John Chrysostom, On Psalm 50 Homily 1

We know the pride and the wickedness of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. Why were they jealous? Why were they envious? They heard a word, they could not bear the prosperity of his sayings. But what of this wise man? He departed from them, cutting away the wound, and went to another part of the battle, and says: What will be for the man who takes away his head? And they brought him to the king. He saw then the king sitting, cowering, afraid, trembling, and he says to him: Why has the face of my lord fallen, and in prosperity he confesses servitude? Who is this man? Shall I not go and take off his head? What then says the king? And how are you able, for you are a small boy, but this man is a warrior from his youth? Do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are understood; do not see that I am small in appearance, but that I am great in spirit. What then is to be done? The king disbelieves; David is then forced to tell him his own accomplishments. I, he says, was a small boy with my father's flock; and when a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock, I went out after them, and snatched it from their mouths, and I killed the lion and the bear; and this man will be as one of these beasts, because he has reproached the army of the living God. And Saul said to David: Go, the Lord be with you. And he gave him armor, and David was not able to bear it. Why? God does not allow this, so that he might conquer naked, so that the armor might not share in the victory of his accomplishments, so that the king might not say, My armor has conquered. He throws off the armor, and puts on faith; he goes out naked, yet armored with piety; he goes out a shepherd, and not a soldier; he lets fly a stone, not trusting in the nature of the body, but by the power of faith he bore away the victory; he ran, took his 55.570 sword, and cut off his head.

And that which was written was fulfilled: In the works of his own hands the sinner is caught. Again envy, again jealousy. I continually dig up the spring, so as to find its source. This man, then, of such quality and so great, of whom God says: I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. O high praise! O proof of virtue! His Master says: I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. This man, then, who overcame the beasts, who killed Goliath, who strangled the lion, who mastered the bear, who was gray-haired in his youth, who was small in body and lofty in spirit, who in the royal robe showed the exactness of monks; for he washed, not with pearls, but with tears, drenching his bed every night. For people now sleep even in the daytime, but he was full of care even at night. Why at night? Because in the day, being a king, he was beset by countless affairs; but at night, as if living in a harbor, then alone he conversed with God alone, and poured out springs of tears, and washed his bed. This man, then, so great and of such stature, who drew to himself the grace of the Spirit, who was gray-haired in the age of youth, who touched the vault of the heavens, who enjoyed the gift and grace from above, who put an end to wars, who showed countless achievements against the devil, after sobriety, after reasonableness, after dignity, when he took possession of the kingdom, when he conquered countless enemies, when he subdued nations, when there was peace on all sides, he became more careless, so that you may learn of how many good things affliction is the cause, and of how many evils, ease. And when? At high noon. After lunch, having risen from his couch he was walking about, and he saw a naked woman, bathing, beautiful and exceedingly well-formed. But beauty is not a crime; for beauty is a gift of God. He saw a woman bathing on an upper floor, a soldier's wife, beautiful, lovely. He saw, he was winged by the eye, he received the arrow.

Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ τὴν κακίαν τῆς καρδίας σου, ὅτι ἕνεκα τοῦ ἰδεῖν σε τὸν πόλεμον κατέβης. Τί ἐφθόνησαν; τί ἐβάσκηναν; Λόγον ἤκουσαν, ῥημάτων εὐημερίαν οὐκ ἤνεγκαν. Ἀλλὰ τί οὗτος ὁ σοφὸς ἁνήρ; Ἀπέστη ἀπ' αὐτῶν ὑποτεμνόμενος τὸ ἕλκος, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ ἕτερον μέρος τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ λέγει· Τί ἔσται τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ αἴροντι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ; καὶ εἰσήγαγον αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα. Εἶδε τοίνυν τὸν βασιλέα καθήμενον, κατεπτηχότα, δεδοικότα, τρέμοντα, καὶ λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἵνα τί συνέπεσε τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ κυρίου μου, καὶ ἐν τῇ εὐημερίᾳ τὴν δουλείαν ὁμολογεῖ; Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος; οὐχὶ πορεύσομαι, καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν κεφα λὴν αὐτοῦ; Τί οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς; Καὶ πῶς δύνασαι, ὅτι παιδάριον εἶ μικρὸν, οὗτος δὲ ἀνὴρ πολεμιστὴς ἐκ νεό τητος αὐτοῦ; Μὴ βλέπε τὰ ὁρώμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ νοούμενα· μὴ ἴδῃς, ὅτι μικρὸς τῷ εἴδει, ἀλλ' ὅτι μέγας τῷ φρονή ματι. Τί οὖν ἵνα γίνηται; Ἀπιστεῖ ὁ βασιλεύς· ἀναγ κάζεται ὁ ∆αυῒδ λοιπὸν αὐτῷ τὰ κατορθώματα αὐ τοῦ λέγειν. Ἐγὼ, φησὶ, παιδίον ἤμην μικρὸν παρὰ τὴν ποίμνην τοῦ πατρός μου· καὶ ὅτε ἦλθε λέων, ἢ ἄρκτος, καὶ ἐλάμβανον πρόβατα ἐκ τῆς ποίμνης, ἐξεπορευόμην ὀπίσω αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐξέσπασα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀνεῖλον τὸν λέοντα καὶ τὴν ἄρκτον· καὶ ἔσται οὗτος ὡς ἓν τούτων τῶν θηρίων, ὅτι ὠνείδισε παράταξιν Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Σαοὺλ πρὸς τὸν ∆αυΐδ· Πορεύου, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. Καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὅπλα, καὶ οὐκ ἐδύνατο αὐτὰ ὁ ∆αυῒδ βαστάσαι. ∆ιὰ τί; Οὐ συγχωρεῖ τοῦτο ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα γυμνὸς νικήσῃ, ἵνα μὴ τὰ ὅπλα μερίσηται τὴν νίκην τῶν κατορ θωμάτων, ἵνα μὴ λέγῃ ὁ βασιλεὺς, ὅτι Τὰ ὅπλα μου ἐνί κησαν. Ῥίπτει τὰ ὅπλα, καὶ ἐνδύεται τὴν πίστιν· ἐξέρ χεται γυμνὸς, καὶ τεθωρακισμένος τὴν εὐλάβειαν· ἐξέρ χεται ποιμὴν, καὶ οὐ στρατιώτης· ἀφίησι βόλον, οὐ τῇ φύσει τοῦ σώματος θαῤῥῶν, ἀλλὰ τῇ δυνάμει τῆς πί στεως τὴν νίκην ἀπηνέγκατο· ἔδραμεν, ἔλαβεν αὐτοῦ τὸ 55.570 ξίφος, ἀπέτεμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλήν.

Καὶ ἐπληρώθη τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ συνελήφθη ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. Πάλιν φθόνος, πάλιν βασκα νία. Συνεχῶς ἀνορύττω τὴν πηγὴν, ὥστε αὐτὸν εὑρεῖν τὸν ὀφθαλμόν. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ τηλικοῦτος ἀνὴρ, περὶ οὗ φησιν ὁ Θεός· Εὗρον ∆αυῒδ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου. Ὢ ἐγκώμιον ὑψηλόν! ὢ ἀπόδειξις ἀρετῆς! Ὁ ∆εσπότης αὐτοῦ λέγει· Εὗρον ∆αυῒδ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ τῶν θηρίων περιγε νόμενος, ὁ τὸν Γολιὰθ ἀποκτείνας, ὁ τὸν λέοντα πνίξας, ὁ τὴν ἄρκτον κρατήσας, ὁ ἐν νεότητι πεπολιωμένος, ὁ μικρὸς τῷ σώματι καὶ ὑψηλὸς τῷ πνεύματι, ὁ ἐν τῇ βασιλικῇ στολῇ ἀκρίβειαν μοναζόντων ἐπιδειξάμενος· ἔλουε γὰρ, οὐκ ἀπὸ μαργαριτῶν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ δακρύων καθ' ἑκάστην νύκτα βρέχων τὴν στρωμνὴν αὐτοῦ. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ νῦν ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ καθεύδουσιν, ἐκεῖνος δὲ καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ ἐμμέριμνος ἦν. ∆ιὰ τί ἐν νυκτί; Ἐπειδὴ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ βασιλεὺς ὢν ὑπὸ μυρίων περιηντλεῖτο πραγμά των· ἐν δὲ νυκτὶ καθάπερ ἐν λιμένι διάγων, τότε μόνος μόνῳ τῷ Θεῷ διελέγετο, καὶ πηγὰς δακρύων ἐξέχεε, καὶ ἔλουε τὴν στρωμνὴν ἑαυτοῦ. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ τοσοῦτος καὶ τηλικοῦτος ἀνὴρ, ὁ Πνεύματος χάριν ἐπισπασάμενος, ὁ ἐν ἡλικίᾳ νεότητος πεπολιωμένος, ὁ τῆς ἁψῖδος τῶν οὐ ρανῶν ἁψάμενος, ὁ τῆς ἄνωθεν ἀπολαύσας δωρεᾶς καὶ χάριτος, ὁ πολέμους καταλύσας, ὁ μυρία κατορθώματα κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐπιδειξάμενος, μετὰ σωφροσύνην, μετὰ ἐπιείκειαν, μετὰ σεμνότητα, ὅτε κατέσχε τὴν βασι λείαν, ὅτε μυρίους ἐνίκησε πολεμίους, ὅτε ἔθνη ὑπέταξεν, ὅτε εἰρήνη πανταχόθεν, ῥᾳθυμότερος ἐγένετο, ἵνα μά θητε πόσων ἀγαθῶν πρόξενος ἡ θλίψις, καὶ πόσων κακῶν ἡ ἄνεσις. Καὶ πότε; Ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ μέσῃ. Μετὰ ἄριστον ἀναστὰς ἀπὸ τῆς στιβάδος περιεπάτει, καὶ εἶδε γυναῖκα γυμνὴν, λουομένην, καλὴν καὶ εὔμορφον σφό δρα. Ἀλλὰ οὐκ ἔγκλημα τὸ κάλλος· τὸ γὰρ κάλλος Θεοῦ δῶρον. Εἶδε γυναῖκα λουομένην ἐν ὑπερῴῳ, γυναῖκα στρατιώτου, καλὴν, ὡραίαν. Εἶδεν, ἐπτερώθη τῷ ὄμ ματι, ἐδέξατο τὸ βέλος.