The Pistis Sophia - Page 12

Philip is now given permission to speak.It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard this word, that he said: "Well said, Mary, this is the solution of the word. Now, therefore, do thou, Philip, come forward and proclaim the solution of the fifth repentance of Pistis Sophia, and thereafter take thy seat and write all the discourses which I shall speak, until the number of thy portion which thou hast to write of the words of the kingdom of the Light is completed. Then shalt thou come forward and speak what thy spirit shall understand. But do thou |72. then now proclaim the solution of the fifth repentance of Pistis Sophia."

And Philip answered and said unto Jesus: "My Lord, hearken that I may speak the solution of her repentance. For thy power hath prophesied aforetime concerning it through David in the eighty-seventh Psalm, saying:

Philip interpreteth the fifth repentance from Psalm lxxxvii."'1. Lord, God of my salvation, by day and by night have I cried unto thee.

"'2. Let my weeping come before thee; incline thine ear to my supplication, O Lord.

"'3. For my soul is full of evil, my life hath drawn nigh to the world below.

"'4. I am counted among them who have gone down into the pit; I am become as a man who hath no helper.

"'5. The free among the dead are as the slain who are thrown away and sleep in tombs, whom thou no more rememberest, and they are destroyed through thy hands.

"'6. They have set me in a pit below, in darkness and shadow of death.

"'7. Thy wrath hath settled down upon me and all thy cares have come upon me. (Selah.)

"'8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintances far from me; they have made me an abomination for them. They have abandoned me, and I cannot go forth.

"'9. My eye hath become dim in my misery; I have cried unto thee, O Lord, the whole day and have stretched forth my hands unto thee.

"'10. Wilt thou not surely work thy wonders on the dead? Will not surely the physicians arise and confess thee?

"'11. Will they not surely proclaim thy name in the |73. tombs,

"'12. And thy righteousness in a land which thou hast forgotten?

"'13. But I have cried unto thee, O Lord, and my prayer shall reach thee early in the morning.

"'14. Turn not thy face away from me.

"15. For I am miserable, I am in sorrow from my youth up. And when I had exalted myself, I humbled myself and arose.

"'16. Thy angers are come upon me and thy terrors have brought me into delusion.

"'17. They have surrounded me as water; they have seized upon me the whole day long.

"'18. My fellows hast thou kept far from me and my acquaintances from my misery.'

"This is then the solution of the mystery of the fifth repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, when she was oppressed in the chaos."

Philip is commended and continueth writing.It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard Philip speak these words, that he said: "Well said, Philip, well-beloved. Now, therefore, come, take thy seat and write thy portion of all the discourses which I shall speak, and [of all things which I shall] do, and of all that thou shalt see."

And forthwith Philip sat down and wrote.

It came. to pass thereafter that Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "Then did Pistis Sophia cry to the Light. It forgave her sin, in that she had left her region and gone down into the darkness. She uttered the sixth repentance, saying thus:

The sixth repentance of Sophia."'1. I have sung praises |74. unto thee, O Light, in the darkness below.

"'2. Hearken unto my repentance, and may thy light give heed to the voice of my supplication.

"'3. O Light, if thou thinkest on my sin, I shall not be able to stand before thee, and thou wilt abandon me,

"'4. For thou, O Light, art my saviour; because of the light of thy name I have had faith in thee, O Light.

"'5. And my power hath had faith in thy mystery; and moreover my power hath trusted in the Light when it was among those of the height; and it hath trusted in it when it was in the chaos below.

"'6. Let all the powers in me trust in the Light when I am in the darkness below, and may they again trust in the Light if they come into the region of the height.

"'7. For it is [the Light] which hath compassion on us and delivereth us; and a great saving mystery is in it.

"'8. And it will save all powers out of the chaos because of my transgression. For I have left my region and am come down into the chaos.'

"Now, therefore, whose mind is exalted, let him understand."

It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished speaking these words unto his disciples, that he said unto them: "Understand ye in what manner I discourse with you?"

Andrew came forward and said: "My Lord, concerning the solution of the sixth repentance of Pistis Sophia, thy light-power prophesied aforetime through David in the one-hundred-and-twenty-ninth Psalm, saying: |75.

Andrew interpreteth the sixth repentance from Psalm cxxix."'1. Out of the depths I have cried unto thee, O Lord.

"'2. Hearken unto my voice; let thine ears give heed to the voice of my supplication.

"'3. O Lord, if thou heedest my iniquities, who will be able to pass [the test]?

"'4. For pardon is in thy hands; for the sake of thy name have I waited for thee, O Lord.

"'5. My soul hath waited for thy word.

"'6. My soul hath hoped in the Lord from the morning until the evening. Let Israel hope in the Lord from the morning until the evening.

"'7. For grace standeth by the Lord and with him is great redemption.

"'8. And he will deliver Israel from all his iniquities.'

Jesus commendeth Andrew. He promiseth that the tyrants shall be judged and consumed by the wise fire.Jesus said unto him: "Well said, Andrew, blessed one. This is the solution of her repentance. Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: I will perfect you in all mysteries of the Light and all gnoses from the interiors of the interiors to the exteriors of the exteriors, from the Ineffable down to the darkness of darknesses, from the Light of lights down to the . . . . of matter, from all the gods down to the demons, from all the lords down to the decans, from all the authorities down to the servitors, from the creation of men down to [that] of the wild-beasts, of the cattle and of the reptiles, in order that ye may be called perfect, perfected in |76. all fulness. Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: In the region where I shall be in the kingdom of my Father, ye will also be with me. And when the perfect number is completed, so that the Mixture shall be dissolved, I will give commandment that they bring all tyrant gods, who have not given up the purification of their light, and will give commandment to the wise fire, over which the perfect pass, to eat into those tyrants, until they give up the last purification of their light."

Mary interpreteth the words of Jesus.It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished speaking these words unto his disciples, that he said unto them: "Understand ye in what manner I speak with you?"

Mary said: "Yea, Lord, I have understood the word which thou hast spoken. Concerning then the word which thou hast said: At the dissolution of the whole Mixture thou shalt take thy seat on a light-power and thy disciples,

that is ourselves, shall sit on the right of thee, and thou shalt judge the tyrant gods, who have not given up the purification of their light, and the wise fire will bite into them, until they give up the last light in them,--concerning this word then thy light-power prophesied aforetime through David, in the eighty-first Psalm, saying:

"'God shall sit in the assembly (synagogue) |77. of the gods and try the gods.'"

Jesus said unto her: "Well said, Mary."

The repentance of Sophia is not yet accepted. She is mocked by the æons.Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass, when Pistis Sophia had finished uttering the sixth repentance for the forgiveness of her transgression, that she turned again to the height, to see if her sins were forgiven her, and to see whether they would lead her up out of the chaos. But by commandment of the First Mystery not yet was she hearkened to, so that her sin should be forgiven and she should be led up out of the chaos. When then she had turned to the height to see whether her repentance were accepted from her, she saw all the rulers of the twelve æons mocking at her and rejoicing over her because her repentance was not accepted from her. When then she saw that they mocked at her, she grieved exceedingly and lifted up her voice to the height in her seventh repentance, saying: