Certain notes, selected from Holy Scripture, awakening the sinner from the sleep of sin and calling to repentance, with subsequent images

At the end, I offer a short exhortation to everyone for a quick conversion, for the benefit of the soul. “Listen, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth” (Deut. 32:1). “They have sinned, they are not His children, they are wicked. An obstinate and depraved race! Is this what you repay to the Lord? ...Isn’t He your Father Himself, who adopted you, and created you, and created you” (Deut. 32:5–6)? “Ask your father, and he will tell you; and your elders and they will tell you” (Deuteronomy 32:7). “He fed him (Israel) in the wilderness, in the thirst, in the heat of the heat without water” (Deut. 32:10). “He surrounded him, and instructed him, and kept him like the apple of his eye. As an eagle covers its nest and flies over its young, so He stretched out His wings and received him, and lifted him up on His shoulders” (Deut. 32:11-12). “They drank honey from the stone, and oil from the hard stone,” and so on (Deut. 32:13). “And Jacob ate and was filled, and his beloved rejected him: he became fat, he grew fat, he grew fat, and he forsook God who created him, and departed from God his Savior” (Deuteronomy 32:15). “And the Lord saw, and was jealous, and was irritated,” and so on. And (the Lord) said: “I will hide My face from them, and show them what will happen to them later” (Deut. 32:19–20). “I will heap disasters on them and destroy My arrows on them” (Deuteronomy 32:23). “The day of their destruction is near, and what is ready for you is coming” (Deut. 32:35). “I will sharpen My sword like lightning, and My hand will take judgment; and I will take vengeance on my enemies, and I will repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows pierce with blood, and My sword shall be satisfied with flesh” (Deuteronomy 32:41–42). And the Lord said: “How long will these people grieve Me, and how long will they not believe Me in view of all the signs that I have done for them? I will strike them with death and destroy them” (Numbers 14:11–12). “If you do not turn, He will sharpen His weapon; He has drawn His bow and prepared it, and in it He has prepared instruments of death” (Ps 7:13-14). “Sons of men, how long will you persevere? Why do you love vanity and seek lies? (Ps. 4:3). “God will destroy you completely, uproot you and remove you from your village, and remove your root from the land of the living” (Ps 51:7). “I am satisfied with you; I will no longer endure your sins. When you stretch out your hands to Me, I will turn My eyes away from you; and if you increase your prayer, I will not hear you: for your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:14–15). “Woe to the wicked! For evil befalls him according to the works of his hands" (Isaiah 3:11). “The end has come, now is the end for you, and I will unleash my wrath on you, and I will repay you according to your ways, and I will lay on you all your abominations” (Eze 7:3). “My eye will not spare you, neither will I have mercy on you; I will pour out My wrath on you; I will blow the fire of My wrath upon you... You will be food for the fire; Your blood will be on the earth, and there will be no memory of you" (Ezekiel 21:31-32). “If they hide in hell, then my hand will tear them out from there too; and if they ascend into heaven, then I will overthrow them from there too. And if they hide on the top of Carmel, then I will find them there and take them; And if before My eyes they are sank into the depths of the sea, then I will command the serpent there also, and He will gnaw them" (Amos 9:2-3). “If you rise up like an eagle, and if you set your nest among the stars, from there I will overthrow you” (Obd 1:4). “Already the ax lies at the root of the tree: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire,” says the Holy Forerunner (Matthew 3:10). And Christ says the same: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:19). “Not everyone,” says Christ, “who says to Me: “Lord, Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). “Unless you repent, you will all perish in the same way,” says Christ (Luke 13:5). “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor wicked people, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God,” says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor 6:9-10). “Throw the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” says Christ (Matthew 25:30). “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” Christ will say to unrepentant sinners at the Last Judgment. “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life” (Matthew 25:41, 46). “Woe to the covetous, covetousness is evil for one’s house! Oh, woe to him who builds a city with blood, and who prepares a city with wickedness” (Hab 2:9, 12)! “As one who sacrifices a son before his father, so one who sacrifices from the wealth of the poor” (Sir 34:20). “The bread of the poor is the life of the poor; he who deprives it is a bloodsucker” (Sir 34:21). “He kills his neighbor who takes away his food, and he sheds blood who deprives a mercenary of his wages. When one builds and the other destroys, what do they gain for themselves except weariness? When one prays and the other curses, whose voice will the Lord hear?” (Sir 34:22, 4). “Behold, the wages that you withheld from the workers who reaped your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.” To the rich who withhold the wages of mercenaries, this is the thunder of Christ's apostle (James 5:4). “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” - says Christ (Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 43, 25:30). Think, Christian, more often about eternity, this way you will more easily avoid sin. Eternity always abides and never ends. A thousand, a hundred thousand, a thousand thousand centuries will pass, and more will pass, but eternity is just beginning. And no matter how much you stretch forward with your mind, eternity is just beginning, but you cannot reach its end with your mind, since it has no end. It is impossible to think and remember about eternity without sighing and fear. Thinking about eternity makes crying and tears sweet, makes every labor easier, every temporary punishment, that is, sadness, bonds, prisons, exile, insults, wounds, dishonor, reproach, poverty and death itself allows you to accept with love and gratitude. But he will not allow you to fall into lawless snares, he will not allow you to wallow in uncleanness, lie, steal, rob, deceive, be proud, be arrogant, condemn your neighbor, or slander him. He who thinks diligently about eternity will more desire to hear the word of God, instructions for salvation, than everyday food; he will not want to be decorated with corruptible beauty; even bitter food will seem sweet to him. Banquets, dancing, games, singing, choirs will disgust him, as preventing him from salvation; There will be more crying than laughing. Poverty will be more dear to him than wealth, dishonor than honor, reproach, reproach, bitterness than praise. A double eternity will appear to his mind. One is blessed and desiring, the eternity of the righteous, who in the kingdom of heaven with Christ and His holy Angels will rejoice endlessly forever; and the other is the unhappy and terrible eternity of poor sinners, condemned to eternal torment in fire with the devil. “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life” (Matthew 25:46). 1. God condemned the angels who sinned to eternal torment (Jude 1:6). 2. He cast out his forefathers from paradise and cursed them with all their descendants (Gen. 3:23). 3. Cain was condemned for fratricide (Gen. 4:11–12). 4. The flood came over the whole world (Gen. 7:20). 5. He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from heaven (Gen. 19:24). 6. The fierce Pharaoh with all his army was drowned in the sea (Exodus 14:28–29). 7. The people of Israel, who came out of Egypt, were struck down in the wilderness for various sins and iniquities (1 Cor 10:5–10). 8. He delivered many of those who came to the promised land into slavery to their enemies, into captivity, and sent punishments to others. This is written about in the book of Judges of Israel and in the books of Kings. “All this happened to them like images; but it is written for our instruction, who have reached the last ages" (1 Cor 10:11). 9. And now all kinds of punishments from God for sins are sent to people, such as: wars, bloodshed, earthquakes, famine, invasions of foreigners, civil wars, illnesses, infirmities, sorrows, sorrows, and so on. “Repent,” says Christ (Matthew 4:17). “Produce fruit worthy of repentance,” says the Forerunner (Matthew 3:8). “And it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; In the name of Christ we ask: be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). "Wash yourselves and you will be clean; take away wickedness from your souls" (Isaiah 1:16). “Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you; Cleanse your hands, you sinners; straighten your hearts, you double-minded. Lament, weep and howl; Let your laughter turn into crying, and your joy into sadness. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:8–10). “Behold, I stand at the door, knocking: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me,” says Christ (Rev 3:20). “You have mercy on everyone, for you can do everything; and you forgive the sins of men for the sake of repentance” (Wis. 11:24). “How great is the mercy of the Lord and the cleansing of those who turn to Him” (Sir 17:27). “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick”; “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” says Christ (Matthew 9:12–13). “And I do not condemn you; Go and sin no more,” Christ says to the wife taken in adultery (John 8:11). The publican, who humbled himself and cried out from the depths of his heart: “God! Be merciful to me, a sinner!” - Christ justified and said: “This one went into his house justified rather than the other” (Pharisee) (Luke 18:13-14). To the weeping harlot wife he forgave her many sins and said: “Her many sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:47). He said to the thief hanging on the cross and repenting: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). He forgave King David, who had repented of his sins, and then he said: “I have sinned against my Lord, and the Lord has taken away his sin from him” (2 Samuel 12:13). He had mercy on Manasseh, who had committed lawlessness and was converted (2 Chronicles 33:13). In addition, read the parable of the prodigal son and discuss how his good father, who was converted and still coming from afar, joyfully saw him, and was glad to see him, and having met him, he threw himself on his neck, kissed him, dressed him in his best clothes, and ordered a ring on his hand, and boots for his feet, and created a merry dinner and singing, and a choir, and other. Thus, God, the Heavenly Father, will kindly accept the repentant sinner, and command the Angels to rejoice over his conversion. “Even so, I tell you,” says Christ, “there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). The Menaion cheties are filled with examples of sinners who repented and received God's mercy. Please read them. “I will testify to you this day through heaven and earth: I have given life and death before your face, blessing and oath; choose life, that you and your seed may live,” says Moses to the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 30:19). Looking at the above-mentioned God's threats and punishments for sinners, at the consolation and God's mercy shown to the repentant, sinner, repent, and resort to the same God's mercy. What true repentance is and how quickly you need to bring it if you want to receive eternal life, I briefly suggest to you in the following paragraphs for your everlasting memory. For a Christian who, after Baptism, fell and followed lusts, one hope of salvation remains - repentance, and true repentance, as can be seen from the Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, interpreters of the Holy Scripture, consists of the following points: 1. Let go of previous sins and abhor them as if they were an abomination. 2. Regret them, and appease God, and confess to your confessor. 3. Take care in every possible way from other sins. 4. Forgive your neighbor’s sins so that God himself can forgive you. “If you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins,” says Christ (Matthew 6:14–15). 5. Show love and mercy to everyone, so that he himself may have mercy. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). 6. Humble yourself. “He who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). 7. Do not condemn anyone, do not slander anyone. Read the parable of the publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:10–15). 8. Always pray to God so as not to fall into the enemy’s attack. “Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation,” Christ says to the disciples (Matthew 26:41), because Satan is looking in every possible way how to ensnare a person into destruction. “Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Untrue repentance means returning to the same sins, and therefore useless. Sirach testifies to this: “When someone washes himself from the defilement of the dead and touches him again, what benefit does the washing profit him? So a man who fasts for his sins, and again goes and does the same thing: who will hear his prayer? and what benefit will he receive because he humbled himself?” (Sir 34:25–26). The merciful God accepts the repentant sinner kindly. See §III and IV. “Do not hesitate to turn to the Lord and do not delay from day to day,” since delay is disastrous (Sir 5:8), because: 1. Sudden death happens, as everyone can see: “His wrath will come out suddenly, and you will perish in vengeance” (Sir. 5:9). 2. God wants your conversion, and promises you forgiveness (see §III and §IV), but does not promise the next morning or what comes next. Think about it, sinner! First of all, he always commands to be prepared for the outcome: “Be ready, too, for at an hour at which you do not think, the Son of Man will come” (Luke 12:40). Many people put off repentance until old age. Very bad because: 1. In old age, there will be no bodily strength to carry out the work of repentance, and mental strength will weaken in will and desire for evil customs and habits. “If the Ethiopian changes his skin, and the lynx his mottled colors, then you too can do good by learning evil” (Jer 13:23). 2. This postponement is a grave sin before God, because they sacrifice the best part of their life, that is, youth to sin, the world, and the devil, and they want to offer the worst part, that is, old age to God. But whether this can be done is unknown. See §§ I, II, and VIII. Many put off repentance until illness, and others until death. This is the devil's wiles and a grave sin. 2. Being sick and struggling with illness, thinking about sins, regretting, and raising your mind and heart to God is very difficult. 3. In illness, there is a frenzy of mind, unconsciousness, loss of tongue, etc. 4. Indignation, melancholy, mortal fear are heavier than any illness. 5. Feat in conscience - from the recollection of past sins and from the fact that the punishments for sins will follow. 6. Satan here strives to lead and destroy the poor sinner into despair, as we read in the lives of the saints. We must be careful, as one of the Fathers said, so that the weak do not have weak repentance, and the dying do not have dead repentance. What I’m saying here is not that God, in weakness and illness, or at death, did not accept true repentance, let me not think so! But I confirm that it is difficult to bring it (see the circumstances described above). That delay itself is a grave sin, see § IX. Yes, and there are sudden cases. See § VIII. So, “do not delay,” according to the admonition of Sirach. (See § VIII). Everyone, young and old, healthy and infirm, while you are here, turn to the Lord. You can, while you live in this world, repent and thus be saved by the grace of God. The body is hungry - you feed it; thirsty - you give him something to drink; is sick - you heal; naked - you put it on; dirty - you wash, but the soul hungers, thirsts, hurts, all naked, all in vices - and you are not happy! You are trying to find and return the stolen physical wealth, but your enemy, the devil, has stolen everything from your spiritual wealth - and you are not happy! Your house is on fire - you call your neighbors and try to put it out, but the house of your soul is on fire and is already burning down - and you do not care! You are drowning in water - and you ask everyone for help, but you are drowned in sins - and you are not happy! Your father, or mother, or brother, or sister, or wife, or friend has died - you grieve greatly and fill the air with crying and sobbing, although this death is inevitable for you and for no one; the soul died from sins, and therefore must die an immortal death forever - and you do not rejoice, do not mourn, do not cry, do not resort to the Resurrector of the dead, Christ! As if separation from a friend, or wife, or brother, or sister is worse than the death of your soul and your eternal destruction. You cry about temporary death, which cannot be returned, for this is God’s limit, and you do not cry about spiritual death, which can be returned! This is how you, poor sinner, honor your mortal body, dust and ashes, but do not care about your immortal soul, which is dearer than the whole world, and treat it as if it were not yours! Oh, please look around, and run to the Merciful God with tears, so that He will take away this blindness from you, and do this without any delay. God Himself awaits you with the Angels and all the saints (see §III and IV), conscience convicts and compels, Scripture instructs and threatens (§1, II and VIII), death is ahead, as everyday cases show, the righteous Judgment of Christ is terrifying, Gehenna is terrifying, heaven, promised to you in your home, encourages, blessed eternity attracts you, and the opposite frightens (§1), the Gospel assures in everything. The great thing is salvation, for which Christ, the Son of God, died. If you find it once, you will have it forever, but if you lose it, you will never find it. In this age one must seek it, and seek it more than everyday food. But after death you will not find it, although you wish with all zeal and sighing. “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light,” - this is what Christ’s apostle tells you (Eph 5:14). Having thus begun, do not look back, stand straight, strive, succeed, supported by the help and hope of eternal blessings, and remember me, unworthy, before God. And if you start like this, you will save yourself and bring considerable benefit to my soul. Amen. March 21 days, 1765. Read what is written above yourself often, dear brother and co-servant of Christ, and pay attention to yourself and your salvation, and read to the people of God entrusted to you. You can read this to people wherever you happen to be with them, that is, when either they are in your house for some reason, or you find yourself with them due to some need, or in some other meeting, so that they hear and know what unrepentant sinners should do, and how, on the contrary, God is merciful to those who repent, and, encouraged by this, can repent more earnestly to God. And you yourself, in addition to what is written above, can acquire instructions for yourself from performing your priestly service. So, for example, when performing Baptism, you hear how they renounce Satan and all his works (which is written in a short exhortation, composed in three points), remember that you yourself have renounced Satan and all his works; When making confession, you examine the conscience of the repentant spiritual son or daughter, look into your own conscience, whether it is convicting you of what you are punishing the confessor for, and try in every possible way to cleanse it with contrition of heart, tears, reverence and constant prayer; When burying those who have passed away, think about the poor state sin has brought us, created in the image of God, remember also that you yourself are “earth, and to earth you will go” (Genesis 3:20); when approaching the altar to serve God, pay attention to yourself that you are a mediator and intercessor between God and people and that you are a prayer book and intercessor to God for them - and reason as you approach; Thinking about your title, remember that you swore and swore before God, the Knower of the Heart, with all zeal and diligence to shepherd the people He entrusted to you. Do the same in other matters, and always remember that you bear the title of a servant of God, and in every possible way, as far as humanly possible, try to act worthy of this title in everything. God, the Gracious Helper of all, seeing your efforts, will help you, and what seemed painful to you, you will feel easy with the help of God and having acquired the habit. May Christ, the Son of God, the Chief of shepherds, who provides for everyone, help you with His grace. You might be interested in: