Quietude and the Eyes of the Soul

He says it is either the life to come or the life without toil, by transitioning from the burdensome things. And the luminous life is found being enlightened by the 'sun of righteousness' (Mal 4:2). It has been said: 'In the morning I will stand by you and watch' (Ps 46:5). And it shall be certain to you that there is hope for you. And again he says that he believes from the preparation concerning the hoped-for good things.

These things indeed [are...] it is clear that the soul follows the divine hopehes to 'live according to God' (Acts 13:36) follows the eternal, just as Paul says: 'now faith, hope, love remain' (Gal 5:26). And from the absence of anxiety and care, peace is revealed to you. He says this, that having been freed from the burdensome and painful things through the hope having come from the preparation, 'peace is revealed to you,' saying peace as the rest from circumstances.

And we have in the divine writings things said concerning peace of the kind according to the soul, concerning which it is said: 'great peace is in those who love you, and there is no stumbling block in them' (Isa 26:3). And this, being the tranquility of the soul, is the fruit of the Spirit: 'for the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace' (Gal 5:22). From this they are blessed, concerning whom it is said: 'blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God' (Matt 5:9).

For when anyone 'casts his own care upon the Lord' (1 Pet 5:7), he shall have this peace; but the sinner shall not be in this peace, 'for all the life of the ungodly is in anxiety' (Job 21:5) being disturbed. And you shall be at rest, and he who wars against you shall not be, but many, changing their minds, shall entreat you. Understand, if again this one says that he no longer is insulted as a worthless man through any kind of maltreatment; the fact that this is coming implies 'but many, changing, shall entreat you,' signifying that those who formerly rushed against you shall entreat you because of the change in you.

And the peace which is principally the tranquility of the soul is given to the holy one, the Word saying: 'every man shall rest under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall terrify him' (Mic 4:4). And this is not sensually; but he who has the practical life, signified by the fig tree, and the contemplative, which is signified by the vine—being a poetic thing of gladness—is therefore fearless, not having a deceiver to terrify him or demons. But he who is in malice does not rest here, even in that of the thought...

Being tossed about by passions and demons. Furthermore, regarding Cain, it has been said that one ought not to be moved: 'You have sinned, be still' (Gen 4:7). For quietude of tranquility is a dwelling in human nature, whereas disorder is an intruder.

And now a symbol is interpreted as the soul dwelling in the earth: 'The earth was afraid and was still when God arose for judgment' (Ps 46:6). For when those doing earthly things become through the fear of judgment in repentance, they take up quietude instead of disturbance, hearing: 'And you will be still, without fear of every evil' (Ps 112:4), and salvation will remain for them.

It is hinted that those who fight of old are abandoned by salvation, the remnant of the righteous human being having become lost; and it is clear that they considered the salvation they had clothed themselves with to be the evils of those they fight against, both against soul and body. For their hope is destruction. Regarding the evil-doers, he says that expectation is destruction; he might say that their expectation is not exactly that which they themselves are expecting, but as that which follows having that expectation; just as we say to one falling into punishment: 'You brought these things upon yourself,' not that he himself set this forth, but that he followed it.

'But the eyes of the ungodly will be dimmed' (Ps 35:8). Perhaps he hints at the envious and their sorrow which comes upon the change of having fallen into misfortune, as he wrote. But he does not speak of these eyes—for many of the ungodly remained sharp-sighted until their later breath—but of the eyes of the soul.

You have in the divine writings concerning the eyes of man: 'The commandment of the Lord is a bright light, enlightening eyes' (Prov 6:23), meaning that God's commandments save the eyes of the inner man, even if they are blind. Having understood, Job says: 'Are you then men? Or will wisdom end with you?' (Job 9:10). He says: 'You are indeed men, but thinking great things about yourselves and regarding yourselves as the only men, you think that wisdom remains until you; but you suppose that you can grasp the judgments of God and decide something about them; and in reality, it surpasses human things.' For he says, 'Your judgments are a great abyss' (Job 9:12). But Paul also writes that these things are 'unsearchable' (Rom 11:33). And it is shown through 'will wisdom end with you?' that the wisdom of God is not limited to the human.