The Incarnation And Darkness

Et posuit tenebras latibulum suum, in circuitu eius tabernaculum eius, tenebrosa aqua in nubibus aeris. Tenebras, incarnationis ejus mysterium dicit, ut qui in natura deitatis suae videri non poterat, incarnationis velamine humanis conspectibus Redemptor piissimus appareret. Unde beatus Joannes Constantinopolitanus episcopus mirabiliter et cathoclice dixit: Illum quem, si nuda deitate venisset, non coelum, non terra, non maria, non ulla creatura sustinere potuisset, illaesa Virginis viscera portaverunt. Memento autem tenebras, et in bono poni, ut est illud in Proverbiis Salomonis: Intelligit quoque parabolam, et tenebrosum sermonem. Omnia enim divina, quae ignoramus, nobis tenebrosa, id est profunda atque obscura sunt, quamvis continuo lumine perfruantur. Latibulum suum, id est secretum majestatis ejus, quod tunc revelat justis, quando eis facie ad faciem divinitatis ipsius gloriam contigerit intueri. In circuitu ejus tabenaculum ejus. Hic dignitas exponitur gloriosa beatorum, ut juxta ipsum habitent qui in ejus Ecclesia fideliter perseverant. In circuitu autem ejus proximitatem significat. Ille enim circuit ac penetrat omnia, non circumdatur ab aliquo, quia loco inamplexibilis est. Potest et illud intelligi, in circuitu ejus, ut non ad loci designationem, sed ad defensionem tabernaculi custodiamque respiciat. Aquam vero dicit, eloquium Domini, quod tenebrosum est in nubibus aeris, id est, in prophetis praedictoribus verbi: quia quamvis se aliquis putet dicta eorum intelligere, ad ipsam, sicuti est, virtutem dictorum in totum vix potest pervenire, sicut dicit Apostolus: Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem, quando ipsum videt quod credidit, ipsum cognoscitur respicere quod speravit. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalmus XVII Source: Migne PG 70.127b-c

And He made darkness His covering, in the circuit of His tabernacle, dark waters in the clouds of the air. 1 'Darkness' speaks of the mystery of His Incarnation, that He who in the nature of His Divinity cannot be seen, with the veil of the Incarnation might appear as the most holy Redeemer in human sight. Whence blessed John Chrysostom bishop of Constantinople wonderfully says in a catholic manner: 'He who if He had come with His Divinity uncovered, neither heaven, not earth, nor sea, nor any created thing would have been able to endure, which the womb of the Virgin carried unharmed.' One should be mindful that the darkness was made as a good, as in the Proverbs of Solomon: 'He understands a parable, and an obscure word.' 2 All Divine things of which we are ignorant is darkness to us, that is, they are deep and obscure, although they themselves enjoy endless light. His covering, that is, the secret of His majesty, He reveals to the righteous, when he allows the glory of His Divnity to be seen face to face. 'In the circuit of His tabernacle' Here is expressed the glorious dignity of the saints, that they who faithfully persevere in His Church will dwell with Him. 'In the circuit' signifies their nearness. For He surrounds and penetrates everything, He is not circumscribed by anything, because He is not limited by place. And it is possible to understand that His circuit is not a designation of place, but it refers to the defence and guarding of the tabernacle. Then it speaks of water, the speech of the Lord, which is dark in the clouds of the air, that is, the words of the preaching Prophets, because although someone might think he understands them, to the true power of the words, as it were, he is hardly able to approach, as the Apostle says, 'We see now in a mirror in darkness, and then face to face,' 3 when a man shall see what he has believed, and he look on Him to know what he has hoped for. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, Psalm 36 1 Ps 17.12 2 Prov 1.6 3 1 Cor 13.12