Thus, the words "God is with us" refer to the Savior. For thus was called above (cf. Isaiah 7:14) Immanuel, born of a virgin, in the Hebrew language, "for it is said, God is with us" (Matt. 1:23). "Understand, ye tongues, and repent." It seems to me that these words are proclaimed in abundance of joy by those who have come to know the coming of Christ and have understood the power of the cross, which is terrible for the pagans. In order to "understand, ye tongues, and repent," so that you, who have been subdued by this beautiful and beneficial obedience for you, may be captive to the obedience of Christ, and through enslavement to Christ you may be freed from the law of sin. What do the pagans submit to? By the fact that they know God. For darkness is overcome by the manifestation of light, and illness is overcome by the onset of health. Understand only the truth, O pagans, and you will immediately be subdued by this subjugation that saves you! "You will hear even to the ends of the earth!" Who proclaim the gospel to you. For it is said: "Their proclamation went forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world" (Psalm 18:5).

"Ye who are able, repent," lay aside your bodily strength and accept the weakness of the flesh, that the power of God may be made perfect in weakness!

"If you can, you will be defeated."

If, when the wisdom of the flesh arises in you, try to enslave it, turn it over, and subdue it to the spirit.

(10) "And if you take counsel, the Lord will destroy you, and the word that you speak will not abide in you, for God is with us!"

For "he will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent" (cf. Isaiah 29:14). Thus the counsel of man brings to naught "Great is the counsel of the angel" (Isaiah 9:6), and the word of man is reduced to nothing by God the Word; and not one such word, says the Prophet, "will abide in you, for God is with us!" For they, rising up against the Church of Christ many times, have often fallen. Like people who, by adding combustible matter, increase the flame more and more, they, unceasingly trying to destroy the Church by persecution, raised it to greater glory and power.

(11) "Thus saith the Lord, with a mighty hand they shall not be repented of the way of these people, saying:" (12) "Not when ye speak:" (Slavic: speak) "cruelly; for all that these people say, it is cruel; but do not be afraid of their fear, you will be dismayed below." (13) "Sanctify the Lord of hosts, and he will be fearful to you!" (14) "And if you trust in him, it will be for your sanctification, and not as against a stone of stumbling, as against a stone of falling."

First the gospel is preached about the coming of Immanuel, and as if after the victory over the Gentiles it is proclaimed: "Understand, ye tongues, and repent! God is with us," and then the prophetic word, in condemnation of the pagans, adds that "they are not punished with a mighty hand." And the strong hand is the Power that builds beings, from Which all creation has existence in the visible world and in that which is above the visible. For there are two ways in which we can be led to the knowledge of God and to the care of ourselves, namely, that we can ascend to the Creator either from natural knowledge through the visible, or from the teaching given to us in the law. But the pagans do not submit with a strong hand, that is, they are not raised to the knowledge of Him who created with creatures, and to "walking," that is, "the way." And the way is the Lord, Who said: "I am the way" (John 14:6). He is also the hand and right hand of God. For it is said: "Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in might" (Exodus 15:6) and again: "By My hand I have established the heavens" (cf. Isaiah 48:13). For this reason those who do not believe in the Lord are accused. By walking the Prophet means the path of this life, prescribed for us by the law. And that the teaching is called the way is known from many places of Scripture. Thus, the Lord calls the teachers of the law blind leaders (cf. Matt. 15:14). Again: "On the way of Thy testimonies we shall delight"; again: "In Thy way I will live" (in the Seventy: Live me) and again: "Blessed are the blameless in the way" (Psalm 118:14, 37:1). In general, the Scriptures are full of passages in which progress according to the law in the perfection of the soul is called a kind of walking.

The prophet also added the reason for disobedience. It is said: they do not accept the commandments which the Scriptures have given about this way, but they do not obey them, finding these commandments harsh. So in the Gospel the Jews, not tolerating the teachings of the Lord, said: "This word is cruel! Who can listen to him?" (John 6:60). It is cruel for a fornicator to be chaste; to him who is cruelly drunk to be abstinent; it is cruel to speak in praise of the slanderer. And in general, to everyone who desires to be free, the yoke of the Law seems cruel. For this reason many are drawn into perdition along the smooth and broad path, and not many enter the Kingdom, because they cannot endure the inconveniences and difficulties of a virtuous life. For vice catches the ease of pleasure, and virtue by the severity of precepts and labors makes the life of ascetics bitter. "For the sake of Thy words, keep the ways of cruelty" (Psalm 16:4). The Prophet calls the commandments given to us for the well-being of our souls cruel ways. what is more cruel than this, having received a blow in the cheek, to turn the one who struck the other also; the robbed person should not enter the court; when they drag you to court, throw off yourself and the scumbag; to bless the slandered, to pray to the blasphemed, to hate no one, to pray for the persecutors (cf. Matt. 5:39-44; Lk. 6:27-29; 1 Cor. 4:12-13)? But these cruel commandments prepare for us for repose the tender bosom of our father Abraham. For "blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:4, 6). And almost every suffering here acquires eternal blessings for us. For this reason, "they that walk and weep, throwing their seeds" (Psalm 125:6). For the sorrows endured here for God's law will be the seed of good things to come. "And those who are to come shall come with joy, with their handles on the ground." Thus, the pagans "are not repented of the way of these people, saying: 'Not when you say, 'It is cruel; For all that these people say, it is cruel.'" Therefore, ask those who are devoted to idols: "Why do they not begin the teaching of preaching?"

Then the Prophet adds: "Do not be afraid of their fear." These words have a double meaning. For he also says to the Gentiles: "Do not be afraid of fear, which you now fear out of ignorance, not devoting yourself to the exercise of virtue." And it is as if the Prophet had said: "Do not be afraid of chastity, do not be afraid of courage, do not be afraid of piety, do not be afraid of any of the virtues: they are easy, easy to approach, bring benefits, give life." Or the Prophet, having changed his speech, stretches out his word to the people of God: "Though the Gentiles have formed such an idea of you, not agreeing to walk according to the law in communion with you, nevertheless do not be afraid of the pagan malice against you, but, thinking of the Lord, 'Sanctify Him, and He will be in your fear.'" It is very important for perfection to know what to fear, not to be terrified of everything, not to be timid at any noise, fearing even that which is not frightening. For the Psalm condemns such people, saying: "There you fear fear, where there is no fear" (Psalm 13:5). Therefore sanctify the Lord, "and He shall be in thy fear." Wait for His coming, fear His judgment. Terrible, Who recompenses each one according to his deeds; Terrible is He Who shall come from heaven with the sound of the trumpet with the holy Angels; terrible is He Whose judgment is eternal torment.

"And if thou trustest in the Lord, thou shalt not stumble as against a stone of stumbling, as against a stone of falling" (cf. Isaiah 8:14). The prophetic word clearly calls for faith in our Lord Jesus, for it is said of Him: "Behold, I set in Zion a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense" (Romans 9:33). The blind, unable to see what is under their feet, stumble over stones; but those who step unsteadily, slip on the stones. Therefore, whoever has not taken any care for the discerning power of the soul and has not come to know the coming of the Lord through the study of the Scriptures, stumbles over the preaching of the Gospel; and whoever is easily deceived in faith is offended by the rock which is Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4). "But thou," says the Prophet to the people, "if thou shalt trust" and be strengthened in the Lord by perfect faith, "thou shalt not stumble against a stumbling stone" against the word that proclaims Him, "as thou shalt be broken as against a stone of falling, slipping." Or perhaps the riot of preaching is a stumbling block for the Greeks who seek wisdom, and for the Jews who ask for signs, it is a stone of temptation. Why did Paul say that preaching was "a stumbling block to the Jews" and "foolishness" to the Gentiles (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23). But to those who trust in the Lord, the simplicity of preaching is not subjected to logical proofs, the truth is not known by signs, "Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God" (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:24).

(16) "Then there will be manifestations that seal the law, if you do not learn." (17) "And he said, 'I will wait for God, turning away my face from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in Nan.'"

This speech consists in connection with the previous one and in dependence on it. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which is to say, God is with us" (Matt. 1:23; cf. Isaiah 7:14). And even further down the Prophet says: "God is with us! Understand, ye tongues, and repent." Then he extends his speech to those who do not accept what Immanuel proclaims, but evade the difficulties of what He commanded. "Then," he says, "there will be manifestations that seal the law, if they do not learn." For when the word of doctrine is sown in all, some direct their hearts to receive the teachings, and, like a fruitful land, receive the word into themselves, root it deeply, do not choke it with thorns, do not leave it unguarded, so that it may be easy for the devil to steal it, but bear fruit "by thirty, and sixty, and a hundred" (Mark 4:8); and there are also those who completely enclose their souls, so as not to receive the words, as if they bind and seal themselves, so that the word of truth does not rise in them. Those are also called sealed who liken themselves to the image of the opposite and do not want Christ to be imagined in them, who distort in themselves the "image of the Heavenly One" and rejoice only in the "image of the earthly" (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:49). But the law is also sealed by vagueness and by the fact that it is not understood by everyone; in order to understand it, it is necessary to exercise in the law. Therefore, whoever does not give himself up to reflection and does not want to loose the knot of ignorance, it is said that he seals the law, and such will be revealed in the day of revelation. For "there will be manifestations that seal the law, if they do not learn." How do the Jews seal the law, of whom it is said: "Take ye the key of understanding, ye yourselves shall not heed, and forbid them that enter in" (Luke 11:52)? He imprints, "if you do not learn," who, under the pretext of observing what is written, literally does not reveal the deep mysteries. And see what the Prophet says. Are these not clearly Jewish expressions? "I will wait for God, who hath turned away His face from the house of Jacob." This is what the Jews say: "I do not believe in God, I do not accept Immanuel, although now I am forsaken, but I will wait for a visit from God someday, 'turning His face away from the house of Jacob.'"

(18) "Behold, I and the children, whom God has given me, and there shall be signs and wonders in the house of Jacob" (in the seventy Israelites) "from the Lord of hosts, Who dwelleth on Mount Zion."