State super vias et videte et interrogate de semitis antiquis quae sit via bona et ambulate in ea et invenietis refrigerium animabus vestris

3 Aug 2023

The Light Of Your Face

Ἐσημειώθη ἐπ' ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου Kύριε...

Δυνατὸν Φῶς τοῦ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν χαρακτῆρα τῆς ὑποστάσεως καὶ εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου θεοῦ εἰπεῖν. Ὅπερ φῶς ἀπεντεῦθεν ἐσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς μορφωθέντας κατ' αὐτόν. Oὐκ ἀγνοητέον ὡς ἀναγινώσκουσί τινες τὸ Τίς δείξει ἡμῖν τὰ ἀγαθὰ οὕτως· τὰ ἀγαθὰ οὐ πολλῶν ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ἑνός ἐστιν δεῖξαι· οὕτος δὲ ὁ μονογενής ἐστι τοῦ θεοῦ υἱός. Σημαίνει τοῖς οὕτως ἐκλαμβάνουσι τὸ Τίς τὸ ὀνομαζόμενον ἰδίως ποιὸν ἢ ἄτομον καὶ μίαν τῷ ἀριθμῷ οὐσίαν. Συγχρῶνται μαρτυρίῳ τὸ Ἄνθρωπός τις εὐγενής, καὶ ἐνταῦθα γὰρ τὸ Τίς δηλοῖ τὸν ἰδίως ποιόν.

Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Δ´

Source: Migne PG 39.1168b
Sealed on us is the light of your face, O Lord... 1

We may understand the light of the face of God as a figure of the substance and image of Him, the unseen God, which light being sealed on us is for our shaping according to Him. And let there not be ignorance like those who read the plural 'who' in 'who will show us good things,' for good things are not of many, but rather one is to be received, and this one is the only begotten son of God. He means by these things that the 'who' is the one who is properly called by such quality, an individual, being one in number. And they bring as witness 'a certain well born man', 2 for there it is clear that 'a certain' means Him.

Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 4

1 Ps 4.8
2 Lk 19.12

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