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.

Then the prophetic word, indignant at the madness of the idolaters, says: "What do the dead search for the living?" Why do you, a rational being, ask the dead? Do you pray for a living son, who has no life, who is breathless? Whether you go to a soothsayer or invent purifications for yourself, you resort to the dead, who have lost their lives themselves and will cause death to you for disobedience.

"For the law is given to help, let them not speak as this word, so that they do not pour out gifts to give." Do not be curious about the future, but dispose of the present in your favor. For what profit does it profit you to anticipate knowledge? If the future brings you something good, it will come, although you did not foresee it. And if it is sorrowful, what gain is it for you to languish in sorrow beforehand? You have received the law to help you. In you and by nature there was already a great predisposition to the beautiful, but God, perfecting this, added the law to guide you. Do you want to make sure of the future? Do what is prescribed by the law and expect to enjoy good things. "Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be good for thee, and that thou mayest live long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" (Exodus 20:12). Do you wish for good things? Do what is prescribed. Do not ask a soothsayer about health, but accept a physician who offers for health the means in your power. What will you learn from the other? No soothsayer gives immortality, no one raises you to heaven, no one will set you before the Judge who is not feared, but this will be given by the law and its exact observance. Keeping the law, do not be curious about the future, but expect recompense.

Посему «закон в помощь даде, да рекут не якоже слово сие, заньже не леть дары даяти» о сем. А закон сей не то, что сие слово чревовещателя; ибо не для обмана вымышлен, как это слово, но он — учитель истины. Те прорицают за серебро, и это всего смешнее — обманываемые в награду за ложь платят им серебром. А это слово, то есть слово закона, не таково, чтобы за него давать дар, потому что никто не продает Божией благодати. Сказано: «туне приясте, туне дадите» (Мф. 10, 8). Видишь ли, как вознегодовал Петр на Симона, предлагавшего серебро за благодать Духа? «Сребро твое», — говорит он, — «с тобою да будет в погибель, яко дар Божий непщевал еси сребром стяжати» (Деян. 8, 20). Итак, слово евангельское — не то, что продажные слова чревовещателей. Ибо кто может дать достойное за них вознаграждение? Послушай Давида, который недоумевает и говорит: «Что воздам Господеви о всех, яже воздаде ми» (Пс. 115, 3)? Итак, «не леть дары даяти» за сие, — дары, равноценные благодати Его; один дар достоин — сбережение даруемого. Давший тебе сокровище требует за сие не цены дарованного, но сбережения, которое было бы достойно дара.

«И приидет на вы жесток глад», — говорит Пророк, — «и будет, егда взалчете, скорбни будете и зло речете князю и отечеству». Устрояющий все во спасение, Господь посылает иногда и голод к пользе детоводствуемых. Ибо сказано: «озлоби тя, и гладом замори тя» (Втор. 8, 3), чтобы сделать тебе добро. Посему «жестоким» называет голод непреодолимый и невообразимый. Ибо в голоде есть разность. Бывает голод, происходящий только от недостатка хлеба; бывает голод от оскудения и всего прочего, годного в пищу. Но сей голод, который обещает наслать пророческое слово, есть «глад жесток», так что скудостью произведет печаль, которая может соделать спасение «нераскаянно» (ср.: 2 Кор. 7, 10).

А когда будут скорбеть по Богу, тогда «зло рекут князю и отечеству». Кто сей князь, которому зло изрекают прекрасно скорбящие? Очевидно, князь мира сего, которому «зло рекут» из раскаяния, когда придут в сознание причиненного им вреда. Но зло изрекают и «отечеству». А «отечество» живущих во грехах — житейские дела, которыми опутываются славолюбивые. «Отечество» для грешника — «дела плотская, яже суть прелюбодеяние, блуд, нечистота, студодеяние, идолослужение» (Гал. 5, 19–20), страсть, злое вожделение. «Отечество» — коварство, ложь, злоумышления, обманы, лицемерие. Посему, как бы от некоторого опьянения, отрезвившийся от дел мирских зло речет князю мира, который руководил его к делам погибельным; но зло речет и отечеству, в котором живя, не принимал дарованного нам Богом в помощь закона. Ты не можешь принадлежать истинному Царю, если не зло речешь князю. Посему Церковь научила тебя говорить: «Отрицаюсь тебя, сатана» — вот злоречение князю! Какое же злоречение «отечеству»? «Отрицаюсь и дел твоих». Вот «отечество» — дела диавола. Блажен, кто искренно изрекает зло князю. Ибо приступает уже к истинному Царю и просвещается. Блажен, кто хулит древнее отечество, ибо найдет себе отечество — «вышний Иерусалим, иже есть мати всех» (ср.: Гал. 4, 26), которые подобны блаженному Павлу. «Отечество» — и лукавые нравы, преданные нам от отцов. Оставил тебе отец имение, приобретенное любостяжанием? Отдай его обиженному, не стой за него как за собственность, ибо это — наследие греха. Оставил тебе отец раба, порабощенного неправедно? Дай ему свободу — и отцу облегчишь мучение, и себе приуготовишь истинную свободу. Что говорит Пророк после сего?

«И воззрят на небо горе, и на землю низу призрят, и се, скудость тесна и тма, скорбь и теснота и тма, якоже не видети; и не оскудеет в тесноте сый даже до времене». О сих, которые теснотой приведены в раскаяние, говорит слово, что «воззрят на небо горе», которые прежде были согбенны, не могли разуметь возвышенного в Божественных созерцаниях, те самые, как бы от некоторых уз, отрешившись от пристрастия к земному, свободное око свое возведут к небу, созерцая естество невидимого и мысленного и уразумевая то место, в котором надобно полагать сокровище. Потом «на землю низу призрят», познают малоценность своего естества по сродству его с землей, которые незадолго прежде надмевались и высоко о себе думали. Подивись же, с какой тщательностью Писание употребило выражения, придумав каждому предмету соответственное речение. Ибо небо и земля предложены нашему созерцанию; и о небе говорит: «воззрят на небо горе», а о земле: «на землю низу призрят». Потом в удивлении, по уразумении столь великих предметов, почувствуют скудость, стеснение и омрачение ума, когда изумление земному произведет в них это великое смущение. Ибо сказано: «Егда скончает человек, тогда начинает, и егда престанет, тогда усумнится» (Сир. 18, 6). Никто не знает, сколь многого он не ведал, пока не получил вкуса в сем ведении. Впрочем, благий Владыка обещает им полезнейшее. Ибо сказано: «не оскудеет в тесноте сый даже до времене». Сие неведение не навсегда будет одержать род человеческий; напротив того, кто ныне ищет истины познания и болезнует об ее обретении, тот со временем узрит лицом к лицу и приобретет совершенство ведения, когда настанет время всеобщего обновления. Ибо сие значат слова «даже до времене».

Толкование на 9–ую главу