December 16, 2022

The Unsleeping Eye of God


The unsleeping eye of God is testified by prophets, saints, hymns and prayers, tradition and Holy Scripture. The triangular shape with an eye in the center found in Orthodox Churches refers to the Holy Trinity and is an Orthodox depiction of the unsleeping eye of God.

"The eye of God, seeing all things and understanding all things." (Hesiod)

"I will guide you, my eye is over you." (Psalm 31:8)

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.” (Psalm 33:18)

 
“My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me.” (Psalm 101:6)

"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." (Proverbs 15:3)

"But the eye of their God was over the elders of the Jews, and they did not repudiate them, until the case was sent to Darius, and until the decision on this matter came." (Ezra 5:5)

"For the eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low; and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." (Isaiah 2:11)


"And there is no creature hidden from Him, but everything is naked and open before His eyes: we will give Him an account." (Hebrews 4:13)

"God is greater than our heart and knows everything." (1 John 3:20)

"If the movement of thoughts is known to God, then all the more He has knowledge of how we go through life ... The Prophet understands that God knows every movement of thought." (St. Athanasius the Great)

"There is nothing unpremeditated, nothing neglected by God. His unsleeping eye beholds all things." (St. Basil the Great)


"Let us tremble at the great eye of God, which sees even under the earth, and the great bottom of the sea, and what the minds of men hide. Time does not separate anything, but everything is present in God. How is it possible for someone to cover up his evilness? On the last day of (Judgment) where will we hide ourselves? Who will help us then? How will we avoid God's gaze?" (St. Gregory the Theologian)

"The unsleeping eye and incomprehensible, have mercy on us." (Prayer of St. John Chrysostom)

"If during sin we cannot hide from our conscience, which is limited, just like man is a limited being, then all the more we cannot hide from God, unlimited and omnipresent." (St. Theophylact of Ochrid)