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to one who has taken care of his own mind are desirable things more precious than those held in honor among men. For he who has turned away his own appetitive power from gold and precious stones, with longing for that which is truly good, will spend it all on things truly desirable, and he will perceive them to be sweeter than the sweetest of sensible things, the honeycomb and honey. Not with bodily taste but with divine perception will he apprehend the sweetness of the aforementioned things. These things, then, the servant of the Lord will keep. For your servant keeps them; saying this not only about himself but also about every servant of the Lord. If for keeping these things something temporal and sensible were to result, the reward would not be great; but since the reward for keeping them is super-cosmic and super-celestial, it follows that it is great. 158 Ps 18,13-14a Manifest and effectual sins everyone will know, but the one who will detect the transgressions that happen in secret, in the thoughts and reasonings, is rare; for "Who" here indicates what is rare. Paul, for instance, conscious of nothing against himself, knowing that it is rare to understand the aforementioned transgressions, said, "Not by this am I justified." After "Who can understand his errors?" follows "Cleanse me from my secret faults"; the just man saying as it were this: since in the secret reasonings of the heart it happens there is a defilement which not only others but even I myself do not know, do you remove it, being the knower of secret things. For it happens that this defilement, if it is not removed, being intensified, becomes an occasion and a pretext for me to be captured by strangers; therefore, sparing your servant, do not allow him to be captured by strangers, having cleansed him from his secret faults. For sins in secret, not being cut out, might someday change into a sin in practice, through which one will fall in with things alien to God, either deeds or wicked powers. But God will spare his own servant, when he does not spare his own son but delivers him up for all; for to spare the son is the destruction of all, but not to spare him is for the salvation of all. And the son himself will be beyond all harm, being by nature not one to receive it at all. 159 Ps 18,14c.15 But he calls the effectual sin a great sin. For if I were not cleansed from my secret faults, these persistent transgressions would lead to an evil action, and I become liable for a great sin. When these things are granted to me by you, then the words of my mouth are for good pleasure, which I brought forth praying to you, hymning you, giving thanks to you; for good pleasure are the words worthy of acceptance. The meditation of my mind, happening in reasonings and thoughts, being without any blemish, is continually before you. However, the blamelessness of the meditation has come from nowhere else but from you who cleansed me from my secret faults. With your help, O Master, I fall prey to none of those who war against me spiritually. But if through my inattention it should happen that I am captured by the adversaries, you deliver me from those who hold me, being found at once my helper and my redeemer. 160

Ps 19,2-4 Encouraging the afflicted one, either the word indwelling in the soul or

the Holy Spirit, stirring him up, says: "May the Lord hear you in the day of affliction." Through progress the afflicted one learns not to be neglectful nor to cast down his hopes but to pour himself out to God through prayers; for prayer is considered the precursor to God's hearing. Therefore he calls the afflicted one to prayers by saying: "May the Lord hear you in the day of affliction, may the name of the God of Jacob defend you." The name of God which was appropriated to Jacob is your existing shield. But it must be investigated why, when God was called the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the name of the God of Jacob, not of the God of Abraham or Isaac, defends the afflicted one. Is it not then, because in many hardships and toils Jacob

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ἐπιμεληθέντι τῆς ἑαυτοῦ διανοίας ἐπιθυμητὰ ὑπὲρ τὰ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τίμιά ἐστιν. ὁ γὰρ ἀποστήσας τὴν ἐπιθυμητικὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν ἀπὸ χρυσοῦ καὶ λίθων τιμίων πόθῳ τῷ πρὸς τὸ οντως ἀγαθὸν πᾶσαν αὐτὴν ἀναλώσει εἰς τὰ ἀληθῶς ὀρεκτά, καὶ γλυκύτερα αὐτὰ αἰσθήσεται τῶν ὡς ἐν αἰσθητοῖς γλυκυτάτων κηρίου καὶ μέλιτος. οὐ γεύσει δὲ σωματικῇ ἀλλ' αἰσθήσει θείᾳ ἀντιλήψεται τῆς γλυκύτητος τῶν προειρημένων. Ταῦτα δὴ φυλάξει ὁ τοῦ κυρίου δοῦλος. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ δοῦλός σου φυλάσσει αὐτά· οὐ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ μόνου τοῦτο λέγων ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ παντὸς δούλου κυρίου. Εἰ μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ φυλακῇ τούτων πρόσκαιρόν τι καὶ αἰσθητὸν ἀπηντᾷ, οὐκ ην ἀνταπόδοσις πολλή· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὑπερκόσμιος καὶ ὑπερουράνιος ἡ ἐπὶ τῇ τούτων φυλακῇ ἀνταπόδοσις, ἀκόλουθον πολλὴν αὐτὴν ειναι. 158 Ps 18,13-14a Τὰς μὲν φανερὰς καὶ ἀποτελεσματικὰς ἁμαρτίας πᾶς τις εισεται, τὰ δὲ ἐν κρυπτῷ γινόμενα παραπτώματα ἐν ταῖς ἐνθυμήσεσιν καὶ λογισμοῖς ὁ φωράσων σπάνιος· τὸ γὰρ Τίς ἐνταῦθα τὸ σπάνιον δηλοῖ. Παῦλος γοῦν οὐδὲν ἑαυτῷ συνειδὼς, ἐπιστάμενος οτι σπάνιον τὸ συνιέναι τὰ προειρημένα παραπτώματα Οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ, εφη, δεδικαίωμαι. ̔Εξῆς γοῦν τῷ Παραπτώματα τίς συνήσει; κεῖται τὸ ̓Απὸ τῶν κρυφίων μου καθάρισόν με· μονονουχὶ τοῦτο τοῦ δικαίου λέγοντος, ἐπεὶ ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς τοῖς κρυφίοις τῆς καρδίας συμβαίνει ῥύπον ειναι ον οὐκ αλλοι μόνον ἀλλὰ κἀγὼ αὐτὸς ἀγνοῶ, σὺ περίελε αὐτόν, τῶν κρυπτῶν τυγχάνων γνώστης. συμβαίνει γὰρ τοῦτον τὸν ῥύπον, εἰ μὴ ἀφανισθείη, ἐπιταθέντα ἀφορμὴν καὶ πρόφασιν γενέσθαι τοῦ ἁλῶναί με ὑπὸ ἀλλοτρίοις· φειδόμενος ουν τοῦ σοῦ δούλου μὴ ἐάσῃς αὐτὸν ὑπὸ ἀλλοτρίοις ἁλῶναι, ἀπὸ τῶν κρυφίων καθαρίσας αὐτόν. τὰ γὰρ ἐν κρυπτῷ ἁμαρτήματα μὴ ἐκκοπτόμενα μεταπέσοι αν ποτε εἰς πρακτικὴν ἁμαρτίαν, δι' ην περιτεύξεταί τις ἀλλοτρίοις θεοῦ ητοι πράγμασιν ητοι πονηραῖς δυνάμεσιν. φείσεται δὲ τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ δούλου ὁ θεός, οτ' αν μὴ φείσεται τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ ὑπὲρ πάντων παραδοὺς αὐτόν· τὸ γὰρ φείσασθαι τοῦ υἱοῦ πάντων ἀπώλεια, τὸ δὲ μὴ φείσασθαι πρὸς τὸ σωτηρίαν πᾶσιν γενέσθαι. καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ υἱὸς ἐκτὸς εσται πάσης βλάβης, ταύτην δέχεσθαι οὐδ' ολως πεφυκώς. 159 Ps 18,14c.15 Μεγάλην δὲ ἁμαρτίαν τὴν ἀποτελεσματικήν φησιν. εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἀπὸ τῶν κρυφίων μου καθαρισθείην, ἐπιμένοντα ταῦτα τὰ παραπτώματα εἰς πρᾶξιν φαύλην μεταφέρει, καὶ γίνομαι ὑπεύθυνος ἁμαρτίᾳ μεγάλῃ. Οτ' αν ταῦτά μοι ὑπαρχθῇ παρὰ σοῦ, τότε εἰς εὐδοκίαν ἐστὶν τὰ λόγια τοῦ στόματός μου, α προήνεγκα εὐχόμενός σοι, ὑμνῶν σε, εὐχαριστῶν σοι· εἰς εὐδοκίαν δ' ἐστὶν τὰ λόγια τὰ ἀποδοχῆς αξια. ̔Η μελέτη τοῦ διανοητικοῦ μου γινομένη ἐν λογισμοῖς καὶ νοήσεσιν, ἐκτὸς ουσα παντὸς μώμου, ἐνώπιόν σου τυγχάνει διαπαντός. τὸ μέντοι τῆς μελέτης αμεμπτον οὐκ αλλοθεν η ἐκ σοῦ ὑπῆρκται καθαρίσαντός με ἀπὸ τῶν κρυφίων μου. Σοῦ βοηθοῦντος, ω δέσποτα, οὐδενὶ ὑποπίπτω τῶν πνευματικῶς προσπολεμούντων. εἰ δὲ καὶ παρ' ἐμὴν ἀπροσεξίαν ἁλῶναι τοῖς ἐναντίοις συμβῇ, σύ με ἐκ τῶν κρατησάντων λύτρωσαι, αμα βοηθὸς καὶ λυτρωτής μου εὑρισκόμενος. 160

Ps 19,2-4 Τὸν θλιβόμενον εὐθυμοποιῶν ητοι ὁ ἐνυπάρχων τῇ ψυχῇ λόγος η

τὸ αγιον πνεῦμα διεγεῖρον αὐτόν φησιν· ̓Επακούσαι σου κύριος ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεως. διὰ τῆς προκοπῆς μανθάνει ὁ θλιβόμενος μὴ ὀλιγωρεῖν μηδὲ τὰς ἐλπίδας καταβάλλειν ἀλλ' ἐξέχεσθαι τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ προσευχῶν· τοῦ γὰρ ἐπακούειν θεὸν ἡγεῖται εὐχή. εἰς προσευχὰς ουν παρακαλεῖ τὸν θλιβόμενον διὰ τοῦ φάναι· ̓Επακούσαι σου κύριος ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεως, ὑπερασπίσαι σου τὸ ονομα τοῦ θεοῦ ̓Ιακώβ. ἡ προσηγορία τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ προσοικειωθεῖσα τῷ ̓Ιακὼβ ἀσπὶς ὑπάρχουσα σοῦ ἐστιν. ζητητέον δὲ διὰ τί, θεοῦ χρηματίσαντος τοῦ ̓Αβραὰμ καὶ τοῦ ̓Ισαὰκ καὶ τοῦ ̓Ιακώβ, τὸ ονομα τοῦ θεοῦ ̓Ιακώβ, οὐχὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ̓Αβραὰμ η ̓Ισαάκ, ὑπερασπίζει τοῦ θλιβομένου. μήποτε ουν, ἐπεὶ ἐν πολλαῖς κακοπαθείαις καὶ ἐπιπόνοις ὁ ̓Ιακὼβ