Homilies on the Psalms 1 part 7/12

but shall one who has been deemed worthy to serve God devise praises for himself from elsewhere, as though the invocation of the Lord were not sufficient for him for every excess of glory and distinction? My soul, then, shall be praised in the Lord

Let the meek hear, and be glad

Since, he says, my deliverance was accomplished without war, by the mere alteration of my countenance alone, the enemies having been deceived through the cooperation of God;

Let the meek hear, that it is possible even while at rest to raise up a trophy, and without fighting to be shown forth as victors;

And let them be glad, being confirmed in meekness by my example

For I received this grace from God, since I achieved meekness

For meekness is the greatest of the virtues;

wherefore it has also been included among the beatitudes

For blessed, he says, are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

For that land, the heavenly Jerusalem, does not become the spoil of those who fight, but is set forth as an inheritance for men who are long-suffering and mild of disposition

And 'Let the meek hear' amounts to the same as 'Let the disciples of Christ hear'

Perhaps he intends, prophetically, that the wonder of God's benefaction toward him should extend even down to us

For let those hear who, many generations later, were destined to become disciples of Christ

For these he named meek, to whom the Lord speaks;

Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart

Those whose characters are composed and who are freed from every passion, so as to have no disturbance dwelling in their souls — these are called meek

Magnify the Lord with me

He takes up a chorus fitting for himself, for the glorification of the Lord

Let no one turbulent, nor troubled, nor one who drives his soul into frenzy through the passions of the flesh, be mingled in together with me;

but you, the meek, who have achieved a firm and steadfast state of soul, and who shake off sluggishness and drowsiness with respect to acting upon your duties — you, magnify the Lord with me

He magnifies the Lord who, with a great mind and an exultant and exalted disposition, endures the trials undergone for the sake of piety

And next, so too does he who, with a great mind and with the most profound contemplations, beholds the vastness of creation, so that from the greatness and beauty of the creatures he may contemplate their Maker

For the more deeply one penetrates into the principles according to which existing things came into being, and according to which they are governed, the more he beholds the majesty of the Lord, and, as far as it depends on himself, magnifies the Lord

Since, then, the mind and study of a single man is not sufficient, even in the smallest degree, for the comprehension of the greatnesses of God, he takes up all the meek together into fellowship in this activity

Do you hear the one confessing his sin, what he says? 'My eye was troubled because of wrath'

and, simply put, all the passions are confounding and disturbing to the discerning faculty of the soul

And just as it is not possible for a clouded eye to attain an accurate perception of visible things, so neither is it possible for a clouded heart to attain to the understanding of truth

One must, then, withdraw from the affairs of the world, and introduce no alien thoughts into the soul, neither through the eyes, nor through the ears, nor through any other sense

For the wars that arise from the mindset of the flesh fill the inner man with unceasing tumults and irreconcilable factions

I sought the Lord earnestly, and he hearkened to me

Let the meek hear this, he says, that I, in that harsh time, when the whole wrath of those bearing grudges was stirred up against me, and every hand was armed against me, while I, naked and unarmed, lay exposed to every outrage from my enemies — then I was not confused in my reasonings by fear, I was not driven out from the thought of God, I did not despair of my own salvation, but I sought the Lord earnestly. I did not seek merely some simple and momentary hope in the Lord, but I sought earnestly

For the emphatic force of 'seeking earnestly' signifies something more than 'seeking', just as 'thoroughly searching out' signifies something more than mere 'searching'

For they failed, in their thorough searchings out

The saying, then, through the term 'seeking earnestly', represents a great leisure and freedom from disturbance

And he delivered me from all my afflictions

The whole life of the righteous is one of affliction, and 'Narrow and afflicted is the way;'

and, 'Many are the afflictions of the righteous'

and, 'that through many afflictions we must enter into the kingdom of God'

God delivers his saints from affliction, not by leaving them untested, but by granting them endurance

For if 'affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character;'

then he who removes affliction has deprived himself of proven character

Just as no one is crowned without a competitor, so also no one can be shown to be of proven character except through afflictions

He delivered me, then, from all my afflictions — not by not allowing me to be afflicted, but by granting, along with the trial, the way of escape, so that I might be able to bear it

Draw near to him, and be enlightened;

and your faces shall by no means be ashamed

To those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, to these he gives the exhortation to draw near to the Lord, and to approach the rays of his divinity, so that, illumined by the truth through this approach, they may by grace receive his enlightenment into themselves

For just as this sensible light does not rise alike for all, but for those who have eyes, and who are awake, and who are able, hindered by no obstacle, to enjoy the visitation of the sun;

so too the Sun of Righteousness, the true light which enlightens every man coming into the world, does not grant his own brightness to all, but to those who conduct themselves worthily of him

For light, he says, has risen, not for the sinner, but for the righteous

For just as the sun has indeed risen, but not for bats, nor for the other night-feeding creatures;

so too the light, in its own nature, is bright and illuminating;

yet not all partake of its brightness

So too, everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed

Draw near to him, then, and be enlightened, and your faces shall by no means be ashamed

Blessed is he who, on the day of God's righteous judgment, when the Lord comes to bring to light the hidden things of darkness and to make manifest the counsels of hearts, dares to come under that light of exposure, and returns unashamed, because he keeps his conscience unstained by wicked deeds

For those who have done evil shall rise up to reproach and shame, beholding in themselves the disgrace and the marks of their sins

having before their eyes the traces of the sin committed in the flesh, remaining forever in the memory of their soul, as it were some indelible stain

It belongs to few, however, to draw near to the true light and be uncovered, and, after the uncovering of hidden things, not to depart with faces put to shame

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him.

Poverty is not always praiseworthy, but only that poverty which is rightly accomplished by free choice, in accordance with the evangelical purpose.

For many are poor in substance, yet turn out to be most covetous in disposition;

these are not saved by their want, but are condemned by their disposition.

Therefore it is not the needy man who is altogether to be called blessed, but the one who has esteemed the commandment of Christ more precious than the treasures of the world.

These also the Lord calls blessed, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit;"

not those who are poor in possessions, but those who have chosen poverty from the soul.

For nothing that is not chosen freely can be called blessed.

"This poor man," he says, "cried out."

By this word of demonstration he summons your understanding to the man who is poor according to God, and hungers, and thirsts, and goes naked;

"This poor man" — as though pointing him out with a finger;

for in almost every work that leads on to blessedness, the Lord himself went first, setting himself forth as an example to those who would learn.

Go back over the beatitudes, and examining each one you will find that he anticipated the teaching of the word with his deeds.

How then shall we learn gentleness? "Learn from me," he says, "for I am gentle and lowly in heart."

Who will teach us the good of peace? He himself, the peacemaker, who makes peace and reconciles the two into one new man;

who made peace through the blood of his cross, whether things in the heavens or things on the earth.

He it is who became poor, and emptied himself in the form of a servant, that we might all receive of his fullness, and grace upon grace.

If, then, anyone, led by the holy and benevolent Spirit, not being proud in himself but humbling himself so that he may exalt others, should cry out in the spirit, praying for great things, and should utter nothing petty or lowly through seeking after earthly and worldly things — the cry of such a one is heard by the Lord.

What, then, is the goal of this hearing? To be delivered unharmed from all afflictions, not being brought into subjection nor enslaved to the mind of the flesh.

What, then, is the manner by which the poor man is delivered? "The angel of the Lord will encamp round about those who fear him, and will deliver them."

He has explained whom he means by "the poor man" — the one who fears the Lord.

But he who has been perfected by love has thereafter risen up to the dignity of a son;

and the son, being heir of his father's goods, is now also rich.

"The angel of the Lord, then, will encamp round about those who fear him."

An angel attends every one who has believed in the Lord, unless we ourselves should ever drive him away by evil deeds.

For just as smoke puts bees to flight, and a foul stench drives away doves;

so too the tearful and foul-smelling sin causes the angel who guards our life to withdraw.

If you have in your soul deeds worthy of angelic guardianship, and a mind rich in the contemplation of truth dwells in you because of the wealth of the honorable works of virtue, God will of necessity station guards and keepers beside you, and will wall you round about with a garrison of angels.

Consider now how great the nature of the angels is;

for a single angel is comparable to a whole army and a populous encampment.

When he guards you, the Lord grants you an encampment;

and because of the angel's strength, he as it were walls you round on every side with the security that comes from him.

For this is what "round about" signifies.

For just as the ramparts of cities, encircling them all round about, ward off the assaults of enemies from every side;

so too the angel both builds a rampart before us and guards the rear, and leaves neither side unguarded.

and no blow from any enemy will come near you, because "he will give his angels charge concerning you."

"Taste and see that the Lord is good."

We have observed in many places that the powers of the soul are called by the same names as the outward, bodily members.

Since our Lord is the true bread, and his flesh is true food;

it is necessary that the pleasure of the joy of this bread come to us through a spiritual, intelligible taste.

Just as the nature of honey cannot be conveyed by verbal description to those without experience of it as much as by the sensation of taste itself;

so too the goodness of the heavenly word cannot be clearly conveyed by teaching alone, unless, having examined the doctrines of the truth more fully, we are able to apprehend the goodness of the Lord by our own experience.

"Taste," he said — not "be filled";

because now we know only in part, and see the truth through a mirror and in a riddle;

but a time will come when the present pledge, and this taste of grace, will arrive for us at the perfection of enjoyment.

And just as those whose stomachs are weak and whose appetite is poor, turning away from food, are treated for their distress by physicians, who stir up their appetites by some skillful preparation of foods, so that, the sense being provoked by that seasoning, the appetite is ever more increased toward greater desire;

so too concerning the word of truth: "This very experience," he says, "will ever summon you toward the insatiable nature of desire."

"Blessed is the man who hopes in him."

He who is ever in desire of the word will place his hope on nothing else than on the Lord.

"Fear the Lord, all you his holy ones;"

"for there is no want to those who fear him."

Unless fear should discipline our life, it is impossible for sanctification to be accomplished in the body.

"Nail down my flesh," he says, "out of fear of you."

For just as those who are pierced through by nails have the members of their body immovable for action, so too those whose soul is seized by divine fear escape all the disturbance that comes from the passions of sin.

"To him who fears, then, there is no want";

that is, the one who is restrained by fear from every improper act is lacking in no virtue, but is perfect, falling short of none of the good things that belong to human nature.

For just as a man who lacks some necessary part of the body is not perfect in body, but is imperfect in that respect in which he is lacking;

so too the one who is contemptuously disposed toward even one of the commandments is, because he falls short of it, imperfect in that which is lacking.

But he who has taken up perfect fear, and trembles at everything out of reverence, will sin in nothing, since he disregards nothing;

and he will have no want, since fear is continually present with him in all things.

"The rich became poor and hungered;"

"but those who seek out the Lord shall not be diminished of any good thing."

Let the word build us up also toward contempt of bodily wealth, teaching us the instability of an abundance of possessions.

For wealth is easily overturned, and, like a wave driven by the force of the winds, is by nature apt to flow now toward one place, now toward another.

And perhaps by "rich" he means Israel;

whose is the adoption and the worship, whose are the promises, and of whom are the fathers.

These, then, became poor on account of their sin against the Lord.

But those who, in their place, sought out the Lord shall not be diminished of any good thing.

For since they killed the bread of life, famine of bread came upon them;

And since they had plotted against the fountain of the living water, thirst came upon them, and the punishment arising from that thirst was imposed on them.

But it is a famine not of perceptible bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord.

They became poor, then, and were hungry.

Those, however, from the nations who have learned to seek the Lord will not be found wanting in any good thing.

The all-perfect good is God himself;

of whom all who seek him will not be in want.

Let no untrained person, then, who has no discernment concerning the matter of good and evil, call "good" that which affords only a temporary enjoyment and passes away together with the corruption of the body.

For he who brings down bodily wealth and bodily advantages to the rank of "the good" degrades that solemn name, fitting for God alone, to things cheap and of no account, and at the same time will fall into a most grievous contradiction.

For he will either say that the apostles, because they did not seek the Lord, did not obtain bodily goods;

or, if they sought and yet failed to obtain such goods, he will be accusing Scripture itself, which says that those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

But indeed the saints did seek the Lord, and they were not found wanting in the attainment of him whom they sought, nor were they deprived of the goods laid up in eternal rest.

For it is of these that the phrase "of every good thing" would properly be said.

For bodily enjoyments contain more pain than pleasure;

marriages bring childlessness, widowhood, infidelities;

farming brings barrenness of crops;

riches bring plots against oneself;

luxuries and surfeits, and continual enjoyments, bring the variety of diseases and the manifold nature of the passions.

Paul, however, did seek the Lord, and nothing of the good things was lacking to him.

And yet, who could enumerate the bodily hardships with which he lived throughout his whole life? Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, three times he suffered shipwreck, a night and a day he spent in the deep; often on journeys, in hunger and thirst, often in fastings, in toil and hardship, often in dangers.

Even to his last hour, being a man who was hungry, and thirsty, and destitute, and buffeted — how was he not lacking in bodily goods? Lift up my mind, then, to the truly good, so that you may recognize the harmony of Scripture, and not cast yourself down through doubt of understanding.

This is the voice of an inward teacher, calling us to learning through fatherly compassion.

For indeed the disciple is a spiritual child of the teacher.

For he who receives from someone the formation of piety is, as it were, shaped by him and brought into being, just as infants being formed within her are shaped by the one who bears them in the womb.

Hence Paul too, taking up again the whole Church of the Galatians — which had fallen away from its former teachings and, as it were, suffered a miscarriage — and forming Christ anew in them, called them children;

and since he was effecting the correction of their errors with pain and affliction, he said that he was again in labor pains in his soul, on account of his grief over those who had fallen away.

My little children, for whom I am again in labor, until Christ be formed in you.

What, then, is our spiritual father about to teach? "I will teach you," he says, "the fear of the Lord."

Since above he commanded that the Lord be feared, and pointed out the gain arising from that fear, saying, "For there is no want to those who fear him;"

now he also hands down to us a certain teaching concerning the divine fear.

For to say that one must be healthy is within anyone's power, even the layman's;

but to say how one must acquire health — this already belongs properly to one who is versed in the medical art.

Not every fear is good and salutary, but there is also a hostile fear, which the Prophet prays may not arise in his soul, saying:

Deliver my soul from the enemy.

For hostile fear is that which instills in us cowardice before death, that which persuades us to cower before the prominence of persons.

For how will he who fears these things be able, in the time of martyrdom, to stand against sin unto death, and to repay to the Lord the debt owed to him who died and was raised for us? And he who is easily terrified by demons has this hostile fear within himself.

And in general, such fear seems to be a passion born as an offspring of unbelief.

For no one who believes that a strong helper is present with him fears any of those who attempt to disturb him.

But the fear that is salutary, the fear that produces sanctification, the fear that arises in the soul by deliberate practice and not by passion — do you wish me to describe what sort it is? Whenever you are about to rush into some sin, consider for me that dreadful and unbearable tribunal of Christ, in which the Judge sits enthroned upon a lofty and exalted throne, while all creation stands by, trembling before his glorious appearing;

and we are about to be brought forward one by one for an examination of the life we have lived.

Then, to the one who has done many evil things in his life, there stand by certain fearsome and gloomy angels, with a fiery gaze, breathing fire, on account of the bitterness of their disposition, their faces resembling night on account of their gloom and hostility toward man.

Then a deep pit, and darkness with no way out, and fire without light;

having, in that darkness, its burning power, yet its brightness taken away.

Then a venomous and flesh-devouring race of worms, eating insatiably and never being satisfied, producing unbearable pains by their gnawing.

Then the harshest punishment of all, that reproach and eternal shame.

And being disciplined by this fear, hold back your soul, as though by a kind of bridle, from the desire for base things.

This fear of the Lord our father promised to teach us;

not simply to teach it, but to teach those who choose to listen to him;

not those who have fallen far away, but those who run to him out of desire to be saved;

that is: "Draw near to me, children, through good works," you who have been made worthy through regeneration to become sons of light.

Hear, you who have the ears of the heart open:

"I will teach you the fear of the Lord" —

this fear, which the discourse outlined for you a little before.

"Who is the man who desires life, loving to see good days?" If anyone desires life, he says — not this common life which even irrational creatures live, but the life that truly is, which is not cut short by death —

"For now," he says, "you are dying"; and "our life is hidden with Christ in God;"

but when Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with him in glory.

Therefore Christ is the life that truly is, and our manner of living in him is true life.

Likewise also there are other days that are good, which the Prophet sets forth as a promise.

"Who is the man who desires life, loving to see good days?" For the days of this age are evil, since this age too, being the measure of the world — concerning which it is said, "The whole world lies in the evil one" — is made like to the nature of the world which it measures out.

And these days are parts of this span of time.

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

And Jacob too says, "The days of the years of my life are few and evil."

Therefore we are not now in life, but in death.

"Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" But there is another life, to which the word calls us;

and now our days are evil, but there are certain other days that are good, which night does not interrupt;

for God will be their eternal light, illuminating them with the light of his own glory.

Do not, then, when you hear of "good days," suppose that the life set before you in the promises is the life here in this present world.

and nothing corruptible could fittingly become a gift for the incorruptible.

For if the soul is incorruptible, its gifts too are incorruptible.

And "the form of this world is passing away."

But if the law has a shadow of the good things to come, then conceive for me certain delightful, holy Sabbaths, drawn from among the eternal days, new moons, and festivals;

And understand this, I bid you, in a manner worthy of the spiritual law.

"Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit."

If you wish to attain to the good days, if you love life, keep the commandment of life.

For he who loves me, he says, will keep my commandments.

And the first commandment is this: to stop the tongue from evil, and the lips from speaking deceit.

For nearly the readiest and most versatile of sins is that which is worked through the tongue.

Have you become angry? The tongue runs on ahead.

Are you caught up in desires? Before all else you have the tongue as a kind of procuress and pander, cooperating with the sin, playing the hypocrite before your neighbors.

And the tongue becomes for you a weapon for injustice, not uttering what is from the heart, but bringing forth what serves deception.

And why must I go through in words all the sins committed by means of the tongue? Our life is filled with the failings that come from the tongue.

Obscene talk, coarse jesting, foolish talk, things that are unfitting, slanders, idle words, perjuries, false testimonies—all these evils, and yet more besides these, are the handiwork of the tongue.

And those who open their mouth against the glory of God, and speak injustice on high—do they work their impiety by some other instrument, and not by that of the tongue? Since, then, "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned," stop your tongue from evil, and do not labor to lay up vain treasures with a lying tongue.

And stop also your lips from speaking deceit;

that is, cause the whole instrument given to you for the ministry of speech to rest from wicked activity.

And deceit is a secret wrongdoing, offered to one's neighbor under the pretense of better things.

Turn away from evil, and do good;

seek peace, and pursue it.

These exhortations are elementary, introductory to piety;

training one precisely to hold the tongue in check, to abstain from deceitful schemes, to turn away from evil.

For abstention from evil does not befit the perfect man; rather, it is fitting for the one who is only now being instructed in the elements to swerve away from the drive toward evil, and, having been released, as it were, from the evil road of habituation in the wicked life, thus to lay hold of the practice of good things.

For it is impossible to lay hold of the good without first having wholly departed from, and swerved away from, evil;

just as it is impossible to regain health without being freed from disease;

or for one who has not been entirely delivered from a chill to come to be in a state of warmth;

for these are mutually exclusive, incapable of admitting one another.

So too the one who is about to come to live a good life must be delivered from every connection with evil.

Seek peace, and pursue it.

Concerning this the Lord has said:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you;"

"not as the world gives do I give to you."

Seek, then, the peace of the Lord, and pursue it.

For the true peace is from above.

Since, for as long as we are bound to the flesh, we are yoked together with many things that trouble us.

Seek, then, peace, a release from the tumults of this world;

acquire a tranquil mind, a certain waveless and untroubled state of soul, neither shaken by passions, nor dragged about into assent by false doctrines that entice through plausibility, so that you may acquire the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guarding your heart.

He who seeks peace seeks out Christ, because he himself is the peace, who made the two into one new man, making peace, and having made peace through the blood of his cross—whether the things in the heavens or the things on the earth.

"and his ears are turned toward their supplication."

Just as the saints are the body of Christ, and members individually;

and God has placed in the Church some as eyes, others as tongues, others still occupying the place of hands, and others that of feet;

so too the holy spiritual powers that exist about the heavenly place—some are called eyes, because entrusted with the oversight of us, and others ears, because they receive our supplications.

Now, then, he called the power that watches over us, and that which receives our prayers, "eyes" and "ears."

"The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are turned toward their supplication."

Since every deed of the righteous man is worthy of God's beholding, and every word—because nothing is spoken idly by the righteous man—is efficacious and put into practice, for this reason the text says that the righteous man is always watched over and always heard.

"But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth."

I think that "face" here refers to the open and manifest coming of the Lord at the judgment;