The Soul as Mother and the Nature of Israel
He is both maker and provider of all things. These things he says, not separating the Son from the Father or the Father from the Son; for the divinity is one, and there is no other God besides the Son and no other the Father.
In Isaiah, indeed, concerning the Father, it is said: 'In you is God, and there is no God besides you; for you are God, and we are not afraid' (Isa 25:6-7). For if there were another God in the Son who is beside him, how could he subsequently bring forth: 'And there is no God besides you?' and immediately: 'For you are God, and we are not afraid, the God of Israel is Savior'? Therefore, even concerning the Father, when it is said, 'Who is like our God, the Lord?' (Isa 40:25), the Son has not been excluded; but even concerning the Savior, the Father has not been set apart from the one divinity of Father and Son.
Who says: 'Who is the Lord our God, the one dwelling in the heights and looking down upon the lowly things?' For all lowly creatures and works are toward God, not only those upon the earth but also those in the heavens. And he sees these lowly things providentially.
For he sees the poor man cast down upon the earth and the needy man upon the refuse, and he raises them up from those standing in evils of want and poverty; and not merely to raise and make stand, but strengthening their goodness, seating them with rulers, preparing them to be equal to them. And he will seat them not with simple rulers, but with the rulers of his own people. And a woman, formerly dwelling in barrenness, will become a mother having borne many children.
It can also be said concerning the people from among the Gentiles, for whom the prophecy is: 'For this the poor people shall bless you' (Gal 3:14). Therefore, having raised this poor and needy people from the lowly things and from the refuse of Greek customs, he will seat them with the rulers of Israel, being their people. And the apostles are the rulers of the Hebrew people, whom we say are sitting on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.
And the church from among the Gentiles, formerly barren, is called into joy, saying: 'Rejoice, barren one who does not bear children; break forth and cry out, you who do not labor in childbirth; for many more are the children of the desert than of her who has a man' (Isa 54:1). For truly, the church from among the Gentiles has become very much with children, more than she who has a man.
The law of the man is the assembly of the Jews. Every soul, through chastity, is inhabited by God as a child in the church of the living God, a mother working out thoughts and words to rejoice in the offspring produced by the Word of God dwelling within her. This also happened according to the history of the Scripture. For instance, Anna, the mother of Samuel, is called a mother inhabiting the church, a mother having become such from children, rejoicing in children. And concerning Sarah and Rebekah and Elizabeth, and before this mother, the one born to Samson, someone says wisely concerning each of them what inhabited her: a mother of children, rejoicing (Ps 113:1,2).
For the intellect: the mind, seeing God, becomes like the wing of the things opposed to the truth, withdrawing from the dwellings of Egypt so as to no longer 'Egyptize,' nor to be contained by Egyptian superstitions, but to implore God, who sanctifies the soul that confesses sincerely; and he shall have authority and the king shall hold the discerning one. For Judah is confession, but Israel is the intellect seeing God. Previously, it was not fitting to confess, but now, since one has become a sanctuary of God, and His holy temple is being constructed, thus, having been perfected through the vision of the truth, Israel shall be shown to have come under the authority of God in order to be able to reign under Him, about to experience blessedness, seeing God with a pure heart (Ps 113:10,11).
'Where is their God?' the mortals say, when You, Lord, are doing us good. For they have local gods established in places, and they mock You by this, saying, 'Where is their God?' Perhaps they say this mockingly, thinking we have no God. But even if those wandering say this, we do not hold the precise opinion that our God is in the heavens above, but we think of Him not locally, but with a superabundance of majesty. For if He were in a place, He would be prevented from being elsewhere. And there is also a cause for all the heavens and upon the earth, since whatever He willed, He made, surpassing all things. Therefore, He is not contained by all things, but is also outside all things and exists in them according to the logic of creation and providence. For thus He fills the...
Greek
αὐτὸς καὶ ποιητὴς καὶ προνοητὴς ἁπάντων ἐστί. ταῦτα δέ φησιν οὐκ ἀπομερίζων τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν υἱὸν η τοῦ υἱοῦ τὸν πατέρα· μία γὰρ ἡ θεότης, καὶ οὐκ α λλος θεὸς ὁ υἱὸς καὶ α λλος ὁ πατήρ ἐστιν. ἐν ̔Ησαΐᾳ γοῦν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα λέγεται ̓Εν σοὶ ὁ θεός ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ε στι θεὸς πλὴν σοῦ· σὺ γὰρ ει ὁ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ῃ δειμεν. εἰ γὰρ ἐν υἱῷ θεός ἐστιν α λλος ω ν παρ' αὐτόν, πῶς ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρει Καὶ οὐκ ε στι θεὸς πλήν σου; καὶ εὐθὺς Σὺ γὰρ ει ὁ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ῃ δειμεν, ὁ θεὸς τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ σωτήρ. διὸ κα ν περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς η ν τὸ Τίς ὡς κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, οὐκ ἀπεσχοίνισται ὁ υἱός· ἀλλὰ κα ν περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος, οὐ διέστηκεν ὁ πατὴρ τῷ μίαν ει ναι πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ θεότητα. Τίς ου ν φησιν ὡς κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν ὑψηλοῖς κατοικῶν καὶ τὰ ταπεινὰ ἐφορῶν; ὡς πρὸς θεὸν γὰρ πάντα ταπεινὰ κτίσματα ποιήματα ο ντα, οὐ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. ὁρᾷ δὲ ταῦτα τὰ ταπεινὰ προνοητικῶς. ̓Αμέλει γοῦν πτωχὸν ὁρῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ῥιφέντα καὶ ἐπὶ κοπρίας πένητα η γειρε, καὶ ἀνέστησεν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ περιεστηκότων ἐκ πενίας καὶ πτωχείας κακῶν, καὶ οὐ μέχρι τοῦ ἐγεῖραι καὶ ἀναστῆσαι, ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπιτείνων τὴν ἀγαθότητα καθίσαι αὐτοὺς μετὰ ἀρχόντων, ἰσοτίμους αὐτοὺς αὐτοῖς παρασκευάζων. καθίσει δὲ αὐτοὺς οὐ μετὰ ἁπλῶν ἀρχόντων ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ. καὶ εὐφραινομένην γυναῖκα τὴν πρότερον διὰ στειρότητα α τεκνον ου σαν ἐν οι κῳ κατοικήσει μητέρα γεγενημένην ἐπὶ πολυπαιδίᾳ. ∆ύναται καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν λαοῦ λέγεσθαι ὑπὲρ ου προφητεία ∆ιὰ τοῦτο εὐλογήσει σε ὁ λαὸς ὁ πτωχός. τοῦτον τοιγαροῦν τὸν πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα λαὸν ἀπὸ τῶν χαμαιζήλων πραγμάτων ἐγείρας καὶ τῆς κοπρίας τῶν ̔Ελληνικῶν μυσαγμάτων καθίσει μετὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ ο ντος αὐτοῦ λαοῦ. εἰσὶ δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι α ρχοντες τοῦ ̔Εβραίου λαοῦ, ου ς ει πομεν καθιζομένους ἐπὶ δώδεκα θρόνους ἐπὶ τῷ κρίνειν τὰς δώδεκα φυλὰς τοῦ ̓Ισραήλ. καὶ στεῖραν δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν, α τεκνον ου σαν τὸ πρῶτον, εἰς εὐφροσύνην καλεῖ λέγων Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ο τι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον η τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν α νδρα. ἀληθῶς γὰρ πολύπαις καὶ καλλίπαις ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησία γεγένηται ὑπὲρ τὴν ε χουσαν τὸν α νδρα νόμον ̓Ιουδαίων συναγωγήν. ἑκάστη δὲ ψυχὴ διὰ στειρότητα α παις ου σα κατοικίζεται ὑπὸ θεοῦ ἐν οι κῳ τῇ τοῦ ζῶντος θεοῦ ἐκκλησίᾳ, μήτηρ ε ργων μαθημάτων νοημάτων τε καὶ λόγων ἐπὶ τῷ εὐφραίνεσθαι α μα οι ς ε σχε γεννήμασιν ἀπὸ τοῦ συνοικοῦντος αὐτῇ θεοῦ λόγου. Συνέβη δὲ ταῦτα καὶ κατὰ τὴν τῆς γραφῆς ἱστορίαν. Αννα γοῦν ἡ μήτηρ Σαμουὴλ κατοικεῖσθαι ἐν οι κῳ μήτηρ λέγεται τέκνων εὐφραινομένη, ο λων ε ξ τέκνων γεναμένη μήτηρ. καὶ περὶ τῆς Σάρρας καὶ ̔Ρεβέκκας ̓Ελισάβετ τε καὶ πρὸ ταύτης τῆς μητρὸς γεναμένης τοῦ Σαμψὼν λέγοι τις εὐλόγως περὶ ἑκάστης αὐτῶν ο τι κατῴκισεν αὐτὴν μητέρα τέκνων εὐφραινομένην. 1060 Ps 113,1.2 Πρὸς δὲ διάνοιαν· ὁρῶν θεὸν νοῦς τυγχάνων τοῦ πτερνιστοῦ τῶν ἀντικειμένων τῇ ἀληθείᾳ οι κου τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἀναχωρῶν ἐπὶ τῷ μηκέτ' Αἰγυπτιάζειν μηδὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτιακῶν δεισιδαιμονιῶν περιέχεσθαι ι λεω θεὸν ε σχε τὸν ἁγιάζοντα τὴν ὁμολογουμένην γνησίως ψυχήν, ο τε καὶ ἐξουσιάσει καὶ οι α βασιλεὺς κρατήσει τοῦ διορατικοῦ· ̓Ιουδαία γὰρ ἐξομολόγησις, ̓Ισραὴλ δὲ νοῦς ὁρῶν θεὸν ἑρμηνεύεται. πρότερον μὲν ου ν ἐξομολογήσασθαι προσήκει, ι ν' εἰς ἁγίασμά τις θεοῦ γεγένηται οι κος καὶ α γιος ναὸς αὐτοῦ κατασκευαζόμενος, ι ν' ου τως τελειωθεὶς διὰ θεωρίας τῆς ἀληθείας ̓Ισραὴλ ἀποδειχθῇ γενόμενος ὑπὸ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ 227 ἐξουσίαν ἐπὶ τῷ δυνηθῆναι, βασιλευόμενος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, μακαρισμοῦ τυχεῖν ὀψόμενος τὸν θεὸν καρδίᾳ καθαρᾷ. 1061 Ps 113,10.11 Σοῦ, δέσποτα, ἡμᾶς εὐεργετοῦντος, οὐχ ε ξει χώραν τὰ ε θνη λέγειν Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν. ἐπεὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ τοπικοὺς θεοὺς ε χουσι καὶ ἱδρυμένους που, καὶ περὶ σοῦ τοῦτο τοπάζουσι λέγοντες Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν. η τάχα χλευαστικῶς τοῦτό φασιν οἰόμενοι μὴ ε χειν ἡμᾶς θεόν. ἀλλ' εἰ κἀκεῖνοι πλανώμενοι τοῦτο λέγουσιν, ἀλλ' ου ν γε ἡμεῖς ἠκριβωμένῃ ὑπολήψει ι σμεν ο τι ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ α νω ἐστίν, οὐ τοπικῶς ἀλλ' ὑπεροχῇ μεγαλειότητος φρονοῦντες. εἰ γὰρ η ν α νω τόπος, ἀλλαχόσε ει ναι ἐκωλύετο. Εστι δὲ καὶ αἰτία πᾶσι τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἐπείπερ ο σα ἠθέλησεν ἐποίησεν, α λλος ω ν παρὰ πάντα. διὸ οὐ περιέχεται ὑπὸ πάντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ε ξω πάντων καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς ὑπάρχει κατὰ τὸν τῆς δημιουργίας καὶ προνοίας λόγον. ου τω γὰρ πληροῖ τὸν
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Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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