14. (Verse 106.) Therefore, to whomsoever the Word of God has become a lantern, to him the paths shine wherever he goes, just as they shone for the holy David; and thus, walking as if in light, he says: I have sworn and resolved to keep the judgments of your righteousness. I am humbled on every side. The voice of one walking in the light is to speak with authority: I have sworn and resolved. For the one who resolves is not moved, does not fear falling, because to resolve is greater than to stand. Therefore, David stands firm in the station of his mind and does not fear that he may wander in the darkness of this world; for if he feared, he would not swear; if he hesitated, he would not establish a divine judgment with an oath. No one swears well unless they can know what they are swearing. Therefore, to swear is an indication of knowledge, a testimony of conscience. And one swears well who directs their feet to the lamp of the word, who sees the light in their paths. May light be before you, if you are inclined to swear, that is, let the knowledge of the truth precede; so that the bond of the oath may not harm you. Where religion is holier, there faith in truth is fuller. Finally, for this reason the Lord, who came to teach the little ones, to instruct the new, to strengthen the perfect, said in the Gospel: Not to swear at all (Matt. 5:34); because he was speaking to the weak. Finally, he was not speaking only to the apostles, but to the crowds; for he did not want you to swear, lest you commit perjury. And he added that one should not swear at all, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by your own head, namely those things which are not under your power. The Lord swore, and he will not regret it. So let him swear whom he cannot regret of his oath. And what did the Lord swear? That Christ is a priest forever. Was it uncertain, was it impossible what the Lord swore? Could it be changed? Therefore, do not misuse the example of the sacrament, you who do not have the power to fulfill the sacrament.
15. So what did David swear? To keep the judgments of the justice of the Lord. Clearly in nothing perfect, nothing ready, were the judgments of divine justice moving. How much they are moved, when they see a just man bereft of children, reduced to the extreme necessity of frequent expenses and unable to have the necessities of food itself: broken by severe illness and constantly tormented by weakness, so that he cannot perform the common functions of nature? But he who is strong is not moved and he understands more that the justice of God should be preached; for the Lord corrects whom he loves. Is it not more often that a son is corrected than a slave? Therefore, the father's loving discipline is unjust, rather than the severity of the master? The father exercises the son with harsher things than the master exercises the household servant. But the harsh punishments of the father are not considered unmerciful, because he desires the son to be better than a slave. Therefore, education is full of justice.
16. The holy Job was deprived of his children, over whom the Lord had given power to the devil. Is God unjust? Far from it: rather, He is just; for in order to test his righteous one, He has made him more worthy to be tested through these trials in which his patience has been proven. For the more clearly the merit of the one crowned is revealed, the more abundant is the justice of the one crowning. He was stripped of his possessions, though he was rich, and he endured these losses, with God permitting it. There were no longer financial losses, but losses of life; when sustenance was lacking, everything was taken away. Who would accuse the justice of God, when Job, if he had not lost all his money, would not have found such great favor? God wanted to anoint his athlete, stripped and bare, with the oil of repentance; so that by enduring the struggle, he would become stronger, and by earning the prize, he would become more worthy. His whole body was soaked with a serious wound, he sat on the dung heap, scraping away the pus flowing from the cruel sores; and this the devil had inflicted on the righteous man with the permission of the Lord. The devil would seem to have conquered himself, unless he had received the power that he had asked for, and was also overcome. Therefore, what was that temptation, what was the lack of resources, the abandonment of children, the endurance of wounds, if not an exercise of faith, a mark of patience, a glorious instruction in virtue, a full confession of victory; so that he who had the devil as an opponent, would not have him afterwards? Therefore, let no one consider just things to be harsh. They did not seem hard to him, who could say: I was born naked, I will go out naked: The Lord gave, the Lord took away... blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). For the righteous blesses the Lord when he labors, the sinner when he indulges. Therefore, the strength of our weakness should not be regarded as righteousness.
17. What difficult thing do we think anything is, whatever we cannot bear through weakness of mind? Take away persecutions, and there are no martyrs. But even God suffered persecutors, that is, the powers of the world, to arise; lest there should be lacking those who should conquer for Christ. Who then does not say, though weak: O Lord, why hast Thou given Thy people into the power of persecutors? But who today would deny that those are more blessed who have suffered than those who have never been tormented by the punishments of persecutors?
18. Therefore, the just person desires to be proved and does not fear to be tempted; for whoever resolves to keep the commandments of God does not fear temptations. Where does he resolve to do this, if not in the heart? For there we must be rooted and founded, not being tossed about or moved by every wind of doctrine. Therefore, let us establish ourselves inwardly in our heart, in our breast, in our mind, so that the prophetic saying may be fulfilled in us: The thoughts of the just are judgments (Prov. XII, 5). In these judgments, the just person walks well; and therefore he says: Test me, O Lord, and try me (Psal. XXV, 2). Lastly, responding to his own authority, he who had sworn and determined to uphold the laws of the Lord's justice, says that he wanted to prove himself, who believed that humility was to be embraced for Christ.
19. (Verse 107.) And so he says: I have been greatly humbled. Not only is he humbled, but he also rejoices in being excessively humbled. Blessed is he who boasts more in humility than in power. Power deceives, humility does not abandon. Good humility, which also finds praise of virtue in Christ. In him I revere this more than creation; for we are created for labor, redeemed for rest. Finally, he himself, calling people to his mercy, boasts of his own humility, saying: I have been made known to those who did not seek me; I have appeared to those who did not inquire of me (Isaiah 65:1). And elsewhere: I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6). Therefore, David rightly wanted to humble himself, so that he might fulfill in himself what was lacking in the sufferings of Christ.
20. He himself can also be said to have spoken these words from his own person through the mouth of David: I am greatly humbled, who said in the Gospel: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. XI, 28 and 29). Therefore, let us learn from him, who wished to teach us what would be helpful for salvation, and says to us: Learn from me. It is not insignificant what he says, Learn: and he added: Learn from me. No one can easily teach humility when they are inflated: even if they are endowed with human wisdom; the mind is still inflated, which pride of the flesh elevates. And whoever is content with poverty, is not content with injustice: and whoever can endure physical punishments, is tormented by verbal insults: and whoever can despise positions of power, grieves that someone else is preferred with honor. It is great in all things to hold the measure of humility. Pride casts down man first. While we desire more, we often lose what is less. Good humility, by desiring nothing and despising everything, attains everything. The Lord Jesus himself humbled himself in order to elevate us, and he humbled himself even unto the cross. For this reason, God exalted him, saying . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow (Philippians 2:9-10). How much the Lord has done, I dare to say, and I did not bend my knee to Him? But I bent my knee to Him after He humbled Himself. For in this way, that is, through humility, through the cross, He gathered His Church to Himself.
21. King David was a witness to the uncertain and hidden knowledge that was revealed to him, but for this reason he humbled himself even more (Psal. 50:8). But indeed Hezekiah fell from the height of his heart. That praiseworthy king, the one who was delivered from siege and illness by the benefits of the Lord and His wondrous deeds, fell due to pride and diminished the grace of his previous accomplishments. What would Joseph have been if he had not been humble? He knew that he had hindered his brothers, even though his pious love had found the misfortune of superiority. Preaching armed the brothers, humility won over strangers; preaching roused the Germans, humility made the king subject. So that truly, as if spoken in the person of Joseph, we may think what he himself said above: I am humbled, and he saved me (Psalm 114:6); although if we consider what he endured, we will find that he said it in his own person.
22. After defeating Goliath, the singing maidens came out: Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7). The king's anger was aroused, and he sought to kill David. But David humbled himself before Jonathan, the king's son, and won his favor. He kept him loyal to his father's desires, saying to his father: Why do you sin against the innocent blood? (1 Samuel 19:5). And he forced out that word unwillingly because David did not deserve to be killed. Therefore, he rightly says: I was humbled, and he saved me (Psalm 114:7). And again, when the prophet came to him and declared the anger of the Lord in the matter of Bathsheba, the woman, he humbled himself and said: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to him: Because you have repented, the Lord has taken away your sin; you shall not die. So, true humility is good. Finally, he was humbled and saved. And in another place, when the Lord was offended because of the numbered people, he sent the prophet Gad to King David. Choose for yourself what you want to happen: three years of famine on the land, or three months of fleeing from the face of your pursuing enemies, or three days of death on the land. (2 Samuel 24:13) David answered: These three options are distressing to me, but I will fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, rather than fall into the hands of men. (Ibid., 14) And when the Lord had inflicted death upon Israel from morning until the hour of dinner, with seventy thousand men dead, David looked to the Lord, and when he saw the Angel striking the people, he said: Behold, I have sinned, and I have done evil as a shepherd; and what have these sheep done? Let your hand be upon me, and upon the house of my father (Ibid., 17). And the Lord became propitious, when a sacrifice of reconciliation was offered to the Lord. Good, therefore, is humility, which has saved both the king and the people. Therefore, with the Lord reconciled, David said: It is good for me that I have been humbled (Psalm, v. 71).
23. Therefore, humility is good, especially if voluntary devotion is added to it. And so, it seeks to be enlivened according to the word, in order to live according to the word and do all things with reason, not according to the will of the flesh. Hence, this mystical saying can also be understood in a moral sense: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; this was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made (John 1:1-3). And you should be an imitator of God. How should you imitate? Can you create the sky, or the earth, or the sea? Certainly not; but that you may do all things through the word, nothing without the word; everything with reason, nothing without reason; for you are not irrational, O man, but rational.
24. (Verse 108.) The fourth verse follows: Confirm the voluntary offerings of my mouth, O Lord, and teach me your judgments. Whoever humbles himself is made alive according to the promise of the Lord: whoever is made alive by the Spirit of God is a voluntary minister; for it matters greatly whether you do something out of your own will or out of necessity, as it pleases God. Finally, the voluntary minister receives a reward, while the one who is compelled performs service, as we have learned from the teaching of the Apostle. For he wrote: Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship (I Cor. IX 16 and 17). See the voluntary executor of divine judgment. He was free from all, and became a servant of all, certainly by choice, not by necessity; so as to gain the most (Ibid., 19-22). He also presented himself to those who were held by the bond of the Law, as if he were under the Law, even though he was not under the Law, in order to save those who lived under the Law. The weak became weak, so that he might support the weak by assuming their weakness. He became all things to all people, not out of legal necessity, but out of a willing obedience. He revealed to me the depth of this plan in the letter written to Philemon, because he desired to be someone else instead of himself, so that it would appear that he had done it out of his own will rather than out of necessity. Therefore, in interceding for Onesimus, he said: 'But you, welcome him as you would welcome me, whom I wanted to keep with me, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment. But I wanted to do nothing without your consent, so that your goodness would not be forced, but voluntary.' What a diligent persuader, who, although he was a vessel of divine election, did not disdain to share in the advice of others, lest he should deprive another of the benefit of his own will. Therefore David rightly says, as if a prophet: 'Prove the voluntary offerings of my mouth, O Lord, offering his own mouth to the Lord as a voluntary sacrifice'; because just as that prophetic bee is accustomed to gather good flowers with its mouth, shape the honeycomb with its mouth, and compose honey with its mouth, and to choose sons from sweet herbs with its mouth. And when it is feeble in strength, it produces a lifetime through the preaching of wisdom (Prov. 6:8).' Recognize what this voluntary sacrifice of the mouth is: 'Offer a sacrifice of praise to God' (Ps. 49:14).
25. The Lord awaits voluntary ministers. Finally, in the book of Isaiah, the Lord says: Whom shall I send (Isaiah 6:8)? He could have commanded his servant, whom he found worthy to be sent, but he preferred not to deprive him of the reward of voluntary offering, and thus waited for him to offer himself. And although he knew his desire, he still awaited his voice in order to enhance the grace. Therefore, offering himself, Isaiah says: Here I am, send me (ibid.); and thus, he was later sent to the people. This is why it is said: Because Isaiah dares and says (Rom. X, 20). For indeed Christ, as a voluntary instrument, has filled with the abundant grace of His spirit.
26. I do not think this is put here in vain; because the voluntary expression of His mouth desires to please the Lord. Many prophets, but in all their voluntary expressions please. Jeremiah made an excuse, saying: Who are you, Lord? Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am young; and the Lord said to him: Do not say, 'I am young'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak (Jeremiah 1:6-7). The modest prophet pretended the age of his body so that he would not be found unequal in carrying out the heavenly commands because of his youth. But God, who judges age based on character rather than years, considered the age, and foresaw in his young body the maturity of robust wisdom in his servant. He said, 'Do not say, I am younger,' that is, He prohibited him from appraising his strength through contemplation of youthful age, to whom faith would minister the whiteness of wisdom. And again in the later part of the same passage, when the same prophet had said: You have seduced me, Lord, and I have been seduced... And I said: I will not mention his name, nor speak in his name any longer; he added: And it became like a burning fire in my heart, flaming in my bones: and I am weary of restraining myself, and I cannot bear it (Jeremiah XX, 7 and 9). Therefore, we note that even those who may consider their duty to be excusable, or have some certain reason to deny it, nevertheless our Lord either persuades them by reason, or inspires them with the desire of prophetic revelation, so that they may willingly take on their duty, and not be compelled by necessity; so that the reward of their complete devotion may be more fully attained. And Caiphas prophesied, That it is expedient for one man to die for the people (John 11:50): but this voluntary ministry of speech was not his; for he spoke unwillingly. Finally, he did not know what he was saying.
27. What, therefore, does she desire to please the Lord with the voluntary offerings of her mouth? I have chosen to be abased in the house of the Lord, rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners (Psalm 83:11). I will hear what the Lord God speaks within me (Psalm 84:9). I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter forth propositions from the beginning of time (Psalm 77:2). I have prepared a lamp for my Christ (Psalm 131:17). She prepared her body, which was previously covered in filth and obstructed with the mire of an inherited mixture, so that it could not receive the spiritual oil, to shine for Christ. Christ shines, whose works shine in the light of Christ. Peter shone with the light of Christ when he said: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk (Acts 3:6). He who said: The Lord Jesus heals you shone with the light of Christ (Acts 9:34). The lamp of the martyrs shone with the light of Christ, those who underwent martyrdom for Christ. David shone with the light of Christ, who could say: My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God (Psalm 84:3). He had prepared his mind in Christ when he said about him, whom he had frequently desired to kill, 'May it not happen to me from the Lord, if I do this thing to my lord, the anointed one of the Lord, to lay my hand upon him.' (1 Sam. 24:7) Although he had a greater reason to safeguard his own safety by killing his pursuer, he also dissuaded others from not sparing the enemy, whom the Lord had delivered into his hands according to His promise, from his desire to kill him. The Prophet was shining with the light of Christ, when, regarding him who had defiled his father's house with foul incest, who sought his father's life in wicked battles, the loving father still said to those going into battle: Spare my son Absalom (II Sam. XVIII, 5). He kept silent about the wickedness of the crime, but he emphasized the degree of piety and the name of kinship, so that those about to fight would not think of the king as their adversary, but as their son, and would restrain the pain of wounded piety. And after my death, he covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, saying: My son Absalom, my son (Ibid., 33). This cry did not deserve the title of parricide, but it foretold the grace of Christ. The Prophet had learned from Christ that a father who served a good son was virtuous.
28. Finally, for this reason he said, 'Teach me your judgments,' because the judgments of God are like a deep, unfathomable abyss, as the Apostle says (Rom. XI, 33). Therefore, he could not know them unless Christ taught him, because Christ is the one master of all (Matth. XXIII, 8). But these are the judgments of Christ, so that we may know that for those who have plotted against us, we should not seek revenge, but rather extend grace in response to their injustice. Finally, he did not curse those who cursed him, nor strike back at those who struck him, but rather, he even prayed for his persecutors, offering a pious intercession to the Father, saying: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). Therefore, whoever does these things, the judgments of the law will reward Christ.
29. (Verse 109.) But who can be taught the judgments of God, except the one who always directs his soul to the Lord? Who can say: My soul is always in your hands, and I have not forgotten your law. Some have: My soul is always in my own hands, that is, in my actions, that is, in my deeds. Although the just person, being in danger, says to the Lord: Because of you I die daily, I am tried daily: I am tried by the assailant, I am tried by the detractor, I am tried by those I accuse, those I refute, I am tried for truth and justice: nevertheless, I am not terrified by dangers, I have not forgotten your law; therefore, my soul is in my hands. But because many have: My soul is always in your hands; I think this needs to be explained further.
30. The prophet knows where to place the protection of his soul, from where he hopes for help: he wants to entrust his soul into the hands of God, because the heart of the king is in the hand of God (Prov. XXI, 1). Whoever has control over his own body and allows his soul to be disturbed by its passions should let his soul be guided by its ruler with appropriate vitality, he is said to be restraining himself with a blessed power, knowing how to govern himself and be the arbiter of his own rights: let him not be led into fault as a captive, nor be carried headlong into vice. The soul of this person does not perish eternally, nor does anyone snatch it from the hand of the almighty Father or the Son. For the hand of God, which has established the heavens, does not lose what it holds.
So let us consider who these hands are. In the Song of Songs, you have: His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me (Song 2:6). The Bride speaks of Christ, the soul speaks of the Word of God. But Christ is the same Word of God, and wisdom; therefore, blessed is the soul that wisdom embraces. The hand of wisdom is great, the right hand embraces the whole soul, for the whole soul is fortified, being betrothed to the Word of God; for the fullness of wisdom is to fear God. Therefore, the soul that fears God, protects itself with full defense: wisdom sends its left hand under its neck, but its right hand into its embrace. Both of its arms extend to useful things; however, each hand has its own properties. Wisdom is in the right hand, and it is the length of life; but in the left hand are riches and glory. Certainly, each hand is endowed with gifts for good things; however, they have variety in their function, because they comprehend both present and future times; so that the left hand may be the rewarder of present things, and the right hand of future things.
32. We can also learn this about the prophecy of the holy patriarch Israel. For when he placed his right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh, and Joseph wanted to change them by the consideration of ages, so that the right hand of the father would be placed on the head of Manasseh, the elder son. But he did not want to and said: I know, my son; and he will be a people, and he will be exalted here; but the younger brother will be greater than him (Gen. 48:19). In which is the greater? In him assuredly, because he is preeminent with a blessing, those who would come after him will say: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh' (Gen 48:20); or because his offspring will be a multitude of nations, which in this age he has chosen, believing in the Lord Jesus, so that he may have consolation for the future. But the offspring of Manasseh is a people of forgetting, who, having forgotten their own creator, have been exalted for a time in this age, but will give heavy punishments in the future, because they have denied their own God and Lord.
33. We have said this in order to prove that those things which are to come are better. Finally, the left side of wisdom is under the head of the Bride, but the right side, which embraces the Bride entirely, is superior. Therefore, it is like the fulcrum of present rest, on which the soul rests, leaning. It has a place to rest its head because the left side is wealth and glory. For a time, these things soothe and are partly a consolation. And therefore, the Son of Man had no place to rest his head because although he was rich, he became poor (Matthew 8:20); nor did he seek any glory of this world (2 Corinthians 8:9), because he came not to enrich himself but to help the entire human race, saying, "Are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?" (John 7:23); that is, completely, not by bestowing material riches, not by crowning with honors, not by increasing secular glory; for these do not have the fullness of beatitude and grace. But to be completely well means to embrace the length of eternal life. For the life that is similar to the common life is not in the right hand of wisdom: but the length of life is; so that whoever receives life from wisdom, may obtain not the shortness of life, but its perpetuity, and the length of eternity.
34. The bonus garment of eternal life. The guardians of the walls wanted to take away this robe of the Bride, with which the first man had been stripped: but the soul, devoted to God, by seeking and holding onto it for a long time, and not letting go of the beloved, clothed itself with the precious wrapping of divine love. Therefore, blessed are those who are clothed in such a robe, and have deserved the garment of this kind by observing the law; because they have not forgotten the law, but have performed what the law required. For he who acts outside of the law has forgotten the law. And therefore, this pure soul ascends from the earth; because she shines with the garment of wisdom: and those virtues, who guard the gates of heaven, speak of her: Who is she who ascends, shining white, leaning on her brother (Song of Solomon, VIII, 5)? With her head placed on the left of wisdom, to open her hand to help the poor: prepared either for her own needs or for others, not using violence or robbery to obtain riches, which she acquired through good deeds driven by the desire for glory, not seeking empty secular titles. For this is to establish its head, and a certain main principle of the senses above the hand of wisdom. This, I say, the soul ascends by merits, shining white from that desert of this life, as many have, to that flourishing place of eternal delight. These are the virtues which are also spoken of in the book of Isaiah: Who is this that comes from Edom, with garments stained from Bozrah, so precious in his robe? (Isaiah 63:1) These, I say, are the ones who marvel that from that broken and rocky wilderness it is possible for any soul to ascend without the stain of great vices; and therefore they rejoice in the discovery of a garment that does not pollute the clothing of natural innocence with the foolish ink of secular folly, but rather purifies it with the brightness of spiritual wisdom and grace.
35. (Verse 110.) Therefore, that soul now secure, now joyful, says: The sinners have set a snare for me, and I have not strayed from your commandments. Worthy is the voice of one leaving this world, because the nets of those who persecute and the snares of the tempters have been removed. Worthy is the voice for the martyrs, to whom many torments were presented, and many rewards were also offered; so that from the desire or fear of martyrdom, and from the horror of cruel death, or from the allurements of rewards, they might be called back. A heavy snare of persecution, which often breaks the holy ones with the deformity of poverty, whom the fear of death has not broken: another snare of fire, a snare of prison, and of prolonged torment: a great snare, when wealth is promised, when honors, when the friendships of tyrants. Therefore, whoever has escaped these things and has been able to reach martyrdom, rightly says: The sinners have set a snare for me; but I have not turned away from your commandments; to the one who despises the present and seeks the future, the heavenly kingdom of your divinity is opened by your promise.
36. Who are these sinners who set snares? The Apostle opened to you the author of all sins, and declared, saying: Those who desire to become rich fall into temptation and the snare of the devil (1 Timothy 6:9). Therefore, be warned that the snare of the devil is wealth, which he also laid out for the Savior. But He, who had nothing that the prince of this world could claim, coming to Him, broke the chains of his snares. Lest you think this noose is insignificant, this noose strangled the Apostle Judas. How wretched, when he was caught in the noose to betray the Lord, he realized the extent of his crime and hung himself by the noose. But he himself was also the devil's noose, not acting in repentance, but suffocating himself with the noose. Indeed, God is also merciful towards these betrayers; so that they may be provoked to repentance, turn away from wicked intentions, and repent from the devil's snares; by whom they are held captive to his will. No longer is it a hardship to fall, but a crime: for those who not only subject themselves to be captured, but also are bound to the will of the devil; when they could say: Let us break their chains (Ps. II, 3). For divine Scripture has given you the ability not only to avoid the snare of the devil, but also to break his bonds through penitence.
37. What is it to you, man, with delights and pleasures? The noose does not capture unless the bait has been started. While you seek plunder, you yourself are entangled in the noose. The bait of the noose is greed: the bait of the devil is luxury, with which he wants to ensnare us, not to nourish us. And therefore the apostle cried out: Do not touch, do not taste, all of which are for corruption by their very use (Col. II, 21 and 22). Therefore, do not touch luxury, and it will not be able to contaminate you. Do not taste the corruption of greed, and you will be immune from the snare. What do you have to do with earthly things when you have risen with Christ? Seek the things that are above, where Christ is... taste the things that are above, not the things on earth (Colossians 3:1-2). We are dead to earthly things, we hide our life with Christ in our God: we no longer live, but Christ lives in us. Why should we return to earthly things again? Behold, I have fled and expressed, says the Saint (Psalm 54, 8). See the snares of iniquity and contradiction in the city (Ibid., 10). For snares are where there is usury and deceit. He has fled from earthly dishonor; therefore, he has attained heavenly rewards.
38. Why, I ask, do you reflect on the earth if you were snatched up into heaven in Enoch, lifted up in a chariot in Elijah, snatched up to paradise in Paul, conversed in the heavens, heard in David, so that you would take on the wings of a dove and fly? Exalted in Christ, made a bird in the Spirit; when he descended like a dove, he gave you those wings, so that you would learn to fly from the earth. Indeed, you should not hesitate as to how you should fly, with which movements of your wings. David indeed said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and find rest? (Psalm 54:7). And he seemed to doubt from where he could receive wings; although divine grace is accustomed to be revealed in this way, which cannot be found on earth: nevertheless, in the later verses, he clearly taught what these wings are, saying: If you sleep among the clergy of the middle, dove wings of silver, and its back parts in the appearance of gold (Psalm 67:14). Even if you sleep, your wings wake up. For there are those who watch over sleepers, as that one who said: I sleep, but my heart is awake (Song of Solomon 2:5). Even though it is night, the spirit is vigilant, as it is written: My spirit is awake for you during the night (Isaiah 26:9). Then, your wings will unfold from spiritual words, and the precious wisdom of flight will arise. Where, therefore, will you fear snares when there is a spiritual oar at your disposal? If sincerity of spirit, if purity of mind shines forth, you are a dove. Therefore it is said to you: Be. . . . as simple as doves (Matth. X, 16). If the larger feathers are missing, or the smaller ones, do not despise them. Be even like a sparrow; so that with keen discernment you may be able to foresee traps, and almost caught by the allurements of sins, yet sometimes when called back you may say: Our soul is like a sparrow taken from the snare of hunters: the snare is broken, and we are set free (Psal. CXXIII, 7). Since we have considered this matter elsewhere (Book III, on Luke, chapter XII), it seems that we must now move on to something else.