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Translated by W. Moore and H. A. Wilson
St Gregory of Nyssa Resources Online and in Print
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11 Pages
Page 9
And where shall we place that oracle of Isaiah, which cries to the wilderness, "Be glad, O thirsty wilderness: let the desert rejoice and blossom as a lily: and the desolate places of Jordan shall blossom and shall rejoice [2147] "? For it is clear that it is not to places without soul or sense that he proclaims the good tidings of joy: but he speaks, by the figure of the desert, of the soul that is parched and unadorned, even as David also, when he says, "My soul is unto Thee as a thirsty land [2148] ," and, "My soul is athirst for the mighty, for the living God [2149] ." So again the Lord says in the Gospels, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink [2150] ;" and to the woman of Samaria, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst [2151] ." And "the excellency of Carmel" [2152] is given to the soul that bears the likeness to the desert, that is, the grace bestowed through the Spirit. For since Elijah dwelt in Carmel, and the mountain became famous and renowned by the virtue of him who dwelt there, and since moreover John the Baptist, illustrious in the spirit of Elijah, sanctified the Jordan, therefore the prophet foretold that "the excellency of Carmel" should be given to the river. And "the glory of Lebanon [2153] ," from the similitude of its lofty trees, he transfers to the river. For as great Lebanon presents a sufficient cause of wonder in the very trees which it brings forth and nourishes, so is the Jordan glorified by regenerating men and planting them in the Paradise of God: and of them, as the words of the Psalmist say, ever blooming and bearing the foliage of virtues, "the leaf shall not wither [2154] ," and God shall be glad, receiving their fruit in due season, rejoicing, like a good planter, in his own works. And the inspired David, foretelling also the voice which the Father uttered from heaven upon the Son at His Baptism, that He might lead the hearers, who till then had looked upon that low estate of His Humanity which was perceptible by their senses, to the dignity of nature that belongs to the Godhead, wrote in his book that passage, "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the voice of the Lord in majesty [2155] ." But here we must make an end of the testimonies from the Divine Scriptures: for the discourse would extend to an infinite length if one should seek to select every passage in detail, and set them forth in a single book.
[2147] Is. xxxv. 1, 2 (LXX.).
[2148] Ps. cxliii. 6 (LXX.).
[2149] Ps. xlii. 2 (not as LXX.).
[2150] S. John vii. 37
[2151] S. John iv. 13, 14.
[2152] Is. xxxv. 2.
[2153] Is. xxxv. 2.
[2154] Ps. i. 4.
[2155] Ps. xxix. 3, 4 (LXX.).
Reference address : https://elpenor.org/nyssa/baptism-of-christ.asp?pg=9
