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

Desire And Rule

Sub te est, o homo, appetitus tuus, et tu dominaberis illi. Potest inimicus excitare tentationis motum: sed in te est, si volueris, dare seu negare consensum. In tua facultate est, si volueris, inimicum tuum facere servum tuum, ut omnia tibi cooperentur in bonum. Ecce enim inflammat inimicus desiderium cibi, vanitatis aut impatientiae cogitationes ingerit, aut excitat libidinis motum: tu solummodo ne consenseris; et quoties restiteris, toties coronaberis.Verumtamen negare non possumus, fratres, molesta sunt haec, et periculosa: sed, et in ipso certamine, si viriliter resistimus, quaedam pia tranquillitas de conscientia bona nascitur. Credo etiam, si cogitationes istas quam cito in nobis advertimus, non patimur remorari, sed in spiritu vehementi animus adversus illas excitatur, quoniam inimicus confusus abscedet a nobis, nec tam libenter illico revertetur. Sed qui sumus nos, aut quae fortitudo nostra, ut tam multis tentationibus resistere valeamus? Hoc erat certe quod quaerebat Deus, hoc erat ad quod nos perducere satagebat: ut videntes defectum nostrum, et quod non est nobis auxilium aliud, ad ejus misericordiam tota humilitate curramus. Propterea rogo vos, fratres, ut semper ad manum habeatis tutissimum orationis refugium. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In capite Jejunii, Sermo V, De triplici modo orationis Source: Migne PL 183.179b-d

But your desire is beneath you, O man, and you may rule over it. 1 The enemy is able to stir up the trial of temptation, but it is for you, as you choose, to give or to refuse consent. You have the ability, if you wish, to make your enemy your slave, so that everything works for your good. For behold, the enemy inflames you with a desire for food, he fills your thoughts with vanity or impatience, or he excites lust, but you may not consent, and then as many times as you resist, so as many times you are crowned. We are not able to refuse these troubles and perils, brothers, but if we bravely resist in the struggle a certain pious tranquility shall be born from a good conscience. Indeed I believe that these thoughts which suddenly come to you should not be suffered to remain with you, but the soul should rise against them with an ardent spirit, because a foe that is confused withdraws from us, nor does he eagerly return there. But who are we, or what is our power, that we might have the strength to resist so many temptations? This is certainly what God asked, this was what He troubled us to consider, so that looking on our defects and noting that there is no other help for us, we should hasten to His mercy in all humility. Therefore I entreat you, brothers, always have that most secure refuge of prayer to hand. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons For The Year, At the Beginning of the Fast, from the Fifth Sermon, Concerning the three ways of prayer 1 Gen 4.7

The House And The Rain

Δοκοὶ οἴκων ἡμῶν κέδροι, φατνώματα ἡμῶν κυπάρισσοι. Πάντως δὲ τὰ δηλούμενα διὰ τῶν ξύλων αἰνίγματα φανερὰ τοῖς ἐπακολουθοῦσι τῷ εἱρμῷ τῆς διανοίας ἐστίν. βροχὴν ὀνομάζει τὰς ποικίλας τῶν πειρασμῶν προσβολὰς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ὁ Kύριος λέγων ἐπὶ τοῦ καλῶς τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας οἰκοδομήσαντος ὅτι Κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ καὶ ἀπαθὲς ἔμεινεν ἐν τούτοις τὸ οἰκοδόμημα. Tαύτης οὖν ἕνεκεν τῆς κακῆς ἐπομβρίας χρεία τοιούτων ἡμῖν ἐστιν δοκῶν. Αὗται δ’ ἂν εἶεν αἱ ἀρεταί, αἳ τὰς τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπιρροὰς ἐντὸς ἑαυτῶν οὐ προσίενται στερραί τε οὖσαι καὶ ἀνένδοτοι καὶ τὸ πρὸς κακίαν ἀμάλακτον ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς διασῴζουσαι. Mάθοιμεν δ’ ἂν τὸ λεγόμενον τὴν ἐν τῷ Ἐκκλησιαστῇ ῥῆσιν τῷ προκειμένῳ συνεξετάσαντες· Ἐκεῖ γάρ φησιν Ἐν ὀκνηρίαις ταπεινωθήσεται δόκωσις καὶ ἐν ἀργίᾳ χειρῶν στάξει οἰκία. Ὥσπερ γὰρ εἰ ἀσθενῆ τε καὶ ἄτονα ὑπὸ λεπτότητος εἴη τὰ ξύλα τὰ διειληφότα τὸν ὄροφον, ὀκνηρῶς δὲ ἔχοι πρὸς τὴν τοῦ δώματος ἐπιμέλειαν ὁ τοῦ οἴκου δεσπότης, οὐδὲν ἀπώνατο τῆς στέγης τοῦ ὄμβρου διὰ σταγόνων εἰσρέοντος, κοιλαίνεται γὰρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὁ ὄροφος εἴκων τῷ βάρει τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ οὐκ ἀντέχει τῶν ξύλων ἡ ἀτονία πρὸς τὴν τοῦ βάρους προσβολὴν ὑποκλάζουσα. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τὰ ἐντὸς διαδίδοται τὸ ἐναπειλημμένον τῇ κοιλότητι ὕδωρ καὶ αἱ σταγόνες αὗται κατὰ τὸν Παροιμιώδη λόγον ἐκβάλλουσι τοῦ οἴκου τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ ὑετοῦ, οὕτως ἡμῖν τῷ τῆς παραβολῆς αἰνίγματι διακελεύεται διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν εὐτονίας ἀνενδότους εἶναι πρὸς τὰς τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπιρροάς, μή ποτε μαλακισθέντες διὰ τῆς τῶν παθημάτων ἐμπτώσεως κοῖλοι γενώμεθα καὶ τὴν ἐπιρροὴν τῶν τοιούτων ὑδάτων ἔξωθεν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν εἰσρέουσαν ἐντὸς τῶν ταμιείων παραδεξώμεθα, δι’ ὧν φθείρεται ἡμῖν τὰ ἀπόθετα. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων, Ὁμιλία Δ’ Source: Migne PG 44.837b-d

The beams of our house are cedars, our rafters are of cypress. 1 To those following the intent of the thought here, it is quite obvious what the mystery of the timbers signifies. In the Gospel the Lord gives the name of rain to the various assaults of the temptations, saying of the man who wisely built his house upon a rock, 'The rain fell and the winds blew and the rivers flooded, and the foundation remained unharmed in the midst of all this.' 2 It is on account of this evil flood, then, that we need such beams as these, which are the virtues that do not allow entrance to the downpour of the temptations, since they are solid and maintain their firmness against the evils of trials. We may learn about this, if with this passage we have here, we consider what is said in Ecclesiastes, for there he says, 'Because of sloth the beams shall collapse, and because of the idleness of the hands the house shall leak.' 3 For as if the timbers that support the roof are weak and slack, and the owner is slothful about the care of his home, so the roof shall hardly keep off anything, but the rain shall drip in, and eventually the roof will be hollowed out and give way to the weight of the waters, for the slack timbers sinking under the pressure of this weight will offer no resistance, but the water caught in the depression will pour within, and the drops themselves, as Proverbs says, 'Cast the man out of his house on the day of rain.' 4 Thus in the mystery of this parable we are exhorted to resist the assaults of the temptations with the strength of the virtues, lest when we are weakened by the passions that befall men, we are made hollow, and then, as it attacks the heart from outside, the streams of those waters come into our treasure chambers, because of which what we have placed there is ruined. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 4 1 Song 1.16 2 Mt 7.25 3 Eccl 10.18 4 Prov 27.15

Error And Recovery

Κάλλιστον μὲν τὸ μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν, καὶ πρὸς Θεὸν ἔχον ἐγγύτητα· καλὸν δὲ καὶ τὸν ἁμαρτόντα γνωσιμαχῆσαι, καὶ ταχέως ἐξαναστῆναι τοῦ πτώματος. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοῦ προτέρου, ὡς ἀδυνάτου πάντως διήμαρτες, τοῦ δευτέρου, ὡς δυνατοῦ καὶ ῥᾳδίου ἐπιμελήθητι, μήποτέ σε ἡ τύραννος αἰχμαλωτεύσῃ ἀπόγνωσις. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΠΑ’ Μαρτινιανῳ Source: Migne PG 78.397b

Most beautiful it is not to sin and to cleave closely to God, and it is also beautiful to recognise that one has sinned and quickly rise up from one's fall. Since, then, you formerly went far beyond your strength, now have care for what your strength may actually accomplish, and never despair in the tyrant's captivity. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 381, to Martinianus

Gifts And Riches

Ut det vobis, secundum divitias gloriae suae, virtute confortari per spiritum ejus in interiorem hominem: habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris: in charitate radicati et fundati: ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis quae sit latitudo, et longitudo, et profundum, et altitudo: Scire etiam supereminentem scientiae charitatem Christi, ut impleamini in omni plenitudine Dei. Propterea, inquit, curvo genua mea ad Patrem, ad cujus similitudinem omnis in coelo et in terra paternitas nominatur, deprecans eum atque obsecrans, ut tribuat vobis virtutem gloriae suae, id est, majestatis suae habere consortium: vosque roboret atque confirmet per Spiritum sanctum: quia nulla fortitudo absque Spiritu sancto est: Roboret autem atque confirmet in interiorem hominem. Non enim corporis vires, sed animae quaerimus: nec exteriorem, sed interiorem hominem cupimus roborari: ut postquam habitaverit Christus in interiore homine, in ipsius interiori hominis habitet principali, id est, in cordibus nostris: nequaquam per cuncta ejus membra discurrens, sed in rationabili ejus habitans: et in eo domicilium, sedemque suam ponens. Hoc autem totum per fidem fiet, si credamus in eum. Quamobrem ait: Habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris. Habitatio autem ista quae per exordium fidei fabricatur, radices et fundamentum in charitate habet: ut quoniam Dei agricultura sumus, Dei aedificatio, omnia in charitate succrescant atque aedificentur. Sanctus Hieronymus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Lib II, Cap III Source: Migne PL 26.490a-c

That he might give to you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened through His spirit in the interior man, to dwell with Christ through faith in your hearts, rooted and established in love, that with all the holy ones you are able to understand what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height, indeed to know the surpassing love of the knowledge of Christ, that you be filled with the fullness of God. 1 'Because of this,' Paul says, 'I bend my knee to the Father, in whose likeness every paternity in heaven and earth is named,' 2 praying to Him and beseeching, that He give to you the virtue of His glory, that is, that you be associates in His majesty, and He strengthen you and confirm you with the Holy Spirit, because there is no fortitude without the Holy Spirit, He who strengthens and confirms the interior man. For we do not seek strength of body but of soul. We desire to be strengthed in the interior man, that after Christ might dwell in the interior man, in the foundation of the interior of that man, that is, in our hearts, not spreading through every one of his members, but dwelling in the rational part, there established and placing His throne. And this all may be done through faith, if we believe in Him. As he says: 'To dwell with Christ through faith in your hearts.' But this habitation which is fashioned by the beginning of faith has its roots and foundation in love, so that since we are the field of God's work, the building of God, 2 eveything grows up and is built up in love. Saint Jerome, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book 2, Chapter 3 1 Ephes 3.16-19 2 Ephes 3.14-15 3 1 Cor 3.9

Spirit Of Truth

Ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum, Spiritum veritatis Tertio promittitur nobis Spiritus in magistrum, cum dicitur: Spiritum veritatis. Ideo enim dicitur Spriitus veritatis, quia docet veritatem. Et quia magister iste non solum docet veritatem ad intelligendum, sed suggerit ad volendum et adiuvat ad exsequendum; ideo nota, quod aliquando dicitur Spriitus veritatis, quia docet veritatem; aliquando Spiritus sanctitatis, quia ad bonum movet voluntatem; aliquando Spiritus virtutis, quia adiuvat virtutem. Dabit ergo nobis Spriitum veritatis ad docendum; de quo Ioannis decimo sexto: Cum venerit ille Spiritus veritatis, docebit vos omnem veritatem. Dabit Spiritum sanctitatis ad suggerendum; Ioannis decimo quarto: Paracletus Spriitus sanctus, quem mittet Pater in nomine meo, ille vos docebit omnia, et suggeret vobis omnia, quaecumque dixero vobis. Dabit etiam nobis Spiritum virtutis ad adiuvandum; Actuum primo: Accipietis virtutem Spiritus sancti supervenientis in vos, et eritis mihi testes, etc. Hic est Spriitus, qui adiuvat infirmitatem nostram, ad Romanos octavo. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Cap XVI Source: Here, p603

I shall ask the Father and He shall send another comforter to you, who shall remain with you forever, the Spirit of truth... 1 In three ways the Spirit is promised to us as a teacher when it is said: 'the Spirit of Truth'. For He is called the Spirit of Truth because He teaches the truth. And this teacher not only teaches the truth for understanding but also encourages the will and helps in accomplishing. Therefore note that sometimes He is named the Spirit of Truth because He teaches truth, and sometimes the Spirit of Holiness because He moves to a good will, and sometimes a Spirit of Strength because he aids with strength. Therefore He shall give to us a Spirit of Truth for teaching, concerning which John says in the sixteenth chapter: 'When that Spirit of Truth shall come, He shall teach you every truth.' 2 And he shall give a Spirit of Holiness for supplying the will, as John in the fourteenth chapter: 'The comforter, whom the Father sends in my name, He shall teach you all things, and He shall encourage you in everything I have said to you.' 3 And He gives us the Spirit of strength for aid, in the first chapter of Acts: 'You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses.' 4 This is the Spirit which helps our weakness, as in the eighth chapter of Romans. 5 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 16 1 Jn 21.7 2 Jn 16.13 3 Jn 14.26 4 Acts 1.8 5 Rom 8.26

Healing The Soul

Ἐλέησόν με Kύριε ὅτι ἀσθενής εἰμι, ἴασαί με Kύριε ὅτι ἐταράχθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου Ἴασις ἀσθενειας ψυχῆς, ἡ ἐκ Θεοῦ δύναμις· ὡς λέγειν τὸν ταύτης τυχόντα, Παντα ἰσχὺω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστᾡ. Ὅτι δὲ οὐκ εἰ ποῦ τῆς Γραφῆς εἴρηται ὀστᾶ, οὐ πάντως περὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἐστιν τὸ δηλούμενον, ἐπιστατέον τῷ, Πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου ἐροῦσιν, Κύριε, Κύριε, τίς ὅμοιός σοι; Καὶ τῷ Διεσκορπίσθη τὰ ὀστᾶ ἡμων πᾶρὰ τὸν ᾅδην. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Ϛ' Source: Migne PG 39.1176d-1177a

Have mercy on me Lord because I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled... 1 The healing of the weak soul is the power of God, as is said when this happens: 'I can do everything in Christ who strengthens me.' 2 But those things which are named bones in Scripture, nearly always refer to material things, whence is understood: 'All my bones shall say: Lord, Lord, who is like you?' 3 And again: 'Our bones scattered beside hell.' 4 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, Psalm 6 1 Ps 6.3 2 Phil 4.13 3 Ps 34.10 4 Ps 140.7

Hoping In The Lord

Εἰς μνημόσυνον αἰώνιον ἔσται δίκαιος, ἀπὸ ἀκοῆς πονηρᾶς οὐ φοβηθήσεται. Οὐδ' ἐκ λόγων ψευδῶν, ἐπαγγελλομένων μὲν ἀλήθειαν, ἐπηρμένων δὲ κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, πείσεταί τι δεινὸν, ἄτε δὴ τεθεμελιωμένος ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν, καὶ μηδενὸς αὐτὸν χωρίζοντος ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Ἐτοίμη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ Κύριον, ἐστήρικται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ· οὐ μὴ φοβηθῇ, ἕως οὖ ἐπιδῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ. Διὰ ταῦτα, φησὶν, οὐ σαλευθήσεται, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀπὸ ἀκοῆς πονηρᾶς φοβηθήσεται, ἐπειδὴ ἐτοίμη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ Κυριον. Ἀνθ' οὖ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἐποίησεν· Ἐδραία ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἀμέριμνος ἑν Κυρίῳ. Διὰ τοῦτο τῶν τοιούτων θορύβων καταφρονεῖ· καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐ δέδιε τοὺς δυσμενεῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων ἦτταν διὰ τὴν εἰς Θεὸν ἐλπίδα παραμένει. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΡΙΑ' Source: Migne PG 23.1348b-c

In eternal remembrance shall the righteous man be, and from the hearing of evil he shall not fear. 1 He shall not be grieved by deceitful words, which purport to be the truth but strive against the knowledge of God, enduring any evil, seeing that he who is founded on the rock is one whom nothing is able to separate from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. 2 'His heart is prepared to hope in the Lord, his heart has been strengthened, he shall not be cast down until he has looked down on his enemies.' 3 Therefore he says that he shall not be moved, and neither shall he fear from the hearing of evil since 'his heart is prepared to hope in the Lord.' Which Symmachus translates as: 'his strong heart is without anxiety in the Lord.' Therefore he looks down on such tumult, nor does he in any way fear his enemies, but indeed he awaits their ruin, on account of his hope in the Lord. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 111 1 Ps 111.7 2 cf Rom 8.38-39 3 Ps 111.7-8

Stations And Fasting

Intellexisse vos credo, fratres, cur haec nostra jejunia illis mansionibus comparaverim, in quibus populus Israel tanquam in procinctu quodam positus, Pharaonem regem quotidiano labore superavit, et ab inimicis suis quasi quibusdam castris mansionum sese statione defenderit; ita ut quicumque ex illo comitantium numero diurnae stationis spatia non confecit, aut Pharao illum occupaverit, aut solitduo pervaserit. Sic ergo et nos propositum nobis quadraginta dierum iter debemus omni labore conficere, et quibusdam quasi castris nos jejuniorum devotione munire. Castra enim nobis sunt nostra jejunia, quae nos a diabolica oppugnatione defendunt. Denique stationes vocantur, quod stantes et commorantes in eis inimicos insidiantes repellamus. Castra plane sunt jejunia Christianis, a quibus si quis aberraverit, a spirituali Pharaone invaditur, aut peccatorum solitudine devoratur. Peccatorum autem solitudinem patitur, qui deseritur societate sanctorum. Murus igitur quidam est Christiano jejunium, inexpugnabilis diabolo, intransgressibilis inimico. Quis enim unquam Christianorum jejunavit, et captus est? Quis sobrius mansit et victus? Temulentum aggreditur diabolus, luxuriosum oppugnat inimicus. Ubi autem jejunium viderit, inedia, infirmitate prosternitur: prosternitur, inquam, infirmitate, quia Christiana infirmitas fortitudo est. Unde ait Apostolus: Cum infirmor, tunc fortior sum. Sed requirit aliquis, quemadmodum sit fortis infirmitas? Tunc est fortis infirmitas, quando caro tabescit jejuniis; anima puritate pinguescit. Quantum enim illi ciborum succus subtrahiter; tantum huic justitiae virtus augetur. Tunc igitur homo imbecillis quidem est ad saecularia, sed fortis est ad divina opera. Tunc enim magis de Deo cogitat, tunc judicium metuit, tunc voncit inimicum. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XL Source: Migne PL 57.313b-314b

I believe you have understood, brothers, why I have compared our fast to the stations which the people of Israel established to be ready for battle, 1 they who the Pharaoh strove to overcome every day, and stopping at the stationary camps they made defence against their enemy, and whoever of their number did not take a place in that daily camping, either the Pharoah seized him, or he was devoured by the desert. So, then, even we should make the vow of our way of the forty days with every labour, and wall the camps of our fasting with devotion. For to us the fast is our camp, which defends us from the assaults of the devil. And they are called a station, because standing and watching in them we repel the plots of the enemy. So the camps are the fasting of Christians, from which if we wander, we are seized by the spiritual Pharaoh, or the wasteland of sin devours us. He suffers the wasteland of sin, who forsakes the society of the holy. The fast, then, is a wall for the Christian, insurmountable by the devil, impassable to the enemy. For who of the Christians who has fasted, has been seized? Who remains sober and is conquered? Drunkeness summons the devil, the enemy attacks amid luxury. But when he sees fasting, the absence of eating, he is prostrated by weakness. He is prostrated, I say, by weakness, because Christian weakness is strength. So the Apostle says, 'When I am weak, then I am strong.' 2 But someone may ask: how is strength weakness? Weakness is strong when the flesh withers in fasting and the soul strengthens in purity. As much as the taste of bread is withdrawn, so much does the virtue of righteousness grow. Thus a man is made weak by worldly things, but strong by Divine works. Then indeed the more he thinks of God, then the more he fears judgement, and then the more he tramples down the enemy. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 40 1 Numbers 33 2 1 Cor 12.10

Enduring Loss

Consolemur nos itaque, fratres, nec usque adeo suspiremnus collapsas esse domos, quia videmus reparationem domorum in dominis reservatam. Completum est, ut apparet, etiam in nobis praeceptum illud Domini de servo suo Job; cum agente adversus eum diabolo, terminum poneret persequendi. Ait enim illi, sicut legitur: Omnia quae habet do in manus tuas; sed ipsum ne tangas. Et iterum Ecce trado illum tibi; tantum ab anima ejus te custodi. Qua jussione inimicus accepta, perdita continuo omni ejus substantia, exulceratoque corpore, ab animae se tantum ejus laesione suspendit. Videte, dilectissimi, quantum fragilitati nostrae parcens vindictam erga nos suam Dominus temperavit, ut diversis urbibus, vastatis agris imminutaque substantia, nec animae nostrae, nec corpora laederentur. Idcirco autem magni illius Job putredine vermium corruptum corpus inhorruit; quia ille vir fortis probabatur ad gloriam, nos vero ut infirmi servabamur ad gratiam. Ac proinde non ambigamus posse nobis Deum posterisque nostris amissa reparare, cum videamus, fidelissimo Job, victo tamen diabolo, congeminatas opes, renovata pignora, et saevissimam corporis ejus plagam mirabili sanitate curatam.  Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia XCIV, In Reparatione Ecclesiae Mediolanensis Source: Migne PL 57 471c-472a

Let us be consoled, then, brothers, let us no more sigh over the fall of houses, because we know that the restoration of them is reserved to the Lord. It is done to us, so it appears, as was with that command of the Lord concerning Job, when the devil was given a span to assail him. For He said to him, so it reads, 'Everything which he has I give into your hands; but do not touch the man himself.' 1 And again 'I give him to you, only from his soul I ward you.' 2 Which command the enemy accepted and destroyed all his substance, and afflicted his body, from the soul alone suspending his blows. See, beloved, how much the Lord spares our fragility when he tries us by bringing blows against us, that with diverse cities and fields wasted, and property threatened, yet he harms neither our souls nor our bodies. Thus even the body of Job shuddered at its grave putrescence of worms, because he was a strong man who was being proved unto glory, we however being weak were protected by grace. And it is not to be doubted that afterwards God is able to repair for us all our loses, when we see that to the most faithful Job, with victory over the devil, there was a redoubling of wealth, a renewal of promise, and from the savage blows of the body a restoration to health Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 94, On The Restoration of the Church of Milan 1.Job 1.12 2 Job 2.6

Gathered And Uplifted

Εὐφρανθήσεται δίκαιος ἐν τῷ Κυρίῷ, καὶ ἐλπιεῖ ἐπ' αὐτὸν· καὶ ἐπαινεθήσονται πάντες οἱ εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ. κ.τ.ἑ. Ὅσοι συνάγονται μετὰ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, οὗτοι τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχουσι τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ. Τὸ γὰρ συνήχθησαν ἀντὶ τοῦ συναχθήσονται. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν γεγονότων, φησὶν, οἱ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν ἄρχοντες ἄμα ἡμῖν συναχθέντες εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν Θεὸν αἰνέσουσι. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ   Εἰ τις ἐστὶ κραταιὸς τῆς γῆς, τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος· ὁ γὰρ ἀσθενὴς οὐδέπω αὐτοῦ ἐστι. Κραταιὸς δὲ τῆς γῆς ὁ κατὰ τοῦ φρονήματος τῆς σαρκὸς κεκραταωμένος. Τῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ κραταιῶν εἰσὶ τινες τοῦ Θεοῦ, οἴτινες οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐπῄρθησαν, ἀλλὰ σφόδρα· οὐ μέντοιγε ὑπερεπῄρθησαν. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΜϚ' Source: Migne PG 12 1437

The rulers of the peoples are gathered with the God of Abraham, the strong of the earth are uplifted. 1 Those who are gathered with Abraham have the knowledge of Abraham. And that they have been gathered means that they shall be gathered. On account of which they are made, he says, princes of all the nations, one with us gathered for the singing of hymns to God. On the Same If someone is a strong one of the earth, that one is of God, for he who is weak is not His. A strong one of the earth is he who is fortified against the care of the flesh. And of those who are the strong ones of the earth, being of God, they are not simply lifted up, but excessively so, but not beyond measure. Origen, On the Psalms, from Psalm 46 1 Ps 46.10

Tribulations And Relief

Εν θλίψει ἐπλάτυνὰς με. Παυλος γ' οὖν ἤκουσεν· Ἀρκεῖ σοι ἡ χάρις μου· ἡ γὰρ δύναμις μου ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται. Καὶ οἱ διελάσαντες δὲ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τοὺς βρόχους, καὶ οἱ ἐν πίστει τελειωθέντες καὶ θλίψεις ὑπὲρ Χριστου καὶ αἰκίας ἀναδεξάμενοι τοῖς ἄνωθεν ἐντρυφήσουσιν ἀγαθοῖς. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Δ' Source: Migne PG 69.733,755

In tribulation you brought me relief. 1 And indeed then Paul heard, 'Let my grace be enough for you; for my power is perfected in weakness.' 2 And those who thrust through the snares of sin, and those who have a perfected faith, bear tribulations for Christ and grief in the enjoyment of heavenly goods. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 4  1 Ps 4.2  2 2 Cor 12.9

Seeking The Lord

Ζητήσατε τὸν Κύριον καὶ κραταιώθητε· ζητήσατε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ διαπαντός. Τί ἐστι τὸ ζητεῖν τὸν Κύριον; τὸ τὰ ἐκείνου φρονεῖν, τὸ ἀεὶ αὐτὸν λογίζεσθαι, τὸ ἀεὶ ἐν διανοίᾳ ἔχειν, τὸ μηδέποτε παύεσθαι ὁμιλοῦντα αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων. Ἄμαχοι δὲ οἱ ζητοῦντες ἔσονται καὶ ἀήττητοι. Παρορμήσας μέντοι ὁ λόγος τοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν κήρυκας ἐπὶ τὸ προθύμως ἐκζητῆσαι τὸν Κύριον, ἔτι μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἐπιῥῥώννυσι λέγων, Κραταιώθητε, τουτέστι, Μὴ χαυνοῦσθε εἰς τὸ ζητεῖν αὐτον. Τοῦτο δὲ προσφωνεῖ αὐτοῖς, ὡς δεομένοις κράτους καὶ δυνάμεως εἰς τὸ ἰσχῦσαι τὸ προστεταγμένον ποιῆσαι· ὅπερ ἧν τὸ ἔθνεσι κηρύξαι, Ἔλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάποις, κατὰ τὸ, Κύριος δώσει ῥῆμα τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνὰμει πολλῇ. Διδάσκων δὲ πῶς δεῖ τὸ ζητεῖν ποιεῖν, καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ἅπαξ ἢ δὶς, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον τὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπικουρίαν προσήκει ζητεῖν καὶ τὴν ὠφέλειαν καρποῦσθαι, ἐπήγαγε· ζητήσατε τὸ πρόσθπον αὐτοῦ διαπαντός· οὐ τρίτον τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, κατὰ τὸν ὑπὸ Μωῦσέως δοθέντα νόμον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ φαινόμενοι, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΡΔ'

Seek the Lord and be strengthened, seek His face always. 1 What is it to seek the Lord? To think the things of Him, to think of Him always, to always have Him in one's mind, never ceasing to associate with Him in prayer and good works. And they who seek Him shall be unconquerable and invincible. When, therefore, the word of the preacher of the peoples exhorts that the Lord be sought with zeal, as encouragement, he says, 'Be strengthened', that is, do not weary in your deed of seeking. And He also speaks to those who are lacking in strength and virtue, that He shall strengthen those to whom it is commanded to do this, as it was preached to the Gentiles, Greek and Barbarian, according to which, 'The Lord shall give a word of much virtue to the evangelized.' 2 And he teaches in what manner one should seek Him, that it should not be only once or twice, but through one's whole life one's work to seek the supernal help, and to seize on profit there. The line then reads, 'Seek his face always.' Not that three times a year, as is relayed in the law of Moses, one should come into His sight, 3 but all through one's life.  Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 104 1 Ps 104.4 2 Ps 67.12 3 Exod 34.23, Deut 16.16

Salvation and Prayer

Τινὲς τῷ θέρει ἐκ λιμένων ἀναχθένες ἐναυάγησαν, τινὲς δὲ ἐν χειμῶνι πλεύσαντες ἀκινδύνως ἐσώθησαν. Πόσοι δ' ἀθληταὶ ἀνενδοίαστον νίκην προσδοκήσαντες ἡττήθηαν; οἱ δε καὶ δευτερείων ἀπεγνωκότες τὰ πρωτεῖα ἐστεφανηφόρησαν; Μήτε οὖν καταφρονῶμεν, μήτε ἀπελπίζωμεν, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἄπασι πράγμασι τῇ εὐχῇ κολληθῶμεν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Ι', Πτολεμαιῳ

Some relaxing in summer heat suffer shipwreck, some blown by winter's blasts are saved from danger. How many athletes promising to themselves undoubted victory have failed? How many despairing even of the lesser prizes have been crowned with the first? Therefore let us not be negligent, let us not be weak in mind, let us in all things cleave to prayer. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 10, To Ptolemaius

Strengthening the Disciples

Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς, εἰσίν τινες τῶν αὐτοῦ ἑστηκότων οἳ οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.  Οὔπω τὴν ἐξ ὕψους δύναμιν ἐσχηκότας τοὺς μαθητὰς εἰκὸς ἦν τάχα που καὶ ἀνθρωπίναις περιπεσεῖν ἀσθενείαις καί τι τοιοῦτον καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐννενοηκότας εἰπεῖν· Πῶς ἀρνήσεταί τις ἑαυτόν; ἢ πῶς ἀπολέσας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν εὑρήσει πάλιν αὐτήν; τί δὲ τοῖς τοῦτο παθοῦσι τὸ ἰσοστατοῦν ἔσται γέρας; ἢ καὶ ποίων ἔσται χαρισμάτων μέτοχος; ἵνα τοίνυν τῶν τοιούτων αὐτοὺς ἀποστήσῃ λογισμῶν καὶ οἷον μεταχαλκεύσῃ πρὸς εὐανδρίαν τῆς ἐσομένης αὐτοῖς εὐκλείας ἐπιθυμίαν ἐντεκών φησι· Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν· εἰσί τινες τῶν αὐτοῦ ἑστηκότων, οἳ οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσι τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ. βασιλείαν δὲ θεοῦ λέγει αὐτὴν τὴν θέαν τῆς δόξης, ἐν ᾗ καὶ αὐτὸς ὀφθήσεται κατ' ἐκεῖνο τοῦ καιροῦ, καθ' ὃν ἐπιλάμψει τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς· ἥξει γὰρ ἐν δόξῃ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καὶ οὐκ ἔν γε μᾶλλον σμικροπρεπείᾳ τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς. πῶς οὖν ἄρα θεωροὺς ἐποιεῖτο τοῦ θαύματος τοὺς λαβόντας τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν; ἄνεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τρεῖς ἀπ' αὐτῶν τοὺς ἀπολέκτους ἔχων. Εἶτα μεταπλάττεται πρὸς ἐξαίρετόν τινα καὶ θεοπρεπῆ λαμπρότητα ὥστε καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν αὐτοῦ τῇ τοῦ φωτὸς προσβολῇ διαλάμψαι καὶ οἷον ἀπαστράψαι δοκεῖν. Πλὴν Μωυσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας περιεστηκότες τὸν Ἰησοῦν προσελάλουν, φησίν, ἀλλήλοις τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἔμελλε πληροῦν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, τουτέστι τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας τὸ μυστήριον καὶ τὸ σωτήριον πάθος, τὸ ἐπί γέ φημι τῷ τιμίῳ σταυρῷ· δόξαν γὰρ αὐτὸ καλοῦσιν ἀεί. Καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθὲς ὅτι ὁ διὰ Μωυσέως νόμος καὶ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν ὁ λόγος τὸ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον προανέδειξαν, ὁ μὲν ἐν τύποις καὶ σκιαῖς, μονονουχὶ καθάπερ ἐν πίνακι καταγράφων αὐτό, οἱ δὲ πολυτρόπως προηγορευκότες ὡς καὶ ὀφθήσεται κατὰ καιροὺς ἐν εἴδει τῷ καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ὅτι τῆς πάντων ἕνεκα σωτηρίας καὶ ζωῆς οὐ παραιτήσεται τὸ παθεῖν τὸν ἐπὶ ξύλου θάνατον. Οὐκοῦν ἡ Μωυσέως καὶ Ἠλίου παράστασις καὶ τὸ προσλαλεῖν ἀλλήλοις αὐτοὺς οἰκονομία τις ἦν εὖ μάλα καταδεικνύουσα δορυφορούμενον μὲν ὑπὸ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ὡς καὶ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν δεσπότην, προκαταδειχθέντα δὲ παρ' αὐτῶν, δι' ὧν ἀλλήλοις συνῳδὰ προεκήρυξαν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ. Θ'

'Truly I say to you that some standing here will not taste death until they have seen the kingdom of God.' 1 As the disciples had not yet obtained virtue from on high, it was likely that they also stumbled in human weaknesses, and pondering in themselves the sayings they had heard may have said 'How does a man deny himself?' or 'How having lost himself does he find himself again?' And 'What reward will be worthy of those who suffer so? Or 'Of what gifts will they be made partakers?' To rescue them therefore from such unstable thoughts, and, so to speak, to forge them into fortitude by begetting in them a desire for the glory to come, He says, 'I say to you, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they have seen the kingdom of God.'  And by the kingdom of God He means the sight of the glory in which He will appear at that time when he shines on those on earth, for He will come in the glory of God the Father, and not in low state as was to us. How, then, did He make those who had received the promise spectators of such a wonder? Going up the mountain He takes with Him three chosen ones, and He is transformed with so surpassing and godlike a brightness, that His garments shine with such light that it seems like  flashes of lightning. And then Moses and Elijah stood at the side of Jesus and spoke with one another about His departure, which He was about to fulfill at Jerusalem, that is, the mystery of the dispensation of the flesh and the passion of salvation, and indeed, I say, about the precious cross which will always be called glorious. For it is indeed true that the law of Moses and the word of the holy Prophets prefigured the mystery of Christ; the first by types and shadows, as in the painting of a picture, while the rest in many ways declared before the events that both in time He would appear in our likeness and for the sake of the salvation and life of all he would not refuse to suffer death on the tree. Therefore the standing of Moses and Elijah beside Him and their talking with one another was a sort of arrangement which well represented our Lord Jesus Christ as being guarded by the Law and the Prophets, and Him as master of the Law and Prophets, foreshown by them by those things which in agreement with one another they had proclaimed. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.27

Strengthening the Heart

Λόγοις σοφῶν παράβαλλε σὸν οὖς καὶ ἄκουε ἐμὸν λόγον τὴν δὲ σὴν καρδίαν ἐπίστησον ἵνα γνῷς ὅτι καλοί εἰσιν. Ὁ τοῖς πανσόφοις λόγοις προσέχων τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ποιῶν τὰ προστασμενα ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, οὗτος ἐπέστησε τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ ἔγνω ὅτι καλοί εἰσιν· οὕτος ἀκούει τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγων, ὁ ποιῶν τὰ προστασσόμενα ὑπ' αὐτῶν· Οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἀκροαταὶ τοῦ νόμου δίκαιοι παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλ' οἱ ποιηταὶ τοῦ νομοῦ δικαιωθήσονται. Ἐὰν δὲ ἐπιστήσῃς σὴν καρδίαν τοῦ γνῶναι καὶ ποιῆσαι, γνωρίσει σοι τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ τὴν εἰποῦσαν· Ἐγω εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας

To the words of the wise give your ear and hear my word and strengthen your heart that you may know good things. 1 He who attends to the most wise words of God, and acts in accordance with His commandments, he strengthens his heart, and he knows good things. He hears the words of God who follows the things commanded, 'For it is not the hearers of the Lord who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who shall be justified.' 2 That if you strengthen your heart equally in knowledge and deed, God shall make manifest to you His way, of which He said, 'I am the way and the truth.' 3 Origen, On Proverbs, Fragment 1 Prov 22.17 2 Rom 11.13 3 Jn 14.6

Bones and Knowledge

Πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου ἐροῦσιν Κύριε τίς ὅμοιός σοι;   Οἱ πάντα ἐκ ψιλῆς τῆς λέξεως καὶ οὐδὲν ἀλληγορικῶς ἐκλαμβάνειν ποθοῦντες ἐλεγχέσθωσαν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ προκειμένου στίχου. οὐδὲν γὰρ οὑτως ἠλίθιόν ἐστιν ὡς νομίσαι τὰ αἰσθητὰ ὀστᾶ ἐννοιαν ἐχειν θεοῦ, ὥστε ὑμνεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ εἰδέναι ὅτι οὐδεὶς ὁμοιος αὐτῷ. Περὶ γὰρ τῶν ὀστῶν τοῦ ἐσω ἀνθρώπου δυνάμεις δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ δόγματα ἀληθῆ ταῦτα εἰρηται τὸ Πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου· διὰ πάσης γὰρ ἐννοίας καὶ δόγματος ἀληθινοῦ ἐβεβαιώθην μηδὲν τῶν γεννητῶν ὁμοιον εἶναι τοῦ Κυρίου· μόνος γὰρ αὐτὸς εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου καὶ χαρακτὴρ θεϊκῆς ὑποστάσεώς ἐστιν. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΛΔ'

All my bones cry out, 'Lord who is like you?' 1 They who wish to understand everything literally and nothing allegorically, this verse refutes, for nothing is so absurd than to believe that corporeal bones have knowledge of God so that they celebrate Him and that they know nothing to be similar to Him. But rather have the bones within a man as his virtues and true teaching, and that these things are spoken of with 'All my bones'; for through every true knowledge and teaching they are strengthened who are created nothing like God. Only the Son is the image of the invisible God and He is the mark of the Divine substance. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 34 1 Ps 34.10

The Granting of Virtue

Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ περιζωννύων με δύναμιν, καὶ ἔθετο ἄμωμον τὴν ὁδὸν μου· καταρτιζόμενος τοὺς πόδας μου ὠσει ἐλάφων, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη μου ἰστῶν με. Οὐκ ἀπρακτῶν, φησὶ, καὶ ἀργῶν προΐσταται καὶ ὑπερασπίζει· ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῶν συμβαλλομένων τῇ αὐτῶν σωτηρίᾳ διὰ τοῦ ἀγωνίζεσθαι καὶ τοὺς ἐχθρους καταπολεμεῖν. Οὕτω οῦν καὶ ἐμὲ ὁπλίζων ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεσι, τὴν θνητὴν καὶ ἀνθρωπίνην μου ἰσχὺν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι δυναμοῖ· ἵν' ὥσπερ ἀνὴρ τὴν ὀσφὺν περιεζωσμένος τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ χορηγουμένην μοι δύναμιν στῶ πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὥσπερ εἴρηται· Ὁ Θεὸς ἄμωμος ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ· οὕτως κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσνιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐμὲ βουλόμενος εἴναι, καὶ τὴν ἐμην ὁδὸν ἔθετο ἄμωμον, διδασκαλίαις καὶ παραινέσεσιν καὶ παντοίοις μαθήμασι τὴν ὁδὸν μου, τουτέστι τὴν ζωὴν καὶ τὸν βίον ἄμωμον καταρτιζόμενος. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ, ἄμωμον. Ἀκύλας τέλειον, ἐκδέδωκεν. Ἔτι δὲ πρὸς τούτοις, καὶ τοὺς πόδας μου ὠσεὶ ἐλάφων κατηρτίσατο· περὶ ὦν ἐλάφων πολὺς ἐν τοϊς ἱεροῖς πράγμασι φέρεται λόγος. Ἐπὶ σχολῆς δ' ἄν τις τῶν προτεθέντων ἐξετάσας, εὕροι ἂν αὐτῶν τὸν νοῦν ἀναφερόμενον επὶ τοὺς ἁγίους τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνδρας, τοὺς ἀναιρετικοὺς παντὸς ἑρπυστικοῦ καὶ ἰοβόλου ζώου. Ἐπεὶ καὶ τῆς ἐλάφου τοιαύτη πέφυκεν ἡ φύσις, ὀφιοκτόνος οὖσα καὶ ἀναιρετικὴ παντὸς ἑρπετοῦ. Ὀρεινοβατὲς δὲ τὸ ζῶον καὶ δρομικὸν, ὡς καὶ οἱ ἄγιοι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ ἄνω σκοποῦντες, καὶ μὴ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ διώκοντες, πόθῳ τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας. Τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ἀγίους τοίνυν ὁμοιότητα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ὁ Δαυΐδ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι ἀνατίθησι, λέγων ἐξῆς· Καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη μου ἰστῶν με. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἕτεροι καθέλκειν ἡμᾶς καὶ καταβιβάζειν ἐπὶ τὰ βάθη καὶ τὰς κοιλάδας τῆς κακίας πειρῶνται· ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, οἷα τις ἀγωνοθέτης διδάσκων ἡμᾶς ἀγαθοὺς εἶναι δρομεῖς, ἐπὶ τὰ κατάλληλα ἡμῖν ὕψη παρορμᾷ· αὐτου τε ἡ χάρις. Οὐ γὰρ ἡμετέρα δύναμις ἴστησιν ἐν τοῖς ἡμετεροις ὕψεσι· φύσει γὰρ ἀνθρώπου ψυχῇ τὸ οὐράνιόν ἐστιν οἰκητήριον· καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ ὕψη οὐκ ἀλλότρια, ἀλλ' οἰκεῖα· διὸ, Ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη μου, φησὶν, ἰστῶν με. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΙϚ'

God who girds me with virtue, and makes my way immaculate, making my feet like the stag and on my heights setting me. 1 Not in an impracticable and useless manner, he says, is it that God defends and protects, but He even prepares the salvation of those who through struggle battle against enemies. Thus He arms me with His virtue and my mortal and human strength is fortified by the grace of His virtue, that like a man, having his loins girded by Him who supplies me with virtue, I stand and oppose the enemy. But as it has been said, 'The way of God is immaculate,' 2 so wishing me to be as His image and likeness, He also makes my way  immaculate, with teachings, warnings and various disciplines, making my way one of a blameless life. In that place where it is written, 'Immaculate,' Aquila translates 'perfect.' And then this: 'He perfects my feet like stag.' And concerning  the stag there is much of holy import, for if someone with leisure search into the intent of this line, he may discover that they who have the mind lifted up to the holy things of God may be compared to that which is a destroyer of every serpent and venomous animal. For such is the nature of the stag, that it kills snakes and every type of reptile. And the same animal which is swift across the peaks is like the holy ones of God, who watch from the heights, seeking no earthly things but only high things, and that from desire of the kingdom of heaven. It is to these holy ones that David, full of the grace of God, likens himself, when he then says: 'and on my heights setting me.' For even if many others  are drawn down and dragged by trials into the deep iniquities of the valleys, our God, who certainly is master of the contests, makes us good runners, rousing us to seek appropriate height, and giving His grace. For it is not that He sets our virtue on the heights, for certainly the soul of man in its nature is a dweller of heaven, and high things, are not foreign but appropriate to it, and so he says, ' Upon my heights setting me.' Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 16 1 Ps 16  33-34 2 Ps 17.31,  cf 2 Kings, 22.31

Peace and Quiet

Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· Ὁτι σὺ, Κύριε, κατὰ μόνας ἐπ' ἐλπίδι κατῴκισάς με. Ἰδοῦ καὶ ἄλλο προνοίας εἶδος οὐ μικρὸν, τὸ εἰρήνης ἀπολαύειν τοὺς ἀνακειμένους Θεῷ. Εἰρήνη γὰρ τοῐς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν νόμον σου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς σκάνδαλον. Οὐδεν γὰρ οὔτως εἰρήνην ποιεῖν εἴωθεν, ὡς ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσις, τὸν ἔνδοθεν τῶν παθῶν ἐξοικίζουσα πόλεμον, καὶ οὐκ ἀφιεῖσα αὐτὸν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν διαστασιάζειν τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ὡς εἴγε μὴ ταύτης ἀπολαύοι τῆς εἰρήνης, κἂν ἐν βαθυτάτῃ εἰρήνῃ ᾗ ἔξωθεν, κἂν μηδεὶς πολέμιος αὐτὸν βάλλῃ, τῶν ὑπὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης πολεμουμένων πάντων ἐστὶν ἀθλιώτερος. Οὐ γὰρ οὔτω Σκύθαι, οὐδὲ Θρᾷκες, οὐ Σαυρομάται, καὶ Ἰνδοὶ, καὶ Μαῦροι, καὶ ὅσα ἄγρια ἔθνη πολεμεῖν εἰώθασιν, ὡς λογισμὸς ἀτοπώτατος ἐνδομυχῶν τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ ἐπιθυμία ἀκόλαστος, καὶ χρημάτων ἔρως, καὶ προσπάθεια. Καὶ εἰκότως· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἔξωθεν ὁ πόλεμος, αὔτη δὲ ἔνδον ἐστὶν ἡ μάχῃ. Ὅτι δὲ τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα τῶν ἔξεθεν προσβαλλόντων ἐστὶ χαλεπώτερα, καὶ μᾶλοον διαφθείρειν εἴωθε, τοῦτο ἐπὶ πάντων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ξύλου φύσιν σκώληξ ἔνδον τικτόμενος μᾶλλον διαφθείρει, καὶ σώματος δύναμιν καὶ ὑγείαν τῶν ἔξωθεν φυομένων τὰ ἔνδοθεν βλαστάνοντα νοσματα μειζόνως λυμαίνεται· καὶ πόλεις οὐχ οὔτως οἱ ἔξωθεν πολέμιοι, ὡς οἱ ἐμφύλιοι καταλύουσιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ψυχὴν οὐχ οὔτω τὰ ἔξωθεν προσιόντα μηχανήματα, ὡς τὰ ἔνδοθεν τικτόμενα νοσήματα λυμαίνεσθαι πέφυκεν. Ἀλλ' ἐάν τις τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχων, μετὰ ἀκριβείας τοῦτον καταλύσῃ τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ κοιμήσῃ τὰ πάθη, καὶ τὰ θηρία τὰ ποικίλα ἐκεῖνα τῶν ἀτόπων λογυσνῶν ἀποπνίξας, μὴ ἐμφωλεύειν παρασκευάσῃ, οὗτος καθαρωτάτης καὶ βαθυτάτης ἀπολαύσεται εἰρήνης. Ταύτην τὴν εἰρήνην ἐλθὼν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐχαρίσατο· ταύτην καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐπηύχετο, καθ' ἑκάστην ἐπιστολὴν λέγων· Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν· ὁ γὰρ τὴν εἱρήνην ταύτην ἔχων, οὐ μόνον βάρβαρον καὶ πολέμιον, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον δέδοικεν· ἀλλὰ πάσης τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων φάλαγγος καταγελᾷ, καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν εὐθυμότερος, οὐ πενίᾳ πιεζόμενος, οὐ νόσῳ καὶ ἀῥῥωστίᾳ βαρούμενος, οὐκ ἄλλω τινὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τῶν ἀδοκήτως προσπιπτόντων θορυβούμενος, δια τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν, τὴν δυναμένην ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας διαθεῖναι καὶ εὐκολίας ἀπάσης, ἐῥῥωμένην καὶ ὑγιαίνουσαν ἔχειν. Καὶ ἵνα μάθητε ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθές· ἔστω τις βάσκανος, καὶ μηδεὶς αὐτῷ πολεμείτω· τί τὸ ὄφελος; Αὐτὸς γαρ ἑαυτῷ πολεμεῖ· παντὸς ξίφους ὀξυτέρους καθ' ἑαυτοῦ θήγων λογισμοὺς, πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρωμένοις προσπταίων, καὶ καθ' ἔκαστον τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἀνθρώπων τιτρώσκων ἑαυτὸν, καὶ πρὸς οὐδένα ἡδέως ἔχων, ἀλλὰ κοινοὺς πολεμίους πάντας ὁρῶν. Τί οὖν ὅφελος τῆς ἔξωθεν εἰρήνης τούτῳ, ὅταν αὐτὸς λυσσῶν καὶ μαινόμενος, καὶ κοινὸς τῆς φύσεως ὤν ἐχθρὸς, περιέρχηται, τοσοῦτον ἔνδοθεν φέρων πόλεμον, καὶ μυρία τόξα καὶ βέλη, μᾶλλον δὲ μυρίους θανάτους εὐχόμανος, ἤ ἰδεῖν τινα τῶν ὁμογενῶν εὐδοκιμοῦνται καὶ εὐμερίας ἀπολαύοντα; Πάλιν ἕτερος ὑπὸ χρημάτων ἐπιθυμίας κατεχόμενος, μυρίους πολέμους καὶ μάχας καὶ στάσεις εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ συνάγει ψυχὴν, καὶ ἐν θορύβῳ καὶ ταραχῇ ὤν, οὐδὲ μικρὸν ἀναπνεῦσαι δυναταὶ. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος τῶν παθῶν οὕτω διάκειται, ἀλλ' ἐν γαληνῷ κάθηται λιμένι, ἐντρυφῶν τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ, καὶ οὐδεμίν ὑπομένων ἀηδίαν τοιαύτην. Διὸ δὴ καὶ ταύτης ἀπολαύων τῆς προνοίας Ὁ Προφήτης ἔλεγεν· Ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κοιμηθήσομαι, και ὑπνώσω· δνλῶν, ὅτι τῷ μὴ ταύτην ἔχοντι τὴν εἰρήνην οὐδὲ ὁ κοινὸς λιμὴν  ἄπας ἀνέῳκται, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτος προσκεχωσται, ὁ του ὕπνου καὶ τῆς νυκτός.  Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Εἰς Τον Δ' Ψαλμον

In peace I shall sleep and rest. Because you, Lord, alone in hope have established me. 1 Behold another significant type of providence, that those dedicated to God enjoy peace: 'For peace there is to the lovers of your law and not to them is scandal'  2 For there is nothing equal to the making of peace than the knowledge of God, and the possession of virtue, which casts the internal war of passions far from one's house, and it does not allow it to disturb a man. For certainly if a man does not enjoy this peace, even if there is perfect peace outside him, even if no enemy falls upon him, he is more wretched than those who are under assault in the world. For neither Scythian, nor Thracian, nor Sarmatian, nor Indian, nor Moor, nor any wild folk, are accustomed to bring so fierce a war as wicked thoughts are into the depths of the soul, uncontrolled lust, love of money, vehement attachment to things. And it is certainly so, for the first is an external conflict and the latter internal, and what is born within us, compared to those things that come from without, is more grievous, and they are accustomed to be more violent, which may be seen in everything. For wood having worms born within it is more corrupt, and the health of the body suffers more harm by disease which arises from within than by that which comes from without, and cities are not so much by external enemies than by civic enemies destroyed; and so even the soul is not so much by external machinations sickened than by that which is born from within bringing ruin. Yet if a man have the fear of God he may suppress this conflict utterly, and give peace to the passions, and suppress the various uprisings of unseemly thoughts, not allowing them to linger in his interior, and this one is most great in his enjoyment of peace. This is the peace Christ's coming has given, and for this Paul prayed for the faithful,saying in each of his letters, 'Grace to you and peace from God our father.' For he who has this peace, not only he need not take fright at barbarous enemy and the devil himself, but every cohort of demons he may laugh at, and he is of all men cheerful, not oppressed by poverty, nor by disease and ill health weighed down, nor perturbed by any unforeseen event which befalls men, because his soul has strength and health by which he is most eminently and easily able to manage and temper these things. And that this you might know this to be true: if some man is envious, and no one bring war upon him, what does it benefit? For he brings war upon himself, as if his thoughts were a sharp sword thrusting into his interior in everything which seems to offend him and in each thing which happens among men by which he wounds himself, and he has no delight in anything but he sees everything as an enemy. What then is the use of external peace, when he is furious and maddened, the enemy of our common nature, and bears within himself such an internal war and a thousand arrows and shafts, and prefers to suffer a thousand deaths rather than see anyone else who is like him held in high regard? Again another may be gripped by a desire for wealth, and so he incites innumerable battles, and brawls, and uprisings in his own soul, and endless tumults and troubles, and he has no time to breathe. But it is not so with the one who is free from such passions, he is not moved in such a manner, but in a tranquil port he resides, and he feasts on wisdom, and no trouble he bears. Whence the fruitful foresight of the Prophet says, 'In peace I shall sleep and rest,' which means that to him who does not have peace, it is not that the common port of all is not open, but that it is obstructed, even in quiet and night.  Saint John Chrysostom, Exposition of the Psalms, Psalm 4 1 Ps 4 9-10 2 Ps 118.165

Strength and Peace

Κύριος ἰσχὺν τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ δώσει· Κύριος εὐλογήσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν εἰρήνῃ.  Ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ λαοῦ ἀφελεῖ Κύριος ἰσχύον τα καὶ ἰσχύουσαν, τῷ δὲ δικαιοπραγοῦντι δίδωσιν ἰσχύν. Διότι 'Τώ ἔχοντι παντὶ δοθήσεται.' Ἐνδυναμωθεὶς δὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἐνέργειαν, ἄξιος γίνεται τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐλογίας. Ἔοικε δὲ τελειοτάτη των εὐλογιῶν εἶναι ἡ ἐιρήνη, εὐστάθεια τις οὖσα τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ· ὥστε τὸν εἰρηνικὸν ἄνδρα ἐν τῷ κατεστάλθαι τὰ ἥθη χαρακτηρίζεσθαι· τὸν δὲ πολεμούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν μήπω τῆς ἀπὸ Θεοῦ εἰρήνης μετεσχηκέναι, ἥν ὁ Κύριος ἔδωκε τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, ἥτις, ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν, φρουρήσει τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἀξίων. Ταύτην καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἐπεύχεται ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις, λέγων· ' Κάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη πληθυνθείη.' Γένοιτο οὖν ἡμῖν καλῶς ἀγωνισαμένοις, καὶ τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς κατατρεψαμένοις, ὅ ἐστιν ἔχθρα εἰς Θεὸν, ἐν γαληνιώσει καὶ ἀκύμονι καταστάσει τῆς ψυχῆς γενομένης, εἰρήνης ἡμᾶς υἱοὺς χρηματίζειν, καὶ τῆς εὐλογίας τοῦ Θεοῦ μετασχεῖν ἐν εἰρήνῃ. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΚΗ' Ψαλμον

The Lord shall give strength to his people, the Lord shall bless his people in peace. 1  From a sinful people the Lord takes away strength and firmness, 2 and He gives strength to the doers of righteousness. For to everyone who has it shall be given 3 That one has contributed to the perfection of good works makes one worthy of blessings from God. And that which seems to be the most perfect blessing is peace, a firmness of the leading faculty, the mind, and so the character of the peaceful man is a tranquility of behaviour and manners, against whom are opposed by their passions those who do not participate in the peace of God, which peace the Lord gave to his disciples when he supplied them with every understanding,4 watching over the souls of those worthy. This the Apostle understands saying, Grace to you and peace multiplied. 5 So after contending well, having routed carnal affection, which is inimical to God, having established the soul in tranquility and quiet, we are called sons of peace, 6 and in peace we are made participants of the blessing of God. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 28 1 Ps 28.11  2 cf Isa 3.1  3 Mt 25.29  4 Philipp 4.7  5 1 Pet 1.2   6 cf Mt 5.9