Книга 30 [глава 38, стихи 34–41, глава 39, стихи 1–8]

Contains an interpretation of the last eight verses of the thirty-eighth chapter and the same number of verses of the thirty-ninth chapter, where St. Gregory discusses a great many phenomena in a pious and studied manner, especially in relation to the preaching of the Gospel. 1. God poses a question to the Reverend Job, asking him if he has done such deeds that man is certainly not capable of doing; so that when he knows that he is unable to do them, he may rise for refuge to Him, Whom he understands to be the only One who can do them, and that He can be more powerful before the eyes of his Judge if he knows his own infirmity. From this we know well that, miraculously prepared by God, Job hears the Divine Voice; and it was said to him: Verse 34. Will you lift up your voice in the cloud, and will the waters fill you with strength ( Job 38:34 ) 2933? 2. For God truly lifts up his voice in the cloud when He creates His exhortations to the darkened hearts of unbelievers by the speeches of His preachers. And the power of the waters covers him when a crowd of opposing people oppresses His members who act justly. And therefore, what is written: “The word of the Lord was sent to Jeremiah: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the Lord, and speak before all the cities of Judah, from which people come to worship in the house of the Lord, all the words that I have commanded you” (Jer. 26:1-2) 2934. And a little later: “And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah as he spoke these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking, both the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying: “Let him die, for he prophesied in the name of the Lord” (Jer. 26:7–9) 2935. Thus, the Lord lifted up His voice in the cloud because He rebuked the darkened minds of the arrogant people by sending a Prophet against them. So the surface of the waters immediately covered him; because He Himself, Who commanded the words of reproof, suffered all the suffering in the person of Jeremiah from the people who rebelled against him, and were provoked by their reproof. The Lord also lifted up His voice in the cloud Himself, when showing Himself before us in His supposed body, He preached much to His persecutors, but in a veiled, mysterious manner. He lifted up His voice in the cloud because He spoke His truth as if in darkness to the unbelievers who would not follow Him. It was also written very well in the Book of Kings: “The cloud filled the house of the Lord, and the priests were unable to minister because of the cloud” (1 Kings 8:10–11) 2936. For while the proud high priests of the Jews listened to the divine mysteries in parables, since they demanded their dignity, the priests were not able, as they were, to serve in the house of the Lord in the name of the cloud. For when they are unwilling to explore, amid the deep darkness of allegories, the mystical meanings which are covered by the veil of writing in the Old Testament, they, because of a cloud, lose that priesthood which they deserve by their faith. To whom did the Lord even now give His voice in the cloud, when He even spoke directly about Himself? For something simpler than: “I and the Father are one?” ( John 10:30 ) 2937 What can be said more clearly than “Before Abraham was, I am?” (John 8:58) 2938. But because the darkness of unbelief filled the minds of his hearers, the cloud that came hid, as it were, the ray of sun that was growing. 3. For, as the surface of the waters immediately covered Him, in this raising of voices, because the raging crowd of people immediately rebelled against Him. For it is written: “The Jews sought to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18) 2939. From this power of the waters He exclaims as a prophet: “They surrounded Me all the day, like waters, they surrounded Me together” (Ps. 87:18) 2940. And again: “See me, O God, for the waters have come even to My soul” (Ps. 68:2) 2941. What waters He certainly experienced in Himself before His death, but in His own people, even after His Ascension. For, therefore, what He exclaims from above: “Said, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” ( Acts 9:4 ) 2942 So He had already ascended into heaven, and yet Saul, still pursuing Him with the power of unbelieving waters, touched Him like a swollen wave above the rest. For it is He who speaks well the right things, He who is wounded in the sufferings of the pious. In order then to show by the wondrous unity of charity that it is He who preaches through the mouth of His saints to unworthy listeners, the Lord says: Will you lift up your voice in the cloud? But in order to show that it was He who, enduring all kinds of adversity in His Saints, He added: and will the waters fill you with strength? You understand, as do I, to Whom all the wicked turn, not understanding it when holy people preach, and not seeing it, suffering from them when they die. The Lord therefore connects this with the fact that He suffers from people, that the pain of the afflicted person can be reduced, as if He had openly told him: Weigh My sufferings carefully, and temper your sufferings with patience. For it is much less for you to endure wounds than for Me to endure the suffering of people (“the human race”). 4. But we can consider these words in even more detail if we carefully examine our hearts among the heavenly gifts. We are truly faithful at this time, we now believe in the heavenly truths that we hear, we now love what we believe. But when we are oppressed by certain unnecessary worries, we are overshadowed by the confusion spread over us; and when God invites us by some wonderful concepts to respect Him, He lifts up, as it were, His voice in the cloud. While He speaks about Himself in our backward minds, He Who is invisible is, as it were, heard in a cloud. For the most sublime are the truths that we know about Him, but we do not yet see Him by that secret inspiration of which we are told. He is therefore the One who actually speaks in our hearts, but hides His forms, forms His voice as if in a cloud. But, lo and behold! we now hear the words of God that He speaks about Himself within, and we now know with what tenacity and with what zeal we must cling to His love; and yet we retreat from the heights of inward consideration of our ordinary ways, from the very mutability of this mortal state, and we are attacked with the perverted importunity of impending sins. So when He hints with subtle thoughts about Himself in our dark minds, He lifts up His voice in the cloud. 5. But when our very concept of God overcomes the temptation of sins, God is covered, so to speak, in His voice, by the power of the waters. For we throw as much water on Him as the forbidden thoughts that live in our hearts, after the inspiration of His grace. But while He does not leave us even when He is overloaded (“oppress”, “oppress”), for He immediately returns to our consciousness, He dispels the fogs of temptation, He pours out a shower of conscience on us, and returns the sun with subtle understanding. And He thus shows how much He loves us, Who does not abandon us even when He is rejected; in order that the human mind may, at least when thus prepared, be ashamed to acknowledge temptation within limits, since its Redeemer does not cease to love it even when it renounces. It is He who endures us in Himself, it is He who daily hears the unbelievers through His preachers. It is His gift to drive out rising temptations from us, and yet He did not hide our weakness by pouring His gifts into us. His words are publicly rejected, and yet He is not restrained, by any wickedness of unbelievers, from bestowing the abundance of His grace. For when wicked men despise preaching, He also adds miracles, that they may honor Him. Further, after the voice has been uttered, and the power of the overwhelming waters, here is rightfully attached: Verse 35. Will you send lightning, and will they go, and will they return and say to you: Here we are (Job 38:35) 2943? 6. For lightning will come out of the clouds, just as wonderful deeds are displayed by holy preachers. Those, as we have said more than once, are usually called “clouds” because they glow with miracles and rain words. And the fact that the hearts of people, after being indifferent to the preaching, are confused by these flashes of miracles, we learned through the testimony of the prophet, who says: “Thou hast multiplied Thy lightnings, and hast confused them” (Ps. 17:15) 2944. It was as if he were saying: Until they hear the words of Your preaching, they are entangled in the miracles of the preachers. It is also written about this in another place: “Before the light of Your flying arrows, before the brightness of Your sparkling spears” (Hab. 3:11) 2945. For the arrows of God that go into the light are His words that ring true. But because people often despise the words of life, even when they understand them, miracles also happen. Here he adds: For the splendor of the radiance of Thy weapon. For the radiance of weapons is the brightness of miracles. For we defend ourselves with weapons, we destroy our enemies with arrows. Weapons with arrows are miracles combined with preaching. For holy preachers strike their opponents with their words as if with arrows, but they defend themselves with weapons, that is, with miracles; in order that as far as they can be heard, they can resound with the power of their arrows, and as far as they must be revered, they shine with the weapons of miracles. Therefore it was said to Blessed Job: Will you send lightning, and will they go, and will they return and say to you: Here we are? You understand, “Like Me.” For lightnings go forward when preachers shine with miracles and pierce the hearts of their hearers with heavenly awe. But they come back and say: Here we are, when they turn not to themselves, but to the power of God, what they know they have done powerfully. What do their appeals to God: “Here we are” mean? This is a kind of obedience declared in this word. For the holy preachers will then return and say, “Here we are,” they sing the glory of His grace, from whom they feel that they have gained victory in the contest, that they take credit for what they do. And the lightning may go out doing its work, but it cannot return in pride. 7. Let's look at how lightning comes out. Peter says to the lame man: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up: and immediately his legs and feet received strength, and he jumped up, stood up and walked” (Acts 3:6-8) 2946. But when the multitude of the Jews were alarmed at what had been done, let us now consider the returning lightning, of which it is said: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you look at us, as if we had done by our strength or our piety that he walks? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Son Jesus” (Acts 3:12) 2947. And a little further: “Which we are witnesses and because of faith in His name, His name has strengthened this one whom you see and know, and the faith that comes from Him has given him this healing in the presence of you all” (Acts 3:15–16) 2948. Lightning, therefore, came out when Peter performed a miracle, it returned when he attributed what he did, not to himself, to his Creator. Lightning goes forward when holy preachers display wonderful works, but they say, on its return: “Here we are,” when what they do, they attribute it to the authority of its Author. 8. But we can also understand this in another sense. For holy people, as was said above, come out like lightning when they come out at the end to contemplation, to the social life of busyness. They are sent and they come when, from inner contemplation, they spread out in the wide space of active life. But they return and say to God: “Here we are,” because after the external deeds they perform, they always return to the bosom of contemplation, in order to revive there the flame of their zeal, and glow, as if from the touch of heavenly brightness. For they would freeze too quickly in the midst of their external actions, although they indeed constantly return with alarming seriousness to the fire of contemplation. It was well said here by Solomon: “To the place from which the rivers flow, they return to begin to flow again” (Eccl. 1:7) 2949. For there they are called rivers, which here are called lightning. For because they water the hearts of the hearers, they are called rivers, and because they kindle them, they are called lightning. About which it is written elsewhere: “O Lord, the floods have risen; the rivers lift up their voice” (Ps. 92:3) 2950. And again: “His lightnings illuminate the world” (Ps. 96:4) 2951. Rivers therefore return to the place from which they go forward; because holy men (though they shall go beyond us, from the sight of their Creator, Whose brightness they endeavor to behold with their minds, into the realm of active life), still return incessantly to the holy study of contemplation, and if in their preaching they pour themselves into our ears with bodily words from without, until they return to their quiet thoughts to consider the Source of life Itself. Which have also been well spoken of, in order to flow again. For they do not continually return with an anxious mind to the contemplation of God; their inner drought certainly dries up even their outward words of preaching. But while they thirst unceasingly to contemplate God, rivers either arise, as if from within, in order to flow back, so that they can there receive through love the means of flowing to us through preaching. Let it therefore rightly be said: Will you send lightning, and will they go, and will they return and say to you: Here we are? You understand how I am the one who prepares My preachers, when I will prepare, after the grace of contemplation, for the kingdom of active life. And yet I will never call them back from outer good deeds to the inner heights of contemplation, so that they can go forward when they are told to carry out their tasks, and then they will remain with Me more calmly when they are commanded to be in thought. They return, and therefore they say: “Here we are,” because, although it may seem from their outward actions that they lack contemplation, yet in their ardent desires, which they never kindled in their minds, they recognize their presence in God by obeying Him. For to say: “Here we are” is to show that they are present with their love. It follows from this: Verse 36. Who placed wisdom within man? or who gave awareness to the rooster (Job.38:36) 2952? 9 . Who do we mean in this place by the name of the rooster, if not the holy preachers, again mentioned in another way, breaking through the darkness of our lives in order to announce with their sermons the coming light? For they say: “The night is already past and the day is at hand” (Rom. 13:12) 2953. Who, with their voices, rising from the sleep of our sluggishness, exclaims: “Now is the time for us to wake up” (Rom. 13:11) 2954. And again: “Wake up, ye righteous, and do not sin” (1 Cor. 15:34) 2955. About the rooster it is written again: “There are three creatures that have a slender gait, and the fourth stands slenderly: the lion is a strongman among animals, will not step aside in front of anyone; a rooster, girded in the loins, and a ram, whom no king could withstand” (Prov. 30:29–31) 2956. For He is here mentioned as a lion, about whom it is written: “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5) 2957. He who is called the strongest among all predators, because in Him the “weakness” of God is stronger than the strength of men. He who fears no one, for He says: “The Prince of this world comes and has nothing in Me” (John 14:30) 2958. The rooster, girded in the loins, are holy preachers, announcing the true morning amid the darkness of this night. Who are girded in the loins, because they keep their distance from those members of the Church who are unfettered in the flesh. For therefore the loins are in truth, since there is lust. This is what the Lord said to them: “Let your loins be girded” (Luke 12:35) 2959. And the ram, which none of the kings could resist. Who do we mean here by the image of the ram, if not the priests of the first rank in the Church? About whom it is written: “Bring to the Lord offspring of rams” (Ps. 29:1) 2960, who led the people by his examples, like a flock of sheep following them. And whom, provided they lived a spiritual and righteous life, no king could resist, because no matter what persecutor stood in their way, he could not interfere with their intentions. For they know how to come with enthusiasm to Him, to Whom they strive, and how to die for Him. Thus, the lion is in first place, the rooster is in second, and Aries comes last. For first Christ appears, then the holy preachers, the Apostles, and then, finally, the spiritual Fathers, the rulers of the Churches, the leaders, namely the flock, because they are the teachers of the people who follow them. 10. But we can understand this whole sequence better if we add to our consideration the remaining link from the previous paragraph. For, since the Antichrist appears behind our sequence, He added there a fourth link, saying: “And he who looked like a fool after he was exalted on high. For if he had understood, he would have put his hand on his mouth” (Proverbs 30:32) 2961. For indeed he will be lifted up high if he is in the likeness of God. But he will look like a fool when he is exalted, because he will not be able to exalt when the true Judge comes. But if he had understood this, he would have put his hand on his mouth: i.e. if he had foreseen his punishment at the moment when he became proud, having once been created correctly, he would not have been raised to the height of boasting of such incredible pride. And let's move on to what was said about him above: And the fourth stands out harmoniously. For he said that the three (creatures) walked together, and the fourth with superiority. For not every creature that walks “with excellence” walks “harmoniously,” and so in our life, not everything that walks “harmoniously” walks “with excellence.” For the lion, the rooster, and the ram certainly walk in order: but not with superiority here, for they suffer from the attacks of persecution. But the fourth goes with superiority, but not harmoniously, because the Antichrist will prosper in his craft, but his craft will prosper only in a short period of this life, as Daniel said about him in the person of Antioch: “And the army was delivered along with the daily sacrifice for wickedness, and he, casting the truth to the ground, acted and prospered” (Dan. 8:12). What Solomon says: Goes with excellence, Daniel says: Will prosper. According to this statement, which is thus said by Solomon: A rooster girded in the loins, in this place we clearly mean the holy preachers in the form of a rooster. Therefore the Lord implies that all this refers to Him, saying: Who placed wisdom within man? or who gave awareness to the rooster? As if He were saying, who dwells in the heart of man, who enjoys everything human, the grace of heavenly wisdom? Or who, besides Me, gave understanding even to the holy preachers themselves, in order to know when or to whom they should announce the coming of the morning? For they understand both what needs to be done and when, for the only reason why they know this is only because I revealed this knowledge to them. But he must understand that the divinely inspired wisdom is within man, because certainly, as regards the number of the elect, it is given not only in voices, but also in thoughts, in order that the conscience may live according to what the tongue says, and this light can shine the more strongly from without, the more strongly it burns in the heart. 11. But this is a question of great difficulty to consider more carefully: or who gave awareness to the rooster? For the understanding of teachers must be even more subtle, the more it penetrates into invisible matters, the more it speaks not about the material, the more it, even speaking in the voice of the body, goes beyond the corporeal. For this cannot, in truth, apply to the most sublime things that the Creator Himself created; it applies to a rooster crowing at a teacher who is preaching. The rooster also gained awareness, firstly to determine the time of night, and then to crow with the voice of awakening. Because, verily, every holy preacher first considers the quality of life of his hearers, and then tunes the voice of the sermon that will be addressed to them. For to decide regarding the quality of sins is to determine the hours of the night, to condemn the darkness of actions with voices of reproach is also to determine the hours of the night. Awareness, therefore, is given to the rooster from above, because the teacher of truth is given from above the power of discretion so that he knows to whom, what, when or how to present this knowledge. 12. For the same exhortation is not suitable for everyone, because everyone is not bound by the same habits. What benefits some often brings pain to others. For often even herbs that refresh some animals kill others, and a slight hiss that pacifies horses causes aggression in dogs; and a medicine that relieves pain in one disease gives impetus to another; and the bread that strengthens the life of the strong destroys the life of the young. Thus, the speech of the preachers should be adapted to the quality of life of the hearers, so as to suit each class individually and not conflict with the art of general edification. For what are the attentive minds of listeners but the strained strings of a harp? Which an experienced musician touches in different ways so that they do not produce a discordant sound. And the strings give back the sounds of harmony, because they are touched with the same pick, but with different strengths. Thus, every teacher, in order to build everything into one benefactor of charity, should not touch the hearts of his hearers with the same exhortation. 13. For men are to be exhorted in one way, and women in another, young in a third, and old in a fourth; in one way - the poor, in another - the rich; in one way - joyful, in another - gloomy; in one way - followers, in another - leaders; in one way - servants, in another - masters; in one way - the wise of this world, in another - the fools; in one way - shameless, in another - modest; in one way - arrogant, in another - shy; in one way - impatient, in another - patient; in one way - benevolent, in another - envious; in one way - pure, in another - wicked; in one way - sick, in another - healthy; in one way - those who are afraid of punishment and therefore live innocently, in another - those who have become so hardened in lawlessness that punishment cannot correct them; in one way - quiet, in another - talkative; in one way - timid, in another - bold; in one way sluggish, in another hasty; in one way - gentle, in another - evil; in one way - modest, in another - arrogant; in one way - stubborn, in another - fickle; in one way - gluttonous, in another - abstinent; in one way - those who are ready to give their last, in another - those who covet other people's goods; in one way - those who neither give up their own goods nor covet someone else's, in another - those who are ready to give up their own and refuse to take someone else's; in one way - those who are in conflict, in another - those who are resigned; in one way - those who sow discord, in another - those who are for peace. Those who do not correctly understand the words of the sacred Law should be admonished in one way, and those who understand it correctly, but speak of it irreverently, in another way; in one way those who are able to preach worthily, but are afraid of excessive modesty, should be admonished, and in another - those who, due to age, are not able to preach, but they still feel called to it; in one way are those who prosper in their temporary desires, and in the other way are those who really wish the world well, but are weary of the struggle with adversity; in one way - those who are married, and in the other - those who are not married; in one way - those who have known the experience of carnal temptation, and in the other - those who do not know it; in one way - those who regret the sins of their actions, and in the other - those who regret the sins of their thoughts; in one way - those who complain about their sins and do not stop sinning, and in the other - those who stopped sinning, but did not stop complaining; in one way are those who even praise their illegal deeds that they commit, and in the other way are those who blame their illegal deeds but still do not avoid them; in one way - those who overcome sudden lust, and in the other - those who are fettered by sin; in one way - those who often commit illegal acts, even the smallest of them, in another - those who protect themselves from even committing trivial mistakes, but are sometimes overloaded with serious sins; in one way - those who have not even begun to do good deeds, in another - those who cannot finish what they started; one way is those who sin secretly but show a righteous life in public, and the other way is those who hide their righteous deeds and those who, through their public actions, make others think that they are doing evil. We also really need to mention what advice should be followed in each individual case, but we are afraid to make our comments too long. (St. Gregory. Naz. Or. 2, paragraph 28). But it will be interesting for us to do this in another work (“Pastoral”), with God’s help, if we still get at least some small part of this painful life. 14. But we have one more point to consider regarding the understanding of the image of the rooster, namely, that he is accustomed to sing his loud and long melodies in the dead of night, and when the time of morning approaches, he sings in a weaker and gentler voice. And a consideration of the question concerning the discretion of preachers shows us what the crowing of this cock implies. For when they preach to the minds that harbor evil, they speak of the horrors of eternal judgment in a loud thunderous voice, because they are the ones who shout in the darkness of the dead of night. But when they know that the light of truth has already reached the hearts of their hearers, they change the volume of their voices into tenderness and melody; and they are no longer talking so much about the horrors of punishment, but about the temptations of rewards. And at that moment they already speak in a quieter tone, because as the morning approaches, they preach about all the subtle mysteries, so that their hearers can hear about heavenly things; the closer they come to the light of truth, and the more subtle the voice of the rooster can charm those who have already awakened; whom this long note awakened from sleep, so that everyone who knows it may rejoice in the sweets of heaven, who had previously feared the horrors of judgment. How beautifully it was said by Moses when the trumpets were commanded to play a shorter note to call forth the host. For it was written: “Make yourself two trumpets of beaten silver” (Num. 10:2) 2962. And a little further: “When a short sound was heard, the camp must be moved” (Num. 10:5) 2963. For the army is led by two trumpets, because people call two postulates of charity, girded with faith. But they must be made of silver, so that the words of the preachers may be clear with the brightness of light and not confuse the minds of the hearers with any obscurity. But in order to be forged for this reason, it is necessary that those who preach about the coming of new life must go through the blows of present adversities. But it was well said: When the short sound had sounded, the camp must be moved: doubtless, because when the word of the sermon is more deeply received in life, the hearts of the hearers are more ready to meet temptations. 15. But there is one more point about the rooster that we must carefully study, namely: when the rooster gets ready to crow, he first flaps his wings, flutters, in order to wake up. We will also see this clearly if we look at the lives of the holy preachers. For when they pronounce the words of a sermon, they first test themselves in holy deeds, so that they cannot, in case of laziness, appeal to others with their voices. But they first lift themselves up with sublime deeds, and then call others to action. They first beat their thoughts with wings, because whatever is useless that lies dormant in them - what they discover by careful investigation, they correct with severe punishment. They, first of all, take care of punishing their own shortcomings with tears, and then talk about those actions of other people that require punishment. They flap their wings before they sing their song, because before they utter words of exhortation, they proclaim by their actions all that they intend to say; and when they are fully awakened, they call to awakening those who are slumbering. 16. But where does this great wisdom come from in the teacher?, when he awakens himself and also calls those who are asleep to awakening with a certain pitch of voice, when he carefully dispels the darkness of sins, and then quietly reveals the light of preaching, he approaches everyone individually, at the right time and in the right manner, but at the same time, he simultaneously shows everyone the results of their actions. From where it is directed to such great phenomena, but with such subtlety, only He could teach it - the One by whom it was created. For then, to entrust such great understanding is not the merit of the preacher, but of his Creator; it was correctly said by the Creator: Who gave awareness to the rooster? It was as if He spoke, Besides Me, who gave knowledge into the minds of the teachers, which I miraculously created out of nothing, more amazing, in order to understand all the mysteries. Whence also, in order to show that He is not only the Inspirer of wisdom in the words of the teachers, but also the Author of their words, he rightly adds: Verse 37. Who will declare the essence of heaven (Job 38:37) 2964? But, since He refuses their words, when He appears before us in His external appearance, He immediately adds: And who will lull the harmony of heaven? 17. For in this life the Lord addresses our weakness, not by the outward manifestation of His greatness, but by the voice of His preachers; in order that the tongue of the flesh might pierce still carnal hearts, so that they would be the more ready to receive everything incredible, the more they heard about it from familiar voices. But after our flesh turns to dust at death, and the dust is quickened by the resurrection, we then do not hear the word of God, because we now outwardly see that there is One Word of God that fills everything. Which sounds to us the louder the deeper it penetrates our mind with the power of inner light. For if these words are taken away, which are the beginning and the end, the image of the inner vision becomes for us a kind of sound of an eternal sermon. From here the Lord now also correctly says to Blessed Job: Who will declare the essence of heaven? And who will lull the harmony of heaven? For what is the essence of heaven, if not the inner power of secrets? What does the harmony of heaven mean if not the consonance of the language of preachers? Thus, when our Creator began to create the essence of heaven, He lulls the harmony of heaven; undoubtedly, when He appears to us in visible form, the words of the preachers come back. Therefore, the Lord speaks in the words of Jeremiah: “A man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,” says the Lord (Jer. 31:34) 2965. Therefore, Paul says: “Prophecies must cease to operate, tongues must be silent, knowledge must be destroyed” (1 Cor. 13:8) 2966. Or, of course, the essence of heaven is that life-giving force that shapes the spirit of angels. For since God is the Cause of causes, and since He is the Life of life, therefore He is the Awareness (“Correlation”) of intelligent beings. Thus the Lord then proclaims the System ("Norm") of heaven as He governs the chosen souls. Then He creates a system of heavens when the fog of our minds is cleared and He appears before us as a bright vision. Hence the Lord also tells us in the Gospel: “The hour will come when I will no longer speak to you in parables, but will clearly show you the Father” (John 16:25) 2967. For He affirms that He will openly reveal the Father, because by the appearance of His Majesty, which was then revealed, He shows both how He proceeds from the Father, and how the Spirit of both is united in eternity by both. For we then openly see how He Whom He is by origin is not He from Whom He proceeds, just as He Who goes before the procession does not march after They from Whom He proceeds. Further we will openly see how He is the indivisible Three, and how the Three are the indivisible One. The language of God who then speaks is the visible brightness of God that lifts us up. And the harmony of heaven then falls asleep, because when the Retribution for our deeds appears in court, the words of admonition immediately cease. Hence also the very time of the resurrection is openly included, when it was immediately stated: Verse 38. When the dust hardened and became earth, and the clods were bound together (Job 38:38) 2968. 18. For, as is customary, the sacred language describes all future events in the past tense, namely, observing oneself, about which it was said: “Who did what will happen” (Is. 45:11) 2969. Thus, the ashes harden and become earth, and then turn into solid limbs. And, undoubtedly, the lumps are bound together because solids arise together from dust. But having established how these words of the Lord are to be understood in relation to the future, let us now consider what they mean in relation to the present. 19. Who will declare the essence of heaven? And who will lull the harmony of heaven? The Lord declares the essence of heaven when He illuminates the minds of His chosen ones, teaching them the mysteries of heaven. But He lulls the harmony of heaven when, with righteous judgment, He hides from the hearts of the rejected the harmonious hymns of the angels and the joys of heavenly grace. For this heavenly harmony, although it is inwardly awake, is still slumbering outwardly, due to the very ignorance of the outcasts. Therefore the essence of heavenly mystery is proclaimed, and the harmony of heaven is allowed to sleep, because some knowledge of heavenly retribution is hidden by inspiration and the sweetness of inner praise is hidden from others. 20. The essence of heaven is proclaimed because the reward of heavenly rewards is continually shown to the minds of the elect, so that they may certainly move forward and, passing over visible things, they may know the invisible. For everything visible that fetters the rejected in this life pushes the elect forward to other things. For while they see the good works that have been done, they burn with love for Him by whom they were done, and they love Him the more the more we are convinced that He existed before He created all that was good for them. For the quiet sounding tongue of conscience speaks of this within them. And they hear it louder from the outside, the more they turn away from noisy external desires. Their harmony of heaven does not sleep, because their minds study, by means of what they hear love, how great is the sweetness of heavenly praise. For they hear what they want to hear, and in their pursuit of God, they realize the value of the gifts of heavenly blessing. That is why they also bear the burden of real life, not only when they resist the blessing, but even when they are open to it, like a heavy burden; because everything they see is a burden to them and they cannot enjoy what they hear inside. Everything that is around them is difficult for them because it is not what they passionately desire. But their minds, which are already weary with the constant labors of this temporary state, cherish the hope of receiving heavenly joy, while the harmony of heaven flashes in the ears of their hearts, they daily expect to join the ranks of the heavenly inhabitants. This harmony of heavenly praise burst into the ears of the one who said: “I will enter into the place of the beautiful tabernacle, even into the house of the Lord, to the voice of rejoicing and confession, to the sound of the celebrating city” (Ps. 42:4) 2970. What else but the harmony of heaven awakened him, who heard within the voice of rejoicing and confession and the voice of a celebrating city? 21. But this harmony sleeps for the outcasts, because it does not make itself felt in their hearts with the voice of a twinge of conscience. Because they do not strive to think about what is so desirable for the multitude of heavenly inhabitants, they do not see the ray of warmth at those banquets of the inner mind, they do not bother themselves with contemplation. For they are enslaved only to visible things and thus they do not hear the inner sweetness, because, as was said before, the deafening excesses of worldly life oppress the ears of their hearts. Because the arrangement of the secret court is open to some and closed to others; opens for some and closes for others; for it was rightly said to them: Who will declare the essence of heaven? And who will lull the harmony of heaven? But then it was more fully revealed to us when our Redeemer, appearing in the mystery of God's providence, both bestows mercy on the unworthy, and repels those who seemed worthy. Here it is rightfully included: Verse 38. When the dust hardened and became earth, and the clods were bound together (Job 38:38) 2971. 22. Who do we mean when we talk about dust, if not sinners who, unrestrained by anything, are carried away by an explosion of temptations? About whom it is written: “The wicked are not so, not so, but like sand that the wind carries away from the face of the earth” (Ps. 1:4) 2972. Thus the dust hardened and turned into earth when sinners, being called by the Church, received faith; so that they, who were previously fickle and subject to the breath of temptations, then become indifferent to these temptations and, constantly following God, could stand firmly on the earth and come to a good life. But clods are made of moisture and earth. That is why the lumps are bound together on this earth, because sinners, when called upon and watered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, are united together in a union of charity. These blocks, therefore, were bound together on earth, when people, formerly being scattered among the scattering of dust, having subsequently received the grace of the Spirit, came to a single peaceful agreement, therefore, when there were three thousand, and then five thousand, it was said, as the Scripture testifies: “There was in them one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32) 2973. Thus, the Lord daily binds together these blocks on the earth, certainly from the same dust, but definitely of different sizes, because, preserving the unity of the sacrament, He gathers together the faithful people in the Church, according to the difference in their customs and languages. The Lord had already designated these blocks at the time when “He commanded them to gather together, fifty or a hundred in number, and eat bread and fish” (Mark 6:40–41) 2974. 23. But if we consider these lumps in the Church according to the variety of their virtues, we may perhaps be able to distinguish them in more detail. For while there is one order of preachers, and another of hearers; the third is from the rulers, and the fourth is from the subjects; the fifth is from those who are married, and the sixth is from those who abstain from marriage; the seventh is from those who repent, and the eighth is from those who are blameless; also there are different forms of lumps from the same earth, when in the same faith and in the same charity, the virtues of good performers seem unequal. These people, with equal zeal, are offered various gifts for the construction of the tabernacle, namely the blocks, about which it was written: “Everything that was necessary for worship in the tabernacle: both sacred garments, and men and women, and they brought robes, bracelets and earrings, rings and armlets. Each golden vessel became a refuge for the Lord's sacrifices. And everyone who had blue, purple and red wool, fine linen and goats' hair, red and blue rams' skins, brought them" (Exodus 35:21-23) 2975. 24. Therefore, to decorate the tabernacle, men offer gifts together with women, because when conducting services in the Holy Church, both the noble deeds of the strong and the base deeds of the weak are taken into account. But what do the bracelets that bind the hands represent if not the work of desperately toiling rulers? What do the earrings express, like disobedience of the subjects? What are rings if not seals of secrets? For teachers usually put their stamp on what they think their listeners cannot understand. What do the armlets mean, if not decorations of the first works? What does the golden vessel for the Lord's sacrifices mean, as an understanding of God, which, the more it is removed from the love of everything external, the more it rises to the love of everything eternal. What does the color blue mean if not hope for heaven? What does the color purple mean if not blood, suffering endured, expressed by love in the eternal Kingdom? And what does twice-dyed scarlet express if not charity, twice-dyed, because it is adorned with the love of God and the love of one's neighbor? What does fine linen mean, as the immaculate purity of the flesh? And what does goat’s hair, which is woven with rough fabric, signify, if not the cruel oppression of the penitents? While some exercise their decisive authority with bracelets and rings, and others show their faithful obedience with earrings and armlets; some, with the help of arranged golden vessels, have more comprehensive and more accurate knowledge about God, while others, with blue, purple and scarlet flowers, do not stop believing and loving that heavenly thing that they have heard about and even that which they do not yet understand more subtly; some with fine linen offer the purity of the flesh, while others with goat's hair mourn the heaviness of what they did with pleasure; countless rocks come from the earth, because the actions of believers come from obedience alone. But these lumps will certainly not be bound together and rise from the dust until the dust is first watered with water and becomes wet with the moisture it has absorbed, because unless the grace of the Holy Spirit waters sinners, the unity of charity will not keep them closely connected with the works of faith. May the Lord then let men know when He declares the essence of heaven and lulls the harmony of heaven. For He says: When the dust hardened and became earth, and the lumps were bound together. It was as if He were saying: My calling and My choice are first revealed; and I revealed, not without sympathy, spiritual secrets to some, but hid them, not without justice, from others; and when I rejected some, and united others within the Church with the consent of unity. But since the Holy Church, being rejected by the unbelief of the Jews, went to the pagans so that they would join her bosom (which was done not by her own power, but by the power of the Lord), here it is rightfully added: Verse 39. Will you capture prey for the lioness and fill the souls of her cubs (Job 38:39) 2976? 25. She is undoubtedly the lioness that Job spoke about when he saw how proud Judea did not pay attention to the preaching of the Church: “The skirmishes did not trample her, and the jackal did not walk on her” (Job 28:8). That is why the Lord captures prey for this lioness in order to fill the souls of her children, because in order for the Church to increase, He led many away from the pagan world, and satisfied the thirsty wishes of the Apostles with new souls. For they are in fact called the children of the lioness from the tenderness of their minds and the weakness of their fear, because after the Lord suffered, they sat with their doors closed, as it is written about them: “On the same first day of the week in the evening, while the doors of the house where his disciples were assembled were shut for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst of them” (John 20:19) 2977. Where does this also come from about these same lion cubs: Verse 40. When they are in their dens, set an ambush in their caves (Job 38:40) 2978. 26. For until the holy Apostles rebelled against the limbs of the devil with the voice of a simple sermon and strengthened themselves until after the Passion of the Lord by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, preached about their Redeemer with firm authority, they still lay in wait, as in a den against their opponents. For when the doors were locked, these cubs, who were just about to ravage the world, were hidden in some secret caves: in order that they could then boldly seize the spoils of the souls that were surely hidden, fearing the threats of the outer world. These cubs in ambush behind these closed doors longed for our death so that they could destroy our guilt and kill all the sinful life within us. And the leader of the cubs, a hungry but still vigorous puppy, was told, when the pagans were placed before him on a linen covering and the sacrifice was pointed out to him: “Kill and eat” (Acts 10:13) 2979. These cubs, although they were still weak, being in their dens, were told by the voice of the Lord: “Stay here for now, until you have power from on high” (Luke 24:49) 2980. Are they incorrectly called the cubs of a lioness, who, being born in the Church, grabbed the opposite world with their lips? 27. And we know that all these deeds were done by the holy Apostles, and we see that they were done by excellent teachers. For, although they are teachers of the people who follow them, they are still the sons of those who go ahead, and therefore they are incorrectly called cubs. Or, certainly because they are teachers of certain believers, they still boast of being disciples of the universal Church. And God thus seizes prey for the lioness, because by the benevolence of His inspiration He restrains the life of sinners from committing mistakes, He fills the souls of her lion cubs; because by converting many, he satisfies the holy aspirations of teachers. About these cubs it is rightly related: They are hidden in their dens, waiting in their caves. For not all seasons are suitable for teaching. For the meaning of a statement is lost if it is said outside the appropriate time. And very often even what is said softly is animated in a way that does not correspond to the appropriate time. Thus, he knows how to speak correctly, he also knows at what time it is better to remain silent. For what is the use of reproaching an evil person at a time when, with an alienated mind, he is not only unable to hear the words of others, but is also unlikely to be able to hear himself. For the one who reproaches an evil person, reproaching him, is as if blowing on a drunken person who does not feel anything. Thus, teaching others in order to reach the hearts of listeners must take into account what time is most suitable for this. Therefore, it was beautifully said about these cubs: They are hidden in their dens, waiting in their caves. For when holy teachers comprehend those things that they should condemn, they close themselves in silence in their thoughts, as if they were hiding in caves and taking refuge in dens; because they are hidden in their thoughts. But when they find the right time, they suddenly come out, they do not suppress anything that needs to be said, and they seize the necks of the arrogant with heavy reproof. Thus, the Lord daily captures prey for this lioness - either the Apostles, or the teachers whom He appointed in the place of the Apostles, and besides those whom He captured, He also does not cease to capture others. For for this purpose the righteous capture the sinners of this world, so that others, when they are converted, may also come out of this world. So, after the pagan world was seized by the holy lips of the Apostles, it now became rapacious with the same hunger, since it itself was desired by the Apostles. Thus, it is also rightfully included here: Verse 41. Who will prepare food for the raven when his chicks cry to God, wandering because they have no meat (Job.38:41) 2981? 28. For what does the image of a raven and its chicks represent if not the pagan world, black with sins? About which the prophet said: “Who gives their food to the beasts, and to the young ravens that call upon Him” (Ps. 146:9) 2982? For the beasts receive food when previously cruel minds are satisfied with the food of the Holy Scriptures. But food is given to the young ravens, namely the sons of the pagans, when their aspirations are renewed by our conversion (the alternative to “talking”). This raven was food at the time when the Holy Church was looking for it. But now he is getting food because he is looking for others to convert. 29. And his chicks are the holy preachers who originate from him; they believe earnestly not in themselves, but in the power of their Redeemer. It was rightly said here: When his chicks cry to God. For they know that with their strength they cannot do anything. And although in their good intentions they long for the strengthening of souls, yet they desire that these phenomena be forged by Him Who creates everything within. For they understand with true faith that “therefore the one who plants is nothing, but God who restores everything” (1 Cor. 3:7) 2983. 30. But by what was said: wandering because they have no meat, it only means that these wanderings are the desires of thirsty preachers. For while they long for people to come into the fold of the Church, who will be warmed with great warmth, now they put forward their desires to gather them here and there. It is precisely this agitation of the mind that is, in a way, wandering; and they come to different places, changing their will; and they go here and there, with eager minds and in countless ways, and to different parts of the world, in order to unite souls together. 31. The wandering raven chicks are the sons of the pagans, trained by the teacher of the pagans himself. In relation to the love with which he burns, he wanders from place to place; he wants to go from place to place because the very love that fills him moves him. For when he is away from the Romans, he writes: “I constantly remember you, always asking in my prayers that the will of God may one day prosper me to come to you, for I greatly desire to see you” (Rom. 1:9-11) 2984. While in Ephesus, he writes to the Corinthians: “Behold, for the third time, I am ready to go to you” (2 Cor. 12:14) 2985. And again, lingering in Ephesus, he says to the Galatians: “I would like now to be with you and change my voice” (Gal. 4:20) 2986. When he was also locked up in Rome, close to being imprisoned because he was not allowed to go to the Philippians himself, he promises to send a follower, saying: “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I also, having learned about your circumstances, may be comforted in the spirit” (Phil. 2:19). While he was chained and held in Ephesus, he wrote to the Colossians: “Even though I am absent in body, I am with you in the Spirit” (Col. 2:5) 2987. See how he wanders, in his holy pursuit, he is here imprisoned in the body, he is led there in the Spirit; and he shows the caress of the Father’s love to those present, tells about it to those absent, bestows his deeds on those who are before him, expresses his desires to those who only hear him (this interpretation in almost all copies is also offered to those “absent”); truly present to those with whom he was and absent to those with whom he was not. But we will know the better meaning of his wanderings if we consider his further words to the Corinthians, for he says: “I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia; but perhaps I will remain with you even in winter” (1 Cor. 16:5–6) 2988. I beg you, let us consider what this wandering is. Look, in one place he stays for a short time, in another he says that he will go, and in a third he promises that he will deviate from the path. Why is he so impatient to go to different places, except that he is bound by one love everywhere? For love, which unites all that has been separated, is the heart of Paul, which is divided among many. And he gathers everyone together the closer to God, the wider he scatters his heart in his holy intentions. Paul wants to tell everything in his sermons, to embrace all people with his love; because he wants to live for everyone, remaining in the flesh, and to do good to everyone, sacrificing faith, outside the flesh. Thus, let the cubs of the raven wander, that is, let the sons of the heathen imitate their master, let them cast off the torpor from their minds, and when they find no soul, that is, their food, let them know no rest; let them be drawn to promotion after promotion; and while laboring for the benefit of others, let them wander hungry for their own food. But, in running hither and thither with acts of preaching, they will not be able to feed the world of the pagans with the food of faith, and let it be rightly said: Who will prepare food for the raven when its chicks cry to God, wandering because they have no meat (Job.38:41) 2989? 32. But the name “crow” can also designate Jews – black from unbelief. For it is said that their children cry to God, and that food for this very raven can be prepared by God; undoubtedly, because the holy Apostles, born from the flesh of the people of Israel, pouring out their prayers to the Lord for their people, fed them like parents with spiritual wisdom, just as raven chicks feed on those from whose flesh they were born. While the cubs are screaming, food is provided to the raven; because while the Apostles are pleading with the people who were previously unbelievers, they are coming to the knowledge of faith; and then the people preach with the voice of fed young ones, with the voice of the young. But in this verse we must carefully note the essence of what is said about the food that is prepared for the raven, first when its chicks cry, and then when they wander. For food is prepared for the raven while its chicks are calling, while the Apostles are preaching in Judea, which, having heard the word of God, was filled with spiritual wisdom, first in the number of three, and then in the number of five thousand. But when, because of the multitude of outcasts, she tested her cruelty against the preachers, and destroyed, as it did, the lives of the raven's chicks, they were scattered throughout the whole world. When they also say to their fathers in the flesh, when they opposed their spiritual preaching: “We must speak the word of God to you first, but since you reject it and make yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46) 2990, knowing for sure that after the Gentiles believe, Judea will also come to faith. About which it is also written: “Until all the Gentiles enter, so will all Israel be saved” (Rom. 11:25–26) 2991. Therefore, the holy Apostles especially tried, first to preach to those who heard them, and then to reach those who resisted the example of the converted pagans; The hungry chicks searched for food for this raven, first screaming and then wandering. For the raven finds food where the young wander; for while the Jews watched the Gentiles turn to God through the work of the preachers, they blushed at the stupidity of their own unbelief, and then understood what was written in the Holy Scriptures and realized that it was known to the Gentiles before they themselves. And when the wanderings of the young were over, the Jews opened the mouth of their hearts to taste the holy word; and when the mission of the Apostles throughout the world was completed, they at last spiritually understood all those things from which they had long abstained due to their bondage of unbelief. But, since only the benefactor of the Divine Power influences all these phenomena, it was rightly said here: Who will prepare food for the raven when its chicks cry to God, wandering because they have no meat? Now you understand that except Me, Who tolerates unbelieving people when their sons beg them, and feeds them with sermons, and supports them, no one can convert them to faith at the end of the wanderings of this life. 33. There is a further understanding of the image of this raven in a moral sense. For while the chicks have just hatched and are falling, they must be given food in full until they fledge black; and they must be allowed to suffer from the desire to eat until their own likeness appears in them as the blackness of wings. But they wander back and forth in the nest, and look for the support of food with open beaks. But as soon as they begin to turn black, the more willingly they strive for the food that will be given to them, the less often they receive it. Every trained preacher who cries with a loud voice, remembering his own sins and knowing his own infirmities, like a kind of black shade of color, is certainly a raven. The disciples are certainly born into the faith, but perhaps they still do not know how to view their own weakness; perhaps they will turn away from their memory of their past sins, and thus show the wrong blackness of humility which should oppose the pride of this world. But they open their mouths to receive food when they seek to learn about sublime mysteries. But their own teacher provides the more scanty food of sublime mysteries, the more he realizes that they lament their past sins disproportionately. He laments for them truly, he warns them that they must first become black, from the brightness of this life, lamenting for repentance, and then, subsequently, receive suitable nourishment from the most subtle sermons. The raven looks at his chicks with open beaks, but first he looks to see that their bodies are covered with the blackness of their wings. Likewise, a teacher who is too reserved does not share his understanding of inner secrets with those who, he believes, are not ready to go out into this world. Therefore, the less his disciples are outwardly black, through attachment to real life, the less they are filled with the food of the word inside, and the less they deprive themselves of bodily glory, the more they are deprived of spiritual food. 34. But if in confession about their past life they bring forward moans and cries, like darkened plumage, the teacher immediately flies in contemplation to bring food from above, like a raven who thinks about food for his chicks; and brings them in his beak the food that they so thirst for: with the wisdom with which he began (alternative: “received”), he provides food for his hungry disciples with his teaching. And he feeds them the more willingly from above, the more he realizes that with cries of repentance they have become blackened by the brightness of the world. 35. But while the young fledge with the dark shades of their wings, they also make a promise of flight; because the more students think basely about themselves, the more they despise and pacify themselves, the more they hope for advancement to something higher. And the teacher also takes care of feeding them faster, those who, as he sees from certain signs, are able to help others. Consequently, Paul exhorts Timothy to nurture the new chicks with greater care, at which time he says: “Whatever you have heard about me with many testimonies, these you entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2) 2992. And while this right to teach is reserved for the preacher, the more comprehensive gift of preaching is given to him from above. For while he knows, through love, how to sympathize with his suffering disciples, while through prudence he understands what is the right time for teaching, he enjoys the great gifts of his understanding, not only to himself, but also to those to whom he devotes all the pains of his work. It is also rightly said here: Who will prepare food for the raven when his chicks cry to God, wandering because they have no meat? For while the little ones are crying to be fed, food is being prepared for the raven; for while attentive hearers hunger for the word of God, great gifts of understanding are given to their teachers to satisfy their hunger. What follows: Verse 1. Do you know the time when wild goats (ibises) will appear in the rocks, or have you seen their females give birth (Job.39:1) 2993? 36. The southern part of the world calls the birds that inhabit the Nile streams “ibises.” But the eastern and western parts call the small quadrupeds that come out on the rocks “ibises” as well, because they can only live on rocks. And if they ever fall, even from the highest mountain peaks, they remain unharmed because they are saved by their own horns. For, when falling, they stretch out their heads, expose the tips of their horns to the blow, and thus avoid injury. Females have a habit of destroying snakes they find and mutilating limbs with their bites. But it was said that whenever they cross a river, they always transfer the weight of their heads to the backs of those who walk in front of them, and, taking turns, they do not feel the weight of the weight at all. Why then does blessed Job doubt the wild goats and their females, and their appearance, except that the wild goats and females signify the character of the spiritual teachers? For they do appear like wild goats on the rocks; because by the teaching of their fathers, who are called rocks for their firmness, they bring souls to conversion. They, like wild goats, do not feel the loss of falls when they catch themselves on their own horns; because no matter what temporary destruction is sent to them, they always support themselves with the help of the covenants of the Holy Scriptures, as if caught by their own horns, they are saved. For it is said about these covenants: “The horns are in his hands” (Hab.3:4) 2994. They resort to the comfort of Scripture when faced with the losses of the temporary fall. But Paul did not catch himself on his own horns as he fell like the wild goats as he drowned through the troubles of this world; when he said: “Whatever has been written, it has been written for our learning, so that through patience and the comfort of the Scripture we may have hope” (Rom. 15:4) 2995. They are also called females, as Jeremiah said about the teachers who carelessly abandoned the children they bore: “The female gives birth in the field and abandons the child” (Jer. 14:5) 2996. They, like females, live on destroyed sins, like on dead snakes, and from this very destruction of sins, they burn more willingly towards the fountain of life. Here the psalmist says: “As the heart is drawn to fountains of water, so is my soul drawn to Thee, O God” ( Ps. 41:2 ) 2997 . They too, when they pass over the sliding moments of this earthly state, like streams, they shift their burdens to each other, compassionate with love; because they follow with careful contemplation what is written: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2) 2998. But, since after the coming of the Lord spiritual teachers were scattered throughout the world, those who, with their spiritual preachings, carried out the hard work of converting souls, and because this very time of the Incarnation of the Lord was not known before the voices of the Prophets, although the coming of His Incarnation was known in advance to the chosen ones, blessed Job doubted the time of the appearance of mountain goats and their females, and it was said to him: Do you know the time when wild goats (ibises) will appear in the rocks, or have you seen Do you know how their females produce offspring? As it was said to him: You believe in yourself that you are acting in a sublime way, because you cannot yet foresee the time when the spiritual teachers sent into the world give birth to children with the truth of the ancient fathers, and through their labors gather together for Me an increase of souls. For when you see their fruits, like the offspring of wild goats and their females, then you will begin to think very modestly about your own beneficence. For the great deeds we perform are considered very small by us when we balance them with nobler examples. But then they are increased in dignity by God when, through our humility, they become less significant to us. 37. We portray teachers as “females” and listeners as “wild goats,” which are very small animals. But wild goats appear on the rocks because they are made very fruitful in performing good deeds, following the example of the previous fathers, because if they hear by chance the sublime commandments and, realizing their own weakness, doubt their ability to fulfill them, they can look at the deeds of their ancestors, and seeing their courage, do good deeds. For if we speak of a few cases among many, the diligent reader may learn much in a few words; when such a man is confronted with hurtful words, and is unable to maintain the virtue of patience, let him remember the deeds of David, who, when Shimei attacked him with so many insults and the armed commanders wanted to deal with him, said: “What has this to do with me, sons of Zeruehn? What he curses is the Lord who told him: “Curse David!” And who will say: “Why did you do this” (2 Samuel 16:10) 2999? And a little later: “Leave him and let him curse, for the Lord commanded him so!” Perhaps the Lord will have mercy on me in my trouble and return me goodness this day instead of curses” (2 Samuel 16:11–12) 3000. By these words he clearly shows that when his sons rebelled against him, in accordance with the sins committed with Bersheba, he imagined in his mind all the evil that he had committed; he patiently realized all that he had heard; and he realized that offensive words could be not so much reproaches as means of help, with which, he believed, he could cleanse himself and pardon would be shown to him. For then we patiently bear the reproaches heaped upon us when we return to the secrets of our minds and realize what we have done wrong. For this will seem to us a light burden that we bear undeservedly, when in our behavior we find something for which we should be punished much more severely. And thus we come to believe that these attacks deserve our gratitude rather than our anger, whose appearance we believe that more severe punishment can be avoided at the time of God's judgment. 38. See, while one man is advancing in worldly prosperity, he feels the provocations of the attack of the desires of lust, as the joy of his heart indulges his desires; but he retains in his memory the behavior of Joseph, and maintains himself in the stronghold of chastity. For he, seeing that his mistress persuades him to lose his chastity, says: “Behold, my master, who gave me everything, does not know what he has in his house, and there is nothing that is in my power, or that he has not given me, except you, who are his wife, how can I do this evil and sin against my master” (Gen. 39: 8-9) 3001? These words show one who suddenly brought out in his mind the good deeds he had acquired and conquered the evil that attacked him, and one who, in view of the good he had received, overcame the power of inevitable sin. For when slippery pleasure attacks us in abundance, this very abundance must resist the bites of temptation in order to make us ashamed to commit sins; the more we appeal to our minds, the more opportunities we have to receive gifts from God, and we can transform the gift of outward blessing that has been presented into the embrace of beneficence; and what we receive can appear before our eyes, and we can overcome what entices us. For since pleasure itself arises from prosperity, it must defeat us with that same prosperity, in order that our enemy may perish from that in which it originates. For we must use this consideration so that we do not turn into sin the gift that we have received and so that the whirlpool of evil does not consume us through the goodness of life. For we inevitably kindle the wrath of the Heavenly Judge against ourselves when, even having all His bounties, we fight against His goodness. 39. Another man, who longs for the sweetness of inner knowledge, but is unable to comprehend its secrets, looks to the life of Daniel as a model and comprehends the height of wisdom. For he is indeed the one who was subsequently called by the voice of the angel, in accordance with his desire for inner knowledge “the man/man of desires” (Dan.10:11) 3002, it was also said: “he determined in his heart not to be defiled by the food from the king’s table and by the wine that the king drinks, and therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs that they would not defile him” (Dan.1:8) 3003 for so that he can comprehend the pleasure of internal food, at a time when he deprives himself of the pleasure of external food, and so that he can enjoy the taste of wisdom within the more firmly, the more firmly he limits himself to the carnal taste, for the sake of this wisdom. For if we deprive ourselves of carnal tastes, we find spiritual pleasure. For if the outer wanderings are closed, the inner peace for the sincerity of the mind lies open. For the more the mind is unable, due to its discipline, to expand outside itself, the more it is able to expand and move beyond itself: because even a tree is forced to grow in height and it cannot expand its branches to the sides; and when we prevent the fountain from flowing, we cause the streams to flow even higher. And while thinking people look to the lives of the Saints as a model, the wild goats plant their children on the rocks. And so Paul called on his listeners to appear on the rocks in the image of wild goats, when, after enumerating the benefactors of their ancestors, he said: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every burden and the sin that besets us, and let us run with eagerness the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1) 3004. And again: “and considering the end of their lives, imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7) 3005. 40. But when we comprehend God's commandments in our hearts, they do not immediately appear there, tightly packed and analyzed by the mind. Also, blessed Job does not doubt the appearance of wild goats, but he thinks about the time of their appearance. For, in fact, we are hardly aware of this time in ourselves, we are much more aware of it in the consciousness of others. For the seeds of heavenly fear originate in the womb of the heart, then they remain there by constant meditation in order to remain there; then, when they are there kept by the clear attention of thought, they continue to cling to our thoughts, they are formed, so to speak, into a limb, and then, after they have been hardened by the habit of preservation, they become hard bones, but at the end, when they become strong with perfect power, they ascend, so to speak, to birth. But no one watches how these Divine seeds grow in the heart of another, except Him, Who creates them. Although we know, from the evidence of certain facts, that man has realized the power of heavenly desire, yet we cannot say anything when it comes to birth. 41. But seeds which have been conceived in the mind often fail to come to perfection because they precede the proper time of their birth. And because they appear before the eyes of man not yet fully created in thought, they die, as if born untimely. For human language often extinguishes virtues while they are still very fragile, when it praises them as if they were already very strong. For they perish the more quickly the more inopportunely they appear to receive their praise. But when our imperfect and weak thoughts appear before man too soon, they are dissipated by the attacks of enemies, and when they tend to appear and exist prematurely, they themselves become the cause of their disappearance. But since holy men take care that their good thoughts gain strength in secret, they first form the offspring that are about to be born in the womb of their minds; blessed Job rightly doubts the time of their appearance, because it is unknown to anyone, except the Creator, what is the right time for this. Only He, when He looks into the recesses of the heart, determines at what time it is necessary to show good deeds for the knowledge of people. Thus, it was rightly said: Do you know the time when wild goats (ibises) will appear in the rocks? It is as if He openly said: as I, Who bring forth offspring for the elect, that they may live, because they appear at a time that is known in advance. But when the birth of the listeners was completed, it is rightfully included here: Or have you seen how their females give birth to offspring? For to watch how females give birth to offspring is to carefully examine those acts of parents who give birth to spiritual children. 42. For we must carefully note the strict conformity of the language of the phrase when it was said: Have you seen? Because, in fact, it is the habit of very few to realize what labors in the preaching of the Fathers, with what pain and effort they cultivate souls in faith and in conversation, with what careful circumspection they watch over themselves, that they can be decisive in their commands, sympathetic in their weaknesses, fearful in their threats, gentle in their exhortations, humble in the exercise of their authority, powerful in their contempt of temporal goods, unbending in their endurance of adversity, and even weaker when they attribute their own strengths to others; how great is their pain of sympathy for those who fall, how great is their fear for those who stand, with what ardor they try to get what they want, with what anxiety they guard others who have already received it. Because it is the habit of the few to realize all this, it was well said to him: Or have you seen how their females give birth to offspring? 43. But it is not objectionable that God, speaking about teachers, describes them in the image not of males, but of females. Because, undoubtedly, they are true teachers who both know how to be fathers with the energy of their discipline and know how to be mothers with the help of their compassionate bosoms. Those who endure the labors of holy conception and bear children in the womb of love on the road to God. For in the reproduction of offspring, mothers do a greater job - those who carry the growing fetus in their womb for many months, and who give birth to it, not without great pain when it comes out of the womb. Also included here with separate consideration: Verse 2. Have you counted the months of their conception (Job 39:2) 3006? 44. For when holy people think about the perfection of their listeners, they already bear the conception, as it were, in their womb. But when they put off those things that ought to be said, and look for a suitable time for exhortation, they linger, so to speak, with the languid length of months, in the work of this birth, which yearns to be realized. And often, when they are reluctant to express some of their feelings to their hearers at the wrong time, by this very slowness in expressing their statements, they are strengthened in greater wisdom both to give their advice and to reprove errors. And while the life of their children is taken into account, the tongue does not utter the thoughts of the mind ahead of time, the offspring that has already been conceived grows in the womb so that the mood of their hearts then comes out to the knowledge of the hearers, being spoken with benefit, it can live as if the time had come for its birth. But, since people do not know how or when these things happen in the minds of teachers, but God, for the glory of reward, takes into account not only the influence of thoughts, but also time; It was truly said to blessed Job: Have you counted the months of their conception? Do you understand, like I do, Who takes into account not only the fruits of the external acts of the holy preachers, but also their long internal contemplations; The One who also takes them into account for reward. 45. Months, since they are a collection of days, count virtues that are clear to understand. Every month a new moon is also born; and there are no obstacles to this if the creation of an update is counted over months. What the Apostle Paul says: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creation” (Gal.6:15) 3007. Thus, when holy people prepare themselves for preaching, they first renew themselves in virtues so that their lives will be consistent with what they teach through words. First they consider their inner state, cleanse themselves from all impurities and sin, paying special attention to shining the light of patience against anger; so that even the purity of the heart may shine against lust; to be bright with zeal against torpor; to shine with serene heaviness against confused movements; to shine with true humility against pride; but against the fear of being dazzling rays of power. Thus, because they first accumulate such attention to themselves, months of virtue pass from the time, so to speak, of the conception of the sacred sermon. And only the Lord counts these months, because no one except Him, Who gave these virtues, values ​​them in their hearts. And because the appearance of fruits follows the measure of their virtues, here it is rightfully included; Do you know the time when they will appear? ( Job 39:2 ) 3008 46. Do you understand How I, Who, when I count the months in the thoughts of benefactors, I know when they may appear, what desire to fulfill, because, undoubtedly, while I look at the secrets of the heart, I judge by the weight of thoughts inside and without the future results of deeds. What follows: Verse 3. They bend to birth, and appear, and utter roars (Job.39:3) 3009. 47. For they roar truly while they bend down and bring the souls of their listeners in a conversation of light, because they cannot free us from eternal punishments except through tears and pain. For holy preachers are now sowing tears in order to later reap a harvest of joys. Now they are like females giving birth in pain, in order to later be fertile spiritual offspring. For, to speak of one among many, I see Paul as a snarling female who experiences great pain in childbirth. He says: “My children, for whom I am in the throes of being born again, until Christ is in you, I desire to be with you now, and to change my voice, since I am confused by you” (Gal. 4:19–20) 3010. Behold, he desires to change his voice in labor, so that the voice of preaching may change into a roar of pain. He wishes to change his voice, because those whom he had already brought out by preaching, he brought back again with groans in forming them anew. What a roar did this female in labor make when she was forced to exclaim to these same people, returning, saying: “O foolish Galatians! Who deceived you? Are you so foolish that, having begun in the spirit, you are now ending in the flesh? " ( Gal. 3:1-3 ) 3011 Or, certainly: "You went well; who stopped you from obeying the truth? (Gal.5:7) 3012. What roar was there in the pains of birth of this female, who had brought forth with so many difficulties her offspring, so long conceived, and who knew that they had returned, after a long appearance, to the womb of malice? Let us consider what pain, what labor she endured, which, after she had the power to give birth, that she conceived, was again obliged to resurrect them when they died. 48. But we must especially carefully observe that these females bend during childbirth; undoubtedly, because they will not have the strength to give birth if they stand upright. For if the holy preachers had descended from this infinity of inner contemplation that embraces them, not flexible, as they were, to our weakness, in modest preaching, they would certainly never have given birth to sons in the faith. For they could not benefit us if they continued to preach from their heights. But let's see how the female bends to give birth. She says: “I could not speak to you as spiritual, but as carnal; as with the babes in Christ, I have given you milk and not meat” (1 Cor. 3:1–2) 3013. And now he mentions the reasons for this bend: “For you were not yet able, and even now you are not able” (ibid.). But this female, who was bending, now, seeing those standing, says: “But we preach wisdom among the perfect” (1 Cor. 2:6) 3014. And again: “If we lose our temper, it is for God’s sake” (2 Cor. 5:13) 3015. But when it is “losing oneself, then for God,” we are not able to comprehend this strongest emotion at all. Therefore, for us, so that we can understand and realize - they are humble. Therefore, in this place it is immediately rightly added: if you are modest, then for your cause (2 Cor. 5:13). For if holy men were to choose to preach to us those things which they hear when they are in a state of intoxication with heavenly contemplation, and they cannot sufficiently moderate their knowledge in a certain moderation and abstinence, who could receive these streams of the heavenly source, in the still existing channel of his understanding? But these bent females are called elsewhere “heaven” about which it is said: “Bend down your heavens, O Lord, and come down” (Ps. 143:5) 3016. For when the heavens bend down, the Lord descends, because when holy preachers bend themselves in their preaching, they pour the knowledge of God into our hearts. For the Lord does not always descend to us if His preachers remain adamant in the severity of contemplation. The heavens are therefore bent for the Lord to descend, the females are bent for us to be born into the new light of faith. These bent females in the Song of Songs are called the breasts of the Bride, as it is written: “Your breasts are better than wine” (Song.1:1) 3017. For they are the breasts, which, being fixed in the container of the womb, feed us with milk; because she herself unites with the mysteries of sublime contemplation and feeds us with subtle preaching. Thus, in order to bring us back from the eternal moaning and pain, females now bend over and growl in labor. But since these same people, who were born by the sacred preaching of the fathers, sometimes precede their teachers in suffering, so that while they still remain in this life, they themselves already end in martyrdom, this follows: Verse 4. Their children are weaned, and go to their pastures; they go out and do not return to them (Job 39:4) 3018. 49. The words of Scripture “pastures” are the food of evergreen, where our food will never again wither due to any dryness of failure. The psalmist said about this pasture: “The Lord rules over me and I will not need anything. He has placed me in a place of pasture” ( Ps. 22:1–2 ) 3019 . And again: “But we are his people and the sheep of his pasture” (Ps. 99:3) 3020. And about these pastures, undoubtedly, the Truth Itself says: “By me, if anyone enters, he will be saved, and will go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9) 3021. That's why they go to the pasture, because as soon as they come out of their bodies, they find this food of evergreen. They go forward and do not return because when they are frozen in the contemplation of joy, they no longer need to hear the words of the teachers. Having gone ahead in this way, they no longer return, because, running away from the difficulties of this life, they no longer demand from the teachers the sermons of life. For then it is fulfilled that it is written: “Each person will no longer teach another, nor his brother, saying: “Know the Lord, for all will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,” says the Lord” (Jer. 31:34) 3022. Then what the Truth says in the Gospel is fulfilled: “I declare to you directly about My Father” (John 16:25) 3023. For the Son truly declares the Father, because, as we said before, that He is the Word, He illuminates us with the nature of the Godhead. For people do not seek the words of teachers, like streams from a person’s mouth, when they themselves have already been received from the wells of Truth Itself. After all the much that has been said, under the figurative meaning of the "bending" of females, regarding the benefactors of teachers, His words are now directed to the actions of those who seek the secret in a finished conversation, they are directed to those who receive everything by Divine help, and not by their own strength, and it was said by God: Verse 5. Who set the wild donkey free, and who loosened its reins (Job.39:5) 3024? 50. Understand, no one except Me. For the wild ass, which lives alone, signifies the life of those who live away from crowds of people. And he is rightly called free, because for him secular pursuits are a great burden, which severely tire the mind, although they are engaged in them on their own initiative. And in order to free yourself from this slavery, you must no longer desire a single thing in this world. For while people seek prosperity, they fear being oppressed by adversity, as if under the yoke of slavery. But as soon as anyone ever frees the neck of his mind from the power of temporary desires, he already enjoys a kind of freedom even in this life, since he is not influenced by the longing for happiness and is not restrained by the fear of adversity. The Lord saw this heavy yoke of slavery installed on the necks of the worldly people when He said: “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 in your souls, for My yoke is sweet and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30) 3025. For this, as we said, a heavy yoke, and the weight of heavy bondage, is a matter of temporary concern; achieve earthly goods; store things that slip away; the desire to stand on something that cannot stand; look for the disappearing; not wanting to come to terms with what is passing. For all things, contrary to our desires, disappear; all those things that saddened the mind with the anguish of their acquisition, subsequently oppress it with the fear of loss. Thus, the one who, freed from earthly desires, becomes free, within the limitations of the mind, from the thirst for earthly goods is liberated. And who loosened his reins? Nobody but Me. 51. But the reins of each are loosened when, by Divine help, the inner attachment to carnal desires is torn asunder. For when the sacred intention calls for conversion, but the weakness of the flesh still contradicts this intention, the soul is fettered and hindered, as it was, by certain fetters. For we often see many who thirst for a holy life, but on the one hand they are afraid of the onset of present failures, and on the other hand, future adversities, and they are not able to achieve it. And while they wait impatiently, as if with caution, evil with uncertainty (read “incerta” - doubt), they remain in the shackles of their own sins. For they see many things before their eyes, and they are afraid that during their lifetime they will not be able to prevent them from arising. About whom Solomon rightly says: “The way of the lazy is like a wattle fence” (Proverbs 15:19). For when they seek the way of God, the suspicions of their fears stand in their way, and wound them like thorns that stand against them. But, since the elect are not accustomed to resist this obstacle, he further continues, adding: “The path of the righteous is without obstacles” (Prov. 15:19) 3026. For, no matter what adversity they encounter on their life’s path, the righteous will not stumble upon them. Because, cemented by eternal hope and eternal contemplation, they step over the obstacles of temporary adversity. Therefore the Lord loosens the reins of the wild ass as He breaks the chains of weak thoughts in the minds of each of His chosen ones and with kindness tears asunder all that has bound their enslaved minds. What follows: Verse 6. To whom have I given a house alone and his dwelling in the land of salt (Job 39:6) 3027? 52. Should we understand at this point the loneliness of the body or the loneliness of the heart? But what is useful to the loneliness of the body, does the loneliness of the heart want it? For he who lives physically removed from the world, but is still immersed in exile in human conversations with thoughts of worldly desires, does not eat alone. But if someone is physically oppressed by crowds of people and does not suffer from worldly worries in his heart, he is not in a populated city. Thus, for those to whom solitude of mind is first given, that they may overcome the rising din of worldly desires, that they may, by the grace of heavenly love, restrain the cares of the heart which bubble up from its very depths, and drive away from the eyes of the mind, by the hand of heaviness, all the movements of trifling thoughts, which behave intrusively, like flies that flutter about; then they can find for themselves some secret place with the Lord inside, there they can silently talk with Him about inner desires, when outwardly everything is still noisy. 53. It is said about this secret place in the heart: “And there was silence in the heavens for about half an hour” (Rev. 8:1) 3028. For the Church of the elect is called “heaven,” which, when raised to eternal and sublime truths by the height of contemplation, calms the disorder of thoughts that break out from below and creates silence of itself in God. And since this silence of contemplation cannot be perfect in this life, it was said that this silence became for half an hour. For while the stormy noises of thoughts push themselves into the mind against the will, they violently attract the attention of the mind, even if firmly focused on things above, in order to contemplate them again from earth. Further it is written: “The corruptible body burdens the soul, and the earthly dwelling drags down sensation, which depends on many things” (Wis. 9:15) 3029. This silence is well described by the fact that it was created not for a whole hour, but for “half an hour,” for contemplation here is never perfect, but it strives ardently for it. It is also accordingly described by the prophet Ezekiel, who testifies that he saw in the hands of a man a standard for a city built on a mountain - a reed of six cubits and five spans (Ezek. 40:5) 3030. For the Church is truly located on the mountain of the elect, because it is not founded on the lowest desires. But what does the word “cubit” show if not the work, but the number six shows the perfection of the work, because it was said that the Lord also completed His work on the sixth day? Thus, what does a span beyond six cubits suggest, if not the power of contemplation, which already shows us the beginning of the eternal and seventh day of rest? For because the contemplation of everything eternal is not perfect here, the measure of the seventh cubit is not completed. Because the Church of the elect accomplishes everything that needs to be done, the city appears as being built on six cubits on a mountain. But, since he sees here only the beginnings of contemplation, he will reach the seventh cubit only in time. 54. But, so that it is known, we will not all reach the height of contemplation if we do not refuse the oppression of external help. We do not look within ourselves at all to know whether there is one rational part in us that rules and another animal part that obeys, until we become dead to all external concerns, returning to the mystery of this silence. That our silence was well indicated about the sleeping Adam, from whose side a woman came (Gen. 2:21-22) 3031. For he who hastens to understand things within closes his eyes to external objects; and then he will be able to determine in himself those qualities that either must rule decisively, or those that are weak can be subdued; that there is one part of him that can control like a man, and the other can be driven, like a woman. In this silence of the heart, while we are awake with internal contemplation, we sleep, so to speak, externally. Because then, when people are divided, those who have freed themselves from carnal desires inhabit this silence of the heart, the Lord, therefore, gave this wild donkey a home alone, so that he could not be oppressed by the crowd of temporary desires. 55. It follows: And his dwellings are in the land of salt. Salt will not quench your thirst. And because holy people, as long as they live in the dwellings of this life, are inflamed by the daily warmth of their desire to reach the heavenly country, it is said of them that their dwellings are in the land of salt. For, in fact, they are constantly inflamed in order to feel thirst, so that their thirst may be satisfied, as it is written: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). What follows: Verse 7. He despises the people of the city (Job 39:7) 3032. 56. For to despise the people of the city is to avoid the evil pursuits of human conversation, that is, to no longer take pleasure in the imitation of good manners by worldly people, of which there is an abundance. For they desire to enter with a few into the narrow gate, and seek not with many the broad roads that lead to destruction. For they are carefully watched by the One for whom they were created, and those who have carefully examined the image they have received disdain to follow the vulgar herd. Where it was said by the voice of the Groom to the Bride, in the Song of Songs: “If you do not know yourself, O fairest of women, go ahead and follow in the footsteps of the flocks and feed your kids” (Song.1:7) 3033. For she, who is the most beautiful of all women, knows herself when every soul of the chosen, even if she is among sinners, remembers that she was created in the image and likeness of her Creator, and goes forward in the likeness in which she was created. But even if she does not know herself, she also goes forward, because, driven out of the secret place of her heart, she is scattered into external objects of desire. But when she has gone ahead, she follows in the footsteps of the herd, because it is by abandoning her inner thoughts that she is led to the broad road and follows the examples of other people. And she no longer feeds her baby goats, because she is trying to feed them not with harmless thoughts of the mind, but with evil movements of the flesh. Because then every chosen and chaste person will disdain to follow in the footsteps of the flock, and here it will be correctly said: He disdains the people of the city. And he also rightfully participates: He does not hear the cry of the one who demands. 57. Who can we understand by the image of the one who demands, if not the devil, who once in paradise offered a man a coin of devilish persuasion, and now daily strives to exact from him the payment of this debt. The word of this demander is the beginning of the devil's persuasion. The cry of this demander is a temptation, no longer gentle, but cruel. This is the cry of the demander when he powerfully tempts. Not hearing the cry of this demander is not at all giving consent to the manifestation of violent emotions of temptation. For a person will hear if he does the deeds that he intends to do. But when he despises the commission of iniquity, it has been rightly said here: He does not hear the cry of the one who demands. 58. But some people in this place are trying to understand what is meant by the image of a demander. For he exacts a kind of debt from us, because he demands even from nature the daily fruits of human labor to be spent on him. Although temperate people - those who can be characterized by the word "wild ass" - suppress their appetite by the force of desires, they despise, so to speak, the words of the indignant demander. But since many parades of virtues against countless vices fall to the lot of a chaste person, why in talking about shouting the demander is despised, does this mean that he restrains his impulse and attack; for the exception will be that man who receives the palm in the spiritual contest, until he first conquers the incentives of the flesh to which the lusts of the belly are subject? For we cannot withstand the conflict of spiritual competition until the enemy within, that is, the appetite of gluttony, is first defeated, because unless we overthrow those vices that are nearer to us, we can hardly attack those at a distance. For a war that is waged in vain on the plain against external enemies, if the treacherous citizen remains within the walls of the city. The mind itself is also kept from war by the grave shame of confusion, from participation in spiritual competition, when it is weak in the fight against the flesh, it is wounded in overcoming the swords of gluttony. For when he sees himself overwhelmed by trifles, he is ashamed to fight with more serious dangers. 59. But some, who do not know about the order of the competition, refuse to tame their appetite, and immediately begin the spiritual struggle. And although they sometimes exhibit many acts of great courage, the sin of gluttony controls them and therefore they lose, due to their infatuation with the flesh, everything that they boldly committed; and until the stomach is restrained, all their virtues will be overloaded at once with the lust of the flesh. It is also written here about Nebuchadnezzar’s victory: “The chief of the cooks destroyed the walls of Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 25:8) 3034. For what is written in Scripture and expressed by the walls of Jerusalem, if not the benefactor of the soul that strives to see the world? (Jer.52, 12. The Oxford Dictionary omits the word “de” – Genitive – whom? what?). Or who should be understood by the words “chief of the cooks” if not the stomach, which lends itself to the most conscientious care of the cooks? The chief of the cooks then destroys the walls of Jerusalem, because the stomach, when it cannot contain itself, destroys the walls of the soul. Hence it turns out that Paul takes away the strength of the chief of the cooks when he fought against the walls of Jerusalem, saying: “But I will subdue and enslave my body, so that, having preached to others, I myself will not remain unworthy” (1 Cor. 9:27) 3035. Therefore, he also gives an explanation, saying: “And therefore I do not run in the same way as, perhaps, I do not fight in such a way as to only beat the air” (1 Cor. 9:26) 3036. Because when we restrain the flesh, we hit with these blows of our abstinence not the air, but unclean spirits; and when we attack what is within us, we strike (pugnos - combat) the enemies from without. So, when the king of Babylon wants the furnace to ignite, he orders to bring a heap of what is burning, ropes and branches, and put it all in a pit. But, nevertheless, he does not burn the ascetic growth in this fire (Dan.4:27) 3037; because, notwithstanding that the ancient enemy presents unto our sight innumerable desires of dainties, in order to increase the fire of lust, yet the grace of the Holy Spirit glimmers in holy minds, that they may remain uninjured in the fire of carnal lust: so that, though the fire may burn so as to tempt the heart, this temptation, without our consent, will not reach its end. 60. We should also know that gluttony can tempt us in five ways. For, sometimes it predicts the time of desire, and sometimes it does not, and looks for edible delicacies. Sometimes it looks for something that can be taken and prepared more thoroughly, and sometimes it indiscriminately agrees with both the quality and timing of food, but exceeds the quantity that can be eaten for moderate satiety. But sometimes it even craves food of inferior quality, but still sins more fatally due to the ardor of unlimited desire. For, in truth, Jonathan deserved a death sentence from the lips of his father, because, having supplied the honey, he foresaw the time set for eating (1 Sam. 14:44) 3038. And the people who were brought out of Egypt perished in the wilderness, because they despised manna, for they sought carnal food, considering it more tasty. And the first fault of the sons of Elijah was that the servant, according to their desire, would not receive cooked meat for the priest according to the ancient tradition, but would seek raw meat in order to serve with greater refinement (1 Samuel 2:15) 3039. And when it was said to Jerusalem: “This was the iniquity of your sister Sodomy, pride, the fullness of bread and plenty” (Ezek. 16:49) 3040, and it was clearly shown that she had lost her salvation, because by the sin of pride she had exceeded the measure of moderate consumption. And Esau lost the glory of the first birth, because he desired the scanty food, namely, lentils, with great zeal; and even when he preferred this, even to the sale of his first birth, he showed with what eagerness he was suffocated thereafter (Gen. 25:34) 3041. For it is not food, but the desire to eat that is the fault. From where we also often take delicious food without accusations, and also take the taste of more meager food without any twinges of conscience. For this Esau, of whom we spoke, truly lost his birthright because of lentils, and Elijah retained the goodness of his body by eating flesh in the wilderness. Hence the ancient enemy, because he knows that it is not food, but the desire for food, that is the cause of the curse, and how the first man succumbed to temptation, but not with the flesh, but with an apple; and the temptation of the second man, not through the flesh, but through bread. Thus, it is Adam's sin that is committed even when scanty and useless food is consumed. For Adam was not the only one who was commanded to abstain from the forbidden fruit. For when the Lord points out foods that can harm our health, He, through a sentence, forbids us to eat them. For while we want to taste harmful food, what are we really doing if not eating what is forbidden? 61. Therefore, we must accept what the necessity of nature requires, and not what gluttony desires. But this is a great effort of discretion - to give this demander something, and, nevertheless, to deny him something: both to pacify gluttony, and, by giving, to support the nature of necessity. And perhaps this discretion is meant when it is said: And he does not hear the cry of the one who demands. For the words of this demander are a necessary requirement of nature. Therefore this wild ass hears the word of the demander, but does not hear his cry; because a person who is prudent and abstains and satisfies his stomach so as to moderate the need, and restrains it from pleasure. 62. But it should also be known that pleasure is disguised as necessity, so that even a perfect person may not see it. For while necessity asks to pay a debt, pleasure secretly demands the satisfaction of its desires; it advances its appetite the more fearlessly the more it hides it under the faithful representation of the discovery of necessity. But very often pleasure is hidden behind the process of eating, although sometimes it even brazenly strives to go ahead of it. But it is very easy to detect when pleasure anticipates its necessity, while it is very difficult to discern when it secretly connects itself with that food that is really necessary. For, because it follows natural appetite, which comes first, it seems, as it were, to move slowly behind. For while the demand of necessity is paid, because pleasure in the act of eating is mixed with necessity, it becomes unknown what necessity demands in itself, and what (as has already been said) pleasure secretly demands. But we often define them, and yet, knowing that they are mutually connected together, we take pleasure when, rushing outside our own limits, in which we are voluntarily deceived; and while the mind deceives itself with supposed necessity, it is deceived by pleasure. For it is written: “Do not make provision for the flesh’s desires” (Rom. 13:14) 3042. Therefore, everything that is forbidden to do in desire is collected in necessity. 63. But very often, while we cautiously indulge in necessity, we are enslaved by desires. And sometimes, when we strive to resist our desires too immoderately, we increase the misfortunes of necessity. For this is necessary for a person - to maintain the citadel of abstinence, as to destroy - but not the flesh, but the vices of the flesh. For often, if the flesh is too restrained, it becomes weak even to perform good deeds, so as not even to equal prayer or preaching, while it rushes to extinguish the incentives of vices in itself. For each person whom we hear externally is an assistant to our internal intention, and in him are combined both acts of depravity and an abundance of righteous deeds. But often, while we are attacking our enemy, we are killing the person we love; and often, while we pity the one we love, we encourage our enemy to fight. For our vices become pride on the same food on which our virtues feed and live. And when our benefactor is nourished, the strength of our vices often increases. But when unlimited abstinence weakens the power of vices, our virtue also becomes faint and suffocates. Hence it is necessary that our inner man should rule as an impartial judge between himself and those whom he hears from the outside; so that this person from the outside could both serve his appointed ruler, and would never proudly oppose this with an unrestrained neck; and would not move when he hears a whisper with any proposal, provided that he is always trampled under the heel of power with a seal on it. And thus, while we allow our vices, testing, to fight against us, and, at the same time, forbidding them to interact with us on equal terms, it turns out that neither our vices overcome our virtues, nor our virtue settles in the place of our extinct vices. In this way our pride alone (or “pride alone”) is completely extinguished, because although this may serve to achieve victory, there is still a long battle left for us to squeeze pride out of our thoughts. And therefore, because every abstinent person both meets the demands of necessity, and yet resists violent pleasure, in this place it was also rightly said by the voice of the Lord: He does not hear the cry of him who demands. But since a restrained person rises to an understanding of higher things, the more he suppresses the stimuli of the flesh; after the contempt of the cry of the demander, here it is rightfully added: Verse 8. He looks back towards the mountains of his flock (Job 39:8) 3043. 64. The mountains of his flock are high reflections of inner restoration. For the more holy people outwardly submit to contempt, the more abundantly they are supported in the contemplation of revelations. Where it is written: “As they pass through the valley of weeping, they open springs in it” (Ps. 83:7) 3044, because those whom the valley of humility outwardly encloses in tears, the ascent of contemplation elevates from within. The mountains of the flock are also the high ministry of angels; who restore us by serving and helping, because they nourish us with the inner dew of contemplation. And because, by the bounty of God, they protect us in every contest, it is well said of them that they see everything. For we see their presence in all directions around us, by whose defenses we are protected from our adversaries on all sides. The mountains of the flock can be perceived even further as the judgments of Holy Scripture, about which the psalmist said: “High mountains are for males” (Ps. 103:18) 3045, because those who already know how to take leaps of contemplation climb to the noble peaks of Divine judgments, as to the tops of mountains. And because the weak, in truth, cannot reach these heights, here we rightfully join: rocks are a refuge for sea urchins, because it is their understanding that does not sublimely test the weak, but only faith in Christ humbly holds them. It follows from this: He seeks every green thing (Job.39:8). 65. For, verily, all dried up things, which are created temporarily, are dried up from the sweetness of the present life before the coming end, as if under the summer sun. But those called green do not disappear away due to any difficulties of existence. Therefore, this wild ass seeks all green things - it is every holy man, despising passing things, seeks those that he will endure forever. But everything that has been said about the wild ass can be interpreted in another way as well. Which we will explain, repeating the previous verse, in order to leave it to the reader to judge what he considers preferable. And then, when the dispensation of preachers was described in the image of females, in order to show by Whom this very virtue of preaching was given, the mention of the Incarnation of our Lord is immediately added, therefore it was said: Verse 5. Who freed the wild donkey (Job 39:5) 3046? 66. And let no one consider it unworthy that the Incarnate Lord can be associated with such an animal, while it is recognized by all that He in the Holy Scriptures can in some sense be both a worm and a beetle. As it is written: “But I am a worm, and no one” (Ps. 21:7) 3047. And as the prophet said in the Septuagin: “The beetle cried out of the tree” (Hab. 2:11 3048, 70). Since then, He has been mentioned with such characteristic vile and humiliating things that offensive things have been said about Him, about Whom it is not customary to say anything inappropriate? For He is called a lamb, but this is because of His innocence. He is called a lion, but this is because of His power. He is also sometimes compared to a snake, but this is because of His death or because of His wisdom. And thus, He can be figuratively called all these, for none of these can be essentially Him. For, in fact, if He were one of all creatures, He could not be called anything else. For if He could be called a lamb, then He would not be called a lion. If He could be called a lion, then He would not be called a snake. But we call Him all these creatures figuratively, very distantly, the further they are from His essence. Therefore, the wild ass can represent the Incarnate Lord. For the wild ass is an animal of the fields. And because the Incarnate Lord favored the pagans more than the Jews, when, taking on a living body (“the body of an animal”), He went, as it was, not into a house, but into a field. The psalmist said about this field of the pagans: “The beauty of the field is with me” (Ps. 50:11) 3049. Therefore, the Incarnate Lord, Who in the form of God is equal to the Father, in the form of a servant is less than the Father, in whom He is also less than Himself. Let them then speak of the Father of the Son in the form of a servant: Who freed the wild ass and who loosened his reins? For everyone who sins is a slave of sin. And because the Incarnate Lord made us a part of our nature, and not of our sin, it was said that He was set free, since He was not under the power of sin. About Whom it is written in another place: “Free among the dead” (Ps. 89:5) 3050. It was said that He was set free because, taking our nature, He was not at all under the yoke of iniquity. And although the stain of our guilt did not touch Him, yet the suffering of our mortality bound Him. Hence it was also said that He was set free, and it was rightly added of Him: And who loosened His reins? 67. For His reins were truly loosened when the infirmities of His passion were changed for the glory of His Resurrection. For the Lord had those infirmities of our earthly condition, which we endure, as in the wilderness of our iniquity, as in, a kind of, reins with which He wanted to be bound at His own will, even to death, and which He miraculously weakened by His Resurrection. For to be hungry, to be thirsty, to be weary, to be bound, to be scourged, and to be crucified—these were the reins of our mortality. But when, after His death, the veil of the church was lifted, the rocks were split, the tombs were opened, the walls of hell were exposed, what other mighty power could be shown by these arguments than that which loosened the reins of our infirmity, that He who came to take upon Himself the form of a servant could return in freedom to heaven, even with His members? The Apostle Peter testifies of His reins, saying: “Whom God raised up, having loosened the bonds of hell, because it was impossible for Him to restrain Him” (Acts 2:24) 3051. And therefore, after His death and Resurrection, He called the pagans to the grace of faith, and after it was said that His reins were loosened, here it is rightly added: Verse 6. To whom have I given a house alone and his dwelling in the land of salt (Job 39:6) 3052? 68. For in the world of the pagans, in which there was neither a Patriarch nor a Prophet, there was hardly at least one person who wanted to gain knowledge about God. Isaiah said about this loneliness: “The desert and the land without roads will rejoice, and loneliness will rejoice and bloom like a lily” (Is. 35:1) 3053. And again it is said about the Church: “He will make her wilderness like a delicacy, and her solitude like the garden of the Lord” (Is. 51:3) 3054. But it is this very loneliness that, before knowing the true wisdom of God, it brought salt, as the land of salt was mentioned again; because the greenery of good understanding did not grow on it, and it savored only what was wrong. Therefore, he receives his home alone and his dwelling in the land of salt, because when God became incarnate for people, he left Judea and took possession of the hearts of the pagans. When it was said to Him by the voice of the Father through the Prophet: “Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession” (Ps. 2:8) 3055. Who, as He is God, gives all things with the Father, and He, as He is Man, receives all things from the Father, as it is written: “He hath given Him authority to judge, because He is the Son of man” (John 5:27) 3056. And it is written again: “Knowing that the Father has given all things into His hands” (John 13:3). Or, as He Himself says: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to Me” (John 6:37) 3057. But if we now ask what is the difference between a house and a dwelling, we will answer that a house is a place to live, and a home is a place to travel. Thus, by His coming He possessed the hearts of the Gentiles as if they were dwellings, but, strengthening them with righteousness, He made them His home, inhabiting it. And because He disdained to imitate the behavior of those to whom He came, here it is rightly added: Verse 7. He despises the people of the city (Job 39:7) 3058. 69. That is, He despises the customs of human conversation. For, being a Man among men, he refused to observe the customs of men. For therefore He was created Man among us, not only to redeem us by the shedding of His blood, but also to change us by example. By His coming He thus found one thing in our conversation, and taught another by His life. For all the descendants of the arrogant people of Adam sought to seek the prosperity of the present life, in order to avoid adversity, in order to escape from shame, in order to pursue glory. The incarnate Lord came among them through adversity, despising prosperity, receiving insults, leaving glory. For when the Jews wanted to make Him their king, He refused to be king. But when they sought to kill Him, He came of His own accord to the scaffold of the cross. Thus, He avoided what everyone was looking for, He looked for what everyone was avoiding, He showed everyone a miracle when He Himself resurrected after death, and His death resurrected others. For truly there are two lives for a person who lives in the body: one before death, and the second after resurrection; Almost everyone knows one, but they don’t know the second; and humanity directed its thoughts only to what it knew. The Lord came in the flesh, and while He took upon himself one thing, He pointed to another. While He took on what was known to us, He pointed out what was unknown to us. For by His death He lived the life that we possess, and by His Resurrection He showed us the life to which we should strive, showing us by His example that the life we ​​live before our death is to love not only ourselves, but to be tolerant of others. Because then, while conducting new conversations among the people, He did not follow the traditions of Babylon, it is well written about Him: He despises the people of the city. 70. Or, certainly, because He left many who wandered along the wide path and chose a few who walked through the narrow paths. For “to despise the people of the city” is to reject that part of His Kingdom, where there is a part of humanity that enters on the broad path, which is also many because of the abundance of unrighteousness. It follows from this: He does not hear the cry of the one who demands (Job.39:7) 3059. 71. As was said earlier, what kind of demander do we have in mind in this place if not the devil, who with his immoral persuasiveness achieved the hope of immortality, but by deceit obtained the tribute of death; whoever, through his conviction, has presented sin, seeks punishment through his cruelty. The word of this demander is his deft persuasion of a person before death, but his “cry” is his frantic seizure of a person after death. For with those whom he secretly intercepts before death, he insidiously hastens to share the punishment with them after death. But, because the Lord, approaching death, was not afraid of the violent attacks of this demander (as He Himself says: “For the prince of this world comes and has nothing in Himself” (John 14:30) 3060, then it was correctly said: He does not hear the cry of the one who demands. For the demander of humanity came to Him because he saw a man in Him. But the One whom he perceived as a man, despised His weakness, he felt with his strength that he was superior to man. 72. Laban undoubtedly represented this demander when, coming in anger, he demanded his idols that were with Jacob (Gen. 31:30) 3061. For Laban is interpreted as “whitening.” But the devil can be interpreted as a bleacher who, despite the darkness of the desert, transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) 3062. Jacob served him, that is, the Jewish people from part of the outcasts, from whose flesh the Lord Incarnate came. But this world can also be represented by Laban, who violently persecutes Jacob because he seeks to oppress by persecution all the elect who are members of our Redeemer. Jacob carried away the daughter of this man, that is, either the world or the devil, when Christ united in himself the Church from the world of the pagans. Whom he also takes away from her father’s house, because He tells her in the words of the Prophet: “Forget your people and your father’s house” (Ps. 44:11) 3063. But what do idols signify if not stinginess? When it was said by Paul: “And greed, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5) 3064. Therefore, when Laban came, he found no idols with Jacob, because when the devil showed the treasures of the world, he found no trace of earthly lust in our Redeemer (Gen. 31:33) 3065. But Rachel covered those idols that Jacob did not have while sitting (Gen. 31:34) 3066. For the image of Rachel, which also means “sheep,” signifies the Church. For sitting means seeking the humility of repentance, as it is written: “Rise up after you have sat down” (Ps. 127:2) 3067, and thus Rachel covered the idols while sitting, because the Holy Church, following Christ, covers the vices of earthly lust with repentance. The psalmist said about this covering of vices: “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered” (Ps. 31:1) 3068. That Rachel signified us covering idols, sitting on them, if we condemn the sins of self-interest by repentance. But this self-interest is not accustomed to fall to the lot of those who run, like people, along the path of the Lord, to whom it was said: “Walk courageously, and let Him strengthen your heart” (Ps. 30:25) 3069, but those who walk with a feminine step, as it was, are relaxed by the persuasion of the world. Also in the same place there are the words of this same Rachel: “According to the custom of women, this is now happening to me” (Gen. 31:35) 3070. That is why Laban does not find idols with Jacob, because the clever demander did not find anything to accuse our Redeemer. Of this demander the Prophet spoke to our Redeemer when He led the world of the Gentiles out of his dominion: “For thou must overcome the yoke of his burden, and the rod of his shoulder, and the scepter of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian” (Isa. 9:4) 3071. For the Lord, saving the world of the pagans, overcame the yoke of its burden when He, by His Coming, freed it from this slavery and tyranny of the devil. He overcame the rod of his shoulder as He withstood the blow, which was oppressively hard due to malice, from redeemed humanity. He overcame the scepter of the oppressor when He removed from the hearts of believers that kingdom of that devil, who, as usual, exacted the due tribute of punishment for the fatal commission of sins. 73. But let's hear how it happened. Here it is immediately added: As on the day of Midian. I think it will not be superfluous to consider in more detail this war of the Midianites, which were deliberately presented by the Prophet in comparison with the coming of the Lord. For in the book of Judges Gideon is described as a fighter against the Midianites (Judges 7:1–22) 3072. When he was leading a multitude of armies to war, he was commanded by Divine exhortation to remove from the battlefield all whom he saw coming to the water drinking the water while kneeling. And the result was such that only three hundred people remained, standing and drinking water, holding it in their hands. With these remaining people he proceeds to battle, but he arms them not with weapons, but with trumpets, lamps and jugs, and they held their trumpets in their right hand, and their jugs in their left, and, approaching their enemies, they blew the trumpets, they broke the jugs, and then the lamps appeared: and their enemies, on the one hand, alarmed by the sound of the trumpets, and on the other - by the radiance of the lamps, turned into escape. Why then does the prophet speak of this battle, and why is the victory of this battle compared to the coming of our Redeemer? Did the Prophet mean to show us that this victorious battle under Gideon was comparable to the coming of our Redeemer? Such actions undoubtedly show that the more they go beyond the normal way of fighting, the further they are removed from the secrets of prophecy. For who ever went into battle with pitchers and lamps? Who, going against weapons, refuses weapons? These things would seem absurd to us if they were not so terrible to our enemies. But we have learned, from the evidence of the victory itself, not to perceive these things as insignificant. Thus, Gideon, going into battle, personifies for us the coming of our Redeemer, of whom it is written: “Lift up, O princes, your gates, and be lifted up, your everlasting doors, and the King of Glory will enter. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord is strong and almighty. The Lord is almighty in battle" (Ps. 24:7-8) 3073. He prophesied about our Redeemer not only by his deeds, but also by his name. For Gideon is also spoken of as “walking in the womb.” For our Lord embraces everything with the power of His majesty, and yet He came, by the grace of God's providence, presupposing the nature of man in the womb of the Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Who is He who comes in the womb other than Almighty God, redeeming us by His own dispensation, embracing all with His Divinity and taking on human nature in the womb? In that womb in which He was both Incarnate and unlimited; because He was both inside the womb by the essence of His weakness, and outside the world by the power of His greatness. But Midian is interpreted as “from the court.” For the fact that His enemies were rejected and destroyed was not due to the imperfection of their conqueror, but because of His judgment, Who judges justly. And for this reason they are called “from judgment,” because, being alienated from the goodness of the Redeemer, they bear, even in their definition, the desert of just condemnation. 74. Gideon goes into battle with three hundred men against them. The completeness of perfection is usually perceived as the number “one hundred.” What else is signified by the number one hundred taken three times, if not perfect knowledge of the Trinity? For with those our Lord destroys the opponents of the faith, with those he meets in the competition of preaching, who are able to understand the Divine truth, who know exactly how to understand the Trinity, who God is. But we must note that this number three hundred consists of the letter Tau ("T" in the Greek, but not in the Hebrew sign), which resembles a cross. For if a transverse line were added to the protruding part of the cross, it would no longer resemble a cross, but would be a cross. Because then the number three hundred is in the letter Tau and by the letter Tau, as we have previously said, the similarity to the cross is set forth by those three hundred followers of Gideon, and these people are appropriately designated to whom it was said: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23) 3074. And they faithfully take up the cross, as they follow the Lord, the more severely they both humble themselves and experience the compassion of charity towards their neighbors. Where it was also said by the prophet Ezekiel: “Make a sign (Tau) on the foreheads of people who mourn and sigh” (Ezek.9:4) 3075. Or, of course, these three hundred, which are in the letter Tau, expresses that the enemy’s sword is overcome by the wood of the cross. And they came to the river to drink water; and he who knelt and drank water was removed from the battle of war. For waters signify the teaching of wisdom, and unbent knees signify righteous deeds. Thus those who were said to have knelt down while they drank water have escaped the quarrels of battle and have been forbidden, because Christ goes into battle against the enemies of the faith with those who drink the streams of doctrine without distorting the rightness of their actions. For it was said that at that time everyone drank water, but not everyone stood on unbent knees. And those who knelt while they drank water were rejected, because, as the Apostle testifies: “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be justified” (Rom. 2:13) 3076. For unbridled behavior, as we have already said, is personified by bent knees, and as Paul again rightly said: “Lift up your hanging hands and weak knees, and make straight steps with your feet” (Heb. 12:12-13) 3077. Thus they go, led by Christ as their leader, into battle, which manifests in their conduct what they profess with their lips, which spiritually drink the streams of doctrine and yet are not carnally corrupted by evil deeds, because, as it is written: “Praise is not fitting for the mouth of a sinner” (Sir. 15:9) 3078. 75. Thus they go to battle with trumpets, lamps and pitchers. This, as we have already said, was an unusual course of battle. They blew trumpets and held jugs in their left hands. But the lamps were placed inside the jugs, and when the jugs broke, the lamps appeared, and, with their shining light, the enemies were put to flight. Thus, the trumpets show the loud voice of the preachers, the lamps show the brightness of their miracles, and the jugs show the fragility of their bodies. For our Leader, led forward by Him, to the competition of preaching, creating the light of their bodily security, will overthrow his enemies to death, and defeat their swords, but not with weapons, not with words, but with patience. For our Martyrs went into battle armed, led by their Leader, but they were armed with trumpets, jugs and lamps. And as they preached, they blew their trumpets; they broke their jars when they exposed their bodies in suffering to the swords of their enemies; they shone with lamps when, after the death of their bodies, they flashed with miracles. And their enemies then took flight, because when they saw the bodies of the dead Martyrs with shining miracles, they were overwhelmed by the light of truth and believed that they doubted it. Thus they blew the trumpets, announcing that the jars might be broken; the jugs broke, announcing that the lamps might appear; lamps appeared, announcing that the enemies were taking flight. That is, the Martyrs preached until their bodies dissolved in death; their bodies dissolved in death so that they could shine with miracles; they shone with miracles so that they could defeat their enemies with divine light; so that they could no longer stand up and resist God, but only submit and fear Him. 76. We must also note that the enemies stood firm before the jars, but fled before the lamps, undoubtedly because the persecutors of the Holy Church resisted the preachers of the faith while they were in the body, but were put to flight by miracles that appeared after the death of their bodies, because, being terrified with fear, they stopped persecuting the believers. In truth, they were afraid when the lamps of miracles appeared, when the jars of their bodies were broken, when they preached with trumpets. 77. We must also note in what was written that they held their trumpets in their right hands and their jars in their left. For it is said that we hold in our right hand what is of great value to us, and in our left hand what is not. Thus, it is correctly written in that place that they held trumpets in their right hands and jugs in their left, because the Martyrs of Christ consider preaching to be of great value, and the condition of their body the least. But he who thinks more about his body than about the grace of preaching holds the trumpet in his left hand and the pitcher in his right. For if the grace of preaching is put in first place, and then we think about the benefits for the body, then, of course, trumpets are held in the right hand, and jugs in the left. Thus, the Lord says in the Gospel: “They also light a candle and do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick” (Matthew 5:15) 3079. For by the vessel we understand temporary advantages, and the candle signifies the light of the sermon. Thus, putting the light under a bushel is only for temporary gain, in order to hide the grace of preaching, which none of the elect, of course, does. And here it is correctly added: “And on the candlestick.” For the candlestick denotes the position of the body on which the candle is placed when the obligation of preaching is preferable to the needs of the body. Thus, it was rightly said by the prophet: “Thou hast overcome the scepter of the oppressor, as in the day of Midian” (Isa. 9:4) 3080. But since we have made a long excursion for the sake of presenting the testimony of the prophet, let us return to the usual order of our work. Thus, afterward it was said: He does not hear the cry of the one who demands, because it was our Lord, who appeared in the flesh, who despised the traps of the great enemy. He justly relates what He further did for the sake of His elect, saying: Verse 8. He looks back towards the mountains of His flock (Job 39:8) 3081. 78. By the image of mountains we mean all the arrogant people of this world, whose hearts are swollen from earthly arrogance. But since the Lord transforms ("inviscerat" - knits) even such, when they are converted, into the body of His Church, and transforms them from their former pride into His own members, these are His flock, undoubtedly, because He is satisfied with the conversion of the wandering and the humility of the proud. As He Himself says: “My food is to speak the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 4:34) 3082. And He commanded the Apostles when He sent them to preach, saying: “Work not for perishable food, but for that which leads to eternal life” (John 6:27) 3083. The prophet said about these mountains: “The Lord will not reject His people, because in His hands are all the ends of the earth, and He sees all the heights of the mountains” (Ps. 94:4 3084. 70). For the heights of the mountains certainly show the arrogance of the proud. It was said that what the Lord sees is to change their wickedness for the better. For the Lord transforms the person He sees. Where it is written: “The Lord turned and looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He said: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times,” and he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61–62) 3085. And Solomon says: “The king who sits on the throne of judgment drives away all evil with His glance” (Prov. 20:8) 3086. About this view of the mountains the prophet again said: “The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord” (Ps. 97:5) 3087 because after the hardness of their depravity, they melted from Divine fear, and subsided from their former cruel swelling. 79. But we must note that He does not say “sees,” but “looks around at the mountains of His flock.” For the Lord was truly Incarnate in Judea, which was among the nations. Therefore He looked around on the mountains, because He gathered together from all the bodies of the proud pagans of this world, who were all around. Thus, He feeds in these mountains, because He is satisfied with the good deeds of the converts, like green herbs. So, this is what was said to Him by the voice of the Bride in the Song of Songs: “Show me where You feed, where You lie at noon” (Song. 1:6) 3088. For the Lord is satisfied when He is delighted with our good deeds. But He lies at noon, when, after the hearts of the reprobate are aflame with carnal desires, He finds the cool freshness of a holy thought in the bosom of His elect. For Matthew was like a mountain when he was swollen with customs profits, of whom it is also written that, after he believed, he invited our Lord into his house and made a great feast (Luke 5:29) 3089. This mountain, therefore, created for this wild ass the grass of green pasture, because he fed Him outwardly with a feast, and inwardly with a feast of benefactors. And this will be stated more fully when added: He seeks every green thing (Job 39:8) 3090. 80. For He leaves hot places and seeks all green things. For the sultry places are those hearts of people who, planted in the perishing hope of this world, have no confidence in eternity. But those who prosper are those who cling to that inheritance about which the Apostle Peter says: “To an inheritance that is incorruptible and pure and does not fade away” (1 Pet. 1:4) 3091. For they are the greener the deeper they plant the root of thought in the part of the inheritance that does not wither. Therefore, let everyone who is afraid of being burned out from within fly without the fruitless desires of this world. May everyone who strives to seek the Lord seek his eternal home and become green in the inner plantation of his heart. 81. Let it be sufficient to mention the wild ass twice. But let it be at the discretion of the reader which one to choose. But if he wishes to ignore the meaning of any of the references, I myself will willingly follow my reader, as a student follows his teacher, if he thinks more accurately and truthfully. Because whatever I find that he knows better than I do, I am honored to recognize it as a special gift for myself. For all of us who strive and are filled with faith to pronounce something regarding God, we are all organs of truth: and this is according to the powers of this same Truth, whether She pronounces Her words through me to others, or through others to me. For, living among us, She acts like everyone else, even if they live differently, and often affects one person in order to clearly hear what She says through another, and often affects another in order to be clearly heard by others. 82. The power of oratory is often given to the teacher for the sake of his listener, and the ability to speak is often taken away from the teacher at the expense of the guilt of his listener. Let the teacher then not be exalted with pride on those occasions when he preaches abundantly, so that his tongue becomes accidentally filled, not for his own sake, but for the sake of his hearers; and then let the listener not be angry when the teacher speaks without meaning, so that his tongue accidentally becomes mute, not for his own sake, but for the sake of the refusal of his listeners. For the power of speaking is given even to bad teachers for the sake of a good listener, just as the words of preaching could be in abundance for the Pharisees, although it was written about them: “Therefore whatever they say to you, observe and do, but not after what they have done” (Matthew 23:3) 3092. But the ability to speak is often taken away from even good teachers due to the refusal of their listeners. As it was said to Ezekiel against Israel: “I will cause your tongue to stick to your throat, and you will be silent, and you will not be a reprover against them, for they are a rebellious house” (Ezek. 3:26) 3093. 83. But the word of preaching is sometimes given to both, and sometimes taken away from both. For that it is given to both, as was said by the voice of God to Paul among the Corinthians: “Fear not, but speak” (Acts 18:9) 3094. And a little further: “For I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:10) 3095. But it is taken away from both, when Eli the priest knew about the unrighteous behavior of his children, and did not speak the appropriate words of reproach, when both the guilt of their sin and the punishment for his silence were clearly punishable by the suffering of death. Therefore, when we do not know among these cases to whom the enthusiasm of oratory is given or from whom it is taken away, the only safe remedy is not to be proud of the gifts that we have received, unlike others, and not to ridicule others for having received less: but to walk firmly and steadily with confident steps of humility. Because in this life we ​​learn more truly the more we know that our learning cannot be given to us by ourselves. Why should anyone be proud of his learning if he does not know when it is given to someone by secret judgment or when it is taken away? For, though fear always seems to be far from safety, yet there is nothing safer for us than to ever feel fear under the abundance of hope, our minds should plunge into sin through despair for want of caution, or fall headlong through the boasting of our gifts. For the more humbly a person trembles for himself along with hope before the eyes of a strict and merciful Judge, the more firmly he stands in Him. Can you lift up your voice to the clouds so that water may cover you in abundance? At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, there was this word from the Lord: Thus says the Lord: Stand in the courtyard of the house of the Lord and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship at the house of the Lord, all those words that I command you to say to them; don't mince a word. The priests and the prophets and all the people listened to Jeremiah as he spoke these words in the house of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had said all that the Lord commanded him to say to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, and said: “You must die; Why do you prophesy in the name of the Lord and say: this house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be desolate, left without inhabitants? And all the people gathered together against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the priests came out of the sanctuary, a cloud filled the house of the Lord; and the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the church of the Lord. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” And the Jews sought even more to kill Him because He not only violated the Sabbath, but also called God His Father, making Himself equal to God. Every day they surround me like water: they all embrace me together. Save me, O God, for the waters have reached my soul. ...Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? Can you send lightning, and will they go and say to you: here we are? He shot His arrows and scattered them, many lightning bolts, and scattered them. ...before the light of Your flying arrows, before the radiance of Your sparkling spears. But Peter said: I have no silver and gold; and what I have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk. And, taking him by the right hand, he raised him up; and suddenly his feet and knees became stronger, and he jumped up, began to walk, and entered the church with them, walking and jumping and praising God. ... men of Israel! Why are you amazed at this, or why do you look at us as if we, through our own strength or piety, did what he walks? and the Chief of life was killed. This one God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And for the sake of faith in His name, His name strengthened him whom you see and know, and the faith that is from Him granted him this healing before you all. All rivers flow into the sea, but the sea does not overflow: to the place from which the rivers flow, they return to flow again. The rivers lift up their voices, O Lord, the rivers lift up their waves. His lightning illuminates the world; ... Who put wisdom into the heart, or who gave meaning to the mind? The night has passed and the day has approached: ... ... the hour has already come for us to wake up from sleep ... Be sober as you should, and do not sin; ... Here three have an orderly gait, and four act harmoniously: the lion, the strongman among animals, will not step aside in front of anyone; a horse and a goat, (leader of the flock), and a king among his people. ... behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, ... ... for the prince of this world comes and has nothing in Me. Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning. I couldn't find the corresponding quote. If in your arrogance you have done something stupid and thought evil, then put your hand on your mouth. make yourself two silver trumpets, hammered, make them, so that they serve you for convening society and for removing camps. When you sound the alarm, the camps standing towards the east will rise. Who can sort out the clouds with his wisdom and hold the vessels of heaven. And they will no longer teach each other, brother to brother, and say: “Know the Lord,” for everyone themselves will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, because I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more. Love never fails, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished. Hitherto I have spoken to you in parables; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in parables, but will tell you directly about the Father. when the dust turns to mud and the lumps stick together? Maybe this quote: Remembering this, I pour out my soul, because I walked in a crowd, I entered with them into the house of God with the voice of joy and praise of the celebrating multitude. (Ps. 41:5). Not so - the wicked (not so): but they are like dust swept away by the wind (from the face of the earth). The multitude of those who believed had one heart and one soul; ... And they sat down in rows, hundreds and fifty. He took the five loaves and two fish, looking up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to distribute to them; and he divided the two fish among everyone. And all whose hearts were drawn to it, and all whose spirit was disposed, came and brought offerings to the Lord for the building of the tabernacle of meeting and for all its needs and for (all) the sacred garments; and husbands and wives came, and everyone, according to the disposition of their hearts, brought rings, earrings, rings and pendants, all kinds of gold things, everyone who just wanted to bring gold to the Lord; and every one that had blue, purple, and scarlet, fine linen, and goats' hair, red skins of rams, and blue skins, brought them; Do you catch the lioness's prey and feed the young lions? On the same first day of the week in the evening, when the doors of the house where His disciples were meeting were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be with you! when they lie in dens or lie in ambush under the shade? And a voice came to him: Arise, Peter, kill and eat. ... but remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. Who prepares the crow's food when its chicks cry to God, wandering without food? He gives food to the cattle and to the raven's chicks that call to Him. Therefore, the one who plants and the one who waters is nothing, but God who increases everything. ... that I constantly remember you, always asking in my prayers that the will of God would someday make it possible for me to come to you, for I very much desire to see you in order to give you some spiritual gift for your strengthening. Behold, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not burden you, for I am not looking for yours, but for you. It is not the children who should gather wealth for their parents, but the parents for their children. I wish I could be with you now and change my voice, because I am at a loss about you. for although I am absent in body, I am with you in spirit... I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia; for I am going through Macedonia. Perhaps I’ll live with you, or spend the winter, so that you can accompany me wherever I go. ... 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. 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. and what you heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, then convey to faithful people who would be able to teach others. Do you know the time when wild goats are born on the rocks, and have you noticed the birth of fallow deer? I couldn't find a similar quote. But whatever was written before was written for our instruction, so that through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. Even a doe gives birth in the field and leaves her children because there is no grass. As a deer longs for streams of water, so does my soul long for You, O God! Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ. And the king said, “What do you and me, sons of Zeruiah?” (leave him,) let him curse, for the Lord commanded him to curse David. Who can say: why are you doing this? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold, if my son, which came out of my bowels, seeks my life, how much more is the son of Benjamite; leave him alone, let him curse, for the Lord has commanded him; Perhaps the Lord will look upon my humiliation, and the Lord will reward me with goodness for his current slander. But he refused and said to his master’s wife: Behold, my master does not know anything in the house with me, and he has given everything that he has into my hands; I am no longer in this house; and he forbade me nothing except you, because you are his wife; How can I do this great evil and sin before God? … “Daniel, man of desires!” ... Daniel decided in his heart not to be defiled by the food from the king’s table and the wine that the king drinks, and therefore asked the chief of the eunuchs not to be defiled by him. Therefore we, having such a cloud of witnesses around us, let us lay aside every burden and the sin that besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ... and, looking at the end of their lives, imitate their faith. can you calculate the months of their pregnancy? ... For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but there is a new creation. ...and do you know the time of their birth? They bend, giving birth to their children, throwing away their burdens. My children, for whom I am again in the throes of birth, until Christ is portrayed in you! I wish I could be with you now and change my voice, because I am at a loss about you. O foolish Galatians! Who deceived you not to submit to the truth, you, who had before your eyes Jesus Christ as if he were crucified? I just want to know this from you: did you receive the Spirit through the works of the law, or through instruction in faith? Are you so foolish that, having begun in the spirit, you are now ending in the flesh? You walked well: who stopped you from submitting to the truth? And I could not speak to you, brethren, as spiritual, but as carnal, as babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, and not with solid food, for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able, We preach wisdom among the perfect, but the wisdom is not of this age and not of the passing authorities of this age. If we lose our temper, it is for God; if you are modest, then for you. God! Bow down Your heavens and come down; touch the mountains and they will rise. ...For your caresses are better than wine. their children come into strength, grow in the field, leave and do not return to them. The Lord is my Shepherd; I will lack for nothing: He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters, ... and we are His, His people and the sheep of His pasture. I am the door: whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ... but I will tell you directly about the Father. Who let the wild donkey go free, and who loosed the onager's bonds. 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; For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. The path of the lazy is like a wattle fence, but the path of the righteous is smooth. to whom I have appointed the steppe as a home and the salt marshes as a dwelling? ...there was silence in the sky for what seemed like half an hour. for the corruptible body burdens the soul, and this earthly church suppresses the over-anxious mind. And behold, outside the church there was a wall on all sides of it, and in the hand of that man was a cane measuring six cubits, counting each cubit into a cubit and a palm; and he measured in this building one reed in thickness and one reed in height. And the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and when he fell asleep, he took one of his ribs and covered that place with flesh. And the Lord God created a wife from a rib taken from a man, and brought her to the man. He laughs at the crowded city and does not hear the cries of the driver. If you do not know this, most beautiful of women, then follow in the footsteps of the sheep and feed your kids near the shepherds’ tents. but I subdue and enslave my body, so that, while preaching to others, I myself may not remain unworthy. And that’s why I don’t run in the wrong way, I don’t fight in a way that just beats the air. the king said: Isn’t this majestic Babylon, which I built as the house of the kingdom by the power of my might and for the glory of my greatness! And Saul said, May God do this and that to me, and even more; You, Jonathan, must die today! Even before they burned the fat, the priestly youth came and said to the one making the sacrifice: give the meat to the priest for roast; he will not take boiled meat from you, but give him raw meat. This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister and her daughters: pride, satiety and idleness, and she did not support the hands of the poor and needy. And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil food; and he ate and drank, and arose and walked; and Esau despised the birthright. But put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts. he searches for food in the mountains and chases after all kinds of greenery. Passing through the valley of mourning, they open springs in it, and the rain covers it with blessing. high mountains - sernam; stone cliffs are a refuge for hares. I'm a worm, not a man... The stones of the walls will cry out and the beams of wood will answer them: ? Maybe this quote: I know all the birds on the mountains and the animals in the fields before Me. (Ps.49:11) Maybe this quote: I am equal with those who go down to the grave; I became like a man without strength (Ps. 87:5) but God raised Him up, breaking the bonds of death, because it was impossible for it to hold Him. The desert and the dry land will rejoice, and the uninhabited country will rejoice and bloom like a daffodil. Thus, the Lord will comfort Zion, comfort all its ruins, and make its deserts like paradise, and its wilderness like the garden of the Lord; there will be joy and gladness in it, praise and singing. Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. And He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Whatever the Father gives Me will come to Me; ... He laughs at the city's crowds... ... and does not hear the screams of the driver. But even if you left, because you impatiently wanted to be in your father’s house, why did you steal my gods? And no wonder: because Satan himself takes the form of an Angel of light. ... and forget your people and your father's house. Therefore, put to death your members on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust and covetousness, which is idolatry, And Laban went to Jacob's tent, and to Leah's tent, and to the tent of the two slave women, (and searched) but did not find it. And he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. Rachel took the idols and placed them under the camel's saddle and sat on them. And Laban searched the whole tent; but didn't find it. Blessed is he whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered! Take courage, and let your hearts be strengthened, all you who hope in the Lord! She said to her father: Let not my lord be angry that I cannot stand before you, for I have an ordinary woman’s woman. And (Lavan) searched (in the whole tent), but did not find the idols. For the yoke that weighed him down, and the rod that struck him, and the reed of his oppressor, you will break in pieces, as in the day of Midian. Jerubbaal, who was also Gideon, arose in the morning and all the people who were with him, and they encamped at the fountain of Harod; The Midian camp was north of it near the hill of More in the valley. And the Lord said to Gideon, There are too many people with you; I cannot deliver the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel become proud before Me and say, “My hand has saved me.” Therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people and say: “Let him who is fearful and timid return and go back from Mount Gilead.” And the people returned twenty-two thousand, but ten thousand remained. And the Lord said to Gideon, There are still many people; lead them to the water, there I will choose them for you; of whom I say, “Let him go with you,” let him go with you; but of whom I tell you, “He must not go with you,” let him not go. He led the people to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon: Whoever laps up water with his tongue, as a dog laps up, set him apart, and also all those who bend down on their knees and drink. And the number of those who lapped with their mouths from the hand was three hundred people; all the rest of the people bent down on their knees to drink water. And the Lord said to Gideon: With three hundred of those who lapped I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hands, and let all the people go, each to his own place. And they took the people's provisions and their trumpets, and Gideon sent all the Israelites away to their tents and kept three hundred men with him; and his camp of Midian was down in the valley. That night the Lord said to him: Arise, go down to the camp, I will deliver it into your hands; if you are afraid to go alone, then go to the camp, you and Thura your servant; and you will hear what they say, and then your hands will be strengthened, and you will go into the camp. And he and Thuras his servant went down to the very regiment of the armed men who were in the camp. The Midianites and Amalekites and all the inhabitants of the east settled down in the valley in such a multitude as locusts; There were no number of camels; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Gideon has arrived. And so, one tells the other a dream and says: I dreamed that round barley bread was rolling through the camp of Midian and, rolling towards the tent, hit it so that it fell, knocked it over, and the tent fell apart. Another answered him, “This is none other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, an Israelite; God delivered the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands. Gideon, having heard the story of the dream and its interpretation, worshiped (the Lord) and returned to the camp of Israel and said: Arise! The Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hands. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and put trumpets and empty jars and lamps in the jars into the hands of all of them. And he said to them: Look at me and do the same; Behold, I will come to the camp, and whatever I do, do you also; When I and those with me blow the trumpet, you also blow your trumpets around the whole camp and shout: (sword) of the Lord and of Gideon! And Gideon and a hundred men with him came to the camp, at the beginning of the middle watch, and they awakened the guards, and blew the trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. And all three companies blew trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held lamps in their left hands, and trumpets in their right hands, and blew and shouted: “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” And everyone stood in his place around the camp; and they began to run throughout the whole camp, and shouted, and took to flight. While three hundred men were blowing trumpets, the Lord turned the sword of one against another in the whole camp, and the army fled to Bethshitta to Tsarera, to the border of Abelmeholah, near Tabatha. Lift up your heights, O gates, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will enter! Who is this King of glory? - The Lord is mighty and strong, the Lord is mighty in battle. To all he said: If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. And the Lord said to him: go through the middle of the city, in the middle of Jerusalem, and make a sign on the foreheads of the mourning people, sighing over all the abominations that are being committed in its midst. because it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified... Therefore, strengthen your drooping hands and weakened knees, and walk straight with your feet, so that what is lame may not be turned aside, but rather be made straight. Praise is unpleasant in the mouth of a sinner, for it was not sent from the Lord. And having lit a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. … My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to complete His work. Do not strive for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for the Father, God, has set His seal on Him. The depths of the earth are in His hand, and the tops of the mountains are His. Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He said to him: before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. And, going out, he wept bitterly. The king, sitting on the throne of judgment, disperses with his eyes all evil. The mountains melt like wax from the presence of the Lord, from the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Tell me, you whom my soul loves: where do you graze? where do you rest at noon? Why should I be a wanderer near the herds of your companions? And Levi made a great feast for Him in his house; and there were many publicans and others who sat with them.? ... and chases after all kinds of greenery. to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. So whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do; But do not act according to their deeds, for they say and do not do. And I will cleave your tongue to your throat, and you will be dumb, and you will not be a reprover against them, for they are a rebellious house. ... do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent. … because I have many people in this city.