Собеседование 5

On the inscription of Psalm 50, about the repentance of David and about the wife of Uriah 1. Artists, with the help of their art, reproduce nature and, mixing colors, paint images of visible objects, depict both people and dumb people, and trees, and wars, and battles, and streams of blood, and spears, and helmets, and shields, and kings, and private people, and the royal throne, and the king seated, and the barbarian prostrate before him, and a sharpened spear, and the flow of rivers, and various fields; in a word, by means of their art, reproducing everything visible, they present a spectacle to the spectators. Likewise, prophets are, as it were, artists of virtue and vice. And with their words they depict the sinner, the righteous, the repentant, the standing, the falling, the rising, the shaken. Just as artists depict wars and murders, so the prophets depict sin, now attacking, now overthrown, demons, now fighting, now being defeated, and the devil, now succeeding in deceit, now being defeated. So, if this is the art of the prophets, then let us carefully study it. In fact, looking at the paintings of artists, we do not get any benefit. What is the use for me to see the image of the king and the governor? After all, I cannot become a king, and I don’t want to. So, what is the benefit to me from contemplating something for which I have no inclination, and even if I did, I would be subject to punishment? What good does it do me to see a man getting rich? After all, if I am poor, I am envious, but if I am rich, then I myself, in turn, become the subject of envy. Feeling this way, I mourn my fate. Leave the paintings (artists) and pay attention to this image. If I see the governor, what attitude will he have towards me? And if I see a sinner who has fallen and risen again, this sight serves as a reason for me to learn. If I see a righteous man standing, this sight encourages me to be wise. Through observation I learn to fight and prepare myself for victory. If I see a righteous man stumbling, I will again become wiser from this sight. I said all this not simply and not without reason, but because the picture presented in the psalm read today shows us this subject for teaching. What does the prophet say? “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse away my iniquity” (Ps. 50:3). This picture, I call the Psalm a picture, because I see different faces in the psalm: sin attacks and is amazed, repentance awaits and fights against God, love for mankind shines from above, wisdom produces abundant sources of tears in repentance. Here are the faces that make up this picture. But before we begin the psalm, we need to carefully examine its inscription. Both paintings and psalms are inscribed. But since the paintings are placed at a height, red tablets (with the designation) are placed below them: which king (pictured here) and which war he won. On the psalms in front (at the top) there is an inscription about the origin of the psalm, about its moralizing meaning, about the content and about the reason for which it was pronounced. Pay full attention to my words, I ask you, because we are not talking about simple and random things. “To the end. Psalm David, when Nathan the prophet came in to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba, Uri’s wife” (Ps. 50:1-2). This is the inscription. Let's see who Nathan is and who Bathsheba is? Who exactly is this wife of Uriah? And when did the prophet come to her? And why did he write this psalm? Not all psalms were written about David. Of course, they are all written by him, but not all are about him. He depicted not only his own suffering, but also mourned the misfortunes of others. For example: “on the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept” (Ps. 137:1); It is obvious that this psalm does not refer to him: David was not in Babylon, did not see the land of the barbarians, did not sit on a foreign land and did not cry, but he depicts here the suffering of the Jews. Again, when he says: “They pierced my hands and my feet,... they counted all my bones” (Ps. 21:17-18), he does not represent his own suffering, but prophesies about the cross, about the universal sacrifice for the salvation of our race. So, what is depicted in the psalms can have different applications. Sometimes it speaks of the psalmist’s own suffering, sometimes of the suffering of others. That’s why, since this psalm also refers to other people, it is written here: “When Nathan the prophet came in to him.” And this is done for the purpose of warning us not to deviate and not to be entertained by other thoughts: before us is a psalm that teaches and instills in us exactly this. There are other thoughts contained here, which the inscription also points out to us. 2. But be very careful, both righteous and sinners! This psalm is useful to both, in various respects: to the righteous, so that he does not become careless, to the sinful, so that he does not despair of his salvation. Both are regrettable, because the righteous man, having become careless, falls, and the sinner, despairing, will not rise. So, so that neither this one remains in the fall, nor the other suffers a fall, our psalmist offers them this psalm, saving for both from different sides. But first I want to talk about the prophet’s sin, great and grave. Let none of us despair. Divine love for mankind, providing for the entire human race, turned not only the exploits of the saints, but also their sins into medicine, so that the wounds of some would serve as a medicine for others, and the stumbling of the righteous would correct the path for the sinner. If the righteous man has sinned, then I no longer despair of my salvation; if I see that he has fallen from heaven, then his fall is for me the key to my rebellion. Therefore, the grace of the Spirit commemorated not only the deeds of the righteous, but also their sins. And not only the sins themselves, but also their consequences. So, I want to show this noble man wounded, fallen, rebelled, struggled, defeated, conquered, crowned. I do not show it only to those prostrate in the fall, but also to those who have risen, so that you will benefit from both, so that if you sin, you will not fall into despair, but will immediately rush to rebellion, and will not say: “Woe is me, I am lost - an adulterer, a fornicator, a murderer.” You have a refuge for your salvation, protected from sin. When you see such a great man wounded and tormented, immediately rush to repentance and confidently shed fountains of tears, so that through his repentance you can be confirmed in your own salvation. For example, I will say this: often many, both men and women, fall into a serious and incurable illness. Tears are shed, medicines are wasted, the art of medicine is powerless, beauty fades, the body is exhausted. Finally, the woman becomes despondent: where should I go, what should I do? I spent money, called doctors, ran out of medicine, but the disease remains, the wound is incurable. And it often happens that one of those visiting will say: I suffered from the same illness, and so-and-so or so-and-so showed me medicine and freed me from the disease. Then she asks: show me this woman. Go to that street (ask so-and-so). It’s exactly the same now: after he fell into adultery and committed murder, how serious is this illness! - I will show you how I was cured and what medicine I applied to my wound. I’m not saying: go to that street, ask so-and-so or so-and-so. You don’t need any work or effort, you don’t even need to go beyond the threshold of your house, but by remaining in place, you can take the medicine. Just do what I say. It is therefore necessary to continue the word and indicate the time at which you sinned, and the place, and the person, and repentance, and correction, and medicine, so that when you leave here, you know everything with due completeness. So, this David, being a youth and even a completely boy, (the son of) an humble father, tied to the land and pastures, ran away from the noise of the city and countryside and indulged in wisdom in the desert. He had nothing to do with everyday affairs, but from early youth, being in silence, akin to virtue, and sitting in the desert, as if in a pier, by caring for sheep, he won the kingdom of heaven. So, he was a youth, almost a boy, a youth in age, but a mature old man in mind, and the imperfection of age did not in the least hinder his virtue: being a youth, he won great victories not by physical strength, but by the power of faith. Listen with attention to the following story: once it was necessary to install a king for the Jewish people, since the first one who reigned then turned out to be unworthy. And so God sends Samuel directly to David's father. When Samuel came to Jesse, the father of David, this youth, very young, was with the flocks (in the field). I do not cease to constantly point out his youth, so that no one humiliates the young man or extols the old man, because in itself, just as old age is not a virtue, so youth is not a vice. Many in their youth rose to the point of wisdom, and on the contrary, many stumbled in old age. So, three youths were on fire and put out the flames (Dan.3:24). And Daniel, twelve years old, turned lions into sheep, not changing their nature, but curbing their brutality through his faith (Dan. 6:22); and, having exposed the foolish elders, he acted as a judge of Israel (Dan.13:64). And Stephen, the first elected deacon, filled with grace and power from his youth, preached before the Jewish people (Acts 6:8); and Paul - already gray-haired - was still a persecutor of the churches of God, and only after that he took the crown of faith and became a sheep of favor (Acts 9:20). 3. So, do not humiliate the young man and do not praise the old man, because virtue and vice do not depend on the difference in age, but on the difference in the disposition of the soul: if you are vigilant, immaturity of age will not harm you at all; if you are careless, you will not receive any benefit from old age. (True) old age is not in white hair, but in the virtue of the soul. This is exactly how David, as a youth, acquired the mature fruit of virtue. Samuel came to Jesse, not surrounded by many people, but having a horn in which was sacred oil (1 Samuel 16:4). And what does he say? God sent me to make one of your sons king. Jesse, having heard about (the election of a king), brings his firstborn, thinking that this dignity has been prepared for him. Take him away, he answers: God does not favor him. (Brings) the second: and not him. Third, fourth, fifth. The circle (ο χορός) of children is becoming depleted, but the one we are looking for is not found. He (Samuel) said to him: Have you not yet a son? The father was ashamed and said: I have one more, the smallest and weakest, shepherd. Do you want to make the small and weak king? Man humiliates, but God crowns. “I do not look as man looks; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Do we seek physical prowess? We desire nobility of soul. Take a deep dive into this story. God did not say to him: Go, anoint me David, but: Go, anoint me one of the sons of Jesse. Why doesn’t he say it specifically? Why doesn’t he call it by name? So that David would not suffer the same thing that Joseph suffered. Just as the brothers there, having learned that he wanted to be king over them, began to plot intrigues and sold him (him into slavery), so it was necessary to be careful that the brothers (of David) would not do the same. So here ignorance became the mother of security. Where are those who extol themselves for their beautiful appearance? Don't talk to me about the beauty of the body, but look at the virtues of the soul. What is a beautiful woman like? The coffin is decorated if she did not decorate herself with chastity. Physical beauty is a pit that threatens the traveler’s fall and a poison prepared for other people if it is not combined with chastity; on the other hand, it withers in disease and is destroyed by death. But the beauty of the soul remains immortal and unsullied, and then it appears in full bloom, when passions fall silent and peace comes to the mind. So, if you see a beautiful man or woman, do not be surprised. Look, the oak trees reach to the skies, and their fruit is not good for people, but only for the dumb; and the vine spreads along the ground and bears clusters of beautiful fruit. So, what do you want to have - a grapevine or an oak? Of course, the vine, because the oak, boasting in the heights, delivers food only to the dumb with its fruits. What is more insignificant than a bee, and what is more magnificent than a peacock? But which is better - a bee or a peacock? Of course, a bee. Destroy a peacock and you will not lose anything; destroy a bee and you will lose a lot. So, David came, the oil was poured out - and he was anointed according to God’s determination, through the mediation of man. (Samuel) erected a horn over him and (the anointing) was for him instead of purple and a crown. And he went from here, possessing a kingdom, not armed with a helmet, nor a shield, nor spears, but having received the very definition of God, the strongest of all. When war was declared and the affairs of the Jewish people were in confusion and the foreigners were overpowering them, then David went to see the army and the foreigner challenging him to single combat. No one dared to speak out then. David came, saw a foreigner flashing weapons and boasting, and found everyone in despondency. The shepherd is at war, and those hardened in battle cannot bear even the voice of the enemy; accustomed only to walking between trees and springs and in the shade (of forests), he stood his ground, however, at the sight of the giant and said: “Who is this uncircumcised one, who so reviles the army of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:36)? And they say to him: where did you get such madness? And he answers: not madness, but faith; I am animated not by pride, but by piety; I am not armed with a helmet, but clothed with faith; I do not look at the fact that he is great in stature, but at the fact that he is devoid of reason; I see not that the ship is large, but that it has no helmsman. I am not afraid of him (because he is the enemy of God), even if he were ten thousand times stronger. By judgment from above, this uncircumcised man is weaker than any man. What weapon, O David, gives you such courage? Not physical, but spiritual. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God” (2 Cor. 10:4). But how can this be: you are small and weak? But the Lord is great. Imperfect weapon? But the one who sent is strong. He will turn the sea into dry land, split open the rock, change the elements; much more will He overcome one man. 4. So David came to his brothers and said to them: what will be given to the man who brought his head? He asks about the reward, not in order to receive a reward, but to arouse faith in them. What about brothers? They again reveal envy and malice. “Why did you come here and to whom did you leave the few sheep in the desert? I know your arrogance and your evil heart” (1 Samuel 17:28). Oh, envy, filled with passion, an unquenchable fire! And just as moth wears through wool, so envy gnaws at the envious person and makes the one who is subjected to it more glorious. So it was with Joseph and his brothers. Those who succumbed to the inspiration of envy exchanged freedom for slavery, and the envied one became a king. So here the brothers say: we know “your arrogance and your bad heart, you came to see the battle.” What did you envy? Why did they slander? They heard his words, but could not bear the timing of his words. What is this wise husband? In order not to increase the wound received from them, he leaves them, goes to another part of the army and says: what will happen to the person who took his head off? Then he was taken to the king. Here he saw the king seated, but overwhelmed with despondency, fear and trembling, and said to him: why has the face of my master changed, and in the days of happiness testifies to slavery? Who is this foreigner? Can't I go and take his head off? What about the king? How can you, he says, do this: after all, you are a young boy, and he knows military affairs from his youth? Don’t look at the visible, but think about the internal: don’t you see that I am small in stature, but great in courage? What happened then? The king does not believe and thus finally forces David to tell him about his exploits. “I,” he says, “your servant tended his father’s sheep, and when it happened that a lion or a bear came and carried away a sheep from the herd, I chased after him and attacked him and took him from his mouth; and if he rushed at me, then I took him by the hair and struck him and killed him; Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear, and the same thing will happen to this uncircumcised Philistine as to them, because in this way the army of the living God is defied” (1 Sam. 17:34-36). And Saul said to David: “Go, and may the Lord be with you” (1 Samuel 17:37). The king gave him his weapon, but David could not carry it. Why? God did not allow this, so that he would win the victory unarmed, so that weapons would not have a part in the victory of the spirit, and so that the king would not later say that his weapons had won the victory. (David) throws down his weapon and puts on faith alone; comes out unarmed, but clothed with the helmet of piety; it is the shepherd, not the warrior, who performs. He throws a stone, relying not on bodily strength, but through the effectiveness of faith he acquired victory; ran up, grabbed his sword, cut off his head. Thus, what was written was fulfilled: “The sinner is caught up in the works of his own hands” (Ps. 9:17). Again envy, again slander! I constantly dig up this source to find its very germ. Here is this such a great man, about whom God says: “I have found a man after My heart, David, the son of Jesse” (Acts 13:22; Ps. 89:21). Oh, high praise! Oh, proof of virtue! His Lord says: “I have found a man after My heart, David, the son of Jesse.” So, David, who defeated the beasts, overthrew Goliath, strangled the lion, defeated the bear, in his youth wise as an old man, small in body and great in spirit, in the midst of a royal environment who showed a love of solitude - he washed, watering not with pearls, but with tears, his bed every night. Nowadays people sleep during the day, but he was overwhelmed with care even at night. Why at night? But because during the day, like a king, he was distracted by thousands of affairs, and at night, as if being in a pier, he privately talked with God, shed springs of tears and washed his bed with them. So, this, such and such a great man, who gained the grace of the Spirit, at a young age possessed the maturity of an old man, touched the vault of heaven, accepted heavenly gifts and grace, put an end to wars, performed countless exploits over the devil, after a life of chastity, meekness and purity, after establishing himself in the kingdom, defeated countless enemies, conquered the people, then - among the universal peace - weakened so that you could learn what benefits sorrow brings and how much evil peace brings. And when (he fell)? In broad daylight! After dinner, rising from his bed, he was walking and saw a naked woman bathing, very beautiful and comely. I don't blame beauty: beauty is God's gift. He saw a woman bathing on the roof, a warrior’s wife, beautiful, wonderful. He saw it, his hair was inflamed with lust, and he was wounded by an arrow. 5. Let those who are curious listen, observe and examine the beauty of others. Let those who go wild at the spectacles hear them say: “We’re just watching, it’s not harmful at all.” David suffered harm, but you are not harmed? He was defeated, and I should be confident in you? Having such grace of the Spirit, he received a wound, and you will remain unharmed in this shameless spectacle? Moreover, he saw not a harlot, but a chaste and honest woman; and not in the theater, but in the house. And you are in the theater, where the very place corrupts the soul, where you not only look, but also listen to shameless words, where in front of you there is a prodigal atmosphere and devilish songs. Your soul is amazed from all sides: sight from what you see, hearing from what you hear, smell from what you smell. Such destruction, such an abyss, and I can trust you that you will not become the prey of the beast? After all, you are neither stone nor iron? You are a person involved in the general weakness of our nature. Do you hold the fire and don't burn? What does this mean? Put a lamp on the hay, and will you tell me that it will not light up? As the hay is, so is our nature. He (David) saw her, washing, naked, was seduced by her beauty, was wounded by an arrow, received a wound, and sent for her. And as soon as she came to him, he committed lawlessness and satisfied his lust. Then he orders her to return to her house. Saying this, I bring the wounded man into the middle so that you all around can see how he is then healed. And the doctor, performing an operation, calls on everyone around him to see with what skill he defeats the disease. Moreover, when the prophet undergoes an operation, everyone needs to gather so that we can see what we must do to get rid of rot and worms. The sin is grave: the passion is satisfied, the sin is committed, but there is no doctor. Meanwhile, the woman conceived. Until then, the king thought that this would remain hidden from her husband, because, although he was a prophet, passion completely blinded him. A woman conceived, became pregnant, and ran to the king. O king, I am lost (2 Samuel 11:4–5)! What's wrong with you? I am pregnant: the fruit of sin is growing, I carry the accusation against myself in the womb, the conviction of sin has increased; in myself I have evidence against myself. If my husband comes and sees me, what will I say or what will I speak? Think how evil sin is! The king is afraid of the warrior. And indeed, he is no longer a slave who is free from sin. He was adorned with a crown and feared shame. Aren't you already a king? Do you not have the power of life and death? No, I have; but I committed a grave sin. Oh, sin, mother of fear! O proof of dishonor, O pledge of silence! I am afraid, I tremble (says the woman), because you have dishonored me; in myself I have an accuser. If my husband comes, what will I say, how will I justify myself? He will find me pregnant and kill me, who has the proof of sin within me. Do you see a depressing shipwreck? Do you see how evil sin is? What then is the king? Adds sin to sin. We need to continue our story. Uriah, her husband, came from the war - he came to the king. And the king said to him: Well, Uriah? How are things going in the war? Answers: (everything) good, we won. The king hears that the warrior has won, but he himself has been defeated; the warrior triumphed in war, and the king was defeated by pleasure; the warrior defeated the enemy, and he himself was overthrown by sin; the warrior talks about victory, but out of shame he did not dare to talk about his defeat. We won, he says, our victory. The king was depressed; he did not feel victory in the war because of the shame of the defeat that he himself suffered. He says to the soldier: go to your house: wash yourself, have dinner, stay with your wife (2 Samuel 11:7-8). For what? To cover the wound, so that they would think that a child would be born from him. But the watchful eye did not allow this to happen, sparing the wounded (by sin). What does the warrior say then? How can I leave you and go bask? Israel is at war, the commander is in the army, the ark of the Lord is in the army, and I will go home and enjoy? This is what the warrior said, suspecting nothing. It was a reproach to the king that the warrior, having returned from the war, did not even want to see his home, and the king turned out to be such a lawmaker that he had to force the warrior to see his wife in order to cover his wound. However, the warrior went to war. And the baby was about to be born. What then does the king do? After he failed to cover the wound, he writes to the military commander in the war: taking Uriah, put him in the most dangerous place in the battle. For what? To destroy him. And he hands this letter to him. Oh lust! What cruelty the sin of this meekest of men prompted! The offended man raises the sword towards himself, carries a letter full of blood, and goes. The letter was to destroy him. What happened? He fell in battle and was killed. So, two sins have been committed - adultery and murder. Murder was the fruit of adultery. 6. I say this for sinners and those who are aware of many evils, so that when they hear this, they do not despair of their salvation, because it is written: “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:13–14). David violated both of these first commandments. He committed adultery and then killed the offended man. The wound is severe, the ulcer is great. So, when Uriah, having returned to the war, was killed, and sin - hidden - was ready to rejoice, then the prophet Nathan finally came to David. Passion is satisfied, lawlessness is committed, the offended is destroyed. But the prophet denounces the prophet. Why? If David was a prophet, couldn't he have healed himself? No. Just as doctors, when they themselves are sick, resort to the help of other doctors, because illness deprives art of its power, so here it is: one prophet, and another prophet. And he does not lie in bed, but is mired in sin. They say to David: the prophet Nathan is at the door. He says: let him come in. The prophet enters. He sees him seated in the full splendor of royal splendor - and what does he say? Listen to me, O king, I have a case. Oh, the wisdom of the doctor! He came with an iron tool to open the wound, but does not show it to the patient, so as not to deprive him of medical care, he hides it - not under a dress, but in the dramatic form of a story. He did not immediately tell him at the entrance: oh, wicked, oh, wicked, oh, adulterer, oh, murderer; not only denounces, but covers his courage with a mask. He hides the instrument (of healing) and says: I have a lawsuit, oh king, listen to me. What about the king? Say your thing. He says: There was one rich man; he had numerous herds of sheep and oxen. And there was a poor man. These two men are Uriah and David. Look what was in reality under the guise. The poor man had nothing but one sheep (meaning here the seduced wife), which ate from his table, drank from his cup, and slept on his chest. Do you see what tender love poverty leads to? The rich have great pomp, but the poor have a wife who is both a servant and a helper, gives birth to children, and is herself both a mother and a nurse. It’s not like that among the rich, but a wife gives birth to a child and gives it into the wrong hands; affection is drowned out by pomp, the mother gives birth, but does not want to be a nurse; Having become a mother, she is ashamed to be a nurse. Not so Christ. He regenerated us, and He Himself became our nourisher; instead of food he fed us with his own flesh, and instead of drink he gave us his own blood to drink. So the lamb slept on the poor man's chest. The sadness of the event increases from this pictorial depiction of love. One day a guest came to a rich man. Which guest? Passion. To testify to his purity, He skillfully called passion a guest. Indeed, David had never before violated another’s marriage or looked with unclean eyes. But then, struck (by passion), he ruined his purity because of this woman and, succumbing to momentary weakness, violated his duty. A guest came, this unbridled, bestial passion came to him. A guest came to this rich man, and he did not want to take sheep and oxen from his herds; but he sent and took that little lamb that slept on the poor man’s chest and ate from his table. What's next? The king was angry: he thought that he was sorting out someone else’s business. The king became angry and expressed a fair decision with great force. In this case, partiality did not cloud justice. He will die by the sword, he says, and will reward the sheep fourfold (Ex. 22). The king judges more strictly than the law. The law orders the one who stole to return it in fourfold. But he exceeds the law: he sentences him to be killed himself and to be returned in quartet. He pronounced the sentence and prepared the condemnation. Then the prophet leaves his face and says: it is you, king. What is he? “I have sinned before the Lord.” Do you see how, even when stricken by illness, he (preserves) the nobility of his soul? He did not say to the prophet: you are unfortunate and pitiful, you did not even dare to openly expose! No, he says: “I have sinned before the Lord.” What does the prophet have to do with this? “The Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). Repentance was soon accomplished, but forgiveness was granted even sooner. “You speak,” he says, “to justify yourself” (Is. 43:26). You have sinned in deed, but repent in word. 7. I say this so that sinners and those who have fallen under sin may hear, and not despair of their salvation. “I have sinned,” he says, “before the Lord.” “And the Lord has taken away your sin from you.” You said: the sword will fall on him, and I say: you will not die. Do you see how God judged the prophet’s litigation? “Remember to Me; we will begin to go to court; speak you in order to be justified.” But let us return to the beginning. Psalm David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, . It speaks of his pardon and forgiveness. Look, learn how he was healed, and what medicine did he use? When God justifies, who condemns? He did not even say that “I forgive,” but that “the Lord has taken away your sin.” He opened the ulcer and healed the wound. “You won’t die,” he says. Having said this, the prophet left. Now I want to show the king’s good-naturedness, his heartfelt correction, and how he acquired forgiveness of sin, how he gained remission of lawlessness. When Uriah came from the war and announced to the king about the victory over the enemy, the king, wanting his husband to cover up his crime that he had seduced his wife, even then applied such zeal to hiding his sin that he combined murder with adultery. But after this, through repentance, he rose to the level of wisdom; who had previously hidden his sin turned to repentance. And after the forgiveness granted by God’s will, after the prophet came and said: “The Lord has taken away your sin from you; you will not die,” after this he not only does not hide his passion, but makes it known to all subsequent generations and writes a psalm so that posterity will know what a sad spectacle passion is. This means that when repentance came, it brought with it courage. I, he says, was saved; Why shouldn’t others be saved following my example? God has forgiven me. So I’m describing all this so that both the wound and the cure can be known. I am not afraid of shame now that I have achieved my salvation. This is what Paul does: he perpetuates the crimes left to him and says: “I thank him who gave me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to serve, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender” (1 Tim. 1:12-13). That’s why I present myself (in this form) so that if someone turns out to be the same notorious blasphemer, he can see that he, too, has hope of salvation. And you, O David, having committed adultery and murder and received forgiveness from God, are you exposing yourself to shame for this very purpose? Yes, he says, so that if anyone is an adulterer or a murderer, he should learn from me how he can achieve salvation. Therefore, he leaves sin and accepts repentance. So, did he only mean this when he announced to everyone how he had reformed, or something else? Yes, and another thing; and what exactly, I will now explain. You have heard, of course, that repentance gives us complete forgiveness and gives us great courage; so you also need to know that he who is mired in a multitude of sins has great shame and is not only not content with repentance, but is afraid and trembles, lest he again become mired in them. I precisely want to show that the psalm introduces you (to the situation) not only of the sinner, but also of the repentant. I am telling you this so that no one, after repentance, falls into excessive arrogance, but rather arranges his salvation in the safest way in the harbour. So, I want to show him how he healed and became better than himself, stronger and stronger. After this passion, did he again suffer from another illness? Here is a new war, a new sin, again a battle, again weapons, and again passion attacked him; again the war is in full swing, a difficult war, and the military camp is assembled. There was a source in that place. In the heat of battle, David saw him and felt extremely thirsty: he passionately wanted to drink. Again passion, this time not forbidden: then passion for the body, now for water. He passionately wanted to drink, was burning with thirst, and said: I am perishing from thirst. Some of those who wanted to serve him went and brought him water at the cost of their blood; they brought water through the (ranks of) enemies. When the water was brought, the king thought better of what he had done, that in such a battle he had not curbed his thirst. And what did you do? He took the water and did not drink it, but offered a libation to God. It seemed to him not like water, but like blood, not in nature, of course, but in meaning. Do you see how, taught by his former passion, he subsequently became more prudent? Having then been inflamed with passion for the body, now he did not want water, or rather, he wanted it, but resisted. I am not saying that he was alien to this passion, but that in his wisdom he rose above it and did not touch (the water). 8. I offer this admonition to those leading a prodigal life. Were you tied to a harlot? Have you fallen into fornication? Do you want to repent? Do not add sin to sin and do not say to me: how can I live without fornication? I'll tell you how you can. Are you burning with passion? But you have a wife, and if you don’t have one, take her so that you can enjoy the pleasure with safety. But I can't resist? And this is already licentiousness. And if I point out to you another who does not have a wife but is celibate, what excuse or excuse will you offer? The one at sea does not suffer a wreck, but you are subject to a fall in the pier? Do you have a wife and commit fornication, or even more, commit adultery? But, you ask, how can I get rid of this wound? Your wife will help you with this. Will your wife help? Exactly. Listen to what Blessed Paul says: “To avoid fornication, each one have his own wife, and each one have her own husband. A wife has no authority over her body, but a husband; likewise a husband has no authority over his own body, but a woman” (1 Cor. 7:2, 4). So, if a harlot calls you, apply this instruction to yourself and say: “The husband has no power over his own body, but the wife”; write these words in your heart and say to the harlot: Why are you calling me? This is not my body, but my wife's; I don't dare sell someone else's. I do not dare spend her dowry, I do not dare dispose of her property, I cannot desecrate the body that belongs to her. Is it so? I can't. Tell the harlot: Why are you calling me? Don't go near it: it's not mine, it's someone else's. Surely this body does not belong to a harlot? I do not accept the body of a harlot: this is the body of my wife. Fear Christ and say that our bodies are members of Christ. Let the wives hear this too; let them understand what Christ calls them to, of course, in compliance with holiness, and let them say: “the wife has no power over her body, but the husband.” Consider the wisdom contained in these words of Paul. In view of the fact that many abstain and have pure and chaste wives, moreover, they abstain beyond what is due, so that abstinence becomes a pretext for adultery, in view of this he says: let everyone use his wife. And he is not ashamed, but enters and sits on the bed day and night, embraces husband and wife and unites them to each other, and loudly cries out: “Do not turn away from each other except by consent” (1 Cor. 7:5). Do you observe abstinence and do not want to sleep with your husband, and he does not take advantage of you? Then he leaves home and sins, and in the end his sin is caused by your abstinence. Let him sleep with you better than with a harlot. Cohabitation with you is not prohibited, but cohabitation with a harlot is prohibited. If he sleeps with you, there is no guilt; if with a harlot, then you have destroyed your own body. So, (the apostle) sits down almost on the marriage bed and cries out: “Do not deviate from each other, except by consent.” That is why you (wife) have a husband, and that is why you (husband) have a wife, to maintain chastity. Do you want to have abstinence? Convince your husband of this, so that there are two crowns - chastity and harmony, but so that there is no chastity and battle, so that there is no peace and war. After all, if you abstain, and your husband is inflamed with passion, and yet adultery is forbidden by the apostle, then he must endure storm and excitement. But “do not deviate from each other except by consent.” And, of course, where there is peace, there are all blessings; where there is peace, there chastity shines; where there is agreement, there abstinence is crowned; and where there is war, chastity is undermined. But “do not deviate from each other except by consent.” Every steward of marriage is surpassed by Paul, the steward of the universe. Therefore, he is not ashamed to say: “Let marriage be honorable in all and the bed undefiled” (Heb. 13:4). After all, its Lord Himself came to the wedding, giving honor to the marriage with His presence, and even brought gifts, turning water into wine. So, strive (in abstinence) as much as you want; When you become weak, take advantage of marriage, so that Satan does not tempt you. "Everyone have his own wife." Here are three ways of life: virginity, marriage, fornication. Marriage is in the middle, fornication is below, virginity is above. Virginity is crowned, marriage is commended in proportion, fornication is condemned and punished. So, observe moderation in your abstinence, depending on how much you can curb the weakness of your flesh. Do not strive to exceed this measure, lest you fall below any measure. Just as someone who wants to dive goes as far into the water as he can go, but when he enters, he looks at how far he will have to return, so be chaste as much as you can bear, so as not to fall beyond measure. And for all this let us give thanks to Christ, because to Him belongs the glory and the power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and in the Patrology of Min, classified as Spuria The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: