THE EVIL FLATTERING COUNSELS One of the lamentation pieces because of the oppression prevailing on the world. It is difficult to say whether the psalmist refers to the wicked leadership of Israel, or to strangers. The psalm warns those of authority, who abuse their positions against the poor and those helpless to defend themselves. The psalmist proclaims his complete trust in God, who brings forth evil upon the wicked who oppose the work of God1. And he looks at the enemies and the counselors who walk with the spirit of deception to catch those who fear the Lord. The psalmist David has long suffered from the deception of king Saul who has put in his heart to kill him however much it would take of effort or time. It might often seems as though Saul has got back to reason, seeking David’s friendship; yet it would be just to look for another chance to kill him. David also suffered from the deception of his friend and counselor, Ahitophel, who was close to him, even in the house of he Lord, and eating with him on one table, then turned against him, helping his son Absalom to get rid of him. This psalm came to call upon the wicked toforsake the malice in their hearts; as, although the righteous may seem helpless and weak before their deception, yet the wicked will end up to certain perdition. Whereas the righteous look up to their god, and glorify him for His righteousness and exalted care for those who fear Him. The wicked judges: The psalmist presents the following analogies to express the destiny of the wicked judges and those of authority: a- The mute, silent before talking the truth, while his works testify to his evil (1- 2). b- The wicked who are estranged from the womb, who go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies (3) c- The deaf cobra that stops its ear, which will not heed the voice of charmers (4- 5). d- The lion or the young lion whose fangs the Lord will break (6) e- The water of rain that dry up and disappear (7). f- The bow whose arrows are not sharp (7) g- The snail that, although moving slowly, yet it produces mucous that soon disappears (8), h- The stillborn child of a woman that may not see the sun (8). i- The thorns under the pot taken away by the whirlwind (9). Its divisions: 1- Rebuking the deceptive wicked1 - 5 2- The perdition of the wicked 6 - 9 3-The righteous glorifying God, their Savior 10 – 11 The title: The just judgment of the wicked. 1 The Collegeville Bible Commentary, p. 767. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 129 To the Chief Musician. Set to “Do not destroy”. A Michtam of David. See the last psalm concerning the interpretation of “Do not destroy”. 1- REBUKING THE DECEPTIVE WICKED: “Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones/ Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?” (1) This apply to the counselors of Absalom, the son of David, particularly Ahitophel, those who planned for him to appear before the people as though more capable than his father to judge uprightly, and more copassionate a d humble than him. “Absalom would rise early, and stand beside the way to the gate. So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king for a decision, that Absalom would call to him, and say: … ‘Look your case is good and right, but there is no deputy of the king to hear you’. Moreover Absalom would say: ‘Oh, that I were made judge in the land, and everyone who has any lawsuit or cause would come to me, then I would give him justice’. … So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15: 2-6). That was how that prodigal son plotted rebellion against his father, by the counsel of his wicked counselors, by pretending to holdfast to the truth, and to care for the oppressed. The Ahitophel counseled Absalom to choose 12,000 men, and to go after his father, who escaped before his face, to strike him that same night while still tired and exhausted. Some see that what came in this psalm of Devid’s desire for the perdition of the wicked opponents, contradict with his compassionate feelings toward his son Absalom; as it is written: “The king had commanded, Joab, Abishai, and ittai, saying, ‘Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom’” (2 Samuel 18: 5). And when the king heard of the death of his son, “The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept, saying, ‘O my son Absalom – my son, my son Absalom, if only I have dies in your place! O, Absalom – my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18: 33). David, probably feeling that the rebellion of his son was motivated by a group of wicked counselors, what he sought of judgment against the wicked (6-11), he did not mean his som Absalom himself, but those who were behind him; interpreting what he said as “Do you judge uprightly, you counselors?!”. And some believe that king Saul, having failed to kill David, and the later fled to the wilderness before his face, the king called upon his counselors to hold a meeting to study and look for ways to protect the throne against David, whom he accused of rebellion, treason, and the desire to take by force the throne of Israel. David was crying out, rebuking Saul and his men, saying: “Do you seek justice, and judge uprightly, while planning to kill the innocent?! … The psalmist calls them “the sons of men” either to remind them of their weakness, and that they are not above the law, but will be called to account because of their deeds; Or that they do not enjoy sonhhod to God, but are the sons of men1. Saul vowed to forsake his animosity toward David, and end his persecution against him; yet he has often broken his vow, and waited upon him to have him killed. … It was the same way with Antiochus (Epiphanus), and his followers, when the Maccabees defeated them, they flatterly pretended to love them!, … Many peoples 1 Plumer, Ps. 58. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 130 planned to harm the Jews; to whose deception and malice this psalm refers; the psalmist says: “Men, take into consideration that you are only sons of men; (namely, mortal); Compare your words with your deeds; Look and judge uprightly, whether you utter the truth!”. This psalmist is, as well, a prophecy about the Jews who pretended to keep the law, and opposed our Lord Jesus because He performed miracles of healing on the Sabbath! Father Onesimus of Jerusalem I wish you have, not only the righteousness of the lips, but also that of works … You teach contradictory to what you utter, You utter uprightness, while you judge evil. St. Augustine Guile does not leave a place of simplicity, not subject to gods in the hearts ... But if the Lord saw the purity of heart assign to work greatness, any gift that the great highspilling in the hearts of the righteous.1 St. Ambrose What brought sadness to the heart of the psalmist, is that the judges who were supposed to utter the truth, kept silent before the evil and wicked deeds of oppression against him2. “No, in heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth” (2) It did not stop at not proclaiming the truth; but, together with the silence of their tongues; their hearts, minds, and works, testify more to the evil working in them. They might keep silent. Or utter sweet words, but their works testify to their evil. What they think in their hearts and minds are exposed by their deeds, when they publicly practice oppression; according to the words of the prophet Micah: “Woe to those who devise iniquity; and work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it; because it is in the power of their hands” (Micah 2: 1). The psals asks them to weigh their hearts and works with the balance of truth; for what their hearts bore of malice and evil, was translated by their tongues, even though they pretend to be advocates of the truth. There is nothing in their hearts but malice; They claim to hold the balance of justice, when their hands move oward violence and oppression. This means that, although your words may sound good, yet their source; namely, your mind, is full of every iniquity; by your hands you practice oppression; and your thoughts and wicked deeds contradict your words. Father Onesimus of Jerusalem Some argue that the Hebrew word corresponding to commit adultery, "Paw-las" that exceeded the mean (the road). In the opinion of St. Augustine that the Psalmist here criticizes the bad guys because they accurately sin. Accurately your hands jointly in sin if you. So long as you work jointly (in sin) , associate sin to be sin. St. Augustine 1 1 In Luc 9:57-62. 2 In Luc 9: 57-62. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 131 “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies” (3) It is as though the psalmist says to them: I am not astonished to see what you practice of evil and oppression; for your works are in harmony with your nature, even from the womb. You are evil, the seed of evil, born to evil fathers. We, as well, partake of their corruption that dwell on all mankind; if it is not for the grace of God that embrace us to Him, and grants us sonhood to Him; which is not for any favor on our part…. The psalmist says: “speaking lies”; as, according to St. Augustine, ‘they utter lies, for they bear evil, hidden in their hearts’. Committing sin, and plunging in wickedness, is an estrangement from God and His law. As, according to the apostle, “You, who once were alienated, and enemies in your minds by wicked works…” (Colossians 1: 21). According to the scholar origin, this phrase is not to be literally interpreted; for no one can speak once he is born, nor be estranged to evil from the womb. But it is to be understood that, as much as there are firstfruit for the Lord, who dedicate their life t Him; there are, as well, firstfruits for the devil, who dedicate all their energy to oppose the divine truth1. Some heretics quoted this phrase; as well as the saying of the apostle, that “God has separated him from his mother’s womb, and called him through His grace” (Galatians 1: 15), to refer evil nature to the wicked, and good nature to the righteous, before their birth; To this, the scholar Origen responds by saying: [We say that Paul was not chosen by chance, nor because he had a unique nature; but, according to him, choosing him was by Him who knows every thing, even before it happens; … as God foreknew that Paul would strive abundantly more than others in the gospel; … that is why He separated him from his mother’s womb to minister the gospel. … If, according to the heretics, he was chosen haphazardly, or on account that he had a different nature, he would not say that he has fear of being condemned, if he happens to fail to preach the gospel2. Uttering oppression, they are uttering vanity; for oppression is deceptive. And even if they utter justice, they are also uttering vanity; for they utter what is not in their heart. St. Augustine Before birth, the fetus does no good or evil; but it is after he is born, and become mature, that he so does. As to saying “from the womb”, it means that the wicked, being born from wicked parents, who do not know God, nor that He cares for the world; they did what estrange them from justice, practiced oppression spoke lies, from their birth. It also means that God, with his foreknowledge, knows those who would become righteous, according to His words to the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you” (Jeremiah 1: 5). With this same meaning, God said to Pharaoh: “For this goal, I set you, to show My might in you”. Yet the foreknowledge of God was not the reason why Jeremiah became a saint; nor why Pharaoh became evil! 1 Cf. homilies on Numbers, homily 3. 2 Commentary on Rom. (1: 1). https://coptic-treasures.com/ 132 The font of baptism is, as well a womb; for baptism gives forth to spiritual birth. While the sinners, and those who estranged themselves from the truth of faith, alienated themselves from it through the vanity of their dogmas, and the forgery of their words; They got lost, on account of that they preferred lies to the truth. St. Gregory o Nyssa says that the church is a womb, because it gives birth to Christians, and bring them forth to the divine light, and the eternal life. The heretics, on the other hand, were estranged and alienated from it, Man, if he, in his youth, practiced virtue or iniquity; he is said to be so made from the womb; as, according to the righteous ‘Job’: “… Or eaten my morsel by myself; so that the fatherless would not eat of it (but from my youth I reared them as a father); and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow …” (Job 31: 17, 18). So is also the corrupt teaching is a womb to those who were raised in it; those who receive it are estranged from God, and were alienated from Him, from their mother’s womb; who is alien to Him. Father Onesimus of Jerusalem According to the prophetic word, as men are estrasnged from the womb, the grantor of life, in which they were conformed; “they utter vanity instead of the truth” (3). That is why the Intermediary, took upon Himself the Firstfruit of our nature, sanctified it through His soul and body, without mixing, and with no ;eaning toward evil; keeping it in Himself; in order to ascend, bringing it up to the Father on non-corruption; And the whole race would go together with it because of the mutual nature; so that the Father would grant those who are denied the inheritance, and “let them receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4: 15; Ephesians 1: 5), as sons to those who ;osrt the inheritance; and to let the enemies of Go partake of the Divinity (the hol;y life) 1. St. Gregory of Nyssa According to St. Augustine, the expression: those “who were estranged from the womb” refer to them, who after being born in the church, got estranged from it, bore the spirit of animosity against it, and were alienated from the truth. From what were there estranged? From the truth. And from where were they estranged? From the blessed city! From the blessed life! There are those who are born from the womb of the church … which is good! That is how and where they were conformed, and were not aborted, because they kept in themselves, the teaching of the truth, until they were completely conformed. Otherwise their mother would have to abort them, though in pain; Yet, their loss would be greater than hers. That is why they were estranged from their mother’s womb, for they uttered vain things; and because the truth dwells in the womb of the church. St. Augustine “Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ears” (4) In the old, some people used a kind of charming or magic to protect themselves and others from the bite of serpents. It came in the book of Ecclesiastes: “A serpent may bite when it is not charmed” (Ecclesiastes 10: 11); and in the book of Jeremiah: “For 1 On Perfection. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 133 behold, I will send serpents among you, vipers which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you, says the Lord” (Jeremiah 8: 17). According to ‘Plumer’, there are still charmers of serpents in India and in Egypt; although they have no authority over the ‘cobra’, on account of, according to them, it is deaf, and does not hear the voice of charmers. And, according to G.S. Cansdale, there is a common belief that the cobra could be charmed, not by the sound of the lute, but by its movement1. Carrying a wicked will, man turn as though into a poisonous serpent; as he accepts the sonhood to the devil, and practices his evil works. However, God’s mercy anticipates the repentance of everyone, unless he stops his ears to the voice of the Holy Spirit, the Grantor of the reproach of sin. They, not only seek to harm the righteous, but intend to kill him, as though by the poison of a serpent; as though there is no cure for the righteous from their deadly evil. The psalmist likens those deceptive enemies to the serpent and the deaf adder; for their danger lies in their fangs and mouth. So it is with the wicked; they use their mouths to utter deadly and poisonous counsels. The wicked became like the ancient serpent that introduced a deadly poison to mankind. The became like the deaf serpent that does not hear the voice of charmers. They do no care for the begging of the oppressed, and do not listen to the words of God and His commandments. There is no more deaf than him who stops his ears to His brethren and to the divine commandment. It as though the Spirit of God talks to some people who do not hear the word of God; and would even refuse to listen to it, so as not to work according to it. St. Augustine We became like the serpents, because the anger of men is like the poison of a serpent (5); and because “the poison of asps is under their lips” (Psalm 140 5) 2. Let us the beware not to be described as having the ears of a deaf cobra. Tell me if there is any difference between man of this kind and this kind of animal! How could he be so irrational like an animal, he does not care when God speaks?! 3 St. John Chrysostom “Which will not heed the voice of charmers, charming ever so skillfully” (5) According to St. Athanasius the apostolic, the soul of an angry man is like the serpent that appeared in paradise, pretending to be wise before our old parents, Adam and Eve; and to bear the spirit of friendship toward them; yet it condemned itself to death. So was king Saul who pretended to bear the spirit of friendship toward David, when he intended to kill him; and so did the company of Antiochs Epiphanus; and so did the scribes and the Pharisees, to our Lord Jesus Christ, when they addressed Him politely as “Rabbi”, and “Teacher”, when they intended to kill Him. By that they came to liken the ancient serpent in evil, and refused to hear the sayings of the sent prophets who brought them the wise teachings. By their own choice, they stopped their ears so as not to hear; 1 Animals of Bible Lands, Paternoster, 1970, p. 206. . 2 الأب الیاس، ص 330 3 Homilies on St. John, 2L 11. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 134 that to them apply the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed” (Isaiah 6: 10). They are not deaf, but they so made themselves. They chose not to be in peace, but in anger; hence they refuseb to hear. If they heard, their anger would probably come to an end. St. Augustine God called them “A generation of vipers”. On account of that, like thse animals, walk with malice and harm the others1. The scholar Tertullian 2- THE PERDITION OF THE WICKED: “Break their teeth in their mouth, O God; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord” (6) The Holy Book often uses the mouth, teeth, and tips, to refer to the strength of the enemies. On one aspect, the fierce animals use their fangs to attack the prey; and on another aspect, the heretics and atheists, usr their mouths to blaspheme God, and to lead the believers astray from the truth. The psalmist says: “Arise, O Lord, Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly” (Psalm 3: 7). And the wise Solomon says: “There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men” (Proverb 30: 14). Remembering how he killed a lion and a bear to rescue his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 17: 36), the prophet David says: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me ….” (1 Samuel 17: 37). Now, however the enemies think that, like young lions, they could devour by their fangs, God can break out their fangs. He sometimes likens them to serpents that inject its poison in its prey by its fangs; and other times to bloodthirsty young lions, that tear the prey with their fangs. The teeth of the wicked are their sayings; as like the poison of the serpent is in its teeth, so are the wicked. The harm is in their sayings that come out of their mouth and teeth. As for the fangs of the lions, they refer to their great strength, by which they tear apart the prey. But God will break them out, to rescue the oppressed from their harm. Father Onesimus of Jerusalem According to St. Augustine, those who came to tempt the Lord Christ, asking Him if they should pay the tax to Caesar, are like poisonous serpents. By His answer He broke their teeth inside their mouths. As to those who cried out “Crucify Him, crucify Him” , they roared like fierce lions and young lions; whose fangs He broke out completely. By saying “in their mouth”, He made their mouths testify against them; they are committed to the same sentence that their mouths have uttered. The teeth of the sinners could also mean their leaders who use their authority to lead men astray from the upright way, and to let them join the evildoers. … Compared to 1 Adv. Haer. 4: 41: 2. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 135 their teeth, we also have the teeth of the church, by which the believers are cut off from the faults of atheism, and the hertic teachings, to lead them back to the church, the body of Christ. By such teeth, the apostle Peter was commanded by god to eat the beasts he slew; namely, to kill the atheism of the Gentiles, and to change them to be members of the body of Christ1. St. Augustine Let us them cry on them, not one day, or two days, but all along our life2. St. John Chrysostom “Let them flow away as waters which run continually; And when he bends his bow, let his arrows be as if cut in pieces” (7) The Lord Christ, having destroyed the devil and death by His resurrection, The devil became like a fierce beast whose fangs are broke, helpless even before children. The psalmist looks at his wicked enemies, to see them like waters of the rain that come down on the desert, that is dried out by the hot rays of the sun; or seep in between the sand to disappear without trace. But when God, on the other hand, aims His arrows toward the wicked, they are torn apart to pieces. Some believe that the talk here is about the wicked who aims his arrows to the righteous to kill him; but they miss their goal, and do the righteous no harm. “Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes; like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun” (8) The snail is a soft animal that lives inside a shell. While working with all their strength and speed to catch the righteous in their hands, they are only likened to a snail, that moves very slowly Along, inside its shell, helpless to resist anyone who intends to carry it away. And while moving slowly, it secretes a slimy bright mucous on the ground, which soon disappear as it goes. The wicked are likened to snail that, in the time of danger, changes its color from bright red to pale white, as though dead, and hides inside its shell3. He also likens them to a stillborn child of a woman that did not complete its growth, born dead, and everyone seeks to get rid of it. Not see in the sun refers to that they are not counted among the living, for they have lost both the sight and the insight. “Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of the burning thorns, whether green or ablaze, may He sweep them away as with a whirlwind, as in his living and burning wrath” (9) Again, he likens them to the thorns that could not endure the fire of God’s wrath, Once the whirlwind blows on the thorns ablaze with fire, it turns into ashes that scatter everywhere. This analogy to the thorns that burn under the pot is often used (Psalm 118: 15; Ecclesiastes 7: 6). The wicked are likened to a pot with food to be cooked on a fire burning by thorns gathered from the wilderness. But a whirlwind would blow all of a sudden, to sweep away the pot and the thorns underneath, whether green or ablaze. The wicked are preoccupied with making plots against the children of God, as though they burn fire in 1 On Ps. 3. 2 In Epis. Phil. 3: 4. 3 Cf. Barnes, vote 5. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 136 thorns; but a whirlwind would suddenly blow to scatter their plans. According to the scholar Origen: [Man’s heart is like a furnace. But whether that heart is burning by iniquities ignited by the devil; it does not cook or bake, but burns. But if it ignited by Him who said: “I came to send fire on the earth” (Luke 12: 49) ; the bread of the divine Scripture and the words of God, which I receive in my heart, these I do not burn to destruction, but I bake to offer as a sacrifice1]. They cannot stand before you; they cannot endure, for they are going to perish by the fire of their lusts. … The evil lusts ar like fire and burning; as when the Holy Book speaks about adultery, it says: “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverb 6: 27). .. And the apostle says: “God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts” (Romans 1: 24). Upon them will dwell the fire of pride, the fire of lust, the fire of wrath. How dangerous are this fire; he on whom it falls will never see the sun; hence it is said: “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Ephesians 4: 26). That is why, brethren, the fire of evil will terrify you, if you melt like wax, and perish before the face of God; when that kind of fire comes down on you, and let you see the sun no more. St. Augustine 3- THE RIGHTEOUS GLORIFYING GOD, THEIR SAVIOR: “The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (10) Seeing the evil scatters, and the devil perishes, the righteous rejoices for the sake of the conquest of light over darkness, and righteousness over evil. All what the righteous longs for is to see the destruction of evil and the hosts of darkness, and the salvation of the wicked from their evils. It was the custom in the old battles, that the victor washes his feet or hands in the blood of the slain enemies. It is as though the psalmist proclaim that the victory over evil is complete and final (Psalm 68: 23; Isaiah 63: 3) 2. The righteous washes his feet or hands (as it came in the Septuagint version) in the blood of the sinner. Even though the blood does not wash but defiles; nevertheless the righteous, seeing what dwelt upon the sinner, he gets terrified from the sin, and would fear that the same thing would dwell upon him, if he deviates to evil. The righteous does not kill the wicked, but the wicked kill themselves by themselves through their evil; Then the righteous, passing through the land of battle, would wash his feet with their blood. What makes the heart of the righteous rejoice is not the perdition of the wicked; but, seeing the perdition of the wicked, his heart would flare with obedience of the divine commandment, with great joy and purity; perceiving that he is justified by the divine grace, and is liberated from what the disobedient wicked has gone through.’’ The secret of the joy of the righteous when he sees God’s vengeance on the wicked, , is not gloating in the wicked, as much as it is thanksgiving to God for His justice. 1 Origin: Homilies on Leviticus, 5: 2. 2 Plimer, Ps. 58. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 137 Listen to the prophet say: “The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (10). The righteous does not rejoice in the vengeance; Far from it! But, fearing that what dwelt upon the wicked could dwell upon him, he would make his life more pure; hence this is a sign of God’s exalted care. Yes, you may say that God could have threatened, rather than punish. But, if He does, and then punishes, Would you not say: He is only threatening; and you would become more slothful1?! St. John Chrysostom When the righteous sees the punishment of the wicke, he himself would grow. As the death of one is the life of another. Take heed that the wicked perishes. Purify yourselves, therefore from sins. You become, therefore, as though you, somehow, wash your feet or hands with the blood of the wicked. St. Augustine When the righteous, whom the wicked persecute with all their energies, sees that, after being like serpents, with their deadly poison, or like fierce lions; Once God intervenes to the account of those who fear Him, the following will happen to them: a- God will break out their teeth, as He saved David from the lion and the bear. b- They would become like waters in the desert, dried by the heat of the sun, or seep in between the sand of the desert. c- They would become like the snails inside their shells, helpless to defend themselves before anyone who intend to take anywhere. d- They would become like a stillborn child of a woman, lifeless, and would never see the sunlight. e- They would become like thorns burned by the fire of the wrath of God, turn into ashes, scattered by the whirlwind, and disappear. These diverse portraits of how the wicked would become, if they persist on opposing the divine truth, and on persecuting those who fear God; would give peace to the righteous; for his life is in the hands of God, and not in those of men. “So that men will say: ‘Surely, there is a reward for the righteous; surely He is God who judges in the earth” (11) The righteous would sing, when God proclaims His judgment on evil; and present His blessings on the suffering righteous. The righteous would learn a lesson by the chastisement of the wicket; perceiving that God is just; and that there is joyful fruit for righteousness. What fruit for righteousness? … “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope. Now, hope does not disappoint, because the love of god has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5: 3-5). … In love, there is fruit for the righteous. St. Augustine 1Homilies on Philemon, 3. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 138 It is the treasure that was given to them in this life to possess inside their souls, “who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” 1 Corinthians 1: 30). He who found the treasure of the heavenly Spirit, and possessed it, will, by it, easily, and without effort, consummate every righteousness of the commandment. And all virtues, with purity and without blame. That is why, we supplicate to God, beseech, and seek from Him, with the feeling of need, to grace us with the treasure of His Spirit, so as to able to walk in all His commandments, with purity, and without blame; and consummate all the righteousness of the Spirit, with purity and perfection, through the heavenly treasure, namely Christ1. St. Maccari the Great AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 58 CAN THE HOSTS OF DARKNESS STAND IN YOUR WAY? My soul groans because of the opposition of the wicked; That, sometimes, I feel a condition of despair; Together with violence, they use craftiness and deception; They carry the spirit of their master, the killer, and the deceiver. The wicked, like their father the devil, think that they have authority; And count all the world to be under their hands; They crawl like serpents, to inject their poison by their fangs; They would not be satisfied with less than the destruction of the righteous; They do not endure seeing them, nor hearing their voice; Nor would they receive their meekness and love; They are like darkness that would not endure the light. They are like the young lions, that go around to devour their preys; They count that no righteous can escape their fangs, But God will never et the stick of the wicked fall on those who fear Him! He will break out the fangs of the serpents and young lions, to turn helpless as toys; He may let them aim their evil arrows; Yet they will never reach their goal, nor touch a righteous; The wicked would become like snails, hiding in weak shells; That are unable to move fast; They would be stillborn without life; They would not see the Sun of Righteousness; Nor perceive the secrets of the divine love. Yes, indeed, they are like dry thorns; But, can the thorns stand before the fire of God’s wrath? They would burn underneath the pots, and turn to ashes; And would be scattered everywhere by the whirlwind; The righteous raise their hearts with thanksgiving; When they see the oppression scatter before the righteousness of God; And the darkness disappear before the divine light; They praise the Righteous God with their whole being; 1 Sermon 18: 1,2. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 139 They rejoice and exult for the destruction of evil; They long for the repentance of the wicked, and for the growth of the righteous; They seek the salvation of the whole world.
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