John Chrysostom, On Psalm 145

Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. Since, therefore, we must pray without ceasing, the instrument is unceasingly with the craftsman. Praise, O my soul, the Lord. Formerly David said these things with one tongue; but now, since he has died, he utters these things with countless tongues, not only those among us, but also those throughout the whole world. Do you see that he is not dead, but lives? For how is he dead who has so many tongues, and speaks through so many mouths? Truly great is praise; for it purifies our soul, and instills in us much reverence. Do you wish to learn how great is the power 55.523 of hymns to God? By singing hymns, the three youths thus extinguished the Babylonian furnace; or rather, they did not extinguish it, but, what was much more marvelous, they trampled upon the burning flame with their feet as if it were clay. This hymn, entering into the prison in the time of Paul, loosed the bonds, opened the doors of the prison, shook the foundations, and frightened the jailer with great astonishment.

For about midnight, it says, Paul and Silas were singing hymns. Then what happened? What? Something new and altogether paradoxical: the bonds were loosed, the bound ones bound the loosed ones; and yet it is the nature of bonds to hold the one who is bound with great security and to make him subject; but now the jailer, loosed, came to the feet of the bound Paul. For it is the nature of physical bonds to hold the one who is bound; but of bonds for Christ's sake, the power is so great as to make those who are loosed subject to those who are bound. He threw them into the inner prison, and being inside they opened the outer doors. He secured their feet in the stocks, and their secured feet loosed the hands of others. Then the jailer fell down before him, it says, fearing, trembling, groaning, agonizing, weeping. What has happened? Did you not bind them? Did you not hold them in security? And why do you marvel, O man, if he opened the prison, when he has received authority to open even the heavens? "Whatever you bind," He says, "on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." He loosed the bonds of sins; why do you marvel if he looses bonds of iron? He loosed the bonds of demons, he freed souls bound by them; and why do you marvel if he released the prisoners’ chains? And behold a twofold miracle: he loosed again, and he bound. For he loosed the bonds, but he bound their heart. For that they were loosed, they did not know. He opened and he closed; for he opened the doors of the prison, but he closed the eyes of the prisoners' hearts, so that they did not perceive that those doors were opened, lest by taking advantage of the opportunity they should leap away in flight. Have you seen him both binding and loosing, and opening and closing? 4. For this reason these things happened at night, so that the event might occur quietly and without any disturbance. For the apostles did nothing for show or for ambition. The chief jailer fell down before him. What then of Paul? Have you seen his miracle? Have you seen his paradoxical works? Behold also his care, behold his love for mankind.

He cried out, it says, and said: Do not do yourself any harm; for we are all here. He did not allow the one who had bound him harshly to die harshly, he did not bear a grudge. For we are all here, he says. Behold his lack of pride. He did not say, I have done these paradoxical things, but what? For we are all here. Paul numbered himself with the prisoners. But that man, seeing what had happened, marveled at the event, was astonished at the miracle, and gave thanks to God. The jailer was truly worthy of much care and love for mankind; he did not think that what had happened was sorcery. For what reason, then, did he not think that what was happening was sorcery? He had heard them singing hymns to God; but a sorcerer never sings hymns to God.

Ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε, ἐν παντὶ εὐ χαριστεῖτε. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχε σθαι δεῖ, ἀδιαλείπτως ἐστὶ τὸ ὄργανον μετὰ τοῦ τεχνίτου. Αἴνει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον. Τὸ πρό τερον μιᾷ γλώττῃ ἔλεγε ταῦτα ὁ ∆αυΐδ· νυνὶ δὲ, ἐπειδὴ ἐτελεύτησε, μυρίαις γλώσσαις ταῦτα φθέγγε ται, οὐ ταῖς παρ' ἡμῖν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς παντα χοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης. Εἶδες ὅτι οὐ τέθνηκεν, ἀλλὰ ζῇ; Πῶς γὰρ τέθνηκεν ὁ τοσαύτας ἔχων γλώττας, καὶ διὰ τοσούτων στομάτων φθεγγόμενος; Μέγα ἀληθῶς αἶνος· ἐκκαθαίρει γὰρ τὴν ἡμετέραν ψυχὴν, καὶ πολ λὴν ἡμῖν ἐντίθησι τὴν εὐλάβειαν. Βούλει μαθεῖν, πόση τῶν εἰς Θεὸν ὕμνων ἡ δύ 55.523 ναμις; Ὑμνοῦντες οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες, οὕτω τὴν κά μινον ἔσβεσαν τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ἔσβε σαν, ἀλλ' ὃ πολλῷ θαυμαστότερον ἦν, καιομένην τὴν φλόγα, ὡσεὶ πηλὸν, κατεπάτησαν τοῖς ποσίν. Οὗτος ὁ ὕμνος εἰς δεσμωτήριον εἰσελθὼν ἐπὶ τοῦ Παύλου τὰ δεσμὰ ἔλυσε, τὰς θύρας ἀνέῳξε τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου, τὰ θεμέλια διέσεισε, καταπλήξει πολλῇ τὸν δεσμοφύ λακα ἐφόβησε.

Κατὰ γὰρ τὸ μεσονύκτιον ὕμνουν, φησὶν, ὁ Παῦλος καὶ ὁ Σίλας. Εἶτα τί γέγονε; Τί; Τὸ και νὸν καὶ παράδοξον πάντως· τὰ δεσμὰ ἐλύθη, οἱ δε δεμένοι τοὺς λελυμένους ἔδησαν· καὶ μὴν δεσμῶν φύσις ἐστὶ, τὸ δεδεμένον ἐν ἀκριβείᾳ πολλῇ κατέχειν καὶ ὑποχείριον ποιεῖν· νυνὶ δὲ ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ λελυ μένος πρὸς τοὺς πόδας ἦλθε τοῦ δεδεμένου Παύλου. ∆εσμῶν μὲν γὰρ τῶν αἰσθητῶν φύσις ἐστὶ, κατέχειν τὸν δεδεμένον· δεσμῶν δὲ τῶν διὰ Χριστὸν τοσαύτη ἡ δύναμις, ὥστε τοὺς λελυμένους τοῖς δεδεμένοις ὑποχειρίους ποιεῖν. Εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν αὐτοὺς ἔβαλε φυλακὴν, καὶ ἔνδον ὄντες τὰς ἔξω θύρας ἀνέῳξαν. Τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν ἠσφαλίσατο τῷ ξύλῳ, καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐ τῶν οἱ ἠσφαλισμένοι τῶν ἄλλων τὰς χεῖρας ἔλυ σαν. Εἶτα προσέπεσεν αὐτῷ, φησὶν, ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ, δεδοικὼς, τρέμων, στένων, ἀγωνιῶν, δακρύων. Τί ποτε γέγονεν; οὐ σὺ ἔδησας; οὐ σὺ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ κατέσχες; Καὶ τί θαυμάζεις, ἄνθρωπε, εἰ τὸ δεσμω τήριον ἀνέῳξεν, ὅπου γε καὶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἀνοίγειν ἔλαβεν ἐξουσίαν. Ὅσα ἂν δήσητε, φησὶν, ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται δεδεμένα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· καὶ ὅσα ἂν λύσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἔσται λελυμένα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς Ἁμαρτημάτων ἔλυσε δεσμά· τί θαυμά ζεις, εἰ σιδήρου λύει δεσμά; ∆αιμόνων ἔλυσε δεσμὰ, ψυχὰς δεδεμένας ὑπ' αὐτοῖς ἀπήλλαξε· καὶ τί θαυ μάζεις, εἰ τὰς τῶν δεσμωτῶν ἁλύσεις ἀνῆκε; Καὶ ὅρα διπλοῦν τὸ θαῦμα· ἔλυσε πάλιν, καὶ ἔδησεν. Ἔλυσε μὲν γὰρ τὰ δεσμὰ, ἔδησε δὲ αὐτῶν τὴν καρ δίαν. Ὅτι γὰρ λελυμένοι ἦσαν, οὐκ ᾔδεισαν. Ἀνέῳξε καὶ ἔκλεισεν· ἀνέῳξε μὲν γὰρ τὰς τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου θύρας, ἔκλεισε δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας δε σμωτῶν, ὥστε μὴ αἰσθάνεσθαι τῶν θυρῶν ἐκείνων ἀνεῳγμένων, ἵνα μὴ καὶ τῇ ἀδείᾳ ἀποχρησάμενοι εἰς φυγὴν ἀποπηδήσωσιν. Εἶδες καὶ δεσμοῦντα καὶ λύοντα, καὶ ἀνοίγοντα καὶ κλείοντα; δʹ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐν νυκτὶ ταῦτα ἐγίνετο, ἵνα ἀθορύβως τὸ πρᾶγμα γένηται καὶ χωρὶς ταραχῆς πάσης. Οὐδὲν γὰρ πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν οὐδὲ φιλοτιμίαν ἐποίουν οἱ ἀπό στολοι. Προσέπεσεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἀρχιδεσμοφύλαξ. Τί οὖν ὁ Παῦλος; Εἶδες αὐτοῦ τὸ θαῦμα; εἶδες αὐ τοῦ τὰ παράδοξα ἔργα; Θέασαι αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν κη δεμονίαν, θέασαι αὐτοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν.

Ἀνεβόησε, φησὶ, καὶ εἶπε· Μηδὲν ποιήσῃς σεαυτῷ κακόν· ἅπαντες γάρ ἐσμεν ἐνθάδε. Τὸν δήσαντα πικρῶς οὐκ ἀφῆκεν ἀποθανεῖν πικρῶς, οὐκ ἐμνησι κάκησε. Πάντες γάρ ἐσμεν ἐνθάδε, φησίν. Ὅρα τὸ ἄτυφον. Οὐκ εἶπε, Ταῦτα τὰ παράδοξα ἐγὼ ἐποίησα, ἀλλὰ τί; Πάντες γάρ ἐσμεν ἐνθάδε. Μετὰ τῶν δεσμωτῶν ἑαυτὸν ἠρίθμησεν ὁ Παῦλος. Ἰδὼν δὲ ἐκεῖνος ἐθαύμασε τὸ γεγονὸς, ἐξεπλάγη ἐπὶ τῷ θαύ ματι, ηὐχαρίστησε τῷ Θεῷ. Ἄξιος ὄντως πολλῆς κηδε μονίας καὶ φιλανθρωπίας ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ· οὐκ ἐνόμι σεν εἶναι γοητείαν τὰ γεγενημένα. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκα οὐκ ἐνόμισεν εἶναι γοητείαν τὰ γινόμενα; Ἤκουσεν αὐ τῶν ὑμνούντων τὸν Θεόν· γόης δὲ οὐδέποτε ὑμνεῖ τὸν Θεόν.