THEOSISGregory the Great
Who removes the speech from the honest and extracts wisdom from the aged. When a priest fails to align his actions with his words, even the words spoken are stripped from him, leaving him unable to profess what he does not practice; as the Prophet states, "But to the sinner God says, What dost thou do to declare my statutes, and what dost thou take my covenant in thy mouth," Psalms 49:16. Hence he petitions, "And take not wholly the word of truth out of my mouth," Psalm 118:43. He understands that the Almighty grants the word of truth to those who back their words with deeds and removes it from those who do not live it out. When he prays that the word of truth ‘may not be taken away from my mouth,’ he seeks the grace of righteous actions.
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It is as if he is saying, ‘Let me not wander entirely from the path of good deeds, lost both in my moral compass and the integrity of my speech.’ Generally, a teacher who neglects to embody the good he teaches eventually ceases to speak of it, turning instead to impart the wrongdoings in his life. Under the just judgment of the Most High, a person cannot speak good words devoid of a virtuous life; when consumed by love for earthly matters, he begins to discuss them as well. Therefore, it is articulated in the Gospel, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things," Matt. 12:34, 35. Thus, John remarks, "They are of the world, therefore they speak of the world," 1 Jn. 4:5. Consequently, it is rightly stated: He who removes the speech from the honest and extracts wisdom from the aged. For those who were once ‘righteous’ in proclaiming heavenly truths now set their hearts on temporal desires and fall; He removes the speech from the honest and wisdom from the aged. In this pursuit of worldly things, they forsake the teachings of their elders, and if they suddenly gain authority, it is solely for personal gratification rather than for the just reward of labor.
This understanding also applies to the Jewish nation, who prior to the incarnation of the Lord were considered ‘faithful,’ believing in His promised arrival and proclaiming it. However, when He came in human form, they rejected Him. Thus, He ‘takes away the tongue from the truthful,’ as they denied the very One whose Incarnation they had foretold; and ‘takes away the sense from the elders,’ since they lacked faith in the prophecies their ancestors had proclaimed. It is foretold that Elijah would ‘turn the hearts of the children to their fathers,’ so that the ‘understanding of the elders,’ which has now been ‘taken away’ from the hearts of the Jews, might be restored by the Lord’s mercy when the children begin to grasp the truth about the Lord their forefathers predicted. Should we consider ‘the elders’ as those Jews who have erected barriers of disbelief against the Truth, then indeed, the ‘sense of the elders’ was removed from them, allowing the young Church, composed of Gentiles, to receive it, as the Psalmist indicates, "I mean more of the elders," Psalms 118:100. And since she, through the works of the Incarnation, has attained an understanding surpassing that of the elders, she articulates this by stating, "Because I keep Thy commands." For she strives to practice all she has learned, comprehended, and is able to teach. Hence, it is also stated: