Editorial Notice

conciliabitur, ^B then He will grant petitions more readily, when you have prayed by yourself, when you have applied a pure mind, a vigilant reason, and have not prayed perfunctorily—as many do, whose tongue utters the words of prayer, but whose mind often wanders at home, in the marketplace, or on the road. This, in truth, is the Devil’s entire machinery. For since he knows that at that time we are able to obtain remission of sins, wishing to obstruct for us the harbor of prayer, he rises up at that time, pushing and drawing the mind away from the words, so that we may depart having suffered loss rather than having gained profit. Knowing these things, O man, when you approach God, consider to whom you are approaching; and it is enough for your vigilance that you trust in Him from whom you expect grace. Look into heaven, and consider whom you are addressing. For if anyone, when speaking to a man who is elevated even by a little in human honors, even if he should be the most negligent of all men, still altogether arouses himself and commands his mind to be vigilant; how much more, if we consider that we are speaking with the Lord of the angels, shall we take from this a sufficient argument for attention? ^C But if another method must be revealed, by which we shall be able to dispel this sloth, I would say this: Often we have finished our prayer, and have departed without having heard the things we were saying. If, therefore, we consider this, let us immediately resume the prayer; if that same thing happens again, even three or four times let us repeat it, and not depart from prayer before we have uttered the whole of it with a vigilant mind. If the Devil senses this—namely, that we do not depart before we have uttered it with zeal and a vigilant spirit—he will at last depart from his ambushes, knowing that nothing further will come of his ambushes than that he forces us to repeat the same prayer often. Beloved, we receive many wounds daily from family, from strangers, in the marketplace, at home, from public matters, from private ones, from neighbors, from friends. Let us apply the remedies of prayer to all those wounds at the time of prayer. For God is able, if we have approached with a vigilant mind, with an ardent spirit, and a fervent conscience, and have asked for forgiveness, to grant us remission of all our offenses; which may we all obtain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DUBIOUS WORKS.

MONITUM

^D This homily was first published by Jean-Baptiste Cotelier in the year 1661, in 4°, p. 41, and it is of a slightly better quality than the other on the Sixth Psalm which Cotelier himself first published. I would scarcely believe, however, that it is the true offspring of Chrysostom; for that writer is too jejune, yet abounding in exclamations and interjections, and it smells of something foreign. Tillemont, though hesitatingly, kept it among the

WORDS OF THE SAME ON DAVID THE KING, AND PAUL THE APOSTLE, CONCERNING REPENTANCE: AND ON VARIOUS PARTS OF THE PSALTER WHICH PERTAIN TO THE END OF CHRIST: AND THAT WE OUGHT NOT TO DESPAIR OF OUR OWN SALVATION

Just now you heard the psalmist David crying out: 2. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy; and according to the multitude of your mercies, blot out my iniquity" (Ps. 50). And again, 12. "Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within my breast," David cries. But why does the prophet say, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy"? Because where there is mercy, there salvation is free from judgment; where there is mercy, judgment does not sit; where there is mercy, accounts are not demanded. I desire to obtain mercy once: deliver me from my infirmity. And why does David cry, "Create a clean heart in me, O God"? He who had performed so many illustrious deeds, who had raised trophies, who had slain Goliath, and had strangled a lion, and who possessed such great liberty of the Holy Spirit, he says: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy; and according to the multitude of your mercies, blot out my iniquity." When I was a farmer, you made me a king; having made me king, you appointed me a prophet; at the time of war you made me...

victorious, when you cast down Goliath, not by the strength of the body, but by the power of faith; you clothed me in purple, you cast out another, and brought me in to take his place; you gave me riches. "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." What sin had made old, grace has renewed. And what will you tell me, O prophet? "I will teach transgressors your ways, and the ungodly shall turn to you." Laying aside his kingdom, he speaks of his prophecy. Thus ^A have you honored me, that you have revealed your Son to me, and made him known to me. I have learned that you have a Son who is born of a woman; I have known that you have one who shares your throne. I have evangelized to the inhabited world the cross, the tomb, the descent, and the resurrection. I have spoken of his tribunal; I have spoken of the salvation of the nations; I have spoken of the election of the apostles; I have spoken of the rejection of the Jews; I have spoken of the calling of the Church; I have spoken of the choir of virgins; I have spoken of the seat at the right hand. For behold, you have manifested to me the hidden and secret things of your wisdom.

And where did he manifest these things? Hear the prophet himself speaking of his descent from heaven: "And he shall descend like rain upon a fleece." Since the Son of God, coming into the world, did not come shaking the inhabited world, nor sending forth lightnings, nor casting thunderbolts, nor in the nakedness of his divinity—for if he had presented his divinity naked, the mountains would not have borne it, the sun would have been extinguished. If he had shown his essence naked, the moon would have vanished, the earth would have perished, the nature of all of us would have withered. For this reason, he came quietly and without noise, with no one knowing; but quietly he came, and entered a virginal womb. ^B O new and paradoxical things! The stone dissolves, but the womb does not dissolve. The mountains are destroyed, but the womb carried God. How shall I interpret? How shall I present this? Oh, the folly of the blasphemer! How did the handmaid carry God? You who examine things above, speak of the things below. How was he who is present everywhere in a womb, and yet in heaven? But as for me, I know that he was seated on the throne, and yet dwelt in the womb of the virgin; but the "how," I do not know. I accept it by faith, I do not inquire into it by argument. But because he was seen, because he intends to be present—not disturbing, not causing tumult, not destroying, nor being dissolved—"And he shall descend like rain upon a fleece."

You have spoken of the kingdom, you have also spoken of his betrayal: "He that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me." Speak also of his tribunal: "Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things?" Speak also of the cross: "They pierced my hands and my feet, they numbered all my bones." Speak also of the gall: "They gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Speak also of his anointing: "You have anointed my head with oil." Speak also of his baptism: "He has nurtured me by the water of refreshment." Speak also of his mysteries: "You have prepared a table before me in the presence of those who afflict me." Speak also of his cup: "Your cup, which inebriates me, is as the best." Speak also of the rejection of the Jews: "I will not accept calves from your house, nor he-goats from your flocks." Speak also of the railings by the Jews: "He trusted in the Lord, let him deliver him, let him save him, because he desires him." Speak also of the salvation of the nations: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." Speak also of his tomb: "For you will not leave my soul in hell, nor will you give your holy one to see corruption." ^C Speak also of his ascension into the heavens: "God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the voice of a trumpet." Speak also of the election of the apostles: "Instead of your fathers, sons have been born to you." Speak also of the choir of virgins: "Virgins shall be brought to the king after her." Speak also of the calling of the Church: "The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in gold-embroidered vesture, adorned." Speak also of his seat at the right hand: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."

O David, you have announced the whole prophecy, and what do you say? "Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my inward parts." You are a king; you are surrounded by a diadem, you are clothed in purple. But he says: "These are leaves, and night, and a dream. I seek that beauty. Give me the Holy Spirit, so that you may speak to me again, and I may speak to you." For the Spirit has departed from me, just as a dove seeing mud. I wish for it to return. "Then I will come and appear before your face." I cannot bear it, because I have lost my boldness. Do you see? David confessing to God. See what a great evil sin is. And what sin? Adultery and murder and transgression of the law, a setting aside of the words of God. And in saying these things I do not accuse the prophet, but I proclaim his swift repentance. But it was fitting for the prophet to fulfill what was written: "Tell you your sins first, that you may be justified"; for this is what justified him, when he said: "I have sinned against the Lord." But the prophet Nathan came and said: "And the Lord has taken away your sin." The sin is fleeting, the confession is more fleeting. For because he sinned against the wife of Uriah, he was overcome by sin, and having written a psalm, he said: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy." And through the *entirety* of his confession he received the washing away of all his sin.

But Paul also, how was he shown mercy? "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" O the philanthropy of the Master! To a man he says: "Why do you persecute me?" He imitates his own Father. For he also discourses with the Hebrew people: "My people, what have I done to you, or wherein have I wearied you? Answer me." His Son said: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" What then, Paul? "Who are you, Lord?" O wise servant! He immediately confessed the sovereignty, saying: "Who are you, Lord?" The Lord said to him: "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute; but rise, go into Damascus, and there it shall be told you what you must do." And he who was once a wolf, is now a sheep; he who was once a persecutor, is now an evangelist; he who was once a weed, is now wheat; he who was once a pirate and a sinker of ships, is now a pilot of the people; he who was once ravaging the Church, is now ^D entrusted with it; he who was once cutting the vines, is now become a vine-dresser; he who was once lead, is now become gold. And you too, beloved, if you hear that the clamor of sins is great, you immediately hear: "But great is the philanthropy of the Master." For God became man, and entered into a virginal womb, and came. And whom did he call? The Magi. After them, whom?

The harlot. After her, whom? The thief. After him, whom? The blasphemer. O new and incredible things! The first-fruits of the calling are the tyranny of sin, because the affairs of the world were in a bad state, and men were held captive by the heights of sin, by Judaism, and by much despair. Because of this, therefore, when the Lord arrived, from the very beginning he called the first-fruits of the Church from among sinners, so that no one after these might despair of his own salvation. Are you wicked? Think of the thief. Are you impure? Look at the harlot. Are you a blasphemer? Consider Paul, that blasphemer. Are you a non-believer? Consider the Magi. I too know what despair from sin is like. Indeed, the devil stands by, sharpening his sword and addressing you with these words: "Throughout your whole life you lived with harlots; furthermore, you swore falsely and committed adultery more than all the men of this age." These are the words of the devil. But you, do the opposite of what you have done. Have you fallen? Then rise again. Have you fornicated? Repent. Have you committed adultery? Return to your senses. Your repentance is indeed small, but the philanthropy of the Master is great. As long as you are still breathing, and while you are lying on that very bed, repent: the narrowness of time leads to the kindness of God. Anoint yourself with these remedies, and you will suppress the inflammation. For I know, dearest one, that there are many wounds of the soul, but each wound has its own appropriate remedy prepared. You have the Church, which brings about the arrival of the Spirit. You have the assembly of the martyrs, and many other things that are able to recall you from sin to justice. You have heard of the trivial sins of the just: look at the speed of repentance accomplished through words and tears. For even David himself cries out, saying: "In my tears I shall wash my bed" (Ps. VI, 7). And Paul said: "But I obtained mercy, because I persecuted Christ in ignorance." Let us not, therefore, despair of our own salvation, having the memory of those who, although they sinned previously, were nevertheless deemed worthy of the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and philanthropy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is glory and power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

NOTICE

I would not believe this homily to be Chrysostom's; nor will anyone, I think, who is not a stranger to his works. Yet it comprises certain things not entirely to be despised concerning the choirs of the prophets who sang the psalms with David. Moreover, it is worth noting what is said toward the end, namely, that the choirs of the prophets had been depicted in this work with David. That, indeed, pertains to the custom of the ancient Christians, who used to add illustrations to manuscripts; as can be seen in that most ancient part of the book of Genesis in the Caesarean library, and likewise also in those of the tenth century in the Royal Library, where things that can be depicted are represented by pictures. Furthermore, that which any writer here endeavors to prove—that David is the author of all the Psalms—has already been proved false by many, and I do not think it is my duty to dwell on this any longer. This opuscule exists in MS. Ottobonianus R. 25.

VERSES ON THAT GREAT LUMINARY AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, CHRYSOSTOM

O sea of discourse, unmeasured, Reaching to the vast breadth of Scripture, Dipped even to the deep of the Psalms, Engulfing all to the innermost bays, And to the secret places of speculation, Bringing forth white pearls in the deep By the clear word of understanding. I wish I might drink, O sea, your sweet wave. Though it boils, the thirst is not extinguished In him who burns with the desire for your writings.

PROEMIA TO THE PSALMS

After Moses and his successor Joshua the son of Nun, and those whom they call the judges in Israel, when Saul had subsequently received the kingdom and had been rejected, God raised up for them a king endowed with virtue, a just man and a prophet, who composed the book of one hundred and fifty Psalms, moved by the Holy Spirit, rendering them metrically according to the meter proper to his own language, and he sang them himself with modulation, and with rhythm, and with diverse instruments, dances, and songs. For he himself held the cithara, and he governed the different choirs of the minor prophets—for this is how he called those who were associated with the prophets; often also he named them sons of the prophets, who used to handle different instruments: one the cymbals, another the pipes, another the drums, another the trumpets, another the psaltery and cithara, and another the singers who...

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