Беседа 7. Толкование на Песн. 3:9–4:7

Song 3:9. King Solomon made himself a bed from the trees of Lebanon. Song 3:10. Make his pillars of silver, and his rise of gold, his rise of scarlet, the stone laid within him, love from the daughters of Jerusalem. Song 3:11. Daughters of Zion, come out and see in King Solomon, in the crown with which His mother crowned Him, on the day of His betrothal, and on the day of the joy of His heart. Song 4:1. Behold, you are good, my neighbor, behold, you are good: your eyes are like a dove, except for your silence: your hair is like a flock of goats that was revealed from Gilead. Song 4:2. Your teeth, like a herd of shorn animals, have come forth from the font, and are full of two children, and the barren bear in them. Song 4:3. Like thy mouth is scarlet line, and thy conversation is red; like the love of your cheeks, except for your silence. Song 4:4. Like the pillar of David, your neck was created in Phalpioth: a thousand shields hang on it, all the arrows of the mighty. Song 4:5. Your two breasts are like two young twins of the chamois, grazing in the kryns, the day will breathe on the Dondezh, and the canopy will move. Song 4:6. I’ll go to Mount Myrrh and to Mount Lebanon. Song 4:7. You are all good, My neighbor, and there is no vice in you. King Solomon is accepted in many ways as a true King - I mean many things that are told about him for the better in the Holy Scriptures. For he is called peaceable, has immense wisdom, builds the church, reigns in Israel and judges the people in righteousness, and comes from the seed of David, and the queen of the Ethiopians comes to him. All this and similar things are said about him representatively, and prescribe the power of the Gospel. For whoever is so peaceful as “he who killed hostility” (Eph. 2:16), “who nailed His enemies to the cross” (Col. 2:14), or better yet, “reconciled the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19), “and destroyed the middle wall of the fence, so that both of them would build into one a new man, creating peace” (Eph. 2:14–15), who preached “peace to those far and near” (Eph. 2:17) through “those who preach good news” (Rom. 10:15)? Who is the builder of the church, as he who laid “its foundations on the holy mountains” (Psalm 86:2), that is, on the Prophets and Apostles, building, as Paul says, “on the foundation of the Apostle and Prophet” (Eph. 2:20) “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5), animate stones, which, according to the prophetic word ( Zach. 9, 16), roll by themselves to form walls, and so that when they are united one to another by the unity of faith and the union of love, the “Holy Church” will grow through them, and the “dwelling of God by the Spirit” will be completed (Eph. 2, 21–22)? And that by his wisdom Solomon means true Wisdom, no one, taking into account history and reality, will contradict; for history testifies to Solomon that he transgressed the limits of human wisdom, having embraced the knowledge of everything in the “breadth of his heart,” so that he surpassed his predecessors and became unattainable for his descendants. And the Lord, by His nature, by the very thing that He is, is the Essence of truth, wisdom and power. Therefore, since it was said by David: “Thou hast created all things with wisdom” (Psalm 103:24), the Divine Apostle, interpreting the Prophet, says that “By this all things were created” (Col. 1:16), and thereby makes it known that by the word: “Wisdom” the Prophet means the Lord. And that the Lord is the King of Israel, this is also testified by His enemies, who inscribed on the cross the recognition of His royal dignity: “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38). For we accept this testimony, although others think that it diminishes the greatness of the power, limiting the rule of the Lord to the kingdom of Israel. But in reality this is not the case; on the contrary, this inscription on the cross, mentioning the part, inscribes the authority over everything by not adding: This is the King of “only” the Jews. For the inscription without restrictions, having testified to His authority over the Jews, in recognition of this, without clearly saying so, implied power over all; because the King of the whole earth, of course, has dominion over part of it. And Solomon’s concern for truthful judgment means the true Judge of the whole world, who says: “The Father judges no one, but the Son gives all judgment” (John 5:22), and: “I cannot do anything for Myself, but as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is righteous” (John 5:30). For this is the most extreme limit of a truthful trial - not on one’s own, due to any bias, giving a decision to the defendants, but first listening to those subject to trial, and then making a verdict about them. Therefore, the power of God recognizes something as impossible for it; for Truth cannot divert judgment from the truth. But that the Lord according to the flesh is from the seed of David, and that this is foreshadowed by those born of David, let us remain silent in the word as to what is recognized by all. The mystery contained in the legend about the Ethiopian queen, why, having left the Ethiopian kingdom and having traveled such great distances, she hastens to Solomon according to the glory of his wisdom, bringing the king as a gift “precious stones”, gold and sweets “fragrances” (1 Kings 10, 10), will become clear to the one who knows which of the Gospel miracles she applies. For who does not know that initially the church of the pagans, before it became the Church, was black with idolatry, and separated from the knowledge of the true God by a great distance of “ignorance” (Acts 17:30)? But when “the grace of God appeared” (Tit. 2:11), Wisdom shone, and the true Light poured out its rays to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, then, since Israel closed their eyes to the Light, and made themselves far from the communion of goods, the Ethiopians came - the pagans who flowed in with faith, and “who were sometimes far off” became “near” (Eph. 2:3), washing the blackness with mysterious water, so that “Ethiopia” precedes “her hand to God” (Psalm 67:32), and “brings gifts” to the King (Psal. 71, 10): the aromas of piety, the gold of knowledge of God and the “precious stone” of doing the commandments and virtues. But having this in mind, with this I begin the review of the sayings ahead of us, I will explain this in words, suggesting in advance the literal reading of the Divine words, which is as follows: “King Solomon will make for himself a bed from the trees of Lebanon. His pillars are made of silver, and his worship is of gold: his rising is scarlet, stone is laid within, love from the daughters of Jerusalem” (Song. 3:9-10). Therefore, just as in what was previously studied about Solomon, the Word found out what features in this person the sacrament of the church is described, so by preparing the bed the economy for us is signified, because God is in many ways in those worthy of Him, being in each as much as each has strength and dignity. For one becomes a certain place of God, and another a house, another a throne, and another a footstool; and yet another becomes a chariot or an obedient horse, taking upon itself the good Horseman and running to please the Ruler. And as we now learn, another is also His bed, namely, one who by His wisdom is built not only from the trees of Lebanon, but also from gold, silver, scarlet and stones, which is fitting for each part, and by which the love of God is brought into action, because not everyone can accommodate the effectiveness of love, but only about whom is it known in life that this is “the daughter of the free Jerusalem on high” (Gal. 4:26). Therefore, that he who bears God within himself serves as a bed for Him who dwells and sits in him, this can be clear even before our explanations; because whoever, like Saint Paul, lives “in the wrong direction” himself, but has Christ living in him (Gal. 2:20), and provides evidence of “Christ speaking” in him (2 Cor. 13:3), he is in the proper sense called and is a bed for Him who is carried on him and held by him. But this is not what we are looking for; It is necessary, moreover, to carefully understand what is meant by the diversity and heterogeneity of matter. So, why is wood taken along with gold, silver, scarlet and stones to make a bed? Meanwhile, Paul is a “wise architect,” along with “hay and reeds,” and he recognizes wood as unsuitable for building a house, as being destroyed by the tempting “work” by the destructive power of fire (1 Cor. 3:10–13). But we know of a certain kind of wood that does not remain what it is, but turns into gold, or silver, or anything else precious. For “in the great house” of God, says the Apostle, there are “vessels of gold and silver” by nature, meaning by this, as I think, an incorporeal and spiritual creation, as well as “wood and clay,” meaning, perhaps, us, whom disobedience earthed and made of clay, and sin turned from golden vessels into wooden vessels by eating from wood. The use of vessels is also distributed according to the merit of the substance: those made of a more expensive substance are assigned “in honor,” while others are left for dishonest service. But what does Paul say about such vessels? That it is in the power of a vessel, according to its own will, to either turn from wood into gold, or from clay into silver; for the Apostle says: “If anyone cleanses for himself, he will have a vessel in honor of the Lady, prepared for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:20-21). Therefore, with what has been said, we are led, perhaps, somewhat to the speculation proposed in the word. Mount Lebanon is mentioned in many places in Holy Scripture as an indication of resistive power; so, when the Prophet says: “The Lord will tear down the cedars of Lebanon, and I will be destroyed” and Lebanon, “like a calf” (Psalm 28:5-6), obviously, that calf that was ground to dust in the desert by Moses, and due to the smallness of the particles it became palatable for the Israelites. For the prophecy explains here that not only the disasters generated by the opposing force, but also the mountain itself - the original root of evil, this Lebanon, which nourishes the substance of such trees, will be reduced to nothing. And so we were once trees in Lebanon, while we took root in it with a vicious life and the charms of idols; but since we were cut off from Lebanon with a verbal ax and became in the hands of the Artist, He made a bed out of us for Himself, transforming the nature of wood into silver and gold, into good-colored scarlet and shiny stones. And just as, - says the Apostle, - God divides the gifts of the Holy Spirit to everyone according to his measure, giving to one “prophecy according to the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:6), and to another - any other action to which everyone is akin and which grace can be received, either by becoming the “eye” of the body of the Church, or by being placed in the place of a “hand”, or by supporting the body, like a “leg”, so in the construction of a bed one is done “pillar”, another “sunrise”, another, as a part serving for the head, is called “ascension”, and there are also those that are assigned “inside”. For all this, according to some law, the Artist invents a heterogeneous substance for decoration, but although everything is decorated with beauty, yet for each of these parts a different and corresponding beauty is invented. Why are the “pillars” of the oder silver; and their sunrises are purple; The “bow” under the head, on which the Bridegroom bows His head, is made of gold, and the entire interior is studded with precious stones. Therefore, by “pillars” we should mean the pillars of the Church, whose word is exactly “silver”, pure and “kindled” (Psalm 11:7). Crimson is those who have ascended to the kingdom in high life; because the scarlet robe is revered as a distinctive sign of royal dignity, and its sovereignty, on which He arranged the bed to bow His head, is the gold of pure dogmas. Yet all that is invisible and hidden is adorned with a clear conscience of precious stones, and from all of them “love from the daughters of Jerusalem” is formed (Song 3:10). And if anyone wants to call the whole Church a bed, and He will divide parts of the bed, according to the differences in the actions of some persons, as was said about this before; then in this case it will be very convenient to apply the Word of the part of the bed to each order established in the Church, as the Apostle says: “God has appointed in the Church first the apostles, second the prophets, third the teachers, then” all the orders one after another (1 Cor. 12:28), “for the perfection of the saints” (Eph. 4:12). Therefore, by the names of the substances that serve to construct the bed, we mean priests and teachers, and honest virginity, inside the bed shining with the purity of virtues, as if with the rays of stones. But enough about this. The next part of the word contains the admonition of the bride to the daughters of Jerusalem. Just as the great Paul considered it a loss for himself if he did not make “everyone” (1 Cor. 7:7) partakers of his own blessings, and therefore he said to those listening the following: “Be as I was, and I was once like you” (Gal. 4:12), and: “Be imitators of me, as I was of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1): so is the humane bride, Having herself been honored with the Divine Master's mysteries, when she saw the bed of the King and became His bed, she calls out to the young women (and they can be the souls of those being saved), saying: how long will you remain imprisoned in the den of this life? Come out from the veils of nature, see a wondrous sight, having become daughters of Zion, behold a crown very fitting for the head of the King, which the mother placed on him according to the word of the Prophet, who says: “Thou hast placed on His head a crown of honorable stone” (Psalm 20:4). Of course, no one who is prudent in judgment when talking about God will strictly analyze the meaning of the name, why instead of the Father the mother is mentioned, finding the same meaning in both sayings, because the Divinity is neither female nor male. And how can we think of anything like that about the Divinity, when in us, humans, this does not always remain, but, on the contrary, when “we are all” made “one in Christ,” then even the signs of this difference are put off with the whole old man (Gal. 3:28)? Therefore, any name that may be found is equivalent to indicating the incorruptible nature, because neither the female nor the male sex defiles by their naming the meaning that the most pure nature has. That is why the Gospel says that the Father creates “marriages” (Matthew 22:2), and the Prophet says to God: “You have placed on His head” a “crown from an honorable stone”: but here it is said that the crown is placed on the Groom by the mother. Since there is one marriage, and one bride, and the crown is placed on the Bridegroom by One, there is no difference at all whether we call the only begotten God the Son of God, or, as Paul puts it, the “Son of the love” of God (Col. 1, 13); because according to both names, one force discourages Him from cohabiting with us. Therefore, the bride says to the young women: “Come out” and be daughters of Zion, so that from the high guard (this is how Zion is interpreted) you can see the wonderful sight of the crowned Bridegroom. The Church becomes the crown for Him, surrounding His head with animated stones. The weaver of such a crown is love, and whoever calls her mother or love does not sin; because, according to the words of John, “There is a God of Love” (1 John 4:8). With this crown, says the bride, the Groom rejoices, admiring this wedding decoration: for he rejoices as having truly made the Church his cohabitant, crowned with the virtues of those most distinguished in her. But it is better to add the most Divine sayings, literally read like this: “daughters of Zion, come out and see” King Solomon “in the crown with which His mother crowned Him, on the day of His betrothal, and on the day of the gladness of His heart” (Song. 3:11). Having accepted such philanthropy of the bride, according to which she, in imitation of the Lord, herself “wants to be saved by everyone and to come into the understanding of truth” (1 Tim. 2:4), the Word makes her even more worthy, becoming a preacher and painter of her beauty. For praise of beauty is not simply uttered, containing any general praise of beauty; but on the contrary, the Bridegroom gives place in the word to all separate parts, each member writing his special praise by comparison and likening. He says this: “Behold you are good, my neighbor, behold you are good” (Song. 4:1), for, having imitated the humane will of the Master, and commanded the young women to come out each, like Abraham, “from the land” of their own and “from the generation” of their feelings (Gen. 12:1), in order to see the pure Bridegroom wearing the crown - the Church, is really being done She is close to the Sovereign goodness, love for her neighbor, drawing closer to God. Therefore, the Word says to her: “Thou art good,” having approached the Good with good will. The repetition of praise shows the untruthfulness of the testimony: for the Divine law determines the confirmation of the truth by pure testimony. Therefore it is said: “Behold you are good, my neighbor, behold you are good.” But since the whole Church is “one body” of Christ, and “in one body,” as the Apostle says, “there are many hands, but they all do not work the same” (Rom. 12:4-5), but on the contrary, God created one in the body with an eye, and someone else was planted to be an ear, some, by the action of forces, are made with hands, and some bearing burdens are called feet, and others will be a matter of taste and smell, and according to the order of everything that makes up the human body, and in the general composition of the body of the Church one can find mouth, teeth, tongue, nipples, womb, neck, and, as Paul says, even “things that seem unseemly to be” in the body (1 Cor. 12:22-24); therefore, an accurate connoisseur of beauty gives special and fitting praise to each of the members that please Him in the whole body. This praise begins with the most important members. For what is more valuable in our members than our eyes? They receive light into themselves; they acquire knowledge of friends and enemies; with them we distinguish between our own and someone else’s; they are mentors and teachers in every activity, natural and inseparable guides in an infallible procession; their position above other sensory instruments shows the preference for the benefit they provide us. Without a doubt, the listeners know to which members of the Church the praise of the eyes applies. The eye was Samuel “the seer” (1 Samuel 9:9), for that is what they called him; the eye was Ezekiel, appointed by God to be a “watchman” (Ezekiel 3:17) for the salvation of those protected by him; eye - Micah the seer and Moses the God-speaker, who is therefore called “god” (Ex. 7:1); eyes - all placed to guide the people, whom contemporaries called “seeing” (2 Kings 14:13). And those who now occupy this place in the body of the Church and who have been appointed bishops, in the proper sense, are called eyes, if they unswervingly look at the Sun of righteousness, never dulling their vision with dark deeds, and if they begin to distinguish between what is theirs and what is foreign, knowing that everything visible and temporary is alien to our nature; what is his own is what is set before us by hope, and the possession of which remains forever inalienable. The job of the eyes is to recognize what is friendly and what is hostile, in order to love a true friend with all my heart and with all my soul and strength, and to show “complete hatred” (Psalm 139:22) to the enemy of our life. And a mentor in what should be done, a teacher of useful things, a leader in the procession to God, exactly fulfills the work of a pure and sound eye, like bodily eyes, foretelling a high life for others. That is why the Word from this begins to praise the beauty of the bride, and says “thy eyes are to a dove” (more precisely, doves) (Song 4: 1). For seeing that those placed in the place of eyes were not touched by evil, and approving of the simplicity and innocence of their character, he called them doves; since the distinctive property of doves is innocence (Matthew 10:16). Or, perhaps, the Word utters to the eyes a certain praise similar to the following: since the images of everything visible, falling on the pure apple of the eye, bring into activity the visual power, then, of all necessity, whatever someone looks at, the image of that person is perceived by the eye, like a mirror, depicting in itself the outline of the visible. Therefore, when one who has received in the Church the power to replace sight does not turn his gaze to anything material or corporeal, then spiritual and immaterial life flourishes in him. And such a life is formed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the most perfect praise to these eyes is if their lifestyle is consistent with the grace of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is a dove. The two eyes are praised, so that the whole person participates in the praise: both the visible and the intelligible. Therefore, the Word added another advantage to the praise, saying: “except for your silence” (Song. 4: 1), for in a good life one thing is obvious, so that it is known to people, and another is hidden and secret, visible to the only God. Therefore, He who sees “what is undone” (Psalm 139:16) and discerns what is hidden, He testifies to the person being praised that what is hidden in it is more significant than what is visible, when he says: “Your eyes are doves,” “except for your silence.” For what is already praised does not include that which is silently marveled at. But the Word, proceeding further, gradually praises beauty, turning its speech to the hair, and says: “Your hair is like a flock of goats that was revealed from Gilead” (Song 4:1). However, one must first understand the natural property of hair, in order to then know what kind of praise the Word brings as a gift to the bride, praising “hair.” So, the hair on a woman’s head is called “glory” by Paul, and, as he says, it was given to the woman “instead of a garment” (1 Cor. 11:15). And he recognizes modesty and chastity as proper attire for wives, writing literally like this: “It is fitting for wives who promise themselves to godliness to adorn themselves with shame and chastity” (1 Tim. 2:9-10). Therefore, under the hair on the head, which the wife “grows,” the wisdom of Paul means modesty and chastity. It is indecent to think that a soul that vows to live a godly life, besides modesty and chastity, has any other glory called hair, which if a wife does not have, “disgraces her head,” as the Apostle says (1 Cor. 11:5). If Paul was so philosophical about hair, then the Apostle’s thought can be included in the praise that will be written to the Church in the word about hair, according to the saying we are considering, which says: “Your hair is like a flock of goats that was revealed from Gilead.” For the Word hereby credits virtuous living as praise. But when talking about hair, it should also be added that hair is devoid of any vital feeling. For the fact that there is no sensation of either fatigue or pleasure in the hair serves a lot to increase praise. The body from which they grow feels pain when they are plucked; The hair itself, whether it is cut, or burned, or carefully reduced by some kind of rubbing, does not feel what is being done to it. And it is common for the dead to not have feelings. Therefore, in whom no sensation is aroused by what is desired in this world, who is not puffed up by glory and honor, not offended by insult and dishonor, who, on the contrary, preserves himself the same despite both of the opposite actions on him, he is the hair praised by the bride, who has become completely dead and motionless for everything that in this world will in one way or another act on him. If the special advantage of hair is equated to the herds of “goats, even having been revealed from Gilead,” then, although we could not yet understand that we must know about this exactly, we nevertheless guess that, just as the king, having transformed the Lebanese trees into gold, silver and scarlet, prepared a bed for himself, so the good Shepherd knew how to take possession of herds of goats and turn them into herds of sheep these flocks of goats are from Mount Gilead. And this is the name of the mountain of foreigners, which reveals in itself such grace that He made those who from the pagans followed the Good Shepherd with hair that adorns the bride, which, based on a preliminary glance, signifies chastity, modesty, abstinence and mortification of the flesh. Or, perhaps, under this view of goats, Elijah, who for a long time philosophized on Mount Gilead, who taught abstinent life most of all, was poor in appearance, overgrown with hair, and covered himself with goat skin instead of any soft clothing. Therefore, everyone, like this Prophet, who succeeds in their life, becomes an adornment of the Church, according to the now prevailing method of philosophy, as if in herds, working with each other in the work of virtue. And that Gilead opens such flocks, this is an even greater excess of the miraculous, because from pagan life we ​​turned to philosophy according to God. It was not Zion, His holy mountain, who taught such a life, but the people, who devoted themselves to idols, changed so much in life that they adorned the head of the bride with success in virtue. Then, in a series of praises, the Word also mentions teeth, while remaining silent about praises of the mouth and lips, which should not be left unexamined. So why are teeth mentioned before lips in praise? Another, perhaps, will say, with the intention of showing beauty with greater grace, that in the description of the teeth, a secretive way is indicated by the smile of the lips; but I reason that in other praises the beauty of the teeth precedes the praises of the lips. For after this the Word did not leave even his lips unpraised, saying: “As cord is in scarlet on your lips, and your conversation is red” (Song. 4:3). Therefore, what do I conclude about this? In the sciences, the best order is to first learn and then speak. And whoever calls science the food of the soul will not sin against the truth. Just as we soften bodily food with our teeth and make it suitable for the stomach, in the same way in the soul there is a certain force that breaks lessons down into small parts, through which science becomes useful for the learner. Therefore, I affirm that the word figuratively calls the mentors who discuss and analyze lessons, and thereby make the teaching understandable and useful for us, teeth. Therefore, praise of the teeth takes first place, and then praise is given to the lips. For the lips would not have been adorned with the beauty of speech if these teeth had not, through the laborious understanding of the sciences, put into the mouth the gift of speech. So, in the reasoning of teeth, we comprehended this reason for the order of praise; now is the time to examine the praise itself, namely, that the beauty of the teeth is likened to shorn flocks, which all, as soon as they emerge from the font, equally admire the twin births. The praise literally reads like this: “your teeth are like a flock of shorn ones, even when they come out of the font, all of them with two children, and there are no barren in them” (Song. 4:2). Therefore, if we take into account one thing that is understood physically in the example, then I don’t know why anyone would call this comparison of them with multi-bearing herds conducive to the praise of teeth. The teeth are praised for their strength and slender position, and the fact that they are firmly rooted in the gums in a smooth and slender row. What beauty of teeth is depicted in their likeness by the herds emerging from the font with the birth of twins and scattered across the wooded hills, this cannot be understood at first glance. The teeth are placed in a row, harmoniously touching each other, and the goats are scattered, separated from each other by the need for pasture. Moreover, since the tooth is by nature bare, it cannot be compared with what the fleece wears. Therefore, we must examine why the one who adorns the slenderness of teeth with praise compares their beauty with double-bred herds, on which the fleece is shorn and the uncleanness of the body is washed in the font. Therefore, what can we come up with to explain this? Those who, through a clearer interpretation, crush the Divine mysteries to the point that this spiritual food becomes palatable for the body of the Church, thereby correct the position of the teeth, receiving into their mouths the hard and tightly folded bread of the word, and by detailed observation making it palatable for the souls of those who eat. So (for it is better to present this thought in examples) Blessed Paul first simply, without preparation, like an unseasoned piece, offers us a commandment from the law, saying: “Thou shalt not stop the mouth of an ox that is threshing” (1 Cor. 9:9), then, softening it with an interpretation, making the intention of the law clear, saying: “Does God give food according to the will?” Or has everything been written for our sake” (1 Cor. 9:10)? There are many other similar passages to this, for example: “Abraham had two sons, one by a bondwoman, and the other by a freewoman” (Gal. 4:22). This is unseasoned bread! But the Apostle, breaking it up, makes it somewhat more convenient for those fed, transfers the legend to two Testaments: “one... giving birth to slavery”, the other freeing from slavery (Gal. 4, 24-26). So the whole law (let’s not spend time talking about everything separately), the Apostle, taking it like a stout body, softens it with his gaze, making it spiritual from the carnal and saying: “We know that the law is spiritual” (Rom. 7:14). Therefore, what we noticed in the reasoning of Paul, who replaces the need for teeth for the Church by clarifying dogmas to the point of subtlety, we will also say about everyone, in imitation of Paul, who clarifies the mystery for us. Therefore, those who soften and chew for us the unseasoned grains of Divine words serve as teeth for the Church. How the Divine Apostle depicts the life of those desiring “the good work of episcopacy” (1 Tim. 3:1), listing in detail what one who has assumed the priesthood should be, and at the same time have the gift of teaching, so here the Word of those appointed in the Church to this ministry - to be teeth - demands that first of all they be tonsured, that is, naked from all material burdens, then washed in the font of conscience from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, beyond this they always ascend in prosperity and never not be carried back into the abyss, and finally, so that in every form of virtue they admire the duality of good offspring, and in no kind of good intentions are they not non-bearers. A double offspring mysteriously indicates that what is mentally imagined in us on both sides deserves approval, so that such teeth are double-fertile, giving rise to dispassion in the soul and decency in bodily life. To this the Word consistently adds praise befitting lips, likening their beauty to “a scarlet rope,” to which the Word itself leads the interpretation, calling the rope red conversation. And this, how beauty in the mouth is painted by the service of the teeth, has already been previewed in what was said before, because in the service of the teeth, that is, in the instruction of teachers, the mouth of the Church speaks. Therefore, first the teeth are shaved and washed, they cease to be non-fertile, but become double-bearing, and then the lips blossom with scarlet, when the whole Church, by agreement in goodness, becomes one mouth and one voice. The idea of ​​beauty is twofold. For the Word not only calls the mouth “rope,” but also adds a type of good color, so that the lips of the Church are adorned with both the likeness of rope and scarlet, on each side separately. For the Church, in the likeness of a rope, learns to be like-minded; so that everything becomes one rope and one chain, twisted from different concepts; and through scarlet we learn to look at the Blood by which we have been delivered, and to always have in our mouths the confession of Him who redeemed us with the Blood. For both are brought to full splendor in the mouth of the Church: both when faith foreshadows confession, and when love is embraced by faith. And if this idea must be outlined by some kind of definition, then let us define what has been said as follows: “the scarlet rope” is “faith makes progress through love” (Gal. 5:6), so that by faith the scarlet is revealed, and by love the rope is interpreted. The Truth testifies that they adorn the bride’s lips. This: “your conversation is beautiful” does not need any more detailed review or other interpretation. For the Apostle previously explained that this conversation is “the verb of faith, which we preach: if you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth and believe in your heart, that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For he believes in the truth in his heart, but he confesses with his lips for salvation” (Rom. 10:8-10). This is the “red conversation” with which the lips of the Church, like scarlet rope, bloom splendidly! But the Bridegroom is pleased with the beauty of his lips and the blush of his cheek. And this part of the face is customarily called an apple due to the incorrect use of the word. Therefore, the apple of the cheeks likens the Word to the “turning of the thorn” (the outer skin of a pomegranate apple), writing praise for it literally like this: “like the turning of the thorn of thy cheeks, except for thy silence” (Song. 4.2). But it is not difficult for anyone to conclude that modesty is praised in connection with what is being observed. For the Word, having presented the Church bodily in the form of a bride, and dividing the virtues into parts according to the image of beauty in the face, now, under the guise of a blush blooming on the cheeks, in a decent way praises chastity, adorning it with modesty under the mysterious name “spike”, because this fruit is sour in taste and is cultivated under an unfit for food surface. Therefore, it is well and successfully used in this review to depict progress in chastity. For just as the astringent taste of the “spike” nourishes and preserves the sweetness of the fruit contained in it, so a life of abstinence, harsh and exhausted is the guardian of the goodness of chastity. But here, too, the praise of this virtue is made especially for the goodness demonstrated by her life, and for the success in spiritual dispassion, for which, as the Apostle says, “the praise comes not from man, but from God” (Rom. 2:29). For modesty, shining in deeds, for what is obvious, has its praise; but this praise does not concern the silent and hidden miracles that are seen by that one Eye that sees the secret. From what was said after this, we understand that everything accomplished by the God-bearing saints served as a kind of example and instruction for progress in virtue. Marriages, migrations, wars, construction of buildings, everything in a sense was depicted for the edification of subsequent life. For “this,” says the Apostle, “was written for our instruction, in which it reached the ends of the ages” (1 Cor. 10:11). The war with foreigners inspires us to be courageous against vice. The desire for married life mysteriously offers us cohabitation with virtues. And also resettlement presupposes establishment in a virtuous life. And all the care they put into constructing buildings commands us to take care of our houses, built by virtue. Why, it seems to me, that famous pillar in which David, having in mind the prosperity of the Church, laid the best of the spoils, by this deed represented those who zeal for virtue. Although this pillar turns out to be erected at the height of some mountain, at that time it was recognized as suitable for storing booty, which the king, having enslaved foreigners, made with other wealth his own property. Therefore, the King, with his wisdom, showed what good for human life, having in mind, David, by building a pillar, offered some advice to subsequent life. For by application and likeness, intending to praise the beauty of each of the members of the entire body of the Church and describing in order in word what those who occupy the place of the neck among the people should be, he mentions this pillar, to which is given the name of David, and it is also known under the name of fortifications; because the fortifications are called "Falpiof". And it literally reads like this: “Like the pillar of David, your neck was created in Phalpioth: a thousand shields hang on it, all the arrows of the mighty” (Song 4:4). Therefore, the material construction of the pillar has a celebrity; because it is the work of King David, occupies a prominent place, and weapons, shields and arrows are stacked in it, the multitude of which is shown by the word name: “thousand”. And our goal is to understand the power of the Divine word; why is that part of the Church whose name is “neck” likened to this pillar? Therefore, we must first examine which part in our body is called by this name “neck,” and then apply the name to a member of the Church. So, what is rooted among the ramen, supports the head and serves as the foundation of what lies above is called the neck; her back is supported by bones, and her front is free from the bone fence. And the bone in its properties does not resemble the one in the arm or leg, not some kind of closed and inseparable with itself, but the very connection of bones with one another, in many places divided in the form of vertebrae, is carried out through the lobes, muscles and ligaments that have grown to them, and through the cerebellum, which, like a tube, runs through the middle, and whose shell is connected to the sensory hymen, and the contents it - with the brain. In front, the neck contains the windpipe, which serves as a receiver for air flowing into us from outside, by which the fire in the atrium is brought into its natural activity; it also contains passages for food, while everything that enters through the mouth, the larynx and throat are conveyed into the emptiness that receives it. But the neck also has some other advantage over other members. According to the position of the windpipe at the top, there is a place in it for the production of voice, where all the vocal instruments are prepared, from which sound is generated when the windpipe is brought into a circular shaking by the air communicated to it. So, according to the description of our bodily member, it will not be difficult from what has already been discussed here to understand the neck and body of the Church, namely, whoever, in the proper sense, through the corresponding actions, takes on this name, is called a neck and is likened to the pillar of David? Therefore, firstly (and this is the very first thing), if someone bears on himself the true Head of everything, I mean that Head, which is Christ, “from Him the whole body is composed and put together” (Eph. 4:16), then he in the proper sense bears this name on himself. And moreover, he is a voice if he is able to receive into himself the Spirit, which warms and makes our heart like fire, and if he serves the Word with a euphonious voice, because God did not create a voice in human nature for anything other than to become an instrument of the word, speaking out the movements of the heart. But let this also have a nourishing activity, I mean the teaching by which the strength of the entire body of the Church is observed. Because as long as food flows in, the body remains in existence, and if there is a lack of food, it dies and is destroyed. Let him also imitate the harmonious position of the vertebrae, so that from those which among the people each constitute something special, he can form into a union of peace one member, both bowed and erect, and conveniently turned in one direction or the other. Such was Paul, and if anyone else, imitating him, succeeded in life. Having become a chosen vessel for the Lord, he bore the name of the Lord; The Head of all was connected with him in such precision that if he spoke something, then it was not he who spoke, but his Head spoke all this, as he pointed out to the Corinthians the “Christ who speaks” and speaks in him (2 Cor. 13:3). So kind and harmonious was his instrument of breathing, speaking out the word of truth through the Holy Spirit! So his larynx always delighted in Divine words, feeding his whole body with these life-giving teachings! And if you ask about the vertebrae, who united everyone into a single body with a union of peace and love? Who taught you to bow down like that when doing unimportant things, and to straighten up again, philosophizing on high, to quickly and freely look around, avoiding and protecting yourself from various wiles of the devil? Therefore, such a neck is truly built by David. By David, understand the King, the Father of the King, who originally prepared man to be a pillar and not a ruin, and again recreated him with grace, protecting him with many shields, so that he is no longer accessible to enemy invasions; because the hung shields are not visible lying on the ground, but surrounding him in the air; and with shields and arrows of the strong they intimidate the enemies, so that they do not dare to begin an attack on the pillar. I think that the multitude of shields signifies to us the Angelic Guard surrounding such a pillar. And the mention of arrows indicates a similar idea. For the Word did not simply say: “arrows,” but by adding the word “strong,” he gave us the ability to see those who overcome; so what was said is in accordance with the saying of the psalmody: “The Angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him and will deliver them” (Psalm 33:8). The number: “thousand”, it seems to me, does not exactly mean ten hundred; but taken in the word to show the multitude. For, according to the accepted usage of words, Scripture usually shows a multitude by this number, as David, instead of a multitude, says: “a thousand who eat gobbets” (Psalm 67:18), and: “more than a thousand gold and silver” (Psalm 119:72). This is how we understood the neck established on ramen. And by the ramen on which the neck is, we mean strenuous efforts for an active life, during which our muscles work for their own salvation. The growth to a greater extent of the soul, exalted in God, was, without a doubt, seen by those who carefully followed what was said, because before it was pleasant for the bride to be like the horses that overcame the Egyptian tormentor, and to resemble the monists in their beauty; Now, to what kind of perfection does the Bridegroom testify to her goodness, because he does not compare the beauty of your neck with any monists on the neck, but by its greatness he calls it a pillar, which, if those standing in the distance look at it, makes visible not only the splendor of the building, with which it was erected to a very great height, but also the position of the place naturally rising above the neighboring places? Therefore, when the pillar was the work of the King and reached a high life, then what was said by the Lord turns out to be true on it: “a city cannot be hidden from the top of a mountain” (Matthew 5:14). Instead of a hail, you understand a pillar. It’s time to begin to understand what these two young chamois mean, which are placed near the bride’s heart and are called in the word teats, as it is said: “your two breasts are like the two young twins of a chamois, grazing in krinah” (Song. 4, 5). Because the position of the heart is between these two youths, for whom the food is not hay and thorns, but krins, all the time the pastures offer their color and not only bloom for a while, but wither at other times, but for a long time they provide food for these youths, until they no longer overcome the shadows of the desired seduction of life; until the light shines everywhere, and everything is illuminated by day, spreading light wherever it wants. For this is how the Word continues: “until the day dies, and the canopy moves away” (Song. 4:6). Of course, having learned from the Gospel, you know that the Holy Spirit, by the very fact that “breathes where he wants,” produces light in those who know “where it comes from and where it goes” (John 3:8), about which the Word now expresses itself as follows: “your two breasts are like the two young twins of a roe, grazing in crins, until the day blows, and the canopy moves.” . And what is called the Holy Spirit during the day, breathing light for those in whom it dwells, I do not think that, contrary to the word, any of those who have understanding would doubt it. For if those who are born of the Spirit become sons of light and sons of day, then how else should the Holy Spirit be imagined, if not as light and day, whose breath makes the shadows of vanity flee? It is quite necessary, when the sun appears, not to remain in the shadows, but to move away and change place. But it would be timely to add to the study of the word the secret of the two chamois youths, who were born twins, and for whom the krin serves as food, and the place of pasture is good and fat land, according to the word of the Lord’s parable, the very heart (Matthew 13:19-23). Those who graze on it and gather flowers of pure thoughts from it become fat. The color krin by nature has a double gift of fragrance, combined with good color; why is it pleasing to those who collect it, whether they bring it under the sense of smell or delight the eyes with the grace of beauty. For the sense of smell is filled with the fragrance of Christ, and the outward appearance shows purity and undefiledness. Therefore, what has been said, perhaps, explains to us what is already implied by the word, namely, that, upon a detailed examination of a double man, one bodily and visible, and the other spiritual and invisible, by birth we find both of them twins, because they enter into life together with each other. Neither the soul exists before the body, nor the body is prepared before the soul; on the contrary, they simultaneously appear in life; and also, by nature, cleanliness, fragrance and everything like this serve as food for them, with which virtues are fruitful; But for others, instead of what is nourishing, sometimes they desire what is harmful, and they do not feed on the flowers of virtue, but delight in thorns and thistles, which, as we hear, the Gospel parable refers to as sins, the evil vegetation of which was caused by the evil intent of the serpent. So, since there is a need for eyes that know how to discern, capable of accurately recognizing the crown and the thorn and choosing what is salutary and rejecting what is harmful, therefore, who became like the great Paul, a nipple for babies, a mammal for newborns in the Church, the Word called two nipples, likened together with each other to the born youngsters of the chamois, testifying to everyone the goodness of such a member of the Church, because in this way and in another way it is successfully brought to the pasture of pure krins, vigilantly distinguishing thorns from nutritious ones, and because it holds the sovereign in the soul, the sign of which is the heart, which feeds the nipples, besides this and also because it does not close grace within itself, but gives the nipples to those who need the word, “as a milkmaid warms her child,” as the Apostle did and said ( 1Sol. 2, 7). But hitherto the Word, continuing to praise the members of the Church, subsequently writes praise to its entire body, when “through death he will abolish the power of death” (Heb. 2:14) and again elevates Himself to His own glory of the Divine, which he had from the beginning, “before the world was not” (John 17:5). For having said: “I will go to Mount Myrrh and to the hill of Lebanon” (Song. 4, 6), and thereby pointing to the glory of the Divine, he added: “You are all good things of My neighbor, and there is no blemish in you” (Song. 4, 7), teaching what was said, firstly, that no one will “take up His soul” from Him, but the “region” has “to put Yu, and the region” has “packs of acceptance” (John 10:18), having gone to Mount Smyrna, not for our merits (let no one boast!), but by His own grace, accepting death for sinners; and then that it was impossible for human nature to be cleansed from vice otherwise than when “the Lamb takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29) by Himself destroying all corruption. Therefore, having said: “You are all good, my neighbor, and there is no vice in you,” and continuing the speech about the sacrament of suffering, with a mysterious hint about myrrh, then mentioning the frankincense, which the Divine indicates, thereby teaching us that he who partakes of myrrh with Him will, without a doubt, partake of frankincense. For whoever suffers with Him is without a doubt glorified with Him. And whoever was once in Divine glory is completely beautiful, having become beyond the resistance of vice, from which may we also be far away for the sake of Christ Jesus, our Lord, who died and rose for us. To Him be due glory and power forever and ever! Amen. You might be interested in: