О правде и благости Божией

Praise be to Thy truth - this mother of mothers! The generosity in the decoration of children is abundant and the rods that serve to punish their vices are heavy. Praise be to Thy goodness - this mother of teachers. She is ready with blows that admonish her opponents, but she is also ready with healing, offered to the afflicted. Praise be to Thy truth, which, terrifying the shameless, shows them where the door of generosity is, so that, fleeing from the truth, they hasten to the shelter of mercy! Praise be to Your goodness, in which the wise boast, because even having lost everything, they can regain everything through it! Those who hate recklessness are not foolish. It is to the praise of the wise that he does not indulge in recklessness, although he knows that there are bounties ready to intercede for him when he lives recklessly. Having hope in himself, he is, as it were, without hope. A child who, seeing leniency, multiplies the number of his misdeeds, is likened to one who, seeing that there is a tune (free) medicine that heals him, does not spare his flesh and covers it with ulcers. Praise be to the One who acts on the shameless in two ways - both with merciful generosity and cruel blows, in order to restrain through fear the one who becomes even more daring from generosity! He takes and places the human race in His scales, and when the cup goes down, He supports it with His goodness; and if he resists even this, He brings him into balance with His truth. The human race trembles at the truth, because its mouth is open, and its reed writes. Man continually sins, but the truth continually writes this, so the heart trembles and trembles. A person knows that an invisible scribe is always with him, who writes his words and deeds for the Day of Judgment. Who can endure the punishing truth, when not even a drop of tears or a glance from the eyes will escape the punishment? Listen and tremble, my beloved! How the ears heard, how the eyes looked, what the hands did, where the feet went - all this was read as true before her eyes. The punishing truth forgets nothing. And if she forgot what, she would show that she is weak. On the contrary, she is completely perfect and does not forget anything. Goodness would be weak if mercy could not forgive our iniquities. But she is above all, because she gives forgiveness to everyone. They are amazed at Your truth, because the stench of our unrighteousness is not forgotten by it and is not hidden from it. I am amazed at Your goodness, because the multitude of our untruths does not overcome or overcome it. Listen and be comforted: although the punishing truth is terrible, if a person repents, one drop of tears destroys the handwriting of his debts. Listen and shudder: although the sea of ​​goodness is full of bounties, if a person does not repent, he will not receive mercy on the Day of Judgment. Be amazed at the truth, be amazed at the goodness. They are cruel and lenient, meek and formidable, cruel to the daring and merciful to the repentant. Praise of Thy goodness, softening Thy blows! Although they are formidable and difficult in truth, their goodness softens them so that it becomes light. Praise to Thy truth, which holds back generosity! Although they are delightful and pleasant in goodness, truth makes them hard in order to serve for the correction of people. Thanks be to Thy will, which has dissolved these two most praiseworthy sources of saving means! Your righteousness is filled with goodness, Your goodness is righteous. May truth and goodness take pity on me, because invisible leprosy covers me all over. And may this be fulfilled on me, O Lord: all who are covered with leprosy are clean according to Your law (Lev.13:13). And may what was said be fulfilled in me: where sin increased, there grace triumphed (Rom. 5:20). Since sin has overcome sin in me, Lord, let generosity reign in me! You might be interested in: