Беседа 23

About the songs in the book “Exodus” (Ex. XV, 1–21) 1. When explaining and interpreting Holy Scripture, our thoughts, beloved brethren, must be guided by the authority of the same Holy Scripture. Scripture, so that through what is clearly expressed there for our instruction, what is said more obscurely for our exercise may also be correctly understood. And who will dare to explain the Divine mysteries differently than as predicted by the mind and lips of the apostles? The Apostle Paul says: “I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and everyone ate the same spiritual food; and they all drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank from the spiritual stone that followed; the stone was Christ. But God was not pleased with many of them, for they were slain in the wilderness. And these were images for us, so that we would not be lustful for evil, as they were lustful.” And then, a little further, he adds: “All this happened to them like images; but it is written for our instruction, who have reached the last ages” (1 Cor. 10:1-11). 2. From here, beloved, let none of the believers doubt that the passage of the Jewish people through the Red Sea served as an image of our baptism. Having been freed in baptism by our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose image Moses served, from the power of the devil and his angels, who oppressed us, defiled by the uncleanness of the flesh, just as Pharaoh and the Egyptians once oppressed the Jews by making bricks, let us therefore begin to sing to the Lord: “for He is highly exalted; he cast his horse and rider into the sea” (Ex. 15:1). Those who can no longer rule over us have died for us, because our very sins, which enslaved us to the devil, after we were washed in the bath of baptism (gratiae sanctae), were, as it were, already washed and drowned in the sea. So let us sing to the Lord, “for He is highly exalted; he cast his horse and rider into the sea,” and drowned pride and the proud man in baptism. And, of course, only the humble, submissive can sing this song. After all, the Lord was highly exalted not for the proud, seeking his own glory and exalting himself. And the sinner, justified by faith in Him who justifies the ungodly, to whom “his faith is counted as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5), because “the just lives by faith” (Rom. 1:17), while he who does not understand the righteousness of God and strives to establish his own righteousness does not submit to the “righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:3), rightly sings praises to the helper and protector for his salvation, the Lord his God, Whom does it serve? He is not one of those arrogant ones who, “having known God, did not glorify Him as God” (Rom. 1:21). “The God of my father,” says Moses (Ex. 15:2) [here, apparently, there is an omission, from which we can conclude that this conversation was shortened and not preserved intact]. Of course, his father - Abraham, who believed “God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3). Likewise, we, relying not on our own righteousness, but on the mercy of the Lord, will glorify Him, because He who is our peace has crushed the hordes. And the Lord is the name of Him to whom we say in the words of Isaiah: “Lord our God!” (Isa.26:13). Lord is His name. We were not and He created us, we perished and He found us, we sold ourselves and He redeemed us. “The Lord... His name is. He cast Pharaoh's chariots and his army into the sea" (Ex. 15:3-4). The pride of this age and the countless number of sins with which we served the devil, He washed away in baptism. He placed three horsemen on chariots, i.e. the one who, pursuing us, tormented us with the fear of sorrows, the fear of humiliation and the fear of death. All this was drowned in the Red Sea, because “we were buried with Him through baptism into death” (Rom. 6:4), buried with Him who for our sake was scourged, reviled, and killed. Thus, in the Red Sea, He hid all enemies, He who, by death on the cross, covered our sins, sanctified baptism. But if our enemies are immersed in the abyss like a stone, then only those alone are possessed by the devil, his yoke weighs heavily on those about whom it is written: “When the wicked comes into the depths of evil, he is negligent” (Peccator cum in profundum venerit malorum, contemnit - Proverbs 18:3), because they do not believe that what they have done will be forgiven them; as a result of such despair they sink even deeper. But “Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in power; Thy right hand, O Lord, has slain the enemy. By the greatness of Your glory You have overthrown those who rebelled against You. You sent Your anger, and it burned them up like stubble” (Ex. 15:6-7). We feared Your wrath and believed in You, and all our sins were burned away. After all, why, from the breath of God’s wrath, “the waters parted (per spiritum irae tuae divisa est aquua), the moisture became like a wall, the depths thickened in the heart of the sea” (Ex. 15:8), why did the moisture thicken in this division of water, and the way was opened for the liberated people? Why was it not through the breath of God that the water was divided, if not because the fear of the wrath of God, which is neglected by the sinner going into the abyss of destruction, also prompts us to baptism, when we are saved by water that does not flood us, but passes through it as if on a path? “The enemy said: I will pursue, overtake, and divide the spoils; My soul will be satisfied with them; I will draw my sword, and my hand will destroy them” (Ex. 15:9). The enemy does not understand the power of the sacrament of the Lord, which comes from saving baptism for those who believe and hope in this sacrament, and also thinks that sin continues to dominate the baptized, since they too are tempted by the weakness of the flesh; he does not know where, when and how the final renewal of the whole person takes place, what kind of renewal the foundation is laid in baptism, which is indicated here and is contained, as hope, with firm hope. Then only “this mortal will be clothed with immortality” (1 Cor. 15:54), when, after the abolition of all principality and all power, God will be “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:24–28). Now, while “the corruptible body burdens the soul” (Wis. 9:15), “The enemy says: I will pursue and overtake,” but “You blew with Your spirit, and the sea covered them” (Ex. 15:9–10). Now the wrath of God is no longer spoken of when the sea covered the enemies. And a little earlier it was said that at the breath of Your wrath the waters parted, although the people of God passing there received deliverance. But God is no longer angry with the one who sins with impunity (cui sunt impunita peccata) and sinks deeper and deeper. Like lead, he plunges into the depths of sin, the more he notices that those who are justified by faith and contain the hope of a future life, firmly endure the disasters of this life, spending it in sorrows, in the enduring of which the Spirit of God strengthens them. So, God sent His Spirit to comfort and test the righteous in their tribulations, and the sea covered the wicked, who thought that not only was there no difference between them and them, but that rather God was angry with those who were subjected to so many trials, and was merciful to them because they rejoiced in their well-being. So “they sank like lead in the great waters.” “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods, Glorious among the saints who do not boast about themselves, who is like You, wondrous in greatness, Creator of miracles?” ( Ex. 15:10–11 ). But all this that happened then foreshadowed something in the future, because these were images for us. “Thou hast stretched out Thy right hand; the earth has swallowed them up” (Ex. 15:12). However, none of the Egyptians at that time were swallowed up by the earth (tarrae hiatus). They were swallowed up by the water and died in the sea. What does this mean: “You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them up”? Isn’t it therefore more fair to understand here by the right hand of God the One about whom Isaiah speaks in the words: “and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Isa.53:1). This is precisely the Only Begotten Son of God Himself, whom the Father did not spare, “but delivered Him up for us all” (Rom. 8:32). He also stretched out His right hand on the cross, and the earth swallowed up the wicked at a time when they, already considering themselves victors, mocked Him. That is why it is said: “The earth has been given into the hands of the wicked; He covers the faces of her judges” (Job 9:24), i.e. closes His Divinity. Thus the Lord led His people, as if carried on the tree on which the earth, i.e. The flesh of the Lord, stretched out, swallowed up the wicked. The people did not cross the sea on a ship. But “Thou leadest by Thy mercy (justitia tua) this people” (tuum), not exalted in their own righteousness, but living by faith according to Thy mercy (sub gratia tua), “this people whom Thou hast delivered” (Ex. 15:13). Because the Lord knows his own (2 Tim. 2:19). 3. Now you are confident in your strength, i.e. in your Christ, that “the weaknesses of God are stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25). “For although He was crucified in weakness, He lives by the power of God” (2 Cor. 13:4). You are confident in your strength, in your holy help. After all, by the fact that His mortal flesh was renewed through the resurrection and that the corruptible was clothed with incorruptibility in Him, we are strengthened, trusting in the future and for this reason enduring everything present. What remains for us after baptism is the transition through the desert, through life, which is accomplished in hope, until we come to the land of promise, to the land of the living, where the Lord is our heritage, to eternal Jerusalem. Until we come here, this whole life is a desert for us, just a test. But in the name of Him who conquered the world, the people of God conquer everything. Just as in baptism, like enemies pursuing us from behind, our past sins are drowned, so during our journey along the path of this life, when we eat spiritual food and drink spiritual drink, we overcome all our opponents. And without a doubt, the name of our Lord terrified the enemies of our wanderings. After all, first the anger of the pagans flared up to destroy the very name of Christianity. But this anger could do nothing; he turned to sorrow, and as faith began to grow and take possession of everything, sorrow more and more turned into fear, so that the proud of this age, like the birds of the air, began to seek shelter for protection under the canopy of that tree, which from the most insignificant mustard seed became great (Matthew 13:31-32). So in this song, where everything that happened then is remembered, as an image, the anger, sorrow and fear of the pagans are pointed out successively. “The nations heard,” it says, “and they trembled (iratae sunt): terror seized the inhabitants of the Philistines; Then the princes of Edom were troubled, trembling seized the leaders of Moab, and all the inhabitants of Canaan became sad. Let fear and terror fall upon them; from the greatness of Thy arm let them be as numb as a stone, while Thy people pass by, O Lord, while this people which Thou hast purchased pass by” (Ex. 15:14-16). So it was, so it happens now. Numb with surprise, the enemies of the Church become like stones until we reach the fatherland. Those who try to resist are now overcome by the sign of the cross of the Lord, just as the Amalekites were then overcome as soon as Moses stretched out his hands (Ex. 17:8-13). Likewise, we are introduced and enjoy the mountain of the Lord, which from a small stone, seen by Daniel, grew and filled “the whole earth” (Dan. 2:34-35). This is God's prepared dwelling. This is God’s holy church and the “sanctuary” of His house, which is from Him (Ex. 15:17). “For the church of God is holy,” says the apostle, “and this church is you” (1 Cor. 3:17). And so that someone does not attribute this to earthly Jerusalem, where there was a temporary church, it is then indicated that we are talking about the eternal kingdom, which is the eternal inheritance of God, the eternal Jerusalem. Because what follows: “which (dwelling, or inheritance) Thy hands have created, O Lord!” “The Lord reign forever, and forever, and again” (qui regnas semperet in sempiternum et adhuc – Ex. 15:17–18). But is there anything longer than eternity (in sempiternum)? Who can say it? Why is it added: “and more” (et adhuc)? Perhaps this is why “and also” was added, so that everyone here really understands the eternal, since by eternal is sometimes meant a time of more or less duration. Or it was added in order to show that the Lord always reigns in heaven, which He “set them for ever and ever; gave a statute that will not pass away” (Ps. 149:6), and that forever (in sempiternum) He will reign over those whose sins are forgiven after they turned from the transgression of the commandments, whom He sought from time to time and gave them eternal bliss, and also that hitherto (adhuc) the Lord reigns over those whom He admonished with the most just punishments under the yoke of His people. After all, no one is excluded from the kingdom of Him, whose eternal law is in the distribution of gifts and the retribution of rewards and punishments, the law of the most just administration (justissima ordinatione). ) all creatures are subject to, because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). “When Pharaoh’s horses with his chariots and his horsemen entered the sea, the Lord turned the waters of the sea against them, and the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea” (Exodus 15:19). 4 Thus did Moses and the children of Israel sing, and thus did Miriam the prophetess and the women of Israel sing. So we sing now - both men and women, our spirit and our flesh. Because “those who are Christ’s,” says the apostle, “have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). This (i.e., the crucifixion of the flesh) is precisely indicated, as everyone agrees, by the tympanum that Mariam took to sing on it. In order to make a tympanum, skin (caro) is stretched over wood, just as from the cross (on which the Lord was crucified) people learn to confess the sweet gift of grace. So, having become humble through the grace of baptism and having mortified our pride, as a result of which the proud enemy dominated us, so that the one who boasts now boasts in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31), let us sing to the Lord, “for he was highly exalted; he cast his horse and his rider into the sea” (Ex. 15:1, 21). You might be interested in: