Беседа 7

1. There are many instructions for us, brothers, about the fear of God, and how useful it is to fear God, the word of God speaks about this many times. As far as the shortness of time allows, listen to me with attention, who wants to recall some of these numerous testimonies and make some explanations about them. Who does not rejoice in his understanding or desire it? But what does Scripture say? “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 110:10). Who doesn't enjoy being king? But let us listen to what the Holy Spirit teaches in the psalm: “Therefore, understand, O kings; learn, judges of the earth! Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice [before Him] with trembling” (Ps. 2:10-11). Therefore, the apostle says: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). We also read in Scripture: “If you desire wisdom, keep righteousness, and the Lord will give it to you” (Sir.1:26). We meet many who are very indifferent to the truth and at the same time thirsty for wisdom. The Divine Scripture teaches such that this cannot be achieved otherwise than by doing what they neglect. “Keep,” it is said, “the truth (in the Russian text - commandments), and the Lord will give it to you.” But who can, without the fear of God, keep the truth? And in another place it is said: “He who does not have fear cannot justify himself” (Sir.1:21). Thus, if the Lord does not bestow wisdom on anyone except those who observe the truth, and if one who does not have fear cannot justify himself, then it naturally follows from here that “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” 2. And the prophet Isaiah, when he speaks about the seven most important gifts of the Holy Spirit, begins with wisdom and ends with the fear of God, as if descending from above to us, to teach us how to ascend upward. He started with what we want to achieve and comes to where we should start. “And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,” says the prophet, “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of God (in the Russian text - and will be filled with the fear of the Lord)” (Is. 11: 2-3). So, just as the prophet, not out of awareness of his weakness, but in order to teach us, descends from wisdom to the fear of God, so we should not ascend from fear to wisdom, not out of any pride, but for our success. “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” He is precisely the valley of mourning that the psalmist mentions when he says: “set in your heart the ascent into a vale of mourning” (Ps. 84:6-7). The image of the valley signifies, of course, humility. But who is humble if he does not fear God and, as a result of this fear, laments his sins in tears of repentance and confession? God does not despise a contrite and humble heart (Ps. 50:19). But let him not be afraid that he will remain in the valley of tears. In the very contrite and humble heart, whom the Lord does not despise, He (the Lord) laid down ascensions so that we would ascend to Him. Because this is what the psalmist says: “Put the climb in your heart, put it in a vale of tears, put it in a hedgehog’s place” (Ps. 84:6-7). Where do the climbs take place? In the heart. But where do you need to ascend from? From the valley of tears. Where? In the place, - it is said, - put the hedgehog. What place is this if not a place of peace and quiet? It is there that pure, ever-glorious wisdom resides. Therefore, for the purpose of our edification, Isaiah descends from wisdom to fear, precisely from the place of unceasing peace to the valley of temporary mourning, so that we, confessing our sins with sorrow, sighing and crying, do not remain all the time in sorrow, groaning and crying, but, ascending from this valley to the spiritual elevation on which the holy kingdom of Jerusalem, our eternal mother, is erected, we enjoy there undisturbed joy. So, he (the prophet), after calling wisdom, that is, the inexhaustible light of thought, then calls reason; and as if to the question: “from what do we move to wisdom?” – answers: “from the mind.” And from what to reason? From the council. From what to advice? From the fortress. From what to the fortress? From leading. From what to leading? From piety; to piety - from fear. So, we reach wisdom from fear, because “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” So from the valley of tears we rise to the top of the world. 3. It is the humble who are in the valley of tears, when with trembling they bring their contrite and humble hearts to God. From here they rise to piety, so that they no longer resist His will, neither in His word, when they do not understand His meaning, nor in life, even if many things happen here differently than the individual will of man wants. In this particular case, one should say: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5), not the land of the dead, but that of which it is said: “You are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living” (Ps. 141:6). With this piety they then acquire the ability to know, so that they not only become able to recognize the power of their former sins, which they bitterly lamented at the first stage of repentance, but also learn in what bad state of mortification and alienation they are, even if earthly happiness smiles on them. No wonder it is written: “Whoever increases knowledge increases tribulation” (Eccl. 1:18). But “blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). From here they ascend to the spirit of fortress, when the world dies for them and they for the world; so that among the vicissitudes of this life and the multitude of untruths, love in them does not become scarce, but the search and thirst for truth increases until they are satisfied in the endless kingdom of saints and communion with angels. Because “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). However, due to the severity of temptations and enticements, since it is said: “Woe to the world because of temptations” (Matthew 18:7), human weakness can succumb to deception, and therefore it is necessary to have a spirit of counsel. Because in this transitory life the ability of strength is not so strong that if someone has to fight with a crafty enemy, he will not sometimes suffer defeats, especially through the temptation of the tongue, since if anyone “says to his brother ... “you are foolish,” he is subject to fiery hell” (Matthew 5:22). So, what is the spirit of counsel, if not what the Lord points to when he says: “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). Therefore, just as in the order of the gifts of the Holy Spirit the spirit of counsel is placed in fifth place, so in the Gospel in the fifth commandment of beatitudes the merciful are blessed: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). The sixth in the Prophet Isaiah (in reverse order) is the spirit of reason, when hearts are cleansed of every specter of carnal vanity, and to the end a person is guided by pure aspiration. Therefore, in the 6th Commandment of Beatitudes, the Lord says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). When a person reaches the final degree of perfection, he stops, calms down, enjoying the blissful world. But who is the end for us if not Christ God? “For the end of the law is Christ for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4). And who is the wisdom of God, who is the Son of God, if not Christ? In it everyone, no matter who they are, becomes wise men and children of God, and this is complete and eternal peace. And therefore, just as in Isaiah the gift of wisdom is considered the seventh for those who ascend from below upward, although he himself, teaching us, descends, on the contrary, from above downwards, so the Lord, to console us, in the seventh commandment of beatitudes pleases the peacemakers: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). So, having such promises and ascending through these degrees to God, let us courageously endure all the insults and cruelties of the world, and let its malice not overcome us, having defeated which, we will enjoy eternal peace. This is what the eighth commandment of beatitudes calls us to, after all: “Blessed are those who were persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). You might be interested in: