Книга 18 [глава 27, глава 28, стихи 1–21]

Contains a summary of the twenty-seventh chapter and the twenty-eighth chapter of the Book of Job up to the twenty-first verse, describing various feelings. It is often the case for the most part that, in Holy Scripture, things of a mystical nature are so presented that they seem to be described solely for the sake of their historical significance. And such descriptions are mixed with historical contexts, as a result of which all their other meanings, outside of history, are reduced to zero and lost; and those things in which nothing belonging to history is mentioned, as if obliges the reader to look for something else in them. For when we find some deeper meanings in things that seem to us to be purely straightforward and literal, we are, as it were, spurred on to the fact that we must be more alive to understand some things in a deeper sense, and that we must accept also the more obscure, mystical meanings in what we saw only literally. Blessed Job spoke about the Word of the Lord, and the greatness of His glory; further, in addition to these words, it is introduced directly: 1. In addition, Job added, continuing his parable, and said: (Job.27:1) 1108. 2. This verse reveals how great a mystery will be shown in the word of this most holy man, when it is said that the “parable,” that is, an allegory or allegory, will be continued by him further, by him who does not utter anything allegorical or allegorical below. And we should not interpret the words “parable” in this place as a musical instrument. The word “parable” was named so that we could see and learn from the text itself how to evaluate its words, since this is not clearly visible from these words. And so every thing must be considered, with the help of which the Church is shown. And indeed, at the very beginning of his speech, what he says is easily understood in a simple literal sense, but these words of his are intertwined with more obscure meanings when the following ones are introduced. For he begins, as he is accustomed, with simple speech, but he ends his words with a description of things through mystical meanings. And so he says: Verse 2. God lives, who has taken away my judgment, and the Almighty, who has brought my soul to bitterness ( Job 27:2 ) 1109 . 3. With the same words, blessed Job immediately tells his own circumstances, and describes the times of sorrow of the Holy Church, in which it bends under the open evil of unbelievers, in the bitterness of persecution. For the Church is persecuted by its opponents in two ways: either with words or with swords. Now the Holy Church is called to preserve wisdom and patience with the greatest care. And her wisdom is realized when she is tested with words, her patience is realized when she is tested with swords. Now, however, he speaks of persecution in which she is tested not by swords, but by false statements. We know some who, when they encounter some unfavorable things in this life, do not believe that there is a God, or some who believe that there is a God, but He does not care about people's lives, destinies and affairs. They are told by David: The fool said in his heart: There is no God there (Ps. 13:1) 1110, and later it is said: How does God know? And does the Most High have knowledge? (Ps. 73:11) 1111. And again, nevertheless, they again say: The Lord will not see, and the God of Jacob will not know (Ps. 94:7) 1112. Thus, this man, who bears the image of the Holy Church, while he knew the bitterness of misfortune, objected to both of them, for as life “is” and death does not, in order to say that God exists, he says: God lives, but to say that God is concerned about the affairs of mortals, he added: Who deprived me of judgment, and brought my soul to bitterness. For by these troubles with which he suffers, he testifies that he suffers not by chance, but by the Will of God, Who governs everything, while he does not attribute the strength of his bitterness to his tempter, but only to his Creator. 4. For he knows that the devil, although he is always aimed only at evil, but if he does not receive strength from our Creator, he will not dare to even the least degree of any temptation. And therefore, the will of the devil is unjust, but at the same time, since God allows him, all his power is just. For himself, he unfairly tries to seek people, but those who must undergo temptation, since they must be tested, God will not allow them to be tempted otherwise than justly. Therefore, in the Books of Kings it is written about the devil: the evil spirit of the Lord is upon Saul (1 Samuel 18:10) 1113, and the question rightly arises: “If it were the Spirit of the Lord, why is it called the evil spirit? and if it’s an evil spirit, why the Lord’s?” But in a nutshell, both the just power and the unjust will in the devil are comprehended at once. For he himself is called an evil spirit because of his evil will, and yet he is the spirit of the Lord because of the just power given to him. And so it is well said: God lives, Who deprived me of judgment, and the Almighty, Who brought my soul to bitterness. For, although the enemy's will furiously strives to strike, it is the Creator, the One who allows him to have power for any thing. But because this is how the holy man said that God lives and led him somewhere, let’s listen to what he adds to such obliging circumstances: Verse 3, 4. As long as my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils, my mouth will not speak iniquity, and my tongue will not conceive a lie (Job.27:3-4) 1114. 5. What he first calls “lawlessness,” he then repeats after that he calls “lies.” For all “lies” are “lawlessness” and all “lawlessness” are “lies”, because the fact that a thing is in contradiction with the truth certainly means that it is lawless. But there is a big difference between what he first says, “to say,” and what he then adds, “to plan.” For sometimes it is worse to “conceive” a lie than to tell it. For “to say” is very often a matter of intemperance, but “to conceive” is a matter of deliberate impiety. And who could be ignorant of the fact that it makes a difference whether a person lied accidentally due to lack of restraint or lied on purpose? But a holy man, in order to be faithful to the truth, says that he will not lie either on purpose or accidentally through intemperance. For any lie must be very seriously guarded against, although sometimes there is a certain kind of lie that has a lighter color if a person lies to do good. But we know that it is written: slandering lips kill the soul (Wis.1:11) 1115, and You will destroy all of them who speak lies (Ps.5:7) 1116. This type of lie and others must be avoided with the greatest caution so as not to hurt our souls while they are busy with themselves, giving life to other flesh. Although this is a sin which we believe is very easily forgiven, for if any sin is washed away by pious practice, how easily is it expiated, a sin which regret, the mother of good works, itself accompanies? 6. But there are some who, from the history of deception by midwives, seek to establish that this type of lie is not a sin, mainly because it is written on the lies of these midwives: that the Lord has built them in houses (Ex. 1:21) 1117. But this example of compensation rather teaches that the crime of lying allows one to obtain some benefits; for the recompense for their goodness, which perhaps they should have received in the next life, is mixed up by the sin of lying and turned into an earthly recompense, so that in their own life, which they were ready to defend against lies, they should receive a recompense for the good they did, and not have any reward in another life, which they perhaps expected. For, if the thing be weighed accurately, they lied out of love for their momentary life; for by an act of pity they attempted to protect the lives of the infants; but by an act of lying, their own lives. 7. And although several such cases may be found in the Old Testament, in almost none of them the attentive reader will find that lies were practiced by those who were perfect, although it may seem to him that the lie there seems to carry some semblance of truth; and perhaps this was a slight violation of the Old Testament, in which oxen and goats were sacrificed, and the sacrifice was not the truth itself, but a kind of shadow of the truth. For in the New Testament, after the Truth was manifested in the flesh, we advanced to a higher stage of commandments, and it is worthy and righteous that in comparison with some of the things that people who lived only in the shadow of the Truth did, we should do more. And if there is any man who will defend it, the lie of the Old Testament, because perhaps it was less harmful to individuals of that time, he will then be forced to say that the robbery of other people's property and retribution for damages, which were allowed there to those who were still weak, cannot be harmful to him now. But it is clear to all people that the commandments became stricter after the Coming of the Truth. But now, the holy man gives his word not to “speak” or “conceive” lies, and to agree only with the truth, and he adds: Verse 5. God forbid that I acquit you; Until I die, I will not depart from my innocence (Job 27:5) 1118. 8. For he would "fall away from his innocence" if he believed good things about bad people; Solomon testifies, who says: And he that justifies the wicked, and he that accuses the righteous, they are both an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 17:15) 1119. For there are people who, while they exalt the bad deeds of men, they exalt that which they should have prohibited. For, therefore, he said through the prophet: Woe to those who sew pillows under each elbow of the arm, and put pillows under the head of any age (Ezek. 13:18) 1120. For “pillows” are made and placed so that we can rest more comfortably. Therefore, he who flatters a person does wrong and puts a pillow under the head or elbow of the person lying down, so that the person who should have been convicted and ashamed because of sin is, on the contrary, praised, and remains comfortable lying in sin. Therefore, again it is written: and when he builded a wall, and behold, others were plastering it (Ezek. 13:10) 1121. For the word “wall” signifies the hardness of sin. So, “to build a wall” means for a person to build a wall of sins against himself; but they “paint the wall,” those who flatter those who commit sins. So first, some build evil by committing it, and then others, or the same persons, spread it with their flattery, as if giving it a bright color. But the holy man, since he does not think that evil is good, refuses to judge what is good in bad, saying: God forbid that I justify you; Until I die, I will not move away from my innocence. Where he adds in simple words: Verse 6. My righteousness, which I quickly began to hold, and I will not give it up (Job.27:6) 1122. For “his truth,” which he “began to hold,” he would have “renounced” if he had taken the path of praising those who have committed sin. But we are then more likely to keep away from the sins of others when we first secure ourselves from our own. Why he is so afraid of becoming guilty by touching them, he explains by the basic principle when he adds: and my heart will not rebuke me throughout my life. 9 . It was as if he expressed himself in simple words: “By judging you, I should not be involved in guilt, I am afraid of committing sin in my own affairs.” But this is a thing that is known, that anyone who is in conflict with the commandments of the Lord as often as he hears them reproaches and confuses his own heart, because what he has never done is brought to awareness. For if anywhere and at any time he sees himself doing good, conscience itself secretly accuses itself. Where does the prophet David plead, saying: Then I would not be ashamed when I look at all Your commandments (Ps. 119:6) 1123. Every person becomes very “ashamed” when, through reading or listening to them, he turns his eyes to the commandments of God, which he ignored by his way of life. Thus, it is therefore declared to him in the voice of John: if our heart does not condemn us, then we have boldness towards God. And whatever we ask we will receive from Him (1 John 3:21–22) 1124. It was as if he had said directly, “If we do what He commands, we should receive everything we ask.” 10. That is, by God both of these things are indicated as necessary and corresponding to each other: practice must be supported by prayer, and prayer by practice. Thus, therefore, Jeremiah says: Let us seek and try our ways, and turn to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to God in heaven (Lam. 3:40–41) 1125. For “to seek our ways” means to sift through everything hidden in our thoughts. But he lifts up his heart with his own hands, he who strengthens his prayer with good deeds. For when he prays, but closes his eyes in action, he “lifts up his heart,” but does not “raise up his hands.” And whoever does, but does not pray, “raises his hands”, but does not “raise his heart.” So, according to the voice of John, the heart then receives confidence in prayer, when no iniquity of life weighs it down. With the same confidence, the holy man rightly says: and my heart will not reproach me throughout my life. It’s as if he said directly: “It never remembers that it was guilty, and it can only be ashamed in prayer.” But one can rightly ask the question on what he bases himself when he declares that his heart does not reproach him, if we have seen that he blames himself above for having sinned, saying: I have sinned: what will I do to Thee, O Thou guardian of men! (Job.7:20) 1126 or true: If I were to justify myself, then my mouth would accuse me (Job.9:20) 1127. 11. But it is necessary to know that there are sins that the righteous can avoid, and there are some sins that even the righteous cannot avoid. For what man's heart, while bound to this corruptible flesh, does not slip into an evil, crooked thought, even if it does not plunge into the very pit of concord? For even thinking these wrong thoughts is a sin. But as long as there is resistance to the wrong thought, the soul is freed from its fetters. So, the mind of the righteous, although free from evil deeds, sometimes even falls to the ground in a bad thought. Thus, sin, as it were, slipped through, because it entered into the thoughts of the heart, and yet the heart then has nothing to reproach itself with later in crying, because it restores itself before it falls into agreement with the sinful thought. And so justly does he who has confessed himself to be a sinner declare that his heart never reproaches him, because, although perhaps by thinking unlawful thoughts he has ever departed from righteousness, yet by a determined struggle of his soul he has resisted the thought. Therefore it follows: Verse 7. Let my Enemy be like an atheist, and let him who rises up against me be like an unrighteous man (Job 27:7) 1128. 12. In the Holy Scriptures, the words “as if” and “as if” sometimes do not mean likeness or resemblance, but actual reality. Therefore it is said: And we saw His glory, glory, glory, as of the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14) 1129 and here the word “as” is said for a greater statement than to indicate the likeness. There is a difference between a godless person and an unrighteous person: for every atheist is an unrighteous person, but not every unrighteous person is an atheist. For atheist means an unbeliever, that is, a stranger to the piety of religion. But a person is called unrighteous who, due to the wrongness of his actions, is in conflict with the truth, even though he may bear the name of the Christian faith. Therefore, in the voice of the blessed Job, the Holy Church, which persists in the right faith, claims that it has the “atheist” as its enemy. But since she is forced to bear others who, under the cover of faith, live in bad deeds, she abhors the “unrighteous” as her opponents. But if the “how” refers to reality, we must understand how it relates to one who lives carnally within its womb. For within her borders he is her enemy, who, while he claims to be a believer by profession, denies it by practice. And because he reveals himself to be an unbeliever, who, while living within her womb in disguise, does only evil, it is rightly said: my enemy is like an atheist, and he who rebels against me is like an unrighteous one. It was as if he had said directly: “He is at odds with me in faith, he who is at odds with me in deeds.” What follows: Verse 8. For what hope is there for the hypocrite if he seizes for gain and God delivers not his soul? ( Job 27:8 ) 1130 . 13. The hypocrite, who in Latin is called an impostor (simlator), makes it his goal not to be, but to appear just, and therefore he is a greedy, selfish robber, because while living in evil he desires to be honored with holiness, he seizes the glory of a life that is not his own. But this, as they say, is the purpose of the life of hypocrites, to hide from others what they are, and to make others think of themselves what they are not; so they must exceed their measure in estimation, and prove themselves in order to excel in the rest. They avoid appearing to be what they are, and before the eyes of people, they dress themselves in the outward respectability of innocence. Therefore, in the Gospel they are rightly condemned by the voice of our Redeemer, when he spoke to them: Woe to you, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness. So, on the outside, you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of self-interest and vice (Matthew 23:27–28) 1131. Conversely, the Saints indeed not only do not claim glory that is beyond their measure, but also avoid the appearance of that which they have received and which they actually possess. And, therefore, the great preacher of the truth, speaking of the false apostles, while he was telling of his extraordinary achievements for the training of his disciples; while he described that he had again undergone such innumerable dangers in persecution, and after this mentioned that he was carried up to the third heaven, and into paradise, where he had the opportunity to see things so great that he could not describe them in words; he was on the verge, perhaps, to tell even more wonderful things about himself, but restrains himself so as not to seek human praise, and he adds: but now I refrain, so that no one thinks about me more than what he sees in me, what is, or what he hears from me (2 Cor. 12:6) 1132. Then he further added something concerning himself, the one who refrained from speaking. But the great preacher did how, that (both), by saying the things he did, he could teach his disciples, and keep himself safe within the bounds of humility. For it would be wrong if he hid everything pertaining to himself from his disciples; and perhaps it would have been imprudent if he had spoken all about himself before his disciples. But in a wonderful way, as has already been said, he did both, so that, while speaking, he was able to teach those who heard him, and, to keep his peace in humility. 14. It deserves to be noticed and made known, that holy men, as often as they communicate any thing concerning themselves to their followers, imitate the manner of their Creator. For God, who forbids us to boast with our own lips, utters praises to Himself in the Holy Scriptures; not at all because He Himself needs them, He Who receives nothing from these praises; but while He communicates to us His greatness, He diminishes our ignorance of Himself, and by speaking praise of Himself He teaches us; and therefore man would never have known Him if He had commanded his followers to remain silent about Himself. And it is for this reason that He shows us praises about Himself, so that we, having heard, may be able to know, having known - to love, having loved - to follow, having followed - to receive, and, having received, to enjoy contemplating Him. Whence the psalmist says: He will tell men of the Power of His works, and that He is able to give them the inheritance of the Gentiles (Ps. 110:6) 1133. As if it were clearly said: only for this reason does He speak about the power of His works, so that the one who listens will be enriched by His gifts. Therefore, holy people, imitating the path of their Creator, sometimes reveal moments concerning themselves, not in order to receive some benefits for themselves, but in order to raise others from the earth. And in these things they guard themselves carefully, so that while they are raising others from the ground in this way, they themselves do not desire earthly applause. And those whose statements are hypocritical, for the most part, follow their example, but the meaning of their statements is empty, because what the righteous will do for their neighbor, they do the same for the significance of their own name. But the holy man, looking at whom the hypocrites strive not at all for future glory, but for the desire to possess today's glory, says, what is the hope of the hypocrite? is that while he loves present things, he has no hope for future ones. For it is written: if a man sees, what can he hope for? (Rom.8:24) 1134. And so for this reason there is no progress on the part of the hypocrite in any degree towards the hope of eternal reward, for instead of seeking things not here, pride makes him seek things to possess here. And because his crime has been stated, the punishment is also added when he immediately says the following: Will God hear his cry when trouble comes to him? (Job 27:9) 1135. 15. God will not hear his cry during his time of need, because during times of calm he himself did not hear the Lord crying out in His commandments. For it is written: Whoever turns away his ear from hearing the law, his prayer is an abomination (Proverbs 28:9) 1136. And so the holy man, seeing that all of them, who are indifferent to now showing light in their deeds, will only begin to beg when sorrows come, says: Will God hear his cry? In his words, he is undoubtedly close to the following words of our Redeemer, Who says: Last of all come the foolish virgins, and say: Lord! God! Open to us. And this is in response to them: Truly I say to you, I do not know you (Matthew 25:11-12) 1137, because the greater the punishments that will fall later, the more mercy is currently granted in advance. And He will then judge those who have not corrected themselves the more harshly, the more patiently He now grants patience for their sins. For, therefore, says the Prophet: Seek the Lord when He can be found; call on Him when He is near (Isaiah 55:6) 1138. Now He is not visible, but “near,” and then He will be visible, and not “near.” He who has not yet appeared in judgment, if he seeks, will find Him. And miraculously, when He judges, He will immediately become visible to him, and He does not have to continue to be sought at that moment. Therefore, Solomon describes wisdom as both treating us mercifully and judging us strictly, saying: Wisdom proclaims in the street, in the marketplaces she lifts up her voice, in the main meeting places she preaches, at the entrances to the city gates she speaks her speech: How long, O ignorant people, will you love ignorance? (how long) will the violent delight in violence? How long will fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit on you, I will proclaim my words to you (Prov. 1:20–28) 1139. We noted the words used to describe its sweetness. Let us now see how the severity of her punishment is spoken of, that, in the end, sooner or later her punishing severity will appear: I called, and you did not listen, I extended my hand; and no one listened; you rejected all my advice and did not accept my reproofs. Let her now say how she will strike those whom she bears with such long-suffering, those who never come to her: I too will laugh at your destruction, I will rejoice when horror comes upon you, when suddenly misfortune falls upon you and destruction arises like a whirlwind; when sorrow and distress are upon you. Then they will call me, but I will not answer. They'll rise early, but they won't find me. Here, through the mouth of Solomon, the wisest of men, all the information is carefully set forth regarding the Supreme Court: because she, first, calls us tenderly, and then reproaches us terribly, and then condemns us irrevocably. And it is so wonderfully said because: Will God hear his cry when trouble comes to him? Of course not, because the hypocrite does not find the cure in crying, which now has the opportunity to cry, and then will lose it. Regarding lawlessness, it is further added: Verse 10. Or can he rejoice in the Almighty? (Job 27:10) 1140. 16. For he who is carried away by the love of earthly things does not in any way rejoice in the Lord. The soul truly cannot exist without receiving its delight, and therefore it delights itself in earthly things or in heavenly things. And the higher the devotion towards higher things becomes, the more the joy towards those lower becomes muted, and the more it glows with keen interest towards those lower, the more it is cooled by these unhealthy feelings towards higher things. For both cannot be loved together and equally. Therefore, the Apostle John, knowing well that among the thorns of worldly affections the harvest of heavenly mercy can never be sown, and therefore cannot produce the seeds of eternal love, with the Holy Word uproots from the hearts of his listeners the thorns of worldly affections in the words: Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. And he directly adds: if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15) 1141. It was as if he had said briefly: “Both of these loves cannot contain themselves in the same heart, and the harvest of heavenly mercy cannot be obtained in that heart where the thorns of satisfaction with base things kill it.” And he enumerates all the thorns that flow from this satisfaction to the base, saying: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of this world. And the world is passing away, and so is its lust (1 John 2:16–17) 1142. And so “the hypocrite cannot rejoice in God,” because heavenly desires will never appear in his mind, seeing, of course, that the thorns of earthly love have covered him. Therefore he immediately rightly adds: Will he always call on God? (Job 27:10) 1143. 17. For the hypocrite “calls on God” when the wretchedness of earthly conditions breaks him. For previously in this world he received from the Creator good conditions that he sought, but for which he did not ask Him; But, since, as we have already said, the art of teachers should be, in the minds of their hearers, to first seek to destroy what is wrong, and then to preach what is right; For hearts that are full of evil things will not be able to receive the good seed of holy preaching. Therefore it is said to Jeremiah: Behold, this day I have made you over nations and kingdoms, to uproot and destroy, to destroy and throw away, to build and to plant (Jer. 1:10) 1144. For he first commanded him that he should uproot, and then that he should plant, first to destroy and then to build: because the foundations of legal truth cannot be laid unless the edifice of errors has first been demolished. Blessed Job, being a prototype of the Universal Church, in his response to the statements of his friends, seemed to object to the words of the heretics. And after a variety of objections, he first destroyed their proud errors, now giving himself the opportunity to teach them; that is, the right things that he wants to plant can now be clearly seen, since he has already uprooted at the root what is wrong. Therefore it is added: I will teach you what is in the hand of God, what is with the Most High; I will not hide ( Job 27:11 ) 1145 . 18. Behold, blessed Job speaks in his own words, denoting something connected with what concerns us. For the Holy Church in teaching, to the extent that it is expedient to know, does not hide a single particle of truth. Thus, because "Hand of God" is the name of the Son, for by Him were all things made (John 1:3) 1146; She says that by the Hand of God she teaches those whom she sees foolishly in their own wisdom. It was as if she had said in simple words: “I know no thing of myself; but everything that I see is from the Truth, and the fullness in which I understand is also from the Truth.” For this reason, one who attributes wisdom to himself and not to the Hand of God will not be filled with correct wisdom. For the opponents of the Holy Church, if they sometimes perceive any thing correctly, they attribute it to their strength, and they thereby deprive themselves of much greater wisdom coming from above, in the same proportion in which they appropriated to themselves the wisdom that was, as it were, built on the basis of their own minds. Their minds are sometimes indeed open to those certain things that they really should know correctly, but with this very knowledge, assigned to their own merits, they call for more unpleasant punishments. Therefore he rightly adds: Verse 12. Behold, you all know it yourself: and why do you talk so much idle talk? (Job 27:12) 1147. 19. For it is written: And that servant, who knew the will of his master, was not ready; and did not do according to his will, the lashing will be many lashes (Luke 12:47–48) 1148. But the one who did not know and acted unworthily will be beaten with several lashes. And again it is written: therefore he who understands how to do good and does not do it, for him it is sin (James 4:17) 1149. And so more blame, as the Holy Church says, lies with those who know in advance what they should follow and do not follow what they know. It is said about these same persons in another place: Let them go down alive into hell (Ps. 54:16) 1150. These “living” ones are those who were aware and felt the things they were doing. For the dead do not know or feel anything at all, therefore the word “dead” is used for those who do not feel and do not know, and those who know and do not are called “living”. Therefore, those people who sin, knowing that they are sinning and realizing that they are committing a sin, will “go down to hell” (Job 27:13) 1151. It is further added: This is the portion of the godless man from God, and the inheritance of the rapists, which they receive from the Almighty. What kind of “share” and “inheritance” he further explains when he immediately adds: Verse 14. If his sons multiply, it is by the sword; and his grandchildren will not be satisfied with bread (Job 27:14) 1152. 20. The name "atheist" is also applicable to heretics who, through the fallacy of a false doctrine, are far from knowing the truth; whom, according to the following words, he calls “the rapist,” because they are the persons who establish themselves, that is, by force, the incorrect meaning of the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, containing the correct postulates of the doctrine. And therefore they are rapists, if not in human laws, then in the sense of the commandments. But the “sons of rapists” are followers of heretics, who, while they agree to accept their mistakes, seem to give rise to them further in their preaching. But at the same time they “multiply”, but “under the sword,” for, although they now appear in great multitudes in destructive freedom, they are struck down by the judgment of the Judge who is coming. The Lord speaks about this through Moses: My sword shall be satisfied with flesh (Deut. 32:42) 1153. For “the sword of God shall be satisfied with the flesh,” because the Judgment of the Last Judgment destroys those who are carnally wise, and in this it becomes clear to us why it should be said that the wicked “receive their share and inheritance from the Most High.” For to those who take the right view, it is clear with all evidence that, although those who acted of their own will unjustly, by the Justice of the Most High, they will be judged justly; so that according to God's just decision, punishment will be inflicted on those whom their bad behavior has turned into sin, and in respect of whom it is added: And the grandchildren will not be satisfied with bread. 21. For the “grandchildren” of heretics are those who are born from children to whom error was preached. And they “will not be satisfied with bread,” because while in the food of the Sacred Word they strive to receive more than they can take, they are always hungry for the knowledge of truth; and the preaching of learning, in which they are busy searching for more and more new questions, they are unable to use for recuperation. But since from among these heretics some the Holy Church gathers over time, and some she leaves further in their stubbornness in their atrocities, he added in this regard: Verse 15. Those who remain from him must be buried in death (Job.27:15) 1154. 22. Undoubtedly, "those who are left behind" from this tribe of heretics are "buried in death," for while they do not return to the light of truth, they undoubtedly fall into eternal torment because of earthly life. And because it sometimes happens that while the leader of a community, having fallen into error, goes away and falls into eternal torment, the whole community, which was led astray, has a new opportunity to know the truth, and then the people who were under the leadership of the leader who fell into error can return to true knowledge, when this leader faces eternal punishment, he immediately rightly adds: And their widows will not weep (Job 27:15). 23. Whom do we accept as “his widows” if not the community left, fortunately for it, after his death? For often, as has been said, when the preacher of error is carried away to eternal punishment, his people return to the grace of true knowledge. For these many people, the evil preacher was like a husband, since he seduced the souls that clung to him and led them in a worse direction. Or, indeed, "widows do not weep," because if they continue in their erroneous opinion, while they consider their preacher to be a saint, they are deceived by the false hope that they need not mourn. Verse 16, 17. If he gather up heaps of silver like earth, and prepare clothing like decay; he can prepare it, but only the righteous will put it on, and the innocent will divide the silver ( Job 27:16–17 ) 1155 . 24. The word "silver" is used in Scripture to describe purity, as it is said elsewhere: The words of the Lord are pure words, silver refined in the furnace of the earth (Ps. 11:7) 1156. And because there are those who strive to have the Word of God not inside themselves, but for external display, the Prophet said that all of them who are dressed in silver will be destroyed (Zeph. 1:11) 1157, those who do not fill themselves with the word of God inside to restore strength, but only wear it outside, for external decoration. Their “silver,” that is, the words of heretics, are compared to “earth,” because touching the subject of Holy Scripture, where there is something that they know, they work in tension and thirst for earthly applause. And they, too, “prepare garments like decay,” because they take evidence from the Holy Scriptures incoherently and dirtyly, and they really “prepare” what they will use to defend themselves, but only a person who is full of right faith can put it on. Using and collecting the same evidence of the Holy Scriptures that the heretic cites, that is, using the same material, the holy man shows the stubborn people their mistakes. For when they bring against us the evidence of the sacred law, they thereby bring with them to us that by which they can be defeated. And, therefore, David, who reflects the Lord, and Goliath, who reflects the pride of heretics, showed in deeds what we reveal in words. Therefore, Goliath came to fight with a sword, but David came with a shepherd's bag, and David, having defeated Goliath, killed him with his own sword. For when heretics, full of pride, use the testimony of Holy Scripture in their advancement, we defeat them with the same words and judgments that they bring with them, and we thus, as it were, behead Goliath in his pride with his own sword. And so he can prepare, but only a righteous man will put it on, because a holy man works in the service of truth with the same evidence by which a bad man strives to prove himself a master of teaching, contradicting the truth. 25. And the innocent will share the silver. For to "divide the silver" means to set forth the revelations of the Lord in parts and with careful discernment, so as to apply to each particular case what is ideally suited. For the Word of the Lord, which is here called “silver” or “garment,” is the same thing that is elsewhere called “trophy” or “spoils.” This the psalmist testifies in a similar way, citing the following words as a comparison: I rejoice in Your Word, as one who has received a great trophy (Ps. 119:162) 1158. And this is so, because when the pagan world began to come to faith in the Lord, the Jews already had the trophy of the Holy Oracles, which was given to them. And about this division of silver or spoil it is said in another place: Benjamin, the ravenous wolf: in the morning he will devour the spoil, and at night he will divide the spoil (Gen. 49:27) 1159. Under these words, no doubt, the apostle Paul is described as Benjamin, who "devoured the spoil in the morning," because he first satisfied his cruelty by persecuting all the believers he could. But “in the evening he divided the spoil,” because later, when he himself becomes a believer, he reveals the sacred words in parts, explaining them. 26. Although this “silver”, which the innocent share, can be understood in another sense. For heretics can easily recommend what is wrong, mixing with their incorrect statements statements that are true, so that the minds of those who initially think correctly, but suddenly hear them, can be attracted and wounded by them, also falling into heresy. These people, since when interpreting the testimonies and commandments of God, they are replete with both words and their unfounded interpretation, the Gospel is well shown by the appearance of “ten lepers,” whose healthy skin color is partially mixed with the affected diseased areas. Therefore we are warned not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think, but to think modestly (Rom. 12:3) 1160. This is also true because they do not yet love either God, whom they misrepresent, or their neighbor, from whom they are separated, those who oppose the commandments of the Decalogue, and therefore they come to the Gracious Lord in number ten. And because they confuse the truth with that which is not true, they have pockmarked skin, colored in places by different colors; and because they have violated His commandments, they call Him so, that even in address they testify that they are transgressors, Jesus, Master; and immediately they receive healing. And because the church separates the things that are right from those that are wrong, the innocent will divide the silver, that is, separate the silver from that which is harmful and deceitful. And then it continues: Verse 18. He builds his house like moth (Job 27:18) 1161. 27. For the moth builds a house for itself by damaging something. There is no better comparison to show the heretic who builds a home for his error not anywhere, but in the minds in which he gnaws holes, promising his followers the opportunity to free themselves from eternal fire. And although he promises them the rest of eternal peace, his words do not have strength, because they lack the fullness of truth. Therefore he added: and, like a watchman, he makes himself a hut (Job.27:18). For the watchman’s hut is a dilapidated building without a foundation, temporary, which quickly crumbles and becomes unusable. And the peace promised by the heretics is destroyed in the same way with the passage of time, and after the end of this earthly life, it will not exist. And because often heretics, in disrespect for the Universal Church, are supported by the patronage of the powerful in the world, and the rich do not stop to help them with everything they can give, such people, whoever they are, swell before the face of their Creator with temporary benefits, and it is these who are further described by the statement of the holy man. And from denouncing specifically heretics, the discourse moves into generalization - to all self-exalted ones - when he adds: Verse 19. When a rich man sleeps, he will take nothing with him, he will open his eyes and find nothing (Job 27:19) 1162. 28. The psalmist speaks of the same thing: all the foolish at heart fell asleep in their grief, and all the rich people found nothing in their hands (Ps. 75:6) 1163. In order for the rich to "find something in their hands" after death, they are told before they die into whose hands they should place their wealth. Make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth, so that when you fall, they will receive you into eternal abodes (Luke 16:9) 1164. When a rich man falls asleep, he will take nothing with him. His goods, when he dies, he will take with him, if while he lived, with his voice he pleaded, and he was received into his house; for we preserve all earthly things only by parting with them, giving them to others; having parted with them, we give them a continuation, that is, we preserve them; our heritage, which we hold in our hands, trying to preserve, is lost, while when we let it out of our hands, it remains. We cannot be with our things for long. Either we, dying, leave them, or they die, as it happened, leaving us to live without them. And therefore, the only thing that remains for us is to make what is unconditionally doomed to perish turn into a reward, and not allow us to perish. 29. But it may be surprising, why is it said that when he is sleeping, he can open his eyes and find nothing? In order to sleep, we close our eyes, and when we wake up, we open them. And because a person consists of soul and body, while one falls asleep, the other awakens. For when the body falls asleep in death, the soul awakens in true knowledge. And “the rich man sleeps and opens his eyes,” because when he dies in the flesh, his soul is forced to look at what he disdained to see beforehand. Then she really wakes up in true knowledge. And only then does a person see that everything he possessed is nothing, and his hands turn out to be empty. It was before that he experienced pleasure from things that he possessed in superiority over the rest of the world. But now he fell asleep and could not take any of the things that he possessed. And for every sin that was committed for the sake of possessing this thing there will be punishment, although every thing for the sake of which the sin was committed is abandoned. So, let him go now, let him swell within himself with every thing he has received, let him elevate himself above the rest of the world, and be proud of what he has and his neighbor does not have. The time would come, sooner or later, when he would have to wake up and then find out how empty what he had in the dream really was. For it often happens during sleep that he sees himself in a dream as the best, possessing things, and on the basis of these acquisitions exalts his mind, overjoyed that he has what he did not have before, and despises those who grieve for him; but suddenly he wakes up and is upset that he woke up poor, although during his sleep he possessed a semblance of wealth. For he groans right under the weight of poverty, and shrinks from embarrassment in his poverty, and this is so terrible, although for a very short period of time he seemed to himself to be a rich man. This is certainly what happens to the rich of this world, who are bloated with the goods and things that they have acquired. They do not have any knowledge to look correctly at this imaginary abundance. While a man sleeps, he is rich; but, waking up, he discovers his poverty, because he does not 'bring anything with him' for the Judgment, which alone remains, and in proportion as he has now risen higher for a short time, the more he groans in eternity. So let him say: he will open his eyes and find nothing. Because then he "opens his eyes" to see the punishments that are here kept closed out of mercy. He opens his eyes, and he “does not find” the fruit of pity that allowed him to keep them closed here. The same ones slowly “open their eyes,” which, as Wisdom testifies, speaking of the time of Judgment: what has pride and wealth done for us? (Wis.5:8) 1165 or it is also very well said further: All these things have dissipated like a shadow, and like a fleeting rumor (Wis.5:9) 1166. The fact that the things they had were useless and transitory, they now learn and learn by losing them, and as long as they had them, it seemed to their stupid hearts that these things were big and durable. It was too late when the rich man “opened his eyes,” when he saw Lazarus in peace, whom he despised. He understood that there was a thing that he had given up here: through his condemnation, he was forced to learn that he had lost what his neighbor owned, even while in need. He further adds about this: Verse 20. His terrors will take him like water; a whirlwind will overwhelm him at night (Job 27:20) 1167. 30. Let us now look at the needs of the rich man now burning, whose abundance was as great as a sumptuous feast. For he says: Abraham, father, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame (Luke 16:24) 1168. These words, don’t they reveal to us at the same time that in this terrible burning even one drop of water seems sufficiently fresh, and that the one who has sinned a lot and has an excess of grief in punishment must also need an excess. For we see in the words of the rich man the result of God's judgment - how a proportionate punishment is imposed for the corresponding sin. For, driven by need, he there is forced to ask for the smallest thing; he who is here, driven by greed, has gone so far that he could not refuse the smallest thing. What payment could be fairer and more strict? He asks for a drop of water, the one who refused to sacrifice a crumb of bread; and therefore “need surrounds him like water.” This need is rightly compared to water, because it is what torments in hell, which swallows up those it receives in the uncharted depths, and is also sometimes called a "lake." Therefore it is said by the voice of the Prophet to humanity: my life has fallen into the lake (Lamentations 3:53) 1169. But in the triumph of those who escaped this, they sang: Lord my God! I cried out to You and You healed me. Lord, You have brought my soul out of the grave: You have preserved me from those who go down into the lake (Ps. 29:3-4) 1170. 31. The whirlwind will suppress it at night. What does he call “night time” in this place, if not the secret time of sudden departure? And under the name "whirlwind" it represents the whirlwind of Judgment. The psalmist also testifies, saying: Our God is coming, and he is not coming in silence; a consuming fire before Him and a great storm around Him (Ps. 49:3) 1171. Wisdom also speaks about this same whirlwind or storm through Solomon: And I will laugh at your destruction, I will rejoice when horror comes upon you; when terror comes upon you like a storm, and trouble like a whirlwind (Prov. 1:26–27) 1172. And because the time of departure is not known, it is called night, and the whirlwind will suppress him at night, which means that the whirlwind of God's Judgment will take him away at a time that he will not know about. The Truth says the same about Itself: and you know that if the owner of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be ruined. That's why you should be ready. For at such an hour as you do not think, the Son of Man will come (Matthew 24:43–44) 1173. This is also said against the “bad slave.” For the bad slave will say in his heart: “My master has delayed his return”; and will begin to beat his neighbors, and eat and drink with drunkards. But the slave's master returns on a day when the slave is not waiting for him, and at an hour when he is not thinking. Therefore Paul says to the disciples: But you, brothers, are not in darkness, lest the day should overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not the sons of night nor of darkness (1 Thess. 5:4–5) 1174. Thus, the rich man, who has given himself freely to pride, is told by the voice of God: fool! This night your soul will be taken from you; who will get the things you have prepared? (Luke 12:20) 1175. The one who gives his soul in the night is described as the one who, without seeing death in advance, takes himself away in the darkness of the heart. And therefore, let him say: a whirlwind will overwhelm him at night. For because he has not bothered to do the good things that he sees, he is caught in the storm for destruction that he does not see. And he further adds about this: Verse 21. The scorching wind drags him and takes him away (Job 27:21) 1176. 32. Who in this place is meant by the name “scorching wind” if not an evil spirit that awakens the flame of various lusts in the heart, which lead a person to eternal punishment? So, the “scorching wind,” as it is said, “takes away” all bad people, because the conspirator, the evil spirit that inflames a person to live in evil, drags him to die in agony. For “scorching,” as usual, is used for the unclean spirit, which with the breath of evil proposes to inflame the hearts of the wicked to earthly desires, to which the prophet Jeremiah testifies, saying: I see a cauldron kindled by the wind, and its face according to the face of the North (Jer. 1:13) 1177. For the “heated cauldron” is the heart of a person boiling from the heat of worldly worries and from the restlessness of desires. And he was set on fire by the “face of the North,” that is, he was set on fire by the proposals of the devil. For this being was called by the name "North", which said: I will sit on the mountain in the host of the gods, at the edge of the north. I will ascend to the heights of the clouds (Isaiah 14:13–14) 1178. Thus, the scorching effects of this heat in the minds of each of the elect are cooled when the heat of evil inclinations is extinguished in them, and the flame of carnal desires turns into ice. And, therefore, the Holy Church sings with delight in the praise of her Bridegroom: I sat down in the shadow of him, whom I desired (Song. 2:3) 1179. Regarding the fight against this heat, Isaiah said, according to the promise of the Lord: instead of a low willow, a cypress will grow, and instead of a nettle, myrtle will grow (Is. 55:13) 1180. For “a cypress will grow instead of a low willow,” when in the hearts of the Saints, instead of drowning earthly thoughts, the height of heavenly contemplation rises. It is known that nettle burns, having its fiery nature. But myrtle is famous for its cooling properties, and therefore “myrtle will grow instead of nettles” when the minds of the righteous will come from the irritation and heat of bad habits into cool and calm thoughts, while they will no longer seek earthly things, and will extinguish the flame of the flesh with heavenly aspirations. 33. In relation to this cooling of the soul, which is given from heaven, it is said to Mary: the power of the Most High will overshadow you (Luke 1:35) 1181; although in this place the word "overshadow" rather signifies that the Nature of God will be Incarnate. For shadow comes from light and body. And the Lord is Light in relation to the Divine Nature, which, through the soul, honored its womb to become a body in human nature. And this is because the Incorporeal Light was in her womb to become corporeal, to her, who conceived the incorporeal for the corporeal, it is said: the power of the Most High will overshadow You; those. The incorporeal Light of the Divine nature in you will take on the corporeal substance of human nature. But now let's get back to finishing where we started with regard to any evil person. Accordingly, “the scorching wind drags him,” thus, it means precisely that, whom the evil spirit now scorches with the fire of evil lust, he then carries him away to the fire of hell. And then follows: And like a whirlwind, it will carry him away from his place. 34. The “place” of the wicked is the satisfaction of temporary life, and the pleasure of the flesh. Therefore, each person is thus “carried away from his place like a whirlwind” when he is overwhelmed with fear on the Last Day, and becomes separated from all his pleasures. And about this same Last Day he rightly adds: Verse 22. For He lets it be upon him, and will not deliver (Job 27:22) 1182. 35. God, as often as He punishes the sinner by striking him because evil “hangs over him,” so often does He “deliver.” But if, under His blows, life comes to an end, and a person remains in sin, He allows evil to “hang over him” and will no longer “deliver” him. For the same One who allows evil to hang so that He can “deliver,” yet “allowing it to hang” may not deliver. For in this life the Lord reveals Himself the more often, the more often He scourges and delivers; As He Himself says to John in the voice of an angel: Those whom I love, I rebuke and punish (Rev. 3:19) 1183; and as it is said elsewhere: for whom the Lord loves he chastens (Heb. 12:6) 1184, but the opposite is also written about the punishment of the wicked: the wicked is taken according to the works of his own hands (Ps. 9:17) 1185. The Lord speaks of this to Jeremiah when He sees the people incorrigibly violating, and whom He now no longer regards as sons in discipline, but as enemies under unmitigated scourging: for I have struck you with the blows of the enemy, a cruel punishment (Jer. 30:14) 1186, and what is said here and “will not deliver” is also pronounced in other words: Why do you cry out about your illness? Your grief is incurable (Jer.30:15) 1187. How do the elect always understand (and do) that they must return to righteousness before the wrath of the Judge burns unquenchably, so as not to be caught at the last moment, and life does not end before sin, and so that punishments drive out sin and life changes, since whoever is left without punishment, his life will not change and his deeds will not be redeemed. Therefore, all blows from God are either cleansing from the attachment to temporary life in us, or the punishment that follows an evil deed. For about those who benefited from punishment it is written: who framed the pain in the commandment (Ps. 94:20) 1188. For in the case when an evil person is scourged, he can hear through pain those commandments that he could not hear in word. So, there are those who “framed pain in the commandments”, whom pain, as it was, turned to the commandments and saved them from evil deeds, but about those for whom disasters are a curse, and not framed in the commandments, it is said: you strike them, but they do not feel pain; You destroy them, but they do not want to accept admonition (Jer. 5:3) 1189. For them, the scourging begins in this life and continues into eternal punishment. Therefore says the Lord through Moses: for the fire has kindled in My wrath, burning to the very depths of hell (Deut. 32:22) 1190. For as regards the present punishment, it is rightly said: fire was kindled in My wrath. But as for eternal damnation, it is immediately added: it burns to the very depths of hell. It should be noted that many people notice that it is written: God does not judge the same thing twice (Nahum.1:9) 1191. And, however, they do not pay attention to what the Prophet says about the wicked: And crush them with double confusion (Jer. 17:18) 1192. And this is what is written elsewhere: Jesus, saving people from Egypt, destroyed those who did not believe for the second time (Jude 1:5) 1193. However, if we agree that no sin can be punished twice, it is obvious that for those persons who, being punished for sin here, and die in their sin, the punishment began here and continues there, that is, it is one and the same scourge, which begins here in time, but is embodied in eternal punishments. And for those who completely refuse to be changed, the present disasters now are the beginning of the torments of the future. So God allows it to hang over him and will not deliver him. Fleeing, he tries to escape from His hand (Job.27:22) 1194. 36. For he flees from the hand of the Punisher, he who introduces wickedness into his conduct; or else, because in scripture the hand is used to indicate action, he flees from the hand of the Punisher as it destroys the evil man in him and he leaves the path of evil. Therefore the following is also added: Verse 23. He lifts up his hands over him (Job 27:23) 1195. 37. For “to lift up your hands” is to establish the deeds of your life in integrity, about which Paul also says: Strengthen therefore the hands that are slack and weak, and the weak knees (Heb. 12:12) 1196. And now, seeing the death of another, they can return to their conscience to remind themselves of their own sins. And through the same reason why one person falls into torment, another is freed from torment. And so “he lifts up his hands over him,” because he observes in the punishment of another what is to be feared; and while he sees one life stricken with crime, he binds his swift too free actions with the sinews of righteousness. And therefore it turns out that the one who, being a bad person in this life, and who, perhaps, throughout his life turned others into sin, by dying turns some away from sin by the example of his terrible torment. The psalmist testifies to the same thing, saying: the righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; will wash his hands in the blood of sinners (Ps. 57:11) 1197. “The righteous will wash their hands in the blood of sinners” who die, because when their punishment is revealed, the life of the person who sees it is purified. And then follows: And he will whistle over him, seeing his place (Job.27:23) 1198. 38. What does a whistle express if not the tension of surprise? But there is some other meaning in whistling that needs to be considered. For when a sinner dies, those who witness his death purse their lips to whistle, as they turn to those spiritual words which they had despised before, and henceforth begin to believe and teach what formerly, while they believed the wicked man to prosper, they did not believe or teach. For it very often happens that a weak mind is more unstable in hearing the truth if it sees those who despise the truth prospering; but when just punishment takes away the wicked, it preserves others from evil. Therefore Solomon said: When a deadly man is punished, the little one will be wiser (Proverbs 21:11) 1199. Thus the holy man, after he has honestly described the punishments of those people whose power is rising in the world, he again directs his words to the pride of the heretics who rise in speech, saying: Verse 1. Silver has a primary vein, and gold has a place where they refine it (Job 28:1) 1200. 39. Silver denotes the power of words, and gold denotes the brightness of life or wisdom. And because the heretics are so full of pride in the brilliance of their speeches, which they do not base firmly on any tenet of the sacred books (such books of sayings are like a vein for silver, because from these books we get the source for our speech), he calls them to the pages of sacred knowledge, so that if they have a desire to speak the truth, they can from this source draw what to say. And he says that silver has a primary vein, and gold has a place where they refine it. It is as if he said in simple words: “he who adapts himself to the words of a true sermon must necessarily derive the roots of chance from the sacred page in order to bring every thing about which he speaks at its basis to divine truth, and on this form the edifice of his own speech.” For, as we have already said, often heretics, while they seek to support what is wrong in their own speeches, introduce things that are certainly not supported in the pages of the sacred books. And, therefore, the great preacher warns his disciple, saying: O Timothy! Guard what is committed to you, avoiding desecrating newness in speech (1 Tim. 6:20) 1201. For if heretics speak for a long time in order to exalt themselves as if in the superiority of the mind, they seem to deduce new things that are not supported in the old books of the ancient fathers, and thus it follows that while they want to appear wise, they sow the seeds of stupidity in their miserable listeners. 40. And this is well added: and the gold has a place where they purify it. It’s as if he said directly: “The true wisdom of believers, whose place is the Universal Church, is subject to sorrow by your persecution, but it is also cleansed from all the filth of sins by the fire of your persecution. Therefore it is written: For gold is tested in fire, and worthy men in the furnace of adversity (Sir.2:5) 1202. And in this context, it can also be appropriately understood in the sense that the foolish suffering of heretics may even be blamed on them. For often for the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, they suffer greatly, and in this suffering, they look to themselves, and strive to become His martyrs. To which these people, both earlier and now, are told in the voice of a holy man: gold has a place where they purify it. For, according to what has already been said before us, they can suffer for their faith in punishment, but they cannot become martyrs, for gold has a place where they purify it. What will you heretics answer to this then? You know why you should accept the punishment of your flesh, but you do not find martyrdom, because you do not know the place where you must accept the punishment. Hear what the voice of the holy preacher says: gold has a place where they refine it. 41. There is one Church in which you may achieve purification, that is, perhaps you will be cleansed from all the filth of sins. And even if for God's sake you go through bitterness and sorrow, being outside of it, yes, you can be burned, but you cannot be cleansed. Let Jeremiah speak and let him tell how the fire of your purification is deprived of all its power. The smelter melted in vain; for them evil was not separated (Jer.6:29) 1203. See how the fire of external melting immediately plunges into the punishment of cruel suffering, and yet does not cleanse the sin of error. This gives the torment of cruel punishments, but does not bring about the grace of virtues. In addition, the Apostle Paul teaches us all about the fire of this suffering, which burns outside the Church, as about complete emptiness, when he says: and although I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it benefits me nothing (1 Cor. 13:3) 1204. For some think wrong things about God, and others think right things about the Creator, but do not maintain unity with their brothers; some split because of the error of faith, and others because of the benefits of the schism. And therefore, in the very first part of the Decalogue, the sins of both sides are revealed, seeing that it is said by the voice of God: And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Mark 12:30-31; Deut. 6:5) 1205. And this is immediately added: And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Because whoever imagines something wrong about God, of course it is obvious that he does not love God. But he who, while he has correct concepts of God, is separated from the unity of the Holy Church, it is clear that he does not love his neighbors, since he refuses to accept them as neighbors. 42. Anyone who separates himself from the unity of our Mother Church, either through heresies in the wrong idea of ​​​​God, or in the erroneous schism of dislike for his neighbor, is deprived of grace, as is the feat in relation to which Paul says that we just repeated: and although I give my body to be burned, but have no love, it benefits me nothing. It is as if he expressed himself in a simple statement: “Beyond the boundaries of its place, the fire of melting, which is applied to me, only torments me, and does not purify me with its purification.” All of them who love the holy world seek this place with heartfelt effort; by searching they find, having found they hold on, knowing that they will be granted forgiveness of sins. And where could this be, except in the bosom of our Mother Church? For it is said: in an acceptable time I heard you and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2) 1206, and seek the Lord when He may be found; call on Him when He is near (Isaiah 55:6) 1207 For who but the reformed, who are like little children made lowly? About whom it is said: Let the children come to Me and do not hinder them; for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:14) 1208, and unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3) 1209. And because the real martyrs are preserved only in the Universal Church, it is rightly said: gold has a place where they purify it. Because the soul will not become bright in the radiance of eternal beauty, except in this place, only if it is purified here, in the workshop of love. 43. Moreover, we must consider that there are some whom Almighty God, by His secret will, preserves in innocence from their very beginning and promotes them to the highest heights of virtue, and as their age increases, with the multiplicity of years and the eminence of merit simultaneously increase in them. But others refuse at the beginning, and, suffering, go with bad habits to wander headlong in different ways. Yet, for the most part, even these He accepts, and for a time, He kindles them with the fire of holy love, and the evil inclinations that are rooted in their hearts He burns away with His power, and they are the more eager to implore God's mercy, the more they are ashamed at the recollection of their sinfulness. How often it happens in war that a soldier who is in front of the eyes of his leader is frightened by the enemy, and that while he powerlessly turns his back, the enemy strikes him; and at this moment, ashamed of this very thing that he did (his fear), of shame in front of the leader, from a simple feeling of shame, he gathers great strength; and then performs deeds of valor of such a high degree that he can at once reach the real heights of valor, and completely blot out the past shame of weakness. Likewise, these persons sometimes become more active in the service of God out of shame over past weaknesses. For such people, life according to His commandments and the desire for things of the future is based, on the one hand, on love for what should come in the future, and on the other hand, on shame for what happened in the past. However, at the same time, we see that the enemies of the Church are endowed with high virtues, and in their present life they do not see that they can lose their newly acquired virtues, and they deny their past with the same zeal as Manichaeus attacked our Moses; who does not listen to be patient afterwards, but to what the condition is before striking. Such adversaries as these were encountered by the blessed Job, after which he said: Silver has a primary vein, and gold has a place where they refine it; and right away he rightly added: Iron comes from the earth (Job 28:2) 1210. 44. Heretics are accustomed to pride in themselves, to self-pride in their righteousness, and boast of high deeds with a swelling of boasting, and deny, as we have already said, that they are or were in the past bad people. Accordingly, humbly and in truthful defense against them, the holy man speaks, saying: Iron comes from the earth. It was as if he had said simply: the strong men, who with the sharp swords of their tongues become iron in this battle in defense of the faith, were once the earth at the beginning of their actions. For man was told about his sin: You are the earth, and to the earth you will return. But “iron is taken from the earth” when, with difficulty, the Church separates a person from the earthly line of behavior that he previously adhered to. Accordingly, he should not be despised for anything that he was, who had already begun to be what he was not before. Was not Matthew found in the earth, who, participating in earthly affairs, served to receive taxes? But, he was torn out of the ground, he was strengthened in the strength of iron, and with his tongue, like with the sharpest sword, the Lord, teaching the Gospel, pierced the hearts of unbelievers. And he who was previously weak and despised in his earthly affairs subsequently becomes strong for heavenly preaching. Therefore it is added even further: And the stone melts from the heat, turning into brass (Job.28:2) 1211. 45. Then this “stone melts in the heat,” when the heart, hard and cold, touched by the fire of divine love, melts in the luminous warm Spirit, to eternal life. By the power of the same warmth, he immediately softens to love, and it is still difficult for him to love the world, so he is strong in the love of God, and what he refused to listen to before, he now begins to believe and preach. So, the stone is melted by heat and turned into brass, because tempered minds are melted by the fire of love from above, and gain true strength. So sinners who were previously indifferent as stones, then immediately become strong both in terms of action and in the sound of the sermon. Isaiah spoke about this well: They who trust in the Lord must renew their strength (Is. 40:31) 1212. We renew our strength when, by turning, we renounce temporary things with the same strength with which we previously sought them. And then he rightly adds: Verse 3. He sets a time for darkness, and Himself sees the end of everyone and everyone (Job.28:3) 1213. 46. ​​He Himself “sets a time for darkness,” that is, boundaries for the wicked, where they must cease to be evil. Therefore it is said by the Apostle: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph.5:8) 1214. The Great Teacher also says to other students: The night has passed, and the day has approached; Therefore leave behind the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light (Rom. 13:12) 1215. Let us conduct ourselves decently, as in the day (Rom. 13:13) 1216. That is why in the Song of Songs it is said about the coming of the Church: who is she who comes like the dawn in the morning? The comparison with “morning” is rightly used to describe the Church, because with the knowledge of faith it changes a person from the darkness of sins to the bright light of righteousness. By the words “to each and every one” we mean both the chosen and the damned. For God, while governing and ordering what is good, does not do what is bad, but what is done by evil is nevertheless regulated by Him, so that things do not become uncontrollable, i.e. He Himself sees the end of everyone and everyone, and bears everything patiently, and sees the goal of His chosen ones, how they turn from evil to good. He also sees the end of the damned, for, through evil deeds, they bring themselves to the punishment worthy of them. He saw the end of Saul when, in the persecution in which they fell on their faces to the ground, he said: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? (Acts 9:6) 1217. He saw the end of a seemingly obedient disciple who, because of the guilt of an act he had committed, had a noose tied around his throat; he punished himself, being already guilty of sin, and submitted himself to an even worse punishment. He also saw Sodom, its end - the burning of lust in the fire of hell. He saw the end of the pagan world, which, although immersed in the darkness of lawlessness, was one day to shine with the light of faith. He also saw the end of Judea, how from the bright light of the faith that it carries, it blinds itself with the darkness of complete unbelief. Therefore it is additionally added: Verse 4. A stone like darkness and the shadow of death separates the stream from people on the way (Job.28:4) 1218. 47. What if the people of Judah, firm in unbelief, refusing to see through faith the Creator of life, whom they themselves predicted by prophecy, are called “the stone of darkness”?, because they immediately firmly refused to believe, and plunged into the darkness of unbelief. This is also called in other words “Shadow of Death”. For the shadow appears the same in outline as the outline of the object from which it is received, and what can be called the word “death” if not the devil? About which it is said: and his name was Death (Rev. 6:8) 1219, and this people became his shadow, because in his subsequent wickedness, he showed himself to be his likeness. And what then is called the “stream”, if not this fire, which, according to the verdict of the Last Judgment, in the final decision divides the elect and the damned? The words of the Prophet speak about the same thing: a fiery and swift stream passed before Him (Dan.7:10) 1220. 48. But what kind of people are “on the way” in this world, if not those who rush after the inheritance of the elect, those who know well that they have their native country in the heavenly world, and expect that they will find there all the more of their own, the more of theirs they reject in this life? Thus, the "people on the way" are all the chosen ones who pass through this life as exiles of themselves, striving with all the inclination of their hearts to reach their native land above; about whom Paul says: and he confessed that they were strangers and strangers on the earth. For they who say such things show that they are seeking the fatherland (Heb. 11:13–14) 1221. The same Apostle mentions these same pilgrims when he says: knowing that while we are at home in the body, we go as pilgrims (peregrinamur) from the Lord. For we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:6–7) 1222. He hastened to leave the troubles of this pilgrimage state when he said: I have a desire to be resolved and to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23) 1223 and again: for me Christ is life, and death is good (Phil. 1:21) 1224, the psalmist felt the burden of this pilgrimage with all its weight on himself when he said: Woe to me, that I dwell with Mosoch, that I dwell at the tents of Kedar! My soul has been a sojourner for so long (Ps. 119:5-6) 1225. He was suffocating from this and tried to get out as quickly as possible, when he flared up with heavenly aspirations and said: my soul thirsts for the mighty God, the living God; when I come and appear before the face of God! (Ps.41:3) 1226, but this desire is alien to those who have fixed their hearts on earthly pleasures. For, while they love only what is seen, unconditionally, they do not love invisible things, even if they consider them to exist, while they follow too much of the external below, they become carnal. Thus, both types of people run together in this life, but do not reach eternal life together, because the stone of darkness and the shadow of death divides people along the way like a stream. It is as if he said in simple words: “Those whom at the present time either unfaithfulness makes blind, or cruelty makes callous, shares the fiery stream that precedes the Eternal Judgment: it separates the cruel from the chosen people, from the good people the fire of strict inquiry cuts off those whom the darkness of evil habits makes blind in their lusts. 49. Perhaps, by the designation "stream", the graceful irrigation of holy preaching can be understood, in accordance with what Solomon said: The eye that mocks the father and despises the exploit of the mother, the crows will carry away from the stream (Prov. 30:17) 1227. For bad people, while they are looking for errors in the decisions of God, what are they doing if not “mocking their father,” and heretics of all kinds, mockingly despising the preaching of the Holy Church and her heritage, what are they doing if not “despising the feat of their mother”? Those who came out of it and rebelled against it, as John testifies, saying: They went out from us, but they were not ours; for if they were ours, they would have remained without a doubt, continued with us (1 John 2:19) 1228. But the “crows from the stream” come when true preachers come out to defend the Holy Church from the stream of holy books. They are also rightly called "crows" because they are never proud of the light of their righteousness, but by the grace of humility they recognize the blackness of sins in themselves. That is why it is said about the souls of the elect: I am black, but beautiful (Song.1:5) 1229. And John says: if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. These same crows, without a doubt, “carry away the eyes” of the one who “mocks”, because they overcome bad and treacherous people. Thus, according to this evidence, here also the "stream" should be understood as preaching; the stone of darkness and the shadow of death, the stream separates from people on the way, because the preaching of the saints passes into the minds of the lost and turns to the pious hearts of the humble. Therefore it is further added: Those whom the beggar's foot has forgotten, and those who are inaccessible. 50. Who else in this place can be understood as a beggar, if not the One of whom Paul spoke: Although he was rich, yet for you he became poor (2 Cor. 8:9) 1230. The “beggar's feet” were the holy preachers, thanks to whom the pagan world was converted, and through whom He passed around the whole earth. About which the Prophet said: and I will walk in them (Lev.26:12) 1231. Was he not His foot, which, being tightly bound in chains, said: for whom am I fulfilling the mission in chains? (2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 6:20) 1232 but those who proved themselves to be “the shadow of death and the stone of darkness” were forgotten by the foot of the beggar, because at the very beginning of the newborn Church, while the Holy Apostles were instructed to preach the Kingdom of Heaven in Judea, seeing that it was useless, they went to preach among the Gentiles, as they themselves say in their Acts: It was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you; but since you reject it from you, and make yourselves unworthy of eternal life, then, behold, we turn to the pagans (Acts 13:46) 1233, in relation to which the psalmist also said: the mountains were brought into the heart of the sea (Ps. 45:4) 1234; because the apostles, rejected by the Jews, were then “brought” into the pagan world. Who then are those with unlimited firmness and with unseeing hearts, who as "stones of darkness and the shadow of death" are separated from the holy people who go on the way, those whom the beggar's foot has forgotten, that is, whom the preachers of the Lord, beggars as He Himself was, left in the swelling of their pride, if not those whom they completely forgot while they were transmitting the seeds of their preaching to bring up the fruits of the heathen? Who else besides these he rightly calls "unreachable" also because when they became hardened in their unfaithfulness, they refused to give life-giving words access to their hearts. About this Judea, which thus swelled in hardness of heart, and remained there for a long time, and where it went after that, let us also listen. Verse 5. The earth on which bread grows is dug up inside as if by fire (Job 28:5) 1235. 51. Judah gave bread in which she established the words of the law before the people. The same law, which the children of perdition ceased to understand and interpret, the prophet Jeremiah mourns in sorrow, saying: the infants asked for bread, and there was no man to grind it for them (Lam. 4:4) 1236; but this “earth is dug up as if by fire,” because, contemplating true miracles, it burns itself from the inside with the fire of envy. For just as envy is always born of pride, the stricken earth perishes on the spot, burning with envy, because it has not given up pride. So, “The land on which bread grows is dug up inside as if by fire,” because the Synagogue, which sets before people the commandments of God in the law, persecuting the newborn Church, burns itself with the fire of envy. Was it not in the fire of her envy when, having seen the miracles of our Redeemer, it was said by some of her adherents: what should we do? Does this Man do many miracles? ( John 11:47 ) 1237, or, of course: Do you see that we gain nothing? the whole world follows Him (John 12:19) 1238. They saw that at the same time they had to be transformed, and in order to prevent this, they became even more hard-hearted. They sought to strangle Him whom they saw giving life to the dead. They preached the law with their lips, but persecuted the Creator of the same law. Therefore, the earth on which bread grows was dug up inside, as if by fire. Because Judea was in its own self the first law that should be renewed, and then it became envy, which burned it. To describe her, he also further added: Verse 6. Its stones are sapphire, and its clods are gold (Job.28:6) 1239. 52. The proclamation of previous glories adds guilt to the sin that follows. For the fall of every man is the worse the crime, the more he had before he fell. Thus let it be said to Judah, let it be told to all, what she was, and let the greatness of her past perfection, increase the guilt for the crime that follows: The stones of her place are sapphire, and her lumps are gold. What do we mean by “gold” in this place, if not the mind of the Saints and the mighty? For in the Holy Scriptures "stone" is wont to signify sometimes evil and sometimes good, for when "stone" is used to signify insensibility, by "stone" hard hearts are signified. Where did John say: God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones (Matthew 3:9) 1240; which, of course, under the name “stones” signifies the hearts of the pagans, at that time hard and insensitive in relation to the faith, and the Lord promises through the Prophet, saying: And I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh (Ezek. 11:19) 1241. But “stones” are also used to indicate the strength of the faithful. And, therefore, it is said by Saint Peter: you also are like living stones, being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5) 1242. And the Prophet promises the Church when she comes, saying: Behold, I will lay thy stones in order, and make thy foundation of sapphires; And I will make your stronghold of jasper, and your gates of cut stones, and all your walls of precious stones. And all your sons will be taught by the Lord (Isa. 54:11-13) 1243, for He “lays stones in order in it” because He orders the holy souls in it according to the rank of merit, He puts sapphires in its foundation, for these are stones that retain a similarity in color with the sky, because the power of the Church stands firmly in souls that seek first the heavenly things. And for jasper is of a green hue, He will make her a stronghold of jasper, because they will stand in defense of the Holy Church in its defense from opponents, remaining green and fresh in inner desires, not dying from the drought of damned indifference. And its gates will be made of cut stones. For those who are the “gates” of the Church are those from whose lives the multitude of those who believe learn and enter into it, because the teachers are rich in great deeds, and what they declare in words, and what they declare in deeds while living, is worthy not only to be written down, but worthy to be “carved in stones.” And then the whole number of the elect is covered when it is added “and your whole fence is made of precious stones.” And so that we, having heard this, would know that He will make known these stones about which we were told, it is added: All your sons will be taught by the Lord. And because Judea had no desire for a holy soul to lead a heavenly life, he said: Stones are the place of sapphire. And because she had previously shone in faith, with extraordinary brightness of life and wisdom, he added: and her clods are gold. What is meant by “clumps” if not grains compacted with moisture and dust; and therefore all of them that are watered with the dew of grace see with true sight, and know that in death they are dust, while they were made to shine in the excellence of life, and lie in it like lumps of gold. These lumps of gold were the prophets, the “lumps” were the teachers, the “lumps” were the ancient fathers, who, by grace, were unanimous in their teaching and deeds. Therefore let him say: and her clods are gold; because the more spiritual souls shone with perfection in her, the more they bound her to God and neighbor, with greater unanimity. 53. But this gold was then covered with the gray darkness of unbelief. Whose blackness, of course, the prophet Jeremiah mourned, saying: how did this gold become dull? how this pure gold has changed! ( Lamentations 4:1 ) 1244 . For “gold becomes dull” because the ancient shine in them of faith and innocence is replaced by the coming unbelief, dulled by the darkness of wickedness. Therefore, as it was, so we heard: Its stones are sapphire, and its lumps are gold. Now let's find out how people so loved by God lost these great blessings. The following is added: Verse 7. I did not know the way of the bird, nor contemplated the eyes of the hawk (Job.28:7) 1245. 54. Who is designated in this place by the name “bird” if not He, the Savior, the One who prepared for heaven a fleshly body, which He took for Himself? Who can be called a “hawk”, for when a “hawk” soars in the sky, if it sees a corpse lying on the ground, it immediately swoops down to devour the carcass, and very often this is what happens for a dead animal when it descends to the ground after it. It is right, therefore, that the Mediator between God and man, our Redeemer, is designated by the “hawk,” Who, remaining in the sublimity of His Divine nature, as it was, in His own way raised to the height of flight our mortal body that was below, and Himself descended from the highest heavens to the very lowest. For for our sake He was vouchsafed to become man, and while seeking a dead being, He found death among us, Who was immortal in Himself. Therefore, the “eye” of this “hawk” was truly directed towards our resurrection, because He Himself, being dead for three days, freed us from eternal death. So, the unbelieving people of Judea saw him in a state of mortality, but how by His death He should destroy our death, they did not see. The hawk really saw this, but “the eye of the hawk did not see,” for those people at that time refused to see the ways of His humility, thanks to which He raised us to a height, to the “way of the bird,” which we did not know before. For they did not consider that His humility would lift us to heavenly heights, and they did not recognize that the purpose of His death was to restore us to life. Therefore, he did not know the Way of the bird, nor did he contemplate the eyes of the hawk. For although they saw Him whom they bound in death, they refused to see how wonderful was the glory of His death in giving us life. And, consequently, inflamed by the cruelty of persecution in a similar way, they refused to accept the words of life, the preachers of the Kingdom of Heaven, prohibiting, expelling, destroying. Having been expelled from Judea, where they had been sent, they were scattered to cultivate the pagan world. And therefore it is additionally added: Verse 8. The children of the merchants did not trample it, and the lioness did not pass through it (Job.28:8) 1246. 55. In all the Latin copies we find the word "merchant" (Institutores) 1247 used in this verse, but in the Greek texts we see the word "merchant" (negotiatores), which leads to the conclusion that in this passage some early copyist through ignorance put the word "merchant" ("Institutores") instead of "institores" (merchants). For in Latin we call merchants institores because they perform intermediary work. But both the one phrase and the other, although they diverge in the statement, are not in conflict in meaning, because all those who teach the works of believers continue to walk, in a way, the way of merchants and businessmen, who, while they deliver the sermon to their hearers, must receive back from them faith and righteous deeds; for it is written concerning the Holy Church: she makes a veil and will sell it. Regarding which it is also said, a little later in this place: she feels that her trade is good (Prov. 31:24) 1248. Who in this place are called the “founding merchants” if not the holy prophets who, by prophesying, guided the synagogues to the path of faith? Their “sons” are undoubtedly the Holy Apostles, in relation to whom the psalmist said to the Church: Instead of Your fathers, children are born to you, whom You will teach to reign over all the earth (Ps. 44:17) 1249. But since the apostles were expelled from the borders of the synagogue, he says: the children of the merchants did not trample it. Since the “children of merchants” would trample it, if the holy preachers would bend the leg of righteousness to the evil of the Synagogue. But if the same “merchants” is applicable to the preachers of the Holy Church, then under the expression “children of merchants” nothing prevents us from accepting shepherds and teachers who followed the path of the apostles. Who did not “trample” the Synagogue, because while their fathers, that is, the apostles, were expelled from it, they themselves also stopped calling on it. 56. “The lioness did not pass through the same Synagogue,” because the Holy Church is aimed at gathering the pagans together, and no longer directs itself towards the people in Judea. Here the Church is called “lioness” because she pierces people living in an abundance of bad habits with the lips of holy preaching. Therefore, for the very first Shepherd it was said, as for the mouth of this lioness: slaughter and eat (Acts 10:13) 1250. For whoever is “slaughtered” in this sense is slaughtered for life, while what is eaten undergoes transformations in the body of the person who eats while eating. That is why it is said: “slaughter and eat,” that is, “slaughter the sin in which they live, and transform them through yourself into your own members within you.” And because this Church is the body of the Lord, the Lord is also called by the words of James “lion” in relation to Himself and “lioness” in relation to the body of the Church, when it was said: Judas, my son, rises from the spoil. He bowed down, lay down like a lion and like a lioness: who will raise him? (Gen.49:9) 1251. And about this lioness it is not said, for example, “did not walk” through Judea, but it is said precisely “did not pass through,” i.e. didn't go all the way. For the apostles preached first to three thousand of them, and then to five thousand, and they believed. And so the Church “passed” on the way to the Synagogue, but “did not pass through it to the end,” because few of it were converted to faith, but many more unbelievers fell into a deeper, deadly error. But this is what we have often said regarding the infidelity of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles. Even further he said about the same lioness: Verse 9. He stretched out his hand upon the granite; He overturns mountains by their roots (Job.28:9) 1252. 57. For “he stretched out his hand upon the granite,” because he advanced the hand of His preaching above the hardness of the heathen. Therefore, the blessed Job, knowing that the history of his sufferings is destined to become known to the pagans in time, says: Let these things be imprinted with an iron chisel in a plate of lead, or carved in granite (Job 19:24) 1253, but who in this place do we understand by the word “mountains”, if not the mighty of this world, who at the expense of earthly things swell and exalt themselves high? Regarding which the psalmist says: touch the mountains, and they will rise (Ps. 143:5) 1254; but the mountains were uprooted because, according to the preaching of the Holy Church, the highest rulers of this world fell from their hidden throne on their faces in admiration of Almighty God. For the “roots” of the mountains are the innermost thoughts of the proud man. And “mountains are uprooted” because for those who worship God, the powers of the world lie on the same level as the earth with the lowest thoughts. For the “root” rightly designates a hidden thought, because with the help of what is not visible, that which is then visible in itself grows. And, therefore, the prophet said: and the survivor of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit upward (Is. 37:31) 1255, as if this were expressed directly and simply: starting deep below, the more thoughts grow upward, the greater the reward can be. Therefore let him say: He stretched out his hand on the granite; He overturns mountains by their roots. For, while the sacred preaching found the firmness of the pagans, they completely repented of the sublimity of pride. And those who are overturned from earthly thoughts are filled with heavenly gifts, and those whose interest in lower things is exhausted are watered with streams from above, therefore he adds directly: Verse 10. He cuts channels in the rocks (Job 28:10) 1256. 58. Those. he opened the hard hearts of the pagans to the rivers of preaching; as the prophet also says about watering the parched pagans: He turns the desert into a lake, and the dry land into springs of water (Ps. 106:35) 1257, and in the Gospel the Lord promises, saying that whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38) 1258. What we then heard promised, we now see fulfilled. For we see how the holy preachers, having left Judea, spread through the Universal Church to the whole world, and streams of heavenly commandments flow back in abundance from the mouths of the pagans. Thus, as He cuts channels in the rocks, hard hearts flow forward along the river of holy preaching. The following is added: and his eye sees all that is precious (Job 28:10) 1259. 59. This is a thing that must be firmly understood, that the soul of every person is the more valuable in the eyes of God, the more despised it is in the person’s own eyes. When you were little in your eyes, did I not make you the head of the tribes of Israel? (1 Samuel 15:17) 1260. It’s as if he said directly and clearly: you were great to Me, because you were despicable to yourself, but now, because you are great in your own eyes, you are despicable to Me. And therefore it is said by the Prophet: Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and understanding in their own eyes! Thus every man becomes more a stranger to God in proportion as he becomes more valuable to himself, and the more dear he is to God the less he values ​​himself for His sake; because He sees the humble and recognizes the proud from afar (Ps. 137:6) 1261. Therefore, everything precious is seen by his eye. In the Holy Scriptures it is said about God “sees” when it means His choice of someone, as, for example, it is written in the Gospel: When you were under the fig tree, I saw you (John 1:48) 1262, i.e. I chose you while you were under the shadow of the law. He sees everything precious because He chooses the humble. God chose the weak things of the world to make them mighty. He sees a precious thing when the human soul, which has a humble, low conception of itself, is illumined by the light of His grace. The Prophet said about these same souls: If you separate the precious from the worthless, you will be like My mouth (Jer. 15:19) 1263. For the modern world is abominable to God, but the soul of man is precious to Him. He thus separates the precious from the worthless through the mouth of God, because God advances this man forward by His word, which snatches the soul of man from being engrossed in the temporal things of the temporal world. And because the teachers in the New Testament did the same, and even in the hidden allegories in the Old Testament they are visible, it is rightly added: Verse 11. He searched the depths of the streams, He brought hidden things to light (Job 28:11) 1264. 60. For what are they called “streams” here, if not the sayings of the ancient fathers? For who could estimate how violent was the stream of the founder of the Law, bursting from the very breast of Moses? what uncontrollable stream flowed from the heart of David? what mighty streams flowed from the mouths of King Solomon and all the prophets? Judea showed none of these “streams” when, acting only in accordance with the surface of the letter, she did not know its depth. But we, who are the Lord to come, are looking for inner spiritual things in Him, showing the search for their “depths”. And the Lord Himself told us to do this thing, and only with Him are we able to do it; and so to us, who follow not the letter, which kills, but the spirit, which enlivens “He searched the depths of the streams, He brought hidden things to light,” because the statements of the Law, which the layer of history obscures and makes unclear, spiritual interpretation illuminates. And, therefore, Truth, when he spoke in parables in the Gospel, commanded the disciples, saying: What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and preach what you hear in the ear on the housetops (Matthew 10:27) 1265. For the explanations uttered in His parables made the judgments of the ancient Fathers henceforth clear. Therefore, the Prophet Isaiah, seeing clearly the words about the Holy Church, which cannot be hidden in the darkness of allegories, exclaimed, saying: a place of rivers, wide and open streams (Is. 33:21) 1266. For the sayings of the Old Testament were narrow and cramped streams that hid the judgments of their knowledge in darkness. But, on the other hand, the teaching of the Holy Church is wide and open, because its judgments are simultaneously revealed to many of those who find, and clear to those who seek. Therefore he says: He explored the depths of the streams, He brought hidden things to light. Because when He filled His interpreters with the spirit of understanding, He revealed through them the obscurities of those ancient prophecies. And the Holy Church now knows and sees by the Spirit, unlike the Synagogue, which before and now is only able to understand the letter. For why did Moses cover his face when he spoke to the people? Of course, in order to indicate that the Jewish people know the words of the law, but do not at all see the essence of this law. And therefore Paul has rightly said; But to this day, when they read Moses, a veil lies over their heart (2 Cor. 3:15) 1267. But since the words of God, without His wisdom, never penetrate into everyone (except those who have received His Spirit, no one knows the real essence of His word) the holy man adds words about seeking the Wisdom of God, saying: Verse 12–15. But where is wisdom found? and where is the place of reason? Man never knows their value: they are not found in the land of those who live carelessly. The abyss says: not with me, but the sea says: not with me. It is not given for gold and it is not purchased for the weight of silver (Job.28:12–15) 1268. 61. First of all, we note that he asks himself about two things, and gives two answers. For behold, he has already said above: where is wisdom found, and where is the place of reason? he answered in this verse: The deep says, Not with me; and the sea says: not with me. And as if in response to what he said, he says: Man never knows their value: they are not found in the land of those who live carelessly; and further he adds a verse, saying: It is not given for gold, nor is it purchased for its weight in silver. With this he seemed to answer both questions, but rather by adding unsolvability to it than by giving a solution. For when he asked the place of wisdom, and then seemed to give an answer, the abyss answered: not with me; that is, when answering, he did not say where it is, but he said where it definitely is not. Again, when he said that “its price was not known to man,” and returned to this below, saying: It is not given for gold, he showed not that there is such and such a price for it, but that it cannot serve to measure its price. For it is clear to everyone that this wisdom cannot be taken by a person according to his position, nor can it be purchased with wealth. But the holy man, being full of mystical ideas, refers us to another, doing other things in such a way that we should not seek created wisdom, but creative wisdom; and, although in these words we seek the secret depths of allegory, these things are certainly not at all worthy of neglect if considered in accordance with the historical narrative. For a little later he will say: gold and glass cannot compare with it; and while we know that glass is worth an incomparably lower price than gold, why, after gold, which is undoubtedly a precious metal, did he say that “glass” is not equal to wisdom? So, the simple complexity of this letter simply forces us to become sighted and to the mystical meanings in these words. So this holy man considers what is the wisdom of which Paul says: Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God? (1 Cor. 1:24) 1269, about which Solomon wrote: Wisdom built herself a house (Prov. 9:1) 1270; and about which the psalmist says: Thou hast done all things wisely (Ps. 103:24) 1271. And the same wisdom: “A person does not know the price,” precisely because he does not find anything worthy of this price to compare with it. Therefore, about this price of wisdom it is immediately said that it is unknown, so that through this peculiar manner of speaking it becomes clear that it is unknown for the same reason why, for example, a person in need, when he does not find a cure, is in the habit of admitting that “he does not know what to do.” 62. So, “not knowing the price of this wisdom” means the impossibility of finding worthy practices according to which it can be obtained. For we always give some price for a thing, in return receiving the opportunity to possess it after the price is paid. But what can we give that will be an equal exchange for receiving this Wisdom, which is Christ? Therefore it is by grace alone that we are redeemed. For for those evil deeds that we commit while living, if an equal exchange were simply returned to us, then not Christ, but we would receive punishment. But man deserved one thing by justice, and received another by grace. Let Paul testify of the time when his mind had not yet received the seed of priceless truth, speaking of the briar of errors that he committed. Whoever was before, he says, is a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but I received mercy, because I acted this way out of ignorance, in unbelief (1 Tim. 1:13) 1272. Let him testify to the kind of people for whom Christ humbly died while we were still sinners, saying: Christ in due time died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:8) 1273. We, then, who were found wicked by the coming Wisdom, what worthy deeds of equal value could we give, for which we could receive this Wisdom? Man does not know the value of this Wisdom, because he who is separated from the brute animals by the faculty of reason understands that he cannot preserve his own virtues, knows and sees that he has not given something truly good, and he can come to faith. And the one who knows the price of acquiring Wisdom sees in his behavior as an equivalent payment for acquiring the knowledge of God. 63. He learned that this Wisdom is without price, he who said: who gave Him in advance, that He should repay Him again (Rom. 11:35) 1274. Therefore it is also written: For by grace are you saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8) 1275, that is, not from works, so that no one can boast. Therefore, concerning himself, he speaks again, saying: By the grace of God I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10) 1276, and also by the inspiration of the same grace, because the practice of particular virtues at once gave birth in the heart, and from free will was born the behavior that should lead from this life to the Eternal Reward, he added: and his grace, which was bestowed on me, was not in vain. But there are those who rejoice that they are in supposed health by their own efforts, and are proud that their own merits are worthy of redemption in themselves, whose statement, of course, contradicts itself, because, while they think of themselves at once as “innocent” and “worthy of redemption,” the very name of redemption they banish from themselves. For all who are redeemed are certainly freed from some bondage. Why, then, will this person be “redeemed” if he is “innocent” and not under the bondage of sin? It is clear that he is very mistaken, the one who judges himself this way. For heavenly grace does not seek a worthy, meritorious person in order to come to him, but after it comes, it makes him such; and God, when He comes to an unworthy person, immediately raises him to Himself, and gives him dignity according to reward as much as the person has found in himself what he needs to be punished for. 64. It is good to remember the eyes of the mind in connection with the story where the robber from the mouth of the devil ascended to the Cross, and from the Cross entered Paradise. Let's see what kind of man he came to the Cross, what kind of man he came down from the Cross. He came bound by the blood of his brother, he came bloodied, but by inner grace he was changed on the Cross; and the one who bore the burden of his brother's death, dying, called on the Lord, proclaimed his life, saying: Lord, remember me when you enter Your Kingdom (Luke 23:42) 1277. On the cross, the nails quickly bound the hands and feet, and there was nothing left in it that would not suffer punishment except the tongue and the heart. But God inspires him, and he offers Him all that he has found freely in Himself, so that according to what is written, he did as he ought: with the heart believing unto righteousness, and with the mouth confessing unto salvation (Rom. 10:10) 1278. The Apostle testifies that in the hearts of believers there are three virtues in special internal obedience to the law, saying: But now faith, hope, and love abide (1 Cor. 13:13) 1279; with all of them the robber is filled instantly by the grace received and preserved on the Cross. For he had faith, he who believed that the Lord would reign when he saw Him die next to him; he hopes, who begged to be accepted into His Kingdom, and said: Lord, remember me when You enter Your Kingdom. And he saves love in his death for life, he who immediately turns to his fellow robber who is dying, like a criminal, and preaches life to him, saying: Do you not fear God, when you are condemned to the same thing? And we are condemned justly, because we received what we deserved according to our deeds, and He did nothing wrong (Luke 23:40–41) 1280. Behold, he came to the Cross by sin, and we see that he came down from the Cross by grace. He came to the Lord, whom he saw dying next to him in human weakness, while the apostles denied Him, whom they saw working miracles in divine power. 65. But those who expect that a person is saved by his own efforts are in an illusion and profess the effectiveness of a person in himself. If this were so, the psalmist would not have said: to the glory of God, confession and great work are His work (Ps. 112:3) 1281. So from Him we receive the knowledge of what is right, and this enables us to also do what is great. And since we ourselves cannot do anything worthy, as a result of which we could deserve to be worthy of this Wisdom, let it be rightly said: man does not know its value. And he, who henceforth has the opportunity to look at himself, in accordance with the perception of this wisdom, sees himself the more deeply, the more accurately he knows the inner depth of wisdom, that is, the better he sees that he achieved it unworthy, and which he receives without a price in order to become worthy. This is well said: they are not found in the land of those who live carelessly. 66. What is meant by the word "earth" in this passage if not the salvation of man's soul? In relation to which the psalmist says: my soul thirsts for You, like a land without water (Ps. 142:6) 1282. But this wisdom cannot be “found in the land of those who live carelessly,” because the person who still indulges in the pleasures of this life is separated from the perception of the Eternal Wisdom. For if he had been truly wise, momentary joys would have been banished from the inner perception, and he would have mourned his blindness in the exile into which he found himself. For this is exactly what Solomon said: He who adds to knowledge also adds pain (Eccl. 1:18) 1283. For the more a person begins to know what he has lost, the more he begins to mourn the situation in which he now finds himself. For he sees from where and where he fell; how from these joys of Paradise he came to the sorrow of this life, from being close to the Angels to acute need; he realizes in what number of dangers he is now forced to flounder, he who formerly disdained to stand firm in safety; he laments the exile to which he is subjected as a curse, and sighs for the state of heavenly glory which he might have enjoyed in safety had he not conceived to commit sin. Likewise, the psalmist rightly says: I said in fear, I am driven out from Your presence (Ps. 30:23) 1284. For after contemplating the inward joy of seeing God, and hearing the communication of the Angels, he turned his eyes to the things below, he saw where he now lay, which was created that he might stand in heaven; he realizes where he was and where he was not, he is saddened by the thought, he mourns himself as “exiled from the presence of God,” because compared with the inner illumination that he felt, the darkness of his exile, which he also felt, became much heavier. This is precisely what he admits in another place, saying that his soul has no consolation from any joy of this momentary life, saying: I have denied my soul consolation (Ps. 77:3) 1285. For often the rich of this world, suffering from weariness of spirit, take advantage of the joys bestowed temporarily to soften the fall in their sorrow. For when they feel sad or afflicted in spirit, they look at their horses, they examine their vessels of gold and silver, they walk around their estates. And for a while they joyfully carry their gaze through these temporary things, but they receive great sorrows of the soul afterwards. And, therefore, the Truth also says to them in the Gospel: But woe to you, you rich, for you are your own consolation here (Luke 6:24) 1286, but the holy man, who grieves that he has fallen from eternal joys, does not allow consolation on earth with temporary things, saying: I have denied my soul consolation. It was as if he had said in simple words: I do not mourn the loss of temporary things, and I could not be consoled by their abundance. And as if having heard someone ask him: “What are you looking for, refusing to find consolation in worldly things,” he seems to add: I remembered God, and found delight (Ps. 77:4) 1287. It’s as if he said in simple words: To me, whom the abundance of earthly joys cannot cheer, only the memory of contemplation brings delight.” So, this bitterness is only the memory of my Creator, and, being not wise, I still rise to the heights in the hope that the mind here will not incline to temporary delights. Or, in other words, the same thing is written: Where there is sorrow in the heart of the wise, and where there is joy in the heart of fools (Eccl. 7:4) 1288. That is why Jacob says: suffer, weep and howl; Let your laughter turn to weeping, and your joy to sorrow (James 4:9) 1289. Thus, the Truth testifies of Itself, saying: blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4) 1290. Thus, Wisdom cannot be “found in the land of those who live carelessly,” because they are the more stupid, the more, parting with great things, they delight themselves with small things. Therefore Peter accuses the same stupidity of the wicked, saying: those who receive pleasure will receive retribution for defilement and ungodliness (2 Pet. 2:13) 1291. Solomon also says: I recognized laughter as a mistake and said to joy, why do you lie in vain? (Eccl.2:2) 1292. Therefore, let a holy man speak about wisdom, and it will not be found in the land of those who live carelessly. Thus, saying that those who live sweetly and carelessly in this world are still so besotted that they cannot even imagine where they fell from. It follows from this: Verse 14. The Abyss says: not with me (Job.28:14) 1293. 67. What does he call the “abyss” if not the hearts of people who are plunged into the mutability of the fall and clouded by the duplicity of complete darkness? It is this “abyss” that declares that this wisdom “is not with it,” because an evil look, while it longs to be wise in a carnal way, thereby shows stupidity in spiritual things. For this is why Paul testifies that: the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God (1 Cor. 3:19) 1294, the more foolish everyone is on the inside, the more he tries to appear wise on the outside. It was regarding this abyss that John said: and I saw an angel descending from heaven, who had the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He took the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and put a seal over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any more, until the thousand years were completely fulfilled (Rev. 20:1-3) 1295. For, by the number of a thousand, it signifies not the amount of time, but the universality with which the Church rules. Now the ancient serpent is bound with a chain and cast into the abyss, because he is bound for good hearts, while he is locked in the minds of lost sinners, and he rules over them with all the more cruelty. And a little later he is described as being released from the abyss, i.e. from the hearts of the wicked, in which he now rages secretly, but then, gaining power over the Church, he must come out in the violence of open persecution. And this abyss, in which the devil is currently kept hidden, says that wisdom is not with it, because through evil deeds it shows itself to be alien to true wisdom. For while man wraps his heart in evil, but opens his mouth to flattery, while he obscures righteous ends with hypocrisy, while he shuns the word of uprightness to folly, while he shuns the path of simple innocence, this is the same as the Abyss denying that it has the Wisdom of God. And because the minds that are devoted to this world are disturbed by the cares and anxieties of this life, and therefore cannot in any way enjoy the peace of that wisdom, he rightly added: And the sea says: not with me. 68. For what is meant by the name sea, if not the worldly minds, which are constantly bitterly restless, and which, although they fly at each other in alternating enmity, still float in the same direction, like waves crashing against each other? For the lives of worldly people are rightly called “sea” because, while they are agitated by the turbulent shoots of action, they are separated from the calm and steadfastness of inner wisdom. Against this, the prophet said well: On whom does My spirit rest, if not on him who is humble and humble, and who trembles at My words? (Isa.66:2) 1296, but the Spirit flies further from earthly minds, the more He does not find peace with them. The psalmist also speaks about this: Bruises and misfortunes are on their paths, and they do not know the way of peace (Ps. 13:7. Vulg. 14:7. General Prayers) 1297. The Lord calls us to move away from these bruises of anxiety, saying: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28–29) 1298. For what could be more burdensome in this life than to be inflamed by earthly desires? And what could be more complete peace here than to desire nothing in this world? Therefore the Jews received the observance of the Sabbath as a gift; and therefore, on the contrary, the Egyptians were stricken with many flies. For people who follow God receive the Sabbath, that is, rest of the spirit, which does not bring in this life any attraction of carnal passions. But Egypt, which bears the semblance of this world, suffers from flies. Because flies are overly intrusive and restless creatures. And what else could they mean if not the obsessive harassment of carnal desires? Therefore it is said in another place: Dying flies destroy the sweetness of the ointment (Eccl. 10:1) 1299, for unnecessary thoughts that appear in the mind, associated with carnal things, arise in life and die off, destroying this sweetness, with which every person was internally anointed by the Spirit, because they do not allow him to enjoy purity. And so Egypt is overwhelmed by flies, because many of these people love earthly life, and while they are overwhelmed by the restlessness of their desires, a swarm of flies of carnal fantasies are carried down by them so that they can no longer desire real inner peace. Therefore, when Truth comes into the heart with the miraculous help of its mercy, It first drives away the fever of carnal thoughts from there, and then distributes the gifts of virtue in it. The sacred history of the Gospel excellently conveys to us in the story when one ruler asked the Lord to cure his dying daughter, where it is added directly: but when the crowd was expelled, He went, took her by the hand, and the girl stood up (Matthew 9:25) 1300. Thus, only by first sending away the crowd can the maiden be raised from her recovered bed to life; because unless the intrusive crowd of worldly cares is first excluded from the inner recesses of the heart, the soul that lies dying within cannot rise. For while the heart allows itself to wander freely among the countless fancies of earthly desires, it will never in any degree collect itself before considering the individual. Thus, knowing and seeing that wisdom cannot live in these waves of disturbance, the holy man said: and the sea says: not with me. For no one receives it from those who do not strive to remove themselves from the waves of carnal desires drifting back and forth. And therefore it is said elsewhere: Write wisdom in your time of rest. And the one who decreases at the same time will conquer it (Sir.38:24) 1301. And again: Stop and know that I am God (Ps. 45:11) 1302. 69. But how did it happen, and we know this for sure, that most of the ancient fathers simultaneously both inwardly firmly held on to this Wisdom and outwardly managed the affairs of the world in everyday life? Do we call Joseph devoid of Wisdom, the one who, during times of trouble, took upon himself the affairs of all Egypt, and successfully ruled not only the Egyptians, but thanks to the wisdom of his rule, saved the lives of the strangers who came to him? Did Daniel show that he was not acquainted with this Wisdom when, by order of the king of the Chaldeans, he became the chief commander in Babylon? Thus, we clearly see that often even the righteous are involved in earthly affairs, but do them without interest in them as such, and then we clearly see that in this case the citizens of Jerusalem seem to be providing services to Babylon, and similarly, often the citizens of Babylon buy something in Jerusalem. And there are also some people who preach the word of life in order to show their wisdom; they serve and help not out of mercy, but out of the passion of vanity. And indeed, what they do seems at first glance to supposedly belong to Jerusalem, but in reality they are citizens of Babylon. 70. Thus, it sometimes happens that they, who really love only the Heavenly Country, seem to be caught up in affairs in the earthly country. Their service, however, differs from the practice of the wicked, mostly in the act itself, but sometimes it differs only before the Judge above in their mere thought. Because, being full of wisdom from above, they are distinguished by the fact that they can at once be both free within and connected with things without; so that if, by the secret appointment of God, any of the problems of this world are laid upon them, they do not depend on these problems, but follow the God whom they admire, and even having some inner desire for their vision, out of love for Him and fear of Him, they outwardly carry out the course with humility, and their personal desire is at once cut off by God by the power of free love, and they again fulfill the duties laid upon them by the service. And when external affairs make noise outside, love is still maintained within them; and the turmoil of external activities does not cause them internal noise, and in peace they manage and regulate things that are outwardly little calm. For, just as the power of the mind is in the head to curb the movements of the flesh, so very often love calmly regulates correctly the external turmoil of affairs; because external hectic affairs, if they are wanted to be carried out with the right inner mood in love, will also become outwardly carried out in an orderly manner. For holy people never seek them, but mourn them and bear them humbly if such matters are entrusted to them by secret appointment, and although they themselves try to avoid them, if they have already been entrusted, they bear them obediently. That is, they strive to avoid these things, if possible, but, fearing the secret will of God, they understand that they are trying to avoid something that is not commanded, and yet they do it. For they walk according to their conscience, and they consider within themselves what the secret will of God is, and, realizing that they must rise to the height of governing others, they humble the neck of their heart before the reins of Divine Providence. And those who act in this way may be busy with worldly affairs, but their vanity never penetrates into their inner parts. And thus one thing is maintained internally of its own accord, and the external thing is done without thirst, but out of service, and the Wisdom of their hearts fills them, since they are not filled with vanity and disorder, but are in a state of peace. And therefore, let it be said that the abyss says: not with me, and the sea says: not with me. As if it were said in simple words: the troubled minds of the world cry out from simple circumstances; they cannot be at peace because they are widely separated from true Wisdom. And because the Wisdom of God, being with the Father before the ages of the world, must be incarnated at the end in order to redeem the human race, He must send not holy Angels, nor unrighteous people, but Himself, it is rightfully included: Verse 15. It is not given for pure gold (Job 28:15) 1303. 71. For what is signified by “pure gold,” if not the holy Angels, who are rightly called simply “gold” and “pure gold,” because they shine with the brightness of righteousness; "pure" because they were never defiled by sin. For even the righteous, while they are in this corruptible flesh of mortality, can be “gold”, but really “pure gold” they cannot be in any case; because the corruptible body pulls down the soul, and the earthly dwelling pulls down under the weight of many things (Wis.9:15) 1304. And although in this life they may shine with the wonderful brightness of righteousness, they will never be completely cleansed from the corruption of sins; as the Apostle John testifies, who says: if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8) 1305; and, as James asserts, giving proof and saying: We are all guilty of many things (James 3:2) 1306. As the prophet also pleads, who says: Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, O Lord, for in Your sight not one living should be justified (Ps. 142:2) 1307. Those, therefore, are called “pure gold,” which remain all the time in that innocence in which they were created, and immediately shine with the brightness of righteousness, and are not stained by the scale of sins. 72. But since no Angel can be sent instead of this Wisdom, and so that in those Angels who, as we were taught, often appear to help people, and any person saw hope, but not the Redeemer of the human race, he said: It is not given for pure gold. It is as if it were expressed in simple words: “Wisdom herself comes that the human race may be redeemed from sin. And no Angel can be sent in His place; because only the Creator can free creation. And, therefore, the Lord said in the Gospel: if the Son sets you free, then you will be truly free (John 8:36) 1308, but the holy man, being filled with the Spirit of this same Wisdom, foresaw that there would not be a lack of some in Judea who would place all their hopes in the Lawgiver, and make Moses the author of their salvation, even to a man who was healed, they say: and you be his disciple, and we are Moses' disciples ( John 9:28) 1309. Therefore it is added even further: and it is not purchased by its weight in silver. 73. For since Divine revelations are often designated by the word “silver,” the word “silver” may also be used to designate the authors of these revelations, those whose lives shone among their fellows with virtuous achievements. But the righteous man was able to point out sins, but not able to take them away: neither the ancient fathers, nor the lawgiver Moses, only the One who became the Redeemer of mankind. And therefore it is not acquired for the weight of silver, because all who had the right to be called saints cannot be compared with the Only Begotten Son of God, and they knew that this Wisdom has no price, and no one, except those who saw that he was a slave of this Wisdom, could ever become saints. For the saints were sent that in the hearts of the people to whom they preach they might perhaps prepare the ground for this “Wisdom,” and only through It could they govern the nations under their charge. For because it was clear that over time the diseases that were decimating the world would increase, it was also clear that at the end of the ages the eternal Wisdom of God, He Himself would come to this sufferer full of illnesses, find him in great weakness, that is, find the human race lying sick throughout the world, and therefore, preachers were sent out in advance, as a kind of friends who came to visit the sick person and found out the way, thereby allowing the doctor to subsequently come faster and easier. But since no one was sent in His place to save us, let it be justly said: it is not purchased for its weight in silver. Because, no matter how light the life of the righteous who preached shines, their presence will not replace the coming of Heavenly Wisdom to us. But there were crowds of pagans who, being seduced by the systems of discipline of the wise of this world, observed things that made it possible to be noble among people, and believed that one simply had to behave nobly, and they were sure that this was what would save them, and they no longer looked for a Mediator between God and man, since they accepted the teachings of the philosophers as sufficient for themselves. In contempt, this is directly added: Verse 16. She cannot be compared with the colored flowers of India (Job.28:16) 1310. 74. For what is meant by an India that gives birth to black people to defend this world in which man is born into the darkness of sin? Therefore, the “colored colors of India” are the wise of this world, who, although in relation to faith, and even often in relation to behavior, are unrighteous, but before the eyes of people their behavior is painted in the colors of worldly nobility. But the Wisdom of God cannot be compared with the colored flowers of India, because he who really accepts It discovers how widely It differs from the concepts of those people whom the world idolizes as wise and noble. And it is precisely in this that the words of His instructions differ from the words of the wise of this world, that while their words are exposed in eloquence, their utterances, as if at a fair, for display, are painted specifically in brighter colors, and losing their original meaning, they pretend to be something other than what they were in a simple combination of words, like a bad thing after applying bright paint to it. But, on the other hand, the teaching of wisdom is at the same time an honest way of preaching and shines upon us with the purity of truth, and this is done not by deceptively pushing forward only the external, but by preserving the internal first. And Her sayings are not aimed at brilliant speech, but at conveying infallible truth. Therefore, in its commandments, the Wisdom of God cannot be compared with the dyed flowers of India, for while it is not dyed with the colors of eloquence, it pleases like a garment without dye. Paul rightly despised such coloring when he said that we speak all things not in words that are comprehended by human wisdom, but which are from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:4) 1311. For he chose to display this “Wisdom” in the simple transparency of truth, and not to stain It with bright colors of speech. And further it adds: neither with the precious stone sardonyx, nor with sapphire (Job.28:16) 1312. 75. But who can be unaware that neither sardonyx nor sapphire are precious stones? And while there are many other truly precious stones that immeasurably surpass them in both price and rarity, why are sapphire or sardonyx specially called precious, when these stones, compared with other stones, are the most despicable? Why is this done, if not so that we look for some other meaning in them, in those stones that are described as precious, when we know that they are not such at all? For sardonyx bears the appearance of red earth, and sapphire has the appearance of air. And so sardonyx, due to its resemblance to red earth, denotes human beings, and sapphire, due to its resemblance to air, denotes Angels. And sardonyx, a stone of red earth, rightly signifies man; because "Adam", which was created first, is called in Latin "Red Earth". What does it mean that he said that this Wisdom cannot be compared with either sardonyx or sapphire, if not that He who is “the Power of God and the Wisdom of God,” that is, the mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, surpasses all in such outstanding greatness that neither the first man on earth, nor the angels in heaven, can be compared with Him. And therefore the psalmist said: Who in heaven can compare with the Lord? Which of the sons of God (“Sons of God” was a common expression for Angels) can become like the Lord? (Ps.89:7) 1313. 76. But it is possible that sardonyx refers to the Fathers of the Old Testament, while sapphire denotes the preachers of the New Testament. For the first, although they claimed an outstanding righteous life, succumbed to carnal generation. Therefore, while it is clear that they did some things carnally, they are appropriately indicated by the sardonyx stone, which, as we have already said, brings the appearance of the “red earth”. But by sapphire, which has an ethereal celestial blue color, we appropriately understand the preachers of the New Testament, who, putting aside their carnal desires, followed only the things of heaven. And, therefore, the prophet, seeing the holy apostles above all the desires of the flesh in spiritual zeal, being delighted, says: Who are these that fly like clouds? (Isa.60:8) 1314. It is as if he were saying in simple words: “We walk together in the way of the earth in that we are still involved in marriages and use the acts of the flesh to procreate; but they will not walk on earth, they fly like clouds, those who, being directed exclusively towards heavenly things, do not touch anything connected with earthly desires. Therefore he says that the Wisdom of God cannot be compared either with the precious stone sardonyx or with sapphire. It’s as if he said directly in simple words: with Him, Who was revealed as Man among men, neither any of the ancient fathers, nor any of the preachers of the New Testament can be compared, not only with His Divinity, but also with Him in His Human nature. Therefore he further adds: Verse 17. Gold and glass cannot compare with it (Job.28:17) 1315. 77. Who, having heard these sounds and perceived them, will consider them worthy to understand them in accordance with the letter? For “glass,” as we said above, has an incomparably much lower value than “gold,” and after it has been said that “gold” cannot be compared with this wisdom, it is further, as if reinforcing, that “glass” also cannot be compared with it. This phrase does not satisfy us in its literal sense, and therefore clearly refers us to the study of the mystery of allegory. For we know that the metal gold shines brighter than all metals. But it is also in the nature of glass that although it does not shine, it transmits light and is completely transparent on both sides. In any other material the entire content is hidden from view, but in the case of glass, any substance as it is contained in the container is shown to all without concealment, and thus the liquid, even in a closed glass container, is simultaneously exposed. What, then, do we mean by “gold and glass,” if not this Heavenly Country, then a society of holy citizens, whose hearts are mutually at once shining with brightness and transparently pure; that Country which John in the Revelation saw, when he said: And the walls thereof were of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass (Rev. 21:18) 1316 for since all the Saints shall shine in the supreme brightness of beatitude, it is described as being built of gold. 78. And because their brightness itself is mutually open to them in each other's breasts, and when the conscience of each is visible in a transparent vessel, it is described as pure gold and pure glass. For there the mind of each person, being outside the boundaries of the body, will not be hidden from the eyes of his fellows, and the inner world will be visible, and each will be able to wisely see the other, much more clearly than he can now see even himself. But now our hearts, while we are in this life, because they cannot be visible to others, are not enclosed in glass vessels, but in clay vessels; the prophet was afraid of the same clay in relation to the mind when he said: deliver me from the clay, so that I may not get stuck quickly (Ps. 69:15) 1317, this is also what Paul calls “our earthly house,” saying: For we know that when our earthly house, this hut, is destroyed, we have from God a house not made with hands, something eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1) 1318. ​​Thus, in this earthly house, for as long as we live, in this perishable house of the flesh, so to speak, we do not penetrate inside with the eyes of the mind, and we cannot see the hidden things in each other. Therefore, although the Holy Church wanted to see her Bridegroom in His Divinity, she could not, because His eternal existence, which she longed to contemplate, in His Human nature, which He took upon Himself, He hid from her eyes, as it is said in the Song of Songs: Here he stands behind our wall (Song. 2:9) 1319. As if it were said in simple language: “I long to see Him even now in the appearance of His Divinity, but I am still closed from contemplating Him by the wall of flesh that He has determined.” Therefore, as long as we live in this corruptible flesh, we do not see thoughts in the hearts of other people. Therefore Paul said: What man knows what is in a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? (1 Cor. 2:11) 1320. And again: Therefore do not judge in any way before the time, until the Lord comes, who will illuminate the things hidden in darkness and reveal the plans of the hearts (1 Cor. 4:5) 1321. So, a city in which the hearts of all who live in it are visible in transparent vessels, each separately and mutually, is described as gold and glass, so that gold can reflect brightness and glass transparency. 79. But although all the saints in it sparkle with such wonderful brightness and are visible through such extraordinary transparency, all of them that exist cannot equal Wisdom. Therefore he said well: Gold and glass cannot compare with it. For all the saints were drawn into those eternal rewards, to be like God, as it is written: When He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is (1 John 3:2) 1322. And yet it is written: Lord, God of hosts! Who is like You? (Ps.89:9) 1323. And again: Who is like God among the sons of God? (Ps.89:7) 1324. Now, how will they be alike and yet not alike? It is clear that they are similar in appearance, but not similar in equality. For seeing the eternity of God, this is transferred to them, that they should be eternal, and while they receive the gift of contemplating Him, receiving Bliss, they become like Him Whom they contemplate. Both are alike because they are blessed; but they are not like the Creator, because they are creations. And thus they both have a certain resemblance to God, because they have no end; and yet they are not equal to the Incomprehensible One, because they are comprehensible. Therefore let it be justly said: Gold and glass cannot compare with it. For no matter how clearly and transparently the Saints shine, it is one thing for a person to be wise in God, and quite another thing for a person to be the Wisdom of God. And further it adds: it will not be exchanged for golden vessels, high and overflowing (Job.28:17) 1325. 80. The Old Testament fathers were tall and filled to the brim with golden vessels. But this Wisdom of God, that It might redeem us from the carnal life, appeared in the flesh, and he who did not see this Wisdom in the true light supposed that the Mediator between God and man, the Man Jesus Christ, was one of the prophets, but Christ lifted the eyes of the elect to God, when they looked at Him, but saw a man. Therefore He said to the Holy Apostles: Who do people say that I am, the son of man? (Matthew 16:13–17) 1326. And when they answered Him: Some say that You are John the Baptist; some like Elijah, some like Jeremiah or one of the prophets; and then they were immediately asked a question regarding their own perception: But who do you say that I am? And Peter, answering directly with the voice of the entire Church, says: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Also, we know that according to the words of Paul: they know Christ, the Power of God and the Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24) 1327. And Peter refused to exchange this Wisdom for golden vessels, tall and overflowing, because he understood about Her that She really exists by Her Nature. For, as has already been said, John was a tall golden vessel, Elijah was a tall golden vessel, and John and Jeremiah were also one. Now the one who decides that God was one of them will exchange this Wisdom for a tall and overflowing golden vessel. But the Church does not exchange this Wisdom for golden vessels, high and overflowing, because she affirms that Christ the Son of God is not one of the prophets, but He is the Lord of these prophets. For seeing that Wisdom itself had come to her, she refused to contain herself only in these golden vessels, and was ready with the confidence of faith to surrender herself to this Wisdom. Where does she say in the Song of Songs: The guards going around the city found me, and I said: “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” But as soon as I left them, I found the one whom my soul loves (Song.3:3-4) 1328. For who do we understand by “watchmen who go around the city” if not the ancient fathers and prophets who guard our safe behavior with the voice of holy preaching? but when the Church longed for her Redeemer, she did not place all her hope in these preachers, of whom she says: But scarcely had I departed from them, when I found him whom my soul loves. For she could not find Him if she did not wish to leave them. For the unbelievers remained with these guards, those who believed that Christ was the Son of God, any of them. But with the voice of Peter’s faith, the Holy Church passed by the guards and she disdained to believe that the Lord was one of the prophets. Therefore let it be said: it will not be exchanged for golden vessels, tall and overflowing. Therefore, the elect, of course, honor the lives of the saints for their high exaltation, and yet do not fall into error. For those whom they know as people they do not compare with the God-man. Therefore he also added: Verse 18. And they will not be mentioned in comparison with her (Job.28:18) 1329. 81. For all the chosen ones of the Heavenly Country are truly holy and righteous thanks to the participation of Wisdom, and not in comparison with It. For what are people compared to God? Wisdom is often called "Light", and "light" is also the name given to the servants of Wisdom; but She is the Light that lights, and They are the light that shines only after being lit by Her. Therefore it was written: This was the true Light, which enlightens every man who comes into the world (John 1:9) 1330. But it is also said: you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14) 1331. Wisdom is also called “Righteousness,” but the servants of Wisdom are also called “righteousness.” But She is the Righteousness that makes others righteous, and they are the righteousness because they become righteous. For about God, Wisdom, it is said that: He can Himself be righteous and the justifier (Rom. 3:26) 1332, but it is also said that: we could be made righteous before God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21) 1333. Thus, it is one thing to be “lighted by the light,” and another thing to be “lighted by the light,” and they must each be understood in their own sense. Also, it is one thing, it is Righteousness that makes others righteous, and another thing, it is righteousness that becomes righteous. Now one more thing: Wisdom is wise in itself, and for it there is no division into “being wise” and “becoming wise.” But the servants of “Wisdom” can indeed become wise, but still, this is not the same as “being wise.” For they may or may not become wise. Wisdom has life, and for it having life and living are the same thing, since having and being are the same thing. But for the servants of Wisdom, having life is one thing, and it is not at all identical to living. For for them to have and to be are different things and, therefore, for them to have life and to live are not at all the same thing; for in the very first parent they received beginning and life, when man was first created from the earth, and then, as it is written: He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Gen. 2:7) 1334. Now Wisdom both has life and lives; but what she has, she has by herself. Therefore She lives unchangeably, because She lives not by chance, but by essence. He alone truly exists with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and in comparison with Him, we do not exist. And only if we join this Wisdom, then we exist, we live and we are wise. But if we compare with Him, then we are not wise, and we do not live, and we do not exist at all. 82. Thus, the further all saints advance in the contemplation of God, the more they see inwardly the depths of the Divine Nature, and the more they see that they themselves are nothing. For is there anyone who has not read that Abraham confessed that he was dust and ashes except when he had the opportunity to enjoy fellowship with God? He says: I have taken upon myself to say to the Master, I am dust and ashes (Gen. 18:27) 1335. For he could accidentally think of himself that he meant something only if he did not perceive at all the true Essence, which is above all. But when he was raised above himself to contemplate the Immutability, filled with a powerful state of contemplation, when he saw Him, he also saw that he himself was nothing but “dust.” Thus, the prophet is filled with the same Wisdom, proclaiming: O Lord, what if we are not but dust (Ps. 103:14) 1336, who again, contemplating the Immutability of Existence, says: Yes, they will all wear out like a robe, and like a garment you will change them, and they must be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not end (Ps. 101:27) 1337. Thus, he said to Moses: I am who I am: thus say to the children of Israel: He who sent me to you (Ex. 3:14) 1338 for He alone truly Is, He who unchangeably continues. For every thing that is now one and then slightly different is close to not being. Because she cannot remain in her state, remain herself. And no matter how it happens, over time, from what it was, it turns into some other object. And eating His Body lets us know and see ourselves that we are not good at almost anything. Therefore he said well: And they will not be mentioned in comparison with her; and the golden vessels, tall and overflowing, which, through the participation of Wisdom, are suitable as objects for us to venerate, in comparison with Wisdom are not even suitable for mention. But since this Wisdom is poured out into the hearts of men by secret means (as it is also said of the Holy Spirit: The Spirit breathes where it will, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes (John 3:8) 1339), for this reason he adds: Wisdom sighs beyond vision. 83. “Wisdom sighs outside of vision,” because She is invisible, and accordingly, cannot be found in any way except in an invisible form. And it is rightly said about it “sighs”, because just as our breath goes out and comes in so that the body can live, so in the inner depths of Wisdom the Spirit sighs so that the soul can come to life. Whence the psalmist says: I have opened my mouth, and I sigh in the spirit (Ps. 119:131) 1340. This Wisdom, having accepted human flesh along with the soul, opened Her inner depths with Her hand, because this world, being unable to see the Invisible Creator, saw Him in the Visible Man, the One Whom it already knew as the invisible God. The world of the heathen was transformed from the darkness of its unbelief, having previously been full of pride; by showing signs and wonders, faith received the land; and faith spread beyond borders and the Holy Church shone in reverence by all people. But, having overcome the confrontation with open opponents, she came under blows from her own members. For countless heresies arise within her, arrayed against her in a war of cruel conflict. Moreover, it has happened that some in it go so far as to equate the Mediator between God and man, the Man Jesus Christ, with a simple man who, by the grace of God, simply has many gifts, and attribute to Him the same holiness as to other saints, those who are His servants. Blessed Job, inspired by the spirit of prophecy, denounces such persons, continuing his speech: Verse 19. The topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it (Job.28:19) 1341. 84. What do we mean by “Ethiopia” if not the present world, in which the same dark color signifies the sins of the people in the vileness of their pride? But sometimes the name Ethiopia is used in a special way to designate the pagan world as black from the sin of unbelief. Seeing the coming of the Lord, the prophet Habakkuk, trembling in fear, said: the tents of the Ethiopians tremble with fear, the tents of the land of Midian (Hab. 3:7) 1342. David, the prophet, saw that the Lord must come to redeem Judea, but first the pagan world must believe, and then Judea will only follow (as it is written: as the fullness of the Gentiles enters, so all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:25–26) 1343), and it is said about Ethiopia: her hand will be stretched out to God first (Ps. 67:32) 1344, i.e. “before Judea believes, the pagan world, black with sin, will offer itself to Almighty God in order to be saved.” Let us now consider topaz: it is a precious stone that shimmers with many colors, and in Greek the word to pan means “all”, so the stone is called “the one that shines with all colors”, i.e. topazium, or topantium. But when the pagan world turned to faith in God, many of them were enriched with the gifts of His Spirit, and with many virtues they shone brightly like many colors. But so that no one exalts himself because of the virtues that he has received, let the holy man now say: the topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to her. It’s as if he said in simple words: “Not one of the saints, no matter how huge a number of virtues he filled, was taken from this darkness of the world, and can be compared with Him, in relation to whom it is written: that the Holy One who will be born to you will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35) 1345. For we, although we become saints, are not them: we are not born saints, because simply because of the structure of corruptible nature, we are attached and bound, and we must say along with the Prophet, behold, I was conceived in evil, and my mother gave birth to me in sin. But only He was truly born a saint, Who, having received the same structure of bodily nature, was not united with corruptible flesh. 85. With this Wisdom, as it really was, the topaz of Ethiopia wanted to be equal when, for example, a certain heretic (Nestor, Ben.) said: “I do not envy Christ, who was made God, because if I want, even I myself can be made the same.” Whoever thinks that our Lord Jesus Christ is God, but not by the mystery of His conception, but by the outpouring of grace, reasoning from misinterpreted evidence that He was born a simple man, and in order to become God, He showed certain merits, and therefore He Himself and any others can be made equal with Him, just as all others are made children of God by grace, does not understand and does not pay attention to the fact that topaz Ethiopia is not equal to Him. For it is one thing for people who were born as simple people to receive the grace of adoption, and another thing for them to come by the power of God from the very conception. And it is impossible that to the glory of the Only Begotten, which He possessed by nature, another glory could be equated, which was received by grace. For He is the Mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5) 1346, and not at all one man in His human nature, but another man in the Divine nature. And it was not at all the case that an ordinary person subsequently received certain gifts by which he became God. But the Angel declares Him, and the Spirit comes, immediately the Word in the womb of the mother becomes flesh (and the unchangeable Essence also came with Him, for He is co-Eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit), in the womb of the Holy Virgin, as a result of which He can, as He was, dispassionately suffer passion, and immortally suffer death, and be Eternal before the world, and pass through a temporary existence at the end of the world, through an inexpressible mystery, according to the Holy dispensation and in the integrity of birth; and in accordance with the truth of both His natures, the Virgin was at once both the servant and the mother of the Lord. For this is what Elizabeth said to her: Where is it from me that the Mother of my Lord came to me? (Luke 1:43) 1347, and the Virgin herself says: Behold, the Servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38) 1348 and, although one being is from the Father, and the other is from the Virgin, yet He is not one man from the Father, but another man from the Virgin. He is one and the same person: Eternal from the Father, and temporal from the mother, the same one about whom it was said that what was revealed: You are more beautiful and higher than the sons of men (Ps. 45:3) 1349, in relation to His Divine nature, and the same One about whom it is written: We saw Him, and there was no form or greatness in Him (Is. 53:2) 1350 in relation to the human nature. He is before the world from the Father without a mother, and also at the end of the world from the Mother without a Father. He is the church, He is the builder of the Church, He is the Creator of the work, He is the work of the Creator, remains one person who united both natures, and not just one of them, and not two different people, each with his own nature. But since these are not the issues that we undertook to understand in this work, we will return to the course of our interpretation. 86. We must remember that the holy man, in order to show that the Angels are also far from this Wisdom, says that: it is not given for gold. And showing that the ancient fathers, who delivered the sacred Revelations, cannot compare with Her, he also added: She is not purchased for the weight of silver. Moreover, to indicate that the wisdom of the philosopher is extremely far from This Wisdom, he said: It cannot be compared with the colored flowers of India. And he associates: neither with the precious stone sardonyx, nor with sapphire. Moreover, so that he could show that in this Upper Country no one achieves equality with the Only Begotten, he added: Gold and glass cannot compare with it. In order to show that the Prophets are also lower than Her, he added: She will not be exchanged for golden vessels, high and overflowing. And they will not be mentioned in comparison with her. Wisdom sighs beyond vision. Even from the distant past, he was also able to denounce heretics in the Church itself, and also to mention those who, coming from the error of the pagan world, will share the faith that they will receive by abandoning pride, adding: the topaz of Ethiopia cannot be compared with it. It is as if he taught in simple words, saying: those who from the darkness of sin have come to conversion cannot be equal to the God-man, although they can shine with many virtues as with different colors. And so that their pride may be pacified, he adds: And let not the purest colors be compared with it (Job.28:19) 1351. 87. For who are called “the purest colors” if not those who are truly humble, and truly holy, and who know that in themselves, in fact, they have nothing, and do not boast of virtuous achievements, but receive these gifts of grace. For they would not be called "colors" if they had the holiness of nature. But they are “the purest colors” because they humbly hold within themselves the grace of virtue with which they were awarded. Therefore this is what is said about the Holy Church: Who is this who rises resplendent? ( Song 6:10 ) 1352 because the Holy Church is clothed with the beauty of gifts by the Spirit, she is described not as luminous, but as “brilliant.” And note what he has already told us above about the wisdom of the philosophers: It should not be compared with the colored flowers of India. The same colors that were discussed there are now called “the purest”, in this very place, so that the artificially colored worldly wisdom of philosophers can be distinguished from the purest colors of truth, and therefore, in this place speaking about colors, he added “the purest”. For those who are rightly called “the purest colors” are those who have previously fallen through evil deeds, but, by the Spirit that comes upon them, are clothed in the splendor of grace, and they find themselves far from the place where they were. Therefore, “Baptism”, that is, “coloring” (tinctio), is the name that was given to our stay in the water itself. Since we become colored, we who were previously ugly deformed by evil deeds, by accepting faith, become beautifully colored by grace and adorned by virtues. Verse 20, 21. Where then does wisdom come from? and where is the place for understanding it? It is evident that it is hidden from the eyes of all living things (Job 28:20–21) 1353. 88. The following deserves to be specially noted: that the holy man asks, where then does Wisdom come from? For She “comes” from Him, from Whom She arose. And since she was born from the Invisible and Eternal Father, how it was is hidden from us. Therefore, according to the prophet: and who should declare his descendants (Is. 53:8) 1354? Now the “place of understanding it” is, of course, the human mind, which, being filled with the Wisdom of God, becomes holy. And this is because, as it has been said, He is invisible, the One from Whom She comes, and without a doubt She stops to rest in that mind that understands Her, let it be justly said: Where then does wisdom come from? and where is the place for understanding it? But the following phrase immediately surprises and immediately attracts all attention: It is clear that it is hidden from the eyes of all living things. For if the Wisdom, which is God, was “hidden from the eyes of all living things,” then none of the saints would have seen this Wisdom either. But look, I hear John agree with this statement, who says: no one has ever seen God at any time (1 John 4:12) 1355. But again, when I look at the Fathers of the Old Testament, I learn that many of them, as the very history of Holy Scripture testifies, did see God. Thus, Jacob saw the Lord, who says: for I have seen God face to face, and my soul is preserved (Gen. 32:30) 1356. Moses also saw God, about whom it is written: and the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as one would speak to his friend (Ex. 33:11) 1357. And Job saw the Lord, who said: I have heard of You by the ear of the ear; now my eyes see You (Job 42:5) 1358. Isaiah saw the Lord, as he himself testifies: In the year of the death of King Uzziah I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up (Is. 6:1) 1359. Micaiah saw the Lord, who says: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven stood by Him, on His right hand and on His left (1 Kings 22:19) 1360. What does it mean that so many of the Fathers of the Old Testament testify that they saw God, and yet this Wisdom, which is God, is said to be hidden from the eyes of all living things? And John says: no one has ever seen God at any time. This all clearly shows us and makes us understand that while we live earthly life here, God may be seen in some likenesses, but in the actual appearance of His Nature He cannot be seen, so that the soul, inspired by the grace of the Spirit, may see God in some images, but not achieve a real awareness of the full greatness of His Essence. For this means that Jacob, who testifies that he saw God, saw not Him, but the image of an Angel. Therefore, Moses, who saw God face to face, as if someone were speaking to his friend, in the midst of his ardent speech, says: if I have found favor in Your sight, then show Yourself openly to me, so that I can see You (Ex. 33:13 - Vulg. “Show me Your face”) 1361. For, undoubtedly, if it had not been God with whom he spoke, he would have said: “show me God,” and not “show me Yourself.” But if it was God with whom he spoke “face to face,” why then does he pray to see Him, the One whom he already sees? But from this question of his it can clearly be understood that he longs to perceive the brightness of His Inconceivable Nature, which he has already begun to see in some likenesses, and His heavenly Essence is somehow present in the eyes of his mind, while His Eternity may not have been revealed in any recreated likeness in the circumstances of time. And therefore the fathers of the Old Testament saw the Lord, and yet, according to the voice of John: no man ever saw God at any time; and in accordance with the statement of blessed Job, the Wisdom that is God is “hidden from the eyes of all living things,” because a person living in this earthly life, even if he is able to see Him in certain images, is still not able to see Him in the incomprehensibility of the light of Eternity. 89. But even if it be so, that some who still live in this corruptible flesh, but grow in the incalculable power of a certain keenness of contemplation, and may perhaps have been able to see even the Eternal Brightness, this too does not contradict the statement of the blessed Job, who says: It is seen to be hidden from the eyes of all that live; because he, the one who sees “Wisdom”, which is God, completely and completely dies to this life, because not the slightest attachment to it binds him anymore. Because no one sees Her who still lives in carnal attachments, because no person can embrace God and this world at the same time. He who sees God dies to this world from one simple circumstance, that either by inner inclination or by regular practice, he separates his entire mind from the pleasures of this life. Therefore it was said to the same Moses: For man cannot see Me and live (Ex.33:20) 1362. As if it were clearly stated: “No man can ever at any time both see God spiritually and live in the world sensually.” Therefore, the Apostle Paul, too, who knew the invisible God, as he himself testifies, in particular (1 Cor. 13:12) 1363 says that from now on he was dead to the whole world, saying: the world was crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal. 6:14) 1364. For, as we said a little above, it is not enough to just say: I am crucified to the world, unless it is said first: the world is crucified to me, for he must not only testify that he was dead to the world, but also that the world was dead to him, so that neither he himself should thirst for the world, nor the world from now on thirsts for him. For it is necessary that both of these conditions converge in one place: because if one is alive and the other is dead, although the deceased will not see life, life will continue to see the deceased. Therefore, the Preacher of God, in order that he could show that through the humblest humility, he has now become such that neither he himself desired the world, nor the world his, he says the following. He says not only that he was crucified to the world, i.e. that he, having died to the world, no longer sees its glory, but he also says that the world is crucified for him, because he threw himself on the earth with such humility that the world itself seemed to die for him, not seeing Paul, who became so small for the world in modesty and humility that he ceased to be visible. 90. But we must know that there are some people who say that the Blessed God can indeed be seen in His Brightness, but cannot be seen in His Nature. Such persons, of course, are too inaccurate in their statements. For to the Unchangeable Essence it is not that Brightness is one thing and Nature another; but His very Nature is Brightness, and Brightness itself is His Nature. And for the followers, the Wisdom of God will one day reveal Himself, and He Himself promises this in His word, saying: whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and will appear to him (John 14:21) 1365, as if He had said directly in simple words: “O you who see Me in your nature, this remains for you, that you should see Me also in My nature. Therefore He says again: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8) 1366. Therefore Paul says: for now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face; Now I know in part, and then I will know even as I am known (1 Cor. 13:12) 1367. 91. But as it is said about God by the first preacher of the Church: whom the angels desire to see (1 Peter 1:12) 1368. There are some who imagine that even the angels have never seen God; and yet we know that this is said in the words of Truth: Their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10) 1369. And can it be that the Truth says one thing, and the preacher of the truth says another? But if we compare both statements, it will be clear that they do not contradict each other at all. For the Angels simultaneously see and desire to see God and, contemplating, long to contemplate further. For if they only desired to see Him and never had this joy, their desire would be restless without satisfaction, and anxiety would torment and punish them. But the blessed angels are far from any punishment of anxiety, because punishment and bliss can never intersect. Again, when we say that these angels are satisfied with the contemplation of God, because the psalmist also says: I will be satisfied by looking at Your face (Ps. 16:15) 1370, we remember that usually disgust follows from satiety over time. Therefore, both of these statements are extremely important and rightfully can and should be announced together, therefore, let the Truth say that they always see; and let the preacher say what they always desire to see. For this together tells us that their desire is not painful, but satisfied, and, nevertheless, in their satisfaction there is no satiety, and, being satisfied, they still desire further. And therefore they desire without suffering, because desire is accompanied by satisfaction. And they are satisfied without disgust, because it is their joy to continue to burn in this desire. The same will happen to us one day when we come to the source of life. There will be bliss, covering us at the same time with thirst and satisfaction. But with thirst there will be no suffering for us, and there will be no disgust from satisfaction, because immediately desiring, we will be satisfied, and, being satisfied, we will thirst. Therefore we will see God, and this will be the main reward of our labor, that after the darkness of the age of this mortal state we will rejoice at the approach of His light. 92. But when we talk about the approach of His light, which reveals itself to the mind, we remember what Paul says: dwells in an inaccessible light, which no one can approach, and which no one has ever seen and cannot see (1 Tim. 6:16) 1371. And again, I hear what the psalmist says: Come to Him, and be enlightened (Ps. 33:6) 1372. How then, approaching us, will He enlighten us if we do not see the light with the help of which we can be enlightened? And if, as we approach Him, we see the light by which we are enlightened, why is it said that it is impregnable? Here it should be understood that he called it unapproachable for those people whose minds are occupied with earthly things. For Holy Scripture often uses the word “people” to designate all followers of carnal things. Therefore, the apostle says to some persons who are mired in dispute: for if there is envy, disputes and disagreements and divisions among you, then do you not act like men (1 Cor. 3:3) 1373?, to which he soon adds: are you not men (1 Cor. 3:4) 1374? And, therefore, in another place he put forward evidence: Eye has not seen, nor ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9) 1375. And when he described this as hidden from "men," he added directly: But God revealed it to us by his Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10) 1376, as if separating them from the designation "men" by being exalted above "man" when they tasted something Divine. So in this place, when he said about the light of God “unapproachable”, to show that it is unapproachable to the carnal man, he added: Whom no man has seen or can see, he simply follows his manner of calling “man” all whose desires are aimed at the carnal things of man. Because those who have a desire for that which is divine are undoubtedly superior to humans. Therefore we will see God if, by heavenly conversion, we are raised above men. But still not enough to see Him as He sees Himself. For the Creator sees Himself differently than the way a creature can see the Creator. For in the immeasurability of God there is a certain measure of contemplation set for us, simply because we are limited by the fact that we are creatures. 93. And, undoubtedly, we do not contemplate God as He sees Himself, and also, we do not rest in God as He rests in Himself. For our contemplation, like our rest, will be only to some extent like His contemplation or His rest, but not equal to Him. For we must, so to speak, fall on our faces in ourselves, so that the wing of contemplation will lift us up, and we will be lifted up from ourselves to contemplate Him and, being carried away by the desire of the heart and the sweetness of contemplation, in a certain sense, we will go out of ourselves into Him, and this, therefore, is no longer peace, and at the same time, the most perfect peace possible. And this is ideal peace, because we contemplate God, and yet it is not equal peace, in comparison with the One who does not pass from Himself to another for the sake of this peace. And therefore peace, so to speak, is both similar and different, because our peace is only vaguely similar to His peace. For we may be blessed with eternity for eternity, but we imitate the eternal. And this is already a great eternity for us, even just to imitate eternity. By imitating, we eat, and by eating, we imitate Him. We have now begun by faith, and will then be perfected by contemplation, when we have quenched our thirst straight from the very source of the Wisdom coeternal with God, that which we now taste for now only through the lips of those who preach these running streams. And Job continued his sublime speech and said. God lives, who deprived me of judgment, and the Almighty, who grieved my soul. The madman said in his heart: “There is no God.” They became corrupt and committed vile deeds; there is no one who does good. and they say: “How will God know? and does the Most High have knowledge?” and they say: “The Lord will not see, and the God of Jacob will not know.” And it happened the next day: an evil spirit from God fell upon Saul, and he raged in his house, and David played with his hand on the strings, as on other days; Saul had a spear in his hand. that while my breath is still in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my mouth will not speak untruth, and my tongue will not utter a lie! So, beware of useless murmuring and beware of the slander of the tongue, for even a secret word will not be in vain, and slandering lips kill the soul. You will destroy those who tell lies; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and treacherous. And because the midwives feared God, He built their houses. I am far from recognizing you as fair; Until I die, I will not yield to my integrity. He who justifies the wicked and accuses the righteous are both an abomination to the Lord. and say: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those who sew magic bags under their arms and make coverings for heads of all sizes to catch souls! Is it possible that by catching the souls of My people you will save your souls? Because they mislead My people, saying, “peace,” when there is no peace; and when he builds a wall they cover it with mud, I held my truth tightly and will not let it go; my heart shall not rebuke me all my days. Then I would not be ashamed, considering all Your commandments. Beloved! if our heart does not condemn us, then we have boldness towards God, and whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight. Let us try and examine our ways, and turn to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God who is in heaven. If I have sinned, then what will I do to You, guardian of men! Why did You make me your enemy, so that I became a burden to myself? If I make excuses, my own lips will accuse me; if I am innocent, He will find me guilty. My enemy will be like a wicked man, and he who rises up against me will be like a transgressor. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father. For what hope does a hypocrite have when he takes, when God plucks out his soul? Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all uncleanness; So, on the outside, you seem righteous to people, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. However, if I want to boast, I will not be unreasonable, because I will tell the truth; but I restrain myself so that no one thinks about me more than what he sees in me or hears from me. He showed the power of His works to His people to give them the inheritance of the Gentiles. For we are saved in hope. But hope, when it sees, is not hope; for if anyone sees, what can he hope for? Will God hear his cry when trouble comes to him? Whoever turns away his ear from hearing the law, his prayer is an abomination. Afterwards the other virgins came and said: Lord! God! open to us. He answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” Seek the Lord when He can be found; call upon Him when He is near. Wisdom proclaims in the streets, in the squares she raises her voice, in the main meeting places she preaches, at the entrances to the city gates she speaks her speech: “How long, O ignoramuses, will you love ignorance? (how long) will the violent delight in violence? How long will fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit on you, I will proclaim my words to you. I called, and you did not listen; I stretched out my hand, and there was no one to hear; and you rejected all my advice, and did not accept my reproofs. For this reason I will laugh at your destruction; I will rejoice when horror comes upon you; when terror comes upon you like a storm, and trouble comes upon you like a whirlwind; when sorrow and distress befall you. Then they will call me, and I will not hear; They will look for me in the morning and will not find me. Will he be comforted by the Almighty and call on God at all times? Do not love the world, nor the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the Father’s love in him. For everything that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world. And the world passes away, and its lusts, but he who does the will of God abides forever. ... and call on God at all times? Behold, I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms, to uproot and destroy, to destroy and destroy, to build and to plant. I will tell you what is in the hand of God; I will not hide what the Almighty has. Everything came into being through Him, and without Him nothing came into being that came into being. Now, you have seen it all yourself; and why are you talking so much? The servant who knew the will of his master, and was not ready, and did not do according to his will, will be beaten a lot; but whoever did not know and did something worthy of punishment will receive less punishment. And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and to whom much has been entrusted, from him will be required more. So, if anyone knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin for him. May death come upon them; May they go down alive into hell, for wickedness is in their dwellings, in the midst of them. This is the portion of the wicked man from God, and the inheritance which the oppressors receive from the Almighty. If his sons multiply, it is by the sword; and his descendants will not be satisfied with bread. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword will be filled with flesh, with the blood of the slain and captives, with the heads of the leaders of the enemy. Death will bring down those who remain after him to the grave, and their widows will not cry. If he gathers up heaps of silver like dust, and prepares clothing like clay, then he will prepare, and the righteous will be clothed, and the blameless will receive the silver as his share. The words of the Lord are pure words, silver purified from the earth in a furnace, refined seven times. Wail, inhabitants of the lower part of the city, for all the trading people will disappear and those laden with silver will be destroyed. I rejoice in Your word, as one who has received great profit. Benjamin, the ravenous wolf, will eat the catch in the morning and divide the spoil in the evening. By the grace given to me, I say to each of you: do not think (about) (yourself) more than you ought to think; but think modestly, according to the measure of faith that God has allocated to each. He builds his house like a moth and, like a watchman, makes himself a hut. goes to bed rich and never gets up rich; opens his eyes, and he is no longer the same. The strong in heart became prey, they fell asleep, and all the men did not find the strength of their hands. And I say to you: make friends for yourself with unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they will receive you into eternal abodes. What benefit has arrogance brought us, and what has wealth and vanity brought us? All this passed like a shadow and like fleeting rumors. Terrors will befall him like waters; a storm will snatch him away in the night. and crying out, he said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. They threw my life into a pit and threw stones at me. Lord, my God! I cried out to You and You healed me. God! You brought my soul out of hell and revived me so that I would not go to the grave. Our God comes, and not in silence: before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a great storm. For this reason I will laugh at your destruction; I will rejoice when horror comes upon you; when terror comes upon you like a storm, and trouble comes upon you like a whirlwind; when sorrow and distress befall you. But you know that if the owner of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have been awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you too be ready, for at an hour you think not, the Son of Man will come. But you, brothers, are not in darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day: we are not (sons of) night nor darkness. But God said to him: crazy! this night your soul will be taken from you; who will get what you have prepared? The east wind will pick him up and carry him, and he will quickly run away from it. And the word of the Lord came to me another time: What do you see? I said: I see a boiling cauldron blown by the wind, and its face is from the north. And he said in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mountain in the assembly of gods, on the edge of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. I love to sit in its shade, and its fruits are sweet to my throat. Instead of thorns, cypress will grow; instead of nettles, myrtle will grow; and this will be for the glory of the Lord, an eternal and indestructible sign. The angel answered Her: The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. He will rush at him and will not spare him, no matter how hard he tries to escape from his hand. Those whom I love, I rebuke and punish. So, be zealous and repent. For the Lord punishes whomever he loves; ... The Lord was known by the judgment that He committed; the wicked is caught in the works of his own hands. all your friends have forgotten you and are not looking for you; For I have smitten you with the blows of the enemy, with a cruel punishment for the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have multiplied. Why do you cry about your wounds, about the cruelty of your illness? Because of the multitude of your iniquities I have done this to you, because your sins have multiplied. I couldn't find the corresponding quote. Oh my God! Are not Your eyes directed towards the truth? You hit them and they feel no pain; You destroy them, but they do not want to accept admonition; They have made their faces stronger than stone; they do not want to turn. For fire has kindled in My wrath, burning to the depths of hell, and consuming the earth and its produce, and scorching the foundations of the mountains; What are you plotting against the Lord? He will bring about the destruction, and the calamity will not be repeated, Let my persecutors be ashamed, but I will not be ashamed; let them tremble, but I will be fearless; bring upon them a day of disaster and crush them with extreme contrition. I want to remind you, who already know this, that the Lord, having delivered the people from the land of Egypt, then destroyed those who did not believe, ... no matter how hard he tries to escape from his hand. They will clasp their hands about him and whistle over him from his place! So strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees. The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ... and they will whistle over him from his place! When a blasphemer is punished, the simple becomes wise; and when a wise man comes to his senses, he acquires knowledge. So! Silver has a source, and gold has a place where it is melted. Oh, Timofey! keep what is devoted to you, turning away from worthless idle talk and the contradictions of false knowledge. for gold is tested in fire, and people pleasing to God are tested in the crucible of humiliation. The bellows was burnt, the lead was destroyed by the fire: the smelter smelted in vain, for the evil ones were not separated. And if I give away all my property and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good. and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength—this is the first commandment! The second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other greater commandment than these (Mark 12:30–31). and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength. (Deut.6:5). For it is said: in an acceptable time I heard you and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time, behold, now is the day of salvation. But Jesus said: Let the little children come and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for to such is the Kingdom of Heaven. and he said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Iron comes from the earth; Copper is smelted from stone. ...copper is smelted from stone. But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength: they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be weary. Man sets a limit to darkness and carefully searches for a stone in the darkness and shadow of death. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light. The night is past and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. As during the day, let us behave decently, not indulging in feasting and drunkenness, nor in sensuality and debauchery, nor in quarrels and envy; He said in awe and horror: Lord! what do you want me to do? and the Lord said to him: Arise and go into the city; and it will be told to you what you need to do. They dig a mining well in places forgotten by foot, descend into the depths, hang and sway away from people. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider, whose name was “death”; and hell followed him; and power was given to him over the fourth part of the earth - to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, and with the beasts of the earth. A river of fire came out and passed before Him; thousands upon thousands served Him, and darkness stood before Him; the judges sat down and the books were opened. All these died in faith, not receiving the promises, but only saw them from afar, and rejoiced, and said about themselves that they were strangers and strangers on earth; for those who say so show that they are looking for the fatherland. So we are always in good spirits; and how we know that, being at home in the body, we are separated from the Lord, for we walk by faith and not by sight. I am attracted by both: I have a desire to be resolved and to be with Christ, because this is incomparably better. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Woe is me that I dwell with Mosoch, I dwell at the tents of Kedar. My soul lived long with those who hated the world. My soul thirsts for the mighty, living God: when will I come and appear before the face of God! The eye that mocks the father and neglects obedience to the mother will be pecked out by the crows of the valley, and the eagle's chicks will be devoured! They left us, but they were not ours: for if they were ours, they would have remained with us; but they came out, and through this it was revealed that they were not all ours. Do not look at me that I am dark-skinned, for the sun has scorched me: my mother’s sons were angry with me and made me guard the vineyards; I did not guard my own vineyard. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich. and I will walk among you and will be your God, and you will be my people. What is the relationship between the church of God and idols? For you are the church of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. (2 Cor. 6:16), for which I perform an embassy in prison, so that I may boldly preach as I ought (Eph. 6:20). Then Paul and Barnabas said boldly: you should have been the first to preach the word of God, but since you reject it and make yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the pagans. Let them make noise, let their waters rise, let the mountains shake from their excitement. The soil on which bread grows is pitted inside as if by fire. The tongue of an infant sticks to his larynx from thirst; children ask for bread, and no one gives it to them. Then the chief priests and Pharisees held a council and said, “What should we do?” This Man does many miracles. The Pharisees said to each other: Do you see that you do not have time to do anything? the whole world follows Him. Its stones are the place of sapphire, and in it are grains of gold. and do not think of saying to yourself, “We have Abraham as our father,” for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit in them, and I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh, and you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Poor thing, tossed by the storm, inconsolable! Behold, I will set thy stones in rubies, and make thy foundation of sapphires; And I will make your windows of rubies, and your gates of pearls, and all your walls of precious stones. And all your sons will be taught by the Lord, and your sons will have great peace. How the gold has dimmed, the best gold has changed! The stones of the sanctuary are scattered at all crossroads. The bird of prey does not know the path there, and the eyes of the kite have not seen it. the skinns did not trample it, and the jackal did not walk on it. I wanted to use the word merchant, but merchant in Latin would be different. I don’t know how to call it beautifully in Russian, so that it can be said in one word. In modern Latin, this word means “founder of a business, owner of shares.” What did it mean in the 5th century? She makes bedspreads and sells them, and delivers belts to the Phoenician merchants. Instead of Your fathers, Your sons will be; You will make them princes throughout the whole earth. And a voice came to him: Arise, Peter, kill and eat. The young lion Judah, my son, rises from his prey. He bowed down, lay down like a lion and like a lioness: who will raise him? He lays his hand on granite and overturns mountains by the roots. with an iron cutter and tin - they were carved on stone for eternity! God! Bow down Your heavens and come down; touch the mountains and they will rise. And the remnant that survived in the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above. he cuts channels in the rocks, and his eye sees everything precious. He turns the desert into a lake, and the parched land into springs of water. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water. ...and his eye sees everything precious. And Samuel said, Were you not little in your own eyes when you became the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel? The Lord is high: he sees the humble and recognizes the proud from afar. Nathanael says to Him: Why do You know me? Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” To this the Lord said this: if you turn, then I will raise you up, and you will stand before Me; and if you bring the precious out of the worthless, you will be like My mouth. They themselves will turn to you, and not you will turn to them. stops the flow of streams and brings the hidden into the light. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and whatever you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. There we will have the great Lord instead of rivers, instead of wide canals; no oared vessel will enter there, and no large ship will pass through. To this day, when they read Moses, a veil lies over their heart. But where is wisdom found? and where is the place of reason? Man does not know its value, and it is not found in the land of the living. The Abyss says: it is not in me; and the sea says: not with me. It is not given for gold and it is not purchased for the weight of silver. for those who are called, Jews and Greeks, Christ, God's power and God's wisdom. Wisdom built herself a house and hewed out its seven pillars. How numerous are Your works, O Lord! You have done everything wisely; the earth is full of Your works. me, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but received mercy because I acted this way out of ignorance, in unbelief. But God proves His love for us by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Or who gave Him in advance that He should repay? For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace in me was not in vain, but I labored more than all of them: not I, however, but the grace of God that was with me. And he said to Jesus: remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom! because with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greatest of them all. The other, on the contrary, calmed him down and said: Or are you not afraid of God, when you yourself are condemned to the same thing? and we are condemned justly, because we accepted what was worthy of our deeds, but He did nothing bad. I couldn't find the corresponding quote. I stretch out my hands to You; my soul is drawn to You, like a thirsty land. because in much wisdom there is much sorrow; and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow. In my confusion I thought: “I am rejected from Thy eyes”; but You heard the voice of my prayer when I cried to You. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; My hand is stretched out at night and does not fall; my soul refuses consolation. On the contrary, woe to you, rich people! for you have already received your consolation. I remember God and tremble; I think, and my spirit faints. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, and the heart of fools is in the house of joy. Lament, weep and howl; Let your laughter turn into crying, and your joy into sadness. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. They will receive retribution for their iniquity, for they delight in daily luxury; disgraces and defilers, they enjoy their deceptions, feasting with you. About laughter I said: “stupidity!”, and about fun: “What does it do?” The Abyss says: it is not in me; and the sea says: not with me. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God, as it is written: It catches the wise in their wickedness. And I saw an angel descending from heaven, who had the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He took the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut him up, and put a seal over him, so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were ended; after this he should be released for a short time. For all this was done by my hand, and all this was done, says the Lord. But this is who I will look upon: the one who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at My word. The English quotation refers to the Common Prayer text, Psalm 14:7, which was in the text before 1928. I couldn’t find an analogue in Russian. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; Dead flies spoil and make the aromatic ointment of the world brewer smelly: the same thing does a little stupidity of a respected person with his wisdom and honor. When the people were sent out, He entered, took her hand, and the girl stood up. Book wisdom is acquired at a favorable time of leisure, and those who have little to do can acquire wisdom. Stop and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth. It is not given for gold and it is not purchased for the weight of silver. for the corruptible body burdens the soul, and this earthly church suppresses the much caring mind. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. for we all sin many times. He who does not sin in word is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body. and do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for not one living will be justified before You. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be truly free. They reproached him and said: You are His disciple, and we are Moses’ disciples. it is not valued with Ophir gold, nor with precious onyx, nor with sapphire. And my word and my preaching are not in convincing words of human wisdom, but in the manifestation of the spirit and power. For who in heaven can compare with the Lord? Who among the sons of God will be like the Lord? Who is it that flies like clouds, and like doves to their dovecotes? Gold and crystal are not equal to it, and you cannot exchange it for vessels of pure gold. Its wall was built of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like pure glass. take me out of the mire, so that I do not sink; May I be delivered from those who hate me and from the deep waters. For we know that when our earthly house, this hut, is destroyed, we have from God a dwelling in heaven, a house not made with hands, eternal. My friend looks like a chamois or a young deer. Here, he stands behind our wall, looks out the window, flashes through the bars. For which man knows what is in a man except the spirit of man that dwells in him? Likewise, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Therefore, do not judge in any way before the time, until the Lord comes, who will illuminate what is hidden in the darkness and reveal the intentions of the heart, and then everyone will receive praise from God. Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed what we will be. We only know that when it is revealed, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. Lord, God of strength! Who is strong like You, O Lord? And Your truth surrounds You. ... and you will not exchange it for vessels of pure gold. Having come to the countries of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples: Who do people say that I, the Son of Man, am? They said: some for John the Baptist, others for Elijah, and others for Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He says to them: Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Then Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven; I was met by guards going around the city: “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” But as soon as I left them, I found the one whom my soul loves, grabbed hold of him, and did not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s house and to the inner rooms of my parent. And there is nothing to mention about corals and pearls, and the acquisition of wisdom is higher than rubies. There was the true Light, which enlightens every person coming into the world. You are the light of the world. A city standing on top of a mountain cannot hide. during the longsuffering of God, to demonstrate His righteousness at this time, that He may appear righteous and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. And the Lord God created man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Abraham answered: Behold, I have decided to speak to the Master, I, dust and ashes. For He knows our composition, He remembers that we are dust. they will perish, but You will remain; and they will all wear out like a robe, and like a garment You will change them, and they will be changed; but You are the same, and Your years will not end. God said to Moses: I am who I am. And he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: Jehovah (Jehovah) has sent me to you. The Spirit breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes: this is what happens to everyone born of the Spirit. I open my mouth and sigh, for I thirst for Your commandments. Ethiopian topaz is not equal to it; It is not valued in pure gold. I saw the tents of Ethiopia sad; the tents of the land of Midian shook. For I do not want to leave you, brethren, ignorant of this mystery, so that you do not dream about yourself, that the hardening has happened in Israel in part, until the time when the full number of the Gentiles comes in; and so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come from Zion, and will turn away wickedness from Jacob. The nobles will come from Egypt; Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And where does it come from for me that the Mother of my Lord came to me? Then Mary said: Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word. And the Angel departed from Her. You are more beautiful than the sons of men; grace poured out from Your mouth; Therefore God has blessed You forever. For He rose up before Him as an offspring and as a sprout from dry ground; There is no form or greatness in Him; and we saw Him, and there was no appearance in Him that would attract us to Him. Who is this, shining like the dawn, beautiful like the moon, bright like the sun, formidable like regiments with banners? Where does wisdom come from? and where is the place of reason? It is hidden from the eyes of all living things and hidden from the birds of the air. He was taken from bonds and judgment; but who will explain His generation? for He is cut off from the land of the living; for the crimes of my people I suffered execution. No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, then God abides in us, and His love is perfect in us. And Jacob called the name of the place Penuel; for, he said, I saw God face to face, and my soul was preserved. And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as one would speak to his friend; and he returned to the camp; and his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tabernacle. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; now my eyes see You. In the year of the death of King Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the edges of His robe filled the whole church. And Micah said: (not so; not I, but) listen to the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven stood by Him, on His right hand and on His left. So, if I have found favor in Your sight, then I pray: open Your way to me, so that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight; and consider that these people are Your people. And then He said: You cannot see My face, because man cannot see Me and live. Now we see as if through a dark glass, fortune-telling, but then face to face; Now I know in part, but then I will know, even as I am known. But I do not want to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me; and whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and appear to him Myself. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. It was revealed to them that it was not they themselves, but us, who served that which has now been preached to you by those who preached the gospel by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, into which the angels desire to penetrate. See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven. And I will look upon Your face in righteousness; Having awakened, I will be satisfied with Your image. the only one who has immortality, Who dwells in the unapproachable light, Whom no man has seen and cannot see. Honor and eternal power to him! Amen. Those who turned their gaze to Him were enlightened, and their faces would not be ashamed. because you are still carnal. For if there is envy, strife, and disagreement among you, are you not carnal? and are you not acting according to human custom? For when one says: “I am Paul’s,” and another: “I am Apollos’s,” are you not carnal? But, as it is written: eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and what God has prepared for those who love Him has not entered into the heart of man. But God revealed this to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.