The Piercing Arrows and the Hand of God
The sword is intoxicated in heaven, regarding the promised possession of a heavenly citizenship. Such is the saying: 'Sons of the kingdom, you shall be cast into the outer darkness' (Matt 13:41-42); for they do not exist. But it is also taken as praiseworthy: 'Your arrows, having been shot, O Mighty One, shall cause peoples under you to fall' (Ps 126:4). Your words, having been shot, are directed toward passion and love; for you are powerful and you powerfully send out your words, and you direct those who are being cast by them toward love. Likewise, the soul undergoing this—that is, the Church—says: 'Pierced by love am I' (Song 8:6). Thus, the arrows are both praiseworthy and piercing. Since these were named with wrath and fury, they are not directed toward passion and love, but are producing a sensation, which brings some harm.
And you have placed your hand upon me. Often again, the punishing power is signified by the name of the hand of God; as if saying to Pharaoh: 'Now, having sent the hand, I will strike you' (Ex 7:17). And: 'Behold, the hand of the Lord shall fall upon your livestock in the fields' (Ex 9:3); for those livestock were struck down with destruction. And again it is said: 'Your hand has destroyed the nations' (Ps 18:47). When the active, creative, and covering hand of God is named, it is called 'the right hand.' For this indeed leads toward salvation. He who has experienced being guided by it says: 'You have grasped the hand of my right hand' (Ps 63:8), the power of goodness.
And there is no healing for my flesh from the presence of your wrath. The word 'flesh' means different things in Scripture, as it is used in multiple ways. It is sometimes said that 'flesh' signifies our sensory choice; for when it is said: 'I will break their stony heart from them and put a fleshy one in' (Ezek 36:26), 'stony heart' means the flinty intellect having been deprived of all sensation. In its place, a fleshy one is placed, sensory and yielding to the laws of God. Thus, the yielding and the sensory are often called flesh. And 'flesh' is also said to be being cut off from the spirit. 'Spirit' means the intention, while 'flesh' means that which is being cut off from the intention. Therefore, when someone thinks of the things of the flesh and acts and lives according to them, he is far from the spirit. But when he follows the sp...
rational departure
Greek
οὐρανῷ ἡ μάχαιρα μεμέθυσται, ἐν τοῖς ἐπαγγελλομένοις ἔχειν οὐράνιον πολιτείαν. τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν τό· "οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας, ἐκβληθήσεσθε εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον"· μὴ γὰρ οἱ ὄντες. λαμβάνεται δὲ καὶ ἐπαινετω῀̣ς· "τὰ βέλη σου ἠκονημένα, δυνατέ, λαοὶ ὑποκάτω σου πεσοῦνται". οἱ λόγοι σου οἱ τιτρώσκοντες εἰς ἔρωτα καὶ ἀγάπην ἠκονημένοι εἰσίν· δυνατὸς γὰρ εἶ καὶ δυνατῶς πέμπεις σου τοὺς λόγους καὶ τιτρώσκεις εἰς ἀγάπην τοὺς βαλλομένους. αὐτίκα γοῦν ἡ τοῦτο παθοῦσα ψυχὴ ἤτοι ἐκκλησία λέγει· "τετρωμένη ἀγάπης εἰμὶ ἐγώ". εἰσὶν οὖν καὶ ἐπαινετὰ βέλ̣η, εἰσὶν οὖν καὶ ψεκτά. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ταῦτα μετὰ ὀργῆς καὶ θυμοῦ ὠνομάσθησαν, οὔκ εἰσιν εἰς ἔρωτα καὶ ἀγάπην τιτρώσκοντα, ἀλλ' αἴσθησιν ποιοῦντα, οἷ κακῶν τίς ἐστιν. 3 καὶ ἐπεστήρισας ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὴν χεῖρά σου. πολλαχοῦ πάλιν ἡ τιμωρὸς δύναμις τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς 261 χειρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ σημαίνεται· ὡς ἐὰν λέγῃ πρὸς τὸν Φαραώθ· "νῦν ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῖρα πατάξω σε". καί· "ἰδοὺ χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπέσται ἐν τοῖς κτήνεσίν σου τοῖς ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις"· οὕτω γὰρ ὀλέθρῳ ὑπεβλήθη ἐκεῖνα τὰ κτήνη. καὶ πάλιν λέγεται· "ἡ χείρ σου ἔθνη ἐξωλέθρευσεν". ὅτε ἡ δραστήριος καὶ ποιητικὴ καὶ σκεπαστικὴ χεὶρ τοῦ θεοῦ ὀνομάζεται, "δεξιὰ" προσαγορεύεται. αὕτη γοῦν εἰς σωτηρίαν ξεναγεῖ. λέγει γοῦν ὁ πεῖραν τοῦ χειραγωγεῖσθαι ὑπ' αὐτῆς εἰληφώς· "ἐκράτησας τῆς χειρὸς τῆς δεξιᾶς μου", τῆς πρακτικῆς δυνάμεως τῶν καλῶν. 4 καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἴασις τῇ σαρκί μου ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς ὀργῆς σου. τὸ τῆς σαρκὸς ὄνομα ὁμώνυμον ὂν κατὰ τὴν γραφὴν διάφορα σημαίνει. λέγεταί ποτε ἡ σὰρξ σημαίνου̣σα τὴν αἰσθητικὴν ἡμῶν προαίρεσιν· ὅταν γὰρ λέγηται ὅτι· "ἐκσπάσω ἀπ' αὐτῶν τὴν λιθίνην αὐτῶν καρδίαν καὶ ἐνθήσω σαρκίνην", "λιθίνην καρδίαν" λέγει τὴν ἠλίθιον νόησιν τὴν πάσης αἰσθήσεως ἀφῃρημένην. ἀντὶ ταύτης ἐντίθεται σαρκίνη, αἰσθητικὴ καὶ εὔεικτος πρὸς τοὺς θεοῦ νόμους. λέγεται οὖν τὸ εὔεικτον πολλάκις καὶ αἰσθητικὸν σάρξ. λέγεται δὲ καὶ σὰρξ δια̣στελλομένη πρὸς πνεῦμα. πνεῦμα δὲ λέγει τὴν γνώμην, σάρκα δὲ τὴν πρὸς γνώμην διαστελλομένην. ὅταν τις οὖν τὰ σαρκὸς διανοῆται καὶ πράττῃ καὶ ζῇ κατ' αὐτά, μακράν ἐστιν τοῦ πνεύματος. ὅταν δὲ ἀκολουθήσῃ τῷ πνεύματι, τῇ ὀρθῇ γνώμῃ καὶ μάλιστα τῇ μετασχούσῃ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, τότε καταργεῖ τὴν σάρκα. περὶ τῆς τοιαύτης σαρκὸς καὶ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὴν διαστελλομένου πνεύματος λέγει· "ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἐστὲ ἐν σαρκὶ ἀλλ' ἐν πνεύματι". καίτοι ἦσαν ἐν σαρκί, ἐπηχθισμένοι ἔτι ἦσαν τὸ σῶμα. τῇ διαθέσει ἔξω αὐτῆς ἐγεγόνεσαν. καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ γῆς τις περιπατῶν δύναται ἐν οὐρανῷ ἔχειν τὸ πολίτευμα̣, οὕτως ἐν σαρκί τις ἔτι τυγχάνων γίνεται ἔξω αὐτῆς, ὅταν τῷ πνεύματι ἀκολουθήσῃ. καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ λεγομένη εὔλογος ἐξαγω̣γ̣ή. τινὲς δὲ ἀγνοήσαντες, πῶς οἱ σοφοὶ εἴρηκαν εὔλογον ἐξαγωγήν, πολλάκις ἐρωτηθέντες λέγουσιν· ἢ ὑπὸ λογισμῶν ἢ παθημάτων σαρκὸς ἐξηγίοχαν ἑαυτοὺς τοῦ βίου. –οὔκ ἐστιν δὲ αὕτη εὔλογος ἐξαγωγή, ἀλλ' ὅταν τις ἅγιος ὢν τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν σάρκα ἔξω αὐτοῦ γένηται τῇ σπουδῇ καὶ διαθέσει ὥστε εἰπεῖν· "οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἐν σαρκὶ ἀλλ' ἐν πνεύματι". καὶ πάλιν· "τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς ἔχθρα εἰς θεόν". "οἱ δὲ ἐν σαρκὶ ὄντες θεῷ ἀρέσαι οὐ δύνανται". παρίσταται δὲ ὅτι οὐ περὶ 172 ταύτης τῆς σαρκὸς λέγει· πάντες γὰρ οἱ ἅγιοι ἔτι ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ὄντες ἤρεσαν θεῷ. ἐστὶν τοίνυν σὰρξ ἧς ὁ ἐκτὸς γινόμενος ἀρέσκει θεῷ ἡ γνώμη ἡ ὑλικὴ ἡ φιλοπαθής. καὶ τάχα ἐάν τις ἐν πνεύματι γενόμενος ἀφῇ τὴν σάρκα, οὐδὲ ταράττεται ὀργῆς ἐπικειμένης. ὁ δὲ ἔτι ἀντιποιούμενος τοῦ ζῆν τούτου ταράττεται, ὅταν ἐπίπονόν τι προσδοκηθῇ καὶ ἐπέλθῃ. πολλάκις τὸ σύνθετον ἐξ ἑνὸς τῶν ἐν τῇ συνθέσει σημαίνεται. ὅταν λέγῃ ὁ ἅγιος· "ἱνατί περίλυπος εἶ, ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ ἱνατί συνταράσσεις με"; τότε περὶ τοῦ τιμιωτέρου ποιεῖται τὴν σημασίαν. ὅταν λέγῃ πάλιν ὅτι· "ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ". –μὴ γὰρ ἀπηλλαγμένον τῆς ψυχῆς λέγει, ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ὑποτάκτικόν ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα, ἀρχικὴ δὲ ἡ ψυχή, τὸ σῶμα ὅτε ὑπόκειται τῇ ψυχῇ ἀρχόμενον καὶ ἀρχόμενόν γε σὺν λόγῳ καὶ σὺν νόμῳ θεοῦ, ὑπωπιάζεται καὶ δουλαγωγεῖται. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ὀργὴν ἐπικειμένην ὁρῶ–τὰ γὰρ βέλη σου ἤδη̣ ἔτρωσάν με–καὶ ᾐσθήθην τούτου, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ σάρξ μου τετ̣άρακ̣ται. διὰ τοῦτο οἱ ἅγιοι οὐ δεδίασιν θάνατον ἐπίτρ̣οχόν τ̣ινα. ἐν λήθῃ τοῦ σάρκα φορεῖν γέγονεν. ὅταν δὲ ἐπ' αὐτ̣ο`̣ τ̣οῦτο σκοπῇ, ὅτι σαρκὶ ἐνδέδεται καὶ δυνατὴν σάρκα
About this text
Didymus the Blind on the Psalms.
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Khazarzar scan
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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