The Beastly State and the Proximity of God

a disposition according to quality

He turns toward other things. Ps 72:22b, 23a: 'I have become like a beast in your sight.' For just as all creatures are ignorant toward the Father of wisdom and the God of knowledge, as Moses said, 'I am the Word,' and those who do not know the God of the Word; for how would one not compare the Word and the most wise Word? In this way it is said again by Moses: 'I am not able to speak from before I began to speak to your servant; heavy of mouth and slow of tongue am I.' For it is not simply being heavy of mouth and slow of tongue and not being able for oneself, but rather after having begun to speak to your servant. In this way, Abraham spoke to the Creator: 'Since I began to speak to the Lord, I myself am earth and ashes,' he who was ignorant before speaking to God. And he stands forth through the fact that he was born, as if he were not being troubled by sin among men, but rather he perceives things not by chance, but as bringing them about by his own wise providence. And it is not by chance to say, 'I am always with you,' but only to the one possessing virtue and piety in an orderly and consistent manner, which is made straight through the intervals.

Ps 72:27, 28: 'Since God is not in a place, locally no one is separated from him, but he is far from the thought of the unrighteous and evil, and near to the righteous and good and the cause of all things; and since the approaching of virtue takes hold of him and saves, the standing away from him having badness and impiety brings destruction.' The same applies to how sin causes God to distance himself. It is fitting that it is said: 'Behold, those who distance themselves shall perish,' not that those who distance themselves should cause those who have sinned to perish by imposing an end to sin through repentance. In this way also, he who does the sin but not he who made the sin is a slave to it. Having moved many to long distances and many words about the essence of the goodise man revealed himself through brevity, saying that the good is strictly to be joined to God and to place hope upon him. And it is said that the gates of Zion are virtues and introductions into perfection, and all the daughter of Zion becomes she who is born according to her and a soul profiting toward her. Ps 73:1b: One inquires what is the cause of falling to the...

Greek

ὑψίστῳ; πεπλάνηνται δὲ νομίζοντες αὐτὸν ε χειν διάθεσιν τὴν κατὰ ποιότητα. πατὴρ γὰρ σοφίας καὶ ἀληθείας καὶ θείας ἐπιστήμης ἐστίν. ει ρηται γοῦν Θεὸς γνώσεων κύριος, καὶ ̔Ο διδάσκων α νθρωπον γνῶσιν, καὶ Κύριος γινώσκει τοὺς διαλογισμοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. καὶ πῶς ω ν καὶ διδάσκει καὶ δίδωσι λείπεται, νεμεσητικοῦ δὲ πάθους τὸ θέλειν ε καστον τῶν πρὸς ἀξίαν τυγχάνειν, τοῦ ἀληθῶς σοφοῦ τὴν εὐπραγίαν η δυσπραγίαν οὐκ ἐν ἡδέσιν η λυπηροῖς τιθεμένου, ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν ἐν ἀρετῆς κτήσει καὶ εὐσεβείας, τὴν δὲ τῇ τούτων στερήσει; ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἑκατέροις συμβαίνει ἀηδῆ τε καὶ λυπηρά, οὐκέτι ὡς εὐσεβέσιν η ἁμαρτωλοῖς τοῖς μὲν ταῦτα, τοῖς δὲ ἐκεῖνα συμβαίνει. ο περ διὰ τοῦ προκειμένου κατασκευάζεται, ὡς α ν μετὰ τὸ λεχθῆναι τὰ ταράττοντα λύσις εὐσεβὴς ἐπενεχθῇ, τοιοῦτον ἐν τῷ Μαλαχίᾳ φησὶν ὁ θεός· ̓Εβαρύνατε ἐπ' ἐμὲ τοὺς λόγους ὑμῶν καὶ ει πατε ̓Εν τίνι κατελαλήσαμέν σου; καὶ ει πατε Μάταιος ὁ δουλεύων θεῷ· καὶ ἰδοὺ μακαρίζομεν ἀλλοτρίους, καὶ ἀνοικοδομοῦνται πάντες ποιοῦντες α νομα, ἀντέστησαν θεῷ καὶ ἐσώθησαν, οὐδὲν ἡμῶν πλέον ἐχόντων τῶν δουλευόντων αὐτῷ, καίτοι ἱκέται προπορευόμενοι τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ. πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ταῦτα λέγοντας ἐπάγει μεθ' ε τερα Ει πατε Πᾶς ποιῶν πονηρά, καλὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς αὐτὸς εὐδόκησεν. 767 Ps 72,14 ...περὶ τῆς μελλούσης αἰῶνος ὡς κολασθήσονται α νομοι καὶ ἀσεβεῖς, τῶν δικαίων ἐπαγγελίας θείας ληψομένων. ∆υνατὸν ἐκλαβεῖν Καὶ ἐγενήθην μεμαστιγωμένος ο λην τὴν ἡμέραν νοήσει τοιαύτῃ· εἰρηκὼς Αρα ματαίως ἐδικαίωσα τὴν καρδίαν μου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, γνοὺς ὡς οὐκ ε δει ταραχθέντα τοῦτ' εἰπεῖν, ἐμαστίχθην ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς εὐσεβείας λογισμοῦ ο λην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐλεγχόμενος καὶ ἐπιτιμώμενος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. 768 Ps 72,19b Συνᾴδει τῷ προκειμένῳ καὶ τὸ Ει δον τὸν ἀσεβῆ ὑπερυψούμενον καὶ ἐπαιρόμενον ὡς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβανοῦ καὶ παρῆλθον, καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ η ν, καὶ ἐζήτησα αὐτόν, καὶ οὐχ εὑρέθη ὁ τόπος αὐτοῦ. 769a Ps 72,20b.21a Τὴν εἰκόνα γὰρ τοῦ χοϊκοῦ ἐξουδένωσεν ὁ θεὸς οὐκ ἐῶν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐπουράνιον πόλιν· τοῦτο γὰρ τῶν ἐχόντων τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου. γράφεται δὲ καὶ ο τι Ηὐφράνθη ἡ καρδία μου, παυσαμένη δηλονότι τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ νομίζειν πρόνοιαν ταραχῆς καὶ 146 μεταβάλλουσα πρὸς θάτερα. 770 Ps 72,22b.23a Καλῶς τὸ Κτηνώδης ἐγενόμην παρὰ σοί. ὡς γὰρ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα τῆς σοφίας καὶ θεὸν τῆς γνώσεως πάντες οἱ γενητοὶ ἀγνοοῦντές εἰσιν, κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ὑπὸ Μωυσέως, ο τε ει δεν τὸν θεὸν λόγον, ̓Εγὼ α λογός εἰμι· πῶς γὰρ οὐ συγκρίσει λόγου καὶ ὁ λογιώτατος α λογος εὑρίσκετο; ταύτῃ ει ρηται πάλιν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ Μωυσέως Οὐ εἰμι ἱκανὸς πρὸ τῆς χθὲς καὶ τρίτης ἀφ' ου η ρξω λαλεῖν τῷ θεράποντί σου· ἰσχνόφωνος καὶ βραδύγλωσσος ἐγώ εἰμι. οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ει πεν ἰσχνόφωνον καὶ βραδύγλωσσον καὶ τὸ μὴ ἱκανὸν ει ναι ἑαυτῷ πρὶν ** λόγιος γὰρ ** ἀλλὰ μετὰ ** τοῦ ̓Αφ' ου η ρξω λαλεῖν τῷ θεράποντί σου *** Ταύτῃ καὶ ὁ ̓Αβραὰμ πρὸς τὸν κτίστην ει πεν ̓Επεὶ ἠρξάμην λαλεῖν πρὸς τὸν κύριον, ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι γῆ καὶ σποδός, ο περ ἠγνόει πρὶν λαλῆσαι θεῷ Παρίσταται δὲ διὰ τοῦ ̓Εγενήθην, ὡς οὐδ' ἁμαρτίαν ἐταράττετο ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλ' ο τι οὐχ ου τως αὐτὰ θεωρεῖ ὡς ἐπιφέρων αὐτὰ τῇ αὐτοῦ σοφῇ προνοίᾳ. οὐ τοῦ τυχόντος δ' ε στι τὸ εἰπεῖν ̓Εγὼ διαπαντὸς μετὰ σοῦ, η μόνου τοῦ τεταγμένως καὶ ὁμαλῶς ἀρετὴν καὶ εὐσέβειαν ε χοντος τοῦ ἐκ διαστημάτων κατορθοῦντος. 771 Ps 72,27.28 ̓Επεὶ μὴ ἐν τόπῳ ὁ θεὸς, τοπικῶς οὐδεὶς αὐτοῦ διίσταται, ἀλλὰ σχέσει καὶ διαθέσει τοῦ ἀδίκου καὶ πονηροῦ μακρὰν νοουμένου τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ πάντων αἰτίου· καὶ ἐπεὶ τὸ ἐγγίζειν αὐτῷ ἀρετῆς ἀναλήψει σῴζει τὸν πλησιάζοντα, τὸ ἀφίστασθαι αὐτοῦ τῷ κακίαν καὶ ἀσεβείαν ἐσχηκέναι ἀπώλειαν φέρει. ταὐτὸν τὸ μακρύνεσθαι θεοῦ τῷ ἁμαρτάνειν. εἰκότως ου ν ει ρηται ο τι ̓Ιδοὺ οἱ μακρύνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἀπολοῦνται, οὐχ οἱ μακρύναντες τῷ μὴ τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας ἀπόλλυσθαι τῷ ἁμαρτάνειν τέλος ἐπιβάλλοντας διὰ μετανοίας. ταύτῃ καὶ ̔Ο ποιῶν ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ ποιήσας τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστιν αὐτῆς. Πολλῶν κινησάντων μακροὺς καὶ πλείονας λόγους περὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὐσίας, διὰ βραχυλογίας ὁ σοφὸς παρέστησεν αὐτοῦ τὴν υ παρξιν, εἰπὼν κυρίως ἀγαθὸν ει ναι τὸ προσκολλᾶσθαι τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ τίθεσθαι τὴν ἐλπίδα. ει ρηται δὲ η δη ὡς ἀρεταὶ καὶ εἰς τὴν τελειότητα εἰσαγωγαὶ αἱ πύλαι τῆς Σιών εἰσιν, θυγάτηρ δὲ Σιὼν πᾶσα γινομένη ἡ γενηθεῖσα κατ' αὐτὴν καὶ πρὸς αὐτῇ ψυχὴ χρηματίζουσα. 772a Ps 73,1b Πυνθάνεται τίς ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ὑποπεσεῖν τοῖς

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

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