НАДЕЖДА

When we ourselves deserve it, then the intercession of the righteous brings us great benefit. On the contrary, if we ourselves are negligent, and we place all the hope of our salvation on them alone [the righteous], then we will not be better off from this, not because the righteous are powerless, but because we are destroying ourselves with our own negligence (1). I only urge your love to imitate the ancients in virtues - in marrying sons, in giving daughters in marriage, and with your virtues to incline yourself to God's favor. If God favors us, then, even if we were on someone else’s side, even if we were deprived of everything and were not known to anyone, we will be the most glorious of all. There is no happier person than the one who is helped by the hand from above. Blessed Jacob, taking advantage of her assistance, little by little exalted himself to such glory that those who received him as a stranger began to envy him. Let us also take care that we are worthy of help from above, and we will not resort to human power or seek protection from it. Nothing is as unreliable as this defense, as the experiences of human affairs sufficiently show us. Every day we see rapid changes; We see how everything turns and the one who was recently at the height of prosperity suddenly falls into extreme misfortune and often suffers the fate of the condemned. What madness it would be to seek the protection of people who themselves are in such uncertainty about their fate and cannot even control their own affairs with certainty! Therefore, let us remove ourselves from all human protection, remembering the words of the prophet: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man” (Jer. 17:5). You see that such a person is not only foolish, but is cursed because, having left the Lord of all, he turned to a slave like himself, who is not strong enough for himself. Let us avoid this curse, I beg you, and place all our hope in God. This is a firm, unshakable hope, not subject to change, like hope for people. Here, either death cuts off protection and leaves those who resort to it naked and deprived of everything, or even before death, a change in circumstances that has occurred makes everything unsuccessful on both sides. All real life is filled with such examples. Therefore, people are unworthy of forgiveness who, after so many experiences, still rely on human protection, and often suffer thousands of sorrows from their imaginary patrons. Anger has increased to such an extent that they often pay for services in the wrong way. Only with the God of all things everything is contrary to this: He constantly does good to us, even when we are ungrateful; He does not deprive Him of His protection, despite our ingratitude, and always acts only out of His own love for mankind (1). It is better to trust in the Lord than to rely on man. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes" (Ps. 117:9). There is no comparison made here (between God and people), but in Scripture such a turn of phrase is often used about incomparable objects, due to the weakness of the listeners of that time. So, he [David] says this not for comparison, but out of condescension to the listeners. Therefore, another prophet says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man” (Jer. 17:5) There is nothing weaker than such hope: it is weaker than a web; and not only is it weak, but it is also dangerous - all those who hoped in people and perished with them know this. On the contrary, hope in God is not only firm, but also safe, not subject to any change. That is why Paul said: “hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5:5), and the other Wise One: “Look at the ancient generations and Look: who believed the Lord and was ashamed? (Sir. 2:10). But, you say, I hoped and was ashamed. Do not slander, man, do not contradict the Divine Scripture; if you were ashamed, then, of course, because you did not hope as you should, you weakened, did not wait for the end, and began to be faint-hearted. Don’t do this, but when you see disasters coming, don’t lose heart; This, in fact, is hope - to stand firm in the midst of dangers (2). Not a single person who lives honestly loses confidence about the future, and on the other hand, many of the careless, oppressed by an evil conscience, do not want either judgment or retribution. So, do our blessings really consist of hopes alone? Of course, in hopes, but not human ones, which are often destroyed and disgrace the hoper when the one who promised protection dies or, although alive, changes his location. But these are not our hopes: they are firm and unshakable. He who gave us promises is always alive, and we, who have the benefit of them, although we die, will rise again, so there is nothing that can shame us, as we vainly and foolishly consoled ourselves with empty hopes (11). You might be interested in: