Exposition of Saint Ambrose of Milan, Bishop, on Psalm 118 of David.

Latin Text from public domain Migne Editors, Patrologiae Cursus Completus.

Translated into English using ChatGPT.

Table of Contents Prologue Sermon 1. Aleph. Sermon 2. Beth. Sermon 3. Gimel. Sermon 4. Daleth. Sermon 5. He. Sermon 6. Vau. Sermon 7. Zain. Sermon 8. Heth. Sermon 9. Theth. Sermon 10. Iod. Sermon 11. Caph. Sermon 12. Lamed. Sermon 13. Mem. Sermon 14. Nun. Sermon 15. Samech. Sermon 16. Ain. Sermon 17. Phe. Sermon 18. Sade. Sermon 19. Koph. Sermon 20. Resch. Sermon 21. Schin. Sermon 22. Tau.

Prologue

Although the mystical sounds of David the Prophet resound like a trumpet, the greatness of moral teachings is revealed in the Ethics, and the sum of this psalm declares the grace. For while all moral doctrine is sweet, it especially delights the ears with the sweetness of song and the delight of singing, and soothes the soul. And rightfully in many places it spreads the moral sentiments of the psalms like the light of stars, which shine and gleam. But the one hundred and eighteenth psalm, like the sun in full light, he sets in the advanced age of the book; so that neither the semi-full beginnings of the morning, nor the certain decline of the old age of the evening, take away anything from the splendor of perfect brightness. He arranged the Hebrew letters one by one, so that just as the minds of children become accustomed to the first elements of learning, they may also learn the use of living through these elements.

However, he wrote eight verses in each letter, in order to teach both unity (for unity restrains and governs all things, to which all things are subject) and the purification of legitimate sanctification. For the eighth day is the solemn purification according to the Law (Leviticus 12:3-4), because the solemnity of circumcision is decreed to be fulfilled on the eighth day, or because the whole world was polluted by our sins and contaminated during those seven days. But when the day of resurrection comes, we, who have been made alive with the Lord Jesus, rise up and stand, offering the grace of the newness of life. And rightfully we offer living creatures as the firstborn in the likeness of the firstborn Son of God, in purity and simplicity, a spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God, not on the fourth or fifth day; lest it be an impure or incomplete sacrifice. But on the eighth day, on which we all, in the resurrection of Christ, are not only revived but also confirmed. Although full purification is immediately achieved in baptism, because the one baptized must understand the reason for the washing itself and the sacrifice, they do not offer a sacrifice until the eighth day, so that, having been informed by the knowledge of the heavenly sacraments, they may offer their sacred duty to the altars not as a novice, but as one capable of reason, when they have become more knowledgeable. Thus, the ignorance of the offerer does not pollute the mystery of the offering.


However, the title of the Psalm is Alleluia; that is, praise God. In these hymns, God is truly praised, in which there is forgiveness of sins. Finally, in the previous psalm, the passion of the Lord is mentioned; which washes away this world, to make worthy peoples who would praise God with a pure mouth. The very elements of the letters, such as all Hebrew names, are not empty and immune to rational interpretation, whose meanings we will unfold in their proper places. The one hundred and eleventh psalm is arranged in Hebrew according to the beginning letters of the verses, and it is entirely ethical; and the one hundred and tenth psalm seems to me to be written in the same way. Finally, it has twenty-two verses, and each verse explains a separate idea. Therefore, it is said to be composed in meter.

Sermon 1. Aleph.

The first letter is called Aleph, whose interpretation is doctrine. Therefore, as an attentive listener, you should assume that the following verses are full of teachings.

2. (Verse 1, 2.) Blessed are the blameless, it says, in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who search his testimonies: they seek him with their whole heart. What a beautiful order, how full of teaching and grace! It did not say first, those who search his testimonies (for it could have been written accordingly), but first: Blessed are the blameless in the way. For life should be sought before doctrine. For a good life, without doctrine, has grace: but doctrine without life has no integrity. For wisdom will not fall into an evil soul. Therefore, it is said: The wicked will seek me, and will not find me (Prov. 1:28); because the eye of the mind is blinded by wickedness, and iniquity obscures itself, it cannot find profound mysteries. Therefore, the first duty of life is to exercise the soldierly virtues, to correct our manners. When we have established these for the proper course, so that correction of offense may exist for the sake of purity, then we may proceed to the pursuit of knowledge in its proper order and manner. Therefore, morals are first, and mystical matters second. In the former, there is life; in the latter, knowledge. So, if you seek perfection, there should be neither life without knowledge nor knowledge without life. Each should support the other. Thus, the Scripture says: 'Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of life, and illuminate yourselves with the light of knowledge' (Hosea X, 12). It does not say 'illuminate first' but rather 'sow first'; nor does it only say 'sow first for righteousness' but also 'reap for the fruit of life.' And in this way, illuminate yourselves with the light of knowledge, so that perfection is not only achieved by planting, but also by receiving the fruits. In the first psalm, he held this order, that he would teach that one should walk in the way first, and then meditate in the Law. For the one who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, certainly has not departed from the path of piety and justice: and rightly is pronounced blessed for walking in the way; and, day and night, by exercising meditation on the Law, he has the grace of blessedness.

Following this teaching, Solomon wrote a book of Proverbs, in which he thoroughly expressed the moral part, the natural part in Ecclesiastes, and the mystical part in Song of Songs. Although if you examine carefully, you will find many mystical elements in Proverbs, and the sweetness of morality in Song of Songs. For surely it is mystical: Wisdom has built her house and set up her seven pillars, she has slaughtered her beasts, etc. (Prov. IX, 1). And this shines in the Song of Songs, both mystical and moral, in which the sweetness of flatteries and the affection of love are expressed: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth; for thy breasts are better than wine, and the odor of thine ointments than all spices (Song of Songs 1:1).

4. Therefore, establish a betrothed virgin for a long time, and burning with just love, who knows by the assertion of many approved works, confirmed by the testimony of beloved witnesses, suspended in desires frequently, no longer enduring delays; who has done all things in order to see the bridegroom: sometimes obtaining her desires, disturbed by the unexpected arrival of the bridegroom, not seeking the beginning of a greeting, not the exchange of words; but immediately demanding what she desired. So thus the holy Church, which was espoused in the beginning of the world in paradise, prefigured in the flood, announced through the Law, called by the prophets, had long awaited the redemption of mankind, the beauty of the Gospel, eagerly hastens for the advent of the beloved, impatiently rushing into His embrace, saying: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. And being delighted with kisses, she adds: Because your breasts are better than wine.

And to speak more morally, understand to me that flesh, which had been made wet with the venom of the serpent in Adam, which was tainted with the stench of sins, which advanced among the daughters of Zion with a high neck and nods of the eyes, and dragging the hems with her feet, and playing with her own feet, with curls of hair and composed faces, and ribbons and every affected adornment, more disgraceful: nevertheless, having been taught by many prophecies that He would come, who, having excluded the allurements of the serpent, would infuse the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that all flesh would see the salvation of God, all flesh would come to God, having blushed with desire: but fearing that, as before, she would displease as impatient, as lustful, as luxurious, as complaining; and being tormented by the longer than she could endure expectation of the Lord's delayed coming: yet not complaining, nor trespassing, but raising pure hands in every place without anger and dispute, adorning herself in a modest and sober manner, not with twisted hair, or gold, or pearls, or precious clothing; but with those things that grace chastity and good conduct, saying in prayer: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth; for your breasts are better than wine. Now she eagerly desired to cleave to Christ in the flesh, now she hastened to be espoused; that there might be one spirit, and the flesh might become Christ’s, which before was the harlot’s. Let Him kiss me, she says (let the Word of God kiss us, when the Spirit of knowledge enlightens our sense); and as though despising all her delights and pleasures, longing to cleave to heavenly commandments, she says: For the precepts of Thy oracles are light, given above all the desires of the flesh, and the pleasures of the world. For he had remembered that he, in the person of Eve, had fallen thus before, preferring the pleasure of the body to the heavenly commands. He says: Your name has emptied the ointment (Ibid., 2). That is, the whole world reeked with filthy impurities of various crimes; now everywhere breathes the sweetness of chastity, the ointment of faith, the flower of integrity. And he comes from mortals to the mystical, saying: The King brought me into his chamber; let us rejoice and exult in you, let us love your breasts above wine (Ibid., 3). A kiss is simple, but the secret of the bedroom is complex.

6. In the same Gospel there is also a beautiful passage about morals; as the Lord says: Blind Pharisee, first clean what is inside the cup and dish, so that what is outside may also be clean (Matthew 23:26). For unless each person purifies themselves inside, even if they appear righteous and just on the outside, they will be like whitewashed tombs; they may appear just on the outside, but inside they are foul. Such is doctrine without the innocence of life. But even doctrine itself cannot have reward where it does not have the grace of innocence. For to the sinner God said: Why do you declare my justices? (Psalm XLIX, 16). But let us return to the proposed psalm.

7. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that search his testimonies: that seek him with their whole heart. The first verse is moral, the second is mystical. Who says this? Certainly a prophet, who assumed human speech, and says this after the psalm in which the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is described. Where therefore the divine mysteries were revealed and he put on the joy of the Lord's resurrection, and tasted the grace of his passion; he saw the assemblies of the righteous, the people of the redeemed, the salvation of the lost, the resurrection of the dead, the sanctification of the sacraments, and exclaimed, saying: Blessed are the undefiled in the way, that is to say, behold, the cursed earth has begun to have blessedness in Adam; if, however, he does not abandon the law of the Lord: behold, the man who was formerly defiled is now undefiled. How precious it is to keep the commandment of the Lord! How precious it is also to know the mystery of his commandment!

8. But who is without blemish? Not surely the one who walks in any way, but the one who walks in Christ. For He Himself said: I am the way (John 14:6). In this way, whoever walks does not know how to err; if, however, he never departs from this way. There is also the way of the Law; and therefore, while he is without blemish, let him walk in the Law of the Lord: nor let him cease to walk in this way, lest he cease to be without blemish. Let him not turn to the right or the left, nor stagger, nor resist, nor wait; but let him walk forgetting the things above, and desiring those things which are before, let him follow toward the destination, let him hasten to the prize, let him strive all the way to the end; for the end of the Law is Christ. Many want to walk on the way, but not until the end. The Jews do not walk until the end, those who do not walk until Christ. Manichaeus does not walk on the way, who rejects the Law: but true faith walks that both receives the Law, and acknowledges the fullness of the Law.

9. Therefore, if anyone walks in the way, let them examine the testimonies of the Lord. Although they may be mystical, they also have moral implications, for those who examine the testimonies of the Lord can walk in the way more effectively. For example, someone who is consumed by intense adulterous desire, driven by lust, indulging in wickedness, unwilling to resist the desires of their flesh, if they happen to see no one around, they rush into wrongdoing. However, even though they may find a ready opportunity for pleasure, they carefully observe everything, their eyes turned away from justice, concerned about their reputation, they frequently twist things around, feeling shame for their error while not feeling shame for their mistake. And if they happen to recognize someone who witnesses their wrongdoing, shame separates them from their immoderation. And even though they may plot temptations of lust with a servant or common prostitute where there is no risk of being caught, they abandon their intentions out of shame. How much more, then, if someone lifts the eyes of their mind and considers that everything is filled with angels: the air, the earth, the sea, the churches, over which angels preside (for the Lord sends His angels for the defense of those who will inherit the heavenly promises), can they renounce sin having conceived this thought! Where does this crowd of innocents come from, if not from those sinners? The nature of all is the same, but the discipline is different. Circumcision is nothing, and being a Gentile is nothing, but the observance of God's commandments increases the grace of nature itself. The Most High changes deserved things, who says: Darkness is all around me, and the walls cover me: the Most High will not remember my sins (Sirach 23:26).

10. Would you not fear the presence of angels if you believed they were present? Would you not be afraid, I do not say to do, but to speak or even think what is evil, if Divine Scripture had taught you that God is the witness of thoughts, the true witness of secrets, as He Himself says: 'Be my witnesses, and I too am a witness,' says the Lord God, 'and my servant whom I have chosen' (Isaiah 43:10)? Do you fear the presence of a man, but not the presence of God the Father and the Son? But you do not want to believe, nor can you beware: you do not want to hear, when it is read, because God knows the secrets of men, lest you begin to know what you fear, and fear that you may sin. Therefore, listen to the divine Scripture, that you may turn away from the crooked and evil path. Do not be like a blind person with physical eyes, or like a deaf person, who, because he cannot see or hear the present, believes that he alone exists: and in the gathering of many, while he thinks no one is present, he goes on to perpetrate what he believes to be secret; for those who do not see cannot see those who are not seen; likewise, do not estimate with the blind eyes of the mind that you commit a crime without a witness; for you could have avoided the presence of a man. There are more who rebuke than those whom you could have guarded against. You cannot escape your own accuser, whom your own conscience convicts. And if you deny others, you do not deny yourself. And if you argue against man, you confess to God. And if you wish to deny, your own thoughts silence you.

11. The angels were assisting Elisha, whom he saw; and therefore he did not fear the armies of the enemy: but his servant feared, who did not see the angels. His eyes were opened by the grace of God at the voice of the prophet, he saw the host of angels, and believed that they were present, whom before, because he did not see, he thought absent (2 Kings 6:16-17). And you read the prophet, so that you may see, read so that your eyes may be opened: do not let the legion of the enemy frighten you, and do not think that you are besieged, you who are free, who are fortified by spiritual armies, if you do not abandon the prophet. When the prophet speaks to you, because God has said: I fill heaven and earth (Jeremiah XXIII, 24): when the prophet speaks to you, because there are many with us (2 Kings VI, 16), because there are angels around us: lift up the eyes of your mind, and you will see not only angels, but also God, who says to you: Open to me, my sister, my beloved (Song of Solomon V, 2). He knocks at the door and when you are sleeping: yet if you either wake up or respond when called, and open the door of your heart, he will enter. But if you avoid reading the prophetic text, if you do not read it at home, and you do not want to hear it in Church; are you not like one who closes his eyes in order not to see what he can see, or like those who, in anger, cover their eyes with their hands? So you turn away from someone who winks at you, not by forcibly breaking off the connection, but rather by dissimulation. For when you come to Church and profess yourself a Christian, you appear with open eyes, with which you can see. But while pretending not to hear what is read, you close your eyes so that you do not see for yourself, even if you seem to see to others; you also impose on your soul's eyes certain acts of unfaithfulness and intemperance, and voluntarily bring blindness upon your heart, which is even more serious; so that seeing, you do not see, and hearing, you do not hear.


12. Do you think you are alone when you fornicate and do not remember that the eyes of the Lord see the whole world? Do you not hear him saying: Behold the hour comes... that you may be scattered, each one to his own, and leave me alone, but I am not alone, for the Father is with me (John 16:32)? Therefore, the Father is present, the Son of God is present, the ministers are present, the Cherubim and Seraphim are present, who say: Holy, holy, holy: the earth is full of your majesty. For the world is full of holy virtues, because it is full of wickedness. The world is full of remedies, because it is full of traps. Do you think that Christ does not see you in the brothel, whom he sees entering the brothel? Do you think that he does not catch you in adultery, whom he sees pondering adultery? Does he retreat from walls, who observes errors: and does he shun the secret of a crime, who watches the scene of a crime? Do you think that you enter the prostitute's house for the first time when you enter the prostitute's room? You have already entered, when your thoughts entered the prostitute. You have already entered, when you entered with a step of the mind to satisfy the desire for debauchery. You knocked on the doors of the brothel, when you opened the eyes of your mind to the beauty of lusting after a woman. And if you want to hear the truth, how did Christ not see you in the brothel; when he saw you, because by committing adultery in your heart, you made yourself a brothel? Finally, the Lord Jesus himself says: Whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). Yet, how is he so religious in opinion, who is so disreputable in crime?

13. But I rest in you, because Jesus does not want to see you, does not want to conquer you, who does not want to accuse you, do not want to see the angels. But the devil sees, who entered with you, indeed who introduced you: his ministers see, who surrounded you, so that you would not see the angels of God: Belial saw, the legion saw, who impelled you; so that no one would recall, so that no one would hold you back. Do not think that the conspiracy of silence gives you assistance, who desires to have a share in your punishment. He desires to see many like himself; and in that he has glory, that he has made many lost. He is the instigator, he is the accuser, he himself entered into Judas, he himself impelled him to betrayal, he himself sent him to the noose. How many will say against him on that day: You have deceived us, you have influenced (Gen. III, 13)! Do you want an example? Take Eve, who said that the author of her transgression was the serpent. But she implicated him, she did not absolve herself. To whom the Lord responds: 'I had not commanded you not to eat from the single tree, which is in the middle of paradise' (ibid., 11). Therefore, the Truth will answer and say to many: 'You have heard the Devil suggesting harmful things, but you were not able to hear me commanding things for your well-being.'

14. (Verses 3, 4, 5, 6.) And therefore let us practice righteousness: For those who work iniquity have not walked in His ways. You have commanded Your commandments to be kept diligently. Oh, that my ways may be directed to keep Your statutes! Then I will not be put to shame, when I look into all Your commandments. Not only did He command to keep His commandments, but also to keep them diligently. When did He command this? Indeed, He commanded it to Adam in paradise, to keep the commandments: but perhaps He had not commanded to keep them diligently; and therefore he fell, therefore he was swayed by the voice of his wife, therefore he was deceived by the serpent, thinking that if he deviated from the commandment in any part, he would not completely err: but since he once strayed from the path of the commandments, he completely deserted the way, and left himself naked, stripped of everything. Therefore, the Lord, because the one who was in paradise had fallen, admonished afterwards through the Law, through the Prophets, through the Gospel, through the Apostles, to diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God. Every idle word that you speak, you will give an account for it. Do not be silent: not one iota or one apex passes away from any commandment. Do not deviate from the path. If you are barely safe from a robber while walking on the road, what will you do if he finds you wandering outside the path? May your steps be guided; and in order not to be weak in guiding, pray that the Lord may direct your ways.

15. He desires: Oh, that my paths may be directed! Elsewhere it is said: Waiting, I waited for the Lord, and he heard me ... and he set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps (Psalm 39, 2 and 3). So you also pray, that the Lord may direct the steps of your mind, so that you may be able to keep the commandments of the Lord. You will not be confounded, when you look upon all his commandments. For formerly you were confounded in Adam and Eve. Finally, you became naked and you covered yourself with leaves; because you were confounded: you hid yourself from the sight of God; because you were ashamed, so that God said to you: Adam, where are you (Genesis 3, 9)? When he says that to him, he says it to you as well; for in the Latin interpretation, Adam is called man, that is, Homo, where are you? And Adam responded: Because I was afraid, because I was naked, and completely confused in my mind, I did not dare to come into your presence. Therefore, let us not be confused, let us keep the commandments of the Lord, and let us keep them all. For if someone keeps one commandment and transgresses another, it profits them nothing. Someone may refrain from bloodshed, but not from adultery; surely, if convicted in one, they are also punished by secular laws: nor does abstaining from another crime benefit them, if they are caught in another.


16. (Verses 7, 8.) I will praise you, O Lord, with a sincere heart (reveal to me the ways in which you guide) when I learn the judgments of your justice. I will keep your statutes; do not abandon me completely. In this place, he declares his desire to know more fully the mystical realities, in order to enter into the innermost mysteries of heaven, and for the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ to be opened to him. Hence Solomon also says: Draw us after you; let us run in the fragrance of your perfumes. The King led me into his chamber (Song of Songs 1:3). And perhaps that which is said above, 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth' (ibid., 1), signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit coming upon, just as the angel said to Mary: 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you' (Luke 1:35). But when the King brings her into his chamber, it signifies the time of passion, the piercing of the side, the shedding of blood, the ointment of burial, the mystery of resurrection. So that she receives the kiss as a bride: let the Church be brought into the chamber of Christ, not only as one betrothed, but also as one married; not only entering the marriage chamber, but also having obtained the legitimate keys of union. And so, as it were, she says: My brother, the joining of the drop will rest with me, in the midst of the breasts (Song of Solomon 1:12). And if we seek the chamber, let Him Himself teach us, who says: But you, when you pray, enter into your chamber: and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret (Matthew 6:6). The chamber of the Church is the body of Christ. The King has led her into all the inner mysteries, giving her the keys, in order to open for himself the treasures of the knowledge of the sacraments, to unlock the doors which were closed before, to recognize the grace of the resting one, the sleep of the departed, the power of the resurrection.


17. In that room, the bride of the Lord Jesus found the righteousness of God. What are those righteousnesses? Certainly the sacraments of baptism, as we read, for when John said to Jesus as he came to be baptized: I ought to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me; Jesus replied: Allow it now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:14-15). In that room, the bride learned the justifications of the Lord, she understood the plan of God, as it is written: For all the people who heard John, and the tax collectors, justified God, having been baptized with John’s baptism; but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the plan of God concerning themselves, because they were not baptized by him (Luke 7:29-30). Let us choose what they have rejected, and let us follow the counsel of God, for nothing can be more sublime; for it is by this divine counsel that the forgiveness of sins is obtained. Therefore, when one has learned the justice of the Lord and fears God, they will not be put to shame. Finally, even Paul says: 'I will not be put to shame in anything' (Philippians 1:20).

And because no one can be perfect without the favor of God, nor safe; therefore, he should pray that God may not completely abandon him. For above, David prayed that he should not be abandoned, saying: Do not forsake me, O Lord my God (Psalm 37:22); here he says: Do not forsake me utterly, that is, greatly. Above, perhaps still imperfect and in great turmoil, he feared that he would be abandoned; but here, being stronger now, he does not fear being abandoned to be tested; rather, he prays that he may not be completely forsaken. For God often forsakes those whom he wishes to test: but he completely forsakes those whom he abandons. He completely abandoned Judas: but he did not abandon holy Job, in whose possessions, in whose body he gave power to the devil (Job II, 6); but he did not give power over his soul. For if he had given power over his soul, he would have completely abandoned him. Wasn't Job abandoned for the purpose of being tested? And once tested, he was crowned? Therefore, he abandoned Judas, to whom he said: What you are doing, do quickly (John XIII, 27). For he entirely abandoned the one whom he allowed his wickedness to take effect. And when he saw that the other apostles were troubled because he had said, 'Where I am going, you cannot come' (John 13:33), he added, 'Let not your hearts be troubled' (John 14:1). And further: 'I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also' (John 14:3). Finally, Peter, who was afraid of being abandoned, said in a troubled manner, 'Lord, where are you going?' (John 13:36). The Lord saw him being troubled, and He replied to him: Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow later (Matthew XIV, 30 and 31). Similarly, when he was staggering on the sea, he cried out to Christ; and Christ stretched out his right hand to him, so that he would not perish completely abandoned.

19. However, no one should be inflated because they are never abandoned; or grieve because they are sometimes abandoned; for indeed the Son himself said that he was abandoned, as you have: My God, my God, look upon me; why have you forsaken me? (Psalms 21:1) And yet he was never abandoned by the Father, with whom the Father is always. For it is written: Behold, the hour is already come, that you may be scattered, each one to his own, and leave me alone: but I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (John 16:32). But according to the body in which He was handed over to suffering, that voice proceeded; because we seem to be abandoned when we are in perilous situations. Hence Paul also says of the Father God: 'Who did not spare His own Son, but handed Him over for us all' (Rom. VIII, 32). He seems to have abandoned; because he did not spare, who handed Him over to death: but He did not completely abandon, to whom it is said: 'For you will not abandon my soul to hell, nor will you allow your Holy One to see decay' (Psal. XV, 10).

Sermon 2. Beth.

(Verse 9.) In what way does the young man correct his path? The discussion of the previous eight verses did not fall meaninglessly upon us; therefore, we made an effort to pursue what follows. And first, the interpretation of the second letter, which is Beth, must be considered, which, when translated into Latin, signifies confusion. But the one who corrects his path will not be confused. However, because he who corrects was previously in error (for how can one be corrected if he had not previously deviated from the truth?), certainly being placed in a position of error, and having been captivated by the indulgence and allurements of a luxurious and lascivious youth, when he reaches the sober confines of maturity, he will reflect for a long time, as if confused in mind, on how to rid himself of shameful actions and assume full integrity. He weighs and examines his fluctuating thoughts, forgetting the past and longing for what is before, in order to correct his path and hide the offense of his younger years beneath the serious countenance of mature youth. Wherefore lest anyone should doubt or hesitate, the Prophet gives counsel as if deliberating with him, for we believe that the more sound counsels are, if they appear to be examined with deeper meditation. But the very undertaking of deliberation is distinguished by a learned definition, so that it may remove the convergence of diverse thoughts, saying: In what way shall a young man correct his path? For this is the end of deliberating, by which he corrects his path.


And he answered: By keeping your words. And when he turned well to the Lord, he responded with deliberation, as if this counsel had been discovered by the inspiration of the Lord, so that it would be believed to be a remedy not of human presumption, but of divine favor. For our mind, sprinkled with the seeds of heavenly words, which previously degenerated into weeds, begins to produce better growth and bear fruit. Let us therefore direct our paths, and not follow the winding twists of a serpent. For the ways of the Lord are straight, but the paths of the erring are crooked, of whom it is said: 'Oh, you who have forsaken the straight paths!' (Prov. 2:13) Indeed, the happy harvest extends in an orderly fashion, and the vineyards are set out in a certain pattern: the course of deer is more direct, while that of foxes is circuitous. Therefore, concerning Herod, it is said: 'Go, tell that fox' (Luke 13:32), because he had deviated from the straight path and had not corrected his course in his youth. He is worthy of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, in which sinners are mourned, who refused to take up the yoke of the word in their youth. Therefore the captives have been led away; therefore they are lamented as if they were dead, because they did not know the paths of life, and they did not turn aside from the just works of the dead. Therefore, weeping for the perpetual death of the Jews, Jeremiah says: Good is it for a man, when he bears the yoke from his youth, he shall sit alone and keep silence, because he has taken it upon himself. (Lamentations III, 27 and 28).

3. Not only should we remove the yoke of a word, but we must remove it in youth. For if we remove it late, we begin to have more regret for past sins than to hold on to grace. Therefore, let us anticipate the years of youth with appropriate correction, so that we may each say more: O God, who have fed me since my youth (Gen. 48:15); rather than having the memory of a fall, let us weep, saying: O Lord, remember not the sins of my youth and my ignorance (Psalm 25:7). This is the remedy for weakness, that is the strength of health. The medicine of health is sought for the wound: grace for health. Therefore it says: It is good for a man, when he lifts the yoke in his youth (Lamentations 3:27). However, for him who after the years of his youth has carried the yoke, the perfect good is not attained immediately. For his sins stimulate him, habit of sinning vexes his conscience, and the practice of error makes him unstable. Such a man must struggle for a long time, to abolish in his youth the deep-rooted and long-standing actions. To this one there is danger, to that one there is good.

Finally, he will sit alone, as one who easily does not find an equal, endowed with exceptional rewards; and he will be silent, at rest from all worldly worries and pleasures; and he will devote himself to divine oracles, which are accustomed to be revealed to those who sit alone, like the holy David, who says: For it is you alone who established me in hope (Psalm 4:10). And indeed, he did not sit alone in secret, but he presided over the people; nevertheless, he excelled in singular grace. Elijah was sitting alone, when an angel, with even crows bringing him food, was being nourished (1 Kings 17:6 and 19:7). He was alone not only secluded from the crowds, but also separated from the merits of many. Finally, divine revelations were shining upon him, the fruit of which he obtained as a reward; for from his youth he thought it necessary to take on the yoke of the word, and not to be dragged down by sins with a long rope any longer.

This younger man, by taking off in his youth the yoke of speech, not yet perfected, and still younger, separating himself from the conversations of his peers, which often corrupt good morals, and wanting to avoid the influence of sinners; in this way, he understands to sit and be silent, so that he does not falter due to the ease of his young age: but he directs his attention to the teachings of the elders, the oracles of the prophets, and the teachings of the apostles: he is praiseworthy because he prefers to know what he should speak before actually saying it; before learning to speak, he fears contracting sin due to excessive talk. I think that Pythagoras, that philosopher, imitated the youth of this prophet in establishing a sect, so that his disciples would learn to speak with such silence for five years; especially since it is certain that David, who was older than Pythagoras, said: I said, I will take heed to my ways, so that I do not sin with my tongue. I set a guard to my mouth (Psalm 39:2). And because perhaps he had spoken something carelessly at some time; therefore, he asked God to set a guard to his mouth afterwards. Who would not know that Pythagoras was before the Pythagoreans? When he heard this, he cried out (Isaiah 40:6); he would not have cried out before he heard what he should cry out. For he answered: What shall I cry out (Ibid.)? And it was said to him: All flesh is grass, and all its glory, like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower falls; but the word of the Lord remains forever (Ibid., 6-8); and he cried out with prophetic voice.

Therefore, both young men are to be praised: the former, however, is late, while the latter is cautious; the former is content with himself and never alone, while the latter embraces the beautiful discipline of quietness in his youthful years; not yet abundant in himself, but fearing to trust himself to others; still seeking to gather from youth what will benefit both himself and his neighbors in old age, lest it be said to him: 'What you did not gather in your youth, how will you find in your old age?' (Sirach 25:5). So if he sits in a council of elders, he will bring his hand to his mouth; in order to listen to opinions, and to preserve for himself a more mature age: just as Mary pondered all these things in her heart when hearing the words of Christ (Luke 2:51); just as John, when reclining his head on the chest of the Lord Jesus, drank in the deep secrets of wisdom (John 13:25).

7. Here is a young man who corrected his ways in his youth. He was a fisherman with his brother; he saw the Lord Jesus, when he was folding his nets, and he heard him saying: Come . . . . and I will make you fishers of men . . . . and leaving his nets and his father, he followed him (Matt. IV, 19 and 20). He had begun to walk the path of the world: but upon hearing the commands of Christ, he forsook the life of the world and followed Christ: he proved that in Christ he corrected his ways, if he keeps Christ's words, saying to him: Let us love your breasts more than wine (Song of Solomon I, 1). However, he drank in such a way that he was not overcome by wine; rather, he drank for the purpose of tasting the joy of his heart, not staggering from the intoxication of his body. In the end, after drinking this wine, he opened his eyes and saw the straight path, abandoning the winding roads, saying: 'Righteousness has loved you' (Ibid., 3); that is, it is not twisted paths that follow you, but only the path of justice can lead to you. For whoever loves justice does not turn away from Christ. For how can an innocent conscience fear the judge of justice and the rewarder of merits?

In this way, as this young man corrected his path, he witnessed great mysteries which, in the Song of Songs, the holy Solomon, filled with the spirit of the Lord, revealed. Imagine the Lord Jesus reclining at the banquet, with John leaning against his chest, amazed that a servant would recline above the Lord, that the sinful flesh would rest above the temple of the Word, that the soul, bound by the chains of the flesh, would contemplate the court of divine fullness. Therefore, to those who were marveling, the soul of John responds: I am dark, and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem (Song of Songs 1:4); dark due to sin, beautiful by grace. And the flesh says: I am dark, and beautiful; dark with the dust of the world, which I have gathered by struggling: beautiful with the spiritual oil, with which I have wiped away the dust and filth of this world. Dark due to vice: but now beautiful through the bath, which washes away all sins. I am dark because I have sinned: beautiful, because Christ now loves me: whom he had cast away in Eve, he received again in the Virgin, he took up from Mary.


9. The Synagogue also speaks, whose mysteries seem to be expressed here for most people: which, when it saw itself rejected on account of the impiety of the whole people, still comforted itself; because it saw Christ himself from its own people, and Peter and John and James, adhering to Christ, who had the words entrusted to him; and therefore it said: I am dark and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem; dark through disbelief, beautiful through the Law: dark through the fall; beautiful, because the sun that is my love has loved me, and I have become the congregation of God beforehand. Do not reject me because I am dark; I am dark because the sun has abandoned me, who used to enlighten me before; I have lost the color of my face; the sharpness of my eyes, with which I used to see the sun, has become dull: I walk in darkness, because I do not know the day of Christ. Yet, do not despise me; for the one who has abandoned me can look upon me again, have mercy on me once more. He is accustomed to gathering the dispersed, seeking out the deserted, gathering the destitute. All the tribes of Israel gather, behold me adorned before the beloved: Do not look at me, for I am obscured (Ibid., 5); that is, not only do you look, because I am obscured. The sun does not look at me, and therefore I am obscured. But the sun shines on the just and the unjust: on the just through grace, on the unjust through mercy; giving to the former the reward of merits, forgiving to the latter their sins. And it did not shine on the Gentiles before, now it shines: now it rises for them who rose for me; who forgives them, will also forgive me. Do not think that because I am overshadowed, the sun has completely abandoned me, and now does not look at me, does not inquire about my condition. He has hidden from me because I have not kept his commandments; he will be reconciled when he sees repentance for my sins. The sun has not seen me because I did not receive him when he came; I did not open the windows for the light of life to enter. When I open, he will enlighten my eyes, who came to enlighten the whole world, and even to make the blind see.


10. The sons of my mother fought against me, they made me a keeper in the vineyards. I did not keep my own vineyard. Some people think that this is said about those who bind the Synagogue with the precepts of the Law, that they may keep the Law and protect their own vineyard, which they were not able to keep. Finally, he was keeping it in order to produce grapes, but he produced thorns. Therefore, what is the vineyard? David came to testify to us, saying: You have transplanted the vineyard from Egypt, you have cast out the nations, and you have planted it (Psalm 79:9). The apostles can also be understood as sons of their mother, who truly fought against the Synagogue, saying: Indeed, we turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46); and they began to spread the word of God among the nations. The prophets can also be understood, who by warning and denouncing, were not successful in preserving their vineyard, the Synagogue. For it produced thorns of wickedness, which should have borne abundant fruits of virtue. And therefore it confesses that it could not guard its own people; and meritiously it seeks late to retain whom it lost while holding him: far dissimilar to her who says: I have found him whom my soul loves, I held him, and I will not let him go (Song of Songs 3:4).


11. Finally, she invites her Bridegroom into her garden; when she seeks for this, she says to Him: Announce to me whom my soul has loved (Song of Songs 1:6). Why do you say whom my soul has loved, and not whom my soul loves? Why did you let go of the one you were holding? You loved with the faith of the fathers, you lost with unbelief: you held on with the bonds of love, you lost with the long rope of treachery. Therefore, you do not know where He feeds, where He remains; for if you knew, you would not seek. For you say: Where do you feed? Where do you stay at noon? You know that noon is the Church, which holds Christ: and do you seek him in the nights? Say, Christ, answer me either because you were dear and beloved to me before: although I have lost the privilege of such love; nevertheless, answer me as if you were pious: Where do you feed? Where do you stay? You abandoned me, you went away to the nations: you went far away from me; and you have become closer to them, from whom you were far away; but you have become close, because they have believed in your blood: you went away from me; because I did not accept your cross, for the redemption of the world, but for the condemnation of the guilty. But those who receive you, Lord, as the author of salvation, are at midday. You shine for them, you glow for them, you burn with your grace for them, like the midday sun. To me, you were the morning, when I was still a believer but not a fully committed one, because I had not yet reached midday, like Joseph with his brothers who dined at midday. You became their midday, those who feed on your riches and trust in you. As David said, 'You will bring forth their justice like the light, and their judgement like the midday sun.' (Psalm 37:6)


So you seek as if foreign what you were just about to be close to: as if poor, what you were rich in. You desire to follow those whom you used to precede; and I wish you would even follow those whom you were obliged to precede! You want to become a hired servant, whom you used to gather before the hired servants. Surely the voice of one saying these things is that of a hired servant: ‘Lest I become encircled and overshadowed by the flocks of your companions.’ (Cant. 1, 6) What you used to accept before as proselytes from the nations, now you yourself wish to be received among the nations as proselyte, and to be gathered as a stranger.


13. Jesus answered: Unless you know your own worth among women. What does it mean to know oneself, if not to know that each person is made in the image and likeness of God, capable of reason, and should cultivate their own land like a good farmer with a certain plow and the sickle of wisdom, so that the tough weeds are cut down and the thriving ones are pruned, and who should govern the lower part of their soul with reason? Hence it is also written in the Law: Take heed to yourself, lest there be a hidden word in your heart. He says to you, pay attention, not to your money, not to your possessions, not to your physical strength: but to your soul and your mind; from where all counsel, actions, and thoughts flow. Therefore, pay attention to yourself there, where you know yourself to be more important. Know yourself, which the ancient men assign to Apollo Pythius, as if he himself was the author of this saying; when in fact they have taken it from ours and transferred it to their own, and Moses who wrote the book of Deuteronomy was long before the philosophers who invented these things.


14. Therefore, Solomon, following divine inspiration, wrote in the Song of Songs: Unless you recognize your worth among women (Song of Songs 1:7); that is, unless you acknowledge yourself as mortal, rational, and confess your sins, quickly confess your iniquities in order to be justified; unless you turn back and accuse your previous offenses, the day of death will come, and there will be no remedy for conversion: you will be overtaken when you do not expect it. Ignite your torch before the door of the Bridegroom is closed to you, who does not usually wait long for the negligent. If you do not know, it says, a beautiful woman among women; and you may say: I am dusky and beautiful (Song of Songs 1:4): dusky am I, because I have sinned; but beautiful, because I am loved, because I am of the lineage of Abraham, a chosen lineage, beloved by God: the favor of your fathers will profit you nothing; for God is able to raise up children of Abraham from these stones. And elsewhere in the Gospel you have read (Luke 13:11-13), how the devil of wickedness bound the daughter of Abraham with his chains, whom the Lord loosed on the Sabbath day. Unless, therefore, you know yourself, it will be of no benefit to you. And if you say, 'I am the daughter of Abraham,' but you do not believe, and you do not correct your error, Abraham indeed is saved, but the nobility of your lineage will not help you unless faith saves you. Do not let the promise given to the fathers deceive you. I do not accept the person of a man, I do not accept the prerogative of a lineage; unless I see a nobility of character congruent with the lineage, so that a just choice of lineage may be made.

15. But if you know yourself, and acknowledge that you are subject to sin; you must go among the heels of the flock. Therefore, go forth barefoot, and feed your kids in the tents of the shepherds (Song of Solomon 1:7). He who is without sin feeds, he feeds the sheep. But she who is subject to sin feeds the kids on the left; for she cannot be on the right of the good shepherd. Let her rather follow him who says to Peter: Get behind me, Satan (Mark 8:33). Following Peter, he deserved to be placed on the right hand; and therefore it is said to him: Feed my lambs (John 21:16). But listen to where he goes: To the tents, he says, of the shepherds; that is, to the nations, to the dispersion. And therefore it is said: Strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed (Zechariah 13:7); so that the whole world may be filled with the flock of Christ, signifying that the Synagogue will then be saved, when it joins itself to this dispersion, which has filled the world; for the tents of the shepherds are the kingdoms of the earth. Therefore, the prophet David, announcing the nations that would believe, says: "Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God" (Psalm 67:33). Therefore, let the younger generation know, so they may correct their ways.

16. But you say: Who can know the way of youth, so as to correct it; when the Prophet says: There are three things that are too wonderful for me, and a fourth that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman (Prov. 30:18-19). If Solomon confesses that he does not understand the ways of a man in his youth, how can a young person know? To this it will be answered that those ways of a man in his youth are not known, which are different from the ways of an eagle in the sky, and different from the path of a ship on the high seas, and the footprints of a flying eagle, which has rough claws, captures prey, and flies above the clouds, wanders in the air, and kills fish in the sea; and yet this fourth thing is not impossible, like those three; for the Lord knows those who are his own, and He desires that each one knows himself, that the people of God know themselves.


17. But let them not be known the ways of the erring, as the Lord says: I do not know you, depart from me, workers of iniquity (Luke 13:27): but let this younger one who can correct his own way, perhaps be younger in age, not in character; and let him have in the prime of his youth an old man's intellect, of which it is said: But grey hairs are wisdom to men (Wisdom 4:8), to whom maturity of counsel and gravity are abundant. And hence it is said to Jeremiah: Do not say that I am young (Jer. I, 7). And indeed he was young in age; but he prohibits him from saying that he is young, who had a more mature wisdom. When Daniel was a boy, he received the spirit by which he was deemed worthy of the first fruits of old age; so as to rebuke the old men themselves not by their long life, but by their grace; for in him was the age of old age an immaculate life (Dan. XIII, 45). To whom it suits well to say that Davidic phrase: I have understood more than the elders (Psalms 118:100). Therefore, as if by divine oracle, he pronounced it about a veteran advice and an old man's wisdom: Who is wiser than Daniel (Ezek. XXVIII, 3)?

18. Now let us consider this: is it possible for a younger person to correct their own way, or not? If it is not possible, then the Prophet is lying. But because the Prophet is not lying, it is possible. However, it is possible in such a way that what appears impossible becomes possible if the younger person keeps the words of God. But if they do not keep them, it is impossible. Hence the saying in the Gospel: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:24). In this book also it is said to be impossible, but we understand that it is impossible because the rich do not keep God's commandments; but if they keep them, what seemed impossible becomes possible. This is the camel that enters through the narrow gate; the gate that could not hold him when he desired it, now holds him when he keeps the divine commandments. But he keeps the words of God, because he kept them, Moses, as a wise man, chose him as an elder (Exodus 7:1); and now those who are entrusted with this office by the Spirit of God, to choose elder men, undoubtedly choose among the elders a young man who corrects his own ways, in keeping the words of God. And if they have chosen a man of senior age, they have not chosen him as an old man, but as one who guards the words of God. And if such a person is found among the younger, he must certainly be chosen. It is clear therefore from these things that it is not the length of old age that is chosen, but the guarding of the words of God. Finally, Moses himself approved Jesus and Caleb as young men above the others, whose counsel in the choice of the land, rather than that of many older men, he followed, and God preferred.


19. And thus that which we have said above concerning Jacob: God, who has shepherded me from my youth (Gen. 48:15), manifests to us a statement about him who has taken upon himself the yoke of the word in his youth (Lam. 3:27-28), and departing from Esau and his kindred, he sits alone, awaiting the time when he can bring forth discourse with discipline; and therefore he is nourished with spiritual food, still full of years but seasoned with wisdom. For it is not worthy for us to believe that such a great patriarch spoke about physical food: God who feeds me from my youth; for he did not desire bodily bread when he said: If the Lord God is with me, to give me food to eat, and clothing to wear... of all that you give me, I will give a tenth to you (Genesis 28:20-22). For if our fathers ate spiritual food and drank spiritual drink, how much more did the holy Jacob feed on spiritual food!


20. Moreover, that understanding also applies in this place, and it is not contrary to the truth; because that younger person, from the gathering of the Gentiles, who before he believed in Christ, was wandering in a twisted path; corrects his way in it because he has kept the words of God, which the Jewish people did not want to keep; and therefore that person could not find the way of salvation. Let us also consider the following verse.

21. (Verse 10.) With all my heart I have sought you; do not reject me from your commandments. If God rejects everyone whom he considers worthy of rejection, let us see if he gives any excuse to the one who wanted to follow God but was rejected. And first, how does a good God reject someone who is following, unless they themselves deserve to be rejected? Just as the Lord himself says: Foxes have dens (Matthew 8:28); and therefore he rejects them like a fox. And elsewhere: For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away (Matthew 25:29). To whom does he add, unless it be one who seeks him with all his heart; so that what is lacking in nature, he may acquire through the operation of God and by grace? Like Solomon, who sought God with all his heart, he asked for wisdom: and because he did not seek royal riches for himself, but rather the gift of divine grace, he deserved to receive the discipline of wisdom: he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, so that he might know all the commandments (3 Kings 11 and 12). But whoever does not have it in his heart to seek the Lord, and indeed does the work of God but does so negligently, is subject to a curse, as we read: 'Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully' (Jeremiah 48:10). Therefore, he is deservedly repelled because he is worthy of a curse, because he pollutes more and hinders the work which he thoughtlessly considered to be carried out.

22. Let us consider whether goodness is repelled by negligent work or rather retained. And let us take an image of this matter from other arts. The physician cares for the sick person, but negligently, and the laziness of the physician allows the deep wound to spread. Therefore, it is better to remove such a physician who wastes time, since the wounded person feels no improvement; so that the duty of healing is transferred to a physician who can assist the sick person more diligently and promptly! Is it not more merciful to drive away someone who is making no progress, than to hold them back at the brink of illness? Establish someone in charge of those who are building, or even those who are weaving, who should explain the main work; which of the two seems more preferable to you, if they diligently focus on it, and if they happen to notice someone who is careless about those who are working on a certain building, to drive them away, believing that it is better not to build than to have what has been built collapse due to gaping cracks; and to appoint someone in their place who will build diligently? Similarly, you would not approve of a supervisor who allows lazy people to continue in their negligence, instead of replacing them with diligent workers, as this would cause the quality of the work to deteriorate due to their carelessness. Would you not also disapprove of someone who allows the lazy to persist in their negligence?

23. Now go to those who build the commandments, and weave the law, and receive the healing of each soul. If anyone of them builds the house of God with justice, weaves the garment with diligence, heals the soul with grace, is he not doing a good work? But if someone lazy and careless occupies the place of a builder, weaver, spiritual doctor, like the high priest, like the elder, like the minister of the sacred altar; is it not more advantageous not to take on each duty that he cannot fulfill, than to undertake it while not fulfilling it diligently, and take away the place from another who can diligently protect it? What! Because even the one who is more lenient, when he himself is consulted, is repelled, so as not to create even more offense.

24. Now let us consider what it means to be repelled; for it is written: Like the wounded who sleep, cast aside in tombs, whom you no longer remember; indeed they are repelled from your hand (Ps. 87:5). Therefore, let us take note of those who are wounded and cast aside in tombs, whom you no longer remember. These are the ones who are repelled from the commandments of God. And to the sinner, God said: Why do you declare my justices (Ps. 49:16)? And because they are repelled from the commands of God, they are certainly repelled from the hand of God. And it is well foreseen lest anyone seem to be snatched from the hand of God; for no one can snatch anyone from the hand of God. Therefore, whoever is deprived of the duty or favor of the received gift is not snatched, but rejected, as the Lord Jesus said to Jerusalem: How often have I desired to gather your children . . . . . and you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be left to you desolate (Matthew 23:37-38). He took away from them sanctification, the altar of incense, and the sanctuary of prayer, the propitiatory altar of sacrifices, the ministries of priests and Levites; and yet, when all these things that they had according to the commands of the Law were taken away, the Apostle says: Did God reject his inheritance... No, he says, he did not reject... but he confined everything in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all (Rom. XI, 1, 2 and 32).


So there are those who, for a time, are turned away from commandments out of mercy; just as those who are vomiting are taken care of. For just as what remains in the body that is to be vomited becomes more bitter; so too, the one who should be excluded, if retained and does not correct himself, corrupts the whole body. And rightly have you called the faithful and true angel of Laodicea: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot: but because you are lukewarm, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth (Apoc. III, 15 et 16). Open negligence is more severely condemned by judgment than imprudence. For he is cold who does not know faith; he is warm who is inflamed by the fervor of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, for the one who does not have the warmth of faith, it would be more tolerable for him not to have accepted faith than to have neglected it. For the lukewarm is worse than the cold, like the Jew who thinks he has faith when he does not. How much more tolerable does the pagan have, who can say: I did not know the Law, I did not hear the prophets, therefore I did not believe, than he who reads everything from which he would believe in Jesus and still did not believe! Neither indeed is excused, neither he who reads, nor he who refuses to read: but he sins more, who denies what he has read, than he who does not perform the works which he does not know he should do. But how great is the grace of faith and justice, that it should be in the mouth of God, who holds faith and exercises the works of justice: and how much does he lose whom the Lord Jesus vomits out of his mouth, and casts out from his bowels! How pious, however, is he who holds the righteous in his mouth, and does not vomit out the unrighteous until he declares them to be vomited out! So that those who are converted by this admonition can accomplish something worthy, by which they are not disgusted. Now let us consider the third verse.

26. (Verse 11.) In my heart, he says, I have hidden your words, so that I may not sin against you. Therefore, it is good to keep the mystery of the king secret; for it is a sin against God to consider the entrusted secret mysteries as something to be divulged to the unworthy. Therefore, there is danger not only in speaking falsehoods but also in speaking truths to those who do not deserve it. This vice is fourfold, either flattery, or greed, or boasting, or careless talk; for when someone wants to flatter the person they are speaking to, they reveal the secret. Some people even pursue profit as the reward for betrayal; they sell by keeping silent. Others, to seem to know more and boast about their knowledge, reveal what they should keep hidden. Many, while speaking without judgment, utter a word that they cannot take back. Therefore, a man is praised later, and not in vain. There was a man who concealed his conversations, like the apostle Paul, who knows what to say to each person and when to say it. Wherefore he says at Corinth: I have given you milk to drink, not meat; for you were not able as yet. But neither indeed are you now able; for you are yet carnal. For, whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man? For while one saith, I indeed am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollo; are you not men? What then is Apollo, and what is Paul? The ministers of him whom you have believed; and to every one as the Lord hath given. I have planted, Apollo watered, but God gave the increase. Therefore, neither he that planteth is any thing, nor he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth, and he that watereth, are one. And every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour. For we are God’s coadjutors; you are God’s husbandry; you are God’s building. According to the grace of God that is given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid the foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: Every man’s work shall be manifest. For the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.

27. Moreover, above all, the Lord Jesus declares in his Gospel, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a hidden treasure in a field' (Matthew XIII, 44). Surely, the kingdom of heaven cannot be obtained by gold, silver, or money, but by the words of the Lord, pure words, silver refined by fire, through which the kingdom itself is acquired. Therefore, this treasure of wisdom and knowledge is hidden in the field, in which the words of the heavenly Scriptures are planted; when a man finds it, he hides it in his heart and does not divulge it, knowing that if he were to disclose the treasure of God to the Babylonians, he would incur great offense, so that it may be said to him in prophetic words: 'They will take from your descendants, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king' (Isaiah XXXIX, 7). Through this, it is signified that the one who betrays divine mysteries cannot have a future for his soul and a seedbed of merits.

28. So be careful not to betray your riches to deceitful people: and if they pretend friendship, do not open the innermost parts of your house to them; do not unlock the royal treasures, which the Babylonians must not know; lest they come and capture your descendants, and cut off the seedbed of virtue. This is also what the Lord says in the Gospel: Do not throw your pearls before swine (Matthew VII, 6). Therefore, he does well who hides the words of the Lord in his heart, as the prophet David hid them, as Mary, who kept all the words of the Lord Jesus in her heart (Luke II, 51). For if it is good for a man to hide his words, how much more should we hide the word of God in the depths of our hearts, we must conceal it!

29. (Verse 12.) In the fourth verse, it says: Blessed are you, O Lord: teach me your commandments. For not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of God. Therefore, this person who has corrected his way from his youth, kept the words of God in his whole heart, sought his Lord God, was not rejected by God's commandments, and was deemed worthy to be entrusted with the secrets of wisdom, has hidden them in his heart so as not to sin against God; as if he possessed the words of God, he gives thanks, saying: Blessed are you, O Lord; and desires to have the teacher himself, desiring to know the secrets of the Law, and how to have the interpretation: If you buy a Hebrew servant and he serves you for six years (Exodus 21:2), and the rest, with which it is preceded to learn these commandments, which he presents in the sight of the children of Israel; he seeks to learn these from the Lord, which men could not teach; unless God had taught them beforehand. After the apostles learned from Christ, the Church says: The King has brought me into his chamber (Song of Songs 1:3), that is, into his secret place where the treasures of his knowledge and understanding are. Therefore, it is said to you: When you pray, go into your inner room (Matthew 6:6), which signifies the secret place of the mind and soul. In this chamber of justice, the Bride has asked to be led; after the fragrance of the ointment has spread, which always flows and never fails.


30. (Verse 13.) Therefore, as a learned prophet, he says in the fifth verse: In my lips, I have declared all the judgments of your mouth. And how does he say elsewhere: Your judgments are like a great abyss (Psalm 36:7)? And how does the Apostle say: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways that cannot be traced! For who has known the mind of the Lord (Romans 11:33-34)? If his judgments are unsearchable, how then are there judgments? How have you pronounced all things, says the Prophet, the judgments of your mouth? But perhaps the judgments of God are not the same as the judgments of his mouth. If they are different, it is well said: Who will be like your thoughts? (Psalm 39:6) And therefore his judgments are inscrutable; because we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But if no one says this except Christ, who can say: I and the Father are one? (John 10:30)


However, let us distinguish, and let us not fear that it contradicts itself or the venerable Scripture with contrary things. For let us consider that it did not say: The judgments of His mouth are like a deep abyss, but it said: Your judgments; and the Apostle did not say: The inscrutable judgments of His mouth, but: The inscrutable judgments of Him. For we can estimate the judgments of God, which He has not revealed to us as hidden; but the judgments of His mouth, which He has announced and spoken through the mouths of prophets. It is understood that the prophet of God is referred to, to whom it is said: Cry out; and he said, What shall I cry out? And it was inspired to him to say: All flesh is grass (Isaiah 40:6). This, of course, spoken, is a function of the mouth of God; for he has spoken the judgment of God. Therefore, prophetic oracles are now not only like an abyss, but they are also the abyss itself; for no one could open the book in heaven or on earth, except Christ. Let us now come to the sixth verse.


32. (Verse 14.) On the way, he says, I am delighted by your testimonies, just as in all riches. Some delight in gold, others in silver, others in clothing; some in possessions, vineyards, olive groves; others in works of painting, marbles; in the end, each person has their own pleasures: the spiritual person delights in the way of heavenly testimonies, as if possessing every inheritance, rich in all things; as the Apostle says: I always thank my God for you in the grace of our God, which has been given to you in Christ Jesus: for you have become rich in all things in him, in all speech, and in all knowledge (I Cor. 1, 4 and 5). The Apostles in Corinth made such great progress in their teaching that those who previously could only drink milk like infants, later abounded in all the riches of knowledge and word. Therefore, David delighted in all the riches of knowledge, science, wisdom, and in every act of good works. And if anyone now, attentive to divine things, were to draw from that threefold discipline of wisdom, theoretical, practical, and logical, with earnestness for acquiring knowledge, they would hold a more beautiful grace for carrying out rational and moral doctrine. Whoever understands the prophetic enigmas revealed by the Spirit of God, comprehends the depth of the Gospel in works and counsels, and pays attention to the moral teachings of the apostolic discourse; such a person, like a rich person in all things, will receive abundant pleasure.

33. And because bodily pleasure is pleasant, it is not compared to spiritual [pleasure] as if by the quality of grace; but rather it is called forth as a testimony to pleasantness. Indeed, the Apostle teaches that the invisible and eternal things of God are understood by us through those things which have been made (Rom. 1:20). In Song of Songs we also have written: I have likened you, my beloved, to my horses in Pharaoh's chariots, my companion. In which, when the likeness of the Church seems to be compared to the course of swift horses, the wealth of her grace is esteemed. Therefore, do not take just one horse of a rich king, but rather take the entire cavalry, as we have often said, which is like a sheep among a flock of sheep. Therefore, Pharaoh, as the most powerful and wealthy king, had powerful horses, as the Scripture says, the chariots of Pharaoh; like the most powerful kind for use in war and for support in battle. In the end, with these chariots, Pharaoh easily captured the fleeing Hebrews. Therefore, just as horses together pull a chariot with harmony, and willingly bear the yoke, and carry themselves with grace, and become tame through the acceptance of that yoke; so too the congregation of nations boasted before the unyielding customs of the gentiles; but when it accepted the yoke of the one saying: 'Take my yoke...' Because it is light: and my burden, because it is sweet (Matt. XI, 29-30); and the Bride of Christ began to be exalted by the harmony and gentleness of the people, and to be carried throughout the whole world, like a chariot snatched up by swift horses above the world, she ascended to the Bridegroom.

34. Finally, in the later parts of the Songs, it says: I have set you as the chariot of Aminadab (Song of Songs 6:12). The Church has many chariots within itself, which the Lord guides with spiritual reins. And one soul has many thoughts, which the Lord's rein restricts and recalls, lest our chariot here be carried into a precipice. Aminadab, however, is interpreted as the father of good pleasure, whose son is read about in Numbers as the leader of the people (Numbers 2:3), who should be understood as serpent-like in interpretation; and you recognize this, if you recall, for just as the serpent hung on the tree that redeemed you.


Therefore, the soul is the charioteer of God, so that his anger, desire, fear, and all worldly desires may be restrained. The Church is also the charioteer of God, which is to be governed by the helm of Christ; so that the movements and controversies of different peoples may not disturb it. Naason is also well understood as Christ; because the rod of Aaron, turned into a serpent, devoured those Egyptian serpents (Exodus 7: 12). Therefore, let us have these riches, let us delight in them, so that reasonable horses may run for us and let us abide by their commandments.


36. (Verse 15.) And therefore he says: In your commandments I will be exercised, and I will consider your ways. For whoever is exercised in the words of the apostles knows the commandments of Jesus the Lord, and considers his ways, in which the end is Christ, who says: I am the way (John XIV, 6).

37. (Verse 16.) And in your justices I will meditate, I will not forget your words. This passage reminds us that we should be mindful of the Scriptures and meditate on His righteousness not only in word, but also in deed. For it is not those who discuss the Law, and do not do what the Law requires, but those who are doers of the Law who are justified.

Sermon 3. Gimel.

Sermon 3. Gimel.


The third letter according to the Hebrews is Gimel, which is called 'retribution' in Latin. Finally, this is shown in the very first verse.

2. (Verse 17.) 'Repay,' he says, 'to your servant.' Just as David said above: 'Do not repay us according to our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities' (Psalm 102:10); and here he demands retribution? That voice seems to be that of the sinner, whereas this voice belongs to those who are well conscious of themselves, who ask for the rewards of good deeds. Hence, we can also understand this, that this psalm is formed about the person of him who, born of the Virgin, presumes to sit at the right hand of the Father for the redemption of the whole world, as he himself says: 'From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power' (Matthew 26:64).


3. However, it is not strange, nor arrogant, if even David asks for compensation from the Lord his God for his outstanding efforts. It is the prerogative of faith and righteousness to claim reward from the favor of the Lord. Indeed, Peter is reproved (Matthew 14:31) because, while walking on the waves, he hesitated more from human emotion than he presumed from apostolic authority. We are also taught in the Gospel to have faith (Luke 17:6) and not to hesitate in performing things that are above human capability. Therefore David deservedly, as though still imperfect in his previous sins, refuses and avoids being punished, but in this psalm which comes later (Psalm 102, 10), he prays to be rewarded according to the progress of his virtue and the struggles of his faith and good works. Indeed, even Paul, who previously said, 'I am not worthy to be called an apostle' (1 Corinthians 15, 9), later says, 'The crown of righteousness is reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing' (2 Timothy 4, 8). And the Apostle promises there, but here he prays even more reverently: asking, of course, not out of insolent arrogance, but out of innocent conscience, to seek reward from the one whom you serve; for to despair is an excuse for laziness, but to hope is an encouragement for labor.

4. Therefore, Pete confidently, if his merits are supported, should strive more diligently in seeking such things, because the more worthy his requests are. Which athlete, if he despairs of the crown, would descend into the stadium, or if he seeks it as the victor, would offend? Testing creates hope, hope creates confidence. Therefore, the prayer of the just is like this: the Lord takes delight in such prayer, so that you may use authority for the sake of the purity of conscience.

However, to avoid appearing arrogant, he added: \"You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.\" (1 Corinthians 7:23-24)


Glorious servitude, by which Christ served for us. Blessed servitude, by which you also serve: but in such a way that the adversary cannot claim anything from your servitude for himself. Therefore, Christ loves the freedom of a good servant. Finally, in the Song of Songs it says: 'How beautiful are your cheeks like turtledoves, your neck like necklaces!' (Song of Songs 1:9). The face is freer when there is a consciousness of chastity: and it is sweet to bear the yoke of Christ, if you consider the ornaments of your neck to be light, not burdens. Therefore, always lift up your eyes to the Lord your God, and seek God that you may find. Raise your neck; you wear decorations, not chains. Many animals also delight in decorations and seem more adorned than bound. May your cheeks carry the insignia of modesty like turtle doves: the decorations of freedom raise confidence. For the yoke of Christ is light; and therefore, the neck is not pressed down but lifted up.

7. 'We will make likenesses of gold for you out of distinctions of silver,' he says, 'as long as the King is in his decline' (Ibid., 10). For from those who are of the Law and the prophets, they had believed moderately in the glory of the Lord Jesus, but his inheritance, spread abroad among the peoples, when examined more frequently, is all the more approved. For frequent persecutions of the Church have produced for us the titles of the righteous and the victories of martyrdom. So just as good gold, when it is burned, does not feel the loss, but rather its brightness increases; until Christ comes into his kingdom, and rests his head on the faith of the Church. When he came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he had nowhere to rest his head: but now faith is already fragrant; and therefore the Church says: My nard has given its fragrance (Ibid., 11). And she says it with presumption, awaiting retribution.


8. The ointment of grace is fragrant, from which the Virgin gave birth, and the Lord Jesus assumed the sacrament of the Incarnation. The bond, he says, is my cousin, the bunch of grapes is my brother Cyprus, resting among my breasts. For the Lord Jesus, taking on a body, bound himself with the bonds of love: and he bound himself not only to our members and natural passions, but also to the cross; therefore, just as the bunch of grapes rests in the faith and moral grace of the Church. Nardus Cypri, my cousin, in the vineyards of Engaddi (Cant. I, 13). Engaddi, if we seek the place, is a certain region in Judea, and it is called so, in which balsam is produced. If we seek the interpretation, Engaddi signifies 'temptation' in Latin. In those vineyards, there is a tree that, if someone punctures it, emits perfume: this is the fruit of the tree. If the tree is not punctured, it does not smell as fragrant; but when it is punctured by the hand of the artisan, then it distills tears: just as Christ, on that tree of temptation, crucified, shed tears for the people, in order to wash away our sins, and poured forth the ointment from the bowels of His mercy, saying: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do (Luke, XXIII, 34). Then, therefore, the spear pierced the wood, and blood and water poured forth from it, more fragrant than any ointment, a sacrifice accepted by God, pouring out the odor of sanctification throughout the whole world: and as balsam flows from a tree, so did power flow from his body. Hence, it is said that the expression 'opobalsamum' comes from there, because by the piercing of the wood, balsam bursts forth through the cavity of the wound. Therefore, Jesus, pierced, poured forth the fragrance of forgiveness of sins and redemption. For the Word was made flesh, and was bound, and He made Himself poor, though He was rich, so that we might be enriched by His poverty. He was powerful, yet He allowed Himself to be despised, so that Herod could mock Him and ridicule Him. He moved the earth and clung to the wood; He covered the heavens with darkness, and crucified the world; and He Himself was crucified. He bowed His head, and the Word went forth; He was emptied, and He filled all things. God descended, man ascended; the Word was made flesh, so that the flesh of the Word might claim a throne for itself at the right hand of God. A wound was inflicted, and ointment flowed forth; the scarab beetle was heard, and God was recognized.


9. And Christ answered: Behold, you are my good neighbor, behold, you are good (Song of Solomon 1:14). For the Church knew the mystery and preached the crucified Lord Jesus for the redemption of the whole world, she deserves to hear: Behold, you are good; you who say I am good, and you yourself are good, who have seen the glory of my beauty, and you yourself are good and beautiful. But what does it mean for Christ to say: You are good, or you are beautiful; except for that Gospel saying: Be of good cheer, daughter, your sins are forgiven (Matthew 9:22)?


10. (Verse 17.) Therefore, the one to whom Christ has forgiven sins rightly says: Pay your servant so that I may live and keep your words. He has no reason to despair about retribution, for the Lord Jesus came to save the world, not to destroy it. Therefore, He forgets the injury and remembers the grace, as He Himself testifies in the prophetic book, saying: I am, I am the one who blots out your iniquities and will not remember them; but remember me, and let us be judged. Declare your iniquities that you may be justified (Isaiah 43:25-26). Therefore, whoever confesses his sins to God, is justified; and whoever is justified, does not fear retribution, but asks for it; and whoever does not fear retribution, shall live.

11. But why did he say, 'I will live,' and not 'I am living'? Because this life is not a place of reward, but a place of death. The Prophet laments that he has been brought down to the dust of death (Psalm 21:16). The Apostle desires to be liberated from this mortal body (Romans 7:24). And do we think that the Prophet takes delight in this life? Everything here is full of death. Death enters through the window, it enters through the door; unless the Lord sets a guard at your door. Finally, sin is born out of excessive talk. Read the commandments of the Law, and you will find written: If a living person touches a dead body, they become unclean (Numbers 19:11). How many dead bodies do we touch? Among how many dead bodies do we live? Therefore, the Author of life tells you: Leave the dead to bury their own dead (Matthew 8:22). Therefore, elsewhere it is said to you: Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead (Ephesians 5:14). How could it be said to you, 'Arise from the dead,' unless you were living among the dead? Let us consider you to be free from dead works and from the pollution of sin; how can you be free, who are in a body of death, who live among the graves of the dead? Peter needed to speak to the dead, so that they would come out of their own tombs.

12. Therefore we are in need of purification because we have touched the dead (Num. XIX, 1). The Law commands us to be cleansed: who is so great that he is above the Law? If the holy Nazarene himself touches the dead, he declares himself unclean (Num. VI, 9). And so he shaves his head and lays aside his hair as if it were not holy; and again he prays to be heard, for he could not before because of the touch of the dead: he considered the days to be irrational; for he had approached the irrational. Therefore, he must lay down the dead and superfluous of his own head, so that he may be reconciled to Christ. Therefore, if the Nazarene is purified, then we must be purified.

13. We all touch death. For who will boast of having a pure heart, or who will dare to say that they are free from sin? Perhaps there is someone who has not sinned in speech, although such a person is rare, of whom God says, as He did about the holy Job: 'He has not sinned with his lips' (Job 22:10); yet he could not always have pure thoughts of his heart, as the devil constantly attacks the human heart. Even if someone guards their heart with constant and vigilant care, they still find themselves in the midst of sinners and must also purify themselves. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips (Isaiah VI, 5 and 7); Then one of the seraphims flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

14. There is not one baptism: there is one that this Church handed down, through water and the Holy Spirit, by which it is necessary for catechumens to be baptized. There is also another baptism, of which the Lord Jesus says: I have a baptism to be baptized with, which you do not know (Luke, XII, 10). And indeed he had already been baptized in the Jordan, as the previous things make clear (Matthew, III, 13): but let this be the baptism of passion, by which everyone is also cleansed by his blood. There is also baptism in the vestibule of Paradise, which was not there before: but after the sinner was excluded, it began to be a fiery sword, which God placed (Gen., III, 24), which was not there before when there was no sin. Sin began, and baptism began: by which those who desired to return to Paradise might be purified, so that when they returned they could say: We passed through fire and water (Psal. LXV, 12). Here through water, there through fire. Through water, sins are washed away; through fire, they are burned up. But what is worse, we endure both fires here and there.

15. Who is the one who baptizes with this fire! Not a priest, not a bishop, not John, who said: I baptize you in penance (Matthew III, 11); not an Angel, not an Archangel, not Dominions, not Powers: but he, of whom John says: He who comes after me, is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to carry the sandals: he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. He has a winnowing fan in his hand, and will cleanse his threshing floor; and will gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire (Ibid., II and 12). Not of this baptism, which is performed by the priests of the Church, does the Lord himself testify (Matthew, XIII, 49 and 50). For after the consummation of the world, with the angels sent forth to separate the good from the evil, this will be the baptism: when by the fire of judgment, wickedness is consumed; so that in the kingdom of God the righteous may shine like the sun himself in the kingdom of his Father. And if any saint, like Peter or John, is baptized with this fire. Therefore, the great Baptist will come (for I name him thus, just as Gabriel named him: 'He will be great' - Luke 1:15). He will see many standing before the entrance of paradise, he will shake the turning key, and he will say to those on the right who do not have heavy sins: 'Enter, you who presume and do not fear fire.' For I have foretold you: 'Behold, I come like fire' - Isaiah 66:15. And through Ezekiel, I have said: 'Behold, I will set out for Jerusalem and I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, so that you may waste away like lead and iron' - Ezekiel 22:20.


16. Let the consuming fire come, let it burn away the lead of wickedness within us, the iron of sin, and make us pure gold. Let it burn my kidneys and my heart, so that I may think of good things, desire things that are pure. But because he is purified here, he must necessarily be purified there as well. Let him also purify us there, as the Lord will say: Enter into my rest. So that each of us, having been burned by that fiery sword, but not consumed, may enter into that delightful paradise and give thanks to his Lord, saying: You have led us into refreshment. Therefore, whoever passes through fire enters into rest. They pass from the material and worldly things to those incorruptible and eternal.

17. That is another fire in which involuntary sins, but accidental ones, are burned, which the Lord Jesus has prepared for His servants, so that He may cleanse them from this dwelling, which is mixed with the dead. That other fire, He has appointed for the devil and his angels, of which He says: 'Enter into the everlasting fire' (Matthew, 25:41); that fire in which the rich man was burning, who begged for a drop of moisture to be placed on his tongue from Lazarus' finger. But truly, Lazarus, reclining in Abraham's bosom (Luke, 16:24), was enjoying eternal life, which the Prophet promises to himself, saying: 'I shall live and keep Your words.' He says, 'I will live as if I am not yet alive; for here we live in the shadow.'

Therefore, this life in the body is the shadow and image of life, not the truth. Ultimately, man walks in an image, and we stand in the region of the shadow of death. But if someone does not focus the eyes of their mind on earthly things, but raises them to spiritual things; so that they can say: The Spirit of Christ the Lord is before our face; they will be worthy to say: In His shadow we shall live (Lamentations 4:20). For Christ is life; and therefore, whoever lives in the shadow of Christ, lives in the shadow of life. And elsewhere the Holy Lord says: 'In the shadow of your wings protect me' (Psalm 16:8). Therefore, all the saints are also in the shadow, as long as they are in the body: they do not see perfectly, they do not know perfectly, but they know in part. Paul himself says: 'For we know in part' (1 Corinthians 13:9). He himself, the vessel of election, to whom Christ gave eyes and illuminated with his grace, saw not face to face, but through a mirror. And David prays that his eyes may be opened (Inf. 2.17-18), that the shade that obstructs his sight may be removed. But who could doubt that this is the realm of the dead since the Holy One himself says: 'I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living' (Ps. 114:9)? For here no one can please perfectly, even if it were possible for them to not have their own sins; yet by living in the very realm of the dead, they need purification to free them from the contagion of this realm.


19. Therefore, we live in the shadow, and for this reason, we guard the words of God in the shadow. And let us use an example: surely before, they were under the shadow of the Law, when men observed the Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come; just like the Jews today, who do not see the true Sabbath, but serve the copy and shadow. We also, living according to the Gospel, follow the shadow of the words of God. Nathanael appears under the fig tree (John 1:48), David says that he hopes in the shadow of the wings of the Lord Jesus (Psalm 16:8); Zacchaeus climbs a sycamore tree to see Christ (Luke 19:4). Jesus also extended his hands to us, in order to overshadow the whole world. How are we not in the shadow, who are protected by the veil of his cross? How are we not in the shadow, whom the crucified one defends from the wickedness of the world and the heat of the body? Do we not know that the Word of God, coming into this world, did not come as the Word came, which was in the beginning, which was with God: but he emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant? He came in a light cloud: and when the power of the Most High overshadowed Mary, he transformed the body of our humility to be like the body of his glory. Just as he changed form when he was born from the Virgin, so too the words of God appear to us transfigured when they are read in the Gospel, when their image is seen in the Scriptures as in a mirror, because the whole truth cannot be comprehended here. But when what is perfect comes, no longer through descent, no longer in appearance as transfigured, but they shine forth with complete and explicit truth.


20. And let it not trouble you that he says: I will keep many words; he who knows one word, knows many words. For in one there are many, and in many there is one. Therefore, it must be proven how one word can be many, and many words can be one. Nor is it difficult to teach, as the Apostle said, because he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, in whom all things were created in heaven and on earth, whether visible or invisible, whether Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers; all things were created through him and for him (Colossians 1:15-16). There is therefore one Word, which operates in each individual; and when it operates in each individual, it operates in all things. This one Word, unique, poured itself out in many ways with the Father, because from His fullness we all have received. Therefore, if you see in each individual creature what is of Him, you will see that in each individual there is one Word of all, of which we are participants according to our capacity. In me the Word is human, but let the Apostle provide assistance and say: I also think that I have the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 7:40); in another, the Word is heavenly, and the word of angels is in many. There are those who possess the word of Dominion and Power, the word of Justice, the word of Chastity, the word of Prudence, the word of Piety, and even the word of Virtue. Thus, one word has many meanings, and many words have one meaning. And truly, it is not difficult to understand this; as we read, the Spirit of Wisdom can do all things.

Therefore, just as others are given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and others the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, others faith in the same spirit, others the gift of healing in one spirit, others the working of miracles, others the discernment of spirits, others the gift of prophecy, others the gift of tongues, others the interpretation of tongues. Yet in all these things it is the same Spirit who distributes to each one as He wills. There is the spirit of the prophets and the spirit of the apostles. There is also the spirit of craftsmen, like Bezalel and Oholiab, whom the Lord filled with the Spirit of divine wisdom, knowledge, and craftsmanship, to make garments and the Tabernacle, as well as the altar, according to the plan that God gave them (Exodus 35:30 et seq.). And they were also given the understanding and ability to do all the work according to everything the Lord commanded. And so they did what they had not learned, nor seen, according to what the Spirit showed them. And it seems to many that there is one spirit of the apostles, another of the prophets, and different in each: but it is not different, but one is the spirit, dividing different kinds of powers. Hence, there should be no doubt that the apostolic word was given to some, the prophetic word to others, the evangelistic word to others, and yet it is one word dividing itself to each according to our ability or according to its voluntary generosity. Therefore, I see this Word, which is the head of all, here through a mirror; and therefore, I cannot keep the words here. But when I see the glory of it revealed face to face, then I will live, and living, I will also keep the divine words.

22. (Verse 18.) Therefore, in the second verse he says: Open my eyes, and I will consider the wonders of your law. He who asks for his eyes to be opened, certainly understands also the burden. For he does not ask for a physician unless he seeks a remedy for his illness. Therefore, this person says to the physician coming from heaven: Open my eyes. If the eye is disturbed, all pain is easily alleviated by an eye ointment; but if its vision is obscured by an overflow of fluid, more serious remedies are sought. So just as in the eyes of the body, there is also in the eyes of the soul a certain passion of this kind, which must necessarily become worse; unless a good physician removes that covering and the cloud of a congealed humor, which hinders, or rather covers up, so that it may not see what it used to see, is considered the gaze of the mind. The sickness has crept in from an old ferment; because we did not remove either the pagan or Jewish suffusion when we first came to the Church: we did not hear and learn the discipline of a good physician: Putting off the old man with his deeds and putting on the new, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him (Colossians 3:9-10). Therefore, if someone covers himself, he does not uncover himself: a deeper sorrow spreads, a lasting veil weighs down the eyes; no one can take it away, neither an Angel, nor Virtues, nor Dominations, nor Powers. That veil remains, it hinders reading, it obscures vision; as the Apostle says, it is not revealed, that is, by anyone else, unless it is taken away in Christ. But when someone turns to the Lord in this way, the veil will be taken away.


Therefore, you have how you may remove the veil, which remains above the eyes of your heart. Turn to the Lord, and the veil will fall. Paul turned to the blessing of Ananias, as scales fell from his eyes; and he saw, who had not seen for three days before: at the same time, the eye of the body and soul is healed; for that physician had shown him the remedy, who is written: He sent his Word, and healed them, and delivered them from all their infirmities. There is no doctor on this earth who cures all illnesses and heals entire populations. Therefore, Father, send that doctor: let your Word come, open my eyes. And the eyes of the Apostles were closed, unless Jesus opened them. Finally, when the two of them were going to the village called Emmaus, while he interpreted the Scriptures and blessed them, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him (Luke, 24:31). Therefore, unless Jesus had opened our eyes, no one would have seen; unless Jesus removed the veil, the grace of the Gospel would not have shone. And Peter had closed eyes, and John had closed eyes, and James had closed eyes. Finally, they were burdened with sleep on the mountain, but awakened by the brightness of divine majesty, they opened the eyes of their hearts. And because they were thirsty in the body, they could not fully see, they were overshadowed by clouds (Matthew, 27), so that the brilliance of heavenly glory would not dull their bodily eyes.


24. Who, then, is so great as to open the eyes and see the sacraments of the Law; unless Christ himself shows them? Not even Moses was so great. Indeed, at the command of the Lord, he threw down his staff, and it became a serpent, and he fled from it; he took hold of the serpent's tail, and it became a staff (Exodus, IV, 3 and 4); and yet he did not understand the mystery by which it was revealed that the Lord Jesus would descend to earth, and when he humbled himself and was laid in the tomb, he would suffer on the cross and be cast into the tomb, as a serpent made from a staff; for when he was cast into the tomb, from which, according to the oracles of the Law, he would rise again to the glory of God and return to the divine throne as the king's consort, in the form of a serpent. Therefore, let us also apprehend the tail of that crucified serpent, so that we may recognize his royal power. And she who sent the ointment onto his feet held him. Therefore, Moses also apprehended the tail of the serpent, and his mouth was opened. He would not have spoken of it unless the Lord himself had opened his mouth.

25. David opened his eyes and sought here, and in the previous [passage] he said: Who will show us good things (Psalm 4:6)? He was brought up under the Law, and he knew that the Law has a shadow of future goods: he desired to see these goods not through a shadow, but with open eyes (Hebrews 10:1). He knew that the copies and shadows served the heavenly mysteries, which those serving according to the Law of Moses served. He wanted to grasp the truth of divine worship itself; and therefore, in order to remove the veil from his eyes, he turned to the Lord in prayer, saying: Open my eyes, and I will consider the wonders of your law. He truly understood that the militia is heavenly, which everyone can know from the Law, to which the Lord nevertheless reveals it. For who can ascend from earthly things to heavenly things, from shadow to brightness, from the copy to the innermost truth, without divine guidance?

26. Who can consider that heavenly altar, that true temple, the priests and the Levites, not according to the duties of the flesh, but according to the grace of the spirit? Finally, David desired only this grace for himself, saying: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and that I may see the delight of the Lord, and contemplate his temple (Psalm 26:4). Who could have known that the rich man would offer a great gift, as much as his hand is able, for the forgiveness of his sin? Who could understand, if he did not have it? Who could offer, for example, a ram, because his sin was not being resolved? Who could notice, what were those impurities, which were not resolved by the Law that the Jews think, but by the spiritual law, which Paul recognized? Who could see true remissions of sins, whose example is in the Law, the truth in the Gospel, with the Lord Jesus saying: Your sins are forgiven (Luke, VII, 48); not by the blood of goats, but by the sacrifice of his own body? Therefore, let that rich man read, who by confessing the fullness of perfect majesty in Christ and by offering with his celestial hands to certain people the sin he has been forgiven. He sees the true Priest who sees the Prince of the priests; he considers the true temple who hears him saying: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). It is a great temple, from which power came forth and healed everyone. Marvelous is that altar, upon which the sacrifice of the one Lamb took away the sins of the world. He, the most excellent Levite, who came not to demand a service, but to offer his own service of passion to all: to whom God is his portion, who possessed nothing here, that he might possess all things.

27. But what shall I say about the Hebrew slave, whom the Law commands to serve only six years, and in the seventh year to go out from servitude (Exod., XXI, 2)? Who is this Hebrew slave? Who can be understood as a free Hebrew? How great, so that he may see eternal years in his mind, is the true Hebrew who does not remain a slave forever, but after six years of serving, in the seventh year obtains the grace of liberty? It seems that Isaac, the patriarch, did not ignore the mystery of servitude and liberty, who said: 'You shall serve your brother, and when you shall have taken off and laid aside his yoke from your neck' (Gen. XXVII, 40), signifying the time when even if someone is placed in servitude to his brother, afterwards, after the exact years, which are collected in these six days and these months that we require here, he shall remove the yoke from his neck, which happens in the seventh year of remission. We can infer the true type of the Hebrew people in Joseph, who bore the yoke of slavery: but guilt did not seize him, prison did not confine him, Egypt did not stain him. We infer it in Peter, John, and James, who, although created and trained under the yoke of the Law, nevertheless broke the Jewish yoke of their brother when the legitimate time of rest came, when the forgiveness of sins shone upon them. And yet this was still done here in shadow by comparison with heavenly things.


28. But how great is that rest which is promised by the Law, is revealed in the Gospel, and is still kept intact, with the Lord Jesus saying: I want that where I am, they may be with me (John 17:24)! How blessed is the one who can merit the fruit of this dwelling, the fellowship of this rest! Then he will understand what it means to open his eyes, to see the wonders of God's law.

29. The reading of the Gospel, which has been finished, has well admonished us, in which the leper was healed, who said: If you wish, you can cleanse me (Luke 5:12); establishing the effect of power in the will of the Lord. To whom he responded likewise: I wish, be cleansed (ibid., 13). Preceded by the piety of the will, followed the authority of power. Jesus says to all, I wish, who do not wish to be sin. The will of Christ is common to all; to be cleansed is the act of the believer in Christ. And he touched him. He touches those whose faith is touched. Finally, he says: Someone touched me; for I perceive that virtue hath gone out from me (Luke, 8:46). You have the operation of the immaculate body, you have the remission of divinity.

But in order to be more fully healed, he opened his eyes, saying: 'Go, show yourself to the priest' (Luke, 5:14). The synagogue had many priests, but the one who opens eyes does not see false priests, but sees the truth. Who is the true priest, if not the one who is a priest forever? And therefore the Father said to him: 'You are a priest forever' (Psalm 110:4). So he opened his eyes, and saw, and understood what gift he should offer for his cleansing. Blessed is he who hears these things: how much more blessed is he who sees, who is able to reveal himself to the Priest, so that he does not have to fear being seen by him, who sees himself first, with his face revealed! For unless he sees himself first, he will not dare to show himself; just as Adam who desired to hide himself, because he did not recognize himself. But now let us also consider what follows.

31. (Verse 19.) I am a stranger in the land; do not hide your commandments from me. This is not the voice of just anyone; but of one who has renounced earthly pleasures and has cast off all desire for worldly things. He is a stranger in this land, who can say: 'But our citizenship is in heaven' (Philippians 3:20); who has his portion in the Lord, who can grieve that he lives on earth for a longer time, who is wearied by the length of this life, for whom the elongation of this dwelling place is a source of disgust, which the holy person rejects, and says: 'Woe to those who dwell on the earth' (Revelation 8:13)! He who does not fear to be dissolved; and if he is dissolved, presumes to be with Christ in the future: he is truly a stranger on earth; for he is a citizen of the saints, a member of God's household, and he stores up treasure for himself in heaven. He does not desire to return to this intelligible Egypt, as one who comes out of Egypt desires to return, nor does he fear the confines of old age and death, nor does he build barns for storing harvests, for he will live on the resources of others: but rich only in the abundance of virtues, he gathers those things which death cannot take away from him.


32. (Verse 20.) And rightly so he says: My soul has desired to desire your judgements at all times. Which it certainly does not do unless it is free from bonds, not only from the bonds of worldly anxieties, but also from the bonds of human affection. There are many bonds in this world: the bonds are the desires of life, the bonds are the pleasures of the senses, the bonds are the honors, the bonds are the bonds of marriage. Finally, the good Teacher asks you: Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife (I Cor. VII, 27). However, it is not a sin for one who takes a wife, but it binds him with the chains of the mind; because he is concerned about pleasing his wife. He would be happier if he desired to please God alone. But you see that he is bound, who does not have power over his own body. Therefore, because it is a commandment of God, which is taken from the oracle of the Law and the Apostolic word (Deut., VI, 5; and Matth., X, 37), that no one should prefer a wife, riches, honor, or obligations over God: but whoever does prefer them becomes subject to the judgments of God; therefore, he first demanded that God's commandments not be hidden from him. For whoever knows the commandments of God and keeps them, does not flee from Divine judgments, but desires them; and deservedly, as if the commandments had been revealed to him, he says: I have desired to desire your judgments at all times.

33. He did not say: I desired judgments, but: I desired to desire. For just as to live is more than simply living (for living is a common attribute even of this life, but to live is the attribute of the blessed), so to desire in order to desire the judgments of God is more than simply desiring judgments. For we desire to desire, as if desire were not within our power, but within the grace of God. For when the Lord sees that we take pleasure in desiring His judgments, He increases our sober affection. But when we sin, we do not desire to desire the judgments of God. For a sick person does not desire to be burned or cut so that they can receive healing. The one who is seriously ill avoids being burned, cut, bound, or abstaining from food. But the one who has good health confidently seeks out a doctor. Hence, the Lord also says not in vain: “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you” (Luke 22:15); not only desiring, but also desiring with doubled desire to grant the remission of sins. Let us therefore desire the judgments of God. A good conscience, when examined, is proven. And let us desire and long for in every moment, so that no moment of good may pass without the longing of desire.

34. (Ver. 21.) You rebuke the proud: cursed are those who turn away from your commandments. When the Lord Jesus redeemed the human race through obedience and restored justice, the serpent introduced sin through disobedience; we can estimate the extent of this vice, of which the author is the devil, whom the Prophet introduces saying: I will set my throne above the clouds, and I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). Therefore, since he is most wicked, he did not give honor to our Lord God; nevertheless, he educated worse disciples. For he exalted himself in such a way that he wanted to be equal and similar to the Most High: but his disciple, as signified by the Apostle, would be indignant to be considered equal and similar to God. For it is written: When the man of sin and son of perdition is revealed, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god (2 Thess. 2:3-4). Therefore, the teacher considers himself similar, this one superior. And so the Lord said to his disciples: You will do greater things (John, XIV, 12); so that to those whom the serpent had taken away more than he himself had lost, Christ would give greater things than he had done on earth. For he wanted to deceive the prince of the world in himself, to triumph in the disciples.

35. Therefore, willing to avenge the human race for such a great crime, he introduced the Pharisee and the publican in the temple praying (Luke, XVIII, 10 et seq.); and he taught that even if a person has other good qualities, what offends more is pride, rather than humility, for one who is not supported by any virtue; for the devil strives to overthrow those who are intent on good works. How much effort that Pharisee made, so as not to take what belonged to others, so as not to be unjust, so as not to commit adultery! How hard he labored so as not to sin, just as the tax collector sinned! How hard he labored to fast twice on the Sabbath! How hard he labored to give a tenth of everything he acquired! Who among us does these things? How many have possessions and only care about their own gain, storing up the harvest for themselves alone! The devil noticed this and infected him with a serious sore; so that he would not hold his head high, inflated with pride; and in the very thing he believed would be praiseworthy, there he would be judged more reprehensible. Indeed, be grateful to God that he was not a robber, adulterer, or unjust. How wickedly the serpent struggled against him, and bound him with heavy coils! He made himself higher, to cast him down from a greater height: he made himself lower, to overthrow him from a higher position with a heavier fall. The downfall of arrogance is a great ruin, which took away his higher status. This is the wicked struggle of the serpent, in which it twists itself in many turns.

36. He wanted to inflate both himself and Paul. Which Paul? Certainly not the apostle by men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ (II Cor., XII, 7-8). And he had nearly been deceived, to the point that he asked for the removal of the goad of his flesh, which was humbling him. But the good Lord, who wanted to make Paul stronger through his infirmities, sent him the angel of Satan; so that the devil would be conquered by his own tricks. The Pharisee was not lying, but he was even speaking the truth: but everyone who exalts themselves, even if they speak the truth, offends (Luc., XVIII, 14). Finally, the Pharisee entered the temple, more probable than the tax collector; and yet, condemned, he left. How great a crime is pride, that even adulteries are preferred to it!

37. Finally, the Lord, who gives to others, resists the proud, and as if engages in combat with those who exalt themselves, and claims this contest for himself: and he rebukes the arrogant who show compassion to others; because there is nothing more serious than despising our poor brothers with a proud eye, rejecting them from us with intolerable disdain, judging them unworthy of our grace because they are poor: when poverty is easier for God than a more acceptable treasure.


38. Cursed, he says, are those who deviate from your commands. Above he had said: Do not hide your commands from me; and so, knowing the revealed commands, he condemns those who have deviated from heavenly commands. And he rightly says: those who deviate; for the command is straightforward, so no one should deviate from it.

However, he moves in the following way, saying: Do not hide your commandments from me. For what is hidden becomes obscure and hidden; since he said above: The commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes (Psalm 18:9). If the commandment is clear, how is it hidden; for no one puts a lamp under a measure? Unless perhaps it is one clear commandment, but many commandments are hidden. For, he says, your judgments are like a deep abyss (Psalm 35:7). Judgment is not like an abyss, but judgments are spoken.

40. But see the order. Above he says: Do not reject me from your commandments; below he says: Do not hide your commandments from me; here he says: Cursed are those who turn aside from your commandments. Truly cursed are those who turn aside from your commandments, who ought to give thanks: first, because they are not rejected; second, because they have not deserved to have divine commandments hidden from themselves. Therefore, someone turns aside from what he desired.

41. (Verse 22.) It follows: Remove from me scorn and contempt; for I have sought your testimonies. If contempt is considered in the place of scorn, how is it written: God has chosen the despised things of this world (I Corinthians, 1:28)? But consider that it is said despised things of this world, not of God. For what is contemptible in this world is precious in the sight of God. Finally, humility is despised in this world, but is approved by the judgment of God. And if a tax collector humbles himself, he is exalted. Listen to whom God loves, and do not consider it as nothing. Whoever is holy, who lives without blemish, guards the truth, did not desire his neighbor, he is not diminished in the sight of the wicked; he has rejected everything that is evil (Psalm 14:2-4): even if he is a gentile, he is proven by God through the devotion of humility. But the proud, like the Pharisee, are considered worthless because of their arrogance. Finally, gentility is not enduring, but devotion remains forever. So be careful not to be a disgrace to Christ. I do not want anyone to curse me or despise me as a sinner; how grave it would be if Christ were to deem me worthy of disgrace! Woe to you, he says, Corozaim and Bethsaida (Luke, 10, 13). They are condemned because they did not repent of their sins. Therefore, let us act so that disgrace is taken away from us. But who is there who is not worthy of disgrace? Those who seek the testimonies of the Lord. There are indeed many who wish to bring reproach upon your servants, but they themselves are more disgraceful; for to suffer glorious reproach for your name is honorable.

42. (Vers. 23.) And therefore he says: For indeed the rulers sat and opposed me. The voice of the martyr is, who being brought to the judgment of persecutors, when he was forced to offer sacrifice to idols, and steadfastly resisted; but the judges sitting in their tribunals, surrounded by their attendants, being indignant that their commands were not obeyed, decided what punishment they considered fitting; he stood fearless, saying: The rulers sat and opposed me. Is this also the voice of the Lord, when the presbytery of the people, and the chief priests and scribes had assembled, and he had been brought before the council of the Jews, saying: Why do we still need witnesses? for we have heard from his own mouth (Mt. XXVI, 65); and he stood before the governor, and was led to the cross, what more beautiful could he say, than: The princes sat, and opposed me, that is, while I was standing, the princes sat? And because the tribunals were exalted on high supports, they did not see the Lord. So they sat, they were at the pinnacle of power, and they did not think of the Prince of princes. But this is not enough. Against me, they objected. I had come as their Redeemer, I had come to cleanse the sins of all, to restore the lost, to restore the inheritance of the holy Jacob to paradise; and they objected against me. And therefore, my imitators, my disciples, do not be ashamed of injury if you stand before princes in my name; for I have stood for your salvation.


43. Finally, Peter, along with the other apostles, was handed over to custody. And on the next day, standing before the council, he boldly declared: 'Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. (Acts 4:8-10)' In other words, it is you who are responsible for crucifying Christ. We consider this to be a great injustice, for we are being accused regarding the health of a sick man. This inheritance has been left by the Savior of all to his faithful servants. But they conferred among themselves, saying: What shall we do with these men (Ibid. 16)? And they let them go. Therefore Peter and the other apostles gloried, for they were considered worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ. So it was right for them to say then: For indeed princes sat, and spoke against me.

44. The princes sat against Isaiah, and argued that he should be cut: but he did not fear what they said: Hear . . . O princes of Sodom (Isaiah, I, 10). They sat against Jeremiah to throw him into the pit. They sat against Zechariah, who was killed between the temple and the altar. They sat against Susanna, and judged against the chaste woman: but to show that the counsel of the princes was not good, the Lord stirred up the spirit of a young boy; and the prophet absolved the same woman, whom the princes had declared guilty of death, from the complete accusation of wrongdoing.


45. There are also other leaders who criticize us, about whom it is said: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians, VI, 12). These are the ones who sit and watch, to see who is righteous in this world, who serves God diligently as a Christian, and is eager for good works and deeds. They speak ill of him, saying: Let us lay a trap for him, let us hinder him, let us prevent him from achieving what he desires, let us crush his mind, let us break his spirit with frequent and sudden adversities; and if he is approved by God because of his righteousness, let us ask to be given his temptations. For not even such a great prophet could have had the power over his many temptations if the Lord had not allowed it for the purpose of testing his soldier, so that He might crown him with greater glory. Who then stirred up king Saul against him, if not an evil spirit, as we read, who was troubled whenever David soothed the king's mind and spirit with the sound of the harp or with the strains and strings of good advice and good works (1 Samuel 16:23)? Who incited Doeg the Edomite to wickedness, so that he would betray the holy man and endanger the life of the priest (2 Samuel 22:9-10)? Who inflamed the passion of Amnon, so that he defiled the prophetic house and caused distress to his father, one with incestuous desire and the other with injury (2 Samuel 13:14)? And yet, he who prophesied to others could not foresee the evils in his own house? Who armed Absalom with fury, to exclude his father from the house, and to pursue him in deadly battle (2 Sam. 15:14)? But when the holy man was now almost weakened by the power of the kingdom, he extinguished with this one thing the poisoned arrows of the devil that were being launched against him, because even though the son sought the death of his father, he still entrusted the safety of his son to his piety with affection.

46. Therefore the leaders of the people, like Achitophel and other leaders of the warriors, sat (2 Kings 18:5). The leaders of the people dealt with Absalom against the Prophet (2 Kings 15:31). And so he says: Indeed the leaders sat, and they opposed me: but your servant was engaged in your justifications. We observe the weapons of the just, with which he repels the attacks of all adversaries. Elsewhere he says: They surrounded me and attacked me without cause: for they detracted from me in order to show their love, but I prayed (Psalm 108:3-4): here he says that his zeal was not for practicing the arts of war, nor for deceiving the enemy with any cunning of the heart; he fought against those whom he could not see, and in him there was greater piety than military strength of the body. And so he was engaged in the justifications of God; in order to wound the devil with a contrary blow. The devil was trying to lead him away from the intention of justice and the zeal of devotion, with warlike occupations; but he was more occupied with the meditations of divine work and worship. And so the Lord protected him, in whom he had hoped, with whom he spoke, to whom he clung with all his affection. For the righteous person either speaks with God in prayer, or speaks of divine works in praise; and he always speaks of the works of God, so that his mouth does not speak the works of men. The just man speaks nothing earthly, he does nothing mortal.

47. (v. 24) Therefore he says: Truly, your testimonies are my meditation, and your counsels are my justification. Notice what he teaches, that these should be the counsels of the righteous, that they meditate on God's commands, and exercise themselves in praising God and in praying; that they may always justify the Lord. The one who does what God commands, who believes that it pleases God, justifies God. This can be understood from reading the Gospel (Luke 7:30), as the Evangelist says that the Pharisees rejected the counsel of God, not having been baptized with John's baptism. In this book, you have this: those who refused to be baptized did not justify God. Therefore, the Lord said to John, 'I must be baptized by you, and you are coming to me.' John replied, 'Allow it for now, for it is necessary for us to fulfill all righteousness' (Matthew 3:14-15). Therefore, whoever obeys God's commandments justifies God, because they do His righteousness. It is good for human plans to follow God's certain plan, as our plans are often uncertain and proven by the outcome of events.

Sermon 4. Daleth.

The fourth letter according to the Hebrews, Daleth, signifies in Latin fear, or (as we have found elsewhere) birth. But both can be fitting and consistent in meaning. Birth is indeed what is generated in this world, through which we understand the corporeal and material, which are transient, and therefore not far from fear; for fear is born from corporeal and material things. For what is earthly birth, if not fear?


Verse 25. Finally, the verse begins: My soul clings to the ground: revive me according to your word. By the ground, we understand the earth, and by the earth, we understand material things. But to the sinner it is said: You are dust, and to dust you shall return (Gen. 3:19), because he did not consider it necessary to adhere to divine commandments, but turned towards material and worldly things, which are marked by the pleasures of this secular life. Finally, expelled from paradise, that is, from that sublime and heavenly place to which Paul was caught up, whether in the body or out of the body, he did not know, therefore, cast down from that high place to the earth, Adam laments saying: My soul clings to the ground; as he elsewhere says: My soul is humbled in the dust, and my belly clings to the earth (Psalm 43:25). This is the voice of one doing penance, who remembered that while attached to God, he did not know whether he was in the body or out of the body (which Paul also did not discern), so he did not feel any weakness or laziness of the body, to which the presence of the Lord clung. Therefore, the prophetic spirit, who expressed the pain, or the Lord, who took on his weakness, represents the person of Adam and assumes his condition.


Therefore, Adam spoke: My soul clings to the ground. He who previously enjoyed the most blessed heavenly air, knew nothing of the cares and weariness of this life, is now weighed down by the anxieties of this world, enslaved to the pursuit of luxury and the desire for wealth, like a fox entering its den and hiding in earthly hiding places. He rightly clung to the dust, for he could not lift himself unless Christ lifted him up on his cross. He rightly clung to the ground, which hid him from Christ. He does not adhere to the ground to which Jesus says: Follow me (John 1:43). He does not adhere to the ground who hears and follows the Law saying: You shall walk after the Lord your God, and you shall adhere to Him (Deuteronomy 10:20).

4. Therefore, how does each person adhere to the ground, how does one adhere to God, hearing Him say: What adheres to a prostitute is one body... but the one who adheres to God is one spirit (I Cor., VI, 16 and 17). This earth on which we walk, captivates us with certain enticements of a prostitute, and smears certain false appearances of bodily pleasures; so that the truth may hide in them and deceive those who approach with a certain outward appearance. But when the inner eye of the mind is covered by the passage of time, afterwards, however, the emptiness of the charm of these pleasures can easily be detected, as the grace of this age or of the body is shaken off like a certain dust of delights.

Therefore, it is good to adhere to the Lord and not to have a stubborn neck to the yoke of the world. And so, the Church, or strong souls, says Wisdom: Your neck is like the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand shields hang upon it, all the armor of the mighty (Song of Solomon, 4:4). For the neck that is raised towards God and is fit for the yoke of Christ, will not be curved by the enticements of the world, just as the tower of Christ's kingdom cannot be imposed with his yoke by Nebuchadnezzar. For David, that strong man, built that tower and constructed it high above the walls; so that it may serve as both a defense and a decoration: a defense, because it foresees and repels the enemy; a decoration, because it not only surpasses the lowly, but also the lofty. Yet, it serves as a defense or decoration, if it contains within itself the teachings of the word like certain ornaments, and if it also possesses the spears of powerful prophets, which are aimed at every exalted height that opposes itself to the arms of faith.


Therefore, do not drag your soul into the dust of death, to whom the Lord has also given a natural height and the strength to rise and lift itself up. Hence, this appropriate saying about the union of the soul and the body is understood: because in the mystery of our natural life, the soul is connected to the body like it crawls on the ground and clings to the earth: partly because of this earthly dwelling, partly because this body is from the earth. And so, the inn of the region and the very matter of our body agrees with this opinion. Therefore, the Apostle desires to be freed from the death of this body (Rom. VII, 24), because we are enclosed in a certain prison, and we are ensnared in the whirlpool of lust, and we are enveloped in the darkness of sins.

So let us walk according to the will of God, that we may be thought to cleave unto God. For he who lives according to the desire of the flesh, is flesh: but he who lives according to the precepts of God, is spirit. Therefore, let not our soul become flesh, that is, let us not be called flesh like those who perished in the flood, of whom it is said, 'For they are flesh' (Gen., VI, 3): but rather let our flesh obey the helm of the soul, let it become soul, and let it deserve to be called by that name, as the family of the patriarch Jacob was called, and his holy offspring. For it is written: These are the sons of Bala, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob, seven souls. And elsewhere: All the souls that came with Jacob to Egypt, that came out of his loins besides Jacob’s wives, were sixty-six souls. And in the beginning of Exodus we read: Now all the souls that descended from Jacob were seventy-five, who were with Jacob. Therefore, those who lived with Joseph and came out of Egypt are souls.

8. But when they were angels of God, that is, imitating the life and grace of angels (for those who do not take wives or marry will be like angels in heaven), those who were seen with angels were captivated by feminine beauty, they are of the flesh, as the Lord God said: My spirit will not remain with these men forever, because they are of the flesh (Gen., VI, 3). And rightly they are compared to angels who are free from lust: they are not in the flesh, but in spirit; just like those who followed the teaching of the Apostle, to whom he said: But you are not in the flesh, but in spirit (Rom., VIII, 9). But those who are captured by the desire for women's bodies are carnal: and would that they were only carnal, and not also neighing like horses; for they would neigh at their neighbor's wife (Jeremiah 5:8).

Therefore, he who feels the dejection of his soul curved down to the ground, in order to be revived according to the word of God, which draws souls to itself and, desiring to alleviate them by its mercy, draws them away from the earth. But the soul is revived, which walks in the ways of Christ, dead to sin but alive to God, so that sin may no longer have dominion over it, after it has been buried with Christ and justified from sin. But whoever desires to be justified, should declare his ways beforehand.

10. (Verse 26.) And therefore, in the second verse, he says: I have declared my ways, and you have heard me: teach me your justifications. He thinks that it is necessary to come to the justifications of God in a beautiful order; that first he confesses his sins. For thus we are taught elsewhere: Declare your iniquities, that you may be justified (Isaiah 43:26). Therefore, we must know what it means for a man to walk in his own ways, and the ways of God. Whoever does the desires of the flesh and lives according to the lust of this world, walks in his own ways, in which he takes delight and rejoices. But whoever seeks to do the will of his Father who is in heaven, whose food is to fulfill the commandment of God, who does not seek what is pleasing to oneself, but what pleases God; that person walks the way of the Lord, the way that says: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). So you see that he who walks in the ways of Christ lives according to the word of God. The Lord God Himself also teaches in Deuteronomy how you should walk in His ways, saying: And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep His commandments and His statutes (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)? Therefore, it is clear that there are different paths of the flesh and different paths of God: and if anyone wishes to walk the paths of God, let him first know that he must abandon the paths of the flesh, the body, and worldly wisdom.

11. Therefore, leaving them, David proclaims and does not remain silent before God. He confesses his mistakes, he does not remain silent about his lapses. He said something similar to this: I will announce my wrongdoing to the Lord (Psalm 31:5). For if the righteous person accuses themselves, they exclude the voice of the prepared accuser, who is accustomed to embitter sins and exaggerate each person's wrongdoings. Therefore, he shuts the mouth of the person who has confessed about themselves and grants forgiveness to the one who confesses. Modesty excuses the guilty party, while shame accuses its author. For whoever does not keep silent about their own crimes, seems to regret what they have done, and to betray what they have recommended in the devil. And so Scripture says: The righteous at the beginning of speech accuses himself (Prov., XVIII, 17). Whoever accuses themselves, even though they are a sinner, begins to be righteous; because they do not spare themselves, and they confess to the justice of God, whom they believe can conceal nothing. If only Adam had wanted to accuse himself before hiding! But it is not enough for us to confess our error: rather, even if we want to be corrected, we ask the Lord to teach us His justifications, so that we may not err afterwards. Therefore, we ask to be taught by the Lord, because He is our only teacher, as Christ said (Matthew 23:18). And this request is not in vain; for blessed is not the one whom a man teaches, but the one whom You, Lord, instruct.

12. (Verse 27.) Everywhere he remembers himself, and he thinks it is not enough for the Lord our God to teach him his justifications, but he added: Show me the way of your justifications, and I will meditate on your wonders. See the order. It is first that we learn the justifications of the Lord, then that we know certain steps of justifications and the order, what should be first, what should be consequent. For to know what you do, and not to know the order of doing, is not complete knowledge: it usually offends the preposterous. Finally, he is just, who accuses himself at the beginning of the conversation; but he is unjust, who confesses what he had previously denied. The former finds the grace of modesty; the latter incurs the mark of impudence. Thus, ignorance of order disturbs the nature and form of affairs. However, he who first learns the mysteries of God, then the order of the mysteries, is trained in the wonders of God.

13. The Greek poet ἀδολεσχησῷ said: according to Latinus, I will hallucinate. In this, there seems to be some offense in the language according to common usage; for ἀδολεσχῆσαι is commonly understood to mean either hallucinate or speak more than necessary, and it seems superfluous, which is displeasing to the listener. It also seems out of order, as the order of things seems to bring disgust; for example, if you want to explain a cause and maintain order, but the listener rushes to the conclusion, they will find the earlier parts distasteful. But it cannot be fully understood unless one has knowledge of its order. From this, not only the thing itself is understood, but also the weight of the deed and the emotions of the doer. Therefore, David, like a good judge and arbiter of himself, wants to be taught almost to the point of disgust and prefers to spend more time than necessary rather than skip the necessary order. For excessive and protracted meditation seems to be a form of wandering or a burdensome fixation of the mind, which is not far from exercise, either of the mind or of the body. For just as someone who exercises their limbs in the gym, exercises them for a longer time in order to strengthen them: so someone who exercises their mind in divine Scriptures, or in counsel, ought to exercise it for a longer time.

14. Isaac went out into the field (Gen. XXIV, 63). The Greek word ἀδολεσχῆσαι corresponds to the Latin word deambulare or exerceri, meaning to walk or exercise. Rebecca came; she was a type prefiguring the Church. The wedding was being prepared, in which a great mystery would be celebrated. Seeing these mysteries, the patriarch went out into the field, pouring out the bitterness of his mind and walking in the innocence of his heart. He exercised his mind with various thoughts and delighted in marvelous mysteries. The holy prophet desired to imitate him, to be taught the justifications of God and to know the way of celestial justice. He did not let his soul sleep in the slumber of this world, nor was he captivated by the allurements of worldly vanity, drifting away from the pursuit of truth.


15. (Verse 28.) In what way, therefore, He desires to be taught, He showed by saying: 'My soul has dripped forth with weariness, strengthen Thou me according to Thy words.' Some codices have 'has slumbered,' because 'has slumbered' and 'has dripped forth' are discordant in two letters. The interpreter or ancient writer could be deceived here: 'λιᾷν' is to sleep, 'στάζειν' is to drip forth. The more perfect one does not slumber, who directs his mind to divine mysteries. Finally, He Himself elsewhere says: 'If I shall give sleep to My eyes, or slumber to My eyelids.' (Psalm 131:4). But he is always awake, and if the flesh sleeps, the heart is awake. Therefore, he who intended to build a temple for the Lord by the edification of heavenly words, not of stones, was not sleeping. For the word of God is the repellent of tedium, by which the sleep of the soul and the drowsiness of the mind are excluded. For sleep creeps in from the sadness and anxiety of worldly things. But he who clings to God, fleeing from cares, embraces the pleasure of eternal knowledge, fearing no change of worldly things.


16. Those who make use of easier shortcuts therefore become sluggish and lazy; but Origen, who carefully examines the interpretations of many, trickles down in his writings, following the fact that a perfected soul, like a well-composed and fortified structure, does not trickle down as the roof peaks that are well-covered and protected; on the other hand, uncomposed things quickly trickle down. Hence the saying is used: 'Stillicidia eject a man from his house in winter', in which we are tempted by the harshness of the cold and the frequent change of air. Finally, we are taught to be careful that our flight does not happen in winter or on the Sabbath (Matt. XXIV, 20). For the proven days should already find us either at the judgment or at death, lest it find us widowed of the greenness of prosperity and stripped of all the flowers of success in this world.

Let us therefore beware that none of us be cast out from the state of his own mind and from his natural dwelling-place, if he have any hollow places in his dwelling-places, from which as from foundations flowing drops undermine the man who is grounded upon no solidity of wisdom. Therefore the prophet saith: Son, let not the current flow down. (Prov., III, 21). Our soul must therefore be fortified, that it may not drip; and a firm structure must be built up of the indivisible union of virtues, that it may be able to preserve the mystery of the eternal King. Moreover, whoever is easy with words, like a full of cracks, flowing here and there, empties his interior and is flooded with external passions, unaware of how to cover himself, nor hold onto the word he has received: just like the holy Mary who kept all these words in her heart (Luke, II, 51), so that nothing would flow out of her heart.

18. The Church speaks of herself as fortified with the dowry of virtues, so that it may seem worthy of the Sponsus, who is invited to enter her hospitality. Hence, first of all, she presumes that she will be pleasing if Christ, gazing at her, beholds her well-covered and preserving faithful silence. Behold, she says, my beautiful cousin, indeed handsome: our leaning is shady, the beams of our houses are cedar, our ceilings are cypress (Song of Songs 1:15-16). The Church praises the beauty of the Sponsus, which each individual praises with silent affection, and the faithful interpreter of mysteries proclaims even more through silence. For whoever reveals secrets diminishes the glory of Christ. Therefore, let no one cast their pearls before swine, lest they trample on precious ornaments. Therefore, do not speak in the tavern of the loquacious and garrulous, for in much talking sin is committed; but in the presence of a serious man who is sparing in speech, avoiding immoderate speech and the drunkenness of loquacity, Christ inclines his head.

19. And rightly it signifies a shady inclination, because virtue overshadows those established in the Church of the Most High. This shade David sought for protection; so that the sun would not burn him during the day, nor the moon during the night (Ps. CXX, 6). This shade is provided by the spiritual grace, fleeing from the scorching heat of this age and the summer of the world. Therefore, the shady inclination of Christ and the Church, to whom that eternal rest of God the Father aspires. In this shade, let us rest, weary from the heat of our sins. If anyone is burned by desire, let them be refreshed with the cross of the Lord, on which he reclined, in order to take up our sins. If anyone is wearied by guilt, let them be received in the embrace of Jesus, and let him comfort them with his gentle embrace. Therefore, I dare to say that the leaning of the flesh of Christ is the Church.

20. The beams of our houses are cedar. The glory of our ancestors who were just is declared by the appearance of cedar; for the just shall flourish like the palm tree, and shall be multiplied like the cedar that is in Lebanon. For as the cedar does not rot, so does the glory of our ancestors not decay with any age.

21. Our lacunaria of cypress. This type of tree never loses its greenness: it feeds its foliage in winter, spring, and summer, and does not change color. Only the wind never strips this tree of its honor: it is never divested of its old garment, nor clothed in a new flower. Likewise, apostolic grace knows no decline: but it flourishes with age. Therefore, the soul, which is vigorous with flourishing merits, does not know how to corrupt, always sustains the heights of justice and other virtues with patient magnanimity. And therefore it does not flow away or fail; because nothing in it is broken or loose, nothing is movable, nothing is slippery, nothing that could be poured out due to the fault of speech. And thus it seeks to confirm itself in its own words, as the Prophet says (Ps. 72:2); so that its feet may not be moved, nor its steps poured out. But if someone abides with a straight heart, they do not suffer, but being rooted and grounded, they remain immovable against all the waves of passion.


22. (Verse 29.) So, being confirmed in his words, he says: Remove the way of iniquity from me, and have mercy on me according to your law. He did not say: Remove me from the way of iniquity; but, Remove the way of iniquity from me; as if it were within us, and seemed to be in us. For as long as we practice something wicked, the way of iniquity remains within us, and does not depart from us; therefore, let us strive to separate it from ourselves. But because the adhesive glue of hereditary iniquity clings to human minds, the assistance of a liberator is necessary. Pray, both you and say: Unhappy am I, who will remove from me the path of wickedness? Through the grace of God and Jesus Christ our Lord; and beautifully he said the way of wickedness, not wickedness; because natural wickedness is not in us, but the footprints of our ancestors who have passed after sins.

And rightfully so, because the wound is large and old, and it has been festering for a long time, it requires more advanced medical treatment, begging to be healed by the legitimate mercy of the Lord. For a wound quickly becomes irritated if it has not been healed by the laws of medicine; indeed, even a more serious treatment feels the progress. Therefore, if the infection spreads internally, the medicines applied externally do not have an effect. Therefore, the method of medicine requires that it be treated either by cutting or by burning. For unless putrefaction is removed, or useless moisture is boiled away, in vain are the hands of medicine applied to wounds. Therefore, a good physician rightly says that such a sick person must be treated in order for medicine to be of benefit. Therefore, the law shows mercy to those who show mercy with justice and wisdom, so that they may forgive what they know can be forgiven by law; lest in showing mercy to another, they make themselves subject to the law. Agag, after being shown mercy, caused Saul to sin. For he has sinned in mercy itself, and therefore he has sinned after mercy.

24. Let us also consider, lest we make even that person worse, whom we pity unjustly. For often it is of greater authority not to punish wrongdoers than to seek revenge. Those who have committed something dishonourable are often delivered up to the passions of disgrace, and they receive no reward for their guilt. Finally, those who did not consider God the avenger of their sins, and who lived as if without a judge and without law, God delivered them, as it is said, to a reprobate sense (Romans 1:28): because they chose the path of iniquity, and they did not want to choose the path of truth.


25. (Vers. 30.) But the prophet, who wanted to convert with sincere affection, said, 'I have chosen the path of truth; I have not forgotten your commandments.' Those who err in doctrine cannot say this. An Arian cannot say it, a Sabellian cannot say it, a Manichaean cannot say it. A greedy person who desires worldly and material things cannot say it. A busy person cannot say it, for the pursuit of truth does not involve the desire to possess. How is it that the way of truth, when that wealthy man is unable to transfer his riches with him in the world, he begins to be even needier than that beggar Lazarus after death? The way of truth is not the honor of the world, but the concern of the world. Finally, he who chooses the way of truth says shortly after: Turn my eyes away lest they see vanity (Inf. verse 37). The vanity of temporal things is the truth of eternal things. If therefore we desire to walk the way of truth, let us be more like pilgrims to the world than to God, and let us walk by faith. For the one who walks by faith is present to God, and the one who walks by appearance is present to the world, and he is a pilgrim from the Lord; but here he is quickly confounded.

26. (Verse 31.) From which [reason] David says, fleeing from a man of this sort: I have clung to your testimonies, O Lord; do not put me to shame. He clings to the testimonies of the Lord who does not reject his commandments, does not forget his judgments, and does not indulge in his own desires. He who clings to the testimonies of the Lord renounces the world, forgets the things that are behind, strives towards the things that are before, in order to attain the prize, which is the mark of victory. Therefore, he is not put to shame whom the seductive allurements of this world do not deceive; he is not put to shame, even if he commits things that should be ashamed of, who seeks forgiveness for his sins from Christ. Therefore, it is responded to him: Your sins are forgiven you . . . go in peace (Luke, VII, 48 and 50). But it is not thus confused, if the remission of sins has been accomplished in him; so that it not only takes away sins, but also the inclination to sin. Righteousness forgives iniquities, strength removes fear, temperance cleanses impurities; so that not only temporal, but also eternal forgiveness of sins is made. Let Christ enter into your soul, let Jesus dwell in your minds; so that in the dwelling of virtue, there can be no place for sin.


27. (Verse 32.) 'I ran the way of thy commandments when thou didst enlarge my heart,' says the psalmist. For he could not run the way unless his heart were enlarged. Finally, the apostle says to those who are running the way of the Lord, 'Be ye enlarged, and be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers' (2 Cor., VI, 13 and 14). And he says of himself, 'Our mouth is open unto you, O ye Corinthians, our heart is enlarged' (Ibid., 11). Therefore it is also said of Solomon: 'The largeness of his heart was as the sand of the sea' (1 Kings, IV, 29); and consider the difference: let the way be narrower, the heart broader, that it may be capable of receiving the indwelling of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost; lest the Word of God should come and knock, and seeing the straits of his heart, disdain to dwell there. Finally, wisdom is sung in its departure, but it acts with confidence in the streets. The streets are wide. Therefore, wisdom is not sung in the roads, but in the breadth of the heart. In this field of the inner man, we must run, not in the narrowness of the mind, in order to comprehend. For it is written: 'Run in such a way that you may obtain the prize' (1 Corinthians 9:24). Finally, he comprehends who has run in such a way that he may say: 'I have finished my course' (2 Timothy 4:7); for he has run like a good horse.


Indeed, Christ has his own horses, of whom the Prophet says: You sent out your horses into the sea, disturbing many waters (Habakkuk, 3:15); this is because the apostles, by preaching, stirred up the peoples of the nations, who are moved like many waters and stirred up like the waves of many waters, so that they would rise up from earthly idolatrous ceremonies and believe in Christ. And he also says: I have mounted on your horses; your cavalry brings healing (Habakkuk, 3:8). Oh, the wonderful team of good horses, whose reins of peace are the reins of charity! They are bound together by the chains of harmony, and subjected to the yoke of faith, carrying the mystery of the Gospel on the four wheels, bringing the Word of God as a good charioteer, driving away the secular enticements with his whip, and the prince of this world is vanquished, the race of the righteous is complete. Oh, the great contest of rational horses! Oh wondrous mystery! The wheel within a wheel was turning, and was not hindered. The New Testament was in the Old Testament, and within it, it ran, through which it was announced. The wheels went in four directions, and did not turn back; for the spirit of life was in those who ran in the four parts of the whole world; and they ran without stumbling, for the good life of the horses was squared. So the horses ran; for the one who had ascended the horses did not sleep.


Therefore, Jesus is the charioteer of our souls, who also wants us to ascend our horses, that is, our bodies; but we must always be vigilant, lest it be said to us: Those who ascended the horses have fallen asleep (Psalm 75:7). This sea must be crossed quickly. It is hardly crossed by those who are vigilant; but if anyone should fall asleep, they will not be able to cross; rather, they will be submerged, like the Egyptian whose soul and body perished: For he cast the horse and its rider into the sea (Exodus 15:1), those who did not follow the law, but pursued.

Sermon 5. He.

The fifth letter, He, which means in Latin, is: or, as found elsewhere, I live. Both interpretations are suitable; for the one who is, lives; and the one who lives, exists. Indeed, the nations are not alive; and for this reason, they do not live, but are dead. But Jesus is yesterday and today, He is Himself, and He is forever (Heb., XIII, 8). And He who is, lives: For I myself live, says the Lord God (Ezek., XXXIII, 11). For how can He not exist, who lives? But Jesus, who also brings the dead to life and calls into existence the things that do not exist as if they did. It is no wonder if nature yields to the Lord, that the dead may be brought to life and may begin to exist who were not. And therefore, because the way is also the life according to Him who says: I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6); let us seek the way, that we may deserve to have life. Let us hear, therefore, Him who lives in Christ. But he lives who says: But we who live, bless you, O Lord (Psalm 114:18); for even whoever has died in Christ, lives.


2. (Verse 33.) Let us hear, I say, what He has said in order to live: Establish for me, O Lord, the law of Your justifications, and I will always seek it. The soldier who proceeds on a journey does not determine the order of his provisions himself, nor does he choose the way according to his own judgment, nor does he seek luxurious shortcuts, lest he depart from the signs: but he receives the itinerary from the commander, and keeps to it; he proceeds in the prescribed order; he walks with his armor, and completes the journey on the right path; so that he may find prepared supplies for his provisions. If he walks by another route, he does not receive provisions, he does not find a prepared lodging; because the emperor orders all these things to be prepared for those who follow, and they do not deviate from the prescribed route neither to the right nor to the left. And he who follows his emperor does not fail without reason; for he walks in moderation, because the emperor considers not what is advantageous to himself, but what is possible for everyone: therefore he also arranges stations; the army walks for three days, and rests on the fourth day. Cities are chosen in which three, four, or more days are spent, if there is an abundance of water and they are frequented by commerce: and so the journey is completed without labor until one reaches that city, which is chosen as if royal, where rest is provided for weary armies.

I would like you to recognize that this law of eating was prescribed, with Christ leading and the saints accompanying. For our fathers also set out from the land of Egypt and journeyed through extensive stretches of land, with each stopping place and encampment recorded, until they reached Kadesh, that is, the holy land. These are the stopping places of the Israelites, which Moses described by command of the Lord. Therefore, we observe who ordained these encampments and how the children of Israel should walk. For God led them during the day in a pillar of cloud, to give them shade on their way, and at night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people. But that pillar of cloud indeed led the children of Israel in appearance, but in mystery it signified the Lord Jesus who would come in a light cloud, as Isaiah said (Isaiah. XIX, 1); that is, in the Virgin Mary, who was a cloud according to the inheritance of Eve: she was light according to the integrity of virginity. She was light, who sought not to please man, but the Lord. She was light, who conceived not in iniquity, but brought forth by the coming of the Holy Spirit: not in sin, but gave birth with grace.


Another interpretation can also be taken. Christ came in a light cloud to Egypt, that is, he came in the assumption of a body into this world. He came in a cloud, which the cloud of the body overshadowed: but the flesh was light, which was not burdened by its own sins. For how could he be burdened by his own sins, who took away the sins of all peoples? Behold, says he, the Lamb of God: behold him who takes away the sin of the world (John, I, 29). Yesterday the bed was made, where Jesus stood, and he had dirty clothes; for he carried my sins. He took up our clothes, so that he might clothe us with the splendor of immortality. He came in a light cloud as justice; for iniquity sits on a leaden talent: Christ in the hearts of the righteous, in whom there were no sins. And therefore the bed was well made today: What shall I render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to me? (Psalm 116:12) For us, the Word took on the weakness of flesh: for us, He hungered, was beaten, crucified, and died; so that for us, in whom before life was considered ignoble and degenerate, death might begin to be precious.

5. But let us return to the arrangement of the journey, and the order of the stops. And you spiritually follow this law of traveling; that you may come out of Egypt: and from there, advancing, you may pitch your tent in Socoth, let this be your first station. Socoth is the first stop, signifying the tent. Therefore, pitch the tent that is in you, and confirm the station of your mind; that you may remain rooted and founded in the faith of Christ. The next stop is in Mara, which means bitterness. Not all dwelling places are equal. From there, they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees. After the bitterness, in order to avoid the people from failing, pleasant and fruitful things had to come next. From there, it is followed by Rephidim, which is the praise of judgment. From there, it follows Sinai, which contains both the temptation of the people and the promulgation of the Law. The merits of dwelling places vary; because no one can have continuous success in this world. Therefore, the emperor provided manna to the hungry people in one place, and ordered water to flow from a rock in another place to quench the people's thirst, with magnificent provision. He gave the Law in another place, and bestowed triumphs in yet another place, so that the army, nourished by these benefits, would not feel the burden of a long journey.

Therefore, in that people there was a type, in us there is truth. Therefore, let us commit our journey to the guidance of the Lord Jesus, who first introduced the Law, and previously gave the land of promise as an inheritance to his people through Jesus. But even when Moses appeared to be the leader, Jesus was with him; however, he was not openly or plainly acting as the leader or prince of the people. For he was waiting until Moses completed his appointed time, and when it was completed, Jesus succeeded him. Therefore, if you consider the Scripture saying: 'Their days shall be one hundred twenty years' (Gen., VI, 3); you will see the mystery of the fullness of times and one hundred twenty years, after which both Moses rested on the mountain, and Jesus openly assumed the principality of the dwelling places; so that now the people may not be under the fear of the Law, but, having been raised from the dead, may enjoy the fruit of eternal life. Let us therefore walk according to the teaching of the Law: let the Law of God be our path.


While walking along this path, the Church says: I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys, like a lily among thorns (Song of Songs, II, 1); for the faith of the believing people has gone out into all the earth, and Christ has set His feet in a spacious place. And therefore He rightly says that He is the flower of the field. Paul was also a flower, who said: We are the good odor of Christ to God (2 Corinthians, II, 15). And truly a flower, who could bring forth new and old from the treasure of his heart. The Church is also called a beautiful lily: just as the lily shines, so too do the works of the saints shine. It is also very beautifully said to be a lily of the valleys; because grace shines more in the humble. But this lily is in the midst of thorns, that is, among the Jews and heretics, that is, among the anxieties of this world, which afflict the mind and soul of man. We can also take it in another sense; because just as the lily stands out among thorns, so does the Church of God shine above all gatherings.


It is worth considering that this lily is surrounded by brightness, but inside it is red, good and fragrant; because the flesh of Christ, as if enclosed by the walls of divine glory, has the heavenly protection of grace. Finally, in the later part it says: My brother is white and red (Song of Songs, 5:10). White in divine brightness, red in human appearance, which he took on through the sacrament of the incarnation. And rightly so, even the redness itself smells good; because the flesh of Christ is without sin, which those who oppose desecrated by staining their hands: the holy ones, venerating, emitted the fragrance of piety.

9. The Lord Jesus accepts this fragrance of His Church, and says, 'Behold, my good neighbor.’ (Song of Solomon, I, 14 and 15). And the Church says to Christ, 'Behold, my good Brother, behold, You are good.' … like a fruit on the trees of the forest. This type of fruit has a fragrant smell that surpasses the fragrance of other fruits. Therefore, Christ, being fixed to the tree like a fruit hanging on a tree, poured forth the good fragrance of worldly redemption; for He removed the foul odor of sin and poured forth the anointing of the drink of life. Just as, he says, an apple is in the trees of the forest, so my cousin was among the children (Ibid.); because he was comforting the inner hearts of people with the sweetness of his words on the prophets and apostles. But not only fragrance, but also pleasant food is in the apple. Therefore, Christ is a pleasant food.

10. In the shade, he said, I desired her and I sat (Song of Songs, II, 3). For he had received the law, and he followed it, and he walked in its path. Therefore, resting in the law, he rested in the shadow of Christ. A good shadow, which alone defends us from the heat of iniquity. But who doubts that the law of God is the shadow of Christ? What is the law of the feast day, the new moon, the Sabbath, but a shadow of things to come? Which day, according to the law of Moses? Let me see six days, and the seventh day again, and so on for eternal ages. Who knows the second month according to the Law of Moses; if you know the month, you will know the first day of the month, the new moon, and the true holy offerings to be made on the new moons? According to the Law of Moses, the year consists of six years, as it says: The Hebrew shall serve for six years, and in the seventh year, he shall go free (Deuteronomy, XV, 12); so that six years may be found in which someone works the land. But in the seventh year, he shall release it to the proselytes, the poor, and the beasts of the earth. In this seventh year, when all debts are forgiven to the Hebrews? In this shade rested the faith of the fathers, and the sacred devotion of the prophets.

So the religious congregation or the holy soul says: In his shadow I desired and sat down (Song of Solomon, 2:3). His shadow is the Jubilee year. For who sees his mystical year, so as to recognize face to face, what must be fulfilled in the fiftieth year, according to the prescribed Law (Leviticus, 25)? The shadow is the feast days according to the Law, from the tenth day of the first month until the fourteenth day, and from there until the twenty-first day of the month (Leviticus, 23). What is that famous celebration between the first and seventh month in that anonymous time? The shadow is the sanctified freedom on the Sabbath. The shadow is the feast day of the seventh month's new moon and the memorial of the trumpets of the seventh month, the tenth day, the day of atonement (Lev. XXIII). You see that there are two festive days, the day of the thirteenth and the day of the fifteenth, the day of tabernacles for eight days. All these are in the shadow. The first day is called the shadow, and the eighth day is called the shadow, which is prescribed in the scenopegia according to the Law.


12. Establish for me some believers from the circumcision, learned in the Law, men of diligent observance, and now enlightened by the knowledge of the Gospel, nourished by spiritual grace; of whom the Church speaks, which sees Christ, which receives the Bridegroom, which is nourished by His food: In His shadow I desired, and I sat: and His fruit is sweet in my mouth (Song of Songs, 2:3). What is His sweet fruit, if not the preaching of the Lord's passion, as He Himself says: Behold, the heritage of the Lord, children, the reward of the fruit of the womb (Psalm 126:3)? For what sweeter fruit can there be in our mouths than the forgiveness of sins? And the Church is truly a good flower which proclaims the fruit, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it is said to Mary: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb (Luke, 1:42).

Therefore, when he tasted the fruit of sweetness, he impatiently hurries towards more perfect things, saying: Bring me into the house of wine, establish love in me, strengthen me with ointments, sustain me with apples; for I am wounded with love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, if you awaken and revive love, how long will you delay? (Song of Solomon, 2:4-7). He seeks him deservedly, he desires him deservedly; because our Emperor has arranged everything well in this course and journey. First of all, he thought this tent of faith should be strengthened on a foundation. Then, if there is any rough and dry and steep lodging for us, that emperor nonetheless discerns the confused, irrigates the dry, and makes the deserted fruitful. If there is any bitterness, if there is any temptation, if there is any weakness, our leader both tempers the bitter and mitigates the anxious, dissolves the hard, and strengthens the weak.


14. So when the king of the earth wants to rest his army, he chooses not a lowly village, not one in need of supplies, not a sandy and barren place, but a city noble in buildings, full, and rich in resources, either a pleasant and green countryside with pastures, or a wooded and open area suitable for camps. Therefore, if earthly kings know how to provide benefits for those who follow them, how much more does God, who is good, know how to arrange what will benefit those who love Him? First, when an unknown journey is to be undertaken, leaders of the paths are chosen, who go ahead of the procession. But these commanders consider this to be disrespectful to themselves: however, God went ahead when the Hebrews were journeying. Finally, he spoke to them in a pillar of cloud. And so that you may know that he went ahead, God said, 'He went ahead of them on the journey, by day in a pillar of cloud showing them the way: and by night in a pillar of fire, and the pillar of cloud did not fail during the day.' (Exodus 13:21-22).


15. Following this preceding column of clouds, the Church does not fail, lest she herself should fail, her shadow was refreshed; and therefore she says: 'Under his shadow I desired, and sat down: and his fruit was sweet to my taste' (Song of Solomon, 2:3); because she was fed by the Lord, led to a fruitful place, and given refreshing water. 'Bring me into the house of wine' (Song of Solomon, 2:4). With preparations made, she seeks to progress to another dwelling where she may attain the grace of mysteries and embrace the sweetness of joy. Also from here, promoting the true way, he says: 'Establish love in me' (Ibid.). Good waypoints, where the fullness of charity is. 'Strengthen me,' he says, 'with ointments, support me with apples' (Ibid., 3).

You have other mansions to which the Church succeeds with joy. These mansions are the Cross of Christ and the tombs in which the Church was wounded, but wounded by the wound of charity. For the wound is what Christ received, but the ointment is what he poured out. The apple is what hung. The Church tasted this apple and said: 'His fruit is sweet to my palate' (Song of Songs, 2:3). And so that you may know that the apple is the Lord, you have read above: 'Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my kinsman' (ibid). We also acknowledge the wound when we preach Christ crucified: but we are a pleasing odor to God; for the cross of Christ is a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Greeks: but to us it is the power of God and wisdom. The Church is wounded by this wound when it proclaims the death of its Savior: but this wound is of charity. Finally, he who does not believe denies: he who loves confesses. The Manichaean denies, the Christian confesses; and therefore it is written; The wounds of a friend are beneficial, rather than the voluntary kisses of an enemy (Prov. 27:6). Beautifully, therefore, the Church says: 'For I am wounded by love.' (Song of Songs, 2:5).

17. Let us expose our members to a good wound, let us expose them to chosen arrows. This arrow is Christ, who says: He hath made me a polished shaft (Isaias XLIX, 2). It is good, therefore, to be wounded by this arrow. This is not a minor accomplishment: not everyone can say that they have been wounded by love. The apostles said this when they were stoned for Christ and preached Christ. Paul said this when he was thrice beaten with rods and day and night disputed with the gentiles about Christ. The martyrs say this, who are wounded for Christ: and because they have deserved to be wounded for His name, they love more.

18. So, coming to this dwelling place, the Church, to this procession, in order to offer her children for Christ, to receive the wounds of charity, finding them as nourishment of good faith, she herself tasted the fruits of piety and began to encourage others, saying: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet, as an apple (Psalm 33:8). And in the wound there is evil, but yet it is sweet (Song of Songs 2:3). She came again to the valley of the cluster, she saw a huge grape of great size, which two could hardly carry: one to go before, the other to follow. He tasted the mystery, he tasted it in Jesus the Son of Nun, he tasted it in Caleb, they said to the people: We have seen a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:28). Taste and see how sweet the Lord is.

19. And the Church adds, saying: His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me. I have adjured you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and strengths of the field, if you awaken and revive charity, how long will you desire? (Song of Solomon, 2:6-7). And these mansions are the royal way of the advancing Church. For there are many mansions in my Father's house, as the Lord Jesus testifies (John 14:2); and behold, I come and call you (ibid., 3). A good dwelling of wisdom, whether on its left or right, is a good dwelling; because it is the royal way. And for this reason, wise messengers say: We will go by the royal way, we will not turn to the right or to the left, until we pass through your borders (Num. XX, 17). This is what the messengers sent by Moses said to the king of Edom, that is, the earthly king; because all earthly things, whether on the right or on the left, are evil. An evil dwelling is foolishness, an evil dwelling is intemperance; and therefore the Hebrew passes through these dwellings: he does not turn to them, but passes through; so that he may reach the left of wisdom and the right, and abide in them, where the riches of simplicity, where glory, where the length of life is. For the length of life is in her right hand, as Solomon says: in her left hand are riches and glory (Prov. III, 16). In her right hand is life, in her left hand is rest. I wish to rest upon her left hand, to seek no pillows. Woe to those who support pillows, Ezekiel says (Ezek. XIII, 18). The good leader prepares these abodes for his Church, and directs her journey through the ways of wisdom. Finally, the wise man praises her ways: Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are peaceful (Prov. III, 17).


But because wisdom, honesty, and fame are so perfect, if they have charity, for charity is the fullness of the Law (Rom. XIII, 10), it wants to be aroused and resurrected: aroused in the Old Testament, resurrected in the new. Charity is God, as we read (I John IV, 8): charity is Christ. It is aroused like a lion, and the lion's whelp, so that it may ascend from the tribe of Judah. It is resurrected like one sleeping, like one reclining; because he who is aroused from the dead is not by human, but by his own and his Father's majesty. Where does Scripture say: 'Who will rouse him up?' (Gen. XLIX, 9) ? For neither an angel nor a power could raise up what was foreign, since he raised others up himself. Therefore, when he says here, 'If you shall have aroused or awakened love until it wishes' (Cant. II, 7), he speaks of those who can fittingly preach his resurrection, so that they may ignite the ardor of faith and devotion in those who hear. Or Christ is aroused in those who approach first: he is awakened in those who, after approaching, have fallen asleep. Therefore, Christ sleeps in the negligent, but is awakened in the holy.

21. (Verse 33.) Therefore the Church has the means by which to progress: it has the dwellings of the mansions, in which the saints rest, of whom he is speaking who says: Set a law for me, O Lord, the way of your justice. He rightly says, establish; so that it may remain motionless and fixed in his heart, and not be torn away by any whirlwind of the world, from his affection; so that the law itself may be to him, having the written work of the law in his heart.

And I will seek her always, he says. For what is required for the grace of paradise, the kingdom of God, the fellowship of angels, and the dwelling of immortality, is not ordinary. Therefore, it is not sought in one day, nor in two, or a few months: but it is sought always, and sought through all things; so that many contributions of merits may come together; for διὰ παντὸς signifies both all time and through all things. Therefore, when he says: I will seek always, he says without end it is to be sought. But it is not enough to seek, unless you understand what you are looking for.

22. (Verse 34.) Therefore he says: Give me understanding, and I will search your law and keep it with all my heart. First, it is to be sought; then, understood and thoroughly examined in its entirety; and finally, kept in the heart. But who can keep the law of God unless they have understanding? And those who understand and examine it are led by their examination into the path of the commandments. In this, it should be noted that the law is justice, the commandment is judgment, as we also read in this letter. The way of the law is to stand in the ways of the law: it is the way of justice according to the first verse. There is therefore also the way of testimonies: I delighted in the way of your testimonies. And there is the way of commandments: I ran the way of your commandments. Let us therefore inquire about these ways, so that it may be said to us: Stand in the ways of the law and ask for the eternal paths, and see what is the better way, and walk in it (Jerem. VI, 16). Therefore, when we have all walked in the ways, we will come to the end of all the ways, which says: I am the way (John XIV, 6). Therefore Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom. X, 4). Hence I dare to say that Christ is the end of righteousness, who is righteousness; Christ is the end of testimonies, of whom it is said: Be my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord, and my chosen servant (Esai. XLIII, 10).

23. Therefore, we note how much we must walk, in order to come to Christ. We must walk in the Law; for Christ is the end of the Law. Without the Law, one cannot come to Christ. Hence, it is clear that heretics, who do not accept the Law of the old Testament, even if they say they hold Christ, cannot hold the end, since they have not held the beginning. Jesus himself is the beginning and the end. Therefore, we must walk according to the spiritual Law, in order to come to the end of the Law, the Lord Jesus. We must follow the testimonies in order to attain the great testimony of the Lord Jesus. We must also walk in the commandments of the Lord in order to reach the great commandment, of which you have read: It was said to the ancients: You shall not kill . . . . But I say to you (Matt. V, 21 and 22); that is, I say it above every commandment. Therefore, I do not say it presumptuously, but truly, because just as they are holy of holies: so is the commandment of commandments.


24. But in order to preserve these things, let us seek understanding from the Lord. Let us understand what circumcision is. Jesus circumcised with the swords of Peter, and He took away the reproach of Egypt from the children of Israel. Christ is the rock. The Word of God circumcises you, with the sword of His mouth; and thus you will be free from the reproach of Egypt. Therefore, circumcision is not to be understood as of the flesh, but of the heart. If you understand the Law, you will keep it in your heart. The Jew does not keep the Law in his heart, but recites it with his lips, and does not know the Law. Finally, the people here honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me (Isaiah 29:13). How can one hold the Law who is far from the author of the Law? Let us consider what the third verse has.

25. (Verse 35.) Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I desire it. Who says this, except the one who follows Christ? No one else can say this, except the one who carries out what is written: You shall walk after the Lord your God and shall be joined to Him; for He Himself will lead you (Deuteronomy 13:4). Listen how He leads: Unless one takes up his cross and follows after me, he is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:38). Therefore, Christ precedes so that we may follow, the Word precedes. Christ is the beginning; thus Wisdom says: The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways (Prov. VIII, 22). We observe that Christ is both the beginning and the end of the ways. I am not afraid that someone may say: So you assert that Christ is created? I will respond: I say that he is created in the same way as he was made according to the law, that is, made from a woman, made under the law, that is, created by taking on flesh, according to how he was born from a Virgin. He was created to redeem creatures: he became man to free men from eternal death. He was created to show me the eternal ways by which man can return to the kingdom of God. Therefore, since he is the beginning of the ways of God, let us follow this beginning. He was the first to enter the way of the new Testament, to pave the way of devotion for us. If we fast, he fasted before us: if we endure injuries for the name of the Lord, he endured them first for our redemption. He placed his neck on the lashes, his cheeks on the palms: he ascended the cross to teach that death is not to be feared. Finally, like a forerunner, he said to Peter, 'You follow me.' (John 21:22). And so Peter completed his course, because he followed Christ.

26. (Verse 36.) The fourth verse follows: Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Some have usefulness: and I believe that it has been changed for this reason, because the usefulness of a good thing seems to be sought after rather than avoided. But because most people consider the gain of money to be their own usefulness; therefore, if we read usefulness, we should not understand the Prophet as turning away from the usefulness of the soul, but the usefulness of money. For the Holy One does not recognize these gains: but considers all these things as a loss; so that he may gain Christ. And rightly so. For what we think is gain from money is actually a detriment to the soul; because it is a detriment to virtue. Therefore, according to those who have received it in this way, may the Prophet desire to incline his heart to the testimonies, and not to greed; and may we also agree with approval. And may we follow the prayer of the holy one, and pray for what he prayed for, and what we pray for, let us imitate with zeal. For what does it profit me if I pray for God to turn my heart away from greed, and yet I myself seek opportunities for wealth day and night? If we pray with our words, let us also have compassion with our mind. Jesus hears and understands both of these, and knowing that they do not agree, speech and desire, he does not heed the one speaking. And therefore, the one who wanted to pray well, would say: I will pray with my spirit, I will pray also with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, I will sing also with my mind (I Cor. XIV, 15). Thus he listens more when someone prays, if he despises greed.

27. (Verse 37.) But because we are weak and often willing to turn ourselves away from money, gold, or silver, we are captivated by the sight of them and desire someone else's field or building. The Prophet added well, saying: Turn away my eyes lest they see vanity: revive me in your way. For he who is in the way of God does not behold vanities. The perfect way is Christ. Therefore, whoever is in Christ, how can they behold vanities; since Christ, in his flesh, crucified all the vanities of this world? Let us therefore avert our eyes from vanities; lest whatever our eyes see, our soul may desire. For now let us delay the mystical things. Oh, I wish with this interpretation we could turn our attention to different spectacles of circus games and theater, hastening towards them. That which you see is vanity. You see a pantomime, it is vanity; you see gladiators, it is vanity; because you see they struggle with a green laurel. For they are the true wrestlers, who struggle against the attractions of this world. Do not let the gym of the limbs capture your eyes. You see running horses, which is vanity; because those who cannot save the one ascending run in vain. Finally, let the return itself teach you that those who do not complete the direct path run in vain, forgetting what is above and seeking what is behind.

28. Before us is Christ, before us is his triumph, to which he came, who did not run uncertainly, nor did he turn back on his course, but pushed forward. Direct your eyes to him, turn away from spectacles, turn away from all worldly pomp. If you happen to hear popular applause, turn your eyes away from them, lower your gaze, and preserve yourself in order to raise up to better things. Raise them to the sky: either the necklaces of stars at night, the beautiful circle of the moon, or look upon the sun during the day. Look at the sea, behold the earth: so that every creature, made by divine work, may feed you. What grace of form is there in the beasts themselves? How much beauty in humans? How much beauty in birds? Look at these things, and you will not see iniquity and contradiction in the city. Look at these things, and death will not enter through the windows of your eyes.

29. If you see a woman to lust after her, death enters through the window. If you see the possessions of a poor person or a widow and desire to steal them, death enters through the window. If you see another's jewelry, gold, silver, and desire to extort them, death enters through the window. Therefore, close this window when you see the beauty of another woman, so that death cannot enter. May your eyes not see another's beauty, lest your tongue speak perversely. Therefore, close your window, lest death enter. But also beware of another person's window. For through the window, the harlot enters her own house. Through her window, she enters, when her wanton eyes attempt lasciviousness. Therefore, exclude this window from the entrance of words, lest you be captured by the eyes of a prostitute: and carried away by her eyelids. But there is not only one window through which death is accustomed to enter. There is also the window of words, through which the speeches of the prostitute pass. And for this reason, guard yourself from the flattery of a foreign wife; for she enters through the window of her house. Death enters through kisses; therefore, be careful not to be bound by the snares of her lips. Death enters if a prostitute kisses you. Death enters if you quickly agree to her words. Death enters if you speak too much; for much talking brings sin. Death also enters if you remain silent, and fear to confess Christ. For confession is made with the mouth unto salvation (Rom. X, 10). Death also enters through the caves of the ears; and therefore the ears must be guarded with thorns, so that you may exclude the enticements of a debased conversation. These are moral lessons.

30. There are also mystical eyes which you should turn away from vanity. For vanity is also a delusion of the senses, which the eyes of your soul should not see; because those who see it are condemned by the Apostle. Therefore, let us learn from the very author himself what vanity is, and what eyes they are (Ephesians IV, 17 and 18). For it is evident that there are many who are blinded by the delusion of their senses and are alienated from the way of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; the Apostle speaks of those nations. Therefore, let that pagan remain ignorant of what he has not learned, let him remain ignorant of what he has not believed: but it is not permissible for you to remain ignorant of what you confess. Christ came not in vanity, but in power: He did not inflate the human senses, but He gave life: He did not blind the heart, but He illuminated the mind. He kindled your heart so that you may understand the heavenly principles of the commandments, the nature of the soul, the grace of the future life, and the state in which we will be after these things.


Therefore, lift up your mind, use your natural talent: you have been made in the image of God, in order to behold heavenly things and not to seek earthly things. Do not bend your neck under the weight of the world: do not covet gold and silver, lest you offer yourself to be bound by the chains of the world. That is why the Lord said: 'Do not possess gold and silver' (Matthew X, 9), lest the greedy desire for gold and silver possess us. Therefore, do not entangle your neck in the snares of the devil. Greed strangles the poor in this world, but the rich are suffocated by their own snares, whose thoughts are in vanity, who walk in darkness; because they labor in things that cannot benefit them. Vanity is the concern of this life. Therefore, we ought to find our delight not in gluttony and drunkenness, not in bodily pleasures, but in the knowledge of heavenly precepts. He runs in vanity who seems to abound in worldly successes, who passes away like a shadow. Therefore, avert your eyes, so they do not see vanity.

32. But it is not enough for you to turn away; lest perhaps you desire and are unable, the devil may pour out upon you the spectacles of vanities, and insert the incentives of pleasures; seek that the Lord may turn away your eyes. And this is the grace of God, and this is the gift of the Lord; that He may turn away the eyes of our soul from the affairs of this world. For all blessedness is from the Lord. But blessed is the man, whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and has not looked upon vanities and false insanities (Ps. 39:5). He who does not consider these things is blessed; but he who considers them is insane and furious. And therefore, let each person come to their senses and turn away from the madness of worldly desires, which disturb the mind and soul in such a way that one cannot be in control of themselves.

33. If you find yourself on a rocking ship, turn your eyes away from the bilge: lest it stirs up vomit in you. If you are walking in a city and come across something of foul odor, you distance yourself and turn away. If anything should appear that your eyes dread, they are closed or averted. In the sea of this world, you fluctuate, and the bilge of vices flows in. In this ship of your body, the waves of desires move, and you do not avert the eyes of your soul; lest they see the bilge of lusts, lest they behold the filth of this world, lest the foul stench fills the nostrils of your mind, in which the Holy Spirit is accustomed to be, so that you may say: The divine Spirit who is in my nostrils (Job. XXVII, 3). May therefore the nostrils of your soul be turned away from the stench of various sins; for in these there is, as it were, a certain sign of judgement. Hence it is said to the Bride: 'Your nostrils are like the tower of Lebanon, looking towards the face of Damascus' (Song of Solomon 7:4); because the ointment of the true Priest, which descends from the head to the beard, that is, that divine fragrance, the perfume of spiritual grace, which was from the Father in Christ, and by the mystery of the incarnation came down to earth, so that all things might be filled with the poured-out ointment, may shine forth with the lofty power of judgement, and fill the nostrils of the soul, so that it may discern what is pleasant and what is foul; the sweet smells of the saints, who can say: 'For we are the pleasing fragrance of Christ to God' (2 Corinthians 2:15); and the foul smells of sins.


34. These are the nostrils, like the lofty tower of Lebanon, towering above the world; and therefore it overlooks the face of Damascus, the noble people, smelling its faith, by which it would cleanse the stench of its sins. Therefore, the face of Damascus is the faith of the nations, not overshadowed by any covering, not covered by any clothing, naked and free, more inclined to heaven than to earth. The nostrils of the Church gaze upon and overlook this, collecting the sweet fragrance and grace of the breath. And his nose is like the tower of Lebanon; for in sacrifices the scent of the Church is sweet, in which is the offering of good odor, remission of sins.

Therefore, take these nostrils, o man; so that you may discern fragrant things from foul-smelling ones; and then the Lord will give you life. For when He sees that you seek Him, in order to turn the eyes of your mind away from vanity, He cooperates with your soul; so that if it is captivated by any appearance, it is not swayed by hardness or weakness, but rather let it be directed by the yoke of His word, and guided by its reins: so that it may be led away from worldly desires by the will of God and receive the fragrance of eternal life. For this life is not perfect: but this life is in shadow. Therefore, in order for Christ Jesus to be born from the Virgin, the power of the Most High overshadowed the future mother; because he descended into shadow, beginning to work the salvation of man, and intending to complete it with the charity of the eternal sun. Therefore, this life is a shadow: hasten to the sun, so that it may protect you from the cold of this shadow, and pour out upon you its summer warmth. And therefore, it urges us to pray, lest our flight be in winter or on the Sabbath (Matthew 24:20), not signifying a specific time or day, but prohibiting us from growing cold in merits, and being fasting in good deeds.


36. (Verse 38.) Learn now how the Lord turns His eyes away from vanity, whom He pities. From those things which follow, we can understand this; for He added: 'Appoint Your speech to Your servant in Your fear' (Ps. CX, 10). The Prophet says that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. But what is the beginning of wisdom, if not to renounce the world? For to be wise in worldly matters is foolishness. Finally, the Apostle says that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God (I Cor. I, 20). But even the fear of the Lord, if it is not according to knowledge, is not beneficial; rather, it is harmful. For the Jews have a zeal for God, but because they do not have it according to knowledge, in their very zeal and fear, they contract a greater offense against divinity. They circumcise their infants, they keep the Sabbath, they have the fear of God; but because they do not know that the Law is spiritual, they circumcise the body, not their heart. They fear to kindle a fire on the Sabbath, when the Law of sanctification prohibits the kindling of the fire of lust on that day.


37. And what shall I say about the Jews? There are also among us those who have a fear of God, but not according to knowledge, imposing harsh precepts that human condition cannot sustain. There is fear in it, because they appear to be consulting their discipline, demanding the work of virtue: but there is ignorance in it, because they do not sympathize with nature, they do not consider possibility. Therefore, let fear not be irrational. Indeed, true wisdom begins with fear of God, and there is no spiritual wisdom without fear of God; thus, fear should not be without wisdom. There is a certain foundation of the word, which is holy fear. For just as a statue is placed on a foundation, and it receives greater grace when it is placed on a foundation and stands firm, so the word of God, or the rational word of God, is better placed in holy fear, it is more firmly rooted, that is, in the heart of those who fear the Lord; lest the word slip from the heart of the man, lest the birds come and take it away from the indifferent and negligent affection. But indeed, the fear of God itself seems to be adapted to usefulness and stability by the word, so that it is not alien to knowledge, just as a statue with an accepted base is not alien to grace. Therefore, the fear of the word is a place, just as its place is in peace. The fear of the word is a certain station: the word of fear is discipline; for true fear of discipline does not falter towards a fall.

And because we have said the foundation of the word is fear, lest anyone should think that we have added anything foreign to the Scriptures, let him take this passage from the word of God in the Song of Songs: 'His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon bases of gold' (Song of Songs 5:15), signifying that the pillars are the apostles of the Church, who are founded in the fear of the saints. For just as Peter, James, John, and Barnabas seemed to be pillars of the Church, so whoever conquers this world becomes a pillar of God, which is confirmed by the one who says: 'I have confirmed its pillars' (Psalm 74:4). And so the golden base is filled with the fear which is full of discipline, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, in the fear of the wise, the apostolic preaching is established as a golden column, like a foundation. Therefore, the fear of the just is the tribunal of Christ's speech and the golden foundation of full prudence. But the good image, like the likeness of truth, is the word of the saints. And see how the fear of the saints is like a golden foundation. Read Isaiah: see how much fear he has subjected, in order to make it blameless and good fear: the spirit, he says, of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of holy fear (Isaiah 11:2). By how much fear did he subject, so that he might have something to follow? He is informed through wisdom, instructed through understanding, guided by counsel, strengthened by virtue, governed by knowledge, adorned by piety. Take away from fear of the Lord those things, and it is an irrational and foolish fear, one of those: “Outside are battles, inside are fears” (2 Corinthians 7:5), by which even Paul would have been afflicted if he did not have the Lord as his comforter.

39. It is not in vain in Proverbs: Then you will understand the fear of the Lord (Prov. II, 5). What is "Then"? That is, when you invoke wisdom and give voice to prudence; and if you seek her like money, and search for her like treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord (Ibid., 3 and 4). And therefore, as if on a solid foundation, it says: Set your speech in fear. It is a prayer full of discipline, by which we are taught how we ought to pray: each word is a teaching on how to pray. And because he taught us to pray, the seventh verse shows the effects of this prayer.

40. (Verse 39.) Take away from me my reproach, which I have suspected. It seems to be spoken in a somewhat obscure manner: but the Apostle explained what seemed to be obscure here, when he said: Indeed, I am not aware of anything against myself, but that doesn't justify me (I Cor. 4:4). For he knew himself to be human, and thus he was careful, as much as he could, not to sin after receiving the sacraments of baptism; therefore, he was not conscious of any wrongdoing. But because he was human, he confessed himself to be a sinner, knowing that Jesus alone is the true light, who did not sin and no deceit was found in Him; He alone was justified, who truly was without fault. Similarly, therefore, even the Prophet, although he desired to avoid sin, still desired that sin be a repeller of himself as God. He wanted to remove the reproach that he had suspected, either because he had thought in his heart and had not done it: and although penance had abolished it, he was still suspected that perhaps its reproach remained; and therefore he prays to God to remove it, who alone knows what he himself who made it can also not know. Finally, elsewhere the Prophet himself said: 'You know my reproach' (Ps. 68:20). Although this reproach is Christ's, which is not a true reproach but the glory of God; for the cross of Christ is a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks.

41. Therefore, to them it is disgrace, to me it is virtue; I repel the adversary vehemently, I conquer the age. To me is wisdom, through which I evade the snares of foolishness. This disgrace Moses preferred to the treasures of Egypt. Greater, he says, esteeming the disgrace of Christ than the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:26). If your disgrace is glory, Lord Jesus, how great is your glory? Therefore, by participating in your glory, what shall we be, whose disgrace we are declaring glorious? I have laid my back on the lashes, my cheeks on the palms, but I have not turned my face away from the humiliation of spitting. Behold, your disgrace, O Lord, in which the salvation of all is found, in which the redemption of the world: through which disgrace we have begun not to be ashamed, who were ashamed, not to be confounded, who were confounded. Finally, it is written: Come to him, and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed (Ps. 33:6). We do not want this disgrace, the disgrace of the cross of the Lord Jesus, by which our disgraces are taken away, to be taken away from us. For just as a curse became, to erase our curses, a man became, to alleviate human weaknesses: so disgrace became, to take away the disgrace of all.

42. Not once in time, not once it took away the disgrace: it takes it away every day. We fall into sin, not just one but many: we are covered in shame and confusion. We come to baptism, all sin is erased, and with sin the disgrace. The Lord Jesus took away my disgrace with his disgrace, because he was crucified for me; because whoever is baptized in Christ, is baptized in his death (Rom. VI, 3). I have nothing to ask to be taken away. But after baptism I fall into shame, I must do penance, so that I may say: Take away my shame from me. If I do not do penance, how can I say: Take away my shame from me; when this very shame of sin is because I do not do penance? But if I do penance, as I ought, I rightly say: Take away my shame from me, which I have suspected; for your judgments are sweet.

43. Why am I afraid to confess, why am I afraid to speak of my sins? What do I fear in making mention of my shame before him, whose judgments are sweet? What is severe in others is sweet in Christ, is pleasant in Christ; for he himself is sweet. Finally, Taste and see that the Lord is sweet (Ps. XXXIII, 9). Sweet are the judgments for the one who confesses; for he himself has said: I am, I am the one who blots out your iniquities ... and I will not remember: but you remember, and let us be judged: speak of your iniquities, that you may be justified (Esai. XLIII. 25 et 26). To those who are carrying out penance, pleasant judgments are given; for he himself said: There will be rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7). Therefore, if the judgments of the Lord are pleasant, let us strive to receive the fruit of sweetness.

Do you want to know how sweet are the judgments of the Lord? The wicked do not rise in judgment (Ps. 1:5). But those who rise in judgment have hope of pardon, because they have believed. The wicked are not, they can be sinners: they have faith, and if they have not avoided sin, they believe through faith. But whoever believes in Him is not judged (John 3:18). Therefore, the judgments are sweet to those who believe. But those who do not believe are not condemned by the judgment of Christ, who came not to judge the world, but to save and redeem it. But the judgment of their own impiety has come upon those who refused to believe in the forgiveness of sins. For those who have rejected Him cannot benefit from Him. Therefore, those who do not believe in Him seem unworthy of His judgment. Understand what His judgment is, as He Himself says: 'This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world' (John, 19). Therefore, it is sweet that there is light; it is sweet that there is judgment, which precedes mercy. For it is written: 'I will sing to you, Lord, of mercy and judgment' (Psalm 101, 1).


45. (Verse 40.) And because he knew the sweet judgments, he says: Behold, I have longed for your commandments; revive me in your righteousness. He speaks of good judgments with authority. Behold, he loves the freedom of faith, he who has given freedom. He delights in being loved, who came into this world because he loved this world. He demands to be loved, who loves all, for love is his nature. He longs for God's commandments, like a good servant, like a diligent worker. He longs not for the love of a prostitute, not for money like a greedy person, not for lust like a sensualist. For the Law says of them: You shall not covet. But it commands us to love the Lord our God, and to hold Him in a tender and inward affection of desire. And because he is a friend who loves, he is a servant who fears; as if he were a friend who does all that the Lord commanded: You, He says, are my friends, if you do what I command you (John 15:14).

46. In your righteousness, revive me: he dares and says; because that is the true life, which lives according to the righteousness of God, which the apostles lived; indeed, which they live. For there are those who, while living, are dead: and there are those who, while dead, are alive. In fact, some descend into hell while still alive: others, though dead in body, live by their merits. For there are those who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man returning on the day of judgment, when the holy ones will rise with glory.

Sermon 6. Vau.

The sixth letter Vau, whose interpretation is: He is, and no other. Or whose interpretation: And he is.

2. (Verse 41.) And let thy mercy come upon me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word. The meaning of the letter, since it is somewhat obscure, I thought should be gathered from the series of the psalm. For when the Prophet asks: Let thy mercy come upon me, O Lord: let thy salvation come upon me; there is no doubt whom he requests to see, that is, in whom the fruit of mercy and salvation may come. Finally, in the preceding verses, he asks for the same thing in the eighty-fourth psalm, in which he more clearly prophesied the coming of the Lord Jesus. Indeed, it is well known that the earth which was in need of blessing is the one which had contracted sin in Adam, of which it is said: 'You are dust and to dust you shall return' (Gen. III, 19). However, God had cursed not the element of the nature of the flesh, but the flesh of the transgressors. Therefore, the flesh is blessed in Christ, so that the cursed flesh may be redeemed. The flesh is blessed, which the blessed Son of God, assuming human condition, took upon himself.

And therefore he added: God, you will turn and give us life, and your people will rejoice in you. Show us, Lord, your mercy, and grant us your salvation. Let me hear what the Lord God will speak in me, for he will speak peace to his people, to his holy ones, and to those who turn to him with their heart. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. (Psalm 85:7 et seq.) This whole place resounds with the name of Jesus the Lord, who raised the dead: Lazarus before his passion, many during the time of his own passion. He is mercy, as the forgiveness of sins. Therefore he says: Show, whom he may see in the body. For he could not see God in his majesty; for he saw God ever (John 1:18). The eager Prophet desires to see, whom he hopes to hold: whom if he sees, he desires to grasp with his own hands. Therefore, he says: And give us your salvation. The power of God is the salvation, the Christ of God is the salvation; and therefore those who fear it are near. Christ was far from us, far from the nations: he descended to earth, he became near, we began not to fear. For the one who fears Christ is not subjected to fear, but to devotion. This fear is of piety, not of weakness. Finally, nothing is lacking for those who fear him. But how he became near, listen: So that he may dwell, he says, in glory on our earth. Who is glory, except the Lord Jesus? Therefore, the apostle Paul says: The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory (2 Cor. 1:3). It is rightly pleasing to the Father; for the glory is of the Father. He who separates himself from the Father commits a greater offense against the Father, for he wishes to be without glory. Whoever does not consider him equal to the Father judges him to be inferior to the Father; for no other word can praise the Father more, whose highest praise and glory is Christ.


4. Therefore, it is asked that He come to greet God. He is the one who is asked, that is, the Lord Jesus, and there is no other; as the letter interpretation has it. And not only the Father is asked: He is also the one who is asked, that is, the Son, and He comes and gives salvation to the world. Therefore, He is the savior; therefore, Jesus, as the angel said: He will save His people (Matthew 1:21) . So, when the prophet called upon Him, He was present; to prove that, He says to us even now: Here I am (Isaiah 58:9) .


5. He is here, because awakened by the daughters of Judaea, as if resurrected by the daughters of Jerusalem. The Church hears the sound of his voice, and says: The voice of my cousin. Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills (Song of Songs 2:8). He is a liberator, having many noble persons, like a triumphant crowd, and signifying many actions, which we can understand more than we can express in words. For as if she has heard the coming Bridegroom conversing with some others who are also traveling, the Bride says: The voice of my cousin. While he is talking with the daughters of Jerusalem, and he asks them to wake up and revive the Bridegroom, suddenly, as if hearing the sound of a voice sent from afar, he says: The voice of my cousin, announcing what he was seeking to be announced to him before, whom he desired to be revived by others: believing that through his prayer he was now coming back revived by the Father, he joyfully says: You are my cousins. He wisely added, my cousins, so that not others, but only the cousin herself would claim his coming.


Behold, he says, that man is coming. Yet I still seek him, and he has already come: yet I am still gaining votes for him to come, and he is already next. I desire to arouse charity for myself, I consider myself wounded by charity; and charity itself hastens to me even more. I said: Come: he jumps and leaps. I ask him to come with grace: he works increases of gratitude: and while he comes, he carries with him increases of grace, and by coming he acquires; because he also desires to please his beloved. He leaps onto high things, so that he may ascend to the Bride; for the chamber of the Bride is the tribunal of Christ. He leaps over Adam, he leaps over the Synagogue. He leaps over the Gentiles, he leaps over the Jews. Let us see him leaping. He leaps from heaven into the Virgin, from the womb into the manger, from the manger into the Jordan, from the Jordan onto the cross, from the cross into the tomb, from the tomb into heaven. Testify to me, O David, of the One leaping, testify to me of the One running; for you have said: He rejoiced as a giant to run his course: His going forth is from the end of heaven, and His circuit unto the ends thereof; and there is no one who can hide from His heat (Psalm 19:6-7). And now he leaps and now he runs from the heart of the Father over his holy ones, from the East over the West, from the North over the South. He is the one who ascends over the setting sun, he himself over the heavens of heavens towards the East. He ascends over the mountains, he himself over the hills.

7. I wish that I may say, may my soul say: Behold, he comes, and he comes not above earthly things, not above valleys; but he comes leaping over mountains; for God, the God of mountains, not of valleys. Where does he leap? He leaps over mountains. If you are a mountain, he leaps over you. He leaps over Isaiah, he leaps over Jeremiah, he leaps over Peter, John, James. Mountains surround him (Psalm 124:2): if you cannot be a mountain, nor have strength, be even a hill, so that Christ may ascend over you; and if he leaps, let him leap in such a way that his leap guards you like a shadow.


8. We have spoken about Christ and the Church; let us now speak about the soul and the Word. The soul of the righteous is the Bride of the Word. If she desires, if she longs, if she prays, and prays continually, and prays without any doubt, and directs her whole being towards the Word, she suddenly seems to hear the voice of the one whom she does not see, and in her innermost sense she recognizes the divine smell of his presence: which is often experienced by those who believe rightly. The nostrils of the soul are suddenly filled with spiritual grace, and she feels the breath of his presence blowing upon her, whom she seeks, and she says: Behold, this is the very one whom I seek, the very one whom I desire.


9. When we think about something from the Scriptures and cannot find its explanation, while we doubt, while we seek, suddenly for us, as if from over the highest mountains, the highest teachings seem to ascend: then appearing for us as if over hills, it illuminates the mind; so that it infuses into the senses what seemed difficult to find. Therefore, the Word becomes present in our hearts as if from absent. And again, when something is obscure to us, as if the Word is being withheld, and as if we desire the advent of the absent: and again, appearing, it shows itself to us as if it is present to us in what we are seeking to know. Therefore, it jumps frequently into the heart of each one: it jumps and goes out, and returns if you follow it, if you seek it, if you ask for it, if you, by the grace of the faithful, ask the Word that had come forth and passed away to be resurrected; just like that which she sought and found, which she said: My brother has passed by: my soul went out with his word (Song of Solomon 5:6).

10. Therefore, even if he jumps over the mountains, follow him; and if he jumps over the hills, follow. For in the mountains and hills are found the hunters of the Lord, who seek those who are captured for life. For thus said God through Jeremiah: Behold, I will send many fishermen, . . . and many hunters, and they will hunt them over every mountain and over every hill (Jeremiah 16:16). Therefore, let the people of God be sought and found in the doctrine, grace, and discipline of Peter and Paul; so that they may not be in the valley, where there is weeping: but in the mountains, from which Christ enlightens each one. And when we read Peter, Christ enlightens. And when we read Paul, Christ enlightens. Paul healed, Christ enlightened; for by invoking the name of the Lord Jesus, he arose, by whose gift he was healed. Peter raised a dead woman, Christ enlightened; and therefore it is said: You wonderfully enlighten from the eternal mountains (Psalm 75:5).

11. Therefore, since we cannot be mountains ourselves, let us stand on mountains or hills; so that when the Lord sends his fishermen and hunters to hunt those who are above every mountain or hill, that is, those who have in their possession knowledge of the precepts of the Law and the Prophets, as well as of the new and old Testament, they may find us prepared, and may gather us like good stalks at the opportune time, sent as reapers; for if anyone is found outside of the mountain or hill, they will not be able to gather them like good stalks, but will be sent to separate the wheat from the chaff (to use another comparison). Therefore, the Lord has many skilled ministers of various tasks. They are both fishermen and hunters, as well as harvesters.

12. If at the time of harvest, which they are directed towards, you wait for the ripe reward, you will be able to see him leaping on the mountains, and you will see the Lord Jesus similar to a young stag, or a young deer on the mountains of Bethel (Song of Songs 2:9). Indeed, he leaps upon the Church, which is the house of bread; because he strengthens the hearts of the faithful. Justly like a young stag; because a young stag feeds on high places. Dorcas is said to be from seeing. For the vision is an increase of the author. What is sharper than Christ, who sees the Father whom no one sees? Or if anyone has seen in Christ, the Son himself revealed. Just as a fawn is like a son, who has inherited the power of his nature from his father; so that hidden things do not escape him, snakes flee, venom does not harm him. Finally, the serpent, who was produced from a man and was brought out of his hiding place, said: Why have you come before the time to torment us? (Matthew 8:29)


13. (Verse 42.) Therefore let us watch this prancing colt, so that we may not fear the serpent. David did not fear. Finally, he said of these serpents: 'I will answer those who reproach me with a word, for I have hoped in your words.' Like a good deer, who had drunk from the springs of water, he did not fear the spirals of human serpents and the poisons of malicious ones. The serpent was not harmful to him, but rather it was prey. The food was the venomous speech of the serpent, and the food of praise of which he said: 'O God, do not be silent about my praise; for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful one are open against me.' (Psalm 108:2). The hunter was being fattened by the words of his fellow hunters. They lifted their hissing mouths of slander and surrounded the innocent one with words of hatred. The good deer, placed among many snakes, was not afraid, the deer of friendship, and the foal of gratitude. They feigned charity, but poured out slander: 'But I,' he said, 'I was praying.' The good deer, harmless among the vipers, grazed. They flashed their forked tongues: but holy prayer fed this one, offering food to those who slandered. He responded to those speaking against him with a word; for a word is nourishment. Finally, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Matt., IV, 4). They saw me, he said, and shook their heads (Psalm 108:25). They cursed, but I blessed. Those who spoke against me cursed; I blessed, for I proclaimed the word of the Lord.

14. How good it is to bear abuse, and not to retaliate with abuse! He gains God as his helper who does not know how to be angry with an abusive person. Finally, how great is the grace of patience in the speaker: 'They will curse, and you will bless' (2). Blessed is the one who does not feel the curses. Blessed is the one whom curses do not disturb. For the one who excludes the curses of men by the divine gift of blessing cannot be moved by a curse. The one who has the Word cannot feel a curse, and the one who always has the Word on their lips cannot retaliate with a curse.


15. But there is also a good serpent, whom that stag does not harm. Be cunning, he says, just like serpents (Matt. 10:16). And: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up (John 3:14). In the bronze serpent I am represented. In that wood my serpent was lifted up. Good serpent, a good serpent, who from its mouth poured forth remedies, not poisons. One who knows how to adore this serpent can fear no serpents. About this snake, she who loves says: Behold, he is behind our wall, looking through the windows, appearing above the lattice. My cousin responds and says to me: Arise, come, my dearest one, my beautiful one, my dove; for behold, winter has passed, the rain has gone, it has departed for itself, flowers have appeared on the earth (Song of Solomon 2:9, 12). The snake indeed is the one who, with winter having passed, wanted to shed his body's covering in order to bloom in beautiful appearance. Therefore, the deer and the serpent are the same. The deer, with horns of Law and Grace (its two horns are the Testaments), is swift in its stride, active in its gait, able to traverse the entire world in an instant, celebrated everywhere. The serpent is also good, whose first tooth does not bite the Law, and whose latter teeth are not wounded by the gentleness of the Gospel. It defends its head from harm, the one who came not to abolish the Law, but to protect it from the perfidious interpretations. He swings his tail freely like a whip, desiring to whip his adversaries rather than to destroy them. Like a good serpent, he easily slips into the lap of his beloved and, without any contact, devours the fire in their bones and consumes their very hearts.

16. It is well said today: Behold, I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves (Matt. X, 16). For we celebrate the feast of the saints, on which the bodies of the holy martyrs were revealed to the people, who like good serpents, having cast off the clothing of the flesh, having overcome the harshness of winter temptations, and renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit, shone forth in the summer light, truly sent as lambs in the midst of wolves. The wolves are the persecutors, all the heretics are wolves: they do not know how to teach, they are accustomed to howl.


17. But let no one be moved, if he is sent in the midst of wolves. By the grace of Christ even the wolf himself is changed. The rapacious wolf Benjamin becomes the apostle Paul, no longer a plotter against the sheep of Christ, but a defender and guardian. It is pleasing to associate with this wolf: by this wolf, it happened that we are safe in the midst of wolves. No one now fears the wolves, when we are fed with them, as it is written: Then the wolf and the lamb will feed together (Isaiah 65:25).


18. (Verse 42.) But now let us consider what the Prophet says: 'And do not take away from my mouth the word of truth completely; for in your judgments I have hoped abundantly.' The Church, or the soul of the righteous, sees the Beloved leaping like a young stag upon the mountains, suddenly looking out from behind the wall of his house, gazing through the windows, appearing above the lattice. She rejoices and is glad, for she is also loved by the Bridegroom, who, wounded with the ornament of love, when first requested, comes to her kisses (for it is said: 'Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth'), and then does not reject the prayers and flattery of the Bride, praising her beloved breasts, and with kindness leads her into the inner chambers of his house. Finally, like one playing with love in a playful manner, he often goes out to be sought by the Bride, and then returns to be invited to kisses, standing behind the wall, looking out through the windows, appearing above the lattice. Thus, he is not entirely absent, nor does he enter as if entirely present, but he himself calls the Bride to himself, so that their mutual encounters may become more pleasing, and they may kindle the force of love with mutual conversations: 'Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come, my dove.'


19. And even if you have a well-founded wall, not the one in the middle that separates the parts of a house, but a building constructed on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, so that its joined structure may grow into a temple and not separate its interior, but strengthen it: if, therefore, you have within you the building of God, and your windows are always open to the east, the Word comes, and stands behind your wall (for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous), and looks through your windows. (Psalm 33:16)


20. What are these windows? We read about windows, about which Jeremiah says: 'Death entered through the windows' (Jeremiah IX, 21), through which greed entered, lust entered. Your eye is a window, death entered through your eye. If you see a woman to desire her, death entered through your eye. If you see the possession of a widow or a minor, and you desire to invade, thinking their age or sex to be defenseless (but they are not defenseless, those whom the Lord wants to be defended), death entered through the window. If you see the beauty of a woman, or the treasures of the lesser, and you arouse your desires, death enters through the window. Just as death enters through these things, life also enters. If you look upon the beauty of a young girl with sacred reverence, you will worship the Lord Jesus, who in his tender years came to the age of old age, a blameless life. And you yourself offer your daughter, so that she may be consecrated by the pious veil; if you look upon the possession of the lesser not as a greedy invader, but as a diligent parent who protects with religious affection; through these windows, Christ looks out to call the Bride, standing above the nets.


21. Excelling in goodness, because he alone is the one whom the snares of sins did not entangle. All were within the snares, in fact, we are still within the snares, because no one is without sin, except Jesus alone, whom the Father made sin for us, not knowing sin. For indeed, he delivered him to the snares, he delivered him to the nets, sending him not in sin, in which all men were, but in the likeness of sinful flesh, so that he would condemn sin in the flesh. It was a sin of the flesh, according to that, because it was condemned by hereditary curse. It was a lure and a servant of sin. The Lord Jesus came and in flesh subject to sin, he exercised the warfare of virtue. Our members have become not weapons of lust, but weapons of virtue. For where there were incentives of lust, there are now dwelling places of chastity. Therefore, he came to the snares, but voluntarily; he came to the nets, but secure.


All things were full of snares, filled with nets. Listen to the one who says: On this path on which I was walking, they hid a snare for me (Ps. 141:4). And in the book of Sirach, you are warned to know that you walk in the midst of snares (Sir. 9:20). As many vices, so many nets: as many sins, so many snares: the inherited bonds already held you captive. Jesus came to the snares, to release Adam: he came to free what had been lost. We were all held by nets, no one could rescue another, when he himself could not strip them off. Such was the necessity, therefore, of someone who, not subject to the shackles of human generation, was not affected by sins, was not seized by greed, was not bound by deceit. This person was Jesus alone, who, though surrounded by the bonds of this flesh, was not captured, was not bound: but breaking and dissolving them, he called the Church to himself even more, foreseeing that it too would learn not to be held by chains. In the end, he was not far from the bonds, so as to undergo death for us: but yet he did not become a slave of death, but a free person among the dead; for he was free, having the power to overcome death. Finally, let him teach you himself, who said: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19).

23. Therefore, let us listen to what he says: Arise, come, my love (Song of Solomon 2:10), that is, rise from the dead, arise from the chains with which you were surrounded. Arise, for I have risen for you: break the bond of wickedness, for I have already broken it for you. Come, for the nets are already loosed. The Virgin has given birth, the child born of the Virgin. He owes nothing to female inheritance, as if he were not bound by the bond of woman. See the middle wall of partition, which divided the harmony of internal affections and stirred up discord in bodily passions, is now broken down, Come, therefore, without worry. I desire to see your face and hear your voice. Come, so that you may see me no longer through nets, but that you may possess the beloved lover's face-to-face with his beloved. Let these ethical things be passed. But let us look, if we can, at the extreme mystery, even with a glance or a line.

But the bride was sitting inside the house, devoted to the Lord, within the wall of the Law and the prophets, founded on the construction of spiritual stones, which enclosed and fortified the royal house, full of joy and gladness. She marveled at the royal treasures, and she looked carefully, desiring to attain the wisdom that would show her these riches. She was in secret, but she sought the interpreter of her secret. The Lord Jesus came, leaping over the mountains. It seemed late to us that he was coming, but he was hurrying. Finally, he jumped and leaped over, so that he might leap over the physical and stony doctrines of the Jews. He stood behind the wall of the house, which was in the old Testament, looking through the window of the Law, through the caves of the prophets. The doors of that house were not yet open: the keys of the knowledge of the gates had not yet opened the barriers by which the internal things of the Law were closed. However, looking from above at the spiritual part, he calls it the Church; so that, rising high through the Law and the prophets, he confidently treads upon the nets of Jewish interpretation and crushes the knots with his bold step. Therefore, she is called proxima, so that she may adhere to Christ, not seeking worldly things; therefore, she is beautiful, so that she may display the beautiful feet of those who evangelize; therefore, she is a dove, so that she may seek spiritual things and leave earthly things behind.

Behold, he says, winter has passed, the rain has gone away, flowers have been seen on the earth (Song of Songs II, 11 and 12). Before the coming of Christ, there was winter: Christ came, and he made summer. Then all things were in need of flowers, devoid of virtue: Christ suffered, and all things began to be fertilized by the sprouts of new grace. The rain of dissolute luxury has gone away, and the clouds that had risen from shameful vices are now dispelled by the serene clarity of a pure conscience. Therefore, those who escape in winter do not follow the Lord's passion, do not take up their cross, and do not follow Christ. The rain hinders the flowers: but now the flowers are seen on the earth. The apostles were good flowers, who spread the fragrance of their diverse writings and works.

26. The time of harvesting has arrived (Ibid., 12); for mature grains are stored in the granaries, and the one who reaps receives wages. The voice of the turtledove has been heard (Ibid.): because it has found a nest for itself, for the Church is the house of chastity. The fig tree that was commanded to be cut down because of its barrenness has begun to bear fruit. The vine, carried out of Egypt, no longer destroyed by walls, is attacked by beasts, not by shapeless thorns anymore, but by fragrant flowers, which used to produce thorns, it now bends with the weight of grapes (Ibid., 13).


27. Therefore, rightly celebrating the Passover of the Lord, the holy David, entering the summer seasons with a fervent spirit, who gathered various fruits in the word of God, avoiding the adversity of winter, says: And do not take away from my mouth the word of truth entirely, because I have greatly hoped in your judgments. How great is the labor to understand a word? How much danger is there if you lose it? And therefore it is said to you: Do not neglect the grace that is in you (I Tim. IV, 14). Carefully cultivate your field like a good farmer, so that your lambs may graze and your crops may flourish (Prov. XXVII, 16). Do not let a word escape from your mouth; for if words do not match actions, they distort the teaching of righteousness. A word is taken away from your mouth when it is said to a sinner: Why do you recite my commandments (Psal. XLIX, 16)? And eloquence itself is silenced if conscience is sick. The birds of the sky come; they too pick up the Word from your mouth, removing the seed of the word from the rock, so that it may not bear fruit.


28. Now let us consider whether the word of truth can also be taken away from the heart. For a rooted and deeply embedded word is difficult to remove from our minds. Finally, it is said by the Lord: Why do you proclaim my justices? (Ibid.) He did not say: Why did you think of my justices? And you take my testament through your mouth? He did not say: Through your heart. Speech is restrained by an unworthy mind, not hindered by repentance. It prohibits insolence, not excludes correction. However, care must be taken so that the inner hearts themselves are not disturbed, and malice does not pour in darkness, so that the heart, blinded by empty thoughts, loses the light of truth and is unable to grasp the brilliance of the word. Therefore, if David prays that the word may not be taken away from his mouth, and if it is taken away, not completely, that is, not wholly taken away: who is so great that he can claim to have the power of grace in his own argument; especially if his life rebukes what his teaching presumes, and if he commits what deserves to be condemned by the judgment of God? For the one who hopes in the judgments of God can keep the word of truth; for while he fears punishment, he preserves grace.

And so he says: And I will always keep your law, forever and ever. He said two, when one would have been enough if he had wanted to signify one. But because the law is promised to be kept not only in the present time of this life, but also in the future after the course of this life; therefore, I think that according to those who serve the heavenly things as examples and shadows, and according to those who in the heavenly places worship God according to the true Law, it promises that they must live, so that they may keep the law here and there. Here in an example, in a mirror, in a riddle: there in the very face of truth.

30. We can also understand this; because διὰ παντός not only signifies that which is always said, but also that which is done in all things; because the one who keeps the Law in all things is the one who, being educated in the Law, born under the Law, and advancing in the degree of his devotion above the Law, is liberated from the Law (for Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law) not without the law of God, but has been received into the law of Christ: or certainly if we keep the Law in all things, if we do not exceed the legitimate discipline of childhood and youth, the conduct of our young adulthood, the maturity of old age, and the path prescribed for each stage of life by no means exceeds the use of our own life. Similarly, our souls also seem to have certain ages through which they pass and journey, so that it can say: I have finished the race (II Tim. IV, 7). Finally, that age of the soul is that of which it is said: And the age of old age is a blameless life (Wis. IV, 9). Therefore, whoever keeps the Law will not stray from it, both in the ages of our body and in the processes of our soul.

31. (Verse 45.) And I walked in spaciousness, for I sought after your testimonies. He who walks according to the commandments walks a narrow and confined path, and walks in spaciousness. From where we read: You have enlarged me in my distress (Psalm 4:2). And elsewhere: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and He heard me in spaciousness (Psalm 118:5). For the wise man walks in the innocence of his heart, and waters overflow from its source onto his streets, who does not confine his mind within earthly and physical things; but directs it towards heavenly things, so that his conduct may be in heaven. Hearing no distress, he says, 'We are under pressure, but not crushed' (2 Corinthians 4:9). And how could he be constricted when his mouth is always open? (2 Corinthians 6:11). So that believers may not be restricted? Let him explain what it means to enter into spaciousness. For he says: 'Although our bodies are under pressure, our hearts are wide open.' You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections (Ibid., 11-12).


32. They could not be confined in Paul, in whom was the depth of wisdom and the breadth of faith. For how could they be confined in him who was the vessel of eternal election? But they are confined in themselves; for the wicked are confined in themselves, strangled by the snares of their own malice. Establish for me a greedy man, constantly extending the boundaries of his estates, excluding his neighbors; does he not seem to you to be expanding, not restricting, whom even the earth itself cannot contain? No matter how much space his house extends, it is confined within the narrow limits of his own opinion, to whom what he has is not enough. But he is not of such a character who can say: And I entered into spaciousness. He also added a reason: Because I sought out your testimonies.

33. (Verse 46.) And I spoke concerning your testimonies in the presence of kings, and I was not put to shame. This voice of the martyr is fitting, who, called to sacrilege, did not blush when reproached by kings for crucifying Jesus, but rather boasted in the cross of Christ and affirmed that it is the salvation of the world through heavenly testimonies. Christ calls these people in the Bride, saying in the Song of Songs: 'Come, my dove, to the shelter of the rock, near the fortress' (Song of Songs 2:14); that is, come near the Gospel. The fortresses of your faith are the deeds of Christ: your walls are the supports of the Lord's words: the passion of the Lord's body is your strength. Show me your face, and reveal your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is beautiful. Your voice is sweet, because by your mouth confession is made unto salvation; and your face is beautiful, for it does not blush before the Author, nor is it ashamed of the Redeemer. Therefore, she shows her face, bearing the seal of the Cross, and reveals her voice, assuming the authority of preaching. For in the covering of Christ's body, by which it was redeemed from sin, she found the defense of divine grace: so that she both experiences and speaks that which is advantageous to her. Therefore, a sweet voice was speaking in divine testimonies: a beautiful face, which was not ashamed in the sight of kings.

34. We can understand those kings to whom it is said by Peter: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession (I Pet. II, 9). For there are kings who offer in Jerusalem the gifts of their wisdom, to whom grace is given to speak the word, and with a certain royal power to bend peoples, and to soothe the souls of the saints, not being ashamed of it; because they speak nothing foreign to honesty, whom no one may rebuke and repel, as if they were unworthy, whom Christ has made worthy ministers of the new Testament, and now they are not ashamed; because they feared not lest they should be confounded by the opposite assertions of disputers. Therefore, a king is one who is not ashamed, so that he may not be criticized or condemned in his actions or in his words. This is because both his life and his speech should be founded on truth. Therefore, even though a Prophet may be perfect enough that he does not feel ashamed in the presence of kings, he still meditates on God's precepts at all times of his life and elevates his works, doing nothing that clings to earthly desires.

Therefore he says: And I meditated on your commandments, which I loved exceedingly. And I lifted up my hands to your commandments, which I loved exceedingly: and I was exercised in your justifications. This is a most beautiful order, that we first meditate on those precepts which we love, and that meditation becomes a familiar practice for us. For through the meditation of heavenly commandments, the use of good works is acquired. For just as the end of memorizing words is memory, so the intention or end of meditating on heavenly precepts is action, and a direct act towards fulfilling divine precepts, which unless someone loves, they will not be able to fulfill. And they should not only love, but love exceedingly.


Therefore, he first said: And I meditated upon your precepts, which I loved exceedingly. And he added: And I raised my hands to your precepts, which I loved exceedingly. For after meditation, it is good to direct our actions towards the commandments of God, and to do so with charity and joy, so that our good may not be out of necessity, nor with sorrow and sadness, but voluntarily; for a reluctant servant performs, but a willing friend. However, let us strive to be told: I no longer call you servants, but friends (John 15:15), because you have carried out the commandments of God as friends according to your own will. But the one who meditates and loves, and lifts up his actions, in order to do what pleases God: he ought not to neglect or pass over divine commands, but to be exercised in them, to dwell in them as much as possible, frequently pondering the justifications of God with a solicitous affection of the mind.

Sermon 7. Zain.

The letter Zain in Hebrew signifies 'duc te' in Latin, elsewhere it signifies 'huc'. The interpretation of this is not sufficiently clear, unless perhaps so that each person may govern himself and be his own guide. Or it may direct the way, that is, where the letters of this verse call it to go. And rightly it immediately seeks its rest in the first line, because it is the seventh letter and a number of rest. But what greater rest is there than to rest in the word of God, and to be sweetened by His grace and consolation.


2. (Verse 49.) Remember, says he, O Lord, your word to your servant, in which you have given me hope. The word of God has led us, who were cast down and lowly, to heavenly grace; so that we desire eternity, despise the present, are indifferent to temporal things, and seek after future and invisible things. Therefore, the Word of God calls us to himself, as it is written: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matthew 11:28). Therefore, let us follow the calling of the Lord Jesus, so that we may transition from worldly things to eternal ones, and learn to govern ourselves.

Therefore David, because he was often invited to heavenly answers, to which he hoped for a reward of faith and merits, as you have written, God saying through the prophet Nathan: I took you from the sheepfold, from following the flock, that you should be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you (2 Samuel 7:8-9). And further: I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth (ibid. 11). Upon receiving this response, David said, 'Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that you have loved me in this way? Yet even the least of these things have been remembered before you, Lord, and you have spoken concerning the house of your servant in the distant future.' And further he said: 'And now, my Lord, you are God. and your words are true, and you have spoken these good things for your servant. And now, begin to bless the house of your servant, that I may be in your presence forever; for you, my Lord, have spoken, and by your blessing the house of your servant shall be blessed forever.' Therefore, with this response and others, David continues to hope and, through the authority of prophetic faith, he encounters the Lord; that he may remember his promises, of which he is accustomed not to be forgetful. For He is accustomed to fulfill whatever He has promised to the saints, being forgetful of our iniquities and not forgetful of His own promises. Indeed, it is written: I am, I am He who blots out your iniquities . . . and I will not be mindful; but you be mindful and let us be judged (Isaiah 43:25-26). He desires to forget whatever threats He has made against sinners, if they would only turn their ways. He also desires to be reconciled, so that if anyone, having pursued the proposed virtues, has competed well, he may expect the fruit of reward, or even demand it, as it is written: I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; the crown of justice is reserved for me (2 Timothy 4:7). For it is not an arrogant usurpation, but a faithful one; for it confesses that the true God cannot deceive. Therefore, it admonishes, as David says, that the Lord may remember His word; thus it prompts us to hope, so that we may renounce earthly things and cling to heavenly ones.

Therefore, David says: I have fought a good fight, I seek the reward of your word, which you promised to me; remember your promises, which you have made to your servant. I have not hoped presumptuously for what you have made me hope for. I am a servant, I expect food from the Lord; I am a soldier, I demand pay from the emperor; I am called, I ask for what was promised by the inviter. However, he modestly tempered the authority of his faith, by saying that he is a servant; for the eyes of servants are in the hands of their masters (Psalms 122:2). These words from the persona of David are well spoken.

5. Moreover, if anyone considers the information of each person, he can weigh the common promises lightly, as you have: Give Levi his men, give Levi his witnesses (Deut. 33:8). This discourse can also be applied to the chosen people, to whom through the type of Joseph, first in the type of his name, then through the tribe, the divine promise was transferred to the heirs of the first election, as Moses said: The firstborn of his bull carries the glory, his horns are like the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall gore the nations together to the ends of the earth (Ibid., 17). For this unique Word of God is foretold by the oracle that it is to be spread throughout the whole world among the nations. Therefore, the promise of the resurrection of the Church, though hesitant of its own worthiness, seems to demand the hastening of common progress.

6. (Verse 50.) And he added: This has comforted me in my lowliness, because your word has brought me life. This is the hope, this which has come to me through your word, has comforted me so that I may endure the bitter things of the present. While Paul does something against his own name, he lacks the consolation of hope; while he suffers for the name, he draws hope from consolation. And when he has become faithful, how he consoles us, listen: Who shall separate us, he says, from the love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, danger, sword? As it is written: For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered (Rom. 8:35-36). And in what way can these things be patiently endured, he added: But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us (Ibid., 37). Therefore, if anyone wants to overcome adversity, whether it is persecution, danger, death, severe distress, attacks by robbers, confiscation of property, or whatever of those things that are considered adversities in this world, they can easily be overcome if there is a comforting hope. For even if those things happen, they cannot be considered serious to someone who says: For I believe that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come (Ibid., 38). For whoever hopes for better things is never broken by lighter things.

7. Therefore, in the time of our humility, there is consoling hope that does not disappoint: the time of temptations, I consider, is the time of the humility of our soul. For our soul is humbled when it is handed over to the tempter, to be tested by harsh labors, so that it may struggle and fight, experiencing the encounter of contrary power: but in these temptations, it is revived by the speech of God. For this is the vital substance of our soul, by which it is nourished, and fed, and governed. And nothing else is there that makes the rational soul live than speech with God. For just as the word of God is increased in our soul as it is received, understood, and comprehended, so also is His life increased; and as, on the contrary, speech with God diminishes in our soul, so His life in us also incurs a defect. Therefore, just as this connection of our soul and body is animated, nourished, and sustained by the vital spirit, so our soul is vivified by the spiritual grace of the word of God. Wherever we should study in every kind, having put all other things aside, let us gather to ourselves the conversations of God, and let us gather in our mind, in our thoughts, in our concerns, and in our actions; so that our actions may coincide with the conversations of Scripture, and our actions may not seem to disagree with the sequence of heavenly precepts, by which we may also say: For your word has given us life.

8. (Verse 51.) The third verse is: The proud acted unjustly: but I did not turn away from your law. The greatest sin in man is pride; since from there flowed the origin of our offense. With this weapon the devil first wounded and struck us. For unless man, deceived by the persuasion of the serpent, had wanted to be like God and know the true and the false, which he could not fully discern due to human frailty; and therefore, what he had received by following, so that he would not fall from that happiness of paradise by reckless usurpation: unless, I say, man, not satisfied with his own boundaries, had violated the prohibitions, the inheritance of the fatal guilt would never have come to us. And what about man? He himself, through pride, lost the grace of his own nature. Finally, while saying, 'I will set my throne above the clouds... and I will be like the Most High' (Isaiah 14:13-14), he fell from the company of the angels: condemned by the deserving reward of his crime, he sought a partner in man, into whom he could transfer his shared offense.

9. What, therefore, can be worse than this sin that begins with an injury to God? And for this reason, Scripture says: The Lord resists the proud (Prov. 3:34). As if to say, He takes on a special struggle against pride as a repeller of His own reproach; as if to say, This adversary of mine, who provokes me, owes me this contest. Hence, the Apostle declared that pride is the source of manifold guilt, saying of the heretic: He is proud, knowing nothing, but sick about questions and word battles, from which envy, contentions, sacrileges, evil suspicions, conflicts of minds of corrupted men, and opposing the truth, come forth, thinking that godliness is a means of gain (1 Tim. 6:3-5). Therefore, how much pride has been expressed as the cause of these offenses? Hence, David, wanting to commend his devotion, which was not tainted by any wickedness of the proud, says: The proud acted wickedly indeed. He not only declared the wickedness of those who acted, but also the excessive wickedness, which would befit the proud: of whom, lest he be tempted by any contamination, listen to what someone else says elsewhere: With a proud eye and an insatiable heart, I will not eat this (Psalm 100:5).


Therefore, since he had shown how great the power of evil is in pride, he ought to teach us how it should be conquered: and rightly, like a good doctor, he shows the remedy, who has emphasized the poison. Therefore, listen to how you can exclude the virus of pride: 'I have not turned aside from your law,' he says. Therefore, only God's law is able to contain the virus of pride, which has instructed the man dedicated to devotion about how he should govern himself with caution. For many, not only strangers to faith, but even those who seem to have grasped not insignificant precepts of the Scriptures, are accustomed to be tempted by the prosperous ways of the proud: seeing those who transgress the law as judges of impiety, arrogant, despisers of the faithful, exalting themselves against those who humble their hearts according to the fear of God and the heavenly precepts, abounding in this world with riches, fame, honors, powers; and the more serious offenses they have committed, the more successful they are in following the advantages of the secular world: on the other hand, just men generally suffer from poverty, the loss of children, and the sterility of their wives; thereby agitated and disturbed, they incline the sense of their minds to think that God's judgment in this matter is in some way mistaken: not holding onto the head of truth, by which it is most clearly understood that our reward for merits is not stored up in this world, but in the future.


11. But only a few notice this. In the beginning, even David himself was tested, as it is written: 'Behold, the sinners and the rich in this world have obtained riches, and I have said: Did I justify my heart in vain, and wash my hands among the innocent, and am I scourged all day long?' (Psalm 72:12-14). Therefore, each one of us, who are not yet perfect, seeing this, says: Where is the providence of God, where is justice? That arrogant man abounds with pride, that arrogant man is rich, that wicked man is happy and powerful: but the righteous man, you see how he lies low and is lacking, you see how he is in need of even basic sustenance: he is afflicted with insults by that wicked man, he is trampled upon by that insolent man, he is excluded? Surely this is no small temptation, unless you look ahead to what is to come, unless you are more fully instructed by heavenly precepts.

12. Finally, David thought that he knew these things beforehand, but he did not know, and therefore he labored with an anxious and wavering mind. Hence he says: 'And I thought I knew; this is a labor before me, until I enter into the sanctuary of God and understand in the end' (Ibid. 16 and 17). In these words, through what the proud have exalted themselves, he saw in his prophetic spirit that they would be brought lower, and he says: 'How are they made desolate, suddenly they have failed and are wiped out because of their iniquity, like a dream of one waking up' (Ibid. 19 and 20)? Therefore, the success of the wicked in this world is like a dream, not reality: their benefits appear to last only as long as they are asleep. Once they wake from their dream, those who seemed to be drinking are thirsty, those who feasted are hungry, and nothing substantial is left from that dream, only a fleeting memory. And secular men sleep well in their dreams, for although they are vigilant in the world, they sleep in God, about whom the holy Job, who marveled at their prosperity, says: 'For they are tossed by the wind like chaff, and are scattered by the whirlwind like dust.' . . . but they die with bitterness of soul, eating nothing, having nothing good. (Job 21:18 and 25). But the righteous, having confidence in a good conscience, rejoices more in his final moments and understands that he is being freed from the labors of this life and seeks the reward of good works and deeds, saying: A crown of righteousness is stored up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who love His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8).


13. But this, he says, who was able to say: I have not swerved from your law; in which not only the grace of good works shines forth, but also the interior purity of conscience. For the law not only informs the duty to act, but also cleanses the hidden affection of the mind. For we do not only fight according to the law of the Lord in our works, but also in the very hidden things; because the law says: Let no unjust word be hidden in your heart, so that you may not only not transgress in deeds and actions, when you see the proud glorying and when you do not stumble in speech, but also that in your innermost heart, while you argue about the judgment of God, you may not contract the offense of iniquity: which is supposed to be the more hidden, the more it is accustomed to be more frequent; because each one thinks safely that such disputations, as if surrounded by his own bowels, are trusted to his own conscience; since he himself will be his own accuser on the day of judgment; because the hidden things of the heart are revealed, as our conscience testifies to our accusations.


14. Therefore, the nature of the holy man's purpose is made clearer in this passage. First, he must remember the promises of heaven; second, he must consider the rewards that are due to the living; third, the holy man's purpose is to find comfort in the hope that he has derived from the Scriptures, even when he is faced with dangers and adversities. Fourth, the holy man's purpose is to not turn away from the law, even when he sees the wicked and sacrilegious, and the proud who unjustly abound in wealth in this world; but instead, he must persevere in its ways and avoid the contagion of the proud. For every unclean person contaminates: and the proud person is unclean, of whom it is written: Every person with a proud heart is unclean before God (Prov. XVI, 5).

15. The fourth goal of the holy man is to remember the judgments of heaven, as David asserts, who said: I have remembered thy judgments from of old, O Lord; and have been comforted. For unless each person, being instructed and informed by examples of the law, believes that God's judgments are always true, he quickly deviates from the law. But whoever reviews the past and gathers from it the series of antiquity, knows that neither the sinner escapes the punishment of his wickedness, nor the righteous is deprived of the rewards of his equity. For it is known that Adam, from the beginning, was expelled from the paradise on account of his heavenly commandment transgression and Cain, guilty of fratricide, was condemned by divine authority. It is known that Enoch, due to his devotion, was taken up to heaven and escaped the corruption of earthly evil. It is known that Noah, victorious in righteousness over the flood, became the survivor of the human race. It is known that Abraham, due to his faith, spread the seed of his posterity throughout the whole world. It is known that Israel, due to his endurance of labor, consecrated the people of believers with the seal of his own name. It is known that David himself, due to his gentleness, was honored with the royal dignity and surpassed his older brothers. It is known that Elijah, due to his zeal for God, was raised to the sky in a chariot and acquired the hospitality of a heavenly abode for the new generation.


16. Whoever knows how to recount these things has a source from which to acquire the grace of consolation. And the opposite is true: because the judgments of God are true, as you have: The judgments of God, justified in themselves, are more desirable than gold and precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. Indeed, to the one who keeps them, divine judgments are sweet; but it is without doubt that they are bitter to the one who neglects them, because he realizes that the fulfillment of the divine sentence awaits him in the disgraceful shame of sins. But those who are truly aware of themselves are not disturbed, saying: We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ; if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified together (Rom. VIII, 17).

17. But who of us, in such a situation, consoles himself by considering the series of divine judgments? Human judgments are fearful enough for sinners; how much more so are divine judgments? Indeed, if we consider those things that are truly eternal, we see in this world that the innocent eagerly hasten to judgment, hating delays and desiring the swiftness of judgment; but the guilty flee and tremble, postponing, evading, and finally becoming sorrowful when they hear that the day of judgment is appointed. Blessed therefore is he who eagerly awaits that heavenly judgment. For he knows that the kingdom of heaven is prepared for him, along with the fellowship of angels, and also the crown of good deeds.

18. (Vers. 53.) Let us now consider what the holy man's intention is, and let us judge from what follows. Cowardice, he says, has held me back from those who forsake your law. This is not common among many; for it is the majority who are saddened if they suffer any injury from someone, if they are harmed, if they are desired, if they are discolored. But our case is different: we, the weaker ones, grieve that we have been deceived by some. But the stronger person does not grieve for his own insult, but for the sins of others; and in his own injury, he laments the downfall of the one who harms, and regrets that he was the cause of the offending error. Take the example of the Apostle; for Paul wept over someone else's sin, as he himself says: For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears (2 Corinthians 2:4). And even though he himself was sorrowful, he did not want those whom he was rebuking to be sorrowful. Finally, he added: Not to make you sad, but to make you aware of the abundant love I have for you. For he wanted them to be saddened until they reached repentance, not to a deeper sorrow; only so that those who were being rebuked, their sorrow would be turned into joy. Therefore, he says: For if I make you sad, who is there to make me glad, except the one who is made sad by me? So he reproves in order to alleviate the duration of sorrow, so that repentance may lead to salvation: he condemns in order to absolve, he excludes in order to receive, he does not forgive in order to set free. Therefore Paul, being well versed in the law, knew the commandment of the one who said: Cowardice prevented me from forsaking your law.

David was grieved, not because he was despised, not because he himself was desired, but because the law of God was abandoned; and he grieved for those who were doing this, because they were perishing to God. Just as a good father, when his sons in a fit of madness curse him, beat him, and treat him with insults, laments not his own but the illness of the sick; he is grieved by the insult, not because it is inflicted upon him, but because the sick person in his madness knows not what he does: so a good man, when he sees a sinner not respecting and honoring even the white hair of the elderly, in their presence doing something unworthy; not recognizing, in a kind of madness for sinning, the disgraceful and dishonorable acts he commits, he grieves as if for a dying man, he groans as if for one given up by doctors; and just as a good doctor first advises and then, even if the patient suffers serious injuries, nevertheless endures them as if he himself were ill, even if he is beaten, he does not leave him; and he does not deny whatever medicine he can apply, nor does he abandon him as obstinate, but rather he strives with all his effort to heal him as one who has deserved well of himself, exercising not only the skill of his art, but also the kindness of his mind.


So even when the righteous person is despised by the sinner, they are not turned away; and when they are harmed, they consider it to be the result of madness, not wickedness, and they desire to bring a remedy to their wound rather than seeking revenge, and they show sympathy and pain not for themselves, but for the one who suffers from a desperate affliction. They say that this one of the brethren suffers and is affected in such a way that they harm me; if they were to recognize me, they would surely honor me and certainly not harm me. For what has been injured by my act, so that it may have the feeling of the one who causes harm? Therefore, since there is no cause for causing harm, there cannot be a fault in the intention. Therefore, if I am just, I am affected because of love, because of affection, because of the harm to the Church, because of the detriment to the body. I can also grieve for this, that even if I have not harmed the one who harms me, and I am not conscious that I have provoked him against me with any injuries, yet I have been the cause of his fall, because he commits a sin by harming the innocent, because I have become the material of his sin.


Therefore, David is grieved, and he grieves because when one member suffers, the other members suffer with it. Therefore, perhaps it is also said: 'The righteous is an accuser at the beginning of his speech' (Prov. XVIII, 17). For even though a righteous person may have something to accuse himself of, and still be righteous (because no one is without sin except for God alone), and even though a sinner may by this very fact be righteous, because he accuses himself, according to the saying: 'Declare your iniquities, that you may be justified'; nevertheless, perhaps it does not seem absurd to some that it should also be said of him that he is righteous who accuses himself for another, even if he has nothing in himself to accuse.


22. So let us consider how the first person of the righteous man David fits into all this. He accused himself when there was no accuser. He confessed his own sin when his heart was struck, because he had numbered the people. He also said to the Lord, 'I have sinned, O Lord, what I have done is wrong; but now, O Lord, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly' (2 Samuel 24:10). Therefore, although Scripture says that the anger of God was aroused against Israel, to excuse the king's downfall, when he saw the angel causing the destruction of the people, he presented himself to the blow, saying, 'Here I am, I have sinned, and I have done wrong. But what have these sheep done?' Let your hand be upon me, and upon the house of my father (Ibid., 17). Therefore, the righteous accuser accused himself at the beginning of his speech, and acknowledged his sin, and by confessing his own iniquity, he justified himself in himself. Also, when accused of Uriah's death by the prophet, he said: I have sinned against the Lord (II Sam. XII, 13); to which it was replied that his sin was taken away from him by the Lord because of his repentance.

23. Moreover, when Semei cursed him in another place and stoned him with a band of warriors, through whom he could have sought revenge, he bore it patiently, not even returning the insult in word. Indeed, when his general Abessa wanted to take off the head of the one who cursed him, the king said, 'What is it to me and to you, son of Sarvia? What he curses at me, the Lord has commanded him to curse David.' (2 Kings 16:10). Therefore, he first excused his fault and referred the matter to the will of the Lord. In the second place, he turned it back against its merit, so that he indicated not that he had erred, but that he had deserved it. In the third place, he remembered that his curse not only did not harm him, but even benefited him, as it is written: 'And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants: Behold my son, who went out of my seed, seeks my life; how much more so the son of Jemini?' (Ibid., 11) He greatly broke the attack of the avenger. How indeed could he avenge the curse of a stranger for the king's injury, when his own son's parricide remained unavenged? Not indeed as a curse from strangers, nor was it right to weigh the equal punishment of the parricide with a lance. And he added: Do not curse him; for the Lord said to him, until he sees my humility, and the Lord will repay me with good for evil. There is also another just proposal far more perfect and powerful, to intervene for persecutors and excuse sinners: which we read in the Gospel, with the Lord Jesus saying when he was crucified by the unfaithful: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.


Therefore, it is clear from these teachings of heavenly doctrine that a righteous person would prefer to accuse himself rather than defame another. Finally, it is written about Joseph, to whom Mary, the mother of the Lord, was betrothed, that when he saw her with child, being a righteous man, he did not want to expose her (Matthew 1:19); and certainly he had not yet heard any oracle. Thus, not only is a righteous person removed from the cruelty of vengeance, but also from the severity of accusation: and he considers his own forgiveness to be accused of not reporting, rather than to press a foreign crime. But you will say: How did David himself say, 'The righteous will rejoice when he sees the punishment of the wicked' (Psalm 57:11)? It seems to me that he rejoices because he himself has escaped, not because the wicked are punished. Let us seek another purpose of the righteous from what follows.

25. (Verse 54.) Therefore he says: Your justifications were delightful to me in the place of my pilgrimage. With good reason they were not broken by wanderings, they avoided the arrogant, and they were not moved by their prosperous successes. He consoled himself in heavenly judgments, he was troubled by others' sins; because he had delightful justifications of God. For what we hold well, we are accustomed to sing; and what is sung, adheres better to our senses. Let us not pass over in a cursory manner the things we read, so that then, when we read them, we seem to return to their memory; but even when the book is absent from our hands, like living creatures that are proven and considered clean by the Law, even when they are not feeding, they are accustomed to ruminate, bringing forth food hidden within themselves: so too, let us bring forth spiritual sustenance by ruminating on the treasury of our memory and our innermost selves. Let hymns be for us, let songs be for us, let the psalms be our justifications of the Lord. Let us sing with the spirit, let us sing with the mind; lest if we forget, let it be said to each one of us in the time of need: You have rejected my words after you (Ps. 49:17).

Therefore, in order to drive out and eliminate forgetfulness from his holy house, Solomon made true singers for himself, who with their whole spirit would devote themselves to the searching knowledge of divinity; lest the wicked spirit be driven away by the singing of his Church, of which he learned the example of David the saint, by whose singing that evil spirit was cast out, which afflicted the heart of King Saul. The prophets also commanded skilled singers to sing, so that the grace of the Holy Spirit might be infused with sweet delight. (2 Kings 3:14). And in the Gospel, we read that the prodigal son heard music playing in his father's house, which brought joy to the faithful but irritated the unfaithful. (Luke 15:28). Therefore, sweet is the melody that does not weaken the body but strengthens the mind and soul. Therefore, the song is called the Testament of the Lord, because we sing the forgiveness of all sins and the righteousness of the Lord in the Scriptures of the Gospel with the sweet exultation of the mind. The Lord Himself also did not hesitate to say: We have sung to you, and you did not dance (Luke 7:32). He sang to us in the Gospel the forgiveness of sins: the Jews should have raised their minds not with theatrical bodily movement, but with the Holy Spirit. They did not do so, therefore they are reproved.


27. But even the dancing of the body is considered praiseworthy in honor of God. In fact, David danced before the Ark of the Lord and Michal, the daughter of Saul, saw him dancing and playing musical instruments in the presence of the Lord. After he returned home, she said to him, 'How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today! He has exposed himself in the sight of the maidservants of his servants, as one of the rabble might shamelessly expose himself!' David said to Michal in the presence of the Lord, 'It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel and Judah. I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.' And Michal, he said, had no son to the daughter of Saul until the day of his death (2 Samuel 6:20 et seq.). It is a clear example, therefore, that even the Prophet who played on the musical instruments and danced before the Ark of the Lord, was justified; and she who criticized him was condemned to barrenness.

28. But it is not enough for someone to have the justifications of God, unless they strip themselves of the earthly servitude of anxieties. Therefore, it is added: In the place of my pilgrimage (Psalm 38:13). It is fitting; for elsewhere it says: I am a stranger in this land (Ephesians 2:19). Hence, the Apostle does not want us to be strangers and foreigners in the house of God and in the calling of faith, but citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. For whoever is a servant of God is an exile from the world; whoever lives in heavenly things is a stranger to earthly things. The Hebrews wandered in this world, not sensing the nature of the fire: they had the songs of God's justice, as they sang a hymn to God in praise of His creatures.

Then he who sings, is empty, and he banishes the worries of various thoughts, and separates himself from greed, and not only soothes himself with the voice of his body, but also with the liveliness of his mind. For the same Prophet sang not as if sad with the worry of poverty, but as if free from all bodily passions: I will sing to you, O God, on the harp, O Holy Israel. My lips will rejoice when I sing to you; and my soul, which you have redeemed. (Psalm 70:22-23). Haeclaetus sang joyfully, as if he were being fed by these better meals. For the soul feasted on the nourishment of devout piety. Therefore, not only hymns and psalms, but also the precepts of the Law are meant to be sung by the holy. Indeed, Moses, who received the Law, sang while he crossed the sea on foot, proclaiming the righteous acts of the Lord as the leader of the saved people.

30. (Verse 55.) There remains yet another excellent purpose of the righteous man, that he should always be attentive to the praises of God, not only during the day but also at night. And so he added: I have remembered your name, O Lord, in the night, and I have kept your law. Let us see if he also remembers, who calls the Lord by word, but does not keep the divine commandments. It has been said enough concerning this, that not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will be accepted by Christ, but rather he who has been able to prove his faithful disposition by good works (Matthew 7:21). Therefore, faith, honesty, and innocence prove one's memory. And as he says: I have been mindful of your name, it is complete devotion; for no one can say 'Lord Jesus' except in the Holy Spirit. Let this name be invoked day and night, so that no time for prayer allows sacred devotion to pass by in vain.

31. Therefore, if students indulge too little in secular studies, how much more should they who desire to know God not be hindered by bodily sleep, except as much as is necessary for nature? David wet his bed with tears every night; he would even rise in the middle of the night to praise the Lord. And do you think the whole night should be assigned to sleep? Then the Lord must be prayed to more, then help must be sought, sin must be avoided, when it seems that solitude is obtained; especially then when darkness surrounds me and walls cover me, considering that the Lord sees all hidden things. So you say: I am surrounded by darkness, who sees me? And whom do I fear, enclosed by walls? Because the face of the Lord is upon those who do evil (Psalms 34:16). Then if you do not see the judge, do you not see yourself? Are you not afraid of the testimony of your conscience? Do you not know that this darkness of night is not a covering, but an incentive to sin? When bodies are consumed by sleep and food, even the strength of the mind is relaxed by sleep, dissolved by sleep: then impure desire creeps in, then the heart is disturbed, the stain of uncleanness is not seen, the purity of chastity is not considered, the glory of modesty is not recognized. It was night when Judas betrayed, when Peter denied.

Therefore, especially during that time, the justifications of God should be repeated in the mind, and the exhortations should be set aside. Let those precepts about chastity not be absent: with the mind occupied by these, one may quench the flame of desire and dampen the ardor of the flesh. Keep this in mind: I will wash my bed every night (Psalm 6:7). For who, devoted to debauchery, wrapped in vice, washes his bed every night? He who commits things to be wept over does not know how to weep; and although he himself is to be lamented, he does not have tears for his own punishment. But he who disciplines his body and is a vigilant governor of himself, and groaning and sorrowing seeks how he may wash away the offense of his previous lapse with tears of penitence, he washes his bed every night. Let us not therefore sleep through the entire night: but let us dedicate the majority of them to reading and prayers.

33. Listen to the voice of the Church seeking Christ even in the nights. In my bed, she said, I sought in the nights the one whom my soul loves (Song of Songs 3:1). Take it according to the letter. She sought in the nights by praying, by begging, even by shedding tears. She sought in the nights, because she made darkness her hiding place, so that we might seek him more earnestly. Therefore, the Church gathered from the nations sought in the prophets, and for this reason believed. Finally, the coming of the Lord the witnesses of the prophets and the evangelists Paul have set. Hence it is written: For night reveals knowledge to night (Ps. XVIII, 3). He sought in the nights, in persecutions and adversities, in tribulations and harsh labors. Night is for all those who do not have perfect security; therefore the Lord says: The night is coming when no one can work (John IX, 4); while I am in this world, I am the light of this world. Therefore let us not work in darkness. For if our works shine, we do not work in darkness, but in light. There are days when Christ is present: there are nights when He denies Himself.

34. Therefore, it is not great if you then give thanks to the Lord when you are in prosperity and success: but if you then adhere to Christ when you are being persecuted, when some storm disturbs you. Have you lost a son? In that sorrow, in that night, in that destitution, remember the Lord your God; so that you may not be ungrateful, as if not heard, and transgress in your affliction. Have you been driven into exile? Remember the Lord your God; so that you may not prefer patriotism that has been forbidden to you over love for God. Having lost one's own resources due to the power of a certain rich person, are you in need of financial aid? Remember the Lord your God, lest the night of poverty take you away from the affection of devotion. For this is the commandment of the Law, that you seek more in the night, when you are heard more by the Lord, and are able to say: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he answered me and set me in a broad place (Psalm 118:5).

35. But it is not enough to seek superficially for grace, but to insist and put effort into the task. Finally, whether it be the Church or the soul, which sought in the bed, sought in the nights, did not find at first; because perhaps it sought in the bed (Song of Songs 3:2-4): but afterwards, when it rose and went into the city (see that city to which the Lord, about to celebrate the Passover, sent his disciples saying (Matthew 26:18): Go into the city to a certain person), afterwards, as I said, it sought in the market, it found the one it loved, where oil is sold, which they used to buy while waiting for the Bridegroom (Matthew 25:9), where justice, where laws. If the law is spiritual, and the forum is indeed spiritual, where the experts of eternal law debate. That forum is not tumultuous with lawsuits, but glorious with the tribunals of Christ. Where did he seek, you may ask? In the forum: and after he sought in the streets, from which those who were invited to the banquet of the Evangelical fathers were gathered, who did not think it necessary to excuse themselves from such feasts (Luke 14:21). After he sought in the forum and in the streets, he encountered those who go around the city (Song of Solomon 3:3): and only then could he find what he sought, perhaps because in adversity and fear he finds grace more readily. Finally, in the latter passage it says: 'They found me, who go around the city... they took away my cloak' (Song of Songs 5:7). So there was a struggle; but how they did not take away the cloak above, I am struggling to find out, unless it is because she said there: 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?' (Song of Songs 3:3). She, who was speaking about Christ, did not take off her cloak, and she found the one whom she was seeking.

36. Learn how Christ is sought. Certainly by those who do not seek superficially, but hold on forcefully, just as it says: I held him, and I did not let him go (Ibid., 4), he finds faith, he is compelled by meditation. If we accept good guardians, they are certainly angels. Therefore, whoever has passed through the angels, finds the Word; therefore, there was not much distance when he passed through them and found Jesus. So how then did they take his garment below, unless perhaps because the Church, oppressed by the progress of faith, while being stripped, is loved more by the Lord, abandoning the old man and putting on the new man, which is not covered by clothing, but the secrets of the mind are made clear; or perhaps because she put aside the garment of secular wisdom that is to come to Christ? And Noah took off the cloak after he began to be more perfect.

37. (Verse 56.) Therefore, let us be mindful of the heavenly justifications, so that while we sing them with the secret voice of the mind, we may be mindful in the night of the name of the Lord, and say, as it is written: This has been done to me; for I have sought your justifications; that is, this memory has been made to me, so that I may be mindful even in the night of your name, not being put to sleep by drunkenness, not being dissolved in feasts into sleep, not being occupied by worldly cares; so that forgetfulness of your veneration does not creep upon me: but by daily meditation, chastening the limbs, and exercising the intention of the mind, let this solemn course be made to us by assiduity; so that we may worship the Lord Jesus also in the nights with our whole affection, to whom be glory, praise, perpetuity from ages, and now, and always, and forever and ever. Amen.

Sermon 8. Heth.

The eighth letter Heth, which in Latin is called 'pavor', usually means the fear of saints. Finally, fear fell upon Abraham when he offered a sacrifice full of spiritual mystery (Gen. XV, 12). David himself also says: 'I said in my fear: Every man is a liar' (Psal. CXV, 2). It signifies more the reverence of religion than the weakness of fear, although the fear itself may be holy according to God: For the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psal. CX, 10). Therefore, those who fear God are wise; and those who are wise are blessed. For blessed is he whom you instruct, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law (Psalm 94:12). Also, those who fear God are blessed, as the authority of the example exists, for Blessed are all who fear the Lord (Psalm 128:1). Thus, it is concluded that those who fear God are both wise and blessed. Therefore, the fear of the Lord is holy, for it is truly the terror of the saints.


Vers. 57. Finally, after this letter is sent, immediately the person of the righteous speaks, saying: My portion, O Lord: I have said to keep your law. Most codices have this verse, which is the first of the eighth letter, in the last place of the seventh letter: but according to the Hebrews, it is corrected and the Greek book of Psalms teaches us to join this verse to the eighth letter. Then the very order and number of the verses agree in such a way that the eighth letter begins from it.


Portion, he says, is mine, O Lord. How rare on earth is one who can say: My portion is the Lord; how separate from vices, how removed from all the stain of sin, who claims nothing in common with the world, who does not desire the possessions of the flesh, whom lust does not inflame, greed does not provoke, sensuality does not weaken, indulgence does not taint, ambition does not afflict, envy does not torment, and who is not preoccupied with worldly affairs, a true minister of the altar, born for God, not for himself.


For Levi, as the interpretation signifies, signifies himself assumed by me, signifies also himself mine, signifies also assumed only, signifies also assumed by me. Himself is both to me Levi, and to God; how is he both to me a priest, and to God? and to me an advocate and a supplicant to the Lord: offering sacrifice for me, and also offering himself to the Lord. Finally, elsewhere Levi is called an interpretation, for me. Indeed, if he is named Levi by me, he is for me: if he offers on behalf of me, he is for me: if he intervenes on behalf of me, he is for me. But if he is called by the Lord, he is called to me, that is, not subject to others, not a tither, not generous with possessions: he is called to me, that is, as abundant for all these things, I do not seek tithes from him, nor fruits, nor gifts, nor presents, he himself is a gift to me, he is a tribute to me: not generous with his possessions to me, but he himself is my possession, he himself is my fruit, he himself is my census taken by me, or taken by him. This cannot be without divine grace. Just as possession cannot be mine unless I buy it, so Levi cannot be unless he is assumed by the Lord; for when he is assumed, it is rightly said that he is mine. Finally, when it was said to Moses to divide the inhabitations of the Jewish people into individual tribes, and to distribute a portion to each tribe, God exempted the tribe of Levi, saying: The sons of Levi shall have no portion or inheritance among their brethren; for the Lord God is their portion (Deut. X, 9). And elsewhere: I am the Lord, their portion (Num. XVIII, 20).

5. The earthly division of these things is denied: so that they, while not claiming a worldly portion for themselves, may become a heavenly possession; or let them know only to possess this, that is, the service of faith and devotion; much richer than those who spread out the wide spaces of their possessions. However much they may extend their boundaries, the earth fails and the sea contains insane desires, and they pay greater taxes than the fruits are. But truly, this person possessing nothing, serves no one but God, his portion is above the earth, he is not limited by the earth, he is not enclosed by the sea. To whom belongs the portion of God, possessor of all nature. For in the fields, he himself is sufficient, having good fruit, which can never perish: for in houses, the habitation of the Lord is sufficient for him, and the temple of God, than which nothing can be more precious. For what is more precious than God? Or what is lacking to a man who can say: May I not glory, but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world? (Galatians VI, 4) The ruler of this world cannot claim ownership in which he finds nothing of his own.

6. Therefore, the Lord, who came to teach us so that we might become a part of God, said: 'The prince of this world is coming, and he will find nothing in me' (John 14:30). And desiring us to be imitators of himself, he said: 'Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money' (Matthew 10:9). Hence Peter, showing that his portion is in God, not in the world, said: 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk' (Acts 3:6). This is my portion, this is my inheritance. Christ is my portion. In the name, therefore, of Christ Jesus, arise and walk; that is, in my portion I am rich, in my portion I am mighty: by merit do I presume such fruits of this portion, that salvation and life may be granted: for this is the heritage of the portion which I have chosen for myself. He said this, being lame, and the one who was lame from his mother's womb arose. Therefore, how could Peter feel the losses of his portion, who was repairing the losses of nature?


7. Why do you not have silver and gold, Peter, tell us: tell also what it is that you say you have, since you said you have left everything you had. For thus you spoke to the Lord: Behold, we have left everything, and have followed you (Matthew 19:27), that is, we have not sought the things of this world, we have not sought a share of possessions: but we have chosen you as our portion. Therefore, Peter, you have left everything you had before; where do you have what you say you have? A lame man rises up, and is lifted by the sound of your voice. You give health to others, who yourself needed the help of your salvation. Therefore, you have left what you had, and you have taken what you did not have. Christ is your portion, Christ is your possession. His name is abundant to you, His name is fruitful to you, His name bestows gifts upon you, and the gifts are not of money, but of grace. Your portion is not dried by drought, not diluted by rain, not burned by cold, not shaken by storms. Let the sun not burn you by day, nor the moon by night. Keep the portion you have chosen; it is a portion that earthly parts cannot equal. For what can be compared to those things of which God says: 'And I will dwell in them' (Leviticus 26:12)? What is more magnificent than heavenly hospitality? What is more blessed than divine possession? And He says, 'I will walk among them' (2 Corinthians 6:16). Others complain about the narrowness of their own land: for you, God is a spacious possession, in whom He says He walks, that is, finding wide spaces of habitation, who enclosed the earth in His hand; for it is written: 'Who has measured the waters with His hand, and marked off the heavens with His palm, and enclosed the entire earth in His hand' (Isaiah 40:12)? To whom the world is narrow, to him you are a spacious house. 'You are my portion,' says the Lord. This is what the martyr says. Therefore let us live, to whom death is glorious. In other words, how well Paul said this, showing that he has no share in this world! For it is written: Until this hour we hunger and thirst, we are naked, and beaten with fists, and unstable, and work with our own hands. We are cursed, and we bless; we endure persecution, and we bear; we are blasphemed, and we entreat. We have become as the refuse of this world, the off-scouring of all until now (1 Corinthians 4:11-13).

Perhaps it may move them that he said he was rubbish. He is not. But this seems to be to those who think that the highest glory or beauty is in wealth. Do not those people think that all who serve them for the sake of riches are rubbish and admire them for their wealth, fear them for their power, and praise them for their nobility? But Paul considered all these things to be more disadvantages than advantages. Therefore, he says: What were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). He thinks: This is not my opinion, but another's. For often that poor man is judged worthy of ridicule and hatred because of the filth of his clothing or the scars of wounds; because he possesses no portion of land; and yet his portion is in heaven. His soul has placed its inheritance there, because he heard Jesus saying: Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth... but store up treasures for yourselves in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).


9. But the rich cannot hear this. They have closed ears, and they are deaf to the sound of the air: a coin resonates with them more than divine words. Finally, a certain rich man approached the Lord, who did not have the Lord as his portion. For he had many possessions: but the Lord is not counted among many, for he does not deign to have fellowship with the world. What portion of justice is there with iniquity? Therefore, this rich man says: What must I do to possess eternal life? (Luke XVIII, 18)? The Lord responded to him: Do you know the commandments? You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not bear false witness (Ibid., 20-21), showing that eternal life is in these commandments. But the man, wanting to justify himself, said: I have done all these things, what remains for me? To this the Lord said, wanting him to become a disciple of the Lord, not money, not possessions, but the true God: If you want to be perfect, go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me (Ibid., 22). But he, whose portion was gold and silver, without which he could not exist, and with which the Lord could not be his portion, was saddened. Whereupon the Lord pronounced it impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, except through divine grace alone, which is able to make possible what is impossible through human desires.

10. He also says: Whoever leaves father or mother, house, or brothers, or sisters... will receive a hundredfold in this age, and possess eternal life (Matthew XIX, 29). But perhaps you will say: Certainly, the one who, by leaving his home (by home, understand all his possessions), has followed God, has a share of the Lord, and the Lord has a share in him; he also has eternal life; and because he receives a hundredfold in this age, he becomes rich, you will say, and enters the kingdom of heaven. Then if the Lord gives a hundredfold of what they are accustomed to receiving as a simple impediment to the perception of eternal inheritance: therefore, he gives a hundred possessions for one possession, a hundred pounds of gold for one pound.

Indeed, we know that many in this world who have given their possessions to the poor have been enriched with a more abundant treasure. And it is a beautiful place, that even stirs up compassion. But they should not demand a worldly reward of this kind from the Lord, nor hope for what belongs to the world. Rather, because they have left everything behind, God is their portion. He is truly the perfect reward of virtues, who is considered not by the enumeration of a hundredfold, but by the estimation of perfect fullness. I am your God, he says (Gen. XVII, 1). He did not say, 'I will be,' but 'I already am, I already dwell, I already possess.' He removes delay when he finds the confession of the just. Indeed, elsewhere he says, 'Today you will be with me in paradise' (Luke XXIII, 43). He promises the future, but what is future cannot be postponed by even a single day. Finally, he could have said, 'You will be with me in paradise,' but he added 'today,' so that grace would not be diminished by delay.


But not only does the Lord Jesus say to them, 'Today you will be with me in paradise'; but He also says to you, 'You will be with me in paradise,' if you confess the Lord Jesus, if you ask for His patronage, if you yourself say: 'Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your kingdom' (cf. Lk 23:42). He does not say to you, 'Today you will be with me': He says to the martyr, 'Today you will be with me in paradise.' He does not say this to you because you are still in this feverish body, in this desiring body, in this still earthly desiring body. But when you can say: 'You have broken my bonds' (Ps 116:16), that is, you have completed the course of this mortal life, you have delivered me from this deathly body, then He says to you: 'Today you will be with me in paradise.'


Therefore, human, you have among many things even this portion. The Lord has proposed to you possessions in a portion, gold in a portion, silver in a portion, honors in a portion, nobility in a portion; He has also proposed Himself in a portion. You have very many portions, choose which you think. Let not number disturb you, but let grace excite you; let not labor turn you away, but let fruit invite you. In the divine portion there are groans and labors. And so the holy Apostle, to whom God allotted a share, says: We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him (Rom. 8:17). You see that where the inheritance of Christ is, there ought to be compassion. But whoever suffers, does not suffer superficially, but rather fills up the afflictions of Christ in his own body, as both Paul and Jeremiah filled up. For Jeremiah said under this very letter: It is the mercy of the Lord that we have not been consumed; for his mercies are not yet exhausted; he will renew them like the morning light (Coloss. 1:24). My groanings are many, and my heart is faint. My lot is the Lord, I said; therefore I will hope in him (Lamentations 3:22-24). So, whoever relies on the Lord, has the Lord as their portion. Therefore, David also declares in this place that he has made the Lord his portion, saying: I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me (Psalm 40:1).

14. How rare it is for someone to claim this for themselves: it is not claimed by nobility, nor by wealth. Finally even that rich king said, 'Indeed, I too am a mortal human, like everyone else, and from the earthly race of him who came before, and in the womb of my mother I was formed as flesh: for ten months I was coagulated in blood, from the seed of man, and through the pleasure of sleep: and I, when born, inhaled the common air, and similarly fell onto the earth, and emitted the first cry, like everyone else, crying: I was nurtured in swaddling cloths, and with great cares.' And he added: For no king had a different beginning of birth. Therefore, the entrance into life is the same for all and the exit is similar. (Wis. VII, 1 and following). And because he saw that the beginning of birth is common, he considered himself a part of God, and he called upon him, and the spirit of wisdom came into him (Ibid., 7). But the luxurious choose another part, who say: Let us fill ourselves with precious wine and ointments, and let the flower of time not pass us by. Let us crown ourselves with roses, before they wither (Wisdom II, 7, 8). And below: For this is our portion, and this is our lot (Ibid., 9).

15. How great it is to despise riches: but how rare is this itself! Certainly Moses could have been the successor of the king, being nurtured by the king's daughter. Therefore, he could have been not only like Pharaoh, but even Pharaoh himself, and Pharaoh could have been like Moses; for both are human beings: but all human power lies in desire. Moses did not want to be a king, when he could: but he considered the reproach of Christ preferable to the treasures of Egypt: but by fleeing power, he became more powerful; for he became like a god to the king Pharaoh. The king was Pharaoh, but he was not a god: Moses became to him a god, that is, terrible to the king himself, whom the king would fear and dread. But this was the power of holiness. In the assembly of such gods, God stands and discerns. And if you want to be a god to sinners, a terror to kings, and a source of reverence to others; so that they may seem to be subject to you as to God, because you work in the name of God: despise the things of the world, and strive to prefer the reproach of the Lord's Passion to all riches. I say reproach, because it seems shameful to them, that is, a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Gentiles, but to us the power of God and wisdom. But Pharaoh, thinking this reproach, that is, poverty, ignobility, insults, preferred to be of the devil rather than a portion of God: and therefore he who did not want to be subject to God, made himself subject to the intervention of man. Therefore, because David was a portion of God, the holy prophet rightly says: I said to keep your law: he certainly speaks of the spiritual law, as Paul also shows. For those who interpret the Law corporally, do not keep the Law, but pervert it.

16. (Verse 58.) Let us come to the second verse, which is as follows: I will seek your face, O Lord, with all my heart; show me mercy according to your word. We read in the Old Testament that Moses prayed to see the face of God, and it was answered to him: No one can see my face and live (Exodus 33:20). Let us first understand this mystically. Moses received the figure of the Law: the Law announces Christ through hidden mysteries, but does not demonstrate him face to face, as the Gospel does. For in the very face He spoke face to face; although in the Gospel the man born of the Virgin appeared, yet the Word showed Himself through His works. And perhaps this was declared to Moses, that the Jewish people would die, and that they would see Christ face to face and not believe. And if you refer to the Law, Christ is also the end of the Law, according to the saying of the Apostle: For Christ is the end of the Law to everyone who believes (Rom. X, 4). And the interpretation of the Law in the flesh is dead, where the Lord Christ Jesus showed its spiritual grace. Or certainly because all of us who have seen Christ, and have been baptized in Christ, have died to sin; because while living, we were held by the bonds of the Law. But where we have died in Christ, we have certainly been crucified to the Law through the body of Christ; so that we may be of another who has risen from the dead. But this is a mystery.

However, the morale of ancient history reminds us that we should remember the story of Moses, who asked God to show Himself to him and to see Him face to face. The holy prophet of the Lord knew that a visible God cannot be seen face to face, but holy devotion transcends measure, and he thought that it was even possible for God to make the incorporeal be seen with bodily eyes and understood. This error is not reprehensible, but rather a pleasing and insatiable desire, because he desired to hold his Lord as if with his own hand and see him with the gaze of his eyes. He knew that man was made in the image and likeness of God. For when he was chosen by the Lord God to deliver the people, he was filled with the spirit of wisdom. He had seen that angel and his face in glory. Finally, in the shining light of that angel, he was struck with awe and saw the burning bush, which was not consumed. He began to see a vision and was amazed at the brightness: he was drawn by desire and grace to examine that brightness more closely in the bush. Therefore, when he experienced such great ardor, he felt such great desire, when he saw an angel in the flame of the fire from the bush, that although he was seized with fear, he dared not examine it, but he still desired to examine it: how much more did he desire to see the face of the Lord in a physical form, saying within himself, that face full of light, full of glory, full of power, full of divinity. I am unable to say or understand anything about God; for when man has reached his perfection, he begins, and when he has come to an end, he will be at a loss, as it is written, for the eternal majesty of God is incomprehensible.

Indeed, the result of the request was in vain, but the probable effect on the slave was stirring; because, by progressing beyond his own nature through devotion, he estimated the measure of the Lord's angels, as much as he desired to fulfill his own desire by gazing upon the countenance of the Lord. He knew that there was another glory, another splendor for man after death. Just as one star is in brightness with another star, so too is the resurrection of the dead: which, although it is sown in corruption, will rise in incorruption, will rise in glory, will rise in power, will rise as a spiritual body. Therefore, whoever could know these things rightly presumed that he wished to see the face of God, which he would see after the death of the body. Certainly, he had received such a form, and the Lord approved it, so that he did not differ from the angels, the minister and executor of the heavenly oracle. And therefore, since he knew that the angels daily see the face of the Father who is in heaven, he thought that he should already see it, as if forgetting his body and putting aside his flesh, just as he who was still in the body, when he was caught up to paradise, whether in the body or out of the body, said that he did not know (II Cor. XII, 3). For even when the saints have the body, they are not in the flesh, but in the spirit; for those who are in carnal desire and behavior cannot please God. But the conversation of the saints was not in the flesh, but in heaven, as Paul shows (Philippians 3:20).

And what can we say about the probable desire for the divine countenance? Even men, when they hear of someone being noble, brave, or wise, desire to see them as if considering them to be above human. The emperor advances, to whom a part of the world has been entrusted with royal authority, and everyone comes running and eagerly desires to behold only him in such a great multitude, and they believe there is something more in the emperor's countenance than the brilliance of purple. Do you wonder if the face of God is desirable, when every human affection marvels at a reflection of itself? Hence it is understood that each person desires to be acquitted of any crime before the emperor. For even if there is a conscience of guilt, they hide it in the secret depths of their heart, as long as it is not enveloped in public accusation and there is no explicit mention of any crime. Finally, when someone has advocates for their case, they are prohibited from presenting themselves to the emperor and the judges: just as shameful persons, such as pimps and prostitutes, are kept away from the sight of either judge or emperor, so as not to taint the radiance of the royal countenance. But he who is well conscious of himself, guilty of no crime, appears in public as if innocent.

20. Therefore, from these things, let us understand the sentiment of holy Moses. He desired to see the face of God as if innocent, as if with a certain face of conscience: he desired to open the face of his inner mind and to know more fully. And Moses himself, and the holy David, who elsewhere says: Examine me, O Lord, and test me (Psalm 25:2). For he would not want to be examined if he recognized a fault in himself: nor to be tested, if he knew himself subject to serious passions. Therefore, being free from sin, he eagerly offered himself to God. But perhaps because the world had not yet been tainted with more frequent visitations of God, it was not perfect in the beginning, as it had just been said a little before: Take off the sandals from your feet (Exodus 3:5); certainly that sandal which he had taken from Egypt, that is, the covering of earthly conversation; therefore, the Lord says to him: No one shall see my face and live.

21. But when this was said, consider. It had not yet been said: I will make you a god to Pharaoh (Exodus VII, 1). He was still a man, and therefore it was said to him: a process was necessary for him to become a god; and therefore it was said to him: I have said to you, stop having the sins of man, and you will see my face. For whoever sees my face must be without sin. But because man cannot be without sin, he is warned in order to be able to grow into the name of god. And what shall I say about the appellation of God? Let it be angel, that is, the divine minister of authority, obeying the commands of the Lord. When you are an angel, you will see the face of the Lord. It is a great thing to see the face of God. The law tells you to present yourself three times in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus himself says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Tell me what is required of you to see God; what is the purpose of life that grants the privilege of seeing God? Therefore, cleanse your heart so that you may be created anew with a renewed spirit. Cast out all polluted thoughts from your heart, let nothing defile your affections: let your mind be simple, let purity be your sincerity. When they have taken off the veil of the body, the Lord deigns to reveal Himself to such individuals.

22. Now let us speak about the remaining part of the verse. 'Have mercy on me,' he says, 'according to thy word.' Mercy is indeed a portion of justice; for if you desire to give to the poor, this mercy is justice, according to that: 'He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever' (Psalm 111:9). Furthermore, it is unjust that your fellow man should not be helped; especially since our Lord God has willed this land to be a possession common to all men, and to provide fruits for all: but greed distributes the rights of possessions. Therefore, it is just that if you claim something as private for yourself, which has been shared in common with the human race, indeed with all living creatures, you should at least sprinkle something from it onto the poor, so that you do not deprive those to whom you owe a share of your rights of sustenance.

23. It is also an act of mercy to forgive sin: it is both an act of mercy and an act of justice. In fact, Scripture attributes the forgiveness of sins to divine justice, as it was read today: Blessed is the tree that is made through justice, but cursed is the tree that is made by the hands of men (Wisdom 14:7-8). The passage refers to the cross of the Lord, which is connected to the worship of idols by the Gentiles. However, the justice of the cross is that the Lord Jesus Christ, by ascending that scaffold, crucified the handwriting of our sins and cleansed the sin of the whole world with his own blood. Therefore, in whom is God just, unless in Him who knew that He fashioned man from the clay of the earth, which earth is certainly subject to corruption and the fault of slippery passion? Therefore, the Lord, who made you according to His own image and likeness, that is, rational, just, and modest (for in Him you are in the image of God if you are just, so that you may be the image of justice; if you are chaste, so that the figure of the immaculate may shine forth in you), knowing that man, by the frailty of the body, is subject to corruption, as a just one, He forgave the sins of the frail and slippery nature.


24. And so that someone may not say: Why then did Adam fall under the curse and sentence? Is God unjust? Not at all. But because He prescribed what should be avoided for someone who is as if fragile and weak (for the weak should not use, but obey commands), therefore He held the transgression more accountable than the falling. Therefore, a just judgment was passed on him; because He wanted him to know what he was not able to know. But we, who are bound by the inherited bond, who are in this flesh, which could not emerge from the prej

25. Therefore, there is just mercy, but there is also unjust mercy (23, question 4, chapter It is unjust). Finally, in the Law, it is written about someone: You shall not show pity for him (Deuteronomy 19:13). And in the books of the Kings of the Law, it is said that Saul incurred an offense because he showed mercy to Agag, the king of the enemy, whom divine judgment had commanded to be killed (1 Samuel 15:9). So, if someone, moved by the pleas of robbers and swayed by the tears of his wife, thinks he should be acquitted, even though he still desires to commit robbery, will he not deliver the innocent to destruction, while sparing the one who thinks of bringing destruction to many? Certainly, if he restrains the sword, he loosens the shackles, he releases from exile? Why does he not take away the opportunity for robbery through a more merciful way, he who could not extort the will? Then, between the two, that is, the accuser and the defendant, deciding on equal danger of death, if he did not prove the one, if the other is convicted by the accuser, the judge does not follow what is just, but while pitying the accused, condemns the one proving; or while favoring the accuser, who cannot prove, he assigns the innocent. Therefore, this cannot be called just mercy.

26. In the very Church, where it is most fitting for mercy to be shown, the form of justice must be upheld to the greatest extent possible; lest anyone, abstaining from communion for a short time, and with ready tears, or even with more abundant weeping, should force the priest to grant communion at many times, by means of facility. Moreover, does he not also grant indulgence to the unworthy, and cause many to be tempted by the contagion of backsliding? For the facility of pardon provides an incentive for wrongdoing. This is said so that we may know that mercy must be dispensed to debtors according to the word of God and according to reason. Even the doctor, if he finds a scar on the inside of a serpent's wound, when he should cut away the defect of the ulcer so that it does not spread further, still, moved by the tears of the sick person, he covers with medicine what should have been opened by a knife: is not this useless mercy, if because of the brief pain of the incision or cauterization, the entire body decays and the use of life is lost? Therefore, the priest, like a good doctor, must cut off and expose the serious wound so that it does not spread further throughout the body of the Church, and not nurture the virus of crime that was hidden; lest, thinking that one must not be excluded, he make more worthy ones who should be excluded from the Church.

27. Therefore, the Apostle urges us by divine example, saying: See therefore the goodness and severity of God: on those indeed who have fallen, severity; but on you, goodness, if you remain in goodness (Rom. 11:22), showing that the Jewish people are rightly separated from the body of the Church so that the virus of unbelief does not contaminate the Church; but the people of the nations, received by the goodness of the Lord, glory in the gift of obedience. Therefore, divine goodness supports him as long as he remains in divine goodness. But if he himself falls away, he will be condemned according to the quality of his crime. By this grace, the Lord is described as both light and fire, so that he may shine as a light to those who walk in darkness; that the one who seeks the clarity of light may not wander any longer. However, for the one who has done many things that should not endure but burn, the Lord is fire; so that he may consume the hay and stubble of our works, and make us safe through loss, just as gold is tested more when it is refined.


Perhaps someone may ask by what reason did the Prophet write: Have mercy on me according to your word? For the word of God is righteousness. If, therefore, he relied on righteousness, why did he precede mercy? Or if he sought mercy, why did he consider it necessary to seek it in accordance with justice? For he who does good and lives well has no need of mercy; for mercy frees from sin. In conclusion, mercy is not accustomed to be bestowed by us on the rich, the powerful, and those supported by good fortune, but on the needy, the weak, and those who have fallen from wealth into poverty, captivity, or some other necessity. Therefore, he who needs mercy is a sinner; but he who is not a sinner is certainly just, and does not need the mercy of God.

29. Therefore, each person must be considered according to their circumstances, that is, according to the state in which they need mercy or possess justice. For justice is necessary for an angel in a different way than for a human. Mercy is necessary for an archangel in a different way than for a human. For the nature of angels is not subject to corruption in the same way as the nature of the human race; and therefore an angel requires God's mercy so that they cannot err and, turning away from God's grace, fall into vice. However, even though a human being may have a more steadfast resolve, they still seek the mercy of God because of the series of sins they have contracted. Therefore, even though both the angel and man are in need of God's mercy, mercy is owed to the angel in a different way than to man; for a slight fault is judged more severely in an angel. Likewise, the sin of youth in man is bound by a milder sentence compared to the sin of old age, and is relaxed more quickly.

Therefore, the prophet in this verse divides the causes, as if a man were to ask for mercy, because no one is without the stain of sin; and as if a prophet were to ask for justice; or certainly, because even though he has sinned like a man, and like a sinner he needs mercy; nevertheless, he corrected his error, performed repentance, abstained from the wrongdoing of drunkenness, and pursued the virtue of sobriety. Therefore, he asks for justice according to the word of God, because it is the judgment of the word of God that forgiveness be given to those who have turned back; if, however, the conversion has been done legitimately (Ezekiel 18:21 and 33:12).


31. (Verse 59.) I have considered my ways, and turned my feet to your testimonies. Dual sense: either because I have thought about my higher ways, full of slips and sins, and therefore, that I may be able to merit the forgiveness of sins by the conversion of morals and the pursuit of virtues. I have turned my feet to your testimonies, so that I may no longer walk in the same steps in which I have previously stumbled, but in the paths of your testimonies, where your commandments would not allow me to wander, nor would I veer off the path into crooked and winding ways. For frequently, those who are ignorant of the way, if they follow the paved roads, arrive where they desire to arrive, and are without the detour of error. But if they pretend to know what they do not know, and think that some shortcuts must be followed, frequently deviating from the public path, they often incur the mazes of error; so that they repent of having diverted from the path: and therefore, after many labors and expenses, they strive to return to the journey which they had abandoned.


Therefore, here is one understanding, and another one like this: I have considered my ways, not only past ones, but also future ones; so that I might anticipate my actions with my thoughts, lest in the unconsidered progress of operation, I might fall into some offense in the very thoughts themselves: so that if I want to do something, I think beforehand whether that which I desire should be done, or in what way it should be done; likewise, if I want to speak to someone, whether I should speak to them; then, whether publicly or privately to speak, with some present, or none at all; just as this is, that if you want to correct a brother, you first correct him alone, secondly with two or three witnesses present, thirdly if he does not listen, before the Church. Therefore, if, disregarding order, you wish to rebuke a brother before the Church, whom you should have warned beforehand, you yourself recognize the mistake. Therefore, consider everything carefully, so that you do not regret your actions. But if you enter a road, when you come to a crossroads (for it is thus called, like a gathering of many roads), if you do not know which path you should take, you stand and contemplate within yourself whether you should choose the first, or the second, or the third, or the fourth, or certainly the fifth, if it is so, path to follow; and you do not think that you should begin the journey before you have determined in your mind and made a decision with a fuller intention of the mind. Therefore, while standing, considering what the way is, that leads into the city, towards which you think you must go. So, therefore, you must stand firm in mind and thought, you who strive for the heavenly kingdom, and consider with yourself that not every way leads there, not every way directs to that Jerusalem which is in heaven! (Prov. XIV, 12)!

There are paths that have evil outcomes, which the temptations of the devil have worn away; and thus their outcomes are the outcomes of death. These, indeed, are the paths of which you have read in Proverbs: For there are paths that seem to be straight to a man, and their ends look towards the depths of hell (Matthew 5:28). But there is a narrower path that leads to the kingdom of God. Therefore, if you desire to enter that path which leads to God, you will not look around, you will not involve yourself with yourself, you will not deliberate; lest you be easily captured by desire, if enticed by the width of the path, you should enter upon a journey that leads to hell. Therefore, think before, and consider what you are doing.

34. Whoever looks, he says, at a woman to desire her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart. This person certainly thought in order to see the woman, in order to see her for the purpose of desiring her; but let this evil thought abandon its ways. Another person did not think indeed, but suddenly looked, and was captivated, and saw, and desired, and therefore fell. But if he had considered his weak nature, and had feared beforehand that when he saw a woman, he would be captivated in his mind and heart; certainly he would not have looked at the woman, lest he desire her. Therefore, seeing that the woman did not direct her foot to the testimonies of the Lord, if she had been able to consider before her fall, perhaps she would have directed it. Therefore, let each one first consider how he sees the woman; so that he does not see her for the purpose of lusting after her, or does not pay attention to her. However, if, seeing her suddenly, or being based on good thoughts, he directs his foot to the testimonies of the Lord, he will not remain in captivity: surely that thought was beneficial to him. Finally, let the one who loves a woman, desires her, and cherishes her, consider Christ, his judgment, his testimonies about the rewards of chastity, and let him forsake the paths of desire, and follow the ways of Christ: he will receive praise in them, if he contemplates the Lord Jesus, he despises the burning of the flesh, and extinguishes the flame of lust as if from a certain fountain, he strikes the tender and weak desires against the rock of Christ.

Therefore, let him first consider how he sees and how he speaks. It is well considered by one who said: 'Set, O Lord, a guard to my mouth' (Psalm 140:3), lest perhaps while the mind inflames the passion, the tongue slips in speech, or through reckless excessive talk, even what the mind did not think, it falls into the ease of speaking. Let him consider how he directs his foot, brings his hand forward, lest, driven by the force of anger, when he should repel an injury, he himself inflict a remarkable blow on the other. Therefore, we must consider what we do; for where thought precedes, maturity of action is applied. Thus, this foot is a trace of faith, which, pondered through meditation, turned away from bodily movements towards divine testimonies.

36. (Verse 60.) Therefore, the verse that follows teaches what benefit there is in thinking ahead about what you will do later: I am prepared, and I am not troubled, so that I may keep your commandments. When someone anticipates with thought what they are going to do, they are always ready to act, always determined and strong, so that they cannot be thrown off by sudden obstacles. No gusts of excessive ambition shake them, no storm or tempest of unfair attack dislodges them, they are not ensnared by the seductive gaze of a harlot; for the gaze of a harlot is the snare of a lover. In the possession of another person, one who is unexpectedly caught in fire loses possession of his own mind. If persecution arises, he finds it already prepared; so that where there may be disturbance of uncertain salvation, there the hoped-for crown of holy conflict may soothe with careful contemplation of future struggle. If he is frequently attacked by malicious detractors, let him consider that a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. If even the reproaches of the blasphemous assailants have fallen upon the Son of God, how can a servant hope to be exempt from their insults? Therefore, one should prepare their mind, so that when these things happen, they may not be disturbed. They should prepare their soul and compose it with meditation, so that they may be able to say, if they can: Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Trouble, or distress, or hunger? etc. (Rom. VIII, 35). And why should we not be separated, he added: But in all these things we are more than conquerors, he says, and we overcome because of him who loved us (Ibid., 37). And rightly confirmed, he says: For I am confident that neither death, nor life, nor angels... Neither powers, nor present things, nor future things can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus (Ibid., 38 and 39).

37. The Apostle has said many things against which we struggle, but some are easy, or certainly not for this time or place; so that we ought to discuss all those things which can separate us from the love of God, unless we resist diligently. Now we do not pass over what seems obscure, because he says: Neither height nor depth (Ibid., 39): which are weighty temptations. Finally, you have in Isaiah written to King Ahaz: Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord in the depth, or in the height. He replied, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord” (Is. 7:11-12). The mystery was proposed to him, but he did not understand, and he feared that he might appear to be testing the Lord if he asked for a sign from above or below. But the Lord, intending to replace serious tests with divine remedy, says, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb” (Is. 7:14). This is the great sign that destroyed tests of both height and depth. For the Lord Jesus did not consider himself to be equal to God, nor did he seek what was his own, but he took the form of a servant and humbled himself to the point of death. Therefore, he was neither exalted by power, nor disturbed by the agony of death. Therefore, this is the sign set before the king; that he may seek for himself a remedy, whereby he may neither be lifted up by the power of royalty, nor be disturbed by any exception of agony; as he was troubled in heart when he saw war being brought against him by the Assyrians. Therefore, we desire to demonstrate by the divine example of the oracle how weighty these trials were, to which only Christ could bring a remedy.

38. However, it is easy to teach a certain burden of these temptations in prophetic speech. For Saint Solomon declared these two great temptations in his own prayer and asked to be able to exclude them, saying: Do not give me riches or poverty, but give me what is necessary and what is abundant, so that I may not be filled with lies and say: Who sees me? Or that I may not snatch from the poor and profane the name of God. (Prov. 30:8-9). Can you then despise those trials that frightened Solomon, who sought and deserved wisdom? He was rich and feared being elevated; he feared becoming poor, lest the necessity of poverty would not hold the grace of abstinence. How many who seemed to be holy have fallen from the height of their own heart? How many, overcome by some necessity, could not bear an injury, despite having been strengthened by the exercise of virtues? Rarely is a man found on earth who has lost both his wealth and his children, and who is scarred with the wounds of his body, with worms flowing from his whole body, yet he could not be separated from the love of Christ. Therefore, let us control our emotions, so that an unexpected force does not disturb us unprepared. Finally, knowing that we are prone to be quickly broken, the Lord also said to the apostles: Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John XIV, 27). If desire and temptation should tempt you, read the Gospel, let Jesus Christ say to you: Let not your heart be troubled. If any terror should come upon you, Christ says to you: Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. If any persecutor inflicts any torments on you, read the Gospel, and let Jesus say to you: Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. Read the Apostle saying: For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come (Rom. VIII, 18). If, while you are sailing on the sea, a heavy wave rises up, and a black storm rages, let Jesus say to you: It is I, be not afraid (Mark VI, 50). Therefore, when coming into any great and serious contest, say first: I am ready, and I am not troubled, so that I may keep your commands.

And what should I say about worldly things? Be prepared not only for what you see, but also for what you do not see. Outwardly, there are battles; inwardly, there are fears (2 Corinthians 7:5). There is a war within yourself: it is good for your soul to be in tranquility and a certain serenity, but the better sailor is the one who guides the ship in a storm. Therefore, govern yourself when your soul is disturbed and your mind is wavering. I would praise the virtue of a captain who does not sense any storms and directs the course of the ship, unshaken by any tempest? But I would praise him even more who fights against the winds, rises against the waves, is not afraid either when the ship is lifted up by the waves or when it is brought down to the depths of the sea. In this way, the captain of his own ship is also to be praised, who overcomes adverse circumstances with patience, surpasses them with virtue, is not lifted up by favorable circumstances, and is not broken by unfavorable circumstances. You have a war against spiritual wickedness as well. Do you realize the magnitude of the battle you are facing? Therefore, contemplate and prepare yourself mentally, so that when you proceed into the fight, you may say: I am ready and not troubled; so that you may keep His commandments.

40. (Verse 61.) The fifth verse follows: The cords of the wicked have surrounded me, and I have not forgotten your law. This means that the sinners have surrounded me with cords, so that they could entangle my footsteps, making it impossible for me to avoid their attacks with quick anticipation. Therefore, those are not the cords that are written about: The cords have fallen to me in pleasant places (Psalm 16:6); for those are the cords that they use, who measure the boundaries of fields and distinguish the limits, and mark the boundaries of possessions. Therefore, those ropes are stretched out as far as each possession extends. Thus the rope of their inheritance was made for Israel. So these ropes are good. But those ropes by which sins are dragged, like a long rope, and like the strap of a yoke on a calf of iniquity. For the untamed calf boasts and shakes itself more, when it is held, it does not submit to authority, nor is it bound by a rope; but rather, when it is pulled back by the strap, it becomes aggravated. Therefore, it does not force itself to submit, nor is it truly free from the bonds. Just as, therefore, a young calf pulls the yoke's strap, which, although not held close; yet it is still held, and does not free itself and get away: so too does each sinner pull the injustices with his unruly habits, who thinks himself free; because he is not subject to the yoke, and submissive to judgement: and he does not know that he is not free, but rather like that young calf, he entangles himself in the knots of his own sins. These, therefore, are the ropes of our offenses, with which we are wrapped up and bound, just as they are also the chains of offenses. And therefore the Savior, who has the power to forgive sins, says to those who are in bondage: Go forth. I wish that He would also say to me: Go forth from your bondage: go forth from the chains of your sins: break the bonds of your error, with which you are surrounded and bound. For even though I am the most wicked of all, and the most detestable of sinners; by His command, I will be set free, who, in a single moment, delivered the condemned criminal from the punishment of robbery and established him in His kingdom.


41. Therefore, there are bonds by which we are bound, although we may appear free to ourselves. Blessed is the one who loosens these bonds for himself. And that is why David says: Let us break their bonds: and let us cast away their yoke from us (Psalm 2:3). He certainly does not say that visible bonds must be broken by hand, but rather that invisible bonds of sin must be loosened by a change of morals and a profession of faith: or by hand, that is, by the work of your hands. Give to the poor, lift up the weak, redeem captives; and you have loosened your own bonds. For almsgiving liberates from sin. Rescue him who is being led to death, that is, rescue him through intercession, rescue him through grace, you priest; or you emperor, rescue him through the granting of indulgence; and you will have loosed your sins, you have freed yourself from chains.

42. For each person is bound by the chains of their own sins, as you yourself have read: the allure of the flesh binds us with its chains (James 1:15). Greed is our chain, drunkenness is our chain, lust is our chain, pride is our chain. There are also chains of the devil. As it is written: this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years (Luke 13:16). The devil also binds us with the bond of crimes: he binds us with the bond of fornication, the bond of adultery, the bond of treachery by which Christ is denied, the bond of envy by which even our brothers are often desired, the bond of cruelty by which sometimes a companion is killed and made like. These are the chains by which each person is bound; so that he cannot lift up his soul, nor raise the gaze of his mind to heaven, unless the Lord says to him: You are released from your infirmity; and He elevates him with the gift of His blessing (Ibid., 12). These are the chains of the wicked that bind sinners harshly, that is, the devil and his ministers: or certainly it is Nemroth, that is, bitterness: or certainly it is Esau, that is, earthly and crafty. For these were hunters who were accustomed to capturing wild animals with snares and binding mute creatures with chains. Useless hunters who capture beasts that provide a spectacle for the entertainment of the public, a service to cruelty. Finally, we find no righteous hunters in the series of divine Scriptures.

43. But there are other bonds, as I said, of the Lord Jesus, whom they follow, says the prophet: 'They are bound with cords, that is, bound with the cords of love and charity, bound with the bonds of faith. It can be understood in this way: They follow Christ, bound with the bonds of sin and guilt, the source of forgiveness, the author of redemption. Let us therefore follow the bonds of Christ, let us flee the bonds of the hunters; lest while we walk, while we are ignorant, the snares of their nets catch the foot of our mind, nor let us attach the neck of our souls with their bonds.' For they lie in wait as if they were the most cunning hunters; and when we relax our minds and let go in the face of prosperous events, and do not keep our watchful guard, then they lay even more traps, or they hide them along the path on which we walk; so that when our feet become entangled in their snares, they drag us to our downfall in order to ambush the unsuspecting traveler, or they strangle the passing merchant with a noose around their neck.

44. Therefore, do not walk with a high neck, like the daughters of Judah; for a noose is quickly tied around high necks. Do not fix your mind and soul on worldly things: but look around carefully with the eyes of your soul, for the Lord rains snares upon sinners; lest they can bind you when falling: those whom you can avoid if you do not forget the law of the Lord. Indeed, even someone who is bound, if he is conscious of his freedom, does not cease to forget his freedom, and sometimes pleads his case from the chains, defending it with the prescription of the law, and is often acquitted by judgement. Therefore, if you sin, remember the law. If you sin, remember Christ, who liberates you, saying: I am, I am the one who blots out iniquities ..., and I will not remember [them] (Isaiah 43:25). In these days and nights, hold on to your confessions of sins.

45. (V. 62.) The Prophet teaches you how to hold on to the Lord Jesus. In the middle of the night, he says, I arose to give thanks to you, for your righteous judgments. It is not enough to pray during the day, one must rise in the night, and in the middle of the night. The Lord himself spent the entire night in prayer, in order to invite you by his own example to pray; and indeed, he was seeking forgiveness for your sins: he was seeking it from the Father, and he was working by his own will. The Prophet does not tell you to only rise in the middle of the night, but to rise at night, especially in the middle of the night. For he preceded by saying: I remembered your name, Lord, in the night (Psalm 55). Everyone can remember and not rise; everyone can rise and, when they have risen, ask for what they desire according to their own will. He added: At midnight I rose, teaching that one should rise at midnight. And it is not idle what he added: To confess to you, that is, to implore God at that time above all, and to mourn our own sins: not only to seek forgiveness for the past, but also to avoid the present, and to guard against the future; for many temptations arise during that time.

46. Then the allurements of the flesh grow strong: then the tempter deceives: food is cooked and drink is digested: the stomach is sickly, the mind is drowsy, the soul is preoccupied. Therefore, either the heat of sleep is increased for the one who is at rest, or the vigor, which can guard against the attacks of errors, is not yet renewed for the one who is wakeful. Thus, then, the tempter is present, then he casts his nets, with which he can disturb the unwary mind. Then spiritual wickednesses cast their darkness: then they strive to persuade every wicked thing, when there can be no judge of guilt, no conscious agent of crime, no witness of error. Then they pour forth various arguments to the sleeping sinner, in order to first throw down his resisting mindset, and an example is presented of some who are considered holy, that they too have sinned at some point, but afterwards obtained forgiveness and covered their past transgressions. For even though our enemy despises every change in us, nevertheless for the time being, in order to deceive a man of sober mind, he pretends that future pardon will be granted, in order to persuade him of present sins; and when he has persuaded someone to assent to error, if he sees that the person is no longer being drawn away from guilt by love of virtue but by the dread of punishment, he inserts various arguments, saying to himself: Who sees me? And darkness surrounds me, and walls ... whom I fear (Eccli. XXIII, 25 and 26)? The Most High does not see, our sins do not reach Him, He does not deem worthy to look at what is foul. We know this certainly by experience and example; for no one can be without temptation.

Therefore, just as this time is opportune for trials, so is it also a time for punishment, in which we can be taught by divine reading. For our Lord God, when he could have destroyed the firstborn of the Egyptians at any moment, did not do so in vain; yet he judged this time to be more suitable for the pain and mourning of the sinner. For it is written, 'At midnight the firstborn of the Egyptians were killed by the destroyer' (Exodus 12:29). And so, the holy prophet Moses, in order to anticipate this time and to pass over without any deceit from the Hebrews, sacrificed a lamb before the evening, that is, the Passover, so that those who ate it and celebrated the Lord's Passover would not be caught in the trap of the destroyer, lest the dark arrows of the spiritual food of the enemy oppress them defenseless and empty at night.

48. Attend to these things diligently, understand them prudently, seek them with care. These things are not said perfunctorily, but divine mysteries are revealed to you. Anticipate the snares of the tempter, restore the heavenly banquet first. Fasting has been proclaimed, be careful not to neglect it. And if daily hunger compels you to a meal, or intemperance leads you to break the fast; nevertheless, preserve yourself more for the heavenly banquet. Do not let prepared feasts draw you away, so that you may be empty of the heavenly sacrament. Stay a little longer, the end of the day is near: in fact, most days are like this, where you must immediately come to the Church at midday hours, singing hymns, celebrating offerings. Then be prepared to receive sustenance for yourself; to eat the body of the Lord Jesus, in which there is forgiveness of sins, a divine request for reconciliation, and eternal protection. Receive before the Lord Jesus the hospitality of your mind: where his body is, there Christ is. When your enemy sees that your haven is occupied by the celestial radiance of the divine presence, understanding that the place is cut off from his attempts through Christ, he will flee and depart: and you will pass through the middle of the night without any offense. It also reminds us of the evening sacrifice, so that you may never forget Christ. You cannot forget, when you go to bed, the Lord to whom you offered prayers at the close of the day, who filled you with the feasts of his body while you were hungry. Therefore, whatever you have resolved in the evening, quickly review it when you awaken. The Lord Jesus himself will awaken you: he will remind you to rise and at that time take up the weapons of prayer, with which the temptor is accustomed to attack.

49. Therefore, it was not in vain that the apostle Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, with their feet in stocks. Even in the middle of the night, they rose in spirit, prayed to the Lord, and offered a sacrifice of praise. And so, where the duty of devotion was not lacking, the remedy of absolution was also present. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, the gates were opened, and the chains of all were loosened. (Acts 16:25-26). Do you hear how, if you were bound, with what hands, with what works you would free yourself, how you cannot estimate how to guard against it? Therefore, rise up for praying. It is that hour when the tempter is accustomed to harm, and wickedness is accustomed to rush in. It is that hour when the heavenly remedy is wont to come against grave temptations. You must keep watch, lest you be overcome by any deceit: you must take care that at the time when you are able to conquer, you do not in any way lose the time for conquering.


And because we said that a speech must be undertaken in the middle of the night, it seems necessary to also speak about this time of day; for night is the opposite of day. For what does light have in common with darkness? And therefore, what is adverse to itself is nocturnal or diurnal. Just as at midnight the primary tempter of the Egyptians perished, and from that it is known that the adversary operates most at that hour; so, on the contrary, divine light operates at the time of midday. And so, Abraham was keeping watch around noon, expecting some good outcomes, lifting his eyes and scanning the surroundings, because at that time he was seeking the approaching grace (Gen. XVIII, 1 and 2). Therefore, at that time, the divine guest, together with two holy angels, came to him: at that time, he received Christ as a guest: at that time, those mysteries that you read and understand, were celebrated. For when else should divine presence illuminate a faithful man more than when the light of day shines more fully? And rightfully, even Saint Joseph, having received his brothers and calling the younger brother whom he loved the most, prepared a noonday feast (Gen. 43:16). Indeed, in Saint Joseph's heart it was noon, when he served joyful meals to his brothers, ministering in shining grace, and he shared the sweet food of conversation; so that when they feared punishment for their brother's sake and were sold into slavery, he would say to them by divine judgment that it had been provided for them to be led to Egypt, so that he would not deny sustenance to those suffering from hunger (Gen. 45:5-7).


51. Therefore, we have the noon within us. Noon belongs to the one upon whom the sun of justice shines, and in whose good works or innocent thoughts Christ is nourished with a pure and sincere mind. Learn, therefore, how to make noon for yourself. 'Reveal,' it says, 'your way to the Lord, and hope in Him; and He Himself will do it, and will bring forth your justice as the light, and your judgment as noon' (Psalm 36:5-6). For where true faith is, there is the grace of true light; where there is a more extended vigilance over innocence and a long meditation in virtues, where there is the splendor of good conscience that lasts a long time, there is the noon that is understandable. There, you will also provide nourishment to Christ for your mind, and you will also be fed in His riches, in such a way that the premature and swift setting of true light does not follow, nor does some dark evening quickly occur, interrupting your studies and impeding good works. If, however, the night of temptations comes, it is not without reason that one must rise in the middle of the night and pray for a long time, and extend the times with psalms until the day comes and Christ shines upon you.

52. Therefore, be careful not to let even the middle of the day become like night for you, in which the dark and squalid ruler of the world pours upon you the fullness of temptation. Therefore, arise and awaken your mind: the one who guards you will not sleep if he does not find you asleep; he will rise if he himself has been awakened by the vigilance of your soul. And he will command the wind, and there will be tranquility in your heart, which was tossed by the waves of various storms. Therefore, we must rise. The Bridegroom is accustomed to come in the middle of the night: beware lest he find you sleeping, beware lest you be unable to light your torch while dozing. We must rise, I say, and confess to the Lord, to give thanks. His eternal judgments are also to be confessed; whatever good happens to us, let us attribute it to his justice: whether we are wealthy or enjoy good health, let us attribute it to the justice of the Lord; for it is just that he should protect and preserve his own work, so that he may deign to clothe those whom he has cast naked by an unpurchased gift of nature into this infirmity of the body, with the strength of the soul and the gift of his mercy. Certainly, it is evident that we must not be devoid of thanksgiving at any time, neither by day, nor by night, nor at any time.

53. (Verse 63.) The seventh verse follows: I am a partaker of all who fear you, and keep your commandments. And Christ also has partakers and companions of himself. Finally, David proves it, saying: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. (Psalm 45:8). He has partakers of the flesh, for he took on flesh; he has partakers of prophecy, for the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brethren, like me: him you shall hear in all things, whatever he shall speak to you. But every soul that does not listen to that prophet will be exterminated from the people (Deut. XVIII, 18 and 19). He is the true prophet, who without the gift of another knows the future: who spoke about things that were to come in the prophets. Is he not a prophet, who makes others prophesy? He is the one who is heard like the Law; because the Law is his. Finally, if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not believe even if someone comes back from the dead and goes to them (Luc. XVI, 31). Therefore, the Jewish people, because they did not listen to this prophet, were exterminated from the community, so that they would cease to be the people of God, who were previously called the people of God. He has companions in baptism, because he was baptized for us; he has companions in righteousness, because he himself is righteousness, and he gave us a share in his righteousness; he has companions in truth, because he himself is truth, and he wanted us to hold onto the truth; he has companions in resurrection, because he himself is the resurrection; he has companions in a blameless life, because he himself is blameless. And whoever walks in the newness of life, whoever holds to the path of righteousness, is a participant in Christ. They also share in his sufferings; therefore, the one who desired to be a participant in him said: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ in my flesh, for his body, which is the Church (Colossians 1:24). We are also participants in his burial; for whoever is buried with him through baptism into death, is a participant in him. Therefore the Apostle himself, pointing out the grace that the Lord Jesus has given us, says: For we have become partakers of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:14).

54. But he is also a participant in Christ, who consoles the mournful with sad affection: who does not neglect his duty to the one imprisoned: who sits by the sickbed, not seeking to snatch a share of the inheritance; but who, by diligent service, soothes the troubled with his words, and comforts the weary with his conversation: who clothes the naked, and feeds the hungry. For in these, Christ is often present, as he himself says: I was in prison and you did not come to me; I was naked and you did not cover me. For whatever good you have not done to one of these least ones, you have not done to me. (Matt. XXV, 42 et seq.) If I hate falsehood, I am a partaker of Christ, because Christ is truth: if I avoid iniquity, I am a partaker of Christ, because Christ is righteousness. Blessed is he who can say this. For just as we say that a member is a partaker of the whole body, so too, anyone who fears God and is joined to all, should not say to another: You are not of my body, that is, a rich person should not say to a poor person, a noble person should not say to someone of low birth, a healthy person should not say to someone who is sick, a strong person should not say to someone weak, a wise person should not say to someone ignorant: You are not necessary to me; they are a partaker of the body of Christ, which is the Church. But whoever knows that those who are seen in the Church, weak, poor, ignorant, and even sinners, are in greater need of honor and greater assistance to support them: he who knows this can say, 'I am a partaker of all who fear you.' Let him have more compassion for such men than disdain them: let him have compassion for the weak; so that he knows that we are all one body and members connected to each other; so that one cannot exist without the other: and when one suffers, let him have compassion for the other. Therefore, he can rightly use the authority of this voice.

55. But see how modestly the Prophet said: I am a partaker of those who fear you. He did not say imitators, but those who fear; for the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Eccl. I, 16). He humbled himself among the unlearned, while surpassing the experienced in devotion. But to fear virtue is also necessary; for it is written: Fear the Lord, all you his saints (Psal. XXXIII, 10).

56. But lest this fear appear unholy to some (for there are those who fear with a lazy dread and tremble with a dull anxiety), he added: And those who keep your commandments. To show that he is a partner in holy fear. Either thus. Indeed, one can fear with a devout heart but be lazy in action; so that one may be religious in affection, but idle in deeds. However, one cannot be lazy who keeps the commandments of the Lord. Therefore, the one who fears, keeps. Therefore, it is his to keep, who fears. Therefore, the Holy One says this: I, however, cannot use this for myself; for how great are those who fear God, and I do not show them mercy? They seek help, and I do not wish to offer it; they are in need of mercy, and I do not assist them with expense. Whoever, though, does these things, can say that they are a companion of Christ, who is feared.

57. (Verse 46.) Your mercy, O Lord, fills the earth; teach me your justifications. How is the mercy of the Lord filling the earth, if not through the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the Prophet, foreseeing as future, celebrates as if already promised? For to the prophets, who foresee things to come, it is like remembering things that have already happened to them in the future. Therefore, the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord, because forgiveness of sins is given to all. Above all the sun is commanded to rise. And indeed this sun rises daily above all. But that mystical sun of justice rises for all, came for all, suffered for all, and rose again for all: and indeed he suffered so that he might take away the sin of the world. But if anyone does not believe in Christ, he defrauds himself of the general benefit: just as if anyone were to shut out the rays of the sun by closing the windows, the sun does not cease to rise for all, because he has defrauded himself of its warmth: but it preserves its prerogative as the sun; what is foolish excludes the grace of its shared light from itself. Above all, it is raining, and this is attributed to divine mercy; because it rains on the just and the unjust. Or certainly it can be interpreted in this way, that the earth is full of divine mercy; because the earth is the Lord's, and its fullness... He himself founded it upon the seas, and prepared it upon the rivers (Psalm 24:1-2). Indeed, through the Church, the mercy of the Lord has been spread to all nations, and the faith has been spread to all nations.


Perhaps you would say: Why was it not said that heaven is full of the mercy of the Lord? It is because there are also spiritual evils in the heavenly realms, but they do not pertain to the common right of God's indulgence and the forgiveness of sins, for which eternal fire is kept. And those things that belong to the heavenly powers or ministries, although they are supported by the help of the Lord, do not require as much of His mercy as those things that are lower and earthly; for they are not clothed in the envelope of the flesh, in which lies the frequent allure of error. And so the same Prophet says in the preceding [passage], “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, but the earth he has given to the sons of men.” Therefore, the heavens are purer and more cleansed from every stain of sin and far more separate from that which is described as “the birds of the heavens.” For this heaven is called, as it were, a middle place between the heavenly and earthly, wherein there are also spiritual wickednesses against the heavenly [beings]. For in that [book], not in an appellative [sense], but in true [sense] of heaven, even if we have read about the devil being present in the assembly of God’s angels, I believe that he did not work any temptations of wickedness. Finally, it is written that the angels loved the daughters of men (Gen. VI, 2); because the prince of this world is held captive to earthly enticements and his ministers, in whom spiritual wickedness is imbued with certain poisons of this flesh and is infected with human crimes. Therefore, the Lord says in his Gospel: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). It is not the same there to unjustly drive away a neighbor from his possession or defraud a widow of her inheritance with tricks, or to exclude minors from their rightful share, or to enclose within wood or any image of silver, gold, or bronze a kind of heavenly power. These things, being full of the greatest sacrilege, are vacant in heaven and frequent on earth. For by the word of the Lord the heavens were made firm (Psalm 32:6), not the earth.

And therefore the justifications of God are desired to be taught by the Lord Himself; because it is difficult to find a teacher on earth who can teach those things that he himself has not seen. Therefore, the Prophet hastens with deep affection to that teacher who alone is the true master. For how can a man teach as true something he does not know, when he himself is a liar? And rightly does the Lord say that no one on earth should call anyone his teacher, for there is one master of all. And how could David seek another teacher, when he himself said about God: He who teaches knowledge to man (Psalm 93:10)? But God teaches and enlightens the minds of each individual, and pours forth the brightness of knowledge, if you open the doors of your heart and receive the brightness of heavenly grace. When you doubt, inquire diligently; for he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. There is much obscurity in the prophetic scriptures: but if you knock with the hand of your mind on the door of the Scriptures, and diligently examine the hidden things, you will gradually begin to gather the meaning of the words; and it shall be opened to you not by another, but by the Word of God, about whom you have read in the Revelation, that the Lamb opened the sealed book, which no one else could open; because only the Lord Jesus in his Gospel revealed the enigmas of the prophets and the mysteries of the Law: he alone brought the key of knowledge, and gave us the power to open.


They say that they possess the key to knowledge, but they do not; for if they had it, they would enter, they would recognize the innermost secrets of the Scriptures. But now: Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, who have taken away the key to knowledge, and yet you yourselves do not enter, and you hinder those who are entering (Luke 11:52). For how can you possess the key to knowledge, when you deny the author of knowledge? And therefore, David, turning to Him, says: Teach me, he says, your justifications; for you are true justice. You teach what is wisely said; because you are wisdom. You open my heart; because you have opened the book. You open that door which is in heaven; because you yourself are the gate. Through you, if anyone enters, they will possess that eternal kingdom. Through you, if anyone enters, they will not be deceived; because whoever enters the dwelling of truth cannot be deceived.

Sermon 9. Theth.

The ninth letter is Theth, which means exclusion. What is exclusion? Is it like someone being excluded from a house and thrown out of a hospice: so whoever is excluded from God's kingdom is deprived of its goods; just as those excluded virgins who did not bring oil with them; and when the Bridegroom came, their lamps went out, and while they were busy buying oil and lighting their lamps, they made a delay, and they are said to be excluded when the Bridegroom has already entered and they desire to enter (Matthew 25:2, 3 ff.)? I do not think so. For how could it be said that the holy Prophet was cast down from the good and excluded from the kingdom of God: 'You have made gladness with your servant'? Neither does it seem that the merit of the Prophet admits this understanding, nor the sequence of subjects. Do you hear him saying: 'You are sweet, O Lord, and in your gladness teach me your justifications' (Inf. verse 68)? Do you hear him saying: 'Your law of your mouth is good to me, more than a thousand gold and silver' (Ibid., 72)? And can you tell me what is excluded from the kingdom, which is not excluded from the Law? So what do we understand? The interpretation is unclear, and the words seem to obscure the meaning of the message.

They call it the merit of the Prophet, they call it his grace, they call it the series of his subjects, in order to extract something of higher understanding; and it happens in time that sometimes we are excluded from the good. For it is written: Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). And generally, indeed, love excludes fear. Just as a soldier who loves the emperor, does not fear the wars undertaken for the emperor; just as a slave who loves his master, even though he is sent through difficult and dangerous paths, yet he despises all dangers for the love of his master; and if someone were to seek the master, he would not hesitate to offer himself; just as someone who desires to see his children who are across the sea, does not fear shipwrecks, but enters the waves of the sea out of love for his children, and undergoes the uncertain dangers of sailing: but desires for his children alleviate the fear of danger. How beautiful it is also said about the martyrs, who truly fight for Christ, who, not fearing persecutions, claws, swords, and fires, offered themselves to hostile kings. Indeed, they excluded the fear of punishments that they could have with the love of martyrdom.

But we can also confirm that this sense of interpretation is from the book of Lamentations of Jeremiah. For it is also written there under this letter: The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good to wait and hope for the salvation of God. It is good for a man to bear the yoke from his youth: he will sit alone and be silent, because he has borne the yoke. (Lamentations 3:25-27). What do these things indicate other than that this interpretation seems to be a good explanation? Who indeed can sustain the Lord, unless with the ardor of charity? Who hopes, unless he desires and loves what he hopes for? For what we hope for, we wait for with patience. Therefore, he who hopes, sustains; he who sustains, certainly excludes the affect of impatience. Who carries a heavy yoke from his youth, unless he renounces pleasures and flees from luxury? Who sits alone, unless he excludes all the tumult of worldly pleasures? Therefore, he will be able to fear nothing, because the power of fear has been absorbed by the grace of charity.

There is another person who is excluded from the good, just as he who is removed from the midst of the people by Apostolic authority, because he has done evil work and has been handed over to destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved (1 Corinthians 5:5). From this we understand that the one who is commanded to do penance is excluded from the good, so that he may be humbled and his heart may be contrite. For these are usually the means of reconciliation.

5. Moreover, even the writings of Jeremiah seem to convey this under this letter. For we read about earthly Jerusalem: Its filth lies before its feet. It did not remember its last days, and it fell severely; there is no one to console it. See, Lord, its humiliation; for the enemy has been magnified (Lam. 1:9). And because Jerusalem was thus humiliated, it is rightly said to her afterwards: Your iniquity has failed, daughter of Zion (Lam. 4:22). And everyone who does penance and sheds tears for their own sins is blessed: Your iniquity has ceased. Elsewhere under this letter Jeremiah says: Those wounded by the sword were better off than those wounded by hunger. They were driven away from the birthplace of the fields. (Ibid., 9). Therefore, we are pricked when we do penance for our sins. We are also pricked by the remembrance of our sins. Hence, the prophet David says: What you say in your hearts, and are pricked in your beds (Psalm IV, 5). However, whoever is remorseful undoubtedly excludes the pleasure of error; and whoever repents excludes shame; and he separates the embarrassment of confessing his crime in order to find hope for the recovery of salvation. And deservedly David himself, when he knew his error, said, 'I have sinned, O Lord' (2 Samuel 12:13). Such a great king, such a great prophet did not hesitate to confess his own sin, and therefore it was said to him, 'The Lord has taken away your sin' (ibid.).


6. (Verse 65.) Therefore, with sin removed, he says, 'You have brought joy to your servant, Lord, as you promised.' Many things in this world seem pleasant that are not, many things seem sweet, many are very good. Luxuries seem enjoyable: but when they are exhausted, they become bitter to the inheritance. Sweet desire, when it is fervent: but the same is horrible and abominable when it is revealed. Sweet feasts, when they are consumed: but foul when they are digested. Many good things in this world, as long as we live, are valued; because they are useful to us, such as money, gold, silver, possessions: the same cannot benefit the deceased: they are all left behind here. Moreover, who dies with greater grief, when he mourns that he is being deprived of these resources. Therefore, true joy does not exist, unless it is according to the word of God; so that one may rejoice in being fortified by the supports of good merits and virtues.

7. David delights in this joy or goodness; because he carried and endured the heavy yoke from his youth, and he expected the grace of the Lord in himself, not seizing it, who often had the opportunity to kill King Saul, yet he preferred to wait for the Lord's time to assume the kingdom, rather than take it by killing the king. God is always good: therefore Paul also says: See therefore the goodness and severity of God (Rom. XI, 22); for goodness is for all, severity is for a few. Finally, the same Apostle adds: On those indeed who have fallen, severity: but on you, goodness (Ibid.). For if they had not fallen, they would surely also have enjoyed the goodness of God. For you are good for this reason, because you endure: but if you do not endure in goodness, you too will fall away. Therefore, God does not cease to be good because you have sinned and are in need of severity. For the severity of God also reverts to goodness: so that each person, corrected, may reform their ways and return to the path of virtue and good conduct. Finally, the Apostle teaches about those who have fallen: If they do not remain in unbelief, they will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them in again (ibid., 23); so that just as dried-up branches can produce good fruits when grafted with certain shoots, so can people bear the fruits of merits. You may accuse the physician of cruelty because he believed that the rotten fibers of wounds should be cut with a knife; or because he burned harmful and serpentine ulcers with fire so that the poison would not spread further; or because the teacher whipped the lazy student to instill fear and diligence in him. For it is the lover's role to chastise, not to curse; and therefore it is an act of goodness, not of cruelty. Therefore, the Lord is always good, both when He forgives wickedness and when He punishes sins. For the Lord chastises those whom He loves. (Hebrews XII, 6).

David was also punished. Finally, he said: And I was scourged all day long (Psal. 72:14). But the wise man who understood that punishment to be for his own benefit said: You have done good to your servant, O Lord, according to your word; that is, even though that punishment seemed bitter to me for a time, to me according to the flesh, to me according to the sorrow of the body; nevertheless, according to your word, that punishment brought forth the fruit of goodness. I understand that chastisement to have been beneficial to me, that through that chastisement I have been turned away from vices, that through that chastisement nothing immoral has remained in me for long, that through that chastisement of the Lord nothing has been permitted to my adversary, nothing to death. Finally, the Lord has chastised me, and has not delivered me to death (Psalm 118:18), as the Prophet himself has mentioned. For he is chastised who is received; but those who are not received are not corrected. For in the labors of men, they are not, and they will not be scourged with men (Ps. 72:5). Therefore, he says above: How good is God to those who are upright in heart (Ibid., 1)! Therefore, he is good to all; because he desires all to have an upright heart. But whoever turns their heart away, they themselves turn away from the grace of divine goodness.

9. (Verse 66.) It follows: Teach me joy, and discipline, and knowledge; for I have believed in your commandments. According to the Apostle, we understand χρηστόν as good, because he said: See therefore the goodness of the Lord (Rom. XI, 22). According to the Gospel, we receive χρηστόν as sweet. For he said: Take my yoke . . . for it is light, and my burden, for it is sweet (Matt. XI, 29 et 30). For he said, τὸ φορτίον μου χρηστόν. Therefore, he rightly seeks to be taught the goodness of God by himself, lest anyone who receives God as good in a perfunctory manner, perseveres in errors, knowing that through the mercy of God forgiveness can be given for his sins; for even though the Lord may grant indulgence, a sinful life always clings to crimes. Therefore, this common goodness is not enough: but one that always seeks improvement through discipline.

And therefore, whoever understands that the goodness of God is lofty, desires to be taught discipline as well. For many are turned away from the study of discipline because they consider it severe and sad; but a more discerning mind understands that if discipline is sad for a time, it becomes pleasant in later times. But there is discipline or correction that is more severe: there is also discipline that is more moderate. It is more moderate, of which the Lord says: I will chastise them with the hearing of their tribulation (Hos. VII, 12). And there is a more severe correction which is in anger and fury. Therefore, fleeing from that correction, David says: Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor chastise me in your wrath (Psalm 6:2). And Jeremiah: Correct us, Lord, in judgement, and not in wrath (Jeremiah 10:24). Therefore, every discipline, even if it has bitterness for a time, has disturbance; afterwards, however, it is accustomed to produce peaceful fruits.

11. But he who seeks to be taught virtue and discipline must also seek to be taught knowledge. For without knowledge, discipline is burdensome, correction is burdensome. Let Solomon teach you what knowledge is, who says of our Lord God: For he hath given me the true knowledge of the things that are (Wisdom 7:17). And elsewhere the same Prophet says: He that teacheth man knowledge (Psalm 93:10). But he who seeks knowledge believes in the commandments of God.


But it is one thing to believe in the commandments of God, and another thing to believe in the commandments themselves. For he who believes in the commandments of God quickly becomes one who is in the commandments of God, and lives by them. Therefore, knowledge is acquired through faith, and discipline through knowledge. For that which we know can please God, our very way of life delights in it. Finally, it is written: But our conversation is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Knowledge preceded, and conversation followed. We have said to believe in the commandments of God. But to believe in the commandments of God is to be in them, and to believe that they are true commandments. For if you do not believe in the commandments of God, you will not be able to have knowledge of them, which we are taught through the commandments of God.

13. (Verse 67.) The third verse follows: Before I humbled myself, I kept your word. Another edition has: Before I humbled myself, I did not know. Therefore, some people think that the soul of man says this: Before I humbled myself, so that I could enter into this clay of the body, I did not know your commandments which I had not read. But because the Church follows the opinions of the seventy men more, and this sense is clearer, and it does not admit any offense that could move some doubt; therefore let us accept humbled, said in this way, because it seems to be humbled by sin. For temptation often arises because of sin. Finally, Adam and Eve were certainly cast down after their fault. Therefore, sin is for the sake of our humility or humiliation. For I am not fleeing from this. For from adversity, humility can often be understood, as it is written: It is good for me that you have humbled me, that I may learn your commandments. And: Unless your law were my meditation, then perhaps I would perish in my humility. And: I am humbled greatly (Psalm 141, 7). Here, therefore, he shows that humility arises from sin. And because sin came first, therefore he shows himself humbled, that is, worn down by temptations and adversities, and delivered to anxieties: just as that person who was handed over by Paul to the destruction of the flesh was surely humbled; so that afterwards he could merit reconciliation (1 Corinthians 5, 5).

14. But although this humility, that is, as it were, a kind of abasement, is not a virtue of perturbation; nevertheless, it often generates virtue: and it becomes not a punishment, but a remedy for the offender. For if you attribute to your sins what you have been humiliated for, whatever happens, you turn it back on yourself, and you begin to be just from being guilty, because you condemn yourself. For a just accuser is at the beginning of his speech (Prov. XVIII, 17). And you cannot judge yourself unworthy through humility, since you recognize your own errors, in which by blushing you are not indeed exalted, but humbled. You see, therefore, that you have been humbled because you have sinned and have not kept the commandments of God. Therefore, be more diligent in keeping them so that you do not sin again. Do not let yourself be consumed by sorrow because you have been cast down, and let your downfall become an opportunity for correction. For just as gold is tested in the furnace, so man is tested in temptations. You see what the Prophet says: 'Before I was humbled, I sinned.' Therefore, he was rightly handed over to temptations because he was sinning. However, he was sinning because he did not hold onto the word of God. But then he found the order of correction from which the fault had arisen. He began to be subject to divine speech, and the fault ceased.

15. (Version 68.) The fourth verse follows: You are good, O Lord, and in your goodness teach me your statutes. The secular discipline also received it, so that each one may praise their own judge. Hence the Apostle, following the order of divine Scriptures, when he stated his case, began as follows: Concerning all the things I am accused of, King Agrippa, by the Jews, I consider myself fortunate about these matters, as I begin to give an account before you (Acts 26:2). And below: Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe. Therefore if men are praised, among whom the praise of others is often praised: how much more should each person strive to win God's favor, so that they may say: You are good, Lord. For if someone says this to a man, to remind him that perhaps he is not good; by the preaching of goodness itself, even he becomes milder, and casts off the terror of harsh feelings: how much more must praise be given to God, who unless He were good, could anyone stand upon the earth? But it is proper to God to be good. Moreover, in the Gospel you have, 'A good tree produces good fruits' (Matthew 7:17). Its fruits are angels: its fruits are humans, that is, rational and holy, if they keep the commandments of the Lord. Its fruits are those born on earth: its fruits are the virtues of humans. Therefore, a good tree rightfully produces good fruits. Therefore, let the root be praised first, so that the fruits can be tested. But the Lord Jesus also says elsewhere: And your Father, who is good, will give good things to those who ask him. (Ibid., 11).

16. But although God is good, whose bitter things are even more helpful (for they are not applied to harm, but to correct), nevertheless it is asked that in his goodness he may teach us his justices. Consider a doctor applying helpful medicines to wounds; yet those that sting the poison of ulcers, or certainly cutting off putrefied flesh with a knife; even though the doctor himself is good, because he works for the patient's benefit and does what he knows will be helpful: nevertheless, because the patient either does not want or cannot endure pain due to the weakness of his condition, he asks the doctor to treat him with a certain goodness and sweetness, not applying the harshness of medicines, not cutting the fibers of wounds with a knife; or if he cannot do otherwise, to act with moderation and mitigate the force of pain with a certain subtlety. And for this reason, in the goodness of the Gospel, the justifications of God are taught better than in the severity of the Law. However, the work of justice is justification. Therefore, it is written that the Pharisees did not want to justify themselves, not being baptized with the baptism of John (Luke 7:30). For in that they did not make justification, because they did not want to perform repentance for their sins, which the Prophet desires to do in goodness, so that forgiveness of sins may be granted to them without the severity of condemnation, but with the grace of forgiveness.


17. (Verse 69.) It follows: The wickedness of the proud has multiplied upon me: but I will diligently seek your commandments with all my heart. The more someone desires to serve God, the more they arouse adversaries within themselves. And just like a strong athlete desiring to receive the crown of righteousness, they provoke and incite many who envy our progress. This is also evident in the following verses. I was peaceful with those who hated peace, says David. However, his tranquility did not benefit anything; instead, it would calm those who hated peace and suppress their desires. When I spoke to them, they would attack me without reason, meaning that even though they had no cause to attack, they did not stop their desire to attack. Thus, spiritual wickedness or people multiply, and their iniquity surpasses the righteous. For example, if a just person loses their son, which often happens in the course of life, or if they lose their inheritance, or if they suffer various adversities or physical illnesses, then the proud say: Where is their justice? Where is mercy? Behold, because he is thus punished: behold, because his innocence profits him nothing. And so, for the sake of extracting an example of this life, three friends of Job, with the appearance of sanctity but the malice of enemies, heaped serious reproaches upon him, reproaching him with great insults; and those who had come to console began to insult.

18. But the righteous man is not moved by these things, and therefore neither was Job broken. Finally, in the loss of his children and his possessions, he said: The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away... blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). Therefore, even in adversity, let us say: You have done good to your servant (Psalm 119:65). For the Lord can change for the better what has been done, as we have the holy example of Job (Job 42:10 et seq.); and he can restore what has been lost. Can someone generate better ones even after losing their children? Is it difficult for God to give better things? Even if He doesn't give anything, it is still just to consider this, in case the future wicked ones have been snatched away, so that their hearts may not be changed by their malice. Similarly, in regards to inheritance, it is as if we don't see that many are led into danger of salvation due to the wealth of their inheritance, and that the abundance of riches is the cause of sinning for many. For he who does not have anything to give cannot be blamed for not giving; but he who has something to give and does not give, certainly begins to be liable to sin.

19. (Vers. 70.) It follows: Their heart is curdled like milk; I, however, meditate on your law. The heart of the holy ones is refined; the heart of the proud is curdled. For just as milk by nature is pure, beautiful, and sincere, but curdles through corruption, so the nature of the human mind and heart is pure, sincere, and clear before it curdles through the admixture of vices. For curdled milk forms a certain concretion, lacking the same sweetness and grace. Thus, those people who, before, preferred the appearance of diligence, grace, and charm of words, untainted by envy; if they begin to envy, their heart solidifies into a vice, and the sweetness of friendship becomes bitterness of malice, and a certain unpleasant dread of envy arises. Therefore, the heart is solidified through pride and envy, which corrupt the gentleness of nature, flowing with benevolence, by the concretion of malice. Therefore, the heart of the wicked solidifies: but the just person is humbled, pondering the precepts of the Law, which holds the mastery of humility.


20. (Verse 71.) And therefore he added: It is good for me that you have humbled me, so that I may learn your statutes. The Apostle followed this: I please myself, he says, in weaknesses, in insults, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses (II Cor. I, XII, 10) . For when he is pleased with weaknesses, and his spirit is not broken, and he does not yield to injury, he learns the justification of God and deserves, and fulfills. Therefore here, you have humbled me, that is, you have exercised with various temptations and difficulties. Which Augustine also wrote, it benefited me that I was afflicted, so that I would learn your justifications. Therefore, let the one who is humiliated not be discouraged or broken in spirit, but rather let them progress by humbling themselves; let them soften the proud with their humility, confuse the insolent with the severity of their manners, break the insolent with their patience, and sometimes redirect the greedy from the intention of argument through equanimity of loss. For thus you have read, that wisdom is justified by her children (Luke 7:35), while Christ offers himself to punishment, endures injustice, does not retreat from insults, nor turns his face away from the shame of spitting; and therefore, he taught everyone with his patience and healed them with his compassion.


21. (Verse 72.) It follows: The law of your mouth is sweeter to me than thousands of gold and silver. Not just anyone says this, but rather few say it, that is, those who value God's law above gold and silver, who are able to give up everything for the sake of God's law. But even Christ did not find many who said this, except among those whom He Himself deemed worthy to teach. Peter said this and proved it by his actions: that he valued the law more than gold. Therefore he said: I have no gold or silver (Acts 3:6). He who lies with dug-up gold does not say this out of greed. He is not a rich man who anxiously searches for daily profits, who accumulates wealth every day, who pursues the pleasures of inheritance, who tirelessly keeps watch around the sick person's bed.

22. Some people understand the law of God's mouth as the law of the Word of God, just as if you were to say the law of the right hand of God. Therefore, it is fitting that Peter also said this: 'You have the words of eternal life, and we will leave you' (John 6:69). That is, the law of your mouth is worth more than thousands of gold and silver. And can we abandon such a good thing and seek the profits of this world? But the law of God's mouth can also be called the law of Moses, through whom the Lord spoke and gave the Law.

Sermon 10. Iod.

1. The tenth letter among the Hebrew letters is Iod, which in Latin is called 'confession' or certainly 'desolation.' The interpretation does not seem discordant or dissonant. Indeed, those who are desolate confess more quickly, for the mind is accustomed to be uplifted by favorable circumstances; but when one is pressed by adversities, then one implores divine help. For even in human affairs, we know that this is the case: that when good things come, the mind becomes more elated; but when one is beset by the hostile forces of this world, and one encounters the power of some adversary, then one seeks refuge, then one seeks help; either by beseeching the one who is above to moderate their power, or by arming oneself with additional strength; so as not to be overwhelmed by more powerful forces, as if one were inferior to them.


Finally, Jeremiah under this letter says thus: 'He stretches out his hands who is afflicted in all his desires. For he saw the nations entering into his sanctuary; to whom you commanded not to enter into his Church.' (Lam. 1:10). Surely the Prophet says this about Jerusalem, whose misery he deplores, whose desolation and desertion preceded; so that confession would follow afterwards. For the Lord chastises every son whom he receives. Therefore, about to receive Jerusalem, he tormented himself with the hardships of captivity. For he had become too arrogant and had boasted with an inflated heart, so that he could not hold onto the Lord Jesus, that is, humility, grace, justice, wisdom, that is, the teachings of true faith. And therefore the Lord punished her, who as the ruler of all knows how to chastise each individual. For just as a doctor is accustomed to treating more serious wounds with harsher remedies and milder wounds with milder ones, so our God punishes more serious sins with greater severity. But chastisement itself profits for salvation. For the Lord said: I will strike, and I will heal (Deut. XXXII, 39).

3. Finally, Jeremiah the prophet began to promise hope for Jerusalem. For in the later part under this letter, he says: He will give his cheek to the one who strikes him, and he will be satisfied with insults. He will give his mouth to the grave; if there is hope in patience (Lam. III, 30 and 29). In the Gospel, the Lord Jesus, teaching the virtue and remarkable patience, says: If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other (Matt. V, 39). For he desires his disciples to be patient with injuries, not retaliating easily, let alone striking. For patience is an indication of humility. And therefore, because Jerusalem was desolate and abandoned, he says, 'Give your cheek to the one who strikes you, so that you do not submit to the injury, nor turn aside from the pain of the blow, but offer your cheek to the one who strikes.' Both can be understood, either the one who begins to strike or the one who has already struck; so that the Gospel saying is fulfilled: 'If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other as well.' And this was prophetically established, so as to teach Jerusalem, that is, the Church of the Judean people, that it should be saved no other way than through the discipline of the Gospel; so that when it begins to keep the precepts of the Gospel, and to fulfill the command of the Lord Jesus with works, then it may cast off the yoke of captivity from the neck of its soul, when it subjects itself to the yoke of Christ.

4. And he will be satisfied, he says, with reproaches. He did not say: He will endure reproach; for it is easy to bear one or two insults; but he added: He will be satisfied with reproaches; so that the Lord may more easily move mercy, by the pitiful ugliness of many reproaches. You can understand this certainly from the book of Kings. For when Shimei the son of Gera reviled the holy David, calling him a bloody man, and cursed him when he fled from his son Absalom, avoiding for a time the wars of a parricide, the king remained silent, and demonstrated the highest emblem of patience. For when he understood the time of his temptation, that he was about to engage in a deadly battle, he wanted to appear more humble, in order to mitigate the offense of the Lord; he thought that in his temptation, it would be better to provoke his judgment rather than to provoke his anger, in case he sought revenge for his own injuries. Therefore, he said to Abessa, the leader of the people, who wanted to seek vengeance: What is it to me and to you, son of Sarvia? He curses me for this reason; because the Lord commanded him to curse me. Behold, my son who came forth from my womb seeks my life. But if a stranger now curses me, let him curse; for the Lord has commanded him to see my humility. And the Lord will repay me with good for this curse. This was also said by the prophet in the spirit, and proven by the outcome. For when humility is filled, sin is forgiven. Moreover, in the book of Isaiah, you have this from the Lord: 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, priests, console her, for her humiliation is fulfilled, her sin is forgiven, for she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.' Therefore, it is advertised that where there is desolation, there is humility. For humility follows desolation in the right order, patience follows humility, testing follows patience, consolation follows testing. And you have it written in the Apostle: Because tribulation produces patience, and patience produces testing, and testing produces hope, and hope does not disappoint; because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. III, 3-5), who is certainly the comforter of our emotions.


But what he says, 'He will give his mouth in the burial' (Lamentations 3:29), shows a certain excessive patience of silence, as if burying his own mouth so that he does not speak; and as if obstructing with a certain mound of virtues, so that he does not emit a voice of pain; asserting only the weight of patience, which hope nourishes; as if burying and enclosing the very voice as in a grave and tomb, which no injury can force out or awaken. We have also provided an interpretation of this letter as best we could; let us now turn to the psalm.

6. (Verse 73.) Therefore the first verse is: Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments. He has used a great commendation in the beginning, so that he may proclaim that it is the work of God; thereby more easily attracting the favor of the author towards the grace of his work. For it is a great prerogative even in human affairs that someone should favor their own works and benefits, without considering the merit of others, but rather focus on the gift of their own grace, so as not to appear to revoke what he himself has given. Therefore, even though the substance of our body is made of clay, and we are clothed in flesh, and our body is interwoven with bones and nerves, no one will doubt that we are the most precious work of God. For if anyone wants to consider the very structure of the human body, they will find nothing more valuable on earth. For man stands in an elevated position, pleasing in appearance, having beautiful hair, not bent over like other animals, but elevated by the right of nature itself, who looks at the sky with a free gaze; not weighed down by the captive servitude of the neck, depressed towards the earth, but as one conscious of his own freedom, a rich witness of himself as the creator.


7. However, in other living creatures, the form of the limbs is praised, in which nothing else is required besides the beauty of the body. Man is more beautiful in that which is not seen, not in the body which is seen: having in himself the grace of eternity and the charm of the present. For what is seen is temporary; for what is not seen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). In this earthly abode, clothed with a heavenly dwelling, in which it is fitting to both appear on earth and be united with God. It is indeed a great gift if one knows oneself; and a certain form of justice, to be born more for the world than for oneself. Hence Solomon says: A great and precious work is a compassionate man: but it is necessary to find a faithful man (Prov. 20:6). And truly great is the one who is both an interpreter of divine work and an imitator of God. For he is a man who could say: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). He cultivates the land, uses the sea as a possession, and admires the ornaments of the sky as a grateful defender. The nature of things would have disappeared unless someone who would use them had been added by divine providence.

8. Finally, after God made the heavens and the earth and the seas, after He made all the creeping things, the flying things, the living things, He made man, whom He preferred to the living creatures: from which rightly followed the heavenly decree: Let us make man in our image and likeness (Gen. I, 26). The rest He spoke, and they were made: He commanded, and they were created (Psal. CXLVIII, 5); so that man may be made, a special exhortation of God approached; so that the operation of the creature in this task of God's work may be signified as if of a laboring God. Indeed, God is devoid of labor: but do not the words of Scripture, unless they show forth your diligent effort of His, reveal something else? Therefore, if God created you with a certain zeal, why do you yourself abandon your zeal? If God worked in you, who does not know how to labor, why do you yourself, fleeing, be averse to labor?

Your hands, he says, have made me and fashioned me (Psalm 138:8). The Prophet cries out to God: Do not forsake your work, Lord, do not abandon it. I acknowledge you as the author, I hold you as the creator; I do not seek the help of strangers. Clothe yourself for assistance, you who are clothed with power to create. Let David himself speak, what do you feel, why do you say: Your hands have made me? But you said further: Lord, you will repay on my behalf: Lord, your mercy endures forever, do not abandon the work of your hands (Psalm 137:8). This means, beasts have not made your hands, but you said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that have life (Genesis 1:20), and the earth brought forth after its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth. But you, he said, have made me, you have formed me with your hands, that is, you have not formed beasts with your hands, not reptiles, not birds: But your hands have made me and formed me.

10. There is no ordinary work which is prepared: everything is arranged and prepared with wisdom. Finally Wisdom says: When he prepared the heavens, I was there (Prov. VIII, 27). The same Prophet says of men: The voice of the Lord preparing the deer (Psal. XXVIII, 9). What is the voice of the Lord God, if not: Let us make man (Gen. I, 26). Who are these deer, if not the enemies of serpents, who walk over asps and do not feel the venom? Therefore, I do not consider that which God has prepared to be vile or corporeal. Know yourself, O man: it is said of your soul in the Song of Songs: Unless you know yourself to be beautiful among women (Canticles 1:7). Know yourself, O soul, for you are not from the earth, nor from clay; for God has breathed into you and made you a living soul (Genesis 2:6). You are a magnificent work inspired by the generation of God. Pay attention to yourself, as the Law says (Deuteronomy 4:9), this is for you, that is, for your soul. May worldly and secular things not hold you, and may earthly things not die. Hasten to that goal with all your intention, upon which you depend for inspiration. Great, says he, is the work of a merciful man, and precious is the work of a faithful man (Prov. XX, 6). Learn, O man, where you are great, where you are precious. The earth shows you as lowly, but virtue makes you glorious, faith makes you rare, and an image makes you precious. Is there anything more precious than the image of God, which should first infuse faith in you, so that a certain image of the creator may shine forth in your heart: so that anyone who questions your mind may recognize the creator? Is there anything so precious as humility, so that perceiving the nature of body and soul, you humble yourself to another and know how to rule another? The lure of the flesh inclines towards vice, because what you have given to another, you release to yourself: whatever proceeds from you, returns to you: and whatever benefits others, benefits you.

The power of a lively soul includes senses, reason, and understanding, as well as judgment, so that the worthy house may seem to have such a great inhabitant, and may not lose the prerogative of its nature, nor lose the name of human. For Scripture calls him a human who is made in the image and likeness of God, but it is accustomed to call one who sins either a serpent, or a horse neighing at females, or a little fox, or a beast. Do not be like a horse or a mule, which have no understanding. In camo et freno maxillas eorum constringe, qui ad te non appropinquant (Psal. XXXI, 9) . Et: Dicite huic vulpi (Luc. XIII, 32) , de Herode ait. Generatio viperarum vocatur a Joanne plebs hominum (Luc. III, 7) . Magnum ergo opus Dei es, homo, magnum est quod dedit tibi Deus; vide ne quod Deus tribuit, amittas magnum illud munus, quod es ad imaginem Dei; et hoc in te puniatur magis. Deus enim non punit similitudinem suam: sed eum punit qui ad similitudinem Dei factus, hoc quod accepit, servare non potuit. Therefore, what ceases to be in likeness to God is punished, that is, your sin. For God does not condemn His own image, nor does He cast it into eternal fire; but rather, He avenges His image from the one who has done it harm, so that through your wickedness, you would cease to be what you were and become a beast instead of a man. The image is avenged, not condemned. It is avenged as if expelled; it is not condemned as guilty. For after you sinned, you began to be something else: you ceased to be what you were. So how then are you punished for what is found in you? For if the image and likeness of God is found in you, you are not worthy to begin with punishment, but with reward. Thus, that image by which you have been made in the image and likeness of God is not condemned, but crowned. However, you are condemned in that you have changed; so as to become a snake, a mule, a horse, a little fox. For with these names Scripture has already condemned us; because, stripped of the ornament of the heavenly image, we also lose the name of man, since we do not hold the grace of being human.


12. However, in some codices we find: Your hands have made me and fashioned me. This is not unfamiliar; for Job also said: Your hands have fashioned me and made me (Job. X, 8). Therefore, it is stated here so that God may remember that we are dust; may He pour out the gift of more abundant grace and not abandon a weak work. The helmsman exerts more effort when the ship is tossed by waves, than when the oars glide smoothly in calm waters or when the wind's gusts, in proportion to his effort, outstrip him.


13. Your hands, he says, have formed me. He says hands in the plural, not hand. But elsewhere it says: I have stretched out the heavens by my own hand (Isaiah 45:12). And: My hand has made all these things (Isaiah 66:2). In the composition of man, it seems that what was lacking in the whole world, so that it could be made, was not lacking. One hand has established the heavens, as it is written: and both of God's hands have shaped man, as we read. The heavens were not made in the likeness, but man in the likeness. Angels for ministry, humans for image.

14. Be it that angels are also made to the image. Scripture, however, speaks about man being made to the image. For we have something which perhaps the angels do not have; where sin abounded, grace abounded even more. Christ was born for us from the Virgin. For we read: A child is born to us, and a son is given to us (Isaiah 9:6). He took on flesh for us: or rather, he took us in that flesh, for he made the Son of Man sit in the seat of God. I do not read of angels in the seat of God except those who stand, those who minister (Heb. 1:14; Rev. 8:2; Dan. 7:10). I do not read of angels, but of humans buried with Christ and raised in Christ (Rom. 6:4 and 5). Finally, the Apostle says: For he has made us alive together with Christ, by whose grace you have been saved, and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:5 and 6). Therefore, the Son of Man sits at the right hand of God, not as an angel, not as an archangel, nor as a cherub or seraph. They praise: the Son of Man is seated. The Son of Man is praised by the mouths of angels for having overcome evil angels, triumphing over the spiritual wickedness that is in the heavens; for having made men like unto angels, in whom there were previously the contagions of the dead.

15. By the word, says he, of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the breath of his mouth all their power (Psalm 32:6). Man also has received the perfection of life and the consummation of virtue by the breath of the Lord. God has breathed into him the breath of life, and man has become a living soul (Genesis 2:7). Therefore, our life began with divine inspiration, but this life is dissolved by the separation of the soul and body, while divine inspiration is not dissolved. And therefore understand that what is figurative is different from what is made or prepared. And rightly you have the script written in two ways about man. First, it is written: Let us make man in our image and likeness (Gen. I, 26 and 27). And: They will have dominion, he says, or they will have authority. And: God made man in the image of God. But in the second place it is written as follows, because God took dust from the earth, and formed man (Gen. II, 7). Where there is dust, there is shaping; but where there is no dust, there is no earth, no matter; but incorporeal, but admirable: there is no matter, but immaterial. For what is according to the likeness of God is not in the body, nor in matter, but in the rational soul. There man operates, there man is shown to be in the likeness and image of God, where justice, where wisdom, where every form of virtue is assumed.

16. If you understand the image, you will see the image; for man is not the image of God, but has been made to the likeness. There is another image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, through whom all things were made. He is not to the image, but the image: you are not the image, but made to the image. Therefore, you have in your substance something of the image and likeness of God, which is like the divine image. Therefore, the image comes to him who is made to the image, and the image seeks him who is made to its likeness; to seal once again, to confirm once again; because you have lost what you have received. For God had breathed into you, so that you might have the grace of his inspiration, which your fault had taken away from you. You had become a living soul: listen to what he says, not to the flesh, but to the living soul. But because the sinner could not hold the seal, and being placed in guilt, he did not have what is God's, but what is of men; therefore our Lord Jesus Christ came, as you have read in the Gospel, and rising from the dead, he found the disciples shut up, and he entered while they remained closed, and he said: Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:21-22).

So you see what sort of man our hands have made, or rather, what sort of man they have remade; the one surely whom we have put on in Christ. Stripping off the old man with his deeds, and putting on the new, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of his creator; where there is not . . . slave and free, but all and in all Christ (Colossians 3:9-11). So we put on Christ, as it is also said elsewhere: You have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). We have received the Holy Spirit, who not only forgives our sins but also makes us his priests to forgive the sins of others. This is why the Prophet says: You have formed me and laid your hand upon me (Psalm 138:5). He formed us from clay and laid his hand upon us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Although many interpret this psalm as spoken from the perspective of the Savior. Listen, for the hand of the Lord is also called the Spirit. Job proclaims: The divine Spirit has made me (Job 33:4). Therefore, these are the hands that created man, Christ and the Spirit. Therefore, the Lord Jesus is the author of our body, who first made man in his image, and then formed him from clay, and desired to save what he had made, to preserve what he had fashioned. He wanted to make the whole man saved, as he himself said in the Gospel: 'You are angry with me, because I have made the whole man saved on the Sabbath' (John 7:23). This is specifically taught by the Church, because not only is our soul preserved, but also our flesh: the soul through knowledge of God, the flesh through resurrection: one of which was taught by the divine authority of his words, the other by the example of his own resurrection.


18. Here is therefore man of two substances. One is the substance of the made, the other of the formed: the former of God's Spirit, the latter of clay. Therefore Job says: My skin will revive (Job 19:26), because that which is made of clay is revived; for earth returns unto earth; but what was made, in order to have dominion over the other living creatures, you understand to be more excellent. For there is a common fellowship of clay even for beasts with us; and therefore the soul has been endowed with a special prerogative. Nevertheless, because he commands other living creatures; in order to be able to command, he must be subject to God. Therefore, he is taught to serve; so that he may deserve to attain the kingdom. For whoever serves Christ, pleases God. Whoever serves Christ, certainly pleases the truth, and must not know falsehood. Whoever serves justice, must reject iniquity. Whoever serves the immaculate, must observe the discipline of chastity. Whoever serves the light, must hate the darkness of sin. Therefore, because the body is weak, let us ask for the visitation of the Lord. Hence the Prophet says: What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you visit him? (Psalm VIII, 5).

And now in the remaining part of the verse he says: Give me understanding, and I will learn your commandments. Recognizing himself to be a spiritual prophet, he asks for the grace of the Holy Spirit. For understanding is given by the Lord, and it is first placed among the gifts of grace, as you have learned in the reading of the Apostle; for to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the benefit (2 Tim. 2:7); and in the first place in the prophet's grace of wisdom and spiritual understanding is required (Isaiah 11:2). Therefore, the gift of God is sought. Then see the order: Give me understanding, he says, so that I may learn your commandments. Understanding is put before knowledge, so that knowledge may follow. For unless someone understands, they cannot be learned. Therefore, understanding makes one learned, not memory. For it is of no use to read many things unless you understand them yourself. And in the Apostle, after the manifestation of the Spirit, you read the word of knowledge afterwards; so that you may know that understanding is to be preferred to memory, and that knowledge can be possessed by the one to whom understanding has previously shone forth (1 Corinthians 12:7).


20. At the same time, consider humility. If a Prophet asks for understanding to be given to him, who is so arrogant as to claim that he has intelligence in his power? He asks for understanding, so that he may know himself and be able to understand the nature of his own being. But those who debate about the nature of things, who study the stars in the sky, who cannot know themselves, think that intelligence can be granted without the gift of God. Therefore, we must also embrace humility, so that we do not become arrogant if perhaps we have come to know a certain parable from the Scriptures, or because sometimes we read plain things according to the letter; if perhaps we have understood something according to the letter, let us consider it knowledge given to us by teaching. That prophet who received the Holy Spirit, after being anointed into the kingdom, was anointed into a prophet, writing the one hundred and eighteenth psalm, asks for understanding to be given to him so that he may understand the commandments of God: and he knows that unless he receives grace from the Lord, he cannot understand his commandments. In the Gospel, I also read that the Lord Jesus presented parables, and the apostles did not understand (Matthew 13:36). Finally, they requested an explanation of the proposed parable.

21. The Lord Jesus Himself, when He said, as you have read in the Gospel according to Matthew: Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3); added afterwards: Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man (Matt. 7:24). Therefore, the one who only hears will not be like him, but the one who does what he hears. So, neither action without hearing, nor hearing without action can be that of a wise man, but rather the one who hears and does. Therefore, let us listen in order to understand: let us do, in order to prove that we have understood what we heard.

22. (Verse 74.) The second verse follows: Those who fear you will see me and rejoice, because I have placed all my hope in your words. Perhaps this may seem contradictory to some, because the just one says: Those who fear you will see me and rejoice; for to many the just one appears burdensome when he is seen. Finally, in the Gospel, many could not see the Lord Jesus: like the Gerasenes who begged him to leave their region (Luke 8:37); and others denied him passage when he did not want to pass through them (Luke 9:52-53). Just as there in Judaeo ungodliness is expressed in form, so here the grace of the Church is revealed. For it prophesies that the entire world will be filled with divine fear; and therefore, it says that the saints rejoice with knowledge as if fearing God; for whoever sees the righteous and rejoices also wants to be righteous himself. For it is beautiful that he delights in others, what he wants to preserve in himself, if he chooses. For it is innate to good people; that the wise person, with piety in his soul, loves the chaste, the modest, and the prudent, while the merciful person loves the generous; and he loves his virtues in others. For most people, the sight of a just person is a reminder of correction, but for the more perfect, it is a source of joy. How beautiful, then, that you may appear and prevail? Therefore, the just man is good.

23. Therefore, Paul the apostle went up to Jerusalem in order to see the righteous ones; and he stayed with Peter for fifteen days, so that he might benefit in some way from their cohabitation (Galatians 1:18). Therefore, Paul himself and Barnabas, when they entered Jerusalem, were received magnificently by the Church, by the apostles, and by the elders (Acts 15:4). But when they wanted to leave, they were begged not to depart; and, as we read later about Paul, they were escorted with tears (Acts 20:38). For if there is so much power in natural things, that the sight of an animal benefits those with jaundice; as it is said that even the horn of that creature when dead can be helpful if it has been demonstrated to those who have fallen into this condition: can we doubt that a just sight heals? Therefore, a worthless irrational animal has such great power that it can heal a person in a brief moment when it is seen: a just person, however, if indeed they are looked upon with faith by one who desires benefit from them, contributes nothing? Do the rays of his eyes seem to infuse a certain power into those who faithfully desire to see him?

24. But just as the righteous person brings joy to the heart of the innocent, as it seems: in the same way, the wicked are tormented by their knowledge of the righteous; for they are accused by the silent conduct of the saints. Chastity torments immorality, generosity torments greed, and faith torments impiety. Let us take an example of a similar lowly creature. For just as we said that a mute animal benefits when it is seen: in the same way, we perceive the wolf to be harmful if it has anticipated someone by seeing them; for they are said to lose their voice, those whom the wolf has seen first. Basiliscus, also known as the harmful snake, is said to kill any animal that it sees first. It is said that anyone who can foresee such a snake is immediately killed. The snake itself is also said to die if it is seen by a human before it can strike. Therefore, if there is such power either in the eyes of the snake or in the eyes of a human, that one can kill the other by seeing it first, then there is no power in the eyes of a just person who is filled with the grace of virtue. Especially since faith alone works wonders, such as the woman who touched the fringe of the Lord's cloak and was healed (Matthew 9:22), and the person whom the Lord Jesus looked at and immediately received the grace of healing from his eyes (Luke 9:38 and 43).


But whoever sees the just person must know what they see: they do not see them in their body, nor in their clothing, nor in their possessions, nor in their appearance; but they see them within; I say they do not see them unless they see their mind, unless they understand their speech, unless their senses can comprehend them, unless they can acquire wisdom from their conversation. Therefore, they will rejoice when they have perceived these things, when they have come to know these things. So, wherever we hear of a just person, let us hasten to see them, just as that woman who heard that the Lord Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, and she entered and poured ointment on his feet (Luke 7:37-38). Let us imitate him; for who would doubt that the Church is figured in that woman? Therefore, wherever the just man sits or reclines, let us hasten to see him. It is precious to see a just man, to see him according to the image of God. What is on the outside is of no use; what is on the inside, heals. Surely, even in him who is on the outside, we frequently see him who is on the inside; so that if we see a poor man, let us honor him in the poor man, in whom he has been made like, of whom He said: You gave me to eat. For what you have given to one of them, you have given to me (Matt. 25:35 and 40). For he who crowns the image of the emperor, honors him surely, whose image he crowned. And he who despises the statue of the emperor, seems to have done wrong to the emperor, whose statue he spat upon. The Gentiles worship wood, for they consider it the image of God. But the invisible image of God is not in what is seen, but surely in what is not seen.


26. Do you see, therefore, why we walk among many images of Christ? Let us be careful not to appear to detract from the crown of the image that Christ has imposed upon each one. Let us be careful not to take away anything from those to whom we owe assistance. But what is worse, we not only fail to honor the poor, but also dishonor them, destroy them, persecute them: and we are unaware that we heap these abuses upon the image of God when we think that those made in the likeness of God should be harmed. For whoever ridicules a poor person, aggravates the one who made them. But the one who says, 'I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat; I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink... I was sick... and you did not visit me' (Matthew XXV, 42 and 43). And how much lighter are these things, compared to if someone were to say, 'You have wronged me, you have stripped me, you have beaten me?' If someone were to ask, 'When have we wronged you, when have we stripped you, when have we even beaten you?' He says: As long as you have done it to one of these least ones, you have done it to me (Ibid., 45). Therefore, let us be more diligent so that we do not bring insult to anyone, even the least of them, lest we appear to have been insulting to the Lord Himself in those least things.

27. However, by what reason he said, 'Those who fear you will see me and rejoice,' he himself explained, saying, 'Because I have hoped exceedingly in your words.' This is to say, 'They have seen me within, they have touched me within, they have beheld me within; where I have taken hope in your words, where I have received your words.' Therefore, blessed are those who see the righteous and rejoice, because they hope in the words of God. But how many there are who hate the righteous, who scrutinize the words of God, who are righteous themselves: and when the wicked hear some learned individuals, they are accustomed to avoid them because of their teaching.'


28. (Verse 75.) The third verse follows: I have known, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous and that in Your truth You have humbled me. Whoever can understand the divine providence uses the same language as the holy prophet David; for all things are done by the judgment of God, so that one person may have a sick body, another a healthy one, one may be rich, another poor, one may die young, another old. If anyone pays attention to the divine Scriptures, they understand that these things happen by the judgment of God; for there is nothing outside of God's knowledge. We seek an example? It is not hidden; indeed, Job would never have lost his possessions if he had not been handed over to the power of the adversary. For the Lord gave the devil power over his possessions, so that he might be tested to see what disposition he would have, having lost his inheritance (Job 1:12): he gave over his children, he gave over his body (Job 2:6); so that it might be proven whether, in the face of the grief of his deceased children or the torment of his body, he would stray from constancy of mind and soul. Indeed, the Lord knew him to be strong; but He wanted to teach and test us in him, whether we could be his imitators. And finally, Abraham also was tested, when he sought to offer up his only son, an old man (Gen. XXII, 2). Surely the Lord knew Abraham's intent, but He tests with knowledge, as you have read in the Gospel, that when the Lord Jesus asked His disciples how many loaves they had, and they answered that they had only five loaves, He Himself said: What shall we do among so many people? However, he said this, testing them; for he knew what he was about to do. (John 6:5-6) Therefore, whoever is righteous, relies on the examination of his own righteousness, because the judgments of God are just; or according to the Greek, because the judgments of God are righteousness itself.

29. But in order to acknowledge this, he made a preceding prayer; since he asked to be given understanding, to learn God's commandments. Therefore, the grace of understanding and knowledge was granted to him, and he recognized God's judgments to be just: but to recognize is the act of the perfected. Finally, it is one thing to believe, another to acknowledge. Faith is for those who fear, knowledge is for the wise. For the one who fears, does not seek reason: but the wise person investigates both knowledge and understanding, whatever he desires to perceive. I believed, he said, because of what I spoke: but the understanding one acknowledged what he spoke.

30. Therefore, where are the just judgments of God? It is through labors, tribulations, and afflictions that one reaches the heavenly reward. For just as a crown is given to athletes who compete according to the judgment of men, so a palm is awarded to Christians who compete according to the divine judgment. To the one who is victorious, it is said, I will grant them to sit with me on my throne (Revelation 3:21). Therefore, our life is tested by fire, like the brilliance of silver, in order to prove our virtue in the struggles. We have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us into a place of refreshment. Therefore, I have known that your judgments are true. For I have been humbled, so that I may see these things; because those who are exalted in heart cannot open their eyes to the truth. But when we are humbled, we recognize our sins and cleanse our offenses through humility itself. I have been humbled, he says, and he has saved me. Therefore, in truth, he who was humiliated was humiliated for salvation: and he who followed the salvation of truth did not bear the passion in vain.

31. Therefore, there is a difference between knowing and fearing, so that we may return to it. Finally, the reading of the Gospel should teach us. For the Lord said to those who believed in him from the Jews: If you remain in my word, . . . . you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John VIII, 31 and 32). If you remain, he says, you will know. You see that whoever fears God could not know from the beginning when they heard his word. Moreover, not only is fear not the same as knowledge, but faith is also not the same as knowledge. Indeed, the Apostle also taught that there are different gifts of grace. For he says that to some is given the word of wisdom through the same Spirit, to others the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to others faith in the same Spirit (I Cor. XII, 8 and 9). Therefore, if faith is given to some, knowledge is given to others; you see that where there is faith, there is not immediately knowledge; but where there is knowledge, there is both faith and prudence, and we cannot separate diligence from it.

Therefore, the holy David had knowledge as a perfect prophet; for he knew so perfectly that he humbled himself in the truth itself. Therefore, whether he was placed in adversity, he recognized the grace of testing, which is to endure what is laborious and adverse, and that God's judgment is just; and therefore, those who strive well are never abandoned or forsaken, and a crown can be bestowed on them after their labors. Or whether he was placed in prosperity and success, he also knew that the wealth of kings and various favorable outcomes are usually provided for the sake of temptation; so that the one who uses them may be tempted by the prosperity of things. Therefore, the prophet David is to be praised, because when he recognized these things, he humbled himself; either to exclude the temptations of prosperity by his humility, or to endure the trials of adversity with constant equanimity.

33. Therefore, the Prophet would not be greatly praiseworthy if he praised the judgments of God, making use of the abundance of worldly goods. For what great thing do we do if we praise God when we are prosperous, when we are rich, when we are not plagued by any injustices? It is magnificent if, subjected to injuries, insults, you praise the judgment of God; if, afflicted by sickness, you proclaim the judgments of God; if poverty does not prevent you from praising the justice of God. Therefore, the judgments of God are always to be praised, as it is written: The daughters of Judah rejoiced because of your judgments (Psalm 47:12). Who are the daughters of Judah, if not the religious souls, the souls of the Church, who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and who, seeing the reason of your judgments, always rejoice? For he who rejoices not from any external gain but from the knowledge of reason, is established only in perpetual rejoicing.


34. (Verse 76.) The fourth verse follows: Let your mercy now be made so that it may comfort me, according to your word to your servant. Some have in this place: Let it console me. But we also read in the Apostle an exhortation made for consolation, and consolation made for exhortation (II Cor. I, 4 and 6). Therefore, the mercy of God is great, which not only grants the forgiveness of sins; but also applies the spurs of exhortation to those who are striving, so that the passions of the undertaken struggle may not be abandoned through weak fear. Therefore, he does not seek mercy as one who is overcome and yields, nor as one who prays for pardon, but as one who is girded with God's mercy, supported by greater strength, accomplishes greater things. Remarkable and unique is the virtue of the Prophet. For another would ask to be relieved of humbling hardships, that the trials around him may cease, and that the Lord might deign to calm his troubles, so that the storm of tribulation would not rage against him; but this one, like a strong and patient athlete who knows how to exercise and anoint his soul with hardships, does not desire to remove sorrows, nor to avoid confrontations, nor to cease everything that brings fatigue and labor; rather, he seeks in the time of his labor to receive the word of consolation against the storms of temptation, so that he may be able to endure with a strong mind to what is being thrown upon him, lest he be weakened by any disturbance of sorrow. Therefore, he implores the mercy of God, so that, not being abandoned without help in his undertaking, he may not abandon the military service he has begun.

35. Finally, clear evidence shows that the exhortation is of divine mercy; for God says to Moses: I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will show compassion on whom I show compassion. Therefore it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy (Rom. IX, 15 and 16). Perhaps you may say: So we should not desire or strive; but God is accustomed to desert the negligent. Therefore he does not say this; but let us consider what he does say. The perseverance of a person who is unwilling or hesitant is not enough; for it is not within the power of a person, but rather it is the mercy of God who enables you to accomplish what you have begun. Moreover, it is said to Moses again: 'For this very reason I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you' (Ibid., 17). Therefore, it is concluded that we should rely on the exhortation of divine mercy. Hence it follows: 'So he has mercy on whom he wills, and he hardens whom he wills' (Ibid., 18). He encourages those he shows mercy to, and does not reject them; he does not curse those he hardens. And truly, the mercy of our God is the support of our sufferings, through which our sins are diminished. Finally, Lazarus, the poor man, because he endured many evils in this life, found rest and consolation in the bosom of Abraham; but the rich man, who had consolation in the world, lost the fruit of rest after the course of this life. If God had shown mercy to him, He would have chastised him in this world, so that he would not be scourged afterwards. Finally, Job, though severely afflicted, indeed with many lashes of poverty, loss of children, bodily pains, and the reproaches of friends, still enjoys eternal consolation.

Therefore, the greater the tribulations, the more abundant consolation is reserved. And yet, so that you do not fall and give in, the greater the temptations you see, the more you should pray to the Word of God, so that it may bring you comfort: just as Paul also prayed, saying, Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulation, so that we may also be able to comfort those who are in any tribulation by the exhortation with which we ourselves are exhorted by God; for just as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also through Christ does consolation abound (II Cor. I, 3-5). He prays with such great force of Apostolic petition, that he may receive consolation from the Lord in every tribulation, so that not only may he himself put on endurance; but also may he console others, so that they too may be able to endure the hardships of their own mind. Therefore, if you have been found worthy in every tribulation, then at last you will be deserving to receive consolation in every tribulation. And yet not every suffering is worthy of consolation: but the suffering which is for Christ, this deserves the consolation of Christ.


Moreover, he beautifully added: According to your word, to your servant. For the Lord himself promises help to those who fight for his name, saying: Therefore, when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you will speak; for it will be given to you in that hour what to speak. For it is not you who speak, but the Father who speaks in you (Matt. 10:19-20). Therefore, so that we may not be unequal to the struggle, let us always pray for divine help, so that he may grant us encouragement. For if we have someone who exhorts us, we do not easily give up.

However, most people have this opinion: He who consoles us, and does not shy away from the truth. For there is a certain charm in the encouragement of someone who urges us on, which ignites our striving for praise and soothes us, as it were, with a kind of consolation, so that we are not discouraged by the roughness of our labors.

39. (Verse 77.) The fifth verse follows: Let your mercies come to me, and I shall live; for your law is my meditation. To whom the meditation of God's law is, to them mercy is granted, so that they may live forever. How can anyone be blessed without divine mercy? Blessed indeed is the one who meditates day and night in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:1-2). But the one who meditates in the Law is instructed in the Law, and the one whom the Law instructs, the Lord has instructed, who spoke the Law. Therefore it is written: Blessed is the one whom you instruct, O Lord, and teach from your law (Psalm 94:12). Let us also learn to meditate on the law, not be distracted by worldly temptations, not be hindered by obstacles, but always be attentive to the law of God. For it is written: The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom, and his tongue will speak justice (Psalm 36:30). This is in the Old Testament. Listen to what it says in the New Testament: The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (Romans 10:8). And this meditation is shown to be necessary for priests, as he writes to Titus, because the bishop must embrace Him who is according to the doctrine, faithful in speech, so that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Tit. 1:9). And writing to Timothy, he says: Attend to reading, exhortation, and doctrine (1 Tim. 4:13). Frequent reading, without any interruption, fulfills the duty of teaching.

40. However, what it asks for in order to live, we frequently show that the life of this body does not have the grace of true life; but that true life will be, whose blessings each of the saints believes they see on the earth of the living. What we believe we will see, not at present of course, but it will be in the future.

Verse 41 (Verse 78): The sixth verse follows: Let the proud be confounded, because they acted unjustly towards me; but I will meditate on your precepts. The same Prophet said earlier: If I have rendered evil to those who repay me (Psalms 7:5). Does he curse those who acted unjustly towards him? Certainly not. For he saw that even his enemies should be shown love when the preacher of the Gospel came. Therefore, I believe that he, like a physician, wants to heal those who have been injured; so that, by considering their own wickedness, they may be ashamed of their own crimes: in which not only do they begin to prove their patience in accordance with prophecy, but also to correct their own insolence. Shame is usually a corrector of ourselves; and while we begin to feel ashamed of what we have done, so that we are not ashamed any longer, we are reminded to abandon what deserves to be blushed at. Therefore, the Prophet does not curse, but as a good doctor, he wants to know and understand what they have done; so that when they have taken themselves back into their own conscience, they may begin to blush at how great a heap of sins they have committed, and in blushing, they may be able to renounce their previous sins. Consider now to me some fornicators, unjustly seizing widows and girls, plundering the property of others; and in these things not only do they not feel shame, but they also tend to boast, as if they were carrying titles of either beauty or power: concerning whom the Apostle spoke well, that their glory is in their own shame (Philippians 3:19); they are more detestable to themselves because, despite committing such great sins, they are not ashamed. But if anyone afterward comes into the Church, believes in the Lord Jesus, hears the Gospel, is heartily contrite: then at last will he begin to recognize how atrocious and serious the sins he has committed are, and will blush for those sins he has recognized.

42. And what does it mean to be exercised in the precepts of our Lord, as He said: But I will be exercised in your precepts, in the Law you have learned (Exod. XXIII, 5)? This means that if the ox of an adversary falls or the beast, you should not consider it forsaken, but rather to be helped. And when He says: They have done injustice unjustly, consider who this is spoken to, except for the one who perhaps acts justly in doing injustice: that is, if the injured person begins to seek justice according to the precepts of Moses, he seems to be doing injustice justly, but not according to the precepts of the Gospel. And thus he says: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew IX, 13); because the Jews use the authority of the Law to seek vengeance for themselves.

You have this also in the Apostle: Be sober and just (1 Corinthians 15:34). He clearly taught that not only should we be sober, but also justly sober. However, one can be sober but not justly sober; they may be sober from wine but not sober in fairness and justice, for drunkenness is a form of injustice. Likewise, someone can be constantly indulging in drunkenness and debauchery but still attempt to steal from others, being preoccupied with the desire to be sober from wine but not sober from theft. Such a person is not justly sober. Therefore the Apostle admonishes us to have just sobriety within us. Finally, he added: 'And do not sin.' For whoever sins, even if they are sober, cannot be called justly sober. 'Do not be deceived,' he says, 'lest the drunkenness of another's error make you intoxicated.' Evil conversations corrupt good morals, because the drunkenness of the unbelievers' words and lips is poured into the character of the listener. And rightfully he added: Be soberly just and do not sin. For certain ones have ignorance of God; so let that one be sober, who has no ignorance of God, and does not stagger with the drunkenness of treachery: but let him be justly sober, in whom the grace of works shines forth with the sobriety of faith.

Verse 44. (Line 79.) The seventh verse follows: Let those who fear you turn to me, and those who know your testimonies. Another version, most according to the Greek, has: Let them turn to me. If we read it as 'turn to me': let those who fear God turn to me, let them be ashamed of their committed sins; or certainly let them pay the punishments of their crimes: but let them turn to the servant of God, and to the prophetic teaching; so that they may unlearn the shameful things, and by the correction of the teacher, cast off their manners, and, with the stain of their sins cleansed, put on the discipline of virtues. But if we read it thus: 'Let them be converted to me,' that is, 'because I will be exercised in your precepts,' let them be converted to me, but to me no longer sinning, no longer wandering. 'Let them be converted,' he says, 'who, renouncing their own sins, fear you; so that the Prophet may be more fully advanced to the fellowship of the righteous, and may himself impart most abundantly to those who listen from that grace which is in himself. Let them, therefore, who no longer sin, be converted from the righteous to the righteous.' But I think there is no need to repeat the evidence, since it has already been mentioned before.

45. (Verse 80.) The eighth verse follows: Make my heart immaculate in your justifications, so that I may not be confounded. The greater the Prophet is in the gift of prophecy or in the grace of the kingdom, the more he follows humility and teaches us what we should imitate; that is why the Prophet asks that his heart be made completely immaculate. Above, he requested: Create a clean heart in me, O God (Psalm 50:12). He did not say, do it, but create it; so that he may completely restore and purify his heart. Indeed, there is a great depth in this discourse. For the heart, created by the Lord, is great, as it receives the Word of the heavenly virtues and powers. Great is the heart that receives the Lord Himself saying, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them' (2 Corinthians 6:16). Therefore, in order to receive these things, it prays not to become an angel, but to have the Lord Himself as the creator of its heart, who created the heaven and the earth.

And he rightly says: Immaculate; because the heart of man is stained by a kind of collection of indecent thoughts. If the thought itself pollutes, how much more do the actions themselves contaminate? Do not contaminate the innermost recesses of nature with extraordinary thoughts; lest you pollute with serious defilement, what you think you have clean. You wash your hands as if you can wash away sins, when you cannot wash your mind polluted by impure thoughts. And Pilate washed his hands: but he could not wash his heart. He remained stained with guilt, even though he had washed his hands with water. Understand that even thoughts defile: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a person: but what comes out of the mouth. For evil thoughts come out of the heart, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a person (Matthew 15:17-20). If, therefore, you are defiled inwardly, first cleanse what is inside. If you have cleansed what is inside, you have also cleansed the outside: just as if turbid water flows, you would think in vain that the lake needs to be cleansed if the fountain itself is filthy; for it will be of no benefit to have cleansed the receptacles when the fault is in the fountain. You yourself must be cleansed beforehand, so that everything that is pure may flow. Your heart is the source of your thoughts. In that fountain, either the turbid water of impurity is vomited forth, or the clear wave of piety bursts forth.


47. You have learned that the heart must be cleansed, learn how to cleanse it. Justification cleanses this fountain, that is, the confession of sins. Finally, the tax collector who confessed his own sins was justified more than the Pharisee who left the temple; because the Pharisee preferred his fasts and gifts, as well as his innocence. Therefore, cleanse your water, that water of which it is said: Deep waters are the counsel in the heart of a man (Prov. XX, 5). Nature has given you good water, unless you pollute it with your filth: nature itself washes you, if it is pure, if it is simple, if it is also natural, if it has nothing sordid and earthly. What harm is there if the water that should cleanse, defiles? But it is not your water that defiles, it is foreign water. Finally, it has been said to you: Keep yourself away from foreign water (Prov. V, 15). Foreign water is deceitful and deceptive, and it goes against nature. Therefore he says: The sons of strangers have lied to me (Psalm XVII, 46); for if they were not strangers, surely they would not have deceived. Therefore let no one boast of having a pure heart, as Solomon said (Proverbs XX, 9): but let him who boasts, boast in the Lord (II Corinthians X, 17), who has deigned to create a pure heart for his saints, and to make it immaculate by his justifications. What the justifications are, you have heard him saying: Declare your iniquities, that you may be justified (Isaiah XLIII, 26). Therefore, those who confess their sins are justified; but those who are justified are not ashamed, because mature confession anticipates the shame of sins.

Sermon 11. Caph.

The eleventh letter is Caph, which in Latin interpretation means 'They are bent.' The sound of the interpretation itself teaches us what it means to be bent; for whoever is inclined towards the ground seems to be bent. Hence the Prophet says under this letter: 'They have bent me a little less on earth' (Inf. v. 87). But one who repents is bent; because he bends his neck while humbling himself before the Lord, and even more the inner neck, that is, the neck of the mind and heart. For regarding this neck it is said: Even if you bend your neck like a circle (Isaiah 58:5); for he who does not bend his heart, in vain does he bend his neck.

Jeremiah the prophet also teaches that humility is signified by this interpretation. For he says under this letter in Lamentations: 'For the Lord will not reject forever; for after he has caused grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men' (Lam. 3:31-33). Therefore, it is good to humble ourselves before the Lord, so that the Lord may have mercy. Furthermore, in the preceding verses under this letter, the same prophet Jeremiah, showing the lamentations and humility of the people, says: 'All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength' (Lam. 1:11). See, Lord, and behold, for she has become dishonored. Therefore, let anyone who seeks refreshment for his soul humble himself, so that he may more quickly obtain the mercy of the Lord.

3. (Vers. 81.) And therefore, like a bent soul and mind much more than body, did David begin, saying: My soul has failed in your salvation, and in your word I have hoped. Let an unusual speech not capture us, so that we judge the failure of bodily fatigue in this way. For he did not say only this: My soul has failed; but: My soul has failed in your salvation. Therefore, let us take an example of its use, if for example, we say: He has failed in her, it seems that with this word is expressed that he has completely passed into desire for the woman. And whatever it is that we strongly desire, unless we have a more mature effect of it, it seems to weary us with a long stretch. Love, impatient, knocking on the doors of prostitutes day and night, if the desires of drinking are delayed for a long time, it itself fails in expectation, while hoping: in which case it is not the end of love, but an increase. And whatever is desirable, if it does not happen to the one desiring, it fails into that, and as if departs from the soul itself who desires. However, if hope arises closer, it gives strength to the nearby hope: but if there is the absence of the beloved, precisely because one desires the absent, he suffers from the defection of his soul. Therefore, the further that which is desired is, the more the one who desires fails. That is why he fails; each person migrates with all their endeavors to what they love. He thinks about it, clings to it, repeats it, what he has received to be loved is poured into it with a certain defection of the soul; just as a mother awaits the presence of her son, just as Tobit's wife was awaiting her son who was on a journey, failing from desire, and placed in distress, and as if weakened (Tobit 10:3 and following). For what else do words signify than a certain defect? But the more the desire grows weary, the more love increases; and the longer the one who is longed for is absent, the more the desires of the one waiting burn with a greater force of love. The flesh weakens, but desire is nourished and grows.

Therefore, we can conclude from here what it is: My soul longs for your salvation. For indeed, the soul adheres to the Spirit and the soul is united with it, and they become one spirit. For whoever is united with the Lord is one spirit (I Corinthians 6:17). Therefore, the holy and God-fearing person desires nothing else but the salvation of God, which is Jesus Christ. They long for Him, they desire Him, they devote all their strength to Him, they cherish Him in the depths of their mind, they open themselves up to Him and pour themselves out to Him. And the only thing they fear is losing Him. Therefore, the more the soul exercises itself with a greater desire to cling to its healing source, the more it weakens. So, this weakness indeed brings a decrease in frailty, but also brings an increase in virtue. Finally, he himself says elsewhere: My soul longs for you (Psalm 62:2); and he adds below: My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (ibid., 9). For whoever is thirsty, always desires to cling to the source, and seems to desire and touch nothing else but water, so that he may be nourished by that very affection. Therefore, receiving my soul with His right hand, and imparting His power, He makes it to be what it was not, so that it may say: Yet now I live not I, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20). But learn also from the example that this is an excessive desire. My soul, he says, desires and fails in the courts of the Lord (Psalm 83:3). Before desiring, he says, and as if pouring itself entirely into desire, it is dissolved by a long rope suspended defection. Therefore, Jeremiah teaches how the soul faints in the salvation of God. And it happened, he says, in my heart as a burning fire, flaming in my bones, and I am dissolved on all sides, and I cannot bear it. Therefore, inflamed with desire, David says: My soul has fainted in your salvation, and I have hoped in your word (Jer. XX, 9).

5. He rightly hoped, he said in the Word; for hope precedes fulfillment, and therefore there follows disappointment. But he hoped in the Word that was said to come, which can be understood as the Word of God. Or certainly he hoped in the Word, who believed in the heavenly Word, by whom the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is announced, or by whom his glory is declared. Therefore the Prophet, considering what he had read and perceiving that while he was present in the body, bound by the shackles of this life, he was far from the salvation of God, he longed for it, desired it, grew weak, and was completely dissolved in affection; so that he might become entirely what he desired. As he himself also says later: I pour out my prayer in his presence, I announce my trouble before him, in my weakness my spirit fails within me (Psalm 141:3-4). Indeed, his spirit fails, rather his own spirit fails from him, who denies himself in order to adhere to Christ. Thus his paths are known by the Lord; for they are not of the flesh, but of Christ's paths.

For the way to God for those who seek Him is through Christ. And therefore let us desire that eternal thing, that salvation of God: let us not desire money, which the most greedy desire; let us not desire the beauty of another man's wife; let us not be driven by the desire for ambition; let us not aim for worldly glory; let us not be occupied with the pursuits of deceitful scheming; let us not desire to deceive our neighbor with injustice; let us not, in short, be like foxes immersed in the inner depths of earthly pleasure, as if exiles from eternal things, and being cast down from the presumption of that heavenly hope. Therefore, let our failing soul raise itself up with all its strength, so that it may cling to the saving God, who is Christ the Lord Jesus, which in interpretation is called the salvation of the Lord. For He Himself is salvation, truth, power, and wisdom. Therefore, whoever fails himself in order to adhere to virtue, loses what is his own and receives what is eternal.

7. (Vers. 82.) It follows: My eyes have failed for your word, saying: When will you comfort me? Above, it is practical, here it is theoretical: there the soul fails in salvation, because it desires Him whose Passion is preserved; here the eyes fail in the word of the Lord of the prophets. And let us see whether, just as there the soul adheres to Christ and fails into one spirit, and becomes one spirit, so here the eyes may fail, so that the mind may become one. For these are the eyes of the mind, namely the eyes of the inner man, not the eyes that function by ministry of sight. For there is an eye and a mind of the flesh: but that eye is blind, which does not see things that are divine, and which is vainly puffed up by the mind of the flesh. And there is another eye, the sense of Christ, by which the Church sees Christ; as He Himself says to His Bride: Thou hast wounded our hearts with one of thine eyes. Christ is rightly seen with one eye; because He is not seen with the fleshly eye: or because the Church, having two eyes, the moral and the mystical, sees more of Christ with the eye of faith. For the mystic eye is sharper, the moral sweeter.

And perhaps these are the eyes with which Paul saw the eternal, where he began to not see earthly things. Finally, he who did not see Christ before he lost his sight, saw him after he lost the sight of his eyes. For he saw the one he said: Who are you, Lord? (Acts 9:5). Surely he saw Christ, whom he also acknowledged as Lord. And below: Lord, he said, what do you want me to do? (Ibid., 6) Did he not see him whose command he awaited? Therefore, with what eyes did Paul begin to see more, except those which he himself showed us, saying: I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the mind (I Cor. XIV, 15)? Finally, so that you may know that he saw while praying: It happened, he said, when I returned to Jerusalem, while I was praying in the temple, I had a trance, and I saw him saying to me: Hurry, and leave Jerusalem quickly; for they will not receive your testimony about me (Act. XXII, 17 and 18). Therefore, these eyes fail in the word of God, and say: When will you comfort me? These individuals were called prophets with these eyes; because through revelation they could mentally perceive things that were hidden.

9. What is it to lose sight? Let us speak about physical ones, so that we may understand the spiritual ones. When we desire someone and hope that they will come, do we not direct our eyes to where we hope they will come from? Therefore, being content with long daily expectation, we lose sight. Thus, Anna, looking around on the road, anxiously searched for the arrival of her son with her guards (Tob. X, 7). Thus, the prophet David, while running from battle, eagerly desired to inquire about his son's well-being after placing lookout guards in the tower (II Reg. XVIII, 24). So the wife of tender age from the shore lookout, with unwearied expectation, awaits the arrival of her husband; so that whenever she sees any ship, she may think that her husband is sailing there, and she fears that another may anticipate the pleasure of seeing her beloved, and she may not be able to be the first to say: I see you, my husband; just as Anna said to her son: I see you, my son, from now on I will happily die. Therefore, just as a woman who desires to present herself to an approaching man, sets aside all domestic tasks, and reads the footprints of the traveler or the paths that he takes: so the Prophet, stripped of secular cares, directed the gaze of his inner eyes to the word of God, remaining vigilant until he lost himself. He subjected his body to service, and instructed his soul in the patience of humility, like a spider's decaying web. For he longed for the fountains of water like a deer, and he thirsted for his Lord God, desiring to see His presence and to appear before the face of God. And with excessive longing and fierce desire, he presumed himself more suitable for obtaining the grace of prophecy for those things that he sought from the Lord. And so let us turn our hearts, that we may understand the sequence of the Scriptures, and let us ask the word to come to us from the Lord, and let understanding be given. If anyone from afar perceives the Word of God with the gaze of the mind, not yet clear and distinct, he sees the ship of the Word approaching the soul as it were with certain inner eyes. But the more clearly he begins to see, the more he hastens to approach like a port of truth, so that he may be nearest to embarking.


10. Therefore, the eyes of the prophets failed in the word of God, saying: When will you console me? If these eyes are symbolic, with which we see and perceive, they should have said: When will you console us; that is, not singularly, but plurally? But because the eye of the mind and the eye of the flesh become one eye, and then a man is supported by consolation when the flesh and the mind do not desire different things, but desire one thing, they are therefore attentive to him who says: I and the Father are one (John 10:30), these also confess that their eyes are one; because they perform one and the same desire and function.


Therefore, the Prophet was lacking in words. However, we consider ourselves idle if we seem to only study with words, and we value more those who work than those who exercise the study of understanding divinity. For many people say: Behold the man and his works. As if someone who studies with words does not work; when this work is greater than the others. For if justice is a work, if temperance is a work, if courage is a work, certainly wisdom is also a work; for these four principal virtues are considered. For if Christ works according to what is just, he certainly works according to what is the Word. And he worked when he was in the beginning with the Father. Finally, through him all things were made (John 1:3), so that you may know that he is the operator of all things, and our work is Christ Jesus. Indeed, as he is the Word, the word is a great work for those who seek it. Therefore, while Martha hurried about her ministry, but Mary listened to the word of the Lord; she deserved to be preferred to what she was serving because of what she heard. For Martha said to Him: Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Speak therefore to her, that she may help me. And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha . . . Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:40-42). Thus, it is determined by divine authority that knowing the word is a greater work than serving.

12. But perhaps someone may say that it is said by the Apostle: For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (I Cor. IV, 20). I do not deny that it is written, but in what word, you may understand; namely, the word which the Spirit has poured forth, which the sermon cannot benefit those who hear, which is a spirit and virtue without display, this word Paul does not regard as worthy of recognition; for he wishes rather to recognize the virtue of the word. Finally, the Apostle did not want his word to be such that it came in weakness, to make others stronger: in fear and trembling; that those who fear would fear nothing except the Lord Jesus; trembling they would keep His peace and tranquility. Listen, therefore, to what kind of discourse the Apostle had. And he said, 'My discourse and preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power' (1 Corinthians 2:4); because faith is not established in the eloquence of worldly wisdom, but in the power of God. Therefore, there is power in the discourse of the saints, but in that worldly and philosophical discourse, there is vanity. Moreover, let that Prophet teach you that there is power in the discourse of the saints, who says, 'The Lord will give His word to those who preach the Gospel with great power' (Psalm 68:11); that is, so that they may preach the Gospel with great power. Therefore it is proven that there is power in the preaching of the Gospel: and the preaching of the Gospel is the speech of the saints: so there is no doubt that there is power in holy speech.

13. (Vers. 83.) The third verse follows: Since I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, I have not forgotten your justifications. This voice, the voice of the just, is the one who mortifies his body; for rightly is that person called just, who is found stripped, not naked: for the wineskin is made from the remains of a dead animal. Therefore, let us die to sin, so that we may live to God. Having been filled with the joy of the spirit, and the sweetness of gladness, we shall be spiritual remains, free from bodily weakness, and reserving for ourselves the grace of divine mysteries poured into the whole of our mind. Regarding these wineskins, it is said that new wine is put into new wineskins (Matt. IX, 17), those who want to preserve both the body and grace. Therefore, let not your wineskin leak, let it not be cracked, let it not grow old with earthly decay; lest new wine break the old wineskins, by which the wineskins are torn, grace is poured out. Let not again, by the heat of injustice and excessive force, they dry up like the sun, but let the desires of the burning hearts be tempered by a certain snowy coldness. The heat of desire is cooled, and restrained by the frost of self-control and fasting, and is elevated by morning prayer; for just as dew descends upon our earth, so God's words descend, like rain upon grass, and like snow upon hay. This snow does not harm our vessel of goodness, this snow that shines with the divine splendor of eloquence. This snow cools, it does not burn; it nourishes the seeds, it does not destroy them. This snow is the commandment of self-control, which causes bodily heat to cool, and extinguishes all inner ardor of the flesh. And perhaps for this reason, when he demonstrated the glory of his resurrection, his clothing was as white as snow: so that not only he himself could be considered free from the contamination of sin, but also whoever is resurrected, with their desires for marriage frozen, would appear to rise cold. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but will be like the angels of God in heaven. Therefore, the good vessels are cold, that is, bound by the chill of frost, and not dissolved by the heat of desire.


14. Moreover, though this body is called a vessel in many places, you can also understand from this that when Adam and Eve laid aside the heavenly image that they had previously borne, and put on the image of the earthly man, they were clothed with tunics made of skin, because they had turned their spiritual bodies into physical ones by committing sin (Gen. 3:21). Nor is it absurd to understand it when David says that he was made like a vessel in an icy storm, because even though he was placed in the harshness of the frost, he still mortified his body so that he would not feel the severity of that winter, which the Savior says will be burdensome for those fleeing from it (Matt. 24:20). For just as skin does not feel cold like ice, because it is the skin of a dead animal; so the dead prophet, dead to sin, could not feel the cold of sin: or certainly that it be not broken by necessities, nor should the flesh resist the mind; but with a gentle motion, it should bend itself to the commands of the soul, and in this icy world it should not wither away: or because we are the body of affliction, and we should always bear the death of the Lord Jesus in our body. This is the skin that disciplines its own body, not like that fat and obese people who sat to eat and drink, and then rose up to play (Exod. XXXII, 6). Here is the vessel that inebriates not with wine, but with spirit: in which there is no bitterness of grapes, no rage of dragons, no fury of asps, but a cup inebriating how splendid it is! Therefore David glories in this, because he has become like a vessel in freezing, not sensing the operation of sin.

15. And a sin is rightly compared to a gelicidium. For just as a gelicidium is useless for any purpose, for any operation; so guilt is of no benefit to anyone, to no operation: and therefore just as a gelicidium must be avoided, so that it does not harm and burn. Therefore, it is necessary for this vessel to be filled, not empty, filled with the Spirit, filled with justifications; so that I may confess my sins myself, so that I may restrain the lust of my flesh; for we must die to the world, in order to live for God. But if we live according to the flesh, death is certainly the wisdom of the flesh: we cannot live for God; because this fleshly wisdom is hostile to God, and secular life.

16. (Verse 84.) The fourth verse follows: How many are the days of your servant? When will you provide judgement for me against those who pursue me? It can be understood as follows: How many are the days of your servant, as if to say: How long is human life, how much time, how much space? Why is envy directed at such a short life; so that we may enjoy the peaceful course of this age? Why are so many snares set against us in such a short span of time by those who pursue us? Let judgement now be at hand, in which the punishment of the treacherous takes place, in which the persecutors are rewarded with worthy recompense for their impiety. And so, how long will they be able to insult us, how long will they be able to disturb us, those who seek to afflict us in various ways? There will be no late end; for the Prophet, estimating not years but days, subtracts the swiftness of this life, saying: How many are the days of your servant? And he spoke well of the days, so that he would not only pass the annual delays in prophetic vision, but also reveal the shining course of this life with the light of virtues. And rightfully secure, he says: When will you make judgment for me against those who persecute me? You, he says, will make judgment against those who persecute me, not give judgment against me as the one being persecuted; for indeed the wicked do not rise up in judgment. But give judgment for me, he says; so that when you reward innocence, you promote faith, you crown mercy, the impious persecutors may be judged by the rewards of prophetic merits.

17. It is not absurd either that, because the days are short and few of this life, the Lord does not delay His grace around His Prophet any longer, but He Himself executes judgement upon the persecutors. For here also is judgement upon the persecutors, since whoever does not believe in Christ is already judged. And this is the judgement that the Lord Jesus gave to His servants, saying: 'You shall have power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy' (Luke 10:19). And a true judgment, in which the enemy is tormented, as he himself confessed saying: Why ... have you come before the time to torment us? (Matthew VIII, 29) ?

Therefore, the Prophet founded on the stability of virtues demands this, that not a man, but he himself who claimed a place for himself in man, be subject to him. And so the Apostle thought that he deserved condemnation for the sin of man, to be subjected, of whom he says: God will crush Satan under your feet shortly (Rom. XVI, 20). Therefore, the persecutor seeks judgment to be passed on him, so that the adversary may be crushed by the footsteps of the prophetic faith, and the Prophet may crush him like dust: and being established in the warfare of his body, although the days of life are short; he may still obtain triumph over the adversary, so that the man, reformed to his former grace, whom he previously held bound by the chains of his sins, and was wearied by the heat of burning desire, may groan for freedom and feel his power. Therefore, the adversary is subject according to the Lord's judgment. For indeed, the Lord Jesus, coming into this world through the birth of the Virgin, subjected all contrary powers to our souls, so that they may be crushed by your faith, your word, your conduct, and your works. Therefore, if you do not crush the adversary, it is your fault, for you do not use the power that has been given to you. It is up to us, therefore, to either subject the adversary or conquer it. For if our actions displease, the adversary begins to be proud, but if we adhere to good works, let us pursue the virtues of chastity, justice, and self-control, trampling upon the serpent and the scorpion. For we trample him under the feet of chastity; we crush the scorpion, so that it cannot escape: we tread in the footsteps of continence, modesty, and justice. Therefore, we can have a perpetual triumph over our adversaries even in this short life.

19. (Verse 85.) Here follows the fifth verse: The unjust ones have told me of their exercises, but not according to your law, O Lord. It is well for judgment to be made against those who persecute, who have not only hindered the works of the just, but also attempted to overthrow faith with unnecessary narration. Indeed, he says that they have told him naenias, which means, unnecessary talk. These unnecessary narrators, like swallows, corrupt the sweetness of discussion with the continuation of their natural loquacity, as Aristotle's opinion is.


Therefore, the heretic speaks unnecessarily, who does not speak the truth, who does not speak according to the law. But he who is founded in the law, knows how to discern falsehood from truth; with spiritual erudition of doctrine, to separate heretical teachings from the dogmas of the Gospel. Therefore, in order that many may not be deceived, the sinner is commanded by the Lord to be silent: For God said to the sinner: Why do you recount my justices (Ps. XLIX, 17)? Therefore, let perfidy be silent, which does not know how to hold the path of truth, which does not keep the commandments of God. For why do sinners take the Gospel of truth into their mouths, in whose mouths there is no truth? But all the precepts of God are truth, and Christ is the truth. Therefore, Christ is not in the disputes of the deceitful, who says to the deceitful: Your mouth has abounded with wickedness, and your tongue has woven deceit ; for the tongue that desires to build a lie surely weaves deceit with what is asserted. But this is of such a kind, and it goes together with theft. There are indeed many thieves who do not steal and rob the word of God for their own benefit, but for deception; and they twist a certain inheritance of heavenly Scriptures in their thefts, collecting adulterated gains for themselves, seeking deceit more than truth. But these are the ones who mix water with wine, like the worst innkeepers, corrupting the word of God and uttering whatever they have expressed with a treacherous and as if drunken mouth; and therefore they speak contrary to the law. Where he well seeks refuge and reproaches them, knowing what he has received from the prescription of the law.

21. (Vers. 86.) Therefore, he rightly says in the following verse: All your precepts are truth; unjustly they persecuted me, help me. Just as a good soldier does not shun wars, nor does a fighter accustomed to serious battles fear the conflict; but faithfully and wisely he prays for divine assistance, and earnestly seeks faithful supports for his pious devotion. Therefore, he does not ask for persecutions to cease; but in persecutions he asks to be aided. For he knew that all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. So he prefers to endure persecutions so that he can live a godly life in Christ. And he mentioned not only one persecution, but many persecutions, and did not specify the names of the persecutors; for there are many persecutors, not only those we can see, but also those we cannot see. Spiritual wickedness persecutes, heretics persecute, Jews persecute, Gentiles persecute. Therefore, all those who want to live a pious life are under persecutors, because where there are many persecutors, there is no time for someone striving to live piously. And perhaps when we do not suffer persecutions, we are regarded as condemned, because we do not want to live piously in Christ. For certainly, since it is a definite statement that all those who want to live a pious life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecutions (II Tim. III, 12), it seems that the one who does not suffer persecutions is forsaken, because they do not have a pious intention in Christ; for persecutions indeed follow a devoted and faithful purpose. If there are no contests, I fear that one who desires to compete may be seen as lacking. All your precepts are truth, he said (John 15:20). What precepts other than these: If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you? David heard these precepts, even though he lived before the mystery of the Incarnation, in his spirit: and as a disciple of Christ, he did not withdraw himself from sufferings, but offered himself in contests. He knew that this was fruitful for his glory, safe for the protection of his salvation, so that the righteousness of the righteous could be confirmed through frequent exercises. For faith, when unpracticed, quickly weakens, and idleness is tried by frequent inconveniences. Crafty, the lurking enemy breaks through relaxed watchfulness: but external deceit, inured to war, prepares the man, and leads him to the glorious prize of victory. Therefore, peace is the fuel for the corruption of faith.

How beautifully the times of persecution advanced for us. His mind was fixed like a beggar on intimate feelings towards God: he clung to Him, and his praying soul felt no distracting thoughts; his prayer poured forth from the depths of his being, and his conversation with the Lord became intertwined; his daily meditation had already acquired contempt for danger, and he had embraced the practice of facing death. Those peaceful times, which had not been disturbed by war, test the exercises we have lost. Therefore, dangers and the leisure of peace. In peace, more persecutions began to occur. There was no flatterer at the time of persecution, who would attempt to deceive with cunning flattery. The mind was not free to be dissolved by the pleasure of the body, and to admit the passions that are accustomed to be aroused by favorable circumstances. Therefore, when the Apostles were beaten, imprisoned, they rejoiced because by those injuries they were gaining the reward of eternal glory, who were worthy to endure injuries for the sake of Christ (Acts 5:41). They did not care about wealth, they were not interested in power and honors, nor in achieving superiority, which often unsettles even the righteous; but rather, they believed that one should be considered superior if they were beaten with more lashes.

23. Therefore, David rightly sought opportunities to triumph, and did not fear the opportunity to compete for the education of devotion, as he knew that the persecutions of the wicked lead to the growth of virtue. For he did not say, 'Because I suffer persecutions, help me,' but rather, 'They have unjustly persecuted me, help me.' For one can indeed suffer persecutions, but not unjustly; for there is also a just persecution, if we hate the obscene, if we are hostile to the unjust, if we want to oppress the wicked in order to prevent them from harming many, if we strip the greedy of the gains of their deceit, if we despise the insolence of the proud. But whoever suffers persecution for faith, for justice, for chastity, he says well: 'They have persecuted me unjustly, help me.'

24. (Verse 87.) The seventh verse follows: The wicked have consumed me on earth: but I have not forsaken your commandments. He did not seek in vain divine assistance, who knew that he had a strong battle to fight, many battles were prepared for him, sometimes against spiritual wickedness in high places, sometimes against the heat of his blood, and the countless allurements of this body, by the varied bonds of which, and by long and weary struggles, he would have fallen in shameful defeat, had he not held fast to the root of faith. Let us learn how to guard against the enemy we carry within ourselves, a formidable enemy that is the misuse of our own bodies. It is inflamed by wine, ignited by desire, kindled by the beauty of a passing woman, nourished by hope, consumed by despair, consumed by allurements, not evaporated by their effect, troubled by fear, broken by dread, weakened by luxury, dissolved by sensuality, afflicted by toil, fatigued by anxiety, worn out by passion. Are you surprised if, among so many opposing forces of passions, even a just person can hardly hold their ground, when we are unequal even in the individual battles? Who is not conquered by lust alone, who is not subdued by greed, who is not shaken by fear, who is not weakened by indulgence, who is not softened by debauchery, who is not undermined by drunkenness?

25. Therefore, like one conscious of carnal weakness and an explorer of hostile persecution, he says: They have slightly consumed me on earth. In this very earth, where Adam first fell and, through a shameful transgression, was cast down, he turned the footsteps of all future posterity (Gen. III, 17). In this earth, where Cain, sorrowing for the preference shown to his brother's gifts, was laid low by the ruin of envy. Lastly, the voice of his brother's blood cried out from the earth (Gen. IV, 10). In this land, Noah, the holy man whom the floods of the whole world approved as vigilant amidst such great storms and waves, where he, however, relaxed his cares with an idle body, was overcome by the sleep of drunkenness, incurred the reproach of paternal piety, teaching that dangerous idleness is secure for virtue. In this land, Lot, the imitator of his venerable parent, was not stained by the impurity of the luxuriant Sodomitic people, nor was he enveloped by the burning flame of Sodom; he did indeed escape the deserved punishment of ignorance, but he did not avoid the disgraceful act of incest. This man is burned by the flames of women, whom the sulphurous flame does not consume.

26. In this world, David also said that he was almost consumed. For he barely felt his feet and steps move, because he considered secular riches and the success of earthly prosperity to abound for sinners in place of blessedness. Because of this, he was also chastised; but the lashes of the Lord are remedies for salvation. For the Lord disciplines every son whom he receives (Heb. XII, 6). Therefore, David, turned towards the love of the Lord, and instructed by His precepts, not ignorant that things that are fleeting are bestowed upon the fleeting by a chance occurrence, and that it is not the abundance of riches, but the grace of virtues that weigh the merits of a worthy life, loved the commandments of God more than he abandoned them. By them alone, he was able to overcome the impending spiritual wickedness and the rising desires of this body in the weakness of such a fragile nature. Great indeed is the virtue that, established under such great persecutions and almost suppressed, has not forgotten its protection, nor abandoned the commands of the Lord.

27. (Vers. 88.) Therefore, because he knew that only God had profited him, directing his prayers to the Lord, he says in the following verse: According to your mercy, give me life: and I will keep the testimonies of your mouth (Sup. v. 17). We have already mentioned this plea for his own enlivening; for he did not ask for what he possessed, but for what he desired, that is, to live forever, understanding that the blessedness of life cannot be found in this fluctuating and untrustworthy body of ours, whose weakness forsakes the soul's purpose. Therefore, the mercy of God is necessary, so that there may be a continuous and perpetual vivification in this body; so that the righteous may live for God every day and die to sin. For if guilt dies in us, there will be a living for God and a persevering in the keeping of heavenly precepts, which is certainly kept by the one who is vivified by the Lord.

28. Finally, he asks to be revived by the Lord beforehand, and afterwards promises to keep the testimonies of heaven; for this common life does not keep the heavenly commandment, but the one that is supported by the eternal office through the operation of spiritual grace. We can also understand it this way: because the Prophet had already acknowledged the things that were of the Law, he prays for the mercy of the Lord's coming, so that he may receive the precepts by which the Law is fulfilled; so that he not only knows that adultery is to be avoided, but also that the desire for adultery is to be turned away from. For the Lord Jesus, the Son of the Father, spoke in the Gospel, that whoever looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. V, 28). How much progress has been made in the Gospel on the pursuit of chastity, by which not only the disgrace of a shameful act, but also the reproach of degenerate pursuit, is removed!

29. But who are those of whom he says that they have almost accomplished him on earth, if not the persecutors? Concerning one of them the Lord Jesus says: Go, tell that fox (Luke XIII, 32), that is, about Herod. And elsewhere, when he noticed that he was dishonestly interrogated, he said: Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests where they can rest (Matthew VIII, 20); because they deceitfully dwell in certain hiding places of earthly passions. And Samson also tied together two foxes, to whose tails he tied torches, and he released them into the Allophylus fields (Judges 15:4-5); by this action he symbolized that wicked and deceitful people, especially heretics, have free rein to bark with their tongues, but their escape is hindered: or they may have contentious beginnings, but the end of their deceit is consumed by fire. And so he also released three hundred foxes, because those who desire to commend themselves by preaching the treacherous cross are not able to understand its mystery; instead, they attempt to burn the fruits of others with their false and feigned preaching. However, the true cross of the Lord does not consume the merits of others, but rather enriches them. And rightly is it written in the Song of Songs: Take for us the little foxes, that spoil the vines; for our vineyard hath flourished. (Cant. II, 15). By which it is shown that either the Lord Jesus or the Church commands the deceitful tricks of the fraudsters to be exterminated from their vineyards; lest they harm the young vines, for they cannot harm the mature vines. For a heretic can attempt to deceive the imperfect, but he cannot overthrow the perfect.

Sermon 12. Lamed.

The twelfth letter is Lamed, whose interpretation is heart, or as another interpretation has it, servant. Hence, it seems to admonish that these things should be understood wisely or diligently preserved. For this is immediately proclaimed by the first verse. Indeed, this Prophet asks that a clean heart be created for him in the heavens, as we read (Psalm 50:12). This wise son Solomon prayed to the Lord for a wise heart to be given to him. Therefore, he who has a clean heart, he who has a wise heart, understands the sequence of subordinate verses, and the strength (1 Kings 9:9). We find the heart alone or elsewhere, that is, either singular or that nothing of this world's allurements may impede it, and that the wisdom of the flesh may not disturb it. But he who has a heart keeps the commandments of God: just as you read about Mary, who kept all the words or deeds of the Lord and Savior in her heart (Luke 2:51).

2. Therefore, let us circumcise our hearts: let us seek nothing carnal, nothing base; let us consider all earthly things base. Let us establish nothing earthly, nothing worldly, nothing corporeal, nothing light and changeable in heavenly discourse. For the words of the Lord are pure words (Psalm XI, 7); so that through them the immaculate and modest purity of heavenly mysteries may shine forth in spiritual interpretation. Let us not mix earthly things with divine things in an adulterous manner, and let us not violate that inviolable sacrament of prophetic vision, or violate the estimation of our perennial oracle of nature. For this reason, he added: Silver tested by fire, purified by earth, proven sevenfold (Ibid.); so that like good coiners, we may examine the silver of prophetic discourse with the spirit, distinguishing the Lord's money and purifying it from all earthly stain by the infusion of the healing fountain, that we may appear to think worthy of Christ, who says: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth consume . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19-20).


Your treasure is faith, piety, and mercy: your treasure is Christ. Do not value him from earthly things, that is, from creatures; for the Lord is the creator of all things. Cursed, it says, is the one who has hope in man (Jerem. XVII, 5): but salvation came to me through man. However, see what the Old Scripture has said: He is man, and who will know him (Ibid., 9)? Therefore, that man, not by human, but by divine power, has forgiven all sins for me, God in the body, the Lord Jesus, reconciling the world to himself, whom he redeemed from guilt.


Our precious treasure is understanding. If the understanding is earthly, if it is fragile, the heretical moth will consume it, and the rust of impiety will destroy it. Therefore, let us raise and elevate our senses, and let us not judge it impossible that this weakness of the human body may attain knowledge of celestial mysteries; for now the Lord Jesus, in whom the treasures of knowledge and wisdom were hidden, has descended to us by his divine mercy, in order to unlock what is closed, reveal what is hidden, and make known what is secret. Come therefore, Lord Jesus, open to us the door of this prophetic discourse; for it is closed to many, although it appears open at first sight.

5. (Vers. 89.) Forever, says the Lord, your word remains in heaven. You also see that it should remain in you, which also remains and perseveres in heaven. Therefore, keep the word of God, and keep it in your heart, and keep it so that you do not forget. Keep the law of the Lord, and meditate; lest the justifications of the Lord slip from your heart. The interpretation of the letters teaches you to be diligent. The Prophet teaches you in the following, saying: Unless your law had been my meditation, perhaps I would have perished in my humility. I will never forget your justifications (Inferno v. 92 and 93). Therefore, meditation on the law enables us to endure and tolerate times of tribulation, times when we are humiliated by adversities, so that we are neither broken by excessive humiliation nor by dejection. Ultimately, the Lord does not want to break us with humility to the point of despair, but rather to the point of correction.

6. Therefore, even the prophet Jeremiah under this letter in Lamentations says: To humble underfoot all the prisoners of the earth, and to turn aside the judgment of man in the face of the Most High, to condemn man when he is judged, the Lord has not spoken (Lam. 3:34 and following). And further: Evil does not come forth from the mouth of the Most High (Ibid., 38). Therefore, the humility which is from the Lord is full of righteousness, full of equity; because evil does not come forth from the mouth of the Lord. Finally, the one who was humiliated by the Lord said: I have been humiliated, and he saved me (Psalm 115:6).

Therefore, just as it must be wisely considered when humility is the cause of testing from the Lord, and when the impression of humility must also be imposed by man, which nevertheless is usually endured with patience and magnanimity, so also it must be wisely considered what it means for the word of the Lord to remain forever in heaven, or as some codices have it, 'for eternity,' because the Greek εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα has been translated diversely by different interpreters: some as 'forever,' others as 'for eternity.' Therefore, Lord, your word remains forever in heaven. And as you yourself said: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). The word remains forever, not beyond the ages and ages; for ages are of time. Therefore, heaven and earth, that is, the works of this world, will pass away, and the times will remain. Another, who is spiritual, and judges the words of the law: Your word, Lord, remains forever in heaven. For the eternity of the abiding word excludes the opinion of the passing word. But how does the word remain in heaven, if it passes through the heaven itself? And how can the highest parts stand, if the foundations give way? Or how can the inhabitant remain in his dwelling, unless the dwelling also endures? But perhaps this objection arises, because it is written: 'There will be a new heaven' (Isaiah 65:17). But even this is not conclusive; for that which passes cannot remain, nor can that which begins be said to have remained. Your understanding will be divided like a moth, if you think that a word is like the sky, either to begin or to pass away.

8. So if we want to understand the virtue of prophetic sense, let us first consider ethical things that are visible and perceptible; so that we may reveal from them what is intelligible. If the word of God remains in heaven, let us imitate the heaven where the word remains, the solemn order of heavenly statutes remains, and the frequent turns of the Lord's benefits persist with solemn gifts. Indeed, abundant fertility is poured into and nourished by these lands through heavenly rains, or warmth, or the nourishment of this air. The year passes through days, and months, and the seasons of autumn and winter, and spring and the serene times of summer. Take an image of your life from the sky. Even when you do not bear fruit, still sow seeds for fruit. There are seeds that come from the sky, and they are sown on the earth. There is also a heavenly harvest; hence the Prophet says: Sow for yourselves righteousness, harvest the fruit (Hos. X, 12). And even when your works do not bloom, still nourish your seeds, so that they do not luxuriate in idleness. What flourishes in the flower of speech is diminished and dull in fruit. Cook the fruits until they are fully ripe.

9. Let us also be imitators of the celestial element itself: the sun does not always burn fiercely, it is often covered by clouds, it shivers in the face of heavy rains, and it covers the earth with thrown snow. Therefore, let not lasting frivolity be in you too; let the sad times of old age follow, and let the gray maturity of this field suppress the desires of your body. Often, sadness is more useful, as it usually has seriousness as its companion. Is there any disobedience in the sun itself? Does not the sun maintain its daily course? Does not the moon know its continuous eclipses, and does it not neglect the tasks of its ministry? Indeed, the year returns in the same cycles, and times are restored in the same state, and the same observances are reformed. The sun illuminates the day, preserving the appointed times. The moon shines with nocturnal splendors, and its light sparkles in darkness. The globe of shining stars glows, and they perform their solemn stationing, rotation, and changing. One law for all, to safeguard the established order, not to exceed the prescribed limits. The very change remains unchanging, and the transformation does not know how to reverse its order. One obedience for all, to maintain the harmony of the prescribed constitution with distinct tasks.

10. Therefore, the Word remains in heaven because Satan fell from heaven: he did not have a place in heaven, therefore he fell. Where did he fall if not to the earth? Therefore, here adultery, murder, and drunkenness began to abound. Excluded from there, he came to us more fiercely and exercises temptations harsher than usual as if angry. Therefore, the Word remains in heaven; because the devil was cast out from there: he does not remain on earth; because he came here entirely. And see whether this Word can remain in us, where the devil has spread so many snares, who, while he was in heaven, could not himself remain there with the Word. Finally, because he himself did not hold on to the Word, he fell from heaven.

11. Therefore, in heaven, the Word remains, and that which is governed and directed according to the disposition of the Word. But because heaven itself passes away, it did not say 'to remain in the ages', but 'to remain in the age': although it passes away, so that a new heaven and a new earth, a new testament, may come to be; so that we may be able to see the glory of the Lord face to face.

12. However, because there was also a place for vices in heaven (for surely the adversary would not have fallen from there unless he had been caught in wrongdoing, for even fools, like the moon, change, and the sky itself is covered in darkness), it seems that it is not said of an element, but of celestial Virtues and Powers. For there are holy Virtues in heaven, in which there is nothing slippery or earthly. There are also in the earth heavens, which declare the glory of God. Who are these heavens? Listen to the one speaking: \"Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, let us also bear the image of the heavenly one\" (I Cor. XV, 49). These, therefore, are the heavens, which, even though situated on earth, dare to say: \"But our citizenship is in heaven\" (Philip. III, 20). These are the heavens, in which faith, gravity, self-control, knowledge, and heavenly life exist. For just as someone is called earthly, who, having fallen from that heavenly grace, is bound by the chains of his own transgression and brought down to these earthly vices, so on the contrary, someone is called heavenly, who exercises a life of angelic integrity and controls his body with self-restraint, and also composes his mind with gentle tranquility, and dispenses his wealth to the poor with merciful generosity. Therefore, there is also heaven on Earth, in which celestial powers can exist. Heaven, to me, is a throne (Isaiah LXVI, 1), more of a spiritual state than a physical element. I consider it to be the heaven to which Christ's soul came, knocking on its door, and if it opens, he enters. And he does not enter alone, but also with the Father, as he himself says: 'We will come to him and make our home with him' (John XIV, 23).

13. Therefore, you see that the Word of God both challenges the idle and awakens the sleeping. For whoever comes and knocks at the door, always wants to enter. But it is within us that he does not always enter, he does not always remain. Open your door to the one who is coming, open your soul, expand the embrace of your mind; so that he may see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the sweetness of grace. Open your heart, meet the sun of eternal light, which illuminates every man. And indeed that true light shines on all: but if someone closes their windows, they deceive themselves of eternal light. Therefore, Christ is also excluded if you close the door of your mind: although he can enter, he does not want to burst in forcefully, he does not want to compel the unwilling. He came forth from a virgin's womb, shining upon the whole world, so that he could illuminate everyone. Those who desire the brightness of perpetual radiance are captivated, which no night can disturb. For only to this sun which we see daily does a dark night succeed; but the sun of justice never sets, because wickedness does not succeed wisdom.

14. Blessed therefore is he whose door Christ knocks. Our door is faith, which, if it is strong, can encompass the whole house. Through this door Christ enters. Hence the Church says in the Canticles: 'The voice of my brother knocks at the door' (Song 5:2). Hear the one knocking, hear the one desiring to enter: Open to me, my sister, my bride, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night (ibid.). Consider when God the Word knocks at your door, especially when His head is filled with the night dew. For He deigns to visit those placed in tribulation and temptations, lest anyone weakly succumb, conquered by hardships. Therefore, His head is filled with dew or drops when His body labors. Thus, one must be watchful, lest when the Bridegroom comes, He departs excluded. For if you sleep and your heart does not stay awake, He departs before knocking; but if your heart stays awake, He knocks and seeks to open the door for Himself. Therefore, we have the gate of our souls; we also have gates of which it is said: Lift up, O gates, your lintels; be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in (Ps. 24:7). Therefore, there is heaven in those things in which there are everlasting gates. If you wish to raise up these gates of your faith, the King of glory will enter, carrying the triumph of His own passion. Justice also has gates. For we also read about these, with the Lord Jesus speaking through His prophet: Open to me the gates of righteousness (Ps. 118:19). And below the prophet David says: Praise, O Jerusalem, the Lord; praise your God, O Zion; for he has strengthened the bars of your gates (Ps. 147:12-13).

15. So is the soul that has a door, it is the one that has gates. To this door comes Christ and knocks, knocks and the gates. Open therefore to him: he wants to enter, he wants to find the vigilant Bride. Do not delay the good lover, he quickly departs: and you seem to have shut out the one knocking with the sleep of your body. You exclude the enemy, when you are lazy, when you are sluggish, when you are sleepy, Christ is excluded by these bars; even if you are chaste, even if you are sober, be careful not to be negligent. He who repels Christ in any way does him a great injury.

16. Sometimes, if you delay, she also sends her hand through the window, as the Bride says: My brother sent his hand through the lattice, and my womb was stirred within me. I arose to open for my brother. My hands dripped with myrrh; my fingers with flowing myrrh (Canticles 5:4-5). First, therefore, she sends her hand as if from a window, when God is considered to be in his works. Hence he says: If you do not believe me, believe the works (John 10:38). Then love increases, and the conceived seed grows within the innermost bowels. From there, our soul desires to draw in the fullness of the Word, which dwells in the intelligible womb as a receptacle, with its seeds infused into it. For the womb of women is not disturbed unless they are burdened with pregnancy.

Therefore, the soul rises in order to open itself to the Word of God, but while it expands and opens itself, it mortifies the works of this world by receiving the word, just as he who says: We bear about the dying of the Lord Jesus in our body (II Cor. IV, 10). Therefore, while it opens, the Bridegroom passes by. For he always wants to be sought, more often to be found, and if he finds the door closed, he knocks, and if he is excluded for a while, he withdraws. But he quickly returns and knocks again, so that he may find the bride prepared afterwards. Indeed, it can be understood in this way: My brother passed (Cant. V, 6), as we read, meaning that he penetrated the innermost marrow of his beloved, and as it was said to Mary: And a sword will pierce through your own soul; so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke II, 35). Finally, the Bride added that her soul went out in his word, which happens when the soul wanders from the body and is present to God (Cant. V, 6).


18. Therefore, we have explained as best we could what it means: Your word, Lord, remains forever in heaven. However, we can also understand it in this way, that it remains more forever in heaven, where there are Angels and Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim; for although humans are holy, their emotions often change. Now we rejoice, then we mourn, we become angry, we groan. Even in repentance, the Apostle does not want us to be sufficiently crushed, lest we be overwhelmed by sadness (II Cor. II, 7). Where there is anger, where there is heavy sadness, the Word does not remain there. Indeed, only concerning the Lord Jesus was it said by John that he saw the Holy Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and remaining on him (Mark 1:10). For even the prophets did not always prophesy, but when the grace of prophesying was poured out on them by the Spirit. Indeed, not even David knew in advance what Nathan, sent by the Lord, would announce, and certainly the lesser prophet Nathan knew what the more excellent David did not know (2 Samuel 22:5 et seq.). And another prophet said: The Lord has hidden me (2 Kings 4:27). Hence, many understand that the Word of God remains in heaven, in the heavenly powers, where there are no changes of affections. However, some understand it to refer to the very Trinity, which alone is unchangeable; therefore, the Word remains in heaven, that is, in the Father, because the Word said: I am in the Father, and the Father is in me (John 14:10).

19. (Verse 90.) From generation to generation, your truth. There are many who are called gods, but they are not. Therefore, among the Gentiles, there is falsehood; in the Church, there is truth. However, the Synagogue had this truth first, which had the words of God; for truth is also in the Old Testament, which existed before in the Jewish people. For God is known in Judah (Psalm 75:1). But God is truth, therefore in Judah there is truth. Therefore, there was truth in the fathers, in Moses, and Joshua, in Samuel, and in David. Elijah, to Elisha, and in those seven thousand men who did not bow their knees to Baal. But because the later generations of the Jews deviated from the customs of their fathers, the truth departed from them and came to the Church. It departed from them when they said of the Lord Jesus: 'Take him away, take him away, crucify him' (John 19:15); for they handed over the truth and chose wickedness. Therefore, all other generations have become devoid of the truth, and the generations of all heretics do not hold the truth. Only the Church possesses the truth with pious affection; because the generation of the Jews, which possessed it before her, lost it. Therefore, the Jewish people are the first generation of faith, and therefore younger and weaker, who could not stand on the slippery ground of adolescence; but the Christian people are the second generation of faith; therefore stronger, and more venerable with mature old age. That generation was of the Law, this of grace. Hence, it is said elsewhere: 'They shall announce Your truth from generation to generation' (Psalm 88:2).

20. The third argument follows: You established the earth, and it remains. By your arrangement, the days remain. How God founded the earth, Scripture teaches us, with the Prophet saying: God founded the earth with wisdom, and prepared the heavens in understanding (Prov. 3:19). Therefore, the earth is like a foundation, on which we stand; although it seems to exist in a half-circle of the sky, and the word of him who is outside proclaims it, and Scripture seems to indicate this, with Job saying: Hanging the earth upon nothing (Job 26:7). Therefore, it is included in the celestial sphere; and that is why the sun is not seen at night, because it is found by rotating in the lower part of the celestial sphere. But it is not the concern of holy men to describe the axis of the sky, the spaces of the elements, and the numbers in a philosophical manner (for what benefit does this have to salvation), because holy men always focus on spiritual matters and desire to either know or teach things that will be beneficial to eternal life.

21. Finally, Ecclesiastes beautifully opens up this place for us, saying that it is spiritual, not material: 'What is the abundance for a man in all his toil that he toils under the sun? One generation goes, and another generation comes, but the earth remains forever' (Ecclesiastes 1:3-4). That is, what is the spiritual abundance for a man laboring under the sun of righteousness? And he adds: One generation goes, and another generation comes. A generation goes because the rich become poor and hungry (Psalm 34:10). Those who once abounded in grace, later, however, began to lack because of their own faithlessness. Those who were once poor peoples of the nations are now satisfied and abound through faith in Christ, as it is written: The poor will eat and be satisfied (Ps. 22:26). For they have heard him say: Those who abound... in every word (1 Cor. 1:5), not in wealth of course, not in gold and silver, but in every word and knowledge, he says (ibid.). And elsewhere it is said: In the riches of simplicity (II Cor. VIII, 2). These riches are salutary; for worldly wealth cannot bring salvation. But whoever has an abundance of spiritual goods, his fruitful land stands firm in the world, well-founded on the root of virtues, either the soul producing good fruits, or the flesh unmovable by any desires leading to downfall.

22. The sun of righteousness traverses this land, about which it is written: And the sun rises, and sets, and draws it back to its place. It rises from there to the south, and moves in a circle to the north: the Spirit moves in circles as it moves, and the Spirit turns in its orbits (Eccl. I, 5 and 6). The sun rises for the righteous, but sets for the unjust: it rises for the tranquility of a peaceful mind, but sets for anger. Therefore it is said: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath (Ephes. IV, 26). Hence it can be inferred that from the same source it rises and sets, it buries the faults of those it illuminates with grace. For it is dead to sin, so that it may live to God; that is, we are dead to sin in it, so that we may live to God forever. Behold the prefigured mystery itself. And he says, the sun rises and sets, and draws back into its place. This is what the Lord says: When I am lifted up . . . . . I will draw all things to myself (John 12:32). For he drew to himself the studies of all, so that he might either crucify our sins or provoke a good talent to righteousness. Notice how he attracts to himself: Father . . . I want those whomst I am, to be with me (John 17:24). And to the thief he said: Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). Notice how he attracts all things. He was lifted up on the cross, and the whole world believed.

23. He himself, the rising sun, goes towards the south, and turns towards the north. Indeed, he is the rising sun, who says: My name is the East (Zach. VI, 12): who always rises for the pious, never sets. He himself, the rising sun, went towards the south for the people of the Hebrews, to a more gentle people, slippery with the heat of more fervent desire, rather than hardened by the enormity of impiety: or certainly to a more noble people, which was an elect race, claiming for itself the lineage of the patriarchs. But because he persisted in vices and did not correct his error, therefore the sun of justice turned to the nations, who were deprived of heavenly teachings and were considered savage and ignoble; for the northeast wind is a heavy wind, just like the people of the nations. But those who were heavy in wickedness before, now have become lighter than eagles in faith and piety, after he came who said: Bring them from the north (Isaiah 43:6). And in the Gospel: They will come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and will recline at the table with Abraham in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29). And behold, the last shall be first, and the first last (Matthew 20:16). Also, the Psalmist says: Mount Zion, the sides of the north, the city of the great King (Psalm 48:2); that is, those who were on the north side became the people of the eternal King, who alone is the great Lord.

But perhaps you would say: How is it in the Song of Songs: Arise, north wind, and come, south wind (Song 4:16). For many understand it as if the north wind were being cast out and the south wind were being invited in. But if they understand it this way, the icy harshness of unbelief is driven out from the Church: Let our flight not be in winter or on the Sabbath (Matt 24:20), and the gentle warmth of spring is invited in. Or certainly: Arise, north wind, that is, rise up, you who are sleeping, and rise up from the dead (Ephesians 5:14). O people of the nations, who have long slept, awaken at last, and Christ will shine upon you. Finally, all are invited to the Church, both the people of the Synagogue and the Gentiles; but first the Synagogue, because the first apostles believed from the Jews, and through them the people of the nations later gathered.

25. Therefore, see our sun coming from the south, then turning towards the north. Jerusalem, Jerusalem (indeed it comes to her, whom He also deigned to call; but this Jerusalem is earthly, which kills prophets, that is, the Synagogue of the Jews), how many times, He said, I wanted to gather your children, like a hen gathers her chicks, and you did not want! Look, your house will be left deserted to you (Matthew 23:37-38). Therefore, he turned to the nations: and by turning, the Spirit of God turned, and in its turning, become God in all things, and in everything. Therefore, it is called the holy heaven, because the brightness of the sun always illuminates it more closely. It has its own splendor, so that it does not feel the darkness of the night. Therefore, it is called the Church and heaven, and the world, because it has saints comparable to angels and archangels, and also many earthly ones. And it is said of the world, which is founded upon the seas and prepared over the rivers. Finally, as if the world itself, the Church says: Do not look at me, for I am dark; because the sun has not looked upon me (Song of Songs 1:5); because just as the congregation of the Gentiles bound by the winter frost and freezing has been long unworthy in the eyes of the Sun of Justice, before which it should be illuminated by the clear light of His countenance. Did it not appear to you as the harshness of the winter season, when God was known only in Judea? Now, however, the fullness of summer light shines forth, when all things and in all things Christ. Is not the earth of the Lord, and its fullness? And truly the world is in the Church, in which not only Jew or Greek, not barbarian or Scythian, not slave or free: but we are all one in Christ. The sun shines for all, the day illuminates all.

26. (Verse 91.) And so he says: By your arrangement, the day remains. For unless you understand it this way, how does the day remain, when after a short moment of the day follows the setting sun, and the succession of night occurs? But there are those for whom the day is always present, namely those for whom Christ is present, who says: Walk while you have the light (John 12:35). This is the day that Abraham saw, the day of the remission of sins (John 8:56), about which the law says: This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). Therefore there are saints, to whom the sun never sets: because the Lord is their light, as it is written: And the Lord shall be to them an everlasting light (Isaiah 60:19).

27. And he explained the cause of the lasting day, and added: By your arrangement the day lasts; for all things serve you. Therefore, it seems to signify that future time when there will be no more Night, and there will be no need for a lamp or the light of the sun; for the Lord will illuminate them (Rev. 22:5). He says who they are above, saying: And his servants shall serve him (Ibid., 3), that is, they will do the will of the Lord. Now not all of us serve: But when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father . . . . then shall be subject to him all things (1 Corinthians 15:24, 28), who hath subjected all things to himself, acquiring the faith of all through the passion of the only begotten. Therefore, the submission of minds produces diligent service. So when all have believed in the Lord Jesus, then all things will serve God, that God may be all in all: but now not all are servants of God; because many are servants of sin. For whoever commits sin is the slave of sin (John 8:34). But the Lord does not want to have fellowship with the dominion of others. Therefore, the unchangeable day remains. Therefore, he could have said, it will remain. But prophets seem to have future things present in spirit.

28. (Verse 92.) The fourth verse follows: Unless your Law had been my meditation, then perhaps I would have perished in my humility. The Prophet shone like the day, for whom the meditation of the Law was; indeed, he received the oil of light from the Law. Finally, so that the light of day could not be extinguished by the body of death, he walked in the Law, therefore he walked in the light. Otherwise, he says, I would have perished in my humility. Humility is not always a virtue, but also affliction; that is, not always voluntary, but also taken on out of necessity, when we are tried by some affliction. Otherwise, no one perishes in humility, which is more accustomed to preserving. Therefore, when we are in a time of affliction, and we are shaken by adversity, let meditation be in the law; lest the storm of temptation afflicts us unprepared. Just as an athlete, unless he has first accustomed himself to the exercise of the wrestling ground, does not dare to enter the contest. Let us anoint, therefore, with the oil of our reading, the muscles of our mind. Let the use of exercise all day and night be for us in a certain wrestling ground of heavenly Scriptures, and may the nourishing food of spiritual meals confirm the strength of our souls; so that when the adversary begins to approach and sprinkles us with the dust of his temptation, we may stand fearless, strive not blindly, and not strike the air in vain. We strike better when beaten, if we offer the other cheek to the one who strikes us, if we do not seek revenge. But to him who said: 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay' (Rom. XII, 19), let us leave the matter of revenge entirely. We strike the airy powers if we know how to chastise ourselves. Paul chastised his own flesh, in order to strike his adversaries, and he brought his body into subjection, in order to rule over his enemies (I Cor. IX, 27). Therefore, let us exercise with tireless use of meditation, let us exercise before the contest, so that we may always be prepared for the competition: and when the more frequent blows of the opponent come, now with poverty, now with theft, now with bereavement, now with bodily illness, now with sadness of spirit, now with the terror of death, and with the bitterness of punishments; let each one of us, who is able to endure and suffer, say: Unless your law had been my meditation, perhaps I would have perished in my humility.


29. How great were the heaps they gathered together, so that the holy Job would perish in that affliction? But because he was instructed in the customs of the patriarchs, and formed by the teachings of celestial oracles and the institution of natural law, therefore he could not perish in such great temptations. Finally, when he had suddenly lost such vast resources, his most beloved children, as if he were someone whose daily meditation was in the divine law, he said: Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it pleased the Lord, so it has been done; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job. I, 21). Even when his whole body was covered in sores, and he was being tempted by his wife's words, who suggested that he curse God just like Adam fell, he replied: 'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks' (Job. II, 10). If he had wanted to listen to her as if she were wise, he would not have been wise himself. He experienced also the various conversations of friends (Job 19:3), when, firm in faith and immovable in patience, he had earned the rewards from the Lord; did he not say: Unless your law had been my meditation, then perhaps I would have perished in my humility?

How gratefully does he say this today, who endured many whippings in martyrdom, the rack and hoof, lead, burning plates, and the sword! He could have perished if he had not contemplated the Law and believed in more severe punishments to come.

31. How much suffering did holy Joseph endure, how bitter, how harsh! First, he suffered the hatred of his brothers (Gen. XXXVII, 28), the trials of a wretched slavery, deprived of his parents, banished from his homeland, a slave in the service of merchants, and a despicable servant in Egypt. What greater temptation could there be for a boy of noble lineage than to be cast down from such a splendid family and serve among the Egyptians? There is solace in servitude, even in serving the righteous. The injury of servitude is alleviated by the equality of the master. Therefore, being reduced in such a manner, he considered it sufficiently pleasing if his obedience to the royal minister was approved. But even this was not sufficient for the bitterness of the temptation: his adversary returns to his own tricks, and with all deceitfulness, he stirs up his well-known powers; so that through a woman, he might weave snares for his innocent conscience. He aroused in him the stimuli of lust through the wife of his master, who demanded adulterous relations from the slave; so that if he were to agree, he would fulfill a crime: if he were to refuse, he would fall into offense, and the connection of calumny would not go unpunished. Finally, he was thrown into prison (Ibid., 20), and though innocent, he was regarded among the guilty and was subjected to even greater pressure by the one to whom he had shown his trust amidst dangers. But because insults could not break the man, the temptation changed and became much harsher in appearance than previous ones. For it was the more prosperous times that tripped up many whom bitter torments had not broken. By the command of the king, he was brought forth from prison, his dream was interpreted, and he was chosen to be superior in honor to all the Egyptians as second to the king, to distribute food to the hungry people (Gen. XLI, 14, 8 et seq.). His brothers reproached him, who had sold him out of a lack of brotherly love for the injury of servitude: so that he, being tempted by both insult and the pain of desired salvation, might cast off the affection of brotherhood. But the righteous man forgot the insult, he multiplied grace; and moreover, he desired to show himself more of a brother in that he himself had not experienced brothers. In the end, he received his brothers with this duty, and sought his father through a pious deception. What else could the holy Joseph say better than this to the Lord: Unless your law had been my meditation, then perhaps I would have perished in my humility?

It is reported that a certain prophet (and many say it was Isaiah, when he was imprisoned) while he was being pressed by the weight of impending destruction, said to the devil: 'Say that you have not spoken these things from the Lord, and I will change the minds and affections of all towards you; so that those who are angry at your offense may grant you pardon.' But he judged it more preferable to suffer punishment for the sake of truth than to receive favor for flattery. And he certainly would not have done this unless he had been trained by meditation on the Law.


Let daily reading, then, be to us for exercise, so that what we read, we may meditate on and imitate. In this, we will train in the arena of virtue; so that when trials arise, they may not find us untrained, nor as inexperienced in spiritual nourishment, nor weakened by the fasting of reading, but rather find a time of trial. And if it can find our souls nourished with athletic feasts, if the Gospel juice is within us, if the maturity of our minds is strengthened by apostolic food, if a tenacious memory, prepared by frequent meditation, can bring forth examples of heavenly teachings at the appropriate time, no battle of temptations will be able to disturb us.


34. (Verse 93.) The fifth verse follows: I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. According to the Apostle, the Law is a tutor for children until we come to a more mature age of perfect faith (Galatians 3:24). In the Law, there are commandments, precepts, testimonies, and righteousness. Therefore, we are given life in the Law. This is why the Apostle says: The Law is not of faith, but the one who does it shall live by it (Ibid., 12). But since he also said above, 'For no one is justified by the law' (Romans 3:20), you surely understand that justification by the law is a species and image, not the truth. So, no one is justified according to the truth in the law, but is justified according to the species. Therefore, the holy Prophet, who still lived under the justifications of the law but saw the splendor of the Gospel, as if mindful of the old discipline, preserved grace for the law as a useful pedagogue. Consider someone who surpasses his peers in wealth and honors, and who holds his teacher in high esteem, recognizing that he has been shaped by his guidance, so that he can govern his own life more maturely.

Since indeed the law itself tells us that we should by no means be ungrateful if these things at some point in time have been of benefit to us (Exod. XII, 28). For just as we have in the Old Testament, the Passover was celebrated in the borders of Egypt, when our fathers, still under the rule of Pharaoh, lamented the injustice of their miserable servitude: and afterwards, having been liberated, they celebrated the Passover again in the land of promise (Josh. V, 10): the former for a reminder, the latter for a commemoration. Therefore, if anyone were to ask a Hebrew person how the Passover was celebrated in Egypt, they would respond: Because we were still bound by the chains of slavery to Pharaoh, that lamb liberated the people of our forefathers, that lamb called us to freedom, that lamb made the depths of the sea solid; so that we could pass through Egypt. Therefore, whenever we celebrate the Passover, we must remember the old slavery and the new freedom: what we were, and what we have received. For no one can fully understand what they have received, unless they remember what came before.

So let us not forget that the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, the sacrifice of the world, frees us from the heavy chains of sins, by which that most wicked Pharaoh held us bound not only as slaves of Egypt but of this age. Let us not forget forever; so that when we come to that true promised land, where the kingdom of the living is, we may remember how much cruel harm Pharaoh has inflicted upon us here, how many sufferings we have endured in this age, from which evils we have finally been rescued; and let us give thanks to the Lord Jesus who has made the disturber of all to be a captive.


37. (Verse 94.) The sixth verse follows: I am yours, save me, O Lord; for I have sought your commandments. The voice is easy and common, but it belongs to few. For it is rare enough for someone to be able to say to God: I am yours. He says this who clings to God with all his senses, who knows no other way of thinking. He uses this voice who can say: Show us the Father, and it is enough for us (John 14:8). Does he use this voice out of greed for money, honor, power? For many, knowing God is not enough, and indeed, for many more. Such great peoples, such great nations, such great riches consider poverty to serve the Lord: and He who is above all, is meager and narrow to them: it is not enough for them to have the Son of God, in whom all things are. Finally, that rich man in the Gospel, to whom it was said: If you want to be perfect, sell everything you have and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21), judged that God was not enough for him. Finally, he was saddened, as if he were being commanded to leave more behind: what was less to choose. Therefore, he says: I am yours, who can say: Behold, we have left everything and followed you.

Therefore, this is the voice of the apostles, although not of all the apostles. For even Judas was an apostle, and he reclined at the dinner with Christ among the apostles. He himself said: I am yours, but with his voice, not his heart. Satan entered into him, and he began to say: He is not yours, Jesus, but mine. In the end, he thinks about what is his; what is his, he turns over in his heart: he feasts with you, and he feeds with me: he receives bread from you, and money from me: he drinks with you, and sells your blood to me: he is your apostle, and mine is the hired hand.


39. The secular person cannot say: I am yours; for they have many masters. Lust comes and says: You are mine; because you desire those things that belong to the body: in the love of that young girl, you sold yourself to me; in the embrace of that prostitute, I counted you as my price. Greed comes and says: The silver and gold you have is the price of your servitude: the possession you hold is the purchase of your rights, the sale of your freedom. Luxury comes and says: You are mine; a feast of one day is the price of your life: the expense of banquets, the bidding of your head, the sum of your contract, and worse, you were purchased flesh, cheaper than your own food; your one-day table is more precious than your entire lifetime. I bought you among the cups, I acquired you among the feasts. Ambition comes and tells you: You are truly mine. Don't you know that I made you rule over others so that you would serve me? Do you not know that I have given you authority so that I may subject you to my authority? Do you not realize that the Lord Savior himself said to be spoken by the prince of this world when he showed him all the kingdoms of the world: All these I will give you, if you fall down and worship me (Matthew 4:9). Therefore, he himself is subjected, who wants to have others subjected. All vices come and each one says: You are mine. How great they think they are, when they are such a lowly servant!


40. Therefore, how can you, who are of this kind, say to Christ: I am yours? He will answer you: Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21). Not everyone who says to me, 'I am yours,' is mine. You are truly mine if your conscience does not rebuke your voice, if your mind or actions do not refute your words. I do not deny that he is mine, who does not deny himself, or certainly if he denies himself for my sake. I do not want to have a servant serving multiple masters. For how can he be mine if he says to me in word: I am yours, but denies it in deeds and aligns himself with the devil and binds himself to him? He is not mine whom desire inflames; for chastity is mine. He is not mine whom the desire to plunder the weak torments; for integrity is mine. He is not mine whom a fickle anger disturbs; for tranquility is mine. He is not mine who, drunken with the excess of wine, is intoxicated with the ambition of worldly glory, and cannot maintain a sober moderation in the face of danger. I am peace, I do not know how to fight. What do I have to do with him whom the devil possesses, and says, 'He is mine'; for he has twisted his necks to me, I find more in him my own: he claims your name for himself, and my gift?

Therefore, he is not Christ's unless he is free from sin. He is not Christ's unless he can always show himself as Christ's servant. For if someone is changeable, like I am when I am changed by sorrow or anger, then anger arises and says: He is mine. Before the hour, he was mine; I hope that he will be mine again. Sadness comes, and says: He is mine. Before the hour, it was in my possession, in my right. He could not lift his spirit above sorrow, nor lift his eyes. And if something sad happens, it will immediately return to me. So then, who is God's but the one who can say: I am aware of nothing against myself (1 Corinthians 4:4)? Therefore, the Apostle Paul said this, because he was not held accountable by anyone else. But now I am of my God, now of sorrow, now of anger, now of idle words; and therefore the one who has many lords cannot say to one: Lord Jesus, I am yours. Hence, I think Paul also said about such lords: For even if there are those who are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth. . . . yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him (I Cor. VIII, 5 and 6). Therefore, the Apostle Paul belonged entirely to the Word; therefore, he said: For you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me (II Cor. XIII, 3). Therefore, he said: I belong to Christ; and the Lord replied to him: You belong to Me. He who truly says: I belong to You, hears from the Lord: You belong to Me. Finally, the Lord said to Ananias, when He sent him to heal Paul: Go, for he is a chosen vessel for me. And because he persevered in being of Christ, as if the struggle were completed, he deserved to find the crown of righteousness.

42. Therefore, the prophet David said rightly: I am yours, who always remained in the Lord. And in what way did he say: I am yours, he added: I have searched for your justifications, that is, I have sought nothing else, but I have desired only what is yours. Others seek precious jewels, but I seek only your justifications as certain garlands of righteousness. Others join house to house, villa to villa, as if they alone could dwell in this land and claim the common element, others claim possession of the air itself: for me, in your justifications is the entire inheritance. I don't know how to possess anything except what is of your jurisdiction. In your words, the spiritual care of silver has shone upon me. God is my portion. I am yours; for my portion of inheritance is not in gold, not in silver, but in Christ Jesus.

43. (Verse 95.) The seventh verse follows: Sinners awaited me to destroy me; I understood your testimonies. This statement can apply to martyrdom, in which a holy person, having already left the judgment of the persecutor, may say: Sinners awaited me to destroy me, that is, they employed all kinds of punishments, all arts of persuasion, but they were unable to divert me from my purpose. Faith conquered the allurements of this life and the torments of the body. Sinners expected that they would triumph over me, but thanks be to Christ who has allowed me to triumph over persecutors. Return, O defeated ones, who hoped to be victorious; return, O cast down ones, who worshipped the proud. Where is, O death, your victory? Where is, O death, your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:53) It is no longer yours, but ours, the victory; for in you we conquer, in whom we were previously conquered. Therefore, the martyr says well: Sinners expected that they would destroy me. After death, even though the body is still, he sees the choirs of those who are leading the way, the joys of angels. For those who rejoice over the conversion of one sinner, how much more in the suffering of the righteous! He sees glory and says: The righteous awaited me to lead me. He sees the Lord Jesus and says: Christ awaited me to crown me.

44. Another person who wants to understand: Many, he says, have tried to persuade and extort me to commit sins; one for adultery, another for killing a man, another for oppressing a widow or an orphan, another for something else: and they thought that I could be caught in their nets. They waited for me to be destroyed by the contagion of sin; but I did not turn my mind away from the study of divine knowledge by the allurements of sin, nor did I stray from my intention, O Lord, from the series of Your commandments: but I understood Your testimonies. For if I had not understood, those sinners would certainly have destroyed me. What I understood, I followed both in thought and in action: for understanding is not bare, but is also attested by deeds. Finally, blessed is he who understands the needy and the poor. (Psalm 41:1). He truly understands the poor, who gives to the poor. For what good is it to have pity on the needy, unless you also provide them with sustenance?

45. (Verse 96.) The eighth verse follows: I have seen the end of all perfection; your command is exceeding broad. We cannot express the full force of the Greek language in all things; the power and pomp of language is usually greater in Greek. Τέλος is said in Greek, which we translate as both 'end' and 'consummation'; but τέλος itself is the end of that consummation, just as Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom. X, IV). You have written: Behold, I am with you . . . . . even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). The end of the age, therefore, is the end of the world; and Christ is the end of all things. There are many consummations. There is a consummation when there is a resurrection unto salvation. The completed work is also called a perfect work. Complete wickedness is called consummated, that is, full, to which nothing is lacking for the pursuit and art of harming. There is a consummation of man, and many consummations, until he reaches perfection.


46. Therefore, we read both of the consummation of the age and of the end. Concerning the consummation of the age, we have set forth an example above, which is followed by the resurrection: For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive (I Cor. XV, 22). After the resurrection comes the consummation: Each in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, then those who are Christ's, who have believed in his coming; then the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he has abolished every principality and power (Ibid., 23 and 24). Therefore, the end follows the consummation of the age according to the Apostle. Hence, it is inferred that the end follows every consummation.

47. The world is placed in the evil, as John said (1 John 5:19): therefore the world is in evil, a world full of sin. The world had perfected its malice, just as Saul had perfected his, whose son Jonathan, seeing his malice perfected in the prophet David, told him to avoid and flee (1 Samuel 20:38). Therefore, this is the consummation of evil, the consummation of sins. The Lamb of God has come, who has taken away the sin of the world, who is Christ Jesus, the end of the Law, the beginning and the end, and the remission of sins. The Prophet saw the end of this consummation in the spirit, which would abolish the error of the age: he saw that by his blood, the sins of all would be cleansed. Therefore, he rightly said: I have seen the end of all consummation; that is to say, I have seen the one who forgives consummated adultery, I have seen the one who forgives consummated luxury and debauchery, the one who forgives consummated cruelty and savagery, and ultimately, the one who forgives all wickedness and grants forgiveness through his cross.

48. There is also consummate virtue, consummate wisdom, consummate justice, but it has an end. The end of all virtues is Christ, who is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom. X, 4). Do you see that faith is the end? Well then, he says: I have seen the end of every perfection.

49. Now that we have recognized the end of consummation, let us acknowledge what it is: Your command is broad and expansive (Matthew VII, 14). We read that the gate through which those who attain the fruit of eternal life enter is narrow. True virtue and the enduring of trials are rare. There are many who pursue the spacious path of this world, who say: The way that leads to the Lord is narrow and constricting for us, we are wearied by it, let us abandon it. How, therefore, does the Prophet say that the commandment of God is broad and very broad? Because in narrow paths a broad commandment is necessary. Finally, the Prophet himself says: In my distress, you have enlarged me (Psalm 4:2). And again: In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard me in a broad place (Psalm 118:5).

50. This breadth of heavenly commands enlarged the heart of the Prophet and the Apostles. Finally, he himself said: Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians, our heart is enlarged (2 Cor. 6:11). By dispensing heavenly commands, he had enlarged his heart, and what the treachery of persecution had previously constricted, the grace of Christ had expanded. And by what reason was the command broad? So that we may not be constrained by the narrowness of the commands. Hence he says: Do not be constricted in us (ibid., 12). If this is the case for Paul, how much more so for Christ, who opened what was closed? Therefore, He says: I do not want my people to be restricted in me. In the narrow path of virtues, the breadth of my commandment must be a source of comfort for those who walk it; so that no one may fail or be worn down.

51. Therefore, let us walk in the commandment of God, for it is wide enough. For the commandment of wisdom is wide, which is sung at the end, but acts confidently in the streets; for πλατεῖα is the Greek word, which in Latin is called latitudo. Let us therefore widen our heart, so that we may receive the power of the Apostolic sentence, which says: Accept us (II Cor. VII, 2). Let us therefore receive his words into our heart: let us put on the bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, patience. O man, how broad you are, if you expand the bosom of your mind to the greatness of celestial precepts! How broad is the commandment of charity! Love, he says, your enemies (Matt. V, 44). He certainly includes everyone in the affection of charity, who does not exclude enemies. For who seems to be excluded, when an enemy is received? Hence the Apostle says, If possible . . . having peace with all men (Rom. I, 18). This cannot be said to the Jews, not to the Gentiles, that they may have peace with everyone. They hardly love their own people: it is not permitted to not love even the enemies of a Christian. When I say Christian, I mean perfect; for in Christ is the fullness of divinity, whose name you usurp. Why do you reject the interpretation and perfection of the word when you bear the name? Hear the broad commandment: Bless those who persecute you . . . . . and do not curse (Ibid., 14). The same one who says that it is a broad commandment, proved it before saying: They indeed reviled, but I was praying (Psalm 108:4). What were you praying, David, tell us yourself. But you said; for I read saying: They will curse, and you will bless (Ibid., 28).

Sermon 13. Mem.

1. The thirteenth letter signifies in one interpreter the internal organs, and in another the same organs themselves: and both interpretations do not disagree with the text. Indeed, immediately the first line expresses the love of the internal organs, which certainly originates from the innermost parts, and is intertwined with the warmth of the bones.

2. Finally, in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the text of this letter contains the following: 'He sent fire from on high in my bones' (Lam. I, 12). Therefore, God is good who sends us something with which we, being diligent, may find merit in His sight. Let Him teach us whom He sends the fire: 'I came to send fire upon the earth; and what will I but that it be kindled?' (Luke XII, 49). The good fire that the Savior desires to ignite in all is especially Himself, God, as we read: 'For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire' (Deut. IV, 24), who consumes our sins and pours the desire for divine knowledge into the depths of our hearts, and inflames our souls when we read the divine series of Scriptures; if perchance we grasp some hidden meaning of the prophetic reading with spiritual understanding. Cleophas said that his heart was burning with this fire when he and his companion, Christ, opened the Scriptures. The Lord spoke about this fire in the book of Ezekiel: Behold, I will go to Jerusalem and blow my wrathful fire upon you, so that you may melt away like lead, iron, and other material things. In these commonly used words, we see profound mysteries. All of this is spiritual. Let us pray that the word of God may come, enter the Church, and become a consuming fire, to burn up the hay and straw, and everything that is worldly: the heavy lead of iniquity, which is found in many, may melt in the divine fire, and the iron hardness of sin may be softened by the heavenly flame; let the vessels of gold and silver be refined, so that every sense of the wise, every word of the prudent, having been cooked by the heat of burning passions, may begin to be more precious. The good fire of charity, by which the entire body of the Church grows in mutual grace. The good fire of love, by which each saint is ignited with reverence for their author. But the one who loves God, loves not casually: but loves His law, keeps His commandments, justifies his heart, not with the sounding proclamation of words, but with the diligent imitation of actions. May God therefore teach us how His saints are loved.


3. (Verse 97.) Thus, the Prophet adds: How I have loved your commandment, O Lord; my whole day is spent in meditation. This is the voice of someone diligent in studying the Law, which instructs the perfection of man, as this whole psalm teaches. And since he knows that the greatest commandment in the Law is to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul, he also wants those whom he seeks to instruct to be perfect by imitating him, saying: How I have loved your commandment, O Lord. By this very affection, charity grows, because it calls upon the witness itself to whom the duty of love is entrusted; it testifies not only to the appearance but to the fullness of charity in such an agreement. Peter used this: You know, he says, Lord, that I love you (John 21:15). But whoever loves the Lord, loves his law, just as Mary, loving her Son, treasured all his words in her heart with a motherly affection (Luke 2:51). I have loved you, I have done your will, it is written (Isaiah 48:14). Therefore, Christ entrusted Peter to feed his flock (John 21:18) and to do the will of the Lord, because he recognized his love. For one who loves, does what is commanded out of will, while one who fears does so out of necessity. Thus, the Lord approves the voluntary actions of his servants rather than coerced ones. Therefore, he makes free beings out of servants, so that we may offer gifts of our wills rather than obedience out of necessity.


4. A Marcionite cannot say, 'How I have loved your law,' who does not accept the law. A Jew cannot say, who is ignorant of the spiritual law: and meditates on the letter of the law without understanding its meaning. Only a Christian says, who has advanced in the knowledge of the law, who does not fear the punishment of the law with a timid heart: but with fearless affection, he investigates the divine mysteries of the true Hebrew, the true Sabbath, the true remission. Therefore, truly does he love, who, without sadness, without fear, willingly preserves precepts rather than being compelled.

5. (Verse 98.) Another verse: You have made me understand your commandments, because you are. It quickly proved the effect of prolonged meditation when he understood the Lord's command over his enemies. But who are the enemies of the Prophet, who should either embrace the men of his own people with lawful love, or invite foreigners to the grace of God through evangelization? Wild animals love their fellow beings of the same nature: how could the Prophet reject love that is in accordance with his own nature? Therefore, it is necessary to have some just cause, by which those whom it signifies may appear to be enemies by law. We can investigate this matter, if we remember that the same person said elsewhere: 'I was being consumed with anger against your enemies, and I hated them with a just hatred' (Psalm 138:21-22). Therefore, by the authority of the Gospel, he says that these are his enemies, who are enemies of God. For if someone who does not forsake their parents for the sake of God's name is not worthy of God, how much more will someone who loves his enemies not be acceptable to God? So who are his enemies? If they are gentiles, how does he predict by the prophetic spirit who would believe? Finally, he exhorts them to bless the Lord themselves, as the Psalm says, 'Let the peoples praise you, O God' (Psalm 66:4). And what great praise is it to understand those who, in venerating metals and stones, have drawn a similar rigidity of stupor?

Therefore, who are the enemies, if not heretics? For they are the attackers of faith, enemies of truth. Who, if not the Jews? For they are even more serious enemies, who have become enemies from friends. He understands about them, who understands that the Law is spiritual. So what good is the Law if you ignore the end of the Law, if you do not know the mystery, if you do not know the sacraments? For the Jews, a lamb is slaughtered from the flock for the Passover feast: for us, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Virgin, is sacrificed for the redemption of the world. What do the Jews gain by smearing the blood of the lamb on their homes and doorposts? Nothing, of course, because wood or stone cannot be of any help to them. To us, every mystery is beneficial, since we believe in detesting spiritual grace; we may stain our dwellings with the blood of a sacrificial animal and tinge our mouths with its blood, but we consecrate our bodies with the sacrament of the Lord's Cross and sanctify our speech with the confession of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Rom. X, 10). What profit is it to the Hebrews that they pierce the ear of their slave with an awl, and circumcise the foreskin of their own body? They do not understand thoroughly what the divine Law discerns. These are signs, not truth. But he understands, who purifies his heart through spiritual circumcision; in order to cleanse all the filth of bodily impurity. He understands, who surpasses the awl and the ear with the vigor of the mind, and raises that soul which he has pierced with the sword to reveal the hidden depths of the heart, to the reward of eternal freedom: or, by diligently serving in examining words, he sanctifies with spiritual mystery whatever word of virtue he has received with his ear. The Jew used to make unleavened bread for himself every year and does not know that he himself is the leaven of malice. But he who understands what it is to purge the old leaven so that it does not corrupt the whole mass; he purges the old man with his actions, so that a new sprinkling of truth may occur. These things were said to the Jew, and the Christian heard them; because while he pierced his ear with an awl, he could not hear: carrying a wounded ear, he stained not the ear of the Law, but the awl of his own foolishness with blood. By listening to the things that are revealed spiritually, he pierced his ear with iron; for he preferred to believe in iron rather than in the Word. Therefore, he serves, therefore he does not deserve to be free, therefore the grace of the completed time does not support him; because he did not receive the fullness of time, in which the Son of God was sent for salvation, and came for redemption, born under the Law, born of a Virgin, conqueror of death, giver of resurrection. Therefore, the wound remains in him for whom Christ did not rise. The wound that cannot be healed, unless by chance it leaves the splinter, and a sword is taken up which, for the name of Christ, does not reject, or by which it distinguishes the earthly from the spiritual, shadow from truth: let it take up the word of God, a doubly sharp sword, and from that divine mouth let it be taught to recognize the commandment of the Lord, the prescription of the Law, which does not have the observance of a temporal celebration, but infuses salutary and everlasting remedies with the juice of spiritual grace.


Therefore, throughout the entire day, meditate on the Law: your study should not be superficial. If you wish to buy land, if you want to purchase a house, act with prudence, carefully consider the laws, and do not trust yourself to be infallible. But now, you yourself need to be corrected: your price is being discussed, so consider what you are, what name you have, what you acquire for yourself, not land, not money, not jewelry: but Christ Jesus, to whom no prices, no ornaments can be compared. Consult Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Peter, Paul, John, and Jesus, the great counselor and Son of God; in order to acquire the Father. You must engage with them, confer with them throughout the day; just as David meditated, and this was his sole meditation. His mind was not drawn to worldly pleasures, nor did he burn with the desire to amass wealth: he did not eagerly pursue expanding boundaries or exclude neighboring anxieties in the pursuit of mastering meditation; whatever time the day could offer, he claimed all of it for himself in the sole meditation on the Law.


8. But even this is not enough for the diligent person who wishes to attain the grace of blessedness. For the blessed person meditates day and night on the Law. The day becomes narrower through the meditation on doctrine. It is not a long day in time, but it is as long as the meditator in the Law. Therefore, be careful not to interpret it as meaning that for the one who meditates on the Law, every day is always present, and the light is without defect, with no darkness of night intervening. Otherwise, how would it demonstrate a more negligent person in the process of his work, whom the Prophet wished to be more diligent in the very beginnings of his work? Therefore, be a meditator of the Law and a preacher of the Gospel.

9. And perhaps those who do not receive the New Testament, read at night, and therefore did not know nor understand. Hence the Savior, so that we would not read in darkness, warns saying one must walk in the day, because he who walks in the day does not stumble (John XI, 9 and 10); for he sees the grace of the light. But whoever walks in darkness, encounters the stumbling block.

10. (Verse 99.) It follows: Above all those who teach me I understood, because your testimonies are my meditation. The scribes of the Jews profess doctrine; because they deserved to have the Law and the prophets before them. But they profess to teach, but do not teach. However, it is fitting for the people who believed from the Gentiles to say: Above all those who teach me I understood, because they did not understand. The Jew responds: Where did you get understanding? It is written: Ask your father and he will tell you: the elders, and they will declare to you (Deut. 32:7). I am your Father, ask me. But even if I ask, you will not answer me, said Jesus (Luke 22:68): and from him they cannot answer, and from him I understand above them who I did not understand; because I have learned testimonies that he does not know. I have learned: Whoever follows me... let him take up his cross (Matthew 16:24). I have learned: Love your enemies (Matt. 5:44). And for this reason, Paul wishes to be cursed for the sake of his kinsmen, enemies in terms of their faith (Rom. 9:3).

11. It seemed inappropriate for the prophet to use such humility; because he presumed to say that he understood more than all the teachers, when he received the Law of Moses from the Lord and handed down its institutions to his people (Exodus 19:7), Aaron, after completing all the rituals of sacrifices, taught the priestly discipline (Exodus 28:1, 2 et seq.), Joshua showed how circumcision could be observed (Joshua 5:2, 3 et seq.), and Samuel revealed the sacraments of prophetic anointing as well as kingship (1 Samuel 16:13). It would seem, I say, an incongruous presumption, unless he had stated the previous points, by which he rightly proved that he understood more than the teachers. He who was being taught ought to have assumed this confidence from the Lord: and the commandment that he was being taught was the Lord's, and it was the Lord himself who was teaching.


Therefore, he shows that humans cannot teach what is divine: and so those who dare to teach do not know; but the disciple who is taught recognizes. In addition to the gift of knowledge that he had received from the Holy Spirit, there is also a pleasant moral lesson, that there are many teachers who claim to teach what they do not understand, and there are many disciples who achieve through their own effort what they have not learned from their teachers. Finally, someone before us said that there is a difference between teachers and scholars; perhaps thinking this because scholars are chosen for this role by the judgment of others, while teachers take on this role by their own claim. But it is necessary for those scholars to also yield to the one who has been imbued with the heavenly doctrine of God's teaching through the meditation on testimonies.

13. (Verse 100.) It follows: I understood above the elders, because I sought out your commandments. And this is not difficult, that one whom the Lord has taught understands above the elders; indeed, by the grace of God, one progress in learning and maturity of age makes one surpass the age of old age. For when the age of old age is a blameless life, certainly the doctrine of a blameless life brings forth old age. Finally, excusing Jeremiah for being young, it was answered: Do not say: I am young; because he who would have wisdom was not considered young by divine definition, but rather he had wisdom, which shone forth by the grace of heavenly sanctification.


14. Moreover, it does not seem to me that the Prophet praises himself and places himself above the elders when he reads: 'Do not disregard the tradition of the elders, for they too learned from their fathers' (Ecclesiasticus 8:11). For elsewhere, Sirach the Wise also said: 'In the presence of the elderly, do not talk at length' (Ecclesiasticus 32:13). But he knows whom he places himself above, namely those who are rooted in sin, steeped in impiety, and deluded by the folly of age and the madness of unfaithfulness. These are the elders of the people about whom it was said that they handed over the Lord Jesus to Pilate as governor. For the priests, scribes, and elders gathered together, as Mark says (Mark 14:53). And again: the priests held a council with the elders to hand him over (Mark 15:1). And concerning the apostles in theirActs, Peter the holy one and Luke the Evangelist testify that the elders of Israel gathered together (Acts 4:1ff). Therefore, he did not derogate from old age, but he prophesied that the ancient people of God would be unteachable by the voice of the elderly, a people of Judah in the old days, who could not acquire in their youth what they could not find in their old age. For from the beginning, they provoked the Lord with frequent offenses. Therefore, as a young man, he could not earn his favor, and as an old man, he did not deserve to recognize his coming or hold onto the gift. However, wisdom in gray hair is a sign of old age in understanding, and the knowledge of experienced counsel is preferred over the longevity of life.

15. Therefore let us seek the commandments of God; that we may understand concerning the elders. Let us avoid the slippery path of sinners; that we may be able to keep the heavenly precepts. For this is declared by the following: Concerning the elders, the younger brother Jacob understood that when the older brother Esau demanded the privilege of the blessing, he left the milder meals while he sought the wild ones (Gen. XXV, 32). Indeed, when he went on a hunting trip, the younger brother took his brother's clothes and handed them over to me, to be used by the people of the nations, in accordance with the advice of our mother (Gen. XXVII, 15 et seq.). So I, Rebecca, put on the robe of wisdom that the people of Judah had before. This robe is the good Law and the prophets. With this robe, that people were stripped, and we have been clothed. That mother Jerusalem, who is in heaven, clothed us. Therefore, we approach the Father, offering him gentler feasts, patience as food, the soothing of mercy, the sweetness of understanding. I receive blessings, I foretell spiritual grace to my older brother. He comes, he is angry: he does not find what he can receive. The mother appears, and she informs with a pious admonition. That stole, woven with good commands, remains with me.

16. (Verse 101.) 'I have kept my feet from every evil path in order to obey your word.' Truly worthy is he who understands more than the elders, since he has been honored with the divine Spirit to teach not only the understanding of truth, but also the avoidance of sin and the caution against fault. Therefore, since human weakness is prone to incline towards vice by the force of passion and by the rapid pace of temptation, he teaches how the slippery path of this way and the winding turns of this journey cannot entangle the traveler. I have forbidden, he says, my feet from the wicked path, that is, from the vanity of this world; because the world is set in wickedness. Whatever is doubtful, and has uncertain effects, is wicked; just as a doubtful light is called wicked: so whatever mixes the darkness of malice with the truth is wicked. Therefore, withdraw your feet of the soul, and the step of the mind, from the slippery things of this world, and settle down. Forbid, I say, resist desires, withstand motions that seem to rush in, like beasts and animals; so that they may devour the tender fruits, and the newly cultivated fields of our land.


17. 'I restrained my feet,' he says. Indeed, it is not the feet of the body that are restrained, which often obey the will of a pious mind. For they should not be restrained when they go to the temple of God, hurrying to help widows, to anticipate the impious, to overthrow any fraudulent person. Therefore, there is another foot that is restrained by law. The Prophet himself teaches us who that is: 'Let not the foot of pride come to me' (Psalm 36:12). There is also the foot of iniquity, which quickly slips and cannot stand, just as the foot of the deceitful is, of whom it is written: 'There they have fallen, all who work iniquity; they are thrust down, unable to rise' (Ibid., 13). Therefore, be cautious, lest you fall; for your feet are not only the cause of sin but also of weakness. And be careful not to fall. And it may seem to you that you are standing well; but Paul says to you: And you, who stand, beware of falling (1 Corinthians 10:12). Pay close attention to your path, so that you may hear: But you, stand here with me. For if you stand with God, you will not fear falling. If you stand with God, you will be able to say: He rescued... my feet from falling (Deuteronomy 5:31). But the Lord will rescue your feet from all falling, if He knows that you keep your feet from falling. Therefore David deserved this, that God would rescue his feet from stumbling; because he himself prevented his feet from slipping, so that they would not be entangled in the precipitous and treacherous path of sinners: thus he was able to keep the divine words. For no one can keep them unless they can first stand. However, when he keeps them, he himself begins to carry the Word of God as a guard. He speaks well who knows that Christ is the way, and who prevents his feet from the evil path.

18. (Vers. 102.) I have not turned aside from Your judgments; for You have set a law for me. It has been explained what it means to keep one's foot from the evil way; to not turn aside from divine judgments, and to firmly and immovably hold the path of steadfast innocence, not to deviate from the course of discipline, but to walk not only in the ancient paths of Sinai, but also to follow the clarity of the new Law according to the Gospel.


19. The law of the Gospel is also (spoken of here by the Prophet): “Appoint, Lord, a lawgiver over them; that the Gentiles may know themselves to be but men.” We understand that the coming of the Lord is prophesied, as well as the calling of the Gentiles, who were formerly buried in the mire of this body's corruption, clinging to their lusts as to filth; for they did not know the Lord. And therefore, being angry: “Let the wicked be turned into hell;” that they may not see the soul of the Lord Jesus while it is descending and ascending, and be converted unto the Lord, whom they refused to be converted unto while they lived. But concerning those nations who forget the Lord (Ibid).

Therefore, they recognized and they forgot: nevertheless, by the kindness of the prophecy, he prays that the Lord may arise, and that man may not prevail; so that earthly thoughts, and all the fervent movements of this body may rest. Let the nations be judged; for then the Lord is known, when the affections of those who fear are converted, with the weighty terror of judgment: And let the nations learn that they are men, corruptible mud, and formed by hardening clay: that those who had not received the Law before do not know (ibid., 20). The Prophet, as if disturbed by contemplating the fragility of earthly things, says: 'Why, O Lord, have you gone far away?' It is good for one who knows himself to be human to fear, but because we, who are sinners from the Gentiles, fear even more, he prays that he may not be far from his own people. So that we, who were far away, may begin to be nearer, and may know that we are human, made in the image and likeness of God, to whom Christ himself became like through the birth of the Virgin. Therefore, it is rightly understood both in terms of weakness and in terms of grace. Let the nations know that they are human beings: the one through a certain common and carnal fellowship with animals, the other through the image of God and the dignity of the sacrament of the Lord's flesh, which seemed ignoble.

21. Therefore, rightfully so, the people of the nations did not turn away from the judgments of God, who can say: For you have given me the law. Not through Moses, not through the prophets, but you yourself, Jesus, have given me the law, that is, the Gospel. Therefore, I have not turned away from the way; for I have seen you, I have known you, following your paths, I have come to know the true way.

22. (Verse 103.) Therefore, hearing the preaching of the Gospel which the prophetic spirit foretold, he says: How sweet are your words to my throat, more than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth! And indeed sweet are they, by which the remission of sins is preached, eternal life, even the resurrection of the dead, which have tempered the perpetual death and bitter bitterness. Through these we have begun to not fear death, we who have begun to say: Where, O death, is your victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55)? And sweet things flow well through the throat; because spiritual grace is infused into the deepest bowels.

23. Honey and honeycomb, he says, are sweet to my mouth. And because your words have become sweet to us, you say to the Church: Your lips drip honey, O Bride (Song of Songs 4:11). Teach us, Solomon, what honeycomb is. For you have said: Good words are like a honeycomb (Proverbs 16:24). And truly, the good honeycomb which the Church eats is filled with the spiritual abundance of many prophets, like honeycombs overflowing with sweet honey. This is the honey of which it is said: I have eaten my bread with honey; I have drunk my wine with milk (Song of Songs 5:1). The mystical discourse of the heavenly Scriptures is like bread, which strengthens the heart of man, like a more powerful nourishment of the Word. The persuasive one, however, is ethical, sweet, and softer; because by ethical preaching, the internal mind is soothed: bitter for fevers, that is, for repentance of sins, sweetened by gentle words. The lips of the preacher drip honey, when the broken limbs of fallen souls are refreshed by being brought into contact with harsh cases or ruins.

24. There is also a more intense power of expression, like that of wine. There is also a clearer eloquence in the form of milk. 'Eat, drink, and be intoxicated,' it says, 'my nearest ones.' Good intoxication, which causes a certain excess of the mind towards better and pleasant things, so that our mind, forgetful of worries, may be delighted by the wine of joy. Good spiritual intoxication of the table. Finally: How splendid is the intoxicating cup! But you also have it elsewhere: 'Intoxicate its streams, multiply its generations,' for when the intoxication of the earth is infused with heavenly rain, it is accustomed to awaken seeds and multiply fruits. Therefore, the word of God, which descends like rain from heaven, has inebriated the veins of our earth, the souls and minds, with divine preaching, and has stirred up the pursuit of various virtues, and has nourished the fruits of faith and chaste devotion; and deservedly it is said to Him: You have visited the earth and have inebriated it (Psalm, 10). For He visited by taking on a body, in order to heal the sick; He inebriated with spiritual grace, in order to soothe the anxious with joy.


Therefore it is rightly said to the Bride: Your lips distill honey, O Bride: honey and milk are under your tongue (Song of Songs 4:11). For the mouth of the righteous distills wisdom: from the mouth of the righteous sweetness and mercy flow: in the mouth of the righteous there is no deceit, no falsehood, no bitterness of sin. The Church hears the words of the righteous, the people of God hear the precepts of the wise, and they delight in the sweetness of discourse, they are soothed by the pleasantness of moral disputation, saying: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Because honey of bees pleases for an hour, but its taste quickly disappears, and often it harms the internal organs; however, even though the words of morals sting like honey, they do not harm. Yet, find out whom they are believed by; for it is written: Do not speak anything into the ear of a fool, lest he deride your wise words (Prov. 23:9). For the fool will vomit and reject your words, as he cannot perceive their sweetness.

26. (Verse 104.) It follows: I have understood from your commandments: therefore I have hated every way of iniquity. The consequent of this verse is: Desiring wisdom, keep the commandments (Sirach 1:33). But no one can keep them unless they understand. Finally, every word of the Law is daily given back by some elders of the Jews, and none of them can keep the commandment. For I would not say that a tree keeps the fertility of nature, which flourishes in leaves but fails in fruit: nor would I say that the earth keeps its fruits, which yields the despised fern to farmers and does not produce corn: nor does the shepherd seem to keep his flock, who does not know how to choose profitable pasture, guard against wolves, enclose his sheepfolds with dogs, or provide water when necessary. For to produce only a dumb flock without any care is the same as reading the Scriptures only for the Jewish people. Where are the spiritual pastures of the sacrament, where the letter kills, where the understandable wolves attack, where there is rest for refreshment, where is the hope of resurrection, who are the dogs that can bark as guardians of the flock, the people themselves are more ignorant than the flock.

27. Therefore, if someone says, 'I keep the commandments,' the response is: 'But you truly hate discipline, and you have cast my words behind you. If you saw a thief, you ran with him, and with adulterers you shared your portion. Your mouth overflowed with wickedness, and your tongue framed deceit. Sitting against your brother, you slandered him.' (Psalm 50:17-20). This is not to keep the commandments, but to transgress them; it is to do the opposite of what is commanded, not to understand, but to be ignorant. How can the words of God be sweet in your mouth, when there is bitterness of wickedness? How can honey and milk be under your tongue, when your tongue utters deceit: so that you conceive one thing in your heart, and pretend another in your public discourse, in order to deceive the unwary: whereas the Apostle Peter tells you to put away all malice, and all guile, and deceit, saying: As newborn babes, desire the rational milk without guile (1 Peter 2:2). For it shows us what it means to have honey and milk under the tongue; so that we may not speak ill of those who speak ill, but rather bring forth a blessing: let us not know how to hate except the path of iniquity; so that we may avoid doing what we detest, with reluctant desire. Therefore Paul guarded against evil in his flesh; because he hated it (Rom. VII, 15). Therefore John warns in his epistle not to love the world: For everything in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastfulness of life (I John II, 16).


28. It is therefore within us to both hate something good and love something good. Just as we can truly love the servants of God and truly love our enemies according to the Word of the Lord (Matthew 5:44), so can we truly hate the enemies of God, hate iniquity, hate treachery, hate evils, hate the vanities of this world. Therefore, those things which belong to this world should be hated; so that the allurements of pleasure, which insidiously approach with soothing and idle flattery, do not ensnare with their snares. It is easily understood by the eyes the beauty of a promiscuous whore, unless they are blinded by rightful hatred, and the soul turns away from impurity in indignation. It often inflates people, and deflates the arrogance of nobility and the abundance of secular possessions, with swelling disdain; unless it is more shameful for you to be praised for others rather than your own achievements. Christ, although wealthy, became poor: He redeemed you in poverty, not in riches. He commanded those who confessed the Son of God to be silent; so that God may be recognized through works rather than words; and you call yourself noble, when you are made of earth? King David says: Remember, O Lord, that we are dust (Psalm 102:14): and you, in this perishable and muddy kind, boast and think yourself wealthy, when tomorrow you can be a beggar; for your life does not depend on your abundance, but on God's mercy. To whom be honor, glory, praise, everlastingness from age to age, now and always, and unto all ages. Amen.

Sermon 14. Nun.

1. Now, the Hebrew letter is the fourteenth, the interpretation of which is 'Only begotten' or in another interpretation 'Their Passover.' Behold, the Hebrew letters themselves testify that the Lord Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father, the Word of God. Finally, in the very first verse David says about the only Son of God: 'Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.' Therefore, we understand that this psalm is arranged with Hebrew letters so that our humanity, like a little child and formed from infancy by the elements of letters to which our childhood is accustomed, may grow up to the maturity of virtue. However, each individual letter is like a title of the verses that are attributed to them, declaring the sequence and content, just as here the single letter signifies and prophesies about the portion of this psalm concerning the only begotten Son of God and the brightness of his eternal light.

Moreover, there is also found in another codex the interpretation of these letters. For what are our pastures, that is, those of the faithful, if not Christ? The Prophet rejoiced that he had been placed in his pastures, saying: In a place of pasture, there he has set me (Psalm 22:2). For he himself feeds and nourishes us. The divine sacraments are good pastures. You gather there the new flower, which has given the sweet fragrance of resurrection. You gather the lily, which is the splendor of eternity. You gather the rose, which is the blood of the Lord's body. The books of the heavenly Scriptures are also good pastures, in which we are nourished by daily reading, in which we are refreshed and restored; when we taste what is written, or more frequently ponder it with our highest voice. The flock of the Lord is nourished by these pastures.

Good are also the paschal feasts of Christ, who feeds among lilies, in the splendor of the saints: good also are the paschal feasts of the mountains of the valleys. For Christ also feeds in them, like a roe deer or a young deer of the forests. The mountains are the valleys, shining with diligent humility like the lights of this world, surpassing with their merits the diverse virtues they possess. They are those of whom it is said: 'They are not of this world, just as I am not of this world' (John 17:14); for those who follow Christ are above the world. But the world is a valley of tears; for in this world there are tears and weeping. And the Lord, seeing this, has made His Covenant in this world, so that we may weep for our sins and preserve what is to be mourned.

These verses also refer to our Easter, which we are going to discuss today. In them, David says: 'I used to feed my father's sheep, showing the true light, teaching humility' (1 Samuel 17:34). In such pastures, the true David, truly humble, and with a strong hand, who did not consider himself equal to God in robbery, but emptied himself; and the man born through the birth of a Virgin humbled himself unto death, feeding the sheep of his Father through divine preaching; when he proved his coming according to the Scriptures (Luke 4:21), when he satisfied many thousands of people with five loaves and two fish. (John 6:9 and following)

5. (Verse 105.) Therefore, these are our pastures, these are the pastures of those who can say: How sweet are your words to my taste! (Sup. v. 103) These are their pastures, who say: Your word is a lamp to my feet, O Lord. For our mouth is fed by the word when we speak the commandments of God's Word. And our inner eye is fed by the light of the spiritual lamp, which shines for us in this night of the world; so that, walking not in darkness, we may not stumble with uncertain steps and may not be able to find the true way. Therefore, the steps of the feet are understandable, and the lamp is also understandable; because the Word of God is a lamp. Wasn't this Word with God in the beginning: how then is it a lamp? Wasn't this the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world: how then is it called a lamp? Isaiah cries out: The people who were sitting in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2): so how is it called a lamp here?

6. But let us see lest perhaps the same Word of God be a great light to some, a lamp to others. To me it is a lamp, to angels a light. To Peter it was a light when an angel appeared to him in prison, and a light shone around him (Acts 12:7). To Paul it was a light when a light from heaven shone around him as he was going to persecute the Christian people, and he heard someone saying to him: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? (Acts 9:4). And indeed it was a great light. Finally, the light of Paul's lamp vanished, when the splendor of the divine light shone forth.


7. And truly Christ is a lamp to me, when he is recently presented to me by means of this our prayer. He shines in the mud, he gleams in the earthen vessel that treasure, which we have in earthen vessels. Send oil, lest it fail you; because the light of the lamp is oil, not earthly oil, but that oil of heavenly mercy and grace, with which the prophets were anointed. Your oil is humility, by which the hardness of our necks is softened; your oil is your mercy, by which even the bodies broken against the rocks of sins are nourished. This oil was poured on the wounded man by the Samaritan descending from Jerusalem to Jericho, who, seeing him, was moved with compassion and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. (Luke 10:33-34). This oil heals the sick; for mercy frees from sin. This oil shines in the darkness, if our works shine before men. This oil shines in the solemnities of the Church. Finally, those who lacked oil did not lack the light of faith; but they deserved to enter the bridal chamber with lamps: but those who did not bring oil in their vessels, that is, who did not have faith, prudence, and mercy, the souls confined in this body were rightly excluded from the faith. (Matthew 25:10-12). Therefore, you must always have a burning lamp or a shining torch. For if neither your lamp nor your torch shine, you are called a foolish virgin, and you will not enter the chamber of your superior Spouse, but you will remain in the darkness of blindness, as one who hates light; so that your wicked deeds may not be exposed. For everyone who does evil hates the light. (John 3:20). Have faith, have prudence, so that you always have the oil of mercy, the grace of devotion in your vessels; for the wise have received oil in their vessels with their lamps. Unite, O people, your lamps: when you fast, anoint your head. Let us pour oil into our minds, so that our body may be radiant. May the lamp of the Word of God always shine for you: may your eye also be a lamp of your body. Your shining conscience is a good light in this body of the lamp; for it is your eye. May your eye be pure. If your conscience is clean, your flesh is clean: but if your conscience is dark, your body is also dark with the darkness of your conscience. Therefore, we are like candles, covered with our whole body, hardly having anything small from which we can shine.

8. Finally, John was a lamp, as the Lord said about him: He was a burning and shining lamp (John 5:35). A good lamp that received light from Christ, so that it could shine in this world: burning deservedly, shining deservedly; because he was a messenger of Christ, illuminating the hearts of each through the preaching of faith. But he also gave these lamps, so that they would be the light of the world, saying to the apostles: You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). Therefore, if the glory of the saints now shines like a lamp, now like the light of the world shines in this age, what do we say about the Word of God, which is also a lamp to my feet?

9. And perhaps where there are no shadows, there is no lamp of the Word of God, but above the lamp; for He is the light. Those who see the light have no shadows. Finally, then, the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13:43). And perhaps according to the Law, the lamp is the Word of God, according to the Gospel, the light is great. The lamp is for the Jews, and the lamp is under a bushel. The Law shines, but it is not seen; for their teaching is hidden and their thoughts are of vice, and they are blind in their unbelief: but to the people from the nations, the light is. Finally, the people who sat in the region of the shadow of death, a light has risen for them (Isaiah 9:2). Open therefore your windows so that the radiance of great light may enter for you. Prepare your candlestick so that your light is not covered by the covering of your body and the measure of this earthly frailty, but rather shine above the measure of bodily weakness with the power of your soul. Or if you are tender-hearted, see that the measures themselves do not exceed the limit, so that they do not overflow, but rather be content with good seeds. Let your words not be pointless, let your speech not be idle; lest the lamp be placed under a basket. God is powerful to set your lamp on the candelabrum; so that it may shine for all those who are in the house, so that those who enter may see the light. Our main candelabrum is the Church. Put your words on your main [candelabrum], and let them shine for all those who enter the Church. Take another candelabrum as well. Consider your mouth, consider your speech. Is not your mouth a lamp, and your word a light, when it is spoken from your mouth? Let this light always shine for you, that is, let your word shine, and never be extinguished.

You ask how I may teach that it cannot be extinguished? It is written: The light of the righteous is always inexhaustible, but the light of the wicked will be extinguished. (Job. XVIII, 5). This light was the light of the lamp that shone in the tabernacle of the Testimony, and today it is the light that shines in the Church, the wise man. This is the eye of the Church, which does not speak with hands, that is, with actions, but with a mind that is not sharp to understand: You are not necessary to me. Therefore, he who said, Our conversation is in heaven, shone upon the candlestick. (Philip. III, 20). For David was already conversing with his whole mind in heaven, and yet he said: Your word is a lamp to my feet. Or perhaps, like a good teacher, he wanted to go before me so that I might learn to follow the light and walk in his footsteps. Therefore, he showed me that I should learn to follow this lamp in the darkness of that ignorance, in the darkness of that bodily covering, so that, following Christ, I would not stumble on any stumbling stone. Peter was wandering in the darkness of ignorance, denying that Christ would die; because he still did not see that he would die and rise again for us. The Lord turned to him and said: Get behind me (Matthew 16:23). He showed him the light that he should follow, saying, 'Follow me.' Having followed the word of God, he was strengthened: afterwards he began to cleave to Christ, fearing to fall into error again. Did he not also who said, 'Your word is a lamp unto my feet,' hasten to this lamp, when he said on the sea, 'Lord'? Command me to come to you on the water (Matthew 14:28)? But because he did not follow the light, he was moved and stumbled, disturbed by the weight of a stronger force of nature.

11. Let us therefore follow this light, and let us walk as in the night to the light. Many pits, many cliffs in the darkness of this age are not seen. Prefer for yourself the light that the Prophet showed: see to where you should transfer your step, look where to place the foot of your inner mind: take care with each step: trust no one of your own, unless the light of this lantern goes before, guiding your progress. For where you think it shines, there is a whirlpool; it seems to shine but it pollutes; and where you think it is solid or dry, it is slippery there. But even if the journey is long for you, let faith be your precursor on your journey, let divine Scripture be your path. The heavenly guidance of the Word is good. Light this lamp from that lamp, so that your inner eye, which is the lamp of your body, may shine. You have many lamps, light them all, for it has been said to you: Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning (Luke XII, 35). For there are many darknesses, many lamps are necessary, so that the light of our merits may shine in such great darkness. The Law declared that these lamps should always shine in the Tabernacle of Testimony, not the ones that the Jews light every day. Those lamps shine in the shadow and are extinguished daily, because they do not see what they do, they do not understand what they read, receiving in the letter what is commanded in the spirit. For the Tabernacle of Testimony is this body of ours, in which Christ has come, through a more spacious and perfect Tabernacle, as it is written, to enter into the holy places with His own blood, and to cleanse our conscience from every work of the dead and stain, so that in our bodies, which testify to the hidden and secret thoughts of our own testimonies and qualities, the clear light of our virtues may shine like lamps. These are the burning lamps that shine day and night in the temple of God. If you preserve the temple of God in your body, if your members are members of Christ, your virtues shine, which no one can extinguish unless they extinguish your crime. May our festivals shine with the light of a chaste mind and devout solemnity.

12. Let your light always shine. Christ also rebukes those who use a lamp; if they do not always use it, saying: Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning (Luke XII, 35). Let us not rejoice in the light for an hour. He rejoices for an hour, who hears the word in the Church and rejoices: but when he goes out, he forgets what he heard, and neglects it. This is the one who walks in his house without a lamp; therefore he walks in darkness, who does the works of darkness, in revelry and drunkenness, in beds and impurities, in contention and jealousy, clothed in the garments of the devil, not Christ. These things happen when the lamp of the Word does not shine. Therefore, let us never neglect the Word of the Lord, from which the origin of all virtues is for us, and the process of all works. If the members of our body cannot operate correctly without light (for the feet stumble without light, and the hands wander), how much more should the footsteps of our souls and the steps of our minds be directed towards the light of the Word! There are also the hands of the soul that touch well, as Thomas touched the signs of the Lord's resurrection (John 20:27), if the light of the present Word shines for us. Let this lamp be lit in every word, in every work. May our footsteps be guided by this lamp both in public and in private.

13. But now let us proceed to the rest, and may the word of God be a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths. A lamp is sufficient for walking with the feet, but it is not sufficient for illuminating the paths. Yet the same Word is both a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths, because he is the only begotten Son of God, who is a defender for those who sin and a rewarder for the strong, a forgiver of sins and a giver of rewards.

14. (Verse 106.) Therefore, to whomsoever the Word of God has become a lantern, to him the paths shine wherever he goes, just as they shone for the holy David; and thus, walking as if in light, he says: I have sworn and resolved to keep the judgments of your righteousness. I am humbled on every side. The voice of one walking in the light is to speak with authority: I have sworn and resolved. For the one who resolves is not moved, does not fear falling, because to resolve is greater than to stand. Therefore, David stands firm in the station of his mind and does not fear that he may wander in the darkness of this world; for if he feared, he would not swear; if he hesitated, he would not establish a divine judgment with an oath. No one swears well unless they can know what they are swearing. Therefore, to swear is an indication of knowledge, a testimony of conscience. And one swears well who directs their feet to the lamp of the word, who sees the light in their paths. May light be before you, if you are inclined to swear, that is, let the knowledge of the truth precede; so that the bond of the oath may not harm you. Where religion is holier, there faith in truth is fuller. Finally, for this reason the Lord, who came to teach the little ones, to instruct the new, to strengthen the perfect, said in the Gospel: Not to swear at all (Matt. 5:34); because he was speaking to the weak. Finally, he was not speaking only to the apostles, but to the crowds; for he did not want you to swear, lest you commit perjury. And he added that one should not swear at all, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by your own head, namely those things which are not under your power. The Lord swore, and he will not regret it. So let him swear whom he cannot regret of his oath. And what did the Lord swear? That Christ is a priest forever. Was it uncertain, was it impossible what the Lord swore? Could it be changed? Therefore, do not misuse the example of the sacrament, you who do not have the power to fulfill the sacrament.

15. So what did David swear? To keep the judgments of the justice of the Lord. Clearly in nothing perfect, nothing ready, were the judgments of divine justice moving. How much they are moved, when they see a just man bereft of children, reduced to the extreme necessity of frequent expenses and unable to have the necessities of food itself: broken by severe illness and constantly tormented by weakness, so that he cannot perform the common functions of nature? But he who is strong is not moved and he understands more that the justice of God should be preached; for the Lord corrects whom he loves. Is it not more often that a son is corrected than a slave? Therefore, the father's loving discipline is unjust, rather than the severity of the master? The father exercises the son with harsher things than the master exercises the household servant. But the harsh punishments of the father are not considered unmerciful, because he desires the son to be better than a slave. Therefore, education is full of justice.


16. The holy Job was deprived of his children, over whom the Lord had given power to the devil. Is God unjust? Far from it: rather, He is just; for in order to test his righteous one, He has made him more worthy to be tested through these trials in which his patience has been proven. For the more clearly the merit of the one crowned is revealed, the more abundant is the justice of the one crowning. He was stripped of his possessions, though he was rich, and he endured these losses, with God permitting it. There were no longer financial losses, but losses of life; when sustenance was lacking, everything was taken away. Who would accuse the justice of God, when Job, if he had not lost all his money, would not have found such great favor? God wanted to anoint his athlete, stripped and bare, with the oil of repentance; so that by enduring the struggle, he would become stronger, and by earning the prize, he would become more worthy. His whole body was soaked with a serious wound, he sat on the dung heap, scraping away the pus flowing from the cruel sores; and this the devil had inflicted on the righteous man with the permission of the Lord. The devil would seem to have conquered himself, unless he had received the power that he had asked for, and was also overcome. Therefore, what was that temptation, what was the lack of resources, the abandonment of children, the endurance of wounds, if not an exercise of faith, a mark of patience, a glorious instruction in virtue, a full confession of victory; so that he who had the devil as an opponent, would not have him afterwards? Therefore, let no one consider just things to be harsh. They did not seem hard to him, who could say: I was born naked, I will go out naked: The Lord gave, the Lord took away... blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). For the righteous blesses the Lord when he labors, the sinner when he indulges. Therefore, the strength of our weakness should not be regarded as righteousness.

17. What difficult thing do we think anything is, whatever we cannot bear through weakness of mind? Take away persecutions, and there are no martyrs. But even God suffered persecutors, that is, the powers of the world, to arise; lest there should be lacking those who should conquer for Christ. Who then does not say, though weak: O Lord, why hast Thou given Thy people into the power of persecutors? But who today would deny that those are more blessed who have suffered than those who have never been tormented by the punishments of persecutors?


18. Therefore, the just person desires to be proved and does not fear to be tempted; for whoever resolves to keep the commandments of God does not fear temptations. Where does he resolve to do this, if not in the heart? For there we must be rooted and founded, not being tossed about or moved by every wind of doctrine. Therefore, let us establish ourselves inwardly in our heart, in our breast, in our mind, so that the prophetic saying may be fulfilled in us: The thoughts of the just are judgments (Prov. XII, 5). In these judgments, the just person walks well; and therefore he says: Test me, O Lord, and try me (Psal. XXV, 2). Lastly, responding to his own authority, he who had sworn and determined to uphold the laws of the Lord's justice, says that he wanted to prove himself, who believed that humility was to be embraced for Christ.

19. (Verse 107.) And so he says: I have been greatly humbled. Not only is he humbled, but he also rejoices in being excessively humbled. Blessed is he who boasts more in humility than in power. Power deceives, humility does not abandon. Good humility, which also finds praise of virtue in Christ. In him I revere this more than creation; for we are created for labor, redeemed for rest. Finally, he himself, calling people to his mercy, boasts of his own humility, saying: I have been made known to those who did not seek me; I have appeared to those who did not inquire of me (Isaiah 65:1). And elsewhere: I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6). Therefore, David rightly wanted to humble himself, so that he might fulfill in himself what was lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

20. He himself can also be said to have spoken these words from his own person through the mouth of David: I am greatly humbled, who said in the Gospel: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. XI, 28 and 29). Therefore, let us learn from him, who wished to teach us what would be helpful for salvation, and says to us: Learn from me. It is not insignificant what he says, Learn: and he added: Learn from me. No one can easily teach humility when they are inflated: even if they are endowed with human wisdom; the mind is still inflated, which pride of the flesh elevates. And whoever is content with poverty, is not content with injustice: and whoever can endure physical punishments, is tormented by verbal insults: and whoever can despise positions of power, grieves that someone else is preferred with honor. It is great in all things to hold the measure of humility. Pride casts down man first. While we desire more, we often lose what is less. Good humility, by desiring nothing and despising everything, attains everything. The Lord Jesus himself humbled himself in order to elevate us, and he humbled himself even unto the cross. For this reason, God exalted him, saying . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow (Philippians 2:9-10). How much the Lord has done, I dare to say, and I did not bend my knee to Him? But I bent my knee to Him after He humbled Himself. For in this way, that is, through humility, through the cross, He gathered His Church to Himself.

21. King David was a witness to the uncertain and hidden knowledge that was revealed to him, but for this reason he humbled himself even more (Psal. 50:8). But indeed Hezekiah fell from the height of his heart. That praiseworthy king, the one who was delivered from siege and illness by the benefits of the Lord and His wondrous deeds, fell due to pride and diminished the grace of his previous accomplishments. What would Joseph have been if he had not been humble? He knew that he had hindered his brothers, even though his pious love had found the misfortune of superiority. Preaching armed the brothers, humility won over strangers; preaching roused the Germans, humility made the king subject. So that truly, as if spoken in the person of Joseph, we may think what he himself said above: I am humbled, and he saved me (Psalm 114:6); although if we consider what he endured, we will find that he said it in his own person.

22. After defeating Goliath, the singing maidens came out: Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7). The king's anger was aroused, and he sought to kill David. But David humbled himself before Jonathan, the king's son, and won his favor. He kept him loyal to his father's desires, saying to his father: Why do you sin against the innocent blood? (1 Samuel 19:5). And he forced out that word unwillingly because David did not deserve to be killed. Therefore, he rightly says: I was humbled, and he saved me (Psalm 114:7). And again, when the prophet came to him and declared the anger of the Lord in the matter of Bathsheba, the woman, he humbled himself and said: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to him: Because you have repented, the Lord has taken away your sin; you shall not die. So, true humility is good. Finally, he was humbled and saved. And in another place, when the Lord was offended because of the numbered people, he sent the prophet Gad to King David. Choose for yourself what you want to happen: three years of famine on the land, or three months of fleeing from the face of your pursuing enemies, or three days of death on the land. (2 Samuel 24:13) David answered: These three options are distressing to me, but I will fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, rather than fall into the hands of men. (Ibid., 14) And when the Lord had inflicted death upon Israel from morning until the hour of dinner, with seventy thousand men dead, David looked to the Lord, and when he saw the Angel striking the people, he said: Behold, I have sinned, and I have done evil as a shepherd; and what have these sheep done? Let your hand be upon me, and upon the house of my father (Ibid., 17). And the Lord became propitious, when a sacrifice of reconciliation was offered to the Lord. Good, therefore, is humility, which has saved both the king and the people. Therefore, with the Lord reconciled, David said: It is good for me that I have been humbled (Psalm, v. 71).

23. Therefore, humility is good, especially if voluntary devotion is added to it. And so, it seeks to be enlivened according to the word, in order to live according to the word and do all things with reason, not according to the will of the flesh. Hence, this mystical saying can also be understood in a moral sense: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; this was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made (John 1:1-3). And you should be an imitator of God. How should you imitate? Can you create the sky, or the earth, or the sea? Certainly not; but that you may do all things through the word, nothing without the word; everything with reason, nothing without reason; for you are not irrational, O man, but rational.

24. (Verse 108.) The fourth verse follows: Confirm the voluntary offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me your judgments. Whoever humbles himself is made alive according to the promise of the Lord: whoever is made alive by the Spirit of God is a voluntary minister; for it matters greatly whether you do something out of your own will or out of necessity, as it pleases God. Finally, the voluntary minister receives a reward, while the one who is compelled performs service, as we have learned from the teaching of the Apostle. For he wrote: Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship (I Cor. IX 16 and 17). See the voluntary executor of divine judgment. He was free from all, and became a servant of all, certainly by choice, not by necessity; so as to gain the most (Ibid., 19-22). He also presented himself to those who were held by the bond of the Law, as if he were under the Law, even though he was not under the Law, in order to save those who lived under the Law. The weak became weak, so that he might support the weak by assuming their weakness. He became all things to all people, not out of legal necessity, but out of a willing obedience. He revealed to me the depth of this plan in the letter written to Philemon, because he desired to be someone else instead of himself, so that it would appear that he had done it out of his own will rather than out of necessity. Therefore, in interceding for Onesimus, he said: 'But you, welcome him as you would welcome me, whom I wanted to keep with me, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment. But I wanted to do nothing without your consent, so that your goodness would not be forced, but voluntary.' What a diligent persuader, who, although he was a vessel of divine election, did not disdain to share in the advice of others, lest he should deprive another of the benefit of his own will. Therefore David rightly says, as if a prophet: 'Prove the voluntary offerings of my mouth, O Lord, offering his own mouth to the Lord as a voluntary sacrifice'; because just as that prophetic bee is accustomed to gather good flowers with its mouth, shape the honeycomb with its mouth, and compose honey with its mouth, and to choose sons from sweet herbs with its mouth. And when it is feeble in strength, it produces a lifetime through the preaching of wisdom (Prov. 6:8).' Recognize what this voluntary sacrifice of the mouth is: 'Offer a sacrifice of praise to God' (Ps. 49:14).

25. The Lord awaits voluntary ministers. Finally, in the book of Isaiah, the Lord says: Whom shall I send (Isaiah 6:8)? He could have commanded his servant, whom he found worthy to be sent, but he preferred not to deprive him of the reward of voluntary offering, and thus waited for him to offer himself. And although he knew his desire, he still awaited his voice in order to enhance the grace. Therefore, offering himself, Isaiah says: Here I am, send me (ibid.); and thus, he was later sent to the people. This is why it is said: Because Isaiah dares and says (Rom. X, 20). For indeed Christ, as a voluntary instrument, has filled with the abundant grace of His spirit.

26. I do not think this is put here in vain; because the voluntary expression of His mouth desires to please the Lord. Many prophets, but in all their voluntary expressions please. Jeremiah made an excuse, saying: Who are you, Lord? Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am young; and the Lord said to him: Do not say, 'I am young'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak (Jeremiah 1:6-7). The modest prophet pretended the age of his body so that he would not be found unequal in carrying out the heavenly commands because of his youth. But God, who judges age based on character rather than years, considered the age, and foresaw in his young body the maturity of robust wisdom in his servant. He said, 'Do not say, I am younger,' that is, He prohibited him from appraising his strength through contemplation of youthful age, to whom faith would minister the whiteness of wisdom. And again in the later part of the same passage, when the same prophet had said: You have seduced me, Lord, and I have been seduced... And I said: I will not mention his name, nor speak in his name any longer; he added: And it became like a burning fire in my heart, flaming in my bones: and I am weary of restraining myself, and I cannot bear it (Jeremiah XX, 7 and 9). Therefore, we note that even those who may consider their duty to be excusable, or have some certain reason to deny it, nevertheless our Lord either persuades them by reason, or inspires them with the desire of prophetic revelation, so that they may willingly take on their duty, and not be compelled by necessity; so that the reward of their complete devotion may be more fully attained. And Caiphas prophesied, That it is expedient for one man to die for the people (John 11:50): but this voluntary ministry of speech was not his; for he spoke unwillingly. Finally, he did not know what he was saying.

27. What, therefore, does she desire to please the Lord with the voluntary offerings of her mouth? I have chosen to be abased in the house of the Lord, rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners (Psalm 83:11). I will hear what the Lord God speaks within me (Psalm 84:9). I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter forth propositions from the beginning of time (Psalm 77:2). I have prepared a lamp for my Christ (Psalm 131:17). She prepared her body, which was previously covered in filth and obstructed with the mire of an inherited mixture, so that it could not receive the spiritual oil, to shine for Christ. Christ shines, whose works shine in the light of Christ. Peter shone with the light of Christ when he said: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk (Acts 3:6). He who said: The Lord Jesus heals you shone with the light of Christ (Acts 9:34). The lamp of the martyrs shone with the light of Christ, those who underwent martyrdom for Christ. David shone with the light of Christ, who could say: My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God (Psalm 84:3). He had prepared his mind in Christ when he said about him, whom he had frequently desired to kill, 'May it not happen to me from the Lord, if I do this thing to my lord, the anointed one of the Lord, to lay my hand upon him.' (1 Sam. 24:7) Although he had a greater reason to safeguard his own safety by killing his pursuer, he also dissuaded others from not sparing the enemy, whom the Lord had delivered into his hands according to His promise, from his desire to kill him. The Prophet was shining with the light of Christ, when, regarding him who had defiled his father's house with foul incest, who sought his father's life in wicked battles, the loving father still said to those going into battle: Spare my son Absalom (II Sam. XVIII, 5). He kept silent about the wickedness of the crime, but he emphasized the degree of piety and the name of kinship, so that those about to fight would not think of the king as their adversary, but as their son, and would restrain the pain of wounded piety. And after my death, he covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, saying: My son Absalom, my son (Ibid., 33). This cry did not deserve the title of parricide, but it foretold the grace of Christ. The Prophet had learned from Christ that a father who served a good son was virtuous.

28. Finally, for this reason he said, 'Teach me your judgments,' because the judgments of God are like a deep, unfathomable abyss, as the Apostle says (Rom. XI, 33). Therefore, he could not know them unless Christ taught him, because Christ is the one master of all (Matth. XXIII, 8). But these are the judgments of Christ, so that we may know that for those who have plotted against us, we should not seek revenge, but rather extend grace in response to their injustice. Finally, he did not curse those who cursed him, nor strike back at those who struck him, but rather, he even prayed for his persecutors, offering a pious intercession to the Father, saying: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). Therefore, whoever does these things, the judgments of the law will reward Christ.

29. (Verse 109.) But who can be taught the judgments of God, except the one who always directs his soul to the Lord? Who can say: My soul is always in your hands, and I have not forgotten your law. Some have: My soul is always in my own hands, that is, in my actions, that is, in my deeds. Although the just person, being in danger, says to the Lord: Because of you I die daily, I am tried daily: I am tried by the assailant, I am tried by the detractor, I am tried by those I accuse, those I refute, I am tried for truth and justice: nevertheless, I am not terrified by dangers, I have not forgotten your law; therefore, my soul is in my hands. But because many have: My soul is always in your hands; I think this needs to be explained further.

30. The prophet knows where to place the protection of his soul, from where he hopes for help: he wants to entrust his soul into the hands of God, because the heart of the king is in the hand of God (Prov. XXI, 1). Whoever has control over his own body and allows his soul to be disturbed by its passions should let his soul be guided by its ruler with appropriate vitality, he is said to be restraining himself with a blessed power, knowing how to govern himself and be the arbiter of his own rights: let him not be led into fault as a captive, nor be carried headlong into vice. The soul of this person does not perish eternally, nor does anyone snatch it from the hand of the almighty Father or the Son. For the hand of God, which has established the heavens, does not lose what it holds.

So let us consider who these hands are. In the Song of Songs, you have: His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me (Song 2:6). The Bride speaks of Christ, the soul speaks of the Word of God. But Christ is the same Word of God, and wisdom; therefore, blessed is the soul that wisdom embraces. The hand of wisdom is great, the right hand embraces the whole soul, for the whole soul is fortified, being betrothed to the Word of God; for the fullness of wisdom is to fear God. Therefore, the soul that fears God, protects itself with full defense: wisdom sends its left hand under its neck, but its right hand into its embrace. Both of its arms extend to useful things; however, each hand has its own properties. Wisdom is in the right hand, and it is the length of life; but in the left hand are riches and glory. Certainly, each hand is endowed with gifts for good things; however, they have variety in their function, because they comprehend both present and future times; so that the left hand may be the rewarder of present things, and the right hand of future things.


32. We can also learn this about the prophecy of the holy patriarch Israel. For when he placed his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh, and Joseph wanted to change them by the consideration of ages, so that the right hand of the father would be placed on the head of Manasseh, the elder son. But he did not want to and said: I know, my son; and he will be a people, and he will be exalted here; but the younger brother will be greater than him (Gen. 48:19). In which is the greater? In him assuredly, because he is preeminent with a blessing, those who would come after him will say: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh' (Gen 48:20); or because his offspring will be a multitude of nations, which in this age he has chosen, believing in the Lord Jesus, so that he may have consolation for the future. But the offspring of Manasseh is a people of forgetting, who, having forgotten their own creator, have been exalted for a time in this age, but will give heavy punishments in the future, because they have denied their own God and Lord.


33. We have said this in order to prove that those things which are to come are better. Finally, the left side of wisdom is under the head of the Bride, but the right side, which embraces the Bride entirely, is superior. Therefore, it is like the fulcrum of present rest, on which the soul rests, leaning. It has a place to rest its head because the left side is wealth and glory. For a time, these things soothe and are partly a consolation. And therefore, the Son of Man had no place to rest his head because although he was rich, he became poor (Matthew 8:20); nor did he seek any glory of this world (2 Corinthians 8:9), because he came not to enrich himself but to help the entire human race, saying, "Are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?" (John 7:23); that is, completely, not by bestowing material riches, not by crowning with honors, not by increasing secular glory; for these do not have the fullness of beatitude and grace. But to be completely well means to embrace the length of eternal life. For the life that is similar to the common life is not in the right hand of wisdom: but the length of life is; so that whoever receives life from wisdom, may obtain not the shortness of life, but its perpetuity, and the length of eternity.

34. The bonus garment of eternal life. The guardians of the walls wanted to take away this robe of the Bride, with which the first man had been stripped: but the soul, devoted to God, by seeking and holding onto it for a long time, and not letting go of the beloved, clothed itself with the precious wrapping of divine love. Therefore, blessed are those who are clothed in such a robe, and have deserved the garment of this kind by observing the law; because they have not forgotten the law, but have performed what the law required. For he who acts outside of the law has forgotten the law. And therefore, this pure soul ascends from the earth; because she shines with the garment of wisdom: and those virtues, who guard the gates of heaven, speak of her: Who is she who ascends, shining white, leaning on her brother (Song of Solomon, VIII, 5)? With her head placed on the left of wisdom, to open her hand to help the poor: prepared either for her own needs or for others, not using violence or robbery to obtain riches, which she acquired through good deeds driven by the desire for glory, not seeking empty secular titles. For this is to establish its head, and a certain main principle of the senses above the hand of wisdom. This, I say, the soul ascends by merits, shining white from that desert of this life, as many have, to that flourishing place of eternal delight. These are the virtues which are also spoken of in the book of Isaiah: Who is this that comes from Edom, with garments stained from Bozrah, so precious in his robe? (Isaiah 63:1) These, I say, are the ones who marvel that from that broken and rocky wilderness it is possible for any soul to ascend without the stain of great vices; and therefore they rejoice in the discovery of a garment that does not pollute the clothing of natural innocence with the foolish ink of secular folly, but rather purifies it with the brightness of spiritual wisdom and grace.

35. (Verse 110.) Therefore, that soul now secure, now joyful, says: The sinners have set a snare for me, and I have not strayed from your commandments. Worthy is the voice of one leaving this world, because the nets of those who persecute and the snares of the tempters have been removed. Worthy is the voice for the martyrs, to whom many torments were presented, and many rewards were also offered; so that from the desire or fear of martyrdom, and from the horror of cruel death, or from the allurements of rewards, they might be called back. A heavy snare of persecution, which often breaks the holy ones with the deformity of poverty, whom the fear of death has not broken: another snare of fire, a snare of prison, and of prolonged torment: a great snare, when wealth is promised, when honors, when the friendships of tyrants. Therefore, whoever has escaped these things and has been able to reach martyrdom, rightly says: The sinners have set a snare for me; but I have not turned away from your commandments; to the one who despises the present and seeks the future, the heavenly kingdom of your divinity is opened by your promise.


36. Who are these sinners who set snares? The Apostle opened to you the author of all sins, and declared, saying: Those who desire to become rich fall into temptation and the snare of the devil (1 Timothy 6:9). Therefore, be warned that the snare of the devil is wealth, which he also laid out for the Savior. But He, who had nothing that the prince of this world could claim, coming to Him, broke the chains of his snares. Lest you think this noose is insignificant, this noose strangled the Apostle Judas. How wretched, when he was caught in the noose to betray the Lord, he realized the extent of his crime and hung himself by the noose. But he himself was also the devil's noose, not acting in repentance, but suffocating himself with the noose. Indeed, God is also merciful towards these betrayers; so that they may be provoked to repentance, turn away from wicked intentions, and repent from the devil's snares; by whom they are held captive to his will. No longer is it a hardship to fall, but a crime: for those who not only subject themselves to be captured, but also are bound to the will of the devil; when they could say: Let us break their chains (Ps. II, 3). For divine Scripture has given you the ability not only to avoid the snare of the devil, but also to break his bonds through penitence.

37. What is it to you, man, with delights and pleasures? The noose does not capture unless the bait has been started. While you seek plunder, you yourself are entangled in the noose. The bait of the noose is greed: the bait of the devil is luxury, with which he wants to ensnare us, not to nourish us. And therefore the apostle cried out: Do not touch, do not taste, all of which are for corruption by their very use (Col. II, 21 and 22). Therefore, do not touch luxury, and it will not be able to contaminate you. Do not taste the corruption of greed, and you will be immune from the snare. What do you have to do with earthly things when you have risen with Christ? Seek the things that are above, where Christ is... taste the things that are above, not the things on earth (Colossians 3:1-2). We are dead to earthly things, we hide our life with Christ in our God: we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. Why should we return to earthly things again? Behold, I have fled and expressed, says the Saint (Psalm 54, 8). See the snares of iniquity and contradiction in the city (Ibid., 10). For snares are where there is usury and deceit. He has fled from earthly dishonor; therefore, he has attained heavenly rewards.

38. Why, I ask, do you reflect on the earth if you were snatched up into heaven in Enoch, lifted up in a chariot in Elijah, snatched up to paradise in Paul, conversed in the heavens, heard in David, so that you would take on the wings of a dove and fly? Exalted in Christ, made a bird in the Spirit; when he descended like a dove, he gave you those wings, so that you would learn to fly from the earth. Indeed, you should not hesitate as to how you should fly, with which movements of your wings. David indeed said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and find rest? (Psalm 54:7). And he seemed to doubt from where he could receive wings; although divine grace is accustomed to be revealed in this way, which cannot be found on earth: nevertheless, in the later verses, he clearly taught what these wings are, saying: If you sleep among the clergy of the middle, dove wings of silver, and its back parts in the appearance of gold (Psalm 67:14). Even if you sleep, your wings wake up. For there are those who watch over sleepers, as that one who said: I sleep, but my heart is awake (Song of Solomon 2:5). Even though it is night, the spirit is vigilant, as it is written: My spirit is awake for you during the night (Isaiah 26:9). Then, your wings will unfold from spiritual words, and the precious wisdom of flight will arise. Where, therefore, will you fear snares when there is a spiritual oar at your disposal? If sincerity of spirit, if purity of mind shines forth, you are a dove. Therefore it is said to you: Be. . . . as simple as doves (Matth. X, 16). If the larger feathers are missing, or the smaller ones, do not despise them. Be even like a sparrow; so that with keen discernment you may be able to foresee traps, and almost caught by the allurements of sins, yet sometimes when called back you may say: Our soul is like a sparrow taken from the snare of hunters: the snare is broken, and we are set free (Psal. CXXIII, 7). Since we have considered this matter elsewhere (Book III, on Luke, chapter XII), it seems that we must now move on to something else.

It is enough for you to know that you are a bird, fitted by nature for flying, as the Lord says through the Prophet: 'Free yourselves from the snare of the hunters and from the troubling word' (Psalm 90:3); for nets are not unjustly stretched out for the birds. You are a bird, O man, who, like a bird, have been renewed in a certain youth as an eagle. And therefore nets are not unjustly stretched out for the birds. For why do you cast yourself down to the earth when you were already seeking the heavens? Nets are not unjustly stretched out for the renewed; for you have already begun to belong to Christ and to cease belonging to hunters. Beware the snares of hunters. Before, the devil captured his prey with his own right: now, why does someone attack the merchandise of the Lord's Cross? However, you can also avoid these snares, so that you do not say: the hunters caught me like a sparrow; if you escape the snare of the heart, which the devil sent into the heart of Judas, and thus armed him for the crime of betrayal. May God turn away these snares from us, which he pours upon sinners. And therefore, the Prophet says (Psalm 34:8): You will give them, Lord, the snare of their hearts, which you have prepared for them. But give us, O Lord, help; so that we may follow after you, bound by your chains. For there is nothing more powerful, nothing more pleasing, than the bonds of charity. He who is bound to you is free from the world.

40. (Verse 111.) I have inherited your testimonies forever; for they are the joy of my heart. This is also the voice of the martyrs, saying that they have received the inheritance of heavenly testimonies. Therefore, the Prophet says: I am the heir of your commandments, I have sought your succession of faith and piety by right. One cannot say this unless they keep the commandments, acquired with heaven and earth as witnesses. For the Lord has said: Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth (Isaiah 1:2). The Lord testifies the elements in order to prove those who refuse to keep divine commandments; so that he may close all the excuses. He also testifies men, saying: Be my witnesses, and I am a witness, says the Lord (Isaiah XLIII, 10). Therefore, the commands of the Lord are full of testimonies, and they themselves are testimonies, of which God, who does not lie, is a sufficient witness, before whom your conscience also bears witness, accusing or even defending your thoughts, faithful enough even in an unfaithful heart; because the judge of all things that have been committed cannot be deceived. For if in an earthly court even someone who has come prepared to lie, when convicted by the testimony of another, usually reveals the truth; how much more is it necessary in the heavenly court before the Lord Jesus for those who have spoken falsely to confess the truth, whom He knows to know what has happened?

And he rightly says: I have sought your testimonies as an inheritance, because just as we were heirs of the sinner before, now we are heirs of Christ. That was the inheritance of sins, this is the inheritance of virtue: that bound us, this sets us free: that adjudicated us, enslaved by the interest of sins, to the enemy, this acquired us, liberated by the title of Christ's passion, to Christ. The succession of Eve's evils devoured the whole person: the glorious inheritance of Christ liberated the whole person. Not to one or a few, but to all, Jesus wrote His Testament. We are all heirs, not in proportion, but in universality. The Testament is common, and the right of all, the inheritance of all, and the stability of each. Each approaches the New Testament, and all possess it: what is claimed by coheirs does not diminish the inheritance of the heir. The benefit remains intact, and it grows even more for each individual, the more it is acquired by many. Another condition of human inheritance is this: if the profits are divided, they are diminished; and the division is the loss of the co-heir. The kingdom of Christ is undivided, the inheritance undivided. How could the inheritance be divided, when the fruit of the inheritance is undivided, which is the kingdom of heaven? Gold, silver, a property abandoned by a man to multiple people, is distributed and divided: solid gifts from Christ reach each individual: all have, and no one is cheated.


42. Therefore, let us listen to the hereditary benefits. The forgiveness of sins is the inheritance of Christ. Certainly, it is solid for each individual and profitable for the community; for whoever receives it, it does not depart from anyone, it is added to everyone. It is acquired by the body, whatever is relaxed for each person. For if the angels rejoice over one repentant sinner, because they consider it their gain in the redemption of mankind, how much more of a gain is it for the race, which is the gain of nature? The inheritance of Christ is the resurrection. Can anyone call this their loss, who finds it under the common name of grace? For when Christ rose, He rose for all; because through a man is the resurrection of the dead. So how can it be a loss for individuals, which is the renewal of the whole body and the human race? Therefore, let the Testament be recited, and let us consider its teachings. But the Holy Spirit is our witness. For when He said, 'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,' then He adds: 'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more' (Hebrews 10:15 et seq.). O truly eternal testator, who fixes His laws in our hearts and writes them on our minds, so that we may think of nothing else but divine precepts and feel nothing else but the oracles of God. He gave grace, reformed nature, and to himself, who forgets nothing, he took away the memory of my sins and gave me his commandments.

43. Therefore, do not remove the law of God from your heart, and do not affix the law of sin. Do not write the enticements of the devil in your thoughts, and do not erase the commandments of God. Behold, I have painted your walls, says the Lord to Jerusalem (Isa. XLIX, 16); this is to the studious soul of tranquility and peace, which he made in his own image. Do not, I say, take away the heavenly image, and impose the image of death. You have rejected the inheritance of the world: keep the testimonies of Christ; for in them is joy and gladness, since all weeping will be wiped away, and there will no longer be death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor outcry. The image of the Passion of Christ was a reflection of the heavenly kingdom. No one heard his voice in the streets; because in that silence of his passion, he abolished the future outcry of impious voices. He did not want to be mourned, who said to the daughters of Jerusalem: Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves (Luke 23:28). For he was about to take away all tears by the virtue of his cross, and in his own passion he displayed a foretaste of future blessedness, so that no one would weep except those who did not embrace the benefits of Christ.


44. Therefore, rightfully the Evangelical man says: I have sought your testimonies as an eternal inheritance; for they are the joy of my heart. Who would not rejoice, who has sought the heavens and the earth as an inheritance (which two elements God himself proclaimed when he gave the law), because he has sought God, of whom the Holy One says: The Lord is my portion; he has sought the Lord Jesus, he has sought the Holy Spirit; and after that, he has sought the angels, and lives with them, not only today and tomorrow, but for eternity; and for the sake of the Lord’s name, he is not troubled by any wrongs? Finally, the apostles rejoiced when they were beaten, when they were thrown into prison.

45. (Verse 112.) Therefore, rejoicing in the testimonies of the Lord, he rightly said: I have inclined my heart to do your justifications forever, because of recompense. He who hopes for the recompense of good works from God and hastens to Him, inclines his heart to do the justice of Christ. What is the justice of Christ? Without us, he says, fulfilling all justice, by which sin diminishes and guilt is loosened (Matthew 3:15). And he says well, I have inclined; so that it may not be difficult for you, when you turn your mind as if to humble and plain things. Certainly, since the wisdom of the flesh is not subject to the law of God, he seems to bend his heart, who subjects himself to the law, elevating the senses of the body, and he deflects from the gaze of religion. And he, who recently elevated himself in vain and inflated in his mind of the flesh, when he humbles himself, bends.

For Christ himself humbled himself, in order to establish a new Testament. When I read the Gospel, I hear that the Son of God assumed flesh from Mary, and I seem to myself to descend with Christ. For I read about him, who, though he was in the form of God, emptied himself. He emptied himself in order to receive the form of a servant, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself even unto death. For I read him saying: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:28-29). He did not say: Learn from me because I am powerful; he did not say: Learn from me because I am glorious; but learn from me because I am humble, which you can imitate. Do not exalt yourselves, do not elevate your hearts. Therefore, he taught me to be humble and to incline my heart towards performing righteousness; not towards iniquity, but towards equity, for the sake of retribution. The reward is the kingdom of heaven, and the dwelling in paradise.

Sermon 15. Samech.

1. The letter Samech, the fifteenth letter, begins here, which has the interpretation, 'Hear.' There is also another interpretation of it, which is called, 'Firmament.' What does 'Hear' mean? It is not said in vain that it is common to all and is available to all by the right of nature itself. And therefore it is not in vain that you are admonished to hear; for even when unwilling and doing other things, we are accustomed to hear a sound or a voice. But because it is not only to hear what is available by the duty of nature, but also that which is greater, namely, to hear not only with the use of the body, but also with the understanding; therefore consider more carefully the interpretation of this letter and the series of verses that follow.


2. But in order that you may know that it is mystical to hear, so that you may hear and understand the mysteries, it is written concerning the Jews: 'With their ears they shall hear' (Isaiah 6:9); for they heard the mysteries of the law, but did not understand. Therefore the Lord says: 'Hear, O my people, and I will speak' (Psalm 49:7). The law is certainly spiritual, so listen spiritually. Finally, he who knew how to hear, says: 'I will hear what the Lord God speaks in me' (Psalm 85:9), that is, I will understand what God has spoken in me. And elsewhere it says: How great things we have heard and known (Psalm 77:3), so that it may grasp not only that it heard, but also that it understood. For no one knows, unless he first understands. Therefore, listen, lest if Peter sees you negligent, he may come and take up the sword and cut off your ear: the ear of the body which you have in excess, while you do not know how to hear and examine. And perhaps those who cannot hear at the altitude at which it is written may have had the virtue of the soul by which they examine whatever is heard amputated.


3. And rightfully others have interpreted this letter as a confirmation: because it agrees with the previous interpretation; for unless each person hears what they should follow, no one is confirmed. Therefore, in the duty of listening, there is the confirmation of all.

So Jeremiah the prophet said to you in Lamentations by letter, listen. And so that you may know what you ought to hear is mystical, he added this series to this letter: The Lord has taken away all my strong men from among me. He has called a time against me, to crush my chosen ones. The Lord has trodden the Virgin Daughter of Judah down into the pit (Lam. I, 15). The Lord did not take away all the strong men of Judah at that time when the people of the Jews were led captive into the region of Babylon, but when Christ came and he did not see the captivity of his soul, not knowing how to raise the bent neck of his mind, weighed down by serious sins, and to raise up some of the burdens of faith to the light of knowledge. Therefore, the lake became a passion for the Jews, which showed the Gentiles the port of salvation; because the cross of the Lord is a precipice for unbelievers, but life for believers. He sent this message ahead, saying, 'Listen, so that you may know what is to come.'

In another place, she also added this verse: Hands have been laid on you, all who pass by on the road: they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem. This is the city, they say, the crown of glory, the joy of the whole earth (Lam. 2:15). It is clear that the passion of the Savior is being prophesied, and the destruction of the Jews is being lamented by Jeremiah, which can be understood not only from other passages but also from this one, because later it says: The Spirit of the Lord, the Christ, was taken prisoner in our destruction, under whose shadow, as we have said, we will live among the nations (Lam. 4:20). What is clearer than this, when both the name is expressed and the comprehension of the perfidious pursuers is declared, and the life-giving shadow and the grace to be conferred upon the nations are described?

However, the very words themselves also indicate what we read in the Gospel about the Lord's passion, because in this place his death is announced through the Prophet. For thus Matthew wrote: And they that passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying: Thou that destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again, save thyself, if thou be the Son of God (Matt. XXVII, 39-40). When the common people insult someone, they are accustomed to hiss. At the same time, because they did not have a voice, those who denied the Word hissed like irrational animals. And so they passed by, those who should have stood in the way. They did not stand as if they were steadfast, but they passed by as if they were movable. But the just people stood in the courts of Jerusalem, where the faithless could not stand; and so they passed by, as Mark indicated (Mark. XV, 29). Shadow passes, not truth. Its day passes like a shadow, forgotten, abandoned. But we also read about passing through unbelievers, as it is written: And let all who pass by the way plunder her (Psalm LXXIX, 13). For who but a faithless person would plunder the vineyard of Christ? But it is also written elsewhere: And those who pass by the way do not say: The blessing of the Lord be upon you (Psalm CXXVIII, 8). For when people are standing, it is said: Behold now bless the Lord (Psalm CXXXIII, 1). Nevertheless, we also read about passing through in a positive sense, as in the case of Moses: I will go over and see this great sight (Exodus III, 3). And he who saw the wicked exalted beyond the cedars of Lebanon said: I passed by, and behold, he was not there (Psalm 36:36). And no one says to the servant: Pass by, recline (Luke 17:7).

7. So let us consider what this distinction is; for perhaps it was stated absolutely, where a passage occurs in a good sense: He did not say, passing from this to that, but only passing. In an evil sense: They pass, he says, through the way (Psalm 79:13). For the way is good, which is frequented by those who come, and is not easily invaded by bandits, who are accustomed to lie in wait on the back roads: the king's highway is fortified. But Moses did not pass through the way, but stood on the way, to whom it was said: But you stand here with me (Deuteronomy 5:31). He stood with him who said: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. Those who pass through this way, stumble. But Moses did not stumble, but passed from temporal things to eternal things, from worldly things to spiritual things. And whoever has seen the wicked, does not stay, but passes through, escapes; for he does not stick with the wicked, lest they become one body, but separates himself from them. And to whom it is said: Pass by, recline, surely escapes the laborious servitude of the present, so that he may have the glorious rest of the future. And to the bride it is said: Come here from Lebanon, O bride, come here from Lebanon, you will pass through and you will pass by the beginning of faith (Canticles 4:8). She passes through and crosses over, she who hastens to the Bridegroom. She crosses over the world, and hastens to Christ.

8. Now let us discuss what it means to move the head. Who is the head of the people, if not Christ? For the head of a woman is the man, and the head of the man is Christ (I Cor. XI, 3). But even the Law is the head of the woman. In fact, the woman was under the Law as well as under the man. But the Jewish rite, which was according to the letter of the Law, was mortified, and the woman who rose from the dead was married to it. Therefore, some have mystically interpreted that, with the Jewish rite being mortified, they wanted that woman, who was intelligible according to the Law, to marry the Evangelical old rite of a dead brother; because the Law preceded the Gospel in a certain brotherly proclamation. Therefore the synagogue is a dead head, that is, its head is the dead Law, the observation of the Law having been evacuated: the letter of the Law is void, its spiritual understanding is established. David remembers this turmoil in the forty-third psalm, saying: You have made us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples (Psalm 43:15); because there has been a transition from the Law to the Gospel, as it were. In the twenty-first psalm, in which the whole series of the passion is foretold, it says: All who saw me scoffed at me; they mocked me with their lips, they shook their heads. He hoped in the Lord, let Him deliver him; let Him save him, because He desires him (Psalm 21:8 and 9). Therefore, they have moved the Law, which seemed immovable; and for this reason, the end of the Law entered, Christ.

9. Those who moved their heads were the Pharisees, that is, divided from the truth; hence they also did not believe in the truth. But it can also be understood thus: They moved their head against Christ, who had come in his own; but they moved him because they did not receive him. They moved him, however, saying: Take him away, take him away, crucify him (John 19:15). And they moved their head, who were unwilling to move their own works; when they bound heavy burdens and imposed them on others: But they themselves do not want to move them with their finger (Matthew 23:4). What is mystical; because they never wanted to change the observation of bodily ritual and introduce spiritual understanding. For we read the finger as representing the spirit, as the Law is written with the finger of God (Deut. IX, 10), and therefore it is a spiritual Law. They did not want to remove their burdens, which are heavy, and take up the light yoke of Christ and his sweet burden.

But because the passion of the Savior redeemed all, it is not absurd to understand that they moved their heads in this way, just as that leader of the Synagogue prophesied: It is expedient for one man to die for the people (John 11:50). He wanted to say one thing, but he meant something else. And these [people] moved their heads differently as if mocking, and they proclaimed something else; because he himself was the one who came to stir up that lazy and earthly principle of men, so that with the elimination of the outward appearance, we would seek the mystery in the words. Where he says: You have set us in a parable to the nations; shaking the head in the people (Psalm 43:15). This is certainly understood in a good sense; because he had said before: And you have dispersed us among the nations (Ibid., 12). For the Jews have been dispersed, so that the remnant of them might be saved according to the election of grace: but they have been set in a parable, so that we might learn from their outcome that the things said in the parable have been revealed, or that we might be warned to beware of faithlessness by their example. Then Jeremiah knew even more that Judea was to be mourned: and therefore he prophesied that Jerusalem was captured at that time, when it did not receive its own Redeemer. They insulted her, of whom they said, 'This is the city... the whole earth' (Lam. II, 15); because where there was once the joy of faith, there is now bitterness of unfaithfulness: or surely by moving her head, and by passing from bodily things to spiritual ones, she may deserve to hear; when she believes in Christ, that the crown is the glory.


11. But what is the crown of glory, if not the Church, which crowns its head Christ? What is the joy of the whole earth, if not the house of the Christian people, the court of the saints, of whom it is written: Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world (Psalm 18:5)? Therefore, because the Church is the crown of glory, it is said in the Canticles: Go forth... and see King Solomon in the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his espousals, and on the day of the joy of his heart (Song of Solomon 3:11). It is said to the souls that they should come out of the depths and prisons of the body, come out of the thoughts of the body, go out from desires and cares, and from the other affections of this flesh and slippery passions, rise above the world, go out of this world, meet Christ, be prepared with burning torches shining brightly. As if angels of Christ speak these words: You cannot see His clarity, His glory, unless you come out of the cares of human frailty, daughters of Jerusalem. As if to say, why do you seek the living among the dead? Christ is not sought within this world, for He wanted His disciples to be above the world. What is the crown with which Christ is crowned, if not the crown of glory? Joseph had the crown of chastity, Paul of righteousness, Peter of faith. Each virtue has its crown. Only Christ has the crown of glory, with which the Church crowned Him. In this crown, all the crowns are found, because glory is not the portion of one crown, but the reward of all the crowns.


12. They transferred the head in the third tradition, that is, Christ, who is the head of his people. The head of Christ is Peter (Song of Songs 5:11). Hence, the eagle called him a golden rock: Symmachus called it a golden stone, which signifies stability and eminent wisdom. The Church is the body of Christ. The head of this body is gold, that is, the precious wisdom of the saints, that is, righteous and prudent men. Her hair is black as a raven (Ibid.); of which it is said elsewhere: Your hair is like a flock of goats (Song of Songs 6:4). Therefore, hair is because the power of all senses is in the head. For the eyes of the wise are in their head (Ecclesiastes 2:14). Therefore, the deep wisdom of the doctors, which can reveal that which is obscure and open the heights of senses. And such debaters are the hair of the Church, like the ravens' chicks, to whom the Lord gives food, as He gave to holy Jacob from his youth and fed him. The Lord feeds these lofty and deep ones with the abundance of doctrine through heavenly sacraments.


His eyes are like doves, that is, adorned with spiritual senses, sharp and ready to see mysteries, and prepared to penetrate the secret Scriptures of God, shining with rational milk, in which there is no tainted confusion of deceit, but pure and immaculate sincerity of simple affection. Therefore, in an abundance of waters, these doves, cleansed, were mentioned in milk.


Now certainly, we understand that the teeth and cheeks, and like a scarlet net, the lips of the bride (Song of Songs 6:5), represent the virtues of the soul and the various teachings of the wise: those who diligently supply spiritual nourishment to the mind; those who bind the listener with the preaching of the Lord's cross as with a certain line of words; those who, though modest and reserved, and even though they may withdraw from discussing immodesty out of a sense of propriety, still emit the fragrance of Christ in their actions, and, just as the anointing oil descends upon the cheeks from the priestly head, the beauty of their doctrine shines forth. And the synagogue stirred up this head, and therefore the Lord took away the wonderful counselor, the prudent architect, and the wise listener: The head, he says, and the tail (Isaiah 9:14); for those who did not hold the head cannot have the last things. But let us now consider the things that are connected.

15. (Verse 113.) I have hated the wicked, and I have loved your law. The holy prophet David declared in this verse how much affection he extends towards the Lord; because although he did not persecute his enemies (since he could barely protect himself from the schemes of King Saul, from whose snares he could hardly escape with his life, and he did not consider life worth desiring, and he considered vengeance to be necessary, and he mourned the death of his impious son, and he forgave the sins of many who were persecuting him, as he himself says in Psalm 7:5, because he did not retaliate against those who were causing him harm), he still detests the transgressors of the divine law: in which, certainly, his kindness of character, the gentleness of his piety, and the strong intention of devotion are revealed, corresponding to the discipline of the evangelical precept, which he foresaw with a prophetic spirit. For indeed the Lord Jesus commanded us to seek the love of our enemies (Matt. 5:44), and that the enemies of God, even if they are connected to us by the bonds of parents, children, or marriage and blood relationships, should be pursued with hatred. For it is written: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yes, even his own life, he is not worthy of me (Luke 14:26).


16. But if someone with idle ears hears this, perhaps they might say: 'Lord Jesus, you gave the law saying: Love the Lord your God, love your neighbor (Deut. VI, 5); and to fulfill this law, you came: you said through the Law: Honor your father and mother (Levit. XIX, 18); and in the Gospel you command us to hate our parents (Matth. XV, 4).' How do these commandments fit together? Did you come with a gentle and humble heart? I cannot, with a sense of piety, hate the father to whom I owe my creation, the mother who carried the burdens of a pious fetus for ten long months, to whom there is more danger in giving birth and more weariness in delaying it. What do the sweetest sons deserve, that they should be excluded from paternal love; when it is impious not to be willing to die for one's children? What do dearest wives merit, who are certain companions of life, and have a shared partnership in nature? What do brothers, formed from the same bowels and produced in the same womb of nature for this purpose of life, deserve? Shall I hate then the pledges of affection? So by the gentle mercy of the Gospel you soften the severity of the unyielding Law, in such a way that by your Gospel you condemn the grace of those whom the Law condemns for their injustices?


I am unable to respond to such a statement: but you, O Lord, respond; for you do not need to be excused, since you did not need to speak. Therefore, he will respond: Shall I condemn piety, I who hate iniquity? Shall I command parents not to be loved, I who advise enemies to be loved? But haven't you read: There is a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (Eccl. 3:8)? What does Ecclesiastes say about this? Is it not because of the fact that it happens according to the course of time, that we are able to both love and hate some people: and that it is fitting to love those whom you have loved and hate those whom you have hated? Therefore, I have not infused the hatred of parents into the hearts of their children: nor have I urged the aversion of wives into the minds of their husbands. Ask nature what I have exacted, which certainly testifies to the will of the author with the natural affection of individual relationships. To love one's children is the law of nature for fathers: for husbands, it is the divine law which turns marital love into nature, so that they become one flesh and one spirit. To love brothers is a prerogative of nature, which, in the same dwelling, gradually accustoms them to the grace of charity.

18. So I did not send him to wage internal wars of necessity, but I considered it a suspicious temptation. Was it not rightly suspected, when that cunning and crafty serpent, in order to weaken the affection of Adam, founded on the untainted and naive gift of nature, entrusted it more to female allurements than to his own perfidious arts? Thus the woman, having been led astray by a certain softness and charm of wifely devotion, turned the man, whom the serpent did not dare to tempt, by the food of her mouth and the power of love. And yet Eve did not yet have children, of whom, for their sake, as sweet as love, as easy to fall away, she often prevented many from the achievement of martyrdom? Finally, we have often known that the one whom the terrifying parade of executioners did not frighten, nor did the cut in the divided side break, nor could the burning plates lead him away from the rigidity of triumphal bravery, him who was now established among sacred rewards, he deceived his tender wife and the offering of pitiable tears with the mercy of a single tear. Samson was captured by his wife, are you stronger? Solomon was captivated by his wife, are you wiser? Therefore, the one whose wisdom is celebrated throughout the ages became foolish because he loved his wife too much.

19. What shall I say about the brothers? She experienced that the kisses of children and the house of the Prophets are more detestable than fraternal hatred. Therefore, indeed, the father wept for the parricide, but he was more angered by the incest. Finally, although she called him a parricide, she nonetheless called him the perpetrator of incest.

So there is a time for love, a time for hate, that is, a time for martyrdom, when the things that are divine must be preferred to all bonds of affection. A time for war, when we even wage war against the perfidious enemies for the sake of Christ. A time for peace, for in peace is its place (Psalm 75:3). Finally, the Gospel itself clearly explains the reason why we should hate our own, saying: 'Anyone who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me' (Matthew 10:37). He did not say that those who love their relatives are unworthy, but he said they are unworthy who love their relatives more than Christ. For if we offer love to our parents because they are the authors of our generation, how much more should we love Christ who is the author of their parents? They have given what is not in their power, but of their ministry. Christ grants salvation, who preserves the benefits of parents.

But beautifully he said: I have hated the wicked, but I have loved your law; for if we love the law, we must hate the adversaries of the law, who oppose the precepts of the law with their deeds. The Greek more accurately and specifically called them 'lawbreakers'; 'lawbreaker' is called exlex, because they are outside the law. Therefore, he who is in the law of Christ hates them, because they do not keep the commandments of the law. For not only he who does not know the law, but also he who does not act according to the law, is a stranger to the law; because they are not hearers of the law. . . . but those who practice the law will be justified (Rom. II, 13). David himself rebukes me if I understand it differently. How could he hate unjust people, who praised a parricidal son to his warriors, so that no one would kill him? He even avenged the death of King Saul on the one who reported him dead.

Therefore, he did not hate unjust people, but unjust words. Finally, he said: I have hated the unjust, he did not add, men. Then, when Jesus says in the Gospel: Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44), and the Apostle says: Bless those who persecute you, and do not curse them (Romans 12:14), how could this man living under the discipline of the Gospel justify himself if he hated unjust people? Unless you understand that he hated injustice, not those who, although they committed injustice, could still be converted by the preaching of the Gospel. But surely unless we understand it in this way: because just as he who does not honor the father is unjust, nevertheless he is also considered hateful according to the same thing that is written: He who does not hate the father, or the mother... or brothers, or sisters, or his own soul, cannot be my disciple (Luke XIV, 26), even though he is praiseworthy: so this person also hated the unjust ones in the same way he hated the father who transgressed, or his own soul: preferring, evidently, the grace of Christ's sweetness to the pleasure of this life.


23. (Verse 114) It follows: You are my helper and my protector, and I hope in your word. Helper through the Law, protector through the Gospel. Those whom he helped through the Law, he received in the flesh; for it is written: He carries our sins; and therefore, I hope in his word (Isaiah 53:4). However, the Greek ἐπήλπισα has, which means I have hoped upon; which is said of one who always adds to hope; and when he hopes for something, he hopes again, and advances in hope, always stretching towards higher things, and forgetting those things which are past.


But beautifully he says: In your word I have hoped, that is, I have not hoped in prophets, not in the Law, but in your word I have hoped, that is, in your coming; that you come and receive sinners, forgive sins, place the weary sheep on your shoulders on the cross, O good shepherd. If anyone hopes in Christ, he ought to separate himself from the company of the treacherous.

25. (Verse 115.) And therefore he says: Depart from me, you evil ones, and I will search the commandments of my God. By the testimony of this verse, it is indicated that where there is malignity, there cannot be the keeping of heavenly commandments; for wisdom does not enter into a malicious soul (Wisdom 1:4). And elsewhere: The wicked will seek me, and will not find me (Proverbs 1:28). Christ loves a simple mind, a pure and purified soul, and there can be no companionship with sinful deeds for immaculate virtue. He hates, avoids, and spurns contagious diseases, he who says: Learn from me because I am gentle (Matt. XI, 29). He repels the wicked, he calls those who labor. Jesus says to them: Depart from me, all of you who work iniquity (Matt. VII, 23); to them he says: Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened (Matt. XI, 28), not with wickedness of mind, but burdened with the weakness of the flesh: burdened, I say, by the inheritance of sin. I assist those who are working: I must not help the fraudulent, lest they harm more people. Let punishment restrain them: let grace correct them. For malice is the source of sin: fault is the result of weakness. I must help those who labor: I must also hate the one who deceives. Therefore, it repels evil actions. For unless you understand it this way, he seems to say: Depart from me; for I am holy, for I am pure. This is what the Pharisee said, but he was rebuked by Christ. Therefore, the Prophet does not say: I am the world, but, Create in me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10).

26. (V. 116.) And therefore, having been separated from the company of the wicked, as if someone who had been mixed with them before could not be received by the Lord, he says: Receive me according to Your word, and I will live; and do not disappoint my hope. If Lazarus the poor man lives, who is in the bosom of the patriarch Abraham, how much more does he who is received by Christ live? For how can he not live forever, whom eternal life has received, whom Christ has taken entirely to Himself, who is the whole Word, whose life is hidden in Christ Jesus? But even he who sits in the bosom of Abraham, was received by Christ. But saying to God, Accept me, would seem to be an intolerable presumption, unless He had added His promise, that is, Unless You had made it possible for us, we have agreed with Your signature, who have removed our signature. We have made the signature of death, You have written the signature of life.

27. Therefore, do not disappoint your servant from his expectation, for I hope in you; for hope does not disappoint. And if we are troubled, you provide patience, so that we may endure; so that because I await you, I may not be overwhelmed by weaknesses, I may not yield to temptations, I may not be afflicted by storms, in which patience is to be tested, so that testing may result in confirmation of hope and strength, which does not disappoint; that is: We are often broken by hardships, we are weary: if hope is lacking, we are disappointed, and disturbed in our whole mind. But be this as it is, let there be some who are harsh to endure labours, firm to endure injuries: if you take away hope, patience cannot be everlasting. Patience itself is not proved, if faith is lacking, of which hope is the root. For what proof can there be, unless for the sake of Christ's name you bear either discomforts or all dangers? Therefore, hope is the only thing that does not confuse our emotion. Where there is hope, that apostolic saying applies: The battles without, the fears within (II Cor. VII, 5), cannot harm.


28. Another interpretation is this: Do not make me ashamed. He who hopes in Christ will not be ashamed. Therefore, the one who hopes well says: In you I trust, I will not be ashamed (Psalm 24:2). And rightly so, for I trust; the strength of our hope is and the confidence of the one who hopes. Therefore, always hope, and no one will disappoint you in your expectation. Our expectation is eternal life. Our expectation is the kingdom of God, the fellowship of angels, and spiritual blessings. Hope every day. This matter has no end, it knows no truce. Hope even in adversity. If someone says to you, struck by the loss of some strong bond: What good is your justice; yet you hope, let not your faith fail. If someone says to you, What good are your daily fasts; what good is bodily chastity, purity of mind? Behold, you are wounded like the unjust and impious. Let not your faith fail. For even if you are weak, Christ, who is faithful, is concerned for you. He says to his disciples: Give them to eat, lest they faint in the way. You have the food of the apostles, eat it and you will not be lacking. Eat it beforehand so that you may afterwards come to the food of Christ, to the food of the Lord's body, to the banquet of the Sacrament, to that cup by which the affections of the faithful are inebriated; so that he may clothe himself with the joy of the remission of sins, cast off the cares of this world, the fear of death, and the anxieties of life. Therefore, with this drunkenness, the body does not sway, but rises up; the mind is not confused, but consecrated.

29. (Verse 117.) It follows: Help me, he says, and I will be saved: and I will always meditate on your justifications. He who hopes presumes to be helped: but where there is the assistance of God, there is certainly the certain aid of salvation. Above he said: You are my helper and protector (Sup. v. 112): here he asks to be helped again, as if to say: Help me without ceasing. It is not enough for me what I have asked, I ask again to be saved. Here the salvation is not great, not true: I will be saved then, when I am in paradise, when I start to live among your chosen angels, when I have escaped the snares of this earth.


But let us not, by chance, neglect the help we have received in times of need, when we have been placed in prosperity. It teaches us that we should never be unmindful of the heavenly benefits, but rather meditate on the justifications of the Lord. So even when we have done something good, let us always confess our sins to Him; for this is the justification of the Lord. Finally, the Pharisees did not justify God, for they refused to be baptized with the baptism of repentance (Luke 7:30). Therefore, he justifies the one who repents of their sins. For the one who repents confesses, as it is written: 'I have sinned against you alone, and I have done evil in your sight; so that you may be justified in your words' (Psalm 51:4). And so, the tax collector went out of the temple more justified (Luke 18:14); because the Pharisee justified himself by proclaiming his own righteousness, but the tax collector justified God by confessing his own iniquities. Therefore, the one who meditates on the justifications of the Lord is always humbled. Today is not a day for humiliation, tomorrow for exaltation: but always be humble in heart and gentle in feeling. It is always more than a day and night or a whole day; for it surpasses time. Therefore, if you are counted among the angels, you should always affirm the justifications of God, and ascribe the glory you have attained not to your own merits, but always to divine mercy; lest it be said to you: What do you have that you did not receive? But if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? For every creature, whatever good it has, has received it from Christ, who is the author of all creation. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

31. (Verse 118.) You have rejected all who stray from your statutes; for their thinking is unjust. Every proud person is unclean in the sight of the Lord; for they cannot cleanse their sins through their pride, as they heap up error with an arrogant spirit. Therefore, they are despised and scorned, because they hold divine commandments in contempt. However, the heavenly prerogative of mercy is preserved; for it rejects no one, but those who refuse to confess their own sins depart from our Lord God. Finally, he departed, who had set out on a journey, and squandered everything he had received from his father, the inheritance of faith and grace. And because he regretted his departure, he later returned to his father, whom he had left when he did not want to confess his own sin. Therefore, God is not abandoned by a distance of places, but by the wickedness of morals and the ugliness of actions. He departs from the Lord, who distances himself from Him, just as Adam desired to hide from the presence of God after hearing Him. But departing from the Lord, he could not have salvation; for it is written: Behold those who distance themselves from you, will perish (Ps. 27:72). Therefore, each person either joins or separates according to their own pursuits. In fact, it is clear that many are not separated by geographical distances, but rather connect neighboring areas, indicating that many are thirsty for the body and wander from the body, and are present to God; like the one who says to God: Whom shall I send? He answered, 'Here I am, send me.' (Isaiah 6:8) Paul also dared to approach God, because he saw nothing in himself other than material flesh. And Cain went out from the presence of God, believing that he did not need to repent for his sins after committing fratricide.

But rightly he says: You have brought the transgressors to nothing. He did not say sinners, but transgressors. For what hope would there be for us when we are all under sin? Also beautifully said: You have brought all the transgressors to nothing. Whether he is rich, his riches are of no benefit to him; whether he is honored, his dignity is of no value; whether he is powerful, his power is of no use. But it is one thing to be a transgressor departing from the justifications of God: another thing to be a transgressor of the earth. That is heavier, this is lighter.

33. (Verse 119.) Therefore, to avoid being disturbed by what is subject to you, see; for he subjected these to you: I have esteemed all the sinners of the earth to be betrayers: therefore, I have always loved your testimonies. The betrayer is rightly called one who departs from the Lord. Finally, in Greek, an apostate is named from departure. Hence also that saying: Wine and women cause one to apostatize, he says (Eccli. XIX, 2). Therefore, beware of the incentives and allurements of sins, lest they lead to wickedness. But the one who prevaricates in Latin and is called a transgressor; because he passes from the law of the Lord to error, and transgresses the heavenly commands, to whom it is said to adhere to the Lord his God (Deut. X, 20). Therefore, adhere to him with undivided affection; so that no force can pull you away from him. If the adversary sees anything rare or interrupted, he immediately launches himself into your chest and heart; so that he can hold you in the snare of his deceit, and, bound by the hostile bond of authority, you are drawn away from devotion. But not only is he a transgressor who, disregarding the Church, crosses over to the worship of idols; but also anyone who does not observe the commandments of the Law. Therefore, every sinner is a transgressor. Hence that saying: Every transgression receives just retribution (Hebrews II, 2). A common name, but different merits of offenses; and therefore different prices of faults.

34. What does it mean when it says: Sinners of the earth. Therefore, there are also sinners in heaven, like the one who said: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you (Luke 15:21). There are those who say that one who does not keep the heavenly oracles is a transgressor of heaven. But whether this is true, or because he diminishes the grace he received from heaven, which the Holy Spirit poured out: or because as a bird of heaven, you should not return to the earth from heaven. Therefore, you sin against heaven if you, as a citizen of heaven, leave heaven. Therefore, there is diversity among them. Some are sinners of the heavens, others are sinners of the earth.

35. In the morning, he said, I was killing all the sinners of the earth (Psalm 100:8). How could one person kill all the sinners of the earth? But if you consider the just one, to whom the night has passed and the day has approached; you can see how, with the rising of the sun of justice upon you, you can vigilantly destroy all the incentives of wrongdoing. I wish this grace would inspire me, so that with the spiritual sword, which is the word of God, I could abolish all the incentives of vices from the Church of the Lord, and take away earthly sins, by which we are being precipitated into a certain slippery pitfall of error, so that the worker of iniquity may be expelled from the city of God. The City of God is the Church: the Church is the body of Christ. He sins against heaven, who contaminates the rights of the heavenly city, and violates the sanctity of the immaculate body with the pollution of their vices.

36. And see, lest perchance they be who are sinners of heaven and earth. For indeed Adam, when he was in paradise, was of heaven: but after the fall, he became earthly, and was expelled and cast out from paradise. Hence, the Apostle says: The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven, heavenly (I Cor. XV, 47). Let the image of the earthly be rejected by us, let the image of the heavenly be received, not expressed by paint, not drawn by wax, not shadowed by colors, but by virtue, in which Christ may recognize Himself.


37. (Verse 120.) Fix the key of your fear in my flesh; for I have feared your judgments. He who loves the testimonies of the Lord, fixes the key in his flesh, knowing that his old man, conjoined with Christ on the cross, may destroy the lust of the flesh; lest his desires become lascivious with uncontrolled fervor, lest the root of avarice establish itself with serpentine roots. Therefore, fix the key, and destroy the nourishment of sin: let all the allurements of transgressions die in your flesh; let the desire for pleasure, affixed to the cross, not have the freedom to wander. There is a certain spiritual nail that affixes these flesh to the wood of the Lord's cross. And perhaps these flesh are the flesh of the soul, just as the body is the soul. The flesh of the soul are carnal thoughts. Let the fear of the Lord and His judgments affix these flesh, and reduce them to servitude. But if these flesh reject the nails of divine fear, it is undoubtedly said: My spirit will not remain in these men; for they are flesh (Gen. VI, 3). Therefore, unless these meats are fastened to the cross and pierced with nails out of fear of our God, the spirit of God will not remain in them.

38. Just as there are thorns of fear by which we are punctured, so there are nails of fear by which we are nailed. He who is punctured is aroused: he who is nailed is mortified; so that he may cease from sin and live for God. But in order that we may know that the nails are spiritual, the stimuli are also spiritual, of which it is written: 'It is hard for you to kick against the goad' (Acts 9:5). With this goad, Paul, having been pricked, rose up from the earth and lifted himself up, so that he might dwell in heaven. The Apostle Thomas was fixed with keys, so that he could say: Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails (John 20:25). The nails were of good desire: the nails were, though not of perfect faith, yet of faith seeking increase.

39. The key is configured for those who die with Christ, so that they may rise with Christ. The key is configured for those who bear the mortification of the Lord Jesus in their body. The key is configured for those who deserve to hear Jesus saying: 'Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is hard as the nether world' (Song of Solomon 8:6). Therefore, fasten this seal of the crucified one to your chest and your heart, fasten it also to your arm, so that your works may be dead to sin. Let nothing in these crimes revive, let no error arise again. Perhaps they attach this image not only of fear, but also of charity, because charity is as strong as death, and zeal as harsh as hell. Therefore, let not the harshness of the nails offend you, for it is the harshness of charity; nor let the strength of the nails be strong, for charity is also strong like death. For charity mortifies sin and all sins: charity, like a blow of death, destroys. Finally, we die through vices and sin, while we love the commandments of the Lord. Charity is God, the word of God is charity, which is strong and sharper than any sharpest sword, even to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, penetrating into the innermost parts. It is a hard zealousness of charity, which does not yield to the infernal; since, for the zeal of God, everyone spares not even themselves. With these keys of charity, may our soul and our flesh be pierced, so that they themselves may say: 'Because of love I am wounded' (Song of Songs 5:8). Love has its own key; it has its own sword, by which the soul is wounded. Blessed is he who deserves to be wounded by this sword. These are the wounds that are preferred to kisses: the wounds of a friend are more useful than the voluntary kisses of an enemy.

40. But we offer ourselves to wounds, by which whoever has died cannot taste death. For such is the death of those who followed the Lord, of whom it is said: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom (Matthew XVI, 28). Peter rightly did not fear this death; for he did not fear who said, even if it were necessary for him to die for Christ, he would not abandon or deny him (Matthew XXVI, 35). Therefore let us take up the cross of the Lord, which crucifies our flesh and destroys sin. There is fear that crucifies the flesh: Unless someone takes up their own cross and becomes my disciple, they are not worthy of me (Matt. X, 38). For it is only the one who has the fear of Christ who is worthy, in order to crucify the carnal sin. This fear is followed by charity, which, buried with Christ, is not torn away from Christ, dies in Christ, is buried with Christ, and rises with Christ.

Sermon 16. Ain.

The sixteenth letter is Ain, whose interpretation is "Eye" or "Fountain." The eye is used for the function of seeing, but often we see things that please us and often things that displease us. However, the eye is neither to blame nor praised for the quality of the things it sees. The eye's duty is to convey what it sees. It can be either offended or pleased by sweet or adverse things. Therefore, the eye is often called the eye of punishment, the eye of temptation, the eye of the goat, the eye of the calf, the eye of generation, or the fountain of generation.


We read in the Gospel that John was baptizing at Ennon (John 3:23). Ennon is interpreted as the eye of punishments. Therefore, no one comes to baptism unless they desire their own sins to be forgiven, and they dread the punishments of those sins in their prudent heart. Therefore, although it is called the eye of punishments, it is the punishments of the foreseeing, not of the enduring: although it has some tolerance of the reception of punishments in the baptism of penance. The function of the eyes is to serve for looking: it is your job to take care of what you see.

3. Finally, the eye is said to be a temptation, because we are often tempted through the eyes. The eye is the snare of the prostitute, the trap of the lover. But the eye does not commit any sin; therefore the statement of the Savior is full of justice, saying: Whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). He did not say: Whoever looks at a woman, but looks at her to lust after her. The eye is absolved, the mind is bound. He did not say: He has committed adultery with her in his eye, but in his heart. In the eye it is seen, in the heart sin.

The eye of the shepherd is on the left; so that he may not see the things on the right, which are sinful. But the holy one says: I always see the Lord in front of me, because He is on my right, so that I may not be moved (Psalm XV, 8). And to the holy apostle Peter, when he had caught nothing all night, as we read in the Gospel, the Savior said: Cast the nets to the right side of the boat (John XXI, 6). Therefore, trusting in heavenly commands, he cast the nets and gathered a great number of fish. On the left was the night: on the right, the brightness of divine discourse shone like day.

5. And there is also the eye of a calf: which is equally attributed to sinners; because just as with a constant yoke, calves draw iniquities, not breaking or cutting off their own, but pulling sin with a long rope. For an untamed calf eventually becomes tame, and pulls the yoke, but does not bear it; because it is impatient to be held: and the longer it pulls, the more it is hindered.

The eye is also called the source of generation or the fountain of generation because either good or bad things are generated from the sight of the eyes. You have seen the beauty of a woman, praised the work of the artist, the charm of nature: the generation of faith, devotion is the offspring. You were content with the beauty of her form, not motivated by wealth, you took her as your wife, and you begot children of a more generous grace: the eye was the source of prosperity for you. You contempltated the sacred girl, your eyes were pressed with the august reverence of chastity: you preached the Lord Jesus, who gave an old man the gravitas of youth in his young age, and infused an immaculate life amidst the seductions of this frail flesh with human desires: he is the fountain of good things. You have seen the possessions of orphans, not to invade them, but to protect them; and you have groaned with paternal compassion, if you noticed any neglect regarding the welfare of the minor. You have repelled those who wanted to invade their boundaries; you have judged on behalf of the orphan. Your eye has been the source and origin of justice. You have judged the widow (for just as a counterfeit coin is not a real coin, so a corrupt judgement is not truly a judgement). Therefore, you have judged as a just and good judge. You have seen the wicked usurper, who thought a defenseless woman was his plunder. You have not tolerated injustice; you have provided assistance to the vulnerable, so that with your support she could carry out her chaste works without being compelled to seek marital aid. The Lord says to you: Come, let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18). Because you judged the widow, your eye became a fountain of grace for you. You saw the naked body of a poor man lying dead, and you did not pass by like the priest and the Levite in the Gospel (Luke 10:31-32), but immediately had compassion and entrusted him to the consolation of burial: your eye has become the source of redemption.

7. Against a field gaze where widow planted vineyards, happy with crops, shady with woods, or running with rivers, or bursting with springs, or pleasant with grassy banks, and inflamed by the torches of avarice you moved the boundaries of the fathers and wickedly rushed into defenseless possession: your eye has created for you the bitter fruit of perpetual death. You have violated the rights of a nearby widow: you have compelled her, who ought to cherish her sorrow or shame within closed walls, to burst into public view, to litigate more shamelessly than unjustly: your eye has become the offspring of injustice. You saw the needy with a proud eye and an insatiable heart: you despised the prayer of the poor and passed over the one whom you should have had mercy on with disdain: your eye was a source and origin of sin.

Therefore let your eyes not be eyes of a wolf, and do not lie in wait for prey, but as it is said of the Bride: Your eyes are like pools in Heshbon, by the gates of the daughter of many: your nostrils are like the tower of Lebanon (Song of Songs 7:4). What is pools in Heshbon, if not the abundance in rational thoughts, which is in the gates of the Church, to which the multitude of teaching is rightly attributed? For the daughter of many has become the offspring of many teachings, and her nostrils excel with the fragrance of all sacrifices. For what is more sublime than the fragrance of Christ, who abolished the burning of incense? Therefore, let that eye foresee what is to come: and if it foresees adversities approaching, let it not cease to soften and mitigate with weeping and tears.

Therefore, Jeremiah, placed in captivity by the Judean people, foreseeing the future torment of perpetual captivity, which the people of Judah held to be paid by their treachery, said in Lamentations under this same letter: In this, I weep, my eyes have grown dim from weeping; because the one who used to console me has been taken far away from me (Lam. 1:15-16). Therefore, he was not grieving being taken away from his land, but rather being abandoned by Christ and losing the consolation of future life. This is truly a lamentable captivity, which seemed to have been deprived of eternal hope. In another place, under the same letter, he repeated in the Lamentations, saying: The Lord has accomplished what He has planned, His word that He commanded from ancient days. He has destroyed and has not spared, and He has made the enemy rejoice over you, and has exalted the horn of your oppressor (Lam. II, 17). Is it not clearly announcing the future judgment of Christ, as it is certain to be declared in the present psalm as well? Therefore, the eye should foresee what is to come, and either divert it with a lavish flow of tears or correct it with retribution. Finally, Jeremiah wept; because he had taken up the wicked cause of the impious people, who, with the stubbornness of treachery, denied their own author.

10. (Verse 121.) But David, foreseeing the judgment of Christ by the prophetic spirit, in which no innocent person will be endangered; no wicked person will escape, relying on a good conscience, says: I have done judgment and justice: do not hand me over to the wicked. He does not praise himself in a boastful or insolent manner, since as a skilled expert in the law, he was well aware that each person should be praised by the words of others rather than by their own. I say, there is no boasting here of the virtues preached, but rather an assertion of an innocent life by right; lest he be deemed worthy to be abandoned by the Lord because of serious sins, and handed over to the power of the wicked. Therefore, defense is not arrogance, when not any degree of honor is assumed, but formidable hardship is repelled. Lastly, Peter uses this kind of defense, saying: Behold, we have left everything and followed you: what therefore shall be for us? (Matthew 19:27). In which if any blemish of arrogant speech had been present, not only would he have attributed the sentence of grace from the Lord and Savior, but also he himself would not be subjected to judgment, but would also proclaim judgment concerning the merits of others. For indeed in a trial, if someone were to disclose what they had done for the sake of defending their innocence, it would be considered as boasting rather than a defense of their case. It is one thing to declare something worthy of reward, and another thing to declare something deserving of injury.

And yet that very same philosopher, as they say, when he was accused, was asked what punishment he deemed himself worthy of, and is said to have responded that he should be welcomed to a daily feast at the public banquets. He claimed the honor, while avoiding the hardship. He arrogated the glory, while maintaining humility. For what greater humility can there be than to fear being handed over to the power of the devil, being conscious of one's own judgment and reserved justice? He knew himself to be a man, unequal to the war against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places: He knows Enoch to have been raptured, lest his heart be changed by malice: Noah intoxicated, Lot defiled, the first priest Aaron tempted with his own sister Mary, Mary sprinkled with leprous spots first, then cured: Moses nearly destroyed, if not for the circumcision of his son and the casting of his wife's blood, Sephora, which averted all danger from him. Therefore, having been warned by these examples, he does not at all trust in his own strength: but cautious humility, by praying, appropriates divine help to himself, seeking not to be handed over to the wicked.

12. For he knows that the prince is the author of all the sins of the world. He himself divides the affections of individuals driven by the stimulus of their neighbors' anger: he himself kindles the flame of desire: he himself fuels the desires of greed, so that the more we seize, the more we desire: he himself suggests and supplies the fuel for luxury: he himself exacerbates hatred and inflames excessive ambition. This vice, which is gentle at the beginning, becomes cruel in its progress and cannot be recalled by contemplating brotherly harmony. While he grieves that divine grace is preferred to him, he goes from sacrifice to parricide. Therefore, the Apostle teaches that the instigator of this is the devil: Lest he tempt you by reason of your incontinence (I Cor. VII, 5). Likewise, we read that he is the instigator of covetousness, with Paul saying: They that will become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil (I Tim. VI, 9). And elsewhere: Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanliness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry (Coloss. III, 5). For we carry out the will of the devil, and we exercise his power, who works through the desires of this flesh as the stimulus of his deceit.

Therefore, whoever finds someone in possession of his vices, he claims them as subject to his authority. He commits adultery, engages in excess, and steals from others; he belongs to the devil. But the chaste, self-controlled, and merciful belong to Christ. Therefore, one cannot claim a servant of Christ for oneself, unless perhaps he has been caught in vices. Even then, he does not claim him, but rather requests that he be handed over to himself. Therefore, David says: I have done judgment and justice, not to arrogate, but to excuse; so that a sinner may not be deserted by Christ. Let an example be given to us from the apostolic reading for this reason. For I have delivered to Satan the man who has had his father's wife, because he has acted in this way, says the Apostle (I Cor. V, 4 and 5): therefore, he would not have been delivered unless he had done the works of the devil. Hence, it is not undeservedly that the prophet refuses to be delivered to the guilty, who alleges that he has not done the works of the devil, but of Christ; for Christ says: Judge the orphan, and justify the widow (Esai. I, 17). Therefore this is what I did: I executed judgment and justice, I did not despise the poor in their cause, I did not oppress the widow, I did not receive bribes from the rich, I preserved justice in all my works.

14. The end of judgment is justice. In one, the custody of truth; in the other, the fruit of equity. Both are virtues not for private benefit, but for the public good. For to preserve an unpolluted body from sexual mixing and to carry the palm of chastity, unsoiled, in the body until the conversation of angels is the custody of integrity, private benefit, public praise: to be frugal and modest, and to keep the measure of sober parsimony, is proven by many, but profits only oneself. Fortitude excels in battles, but grows cold in peace: its work is necessary in times of need, but undesirable in times of preference; for people prefer not to fight rather than to conquer. Only justice is the one that, at all times, protects the interests of others more than its own, through daily use and public benefit, at its own expense: it provides no utility, but earns the most praise. This is the virtue that the Prophet presents to commend his merit, saying: I have done judgment and justice: do not deliver me to the wicked. Where there is justice, there is mercy. Mercy delivers from sin. So how am I delivered to sinners? Similar to that in the Song of Songs: I have taken off my tunic, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? (Song of Songs 5:3-4) I have taken off the tunic of the sinner and the veil of the earthly: why am I judged as a sinner and worldly? I have washed my feet, so that no lot of wrongdoing could adhere to the footprints: why do you give power to those who sin against me?


15. (Verse 122.) It follows: Receive your servant in good: let not the proud slander me. As one conscious of judgment and justice, he proceeds with prophetic authority; so that he does not hesitate to call himself a servant of the Lord: for a servant of the Lord owes nothing to others. This is a precious servitude, which is based on the expenses of virtues. But why does he fear being handed over to the wicked? He clearly exposes it; because they are slanderers, who hate the truth: they attack innocence, because they are proud. For what proud enemy can there be against the servants of God, who exalts himself against God and says: I will ascend into heaven, I will place my seat above the stars of heaven: I will sit on a lofty mount, above the high mountains that are from the north: I will ascend above the clouds, and I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14)? Therefore, it is not surprising if he can burden men, who with obstinate spirit do not yield to God. How then will he preserve the measure of truth and faith in man, who promises himself to be equal to the Almighty Lord with blasphemous and shameless falsehood? How he falsely accuses individuals, who has amazed the whole earth, shaken kings, laid waste the entire world, and destroyed cities: he did not release those who were in captivity.

Let us beware, therefore, lest he destroy the walls of our soul, lest he demolish the defenses of our mind, lest he set his throne above the stars. He sets it above the stars when he deceives the chosen, when he circumvents the just, whose works shine like stars in the sky. Did not even Judas the betrayer hear among the others: You are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14)? Did not the devil extinguish his light? Moreover, those whom he could not deceive, he slanders, envying the glory of the heavenly kingdom; so that those whom he could not separate from Christ with his enticements, he may try to defraud of the fruit of their deserved honor with his slanders. Let us therefore flee from wicked slanderers, who commit sin against us, and themselves compose the most harmful accusations, reproaching us for what they themselves have done. Look, the hand of the Lord is ready, which will protect and defend you as you flee from your adversaries. Pharaoh held you captive in pride and cruelty, but you escaped from him; the hand of the Lord took you in and delivered you from danger. Pharaoh would not have released you unless you had fled to the Lord. Pharaoh said: 'I do not know the Lord, and I do not let Israel go.' (Exodus 5:2). You see how proud he is? Therefore, he is rightly received in good, who avoids evil. Therefore, God does not tolerate us being in evil: He receives us in good; nor does He allow His people to be subjected to slander.

17. (Verse 123.) My eyes have failed in your salvation, and in the word of your justice. Consider who these eyes are, who fail in Christ while awaiting his coming, namely, the eyes of the soul, not of the body, fixed with complete faithfulness; for we are preoccupied with the one we love, with our whole being, and nothing else brings us delight. Only someone who turns away all the intention of their mind from worldly anxieties and secular pleasures can say this. For how does he say this, who is occupied with theatrical deceptions? But he says this, who said above: Turn away my eyes, that they may not see vanity (Sermon 5, verse 37). But who are the eyes that fail in speaking of God, if not the eyes of the inner man, the gaze of the soul, which strive to see the word of God, and by excessive attention and expectation fail in embracing the salvation of God, patiently enduring their own deficiency, so that they may receive what belongs to the word?


18. And because the word of God can move many people, He added: the word of righteousness; so that it should not fail to move. However, it was able to move, because it is written: The greater will serve the lesser (Gen. XXV, 23). For unless you understand the mystery, it is an injury to nature. And, I gave you precepts that were not good (Ezech. XX, 25). Therefore, God gives evil precepts. And, I am the Lord who creates evil (Esai. XLV, 7). But the solution to the precepts is this: because He should not have given perfect precepts to the weak, who could not endure them. When the Jew heard: 'Go, sell what you possess... and follow me' (Matt. XIX, 21)? When the Jew heard: 'Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me' (Matt. X, 38)? But these more perfect precepts have been reserved for the Gospel. And God did not create evil, but those things which seem harsh to us, such as hardships, beatings, death, and other things that are prescribed for the correction of the wicked. For the just, indeed, no law is imposed, but for the unjust. For if guilty people feared nothing, innocent people would always be afraid.

Therefore, who are these eyes that fail in the salvation of God? We have said that it is the eye of punishment, which foresees the future punishments of sinners and announces the need for repentance. John the Baptist demonstrated this eye, saying: 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, produce fruit worthy of repentance' (Luke 3:7-8). People came to John's baptism, who had the eye of punishment; but they came to Christ's baptism, who sees grace. For this is the eye which gazes upon and protects the shadow of the Lord's passion. Therefore, one thing is Ennon, another is Ain. In Ennon, one who is conscious of grave sins is baptized; but one who has a pure eye receives spiritual grace. And perhaps the eye of an imperfect soul is one of punishments; but the eye of a perfect soul is purer and more sincere, which is signified by this letter to which it is directed in the proper form; for the imperfect desires only to avoid the judgment of sin, but the perfect desires to acquire the reward of the heavenly kingdom. However, we presume that each soul has both an eye of punishment and an eye of grace: the left eye of punishment and the right eye of grace; because humans cannot be perfect from the beginning, but they ascend through the process of virtue. Therefore, before each soul comes, as it were, to the baptism of John, in order to precede the repentance of sins; and gradually, in the process, when it has wept for its sins, having been cleansed by the spiritual baptism, it receives the sacrament of Christ. And it seems to be preached in the Song of Songs that the Church, to whom it is said: You have captured our heart, my sister, my Spouse, you have captured our heart with one of your eyes (Cant. IV, 9); so that this eye of grace may be, which has acquired a fuller charity of Christ to itself.

However, most people understand in this place that the Church has two eyes: one that sees the mystical things and another that sees the moral things; because the holy Church holds not only the discipline of morals, but also teaches the secret mysteries of heaven. Therefore, it has been said of her: Your eyes are like doves, outside of your silence, which means that she both sees spiritually and knows the time to be silent and the time to speak; so that in due time she may speak her word, lest by being too importunate in speaking, she may incur the sin of impertinence in speech.


Therefore, the dove has eyes like Christ, because it is said of Him: Your eyes are like doves beside the streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool (Cant. V, 12). The Lord baptizes in milk, that is, in sincerity. And these are the ones who are truly baptized in milk, who believe without deceit and bring pure faith, that they may receive spotless grace. Therefore, the pure bride ascends to Christ, because she was baptized in milk. Therefore the Virtues and Powers marvel at her, saying: Who is this that rises up white (Cant. VIII, 7)? Just a little while ago she said, I am black (Cant. I, 4): now she is seen as white and rises up to heaven, and supported by the Word of God, she reaches great heights. Not undeservedly is there an abundance of waters there, where Christ is; so that the human soul may desire to be filled. The deer thirsts for these waters, and when it drinks them, it cannot thirst anymore. The Prophet thirsted for these waters when he said: My soul thirsts for you (Psal. XLI, 3). Therefore Christ sits upon an abundance of waters, and upon fullness. And for this reason, he who is baptized in milk says: And we have all received from his fullness (John 1:16). Hence, the eye of punishments is not separate from the Church; for although John was baptizing in Ennon, he was baptizing near Salim, where there was an abundance of waters, twelve fountains, and seventy palm trees (John 3:25).

The Church has these fountains, that is, in the Old Testament, the twelve patriarchs, and in the new, the twelve apostles. Therefore it is said: In the Church let us bless the Lord God from the fountains of Israel (Psalm 67:27). Whoever attains the holy mysteries of Christ is washed before these fountains; for these fountains flow from the eternal fountain throughout the whole world. Where these fountains are, there is the ascent of souls. Finally, Salim is interpreted as 'He who ascends.' For he truly ascends who lays aside his own sins. Therefore, with this word, the use of purification and sanctification is expressed. Hence, Christ also says well in the Song of Songs to the Church: Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of whom bear twins, and none is barren among them (Song of Songs 4:2). This is said in appearance about goats, but mystically about the flock of the Church.

23. And let those animals not seem cheap to you. Finally, listen to what the Holy Spirit says about them: Your hair is like a flock of goats, which have appeared from Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, which have come up from the washing (Song of Solomon 6:4 and 6:7). You see that this flock grazes on high places, fearless on the mountain. So where others have danger, there is no danger for the goats: where others have danger, there is nourishment for this flock, there is sweeter food, there are choicer fruits. They are seen hanging from the bushy rock by their shepherds: there the attacks of wolves cannot happen, there fruitful trees provide abundant fruit. It is possible to see them, full with rich milk, caring tenderly for their young with maternal affection. Therefore, the Holy Spirit chose them to prepare the assembly of the venerable Church.

24. And so that you may hear mystically: the crown of the Word is the height and excellence of righteous souls, for the understanding of the wise is in their head. For it is certain that wisdom is in the height of human thought. And just as goats are shorn to remove what is unnecessary, so too the holy Church has a flock of shorn souls, that is, the virtues of many souls, in which flock you cannot find anything insensitive, nothing excessive; for faith has made the wise, and spiritual grace has cleansed them from all excess.


25. Therefore, the souls of the righteous have been rightly revealed, and revealed from the mount of Gilead, that is, from the transmigration of testimony; because the heavenly testimony migrated from the Synagogue to the Church. On this mountain, therefore, thyme, resin, and other fragrances are born, which those merchants, the Ishmaelites, brought as you have in the first book of the Old Testament. The Church has these fragrances, which the merchants gathered from the nations, carried with faith and devotion. Therefore, just as goats, having been nourished by good food and thriving in the warmth of the sun, are washed in the river, and joyfully emerge clean from the water: so too, the souls of the righteous ascend from the spiritual cleansing.

26. These are truly the ones that produce twins, in whom there is no infertility of any virtues, no sterility of any merits. They truly produce twins; because they double their senses. From where do you have written in Proverbs: And you write these things for yourself threefold, in counsel, and in knowledge (Prov. XXII, 20). It precedes the triple writing, and adds two, counsel and knowledge: but knowledge is twofold: one of incorporeal things, the other of corporeal things.


27. We have spoken about fertility; let us now speak about teeth. For many sailors, as well as those on a journey on land, when they see a beautiful place, they stay there for the sake of delight, they feed their eyes and lift their spirits; they do not think of it as merely stopping to eat, but as a gratification. Similarly, it is dear to us to contemplate the most beautiful teeth of righteous souls. For the Scripture has taught us that the teeth of the righteous are beautiful, saying literally of the patriarch Judah, but spiritually of Christ: His eyes are brighter than wine, and his teeth are like milk (Gen. 49:12). In which he preaches not the duties of human flesh, but the gifts of divine grace. Therefore, it teaches by example that teeth should not be passed over, where we have spoken of the eyes.

28. So who are the teeth of righteous souls, if not those who, receiving formless and hard food, either crush it, often cold or excessively hot, or nurture it, or temper it, depending on the quality of the nourishment? They crush it, lest the harshness of the letter in the Old Testament, and the rigid understanding of the world, unless resolved by a spiritual tooth, block the vital passages of nourishing foods, and a certain throat of the soul, with careless greediness, suffocate. Therefore, it is right for you to divide first, if the food that is consumed seems solid to you, and to separate and soften it without any harm to the soul, and to transfer it to all its limbs through natural division, so that every part of its body may be nourished by vital juice. Do not take anything putrid or dead into your mouth, so that it may not be said: 'The throat of these ones is an open grave' (Psalm 13:3), but rather receive the living word, so that it may work in the depths of your mind.


Hi teeth are whiter than milk, because they are the teeth of the righteous. Finally, even though all our ancestors were baptized in the cloud and in the sea with Moses, it is not in vain that it is written, because they all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink (I Cor. X, 3 and 4); so that a greater brightness may come to these holy teeth, which we know were cleansed after crossing the Red Sea, by the bitterness of the well of myrrh tempered through the grace of the wood (Exod. XV, 25 and 27), and then by the drink of the twelve fountains, and finally by the spiritual wave of the rock that bountifully provided water; for the rock was Christ. Therefore they ate manna (Num. XX, 11); as often as they were washed they ate bread, as it is written, the bread of angels (Psal. LXXVII, 25). Now also in the mysteries of the Gospel you recognize that although you are baptized with your whole body, you are afterwards cleansed by spiritual food and drink.

30. Therefore, David rightly brings forth the internal purified eyes and the teeth as if enlightened by the brightness of spiritual teeth, saying: I have done judgment and justice (Sup. 5,121). For he is the true splendor of teeth, where the melodious confession resounds to a well-conscious mind. That purified eye, which no beam of serious sins has pressed down, which no mote of light rubbish has disturbed. This eye has failed in the word of justice. For whoever is joined to Christ is one spirit (I Cor. VI, 17). And Balaam sought that his soul would fail among the souls of the righteous (Num. XXIII, 10), that is, that he would forget his own error: that he would lay aside what was his own and take on what belonged to justice and equity. But let us proceed to the rest.

31. (Verse 124.) It follows: Deal with your servant according to your mercy, and teach me your ways of justice. He has paved the way and has presumed the increase of his commendation. He demanded above that he not be handed over to the wicked (Above verses 121 and 122): he asked again to be received in good; lest the proud slander him, that is: I do not deviate from judgment, but from the slander of the treacherous; for they do not know how to judge, but they know how to slander. I take refuge in you, who know how to represent judgment. And it is not good to be handed over to slanderers; for many things did the just Job suffer after he was handed over to the guilty. But that was a difficult and great struggle, which no one could easily overcome without excessive patience, except Job; however, he was not completely handed over, but was taken in with a better portion. He who says: Do not hand me over, understands greater things. But we are more in soul than in flesh; for the just are said: 'You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit' (Rom. 8:9). Therefore, he who refuses to give up his soul, wastes away in his body like a spider (Psalm 38:12).

Therefore, in this place, presuming on a certain familiarity, he says: Act with your servant according to your mercy, and teach me your justice. He seeks mercy to be shown to him, and justice to be taught. Elsewhere also, that is, in subsequent verses, you have this meaning: And do not enter into judgment with your servant (Ps. 142:2). For being aware of our sins, we ought to seek more the mercy of our God than to implore justice. He grants one pardon, he imposes another punishment. What hope do people have in contending with him whom hidden things do not deceive, whom sins cannot hide? Therefore, knowing the power of him whom the person did not fear, he says: I have sinned only against you (Psalm 50:6). No just person can deny this, because no one is without sin. The king cannot, because even though he has laws under his power, he is subject to God. In fact, he owes even more, to whom more has been entrusted.


33. Therefore, He says this: 'Do with your servant according to your mercy; for even if I have done something good, I owe more as a servant. A servant is not absolved by one act; for no one who has a servant plowing or tending sheep would say to him: 'Pass, recline', but would say to him: 'Prepare what I will eat and gird yourself and minister to me'... Does the servant have thanks if he did what was commanded of him (Luke XVII, 7 and 8)? Therefore, even when we have done what is commanded of us, we should not immediately exalt ourselves, but rather humble ourselves; for not immediately if we have done something, have we fulfilled all the duties of servitude.' Who can match the great gifts of nature, the benefits of health and life preserved, with worthy service? Who can repay what he has received? Therefore, knowing all things, he seeks mercy rather than reward: For, it is said, no man living shall be justified in your sight (Psalm 142:2).

34. (Verse 125.) The following verse says: I am your servant: give me understanding, and I will know your testimonies. Understanding is a spiritual gift; and therefore, because it belongs to God, it is requested from the Lord. He does not request it as a stranger, who confesses himself as a servant. He says well: I am your servant. For a servant does the will of his master. A servant seeks the rewards of servitude, hopes for recompense. The servant of the Lord cannot also be a servant of sin: and therefore, he asks for understanding to be given to him, so that he may know how to avoid sin. He indeed had understanding, but not such that he believed it to be excessive: he seeks for something more abundant.

35. And there is also the intellect of nature, and there is the non-good intellect. Therefore Solomon says: But good understanding giveth grace (Prov. XIII, 15). For if every intellect were good, there would be no need for an addition. He rightly seeks the grace of his Lord, for otherwise he cannot know the secrets of the Lord unless he has received the gift of spiritual intellect. You have this in Jeremiah: Make it known unto me, O Lord, and I shall know (Jerem. XI, 18); for unless God makes His mystery known to men, we cannot know.


36. (Verse 126.) The sixth verse follows: Tempus faciendi, Domine: dissipaverunt legem tuam iniqui. It says well that it is the time to act; For there is a time to be silent, and a time to speak (Eccles. III, 7). But the time to speak has come: and by this it mentions that the time of the Lord's coming has already arrived; so that because transgression of the Law has occurred, the end of the Law may come, and its fulfillment, and the fullness of the Lord Jesus, who will forgive all sins to mankind: and having annulled the handwriting of debts, he may absolve all and free sinners. It is time to act, so that if someone's illness worsens, you run to the doctor, so that they may come quickly; otherwise, they may not be able to help later. The doctor is most needed when a serious illness strikes the weak. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit, the Prophet, sees the transgressions of the people - their luxury, indulgence, deceit, fraud, greed, and drunkenness - he intervenes for us, he runs to Christ, whom he knows alone can help with such sins: he urges him to come and does not allow any delay. Time, he said, for you, Lord, to ascend the cross for us, to undergo death. The whole world is being driven into extreme danger: come to take away the sin of the world. Let life come to the dying: let resurrection come to those already buried. May your deed come to our aid; for your commandments were not able to help. In the Law there was command, in the Gospel there is ministry.

37. The blind people could not see their own creator. The world was lame, and by the faltering step of faith, it wavered. There was no ointment to apply, nor oil, nor binding. That Evangelical woman had spent all her inheritance on doctors (Luke VIII, 43), having the appearance of a human congregation, which gathered from the nations: neither the flowing blood, nor the deadly outflow of an old passion could be restrained by the physicians of this age. The future generations of the Prince of the people had perished, and his entire inheritance had been destroyed. Seeing this, the Prophet says to Christ: 'It is time to act, Lord: not to command, he says, but to act; for he is not an ambassador or messenger, but the Lord who will save his people.' And indeed, he knew the right time and did not delay, but we did not know at what better time he would come to help.

38. Perhaps he wants to be reminded by us, he wants to be asked: in fact, if he is asked, he comes before the time. He comes to the fig tree: and he comes before the hour, as he says to his mother. She was pleading for us, she was hastening, saying: They have no wine, son. Jesus answered: What is that to me and to you, woman? My hour has not yet come (John 2:3-4). And the mother, who knew his disposition, said to the servants: Whatever he tells you, do (Ibid., 5). Jesus, who had also denied that his hour had come, did what he had been putting off. For God does all things in his own time. Whatever he does is not outside of time, but all things are opportune that he has done. And he came to me at his own time; for every time is opportune for salvation, nothing is prematurely rushed for the sake of those in danger. But he wanted to wait for the correction of the Synagogue. Therefore, he came to the fig tree before its time (Mark 11:13), that is, he came quickly to the Jews, timely to the Gentiles: he came quickly to those who were perishing, conveniently to those who were ready to believe.


39. (Verse 127.) The seventh verse follows: Because of this, I have loved your commandments more than gold and topaz. The Law is the herald of Christ: therefore, the precepts of the Law bring hope for future goods. For it is the command of the Lord: Take heed to yourself, lest you forsake the Levite throughout all the time in which you live upon the earth (Deut. XII, 19). Who is this Levite? You understand if you consider who is he who comes to serve, who is the eternal priest. He says another command: Keep the month of the new ones, and you shall make the Passover for the Lord your God (Deut. XVI, 1). And below: In the place which the Lord your God shall choose to have his name invoked, there you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at the setting of the sun, at the time when you came out of Egypt (Ibid., 6). Therefore, the commandments of God have indications of future redemption, signs of resurrection; hence he mentions that they are dear to him above gold and topaz. For what is more pleasing than salvation, more precious than resurrection?


Or because those things which are foolish in the world, Christ has chosen; so that because through wisdom the world did not know God, through the foolishness of preaching he might bring salvation to those who believe; and therefore he says: Above the wisdom of heavenly operation, and worldly constitution, and above the adornments of the sun and moon, and the precious necklaces of the stars, I have loved the obedience of the Lord's passion. For by redeeming me, he has bestowed more on me than by creating me; for then I was born without reason, now I am saved by will. But not everyone who says: I have loved your commandments above gold and topaz. It is not said by the greedy person, who lies on gold, covets wealth, desires ornaments: but it is said by the one who is able to say: I do not have silver and gold (Acts 3:6); because I do not seek, because gold is of no benefit to me: but the heavenly precept and commandment have redeemed me.

We have spoken of the continent of sense; now let us recount the story of the topaz stone. Regarding this, we have found it written in the history of Xenocrates, who wrote as if in a treatise on stones, that it is born or found around the city of Thebes, either in a form of alabaster or topaz, as some believe; from which it is also named after the place in which it is born. However, there are those who have thought that the island is called Topazion, to which the Troglodytes arrived: because of a sudden maritime commotion, since they did not have the use of ships, they were unable to return. Then, after spending a long time, they found a stone on the island, and being delighted by its color, they brought it back home and sold it to Arabian merchants. They bought it from them and it was brought to the mother of Ptolemy II, whose name was Berenice. She, although she abounded in royal ornaments, was amazed by its color and worked hard to make the appearance of such a precious stone last longer. Therefore, the stone sought by her diligence came into more common use.


42. We have explained how the topaz stone is recognizable, now let us speak more specifically about its quality. This stone has two colors, a mixture of tempered κρᾶσις, which means a certain moderate blending. It is similar to Πρασοιδὴς and chrysopa in appearance, extending certain figures of colors in both, and is said to extend them more fully by experts. It is pale yellow and fairly pure, and golden yellow and fatty, similar to something shining, especially when struck by the brightness of the sun. It is also the most beautiful and remarkable above all in size, and, as I have said, more pleasing to the eye. Its nature is such that if you want to polish and smooth it, it becomes rougher, and its use diminishes. However, there is a certain kind of elegant work of nature, which is well distinguished and remarkable: and to be considered worthy of the highest praise, it is rarely found: and once found, it is seldom used by humans, as if it were the one that a wealthy queen admired.


43. But now, just as those Troglodytes, having found the price of their dwelling, returned home, so let us also return, having received the benefit of this delay, to the place from which we diverged. It is not fitting for us to attach certain ornaments of the royal court to our conversation any longer, when we have the cross of Christ in our hands, which the Prophet admonishes us to prefer over gold and topaz, for it recalls and corrects us from every error and fault. For who among the just does not desire the solace of Christ in death, and a share in the resurrection? Who does not hesitate, when they hear that all their sins are forgiven, to reconsider their steps? For many were accustomed to be deterred from the pursuit of conversion because, being conscious of their own sins, they presumed no hope of forgiveness; and in the Church, the more holy the precepts, the more they thought that sins were committed without forgiveness.

44. (Verse 128.) Therefore he says in the eighth verse: Therefore I have corrected myself for all your commandments: I have hated every unjust way. He was rightly corrected because he loved; for love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). See how much it covers, how much it corrects. Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, does not seek its own, is not easily provoked, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Charity never fails (2 Corinthians, XIII, 4 et seq.). In the lower things, he placed three perfect ones, hope, faith, charity: but he said charity is greater, and rightly so; for charity hopes all things, believes all things (Ibid., 13). Therefore, since hope and faith are in charity, there is no doubt that charity is greater. And the Prophet responded well to himself. For he said above: The law of the Lord is blameless, converting the soul (Psalm XVIII, 8). If the Law converts the soul, surely the one who loves is loved by the Law. Then, in this very 118th psalm, it says first: Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord (Sup. v. 1). If one is undefiled who walks in the law of God, surely the one who loves the law of God is converted. Therefore, if the Law makes one undefiled, rightly charity covers a multitude of sins; because the fullness of the Law is charity.

45. 'I have hated every unjust way,' he says. If someone loves the precepts of justice, they do what they love; certainly, someone who hates injustice does not do what they hate. And it is not without reason that he is corrected by all the commands of the Lord, who hates every path of iniquity. For unless you hate every path of iniquity, you cannot be corrected by all the commands of God. For it is possible for someone to restrain themselves from the horror of cruelty; however, being deceived by the slippery love of a prostitute, and having entered the paths of youthful incontinence, they may not be able to retract the once engraved footprint.' For many vices deceive with a more pleasing appearance, and on the contrary, sad and excessively severe cruelty turns away many others from itself. But the youth is freer in love, more careless in falling, more fragile in weakness, and harsher in correction. One restrains oneself from luxury: but is carried away by the desire for greed. For often sins of this kind are such that if you avoid one, you incur another: and the use of nature assists weakness. You hated luxury as if it were barrenness, but the desire to possess frugality frequently creeps in. Greed itself is subject to robbery. And how much more tolerable it is to waste one's own, than to plunder others'! There are those who, fearing to diminish anything from their own income, even deny themselves the necessary expenses, and consider compassion to be a loss. There are those who, avoiding degenerate ignobility, are driven by the allure of secular ambition, and, like shaken reeds, are carried here and there uncertainly. There are also those who, while following the state of their ancestors, are satisfied with a worthy conversation, not even considering that their fathers' errors should be avoided; so that they do not think that faith should be changed for perfidy: because the purpose of changing for the better is not levity, but virtue: and it is not fault, but grace. However, when occupied with other games or theatrical pleasures, or other vanities, they do not attend the Church: another, enjoying the quiet of the countryside, has rare access to the Church for that reason. And so, each one converges towards the same error of indevotion with different usage. But he who hates every path of iniquity is corrected and improved in all things. And he rightly states, 'The Path of Iniquity'; for he more easily avoids iniquity, who has not entered its paths.

Sermon 17. Phe.

The seventeenth letter, which in Latin means, I have erred, or, I have opened my mouth. Therefore, this lamentable series of psalms is fittingly placed under this letter: Look upon me, and have mercy on me . . . and let not all my iniquity have dominion over me. Shine your face upon your servant (below, verses 132, 133, and 135); so that to the one who was in the shadow of death, the light of the heavenly mercy might arise, Christ might come for the forgiveness of sins, the redemption of captives, and the assistance of those who labor. But because it seemed too slow to those who desired to come, my eyes directed the course of the waters (Inferno, canto 1, line 136).

In the book of Lamentations, there is also a more tearful series under this letter: 'Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her.' (Lam. 1:17) She received a worthy recompense. For she, who neglected to hear him spreading forth his hands and to take shelter under his wings, later spread forth her own hands and could not find anyone to comfort her. For although Jeremiah seems to bewail the captivity of the Jews by the Babylonians before the coming of the Lord, yet with his prophetic spirit he foresaw this captivity more, which the intelligible Babylonian subjected them to the chains of perpetual error and, expelling them from the state of paternal devotion, afflicted them with the exile of a long journey and deplored them with miserable sorrow. For there is no truer homeland than faith, which made those who were far away, near, and connected the laws of the heavenly city to foreigners and strangers, as it is written: So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).

Also Jeremiah says under this letter: All your enemies have opened their mouths against you, they hissed, they gnashed their teeth, and said: We have swallowed her; yet this is the day that we hoped for, we found her, we saw her (Lamentations 2:6). And here, just as the Jewish people opened their mouth against Christ, as you read in the twenty-first Psalm about his passion, that they opened their mouths to curse (Psalm 22:14): you acknowledge the worthy fate of retribution; that they themselves should endure such things from their enemies, and that the understandable enemy Satan would gnash his teeth against them, like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Therefore, they did not say: Blessed be the Lord who did not give us as prey to their teeth (Psalm 123:6); because they did not think to hope in the Lord. Therefore, the devil found the destruction that he presumed. He swallowed them up; because there was no offended shepherd who would pull the legs of the lamb out of the mouth of the lion, or the cartilage.

They did not want to follow, they did not want to hear: therefore, as the shepherd departs, their footsteps and ears are filled with their own desires; because they did not receive the face of the saints, and did not show mercy to the nobles (Lamentations 4:16), as Jeremiah says for the third time under this letter in Lamentations. Who are the nobles, if not those who lived not according to this dark life, but in the light of holiness. Indeed, mercy is owed to all the needy by right: but a certain greater compassion is stirred when affliction casts some of the wealthy and noble into the lowest state and necessity of poverty.


Therefore, Jeremiah grieves bitterly, as one who laments the loss of the perennial sting of death; but David grieves moderately, as if he were grieving for the deception of an error, not despairing of the remedy of correction; so that he may be saddened, but not overwhelmed.

6. (Verse 129.) Finally, strengthened by the sobriety of repentance and compelled by the hope of forgiveness, he began thus: Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul has searched for them. This is a moral discourse, so that, although he was ashamed of his error, he would nevertheless come to God with the testimonies of his own mercy. This is to say: In the beginning of his speech, speaking of my sins, I dare not lift my eyes to you, O living God; but you, O Lord, have provoked me to hope for forgiveness through the titles of such great indulgences. Your wonders are testimonies: when you were offended by the youthful thoughtlessness in Abraham's fall, you instructed him to leave his homeland and his kindred and, having been called, you educated him in the exercises of virtue. When the people of the Hebrews turned away from their father's pursuit of nobility and preferred the lowly food of Egypt over divine gifts, you not only freed them from the depths of the Red Sea, but you also raised them up with many triumphs to glory and bestowed upon them the peaceful possession of a fruitful land. You deserted yourself in the name of security: you called out in the bitterness of wars; and in order to forget your injuries, you fought. You recognized that Jesus, the leader of the heavenly host, had come for you. The triumphant people offended you by desiring to rule over the Midianites: they prayed for you to conquer the Midianites. They did not obey you in King Saul, so that the foreigners would triumph over him: they served you, with David leading the way, so that they would win victory over foreigners. For I, indeed, being a wicked shepherd, made amends by confessing my sin. Therefore, a most beautiful verse for the encouragement of the martyrs. Lastly, the prophetic soul progresses for the better, believing the wondrous testimony of God: and because it believed, it sought with diligent investigation. You seek progress, recognize it from the following verses.

7. (Verse 130.) The manifestation of your words enlightens me and gives understanding to the little ones. In the Gospel, when John sent his disciples to the Lord Jesus, he asked: Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another (Matthew 11:3)? Jesus answered that the blind see, the lame walk, and the deaf hear; for this is evidence of his coming, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1). Therefore, what he announced through the prophets, he revealed in the Gospel; and what he himself spoke through the prophets, he fulfilled in the Gospel. Therefore, His speech was a prophetic speech, just as it is written: Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 1:2).

Therefore, understanding is given even to those who do not possess perfect wisdom, as the mute speak and the dead are raised. By these signs, it is understood by those who were ignorant and still like infants in their faith, just as the people of the nations were, that the one who was expected has indeed come. He illuminates, therefore, with the clarity of faith, the glory of his resurrection, and the power of divine works. And he gives understanding to little ones. For surely, unless the Father is giving thanks about those of which the Son himself was operating in the Gospel, that God had hidden his mysteries from the wise, and had revealed them to the little ones (Matthew XI, 25), showing that the people from the nations, or men of a lower status, would believe sooner than the scribes and leaders of the Jews, and the wealthy of this age? Therefore, the rich have become needy and hungry (Psalm XXXIII, 11), but the poor has cried out and has been heard.


9. (Verse 131.) The third verse follows: I have opened my mouth, and breathed in the spirit; for I desired your commandments. In the Gospel, we have that the Lord Jesus opened his mouth when he pronounced blessings (Matthew 5:2). But he opened his mouth in order to give the spirit to others: David opened his mouth in order to receive. Finally, Jesus says: Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22); Jesus says: Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it (Psalm 81:10): he says this to man; for Christ is the fullness. He who fills all things, fills your mouth. Therefore, write down what your heart says, that is, let your mouth cry out to the Lord. Your mouth cries out, and when it is silent, it shouts with the spirit (Exodus 14:15). It is not heard by men, but it resounds before God; for it is the internal cry of the soul which is heard from heaven. Anna also, when she prayed, cried out in silence (1 Samuel 1:13): she did not move her lips, but with the inner voice of her devout mind she called upon Jesus. Finally, when it came back with success, as she had prayed in silence; for the Spirit of God cried out in it, which also cries out to us when we are silent: Abba, Father (Rom., VIII, 6).

10. Therefore understand what the mouth signifies: whether the heart or the interior disposition of man. The mouth has a soul, which has members. Open this mouth not only to Christ, but also to His disciple, who offered his mouth to be filled by Christ; and thus he says: Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians; our heart is enlarged (2 Corinthians VI, 11). Therefore he admonishes us to be imitators of Him, as He is of Christ. He who is holier has opened his mouth to Christ; he who is inferior, to the Apostle. First the prophet is read, then the apostle, and thus the Gospel, in which the words are clear, but the commands are more powerful. The law says: You shall love your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18); and the Gospel says to you: You shall love your enemy (Matthew 5:44).

11. Therefore, David, as a perfect prophet, opened his mouth to Christ; and thus in parables he opened the bones (Psalm LXXVII, 2). He opened his mouth and brought forth breath. Therefore, he rightly says: How sweet are your words to my throat; sweeter than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth (Sup. v. 113)! The bride of Christ opened her mouth to her bridegroom: she received precepts sweeter than any honey. And thus she testifies, saying: His throat is sweetness, and all his desires (Song of Solomon V, 16). Therefore she held him, and would not let him go. I brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. Perhaps this house is where the discipline of morals shines forth: but that chamber is where deeper mysteries reside. Therefore, he rightly desired the precepts of the Lord, in which the honey of divine grace was diffused. Is not the forgiveness of sins sweeter than any honey? Is not the resurrection of the dead more pleasant than any flower?

12. (Verse 132.) Fourth verse: Look upon me, and have mercy on me, according to the judgment of those who love your name (Exodus 14:24-25). Beautifully added: Look upon me, and have mercy on me (Genesis 19:21); for He looks and is angry, as He looked upon the camp of the Egyptians, and bound the chariot wheels, and cast them into the waves. He looked upon Sodom and Gomorrah, of which both suffered the punishment for their sins, paying the price for the offense against God. It is also written: He looks upon the earth and makes it tremble (Psalm 103:32). And conversely, He regarded the offering of Abel, but did not regard the offering of Cain (Genesis 4:4-5). This enraged Cain, and he shed his brother's blood with the crime of fratricide.

13. But what it means to regard God is most clearly declared by that very testimony: For he hath looked down on the children of the poor, and hath not despised their prayers (Ps. 101:18); for the eye of the Lord doth not reject the offerings of the just. Finally, when we turn our eyes towards someone, we divert them; as if we were judging him unworthy of our gaze, whom we despise in our affections.

14. (Verse 133.) The fifth verse follows: Direct my steps according to your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. We are reminded to take steps for the progress of the soul by frequent testimonies of the Scriptures. For who is so foolish as to think that David was concerned about the bodily steps of his feet and sought the assistance of divine guidance for them? But he, being holy, desired his course of life to be directed; as the Scripture testifies elsewhere, saying: The steps of a man are directed by the Lord (Prov. 20:24). Finally, let us use the testimony of the very person who said in the previous passage: My steps have been less sure, because I was jealous of sinners' peace (Psalm 73:2-3). He thus reveals that his own foot slipped when he considered the peace of sinners to be admirable. They indeed seem to have tranquility, they seem to enjoy peace: but there is no peace where the mind is restless, there is no tranquility of the soul where the mind is agitated by the goads of conscience. How can there be security when there is a conflict of passions, when there is a clash of intense thoughts? Therefore, desiring to teach that peace does not exist in man, He added: My peace I leave with you. And again: My peace I give to you. Finally the Prophet said: Peace, peace, and where is peace? (Jeremiah VI, 14) It is clear, therefore, that he spoke about the wavering of his own opinion, in which the steps of his mind, not his body, had wavered.

14. And Moses said: I will go and see this great sight (Exod. III, 3). Indeed, in order to see God, he advanced by a certain progression of virtue to further things. He was a shepherd of sheep, and he became a leader of citizens. And of the Bride it is said in the Song of Songs: Your steps have been made beautiful in sandals, O daughter of Aminadab: the curves of your thighs are like jewelry, the work of a craftsman (Cant. VII, 1). There is no doubt that these steps also signify the progress of the Church or the soul: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace (Isaiah LII, 7)! Indeed, the progress of the Gospel preaching and argumentation is said to be beautiful, as it is said elsewhere: "Go beyond the rivers" (Isaiah 47:2), that is, to pass through the flowing and slippery things of this world with a steady walk of the mind. This is clearly shown in what is said about the progress of the soul in the later parts here by David himself, asserting that his soul has passed through the torrent of iniquities (Psalm 124:5).

15. But let us return to the steps of the Bride. What does it mean that it added that the steps of the Church are beautiful in her sandals? Therefore, we read the saying to Moses: 'Take off your sandals from your feet' (Exod. III, 5); by which he seems to be warned not to be bound by bodily bonds. Therefore, it signifies the beautiful beauty of the soul in the Songs, which uses the flesh as a sandal, and does not suffer hindrance in this sandal, but surpasses in gracefulness the act of walking. Therefore, let the soul clothe itself with flesh, or let the Church embrace grace; so that it may pass through the course of this life and its transition with beauty. This is accomplished if it does not soil its footwear with bodily filth, nor become immersed in the pitfall of vices: if it disciplines its flesh; so that it does not delay in its course, and is not weighed down by the burden of fat grapes. Modesty is the good footwear of the soul. Good was made in the footsteps of chastity. But wisdom is the garment of the soul; as it is written: Honor her, and she will embrace you (Prov. IV, 8). Let us therefore use our body as a tool, for the works of virtue: for service, not for command: for obedience, not for dissent: and let us place our footsteps on the path of wisdom; so that the force of any stream does not impede our footsteps.

Therefore it was said to Moses: 'Take off your sandals' (Joshua 5:16). It was also said to Joshua son of Nun: but to Christ it was not said, rather it is written, as John the Baptist said: 'After me comes a man... whose sandals I am not worthy to carry' (Matthew 3:11); for they are well advised to take off their sandals, who cannot be without sin. But here he not only does not take off his sandals, but he also takes off the sandals of others; for he not only kept his own body free from sin, but also granted the forgiveness of sins to all. Therefore the Church is beautiful in imitation of Christ, and cleansed from every sin in her footwear.

17. And perhaps, when he speaks of wisdom among the perfect, it is beautiful in the upper members; but when even people of lower status, or those who follow the word of the learned, do not forget the series of faith, they keep the commands of the priest; it is beautiful in the footwear. Often the clergy have erred, the priest has changed his opinion, the rich have sided with the earthly king of this world; the people have preserved their own faith. Furthermore, we can also say good things about the Lord Jesus, since even in his physical actions, the Word has graceful steps when discussing moral matters. And perhaps that is why the apostles are sent out barefoot (Matthew 10:10), so that their arguments would not be overshadowed but would shine forth. Therefore, the Church is the daughter of Aminadab, which means voluntary or pleasing, because he gathered her willingly and with pleasure, and she is graceful in her sandals.


18. And rightly it was added in the Canticles: The curves of your thighs are like artistically crafted necklaces (Song of Songs, 7:1); so that the adornments of the Church of future generations might be sung. For by the thigh we recognize the sign of generation, according to that: Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one (Psalm 45:4); by which it is signified that when the Son of God emptied himself, having put on the divinity of the Word and having assumed human generation, he would come forth from the Virgin, giving salvation to all. But the term moduli refers to precious ornaments that are usually worn on the necks of matrons. Thus, such great progress of the Church is signified, that it is compared to the most precious ornaments and the torques of conquerors; for these torques are the ornaments of warriors. Therefore, both the generation of Christ from the Virgin and the propagation of the Church, though adorned in appearance with the torques of a skilled craftsman, have truly crowned the spiritual necks of the faithful with the insignia of genuine virtue.


Finally, this entire description of the members of the Church is full of beauty and praise. For her navel is said to be like a rounded bowl, never lacking in mixed wine (Song of Solomon 7:2); because in all doctrine, she is rounded, not lacking in the fullness of knowledge, and is never lacking in spiritual drink. And her belly is not only nourished by the abundance of wheat, that is, by the stronger foods of the heavenly mystery, but is also filled with the sweetness of moral virtues, like certain lilies.


20. And so the very queen of Christ is crowned with his blood as if well-deserving, as it is written: And the adornment of your head is like purple (Song of Songs 5). The blood of Christ is purple, which stains the souls of the saints, not only shining in color, but also in power; for it makes kings, and better kings, to whom it grants an eternal kingdom.

21. And rightly, for the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, who is poured out by the blood of Christ, exclaims how beautiful and sweet you have become, O charity, in your delights (Ib. 6)! Beautiful in the beauty of virtue, sweet in the joy of grace, free from vices, which no bitterness of sin afflicts: and charity itself, which by loving God has received His very name; for God is charity (Joan. IV, 16).

Therefore, David rightly seeks to have his steps directed according to the word of God, so that he and his actions may be pleasing, and that iniquity may not have dominion over him, which he rightly feared. For he knew that Abraham also directed his steps according to the commandments of the Lord, and although he was tempted by the desire for a beautiful wife, he remained virtuous and was not overcome. And in the testing of offering his only son, he struggled with the piety of his mind towards his homeland, but he was crowned. David himself also escaped from the fury of Saul, the incest of Ammon, the treachery of Absalom, and the wicked temptations of impure iniquity, only because he directed his steps in the piety of the Lord and did not stray from his fatherly affection. He grieved within himself for the crime of incest, and rejected the hatred of the murderer from himself. My son Absalom, my son, said, Absalom, who will give me death for you (II Samuel XVIII, 33), mindful of nature's piety, forgetful of the offense, of whom he inquired before: Is the young man alive (Ibid. 29)?

23. And perhaps it should be asked why he called the first child 'antepuerum' and later named him 'filium'; why did he not say both 'puerum' and 'filium'? If he had lived, he would have been a boy; because he sought to kill his father, he should not have received the name of piety, but of weakness. Therefore, the righteous man, as an act of religious duty, remained silent; as an act of weakness, he stained himself. But when he died, the accusation of the person defected against the pious father, and the name of nature remained.


24. (Verse 134.) It follows: Deliver me from the slander of men; that I may keep your commandments. There is not only one type of affliction for us; there is both temptation and slander; but temptation is lighter, slander is heavier: indeed, temptation can be slander, slander itself has temptation. There is also human temptation, which we can endure; but slander is serious. And therefore the Lord, He who took on what is more serious, and brought about triumphal silence in the face of slanders. (Matthew 26:63). But calumny is the more serious, because it not only constructs falsehoods; but also distorts things that are done piously; as when Joseph was not only tempted by the offering of adultery, and the allurements of his master's invitation (Gen., XXXIX, 10 et seq.): but also tempted by calumnies, with the fabrication that he himself desired to commit adultery with his mistress, and he was caught and stripped of his clothes to avoid being held as evidence of deceit and a sign of the crime; since he certainly left his cloak behind while fleeing, so that he could escape the traps of the one inflicting violence, and the bonds of the enticing craft. David himself had sensed what he feared. For with what accusations of the king Saul had he labored! With everyone being terrified, he mocked the attack of the Philistines, and in a singular contest received the highest weight of the war and the entire battle, alone refuting the common accusation with his own virtue, and turning the entire reproach back onto the enemy of the people; and yet, because the young girls said: Saul has triumphed in thousands, David in ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7), his glory turned into envy, and he began to be oppressed with hatred. And let us speak about what came afterwards: Susanna was well aware of herself, and she could not be present among people. Two elderly priests bore false witness, the number of priests and old age took away the voice of the girl; her conscience alone was free before God. Finally, condemned by the judgement of men, she was freed by the divine will (Dan. XIII, 34 et seq.).

Therefore, the Prophet says: Deliver me from the slander of men, so that I may keep your commandments; for one who is oppressed by slander cannot easily keep divine commandments. It is necessary for sadness to often give way either to fear and be afflicted either by the fear of slander or by grief.

26. (Verse 135.) The seventh verse follows: Illuminate your face upon your servant and teach me your righteousness. The Lord illuminates his holy ones and shines in the heart of the righteous. Therefore, when you see a wise person, know that the glory of God has descended upon them, illuminating their mind with the brilliance of knowledge and divine understanding. The face of Moses was also bodily illuminated, and the glory of his countenance was transformed, causing the Jews who saw it to tremble. And so, Moses put a veil over his face to prevent the children of Israel from looking at it and being disturbed (Exodus 34:29 and following). At the same time, the mystery was declared, that the veil that was physically placed on Moses' face was mystically placed in the hearts of the Jews, because they could not see the true glory of the Law. For the splendor of Moses' face is the splendor of the Law; but the splendor of the Law is not in the letter, but in the spiritual understanding. Therefore, as long as Moses lived and spoke to the Jewish people, he had a veil on his face; but when Moses died, Joshua, Jesus, no longer addressed the elders and the people through a veil, but with his face revealed, and no one trembled (Joshua 1:10). For God Himself also said that He would be with him as He was with Moses, and would illuminate him in a similar way, with a glory of deeds, not of countenance (Ibid., 5). This is indicated by the Holy Spirit, that the true Jesus would come, and if anyone turned to Him and wanted to hear Him, they would remove the veil from their heart and see the true Savior with a revealed face.


Therefore, God Almighty the Father, who blinded the people of the Jews in the face of Moses, not with harshness, but with foreknowledge; not with malice, but with equity and justice; for they themselves put a veil over their own hearts, because they did not want to understand the Law: for the Law is spiritual, as the Hebrews said (Rom. VII, 4) . And so, according to what he gives to each of us, in which the fault lies not with the giver, but with the one who does not love; this Lord, I say, has enlightened the heart of the people of the nations in the face of Christ Jesus, through his advent; which is clearly declared by the example of the Apostle, as we have written: For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus (I Cor. IV, 6) .


28. Therefore, David said to the Lord Jesus: Illuminate your face upon your servant. He desired to see the face of Christ, so that his mind could be enlightened. And it can be understood according to the Incarnation. For many prophets and righteous people desired to see, as the Lord himself declared. But he did not seek what was denied to Moses, to see the face of God in a corporeal form; rather, if Moses, so wise and learned, could have simply desired this more than demanding it as a mystery; however, it is human to transcend our desires. And not without good reason was his face sought to be seen as he came from the Virgin; so that it might be illuminated in the heart, as even those who said: 'Did not our hearts burn within us . . . when he opened to us the Scriptures' (Luke 24:32)? And if anyone wants to be seen as speaking to God the Father, he can understand the face of the Father, the Son; for whoever sees the Son, sees the Father also.

Yet the face of God is illuminated according to how his eyes are regarded by the righteous. And while this is to be proven spiritually, because the story of the illumination of Moses' face is mentioned, so that no one may think that it could not have happened corporally, let them know. Indeed, with the use of the sun, the appearance of the whole body is changed even for those who are pale from sickness, and the appearance of a glowing face is shown to those warmed by the heat of fire or by vapor. At dawn, the earth, dyed with a saffron color, reflects an image borrowed from the benefits of gemstones, and also the neighboring lands shine with shimmering necklaces, because they themselves radiate; and do you marvel if the face of Moses was imbued with the divine brightness of presence? Do you wonder if a righteous mind is enlightened by the shining grace of God? The prophet did not doubt, as he first asked to be illuminated, so that he could learn the justice of the Lord.

30. (Verse 136.) The eighth verse follows: The courses of waters have fallen my eyes; because I have not kept thy law. He expressed the greatly affected penitence, saying that the courses of waters have fallen his eyes: either because through them, like the paths of flowing streams, a certain flow of abundant tears has poured forth, and a continuous and constant outpouring of watery weeping: or because his eyes themselves have descended. For it has this property of the highest pain, that with tears the eyes themselves seem to descend in a certain way; because there is such a force of tears, that it is thought the eyes are dissolved into weeping, and poured out into tears.

31. Therefore, the eyes themselves seemed to descend as if in the course of running waters, by which word the strong and more express force of those who weep bitterly is declared, according to what is written in the Songs of Solomon: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams coming down from Lebanon (Song 4:15). The Church has led these streams down from Lebanon: by this force sins are washed away; by this force the pure font and the breath of the Holy Spirit flow from Lebanon to the Bride; and by the beginning of faith she has passed through the age and has crossed over to the kingdom. For some, there is a fountain, for others a well, for our sake a spiritual spring. Some have a closed garden, a sealed fountain; others have the fountain of gardens, which is counted as part of the Church's dowry. Some have a descending impulse from Lebanon, and a great force that never fails. For the breasts do not fail to produce milk from the rock, nor does snow from Lebanon, nor does the water that is carried by the strong wind of the Virgin Jerusalem. The impulse descends from Lebanon, when the apostles and many believers gathered together, there suddenly came a sound from heaven, as if a great wind were being carried by the Spirit, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, giving them diverse tongues. A good impulse, which knows not how to harm, knows how to fulfill.

32. Therefore, if anyone wishes to earn this impact of descending grace from heaven, let him also himself descend with his eyes into the courses of the waters. Whoever pours forth this initial impact will merit it. He descended with his eyes into these channels of water, which she irrigated with tears on the feet of the Lord in the Gospel (Luke 7:38): and so he purchased the health of his soul and body with the price of his faith, no longer flowing with blood, but with spiritual grace (Luke 8:44).


33. Therefore, the prophet David descended; therefore, he brought back grace from sin. He descended into the channels of water, that is, he filled them up, and he accumulated the flowing streams of tears: either he filled the empty channels of the sun with weeping: or, as some moral interpretation suggests, he descended into the channels of water, he passed through them. And we could say: He transcended them, and he surpassed them: but the power of speech is diminished, in which the greater force of descending abundance is expressed, compared to ascending. See, I ask, what purpose words have, so that the Prophetic discourse does not lose its impact; although usage itself has customarily served the meaning of the writers with greater elegance. It has signified this in various ways and has almost always taken on additions. For it first said: I will wash my bed every night; I will water my couch with tears (Psalm 6:7). It said again: My tears have been my bread (Psalm 42:4). He also said: And I mixed my drink with tears (Psalm 101, 10). Here he added, saying: The coursing of the waters descended my eyes.

Following this, in the Lamentations Jeremiah expressed the emotion of sorrow, imitating the force of descending tears; for this is what he says: My eyes have run out with tears; my heart is troubled (Lam. 2:11). Like descending eyes that run out with tears. And elsewhere: My eye has been swallowed up (Lam. 3:49). But it is harder to conquer waters with tears than for eyes to be swallowed up by weeping. And again Jeremiah says the same thing: Their heart cried out to the Lord: let the walls of the daughter of Zion bring forth streams, let tears flow day and night. Do not give yourself rest, let not the pupil of your eye be silent (Thren. II, 18). Therefore, the eyes that lead down with their tears, the same led waters descend, that is, they gather themselves; so that they, increasing with their own weeping, might make themselves overflow with the force of torrents.

However, there are manuscripts that have: διεξόδοις ὑδάτων κατεβίβασαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, which means, The channels of water directed my eyes. But I read in my Greek manuscript κατέβησαν, which means, they descended: in which it is possible that the scribe made an error in either adding or subtracting letters in either direction.

36. He indeed had many things to weep for, either the incest of his daughter or the death of his sons: but he says that he did not weep for these things, but because he did not keep the law of the Lord. A holy man is more to blame than to be pitied for his misfortunes. He wept, therefore, when Nathan announced to him the anger of the Lord for the death of Uriah, and he acknowledged his sin of breaking the law. Finally, when his son was in distress, he neither took food nor ascended the royal throne or bed, but lay on the ground, bathing his fasting mouth with tears, desiring to alleviate not so much the death of his son as the punishment of his own sin in him (2 Samuel 12:16 et seq.). He wept, when the people were numbered, suddenly stricken in heart. Finally he said, 'I have sinned greatly, I have foolishly sinned' (2 Kings 24:10). Therefore he wept at first, because, exalted by royal power, by seeking the number of the people, he exceeded the measure of human condition. Then because he was avenged for his own error upon the people. But this punishment had been set by the Lord, not demanded by the King. Yet by committing himself to the mercy of the Lord, he proved the cause of election: at the same time, because the people suffered on account of him, he resolved the injury by offering himself for the people, thus proving his affection for piety.

Sermon 18. Sade.

Next comes the eighteenth letter, which is called in Latin consolatio. After the floods of tears flowing, and the heavy lamentations of sorrow, consolation was necessary to follow. For those who are in pain need consolation, and those who have suffered the punishments of serious crimes hope for forgiveness, and those who have cleansed their own sins with tears and weeping deserve rest.

All these things, whoever seeks in the divine Scriptures, finds. For first, it teaches that we should console those who are in sorrow, by the words uttered in the book of Jeremiah, when he mournfully cries out to the captives and exiles of the Jews: 'Go forth, depart, ye children; for I am forsaken, desolate. I have put off the garment of peace, and put on the garment of my supplication; and I will cry unto the Most High in my days.' Be of good courage, ye children; cry unto the Lord; and He will deliver you out of the hand of the princes of your enemies. For I have hoped in Him, who will bring you eternal salvation (Baruch 4:19 et seq.). Therefore, to those who believe in the Lord, there is consolation in the mercy of the Lord. There is also another type of consolation for those who have paid heavy penalties, as it is written in the book of Isaiah: 'Comfort, comfort my people,' says the Lord. 'Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.' (Isaiah 40:1 et 2). Even if faith was lacking, punishment was satisfied. The penalties are mitigated for those who are acquitted by commendation of their merits. The third is when the crime is washed away with tears, as in the saying: Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. This is also easily found in this passage, as well as in many other places in the book of Psalms.

3. Therefore, the first consolation in order (On Penance, Distinction 3, Chapter First Consolation), is that God does not forget to show mercy, nor does he cast away those whom he deems worthy of correction. The second consolation is that after enduring the punishments we have suffered on account of our sins, we attain forgiveness. Hence, some philosophers have argued that absolution is harmful to the wicked, while death is beneficial, because in absolution there is an incentive to sin, but in death there is an end to sin. However, it is clear that this is not the case, for it is written in the Proverbs of Solomon: 'He who spares the rod hates his son' (Prov. XIII, 24); but the Lord corrects those whom he loves (Prov. III, 12); And further: 'A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools' (Prov. XXVI, 3); for punishment corrects and improves the one who strays. If someone is unable to be corrected, they are removed from the midst so that they do not commit worse things; for a dead person no longer knows how to err. And therefore the Ecclesiastes says: I praised the dead more than the living: and the one who is not yet born is better than both, who has not seen the evil work (Eccl. IV, 2 and 3). The dead is preferred to the living; because they have ceased to sin. The dead is preferred to the one who is not yet born, because they do not know how to sin.

Now let us also speak about those who have paid the penalty for their crimes. Have not these people already paid the price for their fault, and is the punishment no longer owed to them in full? The Lord proclaims through Isaiah: Comfort my people...because they have received from the hand of the Lord double for their sins (Isaiah 40:1 and 35). Learn where Plato has obtained these things. For the sake of education, he journeyed to Egypt to learn about the deeds of Moses, the utterances of the Law, the sayings of the prophets. He heard about the consolation of the people, who seemed to have been punished beyond the measure of their sin. And he translated this passage, presented in a certain rich style of words, into the Dialogue he wrote about Virtue. But the Lord explains more fully and openly the place which He designates in the Gospel, saying, By means of the person of Abraham He speaks thus to the rich man of this world, who recognizes Lazarus though he is now in his bosom: Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And in all these things a great gulf is fixed between us and you, so that those who would pass hence to you cannot, neither can they cross over from thence to us. But now let us hear what the righteous man says in consoling himself.

5. (Verse 137.) You are just, O Lord, and your judgment is right. You have commanded your testimonies in righteousness and in exceeding faithfulness. Truly, a just man, flowing with tears, wrapped in afflictions, paying for his sins with severe punishment, is not overcome by weariness, is not broken by fear, is not tired by labor, is not ungrateful or sad. For often the common people, not considering their own faults, think unjustly that they are enduring what they suffer: but the truly just man, who immediately accuses himself at the beginning of his speech, proclaims the justice of the Lord, that he may suffer worthy things according to his merits. But speaking of the just God, He indeed pronounces about His own injustice: but about the justice of the Lord He hopes and forgiveness. For the just one is not always angry, just as He is the avenger of fault, so He is the moderator of punishment: just as He is the defender of sins, so He is the recompenser of virtues and the best merits. Whoever wants to give a reward should consider the contest; because no one is crowned without a contest. Therefore, He often allows us to be tempted, willing to justly give rewards to one who is struggling, not to one who is asleep. A crown adorned with flowers does not suit, but one covered in dust; victory adorns not with soft pleasures, but with the hard labor of exercise.

Therefore, the just person praises the justice of God in their adversities. But a parent who has lost their tender children does not feel this, nor does one who has been deprived of the companionship of a prematurely deceased spouse, nor does a sick person in pain, nor does a shipwrecked person in danger, nor does a defendant in a trial, nor does a captive in chains. However, Jeremiah cried out, proclaiming the future calamity of the people's captivity, that he would be swallowed up in a shameful pit and be drowned in filthy filth: 'You are just, O Lord.' (Jeremiah 12:1) He cried out again when he was tormented by the pitiful servitude of the conquered people. The Lord is just; for His mouth has angered... He has made desolate the city from without, and inside there is death (Lamentations 1:18 and 20). The Hebrews cried out because of the power of their devotion, and the grace of their faith desired to be consumed by the fires of the burning furnace: You are just, O Lord, in all that You have done (Daniel 3:27); and therefore they deserved to be unharmed by the fires, proclaiming the righteousness of the Lord. Daniel the prophet also, when he was cast into the den of lions, and surrounded by the ferocity and horror of savage beasts, boldly declared that everything is right before the Lord with an undaunted shout (Daniel 6:22). Jonah, shut up inside the belly of a savage beast, barely able to catch his breath, condemned to the fate of the unjust, cried out from the belly of the whale in the sea: With a voice of praise and confession, I beg you... (Jonah 2:10). David, when fleeing from the face of Absalom with treacherous arms and driven from the land, and leaving the kingdom behind; when he offered himself for the destruction of the whole people, he said: You are just, Lord, and your judgment is right. What has this innocent flock done? I, as a shepherd, have committed evil, before the just God, let the punishment be taken by the author of the crime. The father of faith, Abraham, when asked to sacrifice his only son by the elderly, tempered the affection of paternal piety with a confession of divine justice, saying: You are just, Lord; for you do not demand another, but you require your own: I restore to you the one whom you have given. Job, imitating him, after losing his children and being stripped of his wealth, tearing his body's garment, says: Naked I came into the world, naked, he said, and I will die. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.... Blessed be the name of the Lord. (Job 1:21-22)

7. Therefore, let us all praise the just Lord: both he who arranges his own dying limbs in the tomb, and he who is struck by harm, or by the death of his children, let him say: You are just, O Lord. For what do we lose? The Apostle cries out: What do you have that you did not receive (1 Cor. 4:7)? Therefore, what we have, we have received; therefore, what we lose, we give back, we do not lose. The Lord is just in dangers, just in losses, just in vengeance, not only because each person justly pays the price for his own fault; but also because while one is punished, many are corrected. Ananias in the Acts of the Apostles committed the crime of withholding the price that he had received from the sale of his land (Acts 5:1ff): he could have offered nothing and escaped the crime. But so that no one would think that the apostles could be defrauded with impunity, or that the office of his mercy would be contaminated by the fraud of betrayal, he, condemned to eternal death, terrified everyone with just fear so that they would be devoted to the study of faith. Pharaoh, drowned in the waves with his people, is an example of worldly conversation; let no one persecute God's people. Finally, God was able to make him obedient to His will, but He wanted to correct everyone through his punishment. Therefore, the Lord said to him: 'I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I may show my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.' (Exodus IX, 16). The Lord was not seeking His own praise, but the improvement of us.

Therefore, all wise men say: You are just, O Lord, and your judgment is right; for we are not delivered to our adversaries without your judgment, nor do we come into tribulations without your judgment. This is the consolation of the just: this is the judgment of the Lord. Finally, you also have: I have remembered your judgments, which are from the beginning, and have been comforted (Psalm 118:52). Therefore, take notice that the judgments of the Lord are consolations.


9. (Verse 138.) You have commanded justice and your truth excessively. Did you command excessively, or excessive truth? But excessive truth is full of praise, and to command excessively is a provision of providence and caution. For indeed he knew the weak; therefore he often reminded them not to forget.

10. (Verse 139.) The third verse follows: Your house has consumed me with zeal; because your enemies have forgotten your words. There is zeal for life, and there is zeal for death. Zeal for life means to keep divine commandments and to guard the Lord's mandates with love, as Phinehas did, of whom we read in Numbers, when the Lord said to Moses: Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, appeased my anger towards the sons of Israel, because he was zealous for my sake among them; and I did not consume the sons of Israel in my zeal, as I said. Behold, I give him a covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his seed after him a covenant of everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel. (Num. 25:11 et seq.). Twenty-four thousand of the people were slain: the punishment extended to all, and there was no end to the destruction. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, seized a javelin, killed two persons who had joined themselves to Baal, appeased the wrath of the Lord, obtained a victory for those to whom he had denied salvation. How salutary, therefore, is the zeal of God!

11. That vice was not limited to one time: even now the vice of the Midianites is mixed with that of the Jews. The Midianite is one who is not joined in legitimate marriage to any wife, not united in the partnership of faith. The Midianite is the perfidy of heretics, tempting the people of God. How many nations has that fatal harlot insidiously infiltrated, who with a public funeral buried the whole people in a common death! Come now, Phinehas, take up the sword of the word, kill perfidy, slay heresy; lest the entire people perish because of her. The anger of heaven presses on, strike the very womb of impiety and the generator of treachery; lest an unhappy birth be formed, lest an illegitimate conception spread the seed of deceit and wickedness; so that the Lord may establish with you a covenant of peace, and a covenant of grace, a covenant of heavenly promises. The priest, who strives to preserve the incorruptible chastity of the Church, should have zeal; and therefore the Prince of priests said: Zeal for your house has consumed me (John 2:17). Phinehas was a priest, the grandson of a priest, and the son of a priest. He had a fervent zeal and was useful in his priestly role, particularly diligent to ensure that nothing was overlooked. It is better for many to be freed by the condemnation of one or two than for many to be endangered by the acquittal of two.

12. He said, 'Zeal for your house has consumed me.' You see that zeal is the grace of God, which investigates, which intervenes, which pours itself into a just heart. Zeal for God is life. Finally, the Lord says: Zeal for your house has consumed me. Just as before in Adam, prevailing death had consumed man: so zeal has consumed, which has been brought to life in Christ. Elijah had zeal, and therefore he was taken up to heaven. He said, 'I have been zealous for the Lord.' Mathathias Butanus had zeal, who aroused the people of God against the sacrileges of Antioch. Those who have zeal consider all their enemies to be the enemies of God, even their fathers, brothers, and sisters. Concerning everyone, they say: They have become my enemies (Psalm 138:22), as David says. What more? The Apostle of the Lord was also declared by this name, so that he would be called Judas the Zealot, as we read in the Gospel (Luke 6:15).


13. The people of the Gentiles obtained eternal life through zeal for faith, which the people of the Jews lost due to negligence and laziness. Therefore it is written: 'Zeal has taken hold of an unlearned people' (Isaiah 26:11); for the people who were learned in the Law had no fervor of faith. Zeal turned towards the Gentiles, of which the grace is so great that it surpassed the prerogative of election and the industry of learning. Finally, by taking hold of an uneducated people, it made them better. Therefore, this grace has operated in the people of the nations, so that they would merit the inheritance of the Lord, with which the Lord has worked to join the Church to Himself from the nations. Therefore, zeal is love. Indeed, love is as powerful as death, and zeal is as harsh as the grave. Harsh is the zeal that no enticement of this life overcomes. Harsh as the grave, through which we die to sin, so that we may live to God.

14. Angels without zeal are nothing, and they lose the prerogative of their substance unless they sustain it with the ardor of zeal. Finally, in the Apocalypse of John, the Lord says to the Angel of Laodicea: I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot, but because you are lukewarm, I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth; for you say: I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing; and you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire (Rev. III, 15-18). This is the zeal of God, this is the vapor of faith, and the fervor of devotion, which softens and shapes us like sweet food in Christ. How great is the grace of the Lord, that He may establish us in His mouth, and partake of some of the merits of our meal, and, if we deserve it, devour us if He delights in the sweetness of our food. Blessed is the one whom wisdom devours, whom virtue drinks, whom justice receives; guilt cannot have a share in him whom forgiveness of sins absorbs; for where will error find a place when spotless integrity has received him?


15. And why should we be surprised if the Angels have such zeal for Him? God the Father Himself says: 'I will be jealous for Jerusalem with great zeal' (Zach. VIII, 2). Because God is great, therefore His zeal is great: and according to the quality of each person's power, so is their zeal either moderate or great. Jerusalem is avenged by zeal, the Church is gathered by zeal, faith is acquired by zeal, and purity is possessed by zeal. The Lord Jesus also says: 'Zeal for your house will consume me' (John II, 17); rebuking the Jews for making the house of prayer a den of thieves, and making it a house of trade as well.


16. But not only should we care for the place of the Church, but also for this inner house of God within us; lest it be a house of commerce or a den of thieves. For if we pursue gains, profits, financial benefits, we have made a house of commerce. If we invade the possessions of others, the boundaries of widows or minors, we have made a den of thieves. Therefore, let the Word of God come and cast out thieves, plunderers, and innkeepers from this house; so that your heart, your chest, may be a clean place.


17. But there is jealousy towards fault, and there is jealousy towards grace. For David himself said: I have been zealous for the sinners' peace (Psalm 72:2). And in Ecclesiasticus it is written: Do not be jealous of a woman's embrace; lest she should reveal malice towards you through her wicked teachings (Ecclesiasticus 9:1). And a jealous woman is justly reproached for being jealous of a faithful woman. Therefore, we consider that jealousy is a certain measure and discipline, just like the discipline of virtue. And blessed is the one who knows the discipline of jealousy and hates those who forsake the grace of the Lord, abandoning their own salvation and embracing the errors of deceit.


Therefore he says: Since they have forgotten your words, my enemies. Who are these enemies? If the people of the Jews, how were they appointed as enemies under his rule? For David governed all the Jews with his own kingdom. If the Gentiles, how did they forget the words of God, when they were ignorant of the Law of the Lord? For no one can forget except what he has received. Therefore, those are my enemies, who are your enemies, who were not going to receive the Lord when he comes in their own place. These are the serious enemies, these are his own enemies whom the Prophet testifies against; not those who were his own, but those who rebel against Christ. Finally, elsewhere he says: And I wasted away over your enemies: and I hated them with a just hatred (Psalm 138, 21 and 22); considering the weapons of treachery to be more serious than warfare. For there is no enemy more serious than one who harms the creator of all. Therefore, the people of the nations were acquired with great zeal, because God was denied to his own people. For those who did not hold the memory of divine precepts could not maintain either the devotion of faith or the discipline of virtue. Thus Adam was expelled from paradise, and thus the people of the Jews were excluded from the prerogative of election.

19. (Verse 140) It follows: Your eloquence is excessively inflamed, and your servant loved it. The Lord indeed sent fire upon the earth, not so that it would burn with the fire of Sodom, as it is written, but rather so that it would not strip it of the gift of fertility, either by use or by the blossom of greenness (Gen. XIX, 24). For the Lord is more accustomed to approve and increase his work than to diminish or condemn it. And indeed it was not fitting for innocent elements to bear the punishment of our wickedness. What had nature done wrong, if the grown offspring went astray? The fault was not in the birth, if the progeny slipped by a wandering error: but the fault was in the use. Therefore, who spread fire in the New Testament? Who would kindle the secret desires of divine knowledge in the minds, who would inflame the vapor of faith and devotion, who would ignite the desire for virtue. Jeremiah, heated by this fire, says: And there was a burning fire in my bones (Jeremiah 20:9). Cleophas, who had been warmed by the fire of celestial words, and the other disciple who had journeyed with the Lord from Jerusalem to the town, said: Was not our heart burning within us . . . when he opened to us the Scriptures (Luke 24:32)?

20. Therefore this fire is the word of Christ. And the good fire, which knows how to warm, does not know how to burn, except sins alone. By this fire, that apostolic gold placed upon the good foundation is proven: by this fire, that pure silver of works is examined: by this fire, those precious stones are illuminated, but hay and straw are consumed (I Cor. III, 12 and 13). Therefore, this fire cleanses the soul, it consumes error. Hence the Lord also says: Now you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you (John XV, 3). Here is the fire that burns before the Lord; for unless one has taken the flame of devotion, they cannot have the presence of the Lord (Leviticus 6:12). Ignite this fire within your minds first, so that the light of Christ may shine upon you. By this fire, the bush was burned but not consumed (Exodus 3:2). For the divine word burns in order to correct the conscience of the sinner; it does not consume in order to destroy. This fire dulled, this fire extinguished the fierce flames of material incendiaries. Finally, the Hebrews, having been set on fire by this flame, were neither able to fear nor feel the heat of the burning furnace (Dan. III, 50). Therefore, rightfully does the good servant love the burning Word of the Lord, with which he is clothed in charity, which excludes fear.

Moreover, he added beautifully, excessively; for every teacher indeed inflames the listener's feelings: but above all is the word of God, dividing the joints and marrow of the soul. Therefore, describe to yourself the ignited discourse of God in three ways, either that which cleanses, or that which ignites, or that which illuminates the listeners. Therefore the Lord says, \"I have searched Jerusalem with a lamp.\" (Zeph. 1:12) But he found no one in it who could be cleansed, or who could be ignited, or who could be illuminated; therefore he left it in darkness.


22. And do not be surprised if a servant loves the fiery speech of the Lord, which the Bride also loved, who said: 'Your lips are like a scarlet cord; for crimson is the color of fire, and the blood of the Lord's Cross is poured out. The scarlet lips of the Lord spoke of his own passion. In fact, in Exodus, scarlet was used in place of fire. For the world is not made of scarlet, but of four elements: however, in scarlet the image of fire is portrayed, and unless its vapor penetrated the sky, air, seas, and earth, all things would dissolve as if drained of strength.' Therefore, through the network of persuasion, we recognize a bond: through desire, or the burning ardor of passion that sparkles in the souls of the hearers, or a sign of passion. Hence, elsewhere the Bride says: His lips are lilies dripping with myrrh (Song of Songs, 5:13). For through myrrh, the ointment of passion, and by the grace of the resurrection, it is declared that you infuse the reviving scent of life into the hearts of the dead. Therefore, rightly receiving the sweetness of his conversation, the Bride exclaims and testifies: His lips are sweet, and he himself is altogether desirable (ibid., 5:16).


23. (Verse 141.) The fifth verse follows: I am a youth and despised: I have not forgotten your justifications. This little verse can apply to many of the saints who, from their earliest youth, have been exercised in hard labors. For even Joseph, when he was sold into Egypt by his brothers, was young and despised, being sold into slavery as an injustice: and later, when he was brought out of prison and made ruler of Egypt, he did not repay his brothers with injury, but instead gave them food at a reduced price, provided for his father in his old age, and, with a chariot lowered for him, he met them, adored them, and, with the other servants bearing the signs of great power, declared: I am a youth and despised: I have not forgotten your justifications.


24. David himself, when he was younger, was sent by his father to tend the sheep as though he were of lowly status, and he was not presented to the priest as one worthy to be anointed for the kingdom. But when the priest sought him out and summoned him from the pastures, he received the privilege of royal anointing. Later, when he advanced to war and Goliath, despising the entire Jewish people, challenged them to single combat, while the others were afraid, he asked the king for permission to engage with him. He was not considered capable enough for such a great contest yet, with the king saying: You cannot go against Goliath and fight with him; for you are a boy, and he is a warrior man from his youth (1 Samuel 17:33). Nor would he have been allowed, unless he had proven that in his youth he had strangled a lion with his own hands, and had killed it by pulling the legs off a stolen lamb. He also despised Goliath, because he had come forward against an armed warrior with only a staff and stones, and declared that he relied not on strength or weapons, but on the name of the Lord, in whom he had confidence for battle; so that he might remove the disgrace of the provoked crowd. Therefore this young man, and despised, struck down the Allophylum, and having obtained victory, triumphed with the testimony of ten thousand young women singing.

For he carried the figure of him who was to come, despised as though he were to appear in the earth, and without a legate, without a helper, without a messenger, he liberated the whole people of this world from the battle of his cross: to whose souls the sacrament of baptism, renewed, might applaud, that it was he, Goliah, revealed to us, and put to death by the sword of his word. Therefore the true Goliah lies slain by the humility of the Son of God: he lost the head that turned and deceived in many ways. The secure souls now sing, who previously lamented the torments of their sins. They declare with drums, that is, with their bodies dead to sin: Saul has triumphed in thousands, David in ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7). That harsh king is indignant and the devil is angry because the young girls sang, for the son of hardness deceived few; Christ redeemed the whole world. Therefore, Christ born of the Virgin says: I am young and despised, but I have not forgotten your commandments.


26. The people of the nations also say that he, despised in the first election, still rough in faith and zealous in the first devotion, young in the sacraments of baptism, certainly or renewed by the youth of an eagle: I am young and despised: I have not forgotten your justifications. I, who was despised before, am now preferred, now placed before the chosen ones. The people of sinners formerly despised, I have the venerable associations of heavenly sacraments. Now I am received with the honor of heavenly food: my meals are not drenched with rain, nor does the hard work of the land bring forth fruits for me. I do not need to seek rivers or springs for my own water: Christ is my food, Christ is my drink: the flesh of God is food for me, and the blood of God is my drink. I no longer wait for the yearly harvest to satisfy me, Christ is served to me daily. I do not fear that any inclement weather of heaven or the barrenness of the fields will diminish him for me, if the diligent devotion of the pious persists. I no longer desire the rain of the evening, which I used to marvel at before: nor the manna which I used to prefer over all foods; for those who ate the manna hungered. My food is the one that if anyone eats, they will not hunger. My food is the one that does not fatten the body, but strengthens the heart of man.

27. Before, there had been for me wondrous bread from heaven; for it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat (John 6:31): but that bread was not the true one, but rather a shadow of the coming. The Father has kept for me that true bread from heaven. That bread of God descended from heaven for me, which gives life to this world. It did not descend for the Jews, it did not descend for the Synagogue, but it descended for the Church, for the younger people of God. For how did the bread descend for the Jews, which gave life, when all who ate that bread, which is manna, that the Jews thought to be the true bread, died in the desert? How does the Synagogue descend; when the entire Synagogue has been destroyed, and worn out by the eternal fast of faith? Finally, if they had received true bread, they would not have said: Lord, give us this bread always (Ibid., 34).

28. What do you seek, O Jew, that he should give you bread, whom he gives to all, gives daily, gives always? It is in yourself that you may receive this bread: approach this bread, and you will receive it. Concerning this bread it is said: All those who distance themselves from you, will perish (Psalm 72:27). If you distance yourself from it, you will perish; if you draw near to it, you will live. This is the bread of life: therefore, whoever eats life cannot die. How will someone die, to whom sustenance is life? How will he fail, who has the vital substance? Come to him and be satisfied, for he is bread: come to him and drink; for he is a fountain: come to him and be enlightened; for he is light: come to him and be set free; for where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17): come to him and be forgiven; for he is the forgiveness of sins. Who is this that you seek? Hear him saying: I am the bread of life: whoever comes to me shall not hunger; and whoever believes in me shall never thirst (John 6:35). You heard him, and you saw him, and you did not believe him; therefore you are dead: or now believe, so that you may live.

But you are amazed at Moses, because he led your fathers through the sea on dry ground. Moses did not command, but obtained: he did not order the sea, but served the commanding waves. You praise Moses because he drowned Pharaoh and his army: Moses prayed, and another commanded. Moses prayed, Christ acted. Moses fled, Christ pursued. Moses followed the pillar, to turn away the darkness of the night: Christ illuminated. Moses, you recognize that he tempered the bitterness of the waters. Moses, you recognize that he produced water from the rock: you do not recognize Christ, who overthrew the army of the true Egyptian king and plunged them into the deep abyss: who liberates us daily from the tumults of this world; so that the storm of this age does not overwhelm us. What good was it for our ancestors to cross the Red Sea, if they were not permitted to reach the promised land? For whoever came out of Egypt, perished in the desert. Aaron is dead, Maria is dead, and even Moses himself is dead: only Jesus of Nazareth, the likeness of the sacred name, has been preserved. Let the Jew applaud; for when he was thirsty, the rocks spewed forth water: for me, an eternal fountain of divine grace flowed from the body of God Himself. Christ drinks my bitterness, in order to grant me the sweetness of His own grace.

So the Christian people say: I am young and despised; I have not forgotten your justifications. Well said, who justified God by the sacraments of baptism. For the one who is baptized justifies God; because he confesses his own sins and waits for the Lord's forgiveness of sins. David justified, who said: Against you alone have I sinned, and I have done evil in your sight: that you may be justified in your words (Psalm 50:6). The Pharisees did not justify themselves, who did not want to be baptized with the baptism of John, as you read in the Gospel (Luke 7:30). It is not only enough to justify oneself, but also not to forget the justifications of God, that is, to guard the unblemished gifts of spiritual grace and to preserve the untainted and unoffended gifts of sacred remission.

31. These are general aspects, but there is also a special privilege for each individual Christian to speak: I am young and despised; if he is humble in heart, meek and gentle. Therefore, let him say: I am young and despised. Let him prefix the general boast of his age, so that he may commend more the grace of his humility. Humility in old age is not astonishing, which is weakened by strength, broken by infirmities, burdened with sorrows, sighs heavily, boiled by the heat of cares, and overwhelmed by the sad aversion to life, forgetting the eagerness of boasting. Indeed, humility is rare in young people, and therefore remarkable. While youth is vibrant, while strength is solid, while blood boils, while worry is unknown, while weakness is ignored, while joy is abundant: then arrogance boils over, then the proud feelings of youth are elevated, then humility is almost despised, and lowliness is scorned; then submission is considered the weakness of a degenerate conscience. Therefore, a great maturity of character must be cultivated, one that surpasses nature.


Finally, if we consider, in paradise humility was lacking; and therefore it came from heaven. In paradise disobedience arose; and therefore obedience came down with the Savior. The flesh was inflated, hence the submission of meekness could not be found on earth. The whole inheritance of the transgressor had swelled. Coming, the Lord Jesus first emptied Himself (Philip. 2:6-8), considering it not robbery to be equal with God, taking the form of a servant for Himself, and being found in appearance as a man: He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death. Let it not move you, for it is written, 'as a man'; for he did not take on the likeness of a man, but the truth. For even the Apostle himself says elsewhere: 'The Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus' (I Tim. II, 5). And let us bring an example from the Gospel: 'We beheld,' says John, 'his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth' (John I, 14). Was it because he said, 'as of the only begotten,' that he wanted the likeness of an only begotten more than the truth to be esteemed?


33. Therefore, Christ did not come in vain. Now man can say: I am a young man and despised; the one who was previously a proud old man in the former people. He says: I am a young man and despised, just as the Church says: I am black and beautiful (Song of Solomon 1:4). He mentioned black first to increase beauty. Likewise, here he mentioned youth to increase humility. He did not say: I am black and beautiful; lest what is black be considered beautiful. And he said, I am a young man overlooked, so that youth may not be thought despicable; but he said, Young man, and marvel at this, humble, not proud, closer to the downcast than the swollen. Thus also there: I am black with a higher sin, but beautiful with the confession of sin, and with the zeal for correction, and with the love of virtue. Therefore, although it is a connecting syllable, as grammarians call it, it still has a distinction by which confusion is separated and distinguished: if you say that Ambrosius and Bassus are inside, only one is understood; but if you assert that Ambrosius is inside and Bassus is inside, then two are certainly understood.


34. Therefore let him say: I am young, and despised; because Christ redeemed the world in the poor and despised, because Christ conquered the devil by humility. Let him say; I am despised; because God does not despise the humble heart; because that despised Lazarus now rests in the bosom of Abraham, and that boastful rich man is afflicted in hell. Moses was despised, and he did not appear suitable to himself when he was sent to free the Hebrew people. Jeremiah was despised, who said: Lord, I cannot speak; for I am a youth (Jer. 1:6). But this despised one is chosen more easily. Finally, it is said to him: Do not say that I am a youth; for you shall go to all to whom I shall send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces; for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you (Ibid., 7 and 8). That Publican was despised, who did not dare lift his eyes to heaven; and therefore he was heard more easily than that Pharisee: For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 18:14).


35. (Verse 142.) It follows: Your justice, justice forever; and your law, truth. Indeed, individuals can perform acts of justice, but they do not endure forever. That wealthy person who has an abundance of riches in this world, perhaps has performed some acts of justice, for which they have received recompense in this present life; but those deeds have not been great, nor worthy of everlasting reward. Moreover, even if we do perform some acts of justice, we do so not continuously, but rarely. Most people do not seize others' possessions, but do not know how to be generous with their own. Others, in order to appear just, often give to the poor unjustly obtained resources. This is not eternal justice. Many righteous people have often committed serious offenses, not reaping the fruits of eternal justice. Only to God belongs the possession of justice forever, who feeds the just and the unjust; for justice is not to be repaid only with good deeds, but it is true justice when it is also granted to enemies. And rightly Justice of God says: Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44).

Therefore, just as the justice of God is eternal, so is the law of God truth. But how do we understand this? Is it because the law of God is truth, that is, true: and what God establishes is all true, as it says below: Your commandments are all true? Or is it because the truth is the law of God; because God does not lie? Therefore, with Him truth is the law, falsehood is perversion. But it can also be understood in this way, the law of God is truth: therefore, among the Jews there is no law of God, because they do not accept the truth. The law of God is spiritual (Rom. VII, 14), as the Apostle said: therefore, those who do not receive it spiritually do not have the true law. What is not true is false: what lies, kills. Therefore, the letter that kills is false: the spirit that gives life is true.

37. Let us receive it thus: The law of God is not a type, nor a shadow, nor an example of heavenly things; but it is the heavenly things themselves. Hence it is written, because the end of the law is Christ (Rom. X, 4). Not indeed a defect, but the fullness of the law is in Christ; for he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Just as the Old Testament is old, but all truth is in the New Testament: so also the law given through Moses is a figure of the law. Truly, therefore, that Law of truth is an example, for in the exemplar the blood of the Lamb is shed, in truth Christ is sacrificed. And so, it is necessary that the heavenly things themselves be purified with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter into holy places made by hands, the patterns of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. (Hebrews 9:23-24). But in order for us to know that the Lord Jesus gave a new law, you have him saying: 'I will give them a new testament', says the Lord. I will give my laws in their hearts, and I will write them in their minds, and I will not be mindful of their sins and injustices (Hebrews 10:16-17). So where forgiveness is, there is no longer an offering for sins. Therefore, it is evident that all truth is contained in the Gospel; for the law of God is written in the minds and hearts of men, not on stone tablets (so those who do not have the commandments of God in their hearts do not have the law), whether because it becomes old in the Jews or is renewed in us.


38. It is a shadow, not the truth; for when an offering is made for sins according to the Law, there is no forgiveness of sins. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). Therefore, that forgiveness was false until the truth of forgiveness came. What could be more clear than the statement of John the Evangelist, who said: 'For the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ' (John 1:17)? To contrast the law, he brought forth the truth. For when there is a conjunction, however, a disjunction must be understood to have been interposed; because if the truth had been in the law, it would not have been accomplished through Christ.

39. We can thus understand: Christ is the truth; therefore, truth is the law. And if the commandment of the Lord is the law, much more so is the living and active Word of God the law.

40. (Verse 143.) The seventh verse follows: Tribulation and necessity have found me: your commandment is my meditation. Tribulations and necessities seek the just, and sometimes find him, sometimes do not find him. He is found, to whom the crown is owed: he is not found, who is not proven suitable for the struggle. Therefore, tribulation is like a certain grace. Finally, Sacrifice is the spirit of God with tribulation (Psalm 50:19). Is not grace the one that works patience? Therefore, the one who knew the benefit of tribulation, when sought out from tribulation, was not avoided.

41. Wisdom says: Evil people will seek me, but they will not find me (Prov. 1:28); not because the Lord did not want to be found by humans, but because he offered himself to everyone, even those who did not seek him, so that they would be undeserving of seeking and finding him. However, Simeon, who was waiting for him, found him (Luke 2:25 et seq.). Andrew found him. Finally, he said to Simon: We have found the Messiah, which means Christ (John 1:41). Philip also said to Nathanael: We have found Jesus, the son of Joseph, who is from Nazareth, the one whom Moses wrote about in the Law and the prophets (John 1:45). And to show how Christ would be found, he said: Come and see (ibid., 46). Therefore, whoever seeks Christ, let them come not by the steps of the body, but by the traces of the mind: let them see him not with external eyes, but with internal ones. For the eternal is not seen by bodily appearances; for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Therefore, Christ is not temporal, but from the Father before time, as if God, the true Son of God, and as if eternal power above time, whom no end of time can contain: as if life above time, which no day of death can find; For he who died, died to sin once: but he who lives, lives to God (Rom. VI, 10).

42. Do you hear what the Apostle said today? He said, 'He has died once for sin.' Once Christ died for you, a sinner: do not sin again after baptism. He has died once for all, and he dies once for each individual, not frequently. You are a sinner, O man; therefore, Christ, his omnipotent Father, made himself sin. He made a man who would bear our sins. Therefore, the Lord Jesus died for my sin; so that we might be righteousness in Him (II Cor. V, 21). He died for me, so that he would rise for me. He died once, he rose once. And you, having died with him, buried with him, and raised with him in baptism, beware that once you have died, you do not die again. Now you will die not to sin, but to forgiveness: so that when you rise, you will not die again. For Christ, rising from the dead, does not die anymore, death no longer has dominion over him (Rom. VI, 9). So, did death have dominion over him? In that very thing which He [Christ] said, 'I shall not rule any longer,' He showed that He had ruled. O man, do not lose such a benefit. Christ subjected Himself to the rule of death for your sake, so that He might free you from the yoke of rule. He undertook the servitude of death, so that He might grant you the freedom of eternal life.

43. Therefore, whoever seeks Christ, also seeks his tribulation, and does not shy away from suffering. In fact, even David, who was worthy of being sought through tribulation, sought tribulation himself. For if he had not sought it, he would not have found it. But what he found, he himself testifies, saying: 'I found tribulation and sorrow, and I invoked the name of the Lord' (Psalm 114:3-4). And elsewhere: 'In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he answered me and set me free' (Psalm 118:5). Good, therefore, is the tribulation that makes us worthy, who are heard by the Lord in abundance. But it is grace to be heard by our Lord God.

44. Therefore, he who seeks tribulation does not avoid it; he who does not avoid it, is found. For he does not avoid it, who contemplates the commandments of God with his understanding and his actions. Indeed, those contests find that athlete who has been trained in the exercise. However, the one who has abandoned the exercise will without a doubt not be able to be found; he is unworthy to be sought after. Therefore, David, like a good athlete, says: Distress and need have found me; for they have always found me prepared, not avoiding the battles of needs and tribulations, but seeking them.


45. (Vers. 144.) It follows: Your testimonies are everlasting; give me understanding of them, and I shall live. Who is so great that he can understand the testimonies of the Lord? And therefore understanding must be sought from the Lord, whose power is so great; so that the beginning of understanding may be the fullness of virtue. Finally, it is written: But piety is the beginning of understanding in God (Prov. 1:7), which is the foundation of all virtues according to the discipline of human and heavenly things. Piety is a friend to God, pleasing to parents, appeases the Lord, fosters relationships, cultivates devotion to God, rewards parents, and is the support of children. Piety, I say, is the tribunal of the just, the refuge of the needy, the refuge of the wretched, and the forgiveness of sins.

46. The one who has understanding is truly pious; for he understands the slippery fragility of human nature, and quickly forgives the one who errs. He understands the common bond given to us by nature and the partnership of use; and therefore he pays to the poor as if it were a debt, not considering it as something undeserved. He understands the vicissitudes of calamities; and therefore, like a port of salvation in this world, he extends his humanity to those shipwrecked. This is the perfect virtue in humans, this is the complete praise in God.


Deservedly, Solomon also sought understanding for himself, following his father's example, and asked the Lord, saying: I am a humble child, and I do not know my entrance or my exit, and your servant is among your chosen people, a people as numerous as the sands of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their multitude. And you will give your servant a wise heart, to listen and judge your people with justice, and to discern between good and evil (III Kings 3:7-9). Whereas it pleased the Lord, because he did not desire a long life for himself, or the abundance of royal wealth, but rather wisdom to understand the Lord's judgments and justices; and thus he governed the people with a peaceful reign, because he did not presume to know, like Adam, the difference between good and evil; but he prayed to Christ to understand his grace. For what is it divine to know, that must be obtained from the Lord your God, so that you may understand. If Adam had asked, as David asked, he would by no means have fallen into the inescapable snares of error, by which his entire inheritance is being strangled. Therefore, he died, and what is more serious, the death of sin; because he first seized upon the knowledge, before receiving the understanding by which he could be made alive.

Therefore, the intellect is enlivened like the Spirit; for it is the very grace of the spiritual intellect, and therefore the Holy Spirit operates through its gift. Moreover, the good intellect is for all those who make use of it (Psal. CX, 10); by this we are taught that we must not only comprehend with our senses, but also carry out in action what we understand.

Sermon 19. Koph.

The 19th letter is Koph, whose interpretation is Conclusion; and as we have found elsewhere, Look. The letter differs, but the meaning is congruent. For the one who concludes should look around and not ignore the cause of danger, especially when it is a deadly dilemma. Each person concludes with swelling viscera and internal throat, when the passage of breath is blocked, the functions of breathing and respiration are forced. A woman is concluded when she has a retrograde flow of the uterus, by which the main part of her chest is pressed; hence serious narrowness arises, and unless that chamber for receiving the seeds is restored to its proper place, it is accustomed to exclude life. In the same way, one who is distressed in mind, and is tormented by certain impending dangers, is said to be concluded in no lesser narrowness of the mind than of the body. For the passions and heat of souls are greater than those of bodies.


Therefore, enclosed by a swelling of the intestines, he seeks a doctor; so that he may be able to ward off danger and relieve the tightness. The approaching doctor tries everything, explores the inner parts. And so, you enclosed in the fervor of the soul, look at yourself with an inner eye. The force of illness presses, a harmful conscience burns, the weight of sins oppresses, the narrowness of the mind intercepts sensation: know yourself, and seek the medicine of prayer: ask for that doctor to come who descends from heaven, who seeks the most the sick, as he himself says: It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick (Matthew 9:12). Do you have wounds? Do not delay: there is no finding of healing with him. Do you have sores? Do not be afraid: he is accustomed to cure with a word, not with a sword. Therefore, look with those eyes, with which David sought and deserved help. I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, he says: I sought from where help would come to me (Psal. CXX, 1 and 2). I found nothing except from the Lord; for he who created the world takes care of the inhabitants of the world. Therefore, look and always look; because the eyes of the righteous are always towards the Lord.


This also reminds you of Jeremiah in Lamentations itself, saying to Jerusalem: Arise and wake up in the night, at the beginning of your watch, pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up your hands to the Lord for the souls of your little ones, who faint from hunger in the streets of all the roads (Lam. II, 19). Does it not also openly indicate the narrowness of the conclusion, and advise that with the intention of the heart, in which the eye of better insight is, you provide a healing remedy for yourself? Finally, even below, again under this letter it says: For our time has come, our days are filled, our end has arrived. Those who persecuted us have become light, above the eagles of the sky. They were set on fire in the mountains; in the desert they laid traps for us (Lamentations IV, 18 and 19).

4. He demonstrated the utmost conclusion, and no remedy except in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone can bring medicine to the desperate. And as if showing Him, he says: The Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord was captured in our destruction.... In His shadow we will live among the nations (Ibid., 20) . And further: You will drink, He says, and you will become drunk (Ibid., 21) . Still: He will visit your iniquities, He will reveal your sins (Ibid., 22) . He expressed His coming and passion briefly, and the forgiveness of all sins: He declared openly the future gathering of the Gentiles! Hence that Apostolic saying: Because blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles enter in, and so all Israel shall be saved (Rom. XI, 25 and 26).

5. Come, Lord Jesus: but now not in shadow, but in the sun of righteousness. If shadow helped, if the shadow of your passion protected, if the shadow of your body saved; how much will the open brightness of virtue contribute? Through shadow leprosy was cured (Matthew VIII, 3); through the shadow also of that woman who touched the fringe of the Lord's garment, the flow of blood stopped (Luke VIII, 44): through the shadow we saw you, when you had neither form nor beauty. Your shadow was flesh, which cooled the heat of our desires, which restrained the fires of lust, which tempered the flames of greed and various passions. And what shall I say about the shadow of the Lord, when even the shadow of the apostles healed (Acts 5:15)? For when Peter came, each person brought their sick, whom the passing shadow of the apostles restored to health.

6. Hear, for the flesh of the Lord was a shadow: Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and will come to Egypt (Isaiah 19:1). And David says: Protect me under the shadow of your wings (Psalm 17:8). Therefore, he became a shadow emptied for us, whom the sun of iniquity had burned. We saw him in the shadow when faith first advanced. But now he illuminates the whole world: and yet we still see him through the shadow of his body, which is the Church, not yet face to face; for the eyes of the body are unable to receive the brightness of divinity. This shadow also protects the entire world every day. Therefore, the conclusion is beneficial; For God has concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy upon all (Rom. XI, 32). But now let us consider what should be said in the conclusion, and where to begin.

7. (Verse 145.) I cried out with my whole heart, hear me, O Lord: I will seek your justifications. When we suffer bodily afflictions, we are accustomed to cry out, so that we may be able to call others to our aid. The holy Prophet was oppressed, with persecutors approaching him. Saul first, being hostile, pursued him with an armed army: afterwards, his son, a parricide, threatened him, not content with the exile of the fleeing man, he sought to take away his father's life. But he could endure less from those whom he saw in the present, than from those whom he did not see; for it is a struggle for the saints not only against flesh and blood, but also against the principalities and powers of this world, and the rulers of darkness, who lie in ambush in the night of this age like robbers, plotting against human desires. Therefore, when the holy David saw that heavy attacks were being made against him, he cried out with all his heart. For indeed, against the devil, one must not rely on the magnitude of the voice, but on the magnanimity of the heart.

8. However, there is also the voice of the heart; for there is also the voice of the blood, which reaches God. In fact, God says: 'The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the earth' (Gen. IV, 10). Therefore, our heart cries out not with the sound of the body, but with the sublimity of thoughts and the harmony of virtues. It is a great cry of faith. Furthermore, we cry out in the spirit of adoption, 'Abba, Father,' and the Spirit of God himself cries out within us. It is a great voice of justice, a great voice of purity, through which even the dead speak; and not only do they speak, but they also cry out like Abel. But truly, the unjust soul does not cry out while alive; for it is dead to God. There is nothing sublime, nothing magnificent in it: like those whose sound went forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Moses spoke with a weak voice, yet he was heard more than all others. It is heard every day in the Church: it is not heard by those alone, that is, the Jews, who have ears to hear but do not hear. It is said to the prophet: Lift up your voice with strength (Isaiah 58:1).


9. However, Anna did not cry out in her heart (1 Samuel 1:13), like Moses, but spoke: perhaps because she was asking for children, that is, good things indeed, but personal, not public, she did not cry out. But because she was asking from the Lord, since she offered to the Lord whoever she would receive, she spoke to God: but Moses cried out; because he prayed not for himself, but for the whole people. Hence it was said to him by the Lord: Why do you cry out (Exodus 14:15)? He cried out with devout affection and deep feeling, and, calling out in heaven, he sought worthy miracles from the celestial beings: that he might change the elements of the world.

10. Finally, let us recount the series of events at that place: Pharaoh was pressing hard, surrounded by countless chariots, and pressing on the Hebrews; on one side the enemy, surrounding them, and on the other side the sea, closing in on the people of God. There was no trust in weapons, no hope in strength. Only a pitiful lamentation resounded, expressing that it would be more advantageous for them to endure the heavy burdens of slavery in Egypt than to be consumed by a bitter death in the desert. This lamentation offered no defense, but caused great offense. So Moses stood there, sad, worried, anxious for the people and the dangers and complaints, waiting for the faith of the heavenly promises; and silently he pondered within himself by what means the Lord, forgetful of the wrongs, mindful of the grace, would come to his aid. The Lord said to him: Why do you cry out to me? I do not hear his sound, I recognize his voice: I read his silence, I perceive his outcry in his actions. The people cried out, and were not heard: Moses kept silent, and was heard. It was not said to the people: Why do you cry out to me? For the people were not crying out to God, who cried out against injustice and indignation. But it was said to Moses: Why do you cry out to me? That is: You alone cry out to me, who hope in me; you alone cry out to me, who stir up my power; you alone cry out to me, who await the proclamation of my name throughout the whole earth.

11. Therefore Moses cried out in his heart, and every wise person cries out in his heart. Finally, wisdom with the highest proclamation calls to the chalice, saying: Leave behind foolishness...and seek wisdom (Prov. 9:6). This proclamation is of great sublimity, of a great voice, which promises wisdom to the foolish. And the Lord Jesus cried out: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and let him drink (John 7:37). And truly, He cried out greatly, who called people to the kingdom of heaven, to that venerable drink by which the waves of eternal life are poured forth. And when you pray, pray with great prayers, that is, prayers that are eternal, not temporary. Pray with prayers that are divine and heavenly, so that you may be like angels in heaven. Do not pray for money, because it is rust; do not pray for gold, because it is metal; do not pray for possessions, because they are earthly; this prayer does not reach the Lord. God does not listen unless it deems worthy of His blessings; but He listens to a pious voice, full of devotion and gratitude.


12. Therefore, not only must one cry out in the heart, but one must also cry out with the whole heart. Just as it is properly cried out with the body when it is cried out with the whole mouth, so it must be cried out spiritually with the whole heart if we want to achieve great things and obtain from the Lord what we ask for. The Lord demanded this voice from the people, which the people did not know. Therefore, the Lord said: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29:13). Therefore, whoever approaches with a sincere heart, he is heard by the Lord. Therefore, let the heart first cry out, so that the word can be heard.

13. But it is not enough to cry out to the Lord, but also to seek His justice. And he seeks justice who ascribes to divine providence that which is just in all creatures, especially in rational, and even irrational, beings. Hence, the turtle dove's zeal for chastity, which, having lost its partner, does not know how to engage in intercourse: which humans cannot preserve? Hence, for many animals, such a sober care for the preservation of offspring; so that once they recognize the gift of conception, they do not think that copulation should be repeated; lest there be an adulterous mixing of received seeds. The phoenix is unaware of carnal intercourse, it does not know the allure of desire, but it rises from its own ashes: a bird surviving itself, both the heir of its body and the offspring of its ashes. The eagle, lest it nourish degenerate offspring, carefully weighs them in its examination: and it delicately suspends the tender offspring with its pious talon, and offers them to the sun's rays alone; so that if by chance the brightness of the sun's rays should bend their eyes towards it, it may drop them, as though degenerate, with an opened talon into the abyss: but if they are able to withstand the constant gaze of the sun's rays and assert the vigor of true nature, it may bring back the worthy offspring with a grateful burden.


14. The birds of the sky do not sow, nor do they reap, and God feeds them; for they keep the justice of the Lord, not claiming anything for themselves by avenging, but are content to alleviate hunger with the fruit-bearing wood, which is given as common food by the judgment of the Lord. Therefore, from these things we understand how the assistance of divine providence would not be lacking to humans, if we were willing to keep the justice of God. He who feeds the birds would not also feed humans, whom he made in his image and likeness? Are we not worth more than them? We are of greater value by the prerogative of nature, but inferior in the grace of devotion and the injustice of transgression.

15. (Verse 146.) The second verse follows: I have called upon you, save me: and I will keep your commandments. He repeats what he cried out to the Lord, and promises himself as the guardian of the heavenly statutes which the Lord God has sanctioned by the testaments of heaven and earth, so that the transgressors may be convicted by the testimonies of the elements. How can they behold heaven as the conscious witness of their transgression? How can they expect fruits from the earth which knows the ungrateful? Therefore, consider how great promises the Prophet makes. In clamando fidelis et promptus affectus exprimitur: in custodiendo testimonia, continentiae virtus, obsequii sedulitas declaratur.

16. (Verse 147) Here follows the third verse: I anticipated in maturity and cried out: I hoped in your words. The Greek ἐν ἀωρίᾳ said, which means, before the hour, pre-temporal. Therefore, whoever prays to the Lord, should not wait for specific prescribed times, not knowing that time exists in the prayers of the Lord, but should always be in them. Whether we eat or drink, let us proclaim Christ, let us ask Christ, let us think of Christ, let us speak of Christ: let Christ always be in our heart, always on our lips.


17. But perhaps you may say: How is it written, Time is for all, and a time for every matter under heaven? (Ecclesiastes III, 1) But the Lord Jesus is above heaven, not bound by any time. Let him shut his mouth, the Arian heretic. Time, he says, is for every matter under heaven: how much more is time under God, not above God? The generation from the Father has no time; for there is no work before the author, but the author is above the beginning of the work. Perhaps they may object because he said: My time has not yet come (John VII, 6). And again he said: Father, the hour is come (John XVII, 1). But this hour is the hour of passion. It is also the time of the virginal conception: Behold, a virgin shall conceive in her womb (Isaiah VII, 14): because the virgin conceived in due time, and therefore in the prescribed age.

18. Therefore, whoever asks, let him always ask; and if he does not always pray, let him always have the disposition of one praying. The Lord Jesus spent the night in prayer (Luke 6:12), not needing the help of prayer, but setting an example of imitation for you. He spent the night praying for you, so that you would learn how to pray for yourself. Therefore, repay him for what he brought to you. Listen to the prophet saying above: At midnight, I rise to praise you (Sermon 8, verse 63). And you, rise up in the middle of the night, if you are not able to watch all night long; so that while you pray at night, the splendor of the true sun may illuminate your heart; for every soul that thinks of Christ is always in light: the day shines, Christ always breathes upon you. But since the following verse clearly expresses the time of prayer, in this verse I think it is more about the actions and works to be understood, rather than the time of prayer.

19. Whoever in youth assumes the gravity of old age hastens to the maturity of life, and governs his youthful years with a certain veteran self-restraint, and adjusts the ardor of his vigorous body with the mature character of gray hairs. For what praise can he have if he turns his exhausted body, cooled by the icy chill of old age, to the late duties of devotion, having already laid aside his former vigor? There is no crown unless there has been a struggle in a more difficult contest: to which only a few can attain, not all who have entered the stadium. He is praiseworthy, who before the contest is within himself, who restrains his reluctant flesh with the power of his mind, disciplines it with frugal parsimony, and reduces it to servitude; lest it indulge in unrestrained freedom and break the reins of the governing soul with unbridled and burning desire. Therefore, he is an old man in his hour, if he exercises the duties of sober maturity: a young man surpassing his hour, if he compresses the incentives of pleasure with the weight of old age, and extinguishes the allurements of fervent desire: For the Lord is good to those who wait for Him, as Jeremiah says (Lamentations 3:25). And it is good for a man who has borne the heavy yoke from youth: he shall sit alone, and be silent; because he has borne the yoke of the word (Ibid. 27). For whoever has borne the yoke from youth, and willingly subjected the more tender necks of mature moderation to the reins, shall sit alone, removed from the clamor of interrupting passions, and shall be silent: it shall no longer be necessary for him to quarrel with the body, to contend with various desires; for he has borne the yoke of the word, the soul that seeks God, which has made all the pleasures of youth captive to itself. And perhaps this saying of the Lord can also refer not only to the silence of defense, the contempt of absolution, and the endurance of suffering, but also to the suppression of all bodily pleasures. Hence it is written elsewhere: 'He committed no sin' (1 Peter 2:22). Therefore, he rightly remained silent, though facing the danger of death, because he did not fear the sting of death.


20. 'In verba, inquit, tua speravi.' The Greek said, 'I have hoped in what you have said,' which is to always increase in hope and to join hope with hope. The righteous always hopes, and in adversity and frequent afflictions, he does not know how to despair. But the more he has endured heavier things, the more he hopes and takes progress in hoping, according to that oracle: 'Comfort, comfort my people,' says the Lord. 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and console her; for her humiliation is complete, and her sin is forgiven, for she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.' (Isaiah LX, 1 and 2). How quickly he said that the fullness of dejection is the remedy for sin, and he repeated that the cause of consolation is even greater than the sign of reconciliation, to the extent that the punishment is more numerous than the fault.

Job, burdened by many afflictions and bitterness, filled his pious hope with affection, asserting a distinct cause for the impious from the pious, whose light will be extinguished (Job. XVIII, 5). But according to Solomon, light is always for the righteous (Prov. XIII, 9). From this it is gathered that the righteous always hope in the words of God, and add hope to hope. This is expressed more clearly by Isaiah, saying: Expect tribulation upon tribulation, hope upon hope (Isa. XXVIII, 10). He spoke of those who had been nourished and carried away from the breasts, that is, those who had already passed the first nourishment of infancy and were now ready for stronger food. Let there be an example in that Isaac, having been weaned, became so great a patriarch; that even though he was still in the early stages of his life, he did not shrink from wielding the sword of his father, who was about to sacrifice him (Gen. 22:10). Abraham had many sons, but he weaned none of them; however, it is recorded that he prepared a great feast in celebration of this weaning (Gen. 21:8). And well did Scripture say that a great feast was prepared, for it was a type of that which the hearts of the saints always feast upon.

(22. Vers. 148.) The fourth verse follows: My eyes anticipated the morning to meditate on your words. On top of that (verse 147) it says: I anticipated at the dawn, which means before the hours, before the time; here it says, in the morning: signifying another time for praying and singing to the Lord; so that may be the first, according to what it says: At midnight I rise (Sermon 8, verse 63); but in accordance with that: I anticipated the rising sun; for it is burdensome if, while you are idle on your bed, the ray of the rising sun should come upon you with unabashed impudence, and the bright light should strike your eyes still weighed down with drowsiness. He accuses us of having passed such a great amount of time on a holiday night without any act of devotion or spiritual sacrifice. Do you not know, O man, that you owe God the first fruits of your heart and voice every day? Your harvest is daily, and your fruit is daily. Therefore, go out to meet the rising sun, so that it may find you already prepared; lest the brilliance of the first day, awakening, raises your eyes, still immersed in damp sleep.

23. In my bed, in the nights, the Church says that she sought the one whom her soul loves (Song of Songs 3:1). Therefore, she deserved to find Him, to merit His grace; because she sought Him even in her bed, sought Him in the nights. Therefore, having obtained His abundance, she speaks to the Bridegroom in the subsequent verses: Come, my brother, let us go out to the field, let us rest in the villages, let us rise up early to the vineyards (Song of Songs 7:11). Notice how the Bride invites the Word of God; that He would come to the earth and take away the sins of the world. This field was previously deserted, squalid with the thorns of our sins, and horribly prickly. There was a castle, in which the exiled Adam forever bound the heirs of his progeny to exile. Therefore, the Church leads Christ to that place in order to free Adam. Then, with the exiles absolved, the field of this world began to have suitable cultivators: and he who was previously barren became fruitful through the planting of the eternal vine. Yet, it does not rejoice solely in spiritual branches: but it calls Christ to these vineyards, where there may be psalm-singing and prayer, where the harmless fruit may persist both day and night.


There, he said, I will give you my breasts, the mandrakes have given off their odor. Many people distinguish a certain difference in the sex of mandrakes; they think that they can be both male and female, but the females have a strong odor. Therefore, it signifies that the nations, which used to be weak and crippled by a certain infirmity of treachery, began to bear the fruit of good odor after they believed in the coming of the Lord. We also read that the holy Rachel received mandrakes from her sister Leah, so that she would let her sleep with the holy Jacob that night. Ruben, the firstborn son of Lia, brought Mandrakes to his mother. Lia, whose eyes were dim, received the figure of the Synagogue; for she could not see the grace of Christ with her dull and weak sight. By this, it is shown that the fruits which the firstborn Son of God had received before the Synagogue, he granted to the Church. But because Lia, in the embrace of that night, bore the heir of her posterity, she fulfilled the mystery, since, by the belief of the apostles, the remnant of the Jews was saved by the election of grace.


25. Therefore, as the Church says: 'I have kept both new and old things for you, my brother,' (Song of Songs 7:13). Who will give you as a brother the breast of my mother? Finding you outside, I will kiss you, and indeed they will not reject me. I will take you and bring you into the house of my mother, and into the secret place of her who conceived me; there you will teach me' (Song of Songs 8:1-2). Therefore, having knowledge of the new and old Scriptures and considering himself not insignificant, he not only holds the Word in the prayers of his heart in secret, but also embraces it with the singing voices of the choir, as it were with the kisses of grace.


Therefore, the Bridegroom, supported by the holy souls of praising congregations, awakens Christ with the applause of various and innumerable fruits, and especially with the fragrances of faith, grace, wisdom, and glory, supported by the riches of eternal life, which are to the left and right of the Bridegroom. He says, 'I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, not to arouse or awaken love until it pleases.' (Ibid. 4)


27. Hence the daughters of Jerusalem, the holy souls of the patriarchs and prophets, the ancients and the celestial powers, marvel at her, saying: Who is this that ascends, adorned in white, leaning upon her beloved brother? (Ibid., 5). This means that the Church shines brightly in such solemnities and that which was dark before in the daytime, now glows in the night and shines forth.

28. The Lord Himself, delighted by such a great gift of psalmody, says: 'Place me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, and jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it' (Song of Solomon 8:6-7). Because He has seen such devotion in the Church, He deems the people worthy who can carry His seal in their hearts and on their arms. For the Father himself has marked God with a sign; and he who has received his testimony has also been marked, because God is true. And therefore those who work for eternal life have been marked in the image and likeness of Christ, who is the invisible image of God. Therefore, just as God is true, you also sign the truth in your thoughts and actions, so that your mouth does not speak falsehood and your hands do not perform the works of men, which belong to this deceitful world, but rather the works of God; so that you may give generously to the poor, support the weak, and honor the dead with proper burial. In His works, charity is sought, so that no one can be separated from Christ or be in danger of death. Hence He says: Who will separate us from Christ? Tribulation or distress . . . or persecution (Rom. VIII, 35) ? And further: For I am confident that neither death, nor life, nor angels (Ibid., 38) .

In this form, zeal is also a hard charity, and its wings, the wings of fire. It has wings like a dove; for the feathers of the dove are silvered, with which he flies who loves, saying: Behold, I have fled far away, and have remained in solitude (Psalm 54:8): but the wings of charity, the wings of fire, with which the ardor of love is inflamed. With this fervent vapor, the Lord made his angels spirits, and his ministers a burning fire, but not consuming. We read about the pinnacle of the temple, upon which the devil tempted the Savior to ascend (Matt. IV, 5). Therefore, there are the heights of the wing, there are the peaks of charity, which are accustomed to kindle the vapor of grace in human hearts; so that much water cannot extinguish or exclude charity, and no rivers of worldly storms can contain it.

30. Therefore, since the grace of the Church and the rewards of devotion invite us so strongly, let us anticipate the rising sun, let us hasten to meet its dawning before it says, 'Here I am' (Isaiah 58:9). The Sun of Justice desires to be anticipated, and in order to be anticipated, it waits. Hear how it waits and desires to be anticipated: To the angel of the Church in Pergamum He says... Repent, otherwise I will come to you quickly (Revelation 2:12, 16). To the angel of the Laodicean Church He says... . . . Therefore, strive and repent: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; and if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him (Rev. III, 14, 19 and 20). He could enter: indeed, not even the closed valves and bolts of the resurrected body could hold him back; suddenly he poured himself into the apostolic chambers (John XX, 19): but he desires to experience the zeal of your devotion; he already had approved apostles. Perhaps, in persecution it comes first: where there is tranquility, it desires to come first. Certainly come first this sun that you see. Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead; so that Christ may shine upon you (Ephes. XV, 14). If you come first to this sun before it rises, you will see Christ illuminating. He himself first shines in the secret of your heart: he himself says to you: My spirit keeps watch for you from the night (Esai. XXVI, 9), it will make the morning light shine in the nighttime, if you contemplate the words of God. For when you meditate, there is light: and seeing the light not of time, but of grace, you will say that the Light is your precepts. But when the divine words find you meditating, and the pleasant work of prayer and singing delights your mind, you will again say to the Lord Jesus: In the morning you will delight in outcomes, and in the evening (Psalm 64:9).

31. But if the Jewish people, under the leadership of Moses, use the Scriptures every day among their elders, who have been chosen for this duty, without ceasing day and night: and if you ask anything else of the elder, he knows nothing except the series of divine Scriptures (Exodus 18:14ff). Conversation about the world is absent there, only the Scriptures are discussed, each one taking his turn to read aloud. Lest that sacred sound of heavenly commands be neglected. And you, Christian, are you sleeping, with Christ as your teacher? And do you not fear that it might be said of you: This people honors me with their lips? Jew or Greek, but not of lips. If someone honors with lips, their heart is far from God: how can your heart be near, if you do not even honor with lips? How long will sleep hold you, how long will worldly things hold you, how long will the worries of this life, how long will earthly things?

32. Divide your time between God and the world: even when you cannot engage in the affairs of this world in public, and darkness prevents the night, devote yourself to God with prayers; and lest you fall asleep, sing psalms: cheat your sleep with good intention. Hasten in the morning and bring the firstfruits of your pious vow to the Church; and afterwards, if secular necessity calls, do not hesitate to say: In the morning my eyes anticipate you, meditating on your words: you will proceed confidently to your tasks. How delightful to begin with hymns and songs, about the blessings that you read in the Gospel (Matthew 5)! How fortunate that the word of Christ blesses you, and while you sing the blessings of the Lord, you take up the study of some virtue; so that you may also recognize the merit of divine blessing in yourself.

33. (Verse 149.) The fifth verse follows: Hear my voice according to your mercy, O Lord, and revive me according to your judgment. Always, even if a person is holy and just, he must pray; so that the Lord may hear him according to his mercy and not according to the merits of any virtue; because virtue is rare, but sins are many; and according to his judgment, so that he may help the weak. And especially we must pray when we are pressed by adversity with some. Hence, not in vain is the divine plea for mercy preceded by Saint David.

34. (Verse 150.) For it follows: They come near who persecute me unjustly: but they have moved far away from your law. The Greek version puts it thus: They come near who persecute me with wickedness, that is, those who persecute me with wickedness. The more they come near to me, the more they separate themselves from your law; for one who persecutes his brother is separated from the law. For the law says: You shall love the Lord your God . . . Love your neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:5). Therefore, do not hate your brother, lest it be said to you: If you do not love your brother whom you see, how can you love God whom you do not see (1 John 4:20)? Do you not know that your brother is the price of the blood of Christ? Therefore, if you do not love your brother, you do not love the price of Christ.

So the persecutor approaches me to do harm: but he separates himself from the law; for what part of justice is there with injustice? But he who separates himself from the law of God separates himself from eternal life; for the law is life. Finally, the Prophet, showing the law of God, says: Behold, this is life, because he who does what the laws are, will live by them (Leviticus 18:5): which certainly belongs to the spiritual law. And perhaps he who approaches me to harm me, while he separates himself from the law, separates himself from Christ; for Christ is life. But if I were to adhere to Christ, He does not approach me; for even if He has power over my body, He cannot harm my soul. Indeed, how far separated the persecutors of the martyrs are from their merits!

36. (Verse 151.) But perhaps you may say: How do the saints cling to God? And for this reason it follows: You are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are truth. The Lord is near to all, who is everywhere present: we cannot flee from Him if we offend Him, nor deceive Him if we sin, nor lose Him if we worship Him. God sees all things, sees everything, attends to each individual, saying: I am a God who is near (Jeremiah 23:23)? And how can God be absent anywhere, when you read about the Spirit of God: The Spirit of the Lord fills the earth (Wisdom 1:7)? For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the Lord God. I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:24). So where is the lack of the one who fills all things? Or how can we all receive from his fullness, unless he draw near to everyone?

Finally, David, knowing that He is everywhere and fills the heaven, and the earth, and the seas, says: Where shall I go from Your Spirit, and where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me (Psalm 139:7-10). As soon as he has signified that God is everywhere, and where God is, there His Spirit is present, and wherever the Spirit of God is, there God is. In what place the indivisible connection of the Trinity is expressed. For indeed, the Son of God spoke these words through the mouth of the Prophet, speaking in the person of a man, who descended to the earth through the Incarnation, ascended to heaven through the Resurrection, and penetrated into hell through the death of the body, in order to release those who were bound. Or if you refer to the Prophet, you are informed that it is expressly stated that Christ, the Son of God, is present wherever the hand and right hand of God are, where God the Father is, and the Holy Spirit of God.


38. But when can we doubt about the sun, which, as the day progresses, spreads its rays throughout the world and bestows light upon all, even those who cannot see? Yet they feel its presence by the warmth of the air. For where is the heat of the sun lacking? Where do its rays not reach, as they illuminate the earth after the darkness of night or the obscurity of clouds? It shines in the sky, glistens on the sea, and burns on the land. Therefore, you do not doubt about the sun, because it shines everywhere. Do you doubt about God, who shines the splendor of his glory and the image of his essence everywhere? What does not the Word of God penetrate, eternal splendor, which also illuminates the hidden depths of the mind, which the sun cannot penetrate; For the Word of God is a spiritual sword, reaching even to the divisions of the soul, and of the joints, and of the marrow. Of which, the righteous Simeon says to Mary: And your own soul a sword shall pierce, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke II, 35).

Therefore, it penetrates the soul and, like the radiance of eternal light, illuminates. But even though it diffuses through all, and in all, and surpasses all powers; because it is born of the Virgin for all, both good and evil (just as the sun rises on the good and evil), it nourishes those who draw near to it. Just as one excludes the radiance of the sun by closing the windows of their house and chooses a dark place to dwell in, so too, the one who turns away from the sun of righteousness cannot see its splendor: they walk in darkness, and in the light of all, they themselves are the cause of their blindness. Open, therefore, your windows to let the whole house shine with the true brightness of the sun: open your eyes, to see the rising sun of justice for yourself. But beware that no straw or splinter disturbs them. If there is any dirt in the eye of your mind, you will not be able to see: if there is any sickness, it will weigh you down even more; the light strikes the confused gaze of the eyes and causes greater pain. Therefore, let your eye be simple; lest your whole body becomes dark, and stagger in the light, like the footsteps of blind people.


40. If someone closes the doors of their house, is it the fault of the sun that it does not illuminate their house? Therefore, if someone considers their own mind to be locked by the bars of their sins, and foolishly turns away from the splendor of the Word, and brings upon themselves the darkness of foolishness, can they blame the sun of justice for not entering, or accuse the weakness of celestial light? The Word of God knocks at your door. 'If anyone opens to me,' He says, 'I will come in' (Apocalypse 3:20). If someone, therefore, does not open, is it not the fault of the one who does not enter, and even more so of the one who does not open? Certainly, nothing is hidden from God, nothing is closed to eternal light. But He refuses to open the gates of evil, He does not want to enter the chambers of wickedness.

41. But when the strength of our soul withdraws from the decaying portion of the body, can any member of the corrupt soul have the privilege of feeling its grace? However, the strength of the soul is diffused throughout the whole body, whether the hand, foot, or finger participates in sensation: can the wisdom of God be absent in one place and his majesty in another? Certainly, he does not detain those who flee or force those who are unwilling, but he does not disdain those who approach him. Indeed, his power, his Word, is near to everyone: for in him all things consist, and he is the head of the body, the Church, in whom all the fullness dwells. But he separates most people from himself because of their sins, of which it is said: Behold those who distance themselves from you, shall perish (Psalm 72:27). Therefore the holy Prophet says: It is good for me to cling to God (ibid., 28). And the Apostle, showing that God is not far from each of us, says: In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27-28). For he supplies the vital grace to everyone, and is present to all with the gift of his great goodness, but he is closer to those who have a contrite heart.


42. Which also the old history teaches in enigmas. Moses was on the top of Mount Sinai, and he was alone: the people were in the valley, at the bottom of the mountain: the elders were on the side of the mountain above the merits of the people, but separated by a great distance from the merits of Moses (Exod. XIX, 20 et seq.). Not all on the top, nor all on the bottom, but the people: Moses alone on the top of Mount Sinai, which in the Latin interpretation is called temptation. And if you ascend above the temptations, and with a contrite heart offer prayer, you will be near to God: if you are pure in heart, you will see God; Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God (Matth V, 8).


43. Therefore, he who is close to God says: You are near, Lord, and all your commandments are true. The Jew cannot say this, for he does not accept the Lord Jesus; he has separated himself and believes not in truth but in shadow. How can he say: Your commandments are true, when grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, and he does not recognize him who, in truth and fullness, redeemed the whole world through his circumcision?

Verse 44 (Line 152): The eighth verse is: In the beginning, I became aware of your testimonies; because you have established them forever. Concerning your testimonies, he said, I have taken knowledge and faith from the beginning, because they are founded forever; for testimony is faithful and it imparts wisdom to the little ones. If Adam and Eve had known that more cautious precepts had been given to them as if to little children, so that they would not arrogate to themselves the knowledge of good and evil, which they could not define with proper discernment, they could have claimed perpetual habitation in paradise. If people consider that the blood of a man cries out to God, they will abstain from taking the lives of men with their own hands. If they keep the commandments that the Lord gave in the presence of heaven and earth, saying: Hear, O heaven, and listen, O earth (Isaiah 1:2): knowing that whatever wrongdoing they have committed, they have done against the law of the Lord, they will be accused by the testimonies of the angels and Powers, and also by the testimonies of the holy men. Above these testimonies, they will establish a foundation for themselves, because they are eternal and everlasting. And so let us build our work upon the foundation of heavenly testimonies; that it may not burn like wood or straw - but may be tested like gold; that it may remain forever anchored to its foundation.

Sermon 20. Resch.

Letter twenty begins. It is called 'head' in the Latin interpretation, or 'first place'. The head is where we consider the form of the human race, which nourishes and directs all the limbs and fills them with senses. For the senses of a wise person are in their head. From there, the veins are led, and the pathways of the breath, and the strength of the blood are derived to all parts of the body. It illuminates and adorns everything. Without the head, the body is without a name, not recognized, and there remains no use for living. Therefore, those who are condemned for some crime are deprived of their heads, since it is the ornament of the whole body. And because they are discovered to have committed the pollution of beastly filth or the horror of bestial savagery, through a shameful or wicked offense, they are ordered to strip themselves of the form of human condition, as though they have fallen from the intended moderation of humanity. For with the head cut off, the remaining trunk of the body is compared to the body of beasts and is deprived of the fortress of wisdom, for it could not hold onto reason. Therefore, the body is buried without its adornment; for in the head lies the vigor of life, in the head lies the grace of beauty.

The snake is said to always hide its head when it is in danger, and it coils up into a circle, exposing only a small part of its body, in order to protect itself; it is able to regenerate any injured body parts, as long as its head remains unharmed. You too should morally protect your head, and by protecting it, you will also protect it mystically. The mystical head is Christ; because all things consist in Him, and He is the head of the body, the Church (Colossians 1:17-18). Whoever loses this head will not be able to have the use of life. We only differ from animals by being formed in the image of God and the likeness of virtues. Faith separates us from the comparison of irrational animals. Preserve this head, humans; even if all the limbs are cut off, the whole body is burned by fire, submerged in the deep, disemboweled by animals, with this head preserved, life is intact, safety is secure; for no one can perish to whom Christ has not been taken away.


3. And it is the head and highest point of our study and work, the highest business, the highest hope, the highest virtues. But the highest of all is the sum of our study; that we may be humble, follow the truth, which the proud do not see, being vainly puffed up by their own fleshly mind, and not holding the head (Colossians 2:18-19). He clearly expressed what this head is, saying: From which all the body, by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God (Ibid., 19). And in the book of Isaiah the Lord says through the Prophet: I will take away from Judah the head and the tail, the beginning and the end (Isaiah IX, 14). This head of Judah, which it held, it lost, because it did not receive the Lord Jesus. Where there is faith, we have both the beginning and the end. Where there is perfidy, there is neither beginning nor end. The Church has a beginning because it has Christ; for Christ is the beginning of the Church, the firstborn from the dead. He also has an end; for he is the first and the last. He is the end of the Law for righteousness to every believer. The Synagogue has neither beginning nor end; because it neither finds in the beginning what it should follow, nor in the end what it should hope for. Therefore, the proud head does not grasp, that is, the humility of Christ by which he descended even to the cross, descended even to the underworld. Therefore, the Jew did not believe; because he despised him who said: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29) . This humility is the head of all virtues, which nourishes the whole body of our actions as if it were its own.


Although someone may be weak, poor, and of low birth, if they do not boast and exalt themselves, they commend themselves through their humility. Suppose someone is very wealthy and noble, but if they flaunt their noble lineage and wealth, their arrogance makes them despicable. Suppose someone is eloquent and strong, and they become excessively proud of their eloquence and virtue: is it not often the case that due to their lack of modesty, they are surpassed by someone foolish and weak? Finally, the Pharisee in the Gospel, although he was abstemious and frugal with the belongings of others, was generous with his own and not averse to fasting, as he claimed. However, because of his boasting, even the things he could have had, he lost (Luke 18:10-14). None of the many virtues he possessed could benefit him because of one vice. On the other hand, the tax collector, who couldn't list anything that could be approved, was justified because of his humility and descended from the temple more justified than that Pharisee, as it is written in the Prophet: 'He will save those of humble spirit' (Psalm 34:19).


5. However, that this is the head which this letter signifies, we are also taught clearly in the Lamentations of Jeremiah. For the Prophet says, having mentioned this letter first: Christ the Lord is the spirit before our face... Under his shadow we shall live among the nations (Lam. 4:20). Therefore, this is truly the head, which is the head of all.

6. We have spoken about the head, let us also speak about the primacy, which may differ in language and letter but converges in the same understanding. For we read about primacy in the Old Testament (Gen. 25:33), which Esau, the brother, surrendered to his brother Jacob; and that is why his name was called Edom, which means earthly and cunning. These are the brothers whom the Lord asked of Isaac their father, in order to give him heirs of his posterity from his wife Rebecca, who had not borne any emblem of offspring for twenty years. He heard him, and Rebecca conceived, and she asked the Lord, when the children seemed to struggle in her womb, and she received this answer: Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from your womb, and one people will surpass the other, and the older will serve the younger (Ibid., 23). Is not the mystery revealed, that two peoples are signified, namely, the older people of the Jews, and the younger Christian people, who, because of the privilege of the firstborn, received the birthright of the elder? From this evidence it is clearly expressed that the earthly people, due to intemperance of gluttony, lost the primacy they had: but the people of the Church, through sobriety and self-restraint, snatched the primacy that they did not have in terms of age, by brotherly concession, and by the pious theft of paternal blessing. Therefore, what did the Christian people snatch if not the Lord Jesus? For since the days of John the Baptist, the kingdom of heaven is forced, and those who force it plunder it, as the Lord himself declared (Matthew 11:12). Good is the deception that steals eternal life. But since we consider enough to have been said about the interpretations of this letter, let us consider what the Prophet added to this letter.

7. (Verse 153.) Therefore, the first verse is: See my humility and deliver me; for I have not forgotten your law. Perhaps someone may say: The Prophet boasts about himself. And if he boasts, he boasts about his weaknesses, in which even the Apostle boasts, saying: I will boast about my weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:5). Another boasts in wealth, another in titles of nobility and his lineage, another in positions of authority and honors; the righteous boasts in humility; for true glory is to be subject to Christ. So that you may know, however, that he does not desire to boast, but to provoke the grace of the Lord in himself, the same Prophet elsewhere says: See my humility and my labor. Therefore, just as he who humbles his heart, just as he who labors greatly, desires his sins to be forgiven, here he who prays for himself.

8. Appoint someone, concerned for the salvation of the minister, whom he knows to be approved by God; appoint someone as a father for the son, when he is seriously ill; appoint a woman either for the son or for the mourning husband, fervently praying, shedding abundant tears day and night, humbling herself and prostrating on the ground, multiplying fasts, and, what is even heavier than these, speaking to the Lord a mind and soul exhausted by grief and torpid from the delay of illness and danger; 'See my humility and rescue me.'


9. Also consider that the divine Scripture anoints and trains us daily with a certain spiritual oil of heavenly teachings, and our Lord, desiring to provoke many to engage in battles, has placed various rewards of crowns. Consider, I say, Christ's athlete, wearied by countless struggles, almost overcome with fatigue, and troubled by the weight of danger; when he sees that he not only has a struggle against flesh and blood, but also against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, he says: 'See my humility and deliver me; for I have not forgotten your law; he who has fought according to his precepts has not been able to forget.'


10. Also contemplate someone appointed to martyrdom, afflicted with frequent tortures, cast into darkness, broken by heavy chains, his legs stretched with ropes, his intestines torn out on the rack, his flesh torn by nails, burnt with glowing plates, a man persevering in faith but now weary of his soul being delayed any longer from the sacred crown of death, saying: See my humility, and free me; for I have not forgotten your law. For we are taught by the testimonies of the Scriptures that not only in studies and pursuits, but also in temptations, humility can be spoken of. For it is written: "Acceptable men in the furnace of humility" (Ecclus. 2:5); for the Greek says ταπεινώσεως, which is humility. I have included this because many Latin speakers have affliction in mind. Latin distinguishes, Greek does not separate; ταπείνωσις and humilitas are said to be virtues of humility, and humilitas of affliction. There is nothing preventing if a Latin separates; for the Greek did not translate from Latin, but the Latin from Greek.

11. Finally, even the Hebrews, as long as they were in Egypt, were in an iron furnace, that is, in the furnace of temptation, in the furnace of affliction, as they were afflicted with harsh commands. Hence it is also written: 'For God brought them out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt' (Jeremiah 11:4). The furnace was iron because no works of virtuousness shone with full light in Egypt, no gold had been tested there, no lead of wickedness had been consumed. The harsh furnace, the furnace of perpetual death: a furnace from which no one could escape, that would consume all, in which only pain and mourning existed. But truly, it was a furnace in which Ananias, Azarias, and Misael sang a hymn to the Lord (Dan. III, 51); that golden furnace, not iron: through which wisdom and devotion shone throughout the whole world. Indeed, this furnace was also in Babylon, where gold was not spiritual, unless perhaps captive; For the Lord has taken captivity captive (Ephes. IV, 8). This was gold in the holy ones of God, who were captive in body among the Babylonians; but in spirit free before God, released from the chains of human captivity, bound instead by the yoke of spiritual grace. And perhaps the same iron furnace is fragile to those who do not persevere, but golden to those who do.

12. All who desire to return to paradise must be tested by fire; for it is not written in vain that after Adam and Eve were expelled from the seat of paradise, God placed a fiery revolving sword at the exit of paradise (Gen. III, 24). All must pass through the flames, whether John the Evangelist, whom the Lord loved so much that he said of him to Peter: Thus I wish him to remain... what is it to you? You follow me (John XXI, 22). Some have doubted about his death, but we cannot doubt about his passing through fire; because he is in paradise and is not separated from Christ. Whether he is Peter, who received the keys of the kingdom of heaven, who walked on the sea, he must say: We have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us into refreshment (Psalm 65:12). But to John, the fiery sword will quickly turn; because there is no iniquity found in him whom righteousness loves. If there was any fault of human weakness in him, divine love purified it; for his wings are like wings of fire. (Song of Solomon 8:6).

13. The one who has the fire of charity here will not be able to fear the fire of the sword there. To Peter himself, who offered his own death for Christ so many times, He will say: Pass through, recline (Luke 17:7). But he will say: He has tested us with fire, just as silver is tested with fire; indeed, in whatever situation, He could not exclude charity, so how will fire exclude it? But he will be tested like silver, I will be tested like lead: until the lead melts away, I will burn. If no silver is found in me, oh my! I will be cast down to the depths of hell, or I will be burned up like straw. If any gold or silver is found in me, not through my actions, but through the mercy and grace of Christ, through the ministry of the priesthood, I will perhaps say: Indeed, those who hope in you will not be put to shame (Psalm 25:3).

Therefore, with that fiery sword, may the injustice be burned, which sits upon a leaden talent. Therefore, the one who is the justice of God, Christ, could not feel that fire, for he did not commit sin; for he found nothing in himself that could be burned up by fire. Finally, the everlasting gates alone were lifted up, so that the king of glory might enter, not as a guilty party. And indeed, his flesh tasted death here; for otherwise, he could not have risen again. What I have read, I presume; what I have not read, I leave to the venerable scholars. I confess one thing, that whatever that flesh underwent, it did so in order to show the way for others, either for triumph by the martyr's passion, or for passage into paradise by its footsteps. Therefore, let no one assume for themselves, let no one boast of merits, let no one boast of power; but let us all hope to find mercy through the Lord Jesus, for we shall all stand before His judgment seat. I will seek forgiveness for that, I will ask for indulgence for that; for what other hope is there for sinners?

15. And he who thinks he has gold here, has lead; and he who thinks he has a grain of wheat, has straw that can be burned up. But many here seem to themselves to have gold. I do not envy them, but still the gold will be tested, it will be burned up in order to be proven. For it is written: I will test them like gold in the furnace (Zach. XIII, 9). Therefore, let them take heed, for all will be tested. So, many who think they have gold, let them also pursue humility; so that their vices may be cooked out. But here is empty boasting; therefore, the mass of gold that many think is a treasure, wiser than the mass of gold says: The furnace will test us all. Therefore, since we are to be examined, let us act in such a way that we may deserve to be approved by divine judgment. Let us hold onto the humility placed here, so that when each of us comes to the judgment of God, to those fires through which we are going to pass, he may say: See my humility, and rescue me; for if he is proud, if he is arrogant, if he is insolent, he will not be able to say this. But no one will say, 'See my pride,' but see my humility, so that by his grace I may be delivered from that fire and deserve it.

Therefore, humility is the labor and fatigue: it is also the humility of virtue and purpose, which the just maintain in both favorable and prosperous times, and in a state of leisure. Inflicted with no weariness from labor, uncertain of the outcome of no contest, he exhibits humbleness to all, and does not strive to exalt himself. Instead, he seeks to diminish the value of his own work and the merit of his own grace. Hear the just person humbling himself: 'I am,' he says, 'the least of the apostles' (I Cor. XV, 9). He claims to be the least worthy of the divine election, the least deserving of the title of teacher of the nations, because he preferred his own works. And he does not claim anything for himself, but attributes everything to the grace of God. This is certainly fitting for a righteous person.

17. By this humility Abraham was called the father of faith, who, when he participated in divine conversation, said that he was dust and ashes (Gen. XVIII, 27). The Lord himself also said: But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people (Psal. XXI, 7), when he spoke of the suffering of his own body: who did not seek his own things, but the things of others. The Apostle wants us to become imitators of him and encourages us, saying: For this is the mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave (Philip. II, 5-7). Therefore, let us not seek nobility of birth or wealth if we desire to follow Christ. He emptied himself, being in the form of God; though he was rich, he became poor. Do not despise the commoner because you are noble; do not look down on the servant because you are powerful; do not scorn the poor because you are wealthy. Are you nobler, more powerful, or richer than Christ? He took upon himself those things which you despise. He humbled himself even to death, and death on a cross, in order to abolish your fallen pride; so that through the obedience of one Lord Jesus, we may regain what we lost through the disobedience of one Adam. For this reason, God exalted him and gave him a name above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Since the Lord Jesus is in the glory of God the Father (Philip. 2:9-11).

18. Consider, O human, what you read. The Apostle did not labor to prove the power of Christ, but to preach obedience; to demonstrate the greatness of his humility, his progress. If you receive with simple ears, he exalted Christ. But Christ sought not his own, but what was yours, with that humility. Therefore, receive with sharp ears: morally, it profited you; mystically, it redeemed your salvation. However you wish to understand: salvation is yours. If you think that his humility has benefited Christ; to whom, then, will it not be beneficial? If he exalted him; whom will he not increase? The Lord has become the servant of all, and the creator of all has been beaten, washed feet, crucified, died. But in all these things, I see no harm to his divinity, but I recognize the advancement of his work. He who had nothing to add to his power, had something to add to the worship of his majesty. I dare to say: he had lost the function of his operation, unless humility received it. So indeed he redeemed us, but he also acquired for himself. Therefore, humility brings no loss. He who emptied himself is full. He who did not consider equality with God to be robbery, taking on the form of a servant, is in the glory of God the Father. I have received whom I did not know, I have recognized whom I did not acknowledge, I confess whom I denied. I bow the knee of my body to him, I bend the knee of my mind to him, I adore him whom I used to flee from.


19. We give thanks to you, Lord Jesus, that you created us, but you appointed us over the created wild beasts, creatures, and dumb animals. The gifts of your visitation are greater. You honored those visited by your majesty with the companionship of your glory, saying: 'I will declare your name to my brethren' (Psalm 21:23); for by taking on a body, you became a brother, and you did not cease to be the Lord. The grace of your redemption is greater: you redeemed those in danger of death with your own death, as it is written: 'It is expedient for one man to die for the people' (John 18:14). You raised the dead, saying: 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up' (John 2:19); for in that temple the right of resurrection belongs to the body of the Lord. You equated those who rise from the dead with angels, as you said: 'For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven' (Matthew 22:30). Finally, you placed the Son of Man at the right hand of God on that throne, as you yourself deigned to say: 'But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God' (Luke 22:69).


20. Therefore, the Apostle, marveling at the divine gifts of piety and at the same time showing the generosity of the Father and the Son to be one, says: But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us (Ephesians 2:4). You hear in what you should be rich, O man: virtues that you should possess, loving in God, testing within yourself; to enter into the benefits of heavenly mercy and charity. And he added: And when we were dead in sins, he made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you have been saved;) And he has raised us up, and has made us sit in heavenly places together in Christ Jesus (Ibid., 5 and 6). Indeed, Christ is honored in the flesh. Therefore, he who sits at the right hand of God has been humbled for our sake. And so he says to us: Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29). He did not say: Learn from me, for I am powerful, but because I am humble in heart; so that you may imitate him, so that you may say to him: Lord, I have heard your voice, I have fulfilled your commandment. You have said that we should learn humility from you: we have learned not only from your words, but also from your actions, I have done what you commanded: See my humility.


21. The athlete shows his good limbs in order to demonstrate the discipline of his training. He also shows his limbs when, after some more serious contests, he is compelled to compete again, so that the judge, seeing his tired body, does not compel him to compete. And you, show the humility of your heart, so that you may display the virtues. Show also the contests of your body, so that you may say: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race (2 Timothy 4:7), and seeing the spiritual judge of the contest, he may award the crown of righteousness, because you have fulfilled the law of the contest.


22. (Verse 154.) The second verse follows: Judge my judgment and deliver me: for the sake of your word, give me life. The innocent hasten to judgment, desiring to be quickly vindicated by the judge of their innocence. This has a practical application even in this world, which is shared with the saints. However, the one who is just before God has another reason not to fear judgment; because for him, the merciful judge is his cause, and before his redeemer he desires and hopes to be quickly absolved. For the absolution of the saints is timely. Hence the Lord says through Ezekiel to the angels who are ministers of vengeance: 'Begin from my holy ones' (Ezekiel 9:6). The Lord does not want to have a common judgement with the saints and the companions of the devil; for the devil and his ministers will not be scourged along with men. Punishment is separate, where guilt also differs. Therefore, Scripture says elsewhere: 'It is time for judgement to begin from the house of God' (1 Peter 4:17). For He who shows mercy, quickly corrects; so that they may not be afflicted for a long time with the expectation of judgment, nor excessively worn down by the wretchedness of their guilt; so that each person may also give back twice as much for their sins, in order to finally be absolved. For the punishment of the guilty is a kind of absolution of offenses.

23. We see in this age criminals chained together in a pitiful procession, and sometimes even the innocent endure such punishments, so that it is more bearable to die than to undergo such tortures. They certainly wish to be well aware of themselves being heard: even those who are burdened with grave crimes wish to expedite the punishment of death, in order to gain some small reduction in their penalties. There is also hope in the mercy of the judges. The chains of prison are even harsher than the very exile itself, and the return is not forever barred to all those who have been banished. If this is the human examination, how much more should it be sought after by all because it is Christ's! The judgment of the devil is delayed so that he may always be guilty in punishment, always bound by the chains of his wickedness, and forever endure the judgment of his own conscience. Therefore, that rich man in the Gospel (Luke 12:20), even though he is a sinner pressed by penal sufferings, is urged to escape quickly; but it is shown that the devil has not yet reached judgment, and is not yet subject to punishment, except for the fears that he himself, conscious of such great crimes, alleviates with perpetual dread, so that he may never be secure.


Indeed, to speak more truly, the holy one comes to judgment, the wicked one does not come: Because the wicked do not rise in judgment (Ps. I, 5). This one asks to be acquitted, another for the accused to be released. But whoever is not judged, does not believe, but is punished by the judgment of his own wickedness. Among those emperors, the barbarians are not punished for the crime they have committed against their own people; because they are not subject to them, but are considered enemies with a more serious name, who are punished for their crime without interrogation. And so Christ corrects those whom He loves; He punishes strangers as deserving of the general damnation of their impiety with eternal punishment; For the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15:26): and yet the Prophet modestly teaches by his own example; so that even one who distrusts his own works may hope for a more lenient judgment due to the word of God.

25. One person desires to live for wealth, another for children: this one seeks to be enlivened by the word of God, just as Simeon awaited the Lord's coming; for he saw the Lord in the temple, and said: Now you dismiss your servant... in peace; for my eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:29-30), declaring that his desire to live was nothing other than to see Christ. Finally, he saw, and asked to be freed from the chains of his body.


26. We can also understand this: Judge my judgment, as if the reason is more serious for us regarding our judgment than for us to be considered in error. For to the one who is erring, forgiveness is more easily given than to the one who judges wickedly against another. For it is necessary for that form of judgment to return to you, which you yourself thought should be decreed against another.

27. (Verse 155.) The third verse follows: Salvation is far from sinners; for they have not sought your righteousness. Their judgment is a long time coming, their salvation is far off: but they themselves are the authors of their own danger, for they did not draw near to the Lord. Therefore they have become distant, because they have separated themselves from salvation by their own will. Salvation does not reject them, but they reject salvation by distancing themselves. He came to the Jews, but they did not receive salvation. How did they not receive? Listen, Jesus is salvation, Jesus is called the Son of Man: For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10): but the Jews asked for a robber to be released to them, they rejected Jesus (John 18:10).

28. But who is it who distances himself from the Lord, except the one who does not seek His justice? But he who seeks the justice of God is near, he clings to God. And therefore, to those who seek the justice of God, the Apostle says: You who were far away have become near in the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). The blood of Christ is justice. Finally, He Himself says to John: Allow... us to fulfill all justice (Matthew 3:15).

29. (Verse 156.) Here follows the fourth verse: Your mercies are exceedingly abundant, O Lord: according to your judgment, give me life. Although salvation is far from sinners, let no one despair, for the mercies of the Lord are many. For those who perish in their own sin are delivered by the mercy of the Lord. 'I will have mercy,' he says, 'on whom I will have mercy.' (Exodus 33:19) He appeared openly to those who were not seeking, he called those who were fleeing, he gathered the ignorant, he offered himself to suffering for all. So, are you very merciful? For the mercy of man is towards his neighbor: the mercy of the Lord is towards all flesh; so that all flesh may ascend to the Lord, being given that mercy of the Lord.

But when he says that there are many mercies of the Lord, how does he seek to be revived according to his judgments, especially when elsewhere he himself says: And do not enter into judgment with your servant (Psalm 142:2)? But one thing is the judgment of the benefits of Christ, to which we cannot respond (for who can repay the debt of nature, the debt of salvation and grace); another judgment, by which we are judged by the estimation of our frailty. In this very judgment, however, mercy is united; so that the truth of judgment is tempered by the mercy of the Lord.

31. Perhaps because he had said, Judge my judgment (Sup. v. 154); therefore, he added that the mercies of the Lord are too many: for it is a serious matter to judge another. Hence it is also written: Judge not, that ye be not judged (Luke VI, 37). For since everyone is conscious of his own sins, how can he judge the sin of another? Let him judge (3, quaest. 7, cap. Judicet) the error of another, who does not have anything in himself to condemn: let him judge, who does not do the same things that he considers punishable in another; lest when he judges another, he brings judgment upon himself: let him judge, who is not led by any hatred, offense, or lightness in pronouncing judgment. You heard today what the true and just judge said: 'I cannot do anything from myself.' (John 5:30).

32. Some heretics used to raise questions from here, as if the Son was weak, who did nothing of his own; as if he were also subject to the divinity, and subject to the father's command: and they do not realize that this also confirms the unity of divine power, where they think there is a distance of power between the Father and the Son. The Son does nothing of his own, because through the unity of operation, neither does the Son do anything without the Father, nor the Father without the Son. Finally, the Father says to the Son: Let us make man in our image and likeness (Gen. I, 26), affirming that there is a common operation where there is a common counsel. What does Wisdom do without Wisdom, who made all things in Wisdom, as it is written: You have made all things in Wisdom (Psal. CIII, 24)? Finally, Wisdom said, When he made the heavens, I was with him... I was the one whom he applauded (Prov. VIII, 27 and 30). And the Evangelist says: All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made (John 1:3); to teach that not only is the Son the maker of all things, but also the companion of the Father's work.

33. However, I believe that this place seems to be referred to the form of judgment; for the Gospel is not only a doctrine of faith, but also a teaching of morals, and a mirror of righteous conduct. I find in the Gospel that the Lord Jesus has taken on the affections and duties of many, in order to teach how we should conduct ourselves in these duties. He has taken on the role of a shepherd and said: The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11). Therefore, he did not deny himself to the passion of the body for a reasonable flock; so that, placing a weary sheep on the shoulders of his cross, he might refresh it with the duty of a pious burden.

34. He assumed the role of an advocate: for we have Him as an advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1). He stayed up all night in prayer for us (Luke 6:12) so that He might instruct us by His own example how we should seek pardon for our sins. For He did not stay up all night as if He could not reconcile the Father to us in any other way, but to show what kind of advocate He should be: what kind of priest, so that he should not only stand as an intercessor for the flock of Christ during the day but also during the night. He needed help to obtain what he himself could do, as he said himself: I go to the Father: and whatever you ask in my name, I will do it (John 14:12-13). Furthermore, elsewhere he says, when he raised Lazarus: I knew that you always hear me (John 11:42). Here, as if weak, he stayed overnight, who knew that he is always heard, and he cried out: Lazarus, come out (ibid., 44). Resurrection spoke, death retreated.


He even took on the emotion of the matter, and stood before the judge as if guilty: nor did the Lord of all disdain the low status of a praetor. When questioned, he remained silent, showing that the defense of innocence lies not in the clamor of voice or the assertion of legal defense, but in the integrity of conscience. He sought not bodily safety, but the purity of the soul. In the end, he who acquitted Susanna while she was silent offered himself to death. In that case, he showed that no one should despair; in this case, that he would not deny the sacrifice of redeeming the universe. When he was finally killed, he did not complain, he did not retaliate. And the Lord of heaven and earth, out of his desire for vengeance, put aside and emitted a voice of humility, saying: If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me? (John 18:23) Like a weak person, he lamented the injustice of his killing; and even though he could have avenged himself, he preferred to complain rather than to seek revenge.


Therefore, even here the person of the judge, and the purpose undertook, saying: I can do nothing of myself (John 5:30). For a good judge (3, question 7, chapter He judges, § Good) does nothing according to his own discretion, and acts according to the intention of domestic will, but pronounces according to laws and rights, obeys the rules of law, does not indulge his own will: he brings nothing prepared and meditated from home: but as he hears, he judges; and as the nature of the matter requires, he decides. He follows the laws, he does not oppose: he examines the merits of the case, he does not change.

37. Learn, judges of the world, what attitude you should hold in judging, what sobriety, what sincerity. The Lord of all says: I cannot do anything of myself. I read elsewhere: He cannot deny himself (II Tim. II, 13). He cannot indeed, not by weakness, but by integrity;not by inability to do, but by observance in judging. What cannot he do who can do all things, except what he does not want to do? He does not want to be able to condemn, he does not want to be able to go against faith, he does not want to be able to go against truth. Finally, listen to him saying why he cannot do anything of himself: As I hear, he says, and judge (John 5:30), that is, I do not decide what pleases me from my own power, but from the religion of judgment, what is just: and therefore my judgment is true: because I do not indulge my will, but equity. Hear what the heavenly judge says: I cannot do anything of myself, but as I hear, and judge.


38. And Pilate said to the Lord Jesus: I have the power to release you, and I have the power to crucify you. You, O man, usurp a power that you do not have; when God denies that he has it, who has power over all things! Listen to what justice says: I cannot do anything from myself. Listen to what the judge of equity asserts: As I hear, so I judge. Listen to what the judge of iniquity speaks: I have the power to release you, and I have the power to crucify you. Pilate, you are constrained by your own voice, you are condemned by your own sentence. Therefore, it was not for justice but for power that you handed over the Lord to be crucified: by your power you acquitted the thief, but you killed the author of life. And yet, you did not have that power which you claim to have. Finally, the Lord Jesus says to you: You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above (John 19:11). A wicked power allows what is not lawful. That is the power of darkness, to not see, but to despise.

39. Listen to what the true judge says: I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me (John 5:30). He speaks as a man; he teaches as a judge; for the one who judges should not obey his own will, but uphold what is lawful (3, quaest. 7, cap. Judicet. § Qui). Establish a judge for this world: can a rescript go against the form of the emperor? Can it exceed the rule of a noble decree? How much more should we preserve the form of divine judgment! Christ says: I do not seek my own will, that is, of man, which is either directed by hatred, or is intended by zeal, or is influenced by favor, or is perverted by the lies of others; For every man is a liar (Psalm 116:2). But he says, the will of him who sent me; that is, I have come to teach the form of divine knowledge; so that in judging, the custody of truth may be more cherished in the heart than the obedience of will (Question 3, Article 7, Chapter Judging, § In Judging). Therefore, here too it is not weakness of power, but rather the expression of justice.

40. Therefore, the judgment of the Son of God is just; for it is according to the will of God, not according to the affection of man; for God is full of mercy, and His mercy is with judgment, and His judgment is with mercy; He does not have mercy without judgment, nor does He judge without mercy. Finally, it is written: His mercy is on the scales (Isaiah 28:17). But the sons of men are liars on the scales, to deceive (Psalm 62:10). And so God examines and evaluates the merits of each individual, and as he gives grace according to measure, so he gives mercy according to measure. Hence it is said: 'They will give into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.' The same measure that you use, it will be used against you (Luke 6:38). Likewise, the deeds of each person are weighed on a balance; if good works outweigh the bad, the reward of the prize is given; if sins outweigh virtues, a harsher punishment restrains the guilty: as the Apostle Paul says to Timothy: 'The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later' (1 Timothy 5:24). Similarly, both good actions are made manifest, and those actions which are otherwise cannot be hidden.

41. Therefore, all things are made by our Lord God with a certain measure and weight. Who, he says, has placed... the rock in the balance (Isaiah 40:13)? And also: Who has measured with his hand the waters and the heavens (ibid., 12)? He who examines our things certainly bestows his things that have been examined, and he judges all things with a safe examination. He weighs mercy, he weighs vengeance; in both there is a certain weight and a fitting measure. Hence David also says: And you will give them to drink in tears, in measure (Psalm 79:6); so that they would not be overwhelmed by the weight of punishment without moderation, and they would not be able to endure. And the same prophet also says: The cup in the hand of the Lord is full of mixed wine, it is very irritating. And he poured out from this to that; however, its dregs have not been emptied out (Ps. 74, 9). And Jeremiah says: The golden cup Babylon is in the hand of the Lord, from which the nations were intoxicated (Jer. 51, 7): that is, the punishment has been paid by the nations; so that they would no longer insult, as they were harshly oppressing the people of God. Therefore, the sense of this verse of David is: The punishment that is due to the wicked is prepared and full, which the Lord turns away from the treacherous; but nevertheless, out of His mercy, He does not deign to pour it out completely to the bottom; so that they cannot bear the full extent of the punishment. Therefore, he tilts the cup, but does not empty it. What he tilts is for judgment; what he does not empty is for mercy.

42. Therefore, our Lord God tempers judgment with mercy. For who among us can subsist without divine mercy? What worthy deeds can we do for heavenly rewards? Who among us rises in this body so as to elevate their soul, perpetually clinging to Christ? To what extent is human merit bestowed, that this corruptible flesh may be clothed with incorruption, and this mortal body may be clothed with immortality? With what labors, with what injustices can we wash away our sins? The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come (Rom. VIII, 18). Therefore, it proceeds according to the mercy of God, not according to our merits, the form of heavenly decrees onto human beings.

43. (Verse 157.) The fifth verse follows: Many are pursuing me and troubling me; I have not turned away from your testimonies. It is not surprising if at that time you do not turn away from God's testimonies; when no one afflicts you, no one pursues you. For who, with the success of prosperous events favoring him without offense, would become ungrateful? Who, abundant in riches and robust in constant health, would not attribute to the grace of God that those things have been granted to him? Finally, when the Lord praised the holy Job, the adversary said: Does Job worship the Lord for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him? ... Stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and see if he does not curse you to your face (Job 1:9-11). So, he was even more proven when he lost his wealth and children, yet he did not turn away from the worship and favor of the Lord. But he is not the only persecutor; he has many ministers. But do not be afraid: through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:21). If there are many persecutions, there are many trials; where there are many crowns, there are many contests; therefore, it benefits you that there are many persecutors; so that among many persecutions, you can more easily find how you will be crowned.

44. Let us learn from the example of Sebastian, the martyr, whose birthday is today. He was born in Milan. Perhaps the persecutor had already departed or had not yet come to this area, or he was more lenient. Sebastian noticed that there was either no struggle or a tepid one. He went to Rome, where intense persecution was raging because of the zeal for the faith; there he suffered, that is, there he was crowned. Therefore, in that place where the guest arrived, he established a dwelling of eternal immortality. If there had been only one persecutor, this martyr certainly would not have been crowned.

45. But what's worse, not only are these persecutors who are visible, but also those who are invisible; and there are many more persecutors! Just as one persecutor, the king, would send instructions of persecution to many, and in each city or province there were different persecutors; so too does the devil direct many of his ministers, who not only act outwardly, but also cause persecutions within the minds of individuals. Of these things it is said concerning persecutions: All who wish to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (II Thessalonians 3:12). He said all, leaving no exceptions. For who can be exempt when the Lord Himself endured the trials of persecutions? Greed persecutes, ambition persecutes, lust persecutes, pride persecutes, fornication persecutes. Hence the Apostle says: Flee from fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18). For what reason would you flee, unless it pursued you? For there is an evil spirit of fornication, an evil spirit of greed, an evil spirit of pride.

These are severe persecutors, who frequently crush the mind of man without the terror of the sword, who conquer the souls of the faithful more with allurements than with terrors. These are the enemies to be guarded against, these are the more serious tyrants, by whom Adam was captured. Many were crowned in public persecution, but fell in this hidden persecution. 'Outside are conflicts,' he says, 'inside are fears' (2 Corinthians 7:5). Understand how grave the struggle is, which is within man; that he may wrestle with himself, may contend with his own desires. The Apostle himself fluctuates, hesitates, is bound, and declares himself to be captive under the law of sin and death, and to be subdued in the body, and that he could not escape unless he was liberated by the grace of the Lord Jesus (Rom. VII, 23-25).

47. Indeed, just as there are many persecutions, there are also many martyrdoms. You are a witness of Christ every day. You have been tempted by the spirit of fornication; but fearing the future judgment of Christ, you did not think it necessary to defile the purity of your mind and body: you are a martyr of Christ. You have been tempted by the spirit of greed, to seize the possession of another, to disregard the rights of a defenseless widow; and yet, considering the support of heavenly precepts, you judged it better to offer help than to inflict injury: you are a witness of Christ. Finally, Christ desires such witnesses to be present, as it is written: Judge the orphan, and justify the widow: and come, let us reason together, says the Lord (Isaiah 1:17-18). You were tempted by the spirit of pride; but seeing the poor and needy, you were moved with a compassionate mind, and loved humility rather than arrogance: you are a witness of Christ; and what is more, you have given testimony not only in words, but also in deeds. For who is a more rich witness than one who confesses that the Lord Jesus came in the flesh, while keeping the precepts of the Gospel? For he who hears and does not do, denies Christ; even if he confesses with words, he denies with works. How many will say: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and cast out demons, and performed many miracles (Matthew 7:22)? On that day, he will reply: Depart from me, all you who practice iniquity (Ibid., 23)! Therefore, he is a witness who testifies to the commands of the Lord Jesus, with the facts of the agreement.

48. So many, therefore, daily in secret are the martyrs of Christ, who confess the Lord Jesus! This is known by the Apostle as a faithful testimony of Christ, who said: For this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience (II Cor. I, 12). How many have confessed outwardly and denied inwardly! For the sake of marrying a wife, which was denied by a pagan husband from Christian parents, many pretended for a time to have faith, were revealed to have confessed outwardly, and denied inwardly. We think that the Lord our God was only so severely angered for the sake of fornication, that twenty-three thousand were killed from the people, because they mixed in sexual relations with the women of the Midianite nation: and not because they were forced by them to apostatize from the faith, to deny the Lord.

Do not believe every spirit, he says, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. He is approved by man, but condemned by the judge. How much more tolerable it would have been for him to deny it to man, and confess it to God! Although this is also reprehensible; for a perfect confession seeks both the devotion of the soul and the profession of the voice. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Rom. X, 10).

Therefore, be faithful and strong in internal persecutions, so that you may also be approved in these external persecutions. And in the most intimate persecutions, there are kings and governors, terrible judges with power. You will give an example in the temptation of the Lord which he endured; all the kingdoms were shown to him, and it was said to him: I will give you all these if you fall down and worship me (Matthew IV, 9). Also, it is written elsewhere: Sin should not reign in your mortal body (Romans VI, 12). Do you see before whom you stand, O man, before whom the rulers of sins, if guilt reigns? How many sins, how many vices, so many kings. And before these we are led, and before these we stand. These rulers also have a tribunal in the minds of many; but if anyone confesses Christ, immediately he makes that king captive, he casts him down from the throne of his mind. For how can the tribunal of the devil remain in him to whom the tribunal of Christ arises?


51. Therefore, those who pursue and afflict me. And perhaps Christ says this, and he says it in the voices of individuals; for the adversary himself pursues us. If you turn away from the pursuer, you reject Christ, who allows himself to be tempted in order to overcome. Wherever the devil sees him, there he prepares snares, there he sets up machines of temptations, there he weaves plots; in order to exclude him if he can. But where the devil fights, there Christ assists. Where the devil besieges, there Christ is enclosed, there he defends the ramparts of spiritual walls. Therefore, whoever flees from the persecutor also rejects the defender. But when you hear: Many are persecuting and troubling me, do not be afraid, for you can say: If God is for us, who can be against us (Rom. VIII, 31)? However, this is said by the one who deviates from the testimonies of the Lord with no crookedness of vices.

Verse 52 (Version 158): The sixth verse follows: I saw those who did not keep the covenant, and I grew weak; because your words did not keep. Blessed is the man who weakens in the love of God; for he sees those who do not keep the covenant. Another person weakens because of vicious loves, who wastes away while delayed in his beloved's love: and while the effect of burning desire is prolonged, the mind fails, the strength of the body is diminished by a certain deformity of paleness, and the limbs grow weak from wasting. Another person who desires money, until he obtains it, wastes away with a miserly and wretched affection. Another person, impatient to pursue excessive honors, if he longs for prolonged desires, is consumed with a great decay of the mind. Not such a person who says: How far removed is my flesh in a deserted land, in a pathless place, and without water! (Psalm 62:2-3) For he was chastising his own flesh and causing it to waste away, while being intent on uninterrupted desire for divine contemplation and anticipating the light of day with eager expectation, he eagerly desired to offer the pre-dawn service to the Lord with songs and hymns.


53. Therefore, a peaceful man wastes away when he sees others breaking agreements, abolishing agreements, destroying harmony, repairing disputes about peace, and returning to chaos out of ingratitude. He certainly does not do this, who keeps the commandments of the Lord; he does not do this who hears the one saying: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you (John 14:27). Therefore, he who keeps the agreement, obeys the commands of Christ; but he who does not keep it, despises the commandments of Christ; and what is worse, he despises what has been discovered and neglects it.


54. (Verse 159.) The seventh verse follows: See that I have loved your precepts, O Lord: in your mercy, give me life. Here too, it invites the Lord to look upon the fulness of his charity. No one says, See, unless they judge themselves, if they appear, to be pleasing. And it says beautifully, See, and according to the Law it says; for the Law commands that each person should present themselves in the presence of the Lord three times a year (Exodus 23:17). Every day he offers himself holy, every day he appears, and he does not appear empty: for he is not empty, who has received from his fullness. David was not empty, who said: Our mouth is filled with joy (Ps. CXXV, 2); because joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And just as we have all received from the fullness of the Word, as John said (John I, 16): so also the Holy Spirit has filled the whole world from his fullness. Zacharias was not empty, but was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied the coming of the Lord Jesus (Luke 1:67). Paul was not empty, but preached in abundance and was filled, receiving the fragrance of a pleasant offering from the Ephesians, pleasing to God (Ephesians 5:2). The Corinthians were not empty, but filled with the grace of God, according to the testimony of the Apostle (1 Corinthians 1:7).

55. Therefore, David offered himself daily to God, and he did not offer in vain, who could say: I have opened my mouth, and I have drawn in my spirit (Sup., v. 131). Therefore, he said: See that I have loved your commandments. Listen to where you should offer yourself to Christ. Not in those things that are seen, but in the hidden and concealed; so that your Father, who sees in secret, may reward you and give back your faithful affection. I have loved your commandments, he says. He did not say, 'I preserved'; he did not say, 'I kept'; for the foolish did not keep the commandments of the Lord. Some manuscripts have 'ἀσυνετοῦντας', that is, the unintelligent, the non-understanding ones. Therefore, those who do not understand, do not have wisdom; they do not keep. But the one who is perfect in understanding, perfect in wisdom, loves: which is more than keeping; for keeping is often of necessity and fear, but loving is of charity. The one who proclaims the Gospel is kept safe, but the one who willingly proclaims it receives a reward; how much more is the one who loves given a reward! For we can desire what we love; we cannot refuse what we love. But even though he expects the reward of perfect charity and seeks the support of divine mercy to live in it from the Lord, he is not an arrogant demander of the deserved reward, but a humble suppliant of divine mercy.


56. (Verse 160.) The eighth verse follows: The beginning of your words is truth: all the judgments of your justice are eternal. Since the beginning of God's words is truth, truth is surely the foundation of faith. First of all, we must believe that the things we read in the divine scriptures, the oracles, are true, the oracles of the highest God. Secondly, we must learn the power of those things through a fuller knowledge. For just as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 110:9), and love is the fullness of wisdom, for wisdom is the law, and the fullness of the law is love, so the fullness of God's words is wisdom, and the knowledge of justice. For just as a certain progression comes from the fear of the Lord to the grace of charity, so it seems that a certain progression comes from truth to the judgment of divine justice.

57. You came to the Church: you heard that there is one God, from whom the Law begins, as it is written: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one (Deut. VI, 4): believe that there is one God, not multiple gods. But when you begin to read that the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, came in the flesh for the redemption of the whole world, skillfully distinguish that there is one God the Father, from whom all things, and we in Him: and one Lord Jesus, through whom all things, and we through Him. Know that he came for this reason, so that our emotions may be informed by the paths of virtue, so that we may learn the gentleness of his behavior as an example of good conduct, so that guilt may be eradicated through grace: and then you proceeded from confessing the truth to knowledge of justice. Faith is the beginning of the Christian, but righteousness is the fullness of the Christian. Faith is in the confession of peoples, righteousness is in the passion of martyrs.

Therefore, knowing that all judgments of God's justice will endure forever, let us be cautious not to displease God with our actions and let us begin to undergo eternal judgment. And let us not be deceived, even if we have done something good, that we will be exempt from judgment. We all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what he has done, whether good or evil (2 Corinthians 5:10). You see that even Paul will stand, as he himself recalls. Beware of wood, beware of straw; lest you bring with you to God's judgment what the fire will consume. Beware that when you have something that needs to be proven, do not put it off in the works of many where it may cause offense. If someone's work is burned, they will suffer loss; however, they can still be saved through the fire (1 Corinthians 3:15). From this it can be inferred that the same person is both saved in part and condemned in part. Therefore, knowing that there are many judgments, let us examine all our works. It is a serious loss for a righteous person, a serious fire for a certain work: for the wicked, it is a pitiful punishment. May all judgments be filled with grace, filled with flourishing garlands, lest perhaps while our actions are being weighed, fault may prevail.

Sermon 21. Schin.

The twenty-first letter begins, which in Latin is called 'On the wound.' What is 'On the wound' but a medicine by which the severity of a wound is mitigated? On the wound, oil is poured, so that all roughness of the wound is softened. On the wound, a plaster, on the wound a bandage, by which every wound is nurtured. Therefore, where there is hope of restoring health, there are remedies applied to wounds. But where every head is in pain, and every heart in melancholy, there is no wound, no scar, no wound with fervor (Isaiah 1:5-6): that is, where not a part, but the whole is in danger, and a certain corruption of the whole body is consumed with decay: there it is not to put on a plaster, or oil, or a bandage. Therefore, it is much more advantageous to have a wound that you can nurture and bind, than to have death creep inward without a wound.

But there is not only a wound of the body, but also of the mind, which is softened by a certain oil of gentler speech and the sweetness of peaceful conversation. There are remedies of words, there are medicines of heavenly teachings, by which every poison of wickedness is wiped away. There are the bonds of the law which do not burn, but rather free those who are bound: there is a spiritual balm, by which certain parts of the soul that have been crushed are made whole.

3. Therefore, let us consider what a wound is, what is above the wound. The leaders have persecuted me without cause, that is the wound. I rejoice in your words, like one who has found great spoils, that is above the wound; for with the words of the Lord, the harshness of the wound is healed.

In Lamentations also, you have written under this letter: You have heard their reproach, O Lord, all their schemes against me, the lips of those who rise up against me, and their meditations against me all day long, their sitting down and their rising up (Lam. 3:61-63), it is a wound. But he added: Look into their eyes: give them retribution, O Lord, according to the work of their hands (ibid., 64), it is an even greater wound; for vengeance often tends to mitigate the pain of a wound. And within the same [book], Jeremiah says: Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, who dwells in Gath; and indeed, to you the cup shall pass: you shall drink and be even more intoxicated. (Lam. 4:21) It is upon the wound; for the cup of the Lord is the forgiveness of sins, in which blood is poured out, which redeemed the sins of the whole world. This cup has intoxicated the nations; so that they would not remember the pain of their own, but would forget the old error. Therefore, spiritual intoxication is a good thing, which knows how to disturb the forward motion of the body, and knows how to lighten the mark of the mind. Good intoxication of a salutary cup, which banishes the sadness of the sinner's conscience, infuses the joy of eternal life. Therefore, Scripture says: And how glorious is your intoxicating cup!

Therefore, the medicine is placed on the wound; because the Lord Jesus Himself is the physician, who healed our wounds, pouring wine and oil, and binding up the wounds of Adam, who, descending from Jerusalem, was wounded by robbers. Therefore, let each one beware that he does not descend from Jerusalem; for everyone descends by his own sins, and ascends by his own merits. Or because we are fragile; let him who descends hasten to that Samaritan, the guardian of his work, the guardian of the Law and of grace; so that he may find a remedy for his wound: let him place the binding of heavenly words upon the wound, saying: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near (Matthew 3:2). Good binding, which connects the bones of your soul and restores them to their former strength, and without any offense to itself, restores the torn limbs.

6. (Verse 161.) On the interpretation of letters, we think we have said enough: let us now consider the verses of the holy Prophet, which he has set forth by the revelation of the Holy Spirit: Princes have persecuted me without cause, and my heart is in awe of your words. If we turn to the ancient history, both Saul and Absalom, and many alien princes, persecuted the holy David: but none of them could triumph over him. There are also princes of this world, rulers of darkness, who try to oppress you in your own heart, and carry out cruel persecutions within, promising kingdoms of the earth, honors and riches, if you were to succumb with a fragile mind and consider it necessary to obey their commands. These princes sometimes pursue for free, sometimes not for free. They pursue for free the one with whom they find nothing of their own and they strive to subjugate him. They pursue not for free the one who has given himself to their power and has entered completely into the possession of the world. For they claim rightful dominion over their own and demand payment for their injustice from them.

7. The martyr declares this well, because he endures unjust persecutions and torments, without having seized anything, oppressed anyone with violence, shed anyone's blood, or considered violating anyone's bed: who owes nothing to the laws, and is forced to endure the more severe punishments of robbers: who speaks justly and is not listened to: who speaks words of salvation and is attacked, so that he can say: When I spoke to them, they attacked me without reason (Psalm 119, 7). Therefore he suffers persecution for nothing, who is attacked without crime: he is attacked as guilty, when he is praiseworthy in such a confession: he is attacked as a sorcerer, because he glories in the name of the Lord; when piety is the foundation of all virtues. Truly he is in vain attacked, who is brought to impious and unbelieving people for impiety, since he is the teacher of faith.

8. But the one who is attacked without cause must be brave and steadfast. So how did he include: And my heart trembled at your words? To tremble is a sign of weakness, fear, and dread, but it is also a weakness for salvation: it is also the fear of the saints. Fear the Lord, you his saints (Psalm 34:9); and: Blessed is the man who fears the Lord (Psalm 112:1). How is he blessed? Because he greatly desires his commandments. Place the martyr, therefore, amidst the dangers; when, from one side, the savageness of wild beasts roars to instill terror: from another place, the clangor of heated blades resounds and the flame of a burning furnace blazes forth; on one side, let the sound of heavy chains ring out; on the other, let the bloody executioner stand by: place, I say, one who is considering all these things, full of punishment, then pondering the divine commandments, that eternal fire, that endless burning of the wicked, that torment of the reviving punishment; let him tremble in heart, lest while he yields to present afflictions, he subject himself to eternal destruction; let him be disturbed in mind, while he contemplates with a certain sight of himself that terrible sword of the future judgment. Will you not match this trembling of confidence of a steadfast man? Into the same effect converges the confidence of one desiring eternal and divine things, and the one trembling. However, let him be stronger who hopes; let him be stronger who presumes.

9. Oh, may I deserve to be such; that if perchance a persecutor attacks, I may not consider the severity of my punishments; I will not measure the tortures, nor the penalties; I will not think of any atrocity of pain; but I will consider all these things as light: but I will tremble; lest Christ denies me, lest Christ excludes me, lest he casts me out from the council of priests, if he judges me unworthy of that assembly; let him rather see me moved by the terror of bodily punishments, but still trembling more for the future judgment. And if he says to me: O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matt. XIV, 31) He will still stretch out his hand and with the steadfastness of a faithful mind, he will calm the troubled waves of this world in their tumultuous mass.

10. (Verse 162.) Here follows the second verse: I rejoice in your words, like one who finds abundant spoils. Therefore, trembling is good from the words of God, if it brings about rejoicing; for whoever trembles at the words of God will later rejoice in the words of God. Therefore, whoever possesses in his palace, that is, in his heart, the words of God, excludes the words of princes from his heart; he excludes fear from fear. For if someone enters a bath, he removes the heat of the sun, and warmth excludes warmth; how much more does the terror of divine judgment exclude this human terror; the fervor of worldly grace, the fervor of eternal grace!


11. Therefore, he who has the word of God rejoices; for he has many spoils which he took from the Jews; he has the spoils of a fallen enemy (1 Samuel 17:51). Just as David took Goliath's sword and cut off his head with it, so too the true David, humble and gentle Lord Jesus, cut off the head of Goliath, which is the understanding, with his own weapons. For the weapons of the devil were the nations; but by faith the head that he had, he lost. The spoils are taken away from the defeated, his vessels are seized; because the strong one is bound. The vessel of the devil was the flesh of the sinner; but after we believed in Christ, our flesh began to be a vessel of election; as you have from the Apostle Paul, who was sent to the Gentiles, a saying from the Lord Jesus to Ananias: Go, for he is a chosen vessel for me (Acts 9:15). Therefore, he is rightly called by the name of Christ: Quickly remove the spoils, divide swiftly; because before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will receive the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria against the king of Assyria (Isaiah 8:3-4). So the king of the Assyrians, that is, those whom their own treachery had made vain, lost the spoils that he held. And so that you may know again, that Christ avenged the spoils that the devil had seized in Adam; and the men of Sabae, high men, passed over to the Lord Jesus bound with chains, and began to adore Him, because He led captive captivity. That is why he took His head; so that He Himself might be the head of the slain body. Now rightly the nations carry the royal head around the whole world; for they are the members of Christ.


12. You have known about the nations: know also about the Jews, whom the Lord Jesus has stripped of spoils; that is, He has taken away the kingdom of heaven from them, and has given it to the nation that produces its fruit. He has taken away the power of bread, and the power of water, the prophet, and the wonderful counselor, and the wise architect, and the wise listener (Isaiah I and following). He has taken them away from them, and given them to us. I rejoice deservedly... like one who finds many spoils. Without my effort, I found spoils that I didn't have. I found the Heptateuch, I found the books of the Kings, I found the writings of the prophets, I found Ezra, I found the Psalms, I found Proverbs, I found Ecclesiastes, I found the Song of Songs, I found the wonderful counselor Christ, I found the prudent architect Paul: I found the wise listener Christian people, who know how to hear the things that are read; for he truly hears who understands the things that he hears. The spiritual law is. The Jew does not hear it, who hears physically; but he hears who hears in spirit. They have books, but they do not have the understanding of the books. They have prophets, but they do not have the ones whom those prophets prophesied about. How then do they have whom they did not receive? Therefore, it appeared to me with Moses and Elijah; because it departed from them. He who has the Word of God has many spoils. He has resurrection, he has justice, power, and wisdom, he has everything; because in him all things endure. The Hebrews plundered the Egyptians and took their vessels (Exod. XII, 36): The Christian people have the spoils of the Jews, and we have everything that they did not know how to possess. They took material gold and silver, but we have received the gold of the mind, we have acquired the silver of heavenly discourse.

13. (Verse 163.) The third verse follows: I hated injustice, and I abhorred it; but I loved your law. It is fitting for one who possesses the weapons of justice to hate injustice. When the Hebrew possessed these weapons, that is, the Law and the prophets, he abhorred the dead mouse; for the Law says: Whoever touches a dead body... will be unclean (Num. XIX, 11); and he denied the highest acts of humanity to the dead. But one who is just is not dead to the law. This is the filth of the righteous, which is injustice. For what is more unclean than the mind, by which nothing more precious has been given to man, to defile with shameful crimes and to bring forth atrocious designs? What use is it to them that they fear to visit a dead man? I wish their life did not defile the approaching one, whose death cannot contaminate anyone! Death harms no one, I wish life does not harm! For the contagion of a foul partnership is the fellowship of injustice. How, therefore, can one become contaminated, who can no longer be unjust; since even if one was, it has already ceased? Therefore, flee from injustice, lest it apprehend you. Flee from unrighteousness, which makes the living into the dead.

14. But no one escapes wickedness, except the one who loves fairness; and for this reason he says: But I have loved your law. In the law there is fairness, if you understand it in a spiritual sense, if you rise with Christ, and there consider that most sacred heavenly altar, not the earthly altar that was destroyed by hostile plundering. If you look at that Jerusalem, which is in heaven, not the one that was frequented by the people of the Jews on earth, which, triumphed over by the Roman army due to the treachery of its inhabitants, was consumed by a raging fire. If you consider the high priest, of whom it is written: Having therefore a great high priest that hath passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God: let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities: but one tempted in all things like as we are, without sin. Let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace: that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid. Therefore, that prince alone is the priest, to whom the pious priests stand nearby, having deservedly entered that highest sanctuary of the heavenly by their own blood. Therefore, that law should be cherished, in which the true Hebrew book is free from all the bondage of vices, in which there is a great Sabbath and undisturbed rest of the dead, in which the seed of the dead people is revived not by mixing, but by fraternal redemption. According to this law, the holy one hates injustice, not the unjust one who can often be converted: and he curses and rejects not the remains of the dead, but the dead iniquity.


Verse 15. (Verse 164.) The fourth verse follows: Seven times in a day I have praised you, for the judgments of your justice. And indeed, the number expresses the zeal of holy devotion: but I think it signifies more that the affection is pure, quiet, and free from every burden of sins; so that the prayer may be offered without any fiery anger or shameful desire; let us ask for nothing that harms others; let us ask for nothing that tarnishes us with worldly requests. Let us praise in hymns and songs, always true and just, those things which we sing in divine praises, confessing. Let there be no uncertain and doubtful opinion: let not the intention of the mind be swayed by matters occupied with material concerns, straying from the execution of the intended spiritual purpose. Let the justice of God always be justified with a calm soul, not with idle leisure.

16. (Verse 165.) The fifth verse follows: Peace is abundant for those who love Your name, and they are not offended. Above (Verse 162) we said that charity excludes fear; now we say that it excludes all disturbance. Indeed, one who loves God has a deep tranquility in their confirmed mind. Water, it is said, cannot exclude charity, and rivers will not overwhelm it (Song of Songs 8:7). There is much water of various passions, and rivers stirred up by worldly desires and bodily movements, which nevertheless cannot overthrow the wall of charity. Therefore, founded in charity, he says: 'Our soul has passed through the torrent.' (Psalm 123:5) Could the water of the sea exclude the charity of Moses? And to support the series of the Psalms according to the literal sense, namely, the one who loves God believed that the journey through the seas was safe for him. But those who did not love God, they suffered a worthy end drowned in the waves because of their sacrileges. Elijah and Elisha crossed the Jordan on foot (2 Kings 2:8); and this was the great reward and grace of charity. Therefore, in order to cross the waters of the Jordan River, the flows of our mind's passions were previously crossed by the footstep. Concerning this water, the Lord says: If you pass through the water, I am with you; and the rivers will not overflow you (Isaiah 43:2). He is always present with His righteous ones when they are worn down by some adversities; however, they should cross with a steady mind, without doubting; neither should they be troubled by uncertain faith.

17. Therefore, pass on with a loyal inclination of your spirit, if you believe divine power to be present with you: if not only peace, but also abundant peace should be in your mind, let no battles of conflicting desires assail you, let neither anger sting you, nor lust; and if there is a struggle, let it be external, not within. Fight against those who pursue you, though often yielding to them in silence, just because you conquer them. Their power is your victory. Then, finally, they triumph when they believe themselves to have won. Therefore, let not covetousness attack you, let not desire disturb you, let not sadness bring you down, let not lust inflame you, let not pride overthrow you, let not ambition bend you, let not fear dismay you. May abundant peace be with you, which surpasses all understanding, according to the words of the Apostle (Phil. IV, 7): than which nothing more beautiful could be said. For the ultimate end of wisdom is to have a tranquil mind, unmoved by the false tales of poets. The ultimate end is justice, so that wickedness cannot disturb the mind of the just. This is the goal of all virtue, and of physical strength itself; to restore peace after the war is over. Therefore, even the strength to fight often serves peace: therefore, let no one disturb a peaceful state of mind.

18. Many things are generated to disturb man: and the wife, often deceived by the stratagems of the serpent, tries to agitate the mind of the man; and the father frequently ridicules the faith of the son; and the husband tests the mind of his wife with insults. But in all these things, the righteous person prevails and says: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution (Rom. 8:35)? How often are good deeds given as a crime? How often is virtue led to shame? How often is gratitude itself ungrateful? The righteous sold their possessions, gave to the poor, left nothing for themselves; they are often despised in the Church itself; because they ceased to be rich, as it is written: If a man shall give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing (Cant. VIII, 7). Therefore, let us not be moved; for he sought not the reward of this world, nor gratitude, but the eternal life. Let us not be offended, because men consider money more than good works. For if he is rewarded in this world for a good work, and receives the fruit of his study here, it is said of him: He has received his reward (Matthew 6:2). He indeed has a good work, and grace here; but it is a small portion of the salvation to be earned. Preserve your reward for future times; and judge the increase of your reward's reproach in this world. Always consider that Apostolic saying, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come (Romans 8:18). Therefore, let the just person not be broken by injuries, not be moved by dangers, not be tested by storms; whether death approaches, or life, or the angels of heaven. Neither let them be thrown down by adversity, nor lifted up by prosperity. Let their emotions not be weak anywhere. And death tests, and life tests; beware of stumbling.

19. The one who possesses peace, which overcomes every mind, is great; he is not among the weak. Therefore, he should not suffer scandal, for it is the weakness of the weak to be stirred by scandal. Hence, the Lord says: Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble (Matt. XVIII, 6). He not only said little ones, but also the smallest ones, who are disturbed by scandals; and therefore he is liable to severe punishment, as you have read, whoever disturbs the innocence of a weak mind. For just as someone is deserving of a more severe punishment who has persuaded a crime to an infant and has caused their young age to be reckless, so too is someone deserving of blame who has deceived a weak, foolish, and imprudent person through the persuasion of error or through the agitation of their affectionate heart. Do you want to know how weak the person is who is scandalized? They say, 'I will not eat meat...so as not to scandalize my brother' (1 Corinthians 8:13). What great weakness and a certain infancy of the soul, that it disturbs even the food of a brother! Where can a man not have a precipice, when there is even danger here?

And what is worse, this kind of weakness creeps into many. You see a poor righteous person, you are tempted: you see a wealthy unjust person, you are tempted: you see a childless holy person, you are tempted: you see an unjust person who is rich in children, honors, and secular praises, you are tempted. How many pits, how many snares, and what is more serious, they strangle the majority! In the city of Sodom, hardly one Lot was found who was not tempted, yet his wife could not escape the snares of temptation. The people of the Hebrews crossed the sea, but they were unable to cross the trials. Everyone was tested except for Jesus and Caleb, who deserved to enter the promised land because they had been spared from temptation. Neither Aaron nor Mary entered, for they too were tested. Moses also did not enter, for he was the leader of the people who were being tested. He was a symbol of the Law, which could not exclude trials and could not lead to the land of resurrection, for that was owed to the grace of the Gospel. The law could not give peace; therefore Moses, as long as he lived, was always at war: always the people of the Law are in the midst of wars: but Jesus, the leader of the people, brought their minds to peace; for the one who is under the Law is troubled by uncertainties: but the one under the Gospel hears the one saying: I leave you peace: my peace I give to you (John 14:27). Therefore, there is no stumbling block for those who love.

21. Take it another way: the cross of the Lord is a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Greeks. It is a scandal to the faithless; for the Jew says: So this is God, who appeared as a man, who fasted, who was beaten, who was crucified, who could not descend from the cross and save himself? Finally, they said this at the time of the Lord's passion: Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him. Let him trust in God now, let God deliver him if he desires (Matthew 27:42-43). Do not let those things tempt you, do not let those things disturb you, do not let thoughts like these intrude into your mind. Where there is peace, there is abundant peace: there the cross of Christ is not a disgrace, but salvation. The cross of Christ was not a disgrace to Peter, it only brought him glory; so much so that he honored Christ by being crucified with his feet turned upwards, fearing that if he were crucified in the same way as the Lord, it might seem that he was seeking the glory of the Lord. Therefore, the cross is a disgrace to the dishonest: but to the faithful it is grace, redemption, and resurrection; because the Lord suffered for us; because he redeemed us with his blood, and called us back to paradise by his resurrection. Whoever believes these things, how can they be disturbed, to whom the hope of the heavenly kingdom rises?

Verse 22 (Version 166): The sixth verse follows: I awaited your salvation, Lord, and I have kept your commandments. He who waits, hopes. Therefore, hope precedes charity, salvation follows, therefore hope leads to fulfillment; thus, he who has awaited salvation from the Lord has kept the commandments of the Lord. Hence, the Lord calls friends in the Gospel (John 15:14-15), not servants, who have kept his commandments. For he who loves, acts, and he who acts is deservedly rewarded with the recompense of love.


23. (Verse 167.) The seventh verse follows: My soul has kept your testimonies, and has loved them exceedingly. It is more to love than to keep, and we have said above (verse 159, number 55) that keeping is sometimes out of necessity or fear, but loving is out of charity. Therefore, when he said here 'I have kept', he added 'I have loved', so that it may be the keeping of one who loves, not one who fears. He who loves excessively, keeps excessively.

24. (Verse 168.) The eighth verse follows: I have kept your commandments and testimonies, for all my ways are before you, O Lord. Blessed is he who can say: All my ways are before you; who does not want to hide all his thoughts, all his actions: Adam hid his way, Eve hid after the fault, Cain hid the murder of his brother. In affection we have the desire to hide, not in effect. The perfidy of the one hiding is complete, although there is no hiding place before God. Therefore the Church in the Canticles reveals its secrets to Him, saying: I will take you and bring you into the house of my mother, and into the secret of her who conceived me (Song of Songs 8:2). For although God sees all the hidden things of the heart, it is still good for each person to open up and expose their soul to Him, and to encounter Him like light or heat. And the Church rightly boasts, saying: I was in His eyes like one who finds peace (Ibid., 10); for she did not fear to expose her ways. Therefore, this statement is just: For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous (Psalm 33:16). And so, it is rightly said by those who desire to conform to that true way in faith, morals, and action to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way and the truth: All my ways are before you, O Lord. For no way can be good unless you judge it worthy of your enlightening visitation: to whom be honor, glory, praise, perpetuity from age to age, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.

Sermon 22. Tau.

The letter Tau begins, which in Latin interpretation signifies, 'He erred': it has another interpretation, 'He finished.' What does 'erred' mean? It is the twenty-second letter, which among the Hebrews is the last. But by this psalm, that is, the one hundred eighth, we said (Sup. in the prologue of this psalm) is signified the progress of man, who, educated by the teachings of moral doctrine, would set aside all the infancy of an unpracticed mind, but would assume the knowledge of veteran counsel and the sagacity of senile wisdom. But when there is an error, blame is assigned. Therefore, progress is also the end of blame. But see what he means. He says, he has made a mistake; he is not making a mistake, but he made a mistake. To have made a mistake is of the past; to make a mistake is of the present. He who has made a mistake has ceased to make a mistake, and condemns his previous error. For it is said of him, he has made a mistake, who is no longer in error; for the one who still remains in error is not said to have made a mistake, but to be making a mistake, since making a mistake is the characteristic of someone who persists in vice: to have made a mistake is a slip of the one who corrects.


Finally, the corrector of manners says: We were indeed once foolish, disobedient, led astray by our desires, and pleasures (Titus 3:3). He would not have said: We were once foolish, unless he had later attained the discipline of wisdom. Nor would he have said: We were led astray, unless he had abandoned the former error. Finally, in order to teach that the fall has been abolished and no trace of offense remains, he says: But when the kindness and love of our Savior God appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Ibid., 4 and 5). Therefore, with the old error having been set aside, and being renewed by the Holy Spirit and every improvement of morals, he says: For we were once erring. Therefore, you see that he renounced error not as a fault, but as progress.

Finally, let the Lord Jesus himself teach you, if you do not think that you should trust in human plans or opinions. For in his Gospel he himself affirmed that a shepherd left ninety-nine sheep and sought for the one that had strayed (Luke 15:4). The one hundredth sheep is the one that he says went astray: let the perfection and fullness of the number instruct and guide you. It is rightly placed above the others, because it is more significant to have turned away from fault than to have almost not known the faults themselves. Indeed, it is both the accomplishment of perfect virtue and also heavenly grace to have cleansed minds imbued with vices from the reins of desires and to have improved them. For to improve future human attention is human, while to condemn past actions is divine power. Finally, the shepherd placed the found sheep on his shoulders (Ibid., 5). Surely you recognize the mystery of how the weary sheep is restored; for human condition cannot be restored in any other way than by the sacrament of the Lord's passion and the blood of Jesus Christ, whose dominion is upon His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6); for on that cross He carried our weaknesses, so that He might cleanse the sins of all there. The angels rejoice rightly; because he who has wandered, now no longer wanders, now has forgotten his error.

4. Therefore, it is not an error, but a completion that one interpretation teaches. And completion is the perfection of discipline. Hence, even Jeremiah in his Lamentations under this letter says: Your wickedness has come to an end, O daughter of Zion; he will not exile you again. He has visited your iniquities, O daughter of Edom; he has revealed your sins. (Lam. 4:21). Take notice that wickedness cannot cease without God's visitation, nor can correction be complete without the grace of the Lord and Savior. But how shall iniquity perish? Hear the Church saying: I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? (Song of Solomon 5:3). Therefore, the old man's garment woven with the vices of error, deposited in the regeneration of the font, knows not how it can be put on; for through the zeal of correction it had grown forgetful of its sins. So great is the power of perfect amendment, that it brings back a certain spiritual childhood, which is ignorant of the paths of error, and, even if it wished, cannot commit sin; because it has unlearned the practice of sinning. And now, I believe enough has been said about the interpretation of this letter. Let us now discover from the subjects what the opinion of the accomplished man is.

5. (Verse 169.) Therefore he says: Let my prayer come before your presence, O Lord: give understanding to me according to your word. Goodness makes prayer fly, and gives spiritual wings to prayers, by which the prayer of the saints is elevated to God. But the spirit with which we pray, lifts up the prayer of the righteous; especially if a compassionate heart, mourning with a contrite heart, commends it. However, this is the confidence of the perfected men. Finally, David himself in the preceding part of this psalm sought a lamp for his feet, so that he would not be able to wander in this earthly journey. But now, as if already at the end and conclusion, having completed the task of eating, he rises up completely. And he directs his prayer to the heavens: he sends it into the sight of the Lord and Savior, giving Him the breath of righteousness, the winds of wisdom, the oars of devotion and faith, and the supports of innocence and purity; for prayer is burdened by sin, and it becomes distant from God. However, it is burdened even more so, the more improbable the life of the one praying. But the prayer of the innocent and the groaning of one who sympathizes ascend, if they hate the Egyptian mud and decline to engage in earthly work. Finally, you have read thus (Exod. II, 23), that the Hebrews who could not bear the harsh rule of the Egyptians; and just as they refused to endure heavy and muddy tasks unworthy of their noble lineage, their groaning and voice ascended to the Lord our God. For the prayer ascends; because even though they were working, they were working unwillingly. Therefore, the mercy of God descended upon them, because their devotion ascended to God.

So he ascended not corporeally; for indeed such a great prophet did not seek to approach God corporeally in his prayer, for he who thinks in this way certainly concludes that God is in a certain place and seat, and that he considers the place in which God is to be more spacious; whereas, in fact, the invisible, ineffable, and incomprehensible God fills all things, and the fullness of divinity dwells in him. It is written that Moses approached God (Exod. XXIV, 18) when he received the Law, but with customary modesty, David requests not that he himself, but that his prayer, approach God, so that it may appear that there is a certain order, namely, that those who are more perfect themselves approach God, while those of the following order have enough if their prayer approaches him.


7. But let us consider the use of our speech, what it means to approach. Imagine a teacher and a student: if the student diligently absorbs the teacher's genius or strives to follow their instruction, so much so that they seem to come closest to the likeness of their work and teaching, do we not often say that they have approached the teacher? Therefore, if you present yourself as an imitator of Christ, as he who says, 'Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ' (1 Corinthians 4:16), if you are unfamiliar with deceit, despise lying, follow truth, do not shun justice, love chastity, then you have approached Christ, and through Christ, to God. For he himself is the way by which one reaches the Father, who is always with the Father.

8. We have learned what it means to approach prayer, that is, to lift up our actions. If you lift up your actions, you have lifted up your prayer. Whoever knows how to lift up their hands directs their prayer in the presence of God, as you have read below: Let my prayer be directed like incense in your sight. The lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice (Psalm 140:2). This prayer leads to life, while another prayer leads to sin: Let his prayer be turned into sin (Psalm 109:7). And even if you seek secular things, if you demand shameful things, your prayer is not directed towards God, but towards sin. Therefore, understand what you ask for.

9. Secondly, he says, give me understanding according to your word. Notice what he asks for. He did not say understanding in general, but understanding according to the word of God; for there is understanding towards death, just as there is prudence towards destruction: The children of this age are wiser than the children of light in this generation (Luke 16:8). But this prudence that belongs to the world does not contribute to eternal life. It is concerned with honors, with petty things, with accumulating questions, not with comparing merits. Finally, concerning the elements of the world, it is more adorned with superficial knowledge than true wisdom; just like all philosophy that seeks what is foreign, while not knowing its own: it scrutinizes the regions of the sky, explores the spaces of the world, which can bring it no benefit: it is ignorant of God, whom it should be the only one to inquire about.

Therefore, the true wise person says: If anyone seems to be wise among you in this age, let them become foolish, so that they may be wise; for the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God (I Cor., III, 18 and 19). Therefore, we must strive to be fools in this age, having nothing to do with philosophy; lest anyone deceive our faith through the elements of this world; lest anyone plunder our assertion through philosophy. For we have seen that the Arians fell into perfidy, thinking that the generation of Christ could be deduced from the customs of this age. They have abandoned the Apostle, they follow Aristotle. They have abandoned the wisdom that is with God: they have chosen the snares of disputation, and the allurements of words according to the discipline of dialectic, even though the Apostle cries out: Let no one plunder you through philosophy and empty seduction, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of this world, and not according to Christ (Coloss., II, 8).

11. I wish I could imitate that foolishness by which I am wise: that man who possesses great wealth but neglects its fruits, who devotes himself to God, and rejects even the honors bestowed upon him, who does not seek the teachings of philosophy; even if he knew them before, he pretends to be ignorant, not asking to learn. He does not seek what is his own, but rather gives to others, acquiring for himself eternal things. This man can say: Give me understanding according to your word, that is, not according to the philosophers, not according to the lawyers, not according to the merchants of this world, not according to the builders of houses, but according to your word, which is the foundation of true wisdom and good works; so that he may build upon it the gold of his heart, the silver of his speech, and the precious stones of his deeds; so that his work may not falter or perish.


12. (Verse 170.) The second verse follows: Let my plea come before you: according to your word, set me free. See the order. First, he said: Let my prayer draw near: then he asked for understanding, according to your word. Thirdly, he said, Let my plea come before you. Does not the Lord invite us by his example, and deign to receive us with affection? When you desire to meet someone of high status, do you not first approach their home: then seek to be informed and instructed, in order to understand the mind of the head of the household? Then, before entering their home, do you not implore, so that no one rejects or excludes you? So, strike and open that heavenly kingdom: strike not with the hand of the body, but with the certain power of your prayer. It is not only the hand of the body that strikes: the voice also strikes; for it is written: The voice of my brother strikes at the door (Song of Songs 5:2). We also strike with our finger. Finally, even Thomas deserved to open the door of resurrection with his finger. And Jesus says to you: Bring your finger here... and put your hands into my side: and do not be unbelieving, but faithful (John 20:27). Press with your finger, if you cannot with your whole hand. Press the door. Christ is the door, who says: If anyone enters through me, he will be saved (John 10:9).

13. So when you have knocked on this door, see how you enter; lest perhaps, having already entered, you find yourself outside the sight of the king. Many enter the palace, and do not immediately see that earthly king: but they often observe; so that at some point they may deserve to see. They do not presume to have the opportunity to see: but when summoned, they are presented, and they offer a prayer; so that they may be received with kindness. The first step in their conversation is to avoid stumbling, to avoid offending. How much more should God be asked that the door of His mercy may be entered by our prayer! Finally, even Paul asks that the door of the word be opened to him to speak the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:3).

14. But because the Greek has, Εἰσελθέτω ἀξίωμά μοῦ, which means: Let my dignity enter; although the writer may have been able to make a mistake, and may have made a petition, which is a supplication: let us also explain this, as best we can. For when you ask a man who is a king, you say that he should consider your honor, let your contemplation of dignity touch him; so that either he may have mercy, if pardon is to be asked for: or he may defer according to the order of dignity. And what shall I say, you ask? As each person enters, they are greeted with respect. Therefore, it is right and proper for someone devoted to God to say: Let my dignity enter before you. And the Christian also has their own dignity, as they serve such a great emperor.

15. There are great and true dignities of faith, there are various honors and orders in Christ: God placed first the apostles, second the prophets, third the teachers in the Church (I Cor. XII, 28). But these are dignities of administrators. There are also private ones, such as piety, justice, sobriety, chastity, discipline. There are also dignities of prayer: if you pray for a widow, if you pray for an orphan, if you pray for the merciful, if you pray for the excessively devout and faithful: if you pray in tribulation, if you pray with sorrow, if you, who are praying, have compassion for the sorrowful one, your prayer enters the grace of God: it enters his house, if the Church prays with you, if the whole people implores; so that the favor of the Lord may incline.


16. But what does he ask? To be liberated, to be freed; because for a long time now he has been fighting against spiritual wickedness, against the temptations of this world; because it is difficult to sustain a long-lasting warfare in this life. Finally, he says further below: Woe is me! that my sojourning is prolonged (Psalm 119:5)! For he groans because he stretches out unceasing vigils with constant labor; and therefore he seeks to be delivered from all his adversaries, and does not desire to have fellowship with earthly men.


17. (Verse 171.) The third verse follows: My lips shall utter a hymn; when You have taught me Your statutes. He has uttered a hymn, who can say: For we are the good odor of Christ unto God (II Cor. II, 15). And he utters well, who has tasted the many and sweet precepts of the Lord. He utters a hymn, who has uttered the Word. Moreover, even David uttered a good word before: My heart has uttered a good word; I tell my works to the King (Psal. XLIV, 2), here he utters a hymn. For he has tasted the good bread, which descended from heaven: the good bread, which if anyone eats, he shall not die forever. The word of God has its feasts: some stronger, such as the Law and the Gospel; others sweeter, such as the Psalms and the Song of Songs. The Church or the pious soul would utter a hymn, to which God the Word would say: Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet (Song of Songs 2:14). It would utter a hymn to which he would say: Your lips, my bride, distill honey; honey and milk are under your tongue (Song of Songs 4:11).

18. But no one can sing a hymn before he has learned the justice of God, and has learned it from the Lord God himself. Therefore, David specifically asks for this, that God may teach him; for he had heard and known in the spirit, 'One is your master' (Matthew 23:10); and therefore he demanded to be made a student by him everywhere, so that he might learn his justifications from him. For how can someone sing when in fear and in the dread of punishment? How can one sing, burdened by the consciousness of their sins, unless they have first obtained forgiveness and are secure? Ultimately, in the later part, you have: How can we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land, in which we are attacked, in which we are captured by the law of sin, in which we lament and mourn the misery of our captivity?

19. And so, eat the food of heavenly Scriptures and eat, so that they may remain with you unto eternal life, and eat daily, so that you do not hunger, eat so that you may be filled, eat so that you may bring forth the abundance of heavenly words. Spiritual feasts are wont not to be harmful but to be beneficial to the satisfied; and thus the Prophet desired to be filled, who says: Let my mouth be filled with praise; that I may sing thy glory (Psalm 78:8). He who sings the glory of God, utters a hymn to the Lord from his heart.


20. (Vers. 172.) The fourth verse follows: My tongue will speak your word, for all your commandments are righteousness. Whoever learns the righteousness of God speaks the word of God, and whoever speaks the word of God does not speak idle words. Idle words are to speak the works of men. Therefore the Holy One says (Psalm 16:4) that grace is given to him by the Lord, so that his mouth does not speak the works of men, for it is an idle word: not only idle, but also dangerous, for which we will have to give an account. For every idle word that we speak, we will be held accountable for it (Matthew 12:36). For it is not a trivial matter when you consider the abundant words of God, and the works of God that He made in Genesis, in Exodus, in Leviticus, in Numbers, in Deuteronomy, in Joshua, in the Book of Judges, in the Books of Kings, and in the Books of Ezra. He made them also in the Gospel, and in the Acts of the Apostles. When you neglect these things and speak about worldly matters, and listen to earthly matters, there is a great danger. Close your ears to thorns (Sirach 28:28); would that you also enclose your tongue. But what is worse, your tongue is surrounded by thorns that prick and wound when speaking about worldly things. Therefore, the adversary often pours secular thoughts even onto those who pray. So if we should not listen to others, or to unnecessary things, how much more should we not speak! As the venerable Scripture says to each one of us: Bind your silver and gold; and make a yoke and weight for your mouth (Ibid., 29). Bind your senses with faithful silence: bind your words, impose a yoke on your mouth; lest it boast with an untamed neck of words. Impose a weight, so that we may weigh everything we speak with careful examination. Scripture says these things to you with thorns; unless your heart is contrite and in fear of judgment? These things sting in a healthy way: they stimulate, they do not wound; although wounds can also be useful to a friend.

21. Everything, he says, is the commandment of God's justice; because they are the commandments of justice, and therefore they cannot exist without justice. The commandment of God is that you shall love your God (Deut. VI, 5). Hence Paul says: He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law; for it is written: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word (Rom. XIII, 8 and 9). If every commandment is summed up in this word, which is justice (for what is more just than loving your God and loving your neighbor), surely all of God's commandments are justice. For just as someone who is able to kill his brother, surely does not love him; who commits adultery with his brother's wife, surely does not love his brother; who steals, who covets what belongs to others, surely does not love the person whom he desires to defraud: in the same way, someone who despises his brother arrogantly, who tries to deform him, who feeds off his injuries, is estranged from the fellowship of love.

22. (Verse 173.) The fifth verse follows: Let your hand save me, for I have chosen your commandments. The coming of the Lord seems to be praying, for the hand of God is Christ. We read about the right hand of God, of whom it is said above: The right hand of the Lord has done valiantly; the right hand of the Lord has exalted me (Psalm 118:16). So why did he mention hand here? Perhaps not only because of the diversity of grace, which the writers usually do not omit, but also because of a certain characteristic of hands; that the right hand is mentioned there, where it is written that he exalted him by virtue; here the hand is mentioned, where it should be understood that he saved him by humility? The hand of the Lord can also be understood in this way, as it is said in usage: Great is the hand of that king; that is, a great army, and his hand is lower; so that we understand this also: Let your help and support be made, that you may send your angels, your aid, the support of your power to deliver your people. This is the hand of God, of which it is written: Are they not all ministering spirits, who are sent for service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (Heb. 1, 14) Therefore, whoever chooses the commandments of God, uses confidence; so that with authority, they may seek divine assistance for themselves.

23. (Verse 174.) The sixth verse follows: I have longed for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my meditation. Some are delighted by the longevity of this life, and they desire to prolong their life until the end of old age. Others are broken by the weakness of illness, of whom no one can say: When I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). They consider themselves blessed if they enjoy the convenience of good health without any hindrance, for they have no infirmity that hinders their salvation. Moreover, no one can say: I have desired Your salvation, Lord; for they seek their own salvation more than the salvation of God, obeying physicians rather than Scriptures. However, the precepts of divine knowledge are contrary to the study of medicine (On Consolation, Distinction 5, Contraria). They revive from fasting, do not allow staying up late, and distract from any intense meditation. Therefore, whoever surrenders themselves to physicians denies themselves. But whoever seeks the salvation of God follows Christ, who is called the salvation of God: seeking not what is of the body, but what is eternal, while being in this body. But whoever seeks the salvation of God meditates day and night in the law. For them, constant meditation is on the divine decrees, and no care for this body is directed towards the pursuit of discipline.

24. (Verse 175.) The seventh verse follows: My soul will live and praise you: and your judgments will help me. Surely it flatters itself with the reward of future life, not with the present; for how can this life be called such, of which it is written: And to the dust of death you have brought me (Psalm 21:16)? How many living are there in hell! Paul himself desired to be delivered from the body of this death, he who truly desired the salvation of God, saying: For I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is much better: but to remain in the flesh is more necessary than voluntary (Philippians 1:23). How then does the soul live, enclosed in the covering of death: or what is the life, which is in the shade? In the region of the shadow of death we are: our life is hidden, not free; for it will be free in the region of the living, in which the righteous assumes the confidence of pleasing; that he may please the Lord in the region of the living (Psalm 114:9). Therefore, there our soul lives, where nothing earthly, nothing weak is adorned, nothing is owed to punishment.

There he will praise the Lord, where, having laid aside the weakness of the body, he will begin to be conformed to the glory of the body of Christ. For while we are in sin, how can we fully praise? To the sinner, God said: Why do you declare my justices? (Psalm 49:16). We are placed in the shadow here: we live in the shadow: we praise in the shadow: we cannot fully praise in the shadow. We are in a foreign land: you have heard in the following: How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land? (Psalm 136:4).


26. However, the judgments of God assist the saints, as the reward of eternal life is granted through good works. Blessed is he who says: And your judgments will help me. I, being weak and a sinner, fear the judgments of God because of the conscience of my sins: they bring terror to me, they agitate me: they assist the saints. However, they will also assist the sinner, albeit in a different way. The saint will be assisted while being tested: the sinner will be assisted while being humbled, while being chastised; so that he may pay for his double sins: while his work is burned up, so that he himself may be saved, yet as if through fire. For if I am deemed worthy by judgment, I will be deemed worthy to be separated from the companionship of the wicked; since the wicked do not rise up for judgment (Psalms 1:5). And the judgments will help me; because the one who believes in the Lord is not judged. Faith will benefit him, and he will be supported towards forgiveness, even if there has been any offense in his works.

27. (Verse 176.) The last verse follows: I have gone astray like a lost sheep: revive your servant; for I have not forgotten your commandments. The Greek has: Seek your servant, that is, ζῆτησον: and the writer could have been mistaken, in writing ζήσον, which means revive. Both meanings are valid, but the former is more fitting in this context: Seek your servant; for a sheep that has gone astray must be sought by the shepherd, lest it perish. Therefore he says, I have gone astray. Declare your wrongdoing, so that you may be justified (Isaiah 43:26). The fall you admit is a common participation for you and everyone else, because no one is without sin: to deny this is sacrilege; only God is without sin. To confess this to God is a remedy for impunity. 'I have erred,' he says, 'but the one who has erred can return to the way, can be called back to the path.' And he added beautifully: Like a lost sheep; for the one who acknowledges the error does not perish.


28. He said, 'Seek, I pray you, your servant; for I have not forgotten your commandments. Come therefore, O Lord Jesus; seek your servant, seek your weary sheep: come, shepherd, seek like the sheep of Joseph. Your sheep has wandered, while you delay, while you wander in the mountains. Send away your ninety-nine sheep, and come to seek the one that has strayed. Come without dogs, come without hired workers, come without a mercenary, who does not know how to enter through the gate.' Come without an assistant, without a messenger: I have been waiting for you to come for a long time. For I know you will come: Because I have not forgotten your commands. Come not with a rod, but with charity and the gentleness of the spirit.

29. Do not hesitate to leave your ninety-nine sheep in the mountains; because fierce wolves cannot attack them when they are located in the mountains. The serpent harmed once in paradise: it lost its food after Adam was expelled from there; it can no longer harm there. Come to me, who is plagued by the attacks of heavy wolves. Come to me, who is inflicted with the venom of the dreadful ulcer from the serpent, expelled from paradise; because I have strayed from your previous flocks: for you had also placed me there, but the nocturnal wolf turned me away from the sheepfold. Search for me; for I search for you. Seek me, find me, receive me, carry me. You can find whom you seek: deign to receive whom you have found; place on your shoulders whom you have received. It is not a burden to you, but a means of carrying justice. Come therefore, Lord; for although I have strayed, I have not forgotten your commandments: I reserve hope for healing. Come, Lord; for you alone can call back the stray sheep; and those whom you have left behind, you will not grieve; indeed, they will rejoice at the return of the sinner. Come, to bring salvation on earth, joy in heaven.

30. Come therefore, and seek your sheep no longer through servants, no longer through hirelings, but through yourself. Receive me in the flesh, which has fallen in Adam. Receive me not from Sarah, but from Mary; so that the virgin may be incorruptible, but the virgin through grace may be untouched by any stain of sin. Carry me on the cross, which is salvation for wanderers, in which alone there is rest for the weary, in which alone those who die shall live.

However, it can also be said beautifully that it is life-giving, because the one whom virtue has carried on its shoulders cannot die.

Therefore, both the soul and the Church say: I have strayed like a lost sheep. But she says: I sought the one whom my soul loves (Song of Solomon 3:1); this is to say: Revive your servant, for I have not forgotten your commandments. I sought you, but I cannot find you unless you choose to be found. And indeed, you desire to be found, but you desire to be sought for a long time, to be sought more diligently. Your Church knows this, for you do not want her to seek you while sleeping; you do not want her to investigate you while lying down. Finally, you knock at the door to awaken the sleeping person: you investigate whether the heart is awake while the flesh sleeps. You want to lift up the person lying down, saying: Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead (Ephes. V, 14). You reach out your hand through the cave so that the person may rise; and if they rise slowly, you leave them behind. You want them to seek again and seek from many, and not forget to seek, not forget your words; and if they hold on to them, you offer yourself to be seen, you do not shy away and allow yourself to be held.


When she shall embrace you, she will show her fruits and will teach you that she has not forgotten your commandments, and she will say to you: Come, my brother, let us go out into the field... and at our gates, all the produce of the trees: new and old; my brother, I have kept them for you. (Song of Solomon 7:11 and 13). This is to say: I hold all your commandments of the old and new Testament. Only the Church can say this. No other congregation says it: not the Synagogue, holding only to the letter of the new, or the spirit of the old. The heresy of Manichaeism does not say: I have preserved for you the old things which the Prophets did not receive. It is rightly seen as whitewashed, which shines with the grace of both Testaments.

34. The Bridegroom answered her: Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm (Song of Songs 8:6), for you have kept both what is new and what is old for me. You are my seal, you are made in my image and likeness. In you shines the image of righteousness, the image of wisdom, the image of virtue. And since the image of God is in your heart, let it also be in your actions: let the likeness of the Gospel be seen in your deeds, so that you may keep my commandments in your conduct. The image of the Gospel will be in you, if you offer the other cheek to the one who strikes you; if you love your enemy; if you take up your cross and follow me. Therefore, I carried the cross for you, so that you would not hesitate to carry it for yourself.

35. The daughters of Jerusalem heard this, that the Lord Jesus was joining them to His Church; and because they were considering the greatness of the Word, they esteemed themselves unworthy of such a union. Lest perhaps they would not be able to bear the weight of such a bond, they offered excuses, saying: Our sister is young and does not have breasts. For those who want to delay marriage, they are accustomed to make excuses, pretending the weakness of young age, and asserting that she does not have breasts, which signify the time of marriage. This is a common symbol for all virgin women who are about to be married; so that when their breasts begin to develop, they are considered ready for marriage.

Therefore, troubled by the ardor of love that urges the wedding, they say: What shall we do for our sister on the day when she will speak into it? Or, as Symmachus says, when she will speak to it. This is done through the celebration of the betrothal, and it confirms the marriage. Therefore, they say, troubled because the spiritual union is being urged. They cannot excuse themselves from such a great wedding; for there is no one who does not consider the union of the soul and the Spirit, or of Christ and the Church, to be blessed. But because the fullness of the Word or of the Holy Spirit vibrates and shines, and there is nothing that can be equal to them, therefore they desire to differ; so that through that delay either the soul or the Church can be more perfect.

Therefore they say, If it is a wall, let us build dwellings upon it; and if it is a gate, let us carve cedar tablets upon it (ibid., 9). The wall is the soul of the saint. The Church also has its walls, which are already more perfect, as it says: I am a fortified city (Isaiah 27:3). This is the wall that has twelve apostolic gates, through which the entrance into the Church is open to the people of the nations. But the wall, although it encloses the perimeter of the entire city, is then more fortified when it has prepared dwellings, in which the defenders of the city can have a safe place for observing and defending. But because this city is reasonable, and all its hope is in the word of God: not iron, but silver ramparts are required for it, accustomed to repel hostile attacks with heavenly words rather than bodily pleasures. Supported by this defense, shining with this splendor, it is considered more suited for the union with Christ.

And because Christ is the door, who says: If anyone enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9); and the Church is called the door; because through it the way to salvation is open to the people. Lest it be corrupted by the worms or moths of heretics, the daughters of Jerusalem, or Angels, or the souls of the righteous say: Let us build upon it cedar boards, that is, the good fragrance of sublime faith; for the odor of this material is sweet, which neither worm nor moth can corrupt. Therefore, the use of this material is chosen for raising the roofs and shaping the elements of letters, with which the childhood is imbued with the study of liberal education. Therefore, this material is sublime in grace, light in burden, sweet in fragrance, useful as an instrument of knowledge, and capable of serving eternal cognition.

39. But just as Christ, loving his Bride, urged her to the solemnity of the spiritual union, so too did the Church, already captivated by the beauty of the Word, hasten to the wedding. And therefore, impatient of delay and hesitation, which the daughters of Jerusalem were trying to bring about, she says: I am a wall, and my breasts are towers (Song of Sol. 8:10), that is to say: do not doubt whether I am a wall (for they had said: if she is a wall); I am, she says, a wall, and I have not small breasts, but my breasts are like towers. How do you say that I have no breasts? I have senses, like towers, which hold plenty, as it is written: 'And plenty in your towers' (Ps. CXXI, 7). By these breasts, that is, senses, she thought herself suitable for such a marriage: but the daughters of Jerusalem could not yet appreciate it; because they could not see the abundance of her senses.

And he added: I was in his eyes like one finding peace (Song of Songs 8:10), meaning: Having deliberated on my senses, when I found the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, and guards the hearts and senses in Christ Jesus. I was, he says, in the eyes of the Bridegroom, like one who has peace. For it is written: Those who seek peace rightly, shall have it as a testimony (Proverbs 12:20). Therefore, for the beloved and the beloved in a hurry, the spiritual union is celebrated, eagerly sought with mutual consent.


Therefore, like a wedding song, the Spirit rejoiced in the Prophet, saying: 'Solomon had a vineyard in Beelamon; he gave his vineyard to those who keep it.' So the Spirit cries out: 'The congregation of the peoples has been planted, and the vine of eternity has been founded with deep roots, and the spiritual yoke has been placed on the gentle heart under the rule of the Word.' But it has been planted among a multitude of nations; for Beelamon in this sense is understood by Symmachus, Aquila, and other translations taught in the Greek language. The old bond has been rejected, as it could not bear fruit: a vineyard has been given to new and faithful laborers, who not only could produce fruit but also protect it. Therefore, one sheep went astray: but when it was called back, it filled the entire space of the world. One sheep had been led astray: but by the grace of the Lord, it gathered a multitude of peoples. Man went astray: but the Church is now a wall, and a strong wall it is. Adam went astray: David is the wall who did not forget the commandments of God.


Therefore, this vineyard, preserved and fortified with spiritual protection, gives a thousand fruits to Christ, but two hundred fruits to the keepers. And so the Church says: My vineyard is before me, a thousand for Solomon, and two hundred for those who keep the fruit (Ibid., 12). The perfection and fullness of Christ is the portion of the servants. You have this mystery in Genesis, where Joseph gives five portions of Benjamin to his younger brother, each one for the rest of his brothers (Gen. XLIII, 34). Therefore, the dominion of the five senses and the prerogative is bestowed upon the one whom he himself loves: just as he loved Paul, to whom he gave the principality of wisdom to call forth the nations (Acts 20:21).

Therefore, the Church, delighted with the fruits, says to Christ: You who sit in the gardens, your friends are attentive to your voice: make your voice known to me (Song of Songs 8:13). For the Church was delighted that Christ was sitting in the gardens, and his friends who were placed in the gardens were attentive to his voice. But those friends were the Archangels, or Dominions, and Thrones from heaven (for humans were expelled from Paradise due to their disobedience to the heavenly commandments, and therefore the Church was not yet able to hear his voice, which she desired), therefore she says: Make your voice known to me. So that we also, if we desire Him to sit in us, may be enclosed and fortified gardens, bearing the flowers of virtues and the sweetness of grace; so that we may be able to hear the Lord Jesus conversing with the angels.

But because it was going to happen that when the Church reached its fullness, it would be tempted by various persecutions; therefore, as he delighted in the grace of the Word, he suddenly sees the plots of persecutors: and what she feared more for her Bridegroom than for herself, or because Christ is more desired in us by persecutors, therefore she says: Flee, my brother, and be like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of spices. (Ibid., 14). He fled for the sake of the weak, who could not bear more severe temptations. Therefore it is written that we should flee from cities to cities (Matth. X, 23): and if we are persecuted in this city, let us flee to another. Therefore, because of the weak, as we have said, let him who pursues flee: or let him flee from the weak and pass over to the mountains of spices, which can bring the fragrance of blessed resurrection for martyrdom. The mountains of spices are holy. Christ fled to them, because His Foundations are in the holy mountains (Psal. LXXXVI, 1). Therefore, they seek refuge in those who are its stable foundations. It escapes within us, it persists with them in faithful station. Therefore, Paul is the mountain of aromas, who can say: For we are the good odor of Christ to God (2 Cor. 2:15). David's mountain of aromas, whose prayer's fragrance ascended to the Lord; and therefore he said: Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight (Psalm 140:2).

However, Symmachus and Aquila have interpreted it, that Christ says to the Church: 'Which seat is in the gardens,' that is, You sit now in the gardens, worthy of the heavenly paradise; therefore, Whisper your voice to me, to whom friends listen. I also desire to hear it. The Church began to be in the gardens after Christ suffered in the gardens.