The Darkness of Perishing vs. the Light of Truth
He drove them away according to the psalm: 'They drove You from my hand' (Ps 52:11). And he says that the pretext for them being distanced from Him is that they made an abomination for themselves. For the Jews, having become sinners, considered piety to be an abomination; for piety is an abomination to a sinner. Therefore, they also made the mystery-initiating abomination of this piety an abomination to themselves, not being of such a kind.
'I was handed over and was not delivered away.' For the Savior was not immediately handed over by them unto death and departed, leaving them nothing remaining to them in the providing of a way for repentance. For it was necessary for them to be perceptive, just as His eyes are said to be, and they grew weak as if to see Him no longer. Because of this he says, 'My eyes have grown weak from poverty' (Ps 102:3). For the cause of the weakness is that spiritual poverty has come upon them, for they desired the flesh and, taking everything written according to the letter, they grasped it.
How then can His eyes, the perceptive ones of Israel, be able? This will become clear to you once you understand: 'You are the body of Christ and members in part' (1 Cor 12:27). Just as those who believed according to the Gospel fulfill the body of Christ—just as the perceptive ones are the eyes, the understanding ones are the hearers, and the practical ones are called the hands—so also, before the manifestation, those holding to the Scriptures were the body of the Word of God according to the stated analogy.
Psalm 87:11-13 'Can a voice be read thus: Will you not do wonders for the unfeeling ones, and will you not perform wonders for the dead who have lost the power to grasp?' For these things happen to those who perceive and are able to marvel, not to those who fight against God, the impious, and because of this they remain unrepentant. For no one will pray for them.
'There shall be a resurrection upon your confession.' For those who happen to be God-fighters are not of a nature to confess. And regarding 'resurrection' here, he is not speaking of the most common sense (for all shall partake of this), but of the one occurring through repentance, as it is said: 'Does not he who falls not rise again?' (Luke 15:18). It is possible to decide: 'Will you not do wonders for the dead?' Only, he is not saying, 'Will you not do wonders for those who have been deadened by other gods,' since even those who become gods by fighting against God will not rise upon the...
To confess. For no one says that to those who have despaired and to those hidden in tombs, the announced mercy of you will be recounted to the living who desire to be shown mercy, but nor will your truth be recounted to those who are making a work of perishing and because of this are named perishing. For the Word recounts the mercy to those whose nature is to be shown mercy (for they are not those who show mercy to neighbors; for they say, 'Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy'), but also the truth is not recounted in perishing, but to those who have passed over it and have reached salvation. The wonderful things are not to be known in darkness. Those held by superfluous wickedness and ignorance are darkness. For darkness is said of some, but also a land forgotten and a heart unremembered, being filled with thorns of pleasures and worldly cares. The wonderful things of the truth are not to be known in this, nor is practical justice and moral virtue in the land forgotten because of the thorns.
It is fitting for Jesus to speak with boldness, 'Why, Lord, have you rejected my prayer?' (Ps 87:15), for it is not that you have rejected my prayer and turned your face away from me because I have sinned at all; therefore, having received my petition, lead all into salvation, for whom I intercede, shining upon them with your face. When the rich one, who labored for us, became poor for our sake, toiling for our salvation, the text says, not saying at all that he is poor, but from youth. For being rich and existing in the form of God, having emptied himself in this present age, he became poor, from the time he was born and had age; and having been lifted up to the cross and having been humbled, and his body having been laid into the tomb, it seemed to be vanishing, causing many who believed in him to stumble, but having risen from the dead, he was lifted up again into the heavens, having been taken up so as to draw to himself those who are able no longer to see him as poor and toiling because of the humanization, but as rich and the icon of the invisible God (Ps 87:16-17). Since the Lord who became human bears the face of the many sinning of all humanity (for he took up the...)
Greek
ἀπώσατο αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὸ Αὐτοὶ ἐκ τῆς χειρός σου ἀπώσθησαν. ο θεν καὶ τὴν πρόφασιν τοῦ μεμακρῦνθαι αὐτοὺς ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀπαγγέλλων φησὶν Εθεντό με βδέλυγμα ἑαυτοῖς. ἁμαρτωλοὶ γὰρ γενόμενοι οἱ ̓Ιουδαῖοι βδελυκτὴν τὴν θεοσέβειαν ἡγοῦντο· Βδέλυγμα γὰρ ἁμαρτωλῷ θεοσέβεια. διὸ καὶ τὸν ταύτης μυσταγωγὸν βδέλυγμα ἑαυτοῖς ε θεντο οὐκ ο ντα τοιοῦτον. Παρεδόθην καὶ οὐκ ἐξεπορευόμην. οὐ γὰρ εὐθὺς παραδοθεὶς ὑπ' αὐτῶν εἰς θάνατον ὁ σωτὴρ ἐξεπορεύθη, καταλιμπάνων αὐτοὺς ε τι παραμένων αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ παρέχειν μετανοίας τρόπον. ῃ δει γὰρ αὐτοὺς διορατικοὺς ει ναι, ὡς καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ λέγεσθαι οι καὶ ἠσθένησαν ὡς μηκέθ' ὁρᾶν αὐτόν. διὰ τοῦτό φησιν Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ἠσθένησαν ἀπὸ πτωχείας. αἰτία γὰρ τῆς ἀσθενείας αὐτοῖς ἡ πνευματικὴ πτωχεία γεγένηται, η ν ε χειν ἐπεπόθησαν καὶ κατὰ τὸ γράμμα πάντα τὰ γεγραμμένα ἐκλαμβάνοντες. πῶς δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ διορατικοὶ τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ ει ναι δύνανται, ε σται σοι σαφῶς ἐπιστήσαντι τῷ ̔Υμεῖς δέ ἐστε σῶμα Χριστοῦ καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέρους. ὡς γὰρ οἱ πιστεύσαντες κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον συμπληροῦσι τὸ Χριστοῦ σῶμα, ὡς τοὺς μὲν διορατικοὺς ει ναι ὀφθαλμούς, τοὺς δὲ συνετοὺς ἀκροατὰς ω τα, ε τι μὴν τοὺς πρακτικοὺς χεῖρας καλεῖσθαι, ου τω καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας οἱ ταῖς γραφαῖς ἐπανέχοντες σῶμα τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου ὑπῆρχον κατὰ τὴν εἰρημένην ἀναλογίαν. 875 Ps 87,11–13 ∆ύναται πεῦσις ἀναγινώσκεσθαι ου τως· μὴ τοῖς ἀναισθητοῦσι καὶ τὸ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι ἀπολέλασι νεκροῖς ου σι ποιήσεις θαυμάσια; ταῦτα γὰρ τοῖς αἰσθανομένοις καὶ θαυμάσαι δυναμένοις γίνεται ὁμοίως, μὴ τοῖς θεομάχοις γίγασιν εἰς θεὸν ἀσεβοῦσι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀμετανοήτως ε χουσιν. οὐδεὶς γὰρ προσεύξεται περὶ αὐτῶν. ̓Ανάστασις ε σται ἐπὶ τῷ ἐξομολογήσασθαί σοι. οὐ γὰρ πεφύκασι ῃ θεομάχοι τυγχάνουσιν ἐξομολογεῖσθαι. ἀνάστασιν δ' ἐνταῦθα οὐ τὴν κοινοτέραν νοουμένην λέγει (πάντες γὰρ μεθέξουσι ταύτης), ἀλλὰ τὴν κατὰ μετάνοιαν γινομένην καθ' η ν λέγεται Μήτι ὁ πεσὼν οὐκ ἀνίσταται; ∆υνατὸν ἀπόφασιν ει ναι Μὴ τοῖς νεκροῖς ποιήσεις θαυμάσια· μόνον οὐχὶ λέγων Μὴ τοῖς νεκρωθεῖσι τῷ α λλοις θεοῖς προσέχειν ποιήσεις θαυμάσια, ἐπείπερ οὐδὲ γίγαντες διὰ τοῦ θεομαχεῖν ο ντες ἀναστήσονται ἐπὶ τῷ ἐξομολογήσασθαι. οὐδεὶς γάρ φησι τοῖς ἀπελπισθεῖσι καὶ η δη ἐν τάφοις συγκεκρυμμένοις διηγήσεται τὸ ε λεός σου ἀπαγγελλόμενον τοῖς ζῶσι καὶ ἐλεηθῆναι ποθοῦσιν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου ει ποιεν α ν τις τοῖς ἀπωλείας ε ργα ποιοῦσι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀπώλειαν ὀνομαζομένοις. διηγεῖται γὰρ ὁ λόγος τὸ ε λεος τοῖς πεφυκόσιν ἐλεεῖσθαι (ου τοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ ἐλεοῦντες τοὺς πέλας· Μακάριοι γάρ φησιν οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ο τι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται), ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν οὐκ ἐν τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς μεταστᾶσιν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπὶ σωτηρίαν ἐφθακόσιν. Μὴ γνωσθήσεται ἐν τῷ σκότει τὰ θαυμάσια. οἱ ὑπὸ περιττῆς κακίας καὶ ἀγνοίας κεκρατημένοι σκότος εἰσίν. η τε γὰρ σκότος πρός τινας ει ρηται ἀλλὰ καὶ γῆ ἐπιλελησμένη καὶ ἀμνημόνευτος ἡ καρδία ἡ ἀκανθῶν πεπληρωμένη οὐσῶν ἡδονῶν καὶ μεριμνῶν βιωτικῶν. οὐ γνωσθήσεται ου ν ἐν τούτοις σκότος ου σι τὰ θαυμάσια τῆς ἀληθείας ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡ πρακτικὴ καὶ ἠθικὴ ἀρετὴ ἐν τοῖς διὰ τὰς ἀκάνθας γενομένοις ἐπιλελησμένη γῆ. 876 Ps 87,15 ̔Αρμόζει τῇ ̓Ιησοῦ παρρησίᾳ τὸ εἰπεῖν Ινα τί, κύριε, ἀπωθεῖς τὴν προσευχήν μου; οὐ γάρ ἐστιν αι τιόν τι δι' ο ἀπωθεῖς τὴν προσευχήν μου καὶ ἀποστρέφεις τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, οὐδαμῶς μου ἡμαρτηκότος· διὸ προσδεξάμενός μου τὴν εὐχὴν πάντας εἰς σωτηρίαν α γαγε, ὑπὲρ ω ν πρεσβεύομαι, ἐπιλάμπων αὐτοῖς τὸ πρόσωπόν σου. 877 Ps 87,16 Οτε δι' ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσε πλούσιος ω ν ἐπόνησέ τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κάμνων ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡμετέρας σωτηρίας, ἐρεῖ τὸ προκείμενον, οὐ καθάπαξ λέγων πτωχὸς ει ναι ἀλλ' ἐκ νεότητος. πλούσιος γὰρ καὶ ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων ἑαυτὸν κενώσας ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι πτωχὸς γέγονεν, ἐξότε ἐτέχθη καὶ ἡλικίαν ε χειν η ρξατο· ὑψωθεὶς δ' ἐπὶ τὸν σταυρὸν καὶ 175 ταπεινωθείς, ο τε εἰσήχθη εἰς τὸ μνῆμα τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ, ε δοξεν ἐξαπορεῖσθαι σκανδαλιζομένων πολλῶν τῶν πιστευσάντων αὐτῷ, ἀλλ' ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστὰς πάλιν ὑψώθη εἰς οὐρανούς, ἀναληφθεὶς ὡς ἑλκύσαι πρὸς αὐτὸν τοὺς δυναμένους μηκέτι πτωχὸν αὐτὸν ὁρᾶν καὶ κάμνοντα διὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν ἀλλὰ πλούσιον καὶ ο ντα εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου. 878 Ps 87,17.18 ̓Επεὶ τὸ πάσης τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος πολλὰ ἁμαρτούσης πρόσωπον φέρει ὁ ἐνανθρωπήσας κύριος (ἀνέλαβε γὰρ τὰς
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
Original English Translation — new OET from PG Greek.
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Khazarzar scan
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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