruction then opens the ears—this thing which was added, the other ear, the intellectual one, the one hearing God-befittingly, the one able to say: 'I have heard unspeakable words'; for it is not possible for everyone to say this, but for the one having received the addition of an ear from God.

These things were in the mind of the Savior, having them, He was saying: 'Let him who has ears to hear, hear' (Matthew 13:9). But not all had the hearing of the words of Jesus, the words being announced in parables. From this Porphyry learned, and in this: 'God, in our ears we have heard.' In our own ears, not the common ones toward irrational animals, but in those joined toward the intellectual words of God.

Regarding words, this signifies in the dialects of the sensory things: the Egyptian among the Egyptians hears with his own ears; he hears with his own ear. Wherefore, what do we take from this according to scientific knowledge? —those who are concerned with teaching pretend for everyone; 'a people full of sins'; for it is not possible for each one to be full of those same sins, since there are also opposites and incompatible things. For instance, the same man cannot possess cowardice and boldness, but a whole people can possess them. And again, concerning things capable of coexisting, even if they do not coexist because of the multitude, if I say that the whole city has knowledge, not everyone has the same; for it is impossible for everyone to have things as is necessary. But it is possible to have them as rumors.

'Our fathers informed us' (Psalm 44:1). Our fathers according to instruction. Wise are those who say this. In what way, then, are they wise, having been born from them? Not as men; for many are wise from the unwise, and many are not wise from the wise. 2 A work, which I worked in their days, in ancient days. In their own days, being ancient,... our fathers informed us. And that it is necessary to hear scientifically... those things that happened in the ancient days, such as in Exodus; it was impossible to learn that an exodus had occurred in Egypt without those announcing it, unless indeed those who wrote it... for in every way it is necessary to tell all the things that happened, so that no one might come and say... snatch it away. 'In days' therefore 'ancient', in first days. And what is this, having happened... and of a heavy earth upon the saints and the... having happened. But it is not strictly this that is signified previously, but it is said so that through this that thing might be viewed.

The Right Hand and the Left Hand§202

202God transfers men from the earthly place to the high heavens. If he says 'work', he does not mean it by number, but by kind or even by genus. In their light—for we take the fathers to be wise—we say that in the days they lived, dazzled by the true light of the sun of righteousness—a work came to be in the light of their life, which they were not envious to share with us.

He said, and he remembers: seven nations under the later called holy land he brought down (Psalm 44:2). They were hidden, having been led in by God into that land. Moses, therefore, without neglect, prays to repeat the mystery: 'Having led them in, hide them in the mountain of your inheritance, O holiness, Lord, which your hands prepared' (Exodus 15:17). See that no one living externally and hearing is able to enter into the holy mountain. The crowds in the parables, therefore, hearing and being outside, did not enter into the holy mountain, where the parables were made clear. It is necessary, therefore, to be led in first, and then thus to be hidden.

Your hand destroyed nations, and you hid them. Not of God in the ancient days. He was ancient of days (Dan 7:9), and we do not say that he was in ancient days, but he was ancient of days; for he was before days, before all time; and being existing before the ages is the same as the ancient of days, as it is said: 'the one existing before the ages' (Psalm 55:19). 'Your hand' therefore 'destroyed nations'. Your punishing power. Those who serve with punishments, angels, are able to be called hands of God, just as we say the hand of a king, and we do not mean the limb of the body of a hand.

And Job, concerning the punishing power—and he himself was the devil—was saying: 'withdraw your hand' (Job 13:21). This therefore he says: 'your hand', that is, the punishing power, or the active power of the persecutors, or your ministering power, 'destroyed nations'. And take the destruction of the nations by way of ascent as the death of men, by doing and the expulsion of life, according to which the nations were strangers to God. 'And you hid' our fathers. And the nations are destroyed because of the evil which they have; for their evil was a land and a city. And those are being hidden by no other than his right hand. But it is not the same...

One hand and the right hand: for the right is always a hand, but not every hand is right; for we have things to say that are performed by the right hand in a praiseworthy manner. Thus it is said in the Psalms: 'You held the right hand of me' (Psalm 73:23). The right is the practical power of the good, but the left is the opposing one. And since things done happen from disposition and from thought, which is called 'heart,' it is said that the wise man has his heart to the right, but the fool to the left; here we do not take the places of bodies. But the wise man has a mind thinking rightly, having understanding concerning the intelligible things. But the heart of the fool is to the left, turning only toward the material.

Often the left is found in the writings not regarding pride, but regarding humiliation, as it says in the Song of Songs: 'His renown is upon my head, and his right shall embrace me' (Song 7:1). And concerning her wisdom it is said: 'For length of days and years of life are in the right' (Prov 3:16)—and the length is the immortal, the things not being destroyed—'but in her left, wealth and glory.' And it gives wealth that is sensible. And these gifts of the hand of wisdom on the left are not trivial.

3–4 You harmed the people and drove them out; for they did not inherit the land by their sword, and their arm did not save them. Those whom you drove out, you drove out having harmed them. But you brought harm upon them so that they might be disciplined. Often harm disciplines; for we do not speak here of harm from sin, but of harm from corrective discipline. Since, therefore, they did not attend to the corrective discipline as is necessary, they were moreover driven out and rejected. 'For they did not inherit the land by their sword' (Psalm 44:3). Our fathers, having taken the history of those driven from the land, did not possess the land taken from them by their own war, nor by their own power; 'for not by their sword, nor their arm' prevailed over them, 'but your right and your arm and the light of your face' (Psalm 44:3). There is the light, and the salvation.

Through which, therefore, the harm and the driving out happen, is simply a hand. Thus also in one of the Psalms concerning Christ it is said: 'And he shall put his hand in the sea and his right in the rivers' (Psalm 89:25). There where there is salt and brine, the hand is simply placed against the evil powers; evil...

The Horn as Strength and Divine Name§203

203For the powers are now revealed through the sea. 'He said' 'rivers on the right.' For the prophets are rivers, streams flowing from the source of the water that is 'leaping into eternal life' (John 4:14). For 'he who believes' 'in me, as the scripture said, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly' (John 7:38). This indeed he was speaking concerning the Spirit whom the believers were about to receive.

These, being rivers, 'shall strike with the hand upon itself.' And it is a practice of harmony. See then, the hand, where the sea is, the saltiness, the dizziness. But your right hand and your arm and the light of your face. The right hand possesses and an arm suitable. You did not inherit the land by your own hand or by your own arm, but the arm of God and the right hand and the light of his own face provided this to you.

In one way, this is for tropology: that you were not liberated and became in the holy land by your own power or by your own deed. But if you take it with a higher allegory, both his arm and his right hand and the light of his own face are the Savior. Therefore, not in themselves, but in this you were saved, you were migrated from the land of bondage into the good one.

Having prepared, he triumphed, but with God having fought alongside, as the scripture says: 'not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of the God who shows mercy' (Romans 9:16). For you were pleased in them. You are yourself my king and my God (Psalm 44:4). For you are not only my God being my Creator and leading me toward my being, but also king, because by providence I rule, no longer being entangled in 'the affairs of life.' And indeed you are my God, I am a creation of God—and every creation has God as God—but as you rule.

He who commands the salvations of Jacob (Psalm 44:4). To Jacob, who is fleeing from evil, the king and being God commands the salvations. And salvations are commanded to the spirits who minister the salvations, concerning which the apostle says: 'Are not all of them ministering spirits sent for the service of those who are about to inherit salvation?' (Hebrews 1:14). Not so that they might confirm and give it, but so that, having heard it, they might proclaim it beforehand.

"Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your savior is coming'" (Isaiah 62:11). The 'salvations' of 'Jacob' may be the virtues according to kind, or the two virtues: the practical and the contemplative—the contemplation of truth and the productive virtue of praiseworthy works.

"We strike with horns our enemies in you" (Psalm 44:5). You see, we do not strike our enemies using physical horns; you are our horn and our defense. Therefore, you have that which is said in one of the Psalms by all the saints: "And in your favor our horn shall be exalted" (Psalm 89:17). It is not the physical horn; for the horn of those possessing it is again a defense. Through it, they will repel the approaching evils. Thus, those who have you as king and God do not have any other horn besides you. For instance, the word attributes something in one of the Twelve: "Those who say, 'We do not have horns in our strength'" (Amos 6:13). Having a horn and having power, we strike our enemies with horns. Because of this, the horns of these are also crushed: "and all the horns of the sinner I will break" (Amos 6:13). It is also possible for a king and a kingdom to receive a horn, as it is presented in Daniel: "the ten horns, ten kingdoms" (Daniel 7:24). Therefore, having you as king, we have you as a horn, and "we strike our enemies in you." And "in your name," since we have your designation upon ourselves, "we render powerless" all "those who rise up against us," having an invincible weapon: your designation. However, one must possess a designation, and not merely a hollow one. Not everyone who calls himself a Christian truly possesses the name of Christ, but rather he who is a Christian. "And in your name we rendered powerless those who rise up against us." And from this it is shown again that they rise up against us by premeditated will. They are not such by nature, nor are the [unjust/wicked] such by nature, as those who argue from natures say.

"For I do not hope in my bow, and my sword will not save me" (Psalm 44:6). I indeed have a bow and a sword, since I am clothed in "the full armor of God," but I do not hope in these; not the whole of my expectation is in these, using them. I wish to have God as an ally and a champion, so that I may have the strength to strike against those to whom I send my...

Confession and Divine Deliverance§204

204arrows, and that my sword be timely... opposing ones.

But these are invisible.

Often the sword of those possessing the word is said: 'who have sharpened their tongues like a sword' (Psalm 64:3); and 'sons of men, their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp knife' (Psalm 57:4).

And another saying: 'his sword upon his thigh' (Song of Solomon 3:8).

They possess swords not only 'in their hands', but also upon their thighs.

And perhaps the discourses concerning temperance, which kill 'the members upon the earth' (Col 3:5), are swords upon the thigh.

Often the things of generation are also signified by the name of the thigh.

For when it says in Ezekiel: 'and every thigh shall be moistened with moisture' (Ezekiel 7:17), this means: all are unrestrained, pursuing the moisture of pleasures.

For you saved us from those who afflict us.

Since you saved us also from those who afflict us, we knew that 'in you we gore our enemies' (Psalm 44:5).

Because of this, then, since this has surpassed us from you, we knew that one must not hope in the bow—to use it, indeed, but not as having shot through it irretrievably.

And you turn those who hate us to shame.

Those who hate have a difference again from those who afflict, sometimes in hypostasis and sometimes in conception.

Often the same ones both afflict and hate, and these are the same in hypostasis.

Sometimes, however, the one hating is not able to be an enemy when he is weak; for the weak one is able to hate, but he is not able to act as an enemy from the manifest action, for it would harm him.

Moreover, even if they differ only in conception, though the same in hypostasis, even if they are different ones and others, God delivers and saves from these and puts them to shame.

'In God we shall be praised all the day long' (Psalm 44:8).

Of those being praised, some are praised for the beauty of the body, others because of strength.

The stout ones are praised in strength, others in another skill, and others because of wealth, because of nobility; but in you we shall be praised.

We have no cause for praise other than you; for even if we have hardship, since through you we have attained these things and 'in God we do power' (Psalm 60:12), in you we have the praise.

Often the day signifies the time of the life of those saying, as: 'for your sake we are dying all...'

(Rom 7:24).

...the whole day, that is, through life.

And we shall confess in your name forever.

This calling of yours provides much power to us.

For in it indeed we 'despise' all 'those who rise up against us'.

Therefore 'in your name we shall confess forever'.

The name of the confession here signifies thanksgiving: 'I will confess to you, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and have revealed them to infants' (Matt 11:25).

In order that it may be a gift, it is possible to say thus: 'in your name we shall confess', because it has become to us a cause of salvation.

And it is also possible to say this: in your name which has been invoked upon us, as if you are saying: in knowledge or in virtue I shall confess.

Psalm.

But now you have saved and protected us, and you will not let go in the powers of our own. 'You are the same, my king and my God' (Psalm 44:4).

Allusion to Ps 145/146 The voice to God; for those approaching and drawing near...

God is king. 'He who commands the salvations of Jacob' (Psalm 44:4).

To those near... he commands the salvations and all good things.

Concerning this he says: 'In you we shall be praised all the day and in your name we shall confess forever' (Psalm 44:8), that is, we shall give thanks.

And he says: 'But now you have saved and protected us, and you will not let go in the powers of our own'.

When he went out in the powers of our own, his military power or by the power of our strength, we always prevailed.

And everything contrary exists here for us.

And since I was saying—it is not necessary to speak the problematic things explicitly about them—Israel, sinning, was driven from Jerusalem to Babylon in the manner of captivity.

And Daniel and those three and Joshua the son of Nun and Ezekiel and the others of the Twelve Prophets were there, Haggai and Zechariah.

These were not taken into Babylon in the manner of captivity, but for the sake of being a participant, helping and healing those condemned there.

God condemns someone with mercy, that is, he does not leave him without help.

And he sends angels and makes holy men to fall and be harmed and in captivity, not because of their own sins, but for the sake of the salvation of others.

On the contrary, they do not say that a change has occurred from...

The Beneficial Shame and Divine Strength§205

205Regarding the good being abandoned to the bad, it is not to provide help or to have a supporter so as to be left alone; rather, in some way they were left abandoned, having become helpers to others, not so that they might be destroyed, but so that they might be useful and not allow the sins of the condemned to increase.

'I will send away' therefore 'us now' (Psalm 44:9). And the 'I will send away' does not carry much mockery; 'Cain went out from the presence of the Lord the God' (Gen 4:16). God did not send him away, but with a eagerly he embraced the evil, he rushed toward the wickedness.

Concerning Adam, it has been said regarding not falling entirely that: 'God expelled Adam' (Gen 3:24), acting in opposition, making it clear that those within did not want to go out. He was cast out of paradise because of Eve the woman; for because of her he transgressed the rule. For when God asks, 'Who told you?' (Gen 3:11) he says, 'The woman whom you gave with me' (Gen 3:12). He did not say, 'Whom you gave,' but 'with me you gave her.' And this is the purpose; and I also thought that, since she, having been deceived by the devil, as she herself confessed, is cast out of paradise, I thought to do the same to her, so that I too might be cast out of paradise; for if Adam had not been cast out together, the woman would not have entered into paradise.

Not everyone of the people was saying, 'God, in our ears we have heard, our fathers announced to us' (Psalm 44:1). And with a few, 'But your right hand and your arm... and the light of your face' (Ps 44:3). Not all the people said this. I recall... what was said toward the Corinthians: 'I thank you, that in everything you have been enriched, in all speech and in all knowledge' (1 Cor 1:5). Then again: 'Fornication is heard among you' (1 Cor 5:1). It was not, therefore, concerning one person... among this people, some in their own way. These, therefore, did not stretch out hands toward a foreign god. 'Now I will send away and shame us' (Psalm 44:9). No one sinning is shamed by God.

But by himself. And God is shamed in a certain way when the one not sinning is with the sinners; and the shame is beneficial and brings glory to the one being shamed.

He does not have a 'hidden shame' which must not be revealed according to the philosophy of the one saying: 'We do not reveal the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness.' The one saying: 'To the lawless I have become lawless' (1 Corinthians 9:21), was not shamed by himself, but the word of Christ, exhorting, persuaded him. Furthermore, does the one saying: 'I have become lawless,' not feel shame? As far as it reached human understanding, no one wanted to imitate the evil ones.

'And you will not go out in our powers.' Formerly you used to go out in our powers; you used to run ahead of us into the wars, and we were surrounded by those attacking. But this thing of not going out in the powers, he says: you help, but you do not help. You help us so that we may be shown to be athletes through being left behind and we may benefit others; for he did not say: 'You destroyed our powers,' but 'you will not go out in our powers.' You turned us back to the rear before our enemies. The enemies were behind them.

But they say praises of themselves: 'Upon my back' for 'the sinners have given birth' (Psalm 129:3). In another way the enemies give these births; they will not be weak and they only persecute those who are about to surround them. The Savior therefore drives all the enemies and has hands upon their backs striking them, pursuing them. These therefore say: 'You turned us back to the rear before our enemies,' not strictly to be said concerning the one turning away according to a sect and imitating the enemies: 'God turned us.' But the good thing happening through God is indeed praiseworthy. Behold, those concerning Daniel and the other saints who were in Babylon.

The Teacher as Food and the Transformation of the Soul§206

206They say: 'You turned us backward among our enemies' (Psalm 44:10). And those hating us seized us for themselves (Psalm 44:10). They would not have been able to take us by hand, if you had not turned us back among them for the sake of usefulness. They are enemies and haters; for to hate is to be an enemy. But we are neither enemies nor haters. And because of this we were far off; for what judgment... Lord, you turned us back among them, you have made us to be with those who are condemned. Therefore, those who were formerly in the form of God, having taken the form of a slave through compassion, say such a thing: that we have come to an earthly place not for ourselves, but for the sake of others, because you did not go out in our powers; for formerly you used to go out in our powers to bring us the victory against our enemies, and guarding us in the land of our fathers where we descended. Since therefore you did not go out in our powers, we were turned backward among those hating us. Those having seized us, to whom you gave—but with ill intent... And you find many such things in the Scripture; from envy... him y did not crucify him with this intention. Again Judas betrayed the Savior, and the betrayal became useful for the removal of 'the sin of the world' (John 1:29). Again, those crucifying did not crucify him with this intention. 'Those hating us seized us for themselves' (Psalm 44:10), they did not kill us. But if you say this, that they took our things for their own profit, and that the betrayal and the turning backward occurred timely. Therefore they bring forward: 'All these things came upon us, and we did not remember you' (Psalm 44:17). You gave us as sheep for feeding (Psalm 44:11). Formerly you helped openly so that our praise would be to you all day long and to confess in your name forever. But why now have we been delivered into captivity, suffering this not because of our wickedness or impiety? Those saying the psalm were such as Daniel... the one of Joshua and Ezekiel and Haggai and Zechariah and the three and others more. These are...

Not because of personal malice has one become in Babylon. But concerning those handed over to afflictions, and especially those in whom the choice is precarious because they rejoice over those handed over through malice, they were sent like physicians after wars, so that they might care for them, bringing aids that either preserve their existing health or dissolve disease and bring health.

For it is not, as some suppose, that they blame that day. Instead, they move toward other sayings: 'You have given us as sheep for food' (Psalm 44:11). We were handed over for our own eating; lions and wolves are devouring us. However, even if we are being devoured, we do not cease to be sheep: 'Israel was a wandering sheep; lions drove him out; the first devoured him, the King of Assyria' (Hos 11:7, 10:6). It is a bad thing for what has happened to be praised, not to remain as it is, but to be resolved into another quality. The one eating bread, if he sends it down into the stomach, the bread does not remain. And those who have been cast down and have become the food of enemies have not ceased to be sheep.

It is often said that food becomes the disciple of the teacher, concerning whom he also says: 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent me' (John 4:34). The Samaritan woman was indeed a disciple, concerning whom he also said: 'I have food to eat which you do not know' (John 4:32). Gaps in text... and again Gaps... to be bread. And bread becomes nourishment. In a certain way Gaps...

If, therefore, the man who preserves the image and the likeness, having become a teacher of God according to Jesus, eats a wild man through the process of training Gaps... and having become food for the teacher, he shall not be a lion. For this reason, he is blessed and is called blessed, not because he is a lion, but because he has become a man. But if ever a rational man, moving rationally, were to be eaten by a violent wild man or an evil power, he becomes a lion and such a one is a terror; for 'woe to the man whom the lion eats'. These therefore say: 'You gave us as sheep for food.' Having been eaten as sheep, they remained sheep. And among the nations you scattered us. According to the immediate sense of the word...

The Bondage of Sin and the Substitutions of Sacrifice§207

207They seem to say this: 'We have been sown among the nations, we have been dispersed in many places.' But they seem to have suffered this in Babylon and Assyria alone. Therefore, what he says is this: the sowing of these seeds, such as wheat or barley, is first useful in a Gospel-like way if they are sown in the earth; for this earth receives them into its own substance through a change and transformation. For from the earth, having changed, many came from one grain; they changed from the earth into harvests. It is animated... gap... into the adjacent earth, and it notifies it and transforms it into its own nature.

And he says 'seeds' regarding those saying these things, the saints, saying: 'In you we shall be praised and in your name we shall confess for ever' (Psalm 44:8). Behold, those saying: 'With you we horn our enemies' and the others, let them say: 'You have sown us among the nations' by way of seeds, so that the nations, in a certain way, if we are sown among them in a foreign land, we might change into ourselves, and one of us might become an ear of corn bearing many grains, benefiting many souls. And those being benefited are said to be different: sometimes children of those benefiting, when those are named fathers, sometimes sheep, when those have the state and conduct of a shepherd. These therefore, as seeds having been cast down, took into themselves those being benefited from being placed before them. Having been placed, the seeds changed the earth. The nations therefore are the earth, but the seeds are those cast down for the benefit of others. Let this also be simpler: that the Assyrians have become in Babylon, though they are not many nations and all the nations are. And let this also be toward my history.

You sent away your people without honor (Psalm 44:12). Without honor... gap... sent away; for having been led into captivity, we were not led there with honor, but having been led by the law of captivity; for nothing is more dishonorable than this. 'Without honor' therefore is 'you sent away your people'. gap... the people whom they wished to hold. And it is possible also to call that people, for whom... gap... among the others. And since 'you sent away your people without honor', that is, not having received honor, 'you sent away', gap... them; for they were given over to their own sins. And it is possible also that 'without honor'...

And for this reason we have endured these things, to come into captivity and to be scattered among the nations, so that you might gather to yourself. He has done to himself through sin and has made himself a debtor.

Furthermore, the thing by which the enemy, the king of souls, holds us, is called a handwriting. And a handwriting is something which someone has fastened with his own hands. Therefore 'he took it out from the middle,' so that it might no longer hold us by the handwriting with which we had fastened ourselves, having written ourselves down in it. And are they also being written down together with themselves? —that is, us being your people, you sent away without honor (Psalm 44:12)—then we were honored—by the manner of the captivity; or they speak concerning the people, for whom they themselves went into captivity: 'You sent away your people without honor' (Psalm 44:12). And for this reason we endure these things, because for the sake of their help you made the same things for them to draw from again, unpleasantly.

And there was not a multitude in our substitutions. Often, for the sake of certain things, safe and redeeming substitutions are given. For instance, it says: 'It is holy everything that opens a male womb.' And it says that, if it is a firstborn sheep or an ox or a goat, among those brought to the altar, it is necessary to perform the sacrifice itself. But if it is a firstborn donkey or something else of the priests, it is not even brought to the altar; 'you shall change a sheep in its place.' Through a sheep its value is changed and it enters into the temple. He says therefore that, since there were many, 'there was not a multitude in their substitutions.' There were not so many substitutions so that... in this way that, since God is the one giving the substitutions in their place, the substitutions are given being changed. And through a few, he is able to nourish many-peopled multitudes. And so that I may speak from history, there were many people, and if ten righteous men were found there (Genesis 18:32)—for until they... there being no multitude of substitutions, they were being changed. No one will say, therefore, to Babylon, but few in number as the...

The Nature of Reproach and the Mustard Seed§208

208Having been taken captive together... themselves and the people, and those others through sin, but the people through their own sins and the others through the sins of others. 'And there was not a multitude in their leaps' (Jonah 3:4). But few had become sufficient for... it would have happened, if they had turned back and known what evils they are in. 'Their sins are very great; I will go down and see if they have worked according to their cry coming toward me, but if not, so that I may know' (Genesis 18:21). How much it reached upon the cry of their wickedness and the... but if I do not find them such, but having repented like the Ninevites, I will know them. For those known by God are not trivial; 'the Lord knew those who were His' (2 Timothy 2:19). 'But then, not knowing God, you served gods which are not gods by nature; but now, having known God, rather having been known by God' (Galatians 4:8-9). When they were knowing, they were rather being known by the Benefactor.

14 A reproach has become to us from our neighbors. Regarding the history, the neighbors are the nearby ones... since therefore we were carried off into captivity, 'a reproach we have become to our neighbors' (Psalm 44:13). They themselves have not suffered nor have they prevailed with the rising of wars, but we. And as for the thought of this: just as the cross of the Savior has become a reproach for the sake of salvation—for it has been said: 'counting the reproach of Christ a greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt' (Hebrews 11:26)—so also these have in a way fallen into reproaches, having been seized and having been led into captivity. 'Angels,' he says, 'who did not keep their own beginning, but having left their own habitation, fell into everlasting chains' (Jude 1:6). This reproach of the angels is not praiseworthy, because having been granted to dwell in heaven and being able to stand and remain beside God always praising, they became in wickedness so as to fall from heaven. This reproach is trivial. Behold, indeed, the reproach of Christ is not only praiseworthy, but is greater than treasures. And if there were no difference between these, the proverbist would not have said: 'Do not acquire the reproach of evil men' (Proverbs 3:31). When therefore the apostles were rejoicing...

They rejoice even while being reproached for Christ. Having done nothing wrong, these reproaches of such people are not good. By becoming reproach itself, someone has established the practice of reproaching based on false accusations, not on truths. Thus also is the saying, 'We are without honor; for I think God has shown us the apostles to be the very last, as if marked for death' (1 Cor 4:9). This is the reproach in which they are placed. It is not a true reproach, nor is it from evil men, but from good men. Regarding the spoken word: that it is not earnest, nor God-fearing, and that those coming are our enemies, yet they did not drive us from their land.

14 They mock and deride us in our circle. The ones saying they have come not for their own sake, but for the sake of others, are holy. And they say: having been born, having held us and having drawn us into their land, being in our circle, they reproach us, mock us, and sneer at us; but the reproach, the mockery, and the derision do not touch us, but them. Just as if someone derides another, so that they may have children by weaving themselves together, and enjoy themselves. Therefore, those who are being mocked by these are thought to be such.

15 He made us a parable among the nations. Something hidden by a word is compared to something similar. That it may become clear, let us see from the Gospel (Matt 13:31): he compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, not saying 'it is like a mustard seed' while being a seed itself; for it was no longer a similarity, but an identity. He says 'hyper' [beyond/exceeding]. Therefore, the mustard seed has a power smaller in size than the seeds, capable of transforming and becoming such a plant. And the kingdom of heaven, thus revealing the teaching of the Scriptures, is something humble and small in its wording. If one sees it through the mustard seed, and that it becomes a greater plant, the...

Life as an Age and the Covering of the Face§209

209The Greek word is an evangelical word. For this reason, therefore, this parable was spoken: 'for a parable' thus 'us as a nation among the nations'. If anyone wishes to interpret the captives, they use us, saying: 'Behold, these ones having been led away well before... God, when the right hand of God and the light of his face were protecting them, they fell into a most evil leading away'. If anyone therefore wishes to show a falling away, they refer to us. And 'made us a parable' is not in Israel, not in Israel, not in the Hebrew multitude, but 'among the nations'.

Those who are truly nations do not know the difference between good and evil, but they consider all pleasant things and all appropriate things to be good, and the opposites of these to be evil. And the name of the parable may be this: the rank of the saints has a certain superiority compared to the other ranks of men. Because of this, they have become a parable. See: men are often taken captive in different ways by enemies. One suffers the taking away of what he has possessed, while another has them remaining... in the winter and the storm of this life, they have their own... flows away into corruption. 15 A head-movement among the peoples.... they observe those changing from prosperity into adversity, to move... those or perhaps grieving. But a head-movement among the peoples we have become. 'Peoples' indeed all the coarsest men can be called, having nothing opened, not being afraid. These therefore, because of us, set a head-movement. We, having become toward the peoples, the coarsest men, moved their mind and their head. And the mind moves when... when it perceives the things being imposed upon it to be perceived. 16 All the day my trouble is against me.

It is. He says 'all the day' and 'through life'. A man's life is called that which is from birth until death, sometimes called one day, sometimes an age. Thus it is said: 'I will not eat meat for ever' (1 Corinthians 8:13), and: 'he shall be thy servant for ever' (Deuteronomy 15:17). I had trouble against me all this day which I endured for the sake of others (Psalm 44:15); and the shame of my face covered me. The shame of the inner man covered me. For my face was not destroyed, but it was covered. And it is possible, having cast off the single covering, to bear his face naked, illuminated, as it is according to nature. And, so that I may phrase it this way, the ignorance that happens to other men destroys their face; for others become from others, from men serpents and wolves and foxes. But the holy man, even if he does not bear his own face naked, has it covered. And it is covered by the arrangement of the body, becoming a seeming ignorance from the incarnation. But when a change occurs into quality, I do not say that the fox, like Herod, had a covering, but his nature and disposition were such. When someone becomes foolish among the thoughtless, having cast folly upon himself, he has his face covered; when he becomes lawless among the lawless, he has his face covered.

From a voice reproaching and speaking idly. He says this: those are reproaching me and speaking idly. And those speaking idly are straying. So he says this: those who oppose us... as the rational being is accustomed to have, but rather they are straying. To speak idly is to say superfluous things. From the face of an enemy and one driving me away. When... I endured all these things. When the enemy appeared and was pursuing... shame of the...

Foreknowledge and Knowledge§210

210To have the face covered. I do not have these things because of wickedness... [The text is damaged here.]... immediately indeed he brought them: 'all these things came upon us, and we did not remember you' (Psalm 44:17). [The text is damaged here.]... because not coming out in our own powers, it came upon us to turn backward toward our enemies; it came upon us that a reproach should be placed upon our neighbors and those around us, a mockery and to have the face turned down, to be covered in shame.

Because the voice is of holy ones. Many many times also from the pleasant things they forget God, not only from the unpleasant ones. For he says: 'take care of yourself lest, having eaten and being filled and having built fine houses... the Lord your God you forget' (Deut 8:12). Sometimes, having come into afflictions, it is said they forget God. All these things came upon us, and we did not remember you, and we did not act wickedly against your covenant.

Israel was captured from Judea both by chance and locally, and a chance and natural local displacement has happened; for they thought [The text is damaged here.] having gone there they did not keep the laws there and toward the laws there [The text is damaged here.] to Babylonize according to the soul. Often God hindered them, persisting in living thus. In order that they might know by trial that evil is that which they loved, he resettled them into Babylon. Along with this, he made a way to be captured, and holy ones like Ezekiel, Zechariah, Angel, Daniel, and those cast into the furnace, so that even being there they were not completely abandoned, so that they might experience it as if in war.

There is also a Jerusalem above. Those living according to the divine laws dwell in God. If they become apostates from the divine laws, they are resettled into the place concerning the earth, and this is the captivity according to allegory. And there are sent out to them again here for the sake of help: 'there came a man, sent from God, his name John. This came for a testimony, so that he might testify about the light' (John 1:6-7); for he did not come for the sake of another than to testify.

To the light. Again Jeremiah hears: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you, and I appointed you a prophet to the nations' (Jeremiah 1:5). Before coming forth from the womb he was sanctified, and as a prophet to the nations he was appointed. Again: 'Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world' (Ephesians 1:4). By 'foundation of the world' he means his coming-to-be. And Paul and those with him were chosen before the foundation of the world, and this election has become theirs from then until now, so that they might be sent out together with those who have been called and might be able to help them.

But did Paul speak according to foreknowledge? Foreknowledge is a theoretical viewing of what is coming to be. But according to kind, foreknowledge and knowledge are the same. They differ in time. For example, suppose I foreknow that tomorrow there will be thunder. When the thunder comes to be in the middle of the day, it is knowledge, no longer foreknowledge. And the knowledge of the thunder does not make it such, but what it is, that becomes the knowledge. Thus the known thing makes the knowledge, which does not receive the knowing from us. I use an image for the sake of the manner of foreknowledge: the one child is born so that he may demand, and the other, so that he may live in the house. What kind of justice is this of foreknowledge, if we take these things to happen according to foreknowledge? Foreknowledge both justifies and condemns. To foreknow and to know is also to condemn and to justify from the things being done and being thought.

Paul was foreknown in this life, both a traitor and a persecutor of Christ and an apostle. Was he not both foreknown? Foreknowledge therefore made him have both. Again, did he not become first an apostle and later a traitor? He was not foreknown by God. The foreknowledge of God made him at one time an apostle and at another time a traitor. And indeed it is sought: did he choose the apostles from among us? 'Did I not choose you, the twelve?' (John 6:70) and: 'Whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son' (Romans 8:29). He does not speak about existence, but about being conformed. Foreknowledge does not lead to existence. God has made it so, having made them known; for the matter does not make the knowledge of God; for the knowledge of God is eternal. It is taken in relation to what is coming to be and is called foreknowledge; for that woman Susanna says again: 'He who knows the...

The Integrity of the Covenant and the Purpose of Affliction§211

211All things before their being. Being. It is not foreknowledge that makes things such or such, but choice, the things chosen. I say: I foreknow that this person will give birth to a male and will have sons; this is not a matter of choice. But to become something trivial or important, or to have some other fitness, is a matter of choice. It does not come from foreknowledge, since God judges beforehand and justifies beforehand. And if He justifies beforehand, it was of His goodness to justify all.

Again, concerning Esau and Jacob, the apostle, as if speaking in a dilemma, says: 'What then shall we say to this? Is there injustice with God? May it never be!' (Romans 9:14). Because he had refuted injustice, he forced us to seek how there is not injustice with God. If it were so, as those who speak of foreknowledge say, we would rather find injustice in Him. 'I loved Jacob,' He says, 'but I hated Esau' (Romans 9:13). But one is hated or loved according to things done and according to things thought. How then does foreknowledge have room? Is injustice found with God? But he, refuting this, said: 'What then shall we say? Is there injustice with God? May it never be!' Since there is no injustice, let the matter be sought in another way, how it has come to pass.

Many times we have also said that: if we have a correct assumption about someone, we understand everything about him accordingly; as we were saying concerning the king. And in all the ways of captivity, he said this in many pleasures and pains, and being wise in both pleasures and pains, it did not result in God being forgotten by them, but rather they were grieved, because they were men needing such things, just as concerning the captives, that they need captivity. Thus indeed some have demonstrated that in the one hundred and eighty-first and tenth psalm it is so: 'Despondency has taken hold of me from sinners' (Psalm 119:53). One becomes despondent when he sees men made in the image of God and in likeness having become sinners. And just as if someone is a father, when he sees his son suffering from fever and weakness, he strikes him, he is grieved, not because he strikes him, but because he has come into such a state; so also these, being noble and knowing that 'through many tribulations it is necessary to enter the kingdom of God' (Acts 14:22), they do not sink entirely into the afflicted. For they say: 'In all things we are afflicted, but not in anguish' (2 Corinthians 4:8).

Not being distressed is to bear the afflictions bravely. 'And we have not acted unjustly toward your covenant' (Psalm 44:17). What has been decreed according to your will remains for ever, and all things according to your judgments, and therefore we have not acted unjustly. If anyone says, 'Why is this one a child and that one a child, and this one rich and that one poor?' he acts unjustly toward the covenant of God. Just as with these covenants which men establish, if anyone wishes to contradict and fight against one of those written, he unjustly acts against the covenant in vain. His own injustice seems to be an injustice against the covenant. If anyone handles the God-breathed Scripture differently, as the heretics do, they act unjustly toward the Gospel, toward the Divine Scripture.

And our heart has not turned backward (Psalm 44:18). You see that there is a remaining straightness of following. 'Has not turned backward' means we have not become others, having a heart that is right and straight and looking straightly. And this thing of the unsettled and the uncertain happens to us; many, having come into affliction, turned their mind so as to grumble against providence. 'And you have turned our paths from your way' (Psalm 44:18). This says that we ran your way well before we descended into this condition and conduct. 'You have turned our paths from your way,' because you have transferred us into another life and a way suitable to life. However, even if 'you have turned our paths' by handing us over to captivity, nevertheless our paths did not turn away from your way.

For you have humbled us in a place of affliction (Psalm 44:19). Take the place of your humbling according to both the consequences of the deportation from Jerusalem to Babylon. Primarily this place is the earth, where the souls that are brought low are humbled, 'the body of humiliation.' It can also be handed over to the afflicted to bear the shame and the place of affliction, namely the land of Assyria or the land of Babylon. 'And you have covered us with the shadow of death' (Psalm 44:19). Even if the death of affliction lay upon us, it did not consume us. His shadow covered us. Let it be like a heavy stone lifted up on high. Let someone be under this, but not necessarily fallen upon it. And let him see occasionally the shadow of the...

Sacrificial Death and Divine Slumber§212

212Upon itself. And the shadow of the stone does not do what the stone itself has done, from which even God is delivered. It has been said: 'The rising sun appeared to those in darkness and the shadow of death' (Luke 1:78).

If we have forgotten the name of our God and if we have stretched out our hands toward a foreign god, then these things are no longer said toward God himself. Previously, it was said toward God himself: 'You turned our paths from your way; you humbled us in a place of affliction' (Psalm 44:18-19). Therefore, they say to others that they have become in these things through sin and lawlessness, and they say: 'If we have forgotten the name of our God and if we have stretched out our hands toward a foreign god,' that is to say, if we have worshipped a foreign god. But all those called gods according to the Scripture who are falsely named should be considered foreign gods; for it has been said: 'All the gods of the nations are demons' (Psalm 96:5; LXX 95:5).

Not toward our own belly, nor toward mammon, did we stretch out our hands, which are allegorically called our deeds. We stretched them out toward a foreign god and toward the enemies who seem to have prevailed. God will not fail to seek these things. They were saying, in this way of reading: 'Will God not seek these things?' (Psalm 44:21) and they were saying, in this way of reading: 'Will God not seek these things?'

He says: do not think it a small thing to forget the name of God or to stretch out hands toward a foreign god. For God also seeks these things. And you know that some, especially in persecutions, were saying this: that it is possible to do things without acting with the heart. Indeed, many died saying this, and they silenced the name of God as if forgetting Him. He says, not even this is enough to hide God, who is invisible, and He seeks these things. For does He not seek? The following text does not permit this way of thinking. For He himself knows the secrets of the heart.

Let him who is ignorant of the secrets of the heart seek first whether he acted thus or like that. For instance, if someone, pretending to be wise, says: 'I did not stretch out my hands toward a foreign god,' I say: 'I, who am ignorant of the secrets of the heart, am examining these things.' But God does not seek; for He knows them. And He says, therefore, what He knows as secrets:

"Because of you we die all day, we were counted as sheep for slaughter" (Psalm 44:22). Because of you we die all day, we were counted as sheep for slaughter. Those dying all day for God and counted as sheep for slaughter have no doubt whether they have come to the name of God or stretched hands toward a foreign god. Therefore, one does not seek these things from a heart that is manifest. "We were counted" then "as sheep for slaughter." Everyone who wishes to slaughter us can do so. And this is possible; even if some fight us, we consider ourselves as sheep being ritualized, as being sacrificed to God for a "pleasing sacrifice" (Ps 50:5). Indeed, in the Revelation of John, "the souls of those being persecuted for the testimony of Jesus" (Rev 6:9) appeared dancing under the altar of the heavenly God, clearly as victims having come there.

"Arise; why, Lord, do you sleep? Arise and do not cast us away to the end" (Ps 44:23). It seems that God sleeps when He is long-suffering toward the wrongdoing of His own holy men and the groaning of those made according to Him. Indeed, they send up a prayer saying: "Cast the hands toward their pride to the end" (Psalm 74:3), and: "May the pride of those hating you ascend to you always" (Psalm 74:23). And it seems God sleeps when He is long-suffering, when He overlooks His own being afflicted. "Arise and do not cast us away to the end" (Ps 44:23). For if even we have become captives and are being afflicted in the place of ill-treatment, being human, mortal, and liable to fall, we fear being cast away to the end. Israel was cast away in Babylon, when they worshiped Bel and had made the image of Nebuchadnezzar and other things of the Babylonians; they were cast away to the end. But those around Daniel, even if they were cast away locally, they were not cast away to the end; for they remained in the same godliness. It seems they were cast away, but they were not cast away to the end, the lions being silenced and him ascending unhurt.

"Why do you turn your face away, forgetting our poverty and our affliction? For our soul has been humbled into dust" (Psalm 44:24-25). This is the same as sleeping and seeming to turn the face away. Appear to us, rescuing and saving us from the...

Qualitative Change and the End§213

213Because of an existing wickedness. Why then do you turn away? Will you then forget our poverty and our affliction? Because of you we are afflicted, because of you we are poor. But you do not forget these things. In which things one conquers, even if he is gloomy or even if he is joyless. It was said that the dust is more bodily. 'Our soul was humbled' therefore, of those saying these things, 'into the dust'. 'The body of humiliation' surrounds us, but we were not humbled by it. As if someone, for instance, receives a blow from a certain tyrant, he seems to have been humbled, but he was not humbled; for he still has the same pride, he still has the same joy. Because of this we are poor and are afflicted, because our soul, having been humbled into the dust, does not clearly possess its own resurrection, and 'our belly was stuck to the earth' (Psalm 44:25).

But they do not say this about them in truth, but about their own members, about their own people. And there are two ways for the belly to have been humbled to the earth: when someone thinks of earthly things and seeks lower things, he does not produce heavenly offspring, he does not produce God-fearing thoughts, but all human things; and the soul saying these things becomes a mother, 'because our belly was stuck to the earth' (Psalm 44:25). And according to a second meaning, the one being nourished by the heavenly bread, the belly receiving heavenly nourishment, was stuck to heaven. But those who eat the flesh of the dragon and carry the same food to the serpent, being earth, have the belly stuck to the earth. And just as it is said concerning the sensible things: 'the foods to the belly, and the belly to the foods; and God will destroy both this and these' (1 Corinthians 6:13), so also the belly and the stomach of the soul, when it is not nourished by heavenly things, when it does not receive from its divine bridegroom, has the belly stuck to the earth.

Arise, Lord, help us and redeem us for the sake of your name. We ask for help, lest the afflictions remaining for a long time might harm our soul which is turning. Ka-

And then, so that they may not boast in their own righteousness, trusting in it, he says: 'Arise, O Lord, help us and redeem us for the sake of your name' (Psalm 44:26). We are enriched by you. For this reason we have come into these afflictions, because we are yours, and for the sake of help you have sent us into this hardship.

1 Toward the end, for those who are being changed; to the sons of Kore for understanding; a song for the beloved. Change is a movement and a transformation of something according to quality. Not every movement and transformation is a change. For there is a change according to becoming. I say, for instance, an egg becoming a bird and a grain of wheat a stalk. This movement and transformation is according to becoming. And there is another occurring according to corruption; when the body of a human decays and is dissolved into fluids and worms and the like, it is not said to be changed, but to have decayed. And there is also another movement and transformation according to increase, when an addition to the previous amount occurs; for when I am extended from a smaller to a greater size, I am said to have increased, but to have diminished when the amount is contracted and becomes less. Change, therefore, is a movement according to quality, such as from sickness to health and from health to sickness, from ignorance to knowledge and likewise, from unbelief to faith.

'Toward the end,' therefore, 'for those who are being changed.' We have often explained regarding the end, that it is that which is after all things, the last thing to be desired. Thus, 'toward the end, for those who are being changed.' When change reaches such a limit that it is no longer possible for it to be further extended, in the perfection of things, when 'God becomes all in all' (1 Cor 15:28), the quality can no longer be extended. Every knowledge and every virtue is a quality. It is possible, therefore, to begin virtue and to make progress in it, and it is always possible to receive more to that which already exists. But when someone possesses virtue perfectly as if nothing...

The Transformation of the Right Hand of the Most High§214

214To be transformed into something else until the end. The same applies to knowledge and wisdom; we say the same thing: there is one being introduced into wisdom who is subject to testing as one capable of sinning. For it is said, 'reprove the wise, and he will love you' (Prov 9:8). No one is reproved unless he possesses the things by which he is to be reproved. This wise person, who is subject to testing, is a newborn and, being just brought in, is able to make progress continually. But when he receives wisdom such that it is no longer possible to receive it as an addition, he has been transformed until the end.

And here, even if many saints were being influenced by 'the body of humility,' they receive 'out of His fullness,' not the fullness itself, nor each one out of the fullness, but 'all from the fullness.' And they receive here 'a pledge of the Spirit,' not the whole Spirit itself, so that I may phrase it this way. But when 'the partial' is abolished and the end remains, and 'face to face' is seen, and men become like God according to what has been said: 'when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is' (1 John 3:2), here is the end of those being transformed. And it is well to say 'those being transformed' and not 'those having been transformed.'

No one is praised for knowledge and virtue if he merely became knowledgeable or virtuous, but when he is actively knowledgeable; for virtue and knowledge belong to the active, having their being in the act of being. Therefore, 'unto the end,' 'on behalf of those being transformed.' This blessedness, divine and superlative transformation, we have from the right hand of the Most High; for it is said: 'this is the transformation of the right hand of the Most High.' Just as it is said, 'being rich, He became poor for our sake, so that through His poverty we might become rich' (2 Cor 8:9)—and see: 'being rich, He became poor for our sake'—for having been transformed, He also made His presence felt. But remaining apart from His presence, He is the same, always possessing being as rich. 'For our sake' He became poor. Therefore, when having become poor for our sake, He makes us rich, we are being transformed in wealth and are coming unto the end, if we become rich as He is, as is possible, whenever we behold 'His glory, the glory as of the Only-Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth' (John 1:14). Thus, the saints receive 'out of the fullness.' No one receives the fullness, nor all...

In the same way with the words, 'I will pour out from my Spirit.' He did not say, 'my spirit'; for those who are spirit-bearers here receive a 'pledge' of the 'Spirit.' And the pledge is poured out from the Spirit. And the pledge is a part of a whole. Therefore, 'unto the end,' 'concerning those who shall be transformed.'

So, 'this is the transformation of the right hand of the Most High.' The right hand of the Most High is unshakeable and unchangeable. It always has and is the same; for we understand it as nothing other than the Savior. How then is it transformed, let us see: it descends along with us to instruct; and then, in reality, we were benefited if it descends along with us. But if it remains above itself, we are not benefited.

Therefore he says this: 'Will the Lord cast off forever or withhold his mercy?' (Psalm 77:7-8) and 'Will he cut off his mercy from generation to generation or withhold his compassions?' (Psalm 77:7-8) He says: 'And I said, Now I have begun,' when, through the descending process, I received experience of the right hand. 'Now I have begun': it happened in the beginning to know the truth, in the beginning to know the works of providence, the creative mercies of God toward good. So I said, 'Now I have begun.'

He says: 'This transformation,' which I endured, 'of the right hand of the Most High' is. This transformed me. No one of the created things was able to transform me in this way; for all need one who leads toward progress, one who perfects. But speaking more popularly and for those speaking in the middle, we will say that this is the transformation of the Most High: being a blessing, it has become a curse, so that it may release the curse and demonstrate those who are blessed. Being righteousness, it has therefore become sin, but sin such as is a maker of righteousness. And 'in him' we become 'the creative righteousness of God.' It is not righteousness simply, but of God.

We have said many times that those who are renamed possess the names of the seven gifts when they are perfected according to them. In the same way, regarding the one perfected in love, as is possible in life, Paul calls it love; for 'love does not boast, is not rude, does not seek its own' (1 Cor 13:4) is not said concerning the virtue of love, the commandment which is greater than all, but concerning the one possessing it, concerning the one doing it. Therefore the Savior becomes for the sake of all of us. He becomes flesh, 'so that we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Cor 5:21); for having seen 'his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten' (John 1:14), [he...]

Change through corruption vs. change of substance§215

215We remain flesh, but we become gods according to those 'to whom the word of God became' (John 10:35). This 'alteration' is according to both, that is, both that which we others have been altered into and that which was undergone on our account; it is not a turning away, nor having been altered according to the divinity, but according to the economy, according to the humanization. 'Unto the end' therefore, 'for the sake of those who shall be altered'; these ones who are to be altered, while still being in the process of being altered, will one day reach the end of that alteration; for no one begins in order that he might not be perfected, but in order that after many progresses he might reach that very end of that quality according to which he is being altered.

And what is the end, or the becoming god-like, so that all might be? Some take this regarding the resurrection from the dead, saying that those being raised have an incorruptible instead of a corruptible body, and a spiritual instead of a psychic, and a strong and glorious instead of a weak and dishonorable. But Paul, saying, did not say: 'all shall be altered', but 'we shall be changed' (1 Cor 15:51), 'and the dead shall be raised incorruptible' (1 Cor 15:52), since the body is raised according to essence; for from a body an incorporeal thing does not become, but from such a body a certain kind of body becomes, having the change according to quality.

If we take it thus according to quality only, it is an alteration. But if, since the corruptible is not the same as the incorruptible, the corruptible becomes incorruptible, it is a change, a change according to transformation. I do not say that from a body an incorporeal thing has become, but from a corruptible body an incorruptible body. But does the body remain? The body remains, and just as a sinful soul, if it becomes righteous, the soul remains. But the change has happened according to alteration. If, therefore, a resurrection happens according to alteration, the flesh is flesh again, the corruptible is corruptible again; for I am not speaking of the quality of the corruptible or the flesh. It happens according to change.

If, for example, we change the colors of a vessel made from a shell either by painting or otherwise, this is altered; for the same thing remains. But if, having made a vessel from clay, we bring it to the fire and it becomes a shell, this is not an alteration, but a change, not because the clay was cast out and the shell was brought in, but because that thing has become shell-like. Again, the sand and nitre having been prepared by the glass-makers, glass is made...

It is a kind of change, and I do not say that the sand has vanished as if it had departed, or the saltpeter, but rather those things have become natron. And listen to the fact that there is a change: when the saltpeter was saltpeter, it was dissolved upon the passing of moisture, but the natron having come from it is not dissolved. Again, the sand was seed upon the passing of moisture. But when it becomes natron, it is no longer seed. I say, therefore, that this is a change, not from one underlying substance into another underlying substance, but into something having come into being from that which has undergone corruption. The saltpeter and the sand undergo corruption and become natron. Yet the corruption of these does not destroy them into non-existence.

And the matter of the pottery, as I have said, the clay having become a pot through fire, does not cast the clay down into non-existence, but the pot becomes something else from it. Likewise, the bird comes from an egg; for the egg is not cast out from the outside so that the bird might be brought in; rather, that very thing transforms into this, yet it is no longer an egg; for it flies, and it has sensation. The egg has endured none of these things. And Paul has used the name of the seed: 'it is sown in corruption, it is sown in weakness' (1 Cor 15:43). I say: the seed of the animal, when it is a seed, is not an animal. But it transforms itself into the animal; for it is not that an animal comes from somewhere else after the seed has vanished, but the seed itself, first being turned into nature, then from nature into an embryo, and after the embryo, becoming an animal, undergoes birth. These, then, are changes, not alterations; for change does not occur by quality alone. And many such things are to be found.

And Paul himself, using the seeds: the grain of wheat is a grain before it is sown. But when it happens to be sown in agriculture, it becomes an ear; or, as others say, again wheat. But they did not know that what was said is an example. It has been said many times that examples are not made uniform, because they are no longer examples. Again, it is not the same thing to be an infant and a child. Nevertheless, the infant transforms into the child, and I do not say that the child entered from somewhere else after the infant had been turned into non-existence, but the infant itself, through growth and through another quality, became a child, without having reached maturity. And according to age, one is an infant and another is a child, but according to the...

The Nourishment of the Heart§216

216There is no difference in a man who is growing older; for there is one underlying subject to that infant and that age; having perished, he is again a man underlying the child. And if he changes from the child to an ox, the age has changed again. And this is a quality, and it is a non-substantial quality. And again, always growing older until he reaches old age. Therefore, qualities and ages are being exchanged; for he said that ages are qualities that are non-substantial. But the same man remains.

Even if the body receives ten thousand changes in the resurrection, it is a body, but not this body, not the one before the change. And Paul, therefore, was compelled to speak as one thing and another. He said: 'A natural body is sown, a spiritual body is raised' (1 Cor 15:44). He says: 'Not first the spiritual but the natural, then the spiritual.' And where there is the first and the second, identity is not signified. However, we do not take the first and the second as an exchange of substances, but an exchange of the same body, since it has become incorruptible from the corruptible and spiritual from the natural. So one thing is change and another is alteration. The change of the soul effects the alteration, which I call the praised or even the lied-about; for it is easier to undergo alteration, as it has been said: 'How shall the gold be darkened? How shall the good silver be altered?' (Lamentations 4:1). And he says: 'Children of Zion, the precious ones, overlaid with gold and silver, how were they counted as vessels of earthenware, the work of their own hands?' (Lamentations 4:2).

Again, allegory will show other things; for it is said that gold has been changed into earthenware vessels, not according to history, but according to anagogical ascent. 'Unto the end,' therefore, 'for those who shall be altered; to the sons of Kore for understanding.' And since the inscription itself and the whole psalm have mysteries hidden within them, for this reason understanding is needed for the one bringing this song; for it is 'for understanding.' And it was also said concerning the three hundred and first psalm, since it was spoken with an enigma: 'A song, therefore, for the beloved.' This very triumphal song became for the beloved; for he himself became the cause of the alteration; for he said that 'being rich, he became poor,' so that he might work us to be rich, not rich according to a fantasy, not sensually, but having...

"Every word and all knowledge." He said that having become cursed, he established a blessing. Therefore, the beloved has become the cause of this best of transformations. For this reason, the song is assigned to him; just as a victory song is sent to a general or a king, even though others, spear-bearers and soldiers, are accompanying him, yet the essence of the victory is inscribed to the king or the general.

What about "for the sake of the beloved"? Instead of "concerning"—for it is not always said "on behalf of something"; "so that the one against him may be entangled, having nothing to say something trivial concerning us"; for it is not said here "concerning us" instead of "gathering for us."

"My heart searched out a good word" (Psalm 45:1). Some take this psalm to be spoken from the presence of the Father and from the presence of the perfect man, the wise one. And you know that the eructation of previously eaten food brings forth its fragrance; for there is no eructation other than a proceeding of spirit from the stomach declaring the quality of the things previously eaten. If indeed anyone eats an apple, he has the eructation bringing forth the quality and fragrance of the apple.

When therefore a holy person eats the "bread of life" (John 6:35) and having Jesus' flesh as true food and the fruits of the "tree of life" (Genesis 2:9) and drinks the wine being harvested from the "true vine" (John 15:1), he has an eructation suitable to the foods previously eaten. He who has thus been fed and has eructated signifies: "the good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth the good" (Luke 6:45). And since it is concerning spiritual things, he was not hesitant to speak of a treasure instead of stomachs, namely the heart.

He who therefore has been fed on the blessed food and has enjoyed the flesh of Jesus and the "bread of life" (John 6:35), the bread of heaven, brings forth words suitable to that which he was fed and eructated: "my heart searched out a good word" (Psalm 45:1). We have therefore spoken fully concerning the man.

The sons of Korah, bringing the hymns with this same mind and the same spirit, bring them forth as one. Just as: "as the deer longs for the water springs, so my soul longs" (Psalm 42:1), so also here they say as one and in unison: "my heart searched out." And this refers to each of the wise; for if the wise man brings forth what he has in his heart and what he was fed, these things...

God as Land, Source, and Radiance§217

217He brings it forth by instructing, having searched out the good word. From this, the word again gathers this point: that if anyone wishes to bring forth a word without having been nourished, it is not a good movement. And again, just as a handler, having nourished himself on food, has a reason for instruction, so he says, 'I declare my works to the king.' My works are so boldly declared, and they bring me no condemnation nor any reproach. I say to him, to the king, to the judge.

My tongue is a scribe's pen, sharp-writing. My word is signified through the tongue. Often you will find the tongue used instead of the word. As if he says, 'The Lord will destroy all deceitful lips and the great-sounding tongue' (Psalm 12:3), he calls the word 'great-sounding'. It is a beautiful beauty according to the sons of men. And the sons of men—that is, the wise of the world and those who once promised teaching—seem to have beauty in their own words. Our word's beauty according to the sons of men is sent by God, is a gift from God, and is true wisdom. Therefore, it possesses something more than the sons of men who, speaking from their own hearts, gather words and lessons of their own zeal and learning.

For then listen: the Psalm is received from the face of the Father. And almost all those speaking to the common people receive it in this way. The transcendent and great things, which are above the intellects, are revealed only through many examples. Wishing therefore to say many times that God is one, we say ten thousand things. We say that nothing is joined to Him, that there is neither matter nor form in Him, that He is a Monad, He is a One, and only through a multitude of words do we make these things manifest. But when I wish to speak about wine, it is enough to say 'wine'; for they know what it is, it is said; and we signify only the concept through the word. The same is true concerning earth. We have no need of many words. But when we say that the...

God is land, saying: 'Did I become a desert to Israel or a tilled land?' (Jeremiah 2:31). We say ten thousand things to show how God is called land.

Again, if we call him a source, we do not say little, as when we report concerning a sensible source. But concerning God we say many things, because since the things pertaining to God and the fullness of his goodness are not externally being thrust upon or supplied, but he himself is full of goodness. Therefore, the fullness of the good things, the fullness of those happening to be virtuous, is called a source.

And the generation of the Savior from the Father is not something readily available nor to be taken by those wishing, but only to those to whom a revelation of the Father and of the Son has become; for just as the Father reveals the Son and the Son the Father, many examples are needed so that the intimacy of the Son toward the Father and the generation may be made manifest. For he calls him 'the radiance of light.' The radiance is not external to the light; it is generated from it. And the light does not pre-exist the radiance; for light and radiance are simultaneous. If, therefore, we wish to show that it is an eternal generation of the Son, we call him an eternal radiance of light from the eternal.

But the heterodox do not know how each of these things is said, and they do not take them as models, but say: 'The light is essence, the radiance is energy. Is the Son not energy of essence and not essence?' They do not understand why this was said: so that one might learn that the Father does not pre-exist the Son; for the Father is not a sensible light and the Son is not a sensible radiance. It has become a teaching upon human things, so that from those things which we know, we may learn what we do not know. But we know that the light does not pre-exist the radiance.

Again, the Father is called a source of wisdom; for 'you have left' the 'source of wisdom' (Baruch 3:12). He wishes to show that just as the water of the source is not foreign, so also the wisdom of the 'only wise one' is not foreign.

Generation and Creation as One in the Father§218

218For he says 'only wise' of the Father, not having said 'only wise' of any of the created things; for many are those called by a name from which they possess wisdom. But the Father is not called wise by a name from wisdom, since he was no longer alone, there being many participating in wisdom and being called wise from it, but he is called 'only wise' because he springs forth wisdom, begetting wisdom, so that the 'only wise' could not say wisdom and call the wisdom 'only wise', as it is to be wise from the wise.

And here, therefore, again, the Word, desiring to show the essential relationship of the Son to the Father and the generation from him, calls the Father the source of wisdom and the source of life; for he is also called the source of life: 'You abandoned me, the spring of living water' (Jeremiah 2:13). And here, therefore, again, the Word, desiring to show that the Savior is not of another essence than the Father's, says that he himself has drawn a word from the heart: 'for my heart has drawn out a good word' (Psalm 45:1). For God has a heart, and no other heart of his own; for the heart signifies the mind. And he is that very mind. And just as it is said that he has immortality not from another beside him and has life in himself not being another existing of his, so also he has a heart not being another of his; for he is mind, and the Son is the offspring of mind. And the Word is the offspring of mind. Therefore, 'my heart has drawn out a good word'.

And in order that he might show that it is not the heart that begot, and that the offspring is good, he said the offspring; for it is indubitable that if the offspring is good, it is not the case that the begetter must be good. But perhaps it is not always saved. It happens that something begotten from the good is not good when it undergoes a change. But since the Word is unchangeable and does not have as the others a changeable state, so also the good received its generation from the heart of the good Father. Again, since among humans the things brought forth from the womb are genuine offspring, he says again: 'I begot you from the womb before the Morning Star' (Psalm 110:3). To beget is a property of the womb, just as to do is a property of the hands. When, therefore, he wishes to introduce God as a genuine maker and truly the creator of creation, he says the works of his hands are the creation: 'I will see the heavens, the works of your fingers' (Psalm 8:3). 'The heavens are the works of my hands'. And since some think that the...

To beget and to create are the same; thus, if one were to say, 'the heavens are the products of my hands,' or to say, 'I begot you from a hand,' it is not that they are different, but that they differ according to thought. Yet the indwelling is manifest through all these from the Father. As I said a little earlier, if someone names one thing only sensually, they name it by the name of the Lord. I say all these things regarding God, so that through all things I may remain apart from those capable of speaking falsely concerning God.

And here, then, the heart of the Father begets. And regarding human beings, I say this—at times they become begetters of thoughts, at other times they receive them from without through instruction. Therefore, they are not called fathers of thoughts if they have been made such by something else alone. For we certainly call the discoverers of the sciences 'fathers of the sciences,' but we do not call those who have learned from others 'fathers of the sciences.'

For they say, for instance, that Moses first became a father of legislation because he did not receive the laws from another, but was himself called by God to this end. 'My heart drew out a good word' (Psalm 45:1). Just as an offspring comes from the womb, so also the good word is in the heart. And a heart toward God and a womb are not one thing and another. 'I declare my works to the king.' A change of person has occurred here.

The good word himself, being begotten and in agreement with the Father, says, 'I declare my works to the king'; for just as when we hear, 'God said, Let there be' (Genesis 1:3), and, 'He said, and they came into being; He commanded, and they were created,' we do not hear these things in a human way; for He is not ignorant of the Son what must come to be and how; He commanded and said, but because of us, so that the agreement of the Father and the Son might be shown, that all things came to be by a single will and all things are provided for. For, 'God said, Let there be' (Genesis 1:3), do you think He used a spoken word? We say that the work reaches the word, and the word is not prior in time to the work, but is in thought alone. If then this is the case, how must it be said that we hear? We do not hear by a passing voice, from a mouth passing into the hearing of the voice. In order that the agreement might be shown, these things are said and...

The Holy Spirit as the Sharp Pen§219

219Concerning the Spirit, of whom the Savior said, 'He cannot speak of himself' (John 16:13).

This 'cannot' means that apart from Him and the Father, His word or teaching is not brought forth.

Regarding others, it signifies that many are generated erroneously, because someone speaks apart from God when he does this wrongly.

But the Holy Spirit does not possess the nature of being separated from the Father's announcement; to phrase it thus, He is the announcement itself.

For I say, 'I declare my works to the King.'

The Savior says, 'My tongue is a sharp scribe's pen.'

My tongue writes incorruptible laws in the hearts of men; for He is 'giving laws upon their mind, and upon their heart I will write them' (Hebrews 8:10).

And God writes through His living Spirit upon the fleshly hearts, and not the stony ones.

And behold, the sharp scribe's pen is able to be the Holy Spirit.

He writes sharply... they are through understanding: 'Once God spoke, twice these things I have heard' (Psalm 62:11).

And in the word of the one set forth... is [water/refreshment].

And I have said twice: 'Once God spoke, twice these things I have heard.'

And... that... if it is being demonstrated concerning circumcision, the wise man hears two: one concerning the sensory circumcision according to the commandment, and one concerning the spiritual.

If they spoke once of God concerning sacrifice, again we hear these two: the sensory circumcision according to the law, and that carried up by the Spirit, called the 'sacrifice of praise.'

And for each commandment it is the same: concerning the Sabbath, if he says, 'twice these things he heard.'

But they were saying another, higher understanding, which is harsh to the many, that: God, desiring to command His many laws, such as the Decalogue, does not speak according to one single commandment, but... having come into the listener's mind, all was heard. 'Twice these things I heard,' so that you might receive more than just these.

It is so; and indeed it is clear to the many; nevertheless let us see: the thought and the spoken word are not the same.

Thought is the activity of the mind, of which the voice is a symbol. 'Those in the soul's sufferings are a symbol of those in the voice.'

But the spoken word is that [...] (lacuna).

[...] for this reason he fled the face of God [...] a crowd announced to him [...] that he does not partake of the wood [...] to guard [...] (lacunae).

The Divine Logos as the Source of Grace§220

220God wills it, just as one made to guard and work beside him. Similarly, we do not set aside this thing by saying something outside the word, as if when I converse, think, or announce, we do not set aside all things of the soul nor all things of the body, but he who sits together from both sides says what he thinks. And this activity is of the soul, as the composer says. If I say that I walk slowly or grow warm or shiver, the composer is now concerning his own body.

'My tongue is like a scribe's sharp pen. He beautifies with grace among the sons of men' (Psalm 45:1-2). The evangelical word is among all these human words. Of the man who received and anticipated the word of God, the word is good and kingly. Grace was poured out on your lips (Luke 4:22). This is interpreted in the Gospel according to Luke; for how he entered the synagogue in Capernaum, 'and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him' (Luke 4:17), so that it might be read, he said: 'and all were marveling at the words of grace proceeding from his mouth' (Luke 4:22). In this way his words are grace-filled as to hold those who hear. He says 'hearing' according to understanding, not according to mere hearing; for all hear the gospel, and 'Greeks and Jews' (Rom 1:16), but they are not possessing the grace of the words. Is it necessary to have another person here? 'Grace was poured out on your lips,' that is, the Holy Spirit, or the writer says this.

Sometimes also the Father, witnessing, says; for lips many times we have spoken to signify the word: 'and' for 'unjust lips, keep far from me' (Proverbs 4:24). 'Because of this, may God your God bless you forever' (Psalm 45:2). And this is said also concerning the man; for to be blessed with a cause is not of the word of God. He himself is the blessing, the source of blessing. The 'cause' lies here in the 'because of this,' just as also in: 'because of this God your God has anointed you' (Psalm 45:2).

moving foal

The Sword of the Word and the Beauty of Virtue§221

221Your thigh, powerful one.

Therefore we say: the faithful man, the self-controlled one, the imitator of God, girds the unyielding Word of God, which is being wielded above every sword, around his thigh, so that he may cut away superfluous desires.

For he who has grasped the honorable marriage and keeps the bed undefiled, has the sword of the Word of God cutting them away.

If 'powerful' here refers to the God-Word or the soul joined to Him, 'thigh' refers to the incarnation, the birth from a woman.

Therefore, preserve this sword while your beauty and your loveliness remain.

And beauty and loveliness are sinlessness, when spoken of the soul; for it did not know sin.

But if spoken of the God-Word, this he says: the beauty and the loveliness of God remain to you, having become man; for you did not change from being the Word and God-Word.

And to each of the rest of the temperate it is said: put on beauty and loveliness from the other virtues, take also temperance, the Word that cuts.

But what kind of sword should we take?

The Word concerning temperance, the Word in general, the one that cuts.

Behold, a wise man is subject to reproof.

This one, progressing and beginning, is so.

But the perfect one is imperturbable; he is not subject to reproof, he does not deviate from the mouth, that is, the Word, the God. 'Make it known to the righteous, and he will add to receiving' (Proverbs 9:9); and 'his righteousness is the first argument'.

He entirely possesses what he has argued for himself.

But the truly perfect righteous one is not subject to reproof.

For having watched, he did not seize him, did not strike, did not wound; and thus, at the failure, he grinds the teeth.

And the grinding of teeth often signifies repentance, as also in the Gospel concerning the one bound hand and foot and cast into the outer darkness 'prepared for the devil and his angels' (Matt 25:41);

'there shall be the weeping and the grinding of teeth' (Matt 8:12).

And the 'there' here again signifies such a condition.

'But the Lord shall laugh at him, for he foresees that his day is coming' (Psalm 37:13; LXX 36:13).

the sinner who shall grind the teeth against the righteous;

for 'he foresees' 'that his day is coming'.

The Lord, foreseeing that his day shall come in which he shall be condemned, shall laugh at the sinner.

But such sayings spoken of God must not be heard in a human-passioned way.

But we take their meaning in a God-befitting way;

for indeed it has been said:

'He who dwells in the heavens shall laugh at them, and the Lord shall sneer at them' (Ps 2:4).

This is not spoken humanly; we do not take it of God in a human-passioned way.

And again in Exodus he says:

'whatsoever I have mocked the Egyptians with' (Ex 10:2).

The mockery here again has such a meaning:

not [...].

He brought lions upon them—not dragons, not the other great beasts, but gnats and dog-flies, upon frog and…§222

222He brought lions upon them—not dragons, not the other great beasts, but gnats and dog-flies, upon frog and locust.

[...]

What is 'he drowned'?—but there he does not say:

'I have mocked them' (Ex 10:2).

'The sinners drew the sword and bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy' (Psalm 37:14; LXX 36:14).

They prepared a sword, that they might cast down the poor and needy.

It is turned back and comes into their own heart, as it is said:

'he who digs a pit for his neighbor shall fall into it' (Prov 26:27).

And again:

'and let the trap which they hid catch them' (Psalm 35:8; LXX 34:8).

And in Ecclesiastes he says:

'him who destroys a hedge, a serpent shall bite' (Eccl 10:8).

A serpent shall bite the one destroying another's hedge, destroying another's security.

'They drew the sword';

they drew it from the sheath into the open [...].

The sword can be the word with guile;

for they draw it, that through it they may strike.

You have it said in Proverbs:

'there are those who, speaking, wound as with a sword, but the tongues of the wise heal' (Prov 12:18).

There are those who in speaking wound as with a sword.

But it is to be read with the dative:

there are those who in speaking wound with a sword.

Those who corrupt good manners with evil conversations (1 Cor 15:33) wound with a sword in speaking.

'and their tongue is a sharp sword';

their word, like a sword, harms and wounds.

In speaking, then, there are some who wound with a sword; but the tongues of the wise, the words of the wise, heal.

These swords are of medicine; they do not wound, do not strike, do not traumatize, but heal the wounds made by other words.

A bow being bent is the ruling faculty thus prepared so that arrows are loosed from it.

And let these be evil reasonings, harmful words.

'behold, the sinners bent the bow, they prepared arrows for the quiver'.

'to slay the upright in heart' (Psalm 37:14; LXX 36:14).

Here we hear 'upright in heart' as the righteous one being reproved, and the wise, and the righteous one accusing himself.

In the Gospel it is written in the person of the Lord that:

'all who take the sword shall perish by the sword' (Matt 26:52).

And the many think that this says that everyone who slays a man shall be slain.

But this does not appear incontrovertible;

many murderers have met their own end;

but this is what it says:

everyone who brings punishment upon someone shall fall under punishment; everyone wishing to harm someone with a sword—with his own sharpened mind, or tongue and word—shall fall under the same things.

[...]

'to cast down the poor and needy' (Psalm 37:14; LXX 36:14)?—they cannot cast down the rich; they cannot cast down the one having the 'in all knowledge and all word' (1 Cor 1:5) wealth, but the [...].

The Famine of the Word and the Vanishing of Sinners§223

223A poor and needy person, even if the heart seems straight, as previously said, like the one being reproved who is wise and the accuser who is righteous of himself; but rather the sword, turned against those who have become blunt, strikes and destroys them; likewise the bow is broken. And it is well to say: 'Let their sword enter into their heart.' This sword, which is harmful, the one of the enemies is not continuous [The text is damaged here.] and in days of famine they shall be satisfied [The text is damaged here.] of those feeding the soul, those watering it.

In the prophet, indeed, it is said, where it is written: 'I will bring a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord' (Amos 8:11), it is applied: 'Many have fallen in every place, I will cast down silence' (Amos 8:3). To the fallen, the famine is. To these, however, the silence of the divine word is brought. Thus, 'in days of famine they shall be satisfied.' Because the sinners shall perish.

Twice again we perceive the destruction of the sinners: namely, in the way they are sinners, they perish having experienced the oppressors. The righteous 'are not ashamed in evil time' (Psalm 37:19), but the sinners are ashamed. When they are ashamed, knowing how evil they are, and they blush because of sinning, sometimes they despise the sin and become free from it, and thus they perish in such a way that they are no longer sinners.

But the enemies of the Lord, at the same time as they are to be glorified and exalted, having vanished like smoke, they vanished. Sinners are able to be enemies of the Lord. And it is possible also to call sinners those who sin according to ethics, those who transgress the divine commandments, and enemies of the Lord those who think impiously, those outside godliness, those who falsely glorify. These, therefore, are the enemies of the Lord, who at the same time as being to be glorified and exalted immediately vanished like smoke. And behold, always he likens sinners to smoke. And in another psalm it is said: 'As smoke vanishes, so they vanished; as wax melts from before the fire, so the sinners shall perish from before the face of God' (Psalm 68:2).

The word constructs the argument, that the sinners are not of another nature. The smoke is a follower of fire, and the wax of honey. And previously the honey takes origin. Since it does not consist otherwise than in wax, the wax by habit consists. Not because of the wax the honey, but because of the honey the wax, and not because of the smoke the fire, but because of the fire the smoke. The sinners, therefore, according to the smoke, vanish having a following; for sinning itself and enmity toward the Lord...

The Follower of Virtue and the Loan of God§224

224Sin is a follower of virtue. The rational animal has become capable of virtue. Yet this capability is not an essence of any kind. Humans are not good by essence; for they were created so that they might become good through participation in the truly good. But the capacity for evil follows the capacity for virtue. Just as the bad always follows the good, bad art follows art, and mishearing follows hearing. Sin, therefore, is a follower of virtue; the sinning animal would not exist if it were not capable of virtue.

Similarly, wax is a follower. For this substance does not turn into non-existence, but changes into something better. And sinners become smoke because of this very evil; for lawlessness is in a certain way like a harmful eye or smoke to the eyes. You see that lawlessness becomes to those using it like smoke to the eyes. Smoke does not need great force to be overturned, for it is quickly overturned. Therefore, sinners are 'as wax melts from the presence of fire,' and 'as smoke vanishes, so let them vanish.' Smoke is, as I have said, a follower of fire; for it exists because fire exists or comes to be.

Thus the enemies of the Lord, even if they blaze brightly and are praised as capable or promising, are extinguished like smoke at the very moment they are exalted. It is ours to see their vanishing; for even if they remain for a time, being glorified and praised and thinking great things, those able to see that which they think great find them instantly vanishing. 'The borrower does not repay' (Psalm 37:21).

What God gives for the benefit of humans and the soul, those receiving do not take as a debt; for no one receives anything in this age as a debt, but giving as a gift, the good man gives a loan so that, having worked with it, he may gain and give interest. I take the word concerning righteousness. If I give back and also provide interest, I offer the works of righteousness to God. But if, having received the word concerning righteousness, I do nothing according to righteousness, having borrowed from God, I have not repaid; for God gives so that we may act, and God provides so that we may turn words into deeds. His divine silver is lent, concerning which it is said, 'silver refined is a test for the earth' (Psalm 12:6). The borrower therefore pays back interest and also that which he received. But the righteous man shows mercy and gives.