John Chrysostom, Expositions on the Psalms

no one will stand against him at all, how does he need weapons? But as I said before, these things are said in this way on account of the denseness and insensibility of the listeners. What is, *And he will furbish*? He will whet. Is there then need for a whetstone? And poison on the sword? And who, having a mind, would endure to take these things as they are said? But as I said before, he shapes the punishment through all these things, and proceeds to cruder terms, so that even the extremely foolish may understand that one must not cling to the words, but receive from them concepts worthy of God. So if someone is perplexed as to why anger and wrath are spoken of in relation to God, he will be much more perplexed on account of these things. But if these things are not to be taken as they are said, but 55.98 in a manner worthy of God, it is clear that the same is true for the things concerning anger and wrath; and the crudeness of the words is so as to reach the crudeness of the hearers. For this very reason he was not content with what was said, but goes further to what is more human, increasing the fear. For he introduces him not only as having a sword, but also as arming himself. For since one is not equally afraid hearing that the sword is being whetted and that the bow is in hand, from human figures he shakes the mind of the hearers, saying: *He has bent his bow and made it ready*; terrifying the hearer, at the same time showing both long-suffering and wrath. For he did not say, he released, nor, he took, but, *He bent and made ready*; that is, He is ready for the release. And why do you marvel, if it is said this way in the Old Testament, when in the New John, speaking to the Jews, says something like this? *And now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees.* What then? Does God imitate a woodcutter cutting wood with an axe? And should we take it as an axe and trees? By no means; just as neither chaff and wheat, when he says: *Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.* What then is the axe? The vengeance and the punishment. What are the trees? Human beings. What is the chaff? The wicked. What is the wheat? The good. What is the fan? The judgment. So also here the sword, and bow, and arrows are the punishment and the vengeance. Then the delay, and the fact that the punishment is distant, but not very distant, but is at the gates, he represented by the bending and the making ready. He calls the arrows instruments of death. Just as instruments of agriculture are those that produce agriculture; and of seafaring, those that prepare us to sail; and of weaving, those that produce weaving; so also instruments of death are those that work death. Then explaining what the instruments of death are, he adds, *His arrows*, showing the swiftness of the punishment, when he wishes. What is, *For the burning*? For those being punished, for those being chastised. Then fire is not enough, but there is need of arrows? Do you see that all is said metaphorically and emphatically, and so that through all things the fear might be increased? For what he says is this: He has prepared the punishments for those about to be punished. But if he had not spoken thus, he would not have struck so; but now by mentioning arrows, and a sword, and a bow, and a release, and a tensioning, and instruments of death and burning, he has intensified the anguish by the variety of the names. Then, assuaging the fear again, he added, *For the burning*. For lest any of the more foolish should think that he brings his hand against all, and is armed against all, he added, *For the burning*. Which Paul also alludes to when speaking of a ruler: *For he beareth not the sword in vain.* And if in the case of rulers the sword does this and inspires fear, much more so in the case of God. And this is a sign of no ordinary love for humanity, to frighten with words and to exaggerate the punishment, so that 55.99 one may not come to experience the realities. For for this reason he bent, for this reason he made ready, for this reason he set the arrows, for this reason he prepares for the punishment, so that he might not come to the punishment.

αὐτοῦ οὐδαμῶς τις ὑποστήσεται, πῶς ὅπλων δεῖ τούτῳ; Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, διὰ τὴν παχύτητα καὶ τὴν ἀναισθησίαν τῶν ἀκουόντων οὕτω ταῦτα εἴρηται. Τί δέ ἐστι, Καὶ στιλβώσει; Ἀκονήσει. Ἆρα οὖν καὶ ἀκόνης χρεία; καὶ ἰὸς περὶ τὴν μάχαιραν; Καὶ τίς ἂν ταῦτα, νοῦν ἔχων, ἀνέξεται οὕτως ἐκλαβεῖν ὡς εἴρηται; Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, τὴν τιμωρίαν διὰ πάντων σχηματίζει, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ παχύτερα πρόεισιν, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς σφόδρα ἀνοήτους συνιδεῖν, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ ταῖς λέξεσι παρακαθῆσθαι, ἀλλὰ θεοπρεπεῖς ἐννοίας ἐκ τούτων λαμβάνειν. Ὥστε εἴ τις ἀπορεῖ τίνος ἕνεκεν θυμὸς εἴρηται περὶ Θεοῦ καὶ ὀργὴ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τούτων ἕνεκεν ἀπορήσει. Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα οὐχ ὡς εἴρηται ἐκληπτέον, ἀλλὰ 55.98 θεοπρεπῶς, εὔδηλον ὅτι καὶ τὰ περὶ θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς· ἡ δὲ παχύτης τῶν λέξεων, ὥστε καθικέσθαι τῆς τῶν ἀκροατῶν παχύτητος. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο οὐδὲ τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἠρκέσθη, ἀλλ' ἔτι πρόεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνθρωπινώτερον, τὸν φόβον αὔξων. Οὐ γὰρ ῥομφαίαν αὐτὸν ἔχοντα εἰσάγει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁπλιζόμενον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐχ ὁμοίως τις φοβεῖται ἀκούων, ὅτι ἀκονᾶται ἡ μάχαιρα, καὶ ὅτι τὸ τόξον μετὰ χεῖρας, ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σχημάτων κατασείει τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν ἀκουόντων, λέγων· Τὸ τόξον αὐτοῦ ἐνέτεινε, καὶ ἡτοίμασεν αὐτό· φοβῶν τὸν ἀκούοντα, ὁμοῦ καὶ τὴν μακροθυμίαν καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν ἐνδεικνύμενος. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, ἀφῆκεν, οὐδὲ, ἔλαβεν, ἀλλ', Ἐνέτεινε καὶ ἡτοίμασε· τουτέστιν, Ἕτοιμός ἐστι πρὸς τὴν ἄφεσιν. Καὶ τί θαυμάζεις, εἰ ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ οὕτως εἴρηται, ὅπουγε καὶ ἐν τῇ Καινῇ Ἰουδαίοις διαλεγόμενος ὁ Ἰωάννης τοιοῦτόν τι λέγει; Ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται. Τί οὖν; δρυτόμον ὁ Θεὸς μιμεῖται ἀξίνῃ κόπτοντα ξύλα; καὶ ἀξίνην ἐκληπτέον καὶ ξύλα; Ἄπαγε· ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἄχυρα καὶ σῖτον, ὅταν λέγῃ· Οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸν μὲν σῖτον συνάξει εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ἀξίνη; Ἡ τιμωρία καὶ ἡ κόλασις. Τίνα δὲ τὰ δένδρα; Οἱ ἄνθρωποι. Τίνα δὲ τὰ ἄχυρα; Οἱ φαῦλοι. Τίς ὁ σῖτος; Οἱ χρηστοί. Τί τὸ πτύον; Ἡ διάκρισις. Οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα ῥομφαία, καὶ τόξον, καὶ βέλη, ἡ κόλασις καὶ ἡ τιμωρία ἐστίν. Εἶτα τὴν μέλλησιν, καὶ τὸ ἀφεστηκέναι μὲν τὴν τιμωρίαν, μὴ πολὺ δὲ ἀφεστηκέναι, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ θύραις εἶναι, τῷ τεῖναι καὶ ἑτοιμάσαι παρέστησε. Σκεύη δὲ θανάτου τὰ βέλη φησίν. Ὥσπερ σκεύη γεωργίας, τὰ γεωργίαν ποιοῦντα· καὶ ναυτιλίας, τὰ πλεῖν ἡμᾶς παρασκευάζοντα· καὶ ὑφαντικῆς, τὰ ὑφαίνειν ποιοῦντα· οὕτω καὶ θανάτου σκεύη, τὰ θάνατον ἐργαζόμενα. Εἶτα ἑρμηνεύων τίνα ἐστὶ τὰ σκεύη τοῦ θανάτου ἐπάγει, Τὰ βέλη αὐτοῦ, δεικνὺς τὸ τάχος τῆς τιμωρίας, ὅταν βουληθῇ. Τί δέ ἐστι, Τοῖς καιομένοις; Τοῖς τιμωρουμένοις, τοῖς κολαζομένοις. Εἶτα οὐκ ἀρκεῖ τὸ πῦρ, ἀλλὰ βελῶν χρεία; Ὁρᾷς ὅτι πάντα μεταφορικῶς εἴρηται καὶ ἐμφαντικῶς, καὶ ὥστε διὰ πάντων αὐξηθῆναι τὸν φόβον; Ὃ γὰρ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Ἡτοίμασε τὰς τιμωρίας τοῖς μέλλουσι τιμωρεῖσθαι. Ἀλλ' εἰ μὴ οὕτως εἶπεν, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἔπληξε· νῦν δὲ βελῶν, καὶ ῥομφαίας, καὶ τόξου, καὶ ἀφέσεως, καὶ τάσεως, καὶ σκευῶν θανάτου καὶ ἐμπρησμοῦ μνημονεύσας, τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τῶν ὀνομάτων ἐπέτεινε τὴν ἀγωνίαν. Εἶτα παραμυθούμενος πάλιν τὸν φόβον, ἐπήγαγε, Τοῖς καιομένοις. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ νομίσῃ τις τῶν ἀνοητοτέρων, ἐπὶ πάντας αὐτὸν ἄγειν τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ κατὰ πάντων ὡπλίσθαι, ἐπήγαγε, Τοῖς καιομένοις. Ὅπερ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος αἰνίττεται περὶ ἄρχοντος λέγων· Οὐ γὰρ εἰκῆ τὴν μάχαιραν φορεῖ. Εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἡ μάχαιρα τοῦτο ποιεῖ καὶ φοβεῖ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ οὐ τῆς τυχούσης φιλανθρωπίας, τὸ διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων φοβεῖν καὶ ἐξογκοῦν τὴν τιμωρίαν, ὥστε 55.99 μὴ γενέσθαι ἐν πείρᾳ τῶν πραγμάτων. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐνέτεινε, διὰ τοῦτο ἡτοίμασε, διὰ τοῦτο ἐνέθηκε τὰ βέλη, διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν τιμωρίαν εὐτρεπίζεται, ἵνα μὴ ἔλθῃ πρὸς τὴν τιμωρίαν.