The first plea is Heal me, O Lord, according to Thy mercy; the latter proclaims, My righteous help is from the Lord, who heals those who are upright in heart. Both paths lead to wholeness; however, the first transforms individuals from illness to wellness, whereas the second safeguards their existing well-being. Consequently, the aid sought from the former is a matter of grace since the sinner, in their desire for justification, believes in Him who justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5). In contrast, the support spoken of in the latter is just, as it is conferred on one already deemed righteous. Thus, the sinner who acknowledges, 'I am weak,' will first entreat, 'Heal me, O Lord, according to Thy mercy.' The righteous individual, claiming, 'If I have repaid evil for evil,' will maintain, 'My righteous help is from the Lord, who heals those who are upright in heart.' If He provides a remedy for our healing when we are frail, surely He offers even more for sustaining our health. For if Christ died for us while we were still sinners, how much more shall we, now justified, be kept safe from wrath through Him (Rom. 5:8-9). My righteous help comes from the Lord, who heals the righteous in heart. God, who examines hearts and innermost thoughts, guides the just; through His righteous aid, He heals the upright in spirit. He does not assess hearts and reins to cure the righteous based solely on their fleshly inclinations, for evil thoughts arise from a corrupted heart, while good thoughts are born from a pure heart. Earthly pleasures, which are not good, belong to the reins, while genuine joys pertain to the heart itself. Thus, individuals are deemed right in their hearts rather than in their reins, for where thought resides, there also lies joy, which can only stem from contemplating eternal and divine matters. He said, Thou hast given joy to my heart, affirming: ‘The light of Thy face is sealed upon us, O Lord.’ Even though the transient images spun from misplaced hopes may provide fleeting, tumultuous delight to a misguided mind, this enthusiasm cannot be credited to the heart; instead, it originates from the reins, being drawn from the base earthly realm. Therefore, the Lord, who assesses the hearts and reins, perceives the righteous thoughts within the heart, and in the absence of worldly pleasures, grants upright hearts true assistance, where heavenly delights merge with pure contemplations. When in another psalm it states, Moreover, even this night my reins chastised me, the psalmist declares, I have seen the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. He reflects that he bore the chastisement of the reins without succumbing to their pleasures, thus affirming the stability provided by the Lord, causing neither distraction nor disturbance. The joy experienced arose not from the reins but from the heart, where God was seen at the right hand, despite the reprimands of the reins.
THEOSIS