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."

After the rebuke of the disobedient, the Lord Himself speaks on His behalf. And so, he says, they "do not repent" of the mighty hand "and the way of this people," and pretend to wait on the Lord, "turning away His face from the house of Jacob." And I bring those who believe in Me, who have been regenerated again through the laying off of the old and putting on the new man, as newborn babes, whose morals are tender and innocent, but who have already been milked by the rudiments of teaching and are approaching the most perfect food of the mysteries, having received and warmed in the bosom of My mercy, I bring to the Father. For through Me is the way of knowledge that leads to Him. And that these words were uttered in the person of Christ, no one will argue, if one remembers what is said in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "For it behooved Him, for His sake and in Him all things, that I will bring many sons to glory, that He will complete the beginning of their salvation through sufferings. And holy," says the Apostle, "and sanctified, all of Him alone; For her guilt she is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren. And the packs: Behold, I and the children, whom God hath given me" (cf. Heb. 2:10-13).

"And there shall be," it is said, "signs and wonders in the house of Jacob." By them, that is, by the children regenerated through Christ, mighty signs and wonders will be wrought in the house of Jacob. The children were the Apostles, "infants of malice" (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:20). They, unlearned people, the Galileans, having first begun to speak in tongues, made manifest to all the descent of the Spirit and the distribution of gifts and the division of tongues that took place over them. Then came the well-known miracle of the lame man sitting at the Red Doors, when Peter and John, through the invocation of the name of Christ, strengthened his feet, having begun to walk (Acts 3:1-8), by which the ancient prophecy was fulfilled: "Then shall the lame leap like a deer" (Isaiah 35:6). A miracle — and this "Chamois" raised from the dead (Acts 9:36-41); the miracle — and the iron gates of the prison, "opened for themselves" at the departure of Peter (cf. Acts 12:9-10), and the disintegrating bonds (Acts 12:7), and all the rest that was accomplished through the Apostles at the manifestation of the Only-begotten Godhead.

But all these signs and wonders are from the God of hosts, "Who dwelleth on Mount Zion." By the name of the God of hosts, they usually understood the God of hosts. Who is this Lord of hosts, if not called the Archangel of the power of God (Joshua 5:14), from Whom signs are given to children? And that those who believe in Christ are children is evident from what the Lord said. For to the Jews, who asked Him about those who praise Him and say, "Hosanna in the highest!" He answered: "For out of the mouth of a child and of those who suck Thou hast made praise" (cf. Matt. 21:15, 16). And in this place He called babes those who cut palm branches, spread garments along the way, called out and glorified Him. But in another place He says: "Confess, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast concealed this from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed it as a child" (Matt. 11:25), meaning by infants those who have been taught the word and have been vouchsafed the revelation of the mysteries through the Spirit. For this reason, with the words "Behold, I and the children," the Lord points to His chosen ones, because "God chose the mighty of the world, that He might put to shame the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:27). Therefore, everyone who has laid aside "the old man, which decays in the lusts of charms" (Ephesians 4:22), and has put on "a new one, renewed in the image of Him who created" (Col. 3:10), is a child, according to the mysterious word of Christ.

(19) "And if it is said to you, 'Seek out the sorcerers of gluttony, and those who proclaim from the earth, those who speak vainly, who speak from the belly, will not the tongue seek out its God? What do the dead search for the living?" (20) "For the law is a help, let them not speak as this word, so that they do not pour out gifts to give." (21) "And a cruel famine will come upon you, and when you are hungry, you will be in sorrow, and you will speak evil to the prince and to the fatherland." (22) "And they will look up to heaven and look down on the earth below, and behold, poverty is narrow and darkness, sorrow and distress and darkness, as they cannot see; and he will not be lacking in straits, even for a time."

Those who do not accept the words of the Gospel, who despise preaching as a riot, and who are tempted by the cross, when we advise them to come to knowledge, themselves offer us the advice of their own error, saying: "Seek" not the Lord, but "those who are gluttopros, and those who cry out from the earth, who speak vainly." And experience is a witness to this. For those who cling to idols, who listen to the dreams and sorcery of the demons, and themselves do not impute the truth to anything, and we are advised to seek the like, because the influence of error on the fall of those who are tempted by them is produced by the demons, who now in dreams surround a person with some kind of dreams, either containing advice on how to get rid of bodily infirmity, or foretelling the future. And the demons can understand similar things: with regard to bodily infirmities, because they penetrate better than we do into material properties and know the qualities of herbs and their suitability for diseases; as for the future, it is often predicted what has already happened; but since this is not yet known to us, they proclaim what is to come. For example, among us, too, when he hears of someone's arrival, he announces it to the expectant as of the future, thus deceiving himself with the glory that he will be honored as a prophet. In the same way, the demons often proclaimed to people who easily fell into deception what had already been realized and declared in God's decree. Thus the ventriloquist proclaimed to Saul through the demons a future defeat. For the demons were those who took upon themselves the face of Samuel; when they heard of Saul's condemnation, they handed down the sentence pronounced by God as their own. Thus, the pagans often try to lead us into demonic deceptions, saying: "Seek out the ventribal sorcerers, and those who cry out from the earth," for they do not dare to say that their words are from heaven, just as the sorceress mentioned in the books of Kings, who conversed with Saul, said: "I see gods ascending from the earth" (cf. 1 Samuel 28:7-13). Similar to this are the fictions of ventriloquists; they promise to summon the souls of the dead to discover what they want.

Then the Prophet pronounces his opinion that he has about such fictions, and recognizes ventriloquists as speaking vain, saying: "Those who speak vainly, who speak from the womb," that is, they speak of their own volition. For the ventriloquist does not pronounce what is borrowed from anyone else, but, having composed a lie in his heart and guessing the desire of the spectators, he says that he contributes to the deception of the foolish. Or, perhaps, "from the womb speak" those "who have God's belly" (Phil. 3:19), who do everything for the enjoyment of food and drink. Wherefore he would not sin in calling "gluttonous sorcerers and proclaimers from the womb" those who, in order to fill the belly, take on the form of teachers and put on the image of godliness, but since they do not utter words from a spiritual disposition, they are called "vain." And rightly so; for he who teaches, but does not do, does not give the possibility of teaching profitably.

And the words, "Shall he not seek his tongue unto his God?" have a similar meaning. Every nation asks its god a question about what it wants to know. And for the clarity of the saying, it is necessary to present what is read in the form of a question: "Shall not the tongue seek its God?" but those who acknowledge the gods of the dead inquire of them about the living. The Prophet either calls soulless idols, stones, wood, copper and gold dead, or calls those who have lost true life by their apostasy, or, perhaps, all the art of the so-called ventriloquists turns around the tombs and from there borrows the power of sorcery.