Deceitful lips and the hidden goodness of God

I have called upon you. Then I am not ashamed, if the things of the calling exist. For is there not a word of the Savior? Sudden shifts in perspective occur So also it is done in the prophets.

And something else concerning the bare man: just as each of us, frequently narrating about a man, sometimes indicates him from the soul, and sometimes from the body. If I say that he is a beautiful man, 'pyrakis'—so that I may speak from the Scripture, 'with beauty of eyes'—it is immense; then I say that he is a learned man, a slave of God, he is subject to the Lord; for the change of persons is not outside of all things. When it is spoken concerning a composite, the changes of persons are carried from part to part.

Since, therefore, also the one saying these things is not a man alone, nor is he God alone, but God having become man, some things are said as from the man, and others as from the Word of God or concerning the God Word. 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father' (John 1:14).; for he does not say: 'Let your face shine upon your slave,' the other to me; me, your slave.

The ungodly were shamed and were brought down into Hades. The 'were brought down into Hades' again has a certain power. He did not say 'they descended into Hades.' But for those descending voluntarily, there is the descending. These, however, are not being brought down into Hades voluntarily. Also, concerning Capernaum, it is said: 'And you, Capernaum, which shall be exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to Hades' (Matt 18:17). It is being brought down by others. Then they are ashamed when they know that they are ungodly and do not have the impulse of readiness to descend into Hades. Because of this, they are brought down so that, having received the understanding of where they are about to descend, they might be shamed. Furthermore, they will do even more evil to themselves because they have become ungodly.

Let the lips be without sound.

The deceitful ones speak lawlessness against the righteous. He does not cast them down; rather, he blesses them; for he did not say, 'Let their lips become silent.' The 'deceitful ones' become silent when they are deprived of devilish words. Their lips are not entirely silenced, but rather 'the deceitful ones'. Having cast away the deceitful word, they otherwise speak with boldness and truth. Thus it is said: 'The Lord will destroy all deceitful lips and the loud-sounding tongue' (Psalm 12:3). When the loud-sounding tongue—that is, the word—is destroyed, that from which it is destroyed, the person then speaks the remaining word of God.

19 In pride and contempt. Since 'of the righteous' lies absolutely, it can mean both of a righteous man and of a righteous matter, concerning which it is said: 'Rightly the just' (Psalm 115:3). But he who speaks against the righteous and against him who possesses it and is convinced by it, speaks in pride and contempt; for then their lips become silent when they know what kind of lowliness they are, when they know that the one whom they will despise is not worthy of contempt.

20 How great is the multitude of your goodness, Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you. Since it seemed to someone to speak in a strange way, but looking into the intention of the speaker, we say that they are not curses, but rather blessings. And you wish for them to be found good. Since it happened that those not ignoring the goodness and the end of the saved were being rubbed, you hid it from those who fear you. But he says 'fearing' here to mean those having the punishing fear, not the righteous, nor those having that fear which has no deficiency, nor those surpassing all. He says: since your goodness is inborn with your goodness, and you do all for the salvation of all, and you make the dark things and the falling of someone dark to be dark, but because those being rubbed through carelessness were going to be harmed, you hid it from those who fear you, not...