549of the spirit, so through the water of tears and the fire of fervent compunction, we are rebaptized and cleansed. For neither is baptism, nor the true compunction of tears, ever given without the Holy Spirit. *My eye was troubled by anger; I have grown old among all my enemies*; that is: I have been defiled, I have multiplied, I have grown old in sins. This is what it means to say: *I have grown old among all my enemies*. But see, after the long duration and aging in sins, after the living together with sins, the prophet did not despair of himself. He did not lose hope in the mercy of God, but was saved through compunction, was cleansed through tears, and says to those warring against him with authority: *Depart from me, all you who work iniquity*. Stop, be ashamed, withdraw. *For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping, the Lord has received my prayer*. Let all my enemies be ashamed and confounded, let them be turned back and greatly ashamed. Do you see the power of tears? Do you see the fruit of confession? Do you see the renewal and regeneration after the aging in all sins? Therefore, do not say: I am an old man, I am weak, I have grown old in all sin, and I am no longer able to perform the commandments of Christ. Say nothing of the sort, do not put forward excuses in sins. But if you do put forward excuses, I will immediately show you that, if you only desire it, you can keep the commands of Christ in old age even better than in youth. But give me a truthful answer to my question. *Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven*. And when is a person’s mind more humble? In youth or in old age? It is obvious that it is in old age. For arrogance is innate in youth. *Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted*. Now tell me: Who is more inclined toward mourning and tears? Youth or old age? It is certainly old age. *Blessed are the meek*. Does everyone not agree that youth is more impulsive and warmer toward anger, while old age is more inclined than youth toward every remedy and divine commandment? For in youth the desire of the body is enkindled, and the furnace of greed wars against him, along with most of the other passions, such as vainglory, gluttony, and grudging; but in old age, this is not altogether the case; rather, there are cleansing tears, which come to us from the fear of God and the thought of death and punishment; if we persevere in these, and labor, we shall progress to spiritual tears, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
WARNING
Such was the esteem for John Chrysostom among the Greeks above all others, that both his works and his smaller writings were sought out with the greatest zeal, and whatever bore the name of Chrysostom was held as legitimate by men unequipped with any judgment, such as were almost all in later centuries. There were those who rashly adorned the sermons and homilies they themselves had written with the name of Chrysostom. Copyists, too, for the sake of profit, sold homilies cobbled together by themselves or others, having prefixed the name of our John to them. Hence countless spurious works have appeared, some of which immediately offer signs of being forged; others require greater investigation. Of the first kind is this homily, whose style is altogether slack and vulgar, which favors many words either unknown or little used by Chrysostom. That this is from a much later age is entirely persuaded by these words in section 2: "In this way also, every heretic, being very clever, when speaking to the high priest in time of persecution, neither calls him high priest, nor archbishop, nor 'most religious,' nor 'holy'; but what? 'Your Honor,'..."ON PSALM XIII
*The fool has said in his heart: There is no God.*
1. Just as a good servant, being most loyal, is indignant when his master is insulted, so also when God is denied, the prophet of God instructs the atheist, saying, as you heard: *The fool has said in his heart: There is no God.* For just as a servant who loves his master, upon learning that his fellow servants are denying their lord, is stirred to show his loyalty by way of vengeance, and either punishes the insulter with his own hands, or exposes him to all, making him abominable, or reports to his lord for the correction and fear of others, and delivers the one who has revolted to heavier blows, warring against him as a second rebel; so too the prophet, having learned that the Creator was being dishonored by the creation, and the potter insulted by the clay, and God denied by the atheist, having received a blow to his heart as if from a stone, and not bearing the pain, cried out: *The fool has said in his heart: There is no God.* For see how it harmonizes and greets the psalm before it. Since in that one, languishing, he said: *How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end?* and a little later, *How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?* (For the fool who says there is no God—for he who is exalted against God will much more be exalted against God's prophets, and he who is lifted up against the Master will also be lifted up against his fellow servants), he, being asked, "And why do you suffer pain in your heart night and day?" now replies: "Why I suffer pain is because *the fool has said in his heart: There is no God*." I consider any association with an atheist to be an abandonment by God. I suspect that living with him means that He is unmindful of me. For the impiety of the godless is pain and irritation to the holy man. Thus it is also said concerning Paul: *And while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him*, as he saw the city full of idols. *Why do the ungodly live?* David said these things historically concerning Saul, because of the ventriloquist, as also in the fifty-second psalm concerning Doeg, which contains the same things. *The fool said* (Saul): *Seek me a woman with a familiar spirit...*