Enemies And Blessings

Ψαλῶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου ὕψιστε, ἐν τῷ ἀποστραφῆναι τὸν ἐχθρόν μου εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, ἀσθενήσουσι καὶ ἀπολοῦνται ἀπὸ προσώπου σου. Ταῦτα ὁ Σύμμαχος οὕτως ἡρμήνευσεν, Ἄσω τῷ ὀνόματί σου, Ὕψιστε, ἀνατραπέντων τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, καὶ προσκοψάν των καὶ ἀπολομένων ἐκ προσώπου σου. Θεασάμενος γὰρ τοὺς ἐμοὺς δυσμενεῖς καταλυθέντας, καὶ εἰς φυγὴν τραπέντας, εἶτα ἁλόντας καὶ παν ωλεθρίαν ὑπομείναντας, ὑμνῶ σε καὶ τὰς σὰς ᾄδων εὐεργεσίας διατελῶ. Ταῦτα δὲ ὁ προφήτης ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης διεξέρχεται φύσεως· ἅτε δὴ τοῦ ἀλάστορος ἀπαλλαγεὶς, καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν διὰ τῆς θείας χάριτος δεξάμενος. Οὐ γὰρ, ὥς τινες ὑπέλαβον, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος οὗτος εἴρηται ὁ ψαλμὸς, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὡς πρὸς εὐερ γέτην, ἀπὸ τῶν εὖ πεπονθότων, ὡς αὐτὰ διδάσκει τὰ ῥήματα. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Θ’ Source: Migne PG 80.921c

I shall sing to your name, O Most High, in the turning of my enemy behind me, they grow weak and perish from before your face. 1 Symmachus translates this as: 'I shall sing to your name, Most High, in the turning of my enemy behind me, they are struck down and are perishing from before your face.' For having seen my adversaries destroyed and turned to flight and then made captive and suffering utter ruin, I sing to you, proclaiming that there is no end to your blessings. But the prophet also speaks of human nature here, which is liberated from the influence of the enemy by the coming of Divine grace. For it is not, as some have assumed, that this Psalm is as spoken by the Saviour, but rather it is addressed to Him, as the giver of blessings, by those who receive them, as the words teach. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.4

Calling Out

Ad Dominum, cum tribularer, clamavi, et exaudivit me... Tribulatio est haec vita, ex qua, qui humiliter ad Deum clamant, sicut Publicanus qui ait: Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori, exaudiuntur. Sed videamus quid iste poentients clamet: Domine, libera a labiis inquius, et a lingua dolosa... Labia iniqua sunt, quae nos suggerendo ad iniquitatem sollicitare nituntur, lingua dolosa est, quae nos avertere vult de via justitiae. Illa nos ad peccandum suggerunt; ista nos a benefaciendo retrahit. Sed consideremus, quid nobis ad has preces respondeat Dominus. Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi ad linguam dolosam? Ecce quid tibi dabitur ad respondendum linguae dolosae, quae solet, non consulendo tibi, sed subvertendo te, dicere: Non potes saeculum dimittere, non potes tam arctam viam et tam angustam portam ingredi. Sagittae potentis acutae cum carbonibus desolatoriis. Id est, quid in Evangelio dicitur: Apud homines hoc impossibile est, apud Deum omnia possibilia sunt. Sagittae potentis verba Dei sunt, quae transfigunt corda nostra ad contemnendum saeculum, et ad amandum Deum: ex quibus sagittis amor excitatur, non interitus comparatur. Cum carbonibus desolatoriis, id est vastatoriis. Sed si parum est verbis sagittare, sufficiat exemplis demonstrate. Qui fuerunt peccatis nigri et frigidi, iterum charitate Dei accensi vestaverunt et destruxerunt opera diaboli in cordibus suis, ut praepararent habitationem Deo in semetipsis, et post multa peccata multum dilexerunt Deum: ideo multum dimittetur eis. Heu me! quia incolatus meus prolongatus est, habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar, multum incola fuit anima mea. Ecce iste a lingua dolosa liberatus, verbo Dei sagittatus, exemplis multorum robortus, quid proficiat, quove ascendere quaerat, videamus. Heu me! inquit, quod incoltus meus prolongatus est! Vox dolentis et miseriam plangentis, quod diu peregrinatione hujus mortalitatis incolatus ejus prolongetur. Incola vero est qui terram alienam colit. Unde iste se plangit, et ad patriam suspirans redire, addidit: Habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar. Cedar tenebrae interpretantur. Significat autem peccatores, inter quos in hoc saeculo justi peregrinantur, necdum extremo judicii ventilabro area, id est Ecclesia, purgata et segregate: unde iste desiderans ascendere ait: Multum incola fuit anima mea. Corpus locis, et anima affectibus peregrinatur. Unde iste sagitta charitatis vulneratus toto desiderio ad coelestem anhelat patriam. Alcuinus, Expositio in Psalmos Graduales, Psalmus CXIX Source: Migne PL 100.619c-621a

I called out to the Lord when I was troubled and He heard me... 1 This life is tribulation, because of which those who humbly cry out to God, like that tax collector who said: 'May God be propitious to me a sinner,' 2 are heard. But let us see what this penitent one calls out: O Lord, free me from the lips of the wicked, and the evil tongue... Lips are wicked that strive to attract us to wickedness by suggestion. The tongue is evil that wishes to lead us from the way of righteousness. The former counsels us to sin, the latter to turn ourselves from good works. But let us consider what the Lord shall reply to us with these petitions. What shall be given to you, or what appointed for the wicked tongue? Observe what shall be given to you in response to the wicked tongue, the custom of which is not to edify you but to pervert you, saying: 'You cannot cast off the world, you cannot walk on a way so narrow and so difficult.' 3 The sharp arrows of the mighty one, with coals that lay waste. That is, what is said in the Gospel, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' 4 The arrows of the mighty one are the words of God that pierce our heart for the spurning of the world, and to love God, which arrows rouse love and should not be compared to those that kill. 'With coals that lay waste,' that is, those who ruin. And that words are indeed arrows let it be enough to demonstrate with examples. They who were dark and chilled are clothed with the blazing love of God and they destroy the works of the devil in their hearts, so that they might prepare a dwelling for God in themselves, and after a long time of many sins, love God, and therefore much is forgiven them. 5 Alas for me, that my sojourning is prolonged! I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar, my soul has long been a sojourner. Behold the man who has been freed from the evil tongue, by the archery of the word of God, and who has been strengthened by the examples of many. And how this is to the advantage of one who seeks to ascend, let us see. 'Alas for me,' he says, 'that my sojourning is prolonged!' This is the voice of one who is sorrowful and crying out in misery because his sojourning in the wandering of his mortality is prolonged. He sojourns who dwells in a foreign land. Whence he sighs for himself, and longing to be returned to his fatherland, he adds: 'I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar.' Cedar may be understood as darkness and it signifies sinners, among whom the righteous wander in the world, for the winnowing fan of final judgement has not yet sifted and separated the threshing floor which is the Church. 6 Whence this one who desires to ascend then says, 'My soul has long been a sojourner.' The body wanders in space, the soul in passions. Therefore this one who has been wounded by the arrow of love gasps with all his desire for the heavenly fatherland. Alcuin of York, from the Commentary on Psalm 119 1 Ps 119.1 2 Lk 18.13 3 Mt 7.13-14 4 Mt 19.26 5 Lk 7.47 6 Lk 3.17

Crying Out

Sciote quoniam magnificavit Dominus sanctunm suum; Dominus exaudiet me cum clamavero ad eum. Permanet in increpatione salutari, ut ad verae religionis affectum, corda dementium explosa pravitate convertat: pronuntians illis veritatis arcanum, ut incarnationem sanctum venerabiliter suscipere non recusent. Sanctum suum, dicit Dominum Christum; sicut et alibi de seipsa Veritas profitetur: Custodi animam meam, quoniam sanctus sum. Adjecit: Dominus exaudiet me cum clamavero ad eum. Merito se exaudiri confidebat, quoniam Dominum sanctum magnificandum populis praedicabat. Cum clamavero, dicit, id est, cum bonis operibus divinitati supplicavero. Ipse enim clamor est qui tacitus ad Deum pervenit, et exaudiri facit eos qui bonis operibus constanter insistunt. Cassiodorus, Expositio In Psalterium, Psalm IV Source: Migne PL 49a-b

Know that the Lord has magnified His holy one; the Lord will hear me when I cry out to Him. 1 He persists in crying out for salvation, that he might convert to the love of the true religion the hearts driven off by depravity, announcing to them the secret of the truth, so that they might not refuse to receive the incarnation of the holy one reverently. 'His holy one,' speaks of the Lord Christ, as elsewhere the Truth says about Himself, 'Guard my soul because I am holy.' 2 He then adds, 'The Lord will hear me when I cry out to Him.' He is rightly confident that he will be heard, because he has preached that the holy Lord should be magnified by the people. 'When I cry out,' he says, that is, when I supplicate the Deity with good works. For this is the cry which comes silently to the Lord and He hears those who constantly cry out with good works. Cassiodorus, Commentary On The Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.3 2 Ps 85.2

Fear And Prayer

Et factum est in diebus Achaz filii Joathan regis Juda,ascendit Rasim rex Syriae et Phacee filius Romeliae rex Isreal ad Jerusalem, expugnare eam, et non potuerant eam debellare. Et annuntiatum est in domo David a dicentibus: Consensit Syria cum Ephraim, et expavit anima ejus, et anima plebis ejus, sicut in sylva arbor, cum a vento commovetur. Et dixit Dominus ad Isaiam: Exi in obviam Achaz, tu, et qui relictus est Jasub filius tuus, ad piscinam superioris viae villae fullonis: et dices ei: Vide ut quiescas, et noli timere, neque anima languescat a duobus titionibus fumigantibus istis. Cum enim ira furoris mei facta fuerit, iterum sanabo: quoniam filius Aram et filius Romeliae, qui cogitaverunt cogitationem pessimam, dicentes: Ascendamus in Judaeam, et colloquentes eis, convertamus eos ad nos, et regem statuemus eis filium Thabeel. Haec dicit Adonai Dominus Sabaoth: Non manebit cogitatio ista, neque sic fiet Forsitan sic confortatus Achaz cum genuiseet filium, vocavit nomen ejus Ezechias. Ezechias autem interpretatur, confortavit Dominus. Vere completa est in Ezechia confortatio Domini, cui animus exstitit sanctus super omnes reges, qui fuerunt ante eum. Nam inter caetera bona, quae merito praestitit ei Deus, cum misisset ad eum Sennacherib, rex Assyriorum, Rapsacem principem militiae suae, et libellum plenum improperiis et blasphemiis contra Deum, sicut exponit Isaias propheta: Ezechias accepit libellum illum, et ingressus in templum apparuit ante Dominum, et oravit, et confestim missus est ad eum Isaias propheta, annuntians ei protectionem Dei, et confortans eum, et exiit ad preces Ezechiae angelus a facie Domini, et percussit in castris Assyriorum centum octoginta quinque millia virorum. Qualia autem fuerint verba Rapsacis, vel qualis oratio Ezechiae, vel qualis confortatio Isaiae, lege in Isaia, et profer causam excitationis in populo. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia I Source: Migne PG 56.626

And in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came to Jerusalem to fight against it, and they were not able to conquer it. When the house of David was told, 'Syria is allied with Ephraim,' his heart and the heart of his people trembled with fear like a tree of the forest shaken by the wind. And the Lord said to Isaiah: 'Go out and meet with Ahaz, you and Shearjashub your son, at the pool on the road to fuller's house, and say to him, 'Listen and be quiet and do not fear. Do not let your heart grow faint because of these two smouldering stumps. For when the anger of my wrath comes, again I shall heal, because the son of Aram and the son of Remaliah, who have thought the worst thought, saying, 'Let us go up to Jerusalem and speak with them, let us turn them to us and we shall set up the son of Tabal as king for them.' Thus says the Lord God of Hosts, 'This thought shall not prevail, nor will it come to be.' 1 Perhaps it was because Ahaz was so strengthened when he sired his son that he called his name Hezekiah, for the name Hezekiah is translated as 'the Lord has strengthened.' And truly the strengthening of the Lord was fulfilled in Hezekiah, in him who possessed a soul that was holy beyond all the other kings who came before him. For among the other goods with which God rightly gifted him, when Sennacherib the king of Assyria sent forward that man Rapasca, the general of his army, and he had a little book full of insults and blasphemies against God, as Isaiah the prophet tells us, Hezekiah received that book, and went into the temple and stood before the Lord, and he prayed, and immediately the Prophet Isaiah was sent to him, announcing to him the protection of God, and strengthening him, and at the prayers of Hezekiah an angel was sent out from the face of the Lord, and he struck down one hundred and eighty five thousand in the camps of the Assyrians. Such were the words of Rapasca, and such the prayer of Hezekiah, or such was the strength with Isaiah, of the law in Isaiah, and it brought joy to the people. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 1 1 Isaiah 7.1-7 2 Isaiah 36-37

Watching One's Step

Quid est quod ait Custodi pedem tuum ingrediens domum Dei.? Nunquid offensione lapidum monet custodiri pedem, quando ingredimur domum Dei, id est ecclesiam Dei? Quamvis semper honeste et cum timore ac silentio debeamus ingredi domum Dei, tamen non pedem corporis docet custodiendum, sed pedem animae, id est ingressum corporis, ut in conspectu Dei mundas preces effundamus. Et est sensus: Quando ingrederis domum Dei, videlicet ecclesiam, custodi pedem tuum, id est, ingressum mentis tuae, ne offendas in cogitationibus malis, ut oratio tua pura dirigitur ad Deum. Honorius Augustodunensis, Quaestiones Et Ad Easdem Responsiones In Duos Salomonis Libros, In Ecclesiasten, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 172.340b-c

Why is it he says, 'Watch your step when you enter the house of God'? 1 Does he warn us to keep our step from the stone of offence, 2 when we enter the house of God, which is the Church of God? Although we should always enter into the house of God uprightly and with fear and in silence, however he does not teach us here to watch the step of the body, but of the soul, that is, that having entered in the body we may pour forth pure prayers to God. This is his meaning: when you enter the house of God, that is, the Church, watch your step, that is, with the entry of your mind, do not give offence with evil thoughts, so that you may direct your pure prayer to God. Honorius of Autun, Questions and Answers on Two Books of Solomon, On Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4 1 Eccl 4.17 2 Isaiah 8.14, Rom 9.33, 1 Pet 2.8

Fear And Offence

Verba eorum ne timeas, et vultus eorum ne formides, quia domus exasperans est. Ideo boni timendi sunt ne offendantur, ne forte per eos ille provocetur ad iram, qui eorum corda semper inhabitat. Nam, sicut superius dictum est, si malos offendimus, timere minime debemus, quoniam illis nostra actio displicet, quibus nec justitia creatoris placet. Quid ergo timendum est, si nobis ingrati sunt, qui Deo amabiles non sunt? Unde recte nunc dicitur: Verba eorum ne timeas, et vultus eorum ne formides, quia domus exasperans est. Ac si aperte diceretur: Timendi essent, nisi me in suis actibus exasperarent. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.881c

Do not fear their words and do not be dismayed by their faces, because theirs is a house that provokes. 1 That is, the good are fearful lest they offend and lest perhaps they provoke the wrath of Him who is always dwelling in their hearts. For as we have said previously, we should not fear if we offend the wicked, since what we do displeases those who are not pleased with the righteousness of the Creator. Why, then, should there be fear if we are not liked by those who are not loveable before God? Whence rightly it is said: 'Do not fear their words, and do not be dismayed by their faces, because theirs is a house that provokes.' As if it were plainly said: 'Rather let them fear lest they provoke me with their behaviour.' Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 2.6

Appearances Corrected

Εἰ καὶ κρύπτεις τὸ ἤττημα, ἀλλὰ φαίνῃ φυσώμενος πέρα καὶ τοῦ γένους, καὶ τῆς ἰσχύος, καὶ τῆς ἀξίας σου φρυαττόμενος. Ἢ τοίνυν σύμμετρον σαυτῷ κτῆσαι φρόνημα, ἢ ἴσθι παρὰ πάντων γελώμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΙΒ’ Ἄμμονιῳ Source: Migne PG 78.188a

Even if you hide what is worst, yet you appear puffed up because of your lineage and your strength and your lofty arrogance. Either, then, have a mind that is appropriate to yourself, or be ridiculous to everyone. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 12 To Ammonius 1 Levit 23.3

A Dangerous Way

Ὁ μὴ γινώσκων τὰ κρίματα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀμφίκρημνον ὀδὸν κατὰ νοῦν διαβαίνει, καὶ ὑπὸ παντὸς ἀνέμου ῥᾳδαίως ἀνατρέπεται· ἐπαινούμενος γαυριᾷ καὶ ψεγόμενος ἐρεθίζεται, εὐωχούμενος ἀσελγαίνει, καὶ κακοπαθῶν ἀποδύρεται, συνιὼν φανητιᾷ, καὶ μὴ νοῶν σχηματίζεται, πλουτῶν ἀλαζονεύεται, καὶ πτωχεύων ὑποκρίνεται, κορεσθεὶς θρασύνεται, καὶ νηστεύων κενοδοξεῖ, τοῖς ἐλέγχουσι φιλονεικεῖ, καὶ τοῖς συγγνώμην αὐτῷ ἀπονέμουσιν ὡς ἀνοήτοις ἐφυβρίζει. Ἐὰν μήτε οὖν κατὰ χάρι Χριστοῦ γνῶσιν ἀληθείας καὶ φόβον Θεοῦ αἰτήσηται, οὐ μόνον ἐκ τών παθῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τῶν συμβάσεων δεινῶς τραυματίζεται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.957d

He who does not know the judgements of God walks on a perilous way of the mind, and he is easily shaken by any wind. If he is praised he becomes boastful, if he is reproved he is angered. He is raucous at a feast, and lustful when drinking. If he is afflicted with evils he laments. If he understands something he parades it about, and if he does not understand he pretends that he does. Becoming wealthy, he becomes proud, and being poor he feigns that he is rich. When he is well supplied he is overbearing, and when he fasts he is vainglorious. Just like a fool he considers it an insult when others forgive him. Thus if it is not according to the grace of Christ and in the fear of God that one seeks knowledge of the truth, it is not only grave things that deeply wound one but even trivial things. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works