(Verse 1) I said, I will guard my ways; that I may not sin with my tongue. I set a guard to my mouth, while the wicked man stood against me; that is, I proposed, confirmed, commanded myself, I spoke to my heart: I will guard my ways. If I had spoken such things to another, my speech should stand; how much more ought that which I myself established to be steadfast! If anyone deceives another, it is disgraceful; if anyone deceives a neighbor, it is serious; how much more serious, therefore, if anyone thinks that he should defraud himself of what he has promised to himself, so that he himself is considered unfaithful by his own judgment and contemptible. To whom therefore can one appear suitable, who is considered cheap by themselves? Let us therefore maintain the steadfastness of our souls; lest our lips, in their haste to speak, burst forth into offense. And Job conquered his affliction with silence, and surpassed his endurance with quietness. The flesh is not easily trusted: we would have been victorious if Eve had remained silent. Therefore, that first sin originated from the voice, and that wicked and cunning serpent tempted us beforehand by means of the voice. And I wish either Adam had been deaf or Eve had been dumb: the former, so that he wouldn't hear the voice of his wife; the latter, so that she wouldn't speak to her husband and transfer the serpent's venom into the man through the ministry of her slippery voice. Cain, too, although he violated the human nature by committing parricide and erased the impious laws of piety; yet he added sacrilege to his wickedness through his voice, denying the death of his slain brother to God. What shall I say about each one individually? The chosen people themselves, whom silent Moses opened the sea for by the command of the Lord, murmured ungratefully against the heavenly blessings, thereby incurring divine offense. Then he rejected Moses, the leader himself, and the unusual journey, and asked his brother Aaron to make gods for himself to worship.
Therefore, considering these dangers of speech, I said: 'I will guard my ways.' So what are these ways of man that must be greatly guarded against, lest they stumble upon anything more serious? Such a great Prophet prompts us to consider more carefully. His son Solomon, the insightful interpreter of his father's mind, also urges us to examine more discerningly, for he wrote: 'Three things are beyond my understanding, and a fourth I do not know.' The footprint of a flying eagle, and the track of a serpent on a rock, and the paths of a ship on the open sea, and the ways of a man in his youth. Such is the way of an adulterous woman, who, after acting, says that she has done nothing wrong. (Prov. XXX, 18 et seq). Therefore, she said that three things were impossible for her to understand, and the fourth, that he, possessing the seal of wisdom among men, did not recognize, namely the path of a man in his youth. Therefore, how can the recognition of these things, which can be either inexplicable or difficult, be easily their custody? Hence, David himself rightfully offered not a defense of the sins of his youth, but a plea for forgetfulness. 'Do not remember,' he said, 'the sins of my youth and my ignorance' (Psalm 24:7). Therefore, it is not without reason that Solomon said he did not know what his father, in whom the greater grace of God was, testified that he did not know. And perhaps the sins of youth are attributed to the heat of the flesh, but ignorance to a slip of words, which are often poured out not according to our intention, but with a certain impetuosity and rapidity of speech; knowing this to be dangerous, the Prophet says: I believed and therefore I spoke (Psalm 115:1). Therefore, the voice is safe above the foundation of virtue; without foundation, it is slippery. Therefore, as a chosen interpreter of the divine Scriptures, he rebuked with a kind of trumpet sound: With the heart one believes unto justice; but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10). Faith of the believers is the principal, confession is the execution.
Therefore, let us hear how the holy prophet David has set forth or for what reason he keeps his ways: 'That I sin not with my tongue,' he says. If the Prophet takes care of this, do you not take care? If he fears this, in what grace of God was he speaking, do you not fear, who do not shun words of error and take pleasure in theatrical conversations? Do you not fear, to whom it is written in the Gospel (Matthew 12:36) that you will give account for every idle word? If there is danger in idle talk, how much more in criminal talk! Not everything that is idle is criminal, but everything that is unfruitful is dangerous and to be rooted out; for every tree that does not bear fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. When the mind is disturbed, it is agitated by opposing stimuli, by those that hinder, mock, accuse; words of disturbance escape; therefore, silence is both safe and appropriate, for it preserves caution with gravity. For what are our lips but our own chains? Indeed, each person is bound by the chains of their own lips. Therefore, the wise person remains silent in time, and considers within themselves when they should speak. This is exemplified by Solomon himself: The lips of the wise are bound by understanding (Prov. 15:7). So when you see impudent mockers, a wise person keeping silent, say: This person has bound their lips with understanding; this is wisely remaining silent, lest they be bound by the chains of their own lips. He has set a guard at the entrance of his mouth, he has adorned his ears with thorns, he has put a bolt on the gates of his mouth, he keeps the treasure of his heart and the silver of his speech, so that when necessary, he may bring it forth examined and purified; lest anyone first become a thief in his heart or an agitator break in, and drag captive those to whom he may sell his wicked deeds.
Judas was contemplating selling Christ, but he was being recalled by such great grace of the Lord and certain consolations of paternal pity, by which his fury was softened: and he would not have burst forth into his wicked act, unless an adversary had sunk into his heart, because he thought he was deceiving Christ. Therefore, do not doubt that when some are troublesome to you and you wish to preserve justice, they are ministers of that most wicked sinner, who is the author of all crimes. David was seeing with prophetic eyes, he recognized his figure; therefore he remained silent, so as not to do the will of the one who desires to disturb his emotion. He suppressed his voice, closed his gates in silence, exhibited patience towards him, and kept watch over his silence; so that the enemy does not creep in, so that no wandering and careless speech comes out from the confines of his mouth. Therefore, the one who restrains himself is stronger than one who conquers cities. Just himself is his own cloister, himself the ever-watchful guardian.
When he therefore pretended to himself, he spoke in his heart: I have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner stood against me. The enemy is always present, because he always lies in wait. Even if you do not see him, he is present: even if you do not feel him, he attacks. If you do not see, believe the one who sees: The sinner stands against me, he says. Whoever sees his own sin, also sees the sinner mocking himself in the things he has done. But whoever foresees the sinner, can avoid sin. David saw that the sinner was opposing him; when Shimei cursed and threw stones at his king, and cried out: 'Get out, you man of blood!' (2 Samuel 16:7). For David would not have been so unyielding, that he would not have been moved by the reverence for such a great king, nor feared his armed army, since one of his soldiers could have killed the reviler; but the devil had made him insane, who drove him towards death. Therefore, David fought more against the instigator than he pursued the servant. For what is great, to be vindicated, of a weak man, whom another was urging on to madness, in whose death the sinner would have had the effect of his will? The devil is overcome not by the sword, but by the word of God: therefore let the tongue of man be silent, let the Word of God speak. Finally, even Christ was silent when he stood before the judgment of Pilate, in order to give us an example of silence; for the tongue of the body is prone to error, inclined to fall. But there are those who speak when they are silent, like Moses who stood amazed and silent, to whom God said when he was silent: Why do you cry out to me? Like Susanna, who remained silent in her troubles, and the Lord heard her. So even if the word of God is in you, and you remain silent in the word of God, and silently cry out, so that you may be heard by Christ.
Therefore, meditate on the things of Christ, which the prophet David meditated upon, in which Christ spoke before in this psalm that he himself was meditating upon. For it is written: 'But as for me, when they were troubling me in some way, I clothed myself in sackcloth; and I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer shall be turned to my bosom.' (Psalm 34:13) What does 'in some way' mean? It means that at that time either an inappropriate conversation slips out or a feeling is stirred up; when either we are in some pain and sadness, or our soul becomes sick with indignation, or it is hindered by certain worries, or it is preoccupied with disputes. Who, therefore, are troublesome? First, understand about the author of sin himself and his angels; then, about those who prefer to be followers of him rather than Christ. The wife is driven, as in the case of holy Job (Job II, 10 and elsewhere): friend, as is manifested in that very book; son, like Absalom; servant, freedman, household member; because even the enemies of a man are his own household members, in order to torment him individually. Therefore, what remedy is there against such afflictions of the soul, if not patience, if not silence? And, what is more serious, he provokes you more, who has made use of your favors: and among those very individuals, he irritates you more, who owes you more; by which you are moved more by the bitterness of an ungrateful person, or the indignity of some worthless individual.
Therefore, the just man, even if his friend is insolent to him, grieves for his friend; because his friend falls for this reason, because he is driven by a tempter. If he grieves for his friend, much more for his wife, for his son: if he also experiences them insolent to himself; and if his brother vexes him, like Esau against holy Jacob, he grieves and seeks to reconcile with his brother, or to flee from his presence, as Rebecca advised, so that he would not find any opportunity for harm in his brother's anger; and if his neighbor or household member grieves, he grieves; and if a minister or freeman or slave, he bears it patiently, and in all these things he is silent: so as not to respond to the one by whom he sees himself being driven. So let someone be reproached from the household? He grieves and keeps silent; let a freedman be reproached? He keeps silent; let a slave be reproached? He keeps silent. Thus, the one who extends the snare of his soul through the bait of his voice is defeated. Therefore, keep silent when someone unworthy is reproached; keep silent when your servant, especially your own, conducts himself shamefully; and say in your heart: I am silent. But don't you remain silent, O Lord (Psalm 34:22); and add: Do not depart from me, as the prophet David said; that is, do not abandon me in the face of my attackers alone. For he is not alone, to whom God is present. Take testimony. Behold, he says, the hour is coming, that each one of you may be dispersed in his own, and you may leave me alone; but I am not alone, since the Father is with me (John XVI, 32).
Therefore the just man remains silent against those who insult him, the just man prays. Listen to the just man praying: They were speaking ill of me in order to make me hated: but I was praying (Psalm 108:4). The just man blesses those who curse him; as the apostles did, as Paul asserts, saying: We are cursed, and we bless (1 Corinthians 4:13). The just man loves his enemies. See how he is taught to gradually ascend through each step to the increase of virtues, as the Lord says: Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44). Justus prays for those who slander him; for the Lord has commanded us, adding: Do good to those who hate you, pray for those who slander and persecute you (cf. Matthew 5:44). He is truly just in all things, he who observes and keeps these commandments. First, because he remains silent and does not respond to his enemies; then because he prays, which means he is not idle in his feelings. And he who prays, prays for good things, not for things that can harm his enemy. Therefore, it is better to pray than to remain silent. The righteous blesses those who curse him. This is even greater than praying for oneself; for he blesses himself, whom he does not fear, and even him whom he used to fear. The righteous loves his enemy. Loving is greater than blessing; because the love of the mind is greater than the grace of speech. The righteous does good to the one whose desires he hates. The righteous prays for those who slander. Good is love, and good is piety: both are of God, and both are God; because love is God, as John said in his epistle (1 John 4:16). Therefore, both have been joined together: Love your enemies... and pray for those who slander and persecute you. The fullness of the Law is charity: but the fullness of the Gospel also commands us to pray for those who slander and persecute us, so that we may ask for forgiveness for their sins; just as by divine judgment, the holy chosen Job, through his prayer, rightly wiped away the offense of those slandering kings (Job 42:8).
Therefore, even if you are weak, pray; even if you are strong, pray. Pray for yourself when you are weak, pray for your enemy when you are strong. Prayer is a good shield for weakness. You pray, and the Lord protects. Prayer is also a good shield for triumph, so that you may defend yourself against your enemy whom you are able to strike, lest they be slain by anyone, and (what is greater) by Christ, who said: 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay' (Rom. XII, 19). This is the prayer that turns into the lap of the petitioner, bearing fruit from those things which he desires to obtain; so that the gifts may flow back into his soul and mind, which he requested from the Lord; just as in the following passage the same prophet taught you, saying: 'So will I bless you in my life, and in your name I will lift up my hands.' As my soul is filled with fatness and abundance (Psalm 62:5-6). He himself is the bosom of the soul, the secret of its prayer, the innermost receptacles of its recurring desires. Hence, the just are said to rest in Abraham's bosom, that is, in his grace, in his rest, in his tranquility, who have clothed themselves with a faith conformable to him and have performed the same will in good works (Luke 16:22).
But perhaps someone may wonder, when the Lord said through the mouth of David, that he humbled his soul in fasting (Ps. 34:13); how then does David say later: If I did not feel humbly, but I exalted my soul (Ps. 130:2). But let him consider that one thing pertains to the wisdom of the mind, another to the humility of the heart: the wisdom of the mind is sublime; but the wisdom of the flesh should not be puffed up. Therefore, David humbled himself in fasting, in order to teach and correct the swelling of our flesh. The Prophet exalted his soul through the sublime grace of God; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11). It is not only the proud who are pushed down, and the humble who are raised up with worthy rewards, as it should be understood first: but because the word of God is sharp on all sides, like a sword that is sharp on both sides, I believe it can be understood that whoever exalts himself knows how to humble himself, and whoever knows how to humble himself also knows how to exalt himself. Finally, Paul shows, saying: 'I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound' (Philippians 4:11). Therefore, David too, by not thinking humbly of Christ, exalted his soul, which the Arians humble and cast down; and by exalting his soul, he expressed with devout affection the strength of reason, the grace of faith, and the virtue of humility.
(Verse 3) Therefore, he said: I kept silent and humbled myself and remained silent before the wicked; for he knew when he should humble himself and when he should remain silent. He kept silent so that he would not contend with those who rebuked him: he humbled himself to remove the arrogance of the proud, or to teach them by his own example how they should humble themselves; he remained silent before the righteous, for a good conscience does not need the defense of words, which relies on its own testimony, being its own judge. And so the just one says: Who will contradict me, or who will resist me? (Isaiah 50:8) And Paul says: For it is a very small thing to me that I should be judged by you, or by a human court. (1 Corinthians 4:3) The just one is content with his own judgment against slanderers and sinners, but he reserves the judgment of his own merits to Christ. Therefore, he added: The one who judges me is the Lord. (Ibid., 4) He has chosen a most perfect judge, who is not deceived by any fraud, so that nothing hidden may escape him, and no slip of weak condition may offend him; one who knows how to forgive weakness. Therefore, silence is useful in all things. If you acknowledge a sin, be silent, so as not to exaggerate it by denying it; if you do not acknowledge it, be silent in the confidence of your innocence. Other people's words cannot attach blame which your own conscience does not accept.
Following: And my pain is renewed. Still in a lower degree of virtue, he brings forth these words, that the pain is renewed for himself by the objection of past sins, which seemed to have been wiped away by forgetfulness, or covered by the compensation of good deeds. Finally, in the later part as if stronger, he says: They saw me, and shook their heads (Ps. 108:25); because they threatened, and could not harm. And he added: They curse, and you bless (Ibid. 28). And because he speaks as if stronger, he disregards the injury or shame, for which the Lord's blessing would abound for all. Therefore, in this 38th psalm, as if in a kind of meditation, not yet placed in the perfection of virtue in every way, he says to himself that his pain has been renewed. For the strongest does not know the feeling of a scar being offended, nor can he fear a wound who is stronger. In the very struggle of fighters, it is often the case that the stronger one waits to be provoked by a blow from the weaker, so that he may be provoked to retaliate more fiercely; thus, strengthened by excessive training and endurance, as if immune to pain, he cannot feel the blow, but instead laughs when struck and initiates the attack when provoked. But if the lower part, by chance, receives a blow on the covered scar of an old wound, it feels the pain renewed. So it is with one who is accused of higher sins, which he has properly grieved and mourned; in order to cover the scar of his own sins, he may apply fitting satisfaction. If one is perfect, he remains silent against those who reproach him, with no pain renewed; for even if he has sinned, he is secure because the gifts of God are without repentance; and therefore, what God has once given, He is not accustomed to undo or renew, as He Himself has said: I am, I am He who blots out iniquities, and I will not remember (Isaiah 43:25). But if one is imperfect and forgetful of heavenly precepts, the pain is repaired for him like a torn scar.
(Verse 4.) My heart burned within me, and in my meditation a fire will be kindled. More serious wounds, as we know, are healed with a caustic medicine or with the application of fire. Therefore, a wise man is his own doctor: yet even though he is a doctor, he heals his own wound. And so, if he is not fully perfected in the state of unharmed health, his heart is inflamed, he has a fever, he becomes ignited by insults. And if he remains silent, he is consumed within himself. If a stone is rubbed against a stone, it produces fire; likewise, a good conscience is ignited by a sense of shame, if the memory of one's own sins is renewed to it. And in the very meditation, the fire blazes. It is not a bad fire that burns, but does not consume. Such is the fire of God that Moses saw in the burning bush; when the bush was burning, but not consumed. Therefore, there is a fire that diminishes sin and consumes guilt with its burning. There is also a fire that is kindled by the meditations on heavenly scriptures; just like the one Jeremiah speaks of: 'And there was a fire burning in my bones (Jeremiah 20:9).' But they were conferring together, and discussing the things that had taken place. And it happened that, while they were talking and debating with one another, Jesus himself approached and began to walk with them. But their eyes were held back, so that they might not recognize him. And he said to them: 'What are these discourses that you hold with one another while you are walking, and are sad?' And one of them, whose name was Cleophas, responding, said to him: 'You alone, as a sojourner in Jerusalem, have not known the things that have happened in these days?' And he said to them: 'What things?' And they said to him: 'About Jesus of Nazareth, who was a man, a prophet, powerful in deed and word before God and all the people. And how our high priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the Redeemer of Israel. And now, aside from all this, today is the third day since these things have happened. Moreover, even some women from our group have disturbed us. They went to the tomb before sunrise, and, not finding his body, they returned, saying that they even saw a vision of Angels, who say that he is alive. And some of our people went to the tomb. And it was just as the women had said. But they did not find him.'
(Verse 5.) I have spoken in my own language: make my end known to me, O Lord, and the number of my days, that I may know what is lacking to me. A good fire, which enabled the Prophet to speak. And see that he himself is not the fire that appeared, when on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered together in one place, a great force of the Holy Spirit fell upon them, and they spoke in various tongues. For it is written: Because their tongues were seen as dispersed fire (Acts 2:3). So here is the one who said to Jeremiah: Behold, I put my words in your mouth like fire (Jerem. V, 14). And thus David also received the tongue of fire, so that he could speak with the fervor of divine knowledge: Make my end known to me, O Lord. He is not inquiring about his death (for this is not the end for one who will be resurrected), but rather about that end about which the Apostle spoke (I Cor. XV, 24 et seq.): For that end, when the Lord Jesus hands over the kingdom to God the Father, and when all Principalities and Powers are abolished, and when the last death of all humankind is destroyed, so that evil may cease and eternal goods may succeed. And therefore it is said: 'Pain, sadness, and groaning flee' (Isaiah 35:10). This was the purpose in men, as Paul says: 'And who is there to make me glad but the one who is made sad by me' (2 Corinthians 2:2)? By reproving pain, sadness, and groaning, he incited them to repentance, so that they might obtain irrevocable forgiveness and salvation, for which God would not repent. Therefore, he is the true purpose, who will not be the purpose of just one, but of all. So how did he speak of my end? But consider who is speaking. Surely a man, either one of a community of beings, or because he is described as conforming to the pattern of the universe and being trained to the perfection of a completed man.
And so he added that he wanted to know the number of days that is, so that he knows what is lacking for himself. Certainly, what is lacking for perfection, not for the life of this body for which the prophet David desired to be completed, saying: Woe is me! because my sojourn is prolonged, and I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar (Psal. CXIX, 5). Indeed, he wanted to know the number of days, but not also of nights. For here there are days and nights: but there, there are only days, there is perpetual and lasting light. And therefore he added: He who is, says he, not he who passes by. For heaven and earth will pass away, but faith remains, and the day of Christ; because yesterday and today he himself is, and for ages. But regard what number he seeks, take. In my Father's house, says he, there are many dwelling places (John 14:2). Therefore the Lord Jesus gives each one a place, that is, a dwelling suitable for the merits of each. For each one in its order. Therefore he went before, so that he might prepare a place in himself for those who believe. And he also said: If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also: and where I go, you know, and the way you know (John 14:3-4). Therefore, it is the way by which the risen Christ ascended. And indeed, he ascended above all the heavens to the seat of God: but men ascend from the first heaven to the second, and from there to the third, and so on through the distinctions to the seventh heaven, and those who deserve it ascend to the very expanse and summit of the heavens. If therefore the number of roads is, and the number of houses; surely the number of days is, through which one reaches the height of the sky.
(Verse 6.) Behold, you have made my days old: Another hath made my days new. If we follow the Septuagint version, we understand the old days; that is, we understand them according to the old man, who is nailed to the cross. Therefore, the old days have passed away, and the new have come. For one day is the day of man, another is the day of Christ, which Abraham saw and rejoiced; concerning which David also says: this is the day which the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24). Therefore, on the Lord's day, the holy one rejoices in the new day, in which God the Lord has shone upon us and has given new light to those who have been reformed into a blameless and whole life. Therefore, the righteous man says confidently about the new light and grace of God (Apoc. XXI, 1, and XXII, 5): 'There will be for me a new heaven, and a new earth, and a new light. For there, neither a lamp nor the light of the sun or moon will shine, but the Lord will enlighten upon His people.' Therefore, I have desired that, I have longed for that; and therefore, I have not sought the day of man.
But if we receive the exercise of the palaestra, from the name we understand it to be full of struggle and labor; because the palaestrae are called the wrestlers in the contest, who wrestle for the crown. Therefore, because our struggle is not only against flesh and blood, but also against spiritual wickedness in heavenly things, our days, that is, of this life, are in labor and sorrow. Hence, in the following, he says: Our years will meditate like a spider: the days of our years in them are seventy years. But if among the powerful, eighty years, and the majority of them labor and pain (Psalm 89, 9 and 10). Therefore, the apostle Paul labored more abundantly than the other apostles, so that by competing legitimately, he could reach the crown he desired.
But nevertheless, because the measurements of architects are said to be the footprints by which buildings are measured in order to determine the number or size of the space, as well as the location where the buildings are to be placed; and also because God, speaking through Isaiah, says: 'Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured the heavens with a span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Who has weighed the mountains in scales?' (Isa. XL, 12). Let us see if perhaps this meaning must be inferred from this statement, because God has knowledge of the days of all: to whom nothing is immense, who comprehends all things with a certain measure of His own knowledge, and to whom nothing is immeasurable, nothing unexamined and innumerable, who says: 'But even the hairs of your head are all numbered' (Luke XII, 7). Therefore, the Prophet says: Behold, you have known my days; my daily actions do not pass you by; you have placed my sins before your eyes: and therefore my substance is as nothing before you. For what is man, if not because you are mindful of him? Man has become like vanity. Man is in sin: and if he has any goodness and virtue, he is rightly preferred to other earthly animals, and excels in the sight of animals over which he is placed; but in the sight of God, his substance is as nothing. And elsewhere it is said: For no living man will be justified in your presence (Psalm 143:2). Which Symmachus expressed more clearly, saying: And my life is like nothing before you.
However, there are those who believe that the days are called short because Symmachus used the word σπιθαμὰς, which means palm. And because God measures the heavens by palm (as it is written in Isaiah XL, 12), they are considered to be called short, since the knowledge of God can be understood through measurement, as we mentioned before. But this celestial knowledge is such that everything has been made according to measure. Therefore, the days of the prophets can be understood not as short, but as great, which God measured with the palm with which he measured the heavens. For he would not call the days of his life short, who later said: Alas, my sojourning is prolonged (Psalm 119:5), unless perhaps because of the sins of men, God made the days of this life shorter, which used to extend to nine hundred and seventy years but now is confined within the cycle of one hundred years. Therefore, this should be understood: Behold, you have known my days subject to sin; for the days of this life, which are subject to sin, are brief: but the days of eternal life are without end.
But certainly in this way (for it is our duty to seek the truth by argument, yours to choose what you follow): You said, so that sin would not increase, you shortened the days of human life in which we live on this earth; and yet even though the end of sins is more mature in this brief course of this life, the speed of death makes my substance as nothing before you; because although we have been made in the image and likeness of God, we are burdened by some earthly contagion in this body: which would not burden us if we were more inclined to put off the old man when we put on grace, rather than wanting to put on the old man; the old man would also bring us less trouble if we were stripped, than if we were clothed with it. For what we strip off, we cast away; what we put on, we assume. And therefore we groan and labor, until this mortal vestment of the old man, and the result of error, is absorbed by the newness of his spiritual life; so that if many honeycombs are placed above poison, the venom of the poison is eradicated with difficulty and too late. Even water, when mingled with the gall of poison, struggles for a long time, if it does not expel it, but absorbs it. Therefore, there is laborious penance, there is sweet grace; because sin is stripped off where there is grace: it is absorbed where there is penance; it is remitted there, it is concealed here. And therefore it is written: Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (Psalm 32:1).
(Verse 7.) And he paused for a short while, sighing over the misery of human condition; because he had said: However, all is vanity, every living person. And after a pause, with renewed spirit, he says: Although man walks in the image of God; yet he is troubled in vain: he hoards, and does not know for whom he gathers these things. See how he tempered the harshness of his statement: afterwards he completes the reasoning of his voice. He tempered it by saying: Because man walks in the image of God. Blessed is the man who walks in the likeness of God through faith; blessed is he who has faith in you; even more blessed if he does not have greed. Another good of the mind is eternal, another is the vain fire of carnal desire. Faith wages war for God; greed tempts. The latter gathers what is profitable for itself, the former what is beneficial for others. What, therefore, is so vain as to not know for whom it labors as an heir? For who knows if a son or a proper grandson will survive for himself? Often either in a will written on tombstone tablets, the heir precedes the testator with a fatal ambit, or the surviving heir absorbs the inheritance, or the luxurious person squanders it, or the most foolish person does not protect it, or the outlaw loses it. If you see someone diligently amassing wealth, say to him: Vanity disturbs him: he hoards and does not know for whom he collects. For he cannot take with him what he possesses; and when he dies, he will leave his wealth to others. The enemy frequently succeeds and is ungrateful, and the successor insults the one who has departed. The one whom he loved, this one pursues; the one whom he nurtured, this one sells.
However, the Greek does not have: In the image of God; but only: In the image. In which image then does man walk? He surely walks in the image in whose likeness he was made; that is, in the image of God. But the image of God is Christ; who is the splendor of glory, and the image of his substance. Therefore, Christ, the image of God, came to earth; so that we would no longer walk in the shadow, but in the image. For in Christ, the image, walks he who follows the Gospel. Therefore, he says to his disciple: 'Go behind me (Mark 8:33), so that you may follow me.' Therefore, the people of the Jews went astray because they walked in the shadow. Therefore, the Christian people do not go astray because they walk in the image, having the sun of righteousness shining upon them. A good image, not painted with deceitful wax, but expressed in the fullness of divinity. In this image, both the Father and the Son are seen together, because through both of them the unity of operation shines forth. Although Christ has already risen, his image is still shown to us in the Gospel (John XI, 44). I read that he raised Lazarus; and I believe it is the work of the Father and the Son. The Son called, the Father heard, and Lazarus walked. I read that even the demons confessed to him; they confessed to the Father as well, for they prayed to the Son of God; they confessed to him, too, for they were cast out by him. For it is written: But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you(Matthew XII, 27).
First, therefore, the shadow preceded, then the image, and finally the truth. The shadow is in the Law, the image in the Gospel, and the truth in the celestial. The shadow of the Gospel and the congregation of the Church is in the Law, the image of the future truth in the Gospel, and the truth in the judgment of God. Therefore, what is now celebrated in the Church was their shadow in the words of the prophets: shadow in the flood, shadow in the Red Sea; when our fathers were baptized in the cloud and in the sea: shadow in the rock that flowed with water, and the people followed. Was not that in the shadow the sacrament of this sacred mystery? Was not in the shadow the water from the rock, like blood from Christ, which followed the fleeing people, that they might drink and not thirst: that they might be redeemed and not perish? But now the shadow of night and the darkness of the Jews has departed, the day approaches for the Church. We now see the good things in an image, and we hold the goods of an image. We have seen the High Priest coming to us, we have seen and heard him offering his blood for us: we follow, as we are able, as priests; that we may offer sacrifice for the people: although weak by merit, yet honorable by sacrifice; for although Christ is not now seen offering, yet he is offered on earth when the body of Christ is offered: in fact, he himself is made manifest in us, whose word sanctifies the sacrifice which is offered. And indeed, He Himself intercedes for us with the Father; but now we do not see Him; then we shall see, when the image has passed away, the truth has come. Then, not through a mirror, but face to face, those things which are perfect will be seen.
Ascend therefore, O man, into heaven, and you will see those things whose shadow or image were here. You will see them not in part, not in riddles, but in their fullness; not in veils, but in light. You will see the true light, the eternal and everlasting High Priest; of whom you saw here images, Peter, Paul, John, James, Matthew, Thomas. You will see the perfect man, no longer in image, but in truth; for as he is heavenly, so too will he be heavenly. Certainly they themselves now have glory and beauty, now in the grace of resurrection; not in the body of death, and the deformity of corruption.
Beware of carrying the image of the earthly, where the light of the celestial is. Here, if someone has the image of a tyrant who has already been defeated, he is rightly condemned. How do you bring the image of an enemy and adversary into the city of the true emperor, unless to condemn yourself? And if you want to bring the image of the earthly, the prince of this world will contradict you and say: This image is mine, and what you offer belongs to me. What will you do when he catches you and tells you: Greed is mine, ambition is mine, wealth is mine, of which I recognize the image in you? For he is indeed an adversary and defender. And if you were like Jacob, you would say that Laban transforms himself into an angel of light: Recognize if you find anything of yours in me (Gen. XXXI, 32). Then he will search, and not finding anything, he will be confounded and depart; because you have hidden and obliterated all the images of vices. Blessed is he who can say: The prince of this world will come, and he will find nothing in me (John XIV, 30). For he seeks what is his own, not what belongs to Christ. Therefore, if you follow the things that are of Christ, do not be eager for the riches that you did not have, but increase the ones you did; and let the poor feel rich in you. Bring the needy into your house, break bread for the hungry, and clothe the naked; so that a treasure may be stored in heaven for you, which will pass with you. Christ became poor, even though he was rich, so that he may make us rich through his poverty. Therefore, do not be troubled in vain because of riches, do not be awakened from sleep, do not think about how to protect your money, how to increase your wealth, how to go out at night, how to guard the judge's house; so that you may plunder what belongs to others, bring a lawsuit against the poor, fear the tax collector: this anxiety is pointless.