Fragments on the Psalms · §85

The Stability of God and the Shaking of Nations

a mustard seed

The Lord is in the midst of her, in the midst of threats (Ps 45:6). There is another scripture saying, 'God will help her with His face.' For He preserves her beauty, which is both vulnerable and incorruptible, the intelligible beauty; clearly, the intellect will receive disturbance from opposing things. For when the soul holds faith within itself as unassailable and assigns to itself the refinements of all virtue, the intellect possesses beauty and Christ Himself is revealed to it. Since the immediate, visible, and unchangeable is set aside, the Church, he says, will not be persuaded by this; for He preserves her beauty.

He calls the nations the hordes of demons warring against her (Ps 45:7). And when these see the incarnate appearance of the Savior, they are troubled against His Church and are filled with dread. Furthermore, the falling of the seven kingdoms over which death and sin reigned will follow. Even if you call those reigning 'kingdoms,' they too have fallen, flowing from error into the knowledge of truth and from wickedness into virtue.

Regarding the silence of God, the earthly and material things seem to have stability and standing, being shaken by God's having given a voice (Ps 45:8). For if God assists the intellect, immediately everything earthly is moved. And upon God having given the voice according to the Gospel, the earth has been shaken, with all customs, local laws, useful things, and even the impious deception being changed; the nations are troubled and the kingdoms are falling. While the earth is shaken, we are courageous, having the Lord of powers with us, the God of Jacob taking hold of us (Ps 45:9). Just as he who does the works of Abraham is His child, so he who imitates the asceticism of Jacob becomes His son, having an understanding from the God of Jacob.

And the Holy Spirit calls upon the acute minds for the understanding of these things.

Greek

̓Εὰν ε χητε ε φη πίστιν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, οὐ μόνον τὸ τῆς συκῆς ποιήσετε, ἀλλὰ κα ν τῷ ο ρει τούτῳ ει πητε Αρθητι καὶ βλήθητι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, οὐδὲν ἀδυνατήσει ὑμῖν· δεικνύμενον δὲ ο ρος ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος οὐκ α λλο παρεκτὸς τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως. καὶ γὰρ περὶ τοῦ κινοῦντος τὸν σεληνιασμὸν δαίμονος πάλιν ει πεν ̓Εὰν ε χητε πίστιν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, ἐρεῖτε τῷ ο ρει τούτῳ μεταβῆναι ἐντεῦθεν ἐκεῖ, τὴν τελειοτάτην πίστιν κόκκῳ σινάπεως παραβάλλων. καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀπόστολος ̓Εὰν ε χω φησὶν πᾶσαν πίστιν ω στε ο ρη μεθιστάνειν. 473 Ps 45,4b Τῇ Χριστοῦ 92 κραταιότητι ἐταράχθη τὰ πονηρὰ πνεύματα, ψυχῶν καὶ σωμάτων τῶν προκατεσχημένων ἐλαυνόμενα. μέγα γὰρ ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς τὰ ο ρη ταῦτα φρονοῦντα, ἐξαπιναίως ἰδόντα τὸν μετ' ἐξουσίας ἐλαύνοντα ἐνέπεσον εἰς ταραχήν. 474 Ps 45,5a Πόλιν θεοῦ η τοι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν η τὴν ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ τὴν ἐπουράνιον νομιστέον λέγεσθαι. Ταύτην τὴν ἑκατέρως χρηματίζουσαν πόλιν τοῦ θεοῦ εὐφραίνουσιν τὰ ὁρμήματα τοῦ ποταμοῦ. ποταμὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ὁ ἐξ ̓Εδὲμ τῆς θείας τρυφῆς ἐκπορευόμενος καὶ πάντα τὸν πνευματικὸν παράδεισον ἐπάρδων καὶ πάντας καλῶν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν Ει τις διψᾷ, ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω· ὁρμήματα δ' αὐτοῦ αἱ κατὰ μέρους διδασκαλίαι η ε ννοιαι α ς ὑποβάλλει τῇ ψυχῇ. 475 Ps 45,5b ̔Ο υ ψιστος κατ' οὐσίαν α γιος ὑπάρχων μεταδοτικὸς ἁγιότητός ἐστιν· ο θεν ἁγιάζει πάντας τοὺς ἐν οι ς κατασκηνοῖ, σκήνωμα αὐτοῦ καλουμένους. δύναται δὲ καὶ ο ἀνέλαβε σῶμα ἐκ τῆς παρθένου σκήνωμα αὐτοῦ τυγχάνον ἁγιάζειν ἐν αὐτῷ γεγενημένου. συνῳδὸν τούτῳ Τὸ γεννώμενον ἐν σοὶ α γιον κληθήσεται υἱὸς θεοῦ ζῶντος. 476 Ps 45,6a ̔Ο θεὸς ἐν μέσῳ τῆς πόλεως ἱδρυμένος οὐ σαλευθήσεται, οὐ καταλιμπάνων αὐτὴν διὰ τὴν προσοῦσαν αὐτῇ ἀναμαρτησίαν. σαλεύεται γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων· ο θεν καὶ τῷ ̓Αδὰμ τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν περιπατῶν εὑρίσκεται, καὶ ἐν τῷ Ζαχαρίᾳ φησὶν Πορεύσεται ἐν σάλῳ ἀπειλῆς ὁ κύριος. 477 Ps 45,6b ̔Ετέρα δ' ἐστὶν γραφὴ ἡ λέγουσα Βοηθήσει αὐτῇ ὁ θεὸς τῷ προσώπῳ. σῴζει γὰρ αὐτῆς τὸ κάλλος α τρωτόν τε καὶ ἀπαράφθορον, τὸ νοητὸν δηλονότι ο τ' α ν ταραχὴν δέξηται τῶν ἀντικειμένων. ε ως μὲν γὰρ ἀδιάβλητον ε χει τὴν πίστιν ἐν ἑαυτῇ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἁπάσης ἀρετῆς ὡραϊσμοὺς ἑαυτῇ περιτίθησιν, κάλλος ε χει τὸ νοητὸν ῳ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιγάνυται Χριστός. παρενεχθεῖσά γε μὴν τοῦ εἰκότος παραχρῆμα τὸ εἰδεχθὲς καὶ ἀτερπὲς ε χει, ἀλλ' οὐ πείσεται τοῦτο, φησίν, ἡ ἐκκλησία· σῴζει γὰρ αὐτῆς τὸ κάλλος. 478 Ps 45,7a Εθνη τὰ στίφη τῶν κατ' αὐτῆς στρατευομένων δαιμόνων ὀνομάζει. ο τ' α ν ου ν ταῦτα θεάσωνται τοῦ σωτῆρος τὴν ε νσαρκον ἐπιφάνειαν, ταράττονται κατὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκκλησίας η καὶ δέους πληροῦνται. τηνικαῦτα δὲ ἀκολουθήσει καὶ τὸ κλιθῆναι τὰς ψεκτὰς βασιλείας καθ' α ς ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία. εἰ δὲ καὶ βασιλείαν λέγοις τοὺς βασιλευομένους, ἐκλίθησαν καὶ ου τοι ἐκ πλάνης εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας καὶ ἐκ κακίας εἰς ἀρετὴν ῥέψαντες. 479 Ps 45,7b.8 Σιωπῶντος θεοῦ βεβαιότητα καὶ στάσιν ε χειν δοκεῖ τὰ γήϊνα καὶ ὑλικὰ πράγματα, κλονούμενα θεοῦ φωνὴν δεδωκότος· ο τ' α ν γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ἐμβοήσῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ, εὐθὺς μετακινεῖται ταύτης πᾶν ει τι γεῶδες. Καὶ ἐπὶ θεοῦ τὴν κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον φωνὴν δεδωκότος ἡ γῆ σεσάλευται, μετατιθεμένων ἁπάντων τῶν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐθῶν, νομίμων πατρίων, χρηστηρίων καὶ ει τι ε τερον τῆς δυσσεβοῦς ἀπάτης, ταραττομένων τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ κλινουσῶν τῶν βασιλειῶν· τῆς γῆς σαλευομένης, ἡμεῖς θαρροῦμεν μεθ' ἑαυτῶν ε χοντες τὸν τῶν δυνάμεων κύριον ἀντιλαμβανόμενον ἡμῶν τὸν θεὸν ̓Ιακώβ. Ωσπερ δὲ ὁ ποιῶν τὰ ε ργα τοῦ ̓Αβραὰμ τέκνον αὐτοῦ ἐστιν, ου τως ὁ τὴν α σκησιν τοῦ ̓Ιακὼβ μιμούμενος τυγχάνει υἱὸς αὐτοῦ, ἀντίληψιν ε χων παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ̓Ιακώβ. 480 Ps 45,9a Καλεῖ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ α γιον ἐπὶ τὴν τούτων κατανόησιν τοὺς ὀξὺ

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