О терпении и сокрушении. Слово поучительное

The God who created us, knowing the weakness of our mind and the malignity of our opponent, gave us the Divine Scriptures as an armory (arsenal) and a treasure of healings. But in armories there are different types of weapons. For David says: “And you have laid down the bow of the coppers in my arm” (Ps. 17:35). And again: “I sent down arrows and scattered them, and multiplied lightnings and crushed me” (Ps. 17:15). And another says: “He will take full armor of his zeal, and arm the creature for revenge against the enemy: he will put on the armor of righteousness, and put on a helmet, the judgment is unfeigned. The invincible reverence will receive the shield. The vain anger will sharpen into a weapon, the world will fight with it against the insane, the right-handed arrows of lightning will shoot out, and as if from the benevolent bow of the clouds they will fly towards the intention. And the hail will be filled with rage from stone-throwers; The water of the sea will be indignant against them, and the rivers will be drowned insolently. The spirit of power will resist them, and like a cowlick it will scatter them” (Wis. 5:17-23). “And Elisha said: Do not be afraid, for there are more who are with us than with them. And Elisha prayed and said: Lord, open the eyes of the child, that he may see. And the Lord opened his eyes, and saw: and behold, a mountain full of horses, and a chariot of fire round about Elissea” (2 Kings 6:16-17). And Isaiah says: “And put my mouth like a sharp sword, and hide me under the shelter of Your hand: put me like a chosen arrow, and hide me in your breast” (Is. 49:2). Ezekiel says: “You son of man, take for yourself a sword sharper than a shearer’s razor, draw it to yourself” (Ezekiel 5:1). Why does the apostle teach us, saying: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11), so that when the enemy attacks us, we arm ourselves against him from the said (named) armorers. “Our weapons are not carnal, but mighty in God” (2 Cor. 10:4). “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against...spiritual wickedness” (Eph.6:12). And in the treasuries there are many different aids, I mean the word about repentance and salvation, so that everyone who is wounded in the struggle with the devil, diligently flows to the treasure of healing and, having applied the medicine of repentance to the wound and having become healthy, fights again for his Master. Since negligence is one of the arrows with which the enemy has wounded and brought down many, let us accept patience, which overcomes negligence, turning to ourselves as often as possible what is written: “Be of good courage and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord” (Ps. 26:14), so that the soul, strengthened by the word, can withstand the blows dealt to it by strangers, and make the work easier for itself, relying on the word as on a rod, or rushing (rising) on it, like on a chariot. So, let us remind ourselves of this saying more often and say to each other: “Take courage and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord.” It is very useful (necessary) for us, whether we are fasting, staying awake, praying, doing handicrafts or doing anything else, for it arouses in us zeal to complete the feat of virtue we have begun. So, strive while there is time, so that in due time you can reap (virtues) without exhaustion. Do not love hatred, abhor envy, enmity and vanity; nourish in yourself hatred for evil and gossip. A little more, and envy and enmity towards our neighbor will pass, because we will soon be separated from each other. And why, brothers, does envy reign among us? Why do you rise up, O man, who in a little while will become earth and ashes? Love contrition, love patience, love abstinence, so that you can get rid of many temptations and vain worries. Weep when you pray, so that you may find peace where you go. Be diligent about your work, like a wise and intelligent person, because shamelessness, laughter, and jokes will not bring you any benefit on the day of death. All this finds a place in the hearts of the foolish. False hypocrisy is also useless if you do not fear the Lord in your heart. Love humility with a sincere heart and you will find grace from Almighty God both here and in the next century. If you are tall, you will easily be swayed - like a leaf on a tree from the wind. Everyday pleasures pass by like a shadow. Do not be a house of sorrow (do not indulge in despair), so that its poison does not infect you yourself after you communicate it to your neighbor. Do not be ashamed to have reverence in a humble heart, for those who corrupt you will not profit you in the day of need. Fear God with all your strength, and He will make you wise, just as you must be saved. Have humility and meekness, and the grace of the fear of the Lord will descend upon you. The filth of the flesh has nothing in itself except condemnation and unquenchable fire; and the holy thing in this age is praise and magnification, and in the future it is an unfading crown. Your body, brother, is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, so have zeal for the church so as not to offend the One who dwells in it. But perhaps someone will say: “I would like to save myself from defilement, but what can I do? I can’t keep up with this!” Such a person is like someone who wants to defeat his enemies without battle or labor. But sometimes we ourselves arm those who attack us with arrows. When we behave weakly and carelessly, without protecting the windows of our souls, don’t we then become enemies of our salvation, giving free entry to our opponents? When we fearlessly fix our eyes and look at what we should not? Meanwhile, it is indecent for someone who has been tested in virtue to look fearlessly at his body, because then we cause harm to ourselves through it. And again, when we incline our ears to absurd rumors and lewd songs, are we not causing ourselves harm? In the same way, if we defile our lips with gossip and foul language and do not bridle our tongue, but, as it is written: “The tongue is in our souls, polluting the whole body, and scorching the stake of our birth, and being scorched by hell” (James 3:6), and we also irritate the sense of smell with ointments and incense, we wantonly lay our hands on things that are not proper, and we lift our feet. on the path that is not straight - if we do all this, then how will we be able to render to the Lord the drachma of chastity, without even leveling the face of the earth with abstinence and courageous labors? How can you prevent smoke from coming inside when the windows are open, and the person standing opposite the windows is constantly pumping up the fire? If you cannot stand smoke, block the windows so that your house is not blackened through feelings; block the windows in winter so that your body does not suffer from the cold. But how little do we care about spiritual benefits! We must give an account to the Searcher of hearts, how we preserved the church entrusted to us. We carefully take care of the house built of clay (clay), stone and wood, in which our body is warmed; We don’t care about the same (house), which is much better. Then there will be great shame and severe judgment for the one who corrupted the church of the Lord, if he did not obtain forgiveness through repentance and did not wash away the impurities with his tears. Let us hate vanity, laziness, irascibility - these fruitless skills! We must look at the lives of the saints and imitate their lives. Let us be sober, so that virtuous wives do not shame us. Learn zeal and humility from Rebekah, marvel at the blessed virtue, how she received the stranger, for it is written: “Rebekah went down to the well, fill your waterpot, and return.” The servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink from your water-carrier. This is what he says: drink to the lord. And sweating, and this watering hole for your muscle, and give it something to drink, writing to the Dondezh. And he said, “I will also fill you with your velvet” (Gen. 24:16–19). So, many centuries ago, she fulfilled the Gospel word, for the Lord said: “and if anyone understands you... the race is one, go with him two” (Matthew 5:41). So this blessed one doubled the mercy, saying: “Drink, sir... and I will fill you with your velvet, until everyone will get drunk.” Having said this, she did not stop, but in fact fulfilled the word as written: “Not For the kingdom of God is in word, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). There is no laziness, no pride, no arrogance in her: she calls the wanderer master, and serves the traveler like a real slave. Jacob did the same, rolling away the stone from the well (well) and watering the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother (Gen. 29:20). Perhaps someone will say in objection: “Jacob did this because of his kinship,” but he will be convicted by the works of Moses, for the Holy Scripture says: “Moses departed from the presence of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian... sitting by the well. And the priest of Midian had seven daughters tending the sheep of their father Jeodore... and the shepherd came, and I cast out: and Moses rose up, and delivered them... water their sheep” (Ex. 2:15-17). Great grace shines in the souls of Your saints, Lord, because they are clothed with the material (cover) of virtues, unfeigned love. So, love to listen diligently and carefully to the lessons of the Divine Scriptures. Every day we take care of bodily food, seasoning it with various seasonings, but we do not care about spiritual food. It is better that we, Christ-loving brethren, neglect the food of the flesh, so long as our souls are nourished by the Holy Spirit! Every day, eat the bread that God’s Wisdom gives, and drink the water that comes from the spiritual stone, so that your mind matures to the point of illumination with knowledge. The pleasures of sensual food continue as long as the piece passes through the larynx, and their sweetness soon ceases. Why do you also exalt yourself, O man, with brilliant clothing? If someone is dressed in valuable clothing throughout the whole day, then with the onset of night he takes it off and, having tasted food and being satisfied, turns to sleep; Often animals and crawling animals creep (crawl) on him, and he, plunged into sleep, lies like an insensible dead man. But in the morning he gets up with haste and, putting on magnificent vestments, exalts himself with vanity, the one who recently lay in darkness, and will soon descend into the grave. If you want to boast, let your praise be in the Lord. If you also have wealth, then lay up for yourself treasures in heaven through good deeds. And if you put off taking care of it until death comes, then know that the Angels often act hastily, and you will leave your wealth to whomever you do not want. Do not be afraid to start a good life; As soon as you once taste the sweetness of the Holy Spirit, your mind will be illuminated by the thought of the incorruptible, therefore the Holy Spirit says: “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 33:9). Blessed is he who, at the hour of death, turns out to be a holy sacrifice, pleasing to the Lord, who with great joy is separated from his body and from his vain life. The angelic armies, seeing him in heaven, will praise him as a servant like himself, well-skilled in the Lord. I still dare to implore You, the Holy and Most Pure, with unclean lips, and daily I send up the sighs of an evil and adulterous heart to You, the Holy and Redeemer, although the enemy daily draws me into teaching unclean thoughts. I am ashamed to look at heaven, shame and disgrace to me from my many untruths! But I beg Your goodness, be compassionate towards me as a merciful one, drive out the insidious molester from my heart and, before death, free me from the fate of the wicked. Remember me, O Lord, according to Your mercy and mercies; Incline Your ear to the prayer of Your servant, that I may not be condemned with the proud; May I not be turned away from Your eyes; May I not become the property of destruction; May I not wallow in the depths of the abyss; May I not be imprisoned in the cages of hell; Let not rottenness be spread under me, and let not the worm be my cover (Isa. 14:11); May I not be imprisoned in eternal darkness, under the foundations of the mountains, bound with eternal bonds; May I not be betrayed to the unmerciful Angel; May I not burn in unquenchable fire. Remember me, Lord, and save me. The Holy One resting among the Holy Ones. You said, Lord: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). I ask for mercy and generosity, for You provide richly for everyone and do not reproach anyone, Master Lord Almighty. You are good and philanthropic. Grant us to find grace before Your glory, Lord. May Your name also be glorified in us, Lord. And, Lord, accept us, delivered from the hand of the proud, into eternal shelters. Who, hearing a terrible saying, will not be silent and will not cry out to You hourly? Holy Scripture says: “And even if the righteous barely escape, the wicked and the sinner will appear somewhere” (1 Peter 4:18). But we, trusting in Your compassions, do not cease to beg: deliver us from unquenchable fire and future fear. Long ago, Your Angel, Lord, took the prophet Habakkuk by the hair, and in an instant placed him in Babylon before the ditch lion, and then immediately brought it to his land. And may Thy grace receive us, O Lord, and help us to fearlessly cross over that great and terrible chasm that has established itself between the righteous and the unrighteous, so that, having been delivered, we can say: “Glory to the Father, who delivered us from the darkness of hell and placed sweets in paradise. Glory to the Son, who delivered us from the unquenchable fire and the eternal worm and made us worthy to become heirs of the heavenly Jerusalem. Glory to the Holy Spirit, who has delivered us from sinful corruption and eternal shame and crowned us with joy, in true light and exceeding glory, forever!” Amen. You might be interested in: