32
of God; and, How lovely are your tabernacles, Lord of hosts! And the rarity of this is shown by the "who," as in, Who has known the mind of the Lord? and, Who will announce to you the eternal place? and, Who then is the wise and faithful steward? But perhaps also, having asked God, he received an answer? Lord, who will sojourn in your tabernacle? Or who will dwell on your holy mountain? Perhaps also the one who is translated to heaven, as one coming from a foreign sojourn, is a sojourner; for heaven is God's tabernacle. But see whether he who abides by the polity of the law, which is a tutor to Christ, sojourns in the tabernacle of the Lord, busying himself about the tent of testimony; but he who has reached Christ and the evangelical teaching dwells on the holy mountain of God, about which it is prophesied: The mountain of the Lord is manifest. And consider again, whether the holy mountain of God is the Word of God; and his tabernacle, the man whom he assumed; and it is necessary first to know Christ according to the flesh; then to dwell on the holy mountain of God, having beheld his glory, glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father; and to say: For if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no more. For to such a one it was said: Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Zion. In another sense, the mountain of God is that which will be inhabited only by holy souls and those perfect in righteousness; heaven itself, and the kingdom of heaven proclaimed by the Savior. This is the heavenly Jerusalem; this is Mount Zion, and the city of the living God, according to 23.152 the holy Apostle, who says: You have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. And you will understand the tabernacle established above on the mountain from the word that says: But Christ came as a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Therefore, David, having come to the thought of these things, cries out, saying: Lord, who will sojourn in your tabernacle? For truly rare and hard to find, and one perhaps in ten thousand, is he who is worthy of that ascent and of the sojourning in heaven. Therefore, the indicated tabernacle, that in the heavens, would be the dwelling place of God himself; but man, as if about to be translated from the captivity of his sojourn on earth to the heavenly dwelling, will be there as a certain stranger and sojourner, since indeed he has become an emigrant from another place, and has set out from another country; wherefore it is said: Who will sojourn in your tabernacle? But blessed is he who has been on that mountain, and has been established on it, as the word teaches that the same abode will be lasting and eternal for the worthy. He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness. For not one deed perfects the virtuous man, but it is fitting for his whole life to be extended along with virtuous activities, that we may become blameless and irreproachable in that way. And this would be the saving knowledge, which he himself presented, saying: I am the way. For in addition to the first good deed, it is necessary to take thought for deeds and actions in righteousness. Speaking truth in his heart; who has not dealt deceitfully with his tongue. Therefore, one must not lord it over any of the less perfect after having accomplished the aforesaid things; lest, suffering a kind of shipwreck, he lose his own good things. In his sight a wicked man is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord. He who swears to his neighbor and does not break his oath. Here he says that it is right to swear on one matter at times, and when swearing, not to transgress the oaths. But on what matter is this, if not on pledging a genuine companionship and friendship? And the oath of such a great man is an irreproachable word, by which the, Yes, yes, and the, No, no, is confirmed. He has not given his money at interest, and has not taken bribes against the innocent. Since it sometimes happens after all the things enumerated
32
Θεοῦ· καὶ, Ὡς ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σου, Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων! τὸ δὲ τούτου σπάνιον ἐμφαίνει τὸ, τίς, ὡς τὸ, Τίς ἔγνω τὸν νοῦν Κυρίου; καὶ τὸ, Τίς ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν τὸν τόπον τὸν αἰώνιον; καὶ τὸ, Τίς ἄρα φρόνιμος καὶ πιστὸς οἰκονόμος; Μήποτε δὲ καὶ, τὸν Θεὸν ἐρωτήσας, ἔτυχε ἀποκρίσεως; Κύριε, τίς παροικήσει ἐν τῷ σκηνώματί σου; ἢ τίς κατασκηνώσει ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ σου; Τάχα δὲ καὶ ὁ μεθιστάμενος εἰς οὐρανὸν, ὡς ἀπὸ ξένης ἥκων διατριβῆς, παροικεῖ· Θεοῦ γὰρ σκήνωμα ὁ οὐρανός. Ὅρα δὲ μήπως ὁ ἐπιμένων τῇ πολιτείᾳ τοῦ νόμου, εἰς Χριστὸν ὄντος παιδαγωγοῦ, παροικεῖ ἐν τῷ σκηνώματι τοῦ Κυρίου, περὶ τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ μαρτυρίου τευτάζων· ὁ δὲ φθάσας ἐπὶ Χριστὸν καὶ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν διδασκαλίαν κατασκηνοῖ ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, περὶ οὗ προφητεύεται· Ἐμφανές ἐστι τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου. Καὶ σκόπει πάλιν, μὴ Θεοῦ μὲν ὄρος ἅγιον ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος· σκήνωμα δὲ αὐτοῦ, ὃν ἀνέλαβεν ἄνθρωπον· καὶ δεῖ πρότερον ἐπιγνῶναι κατὰ σάρκα Χριστόν· εἶτα κατασκηνοῦν ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ Θεοῦ, θεασάμενον τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς Μονογενοῦς παρὰ Πατρός· καὶ λέγειν· Εἰ γὰρ ἐγνώκαμεν κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν, ἀλλὰ νῦν οὐκέτι γινώσκομεν. Πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον γὰρ εἴρηται· Ἐπ' ὄρος ὑψηλὸν ἀνάβηθι ὁ εὐαγγελιζόμενος τὴν Σιών. Ἄλλως ὄρος τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ὑπὸ μόνων ἁγίων ψυχῶν καὶ τελείων ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ κατοικηθησόμενον· ὁ οὐρανὸς αὐτὸς, καὶ ἡ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος εὐαγγελισθεῖσα βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Αὕτη ἐστὶν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἡ ἐπουράνιος· αὕτη ἐστὶ τὸ Σιὼν ὅρος, καὶ ἡ πόλις τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος, κατὰ 23.152 τὸν ἱερὸν Ἀπόστολον, ὅς φησι· Προσεληλύθατε Σιὼν ὄρει, καὶ πόλει Θεοῦ ζῶντος, Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρανίῳ. Τὴν δὲ σκηνὴν νοήσεις τὴν ἄνω ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους ἱδρυμένην ἀπὸ τοῦ φάσκοντος λόγου· Χριστὸς δὲ παραγενόμενος ἀρχιερεὺς τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν διὰ τῆς μείζονος καὶ τελειοτέρας σκηνῆς, οὐ χειροποιήτου, τουτέστιν, οὐ ταύτης τῆς κτίσεως. Τούτων τοιγαροῦν καὶ ὁ ∆αυῒδ εἰς ἔννοιαν ἐλθὼν, ἀναφωνεῖ λέγων· Κύριε, τίς παροικήσει ἐν τῷ σκηνώματί σου; Ἀληθῶς γὰρ σπάνιος καὶ δυσεύρετος, καὶ εἷς που ἀπὸ μυρίων, ὁ τῆς ἀναβάσεως ἐκείνης καὶ τῆς ἐν οὐρανοῖς παροικήσεως ἄξιος. Τὸ μὲν οὖν δηλωθὲν σκήνωμα, τὸ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, οἰκητήριον αὐτοῦ γένοιτ' ἂν τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἄνθρωπος δὲ, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ αἰχμαλωσίας τῆς κατὰ γῆν διατριβῆς μέλλων μεθίστασθαι ἐπὶ τὴν οὐράνιον κατασκήνωσιν, ὥσπερ τις ξένος καὶ πάροικος ἔσται ἐκεῖ, ἅτε δὴ ἑτέρωθεν μετανάστης γεγονὼς, καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρας ὡρμημένος χώρας· διὸ λέλεκται· Τίς παροικήσει ἐν τῷ σκηνώματί σου; Μακάριος δὲ ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ γενόμενος τῷ ὄρει, καὶ ἱδρυθεὶς ἐν αὐτῷ, τοῦ λόγου διδάσκοντος παράμονον ἔσεσθαι καὶ διαιωνίζουσαν τοῖς ἀξίοις τὴν αὐτὴν μονήν. Πορευόμενος ἄμωμος, καὶ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην. Οὐ γὰρ μία πρᾶξις τελειοῖ τὸν σπουδαῖον, ἀλλὰ παντὶ προσῆκε τῷ βίῳ ταῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν ἐνεργείαις συμπαρατείνεσθαι, ἵνα ἄμωμοι καὶ ἀνέγκλητοι κατ' αὐτὴν γενώμεθα τὴν ὁδόν. Εἴη δ' ἂν αὕτη ἡ σωτήριος γνῶσις, ἣν αὐτὸς παριστὰς ἔλεγεν· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός. ∆εῖ γὰρ πρὸς τῷ πρώτῳ κατορθώματι, καὶ τῆς δι' ἔργων καὶ πράξεων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ πρόνοιαν ποιεῖσθαι. Λαλῶν ἀλήθειαν ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· ὃς οὐκ ἐδόλωσεν ἐν γλώσσῃ αὐτοῦ. Οὐ δεῖ τοίνυν κατεπαίρεσθαί τινα τῶν ἀτελεστέρων μετὰ τὸ κατορθῶσαι τὰ εἰρημένα· ἵνα μὴ, οἷόν τι ναυάγιον παθὼν, ἀπολέσῃ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ καλά. Ἐξουδένωται ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ πονηρευόμενος, τοὺς δὲ φοβουμένους τὸν Κύριον δοξάζει. Ὁ ὀμνύων τῷ πλησίον αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἀθετῶν. Ἐνταῦθα ἐπὶ ἑνὶ πράγματί φησιν εὐλόγως ποτὲ δεῖν ὀμνύναι, καὶ ὀμνύοντα μὴ παραβαίνειν τοὺς ὅρκους. Ἐπὶ ποίῳ δὲ τούτῳ, ἢ ἐπὶ τῷ ἑταιρίαν γνησίαν καὶ φιλίαν σπένδεσθαι; Ἔστι δὲ ὅρκος τοῦ τηλικούτου ἀνδρὸς ἀκατάγνωστος λόγος, ἐφ' ᾧ βεβαιοῦται τὸ, Ναὶ ναὶ, καὶ τὸ, Οὒ οὔ. Τὸ ἀργύριον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔδωκεν ἐπὶ τόκῳ, καὶ δῶρα ἐπ' ἀθώοις οὐκ ἔλαβεν. Ἐπειδὴ συμβαίνει ποτὲ μετὰ πάντα τὰ κατηριθμημένα