Собеседование 6

For the rest of Psalm 50, and about repentance 1. I would like to offer the remains of yesterday's meal; but, beloved, when you hear about the leftovers and the meal, do not assume anything sensual. We do not cut meat, of course, but we teach spiritual thoughts; We don’t pour wine, but we offer a word to your soul. If there is meat left over from a sensual meal for one or two days, it spoils and is thrown away; and at the meal of the mind, if anything remains even for a whole year, it continues to bloom and smell fragrant. The meat was left over and spoiled over time; thoughts remain - and they retain their fragrance. Someone ate meat and suffered decay; Whoever has tasted thoughts is directed towards incorruption. Someone ate meat and vomited a great stench; someone tasted the thoughts of spiritual fragrance, and belched out great virtue and pleased his neighbor. The prophet ate exactly this kind of food and that is why he said: “my heart has poured out... a good word” (Ps. 44:2). The waves rise again, but let your mind be strong; The bodies begin to move, but let not the ear be distracted. Look, and listen carefully to my words. Yesterday you saw the king and the prophet waging war, falling, rising, winning, crowned, teaching. You have seen sin attacking and being struck down by repentance. It was like sin, the bear came and defeated (the king), but repentance came and helped him rise. (This is where) the cure for wounds is, (this is where) the hope of salvation is. You saw the prophet come and rebuke the prophet. They saw how the king patiently endured reproof, accepted the wound, and freed himself from corruption. We saw how the Lord’s love for mankind shone, reviving even the dead. They saw how he said: “I have sinned before the Lord,” and what the prophet said: “The Lord has taken away your sin” (2 Samuel 12:13). The confession was brief, and the healing and correction was even shorter. He sinned in deed, but repented in words. By the wave of God, the ulcer disappeared, the wound was erased, and health was restored. However, the prophet was not satisfied with this, but after correction, after healing the wound, he wrote a psalm with the goal that his passion would serve for the benefit of posterity: so that the wreck he experienced would show the way to the harbour, and from his suffering and correction others who were experiencing the same thing would learn to resort to the same method of treatment and correction. So, what is this psalm, and what is its inscription? We will listen with attention. “To the end. Psalm David a. The inscription of the psalm clearly tells us its meaning; and the speeches of the psalm themselves are sufficient to study the depth of the thoughts contained in it. You need to know that the psalm also contains a prediction about the future, which is why it is inscribed: “to the end,” which means that the prophecy will have an end (fulfillment). And let no one doubt whether during the time of repentance the great David was honored with the grace of prophecy. This can be judged by other psalms in which he expressed his repentance. And in those psalms, as of course in the psalm under consideration, he clearly indicated to us that he was not deprived of the grace of the Spirit. So here he says: “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 50:13). After all, he does not ask for the Spirit to be given to him, but only begs that it not be taken away from him. Enlightened by the Spirit and foreseeing that the people he ruled would fall into iniquity, would suffer various punishments for them, would be enslaved and become a prisoner in Babylon, David wrote this psalm, healing his own wounds, and preparing appropriate medicine for his people. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse away my iniquity” (Ps. 50:3). The above words are quite suitable for the divine David, for the captive people, and for those of us in a bad position. Great wounds require proportionate medicines; why the great David asks that the fullness of mercy be poured out on him, so that the source of generosity will blot out the traces of sin. Accordingly, he calls sin lawlessness, because it contained a double transgression of the law. “Wash me from my iniquity” (Ps. 50:4). Have you heard what the prophet said: “The Lord has taken away your sin”? What else are you looking for? I do not cease to thank, I do not cease to glorify, My sin has been blotted out, and I want even a trace of it to be destroyed; My wound has been healed, but I want to return my beauty. 2. So, David falls down to God and says: “Have mercy on me, O God.” He does not speak about the exploits of his life, but about the Lord’s love for mankind, resorting to mercy, the common refuge of all who have sinned. "Have mercy on me, O God." Your mercy is inexpressible, surpasses every word, cannot be explained: a consolation for the sinner, it is also a great affirmation for the righteous. Not only are sinners saved by mercy, but the righteous are also protected by mercy. And in order to know that the righteous are strengthened by mercy, listen to what was said to Peter, this pillar (of the Church), the foundation (of faith), named by Peter precisely because his faith was as solid as stone: “Simon! Simon! Behold, Satan asked that he might sift you like wheat, but I prayed for you, so that your faith would not fail” (Luke 22:31–32). You see that the righteous also need mercy, both in order to become righteous from sinners, and in order to maintain righteousness while being righteous. After all, the apostle also became such by the grace of God: “I thank him who gave me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he recognized me as faithful, appointing me to serve, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender.” How did he escape in this case? “But for this reason I received mercy” (1 Tim. 1:12–13, 16). You see that he too is saved by grace. He persecuted and persecuted the Church, plundered the vineyard, and was a wolf. I read the prophets and trampled on the prophecies. He knew the prophets as a zealot of the fatherly law, but did not know the One about whom they prophesied. How was he pardoned? “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? ( Acts 9:4 ) Oh, the Lord’s love for mankind! Oh, indulgence! God says to man: “Why are you persecuting Me?” He imitates His Father. He says to the Jewish people: “My people! What have I done to you and how have I burdened you? answer me” (Micah 6:3). So His Son says to Saul: “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? What about Saul? “Who are you, Lord?” He immediately recognized Him as Master: such was his prudence. “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you persecute” (Acts 9:5). Oh, wisdom of the Lord! Why didn’t I say: I am the Son of God, I am the Primordial Word, I am the One who sits at the right hand of God the Father, I am the Existing One in the image of God, I am the One Who Stretched out the sky, I am the Creator of the earth, I am the One who set the limits of the sea, I am the Creator of angels, I am the Existing One everywhere and the Filler of everything, I am the Eternally Born of the Father. Why didn’t He use a similar - worthy, exalted and great name, but called Himself by the name of the earthly city: “I am Jesus” of Nazareth? Because the persecutor (under those names) did not know Him. If he had known, then, of course, he would not have driven. He did not know that He was born of the Father; and he knew that He was from Nazareth. Consequently, if Christ had told him that He was the Son of God, the Primordial Word, the Creator of heaven, then Saul could have said that it is not the one whom I am persecuting, but another. Did you understand what I said? If he had told him those great and exalted names, then Saul could have said that it was another, and not the Crucified One. But so that Saul would know that he was pursuing Him - the Crucified One, who took the form of a servant, who turned among us, crucified, died, buried, rose again, descended into hell, the Lord said to him: “I am Jesus” of Nazareth, “Whom you are persecuting,” Whom you saw and know as living with you. Then Saul immediately confessed His sovereignty. The Lord condescended as much as a slave could rise, which is why the latter received pardon. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy.” And the Canaanite woman resorts to this refuge. “Have mercy on me... my daughter is cruelly raging” (Matthew 15:22). Where there is mercy, there is no investigation; where there is mercy, there is no judgment; where there is mercy, there is no punishment; where there is mercy, no proof is required for salvation; Where there is mercy, there is no need to justify yourself. I just want to be pardoned. Why do you demand an answer from me? I'm just asking for mercy, for salvation. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy.” You said: “great”, tell me - how much? Don't know; that it is great, I know, but I cannot measure it, I am not able to embrace it. I don’t know the amount of mercy, my thoughts cannot comprehend it, my tongue cannot express it. But I see the abundant fruit of mercy. Of course, if it had not been very great, few would have been saved. His Son also showed this mercy. Coming to earth, He saved everyone by His mercy. “Have mercy on me, O God”, a refuge, unstormed by waves, filled with silence. The storm of my sins is great, but the security (under the roof) of the philanthropy of my Master is inviolable (by nothing). He became a man - this is a work of mercy; entered the virgin womb - this is a matter of love for mankind. He became what you were so that you could become what you were not—that is the work of mercy. And immediately after His coming, whom did He call? Magi. Who after them? Publican. After? Harlot. Behind her? Robber. Who after him? Detractor. 3. Oh, unheard of and amazing things! Tributaries of sin are the beginnings of a calling. Why was the universe poor? Because some were immersed in wickedness, others were held by sin in Judaism and despair. Therefore, the Lord, having appeared on earth, first called, as it were, the firstborn from those who were in sin, so that later no one would despair of their salvation. Are you wicked? Remember the Magi. Are you a robber? Remember the publican. Are you criminal? Remember the harlot. Are you a killer? Remember the robber. Are you a lawless man? Remember Paul, a blasphemer and then an apostle; first the persecutor, and then the evangelist; first an adulterer, and then an arranger of marriages; first the tares, and then the wheat; first the wolf, and then the shepherd; first lead, and then gold; first a sea robber and destroyer, and then a helmsman; first the destroyer of the Church, and then the protector of the Church; first a destroyer of the vineyard, and then he became a planter; first shaking the church, and then creating. Have you seen anger that surpasses boundaries? Have you seen virtue rising? Did you see the madness of the slave? Have you seen the Lord’s philanthropy? Do not tell me: I am a blasphemer; do not tell me: I am a persecutor, I am a criminal; you have examples of everything. Seek salvation in whatever harbor you want. Do you want it in the new (testament), do you want it in the old? In the new - Paul, in the old - David. Don't give me excuses, don't hesitate. Have you sinned? Repent. Have you sinned without number? Repent without number. I use this medicine constantly and it relieves inflammation. I know how the conscience of sinners is troubled; I know what their despair is. The devil comes, sharpening his sword, with these words: you spent your entire youth shamefully, you ruined your whole life. First he was a fornicator, then he robbed, indulged in covetousness, broke his oath, and blasphemed. What hope of salvation can you have? You are dead. Take advantage of real life though. These are the words of the devil, and here are mine against them. Are you dead? But you can be saved. Have you led a prodigal life? But you can become chaste. Have you committed adultery? But you can be saved. Have you fallen? But you can rebel. Is your repentance not enough? But the Lord’s love for mankind is great. Did you kill? Repent. Were you selfish? Get better. Fornicated? Leave me alone. Were you wounded? Be healed. While you are still breathing, on the last day, on the bed itself, even lying at your last breath and leaving the field of this life, and then repent. Limited time does not constrain God’s love for mankind. Don't tell me: how and in what way? I am covered in wounds, covered in ulcers: can I repent on the last day? You can, and you very well can. Pray, give alms, make a will in favor of the poor. You will leave here, but your business will remain. And do not resort to heretical tricks, do not tell me: how can I be saved? When God acts, do not demand an account; when He cares, do not despair. When there is a doctor in front of you, ready to get down to business and offering thousands of medicines, you don’t say: how will I be treated? – but you rely on his art. You trust the skill of a slave like you, and do not repent; and don’t you trust the Lord’s love for mankind? Don't say: how? but be amazed, but be horrified, but glorify. Meanwhile, I ask you: how did the robber escape? He spent his whole life in murders, in robberies, in blood, breaking into houses, plundering property - and did not reform, did not repent while he lived on earth. And so he was condemned by people, crowned by God. He had no power in his life and acquired a kingdom. Here he lost everything, and there he gained everything. And how did you acquire it - tell me? In a word. What did he say? “Remember me, Lord, when you come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). And his word had such power? More than one word received such power, but the Lord’s love for mankind - combined with his repentance - made the robber a citizen of heaven. How? I don't know how. Don't question me about the method; I am only looking for salvation and do not care about the method of recovery. You ask the doctor: “cure me of my illness,” and do not dare to say: how (will you treat)? And when God saves you, do you dare to say: how? How many adulterers, libertines, homosexuals, how many rapists fill the prison. Thousands of accusations, enemies are fierce, great, repression. But one sign from the king - and they are free. The king, a slave like me (what is special that he is clothed in purple? his being is not at all higher than mine, he is of the same kind as me) gives a sign - and they are free: the accusation is destroyed, and the condemned is released. The ruler does not object, the prison guard does not restrain, the laws do not contradict: the dignity of the king frees the prisoner. And really, God, the Lord of angels and archangels, cannot save with one wave? Moreover, if the king frees, he frees from punishment, but not from sin; and the Lord forgives my sins. He says: I do not want an adulterer to be an adulterer - and His word becomes deed. He says: Let no fornicator be a fornicator - and His Word changes a person’s character and destroys the power of sin. 4. To make sure you are completely sure, listen. He said: let there be heaven, and heaven appeared; let the earth be, and the earth become, being arose from non-being. I want there to be angels, and the face of angels to appear. So, His word produces spiritual and physical beings from non-existence, but He cannot resolve sins? And what is sin before the Lord’s love for mankind? Web. The wind smells and the web disintegrates. So will sin really persist contrary to the will of God? I say all this not to make you careless, but to instill in you, along with faith, more hope and hope. Never despair, O man: only then can one come to despair when a person despairs of himself. Just think: this great prophet - I’m talking about David - having the grace of the Spirit, after such closeness to God, after many exploits, after so many victories, publicly says: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy.” I reach out to the sea of ​​the Lord’s philanthropy. What do you want, tell me? You heard what the prophet said: “and the Lord took away your sin” - what more do you want? That’s not what I’m looking for! I want to (regain) my beauty, my former dignity. “And according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity.” See what he's looking for. How so? Has not (thy iniquity) been purged? What more do you want? “Wash me often from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps. 50:4). What then? I am looking for more, complete purity and shine. “Wash me often from my iniquity.” But what have you done to achieve this? Be very attentive to my words: be attentive, even with tension. The mercy of God is inexpressible, inexplicable, incomprehensible; it surpasses the mind, conquers understanding. But although this is the mercy of God, however, so that people who are constantly merciful do not become worthless, it also needs our complicity. Understand what I say: God has mercy; but he does not just show mercy, but with the condition: give too. Why? It’s as if He says this: the severity of your sins is immeasurable; your sins are numerous: I want to alleviate them. Give your hand: not because I need your help, but because I want you to contribute something to the work of your salvation. I'll tell you how. For example, the robber was saved and received permission from so many sins, of course, not only by grace, but also by the power of his own faith. What is he saying? “Remember me, Lord, when you come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). What did God bring to save him? Resolution of sins. What did the robber bring for his salvation? I believe. Which one? Great, sublime, reaching to the sky. And I will now show that this is exactly what it is. The Jews saw the dead raised, lepers cleansed, demons cast out, the sea tamed, the earth draining, the fish bringing the statir, the star leading the Magi, the creature - both heavenly and earthly - glorifying Him as a king - and after all this they crucified Himself, their Lord and the universal. The robber did not see anything like this; on the contrary, he saw one suffering spitting, insults and ridicule - and was not tempted by this, but recognized Him as king. Do you see that He not only received mercy, but also helped? And, of course, it is necessary that the one receiving mercy contributes in some way to his salvation. In the same way, the publican, being rapacious and covetous, how was he saved? Christ passed by and said to him: “Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). This means that just as the thief brought his word, so the publican served to follow Him. What happens to patients who are plagued by incurable diseases and need many medications? The doctor comes and tells the patient: a lot of expense is required to prepare the medicine; and the patient answers: I cannot give so much, I am in poverty. Then the doctor says to him: give me this and that, and I will bring the rest myself. God does this too. Give Me your confession of your (sins), tears and repentance, and I will give the rest to you from My love for mankind. 5. So David asks the Lord to wash away his sins. What did David do? And how did he serve his salvation? “Have mercy on me,” and: “Wash me from my iniquity many times, and cleanse me from my sin.” [Already, he says, through the prophet Nathan you have granted me forgiveness (of my sin), and you have punished me with various misfortunes, as if by fire and sword; but I still need cleansing, having become infected with the strong stench of sin. Wash me again, Master, to cleanse all the dirt So, what did David do and how did he deserve his salvation? He committed murder and adultery, brought tears and confession (of sin) and says: “For I acknowledge my iniquity” (Ps. 50:5). Here an exchange is made: God gives, and he who receives salvation gives mercy, and he who receives salvation gives confession (of sin). I understand." So you give this? Are there people who do not know their sins? How many sinners do they feel no embarrassment? Many people rob and do not know what they are robbing; many are devoted to covetousness and do not notice their passion. Many take off the widow's last clothes and mistake her for others. Many oppress orphans, and do not grieve, do not cry, do not confess their sins. How can they be saved without even knowing that they are sinning? You saw how the prophet loudly called out: “For I am aware of my iniquity.” [And after the forgiveness You granted, I did not forget about my sin, but I constantly have before my eyes images of my evils and the iniquities I have committed; at night I see them in a dream, and during the day I dream of them in reality]. “For I am aware of my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.” Oh, nobility soul! He did not consign the memory of sin to oblivion, but he described the sin that had already been forgiven him. As in the picture, he saw every day the accomplice of his adultery, every day he saw the abomination he had committed. “And my sin is always before me.” You do not notice it, but look what happens. If you forget, God will remember him, because “I...,” He says through the prophet, “I blot out your transgressions for Myself and will not remember your sins: remember Me; let's go to court; speak so that you may be justified” (Is. 43:25–26). Why do I need to remember? In order to be prudent, to know that I have forgiven you. If you constantly remember the severity of sin, then you will always remember the significance of the benefit shown to you. I have forgiven, He says, you, but do not forget this mercy; I won't remember your sin, but you do. Such were the holy men: they forgot about their exploits, but remembered their sins; It’s not like the people of our day: these people forget about their sins, and if they do something good, they proclaim it loudly. Have you done good? Forget about him so that the Lord will remind you of him. Have you done something bad? Remember him so that your Lord will forget about him. Leave the matter to the Lord. Will you imagine your exploits as the Lord will present them? If you speak, you will reduce them; if your Master speaks, He will exalt them. For example: you give to a beggar; and if you have to say it, how do you answer the question? I saw a hungry beggar and fed him. What does He say? This is not how He will say it, but how? You saw Me hungry and fed me (Matthew 25:35, cf. Matthew 25:37). Leave it to Him, who can say more powerfully; leave it to the One who speaks and exalts to speak about them. And you talk about your sins so that He can blot them out. But you are ashamed to say because you have sinned. Say them every day in your prayer. So what? Didn't I say? Tell your fellow servant who reproaches you, tell God who heals your sins. Not because, of course, if you don’t say it, God won’t know them. Does He want to learn about them from you? When you did them, He was present; when you did them, He was a witness, observed. You committed (sins) and were not ashamed. You are not ashamed of deeds that disgrace you, but are you ashamed of words that justify you? Say it here so you don't have to say it there. Say it and cry. Your sins are written in a book; your tears can serve as a sponge for them. Cry and they will be erased; cry - and the book will appear clean in heaven. Contrition for sins is a great sponge; the power of tears is great. I will explain to you the power that tears have. What do you consider a great feat? But be very careful what I say. What do you consider a great feat? You say - martyrdom. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The greatest feat is martyrdom, because martyrs shed their blood. This means that the deeds of the martyrs are obvious. Martyrs shed blood and sinners shed tears. And understand how great the power of tears is: did a harlot shed blood? Was it not a source of tears that she shed and washed away her sins with them? And what am I saying about the harlot, the unclean woman? The pillar of the Church, the foundation of faith, the head of the council of the apostles, Peter, didn’t he deny Christ once, twice, and three times? And did he shed blood after that? Didn't he shed springs of tears and didn't he cleanse his sins with bitter crying? “For I acknowledge my iniquity.” Don't you have a book at home and write down your daily thoughts in it? Have a book in your conscience and write down your daily sins in it. For example, like this: when you go to bed and no one else entertains you, then before you go to sleep, take this book and think about your sins, reasoning with yourself: have I sinned today, either in word or in deed? 6. This is exactly what the prophet advises: “If you are angry, do not sin...; whatever you talk about in your hearts, lament on your beds” (Ps. 4:5). You have no leisure during the day: fear of your bosses, and conversation with friends, and taking care of business, and feeding your children, and serving your wife, and troubles about the table, and thousands of different things entertain you. When you come to your bed, to this harbor inaccessible to the waves, where no one bothers you, say in your heart and soul: we have whiled away this day, oh soul: what good have we done or what bad? Remember Gehenna: let fear motivate you to good and keep you from evil. Lying in bed and remembering your sins, cry: and in bed you can make amends for them. Pray to God, and then go to sleep, testifying to your sins. Is it hard, unpleasant, lying in bed, thinking about sins every day? And when you think about them, restrain your mind, cleanse it, instill fear in it, separate it with a cut that does not have pain, carry out a terrible judgment on yourself, ease your mind, so that the next day you do not rush to commit sins. “For I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. You alone have I sinned and done evil before You” (Ps. 50:5-6). What are you saying? I was a king, I was afraid only of You. I was a king and was not afraid of those who had offended me. He was my warrior and could not punish me; but I care about You, so that You do not demand an account from me. “I have sinned against You alone and have done evil before You.” [I received many and great gifts from You and repaid You for the gifts with deeds contrary to You, daring to commit what was prohibited by law. This does not mean that he did not harm Uriah; of course, he destroyed both Uriah and his wife; but the greatest crime was committed against God himself, who chose and made him By the way, he added: “And I did evil in Your sight.” Indeed, history also testifies to this: “And this deed that David did was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). For your gifts I turned out to be ungrateful to you, and I transgressed the laws given by you; having been rewarded with many blessings, I find myself ungrateful for them; without causing any harm to the Babylonians, I suffered great disasters from them. “So You will be righteous in Your judgment and will be victorious when You judge.” For myself, he says, I have prepared disasters; and Your righteousness shines even without that. During the judgment, when what I received from You will be presented and what I have done against You will be contrasted with it, You will appear just and philanthropic, and I will turn out to be criminal and ungrateful. Of course, the expression “so” is not serves here to indicate the reason. It was not, of course, that both David himself and the (Jewish) people sinned so that God would be justified; the truth of God is revealed even without these sins. The whole providence of God both about David and about the Jewish people is based on it]. What do these words mean? I have sinned against You; if there is judgment, You will win; if anyone judges, You will win. How is this? He saw that God constantly wants to go to court with people: “Hear, ye mountains, the judgment of the Lord, and ye solid foundations of the earth: for the Lord has judgment with his people” (Micah 6:2). And further: “My people! What have I done to you and how have I burdened you? answer me” (Micah 6:3). And in another place: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord says: I have raised and raised up sons, and they rebelled against Me” (Is. 1:2). Everywhere He saw that the Lord was judging people, and said to Him: victory is on Your side: “So You will be righteous in Your judgment and will be victorious when You judge.” You made me, a farmer, a king; a king, a prophet. I overthrew Goliath not by bodily strength, but by the power of faith. I clothed myself in purple. You rejected another and elevated me; You gave me such great wealth. 7. “So that You will be righteous in Your judgment and will be victorious when You judge.” If You tell me my sins and I don’t tell them, then by doing this I will force myself to be condemned. Therefore, I need mercy. “For behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and in sin my mother gave birth to me.” For a long time, he says, from the very beginning sin has taken possession of my nature. Eve's conception was already preceded by the transgression of the commandment. It was after the fall and expulsion from paradise that Adam came to know Eve, his wife: she conceived and gave birth to Cain. So, the prophet wants to say that sin, having taken possession of our first parents, seemed to pave its way through the descending generations. All this teaches us that the effect of sin is not physical - then, of course, we would be free from punishment - but that nature is infected with a tendency to fall under the influence of passions; however, the mind can overcome with the assistance of work. The Prophet does not blame marriage here, as some have madly assumed, understanding in this sense the words: “conceived in iniquity”; but points to the original fall committed by the first parents and says that that source also arose from the same beginning. If they, he says, had not sinned, they would not have received death as retribution; but being mortal, they would have been above corruption; freedom from corruption, in any case, would have been combined with freedom from passions; and with dispassion would have no place for sin. But since they sinned, they were given over to corruption; having become corruptible, they gave birth to children similar to themselves; and along with these similarities, they inherited passion, fear and lust. Reason fights against them, and having won, it triumphs, and having been defeated, it is subjected to disgrace. And Symmachus, instead of: “gave birth,” put: “conceived” or: “carried in the womb.” [“You have loved the truth” (Ps. 50:8) You judge, he says, and punish some, and crown others, because you love the truth. And loving the truth and knowing the weakness of our nature, be lenient towards those who require medicine. And “the unknown and secret things of Your wisdom You have shown me.”]. Leaves speech about the kingdom and talks about prophecy. You have shown me such an honor that You have revealed and made Your Son known to me. I learned that You have a Son, that You have a Joint Throne, I learned that He wants to become a man. We preached to the universe the Gospel, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, the ascension to heaven. I spoke about His coming to earth, I spoke about His ascension, I spoke about His sitting at the right hand (of the Father), I spoke about the calling of the Church, about the salvation of the pagans, about the rejection of the Jews, about the election of the apostles. And all this because “you have shown me the unknown and secret things of Your wisdom.” You honored me so much, you loved me so much that you revealed to me the greatest of secrets - Your Son. Where can you see this? Listen to the prophet himself, as he describes His condescension. “It will come down like rain on the fleece” (Ps. 72:6). What does it mean? This means that the Son of God, having appeared on earth, did not come with a shock to the universe, not amid the brilliance of lightning and the roar of thunder, and finally without revealing His divinity. The mountains (earthly) would not have endured this, because “He will look at the earth, and cause it to shake, and He will fall upon... the mountains, and they will smoke” (Ps. 103:32). If He had revealed His real existence, then the sun would have gone out, the moon would have darkened, the sea would have dried up, the earth would have perished, our nature would have turned into nothing. Therefore, He took on flesh, came quietly and without noise, so that никто не знал, даже сам диавол. Пришел тайно и вселился в девическую утробу. О, чудные и неслыханные дела! Камень расседается, а утроба не расседается; горы разрушаются, а утроба носит Бога! Как объяснить? Как понять? О, безумие еретиков! Как раба но­сила Владыку? Исследующий небесное (рождение Сына), объясни зем­ное: как Вездесущий был в утробе, и в тоже время was not imprisoned in it? Because He was in the womb and sat on the throne. How this could be, I do not know; I accept it by faith and do not inquire with my mind. So, since He wants to come to earth quietly, without frightening or confusing anyone, then (and it is said): “He will come down like rain on a fleece.” The psalmist did not say: to the ground, but: “to the fleece.” Indeed, falling on the ground, rain makes noise, but falling on wool and fleece, it does not make noise, because the softness of the wool muffles the force of falling rain. 8. And so that you know that He came quietly, without confusing or disturbing anyone, without destroying or striking (it is said): “He will come down like rain on a fleece.” You spoke of His condescension, which took place without noise; tell us also about His tradition. “The man... who ate my bread lifted up his heel against me” (Ps. 40:10). Say about the envy of the Jews: “They hated Me without a cause” (John 15:25, cf. Ps. 34:19). Say about the judgment against Him: “Why are the peoples worried and the tribes plotting in vain? The kings of the earth stood up and the princes gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ” (Ps. 2:1-2). Say also about His cross: “They pierced my hands and my feet..., they counted all my bones” (Ps. 22:17-18). Say about His food and drink: “And they gave me gall for food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Ps. 68:22). Say also about the rejection of the Jews: “I will not accept a bullock from your house or goats from your flocks” (Ps. 49:9). Say also about the calling of the pagans: “All nations, clasp your hands, shout to God with a voice of joy. For the Lord Most High is terrible,... A great King in... all the earth..." (Ps. 46:2-3). Say also about the Jews' slander against Him: "He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver him, let him save him, if it pleases Him" ​​(Ps. 21:9). Say also about His tomb: “He laid me also in the pit of the grave, in darkness and the shadow of death” (Ps. 87:7). Say also about His resurrection: “You will not leave my soul in hell, and you will not allow Your saint to see corruption” (Ps. 15:10). Say also about the ascension: “God was lifted up with a shout, and the Lord at the sound of a trumpet” (Ps. 46:6). Say also about His sitting: “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Ps. 109:1). Say also about the glory of His Church: “The Queen has appeared at Your right hand, in clothes embroidered with gold, adorned with gold” (Ps. 44:10). Say also about the face of virgins: “The virgins will be brought to the King in the wake of Her” (Ps. 44:15). Say also about the election of the apostles: “In place of Your fathers were Your sons” (Ps. 44:17). Say about baptism: “By still waters you brought me up” (Ps. 22:2). Say about the sacraments: “He prepared a table for me against my oppressors” (Ps. 22:5). Say also about the anointing: “You have anointed my head with oil, and Your cup is upon me, how strong it is” (Ps. 23:5). Say also about intercession for the pagans: “Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thy inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy possession” (Ps. 2:8). This is what it means: “and You have shown me the secret of Your wisdom.” [Of course, I consider myself completely unworthy of forgiveness, having found myself ungrateful after so many gifts. After all, You not only put me on the royal throne, but also revealed to me what would happen a long time later, and made things unknown to others known to me, so that I could teach others about the incarnation of Your Only Begotten Son and about His saving passion and resurrection. All this taught by Your Holy Spirit, I pray that I too may be worthy of the grace that I foretell to others. Therefore I cry: “Sprinkle me with hyssop, and... I will be clean; wash me, and I will become whiter than snow” (Ps. 50:9). Only through the gift of baptism could such cleansing be accomplished]. By this he wants to say: I myself need the grace that will be given to all people. Only she can completely cleanse me and give me the whiteness of snow. And that hyssop itself did not bring forgiveness of sins at all, this can be easily seen from the Mosaic writings. So, here it is of course in a different sense. Indeed, by sprinkling the blood of a lamb on the doorposts with hyssop, the Jews in Egypt escaped the hands of the Destroyer. And this was an image of saving suffering. And here is the blood, and the tree of salvation, and the salvation prepared for all who come with faith. “You will bring joy and gladness to my ears: humble bones will rejoice” (Ps. 50:10). With this, he says, you will fill my ears with joy, promising complete cleansing, so that joy will penetrate all the members of the body, and the bones now crushed by bitterness will flourish again and regain their former strength. Look, he says, not at the iniquities I have committed, but at myself, mourning them, and cleanse my iniquity. What do you want, prophet? Your sin is solved, your punishment is destroyed. I am not content with this: I have a philanthropic Lord, who gives more than I ask. What do you want? I was a prophet: I want to be a prophet again. I am looking for that same closeness to God, that spiritual gift, that great grace. This grace retreated from me, like a dove that saw uncleanness: I want to return it to myself, like a bee. “Turn away Your face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquities” (Ps. 50:11). Tell me directly what you want? “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps. 50:12). [Since the old age of sin has overtaken me, now renew me with your love for mankind. This He promised through the prophet Ezekiel to those in Babylonian captivity. “I will give them,” he says, “one heart, and I will put a new spirit in them” (Ezek. 11:19). He does not mean the Holy Spirit here, but the power of reason. That is, having educated you for such a long time and taught you what fruits sin produces, I will prepare you for the assimilation of virtue. Blessed David asked for this here too, namely, so that his damaged heart would be renewed, and so that his mind would be strengthened so that he could keep to the right path. “And renew a right spirit in my womb.” 9. What nobility of soul! What affection for God! I am looking for such friendship, such communication that You would speak to me again, and I would speak to You. What does it matter if I am exempt from punishment? For me, the punishment is not to talk with You. I love you to madness. I cannot see Your being, because it is invisible, but out of love for You, I look at Your deeds - and I rejoice. I did not see You, but I saw the sky - and I rejoiced, and said: “The heavens will tell about the glory of God” (Ps. 18:2). He saw the earth and said: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it” (Ps. 23:1). He saw the sea and said with joy: “a great and spacious sea” (Ps. 103:25). I saw day and night, and cried out to You: “Your day and Yours night, You made the dawn and the sun” (Ps. 73:16). He saw the mountains and said in surprise: “high mountains are for the lazy” (Ps. 103:18). And like a friend, even if he has not seen the one to whom he feels affection, but has seen only his clothes or shoes, he is already rejoicing and rejoicing and, as it were, receives some satisfaction of his affection, so I walk around your creatures, overwhelmed with melancholy to the point of frenzy, constantly calling out to You: “as a deer strives for sources of water..., so... my soul strives for You, God. My soul thirsted (to appear) to the mighty, living God (saying): when I come and will I appear before the face of God?” ( Ps. 41:2-3 ). You are a king, you wear a crown. What do you want? I don't need this. I seek the former beauty, I desire the prophetic gift. I despise this power, I despise uncleanness. These are leaves, night, dreams and hay. I'm looking for my beauty. When will she return? I cannot bear the slowness, after having lost this closeness to God, destroyed by sin. “Create in me a pure heart, O God.” I seek not only purity of heart, but also the One who dwells in it. “And renew a right spirit in my womb.” He said well: “renew”, because the dwelling had already been prepared before. It has become worn out from sin, but Your grace will renew it. “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 50:13). [With these words we clearly learn that he was not deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, because he does not ask, as someone who has lost it, for its return, but begs not to be deprived of it, not to be outside of divine care. The person here called care. “Give me the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Sovereign Spirit” (Ps. 50:14). What he did not destroy, he asked to preserve, namely, the grace of the Spirit; and what he lost, he begged to be returned: such was the joy of God. I enjoyed every joy when I enjoyed great closeness to You, Master; now, having lost the last, I have lost the joy. Slavery to sin destroyed this intimacy. That’s why I ask you to return to me the former power over the mind, to restore the dominance over the passions. Here again the autocratic mind was called “masterly spirit.”] But what will you give me, David, if you receive the Spirit? “I will teach the wicked Your ways, and the wicked will turn to You” (Ps. 50:15). If I keep the Spirit, I will proclaim to the universe: “All nations, clasp your hands, shout to God with a voice of joy. For the Lord ... the Most High is terrible, ... the great King in ... all the earth..." (Ps. 46:2-3). If I have the Spirit, I will say: “Rule over your enemies" ( Ps. 109: 2). If I have the Spirit, I will say: "(man) will not give God a ransom for himself, and the price of the redemption of his soul" ( Ps. 49: 8-9); I will also say: "Do not harden those your hearts, as (it was) when they were angry in the day of temptation in the wilderness" (Ps. 94:8); and again: “all iniquity will stop its lips” (Ps. 106:42). If the Spirit is with me, I will say: “turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and strive for it” (Ps. 33:15). I will proclaim Your good deeds shown to me, and I will say: “Come and child, listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for my soul” (Ps. 65:16). “I will teach the wicked in Your ways, and the wicked will turn to You.” Where are the Jews? You do not sacrifice rams and bulls to me? But you do not want to them: “You did not desire sacrifices and offerings” (Ps. 39:7). You said: “I will not accept from your house your bullock or your flock of goats” (Ps. 49:9). “Offer a sacrifice of praise to God” (Ps. 49:14). You do not want those sacrifices: together with Your Son, You expect the correction of errors and the following of the truth. That's the kind of sacrifice you want. “Deliver me from (shedding) blood, O God, God of my salvation!” (Ps. 50:16). [The murder of Uriah was constantly in his mind; He expressed this very thing at the beginning (of the psalm) with the words: “my sin is always before me.” “My tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness.” Symmachus interpreted this as follows: my tongue will proclaim Your mercy (Διαλαλήσει ... τὴν ελεημοσύνην). Having received forgiveness, I will not remain silent, but will constantly sing praises to You and proclaim Your mercies towards me. "God! Open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise” (Ps. 50:17). Sin bound his tongue and stopped his lips; Now the prophet asks for the forgiveness of sins to restore his former courage and move his tongue towards praise. “If You desired sacrifice, I would give, (but) You do not delight in burnt offerings” (Ps. 50:18). This coincides with what was said in the previous psalm. There we heard the Lord say: “I will not accept bulls from your house” (Ps. 49:9). So, hearing this divine voice, he speaks in accordance with it: “If You desired sacrifice, I would give,” and further. You, says, said that the sacrifices of the dumb are distasteful to You; therefore, I will offer You a sacrifice that is pleasing to You.] So, since I do not want those sacrifices that You bring to Me? I have another sacrifice, which You were pleased with. To our God, sacrifice. And since You have greatly troubled my heart and crushed it as much as possible, I will offer a sacrifice pleasing to You.] I will offer You a sacrifice of humility: just resolve my sin, give me the Holy Spirit. 10. This sacrifice - I’m talking about humility - is not only now much higher than the Jewish one: it was also then. The three youths who trampled the flames of the furnace in Babylon, the young and the old, a few who turned out to be stronger than many, the captives who defeated the king, who lost their fatherland but retained the faith, naked and clothed, the poor and the rich, slaves who rose above the free, who turned the flame into dew, who transmuted the elements, who extinguished the power of fire, bound by the tormentor and allowed by fire - (these the youths) sang and said: “We have sinned and acted lawlessly, having departed from You, and we have sinned in everything; and at the present time we have no prince, no prophet, no leader, no burnt offering, no sacrifice, no offering, no incense, no place for us to offer sacrifice to You and gain Your mercy. But let us be accepted with a contrite heart and a humble spirit” (Dan. 3:29, 38-39). “A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart.” “Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor... and let the walls of Jerusalem be built” (Ps. 50:20). “Then you will be well disposed towards the sacrifices of righteousness, heaps and burnt offerings; then they will lay bulls on Your altar” (Ps. 50:21). [These words clearly show us that the psalm has a prophetic meaning. These words are put into the mouths of those doomed to life in Babylon and who longed to be freed from slavery. They plead for compassion for the city, for restoration fortifications, about performing the service determined by the law. Now, they say, living in a foreign country, we cannot offer legal sacrifices, since the law commands us to offer sacrifices to You only in that city. But as soon as our request is fulfilled and we restore the church, we will immediately offer You legal sacrifices]. Having mentioned above the gifts of the Holy Spirit and then indicated below that God is displeased with legal sacrifices, he now asks for the appearance of a new Zion, for the establishment of a heavenly Jerusalem on earth, for the introduction of a new order of life, in which the dumb will not be sacrificed, but (there will be) the exaltation and sacrifice of righteousness. Be careful here: I want to make you all teachers, all monks - not in the sense of not having wives, but in order to discover the fear of God - pious, (strong) to put out the fire. So, what is the question (on our minds)? We saw that he prayed, confessed his sin, called (God), asked, pleaded, shed tears, asked for a pure heart, brought faith. The question is, did he receive (what he asked for)? This anxiety (gives) me great pleasure. The helmsman does not rejoice as much at the sight of the waves rising behind him and pushing the ship forward - with a fair wind - as I rejoice and rejoice at the sight of this sea. Here I see not only raging waves, but also crowds and movement in the crowd; I see people restless and out of breath, but not moving away; I see that you are subjected to violence, but do not leave, endure cramped conditions, but maintain the strength of your soul. And the passion you reveal for the word excites my zeal. So here is the question: he prayed, he asked, he called, he pleaded, he inflicted punishment on himself, he was released from retribution. The question is, has he regained his former dignity? Have you received the grace of the Holy Spirit? Did you receive, as you asked, a pure heart and a right spirit? Was repentance strong enough to restore him to his former nobility? Pay attention: this psalm is considered the fiftieth. Which one? Fiftieth - this very psalm is about sin, about repentance, about forgiveness. After him, he already wrote the sixtieth, seventieth, eightieth, ninetieth, hundredth. But someone will say: what does it matter that he wrote the psalms? He did not write them with the Holy Spirit, because he did not receive the Holy Spirit; in their writing he was guided by simple human reason, without the participation of the Holy Spirit. After all, indeed, his sin was forgiven, but the Holy Spirit was not given. He himself, of course, asked, but nowhere do we find an answer that says “I gave it to you.” Look, I beg you. He wrote the fiftieth, sixtieth, seventieth, eightieth, ninetieth and hundredth (psalms). He also writes a psalm after the hundredth, and after many others, in which he says: “The Lord said to my Lord, “You are at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Ps. 109:1). This psalm, written after sin, turns out to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. Where can you see this? Christ showed this. After He had done everything: tamed the sea, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons, curbed anger, healed the paralytic, (after) a voice from heaven testified: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to Him” (Matthew 17:5); and so, (after) the Lord testified about Him, His works cried out, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove, John testified about Him, saying: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), - after all this, finally, already preparing to ascend to the cross, asking the Jews, the Lord said to them: “What do you think about Christ?” (Matthew 22:42) I did not ask you at the beginning, I did not call you as witnesses then, because I had not yet given you proof of My divinity. But now, when the elements have all shown My deity, when the Father (witnessed it), when My agreement with Him and My teaching have led everyone to this, when there is no shadow of contradiction left in you, “what do you think about Christ now? whose son is he? These ungrateful and shameless people say: “Davidov”, denying His deity and not wanting to say that He is God’s. What is He? “How then does David, by inspiration, call Him Lord, when he says: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool?” (Matt.22:43–44; Ps.109:1). If David had the Spirit, his sin was forgiven; if the sin was allowed, then his request was fulfilled. In fact, David says: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb.” Do you see that he has regained his former dignity again? Again he became a prophet, again he spoke about Christ, again he accepted his boldness, and sin did not harm him at all. Do you see the power of repentance? What am I saying? Not only alive, but also dead he had power. Barbarians once came and besieged the city. Hezekiah, being righteous, turned to God and begged Him: have mercy on me and spare this city (Is. 37:20). The prophet Isaiah comes to him and says, so that he does not think that he has been heard because of his righteousness, and - although David was already dead and a thousand years in hell - what does he say? “I will guard this city to save it for My own sake and for the sake of David My servant” (Isaiah 37:35). David had already died, but his boldness remained alive, and the deceased interceded for the living. Here is a righteous man who fights even after death! With this I will finish my word, having given, it seems to me, a sufficient answer to the questions about Christ Jesus Our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and in the Patrology of Min, classified as Spuria The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: