56. Сам здесь

It happens that when the master is somewhere close, and the slaves do not see him or do not know that he is close, the slave who knows about him, warning other slaves so that they do not anger him with their noise or any other outrage and would not be punished, says to them quietly: “Hush” or: “Be silent - you yourself are here.” So the servants of God, prophets and apostles, enlightened by the Spirit of God, warn us, O Christians! And they tell us: “Hear: He himself is here, who is everywhere and fulfills everything.” “Let your meekness be known to all men. The Lord is near” (Phil.4:5). Christians! Beware - “The Lord is near.” Beware of sin in word, and in deed, and in thought - “The Lord is near,” He who hates sin and is offended by it and is angry, and punishes those who sin. You who have gathered in the church of the Lord to pray and praise God, hear: “The Lord is near.” Here is the Lord Himself, before Whom you stand, praying, and He watches how you stand before Him, with what spirit and heart you pray to Him, how you sing and praise Him. When you bow your knees and your head before Him, do you also bow your heart? When asking for mercy from Him, do you yourself show mercy to your neighbors? When asking for forgiveness of sins, do you yourself forgive people their sins? Standing before God with your body, do you stand before Him with your spirit and heart? Praying to Him with your tongue and saying: “Lord, have mercy,” do you pray with your mind and heart? Do you sing and praise Him with your lips, and do you also sing with your hearts? Hear this, beloved: “The Lord is near,” the Lord Himself is here, before Whom you stand, Who looks at you and hears you pray and sing His praises. Beware, dear ones, lest your prayer and praise become a sin to you. We stand before the King - a man - with fear and humility, if we ask him for anything, and we listen to him with all our minds. All the more should we do this when we stand before God and pray to Him. “The Lord is close to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him, and He will hear their prayer, and He will save them” (Ps. 145:18-19). You who sit in the place of judgment, judge and reason between the right and the wrong, between the offended and the offended, hear: “The Lord is near.” Himself here, Judge of judges and “Judging the whole earth” in righteousness, King of kings and Lord of lords. He Himself is invisibly present here, and sees your deeds, undertakings and thoughts, and hears your words, and looks at you, how you judge His people, how and whom you justify, whom and for what you accuse. Beware, beloved! "The Lord is near". “God stood in the assembly of gods in order to pronounce judgment among the gods: how long will you... judge unrighteously and show partiality to sinners? Give justice to the poor and the orphan; Show the truth to the humble and the poor; deliver the poor and needy; pluck him out of the hand of the sinner" (Ps. 81:1-4). So, do, beloved, in your judgment as God commanded you. Your oath that you swore before Him obliges you to do this, and the work of justice to which you are called requires, lest the Lord, irritated by your unrighteousness, pour out His righteous wrath on you. You, who in this world are called masters and have under you slaves and peasants, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here and sees your deeds, and watches how you act with His people, your subordinates. He is not like a man - he has no partiality, but with Him everyone is equal: both masters and their slaves. Beware, beloved, lest you anger your Lord, Who is Himself present here. You who are called parents and have children, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here, Who sees your deeds and hears your words. How do you deal with your children? How do you teach and mentor them? Do you not teach vanity instead of truth and carelessness instead of fear? And instead of instruction and useful teaching, are you not giving poisonous temptations to young hearts? See, beloved, tread carefully before God, who looks upon you, and before your young children, who notice what you do and what you say, and themselves learn to do and say them. You who preach the word of God, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here and sees with what hands and with what tongue you touch His sacred treasure. Do you use that great gift of God for His glory and the benefit of your neighbor, or for your own praise? The Lord Himself is here, “testing hearts and bellies... But God said to the sinner: “Why do you preach My statutes and keep My covenant in your mouth? After all, you hated instruction and threw My words back. If you saw a thief, you hurried along with him, and took part with the adulterer. Your lips have multiplied slander, and your tongue has woven deceit. Sitting in the assembly, you slandered your brother, and put an obstacle on your mother’s son” * (Ps. 7:10, 49:16-20). You who trade and sell, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here, Who sees your deeds, looks at how you trade and how you sell. Do you not sell a rotten thing for a strong one, a bad one for a good one, and a cheap one for an expensive one? Aren't you lying? Are you deceiving your neighbors about your goods? And, what’s worse, don’t you swear falsely in the name of God for the sake of bad profit? Be ashamed and afraid to lie before the eyes of God, and to call upon His terrible name in lies, and to deceive His people. You who sit at the table and partake of the gifts of God, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here and looking at you. How do you taste God's goodness? Is it with prayer and thanksgiving? You taste God's blessing, but do you remember the Benefactor? All is God's good, not ours. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it” (Ps. 23:1). You who are gathered together and talking, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here, and looks at you, and hears what you say and about whom. Be careful that your conversation does not cause you sin. We speak carefully before the King who is present, especially before God, Who is present here, and there, and in every place. Watch how, and what, and who you talk about. You who want to defile your soul and body with uncleanness, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here, Who sees your lawless undertaking. Be ashamed and afraid to commit lawlessness in the eyes of God. You who are angry with your neighbor and are thinking of taking revenge and harming him, hear: “The Lord is near.” The Lord Himself is here and sees your evil intent. Be ashamed and fear the present Lord, and abandon your evil undertaking. You who are thinking of stealing and kidnapping someone else’s property, hear: “The Lord is near” and sees your planned deed. Be ashamed and horrified in the eyes of God to commit a lawless deed. You who, either out of malice or out of an evil habit, slander and condemn your neighbor, hear: “The Lord is near,” and hear your slander, with which you sow temptations for people, and your judgment, with which you judge sinners like yourselves. Be ashamed and fear the Lord, before Whom you slander and condemn His people, and keep your tongue from that lawless deed. “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not feel the plank in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother: “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” but there is a beam in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5). Do not curse one another, brethren: whoever curses his brother or judges his brother, the law reviles him and the law judges him” (James 4:11). Every Christian hear: “The Lord is near.” Wherever you are, whatever you do, whatever you say and think, He is present with you, and He sees everything you do and hears your word. Be ashamed, beloved, and be afraid to sin before your Lord, just as you are ashamed and afraid to break the law before the King of the earth and other authorities. Do not be like the wicked, dear one, who “have not God before them” (Ps. 53:5), but be like that holy man who wrote about himself: “I have always seen the Lord before me” (Ps. 15:8). See your Lord before you everywhere and always. And no matter what you do: or you speak, or you think, or you eat and drink, or you sit at home, or you walk on the road, or you sell, or you buy, or you remain silent, or with whom you talk, or you pray, or you glorify your Lord—may He always remain before your intelligent eyes, although you do not see Him. Honor Him with your heart, lips and deeds, just as you honor the king present. If you commit a crime and sin in any way before Him, as a man, do not hesitate, but immediately fall before Him with humility and ask for forgiveness: “I have sinned, Lord, have mercy on me!” And your sin will be forgiven, for He is merciful and humane, and knows our weakness. Hear also, my soul, and be ashamed, and fear your Lord everywhere and always! Hear also, O God-fearing and pious soul, who unfeignedly reveres your Lord, hear: “The Lord is near” - the One who says to you: “You are Mine. And if you pass through waters, I am with you, and the rivers will not cover you; and if you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not scorch you” (Is. 43:1-2). O beloved! “Do not let your foot stumble; He who guards you will not sleep. Behold, He who guards Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you; The Lord is your covering from your right hand. The sun will not burn you during the day and the moon will not burn you at night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; The Lord will preserve your soul. The Lord will preserve your coming in and your going out from now on and forever” (Ps. 121:3-8). Translation by P. Yungerov – Editorial office of “The ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: