Arms Of God, Arms Of Satan

Ῥομφαίαν ἐσπάσαντο οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί· ἐνετείναντο τόξον αὐτῶν, τοῦ καταβαλεῖν πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα, τοῦ σφάξαι τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ. Ὥσπερ ἐστὶ πανοπλία Θεοῦ τις, οὕτως ἐστί τις πανοπλία τοῦ διαβόλου, ἣν ὁ αὐτοῦ στρατιώτης ἐνδέδυται· τὸν θώρακα τῆς ἀδικίας, τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τῆς ἀπωλείας, τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς ἀπιστίας, τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πονηροῦ πνεύματος, ἣν σπᾶται ἁμαρτωλὸς, οὗ οἱ πόδες ἐπʼ ἀδικίαν τρέχουσιν. Ἔστι τις ἑτοιμασία τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, ἕστι καὶ ὑπόδημα ἑτοιμότατου εἰς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Ἐνταῦθα οὖν ῥομφαίαν ἐσπάσαντο· ὅτι πρόχειρον ἔχουσι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ ἕτοιμοί εἰσιν ἐπὶ τὸ ποιεῖν αὐτήν· οἱ κρύπτοντες ἐν τῷ κουλεῷ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν ῥομφαίαν τοῦ πονηροῦ πνεύματος. Βέλος τῶν δικαίων, Χριστός ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς. Ἔθηκας ὡς βέλος ἐκλεκτόν. Ὁ λόγος τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν βέλος ἐστίν· ἁμαρτίας ἰὸν ἔχει· τιτρώσκει τὸν μὴ καθωπλισμένον τῷ τῆς πίστεως θυρεῷ. Οἴδασιν, ὅτι οὐ δύνανται καταβαλεῖν πλούσιον πλουτοῦντα ἐν σοφίᾳ, ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς. Διὰ τοῦτο τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ ἐπιβάλλουσιν αὐτῷ. Ἀλλʼ ἡ πᾶσα ἐπιβουλή ἐστι κατὰ τοῦ πτωχοῦ· ἐπεὶ λύτρον ψυχῆς ἀνδρὸς ὁ ἴδιος πλοῦτος· πτωχός δὲ οὐχ ὑφίσταται ἀπειλήν. Καλὸν μὲν οὖν μὴ ἔχειν ῥομφαίαν ἁμαρτίας· δεύτερον δὲ, ἔχοντα. μὴ σπᾶσθαι αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ ποιεῖν αὐτὴν ἡσυχάζειν. Ἀργοῦσα γὰῤ, οὐ μόνον ἰοῦται, οὐδὲ ἀμβλύνεται, ἀλλὰ τέλεον ἐξαφανίζεται. Καὶ οὐ χρείαν ἔχομεν πυρὸς, ὅπου ἑκάστου τὸ ἔργον δοκιμάζεται· ὃ Πέτρου μὲν οὐχ ἅπτεται, ἀλλ᾿ ἀκούει, Κἂν διέλθῃ διὰ πυρός, φλὸξ οὐ κατακαύσεισε· ἁμαρτωλῶν δὲ ἅπτεται ἡ λίμνη τοῦ πυρὸς, ὡς ἡ Ἐρυθρὰ Αἰγυπτίων, οὐ μὴν καὶ Ἑβραίων. Ὥσπερ μέντοι ὁ Σωτὴρ βέλος ἐκλεκτὸν, καὶ ἀνάλογα τῷ Σωτῆρι βέλη τοῦ Θεοῦ οἱ ἅγιοι τιτρώσκοντες βέλει ἐκλεκτῷ, ἵνα ὁ τετρωμένος λέγω· Τετρωμένη ἀγάπης ἐγώ· οὕτως ὁ Ἀντίχριστος βέλος τοῦ πονηροῦ. Καὶ πάντες οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ βέλη τοῦ διαβόλου, οἷς κατὰ τῶν δικαίων χρᾶται. Ἴδε γυναῖκα, καὶ ἐπεβούλευσάν σοι. Εἰ μὴ βέλος ἐστὶ πεπυρωμένον, πῦρ ἔχουσα ἐν στόματι, ἵνα λαλήσῃ καὶ καύσῃ σε, ἐν χειρὶ, ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ σώματι, ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ; Καὶ ὥσπερ ὁ Θεὸς τίθησι τόξον ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ, ἵνα παύσῃ χειμῶνα, καὶ μὴ γίνηται κατακλυσμός· οὕτω, κατὰ τὸ ἀντικείμενον, ὁ πονηρὸς χρᾶται· τόξῳ, ἵνα παύσῃ γαλήνην ἀπὸ ψυχῆς, καὶ εἰρήνην σβέσῃ, καὶ πόλεμον ἐγείρῃ, καὶ χειμῶνα ποιήσῃ. Μήποτε δὲ οἱ πτωχοὶ καὶ πένητες ἀδελφοί εἰσι τῶν εὐθέων τῇ καρδίᾳ, οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι. οὓς ζητοῦσι καταβαλεῖν οἱ δαίμονες. Ἐὰν ἵδῃς σκανδαλιζόμενον, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας κεκρατημένον, βλέπε, ὅτι οὗτος ἔσφακται, καὶ τὸ οἷμα αὐτοῦ ῥεῖ, ὃ ἐκζητεῖ Θεός. Ἀπὡλετο γὰρ ἡ ζωτικὴ δύναμις αὐτοὺ· ἐκζητεῖ δὲ αὐτὸ ἀπὸ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ θηρίου· ἀπὸ πιστοῦ σκανδαλίζοντος, καὶ ἀπὸ ἀλλοτρίου τῆς πίστεως, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χερὸς τοῦ σκοποῦ. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαί Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΛϚ' Source: Migne PG 17.128-129

'Sinners have drawn out the sword, they have bent their bow, that they strike down the poor and needy, that they slay the righteous in heart.' 1 As there is a certain armour of God, so there is a certain armour of the devil with which his soldiers are equipped, that is, the breastplate of unrighteousness, the helm of murder, the shield of faithlessness, the sword of a malignant spirit, which the sinner draws out, and his feet race to wickedness. As there is a certain preparation of the Gospel, there is also a putting on of boots for sin. Here then the sword is drawn out, because swiftly they go to sin, and they are ready for the doing of it, they who hide in the scabbard of sin the sword of the malignant spirit. The shaft of the righteous is Jesus Christ. 'You placed me as a chosen shaft.' 2 The speech of sinners is a shaft, having been envenomed with sin which wounds the one not armed with the shield of faith. They know that they are not able to strike down the one whose wealth is an abundance of wisdom and good works and on account of this they never advance against him, but they ever turn against the poor one, because 'The ransom of the soul of a man is his own wealth, the groans of poor man will not sustain him.' 3 Good then it is not to have the sword of sin, and then, if one does have it, not to draw it, but to keep it quiet; but it is a quietness that in no way gathers rust and blunts sharpness, but straightaway unworn it reappears. And no need have we for fire, when the work of each is examined, who by Peter is not touched; 4 but hear, 'Even if you pass through fire, the flame shall not burn you.' 5 Sinners, however, are indeed touched by the lake of fire, as the Red Sea overwhelmed the Egyptians and not the Hebrews. As however the Saviour is a chosen shaft, even similar to the Saviour are the holy ones of God, those wounded with the elect shaft, concerning which wounding it is said, 'I am wounded by love.' 6 Thus the malignant shaft is of the Antichrist, and all the sinners are shafts of the devil, which are used against the righteous. Gaze at a woman, and they have plotted against you. And if that shaft is not lit, will fire not be found in the mouth, that they speak and burn you, on the hand, and in the whole body, and in the whole soul? And as God has placed the bow in the cloud, 7 that the storm subside, nor shall there be a flood, so on the contrary, the malignant bow is used that tranquility be stripped from the soul, and peace extinguished, and war aroused, and the tempest summoned. And perhaps the poor and needy are the brothers of the righteous in heart, those poor in spirit, whom the demons seek to overwhelm. If you see someone scandalised and by that wounded by sin, know that this one has been slain, and his blood flows, and God shall demand it. He has slain his life's power, and it shall be demanded from a brother and from a beast, 8 that is, from the faithful one who scandalizes and from the one outside the faith, and indeed from the hand of the watchman. 9 Origen, Excerpta On the Psalms, from Psalm 36 1 Ps 36.14 2 Isai 49.2 LXX 3 Prov 13.8 4 Mt 26 51-52, Lk 22 49-51 5 Isai 43.2 6 Song 2.3; 5.8 7 Gen 9.13 8 Gen 9.5 9 Ezek 33.6