God’s Anger and Our Sin
… shows his gentleness, unexpectedly saving those who have slipped away from every hope, and holding out a saving hand to those who are down low and lying, as it were, on the ground. Those who offer up the prayer before us say something like this: “From the foundation of the world we have neither heard of nor seen any such God, except you, and you alone” (compare Isaiah 64:4).
For to those who wait for you, that is, to those who have set their hope on you, he lavishes his mercy. For it will surely follow those who work righteousness, and it will be fitting for those to receive it who keep your ways in memory, that is, who carry out your will (compare Isaiah 64:4–5). For we say that the ways of the Lord are his commandments. So the inspired David sings at one time, “In your way I shall live” (compare Psalm 119:37), and at another, “I ran the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart” (Psalm 119:32).
Tomos 6. “See, you were angry, and we sinned. Therefore we went astray, and we all became like the unclean, and all our righteousness like the rag of a woman in her impurity. We fell away like leaves because of our lawless deeds; so the wind will carry us off like dust. There is no one who calls on your name, or who remembers to take hold of you; for you turned your face away from us and handed us over because of our sins” (Isaiah 64:5–7).
Some of the interpreters decided to approach these words with a different sense. They reverse the order of the words, or rather the force of the thoughts, so that the saying becomes: “See, we sinned, and you were angry.” For the divine anger, they say, did not become the cause of their offending; rather, because they had behaved outrageously, God was angry. They fear, naturally enough, that the divine wrath might somehow be thought to bring about sin.
But I think this must be said: it is no charge against the divine wrath that those who have come under it are unable to escape the assault of sin. For as long as the One who saves us takes delight in us, we rise far above sin, and, keeping firmly away from the filth that comes from wickedness, we are crowned with the glories of spiritual courage. But when we embitter the Giver of our strength and the Lord of our courage, we fall into weakness and help…
Greek
γαληνότητος ποιεῖται τὴν ἔνδειξιν, διασώζων ἀδοκή- τως τοὺς ἐξ ἁπάσης ἐλπίδος ὠ λισθηκότας, καὶ χεῖρα νέμων σωτήριον τοῖς χαμαί που, καὶ ὡς ἐν γῇ κει- μένοις. Τοιοῦτόν τί φασιν οἱ τὴν προκειμένην λιτὴν ἀναφέροντες. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου καταβολῆς οὔτε ἠκούσαμεν, οὔτε μὴν τεθεά μεθα τοιοῦτόν τινα Θεὸν, πλὴν ἄρα σοῦ τε καὶ μόνου· τοῖς γὰρ ὑπο- μ ένουσί σε, τουτέστι, τοῖς εἰς σὲ πεποιημένοις τὴν ἐλπίδα, ἐπιδαψιλεύ ει τὸν ἔλεον· ἕψεται γὰρ πάντως τοῖς τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐργάταις, κἀκε ίνοις αὐτὸν ἁρ- μόσει λαβεῖν, οἵπερ ἂν εἶεν ἐν μνήμῃ τῶν σῶν ὁδῶν, τ ουτέστι, τῶν σῶν θελημάτων ἀποτελεσταί· ὁδοὺς γὰρ Κυρίου φαμὲν εἶ ναι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ γοῦν ‹70.1400› ὁ θεσπέσιος ψάλλει Δαβὶδ, ποτὲ μὲν, ὅτι "6 Ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ σου ζήσομαι,"6 ποτὲ δὲ πάλιν· "6 Ὁδὸν ἐντο λῶν σου ἔδραμον, ὅταν ἐπλάτυνας τὴν καρδίαν μου." 6 {1ΤΟΜΟΣ Ϛʹ.}1 9 Ἰδοὺ σὺ ὠργίσθης, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἡμάρτομεν. Διὰ τοῦτο ἐπλανήθη μεν, καὶ ἐγενήθημεν ὡς ἀκάθαρ- τοι πάντες ἡμεῖς, καὶ ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκ αθημένης πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν· καὶ ἐξεῤῥύημεν ὡς φύλλα διὰ τ ὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν· οὕτως ἄνεμος οἴσει ἡμᾶς ὡς χοῦν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐπικαλού- μενος τὸ ὄνομά σου, καὶ ὁ μνησθεὶς ἀντιλαβέσθαι σου, ὅτι ἀπέστρεψας τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀφ' ἡμῶν, καὶ παρέδωκας ἡμᾶς διὰ τὰ ς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν.9 Ἔδοξε τισὶ τῶν ἐξηγητῶν, καθ' ἑτέραν ἔννοιαν τοῖς προκειμένο ις προσβαλεῖν. Ἀναστρέφουσι γὰρ τῶν λέξεων τὴν ἀπόδοσιν, ἤτοι τῶν ἐννοιῶν τὴν δύναμιν, ἵνα τοιοῦτον ᾖ τὸ λεγόμενον· "6 Ἰδοὺ ἡμεῖς ἡμά ρτομεν, ὠργίσθης δὲ σύ."6 Οὐ γάρ τοι, φασὶ, παρ- αίτιος αὐτοῖς τοῦ πλ ημμελεῖν ἡ θεία γέγονεν ὀργή. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ αὐτοὶ πεπαρῳνήκασιν, ὠργί σθη Θεὸς, δεδίασι γὰρ κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς μὴ ἄρα πως ἁμαρτίας πρόξενος ὁ θεῖος νοεῖται θυμός. Οἶμαι δὲ δεῖν ἐκεῖνο εἰπεῖν, οὐ γάρ τοι κατάῤῥ ησιν ἔχει τῆς θείας ὀργῆς, τὸ τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτῇ γεγονότας ἀνικάνως ἔχει ν πρός γε τὸ δύνασθαι διαφυγεῖν τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν ἔφοδον. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἐφ' ἡμῖν ὁ σώζων εὐφραίνεται, κατευμεγε- θοῦμεν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, κ αὶ τῶν ἐκ φαυλότητος ῥύπων ἀποφοιτῶντες εὐσθενῶς τοῖς εἰς εὐανδρί αν πνευμα- τικὴν αὐχήμασι στεφανούμεθα. Καταπικραίνοντες δὲ τῆς ἰσχύος τὸν χορηγὸν, καὶ τῆς εὐανδρίας τὸν πρύτανιν, πίπτομεν εἰς τὸ ἄναλκι, καὶ ἀδραν