Книга 33 [глава 40, стихи 15–27, глава 41, стихи 1–12]

The remaining verses of chapter 40 are explained, as well as the first 12 verses of chapter 41: the various wiles of the devil and the purpose of Grace, reconciliation with free will. 1. The proud are most susceptible to the ancient enemy, who by the voice of the Lord is called by the name Behemoth. The more their pride swells, the greater their success in this life. By their pride their honor (nobility, fame) increases, but with their pride help is added; the mind is distracted here and there because their desires also increase along with their possessions. And then they bring thoughts without number, like dried grass from the field, and feed the hunger of the Hippopotamus with these, with these thoughts, as if with the food that he craves. Here's where the saying comes from: Verse 15. These mountains bring him grass (Job 40:15) 2. In the Holy Scriptures, when “mountain” is used in the singular, it sometimes denotes the Incarnate Lord, sometimes the Holy Church, sometimes the covenant of God, sometimes an apostate angel, sometimes any specific apostate (heretic). But when “mountains” are used in the plural, this is sometimes the name given to the Apostles and Prophets, and sometimes to the pride of worldly rulers. “Mountain” signifies the Lord, as it is written, for example: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be made the chief of the mountains” (Isa. 2:2). Here the “mountain at the head of the mountains” is the Incarnate Lord, who is superior to the prophets. The mountain that stands for the Holy Church, for example, is: “He who trusts in the Lord is like Mount Zion” (Ps. 124:1). “Zion” means “to look” (to peer, peer), and this characterizes the Church, which contemplates God. “The mountain” denotes the covenant of God, for example, when Habakkuk says: “The Lord will come from the South, and the Holy One from the dark and great mountain” (Hab. 3:3) 3348. For the one who promised on the pages of the Testament that He would come, came, keeping His promise. It is also well said about the mountain that it is “dark and large,” because the meaning of the word is really obscured by a large number of allegories. The apostate angel is designated by the word “mountain,” for example, when it is said to the preachers, about the ancient enemy under the character of the king of Babylon, “and your standard will rise above the dark mountain” (Is. 5:26) 3349. For holy preachers to raise a banner above a dark mountain is to extol the virtue of the cross against the pride of Satan, which is often hidden under the fog of hypocrisy. Any apostate (heretic) is called a “mountain,” for example, in the place where the psalmist says in the voice of the Church: “I trust in the Lord: how then do you say to my soul, fly like a sparrow to the mountain?” (Ps.10:1) 3350. Here the faithful soul is told to renounce the truth, and to believe in the doctrine of the heretical preacher, urging, as it were, to renounce the Lord, and ascend the mountain. Again, “mountains” denote the exaltation of the apostles and prophets, as it is written, for example: “Your righteousness is like the mountains of God” (Ps. 35:7). Or, when they say in the voice of Paul: “that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Another similar example is when again the psalmist speaks in the voice of the Church in hope: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where my help will come” (Ps. 121:1). But the word “mountains” also expresses the pride of the secular rulers, about whom the psalmist speaks: “The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord” (Ps. 96:5) 3351, because many who were previously filled with pride were “refined” like wax through repentance with great fear when God appeared in the flesh. Or, as the same prophet says, “they ascend the mountains, they descend into the valleys” (Ps. 103:8). For many of the Lord’s persecutors it was like this: they went against Him in pride, but returned from Him in humility. They went up into the mountains, invested with power; but they descended into the plains, namely, they came to their level, by admitting sin. 3. But since some continue to be in the exaltation of their pride and do not bow humbly before the Divine Will, and since they stop thinking and commit evil according to their desire and together with their sworn enemy, it is rightly said about Behemoth in this place: “They bring him grass to the mountains” 3352. The proud people of the world give birth to grass for this Behemoth, because they renew him with their wicked life. They bring grass for this Behemoth because they offer him their momentary and treacherous pleasures. People, says the apostle, will love themselves (2 Tim. 3:2) 3353. And he sums up their description by saying: “they will love pleasures more than the Lord” (2 Tim. 3:4) 3354. What then is the grass of the mountains if not momentary pleasures that are born of pride from the heart? For if they had not despised (disdained) the Lord in their pride, they would never have committed so many indecent acts with the help of which the grass feeds this Behemoth. And he longs for them after being punished with eternal death, so he indulges his own with evil habits. The proud in this world, even if they ever, by God's Providence, cease to bring evil, they will multiply it in thought; one day they will think of themselves to become superior to others in wealth and power; or to exercise this very power in an effort to harm others; or they will melt even in good deeds and pleasures, under the influence of meaningless emotions. For they never think about what is right, but always wrong. What good is it to them for the mercies they have received from God if they resist the Lord with His gifts? And then this Behemoth always discerns his desires in the minds of the proud, he finds in their minds “grass for the mountains,” from which he feeds and swells his belly with evil. As it is said: "All the beasts of the field will play there" 3355. 4. “Beasts” represent unclean spirits, and “field” represents the modern world. It is said about Ephraim: “the beasts of the field will torment them” (Hos. 13:8). Or, as Isaiah says: “and no ravenous beast will come against him” (Is. 35:9). The fact that the world is understood by the word “field”, the Lord testifies in the Gospel, which says: “But the field is the world” (Matthew 13:38) and the animals in the field that play in the grass of the mountains mean in this world demons who are delighted with the evil deeds of the proud. Animals playing in the grass means that unclean spirits are leading people’s hearts into obscene thoughts. Is it not a sport for evil spirits to deceive with false promises the minds of men who were created in the Image of God, and make a mockery of empty fears, momentary pleasures that seem eternal, and eternal light that seems momentary? He was undoubtedly afraid of becoming the sport of these beasts, who said: “My God! I trust in You, do not let me be embarrassed, and do not let my enemies have fun with me” (Ps. 24:2) 3356. Because when the heart of a proud man submits to every sin, and is ready for everything from the unclean spirit that attacks him through evil thoughts, this is the “grass of the mountains”, where “all the beasts of the field will play there.” For the proud do not overcome evil in their thoughts, and the beasts of the field are satisfied with the grass of these mountains. Even if they avoid the lusts of the flesh, they commit the sin of internal lust by boasting to themselves about their chastity. If at some point they do not grasp greedily at any thing, this does not mean that they are free from the temptations of the love of money; for, although they do not grasp the thing, they strive to grasp at praise, human recognition or applause. The mountains, therefore, continue to yield grass for this Behemoth, and all the beasts of the field play there, because every unclean spirit finds loopholes of greater freedom in the very heart of the proud, in proportion as every sin comes from pride. And just as we heard what this Behemoth eats, we must also hear how it rests. Namely: Verse 16. He rests in the shade, under the shelter of reeds, in damp places (Job 40:16) 3357. 5. The word "shadow" or "overshadowing" is sometimes used in Scripture to describe the Lord's cooling the minds from the heat of carnal thoughts; hence the expression "shading" - this is the cooling of the heart due to the veil of heaven. But sometimes the “shadow” is the numbness of frozen minds when Grace leaves. For example, the Incarnation of the Lord is designated by the term “shading” when witnessing the word of the Angel who says to Mary: “The power of the Most High will shade you” (Luke 1:35) 3358. In the ordinary world, to create a “shadow” you need a body and the light that falls on it. Here the power of the Most High (incorporeal Light) and the Body in Her womb create a “shadow” or “obscure” Her. In this “shadow” She received refreshment of her mind. Again, "shadow" is expressed in the refreshment of the mind due to heavenly protection, as the psalmist says: "in the shadow of Your wings cover me" (Ps. 16:8). Or as the Bride in the Song of Songs, awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom, announces, saying, “I have sat down in the shadow of Him for whom I have longed” (Song of Solomon 2:3) 3359 . As if she had said, I rest in the shadow of His coming from the heat of carnal desires. The word “shadow” also expresses the numbness of a frozen mind when Grace leaves. For example, it is said about a sinful man that he was looking for shadow. Man, having felt the warmth of Grace, left the sun of truth and fell into the shadow of spiritual cold. It is said in the voice of the same Truth: “and because iniquity will increase, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Therefore, after the creation of sin, the First Man hid under the shadow of the trees of paradise in the cool of the afternoon (Gen. 3:8) 3360. For he had lost the midday warmth of Grace, and he was already frozen (numb, chilled) under the shadow of sin, as if from cold air. 6. Behemoth finds rest and refuge in those whom he cools, leading away from the true Sun, as it is said to “rest in the shade.” Sometimes “shadow,” especially when used with the addition of the word “death,” denotes either the death of the flesh or any wicked person who, by his zeal for evil, is likened to the darkness of the sworn enemy. The psalmist said in the voice of the martyrs: “You humbled us in the place of disaster and covered us with the shadow of death” (Ps. 43:20) 3361. Here the “shadow of death” covers the Chosen of God when the death of the flesh, which is the image of eternal death, snatches them from this life. Just as the soul is torn away from God, the soul is also torn away from the body. And, of course, the shadow of death covers them, because it is written about the ancient enemy: His name was death (Rev. 6:8) 3362. All wicked people are therefore “the shadow of death,” since they imitate the evil one with their evil, and fall into his shadow when they take on the likeness of his evil. And they capture the Chosen of God, and gain strength against Them for a time, in the cruelty of persecution. “Shadow” also means the slumber of evil, and it is the Behemoth that slumbers in evil, and watches with alarm the hearts glowing with Grace. It lies securely in minds numb with cold. For he cannot slumber in the minds of the saints, because even if he forces himself to enter into them for a short moment, the warmth of the heavenly impulses instantly tires him, and pricks him to make him go away, as often as they think of eternal things with intimate love. All holy thoughts, like shouting out loud to the sky, in different voices, disturb him. And frightened by the embrace of good deeds, having been defeated by holy thoughts, he returns to the frozen hearts of the wicked; for this he strives under the shadow of wickedness in order to rest in safety. Where does he find safety? under the shelter of the reeds. 7. In the Holy Scriptures, the word “reed” (“aira”) or “reed” (“arundo”) sometimes denotes the Unchangeable (Eternal) Word, sometimes the skill of a scientist, sometimes the variability of the mind, sometimes the brightness of temporary glory. “Reed” denotes the Eternity of the Word, for example, when the psalmist speaks in the voice of the Father, My tongue is the reed (“calamus”) of the cursive writer (Ps. 45:2) 3363. For what we say passes away, but what we write remains. The tongue of the Father is called the reed (reed) of the writer, because from Him is the Eternal Word, begotten unchangeable. “Reed” also denotes the promises of the Prophet concerning the Holy Church, for example, when it is said: “In the dens where dragons live, green reeds and reeds will appear” (Is. 35:7) 3364. In this sentence, as we said much earlier in this work, by "reed" is meant the doctrine of the writers, and by "reed" the new hearers (see book 29, §51). “Reed” expresses the changeability of the mind when the Lord said to the crowd of Jews about John: what did you go into the wilderness to see? Reeds shaking in the wind? (Matt. 11:7) 3365, and it should be understood that the answer must be: “No.” For John was not a reed trembling in the wind, because no breath of other tongues inclined his spirit, permeated with the Holy Spirit, to another direction. “Reed” or “reed” means the brightness of temporary glory, as it is said, for example, in the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon: “they will shine and run like sparks through a layer of reeds” (Book of the Wisdom of Solomon 3:7) 3366. He calls worldly life a “layer of reeds”, who, like a reed, outwardly grows to the height of temporary glory, but inwardly is deprived of the strength of truth. The kingdom of the Jews is also compared to a reed, when the Prophet says, “A bruised reed will not break, and smoking flax will not be quenched” (Is. 42:3) 3367. Here, the “reed” refers to the temporary kingdom of the Jewish people, shiny on the outside, but empty on the inside. And since in this people the royal race has no longer succeeded, and a stranger began to rule the kingdom, He calls the kingdom a broken reed. "Linen" signifies the priesthood, who undoubtedly wore linen garments. And because by the coming of the Lord, it had lost the warmth of Grace, it is said that “this is not combustion,” but “smoke,” which has already lost the fire of faith. But the Incarnate Lord did not break the bruised reed, and did not extinguish the smoking flax, because He did not bring down the power of judgment on the kingdom of Judea, which was almost completely destroyed, and its priesthood, which did not preserve the fire of faith, but endured them with long-suffering. 8. The word "reed" in this place also signifies the minds of the world, which are devoted to temporal glory. Because they, like reeds, the more empty they become inside over time, the taller and more beautiful they become on the outside; for they, sickened by external superficial glory, are not strengthened within. Therefore, they are like reeds, due to their stupidity, hollow inside, but outwardly beautiful; but the more diligently external glory is sought by them, the more their minds are occupied with contradictory, gnawing thoughts. Therefore it is rightly said of Behemoth that he slumbers under the shelter of the reeds, because he silently possesses the hearts of those whose desires he excites to seek temporary splendor and glory; and he himself sleeps, calmly in this place, while he does not allow those whom he possesses to remain in peace. All the time that they strive to surpass others in the sublimity of their qualities, while through the brightness of external purity they surpass the righteous in appearance, as reeds surpass the bark of solid trees, remaining hollow inside, they create a worthy place for this Behemoth to rest in them. Therefore, the Lord says in the Gospel that the spirit that went out and found no rest in dry places returns to the house that it left, finds it empty and cleansed, and enters into it in a more abundant measure (Matthew 12:43–45) 3368. The earth that is watered becomes wet, and the dry places are the hearts of the righteous, who, through the power of discipline, have dried dry all the moisture of carnal lust. Therefore, speaking about the places where the Hippopotamus sleeps, he immediately adds: “... in damp places.” 9 . “Wet places” are worldly minds, which the moisture from carnal desires makes wet because it fills them. The deeper the Behemoth has sprouted with its lawlessness, the deeper it sinks in their minds, as in the wet earth. “Wet places” are all sensual matters. The foot does not slide on dry ground, but when it steps on slippery soil, it is unlikely to hold on. Therefore those who walk in wet places slip and cannot stand upright in righteousness. The hippopotamus sleeps in these damp places because it lies in the slippery deeds of ungodly people. Wet places are also lust. Therefore, “reeds” denote pride, and “wet places” denote the lust of the body. These are two sins that hold a cruel power over humanity, one through the spirit and the other through the flesh. The ancient enemy, therefore, specifically oppresses humanity either with pride or lust - that is, “sleeping under the shelter of reeds, in damp places.” But he has some in both directions. Teachers of virtue are constantly vigilant against them within the Holy Church. They condemn the servility of pleasures and praise the joys of the heavenly country. But the minds of the wicked are the more obstinately refusing to hear of the highest things, the more closely they are involved in those that are base. Not only do they perish themselves, but, what is even worse, when they see that others are taking the path of correction, they also oppose the reproof of the righteous in order to keep others from correction. Verse 17. Cover his shadow with shadows ( Job 40:17 ) 10. All the wicked are in the shadow of the devil: for the more they imitate him, the more they receive a form of resemblance to his body. The wicked are his “shadows” (plural), and each individual sinner is his “shadow” (singular). But when the wicked do not simply deny the doctrine, when they do not allow any evil man to reform, the shadows of this Behemoth cover their shadow; This happens when sinners, aware of the sin in themselves, support another sinner in the same sin. “His shadows cover his shadow” when the wicked is supported and guided by even more wicked ones. Thus they cover themselves when they defend another wicked one, because they foresee that their own conduct is also attacked through the reproof of one. And as soon as sin was protected, it increased, and the guilt of each individual person was lighter, and for everyone the punishment was heavier. Therefore, the more the evil of sinners grows, the more they have the right to spread it further, through the protection of the powers that be, and remain unpunished. But such people, whether they are called members of the Holy Church or not, show themselves to be enemies of God, and the more sins they cover up. In defending themselves, they fight against Him, the One who is dissatisfied with the works they produce, but still protects them. The Lord denounces this through the prophet, speaking about Babylon: “Thorns and nettles will grow in her houses and thorns in her strongholds” (Is. 34:13) 3369. “Nettles” are angry thoughts, “thorns” are the germination of sins. Both thorns and nettles arise in the houses of Babylon, because in wicked minds arise the aspirations of thoughts that torment, and from which follow sinful actions that wound. But besides those who do this, there are others and more evil than themselves - their defenders. They are “thorns in her stronghold.” The thorn is completely surrounded and overflowing with thorns - you can hardly touch it. Nettles and thorns therefore arise within (the house), but they are not as strong as the thorns that grow outside. Nettles and thorns are those who commit evil, they are small, but much larger and more terrible are those who protect them (Thorn). Therefore it is said to “cover his shadow with shadows.” A sinner protected by other sinners is a “shadow” protected by many “shadows” so as not to be illuminated by the light of truth. Then follows: “... willows by the streams will surround him.” 11. “Willows” are trees that do not actually bear any fruit, but have such large crowns and greenery that they are unlikely to dry out even when cut off. In the Holy Scriptures, when they say “willows,” sometimes their capacity for lush greenery is allegorized, and sometimes their sterility. Their constant greenery is the life of the chosen ones. The Prophet said regarding the children of the Holy Church, “they will grow among the grass, like willows by the streams” (Is. 44:4) 3370. The children of the Holy Church grow like willows among the grass, when against the background of a fading carnal life, they live forever in the eternal greenery of the spirit. And it is well said that they live “by the streams,” because each of them receives his fruitful food from the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, which passes, like the water of a stream, through all temporary life. And the life of sinners is indicated by the barrenness of the willow tree, when the psalmist speaks of Babylon in the voice of the preachers, “We hung our harps on the willow trees in the midst of it” (Ps. 137:2) 3371. Here in Babylon they are called “willows,” undoubtedly because without fruit are those who are alienated from the love of their heavenly country, those who are rooted with all the passions of their hearts in this perishable world. Therefore it is said that the holy preachers play no more, but hang their harps in these willows, because when they see that the minds are barren and rejected, they do not show the power of their preaching, but rather weep and are silent. What does “stream” mean during this earthly life? As the Prophet said, “He will drink from the brook on the way, so He will lift up His head” (Ps. 109:7) 3372. Because it was our Redeemer who knew the punishment of mortal life, passed through it, and, therefore, did not remain long in this death, which He succumbed to of his own free will. From where on the third day he raised His Head by His Resurrection. What then is the meaning of what is said about this Behemoth, that willows by the streams will surround him? This means that the more lovers of earthly life, sterile in good deeds, approach him, the more abundantly the delight of temporary pleasures waters them. The stream in this case means that it feeds the roots when the love of carnal life intoxicates their thoughts. And, like willows, they will not actually bear any fruit, but will have a green crown, because if necessary, if it is not burdensome, they will utter good words, but will not confirm them with deeds. Therefore it is said, “that the willows by the brook shall surround it,” because when those who bear no fruit devote themselves to the love of this temporal life, they are drawn into the deeds of the ancient enemy. Let's now hear what he does in them. What follows: Verse 18. He will drink from the river, and will not be surprised, but will hope that the Jordan can rush into his mouth (Job.40:18) 3373. 12. The "river" in this place means humanity, which, like a river, rises at its birth, like a fountain that gushes from a source, but then falls down and flows to the lowest place, to death. “Jordan” are those who have undergone the Sacrament of Baptism. For our Redeemer was baptized in this river, and all who were baptized are called by the name of this river, in which this sacrament of baptism began. But Behemoth has drawn to himself, like a river, the human race that flows down from the beginning of the world, even in times of redemption, some of them cannot escape it. Therefore it is said about the past: “He will drink from the river, and will not be surprised.” But even after the coming of the Redeemer, he will capture some of those who have been baptized, but neglect to live righteously. So he hopes that the Jordan can flow into his mouth. It is expressly said that before the coming of the Redeemer, he drank up the world without being surprised, but what is much worse, even after the coming of the Redeemer, he hopes that he is able to consume some who have received the sacrament of baptism. It swallows up some who were Christians, causing an error in the fundamentals of the faith. He does not deviate others from the true faith, but inclines others to do evil. And those whom he is unable to persuade to do evil, he forces them to at least inwardly boast of good deeds; so that when their spirits are corrupted by charity, no matter how righteous they may appear outwardly, they cannot be right. And they keep the faith, but they do not keep the life of faith, because they either openly do those things that are illegal, or from their perverted heart, their deeds are wicked, even though outwardly they seem holy. It is said about them: “Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). And again He says: “Why do you call Me: Lord! God! “And you do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). And Paul says: “They say that they know God, but in works they deny” (Titus 1:16). And John says, “Whoever says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not keep His commandments, is a liar” (1 John 2:4). The Lord says about them: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Mark 7:6). The psalmist speaks about this: “they loved Him with their lips, and they lied to Him with their tongues” (Ps. 77:36) 3374. But it was not surprising that this Behemoth, before the heavenly mysteries, before the bodily presence of the Redeemer, drank in huge gulps the river of the human race. But this is very terrible, it is very terrible that even after the Coming of the Redeemer, he captures many with his open mouth, that he pollutes them after the water of ablution, that after the heavenly sacraments he quickly drags them away into the depths of hell. And although this is scary, we have to say in the voice of Truth: “He will drink from the river, and will not be surprised, but will hope that the Jordan can rush into his mouth.” Because the devil didn't think it was a big deal that he captured the unbelievers, but now he will use all his efforts to destroy those who rebel against him. Let no one even think that faith without works can be sufficient, when we know that it is written: “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20, 2:26). Let no one think that he has completely escaped the jaws of Behemoth simply by accepting faith. Because he has already drunk the river, but still hopes and longs to drink up the Jordan. And the Jordan flows into his mouth as often as any Christian falls into lawlessness. Faith helps us avoid its mouth, but we must be very careful not to fall into it by slipping on slippery things. The path of faith does indeed lead to the heavenly land, but not to those who stumble. 13. We have one more point to consider in more detail. “Jordan” can also be called those who have already recognized their true faith, but neglect to live by faith and truth. They really can also be called a “river”, because they, like a river, flow down. But the word "Jordan" in Hebrew also means "descending from oneself." And there are those who, in search of the path of truth, will expel themselves, descend from the pride of their former life. And when they desire eternal things, they will completely alienate themselves from this world. He said about them according to the voice of Truth, “if anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself” (Luke 9:23). A person who denies himself when he tramples on his arrogant pride appears before the eyes of God as having renounced himself. Therefore, the psalmist says: “I will remember You from the land of Jordan, from Hermon” (Ps. 42:6) 3375. Jordan, as I already said, means “descent,” but Hermon, Anathema, that is, “Alienation.” Therefore, he remembers God “from the land of Jordan, from Hermon,” i.e. humbling oneself, and living alienated from oneself, and thinking about the Creator. But the ancient enemy considers it commonplace that he keeps under the rule of his tyranny those who seek earthly goods. For we know, as the Prophet testifies, that “his food is his choice” (Hab. l, 16). He also does not consider it a big deal if he consumes those whom pride exalts, covetousness leads away, pleasures weaken, wickedness consumes, anger flares up, discord separates, envy multiplies, lust pollutes and kills. Therefore, he swallowed the river, and he was not surprised, because he does not consider it a great merit when he devours those who themselves have slipped down through the deeds of their lives. But he sincerely seeks to seize those whom he sees already united to seek heavenly things, and have neglected earthly things. And he hopes that Jordan can flow into his mouth, because he really wants to hide in ambush and capture those whom he sees pouring down from the glory of worldly life through the love of their heavenly country. Some actually forsake the world, renounce the vanities of time, and seek humble humility; and make progress in such lofty aspirations, and perform great miracles. But since they neglect to protect themselves with prudence, he wounds them with vanity, which is fatal. The Eternal Judge, weighing the secrets of the heart, predicts this fall and destruction, and warns, saying, “Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and was it not in Your name that they cast out demons? and did they not perform many miracles in Your name? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; Depart from me, you workers of iniquity” (Matthew 7:22–23). Hence the Prophet said: “The Lord has called fire for judgment, and it will devour a great chasm, and part of the house of the Lord will be consumed” (Amos.7:4) 3376. Fire for judgment is punishment with eternal flame. And he devours a large abyss, because he consumes the disgusting and empty souls of people who now hide their actions even from people. But part of the house of the Lord will also be consumed, because Gehenna also devours those who boast, so to speak, of holy deeds, of belonging to the elect. Those who are here called “Jordan” are called “part of the house of the Lord” there. The ancient enemy, therefore, hopes that even the Jordan may flow into the mouth, because it sometimes destroys, by the tricks of its cunning, even those who are now considered the elect. But won’t such words of the Lord awaken hardness of heart? Will not the firmness of spirit be shaken by the depths of its innermost thoughts, thinking that our enemy is showing himself so great against us? Will there be any help and consolation? Of course it will, for it is said: Verse 19. “In his sight He will take him as if on a hook” (Job 40:19) 3377. 14. We must understand that the Lord, speaking in His mercy the words of His Scripture, disturbs us at one time with acute excitement, and consoles us at another time with tender consolation, and confuses fear with consolation, and consoles us with fear. This is so that both of them (fear and consolation) not only strengthened us, but also did not allow us to fall into despair due to fear, or become careless due to imaginary safety. For when He has indicated in various terms the cunning and unrestrained power of Behemoth, He immediately speaks of the Coming of His only begotten Son, our Redeemer, and teaches how this Behemoth will be destroyed. Therefore, after oppressing our heart with the story of its power, He quickly eases our sorrow by pointing out its destruction. Thus, after He had said, He will drink from the river, and will not be surprised, but will hope that the Jordan may rush into his mouth, he immediately announces the coming of the Incarnation of the Lord, saying: In his eyes He will take him as if on a hook. Who may not know that any “hook” is a bait, behind which is hidden a point that wounds? Our Lord, therefore, when they came to atone for the sins of mankind, made a kind of hook out of Himself for the death of the devil; He assumed the body to be primaku, since Behemoth saw the death of flesh. By directing Him to this death of the flesh, He lost us, whom He, so to speak, rightfully held. He was caught, therefore, by the "hook" of His Resurrection, through the lure of His Body, and pierced by the point of His Divinity. For His Humanity was in Him to attract to Him those who wished to devour, and His Divinity was there to wound; there was His open infirmity to excite, His hidden virtue to pierce the jaw. The hippopotamus was thus hooked because it died from what it swallowed. And this Behemoth really knew about the Incarnation of the Son of God, but did not know the plan of our redemption. He knew that the Son of God was incarnate for our redemption, but he did not know that it was our Redeemer who would pierce him with His death. Therefore it is said: “In his eyes He will take him as if on a hook.” They say “in the eyes” about what we see in front of us. And the ancient enemy of the human race saw the Redeemer in front of him (in his eyes), whom he recognized, but could not confess, saying: “What should we do with you, Son of God? Have you come to torment us ahead of time?” (Matthew 8:29) 3378. And Behemoth for the first time understood whom to fear, and yet after that he was not afraid of Him when he thirsted for the death of His flesh, as if it were his bait. Because then we heard what our Chief did himself, let us now hear what He does with His own members. It follows from this that you will pierce his nostrils with stakes (Job 40:21) 3379. 15. Stakes (pillars that are sharpened at the top and stand firmly on the ground) are the instructions (help) of the saints. And they pierce the nostrils of this Behemoth. But the aroma passes through the nostrils, and based on the smell, an object can be detected even when placed at some distance. The nostrils of the Behemoth thus denote his cunning tricks, with the help of which he most ingeniously strives both to discover the secret good qualities of our hearts and to dispel them. The Lord, therefore, pierces the nostrils with stakes, with the help of the Saints, and takes away their power from them (the nostrils). But Behemoth often hovers along the paths of the righteous with such cunning art, and penetrates them even with the help of their good qualities. For by the generosity of one man he kindles another with the fire of discord; and when he sees one person compassionate, he persuades another to be angry. If he is not able to break them simply by inclining them to sin, he will sow evil in the heart with the help of good deeds. But holy people overcame these tricks more quickly, and they detect them more acutely. This point of view becomes clearer when we give the example of Paul, one of many who accompany the truth in testimony. For when a Corinthian committed the sin of incest, the illustrious teacher handed him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, for repentance, and protected his spirit in order to be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 5:5). He who has committed sin can himself become the scourge of discipline. But when repentance was experienced, he learned that the Corinthians had already taken pity on him, he said: “And whomever you forgive for anything, I also forgive him; for if I have forgiven anyone for anything, I have forgiven you on behalf of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:10). 16. The stakes (pillars) can also denote the sharp words of Wisdom, the One Who Himself appeared in the flesh, and the nostrils of the Behemoth (sucking up odors) denote the eternal search, which is attached to the ancient enemy. For when he doubted whether God had really become incarnate, he wanted to find out by asking for miracles, saying: if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread (Matthew 4:3). Because then he would like to know the smell of His God through the evidence of miracles, and he turned his nostrils as if in breathing. But he immediately received the answer that I do not live by bread alone, and you shall not tempt the Lord your God (Matthew 4:7) 3380, because the Truth reflected the search for the ancient enemy with the harshness of its statements and pierced the nostrils as if with stakes. But as this Behemoth continues to advance, using various arguments of deception, he is marked by adding another name to him; and it says: Verse 20. Do you want to be able to pull Leviathan on a hook (Job 40:20) 3381? 17. Leviathan 3382 is chosen here to represent "increase". Increasing who else if not people? People whom he led once and for all into sin, and whom he carries forward to eternal death, increasing their sins every day. And while he increases his guilt by the usury of sin, he undoubtedly does not cease to add to the punishment. He may also be called Leviathan in derision. For he declared in his cunning persuasion that he would give the divine nature to the first man, but he took away immortality (Gen. 3:4-5). He may be called, ironically, "Leviathan" 3383 for when he promised to grant them what they were not, he even charged them for his craft what they actually were. But it was Leviathan who was hooked, because, in the case of our Redeemer, he was caught by the bait of His Body, the sharp sting of His Deity pierced him to the end. The hook penetrated the throat of this Devourer when the flesh bait was captured by the Devourer, and at the moment of His suffering His Deity was hidden to kill the Leviathan. For in this abyss of water, in this infinity of the human race, this leviathan rushed to and fro with an open mouth, rushing everyone to death, and devouring life almost everywhere. But the hook for the death of this leviathan was laid in this dark depth of water. The axis of this hook is the genealogy of the ancient fathers recorded in the Gospel. For when He said: Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, and so on until the inclusion of the name Joseph, and all the way to Mary, the betrothed Virgin, that is, the entire axis (line) to the Incarnate Lord, this is the hook of his end (Matthew 1:2-16). This open-mouthed leviathan in the waters of the human race has eaten many, but it will no longer have the power to bite. God, thus, pointing to the incarnation of His Only Begotten Son, says: Do you want to be able to pull Leviathan on a hook? You understand, like me. Who sent his Only Begotten Son in corruptible flesh to death in order to break this circle; His mortal flesh was visible, but the power of His immortality was not visible, and this hook destroyed the one who swallowed it. And you will tie his tongue with a rope (Job 40:20) 3384? 18. For the Holy Scriptures it is customary to call “rope”, sometimes measured portions, sometimes sins, sometimes faith. For example, measured shares are named when it is said: “ropes come to us in good places, and good is our inheritance” (Ps. 15:6) 3385. The ropes fall in good places when, through the humility of life, a better country awaits us. Sins are signified by “rope” when the Prophet says: Woe to you who draw upon themselves the iniquity of the ropes of vanity (Isa. 5:18) 3386. Iniquity turns into ropes of vanity, when sin grows like a plant supported by a rope. The psalmist also said: The ropes of sins have already entangled me (Ps. 18:61) 3387. For the rope, when wound, with each turn increases the strength with which sin holds, i.e. it speaks of sin, which multiplies through repetition in a depraved heart. Again, faith is called a rope when Solomon says: “A rope twisted three times is not easily broken” (Eccl. 4:12) 3388, because faith in the truth, which is woven from the lips of preachers from the knowledge of the Trinity, is firm in the elect, and breaks only in the center of the reprobate. In this place, therefore, nothing prevents either “faith” or “sin” from being designated by the word “rope.” For us, the Incarnate Lord tied the tongue of Leviathan with a rope, since He appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, and condemned all his treacherous speeches. He said, as Paul testifies: “And from sin and condemned sin” (Rom. 8:3) 3389. He tied his tongue with a rope, because with the help of the likeness of sinful flesh He swept away all his false arguments from the hearts of His elect. For behold, when the Lord appears in the flesh, Leviathan's tongue is bound, because when His truth was sung, these doctrines of lies were hushed. 19. For where are the false judgments of scientists at the present time, who seek to establish on a scientific basis that there is no certainty in anything, who shamelessly demand from their listeners faith in their statements when they declare that nothing is true? Where are the superstitious mathematicians who, looking at drawings of constellations, insist that people’s lives depend on the movements of the stars? Although the birth of twins often scatters this doctrine to the winds; for, although they are born at the same moment, they are completely different. Where are the many false teachings that we will not list for fear of diverting too far from the essence of the commentary? But every false teaching has now been silenced, because the Lord has tied the tongue of Leviathan with the rope of His Incarnation. The Prophet also said well: And the Lord will devastate the tongue of the sea of ​​Egypt (Is.11:15) 3390. Here the “language of the sea” is the knowledge of secular learning. But it is well called the “Egyptian Sea” because it was darkened by the darkness of sin. The Lord, therefore, devastated the tongue of the sea of ​​Egypt, because by manifesting Himself in the flesh, He destroyed the false wisdom of this world. Leviathan's tongue is therefore bound with a rope, since the old sinner's preaching was bound by the mortal flesh sacrificed. 20. Here is another example where “rope” denotes faith. Because when the belief in the Trinity became known to the world of holy preachers, the doctrine of peace ceased to go against the mind of the elect. From here the Lord said well through the Prophet: You have cut out springs and streams, You have dried up the rivers of Ethan (Ps. 73:15) 3391. Ethan is interpreted as "strong". And who is this strong man, if not the One about whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: No man can enter the house of a strong man and spoil his things, unless he first binds the strong man (Mark 3:27) 3392. The Lord, therefore, cut out springs and streams as He spread streams of truth into the hearts of His Apostles. And as it is said through another Prophet: With joy you will draw water from the fountains of the Savior (Is. 12:3) 3393. If we go with our thirst for their teaching, then we can return the jar of our hearts full of truth. But He dries up the rivers of Ethan, and gives birth to His springs, when He dries up the teaching of a powerful and evil spirit, illuminating it with the ray of His truth. The tongue, therefore, of Leviathan is tied with a rope, because with the spread of faith in the Trinity, the preaching of lies became silent. But since he cannot rise openly now, he walks back and forth and bites on the sly. But the Lord observes his machinations against us with good pity, and defeats him even in his insidious plans. Therefore it is said: Verse 21. Will you put a ring in his nostrils ( Job 40:21 )? 21. Just as the stratagems of 3394 (devious plans) are signified by the word “nostrils,” so the “ring” signifies the omnipotence of the Divine Power. For when she keeps us from being seized by temptations, she surrounds us in wonderful ways, protecting us from the machinations of the ancient enemy. The ring, therefore, which is placed in his nostrils, is the power of heavenly protection, which circles around us, restraining his cunning, so that it cannot prevail over a weak man, although he secretly seeks his fatal arguments. But, under the name “ring”, the help of God’s Judgment can also be designated, which is inserted into the nostrils of this Behemoth, and keeps him from his insidious cruelty. Hence the Prophet said well about the king of Babylon, when he saved him from the harm of the Israelites: I will put a ring in your nostrils (Is. 37:29) 3395. What Holy Scripture calls a “ring” in this place is called a “sickle” in the Apocalypse of John. He says: And I looked, and behold a bright cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man; on his head is a golden crown, and in his hand is a sharp sickle (Rev. 14:14). For the power of the Divine Judgment is called a “ring” because it is connected on all sides; and because when cutting, it embraces all things inside, this feature was emphasized with the word “sickle.” For everything cut by a sickle falls in the direction in which it was turned. And because the power of the Heavenly Judgment cannot be escaped in any case, (for we are in fact in it, wherever we seek to flee), therefore, when the Judge who is to come is rightly described as holding a sickle. Because when He comes to meet everything that is due, He will surround it and cut it off. The Prophet saw that he was the sickle of judgment when he said: If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I go down to the underworld, you will be there too. If I take the wings of the dawn and move to the edge of the sea, there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me (Ps. 139:8-10). He saw himself inside the sickle, and knew that there was no way to hide, no matter where you were, saying: for the exaltation is not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert (Ps. 74:7), You mean, “the way of salvation is open.” And then he continued to speak about this comprehension of the Divine Power, that “God is the Judge” (IB.7). The Divine Judgment is signified by a sickle, because it surrounds and mows down, and it is also signified by a ring, because it surrounds on all sides. The ring, therefore, placed by the Lord in the nostrils of Leviathan, restrains Him by the Power of his cunning from prevailing. Therefore it is said, “Will you put a ring in his nostrils”? Who is restrained by the Almighty Judgment from his cunning tricks, so that he does not try to harm as much as he wants, and he does not succeed in harming as much as he tries. From this it follows: And you will put a bracelet in his jaw (Job.40:21) 3396? 22. A “bracelet” is different from a “ring”, not so much in meaning, because it also binds and surrounds the place where it will be placed. But the meaning of the “bracelet” extends wider; the “bracelet” denotes a more thorough protection of the Secret Court over us. The Lord, therefore, inserts a bracelet into the openings of the jaws of this Leviathan, because by the inexpressible power of His mercy He so resists the malice of the arch-enemy that he sometimes loses even those whom he has captured, and they fall out of his mouth, after committing a sin, they return to innocence. For how could those who were once caught in the mouth escape its jaws? How could he not swallow Peter, whom he grabbed into his mouth when he denied? If he hadn't grabbed David in his mouth when he was lost in lust? But when they returned, each of them, through repentance, into life, escaped from Leviathan, as it were, through the holes in his jaws. Those, therefore, will be brought out of his mouth through the hole in his jaws, who, after committing such great iniquities, have returned through repentance. A person can escape the mouth of this Leviathan without committing iniquity. But, therefore, we know how much we owe to the Redeemer of mankind, who not only kept us from falling into the mouth of Leviathan, but gave us the opportunity of returning from the mouth; He who did not deprive the sinner of hope because He bound his jaw, He left a way of escape, so that he who was at first careless and did not fear being bitten could at least flee after being bitten. He comes to the aid of everyone, because He gave man commandments that he should not sin, and yet provided him with a means, when in sin, that he should not despair. Thus, it is necessary to be as careful as possible, because no one who has fallen into sin, and arrives there in pleasure, will be taken away from the mouth of this Leviathan. And yet, if he has been captured, then he must not despair, for if he mourns his sin thoroughly, he will find a hole in his jaw by which to escape. Even now he can squeeze his teeth, but if an escape route is sought, the hole is in his jaw. Let everyone who has not yet been caught escape his jaws; but let everyone who has already fallen look for holes in the jaw. Our Creator is merciful and just. 23. But let no one say, because He is merciful, I sin and forgive myself. And let no one who has sinned say, my sin is forgiven simply because I desperately mourned it. For God forgives sin that is mourned; but let everyone be afraid to sin, because he does not know whether he can worthily mourn his sin. Before sinning, let them fear His justice; but after sin, let them trust in His mercy. And may he not be so afraid of His Judgment, may not rely so much on consolation and hope, may he not be so confident in His mercy as to neglect to turn to his wounds for the medicine of worthy repentance. And let him always think also that the one who trusts in His mercy will be judged just as hard. Let the hope of the sinner rejoice in His mercy, but let the penitent tremble under His Power. Let, therefore, in the hope of our certainty there be a sting of fear, so that the merciful Judgment may frighten and restrain from sin the one whom the Grace of Mercy invites to the certainty of pardon. Therefore it is said: Do not say, “The mercy of the Lord is abundant,” he will not remember sins” (Eccl. 5:6) 3397, but remember His mercy and justice, saying “For mercy and wrath are from Him” (Sirach 16:12–14). Divine Grace, therefore, pierced the jaw of this Behemoth, comes to the aid of humanity from all sides, graciously and powerfully. But at the same time it gives caution and instruction to people when they are free, and a means of salvation when they are captured. The sins of men like David and Peter are recorded in Scripture so that their fall will teach them to be careful. But repentance and forgiveness are shown in order to explain that it is possible to restore what has been lost and there may be hope of avoiding death. Let no one boast when David falls. Let no one despair of his own fall as David rises. See how amazingly Holy Scripture humbles the proud with the same word, with which it lifts up the humble. For the same circumstance is shown, for the proud with fear of humility, and for the humble - with the confidence of hope. 24. For this is, in fact, how Divine grace works: it tests us when we are proud, and supports us from plunging into despair. He also warns us through Moses, saying: Do not take the upper or lower millstone as a pledge (Deut. 24:6) 3398. For “to take” sometimes means “to take away.” That is why birds that seek to capture other birds are called hawks 3399. Where does the Apostle Paul say: “You endure it when someone devours you or takes from you” (2 Cor. 11:20) 3400. It’s as if he said: if anyone takes away. But the pledge of the debtor here means the confession of the sinner. Collateral is taken from the debtor when the sinner becomes aware of the sin. And the millstones are hope and fear. Hope lifts the heart, but fear lowers it lower. Both the upper and lower millstones are so combined that the possession of one is useless without the other. Hope and fear, therefore, must be continually united in the heart of the sinner, because he hopes in vain for mercy if he does not fear judgment; he has no reason to fear judgment if he does not also hope for mercy. The upper or lower millstone is therefore ordered not to be accepted as collateral; Therefore, the one who preaches to a sinner must build his sermon guided by this, and not exalting hope and removing fear, but also not diminishing hope, leaving him only in fear. The upper or lower millstone is removed if, after the preacher's speech, either fear is separated from hope, or hope from fear, in the heart of the sinner. 25. But since we have mentioned David, as circumstances required, we have also mentioned the great sin, so that perhaps the mind of our reader may wonder to know why Almighty God did not preserve from bodily sins those whom he had chosen forever, and also exalted to the height of spiritual gifts. We believe they will be quickly satisfied, so we will give a short answer. To some, through the gifts of virtue that they received, the Lord, by mercy, also granted them to fall into the sin of pride, but they did not yet know where they had fallen. Accordingly, the ancient enemy, because he already rules within them, is allowed also to rage against them without, so that those who are exalted in thought may be brought down by the lust of the flesh. But we know that sometimes there is much less harm from falling into sins of the body than from sinning in our quiet thoughts from deliberate pride. When pride is believed to be less shameful, a person takes less care to avoid it. But since lust is more shameful and the most sensitive, all the more everyone knows about it that it is shameful. This means that it often happens that some people who fall into lust after pride have their sinfulness revealed through shame from guilt and hidden sin. And they then also correct their great mistakes when they are more acutely put to shame. For those who thought that they were free when they lived in great sin realize that they are guilty, even compared with lesser sins. It is Behemoth who then, when the Lord allows, leads from sin to sin, and at some point he strikes with sin too much, making the sin obvious to the victim, and thereby losing him, whom he captured, and over whom he seemed to have triumphed. It is gratifying to consider this in the well-guarded bosom of Grace, how great is the compassion of God that surrounds us. Here! he who is proud of his virtue returns through sin to humility. That is, it happens that the virtues that a person has received wound him like a sword, although they should protect him. It happens that those who are wounded because of virtues can be healed through sin. For they did not turn the gifts of virtues into protection; They allowed virtues to contribute to the temptations of vice, so that they could return to humility, at least in the fall. But it should be understood in these matters that the more sins, the more people are bound; and that when it is Behemoth who afflicts men with one sin to make them fall, he binds them also with others to keep them from rising. It is rare that our enemy promotes the salvation of the Elect through the actual wounds of sin. 26. But the chained jaws of this Behemoth can be understood in another sense as well. He, one might say, holds in his mouth not only those whom he has already completely entangled in sin, but those whom he still temptingly inclines to sin: so that anyone can fall under His temptation with the pleasure of sin. He held Paul in his jaws, but did not swallow him, when he troubled him, after so many sublime revelations, with thorns of flesh (2 Cor. 12:7), when he was allowed to tempt him, he seized Paul in the jaw, which was chained. But the one who could have perished because of pride was tempted and did not perish. This temptation was, therefore, not an abyss of vices, but a defense of his merits; therefore this Leviathan did not devour him by involving him in sin. But the people who were delighted with their holiness would be lost unless he tempted them. They did not want to be saints if they boasted of the glory of their holiness, and the more they came under his power, the more they extolled themselves for their virtues. But after the temptation they resigned themselves; when they resigned themselves, they immediately ceased to be his. The jaw of this Behemoth, therefore, was also pierced, because he loses God's chosen ones through temptation, trying to destroy, he, on the contrary, keeps them from destruction. The ancient enemy, therefore, promotes the secret Providence of God, willingly tempting the souls of the saints to their destruction, but unwittingly preserving them for the Kingdom. His jaw, therefore, is constrained, because those whom he tempts, that is, tries to chew, he loses when he goes to swallow. It is Divine Wisdom that the craft of the ancient enemy strives for the good of all (so that when he tempts the elect, he protects them the more by tempting). How well blessed Job said that you will be born through jaws bound with a bracelet. What follows: Verse 22. Will he exalt prayers to you, or will he speak tender words to you (Job 40:22) 3401? 27. You understand, like me. For, if these words refer to the Son, he spoke tender and meek words to Him Incarnate when he said: I know You, who You are, Holy of God (Luke 4:34). And it was Leviathan who exalted prayers to Him when he spoke of the legion: if you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine (Matthew 8:31). Although this can be understood in an even broader sense, because he multiplies prayers to the Lord, when the wicked who form his body pray, on the day of the last judgment, to be delivered; when its members, that is, the wicked, cry out too late, and say: Lord, Lord, open to us. To whom He will immediately say, I don’t know where you are from (Luke 13:25). Then, through the wicked, many from his body, he speaks in tender words to the Lord: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles (Matthew 7:22)? They say in soft words what they once did in His name, but they did it with a hard heart, and thinking that they were doing good deeds on their own. That's why they heard, I don't know who you are, where you come from. Verse 23. Will he make a covenant with you? Will you accept him as a slave (Job 40:23) 3402? 28. It is carefully observed that Leviathan makes a covenant with the Lord, and becomes His servant forever. For a covenant is the wishes of the parties that will be fulfilled, and each one achieves what he desires and ends quarrels according to the desired result. The ancient enemy, therefore, when the torch of his malice burns, is in conflict with the purity of Divine grace, but even in this state, he does not disobey His decisions. Therefore, he sometimes maliciously tries to tempt the righteous. But only as long as the Lord allows this to happen. This freedom to tempt is therefore called "covenant" in which the desire of the tempter is carried out, and yet the Will of the Righteous is thereby miraculously accomplished. For, as we have lately said, the Lord often subjects His chosen ones to temptation in order that they may be prepared; just as after the barriers of Paradise, after the mysteries of the third heaven, the angels of Satan gave Paul a lesson so that he would not be exalted by the greatness of the revelations (2 Cor. 12:7) 3403. But, as we have already said, these are temptations so that those who could perish from pride are humiliated, and thereby saved from destruction. In secret Providence, therefore, the iniquity of the devil is allowed to rage, but the kindness of God has mercy. And in this covenant which he has made with God, he is rightly called a servant. Because he obeys the commands of heavenly Grace even when he carries out his evil will. He is, therefore, a servant by agreement, who, when allowed to do his will, is governed by the Will of Heaven, even tempting the Chosen of God, as was previously said, unwittingly contributing to their salvation by his temptation. 29. Thus, he contributes to the elect in this life as long as he is able to carry out evil temptations; but, as has been said, he is not merely a servant by agreement, but a servant forever; Therefore, we are forced to examine how it can be explained that even after the end of this life, he is the servant of the Lord forever. For he is no longer allowed to seduce the righteous who are strong in heavenly joy, when he is condemned before their eyes to the eternal hell of the fiery hell. Because in this heavenly country, in which they are now rewarded for the labors of their temptation, they should not be subject to temptation. But at that time it is Leviathan with his body, namely all the outcasts, who is given over to the punitive flame, to be tortured forever. And while they see this torment, they actually glorify God more and more, because they see in themselves the blessing with which they have been rewarded, and in the others - witnesses of the punishment which they themselves have escaped. For thus will the universe be full of beauty and harmonious, when hell will justly punish the wicked, and eternal bliss will justly reward the righteous. For the black color is placed against the background of the picture so that the white or red that is placed above it appears more beautiful; so at that time, God will rightly dispose even the wicked, increasing the happiness of the elect, reflecting in their eyes the suffering of the rejected. And although the joy they receive from contemplating the Lord is such that it can no longer be increased, they feel more indebted to their Creator when they feel that they have been justly rewarded, and they have overcome evil because He has graciously helped them. If this Leviathan's temptation here, and his curses there, bring such benefit, he is a servant forever, when he unwittingly contributes to the glory of God: both his just punishment there, and his unjust will here. What follows: Verse 24. Do you want to play with him like a bird (Job 40:24) 3404? 30. Why is our enemy first called Behemoth, then Leviathan, and now compared to a “bird,” if not to show his destruction? By Hippopotamus, as we have already said, is meant a “monster,” and is a quadruped when he eats grass from the meadows, like an ox. But when Leviathan is hooked, there is undoubtedly a dragon or a writhing snake in the waters. But now he is compared to a bird, it is said, “Do you want to play with him like a bird?” Let us consider, therefore, why it is called "monster" or "beast", why "dragon" or "snake", and why "bird". The meaning of his names will become clearer to us if we accurately study the craft of his cunning. For he does not come from heaven to earth, and no longer lifts himself up by any aspirations of heavenly hope. He is thus a four-legged animal due to the stupidity of his unclean deeds, a dragon due to his malice and the pain he causes, and a “bird” due to the frivolity of his nature. Because he doesn't know what he's doing against himself, he's a monster, strong but stupid; because he maliciously seeks to hurt us, he is a "dragon", because he exalts himself arrogantly by the subtlety of his nature, he is a bird. Again, because he, in his evil deeds, uses God's Will for our salvation, he is a "beast", because he secretly bites - a "snake", and because he sometimes through his indomitable pride still considers himself an angel of light, he is a bird. For, although he persecutes mankind with his unimaginable skill in wickedness, he specifically attempts to commit three crimes, namely, to subjugate some by lust, some by malice, and some by pride. 31. He is thus, quite deservedly, called by names according to the name of his deeds, when he is called “beast”, “dragon”, or “bird”. For in those whom he tempts with the foolishness of lust, he is a “beast”; to those whom he destroys and traumatizes with blazing anger, he is a “dragon,” but to those whom he raises to the arrogance of pride, as if they had understood and achieved the highest things, he is a bird. But in those whom he pollutes, along with lust and malice and also pride, he exists as a beast, a dragon, and a bird at the same time. For he dwells himself in the hearts of those who are deceived by him, in the many forms in which the sins with which he entangles them are manifested. He is thus called by the name of many things, because he transforms himself into various kinds of forms before the eyes of those who are deceived by him. For when he tempts someone through the lust of the flesh, and yet does not overcome him, he changes his temptation and form, and sets his heart on fire in malice. Because, therefore, he could not approach him as a "monster", he tries to approach him as a "dragon". If he is not able to harm him with the poison of malice, but puts the good qualities of the tempted one before his eyes, and lifts his heart with pride. That is, if he could not get close to this person like a dragon, he flies in front of him as a ghost of vanity, he flies before the eyes of his thoughts like a bird. And this bird, undoubtedly, the more strongly it rises against us, the less we hinder any weakness of our own nature. But she, too, could not overcome the death of the flesh that our Redeemer met, and this made her even more proud. But where he tore himself away from his Creator on the wing of pride, there he found the snare of his death. For he was overcome by the very death of His flesh, which, in his pride, he sought, and fell into the snare of the death of the Righteous. That is why it is said, “Do you want to play with him like a bird?” For the Lord in truth played with him as with a bird, when in His Only Begotten Son He showed him the bait, but hid the hook. For he saw what he put into his mouth, but he did not see what he swallowed. For, although he himself admitted that He was the Son of God, he believed that He died simply as a man, for whose death he awakened the minds of the persecuting Jews. But he finally learned too late, at the very moment when He was betrayed, that he would be punished, and his punishment was death. Therefore, he frightened Pilate's wife in a dream, so that her husband would refrain from persecuting the Righteous One (Matthew 27:19) 3405. But the plan that had been secretly established could not be changed by him. The death of a righteous man who dies unjustly was to be a ransom for the death of sinners who died justly. But since this Leviathan did not know this, even at the moment of His suffering, he was deceived, and like a bird, caught in the net of His Deity when he seized the bait. What follows: Or will you bind it for your maidservants? 3406 32. The position of servant is disgraceful for men, but their power is greater. And this power helps them escape slavery. The Lord, therefore, says well that He binds this Leviathan not for men, but also for his maidservants. Because when he came for our redemption, and sent his preachers against the pride of the world, he chose the foolish, and forsaken the wise; He chose the weak and left the strong; He chose the poor and left the rich. The Lord, therefore, bound the power of this Leviathan for His handmaids, because, as Paul testifies, God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty of this world (1 Cor. 1:27) 3407. Hence Solomon said well; Wisdom built herself a house, hewed out seven pillars, slaughtered a sacrifice, sent her wine and prepared a table; sent her maidens to call to the citadel and to the walls of the city (Prov. 9:1-3) 3408. A house was built for Wisdom in truth when the Only Begotten Son of God created for Himself a human body in the womb of the Mother of God. The body of the Only Begotten is called the house of God, as it is also called the church; but in such a way that at the same time the Son of God and Man, the Dwelling One Himself. But this can be correctly understood in another sense also if the Church is called the house of Wisdom. And she carved seven pillars, because... she cut off the love for the mortal world in the souls of the preachers, and raised them up to bear the cover of this Church. And this, because they maintain perfection, are designated by the number seven. She stabbed her victims because she allowed the lives of preachers to be sacrificed to persecution. She sent her wine because she declared to us the mysteries of God, and she prepared the table, for she laid open and prepared for us the food of the Holy Scriptures. She also sent her maidens to call us to the citadel and to the walls of the city, because she taught the weak to gather faithful people for the heavenly construction of their spiritual country. Therefore, the Lord praises Nathanael in the Gospel (John 1:47) 3409, but does not yet call him a preacher, because everyone had to renounce their own praise in order to preach Him. Everything they did, of course, was visible, and the more it was visible what they did, the more clearly it was also visible that they did it not in their own strength, but in the Lord. In order that His wondrous power may shine forth upon the tongues of His preachers, those preachers must not take credit for it. The Lord, therefore, bound the power of this Leviathan for the “handmaids,” because he sent weak preachers into the world, but fed them with his strength. And this Leviathan is bound for the handmaids when the light of truth shines before the weak, and the ancient enemy is not allowed to rage in his will against the minds of the chosen. He is thus the One who gives strength against Him, so that the weak may become strong through Him. But therefore the Lord tells us whom He sends against him. What follows: Verse 25 His friends will cut him into pieces; merchants will sell it ( Job 40:25 ) 3410 33. It is Leviathan who is cut into pieces as often as his members are severed from him by the sword of the Word of God. For when evil people hear the word of truth and are struck down by holy fear, their partnership with their sworn enemy is suspended, and those who in evil adhered to it are taken away and their own body is cut up. After “maids” they are called “friends”, and then “merchants”. Holy preachers, being “handmaids,” first go through their own weakness and fear, then through “friends” when they are strengthened in faith, and finally become “merchants” - when they can do deeds of faith. For it was said to them in weakness: Fear not, little flock, for it pleased the Father to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32) 3411. He said to them: once again, growing in strength, but I called you friends, because I told you everything that I heard from My Father (John 15:15). Finally, they are ready to run their business; Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). The preaching of faith is therefore an investment, when the word is given, and the profit is the faith received by the merchants from those who listen. They, like merchants, create their own business, invest sermons, and receive a return in faith from the people. They increased their faith and received their holy life. For if the preaching of the righteous were not like this, the psalmist, of course, would not have said, take a psalm and give a tympanum (Ps. 81:3) 3412. For in the tympanum the skin is dried in order to produce sound. What is meant?: Take the spiritual song of the heart, and return the temporary mortal body. Solomon would never speak of the Holy Church as a virtuous woman. “She made a shroud and sold it, and delivered the girdle to the merchants of Canaan” (Prov. 31:24) 3413. What could clothing signify if not the subtle texture of a holy sermon? In which people can rest quietly, because the minds of believers are renewed with heavenly hope. That is why Peter saw the animals in a linen sheet (Acts 10:11–12), because the souls of sinners, by mercy, were gathered together, as if wrapped in a gentle veil of faith. The Church, therefore, produces and sells these beautiful garments because it communicates faith in words, and receives faith and the way to eternal life from unbelievers. And she sold the belt to the Canaanite merchants, because the power of righteousness that she showed sprouted in the pagan world and was preserved there. Let your loins be girded (Luke 12:35). The Lord, therefore, in searching for His preachers, finds them “handmaids,” by changing them He makes them “friends,” enriching them further, He establishes them as “merchants.” For those who in their weakness feared the threats of the world rose up after they recognized the Divine plan. But when, enriched by virtues, they carried the message of faith, in order to smite the members of this Leviathan more severely, or rather, becoming friends, they united in the love of Truth; and then they were able to remove sinners from his body and soul, becoming skilled merchants, and they manifest in themselves the widest treasures of virtues. Because many were taken from this Leviathan thanks to the preachers of God, the voice of truth promises through the prophet, who says: And if you separate the precious from the worthless, you will be like My mouth (Jer. 15:19) 3414. For he truly separates the precious from the worthless, who cuts off the souls of people from the accursed ancient enemy. It is rightly called the mouth of God, because through it, undoubtedly, divine words are spoken. Verse 26. Do you want to fill the nets with his skin, and the holes of fish with his head (Job.40:26) 3415? 34. What is meant by “nets” or “fish holes” if not churches of believers who unite into One Church? It is written in the Gospel: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and captured fish of all kinds (Matthew 13:47). The Church is actually already in the Kingdom of Heaven, while the Lord exalts it, it itself already reigns in the Lord with heavenly conversation. And this is also true in comparison with the net, which was thrown into the sea, collecting all kinds of fish; because when thrown into this world, He does not reject anyone, but catches the wicked and the virtuous, the proud and the humble, the wicked and the meek, the foolish and the wise. By the “skin” of this Leviathan we understand the foolish, and by his “head” we mean the wise of his body. Also, by the “skin,” which is external, those who serve him are designated, and by the “head,” those who are above them. And the Lord, observing the correct order, rightly declares that He will fill these “nets” or “fish holes,” that is, His Church, first with believers from his “skin” and then from his “head.” Because, as we have already said, he chose the weak first in order to shame the strong later (1 Cor. 1:27). He has chosen the foolish of the world to confound the wise. For He gathered the illiterates first, and the philosophers after; and He did not teach the fishermen by means of orators, but with miraculous power He subdued the orators by means of fishermen. He says, therefore, do you want to fill the nets with his skin, or the holes of fish with his head? The first to gather in the church are the believers who are further away from the enemy, from the outside, from the “skin” of the devil, and then he subjugates his “head” to Himself, that is, the wise and deeply involved by the enemy. What follows. Will you lay your hand on him? 3416 That is, like I, who restrains him with My mighty power, will not allow him to rage any longer, and who, like Me, must allow his cruelty to work for the good of My chosen ones. Of course, laying your hand on it means subduing its power. That is why blessed Job says in his question: Verse 27. Will you lay your hand on him ( Job 40:27 )? As if it was openly said: will you really hold him with your strength? Therefore it is also added: Remember the battle, and say no more (Job 40:27) 3417. 35. The deep dispensation of God's Will, for this reason, often tests His servants - with worldly threats, crushes them with disasters, or burdens them with some imposed burden, or entangles them with toil, because if they remained calm, and free under calm, they would drown under the wounds of the mind from the inability to endure the temptations of the enemy. While their mind is occupied with how to properly deal with a calamity or burden, it protects them from receiving the arrow of temptation. It is a frequent practice of the doctor to cure inflammation of the intestines, he gives a medicine that can cause itching on the skin; those. he infuses a medicine that heals internally, causing an external wound. In the same way, the medicine of the Divine dispensation often causes the removal of a disease or wound internally due to external pain. And it pulls you out of the internal enslavement of sins that otherwise occupy the mind, with the help of deep wounds inflicted by disasters. And yet often, when people do not realize openly sin in themselves, and either experience pain or hard work, they murmur against the Almighty, not understanding what a powerful enemy they are waging war against. If they knew its irresistible force, which they have the opportunity to overcome, they would not complain about the external suffering that they endure. 36. These external trials seem difficult to us for the reason that we do not want to see our even more difficult trials as our secret enemy. We are often protected from these attacks, as we have already said, when we are scourged externally, and when we suffer from external things. For if our flesh suffers before it is strengthened by the incorruptibility of the resurrection, we can overcome temptations. And who may not know that it is much better to burn from a fever than from the fire of sins? And yet, when we are sick with a fever, because we neglect to attend to the heat of the sins that might possess us, we murmur at the blow. Who can not know that it is much better to be in the slavery of cruel people than to be under the power of flattering demonic spirits? And yet, when we are irritated by the oppression of our human existence (perhaps "subjection to man"), according to the Providence of God, we murmur and complain, no doubt because we do not consider that if none of the conditions of slavery oppress us, our spirit, more inclined to slavery, will accidentally fall into the slavery of many iniquities. We believe that the suffering we endure is enormous because we do not see how difficult and insurmountable the attacks of the cunning enemy are against us. But what if Almighty God gives us the burden from which we suffer for our enlightenment, and yet takes His help from us, and leaves us to the temptations of this Leviathan? Where shall we hide ourselves when such a mighty enemy rages against us, if we are not protected by any protection of our Creator? Therefore, therefore, blessed Job, although he did not see sin in himself, still suffered serious disasters, and did not fall into the sin of murmuring, therefore it is said: Remember the battle and say no more. It’s as if it was clearly told to him: if you understand that a secret enemy is fighting against you, you will not grumble about what is allowed from Me. If you see the enemy's sword attacking you, you will not fear disasters from the Father. For you see, because I smite you, I will preserve you with My scourging from the eternal enemy. Remember the battle and say no more: that is, the more you keep yourself quiet within the discipline of the Father, the more you see that you are weak before the attacks of the enemy. If you are under My education in order to carry it with patience and defeat the attacks of the enemy, you must see not that every thing that is allowed to you is difficult, but that thanks to every thing that torments you from the outside, you are freed from internal suffering. But since it is Leviathan who flatters himself with the false promise of Divine compassion, after He has spoken of His power, and awakened the mind of blessed Job (by saying Remember the battle and say no more) to prevent the unforgivable guilt of murmuring, it is immediately added: Verse 28. His hope must disappoint him ( Job 41:1 ) 3418 37. But this should also be understood as the fact that all evil people who are not afraid of the severity of divine justice flatter themselves in vain, hoping for His compassion. And He thus consoles us by speaking of the coming punishment at the final judgment: And before the eyes of everyone he will be overthrown. For he will be cast down in the sight of all, for when the eternal Judge appears, when the legions of Angels stand by His side, when all the Powers of Heaven and all the elect see this spectacle, this cruel and powerful monster will be captured completely with his whole body, that is, with all the wicked, and will be consigned to the eternal fire of hell. It is said: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Oh, what a spectacle it will be, and what it will be when the greatest monster is captured before the eyes of the chosen ones, whom he tempted in his time, and they are horrified! But the secret and wonderful Will of God so decreed that they are now in His Grace, although they have not seen the war, and that they are already joyful victors, and the enemy is in captivity. And, as if knowing that we would immediately ask: “How did You not raise him up in cruelty, if You allowed him to devour and destroy so many?” He immediately added, saying: Verse 2. For who can resist My face? and who first gave Me that I should repay him ( Job 41:2–3 ) 3420? 38. In these two verses He fully indicated both the might of His Power and the weight of the cause. About His Power He said, For who can resist My face? And regarding the reason, he added: and who first gave to Me that I should repay him? As if He had said, I did not raise him up by cruelty, because I saved my chosen ones by My Power, and again, I condemn the wicked not unjustly, but with reason. That is, I was able to save those whom I graciously chose, and those whom I reject, I do not reject unjustly. Because no one preceded anything and gave nothing first to God so that Divine Grace would be obliged to follow him. For if we have not come to God by good works, this is what the Prophet says: His mercy will precede 3421 me (Ps. 59:10) 3422? If we did some good deeds in order to deserve His mercy, this is what the apostle says: by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves, but it is the gift of God, and not from your works (Eph. 2:8) 3423. If our love for God has sprouted, then this is what the Apostle John says: It is not we who loved God, but He first loved us (1 John 4:10) 3424. This is what the Lord says to Hosea: I will love you according to my will (Hos.14:5) 3425. If without His gift, in our own strength, we follow God, this is what the Gospel warns about, saying: Without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5). Or where He says: No man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me converts him (John 6:44) 3426. Where is it that He says again: You did not choose Me, but I chose you (John 15:16). We nullify the gifts of good works, thinking that this is done through our own strength, which was also beneficially said by Paul, that all the self-confidence of the human mind should be cut off from the very root of the heart, when he says: We should not even think of anything of ourselves as of ourselves, but our ability is from God (2 Cor. 3:5) 3427. Therefore, no one has any merit before God to be able to hold Him as their debtor. It's simple - the Creator miraculously chose some in advance, and rightly leaves some others in their evil habits. 39. But still He does not show His chosen ones mercy without justice, because He here leads them through severe tribulations. Again, He does not show justice without mercy to the rejected, because He here patiently endures those whom He condemns forever. So, both the elect receive grace, which anticipates (protects in advance) them, 3428 and the reprobate receive according to what they deserve. Therefore, the elect are gifted by His mercy, and the wicked are not guilty of anything by His justice. It is well said: Who first gave to Me that I should repay him? As if it were clearly said: I am not obliged for any reason to save the outcasts, because I am not bound to them as a debtor by any of their deeds. Therefore, they will not receive eternal benefits from the Heavenly Country, because when they could have deserved It, they, of their own free will, despised It. But free will is developed correctly in the elect when their mind rises above earthly desires, according to the inspiration of Grace. 40. The good we do belongs to both God and us. It is God, his preventing Grace, and our own free will that follows It. For if it is not from God, then why do we thank Him for everything? Again, if it is not our own, why do we expect rewards to be ours? We do not give thanks for nothing, because we know that everything has been given to us by His grace. Again, we do not seek rewards undeservedly, we know that, in accordance with free will, we have chosen good deeds to perform. From this it follows: All things that are under heaven are Mine (Job 41:3) 3429. It is clear that everyone, not only those who are under heaven, but also those who are above heaven and are called heavenly, fulfill the Will of Him through Whom they remember they were created. Why does He speak only about things below heaven: Are all the things under heaven Mine? 41. This is because He speaks of Leviathan, who no longer dwells in the ethereal abode of heaven, He affirms that all things that are under heaven are His, to teach that even he who fell from heaven is subject to His power. As if He said, this Leviathan has indeed lost My Grace, but he has not escaped My Power: because even those very powers that oppose Me with their evil deeds are subordinate to Me. From this it follows: Verse 3. I will not spare him, nor his strong words built into a prayer (Job.41:4) 3430 42. Who can think that he never knew or read that the devil will ask for forgiveness for his mistakes? But it is possible that the man whom this Leviathan at the end of the world will make his vessel (whom, as Paul testifies, the Lord Jesus will slay with the spirit of His mouth and destroy by the appearance of His coming) (2 Thess. 2:8), alarmed in the presence of such great majesty, because he will no longer be able to exercise his power, bows down himself in prayer. But this can also be understood as his body, that is, all the wicked, who finally resort to words of supplication because they now despise their actions. Where does the Truth come from in the Gospel: “then other virgins came and said: Lord! God! Open to us (Matthew 25:11), and He immediately answered them: “Truly I say to you, I do not know you (Matthew 25:12).” 43. For there are some in the Holy Church who offer long prayers to God, but do not act like those who entreat. They make promises to Heaven in their petitions, but avoid them in their deeds. They sometimes even feel tears during prayer, but when, after long prayers, pride strikes their mind, they immediately swell with the arrogance of arrogance; when greed urgently calls upon them, they often glow with the fervor of covetous thought; lust has seduced them, and they are immediately suffocated by illicit desires; when anger has persuaded them, the flames of madness quickly consume their gentle calm. As we have already said, it is that they experience tears in prayer, and yet at the end of their prayer, when they immediately fall under the temptation of sin, they do not remember that they cried for the desire for the kingdom of heaven. As Balaam openly declared himself, who says: Let my soul die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like theirs (Book of Numbers 23:10). But when the time of repentance had passed, he gave advice against the lives of those for whom he asked “to be like them even in death”; and when he found a reason for stinginess, he immediately forgot everything he wanted for himself in the path of innocence. Prayer that is not held in the persistent constancy of love has no weight. And, on the contrary, he spoke well about Anna, who wept and her face was no longer sad (1 Samuel 1:18), namely because her mind did not lose after her prayer, but grew in joy, after during prayer, he groaned bitterly. But some work must be applied in order for the prayer to address the goal of the movement. The truth says in the Gospel: these who devour the houses of widows and pray for a long time for show will receive the most severe condemnation (Mark 12:40). Therefore the prayers of the wicked, who form the body of this Leviathan, will in no way lead to salvation if the prayers are destroyed by works. Therefore, he said correctly: I will not spare him, nor his strong words, built into a prayer. And the words “strong” and “arranged in prayer” clearly indicate the emptiness of prayer. For true prayer is to utter bitter groans in the pangs of conscience, and not strong, sonorous, beautifully constructed words. But since the more the ancient enemy is crushed, the greater his cunning will become. Verse 4. Who can discern his face under his clothes (Job 41:5) 3431? 44. It is Leviathan who tempts in one way the minds of people who are religious, and in another way those who are dedicated to this world. For he presents openly to the wicked the evil things they desire; but he secretly lays snares for good, and deceives the godly under the pretense of holiness. To the wicked he presents himself openly, as to his friends, but with the rest he presents himself, so to speak, in a closed outfit, as if they were strangers, with the aim of introducing secretly, hidden under the cover of a good deed, evil, that which he cannot force to do openly. Therefore, its members, when they are not able to harm by open evil, often take on the appearance of good deeds, and, in fact, being evil, they deceive with the appearance of holiness. For if all the wicked were openly evil, they would not be accepted as good by many. But they accept the appearance of good so that good people, seeing their appearance, which they love, will also accept from them poison in essence, which they would not have accepted otherwise. Whence the Apostle Paul, contemplating some men who, under the guise of preaching, devoted themselves to the service of worldly life, says: Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. What wonder if his ministers also transform themselves into apostles of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:13–14) 3432? Joshua was afraid of this transformation when, seeing the Angel, he asked him which side he was on: Are you ours, or one of our enemies? (Joshua 5:13) 3433 so that if he were from a hostile force, he could, knowing that he was suspected, deceive. Since Leviathan, trying to commit lawlessness, often dresses himself in the semblance of holiness, and all types of his clothing cannot be discovered in any way except by Divine Grace, it is said: who will open his clothes? Who, besides Me, will inspire the minds of My servants with the Grace of the most subtle insight so that, when trying to hide evil, they see his face open, what he hides under the robe of holiness. And because he tries to act in the minds of believers, sometimes openly revealing himself, and sometimes by hidden suggestion (for he acts both by deed and by conviction) he adds: And who will step into the middle of the mouth? ( Job 41:5 ) 3434 45. Who, in the restrained minds of the elect, will interpret the words of his sentences, and show that they are not what they sound? They think they are promising something good, but it leads to death. One must penetrate so deeply into the middle of his cunning words (the mouth) that one can consider not their sound, but their meaning. Adam did not enter into the middle of his mouth when he forgot to carefully consider the enemy's arguments. For he believed the truth that he received Divinity through him, and he lost his immortality. Under the cover of the external, he remained inattentive to the meaning of his words, and gave himself up to be eaten by the mouth. What follows: Verse 5. Who can open the gate of his face? ( Job 41:6 ) 3435 46. ​​These "gates of face" are evil teachers, which are called gates because every person enters through them so that this Leviathan can consider them in the principality of his power. For as Holy Scripture is wont to call holy men the gates of Zion (Ps. 86:2) (Zion means “to look,” and we deservedly call holy preachers “the gates of Zion,” because through their life and teaching we enter into the mysteries of heavenly contemplation), so the teachers of lies signify the gates of this Leviathan. Upon receiving their false preaching, the path of destruction is open to their pitiful listeners. But these gates, as a rule, are open before the eyes of people in order to know, but still closed in order to seize, because in appearance they represent the right things, but in their deeds, they convince that they are evil. They are closed to capture because they, through their hypocrisy, can be discerned. But while the Lord reveals them with amazing power, he makes the hearts of hypocrites clear (obvious) to His chosen ones. Who, therefore, will open the gates of His face? Who will discover a clear understanding for My chosen false teachers who are hidden under the semblance of holiness. And because the Antichrist, who rages in lies and tries to turn the hearts of people to himself, sending his preachers, and to bend them, stirring up the powerful of this world against them, the Lord well added about Leviathan, saying: In the circle of horror of his teeth (Job.41:6) 3436. 47. For He wished in another phrase, “teeth,” to call what He above calls “gates.” Preachers of lies are his “gates” because they open the entrance to destruction. They are his “teeth” because they break against the fortitude and strength of the truth of those whom they capture by mistake. For by the teeth of the Holy Church we understand those who crush the hardness of sinners in preaching (Solomon said: Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep coming out of the pool (Song of Solomon 4:2), and they are deservedly compared to shorn and ransomed sheep, because, assuming an innocent life, they cast aside the old sheep the wool of their past in the bath of Baptism), and the teachers of lies are called the teeth of this Leviathan. Because with their bites they cripple the lives of the outcasts, and sacrifice them, when they are taken out of the integrity of the truth, to a lie. Their preaching might perhaps be easier for their hearers to despise, but the added horror of the worldly authorities elevates them in the eyes of the people. 48. Therefore, it is correctly said: In the circle of horror of his teeth, that is, the evil forces of this world protect the lying preachers of the Antichrist. And many of the powerful seek to suppress with cruelty those whom the preachers could not seduce with their words. In a circle, therefore, the horror of teeth. As if it were expressly said, “These false preachers crush some with their persuasion more easily, because there are others around them who strike the minds of the weak with their terror.” In times of persecution, some with furious words, and others with swords, pervert the piety of believers. For who would not despise, even if he were weak, the teeth of this Leviathan, if horror did not protect them all around with the help of worldly authorities? But they act with a double cunning, because what some talk with words is ensured by others with blows of swords. And the behavior of both, the mighty of this world, and the preachers, lies precisely in the Apocalypse of John, in a short sentence in which it is said: the strength of the horses was in their mouth, and in their tails (Rev. 9:19) 3437, respectively, the mouth is knowledge and words (preachers and teachers), and the “tail” is the mighty of this world. The power of these horses, that is, the most evil preachers, lay in their mouth and tail. Because they themselves really preach vicious things in their beliefs, but, relying on secular power, they have exalted themselves through the “tail”. And because they themselves perhaps despise themselves, they want respect from their listeners, with the help of those whose patronage they are supported by. And it is rightly described that this circle of teeth is terrible, because many horrors are committed by secular power, and although they are not a verdict of truth, they are, of course, terrible in their vicious preaching. The Psalmist described this same Antichrist well, saying: Under his tongue is labor and sickness: he sits in ambush with the rich in secret places (Ps. 9:27,28) 3438. Because of his wicked teachings, labor and illness are under his tongue. Because he shows miracles - he sits in ambush; and since he enjoys the glory of secular power, it is said with the rich in secret places. Verse 6. His body is like red-hot shields ( Job 41:7 ) 3439 49. Holy Scripture is wont to use the word "shield," sometimes in a favorable, sometimes in an unfavorable sense. Shield protection often means Divine protection, but the word is sometimes used for a human enemy. Divine protection is signified by a shield, for example, when the psalmist says: Thou hast crowned us with the shield of Thy good will (Ps. 5:13) 3440. The Lord crowns with a shield, because those whom He helps by protecting, He crowns for reward. Again, "shield" is used by the same prophet for the enemy of man, when he says in another place: There He broke in pieces the horns, the bow, the shield, the sword, and the battle (Ps. 75:4) 3441 For the "horns" signify the arrogance of the proud, the "bow" the wiles of those who strike from afar; “shield” - the firmness of the stubborn in his defense, “sword” - a blow from everything that is nearby; “Swearing” is a movement of the mind against God. And all this is undoubtedly destroyed in the Holy Church, when the minds of those who resist God are tamed through humility. Therefore it is said again by the same psalmist: He will break the bow, break the weapons, and burn the shields with fire (Ps. 45:10) 3442. For the Lord breaks the bow when He dispels the secret, cunning plans of those who lie in wait from afar. He breaks weapons when he crushes the patrons of a person who has been raised against Him. He burns the shields in the fire when, from the heat of the Holy Spirit, He kindles with the warmth of repentance and confession the minds of sinners who defended themselves with stubborn firmness. The body of this Leviathan is in this place compared to a “hot” shield, because we know that every vessel that is heated becomes harder. But still, when dropped, it is usually fragile. If shields are hardened, they become stronger against arrow strikes, but are brittle when dropped. They do deflect the blows of those who strike them, but are broken into fragments by their own fall. Since the body of this Leviathan, that is, of all the wicked, is tempered by stubbornness, but fragile in its life, they are compared to red-hot shields. For when they hear the words of a sermon, they do not allow even the slightest bit of conviction to penetrate into them; because in every sin they commit, they cover themselves with a shield of proud defense. For when any of them is convicted of his sin, he does not immediately think about how to correct his guilt, he thinks about what to oppose to the conviction and how to help in his defense. The arrows of truth do not penetrate them, because they meet the words of holy reproof with a shield of proud defense. Hence Jeremiah said well about the Jews who protected themselves from the covenants of the Lord with proud defense: Reward them, O Lord, according to the works of their hands (Lamentations 3:64) 3443. And he immediately mentioned this reward more clearly, saying: You will give them the shield of the heart, your work (Lamentations 3:65) 3444. The work of the Lord that appeared among people is His human nature, which is capable of suffering. Human nature, which the Jews despised when they saw Him in their proud thoughts; and they disdained to believe Him that He was immortal, Him Whom in His human nature they saw to be mortal. And when they saw the glory of His humility, being tempered by the arrogance of pride, they labored with the utmost care to prevent the holy words of the preachers from penetrating their opinions. And the Lord then rewards them for their evil deeds, He gives them the shield of the heart of His work, because in the righteous judgment He proved that they proudly stood against Him, seeing His work for our weak neighbors. For they rejected the true words of the preachers, because they treated the Lord with contempt in His sufferings. They set up a shield of the heart against the Lord Himself and this work of His. They despised Him in their arrogant thoughts for even becoming humble for their sake. 50. This shield, which we spoke about above, was raised by the first sinner. Who, when the Lord asked him why he touched the forbidden tree, did not admit his guilt, but answered that he received it from the woman whom the Lord had given him; that is, he indirectly shifted his guilt onto his Creator, who gave him a woman who gives such advice. The woman also raised this shield when she did not mention her guilt, but answered that she did it because of the serpent's convictions, saying: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat (Gen. 3:13), as if transferring her guilt to the Creator for allowing the serpent to enter there to convince them. The serpent's guilt was not questioned because his repentance was not asked for. But they, whose repentance was sought, raised that very shield of sinful defense against the words of the most righteous reproof. Since then, it has become like a habit among sinners. Therefore it is rightly said: his body is like red-hot shields; because all the wicked have prepared shields of defense, as if against enemies, so that words of reproof cannot reach them. But He reveals to us even more knowledge about his body, adding: Dense, like scales covering one another (Job.41:7) 3445. 51. It is said that the dragon's body is covered with scales to protect it from rapid penetration by arrows. In the same way, the whole body of the devil, that is, the horde of the wicked, when they are convicted of their iniquities, begin to excuse themselves with any excuses, and release their defenses from scales so that they stop the arrows of truth. For those who are rebuked seek justification, and do not repent of their sin, and for this they cover themselves with scales when the holy preachers overcome them with the sword of the word. He has scales, and therefore the sword of the word has no way of reaching his heart. The path of the spiritual sword is blocked by the hardness of the flesh and cannot be immersed in it. 52. Saul became hardened against the Lord in carnal wisdom when neither the arrow of the Gospel nor the preaching penetrated his heart. But after he was struck down by a strong rebuke from heaven, and blinded by a heavenly vision (for he had lost the light to receive it), coming to Ananias, he was illuminated. And because in this light he lost the stubbornness of his defense, it is well written about him: And immediately scales fell from his eyes (Acts 9:18). The hardness of the fleshly covering was actually on him, and therefore he did not see the rays of the true Light. But after his arrogant resistance was overcome, the scales of his defense fell away. They actually fell under the hands of Ananias from the eyes of his body, but they had already fallen before that, in the conviction of the Lord, from the eyes of his heart. For as he lay wounded by the arrow of deep conviction, he asked with a heart already humble, into which the truth had already penetrated, and said: Lord, what wilt thou command me to do (Acts 9:6)? The arrow of truth had already reached the innermost part of his heart, and removed its scales, when he laid aside the arrogance of pride, recognizing the Lord against whom he fought, and inquired of him. And so, the cruel persecutor - the predatory wolf turned into a sheep, which asks the shepherd for the path to follow him. And it should be noted that when he said: Who are you, Lord? , The Lord did not answer him: I am the Only Begotten Father, I am the Beginning, I am the Word before all ages. Because Saul despised believing in the incarnate Lord, and despised the weaknesses of His human nature, he heard from heaven what he despised: I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute. It was as if He were saying, hear from Me above what you neglect below. You despised the coming of the Creator of Heaven and Earth, so learn Heavenly things from the Man from the earth for this, because the more you discover in yourself the secrets of My weakness, the more you will see exaltation in heaven. For your humility, therefore, I do not teach you that I am God before all ages; but you hear from Me about what you did not want to believe in Me. After He said Jesus, He added to indicate His earthly dwelling, from Nazareth. As if he said openly, see the weakness of My humility, and lose the scales of your pride. 53. Although this scale of protection covers almost all of humanity, it is specifically hung on the minds of hypocrites and cunning people. The scales squeeze on them with even greater effort so as not to confess their mistakes, and the more they are foolishly ashamed of appearing to be sinners in front of people. When they are exposed to counterfeit holiness, their hidden malice is revealed, and the scales of defense repel the sword of truth. From here the Prophet spoke well about the Jews, There Lamia 3446 lay down and found peace for herself, and the hedgehog found a hole for himself (Is. 34:15) 3447. "Lamia" denotes hypocrites, and "hedgehog" - all the wicked who protect themselves with scales of defense. "Lamia" has the face of a man, but the body of a beast. Thus it is said that hypocrites hide behind the appearance of holiness; but what is hidden behind this is the body of the beast, because the works they do under the guise of holiness are very evil. "Hedgehog" denotes the defense of evil minds; because usually a hedgehog’s head and paws and its entire body are visible; but as soon as he was grabbed, he gathers himself into a ball, hides with his paws inside, hides his head; and everything that was visible is hidden behind the needles. This is also how evil minds behave when they are captured by their own excesses. First, the head of the hedgehog is visible, because it is clear how the sinner made his choice to sin. The hedgehog's feet are visible because it is clear with what feet of his wickedness the sin was committed; and yet the wicked mind, receiving the sting of the truth of reproach, suddenly making its excuses, hides its feet within, because it hides the feet of its iniquity, and hides its head as the beginning of its path to sin; and remains like a ball in the hands of the one who holds it, because the one who condemns the sinner suddenly loses everything that he previously knew behind excuses and apologies. The hedgehog, therefore, signifies the outcasts, because the evil mind, gathering itself within itself, hides in the darkness of its defense. But the Divine Word also shows us that the sinner, in justifying himself, becomes even more obscured by his defense, which serves to hide him from the eyes of his accuser, and is supported by those like him. Verse 7. One joins the other, and not even a breath of air comes between them (Job.41:8) 3448. 54. These scales of sinners are attached so close to each other that not even a single breath of life from the lips of the preachers can penetrate through them. Accused of the same evil deed, joining forces in a perverse defense, coming together in stubborn agreement to protect each other in their mutual defense of their sins. Everyone fears for himself when he sees how another is admonished to correction, and, consequently, he also has a feeling against the words of reproof, because by defending another reproached, he is protecting himself. Therefore it is well said: One joins the other, and not even a breath of air comes between them, because while they mutually protect each other in their iniquities with their proud defense, the breath of holy exhortation in any case does not reach them. But He added even more clearly: Verse 8. one with the other lies tightly, interlocked and does not move apart (Job.41:9) 55. For those who can be corrected by dividing them, because of persistence, when united in obstinate iniquity with others, are daily more easily separated from the knowledge of the truth. And even more so they are inseparable from each other when they receive any reproach. The union of the wicked is fatally strong when they are united against something they do not want. The unity of the vicious is strengthened, and the more incorrigible they become, the more unanimous they become in their defense. The sage said about this unity of the rejected: Sinners gathered together like tow (Sir.21:10) 3449. Therefore, the prophet Nahum says: As thorns embrace each other, this is the holiday of those who drink together (Nahum.1:10) 3450. By the festival of the rejected is meant the delight of temporary pleasures. Just as on a holiday, those who drink together are delighted, so when they indulge in temptations, they experience delight. Therefore, the common guilt unites them, and for their own protection, the members of this Leviathan, that is, all the wicked, are united, and therefore the Word of God compares them to scales pressed together, meaning that they will adhere to one another and, holding each other, they will never be separated. For they cannot be separated when they hold each other, because the more they are bound together for their mutual defense, the more they remember that they are alike in everything. What follows: Verse 9. His sneeze is the splendor of fire ( Job 41:10 ) 3451 56. We will explain this passage better if we first learn how sneezing is produced. For in sneezing the breath rises from the chest, and when it does not find any open pore to escape, it touches the brain, and rushes out through the nostrils, shaking the whole head at once. In this body of the Leviathan, by which is meant either the evil spirits or the men who have joined them because of the similarity in their guilt, the breath rises as if from the chest, as pride exalts itself through the power of the modern world. And he does not find a single open hole to escape; because by rebelling against the truth, he is restrained by the Will of God from prevailing on the scale to which he desires. But it still grows inside, like a desire to sneeze, and presses on the brain, because the collected pride of Satan more closely strikes the feelings at the end of the world, and comes to the head when the very instigator of evil spirits incites the persecution of believers, the one who is called the Antichrist. Then the condensed breath will come out through the nostrils, because the iniquity of his pride will completely burst out in open explosions of his anger. Because sneezing is accompanied by a shaking of the head, the final turmoil of this Leviathan, with which this damned man who rules the outcasts will appear, is called “sneezing.” And he will raise himself to such a height and power that, if possible, he will even attract the chosen ones of the Lord: He will use such signs and miracles that will seem to have the brilliance and power of miracles, as if illuminated by the light of fire. Therefore, his sneezing is rightly called the splendor of fire. For having risen, he shines in the eyes of those rejected by the power of signs. And because the wise of the world will support his tyranny, and he will carry out his evil according to their advice, it is rightly added: And his eyes are like the eyelashes of the dawn (Job 41:10) 3452. 57. For by his “eyes,” which are fixed in his head and serve for his sight, are designated his advisers - those who foresee in their evil plans how what things should be done, plan all the evil doers, those who seek ways to carry out plans for his feet. And they are rightly compared to the eyelashes of dawn. By “eyelashes of dawn” we mean the last hours of the night, behind which, like behind the eyelashes of an eye, are hidden the beginnings of the coming light. The wise of this world, who adhere to the wicked plans of the wickedness of the Antichrist, are, so to speak, the eyelashes of the morning, because they declare that faith in Christ is as it were the night of error, and preach that the worship of the Antichrist is the true morning. For they promise to drive out darkness, and proclaim the light of truth with brilliant miracles. They cannot convince others of what they want unless they preach and offer supposedly better things. Just as the serpent, speaking to our first parents in paradise and pretending to provide something better for them, opened as it were the eyelashes of the morning, when in his words he reproached innocent minds with ignorance, and promised the knowledge of God. He cast out, so to speak, the darkness of ignorance, and declared the morning of eternal knowledge, saying: Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5). In the same way, when this accursed man comes, his eyes are compared to the eyelashes of the dawn, because his sages reject the simplicity of true faith as if the darkness of the night that is in the past, and manifest their false miracles like the rays of the rising sun. But since this Leviathan not only has eyes to plan evil in every detail, but also opens his mouth to pervert the minds of men (since through his preachers of evil he inflames the hearts of his hearers to love the deception of error) it is added: Verse 10. Lights come out of his mouth ( Job 41:11 ) 3453 58. Those who eagerly await him are called his “eyes,” but those who preach him are called his “mouth.” But the lights come from this “mouth,” because they kindle the minds of their hearers to the love of error, and with the seeming radiance of wisdom, they undoubtedly burn them with wickedness. But what light their wisdom reveals is revealed when it is immediately shared, like fiery torches of fire (Job 41:11) 3454. 59. Now the hypocrisy of those whose preaching is compared to flaming torches is now clearly described. For when the torch burns, it has a sweet aroma, but gives off a dark light. And this is because these preachers of the Antichrist took on the appearance of holiness, but in reality they create lawlessness, that is, the smell seems pleasant, but the light they give is gloomy. They smell sweet because of the appearance of righteousness, but they shine dark because of the practice of iniquity. The evil of their hypocrisy is summed up by John in a brief description in the Apocalypse, saying: And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon... (Rev. 13:11). He spoke first of the first beast, that is, the Antichrist, in the previous description. This second beast also appeared because many of his preachers after him came to his earthly power. It is said “coming out of the earth” because it grows from earthly glory. And he has two horns like a lamb, because he hides under the guise of pretended holiness, he falsely claims that wisdom and conduct exist in him, those which the Lord actually possesses in Himself in a special order. But since, under the guise of a lamb (lamb), he instills the poison of a snake into his ignorant listeners, it is rightly added: and he spoke like a dragon. If this beast, that is, many preachers, openly speaks like a dragon, he will not look like a lamb. But he proposes to appear in the guise of a lamb to perform the actions of a dragon. This is expressed by “lights” and “torches” here, because they smoke and give a dark, foggy light of their harmful deeds, and the smell, as if sweet, is the hypocrisy of their life. 60. But we should not assume that the preachers of the Antichrist will appear only then, and that now they are not involved in deceiving people. Even now, before he appears himself, some preach him not with words, but with their behavior. Are they not the preachers of his hypocrisy, if they hold the spiritual office of God, while keeping all their desires in the fleeting world, which say that all their deeds are virtues, but in reality all they do is sin? But the more the mind of the elect approaches the light, the more keenly they see how to distinguish virtues from vices. But is it surprising that it is difficult for us to do what we see coin exchangers doing on a daily basis? Do they really, when they receive a coin, in order to evaluate its quality, first of all evaluate its shape, and last of all, its weight, in order to find out that it is brass hidden under the guise of gold? Or should they prove by a lack of weight that the coin is too light? First of all, they determine the weight to recognize the genuine coin, which is made of gold, and then compare whether it has the proper shape. Therefore, when we see the deeds of people whom we do not know, we must, like skillful coin exchangers, put them on the scales of our hearts, in order to first weigh the gold, and determine whether it may be something that is done with evil intent and only veiled under the guise of what is right. And if the scales have indicated that the nature of the intention is correct, the next step must be to compare the form of the stamp, which was imprinted as the stamp of the approved monetaries, that is, to compare with the examples of the ancient fathers, whether the action is not distorted by any error from resemblance to their life. It is only when the quality is established by weighing the heart on a scale, and the correctness of the shape by comparison with the model, that we can say that we have studied the full weight. For if a good work, which is accompanied by wonderful signs and wonders, does not have the full amount of perfection, it must be received with anxiety and careful caution, since an imperfect thing, taken as an ideal, leads to a loss of continuity. How can the preachers of the Antichrist, who are motivated by the wrong intention, possess the visible form of the true coin? They strive not to the Heavenly Land, but to the heights of temporary glory. How can they, who, pursuing only earthly things, contradict piety, not differ in form from true coin? Do they, who not only have not achieved perfection in humility, but have not even reached their threshold in anything else, show the full weight of the true coin? Therefore, let the elect know that they must despise the miracles of those persons whose behavior clearly refutes what was done by the holy fathers. But even the elect, seeing so many miracles, suffer in their hearts with a kind of fog of doubt. Because while wickedness exalts itself with miracles, their clear vision is hidden. Verse 11. Smoke comes out of his nostrils ( Job 41:12 ) 3455 61. It hurts your eyes when there is smoke. It is said that smoke comes out of the nostrils because along with his miracles, even in the center of the elect there appears a haze of doubt. Smoke comes from the nostrils of Leviathan, because against the backdrop of his false miracles, the fog of anxiety confuses and darkens the eyes of even righteous minds. For when its terrible signs are noticed, dark thoughts of doubt will crowd in the hearts of the elect. This is confirmed by the lips of truth in the Gospel: For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Mark 13:22). Here it is necessary to specially inquire how those who are already chosen can be deceived, or why the words “if it is possible” are added, as if with doubt, that the Lord, who foreknows all things, is not sure what should be. It is written this way because the heart of the elect is shaken by anxious thoughts, but still their constancy does not change. The Lord points out these two things in this one sentence, saying about the elect, if possible, to deceive them too. Hesitation in thought is already apostasy and a mistake. But He immediately adds, if possible; for it is doubtless impossible for those whom He chooses to be wholly deceived. But this misty smoke that envelops their minds is also well emphasized when it is added: as from a heated and boiling cauldron (Job.41:12) 3456. 62. At that time, each soul will, like a boiling cauldron, withstand the onslaught of its thoughts, like the foam of boiling water, which the fire of jealousy sets in motion, while it is constantly imprisoned in the cauldron. Therefore, John also, when describing the miracles of this beast, added that he also brings down fire from heaven (Rev. 13:13) 3457. For the fire coming down from heaven signifies the fiery zeal pouring out from the heavenly souls of the elect. But since this Leviathan is called in another place not just a serpent, but also a basilisk, as Isaiah says, From the root of the serpent will come the basilisk (Is. 14:29) 3458, we must carefully observe how the basilisk destroys, since by the actions of the basilisk, its malice can be more clearly revealed to us. Destruction from a basilisk does not come with its bite (as with a serpent), but is consumed with its breath. Often he also infects the air with his breath, and with a simple exhalation of his nostrils kills everything that his breath touches, even at a distance. 63. We are therefore forced to look more closely at this smoke emanating from his nostrils even before it appears openly, and to realize that he is daily working in the hearts of men with the smoke of his poisonous breath. As we said above, the ability to see with the eyes is weakened by smoke. Smoke, as it is rightly said, comes from the nostrils of his words, by whose fierce inspiration an evil thought arises in the hearts of people, and the sharpness of the mind (vision) is dulled, so that the inner light does not see it. For he exhales smoke from his nostrils, because with his crafty inspiration he showers in the hearts of the outcasts the fervor of many thoughts of love for this temporal life. And it multiplies, like clouds of smoke, because it replaces what is important in the consciousness of earthly people with the most trivial concerns of this life. This smoke that comes from the nostrils sometimes affects the eyes of even the chosen ones. The Prophet experienced this smoke himself when he said, “My eye is withered by wrath” (Ps. 6:8) 3459. He was weary, saying: My heart is troubled within me, and the light of my eyes is not with me (Ps. 39:10) 3460. For this smoke dulls the true sharpness of the heart, because with its cloud of darkness it disturbs the calm of the inner world. But God cannot be known by any heart except a calm one. Therefore it was said to the same Prophet, Stop and know that I am God (Ps. 45:11). But the mind cannot be at peace if it is oppressed by the clouds of this smoke; Therefore, earthly thoughts overwhelm him with love for worldly life. The inner light is therefore lost due to this smoke, because the eyes of the heart become blind when it is confused by the excitement of momentary worries. 64. But this smoke only irritates the minds of the chosen and blinds the eyes of the rejected. It is well driven away from the eyes by the breath of spiritual desires, and is thickened by the prevalence of pitiful thoughts. But in the consciousness of the rejected, he more freely collects himself with the help of dirty thoughts, and all the more tightly closes the light of truth. This smoke in the hearts of the outcasts covers a lot of illegal desires and thickens and grows, so to speak, like clouds in front of them. 65. And we, of course, know that in clouds of smoke, some clouds disappear into the heights, others rise from below again. Also in carnal thoughts, even when some wicked desires pass away, others will succeed. And often the unhappy mind contemplates what has already passed, but does not see those desires that linger. He rejoices that he is no longer subject to certain sins, and neglects to be careful, and laments, giving the opportunity to other sins to succeed, which is even more sinful. And this is so that, all the time during which some sins go away and others achieve success, the snake possesses the heart of the rejected without interruption. From here he said well through the prophet Joel: the locusts devoured what was left of the larvae, the worms devoured what was left of the locusts, and the mold devoured what was left of the worms. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep (Joel 1:4) 3461, what is signified by a larva that crawls with its whole body on the ground, except lust? which so pollutes the heart it possesses that it cannot rise to the love of heavenly purity? What does the locust signify, which flies quickly, if not vanity, which exalts itself with empty assumptions? What does a worm whose entire body is collected in the stomach mean, if not gluttony in food? If not anger, what does mold that instantly ignite mean? This is why the locust devours what is left of the larva, because when the sin of lust has left the mind, vanity is often exalted. For if someone has overcome carnal love, he can boast to himself as if he had achieved holiness through chastity. And what the locust leaves, the worm eats, means that when empty glory, which came as if from holiness, either gluttony, or some ambitious desires awaken immoderately. The mind that does not know God will fly furiously to any object of ambition for the love of human praise. What remains of the worm is consumed by mold, because when the gluttony of the belly is restrained by abstinence, the impatience of anger gains fierce power, which, like mold, eats up the harvest by burning, since the flame of impatience dries up the fruits of virtues. Therefore, when some vices overcome others, and one plague leaves the field of the mind, another begins to devour it. 66. And it is added correctly. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep (Joel 1:5). Those who are entangled in the love of this world and do not feel the evil from which they suffer are called “drunkards.” What does it mean when it says, “Awake, O drunkards, and weep,” if not “shake off the sleep of your insensibility, and set vigilant repentance against the many sins that follow one after another in the desolation of your hearts”? Smoke therefore rises in puffs of clouds from Leviathan's nostrils, as do the plagues with which he infects the fruit of the rejected heart through his secret breath. But the Lord carefully explains the power of this smoke even more when He immediately adds: like a heated and boiling cauldron. A heated cauldron means a person’s mind, provoked by the persuasion of an evil enemy. But it boils when it is already inflamed by consent to the desires of evil convictions. And then, like boiling water splashes out, evil deeds expand outward with action. The Prophet saw this heat of carnal lust (that is, the cauldron) arising from the smoke of Leviathan when he said: I see the cauldron being heated, and its face in the north (Jer. 1:13) 3462. The cauldron of the human heart is heated by a face in the north when it is inflamed by illicit desires at the instigation of an opposing spirit. For the one who says: I will sit on the mountain of the covenant, in the north side (Is. 14:13) 3463, flares up with an evil explosion of his conviction, just as the mind captured by him flares up, the mind that he has once again mastered; Being dissatisfied all the time with what is in front of him, he can be constantly, as it were, mixed up with the help of ever new desires, looking for some things at the present time that he previously despised, and despising other things that he has already received. At one time, worry about one's own benefit, at another time to oppose the advantages of others, at one time to want to satisfy the temptations of the flesh, and at another, driven by the high pride of thought, put aside all concerns about the flesh, and exalt oneself with arrogance. Because when the heart is inflamed by the instigations of this Leviathan and is deluded by various desires, the smoke is rightly described as a heated and boiling cauldron. Because the conscience explodes from his temptations, awakens itself and falls again as often as the thoughts that are exalted in the heart. But this Truth is expressed more clearly in other words when it is added: Verse 12. His breath kindles the coals ( Job 41:13 ) 3464 67. What are called “coals” if not the minds of wicked people who were kindled by earthly desires? Because they are on fire when they search for any temporary object; undoubtedly, because from their aspirations their heart suffers, which strives for peace, but it is inflamed. The Breath of Leviathan therefore kindles the coals as often as his secret proposals attract the minds of men to illicit pleasures. For some are kindled with the torches of pride, some with envy, some with lust, some with greed. For he applies the torch of pride to the mind of Eve, when he provoked her to despise the commandment of the Lord (Gen. 3:6). He kindled Cain's mind with a flame of envy when he was upset that his brother's sacrifices were being accepted, and because of this he committed the sin of fratricide (Gen. 4:4-5). He kindled the heart of Solomon with the torches of lust, and he forgot reverence for his Creator when he pursued the pleasure of the flesh (1 Samuel 11:4). He also burned Ahab's mind with the fire of greed when he urged him with an impatient desire to seek another vineyard, and this led to guilt even to the point of murder (IB. 21, 2). This Leviathan therefore blows on the coals, and with his breath ignites them, which signifies the efforts of secret suggestion with which he ignites the minds of men to strive for that which is forbidden. Next is immediately added: And fire comes out of the mouth ( Job 41:13 ) 3465 68. A flame from the mouth signifies the instigation of secret suggestion. He turns the words of evil persuasion into the mind of every person, and it is said that fire comes out of his mouth, because the mind is kindled with desires when it is tempted by his suggestions. This he daily offers, this he does not cease to offer even to the end of this present life: but he then expands in his malice, when he comes in this damned man, he displays himself more openly in the glory of this world. More powerful smoke then flows from his nostrils, because greater incitement attacks the hearts of the people when they see and are afraid of his miracles. Then his breath kindles the coals more fiercely, because the seeking minds of the outcasts are already warmed by the love of temporal glory, and he kindles them with the breath of his proposals to carry out evil deeds. Then fire comes out of his mouth, because everything he says himself or through preachers is fire, along with which the barren trees burn. And the minds of those who do not at all desire to become precious metals are affected by the fire of earthly desires. So, whoever wants not to suffer from the fire of his mouth should take care, in accordance with the expression of the teacher of truth, to find, not wood, hay, straw, but gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12) 3466. Because the fire of his conviction burns the more fiercely, the more gently everyone yields in their agreement. But since the heart, when placed in this corruptible flesh, should in no way be touched by the fervor of conviction, one thing remains - to constantly call for prayers for help. For the wave of tears quickly extinguishes the flame of his tempting offers. This is how this quote sounded in the time of St. Georgy Dvoeslov. Then "South" became Feman (Heb. Teman, "south", "southern region"). This was the name of the son of Eliphaz and the grandson of Esau, an elder in Edom (see Edom) (Gen. 36:11,15,42); and that was the name of the area where his descendants lived. And the “dark and large mountain” was replaced by “Mount Paran” - this is one or several mountains of the Paran desert - the desert where almost the entire forty-year wandering of the sons of Israel took place. As a result, the modern translation reads, “God comes from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran.” In a modern translation, this passage reads like this: “And he will raise a standard to the distant nations, and give a sign to him who dwells on the ends of the earth...” There is a similar quote in the Psalter. Psalm 10.1. “I trust in the Lord; How then do you say to my soul: “Fly away to your mountain like a bird”? During St. George, this quote sounded like “Mountains melt like wax from the presence (contemplation) of the Lord.” In modern translation, “the mountains bring him food” Book of Job, 40:15. In modern translation, “they will be proud.” In modern translation, “more lovers of pleasure than lovers of God.” In modern translation, “all the beasts of the field play there.” Modern translation of “My God! I trust in You, lest I be ashamed (forever), lest my enemies triumph over me.” Modern translation "he lies under the shady trees, under the shelter of reeds and in the swamps" or "he lies down under the lotus, under the shelter of the reeds and in the marshes." In modern translation, “the power of the Most High will overshadow You.” Modern translation: I love to sit in her shade, and her fruits are sweet to my throat. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of paradise. when You crushed us in the land of dragons and covered us with the shadow of death. Psalm 43:20. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider, whose name was “death.” Psalm 44:2. Modern translation: “My tongue is a scribbler’s reed.” Modern translation: “in the dwelling of the jackals, where they rest, there will be a place for reeds and reeds.” Modern translation: “What did you go out into the desert to see? Is it a reed shaken by the wind? Modern translation: “they will shine like sparks running along the stem.” Modern translation: “A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench.” When the unclean spirit leaves a person, it walks through dry places, looking for rest, and does not find it; Then he says: “I will return to my house from where I came.” And, having arrived, he finds it unoccupied, swept and put away. And her palaces will be overgrown with thorny plants, nettles and thistles - her strongholds. And they will grow among the grass, like willows by streams of water. on the willows, in the middle of it, we hung our harps. He will drink from the stream along the way, and therefore will lift up his head. behold, he drinks from the river and is in no hurry; remains calm, even if the Jordan rushes to his mouth. and they flattered Him with their lips and lied to Him with their tongues. The Lord God made fire for judgment, and it devoured the great abyss and devoured part of the earth. Will someone take him before his eyes and pierce his nose with a hook? And so they cried out: What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of God? You came here ahead of time to torment us. will you put a ring in his nostrils? Will you pierce his jaw with a needle? Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Can you pull out Leviathan with a fish and grab his tongue with a rope? Leviathan is a sea monster (serpent), which when curled up was much smaller than when it “unfolded” to its full length. bending, writhing, something huge and powerful. and grab his tongue with a rope. My lands have passed through beautiful places, and my heritage is pleasant to me. Woe to those who drag iniquity upon themselves with ropes of vanity, and sin as with the straps of a chariot. The snares of the wicked have surrounded me, but I have not forgotten Your law. and the thread, twisted three times, will not soon break. As the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sacrifice for sin and condemned sin in the flesh And the Lord will dry up the gulf of the sea of Egypt, and will stretch out His hand upon the river with His strong wind, and will break it into seven streams, so that they can walk over it in sandals. You have cut off the spring and the stream, You have dried up the mighty rivers. No one entering the house of a strong man can plunder his belongings unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. And in joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation. Stratagem, or stratagem (ancient Greek στρατήγημα - military cunning, Chinese 計 pall. ji) - a cunning plan, an original way to achieve military, civil, political, economic or personal goals. I will put My ring in your nostrils. ...will you pierce his jaw with a needle? For in many dreams, as in many words, there is much vanity; but fear God. No one should take the upper or lower millstone as collateral, for such a person takes the soul as collateral. Hawk, falcon (lat. accipitres, accipio) - to capture. you endure when someone enslaves you, when someone devours you, when someone robs you, when someone exalts you, when someone hits you in the face. will he beg you a lot and speak to you meekly? Will he make an agreement with you, and will you take him as your slave forever? And so that I would not be exalted by the extraordinary revelations, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, the angel of Satan, to depress me so that I would not become exalted. will you begin to amuse yourself with him, like a bird? While he was sitting in the judgment seat, his wife sent him to say: Do not do anything to the Righteous One, because now in a dream I have suffered a lot for Him. and will you bind it for your girls? But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong things. Wisdom built herself a house, hewed out its seven pillars, slaughtered a sacrifice, dissolved her wine and prepared a meal for herself; sent her servants to proclaim from the heights of the city. Jesus, seeing Nathanael coming to Him, said of him: Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. will his fishing companions sell it, will it be divided among the Canaanite merchants? Fear not, little flock! for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom. take a psalm, give a tympanum, a sweet-sounding harp with a psalter. She makes bedspreads and sells them, and delivers belts to the Phoenician merchants. and if you bring the precious out of the worthless, you will be like My mouth. Can you pierce his skin with a spear and his head with a fisherman's point? and remember the struggle: you won’t get ahead. Hope is in vain: won’t you fall from one look from him? There is no one so brave who would dare to disturb him; ( Job 41:2 ) who can stand before My face? ( Job 41:2 ) Who went before Me, that I should repay him? under all heaven everything is mine. ( Job 41:3 ) The English and Latin word used is prevent, praeventus “anticipated”, meaning warning, precautionary, anticipating someone’s harmful actions. An example in everyday speech is “preventive measures”. I couldn’t find a Russian verb that fully conveys the meaning. My God, His mercy will precede me, my God will show me in all my misfortunes. For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. This is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us. I will love them with good pleasure (Hosea 14:5). No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. not because we ourselves are able to think something from ourselves, as if from ourselves, but our ability is from God. The verb preventus is used again - to preempt, to protect in advance from something (preventive measure). I will not keep silent about his members, about their strength and beautiful proportionality. Who can open the top of his clothes? For such false apostles, deceitful workers, disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder: because Satan himself takes the form of an Angel of light. Jesus came to him and said to him, “Are you one of ours, or one of our enemies?” who can match his double jaws? Who can open the doors of his face? for the strength of the horses was in their mouth and in their tails. there is trouble and sorrow under his tongue, he sits in ambush with the rich in secret places.? His strong shields are splendor. For You bless the righteous, O Lord; You crown him with favor like a shield. There He broke the arrows of the bow, the shield and the sword, and the battle. stopping the battle to the ends of the earth, he crushed the bow and broke the spear, and burned the chariots with fire (Ps. 45:10) Olya was not found. Reward them, O Lord, according to the works of their hands. send them darkness of heart and Thy curse upon them. they are sealed as if with a firm seal. Character from Greek and Roman mythology. Has a woman's face, the body of a snake or beast. A flying serpent will nest there, lay eggs and hatch children and gather them under its shade; there the kites will gather one to another. one touches the other close, so that no air passes between them. The congregation of the wicked is a heap of tow, and their end is a flame of fire. for intertwined with each other like thorns and drunk like drunkards, they will be completely devoured, like dry straw. His sneezing makes light appear. his eyes are like the eyelashes of dawn. Flames come out of his mouth. fiery sparks jump out. smoke comes out of his nostrils... as from a boiling pot or cauldron. and performs great signs, so that fire comes down from heaven to earth before people. For out of the root of the serpent will come an adder. My eye is withered from sorrow (Ps. 6:8). I couldn't find anything more similar. I didn't find any similar text. the locusts ate what was left of the caterpillar, the worms ate what was left of the locusts, and the beetles ate what was left of the worms. I see a boiling cauldron blown by the wind, and its face is from the north. And he said in his heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mountain in the assembly of gods, on the edge of the north; His breath heats the coals. and flames come out of his mouth. Does anyone build on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw?