Confession and Beauty before God

by the incomparable superiority of creative power

Do not command them to depart into the deep abyss, having sent away a voice of pity; O God, do not torment us before the time (Ps 95:6). He who has acquired beauty through the loveliness of virtue, and presents this innate beauty with thanksgiving and confession before God, according to the one saying, 'The Lord of powers, I stood before Him' (Ps 95:6), is such; for everyone sinning flees from standing before God. For the lawless do not remain before His eyes.

Indeed, even Adam, after sinning with the woman, flees from the face of the Lord God, being ashamed, but rather fearing to be seen by Him. In this way also the Tempter goes out from the face of the Lord God, not that it is possible to flee from God and be far from His face, but because the wicked, deceiving themselves with false glory, thought they could hide from God, upon whom they act impiously; for even if they should succeed in hiding from God, it is not that they are actually hidden, but rather they possess such a disposition that, if it were possible, they would have wanted to be far from God, being ashamed of the rays of His eyes.

But the diligent, through much boldness and the freedom of the gaze before God, have stood as genuine servants of justice, saying, 'Look upon me and have mercy on me' (Ps 51:1), and 'The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His gaze upon their prayer' (Ps 34:15). Do not be troubled, since we, the ones confessing and possessing beauty before the Lord, participate in this; and often, according to the Scripture, regarding those having certain states, it is said through the analogies of those states; for the Apostle, writing to men, says concerning him and them, 'That we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Cor 5:21) (meaning clearly, in Him, Christ).

And since confession and beauty are before God, holiness and majesty shall be in His sanctuary. And it is customary by ancestral habit to call the temple of God the sanctuary of God. Since not the...

Greek

τοῖς ε θνεσι τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς λαοῖς. σωτήριον δέ φησιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν καὶ τὴν μετὰ τὸν θάνατον σωτηρίαν η καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Χριστόν. 931 Ps 95,4.5 Μέγας ὁ κύριος λέγεται οὐ κατ' ἐπίδοσιν μεγέθους καὶ ο γκου (ἀσώματος γάρ· σωμάτων δὲ ι διον τὸ πεποσῶσθαι καὶ ο γκον ε χειν) ἀλλὰ καθ' ὑπεροχὴν ἀσύγκριτον δημιουργικῆς δυνάμεως· τῶν γὰρ παμμεγέθων οὐρανῶν τυγχάνει ποιητής. εἰ δὲ τούτων πολλῷ πλέον τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων τοῦ κόσμου μερῶν, τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ μέγας ω ν ὁ κύριος, καὶ ὑμνητὸς καὶ αἰνετός ἐστι καὶ φοβερὸς ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς θεούς, τῆς Σφόδρα λέξεως κατὰ κοινοῦ τεταγμένης. καὶ εἰ μὲν καθόλου καὶ κυρίως ἐκλάβοιμεν τὴν πρόσταξιν φάσκουσαν ̓Επὶ πάντας τοὺς θεούς, συναριθμήσαιμεν καὶ τοὺς ἐπαινουμένους θεοὺς ω ν ὁ θεὸς θεός ἐστι κατὰ τὸ ̓Οφθήσεται ὁ θεὸς τῶν θεῶν ἐν Σιών, καὶ Θεὸς θεῶν κύριος ἐλάλησεν–ἐπὶ πάντας ου ν τούς τε ἐπαινουμένους καὶ διαβαλλομένους θεοὺς φοβερὸς ὁ κύριός ἐστι τῷ μέγας καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα τυγχάνειν, πάντων κριτὴς καὶ ἐξεταστὴς τυγχάνων· εἰ δὲ μὴ ἁπλῶς καθόλου ἀλλὰ περὶ μόνων τῶν θεῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἡ θέσις ει η ου τω λεγομένη, ἐπεὶ πάντες οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια ὑπάρχουσιν, ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς θεοὺς τούτους φοβερός ἐστιν ὁ μέγας καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα κύριος, κρίνων καὶ κολάσει αὐτοὺς ὑποβάλλων. εἰς ταύτην τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ τὸ ἐν ̔Ησαΐᾳ λήψῃ ̓Ολολύξατε γλυπτὰ ̔Ιερουσαλὴμκαὶ ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ τοῖς χειροποιήτοις αὐτῆς· ου τως ποιήσω καὶ ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ καὶ τοῖς γλυπτοῖς αὐτῆς. γλυπτὰ γὰρ ὀλολύξαντα οὐ τὰ α ψυχα (ἐμψύχου γὰρ τὸ ὀλολύζειν) ἀλλὰ τὰ διὰ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀγαλμάτων δηλούμενα δαιμόνια ἐκδεκτέον. Κατὰ ου ν τῶν θεῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν (ου τοι δέ εἰσι δαιμόνια) φοβερὸς ε σται ὁ κρίνων αὐτοὺς κύριος· οὐχ ἁπλῶς δέ γε θεοὶ ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν. διὸ καὶ οὐκ ἀληθῶς ο ντα θεοὶ τὰ δαιμόνια, δειλιᾷ καὶ φοβερὸν ε χοντα τὸν κύριον, παρακαλεῖ αὐτὸν μὴ ἐπιτάξαι αὐτοῖς ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν α βυσσον, οἰκτροπάτην φωνὴν ἀφιέντα ∆εόμεθά σου μὴ πρὸ καιροῦ βασανίσῃς ἡμᾶς. 932 Ps 95,6 ̔Ο διὰ τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς κάλλος ὡραιότητα κεκτημένος καὶ τὴν συμφυῆ ταύτῃ κατ' εὐχαριστίαν ἐξομολόγησιν ἐνώπιον παρίσταται θεοῦ κατὰ τὸν λέγοντα Ζῇ κύριος 195 τῶν δυνάμεων ῳ παρέστην ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, παντὸς ἁμαρτάνοντος φεύγοντος τὸ ἐνώπιον ι στασθαι θεοῦ· Οὐ διαμενοῦσι γὰρ παράνομοι κατέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ. ἀμέλει καὶ ὁ ̓Αδὰμ α μα τῇ γυναικὶ μετὰ τὸ ἁμαρτεῖν φεύγει ἀπὸ προσώπου κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ αἰσχυνόμενος, μᾶλλον δὲ φοβούμενος ὀφθῆναι αὐτῷ. ταύτῃ καὶ Καὶν ὁ ἀλάστωρ ἐξέρχεται ἀπὸ προσώπου κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, οὐχ ο τι δυνατὸν διαδρᾶναι θεὸν καὶ πόρρω τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι, ἀλλ' ο τι οἱ φαῦλοι ψευδοδοξοῦντες ἠπάτηνται ὡς οἰηθῆναι λανθάνειν θεὸν ἐφ' οι ς δυσσεβῶς ἐνεργοῦσιν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ ι σασιν ο τι λαθεῖν θεὸν οὐχ οι όν τε, ἀλλ' ου ν γε διάθεσιν τοιαύτην ε χουσιν ὡς εἰ δυνατὸν ὑπῆρχεν, ἠβούλοντο πόρρω θεοῦ ει ναι αἰσχυνόμενοι τὰς αὐγὰς τῶν ο ψεων αὐτοῦ. οἱ δέ γε σπουδαῖοι διὰ πολλὴν παρρησίαν καὶ τὸ ἐλεύθερον τοῦ βλέμματος ἐνώπιον θεοῦ γνησίων θεραπόντων δίκην ἑστήκασι, λέγοντες ̓Επίβλεψον ἐπ' ἐμὲ καὶ ἐλέησόν με, καὶ ̓Οφθαλμοὶ κυρίου ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ω τα αὐτοῦ εἰς δέησιν αὐτῶν. Μὴ ταραττέτω σε εἰ ἐξομολογήσεως καὶ ὡραιότητος ἐνώπιον κυρίου τυγχανουσῶν ἡμεῖς τὸν ἐξομολογούμενον καὶ ὡραιότητα ε χοντα ἐνώπιον κυρίου ει πομεν ει ναι, πολλάκις καὶ κατὰ τὴν γραφὴν τῶν τὰς ε ξεις ἐχόντων σημαινομένων ταῖς τῶν ε ξεων προσηγορίαις· ἀνθρώποις γὰρ γράφων ὁ ἀπόστολος περί τε αὐτοῦ κἀκείνων φησὶν Ινα γενώμεθα (δηλονότι ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ Χριστῷ) θεοῦ δικαιοσύνη. ̓Εξομολογήσεως δὲ καὶ ὡραιότητος οὐσῶν ἐνώπιον θεοῦ, ἁγιότης καὶ μεγαλοπρέπεια ὑπάρξει τῷ ἁγιάσματι αὐτοῦ. ἁγίασμα δὲ θεοῦ καλεῖν ε θος πατρίῳ συνηθείᾳ τοῖς ἐκ περιτομῆς τὸν θεοῦ ναόν. ἐπεὶ ου ν ὁ

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Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.

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