Some of the people were satisfied with this state, not understanding and not assuming another state, finding pleasure in the service of sin; others, guided by God and the remnant of their good will, entered into an intensified struggle with sin, but could not cleanse nature from unnatural admixture, from evil, could not break the shackles of slavery and throw off the yoke of sin and death. Only the Creator of nature could restore nature.

Mankind languished in terrible slavery for more than five thousand years under the incomprehensible judgment of God; it languished in slavery, abundantly filled the prisons of hell, having received from God the promise of liberation at the very hour of falling into slavery. There is one day before the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day [204]. The promise is pronounced together with the utterance of the punishment for the transgression. Mankind has been vouchsafed this promise, because the cause of the fall was deception and infatuation, and not a deliberate and deliberate design. At the end of five thousand years, the Redeemer, the incarnate God, descended to earth to the exiles in the land of exile. He visited both the threshold of our prison – the surface of the earth, and the prison itself – hell. He granted salvation to all men, leaving it to their free will either to accept salvation or to reject it. He set free all who believed in Him: He raised up those imprisoned in the subterranean abyss to heaven, and those who wandered on the earthly surface He brought into communion with God, breaking their communion with Satan. The God-Man, having taken upon Himself all the consequences of man's fall, except for sin, also took upon Himself the image of earthly life, corresponding to the fallen and outcast, punished by God's justice, aware of his fall, confessing God's justice with good-natured patience with all allowances. In His activity He showed a model for the activity of each person in the field of his earthly life.

The Gospel presents to our eyes two distinctive features in the activity of the Saviour: the most precise fulfillment of the will of God in matters that depend on arbitrariness, and complete obedience to the will of God in the destinies of God. "I have come down from heaven," said the Lord, "that I may not do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me" [205]. The cup which the Father has given Me, shall you not drink it? [206] The God-Man expressed the most exact fulfillment of the will of God and obedience to the destinies of God with His entire life. The great virtue, the beginning of all virtues, lost by Adam in heaven – the virtue of obedience to God – was brought from heaven to earth by the God-Man to men languishing in perdition caused by disobedience to God. This virtue was especially manifested in all its greatness when the Lord perceived the fierce sufferings. He, in the image of God, without ceasing to be God, humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, being in the likeness of a man, and was found in the likeness of a man: He humbled Himself, being obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross [207]. Because of such complete obedience to God, the Lord was the only true Servant of God by His human nature [208]. He was an all-perfect Servant of God, who never deviated from fulfilling the will of God and from obedience to this will. Not one of the righteous people has fulfilled this most sacred duty of man before God satisfactorily and unfailingly.

To the assembly of the Jews the Lord declared: "I do not seek My will, but the will of Him who sent Me the Father" (209). Before His descent into the life-giving sufferings and death on the Cross, the Lord revealed in Himself the weakness of fallen man before the fates of God punishing him. He began to grieve and grieve [210]. He deigned to reveal the anguish of His soul to His chosen disciples: "My soul is sorrowful unto death," He said to them. He fell on His faces [212], and was raised by mankind to such an intensified podvig, that His sweat was like drops of blood dropping on the ground [213]. In spite of such a tense state into which the human nature of the God-Man was led, His prayer expressed both the presence of the human will in Him and the complete submission in Him of the human will to the will of God. The prayer of the God-Man, pronounced by Him before His departure to suffering, is a spiritual, precious heritage for the entire Christian race: it is capable of shedding consolation on the soul languishing under the burden of the most grievous sorrows. "My Father," said the Lord in His prayer, "if it is possible to eat, let this cup pass from Me: not as I will, but as Thou wilt" [214]; neither is My will, but Yours be done. The Lord called the chalice of God's destiny. This cup is given by God to man for his salvation.

The God-Man deigned to take upon Himself the death on the cross and the outrages, torments, and tortures that preceded it arbitrarily. As the Son of God and God, having one will with the Father and the Spirit, He laid the penalty on Himself, on the innocent of sin, on the Son of Man and together with the Son of God, for the redemption of the guilty of the sins of mankind. To him who attempted to use human means in His defense, in opposition to the destinies of God, He said: Return Thy sword [knife] to its place. Or do you think that I cannot now beseech My Father, and the Angel will present Me with more than twenty legens? How will the Scriptures be fulfilled, in which the decree of God is depicted, as it befits it? [216] The Lord expressed the same concept of the action of God's immutable destinies before Pilate. The proud Roman, offended by the silence of the Lord, said, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that it is the power of the Imam to crucify Thee, and the power of the Imam to let Thee go? The Lord answered him: "Thou hast no power against Me, unless it be given from above" (217). The destinies of God are at work, the power of God is at work: you are an instrument that does not understand yourself. But the instrument is endowed with reason and free will: it is convinced of this, and expresses it with impudence and vanity. It acted without any understanding of God's destinies, it acted freely and arbitrarily: its action is declared a sin, which has its weight and measure at the judgment of God.

Resistance to the destinies of God is reckoned among satanic undertakings. When the Lord foretold His disciples about the sufferings and violent death that awaited Him, Peter began to sing Him, saying to Him: "Thou art merciful, O Lord, Thou shalt not have this to be." And he turned to the words of Peter: "Follow me, Satan, thou art a temptation of Me: for thou thinkest not, which is God's, but man's" [219]. Peter was moved, apparently, by a good feeling; but it acted from the way of thinking and from the good that belong to fallen human nature. Hostile to the will of God and to the all-holy good that proceeds from God are the reason and good of fallen human nature; they condemn and condemn the destinies of God. The human mind and will, in their blindness, are ready to oppose and oppose the destinies and decrees of God, not understanding that such an undertaking is an absurd undertaking, it is a struggle of the most limited, insignificant creature with the omnipotent and all-perfect God.

You do not understand the times and the years which the Father has set in His power [220], said the Lord to the Apostles, when they asked Him about the time in which the kingdom of Israel was to be formed. This answer of the Lord is the answer to all the questions of human curiosity and pride about the fate of God. It is not yours, O men, that which God hath placed in His power! You have an understanding that corresponds to your mind; it is not characteristic of you to understand the thought of the Infinite Mind.

Your activity, people, should consist entirely in the fulfillment of the will of God. The model of this activity is shown, the rules of this activity are taught to mankind by perfect man, God, who took upon Himself humanity. Moved by the power of the most correct faith in God, carefully follow the commandments of the Gospel and reverently submit to the fate of God.

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What leads to the violation, to the trampling of Christ's commandments, to opposition to the destinies of God, to opposition by vain efforts, murmuring, blasphemy, despair? Forgetting about eternity, forgetting about death, forgetting that we are short-lived wanderers on earth; the rejection of the idea that we are exiles in it, the desire to satisfy lusts and passions, the desire to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh and sin, the pernicious deception and deception of oneself, under the charm of which a person insanely abuses his power over himself and his own will, sacrificing himself entirely to earthly vanity, killing himself for the bliss restored by the suffering feat of the Redeemer, preparing for himself an eternal tomb in hell, a coffin for both body and soul.

For let this be thought of in you, even in Christ Jesus,[221] the Apostle Paul exhorts Christians, pointing to the obedience of the God-Man to the destinies of God, to the unquestioning obedience extended to the acceptance of the punishment to which some criminals from the barbarian nations were subjected, from which criminals from the citizens of Rome were free. Putting aside all pride and making it easy to sin in detail, let us flow with patience to the podvig that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author of the faith and the finisher, Who endured the cross instead of the joy that was set before Him, neglecting shame [223]. Think of such a reproach of Him who suffered from sinners on Himself [224], let you not be cold, for you are weakened by your thoughts [225]. Jesus, may He sanctify people with His blood, deigned to suffer outside the gates. Wherefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach [226]. The renunciation of peacefulness is called the departure from the camp and the postponement of all pride. The Apostle reminds us of the Divine consolation pronounced by God to those of His chosen ones, whom He adopted as His sons, and whom, in the proof of adoption, He visits with sorrows: "My son! Do not despise the chastisement of the Lord, weaken less, we rebuke Him, for the Lord loves him, He chastens him: but He smites every son, whom He receives[227].

Christ suffered for us, says the holy Apostle Peter, leaving us an image, that we may follow in his footsteps [228]. If you do good and endure it in suffering, it is pleasing in the sight of God: for for this you will also ring the bell [229]. Such are the destinies of God! Such is God's decree! Such is the calling of true Christians for the entire time of their earthly pilgrimage! "Beloved Christians to God and Heaven! Do not be surprised, as if at a strange, unusual, out-of-order adventure, that fiery temptation which is sent to you for testing. Rejoice at the onslaught of temptations! As here on earth you are made partakers of Christ's sufferings, so in the future life you will become partakers of His glory and triumph [231]. The house of God is subject to the judgment of God, it needs this judgment [232]. The entire Church of Christ and every Christian are called the House of God. This house requires God's visitation and purification, as one that is subject to constant defilement and damage. And with great help from the sorrows that humble the spirit of man, so inclined to exaltation, salvation is difficult, very difficult. The righteous will hardly escape! [233] If so, what awaits those who oppose the Gospel of God? [234] Where will the wicked and the sinner appear? [235] Acquire humility, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble [236]. You will feel the coming of grace through the wondrous calm and consolation that will be poured into your hearts when you confess God's judgment for you to be righteous, and yourselves worthy of punishment, in need of it. on the contrary, being quickened and inspired by faith, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that ye may in due time bear up all your sorrow, that is, all the care and care of Nan, for He cares for you. Sufferers! know that you are suffering according to the will of God; be convinced that without the will of God, without God's permission, no sorrow would have touched you. The Lord has looked mercifully upon you, has been pleased with you, has recognized your heart and life as pleasing to Himself, and therefore has stretched out to you a helping hand in His destinies. He sent (or allowed) your sorrows for your purification, for protection, for the means to attain perfection. Suffering according to the will of God! at the onset of sorrows, devote yourselves entirely to the will and mercy of God, and with special care be diligent in fulfilling the commandments of God [238]. The time of sorrow is that blessed time in which God builds up the soul of His beloved chosen one from among men.

God has established a narrow and sorrowful path from earthly life to Heaven: it is commanded to walk along this path under the cross; on this path, under the burden of His cross, the Leader of the Christian tribe, the incarnate God, passed. The Cross is the patience in the Lord of all sorrows and misfortunes that will be allowed by God's Providence. Such is the judgment of God. What is it based on? — on the fact that a person on earth is a criminal in an exiled place. This criminal is given a short period of earthly life solely in order that he may see his state of fall and rejection, realize the necessity of salvation, and obtain salvation through the Redeemer of men, our Lord Jesus Christ. A criminal who has confessed himself a criminal, who seeks mercy, must confess his sinfulness by his very life. Confession cannot be recognized as sincere when it is not attested by appropriate behavior. The criminal is obliged to prove the truth of his conversion to God by fulfilling the will of God and submitting to this will: he is obliged to offer before God, just and in mercy, the patience of God's punishing allowances, to offer humble patience, as fragrant incense, as an acceptable sacrifice, as a reliable testimony of faith.

All the saints, all without exception, communed of the sorrowful path [239]. They all ran the course of earthly life on thorns, eating unleavened bread of various deprivations, sprinkling themselves with bitter hyssop [a plant used for sprinkling liquids], and constantly drinking a cup of various trials. This was necessary for their salvation and perfection: sorrows served them as a means of spiritual education, healing, and punishment. Damaged nature has not been left without its proper fruitfulness to a greater or lesser degree; Our damaged nature is constantly in need, as an antidote, of sorrows: they extinguish in it sympathy for the sinful poison of the passions, especially for pride[240] — for the passion that is the most poisonous and pernicious among the passions; by them the servant of God is led out of a pompous, incorrect opinion of himself into humility and spiritual understanding. A pompous opinion of oneself must necessarily deprive a life that appears to be satisfactory in appearance (241). O Lord, His holy Prophet confesses to God that Thy destiny is the righteousness, and Thou hast truly humbled me [242]. Thy destinies are good [243], in spite of their austere outward appearance. Their consequences are beneficial, life-giving and delightful is their fruit. It is good for me, for Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn by Thy righteousness [244]. I have willed the way of truth, and have not forgotten Thy destinies,[245] have not deviated from Thy destinies,[246] because without obedience to them it is impossible to please Thee. In grievous temptations and misfortunes, finding no help from anywhere, I have remembered Thy fate from all eternity. O Lord, and those who are comforted [247]. I trust in your destinies! [248] Your fate will help me! [249] By the day of the week, that is, by unceasingly praising the fate of Thy righteousness,[250] the action of man, corresponding to the action of God in His incomprehensible destinies, is the unceasing or, if possible, frequent praise of God. By glorifying God, thoughts of unbelief, faint-heartedness, murmuring, blasphemy, despair are banished, and holy, Divine thoughts are introduced. The Apostle says: "We are judged, we are punished by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world" (251). Amen.