Foreseeing Sins And Penance

Quaeris enim, Quare dixerit Dominus, nimirum praescius futurorum, Elegi David secundum cor meum; cum talia tantaque ipse homo commiserit. Quod quidem, si de ipso David, qui reprobato Saüle et exstincto fuit rex Israël, dictum intelligamus; magis quia Deus praescius futurorum est, praevidit in eo tantam pietatem tamque veracem poenitentiam, ut esset in eorum numero de quibus ipse dicit: Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates, et quorum tecta sunt peccata. Beatus vir, cui non imputavit Dominus peccatum. Cum ergo praesciret eum Deus peccaturum, et peccata sua pia humilitate et sincera poenitentia deleturum, cur non diceret, Inveni David secundum cor meum; cui non erat imputaturus peccatum tam multa bona facienti, et cum tanta pietate viventi, et ipsa pietate pro peccatis suis sacrificium contriti spiritus offerenti? Propter haec omnia verissime dictum est, Inveni David secundum cor meum. Quia licet secundum cor Dei non esset, quod ille peccavit; tamen secundum cor Dei fuit, quod pro peccatis suis congrua poenitentia satisfecit. Hoc solum ergo in illo secundum cor Dei non fuit, quod illi Deus non imputavit. Hoc itaque ablato, id est non imputato, quid remansit, nisi unde verissime diceretur, Inveni David secundum cor meum? Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Ad Dulcitium De Octo Quaestionibus Source: Migne PL 40.168

You ask why the Lord, who certainly can foresee the future, said, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart,' 1 when he would go on to commit such enormities. Because we should understand that which was said of David, who with Saul rejected and dead was king of Israel, was said more because the Lord who foresees the future foresaw in him such great piety and such true penitence that he was of the number of those of whom it is said, 'Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin.' 2 Therefore when the Lord foresaw him sinning and then his sins being wiped away with pious humility and sincere penitence, why should He not have said, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart,' that man to whom sin shall not be imputed so much as many good works, and who living with such great piety, with that same piety offered the sacrifice of a contrite spirit for his sins? 3 On account of this everything was spoken most truly with, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart.' He was according to the heart of the Lord not because he sinned, but he was according to the heart of God in that he offered the satisfaction of appropriate penance for his sins. Sin alone, therefore, was not in him according to the heart of God, and thus God did not impute it to him. Thus with sin washed away, that is, not to be imputed, what remained unless what was said most truly, 'I have chosen David, a man according to my heart?' Saint Augustine of Hippo, Concerning Eight Questions, To Dulcitius 1 1 Kings 13.14, Acts 13.22 2 Ps 31.1-2 3 Ps 50.19

Three Dignities

Jesu Christi, filii David, filii Abrahae Quare autem non illi suffecit dicere illum filium abrahae solius, aut David solius? Quia ad ambos de Christo nascituro ex eis, promissio fuerit facta. Ad Abraham quidem sic: Et in semine tuo benedicentur omnes tribus terrae: quod intelligi non potest nisi in Christo, quoniam inter caeteros Judaeos et gentes numquam amicitia stabilis fuit. Ad David autem ita dicit: Juravit autem Dominus David veritatem et non frustrabitur eum: de fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem tuam. Ideo ergo utrius quae filium dicit, ut utriusque promissiones in Christo impletas ostenderet. Deinde quia Christu tres dignitates fuerat habiturus, rex, propheta, sacerdos; Abraham autem habuit duos filios, et duas dignitates: propheta enim fuit, et sacerdos, sicut Deus ad illum dicit in Genesi: Accipe vaccam triennem, etc, propheta autem, sicut ait Dominus ad Abimelech de illo: Quoniam propheta est et orabit pro te, et salvus eris tu, et domus tua ; ideo ergo dictus est filius Abrahae et David, ut propheta quidem intelligatur et sacerdos ex Abraham, rex autem ex David. Item ideo non dictus est tantummodo David filius, quia David rex fuit et propheta, sacerdos autem non fuit. Ideo ergo amborum filius nominatus est, ut utriusque patris triplex dignitas originali jure congnosceretur in Christo. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Source: Migne PG 56.612-613

'Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.' 1 Why did it not suffice to say the son of Abraham alone, or the son of David alone? Because to both the promise was made concerning the birth of Christ from them. To Abraham it was said, 'And by your seed all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves,' 2 which cannot be understood but as referring to Christ, because between the Jews and the Gentiles there was no stable friendship. And to David it was said, 'The Lord swore to David a truth and it shall not be in vain; the fruit of your womb I shall place on your throne.' 3 Therefore to both He spoke of a son, that both promises in Christ he show to be fulfilled. Then because in Christ three dignities were to dwell, king and prophet and priest, Abraham had two sons and two dignities, for he was a prophet and a priest, a priest since God said to him in Genesis, 'Take a three year old cow' 4 and a prophet since the Lord spoke of him to Abimelech, saying, 'Because he is a prophet and he shall pray for you and you shall be saved, you and all your house.' 5 Therefore it is said 'the son of Abraham and David' that the prophet and the priest be understood from Abraham and the king from David. We may not say the son of David alone, because though David was a king and a prophet, he was not a priest. Therefore the son of both He is named that with the paternity of both the triple dignity of Christ be known. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from the First Homily 1 Mt 1.1 2 Gen 22.18 3 Ps 131.11 4 Gen 15.9 5 Gen 20.7

Two Paternities

Υἰου Δαβὶδ υἰου Ἀβραάμ  Ἀβραὰμ ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ ὤν, ἐπίστευσε τῷ Θεῷ· εἶτα δεξάμενος τὰς ὑποσχέσεις καὶ περιμηθεὶς ἀλώβητον τὴν πίστιν διετήρησεν. Εἰκότως τοίνυν ἀναχθήσεται τὸ ῥητὸν εἰς ἕτερόν τι θεώρημα περὶ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησίας τῆς τε ἐκ περιτομῆς καὶ τῆς ἐξ ἐθνῶν. Τύπος γὰρ ἧν, ὡς εἰκὸς, τῶν δύο λαῶν τῶν εἰς Χριστὸν πεπιστευκότων. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖ μὲν προτέρα ἡ ἀκροβυστία, ἐντολῆς δὲ καὶ νόμου ἡ περιτομή. Φύσεως γὰρ ἔργον ἡ ἀκροβουστία, ἐντολῆς δὲ καὶ νόμου ἡ περιτομή· διὰ τοῦτο ἐκείνη ταύτης προηγήσατο· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς αὐτὴν ἡ περιτομὴ ἀνακάμπτει· ἐπεὶ καὶ βέλτιόν ἐστι φύσις ἅμα καὶ νόμος, ἢ τὸ διεστηκέναι ἀπ' ἀλλήλων χωρίς. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Δαβὶδ τύπος ἧν τοῦ Χριστοῦ· τοῦ γὰρ Σαοὺλ ἐκβληθέντος ἀντεισήχθη Δαβίδ· οὕτω καὶ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ διὰ τὴν παρακοὴν τῆς Ἐδὲμ διωχθέντος ὁ δεύτερος ἀντεισήχθη Ἀδὰμ, ὡς ἂν πρὸς τὴν ἀρχαίαν τάξιν τὸν Ἀδὰμ τὸν πρῶτον ἀποκαταστήσῃ. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source: Migne MG 72.365

'Son of David, son of Abraham.' 1   When Abraham was uncircumcised he believed in God, then receiving the promises and being circumcised he kept the faith inviolate. Whence this may fittingly be understood as a certain insight concerning the church of Christ, which is gathered from those of the circumcision and the Gentiles. For this was a type, it seems, of the two peoples before they believed in Christ. For before there was uncircumcision and then with the command of the law circumcision. For uncircumcision is the work of nature, and circumcision is of the commandment of the law. Therefore rightly the former preceded the latter. However, at the last, to uncircumcision circumcision returned, for  better it was to gather together nature and the law which were separated from one another. And David is a type of Christ, because for Saul's fall he was prepared, as even on account of Adam's disobedience which cast him out of Eden so the second Adam was prepared that he restore the first to his original state. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 1.1

Death and Freedom

Ergo quoniam docuit Apostolus eum qui evaserit ex hoc corpore, si meruerit tamen, cum Christo futurum, quid sit mors, quid etiam vita consideramus. Itaque Scriptura docente, cognovimus quia mors absolutio est animae et corporis, et quaedam hominis separatio. Solvitur enim hoc nexu animae et corporis, cum recedimus. Unde et David ait: ' Dirupisti vincula mea: tibi sacificabo hostiam laudis. Vincula autem vitae hujus, id est, conjunctionis nostrae quae ex anima constat et corpore, significari docet superior versiculus pslami hujus: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum ejus. Et ideo quasi Propheta praevidens se cum sanctis, et qui pro devotione animas suas in Christo deposuerunt, futurum, laetatur; quia et ipse obtulit se fideliter pro Dei populo adversus Goliam, cum singulari certamine dimicaret, et solus commune periculum et crimen refelleret, vel cum se morti pro Domini placanda offensione promptus objiceret, vel cum se pro salute populi laborantis divinae ultioni paratus offerret. Sciebat enim gloriosius pro Christo mori, quam regnare in hoc saeculo. Quid enim praestantius quam fieri Christi hostiam? Itaque cum frequenter ab eo legamus Domino oblata esse sacrificia, hoc tamen loco addidit: Tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis. Non sacrifico, inquit, sed sacrificabo, significans illud perfectum esse, quando unusquisque Domino, corporis vinculis absolutus assisteret, et offerret se hostiam laudis, quia ante mortem nulla est perfecta laudatio: neque quisuqam in hac vita potest definito praeconia praedicari, cum posteriora ejus incerta sint. Mors igitur solutio est animae et corporis, Denique et in Apostolo docuimus lectum: Dissolvi et cum Christo esse multo melius. Solutio autem ista quid agit, nisi ut corpus resolvatur et quiescat, anima autem convertatur in requiem suam, et sit libera, quae si pia est, cum Christo futura sit? Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Bono Mortis, Caput III

Therefore because the Apostle taught that a man who has passed out of this body, if he merits it, will be with Christ, 1 let us consider what is death and what is life. From the teaching of Scripture we know that death is a removal of the soul from the body, and a sort of separation of man, for we are freed from this bond between body and soul when we depart. Whence David says, 'You have broken my chain; to you I will offer a sacrifice of praise' 2 The chain of this life, that is, our being joined, which consists of soul and body together, the preceding verse of the same Psalm teaches, saying 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his holy ones'  3. And so like a Prophet foreseeing he will be with the saints and those who have laid down their lives for love of Christ, he rejoices, because he has also offered himself faithfully for the people of God, when he fought against Goliath in single combat and alone repelled the common danger and reproach, 4 or when He readily offered himself to die to atone for his offense against the Lord, and when he offered himself, prepared to suffer God's vengeance, for the salvation of an afflicted people. 5 For he knew that it was more glorious to die with Christ than to rule in this world. What is more excellent than to become a victim for Christ? While we often read that sacrifices were offered by him to the Lord, he yet adds in this Psalm: 'To you I will offer a sacrifice of praise' 6 He does not say 'I offer sacrifice' but 'I will offer sacrifice' signifying that it will be perfected when one comes to the Lord freed of the chains of the body and offers oneself as a victim of praise, because before death no praise is prefect, nor could anyone in this life be definitively acclaimed, since later actions are uncertain. Death, then, is the freeing of the soul from the body. Thus we have taught what was written by the Apostle: 'far better to be released and to be with Christ' 7 And what does this unbinding do but that the body is relaxed and at rest while the soul turns to its repose and is free, which if it is devout, will be with Christ? Saint Ambrose, On the Good of Death, Chapter 3 1 Phil 1.23, 24 2 Ps 115 16 -17 3 Ps 115.15 4 1 Kings 17.40-54  5 2 Kings 24.17  6 Ps 115.17  7 Phil 1.25

The Errors of a Bishop

Τί θαυμάζεις, ὅτι δι' ἑνος ἁμαρτίαν ὅλη μαστίζεται; ὅπερ καὶ ἐπὶ Δαβὶδ γενόμενον, ἕγνως. Ὅταν γὰρ ἕπὶ τῇ εὐθηνίᾳ τῶν πραγμάτων ὁ ἔξαρχος ὑπερηφανεύηται, εἰς ἀθυμίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ κατάκρισιν τὸ ὑπήκοον ἐλαττοῦται, οὐκ ἀδίκως παιδευόμενον, ἀλλ' ἐκάστου τὰ ἐπίχειρα τῆς οἰκείας πράξεως παραλαμβάνοντες, καὶ τῆς θείας μακροθυμίας ἀποτυγχάνοντς, διὰ τὰς τοῦ ἄρχοντος ψήφους. Μὴ τοίνυν ἐπισυνηγόρει ταῖς Εὐσεβίου τοῦ, ὡς οἴεται, ἐπισκόπου φαυλότησιν, εἰ δι' ἐκεῖνον καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον λειτουργῶν, καὶ ἡ πόλις οἰκητόρων χηρεύει. Οἱ γὰρ ἀκρίτως τὸν ἀνάξιον προβαλλόμενοι δίκαιοι εἰσι, καὶ τοὺς πόνους τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν φαγεῖν, ἀρετὴν ἀτιμάσαντες, καὶ κακίαν οὕτω προφανῆ προστησάμενοι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΛΘ', Θεοδοσιῳ Μοναζοντι

Why are you amazed that for one sin a whole city is punished? Certainly you know of David. For when on account of great wealth and a flourishing state he grew proud, to sickness and condemnation those beneath him were reduced. They were not admonished for iniquity, for truly each one receives the rewards of his own actions, but because of the census of a ruler.1 And the faults of your bishop, let it be thought, do not benefit you, on account of which the ministry of the altar and the city lacks inhabitants. For those who dare without judgement to select unworthy men shall eat the fruit of their labours of which they are worthy. He who is contemptuous of virtue shall choose even obvious evils. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 39, To Theodosis the Monk 1 2 Kings 24, 13

Guarding Oneself

Καὶ τὰς ἀκοὰς δὲ ασφελῶς ἀποφράττωμεν, ὥστε μήτε ἀκοὴν ματαίαν παραδέχεσθαι, καθάπερ ὁ μακάριος Μωῦσῆς παρήγγειλε λέγων· Ἀκοὴν ματαίαν μὴ παραδέξῃ· καὶ πάλιν ὁ μακάριος Δαυῖδ ἔλεγε· Τὸν καταλαλοῦντα λάθρα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ, τοῦτον ἐξεδίωκον. Εἰδες, ἀγαπητὲ, ὄσης ἡμῖν ἀγρυπνία χρεία, ὄσου πόνου πρὸς τὴν ἀρετήν; πῶς καὶ βραχὺ μέρος ἀμεληθὲν, ὁλόκληρον ἡμῖν ἐπάγει τὸν κίνδυνον; Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἑτέρωθι ἐβόα ὁ μακάριος εγκλαῶν τῷ τοῦτο ποιοῦντι· Καθήμενος κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου κατελάλεις, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς μητρός σου ἐτίθεις σκάνδαλον. Ἐαν οὕτως ἡμῶν ἂπαντα τὰ μέλη τειχίσωμεν, δυνησόμεθα καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔργα διεγερθῆναι, καὶ τὴν μὲν γλῶτταν πρὸς δοξολογίαν καὶ ὕμνους τοὺς εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν ἀπασχολεῖν, τὴν δὲ ἀκοὴν πρὸς ἀκρόασιν καὶ μάθησιν τῶν θείων λογίων, καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν πρὸς τὴν κατανόησιν τῶν πνευματικῶν διδαγμάτων, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας μὴ πρὸς ἀρπαγὴν καὶ πλεονεξίαν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἐλεημοσύνην καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων ἐργασίαν, καὶ τοὺς πόδας μὴ εἰς θέατρα καὶ ἱπποδρομίας, καὶ τὰς ἐπιβλαβεῖς θεωρίας, ἀλλ' εἰς ἐκκλησίαν καὶ εἰς εὐκτηρίους οἴκους, καὶ πρὸς τὰς τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων θήκας, ἴνα τὴν παρ' αὐτῶν εὐλογίαν καρπούμενοι, ἀχειρώτους ἑαυτοὺς καταστήσωμεν ταῖς τοῦ διαβόλου παγίσιν. Ὁμῖλία ΙΕ'  Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

And let us guard our ears lest we allow ourselves to hear vain speech, as the blessed Moses taught, saying, 'Do not receive vain speech.' And again blessed David said, 'The detractors of their neighbours in secret I shall pursue.' You see, dearest, how much work there is for us in the struggle, how much labour for the sake of virtue is expected of us? How it is that even a little part neglected that the whole is endangered? So even in another place the blessed David cries out, accusing those who do it, 'Sitting reviling your brother and against your son and mother placing scandal.' If we thus guard every part we should be able to perform the works of virtue and give the tongue time to sing hymns and praises to God, and the ear to the hearing of the high and edifying Divine words, and the mind to spiritual instruction, and hands to alms and the doing of good deeds, and not to theft and excessive taking, and turn the feet not to the theatre nor to the racetrack for harmful sights but to the church and to the houses of prayer and to the shrines of the Holy Martyrs there to hear fruitful speech and make ourselves unconquerable by the traps of the devil. Fifteenth Homily on Genesis, Saint John Chrysostom

Judas And Absalom

Hunc psalmum ex persona Christi accipiendum persuadet quod dictum est: Ego dormivi et somnum cepi: et exsurrexi, quoniam Dominus suscipiet me. Magis enim hoc ad passionem et resurrectionem Domini congruentur sonat, quam ad illam historiam in qua David scribitur fugisse a facie bellantis adversum se filli sui. Et quoniam scriptum est de discipulis Christi: Quamdiu cum eis est sponsus, non jejunant filii sponsi.; non mirum si filius ejus impius, significatur disciplulus impius qui cum tradidit. A cujus facie fugisse quanquam historice possit accipi, quando illo discendente secessit cum caeteris in montem; tamen spiritualiter, quando mentem Judae Filius Dei, id est virtus et sapientia Dei. deseruit cum eum diabolus penitus invasit, in eo quod scriptum est, Et intravit diabolus in cor ejus, bene accipitur a facie ejus Christum fugisse; non quia Christus diabolo cessit, sed Christo discedente diabolus possedit. Quem discessum fugam esse in hoc psalmo appellatum celeritatis causa arbitror; quod verbo etiam Domini significatur dicentis: Quod facis, cito fac. Loquimur etiam sic in consuetudine, ut dicamus: Fugit me, quod in mentem non venit; et de homine doctissimo dicimus: Nihil cum fugit. Proptera veritas fugit mentem Judae, cum eum illustrare destitit. Abessalon autem, sicut quidam interpretantur, in latina lingua dicitur Patris Pax: quod mirum videri potest, sive in historia Regnorum, cum bellum adversus patrem Abessalon gesserit; sive in historia Novi Testamenti, cum traditor Domini Judas fuerit, quemadmodum Patris Pax possit intelligi. Sed et ibi qui diligenter legunt, vident in illo bello David pacatum fuisse filio, qui etiam magno cum dolore planxit exstinctura, dicens, Abessalon filius meus, quis dabit mihi mori pro te? Et in historia Novi Testamenti, ipsa Domini nostri tanta et tum miranda patientia, quod eum tamdiu pertulit tamquam bonum, cum ejus cogitationes non ignoraret, cum adhibuit ad convivium in quo corporis et sanguinis sui figuram discipulis commendavit et tradidit, quod denique in ipsa traditione osculum accepit, bene intelligitur pacem Christum exhibuisse traditori suo; quamvis ille tam scelerate cogitationis interno bello vastaretur. Et ideo Abessalon Patris Pax dicitur, quia pater habuit pacem, quam ille non habuit. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, Ennarationes in Psalmos, Psalmus III Source: Migne PL 37.72-73

This Psalm persuades us that it is to be received as speaking of the person of Christ when it says, 'I slumbered, I seized sleep, and I rose, for the Lord took me up.' 1 Indeed it seems more appropriate to the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord than to that history in which it is written that David fled from the face of his son who was at war against him. 2 And, since it is written of Christ's disciples, 'The sons of the bridegroom do not fast while the bridegroom is with them,' 3 it is not to be wondered if his impious son means that impious disciple who betrayed Him. Although it may be understood that He fled from that man's face, when on his departure He withdrew with others to the mountain, yet spiritually speaking, when the Son of God, that is the power and wisdom of God, abandoned the mind of Judas; when the devil utterly overcome him, as it is written, 'The Devil entered into his heart,' 4 it may be well understood that Christ fled his face; not that Christ yielded to the devil, but that on Christ's departure the devil possessed. Which departure is called a flight in this Psalm, I judge, because of its swiftness; which the Lord signifies with the words , 'That which you would do, do quickly.' 5 So we customarily say 'It has gone from me,' when something does not come to mind; and of a most learned man we say that nothing goes from far him. Thus truth fled from the mind of Judas when it ceased to enlighten him. Absalom, as some interpret it, in the Latin tongue signifies, Patris Pax, Peace of his Father; by which it may seem bewildering how in the history of the kings, when Absalom waged war against his father; or in the history of the New Testament, when Judas was the betrayer of our Lord; how Peace of His Father can be understood. But they who read carefully there see that David in that war was at peace with his son, he who with great grief lamented his death, saying, 'O Absalom, my son, would I had died for you!' 6 And in the history of the New Testament by that so great and so wonderful patience of our Lord, in that He suffered him for so long as if he was good, when He was not ignorant of his thoughts, and He admitted him to the supper in which He commended and delivered to the disciples the figure of His Body and Blood; and then in the betrayal itself he received the kiss of peace; it is well understood how Christ showed peace to His betrayer, although that man was devastated by the internal war of so despicable a scheme. And therefore Absalom is called Peace of his Father because his father had the peace which he did not have. Saint Augustine of Hippo, Expositions of the Psalms, from Psalm 3  1 Ps 3. 4 2 2 Kings 15.7  3 Mt 9.15  4 Jn 13.2  5 Jn 13.7 6 2 Kings 18.33