Introduction to the Psalms

and harp: one cymbals, another trumpets, some the psaltery and zither, and others the singers called bucolic singers. Each chorus had a leader, of whom one was called Asaph, another Idithum, another the sons of Core, another Ethan the Israelite, and another Moses, the man of God. Whenever, therefore, he was moved by the Spirit to prophesy, whether concerning the captivity of the people, or their return, or concerning moral instruction, or divine providence, or the Lord Christ, he would compose into verse each psalm, aiming at one single subject (hence both short and long psalms), and deliver it to one chorus. If, however, he decided to deliver the remainder of the psalm to another chorus in the middle of the psalm, then that succession in the psalm was called *Diapsalma*. Thus, when they wished to deliver [the psalm] to the so-called singers, or bucolic singers, in the middle of the psalm, it was called a song of the *diapsalma*, because the singers received the remainder of the psalm to sing in succession. One may learn of this, if he wishes, from what is written in the Books of Chronicles: *And he sang this song by the hand of Asaph the prophet* (1 Par. 25:2). After he had first delivered the psalm, subsequently each chorus, both on its own and in unison, with joy and rhythm—some with these instruments, some with those—sang the psalm antiphonally with dance, for the glory and praise of God. One can learn about this again from the fact that David himself, when he brought up the ark from the Philistines, danced before it, and when mocked by his own wife Melchol, he said: *I will play and I will be laughed at before the Lord* (2 Kings 6:21). For he not only did not cease, but he promised to increase such things. But some, not having paid attention to the order and precision, and not wishing to be taught by those who knew these things, have turned to allegories, declaring not all the psalms to be David’s, but saying they are clearly those of others who received them from him; yet the Lord or an apostle never mentioned a psalm of anyone other than David. We describe him, therefore, sitting, and the choruses before him on the right and on the left, so that one may recognize the sight of the arrangement itself. Moreover, we shall say which psalms he himself was deemed worthy to utter concerning the dispensation of the Lord, having varied them in composition and changed them in form differently concerning the passion and resurrection of His humanity. Likewise, [we shall show] that by His divinity He is eternal and the creator of all things and the restorer of the universe, towards which the entire scope of the divinely inspired Scripture looks. The chorus of Idithum, the chorus of the sons of Core, the chorus of Ethan the Israelite, the chorus of Asaph, the chorus of Moses, the man of God—these are the choruses of the prophets under him, singing and chanting with various instruments and dancing for the glory of God the 150 psalms issued from the Holy Spirit.

PROLEGOMENA TO THE PSALMS

1. All divine Scriptures are holy; but the Psalms possess something more: for instance, concerning temperance immediately—or rather, before all things—concerning not associating with the wicked, from the very beginning of the book. Therefore, the blessed David began from this point, saying: *Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly* (Ps. 1:1). And when he says "blessedness," he means the peak of all good things. And concerning associating with the good, concerning controlling the belly, concerning all things...

SPURIA. MONITORIUM ON THE FOLLOWING HOMILY

ARGUMENTUM PSALMORUM

1. All Scriptures are holy; but the Psalms possess something more; for instance, concerning temperance immediately; for the cause, they deal with all things from the very beginning of the book, concerning avoiding the company of the wicked. Therefore indeed hence the blessed David took his beginning, saying: *Blessed is the man who has not walked in the council of the ungodly* (Ps. 1:1). By blessedness indeed, when he speaks of it, he signifies the summit of all good things. Likewise he treats of the company of the righteous, of curbing the belly, of lasciviousness, of repressing avarice: of all...

and he teaches that riches, glory, and like things are nothing. Certainly, regarding continence, you hear him saying: *My loins are filled with illusions* (Ps. 37:8); and again: *Thou hast destroyed all who commit whoredom away from thee* (Ps. 72:27 [LXX 72:27]). And that one must restrain oneself from the belly: *He slew them in their greatest number, while the meat was yet in their mouths* (Ps. 77:30). And that one ought to abstain from gifts: *If riches flow in, do not set your heart upon them* (Ps. 61:11). And again regarding the vanity of life: *He shall not take his glory with him when he dies* (Ps. 48:18). That one ought not to imitate the wicked: *Do not emulate the malignant* (Ps. 36:1). That power is to be accounted as nothing: *I have seen the impious man supremely exalted, and raised up like the cedars of Lebanon; and I passed by, and behold, he was not* (Ps. 36:35-36). Regarding the despising of present things: *They called the people blessed to whom such things belong; blessed is the people whose Lord is their God* (Ps. 143:15). That we do not sin with impunity, but that a retribution is to be expected: *Because thou shalt render to everyone according to his works* (Ps. 61:13). But why does He not reward daily? *God is a just judge, strong and patient* (Ps. 7:12). Or why does the heart appear haughty? *My heart is exalted* (Ps. 130:1). That pride is an evil thing: *Therefore pride held them to the end* (Ps. 72:6). And again: *God resists the proud* (Prov. 3:34). That almsgiving is good: *He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his justice remaineth unto age of age* (Ps. 111:9). That mercy is worthy of praise: *Pleasant is the man who pitieth and lendeth* (Ps. 111:5). That one ought not to slander: *Him who secretly slanders his neighbor, I did pursue* (Ps. 100:5). And from these you will glean far more dogmas of philosophy. For he reasons not only about present things, but also about future ones, about the visible and the invisible creation. If you wish to learn about the heaven, whether it is to remain or to be changed? He will answer you clearly in these words: *The heavens shall perish as a garment, and as a covering thou shalt roll them up, O God, and they shall be changed* (Ps. 101:27). If you wish to hear about its form, you will hear again: *Stretching out the heaven as a skin* (Ps. 103:2). If you desire to know more about its back, he will tell you again: *Who coverest its upper parts with waters* (Ps. 103:3). Nor does he halt his step here, but he also talks to you about breadth and height, showing these to be equal: for, *As far as the east is from the west*, he says, *so far hath he removed our iniquities from us. According to the height of heaven from the earth, the Lord hath strengthened his mercy upon those who fear him* (Ps. 102:12, 11). Even if you have curiously scrutinized the foundations of the earth, he will not hide them from you, ^C but you will hear him saying: *Because he founded it upon the seas* (Ps. 23:2). If you desire to learn whence earthquakes arise, he will free you from all doubt, saying thus: *Who looketh upon the earth, and maketh it to tremble* (Ps. 103:32). If you seek the use of the night, you will be able to learn it from him: *In it shall all the beasts of the wood pass through* (Ps. 103:20). If the utility of the mountains, he will tell you: *The high mountains are for harts* (Ps. 103:18). And why there are rocks, he says: *The rock is a refuge for hedgehogs* (Ps. 103:18). Why there are fruitless trees, learn: *There shall the sparrows make their nests* (Ps. 103:17). Why fountains in the deserts? *Above them shall the birds of the heaven dwell, and the beasts of the field* (Ps. 104:12 [LXX 103:12]). Why wine? Not only that you may drink, because the nature of water would suffice for that; but that you may rejoice and take pleasure: for *Wine gladdeneth the heart of man* (Ps. 103:15). When you have learned these, you will know how one ought to use wine. Whence birds and wild beasts are fed, you will hear from him: *All expect of thee, that thou give them food in season* (Ps. 103:27). If you say, Why beasts of burden? He answers you that even they exist for your sake: *Who bringeth forth*, he says, *grass for the beasts of burden, and herb for the service of men* (Ps. 103:14). What is the use of the moon, hear from him: *He made the moon for seasons* (Ps. 103:19). Furthermore, that all things, both visible and invisible, were made, that he clearly taught: *He spoke, and they were made*, he says, *he commanded, and they were created* (Ps. 148:5). That the dissolution of death shall be, he teaches in these words: *My God shall redeem my soul from the hand of the netherworld, when he shall have received me* (Ps. 48:16 [LXX 48:15]). Wherefore he says: *He was mindful that we are dust, and man as grass are his days, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish* (Ps. 102:14-15). Why were all these things made? For your sake: *With glory and honor hast thou crowned him, and hast set him over the works of thy hands* (Ps. 8:6-7). That we humans have something in common with the angels, he also says that: *Thou hast diminished him a little less than the angels* (Ps. 8:6). Of the charity and love of God he says: *As a father pitieth his children, so hath the Lord pitied those who fear him* (Ps. 102:13). Of those things which are to receive us after these, and of that rest which is subject to no perturbation: *Turn, my soul, into thy rest* (Ps. 114:7). Why the heaven is so great, he says: *The heavens declare the glory of God* (Ps. 18:2). Why night and day? Not only that they may appear and cease, but also that they may instruct us. For *There are no speeches nor words, whose voices are not heard* (Ps. 18:4). How the sea wraps the whole earth: *The abyss as a garment is his clothing* (Ps. 103:6). For so the Hebrew has it. Starting, then, from the things that have been said, you will know all other things as well, regarding Christ, regarding the resurrection, regarding future life, regarding rest, regarding punishment, regarding moral instruction, and you will find the book filled with all dogmas and countless good things. If you should fall into temptations, you will draw much consolation thence: if into sin, you will find six hundred remedies stored up here; if into poverty, if into tribulation, you will see many ports. If you are a just man, you will glean much utility hence; if a sinner, much consolation. For if you should be just and suffer dire things, you will hear: *For thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we have been accounted as sheep for the slaughter. All these things have come upon us, and we have not forgotten thee* (Ps. 43:22, 18). If good works exalt you, he says to you: *Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified* (Ps. 142:2): and you will immediately feel humble. If you are a sinner, and despair of yourself, you will hear him frequently chanting: *Today if you shall hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation* (Ps. 94:8-9): and you will be immediately restored. Even if you wear a diadem on your head, you will learn: *A king is not saved by much strength, and a giant shall not be saved in the multitude of his strength* (Ps. 32:16); and you will be able to think moderately of yourself. If you should be rich and glorious, you will hear again: *Woe to those who trust in their strength, and boast in the multitude of their riches* (Ps. 48:7); and, *Man as grass are his days, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish* (Ps. 102:15): and you will think nothing is great on earth. For when that which is most splendid of all, glory and power, is so vile and abject, what else on earth could be worth of value? But are you passing your time in sadness? Say: *Why art thou sad, my soul, and why dost thou trouble me? Hope in God, for I will confess to him* (Ps. 41:12). But do you see certain people puffing themselves up beyond measure? Hear him saying thus: *As grass they shall quickly wither, and as the green herbs they shall quickly fall* (Ps. 36:2). Do you see just men and sinners being punished? But consider that the cause is not the same; for he says: *Many are the scourges of the sinner* (Ps. 31:10); regarding the just, however, it is not so, but: *Many are the tribulations of the just, and out of all these will the Lord deliver them* (Ps. 33:20); and again: *The death of sinners is wretched* (Ps. 33:22); and, *Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints* (Ps. 115:6). Repeat these frequently, that you may be instructed by them. For indeed these single utterances have an immense sea of sentiments—for we are merely running through these; but if you should desire to examine accurately those things which have been said, you will find many riches, both in those and in other Scriptures as well.

^D Since the reading involves labor and much burden, let us meanwhile dwell on the things said: that you may simultaneously delight your soul by chanting, and steal away the labor. Therefore let the mouth chant, and let the mind be instructed: for that is not a thing to be made light of. For when it does not permit one to envy, nor to be angered or tortured out of season, nor to make much of riches, nor tribulations, nor poverty, nor to think that life itself is anything, it frees you from all the perturbations of the soul. Otherwise, indeed, if we train the tongue to chant, the soul will blush, while it is chanting, to be contr-

as it is, and for the soul, having been taught to sing, it will be ashamed to desire the contrary. We therefore need the harp of David, that we may sing to the soul these divine incantations, and those that follow, of good works. For if we do only one, and while listening to the song we fight against Him who sings these things through our deeds, the medicine will become a judgment for us, and the madness of the devil will become more fierce. For before hearing, the wicked demon is afraid lest, by hearing, we succeed; but when we remain the same after hearing, even this is taken away. Let us therefore sing the song from deeds, so that we may cast out the sin that is more dangerous than the demon, and draw to ourselves the grace of the Spirit. For nothing, nothing so raises up the soul, and gives it wings, and delivers it from the earth, and absolves it from the bonds of the body, and makes it philosophize, and deride all the things of this life, as the melody of the psalms and the song composed in rhythm. Because God saw ^A that most men are rather slothful, and did not willingly endure the labor from that source, desiring to make the toil more desirable, and to alleviate the perception of the labor, He moved the tongue of the blessed David to distinguish these psalms, and to mix melody with prophecy, so that all, being guided by the rhythm of the tune, might send up the holy hymns to Him with much readiness. For so our nature has an affinity for songs and melodies and finds them pleasant, just as even infants at the breast, crying and fretful, are thus lulled to sleep. Nurses, therefore, often carrying them in their arms, and often walking about, and singing to them certain childish songs, thus lull their eyelids to sleep. For this reason, also, travelers often driving beasts of burden at midday do this while singing, alleviating the toil of the journey with those songs. And not only travelers, but also farmers treading the winepress, and gathering the vintage, and tending the vines, and doing any other work, often sing; and sailors rowing do this. And indeed, women weaving, and with the shuttle distinguishing the tangled threads, often sing, each by herself, and often all together, in harmony, singing one melody. Women, and farmers, and sailors do this, striving to alleviate the toil of labor with the song; as the soul, if it should hear a melody and a song, is able to bear all things that are troublesome and laborious. Since, therefore, our soul has an affinity for this kind of pleasure, so that the demons, by introducing licentious songs, might not overturn all things, God walled off the psalms for them, so that the object might be both pleasure and profit. For from outward songs there is harm and destruction, and many terrible things would be introduced, the soul becoming more wanton and lawless through these songs, and more effeminate and weaker; but in the case of spiritual ones, the gain is great, and the profit is great, and the sanctification is great, and it would be a subject for every kind of philosophy, both cleansing the soul of its inquiries, and the Holy Spirit flying into the soul that sings such things. Let us therefore sing to the soul the psalms full of philosophy, so that little by little we may be led to higher things. For when you learn through the psalms, then you will sing hymns also, as a more divine matter. For the psalms contain everything, but hymns, on the other hand, contain nothing human ^B. For the powers above sing hymns, they do not psalm. For "praise is not comely," it says, "in the mouth of a sinner." Therefore also Paul exhorts, saying: "Singing in your hearts to the Lord," not simply with the mouth, but with attention. For this is to sing to God; but that other is to the air, for the voice is simply dissipated. There is no need of place, no need of time, but even in every place, and at every time, it is permitted to sing in the mind. Even if you walk in the marketplace, even if you are in the streets, even if you sit with friends, it is permitted to stir up the soul, it is permitted, while silent, to cry out. Thus also Moses cried out, and God heard. Even if you are a craftsman, sitting in a workshop and working, you will be able to sing. Even if you are a soldier, attending in the law court, you will be able to do this very same thing. For it is permitted even without a voice to sing, by the mind having it within. For we do not sing to man, but to God, who is able both to hear hearts and to enter into the secret things of our mind. But since spiritual men, who have the gifts of the Spirit, always pray for their neighbors, and offer supplications to God with compunction and groans; let us also do this, and let us approach God every day, both for ourselves and for our brethren. How is it possible to approach God? By having a right life, and a cleansed conscience. But these things are not possible to achieve from anywhere else, except from meditating in the law of the Lord day and night. And let no one say to me that before the interpretation I did not know the power of the psalms. For even before the interpretation, to anyone at all who wishes to pay attention, it is sufficient that even a single verse imparts much philosophy, and corrects into doctrine, and profits the greatest things for life. For even when you say, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord," and are able to know what it is that you say, you will emulate not the one who is in power, not the one who is rich, not the one who has brilliant houses, not the one who is going about in royal courts, not the one who has the diadem worn on his head, nor any other, but only the one who is in piety, who is in philosophy, who is in the fear of God, not only for the sake of future things, but also for these present things themselves. For even here this man is more powerful than that one. Let us therefore apply ourselves also to approach God; let us learn how it is necessary to make the approach. For God does not seek the beauty of the tongue, nor the composition of words, but the beauty of the soul. Even if it utters the things that seem good to Him, having achieved the whole, it departs. For if someone being with an admirable man reaps many fruits from the association, much more so the one who is constantly with God through earnest prayer. For if a sinner, praying with humility, which is a part of virtue, will be able to achieve great things. As therefore also the publican (for he achieved the whole from a bare word), because his mind was well prepared. But how was it prepared? He was condemning himself, he was beating his breast, he did not even endure to look up to heaven. If you also pray thus, you will make the soul lighter than a wing. Let therefore the prayer be gentle, calm, having a graceful countenance, and delivered with meekness, and not made against enemies. This prayer is worthy of the heavens, this tongue is worthy of the angels. For thus we also shall be heard on our own behalf, when we offer our supplication to God on behalf of those who are harming and insulting us. If we thus regulate the soul, we shall be able to say also with boldness to God: "Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer," and easily He will incline, and will grant us the kingdom of heaven: which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

MONITUM ON THE FOLLOWING SERMON