Pretexts for Sin and the Victory of the Word
Men make excuses for their sins alongside those who practice lawlessness. For if my heart were kept by your guarding, I would not be joined with the chosen ones among men who practice lawlessness. And these chosen ones are those who use pretexts upon which they act wickedly, being worse than those without pretexts who lawlessly act without covering. For these are not like those who sin while knowing, who seem to hold ignorance or weakness as a pretext, but like those who lawlessly act while knowing. If, through the things set forth, the one praying says, 'No cause, O Lord, should exist, as if through ignorance, or force, or weakness, that my heart should be turned toward words of wickedness through any pretext upon which one sins,' how might he not also avoid being joined with the chosen ones among men who practice lawlessness? (Ps 140:5b). In this, the ruling principle, as if the head of the soul, must be considered to signify the head.
Understand also this: what else are the chosen ones who practice lawlessness but those in good will, or false doctrines and evil dispositions, whom you would deem worthy of having your own prayer become a means to be exposed and cast out? (Ps 140:5c–8a). For in these things his prayer becomes nothing other than a request to God for their overthrow and destruction. Therefore, regarding his worthiness, manage the matter. For the strong ones among the men practicing lawlessness, being the same as their chosen ones, were crushed, as the divine Scripture has often interpreted the Word of God approaching them as a rock. And a symbol of having conquered is to swallow up; for it is said, 'Death was crushed into victory,' and 'That the mortal might be swallowed up by life,' but also 'Aaron's rod swallowed up theirs'; it says the rods of the sophists and the vainglorious, by the victory of the scepter of divine truth.
the scepters of the phalanx
Greek
προφασίζεσθαι ἐν ἁμαρτίαις σὺν τοῖς ἐργαζομένοις τὴν ἀνομίαν ἀνθρώποις. εἰ γὰρ τηρηθείη ἡ καρδία μου ὑπὸ τῆς σῆς φυλακῆς, οὐδὲ συνδυασθήσομαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν τῶν τὴν ἀνομίαν ἐργαζομένων ἀνθρώπων. ἐκλεκτοὶ δὲ τούτων ει εν οἱ σκηπτόμενοι προφάσεις ἐφ' οι ς δρῶσιν κακῶς, χειρόνων ο ντων τῶν α νευ προφάσεως καὶ ἀνεπικαλύπτως ἀνομούντων. ου τοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ μετὰ τοῦ γινώσκειν ἁμαρτάνοντες, τῶν α γνοιαν η ἀσθένειαν προφασιζομένων προύχειν δοκούντων τῶν φανερῶς καὶ μετὰ τοῦ εἰδέναι ἀνομούντων. ει ποιεν ου ν διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ὁ εὐχόμενος Μηδεμία αἰτία, ω δέσποτα, ὑπάρξοι ὡς δι' α γνοιαν δῆθεν η βίαν η ἀσθένειαν ἐκκλῖναι τὴν καρδίαν μου εἰς λόγους πονηρίας ου ς προενέγκοιτό τις προφασιζόμενος ἐφ' οι ς ἁμαρτάνει, ο πως μηδὲ ἀκολουθήσῃ τὸ συνδυᾶσαι μετὰ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν τῶν τὴν ἀνομίαν ἐργαζομένων ἀνθρώπων. 1230 Ps 140,5b Κεφαλὴν δὲ ἐν τούτοις τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν ὡσανεὶ κεφάλαιον τῆς ψυχῆς τυγχάνον σημαίνεσθαι νομιστέον. 1231 Ps 140,5c–8a Νοήσεις καὶ ου τως· τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν τίνες α λλαι ει εν εὐδοκίαι η ψευδοδοξίαι καὶ πονηραὶ διαθέσεις, ω ν ει σω τὴν ἑαυτοῦ προσευχὴν ἀξιοῖ γενέσθαι ἐπὶ τῷ διελεγχθείσας καθαιρεθῆναι; ἐν ταύταις γὰρ ἡ προσευχὴ αὐτοῦ οὐκ α λλως γίνεται η αἰτουμένου θεοῦ ἀνατροπὴν καὶ κατάλυσιν αὐτῶν. διὸ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀξίωσιν αὐτοῦ ᾠκονόμησε τὸ πρᾶγμα. οἱ γὰρ κραταιοὶ τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν ἀνθρώπων οἱ αὐτοὶ τυγχάνοντες τοῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς αὐτῶν κατεπόθησαν, ἐγγίσαντος αὐτοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου ο ν πέτραν πολλάκις ἡρμήνευσεν ἡ θεία γραφή. σύμβολον δὲ τοῦ νενικῆσθαι τὸ καταπίνεσθαι· ου τω γὰρ ει ρηται καὶ τὸ Κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος, καὶ τὸ Ινα καταποθῇ τὸ θνητὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ζωῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Κατέπιεν ἡ ῥάβδος ̓Ααρὼν τὰς ἐκείνων· φησὶ δὲ τὰς τῶν σοφιστῶν καὶ ἐπαοιδῶν ῥάβδους, νικῶντος τοῦ σκήπτρου τῆς θεϊκῆς ἀληθείας καὶ σοφίας τὰ σκῆπτρα τῆς φάλαγγος. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τοὺς α ρχοντας τούτου τοῦ αἰῶνος σοφίαν ἐπαγγελλομένους καὶ τῶν α λλων δαιμόνων τὸ στῖφος κραταιοὺς τῶν κατὰ κακίαν πεποιωμένων ἐρεῖς, καὶ ου τοι τῷ Χριστῷ τῇ πέτρᾳ συνεγγίσαντες καταποθήσονται, ἀφανιζόμενοι καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ει ναι ἀποδεικνύμενοι τῇ παρουσίᾳ Χριστοῦ ἀπολλύντος τὴν σοφίαν τῶν σοφῶν καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν τῶν συνετῶν ἀθετοῦντος, τῶν δὲ αἰσθητῶν σπερμάτων χρῃζόντων εἰς ἀροτριαθεῖσαν καὶ σχισθεῖαν γῆν καταβληθῆναι ἐπὶ τῷ εἰς τὴν γῆν κρυβέντα τὰς ῥίζας εἰς βάθος βαλεῖν. ου τως γὰρ καὶ καρποφορῆσαι ἀσφαλῶς στηριχθέντα ταῖς ῥίζαις δυνήσεται τὰ τῶν ἁγίων ῥήματα α θεόθεν ε σχον τυγχάνοντα σπέρματα πνευματικά. τοσαύτην ε χει δύναμιν ὡς μὴ μόνον ῥιζῶσαι καὶ καρποφορῆσαι ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀρότρου χρείαν 261 ἀποπληροῦν· παντοδύναμα γὰρ ο ντα ἀρδεύσει, ἀροτριάσει τὴν γῆν καὶ πάντα ποιήσει ο σα ἐνέργεια γεωργικὴ πράξει, ι να μετὰ τοῦτο ῥιζώσαντα τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς ἀρετῆς πληρέστατα ἀποδῷ γενήματα. ἀληθῶς γὰρ τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα ου τως ἐστὶ δυνατὰ ὡς τὰς παχυνθείσας καὶ λιθωθείσας διανοίας διαρρηγνῦναι ἐπὶ τῷ διαδύντα διὰ κατανύξεως ῥιζῶσαι, ἀφ' η ς ὡς ἀπὸ ἀσφαλοῦς ῥίζης ἀποδοθήσεται ὁ διὰ πράξεων καὶ νοημάτων ἀρίστων καρπός. Φέρεται δὲ καὶ ἑτέρα γραφὴ ου τως ε χουσα· Κατεπόθησαν ἐχόμενα πέτρας οἱ κριταὶ αὐτῶν. ου τοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ δι' ἐξετάσεως καὶ διαιρέσεως ω ν μετέρχονται λόγων κρίνοντες δῆθεν τὰ πράγματα· οι τινες οὐχ ε τεροι τῶν κραταιῶν ο ντες ἐχόμενα τῆς πέτρας γινόμενοι καταπίνονται, τῶν κηρύκων τῆς ἀληθείας οὐ καταπινομένων ἀλλ' ἑστηκότων ἐπ' αὐτῆς καὶ ὑψουμένων ( Εστησε γὰρ ἐπὶ πέτραν τοὺς πόδας μου, καὶ ̓Εν πέτρᾳ υ ψωσέ με) καὶ προσέτι καὶ πινόντων ἀπ' αὐτῆς· Επινον γὰρ ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας, ἡ δὲ πέτρα η ν ὁ Χριστός. ̓Οστᾶ δὲ ψυχῆς ῥητέον τὰς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις καθὰ
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)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.