See that his actions agreed with David's prayers. He had offended the Lord because he had ordered the people to be numbered. He anticipated the messenger of God with his confession, acknowledging that he had sinned greatly and foolishly. Not as if he were reminding the forgetful, but as if he were urging the one who hesitated, so that he would not delay the resolution of the offense any longer. 'I have sinned greatly,' he said, 'for I have done this thing' (1 Chronicles 21:8); and now, Lord, remove the iniquity of your servant. But how sins are removed, listen to the one who says: 'Her sin is forgiven; for she has received double from the hand of the Lord for all her sins' (Isaiah 40:2). Therefore, he does not demand that the sin be completely remitted; but rather that it be erased by a moderate solution; that is, that its memory be erased in the future. Finally, as if with the voice of an interrupter, the Lord, so that the punishment for the committed error would not be deferred, sent Nathan the prophet to him; and he came to the king and said to him: Choose what you want to happen: three years of famine over the land, or three months of fleeing from the face of your enemies and those pursuing you, or three days of death in the land. And now know, and see what I should answer to him who sent me (I Par. XXI, 11 and 12). See how God, as a teacher, moderates his anger, if we are not completely resistant to punishment; but let us request a method of alleviating, not avoiding, the penalty. He proposed three options, so that he could choose what he considered more moderate. Also, see how he provokes repentance; that we should offer ourselves to the offense: commanding the choice of punishment, so that a certain prerogative of choice is maintained in the punishment itself, and soothing the accused with this word. And David said to Nathan: I am in distress in these three, but I will fall more into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great, more than in the hands of men (1 Chronicles 21:13). Did he demand punishment for himself for the error? If he had, he would be blamed for impudence, for he would have been ungrateful for divine moderation. For a modest confession greatly supports the defendant; and the punishment we cannot avoid by defense, we lessen through shame. He chose not what was immune from punishment, but what he judged more moderately; so that he would entrust himself more to the kindness of God, who knows how to forgive, than to the power of men, who often exceed the measure of vengeance. Therefore, he has mercy on those who do not know how to err; he does not have mercy on those who are partakers of error.
And the holy David's faith did not deceive him, but even in his offense, he obtained the grace of divine mercy. For he, who had determined to exercise death for three days on earth, did not allow even one day to pass by; but willingly granted a pardon until the hour of lunch, and, as I may use the word of Scripture, he repented of his wickedness (2 Samuel 24:16). See how Scripture exhorts you to not reject repentance, but to follow God, whom you ought to follow. He added well, above wickedness; because every revenge seems to be hard. Therefore even the day of judgment is called a bad day, from which blessed is the one who is freed by God; as it is written: In the bad day, the Lord will deliver him (Psalm 40:2). And the Lord said, saying, to the angel that he should spare there. Notice, however, that when the Lord wants to forgive, He gives grace and confidence to pray. And David saw the angel striking, and he said: Here I am; I have sinned, and I have done evil as a shepherd, and what have these done in this flock? Let your hand be upon me and upon the house of my father (I Chronicles 21:17). If the Lord had commanded the angel to spare, how then did the angel still strike, unless it is because the Lord, although he desires to forgive, desires to be asked for forgiveness, and in order to be asked, he acts? And no man would have seen the striking angel, unless the Lord had revealed the angel to his eyes. Hence, Elisha says: Lord, open the eyes of this boy, that he may see. And the eyes of the boy were opened, and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots all around the prophet (II Kings 6:17). Do not be moved by the lowly appearance of a servant, compared to that of prophets or kings; for the appearance of horses and chariots is lower than the holiness of angels.
And perhaps it may seem difficult to some who read hastily that David, humble in heart and meek, who spared his enemies, chose the death of the people rather than his own flight or hunger on the earth. He avoided the hunger of the people because it is considered more severe than the plague, which pollutes the sky and causes death. He did not request his own flight because of this; for the prophet could intercede for the people, as it happened: the people could not intercede for the prophet. For it is written: If the people should err, the priest shall pray for them; if the priest should err, who shall pray for him? Yet when he saw that the people were about to be killed, he offered himself to the striking angel, so that he himself would be struck instead of the people. It is even more that, not terrified by the appearance of the dead, he offered himself to the sword, rather than wishing for a discourse on the proposed condition. Therefore, he followed reason in his choice, and piety in his grief.
But behold the grace of God, that he himself turned away from the intended condition. Is mercy a crime? For he threatens more and exacts less. He who keeps his promises in rewarding his rewards, in demanding punishments, violates the prescribed punishment. When he is angry with the guilty, he delays; when he takes pity, he hastens to absolve; he terrifies in order to correct; he admonishes in order to amend; he anticipates in order to forgive. Hence the Prophet also says of the Lord elsewhere: The cup in the Lord's hand is full of mixed wine. . . . but his dregs have not been poured out (Psalm 74:9). The cup is full for frightening, but it is not emptied for striking. The cup was full when death was commanded for three days, but the mercy of God intervened, the hand of the Angel held back before emptying that cup. But in order for you to know that the cup is a punishment or a sword, hear him saying: Take this cup of pure wine from my hand and make all the nations to which I send you drink from it, and they will vomit and act insane from the sight of the sword (Jeremiah 25:15-16). And it is said to Jerusalem: You have drunk the cup of wrath from the hand of the Lord; you have drunk the cup of ruin and have drained it, and there was no one to console you (Isaiah 51:17). Jerusalem has drunk the measure, which has sinned beyond measure: the Church of the Christians does not know how to drain the cup of wrath, but the anointed one has been drained: for whom Christ has emptied himself, so that he might be fragrant everywhere. This gift has been received from the hand of the Lord, but it does not know the cup of death. I choose two cups, one of death, the other of life. Christ emptied the cup of death with His blood; and He served a new cup, so that we may say: I will receive the cup of salvation (Psalm 115:13). The new cup is the Testament, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. This cup is poured out, and its dregs are not found, because it cleanses every offense.
We have said how the Lord bends his anger in vengeance; let us declare how he anticipates our prayers in rewarding us, and let us teach by his example. Listen to the robber saying to the Lord: Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42). The Lord answered: Amen I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise. He was still asking that he be remembered when he would come into his kingdom; and although the Lord had not yet come, he was already giving him the heavenly kingdom. How swift is mercy! Slower is the fulfillment of the prayer than the reward for the one who gives.
Therefore, David held moderation and did not ask for forgiveness, saying: Lord, do not accuse me in your anger, nor rebuke me in your fury. Fury in Greek is called θυμὸς, and it is the impulse of anger. This is what the Latin wanted to express: Neither in anger, nor in the very impulse of anger, do you accuse me or rebuke me. But rebuke is education. It is also said in Greek παίδευσις, about which it is said: Blessed is the man whom you have educated, O Lord (Psalm 93:13)! For indeed God is not open to passion, such as to become angry, since He is impassible; but because He vindicates, He appears to be angry. This appears to us; because we ourselves are accustomed to vindicate with emotion. However, often both men are found to vindicate without being moved; but to celebrate revenge with the utmost patience, to exercise torments. Therefore, why do you wonder in God, if you sometimes recognize this in man? We have already said that revenge is a form of anger. Finally, it has a use, so that we may say of anyone being punished, because it falls within the scope of the laws: not because it falls within the anger of the laws, but because it falls within the severity of the laws. Thus, in the same place, it says concerning the ten plagues of the Egyptians: He sent upon them his anger by evil angels (Psalm 77:49), that is, vengeance; for the law does not know how to be angry, but it knows how to be the minister of laws. Therefore, he who is the author of laws does not know how to be angry, to whom it is a desire to instill fear, not to punish. Therefore, imitate, O rulers, the divine example; so that you may be stricter in enacting laws, and merciful in exacting punishments. Let the severity of the laws restrain audacious insolence, and let the mercy of princes withdraw the guilty from punishment. Therefore, the Prophet recognizes his own fault, sees the wounds, and demands to be healed. He who wants to be healed does not shrink from being accused, but does not want to be accused in anger, but in the word of God. The word of God is healing. For we read thus: He sent forth his Word, and healed them (Psalm 107:20). He does not want to be educated in anger, but in doctrine; so that if you ask a doctor, he does not cut your wound, but applies medicine; he urges with the remedy, but does not cut. Finally, there is pain, but not beyond the measure of pain: it bites, but does not draw blood.
(Verse 2.) And he added: Because your arrows have pierced me. He seems to be saying the same thing as the holy Job; but they are different. For he also says: The arrows of the Lord are in my body, the fury of which drinks my blood: when I begin to speak, they pierce me (Job 6:4). He complains about the wound of his body; here he deplores the wounds of his soul. And perhaps here he is repenting of sin: he pleads the cause of human weakness; and as an advocate of our frailty, he seeks the remedy of the Creator's work. Therefore he prays, and he intercedes. And for this reason, the pain of this one is more intense; because the wounds of the soul are more severe than those of the flesh. He says that the arrows of the Lord are in his own body, while this one laments those which are embedded; his blood is drunk, while this one's is spilled; he is pierced, while this one is wounded; the hand of God has touched him, while it is confirmed upon this one by the weight of the burden; he laments that his soul is filled with illusions, while this one laments his body with wounds. But the hand of God, we understand as the power of punishing. This hand punished the king of the Egyptians because of the injury to Abraham, for the attempted chastity of Sarah. This hand sank the chariots, horses, and people of the Egyptians in the deep of the Red Sea. This hand burdened the mind of king Saul, so that he hated the favor of his preserver; and for his transgression of heavenly authority, deserted by his companions and also forsaken by his sons who were killed, he turned his sword against himself, a spectacle nothing is more deformed than for a king, so that the captive old man would not live, surviving his sons and his kingdom. David, having experienced in himself and his children the one's incest, the other's parricide, lamented and wept both the disgrace of his offspring and the destruction of his piety, which is more serious for a devoted father. One of them, inflamed with desire for his sister, was driven to incest, while the other, armed with zeal for chastity, was driven to parricide. See how they have been ensnared in the most serious crimes by the closest bonds of virtue. Would that either he had not loved his sister, or this one had not sought revenge! Finally, even he himself, driven from the boundaries of his homeland by his son, fled from the enemy whom he desired to inherit: he feared to win, lest he be conquered at the expense of his piety.
But perhaps someone may say: How can God's hand be in the act of murder or incest, when that work belongs to the enemy? Let us therefore understand that just as the devil wounds, the arrows of the Lord are said to wound. For we read this, that when the Lord turned to the devil in the council of the holy angels and spoke about his servant Job (Job 1:8 et seq.): that the envious one and adversary of the human race (for the praise of a lower substance is condemnation of the one who has been cast from a higher state) the devil replied, saying that Job did not worship the Lord gratuitously, who had been blessed by the will of God with abundance for all. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and see if he will not curse you to your face (Job 1:11). And God allowed the devil to have power, to stretch out his hand over all that Job possessed. After these events, when the holy Job remained unyielding in his strength, because Job was not moved by the death of his children or the loss of his possessions: the Lord again spoke to the devil, mocking him, that he had scattered all that Job had, and killed his children; yet he could not in any way move Job from his position of virtue. And he answered: Whatever a man has, he will give it for his soul. But put forth your hand, he said, and touch his flesh and bones (Job 2:4-5). And he took power again, to put his hand upon his body; but to keep his soul. And he poured out ulcers on the holy Job (Job 19:21), where is his going out from the Lord. Therefore, we understand that the hand of the Lord is said to be where the man is, the devil attacking, temptation. Indeed, Job said that the hand of the Lord is the one that touches him (Job 16:12), and he mentioned that the arrows of the Lord are the arrows of pirates. And he said, 'He has delivered me into the hands of the unjust' (ibid., 14). Therefore, he absolves himself, because when the devil wounds, the arrows belong to the Lord, who allowed the devil the power to wound. Finally, if you command that your servant be beaten, is he not considered beaten by you even if he is beaten by someone else standing by? And there is this reason; because the Lord gives power to the tempter, so that the affections of men may be tested in temptations. Therefore persecution occurs, so that faith may shine, virtue may excel, and the inner mind may be revealed to all.
Therefore, temptation pierces the innermost part of a person like an arrow, and it is like the sword of God that examines the inner thoughts. And indeed, the sword is the powerful word of God, sharper than any sharp sword, as we hear in the saying of Simeon to Mary: 'And a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed' (Luke 2:35). For by the word of God, everything is revealed, in whose presence all things are naked and open. The soul itself seems to be, the innermost thoughts are revealed: and there is no creature finally, as the Scripture says (Heb. IV, 12 and 13), which hides itself from His knowledge. Therefore let us sell all things, in order to buy the word, and hide it in our hearts.
Finally, the devil himself testifies that man gives everything he has for his own soul, and does not consider that price worthy of the redemption of one soul. Why do we spare our possessions, which the devil himself deems worthless for salvation? I have said too little for salvation, he also declares that it is too little for error. Finally, he says, 'All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me' (Matt. IV, 9). He showed not only the riches of the world, but also honors and kingdoms. It is agreed that the devil should be worshipped; how much should a Christian offer to be resurrected with Christ? But let us send the devil away like a goat sent into the desert; for he is not a faithful advocate of the truth; although sometimes he transforms himself into an angel of light.
We have abundant testimonies from divine scriptures which teach us that nothing is more precious in a person than faith, and that there is no greater inheritance that can be offered to our salvation and soul. By faith, Abraham left his country (Gen. XII, 4 et seq.), his land, and even the neighbors whom he saw, and he followed the One whom he did not see as though he were seeing Him. Moses also esteemed the price of his soul greater than all the riches of Egypt (Heb. XI, 26). What lofty things shall I speak of? Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2, 4 et seq.) that foreigner from another age, nevertheless thought that her soul should be redeemed not only by the contempt of all that she possessed, but also by the perils of life: she denied the spies of Joshua to her fellow citizens who were searching for them; and she chose to hide the enemies of her homeland rather than betray them, the messengers of faith. Neither the threats of her fellow citizens, nor the perils of war, nor the burning of her homeland, nor the dangers to her own people frightened her. Learn, man, learn, Christian, how you should follow the true Jesus; when a woman despised all her possessions and followed Jesus in appearance because of the similarity of their names. Therefore, Solomon wisely said: The wealth of a man is the redemption of his soul (Prov. XIII, 8). So redeem your soul. Money is cheap, but it becomes precious through faith: it is cheap when accumulated, precious when dispersed; for it is written: He scattered, he gave to the poor: his righteousness endures forever (Psal. CXI, 9).
Therefore, if you are such that you are able to despise not only all your possessions, but even your own flesh for the sake of justice, which is the most valuable possession (for a righteous person is rich), and although the rivers may enclose you on all sides, you cross over. For even if the Lord gives the power of temptation to you, He commands the devil to guard your soul himself, as it is written: 'That you may destroy the enemy and defender' (Psalm 8:3); for he tempts as an adversary, but defends as a servant. For it is written: And the unicorn will serve you (Job XXXIX, 9). He serves, indeed, who executes not what he wishes from his own will, but unwillingly obeys the imperial commands out of necessity. Consider the height of Christ, how He turned back against the devil the price of His own malice. He forces us to do what we hate: For what I wish, that I do not; but what I hate, that I do, as the Apostle said (Rom. VII, 15). The Lord repays him in the same way, as he often does not do what he wants; but he does what he hates. In conclusion, he keeps in check the soul that he wants to subdue. We condemn the corruption of the flesh, yet we follow it; like that widow who breaks her promise to her husband and then wants to remarry, which she had previously avoided (1 Timothy 5:20). He is an enemy to the saints, and a defender is employed, so that he may be punished even more; so that he who desires to harm may not dare to do so. And how much more bearable it is to love virtues, even if you cannot fulfill them, than to hate virtues, which you cannot harm.
(Verse 3.) There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of your anger. Isaiah explained this passage to us: We have sinned, and you are angry with us (Isaiah 64:5). But who can withstand the face of the Lord's anger? Perhaps he can, because the eyes of the Lord are on those who do evil (Psalm 34:17). For if the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, how can the Prophet be weakened by the face of God's anger? Therefore, consider this, which David himself said later: For you have delivered me from all my troubles; and my eye looks upon my enemies (Psalm 54:9). For just as He looks upon the good deeds of the righteous, so He also uncovers the hidden sins of the wicked. Unless, perhaps, you refer this to Christ, who was delivered from all those who oppressed Him, when He withdrew Himself from the Jewish people, who were constantly wearing Him down with sacrileges and daily impieties; and He called His enemies to His grace, whom the eye of God saw and loved. Therefore, because God is merciful, there is no reason for despair. Though He may be angered, He forgives; though He may strike, He heals; though He delivers the flesh to destruction, He saves the spirit. Therefore, do not fear the weakness of the flesh; for when the holy one is weak, he is stronger.
But what does he mean when he says, 'There is no peace in my bones because of the face of my sins'? What are these bones; are they of the soul or of the body? But the care for bodily pain would not be so great if the soul did not also suffer; for it is the desire of the holy to have the flesh scourged for the sake of the soul, just as Paul himself scourged himself lest his teaching be discredited. There are certain inner bones of man, just as there are other members, the eyes of the mind, and the nostrils; as Job said, 'The divine spirit is in my nostrils' (Job. XXVII, 3). Therefore, there are also bones by which a certain bond of charity is formed. Hence, Adam said of the partner of charity and co-heir of the grace of life: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.' (Gen. II, 23). The Apostle, interpreting this, said: 'This is a great mystery; but I speak in Christ and in the Church.' (Ephes. V, 32). And who would doubt that the sacrament of Christ and the Church is not carnal but spiritual, since every good person is bound in that marriage not by the flesh but by the beauty of virtue? And should one love the character of morals in his wife, not mere physical satisfaction? Finally, listen, because he speaks not according to the flesh, but according to inner virtue: My mouth is not hidden, which you made in secret (Psalm 138:15). Therefore, virtue is not flesh, which knows the hidden things of God the Father.
Therefore, there is no peace for the soul with virtues, when our sins come together before our eyes and pour into our minds. And this has been well interpreted by the chosen Doctor of the Gentiles, in the second letter to the Corinthians, saying: For even when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in all things: fights outside, fears within (II Cor. VII, 5). The sins of the Macedonians troubled them; how much more do our own sins disturb each one of us, so that there can be no rest for us? Our greatest enemy is our own guilt, which disturbs the idle, afflicts the healthy, saddens the joyful, unsettles the peaceful, agitates the meek, and awakens the sleeping. We are guilty without an accuser, tormented without a torturer, bound without chains, and sold without a seller. As Scripture says, 'You were sold for your sins' (Isaiah 50:1). These, therefore, are the sins that are always against us, as the Prophet said, 'They have sold us and hold dominion over us' (Isaiah 3:12). The servant who is sold leaves with his previous service; to migrate to another Master: we neither remove the yoke of the past nor are we bent towards new sins.
(Ver. 4.) And the Holy One groaned, saying: For my iniquities have overwhelmed my head: as a heavy burden they have been laid upon me; that is, my iniquities have surpassed my head, and they tower above me, crushing my senses; for the eyes of the wise are in their head. And therefore Nabal was a wicked and stubborn man; because his senses were obstructed by malice and wickedness. Therefore he could not accept the word of Abigail; but his heart hardened, and he lay like one infirm. But see to it that this is not the head about which the Apostle says (Colossians 2:19), for he does not hold fast to it, being inflated with the mind of the flesh. But this head is Christ; for Christ is the head of every man. This is the head which, through the joints and bands of the whole people, grows to the increase of God; for in all of us, Christ rises up through his individual members. Therefore, when our sins weigh us down, and we are depressed by the leaden weight of wickedness, let us break their chains and cast away their yoke from us, so that we can lift up the eyes of our mind and hear him saying: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matthew 11:28). Finally, Egypt was burdened by greed, money troubled the markets of the Ethiopians, as it is written: Egypt toiled, the markets of the Ethiopians, and the men of Saba, lofty men, will come over to you (Isaiah 45:14). Egypt toiled before knowing the truth: but now they no longer toil since they have turned to Christ. The willing men of Saba follow, who previously fled; for they are held by the bonds of charity, which are stronger than adamant. And beautifully it is applied to this place in Isaiah: Every head is in pain, and every heart is in sadness: from feet to head there is no wound, nor scar, nor plague with heat (Isaiah I, 5 and 6). For injustice boils, when it dominates, lifting itself up and occupying its place over our head, so that Christ the teacher of repentance does not hold him. These injustices have great power, if you consider that man of injustice, who is to come according to the works of Satan in every power, and signs, and deceitful wonders, and every kind of wickedness: whom the Apostle showed us to beware of (2 Thessalonians II, 9 and 10), because he will receive the work of error, so that the faithful may be proven, and the unfaithful may be judged.
(Verse 5.) Therefore, rightly placed under iniquities, and (what is worse) his own, he says that his scars have become corrupted and decayed from the face of his foolishness; because the remedy for lifting the burden of iniquities followed slowly. However, even Job, who with a holy razor shaved the pus from his sores, was deprived of health; and Lazarus, a poor man who lay at the rich man's gate, with dogs licking his wounds, was lifted from the stench of his scars and placed in Abraham's bosom by angels. So in the holy David there is hope for the remedy of health; for it is not fragrant ointments, but the stench of his wounds of sin that heal; and because he is afflicted and bent down by them, and not delighted. Look now at some lewd young man, and remarkably lustful, who spends his life in debauchery, lying in luxury like that rich man in fine linen and purple, and feasting splendidly every day, with wine-soaked floors beneath him, the ground covered with flowers and thorns, the dining rooms filled with the fumes of various incenses, thinking himself blessed and considering himself to smell good; even though he bears heavy and enduring wounds of his soul, and his corrupted blood flows, he does not perceive any stench from his scar. For he has obstructed his nostrils with filth, and he cannot say: The divine spirit, which is in my nostrils (Job. XXVII, 3). Therefore, that rich man could not find the remedy of salvation, but the poor man found it. Finally, one is in torment among the dead, the other in rest.
Therefore, the holy prophet David also found the remedy for eternal salvation, who confessed the wounds of his soul and spoke of his own scars having decayed from the face of his folly. But there is also a folly that brings salvation to those who believe through the foolishness of preaching. Therefore, the prophet rejects the wisdom of this world, which is not known by God, with the Gospel spirit. It covers its wounds and does not reveal them to the Lord. Therefore, better is the foolishness that has eyes to see its own wounds than wisdom that does not have them. And therefore, with the gaze of his own foolishness, such a great king admits to being afflicted by miseries; so that he may find the remedy of repentance, which Judas, who possessed a field with the wages of iniquity, could not find.
(Verse 6.) I am afflicted and bowed down by miseries until the end; I go about in sorrow all day long. Until what end does he say he is bowed down? Is it the legitimate end of repentance? Or moreover, so that we may understand it mystically, until Christ, who is the end of the Law; who allowed himself to be scourged, allowed his body to be stoned to death? But those wounds emitted no smell of repentance, but rather the fragrance of all grace. Finally, death did not consume Him, as it does with other men; rather, the fountain of eternal life gushed forth, as Scripture teaches us, saying: 'With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation' (Isaiah 12:3). Therefore, water sprang forth from His wound, so that we might drink salvation. All sinners of the earth will drink, so that they may cast off their sins. Consider each detail. Christ was afflicted with miseries in order to make blessed those who were in misery. Let no one call him who is just miserable, for he himself said: You will make no one miserable (Isaiah 33:1). He was bent down so that we could be raised up; he was sad so that we could be made joyful; as it is written: For if I cause you sorrow, who then will make me glad, unless the one who is made sad by me (2 Corinthians 2:2). Therefore, whoever is made sad by the Lord Jesus Christ, he himself makes Christ glad; and he himself is made joyful by Christ. Therefore, we also recognize that we must not be satisfied with superficiality. Let us bend until the end, that is, not only having faith in Christ, but also enduring our sufferings, and let us rejoice in our sufferings, just as Christ rejoiced in his sufferings. He took them upon himself for his servants, so let us undergo them for the Lord. This, therefore, is the end. 'I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, which is the Church, of which I have become a minister' (Colossians 1:24). We see what we must undertake, who have taken up the priestly ministry; that we ought to endure courageously not only the afflictions of the body for ourselves, but also for the Church of the Lord. But David added the afflictions of the soul.
(Verse 7, 8, 9, 10.) Finally, He Himself says: Since my soul is filled with illusions and there is no health in my body. I am bent and greatly humiliated; I roar with the groaning of my heart. And before You, all my desires and groans are not hidden. My heart is troubled, and my strength has deserted me, and the light of my eyes is not with me. Therefore, we understand that the labor of the soul is greater than that of the body. Finally, understand by what illusions the soul is filled, namely that in temptations the devil seems to mock and insult her as if she were seriously suffering. However, Symmachus says that the loins, in which the seeds of human generation are located, are the area. Therefore, the Wisdom of God commands you to have your loins girded (Luke 12:35), so that your chastity may not be dissolved. Finally, so that you may know that in the loins there are stirrings of lust, which are often stirred up by the devil; when he strives to scatter the members of Christ, and to make them the members of a harlot: Behold, he says, his strength is in his loins, and his power is in his belly (Job 40:11). In the loins of the man, semen is produced; in the womb, however, of the woman. Therefore, the devil tricks in these matters, in order to commit adultery, incest, and fornication. And thus, the one who commits fornication, sins in their own body, not outside the body. First, because the flesh becomes weak, which is dissolved by lust, and does not preserve the restraints of chastity; then, because the seeds that should be used for the purpose of procreating offspring, instead, cause contamination of the body, rather than the fruit of posterity. Hence, therefore, they are called illusions perhaps, because in these the heat of the body often deceives without the frequency of intercourse. Hence the Seventy interpret the illusions of souls, because the devil, by deceiving the affections of someone, strives in vain to exhaust his strength and empty his virtue, and dissolve his fortitude. Therefore, elsewhere it is said: And my reins have been loosened (Psalm 72:21). In this, the blessed Apostle confirms us, that we should not fear the illusions of the soul or the weakness of the flesh, because Christ is the power of both our soul and body, who cares for the sick, as a physician: He strengthens the weak, as the strength of all. Finally, even though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).
Therefore, the holy David, exhausted and worn down by the illusions of his soul, had bowed down and humbled himself excessively. Not because he would give a place to the sins that were overwhelming him, as we have said, or yield to the enemy, who teaches him in the later verses that he should not yield, saying: How maliciously has the enemy operated against your holy ones, and those who hated you have boasted in the midst of your feast? They have set up their signs as signs; and I have not known them as being on the way above the highest point. They cut down its doors with axes, as in a forest of trees (Psalm 73:3 and following). They set up the signs of their wickedness above the highest point against my enemies (what is the highest point but your head, where your senses are, where Christ is Wisdom); I did not acknowledge, that is, I did not agree with or consent to them, and I adhered to the judgment of my own thoughts. Hence you have elsewhere: I did not acknowledge the wicked word; and: I did not recognize the wicked ones who turned away from me (Psalm 101:3-4). Finally, when Christ knows everything, he does not know sin; for he knows what is his own, that is, what belongs to virtues, not what belongs to vices. Therefore, Scripture says to you: The Lord knows those who are his (2 Timothy 2:19). But to the wicked it says: Depart from me, for I do not know you (Luke 13:27). And through Jeremiah it spoke, saying: I was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and I did not know (Jeremiah 11:19). How did he not know what he had predicted in advance? But I did not know, he said, their thoughts, their malice. I do not want to know what belongs to blood. Finally, I will not gather their assemblies about blood (Ps. 15:4); and: I blot out their iniquities, and I do not remember (Is. 43:25). I do not want to know what he will delay to come. I did not know which woods would burn, nor what is placed in a pile of woods, or straw, or hay, so that the flame may consume them more quickly with their sustenance. I want to know those things that endure, so that they may receive the reward of their labors: I want to know those things that are built above the foundation, so that they may be improved; not those things that are on the way, where passers-by may destroy them: I want to know those things that are vines, those certain trees that bear fruit, not those that are gathered into bundles and prepared for burning; that is, I am not an arbiter and associate to those things that are perishable. Therefore, it is not the association with something, but the criminal association that is at fault.
But by what reason did he not know those who boast in unfruitful and fragile things? Because they overturn the faithful souls' entrances with their evil deeds and the axes of their iniquity, and they tear apart the gateways of the pious mind with cruel actions, so that Christ may not enter through them. However, each person must guard their gates and doors, so that when Christ comes and knocks, the ministering powers that go before and run ahead may say: Take up your gates, O rulers, and be lifted up, O everlasting doors (Ps. 38:7). Truly, those princes who have governed themselves well, Christ has entered into their souls. It is also similar to what Solomon said: If the spirit of one who has power rises against you, do not leave your place; for carefulness mitigates great offenses. For diligence and trust hold a higher position, while treachery holds a lower one. Therefore, let good diligence rise to you, which excludes the snares of the enemy and removes sin, so that the malice of the one who has power may not be able to harm you. The Preacher sees this wickedness under the sun, that is, in this world, from where also Scripture mentioned this place under the sun. Therefore, he saw under the sun, not above the sun, where the peace of angels is, or the holiness of heavenly powers. Or perhaps he said under the sun of iniquity; for the devil presides over wickedness, Christ over virtues. Therefore, in order to conquer the spirit possessing power, which he received for a time, David bent himself in prayer, bending his neck like a circle, and humbled himself in prayers; for the prayer of the humble penetrates the clouds, and surpasses the heights of the elements, so that it may approach Christ.
And he roared from the groan of his heart. He roars, who expresses groanings alone, not words. Therefore, this is that glorious prayer, when the Spirit intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings (Rom. VIII, 26), as the chosen vessel affirmed. This is the groaning which God does not despise, who does not despise a younger servant orphaned by his father, nor a widow, if she pours out speech.
Therefore, the Apostle of the Holy Spirit sets forth a sign of mourning before all things, as we read. Finally, let us guard the gate of our souls, so that the entrance of our confession may not be split apart by the axes of excessive talk. Let nothing unusual and arrogant come forth from our mouth; let us not lift up a light axe or a hammer, which do not enter into the Church of the Lord. Close the gate when you pray, so that an evil spirit may not enter there and extort sin, where we desire to gain the profit of piety. He who prays like this, his anguish is not hidden from the Lord. Indeed, the anguish of the holy Peter was recognized and heard when he wept bitterly. Surely, it is not the bitter tears that are mourned, but the bitter emotion that pours them out. In the treacherous Ahab, the anguish would have found grace, if not for the lingering envy that multiplied the offense. For it is not a superficial lament that is preached, but one that leads to conversion. It is written: If you lament and turn back, you will be saved.
Let us also present before the Lord all our desires: What is desire? For desire is the longing for a good thing: With desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you (Luke 22:15); and: As the deer longs for streams of water (Psalm 42:2). But I believe that one who repents, who afflicts himself, should not enumerate his own good deeds, but his committed sins. In conclusion, I think we are taught by those verses, in which it says: O God, I will recount my life to you: You have put my tears in your sight (Psalm 55:9). For it does not announce a life as innocent, where tears are shed, which usually undertake a mission for sins. Unless perhaps we understand it this way, that even if someone is innocent, they cannot be secure, having daily struggles against very serious enemies; and therefore, although this consciousness may be joyful, the battle is still lamentable. So, next to these verses, we can understand concupiscence more than desire; for the Greek word used is ἐπιθυμία, which means concupiscence, but desire is called ἐπιθυμία. But concupiscence is spoken of both in good and in evil. It longed, and my soul failed within the courts of the Lord (Ps. LXXXIII, 13), for good; but in the Law it is different: For I would not have known concupiscence, if the Law had not said: Thou shalt not covet (Rom. VII, 7), certainly for evil. Finally, let the subject teach us that, by occasion received, sin worketh every concupiscence in the affection of man through the commandment. However, we can understand it in this way: Before you I place all desire; this is to make manifest to you what I desire to obtain; so that it may seem to be referred to the order of petitions, not to vainglory. For boasting is unwelcome even in the innocent, but supplication is praiseworthy in the sinner.