The Unshakable Word and the Human Economy
Such a measuring line an angel holds in his hand to the prophet Zechariah, in order to measure how much the length and width of the true Jerusalem is. Furthermore, it is said: 'For indeed my inheritance is most strong for me,' (Ps 15:5) signifying through this that my inheritance truly becomes the most beautiful.
According to this, the signified 'strongest' is the God, whom Luke the evangelist writes about. Let no one consider the spoken word unsuitable for Christ (Ps 15:7). For if he needed an angelic measurement to show the human, what time would that be? If he was being wise regarding divinity from nature, being wise as God and source of wisdom, yet being wise as a man.
Since the following are said from the face of Christ (Ps 15:8), and the saying—the face from the Lord is my portion of inheritance (Ps 15:8)—is preserved without any change, whoever takes these verses spoken by the Lord does not sin. But those not having their thoughts about God properly ordered take them locally: that the Son is at the right hand of the Father because of 'Sitting at my right hands,' and that the Savior has sat after the ascension at the right hands of majesty, which is impossible to say. For if the Son is at the right hand of the Father locally, it is impossible for the Father to be at the right hand of the Son according to that same meaning; but the Son says: 'I saw the Lord at my right hand' (Ps 16:8). Therefore, it is not otherwise, according to place, to miss the Son at the right of the Father and the Father of the Son, just as 'I am in the Father and the Father in me' (John 10:30) is.
It must be observed, with the Savior understood as man and God, whether it is necessary to interpret these things according to the divinity or according to his economy according to the flesh. But it is not possible to piously take that the Word of God has spoken from the face of God the Father at his right hand and before himself, in such a way that he might remain unshakeable. For the God Word is unturning, nor is he existing by any amount of turning.
Since he denies the reason for the Word not being shaken, who is in the Father and at the right hand of the Father (for he is being in the Father and having him in himself, existing at the right hand and before him), the reason becomes that he who sees him and has him at the right hand is not shaken. Since therefore he denies this, it is rather impious to take these things regarding the only-begotten Son of God apart from his economy according to the flesh; it must be spoken harmoniously, he who has become truly human and humbled himself and became poor while being rich (2 Cor 8:9). For the human has become his, made like us in all things without sin; but his flesh was not without soul, as some wrongly thought. For how could flesh not having a soul say 'he has at the right hand a God and sees him always' so as not to sin? For a sinning movement arises from being shaken.
If these things are impossible (for the body does not see God, nor does it possess the thought of him who is at the right hand and before him), it remains, according to the economy, to speak these things humanly by the Word of God having become flesh truly, perfectly, and truthfully; for he will speak all things from one person, both the God-befitting and the human, as a man indeed has become, having the God at his right hand, he will not be shaken even if bitter things surround him, or if the kings of the earth stand against him and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Christ. For indeed, not having been shaken in soul, he did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, having been tested in all things according to likeness without sin. Furthermore, it is brought forward how his heart rejoiced and his tongue exulted (Ps 34:10) over having the Lord at the right hand and before himself always. It is a praiseworthy exultation and gladness, he who does not become so because of chance things, but because of understanding.
Greek
τοιοῦτο σχοινίον α γγελος ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ κατέχων ω φθη Ζαχαρίᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ ἐπὶ τῷ μετρῆσαι πόσον τὸ μῆκος καὶ πλάτος τῆς ἀληθινῆς ̔Ιερουσαλήμ. ̔Εξῆς ἐπενήνεκται· Καὶ γὰρ ἡ κληρονομία μου κρατίστη μοί ἐστιν, σημαίνων διὰ τούτου ὡς καλλίστη ἀληθῶς ἡ κληρονομία μου τυγχάνει. κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ σημαινόμενον κράτιστος η ν ὁ Θεόφιλος, ῳ γράφει Λουκᾶς ὁ εὐαγγελίστης. Ps 15,7 Μή τις ἀνάρμοστον ἡγείσθω πρὸς Χριστὸν τὸ ῥητόν. εἰ γὰρ ἀγγελικῆς ἐδεήθη ῥοπῆς δεικνὺς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, τί καιρόν; εἰ παρὰ τῆς συμφύσεως θεότητος ἐσοφίζετο, σοφίζων μὲν ὡς θεὸς καὶ πηγὴ σοφίας, σοφιζόμενος δὲ ὡς α νθρωπος. 96 Ps 15,8.9ab ̓Επεὶ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγεται τὰ προκείμενα, φυλάττεται δὲ χωρὶς πάσης μεταβολῆς τὸ λέγον ταῦτα πρόσωπον ἀπὸ τοῦ Κύριος ἡ μερὶς τῆς κληρονομίας μου, καὶ τούτους τοὺς στίχους ὑπὸ κυρίου εἰρημένους ἐκλαμβάνων τις οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει. οἱ μὴ ε χοντες δὲ περὶ θεοῦ ἐννοίας διηρθρωμένας τοπικῶς ἐκλαμβάνουσιν ἐκ δεξιῶν ει ναι τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν υἱὸν διὰ τὸ Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, η κεκαθικέναι τὸν σωτῆρα μετὰ τὴν ἀνάληψιν ἐκ δεξιῶν τῆς μεγαλωσύνης, οι ς ἀδύνατόν τι εἰπεῖν. εἰ γὰρ ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ πατρὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοπικῶς, ἀδύνατον ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ υἱοῦ ει ναι τὸν πατέρα κατ' αὐτὸ τὸ σημαινόμενον· ἀλλὰ λέγει ὁ υἱός· Προωρώμην τὸν κύριον ἐκ δεξιῶν μου· ο θεν ἑτέρως η κατὰ τόπον ἐκληπτέον τὸν υἱὸν δεξιὸν τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τὸν πατέρα τοῦ υἱοῦ, ὡσαύτως τῷ ̓Εγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί ἐστιν. Σκοπητέον δέ, ἀνθρώπου καὶ θεοῦ α μα τοῦ σωτῆρος νοουμένου, πότερον ἐπὶ τῆς θεότητος δεῖ αὐτὰ ἑρμηνεῦσαι η ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ κατὰ σάρκα οἰκονομίας. ἀλλ' οὐ δυνατὸν εὐσεβῶς ἐκλαβεῖν ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου εἰρῆσθαι ε χειν ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἐνώπιον ἑαυτοῦ διαπαντός, ο πως ἀκλόνητος διαμείνῃ. α τρεπτος γὰρ ὁ θεὸς λόγος, οὐδὲ κατὰ ποσὸν κλόνον ὑφιστάμενος. καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀπεμφαίνει αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν τοῦ μὴ σαλευθῆναι τὸν θεὸν λόγον, ο ντος ἐν ο ψει αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ δεξιῶν διαπαντὸς τοῦ πατρὸς (αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐν τῷ πατρὶ τυγχάνων καὶ ε χων αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ἐκ δεξιῶν τινος καὶ ἐνώπιον διαπαντὸς ὑπάρχων), αι τιος καθίσταται τοῦ μὴ κλονεῖσθαι τὸν ὁρῶντα αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτὸν ε χοντα. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἀπεμφαίνει, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀσεβές ἐστιν περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτὰ ἐκλαβεῖν χωρὶς τῆς αὐτοῦ κατὰ σάρκα οἰκονομίας, ἁρμονίως ἐκδοτέον εἰρῆσθαι αὐτά, ο τε γέγονεν ἀτρέπτως α νθρωπος καὶ ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐπτώχευσεν πλούσιος ω ν. αὐτοῦ γὰρ γέγονε 27 τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ὁμοιωθὲν ἡμῖν κατὰ πάντα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ α ψυχος η ν αὐτοῦ ἡ σὰρξ, ω ς τινες ἐνόμισαν. πῶς γὰρ σὰρξ ψυχὴν οὐκ ε χουσα ἐρεῖ ἐκ δεξιῶν ε χειν θεὸν καὶ προορᾶν αὐτὸν διαπαντός, ι να μὴ ἁμαρτάνῃ; ἁμαρτητικὴ γὰρ κίνησις ἐκ τοῦ σαλευθῆναι παρίσταται. εἰ δὲ ἀδύνατα ταῦτα (σῶμα γὰρ οὐ προορᾷ θεόν, οὐ νόησιν ε χει τοῦ ο ντος ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ ἐνώπιον διαπαντός), λείπεται κατ' οἰκονομίαν ἀνθρωπίνως εἰρῆσθαι ταῦτα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου σαρκωθέντος ἀτρέπτως καὶ τελείως καὶ ἀληθῶς· ὡς ἐξ ἑνὸς γὰρ προσώπου τὰ πάντα λελέξεται, τά τε θεοπρεπῆ καὶ ἀνθρώπινα, ὡς α νθρωπος τοίνυν ο τε γέγονεν, ἐκ δεξιῶν ε χων τὸν θεὸν οὐ κλονηθείη, κα ν πικρὰ περιεστηκότα ῃ , κα ν παραστῶσιν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς καὶ συναχθῶσιν οἱ α ρχοντες ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ· ου τω γοῦν μὴ κλονηθεὶς κατὰ ψυχήν, ̔Αμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ, πειρασθεὶς κατὰ πάντα καθ' ὁμοιότητα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας. ̔Εξῆς ἐπιφέρεται ὡς ηὐφράνθη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ καὶ ἠγαλλιάσατο ἡ γλώσσα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῷ ε χειν ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ ἐνώπιον ἑαυτοῦ τὸν κύριον διαπαντός. ἐπαινετὴ ἀγαλλίασις καὶ εὐφροσύνη τυγχάνει, ο τε οὐ διά τι τῶν τυχόντων γίνεται ἀλλ' ἐπὶ κατανοήσει
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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