Беседа 6. Толкование на Песн. 3, 1–8

Song 3:1. In my bed, in my nightly seeking, my soul loved Him; I sought Him, and did not find Him; I called Him, and did not listen to me. Song 3:2. I will arise and walk in the city, and in the marketplaces, and in the haystacks, and I will seek that which my soul loves: I sought Him, and did not find Him when I called Him, and did not listen to me. Song 3:3. The guards who went about the city found me: have you seen the one my soul loved? Song 3:4. As soon as I had departed from them, I found him whom my soul loved: I held Him and did not leave Him, I brought Him into my mother’s house and into the palace that conceived me. Song 3:5. I have sworn you, daughters of Jerusalem, in strength, and in the village fortresses: if you move and raise up love, the Dondezh will delight. Song 3:6. Who is this who rises from the desert like a stalk of smoke burning myrrh and frankincense from all the incense of the myrrh-maker? Song 3:7. Behold the bed of Solomon, there are sixty mighty men around him from the mighty men of Israel: Song 3:8. all who have weapons, taught to fight, man, his weapon is on his hip, from terror in his nights. In this reading from the Song of Songs we again learn great and sublime dogmas, because the story of the bride is wisdom, by what she tells about herself, teaching how lovers of the most worldly Grace should be before the Divine. And what we learn from the words proposed is similar to the following - for, I think, it is necessary to first state the meaning contained in the sayings, and then bring these inspired sayings into connection with what was discussed before - so (to put it briefly), in what has been said, a certain similar teaching is revealed: the nature of beings, according to the highest section, consists of two parts: one part is sensory and material beings, and the other is beings spiritual and immaterial. We call everything that we perceive through the senses sensual, and spiritual everything that is not subject to sensory observation. And spiritual nature has no limits and is indefinable; and the sensory, without a doubt, is encompassed by certain limits. For, in addition to the fact that every substance differs in quantity and quality, the volume, external appearance, surface and outline seen in it become the limit of the concept formed about it, so that the one who examines the substance cannot borrow anything beyond this from his idea. And the spiritual and immaterial, being free from such a fence, not limited by anything, knows no limit. But spiritual nature is also divided in two ways: as there is an uncreated Nature, creating beings, always existing by what It is, always identical to Itself, not accepting any increase and not allowing the diminution of goods; so nature, brought into being by creation, always turns its gaze to the first Cause of beings, and by the participation of this eternally abundant Cause is preserved in goodness, and in some way is constantly created, as a result of the increase of goods, changed into something greater, so that no limit is seen in it, and no limit is placed on its growth in the best, but, on the contrary, real good, at least it seemed especially great and perfect, always and incessantly serving as the beginning of something higher and greater. Therefore, in this too the apostolic word is justified, when nature, extending “to the foreground,” comes into oblivion about what was previously achieved (Phil. 3:13). For there is always something greater, which is found in abundance by the good, attracting the affection of those who partake, and does not allow one to turn one’s gaze to the past, through enjoying what is preferable, eliminating the remembrance of what is lower in dignity. Therefore, we think, this is the thought that the bride teaches us through the wisdom of her narrative. But it is time to first recall the very letter of the inspired words, and then bring the meaning contained in the sayings into connection with what was previously discussed. “In my bed in the night my soul sought Him; I sought Him, and did not find Him; I called Him, and did not listen to me. I will arise and walk in the city, and in the marketplaces, and in the haystacks, and will seek that which my soul loves: I sought Him, and did not find Him. The guards who went about the city found me: have you seen the one my soul loved? For as little as I had departed from them, I found him whom my soul loved: I held Him and did not leave Him; I brought Him into my mother’s house and into the palace where I was imprisoned” (Song. 3:1–4). Why do we find in what has been said thoughts that we previously surveyed dogmatically? In her previous ascents to the Word, the bride, with each increment accomplished, was always changed for the better, and never stopped at the good she acquired. It is likened to the horses that overthrew the Egyptian tormentor; also, in terms of the decoration on the neck, it is equivalent to monists and turtle doves. Then, as if not being satisfied with this, ascend further to the highest; for by the sweetness of spikenard it recognizes the Divine fragrance. But it does not stop there either, but on the contrary, the Beloved Himself, like some fragrant aroma, joins itself in the midst of the verbal breasts, from which it exudes the Divine teachings that have entered the receptacle of the heart. After this, he makes the Worker Himself his fruit, calling Him a bunch, which in its color is fragrant with something sweet and pleasant. And, having reached such an age as a result of such ascents, she is called good, becomes sincere, and the beauty of her eyes is likened to doves. Then he goes on to even more; because, having become more acutely visual, he recognizes the beauty of the Word, and marvels at how, like a good canopy, It descends onto the bed of this life, overshadowed by the material nature of the human body. At the same time, the word describes the house of virtue, for the roof of which cedar and cypress are suitable materials, which do not accept rottenness and decay, which explains the constancy and immutability of the disposition towards goodness in the word. At the same time, its modification for the better is also comparatively shown; it seems like a crane among thorns; and she also sees the difference between the Bridegroom and others; because He is called an apple tree in the middle of a barren forest, which flaunts the good-colored fruits, and under the shade of which the bride comes to the house of wine, establishes herself “in the world,” rests in the fruits of the apple tree, having received the chosen arrow in her heart, and from a sweet sting she becomes an arrow again in the hands of Sagittarius, because the left hand directs the top to the heavenly goal, and the right holds the arrow to itself. After this, as if she had already reached perfection, she also depicts in words her zeal for the Beloved, and with some kind of spell inciting them to love. Therefore, who will not say that the soul, having risen so much, is at the very extreme limit of perfection? However, the end of what was previously achieved becomes the beginning of guidance to the highest. For all of this is recognized by the sound of the voice, through hearing, turning the soul to the contemplation of the sacraments; and she begins to see the Beloved, appearing to her eyes in a different form; because He resembles a chamois and is likened to a young deer. And this phenomenon does not stand motionless in its place for our gaze, but on the contrary, it gallops through the mountains, jumping from the outskirts to the tops of the hills. And again the bride is brought to a higher state: when another voice came to her, which encourages her to leave the shadow of the wall, stand under the open sky, and rest “in the cover of stone, near the entrance” (Song. 2, 14), and enjoy the beauty of spring, collecting the flowers of this time of year that are mature, beautiful and suitable for “circumcision” (Song. 2, 12), and everything that spring gives only to those who enjoy pleasure, with the singing of birds in music. And the bride, having become even more perfect from this, recognizes herself as worthy to clearly see the face of the Prophet, and to receive from Him a word that has not already been spoken through others. At the same time, it is right to once again please the soul, which with this high ascent has come to the very top of what it desires. For who can imagine anything greater than this for bliss—to see God? But this, just as it constitutes the end of what was previously achieved, so becomes the beginning of the hope of higher blessings. For the bride again hears a voice commanding the hunters, in order to save the verbal grapes, to catch the animals that spoil the fruits - these little foxes. And when this is done, the mutual transition of one into the other begins, and God appears in the soul, and the soul also transmigrates into God. For the bride says: “My brother is mine, and I” (Song. 2, 16) in Him, grazing in the krin, and transforming human life from shadow-like ideas into reality beings. Do you see to what height the bride has entered, according to the prophetic word, coming “from strength to strength” (Psalm 83:8)? She seemed to have reached the very top in the hope of good things; for what is higher than this - to abide in the Beloved One Himself, and to perceive the Beloved One into oneself? However, having achieved this, she again laments as having a need for good, and as having not yet received the object of her desire, she is at a loss, upset, and declares such a difficulty of the soul, retelling it to everyone, describing in words how she found what she was looking for. Nevertheless, we learn this from a review of the sayings we have proposed, from which we clearly learn that the greatness of God’s nature is not limited by any limit, and no measure of knowledge serves as such a limit in understanding what is sought, beyond which the lover of the lofty should stop in his striving “to what lies before”; but on the contrary, the mind, which ascends to the heavenly with its highest understanding, is in such a state that every perfection of knowledge achievable by human nature becomes the beginning of the desire for higher knowledge. Accurately delve into the word offered for review, understanding in advance that the sensual image in the word is the bridal chamber, and that some kind of marriage institution presents for review such objects, the wisdom of which, translating the meaning of these concepts into something pure and immaterial, through what they represent, sets out dogmas, the mysterious meaning of what is done in this, also taking advantage of the understanding of the revealed teaching. Therefore, since the word represented the soul as a bride, with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength, the God loved by her is called the Bridegroom; then, as a result of this, the soul, having come, as it thought, to the very top of what it hoped for, and having thought about itself that already in the closest unity with the Beloved, the perfect communion of the good is called “bed”, and “night” calls the time of darkness, the name of night indicates the contemplation of the invisible, just as Moses contemplated, being in the darkness, “where God was” ( Ex. 20, 21), as the Prophet says, “having placed His darkness around Him” (Psalm 17:12). The soul placed in this darkness then learns that it is as far from achieving perfection as those who have not yet begun to begin; for he says: as one who was worthy of perfection, already, as it were, on a bed resting in the comprehension of the known, when, having left the senses, I dwelt within the invisible, when I was embraced by Divine night, seeking the Hidden in the darkness, then, although I had love for the Beloved, this Beloved of me flew away from the embrace of thoughts. I looked for Him “on my bed in the night” in order to know what His essence is, where it begins, where it ends, in what His being is, but “I did not find Him” (Song. 3, 1), I called Him by name, which only could I invent a name for the Unnameable, but there was no name whose meaning would relate to the Searched One. For how could He be gained by a title by name, Who is “more than every name” (Phil. 2:9)? Therefore, the bride says: “I called Him, and did not listen to me” (Song. 3, 1). Then I knew that there is no end to His splendor, glory and holiness. Therefore, the spiritual and premium nature, which it calls “city,” rises again and looks around in thought. “Behold,” he says, “the Beginnings, the Dominions, and the Thrones set up for the Powers (this is the “triumph” of heaven (Heb. 12:23), which she calls the “marketplace,” this immense multitude, which is signified by the name “hundreds”)), will there not be a Beloved among them? Therefore, the bride, searching, went around the entire rank of angels, and when she did not see the One she was looking for in the blessings she had found, she began to reason with herself: is it not even comprehensible to the Angels that I love? and say to them: Have you not “seen” “Whom my soul has loved?” (Song. 3, 3) Because they remained silent to such a question, and with silence showed that what she sought was also incomprehensible to them, then when with an inquisitive mind she walked around the entire worldly city, and did not recognize the Desired from spiritual and incorporeal beings, then, leaving everything she found, she thus recognized the Searched by the mere incomprehensibility of what It is; because in this Knowable, every comprehensible sign serves as an obstacle to acquisition for those who seek. Therefore he says: “I never died from them” (Song. 3, 4), having left all creation, and having gone through everything imaginable in creation, having passed through every accessible path, by faith I “found” the Beloved, and I will no longer let go of the Found One from the embrace of faith, holding on to Him until I am inside my “chamber.” And the palace, without a doubt, is the heart, which then becomes capacious for the Divine infusion, when it returns to the state in which it was originally “conceived” during its formation. And, of course, whoever understands the first reason for our dispensation by the name “mother” will not sin. But it is time to again offer Divine broadcasts in their literal reading, so that these sayings can be applied to what has been observed. “In my bed in the night my soul sought Him; I sought Him, and did not find Him; I called Him, and did not listen to me. I will arise and walk in the city, and in the marketplaces, and in the haystacks, and will seek that which my soul loves: I sought Him, and did not find Him. The guards who went about the city found me: have you seen the one my soul loved? For as little as I had departed from them, I found him whom my soul loved: I held Him and did not leave Him; I brought Him into my mother’s house and into the palace where I was imprisoned” (Song. 3:1–4). After this, the bride again, out of love for humanity, talks with the daughters of Jerusalem (whom the Word previously called thorns in comparison with the bride, likened to a crin), and, conjuring with the forces of the world, arouses them to equal love, so that the will of the Groom would be effective on them too. But in previous conversations it was said what kind of world this is, in which these are strengths and powers, and what kind of will this is from the Beloved with all my heart and with all my soul, and therefore there is no need to continue the word about the same thing again when we have already seen the meaning of these sayings, which sufficiently explains what is understood in this place. On the contrary, let us proceed to the continuation of the word, if only it would be possible for us to ascend with this perfect dove, soaring into the heights, and hear the voice of the friends of the Bridegroom, attributing its ascent from the desert to a miracle, which all the more increases the amazement in the audience, since the desert produces something similar, so that it is likened to the beauty of the trees grown in the desert by the vapors of fragrances; and the fragrances were myrrh and frankincense. Along with their evaporation, some kind of dust of refined aromas rose up and ascended upward, so that instead of this dust dissolved into the air, there was a spill of fine aromatic particles, from which the dust rose straight up. It reads like this: “Who is this who rises from the desert, like a stalk of smoke burning myrrh and frankincense, from all the incense of the myrrh-maker?” (Song. 3, 6). If anyone carefully understands with his mind what has been said, he will find the truth of the teaching that we have foretold. As in spectacular performances, although the same ones show the story given to them in action, the spectators, when they change their appearance with different guises, think that they are completely different, and in the one who is now a slave and a private person, they soon see a knight and a warrior, and he again, leaving the appearance of a subordinate, takes on the appearance of a military leader, or even puts on the image of a king: so, having excelled in virtue, they do not always remain with the same distinctive features, because desires for the highest blessings, transforming “from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18); but on the contrary, incessantly, as the perfection of these goods progresses in everyone, a special characteristic characteristic of life shines out, changing from one to another due to the increase in goods. Therefore, it seems to me, the groom’s friends are apparently surprised, who even before knew the bride to be good, and “good in wives”; and after that they removed her beauty “in the likeness of gold with variegated silver” (Song 1:10). Now, not seeing any of the previous signs in it, but distinguishing it by higher signs, they are amazed not only at its ascent, but also at where it could have come from. For this serves to intensify the amazement that they see one ascending, and what is visible is likened to a grove of trees. They imagine that they see “stems” running out and growing tall. These stems are nourished not by any rich or irrigated soil, but by dry, thirsty, desert soil. Therefore, in what do these stems take root, and from what do they grow? The root for them is the fragrant dust, and the watering is the evaporation of fragrances, irrigating this grove with incense. How much praise does this word contain for the one about whom similar things are testified? For the fact that the friends of the Bridegroom ask each other about the one who appeared to their eyes, as if she were appearing in a different form, and not in the previous image, serves as the most perfect praise for progress in virtue, testifying to a great change and transformation for the better in the bride. For these are the words of those who are amazed, counting this flowering image, contrary to its usual appearance, as a miracle: “this one rising from the desert” (Song. 3, 6), as we saw before, was black, so how did she shed the blackened image? Why does her face shine snow-white? The desert, apparently, is the reason for this; she did what the bride, like some kind of offspring, gave shoots in height; the desert transformed her into such beauty. For it was not by some coincidence that she rose to heights; on the contrary, she acquired beauty through her own labors, abstinence and care. So once upon a time the soul of the Prophet became thirsty for the Divine source, because his “flesh,” having become “empty, impenetrable and waterless,” felt the Divine thirst within itself (Psalm 63:2). Therefore, the bride, by the very fact that she rises from the desert, provides evidence of herself that through attentiveness and abstinence she entered a great and significant height, and through this she became a miracle for the friends of the Bridegroom, who explain her beauty with many similarities, because it is not possible to grasp everything alone. And first they liken its grace to a “stem”, and not just one stem, but the miracles noted in it are likened to many trees, so that the image of a grove indicates the variety and variety of virtues. Then incense smoke is taken into the image of beauty, and not just simple smoke, but dissolved from “myrrh” and “Lebanon”, so that the pleasantness of their fumes merges into one, which depicts the beauty of the bride. The combination of these aromas is a new praise for her. Myrrh is used when burying bodies, and Lebanon is, for some reason, consecrated in honor of God. Therefore, he who intends to devote himself to the service of God will not otherwise be frankincense, burnt to God, unless he first becomes myrrh, that is, he kills “his ouds that are on the earth” (Col. 3:5), being buried by Him who accepted death for us, and by killing the ouds on his own flesh, having received that myrrh that was used at the burial of the Lord (John 19:39 ). And after this is accomplished, every kind of fragrance of virtue, crushed, as if in a mortar, in the wheel of life, produces from itself that sweet dust, which, having received with the breath, the one who is filled with a spirit anointed with the world becomes fragrant. After testifying to the beauty of the bride, the friends of the Groom, the preparers of the pure bridal chamber, the bridegrooms of the immaculate bride, show her the beauty of the royal bed, in order, all the more, to lead the bride into the lust of the Divine and pure cohabitation with the King. Here is a description of the royal bed, to which, pointing to the bride, they present to her gaze what is depicted in the word; for they say: “Behold the bed of Solomon, sixty mighty men around him from the mighty Israelites, all who had weapons, were taught to fight: a man, his weapon was on his thigh, with terror in his nights” (Song. 3: 7-8). That this legend about the bed is not in history will be clear to everyone from what is told about Solomon in the carnal sense. The word described with all accuracy his palace, meals and other way of life during his reign, but did not say anything new or special about the bed; why, of all necessity, one should not stop in interpretation on the letter, but with the most careful observation, retreating in thought from the material meaning of expressions, turn speech to a spiritual overview. For what kind of decoration for a wedding bed will sixty squires make, whose only information is military fears, and whose outfit is the weapon attached to the body and the night terror that surrounds them? Scripture uses the word “horror,” which, as it says, happens with these squires, indicates a frenzied fear that comes from some kind of nightly fears. Therefore, in every possible way we must find in these sayings some meaning consistent with what was previously discussed. What's the point? It seems that Divine beauty is something terrible that is pleasing, becoming visible in contrast to physical beauty: for in physical beauty it attracts to lust, which is pleasant and delightful to the eye and far from any terrible and irritable disposition, and this most pure beauty is terrible and amazing courage. Because passionate and unclean bodily lust, which has its place in the fleshly members, like a band of thieves, plots intrigues to the mind, and, having caught it in its own will, often takes it into captivity, and this is hostile to God, because, as the Apostle says, “the wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7), then Divine love should come from the opposite of bodily lust, so that if the latter is ruled in freedom, delicacy and whimsical luxury for everyone, then the fearful and amazing courage there becomes the food of Divine love. For when courageous irritation terrifies and puts to flight the ambush of voluptuousness, then the pure beauty of the soul will be revealed, undefiled by any passion of bodily lust. Therefore, the King’s wedding bed is necessarily surrounded by armor bearers, whose experience in military affairs and the sword ready at the hip produce horror and amazement in the darkened thoughts that lie in wait at night and “in the darkness shoot down the upright in heart” (Psalm 10:2). And that the armament of the beds that numb themselves is destructive for unclean pleasures, this will become clear from the description in which the word says: “Teach all for war: a man, his weapon is on his thigh” (Song. 3:8). For indeed, having a sword hanging at his hip, those who know can, as it should, wage war with flesh and blood. And no one ignorant of the concepts and mysterious sayings of Scripture understands, of course, what is signified by the mention of the thigh, namely, that the sword is the Word. Therefore, whoever is girded with this terrible weapon (I mean the sword of chastity) is worthy of the incorruptible bed, is one of the “mighty of Israel,” and is worthy to be included in the list of sixty. We have no doubt that this number also has some mysterious meaning; but this is obvious to those only to whom the grace of the Spirit reveals hidden secrets. And we affirm that it is good to be content with the concepts seen at first glance in the word, as Moses legislates about Passover, so that those who eat the visible meat from the outside do not touch with inquisitiveness the obscurity hidden in the bones (Ex. 12:10). If anyone desires the hidden marrow of the word; then let him ask the One who reveals the hidden to the worthy. However, so that it does not seem as if we are passing by the word without practicing it, and are not taking care of God’s commandment, which commands us to “test the Divine Scriptures” (John 5:39), let us consider what was said about the sixty as follows. Twelve rods, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, are taken by Moses at the command of God; but one is preferred to everyone - as one of all is vegetated. Even Joshua took stones from the Jordan in equal numbers with the tribes of Israel, and not one of them was rejected; because everyone was equally accepted as a witness to the sacrament on the Jordan. There is great consistency in these stories; for the word shows some progress of the people in improving themselves, so that at the beginning of the legislation one living and vegetated rod was found, while the rest were rejected as dry and barren; but after a long time, when the Israelites reached the most accurate understanding of the legal instructions for them, so that they understood and accepted the circumcision performed on them by Jesus a second time, and when the stone knife took away everything unclean from them (of course, an intelligent listener understands what is meant by the stone and knife): then, after the establishment of a lawful and virtuous life in them, as was natural, none of the stones taken in the name of the tribes of Israel turned out to be rejected. Since it is always necessary to strive for an increase in benefits, then when time has passed, and Israel has more strength, for in the sayings offered to us the Word speaks of “the mighty of Israel,” then it is no longer taken one stone, or one rod, from each tribe, but, instead of rods or stones, from each tribe, five men of war, “learned to fight from the mighty of Israel,” armed with a sword, stiffening itself the Divine bed, of which, therefore, not one is rejected, because five become the firstfruits of each tribe, and this number, twelve times added to itself, gives the full number of sixty. Therefore, it is necessary that from each tribe five terrible warriors become the guardians of the royal bed, so that if there were less than five, then the full number would not be accepted. But is it not possible, finally, to dare to reason about why five warriors from each tribe arm themselves to become guards of the royal bed, and why each of these five, armed with a sword hanging on his hip, becomes terrible for the opposing forces? Or is it obvious that these five squires replace a single stone, serving each feeling that has with it, to defeat its opponents, a sword suitable to it? The sword of the eye is to always look to the Lord, look straight and not be defiled by any unclean sight. The weapon of hearing is also hearing Divine teachings and never accepting vain words by hearing. So you can arm taste, touch, and smell with the sword of abstinence, defending each of the senses with whatever it takes. From this, numbness and horror strike the darkened thoughts, for which night and darkness serve as a convenient time for plotting intrigues for souls, when, said the Prophet, wild animals with cunning seek food for themselves in the flocks of God, for it is said: “thou hast laid down darkness, and there was night, in which all the beasts of the oak forest will pass through; Psalm 103, 20–21). Therefore, everyone who is saved becomes an Israelite: “Not all that are are of Israel, but these are Israel” (Rom. 9, 6); on the contrary, everyone who turns his gaze to God is, in the proper sense, called by this name for such a course of action; it is characteristic of the one who looks at God not to turn to sin with any of the senses (for no one can look at two masters, but one must become hated if the other becomes loved), therefore everything that is saved becomes one bed of the King. For if all who have become “pure in heart will see God” (Matthew 5.8), those who see God in the proper sense are called Israel; and this name, for some hidden reason, is divided into twelve tribes: then the fullness of those being saved is perfectly summed up from the number of sixty, when one is taken from each part, and this one, according to the number of feelings, is divided into five armor-bearers. Therefore, one King’s bed is surrounded by all who have put on “the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6.11), all who became Israel, and since, with the valor represented everywhere in the twelve tribes, the whole fullness of the valiant is composed of the number sixty; then all brought together by one official, Ecclesiastes and the Bridegroom into the communion of one body, will be one regiment, one army, one bed, that is, one Church, one people, one bride. And that the bed is the rest of those who are being saved, we learn this from the word of the Lord, who without shame says to the one who knocks on the door at night: “The doors are already shut, and the children are with me in the bed” (Luke 11:7). The beautiful word calls those who, with the weapon of truth, have succeeded in dispassion, children, letting us know through this that the good acquired by our care is not something else that was imparted to nature in the beginning. For he who girts himself with the sword by attentiveness to a virtuous life has removed passion from himself; and an infant by age is insensitive to such passion, because the immaturity of age does not give passion any place. Therefore, together we can find out that there are squires at the bed, and that those resting on the bed are babies; because there is one dispassion in both; some did not accept passion into themselves, while others removed it from themselves; some have not yet learned, while others, having converted and become children through dispassion, have restored themselves to a primitive state. Therefore, it is a blessed thing to be among them, having become either a baby, or a squire, or a true Israelite: an Israelite, as one who looks at God in purity of heart; a squire, as guarding the king’s bed, that is, his heart, in dispassion and purity, and a baby, as one resting on a blessed bed of Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen You might be interested in: