Sin and Prayer

Ἀπόστητε ἀπ' ἐμου, πάντες οἱ ἐργὰζόμενοι τὴν ἀμονίαν, κ.τ.ἑ. Δαιμόνων τὸ διὰ παντὸς τὴν ἀνομίαν ἐργάζεσθαι· ἀνρθώπων τὸ μὴ διὰ παντές· ἀγγέλω τὸ μηδέποτε. Ὅτι εἰσήκουσε  Κύριος τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ κλαυθμοῦ μοῦ. Εἰσήκουσε Κύριος τῆς δεήσεώς μου, Κύριος τὴν προσευχήν μου προσεδέξατο, κ.τ.ἑ Ὁ τῶν κλαιόντων μακαρισμὸν συνιεὶς, καὶ κλαίων, ταῦτα ἐρεῖ πᾶσι τοῖς παροῦσιν αὐτῷ ἐργαζομένοις τὴν ἀνομίαν, ὀρατοῖς, ἀορατοις. Πρῶτον δὲ ὁ Θεὸς φωνῆς καὶ καλυθμοῦ ἀκουει, εἶτα δεήσεως, εἶτα τὴν προσευχὴν προσδέχεται. Αἰσχυνθείησαν καὶ ταραχθείησαν σφόδρα πάτες οἱ ἐχθροί μου, κ.τ.ἑ. Ἡ αἰσχύνη εἰς συναίσθησιν ἄγει τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα. Παύσασθε, φησὶν, ἐμοὶ τὰ ὀνείδη προσφέροντες· τὰ οἰκεῐα δὲ κακὰ λογιζόμενοι, αἰσχύνης καὶ ταραχῆς ἀναπλήσθητε. Δίκαιον γὰρ καὶ φοβερὸν τὸ θεῖον κριτήριον. Ἐπιστρφείνσαν καὶ αἰσχυνθείησαν σφόδρα διὰ τάχους, κ.τ.ἑ. Ἐὰν νικήσωμεν, τὰ ἀντιπαλαίοντα καταισχύνονται, μάλιστα ὅτε τις ὁ ἄνθρωπος τούτων κρείττων εὑρίσκεται, καὶ συγχέων ταράσσει αὐτὰ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ σογιᾷ. Τάχα δὲ καὶ ἐπιστρέφει αὐτὰ αἰσχυνθέντα, καὶ ταχέως ὁ ἅγιος τοῦτο ποιεϊ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ Νοήσεις ταῦτα λέγεσθαι καὶ πρὸς τοὺς τὴν κατασκευὴν αὐτῷ κατεργασαμένους ἀοράτους ἐχθροὺς διαφθονουμένους τῇ κατὰ Θεὸν αὐτοῦ προκοπῇ, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπιβαίνοντας, ἐν οἶς ἔλεγον, Οὐκ ἔστι σωτηρία αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ αὐτοῠ.   Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Ϛ'

Begone from me, all you who work iniquity, etc. 1 Demons always work iniquity, men sometimes, angels never. For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. He has hearkened to my plea, he has taken up my prayer. He who understands the blessedness of those who weep, 2 and weeps, says this to everyone near who works iniquity, both seen and unseen. God first hears the voice and the weeping, then the plea, then he takes up the prayer. Let them be ashamed and let them be gravely troubled all my enemies, etc. Shame leads the sinner to sense. Stop, it says, and bring to me your reproach, and contemplating your own evils, with shame and distress be filled. For righteous is the Divine judgement. Let them be turned back and disgraced swiftly in flight, etc. If we are victorious over the things against us, they are confounded with shame, and certainly when a man is discovered better than them, his own wisdom confounds and distresses them. For quickly it happens that they are turned to disgrace when one who is holy stands against them. Concerning the same. Again you may think that these things spoken of are against unseen foes who in envy against the Divine progress, being assailed by their own sin, say among themselves, 'There is no salvation in God.' 3 Origen, On the Psalms, Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.9 2 Mt 5.5 3 Ps 3.3