Second Homily on Psalm 28

1Worship the Lord in his holy court (Psalm 28:2 LXX; Psalm 29:2 in Hebrew numbering). One must not worship the Lord outside his holy court, but only after entering within it. That is, the person who owes true service to God must not step outside the body of the Church and start a rival assembly and schisms on his own. For that was not fitting. Just as a person makes himself a house of the Lord, so as to become a temple of God, so he can also surround himself with a court, walling himself around with his way of life, his reason, and divine thoughts, and worship God within himself. He has sufficient grounds for worship in what already exists in him, since the Creator is understood both from his bodily frame and from the ordering of his soul. The Lord also called the court of the Jews a court when he said, "I have other sheep that are not of this court" (John 10:16), showing clearly that there is also another court, the truly holy one, which was to gather Christ's sheep—those from the nations predestined for salvation. That is, this Church, in which true worshipers worship in spirit and truth. No one who makes a god of anything besides God can worship God in his holy court. Some make a god of their belly—their god is the belly (Philippians 3:19). Others make a god of silver—those devoted to greed, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). And each person, whatever he has honored above all else, to that he assigns the glory of God. Such a person is not in the holy court, nor does he worship God, even if he seems inseparable from the visible gatherings.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. To understand what the voice of the Lord is, it is worth gathering for ourselves, as far as possible, what has been written about voice in the divine Scripture. We find, then, in Genesis that a word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abraham; I am your shield; your reward shall be very great" (Genesis 15:1). And Abraham answered, "Master, what will you give me? I am going away childless" (Genesis 15:2). And a little later: "And immediately a voice came to him" (Genesis 15:4). Again in Exodus it says, "Let them be ready for the third day" (Exodus 19:15). And, "When the voices and the trumpets and the cloud depart from the mountain, they shall go up on the mountain" (Exodus 19:13). And after the Decalogue: "And all the people saw the voice and the torches, and the voice of the trumpet" (Exodus 20:18). And in Isaiah it is written, "A voice of one saying: Cry out" (Isaiah 40:6). Voice, then, is a striking of air, or some kind of form produced in the air, toward which the speaker wishes to shape it. Those who converse with one another through the flesh strike the air and, as it were, impose on it a certain stamp and form, and by their breath they drive it forward so that it reaches the hearing of the person to whom it is addressed. But the voice of the Lord is of a different kind, since God produces an impression in those whom he wishes to hear his voice, so that this impression corresponds to what happens in dreams.

2For in that case too, the perception of what was said did not enter through the hearing after the air outside was struck. Rather, the mind itself received the thoughts, and they naturally remain in the memory of those who have seen them. So a voice came to Abraham, because he had ears able to hear the commands of God, as the divine will sounded to him invisibly. But to the people the voice became visible—that is, recognizable and intelligible to all. It was not, of course, colored by some pigment or given an outline so that the spoken voice could be perceived by the eyes. Rather, the people saw the voice because the command of the Lord is far-shining and gives light to the eyes, with no obscurity surrounding what was spoken. And to Isaiah a voice came commanding, “Cry out” (Isaiah 40:6)—that is, the prophet’s mind was stamped by the power that came to him from God.

“The voice of the Lord is upon the waters” (Psalm 28:3 LXX). What voice? Upon what waters? Let us take the saying as prophecy. Remember John, who, when asked by the Jews, “Who are you? What answer shall we give to those who sent us?” replied, “I am the voice of the Lord crying in the desert” (John 1:22-23). So John is the voice of the Lord, an angel sent from God before the face of the Lord, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people. This voice, then, was upon the waters—upon the Jordan, in which he baptized, preaching the baptism of repentance. And not only in the Jordan, but also in Aenon near Salim, because there were many waters there. So “the voice of the Lord upon the waters” is John at the baptism.

There also the God of glory thundered. For a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Then also the Lord was upon many waters, when he deemed it worthy to come down to John’s baptism, in order to fulfill all righteousness that is in the law (Matthew 3:15).

“The voice of the Lord in strength” (Psalm 28:4 LXX). For it takes away the weaknesses of the people through the baptism of repentance, since through it he baptizes in water for repentance. “In strength” means the voice that says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near” (Matthew 3:2), and “Produce fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Or perhaps the voice is “in strength” because John bears witness to the one who truly is the strong Lord, saying, “I baptize in water; but the one coming after me is stronger than I.” So this voice bore witness to his strength.

“The voice of the Lord in majesty” (Psalm 28:4 LXX). John speaks the great mysteries about Jesus, saying, “I saw the Holy Spirit as a dove coming down and remaining upon him” (John 1:32), and again, “From his fullness we all received, and grace in place of grace” (John 1:16). For these waters are high and display the greatness of the glory surrounding the Only-Begotten. Therefore, “the voice of the Lord in majesty.” And it is also majestic to say, “No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known” (John 1:18). And he clearly speaks many things majestically about the Lord when he says, “A man cannot receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven” (John 3:27).

3It is also majestic to say, “The one who comes from above is above all” (John 3:31), and, “Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified that God is true. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God” (John 3:33–34). And, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36), and all such sayings. Nothing lowly, then, nothing unworthy of his greatness, but everything has been spoken by John about the Lord with noble elevation and fitting grandeur. Therefore, “the voice of the Lord in majesty.”

“The voice of the Lord crushing cedars” (Psalm 28:5 LXX, Psalm 29:5). It is possible to say that, in preparing a people made ready for the Lord, John was crushing and pulling down the impieties that were lifted up and exalted against the knowledge of God, and he was making the crooked ways straight. For the one who humbles every hill and every mountain was the one crushing the cedars and smoothing the way for the Lord’s coming, by leading the people’s high and exalted and un-humbled heart into repentance. Therefore, receiving his preparation, the Lord crushes through his own coming the opposing powers, which are figuratively called cedars of Lebanon. For the Lord must reign until he places his enemies under his feet. And he will make these cedars fine, like the calf of Lebanon.

What, then, is the calf of Lebanon? They say that those who worship idols, with excessive idle curiosity, form images of calves out of frankincense and then bring them near to the fire. In this way, then, he says that the opposing powers will be made to disappear into destruction, as they deserve. Or the calf is the one made of frankincense and melted by the fire, according to what is said: “As wax melts before the face of fire, so sinners will perish” (Psalm 68:3 LXX, Psalm 68:2 Hebrew). And it is also possible to understand the cedars being made fine, and Lebanon itself, the originator of the cedars’ exaltation, being made fine. The calf was once made fine at the Exodus through Aaron, when the people, having rebelled against God and turned aside into idolatry, fashioned it. Moses took it, ground it to powder, and threw it into the water. So the Lord will make all Lebanon fine—that is, the first origin of evil—just as that calf was made fine by Moses. “And he will make them fine like the calf of Lebanon.”

“And the beloved is like a son of unicorns” (Psalm 28:6 LXX, Psalm 29:6). After the opposing powers have been destroyed, then love for the Lord will appear, and his strength will become manifest, with none of the adversaries casting a shadow over it. Therefore, after the making fine, he says: “The beloved will be like a son of unicorns.” The unicorn is a ruling animal, not subject to man, with unconquerable strength, always dwelling in deserts, trusting in its single horn. For this reason the Lord’s invincible nature is compared to a unicorn, both because of his rule over all things and because he has one origin of himself, the Father. For “the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3).

“The voice of the Lord cutting through a flame of fire” (Psalm 28:7 LXX, Psalm 29:7). John was cutting through sin, which was spreading like fire over Israel, when he said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2). The flame of the passions, then, which arises in souls from sin, he was cutting through as he told the Jews about the eternal fire, speaking the severe things of judgment: that “the winnowing fork is in the Lord’s hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor; and he will gather the wheat into his barns, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12).

4So he was cutting through that flame by bringing the terrible things before the people's eyes. “The Lord will shake the desert of Kadesh” (Psalm 28:8 LXX). For John was baptizing in the desert. He shook that desert by the arrival of peoples from every direction, which, because those who came repented, was called holy desert. For Kadesh means “holy.” This voice also perfects the deer—the holy souls who seek the heights, who destroy serpents, who make their dwelling on the high mountains. These would be great-souled souls, running up from lowly things to the heights of the heavenly way of life, light and lifted up, waging war against the opposing powers just as deer wage war against serpents. But it also reveals forests, so that the serpents hidden by the shade of the forests become visible, and the deer can consume them with less labor. Perhaps, then, the one who exposes the evils done in secret reveals forests—that is, he brings into the open the sins lurking in material nature, which are called serpents because of the many-colored character of pleasure. And he will reveal them in the day when he will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and the purposes of their hearts. Perhaps John too, being the voice of the Lord, spoke to Israel in a riddle: “Already the axe is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:9). He was revealing the forests—that is, he was exposing the uselessness of fruits, for a forest is fruitless timber. By showing them its harmful character, he was summoning them to the fruit-bearing that was required of them, saying, “Bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). From all these things there is one result: the building of the temple of the Lord, where everyone who is constituted there can truly bring glory to the Lord. But also, “the Lord will inhabit the flood.” For through baptism the Lord comes to dwell in the souls of his sanctified ones. God inhabits the soul that is being washed clean of sin. For this reason it is said that he inhabits the flood. That Scripture calls the forgiveness that comes from baptism a flood we have also learned from the thirty-first psalm, where it says, “Surely in a flood of many waters they will not draw near to him” (Psalm 31:6 LXX). For the sins of sinners, in the redemption that comes through baptism, will no longer be permitted to approach him. “And the Lord will sit as king forever” (Psalm 28:10 LXX). After all these things, it remains for us to acknowledge the rule of the Master over all things, who gives strength to his people, so that having conquered the evil one, we may receive the blessing given by the Lord in peace to those who are worthy of him. For to him be glory forever and ever. Amen.