Commentary on the Psalms

which Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel, built. But I think that either the Assyrian, who took the city in the time of Manasseh, brought the ark out of it, or some one of the impious kings who reigned after Hezekiah, either Manasseh or Amon, and that afterwards Josiah, having learned this, restored it to its proper place. Moreover, the history again calls Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun prophets of the king. "According to the commandments," it says, "of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun, the prophets of the king." But I suppose that the *Cheresim* is a form of divination; for it is joined with those who have familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the *teraphim*. And so great was the virtue of this king, that the prophet Jeremiah also wrote a lamentation, and gave this to the singers and those who sing, so that they might sing it every year when performing his memorial. The things concerning the rest of the kings the prophet Jeremiah taught in greater detail. But we, through divine grace, having already interpreted that book, have considered it superfluous to interpret this one again. And that the historian collected these things from many prophetic books after a long time, the end of the book teaches; for he makes mention of Cyrus, the king of the Persians, and of the return of the captives.

OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

PREFACE

^A To me, before all other divine oracles, it has been a deeply cherished desire to interpret the prophecy of the great David, since the nurturings of piety, both those who dwell in cities and those who dwell in the fields, have all studied to pay special attention to this. And not least do those who embrace the ascetical life have these Davidic verses on their tongues night and day, hymning the God of all things and calming the passions of the body. For in the pleasure of the melody

^A divine grace added a sweetness that has made the teaching highly desirable and lovable to men. And it is possible to see that while most men make no mention, or but slight mention, of the other divine Scriptures, many frequently remember the spiritual songs of the inspired David—in their houses, in the squares ^B, and on the roads—and by the harmony of the melody they soothe themselves, and through this enjoyment they reap profit. For this reason, therefore, I wished to interpret this prophecy first, and to set before wise merchants the utility that lies in the deep; so that while singing, they might at the same time look into the meaning of what is being sung and reap a double profit. But those who requested from us interpretations of other sacred volumes did not allow this desire of ours to reach its end. For there were some who ^C brought us the interpretation of the Song of Songs; others desired to know the prophecy of the Man of Desires; others asked that the predictions of the inspired Ezekiel, and others of the twelve prophets, which are wrapped in obscurity, be clarified and explained to them. Since, therefore, the God of all things has granted us—He who makes wise the blind, who reveals mysteries, He who gives a mouth to man, and makes the deaf and the mute to hear and see—the ability to bring to an end the commentaries on these, His own divine utterances, let us therefore, having invoked divine grace—which, as the prophet says, provides a way for the blind along paths they did not know and trails they did not understand ^D, and which causes those who have long been deaf to hear divine discourses, and provides sight to eyes covered with darkness and clouds—set out with good courage upon the exposition of this prophecy also. Let no one, however, consider this labor of ours superfluous, for the reason that others before us have undertaken this same task. For having encountered various commentaries, I found some that went to great excess in allegory, while others adapted the prophecy to certain histories in such a way that the interpretation favored the Jews more than the foster-children of the faith; I thought it that of a skillful person to flee from the immoderation in both these groups. Whatever was in agreement with ancient histories, those I have adapted even now; but the predictions concerning the Lord Christ, and the Church gathered from the nations, and the evangelical way of life, and the apostolic preachings, I have assigned to no others—which is what the Jews are accustomed to doing in their malice, weaving an excuse for their own unbelief. For the testimony of the events themselves is sufficient to lead those who [examine] it to the truth of the interpretation.

On which account, the interpretation of the prediction will not be very difficult for us; for ^A the contemplation of the events makes it clear. We will endeavor, as far as it is in our power, to avoid prolixity of speech and to offer a concise benefit to those who desire it. Having first declared the purpose of the Psalms, we shall then proceed to the interpretation.

It must be known, however, that it is the property of prophecy not only to predict things to come, but also to recount things present and things already passed. For the divine Moses clearly taught us all things that were created from the beginning by the God of the universe and that have received their being; and he did not receive this teaching from men, but from the grace of the Holy Spirit. He also foretold ^B the present, such as the punishments inflicted upon Pharaoh, the provision of manna for Israel, and the partaking of meat. He also predicted things to come: the advent of the Lord Christ, the dispersion of the Jews, and the salvation of the nations. Thus also the divine David, who first wrote prophecy after him, makes mention of the benefits formerly bestowed by the God of the universe, and indicates beforehand things that would happen at much later times. He not only makes use of prophetic words, but also of exhortatory and legislative ones. Sometimes he offers moral instruction, at other times dogmatic; at one time he laments the calamities of the Jews, at another he proclaims in song the salvation of the nations. In many places he also ^C foretells the passion and resurrection of the Lord Christ, and by the variety of the prophecy, he offers great pleasure to those who are willing to attend to it. But some have said that not all the Psalms are David's, but others' as well. Wherefore, having understood the inscriptions in this way, they have attributed some to Idithum, others to Ethan, some to the sons of Core, and others to Asaph, having learned from the history of the Paralipomena that they too were prophets. I, however, affirm nothing about these matters. For what benefit does it bring me, whether they are all his or some are theirs, since it is established that all were written by the ^D energy of the divine Spirit? For we know that the divine David was a prophet, and the history of the Paralipomena calls them prophets as well. It is the property of a prophet to provide his tongue as a minister to the grace of the Spirit, as it is read in the Psalms: "My tongue," he says, "is the pen of a ready-writing scribe."a Nevertheless, let the verdict of the majority prevail; for the majority of writers have asserted that these are David's.

Since, however, some have also called the inscriptions of the Psalms false, I deem it necessary also regarding

a Ps. XLIV, 1.

^A to discourse briefly on these matters. To me, it seems a reckless thing to overturn the inscriptions which were long ago circulated in the time of Ptolemy, who reigned in Egypt after Alexander, and which all the seventy elders translated into the Greek tongue, just as they did all the rest of the divine Scripture. Yet, one hundred and fifty years before this interpretation, the admirable Ezra, filled with heavenly grace, transcribed the sacred books, which had long since been corrupted, partly through the negligence of the Jews and partly through the impiety of the Babylonians. But if he, too, by the all-holy Spirit, renewed the memory of these volumes, and if those men also, not without divine inspiration, translated these into the Greek tongue with great consensus, and along with the other divine Scriptures translated the inscriptions as well, then I deem it to be a matter fraught with excessive rashness and confidence to declare these false, and to consider our own thoughts wiser than the efficacy of the Spirit. The explanation of the individual Psalms will show this more clearly.

They have also interpreted the *diapsalma* in various ways. For some have surmised that it denotes an intermission of the operation of the Holy Spirit; others, a change in the prophecy; others, a variation in the melody. One man, however, following the interpretation of Aquila, set "always" (*aei*) in place of the *diapsalma*, claiming that it is to be joined to the preceding verse. For example, in the third Psalm, after the words, "I cried with my voice unto the Lord, and He heard me out of His holy hill," ^B we find the *diapsalma* appended. But Aquila joined it thus: "And He heard me out of His holy hill always." And so, successively, he attaches it to the leading verse, crafting a single meaning. But as for me, since I find that both the Seventy and all the other interpreters of the divine Scripture have utilized the *diapsalma*, I do not consider it just to despise so many and such great men, and to trust in the opinion of one alone. For this reason, I surmise that the writing of the *diapsalma* signifies a change of melody. For since the great David, having established choirs, offered hymnody to God—not seeking any benefit for Himself, but procuring profit for the people—it is evident that he did this so that, with a certain harmoniousness, both the choirs might sing and those who used instruments might prepare to produce a consonant sound. Furthermore, the songs themselves have many alternations of modes, and the lyres and citharas also have their own varieties of striking; and in the pipes, too, many distinctions of this kind are observed. ^C The *diapsalma*, therefore, seems to me to signify, as I said, a c—

as I said, the change of the melody. But he who placed such an inscription, and anyone who has received the light of the divine Spirit even as he did, knows the exact meaning of the interpretation. It behooves those who study the Psalms with diligence to know that they do not maintain chronological order; but some of them, ^A containing older histories, have sometimes occupied the second position, while others, being more recent, have been set in front. For even the third psalm has the inscription of the narrative concerning Absalom, but the one-hundred-forty-first has that of Saul. Now, how much older the events concerning Saul are than those concerning Absalom is clear enough to anyone who understands the history. I think that the divine David himself spoke the Psalms, but that some of those who came after him made the arrangement of them. I have noted these things so that I may not be compelled to interrupt the interpretation ^B by writing about them in the middle of it. Here, then, having concluded the introduction, let us, God willing, set our hand to the interpretation of each part.

INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRST PSALM

Vers. 1. “Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the impious, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat on the seat of the pestilent.” ^C Hence it is easy to perceive that long ago, when those who translated the divine Scriptures found the inscriptions among the Hebrews, they transferred them into the Greek tongue. For this psalm, and the one that follows it, they found without an inscription and left without an inscription, not daring to add anything of their own to the oracles of the Spirit. Some, however, of those who have written arguments for the Psalms have said that this psalm contains teaching on morals; but to me it seemed no less dogmatic than moral. For it contains a condemnation not only of sinners, but also of the impious, and it exhorts us to ^D attend continuously to the divine words; from which we reap not only moral, but also dogmatic benefit. Very aptly, the great David placed a beatitude at the beginning of his own writing, imitating his own son and at the same time his Lord, I mean the Savior, Christ; who, when speaking with the holy disciples, began his teaching with beatitudes, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But the Son of David, the Lord Christ, is man according to the voice of the holy Gospels: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” But He is his Lord and Creator as God. For the voice is His: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand.”

^A He therefore pronounces blessed the man who neither communicates in the way with the ungodly, nor accepts the firm counsel of sinners—for this he called “standing”—and who has fled the stable corruption of the pestilent. Moreover, the name “Blessed” is a divine appellation, as the divine Apostle witnesses, crying out: “Which in his times he shall show, who is the Blessed and only Potent, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” But the Lord God has imparted this also to men, just as He has the others; for He is even called “faithful.” “For faithful is God,” He says, “by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his Son.” And the blessed Moses says: “God is faithful, and there is no iniquity in him.” He has also called men “faithful,” as many as receive His words without any doubt. Thus, being and being called God, the munificent Giver has shared this title also with men, and cries out: “I have said, You are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most High: but you like men shall die.” ^B This name “blessed,” therefore, is the fruit which is perceived from the perfection of virtue. For just as every one of the pursuits in life looks towards its end—the athletic, for instance, toward the crowns of olive, the military toward victories and trophies, and indeed medicine toward health and the expulsion of diseases, and commerce toward the accumulation of money and the abundance of wealth—so also the science of virtue has its fruit and end, namely, the divine beatitude. Let no one, therefore, seeing only a man spoken of as blessed in this place, think that the race of women is excluded from this beatitude. For neither did the Lord Christ, when He formulated the beatitudes, as if speaking only of males, deny to women the acquisition of virtue. For the discourse, while addressing men, includes also women; for “the head of the woman is the man,” as the divine Apostle says. ^C But the members of the body are joined to the head, and rejoice when the head is crowned. So too, when we converse with someone and call him a dear head, we do not separate it from the limbs of the body, but from the part we designate the whole. He did not, however, mention first the way, then the standing, and finally the seat rashly; but because He knew exactly how the thought of the mind, whether it be base or upright, first sustains a certain motion, then a state, and finally a certain stable firmness. He warns us, therefore, neither to admit any impious thought into our mind, nor to proceed to an unlawful act. ^D Now the divine Scripture is accustomed to call those “ungodly” who practice atheism or polytheistic worship; but “sinners” are those who choose to live in lawlessness and a corrupted life.

and finally, “pernicious men” are those who not only ruin themselves but communicate their corruption to others, like a plague that invades both humans and cattle, of which those who approach the sick also become partakers. For this reason, the discourse commands us to flee even the company of such people. Since, however, the flight from evil is not sufficient for the perfection of virtue—for it says, “Turn away from evil, and do good” (Ps. XXXVI, 27), and the blessed Isaiah says, “Cease,” he says, “from your evil deeds, learn to do good” (Isa. I, 16, 17)—the blessed David has very fittingly added:

^B Verse 2. “But his desire is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he will meditate day and night.” It is fitting not only to detest the things previously mentioned, but also to apply oneself to the divine law night and day, and to desire those things which the divine law suggests, and to direct one’s own life according to its purpose. For thus did the God of all legislate through Moses, saying: “These words of this law shall be in your mouth always; and you shall meditate on them sitting, and rising, and lying down, and walking in the way; and you shall tie them upon your hand, and they shall be immovable before your eyes” (Deut. VI, 6-8). Then he shows the fruit produced from this. He says:

^C Verses 3, 4. “For he will be like the tree planted by the outflows of waters; which will yield its fruit in its season. And its leaf will not fall, and all things whatsoever he does will prosper.” For the streams of the Holy Spirit imitate the irrigation of waters; and just as those waters make trees planted near them to flourish, so too do these enable them to bear divine fruits. For this cause, the Lord Christ called His own teaching water. “For if anyone,” He says, “thirsts, let him come to Me and drink, and the water that I will give him will be a fountain of water springing up into eternal life” (John IV, 14; VII, 37). And again: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his belly” (John VII, 38). And indeed, addressing the Samaritan woman, He says: “He who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will not thirst forever” (John IV, 13, 14). Thus, also, through the prophet Isaiah He says: “For I will give water in the thirst to those walking in a dry place; and I will open fountains upon the mountains, and rivers upon the hills, to give drink to my elect race, my people whom I have acquired” (Isa. XLIII, 19, 20). ^D Fittingly, therefore, has the blessed David compared him who has applied himself to the divine discourses to trees planted by the banks of waters.

always flourishing, bearing leaves, and fruit in due season. For [the athletes of virtue] will indeed reap the fruits of their labors in the life to come; but as for their good hope, they bear it within themselves like certain ever-green leaves, flourishing and rejoicing, and by the delight of their mind they beguile the burden of their labors. Moreover, they possess a most munificent Lord, who constantly assists their zeal: "For to those who love God," as the divine Apostle testifies, "all things work together for good." ^A For this reason, the blessed David also said: "And whatsoever he does shall prosper; for," he says, "a man's steps are directed by the Lord, and he greatly delights in his way." He did not, however, state "whatsoever he does" simply, but with great care. For when he had first prohibited all species of wickedness and had shown the perfection of the divine laws, he then added: "And whatsoever he does shall prosper," knowing that such a man, who adapts his own will to the divine law, will wish to do nothing contrary to the divine laws. "For in the law of the Lord," he says, "is his will." Thus, when he had exhorted them to virtue and had taught them perfect philosophy, he also instructs the athletes through contraries, saying: ^B

VERS. 5. "Not so the ungodly, not so." By the doubling of the negation, he shows the contrariety more clearly. "But [they are] as the dust which the wind drives from the face of the earth." For those, he says, being irrigated by the divine oracles, are ever-green and bear fruit in season; but the latter, being oppressed by contrary spirits, imitate the dust, which is easily carried hither and thither by contrary winds. ^C

VERS. 6. "Therefore the ungodly shall not rise in judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the just." With great care does the most holy Spirit set forth everything. For He did not say, "The ungodly shall not rise," but "They shall not rise in judgment"; as if to say: They shall not rise unto judgment, but unto condemnation. For they have no need of proofs, since their impiety is manifest; but they look only for punishment. For just as they do not bring murderers caught in the act into the court to be convicted, ^D

^A but rather to have the sentence congruent with the laws pronounced against them; so also those who have lived in impiety, immediately after the resurrection, endure the punishment, not being brought to judgment, but receiving the verdict of torment. Furthermore, even those who are free from impious dogmas, but yet have lived an unlawful life, will be cast far from the congregation of the righteous. For the word *counsel*, Aquila and Theodotion have translated as "congregation," but Symmachus as "assembly."

7. "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish." He knows, he says, everything even before the judgment, being the righteous Judge, and has no need of demonstrations or refutations. Wherefore, bestowing upon each what is appropriate to their worth, he will honor some with proclamations and crowns, but will commit others to everlasting punishment. The phrase, "and the way of the ungodly shall perish," is not at variance with those apostolic words: "If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss" (1 Cor. iii, 15). For the work of righteous men remains shining; but with the ungodly and impious men, their wickedness is also destroyed along with them.

INTERPRETATION OF THE SECOND PSALM.

^A crucified but could not hold; for having risen on the third day, He took possession of the whole earth. And very fittingly and reasonably have these words, "they meditated in vain," been applied to the person of the peoples. For it was the Jews who entered into this wicked counsel against the Savior. And the voice of the holy Gospels is witness, teaching that "the Pharisees went out and took counsel how they might destroy him," and Caiphas crying out: "It is expedient that one man should die, and that the whole nation perish not." But as for the word "Fremuerunt" (They raged), Aquila translated it as "tumultuati sunt" (they were in an uproar), and Symmachus as "turbant" (they disturb). This, when placed in the person of the nations, allows us to understand that when the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate as a certain kind of tyrant, and had said many times that he must be put to death, he reluctantly pronounced the sentence of death, fearing, as is likely, that if he released him, an accusation might ^B be plotted against him by some. For as the blessed Luke says, some of the accusers were saying: "We have found this man perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King."

VERS. 1, 2. "Why have the nations raged, and the people meditated vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ." He does not say "the nations" with the article, that you might not think all are included; but he says "nations," directing the sense to something particular. For because the Jews, having seized Jesus, delivered him to the nations, for this reason he says these things: What is this great cause, he says, or what happened, that the peoples also should be moved against him, and he should be delivered into the hands of the nations? And "raged" is said for "acted proudly." ^C

VERS. 3. "Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us." For he who does not honor the Son, he says, does not honor the Father; and fittingly, after shaking off the yoke of the Son, they shake off that of the Father also. But to me it seems that the all-holy Spirit is exhorting the faithful to say these things: "Let us break their bonds asunder," that is, of the impious nations, "and cast away their yoke from us," that is, of the lawless Jews, and let us take upon ourselves the pleasant yoke of the Lord. For His is the voice: "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is pleasant and my burden is light." Furthermore, the Law itself has been called a yoke by the divine apostles. For the blessed Peter says concerning this in the Acts: "Why do you tempt God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?"

But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same manner as they." ^A To these things the prophetic words are also similar: "Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yoke from us." That is to say: let us remove our own heart from the desire to be under them; let us shake off the yoke of the Law; let us count the things that are in types as nothing, unless they are understood spiritually; let the shadow be reckoned as useless for profit, unless in its prediction it depicts the mystery of Christ.

^B VERSE 4. "He who dwells in the heavens shall laugh at them, and the Lord shall deride them." For He who was nailed to the cross by them, and delivered to death, being in the heavens and containing all things, shows their counsels to be empty and vain. And His Father, the Lord of all, will exact from them the punishment they deserve.

VERSE 5. "Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and in His anger He shall trouble them." The outcome of events itself teaches the interpretation of these words also; for the Roman army, having come upon them, razed the city, burned the temple, and sent the greater part of them to death; those who escaped the slaughter it led away captive into servitude. But it is necessary to fix one's mind upon the fact that He subsequently mentions two persons; first indeed of the Lord and of His Christ: "For," he said, "against the Lord, and against His Christ." Then, of Him who dwells in the heavens, and of the Lord: "For He who dwells in the heavens shall laugh at them, and the Lord shall deride them." And again, he has preserved the same pattern.

^C VERSE 6. "But I have been appointed king by Him." And here also it is necessary to place a stop, and then to add: "Upon Sion His holy mountain, proclaiming the commandment of the Lord." For He is not king only of the mountain of Sion, but of things visible and invisible, and of all creation. But upon the mountain of Sion, and in Judea, He set forth His divine teaching to those who approached; and those who received this diverted the streams into all the world, obeying His divine commandments. ^D "For, going," He says, "teach all the nations." But the expression, "I have been appointed king by Him," He says according to human custom; for as God, He has the kingdom by nature; but as man, He receives this by election. But that as God He possesses the authority without beginning, the same prophet teaches, saying: "Your throne, O God, is for the age of the age; a rod of equity is the rod of Your kingdom." And the blessed Paul says this psalm is spoken of the Son. Nevertheless, He also has a kingdom

as God, and receives it as man. Thus, being named the Most High as God, He was exalted as man. And David, preaching the divine height, cries out: "Let them know that the Lord is Your name, You alone are the Most High ^A over all the earth." And Zacharias says to John: "And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High." The blessed Paul teaches the human height, saying: "Therefore God also highly exalted Him, and gave Him the name which is above every name." Furthermore, God the Word possessed the name of the only-begotten Son naturally from before the ages; yet, having the appellation of Son as God, He receives it also as man. Wherefore, in the psalm before us, He added, saying:

VERS. 7. "The Lord said to me, You are My Son, today I have begotten You." No one, believing the teaching of the Holy Spirit, would apply this voice to the divinity of the Lord Christ. For regarding that, let us hear the God of all saying through the mouth of David: "From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten You." As man, therefore, He receives this voice ^B too; as man He also hears the following things.

VERS. 8. "Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations as Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as Your possession." For as God, He is the maker of all things: "For all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made," and "in Him all things were created, whether visible or invisible." If He is the Master and Creator of all, He is also the Master and Lord of those things which He made. Yet, while being Master by nature as God, He receives as man the lordship of all. And since of old He seemed to concern Himself only with the Jews—"For," he says, "the Lord’s portion is His people Jacob, the cord of His inheritance Israel"—but this people was rejected, as one that had received no benefit from that care, He deservedly ^C transfers the providence to the nations, of whom He was not entirely neglectful even in ancient times, fulfilling the Mosaic prophecy; for His is the voice: "Rejoice, O nations, with His people." Yet it is also possible to find the outcome concurring with the prediction. For those who believed from among the Jews, not only the twelve apostles, but also the seventy disciples, and the hundred and twenty, when they were gathered and the blessed Peter addressed them, and the five hundred to whom He appeared after the resurrection ^D at the same time, according to

the voice of the divine Paul; and the three thousand, and the five thousand whom the prince of the apostles fished with his preaching; and the many myriads of whom the great James asserted: ^A "You see, brother, how many myriads there are of believing Jews" — these, I say, and those besides them who throughout the whole world believed from among the Jews, having declared them a holy people, and having through them snared all the nations, He fulfills the prophecy which says: "Rejoice, O nations, with His people." And besides this, He also fulfills His own prediction which He made to the Jews, saying: "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." This He also says in the psalm before us: "Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." But indeed, it comes to my mind to lament the unbelief of the Jews, who, hearing the prophecy which openly mentions the ends of the earth, and knowing that none of their kings ever possessed such a dominion, but only the Lord Christ, who sprouted from David according to the flesh, they blind the eyes of their mind, and the prophecy that says: "They grope like the blind for the wall, and they shall grope as those who have no eyes." ^B For this reason, the prophetic word also threatens them.

9. "Thou shalt shepherd them with an iron rod; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." By this is meant the Roman empire, which the prophecy of Daniel calls "iron," metaphorically, because of its strength and unbreakable power; and He will dash them in pieces like earthen vessels. For since they denied that they had any king but Him, and cried out with a loud voice, "We have no king but Caesar," He set over them the one they demanded, Caesar, and through their army exacted the penalties for their impiety. But if any one thinks that these things were said not about the Jews, but about the nations, it is necessary to understand them in this way: that He will shepherd the nations with an iron rod, that is, with His strong and unbreakable kingdom; and He will dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel, dissolving and remaking them through the washing of regeneration, and making them solid and firm with the fire of the Holy Spirit. ^C When the blessed David had foretold these things, he next exhorts both kings and subjects to run to the Savior, and to embrace the saving laws, and to reap the profit through the discipline and teaching derived from them. For he says: ^D

^A

VERS. 10. “And now, O kings, understand; be instructed, all you who judge the earth.” For one is King of us all, who formerly seemed to rule only over the Jews.

VERS. 11. “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling.” For it is not proper for those who rejoice and delight in salvation to trust in kindness alone, but, alongside this, they must also fear and tremble at the justice joined to it. “For he who thinks he stands,” he says, “let him take heed lest he fall.” [For since, by fearing the Lord, we perform what is fitting, we have a very great joy arising from the things done, as the conscience is good, and we receive the greatest pleasure through it.] And “with trembling,” that is, with compunction: lest the joy of God should ever degenerate into the joy of the world. ^B

VERS. 12. “Lay hold of discipline, lest the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way.” For it is not sufficient for perfection that the possession of the knowledge of God alone exist, but it is necessary also to cultivate practical virtue; by taking hold of which, you shall walk the unfailing path.

VERS. 13. “When his anger is kindled in a short time, blessed are all who trust in him.” For in the time of judgment, when your wickedness, like some flammable material, kindles the divine anger just like fire, you will be far off from the way of the righteous, paying the penalties for the things you have sinned in this life. But then also those who have truly and firmly hoped in him will report the most ample fruit of their hope, namely, blessedness. “For blessed,” he says, “are all who trust in him.” For even if the athletes of virtue obtain blessedness in the present life, they will receive it more truly on that day when those who have lived wickedly will draw the divine anger upon themselves. ^C

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM III

VERS. 1. “A Psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom his son.” The history is clear to curious men, but for the sake of the more sluggish, I shall briefly touch upon it. After that double sin, the great David fell into many and various calamities. For not only were the neighboring nations stirred up for battle and war, but his own house also began to labor under sedition, and sin ^D

^A brought the stain of murder, the fratricide brought the insult against the father, and the subversion of the subjects the revolt. For while divine grace watched over David, none of these things happened to him; but when it had departed from him on account of the crime he had committed, malice occupied the place, and he performed acts worthy of tragedy, and brought upon himself a heap of evils. At that time, therefore, fleeing from his parricidal son and those who had set themselves in line of battle with him, he wrote this psalm; the divine Spirit, of course, having also inspired him at that time because of the fervent repentance he had offered.

VERS. 2, 3. “Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me? Many rise up against me. Many say to my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God.”

VERS. 5. “With my voice I cried to the Lord, and he heard me from his holy mountain.”

VERS. 6. “I have slept and taken my rest; I have risen, because the Lord will help me.”

^A and their removal. For the words, "I arose, for the Lord will sustain me," mean this: that having enjoyed divine support, I became stronger than the evils that had befallen me. Therefore:

VERS. 7. "I will not fear ten thousands of people surrounding me: arise, O Lord, save me, my God." For you are able, even if you are alone, to disperse the many ten thousands.

VERS. 8. "For you have struck all who were hostile to me without cause; you have broken the teeth of sinners." Grant me, therefore, a share in perfect salvation; and just as you have often exacted punishment for injustice against me from those who held unjust enmity, both from those of my own race and foreigners, from Israelites and Amalekites, and indeed also from Saul himself, so now too count me worthy of your salvation. But the expression, "You have broken the teeth of sinners," means the same as: You stripped them of all their power, using a metaphor drawn from wild beasts, which, when deprived of their teeth, are very contemptible and easily defeated.

VERS. 9. "Salvation is of the Lord." Do not place, he says, your hope in man, but I wait for salvation from you; and not I alone, he says, but also your people who are being fought along with me. And I am concerned even for the welfare of the enemies themselves; for they too are called your people. Grant, therefore, O Master, the blessing of peace to these and to those; for he indicated this by saying, "And upon your people is your blessing." For indeed blessed Moses connects peace with blessings. And we find in history that the blessed David took unique care of his people, even of his parricide ^B son, and that he cared more for peace than for victory against the people.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM IV

VERS. 1. "Unto the end, in hymns, a psalm of David." Instead of "unto the end," Aquila and Theodotion interpreted it as "to the victory-giver;" but Symmachus as "triumphal." "Unto the end" signifies that what is prophesied will be fulfilled after long ages. And in the final part of the psalm he foretold the resurrection from the dead, saying, "In peace I will lie down and sleep all at once; for you, O Lord, have made me dwell alone in hope." But according to the others, this present psalm is offered as a triumphal hymn by the blessed David to God the victory-giver, after the victory won over Absalom. For it seems that this psalm was composed after the end of that war. For ^C indeed ^D

^A in the psalm of his, the blessed David said: "Many say to my soul, 'There is no salvation for him in his God.'" But in this one, he says, "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy-hearted? Why do you love vanity and seek falsehood? And know that the Lord has wondrously exalted his holy one." He teaches, therefore, in the present psalm those who suffer from atheism that God does indeed take providence and govern human affairs, and that they should not think that there is no one who watches over and manages all things; and for the demonstration of this doctrine, he recounts each particular event.

^B Ver. 2. "When I called, the God of my righteousness heard me." Learn, he says, from the things that have happened to me, how the God of all presides over human affairs, and hears those who call upon him sincerely. I, for my part, having immediately offered my prayer, obtained my request. But the phrase "of my righteousness" he used in place of "of my just request." For it does not befit the prudence of David that he should be a witness to his own justice and virtue. Moreover, these words are similar to those spoken by God through Isaiah: "Then you shall call, and I will hear you; while you are still speaking, I will say, 'Behold, I am here.'" "In tribulation you have made room for me." It is the custom of the God of all, indeed, to allow painful things to happen to the saints; but after the training and testing, he proclaims **^C** the athletes; and, furthermore, even in the midst of these temptations he offers every consolation. The great David teaches this same thing here, saying that "in these very tribulations I have enjoyed thy help and consolation." Similar to this is what was said by the God of all to the divine Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is perfected in weakness."

Ver. 3. "Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer." The just man never takes his fill of prayer; but both as one in need, and as one enjoying kindness, and reaping the fruits of his prayer, he continues to offer supplications, knowing full well the benefit to be derived from it.

Ver. 4. "O sons of men, how long will you be heavy-hearted? Why do you love vanity and seek falsehood?" From the things that have happened to me, learn, O men, of the ruler of all; how even he looks upon human affairs, ^D and grants requests to those who approach him diligently; and having cast away your vain thoughts.

Ver. 5. "Know that the Lord has wondrously exalted his holy one; the Lord will hear me when I cry to him." For not simply from the calam-

- ^A ities, which have happened to me, has he delivered me, but he has also rendered me illustrious and renowned through this victory (for this is what he said: "He has rendered me wondrous"), and he persistently continues to receive my prayers. Here again he has placed "holy" instead of "innocent," ^B even him who has harmed those fighting against him with no injury, but has himself been injured by them. He has rightly termed the unbelievers "slow of heart," because they are unwilling to look up to God and are unwilling to see the divine dispensations; using a metaphor from those who are burdened in the head by the vapors rising from below due to some drunkenness, and are forced to close their eyes, being unable to open them. "Be angry." Here ^C there should be a pause, and so what follows should be read: "and do not sin." Be indignant, he says, and be angry, seeing those who have risen against you unjustly prospering. But do not heap evil upon evil, attempting to persuade others that all things are carried on without order and by chance. For it is fitting to do the opposite of these things, namely, that men should exact from themselves at night the penalties for the sins they commit during the day. "What you say in your hearts, be pricked in your beds." Since the nighttime ^D is free from external tumults and provides much quiet for thoughts, he rightly commanded that we should in this time make an examination of the things said or done during the day, and established that we should heal the wounds with the medicine of compunction.

Ver. 6. "Sacrifice a sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord." By these words also he rejects the legal worship as superfluous, and commands that the sacrifice of righteousness be offered; for the possession of righteousness is more pleasing to God than every sacrifice of a hundred or a thousand oxen, provided that hope in Him is also joined with it. Since many, both of the Greeks and of the Jews and of the heretics who hold contrary opinions, sometimes practice temperance and justice, but being deprived of piety, receive no fruit therefrom, for this reason the most holy Spirit, through the divine David, exhorts us not only to sacrifice a sacrifice of righteousness, but also to hope in the Lord. Thus also the Master Christ says to his own disciples: "I am the true vine, you are the branches, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away." He did not simply say, "Not bearing fruit," but "in me not bearing fruit," that is, according to my commandments, and my laws, with faith in me, which indeed some, without the confession of God, [keep...*]

^A for the sake of human glory, seem to practice virtue. "Many say, Who will show us good things?" He hints at those he called "slow of heart," as if they were distressed at the troubles that befall them, and were distrustful of God's providence, and were daring to say this.

Vers. 7. "The light of your countenance, O Lord, has been marked upon us; you have given gladness to my heart." Those men, therefore, both think and say such things; but we, who have received the light of your knowledge, and have been illuminated by your rays, even in the very calamities ^B that befall us, have sufficient consolation from the fact that we place our hope in you.

Vers. 8. "By the fruit of their grain, wine, and oil, they have been multiplied." Again he accuses those who say, "Who will show us good things?" as people who enjoy so many and such great things even in the present life, and yet suffer from the vice of ingratitude. The sense is with a hyperbaton: "Many say, Who will show us good things? By the fruit of their grain, and wine, and oil, they have been multiplied." Although, he says, those who say these things enjoy the fruits of the earth of every kind; for by these three kinds, which are most useful to human nature, ^C he fitly includes other good things: refuting their ignorance, in that while they carry God's gifts in their hands, and bountifully delight in his good things, they dare to say as if they enjoyed nothing, "Who will show us good things?" I, however, relying on your light and having obtained the knowledge of you,

Vers. 9, 10. "In peace I will both sleep and rest. For you, O Lord, have set me apart in hope." For having driven away every tumult and conflict of thoughts, and having established peace for these, and having taught others to think thus concerning your good providence, ^D I will await death in the hope of the resurrection. For he called death "sleep" in this place. And very appropriately he joined hope to the memory of death, after having gone through the discourses concerning providence. For since many in the present life fall into misfortune, and are wronged by those living in wickedness, and finish their life without having obtained any help, the great David teaches not to be indignant, since hope is joined with death, and the reward is to be after death.

THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, INTERPRETATION OF PSALM V

^A VERSE 1. "Unto the end, for her who inherits, a psalm of David." Thus also have the others interpreted the inscription. It is manifest, therefore, that the divine Word designates as heir, commonly the Church of God, but particularly the soul habituated to piety. For we hear Christ saying in the holy Gospels: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And the divine Paul says the same: "The Spirit itself bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, then heirs—heirs indeed of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him." And again: "So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." And many other things of this kind can be found in the sacred volumes, by which, being instructed, we shall be able to discern the meaning of this psalm.

VERS. 2, 3. "Give ear to my words, O Lord, understand my cry. Attend to the voice of my prayer, my King and my God." The Church of God—and indeed every soul that embraces a pious life—is tossed by many and great waves from every side, yet it survives and rises above the tempest, continually imploring divine aid. This also the prophetic discourse teaches us, instructing how one ought to beseech and entreat the God and King of all, saying: "Give ear to my words, O Lord, understand my cry, attend to the voice of my prayer." ^B But we must not understand the "cry" as a mere cry, nor the "ears" as ears; for accustomed as it is to speak of the God of all as if He were a corporeal being, the holy Scripture is accustomed to name divine operations after human members: the power of seeing as eyes, the power of hearing as ears, and others likewise. By "cry," it calls the eager will and the earnest supplication of the mind of those who pray. And "Give ear," means this: let the words of my prayer enter into your ears, and benignly hear my petitions, and attend diligently to the words of my supplication, since I know you to be God and King.

^C VERS. 4, 5. "For to you I will pray, O Lord; in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will stand before you, and you will see me." Confiding that you will admit my prayers, as soon as it is dawn, having cast sleep from my eyelids, I stand before you as King and Lord, offering you my supplication. ^D

^A It does not belong to everyone to say to the God of all, "I will stand before you, and you will see me," but only to those who, like the great Elias, dare to say on account of the boldness of their manner of life, "The Lord lives, before whom I have stood this day." ^B "For you are not a God who desires iniquity." [Ver. 6.] "The wicked shall not dwell near you, nor shall the unjust remain before your eyes." You accept my prayers and regard me as I supplicate, since you reject all iniquity and utterly turn away from those who are accustomed to wickedness; for you abhor all who embrace a lawless life. For this, he added:

Ver. 7. "You have hated, Lord, all who work iniquity; you will destroy all who speak lies. The Lord abominates a man of blood and the deceitful." He brought the catalogue of wickedness into the midst, showing all things to be contrary to the divine will. For he not only forbids wickedness, and lawlessness, and lying, and deceit, and homicide; he also abhors those who perpetrate these things, if they are unwilling to attend to repentance. By this, he signifies those who have arisen against the Church at various times and have not been able to prevail, according to the interdict of God himself and our Savior: "For the gates of hell," he says, "shall not prevail against her." This is what the psalm has also declared. ^C

Ver. 8. "But I, in the multitude of your mercy, will enter into your house; I will worship toward your holy temple in your fear." For, enjoying your loving-kindness and guarded by your right hand, I offer you my constant worship in the temple dedicated to your glory, always carrying about your fear; for I will not allow myself to cast this off, as I confide in your loving-kindness.

Ver. 9. "Lord, guide me in your justice; because of my enemies, make my way straight before you." Some copies have, "before me your way"; both retain a pious meaning. ^D For whether our way is made straight before God, we shall not experience error; or whether the way of God is made straight before us, we shall walk in it and run toward it readily. The inheritor, therefore, asks to be guided by the justice of God, and that his way be made straight for him, and made smooth, so that he may journey easily. Symmachus has set forth this meaning; for instead of "guide," he said "make level." We hear Christ himself also saying through Isaiah: "The crooked shall be made into a straight way, and the rough into level paths." And blessed David said in another psalm:

^A "The steps of a man are directed by the Lord, and he shall greatly desire His way." These words are full of the humility of the heir. For he does not ask that his way be directed for the sake of his own righteousness, but on account of his enemies who are accustomed to impiety and who wage war against him unjustly. Then he explains their malicious designs one by one.

VERS. 10. "There is no truth in their mouth." By falsehood, he says, they continually defile their tongue. "Their heart is vain." To their words their reasonings correspond, and the mind agrees with the mouth.

VERS. 11. ^B "Their throat is an open sepulcher." Closed sepulchers contain a hidden foul odor; but when opened, they emit a great deal of stench. Such are these people, he says: they belch forth words full of every impiety and foul smell. By these words he intimates the blasphemies that are cast against God, and words full of licentiousness and wantonness. "They dealt deceitfully with their tongues; judge them, O God." Hidden words are more grievous than those that are uttered openly: for using deceit, they contrive countless [evils] against their neighbor.

VERS. 12. "Let them fall from their counsels; according to the multitude of their impieties, cast them out." May they be brought, therefore, under Thy judgment, O Master, and let them be frustrated in what they plot against us, and let them learn through experience that they are weaving a spider's web, and let them pay a penalty worthy of their daring acts. ^C "For they have provoked Thee, O Lord." For they have stirred up war against Thee, having deployed their battle lines against those who are devoted to Thee.

VERS. 12. "And let all those that hope in Thee rejoice; they shall exult forever, and You shall dwell among them." This will fill those who have believed in Thee with joy, and will provide them with eternal delight; not their death, but Thy providence. For they trust that Thou dwellest in them, and walkest among them, and renderest them a sanctified temple.

"And all those who love Thy name shall boast in Thee. [VERS. 13.] Because Thou wilt bless the righteous, O Lord." For when Thy blessing and providence are abundantly supplied to Thy servants, those who have established themselves as lovers of Thy name, ^D upon Thy care...

set themselves up as lovers of your name, they will boast because of your solicitude, telling of your power. Thus also the blessed Paul says: «Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.» — «As with a shield of good pleasure you have crowned us.» Divine Scripture calls the good will of God "good pleasure" (eudokia). Such is the saying, «You were pleased, Lord, with your land,» which means, "You willed good things for your land." And in the blessed Paul: «According to the good pleasure of his will,» that is, according to HIS good will. And so here, too, he says this, that Your good will, and Your great affection and love for us, has become for us an instrument of victory ^A and a crowning trophy.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM VI

Vers. 1. «Unto the end, in hymns, for the octave, a psalm of David.» The prophetic word calls the future state the "octave." For since the present life revolves through the seven days of the week—for time begins from the first day and ends at the seventh, then returns again to the first, and thus proceeds to the seventh—the divine Word has reasonably named the age that is outside the hebdomadal number the "eighth." Moreover, he makes mention ^B of death and judgment in this psalm; therefore he has placed this as the inscription. For he says: «For there is no one who remembers you in death, and in Hades who will confess to you?» That is, the door of repentance is closed to those who have departed from here, and it is not possible for those who did not use the remedies of repentance in the present life to offer confession to God for their sin there. The parable of the virgins also supports these words. For through it we have learned how the foolish virgins, their lamps extinguished, remained outside the doors of the Bridegroom's chamber, ^C knocking at the doors but being rejected and excluded from the bridal chamber. For He says to them: «Depart, I do not know you.» For this reason, the blessed David, after that double sin of his, offers this supplication to God, praying that he might be healed, because the remedies of repentance no longer have a place in that life.

Vers. 2. «O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.» He does not pray not to be rebuked, but not to be rebuked in anger; nor does he beg not to be disciplined, but not to suffer this with wrath. Discipline me, he says, ^D as a father, not as a judge; like a physician, not as an executioner. Do not measure out the vengeance according to the sin, but temper the justice with loving-kindness.

^A

VERS. 3. « Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. » Such a voice is fitting for those who have sinned. For when weakness leads the way, sin triumphs. For if the rational principle within us is not weak, then the passions will not rise up in rebellion; for if the charioteer is strong, and manages the horses with skill, both turning and guiding them, then the rearing of the horses will have no place.

VERS. 4. « Heal me, O Lord, for my bones have been troubled; and my soul has been troubled exceedingly. » By "bones" he here designates our rational faculties; for since bones possess a more solid nature and support the body, he tropically referred to the rational faculties, through which the living being is guided, as bones. The disturbance of these, he says, has shaken and agitated me. Therefore, I beg to enjoy your loving-kindness, that through it I may receive healing. ^B

« And you, O Lord, how long? [VERS. 5.] Turn, O Lord, deliver my soul, save me for your mercy’s sake. » He does not say « how long » as one who is rebuking, but as one who is in pain, he beseeches Him to bring help quickly. And he fittingly added, « For your mercy’s sake. » For he says, I do not trust in myself, nor do I attribute your help to my own righteousness; but I entreat to obtain it on account of your mercy. And the expression « Turn, O Lord » is used in place of « attend to me, and do not turn your face from me. » It is a metaphor taken from those who are angry, who turn away and do not wish to look upon those who have committed faults. ^C

VERS. 6. « For there is no one in death who remembers you; and in Hades who will confess to you? » For this reason I pray to enjoy this healing in the present life, since I know that for those who depart from this life with wounds, no further cure will be given, as there is no longer any place for repentance. [This is also most excellently philosophized by the divine David: for he who remembers God is not in death, but in life. Thus, for those who have departed into Hades, there is neither confession nor correction. For God has limited life and action to this world, but to the next He has assigned the examination of what has been done: and this is proper to the eighth day, that the time for the gathering of good or evil ^D is no longer given to men while they exist in it. But whatever seeds someone has sown for himself through his works, of these he shall gather the sheaves; for which reason He commands us to exercise repentance here, seeing that in the grave such endeavor is idle. He says, since a long time for repentance has been granted to me, I fear lest death should forestall your mercy, in which there is no room for such confession; wherefore I beg that the mercy be accelerated. Next, he teaches the hearer that our duty is to accompany our prayers with God’s humanity.

to hasten His mercy; then he instructs the hearer that, along with the philanthropy of God, our own efforts must also follow. For whether we plead our weakness, or our agitation, or the goodness of God, if that which comes from us is not added, it profits us nothing. ^B

VERS. 7. "I have labored in my groaning; every night I will wash my bed, I will water my couch with my tears." I am not unaware that I have committed great and grievous sins, but I continue to weep unceasingly, mourning the deeds I have dared to do. Furthermore, I shall always wash with tears the bed defiled by iniquity, trying by these means to cleanse it; and even if I obtain forgiveness, I shall not cease from doing this. For this is what it signifies: "I will wash my bed every night, and I will water [it with tears]." ^C

VERS. 8. "My eye is troubled by reason of anger." My very eye of the intellect is troubled because of your indignation, O Lord. For here he has called the mind an eye, and for this reason, he made mention of only one eye. "I have grown old among all my enemies." To me, the reproaches of my enemies are more grievous than all evils; for these consume me, and waste me away, and bring upon me a premature old age.

VERS. 9, 10. "Depart from me, all you who work iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping; the Lord has heard my supplication. The Lord has accepted my prayer." No longer, he says, let those mock me who do not see their own iniquities but deride my sins. For I have obtained the divine favor, and I am persuaded by the things for which I have prayed that He will not look upon my errors, but will make me a participant in pardon.

VERS. 11. "Let all my enemies be ashamed and troubled; let them be turned back, and very speedily be put to shame." Since you know these things, therefore, cease from offering me reproaches, and taking your own iniquities to mind, be filled with shame, and tumult, and perturbation. For the divine judgment is just and full of terror. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM VII

VERS. 1. "A Psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Chusi, the son of Jemini." While fleeing from that impious and parricidal son, the blessed David found a helper in Chusi, who persuaded Absalom not to pursue his father immediately according to the counsel of Achitophel, but to levy the entire people first, and then against

his father to wage war. Achitophel, therefore, being vexed and exceedingly distressed because the counsel of Chusi appeared the more preferable, became his own slayer and ended his life by hanging. But Divine David, having seized the occasion for flight from the delay of the invasion, became possessed of safety. Therefore, he offers this psalm, as a kind of hymn and prayer, to God the Savior; he also adds instruction, exhorting those who are unjustly treated by some to place their hopes in God and to await assistance from thence, while intimidating the offenders by the remembrance of the just judgment of God. ^A

VERS. 2, 3. “O Lord my God, in thee have I hoped; save me from all those that persecute me, and deliver me. Lest at any time he snatch my soul as a lion, while there is no one to redeem, nor to save.” I rely, he says, on no human help, but carrying thy hope alone within myself, I beseech thee that I may enjoy thy providence. For I fear lest my enemies, who pursue me with war, should burst in after the manner of a wild beast, and finding me destitute of thy protection, might utterly destroy me. ^B

VERS. 4. “O Lord my God, if I have done this.” He then teaches more clearly what he says: “If there be iniquity in my hands.” And demonstrating what kind of injustice he speaks of here, he straightway adds: ^C

VERS. 5, 6. “If I have rendered evil to those who return evil to me, then let me fall empty before my enemies. Let the enemy pursue my soul, and let him overtake it, and let him trample my life into the earth, and bring down my glory into the dust.” There are many parts to virtue. For it is not only temperance and prudence, but also fortitude and justice. Here, therefore, he does not attribute the highest virtue to himself, but rather that, having in no degree harmed these his enemies, he nonetheless submits to an unjust exile on their account. For not only, he says, did I not start the injustice, but I never once wished to take revenge on those who harmed me. For often, when I had Saul in my power, I did not exact the penalty for his unjust enmity. For which reason I beseech thee, O Master, who knowest all things clearly, to judge me justly, and if I have ever done any such thing, to strip me of thy care—for this is what he means by “let me fall empty before my enemies”—and to deliver me into the hands of my adversaries, so that they might not only deprive me of the glory and kingdom given to me by thee, but also hand me over to a ridiculous death. For this he signified by saying, “and bring down my glory into the dust.” ^D

VERS. 7. “Arise, O Lord, in thy wrath; be exalted in the borders of my enemies.” Now, as for Symmachus

he interpreted it as “in bile,” Theodotion as “in fury,” and Aquila as “with speed.” He beseeches, therefore, the just Judge, no longer employing long-suffering, but using a just sentence, to impose punishment upon those who do wrong. For he has used the word “Arise” instead of “no longer be long-suffering.” Such is the meaning of the passage: “Arise, why do you sleep, O Lord?” for there he called long-suffering “sleep.” And “Arise, O Lord, help us.” For the time is not one of benevolence, but of just wrath. Put, therefore, an end to my enemies, stopping their unjust assault.

VERS. 8. “And arise, O Lord my God, in the precept which thou hast ordained.” For you have legislated to protect those who are wronged. What, therefore, you have commanded others to do, do now, O Master, and bestow upon me your support. “And the synagoguen of peoples will surround thee; and on account of this, return into the height.” For when this providence of yours is revealed, all will offer hymns to you, and will call you the Most High God, as one who sees all things and imposes due punishment upon those who do wrong. For “return into the height” is the same as saying: As you are by nature the Most High, but are unknown to many, show what you are through the care which you have for those affected by injury. Then, in the manner of a prophet, he subjoins: ^B

VERS. 9. “The Lord will judge the peoples.” For he will judge not only my case, but also that of the entire human nature. “Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice and according to my innocence that is in me.” By these words the divine David does not display his own justice: for we hear him saying the contrary: “For I know my iniquity, and my sin is before me always.” And: “I said, I will confess my iniquity against myself to the Lord.” But he calls it justice in the matter at hand. For, he says, I have wronged neither Absalom, nor Achitophel, nor those who with them make war against me. According to this justice, therefore, and this innocence, ^C I pray to be judged, and not according to the transgressions I have already committed. I beseech you to judge the present matter in itself, and not to exact from me now the penalties for other sins.

VERS. 10. “Let the wickedness of sinners be finished, and thou shalt direct the just.” Instead of “finished,” Symmachus has used “let it be brought to completion.” If, he says, the wickedness of those who live in malice were shown to be futile, the alumni of virtue would more zealously pursue the path set before them. ^D

VERS. 11. “Searching the hearts and kidneys is God.” [XI.]

^A “Kidneys” here refers to the thoughts. For since the kidneys excite the desires of the lower belly, and from there the thoughts of concupiscence are then moved, he metaphorically named the thoughts “kidneys.” Therefore the One who knows the hidden thoughts of the mind of men will bring me just aid, as He is accustomed to do. For He continues to defend those who are being wronged. From this, then, He also frightens those who live in wickedness, revealing just punishments; and He foretells the ruin of Achitophel.

VERS. 12. “God is a righteous judge, and strong, and long-suffering, and not bringing wrath ^B upon us every day.” He also possesses loving-kindness, through which He endures the offenses of men for a very long time. For if at any time He sees that men gain no benefit from this patience of His, He meanwhile terrifies them with threats, postponing the punishment. But if they, even despising this, continue to sin, He immediately brings upon them the utter destruction, which contains justice. He made these things manifest through what follows.

VERS. 13, 14. “If you do not turn, He will brandish His sword; He has bent His bow, and made it ready. And in it He has prepared vessels of death.” For these words are not of punishment, but of threat. For He said “He will brandish,” not “He will strike”; and “He has bent the bow,” not “He has released the arrow.” ^C And teaching against whom He will release the arrows, He immediately added: “He has fashioned His arrows for the burning ones.” For those who have received the combustible matter of sin, and have built upon it wood, and hay, and stubble, as the divine Apostle says, will be struck by these fiery arrows.

VERS. 15. “Behold, he has travailed with injustice.” Achitophel, when he had expressed that evil counsel: “He conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.” For out of malice that left no excess behind, he armed the lawless son against a father who had done him no wrong.

VERS. 16, 17. “He has opened a pit, and dug it, and will fall into the pit which he wrought. His sorrow shall return ^D upon his own head, and his iniquity shall descend upon his own crown.” By his own snares, he says, he will be caught, and he will receive the rewards of his own labors; he will be ensnared by the nets which he spread to capture others.

VERS. 18. “I will confess to the Lord according to His righteousness, and I will chant to the name of the Lord the Most High.”

of the Most High. And I, having received such providence from God, will perpetually praise my benefactor, declaring the righteousness of his judgment. ^A

COMMENTARY ON PSALM VIII

1. "For the end, concerning the winepresses, a Psalm of David." It should be noted that in every psalm in which the Septuagint has placed "for the end," Aquila and Theodotion have interpreted the phrase as "to the victor," while Symmachus has interpreted it as "triumphal." This psalm, therefore, is a triumphal one, offered to God the author of victory, who destroyed the enemy and avenging devil, and who liberated men once and for all from his tyranny. By "winepresses" he refers to the Churches, since the Lord himself is called the vine; for in the holy Gospels he said, "I am the true vine." Those of the faithful who harvest this vine produce the mystical wine. And this is also a very great accusation of the treachery of the Jews. For when they hear of a multitude of winepresses, and clearly know that one single winepress, or rather not even a winepress but a "before-the-winepress," had been given—for "a winepress," he says, "did I dig in it, and I expected it to make grapes, but it made thorns"—they do not wish to understand that the old things have ceased, ^B and the grace of the new covenant has appeared, inviting all men to salvation. For which reason, priests no longer trample the fruits of men as in a winepress according to the ancient law upon a single altar, but infinite altars, exceeding number, have been erected throughout the whole earth and sea. And the eighty-third psalm teaches this more clearly. For it too, having the title "concerning the winepresses," made mention of many altars: "How beloved, he says, are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and faileth for the courts of the Lord." And a little later: "Thy altars, O Lord of hosts." And the eighth psalm, inscribed "concerning the winepresses," foretells the salvation of the world, teaches of God's providence toward men, and predicts the incarnation of the Only-begotten.

2. "O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is thy name in all the earth! For thy magnificence is lifted up above the heavens." The word "how" in this passage ^C is used not comparatively, but superlatively. For he says, "Thy name, O Master, is sung by all, and all acknowledge thee as the creator of heaven and earth." For the phrase, "Thy magnificence is lifted up above the heavens," this signifies that all have known that not only heavens... ^D

and earth, but all things, are under thy dominion. For although He always possessed this magnificence, it was not always known to men. ^A The blessed Habakkuk prophesies similar things. For having said, "God shall come from Teman, and the holy one from a shady mountain," he added, "His virtue covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise." And when He himself appeared to ^B Jacob, to him who inquired after his name, He answered: "Why dost thou inquire after my name, that it is wonderful?"

VER. 3. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thine enemies, that thou mightest destroy the enemy and the avenger." ^B This truly demonstrated thy power most of all, in that through persons who had learned nothing of human wisdom, but who imitated the simplicity of suckling children, thou didst cast down that most wicked tyrant; who, since he is always an enemy to thee, O God, and because of the war he wages against thee deceitfully leads men astray, again, as if he were some punisher, exacts from them the penalties for that very deceit. Thus, having induced Ahithophel to say those things, he drove him to destroy himself by a death of his own hand; thus, having armed Judas for betrayal, he rendered back to him the noose as the reward of his obedience. And according to history, the truth of the prophecy can be known. For in the holy Gospels, the Lord Christ, while the Jews were indignant—when children, going before with palm branches, were saying, "Hosanna in the highest," "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" ^C—answered them: "Have ye not read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise'?" Consequently, those children condemn the faithless people of the Jews, who are like the devil both as enemy and avenger. For this people, always violating the divine law, and doing the opposite of those things which were enjoined by God, again, as if fighting on behalf of the Lawgiver, crucified the Lord Christ, calling Him an enemy of God and a transgressor of the law.

VER. 4. "For I will behold the heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast founded." ^D For, he says, the elements themselves are sufficiently adequate to show thy magnificence, O Lord—the heaven, the earth, the moon, the sun—and the order and most beautiful decoration that is in them. Moreover, the providence...

^A which extends even to the lowliest of men proclaims thy inexplicable kindness.

Ver. 5. "What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him?" This does not discourse concerning creation, but concerning providence. For he did not say, "what thou hast fashioned," but "that thou art mindful of him, and visitest him." Elsewhere, he deplores the vileness of our nature more clearly: "For man, he says, is made like to vanity; his days pass by like a shadow." And again: "Man is like grass; his days will bloom like the flower of the field; for the spirit shall pass over it, and it shall not exist, and its place shall be known no more." And ten thousand other such things can be found in the divine Scriptures, which suppress human pride. Here, then, the prophetic ^B word admires, crying out: "What is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him?" For thou hast not only brought him into being, but thou hast also granted him well-being, and thou continuest to be mindful of him, and visitest him when he is in a bad state.

Ver. 6. "Thou hast humbled him a little lower than the angels." Here he mentions the sentence passed after the transgression. For he has been made lower than the angels by mortality.

"Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor." [Ver. 7.] "And thou hast set him over the works of thy hands." But our nature received these things after the incarnation ^C of God and our Savior. "For by grace you have been saved," as the divine Apostle says, "and he raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Vers. 8, 9. "Thou hast subjected all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, and moreover the cattle of the field; the birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, that pass through the paths of the seas." This also is an exact demonstration of thy kindness and power, that thou hast filled the vile nature of men with such wisdom that it rules not only over land animals, but also over birds, and swimming creatures, and those ^D of amphibious nature, and hunts the higher and deeper things with its inventions; and it holds in subjection those that traverse the air, and those that are covered by the waters. Thou hast therefore given the common dominion over these to all men. But God the Word, when he had assumed the first-fruits of our nature, and made it his own temple, and called it his own flesh, and had wrought that inexplicable union, [seated it] above every principality and power, and

above all rule and authority and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come; and he has put all things under his feet, not just sheep and all oxen, but every visible and invisible creature. And the divine Apostle is witness to these things, openly crying out: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor." And a little further up: "For, he says, you have put all things under his feet." And to the Corinthians he says: "But when he says that all things are put under him, it is clear that it excludes him who put all things under him." For only the uncreated nature is separated from this subjection as free. But that which received its being from that nature, whatever it may be—whether visible or invisible—is subject both as to God and as to man, to the Lord Christ. So much honor has the human nature of all things received from God. Therefore, he again placed the beginning of the psalm at the end:

VERS. 10. "O Lord our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!"

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM IX

VERS. 1. "To the end, concerning the hidden things of the Son, a psalm of David." Symmachus indeed interpreted it as a triumphal song concerning the death of the Son; but Aquila, as "to the victor of the youth of the Son," and Theodotion, "concerning the prime of the Son." Since, therefore, all of them agree among themselves ^C making mention of the Son, they teach us that this psalm also contains a prediction of the victory which the Lord Christ obtained against death. For by bravely and strenuously conquering sin, and having provided no opportunity for death to lay hold of him, he overturned its power. The Seventy called this mystery hidden, for it escaped all others, and the apostles themselves as well. The evangelist is witness to this matter. For when the Lord had often said to them: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified, and they shall kill him, and on the third day he shall rise," the evangelist added: "And this was hidden from their eyes." Therefore the blessed Paul also cries out: "We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden one, which none of the rulers of this age has known; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." And again: "The mystery hidden from the ages and from the generations"

^A It is fitting, therefore, that the Seventy have called the death of the Son hidden.

VERS. 2, 3. "I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will recount all thy wondrous works. I will be glad and exult in thee; I will sing to thy name, O Most High." It is the characteristic of perfect persons to dedicate their entire heart to God, and to consecrate their whole mind to Him. "For you shall love," He says, "the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind." ^B But he who divides his thoughts between Mammon and God, between Christ and gold, between the present and the future life, cannot truly say: "I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart." But the prophet, foreseeing future things with spiritual eyes, not only gives thanks with his whole heart, but also recounts all His wondrous works, making his hearers sharers in the singing of the hymns, and wishing only to sing of the Author of his blessings, and to have the occasion for his joy—not in riches and power, nor in health and physical well-being, but solely in the remembrance of God. "For I will be glad," he says, "and I will exult in thee." So also elsewhere: "I remembered God, and I was glad." And elsewhere: "Be glad in the Lord, and exult, O ye righteous." And again: "Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad."

VERS. 4. "When my enemies are turned backward, they shall be weakened and perish from thy presence." Symmachus interpreted these things as follows: "I will sing to thy name, O Most High, when my enemies are turned backward, and have stumbled and perished from thy presence." ^C For having seen my enemies overthrown and turned to flight, and then captured and having suffered utter destruction, I sing to Thee and continue to recount Thy benefits. The prophet, however, discusses these things on behalf of human nature, as having been delivered from the devil and having obtained liberty through divine grace. For this psalm, as some have supposed, was not spoken by the Savior Himself, but rather to Him, as to the Author of the benefit, by those who have been affected by the benefits, as the very words teach.

VERS. 5. "For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause." How? "Thou hast sat on the throne, who judgest righteousness." And what decree ^D did He deliver?

^A VERS. 6. "Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the ungodly man has perished; thou hast blotted out his name forever and unto the age of the age." For thou didst not endure, he says, to look on any longer while the nature of man was being wretchedly enslaved by the bitter tyrant, but like some judge sitting upon a high and terrible throne, thou didst inflict upon him such a punishment that his memory is obscured by eternal oblivion. Now these words, "Thou hast rebuked the nations, and the ungodly man has perished," have this meaning: through the holy apostles, and the preachers of the truth who came after them, thou didst offer divine dogmas to the nations; and when they received them and were delivered from error, the ungodly man perished, no longer having those who were led astray to worship him. Thus Barnabas and Paul rebuked the Lycaonians who tried to sacrifice to them, crying out: "Men, why are you doing this? We also are mortals, humans similar to you, turning you from these vain things to God." Thus the blessed Paul also rebuked the Galatians: "O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was depicted as crucified?" Thus also to the Corinthians: "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and such immorality as is not even named among the nations." Therefore, he rebuked the nations, and the ungodly man perished, and He blotted out his name to the age of the age. For the rites of impiety were utterly extinguished and consigned to eternal oblivion, so that none of the men of this time know the mysteries of impiety. ^B VERS. 7. "The enemy's swords have failed forever, and thou hast destroyed the cities." For he was stripped of his own weapons when he had no ministers of impiety; and those who had made themselves instruments of that impiety, these now changing sides, undertook war against him. And indeed, the cities, with the impiety that formerly held sway in them destroyed, undertook the building up of piety. For it was impossible for piety to be built unless impiety had first been destroyed. This is what the divine Apostle also said: "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, instructing us that, denying impiety and worldly desires, we should live soberly and righteously in this present age," and what follows. Thus each person does not rise with Christ before having received communication in His death. Therefore, the inspired Paul also says: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be ^C partakers of his resurrection." And again: "If we have been..."

dead with Christ, we shall also live with him." In the same way, by destroying the impiety of the enemies, he has, as it were, built up piety.

^A "Their memory has perished with a sound, [VER. 8] and the Lord remains for ever." He indeed, he says, has suffered a destruction manifest to all and very clear. For by "with a sound," he signifies this by a metaphor taken from houses which, shaken by an earthquake, collapse and produce a great noise. But our God and Lord, he says, possesses everlasting might and an immortal kingdom.

^B "He has prepared his throne in judgment, [VER. 9] and he himself will judge the world in justice; he will judge the peoples in uprightness." For not only in the present life has he shown his own power, but he will also show his terrible judgment in the one to come, judging all men and rendering to each according to his worth.

VER. 10. "And the Lord has become a refuge for the poor, a helper in due times, in tribulations." As to "in due times," Aquila indeed translated it as "at the time," but Symmachus as "opportunely." The discourse teaches that he wrought our salvation at the opportune time. For by "poor," he calls the nature of mankind, on account of the extreme poverty of iniquity. The blessed Paul teaches the appropriateness of this time: "When we were children, we were enslaved under the elements of the world; but when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under ^C the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

VER. 11. "And let those who know thy name hope in thee, for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord." For "let them hope," Aquila and Symmachus said "they shall be confident," using the indicative mood instead of the imperative. For when this salvation has been effected by thee, he says, those who have learned that thou art God and Creator will place their hope in thee.

VER. 12. "Sing to the Lord who dwells in Sion." The prophet said this according to the ancient opinion of the Jews. We have learned, however, from apostolic teaching that there is also a heavenly Sion. "For you have come," he says, "to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." ^D "Announce among the nations his pursuits." Symmachus called them "arts," but Aquila [defined them as...]

"exchanges." For in truth, a very great exchange of things has taken place. Those who were formerly enemies are now friends; those far off are near; those who were slaves are sons; those who were in ignorance have knowledge; those who were in darkness are in the light; the dead in the hope of life are now, though poor, the heirs of the kingdom of heaven; the Jews are afar off, and the nations are near; the sons are dogs, and the dogs are sons. And these are the beautiful contrivances of the Saviour. For immortality was bestowed through mortality, and life through death, glory through dishonour, blessing through cursing, and salvation through the cross. These are the contrivances, these are the pursuits of our God.

Ver. 13. "For he who seeks out their blood has remembered them; he has not forgotten the cry of the poor." He who sees all things, he says, and investigates exactly what occurs, saw the slaughters audaciously perpetrated by the devil through the deceit of men, and he has come to the aid of those who were treated injuriously. For this is the meaning of: "He has not forgotten the cry of the poor." For he does not mean by "cry" in this place their prayer or supplication, but the misery ^B that crept in through sin, on account of which there are also untimely deaths, and lamentations, and calamities.

Ver. 14. "Have mercy on me, O Lord; see my humiliation by my enemies." Such, he says, was the cry that came from the wailing and lamentations, as if it contained a certain petition concerning the evils that were besetting them.

Ver. 15. "You who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may recount all your praises." This, he says, is the end of goods: deliverance from corruption, and the abolition of death. Enjoying this, we shall sing of your benefits forever. "In the gates of the daughter of Sion we shall exult in your salvation." He calls the heavenly city Sion, as the blessed Paul has taught. He calls its gates the Churches everywhere in the world, through which those who believe ^C have entered into it. In these, therefore, he says, exulting and dancing at the hope of the resurrection, we shall praise the giver of these things. And because he mentioned the abolition of death, he rightly added:

Ver. 16, 17. "The nations have stuck fast in the destruction which they made; in this very snare which they hid, their foot has been caught. The Lord is known making judgments; the sinner has been caught in the works of his own hands." He addresses the "nations" here as ^D

^A a host of demons. For when they had devised the saving Cross, by this very means they fell from their tyranny; and the sinner was caught in the snare which they hid, and in the works of his own hands he was captured. But if one were to understand the preceding words as referring to the unbelieving nations who killed those illustrious victors, the apostles and martyrs, we shall likewise find in this the truth of the prophecy. For through the slaughter of those [holy ones], the proclamation of piety was confirmed; and when they died, they won more than they had hunted while alive. And the sinner was caught in the works of his own hands, and the Lord was known making judgments, that is to say, governing wisely and justly.

18, 19. "Let sinners be turned back into hell, all the nations that forget God. For the poor shall not be forgotten to the end; the patience of the poor shall not perish forever." These, he says, who have not believed the divine proclamation, shall be delivered to hell with all speed and handed over to death, without causing even the slightest harm to those whom they persecute ^B. "For the patience of the poor shall not perish forever." For, "he who perseveres to the end will be saved" (Matt. x, 22). And, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. v, 5). Then, seeing from afar with prophetic eyes those heralds of piety being trampled by the ungodly, he adds by way of a prayer:

20, 21. "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before thee. Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them, that the nations may know that they are men." One might justly ask the Jews: what lawgiver does the prophet here pray to be given? For Moses, that great man, who having long ago, and very long ago, been the minister of the divine legislation, had reached the end of his life; and "no other lawgiver has arisen" after him (Deut. xxxiv, 10). But if no other lawgiver is shown to have been appointed either for the Jews or for the nations, it remains to understand that the Lord Christ has appeared as the lawgiver of the nations, who in the holy Gospels cries out: "It was said to the ancients, You shall not kill: but I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother without cause shall be liable to judgment. It was said to the ancients, You shall not commit adultery: but I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. v, 21, 22, 27, 28). And all other things likewise. The prophet, therefore, entreats that the legislation of this one should be given to the nations. ^D

so that, having abandoned their beastly life, they may know that they are human. For the Prophet says, "Man, being in honor, did not understand; he was compared to the foolish cattle and was made like unto them" (Ps. XLVIII, 12, 20). Wherefore he says here as well: "Let the nations know that they are men."

PSALM X, ACCORDING TO THE HEBREWS.

^A Verses 1, 2. "Why, O Lord, have You stood far off? Do You overlook things in opportune times, in tribulations? While the impious one acts proudly, the poor man is set on fire; they are caught in the counsels which they plot." You seem, O Master, to stand from afar and not to behold human affairs, failing to bring help to those suffering injustice; but because of their despondency, those who suffer injustice are consumed, as if by a certain fire, seeing the arrogance of the unjust. Very aptly, however, he used the word "is set on fire" regarding the despondent, for the despondent are like those burning, and they send up their groaning through their mouth like a kind of smoke. ^B Damage, he says, will come to them from their despondency, since they employ improper thoughts and doubt Your providence. For this is what is signified by: "they are caught in the counsels which they plot." And teaching the cause, he added:

Verse 3. "For the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and the worker of iniquity is blessed." For although they commit infinite evils, they nevertheless reap praises from flatterers.

Verse 4. "The sinner provoked the Lord according to the abundance of his anger." Here one must make a pause, and then add: "he will not seek." As if to say, he provoked the Lord by saying, "He will not seek." For using fury and madness, as if no one were looking, he is carried into every iniquity, not thinking that the Judge inquires into what is being done. Then he expresses this more clearly:

Verse 5. "God is not before his eyes." [The unbeliever and sinner never places God before his eyes, but every day and at every time he defiles and pollutes his ways, not believing that there is a judgment.] What is the cause of this? "His ways are defiled at every time. Your judgments are removed from before his face." He utterly despises Your laws; he spends all his time in iniquity. [For the unbeliever diminishes and vilifies the commandments of God.] "He will gain dominion over all his enemies." Yet, even while doing such things, he prospers. Then he describes the excess of his pride.

^A Ver. 6. «For he has said in his heart: I shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil.» Symmachus interpreted this place more clearly: «I shall not be overthrown from generation to generation, nor shall I be in affliction.» And he uses this audacity, and thinks that he will suffer no evil, having traversed all the species of malice.

Ver. 7. «Whose mouth is full of cursing, and bitterness, and deceit: under his tongue are labor and sorrow.» For he steeps himself in deceits, and devises evils, and his life consists of plotting against the poor. [Profitless labor and fruitless study; apart from this, he does not move or stir [his] tongue.]

Ver. 8. «He sits in ambush with the rich in secret places, to kill the innocent.» And sitting in assemblies and in councils, he prepares certain snares and schemes against the guiltless. [Those who abound in impiety live in dissimulation; for they lie in wait for the guileless. Moreover, the rich also lie in wait for the poor. For Satan secretly sought to kill Christ; for God alone is innocent in hands and pure in heart.]

Ver. 9, 10. «His eyes look upon the poor: he lies in wait in secret, like a lion in his den. He lies in wait to seize the poor, while he draws him. He will humble him in his snare.» Just as a lion shifts his eye here and there, seeking a prey, so this man night and day devises schemes of rapine and avarice; but yet «he will bow down and fall.» [Just as the lion in his den always lies in wait to seize, so also the devil in the synagogue of the Jews, as if in a den, prepared snares for Christ, thinking him to be a mere man.] «When he has dominated the poor.» For when he has become superior to all, he shall nevertheless by no means escape the jaws of death, but shall be delivered to the grave just like other men. [The enemy thought that he would dominate even the apostles themselves, and indeed the martyrs; when, therefore, he thought he had mastered all, then he himself, having been crushed, fell; for the word «he will bow down» signifies crushing.]

Ver. 11. «For he has said in his heart: God has forgotten; he has turned away his face, so as not to see to the end.» [But the impious man performs all these things against the poor of God, deceiving himself and considering in his thoughts that there is no God who watches. He says, therefore, in his heart: God has forgotten; he has turned away his face, so as not to look to the end.] Nor will his impious words and thoughts that God does not exist profit him at all, but by the very things themselves he shall know that the Ruler of all watches over human affairs. By these impious words, the Prophet, in an extraordinary way...

^A being greatly troubled, again turns his discourse to prayer, saying:

Ver. 12. "Arise, O Lord my God, let thy hand be exalted; do not forget thy poor to the end." Since those who live in impiety and transgression, by what they do, say that God has forgotten, show them by experience that thou hast not forgotten, nor dost thou turn away thy face; but thou dost provide for those who are wronged. And having been more vehemently troubled by their blasphemies, he added:

Ver. 13. "For what reason has the impious provoked God? For he said in his heart, He will not require it." But even if he revolves these things a thousand times in his mind, thou nevertheless seest; for this is how it must be understood. [That is, "Whomever I may devour as a man, there is no one who requires it of me," saith the devil.] ^B

Ver. 14. "Thou seest, for thou considerest labor and anger, to deliver him into thy hands." For so also Symmachus distinguished: "Thou seest that thou beholdest labor and provocation." And Aquila: "Thou hast seen that thou lookest upon labor and provocation." Even if they say a thousand times, he says, those who live in impiety, that thou dost not look upon human affairs, we know that thou dost see and behold their transgressions, and exactest from them the deserved penalty. "For to thee the poor is left, thou hast been a helper to the orphan." For this reason I supplicate thee.

Ver. 15. "Break the arm of the sinner and of the malignant." But this shall be, if thou only wishest to search out his sin. For if this happens, he shall straightway be vanished, and he shall be delivered to total destruction; for this he indicated having said: "His sin shall be searched for, and it shall not be found," ^C because of the sin itself—and this Symmachus stated more clearly: "His improbity shall be searched for, so that he himself may not be found." For when that is searched for and shown, this one perishes.

Ver. 16. "The Lord shall be king for ever, and for ever and ever." For since the impious said, "He does not seek, nor does he look," justly the prophet ^D

^A teaches that he shall reign, and he shall not reign simply, but for ever and ever. And it is the property of a king to provide for his subjects. "Perish, ye nations, from his land," you who are accustomed to iniquity, and who have not accepted the proclamation of salvation.

Ver. 17. "Thou hast heard the desire of the poor, O Lord; thy ear has hearkened to the preparation of their heart." Symmachus called the "preparation" a "purpose." Thou knowest, he says, most exactly what the poor desire, and what purpose they have. Then he teaches this more clearly.

Ver. 18. "To judge the orphan and the humble." This, he says, is what each one of those who are wronged desires: "That man may no longer proceed to boast upon the earth." ^B For if those who use impiety and iniquity are punished, there will be the greatest utility for the rest of men, as they gaze upon these and dare not do similar things. And the prophet did not connect these things to the present psalm without reason; but first, wishing to show how human nature was formerly disposed, and that the only-begotten Word of God, having become man at a fitting time, applied medicines appropriate to the wounds. Furthermore, besides these things, he teaches that God, the God of all, will deliver those who have wished to receive no profit from this benefit to greater punishments ^C on the day of the second coming.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM X

1. "Unto the end, a Psalm of David." The most divine David spoke this psalm while he was being pursued by Saul, to those who were advising him to secure his salvation by flight. But it is appropriate for everyone who is wronged and possesses hope in God. And it is inscribed "Unto the end," in that it contains a prediction of the just judgment of God, and of the punishment to be inflicted upon the impious.

2. "In the Lord I put my trust: how will ye say to my soul, Migrate to the mountain like a sparrow?" Why, he says, ^D do you advise me to flee, and to wander about the mountains like a terrified sparrow, and to change my tents here and there, when I have my hope fixed in God, and on account of that do not fear my enemies?

3. "For behold, the sinners have bent the bow…"

[original-script column: see facsimile]

they have prepared their arrows in the quiver, ^A that they may shoot in the darkness at the upright of heart." Some have connected these words with the preceding verses, but what follows does not permit it. For he adds:

Ver. 4. "For what you have perfected, they have destroyed." From this we learn that the Prophet has turned his words toward God, using intercession and teaching that the enemies' bows and arrows are ready, and that their mark is, as it were, in some darkness and moonless night, to use ambushes and traps against us. For he called the hidden and secret nature of the plot "darkness," and this name signifies a night devoid of the moon. He called those "upright of heart," not laying claim to supreme virtue for himself, but knowing that he had never done anything to offend Saul but had always treated him with the greatest benevolence. ^B "For what you have perfected, they have destroyed." I did not seize the kingdom, he says, but I received the election to reign from your grace: they, however, are trying to destroy me, arming themselves against your decree.

"But what has the righteous one done?" [Vers. 5, 6.] "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord has his throne in heaven. His eyes look upon the earth, his eyelids search the sons of men. The Lord searches the righteous and the ungodly." They, therefore, use their wickedness against me; but you, the righteous judge, sitting upon the heavenly ^C thrones, and showing your own appearance in the temple on earth, look upon the whole earth, and the eyelids of your eyes alone suffice for you to understand all human affairs. You know exactly the deeds of both the unjust and the righteous, and you weigh out the recompenses for their works. It must be noted, moreover, that eyes, and eyelids, and thrones, and other things of this sort are spoken of in a more corporeal way, teaching men about divine things from human affairs, and applying the names of human members to divine actions. "He who loves iniquity hates his own soul." He who loves his soul hates iniquity: he who is well-disposed toward the former plots the destruction of his own soul; for he provokes the divine wrath, ^D concerning which the prophetic discourse speaks.

Ver. 7. "For he shall rain down snares upon sinners, fire and sulphur, and a spirit of storm." From the things which already happened at Sodom, he takes a description of punishments; for indeed, upon those cities, the Lord rained down from the Lord fire and sulphur from heaven. These things, therefore, he threatened in this place as well, not as though he were entirely to bring these things upon them, but [that] through these [he signifies] the various

marks, indicating the punishments ^A of those who have chosen iniquity. He calls the cup here the punishment. Thus also in another psalm: "A cup of pure wine in the hand of the Lord, full of mixture"; and shortly after: "All the sinners of the earth shall drink." This is the cup that the blessed Jeremiah was commanded to offer to the nations.

Vers. 8. "For the Lord is righteous, and has loved righteousness: His countenance has beheld sincerity." These things, he says, the Lord of all inflicts upon those who live unrighteously: for He is the fountain of righteousness, and as if using sincerity as a kind of rudder, He steers all things.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XI

Vers. 1. "Unto the end, for the eighth, A Psalm of David." This psalm also holds ^B the same sense. For he accuses those who used fraud, and while promising friendship, were betraying him to his enemy Saul, and reporting where he was living. It has the inscription "for the eighth," as if making mention of the righteous judgment of God, which the righteous judge will perform after the seventh, as we have said before. Therefore it is also inscribed "unto the end," as being a prophecy that is to be fulfilled in a later time.

Vers. 2. "Save me, O Lord, for the holy man has failed, for truths have been diminished from the sons of men." I entreat to enjoy salvation from thee, O Master. Because the matter of truth is in danger of being extinguished, since all, so to speak, are sick with disbelief toward one another. Then he relates more clearly the things that are dared.

Vers. 3. "Each one has spoken vain things to his neighbor." They feign friendship and perform the deeds of enemies. "Deceitful lips in a heart, and they have spoken evils in their heart." With deceit, he says, they converse with one another. And this man, ^C using his lips, transmits falsehoods into the heart of his neighbor, and the other in turn likewise sends back the same. Hence he forthwith threatens them with punishment.

Vers. 4. "The Lord shall destroy all deceitful lips, a tongue speaking great things." And what is the species of magnification? ^D

^A Vers. 5. "Who have said: We will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own: who is Lord over us?" They do not suffer, he says, to measure their words by nature, nor do they wish to look upon the divine laws, but using unbridled mouths, they utter with boldness whatever they wish, despising the divine patience and not even thinking that they are under the dominion of God. Such was Pharaoh, and therefore he said: "I know not the Lord." ^B Such was Rapsaces, who dared to say: "Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest, that He shall deliver Jerusalem out of my hand." Such was Nabuchodonosor, who terrified those noble youths, and did not shudder to say: "Who is the God who shall deliver you out of my hands?" But nevertheless, both those men paid the penalty for what they dared to do, and these [men], about whom the prophetic word discourses, shall pay the punishment they deserve; and signifying this, he added: Vers. 6. "For the misery of the needy, and the groaning of the poor, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety; I will deal confidently in him." For I will not despise them as they lament and groan because of the iniquity that is committed against them; but shaking off [the divine] patience like a certain sleep, I will make their salvation manifest and brilliant. For in this way Symmachus interpreted it: "I will set salvation manifest." And teaching that what is said will truly come to pass, he added: ^C Vers. 7. "The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the earth, purified seven times." He has used "sevenfold" for "manifold"; for this is customary in divine Scripture. Vers. 8. "Thou, O Lord, wilt save us, and keep us from this generation, and for ever." For being guarded by Thy grace, not only shall we escape the snares of the present generation, but we shall also become partakers of eternal salvation. Vers. 9. "The wicked walk in a circuit, because Thou hast magnified the sons of men." Those, therefore, who are accustomed to impiety, having abandoned the divine way, wander hither and thither, trying to surround and as it were to besiege the more gentle. ^D But Thou, appearing from the height of Thy nature, deemest those worthy of Thy care who are attacked by them in war, now indeed refreshing them in their afflictions, and a little later bestowing perfect salvation.

INTERPRETATION OF THE TWELFTH PSALM

V. 1. « Unto the end, a Psalm of David. » The great David brought forth this psalm also about himself, not fleeing from Saul, but being attacked by the war of Absalom. For the matters concerning Saul occurred before the sin, and for this reason were spoken with great confidence. But the matters concerning Absalom came to pass after the sin, and for that reason lamentation and groaning is mixed into the words. ^A « How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end? » He called the postponement of aid "forgetfulness": he beseeches Him, however, not to forget him unto the end, that is, not to be utterly stripped of divine providence. « How long dost thou turn thy face from me? » He said this using a metaphor taken from those who are angry, and who do not wish even to look upon those who have offended them. Therefore, a little later he says: « Look upon me, and have mercy on me, » understanding neither the face as a face, nor the turning away as a turning away, but again he fashions the discourse from human things.

V. 2. « How long shall I place counsels in my soul, sorrow in my heart by day and by night? » I continue to be worn out night and day, and turning and twisting my thoughts, sometimes I hope to obtain kindness, sometimes I doubt ^B whether I shall attain it; and at other times I despair of better hopes.

V. 3. « How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? » It is fitting for us also, who are attacked by the war of the devil, to say these things, and always to invoke divine aid. For even the most divine David grieved seeing his enemies to be more powerful. ^C

V. 4. « Look, and hear me, O Lord my God: enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death. » Surrounded by the night of misfortunes, I am held by sadness as if in some kind of sleep. But if the light of Thy assistance should appear, it will both scatter the night of misfortunes, and will dispel the sleep of sadness. If, however, Thou shouldst delay the aid, I fear lest the sleep pass into death, as the sadness becomes more powerful than the thoughts. ^D

V. 5. « Lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him. They that trouble me will rejoice when I have been moved. » Do not show me to be a laughingstock to my enemies: for this is the most grievous of all grievous things to me.

V. 6. « But I have hoped in Thy mercy. » And hence it is evident that he spoke this psalm after the sin. For not by justice, but by mercy...

trusts in His kindness, and says that he has placed all his hope in it: "My heart shall exult in Thy salvation." Now, indeed, I have my hopes in mercy; but once I have become a partaker of salvation, I shall also depart from sorrow, and with all the delight of my soul, I shall recite my hymns. For he added this: "I will sing to the Lord, who has dealt bountifully with me, and I will chant to the name of the Lord Most High." For even if I do not understand Thy ineffable nature, yet Thy name suffices me for worshiping, for singing, and for asking for every just aid. For I believe that I shall obtain success, even if I have invoked this alone. ^B

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XIII

VERS. 1. "Unto the end, a Psalm of David." This psalm likewise transmits us "unto the end," since it foretells things to come. The subject matter is as follows: Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, once infested Judea with war and captured many cities—some by treaty, others by siege. Hoping also to gain possession of Jerusalem, he sent Rabshakeh to Hezekiah, who was at that time ruling over the Jews, using blasphemous and impious words against God. "Tell Hezekiah," he said, "Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, that He will deliver Jerusalem from my hand. Where is the god of Hamath and Arpad? And where is the god of the city of Sepharvaim? Have they been able to deliver from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?" But he, indeed, said these things. Hezekiah, however, despising both his great army and the madness of his words, and using his own piety, implored the divine alliance and immediately enjoyed it. For the just Judge, loathing the former's impiety and embracing the latter's piety, destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians by means of one angel; the others he turned to flight and provided unexpected salvation for those under siege. "The fool has said in his heart: There is no God." ^C The opening of the psalm corresponds remarkably to the words of Sennacherib and Rabshakeh. For they, as if God were not the defender of Judea, said that Hezekiah was being deceived. Moreover, the habits of those who were campaigning with Sennacherib were corrupt—their life and conduct, that is, such that God could not find even one among them who cultivated virtue. For all had turned aside into depravity. But what then? Will they not recognize the power of God from the very event of the affair, those who consume His people as bread and devour them? Without a doubt, all shall recognize Him from His works ^D

from the events Him who is warring against them; and from there fear shall come upon them, from whence they did not expect. For where would they have thought that they would be destroyed by an angel? That God cares for the Jews? And they who mocked the counsel of the poor and humble-minded Hezekiah, who trusted in God rather than in arms, shall understand that he who suspends his hope upon God has acquired a hope that does not put to shame. For who else but God could both save those who remained in Zion and bring back the tribes already taken captive, so that there might be common joy for the twelve tribes, whose root and origin the patriarch Jacob was constituted, he who was also renamed Israel? So that from him these tribes also are named Jacob and Israel. And these things indeed relate to the history; let us investigate the more subtle meaning. ^B «They are corrupt and have become abominable in their practices, there is none who does good.» The foundation, he says, and the root of impiety is the corruption of life. For having surrendered themselves to licentiousness and a bestial life, they cast the memory of God out of their minds; and the subjects followed the insanity of their leader. ^C Some indeed wholly deny the Divine, and have not even declared that God exists, but that the name is empty and relates to no underlying essence. Others have proclaimed as gods those who are not, and have thrust aside Him who alone is. Others finally have by their words allowed that God exists, but have sought to prove that He does not take care of this earth and of things pertaining to men. All these, therefore, have fallen into the same error of atheism, thinking that God does not exist. But because they did not dare to profess this with their own mouth (for a certain instinct of nature and natural reasonings urged all of them to confess the knowledge of God), therefore with their lips they did not dare to deny God, but pretended to know not one, but numberless gods. Yet in their heart they were convincing themselves—being truly senseless and foolish—that there is no God in the universe. But the proof of their atheistic reasoning was what they did; for from the fruit the tree is known. Since, therefore, by their very deeds and the rest of their lifestyle they corrupted their whole soul together with the body, being given over to every kind of corruption, so that even males burned with insane love for males, and defiled themselves with every lawless act and unspeakable deed, and were abominable because of them; how then are they not clearly proven, even if they ascribe to themselves numberless gods in word, and even if they ^D have given themselves over to corruption, so that even males burned with insane love for males and stained themselves with any wicked crime whatever, and thus rendered themselves abominable. Is it not, therefore, sufficiently manifest that they, though they may have established numberless gods in words, and professedly declared themselves to know and confess God who governs all things,

but in their heart—that is, in their mind—not even one true notion concerning God existed? Such, indeed, was the life of all men before the coming of our Savior. ^A Yet he who denies God is most truly and naturally called a fool. For if the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, the fearlessness and rejection of Him must, conversely, be the opposite of wisdom.]

VERS. 2, 3. “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that understand, or seek after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Even while these men were doing and saying such things, He who dwells on high and looks upon the lowly did not disregard them; but, making a precise examination of their very thoughts, He saw them all alike held fast by impiety and the lawlessness of their life. This is similar to what was said to Abraham: “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied before me, and their sins are very great; I will go down then, and see whether they are consumed according to ^B their cry which comes to me.”

VERS. 4, 5. “Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon the Lord. There were they in great fear, where no fear was.” Since you who devour them, He says, have refused to acknowledge this, by the very outcome of events you shall learn that My people cannot be easily captured by you; nor shall you consume them as bread that is eaten, while you despise My providence. For this is what He says: “They have not called upon the Lord.” On account of this, you who speak boldly and fear no one will succumb to fear and trembling, and will turn to flight, ^C with no one chasing or pursuing you. For this is what is signified by: “There were they in great fear, where no fear was.” But that which says, “Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?” must be read with an inquisitive tone. And that: “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that understand, or seek after God,” He has framed in a human manner, showing that He sent down the punishment upon the Assyrians from heaven. For it is clear

as God of all things is present everywhere and holds ^A the circuit of the earth, and those dwelling upon it like locusts, according to the voice of the prophet.

^A Ver. 6. "For God is in the generation of the just: you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, because the Lord is his hope." The God of the universe does this for the sake of Hezekiah’s virtue and the generation piously shepherded by him; as though he were a worthless man, you impious ones despised him and mocked the firm hope which he placed in me. For he called this "counsel," instead of "purpose." He, however, grasped my hope just like a sacred anchor, and indeed he attained salvation as he had hoped. For he also added this:

^B Ver. 7. "Who shall give out of Sion the salvation of Israel?" This passage has a double prophecy. For it foretells not only the salvation which then befell the besieged, but also the salutary advent of our Savior that arose from there many times later: "When the Lord shall turn back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad." For because the ten tribes were already ^C enslaved, as were many cities of Judea, he implores that they too might attain the same salvation and receive freedom. Then, he says, the joy will be greater for the people who possess a double appellation. For they were called not only Jacob, but also Israel, having become heirs of the naming conferred by God upon their progenitor.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XIV

^D Ver. 1. "A Psalm for David." Since the preceding psalm foretold salvation to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and predicted the recall to those who had already become captives, he rightly brings in an admonition in this psalm, and proposes a life according to which it was fitting for those who were ordered under God and who were enjoying such help to live, and he fashions the discourse into a question and answer: "Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? Or who shall rest on thy holy mountain?" Who is worthy, O Master, to dwell in thy temple and to live in thy city?

What manner of person ought this one to be, and what practices must he employ? For he calls the tabernacle the temple of God, and the holy mountain Jerusalem. Having thus inquired, he receives the answer:

^A Ver. 2. "He that walketh blameless, and worketh righteousness." He says that such a man must be devoid of malice and free from every reproach, and that he must studiously pursue every virtue. For here he calls righteousness the perfect virtue; indeed, he proceeds to detail its forms.

Ver. 3. "He that speaketh truth in his heart; who hath not used deceit with his tongue, nor done evil to his neighbor." For it is necessary that he should have not only his tongue free from falsehood, but also his very mind, and that he should be entirely estranged from craft and duplicity, so that no harm may proceed from him to his neighbor. And very consistently he makes mention of the heart first, then the tongue, and finally of action; for speech is preceded by thought, and thought by the mind. "And hath not received a reproach against his neighbors." If, however, some should fall into some calamity, it is not fitting to mock and insult them, but rather to be a participant in their sorrow, according to the apostolic law, which commands to weep with those who weep.

^B Ver. 4. "In his sight the worker of evil is brought to nothing." If indeed someone should choose the life of the lawless, consider this man to be most miserable, even if he should be carried along by favorable winds and possess the height of prosperity. Since he rejected reproaches, he has deservedly added this, teaching the difference between good men and evil ones: "But he glorifieth them that fear the Lord." It is pious to observe those who value divine things highly, and to deem them worthy of all reverence and honor.

"He that sweareth to his neighbor and deceiveth not. [Ver. 5.] He that hath not given his money upon usury, and hath not taken rewards against the innocent." Truth must confirm oaths, and greed must not pollute wealth; usury is a form of this. Let the judge be most free from gifts, and let him deliver a sentence clear of bribes. For the acceptance of gifts corrupts justice. "He that doth these things shall not be moved for ever." The reward of this virtue is to enjoy the divine aid continually, to remain in many good things, and to expect eternal life. These things apply no less to us than to those of old, since besides the ancient law we have also received the new one, and have attained to greater grace.

Interpretation of Psalm XV

^D Ver. 1. "The inscription of the title: A Psalm of David." Here he foretells the passion and resurrection of the Master.

^A and the salvation of those who have believed in Him. The inscription, moreover, denotes victory alongside death. For a pillar is not placed only on tombs, but is also raised for the victorious, and it receives inscribed letters which teach the victory to those who do not know it. This, therefore, is what the inscription of the pillar signifies.

^B “Preserve me, O Lord, for I have hoped in Thee. [Verse 2.] I said to the Lord, Thou art my Lord.” This psalm is spoken in the person of the Savior, but according to His human nature: just as we find many such things in the holy Gospels. And such is that saying: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou [wilt].” And: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.” In the same way we find Him continually praying and bending His knees. That these things belong to human nature, and not to the unneeding divinity, the Apostle teaches clearly. For he speaks thus in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared; though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” ^C He was “made perfect,” however, not the God the Word who was perfect before the ages, but the form of a servant, which became impassible, incorruptible, and immortal. Therefore, he says that the Lord did these things in the days of His flesh, when He possessed a mortal body. All these things, therefore, are human, and not becoming to God. Thus, then, in this psalm also He asks to be preserved, and He is preserved by Himself. For He asks as a man, but grants the petition as God; with the good will and cooperation of His own Father, clearly. That saying, “I said to the Lord, Thou art my Lord,” agrees with the saying, “I am ascending to my God and your God.” “For Thou dost not need my goods.” For Thou art unneeding, and hast no need of human righteousness; but whatever good anyone might do, he himself is helped, while for Thee no profit comes from this. ^D Symmachus, however, interpreted this differently: “There is no good for me without Thee.” For he says, the whole abundance of good exists for me through Thy grace. Both of these interpretations have a pious sense. For we both receive good things from God, and He Himself does not need our just works; nevertheless, for the sake of our own benefit, He establishes this law, that we should do what is good.

^A Ver. 3. "To the saints who are in His earth, the Lord has made marvelous all His wills in them." He alludes here to the apostles and to those who have believed through them; to whom he says that the wonders of God have been made manifest, since, he says, they have fulfilled all My commandments.

Ver. 4. "Their infirmities were multiplied, afterwards they hastened." Many, he says, were the assaults that arose against them from every side—of mobs and demagogues, of kings and commanders. ^B Yet, having overcome all of them with the greatest speed, they finished the course and reached the goal. This is similar to the apostolic saying: "When I am weak, then am I strong." "I will not gather their assemblies of blood, nor will I remember their names with my lips." These, he says, who have risen up against them, I will hand over to punishments, and I will hide their memory in oblivion, so that even their very names will be altogether unknown.

Ver. 5. "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup." It is fitting to be reminded of what was said in the second Psalm. For there too, in a human manner, the Father was saying to Him: "Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession." And in the holy Gospels He Himself spoke to His own Father concerning the holy apostles: "Father, those whom Thou hast given Me were Thine, and Thou hast given them to Me; and none of them perished, except the son of perdition." ^C But just as He speaks there in a human manner, inviting [the Father] to receive [the kingdom], so elsewhere He shows that He Himself is the Master of all. "For My sheep," He says, "hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life." And again: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold, one shepherd." And in the present Psalm, however, He speaks in a human manner: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup," calling the kingdom of the nations an inheritance, but a cup, that which He endured for our sake. For thus He also said in the holy Gospels: "Father, if it be possible, let it pass from Me ^D

^A this cup." [As if to say more clearly: And of my Church, which is my inheritance, the Lord is the portion; and He Himself has also become the portion of my cup, that is, of my death.] "Thou art He who restorest my inheritance to me." He did not say: "who givest," but, "who restorest my inheritance." For since man, when first created, received authority over all things and possessed eternal life, but after the transgression fell away from both—from his dominion, that is, and from his life—the Lord, as man, pours out prayers on behalf of human nature, asking to recover the former life and dominion.

^B VER. 6. "The lines are fallen unto me in goodly places; yea, mine inheritance is goodly to me." For the sake of this inheritance, he says, I have embraced the present plots. For by "lines" he refers to plots; likewise, he says in another psalm: "The cords of the wicked have encompassed me, but I have not forgotten Thy law." He says, therefore, that for the sake of this most excellent inheritance, and for the sake of the salvation of men, I endure the present plots.

VER. 7. "I will bless the Lord who hath given me understanding; moreover, even until night my reins have chastened me." But nevertheless, being instructed by the Lord and using excellent thoughts, I shall be superior to the night of the passion. For he called the darkness of temptations "night." And let no one think it absurd ^C that Christ the Lord was instructed according to human nature, when he hears the divine Luke saying: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." And let him hear him again saying that, when He was terrified at the time of the passion and sweating drops of blood, an angel came and supported Him. If then He needed angelic assistance in order to show the nature of the form of a servant, much more was He instructed by the divinity that dwelt within Him. For since He was both man and God, He was instructed as man, but as God He was the source of wisdom.

VER. 8-11. "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, that He is at my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope. For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor wilt Thou suffer Thy holy one to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; Thou shalt fill me with joy with Thy countenance; there are delights in Thy right hand forever." It is superfluous for us to explain these things, since the divine Peter ^D long ago spoke the interpretation of these words, having received from the Father, and

from the Son, and from the Holy Spirit, the revelation. For he, ^A when preaching among the Jews, and bringing this testimony into the midst, spoke thus: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." And elsewhere: "For David, after he had served his own generation, died, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption." These things ought to be brought forth even to those who dare to interpret them wrongly, and indeed also to the Jews; for they contain a manifest refutation of the Jewish madness.

The Lord Christ, therefore, speaks even here after the manner of men, saying: I, ^B being continually strengthened by the divine nature, approach the saving passion and rejoice in the hope of the resurrection. For neither will my soul be left in hell, nor will my flesh undergo the corruption that is born of nature. For I shall attain a speedy resurrection and shall return to life, showing this way to all men: "Thou shall fill me with joy with thy countenance, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Since, when He was approaching the cross, He said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," He rightly made use of these words when He made mention of the resurrection, teaching that in place of that sadness there would be perpetual joy, and that He would be impassible, immutable, and immortal, even according to his human nature. ^C For as God, He was always this, and indeed it was easy for Him to bestow this upon the human nature even when it was first being fashioned in the womb. But He permitted the nature which He assumed to pass through afflictions, so that in this way, having overthrown the power of sin, He might quiet the tyranny of the devil, destroy the empire of death, and grant to all men the opportunity for resurrection. As man, therefore, He receives both incorruption and immortality.

This psalm refutes the madness of Arius, and of Eunomius, and of Apollinaris. For the former stated that God the Word assumed an inanimate body. Apollinaris, indeed, called the assumed body animate, ^D but deprived it of a rational soul. I know not from where he learned of these twin souls; for nowhere does divine Scripture teach this. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit, through the blessed David, concerning

[the soul ^A clearly, providing a manifest refutation against both heresies.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XVI

1. ^A « Prayer of David. » Persecuted by Saul, and suffering all kinds of traps, he calls upon the God of the universe for aid. « Hear, O Lord, my justice; attend to my supplication; hearken to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. » Here again, by justice he does not mean perfect virtue, but a just petition. The other interpreters did not add the pronoun; but Symmachus and Theodotion called God the "Lord of justice," while Aquila said: « Hear, O Lord, that which is just, » meaning "justly," and not "patiently." As for the words, « not from deceitful lips, » Symmachus expressed it thus: « Not through deceitful lips. » For, he says, I offer my supplication with pure lips, not thinking one thing and speaking another, but having a tongue that agrees with my mind.

2. « Let my judgment come forth from thy presence; let my eyes look upon equity. » I entreat thee to judge my case; for I know the justice of thy decree.

3, 4. « Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night; thou hast tried me by fire, and iniquity was not found in me. That my mouth may not speak the works of men. » ^C Here he teaches that, although he frequently had Saul in his power, he did not consent to kill him, but repaid the injustice with a benefit; wherefore he also mentions the night in which he did this, having saved Saul while he was sleeping at night, and having permitted no one to inflict the deadly blow upon him. ^D He also calls calamities "nights" figuratively, because of the darkness of despondency, just as, conversely, he calls the trial a "fiery examination." For « Thou hast tried me by fire, » he says, « and iniquity was not found in me. » For just as if thou didst test gold, thou didst find it unalloyed, O Master. For I was so far from harassing the enemy, that I even kept my tongue free from any abuse against him,

and the things which he continues to do, these I did not even endure to speak. ^A “Because of the words of thy lips I have kept the hard ways.” And this difficult and arduous task I have steadfastly performed, obeying thy commandments.

Vers. 5. “Perfect my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps may not be moved.” I beseech thee, therefore, that my purpose may not be turned aside; this will be [granted], if I obtain thy aid. For he called the impetuous activity of actions “goings.”

Vers. 6. “I have cried, for thou hast heard me, O God.” I have not used these words in vain, but having made trial of thy loving-kindness; for thou hast heard me when I called upon thee many times. “Incline thine ear to me, and hear my words.” [Vers. 7.] “Make thy mercies wonderful, thou who savest those who hope in thee.” Receive, then, my supplication; move many tongues to the singing of thy praises. For those who see that one who has been treated with injury has obtained mercy from thee, will sing of thy providence; for thou art accustomed to extend aid to those who have placed their hope in thee.

Vers. 8. “Keep me from those who resist thy right hand, O Lord, as the apple of the eye.” He called those who wage war against him “those who resist the right hand of God.” And quite rightly so; for he was anointed by God, and from him he had obtained the royal election. He says, therefore: “Those who wage war against me are opposing thy decree”; and he beseeches ^B to obtain such protection as the apple of the eye has obtained, which has as it were certain ramparts, the eyelids; and instead of stakes, the eyelashes. It has also the projection of the eyebrows, sending the rainfall of perspiration to the temples, and protecting the organ of sight from the damage that might arise from it. Such care, therefore, he prays to obtain.

“In the shadow of thy wings protect me. [Vers. 9.] From the face of the ungodly who have afflicted me.” Again, using another comparison, he asks that aid be brought to him. For he had heard the great Moses saying: “Spreading his wings, he took them up upon his own shoulders.” And ^C

the Lord also said to Jerusalem: “How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not?” ^A By wings, he designates the swift and prompt security of providence; ^B for the movement of wings is very easy.

“My enemies have encompassed my soul.” [Vers. 10.] “They have closed their fat; their mouth hath spoken pride.” Some have named “fat” prosperity and good health. But it seems to me that he calls benevolence and fraternal charity by this name; for the sequence of the words indicates this. For, he says, excluding all natural compassion, and allowing no place for thoughts of philanthropy, they speak high and inflated words, and set traps and ambushes of every kind for me.

Vers. 11. “Casting me out, they have now encompassed me; they have set their eyes to decline upon the earth.” They have driven me from my ancestral land, and they run here and there again, desiring to seize me; for they do not wish to look at what is straight, but have the eye of their mind turned obliquely. For so also Symmachus interpreted it: “They have set their eyes to decline upon the earth.” ^C

Vers. 12. “They have laid hold on me as a lion ready for the prey, and as a lion’s whelp dwelling in secret places.” Having cast away the rational element of their nature, they imitate wild beasts desirous of food, and watching for the prey, and rushing suddenly.

Vers. 13, 14. “Arise, O Lord, prevent them, and trip them up: deliver my soul from the ungodly: Thy sword from the enemies of Thy hand.” Indeed, O Master, ^D hinder their impulse by whatever obstacles Thou knowest; for He said “trip them up” by a metaphor taken from those who secretly cause those who are running to fall. But deliver me from their plotting, using Thy sword against them. For so Symmachus has said: “By Thy sword, O Lord, from a few of the earth.” For by Thy decree, he says, Thou sendest men to death. For Thou saidst:

ibis ^A. Dissipate them in their life, their belly is filled with your hidden things. But I, although it is easy for you to send men to death, yet I beseech you that they may be scattered while living, and that their evil conspiracy may be dissolved, and that they may partake of the punishments which are reserved by you. Thus, therefore, even in the great song of Moses, God himself says: "Are not these things hidden with me, and sealed up in my treasures? In the day of vengeance I will repay, in the time when their foot shall slip. They are satiated with sons, and have left the rest to their little ones." Symmachus expressed this passage in this way: They shall be satiated with sons, and shall leave their remains to their little ones. I know, he says, that you will inflict your just punishment not only upon them, but also upon their sons and descendants, who have imitated the malice of their ancestors. But this "they shall be satiated" is the same as saying that they will be partakers of evils to the point of satiety. ^B VERS. 15. But I in justice will appear in your sight, I shall be satiated when your glory appears to me, ^C that is, your Son: they indeed will pay such penalties; but I shall enjoy the good things which I have obtained by your just providence, having made the greatest trial of your beneficence.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XVII

VERS. 1. In the end: to the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song, in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and said. The inscription is clear, and needs no explanation. Moreover, the sense of this psalm is found in the history of the Kingdoms. But the philosophy of the Prophet is worthy of admiration. For although he had endured so many treacheries from Saul, he did not count him among his enemies; but separating him from his foes, he did not make mention of him as of an enemy. But "In the end" is placed there, because it contains a prophecy even concerning the calling of the nations, and the alienation of the Jews, which came to pass many ^D centuries later.

VERS. 2, 3. I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my firmament, and my refuge, and my deliverer; my God is my helper, and I will hope in him; my

shield, and the horn of my salvation, and my protector. ^A With love the prophet repays these benefits, for this is the only thing that he who has received a benefit can return to God. This also God established by law, beginning with that legislation. For he says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength." But following upon love is the care for the beloved. "For charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things; charity never fails." The blessed David promises that he will love God, not as though he had not yet perfectly accomplished this, but as one who cannot endure taking his fill of this love. Then he makes divine appellations for the benefits, and constructs a list of names corresponding to the number of good things he had received. And he calls God "strength," as one who had partaken of this; "firmament," as having become steady against his enemies; "refuge," as having God as a wall and firm rampart; "deliverer," as having been freed from his enemies by God; "helper," as having obtained aid from that source; "protector," as one who had become a champion in time of need; "horn of salvation" and "protector," as having been saved by His providence. He put "horn of salvation" as a metaphor taken from beasts, which ward off enemies with their horns. [Now "horn" is also said to mean the kingdom, as in this passage: "And he will give strength to our kings, and will exalt the horn of his Anointed," that is, the kingdom of his Anointed.] ^B

VERS. 4. "I will call upon the Lord with praises, and I shall be saved from my enemies." Here we are taught to offer thanks for the benefits conferred, and again to ask for what is needful. For by doing this, he says, I shall be superior to my enemies. Then he recounts the manifold assaults of his enemies. ^C

VERS. 5, 6. "The sorrows of death surrounded me, and the torrents of iniquity troubled me. The sorrows of hell surrounded me; the snares of death prevented me." He calls the deadly dangers "sorrows of death and hell." For just as the "sorrows" (pangs) occur to one who is about to give birth, so the greatest dangers approach death. He called the unjust and frequent attacks of the enemies "torrents of iniquity." For just as a torrent, receiving the gathering of waters from all sides, makes an attack suddenly, so also Saul and the other enemies used their incursions. ^D He called "snares of death" his ambushes; for just as the snare is to next page begins: unreasonable creatures, this to those who are being warred upon...

^A irrational creatures, so is the ambush to those who are being warred upon. For both are contrivances for clandestine harm.

VERS. 7. "In my tribulation I called upon the Lord, and I cried to my God: and my God heard my voice from his holy temple: and my cry before him shall enter into his ears." Beset by so many and such great calamities, and having despised ^B all human assistance, I invoked divine help, and I was not disappointed in my hope: for he admitted my prayers immediately. By the temple here, he does not mean the one made by hands, for it had not been built at that time, since Solomon built it afterwards, but he called heaven by this name.

VERS. 8, 9. "And the earth was moved and trembled: and the foundations of the mountains were troubled and were moved, because God was angry with them. Smoke went up in his wrath, and a fire ^C shall flame from his face: coals were kindled by it." He set all these things down, not as if they had altogether happened in this way, but as being understood in this way by faith. God has frequently done such things, not only when He is punishing, but also when He is terrifying men, casting terror by means of thunder, and crashes, and earthquakes, and fire. In the same way, when He wished to terrify Israel, He showed Mount Sinai smoking with fire. Through ^D these things, therefore, the present prophet also pointed out the punishment inflicted upon the enemies; but he also teaches other men not to commit similar deeds, so that they might not suffer similar things.

VERS. 10, 11, 12. "He bowed the heavens, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he ascended upon Cherubim, and he flew upon the wings of the winds. And he made darkness his secret place: his tabernacle round about him." Here again, in explaining the manifestation of God, he instills much fear in his hearers. Yet we do not know of any descent or ascent of the divine nature; for God is uncircumscribed, present everywhere, and containing all things. But through these things we are taught the difference of the dispensations. For sometimes He appears to men more mildly, but at other times more magnificently; and sometimes, wishing to inspire fear, He demonstrates certain stupendous and unusual things. This, therefore, "He bowed the heavens..."

and descended, so that we may understand that He showed His own manifestation. ^A And the darkness "under His feet" is the invisibility of His presence; furthermore, the ascent "upon the Cherubim" and the "flight of the winds" denote the speed of His apparition. And this, "He made darkness His secret place," ^B indicates the invisibility of His nature; but this, "His tabernacle round about Him," [signifies] the light which is around Him. Wherefore also the blessed Paul said: "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto" (I Tim. vi, 16).

"Dark water in the clouds of the air." [Vers. 13.] "At the brightness that was before Him the clouds passed." For just as, he says, the air, having become dark by the density of the clouds, sends forth the brightness of the lightning, ^C in the same way the God of the universe, while He Himself is invisible, both sends forth the rays of spiritual light, and punishes with penal fire those who are accustomed to malice; for He manifested this by adding: "Hail and coals of fire." [Vers. 14, 15.] "The Lord also thundered out of heaven, and the Highest gave His voice. He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; and He multiplied lightnings, and discomfited them." These things have often happened in our own time as well; ^D for in the wars that have occurred recently, He consumed with hail and fire the northern barbarians who had invaded us, and as for the Persians who recently attacked us with war from the East, and hoped to capture our cities without bloodshed, He ensnared them in these traps, and prevented them from advancing further; and some He consigned to death, while others He sent away as messengers of what had occurred.

[Vers. 16.] "And the fountains of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered, at Thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of Thy anger." And this too has happened in our own time in many regions; for the earth was rent by an earthquake, and an immense chasm appeared in high mountains, and water gushed forth in arids spots. But the Arbiter of the universe does these things, showing His punishing power to men, and teaching that He can in a moment of time bring about utter destruction; but using philanthropy, He postpones the punishment and awaits our repentance.

[Vers. 17.] "He sent from on high, and took me; He drew me out of many waters." And teaching what he calls "waters" figuratively, he added:

^A VERS. 18. "He will deliver me from my strong enemies, and from them that hate me: for they were too strong for me." He says that God clearly manifested His care for me to my enemies; for this is what He hints at by saying, "He sent from on high, and took me"; that is, He has persuaded everyone that He has provided me with aid from heaven. And He deemed me worthy of this providence, having seen the strength of my enemies. "For they were too strong for me," he says.

VERS. 19. "They prevented me in the day of my affliction." Here, it seems to me, he secretly hints at the revolt of Absalom, which occurred after the sin had been committed. For by "affliction," which Symmachus calls "misery," he means the weakness of the soul on account of which the sin had occurred.

"And the Lord became my stay. [Vers. 20.] And He brought me forth into a large place." God strengthened me when I was pushed and thrown down, and made the narrowness a spaciousness, having granted me life instead of the death that was expected from my enemies. This he also says in another psalm: "I was pushed and overturned that I, might fall, but the Lord took me up." "He will save me, because He delighted in me." I also hope that in the time to come He will deem me worthy of the same aid, and I shall be superior to my adversaries, even if they possess the greatest power.

^B VERS. 21, 23. "And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and according to the cleanness of my hands He will reward me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not acted wickedly against my God. For all His judgments are in my sight, and His justices I have not put away from me." He says that He does not take thought for me unjustly, but because He knows my purpose, and knows that it is my aim to keep all His commandments. For since he has shown that God had taken great care of him, he demonstrates the justice of this, exhorting his hearers to virtue and teaching that we cannot in any way obtain this unless we love God sincerely. For the prophet did not wish to display to everyone a list of his own righteous deeds, but to set forth how we might be able to obtain divine providence.

VERS. 24. "And I shall be spotless with Him." And how is it possible to accomplish this? "And I shall keep myself from my iniquity." By abstaining, he says, from those things which I have done wickedly, I shall be spotless for the time to come. Thus the great David makes mention of his own righteous deeds. ^D

being compelled ^A to do so, that he might show the justice of God’s providence; he did not choose to hide the transgression that had been committed.

VERS. 25. "And the Lord will recompense me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands before his eyes." Then indeed, he says, when I shall be entirely spotless, I shall obtain perfect blessings. For the God of all things watches over everything, and makes his recompenses according to our good works—for these he named the purity of hands—and according to the pious purpose of the heart. Then he teaches this same thing more clearly.

VERS. 26, 27. "With the holy thou wilt be holy, and with an innocent man thou wilt be innocent. And with the elect thou wilt be elect, and with the perverse thou wilt be perverse." You adapt your recompenses, O Lord, ^B to the minds of men. For to the holy you provide things worthy of holiness; and to the innocent, and those delivered from sin, you provide what is suitable; and to the elect and perfect, you provide perfect things; but for those who have turned aside from the straight path and are walking in the contrary direction, you prepare a fitting end to their way. How, and in what manner?

VERS. 28. "For thou wilt save the humble people, and wilt humble the eyes of the proud." For those who either possess a modest mind or who have been humbled by some adversity, you deem worthy of salvation and render conspicuous; but those who raise their eyebrows and are enslaved to arrogance, you force to look down to the earth and to consider the ^C lowliness of their nature.

VERS. 29. "For thou wilt light my lamp, O Lord, my God, thou wilt light my darkness." Because he often called afflictions darkness, he fittingly calls their removal light. I enjoy this providence, he says, from you; since the lamp which has received the true light—for thus he calls the form of a servant—is both mine, and shall be fashioned from my loins. This he also says in another psalm: "There will I make a horn to spring up to David; I have prepared a lamp for my Christ."

VERS. 30. "For by thee I shall be rescued from a trial, and with my God I will leap over a wall." Every craftiness and every ambush—for he calls ambush a trial and ^D a wall—by your grace I shall escape.

VERS. 31. "My God, his way is blameless." You direct all things justly, and for this reason I am confident. "The words of the Lord are tried by fire." This...

I have learned from your truthful sayings. For "tested by fire," as we have said before, denotes that which is approved and removed from all falsehood. "He is a protector to all who hope in him." And not I alone, but all who place the same hope in him will enjoy the same aid. ^A

VERS. 32. "For who is God, besides our Lord, or who is God, besides our God?" For there is no other God, that one god might grant requests to this person, and another to that one.

VERS. 33. "God, who girds me with strength, and has made my way blameless." Strengthened by his power, I too hasten to walk the straight path.

VERS. 34. "Who perfects my feet like a deer's, and sets me upon high places." Just as it is given by nature to deer to trample venomous beasts, so he has rendered me superior and loftier than my enemies. ^B

VERS. 35. "Who trains my hands for war." For by stretching these out in prayer, I overcome my enemies. "And he has set my arms like a bronze bow." Because of this, he prepared my arms to be like a bronze and unbreakable bow for releasing arrows against my enemies. ^C

VERS. 36. "And you have given me the protection of my salvation, and your right hand has upheld me, and your discipline has corrected me to the end, and your discipline itself shall teach me." And you chastised him who had sinned, and uprighted him who had fallen, and you taught how great an evil is sin, and you deemed him worthy of salvation. ^D

VERS. 37. "You have broadened my steps beneath me, and my footsteps have not weakened." In the narrowness of affliction you have given the breadth of consolation; refreshed by which, I have endured to this day. For instead of "broadened," Symmachus has said "enlarged."

^A Verses 38, 39. "I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them; and I will not turn back until they fail. I will crush them, and they shall not be able to stand; they shall fall under my feet." By your providence I am thus strengthened, and I hope to overcome all my adversaries; nor will I turn back until I have made them subject to me again; for this is what he signaled by saying, "They shall fall under my feet."

Verse 40. "And you girded me with strength for the battle; you brought into subjection under me all those who rose up against me." You have granted me courage and strength, while you fettered the onslaught of my enemies. And this came to pass both in the case of Goliath and in the case of Saul. For the former, wasting the time for action on foolish words, he brought down with a sling; the latter, held fast by sleep, he easily avoided. In the same way he also escaped the plots of the Gittites. ^B

Verse 41. "And you have given me the backs of my enemies." That is, you have turned them to flight, for it is characteristic of those fleeing to turn their backs. "And you have utterly destroyed those who hated me," namely, Saul, Ahithophel, Absalom, and countless others.

Verse 42. "They cried out, and there was no one to save them; to the Lord, and he did not hear them." For neither did foreign nations, calling upon their own gods for help, enjoy their providence; nor did Saul, and Absalom, and Shimei, and the rest of the enemies of the Israelites, have God as their ally. ^C

Verse 43. "And I will grind them as dust before the wind; as the mud of the streets I will trample them." They shall become completely empty and invisible, with your grace assisting me.

Verse 44. "You will deliver me from the contradictions of the people." From this he prophesies the madness of the Jews against the Savior, and the salvation of the Gentiles. And he exhorts us to have no communion with that contradiction of theirs. "You will set me as the head of the Gentiles." And yet we do not know of David having reigned over the Gentiles. Therefore, the prophecy is fulfilled through him who was born of him according to the flesh. For he who was born of David according to the flesh, and who is himself named David according to the divine Ezekiel—I mean the Lord Christ—has reigned over all the Gentiles, always as God ruling over all things, but after the incarnation, having also received the voluntary servitude of those who believe in him. ^D

^A

VERS. 45. "A people whom I have not known have served me; by the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me." He speaks these things in the person of the Lord Christ. He says, then, that those who had never received either a lawgiver or my prophet in times past, being called, obeyed with great readiness, and loved my lordship.

VERS. 46. "Strange children have lied to me; strange children have grown old, and have limped away from their paths." Those who were called children, and were inscribed in the order of children, rendered themselves strangers, having become ungrateful for the benefits received, and having limped regarding the faith, and having abandoned the pious path. Thus also through Jeremiah the prophet, God says: "How have you been turned for me into bitterness, O alien vine? And I indeed planted you a fruitful vine, all true." The one part shows his own cultivation, while the other rebukes their ingratitude. But as to the phrase, "They have grown old and limped," Symmachus said: "They shall be dishonored and put to shame." And the end confirms the prophecy; for they are full of dishonor, and are seen as hateful to all. ^B

VERS. 47. "The Lord lives, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted." Having made mention of the opposition of the Jews, he alludes to the Passion, and the Resurrection after the Passion. And because the Jews are accustomed to call the crucified one dead, he himself cries out: "The Lord lives, and blessed be my God, and let the God of my salvation be exalted." For he not only lives, but has also returned into the heavens, and brings salvation to those who desire it. ^C

VERS. 48, 49. "God, who gives vengeance to me, and subdues peoples under me, my deliverer from my angry enemies. You shall exalt me above those who rise up against me; from the unjust man you shall deliver me." Therefore, You who, after long periods of time, are about to accomplish these things, shall deliver me from those who unjustly persecute me in war, and the people whom You have subjected to me, You shall render obedient.

VERS. 50. "Therefore I will confess to You among the Gentiles, O Lord, and I will sing to Your name." For through the Gentiles, who will be called a little later, I will hymn You in all the churches throughout the whole world. But it is permitted to see the fulfillment of this prophecy. For in all cities, and villages, and fields, and lands, and on mountains and hills, and on the earth, and in the sea, and in the habitable world, and in the wilderness, the divine David hymns God through pious mouths. ^D

^A VERS. 51. "Magnifying the salvations of the king, and showing mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his seed unto the age." For You, having anointed me as king, do not only save me, but also make me conspicuous; and by this providence You will deem worthy not only me, but also my children; and You will keep this splendor for my seed unto the age. Now, if this is understood according to the Jews, it convicts the prophecy of falsehood. For the Davidic race remained in the kingdom until the captivity; but after the return from there, Zorobabel alone reigned, and he left no heirs to the principality. If therefore the prophecy is true—as indeed it is true, for the Spirit of truth revealed it—it remains for us to understand the seed of David, which possesses eternal splendor, as the Lord Christ, born of David according to the flesh, who has an eternal kingdom and glory; and who, as Creator and God, possessed this before the ages, but received it again as man in the last days. ^B Whence also God of all things said through the divine Ezekiel: "I will give them David their king." And again: "And David the king in the midst of them." Yet He named David himself, as having sprouted from the loins of David according to the flesh. This also the blessed Isaiah proclaims: "There shall be the root of Jesse, and he who shall rise up to rule over the Gentiles, in him shall the Gentiles hope." Taught by these things, the blessed Matthew began his evangelical history thus: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XVIII

^C VERS. 1. "Unto the end, a Psalm of David." We learn of three kinds of divine laws from the blessed Paul. For he said that one was given to men without letters, through creation and nature: "For the invisible things of Him," he says, "from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, are clearly seen." And again: "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves." He says that another was provided in letters through the great Moses: "For because of transgressions," he says, "the law was added, ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." ^D But he also knows a third, placed after these, which is that of grace: "For the law of the Spirit of life," he says, "hath made me free from the law of sin and death." In agreement with these, the blessed David also in this Psalm instructs men and according to

the same order. ^A First, he proclaims the Creator in creation; then, the law given through Moses, which imparts a greater knowledge of the Creator to those who wish to attend to it; after this, the law of grace, which cleanses souls perfectly and delivers them from the present corruption. For this reason, the Psalm also sends us forward to the end, proclaiming the new covenant at the end.

^B VERS. 2. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaimeth the work of his hands." It is sufficient, he says, for even the mere visible beauty and magnitude of the heavens to proclaim the power of the Creator; for if anyone who looks upon a grand and beautiful building admires the architect, and he who sees a ship constructed well and elegantly considers the shipwright, and with the contemplation of the image the memory of the painter immediately enters in: how much more does the visible fabric of the world lead those who see it to the Creator? He makes mention of heaven and the firmament according to the teaching of the great Moses. For that one said first that heaven was created, then he recounts also the making of the firmament, which he in turn called the heaven of heavens. ^C Let the plural name of "heavens," however, offend no one. For it is the custom of Scripture to name them sometimes singularly, and sometimes in the plural number. And indeed the blessed David names it singularly: "For the heaven," he says, "of heaven is the Lord's." And again: "Who covereth the heaven with clouds." But again, the same person says in the plural: "Praise him, ye heavens of heavens." And "The heaven of heaven is the Lord's" has the same meaning. For the visible heaven is prepared as a kind of roof for the earth; but that which is higher is to this heaven what this one is to the earth. For this reason, therefore, it is called the heaven of heaven, and they are named the heavens of heavens. We see also among us cities that have a double name. For we say both Tarsus and Tarsi, being one city; and Thebe and Thebes, the same city. Thus also ^D the ancients called Mycena and Mycenae, understanding one city named in the plural number. These things, however, have not been said by me rashly, but for the sake of those who endeavor to count many heavens.

VERS. 3. "Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." For indeed the ordered succession of night and day reveals to those who consider them the boundaries set by the Creator.

^A For day and night, as they increase and decrease for the benefit of mankind, and borrow time from one another, and again pay back the debt to each other, demonstrate the providence that oversees them. But the words, "There is no speech, and there are no words, where their voice is not heard; their sound is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world," ^B teach that the things that are seen are not animate; but it is a sort of personification, teaching all men to be guided from the things that are seen to the invisible God, and to offer the melody of hymns to Him.

4, 5. "There is no speech, and there are no words, where their voice is not heard. Their sound is gone out into all the earth; and their words to the ends of the world." Symmachus interpreted this more clearly, saying: "And night unto night declareth knowledge; not by speeches, nor by words, where their voices are not heard, but their sound hath gone out into all the earth;" or, according to Aquila, "their rule." For neither by uttering discourses nor words, but by demonstrating the rule and their own proper order, they invite the whole earth and sea to sing divine hymns.

6, 7. "He hath set His tabernacle in the sun; and he is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. He shall rejoice as a giant to run his way. His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the end of heaven." ^C The three interpreters explained these things more clearly. "He hath set His tabernacle in the sun," he says, "in them," that is, in the heavens. For so also the great Moses taught: "And God made the two great lights, and set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth." The divine David said this very thing, that He set the tabernacle for the sun in the heavens, so that he might be borne upon them, and in beauty imitate a bridegroom coming out of his chamber with great comeliness, but in swiftness, a certain giant running with great force, with nothing standing in his way, or attempting to hinder his forward progress; so he also rises from the east, and in one day's journey traverses the heaven, [and] reaching the west, imparts his own heat to every living creature. Nor is there any who can hide himself from the heat

of it. Here he mentions 17 heat instead of light, showing the greater efficacy of that which is made by hand; for that it is possible to enjoy the heat even from afar. For light that is made by hand cannot impart this unless one approaches it. But the sun, sending forth rays even from a great distance, imparts heat along with light. This is sufficient to show men the Creator, but nevertheless, he also granted the law as an aid, capable of turning back those who are wandering.

Ver. 8-11. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones. The ^B justifications of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is lightsome, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves. More to be desired than gold and many precious stones; and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. He calls the Mosaic law the law, and testimony, and ^C justifications, and commandment, and judgments; for so the law itself also names itself. For sometimes it says: “These are the justifications and the judgments which the Lord gave to Moses.” And elsewhere: “Thou shalt keep the law of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt keep his commandments.” And it is called “law,” as regulating and ordering the best commonwealth. “Testimony,” as testifying against those who sin and showing the punishment for transgression. “Justifications,” as teaching what is just and forbidding what is unjust, and declaring those who do right to be just. “Commandment,” as enjoining what must be done and commanding after the manner of a master. “Judgments,” as showing forth divine sentences and teaching what good things he who keeps them will obtain, and to what punishments he who transgresses will be delivered. ^D He says, therefore, that the law of God, being free from every blemish, converts the souls of men and renders them spotless. But the testimony, by striking fear into the imperfect and the infantile, gives them wisdom. The justifications, moreover, rejoice the heart, by showing the cause of justification. The commandment illuminates the visual faculty of the mind, teaching how the God of all is to be worshipped. Truly, piety and the fear of God provide the keeping of these, and are the cause of our enjoying eternal blessings. Worthy, therefore,

^A he called the fear of God pure, that is to say, free from reproach, as human fear is blameworthy and carries with it the name of cowardice. He called the judgments true and justified, inasmuch as they bring ^B just honors and punishments to men. He says that these things are more precious than gold and precious stones, and sweeter than honey; not to all men, however, but to those who are truly men, whose life is not compared to irrational beasts, according to the voice of the Prophet himself.

VERS. 12. "For thy servant keepeth them." Explain more clearly for what profit? "In keeping them there is great reward." A very great reward, he says, is proposed to those who choose to keep these. And because he said that he keeps the judgments of God, calling to mind human frailty, and considering the exceeding weight of the word, he immediately added:

VERS. 13. "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults." For even if I should wish with great zeal to keep the commandments of God, I am dragged down to many things against my will by natural frailty; and some things I transgress in ignorance, others I am overcome by falling into circumstances. Even if I flee from the testimony of my actions, my thoughts pollute me with every filth. For this reason I entreat Thee, who art able to cleanse me, and I cry: "Cleanse thou me from secret faults."

VERS. 14. "And spare thy servant from aliens." For it is not only my own thoughts that surround me, but the band of demons also besieges me; and the former plot from without, while the latter conspire from within. Fittingly, he called them "aliens," as enemies and foes, and those who utterly deny familiarity with us. ^C

"If they do not have dominion over me, then I shall be blameless; and I shall be cleansed from a great sin." [VERS. 15] "And the words of my mouth shall be for good pleasure, and the meditation of my heart shall be in thy sight always." I desire to enjoy Thy help, so that, escaping their snares, I may present my soul to Thee entirely free from every stain; and having received from Thee forgiveness for past transgressions, I may offer to Thee an eternal song of hymns, meditating unceasingly upon Thy oracles. Through these things, however, he predicts the New Testament, and the grace of baptism, and the ^D

gift, from which believers receive the forgiveness of past sins, and, having sufficient help for the future, become superior to insurgent passions and evil, ensnaring spirits. ^A To these he adds: "Lord my helper, and my redeemer." He placed a peroration well-adapted to the psalm. For he called the Lord by that name as Creator and Maker, but "Redeemer" as one who, through the regeneration of holy baptism, both liberates from former ruin and redeems from the servitude of demons, while also bestowing an incorruptible and immortal nature. This psalm contains these elements and those mentioned before: the first part teaches the fabric and providence of the world; the middle part, the law; the last part, grace. "For the offenses," he says, "who will understand? And from my secret sins cleanse me, O Lord, and spare thy servant from those of others," and, "Lord my helper, and my redeemer." ^B These goods are supplied to us through the New Testament.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XIX

VERS. 1. "Unto the end, a psalm of David." When Sennacherib had once invaded Judea in war, and had sent a numerous army for the siege of Jerusalem, of which Rapsaces was the commander, and had sent letters to Hezekiah full of all blasphemy and impiety, the blessed Hezekiah, a man adorned with all piety, having received this letter and having called upon the prophet Isaiah for assistance, ran into the divine temple, ^C and unfolded the letter, showing it to God, demonstrating the impiety of the enemies, and beseeching Him to show His own power to the Assyrians on account of the blasphemies that had been uttered. Blessed David foretells these things many ages before, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and dictates the present psalm, wherein he shows the people praying along with the king, and beseeching that his prayers might be acceptable to God.

VERS. 2, 3. "The Lord hear thee in the day of tribulation; the name of the God of Jacob protect thee. May he send thee help from the sanctuary, and aid thee from Sion." ^D For since the wondrous Hezekiah ran to the divine temple holding the letter full of blasphemy, the people pray that his petitions be accepted and that he may receive aid from thence. For here he called the temple "the sanctuary."

IV Reg. xix.

^A VERSE 4. "May the Lord remember all your sacrifices, and may your burnt offering be made fat." Since he also diligently attended to divine worship in times of peace, it is with good reason that they say these things about him, beseeching the God of all to look upon the king's piety and to be mindful of the many and varied offerings, and to grant peace again, so that he might appease Him with more sacrifices. For "may your burnt offering be made fat," as Symmachus interpreted, means "may He make your offering more abundant"; that is, by granting the security of peace, may He provide you the opportunity to appease Him with more sacrifices.

VERSE 5. "May the Lord grant you according to your heart, and fulfill all your counsel." We beseech the righteous Judge, he says, to grant a recompense appropriate to the purity of your soul.

VERSES 6, 7. "We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of the Lord our God we shall be magnified. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord has saved His Christ; He will hear him from His holy heaven." For if you receive the things you have petitioned for, we too shall be partakers of the joy, having become ^B renowned and conspicuous through the power of God. By these things, he says, we have learned from the events themselves that our king, having trusted in God, will obtain salvation; and by offering prayers in the lower temple, he receives help from above. For since he showed him praying below, he shows him being helped from above: "In powers is the salvation of His right hand." For the power of His right hand, which He stretches out to those who approach Him, is the greatest aid to salvation. Here again, he speaks of the "right hand" in a human manner, thus naming the divine ^C activity.

VERSES 8, 9. "Some in chariots, and some in horses; but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. They were bound and fell, but we have arisen and were set upright." Those men, he says, trusting in horses and chariots, reaped no benefit from them; instead, they were invisibly tripped up and fell. But we, having called upon the divine alliance, have obviously obtained salvation, and like those who have fallen through the terror of the enemy, we have appeared superior to our foes.

VERSE 10. ^D "O Lord, save the king, and hear us in the day when we call upon you." Having therefore enjoyed such assistance, we beseech you, O Master, that both we ourselves and our king may be participants of this help perpetually.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XX

^A VERSE 1. "Unto the end, a psalm of David." After that illustrious and splendid victory, and the invisible destruction of the Assyrians, the blessed Hezekiah fell into sickness. And when he learned through the prophet Isaiah that he would die, he appeased God with fervent tears, and was both freed from the disease and received a promise of fifteen years of life. The divine David, therefore, wrote this psalm acting as the person of the people, praising God for the king's restored health.

VERSES 2, 3. "O Lord, in thy strength the king shall rejoice, and in thy salvation he shall exult exceedingly. Thou hast given him the desire of his heart, and hast not deprived him of the will of his lips." Since Thou art powerful, he says, and benevolent, Thou hast graciously accepted the prayer of our king, and hast granted him all his petitions; nay rather, Thou hast bestowed upon him gifts greater than his petitions. For this is what he adds.

VERSE 4. "For Thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness; Thou hast set upon his head a crown of precious stone." For Thou didst grant him the kingdom without his asking; and out of Thy own liberality, Thou didst adorn his head with the royal diadem.

VERSE 5. "He asked life of Thee, and Thou gavest him length of days for ever and ever." He received, he says, whatever he asked for, and obtained the life which he desired. For "for ever and ever" signifies the future life [prepared for the saints], which possesses immortality.

VERSE 6. "His glory is great in Thy salvation; glory and great magnificence shalt Thou lay upon him." For not only didst Thou grant him salvation, but ^B Thou didst also render him illustrious and famous, both by the miraculous destruction of his enemies, and because the sun ran in a reversed order. And this became so well known over all the earth and sea, that the king of the Babylonians sent gifts to him, to whom they had formerly sent gifts to the Assyrians. For he suspected that the sun had done this, or had suffered this, for Hezekiah's sake, using the slaughter of the Assyrians as evidence.

VERSE 7. "For Thou shalt grant him blessing for ever and ever: Thou shalt make him joyful in gladness with Thy countenance." And in all generations, he says, he shall be famous and widely celebrated, having obtained such

confidence before Thee. For what Symmachus has rendered as, ^A "with Thy countenance," is rendered by others as, "before Thy countenance." He shall have gladness, therefore, he says, and continual joy, obtaining Thy countenance—that is, Thy benevolence. The cause of these things for him has been his placing his hope in Thee. For he adds this:

Ver. 8. "For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved." He is superior to those who make war, being a partaker of Thy grace; and he partakes of this by trusting in no man, but in Thine hope.

Ver. 9. "Thy hand shall be found by all Thy enemies: Thy right hand shall find all those who hate Thee." Symmachus has said this more clearly: ^B "Thy hand shall lay hold upon all Thy enemies; Thy right hand shall find all those who hate Thee." And the things said follow in sequence. For not in vain, he says, has the king trusted in Thine hope; but knowing that Thy right hand will be superior to all enemies, and will be able to lay hold upon the swiftest and to overthrow the most powerful men. By "right hand" and "hand," he has named again the divine power.

Ver. 10, 11. "For Thou shalt make them as a furnace of fire in the time of Thy countenance. The Lord shall trouble them in His anger, and Fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt Thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from the children of men." ^C It is very easy for Thee, he says, to set them ablaze like a furnace and consume them like fuel susceptible to fire, and not them only, but also their descendants; for both seed and fruit he has called these, so that all their memory might be wiped out. But "in the time of Thy countenance" is the same as "in the time of Thine anger," when Thou shalt will this to happen and shalt judge the time of vengeance to be opportune.

Ver. 12. "For they turned aside evils upon Thee." Since they moved the tongue against Thee and used blasphemous words. "They imagined counsels which they shall not be able to establish." However, some of the copies have "to stand." But Symmachus has said it thus: ^D "They imagined impossible thoughts." He predicts hereby the blas-

[alt-version omitted]

blasphemous cries of the Assyrian: "Let not your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, that He will deliver Jerusalem from my hand." Concerning these words, he says that they meditated thoughts that could not come to pass; or that they imagined plans which could not stand, hoping that, just as they would prevail over idols, so they would also prevail over the true God.

^A Ver. 15. "For you shall set them as a back." But Symmachus has interpreted it thus: "For you shall make them turn their backs." For those who escaped the stroke of the angel, you will turn to flight, and will compel them to give their backs, so that they may go away and report the things that have happened. The prophet set these things forth in a prophetic manner, as if they had not yet happened. "In your remains you shall prepare their face." Some have said this is a hyperbaton, and have understood it thus: "In your remains you shall prepare your face," instead of saying: "And upon those who have been left behind, and those who have fled, you will inflict punishment." It is possible, however, by using the same structure, to apply the same meaning: "In your remains you shall prepare their face." For it will be entire and easy for you to inflict the punishments that are remaining for you upon them, and those who are now fleeing, and who have turned their backs, and who consider that they have escaped death, you will be able to turn back, and to station them, and to punish them.

^B Ver. 14. "Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength; we will sing and chant your powers." Not that God is lowly and is exalted, nor that He receives what He does not have, but He shows what He has. Rightly, therefore, he says, "Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength." For your height is demonstrated through the ineffable power, which we shall continue to sing and hymn you with, recounting your miraculous works.

Interpretation of Psalm XXI

^C Ver. 1. "Unto the end. For the morning aid, a psalm of David." This psalm predicts the passion of the Lord Christ, and the resurrection, and the calling of the nations, and the salvation of the whole world. The inscription itself demonstrates this. [For it is inscribed "unto the end" for the morning aid; for "unto the end" is placed so that you might understand the dispensation done by Him at the end of the ages.] For the morning aid ^D

^A is the advent of our Savior, which shone like the dawn upon those sitting in darkness. For the Lord is the true light. And the light, arising, creates the dawn, by the appearance of which darkness is dispelled, [and the diabolical mist. For iniquity is often understood in Scripture under the image of darkness. But there are some who say the "morning reception" is the time of the Savior’s resurrection.] To Him, therefore, this psalm is spoken. For it is better to believe the holy apostles, and the Savior Himself who clearly used the beginning of this psalm, than those who attempt to misinterpret it.

2. « O God, my God, look upon me; why have you forsaken me? » Nailed to the wood of the cross, the Lord ^B uttered this cry, using the very Hebrew words, *Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?* How, then, is it possible to reject the testimony of the very truth? He says He was "forsaken," as one who, though He had committed no sin, was nevertheless subject to death, which had gained power against sinners. He calls it "abandonment," therefore, not a separation of the united Godhead, as some have suspected, but a permission granted for the passion. For the Godhead was present ^C with the suffering form of the servant, and allowed it to suffer, contriving salvation for the whole human race. Yet the Godhead itself did not admit of suffering from that; for how could the impassible nature possibly suffer? But the Lord Christ says these things as man, and since He was the firstfruits of human nature, He speaks the words in the following section on behalf of the entire nature: « Far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions. » ^D One must know that none of the other interpreters mentioned transgressions. But Aquila indeed said "my roaring," Symmachus truly, "my lamentations," and Theodotion, "my crying out." But lest we, who have used other interpreters here, seem to be intentionally refuting those who have interpreted this psalm differently, we shall use the version of the Seventy. For since they also observed this expression, they said this psalm does not befit the Lord. For how, they say, could He who did no sin be able to say, « Far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions? » Let them hear, there-

- ^A fore, John the great who cries aloud: « Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. » And the divine Paul saying: « Him who knew no sin He made to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. » And again: « Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. » Just as, therefore, since He is the fountain of righteousness, He took upon Himself our sin, and since He is the ocean of blessing, He received for us the curse that hung over us, and endured the cross, despising the shame; so too He spoke words on our behalf. For if He voluntarily underwent the discipline appointed for us (for « the discipline of our peace was upon Him, » as the prophet says), much more did He use words on our behalf and in our place, and cries out: « Far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions. » Do not look, He says, at the faults of nature, but look to the salvation wrought through My sufferings. And since, in ordering the passion as a man, He prayed many times about the time of the passion, saying, « Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, » and being moved with sorrow said, « My soul is sorrowful even unto death »; justly does the psalm also, foretelling these things, say:

^B VERS. 3. « O my God, I will cry by day, and Thou wilt not hear; and by night, and not for lack of understanding on my part. » Or according to others, « and by night, and there is no silence. » By day and by night, he says, when I am crying out and unwilling to be silent, Thou didst not hear, but didst deliver me to the passion. Yet nevertheless I know the mystery of the dispensation. For this is what was signified by « and not for lack of understanding on my part. » For I know that Thou dost not procrastinate in granting the petition in vain, but art ordering something great and saving out of the passion.

VERS. 4. « But Thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. » But this, he says, is the most wonderful thing of all, that while Thou art dwelling in this holy body, the passion should be taking place. He calls Him the praise of Israel, as one who is praised and celebrated with hymns by His own worshipers. For instead of « praise, » other interpreters have put « hymn. »

VERS. 5. « In Thee did our fathers hope. » He shows the profit of hope. ^C « They hoped, and Thou didst deliver them. [VERS. 6.] Unto Thee they cried, and were saved: in Thee they hoped, and were not put to shame. » And yet, he says, I know clearly that since all our fathers trusted in Thy help, they were by no means disappointed in their hope, and having called upon Thee for aid, they enjoyed the fruit of Thy providence. ^D

^A “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” I was seen, he says, as a worm, vile and made a laughing-stock. Some have said that by the worm the birth from a Virgin is signified, for this one does not have existence from sexual intercourse. I, however, think that only vileness is signified here by the worm, inferring this from the fact that he says:

^B “All they that look upon me laughed me to scorn; they spoke with their lips, they moved their head: He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver him: let Him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.” And these things are found set forth in the holy Gospels: “For many,” he says, “wagging their heads, said: He saved others; himself he cannot save.” And one of the robbers said: “If Thou be the Son of God, save Thyself and us.” And furthermore, that which is written: “He trusted in the Lord, let Him deliver him, let Him save him, seeing he delighteth in him,” is also to be found in the holy Gospels.

“For Thou art He that took me out of the womb: my hope from my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon Thee from the womb: from my mother’s womb Thou art my God.” These things the blessed Isaiah also prophesied; for having said: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel,” he added: “Butter and honey shall he eat, before he knoweth good or evil, he refuseth evil, to choose the good.” And therefore the blessed David, ^C bearing the person of our Lord Christ, says that Thou didst form me in the womb, and from therein brought me forth, and while I was still nursing and sucking my mother’s breast, I hung my hopes upon Thy care.

“Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.” For indeed at that time the chorus of His disciples had deserted Him; then he predicts the types of the affliction.

“Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have beset me round. They opened their mouth upon me, as a ravening and roaring lion.” He calls the priests and Scribes ^D “bulls,” to whom the leadership of the people had been entrusted, and who were using much insolence; and “calves,” those positioned under them; and he terms them “fat” as those who were enjoying more abundantly the benefits provided by Him. For of them the great Moses has also foretold: “And Jacob ate, and was filled, and the beloved kicked, he waxed fat, he grew thick, he was widened, and he forsook God.”

^A And the blessed Osea likewise 15 likens him to a fierce heifer: “For as a heifer going mad, Ephraim raged.” In this manner he termed the people. Likewise, he says, “Ephraim is a heifer taught to love contention,” that is, one that loves challenge and strife. For by “contention” he does not mean victory, but quarrelsomeness. And showing the humiliation that would follow, he added: “But I will mount upon the beauty of her neck.” I shall humble her proud neck and impose the yoke of servitude. ^B Therefore, this psalm describes the insults of the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees, who, imitating the ferocity of bulls and the madness of lions, set upon the Lord Christ.

Verse 15: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are dispersed.” He calls the holy apostles bones, since he also calls the Church a body, and the bones are the strength of the body; for by these, whatever is soft and fluid in the body is supported. They were all dispersed at the time of the passion, divided hither and thither like water. ^C “My heart has become like wax melting in the midst of my belly.” [Verse 16] “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue is stuck to my throat, and Thou hast brought me down into the dust of death.” All these things also occurred at the time of the passion; for the heart, through fear, melted like wax before fire, and the strength did not show its former efficacy, and the tongue remained motionless. And the divine evangelists teach us that, although often questioned, He answered nothing. He was also delivered to the tomb after the passion, which He called the dust of death, because those who are buried are covered with dust.

^D Verse 17: “For many dogs have surrounded me; the gathering of the malignant has besieged me.” After the Jews, he mentions the army of the Gentiles; for they delivered Him unto them. Therefore, the prophecy observed the order of events. With good reason He called the former bulls, but these dogs; for those were in a sense under the yoke of the Law, even if they openly transgressed the Law, while the latter were unclean according to the Law. Thus also, the Lord called the Canaanite woman such. “For it is not good,” He says, “to take the bread of the children, and to give it to the dogs.”

^A Nevertheless, after the Passion, those who were formerly dogs have, through faith, passed into the order of sons; and those who were formerly treated as sons have received the appellation of dogs, inasmuch as they had raged in the manner of dogs against the Master. Concerning these, the blessed Paul cries out: “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” Thus, when the prophetic word called them dogs, it said: “The assembly of the wicked hath enclosed me.” Then it relates the things dared by them in their impious attempt.

“They dug my hands and my feet. [18] They have numbered all my bones.” And this is manifest and clear, even to those who are very obstinate. For we hear in the holy Gospels the Lord Himself saying to His holy disciples: “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.” And indeed He also showed to Thomas the marks of the nails and the wound inflicted by the spear. But this, “They have numbered all my bones,” signifies this: that they stretched me out while nailing me, so that it was easy for anyone who wished to discern even the number of my bones. “But they considered and looked upon me,” that is, mocking and laughing ^B at me.

19. “They divided my garments among themselves, and upon my vesture they cast lots.” And the history of the holy Gospels quite clearly teaches this as well.

20-22. “But Thou, O Lord, remove not Thy help from me; look to my defense. Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only begotten from the hand of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth, and my humility from the horns of the unicorns.” Since, he says, I have no human help, may I obtain Thine assistance, and be delivered both from these men and from him who works these things through them, and who has attacked me like a dog and a lion. For he calls him lion, and dog, and unicorn who had the empire of death, according to the voice of the Apostle: namely, the devil, ^C who at the time of the Passion attacked Him like a beast, inflicting death. This is also what the Lord said in the holy Gospels: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out.” And again: “The prince of this world cometh, and in me he shall find nothing.” But yet, and nothing of those things which he sought

though he truly sought ^A the marks of sin—did he find in him. Boldly and most unjustly he delivered him to death; but he himself submitted to the injustice, endeavoring to destroy the common death.

VERS. 23. “I shall declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the church will I praise thee.” From this it is clear that he spoke these things as a man, inasmuch as he was truly enduring those things that he uttered as a man. For ^B he calls those who have believed in him "brethren." They are brethren, as to a man. For as God, he is Master and Lord; but as man, he is also named brother. For he is Only-begotten, and he is firstborn. And indeed, the former befits him as God and Lord; [but the latter as man.] For as God, he is begotten alone and is called Only-begotten; but as man, he is also called firstborn. And the Apostle is a witness, saying, “That he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Therefore he says, ^C "When I have declared these things to my brethren, through them I will praise thee," making them ready to weave this hymn; then he fulfills the promise.

VERS. 24, 25. “Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all the seed of Jacob, glorify him. Let all the seed of Israel fear him.” Since the Church is composed both of Gentiles and of Jews, he incites both these and those to the hymn: the former he designates by their progenitor, namely Jacob and Israel, and the latter by their virtue, as being sufficient to adorn them in place of lineage. ^D Thus, also, it was the custom to call the Gentiles who approached the Law "Jews," and the history of the Acts teaches us this. For the divine Apostle, addressing the assembly, said thus: “Men of Israel, and ye that fear God among you.” “For he hath not despised, nor abhorred the prayer of the poor; neither hath he hid his face from me; but when I cried unto him, he heard me.” Praise, he says, him who became for you the author of this salvation: who did not disdain to overlook your most lowly nature, but heard you, and by my resurrection procured salvation for you. After these things he shows the equality which he has with the Father as God. For he subjoined:

VERS. 26. “My praise is of thee, in the great church I will confess thee.” Just as for men

^A I make thee clear, so also thou teachest all men to offer to me the same honor, now saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him”; but now, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Thus he revealed the knowledge of himself to Peter, thus to Paul, and thus through them again to men. For he called the Church great, which extends even until the ends of the earth. “I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him.” ^B By “vows” (evchas) he does not mean prayers here, but promises. For the law also knows this distinction: “If thou hast made a vow (vow) to the Lord,” that is, if thou hast promised something to God. Since, therefore, he promised above that he would weave a hymn through those who believe in him, he teaches more clearly here that he will put an end to his promises, so that through the very events those who meditate on the divine oracles may learn the truth of the words. And since he mentioned the Church, he necessarily makes decrees regarding it, and predicts the calling of all the nations. For he calls them “poor,” as those who of old did not possess the wealth of piety, but served the poverty of ignorance. VERS. 27. “The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and they shall praise the Lord who seek him.” ^C Not all, for not all obeyed the Gospel, but those who have admitted the divine love into themselves; these, as being hungry and thirsty, he said would be satisfied, enjoying the immortal food. We know the divine food to be spiritual doctrine, and the mystical and immortal banquet, which those who have been initiated into the mysteries know. “Their hearts shall live for ever and ever.” For even while still clothed in a corruptible body, being comforted by the hope of the resurrection, they wait for the life eternal. VERS. 28. “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.” ^D He has well placed “shall remember,” because having received their being from God, they had forgotten their Creator. Yet all the ends of the earth—not one nation, nor two, but countless thousands from all who inhabit the earth—will come running, and will gladly receive the ray of the knowledge of God. “And all the families of the nations shall worship in his sight.” And teaching that this dominion is proper to God, and not foreign, he has established it.

^A

VERS. 29. “For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and he dominates the nations.” For God is not the God of the Jews only, as they imagine, but the Creator of the whole of human nature. Thus also the Apostle said: “Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: for there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.”

VERS. 30. “All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped: in his sight shall all those who go down into the earth fall.” For those who have eaten and been filled, giving thanks for the immortal food, shall worship as God him who provided these things. And because in the preceding verse he made mention only of the fat ones, as being those who were made such by that divine food, he rightly said: “In his sight shall all those who go down into the earth fall.” For after the resurrection from the dead, some willingly, others unwillingly, and some out of love, while others out of fear, shall offer this worship to God, according to that apostolic voice: “To him every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ^B

VERS. 31. “And my soul shall live for him, and my seed shall serve him.” The seed of the Lord Christ are those who are reborn through the regeneration of the laver, and have received the grace of adoption. Therefore he said that his soul shall live for him, but not serve, whereas the seed shall serve. For the assumed nature was joined to the assuming divinity, and became a participant of the same glory and honor. ^C

VERS. 32. “A coming generation shall be announced to the Lord, and they shall announce his righteousness to the people who shall be born, whom the Lord has made.” I do not speak, he says, of this generation, according to which I, David, proclaim these things; but of the future one, and of that people who shall be born, whom the Lord of all himself constituted. He then foretold all these things. But I mourn the stupidity of the Jews, because, though they are always occupied with the divine oracles, they do not see the truth shining forth in them, but assert that this Psalm was spoken of David, ^D hearing David exclaiming: “A coming generation shall be announced to the Lord, and they shall announce his righteousness to the people who shall be born, whom the Lord has made.”

which the Lord brought about, "will remember and turn to the Lord all the ends of the earth, and all the families of the nations will worship before Him. And all the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped." ^A For we do not see any of this having happened in the time of David, nor in any of those who were born of David. Only the Lord Christ, who became man from David according to the flesh—the God the Word, who took the form of a servant from David—filled every land and sea with the knowledge of God, and persuaded those who formerly were wandering and offering worship to idols, to worship the existing God instead of those which do not exist. But having left behind those arguments against the Jews, let us proceed to the present struggle and to the interpretation of the remaining psalms. ^B

Interpretation of Psalm XXII

1. "To the end, a psalm of David." ^A [The present psalm is sung from the person of the nations rejoicing because He shepherds them; and indeed, they also explain the mystical banquet which He who shepherds them has placed before them.] "The Lord shepherds me, and nothing shall be wanting to me." This also has the same meaning as those things explained previously. For having said in the psalm before this one, "The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and they shall praise the Lord who seek Him," and again, "All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped," He indicates here the provider of such food and calls that nurturer a shepherd. ^C For thus also the Lord Christ called Himself: "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and I am known by My own." In the same manner He also called Himself through the prophet Ezekiel. Therefore, here too, all who have enjoyed the saving food cry out, "The Lord shepherds me, and nothing shall be wanting to me." For this Shepherd bestows every kind of enjoyment of good things upon those who are shepherded by Him.

2. "In a place of pasture, there He has made me dwell." Since He called the provider of good things a shepherd, rightly and figuratively, He made mention of the pasture of the sheep. Here, he calls the holy teaching of the divine oracles "pasture." For first He nourishes us with the words, and then He offers more mystical food. "He has brought me up by the water of rest." The water of regeneration is hinted at, in which he who desires grace is baptized, puts off the old age of sin, and is made a youth instead of one grown old. ^D

^A Ver. 3. "He converted my soul; he led me upon the paths of righteousness." Of these, he says, he has made me a partaker, first delivering me from error, and preparing for me a straight way to walk in. "For his name's sake." All these are gifts of his own bounty; for it is not on account of our virtue that we have enjoyed these things. Having, therefore, such a helper and champion, I will not fear even the gates of death, but will utterly despise all death. For this he added:

Ver. 4. "For if I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me." He adds other things also to these: "Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me." For by the one he supports my weakness, and by the other he guides me into the straight way. Now, no one would err if he were to call the saving cross by the same name. For by its sign and memory we are delivered from the hostile demons, and are led into the true path. [And this is the meaning of the saying, "Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me." ^B For the cross is formed by two joined staves. By the straight staff, he sustains, directs, and strengthens us who believe in him, and fortifies the infirm; while he uses the transverse bar as a rod against the demons.]

Ver. 5. "Thou hast prepared a table before me in the presence of those who afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil, and thy cup which inebriates me is how excellent!" These things are manifest to those who have been initiated into the mysteries, and do not need any explanation. For they know both the spiritual oil with which their heads were anointed, and the inebriation which confirms but does not dissolve, and the mystical food which he sets before us, he who has added the office of bridegroom to his pastorship. With these goods, he says, thou hast favored me, while my enemies mourn and torment themselves because those who formerly served them have attained such a change.

Ver. 6. "And thy mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and my dwelling shall be in the house of the Lord for length of days." ^C The procurer of these good things is thy ineffable loving-kindness, which does not wait for our prayers, but follows us, as if we were fleeing, and anticipates us, and bestows salvation, and provides a dwelling in the divine abodes, both in this life and in the future one. For this he shows when he says: "In length of [days."

dierum, id est, semper, et continue. Hoc autem illis sæculis congruit, quæ finem minime habent.

EXPLANATION OF PSALM XXIII

^A 1. "A Psalm for David." In some copies I found, "for the first [day] of the Sabbath." But in the Hexapla this is not added. Yet, that we might not leave even this unexplained, it should be known that it signifies the Lord’s resurrection, after which all the earth and sea received the rays of the knowledge of God. And so this psalm predicts it, and in addition to this, the ascent of the Lord into the heavens. "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and all they that dwell therein." For since the Jews supposed that He ruled only over Palestine, and that He cared only for them, and was the God of them alone, ^B the prophetic word rightly teaches that He is Lord of the whole world. And He does not rule it having seized the power by violence, nor having deprived any other of this dominion; but because He Himself constructed it, and brought it from nothing into being.

2. "For He hath founded it upon the seas, and prepared it upon the rivers." By these words He shows not only the creation, but also His providence. For while the earth is by nature dry, He has granted it proportionate moisture, joining it with the greatest seas on the outside and through the middle, ^C and causing very many and very great rivers, and indeed also fountains, to flow or to gush forth in the midst of the continents. Thus, having shown the power of God, and predicted the knowledge of the nations, he brings forward an exhortation to virtue, again shaping the discourse in the manner of a dialogue. For he says:

3. "For who, he says, shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place?" He does not here call the earthly mountain, that of Sion, the mountain, but the heavenly one, which the blessed Paul pointed out, saying, ^D "Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Since he had taught just before that God is the Maker and Creator of all things, he rightly shows the path that leads to Him, and makes a response to the question.

4. "Innocent in hands, and clean in heart; who hath not received his soul in vain, and hath not sworn in deceit to his neighbor." It is fitting, he says, that he who desires to ascend into that mountain, and

^A to possess a soul purified from evil thoughts, should also have hands free from actions of such a kind. For he has put "hands" for actions, and by "heart" he has alluded to the thoughts; for we take counsel with the latter, and do with the former. It is fitting, he says, that such a man should desire none of the things that flow away and perish; for these he has called "vanities." Thus, indeed, the Ecclesiastes also names them: "Vanity of vanities," he says, "all is vanity." And since deceit and the breaking of oaths are joined to the love of money, with good reason he rejects these along with it: "And has not sworn in deceit to his neighbor." Then he demonstrates the fruit of these good deeds. ^B

VERS. 5. "He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Savior." Most congruously has he joined mercy with blessing. For the rewards that are considered to be such are provided to men solely through the divine benevolence. For all the righteousness of men is nothing in comparison to the gifts that have already been provided to us by God, much less in comparison to the future gifts, which also transcend every human thought. ^C

VERS. 6. "This is the generation of them that seek the Lord, that seek the face of the God of Jacob." Those, he says, who choose to live according to these counsels truly desire to see the Lawgiver of virtue himself, who indeed long ago deigned to favor even the great Jacob with his own appearance. In the eleventh psalm, therefore, concerning another generation [the Prophet, speaking] while it was living in all wickedness and malice, was beseeching God, saying: "Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us, and preserve us from this generation and unto eternity." But here he prophesies the opposite: "This is the generation of them that seek the Lord." For after the incarnation of God and our Savior, the whole earth and sea, having obeyed the divine preaching, abandoned indeed the ancestral gods, but seeks the God of Jacob. Having thus foretold the salvation of the world, he teaches those who have henceforth come to the faith that the Master Christ not only rose having destroyed the power of death, but has also ascended into the ^D heavens. For since the twenty-first psalm contained oracles concerning the saving passion, and the prophecy concerning the salvation of the Gentiles, with good reason again here, having made mention of the Gentiles, and having predicted their knowledge, and describing the Lord's ascension, and showing us the choirs of angels, these indeed going before the Lord Christ, while those...

from above, inquiring and desiring to learn what that new spectacle might be.

^A VERS. 7-10. "Lift up your gates, O you princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of glory shall enter in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, O you princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of glory shall enter in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory." Let no one, hearing that the invisible powers are ignorant, be surprised; for they do not foresee, nor do they know all things; only the divine nature has this knowledge. But the angels and archangels, and the other companies of ^B invisible powers, know only as much as they are taught. For this reason, the divine Apostle, speaking of them, said: "That the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the Church to the Principalities and Powers in the heavenly places" (Eph. III. 10). If, even through those things which have been done in the Church, they have learned the divine wisdom more accurately, there is nothing absurd in the heavenly virtues being ignorant [even of the mystery of the assumption of Christ], seeing human nature, and not perceiving the divinity hidden within it. If anyone is unwilling to grant this, let him receive the solution from the things set forth in this psalm. For previously, through a dialogue, he formed a teaching concerning moral virtue, saying: "Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord, or who shall stand in his holy place?" ^C And to the question he subjoined the answer: "Innocent in hands, and pure in heart," and the rest. Let one think that the figure of the discourse is the same here, and let him not imagine that those who are questioning are doing so out of ignorance, but that they are teaching all men through this proclamation of the one ascending. Therefore, the answering virtues say that he is the King of glory, as one who receives the glory offered by all, and possesses a true and lasting kingdom. They also call him "The Lord strong and mighty in battle." For he overturned the bitter tyranny of the devil, and destroyed the deceit of the demons who were under him. They command the eternal gates ^D to be opened, as if they had never before been opened to human nature. For no man has ever passed through them; but God the Word, having become man, when he had assumed our first-fruits, was taken up into the heavens, and sat at the right hand of majesty on high, far above every princi-

principality and authority, and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the coming one. ^A But the great Elias was indeed taken up, not into heaven, but as if into heaven. Thus, after the first question and answer had taken place, again the ones inquire and the others reply, and they learn that the Lord of the powers himself is the King of glory, that is to say, the creator and maker of the angels and archangels, and of all invisible and created nature.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXIV

v. 1. ^B

"In the end, a psalm of David."

"To thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. O my God, I have trusted in thee, let me not be ashamed forever. Neither let my enemies laugh me to scorn." Being surrounded on all sides by myriad enemies, to thee, O Master, I offer my own soul, and I hang upon thy aid, beseeching that I may not live forever in shame, and be a laughing-stock to my enemies.

"For indeed all who wait for thee shall not be ashamed. [Let them be ashamed who act wickedly ^D for nothing.]" I have, he says, a sufficient pledge of hope: those who have already believed in thee and have enjoyed thy help. For it is thy custom to provide for these, but to put to shame those who live in transgression. It is necessary to note that he said that not those who err, but those who act wickedly for nothing, are subject to being filled with shame. For not all trans-

transgress in the same way; some slip out of certain circumstances or natural weakness, whereas others actually delight in their own lawlessness and devise yet further sins. ^A

«Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. [Verse 5.] Direct me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God my Savior, and I have waited for you all the day long.» I, for my part, entreat you first to make known to me your ways and to teach me the paths that lead toward me, so that I may constantly walk in your unerring and true course. Then, by means of these very things, I entreat you to let me learn that you are my Savior; for I wait upon your philanthropy constantly. For in saying “all the day long,” he has put this in place of “always.” And he wishes to teach that he does not have this intention now, only to accept another in its place later. ^B

[Verses 6, 7.] «Remember your mercies, O Lord, and your loving-kindnesses, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my ignorances; according to your mercy, remember me.» Gently, he says, you always and philanthropically govern mankind. I pray that I may experience this goodness now as well, and that you may remember your own philanthropy, not my sin. And since you are making a remembrance of me, O Master, please do so compassionately, not according to justice. For he had already requested this in the previous verses: “According to your great mercy, remember me; do not remember my sin, but remember me philanthropically.” [Now, the phrase “do not remember the sins of my youth and my ignorances” has this meaning: he is speaking, clearly, of the people when they were in Egypt; as if to say, I worshipped idols there, do not therefore remember those sins, but remember your own philanthropy, according to which you took pity even at that time upon those who were acting in ignorance, having used philanthropy.] «For the sake of your goodness, O Lord.» For it is not on account of any merit of mine, but on account of your philanthropy, that I entreat to obtain this. ^C

[Verse 8.] «Good and upright is the Lord.» It is not simply, he says, that I have used these words, but because I know that the Master is not only just, but also philanthropic. And the divine Scripture teaches us this everywhere. Such is the passage: “I will sing of mercy and judgment to you, O Lord.” And: “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, and just, and our God takes pity.” And: “God is a just judge, and strong, and patient, and does not prolong his wrath through every day.” For this reason he shall give a law to those who sin in the way. ^D

[Verse 9.] «He will direct the meek in judgment; he will teach the meek his ways.» Symmachus has interpreted this more clearly: “Therefore he will show the way to those who sin.”

^A For he who uses goodness does not immediately punish those who sin, but he points out to them the straight way and teaches the law of repentance. Moreover, he also teaches those who use meekness and simplicity ^B to discern the nature of things, and he prepares them to know all his dispensations, so that simplicity, if it should become a provision for ignorance, might not cause much harm. Next, he points out the nature of the aforementioned ways.

[Verse 10.] «All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to those who seek out his covenant and his testimonies.» For those who are continuously nurtured by the sacred ^C Words learn precisely through them that all the dispensations of our God and Savior are tempered with mercy and truth. For to those who repent of the sins they have committed, he offers mercy and forgiveness; but he proclaims and crowns the invincible athletes of virtue, pronouncing sentence with truth; and indeed, even upon those addicted to vices who do not practice repentance, he inflicts punishments according to the definitions of truth.

[Verse 11.] «For the sake of your name, O Lord, be kind also to my sin; for it is great.» Therefore, he says, I beseech you to be kind ^D to my sins, not because of my exact repentance, but because of the designation of philanthropy that you possess, and because I have fastened my hopes on your name.

[Verses 12, 13.] «Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will appoint a law for him in the way that he has chosen. His soul shall dwell in good things, and his seed shall inherit the earth.» Next he instructs, and brings a profitable admonition, and promises every kind of aid to those who fear the Lord. And since the modes of piety are many and various—solitary and communal, rustic and urban, private and military, royal and mercenary, nautical and agricultural, and others many and various—yet in each life it is possible to please God, the prophetic word rightly says: «Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will appoint a law for him in the way that he has chosen.» That is to say, in that life which each person chooses for himself, he will place laws that are suitable and fitting for him. Thus the divine John the Baptist, to the publicans who asked what they ought to do, replied, «Do nothing more than what is appointed for you,

^A And to the soldiers, that they should «do violence to no man, but suffice themselves with their wages,» that is, with their appointed food. Thus the divine Apostle has also laid down reciprocal laws for servants and masters, children and parents, and wives and husbands. ^B To those, therefore, who have fulfilled these laws, the prophetic word has promised the soul’s dwelling in good things, and the blessing of seed: «His soul shall abide in good things, and his seed shall inherit the land.» Because child-rearing is a matter greatly desired among the Jews, and leaving behind heirs, and indeed even now for those who embrace the social life, this very thing is desirable; by mentioning such things, he incites them to the works of virtue.

VERS. 14. «The Lord is a firmament to those who fear Him, and His covenant shall be made manifest to them.» ^C This, Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted more clearly: «The mystery of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.» It is permitted, however, to hear the Lord himself through the prophet Isaiah, saying: «My mysteries to me and to my own.» For these He does not reveal simply to all, but to those who fear Him, and He demonstrates the purpose of His divine oracles. Moreover, according to the Seventy, the Lord is a «firmament» to those who fear Him, rendering them unconquered and superior to their enemies.

VERS. 15. «Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare.» Here he again speaks of the eyes of the mind, which he says he has toward God, as one who knows clearly that through His protection he will avoid the snares constructed by his enemies. ^D

VERS. 16. «Look upon me and have mercy on me, because I am only-begotten and poor.» The others interpreted «only-begotten» as «alone.» He says, «I am stripped of every aid; therefore I beseech you that I may obtain your succor.» Very pitifully, however, has he put: «Look upon me and have mercy on me.» Behold, he says, my loneliness and the siege of my enemies; for once you have seen these things, you will surely have mercy.

VERS. 17, 18. «The tribulations of my heart are multiplied; deliver me from my distresses. Behold my >

the humiliation of my soul and my labor, and forgive all my sins. Many, he says, are the afflictions that surround me on all sides. Since, therefore, you have repaid this humiliation and misery of mine with my transgressions, grant me remission and bestow pardon. ^B

VERS. 19. "Look upon my enemies, for they are multiplied, and they have hated me with an unjust hatred." If I do not seem, he says, worthy of humanity while struggling with such evils, at least by observing the unjust hostility of my enemies, grant me a share of your mercy. For I have sinned against you by transgressing your commandments; but they, having nothing of which they can accuse me, wage war unjustly.

VERS. 20. "Keep my soul, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I have trusted in you." For even if I have transgressed some of your laws, yet I have not separated myself from your providence; for this reason I beseech you both to be delivered from my enemies and to be protected.

VERS. 21. "Innocent and upright ones have clung to me, because I have waited for you, O Lord." This also is a property of virtue: to hate the company of the wicked, but to have as associates and friends those who honor equality, who use uprightness, and are free from malice. The prophet says that he has done this, as if he were honoring the Lord in this way, considering that as serving Him. ^C

VERS. 22. "Deliver, O God, Israel out of all his tribulations." This prayer offered to God befits a king. For it is proper for one who is appointed to rule to take every care of his subjects. Therefore the blessed David offered his prayer not only for himself, but also for the people entrusted to him: although indeed the salvation of one who reigns well and nobly constitutes a common utility for the people. But these words also have another meaning. Israel was divided, both in the time of Saul, and in that of Mephibosheth, and in that of Absalom. If, therefore, he says, I were to obtain your help and overcome my enemies, Israel himself would put an end to civil war, would obtain peace, and would enjoy all good things. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXV

VERS. 1. "A Psalm of David." And it seems to me that the divine David said this psalm about himself; however, I believe that this one was written before the preceding one. The one...

^A of which we have just spoken reminds us of sin, and of great sin: "Be propitious, he says, to my iniquity, for it is great." But in this psalm, he runs through the forms of his own virtue. Whence I consider that he used these words when he was fleeing from Saul and was compelled to dwell among the foreigners; seeing that they were living in impiety, and superstition, and all manner of transgression, he avoided their assemblies and the public feasts which were celebrated in honor of demons. But the interpretation of the verses will teach this more clearly.

"Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence, and hoping in the Lord, I shall not be weakened." By having used innocence, he says, and by having done no evil against Saul, and yet being so bitterly driven out, I implore thee, O Master, to be the judge of my case; for I know that thou art God, and I have hung my hopes upon thy providence, and I am confident that I shall not fall into the hands of those who pursue me.

^B ver. 2. "Prove me, O Lord, and try me; search my reins and my heart." From this it is clear that the psalm is older than the sin. For as one who is simple and innocent, and devoid of sin, he desires dangerous struggles. He calls his thoughts reins and heart; and we have frequently said this.

ver. 3. "For thy mercy is before my eyes." I pray to be proved and, like gold, to be tested by fire, since I rely upon thy mercy, and I look for help from thence. For I am supported by this. "And I have been well-pleasing in thy truth." Then he runs through the forms of being well-pleasing.

ver. 4, 5. "I have not sat with the council of vanity, and I will not enter with those who act lawlessly. I have hated the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the ungodly." Even so, he says, have I cared for thy service, that even when I was among impious and lawless men, I avoided their assemblies and their harmful associations. By these things, he signifies his sojourn among the foreigners, with whom, having been compelled by flight to dwell, he did not consent to share in either their impiety or their lawlessness.

^C ver. 6, 7. "I will wash my hands among the innocent, and I will go around thine altar, O Lord; that I may hear the voice of thy praise, and tell of all thy wondrous works." These, therefore, I strongly abhor for their superstition, but I long to see thine altar, O Master, and to receive thy hymns with my ears, and to teach the greatness of thy wonders to those who ^D are ignorant of them. This

themselves to teach those who are ignorant. The words, ^A “I will wash my hands among the innocent,” are similar to what was done by Pilate, who, not wishing to participate in the parricide of the Jews, washed his hands, demonstrating by the deed his flight from the matter. As innocent, therefore, he says, and having no communion with them, I will confidently wash my hands.

VERS 8-10. “Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house, and the place of the dwelling of your glory. Do not destroy my soul together with the ungodly, and my life with men of blood. In whose hands are iniquities; their right hand is filled with gifts.” For “beauty,” Symmachus puts “palace,” and for “men of blood,” “murderous men.” Hasten, he says, to free me, Lord, from the custom of these men, when I desire your house, where your grace shines, lest I die together with ungodly men, and those who are corrupted by gifts, and murderers, and those who betray justice. And through these he pointed out the same men again. He called the tabernacle a “house,” for the divine temple was not yet built; therefore he also adds:

VERS 11, 12. “And the place of the dwelling of your glory. But I have walked in my innocence; redeem me, Lord, and have mercy on me. My foot has stood in uprightness.” Meanwhile, being associated with them, I have used the simplicity of faith, and I separated myself from all malice. And since I have firmly established my foot in the integrity of piety, I have meanwhile stood safely and securely. I pray, however, that I may always keep this condition: and this will be so if I am freed from their custom. “In the churches I will bless you, Lord.” From this we learn most manifestly that this psalm was spoken concerning David himself. For he promised that in all the churches throughout the world, through the writing of the psalms, he would praise and celebrate the Lord, foreseeing with prophetic eyes the transformation of the world. And the prophecy attained its end; for in every land and sea, through the mouths of the pious, the great David sings of God, the author of every benefit.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXVI

VERS 1. “A Psalm of David, before he was anointed.” I did not find this inscription in the Hexapla, ^D but in some copies. From this, however, some have seized the opportunity to reject all the inscriptions as untrue. For how, they say, can it be that David, who was not yet anointed,

^A nor had received the grace of the Holy Spirit, would compose prophetic

psalms?

2. “When the wicked approach against me, to eat my flesh, my oppressors and my enemies, they themselves were weakened and fell.” I was not ^C frustrated, he says, of my hope, being thus confident in Your assistance. For while those who, like wild beasts, pursued me, ^D

and tried to make of me a raw-fleshed feast, did me no harm, they themselves underwent total destruction. That this has happened often, history teaches. For once and again, having been hunted by Saul, he escaped the snares; or rather, he could have killed his pursuer, had he wished. But he manifested his own philosophy, while the other paid the penalty for his malice among the foreigners. The words spoken, therefore, are in some sense predictions of things to come.

^B VERSE 3. *If a camp should array itself against me, my heart shall not fear: if war should rise up against me, in this will I hope.* Having obtained, he says, such an experience of Your assistance, even if twice or three times the number of enemies should attempt to attack me, I remain undaunted by these dangers, armed with this hope.

VERSES 4, 5. *One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life: that I may see the delight of the Lord, and visit His temple. For He hid me in His tabernacle in the day of my evils; He covered me in the secret place of His tabernacle; He exalted me upon a rock.* I, he says, having enjoyed such a benefit, do not seek from my benefactor wealth and power, nor kingdom and glory, but rather to sit continually in the divine temple, and to contemplate thence the divine beauty as if in a mirror, and to consider all things that are to be done according to the law. For I have proof of ^C its utility, having already garnered salvation from thence, and escaped the hands of my pursuers. These things the great David both asked for and received from the munificent God; for he both brought back the divine ark, and constructed another, more admirable tabernacle, and instituted the various choirs of cantors; and one may learn these things more accurately from the Book of Chronicles. But the expression, *One thing have I asked of the Lord*, is equivalent to “a single grace.” For so it must be understood.

VERSE 6. *And now behold He has exalted my head above my enemies: I went round and sacrificed in His tabernacle a sacrifice of praise and of shouting.* Here the tense has changed; this, too, Aquila pointed out. For instead of *He has exalted my head*, he has placed, *My head shall be exalted*. He signifies, therefore, that he will reign and prevail over his enemies, and will encompass them—he who is now being encompassed ^D by them—and that he will offer to God, not the legal sacrifices in the tabernacle, but the sacrifice of praise, which, throughout all the churches in the whole world, through those who have believed in God, is offered night and day. Some copies, however, have *a sacrifice of praise and of shouting*, which bears the same meaning.

For *shouting* is a martial cry, uttered by the bolder against the timid. ^A Such also is the hymnody: for the voice belongs to those who are of good cheer, and who are praising God. "Is anyone of you cheerful," he says, "let him sing psalms." "I will sing and I will chant to the Lord." It is clear from this, too, that the tense has been changed in what was said before; for he promises that he will sing, and will offer the hymn.

Ver. 7. "Hear, O Lord, my voice which I have cried; have mercy on me, and hear me." He asks for mercy, and not unjustly, but very justly.

Ver. 8. "To thee," he says, "hath my heart said, I will seek the Lord." For I have not used words lacking in truth, but I have performed the work, my mind consenting with my words. "My face hath sought thee." And what I have already done will not suffice: but I will do this in the future also. ^B "Thy face, O Lord, I will seek." Do not, therefore, drive me away while I desire, nor deprive me of the desired object.

Ver. 9. "Turn not thy face away from me; and decline not in wrath from thy servant." This he has set down by a metaphor of those who are angry, and who turn away from those approaching them, and attempt to turn aside into another path. "Be my helper, do not cast me off, and do not abandon me, O God my Saviour." Concerning that, "do not cast me off," the other interpreters said, "do not reject me": but the Seventy rendered this word from gentile learning. For among the ancients, it was a certain insult concerning crows, arising from some myth. ^C

Ver. 10. "For my father and my mother have abandoned me, but the Lord took me to himself." For being persecuted by Saul, he was forced to live far from those who had given him birth: but you, he says, O Master, are sufficient for me instead of all.

Ver. 11. "Legislate for me, O Lord, in thy way; and lead me in a straight path." For "legislate for me," Aquila and Theodotion both said "enlighten me"; but Symmachus, "show me thy way." Because, he says, I am forced to live far from my kinsmen, be you yourself my legislator and guide, pointing out to me the path that leads to you. ^D "On account of my enemies." [Ver. 12.] "Do not deliver me into the souls of those who afflict me." These words

proceed from a humble mind. For he says thus: I indeed am unworthy of salvation, but yet, having done no injury to those who now war against me, I am undeservedly driven into exile. Do not, therefore, deliver the one who is suffering injury into the hands of those who cause injury. ^A “For unjust witnesses have risen up against me, and iniquity has lied to itself.” Aquila stated this more clearly: “False witnesses stood against me, and injustice was manifested.” For they, he says, used calumnies against me, but I received no harm from that because of your help; rather, it was turned against the unjust, and the arrows launched by them against me were turned back again against them. This is taken from common usage; for we are also accustomed to say of one who plots but cannot harm: “He has harmed himself, not me.” Thus also the blessed David says: “Iniquity has lied to itself.”

[VERS. 13.] “But I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” For I shall not only be superior to my enemies in this present life, but I shall also enjoy the expected good things. Then he offers an exhortation to all men.

VERS. 14. “Wait for the Lord.” And how could this be possible? “Be manly and let your heart be strengthened, and wait for the Lord.” The mind, he says, being armed with manliness, and through this having become superior to the calamities that are attacking, is strengthened and conquers, and waits for the divine promises, of which it becomes an heir with the help of the body. He calls the future life ^B the “land of the living,” as being without the experience of death, and free from decay and grief.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXVII

VERS. 1. “A Psalm of David.” [He sings this psalm from the perspective of those who believe in Christ, calling upon Christ through prayers for help; at the same time, it also contains a rebuke of the madness of the Jews, and a prayer to be delivered from their hand, or rather, also from their lot.] “To you, O Lord, have I cried; my God, do not be silent to me, lest you be silent to me, and I be made like those who go down into the pit.” This psalm was spoken by David when he was fleeing from Saul, and was plotted against by those who were thought to be friends, who were also informing and attempting to make him manifest to Saul. Such was Doeg, and such were ^C

^A Ziphites, and many others besides these. Yet this psalm, and indeed the psalms before it, are appropriate for anyone who encounters such misfortunes. For it is possible for anyone, by the example of blessed David, both to bear evils willingly, and to pray to God, and to obtain providence from Him. He has placed "I will cry," however, not with regard to the voice, but with regard to the eagerness and intense and earnest prayer. And the phrase "do not keep silent from me" he took from the metaphor of those who are entreated by some, but who wish to answer nothing. Therefore he says, If you should keep silent from me, and deprive me of your help, I shall be delivered immediately to death; for he has called this a "pit," since a grave is dug similar to a pit.

^B VERSE 2. "Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to you, when I lift up my hands to your holy temple." The temple was not yet built; but he names the tabernacle a temple, in which he prayed, being far away according to the body, but directing his mind there. Thus also the blessed Daniel, when praying in Babylon, used to open the windows facing toward Jerusalem, not suspecting that the Divine was circumscribed there, but having learned that the divine manifestation had occurred there.

VERSE 3. "Do not draw me away with sinners, and do not destroy me with those who work iniquity, who speak peace with their neighbors, but evils are in their hearts." The blessed David prays ^C to have no communion with those who use deceptions. For he calls those execrable who say one thing, but plot another. For which reason he also wants them to receive rewards suitable for their pursuits. For he says:

VERSE 4. "Give to them, O Lord, according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their pursuits. And give to them the works of their hands; render their retribution to them." Let no one, however, think that the just man is cursing his enemies; for the things said are not a curse, but a just decree. "Render," he says, "their retribution to them." They shall fall into their own plots, he says, which they weave against one another. He also stated this in the seventh psalm: ^D "His pain shall return to his own head, and his iniquity shall descend upon his crown." Then he teaches the cause of the punishment.

^A VERSE 5: "Because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the works of His hands." He says they have done this because they wished to learn neither the word nor the divine work. "Therefore You shall destroy them, and not build them up." For the destruction of a bad building is advantageous to bad architects. From this, it is also manifest that he spoke those things which were said a little before as a prophet, not imprecating against them, but foretelling things to come. For he did not say, "destroy," but "You shall destroy, and You shall not build up." Afterwards, having again received divine revelation, and having observed from afar the future aid, he moved his tongue to the canticle of hymns.

VERSE 6, 7: "Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my helper and my protector." And showing the cause of the sudden aid, he added: "In Him my heart has trusted, and I have been helped, and my flesh has flourished again." For the hope which I placed in Him was the conciliator of this providence for me. Wherefore, having been delivered from the tribulation which I suffered because of the flight, I revived and flourished, and recovered a good state of body from joy. "And with my will I will confess to Him." This means, not unwillingly, but of my own accord I offer Him a hymn. So also elsewhere he says: ^B "I will freely sacrifice to You," and again, "Let the voluntary things of my mouth be pleasing to You, O Lord."

VERSE 8: "The Lord is the strength of His people, and He is the protector of the salvations of His Christ." I hymn Him as a good Master, who generously provides strength, might, and salvation both to the king and to the people; for he calls himself "Christ" as king. For this name was common to kings, prophets, and priests.

VERSE 9: "Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritance, and rule them, and exalt them for ever." Therefore, he says, share this blessing and salvation with Your people, guiding and feeding them, and making them superior to their enemies. And certainly, prayers for the people are becoming ^C to a king. But it is also worthy of admiration what the great David does, who, even when the people were persecuting him (for subjects were fighting against him along with Saul), was praying to God for them. For he foresaw their future conversion: he did not look at their injustice, but only at their future subjection ^D.

VARIOUS READINGS AND NOTES

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXVIII

^AVerse 1. "A Psalm of David: of the going forth of the tabernacle." I have not even found this title in the Hexapla, but in some copies. Hence, some writers, led by this, have thought that the blessed David set forth this psalm when he brought back the ark. But the words of the psalm contain no such meaning, since the psalm predicts other things. It does, however, contain a double prophecy: one part fitting to King Hezekiah, and the other to the King of us all, who, having destroyed the error of idols, illuminated the world with the rays of the knowledge of God. I shall quickly explain the prophecy pertaining to Hezekiah, but I will treat our own at greater length, as it pertains more to us. The admirable Hezekiah, having overcome the Assyrians, and rejoicing in the strangeness of the victory, commands the people to thank God with sacrifices, and to offer Him hymns and doxology, and to perform the customary worship in His holy court. For the temple was inaccessible to the multitude, and ^B entrance to it was allowed only to the priests. Then he explains the cause of these things, pointing out the divinely-inflicted plague of the Assyrians, making mention of both voice and thunder, and figuratively calling the multitude of the enemies a multitude of waters. Afterward, he again calls them cedars, thereby signifying their height and density, and says that these were shattered, but that the beloved people were likened to the son of unicorns, inasmuch as they worship only one God, and through Him put to flight the infinite throngs of the encroaching enemies. Furthermore, he says, He cleft and scattered them like a flame, and shook the camp of God, and despoiled of their inhabitants that place which, on account of the density of those who had encamped within it, was like a forest; but to us, who had conceived the timidity of deer, He restored courage and made us stand firm instead of fleeing. For this reason, it is right that we all come running to the holy temple and offer Him the returns of hymns. For having delivered us from these evils, He will enable us to rebuild and inhabit the buildings outside the walls which were devastated by the enemies and, as it were, washed away by a flood. For easily can all things to us from...

since we have an eternal King who has granted us both dominion and peace. That this present psalm is spoken concerning blessed Hezekiah, our interpretation has already declared. But since the Old Testament is a figure 1 of the New, come, let us apply the body to the shadow and show the resemblance. There, a pious king; here, Christ, the teacher of piety. There, a population obedient to him; here, a people saved by Him. There, the war and destruction of the Assyrians; here, the assault and overthrow of the demons. ^B The grace of the Spirit, therefore, exhorts the holy Apostles to preach salvation to the nations and to offer those who believe to God. For He calls the Apostles "sons of God," as having been named brothers of Christ; for He says: "Tell my brothers that I go before you into Galilee." But He calls those who have become faithful from among the nations "sons of rams," as having been begotten by irrational fathers.

"Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of God, ascribe to the Lord sons of rams. [Ver. 2] Ascribe to the Lord glory and honor; ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in his holy court." You, He says, you who have been entrusted with the divine preaching and called sons of God, with all alacrity convey the divine ^C preaching everywhere, and render those who are nurtured in irrationality capable of reason, and offer these first to God; then, through them, present worship and hymns, celebrating the Author of your benefits in the divine houses. These things are similar to those said by the Savior to the holy Apostles: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." ^D

[alt-version omitted]

For the present psalm is sung when those of Israel are cast out and the nations are introduced in their place. This is also indicated by the inscription, "Exodus of the Tabernacle," clearly signifying their departure for us. As for history, the word testifies to the priests departing from the tabernacle, as to what they need to prepare to meet [the trials] to come, that is, "sons of rams," that is, "glory and honor." But as for the spiritual sense, this occurs to us: that "ram" is not understood as the male among the sheep, nor is the "tabernacle" the dwelling put together from this inanimate material, nor is the "exodus of the tabernacle" the departure from the temple; but the tabernacle is for us this body, as the Apostle taught us, saying: "We who are in this tent groan." And the "exodus of the tent" is the departure from this life, for which the word exhorts us to be prepared, as we offer this or that to the Lord. Since the things done in this life are like a viaticum for the future life, for he who brings glory and honor to the Lord through good works stores up for himself glory and honor as a treasure, according to the just retribution of the Judge.

For the psalm, after what has been said, immediately makes mention of the sacred waters. ^A

Ver. 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory has thundered.

Ver. 4. The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord is in magnificence.

Ver. 5. The voice of the Lord that breaks the cedars, and the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon.

Ver. 6. And he will break them as the calf of Lebanon.

^A "They made," he says, "a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the graven image." But Moses the legislator crushed and ground it to powder. He says, therefore, that in like manner all the idols of the world shall be ground to powder and become as nothing. "And the beloved," like the son of the unicorns. But the people who have believed in God, and have been delivered from that error, and have been called "beloved" for this reason, shall be invincible and unconquerable, as having been delivered from the worship of many gods and honoring the one Divinity.

^B Ver. 7. "The voice of the Lord cutting through the flame of fire." For the choir of the holy apostles, having received the grace of the All-Holy Spirit which bore the appearance of fire, was indeed illuminated, but was not consumed. In the life to come, however, the twofold power of the fire being divided, it will illuminate the athletes of virtue, but will burn the lovers of wickedness; for which cause it is also called fire, and the punishment of the lawless is called darkness, since that illuminating power does not exist there.

^C Ver. 8. "The voice of the Lord shaking the desert, and the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades." Symmachus said not "shaking," but "making to obey"; and Aquila, indeed, "of one travailing." Concerning this desert, Isaiah also predicts: "Be glad," he says, "thou thirsty desert; let the desert be glad, and bloom as the lily." He calls the nations a desert, as having been formerly destitute of God. Concerning these, the divine Isaiah predicted that they would bloom, but the blessed David said that they would travail and bring forth. Such also is that which exists elsewhere in Isaiah: "Rejoice, O barren, who dost not bear; break forth and cry, who dost not travail; because many shall be the children of the desolate, more than of her who has a husband." This desert the Lord shaking (the shaking signifies the advent of God), He will cause to bring forth salvation, according to the prophecy which says: "For thy fear, O Lord, we conceived in the womb, and travailed, and brought forth the spirit of thy salvation, which thou hast wrought upon the earth." For this reason he also names it Cades, that is to say, holy. For this is what Cades signifies.

^D Ver. 9. "The voice of the Lord preparing the hinds, and shall uncover the forests." It is inherent in the nature of hinds to despise creeping creatures. This power the Lord has also given to the holy apostles: "For I have given," He says, "to you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions."

to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. ^A Corroborated by this word, they drove out the demons who held the world in deception, and exposed the weakness of the idols. And this the prophetic word announced beforehand: "The voice of the Lord preparing the hinds, and it shall uncover the forests." For this is the miracle, that through hinds He scattered the multitude of beasts of every kind, and through unlettered and ignorant men He rebuked the barrenness of the philosophers, and through fishermen He overthrew the tyranny of the devil. And He called the shrines of the idols "forests," as being utterly barren; for such are the forests which good husbandmen are accustomed to cut down, and, clearing the land that they occupied, they plant fruit-bearing trees and cast in edible seeds. This also the husbandmen of the world have done; for having plucked up by the roots the shrines ^B of the idols, they planted divine churches in their stead. "Therefore in His temple everyone says glory." Awakened by this miraculous work to the singing of hymns.

Verse 10. "The Lord makes the flood to be inhabited, and the Lord shall sit as King forever." For He will build up the world that has been submerged by the torrent of iniquity, and will renew it, and will work a new creation. Wherefore also blessed Paul cries out: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." But, he says, having done this, He will not permit impiety any longer to take ground, but He will reign forever.

Verse 11. "The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people in peace." By these things He predicted both the uprisings of the impious, and the victory of the triumphant martyrs, and the peace granted thereafter to the churches. "The Lord ^C will give strength to His people," that is, in the time of war; "and He will bless His people in peace," having ended the long war.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXIX

Verse 1. "A Psalm of the song of the dedication of the house, in the end, to David." Neither did the blessed David build the divine temple, nor do the words of the Psalm fit him who did build it. Therefore, he calls the restoration of human nature the "dedication of the house," which the Lord Christ accomplished when He suffered death for our sake, and overturned death, and gave us the hopes of rising again. This selfsame Psalm is said to be regarding the blessed Hezekiah. For after the slaughter ^D of the Assyrians, and the deliverance from his sickness, as is fitting, he celebrated a most great festival...

giving thanks to God, because He had granted salvation also to them, and had delivered His holy temple from the fire of the enemies. Since, therefore, he was keeping a festival for the dedication, he rightly received this inscription. It must be known, however, that while it is appropriate to Hezekiah by way of a type, it is appropriate to the whole nature of men according to the truth itself. For just as he, having received a ^A lofty mind—for so the history of the Chronicles has taught—received the sentence of death, but by divine grace attained to life; so Adam the first parent, having expected that he would be a god, and having been lifted up with great arrogance against his Creator, was indeed given over to death, but by divine philanthropy attained to the resurrection.

VERS. 2. *I will exalt thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.* For the Lord, having taken our first-fruits, deemed the whole nature through them worthy of salvation, and did not permit it to become a mockery to the enemies and to the hostile demons.

VERS. 3, 4. *O Lord my God, I cried to thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought my soul out of hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit.* We hear these things as told by human nature. However, the phrase, *I cried to thee, and thou hast healed me*, is appropriate to Hezekiah in the immediate and literal sense, but not so to human nature. For it neither prayed to God, nor asked for deliverance from destruction; but continued in wailing and ongoing lamentation, seeing indeed death, but in no way expecting the resurrection. Therefore, He has posited ^B the tears and wailing which occur among those who are sick and dying, in the place of prayers, showing the ineffable philanthropy of God, that although not called upon, but seeing only the lamentations, He took pity on those things which were happening, and destroyed death. For in this place also He again called death a "pit."

VERS. 5, 6. *Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness. For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good pleasure.* Rightly does He assign the hymn and the thanksgiving to the saints. For since He has granted the gift of the resurrection to all men, but not all are worthy of the grace, He appropriately consecrates the worthy to the singing of hymns. And He has made another excellent division: for the anger, he ^C assigns to his indignation—for he calls discipline "anger"—and life, to his good pleasure; this...

he wills, not that. The latter we draw upon ourselves. For "God," he says, "made not death, neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living: for he created all things that they might have their being, and the generations of the world were healthful" ^A (Sap. 1, 13, 14). And we hear [A1073] Him also saying through Ezechiel the prophet: "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, as that he should return from his ways and live?" (Ezech. XVIII, 23).

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." This also took place both in the case of Ezechias and in the case of our common salvation. For the Assyrians, having used those threats and having stirred the city to weeping, received the blow by night; and in the morning, they filled with gladness those whom they had compelled to weep (IV Reg. XIX, 35). And divine Isaias, having brought the sentence of death to Ezechias at evening, brought him the good tidings of life again at daybreak (IV Reg. XX, 4 seqq.). So also it came to pass for our common salvation. For when the holy apostles and those who had believed with them were lamenting the passion of the Lord, the women came in the early morning, bringing the joy of the resurrection (Joan. XX, 1 seqq.).

^B 7. "And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." This also Adam hoped for, living in paradise before the deception, and Ezechias, having conquered the Assyrians—and the book of Chronicles clearly teaches this, saying that the heart of Ezechias the king was lifted up (II Paral. XXXII, 25).

8. "Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." These things likewise apply both to Ezechias and to the whole nature of men. For he, on account of his virtue, enjoyed divine providence and conquered the Assyrians; and again, having been stripped of divine grace, he fell into sickness and received the fear of death. And Adam also, in paradise, was adorned with the beauty of virtue and was superior to corruption; but having been stripped of divine providence because of the transgression, he endured the turbulence of this life. ^C And Symmachus has placed this very clearly: "Lord, in thy good pleasure thou didst establish power for my forefather." So that it is manifest that the person of human nature is speaking these things to the Lord Christ, who granted to it the great gift of life. ^D

^A VERS. 9, 10. "To thee, O Lord, I will cry, and to my God I will make supplication. What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to corruption? Shall the dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth?" The blessed Hezekiah also used these words, as the fourth book of Kings teaches us, and the prophecy of the most divine Isaiah; and indeed human nature itself, even if it did not all cry out, yet through the saints it cried out to God, having used these words, because it is just to praise thee, the Creator, and to repay thanks with grateful words. This is the property of the living; for those who are dissolved into dust and ashes, and have lost the bodily work, how could they sing of thy benefits?

^B VERS. 11-13. "The Lord heard, and had pity on me; the Lord became my helper. Thou hast turned my mourning into joy for me; thou hast torn off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. That my glory may sing to thee, and I may not be pricked." And Hezekiah, having girded himself with sackcloth, offered to God his prayer against the Assyrians; and human nature had put on the mournful garb. But even now certain foolish people, when they lament the dead and sit disgracefully in sackcloth, do not wish to hear the words of the prophecy, which cry out openly: "Thou hast torn off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness, and turned my mourning into joy for me." For just as Hezekiah, when he had received the promise of fifteen years, was filled with much joy, so it is just that we, having received the hope of the resurrection, should not lament the departed, but wait for that ^C expectation with cheerfulness. But the words, "That my glory may sing to thee, and I may not be pricked," Symmachus interpreted thus: "That glory may sing to thee, and may not be silent"; as if he were to say: For this benefit it is fitting for thee to sing continuously and to praise those who have obtained such glory, and never to be silent. Compunction certainly induces silence. Therefore the Seventy have placed "compunction" instead of "silence." Hezekiah indeed obtained glory, since for his sake so many myriads endured a divinely-inflicted blow, and indeed even the sun ran in an inverted order: but we have a cause for great gladness, since we have experienced such love of the God of the universe toward us. For so, he ^D says, "God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." "O Lord my God, I will confess to thee forever." For not only in this life, but also after death, I shall always offer hymns to thee,

and after the resurrection, I shall offer hymns to You, ^A incessantly recounting Your supernatural and unspeakable gifts.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXX

VERS. 1. « Unto the end, a Psalm of David, of ecstasy. » This title I have found neither in the Hebrew nor among the other interpreters, though it is in some copies. It seems to me, however, to hint at the events concerning Uriah. For he says in the Psalm itself: « But I said in my ecstasy, ^B I am cast out from before the vision of Your eyes »; that is, I thought, after I sinned, that I had been deprived of Your providence. It seems, however, that this Psalm was spoken by the blessed David at the time he was suffering persecution from Absalom; and the interpretation of the words will teach this more clearly.

VERS. 2. « In You, O Lord, have I hoped; let me not be confounded for ever. » Much shame, he says, has my sin cast about me; but I beseech You that it might not remain with me for long, on account of the hope which is placed in You. « In Your righteousness deliver me, and rescue me. » Not upon mine, he says, look, but at the iniquity of those who persecute me. For by ^C employing this righteous judgment, You will deliver me from the calamities that press upon me.

VERS. 3. « Incline Your ear to me; make haste to rescue me. » Having heard my supplication, grant swift assistance. « Be to me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me. [VERS. 4.] For You are my strength and my refuge. » He said these things also in the seventeenth Psalm, signifying the all-encompassing providence of God. As for « my strength, » Aquila and Symmachus have interpreted it as « my rock. » ^D The prophetic discourse seems to accord with the evangelical saying, which points out the prudent man who built his house upon the rock, which neither the assault of winds, nor of rains, nor of rivers harmed, because of its solidity. « And for Your name’s sake You will guide me, and nourish me. » Instead of « nourish me, » Symmachus has placed « take care of me. » He says, that is, that You will deem me worthy of every kind of providence for the sake of Your name, in which I have trusted. And through all these words which have been set forth, we have learned the modesty of his mind. For he did not ask for divine

^A assistance to obtain something, but for the sake of the name of God, and the justice of God, and because he had hoped in Him.

VER. 5. "You shall bring me out of this net, which they hiddenly laid for me: for You are my protector, O Lord." By these words, he made known the counsel of Achitophel, which he had introduced against him, as we have already said above.

VER. 6. "Into Your hands I will commend my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." Since I had fallen very often into many calamities, I was delivered from them by Your help: for this reason, I commend my soul to Your care. For here, too, he called help ^B "hands."

VER. 7. "You have hated all those who observe vanities in vain." Those men, he says, have not trusted in You, but have used their own vain thoughts; and You are accustomed to turn away completely from such as these.

"But I have hoped in the Lord. [VER. 8.] I will exult and rejoice in Your mercy." For when I am in calamities, I implore Your aid, and having obtained it, I ascribe the cause of these goods to Your benevolence.

"For You have looked upon my lowliness; You have saved my soul from straits. [VER. 9.] And You have not shut me up into the hands of the enemy; You have set my feet in a spacious place." By always using these thoughts, I have not been frustrated in the least. For often, though I had ^C fallen into the traps and snares of enemies, and was moving inside the nets spread against me, I escaped the hunters. For this is what he said: "You have not shut me up into the hands of the enemy." History also teaches that, having been frequently seized by Saul, and even shut up in a cave, he avoided his hands; and at another time [he escaped] the Gittites, having feigned madness.

VER. 10. "Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with anger, and my soul, and my belly." Symmachus said this as follows: "My eye is troubled because of irritation." For having provoked You by sin, I am forced to weep continuously; and indeed, my soul also has been filled with storm and tumult. But here he called ^D the storehouse of thoughts the "belly"; for it is the thoughts, not the belly, that were troubled.

¤ II Reg. xvii.

VARIOUS READINGS AND NOTES. * In place of these, the Florence codex has what follows: He called captivity a net, by which he had been captured, as if it were a certain manifest danger. But that which [he said], "which they hid for me," he said aptly, in accordance with the example, since he called captivity a net. It is characteristic of a net to be hidden secretly, and thus to escape the notice of those who are hunted unexpectedly.

^A Ver. 11. "For my life has failed with sorrow, and my years with sighing." He says, I have consumed all my life in sorrows and tears. "My strength has been weakened in poverty, and my bones have been troubled." Moreover, need and the lack of necessary things have made my body arid. History also makes mention of this need, and says: "Shobi the son of Nahash of the Ammonites, and Barzillai the Gileadite, brought wheat, and barley, and flour, and beans, and lentils, and other things they brought to David and to the people, because they said the people were hungry and have been exhausted from thirst in the wilderness."

^B Ver. 12. "I have become a reproach above all my enemies, and to my neighbors exceedingly, and a fear to my acquaintances." My enemies, he says, are in gladness, but I am ridiculous, and an object of mockery to my neighbors, and a source of fear to my acquaintances. And teaching this more clearly, he added: "Those who saw me outside fled from me." For they fear to associate with me, lest they fall into the hands of my enemies.

Ver. 13. "I have been forgotten as one dead from the heart; I have become like a lost vessel." All, he says, have despaired of me, like a lost vessel, and a dead man inhabiting a tomb. [He describes extreme forgetfulness under the image of an ignoble vessel. For as he says, that which is lost quickly falls out of the memory of those who have lost it on account of its worthlessness, so have I been considered by them as someone who is nothing and who has never been worthy of any account.]

Ver. 14. "For I have heard the slander of many dwelling round about." And I do not say these things guessing, but having received the reproaches with my own ears. He signifies by these words also the insults of Shimei.

^C "When they were gathered together against me, they took counsel to take away my life." [Ver. 15, 16.] "But I trusted in Thee, O Lord; I said, Thou art my God. My lots are in Thy hands." They, indeed, having gathered together, are contriving my death, but I know Thee to be God and Governor. For this is what he says: "My lots are in Thy hands," or as the others have said, "In Thy hands are my times." As if he were to say: Thou grantest as Thou willest, to everyone, both joy and sorrow, and these again Thou changest as seems good to Thee. For He calls the changes ^D of affairs—wealth and poverty, slavery and lordship, peace and...

797 bellum, and other things of this kind likewise. “Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.” Then he also shows the mode of deliverance.

VERS. 17. “Cause Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; save me in Thy mercy.” For when Thy face appears to me, all sad things shall immediately be dissolved.

VERS. 18. “O Lord, let me not be confounded, for I have called upon Thee. Let the ungodly be ashamed, and let them be brought down to hell.” ^B And from this we learn what a great difference there is between sin and impiety. Therefore also the great David entreats that he himself may be delivered from the shame which he had on account of sin, but that those who live together in ungodliness may be sent away to death with disgrace.

VERS. 19. “Let the deceitful lips be made dumb, which speak iniquity against the righteous in pride and contempt.” Here he foretells the death of Achitophel, who, though he was a friend and counselor of David, revealed his long-standing treachery and moved his tongue against one who had done him no harm. And he rightly called that counsel pride and contempt, since he stirred up the son against the father for slaughter.

VERS. 20. “How great is the multitude of Thy sweetness, O Lord, which Thou hast hidden for those who fear Thee!” Again he has placed the “how” here, not for comparison, but for emphasis. Wherefore Aquila and Symmachus interpreted it thus: “How great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast hidden, reserved for those who fear Thee!” But the sense of the passage is this: Of those who fear Thee, O Master, Thou hidest the wages and rewards; and although these are many, and great, and ^C admirable, Thou allowest them to struggle with sweats and miseries. Nevertheless, there are times when Thou showest the rewards of victory, making the athletes more confident. For this is what he added: “Thou hast perfected them for those who hope in Thee, in the sight of the sons of men.” Then he explains in detail the Providence which manifests itself toward them.

VERS. 21. “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy face from the conspiracy of men. Thou shalt protect them in a tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.” It satisfies them, he says, that Thou shouldst appear (for this he calls the face), so that Thou mayest free them from every disturbance and human

^A waves, and protect them as if in a kind of tabernacle in their midst, and render them invisible. He himself also enjoyed this providence when he was being pursued by Saul; for having been caught in the midst of dangers, he attained salvation. In the same way the great Elisha escaped the Syrians who had surrounded him ^B by casting a mist over their eyes. And many other similar things can be found in the divine Scriptures.

Ver. 22. “Blessed be the Lord, for He hath made His mercy wonderful to me in a fortified city.” Symmachus has expressed this thus: “Blessed be the Lord, who has made His mercy wonderful to me, as in a fortified city.” For so, he says, He surrounded and fenced me about with His own kindness, just as inhabitants provide a strong defensive wall for a city.

Ver. 23. “I, however, said in my ecstasy, ‘I am cast out ^C from the face of Thine eyes; therefore Thou didst hear the voice of my prayer when I cried to Thee.’” I thought, he says, that having fallen into sin, I had become far removed from Thy providence; but seeing my humble words, Thou didst not look down upon me as I was entreating Thee. He rightly called sin an “ecstasy.” For while walking the path of righteousness, he stepped out of it and turned aside; he stumbled, and fell among the raw-fleshed ^D robbers. And this very thing demonstrates David’s virtue. For it was not his custom to sin, but having wandered slightly from his own settled purpose, he suffered that slip. Hence he transfers his discourse to an exhortation, showing forth the divine kindness and providence from his own experiences.

Ver. 24. “Love the Lord, all ye His saints, for the Lord seeketh out truth, and rewardeth them that do pride abundantly.” It is fitting, he says, for you all who choose to walk the divine path, to love from the soul the Ruler of all, who uses truth as a kind of rule, and punishes those who possess measureless arrogance. For he did not say simply, “to those who do pride,” but “to those who do pride abundantly.” For this too is enough to demonstrate the divine goodness. For He bears with those who in a certain way make use of a greater sense of pride, but those who are puffed up and insatiably swollen with it, He delivers to fitting punishments.

Ver. 25. “Quit yourselves like men, and let your heart be comforted, all ye that hope in the Lord.” Therefore, knowing these things, you who pass through the present life relying on divine hope, fortify your souls with strength

mate, and obey the nods of the pilot, as you are carried wherever he directs. This exhortation also befits us, who possess consolation through hope. ^A

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXI

VERS. 1. ‹To David, an instruction.› This psalm possesses the same sense: for it too was composed after the sin, amidst those calamities. Yet, foreseeing with prophetic eyes the grace of the New Testament, and the remission granted to believers through holy baptism, he proclaims them blessed, in that they receive the remission of sins without toil: and beginning the psalm, he cries out: ‹Blessed are they whose iniquities were remitted, and whose sins were covered. [VERS. 2.] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile.› I, for my part, who have been consumed by griefs and frequent tears on account of sin, and have fallen into many calamities for this reason, ^B call those men happy and blessed who, without trouble, have obtained from the Lord’s loving-kindness the remission of their sins. For He employs such liberality towards them, that He not only remits, but also covers their sins, so that not even the vestiges of them remain.

VERS. 3. ‹For I kept silent, my bones grew old, while I cried out all day long.› When he had committed that sin, he did not immediately make use of the remedies of repentance, but did so after Nathan’s reproof. Therefore, he cries out this here: because, having received the wound, I did not immediately show the sore to the physician, but remained silent, trying to conceal it, and by crying out and accusing my sin, I grew old. ^C

VERS. 4. ‹For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me.› Struck by all kinds of chastisements and torments, I lament and beseech. For this, ‹Thy hand was heavy upon me,› he said by way of a metaphor taken from those who strike with the hand and persevere in doing so for a long time. ‹I was turned into misery, while a thorn was fixed in me.› Thy chastisement, he says, is not unjust, but altogether just. For the cause of my evils was sin, which I have brought forth instead of a grape; and I am pierced by it continually. ^D For he called sin a thorn,

and as a useless growth, and as if born to pierce. ^A

VERS. 5. "I have made my sin known to thee, and my injustice I have not hidden. I said, I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord; and thou didst take away the impiety of my sin." When I first sinned, I kept silence; but after this, I made a confession against myself night and day; and from this accusation I gathered great fruits; for thou grantedst me the remission of my sins. It is to be noted that he did not say, "Thou hast released me from the sin," but "the impiety of the sin"; that is to say, thou didst not punish me according to the worthiness of my transgression, but thou didst forgive the excess of the sin, and didst apply the remedy with a measure of discipline. This is what history also teaches. For when David had said, "I have sinned before the Lord," Nathan answered, "And the Lord has taken away thy sin, thou shalt not die" (II Reg. XII, 13). Yet he threatened that he would fill his house with all kinds of calamities. In the same way here: "And thou didst take away the impiety of my sin." I ought, he says, having dared such things, to have been handed over to death immediately according to the law; but using kindness, thou didst not hand me over to death, but didst heal me with moderate chastisements. ^B

VERS. 6. "For this shall every saint pray to thee in a favorable time." He calls the state of the New Testament the "favorable time," in which those who have believed throughout every land and sea honor God with the hymns of David. This, therefore, he declares here, saying to the Lord: Since not only do I supplicate thee for this sin, but all who throughout the world shall receive the knowledge of God will offer this prayer for me. And indeed we seem in a way, speaking the words of David, to assume his tongue to praise God. "But in a flood of many waters, they shall not draw near to him." This Symmachus interpreted thus: "For this shall every saint pray, having found a favorable time, so that many waters inundating may not draw near to him." He who offers to thee a devout supplication ^C shall enjoy all kinds of providence. Thus, even if he should fall into various calamities, which like waters inundate him, he will yet be superior to these, and will be shown to be stronger than his afflictions.

VERS. 7. "Thou art my refuge from the affliction ^D

^A which surrounds me; my joy, deliver me from those who encompass me." Having said these things regarding sin, he supplicates to be delivered from the evils brought upon him through it; and he also obtains the answer. For the Lord says to him:

VERS. 8. "I will instruct thee, and teach thee in this way wherein thou shalt go; I will fix mine eyes upon thee." I will, he says, lead you back again to the straight way—you who had strayed from the straight path and recognized your error—and I will impart to you the knowledge and understanding ^B of this; and I will restore to you your former favor as well. For this is what he said, "I will fix mine eyes upon thee," a metaphor taken from those who are well disposed toward someone and wish to look upon him continuously. For just as one who is angry seems to turn away his face, so he reveals his own benevolence by paying attention. Therefore, the Prophet also says elsewhere, "Look upon me, and have mercy on me." And again, "Turn not thy face from me." And God Himself says through the prophet Jeremiah, "Turn to me, and I will turn to you." Hence the prophetic word counsels the impious not to imitate the irrational life ^C of beasts, but the just to always possess divine joy. He speaks as follows:

VERS. 9. "Be ye not as horse and mule, which have no understanding. With bit and bridle constrain their jaws, those who do not approach thee." I, he says, admonish you not to emulate their lack of reason; but if you do not obey, you shall receive the bridle and bit in a manner similar to them. For by these things he designates punishments; wherefore he adds:

VERS. 10. "Many are the scourges of the sinner." Having thus set this instruction before them, he transfers the narrative to another chorus. "But mercy shall compass him that hopeth in the Lord." For all men, ^D even if they are adorned with the accomplishments of virtue, are nevertheless in need of divine grace. Therefore, also the divine

the Apostle exclaims ^A: "By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."

VER. 11. "Rejoice in the Lord, and exult, you righteous; and glory, all you upright in heart." Let no one, therefore, exult in his own achievements, but let him exult in God, and derive his pleasure from Him. This also accords with the apostolic sayings: "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord," ^B and "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." Therefore, he teaches us to rebuke with a spirit of gentleness: "Considering," he says, "yourself, lest you also be tempted."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXII

It is without a title among the Hebrews. The Seventy, interpreting the psalm, said: Do not seek an interpretation of the inscription, for we have not found an inscription. This psalm was composed by the blessed David concerning the events related about the wonderful Hezekiah; it is fashioned as if from Hezekiah himself, urging the people to sing hymns after the miraculous victory and the destruction of the Assyrians.

VER. 1. "Exult, you righteous, in the Lord." In many places for "exult," Aquila has "praise"; and Symmachus translated similarly: "Praise befits the upright." It is fitting that those who have known God, ^C and have been delivered from error, should always praise God together. Then he teaches also how it is appropriate for them to perform the hymnody.

VER. 2, 3. "Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to Him with the ten-stringed harp. Sing to Him a new song; make melody well to Him with joyful shouting." All these things were performed according to the legal worship; for they used lyres, and cymbals, and drums, and other musical instruments. Now "joyful shouting" is a victory cry ^D made by the victors against those who are fleeing. But what has been said applies also to us if understood according to the spirit, and it is possible for us to render ourselves a well-tuned and harmonious instrument, and to honor God through the instruments of all our senses, both the interior and the exterior ones.

VER. 4. "For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his works are in faithfulness." Rightly, he says, all

^A things are governed by the Lord of all; and he has set before us the contemplation of his works, exhorting us to believe, and not to inquire curiously how they were brought into existence.

VERS. 5. "The Lord loves mercy and judgment." For He commands that all things which have been made by Him be received simply and without any dispute, but that we should take care of our lives and adorn them with mercy and judgment. "The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord." It is fitting, he says, to imitate the Creator. For just as He governs while exercising mercy and has compassion on those who are injured, in the same way it behooves us to render judgment to the unjust, but to show mercy to those who have been injured. For our benevolent Master, indeed, employed judgment against the Assyrians, ^B but He has deigned to show us pity and benevolence. Thus, having discoursed on matters pertaining to divine providence, he transfers his discourse to the creation, and teaches that, having created all things, He governs all things and cares for them as if they were His own works, and not those of another.

VERS. 6. "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all their power by the spirit of his mouth." He did not, he says, need labor and time to create, but for Him just a word was sufficient for the making. For He says: "Let there be a firmament, and it was so; let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, and it was so." Therefore, the appearance ^C of the letter on the surface demonstrates this sense; for this was suitable for the ancient Jews. But true theology shows us that God the Word, with the Holy Spirit, made both the heavens and the heavenly powers. And prophecy anticipates the evangelical doctrine. And just as divine John, the son of thunder, taught the whole world, saying: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made," so blessed David proclaims, saying: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit ^D of his mouth all their powers." But he does not assign the creation of the heavens to God the Word, and the making of the powers to the Holy Spirit; rather, he says that God the Word and the Holy Spirit made both these and those. Now, regarding the powers of the heavens, some have said that these are the lights in the heavens, while others have said they are the powers that are not seen at all. Moreover, it seems to me that the second exposition is truer. For when he had demonstrated the Creator God,

^A he would not have made mention only of the visible creation.

7. "Gathering like a wineskin the waters of the sea; placing the abysses in treasuries." For he holds the whole nature of the waters, as if confined in some storehouses in specific regions; but he draws it up into the lofty air when he wills, and gathers it, as if in a wineskin, into the clouds. Therefore he says: "Bringing up clouds from the end of the earth." And in another place, the divine Scripture says again: "Calling for the water of the sea, and pouring it out upon the face of all the earth."

8, 9. "Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let all who dwell in the inhabited world be moved by him. For he spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created." Having made mention of the heavens and of the invisible powers, and then of the substance of the waters, he brings the earth and its inhabitants into the middle, teaching that they are his works, and exhorting them to fear and tremble before the Creator, and to obey his commands. For as to "be moved," Symmachus indeed said "revere," but Aquila said "they shall fear," transmitting the fear of the inhabited world to the future time. For not even when he spoke these words did men have this fear, but [they did] after the incarnation, and the passion, and the resurrection of the Lord Christ. ^B

10, 11. "The Lord dissipates the counsels of the nations, and rejects the thoughts of the peoples; and he rejects the counsels of princes. But the counsel of the Lord remains forever; the thoughts of his heart from generation to generation." The things said have a double explanation; for he not only dissipated the counsels of the Assyrians, and of Sennacherib, and of Rapsaces, and showed the power and truth of his own counsel; but he also dissolved the uprisings of the nations throughout the inhabited world against the apostles, and made the strength of his own power known to all. For the prophetic word hinted at this, saying: "The thoughts of his heart from generation to generation." The mention of ^C the two generations teaches both the things that happened then, and the things that will be after these.

12. "Blessed is the nation whose Lord is its God; the people whom he chose for an inheritance to himself." It is necessary, he says, to pronounce blessed, not those who abound in riches, ^D

^A but those who trust in God and enjoy the aid that comes from him. ^B Now, the elect people, designated as the inheritance of God, was formerly the Jewish people; but afterwards, it was those chosen from among the nations, who have received the rays of the faith. For "Ask of me," he says, "and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession."

VERS. 13, 14. "The Lord looked down from heaven; he saw all the sons of men. From his prepared dwelling he looked down upon all who inhabit the earth." He said this also in the thirteenth psalm, prophesying the same thing. And because he said "he looked down," lest anyone think that he is ignorant of the things perpetrated by men, he opportunely subjoined:

VERS. 15. "Who fashioned their hearts one by one; who understands all their works." I have said, he says, that the God of all looks down from heaven, not as one who is ignorant and desires to learn, but as one who renders justice and judges. For how is it possible that he who made the soul should be ignorant of its movements? For he has placed "hearts" for "reasonings." ^C

VERS. 16, 17. "A king is not saved by much power, and a giant will not be saved in the multitude of his strength. A horse is deceptive for safety, and in the multitude of his power he will not be saved." From the outcome of events we have learned that we must not trust in bodily strength, nor in fortitude of soul, nor in the swiftness of horses, nor in a multitude of subjects; for although Sennacherib abounded in all these, he derived no help from them, but rather suffered total destruction. What then must be done, tell us, O prophet?

VERS. 18, 19. "Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope in his mercy. To deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine." Piety, he says, is the conciliator of all good things; for it draws the divine providence to itself, and this prevents both the death that threatens and poverty, while it grants an abundance of good things. Moreover, it is likely that those who were besieged in that siege were in need of the necessities of life, and were afterwards delivered from this calamity by the destruction of the enemies. ^D

VERS. 20, 21. "But our soul will wait for the Lord, for he is our helper and protector. Because our heart will rejoice in him, and we have hoped in his holy name." Since, therefore, we have obtained so many and such great goods, we have a firm hope in God; and we shall always wait for the help that comes from him, for he himself continues to grant us the present

has been granted joy. Then, having said that "in his holy name we have hoped," he beseeches that he may receive mercy equal to his hope. ^A

VERS. 22. "Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we have hoped in thee." This discourse is one of supreme confidence, and bold for the men of this age. For who has so hoped, as to say boldly, "Measure out thy mercy by my hope"? This, indeed, the Lord also taught in the holy Gospels: "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Let us therefore possess a perfect and sincere hope, and let us lead the rest of our life in conformity with that hope, that we may reap abundant mercy. ^B

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXIII

VERS. 1. "A Psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he dismissed him, and he departed." When the divine David had perceived the bitter and envious intent of Saul, and having used the admirable Jonathan as his counselor, he fled, and reached the city of Nob. There, having encountered Abimelech the priest, he concealed his flight, and said that he had been sent by the king on some urgent business. Having asked for bread, he found none other than that which had been set aside for the priests, and he took these, the priest providing them contrary to the precept of the law. For such food was set aside for the priests alone; but nevertheless, the mysteries of grace were prefigured, and the door of divine liberality was opened to those who believe: since the divine food is no longer destined for the priests alone, but the communion of divine things is set before all who wish. ^C And at that time the great David surely took also the sword of Goliath, which, like the first fruits of that battle, he had consecrated to God. Abimelech, however, he called Abiathar, as if bearing a double name. Since, therefore, he was fleeing and did not reveal his flight to the priest, but said he was discharging some kingly business, he is said to have changed his countenance, as not having used his habitual truth [but having assumed a different persona than that which he was accustomed to act]. Some of the writers, however, have provided another argument for this Psalm. For they said that David changed his face when he approached king Achish; ^D then, fearing the snares of the aliens, he feigned madness, and by this means provided for his safety. But there is no agreement with this sense

^A in the words of the Psalm; rather, they befit what has been said, as will be demonstrated immediately with God’s help.

VERS. 2. *I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth.* And, he says, whether fleeing or pursuing, whether in prosperity or in adversity, I praise my Master.

VERS. 5. *In the Lord shall my soul be praised.* He has made me illustrious, and will make me renowned.

*Let the meek hear and rejoice.* [VERS. 4.] *Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.* He does not wish to weave his hymn alone, but makes those who are partakers of the same meekness partakers of the psalmody; then he indicates the cause of this thanksgiving.

VERS. 5. *I have sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my tribulations.* I supplicated him, he says, and I became superior to the calamities.

VERS. 6. *Come ye to him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded.* For he who approaches him with faith receives rays of spiritual light. Thus also the face of the great Moses ^B became glorious in appearance; this, too, David had already said long before: *The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us.* Having thus encouraged such men, he sets himself before them as an exemplar.

VERS. 7. *This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his tribulations.* Learn, he says, from my own circumstances, to trust in the God of all. For when I was base and a shepherd of sheep, he deigned to treat me with his own providence, and rendered me superior to those warring against me. ^C

VERS. 8. *The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them.* The words of the Apostle are in harmony with these. For concerning the angels he says thus: *Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance of salvation?* Thus also the blessed Jacob, when praying, said: *The angel that delivereth me from all evils.* Thus also the patriarch Abraham said to his wonderful servant: *The Lord God will send his angel before thy face, and thou shalt take a wife for my son Isaac from thence.* Thus also the blessed Zechariah ^D says: *The angel that spoke in me.*

^A Ver. 9. *Taste and see that the Lord is sweet; blessed is the man that hopeth in him.* Having said, *Come unto him and be enlightened,* he exhorts, *and taste.* By experience, he says, learn the goodness of the Lord, for from this you shall harvest blessedness. It must be noted, however, that the meaning stated fits the ancient Jews. But the sense that lies hidden in the depth of the letter alludes to the grace of divine mysteries. For through the all-holy baptism, true enlightenment comes to those who approach, and the tasting of the life-giving food clearly shows the goodness of the Savior. For what so clearly shows his love for mankind as the cross, and the passion, and the death endured for our sake, and his becoming for his own sheep both food and a fountain at once?

^B Ver. 10, 11. *Fear the Lord, all ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him. The rich have become poor and have hungered; but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good thing.* These things also agree with what was said above. For he exhorted those who had already received sanctification through baptism to temper their love with fear, and to expect the abundance of good things from God alone. For wealth has many changes, and he who is rich today falls into poverty shortly after. And the Jews, though they were once wealthy in the providence of God, became poor [and hungered because they disbelieved]. But the nations that believed received the abundance of good things from God.

^C Ver. 12, 13. *Come, ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man that desireth life, who loveth to see good days?* Having set forth, as if it were some beloved prize, a life free from pain and most desirable, he urges on to the contests.

Ver. 14, 15. *Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.* First he dissuades from malice, and then he commands one to pursue the forms of virtue; and he advises first that the tongue, as a slippery member, be kept pure from all guile and wickedness. He joins the lips to the tongue, as they also cooperate with its movements. Second, he forbids the practicing of evil: *For turn away,* he says, *from evil.* Then he legislates for good action: *For do,* he says, *good.* And what is the head of good things? *Seek peace, and pursue it.* For he who is a man of peace, embracing peace toward all, neither secretly ^D

^A plots, nor schemes in marriage, nor speaks evil, nor does evil. He does good, he provides, he shares, he defends, he shares the danger, he fights alongside—for such is sincere charity and genuine friendship. Then he shows again the fruit of these things.

Ver. 16. *The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are unto their prayers.* He says that those who do these things are looked upon by the Lord God, and when they ask for good things, they obtain their petitions. Then he confirms what was said from the contrary.

Ver. 17. *The countenance of the Lord is upon them that do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.* He says that he also sees those who dare to commit the contrary acts, and pronounces against them the sentence of destruction.

Vers. 18, 19. *The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and delivered them out of all their tribulations. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart, and will save such as be of a humble spirit.* He says that the Lord is present with the righteous, and gladly receives their prayers; he cares especially for those who use a modest frame of mind, for these he called contrite in heart ^B. This he says also in another psalm: *A broken and a humble heart God will not despise.*

Vers. 20, 21. *Many are the tribulations of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver them out of them all. The Lord keepeth all their bones: not one of them shall be broken.* For he permits them, indeed, to descend into the wrestling-ground of tribulations, but he assists them and renders them victors over the calamities that befall them, strengthening and making solid their thoughts, which he called bones. For as by the bones, as by solid things, the rest of the body is supported, so through one’s thoughts the soul reaps salvation ^C.

Vers. 22, 23. *The death of sinners is evil, and they that hate the righteous shall do amiss. The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants, and none of them that trust in him shall do amiss.* Those, therefore, who are studious of virtue will enjoy such great goods. But they who live in wickedness will receive an end congruent with their life, and an evil end shall terminate evil habits. But those who have resolved to worship God, and who have placed their hope in him, shall obtain salvation from him, inasmuch as they have not consented to sin at all against the laws established by him ^D.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXIV

^A ‹ A Psalm of David. › The blessed David uttered this psalm in the same way, while he was fleeing from Saul. He also makes mention of the malice of Doeg. For he himself reported to Saul those things which are told concerning Abimelech the priest, and became the author of that great massacre. He also makes mention of the Ziphites and the others who denounced David to Saul, as the words themselves will teach.

Vers. 1. ‹ Judge, O Lord, them that wrong me; fight against them that fight against me. › The order of the words is most beautiful, and it befits the prayer of a righteous man. For he first asked God, the Creator of all things, to judge, and then in this way to pronounce the sentence of punishment.

Vers. 2, 3. ‹ Take hold of arms and shield, and arise for my help. Bring out the sword, and shut up against them that persecute me. › Having made mention of war, it was necessary that he should also add the kinds of arms, terrifying men living in iniquity by the appearance of panoply. For God does not need so many weapons to punish the ungodly; for a word alone is sufficient for Him to inflict the ultimate punishment. ‹ Say to my soul, I am thy salvation. › Thy word is sufficient for me to be saved. For since the prophet made mention of arms, he rightly taught that God does not need such ministers, but by a ^B word alone He both punishes those and benefits these.

Vers. 4. ‹ Let them be confounded and ashamed that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that desire evils against me. › Let them wander, he says, from those things which they prepare against me, and let the fruit of malice be their own disgrace.

Vers. 5. ‹ Let them be as dust before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord coarct them. › He also set this down in the first psalm: ‹ Not so the ungodly, not so: but as the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth. ›

Vers. 6. ‹ Let their way become darkness and a slippery place: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them. › Turn them into flight, committing the persecution to your invisible angels. Thus we find also the Assyrians slain by an angel; and the exterminator destroyed the firstborn of the Egyptians. Now, by darkness and a slippery place, he refers to a fall. For those who stumble, and those who endure slipping, are accustomed to fall. And showing the justice of his prayers, he adds:

* Ps. 1, 5.

^A VER. 7. "For without cause they have hidden their destruction for me in their trap; in vain have they reproached my soul." He says that they have used unjust plots against me. Symmachus has translated "reproached" as "they have mined." He alludes to the destruction being prepared in secret.

VER. 8. "Let a trap come upon him which he does not know, and let the capture which he has hidden catch him, and let him fall into this trap." He says: may they fall into the things they prepare, and may they fall into their own nets; may they endure an unexpected hunting. For this is what he said: "a trap which he does not know."

VER. 9, 10. "But my soul shall exult in the Lord; it shall delight in His salvation. All my bones shall say: O Lord, Lord, who is like unto Thee?" But I shall reap both pleasure and joy from Your good things, O Master, and with all my limbs I shall cry out that You alone are God. For the words, "Who is like unto Thee?" signify that You alone are God, having power over all things. "Delivering the needy from the hand of those stronger than him, and the needy and poor from those who plunder him." For You do not allow the weaker ^B to be besieged by the more powerful; but You oppress those people, and assist these.

VER. 11. "Unjust witnesses rising up, asked me of things that I knew not." He says: I suffered slander, being accused of things I had not even thought of. For since Saul, goaded by envy, suspected him of wanting to seize the tyranny, and on account of this kept waging war, those who were envious, seizing the opportunity, did not cease to compose slanders against him. He calls these men false witnesses. Of this number was Doeg, of this number were the Ziphites, and many others besides these.

VER. 12. "They rewarded me evil for good, and childlessness to my soul." For I killed the boasting Goliath, who was acting youthfully against all the people, and I defeated the foreigners many times; and by spiritual ^C melodies I liberated him from the madness of the demons; yet he does not cease warring against me, wishing to deliver me to death and to destroy me with oblivion. For he called forgetfulness "childlessness," as memory is preserved through children. Therefore, the God of all things... ^D

^A through the prophet Isaiah says: "Let not the eunuch say, 'I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who choose: What I desire, I will give them in my house, in my wall a marvelous place, and a good name, better than sons and daughters."

VERS. 13. "But I, when they were troublesome to me, put on sackcloth, and I humbled my soul in fasting; and my prayer shall return into my bosom." From this we learn how one ought to resolve calamities; for, he says, clothed in sackcloth and consumed by fasting, I offered supplication to God, and I received the fruits of my petition. For the phrase, "And my prayer shall return into my bosom," this signifies ^B instead of: Praying, I received the petitions from God and filled my bosom.

VERS. 14. "As a neighbor and as our brother, so I was pleasing; as one mourning and dejected, so I was humbled." Every act of duty, he says, I offered him as to a true brother, and I imitated the humility of a man grieving and mourning, not being willing to act proudly over my right actions. This also the history teaches. For when Saul had said there, "Art thou the son of David?" he answered, saying: "Thy servant, my lord the king." And again: "Why does my lord the king pursue after a dead dog, and after a single flea?"

VERS. 15. "And against me they rejoiced and gathered; scourges were gathered against me, and I knew not." They, however, set upon me with a multitude, ^C expecting to kill me, and they attacked suddenly, attempting to catch me unawares. For the expression, "Scourges were gathered against me, and I knew not," is thus interpreted by Symmachus: "Strikers were gathered against me, and I knew not." "They were torn asunder, and were not pricked." And having failed, he says, of their hope and having been scattered, they did not repent of the evil things they had plotted; but again they attempted the same things.

VERS. 16. "They tempted me, they mocked me with mockery, they gnashed upon me with their teeth." ^D

^A Through every kind of trial, he says, they traveled, desiring to satisfy their own wrath; for sometimes they attempted to hunt with deceitful words, and sometimes they gnashed like lions in their murderous bloodthirstiness.

VERS. 17. "Lord, when wilt thou look upon me?" This he said not by way of accusing, but out of a longing for help. When, he says, wilt thou appear and defend one who has been treated unjustly?

VERS. 18. "Restore my soul from their malignity." Make my soul superior to all their machinations. "Deliver my only one from the lions." Since he had said above, "They gnashed upon me with their teeth," and since gnashing is characteristic of lions, he quite rightly called them lions too, reproving the cruelty and bestial nature of their intent. As for "my only one," Symmachus has called it "my solitude," that is, one destitute of all human aid. ^B

VERS. 19. "I will confess to thee, Lord, in a great church; I will praise thee among a heavy people." What he says, "among a heavy people," Symmachus has expressed as "among a very numerous people." This was a prophecy, and a prophecy that has received its fulfillment; for in every land and sea, the divine David celebrates God through the mouths of those who have already believed. For he calls the great Church and the numerous people the churches erected throughout the world.

VERS. 20. "Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me, who hate me without a cause and wink with their eyes." Here again he made mention of those who incited Saul; they indeed feigned friendship, but behaved in a hostile manner. He stated this more clearly in the following verses.

VERS. 21. "For they spoke to me indeed peaceably, and in wrath they devised deceits." For, using friendly words, they were attempting to hide their wrath as if in some ground, having a mind full of deceit.

VERS. 22. "And they opened their mouth wide against me, saying: Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it." But when they saw that I had perceived their snare, they henceforth laid bare their hidden hatred, rejoicing with clamor over my calamities. ^D

VERS. 23, 24. "Thou hast seen, O Lord; do not be silent; O Lord, be not far from me. Arise, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, my God and my Lord, to my cause." Thou art a Judge, O Master,

^A and nothing escapes your observation. Do not despise what has been done, nor leave me destitute of your providence; but judge, and quickly deliver the verdict. That this is so, the things that follow also declare.

25, 26. "Judge me according to your justice, O Lord my God, and let not my enemies rejoice over me. Let them not say in their hearts, Aha, aha, to our soul, nor let them say, We have swallowed him up." For if you postpone the judgment, O Master, they will mock me again, and will take my pains as an occasion for joy, and will consider my misfortune to be their own prosperity.

27. "Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together who rejoice at my evils; let them be clothed with shame and confusion who speak boastfully against me." ^B Shame is appropriate for those who mock their neighbors; therefore, the Prophet imprecated this upon the arrogant and the boastful.

28. "Let those who delight in my justice exult and rejoice, and let those who wish for the peace of his servant say always, Let the Lord be magnified." May those who wish me well and desire my peace not cease to exult and rejoice, and when they see me having attained this, may they praise you, the Master.

29. "And my tongue shall meditate on your justice, all the day your praise." Having experienced your providence, I shall meditate on your commandments night and day, and shall perpetually praise your benefits. For "all the day," Symmachus said "every day," ^C signifying continuity. The Psalm, therefore, has this ending. But I advise those who read these things not to take any offense from the prayers of a just man, nor to seize upon them as a pretext for imprecating against their enemies. For they should know that the Prophet followed the state of the Law, and not the evangelical way of life. The Law indeed commands to love one's neighbor and to hate one's enemy. But the Master Christ, showing the most perfect virtue, said, ^D "It was said to the ancients: You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy; but I say to you: Love your enemies, and bless those who curse you." Agreement with these, the divine Apostle also says: "Bless, and do not curse."

In the light, therefore, of this difference, recognize what is fitting for the law and what for grace. Furthermore, the blessed David did not say these things by way of cursing; rather, in the manner of a prophet, he foretold things that were clearly to come. And that he himself also did not avenge himself upon those who did him wrong, in accordance with the legislation of the Gospel, hear him saying: “If I have repaid those who rendered evil to me, then might I fall empty before my enemies; might the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and trample my life into the earth, and lay my glory in the dust” (Ps. VII, 5, 6). He did not merely speak these words without fulfilling them, but brought his words to their conclusion; and facts are clearer than words. For, having twice taken his enemy captive, he not only did not kill him himself, but even prevented those who wished to do so; and he wept bitterly for him when he fell in battle, and he punished with death the man who announced his death, because he rejoiced and boastfully claimed like a youth to have killed him. I have been forced to go through these matters because of those who utter curses and bring forward the divine David, so that they may take the great philosophy of David as a model of benefit.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXV

^BVER. 1. “Unto the end, to the servant of the Lord, David.” When the divine David had Saul within his grasp, not only did he not kill him himself, but he even hindered those who attempted to do so. At daybreak, having taken his position upon a certain mountain-top, he reproves Saul and refutes his unjust enmity, demonstrating that when he found him sleeping in the night, he did not kill him as an enemy, but saved him as a benefactor. And he shows the hem of his cloak, and the cup of water, and the spear, which he had taken to demonstrate the truth of his words. To this, Saul answered, using words colored with benevolence and wearing the mask ^C of friendship. Moreover, he added oaths to his words, feigning repentance. It was then, therefore, that the blessed David spoke this Psalm, accusing those who live in wickedness and proclaiming the providence of God which extends in every direction. He intermixed, however, theology and prophecy with his words; and for this reason the inscription sends the reader “unto the end.”

VER. 2. “The unjust man says within himself that he may sin.” The man who has been nurtured in wickedness, he says, thinks that no one sees the hidden counsels of his soul. For where he says “says,” he has used it instead of “thinks” and “supposes”: There is no fear of God before his eyes. Furthermore, the cause of this stupidity...

is that he does not fear the Master who oversees all things.

^A Ver. 3. “For he has acted deceitfully before Him, to find his iniquity and to hate it.” Thus, he says, he corrupted himself and cast the fear of God from his own eyes, so that his iniquity, being manifest, could be seen and found by all, and because of this be worthy of hatred. Unbendingly he gave himself over to iniquity. Yet he has this ignorance willingly, as one not wishing to ponder the things done, and to hate his evilly committed deeds.

Ver. 4, 5. “The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit; he did not wish to understand so as to do good. He meditated iniquity upon his bed; he has stood on every way that is not good, but he did not hate malice.” For indeed he uses words destitute of truth and woven with deceit; he does not wish ^B to perceive what is proper, but even by night he contrives evils against his neighbor, and by day he attempts to fulfill his plans. The cause of this is that he does not loathe, and utterly turn himself away from, the forms of wickedness. For he has placed “he did not hate” instead of “he did not loathe.” For indeed divine Scripture sometimes calls idols “abominations” and sometimes “offendicula.” This Aquila translated as “he did not cast away” [— Symmachus, “he did not reject” —]; Theodotion, “he did not spurn.”

Ver. 6, 7. “Lord, Your mercy is in the heaven, and Your truth even to the clouds. And Your justice is as the mountains of God.” Those men, therefore, as if no one were looking, attempt to do such things; but You, Master, have mercy that is immeasurable, and truth that is unassessed, and justice likened to the greatest mountains. But Your truth reaches even to men through the prophets, as if through certain clouds, granting them salvific rain. “Your judgments are a great abyss.” Yet having such truth and justice, why You procrastinate, I do not know; Your judgments imitate the abyss, which cannot be penetrated by sight. For just as the depth of that abyss is invisible to men, so the reach of Your judgments ^C is inaccessible.

^A And what is the cause of this?

VER. 8. «How You have multiplied Your mercy, O God!» For Your loving-kindness extends even to the beasts, and You nourish not only men, but also those things which were made for the sake of man, benefiting men through these as well. «But the sons of men shall hope under the shelter of Your wings.» The discourse contains a prophecy, indicating specifically the change which occurred after the incarnation of our Savior. For He did not say, "they have hoped," but "they shall hope."

VER. 9. «They shall be inebriated with the abundance of Your house, and You shall make them drink of the torrent of Your pleasure.» The nature of men will take refuge in You, seeing the abundance of good things which spring up in Your house. By these words, He hints not only at the streams of divine teaching, but also at the enjoyment of mystical food. He likened the giving of such great goods to a torrent, first, because it was not given to men from the beginning; and then, because He encourages all men to approach and drink, as if it were not a perpetual river, but a torrent flowing for a time. For those who have not approached in this life, once they have departed from here, will not enjoy the sacred waters. And when He had shown that, in its nature, the flow of good things is perpetual, but becomes a torrent on account of the dispensations, He opportunely added:

VER. 10. «For with You is the fountain of life.» In this place, He clearly reveals to us the mystery of the holy Trinity. For He named the Only-Begotten Word of God the fountain of life. For so also He calls Himself through Jeremiah the prophet: «They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have gone off and dug for themselves broken cisterns which cannot hold water.» ^C He says, therefore, that this fountain is with the Father, according to the Gospel doctrine which says: «I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me.» — «In Your light we shall see light.» For being illuminated by the all-holy Spirit, we contemplate the rays of Your Only-Begotten. For «no one,» He says, «can say that Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit.» And: «To us God has revealed through His Spirit.» We have learned, therefore, exactly through the prophetic words, the three properties of the one divinity. ^D

11. « Extend thy mercy to those who know thee, and thy justice to those who are upright in heart. » ^B Continue, therefore, to bestow thy constant and just providence upon those who have been deemed worthy of the knowledge of God and have chosen to act rightly. For he has spoken of both regarding the same persons, using a division according to the custom of the language. He does not speak of some as those who know him, and others as those who are upright in heart; nor did he ask for mercy for some and justice for others; rather, having defined perfect virtue through true doctrines and good deeds, he promised mercy and justice to those who possess this.

12, 13. « Let not the foot of pride come to me, and let the hand of the sinner not move me. There have the workers of iniquity fallen; they have been thrust out, and shall not be able to stand. » ^C This passage, « There have the workers of iniquity fallen, » Symmachus interpreted thus: « Where the workers of iniquity fall, they are thrust out and shall not be able to stand. » The prophet asks to preserve the measures of nature and not to be turned aside from the straight path by the treacheries of lawless men, seeing as he does the end of the contrary path. For those who fall into it, he says, will not be able to rise again or run into the other way. Consonant with this are the things stated in the sixth psalm: « For there is no one in death who remembers thee; and in hell, who shall confess to thee? »

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXVI

1. « A Psalm of David. Do not envy those who do evil, nor be jealous of those who work iniquity. » ^D Taught by experience, the divine David knew how great a source of good things gentleness is, and that the end of those who live in injustice and use haughtiness is grievous and appropriate to their life (he had learned these things from what happened in the time of Saul and Absalom, and from all others who had done similar things). He offers an exhortation to all men, admonishing them to bear with a steady mind the painful things that are accustomed to happen, and by no means to consider the happiness and prosperity of evil men as blessed, but rather to call them miserable. Therefore, beginning the psalm, he says: « Do not envy those who do evil, nor be jealous of those who work iniquity. » Now, as for *Do not envy*, Symmachus interpreted it as *do not contend*, and Theodotion as *do not be irritated*, that is, do not be incited to...

^A imitation of wicked men when you see the success that happens to them. And showing the instability of happiness, he immediately subjoined:

VERS. 2. ‹For like grass they shall quickly wither, and like the green herbs they shall quickly fall.› Blessed Isaiah also said these things: ‹All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass; the grass was dried up, and its flower fell off, but the word of the Lord remains forever.› ^B Blessed David says this as well.

VERS. 3, 4. ‹Hope in the Lord, and do good, and dwell on the earth, and you shall be fed on its wealth. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the petitions of your heart.› Through all of this he has taught the advantage of hope placed in God; for he who, he says, has fixed his hope on Him, and is pastured by Him, will enjoy the goods supplied by Him; but those will attain these with a full hand who consider true delights to be the having of a perennial fellowship with Him.

VERS. 5, 6. ‹Reveal your way to the Lord, and hope in Him, and He will act. And He will bring forth your justice as the light, and your judgment as the noonday.› Entrust, he says, both yourself and your actions to God, and wait for the help from Him; for He, as Judge, will bring forth a just verdict, and will proclaim you, and will make you illustrious, so as to be clear to all, like the light of noonday.

VERS. 7. ‹Be subject to the Lord, and supplicate Him.› Knowing these things, therefore, obey God who governs, and continue to ask from Him the necessary goods. ‹Do not envy him who prospers in his way, against the man who does injustice.› If, therefore, you see anyone acting wickedly, and not failing in his aim, but being carried along by a favorable current, do not be indignant, nor take it hard, as if no one were governing ^C the fabric of this world. For the following verses demonstrate this:

VERS. 8, 9. ‹Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: do not envy so as to do evil. For those who do evil shall be utterly destroyed.› Do not look upon their success, but wait for the end, and you will see destruction. ‹But those who wait for the Lord, they shall inherit the land.›

[VERS. 10, 11.] ‹And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be, and you shall search for his place, and you shall not find it. But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in the multitude of peace.› For ^D

know that those who have hung themselves upon the divine hope, and have chosen a gentle life, shall live out their days in tranquility and peace, having the purity of conscience as their permanent delight. But those who trust in fleeting prosperity shall receive a swift change, and shall be delivered to total ^A oblivion.

VERS. 12, 13. ‹The sinner shall watch the righteous, and shall gnash his teeth against him. But the Lord shall laugh at him, for He foresees that his day shall come.› By these words He offers consolation to those who are suffering injustice. For He shows that the sinner is indeed possessed by madness and rages against those who have embraced a quiet life; but that the righteous Judge laughs at their audacious undertakings, as He foresees their swift end.

VERS. 14, 15. ‹The sinners have drawn the sword; they have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay the upright in heart. Let their sword enter into their hearts, and their bows be broken.› These words have the same meaning ^B as the preceding ones. For He teaches that the sinner uses all kinds of plots against those who have done no wrong, but that he shall be pierced by his own snares. He calls their various treacherous designs a "sword" and a "bow." These things are like what was said in the seventh psalm: ‹He has opened a pit, and dug it, and he shall fall into the pit which he made.›

VERS. 16. ‹Better is a little to the righteous, than the great wealth of sinners.› Better, he says, is sufficiency with justice than the lawless wealth and the unjust abundance of sinners. Then, showing the fruit of both, he says:

VERS. 17. ‹For the arms of sinners shall be broken, but the Lord supports ^C the righteous.› He metaphorically called their power "arms," because it is by these that men are naturally accustomed to work. He has very aptly used the phrase "supports the righteous"; for although they are pushed by demons and men, they are supported by divine grace, and so they stand firm and become superior to the difficulties that come upon them.

VERS. 18, 19. ‹The Lord knows the ways of the blameless, and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in an evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.› Those who choose a blameless life enjoy every providence. For even if they fall into calamities, they are shown to be superior to them; and when there is a general ^D shortage, they receive a sufficient livelihood from God.

^A I believe that by hunger here is signified that which was threatened against the ancient Jews: "I will bring a hunger upon the land, not a hunger of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a hunger for hearing the word of the Lord."

VERS. 20. "For sinners shall perish: but the enemies of the Lord, as soon ^B as they have been honored and exalted, failing like smoke they shall fail." The change of the conjunction introduced a distinction of persons; it gives an excuse for interpreting that some are sinners, while others are enemies of the Lord. But Aquila and Symmachus, by placing the conjunction "and" instead of "but," showed that they are the same—both sinners and enemies of the Lord. He says that men who were enemies because of their own transgressions, after having flourished for a short time and having seemed to be illustrious and conspicuous, were dissolved like smoke.

VERS. 21. "The sinner borrows, and will not repay: but the just man shows mercy, and gives." Such was Saul, who, though always receiving benefits from the divine David, was unwilling to repay the benefactor with good things. But the blessed David, imitating his own Lord, who makes his sun rise upon the evil and the good, did not cease to do good to him. Such were the Jews, who, though receiving all manner of healings from the holy apostles, showed a bloodthirsty spirit toward them; yet the divine apostles generously distributed the divine gifts to them.

VERS. 22. "For those who bless him shall inherit the land, but those who curse him shall be destroyed." ^C This the God of all promised to the patriarch Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you."

VERS. 23, 24. "By the Lord the steps of a man are directed, and his way he will greatly desire. When he falls, he shall not be dashed to pieces, for the Lord upholds his hand." For this reason he praises the just man who blesses, but rewards the one who curses with an equal scale, since He Himself directs the ways of the just. For it is impossible that anyone, without His grace, should walk the way of virtue without blame. However, He assists those who have such a purpose, and it is necessary that human readiness and divine providence should converge together for the acquisition of virtue. For thus, even if he who follows this path should sometimes slip, he will attain divine assistance. In this way the blessed David, after he had stumbled and was in danger of falling to the ground, was raised up by divine grace.

^A VERS. 25, 26. "I was young, and even became old; and I have not seen a righteous man abandoned, nor his seed seeking bread. The righteous man shows mercy and lends all the day, and his seed shall be in blessing." "Neither when I was young, nor when I had come to old age, do I know that I have seen a righteous man having become destitute of divine providence." For the righteous Judge exercises every care, not only for them, but also for those who spring from them. Thus, he took thought for Israel, despite its acting impiously, because of the virtue of their ancestors. In the same way, he endured Solomon, though he sinned impiously, because of his father’s piety. But the phrase, "The righteous man shows mercy and lends all the day," signifies the manifold benefits of the righteous person—those through wealth, those through deeds, and those through words and counsel. Doing these things, he shows mercy to those who enjoy them, but he lends to the God of these people: "For he who shows mercy to the poor," he says, "lends to God," so that alms and a loan are the same thing.

VERS. 27. "Turn away from evil, and do good, and dwell for ever and ever." Since ^B all you men know these things, and have learned the rewards of virtue and the wages of vice, flee from the forms of vice and travel the opposite path, that you might enjoy eternal goods.

VERS. 28, 29. "For the Lord loves judgment, and will not forsake his saints; for they shall be kept forever; but the lawless shall be driven out, and the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed. The righteous shall inherit the earth, and dwell for ever and ever upon it." The Lord of all, using upright and just judgment, will make his retributions proportionate to our pursuits; he will deem those who are lovers of justice worthy of every care, but those who choose the opposite he will tear up by the roots. Thus, having shown the fruits of both, he teaches henceforth how it is possible to achieve the justice that is pleasing to God.

VERS. 30, 31. "The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be tripped." It is ^C proper, he says, to carry the divine oracles both in the tongue and in the mind, and to make their study perpetual. For in this way, the lover of virtue, learning what is to be done, will remain calm and unshaken, prevailing over those who attempt to cast him down. He said these things also in the first psalm: "But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he will meditate day and night," and what follows. ^D

^A Ver. 32, 33. The sinner watches the just man, and seeks to put him to death. But the Lord will not leave him in his hands, nor will he condemn him when he is judged with him. He says the same things in different ways, making the memory more tenacious through greater meditation. He says, then, that the Master will not disregard the just man when he is being plotted against by wicked men, nor will he cast a vote with those who dare such things, but he will ensure that he leaps over the nets. Abraham enjoyed this providence, his wife Sarah having been snatched away twice; Isaac enjoyed this, having suffered this very same thing; Jacob enjoyed this, envied by his brother and his father-in-law; Joseph enjoyed this, assaulted by envy and calumny. And what need is there to recount everything? For it is easy for those who love learning to both gather the ancient things and contemplate the new.

Ver. 34. Wait for the Lord, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will see it when the sinners have perished. Having learned these things, therefore, wait for the divine sentence, and keep the laws that have been laid down. For thus you will be illustrious in this present life, and you will enjoy the permanent goods in the future, and you will see the most wretched end of sinners. Then, because it saddens many that they do not see the punishment of unjust men right now, but rather [see them] persisting for a long time, he rightly confirms the future things by the things that have already happened.

^B Ver. 35, 36. I saw the impious exalted and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon. And I passed by, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, and his place was not found. For the great David saw the end of the kingdom of Saul, and the destruction of the tyranny of Absalom, and the pride and ruin of Nahash the Ammonite, and the death with arrogance of Goliath the alien, and the arrogance, pride, and total destruction of not a few others besides these. Rightly, therefore, did he compare their prosperity ^C to barren trees. He said, moreover, that they themselves are empty, and not only they, but even their places; and through these words he revealed the memorial. Then he brings in an exhortation and counsel again.

Ver. 37. Keep innocence, and see uprightness, because there are remains for the peaceful man. Symmachus translated this as follows: Keep simplicity, and see what is straight, because there are future [things] for the peaceful man. Do not look, he says, at present troubles, but wait for the future. For there is a time in which, to those who have practiced simplicity and uprightness, the appropriate reward will be rendered. ^D

^A 38. "The transgressors, however, shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the ungodly shall be destroyed." ^B Symmachus once again expressed this thus: "But the covenant-breakers shall be wiped out at once; the latter ends of the lawless shall be cut off." In that time, he says, these also shall receive the rewards of their malice, and shall suffer a common destruction.

39, 40. "But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, and He is their protector in time of tribulation. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them, and rescue them from sinners, and shall save them, because they have hoped in Him." But those who are workers of righteousness shall enjoy divine aid, and shall attain salvation, and shall prevail over those who attempt to do them injustice, since they have placed their pure hope in Him.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXVII

1. "A Psalm of David, for a memorial concerning the Sabbath." The variety of his confession demonstrates the sincere repentance of the most divine David. For in many psalms he makes mention of sin, as one who could not endure the wound; nay, he brings into the midst both the disease and the cure, offering to men a subject of instruction. Therefore, in this psalm too, he makes mention of sin, and of the chastisement brought upon him for the expiation of that sin. For many and various troubles befell him: namely, the slaughter of Amnon, the tyranny of Absalom, the counselor Achitophel ^C scheming against him, the abusive Shimei, and the other things which history teaches.

2. "O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy wrath, neither chasten me in Thy displeasure." He once again made this the prologue of the sixth psalm, praying that he be chastened after the manner of a physician, not a judge, and that he be treated not with harsher medicines, but with mild ones.

3. "For Thine arrows are fastened in me, and Thou hast pressed Thy hand heavily upon me." This, he says, I do not entreat in vain, for I see a storm of arrows brought against me, and Thy hand pressing heavily upon me and smiting me violently. For the phrase, "And Thou hast pressed Thy hand heavily upon me," he used by way of a metaphor taken from those who lash others and inflict many ^D wounds.

4. "There is no healing in my flesh because of Thy wrath; there is no peace in my

^A bones because of my sins." ^B Being stung, he says, by the punishment for sin, I am reminded; and the memory of it itself produces lamentations and wailing for me; and from these, distress and misery arise for me.

VERS. 5-7. "For my iniquities have gone over my head, as a heavy burden they have weighed heavily upon me. My stripes have putrefied and are corrupt, because of my foolishness. I have been troubled and bowed down until the end; I went about mourning the whole day." He says that the heavy burden of sin has bowed me down; and the foul odor of those putrified wounds—which I received when I cast off prudence and served foolishness—afflicts me. For this reason, deprived of all pleasure, I lament and am perpetually sad, and I find no change in this gloom.

VERS. 8. "For my loins have been filled with illusions, and there is no healing in my flesh." By "loins," he makes a sign of concupiscentia. For the kidneys dwell in these, by which appetites are accustomed to be stirred. He says, therefore, that the cause of these evils for me was that I did not use my desire for what was right, but abused it for licentiousness.

VERS. 9. "I have been afflicted and humbled exceedingly; I have roared from the groaning of my heart." From that ^C concupiscence, he says, I garnered the bowing down to the earth, and to groan perpetually because of the bitter pains of my heart. For this reason, having changed the operation of my concupiscence, I have made it a servant of the divine will. For he subjoined this:

VERS. 10. "Lord, all my desire is before Thee." For since I once abused it badly, ever after I will dedicate it to Thy commandments. "And my groaning is not hidden from Thee."

[VERS. 11.] "My heart is troubled, my strength has forsaken me, and the light of my eyes, even it is not with me." You see, he says, O Master, my wailings and tears; you see me agitated, and deprived of my strength, and deprived of my accustomed light, and living as it were in darkness at midday. By these things he signifies two things at once: both the immensity of the grief, through which the light is not seen,

and the lack of divine providence, which he rightly called the light of the eyes ^A.

VERS. 12. "My friends and my neighbors drew near and stood against me, and those who were close to me stood far off." Symmachus interpreted this as follows: "My friends and my associates stood against me in the face of my wound." For he says that some of his friends, seeing his wound, acted like enemies and openly stood against him, while others, being afraid, withdrew and did not share their aid with him. By the former, he tacitly hints at Ahithophel, who not only abandoned him but also brought forward destructive counsels. Others, as is likely, did the same things as he; or rather, the greatest part of Israel, and indeed the tribe of Judah itself, waged war on behalf of Absalom. Therefore, immediately after the slaying of the parricide, they exhorted one another to anticipate the other tribes and bring King David back to the royal palace.

VERS. 13. "And they who sought my soul used violence, and those who sought my evils spoke vanity and meditated deceits all the day long." When the enemies saw me stripped of my friends, they did not cease to weave snares against me, desiring my slaughter.

VERS. 14, 15. "But I, as a deaf man, did not hear, and as a dumb man not opening his mouth. And I became as a man not hearing, and not having in his mouth reproofs." History teaches this more clearly. For although Absalom condemned the judgments of his father and enticed to himself those who had lost their cases in court, the blessed David acted with patience. And when Shimei reviled him, striking him with both tongue and hand, he bore the insults in silence, and forbade Abishai, who attempted to exact punishment from the wicked man, saying, "Let him alone to curse me, for the Lord has commanded him to curse David" ^B.

VERS. 16, 17. "For in thee, O Lord, I have hoped, thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God. For I said, Lest at any time my enemies rejoice over me, and when my feet are moved, they speak great things against me." Using this, he says, this patience, I continued to have hope in you, committing my own judgment to you and beseeching you not to let me become a derision to my enemies, nor let the loss of my cause become for them a handle for arrogance and vanity.

VERS. 18. "For I am ready for scourges ^C, and my

^A grief is before me continually." It is fitting for me, he says, that sin has made me worthy of scourges; wherefore I subject myself to the punishments, for I desire healing, being pricked by the pains of sin. VERS. 19. "For I will declare my iniquity, and I will be anxious for my sin." For this reason I become my own accuser, and I will exert every care for my health. VERS. 20, 21. "But my enemies live and are strengthened over me, and those who hate me unjustly have been multiplied. They who render evil for good." — "For I alone," he says, "sinned against Thee, O Master, and did evil before Thee." But they, having received many benefits from me frequently, recompense me with the contrary, and have acquired strength greater than mine. "They have calumniated me, because I followed goodness." Again, by these words he indicates Absalom, who reviled his judgments and called them unjust. And because he was a son striving to become a parricide, he rightly added: "And they cast me out, the beloved, as a dead man held in abomination." For he whom he ought to have loved according to the laws of nature, him he loathed as a foul-smelling corpse. This also befits the ungrateful people, who, having received infinite benefits from David and having often through him overcome the foreigners, showed themselves ungrateful toward their benefactor. ^B VERS. 22, 23. "Do not forsake me, O Lord my God, do not depart from me. Attend to my help, O Lord of my salvation." Surrounded by such great pains, he says, I beseech Thee, my God and Master, not to deprive me of Thy customary providence, but to grant me aid and bestow salvation.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXVIII

VERS. 1. "Unto the end, to Idithum. A psalm of David." Some writers ascribed the psalm to Idithum and said that he himself wrote it. But the title teaches the contrary: namely, that the psalm is David’s, and that it was given to Idithum for singing, to whom the choir of singers was entrusted. It directs us "unto the end" because it laments the vileness ^D of human nature and demonstrates its end. The great David uttered this psalm while he was fleeing from Absalom and being reviled by Semei, and it has much correspondence with the preceding psalm.

^A “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I have set a guard to my mouth, while the sinner stood against me. I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence from good; and my pain was renewed.” When the great David was fleeing from the tyranny of his parricide son, Semei met him on the road, cast stones at him, and reviled him with words, calling him a lawless man and a man of blood. But the divine David, using his customary wisdom, not only did not take vengeance on them himself, but also prevented one of his generals, who was attempting to strike the man with a javelin, saying: “Let him alone, for he curses me; for the Lord said to him to revile David, and who shall say to him, ‘Why have you done so?’ that the Lord may look upon my humiliation, and the Lord may repay me good for his cursing this day.” The words of this psalm, therefore, have great agreement with this history. For he says ^B that he took great care of his tongue, knowing that this member is very slippery; and he always fortified it as if with a wall, especially when Semei stood against him, having suffered no injury. For he calls him a sinner, as one who is unjust. For then, “I was dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence from good.” These things are very similar to those said by him in the history: “Let him alone to curse, for the Lord has commanded him to revile David; if perhaps the Lord look upon my humiliation, and deliver me today from the hand of my enemies.” Here too he says this, that I was like a deaf man, totally not hearing, and I humbled myself, expecting gain therefrom. “And my pain was renewed.” By him, he says, being reviled, the sins I had dared to commit came into my memory, and I was pricked by the goads resulting from them, considering that for this reason I am being reviled, and being tyrannized, ^C and driven from the kingdom, and forced to flee. And these things also have much kinship with the history. For the phrase, “The Lord commanded him to revile David,” contains a mention of sin, since it was because of that [sin] that the chastisement occurred.

^D 4. “My heart waxed hot within me, and in my meditation a fire will kindle.” This [original-script column: see facsimile]

^A Symmachus interpreted thus: “My heart grew hot within me, and while I pondered, I burned with fire.” Recalling to memory, he says, my sin, I was kindled by the fire of grief.

VER. 5. “I spoke with my tongue, O Lord, make me to know my end: and the number of my days, what it is; that I may know what I lack.” Therefore I answered the reviler with nothing, but I supplicated the Lord of all, that He might make known to me the end of my life, as I desired death greatly.

VER. 6. “Behold, Thou hast made my days as things that can be measured, and my substance is as nothing before Thee.” ^B This again Symmachus expressed thus: “Behold, Thou hast given my days as spans, and my life is as nothing before Thee.” I desire death, knowing that human nature is by no means long-lived. For our life does not seem to consist [in anything] when compared with Thy life. For Thou art without beginning and without end, but our life is measured out by, as it were, spans and hands’ breadths. By this he demonstrated the brevity of the time of human life. Thus he also says elsewhere: “For a thousand years in Thy sight, O Lord, are as yesterday which is past, and as a watch in the night.” And elsewhere, when he had made mention of the heavens and the earth: ^C “They,” he says, “shall perish, but Thou remainest; and all shall wax old as a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.” “Yet surely all is vanity, every man living.” Wherefore, he says, all the nature of men, both rich and poor, are like a vapor which dissolves, and who build, plant, and gather together riches and wealth in vain and to no purpose.

VER. 7. “Surely man passeth away in an image, nay, he is disquieted in vain: he heapeth up treasures, and knoweth not for whom he shall gather them.” ^D Nothing, he says, do living men differ from those who are depicted in a picture: for the nature of both these and those alike slips away and is corrupted by time. Nevertheless, men are none the less perturbed, contending, fighting, waging war, and trading; and all human life is filled with storms and waves, ending in death: and while they gather together wealth with much labor and sweat, they do not know their future heir. This the blessed David also wrote, prompted by the things he himself experienced. For when he had rendered the kingdom most great and truly illustrious by the spoils taken from the wars, and by the gifts brought by the foreigners—

he was ignorant of his son’s impious and lawless intent. ^A Afterwards, when he saw him take control of the royal houses and seize the wealth that had been stored up, he uttered this marvelous saying: "Verily, man is disquieted in vain; he heaps up treasures, and knows not for whom he shall gather them."

Vers. 8. "And now, what is my expectation? Is it not the Lord? And my substance is with thee." ^B Having said farewell to all those things, I await help from thee. Aquila called the "substance" expectation, as if to say, "I am looking out for thee, keeping watch; I am awaiting thy favor." Then he points out the cause of his sufferings.

Vers. 9. "Deliver me from all my transgressions." And again he brings to mind Semei: "Thou hast given me up as a reproach to the foolish." This also fits very well with what is said in the history: "The Lord said to him to curse David." And the verses that follow are likewise consistent with what has been said.

Vers. 10. "I was dumb, and I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it." For since thou didst permit it, he says, that man acted with frenzy; and he was like a scourge, but thou wert bringing the chastisement through him. For this reason, I received the scourges in silence, disregarding him, but seeing thee inflicting the punishment. And he has placed the following words also very appropriately.

Vers. 11, 12. "Remove thy scourges from me. For I have failed by the strength of thy hand." Therefore, I beseech and entreat thee, O Master, cease at last from the chastisement; for I have been consumed by the multitude of the scourges. "With rebukes for iniquity thou hast chastened man, and thou hast made his soul to melt away like a spider." ^C It is not in vain, he says, and to no purpose that thou hast used these chastisements, but by rebuking my sins, and like a physician cutting and drawing out the hidden corruption; and though thou searchest me with the pains caused by the healing, nevertheless thou art procuring health for those who are being cut. "Verily, every man is disquieted in vain." Reflecting on these things within myself, therefore, I see that men ought not to be troubled at all on account of temporary things.

Vers. 13, 14. "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication; give ear to my tears; be not silent, for I am a sojourner, and ^D

a stranger, as were all my fathers. Spare me, that I may find rest before I go hence, and be no more." ^A *I beseech You,* he says, *O Master, hear me as I implore and offer my tearful supplication; for I am not a dweller upon the earth, but a sojourner, and, like my fathers, after living a short time, I shall make my exit in death.* Grant me, therefore, a short reprieve, that I may live for a few days at least without pain, before I depart from this life. For *having gone forth, I shall not return.* For by the words *and I shall be no more* he meant this—namely, that he would not return to this corruptible life. Yet it is worth admiring great David, who, while in the possession of a kingdom, and wealth, and power, calls himself a visitor and a sojourner, and refuses to rely upon prosperity. For truly these words are full of wisdom, recognizing the nature of things that are, and on this account disregarding present good fortune.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XXXIX

^B Vers. 1. *To the end, a psalm of David.* Some have understood this psalm to refer to the blessed Jeremiah, others to the admirable Daniel, since both one and the other were cast into a pit, and the beginning of the psalm makes mention of a pit. Attending to this single word, they were carried off into that line of interpretation. Others have said that the psalm is applicable to those dwelling in Babylon as captives. For my part, I think that while this was written figuratively regarding the things that befell David himself, it is also to be referred to the whole nature of man, which has received from God our Savior the hopes of resurrection. The divine Paul leads us into this understanding in his Epistle to the Hebrews, ^C when he makes mention of some of the things said here.

Vers. 2, 3. *Waiting, I waited for the Lord, and He attended to me. And He heard my prayers, and brought me up out of the pit of misery, and from the mire of the clay.* These words also fit the blessed David, and are consistent with the preceding psalm. For in that one he said: *Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication; give ear to my tears; be not silent, and spare me, that I may find rest before I go hence, and be no more.* And a little higher up he said: ^D *And now, what is my expectation? Is it not the Lord? And my substance is with You.* Here, however, as if the supplication had been accepted and the petition granted, he says: *Waiting, I waited for the Lord, and He attended to me.* For, having turned away from sin, He showed me a favorable countenance and heard my supplication. And what did He do when He had heard me? *And He brought me up out of the pit of misery, and from the mire of the clay.* In this way, Holy Scripture is wont to designate the greatest dangers.

^A a stranger." It is customary, as we have said before, to designate the greatest dangers in this way in the Divine Scripture. Having delivered you from dangers, what has He bestowed upon you again? "And He set my feet upon a rock." He did not allow me to be shaken and tossed about, but He fashioned for me a steady footing. "For upon this rock," He says, "I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." "And He directed my footsteps." He prepared me to run without hindrance in the way of righteousness. For having delivered me from error, He pointed out the straight way of truth.

^B Vers. 4. "And He put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God." Instead of the impious worship of idols, I have been taught to praise the true God, and to offer a song, not an old one, but a new one, and one befitting new benefits. For I no longer pray while lamenting, but I sing hymns for the benefits received. These things, then, as I have said, fit typically the sufferings of David, and the benefits that were bestowed upon him. But they fit, in a more distinctive way, the nature of all mankind—which had been cast down into the ^C abyss of sin, consigned to death, and, through the incarnation of our Savior, having been raised up and having received the hopes of the resurrection—to say: "Waiting, I waited for the Lord, and He attended to me. And He heard my cry, and brought me up from the pit of misery." A "pit of misery" is rightly called death, as it is full of destruction; and "mud" or "mire" is sin, as it emits a most foul odor and hinders the straight path of human movement. "Many shall see, and shall fear, and shall hope in the Lord." But because He is discoursing in the person of those who have attained salvation, the Prophet rightly says that those who ^D have not yet tasted the good things will see and will fear, so that those who have not hitherto approached may, after being strengthened by hope, attain salvation from God.

Vers. 5. "Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord, and who has not looked upon vanities and false madnesses." The Prophet made mention of these vanities also in the preceding psalm, saying: "Nevertheless, all is vanity, every man living." And again: "Nevertheless, he is troubled in vain." And here

Interpretation of Psalm 39

my God, thy wonders, and in thy thoughts there is none who shall be compared unto thee. I have proclaimed and spoken; they are multiplied beyond number.” Miracles, he says, which have been wrought by thy power, exceed number and every description. For there is no one who can do things similar to thee, since thy works are most great and most beautiful; yet those things which were dispensed by thy providence in individual times—those things in Egypt, those in the desert, those in the time of Moses, Joshua, and Samuel, and those more ancient than these, those which happened to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, who obtained a kingdom through slavery, and other things, lest I run through them one by one—surpass human praises. ^B But that which has now been done is more admirable than all these. For thou art procuring the salvation not of one man or of one nation, but of all nations; and having caused the worship of the Law to cease—which was accommodated to the weakness of the Jews—thou hast given a new grace, which ordains a rational worship.

Vers. 7, 8. “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, but a body thou hast prepared for me. Burnt offering and sacrifice for sin thou hast not required. Then I said, Lo, I come.” With these the apostolic exhortation is in harmony: “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, your rational worship.” For in place of legal sacrifices, the Lord commanded that we consecrate our own members. ^C But, he says, perceiving this grace of thine, I offered myself to thee, saying, “Lo, I am here.” The blessed Paul, however, rightfully applies this voice to Christ the Lord. For he possesses the first-fruits of our nature, and it is fitting that he should first say things that are ours, and should first foreshadow in himself those things that it becomes us to do. In the same way he himself first approached baptism, silently showing us the grace of baptism; in the same way he washed the feet of the disciples, placing before us an archetype of humility. For this reason he said to John: “Suffer it now, for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness.” It is appropriate, therefore, also for him to say what is ours, as ^D

^A a stranger among brethren according to the flesh. In the head of the book it is written concerning me." Long ago, he says, these things were predicted concerning me in the prophetic books. In place of "head," Aquila and Symmachus have said "in the wrapper" or "scroll" of the book; and indeed, this is how the Jews are accustomed to prepare the divine Scriptures even to this day.

Vers. 9. "That I might do thy will, O my God, I willed; and thy law in the midst of my belly." Having approached thee, he says, I have every zeal to fulfill thy commands and to live according to thy will. And the phrase, "in the midst of my belly," he says by way of a metaphor taken from those who follow someone with love and desire to cast the beloved, as it were, into their own ^B inward parts. Now these things are appropriate neither to Jeremiah, nor to Daniel, nor to the blessed David. For while the law prevailed, whole burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered to God. But the prophetic word, having cast out all such things, pointed to the rational sacrifice. For this reason I said that the psalm fits David typically, because he too, through the gift of prophecy, was looking ahead at future things and desired to live according to them; but in truth these things befit the nations that have been deemed worthy of salvation and delivered from error.

Vers. 10, 11. "I have proclaimed thy righteousness in a great church, behold, I will not restrain my lips; O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness in my heart; I have spoken of thy truth and thy salvation. I have not hid thy mercy and thy truth from a great congregation." ^C And the blessed David promises that in the great church, gathered by divine grace throughout the whole world, he will preach the righteousness of God, and the truth of the prophecy, and the admirable salvation, and the immeasurable mercy; and this saved nature promises to render this return for its salvation, namely, to run together into the church, and to move the lips to hymnody, and to proclaim the just judgment of God, and to recount his ineffable providence, and to show the truth of the prophetic promises. As for the phrase, "from a great congregation," Symmachus renders it "in a multitude," but Aquila and Theodotion have placed "in a great church," so that it is manifest that he spoke about the same church.

Vers. 12. "But thou, O Lord, do not remove thy mercies far from me; thy mercy and thy truth have always helped me." ^D And the Church of God, though having obtained salvation, has need again of the same providence, on account of the various assaults of men and demons, of which a mention has been made in what follows.

^A VERS. 13. "For evils have encompassed me, beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see. They are more numerous than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me." Let no one suppose that what is said here is inconsistent with what has just been set forth. For the three youths, endowed with the highest virtue and adorned with a triumphal crown, while praying in the furnace, said: "We have sinned, we have done wickedly, we have acted unjustly, and we have turned away from your commandments, and have not kept your statutes." Thus the admirable Daniel, thus the inspired Jeremias, thus the divine Isaias, thus the most wise Paul. "For Christ Jesus," he says, "came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the first." And again: "I am not worthy to be called an apostle." ^B Thus, therefore, the Church of God, buffeted by the storm-tossed seas raised by the ungodly, does not boast as one desiring to fight, but attributes the things that are happening to sins and transgressions, and beseeches to obtain aid from the Savior. Furthermore, the Church of God does not consist entirely of perfect men, but it also contains the sluggish, and those who have embraced a relaxed life, and those who have chosen to serve their pleasures. And since it is one body, both these and those sentiments are expressed as if from one person.

VERS. 14, 15. "Let it please you, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, look upon me to help me. Let those who seek my soul to take it away be put to shame and confusion together." For they do not wish merely to wound, but to deliver to eternal death. ^C "Let them be turned back and put to shame, who desire evils for me." Put them to flight, and make them miss what they desire; for they are weaving evils against me.

VERS. 16. "Let them immediately bear their shame, who say to me, 'Aha, aha!'" To those who insult and mock me, let shame be the fruit.

VERS. 17. "Let all who seek you, O Lord, exult and rejoice in you; and let those who love your salvation always say, 'The Lord be magnified.'" Those who seek you, he says, and praise you, and always love you, fill with perpetual joy; and let them not experience any change in their joy, just as they have no change in their love for you. For he did not pray for joy for those who simply love, but for those who possess a love worthy of benevolence always and continuously.

VERS. 18. "But I am a beggar and poor; the Lord ^D

^A The Lord will be solicitous for me. You are my helper and my protector, O Lord; do not delay. Just as he mentioned sins above, so he calls himself poor, as one lacking aid and needing divine assistance; and he supplicates that he might obtain this as quickly as possible. These things, however, befit the blessed David most especially. For I believe that, having observed that prophecy and the liberality of grace, he called himself poor and needy, and also besought that he might enjoy divine providence. He begs further that the aforementioned salvation not be procrastinated, nor deferred for a long time, but that it be granted to men with all speed.

Interpretation of Psalm XL

^A he embraced this poverty. Then he demonstrates the fruits of blessedness: « The Lord will deliver him in the evil day. » Symmachus, however, called the "evil day" the "day of vexation." But he tacitly hints, as I suppose, at the future day of judgment, which is terrible and hurtful to the lawless; and he promises that a sincere knowledge of that poverty will deliver him from the evils of that terrible day.

VERS. 3. « The Lord preserve him, and keep him alive, and make him blessed in the earth, and deliver him not into the hands of his enemies. » He will enjoy not only ^B future goods, but he will also obtain divine help in this present life, becoming illustrious and conspicuous, and escaping the snares of his adversaries. And since it is likely that one who possesses a corruptible body will fall into illness at some time, he promises deliverance from this as well.

VERS. 4. « The Lord will help him on his bed of pain: thou hast turned all his bed in his infirmity. » He says that he will deliver him from all sickness, and will change his disease into good health. For he put « thou hast turned » in the place of « thou hast changed » in his infirmity. Thus, having set out the rewards for him who understands that admirable poverty, he shows us who he is that has possessed it, and how he conducted himself in it, bringing him in to teach and to recount his own experiences.

VERS. 5. « I said: Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, because I have sinned against thee. » But I, ^C he says, am the poor man, who took upon myself voluntary poverty, and I am the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who takes upon myself the sufferings of men, who have done no sin, but who offer this prayer on behalf of human nature as the firstfruits of that nature. Moreover, it should be noted that Symmachus did not say, « because I have sinned against thee, » but, « even if I have sinned against thee. »

VERS. 6. « My enemies have spoken evil to me: When shall he die, and his name perish? » He calls the Jews enemies, who were envious and plotting his death. The history of the holy Gospels teaches this: « For they took counsel, » it says, « how they might destroy him. » ^D Hence he transfers the prediction to Judas.

VERS. 7. « And he came in to see: he spoke vain things. »

› ^A His heart gathered iniquity to itself; he went forth out-of-doors, and spake. Thus also the divine evangelists teach us, that to the Jews he said: "What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?" and he sought an opportunity to deliver him. This also the prophecy says: "And he went in to see in vain: he went forth out-of-doors and spake." For as he went in and went out, he was plotting his death with them; then it foretells their evil conspiracy.

^B VERS. 8, 9. "All mine enemies whispered against me; against me they devised evils for me. They laid an unlawful word against me." To these things the end of events bears witness. For, talking quietly among themselves, they sought for the method of their treachery. Then they made a charge of tyranny, saying to Pilate: "He claims to be a king himself, and forbids the giving of tribute to Caesar." This also the prophecy says: "An unlawful word they laid against me," that is, they made a charge of lawlessness against me. "Shall not he that sleeps rise again?" Even if I undergo death, he says, do I not rise again, and scatter those who prepared this for me? And this complies with the evangelical saying: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." And again: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the hands of sinners, and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall rise again." Wherefore he rightly called death a sleep.

^C VERS. 10. "For even the man of my peace, in whom I hoped, who did eat of my bread, magnified his heel against me." This, Aquila and Theodotion have stated more clearly: "And indeed the man of my peace, in whom I trusted." But Symmachus thus: "But also the man who was at peace with me, in whom I trusted." For not only did mine enemies plot death for me, but also the man who lived with me, and feigned goodwill and peace, and who was my table-companion, and one who ate with me, revealed the treachery which he hid within. For he called the treachery "the heel," by a metaphor drawn from those who compete in speed, and are skilled in making those who run together trip and fall by the heel.

^A This Esau, too, being deceived by Jacob, said: "Rightly was his name called Jacob; for he has supplanted me for the second time; he has taken my birthright, and he has taken my blessing."

Verses 11, 12. "But You, Lord, have mercy on me, and raise me up, and I will repay them. By this I knew that You recognized my desire, because my enemy will not triumph over me." ^B All these things likewise are spoken as if by the nature that was assumed, for which the passion also occurred. Thus, in the holy Gospels, we also hear the Lord Christ praying: "Father, save me from this hour." And again: "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me."

Verse 13. "But as for me, because of my innocence You have sustained me, and You have confirmed me before You forever." These words also befit the form of a servant, which the Only-Begotten of God assumed. "For surely it is not angels that He took hold of," as the divine Apostle says, "but He took hold of the seed of Abraham; therefore He had to be made like His brothers in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest before God." ^C Since, then, the nature that was assumed remained free from all malice, the Savior rightly says: "But as for me, because of my innocence You have sustained me, and You have confirmed me before You forever." For I received a firm union, and the conjunction was indivisible, and the glory is eternal.

Verse 14. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; be it, be it!" Having foretold these things, the divinely inspired prophet, filled with wonder at the ineffable philanthropy of the Lord, and understanding who He is who took upon Himself voluntary poverty, offers a hymn to Him with his tongue, that he himself might also attain a blessed end. ^D Rightly indeed, after the sufferings, he offered a hymn, teaching that He who is prophesied was not only man, but also an eternal God, possessing an indestructible and unending existence.

Interpretation of Psalm XLI

Verse 1. "Unto the end, for understanding, to the sons of Korah." When the people had sinned, God delivered them to the Babylonians, having sentenced them to a seventy-year captivity. Therefore, the psalm is spoken as if from their person, as they wept and longed for freedom—

^A For since there were among them pious men, such as the divine Daniel, the marvelous Ezekiel, and the triumphant martyrs Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, who loved God most fervently and longed for His lawful worship, the prophetic word, assuming their persona—which was fitting for them to speak at the time of calamity—instructs them long before, indeed many generations prior, so that they might be consoled by the prophecy and disciplined by the teaching. For this reason too the psalm is inscribed "unto the end," since after a very long period of time the things spoken of attained their end. It is further added "for understanding," since those who fall into calamities have the greatest need of this.

^B Ver. 2. *As the stag desires the fountains of waters, so my soul desires You, O God.* They say that deer eat poisonous beasts, and are thereby inflamed with a vehement thirst and desire water all the more. Since, therefore, the aforementioned captives lived among the Babylonians—men ungodly and lawless, and truly similar to crawling beasts—they not without reason said that they thirsted for God like the deer, longing to be delivered from that place and awaiting the divine turn of events.

^C Ver. 3. *My soul has thirsted for the strong, living God: when shall I come and appear before the face of God?* I desire, he says, and I thirst for the worship of my living God. For to "appear before the face of God" means nothing else than to worship Him according to the Law; and such worship was circumscribed within Jerusalem. And this not only the blessed Moses teaches, but also the three blessed martyrs Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, as they prayed to God in the furnace. Most aptly do they name God "strong" and "living," looking towards the inanimate and immovable idols of the Babylonians.

^D Ver. 4, 5. *My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is your God? These things I remembered, and I poured out my soul in me.* Day and night, he says, I never found satisfaction in lamentation, but I make my tears a kind of food, receiving reproaches on Your account. For my enemies jeer at me, offering Your providence as something weak and unable to overcome their might. Therefore, continually pondering these things, I do not cease to mourn. For this, "I poured out my soul in me," signifies that I am poured out and moved to wailing. For I shall pass

^A in locum tabernaculi admirabilis usque ad domum Dei, in voce exsultationis, et confessionis, soni festum celebrantis. »

Interpretation of Psalm 41

He calls the protection of God a "tabernacle." Having described the sad things, he now narrates the joyful ones, and teaches that they are about to obtain a swift recall, and, led by divine grace, they will return to the desired land, and will rebuild the divine house, and will celebrate their customary solemnities, and will hear with their ears the festive sound and spiritual harmony. The blessed Isaiah also prophesies ^B that they will return with great honor, carried in wagons of mules, and covered with awnings, having cast off the distress of the heat. Aquila tacitly hints at this, translating: « I will enter into the shaded place, leading them up as far as the house of God, in a voice of praise and thanksgiving of a multitude celebrating a feast. » Exulting, he says, and praising God the Savior, and enjoying shade along the journey, thus we will reach the divine house, as if performing the return in some procession. Having heard this prophecy, they console themselves, saying:

VERS. 6, 7. « Why are you sad, my soul? and why do you disturb me? Hope in God, for I will still confess to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God. » These promises, he says, O soul, having received, cease indeed from sorrow and pain; but strengthened by hope, await the outcome of the prophecy, in which, seeing the salvation obtained, you will offer hymns of praise to the saving God. ^C « To myself my soul is troubled: therefore will I be mindful of thee from the land of Jordan, and Hermoniim, from the little mountain. » This is a certain characterization of the soul conversing with itself. For since it said, "Cease from sorrow, having received the promises of good things," it answers to these things, saying: "I am not grieving without cause, nor do I make use of the aforementioned lamentations in vain: for the memory of the fatherland draws tears from me." For he calls the land of the Jordan the land of promise, and Hermoniim, he calls Mount Hermon. Through the mountain and the river, he indicated that whole land. Thus also Symmachus interpreted: « My soul is melted, when I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and from Hermoniim, the smallest mountain. » ^D

^A VERSE 8. *Abyssus abyssum vocat ad vocem cataractarum tuarum. Omnia excelsa tua, et fluctus tui super me transierunt.* Living in that land, he says, I was surrendered to a multitude of enemies, and, as if in some abyss, I was submerged. For he calls "abysses" the military ranks, and he likens the excess of the multitude to immeasurable waters; and he compared the things done by them to the ancient flood, which destroyed the whole earth. And Symmachus interpreted these things more clearly: *Abyssal abyss was meeting, at the sound of thy cataracts.* For thou didst lead them there, exacting from me the penalties for my transgression. *Thy storms and thy waves are passed over me.* Since he had likened the army to an abyss, he persisted in the metaphor and called the attacks made by the army "waves and storms." On account of these, he says, I am in pain; for the memory of them pricks me: nevertheless, I have thy loving-kindness for consolation. For he added this: ^B

VERSE 9. *Interdiu mandabit Dominus misericordiam suam, et noctu canticum ejus apud me est. Oratio ad Deum vitæ meæ.* Always, he says, recognizing the mercy supplied by God, and considering this with myself at night, I sing and praise him who thus takes thought for us. I offer prayers to him also, beseeching to obtain this loving-kindness. Then he teaches also the steps of the prayer:

VERSE 10, 11. *Dicam Deo: Auxiliator meus es, quare oblitus es mei, et quare contristatus incedo, dum affligit inimicus? Dum confringuntur ossa mea, exprobraverunt mihi inimici mei, dum dicunt mihi per singulos dies: Ubi est Deus tuus?* Speaking these things to my Lord, I have always obtained thy providence. Why hast thou now stripped me of it, so that I incessantly pine and mourn because of the reproaches from the enemies? For they maltreat me, and with blows and bonds shattering my bones, they mockingly say, "Where is his God?"—assuming that I suffer these things because of thy weakness. ^C But the "Thou hast forgotten me" means: "Thou dost not impart thy providence to me." For forgetfulness is a human passion, but God's property is to be without passions.

VERSE 12. *Quare tristis es, anima mea, et quare conturbas me? Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc con-* ^D

confitebor illi: salutare vultus mei, et Deus meus.* ^A Do not despair, O soul, he says, of salvation; for you have God as your Savior. Having a firm hope in Him, extinguish your despondency and receive consolation.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XLII

VERSE 1. *Psalm of David. It is without a title among the Hebrews. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against a nation that is not holy; deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.* This psalm is without a title among the Hebrews, as it possesses the same meaning as the preceding one. Those who uttered the words above beseech God that He might be a judge between themselves and the Babylonians, who had used much cruelty and a beastial mind. For this reason, they call them a nation that is not holy, and also call their king a deceitful and unjust man. The wonderful prophecy of Daniel teaches us these things also.

VERSE 2. *For you are God, my strength; why have you cast me off, and why do I go about sad, while the enemy afflicts me?* ^B Again they offer the same prayer, beseeching to be delivered from the cruelty of their enemies, on account of which they were always sad and downcast. But they say "why" not as if rebuking, but as those who themselves had not participated in the transgression of others, and yet had been deprived of divine providence along with them; nevertheless, they offer a common supplication on behalf of all.

VERSE 3. *Send forth your light and your truth: they have led me and brought me to your holy mountain and to your tabernacles.* In this place the Septuagint changed the tense, and spoke of future things as if they had already happened. Others, however, interpreted it more clearly: "Send forth your light and your truth, ^C which shall lead me and bring me to your holy mountain and to your tabernacles." I pray to enjoy divine assistance: for through this it is possible that I be delivered from the harshest servitude, and return to my fatherland, and offer the customary worship in the consecrated temple. For he called the temple of God "tabernacles," and the holy mountain, Sion; and by light and truth, he means the just and saving manifestation of God. For just as he calls calamities "darkness," so he calls their removal "light." ^D They ask for the truth along with the light, inasmuch as they wish for God to judge between themselves and the Babylonians, knowing clearly that if God treats them with truth and not with patience,

that God, not using indulgence but truth, will condemn the former, and deliver the latter from their servitude. ^A

Vers. 4. “And I will go in unto the altar of God, unto God who gladdens my youth. I will give thee thanks on the cithara, O God, my God.” Symmachus translated this thus: “That I may come unto the altar of God, unto God the joy of my gladness, and I will give thee thanks on the psaltery, O God, my God.” I long for the return, he says, desiring to see your most longed-for altar and through it to behold you, the Master, who provide for me the occasions of every kind of joy and pleasure. There, indeed, I will perform the accustomed hymns with the cithara; for in Babylon, we hung our instruments on the willows, counting it a transgression of the law if we worshipped you outside your own place. ^B

Vers. 5. “Why are you sorrowful, my soul? And why do you trouble me? Hope in God, for I will give thanks to him, the salvation of my countenance, and my God.” From this it is clear that both psalms have the same meaning. Those who say these things exhort themselves to nourish the best hopes, to overcome the passion of sorrow, and to await salvation from God as something to be granted without any doubt.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XLIII

Vers. 1. “Unto the end, for the sons of Core, for understanding.” This psalm also, containing a prediction of future events, exhorts us to await the end. It is added to the inscription, “for understanding,” so that those who understand what is written, regarding whom the prophetic word prophesies, may seize the benefit from it. The psalm ^C foretells the Macedonian cruelty, and the impious and bestial mind of Antiochus Epiphanes, and the courage and piety of the Maccabees. For the blessed and thrice-blessed Mattathias, having exercised this divine zeal many times with his sons, and considering the many myriads of the Macedonians and the multitude of elephants to be weak, as if destitute of divine providence, marched against them with a few and conquered; and having torn down the altars of the idols, he purified the divine temple, and restored the accustomed worship to his kinsmen. Not only he, but also his sons after his death, by praying, ^D routed the enemies, and assisted by divine aid, set up trophies. From their person, therefore, the prophetic grace uttered the psalm, instructing them beforehand with what words it is fitting for them to use in their perils.

^A Ver. 2. "O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have told us the work which you did in their days, in the days of old." We ourselves, Master, have not been spectators of your miracles, but we have learned from our fathers how many miracles you wrought in those times, fulfilling the promises made to our ancestors.

Vers. 3, 4. "Your hand destroyed the nations, and you planted them; you afflicted the peoples, and you cast them out. For they did not inherit the land by their own sword, and their own arm did not save them; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, because you were well pleased in them." You, he says, O Master, having driven out from here the Canaanites together with the other nations, settled our fathers in their stead. For they did not rely on strength, nor did they use full armor, to be shown superior to so many, but guided by your grace, some they slew, and others they compelled to serve, since you deemed them worthy of your intimacy. For this is what he said: "You were well pleased in them." He calls your aid the right hand, and your appearance the light of your countenance. ^B

Ver. 5. "You are yourself my King and my God, who commands the salvations of Jacob." You are the same, he says, even now, O Master, similarly reigning, similarly powerful, possessing the same strength; your nature receives no change. A word is sufficient for you for salvation. Command, and the people will enjoy it. Thus also Symmachus interpreted it: "Command concerning the salvation of Jacob."

Ver. 6. "With you we will push down our enemies, and in your name we will despise those who rise up against us." Horned animals received their horns from nature as a weapon; but we have your name as a horn of salvation and as a victress weapon, and using this we will overcome our enemies.

Vers. 7, 8. "For I will not hope in my bow, and my sword will not save me. For you have saved us from those who afflict us, and you have put to shame those who hate us." For I trust neither in bows nor in other weapons; for I have made a trial of your power, since through you I have already overcome my adversaries.

Ver. 9. "In God we will be praised all the day, and in your name we will confess forever." We pray ^C to enjoy your help always, and to recount continually the multitude of your benefits. For he put "all the day" for "always." Symma-

Symmachus also expressed it thus, who put "for every day" for "all the day." ^A

VERS. 10. "But now you have thrust us away and put us to shame; and you will not go out, O God, with our hosts." These things, then, occurred in former times by your hand. But at the present time, we have been shown to be destitute of your providence, and we live in shame, no longer fighting under the guidance of your grace. For the phrase, "you will not go out with our hosts," means the same as "you are not the general of our army, and you do not provide for us to overcome our enemies as you were accustomed to do."

VERS. 11. "You have turned us back before our enemies; and those who hate us have plundered for themselves." For, not enjoying your providence, we indeed fled turning our backs, but our enemies pillaged our possessions. ^B

VERS. 12. "You have given us up like sheep for food, and have scattered us among the nations." So, like sheep abandoned by a shepherd, we are consumed by your enemies; and those who have escaped death are bartered hither and thither, and are forced to serve.

VERS. 13. "You have sold your people without a price, and there was no great number in our exchanges." Symmachus interpreted this as follows: "You have sold your people without substance, and did not make their price great." Similar things are said by God through the prophet Isaiah: "What is this book of divorce [of your mother?] or to whom, when I was a debtor, have I sold you? Behold, you have been sold for your iniquities, and for your sins have I sent away your mother." ^C And again, "You have been sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without silver." And the divine Apostle says, "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin." Even here, then, those admirable men say that you did not sell us having received any price from the enemies, but rather you handed us over because of our sins.

VERS. 14. "You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those around us." He calls the foreigners dwelling in the circuit "neighbors," and the Idumeans, and the Moabites, and the Ammonites, and the other people living nearby, to whom those who have been ^D defeated have become a laughingstock.

^A

Ver. 15. "You have set us as a parable among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples." Both those who narrate and those who hear of great disasters are accustomed to shaking their heads, being compelled by astonishment to do this. We are also accustomed to comparing sufferings with sufferings, and saying that "such and such a person suffered such and such things," just as such and such a person [suffered]. This is what they are lamenting here too, that we have become a parable to men, and they shake their heads at us; some rejoicing, but others marveling at the magnitude of what has come to pass. ^B

Ver. 16, 17. "All the day my shame is before me, and the shame of my face has covered me. Because of the voice of him who reproaches and reviles, because of the face of the enemy and persecutor." Seeing some waging war, and others laughing and mocking, I am filled with shame, and all the day I am in pain. Then those who escaped the snares of Antiochus and leapt over the nets of impiety recount their own virtue. ^C

Ver. 18, 19. "All these things have come upon us, and we have not forgotten You, and we have not dealt unjustly in Your covenant. And our heart has not turned back." Being overwhelmed by so many evils, we have not in the least forgotten Your commandments, nor have we dared to transgress Your law, nor have we turned away from our former resolve.

"And You have turned our paths aside from Your way. [Ver. 20] Because You humbled us in a place of affliction, and the shadow of death has covered us." What he says, "You turned our paths aside from Your way," Symmachus expressed thus: "What directed us has not been transposed from Your way." But in order to interpret the sense and mind of the Septuagint, it must be understood thus: You have surrounded us, he says, with many and all sorts of evils, which were sufficient even to turn us away from Your way; and You delivered us into slavery to impious men, who used cruelty against us and inflicted deadly punishments upon us. For he called the dangers which lead to death the shadow of death. ^D

Ver. 21, 22. "If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have stretched out our hands to a strange god. Shall not God search this out? For He Himself knows the secrets of the heart. For Your sake we are put to death all the day long; we were counted as sheep

^A of slaughter. The Maccabees, and Mattathias, and the seven youths with their mother and Eleazar the priest, displayed this virtue. For they did not allow themselves to be seduced by flatteries, nor were they bent by tortures, but they preserved the worship of the true God inviolate, and they loathed the service of idols as detestable. And these things, He says, You know, O Master. For to You not only are our actions manifest, but also the movements of the mind. It is proper to note, however, that the discourse hints at a duality of persons. For when it had said, “Shall not God search this out? For He Himself knows the secrets of the heart,” it appended, “For Your sake we are put to death all the day long.” The Hebrew also has this change of pronoun, and the other interpreters have likewise placed it. ^B

Ver. 23. “Arise, why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise, and do not cast us off forever.” He calls patience sleep; for just as one who is sleeping does not perceive what is happening, so he who practices forbearance, even when he is wronged and insulted, endures it. But he calls the act of rising a movement toward vengeance. Then he narrates the same things again in a different way.

Ver. 24. “Why do You turn Your face away? You forget our poverty and our affliction.” Do You overlook, He says, the things being done against us, O Master, and do You seem like one who is turning away, and not watching, but forgetting, and for this reason, not caring? But we are impoverished, not possessing the riches of Your aid. ^C

Ver. 25. “For our soul is humbled to the dust. Our belly has cleaved to the earth.” We have been bent down even to the earth itself, so that our belly has approached the earth; and by these words he signifies great humility and the power of the enemies.

Ver. 26. “Arise, O Lord, help us, and redeem us for Your name’s sake.” On this account we implore You, O Master, to appear, and to bring our calamities to an end, and to show us superior to our enemies. But the grace of the Spirit foretold all these things, teaching those who were to be in those distresses to bear what befell them manfully, and to ask from the God of all for their deliverance from them. And those admirable men truly did this. For they placated God with words, and, being led by Him in battle, they put their enemies to flight and procured their former liberty for their fellow tribesmen. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XLIV

^A VERSE 1. "In the end, for those who shall be changed, to the sons of Core, for understanding; a song for the Beloved." Having foretold the painful things in the immediately preceding psalm, the prophetic word now prophesies pleasant things, comforting those who mourn, and teaching that they shall both conquer and endure, and will obtain help from God until the Beloved Son shall rise from them according to the flesh, and bestow that new transformation upon the nations. For he calls the Son of God "Beloved"; for thus the divine Isaiah also says: "A vineyard was given to the beloved in a horn, in a fertile place." This, the Father Himself also proclaimed concerning the Son: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This One bestowed the transformation upon the nations through holy baptism. Concerning these, the psalm prophesies, urging them to forget their ancestral gods and to praise the true God in truth. Those who are to be changed, Symmachus ^B has called "flowers," but Aquila and Theodotio "lilies." Now flowers and lilies are the shoots of spring. A spiritual spring is the advent of the Savior, in which, according to Isaiah’s prophecy, "that which was once a wilderness rejoiced, and blossomed as a lily." Regarding these, the present prophecy speaks, silently pointing out the sower and farmer of all, He who changed the wilderness and rendered it fruitful.

VERSE 2. "My heart has uttered a good word." For, being nourished by spiritual words, I send forth such utterances, and I pour out such words. "I speak my works to the King." He whom the inscription called "Beloved," the preface of the psalm names "King"; and the work of prophecy is a true discourse, which foretells things to come. He says, therefore, that concerning this very King he will make his words, and, teaching that he does not use human, but rather divine words, he added: "My tongue is the pen ^C of a scribe writing rapidly." Nothing, he says, of my own do I speak, nor do I bring forth the offspring of my own mind; but my tongue is the minister of another’s efficacy, and it indeed imitates a pen, while the grace of the Spirit is the rapid scribe, writing through it whatever He wills. Thus the prophet, having signified who was speaking through him, begins the prophecy thus:

VERSE 3. "Fairer in beauty than the sons of men; grace is outpoured in thy lips; therefore God has blessed thee forever." You, he says, whom I named King, whom I addressed as Beloved by means of the inscription, in beauty you surpass the nature of men, and you pour forth fountains of wisdom through your tongue.

and these things you possess not temporarily, but eternally. ^A One must know, however, that the prophetic discourse set forth not the divine but the human qualities of the Lord Christ; for it would not have compared the Word of God to men, nor would it have said that He received the blessing from God. For He Himself is an abyss of good things, pouring forth blessing upon the faithful. Therefore, in these words, it predicted the human qualities of the Lord Christ. Now let no one imagine that the prophets have spoken contradictions to one another, hearing Isaiah crying out: “We saw Him, and He had no form nor beauty, but His form was despised, failing [in comparison] with the sons of men.” ^B For those words proclaim the cross and the passion, which are full of insolence and outrage. Whence the prophet added: “A man in a state of being struck, and knowing how to bear infirmity, He was despised and not accounted [as anything],” and the rest that follows, which signal the passion. But the Psalm calls Him beautiful, not with the beauty of the body, but of virtue and of all righteousness, which accepted no stain of sin, which was free from every blemish.

VERSES 4, 5.

^A Vers. 6. *Thy arrows are sharp, O mighty one; peoples shall fall under thee in the heart of the king’s enemies.* The order of the words is complex, but it means this: using sharp arrows against the enemies, you will strike them squarely and wound their hearts, but the peoples who were oppressed by their tyranny you will teach your worship. For your arrows are sharp, O mighty one, in the heart of the king’s enemies. When these have been wounded, the peoples shall fall under you, offering you the worship that is due. By these things the prophetic word has foretold the events concerning the incarnation, and after this it teaches of the nature of the God Word Himself, who assumed humanity.

Vers. 7. *Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of thy kingdom.* Since the things said above were below the divine dignity—*Thou art fairer in beauty than the children of men, therefore God hath blessed thee for ever*—meritously by these things He teaches that He is both God and an eternal King, who has neither received a beginning nor is to receive an end. This is what *for ever* declares. Therefore even Symmachus has termed Him eternal: *Thy throne, O God, is eternal.* He also teaches the justice of the kingdom: *For a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of thy kingdom.* Then He again descends to the things pertaining to humanity.

Vers. 8. *Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.* Or, according to Symmachus, *above thy friends.* Now His fellows, and friends, and brothers, according to humanity, are those who have believed. Thus also the divine Apostle says, *For we have become fellows of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our substance firm unto the end* (Heb. 3:14). And again, *That He might be the firstborn among many brethren* (Rom. 8:29). In the same way He has been anointed with the Holy Spirit, not as God, but as man. For as God He has the Spirit as consubstantial; but as man, He receives the gifts of the Spirit as a sort of anointing. In the same way He also loved righteousness and hated iniquity. For these things pertain to the choice of the soul, not to natural power; but as God, He has the scepter of uprightness, the scepter of [His] kingdom.

Vers. 9, 10. *Myrrh, and stacte, and cassia from thy garments, out of ivory palaces, from which they have gladdened thee. Kings' daughters are in thy honor.* Now for *ivory palaces*, Aquila and Symmachus have said *from ivory temples*. The garment, moreover, [is] his...

most beautiful and splendid churches which princes and kings have erected everywhere by land and sea. He predicts, therefore, that the passion will take place in the body, but will fill the whole world with a sweet fragrance, ^B so that peoples who formerly wandered might erect for him most beautifully crafted temples, shining with royal adornment. Having prophesied of the churches, which occupy the position of chambers and bridal suites, he deservedly sets forth the ornament of the bride, and her appearance, and her lineage, and offers her a suitable exhortation. *A queen stood at thy right hand, in vesture of gold, arrayed,* ^C *and variegated.* By these words, having indicated both the costliness of her adornment and her supreme honor, both by calling her a queen and by having her stand at the right hand of such a king, he introduces and counsels what is profitable.

11. *Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear; and forget thy people, and thy father's house.* These things by no means befit the Jews, who boast in the piety of their ancestors, on account of whom they have also enjoyed the divine providence for a very long time. For [the Law] commands the Jews to follow the piety of their fathers, and exhorts them not to forget their forebears; but the Church from the nations had parents and ancestors who served idols. Therefore, he counsels her to leave behind no vestige of paternal customs in her memory; and the Holy Spirit names her "daughter," because she has received spiritual regeneration. Moreover, he promises her the King’s love if she keeps his commandments. For thus he says:

12. *And the king shall desire thy beauty.* Then he teaches both her nature and the dignity of the King. *For he is thy Lord God, and thou shalt worship him.* [13.] *And the daughter of Tyre with gifts.*

^A Others, indeed, of the three interpreters command the daughter herself to worship. And Aquila and Theodotio translated: *And worship him.* But Symmachus: *For he is thy Lord, and worship him.* The Septuagint, however, instruct the queen that not only is the Bridegroom her own Lord, but also the Lord of those who still dare to contradict; so that the daughters of Tyre also bring gifts and show servitude. Through these, he hints at all impiety. For it is customary for Holy Scripture to demonstrate the whole from a part. Thus, elsewhere, through Libanus, it predicts the cessation of all superstition. For Libanus, he says, shall fall with its high places. ^B In what follows, he also makes mention of many: *The rich of the people shall entreat thy face.* Now the face of the Church is properly the Lord Himself. For He is the head of the body: *For Him,* he says, *He appointed as head over all things for the Church.* Then also the order of priests is as a certain face of the Church, as it is adorned with greater spiritual dignity. Furthermore, it is permitted to gaze upon the fulfillment of this prophecy; for men abounding in riches, and renowned for the splendor of their highest honors, do honor to what is called the face of the Church. And since he said that the queen is clothed in golden attire—whereas the modesty of garments adorns the athletes of virtue, and therefore they continue using such vestments—he interprets the pomp of the adornment.

VERS. 14, 15. *All the glory of the daughter of the king is within, in golden fringes. Clothed, arrayed.* ^C Within, he says, she has the comeliness of virtue, and she shines with the manifold graces of the Holy Spirit. For since the operations of the divine Spirit are various (for there are different kinds of gifts of graces, but the same Spirit; and to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another, however, knowledge according to the same Spirit, and to another faith in the same Spirit, to another prophecy, to another kinds of tongues), ^D and because the Church is composed of many spiritual men who have received different gifts, he fittingly likened the division of graces to golden fringes. For the fringes are separated from one another, and yet they are rejoined, inasmuch as they hang from the same robe.

^A “The virgins shall be brought to the king after her, her neighbors shall be brought to you.” [Vers. 16] “They shall be brought in gladness and exultation, they shall be brought into the temple of the king.” Since not everyone possesses the highest perfection, he calls some the bride, as being perfect in virtue, and others virgins, as having preserved the faith they received, undefiled. Yet he says that these, too, are handmaidens to the queen and that they enter the royal temple along with her. Christ taught us this distinction in the sacred Gospels, saying, “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2). Blessed Paul said similar things: “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his own order” (1 Cor. 15:21-25).

^B “Instead of your fathers, sons have been born to you; you shall make them princes over all the earth.” [Vers. 17] Let the Jews tell us who they had as sons who ruled the entire world? Certainly, they cannot show this; for they neither ruled nor are they ruling, but are serving the most extreme servitude. But the divine apostles, although they had patriarchs as their fathers, rule over land and sea even after death, like certain prefects and generals appointed by Christ, the King of all. And those who followed after them—whom one would not err in calling the sons of the Church—I mean the victorious martyrs, were appointed to wield the same authority, and they now have all men as subjects: some choosing to do this out of love, others forced by fear.

^C “I will remember your name in every generation and generation. Therefore, the peoples shall confess to you forever and ever.” [Vers. 18, 19] Having prophesied these things, the Psalmist promises that he will continue to praise the divine name in every generation through those who are pious in their own times. For this is how the three translators also rendered it: “I will sing praise to your name throughout every generation; therefore, the peoples shall sing your praise forever and ever.” For by using the melody written by me, all the peoples who dwell throughout the world, and by learning through these hymns of the salvation granted to them from above, will not cease to praise you as the benefactor and grantor of good things. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XLV

^A VERSE 1. "In the end. For the sons of Core, for the hidden things." The prophetic word, foretelling what will come to pass after a long lapse of time, has once again inscribed the psalm "in the end," urging us to await the fulfillment of the prophecy. It predicts the insults committed against the Church, the help subsequently provided from heaven, and the peace enjoyed at present. It should be known, however, that some have supposed the present psalm to be composed concerning Gog and Magog; others concerning Achaz and Phacee; others still concerning Ezechias and the Assyrian. But the interpretation of the individual parts will show, with God’s guidance, that the meaning of the psalm corresponds to none of those mentioned.

^B VERSE 2. "Our God is a refuge and strength, a helper in the afflictions that have found us greatly." After the preceding psalm foretold that the Church, gathered from the impious nations, would be a queen, and showed that her children would be rendered princes of all the earth, it indicates here the tumults that took place at the beginning of the proclamation, with adversaries rising up and warring against the believers. Then, by its words, it shadows forth how the band of those who were to suffer persecution, relying upon and fortified by divine hope, would look down upon the crashing waves. For we have, it says, God, the Creator of all, as an impregnable rampart, and we do not feel any afflictions whatsoever.

^C VERSE 3. "Therefore we will not fear when the earth is troubled, and the mountains are transferred into the heart of the seas." The divine Isaias foretold certain similar things: "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain" (Isa. XL, 4). By "valley" he calls the hollow and humble nations, lacking in exaltation, which he prophesied would be filled by the word of instruction. He named the shrines of the demons "mountains and hills," and predicted that their various and deceitful arts would be brought low and reduced to nothing. Therefore, here too, the prophetic word introduces those who have believed in the Savior crying out, as if to say: We shall admit no storm of fear into our soul, when we see the earth troubled and the demons, who are being driven into the abyss, attempting to disturb the men who are vexed by them. For the prophetic word predicts the same deeds, ^D that impiety…

the Word, that it shall be vain, as if plunged into a certain abyss, the impiety of the demons ^A which formerly prevailed, for it imitated the height of the mountains and had possessed strength over the world for a long time.

VERS. 4. *Sonuerunt and were troubled the waters of them: the mountains were troubled in his might.*

The history of the Acts also teaches us how, as the holy apostles went about the world, the cities were filled with storm and tumult. For ^B even in Ephesus, Demetrius stirred up the whole city; and the same thing happened in Lystra and Derbe; and again in Philippi, and Thessalonica, and Athens, and Corinth, as the spirits of deceit stirred up these waves. Agitated by these, some cried out against the holy apostles: *These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.* The blessed Habakkuk also predicted these things: *For thou didst lead, he says, into the sea thy horses, disturbing many waters.* He called the holy apostles horses, as they have become ^C the divine vehicle. For the Master, being carried upon them, dissipated the many and various dogmas of impiety, like certain waters. Therefore the prophetic word says here also that the waters received a storm, and the mountains endured earthquakes, when the evangelical preaching was being carried across. In this place, he called the host of demons mountains, on account of their pride and the loftiness of their arrogance; but by waters he meant human minds, which are easily carried hither and thither like waters, and are moved ^D by the spirits of deceit.

VERS. 5. *The violent rushes of the river make glad the city of God.*

He called the evangelical preaching a river; and the city, the commonwealth of the pious, which is watered by the streams of the river that it may bear fruit. The three have interpreted this more clearly: *The divisions of the river make glad the city of God.* For just as the fountain of paradise was divided into four rivers, so also this river of God has had infinite and innumerable streams, which have pervaded all the nations of men. This

one ran to the Indians, that one to the Spaniards; one occupied Egypt, another Greece; ^A to some it was entrusted to irrigate Judea, to others Syria and Cilicia, and to others finally the cultivation of other nations was committed. And the blessed Habakkuk foretold this very thing: "For the earth shall be cloven with rivers," he says, which is to say, the earth shall be divided by channels, receiving the streams of the great river. For he called the divisions of this river, rivers. "The Most High hath sanctified His tabernacle." That which he called a city, this he named a tabernacle. "For I will dwell in them," he says, "and will walk among them, and will be their God, and they shall be my people, saith the Lord Almighty." He says, therefore, that the same ones are both irrigated and made holy by the God of all.

VERS. 6. "God is in the midst of her, and she shall be moved (not)." ^B This also the Lord promised in the holy Gospels: "Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." And, "Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." "God will help her in the morning, early." He says that the Lord of all will bring swift and speedy help to His own city. For by "in the morning, early," He indicated what is swift and speedy.

VERS. 7. "The nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down: He uttered His voice, the Most High, ^C and the earth was moved." When the divine help had appeared, he says, the enemies turned their backs, and the kingdoms which formerly thought otherwise bowed their necks and accepted the saving yoke. For by the truth, and by the testimony of the things themselves, and by manifold miracles, God, using them as a kind of voice, showed His own height to men and filled their souls with fear.

VERS. 8. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our helper." We have become stronger, therefore, than those who war against us, having as our succor the Lord of the heavenly ^D powers, who rendered Jacob more powerful than the enemies who harassed him, and freed him from the snares of Esau and Laban. The prophetic word did not make mention of Jacob in vain; but because he was the first to foretell the calling of the nations. "For the prince shall not fail," he says, "from Judah, nor a ruler from his thighs, until He comes for whom it is reserved, and He is the expectation of the nations." And so this

^A change of the nations, while also foretelling it, he rightly says that the God of Jacob, who had spoken these things beforehand, has brought them to pass.

VERS. 9-11. "Come and see the works of the Lord, which He has placed as prodigies upon the earth. Making wars to cease even to the ends of the earth; He shall crush the bow, and He shall shatter the weapon(s), and He shall burn the shields with fire. Be at leisure and know that I am God; I shall be exalted among the nations, I shall be exalted in the earth."

Therefore, you humans, seeing this power of mine, and gazing upon this sudden transformation of affairs, and the calm that has followed such a great storm, and the cessation of war, and the gift of peace, learn from the very events that I am the God of all and the Creator of all—not only showing the height of my power to the Jews, but indeed also to all nations. Hearing these words, the apostolic choir, exulting against the adversaries, cries out:

^B VERS. 12. "The Lord of hosts is with us; our helper is the God of Jacob." Let those, therefore, who refer this psalm to Gog, or who have said that it fits Ahaz, say how it is that these things fit those histories: "Making wars to cease even to the ends of the earth." For He did not put an end to all wars in their time, but in the time of Gog and Magog only Palestine enjoyed peace. Under Ahaz, indeed, not even all of Palestine [enjoyed it], but only the tribe of Judah: for Pekah son of Remaliah suffered the assault of the Assyrians. But in the time of the Lord Christ, the prophecy reached its fulfillment. For first, the toparchies and particular kingdoms were overturned, by reason of which men did not enjoy even a little peace, but every city was under arms, fearing sudden incursions. ^C But in the time of our Savior Christ, when the Roman empire had overturned the individual kingdoms, it prepared the ears of all men for the heralds of the Gospel. For they ran about securely as if in one kingdom, and brought the saving teaching to men. According to history, then, that which is written has thus come to pass: "Making wars to cease even to the ends of the earth; He shall crush the bow, and He shall shatter the weapons, and He shall burn the shields with fire." But if one wishes to understand these things more figuratively, he will see the cessation of the war against the Church, and the peace granted to men by God, and will contemplate the fulfillment of the prophecy.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XLVI

^A this psalm foretells the salvation of all nations, and prophesies the victory over the enemies.

VERS. 2, 3. "All nations, clap your hands, shout to God with a voice of exultation. For the Lord is most high, terrible, a great king over all the earth." The prophetic word foretold these things; indeed, it tacitly indicates the apostolic choir, which exhorts all nations to sing hymns. The clap of the hands is characteristic of victory, and the shout is the voice of those who are triumphant. The meaning of this psalm therefore follows the preceding one. For that one, after the storm and the tumults, foretold the peace which was signified. And this one in like manner urges those who have obtained victory to offer a hymn to the giver of the victory; for, he says, the most high and terrible king has been shown to all of you. And these things indeed were long ago known only to the Jews; but in the present time, they have been made manifest to the whole nature of men.

VERS. 4, 5. "He hath subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He hath chosen for us his inheritance, the beauty of Jacob which he loved." For "peoples," Symmachus said "kings," and for "the beauty of Jacob," Aquila ^B said "the elation of Jacob." The apostolic choir, therefore, says that it is right for us, exulting and dancing, to offer the triumphal hymn to the God of all, who has also subdued kings to us, and has given us leadership over all nations; and in addition to these, has entrusted to us the beauty and excellence of Jacob. For it is not the whole Jewish [race] that is called Jacob, but the beauty of Jacob and the excellence, the preeminence of Jacob, those who are adorned with faith, those who without hesitation received the preaching, those who took upon themselves the sweet yoke of the Savior: for these He both chose and loved, and entrusted to them the rudders of the apostolate. Moreover, the truth of the prophecy can be perceived by the eyes. For it is possible to see those who have believed from all ^C nations prostrating themselves as suppliants before the sepulchers of the apostles, and venerating that little dust with great love, so that they may at once see and sing that: "He hath subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet."

VERS. 6. "God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the voice of the trumpet." The Lord, he says, who accomplished all these things, first became man and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy, and then ascended into the heavens, while the heavenly powers went before Him, and the angelic choirs, some of them crying out ^D from below

^A, "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you saw Him going into heaven" (Acts I, 11), while those above exhorted, "Lift up the gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in" (Ps. XXIII, 7, 9). For he called such voices a shout and the sound of trumpets, as having run their course through the whole world.

Verses 7–9. "Sing praises to our God, sing praises: sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is King of all the earth, sing ye praises with understanding. God hath reigned over the nations: God sitteth upon His holy throne." Honor, therefore, the King of all with hymns and heavenly dances; since He showed His own kingdom to all men, and has persuaded all nations that He Himself is God and Lord, sitting upon royal thrones. But the phrase, "God sitteth upon His holy throne," harmonizes with the apostolic declaration ^B: "He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high; having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they" (Hebr. I, 4). And he has well added, "Sing praises with understanding," teaching that hymns are not to be offered with the tongue alone, but that the mind also must be awakened to the understanding of what is said.

Verse 10. "The princes of the peoples are gathered together with the God of Abraham: for the strong ones of God are highly exalted upon the earth." The promises, he says, which were made to the patriarch Abraham, have attained their end. For the Lord of all things had promised that in his seed He would bless all nations. Therefore, both these nations and their princes, abandoning their paternal gods, are gathered together with the God of Abraham, and name Him their own God. The ministers of their calling were the divine apostles, who confirmed the height of theology by their miracles ^C. For these the Seventy called "the strong ones," but Aquila called them "shields," and Theodotion and Symmachus called them "protections." By all these names is revealed not only their unoriginated and unconquerable power, but also that they are the guardians of others. For having become as it were certain shields and bulwarks of those who have believed, they did not allow the phalanx to be broken in the assault of dangers; but, having put the enemies to flight, they urge their fellow-believers to sing a paean, saying, "All ye nations, clap your hands; shout unto God with the voice of exultation: for the Lord is most high, terrible, a great King over all the earth" ^D.

Interpretation of Psalm XLVII

^A Ver. 1. "A Psalm of a canticle by the sons of Core. On the second day of the week." This psalm likewise foretells the same victory and the strength of the city of God.

Ver. 2. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain." As we have often said before, the divine Scripture calls the state of the commonwealth, not buildings, a city. Therefore, it says that the Lord of all has been shown to be great through the things that have been done by Him concerning His city, which He made illustrious by the height of its doctrines, as if it were situated on a high and great mountain. "For," says the Master, "a city that is set on a mountain cannot be hid."

^B Ver. 3. "Well rooting in the exultation of the whole earth." This, he says, He built well and beautifully and firmly for the joy of the whole earth. For the divine Apostle says, "He built it upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the cornerstone." And the Lord Himself said to blessed Peter, "And upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Therefore, "well rooting" stands for "firmly founding," so that it might remain unshaken and immovable. "Mount Sion, the sides of the north, the city of the great King." And indeed, He surrounded it with mountains, so that it might avoid the harm of the north. "For from the north," he says, "evils shall be ignited over all the earth," and again, "I will drive the north from you." And the divine Apostle also applied the name of Sion to the spiritual city. ^C"For you have approached," he says, "to mount Sion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." One might rightly say that the mountains which drive away the north and keep the city unharmed are the apostles and prophets, and their various doctrines, and in addition to these, the angels who are set over those who have believed. "For," he says, "the angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them."

Ver. 4. "God is known in her towers when He takes her up." One is the Church throughout the whole earth and sea; therefore, those who pray

^A say, "For the holy and alone catholic and apostolic Church, from the ends of the earth even to the ends of the earth." But she is again divided into cities, towns, and villages—which the prophetic word called "towers." Just as each city has many houses divided within it, yet is called one city; so there are infinite and numberless churches, both in islands and on the continents; yet all are brought together into one by the consonance ^B of true dogmas. In these He says the God of the universe appears, extending His own assistance: "For God is known in her towers, when He has taken her up." Then He predicts future incursions, and the transformation of the enemies.

Vers. 5, 6. "For behold, the kings of the earth were gathered, they came together. They saw, and so they marveled." For they ran together, indeed, as if about to wage war; but having beheld the unconquerable nature of her who was being attacked, they were struck with amazement.

"For they were troubled," he says, "they were shaken. ^C [Vers. 7, 8] Trembling took hold of them. There were pains as of a woman in labor; with a violent wind Thou shalt break the ships of Tharsis." Having beheld, he says, the unbreakable foundations of the Church, and having learned the truth of the prediction, they received fear and trembling, just like those who cross the backs of the sea, and being tossed by tempests and storms, await their final ruin. For which reason, ceasing from war and incursions, they themselves proclaim the power of her who was being attacked, and cry out:

Ver. 9. "As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God." For those who were unwilling to accept the predictions about her, we have seen, ^D through the very event of the facts, the truth of them. "God has founded her for ever." For it is His voice, "And upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Having thus shown the transformation of the enemies, the prophetic word goes on to predict what kind of words those who have attained salvation will use, praising the benefactor.

Ver. 10. "We have received, O God, Thy mercy in the midst of Thy people." We expect, he says, this assistance of Thine, O Master, knowing the truth of Thy promises. For Thou hast said:

"I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world." ^A

VERS. 11. "According to Thy name, O God, so also is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth." False gods do not possess power corresponding to their title, for they are not what they are called. But Thy name, O Master, is followed by works that proclaim the truth of the title. For which reason, the hymn is justly offered to Thee by the whole world. For just as Thou art the God of all, so art Thou praised by all. "Thy right hand is full of justice." For by employing a just judgment, Thou hast scattered the enemies who rose up against us.

VERS. 12. "Let mount Sion rejoice, and let the daughters of Juda exult, because of Thy judgments, O Lord." He called those who have been entrusted with the depth of theology the mount of Sion; but he called the churches that are throughout the world the daughters of Juda, as having been established by the apostles who traced their lineage from the Jews. ^B He also exhorts both those who preach and those who hear to rejoice and exult because of the just judgments of God, through which He has wrought the salvation of the world.

VERS. 13, 14. "Go round about Sion and encompass her, tell in her towers. Place your hearts to her strength, and distribute her houses." He calls the pious commonwealth Sion again, that is, the Church which is throughout the whole world. And he calls her towers those who have attained to the height of virtue and imitate the conversation of the angels on earth, who, like towers, surround and guard her. But he calls her houses again, as we have already said above, the churches which are divided throughout cities, and towns, and villages; for he calls her both one and many. ^C Therefore the prophetic word, or the grace of the Holy Spirit, commands those to whom the saving preaching has been entrusted to go round and run about, and to strengthen the towers with their teaching, and to confirm the rest of her strength, and, in addition to this, to distribute the care of the churches: a matter which we have already spoken of in the forty-fifth Psalm. For this, indeed, he also commands in this place: "Distribute her houses." ^D That is, that this one should govern this Church, and that one that, and that every laborer should preside over his own and take the care of it that is fitting. And this not once and again, but...

each one to stand by the one who tills it and to provide the appropriate care. He commands that this be done not once or twice, but in every generation. For this reason, he added: "That you may tell it to the next generation." ^B [Ver. 15] "For this is our God forever and unto all eternity. He will shepherd us forever." For it is necessary that each generation hand down to the one following it what we have received from the former, so that the message of salvation may be carried through all generations, and all people may know that this is our God and Lord, and a good and eternal shepherd. For because he said, "Distribute her weights," and entrusted the shepherding to them, he necessarily taught that there is one good shepherd, who laid down his soul for the sheep, shepherding them forever, and shepherding not only the sheep, ^B but also those who are called the shepherds of the sheep.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XLVIII

^A Ver. 1. "Unto the end, a psalm for the sons of Korah." The divine choir of the apostles has already exhorted the nations to offer a hymn of victory to God; and now, likewise, he offers exhortation to those same nations to add virtue of life to their faith. He teaches the vanity of wealth and the profitlessness of the wisdom of this world. He also foretells the coming judgment and the worthy reward. For this reason, the psalm is inscribed "Unto the end," as it foretells the end of the entire life.

Ver. 2. "Hear these things, all nations, give ear, all you who inhabit the world." That the prophets offered instruction only to the Jews is manifest to everyone; but here, the prophetic word rouses the whole world to listen. This is a property of apostolic grace: for the Lord Christ entrusted to them the salvation of all nations. "For going," he says, "make disciples of all nations." It is clear, therefore, that their words are offered not only to the Jews, nor to these or those nations, but to the whole nature of men.

Ver. 3. "Both the earth-born and sons of men." Some called Adam and Eve earth-born, ^D as created from the earth, and not born from intercourse. But this interpretation is far from the truth. For he does not address those who are already dead, but those who are still living.

^A Thus he indicates various modes of life. For some inhabit cities, others fields and villages, devoted to agriculture. And among men, some are gentler, others more savage; and the former live more rationally, while the latter, in beast-like fashion, inhabit the deserts; some are called wagon-dwellers, and others use tents instead of houses. I believe these are called "earth-born" as those who have departed from a more rational life. Instead of this, "All you people, hear what is said, both city-dwellers and country-folk, the gentler and the harsher, both all in common and each one individually." For so also Symmachus interpreted it. For instead of "earth-born and sons of men," he said "humanity," and furthermore "sons of each man," instead of "And let the nature of humanity in common hear what is said, and let each one individually reap the benefit." "Both rich and poor together." In the same way, let those who abound in riches and those who live in poverty receive the admonition. For the teaching of this discourse knows no difference between wealth and poverty. ^B

VERS. 4, 5. "My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my riddle upon the harp." My words, he says, are full of wisdom; but I have learned these things by applying my ear to the words of the Lord, which are immersed in the depths. And the things which I perceived through hearing, these I put forth through my tongue as through an instrument. He wishes to say that he speaks nothing of his own, but is an instrument of divine grace. Furthermore, he calls ^C dark sayings "parables." For indeed the Lord, speaking to the crowds in parables, used to offer the interpretations of these things to the apostles in private. Therefore, the preceding psalms also were recited in their person. The apostolic choir, therefore, bearing the wisdom of God, that is to say, Christ (for Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God), in its own mouth, said: "My mouth shall speak wisdom," since in teaching theology, they preached Christ to the whole human race with their own mouths. And the intellect of their mind meditated on nothing other than understanding. But their mind was so sharpened for understanding, that they understood all the parables of our Savior set forth in the holy Gospels before he himself interpreted them. ^D Immediately, therefore, after the exposition of the parables, the Savior asked them, saying, "Have you understood all these things?" and they say to him, "Yes." Their heart, therefore, meditated on understandings. Then he says, "I will open my riddle upon the harp."

^A For I, he says, having sharpened my intellect for the understanding of the saving parables, was able to follow the thought immanent in them. But to those unable to do this because of their childishness, I will open up the hidden things and I will explain the riddles and the parables. And I will do these things through my harp—that is, the bodily instrument—which, being the instrument of the soul dwelling within, has been given to it in place of a harp, so that it might strike thereon hymns in honor of God and send up every sense, moving both the members and parts of the body skillfully. ^B Having set forth these things as a prologue, he begins, therefore, with the admonition.

VERS. 6. "Cur timebo die malo? Iniquitas calcanei mei circumdabit me." I fear and shudder at the day of retribution, in which the just Judge will repay each according to his works. ^C And knowing this, you yourselves also keep such fear before your eyes. For if I, who was able to say, "My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall be of understandings; I will incline my ear to a parable," after this have been seized by fear and trembling, why should you not be also? But if anyone should ask why I fear, let him hear frankly: there is a certain evil day, about which innumerable testimonies exist in the writings of the prophets. The cause of my fear is an iniquitous life, through which I have turned aside from the straight path. For some have called the "heel" the path of life; I, however, think it signifies deception, from the metaphor of runners, as we have already said, who often cast down their adversaries with their heel. ^D Esau also taught us this while lamenting: "Justly," he says, "was his name called Jacob; for he has supplanted me now a second time; my birthright he took away, and now he has stolen my blessing." But he called the day of judgment an "evil day," according to our customary usage. For many are accustomed to call a day "evil" on which it happens to them to fall into certain calamities. Justly, therefore, is it so called, as it will be the refutation of the evil deeds of each, and will afflict the impious with punishments on account of the wrath hanging over them. For this reason, I too, who speak these things, shudder. For the iniquity of my heel will surround me on that very evil day. Now the "iniquity of the heel" is said to be of the way by which we pass through this present life, a turning away or fraud. Thus also the divine Apostle calls the day of judgment: "According to thy hardness and impenitent heart," like the [alt-version omitted]

thou treasurest up for thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and of revelation and righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds.”

VERS. 7. “They that trust in their power, and glory in the multitude of their riches.” I indeed, he says, fear and tremble at the day which is expected; but you who abound in riches, take no thought for that day, but being puffed up by the pride of your possessions, you trust in fleeting things as if they were permanent.

VERS. 8, 9. “A brother does not redeem; shall a man redeem? He shall not give to God his propitiation. And the price of the redemption of his soul.” ^B You should realize that neither the piety and virtue of ancestors or brothers benefits those who lack them, nor is it possible after departure from this life to procure salvation through money. For in this present life, as the Wise Man says, a man’s own wealth is his ransom. Having offered this counsel to those who misuse wealth, he transfers his discourse to the workers of virtue, and says:

“And he labored for ever. [VERS. 10, 11.] And he shall live to the end. He shall not see destruction, when he sees the wise dying.” For he who has endured sweats for the sake of piety and justice, and has undertaken labors for eternal goods, possesses immortal life as the fruit of his labors; and he shall not share in the eternal destruction and everlasting punishment with those wise ones of the world, ^C whom the apostolic word calls fools. “At the same time the senseless and the foolish shall perish.” For these men, he says, who are called wise, having found no benefit from their wisdom, shall pay the same destruction as the ignorant. Thus Symmachus interpreted it: “Together the foolish and the ignorant shall perish.” And he calls him “foolish” who is called wise, as having not wished to understand what he ought, but the “ignorant” he calls him who is void of all wisdom, yet has lived his life in wickedness.

“And they shall leave their riches to others. [VERS. 12.] And their graves shall be their houses for ever: their tabernacles from generation to generation.” ^D Not only stripped of wisdom, but also of power and all wealth, they shall receive the end of life, sent away from illustrious houses to their tombs, and this...

^A they are compelled to inhabit for eternity. “They called their names upon the earths.” And indeed, he says, their estates are called by their names. For it is the house of so-and-so, and the field of so-and-so, and the servant of so-and-so; but along with the ownership, the naming of the names changes. For just as other masters have become owners of the things left behind by them, so too will there be a change of names. For again, names will be assigned from these new owners. Through all these things the Word teaches us ^B not to trust in present things, but to be concerned for future ones.

13. “And a man being in honor did not understand; he was compared to the senseless cattle, and was made like to them.” He says the cause of this folly is that we are unwilling to understand our own honor and the dignity given to us by God, but instead embrace the life of cattle and wild beasts.

14. “This is their way, a scandal to them.” They fell into this unreasonableness, having held to a most wicked way of life from the beginning, and having turned aside to evil actions. For he called their actions their “way.” ^C “And after this they will be pleased with their mouths.” They will use repentance after their departure from here, but they will gain no profit from it.

15. “As sheep they were placed in Hades; death shall shepherd them.” Symmachus interpreted this more clearly: “As sheep of Hades they set themselves, death shall pasture them”; for they themselves caused their own punishments, and chose death over life. “And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their help shall grow old in Hades; they were cast out of their glory.” Those who are now treated unjustly and despised by them will soon have authority over them. ^D For, stripped of all their former prosperity, they shall be delivered to death. The parable of the Lord Christ also harmonizes with these things, showing Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, while the proud rich man is afflicted by bitter torments and directs his own prayers to that poor man. Thus, their end being declared, their petition

Deo offert: Qui his autem verbis utitur, petit ne eumdem cum illis patiatur; dicit autem sic: ^A Exiting in this way, he offers supplication to God. But those who have made use of these words ask not to endure the same end as them; he says as follows:

VERS. 16. « But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall receive me. » After this he brings forward counsel and admonition to those who live in poverty and are crushed by the arrogance of the rich.

VERS. 17, 18. « Fear not when a man has been made rich, and when the glory of his house has been increased. For when he shall die he shall take nothing: nor shall his glory descend with him. » Do not, he says, consider the present prosperity something great; for notable wealth is not permanent. For those who knit their brows on account of it and puff up their cheeks, a little later, having abandoned all things, will be handed over to death. ^B

VERS. 19. « Because his soul shall be blessed in his life. » Some, he says, call the one abounding in wealth blessed while he lives, but call him thrice-wretched when he has died. « He will confess to you when you have done good to him. » Symmachus said this more clearly: « He will praise you if you do good to them. » For this is the true praise, to be celebrated and much-talked-of not only while living, but also when departed. But the one who has managed his wealth for his own benefit is worthy of such praises; for the beneficence bestowed upon others returns to the benefactor himself.

VERS. 20. « He shall enter even unto the generations of his fathers, he shall never see light. » Instead of "he shall enter," the three other interpreters translated "you shall enter." ^C You shall see, he says, this person of whom I said: Fear not when a man has been made rich, enduring the same death as his ancestors; and not only deprived of the present light, but also of the eternal [light].

VERS. 21. « And a man who was in honor did not understand; he was compared to the senseless beasts, and became like them. » The cause of these things is the brutish life which the majority of men have chosen, having cast aside the honor given by God. For, though called rational, they have loved irrationality.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XLVIII

VERS. 1. « A Psalm of Asaph. » This is the master of a choir of Psalm-singers.

as the history of Paralipomenon has taught us. ^A For those things which were explained from the forty-first psalm were entrusted to the sons of Core, themselves also leaders of another choir, to be sung. They have also other psalms which bear their inscription, which, if God permits, we shall interpret. The present psalm, assigned to Asaph, is in harmony with the previously ordained psalm; for it too foretells the coming judgment, and the epiphany of our God and Savior. It even prophesies the New Testament, showing that the worship according to the Law is not pleasing to God. « The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the setting thereof. » The psalm before this one called all men to instruction, and this one likewise calls all the ends of the world. For « from the rising of the sun unto the setting thereof » signifies this. But the phrase « God of gods, » the three interpreters rendered differently: « The mighty God has spoken and called the earth. » ^B The Seventy, however, name as gods those who have been allotted to rule and have been entrusted with judging, which is the prerogative of God alone. This is what the eighty-first psalm teaches us, which is also inscribed to Asaph. For when it said: « God stood in the synagogue of gods, and in the midst He judges gods, » it added: « How long will you judge unjustly, and accept the persons of sinners? Judge for the orphan and the needy; justify the lowly and the poor. » This is proper to priests and others who have been entrusted with the duty of judging. Thus also the Law decrees: « You shall not revile the gods, nor shall you speak evil of the ruler of your people. » Properly, however, those could be called gods who have been made according to the divine image and have kept that image uncorrupted. ^C For God gathers the whole world of such people for judgment.

VERS. 2. « Out of Sion is the beauty of His comeliness. » This is that same God who showed His own comeliness and beauty in Sion, and accepted the saving passions, who was named, in the psalms explained above, as beautiful in form beyond the sons of men.

VERS. 3. « God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence. » Do not suppose that His second advent will be like unto the first. For at that time He veiled His own majesty with humility and poverty; ^D but now He shall show His imperial power manifest to all.

^A And now He shall show His sovereignty to all, and His kingdom, no longer using long-suffering, but judging justly. For this is what He meant by, "He shall not keep silence." "Fire shall burn before Him, and round about Him a mighty tempest." ^B This the blessed Daniel beheld: "A river of fire," he says, "flowed before Him; His throne was a flame of fire, His wheels were burning fire."

VERS. 4. "He shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, that He may judge His people." Even when He was promulgating the law, He commanded the blessed Moses to gather the people and to call heaven and earth to witness; which is why he made this the preface of the song: "Attend, O heaven, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words from my mouth." He calls them to witness, not as though they were animate, but as those that contain the other creatures, for the fear of those who hear. Thus the blessed Abraham established seven ewe lambs as witnesses, saying, "The well is mine." Thus also Jacob and Laban called the hill the hill of witness.

VERS. 5, 6. "Gather unto Him His saints, who make His covenant with sacrifices. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness, for God is judge." By the things said above, He showed His terrible judgment; but by these, and what follows, He teaches the imperfection of the worship according to the law, and that none of the sacrifices which were offered was acceptable to God. By saints, furthermore, he names Moses, Aaron, Eleazar, Phinehas, and all who after them ministered as priests according to the prescription of the law. ^C He commands them to be gathered, not that He might exact penalties from them, as if they had thought contrary things—for the law is His, and complying with the law, each of the aforementioned offered the sacrifices—but that by those present He might show His own intent, and by putting an end to the teaching fitting for infants, might bring in perfect disciplines. When, says he, these things shall have been done, the heavens will admire the justice of the sentence; and by the heavens he hints at the celestial powers.

VERS. 7. "Hear, O my people, and I will speak to thee." And showing to which people He is speaking, He added, ^D "O Israel, and I will testify to thee." Then He shows His own majesty: "I am God, thy God." Who delivered thee from Egyptian servitude, who

through the sea provided a path, who in the desert offered nourishment, who gave thee that law. For do not think me another lawgiver, when thou seest a difference in the laws.

^A Ver. 8. "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, and thy burnt offerings are before me always." I do not, He says, accuse thee of neglect of sacrifices (for thou bringest these to me continually), but I counsel thee not to limit justice to these things.

Ver. 9-11. "I will not receive calves from thy house, nor he-goats from thy flocks. For mine are all the wild beasts of the field, the cattle on the mountains, and oxen. I have known all the birds of the air, and the beauty of the field is with me." I am, He says, the creator and lord of all, both of land animals and of the birds that fly in the air. Do not therefore think that thou art supplying my need; for I have given to these also their existence, and I command the fruits to grow from the earth. For by "the beauty of the field" He means the various fruits of the earth. Since, therefore, from land animals there were offered oxen, and goats, and sheep; and from birds, pigeons and turtledoves; and from fruits, fine flour, and wine, and oil, and the sweet scents of incense; He of necessity made mention of all of them, so that he might put an end to all such worship. Then, ironically, He says:

Ver. 12. "If I should hunger, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof." If, He says, I were in need of food, I would not require thy provision. For I am at once the creator and lord of the whole of creation. Then He teaches that His own nature is exempt from passion.

Ver. 13. "Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" Having in this way shown their folly, and having taught that He ordained that those sacrifices be offered by them of old because their mind was still simple, He now opens the new covenant and prescribes a sacrifice that is pleasing to Him.

Ver. 14, 15. "Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows to the Most High. And call upon me in the day of thy trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." In due time He also revealed the venerable number of the holy Trinity, and joined it to the New Testament; for with this we have also received the knowledge of the holy Trinity. But He divided the things, not in order to divide the operations of the undivided and holy Trinity, but so that He might teach those who come after prophetically of the number. Therefore He says: "Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of thy affliction.

^A From these words we learn of three persons. It is not that God alone, nor only the Most High, nor only He who receives the sacrifice of praise, grants petitions. For each property belongs to God, and the Most High, and the Giver of good things. He calls the hymns appropriate to the righteous a "sacrifice of praise," and "vows" he calls promises. For thus He says in the twenty-first psalm: "I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him." ^B Since He spoke, "I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices," He teaches thereafter for what things he was reproved.

VERS. 16, 17. "But to the sinner God said: Why dost thou declare my statutes, and take my covenant in thy mouth? But thou hast hated instruction, and hast cast my words behind thee." For since there are some who blame others when they sin, and remind them of the divine laws, while they themselves observe little of what they teach, He rightly inveighs against such men, saying: Why, having become arrogant over my judgments, and debating back and forth regarding the law, ^C do you perceive no benefit from it, but despise my words? He also recounts the kinds of sins.

VERS. 18-20. "If thou sawest a thief, thou didst run with him, and didst place thy portion with adulterers. Thy mouth has abounded with malice, and thy tongue was weaving deceits. Thou satest and spakest against thy brother, and against the son of thy mother thou didst lay a stumbling block." Many, He says, and of every kind are the transgressions daringly committed by you; for as the Apostle says in his words: "Thou who sayest that one should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?" and thou becomest a partner and sharer of those who dare to do such things. ^D Having stripped thy mouth of truth, thou hast filled it with falsehood and malice. Deceit sharpens thy tongue for thee. Wherefore thou also despisest kinship, and tramplest upon the laws of nature, and secretly weavest snares against thy brothers, and continuest both slandering with words and plotting with deeds. Having thus made a narration of the transgression, He foretells both the long-suffering He possesses and the punishment He will inflict.

VERS. 21. "These things thou hast done, and I kept silent; thou thoughtest unrighteousness, that I shall be like thee." I indeed, seeing these things committed by thee, using long-suffering, wait for thy repentance. But thou hast taken my long-suffering as an opportunity for impiety, imagining

^A that I take pleasure in your iniquity, and therefore do not punish. ^B Therefore, "I will reprove you, and set your sins before your face." For since you could not be healed by the mild medicines of patience, I shall prepare sharper ones for you, and I will apply the cautery of reproof. These things harmonize with those apostolic words: "Not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But after your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation and righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds." Having thus threatened punishment, the philanthropist again offered an admonition.

VERS. 22. "Understand these things, you who forget God, lest at any time he snatch [you] away, and there be none to deliver." Understand carefully, he says, each of these things that have been said; and you who have fallen into the sickness of forgetting God—for forgetfulness of God is the procurer of sin—heal your wounds with the medicines of repentance before death snatches you away; for it attacks men like a lion, and no one can restrain its vehement onslaught. Then he takes up the new legislation, and with this he adorns the end of the psalm.

VERS. 23. "A sacrifice of praise will glorify me, and there is the path by which I will show him my salvation." Symmachus interpreted this more clearly: "He who sacrifices for praise shall glorify me, and to him who walks in order I will show the salvation of God." For it is proper not only to hymn God and offer to Him the sacrifices of praise, but also to walk in an orderly manner and to regulate one's own life. For in this way it is possible to attain the salvation from God. According to the Septuagint: "I am pleased," he says, "with the sacrifice of praise, and I consider this a fitting glory; and through this I will show my path to him who offers it, the end of which is salvation from God." ^C It is also proper to note that here too mention is made of two persons. "For a sacrifice," he says, "will honor me." And when he had shown his own person in these words, he added: "And there is the path by which I will show him the salvation of God." For it was necessary that with the New Testament, which teaches perfect things, there should be joined the perfect doctrine of the knowledge of God.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM L

VERS. 1, 2. "To the end, a psalm of David. When" he entered in to Bersabee the wife of Urias.

^A The inscription has indeed clearly taught us the subject of the psalm, and the very words of the psalm are sufficient to show the depth of its meaning. However, one should know that the psalm also contains a prediction of future events. Hence it is inscribed "to the end," which declares that the prophecy would have a fulfillment. But let no one doubt whether the great David was granted the grace of prophecy during the time of his repentance; for this can be learned also from other psalms through which he made his confession. For in the sixth psalm he prophesied concerning the future judgment: "For there is no one in death who is mindful of thee; and in hell who will confess to thee?" And in the thirty-first psalm he calls blessed those who have received ^B the remission of their sins without labor, a gift which the grace of baptism alone is able to bestow. Furthermore, in the present psalm he has explicitly taught us that he was not deprived of the grace of the Spirit. "And take not thy holy Spirit from me," he says. For he did not beg that the grace of the Spirit be given to him, but he besought that it not be taken away from him. Enlightened, therefore, by this ray, and foreseeing with prophetic eyes that the people whom he governed would fall into sins, and for their expiation would be led into captivity and dwell in Babylon, he composed the present psalm, both healing his own wounds ^C and preparing a suitable remedy for the people, and indeed for all of us, as many as have been wounded and stand in need of healing.

VERS. 3. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy: and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity." These words apply to the divine David, and to the captive people, and to those among us who are in an evil state. For great wounds require equally great remedies; and whoever has fallen into a serious illness stands in need of greater care, and whoever has committed great sins stands in need of great benevolence. For this reason the great David ^D prays that all mercy may be poured out upon him, and that the whole fountain of tender mercies may wash over the wound of sin. For in no other way could the traces of sin be blotted out. And he rightly calls the transgression an "iniquity," for it possesses a twofold violation of the law.

^A Ver. 4. "Amplius ablue iniquitatem meam, et a peccato meo munda me." For already, he says, through the prophet Nathan you have granted me forgiveness; and you have brought upon me calamities of every kind, like certain cauteries and incisions; yet I still stand in need of purifications, since I have admitted much of the stench of sin. Wash me, therefore, again, O Master, so that you may scrape away all the filth of sin. [For according to the prophet, "The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning" [g].]

Ver. 5. "Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego agnosco, et peccatum meum coram me est semper." For not even after the forgiveness granted by you did I fall into forgetfulness of my sin, but I am continually beholding the images of my evils; and the transgressions I dared to commit I dream of at night, and dwell upon them by day. ^B And God himself, through Isaiah, commands sinners to do this: "For I am," he says, "he who blots out your iniquities, and will not remember your transgressions. But do you remember, and let us be judged; tell your iniquities first, that you may be justified" . In sympathy with these words, the blessed David himself wrote in the thirty-first psalm: "I said, I will confess my injustice against myself to the Lord, and you have taken away the impiety of my heart" [i].

Ver. 6. "Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci." Having been treated with many and great gifts by you, he says, I repaid those gifts with their contraries, daring to do what was forbidden by the Law. ^C For he does not say this meaning that he did not wrong Uriah—for he had indeed wronged both him and his wife—but that the greatest transgression was committed against God himself, who had chosen him, who had made him a king instead of a shepherd, who had rendered him superior to his enemies, and who had overwhelmed him with goods of every kind. And he has well added: "And I have done evil before you." For the history makes mention of this. For it says that the thing that was done was seen as evil before the Lord. However, if these words are spoken from the person of the captive people, it must be understood thus: "To you alone I have sinned." Regarding your gifts, he says, I have been ungrateful, and I have transgressed the laws set for me; and although I have enjoyed all kinds of goods, I have been unmindful regarding them. ^D Yet while I have not even wronged the Babylonians, I have been greatly wronged by them. "That you might be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged." I myself, he says, am the cause of my own evils.

but Your justice shines forth. And thus, when judgment takes place, and the things that have occurred to me from You are brought into the middle, and those things dared by me are examined alongside them, You will be shown to be both just and kind, while I shall appear lawless and ungrateful. Therefore, the "that" here is not indicative of cause (for neither David himself nor the people sinned for this reason, so that God might be justified), but the contrary: even when sin is committed by these people, God’s justice is displayed; for He has provided for him, and for them, and for all human beings. ^B

VERS. 7. "Behold, for I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me." From above, he says, and from the beginning of nature, sin has prevailed; for the transgression of the commandment preceded the conception of Eve. For after the transgression, and the divine sentence, and the deprivation of Paradise, Adam knew Eve his wife, and she, having conceived, bore Cain. This, therefore, is what he wishes to say: that since sin had seized our ancestors, it created a certain way and path through the race. This is also what the blessed Paul says: "Since through man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and thus all have sinned." This also the God of all said to the most admirable Noah, that "The mind of man is diligently inclined to evil from his youth all his days." But we learn through all these things, not that the energy of sin is natural (for if that were so, we would be free from punishment), but that nature is inclined toward falling, troubled by the passions; yet reason, supported by the help of labors, prevails. ^C Therefore, he is not, as some have supposed, accusing marriage and calling the marital union lawlessness, as some foolishly supposed, having understood "In iniquities I was conceived, and in sins my mother conceived me" in that way; but he brings into the middle the lawlessness dared from above by our first parents, and says that this became the source of these currents. For if they, he says, had not sinned, they would not have received death as the penalty for sin; but if they had not been mortal, they would have been superior to corruption, and being incorrup- ^D

incorruptibility, freedom from passion ^A would have attended it as well. And if freedom from passion were presiding, sin would have had no place. But since they sinned, they were delivered to corruption; and having become mortal, they brought forth such children; and such desires and fears, pleasures and sorrows, anger and envy followed these children. Against these, and against those things which sprout from them, our reason struggles, and when it has conquered, it is proclaimed victor, and is crowned with victorious wreaths; but when defeated, it incurs shame and pays the penalty. Symmachus, however, instead of "conceived," has put "bore in the womb."

8. "Behold, for You have loved truth." He speaks as follows: You judge, and some You punish, while others You crown, because You love the truth; and loving the truth, and knowing the weakness of our nature, grant pardon to those who ask for the remedies. ^B "The uncertain and hidden things of Your wisdom You have revealed to me." I, for my part, consider myself worthy of no pardon, having been ungrateful after so many gifts. For You not only seated me on royal thrones, but also deemed me worthy of prophetic grace, and revealed to me things to come after a long time, and made known to me things unknown to others, so that I might teach others the incarnation of Your only-begotten Son, and the saving passion, and the resurrection, and the salvation of the world, and the liberal forgiveness of sins, and the magnificent and divine gifts of the holy baptism. Having been taught all these things by Your all-holy Spirit, I beseech You to make me a partaker of that grace ^C which I proclaim to others while prophesying.

9. "You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; You shall wash me, and I shall be whitened more than snow." For only the gift of baptism can effect this cleansing; and the Lord of all promised through the prophet Isaiah that He would give this cleansing. For when He had said: "Wash yourselves, be clean, remove the evils from your hearts" (Isa. 1, 16), a little later He said: "If your sins be as scarlet, I will whiten them as snow" (ibid. 18). These things the great David himself also foretells in the sixty-seventh psalm. "For when," he says, "the ^D heavenly One divides kings, they shall be made white as snow in Selmon" (Psal. LXVII, 15). Therefore he says here also, that I stand in need of the grace which is to be given to all men.

^A For that grace alone is able to wash me accurately, and to grant me the whiteness of snow. That the hyssop works no remission of sins, is easy to understand from the Mosaic writings. For the law did not cleanse the murderer, and the man who was a robber of the marriage bed, with sprinklings, but subjected them to extreme punishments. Therefore the hyssop is a riddle of other things. For those who in Egypt sprinkled the blood of the lamb upon the doorposts with hyssop, escaped the hands of the destroyer. But those things were a figure of the saving passions: for here too there is blood, and a saving tree, and salvation granted to those who approach with faith.

VERS. 10. "Thou shalt make me to hear joy and gladness: and the bones which have been humbled shall rejoice." ^B Fill my ears, he says, with this gladness, promising perfect purification, so that the pleasure of the soul may run through all the parts of the body, and the bones which are now humbled by affliction may blossom again, and receive their own strength.

VERS. 11. "Turn thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities." Do not look, he says, upon the iniquities daringly committed by me, but upon me who am lamenting these things.

VERS. 12. "Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." ^C Since I have contracted the old age of sin, renew me by thy kindness. These things also the Lord promised through Ezechiel the prophet to the captives in Babylon: "For I will give them," he says, "a new heart, and a new spirit." But he does not mean the all-holy Spirit, but the impulse of the reason: that is, since I have chastened you with this long chastisement and taught you what fruits sin produces, I will make you choose virtue. David the great requested this also in this place, that both his wounded heart might be renewed and his reason strengthened, so as to run the divine way.

VERS. 13. "Cast me not away from thy face, and take not thy holy Spirit from me." ^D Through these words we have clearly learned that he had not been stripped of the grace of the all-holy Spirit. For he does not pray as one who has been stripped of it to receive it, but he beseeches not to be deprived of it, nor to be far removed from the divine governance. For he called the governance "face" in this place.

^A VERSE 14. "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and confirm me with a guiding spirit." That which he had not lost, he prayed to keep—that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit. But that which he had cast away, he beseeches that he might recover; this truly was joy in God. "I was enjoying," he says, "all manner of pleasure when I had great boldness before you, Master; but now, stripped of this, I have also been deprived of gladness. The slavery to pleasure has stripped me of my boldness. Therefore I beseech that my mind might receive back its former governance, and that it, being enslaved by the passions, might again recover the authority over them." For here again he has called the sovereign reason "a guiding spirit."

VERSE 15. "I will teach the lawless your ways, and the ungodly shall turn back to you." Having again enjoyed your loving-kindness, I shall be an archetype of repentance for those who embrace an unlawful life; I shall also be a herald of your goodness, and I will urge ungodly and lawless men to flee to you with supplications. ^B

VERSE 16. "Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation." He continuously brings the murder of Uriah back to his memory. He declared this also in the prologue, saying: "Because my sin is before me always." — "My tongue shall exult in your justice." Symmachus interpreted this thus: "My tongue will speak of your mercy." For I will not be silent, having obtained forgiveness, but I will continue to praise you and narrate your graces. ^C

VERSE 17. "O Lord, you will open my lips, and my mouth shall announce your praise." For sin is accustomed to bind the tongue, to stop up the mouth, to strangle, and to compel one to be silent. The prophet therefore beseeches that, through forgiveness, he might partake of his former boldness, and set his tongue in motion for hymnody.

VERSE 18. "For if you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it; you will not be pleased with burnt offerings." These things also harmonize with what was said in the aforementioned psalm. For we heard there the God of all saying: "I will not accept calves from your house, nor goats from your flocks." ^D Therefore, having heard this from the divine voice, the most divine David rightly said: "For if you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it; you will not be pleased with burnt offerings." For you, he says, have said that the sacrifices of irrational animals are not pleasing to you; for which reason I will offer the liturgy that is pleasing to you.

^A Verse 19. "A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise." A sacrifice, he says, that is pleasing and acceptable to you our God, is a modest spirit. Therefore, greatly depressing my heart, and as it were crushing it, and attenuating it greatly, I will offer a sacrifice that is acceptable to you. These blessed youths in the furnace also used these words: "For in a contrite heart," they said, "and a spirit of humility, may we be accepted before you, as in the burnt offerings of rams and fat bulls" (Dan. III, 39, 40). So that it is manifest from this, too, that the psalm contains a prediction of those things which happened in Babylon, and a doctrine suited to them. For from this, those noble youths, having learned what sacrifice is pleasing to God, offered to the Master humility of spirit and contrition of heart. ^B Verses 20, 21. "Do good, O Lord, in your good will to Zion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then you will be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, with an oblation and whole burnt offerings; then they will place calves upon your altar." We have been taught more clearly by these words that the psalm is full of prophecy. For these words are fitting for those who were forced to dwell in Babylon, and who were awaiting liberation from servitude, and were lamenting the desolation of their city. For they beseech that the city might be deemed worthy of some mercy, and that it might recover its former prosperity, with its walls repaired and the worship performed according to the Law restored. For now, he says, we who dwell in a foreign land cannot offer the sacrifices prescribed to you, since the law commands us to sacrifice in that city alone. But if we should obtain a return and rebuild the temple, then we will offer you the lawful sacrifices. It is also very fitting for them: "O Lord, you will open my lips, and my mouth will ^C declare your praise." For it is their voice: "How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?" (Ps. CXXXVI, 4). The end of this psalm has another prophecy as well. Since he had previously set forth the gifts of the most holy Spirit, and then, proceeding forward, showed that the God of all is not delighted by sacrifices prescribed by the law, he prays that a new Zion should appear, and that the heavenly Jerusalem should be built upon the earth, and that, as quickly as possible, a new religion should be granted, which does not offer victims devoid of reason, but the oblation and sacrifice of righteousness, and rational and living burnt offerings, concerning which the blessed Paul says: "I beseech you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you present..." ^D

Paul, "I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your rational service." ^A For the most divine David, knowing—as one who had learned the hidden and secret things of God’s wisdom—that the New Testament contains the perfect forgiveness of sins, and desiring, as one who also yearned to obtain a swift and perfect deliverance from sins and a concise and honorable purification, says these things.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LI

^B 1, 2. "Unto the end. A psalm of David, for understanding. When Doeg the Idumean came and told Saul and said to him, 'David came to the house of Abimelech.'" From this it is manifest that Abimelech had two names. For Doeg, as the first history of Kings teaches, accused Abimelech before Saul and incited him to the slaughter of the priests. Yet he calls him Abimelech both here and in the thirty-third psalm. The divine David, having learned of the slander that had been committed against the priests, composed this psalm, stirring up those suffering injustice to patience and endurance, and teaching the righteousness of the divine decree. ^C For this reason he also inscribed the psalm "Unto the end," and "For understanding," so that, using understanding, we might await the outcome of events. It also contains at the same time a prophecy concerning the fury of Rabshakeh, who, having originated from the Hebrews, later became a prisoner of war and learned the impiety of the Assyrians who had enslaved him; and he used blasphemous words against God, and attempted to deceive the multitude of the Jews with deceptive speeches. ^D [For the inscription of the first psalm after the fiftieth has this…

explanation for us. But this Prophet himself stated it more clearly, beginning therefrom as follows:]

Ver. 3. "Why do you boast in malice, O mighty one, in iniquity all the day long?" He calls Doeg "mighty," in that he was most intimate with Saul; and Rapsaces [likewise], as having been entrusted with the command of armies. He shapes the discourse by way of inquiry, exhorting him not to grow arrogant in malice, nor to consume all his time in wickedness. For by "all the day long," Symmachus said "every day."

Ver. 4. "Your tongue has devised injustice; like a sharpened razor you have worked deceit." By false words, he says, you pollute your tongue; for he has put "devised" in place of "spoke"; and like a sharpened razor, you offer up the word, contriving ruin for those who are persuaded.

Ver. 5. "You have loved malice above goodness, iniquity more than to speak righteousness." You have chosen, he says, the worse things over the better; and you have set the false words before the true; and you embrace injustice more than righteousness.

Ver. 6. "You have loved all words of submersion, O deceitful tongue." He has called "words of submersion" and "deceitful tongue" that which has the power to utterly destroy through falsehood, taken from the metaphor of those who submerge men and ^B cause those submerged by them to be drowned in the depth of the waters. This, too, Doeg did. For he utterly destroyed the whole city of the priests, having used false words against Abimelech. Rapsaces also attempted to do this, but could not; for he brought false promises to those standing upon the wall, yet he was frustrated of his prey.

Ver. 7. "On account of this, God shall destroy you unto the end; he shall pluck you out, and remove you from your tabernacle, and your root from the land of the living." You shall not escape, he says, having chosen this wickedness, the sentence of the God of all; for he shall overthrow you most quickly, and deliver you to total destruction, and separate you from the catalog of the living, and, having plucked you out root and branch, will dispatch you to death. For the greatest ^{C D}

gain will spring up for those who are distressed at the prosperity of the wicked, when they behold the destruction of these men; for he says:

^A Ver. 8. “The righteous shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him, and shall say:” [Over whom? Over the unjust man, who not only wars against the truth itself, as he did, but also vents his rage against the priesthood. They say this, clearly, who are dedicated to God.]

Ver. 9. “Behold the man who did not make God his helper, but trusted in the multitude of his riches, and grew strong in his vanity.” The choir of the righteous, he says, will be filled with greater reverence, having beheld the just judgment of God, and, rejoicing and delighting, will laugh at the barrenness of wickedness and the gain of present prosperity.

Ver. 10. “But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God; I have hoped in the mercy of God for ever, and for ever and ever.” For the great David says these things about himself, and also offers instruction to Hezekiah; for both were lovers and pupils of piety. In the first psalm, he likened the athlete of virtue to a tree planted by the channels of waters, and ever flourishing, and bearing fruit in season. And here too, he calls the righteous man an olive tree ^B heavy with much fruit, and planted in the house of God; ^C inasmuch as he possesses certain hope in God, and on account of that hope, endures toil and does not refuse to produce the diligent fruits of virtue. [Therefore, let no one cast away his soul if he falls into struggles, but let him fight bravely, and glory in them; expecting that it will come to pass that he shall not only receive crowns for those contests at some time, but he shall also see his enemies taken captive.]

Ver. 11. “I will confess to thee for ever: for thou hast done, and I will wait on thy name, for it is good in the sight of thy saints.” [Now, the phrase, “I will confess to thee for ever,” implies the present age. The phrase, “for thou hast done,” signifies the taking of vengeance for those who trust in thee. The phrase, “I will wait on thy name,” signifies that I will endure the struggles for thy sake not only with much promptness; but ^D also because thou hast a kingdom that is good, that is to say, full of love for man, and without beginning and without end. The phrase, “in the sight of thy saints,” is equivalent to saying, thy help is present to them, and thou wilt guard those who contend for thy name.] And of this benefit...

and keep those who contend for thy name.] Having obtained this benefit, I shall always sing to thee, O Lord, everywhere desiring and awaiting thy name, which is lovable to those who know thee, and from which I shall derive benefit. For the name of God is good and most desirable, not to all men, but to those who have been gifted with divine knowledge.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LII

VERS. 1. ^A *In the end, for Maeleth, understanding of David.* For "Maeleth," Theodotion translates "for the dance," Symmachus "by the choir," and Aquila "upon the dance." This psalm has the same meaning as the preceding one, and likewise the thirteenth. For the subject matter of both is one and the same. For both condemn the blasphemies of Sennacherib and Rabshakeh, and they foretell the destruction of the impious. For this reason it has the inscription "of the dance," which is led by those who have obtained salvation and offer praise to God. And these words are added to the inscription, "in the end," because after some time the prophecy found its end. [This psalm also has this meaning because of its inscription. Hear, therefore, what the Prophet says:]

VERS. 2. *The fool said in his heart: There is no God.* ^B For he unloosed his tongue, not only against those who are called gods, but even against Him who is truly God, saying: "Have the gods of the nations been able to deliver their own land from my hand?" [For it is manifest that those were unable; for how could they have been able, being nothing?] "That the Lord should deliver Jerusalem?" [See, O impious one, to what a height thy tongue has lifted itself. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.] "Where is the god of Hamath, and where is the god of Arpad? And where is the god of the city of Sepharvaim?" [These indeed, who were called gods by the foolish ones, brought little defense to that wicked one a short time ^C later, receiving their due judgment.] *They are corrupted and become abominable in iniquities.* The cause, he says, of the impiety was their wicked life. For, performing fearlessly whatever they pleased, they do not wish to admit into their mind that God oversees all things, but have persuaded themselves that no one presides over the helm of the world. *There is none that doeth good.* All, he says, loved the wickedness of the Assyrians. [And as many as are devoted to their worship are foolish, in whatever place or dignity or rank they may be established, not calculating that:]

^D

^A Ver. 3. "God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is any who understands, or who seeks God." Nevertheless, God, who was not believed by them, who dwells in the heights and looks upon the lowly, desired to institute an examination of the deeds done. Ver. 4. "All have turned aside; together they have become useless"—that is, all who embrace a similar opinion—"there is none who does good, there is not even one." He found, he says, that all had turned aside from the straight path, and had embraced every kind of wickedness. Ver. 5. "Will they not know, all who work iniquity?" [What will they know? That the Lord God will take vengeance. And who are these? In the following he says:] "Who devour my people as the food of bread?" [The infidels, clearly; and he reveals their malady more clearly, while saying:] Ver. 6. "They did not call upon God." And yet through the experience of iniquity they shall learn its loss—those who were attempting to consume my people like bread, and were despising God the guardian. ^B "There they shall tremble with fear, where there was no fear." For I will make them shudder and be anxious, not because those who terrify them are visible, but because the punishment is brought upon them secretly. By these words he signifies the plague brought upon them by the angel. "Because God has scattered the bones of the men-pleasers; they were put to shame, because God despised them." Concerning "He scattered the bones of the men-pleasers," Aquila and Symmachus interpreted it thus: "For God has scattered the bones of those who encamped around you." [For their deadly and soul-destroying judgment stood against them, and he extinguished them all in a brief moment of time. For this is what it means when it says: "They were put to shame, because God despised them."] For on account of this, he says, "they shall tremble with fear, where there was no fear," because God, being provoked ^C by their blasphemies, when He saw them unjustly encamped around His city, punished them with death and proposed them as food for vultures and wild beasts, and scattered their bones. Nor would anyone be wrong to call Rabshakeh a man-pleaser, who, being born of the Hebrews, sharpened blasphemous words against the God of all, desiring to gain favor by this means from the Assyrians.

suming. [Sicut etiam quidam qui Deum reliquerunt, ab eo relicti sunt, tempore Juliani Apostatæ, qui tunc regnabat.] ^A

VERS. 7. « Quis dabit ex Sione salutare Israel? » He who has granted this joy to us, He Himself, he says, may also provide salvation to those who have already become captives 15. For the ten tribes had already been enslaved and deported, and, in addition to these, many cities of Judea. Therefore he added: « When the Lord shall turn again the captivity of his people, Jacob shall exult, and Israel shall rejoice. » Then, he says, we shall receive perfect joy, when we see that the others who were taken captive have also attained a return. We are therefore taught ourselves, according to the apostolic command, to « weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice, » and to « be of the same mind one toward another, » and to consider the prosperity of our neighbor as our own joy. ^B

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LIII

VERS. 1, 2. « Unto the end; In song; Understanding of David. When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Does not David hide himself with us? » The subject of the psalm is clear. For the great David praises God, who had brought him aid, that he might escape the snares of his enemies. For the Ziphites feigned friendship with David, but informed Saul where he was attempting to lie hidden. [Even to this day we see some who cover themselves with the veil of friendship, but within are full of hypocrisy rather than friendship.] ^C Sometimes, therefore, believing those who had brought word, he mustered an army against him with great forces. Then, when he was on the point of suddenly catching him, he was hindered by an incursion of the foreigners. For when it was reported to him that they were raiding the country, he turned back, eager to bring aid to his subjects who were being attacked in war. Then the great David offered this hymn to God, as one who had received his prayer and had averted the expected calamity. [He sets forth this psalm, for the most part, as a common teaching for those who are attacked unjustly: that with the deepest contrition they may offer to God the same prayers as David, ^D

to Him who is able, even as He was for the Prophet, to deliver him from the hands of those who commit injustice. ^A

Verse 3: "O God, by Thy name save me." It is enough for me, he says, for my safety that Thy name be invoked. Thus did the divine Apostles also work great wonders. "For in the name," he says, "of Jesus Christ, rise and walk." ^B And in Thy power judge me. Thou art, he says, just and the source of justice; judge me, therefore, and those who fight against me unjustly.

Verse 4: "O God, hearken to my prayer, [and not this only, but also] give ear to the words of my mouth." Receive my supplications with favor [in great measure; for what reason did he say this?]

Verse 5: "For strangers have risen up against me; and [not this only, but also] mighty men have sought my soul." I need, he says, Thy assistance, O Master, [and intercession], being driven by enemies [who, though they are human and their power is held by the opinion of many to be great,] are confident, and desire to deliver me to death. They dare these things against me because they are ignorant of Thy providence, [nay, they even despise it]. For this is what he added when he said: "And they did not set God before them." Having prayed thus, acknowledging the imminent assistance, he cries out: ^C

Verses 6, 7: "For behold, God helps me, and the Lord is the upholder of my soul. He shall return the evils to my enemies." [That is to say, they prepared a pit and dug it, but they shall fall into the ditch which they wrought. And henceforth he also prays to the all-holy Spirit of God, in saying]: "And in Thy truth destroy them."

Verse 8: "I will willingly sacrifice to Thee." But I, he says, instructed by Thy grace, have learned that Thou wilt deem me worthy of Thy providence, and that Thou wilt cast upon the originators of the evils prepared against me the very evils they themselves devised, and wilt pronounce a just sentence against them. For this is what is meant by, "In Thy truth destroy them; I will willingly sacrifice to Thee." I, having obtained these things, will with all readiness offer to Thee acceptable sacrifices. And teaching the nature of the priestly service, he added:

and I will confess to your name, O Lord, for it is good. ^A [VERS. 9.] For out of all tribulation you have delivered me, and my eye has looked upon my enemies. I will offer to you a sacrifice of praise, recounting your benefits. For this is useful to me, and ^B [to all who are helped by you, and] acceptable to you. It is just, however, that I should do this, I who have been delivered from all calamities, and who have seen the destruction of my enemies. [And the holy Paul also remembers that the Lord of all accepts this sacrifice. For, drawing an argument from the mercy of God, he admonishes those who have become participants in grace, saying thus: "I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God." And he explained what the form of this sacrifice is by saying: "through your rational service."]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LIV

VERS. 1. ^C "In the end, in hymns, an instruction of David." The blessed David spoke this psalm when he was suffering persecution from Saul, and when he was an exile, and forced to live in the desert. But he also simultaneously prophesies the conspiracies of the Jews against the Savior and our God, and in his own person he foreshadows the sufferings of the Lord. For he himself was driven out by Saul, whom he had benefited, and he was betrayed by certain of his acquaintances, and with prophetic eyes he foresaw that the Lord would suffer this same thing, and would be betrayed by those whom He had benefited, and would be nailed to the cross. Therefore, the title also sends the reader "in the end," and admonishes him to attend prudently to what is being said, since the meaning of the prophecy is hidden, but will have its fulfillment after the passage of time. Moreover, this psalm is included among the hymns, having a certain shadow of the Lord’s cross. For it is just that He should always be praised, who endured to suffer these things for the salvation of men. But let no one, attending to the lowliness of the words, consider these things unworthy of the incarnation of the Savior Christ. Let him consider, rather, that He who endured gall and vinegar, and nails, and thorns, and spittings, and blows, and all manner of insult, and finally underwent death, did not reject the lowliness of words. ^D For words must correspond to events. And His own voice is: "Learn of me, for I am meek, and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls." And again: "I have received a commandment, what I shall say, and what I shall speak,

and I do nothing of my own self." And, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ^A Now, he uttered these and suchlike words after the manner of men, both demonstrating human nature and, as it were, building up the weakness of the Jews. Yet here the divine David also teaches of the injustice which had been brought upon himself, and prefigures the impiety that was to come against the Lord [Christ our God], exulting in the communion of sufferings, and almost crying out with Paul: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." ^B [Nor does the Prophet alone, but also all those who, through his name, become partakers of his sufferings, shall be glorified, as the divine Paul says: "If we indeed suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together."] And this is the force of the inscription and of nearly the whole present Psalm; but the Prophet, beginning, spoke thus:

Interpretation of Psalm 54

Verses 2, 3. "Give ear, O God, to my prayer, and despise not my supplication. Attend to me and hear me." He offers various entreaties, supplicating that all might be admitted. Do not despise me, he says, as I beseech thee, but kindly attend to me and reach out help.

"I was grieved in my meditation, and troubled. [v. 4.] At the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner." For, he says, being reproached and warred upon by the unjust enemies, and contemplating their varied traps, I am filled with great pain [that is, with the trap prepared against me by them]. For Holy Scripture calls constant thought "meditation." ^C Symmachus interpreted this thus: "I was cast down, speaking with myself, and I was confounded by the voice of the enemy, and by the harassment of the wicked." For he calls the same person both enemy and wicked, as one who had been treated with kindness, but was contriving death for his benefactor. "For they have turned aside iniquities upon me, and they harassed me in wrath." Symmachus spoke more clearly: "For they have rushed into impiety against me, and in wrath they have stood against me; for they are impelled by a wicked intent and are contriving my death."

Verses 5, 6. "My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me. Fear and trembling..."

came upon me, and darkness covered me." ^A Seeing this hostility of theirs and the machines of their plots, I shudder, I fear, and I await death. And it is no wonder if David, fleeing and being pursued by many enemies, feared the end, since he was a man and lived under the Law, and beheld evangelical perfection from afar. For ^B even the Lord Christ Himself, although He had oft foretold and announced His voluntary passion to the holy apostles, and had severely rebuked the divine Peter, who begged that this might not happen, yet at the very time of the passion He cried out: "Now is My soul troubled." And the divine nature permitted the human nature to endure such agony that He sweated drops of blood, and was strengthened by an angel, so that He might overcome fear. For it was necessary in this also to manifest ^B the nature that was receiving the passion, and the great long-suffering which the lover of mankind, God, showed toward our race. For He endured the passion in the flesh, so that in this way He might work our salvation. Thus, all these things which are in the words are humble, not said on account of fear—far be it!—but He puts them forward for the sake of the divine dispensation.

Verses 7, 8. "And I said, Who will give me wings like a dove? and I will fly away, and be at rest? Lo, I have gone far off fleeing, and abode in the wilderness." This the blessed David did. For fleeing from Saul, and again observing ^C the hostility of the foreigners in Gath, he fled into the wilderness, as the first book of Kings teaches. And the Lord Christ also, many a time, withdrew into the mountain, frequently into the wilderness, avoiding the envy of the Jews. It is worthy of admiration that the great David wished to receive the wings of a dove and not of any other bird. For it is manifest that he was desiring the grace of the Holy Spirit, which appeared in the form of a dove to John in the Jordan.

Verse 9. "I waited for Him who saves me from faint-heartedness and the tempest." For, he says, being surrounded by such ^D waves, and receiving the attacks of winds or, so to speak, of whirlpools, I await the divine intervention, and I am comforted by the hope of help.

Verse 10. "Cast down, O Lord, and divide the tongues..."

^A Since they have used an evil conspiracy, dissolve, O Lord, their concord.

"For I saw iniquity and contradiction in the city." [Verse 11.] "Day and night it shall go round about it upon its walls." [This pertains partly to the Assyrians, partly to the Egyptians; but as regards the last times, it looks to the empire of the Romans.]

"And iniquity and trouble are in the midst thereof." [Verse 12.] "And injustice, and usury and deceit did not depart from its streets." I do not think these words are fitting for the blessed David. For at that time Jerusalem was not held by the Jews, nor was any other royal city considered as such; but it seems that he is at once foretelling the contradiction and lawlessness of Jerusalem, and enumerating the species of its wickedness—iniquity, injustice, usury, and deceit—to which its inhabitants, being given over, did not receive the beneficial laws of the Savior. It should be noted, moreover, that not only does the perfection of the New Testament ^B but also the legal code condemn usury, and couples it with iniquity, injustice, and deceit.

Verse 13. "For if my enemy had reviled me, I would have endured it; and if he that hated me had spoken great things against me, I would perhaps have hid myself from him." [That is, if I had known of the deceits prepared for me by him, perhaps I would have withdrawn myself from him.] But the things that happen at the hands of adversaries I consider bearable and tolerable; for these are done by enemies and foes; and, moreover, it is possible, perhaps, to avoid an open war.

Verses 14, 15. "But thou, O man of like mind, my guide and my known. Who together with me didst sweeten..."

^A foods. In the house of God we walked in harmony." It seems to me most grievous of all that a man who has been a familiar friend, of one mind, a partaker of the same table and food, a sharer in both divine and human matters, should act in the way that enemies and foes do. By these words, however, the prophetic grace clearly described the traitor Judas, who was chosen as a leader by the King, Christ ("For thou shall make them princes over all the earth"), and was a partaker of His table and mystical discourses, yet became an instrument for those who were plotting. Instead of "my leader," Symmachus translated it as "my familiar friend." But these things by no means befit the blessed David; for none of his friends betrayed him while he was fleeing from Saul. For neither Doeg nor the Ziphites were among his legitimate friends. But the prophecy squares with the history of the Gospels: "He who eats," He says, "bread with me, has lifted up ^B his heel against me." Having in this manner foretold the betrayal, He also predicts his sudden death. [And even to this day one may see the same treachery and murderous spirit abound in some, as the outcome of events convinces us. For not only do those who receive food from others betray those who provide it, but even those who are partakers of divine and ineffable mysteries not only betray one another, but even prepare death for themselves, and that with oaths intervening. And Paul, indeed, does not cease testifying throughout the whole world concerning these two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie: I mean the oath and the faith. Yet some, I know not how, attempt to alter both; nay, rather, they have altered them, keeping no right aim either toward their benefactors, or concerning the faith, or toward the Lord of all. Therefore the prophetic Spirit, pronouncing judgment against them, said as follows:]

VERS. 16. "Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell." ^C [This decree threatens them, as it wishes to suppress their evil opinion.] Judas received such an end to his life: for when he had tied a noose about his throat, he underwent a sudden death. The Jews, too, fell into similar calamities after the cross, being delivered up to the Roman war. For they did not depart from life by the law of nature, but were pierced through by hostile arms. [If any of the impious ^D should think that he will end his life by a common death,

after the resurrection he will receive a double punishment. "For of some men," he says, "the sins are manifest, preceding into judgment; but to some they also follow." ^A] Then he shows the justice of the punishment: "Because wickedness is in their dormitories, in the midst of them." [The same as saying: in their midst, into their very heart, the wickedness that has sprouted up brings upon them the deadly judgment of punishment.] He calls the present life a "dormitory," in which we lodge but do not dwell. [And blessed are those who consider the present life as a dormitory and not as a dwelling. Then, after having spoken these things about the impious, to those who suffer injustice but are not abandoned by the help from above, the Prophet changes his discourse.]

^B 17. "But I cried out to God, and the Lord heard me." [For I have learned to call upon not only the Father, but also his only-begotten Son, who, on account of his great love for mankind, is a little later to take upon himself from me the economy according to the flesh. Therefore]

18. "Evening and morning and at noon I will declare and announce, and he will hear my voice." [And this having been accepted by the lover of mankind,]

19. "He shall redeem my soul in peace from those approaching me, because there were many with me." David says, seeing my constant prayer offered by me at night and during the day, he will deliver me from those warring against me and will bestow peace. [Not only to me, he says, but also to all those who trust in him.] Now, the words, "There were many with me," indicate that those warring against me were many. For so indeed Symmachus interpreted it: "For many became against me."

20. "God will hear, and will humble them—for he is just and knows how to examine hearts and kidneys—he who exists before the ages." [Having received my prayer, the eternal God will wrap with weakness those who lay traps for me.] "For there is no change for them, because they did not fear God." This is how Symmachus interpreted it: "For they do not change, nor do they fear God." [For they do not consider the evils] ^C

^A of their ways, he says, and he will surround them with the aforementioned calamities.

VER. 21. "He hath stretched forth his hand to repay." These three interpreters explained this thus: "He stretched forth his hand against those who were at peace with him." For Saul was not persecuting an enemy, but a benefactor, an intimate, and an acquaintance. Nor did Judas betray an enemy, but a Savior and the giver of good things. Therefore, "He hath stretched forth his hand to repay" signifies that when he had stretched forth his hand to bestow rewards, he brought forward nothing good, but all things were full of malice. [Moreover, Judas stretched forth his hand not only to betray, but also when he returned the thirty pieces of silver, which, after he had ended his life by a noose, those who had killed God cast into the treasury of the temple.] And the following words declare this: "They have defiled his covenant." For while the divine law commands to love one's neighbor as oneself, they pursued their benefactor as an enemy. [And not only this, but they also condemned him to the punishment of the cross. Therefore he adds]:

VER. 22. "They have been divided by the wrath of his countenance, and their hearts have drawn near." For when they served wrath, they spoke one thing but planned another. For thus Symmachus interpreted it: "Their mouths are smoother than butter, but the heart of each one of them fights." ^B To this, the following also corresponds: "His words were softened above oil, and they are dart-arrows." Such were the words of Saul and of Judas. Saul said to David: "Art thou, son of David?" And Judas said: "Is it I, Rabbi?" [And many who are similarly affected and pretend to show the appearance of friendship to those whom they have wronged, say: "Have I done any wrong against you?" In the same way, Judas said: "Hail, Rabbi," and kissed him.] And while the words seem to have the smoothness of oil and butter, the plans are like arrows and ^C very sharp spears. [For their dart-arrows were rather spears.] For in place of "dart-arrows," Aquila translates "spears." Thus, the blessed David

^A having spoken regarding those things which had happened to him, and having set forth the designs plotted against the Lord, offers counsel to all men, admonishing them to place their hope in God.

VERS. 23. "Cast your care upon the Lord, and He will nourish you." [He will not only glorify them here, but will also, in the regeneration, deem them worthy of the vision of God. Therefore,] have God, he says, as your governor and steersman, and let your affairs depend upon that providence; for in this way you shall remain unshaken and immovable. For it says: "He will not give fluctuation to the righteous forever." For even if He sometimes permits one to fall into temptation, He will nonetheless provide swift aid. ^B And this strictly resembles the apostolic statements: "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will, with the temptation, make also a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it."

VERS. 24. "But You, O God, shall bring them down into the pit of destruction." For He will hand over those who have dared to plot against the righteous to everlasting punishment. For he called inevitable punishment a "pit of destruction." Just as it is impossible for one who has fallen into a pit filled with mud and mire to escape destruction, so it is impossible for one who is punished by God to find salvation from elsewhere. [And hear, he says, you timid ones.] "Men of blood and deceit shall not halve their days." For upon those who have chosen to live with murder and deceit, You bring swift death, not allowing them to live out the customary time. [And these things, indeed, will befall them. But I, says David, and as many as—like me—wait for the movement from above, shall be saved. For he explains this more clearly in what follows, saying:] "But I, O Lord, will hope in You." For knowing this power of Yours, and Your just verdict, I await the aid from You. ^C

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LV

VERS. 1. "Unto the end. For the people far removed from the holy ones. For David, a memorial inscription, when the foreigners held him in Geth." The title itself indicates the double meaning of the psalm, which is appropriate both to David himself, having been led into captivity and forced to inhabit a foreign land, ^D [and indeed also to many who live after them. For the "for the peo-]

continues ^A. [For "over the people hidden away from the holy ones," or taken captive and separated from the holy city at that time, which was Jerusalem, or the one who distances himself from God, that is, from faith in Him.] For similar sufferings happen. For they were serving the Babylonians, an alien people; and this man, fleeing from Saul, became a sojourner among aliens. One must know, however, that he arrived in Gath twice. First, when he appeared to be an enemy; then, having been brought into danger and feigning madness, he was dismissed and escaped. Later, however, having gained confidence, he stayed there and enjoyed peace. He wrote this present psalm after undergoing the former danger.

VERS. 2, 3. "Have mercy on me, O God, for man hath trampled upon me; all the day long making war, he hath afflicted me. My enemies have trampled upon me all the day long." ^B Being pursued and attacked by various enemies, and as if trampled upon, and enduring this continuously, I await Thy kindness, O Lord. Moreover, "all the day long," Symmachus translated as "continually and always." "For many are they that war against me from a height." [That is, from their power.] I do not fear, he says, the prosperity of men, relying on which they have undertaken war against us. For by "height of day" he referred to present success: that which is fleeting, ephemeral, perishable, and does not last for long. Then he teaches why one should not fear those who are puffed up with prosperity ^C.

VERS. 4. "In the day I will not be afraid; but I will hope in Thee." I do not fear fleeting good fortune, he says, having Thy help. Symmachus interpreted this as: "Whatever day I am afraid, I have trusted in Thee." I set against fear, he says, the confidence I have fixed in Thee. [Rightly, therefore, he added, "But I will hope in Thee"; which is the same as saying: There is no other, there is no one who can deliver those who are subject to temptations from the plotters, except Thy providence alone, O Lord. And he explained this more clearly by saying:]

VERS. 5. "In God will I praise my words."

^A [The praises, he says, that is, my prayers, which led by repentance I shall never cease to offer to God with intensity, are acceptable before God.] « In God I have hoped, I will not fear what flesh can do to me? » [By flesh, he means men who are more opulent and who live a life bound to this age.] And speaking, he says, I adorn my words with the memory of God; and being attacked, trusting in thy care, I despise those who attack me.

VERS. 6. « All the day they execrated my words: against me all their thoughts are for evil. » All, he says, do they move every thought into snares against me, rejecting my words as false, and casting off the apology offered. [But to this very day one can see many who suffer the same thing, either from men or from demons.] ^B

VERS. 7. « They shall dwell, and they shall hide, they themselves shall observe my heel, just as they have waited for my soul. » Symmachus interpreted this more clearly: « They assembled secretly, and they watched my footsteps, awaiting my soul. » And by what has been said, he has revealed their words, and their ambushes, and their snares.

VERS. 8. « For nothing shalt thou cast them out. » It is easy for thee, he says, and very effortless to cast them out, and to overthrow, and to punish with death; for he used « for nothing » to mean effortlessly and easily. « In anger thou shalt bring down the peoples, O God. » For not only them, but also all who have chosen to live in iniquity, wilt thou deliver to punishments [full of wrath]. ^C

VERS. 9. « My life I have declared to thee. » All my affairs are manifest to thee, my deeds, my words, my thoughts. For in this way also Symmachus interpreted it: « My inward parts are numbered to thee. » « Thou hast placed my tears in thy sight, according to thy promise. » Thou hast assented, he says, to my tears, and thou hast fulfilled thy promises. For thou didst promise, when giving the law, that thou wouldst hear those who groaned when treated with injustice. For so it says in the Law: « He shall groan to me, and I will hear him, for I am merciful. » ^D

^A VERSE 10. « My enemies shall be turned backward. » When thou hast accepted my prayer, the enemies will flee and cease from their insolence. « In whatever day I shall call upon thee, behold, I have known that thou art my God. » For by accepting my requests, by these very things I am persuaded of how great care thou takest of me.

VERSE 11. « In God will I praise the word; in the Lord will I praise the speech; in God have I hoped; I will not fear what man shall do unto me. » [The prophetic sense is excellent here also. How he offers equal prayer to the immaculate and consubstantial Trinity!] I will not bear, he says, to speak without the invocation of thee; but whether I utter a short word or use long discourses, I will adorn them with thy name, and trusting in thee, I will despise human snares.

^B VERSE 12. « In me are, O God, the vows of praise which I will render to thee. » I will studiously perform to thee, he says, the things promised; for he calls promises made to God "vows." In the same way also elsewhere: « I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have pronounced, and my mouth has spoken in my tribulation. » Then he teaches concerning what things, and what the promises are.

VERSE 13. « For thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from slipping. » [By all these things, as if instructing and arming me; by which, giving me trust so that I may have firm confidence, I shall also fulfill this present ode in these things.] « I will please before God in the light of the living. » For having obtained so many benefits, and having appeared superior to various snares, I will choose ^C thy care and a manner of life which is pleasing to thee, and to me will procure eternal life, and that light promised to those who live lawfully. Now these things, as I said, befit also blessed David, and those who were detained in Babylon as captives. But they also befit us, who sustain many snares from men and by demons, but by the divine care, we avoid the damage which arises from thence. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LVI.

^A Vers. 1. *In the end, Corrupt not; for David, for the inscription of the title: when he fled from the face of Saul, the king of Israel, into the cave.* Having escaped both the first and the second danger, great David, as if on a column, inscribed the divine benefit in his memory. Both this and that [Psalm] refer those who encounter them *to the end*, since they possess a prediction of things to come. For that one foretold the things that happened to the people; but this one prophesies the calling of the Gentiles. Furthermore, there is added to the inscription, *Corrupt not*, revealing to us David’s intellect and thought. For since he was able to kill Saul, and by the slaughter to destroy his enemy, and to seize the kingdom, he did not endure to do so, speaking to himself as it were: Corrupt not the virtue of forgetting injuries. *For far be it from me*, he says, *to lay my hand upon him, because he is the Lord’s anointed* (I Reg. xxiv, 7). With good reason, then, he added to the title, *Corrupt not*, teaching by what reasonings he refrained from killing his enemy.

Vers. 2. *Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: for my soul trusteth in thee; and in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until the iniquity pass away.* Being shut up in the cave, and seeing the enemies also shut up, he declares the divine mercy, and opens the hope which he has fixed in God. He has often interpreted the *shadow of the wings* to call it divine care. But the doubling of the mercy declares the greatness of the danger. As to the words, *Until the iniquity pass away*, Aquila interpreted more clearly: *Until the insults pass away*; Symmachus: *Until the slanderer pass away*. I will not cease, therefore, he says, to entreat until I am delivered from those who plot against me. For the Seventy called plotted things "iniquity" from the deed itself which they were attempting.

Vers. 3. *I will cry to God most high, to the God who hath benefited me.* Having the experience of divine help as a teacher, he beseeches that he might be favored with this again according to his custom. He calls the *cry* the readiness of the soul.

Vers. 4. *He hath sent from heaven, and hath saved me: he hath given them to reproach that trample upon me.* For since he had previously deemed me worthy of his own providence, my enemies

^A he rendered ridiculous. The history also teaches that he followed Saul when he had risen up, and when he was at a distance, he indicated the kindness shown to him by night, and how, when he had him in his power, he did not choose to inflict the blow; and this was a great reproach to the one who had been saved, that he should persecute his savior. ^B [For this reason he cries out in thanksgiving:] *God hath sent his mercy and his truth, [Vers. 5] and hath delivered my soul from the midst of the lion's whelps.* Having obtained, he says, a just mercy, I have been delivered from the ferocity of the enemy. For they had beset me like lions, desiring to tear me to pieces. He joined truth with mercy, showing the justice of his mercy. *I slept troubled.* This Theodotion thus interpreted: *I slept with those who consume*; but Aquila, *with the voracious*; but Symmachus, *with those who burn*. [That is, I slept with thoughts that were consuming as it were; for they bit me fiercely, such that they almost burned up my soul.] With good reason, therefore, was I troubled, compelled to sleep among such, and surrounded by such. For he called Saul, and those who join in consuming, and those who burn, and the voracious, and the lion's whelps, expressing the ferocity of their intent and the sanguinary character of their customs. He ^C teaches this more clearly through what follows. *Sons of men, their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp sword.* Because he called them lion's whelps, he deservedly makes mention of teeth, comparing these to spear-points and arrows, and their tongue to a sharp sword; and by all these things he designates their murderous designs.

VERS. 6. *Exalt thyself above the heavens, O God; and thy glory (be celebrated) over all the earth.* It is worthy in all things to praise thee, who art believed to inhabit the heavens, and who fillest all the earth with glory. This also blessed Habakkuk said: *His power covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise.* Furthermore, *exalt thyself* is said instead of: *Show thy loftiness to all men.* ^D

VERS. 7. *They have prepared a snare for my feet, and have bowed down my soul: [and they were not content with these things, but] they have digged before my face a pit

and they have fallen into it. ^A *They have set snares for me,* he says, *and have bowed down my soul,* they themselves have been snared by us, and have been caught in their own traps.

VERS. 8. *My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing and give praise in my glory.* Symmachus translated this as follows: *My heart is steadfast.* For seeing your providence clearly, I no longer fear the manifold machinations of my enemies, but I am ready and prepared to follow your commands and to sing of your benefits.

VERS. 9. *Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and harp.* Henceforth he instructs himself to weave the divine hymn. Furthermore, he calls the grace of prophecy his own glory, and he calls himself a psaltery and harp, as having become an instrument of the Holy Spirit. ^B

*I will rise early.* [VERS. 10.] *I will confess to you among the peoples, O Lord; I will sing to you among the nations.* Not now alone, he says, shall I offer this hymn to you, but also when the true light has dawned, and has dissipated the long night of ignorance, and has brought forward the expected dawn [not only when he came to us having assumed flesh, but also through the regeneration and formation which occurs in the holy laver], I shall be the choir-master of all the nations and peoples; and using their lips as if they were certain strings, I shall sing grateful praise to you. [Tell us, O prophet, the cause and the manner.] ^C

VERS. 11. *For your mercy is magnified even to the heavens, and your truth even to the clouds.* For not only the heaven, and the angels who dwell in it, have known your mercy, but through the clouds also you have manifested your truth. The Holy Scripture designates those who have been deemed worthy of divine grace as clouds. And God, the Lord of all, teaches us this also through the prophet Isaiah. For having spoken concerning Israel: *I will leave my vineyard, and it shall not be pruned, nor shall it be digged,* he added: *And I will command the clouds not to rain upon it.* ^D For just as a cloud receives the sources of rain from elsewhere, in the same way the prophets and apostles, being moved by divine grace, brought spiritual rain to the souls of men.

VERS. 12. ^A « Exaltare super cælos, o Deus, et super omnem terram gloria tua (celebretur). » For through the spiritual clouds—the prophets, I mean, and the apostles—the truth having arisen, the Lord of all was shown forth as the Creator of heaven and earth, receiving praise from men in every land and sea.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LVII

VERS. 1. « In finem, Ne corrumpas, ipsi Davidi, in tituli inscriptionem. » This psalm also holds to the same line of thought. ^B It recounts the wickedness of Saul [and of those who were with him, who possessed a disposition equal to his], and the falsehood of their words. For although he had often sworn that he would end his hostility, he violated his oaths and made use of snares. Furthermore, "Ne corrumpas" (Do not destroy) is prefixed, because when David had Saul in his hands twice, he refused to slay him.

VERS. 2. « Si vere utique justitiam loquimini, recte judicate, filii hominum. » Here he addresses Saul, who had sworn that he would no longer persecute him, yet, contrary to his oaths, was waging war. "You," he says, "be the judge of those things which you do, and, having taken up the office of judge, bring forth an upright and just verdict. [If, however, you cannot discern your own disease or become its physician, how could you prepare the remedy of truth for others? You are entirely unequal to this, he says.]"

VERS. 3. « Etenim in corde iniquitates operamini in terra, injustitias manus vestræ concinnant. » And thy words, he says, are peaceful, but your counsels are perverse, ^C and full of the machinations of those who lie in wait. Consider, therefore, whether your deeds correspond to your words. But in vain have I entrusted my judgment to you, since you are unwilling to judge justly.

VERS. 4. « Alienati sunt peccatores ab utero, erraverunt inde a ventre, locuti sunt falsa. » Long since, he says, you have separated yourselves from the truth and embraced falsehood. [This, as we have said above, refers especially to the present time, calling the hatred towards one's neighbor false.] He added "ab utero" (from the womb), and "a ventre" (from the belly), for God before the creation... ^D

of those concerned knew them. For thus he also said to Jeremiah: "Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before [thou] camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee." And to Pharaoh: "For this same cause have I raised thee up, to show in thee my strength." But God’s foreknowledge did not make Pharaoh wicked, nor Jeremiah holy; rather, as God, He foreknew what was to be. ^A

VERS. 5. "Their fury is according to the likeness of a serpent." For they have imitated the malice and craftiness of the serpent. ^B

"Like the deaf asp, and that stoppeth her ears. [VERS. 6.] Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, nor of the wizard wisely charming." Now, they stop their ears like the asp, for which it is customary to do this on account of the excess of its malice, so that it may not be charmed by incantations, nor yield to the poison prepared by him who is called wise. For he has here catachrestically called the charmer of wild beasts "wise"; as in that passage: "They are wise to do evil, [but to do good they have no knowledge]"; and, "Where is the wise? where is the scribe?" He does not name these as truly wise, but because they are thought to be so by some. For because the blessed David used many words with Saul, and called himself a servant, and that man lord and king, and by the very deeds themselves showed that he was never yearning for his slaughter, yet did not persuade him to end his hostilities, he aptly compared him to an asp—not one that is deaf by nature, but one that stops its ears so as to prevent the entrance of the song. However, these words, "nor of the wizard wisely charming," Symmachus translated: "Charmed with the incantations of the wise," so that it is manifest that he named the incantation a remedy. ^C [It has already been said by us above that David here signifies the nefarious desire for slaughter on the part of Saul and those who belonged to him, in whatever height of dignity or place they might have been established. But one might quite rightly consider that these things were said also against the heretics, namely the Arians and Eunomians and Macedonians, and those who labor under an error similar to theirs. For one might justly call them also enchanters and tricksters. But regarding the fact that this mother brings forth the regenerate in the shortest moment of time, whence it is clear among those who at the initial ^D

^A moment bring forth the regenerate—from whom is it manifest to those who have been initiated? For they are accustomed to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and after the emergence, the three immersions. Ye know what I say, O ye who have been deemed worthy of adoption. They transmit a grievous disease to those who are supposedly baptized by them, or rather submerged: some saying, "Glory be to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit"; and others, "Glory be to the Father and to the Son in the Holy Spirit." And thus they receive into a triad of gods the divinity which is indivisible and ever existing in the same way in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, or rather they transmit a Great, a Small, and a Smaller [God]. By the yoke of inequality they split asunder—with a tongue that has gone mad—the Divinity of the unsullied Trinity, which is, as they think, un-yoked; they split it in its one essence, in its kingdom, in its lordship, in its divinity, in its power, in its creation, and in all that which pertains to its own majesty. For as to God and King, they are accustomed to call Him one, but another, while indeed Lord, is but a minister of the former, and a creature produced by Him before the others, and finally, a slave and minister of the Son—these wretched men are accustomed to call [Him] with great audacity; against whom most especially this prophecy is directed. For the holy Spirit of prophecy has not spoken these things through the sacred tongue of the prophet concerning Saul alone, and those who were with him. ^B

• VERS. 7. « God shall crush their teeth in their mouth. » But truly, He who guards all things, He who is the overseer of the universe, will show their machines against us to be idle and in vain. « The Lord will crush the molar teeth of the lions. » And in the preceding psalm He named them whelps of lions, and here [He calls them] lions. Therefore, He makes mention of both teeth and molar teeth. Furthermore, He calls the inner teeth "molars," with which we are accustomed to grind our food. Through these things, therefore, and through those, He shows that God, the Creator of all things, will dissolve all their deceits. ^C

VERS. 8. « They shall be brought to nothing, as water running away. » They shall be, he says, abject, like water that has been dispersed and is utterly useless. « He shall stretch His bow, until they are weakened. » For He will not cease inflicting punishments upon them, until He cuts down their power, bringing upon them [liquefaction and dissolution.] ^D

VERS. 9. « As wax that melts, they shall be taken away, » [a deadly, most vehement wind rushing upon them:] « fire has fallen upon them, and they have not seen the sun. » They shall be consumed like wax that has been drawn near to a fire and melted,

and they shall be deprived of life. This is what he said, « And they have not seen the sun, » for the dead are unable to look upon the rays of the sun.

^B VERS. 10. « Before your thorns understand the rhamnus, as living, so in wrath He shall swallow them up. » Symmachus expressed this more clearly: « Before your thorns grow so as to become a rhamnus, while you are still living, a whirlwind shall carry you off as if you were completely withered. » Now, what he says is this: Holy Scripture calls every sin a thorn, but the rhamnus is indeed a thorn, but a very great one, mimicking a tree [and emitting most severe poison]. The prophecy therefore threatens both Saul and his accomplices with swift punishment. For, before, he says, your wickedness grows so as to be likened to a rhamnus—that is, to the greatest thorn, [which is most detestable wickedness]—a divinely wrought blow shall seize you and render you naught. This is indeed what he meant by « swallows up. » For just as that which is [crushed by the molar teeth and] swallowed up no longer appears, so also, he says, shall you be delivered to oblivion; which indeed came to pass. For a little while later, having received his own wound in the war of the aliens, Saul no longer increased in wickedness, but against his will brought the war against David to an end.

^C VERS. 11. « The righteous shall rejoice when he sees vengeance; he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner. » The lover of virtue rejoices when he sees the worker of wickedness suffering punishment, not mocking him, but beholding the divine Providence, which does not endure to overlook those who are unjustly treated by such men. He washes his hands, not by staining and defiling them with blood, but by showing himself innocent and separated from that man’s wickedness. For it is not, as some have supposed, that he washes in the blood, but rather he washes *because of* the blood, as one who has had no communion with him.

VERS. 12. « And a man shall say, If surely there is a fruit for the righteous; surely there is a God judging them on the earth. » The « surely » here is placed affirmatively; he says that every man, seeing the impious one paying the penalty in this life, shall confess that God exists, and that He beholds the things that come to pass, and that He wisely ^D steers all things, and that He grants to the righteous the fitting

rewards, and exacts from those who choose the contrary their due punishments, and inflicts appropriate penalties. ^A

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LVIII

VERS. 1. ^A "Unto the end, Destroy not, a Davidic inscription for a monument, when Saul sent and watched his house to kill him." Saul, laboring under envy, plotted the death of David, and at one time, while he was eating with him, wished to pierce him with a spear. But when he had turned aside and avoided death, he attempted to capture him again; and, having dispatched certain men, he ordered them to guard his house, openly showing his enmity. But the wife of David, who was the daughter of Saul, revealed this to her husband and gave him an opportunity to escape through a window. Furthermore, having taken cenotaphs—for such is what the history teaches—she fashioned the likeness of a bed and formed an image of one who was sick with clothes, and showed it from afar to those who had been ordered to keep watch over the house, saying that David was detained by some ailment. ^B These things, indeed, took place by night; but when the day had dawned, the trick was revealed to Saul and his spearmen. At that time, therefore, the blessed David, having escaped that snare, wrote this psalm. But regarding the things that happened at that time, he speaks briefly, while he predicts many things, being illuminated by the rays of the Divine Spirit and foreseeing the rage of the Jews against our Savior God. For the Jews, ^C having guarded the Master’s tomb by means of soldiers, when the day had dawned, found the garments, but no longer saw the dead man who was being guarded; for He had risen, having destroyed the power of death. The blessed David, therefore, observing his own snares, and foreseeing that the God of Israel and the Creator and Master of all—who was to arise from him according to the flesh—would suffer more grievous things from the Jews, predicts the calling of the nations and the dispersion of the Jews ^D and that [Israel] will suffer things more grievous from the Jews.

VERS. 2. "Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and redeem me from those that rise up against me." Just was the petition of the prophet; for he prayed to be delivered from those who were fighting against him unjustly. Then he relates their purpose.

VERS. 3. "Deliver me from those who work iniquity, and save me from bloodthirsty men." Murderers, he says,

^A reward, and to the wicked their due retribution; for they are enemies and lawless, against whom I have committed not even the slightest offense.

VERS. 4. « For lo, they have hunted for my life: the mighty have fallen upon me. » ^B Using machines of every kind, they attempt to destroy me, trusting in their own power; but it is reasonable that those who were first provoked by injury should seek vengeance.

VERS. 5. « Neither my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord. » No trouble, he says, has come upon them from me; and since they have no charge to bring, they plot my death. « Without iniquity I ran, and set myself right. » These things fit not David more truly than they fit the Son and Lord of David. For He alone « did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth » (1 Pet. II, 22). [For no one is without sin except the one God; but this very person is He who, out of great love for humanity, took on human nature from David.] Yet the blessed David says these things as in a figure, not testifying that he is entirely free from sins, but teaching that although he had done Saul no harm, but had on many occasions conferred many benefits upon him, he [nevertheless] suffered every kind of treachery. And when there is no sin, they rush upon Him to tear Him to pieces, by whom they had been harmed in no way. So also Symmachus interpreted: « Since there is no sin, so ^C they run, that they might strike. »

VERS. 6. « Arise to meet me, and look. » For I beseech Thee, he says, to be the judge of this, Who clearly knowest all things. « And Thou, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, attend to visit all the nations. » Recognizing that He alone was void of sin who was to descend from him according to the flesh, and beholding in the Spirit the fury of the kin-folk of the Jews against Him, he beseeches the Lord of hosts and God of Israel to leave the Jews abandoned and to transfer all providence to the nations, and to illuminate them with the light of the knowledge of God. But when he had announced these things to the nations, he predicts the punishment of the Jews. « Do not have mercy on all those who work iniquity. » For since with prophetic eyes he beheld the Cross, and thought he heard the Lord of glory saying: « Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do. »

^A He detests the extent of their impiety, praying that they might obtain no pardon; then he prophesies the famine of spiritual food which shall befall them.

VERS. 7. « They shall return at evening, and shall suffer hunger like a dog, and shall go round about the city. » For just as dogs, he says, are accustomed to prowl the streets of cities by night, forced to do so by the needs of their bellies; so these shall be stripped of all spiritual providence, and shall enjoy neither the gift of prophecy, nor shall they be completely destitute of the pastoral care; and like a dog ^B they shall continue to roam, not even being worthy, according to the evangelical voice, to partake of the crumbs which fall from the table of their lords. Then he teaches the cause of the punishment more clearly, saying:

VERS. 8. « Behold, they shall speak in their mouth, and a sword is in their lips: for who hath heard? » By the tongue, he says, they commit murder, uttering words like a kind of point and sword; and the facts themselves confirm the words. For with their tongue they crucified the Lord, shouting: « Tolle, tolle, crucifige eum: Sanguis ejus super nos, et super filios nostros. » And through the guards of Pilate they performed the work according to their words, and nailed the Saviour to the gallows. The divine oracle also says this: « They shall speak in their mouth, and a sword is in their lips: for who hath heard? » Because the words they utter, they use instead of a sword. And these things, he says, they do as if no one were looking. For this is what « For who hath heard? » declares. As if no one were looking, nor hearing what is being done, nor demanding an accounting, they dare to commit these acts. For Symmachus explained this sentiment. For instead of « who hath heard? » he placed, « as if no one were hearing. » Therefore, ^C foreseeing this intent of theirs, David continues, saying:

VERS. 9. « And thou, O Lord, shall laugh them to scorn. » They ^D

^A therefore, these things they dare: but you both hear and see, and you deride their vain insanity. «You will reduce all nations to nothing.» For it is easy for you to overcome not only them, but all nations as well. Thus also the divine Isaiah says, striving to show the excess of divine power: «All nations are reputed as a drop from a bucket, and as a moment of a balance, and they are and shall be reputed as spittle; to whom will the Lord be like? and to what likeness will you liken Him?»

VERS. 10. «I will keep my strength to You, because You are my protector, O God.» I have You, he says, as the helper and guardian of my strength: since I am never not defended by Your providence.

VERS. 11. «My God, His mercy shall prevent me.» For You always anticipate prayers, O Lord, and out of Your extraordinary kindness, You do not wait for supplications. «My God will show me my enemies.» The prophet considers the enemies of the Savior to be the common enemies. Then he predicts what will happen to them.

VERS. 12. «Do not kill them, lest they ever forget Your law.» I beseech You, he says, that they may not undergo extreme destruction. For there are many among them who are cured by the remedies of repentance. «For there is no one in death who is mindful of You, and in hell who shall confess to You?» What punishment, therefore, do You wish to inflict upon them? «Scatter them in Your power, and cast them down, O Lord, my protector.» Throughout the whole world, he says, disperse them, and make them exiles and outcasts, because they have used an evil conspiracy against You. And he teaches what this is:

VERS. 13. «The sin of their mouth, the word of their lips.» These things agree with those which were set forth a little earlier. For he said above: «Behold, they will speak with their mouth, and a sword is in their lips.» And here again, he accuses the sin of the mouth and the word of the lips: teaching in all things that they pay the penalties for that cry which [E] (Various Readings and Notes: *You who were nailed to the cross by them, will condemn them if You come a second time. Already, indeed, because of Your great long-suffering and the passion You voluntarily undertook, You pray, saying: Father, grant them pardon, that You may invite them to repentance: but they, because they have rejected every counsel of repentance, will receive from You the sentence by just judgment, because they dared such a thing against You. [alt-version omitted]).

^A And all of them, as one, uttered it together, corrupting the righteous judgment of Pilate. For whereas he wished to release him as innocent, they, on the contrary, cried out: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him; his blood be upon us and upon our children." Symmachus has interpreted these things more clearly. For in place of "Disperse them in thy power," he said: "Overturn them in thy power, and bring them down, O Lord our protector, for the sin of their mouth, for the word of their lips." By "overturn them," he means: make them out of free men into slaves, because of the sin of their mouth and the word of their lips. In the same way, at the construction of the tower, he dissolved their evil agreement by means of disagreement, and he applied the division of tongues as a medicinal remedy for the disease of that harmful concord. ^B "And let them be taken in their pride." Through those things, he says, which they dared to perpetrate, let them pay the penalty; and since they would not endure to serve the Savior Christ, but instead embraced the kingdom of Caesar, they shall be delivered into the servitude of Caesar.

"And they shall be declared by cursing and lying. [VERS. 4.] In consummation, in the wrath of consummation, and they shall not be." Symmachus expounded this more clearly: "Let them be taken with their pride: consume those who speak cursing and lies, consume them in wrath, so that they may not be." For since they used slanders, saying that he had commanded that tribute should not be given to Caesar—even though they had heard him exhorting them to give to Caesar the things that are ^C Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's—and since they assailed him with many curses and insults, he says that it is on account of those curses, and calumnies, and the sin of the mouth, that they have suffered this "consummation." By "consummation," however, he does not mean total destruction, but rather that they are no longer to be called the people of God. For, scattered throughout the world and forced to serve the Romans, they are deprived of their legal worship; they live far from their most celebrated metropolis; they are bereft of royal leadership; they enjoy no priestly care; they are stripped of prophetic grace. Therefore, the phrase "and they shall not be," means this: "No longer will they constitute a people unto themselves, living alone in Palestine and being called the people of God." ^D By "consummations," he refers to punishments of every kind. For under Gaius, the fourth Caesar, they suffered the greatest dangers, and indeed...

under Nero they fell into many calamities. ^A Vespasian also besieged most of the cities of Judea; and Titus, having laid siege to Jerusalem, both plundered the city, and having enslaved those who escaped death, led them away as captives to be sold under the spear. After this, they fell into other calamities of every kind; and even now, similarly, in the cities where they reside, when an opportunity arises, they often suffer irreparable things, paying the penalty for their curses, for their lying, and for the sin committed by their mouth; and from the very events they learn that the One who was crucified is the Lord and Master of all. For the prophet also said: "And they shall know that God rules over Jacob, and to the ends of the earth." For this is truly the miracle: that before the cross, He was not believed in even by the Jews themselves; but after that ignominious suffering, the Crucified One rules over the whole world—the one part worshipping Him willingly, and the other part, the unbelievers, being forced to serve Him out of fear.

^B ver. 15. "They shall return at evening, and they shall hunger like dogs, and they shall circle the city." Since He said, "In anger of consummation, and they shall not be," lest anyone should think the prophet spoke contrarily to the passage, "Disperse them in your power," he rightly employed this repetition, and says that they, like dogs wasting away from hunger and roaming the city at night, will spend their time partaking of no spiritual food. For a change in circumstances has occurred. And the Jews, who were formerly sons, because of their own wickedness were reduced to the order of dogs; but the nations, which were once like dogs, were deemed worthy of the honor of sons.

ver. 16. "They themselves shall be dispersed to eat: if they are not satisfied, they shall even murmur." Symmachus joined this with the preceding. For thus he said: "Let them return at evening, let them be in an uproar like dogs circling the city, wandering, that they may not pass the night hungry." For this reason, he says, dogs circle about to seek some food at night, so that they may not pass the night hungry. ^C [For them (the Jews), every day is not only evening, but even night, because incredulity is placed upon them like a cloud.] But according to the Seventy, it should be understood thus: that even they, like dogs, being dispersed throughout the whole world, seek spiritual food; and not finding it, because they do not...

believe in Him who was proclaimed by all the prophets, they create a tumult and murmur ^A, demonstrating in this, too, their ungrateful nature.

Vs. 17. "But I will sing of your power, and I will exult in the morning for your mercy." Those men, therefore, while daring such things, will suffer such things; but I shall hymn your mercy, and when your intellectual light has risen and brought the dawn to the world, I shall glorify your measureless compassion in all the churches.

"For you have become my helper, and my refuge in the day of my tribulation." [Vs. 18] "My helper, to you I will sing, for you, O God, are my helper. O my God, my mercy." For I have always enjoyed your aid ^B, and because of your providence, I have escaped the calamities that have befallen me. For which reason I acknowledge you alone as God, and I call you the source of mercy and loving-kindness. The blessed David, seeing these things from afar with prophetic eyes, foretold both the calamities of the Jews and promised that he himself would always hymn the Master, and he fulfills his promises by offering the hymnody through the pious. [For just as, after the night, at the rising of the sun in the morning, the whole world under heaven is illuminated, so also the advent of the Sun of righteousness dispelled the darkness of sin, but granted the light of the knowledge of God to those who believe in Him, and it does not cease to provide it day by day.]

INTERPRETATION OF THE FIFTIETH-NINTH PSALM

Vs. 1, 2. "For the end, for those who are to be changed, for an inscription, to David for instruction. When he burned Mesopotamia of Syria, and Syria of Sobal, and Joab returned and struck twelve thousand of Idumea in the valley of salt." These things have indeed already happened, and are recorded in the second book of Kings. But the inscription "For the end" teaches us to understand ^C that a certain prophecy is intermingled with the history. There is also added to the title, "For those who are to be changed." Now the change signifies a certain transformation—a transformation not of past events, but of future ones. For he did not say "for those who have been changed," but "for those who are to be changed." The inscription on the pillar also signifies victory. It is necessary to state the argument of the prophecy in summary. Since above he ^D

the blessed David had achieved the aforementioned victories, he foresaw with the eyes of the Spirit the future transgression of the people and the captivity that would come to pass on account of it. He also foresaw the return that would proceed from it by divine grace, and he deemed it necessary to write down beforehand both the sorrowful and the joyful things, for the benefit of those human beings who would exist at the time of those events. ^A

Vers. 3. *O God, Thou hast rejected us and destroyed us.* Here he predicts the captivity; then he shows the justice and benevolence of God: *Thou hast been angry and hadst mercy on us.* For because of sins Thou wert angry, but after the punishment Thou didst have mercy.

Vers. 4. *Thou hast moved the earth and troubled it.* Through these words he signifies the incursions of the Assyrians and Babylonians; for they obliterated everything completely, like an earthquake. Then he requests benevolence: *Heal the breaches thereof, for it is shaken.* Next, he explains the things that happened.

Vers. 5. *Thou hast shown Thy people hard things.* What are these? *Thou hast made us drink the wine of compunction.* By the multitude of calamities, he says, as if with a kind of wine, Thou hast brought stupor upon us, and filled our souls with pain. For thus Aquila also interpreted it: *Thou hast made us drink the wine of torpor.* ^B

Vers. 6. *Thou hast given a sign to them that fear Thee, that they may flee from before the bow.* The blessed Ezekiel the prophet teaches this more clearly. For he said he saw an angel sent by the God of all, ordered to go around the whole city and place a sign upon the foreheads of those groaning at the sins of the people. But those were a figure of our own matters: since we have received from divine grace the true sign, using which we become superior to the darts of the enemy.

Vers. 7. *That Thy beloved may be delivered.* By this sign, he says, Thou preservest those who are dedicated to Thee, who on account of their own virtue have been made worthy of Thy adoption, ^C having been rendered immortal through the laver of regeneration. Rightly, therefore, the Prophet added: *Save with Thy right hand, and hear me.* Remedy, he says, the calamities that afflict Thy people, and as if ^D

^A by some right hand, raise up those who lie low through Thy providence. [That the only-begotten Son of God and the Father is called the right hand of God, no one of those who believe in Him will doubt.] Having thus offered the prayer, the prophetic mind receives the response, and he does not wish to hide this, but instructs everyone.

VERS. 8. *God has spoken in His holy [place].* This is: through the grace of the Holy Spirit, which used the prophet’s tongue as an instrument. *I will exult, and I will divide Sichem, and I will measure out the valley of tabernacles.* Sichem is the city left by Jacob to Joseph. In this, Ephraim, after the division of the tribes, fixed the seat of the kingdom. By the "valley of tabernacles" he means the region of the Israelites, as it had become a desert and had at that time given place to the tents of shepherds. ^B God of all, therefore, promises to bring back those who had been taken captive, and to distribute to them their ancestral land, and thus to fill it with inhabitants in such a way that the dwellers will even contend over the measurements, and by using this [method], will make the distribution.

VERS. 9. *Gilead is Mine, and Manasses is Mine, and Ephraim is the strength of My head.* Gilead is not the name of a tribe, but of a place; Manasses, however, is the name of a tribe. He had received the Gileaditis land from the beginning. He therefore calls both the tribe and its land his own, announcing both the return and the habitation of those places. He promises also to restore to Ephraim its former strength. But for "of My head," Symmachus has placed "of My principality," that is, I will make him a protector as of old. *Juda is My king.* Since, indeed, after the return, the tribes remained undivided, but they had only Zorobabel, who was from Juda, as leader and king, ^C he rightly called Ephraim the "strength of My head" or "principality," and Juda "king." And "My king" is the same as "one ordained king by Me, and reigning over My people." In the same way it is said in Isaiah: *Thus saith the Lord to My anointed Cyrus,* that is, to the one anointed and inaugurated by Me.

VERS. 10. *Moab is the pot of My hope.* Aquila interpreted this thus: Moab is the pot of My washing. ^D

^A The Syrian, however, translates: *The vessel of My washing.* For since we are accustomed in such vessels to wash both the feet and the clothing soiled by the feet, he signified the subjection of Moab by the "vessel of washing." The pot also is taken in Holy Scripture to signify punishment. Thus the blessed Ezekiel teaches, [n Ezech. xi, 3.] being ordered to call Jerusalem the pot, the meat the inhabitants, the fire the Babylonian, and the broth the necessary nourishment, for when this failed, the meat was burned up. Thus also the blessed Jeremiah [n Jerem. I, 13] saw a pot being heated, and its face was from the face of the North. He says, therefore, that Manasses shall recover his own land, and Ephraim shall regain his former strength, and Judah shall be proclaimed king of all; the Moabites, moreover, shall be subjected to them, observing their insurmountable strength. ^B And not only they, but the Idumeans and the foreigners also. *Into Idumea I shall extend My footwear. Foreigners have been subjected to Me.* [One would not be wrong if he were to see the pot as the divine baptism, punishing and consuming and causing transgression to disappear, but rekindling it through the divine Spirit, and refashioning and rubbing away the filth, or rather the stain of the transgressions of those being renewed through it. And the phrase, *Into Idumea I shall extend My footwear,* signifies that not only shall the Lord of glory, who is to be born from David, walk upon Idumea, but that through the divine apostles, as if through My own sandals, I shall preach the Gospel of grace, not in this land only, but also throughout all the nations.] For besides the Moabites, I shall enslave the Idumeans, and I shall compel the foreigners to be subjected. ^C Nevertheless, the divine Scripture calls the Palestinians "foreigners," not because other nations are of the same race as the Jews, but because, while other nations dwell far away, the Palestinians are not only neighbors but actually dwelt in between. Thus the Jebusites occupied Jerusalem for a long time; thus the Gabaonites the land of Gabaon; and the Gazaeans and Ascalonites and others lived nearby. And the histories explain these things more clearly. Having been taught these things thus by the God of all, the prophet desires to see the happiness of the people after their return, and he says: VERS. 11, 12. *Who shall lead Me into the fortified city? Or who shall lead Me as far as Idumea? Is it not Thou, O God, who hast cast us off?* ^D [For it was not the work of anyone else to regard us with such providential care.] He calls Jerusalem the "city of fortification." Symmachus interpreted this as "fenced about." For since it had been overthrown and despoiled of its walls, after

and after the return, it is restored by its own walls, the prophet desires to see it circled by walls, and to run like a king as far as Idumea, and to see those who were perpetual enemies reduced to servitude. But these things, he says, do Thou, O Lord, who didst repel us and surrender us to the empire of the Babylonians. After he had prophesied good things in this way, he supplicates regarding the afflictive ones. "And Thou wilt not go forth, O God, with our hosts." Thou seest us, he says, so bitterly besieged, and Thou art not our leader, nor dost Thou conquer in the accustomed manner. Therefore, surely,

VERS. 13. "Give us help from tribulation, and vain is the salvation of man." Symmachus changed the conjunction and made the interpretation clearer. He said as follows: "Give us help from tribulation, for vain is the salvation of man." Bring aid, he says, to those who are suffering evils; for to Thee alone is it possible to dissolve calamities: but the aids of men, when Thou dost not favor, are vain. Therefore, he rightly subjoined:

VERS. 14. "In God we shall exert power." [This is, let us return to Him, and serving Him, let us experience His protection.] "And He shall bring to nothing those who trouble us." Let us implore His aid, he says, and let us be confident in this. For this alone is sufficient to dissolve melancholy situations, and to overturn the power of those who oppose us.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LX

VERS. 1. "Unto the end, in hymns of David." The exordium of this psalm follows the end of the previous psalm. For when he had said: "In God we shall exert power, and He shall bring to nothing those who trouble us," he teaches the captive people what prayers it behooves them to offer to God. [He even foretells the economy which the Lord Christ our God was to undertake on our behalf, as well as the conversion of the people to be brought in from the nations.]

VERS. 2. "Hear, O God, my supplication; attend to my prayer." Receive, he says, my prayers, O Lord, and kindly hear the words of my prayer. [These things also justly can anyone say who may have fallen into calamity, so that he might supplicate with these words, and God might deign to accept his prayers and attend to the petitioner with His providential care.] Then he teaches who they are that are praying.

VERS. 3. "From the ends of the earth I have cried to Thee." For since Babylon was distant from Palestine by many stages, those who had been abducted into servitude suspected that they were inhabiting the extremities of the earth, that

^A they were compelled to inhabit that land. "When my heart was in anguish, you lifted me up on a rock." I beseech you, therefore, that I may obtain consolation from you. For while I was suffering, and lamenting the calamities hanging over me, I enjoyed your aid and became superior to my enemies. [This clearly is spoken in the person of those who had been led away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, and afterwards had been recalled; yet it can also be applied to everyone who, through repentance, secures his own salvation, and no longer walks in a beaten path, but walks in the only and upright way; and this is clear from what follows.]

"You have led me." [Ver. 4.] "For you have become my hope, a tower of strength against the face of the enemy." Having hoped to partake of your providence, I was not disappointed of my hope; for you became my guide and a strong tower. For through your care, having escaped the plots of my enemies, I shall obtain my return.

[Ver. 5.] "I shall dwell in your tabernacle for the ages; I shall be sheltered in the shelter of your wings." He calls Jerusalem the tabernacle of God. For in it He manifested His presence to them. He says, therefore, that when I have obtained my return, I shall constantly attend upon your temple ^B and enjoy the providence that comes from you. For he calls God's care "wings." And he has used "for the ages" instead of "continually."

[Ver. 6.] "For you, O God, have heard my prayers; you gave an inheritance to those who fear your name." I will praise you continually, since you, having accepted my prayers, have restored the inheritance promised to our ancestors to us, their descendants. They say these things as soon as they have undertaken the journey. It must be known, however, that these foregoing phrases also contain enigmas of the true inheritance. The true inheritance is eternal life, concerning which the Master Christ ^C says to the lambs standing at the right hand: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This inheritance the Master promised He would give to those who fear Him; and to these others, as in a type, He restored the promised land.

[Ver. 7, 8.] "You will add days to the days of the king: ^D

^A His years extend to the day of generation and generation. He shall remain forever in the sight of God." Thus, having supplicated and having received what they asked for, and having given thanks for these things, they pray to God to preserve for as long as possible the king who had been given to them. At that time, Zorobabel was reigning over them; but not all the words of the prophecy apply to him. For the words, "You will add days to the days of the king," truly apply to him, but the rest do not; rather, they apply to Him who was born from him according to the flesh, through His abundant philanthropy, as He Himself knows. For in His case, the words of the prophecy are true: "His years extend to the day of generation and generation. He shall remain forever in the sight of God." [For He neither received a beginning of days, nor will He undergo an end. For even though, having become man for our sake, He accepted death, yet His years extend to the day of generation and generation. For "in the beginning He was, and He was with God, and He was God." And "in the sight of God" means that He is co-existent with the Father forever.] For the same prophet says to Him in the one hundred and first Psalm: "But You are the same, and Your years will not fail." [Do you see that He who accepted the cross and death for our sake possesses also a kingdom without end, inasmuch as He co-exists with the Father?] Zorobabel, therefore, was a figure of the Lord Christ. For just as he led the captives back from Babylon into their ancestral land, so the Lord Christ ^B brought back the whole of human nature, which had been made captive by the transgression of the first man, into its former nobility, [for after He abolished on the cross him who held the power of death, namely the devil,] and destroyed the power of death, He restored life to those under his dominion. [For this is His voice: "I am the life and the resurrection; and he who eats me shall live in me." "Who shall seek out His truth and mercy?" Who, he says, is capable of accurately discerning the true and just mercy of God? For His judgments are a great abyss.] ^C

VERS. 9. "Thus will I sing to Your name unto the ages of ages, that I may perform my vows day by day." For I will celebrate You always; every day I will recount Your benefits, and I will not fail in my vows. For he calls promises "vows." ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXI

^A Ver. 1. “In the end, for Idithun, a Psalm of David.” Symmachus has interpreted it thus: “Triumphal for Idithun, a canticle for David.” It declares, therefore, that while the psalm is the blessed David’s, it was sung by Idithun, who, being the leader of the choir in the divine temple, praised the true God and Giver of all things, as the book of Chronicles records. The psalm predicts the Macedonian incursions and the plots of Antiochus Epiphanes against the Macchabees; and it teaches the athletes of piety with what thoughts they ought to fortify themselves in the time of conflict.

^B Ver. 2. “Shall not my soul be subject to God?” When they were being compelled to transgress the divine law, and to sacrifice to idols, and to partake of swine’s flesh, they enkindled their mind toward piety and sharpened their zeal for religion. “My soul,” they say, “do you not prefer the servitude of God to all things?” Then they teach the profit obtained from this.

“For from him is my salvation. [Ver. 3.] For he himself is my God, and my Savior, my helper, I shall not be shaken more.” This servitude, O soul, provides you with salvation. For he himself is God, and the Giver of good things, and able to make firm those who are wavering. Having therefore called upon his aid, I shall be delivered from those trying to cast me down. Thus, having inflamed their own minds toward piety, they transfer their speech to their adversaries.

^C Ver. 4. “How long do you set upon a man? You kill, all of you, as upon a bowing wall and a tottering partition?” The meaning of this verse is confused by hyperbaton. It is this: How long will you use cruelty against us, not regarding the commonality of nature? But, as if against a bowing wall and a partition fearing to fall from the wind, you hasten to push and cast down, bearing a bloodthirsty mind? As if to say: Do not behave yourselves so arrogantly against us as if we were weak. For we have the God of all as our helper.

Ver. 5. “Nevertheless, I have thought of my price…

^A to strip me,” he says, “of the providence of God, from which I have all honor and glory.” For the honor of the pious is to serve God; wherefore the divine Paul also everywhere calls himself the servant of Christ. “They ran in thirst.” But they do not undertake this plot incidentally; rather, they do this with all eagerness, thirsting to cast me into the pit of impiety. And he indicates what engines they use: “With their mouth they blessed, and in their heart they cursed.” They use oily words, attempting to deceive, but they have destruction hidden within. Thus, having demonstrated their plots, he again exhorts himself to be of brave heart and to await divine succor.

VERS. 6. “Nevertheless, be subject to God, my soul, for my patience is from him.” Do not abandon, O soul, the servitude and worship of God, but, strengthened by the succor provided by him, bear the attacks of troubles ^B.

VERS. 7. “For he is my God and my Savior, my helper, I shall not be moved.” For knowing him to be the true God and the fountain of salvation, I will not endure to exchange this servitude or to run to another master. For he has used “be moved” for “be transferred.” I shall not become, he says, a runaway and a slave of impiety.

VERS. 8. “In God is my salvation and my glory; the God of my help, and my hope is in God.” [Behold again the prophetic mind, ^C more clearly demonstrating to us the substances of the undivided and light-bearing and ever-existing Trinity; not saying there are three gods, far be it—for those names, God, Lord, King, Creator, and Almighty, refer to the substances, as has already been said repeatedly. Therefore] they often use the same words, calling the God of all God and Savior and glory and helper, that they may repel the attacks of impiety. For which reason they also incite all others of their race to the same piety, not bearing that they alone should be called winners of the victory.

VERS. 9. “Hope in him, all the assembly ^D of the people, pour out your hearts before him, for God is our helper.”

^A Despising all men, O fellow-countrymen, establish your hope in him as firm; and entrust your entire mind to him, awaiting the help that comes from him without doubt. For the words, “Pour out your hearts before him,” mean this: instead of, “Devote all your thoughts to him and admit no dissension.” [Well knowing that a double-minded man ^B is unstable in all his ways, and that no man can serve two masters.]

VERS. 10. “Nevertheless, vain are the sons of men; lying are the sons of men in the balances to deceive.” Theodotion interpreted this more clearly: “Nevertheless, a vapor are the sons of men; lying are the sons of men, like the momentum of a balance.” Nothing, he says, is stable in human affairs, but it is like a vapor sent upward and immediately dissipated; and like the momentum of a balance, which now inclines downward, now is carried upward, and has nothing firm or permanent. However, the interpretation of the Seventy is to be understood thus: All human things are indeed vain; yet the majority trust in fleeting things as if they were perennial; they despise equity, and hold the scales ^C of the mind unequally; they disdain justice and rejoice in injustice. “They are together of vanity.” Yet they carry away no profit from this, for all things are vain and undergo swift change. For thus Symmachus explained: “They vanish all together.” From this they offer an admonition to adversaries who exult in wealth.

VERS. 11. “Hope not in iniquity, and lust not for rapine.” Do not, he says, deem human happiness worthy of love if it is composed of iniquity. “If riches flow, do not set your heart upon them.” Seeing riches like a river flowing toward your houses, do not enslave your mind to them. And why do you advise and exhort these things?

VERS. 12, 13. “God has spoken once; these two things have I heard, that the power is of God. Also to thee, O Lord, belongs mercy; for thou wilt render to each according to his works.” I have heard, he says, ^D God of all declaring that there will be a judgment and a retribution of good and evil things. And the word “once” he has not posited based on a number, but concerning a matter that will altogether happen. God, he says, has spoken once, and it is impossible that this should not come to pass. But he speaks of two things: the punishment against the lawless, and the bounty that is granted to the pious.

For such is the philanthropy designated. ^A These things, indeed, did God the Lawgiver promise. “For I am,” He says, “the Lord your God, a jealous God, repaying the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation to those who hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands and ten thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments.” ^B We hear these same things also in the Gospels, how the Lord of glory, at His second coming from heaven, will make a distinction like a shepherd, and will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then He will say to those on the right, “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” and then to those on the left, “Depart into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For the sake of this judgment, therefore, let everyone hasten, through purity of life and the only true faith, and through love for one’s neighbor, to obtain those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love Him.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXII

VERS. 1. “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judea.” ^C Fleeing from Saul, the divine David came to Achimelech and from thence to Anchus, who reigned in Geth. Then, when he was in danger again, and avoiding this, he arrived in the wilderness. There he composed this psalm, revealing the love he had toward God and predicting the destruction of Saul. Simultaneously he gave all men an occasion by which they ought to beseech God and await help from Him.

VERS. 2. “O God, my God, I watch for you in the morning; my soul has thirsted for you.” ^D Longing for you, O Lord, he says, drives away sleep and stirs me to your worship. “How manifoldly your flesh unto you.” Theodotion translated it *quotupliciter* (how many-fold), Aquila *intenta est* (it is stretched), and Symmachus *desiderat* (it desires). I have set down all the interpretations so that I might teach that “how manifoldly” (quomodo-multipliciter) are not two members, so that *quam* (how) should be separated from *multipliciter* (manifoldly), but that it is one part of speech, which signifies the exaggeration of desire. For he responses, he says, that the flesh matches the love of the mind, and [by the same token] with that one’s...

^A inner disposition, it is in conflict with no other desires. But he wishes to say this: That my soul, and my body, yearns for you and desires you, just as he who thirsts [longs for] water, most sweet and most clear.

"In a desert, and trackless, and waterless land. [Ver. 3.] Thus I appeared to you in the holy place." I received no harm from the wilderness; but as if I were standing beside your holy tabernacle, so do I offer you the singing of hymns. For by "in the holy place" he means the tabernacle. For the divine temple had not yet been built. "To see your power, and your glory." I stand before you, contemplating your ineffable power. For since your nature is unapproachable, I take from the things brought into being by you the motives for glorification. ^B [The people collected from the Gentiles, however, who have believed, would continually say: "Thus I appeared to you in the holy place"; that is to say, in the temple, in which you are sacrificed without sacrifice, and are distributed without division, and are consumed while remaining unconsumed.]

4. "For your mercy is better than lives, my lips shall praise you." Instead of all the life of those who are wealthy, and of those who hold power, and the life free from care, and the life full of anxieties, and the life of luxury, and the slack life, I choose your mercy, and I move my lips to your hymnody.

5. "Thus will I bless you in my life: I will lift up my hands in your name." I shall continue to do this throughout my whole life; praising with my tongue, but extending my hands, and asking for your philanthropy.

6. "As if with fat and fatness, let my soul be filled." I consider your hymnody to be the ^C fatness of the soul, and I think that it becomes both healthy and well-nourished by it. For the meditation on your oracles is a permanent delight and luxury. "And my mouth shall praise with lips of exultation." On account of which I will offer you the hymn with all readiness, knowing the profit that comes from this.

7, 8. "If I remembered you upon my bed, I meditated on you in the mornings. For you have been my helper, and in the shelter of your wings I will exult." Symmachus interpreted this thus: "I remember you upon my bed: during each watch I meditated on you; and being covered under your wings, I was singing praises." He calls the nightly [watches] "watches"; for those to whom it was entrusted ^D divide the night-time.

^A And some divide them into three parts, others into four. And the Lord came to the holy apostles in the fourth watch of the night. Therefore the divine David says that, "lying upon my bed, I used to put away the sweetest sleep, having your meditation during each watch; and I was repaying with hymns the benefits that had been bestowed upon me." For you keep me with your irresistible providence, as if by some protective covering of wings. [In this same way, the people converted from the gentiles remembers [this] while on their bed, praising in the morning the Savior of all, "For you have become a helper to me, and under the shelter of your wings I will rejoice."] The same man might justly call the wings the Old and New Testament, by which he, being covered and nourished and made joyful through the regeneration of the holy laver, was raised to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

v. 9. "My soul followed hard after you." I cannot, he says, turn my mind away from your memory even for a little while; but inflamed by a burning love, I am attached to your memory as it were by some glue, as if by your love. Then he shows the fruit of this love: "Your right hand upheld me." For when you see me thus affected, you deem me worthy of your providence.

v. 10. "But they have sought my soul in vain." When I have done them no wrong, they study to take me from the midst. "They shall enter into the lowest parts of the earth." But I know that they are to be delivered to death. Then he predicts the manner of their destruction.

v. 11. "They shall be delivered to the hands of the sword." They will suffer this at the hand of the enemy. "They shall be portions for foxes." And this, he says, they will not suffer from some more powerful enemies, but from neighboring Philistines, who indeed sometimes invade after the manner of foxes, but are frequently and incessantly routed and put to flight. Furthermore, the ready and literal sense suggests that most of those who would fall in the conflict would not even be deemed worthy of burial, but would lie as prey for the beasts.

v. 12. "But the king shall rejoice in God." I, he says, having received the kingdom from you, will not rejoice at their death, but at your providence, by which I escaped the manifold snares of the enemies. "All they that swear by him shall be praised." ^D

[...continued from previous page] swearing by Him. ^A For the mouth of them that speak unjust things is stopped. And henceforth all men will name the king with boldness, and will swear by his salvation, no longer fearing the sycophants, whose mouth has been stopped by death. For while Saul was living, they were afraid to speak of the discourse concerning David; but when he was dead, all men thenceforth gave the appropriate honor to the king without fear, and made the salvation of the king a matter of an oath, making this both a mark of ambition and a pretext of goodwill.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXIII

Verse 1. ^B [It is for the end, a Psalm of David.] And this psalm has the same underlying subject. It relates the plots made by Saul, and predicts the deliverance from them. [It predicts, at the same time, with what prayers the people from the nations, being converted, ought to reverence the Savior.]

Verse 2. [Exaudi, Deus, orationem meam cum precor: a timore inimici eripe animam meam.] Receive, he says, O Lord, my supplication; and strengthen my mind, so that I may not fear the onslaughts of the enemies.

Verse 3. [Protege me a conventu malignantium, a multitudine operantium iniquitatem.] He calls their concord and conspiracy in wickedness a "conventus" (assembly), which he prays to be able to overcome, being protected by divine aid as if by a certain wall. Then he enumerates their various machinations.

^C Verses 4, 5. Quoniam exacuerunt ut gladium linguas suas, intenderunt arcum suum, rem amaram. Ut feriant in occultis immaculatum. They weave calumnies, he says, into the war that is prepared against me; and this even though I have given them no cause. For here he calls him "immaculatum" (immaculate/blameless) who is free from guilt. Rem vero amaram (But as for the "bitter thing"): Aquila said "bitter word"; and Theodotion, "bitter speech"; and Symmachus, "They filled their bow with bitter words." And "in occultis" (in secret), Symmachus said "clanculum" (privately/stealthily), that is, using ambushes and tricks. And the following verses also show this.

Verse 6. [Subito jaculabuntur in eum, et non timebunt.] ^D Those lying in ambush, he says, invade suddenly, not fearing God, who sees all things. [Firmaverunt sibi sermonem malum: narraverunt, ut absconderent laqueos.] This Symmachus [explains more clearly...]

^A dixit: “They have made firm the evil word; they have told of hiding snares.” For they who were weaving my death, proposed and consulted as to what machinations they ought to use against me, and by the deed itself they made firm their words. These things, however, they dare to do, because they think that no one presides over human affairs. For this is what the following words declare: “They said: Who will see them?” They think, he says, that there is no judge of those things which occur. [This indeed applies to those around Absalom and Saul and the others; the same thing is also true of all the impious who at an opportune time prepare ambushes and snares against the Churches of God. See, however, what he says in the following.]

VERS. 7. “They have searched for iniquities, they have failed in their searching.” They have used, he says, every thought; they have devised every machination against me; they have left no species of deceit untouched, openly attacking, secretly lying in ambush, using spies, roaming the deserts, searching out the rocky places, [in mountains, and caves, and the fissures of the earth, searching for the athletes of piety, of whom the divine Paul says: Of whom the world was not worthy.] ^B

VERS. 8. “Man will approach, and deep the heart. And God will be exalted.” Theodotion interpreted this more clearly; he says thus: “And God will pierce with arrows both the mind of man and the deep heart.” For even if they have hidden their wicked pursuits a thousand times, all things are manifest to God who sees all things; He, who reveals His own height, while He exacts punishments from men of this sort.

“The arrows of the little ones have their wounds become.” [VERS. 9.] “And their tongues have been weakened against them.” But yet even though they use such great vehemence, they have fallen short of their purpose. For just as darts sent from the hands of very young children bring no harm to those who are being aimed at, so the tongues of these men did not harm those who were being struck; but the damage has recoiled upon the heads of those who were hurling them. “All who see them have been troubled.” Those, however, who saw that they had been thwarted in their attempts were filled with confusion and fear, and marvelled at the divine Providence. This, however, the following verses indicate. ^C

VERS. 10. “And every man feared, and they announced the works of God, and understood His deeds.” For by thinking upon and revolving within their minds the governance of God, they feared the divine judgment.

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VERS. 11. « The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall hope in Him. » And especially those who have a care for the divine laws [of the Old and New Testaments], having been filled with gladness, will make their hope in God firm. « And all the upright in heart shall be praised. » And those who direct their reason toward God, and do not endure to walk outside the straight path, shall also reap glory from men. [And one would find that David and those with him and those after him have accomplished this strenuously; I mean, the victorious martyrs and the athletes of piety.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXIV

^A α'. « To the end, a Psalm of David, a Canticle of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and of the people of the transmigration, when they were about to go forth. » But in some copies it is added: « A Canticle of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and of the people of the sojourn, when they were about to set forth. » ^B These things are held neither by the Hebrew, nor by the other translators, nor by the Septuagint in the Hexapla; but someone, as it seems, paying attention neither to the meaning of the psalm nor knowing the history, has attached this inscription. For first of all, Jeremiah was not a participant in the captivity; but having been given the choice to live where he wishes, he chose to pass his life in his homeland. Wherefore ^C it in no way fits those who were going forth into captivity, but rather those who were living in the captivity. For being far from their homeland, and longing to praise God, but being prevented by the law from doing so—for it is their voice that says, « How shall we sing the song of the Lord upon a foreign land? »—they were speaking, making supplication to God in Babylon.

β', γ'. « To Thee a hymn is becoming, O God, in Zion, and to Thee shall a vow be rendered in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to Thee shall all flesh come. » And indeed, all the utterances of the psalm [are suitable] to those in Babylon.

For those desiring a return offered this hymn to God. And the prophecy concerning the salvation of the nations is mingled with the prediction regarding these. « To Thee a hymn is fitting, O God, in Sion, and a vow shall be rendered in Jerusalem. » In that city, he says, Thou didst command that a hymn be offered to Thee; I beseech Thee, therefore, that I may render it to Thee there. ^B [Regarding this, blessed Paul said to the nations: You have approached Mount Sion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. These things were said by the Apostle concerning the Church gathered from the nations.] « Hear my prayer. » Accept, he says, my supplication, and free me from the bonds of captivity. [This is what the people enslaved from Jerusalem pray, crying out; but this is also what he who is hastening to escape from the captivity of idols implores; and he expressed it more clearly in what follows by saying:] « To Thee all flesh shall come. » This contains a clear prediction of the knowledge of God that the nations shall possess. For now, he says, we supplicate to obtain a return, and to offer the hymn in the temple consecrated to Thee; but a little later, the whole nature of men, having been delivered from the error of many gods, will run to Thee, the true God.

VERS. 4. « The words of the wicked have prevailed over us. » But Symmachus translates it thus: *The words of the ungodly have dominated me.* I have been compelled, he says, to serve impious and lawless men. Then he declares the cause of this servitude. « And Thou shalt be propitious to our impieties. » Not unjustly, he says, was I condemned to serve, but because of the impiety formerly dared by me, from which I beseech to be delivered through Thy ^C kindness. Hence ^D

^A they declare him blessed who dwells in his fatherland, since it is the teacher and advocate of piety.

VER. 5. « Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee; he shall dwell in thy courts: we shall be filled with the good things of thy house. » Happy, he says, and blessed is the people that has been preferred by thee before all nations. For by sitting in thy holy courts, it receives from thence utility and blessing.

« Holy is thy temple. [VER. 6.] Marvelous in righteousness. » For thy temple is ^B full of holiness, and it teaches those who approach it thy righteousness through thy oracles. « Hear us, O God, our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are in the sea afar off. » Here again he predicts the salvation of the inhabited world, and brings to mind the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob; for it is his voice: « A prince shall not fail from Judah, and a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is reserved, and he shall be the expectation of the nations. » ^C Him also he here called « the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are in the sea afar off. » By these words he signifies both those dwelling in the islands, and those who dwell in the regions on the opposite side of the continent, and those who have been allotted the ends of the inhabited world for their habitation. Hear us, he says, thou who a little later

^A art to illuminate the whole nature of men with the light of the knowledge of God. Then he describes the power of God, as far as it is possible.

Verses 7, 8. "Preparing the mountains in his strength, being girded with power. Who troublest the depth of the sea; who shall sustain the sound of its waves?"

VARIAE LECTIONES ET NOTAE.

^A disturbing them, immediately stirred up agitation and a storm among men, according to the voice of the Lord. For He said, "I have come to set a man against his neighbor, a son against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." And Habakkuk also, foretelling these things, says: "You have ridden your horses into the sea, troubling many waters." He is referring to the apostles, whose horsemanship—or rather, their saving doctrine—he is describing. After these things, however, He calmed the storm [and bestowed peace upon all, saying: "My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you."]

^B VERSE 9. "And those who inhabit the ends [of the earth] will fear at your signs." For uproar came first, but fear followed, arising from the magnitude of the miracles, and it taught piety. "The exits of the morning and evening are delights." For men, struck with fear by the miracles, abandoning their former error and recognizing the true God, bring to God a welcome and pleasant melody of hymns at the beginning and the end of the day. This is what Symmachus indicated: "They celebrate the processions of the dawn and the evening with hymns."

VERS. 10. "You have visited the earth, and inebriated it; you have multiplied to enrich it." But Symmachus has said it thus: "You will enrich it with the abundance of fruit." For you no longer offer spiritual irrigation ^C to us alone, but you irrigate the whole world to satiety; you have multiplied to enrich it. "The river of God is filled with water." Symmachus expressed these three things optatively:

^A *Visit the earth, and you will water it; to abundance you will enrich it, with channels of God full of waters.* The Master revealed the

formerly fruitless world

VERS. 11. ^A *"Intoxicate her furrows."* From this it is manifest that this is a prophecy of future things, and not a narrative of things already accomplished. *"Multiply her offspring"*

"* ^A *“In her drops she will be glad, when she is budding.”* ^B And the drops, being opportunely brought by the teachers, will make her glad and prepare her to blossom.

Ver. 12. *"You will bless the crown of the year of your goodness."* The "year of goodness" is what is called by Isaiah the "acceptable year of the Lord."

For, he says, "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore he has anointed me, he has sent me to evangelize the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to call the acceptable year of the Lord."

*"And your plains will be filled with fatness."* [Ver. 13.] *"The beautiful things of the desert will grow fat, and the hills will be girded with exultation."* With this goodness appearing, the formerly desert land will give ripe fruit. And the hills, which were formerly enraged by the sacrifices of demons, will become bright and conspicuous, welcoming those who continually hymn God and who embrace the angelic life. ^C And the facts themselves bear witness to the words. For we see all men running to those who have attained the mountain summits and who are pursuing the highest virtue.

Ver. 14. *"The rams of the sheep have clothed themselves."* Ezekiel the prophet also calls the powerful *rams of the sheep*...

but he is accusing them because they were devouring the good pasture and trampling the rest with their feet, and were drinking the pure water and muddying the rest with their feet. Here, however, good things are promised even to them. For he says that they are clothed and arrayed, and the divine Paul declares the nature of the garment: *"For as many of you,"* he says, *"as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ"* (Gal. III, 27). Since, therefore, the Lord Christ chose fishermen in the beginning, and craftsmen, and those living in poverty, the grace of the Spirit ^B predicts the salvation of the wealthy and the powerful as well. Therefore he says, *"The rams of the sheep have clothed themselves,"* for not only the other sheep, but even the rams themselves approach saving baptism. *"And the valleys shall abound in grain."* And those who are allotted to poverty, and who choose to be pious, will offer their own fruit to God, one thirty, another sixty, and another a hundred. *"They shall shout, for they shall sing a hymn."* And all those who were mentioned before will sing the praises of God with all readiness, ^C for having bestowed such a change upon the nature of men. We know, therefore, that some writers, having regarded these things from the surface, have said that each of these events took place after the return from the captivity, when, together with liberty, abundance of the year was granted to them, and such abundant rains that the Jordan flooded. For they said that it was called "the River of God." But I, having learned from history that nothing of the sort occurred—for they lived for a long time in great poverty, as Ezra taught—and having found in the Psalm a clear ^D prediction regarding the salvation of the Gentiles—for he said, *"For to you all flesh shall come,"* and, *"Hear us, O God, our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of those in the sea afar off"*—I believed this interpretation to be consistent with those words. But those who delight in myths, and who imagine the building of Jerusalem, and who narrate their own thoughts just like dreams, have said that these things have not happened yet, but will happen after the revocation of the Jews, adding this fable to the corruption of other doctrines. Leaving these with their delusions, let us attend to the divine oracles, together with David.

shall be after the calling of the Jews, they said, along with the corruption of other doctrines, and having added this tale to it. But leaving them to rave, let us touch upon the divine oracles, crying out with David: ^A “Thy law is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my paths.”

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXV

Ver. 1. ^A “In the end, a song of a psalm of the resurrection.” Neither does the Hebrew copy have this addition, nor do the other interpreters, nor the Seventy in the Hexapla; but some, as it seems, have added this as well. The divine David wrote this psalm for those who were captives in Babylon; not, however, as they were entreating to obtain a return, but when they had already attained it and were setting out on the journey. At the same time, he also foretells the salvation of the Gentiles.

Ver. 2. ^B “Shout with joy to God, all the earth; sing to his name; give glory in his praise.” All people, he says, share with us in the hymnody, and render to God with us the worship that is due. And he rightly calls all human nature to such a fellowship. For in these men, the things concerning the salvation of all were foreshadowed. For just as they were delivered from the servitude of the Babylonians, so all men [after the incarnation of God and Savior] were delivered from the bitter tyranny of the devil. Then they teach the manner of the hymnody.

Ver. 3. ^C “Say to God: How terrible are thy works! In the multitude of thy power, thy enemies shall lie to thee.” Admire, he says, the wonders done by God. For they are so many and such that their magnitude ^D surpasses human understanding.

It has, however, another meaning confirmed by the truth, that which says: ^A “In the multitude of thy power, thy enemies shall lie to thee.” When, he says, you have illuminated the world with the light of divine knowledge, and turned the majority to piety, then even those who are held in the darkness of unbelief will feign piety, while denying their impiety. And we see this happening continually. For many who serve the Hellenic error do not dare to confess this openly; and the Jews, when pressed, celebrate the victory of the cross, and from every side the truth of the prophecy is demonstrated.

^B Ver. 4. “Let all the earth adore thee, and let them psalm to thee; let them psalm to thy name, O Most High.” Symmachus expressed this more clearly: “All who are upon the earth shall adore thee, chanting, they shall praise thy name.” Moreover, this prophecy is of the present time, in which God of all is praised among all nations, and the Lord Christ is called the Most High by all.

Ver. 5. “Come and see the works of God: how terrible in counsels over the sons of men.” Apply, he says, your mind, and consider each of the things done by God, and admire His indescribable wisdom, through which He leads the human race toward piety. For thus also Theodotion understood it: “Terrible in counsels over the sons of men;” ^C but Symmachus: “Terrible machinations for the sons of men.” For by terrible, he says, and admirable arts, He has used His power for the salvation of men. Then he recounts things that happened of old.

Ver. 6. “Who turneth the sea into dry land, through the river they shall pass on foot.” In this place the tense has been changed; for He spoke of past things as if they were future.

^A And Symmachus says thus: “He turned the sea into dry land, they crossed the river on foot.” For this, he says, is God, who grants salvation both to us and to you, who formerly divided both the sea and the river, and commanded our ancestors to pass through without danger. [And granting also to the Gentiles the passage, the way by which they are reshaped through the regeneration of the bath. For just as there, through the hand of the great Moses, He divided the Red Sea this way and that, so also here, through the hand of the priest, He renews the people who believe in Christ, and drowns the intelligible Pharaoh with his chariots—that is, the devil with the passions. You who have been initiated know what I am saying.] “There we shall rejoice in Him.” That is to say, ^B by the Jordan. [Just as those who are from the Gentiles do by the holy baptistery; for as then the Jordan was divided for the people, so now the Jordan, having received the Maker and Creator of all, procures the salvation of men. For the God and our Savior, who entered the bath for our sake, regenerated us all through water and Spirit.] Remembering this, and teaching how the ancestors passed through it, they added, “There we shall rejoice in Him.”

Verse 7. “Who ruleth by His power for ever.” He has an everlasting power, he says, and a kingdom without end. ^C “His eyes look upon the nations.” He cares not only for us, but He also provides for the whole world, and to all He will shortly grant the knowledge of Himself. Thus the Prophet, having clearly foretold this, then looking with spiritual eyes at those who contradict the proclamation, openly and clearly foretells their unbelief and pride. “Let not those who provoke Him exalt themselves in themselves.” Theodotion called these “those who turn aside”; but Aquila, “those who fail.” Symmachus, however, said more clearly, “Let not the unbelieving be exalted in themselves.” ^D Moreover, we see the end of this prophecy.

For those three or four Greeks, who persevere in impiety, are puffed up within themselves, because they were not carried away into error with the multitude. The prophetic word admonishes them ^A: “Let not the gainsayers be exalted in themselves.” For they provoke the righteous Judge against themselves, and draw down upon themselves a just punishment. [Then, after the Prophet had indicated the punishment impending upon them, he turns the discourse to another object.]

VERS. 8. “Bless, O nations, our God, and make the voice of his praise to be heard.” For “make to be heard,” Symmachus said “make audible.” They continue to exhort the nations to depart from the customs of their fathers, and to praise their own God, and to teach those who are ignorant of His power. For this is what he said, “Make to be heard,” that is to say, “Teach others also.”

VERS. 9. “Who has set my soul to life, and has not given my feet to be moved.” For when He delivered me to the impious, He did not allow me to wander or to abandon the straight path. It is to be noted, however, that all these things were spoken by a chorus of the pious. For God sent with them men shining with piety, as a kind of ^B tutor and pedagogue, to instruct, and enlighten, and lead all to piety. Such was Daniel, such was Ezechiel, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael. It was appropriate for these and such as these to say these things; for the grace of the Spirit wrote them from their perspective.

VERS. 10. “For You have tested us, O God; You have fired us as silver is fired.” For You permitted us to suffer these things, wishing to show to all the sincerity of our piety. [These same things are also said from the perspective of the martyrs, who have suffered or are still suffering heavy calamities for Christ’s sake.]

VERS. 11, 12. “You brought us into the snare, You laid tribulations upon our back. You set men over our heads; we passed through fire and water, and You brought us out into refreshment.” Such was the furnace in which a spirit, emitting a whistling sound, refreshed the athletes. The “snare” is the lions’ den, and it was an inescapable snare; yet, through divine grace, the Prophet escaped it. ^C It is likely, moreover, that they were beaten and mangled, as captives and slaves, by those who had enslaved them. Wherefore they have also said this: “And You ^D...

^A have laid affliction upon our back; You have set men over our heads.” We have been made slaves instead of free men. Yet, having been delivered from all these things and having obtained a return, we will offer to You the sacrifices ordained by the law. For it is on this account that he subjoined:

Verses 13, 14. I will enter into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth has spoken in my tribulation.

Verse 15. Fattened burnt offerings I will offer to You, with incense and rams; I will offer to You bulls with goats.

Verse 16. Come and hear, and I will recount to you, all who fear God, how much He has done for my soul.

Verse 17. To Him I have cried with my mouth, and I have exalted [Him] under my tongue.

Verse 18. If I have looked upon iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hearken to me.

Dominus. If, by praying, I asked to be delivered from slavery and to obtain my return, yet thought that I would commit some iniquity after my return, may I not obtain divine kindness. That I am not lying, the facts themselves testify.

Vers. 19. "Propterea enim exaudivit me Deus, et attendit ad vocem deprecationis meæ." For when He saw me pure and free from such thoughts, He ^A deemed me worthy of His gifts in abundance. When the chorus of the pious had spoken these things, it brings its words to a close in a hymn.

Vers. 20. "Benedictus Deus, qui non amovit orationem meam, et misericordiam suam a me." I repay the benefactor, he says, with hymns, who has admitted my prayers and bestowed His mercy. [For he does not cease to exhort those who believe in Him to celebrate Him with hymns at all times.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXVI

Vers. 1. "In finem, in hymnis, Psalmus cantici David." This psalm has a clear meaning and does not require many words for its interpretation. For it foretells the incarnation of the Word of God, and His saving advent, and the salvation of all nations.

Vers. 2. "Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis: illuminet vultum suum super nos, et misereatur nostri." Having foreseen with the eyes of the Spirit the salvation destined for all men through the divine advent, the Prophet prays that this may be granted as quickly as possible, so that we all may harvest ^B the blessing arising from it. [He says, "Deus misereatur nostri," and not this only, but also, "benedicat nobis": for in truth He not only blessed us, but also had mercy on us, by saving us through His presence from the Virgin. For this is what he says: "Illuminet vultum suum super nos." We have seen Him face to face (to wit, born as man): not carrying another, but we have seen the Word of God Himself born from the Virgin.] Then, through what follows, he teaches this more clearly.

Vers. 3. "Ut cognoscamus in terra viam tuam." That, he says, those who inhabit the earth may learn the path leading to Thee, and may be led to it. And lest anyone should suppose that these things are said about the land of the Jews, he rightly added, "In omnibus gentibus salutare tuum." I beseech, he says, that ^D Thy countenance may appear, so that it may illuminate the nations sitting in darkness, and draw them to salvation.

^A Verses 4, 5. "Let the peoples confess to Thee, O God, let all the peoples confess to Thee. Let the nations be glad and rejoice; for Thou shalt judge the peoples in equity, and shalt guide the nations on the earth." Therefore it is fitting that all peoples and nations throughout the world should be glad and rejoice, and recount Thy benefits. For they have known that nothing that exists is neglected or without care; but that Thou art the Judge of all, pronouncing just sentences, and guiding those who wander to the truth, while punishing those who are unwilling to obey.

Verse 6. "Let the peoples confess to Thee, O God, let all the peoples confess to Thee." He has not put the tautology without reason; but by making his auditors more eager, ^B [it also sought to show that He is the same God and Savior of all.]

Verse 7. "The earth has given its fruit." For men born of the earth no longer ignore the God who is over all; who, according to the Prophet, "hath found out all the way of knowledge; after this He was seen on earth, and conversed with men." For which reason they offer to Him the sweetest fruit of piety.

"May God, our God, bless us." [Verse 8.] "May God bless us." Just as He twice stirred the nations to hymn-singing, so twice He sought the blessing for them. It is necessary to know, however, that when men bless God, they offer Him only words, but cannot bestow benefits upon Him by their deeds; ^C but God, in blessing, confirms words with deeds, and provides an abundance of all kinds of good things for those who are blessed. Then he teaches how it is possible to obtain the divine blessing: "And let all the ends of the earth fear Him." For he who is religiously disposed toward the divine laws, and fears the future judgment, honors God through the observance of these laws; and divine worship produces the blessing. Therefore, the very end of the Psalm instructs not only the Jews, but all men, to have the fear of God, and declares Him to be our God, who has accomplished the salvation of those who believe. Let the impious heretics be ashamed, who do not confess Him to be God from God, the Only-Begotten Son of the Father before the world, the same ^D who in the last days became, as we say, the Son of man, unchangeably, for the salvation of men.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXVII

^A VERSE 1. "Unto the end, a Psalm of David." The divine David, seeing the impiety which was being practiced among men and the dominion of the devil, and having been instructed by the all-holy Spirit of God concerning the advent of our Savior, offers his petition, praying that this might come to pass as quickly as possible. And he receives immediately the revelation of the things that are to happen; and is taught at the same time, and himself teaches, the salvation of human nature, and the destruction of the enemies, and, in a word, the wondrous change of affairs.

VERSE 2. "Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him flee from before his face." It is time, he says, for you, O Lord, to arise and procure the salvation of men. For immediately the whole troop of the enemies shall be turned to flight, scattered by the radiance of your advent. Moreover, by "rising," as we have often said, he refers not only to the cessation of long-suffering, but also to the resurrection of the Savior of the world after three days, when he underwent a voluntary death for our sake. ^B Just as we, too, are accustomed to rouse judges who use great equity to render aid to those suffering injury, exhorting them to rouse themselves and curb the audacity of those who inflict injury upon others.

VERSE 3. "As smoke vanisheth, so let them vanish: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the sinners perish from the face of God." For just as the onset of the winds scatters smoke, and wax is dissolved when it approaches the fire, so, O Lord, at your presence, the malevolent shall be rendered utterly as nothing. For those whom the Seventy designated as "sinners," all the other interpreters, as well as the Hebrew exemplar and the Syrian, have called "impious."

VERSE 4. "And let the just be glad." When this, he says, has come to pass, the whole chorus of the just shall be filled with joy. ^C "Let them exult before God: let them be delighted in gladness." He shows by these things that he did not offer those supplications against men, but against the demons who wage war upon men. ^D When these have been scattered and rendered as nothing, the nations exult and hymn the God who has granted them salvation.

Interpretation of Psalm 67

^A "Sing to God, [he says], sing a psalm to his name; make a way for him who ascends over the setting." The Lord is his name, and exult before him. In this place the prophetic word encourages the holy apostles to run to the nations with dancing and hymnody, and to prepare the way for the King of all. These things are similar to what was said to them by the Lord: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Through such teaching and through the regeneration of baptism, the rough road became smooth, and was prepared for God, who, according to the Prophet, wishes to dwell and walk in them.

^B He says he ascends "over the setting," thereby revealing the darkness which at that time covered the souls of men. Symmachus, however, interpreted this as: "Cast up a way for him who rides upon the uncultivated land." The desert is uncultivated, and Holy Scripture often calls the nations the desert: "Be glad, it says, O thirsty desert." And again: "For many are the children of the desert [rather] than of her who has a husband." Upon this desert and uninhabited [land], bereft of light and named "setting" for this reason, the Sun of righteousness rose; he dispersed the darkness and made the uncultivated land his own temple.

^C "Let them be troubled from his face." [Vers. 6]. "The Father of orphans and judge of the widows." For they cannot endure his appearance, knowing him to be a just judge. For through the guardianship of the widows and the care of the orphans, he manifested the justice of his providence. The history of the divine Gospels also teaches us of this turmoil and fear of the demons. For we hear them saying: "What have we to do with thee, Son of God? Hast thou come to torment us before the time?"

"God is in his holy place." Since he said, "Let God arise," and "Make way for him who ascends over the setting," he rightly added this, as if to say: Let no one think that the God of all adjusts our affairs by changing locations. That which was said by the Lord is similar: "No man has ascended into heaven, but he who ^D descended from heaven, the Son of man, who is in heaven." By these words he shows both that the divine nature is in no way circumscribed, and he taught us the descent.

^A and his living below, and that while he was associating with men, he was in heaven and was not separated from the Father.

VERS. 7. "God makes those who are of one mind to dwell in a house; he brings out those who are bound in strength; likewise those who provoke, who dwell in graves." He calls those "of one mind" who have one purpose, and who have chosen to concern themselves with virtue alone, and who do not choose this today and that tomorrow. He says that these dwell in the divine house. And he calls those "bound" who are surrounded on all sides by the chains of sin, whom he predicted would come forth as strong men once they are released. Such was Matthew, such was James of Alphaeus, such was Zacchaeus; who, having been delivered from the chains of unrighteousness, ^B very manfully took up the war against him who had bound them. But he says that he makes not only the bound into strong men, but also those who had reached the pinnacle of impiety, and who were dwelling in their own bodies as if in foul-smelling tombs—even these, I say, he will deem worthy of salvation along with the others.

VERS. 8, 9. "O God, when you went forth in the sight of your people, when you passed through the desert, the earth shook, for the heavens also dropped." Symmachus interpreted this as follows: "O God, when you were marching before your people, and walking through the uncultivated land, the earth was shaken, and the heaven dropped." He means: When you were about to pass into that wilderness and uncultivated land, which had not yet received the ray of light, you shook the earth and caused it to tremble; and from heaven you caused the drops of grace ^C to rain down. This happened at the time of the cross; for then the earth was shaken and the rocks were rent; and the whole world was shaken, as if perceiving by some sense that the Creator of all was hanging on the cross. The latter part, however, refers to after his return to the heavens; for then the grace of the Spirit came upon the apostles, imitating as it were certain drops of dew. Then, teaching the Jews more clearly who it is that does all these things, he added: "At the presence of the God of Sinai, at the presence of the God of Israel." For he says that he who appeared to our ancestors on Mount Sinai, ^D this same one also shook the earth.

at the time of the passion, refuting your madness, and he bestowed the grace of the Spirit. ^B

VERS. 10. "You will set aside a voluntary rain, O God, for your inheritance." He calls what he previously called drops, here rain. For grace was supplied in abundance to the teachers for the benefit of those learning. He calls the irrigation of doctrine "rain"; and he called it "voluntary" because of free will. For no one is irrigated by necessity, but by yielding to the teaching, he obtains grace. "And it was weakened, but you made it perfect." He says that it was not the rain that was weakened, but the inheritance itself; and he called the insurgencies of the impious a weakness. Thus also the Lord said to Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is perfected in weakness." But also at the time of the insurgency, you confirm and strengthen the athletes. For you have these as an inheritance, according to the prophecy saying: "Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and your possession as the ends of the earth" (Ps. II, 8). Thus also Symmachus interpreted: "Which you perfected and established." And Aquila said more clearly: "You strengthened it, the one that was laboring." For you kept unmoved the one that had endured many labors ^C in the persecutions.

VERS. 11. "Your animals shall dwell in it." He calls the holy apostles the animals of God, upon whom having ridden, he drove away error and turned men to the knowledge of God. Thus also of Paul he says: "For he is a chosen vessel to me, to carry my name before the nations and kings, and the sons of Israel" (Acts IX, 15). For this reason the divine Habakkuk called them horses: "For you have made your horses ascend into the sea, troubling many waters" (Hab. III, 15), he says. The prophetic word foretold that these dwell in the inheritance of God, that is, in the nations. And they dwell there even until today: not only making holy those who approach the caskets of their bodies, but also converting the souls of men by the teaching of their writings. "You prepared it in your goodness for the poor, O God." But these things, he says, you bestowed upon the poor nature of men through your kindness.

VERS. 12. "The Lord will give a word to those evangelizing with great power." Those whom he called animals above, he here calls evangelists. And since they were fishermen,

^A and publicans, and tanners, yet were chosen to be teachers of philosophers, and sophists, and rhetoricians, and of those who prided themselves on their eloquence, it is with good reason that he teaches from where they drew the streams of doctrine in order to bring their irrigation.

VERS. 13. "King of virtues of the beloved, for the beauty of your house, divide the spoils." Symmachus edited it thus: "The Lord gave words to those evangelizing with a great army. The kings of the soldiers were beloved; they became beloved, and the habitation of the house will divide the spoils." By a great army he calls those who have believed; thus, indeed, the Apostle also, writing to Timothy, says: "Fight the good fight." ^B And again: "No one serving as a soldier entangles himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please the one who enlisted him." He called these teachers "kings of the soldiers," who he says were loved and were called beloved. Thus the Lord also calls them: "You are my friends. I will no longer call you servants, but friends." Thus also the divine Apostle says: "For the love of God constrains us." And again: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" He calls those "spoils" who had formerly made their own members serve sin and had surrendered them to the devil for slavery. These he distributed to the holy apostles, having set this one as teacher of the Romans, another as teacher of the Greeks, and having appointed these as heralds to the Indians, and those to the Egyptians. The beauty of the house distributed these spoils to the holy apostles. ^C And according to the divine Apostle, the house of God is those who have believed. The beauty of the house is the grace of the Holy Spirit, which makes it beautiful and illuminates it with the manifold generosity of its gifts. And he taught this more clearly in what follows.

VERS. 14. "If you sleep among the middle of the lots, the wings of a dove are silvered, and its back parts in the paleness of gold." He calls the grace of the Spirit the wings of the dove. For in the likeness of a dove it descended at the Jordan streams. He says that the wings of this one are silvered, and the back parts are adorned with gold. For he offers the simpler and easier things to the simpler people, but higher things to the more perfect. "For my mysteries are for me and my own." ^D And to these, as to the imperfect, he offers milk, but to those, solid food. He calls the two testaments "lots." He says, therefore, in both...

^A doctrines, "Draw near and see the manifold grace of the Holy Spirit." Yet he commanded not simply to draw near, but to sit by continually. For he called this "sleeping," because he who is asleep remains motionless.

15. "When the heavenly One marks out kings upon it, they shall be made white with snow in Selmon." He previously called the apostles kings, as heirs of the kingdom of heaven; just as in the forty-fourth Psalm he designated them princes: "For you shall appoint them," he says, "princes over all the earth." He also predicts the arrival of the most holy Spirit, which occurred on the day of Pentecost, during which they themselves received the grace of tongues. He says, therefore, that at that time, when He divides to them the kingdoms of the inhabited world, and commands one to preside over these nations and another over those, He will illuminate them and show them to be like snow. He also predicts the place in which these things will happen. For he called Jerusalem Selmon; ^B for in that city the choir of the apostles, while dwelling there, enjoyed the grace of the most holy Spirit.

16. "The mountain of God, a fat mountain, a coagulated mountain, a fat mountain." Those whom he called animals and evangelists and kings, he also entitles a mountain. So also the Lord said to them in the holy Gospels: "A city cannot be hidden, if it is situated upon a mountain." So also Isaiah cries out: "It shall be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest." He calls it "fat" and "coagulated," as providing much food for the flocks grazing upon it, and receiving much richness from divine grace.

17. "Why do you suspect the coagulated mountains? The mountain in which it pleased God to dwell." But Aquila said it thus: "Why do you contend, O proud mountains, against the mountain which God desired for Himself to sit upon it?" The prophetic discourse is directed ^C toward the Jews, and toward the wicked conventicles of the heretics, who call themselves the Church; and he says, "Why do you contend, and equate yourselves..."

^A with the mountain which God has decreed as His dwelling-place? For the Lord shall indeed dwell there for ever." It is not as it was among you, O Jews, where He dwelt for a certain measured time, that He shall also pass His time in this one; but He shall maintain His dwelling therein eternally. For this is what "unto the end" signifies.

^B VER. 18. "The chariot of God is tens of thousands, thousands of those who are at ease." It is not as it was among you, O Jews, where He had but few saints upon whom He ascended, and with whom He held communion, that He shall have even now. For those who are worthy of the divine ascension are ten thousand times more numerous than those of old. And the new inheritance possesses thousands and myriads beyond counting of those who are at ease, who yield to God the fruit of piety, who live righteously, and who hasten toward the prize of the heavenly calling, and are rewarded with crowns. "The Lord is among them, in Sinai, in the holy place." The One, he says, who appeared to our ancestors in Sinai, He Himself also guides these. For it is not one person who is that one, and another who is this one. For "the same Lord is Lord of all, rich unto all who call upon Him." Thus, after the prophetic word has shown Him descending and overthrowing the ranks of the enemy, it shows Him ascending and granting freedom to those who were once captives ^C.

VER. 19. "You ascended on high, You led captivity captive." The ascension signifies the descent; and the Apostle is witness, saying: "Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same also who ascended far above all the heavens." And He led captivity captive, having received back those who had once been captives, and having, as it were, taken them captive in turn, and gifted them with freedom. "You received gifts in men." The Apostle said "He gave." But both have come to pass. For by accepting faith from those who approach, He bestows grace. [For thus the band of the apostles, having believed that He is God from God, was shown to be heir of the kingdom of heaven; thus myriads of martyrs and those who lived a solemn life of conduct were glorified, making their arguments on behalf of God.] "And even the disobedient, so that He might dwell." Aquila interpreted this more clearly: "Even the rebels, so that He might dwell." You did not look, he says, upon their former disobedience; but even seeing them as antagonists, You persisted in bestowing benefits, until You made them Your own proper dwelling-place. ^D

^A Ver. 20. ‹The Lord God is blessed; blessed is the Lord day by day.› With good reason did the Prophet loosen his tongue for the singing of hymns. Always, he says, are You worthy to be praised, having made use of such great philanthropy toward us. ‹God will make prosperous for us the God of our salvations.› He who bestowed salvation upon us, he says, will also level the path for us, so that we may not fall short of such great blessings.

Ver. 21. ‹Our God is the God of saving.› He will grant this, being the fountain of salvation. ‹And of the Lord, the Lord, are the outgoings of death.› For He Himself opened for us the ineluctable prison-house of death, and crushed the bronze gates, and smashed the iron bars. And this he made clear by the things that follow.

Ver. 22. ‹But God will crush the heads of His enemies, the crowning hair of those who walk about in their transgressions.› He opened for us, he says, the gates of death, having crushed the heads of the enemies, who search out the transgressions of men, and cannot bear to leave even the hair of the head unexamined. By the hair, he refers to the smallest transgression. What he says is this: God decreed death as a penalty for those who sin. But the devil, searching through the life of men like some bitter executioner, does not endure to overlook even the slightest thing, but punishes human nature with death. Seeing, therefore, the Lord Christ clothed in that same nature, he approached, searching for the causes of death. For this is what the Lord also said in the holy Gospels: ‹The ruler of this world is coming, and in me he will find nothing.› But although he found nothing, he nonetheless unjustly delivered Him to death. This injustice, indeed, overthrew his power, but for men it opened up Hades; which things were spoken of at greater length in the discourses *On Providence*. And the divine Apostle also said that the devil has the power of death.

Ver. 23. ‹The Lord said: I will return from Basan; I will return in the depths of the sea.› Symmachus explained it thus: ‹The Lord said: I will return from Basan, from the depths of the sea.› Now, Basan, when interpreted, signifies "shame." Shame, however, is the fruit of sin. From this, therefore, the Savior of all...

^A causes a conversion. But what is the "depth of the sea"? The Prophet himself teaches it by crying out: "Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and from the deep waters" [and: "Let not the storm of water overwhelm me, nor the depth swallow me up"].

Ver. 24. ‹That your foot may be dipped in blood; the tongue of your dogs from the enemies by him,› (that is, from each of them, flowing, as it were). Symmachus, however, has interpreted it thus: "That your foot may be crushed with blood, and the tongue of your dogs may lap the gore from each of your enemies." For since he has shown the God of the universe as a sort of champion, defeating his enemies and liberating those who were unjustly enslaved, he describes in his speech both streams of blood and the dead trampled underfoot, and these same corpses lying unburied and laid out as food for dogs. So also through Isaiah he exclaims: "I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the nations there was no one with me; I trod them down in my fury, [I crushed them in my wrath,] and I brought their blood down to the ground; and my garments have been sprinkled with their slaughter" [Isa. LXIII, 3].

Ver. 25. ‹They have seen your processions, O God; the processions of my God, my King, who is in the holy place.› He calls the dispensations the "processions of God." And by "holy place," he means the temple assumed from the seed of David. It is clear, he says, to all men that your providence has come about, and all have known your various dispensations.

Ver. 26. ‹The princes went before, joined with those who were singing, in the midst of the damsels playing upon the timbrels.› Henceforth, he teaches the joy of the Churches. He calls the holy apostles "princes," as they were established as the architects of these [Churches]. And by "damsels playing upon the timbrels," he means those who practice virginity and offer divine symphony to God. Then he makes what was said clearer.

Ver. 27. ‹In the churches bless God the Lord, from the fountains of Israel.› He has indicated the cessation of the old covenant; for there was one temple of the Jews, but here he prophesies a multitude of churches, in which he bids the Lord of all to be praised from the Israelite fountains. For the prophetic books can justly be called the fountains of Israel, from which we offer sweet song to God. Since, moreover, besides... ^D

the prophetic ^A fountains, he has bestowed upon us the apostolic ones, he justly adds:

Vers. 28. "There is Benjamin the younger in ecstasy." Aquila says: "There is Benjamin the little one, ruling them." Theodotion: "Their instructor." Benjamin the younger is the blessed Paul, who sprouted from the tribe of Benjamin; "younger," as one called and addressed after all the others; moreover, the history of the Acts calls him a young man. He rules the Church, and teaches the divine things, and leads those who wish to salvation. He also came ^B to be in ecstasy, having learned in the heavens that the One whom he was persecuting, and whom he thought to be dead, exists. Since, however, not only the blessed Paul, but also the rest of the choir of the apostles teaches divine truths to those who believe, the prophetic word has justly made mention of them also: "Princes of Judah their leaders, princes of Zabulon, princes of Nephthalim." For from these tribes the rest of the apostles drew their origin. And those who are called the brothers of the Lord drew their lineage strictly from the tribe of Judah. Peter, and Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip happened to be from the village of Bethsaida. ^C Matthew and James, it is recorded, dwelt in Capernaum. Simon the Zealot is named the Canaanite. All these places belong to Galilee. And Zabulon and Nephthalim had their lot there. And of this fact there are two witnesses: one the prophet, and the other the evangelist; the one predicting, the other bringing forward the testimony. They speak thus: "Land of Zabulon, and land of Nephthalim, and the rest living by the sea, and beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light."

Vers. 29, 30. "Command, O God, thy power; confirm, O God, this which ^D thou hast wrought in us. From thy temple in Jerusalem." Symmachus interpreted it thus: "Command, O God, concerning thy strength; strengthen this, O God, which thou hast done for us, for the sake of thy temple which is above Jerusalem. Confirm [it]," he says,

^A "the grace which thou hast bestowed, O Master, because of thy temple which thou hast taken from us; which thou hast seated above all rule, and authority, and power, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come." For he calls the city above Jerusalem, concerning which the blessed Paul says 30: "But the Jerusalem above is free; which is the mother of us all." 31 They ask, therefore, by virtue of their kinship with the temple, that the grace given to them be confirmed, and that, because of the first-fruits, the whole lump may enjoy the grace that has been provided. Thence he also foretells the change of kings: ^B "Kings shall bring gifts unto thee." For, ceasing from persecution, they will offer the worship due as to God; and just as they themselves receive tribute from their subjects, so they, like servants and subjects, will bring gifts to thee. And the eyes beholding the truth of the prophecy are witnesses of this.

VERS. 31. "Rebuke the wild beasts of the reed." 32 But some of the copies have "of the wood." Whether it be wood or reed, sterility is signified by these. Furthermore, in these places, irrational wild beasts have their dens, which the Prophet taught us to drive out by divine invocation. "The congregation of bulls among the heifers of the peoples, so that they may exclude those who have been tested with silver." 33 He calls the multitude of the Jews bulls, because of their accustomed ferocity; but he named those from among the Gentiles who have believed heifers, because of the newness of their calling. The prophetic ^C word, therefore, foretells the uprisings against the pious that occurred among the Jews at the beginning of the preaching. This, he says, they do, wishing to exclude them and to deprive them of the blessedness given to them, who, having been examined like silver in the fire, were declared approved. The blessed Paul also says this concerning them: "They zealously seek you in no good way; but they wish to exclude you." 34 Since, however, there were also those among the Gentiles who spoke against and wrought various slaughters of the saints, he rightly says also concerning them: "Scatter the nations that desire wars." Thus, having prophesied concerning those who contradict, he transfers the discourse to the believers.

^A

VERS. 32. "Let legates come out of Egypt." He mentions Egypt first, as it once held the primacy of impiety. The history in the Acts [*] remembers them, recounting those who were gathered on the day of Pentecost, on which the grace of the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. "Ethiopia shall outstrip with its hand to God." This, too, has met with its fulfillment. The witness is the eunuch of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, whom Philip led to the truth [*]. Then he calls upon the kingdoms of the entire world.

Interpretation of Psalm 68

^B 33. "Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; chant to the Lord." Everyone, he says, who is throughout the inhabited world, receive the light of the knowledge of God, and offer a hymn in gratitude for piety.

34. "To Him who mounts above the heaven of heaven toward the east." For the Lord Christ, our God, did not only ascend into this heaven which we see, but even into the higher one, and sat at the right hand of the Majesty, in the lofty upper chamber of His own rising, sending down rays to all men. "Behold, He shall give to His voice a voice of power." He signifies by these words the coming of the Holy Spirit which occurred after the assumption of our Savior. ^C For the Lord also called this "power." "For stay," He says, "in this city, until you are clothed with power from on high [*]." The blessed Luke also makes mention of this voice, saying: "And there came a voice from heaven, as of a rushing violent wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting [*]."

35. "Give glory to God." This is like the law of the Apostle: "For glorify," he says, "God in your body [and in your spirit] which are God’s [*]." For since we have obtained so many and such great goods, it is just to praise the author of the benefit in all things. "His magnificence is over Israel, and His power is in the clouds." For the holy apostles, having drawn their origin from Israel, revealed the greatness of God through the miracles they performed; and those who ^D succeeded them, since they had received the gift of teaching, were like certain

clouds that draw up rain from the sea of the All-Holy Spirit and bring irrigation to men.

^B

VER. 36. "God is wonderful in his saints." He says that all others also, who are eager for virtue, make themselves ready to celebrate the praises of God, according to the voice of the Lord which says: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." "The God of Israel himself will give power and strength to his people." He does not mention Israel here without reason; but because Jacob, when he feared Esau and was subsequently granted a divine vision, was strengthened and cast off the fear from his mind. The discourse therefore teaches us that he who rendered that man strong, and showed him to be superior to his enemies, will himself strengthen his new people and will make them unconquerable and invincible. "Blessed be God." [But when you hear, O studious one, that God is called now God, now Lord, and now Savior, do not suppose that he is another. For there is not, nor is there said to be, any God other than the only Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; but not as if there were three Gods, far from it! as we have often said to you. For these names—God, Lord, King, Creator, Almighty, and whatever others there may be—are taken to refer to the undivided Trinity.] This ending is appropriate to the psalm; for it was fitting that the account of such great blessings should be concluded with divine praise.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXVIII

VER. 1. "Unto the end, for those who shall be changed. A psalm of David." The psalm foretells the changing of certain circumstances. It was indeed spoken with regard to the Jews who were exiles in Babylon, and is fashioned from their perspective as if they were entreating and asking to be delivered. Nevertheless, it also prophesies liberation from servitude, and the return, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and, in short, the former prosperity of Judea. Moreover, it also contains a prophecy of the sufferings of the Lord—I mean of God and our Savior—and of the final destruction that was to overwhelm the Jews on account of these. For since the things which they suffered at the hands of their enemies, these same things they dared to perpetrate against their benefactor and Savior, the just Judge decreed that what they had imprecated upon their enemies should come upon them.

Interpretation of Psalm 68

^A Ver. 2. "Save me, O God, for the waters have come in even unto my soul." The company of the more pious offers this prayer. By "waters" he calls the multitude of calamities. On every side, he says, troublesome things surround me.

Ver. 3. "I am stuck in the mire of the deep, and there is no substance." Symmachus translates it thus: "I have been plunged into endless abysses, and there is no footing"; a metaphor drawn from those who have fallen into the depths of the sea, and are carried down for a long time, and can scarcely reach the bottom. By these things he declares the magnitude of the evils that befell those who had been enslaved. "I have come into the depths of the sea, and a storm has submerged me." He embellishes his discourse with various images, not finding a worthy image for the afflictions that held him.

^B Ver. 4. "I have labored crying; my throat has grown hoarse." Continually, he says, I cry out in my supplication, so that the very instruments of the voice grow weary. By "cry" he means the intensity of the mental prayer. "My eyes have failed, from hoping in my God." He has stated this by a metaphor from those who expect someone necessary and known, returning from travel, and who keep looking along the roads. I am exhausted, he says, waiting for your help. Then, what he had previously set forth figuratively, he teaches more clearly.

Ver. 5. "Those who hate me without cause have been multiplied more than the hairs of my head. My enemies who persecute me unjustly have been strengthened." ^C But let no student imagine that these things were spoken from the person of God and Savior. For they were not spoken—as has been indicated to us previously—except from the person of those who had been led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. He says, then, that the enemies exceed in number, and possess great power, and pursue me with hatred, although I have given them no cause for hatred. "Though I did not steal, then I made restitution." Those injuries which I did not inflict, I unjustly pay the penalties for. For it is not as a plunderer, or as one who did injustice—says the people—that I have been enslaved by them, having first done them harm.

Ver. 6. "O God, you know my foolishness; and my transgressions have not been hidden from you." All things, Lord, you know, and nothing of what happens escapes you. You know, therefore, that I have done no wrong against those men, but I have transgressed your laws. To this is the expression ^D similar: "Against you only have I sinned, and done evil before you."

Ver. 7. "Let not those who wait for you, O Lord, Lord of hosts, be shamed because of me. Let those who seek you, O God of Israel, not be confounded because of me." Let me not

become, he says, a pattern of harm to others, by waiting for salvation from you but falling short of my hope. But let those who have the knowledge of you learn, through what has happened to me, that you are the author of salvation, and not of shame, to those who hope in you.

^A Ver. 8. "Because for your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face." I am filled with shame, receiving your reproaches; for my enemies constantly mock me, attributing your weakness to my servitude.

Ver. 9. "I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother's sons." He enumerates the causes of his sorrow, stirring the merciful God to compassion. And first, he has placed the reproaches of the ungodly, then the separation of kinsmen and companions. For, like captives of war, and forced to serve, they were not permitted to live among their relatives.

^B Ver. 10. "For the zeal of your house has consumed me; and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me." It is not least that I am grieved and pained by the desolation of your holy house, and the laughter of the ungodly. For they do not attribute what has come to pass to my transgression, but to your weakness. Therefore, I am stung by the blasphemies against you, as if I were the cause of them. Symmachus said "consumed" for "eaten me up."

Vers. 11, 12. "And I covered my soul in fasting, and it became a reproach to me. And I put on sackcloth as my garment, and I became a proverb to them." Because of these things I am pained, and I waste away my body with fasting. But even this became an occasion for laughter to them. I wear myself down, and by the wearing of sackcloth, I am clothed in a mournful habit. And the lawless ^C even took this as an occasion for mockery.

Ver. 13. "Those who sat in the gates talked against me, and those who drank wine sang about me." And in gatherings, he says, and at banquets, they boast of my troubles and mock them. For formerly, by the gates, they used to hold their assemblies.

Ver. 14. "But I, my prayer is to you, O Lord." Symmachus, however, says: "But my prayer is to you, O Lord." While these things are happening, he says, I turn my eyes to you and expect help from you. "A time of good pleasure, O God." But Symmachus says: "A time of reconciliation, O God." It is enough, he says, the punishment with which you have afflicted me. It is time for you to dissolve it and to show me your mercy. For he calls the good will of God ^D "good pleasure."

^A * In the multitude of your mercy, hear me, in the truth of your salvation. Do not measure out the punishment according to my transgressions, but according to the immeasurable mercy of your loving-kindness. And make use ^B of your true and just decree against those who do so many evils to me. Then, figuratively, he again lists his calamities, attempting to stir up mercy through his narrative.

Vers. 15. * Snatch me out of the mire, that I may not stick. * I am like those who fall into a muddy pit and await death; therefore I ask salvation from you. * Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and from the deep waters. * I ask to be delivered both from my enemies and from the evils inflicted by them. For he called the punishments brought upon him by them "the depth of waters."

Vers. 16. * Let not the tempest of water drown me, neither let the deep swallow me up. * Let me not, he says, be submerged by the multitude and magnitude of these evils. * Neither let the pit close its mouth upon me. * Do not despair, he says, O Master, of my salvation; nor close to me the door of your loving-kindness. For those who fall into a pit have, as long as its mouth is open, some small hope of being delivered from it; but if this too is closed, they despair of salvation.

Vers. 17. * Hear me, O Lord, for your mercy is kind; look upon me according to the multitude of your tender mercies. * Because of your loving-kindness, and not for my merit, bring about the liberation from the evils I have described. Look upon me, therefore, surrounded by evils, and dissolve my calamities. For your mere presence is enough to dissipate the cloud of sorrowful things.

Vers. 18. * Do not turn your face away from your servant. * For this is the custom of those who are angry, to cast off the supplications of those who have sinned. * For I am in distress; hear me speedily. * Because of the excess of my pain, grant me swift consolation.

Vers. 19. * Look upon my soul, and deliver it. * For your mere regard is enough to dissolve ^C my sorrows. * Deliver me because of my enemies. * My transgressions indeed exceed any pardon; but my enemies are impious and serve wickedness. Therefore, because of their reproaches, make me a partaker of your loving-kindness, O Master. This he declared through the things that follow.

Vers. 20, 21. * For you know my reproach, and my shame, and my confusion. Before ^D

you are all those who trouble me. Nothing of what is done escapes you, but you behold all things, both their reproaches and my shame; for I am cast down and at the same time distressed, ^A being reproached by them. « My soul has expected reproach and misery; and I waited for one to grieve with me, and there was none; and for those to comfort me, and I found none. » For being struck from every side with such pains, and also awaiting others more grievous, I have no solace. But those who consume me with anguish are numberless, and there is no one to lighten my pain and alleviate my sadness by sharing in my grief.

VERS. 22. « And they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. » They made, he says, even the food itself bitter and distressing to me; for even the sweetest food is unpleasing to those who eat with sorrow.

VERS. 23. « Let their table before them be for a snare, and for a retribution, and for a stumbling-block. » Turn, therefore, O Master, their joy into calamities, and let them fall into the things they have done. He called their joy "a table," but their punishments "a snare." For thus also Symmachus interpreted: "Let their table be before them for a snare, and for a punishment, that they might be caught."

VERS. 24. « Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. » Bring upon them the shadowy cloud of calamities. « And bow down their back always. » Condemn them to servitude, O Master, so that they may fall into the things they do, being always bent down ^C under laborious work.

VERS. 25. « Pour out upon them your anger, and let the fury of your wrath overtake them. » Send upon them, he says, all the wrath of punishment, and bring upon them a swift and great calamity. For by "fury" he has declared swiftness; for such is the nature of fury. But by "anger," he has declared perseverance; for such indeed is the nature of anger. For fury is swift and of short duration, but anger is slower indeed, but more lasting. Therefore, he called the swift and persevering punishment "the fury of anger."

VERS. 26. « Let their habitation be made desolate, and in their tents let there be no one to inhabit. » Through all this he asks for a just sentence, and entreats that they be subjected to the things they perpetrated against others. For since the Chaldeans, by plundering Jerusalem and the other cities of Judea, rendered them desolate, he prays ^D that their fatherland might suffer these same things.

^A And he has attained his request; for Babylon has become and remains desolate even until today. However, it should be known that the Jews have suffered the very things they requested the Babylonians to suffer—because they [the Babylonians] had treated them impiously and wickedly—inasmuch as they themselves raged against the Benefactor and Savior. For the Babylonians indeed returned bitter food to them, not by providing them such food, but by taking away the pleasure innate to food through arduous servitude. But the Jews, having suffered no injury, but rather having received every kind of benefit, offered gall and vinegar to the Author of the benefit Himself, like a pernicious vine. Therefore they were subjected to the same punishments, and their table became a snare, and a retribution, and a stumbling-block. ^B For instead of their former prosperity, they were sentenced to slavery; and their eyes were darkened, not being able to see the true Light; and their back has been bowed down continually by servitude and poverty on account of their haughty neck and their stiff neck. And their dwelling place became desolate, and in the tabernacles of Jerusalem no one of them dwells. They were therefore subjected to their own curses; and those things which they, having been wronged, had cursed the Babylonians to suffer, they themselves suffered after having done wrong, and having become ungrateful toward the Benefactor. For this reason the divine apostles also utilized the testimonies from this place, knowing the double meaning of the prophecy. But let us proceed to the subsequent parts of the interpretation.

^C Vers. 27. "For him whom Thou hast smitten, they have persecuted; and they have added to the pain of my wounds." For You, he says, demanding from me the penalties for my transgression, handed me over to these men as if to certain executioners; but they have surrounded me with more evils than You commanded, and they have increased for me the pain that resulted from my sin. The Lord of all reproaches this cruelty of theirs, and says, "I delivered them into thy hands, and thou didst show them no mercy; and thou didst make the yoke of the elder heavy, and didst not pity the younger" (Isa. XLVII, 6).

Vers. 28. "Add iniquity unto their iniquity; and let them not enter into Thy justice." He called the punishment brought on by sin "iniquity," as if to say: Impose upon them, living impiously, a punishment that is deserved, and let them not attain the blessings which You are accustomed to distribute to the just. ^D

^A

VERS. 29. "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the just." This seems to correspond to that: "The ungodly shall not rise again in judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the just." Blessed Daniel does indeed make mention of these books. "For,” he says, "judgment sat, and the books were opened." What he says, however, is this: May these men not be participants in what You grant to those who serve You; nor may they attain the revocation [of their punishment], of which we, he says, shall be made partakers on account of Your loving-kindness.

VERS. 30. "I am poor and sorrowful: Your salvation, O God, has taken me up." From here on, he predicts the ^B change of circumstances, the release from servitude, and the return of the captives; and for this reason the psalm is inscribed "to those who shall be changed." For they experienced two contrary changes. When they had performed penance in Babylon, they received back their former liberty; but afterwards, when they had unleashed their madness against the Lord, they were condemned to extreme servitude. Therefore, the present psalm prophesies both. Moreover, this "I am poor and sorrowful" signifies the following: When You had seen me, he says, in poverty and tried by many sorrows, You deemed me worthy of Your salvation. Therefore—

VERS. 31. "I will praise the name of my God with a canticle, and will magnify Him in praise." I shall not be ungrateful concerning ^C these benefits; but I shall compensate for these graces with hymns, showing the greatness of His benefits towards me to those who are unaware of them.

VERS. 32. "And it shall please my God more than a young calf, that bringeth forth horns and hoofs." A sacrifice of praise will be more pleasing to Him than a young and fat calf, which is just now putting out its hoofs and just now putting out its horns. It is worth lamenting the wickedness of the Jews, who are unwilling to recognize how childish legal worship is: since the captives who were detained in Babylon promised that they would celebrate God with hymns after their return, and not that they would offer sacrifices, for the singing of hymns is more acceptable to God. But let us omit the censure ^D of these people for the present, and proceed to the interpretation.

VERS. 33. "Let the poor see and rejoice." All, he says, who have fallen into similar evils, let them take from us an occasion for good hope. "Seek ye God, and your soul shall live." Furthermore, he exhorted...

in addition to this, he exhorts them to obtain salvation by placing their hope in God and by pouring forth prayers.

^B Ver. 34. *For the Lord hath heard the poor, and hath not despised his prisoners.* For He admitted our prayers when He saw our poverty, and He loosed the bonds of captivity. He has called them "prisoners," because He Himself had delivered them into servitude.

Ver. 35. *Let the heavens and the earth praise him, the sea, and everything that creepeth in them.* "I summon," he says, "the whole world into a communion of hymnody; for human language is not sufficient to explain divine benefits."

Ver. 36. *For God will save Sion, and the cities of Juda shall be built up.* I offer this hymn to Him, seeing Sion illustrious and renowned, and the cities of Judea, which are now desolate, having recovered their former prosperity. Thus, having foretold the renewal of the cities, he also predicts the multitude of their inhabitants: *And they shall dwell there, and shall obtain it by inheritance.* Those, he says, who are now captives, having obtained their return, will both build their own cities and dwell in them; and not they alone, but also their children and their descendants. For this is what he added:

Ver. 37. *And the seed of thy servants shall possess it.* But since they were about to undergo total destruction on account of the frenzy which they had conceived ^C against the Savior, he has rightly placed such an ending on the Psalm: *And they that love thy name shall dwell therein.* "For not all who are descended from Israel," according to the divine Apostle (Rom. ix, 6, 7), "are Israelites; neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children." The words of the prophets also agree with this (cf. Isa. x, 22): *If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved.* The blessed David also said this: *And they that love thy name shall dwell therein.* For after the cross and that frenzy, those dogs were driven out; but those who love Him dwelt in Sion, offering to Him the sacrifice of praise.

Interpretation of Psalm LXIX

Ver. 1. *Unto the end, for David, for a reminder, that the Lord may save me.* This in some copies...

^A I have found; but it is found neither in the Hebrew, nor in the other interpreters. Nevertheless, it is consistent with the sense of the psalm; for the prophet asks for salvation, and deliverance from those who were warring against him. Blessed David uttered this psalm while being pursued by Absalom; and with good reason is "for a reminder" ^B added to the inscription; for the memory of sin stung him more violently than the enemies; therefore he exclaims:

Vers. 2. *O God, be attentive to my help; O Lord, make haste to help me.* Many, says he, and manifold are the calamities by which I am overwhelmed; for this reason I ask that assistance be speedily granted to me.

Vers. 3. *Let them be ashamed and disgraced who seek my soul.* Let those, says he, who are eager for my slaughter, miss their mark, and let them reap shame from this. *Let them be turned back and let them be ashamed, who desire evils for me.* [This means, not only that they should be consigned to the earth, but that those who machinate evils against the pious should depart this life with shame. He says the same also in the following verses.]

Vers. 4. *Let them be turned back at once, ^C blushing, who say to me, Aha, aha.* Furthermore, let those also who rejoice at my misfortunes be turned to flight with shame, upon seeing my change.

Vers. 5. *Let all those who seek Thee, O God, exult and rejoice in Thee; and let those who love Thy salvation always say, Let God be magnified.* The word "Lord" is not in the Hexapla. To all, he says, [there shall be] joy...

fullness, he says, fill all those who love thee, ^A that they may dance while singing of thy benefits.

VERS. 6. "I am poor and needy, O God, help me." As if to say: I am deprived of the righteousness of those spoken of above, and, living in the poverty of virtue, I do not possess the wealth thereof. "Thou art my helper and my deliverer." For I have always obtained thy providence. "O Lord, do not delay." Bring aid as quickly as possible, and do not postpone the petition. [For not only does David supplicate for this, but also the entire chorus of the saints.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXX

^B Psalm of David. Of the sons of Jonadab, and of the first captives. It is without a title among the Hebrews. ^C The one who composed the inscription himself confessed that he did not find it in the Hebrew exemplar, but that he had added it himself. It must be known, however, that the sons of Jonadab were not the first to be taken captive, since the blessed Jeremiah was commanded by God to offer them wine for the sake of rebuking the transgression of the Jews. And when they were unwilling to drink it on account of the commands of their ancestors, the prophet then condemned the perversity of the Jews, because they indeed kept purely human commands, but violated the laws laid down by God. This psalm is spoken in the person of those who were living in exile in Babylon, who longed for their return and desired deliverance from slavery; yet the blessed David wrote it, adapting the words to the order of those who are more pious. [And he especially predicts these things for the sons of grace, who, having been liberated from the detestable dominion of idols, believe in Christ the God and receive his providential care.]

VERS. 1. "In thee, O Lord, have I trusted; let me not be put to shame forever." Do not let me fail, he says, in my hope, while waiting for thy assistance, nor let me be subjected to reproach for too long a time. [They, indeed, offer this supplication concerning those who enslaved them, but these offer it concerning the evil demons.]

VERS. 2. "In thy righteousness, deliver me and rescue me." I beseech thee to judge between me ^D and the Babylonians, and to pronounce a just sentence against them; for thus I shall be liberated from their slavery. To Christ the God, however, they believe and...

^A incline Your ear to me, and save me. [Vers. 3] Be to me a God protector, and a fortified place, that You may save me. For You are my support and my refuge. I have You as a champion, and a fortified wall, and a secure defense: receive therefore graciously my prayers. [As we have said above, these things are spoken by the persons of those also who, from that time until now and throughout their whole life, turn away from evil and cling to good; for this is what he wishes to indicate through what follows.]

Vers. 4. “My God, rescue me from the hand of the sinner, from the hand of the one acting against the law, and the unjust one.” I beseech You, Master, to liberate me from the power of those who live in wickedness and impiety. ^B

Vers. 5. “For You are my patience, O Lord, O Lord, my hope from my youth.” [The first people] call "youth" the time spent under the great Moses, when they enjoyed liberty, having served the Egyptians for a very long time. From that time, he says, I have placed my hopes in You, and I await Your help. [But the new people call "youth" the renewal which it has obtained through the regeneration of the sacred laver.]

Vers. 6. “In You I have been strengthened from the womb: from my mother's belly You are my protector.” He calls the exodus from Egypt a "birth" and a "nativity." And this the God of all teaches through the most holy Ezekiel. For, reproving the impiety of Jerusalem, when he had said: “Your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite,” he added: “On the day you were born, your navel was not cut, and you were not washed in water for salvation, nor salted with salt.” For since the navel is as it were a certain root of the infant, through which it grows and is nourished; Israel, however, even after the exodus from Egypt, had the innate impiety of the Egyptians, he says with reason: “Your navel was not cut;” for, he says, you draw sustenance from the maternal womb, and you persist in your former habits. Therefore, the assembly of the more pious, beseeching God, says: Since of old, and from the beginning, I have fixed my hope in You: “In You is my singing always.” I do not cease to follow You with hymns and praises, and through Your providence I have become illustrious. ^C

Vers. 7. “I have become as a prodigy to many.” But ^D

^A after that splendor I have undergone many changes, so that my circumstances have been regarded by many as a portent and a sign. “And You are my strong helper.” Nevertheless, I await Your help.

Vers. 8. “Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may sing of Your glory, all the day of Your magnificence.” Therefore, having transformed the hardship pressing upon me, rouse my tongue to the singing of hymns, so that I may always offer You the hymn. For Symmachus has said “all the day” as “every day.”

Vers. 9. “Do not cast me away at the time of old age; when my strength fails, do not forsake me.” I beseech You that I may now also enjoy the providence which I enjoyed in my youth, and I pray not to be stripped of Your care in my very old age. For since he called the exodus from Egypt “youth,” he calls the time of captivity “old age,” because a great length of time had passed in between. ^B

Vers. 10, 11. “For my enemies spoke to me, and those who watch my soul took counsel together, saying: God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is no one to rescue.” He says that all the hostile ones trample upon my calamities and wrap me in all kinds of evils, seeing me bereft of Your care, and supposing that I am utterly overlooked and will no longer attain Your providence. For which reason I entreat You. ^C

Vers. 12. “O my God, do not be far from me; O my God, look to my help.” Grant me Your swift support, and do not remove me far from Your care. By being far from him, he does not mean the essence of God—for He is present everywhere and stands by everyone—but rather His providence and the efficacy of His help. ^D

Vers. 13. “Let those who disparage my soul be put to shame and fail.” But Symmachus [puts it] this way: “Let them be put to shame and consumed who oppose my soul.” May they be frustrated in their own attempts, and may they reap the resulting shame; and may they become empty, who prepare for my death. “Let them be covered with confusion and shame...”

^A regarding those who seek ^B evils against me. May they be exposed to reproach and become laughingstocks, those who surround me with all kinds of evils.

VERS. 14. “But I will hope in Thee always.” Seeing these things happening, I shall be strengthened in the hope that is in Thee. “And I will add to all Thy praise.” And I shall offer Thee a manifold hymn.

VERS. 15. “My mouth shall announce Thy justice, all the day Thy salvation.” For I will not cease to declare this justice of Thine, and to teach everyone how, in judging between me and my enemies, Thou didst deliver me from their slavery.

“Because I have not known literature,” ^B [VERS. 16] “I will enter in the power of the Lord.” Symmachus translated it thus: “For I do not know how to number; I will enter in the power of the Lord.” Since he promised to recount the justice of God and the salvation bestowed upon him, and this promise exceeds human capabilities, he rightly added: “Because I do not know how to number.” The blessed David said this also in the thirty-ninth Psalm. For after he said, “Thou hast done many things, O Lord my God, Thy wonders, and there is no one who will be compared to Thee in Thy thoughts,” ^C he added: “I have declared and spoken; they have been multiplied beyond number.” He says the same thing here too: “Because I do not know how to number.” For my nature did not learn such writings and teachings; nevertheless, I will enter into the power of the Lord, and as far as human nature is able, I will perform the hymnody.

“O Lord, I will make mention of Thy justice alone. [VERS. 17] O my God, Thou hast taught me from my youth.” I praise Thee, O Master, and seeing the justice that has been done toward me, and remembering Thy commandments—for these Thou didst teach me from childhood. And from this it is clear that he calls the time of the great Moses “youth.” For through him the Law was given. [As also through the dispensation of the only-begotten Son of God, grace has visited us Gentiles.]

“And unto this time I will announce Thy wonders. [VERS. 18] And unto old age and decrepitude, O God, do not abandon me.” I, for my part, will teach Thy wonders to those who are ignorant of them. But Thou, as from the beginning ^D

^A of my being called, O God, always deem me worthy of Thy care. “Until I declare Thy arm to every generation that is to come.” ^B Prophetically, David foretells what follows; he calls the end of the law “old age.” But this happened after the advent of the Lord Christ. The blessed Paul teaches us more clearly concerning this, when discoursing on the New Testament. He speaks thus: “In that He saith, a new covenant, He hath made the first old; but that which is becoming old and aging is nigh unto vanishing away.” And here, therefore, he prophetically teaches those who were in Babylon to say: “Even unto old age and decrepitude, O God, do not abandon me.” Then, showing what kind of old age he means, he added: ^C “Until I declare Thy arm to every generation that is to come. Thy power, [Vers. 19] and Thy righteousness, O God.” Now the generation to come is that which was after the incarnation of the only-begotten Son of God, after the Church from the Gentiles was formed, having received the holy apostles as heralds from the Jews. Concerning this generation, he also says in the twenty-first psalm: “A generation to come shall be announced to the Lord, and they shall announce His righteousness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord hath made.” ^D Therefore, this is another people besides the people of the Jews, which the Prophet foretold was not born, but would be born. He says, then, even here: “Do not abandon me, until I declare Thy arm to every generation that is to come, Thy power and Thy righteousness.” This seems akin to the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob: “A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved; and he is the expectation of the Gentiles.” — “O God, even unto the highest, what great things Thou hast done for me!” But Aquila and Symmachus [render it] thus: “O God, even unto the height, what great things Thou hast done,” as if to say: “The things done by Thee, O Lord, are sublime and great, and are sufficient to persuade all to name Thee ‘the Most High.’” — “O God, who is like unto Thee?” For there is no one, he says, that can be compared or likened unto Thee. For Thou surpassest all in nature, and in power, and in all good things; hence He foretells the return. ^D [Vers. 20] “How many tribulations, many and grievous, hast Thou shown me, and having turned, Thou didst quicken me.” Having delivered me, he says, to calamities of every kind on account of the sins committed by me, Thou didst bring me back again to life. “And from the abysses of the earth again...”

me. ^A I believe I have obtained a kind of return to life, having been delivered from so many calamities beyond human expectation. [Yet someone might say that these words are also spoken of human nature. For He who descended into the lower parts of the earth brought it up from the abysses of the earth, namely God from God, who for its sake chose even this lot, to be born a man.] God also said this through Ezekiel: “For I will open your graves, and I will bring you out from Babylon”: that is, I will put an end to human despair, and beyond the expectation of the enemies, I will grant you a return.

VERS. 21. “You have multiplied your magnificence, and turning, you have comforted me, and from the abysses of the earth you have brought me up again.” Symmachus [in this way]: “You will increase my magnificence, and you will surround me with consolation.” Others also predicted things in a similar way. For by your care, which you exercise for me, your goodness will be shown.

VERS. 22. “For I also will confess to you among the peoples, Lord.” For I will never cease celebrating your gifts, and teaching those who are ignorant. It is to be noted that he has made mention also in this place of many peoples, who after the incarnation of our Savior, through preachers born of the Jews, have obtained salvation. “With the instruments of the psalm I will celebrate your truth, O God, I will sing to you on the harp, O Holy One of Israel.” I will use the customary instruments, weaving together a song of hymns.

VERS. 23, 24. ^C “My lips will exult when I sing to you, and my soul which you have redeemed. Moreover, my tongue also will meditate on your justice all the day, when those who seek evils for me shall be confused and covered with shame.” He predicts at the same time the slaughter of the Babylonians, which took place under Cyrus king of the Persians, and the recall of the Jews. For once they are overthrown, he says, I will obtain my return; and having obtained this, happy and rejoicing I will dance, celebrating your benefits, and always meditating on your law.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXI

VERS. 1. “For Solomon.” That to Solomon...

this psalm by no means applies, I think even the Jews would admit, if they were willing to speak the truth, and much more so those who are nurtured in the faith. ^A For, in the first place, Solomon did not rule over the ends of the earth, nor did he receive tribute from those inhabiting the west and the east. Furthermore, being a man, having lived for a time commensurate with his nature, he reached the end of his life, and that not a glorious one. But the psalm shows the one being prophesied to be older than the sun and moon. The interpretation of the verses will teach these things more accurately. ^B And the inscription is not inappropriate, but fits the Savior perfectly. For "Solomon" is translated as "peaceable," and the history of Chronicles clearly teaches us this. For God says to David through Nathan: "For Solomon is his name, and I will give peace and rest in his days." And the Lord Christ also possesses this title. And Paul, the great herald of the truth, proclaims: "For he is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of the partition." And the Lord himself says to the holy apostles: "My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you." ^C Therefore, this psalm foretells his kingdom, the peace brought about by him, and the salvation of the nations. And since he is both God and man—one being always, the other assumed for our sake—the prophecy teaches both, saying that he has authority over all things as God, but receives this as man from his own Father. “O God, give your judgment to the king, and your justice to the king's son.” And the Lord Christ is both king and son of a king. Therefore the prophecy calls him both king and son of a king; just as also the patriarch Jacob names him both a lion and a lion's cub: ^D "For a lion's cub, he says, O Judah, from my shoot, my son, you have ascended; lying down you rested as a lion, and as a lion's cub; who shall stir him up?" For he is not only king, but also the son of a king. For as God he was born of God, the King of all, and as man he has the king David as a forefather. To him the prophetic word supplicates that justice be given by God, as to a man. Then he teaches the cause.

^A

VERS. 2. *Judicare populum tuum in justitia, et pauperes tuos in judicio.* For he will deliver those who are held by the poverty of sin from the slavery of the cruel tyrant, judging justly both him and those who are held by him.

VERS. 3. *Suscipiant montes pacem pro populo, et colles justitiam.* This is a personification, showing the transformation of all things. Thus, narrating the exodus of the people, he says: *The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs of the flock.* We see, however, the transformation of the mountains and the hills also; for instead of the impiety that formerly reigned in them, men who have embraced the angelic life enjoy the evangelical justice in them; and acting as ambassadors for men, they manage the divine reconciliations. ^B

VERS. 4. *Judicabit pauperes populi, et salvos faciet filios pauperum, et humiliabit calumniator-em.* Meritedly is the devil called a calumniator, for he slandered even God Himself, saying that out of envy He had forbidden the participation of the tree: and he used the same lies against Job, saying: *Does Job fear God for nothing? For touch, he says, all that he possesses, see if he will not bless thee to thy face.* In the eighth psalm he named him enemy and avenger, but here a calumniator. But the Lord has humbled and overthrown him; while those who were oppressed by him, He has deemed worthy of freedom and salvation. ^C

VERS. 5. *Et permanebit cum sole, et ante lunam generationes generationum.* He who, he says, accomplishes all these things, neither has a beginning of days, to speak with the Apostle, nor an end of life. For he was begotten from the Father before the moon, for generations of generations, that is, pre-existing the creation by infinite generations. But also *he will remain with the sun*; as if to say: He will have a perpetual status; not that the sun has a perpetual status, but not finding another more suitable similarity, and seeing the sun as distinguished, and the Maker of times and days, he compared to it the transformation of affairs from darkness into light. Especially since the Lord Christ Himself is named the Sun of righteousness. ^D

^A Ver. 6. "He shall descend as rain upon a fleece, and as drops that drip upon the earth." Through these words, He clearly indicated to us His human genesis, brought about without noise, and very quietly and mystically. For just as fleece receiving rain creates no sound, and dew-like drops falling upon the earth provide no sensation to the ears, so the Lord’s conception happened; not even the bridegroom who lived with her perceived it. For later, after the conception, having suspected some impropriety, he wanted to send her away secretly; but he learned through an angel that the fruit was heavenly, and not human.

Ver. 7. "Righteousness shall arise in his days." And events bear witness to the words; for human nature, having been delivered from its former impiety, learned piety. But if some of those who have believed do not live according to the evangelical laws, nevertheless they are myriads numbering beyond count, among both soldiers and private citizens, among urban and rural folk, who take great care for virtue. "And an abundance of peace, until the moon is taken away." For in olden times, the local governorships and kingdoms divided among individual nations, vexed by frequent wars, were unable to enjoy the gift of peace. For they spent their lives continuously in arms; and many of the Romans and Greeks recorded these wars. The histories of the Kingdoms and of the Maccabees also teach us how many evils the local governorships brought upon themselves. But after the incarnation of God and our Savior, those things ceased, and one kingdom holds sway over our world, through which the peace prevailing has granted strength to the divine preaching. And "until the moon is taken away" is the same as "throughout the whole time of the present life." For it would be superfluous to speak of the future, in which true peace will always flourish.

^D Ver. 8. "And he shall have dominion from sea even to sea." As if to say, he will rule over all the borders of the world. For since there are great and vast seas beyond the land, which some call Atlantic, or the western and eastern ocean, he reasonably declared that the empire of the world is encircled on all sides by the outer seas. And the following verse has proclaimed this more clearly: "And from the river unto the ends of the world." He calls the Jordan "the river," in which the Lord, having been baptized, was testified to by the Father as being Himself the beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased. From that time forth, says the evangelist... [Note: [original-script column: see facsimile] refers to the Greek text truncation at the footer].

^A he began to preach and to say: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For which reason the prophecy also says that "He shall have dominion from the river unto the ends of the earth." Then he makes this clear in another way as well.

Verses 9, 10. "Before Him shall the Ethiopians fall down, and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tharsis and the isles shall bring presents; the kings of the Arabs and of Saba shall bring gifts." By Tharsis, both the blessed Isaiah and the admirable Ezekiel designate Carthage, the chief city of Libya. Now Saba is a nation of Ethiopia. But the Libyans, who are also called Africans, occupy the western part of the world; the Ethiopians, the eastern and southern parts; the Arabs, the middle continent; while the islanders occupy the regions in the midst of the sea. He says that these will fall down before Him and will offer Him worship as God, and bring gifts as to a king; but that His enemies will be subject to the curses pronounced against the serpent: "Upon thy breast and belly shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life." Now the enemies of God and of our Savior are the most wicked demons, against whom He gave the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions. Since he made mention of three or four nations, and enigmatically indicated the conversion of all nations, he makes his discourse clearer. ^B

Verse 11. "And all the kings of the earth shall worship Him." Some, indeed, in the present life willingly, but all truly after the resurrection. For "not yet," as the divine Apostle says, "do we see all things put in subjection to Him," but then every knee shall bow to Him, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. "All nations shall serve Him." These things correspond with the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob: "For He shall be the expectation of the nations." Moreover, we see the end of the prediction; for there is no nation that has not heard the preaching of the Gospel, but there are in each those who have received the light of the knowledge of God.

Verses 12, 13. "For He hath delivered the poor from the mighty, and the poor who had no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the poor." All shall worship Him, being delivered from the bitter tyranny of the devil. For he called the devil the "mighty one," but the "poor" he called human nature, ^C as it was at that time destitute of God. Furthermore, by His divine laws He restrains those who act as masters, and terrifies them with the threats of Gehenna, and causes them to extend some indulgence toward the poor. For he also added this. ^D

^A

Ver. 14. "He shall redeem their souls from usury and injustice." He called avarice usury; for thus the ancient law also designates it: "Thou shalt not take usury and increase." He will persuade, he says, those who delight in injustice and avarice to practice mercy and kindness. "And his name shall be honorable before them." He will be respected, he says, by all, and glorious.

Ver. 15. "And he shall live, and there shall be given to him of the gold of Arabia." For "Arabia," the other translators have set "Saba." But both predict the gifts offered to him by all, both kings and barbarians. Moreover, he has placed "he shall live" instead of "he shall remain." "And they shall pray for him always, all the day shall they bless him." They shall praise ^B him continually; and they shall also praise his Father, having taken through him [the Son] the occasions for hymnody. For the expression, "they shall pray for him," resembles that apostolic saying: "I thank my God through Jesus Christ," and again: "Through whom we have had access to the Father." Through him, therefore, all will pray to the Father, and will praise him for the goods which have been bestowed upon them through the Son, and will praise him [the Son] as well, inasmuch as they have received these things from him.

Ver. 16. "There shall be a support ^C in the earth on the tops of the mountains." He himself, he says, will support and sustain those who have believed in him, and will show them to be high and lofty, as if standing on the very summits of the mountains. The Lord told his disciples the same thing: "A city cannot be hid that is set on a hill; nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house." "His fruit shall be exalted above Lebanon." Since he mentioned high mountains, he naturally also brought in the memory of Lebanon, as being the highest of all the mountains in Palestine; and he says that his doctrine, and its interpreters and heralds, will be higher and more conspicuous than Lebanon. "And they shall flourish out of the city like ^D the grass of the earth." Those who have believed in him will indeed produce such fruit. But the unbelieving Jews shall be likened to grass that grows and immediately withers.

^A

Interpretation of Psalm 71

Vers. 17. "His name shall be blessed for ever; his name shall remain before the sun." The word "blessed" is not found in any exemplar, neither in the Hexapla nor among the Hebrews. By the words "before the sun," he declares him to be more ancient than the sun and the moon; for he does not remain simply "before the sun," but "for generations of generations." ["But for generations of generations"] he has applied to both the sun and the moon. For the sun and the moon are contemporary, as they were created at the same time. ^B "For he says, 'God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven; and God made the two great lights.'" If, then, he is before the moon for generations of generations, he is also before the sun. "And all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed in him." In this place he commemorates the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For to these three patriarchs God promised that he would bless both all the nations of the earth and the tribes of the earth. He calls the whole human nature by different names. The blessed Paul, interpreting this, said: "Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your seed, which is Christ.'" And indeed, even in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "For nowhere does he take hold of angels." It is about this that the present psalm prophesies, ^C saying that through him all the tribes shall be blessed. "All nations shall call him blessed." The prophetic discourse has spoken these things partly as of man, and partly as of God. We also find the word "blessed" applied to God: "The blessed," he says, "and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in inaccessible light." For he says that all nations name him blessed and worthy of hymns. Then, the Prophet, more clearly teaching his hidden divinity, added: ^D

Vers. 18. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel," the

who alone does wonders. For this very person, he says, who was predicted, and who is to perform the aforementioned miracles, he himself is both the God of Israel and the Lord of all.

^B Verse 19. And blessed be the name of his glory for ever and for ever and ever. Therefore it is fitting that he be celebrated by all. For even if we are ignorant of his nature as something inaccessible, yet we have been taught his saving name. And all the earth shall be filled with his glory. Fiat, fiat. These things which he predicted frequently throughout the whole psalm, he appended even after the prophecy was accomplished, in order to make the prediction more secure. He states, moreover, that he will be manifest in all the earth and known as God and the Lord of all, and that he will receive worship from all, having illuminated them with the rays of his knowledge of God. And the Prophet, having learned this through the grace of the Spirit and being inflamed with longing, prays that it may come to pass, and that the prophecy may obtain its end. Wherefore he also adds, Fiat, fiat; or, according to Aquila, ^C *Faithfully, faithfully*; as if to say: The things which have been predicted are true and not false, and shall altogether receive their end.

The hymns of David, the son of Jesse, are finished.

Interpretation of Psalm LXXII

^D Verse 1. A Psalm of Asaph. We have already said before that some have asserted that this Asaph composed the psalms, while others have said he was a cantor and choir director of those who sing. Others think that David spoke these psalms, and Asaph wrote them down. [But we, as we have often said, believe that all the psalms were written by the blessed David; for in this way the argument of truth really stands.] But let everyone receive these things as they wish; for no harm will spring from this to those receiving it in one way or another. But we, with the divine grace shedding light, will make the meaning of the psalm clear. The people, having been led away captive to Babylon, were surrounded by many and various calamities. Seeing the Babylonians living in impiety and lawlessness, yet in great prosperity and good fortune, and themselves in ill-fortune and hardship, they stirred up thoughts regarding divine providence, pondering and reasoning why the most wicked men are touched by no calamities at all, but enjoy every good fortune, carried along by favorable winds. The grace of the Holy Spirit, foreseeing these things, so that it might provide utility to them and to all

wrote this psalm, and clearly proclaims their reasonings, and offers the solution for the questions raised. The teaching of the psalm is therefore appropriate for all those who are reasoning or speaking of such things; yet it is molded as if it were from those who had returned to their own land, who were relating the agitation of their mind. "How good is God to Israel." He has not put the "how" in a comparative sense, but in order to show the excess of His goodness. He says also that God exercises much care ^B for Israel. "To those who are upright in heart." But not all know this, but those who use sound and healthy thoughts. Having thus praised them, he makes public the agitation of his own thoughts.

VERS. 2. "But my feet were almost moved." I was, therefore, almost carried away from my own path. "My footsteps were almost poured out." But Symmachus translates it thus: "The things that supported me were almost loosened." I was in danger, he says, of falling from sound and firm thoughts, and of suffering a great collapse. For this is what "poured out" signifies, as of something poured out, dissolved, and slipping away. He calls reasonings "feet" and "footsteps" by way of metaphor. Then he reveals the cause.

VERS. 3. "For I was jealous of the wicked, seeing the peace of sinners." For I was inflamed with heat, seeing men living impiously and wickedly ^C in peace and in great prosperity. [We also see now some saying things similar to those against certain people who live in impiety and avarice, and who, as they judge, dominate others with wealth and glory.]

VERS. 4. "For there is no refusal in their death." But Aquila expressed it thus: "There are no pains in their death." Symmachus, however, says: "They did not think about their own death." For, he says, when they were stirred by dangers, they did not despair of themselves. Moreover, "refusal" signifies a denial, because when we wish to deny something, we are accustomed to refuse. "And a firmament in their affliction." Sad things, he says, adhere to them for a very ^D short space of time.

VERS. 5. "They are not in the labor of men, and they shall not be scourged with men." Things, he says, go for them according to their own desire and wish, and they are surrounded neither by labors nor by miseries, nor by chastisements, in the manner of other men.

^A

VERS. 6. "Therefore pride holds them to the end; they are covered with their iniquity and impiety." Hence they were lifted up into pride and arrogance; and since they had not paid the price for their former sins, they slid into even greater lawlessness. For the phrase "they are covered" declared the multitude of their iniquity, as it surrounded them on every side.

VERS. 7. "Their iniquity proceeds as if from fat." By fat, as we have often said, he signifies flourishing and prosperity. He says, therefore, that those who were in such favorable circumstances committed wickedness with great license.

"They passed into the impulse of their heart." [VERS. 8, 9.] "They thought and spoke of wickedness; they spoke of iniquity on high." "They set their mouth against heaven, and their tongue passed through the earth." It did not suffice them ^B to act unjustly against men, but they dared to attack even heaven itself with words and thoughts. By these things he hints at their blasphemies against God, their taunts against the people, and their outrages against the divine temple. And he said this more clearly in the forty-first psalm: "My tears have been my bread day and night, while it is said to me daily: Where is your God?"

VERS. 10. "Therefore my people will return hither, and full days will be found in them." The prophetic word placed these things as if the God of all were speaking, consoling those who were despondent. For, he says, when those men had used blasphemies against God and had subjected us to afflictions, the God and Creator of all decided good things regarding us, promising ^C our return and a life determined by nature. And hence it is clear that the psalm is appropriate for those who had already returned and were recounting the things that happened in Babylon. For he says: "Therefore my people will return hither," that is, to Judea. Living there, therefore, they say "hither." For to those who were in Babylon, this would in no way be appropriate. And he called old age "full days," as if to say: "They will return and will prolong their life even to old age." Thus, after showing the promises of God, he returns again to the account of the blasphemies of the Babylonians and the turbulence of their thoughts. ^D

VERS. 11. "And they said: How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?" Symmachus has interpreted it more clearly: "But these said: How does God know?"

^A For God, he says, promised those things; but they imagined within themselves that God neither observes nor perceives any of the things that are happening. Then, having pointed out their impiety through these things, he brings forward his own thoughts.

VERS. 12. "Behold, these are sinners, and abounding in the world, they have obtained riches." ^B Men living impiously enjoy good things in abundance and have firm prosperity. For by "in the world" he refers to the present life, and he often names human life a "world": "For our world, he says, is in the illumination of your countenance."

VERS. 13. "And I said: Therefore have I justified my heart in vain?" But I, seeing them feasting and puffed up with wealth, was pondering: Is the possession of justice therefore useless? ^C "And I washed my hands among the innocent." I have gained much, he says, by having lived far from those who are addicted to wickedness; for "I washed my hands among the innocent" is the same as: I kept myself innocent and was not a partaker of their evils.

VERS. 14. "And I have been scourged all the day, and my chastisement was in the mornings." Furthermore, although I take care of justice and flee from communion with shameful deeds, I am tortured and afflicted daily with heavy insults.

VERS. 15. "If I said: I will tell thus, behold, you have violated the covenants to the generation of your children." Having abandoned, he says, other thoughts, I pondered this within my own mind: Has God dissolved the covenants which He entered into with us? For "you have violated the covenants" means: Have you transgressed the agreed covenants? But they call themselves "sons," inasmuch as God thus named them: "Israel is my firstborn son." And: "I have begotten and exalted sons."

VERS. 16, 17. "And I imagined to know: this is a labor before me. Until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand their ^D last end." Truly, he says, when I had abandoned those thoughts, I considered that God had afflicted me with many toils and miseries, demanding penalties for sins; but I shall return, and I shall behold His holy temple, and I shall see the evil end of these men. Then, through divine grace, he is taught this.

^A Ver. 18-20. "Nevertheless, because of their deceitfulness, You set evils for them; You cast them down when they were exalted. How have they come to desolation? Suddenly they failed; they perished because of their iniquity. As a dream of those who awake." All these things happened to the Babylonians in the time of Cyrus; for he took those who had led others into slavery and reduced them to slavery, while he granted the Jews their return. With good reason he compared their prosperity to a dream; for the theater of this present life differs in no way from a dream. And this is easy to perceive even from the Babylonians themselves. For those who, a short time before, were acting arrogantly and swelling with pride as if they were masters of the whole world, suddenly lost their power and fell into the extreme of slavery. "O Lord, in Your city You shall bring their image to nothing." ^B An image retains its bloom for a short time. Therefore, he compares the power of the Babylonians—which lasted for only a short time—to an image; this, he says, You will bring to nothing, by exacting penalties for the impiety they practiced against Your city.

Ver. 21. "For my heart was inflamed." These things, he says, I was pondering, being set on fire by their lawlessness; for he took up again his starting point, "For I was jealous of the lawless," and what he there called "jealousy," here he calls an "inflammation of the heart." "And my kidneys were changed." ^C Kidneys, as I have often said, he names for thoughts. I had pious thoughts, he says, but because of their arrogance I almost turned aside from the straight path.

Ver. 22. "And I was brought to nothing, and I did not know." Symmachus has stated this more clearly: "But I was senseless and did not know." ^D I suffered this disorder out of ignorance, not knowing Your judgments. "I was made as a beast of burden before You." [Ver. 23] "And I am always with You." But I will no longer suffer this, nor will I endure to investigate anything or to be presumptuously curious about those things which are administered by Your wisdom; but, like a beast of burden, I will follow Your nods. For thus I shall not be separated from Your providence. For just as a beast of burden follows the one leading it, not curi-

- ^A osely inquiring into its guidance, so, governed by Your grace, I too shall follow, not being overly inquisitive about Your providence. "You held my right hand. [Ver. 24.] And in Your will You led me, and with glory You received me." With these words he tells of what happened concerning the return. As a benevolent father, finding an erring son and taking his right hand, leads him home, so You brought me back to my ancestral land, having liberated me from servitude, and having granted me an easy passage through the nations, and having rendered me glorious and illustrious. ^B Ver. 25. "For what is to me in heaven, and what have I desired from You upon the earth?" Aquila more clearly: "Who is to me in heaven? And with You I have desired nothing on earth." He has used an interrogative, as if to say: "Hope is available to me in heaven." I have waited, he says, and I wait, for You to be benevolent to me in heaven and upon the earth. For neither in heaven do I have any other God and protector besides You, nor do I equate any other to You on earth; but both in heaven and on earth I acknowledge You as God. [It is said especially that these things are from the person of those who, from among the Gentiles, have believed in the Savior; he says, therefore:] "I also embrace Your sovereignty." ^C Ver. 26. "My heart and my flesh have failed." For this reason I desire You, and I thirst for You, both in soul and in body, and I await Your help. "God of my heart, and my portion is God forever." For I have You as my portion, and my inheritance, and the fruit of good things. Ver. 27. "For behold, those who remove themselves from You shall perish: You have destroyed everyone who commits fornication away from You." Those who have made themselves distant from Your care, and have determined to serve idols, shall have destruction as the fruit of their apostasy. For he calls idolatry "fornication" here. So also through Jeremiah, God says: "She went up upon every high mountain, and under every leafy tree, and committed fornication there; and I said, after she had committed fornication in all these things, 'Return to me,' ^D and she did not return." And again: "She committed adultery with wood and stone"; as if to say: "Having abandoned Me, the bridegroom, she worshiped those that are not gods." And here, therefore, he has called the worship of idols fornication. This, however, he said not concerning the Babylonians, but concerning those who, on account of their impiety, had been led away into captivity. For these, having God as their bridegroom, committed fornication, since they [served] the demons.

having taken God as their bridegroom, they played the harlot by embracing the service of demons; but being taught wisdom by experience, they cry out: ^B

Ver. 28. "But it is good for me to cling to God, to place my hope in the Lord." For having taken the test through the very events themselves, I shall be inseparable from the God who has saved me, and I shall be strengthened by the hope placed in Him. "That I may tell of all thy praises, in the gates of the daughter of Sion." For through this hope I have obtained a return, and I proclaim thy wonders in Jerusalem. For he called this "daughter of Sion." Just as he calls human beings "sons of men," so he names Sion "daughter of Sion." Indeed, the city had a twofold name; for the same city is called both Sion and Jerusalem by the divine Scripture.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXIII

Ver. 1. "An instruction of Asaph." The prophetic discourse, prophesying the future total destruction ^C of Jerusalem, commands those who encounter this psalm to attend and understand its meaning. Some, however, have applied the psalm to the events that occurred under Antiochus Epiphanes, neither attending to history nor having accurately understood the prophecy of the psalm. For the psalm speaks of the burning of the divine temple, the destruction of houses, and the complete sacking of the city; but we have not learned from history that these things happened under Antiochus. Nor does it fit the siege of the Babylonians; for they had many prophets at that time: Jeremiah, Uriah the son of Shemaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. But the psalm says: "There is no longer a prophet, and he will know us no more." And if it fits neither the Babylonians nor the Macedonians, it is clear that it foretells the total destruction inflicted upon them ^D by the Romans, after which they obtained no revocation, paying the penalty for the impiety they committed against the Saviour. But it is worth admiring the ineffable goodness of the Master, who, although accurately foreseeing their disobedience, tries to turn them away from their impiety by the prophecy of future evils. The very beginning of the psalm also demonstrates that this is the subject of the prediction. "Why, O God, hast thou cast us off in the end?" For thou didst not, as in the case of the Babylonians, define the servitude for the space of seventy years, nor, as in the case of Antiochus, for seven years and a half, according to the prophecy of Daniel, but thou hast cast us off in the end and condemned us to total destruction. "Thy anger has waxed hot against the sheep of thy pasture." Thou hast had a persistent indignation against thy sheep.

^A Ver. 2. "Remember thy congregation, which thou hast possessed from the beginning." From above and from the beginning thou wast called our God, and we were named thy people, O Lord. "Thou hast redeemed the rod of thy inheritance." For having enjoyed thy help, we were delivered from the slavery of the Egyptians; and the blessed Moses also called them an inheritance. For he says, "The Lord's portion was his people Jacob, and Israel was the line of his inheritance." By "rod" he meant the royal scepter, as if to say: We were thy portion from the beginning, we were called thy lot, and we lived under thy kingdom. Thus also in the forty-fourth Psalm he called the royal scepter a rod. For he says, "A rod of equity is the rod of thy kingdom."

"This Mount Sion, wherein thou hast dwelt." When thou hadst delivered us from the slavery of the Egyptians, thou broughtest us into the land promised to our fathers, and thou didst consecrate Mount Sion to thyself, that thou mightest dwell as if in royal palaces and direct thy people. These things were predicted while as yet the temple in Jerusalem had not been built; for after David and Asaph, Solomon built it.

Ver. 3. "Lift up thy hands against their pride unto the end." Exact from them the penalties for their arrogance. The phrase "Lift up thy hands" he uses as a metaphor taken from those who strike wrongdoers with their hands. The prophetic grace said this, knowing that the enemies were living in impiety. For they did not undertake that war out of love kindled for the Crucified, but in order to subject the world to themselves. God, however, used them as executioners, punishing through them those who had acted impiously.

"How great were the evils the enemy did in thy holy place?" Neither the Hebrew, nor the other translators, nor the Seventy in the Hexapla have put it in the plural number ("in the holy places"), but in the singular, "in thy holy place," so that it is manifest that those who say these things are speaking of the temple, lamenting and bewailing the things that were done by them against the temple. And the following verses harmonize with this meaning.

^C Ver. 4. "And they boasted who hate thee in the midst of thy solemnity." For on the solemn day of the Passover, with all the people gathered according to the law, Titus brought up his army and besieged their metropolis, ^D and punished them with the destruction that befell them. For because they had condemned to the punishment of the cross the heavenly Shepherd who once, among their ancestors, had performed the office of shepherd, He delivered them to slaughter by a just judgment.

^A "They set their signs as signs." [v. 5.] "And they did not know as in the exit above." The trophies, he says, which are signs and marks of victory, they raised above our gates, making the victory known to all those who came after. Pilate also brought the imperial standards into the city against the law, and the emperors of the Romans carved the head of a boar into the stones of the gate. Through all these things they learned that they had become destitute of divine providence. The Lord also foretold these things in the holy Gospels: "When you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

"As in a thicket of wood they cut down with axes." [v. 6.] "Its doors together; they broke it down with a hatchet and chisel." ^B Using woodcutting and builder's tools, they both tore down the enclosures and broke up the doors of the houses, destroying those things that were well and beautifully crafted just as one would a tree.

"They burned Your sanctuary with fire to the ground; they profaned the tabernacle of Your name." It did not suffice for them to plunder other buildings, but they extended their madness even against the temple consecrated to You; and some things they delivered to the fire, while others they tore down with their hands, treating holy things as if they were common.

v. 8, 9. "They said in their heart, their relations all at once, Come, let us abolish all the festivals of God from the earth. We have not seen our signs, there is no longer a prophet, and He will not know us anymore." ^C Coming against us with much agreement, they had one goal: to destroy the law given by You. For through the festivals He manifested the manner of life according to the law. These things, he says, they dared to do, neither seeing the miracles that occurred during the time of our ancestors, nor being convicted by prophetic grace. For they were suddenly left destitute of all these things. For they had many prophets even after the return: Haggai, Zechariah,

^A Malachi, and the elders of these, who prophesied things to come to both the people and the kings, and rendered the plots of the enemies manifest. And this is easy to learn from history.

VERS. 10. “How long, O God, shall the enemy reproach? Shall the adversary provoke thy name to the end?” How long do you deliver us to the iniquities of these men, and bear their blasphemous words with patience?

VERS. 11. “Why do you avert your hand, and your right hand from the midst of your bosom to the end?” The bosom of God is the treasury of good things; the hand, however, is His operation. Why do you not, according to your custom, provide good things, but withdraw your hand from your bosom? He sets this forth according to a metaphor taken from those who have a full bosom, and although asked to give, they are not willing to do so, but draw their hand backward.

VERS. 12. “But God is our king before the ages.” Although we have known you as King from above and from the beginning, and as from a king we always receive benefits. “He wrought salvation in the midst of the earth.” Assuredly you have made the care you take of us clear to all. For “in the midst of the earth,” he set for that which is “in the sight of all.” ^B

VERS. 13. “You established the sea in your power.” For when we were fleeing from the Egyptians, and were prevented from crossing by the sea, you granted that paradoxical path, having made the fluid nature solid, and having built up walls on both sides through the waves of the water. “You crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water. [VERS. 14.] You crushed the head of the dragon.” By dragons he calls the Egyptians, and by the heads of the dragons, their leaders, and tribunes, and prefects. But the dragon named in the singular, he refers to Pharaoh, who presided over many rulers. [He also refers to the devil, whom the Lawgiver bound and brought to nothing by the voluntary death He accepted for us.] Therefore he also said that he had many heads. But these, he says, you have all brought down under the water; and the sea which you made firm for us, and which you had solidified, you let loose upon them, and with its waves you ^C

^A overwhelmed them. "You gave him as food to the peoples of the Ethiopians." The Ethiopians, being neighbors of the Egyptians, were often at war with them; but when Pharaoh with his army had been delivered to the sea, the Egyptians thereafter became easily overpowered by the Ethiopians; and just as the hungry man consumes his food easily, so they overcame them with great ease. Therefore the prophetic word says: "You gave him as food to the peoples of the Ethiopians," meaning that you rendered them easily captured, having arranged for them to be devoured with ease by the Ethiopians.

^B VERSE 15. "You tore apart fountains and torrents." The Hebrew model and other interpreters read "fountain." Whether we say "fountain" or "fountains," we will not wander from the truth. For the prophetic word calls the water that flowed from the rock a "fountain," but this, being divided, made many channels, so that all those many thousands could easily enjoy the streams. We find that this happened not once, but twice. The Book of Exodus teaches the one, and the Book of Numbers the other. He rightly named the rock that gushed forth the currents of water a "fountain." He called them "torrents" again, as not flowing according to nature, but having been gushed forth for the first time then. For just as a torrent is not perennial, but consists of rainwater, so that water was given by divine instruction. "You have dried up the rivers of Etham." But Symmachus says thus: "You have dried up the ancient rivers." For the rivers that were not, nor flowed from the beginning, you commanded to gush forth in the desert. But those that had long flowed, and had an ancient course, you caused to cease from their running because you so willed. He says this also in another psalm: "He turned rivers into a desert, and exits of waters into a thirsty ground; a fruitful land into saltiness, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turned a desert into pools of water, and a dry land into exits of waters, and established the hungry there." For He dried up the rivers of the Sodomites and Gomorrahites and other neighbors because of the lawlessness of the inhabitants. But to the dry land He gave the streams from the rock, offering the water to the thirsty people. For it is easy for Him, as He wills, to change the nature of the waters. Through this, therefore, the word also declares another thing: that God would not provide the streams of the prophetic rivers to the Jews because of their lawlessness, but that He would irrigate the nations, which were formerly deserted, with the rivulets from the rock. And the rock, as the divine Apostle says, is Christ. And all these

^A things mentioned from the words, "He has worked salvation in the midst of the earth," contain the figure of our benefits. For there, liberation from slavery was accomplished through waters, and here, the beginning of freedom is through waters. There, the heads of dragons were crushed in the waters, and here, the powers of the demons are abolished by the grace of baptism. Those, after the sea, became easily overcome by the Ethiopians, and our enemies, after the holy laver, became easily overcome by those who formerly possessed black souls. It is easy for those who wish to pay attention to see the other things as well, corresponding to these. [There is a rod, here a cross; there Moses, here the high priests; there the sea, here the sacred laver; there twelve springs, here twelve apostles; there seventy stalks, here seventy books.] But let us proceed to the remaining interpretation.

VERSES 16, 17. "Yours is the day, and Yours is the night; You have fashioned the dawn and the sun. You have made all the boundaries of the earth; summer and spring You have formed them."

VERSE 18. "Be mindful of this."

VERSE 19. "Do not deliver to the wild beasts the soul that confesses to You."

consubstantial]. He calls them "beasts," [not only] the cruelty of the enemies, [but also those who reject the One crucified and do not confess Him to be God, as it has been said]. "O do not forget the souls of Thy poor forever." And poor may they be who are humble in mind. "For blessed [as the Lord Himself says in the Gospels] are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." ^B

VER. 20. "Look toward the covenant of Thy servants, because those who are darkened have been filled with the houses of iniquities of the earth." For those who do not enjoy Thy brightness, but [with the Jews blaspheme Thee with a foul mouth and do not confess Thee to be the Sun of righteousness, and] who love the darkness of ignorance, have houses filled with iniquity and with the punishment that issues from it; that is to say, they have been delivered to all kinds of evils, because they chose darkness. ^C

VER. 21. "Let not the humble one be turned away ashamed." We entreat that we may not be frustrated in our request, nor sent away with ignominy. "The poor and needy shall praise Thy name." And those who beg for Thy help and have obtained it, are accustomed to offer Thee a hymn.

VER. 22. "Arise, O God, judge Thy cause. Remember the reproach of Thee, which is by the foolish the whole day." He has changed the pronoun very fittingly; he did not say "my cause," but "Thy cause." For I, he says, have endured these things justly; but those men have dared many blasphemies against Thee [the ones by crucifying You, and others even after the cross and baptism by rejecting You]. ^D

VER. 23. "Do not forget the voice of Thy suppliants; the pride of those who hate Thee has ascended continually." And here they have yoked the arrogance of the enemies to their own person, not for their own sake, but asking that they might be deemed worthy of some mercy for the sake of those others.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXIV

VER. 1. "In the end, do not destroy: A Psalm of Asaph."

Symmachus, however, renders it: "A triumphal song regarding immortality, a Psalm of Asaph." Since the Psalm contains a prediction of God's righteous judgment and foretells both the destruction of the workers of iniquity and the good rewards of the lovers of virtue, the discourse very reasonably exhorts us through the inscription not to lose our pious thoughts, but to keep them whole, so that we may attain the inheritance of immortality. Indeed, this Psalm also is spoken in the person of the captives who were in Babylon, who promise to praise God if they should attain divine grace. ^A

VERS. 2. "We will confess to you, O God; we will confess to you, and we will call upon your name." From this it is clear that they say these things not having yet obtained their return. They promise to pursue God with praises and to be made illustrious by his august name. For "We will call upon your name" signifies: We shall again be called by your name, and we shall be named your people.

"I will tell of all your wonders. When I take a time." Aquila and Symmachus render it thus: "When I take the synagogue." "When," he says, "we shall have returned and are gathered into your holy temple, then we shall legally praise you and teach your benefactions to those who are ignorant; for that time will permit us to do this. For now we cry out: 'How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?'" After the prophetic discourse has thus taught what it was fitting for the captives in Babylon to say—and instructed those who by repentance return to the Savior of all—it presents God answering to the promises made and saying: "I will judge justice." Justly, he says, will I pass judgment upon you and the Babylonians. ^B

VERS. 4. "The earth melted, and all who dwell in it." For I am the judge of the whole world, and I will visit all with fitting punishments. "I have established its pillars." I can do all things, as one who is the Maker of all. For I made the earth and founded it, bracing it with my own boundaries as if with certain pillars. For I have set a precept, and it shall not pass away. ^C

*(Note: The section "VARIE LECTIONES ET NOTÆ" consists of critical notes on the Greek text and variants, which are suppressed by instruction.)* ^D

precept, and it shall not pass away. Therefore, even though I am a judge, I do *not* wish to punish; instead, I proclaim the punishments, in order to make the sinners more prudent by means of the threat. Furthermore, I exhort and advise that they should loathe every form of iniquity and take care to maintain a just and moderate mind; for He taught these things through the words that follow.

^A 5. "I said to the transgressors, Do not transgress; and to the sinners, Do not lift up the horn." For this is the most grievous affliction of all: not only to sin, but also to boast in it.

6. "Do not lift up your horn on high." He then demonstrates which "height" He signifies: "And do not speak iniquity against God." For horned animals greatly pride themselves on their horns. The divine word, therefore, advises them not to increase their iniquity with arrogance, nor to move their tongues against God.

^B 7, 8. "For neither from the exits, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains. For God is the judge." He calls the sunrise the "exits," as does the fifth edition; and "desert mountains" are the northern and southern regions. For these have remained completely uninhabitable on account of excessive cold and heat. He teaches, therefore, that it is impossible for anyone to escape the judgment of God. For whether one has traveled to the eastern parts, or the western, or attempts to flee to the southern or to the northern, he is subject to the divine decree. Then he teaches that ^C the vicissitudes of life come about by the will of God: "He brings low one, and lifts up another."

9. "For a cup is in the hand of the Lord, of unmixed wine, full of mixture, and He has inclined it from this to that." Concerning this cup, the prophecy of the admirable Jeremiah also teaches. For he is commanded by the God of the universe to take it and to give a drink to Jerusalem, and to the leaders, and to the neighboring nations. He calls the punishment "wine," inasmuch as it, like drunkenness, takes away strength and dissolves the harmony of the limbs. The prophetic word says, therefore, that the righteous judge brings punishment, sometimes to us, sometimes to them; and now He lifts up one, and brings low another, and again transfers ^D the height to others, and reverses calamities, and changes prosperities. The captives in Babylon did not learn to say these things just lightly, but were instructed beforehand in both the servitude of the Babylonians and their own freedom. For

Cyrus not long after overturned their power, and restored to them their former liberty. ^A "But the dregs thereof are not drained out; all the sinners of the earth shall drink." He called the more grievous punishment the dregs. I indeed, he says, drank the clearer part, that is, I was subjected to lesser evils; but the Babylonians shall drink the very dregs themselves, that is, they shall suffer things more grievous than those which they wrought; for I, having served for seventy years, have obtained a return, but they shall be delivered over to perpetual servitude.

VERS. 10. "But I will declare for ever; I will sing to the God of Jacob." For just as when we were drinking, they mocked at our evils, so shall we, beholding their punishment, offer hymns of praise to God; not mocking them, but being grateful for the benefits received. ^B

VERS. 11. "And all the horns of sinners I will break, and the horn of the righteous shall be exalted." For by these words they were forewarned that they would also defeat those enemies by whom they would be harassed in war after their return. For this reason therefore He said, "all the horns of sinners," because, having been gathered from various nations, they undertook war against them. Of these, the prophecy of Ezekiel also makes mention, and moreover that of Micah, and that of Zechariah; by the overthrow of whom they became illustrious and renowned, as having achieved such a victory. But by the "horn of the righteous" he meant a pious frame of mind. But if any one should desire to understand by this the righteous man mentioned here, namely Zerubbabel, by whose ministry God brought about that victory, he will not wander from the truth. ^C

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXV

VERS. 1. "Unto the end, in hymns; a psalm of Asaph, a song unto the Assyrian." I did not find the addition "unto the Assyrian" in the Hexapla, but in some copies. This psalm, however, has this theme: for it foretells the things that happened under Sennacherib, and the punishment inflicted upon his army.

VERS. 2. "God is known in Judæa, His name is great in Israel." For when in one night so many tens of thousands had received a lethal blow by the angel, He was made manifest to all ^D

^A as the God of the universe, greatly concerned for Israel and making His own manifestation in Judæa.

VERS. 3. "And His place was made in peace, and His habitation in Zion." For the multitude having been destroyed, those who remained fled, having become messengers of the divine power. For this reason, along with others, they were not destroyed. Henceforth the city enjoyed peace, and all supposed that God truly took pleasure in dwelling in Zion. He then teaches how God is known in Judæa.

VERS. 4. "There He broke the strengths of the bows, the weapon, and the sword, and the war." Before the ramparts of the city, he says, by destroying the heavy-armed soldiers, both the archers and the shield-bearers ^B at the same time, He rendered their weapons entirely useless.

VERS. 5. "You illuminate wonderfully from the eternal mountains." Symmachus says thus: "You are manifest, immense, from the mountains of the hunt." For in our mountains, when You had delivered the enemies to the prey of death, You were shown immense and manifest to all ^C. For You illuminate the ignorant by the miracle, and You teach them who You are.

VERS. 6. "All the foolish of heart were troubled; they slept their sleep, and found nothing." For having used greater pride against You, they suffered a sudden tumult on account of the folly of their soul, and supposing they were sleeping securely, they were deceived in their hope. For death succeeded sleep. This also history teaches, that when they arose ^D they found all the bodies dead. "All the men of wealth in their hands." Symmachus edited it thus: "All the men strong in their hands." Nothing, he says, did the strength of their hands aid them, by which they expected to seize the wealth of all. And teaching why they were in no way aided by it, he added:

VERS. 7. "Through Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, they who mounted the horses slumbered." You nodded, he says, and immediately they fell who boasted that they knew the equestrian art. But by "slumbered" he declared the ease of death. For just as a man nodding, if he wishes, easily sleeps, so they received a sudden end to life.

VERS. 8. "You are terrible, and who will stand against You?" For who is capable of standing against You, and of escaping the punishment brought by You? "From then Your wrath."

when you had heard the blasphemies, you could have punished those scoundrels, but you were long-suffering, awaiting their conversion.

^A VERS. 9. "You caused judgment to be heard from heaven." From above, he says, you deliver your verdicts against whom you wish. As for the phrase "caused to be heard," Symmachus phrased it, "you will make it heardable."

"The earth feared, and was still, [VERS. 10] when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth." They were all filled with fear, he says, and they ceased their attack against us, seeing you as a kind of judge who had passed sentence against them, while those who used right thoughts and proclaimed your help had attained salvation.

VERS. 11. "For the thought of man shall confess to you, and the remnant of the thought shall keep a festival for you." Having attained these good things, we dedicate our thoughts to the singing of hymns, not diverting even the smallest part of them to any other care.

VERS. 12. "Vow, and pay to the Lord our God." They encourage one another both to promise gifts and to fulfill the vows. For it is shameful and full of ingratitude if the neighbors do this out of fear, while those who have obtained the benefit suffer from the disease of ingratitude. For he showed this through what follows.

^B "All who are round about him shall bring gifts to the terrible one, [VERS. 13] and to him who takes away the spirit of princes, the terrible one among the kings of the earth." They shall bring gifts, having been struck with terror by the wonders that occurred, and having learned through the events that he truly is God, who brings death upon those who are in power and who suppose they rule the earth.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXVI

VERS. 1. "Unto the end, for Idithum, a Psalm for Asaph." Symmachus says "by Idithum." To him also a choir of those praising God had been entrusted. Therefore, Asaph either spoke this psalm himself, or he served the prophecy of David. For to decide about doubtful questions is not without danger. He predicts the Israelite people who were forced to serve in Babylon, and the conflicting movements of their thoughts, and the sorrows that arose from these. He teaches also what manner of prayer it was fitting for them to offer to God, requesting deliverance from their evils. ^C He structured the psalm as though they were narrating these very things after their return, and celebrating God with praises. ^D

^A Ver. 2. "I cried to the Lord with my voice, with my voice to God, and he gave heed to me." I offered my prayer, he says, with diligence, and I quickly obtained my request. Then he teaches the time for these things.

Ver. 3. "In the day of my tribulation I sought out God." For since I was struck by pains, I sought out divine aid with diligence; for "I sought out" hints at earnest prayer. Then he shows the manner of his supplication. "With my hands by night before him, and I was not deceived." But Symmachus says thus: "My hand has been stretched out all night." Passing the night in quiet, I stretched out my hands, entreating to obtain loving-kindness, and I did not fail in my hope. For this is what "I was not deceived" signifies, as if he were to say: I did not keep watch in vain, but gathered the fruit of my prayer. ^B

"My soul refused to be comforted. [Ver. 4] I remembered God, and I was delighted." I cast aside every cause for consolation, and I had as my only consolation the memory of God. "I meditated, and my spirit fainted away." But Symmachus says thus: "I was talking to myself, and I was fainting in spirit." Continually conversing with myself, and pondering the evils that contained me, I despaired of being freed from them, and I received the sharp stings of despondency.

Ver. 5. "My eyes have anticipated the watches." By watches he calls the divisions of the night, according to which the guards hand over the watch to one another. By these words he declares that he stayed awake through the entire night. "I was troubled, and I did not speak." The same people said these things also in the forty-first psalm: ^C"My soul was troubled within me." For I did not endure to reveal my thoughts to others.

Ver. 6, 7. "I have thought on ancient days, and I have remembered eternal years. And I meditated." I was renewing, he says, the memory of your former benefits, and I was mindful of how many benefits our ancestors had received from you: how they were delivered from the slavery of the Egyptians, how they crossed the Red Sea, how they obtained the land promised to the fathers. "By night I meditated with my heart, and my spirit was searching." And concerning the word "was searching," Theodotion said "investigated," while Aquila said "it dug" and "it carved." These things, he says, I was pondering with myself by night, ^D and I was investigating why, concerning our...

ancestors, He showed such providence, but while we our ^A suffering misfortunes He overlooks? And I was pondering in addition to these things also the following:

VERS. 8, 9. "Will the Lord reject us forever, and will He not be pleased again? Or will He cut off His mercy at the end?" Did He then completely reject our affairs and make us alien to His own ^B care? "He has brought to an end the word from generation to generation." Now Symmachus says it this way: "He has finished the saying regarding every generation." But I was also afraid of this, he says, because knowing beforehand that which was to happen to each generation, He brings forth fixed bounds for each generation.

VERS. 10. "Will God forget to be merciful? Or will He restrain His compassions in His anger?" But again I was comforting myself by reasoning that the merciful God ^C will not allow our affairs to be consigned to oblivion, as it were, and like a wall, restrain the fountains of mercy with anger.

VERS. 11. "And I said, Now I have begun; this is the change of the right hand of the Most High." I, he says, became the mediator of such a change for myself; I, through sin, brought forth the punishment: therefore I hold the beginning of evils. Now I have begun to be disciplined by the right hand of the Most High, which, instead of former ^D benefits, brings on the left-handed punishments. For he called the punishment a change of God's right hand, since the right hand of the Most High is accustomed to provide good things. But not even these thoughts sufficed for me. I reminded myself, however, of the goodness of the Master. For He says this:

VERS. 12, 13. "I have remembered the works of the Lord, for I will remember from the beginning Thy wonders. And I will meditate on all Thy works, and I will exercise myself in Thy doings." For all the wonders which from the beginning Thou hast wrought for our sake, I will bring into the midst, and, by continually meditating upon them, I will not cast away better hopes.

VERS. 14. "O God, in the holy one is Thy way." Now Symmachus puts it this way: "O God, in sanctification is Thy way"; but Aquila, "In the sanctified." Thou art holy, he says, and in the holy one Thou restest, and in these Thou dwellest and walkest about.

"What God is great like our God? [VERS. 15.] Thou art the God who workest wonders alone." Thou surpassest all, O Master; for Thou alone workest wonders whatsoever Thou willest.

^A "Thou hast made Thy power known among the peoples." [VERS. 16] "Thou hast redeemed with Thine arm Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph." Thou hast demonstrated Thy power to all men, delivering from the servitude of the Egyptians the people who is called Thine, who had Jacob as their forefather, and who became illustrious through their kinship with Joseph.

[VERS. 17, 18] "The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee, and they feared; the abysses were troubled. A multitude of the sound of waters." In all these things, O Master, Thou hast shown Thy power. Thou didst scourge the Egyptians, Thou didst deliver Thy people, Thou didst appear in the sea, and the ocean was divided, and the flowing nature stood fast on either side.

"The clouds gave forth a voice; for Thine arrows pass on." ^B [VERS. 19] "The voice of Thy thunder in the wheel." Symmachus says it this way: "The ether gave a sound." For when a violent South wind was blowing, as history relates, the sea was divided; but as the air was being buffeted and the clouds were gathering, the wind is born. Thy punishments, he says, went forth against Thine enemies like arrows; but by the crashing of the thunder Thou didst obstruct the wheels of the chariots of the Egyptians. And history also teaches this: "And it came to pass in the morning watch, that the Lord looked upon the camp of the Egyptians, and bound the axles of their chariots, and drove them with violence." ^C "Thy lightnings shone upon the world." For the light of these miracles ran throughout the whole world like lightning. "The earth was shaken and became trembling." All were filled with fear when they heard of Thy power. This is what Rahab the harlot also said to the spies: "Your fear and your terror fell upon us; for we have heard how the Lord your God divided the Red Sea before you."

[VERS. 20] "Thy way is in the sea, and Thy paths in many waters, and Thy footsteps shall not be known." It is easy for Thee both to divide the sea and to be borne upon many waters, and to leave not even a footprint; for Thou hast an incorporeal nature. ^D Yet he has added these things to what was said above. For he says, Thou wast a leader of the people seen by no one, nor didst Thou show us a footprint of Thy path.

[VERS. 21] "Thou didst lead Thy people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron." For employing them as ministers, and speaking through them, Thou didst lead Thy people and taught Thy law. Of all these things they made mention, stirring up the God of all to mercy, and beseeching that they might be deemed worthy of the same protection.

^A

Interpretation of Psalm LXXVII

VER. 1. "Prudence of Asaph." When the God of the universe had given the ancient law to the sons of Israel, He commanded them to learn it continuously, and to teach their children; and also to reveal to their descendants the reasons for the feast days, so that by learning of the divine benefits, they might become grateful to the Giver of such things. ^B For He says: "You shall teach these things to your sons, and to the sons of your sons, and they shall keep the commandments of the Lord God, that it may be well with them." The prophetic grace has accomplished this also through the psalm before us; for it reminds the people, and their descendants, both of the things wrought by God, and of the benefits provided, and of the ungrateful disposition of those who received these things. "Attend, O my people, to my law." I charge you to listen carefully to what is said; for I am setting before you this exhortation as if it were a kind of law. "Incline your ear to the words of my mouth." Listen eagerly to the things spoken by me.

VER. 2. "I will open my mouth in parables; I will speak puzzles from the beginning." Since He was making an accusation against the fathers for the benefit of their children, He called such a narrative a parable, being as it were enigmatic and containing a hidden benefit. He added, however, that He was offering ancient puzzles. And teaching where He had learned these things, He added:

VER. 3. "As many things as we heard and knew them." Then He pointed out the teachers of these things.

"And our fathers told us." [VER. 4] "They were not hidden from their children to another generation, declaring the praises of the Lord, and His powers, and His wonders that He wrought." From above, he says, and from the beginning, the eyewitnesses of the wonders taught these things to their own children, and they in turn passed on this teaching to their descendants. ^C This, indeed, ^D [the rest of the commentary, printed in the 'Various Readings and Notes' section, continues:]

[Various Readings and Notes] In the Florentine codex, described by the celebrated Bandini in the *Catalogue of Greek Manuscripts of the Mediceo-Laurenziana Library*, vol. I, p. 54ff, this preface exists: In the same way David, to show that those who had departed from God were the authors of their own calamity, narrates how the Jews in the desert could hardly prevail upon themselves to believe, but contradicted God. But he also expounds, though more briefly, the miracles; yet not all, nor in order, but without fixed sequence, and as many and in whatever way they occurred to his mind. For he did not intend to act as a historian, but to brand the ungrateful mind of the Jews in memory. He begins his discourse in a royal manner, calling his subjects "his people," and ordering them to attend to the law he had given, or "arguments," as Symmachus has it. For he puts forth this admonition resembling a law. And thus they were held by the ancient law, not to hide the benefits received from God, but to tell them to their own, none excepted, so that the memory of the benefits which had occurred to them might pass to all generations.

[they sent] them. This, he says, they did, obeying the divine law. For he adds: ^A

VERS. 5. "And he raised a testimony in Jacob, and set a law in Israel." He calls the tabernacle erected in the wilderness a testimony, as having the tables of the testimony. For the law, as we have already said, he also calls commandments, and testimonies, and judgments, and justifications; and this has been more clearly stated by us in Psalm XVIII. "Whatsoever he commanded our fathers, to make them known to their children." This, he says, he enjoined through that legislation, so that as a kind of heritage, the parents might transmit the account of the miracles to their descendants.

VERS. 6. "That another generation might know, the children who shall be born and arise, and shall tell them to their children." For thus, having learned these things from their parents, they would in turn offer the same instruction to their children, and the memory of them would be kept eternal. And what is the fruit of this instruction? ^B

VERS. 7. "That they might place their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, and might seek out his commandments." For learning the power of God, and how easily all good things are done by him, they will conceive a firm hope in him, and will follow the laws established by him.

VERS. 8. "That they might not become as their fathers, a perverse and provoking generation." For by learning the ungrateful disposition of their fathers, and how they often provoked God to anger by the transgression of the law, they will guard themselves against imitating them. "A generation that did not direct its heart, and whose spirit was not faithful with God." For they did not possess a firm faith in God, not desiring to walk in the straight path, but instead having a mind opposed to divine decrees. ^C

VERS. 9. "The sons of Ephraim, straining and shooting with bows, turned back in the day of battle." He accuses the tribe of Ephraim specifically, in that it was among the most devoted to the worship of idols. For the history of the Judges teaches us this, as does the third book of Kings. For they set up the calves, and caused the nine tribes to fall away from the worship according to the law, and thus were the authors of the defection. Perceiving this, the grace of the Spirit, which foresees all things, rebukes their sins, which were not yet committed, offering them appropriate counsel—knowing indeed that they would not accept the exhortation, yet nevertheless offering the fitting profit. And having taught of their strength and skill in archery, he also rebukes their cowardice. ^D

They turned back ^A in the day of battle; for thinking great things of their military experience, when war appeared they turned to flight.

VERS. 10. «Non custodierunt testamentum Dei, et in lege ejus noluerunt ambulare.» He rightly demonstrated the free will of the mind. They were unwilling, he says, to live according to the law, nor to embrace the legal way of life.

VERS. 11. «Et obliti sunt benefactorum, et mirabilium ejus, quæ ostendit eis.» And showing when he did these things, he subjoined:

VERS. 12. «Coram patribus eorum fecit mirabilia.» Then he indicates the time and place: «In terra Ægypti, in campo Taneos.» All these miracles of God wrought in Egypt, of which their fathers were spectators, they have blotted out from memory. ^B

VERS. 13. «Perrupit mare, et perduxit eos: statuit aquas quasi utrem.» He institutes the narration of the miracles briefly, and starting from the greatest. For the miracle of the sea and the passage granted through it is supernatural. For the nature of the waters, which by its own nature flows downward, the God of all held fast on either side, confining them by his word as if in a wine-skin. For since the texture of wine-skins is able to contain the liquid nature precisely, he fittingly placed this image upon the divided sea, showing the power of the divine word. ^C

VERS. 14. «Et eduxit eos in nube interdiu, et tota nocte in illuminatione ignis.» For the very same cloud by day repelled the annoyance of the sun's rays, while by night it provided the utility of fire.

VERS. 15. «Dirupit petram in deserto, et aqua potavit eos velut abysso multa.» For he did not bring forth a small pool, but a spring sufficient for those many myriads. And he taught this more clearly through what follows.

VERS. 16. «Et eduxit aquam e petra, et eduxit tanquam flumina aquas.» For the water which gushed forth was divided into many channels, providing easy and abundant grace to the thirsty. ^D

VERS. 17, 18. «Et perstiterunt adhuc in peccatis, ad iram incitaverunt Excelsum in terra sicca. Et tentaverunt Deum in cordibus suis, ut peterent escas animabus suis.» But yet not even this drove the wickedness from their mind, but they remained suffering from the disease of an ungrateful spirit; and after so many miracles they wished to put the divine power to the test, and being in need of food, they did not seek to receive what was necessary, but accused God of impotence.

^A *Vers. 19, 20. And they spoke against God, and said: "Will God be able to prepare a table in the wilderness? There he struck the rock, and the waters flowed, and the torrents were flooded; can he also give bread, or prepare a table for his people?"* It was easy, he says, and a light matter, the affair of the waters; for the water, hidden in the chasms of the earth, was brought forth to the surface. But the nourishment of bread, which is sown and grows over time, how could he provide it for us all at once, and drive away the famine that hangs over us?

^B *Vers. 21. Therefore the Lord heard, and put it off; and fire was kindled in Jacob, and anger came up against Israel.* For this reason, he says, the Lord of all, having been indignant, delayed giving them the land promised to their fathers, and surrendered them to various punishments. Yet he did not bring upon them a swift destruction, waiting for their children to be multiplied. Furthermore, the writings of the blessed Moses make mention of this punishment inflicted by fire. This plague, he says, they suffered,

*Vers. 22. Because they did not believe in God, nor did they trust in his salvation.* And yet, even though they were such as this, he provided them with untillable food; for this is what the following verses teach.

^C *Vers. 23, 24. And he commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat.* For the clouds did not provide the usual births; rather, instead of the rain which by nature is disposed to irrigate the seeds that have been sown, they brought forth that marvelous food. And he called the opening of the doors of heaven the provision made from above. For since we are accustomed to put doors on storerooms, and we open these when we wish to take something out, the prophetic word shows the God of all, as it were from certain storerooms, dispensing the manna.

*And he gave them the bread of heaven. [Vers. 25] Man ate the bread of angels.* He calls it the bread of angels, as if it were provided through ^D angels; for angels, as we have been taught by the divine Scripture, serve the divine nods of God. And the divine Apostle speaks thus: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" And again: "For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast," and so forth. And he calls it bread of heaven as having been brought from above. For the divine Scripture even calls the birds that fly through the air "fowls of heaven." "He sent them provisions to fullness." To satiety, he says, he imparted this food to them. Then he also recounts the provision of meat.

^A VERS. 28-30. "And they fell in the midst of their camp, round about their tabernacles; and they did eat and were filled exceedingly, and he brought them their desire. They were not defrauded of their desire." They obtained, he says, what they longed for, and satisfied their gluttony; yet, nevertheless, they paid the penalty for their insatiability.

"While their food was yet in their mouths," ^B [VERS. 31] "and the wrath of God came up upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and shackled the chosen ones of Israel." For since, though they had received much experience of the divine power, they did not believe that God was able to supply food, he brought upon them a correction, teaching them that he is able to do both—to bestow good things and to inflict punishments. Yet, nevertheless, they continued to sin. For this is what he added:

VERS. 32, 33. "In all these things they sinned still, and believed not in his wondrous works; and their days failed in vanity, and their years with haste." Sinning, he says, and trespassing, and taking no thought for the things that could profit them, but being attached to vain and unprofitable pursuits, and following these with all diligence, they departed this life.

^C VERS. 34, 35. "When he slew them, then they sought him, and they returned and sought God early. And they remembered that God was their helper, and the most high God was their redeemer." Nor did the merciful Master cast shackles upon them in vain: for they derived no small profit from this. For when they were enjoying good things, they did not perceive him; but when they were punished, they approached, asking for divine philanthropy.

VERS. 36, 37. "And they loved him with their mouth, and with their tongue they lied to him. But their heart was not right with him, nor were they held faithful in his covenant." ^D They promised to love him, using false words. For the mind, while using such words,

^A rebelled, planning things contrary to the divine laws and refusing to believe the divine oracles.

VERS. 38. "But he is merciful, and will forgive their sins, and will not destroy them." Yet he, led by his own kindness, refused to hand them over to complete destruction. "And he will abound to turn away his anger, and will not kindle all his wrath." Symmachus, however, says: "And he averted his anger greatly, and did not stir up all his wrath." By no means, he says, did he inflict upon them the punishment worthy of their transgressions.

VERS. 39. "And he remembered that they were flesh, a spirit that goes away ^B and does not return." For he knows the frailty of their nature, and that they will soon receive the end of life.

VERS. 40, 41. "How often did they provoke him in the desert, and stir him to anger in a dry land? And they turned back and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel." By all these things, he teaches the divine long-suffering. But it is possible to learn each of these more accurately from history. For sometimes they deified the calf; at other times they were initiated into Beelphegor [c]; at another time they meditated a tyranny against the great Moses; having partaken of the food of manna, they were ungrateful; and when they were ordered to take possession of the promised land, they threw up fear; and besides these, they did countless other things, which we shall pass over, not wishing to lengthen the discourse.

VERS. 42. "They did not remember his hand, in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of the oppressor." They were unwilling to recall to mind the former benefits, nor to consider the power of God, ^C by which they were delivered from the Egyptian servitude. Then he runs through the miracles that took place there.

VERS. 43. "How he set his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Taneos." Tanis had the royal palace of Pharaoh; there, indeed, the great Moses inflicted the punishments upon the Egyptians.

VERS. 44. "And he turned their rivers into blood, and their rain-water, that they might not drink." For primarily he turned not only the river waters, but also those collected from rain, into the nature of blood, pressing those who resisted with thirst.

VERS. 45, 46. "He sent among them the dog-fly, and it devoured them; and the frog, and it destroyed them. And he gave their fruits to the mildew, ^D and their labors to the locust." Using the dog-fly and the frogs as ministers of his wrath, bitter...

pains he brought upon them. And with mildew and locust he destroyed the fruits of the land. ^A

VERS. 47. "He destroyed their vines with hail, and their mulberry trees with frost," [Ps. LXXVII, 47]. With mildew and locust he consumed the fruit, but with hail and frost he destroyed even the roots of the trees. However, other interpreters have rendered "mulberry trees" as "sycamores."

VERS. 48. "And he delivered their cattle to the hail, and their possessions to the fire," [Ps. LXXVII, 48]. Symmachus, however, says: "Who delivered their cattle to the plague, and their possessions to the birds." For, having experienced a sudden death, they became a feast for the carnivorous birds. ^B

VERS. 49. "He sent upon them the wrath of his indignation: indignation, and wrath, and tribulation, a sending by evil angels," [Ps. LXXVII, 49]. By "indignation, and wrath, and tribulation," he denotes the bitter punishments; and by "evil angels," the ministers of the punishment. He does not call them evil in terms of the wickedness of their nature or of their choice, but rather as the executioners of punishment. Thus, too, he calls the day of punishment an "evil day." Symmachus also indicated this; for instead of "evil angels," he said "angels inflicting evils."

VERS. 50. "He made a way for his wrath," [Ps. LXXVII, 50]. As if to say: His kindness did not prevent the punishment, but gave place to just correction. He reveals this also through the things that follow. "He spared not their souls from death, and he shut up their cattle in death. [VERS. 51.] And he struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstfruits of all their labor in the tabernacles of Cham," [Ps. LXXVII, 50-51]. Having seen their stubborn mind, he abundantly inflicted punishments upon them; ^C first bringing destruction to the cattle, and then striking the firstborn with unexpected death. He called Egypt the "tabernacles of Cham," since Mesrem was the son of Cham, and Mesrem is Egypt.

VERS. 52. "And he took away his people like sheep, and led them like a flock in the desert," [Ps. LXXVII, 52]. Having chastised them in this way, he led his own people into the wilderness, imitating the shepherd who goes before his flock. ^D

VERS. 53. "And he led them on in hope, and they feared not," [Ps. LXXVII, 53]. For having given many pledges of his own power, he commanded them to rely upon him and not to fear. This, indeed, was done by the God of the universe:

^A but they did not wish to trust in the power of God. "And the sea covered their enemies." For the same sea provided a path for the former, but overwhelmed the latter with its waves.

Ver. 54. "And he brought them into the mountain of his sanctification, this mountain which his right hand had acquired." Having freed them from thence, he gave them the land which he had promised; for by the mountain of Sion he signified the whole land. "And he cast out nations from before them, and divided them land by a line of inheritance." For having freed that land from its ancient inhabitants, he gave the lordship of it to these men in accordance with his promises. For this is what is signified by "by a line of inheritance." For those who possess land are accustomed to measure it; but the book of Joshua the son of Nun teaches the divisions and distributions more accurately. ^B

Ver. 55. "And he caused to dwell in their tabernacles the tribes of Israel." For they divided the land by tribes; thus, having taught of their unbelief after the wilderness, he recounts the transgressions committed in the land of promise.

Ver. 56. "And they tempted and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep his testimonies." After so many and so great benefits, they persisted in acting lawlessly and in violating the divine commandments.

Ver. 57. "And they turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers." They imitated the wickedness of their fathers, and having beheld their punishment, they derived no benefit therefrom. "They were turned aside like a crooked bow." A bow, when constructed according to the art, sends the discharged arrows toward the mark; but if it has received any distortion, it cannot direct the sent arrows. ^C They, therefore, having corrupted the uprightness of their mind, neither used the divine benefits as was proper, and they turned the opportunities that might have brought advantage into occasions of loss.

Ver. 58. "And they provoked him to anger in their hills, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images." Receiving good things from the God of the universe, they served soulless idols.

Ver. 59. "God heard, and he despised." He did not deem them, as he says, when they prayed, worthy of his own providence. The history of the Judges teaches this more clearly. For he delivered them up, sometimes to the Ammonites, sometimes to the Moabites, and at other times to the Midianites, and to the foreigners, exacting from them the penalty for their impiety. ^D "And he utterly rejected Israel." For that much-talked-of people, who had been set free from the slavery of the Egyptians in a paradoxical manner, whom the sea saw and fled, and before whom the Jordan turned backward—this people, I say, the neighboring nations were easily conquering.

^A VERS. 60. "And He repelled the tabernacle of Silo, the tabernacle where He dwelt among men." The beginning of the Books of Kings teaches these things henceforth, making mention of Eli the high priest, and the iniquity of his children.

VERS. 61. "And delivered their strength into captivity, and their beauty into the hands of the enemy." He calls the Ark their strength and beauty. When Ophni and Phinees had brought this out for the aid of their fellow tribesmen, they paid the penalty for their own iniquity. And when the aliens had captured the Ark, they consecrated it as a kind of spoils to Dagon; and this was an idol worshipped by them.

VERS. 62. "And He shut up His people to the sword, and despised His inheritance." For He delivered them into the hands of their enemies on account of the excess of their lawlessness. He called them an "inheritance," as having been always a matter of the greatest possible care to Him. Thus also did the great Moses designate them: "For," he says, "the Lord’s portion is His people Jacob, the lot of His inheritance is Israel" (Deut. xxxii, 9). Then he enumerates the kinds of punishment.

VERS. 63, 64. "Fire devoured their young men, and their virgins were not lamented. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows shall not weep." For the former He delivered to the fire, but for the latter the customary lamentation did not occur, as everyone was occupied with his own evils. But Ophni and Phinees, the priests who had brought the Ark itself, were slain, being taught by the very event of the affair that those who persist in lawlessness ought not to trust in divine care.

^B VERS. 65. "And the Lord was awakened as one sleeping." Yet even when He had subjected them to punishments of this kind, He taught their enemies also what the causes of those events were. "As one mighty, and overcome with wine." [VERS. 66] "And He smote His enemies in the hinder parts; He gave them to everlasting reproach." For having shaken off His long-suffering like a kind of sleep, He brought the blow upon the foreigners, by which they became ignominious before all. He understands the disease of the seat, which history teaches. The prophecy also has signified this, ^C saying: "And He smote their enemies in the hinder parts," honestly designating the part which received the blow. He called the long-suffering "sleep," but the indignation from wine "drunkenness." ^D

^A

Interpretation of Psalm 77

Vers. 67. "And He rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim." Again, leaving aside the other tribes, He mentions only Ephraim, foreseeing the tyranny that was to come. For Jeroboam, springing from this ^B tribe, rent the ten tribes away from the Davidic kingdom. He calls Joseph and Ephraim the same tribe, because Ephraim was the son of Joseph. He says that it was rejected because the tabernacle did not remain in Shiloh, but the grace of the divine ark was transferred to Jerusalem, in which Solomon later built the divine temple.

Vers. 68. "And He chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Sion, which He loved." He did, however, choose the tribe of Judah on account of the rod of Jesse that was expected to blossom. ^C This sprout the patriarch Jacob also prophesied, blessing Judah; the divine Paul also mentions this very thing, saying thus: "It is evident that our Lord Jesus Christ sprang out of Judah." On account of this rod, therefore, He preferred the tribe of Judah to the others. But since this mystery was in some way unknown to many, He added very clearly, "The mount Sion, which He loved," so as to extinguish the jealousy of the other tribes, as if saying: "Take no occasion for jealousy, since it was for the sake of mount Sion that He chose the tribe of Judah." Furthermore, he also wishes to show the mountain as venerable, because of the temple that was to be built upon it. ^D

Vers. 69. "And He built His sanctuary like that of unicorns." They say that the unicorn is fortified with one horn. And the law also taught that one must worship one God. Rightly, therefore, did He compare the one temple, dedicated to the one God, to the unicorn. "In the earth He founded it in the ages." Symmachus, however, says thus: "As the earth, which You founded into the ages." The others also have interpreted the same meaning. He says, therefore, that just as He created one earth, so He commanded the Jews to build one temple.

Vers. 70. "And He chose David His servant, and took him from the flocks of sheep." By these words He shows at the same time both the virtue of David, naming him the servant of God, and the generosity of God, because He made the shepherd a king.

VERs. 71. ^A *Sequentem fetas accepit eum.* Symmachus, however, says: *He brought him following those that are with young.* This is yet another amplification of divine generosity. For he was not a perfect shepherd, but the minister of a shepherd, following after the sheep that were giving birth. *To shepherd Jacob his servant, and Israel his inheritance; and he shepherded them in the innocence of his heart, and guided them by the prudence of his hands.* This also reveals the magnitude of his providence and care. For he did not set the shepherd of the sheep over just any men, but by tempering prudence with simplicity, he guided them according to the divine laws. Similar to this is the command of the Lord: *Be wise as serpents, and simple as doves* [Matt. X, 16]. ^B For when he had separated the vice of each—having removed the malice of the former and the senselessness of the latter—he mingled them into a praiseworthy virtue. It behooves us also to perfect this in ourselves, having been called in a manner similar to the blessed David, or rather, for even greater things. For we have been entrusted with a ministry of greater matters, so that we may walk worthily of the calling with which we have been called, according to the precept of the divine Paul.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXVIII

Vers. 1. *A Psalm of Asaph.* The prophetic word foretells the fury of Antiochus, surnamed Illustris, against the people of the Jews. He shapes the prophecy into a prayer, as if offered at that time by pious men who were to come, who had not yet been victorious, ^C but were still hemmed in by calamities. *O God, the nations have come into your inheritance, they have defiled your holy temple.* Wisely, the grace of the Spirit taught those who were struggling with those grievous calamities to begin their supplication. For they do not first recount their own sufferings, but the impiety committed against the divine temple, which had committed no offense against the divine laws. The nations, he says, accustomed to impiety and lawlessness, have taken possession of your inheritance. For they dared to enter into the inner sanctuaries of your temple. And they did not merely defile your hallowed sites with altars and sacrifices to demons.

Vers. 2. *They have placed Jerusalem as a garden-watcher’s hut.* For when they had destroyed the whole city to its foundations, ^D they made that glorious Jerusalem not at all different from a hut that is built for the guarding of fruit.

^A They have set the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven, the flesh of your holy ones for the wild beasts of the earth. In such great savagery and madness they behaved against your servants, that they set forth their bodies as a feast for wild beasts and flesh-eating birds.

Ver. 3. They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them. Those who possessed a bloodthirsty mind not only kill those who live righteously, but cause rivers of blood to flow upon the earth, and do not allow those who are slain to be granted burial.

Ver. 4. We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a derision and a mockery to those round about us. These things made us infamous to our neighbors; for this reason we have become objects of mockery to those dwelling round about. By "neighbors" he calls the Philistines, the Idumeans, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the other neighboring nations, which were always opposed and hostile to them.

Ver. 5. How long, O Lord, will you be angry to the end? Will your zeal be kindled like fire? ^B In giving the law, God commanded that He alone be worshipped, and that no other who is called god should be adored. "For I," he says, "am the Lord your God, a jealous God, a consuming fire." [But, as we have often said, let no one who hears of one God suspect a monarchy. For He calls that eternal and incomprehensible essence, which in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit we worship, God; but that the Lawgiver is God the Word, who is Jesus Christ our Savior, no one who is eager to learn would doubt.] The prophetic word mentioned this here also: "Will your zeal be kindled like fire?" Do not, Master, he says, be angry for too long, nor like fire ignite your zeal against us on account of our transgressions.

Ver. 6. Pour out your wrath upon the nations that have not known you, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your name. Since you exact the penalties of sins from men, I beseech you to transfer your wrath upon those who altogether refuse to learn your name, but serve the most extreme impiety.

Ver. 7. For they have devoured Jacob, ^C and have laid waste his place. This is also a clear proof of their transgression; for having suffered no evil from us, they annihilated us with slaughter, and ravaged the country, and sacked the cities. And for "his place," Aquila rendered it "his form," Symmachus "his beauty," and Theodotian "his comeliness"; by which the divine house is the more manifested. ^D

^A The house has been pointed out. He rightly called the people Jacob, inciting God to mercy by the mention of their forefather.

VERS. 8. "Remember not against us our former iniquities." ^B Those who instituted this prayer were religious, and had taken up much zeal for piety. For the virtue of the Maccabees is celebrated. Therefore they rightly supplicate that He might not exact from the people the penalties for former sins. But while they have stated this, they have not added the second part—that God should look upon their present piety. For this most of all demonstrates their excellent virtue: namely, to call to mind their former sins, but to conceal their present piety. "Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us, O Lord, for we are brought very low. [VERS. 9] Help us, O God our Saviour." Stretch forth, as quickly as possible, Thine invincible aid; for we have been left destitute of all protection, and we have only Thee as our helper and Saviour. "And for the glory of Thy name, O Lord, deliver us, and be propitious to our sins for Thy name's sake." Nowhere do they make mention of their own virtue, but they pray that they might obtain divine help for the sake of the divine name. For, they say, when we fare ill, the reproach falls upon Thy name. We pray, therefore, that Thou mightest overlook our failings, turn aside our calamities, and show Thy power to those who are ignorant of it.

VERS. 10. "Lest the nations should say, Where is their God?" ^C Other interpreters have stated this as though it had already happened: "Why do the nations say, Where is their God?" This, he says, afflicts me; this stings me more sharply than any dart—that the nations should dare to hurl reproaches against Thee, and insulting, should say: "Where is your God, whom you say destroyed Egypt, divided the sea, granted a passage to you, and did all those other great and celebrated things?" "And let the vengeance of the blood of Thy servants, which has been shed, be known among the nations before our eyes." We supplicate, therefore, that these men might pay the penalty for their bloodthirstiness, and that all the others might perceive with us Thy just judgment, and Thy wrath on account of Thy slaughtered worshippers.

VERS. 11. "Let the sighing of the prisoners come before Thee; according to the greatness of Thy ^D arm, preserve Thou the sons of those who are put to death." I beseech Thee also to look upon those who are still surviving, but have been cast into chains and are expecting death; and do not decree the total destruction of our race, but preserve the sons of those who have been slaughtered.

...and restore the youths, and cause a new youth to rise from them.

^A VERS. 12. "Render to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord." Inflict manifold punishments upon the neighbors for their blasphemy. For He did not declare a certain number through the words spoken, but entreated that a very great punishment be brought upon them. The expression, "The barren hath borne seven," is similar, meaning "many." He speaks of the "bosom" by a metaphor taken from those who carry something in their bosom and hold it safely, so that nothing may fall out; as if he were to say: "Fill them with calamities that are always impending."

VERS. 13. "But we are thy people and sheep of thy pasture: we will confess to thee, O God, ^B for ever: from generation to generation we will show forth thy praise." We, who are called thy people and are named thy flock, will uninterruptedly offer hymns to thee, and will acknowledge our thanks for thy benefits; and having committed these things to writing, we will offer the narrative thereof to future men. The word "we will confess," which they used, is the same as "we will give thanks," for that word expresses an act of thanksgiving.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXIX

^C VERS. 1. "Unto the end, in hymns: for them that shall be changed. A testimony of Asaph. A psalm for the Assyrian." The present psalm predicts a change of certain things; for "change" declares this, and bears witness; for this reason the word "testimony" is appended. The grace of the Spirit predicts the enslavement of the Jews and the servitude which they served among the Babylonians. The psalm is fashioned into a prayer offered to the God of all by those very people, as it were. For the prophetic grace teaches them by what words it behooves them to appease God and to excite Him to mercy. It also predicts the salvation that is to be ^D for all men through the Lord Christ.

VERS. 2. "Give ear, O thou that rulest Israel." I beseech thee, O Master, that thou receive my prayer, who governs the people after the manner of a shepherd. "Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep." Thou didst rescue Joseph, who had fallen in with his brothers as if with certain wolves, from their hands, and didst lead him into Egypt, and didst make him superior to those who had plotted against him. Having recounted the care thus shown to them, to a more general power

he passes. ^A “Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim, manifest thyself.” Because the great Moses had consecrated only certain likenesses of these in the Holy of Holies, and had placed the propitiatory in their midst, and because through that propitiatory some divine manifestation was made to the high priests, he rightly makes mention of the Cherubim here also, and beseeches Him who sits above them to manifest Himself.

VER. 3. “Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh.” Appear, he says, to Thy people, I beseech Thee. For by the tribes mentioned he has indicated the entire people. He makes mention of these because he had made mention of Joseph. Now Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph, and Benjamin was his brother by the same mother. “Awake Thy power, and come to save us.” He rouses God as if He were patient and at rest. Excite, he says, all Thy power, securing our salvation. [This, as I have said above, the people who were at that time held captive by the Assyrians pray, but this also the nations pray, for whom care was taken that salvation should be conferred by the Benefactor, for the prophetic mind hints that this is the meaning also through what follows.]

VER. 4. “O God of hosts, convert us.” Liberate us from ^B slavery, and grant us our return. [Some indeed pray for the return from Babylon, others for the turning away from idols.] Then he teaches the ease of the affair. “And make Thy face shine, and we shall be saved.” For it is enough if Thou appear, for Thee to put an end to our calamities.

VER. 5. “O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry with the prayer of Thy servants?” How long, O Master, dost Thou reject my supplications, being angry because of my sins? He names the people His servant. For indeed other interpreters have placed “at the prayer of Thy people,” instead of “Thy servant.”

VER. 6. “Thou shalt feed us with the bread of tears; and Thou shalt give us for drink tears in measure.” The tense in this place is changed; for the others spoke as though these things were already accomplished: “Thou hast fed us with the bread of tears, and Thou hast given us to drink with tears in measure.” ^C He says, therefore, that Thou hast mingled both our food and our drink with tears; for we, when lamenting and mourning, partake of necessary food. This He has done, repaying punishments for sins. This also the Lord says: “With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matth. VII, 1). This measure also the prophet Zechariah saw, predicting the destruction of Babylon. ^D

He said he saw two women, having the wings of a hoopoe, and carrying a measure, and commanded to carry this to Babylon. Through these things we learn the justice of the divine decree. ^A

VERS. 7. “You have made us a contradiction to our neighbors, and our enemies have mocked us.” We have become a reproach even to the neighboring nations, who have always harbored hostility toward us [yet we have not departed from you; for this he says in what follows].

VERS. 8. “O Lord God of hosts, convert us, and make your face to shine, and we shall be saved.” By your apparition, therefore, dispel the dark cloud of calamities, and grant a return. [This indeed the people pray for; the same, however, the nations also request, calling the advent in the flesh an apparition.] For you are powerful, and the Lord of hosts. [You who then indeed moved them invisibly from captivity, but saved the nations by your economy.] Then he recounts his ancient benefits, beseeching that he might enjoy the same care.

VERS. 9, 10. “You have brought a vine out of Egypt: you have cast out the nations, and planted it. You have made a way before it: and you have planted the roots thereof, and it has filled the earth.” You, O Master, overthrew the unjust dominion of the Egyptians; you utterly destroyed the nations of the Canaanites; and when you had brought your people as a vine out of Egypt, and had granted every ease along the way, you transplanted it into the land of the Canaanites. ^B

VERS. 11, 12. “The shadow thereof covered the hills, and the branches thereof the cedars of God. It stretched forth its branches unto the sea, and its boughs unto the rivers.” Having called the people a vine metaphorically, he persists in the figure; and he calls the hills the strength of the neighboring nations, and the shadow that covers them the power of Israel placed over them; and the cedars of God, the sublime princes who have obtained their rule from God; ^C and by the boughs covering the cedars, [he signifies] the Israelitic kingdom, which had become more illustrious than these. We know this to have happened both in the time of the blessed David and in that of Solomon. For the great David received tribute not only from the Philistines, the Idumeans, the Ammonites, and the Moabites, but also from both the Syrians; and indeed the queen of the Ethiopians ran to Solomon: thus had he become celebrated among all ^D

^A. By the branches of the vine he refers to the multitude of the people; by the shoots, to the proselytes who joined from the nations and received divine knowledge. Through all these things he declared the former prosperity of the people.

VERS. 13. « Why have you broken down her hedge, and all who pass along the way pluck her? » Why have you stripped her of your providence, and made her easily overcome by those wishing to commit injustice? He called the protection a hedge. For what a hedge is to a vineyard, that the providence of God is to those who have been accounted worthy of it. And by « those who pass along the way » he means the enemies. For just as travelers boldly pluck the wild and unguarded vine, and take away its fruit; so he who is stripped of divine care becomes easily overcome by those desiring to harm him ^B.

VERS. 14. « The boar from the forest has ravaged it, and the wild beast has grazed upon it. » Through these he indicated the various incursions of the Assyrians. For Shalmaneser and Sennacherim plundered other cities; but Nebuchadnezzar, having besieged Jerusalem, led those who had escaped death into slavery. And because he had called Israel a vine, he justly called its enemy a wild boar: for this animal is particularly the enemy of the vine. Furthermore, he calls it a "singular wild beast" because it lives alone, and is more savage than others, inasmuch as it has no association with the rest ^C. Since, therefore, Nebuchadnezzar was more savage than the other kings, he rightly named him a singular wild beast.

VERS. 15, 16. « O God of hosts, turn again, I beseech you: look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine. And restore it, which your right hand has planted. » I beseech you, therefore, O mighty Master, to look down from heaven upon the devastation of the vine, and to apply a cure and remedy to the evil. For your own providence granted it its former happiness. He calls "right hand" the Providence. « And upon the Son of man, whom you have strengthened for yourself. » In this place he teaches the origin of the Master Christ from this vine. For he prays that the vine be accounted worthy of care, on account of the temple that was to be assumed from it, which he clearly called the Son of man ^D. Likewise also the Lord

names Himself, saying: "I am the true vine, you are the branches, and my Father is the husbandman." For as man, He is the vine; but as God, He is also the husbandman, sowing good seed in His field. For since from this vine—which had become useless and had brought forth thorns instead of clusters for the husbandman—He Himself became the true vine and brought forth greatest branches, namely the multitude of those who have believed in Him. Truly the shadow of these ^B covered the mountains, and the boughs covered the cedars. This is truly the vine that stretched out its branches unto the sea, and its shoots unto the rivers. [For there is no place under heaven where the holy Church derived from this vine is not founded.] On account of this they beseech that it too may obtain mercy, recounting all the evils that it has suffered.

17. "Burned with fire, and dug up." Hence it is especially clear that the psalm prophesies about the matters of the Babylonian, and not about the matters of Antiochus, as it seemed to some. For the Babylonian both burned the temple, and delivered the greatest part of the city to the fire; ^C just so, he says here also, that they did not merely go away having harvested its fruit, but they even dug it up and uprooted it from the very root and consumed it with fire. "They shall perish at the rebuke of thy countenance." [But if Thou shouldst appear and be moved, they shall utterly vanish and receive destruction.]

18. "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom thou hast strengthened for thyself." [Let us therefore enjoy Thy providential care, because Thy love toward us has prevailed so much that Thou didst clothe Thyself in flesh. He calls the Lord of glory the Son of man, of whom Paul says: "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."] ^D

19. "And we shall not depart from thee." [For He is truthful]

^A in that He fulfills His promises.] For once this first-fruit has been taken from us, the entire nature of humanity will know the true God and will praise the philanthropy that has occurred. "Thou wilt revive us, and we shall call upon thy name." In this way also the empire of death shall be destroyed, and we shall obtain eternal life, worshipping Thee as the Saviour God. 20. "O Lord God of hosts, convert us, and make thy face to shine upon us, and we shall be saved." For all these things, therefore, and for the salvation which will be given through us to all men, deliver us from harassing things, and grant us our return: for if Thou only appearest, we shall be partakers of salvation.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXIX

^A Israele est, et judicium Dei Jacobi. » God commanded the priests to use the trumpets. These reminded the people of the trumpets that were heard on the mountain. For when God, the Creator of all, was speaking on Mount Sinai, the voice of the trumpet, he says, sounded loud. Accordingly, with these trumpets, the priests reminded the people of that manifestation. Those, therefore, who had attained their return and had enjoyed divine aid—and these are they—were justly exhorted to use the trumpets along with the other instruments.

VERS. 6. « He established it as a testimony in Joseph, when he went out from the land of Egypt. » Joseph here designates the whole people; for since Joseph was the cause of their setting foot in Egypt, he called the people by his name. He says, therefore, that he gave this law to the people after he had delivered them from Egypt. Then he recounts the benefits that had occurred: « He heard a tongue which he did not know. » For having never before enjoyed the divine voice, he heard this [voice] in the wilderness when receiving the Law.

VERS. 7. « He turned his back from burdens, and his hands served in the basket. » By these words he pointed out the labors in Egypt, the bitter servitude, and the making of bricks. ^B For on their shoulders, as is likely, they were compelled to carry the clay, and the back especially feels labors of this kind. From this point he introduces the person of God speaking. And first he calls to mind the benefits that had been bestowed, then he brings an exhortation and counsel; after this he foretells their disobedience, and the punishment for that disobedience.

VERS. 8. « In tribulation you called upon me, and I delivered you. » You groaned in Egypt, vexed by hardships, and immediately I deemed you worthy of my benevolence. This is what history also teaches: « For the children of Israel groaned because of their hard labors, and their cry ascended to God. » ^C « I heard you in the secret place of the tempest. » Symmachus expresses it thus: « I heard you through a hidden thunder »; and the other interpreters have likewise used the term « thunder. » By this he signifies that although I am not seen, but possess an invisible nature, I have nevertheless made salvation manifest to all men, declaring, as if by a certain thunder, through the plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, how great a providence I exercise for you. « I tested you at the water of contradiction. » ^D

^A Coming to Merrham, and finding the water bitter, they cried out against Moses, and spoke against God. The place therefore received its name from this event. It says, then: I rebuked your ungrateful mind at that water, but easily changed its quality and rendered the bitter sweet.

VERS. 9. « Hear, O my people, and I will testify to you. » Since, therefore, you have experienced my power, readily receive the laws given to you by me. For this is a testimony, foretelling to you the punishment of disobedience and the benefit of obedience.

« Israel, if you will hear me, [VERS. 10.] there shall not be in you a new god, nor shall you worship a strange god. » ^B [But He manifests Himself more plainly to them by saying:]

VERS. 11. « For I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. » This also contains the exordium of the Law: « For I am, » He says, « the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You shall have no other gods beside me. » And here, therefore, He commands them not to worship a strange and new god, but the One who bestowed freedom upon them. But these things also refute the madness of Arius and Eunomius. For if the Only-begotten is not consubstantial, He might justly be called "strange"; and if there was a time when He was not, He is "new" and not eternal. Consequently, they openly transgress the divine law [and especially those who make the impious dogmas of Nestorius their own] by worshipping a strange ^C and new God. But this is not the time to refute their stupidity; yet these things are sufficient to convict their wickedness. « Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. » Make yourself obedient, He says, through obedience, and you shall receive an abundance of good things. Hence He turns the discourse toward reproof.

VERS. 12. « And my people did not hear my voice, and Israel did not heed me. » I, therefore, offered this counsel to him; but he himself was unwilling either to hear or to heed those things which were spoken by me.

^A

COMMENTARY ON PSALM LXXX

VERS. 13. « And I sent them away according to the desires of their hearts; they shall walk in their own designs. » ^A Symmachus, however, says: “I therefore left them to the pleasure of their heart, to walk in their own counsels.” Likewise also Aquila: “And I sent them away in the crookedness of their heart; they shall walk in their own counsels.” For having seen him disobedient, I stripped him of my care; I left him to be carried along by his own reasonings, as a ship without ballast and without a rudder. The truth of the prophecy is set forth for the contemplation of those who wish it. For the Jews, having been bereft of God's aid, were scattered over every land and sea, and from being free they became slaves. Moreover, they serve every impiety, using sorceries and the incantations of demons, while they are unwilling to worship the God who saved them.

VERS. 14, 15. « If my people had heard me, if Israel had walked in my ways, I would have humbled their enemies for nothing, and I would have laid my hand upon those who afflict them. » If he had heeded my admonitions and followed my commandments, I would easily have destroyed their enemies. For the expression, “for nothing,” signifies the ease of it, as if to say: “I could have brought about their destruction easily, without labor, and in a moment of time.” ^B

VERS. 16. « The enemies of the Lord have lied to him. » Aquila says thus: “Those who hate the Lord will deny him.” For by the denial of the Lord Christ, they stirred up hatred against themselves, and those who lied to him, and transgressed the covenants that had been made, made themselves enemies of the Lord. For after the giving of the law, the people answered, he says: « All that the Lord God has spoken we will do and will hear. » ^C And the promises were such, but the deeds were undoubtedly contrary. For when their own Lord appeared, they crucified him, but they received the reward of their impiety, eternal destruction. [Not they alone, however, but also Arius and Eunomius and Nestorius and those who are addicted to their beliefs.] This, moreover, the prophecy has also shown: « And their time will be forever. » Symmachus has spoken more clearly; for having said, “Those who hate the Lord, who have lied to him,” he added: “But…” ^D

^A their time will be forever.” By “time,” he means their calamities; for thus the Syrians and Hebrews are accustomed to refer to them, and many among us also name them in the same way. He says, therefore, that the Jews will not fall into these things for any fixed time, but will continue for an age, deprived of divine care. This seems to correspond to the introduction of the seventy-second Psalm: “Why, O God, hast thou cast us off unto the end?” For there, too, he foretold the total casting off of the Jews.

VERS. 17. « And he fed them with the fat of wheat; and with honey out of the rock he satisfied them. » Since they were suffering greatly from the disease of ingratitude, they were in no way mindful of the good things already bestowed upon them. For in the wilderness, he brought out for them the sweetest water from the rock, which to them in their thirst seemed to mimic the sweetness of honey; and in the land of promise, he bestowed upon them fruits from the earth in abundance. For by a part he signified the whole, and through the wheat and other fruits he indicated the supply of all.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXXI

VERS. 1. « A Psalm of Asaph. » Having spoken in the previous psalm of the casting off of the Jews, here he explains more clearly the reasons on account of which God was casting them off, teaching us by all means that if we imitate them, we shall suffer the same things or worse. « God stood in the synagogue of gods, and in the midst he will distinguish ^B the gods. » He called the rulers of the Jews “gods,” as those who had been entrusted with the office of judging. The law in the same way calls them such: “You shall not revile the gods, and the ruler of your people you shall not speak ill of.” For since God is the true Judge, and the duty of judging has also been entrusted to men, those who were selected for this office were called gods, as indeed imitating God in this. But the just Judge here censures those who do not judge justly, nor hold the balance of justice straightforwardly, and foretells the just judgment that will follow from him.

VERS. 2. « How long do you judge iniquity, and accept the persons of sinners? » How long, he says, do you not bring forth an incorrupt verdict, but refuse to restrain the injustice of the powerful and lawless, and despise those who live in ^C poverty and are wronged by these people?

VERS. 3. « Judge for the orphan and the poor; justify the humble and the needy. » And each of these is in need of help.

^A VERS. 4. « Rescue the poor and needy: deliver him from the hand of the sinner. » Do not let the poor man become an easy prey to those who act unjustly, when you are their protectors and have been entrusted with the task of judging.

VERS. 5. « They have not known, nor have they understood; they walk in darkness. » But they were unwilling to perceive any of these things, nor to be illuminated by the light of my words; for this reason they live and conduct themselves as if in night and darkness. « All the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. » On account of this truth, life is filled with turmoil and disturbance, and the earth is shaken by successive evils. ^B

VERS. 6. « I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. » I, therefore, have honored you, and have shared with you my own title, and have called you my sons.

VERS. 7. « But you, like men, shall die, and you shall fall like one of the princes. » Symmachus, however, says it thus: « But you, like men, shall die, and as one of the princes you shall fall. » For, being ignorant of your own honor, you have suffered the same thing as the devil, who, having been trusted by me with the beginning of authority, and having been unwilling to use the things given to him as he ought, fell from his honor. And you shall suffer the same death as other men, possessing no glory after death. When the prophetic word has thus made its reproof of the unjust judges, it implores the true and just Judge to exercise His judgment over the whole world. ^C

VERS. 8. « Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations. » These things clearly manifest the judgment of the Lord Christ. For regarding Him, according to His humanity, the Father said: « Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. » Therefore, the prophet beseeches Him to appear quickly, and to judge justly, and to cause the unjust judges to cease, and to abandon the inheritance of the Jews, and to receive the inheritance of the nations, [or rather, to bring these into the fold] and to offer to all men salvation [through His incomprehensible economy].

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXXII

^A VERSE 1. "A canticle of a psalm of Asaph." After their return from Babylon, when the neighboring peoples noticed the new construction of the divine temple and the glory and splendor of the Jews, they assembled in one place, and having gathered other barbarian nations, they waged war against the Jews. These things are foretold by the divine Joel and Ezekiel, and are foretold by Micah and Zechariah, those admirable prophets. Nevertheless, they all conquered, with Zerubbabel as leader, and God providing aid from heaven and overturning the boldness of the enemies. This is what this psalm foretells. The prophecy is fashioned into a prayer, with the divine Spirit teaching those who were then being attacked by war how they ought to appease God.

VERSE 2. "O God, who shall be likened unto thee?" The nature of angels and men, he says, gathered together into one, cannot in the least be compared to thy power; for thou hast incomparable dominion. And he placed "who" instead of "no one." "Keep not silence, and be not still, O God." We beseech thee, Master, not to use thy customary patience. For "be not still" signifies this. For thus also Symmachus interpreted it: "Be not quiet." Then he teaches the cause of the entreaty.

VERSE 3. "For behold, thine enemies have made a noise, and they that hate thee have lifted up their head." Like the sea, he says, they roar and fluctuate, using pride and boldness against us, they who, because of the enmity they bear towards thee, have brought war upon us. For being at enmity with thee, they besiege the people entrusted to thee. ^{B C}

VERSE 4. "They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and have deliberated against thy saints." Symmachus says instead of "against thy saints," "against thy hidden [one]." But Aquila says, "against thy concealed [one]." So too does Theodotion. For because the Lord Christ was about to spring forth from them according to the flesh, and the nations had gathered together wishing to uproot the race of the Jews entirely, the Holy Spirit teaches them to offer this petition, that they have used malice and snares not only against us, but also against thy hidden [one], and the one hidden within us, whom thou didst predict would spring forth from the tribe of Judah. For if the root is cut off, whence shall the fruit grow? And this the God of the universe manifested also through Isaiah, saying: "How, if it be found..." ^D

^A a grape in the cluster, and they shall say, Do not destroy it, because the blessing of the Lord is in it, so will I do for the sake of him who serves me; for his sake I will not destroy all, and I will bring forth the seed from Jacob, and from Judah, and then," he says, "I will deliver the rest to utter destruction." Therefore, because of that one grape, the entire cluster enjoyed care, or rather the entire vineyard; that being taken, and the rest of the fruit harvested along with it, the remaining vineyard was handed over to beasts, and the boar out of the wood ravages it, and the solitary wild beast devours it, and all they who pass by the way trample it as they will. And this they say while praying here: that they dare to rage not only against us, but even against thy hidden One. [For that "Away with him, away with him, crucify him," ^B shows that they were possessed by madness like dogs. And to these, the following things are also consonant.]

e'. They said, "Come, and let us destroy them from being a nation, and let not the name of Israel be remembered any more." They wish to bring utter destruction upon us, and to consign the much-talked-of Israel to oblivion. Then he recounts the neighbors, by whom they were convoked and others also gathered together.

s'. "For they consulted with one mind together, they made a covenant against thee." Those who have unanimously undertaken the war against thee are:

ζ'. "The tabernacles of the Edomites, and the Ishmaelites." The Edomites derived their race from Esau. For Esau was called Edom; but the Ishmaelites are the descendants of Ishmael. "Moab, and the Hagarenes." Moab was the son of Lot, and a nation also was formed from him. The Hagarenes are another tribe of Ishmael, named after Hagar; for she was the mother of Ishmael.

η'. "Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek." Now Amalek was himself also a descendant of Esau; but a nation was formed from him, too. Ammon was the son of Lot; and these also are parts ^C of Arabia; and the Gebalenes are neighbors of Idumaea. "The aliens with those who inhabit Tyre." Translators call the "aliens" Philistines, whom we call Palestinians; for these alone remained of the race of Canaan, and dwelling beside Israel, they were deservedly and distinctively called "aliens." ^D

^A

VERS. 9. "Etenim et Assur venit cum illis." At that time the Assyrians were not reigning. The discourse therefore alludes to the Samaritans, who, being colonists of the Assyrians, dwelt in their cities after the captivity of the ten tribes. "They have become a help to the sons of Lot." The discourse signifies that the Moabites and Ammonites, in particular, waxed bold against the people and gathered the other nations. ^B

VERS. 10, 11. "Do to them as to Midian and Sisera, as to Jabin at the torrent of Cisson. They perished in Endor." Those who are grateful remember past benefits, begging for the same aid; yet these were the commanders whom Barak and the prophetess Deborah overthrew. "They became as the dung of the earth." For remaining unburied, they fell apart, and were mixed with the earth like some kind of dung.

VERS. 12, 13. "Make their princes like Oreb and Zeb, and Zebee and Salmana." All their princes. The history of the Judges makes mention of all these; Gideon slew them, being led by divine grace. In like manner to these, they beg that their own enemies be overthrown, and they teach the cause: "Who said, Let us take to ourselves by inheritance the sanctuary of God." For they acted with youthfulness and arrogance, desiring to gain possession of the temple dedicated to Thee. For he called the temple of God the sanctuary. Symmachus, however, called the sanctuary a dwelling. ^C Hence the whole argument of the psalm has become clear. For since they had returned and rebuilt the temple, and all the legal worship was performed through it (for without this it was not permitted to offer worship according to the law), and because of the way of life according to the law the neighbors were hostile to the Jews, they made all their attack against the temple, in order that with it they might destroy both the race of the Hebrews and the worship according to the law.

VERS. 14. "O my God, make them like a wheel." As if to say, Command that they be besieged by various calamities, and surround them with continuous evils. "And as stubble before the face of the wind." Scatter them like stubble being whirled about by the wind. ^D

VERS. 15, 16. "As fire that will burn the forest, and as a flame burning the mountains: so shalt Thou pursue them with Thy tempest, and in Thy wrath trouble

them. ^A For in the woods, a flame is kindled of its own accord when trees are shaken by a more violent wind, and are struck against one another, and by the friction produce heat, and little by little are ignited by one another. In a similar way, therefore, they pray that these also may be consumed by one another and surrendered to their own transgressions, according to the prophecy which says: "Walk in the light of your fire and the flame that you have kindled." z

Verse 17. "Fill their faces with disgrace, and they shall seek your name, O Lord." For being frustrated in their desired goals and filled with disgrace, they will acknowledge your power.

Verses 18, 19. "Let them be put to shame and troubled for ever and ever; and let them be confounded and perish; and let them know that your name is the Lord; you alone are the Most High over all the earth." They ask for good things for their enemies, ^B even while attacked in war. For they pray that they may be covered with disgrace in return for their audacity, but that through this disgrace they may attain divine knowledge, and be delivered from the error of idols, and learn by experience that He alone is both God and Lord, who dwells in the heights and looks upon the lowly things, and governs and directs the whole creation, [the salvation of which was brought about by God from God, the only-begotten Son, after His incomprehensible becoming man].

Interpretation of the LXXXIII Psalm

Verse 1. "For the winepresses, for the sons of Korah." The prophecy of the psalm is twofold. For it predicts not only the recall of the Jews, but also the salvation of the entire world. By "winepresses," as we have already said, ^C he calls the Churches. For in these, indeed, the spiritual vineyard bears its own fruit, and we produce the saving wine which truly gladdens the hearts of those who have believed.

Verses 2, 3. "How beloved are your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord." These things those who were living in Babylon were also taught to say, so that they might desire the return and long for the worship according to the Law. And indeed we are also instructed to say the same, we who have attained salvation and receive benefit from the divine altars. But the prophecy applies especially to us. For it predicts that there will be many tabernacles, and names many winepresses, ^D and likewise mentions many altars. But the Jews had one temple, and likewise one altar. Furthermore, each

^A of the words spoken inflames the mind with divine love. For he says that the tabernacles of God are beloved and worthy of all desire, and not simply that he desires them, but that he even faints for the courts of the Lord. And what follows is in harmony with this: “My heart and my flesh have exulted in the living God.” And not only does the soul rejoice and exult, but the body also has become a participant in that gladness, having received the hope of the resurrection. For this is what the words subtly intimate. For this reason he also called God “living,” as being the dispenser of life. For because the gods of the Babylonians, and indeed those of our own ancestors, were completely inanimate and void of sense, those who have been liberated from them quite appropriately name the true God as the “living One.” [For it is His own voice: “I am the life and the resurrection; and he who eats me shall live because of me.”]

Verse 4. “For the sparrow has found itself a house, and the turtledove a nest where it may place its young.” Aquila, however, says: “And even a bird has found for itself a house, and a sparrow a nest for it, where it placed its young.” For just as sparrows ^B and turtledoves, and indeed all other birds, wander when they do not have a nest, but when they have built one, they are accustomed to stay in it and nourish their young therein; so we too formerly wandered, but now, having been called by Thy grace and having found Thy tabernacles, we instruct our young near Thy altars, sitting before Thee with our children and reporting back spiritual food from Thee. “Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” For our nests, and resting places, and enjoyment of good things are Thy holy altars. For at them, like gaping fledglings, we receive from Thee divine and saving food. ^C

Verse 5. “Blessed are all who dwell in Thy house: they shall praise Thee unto ages of ages.” Each of these things happens typologically to those who were in Babylon; but to us, they apply according to the truth itself. For they, being far removed from the divine temple, call blessed those who obtain help there; and we, having tasted of the divine sweetness, call those blessed who continuously stand before God and enjoy divine goods. ^D

^A For the prophetic Word named pious thoughts about God "ascensions of God," occurring in the heart.

7. "He has appointed [ascensions] in the valley of weeping, in the place which he has set; for the Lawgiver will grant blessings." For he who receives the ascensions of God in his heart and has learned the blessings of the Lawgiver, does not give himself over to laughter and luxury, but to weeping and tears, desiring to be delivered from this place. For he heard God saying: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," ^B and, "Blessed are those who weep, for they shall laugh." Therefore, he who has made these covenants awaits the blessing of the Lawgiver. The valley of weeping, typically speaking, is the place where an angel appeared and reproved the transgression of the people, and moved the multitude to tears; for so that place was named from that event. But properly and truly, the present life is a valley of weeping, in which Adam eats bread in the sweat of his face, and Eve brings forth children in sorrows; and not only sinners, but even the saints groan; and one, he says, is sorrowful even unto death, while the other cries out, "Take my soul, for it is better for me to die than to live." And the great herald of the truth says, "And we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan ^C within ourselves." Thus it is possible to see the struggling saints continuously using tears and reaping the joy that comes from them. In this valley of weeping, therefore, those who have received the ascensions, and pour forth tears, await the blessing of the Lawgiver.

8. "They shall go from strength to strength." For they increase their power daily, and by the addition of virtue, they acquire great might for themselves. Thus those who have embraced the ascetic life go from prayer to the singing of hymns, and from the singing of hymns to ^D supplication, and they embrace the laborious life, and they

go from strength to strength each day, increasing their own wealth. "God of gods shall be seen in Zion." This change in affairs, he says, the Word of God brought about when He became man, and when He appeared to men in the flesh, and first made His own manifestation in Zion. ^B

VERS. 9, 10. "O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; hearken, O God of Jacob. Behold, O God, our protector, and look upon the face of Thy Christ." The prophet prays these things, seeing from afar the salvation of men, and imploring the God of all to accept his supplication and to deign to care always for the people who have attained salvation. For he called the face of Christ this; for even the divine Apostle called Him thus: "For you are the body of Christ, and members each in his part." And again: "The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; or again the head to the feet, You are not necessary to me."

VERS. 11. "For one day in Thy courts is better than thousands." For Thy people, always enjoying Thy care, sit in Thy temple, reaping great benefit from it. For what one might reap from this in one day, one could not gather from elsewhere even if he wasted many thousands of days. Yet it was fitting that these things should also be said by those who were held captive in Babylon, who were forced to live with impious men, and who derived no profit from that, but revolved in their mind the former utility which they were accustomed to receive from the divine temple. "I chose rather to be cast down in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of sinners." So lovable to me is the divine house, that I have chosen to be cast down on the ground near it, and to roll before its doors, rather than to dwell in the great and brilliant houses of those who live in wickedness. ^C In the same way, these things are suitable for those who were then captives in Babylon, and are appropriate for us. For the grace of the Holy Spirit taught them not to despise the desolation of the divine house, and we are instructed always to yearn for houses dedicated to God, especially when

houses to desire always; ^A [especially when those who preside over these are blameless and conspicuous in faith and life.]

v. 12. "For the Lord God loves mercy and truth." [For nothing is so pleasing to God as mercy and its companion, truth.]

"The Lord will give grace and glory." [v. 13.] "He will not withhold good things from those who walk in innocence." For those who have this disposition toward God enjoy all these good things. For mercy springs forth from the divine dwellings, and from there comes a plenteous and abundant supply of truth. For from there we receive the instruction of good doctrines, and we draw divine grace from the fountains of the All-Holy Spirit. And indeed we become ^B conspicuous from this, and very illustrious; and, to express it in a word, we receive the enjoyment of all good things, casting off malice and wickedness, and choosing to live a life of simplicity and truth. "O Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in thee." The ending is appropriate to the whole psalm. For he calls blessed and enviable the one who esteems all the prosperity of this life as nothing, and relies only on the hope which he has fixed in God, and reaps the salvation flowing from thence.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXXIV

v. 1. "Unto the end, a psalm for the sons of Core." The psalm predicts both the shadow and the truth at once. For the God of all ^C adumbrated the salvation of all men through the things that happened to the Israelites. For He liberated them, at one time from the slavery of the Egyptians, and at another from that of the Babylonians. Thus, He delivered the nature of all men from the prevailing tyranny of the devil and from destruction. The psalm therefore foretells both the return of the Jews from Babylon and the salvation of the whole world.

v. 2. "You have blessed, O Lord, your land." To bless is to wish for some good. Since, therefore, because of the iniquity of the inhabitants, He had condemned Judea to be a desolate land, and after the sin was committed, ^D He had inflicted on Adam the punishment of the curse of the earth—for He said, "And thorns and thistles [it shall bring forth for you]"—the prophetic word indicated, through the blessing, the expulsion of things sorrowful, [and the renewal of the whole nature.]

^A *You turned back the captivity of Jacob.* [Ver. 3] *You forgave the iniquities of your people, You covered all their sins.* You released the sorrowful chains of slavery, and You bestowed freedom upon the captives, having willed to overlook their committed sins; for that the whole nature of men was captive, and received freedom from our Savior God, the very One Himself is witness, crying out through Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me; He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind.” For when the Lord had read this prophecy in the Synagogue, He said to the Jews, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your ears.”

[Ver. 4] *You have stayed all Your wrath; You have turned back from the wrath of Your indignation.* You released the resentment against us and showed forth Your benevolence.

[Ver. 5] *Turn us, O God of our salvation, and turn away Your wrath from us.* Both these and those appear to have received the good news of freedom, yet not to have attained it as of yet; for which reason they beseech that they might perfectly attain to this benevolence.

[Ver. 6] *Will You be angry with us forever, or will You extend Your wrath from generation to generation?* It is fitting for those who have been rescued from calamities to use these words, and in no way to trust in the forgiveness of sins, but to fear and to appease the Judge. Therefore, they also supplicate that the same wrath not be protracted so as to last into ^B another generation, but be quickly ended.

[Ver. 7] *O God, You shall turn and revive us, and Your people shall be glad in You.* We know Your benevolence, O Master, and we trust that You will grant both the return and the life; and we, having enjoyed these, shall offer to You the hymn with gladness.

[Ver. 8] *Show us, O Lord, Your mercy, and grant us Your salvation.* When Cyrus, king of the Persians, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, had granted the authority for the return, they hastened to reach their homeland. For this reason, therefore, they entreat God to grant them speedy salvation on account of His benevolence. “Show us, O Master,” they say, “Your goodness as quickly as possible,” that we may attain the salvation and the ^C release from ^D troubles.

^A Since the Prophet had presented the supplication as if it were from them, he receives the answer of God, and says:

Ver. 9. “I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me; for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints, and to those who turn their heart to Him.” He has heard, he says, the supplication, the benevolent Master, and has pronounced the verdict of peace, and has granted it to those who have made use of repentance, and have trained their mind to turn to God. For the turning of the heart to God is a deliverance from sins and the beginning of righteousness. ^B [It is also said from the person of the blessed apostles, and of those who through them have believed in the Saviour. And he says: “I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me; for He will speak peace unto His people,” which He granted through the apostles to those nourished by grace. For this is what he says through what follows: “and to His saints, and to those who turn their heart to Him.” And when did He grant this? When from the Mount of Olives He who is everywhere and inseparably from the Father was taken up into heaven, whence also He had descended. “Peace I give unto you, My peace I leave with you.” For this is the beginning of righteousness.] The things that follow also agree with these.

Ver. 10. “Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.” For salvation draws near to those who fear God, and those who choose to fulfill the divine laws enjoy this. ^C Such a transformation has also granted us the return, which we shall make with glory, and we shall see the former splendor of our fatherland.

Ver. 11. “Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” To those who sin and make use of repentance, the streams of benevolence provide mercy, but to those who embrace the truth, the currents of mercy pour forth. For this reason he said, “Mercy and truth have met together.” For the Jews, and the whole nature of men, ^D have offered to God the knowledge of the truth; but the benevolent Lord has given back mercy. Thus, again, when they had offered righteousness...

^A peace to them He granted, and He bestowed reconciliation, and He abolished the former enmity. And mercy ran to meet righteousness, and truth to meet mercy. [Consider also that word: "Mercy and truth have met together." For the merciful One, who bears all things, was borne by the Virgin and Mother; and the righteous John leaped in the womb of Elizabeth. She, therefore, who carried righteousness, that is to say John, kissed her who carried peace. "For He Himself is," as the Apostle says, "our peace, who has made both one." (Eph. II, 14)] And He declared this more clearly through the things that follow.

VER. 12. "Truth has sprung up out of the earth." [And indeed it cannot be said how pure the Theotokos was; yet from Adam, from Abraham, from David, and indeed from her herself, that which is truly truth has sprung forth.] ^B "And righteousness looked down from heaven." [Righteous is the testimony concerning the only-begotten Son of the Father, which says, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matth. III, 17) For when men had embraced the truth, the God of all took just care of them, and cast out the devil from his tyranny, [and shattered the stings of death. For He says this through the things that follow.]]

VER. 13. "For the Lord will give goodness, and our land will give its fruit." He used the same conjunction again; for he said that God used mercy and goodness, and that they would offer the appropriate fruit to God. For he did not signify an abundance of crops ^C through these things, but the fruit of virtue.

VER. 14. "Righteousness will walk before Him." [Clearly John. For concerning him the prophet Habakkuk speaks, saying: "His word shall go before His face, and it shall go forth for instruction at His feet." (Habac. III, 5) So too does Zacharias say to his own son: "And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways." (Luc. I, 76) Therefore, the prophetic mind—for it speaks of John—rightly shows the prediction of both: "Righteousness will walk before Him, and will set His steps in the way" (meaning, Thou art the Lord, who art become man, God the Word). ^D For this is the voice of John: "He who comes after me has become before me, because He was before me." (Joan. I, 15) And that I may say it briefly: "Behold," he says, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John I, 29)] "And will set His steps in the way." The end of the psalm primarily and clearly...

to the way his steps. ^A The end of the psalm teaches us most clearly that the prophecy set before us proclaims the common salvation of all men. For it says that the Lord, using righteousness, as a kind of guide for our journey, 27 leads our path, 28 treading the way of virtue, and by his own footprints making this path manifest to us. The Lord himself confirms this statement, now saying to John, 30 "Let it be so for now, for thus it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness," 32 and now to his own disciples: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." 33 At another time, having washed their feet, after other things he also said this: "I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet; for I have given you an example, 36 that as I do, 37 so you also should do." ^B He himself, therefore, was the first to walk the path of righteousness, and changed the crooked into the straight, and the rough into smooth ways, and has become the way for us, as the Lord himself says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one 41 comes to the Father except through me."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXXV

^C [“A prayer of David.”] The blessed David, according to the inscription, offered this prayer to the Lord God, asking to obtain some assistance. He also foretells the assault of the Assyrians against Jerusalem, and the hope which Hezekiah placed in God. 34 He also proclaims the calling and salvation of all nations.

1. [“Incline, O Lord, your ear, and hear me, for I am poor and needy.”] The beginning of the prayer is of a humble mind. For although both possessed the riches of righteousness, both the divine David and the admirable Hezekiah, they did not consider these, but looked to the poverty of nature, and besought God to have compassion on this suffering poverty. 50 The expression, "Incline, O Lord, your ear," he put as a metaphor 51 taken from a sick person who, because of weakness, 52 is unable to speak clearly, and compels the physician to bring his ear close to his mouth. 55

2. [“Preserve my soul, for I am holy.”] The Prophet did not speak contradictory things, calling himself both poor and holy 56 at the same time. But since this man and that...

^A had unjust and lawless enemies who had suffered no injury at their hands but desired an unjust slaughter, he termed both himself and Hezekiah holy, since they had given the enemies no cause. What he says is this: "I am poor and needy," viewed in myself, and I have no store of virtue; yet, when compared with the enemies, I shall be shown to be holy. For they are impious and lawless, but I have the knowledge of you; and while they attack unjustly, I endure the unjust assault. [The righteous man who is attacked by those who desire to harm others contrary to what befits the just man might say this both in the present time and throughout his whole life. Since these things are correctly put, he says in what follows:] "Save your servant, my Lord God, who hopes in you." I have placed my hope in you, Lord, save me; grant to my hope the reward of salvation.

3. "Have mercy on me, Lord, for I have cried out to you all the day 64." Grant me your kindness, Lord; for I continually proclaim your mercy. For where the text says "all the day," Symmachus has said "every day 65."

4. "Gladden the soul of your servant." [He also says for what reason.] "For to you, Lord, I have lifted up my soul." Put an end to the despondency of him who has pledged himself to your service, and grant gladness to a soul that leans toward you [and awaits your mercy].

5. "For you, Lord, are good and gentle, and of great mercy to all who call upon you." You are by nature good and kind, and you pour out the fountains of your mercy for those who are in need. For "gentle," Aquila and Theodotion have said "placable." Gentleness, therefore, also implies patience 69.

6. "Give ear, God, to my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplication." Using such kindness, therefore, graciously accept my petition. [At the same time, he also signified the time during which he was imploring that his supplication be acceptable].

7. "In the day of my tribulation I cried to you, for you have heard me 78." Having had proof of your gentleness, I offer this supplication; for you have already granted the request to me as I implored you.

8. "There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, and there is nothing like your works." Since the impious Rabshakeh used those arrogant words, "Have any of the gods of the nations been able to deliver his ^D

^A own land from my hand," and asked whether the Lord would deliver Jerusalem from my hand, the prophecy teaches Hezekiah to cry out: "There is no one like you among the gods, O Lord, and there is nothing like your works." For they possess a name devoid of reality, and this they have taken by robbery; but you possess a title that corresponds to the reality. For he quite fittingly joined the works to the divine title: "There is no one like you among the gods, O Lord, and there is nothing like your works." For the former are utterly lifeless, and cannot even defend themselves, but your magnificence surpasses the tongues of all men.

9. "All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord." We know that this by no means took place in the time of the blessed David. But in the time of Hezekiah, it is likely that some, struck with astonishment at the slaughter of the Assyrians, ran to God. However, the time that followed the incarnation of God ^B and our Savior revealed the truth of the prophecy; for after the saving passion, the divine chorus of the apostles was sent into the whole world. For the Lord said to them: "Go, make disciples of all nations." And they made disciples as they were commanded; and by dispelling the cloud of ignorance, they caused [those who believed] to see the Sun of righteousness, and to worship the God who provided salvation. This is also what the following verses teach.

"And they will glorify your name." [10] "Because you are great and work wonders, you alone are God." They will offer you their hymn, having learned that you alone are God; for the magnificence of your wonders will provide them with this knowledge. [And see how he expresses this more clearly in what follows, saying:]

11. "Guide me, O Lord, in your way, and I will walk in your truth." Having prophesied to the nations the future deliverance from ^C error, he prays that he himself likewise...

may be granted this guidance and may perform his journey in the way of truth. [And see what he says in the following verses.] ^A "Let my heart rejoice to fear your name." He who possesses piety regarding God embraces a life lived according to the law; and such a life is the mother of joy. The Prophet, therefore, rightly prayed that his own heart might be gladdened by divine fear. For thus he says elsewhere: "Let the heart of them that seek the Lord rejoice." And again: "I remembered God, and I was glad."

12, 13. "I will confess to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For your mercy is great upon me." I know, he says, that you will grant the petition, and will put an end to the sad circumstances, and will prepare me to offer to you a hymn of thanksgiving for the lovingkindness that has been shown to me. "And you have delivered my soul from the lowest hell." By these words he has revealed the magnitude of the dangers; for the divine David often endured such things, both when he was attacked with war by Saul and when he was persecuted by Absalom. moreover, the onslaught of the Assyrians was certain destruction. For this reason he termed these dangers "extreme death" and "the lowest hell." [Indeed, because the Creator of all, the Word of God, after He took flesh from the Virgin and endured the cross and death, descended into the lowest parts of the earth, in order that He might not only raise up those who had for many ages been subject to corruption, but might also fill them with immortality. ^B Then he says:]

14. "O God, the wicked have risen up against me, and the congregation of the powerful have sought my soul." David's enemies were accustomed to iniquity, and the Assyrians were workers of impiety and wickedness. [For he has combined both as a "congregation of the powerful" according to the state of affairs prevailing at that time.] Both these and those possessed a power that acted in concert with their evil intent; and thus a double fear grew for those who were being wronged. For this reason they flee to God and beg for help from Him. "And they have not set you before them." They did not admit your providence into their minds. ^C

15, 16. "And you, O Lord, my God, are compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy, and true. Look upon me and have mercy on me." Since you are the fountain of lovingkindness, and pour forth the streams of compassion and mercy, and since truth is also present with you, and you judge the wicked, ^D [with the drops of your goodness...]

make me a participant, and render me superior to my enemies. Give your power to your servant, and save the son of your handmaid. For I am your servant, and the son of your handmaid; that is, I have led my life under your dominion from the beginning and from the age of my ancestors; therefore, as a servant, I ask for salvation from the Lord.

VERS. 17. *Shew me a token for good.* Some signs are for punishment, as were those among the Egyptians; others are for salvation, as were those among the Hebrews. Therefore the Prophet made use of a distinction, and did not simply ask for a sign, but a good sign; as if he were to say: Shew me a sign that brings me salvation, and that by the operation of a miracle procures for me an abundance of good things. [He says also why he asks that such a sign be given to him.] *And let them that hate me see it, and be confounded; because you, O Lord, have helped me, and comforted me.* For when my adversaries see the care that you have for me, they will be filled with ignominy, and become infamous before all. [Properly, however, the good sign which God from God gave to the Gentiles is the Cross, by which he put the common enemy to flight, and erected the trophy against the demons and evil assaults. Amen.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXXVI

VERS. 1. *For the sons of Core, a psalm of a canticle.* This psalm also foretells the salvation of the nations, and predicts the pious way of life which the Lord Christ taught when he became man. *His foundations in the holy mountains.* The foundations of piety are the divine precepts. But the holy mountains, upon which he cast these foundations, are the apostles of our Savior. For of these the blessed Paul said: *Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Chris himself being the chief corner stone.* And again: *Peter and James and John, who seemed to be pillars.* And the Lord said to Peter, after that true and divine confession: *You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.* And again: *You are the light of the world; a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.* Upon these holy mountains the Lord Christ planted the foundations of piety.

VERS. 2. *The Lord loves the gates of Sion more than all the tabernacles of Jacob.* But let the divine Paul explain what this Sion is: *You are come to*

^A mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the festival gathering and Church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens. And again: *But that Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother.* And discoursing concerning the patriarch Abraham in the Epistle to the Hebrews, he further added: *For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.* And again, speaking of the other saints: *For they that say such things signify that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned: but now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly.* We are taught, therefore, that there is a certain heavenly city, and that it is named Jerusalem, not as having towers and ramparts, ^B nor shining with the glitter of stones, but gleaming with the choirs of the saints, and adorned with the angelic way of life. No one would be wrong in calling the churches on earth the gates of this city; for through them it is possible to enter into that one. For in these, being instructed and exercised, we are taught the way of life of that city. The prophetic word says that these gates are beloved by the God of all, and preferred before the Jewish tabernacles.

VERS. 3. *Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.* ^C Wonderful and unexpected are the things which have been foretold concerning you, and they transcend all human expectation. That the things which were said do not at all befit the earthly Sion, what follows testifies.

VERS. 4. *I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me. And behold, those of other nations, and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians; these were born there.* These things, he says, O divine city, have been spoken concerning you: so that those who of old dwelt in impiety, and were held fast in the darkness ^D of ignorance, might become worthy to dwell in you, and to partake of your way of life. For this reason he made mention of the aforementioned nations, as though speaking of the most wicked...

and of those who had bound upon themselves the power of impiety, so that through them he might also manifest the others. For Rahab ^A was indeed Canaanite and a harlot; Babylon, however, was savage and impious; and the strangers, that is, the Philistines—we have already shown who these are—were both superstitious and lawless. The prophet Ezekiel has composed a tragedy concerning the impiety and licentiousness of Tyre. But the prophet called the people of the Ethiopians—not only the Ethiopians themselves, whose souls imitated the color of their bodies, but also all those who possess black souls—by that name. For indeed, in the Song of Songs, the Bride cries out: «I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem.» [Black, indeed, because having been deceived, I have been stained by the fatness of irrational creatures; but beautiful, because I await You, who shall come from the heavens for my salvation.] And at the same time he has manifested both the darkness of the impiety and the beauty granted by divine grace. ^B These nations, however, never came together to Jerusalem during the time of the Jews, nor did they love the legal way of life; but after the incarnation of our Savior, they both inhabit this Jerusalem and fill the churches throughout the world, and ascend to that Jerusalem which is above, and share in that blessed way of life. [For of what nations were there some who did not believe in the Savior? And who among these did not also occupy the lower Jerusalem, so as to worship in those illustrious and holy places, in which God from God not only put on flesh, but also walked with His own feet, for the sake of His extraordinary love for mankind? Having therefore spoken well, he then proceeds:]

VERS. 5. «Mater Sion, will say a man.» For each one will call Sion mother, ^C and every man will say that Sion is mother. [So also the blessed Paul says: «But the Jerusalem above is free, which is mother of us all.»] «And a man was born in her.» To the words «will say a man» this is also joined. For he who names Sion mother will also confess the birth of the man who was born in her; and lest anyone should suspect this man to be merely a human being, he immediately added: «And the Most High Himself founded her.» For this man who was born in her is also Creator and Artificer, being Most High, and God. ^D

^A This enumeration our Lord also taught to His holy apostles, saying: «The very hairs of your head are all numbered.» And he revealed this registration to His own disciples, saying: «Do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you, but that your names are written in heaven.»

VERS. 7. «As of all those who are joyful, the home is in Thee.» ^B For that heavenly commonwealth, removed from all sadness, possesses sincere and pure joy and gladness. In this, the foster-children of piety do not dwell as if in an inn, but as in their fatherland for all eternity.

Interpretation of Psalm LXXXVII

VERS. 1. «A song of a psalm, to the sons of Korah; for the end; concerning Maeleth, for a response; a Psalm of instruction by Heman the Israelite.» Symmachus, instead of «concerning Maeleth,» said «for a chorus,» and Aquila said «upon a dancing-circle.» Now Heman was the leader of a certain choir of those singing and praising God. ^C The response tacitly intimates the orders of choirs answering one another. The prophecy therefore foretells the calamities of the Jews and the Babylonian captivity. But it teaches at the same time the sorrows of the whole of human nature together after the committed sin. The prophecy of this psalm has been fashioned into a petition, offered both by these people and by all generally to the merciful God; and this prayer is fitting for those who are more pious.

VERS. 2, 3. «O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and by night before Thee. Let my prayer enter into Thy presence.» Thee, O Master, I know to be the Lord of my salvation; for this reason, by night and by day I implore that my supplication be received. ^D [For He says this through those things which follow:] «Incline Thy ear to my supplication.» [And for what reason he implores through those things which follow and says:]

^A VERSE 4. "For my soul is filled with evils, and my life has drawn near to Hades." Seeing the multitude of evils that surround me, I beseech you [to drive them away]; for I am near unto death itself, and I stand in need of your help, [from which, being destitute, I am enslaved to sin. For this is what he says.]

VERSE 5. "I was counted with those who go down into the pit." I have fallen into certain inextricable calamities, and I find no deliverance, but I am like those who have fallen into a pit and cannot climb out. "I became as a man without help." I am bereft of all providence and care.

VERSE 6. "Free among the dead." And although I have not yet undergone the end of life, nor received the slavery of death, I count myself among the dead. "Like the wounded lying in the grave, whom you remember no more, and who are rejected from your hand." These things also are joined with the aforementioned, "I became as a man without help," among the dead, free, and not yet having received the slavery of death. I became as one wounded, struck in war, and delivered to burial. For this is how Symmachus expressed it: "Like the wounded lying in the grave, whom you will no more remember, who have been cut off from your hand." [For those, he says, have been cut off from your providence; but may your aid anticipate me, lest I myself fall into the same pit.]

^C VERSE 7. "They set me in the lowest pit, in darkness, and in the shadow of death." These words are also fitting for those who were compelled to live in Babylon, and for the whole nature of men. For those lived a wretched life serving wicked men; and all men, after the sin, have fallen into calamities of every kind. For after the transgression of the commandment, there followed death, and mourning, and tears, and wailing, and lamentations, and widowhoods, and orphanhoods, and poverty, and hardships, and ten thousand other things, unspeakable, which bring darkness even upon the living. [See how great an evil disobedience is, inasmuch as it not only separates God from us, but also involves us in so many evils.]

VERSE 8. "Your anger has been confirmed upon me, and you have brought all your waves upon me." But Symmachus says thus: "Your anger has broken out upon me, and with your tempests you have afflicted me." You continue, he says, to punish me, and [bring upon me various assaults of calamities.]

This is a metaphor derived from those who have suffered shipwreck, and who receive many assaults of waves and many onsets of winds.

VERS. 9. "You have removed my acquaintances far from me." I am deserted, he says, by both intimates and kinsfolk. For those who were captives in Babylon, bearing the yoke of servitude, being scattered and deprived of the company and familiarity of their friends, had no consolation from them. Moreover, all men who were living in impiety did not enjoy the guardianship of the angels. "They have made me an abomination to themselves." Namely, the enemies. "I was delivered up, ^B and I could not go out." I find no deliverance from the evils that press upon me.

VERS. 10. "My eyes have languished because of poverty." Symmachus says thus: "My eye has flowed out because of the affliction." For I have consumed my eyes with tears, compelled by pain to weep. "I have cried out to you, O Lord, all the day long; I have stretched out my hands to you." Grant, therefore, one way of deliverance from my dire straits: your providence, O Lord; for while ever stretching out my hands, I entreat you. This posture ^C signifies the bitter pain of the soul. For one compelled by necessity entreats him who is able to provide help with all the more fervor in this way.

VERS. 11. "Will you perform wonders for the dead? Or shall physicians raise them up, and shall they confess to you?" While I am still living, he says, show me your wonder-working power; for once I have died, I shall not see it. For there is no physician who is able to deliver from death; for what medicine has this power?

VERS. 12. "Shall anyone tell of your mercy in the grave, and your truth in destruction?" ^D That is, no one will tell or confess it after the departure from here.

VERS. 13. "Shall your wonders be known in the darkness, and your righteousness in a land forgotten?" Is it possible, he says, for the dead who have dissolved into dust, and who dwell in the grave of death, and have been surrendered to oblivion, to perceive your loving-kindness and become spectators of your wonders?

VERS. 14. "But I have cried out to you, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer shall prevent you." But Symmachus

Symmachus puts it thus: "My groaning is toward you, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer shall prevent you." ^A For, desiring in my life to be delivered from the evils that beset me, I mourn and pray, and I anticipate the morning with my supplication.

Verse 15. "Why, O Lord, do you reject my soul, do you turn your face away from me?" Why then, O Master, do you cast me off, and do not impart your kindness to me?

Verse 16. "I am poor, and in labors from my youth." The "youth" of Israel is the exodus from Egypt; but the "youth" of all mankind is life outside of paradise after the transgression of the commandment. And both these and those passed all the intermediate time enduring hardships. "I was exalted, but I was humbled and brought to desperation." ^B For both the Jews, after their splendor, fell into slavery; and the nature of men, having been created according to the divine image and deemed worthy of the life in paradise, because it longed for greater things, fell even from the good things which it had received as a gift.

Verses 17, 18. "Your angers have passed over me, and your terrors have disturbed me. They encompassed me like water." He says: You have stirred up all your anger against me, and you have terrified me with the most fearful punishments, and by these, as if by waters, you have made me submerged. "They encompassed me all the day." I am daily overwhelmed by these.

Verse 19. "You have removed friend and neighbor far from me, and my acquaintances, because of my misery." ^C Struggling with such great calamities, I do not even have consolation from acquaintances, being deprived of their company on account of the hardship of slavery. But these things were appropriate to say not only for the Jews, nor only for all men before the advent of the Savior, but even now this prayer is fitting and appropriate for those who suffer similar things; for, according to the divine Apostle: "Whatever was written down was written down for our instruction, that through the patience and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Interpretation of Psalm LXXXVIII

Verse 1. "Of understanding, for Ethan the Israelite." ^D The blessed David, seeing those who were honored in temples

^A but seeing only the ark of God without honor, promised the building of a divine temple. Accepting this purpose of his, God rewards his noble promise and pledges that He will construct for Himself a rational temple out of his loins, and through it, He would bring about the salvation of all men, and would grant him a kingdom without end. These promises He made to him through the prophet Nathan; and this the history of Chronicles clearly teaches. Also in the second book of Kings, Nathan says to him: "And the Lord will declare to thee that He will build a house for Himself." ^B The history of the Acts also remembers these things. For the blessed Peter, having a discourse among the Jews, among many other things, spoke also these: "Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn to him by an oath that of the fruit of his loins He would raise up the Christ according to the flesh, to sit upon his throne, foreseeing this he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul left in hell, nor did his flesh see corruption" [that is, of Him who was without sin: for there is not among men any who is without sin, except God the Word, Jesus Christ, who took flesh from the lineage of David]. These promises He also made to the patriarch ^C Abraham. For He said to him: "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Interpreting this, the divine Paul says thus: "Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to thy seed, which is Christ.'" Looking to these promises, their descendants, seeing themselves become captives and forced to inhabit a foreign land, and the royal city deserted, and the kingdom extinguished, call to memory the promises made to the God of all. And sometimes they bring forward the patriarch Abraham into the midst, and his son and his grandson, reminding God of His covenants; ^D at other times the blessed David, and the promises made to him. In the same way the blessed martyrs, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, praying to God in the furnace, made mention of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel. The prophetic grace, therefore, for their benefit also wrote this psalm, teaching how one ought to soothe God and from

^A His kindness receive. Therefore it is inscribed "Of Understanding," for this is what those who are being chastened especially need, so that they might say nothing unseemly while they complain, but rather wait for the divine mercy. Ethan himself was also the leader ^B of the choir of those singing in the temple and praising God. [For it is not as some have said, that this psalm is Heman's; but, as we have said, he was also the leader of the choir of singers, in that, as with the rest, the duty of singing had been entrusted to him by the most blessed David.]

Ver. 2. "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy truth to all generations." Entreating the divine mercy, they celebrate that mercy, and, desiring to see the truth of the promises which were made to David, they promise that they will teach every generation.

Ver. 3. "For thou hast said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy truth shall be established in the heavens." This is the word of God spoken to David, that He will keep mercy for his seed for ever. Therefore they call this promise to mind. You, he says, have said that you will increase, and not lessen, the mercy. For he used "shall be built up" instead of "shall be increased" [and it shall receive an addition.] "Shall be established," Symmachus has said. You have pledged, ^C he says, by your work to confirm the truth of your words.

Ver. 4, 5. "I have made a covenant with my chosen." [These things are spoken in the person of God and Father, and likewise what follows:] "I have sworn unto David my servant: Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations." These words are joined to "For thou hast said," because I made these covenants with my chosen. By chosen, he designates Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel. And in addition to this, he says that he has sworn to David to keep his seed indestructible, and that his throne should flourish in every generation. Having thus gone through the promises of God, and ^D not seeing the end of these things, they are compelled to say nothing unseemly on account of their calamities, but they honor the Ruler of all with praises.

^A

VERS. 6. *Confitebuntur cæli mirabilia tua, Domine: etenim veritatem tuam in Ecclesia sanctorum.* Theodotio says thus: *And thy faith in the Church of the saints*; [that is, all who place their confidence in Thee shall preserve Thy faith.] For it is fitting that Thou be praised by all, but especially by those who inhabit the heavens, who see Thy wonders more accurately, and who know the firmness of the promises. The blessed Paul also remembers this Church which is in the heavens: *For ye have approached*, he says, *unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the Church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens.* (Heb. xii, 22, 23).

VERS. 7. *For who in the clouds shall be equal to the Lord? or who shall be like unto the Lord among the sons of God?* Symmachus, however, says thus: *For who in the ether shall compare himself to the Lord, and shall make himself equal to the Lord among the sons of gods?* He calls those gods "sons of God," just as he calls men "sons of men." But he names them gods, not as being truly so, but as they are thought to be gods by the infidels. He says, therefore, that Thou art exalted even above the heavenly beings, and art incomparably superior to all, and no one of those who exist will be able to be compared to Thee. For the falsehood of the gods who were made by men is refuted, but Thy power is everlasting and immortal. He used similar words elsewhere also, saying: *And our God is above all gods.* (Psalm cxxxiv, 5). ^B But the prophets make this comparison, not being ignorant of the magnitude of the difference, but in order to bring forth teaching accommodated to the weakness of the infidels.

VERS. 8. *God who is glorified in the council of the saints, is great and terrible over all who are in his circuit.* Since he made mention of the gods that are not, and God who truly is was ignored by impious men, he worthily brought forward the saints, by whom the true God is praised, to whom He is also terrible, as they who are nearer to Him, and who know His inexplicable power. And he named the gathering of the saints the council of the saints in this place. ^C

VERS. 9. *O Lord God of hosts, who is like unto thee? Thou art powerful, O Lord, and thy truth is in thy circuit.* They constantly mention the truth, desiring to see the outcome of the promises; ^D and they say to

^A him, "Who among those that are can be compared to thee, O Lord?" Thou art the Lord and God of hosts, having power that corresponds to thy will; all things with thee are true and steadfast. Then he sets forth the proofs of his power.

10, 11. "Thou rulest the power of the sea, and thou dost calm the surging of its waves. Thou hast humbled the proud one as one that is wounded; with the arm of thy power thou hast scattered thine enemies." Thou art, he says, the Creator and Lord of all, and it is easy for thee both to stir up the sea and to produce a calm. Having made mention of the sea, he also reminds us of what happened therein. For he calls Pharaoh "the proud one," and the Egyptians "the enemies," whom he delivered to the sea ^B while saving his own people. He also predicts at the same time the destruction of the teachers of arrogance; for these, too, along with the wicked army, he destroys in the all-holy baptism, just as there through Moses, so here through the priest.

12. "Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth; the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded." For thou art the maker and creator not only of the sea and of the whole earth, but also of the heavens that are above them. For thy work is not only the visible heaven, but also that which is above it.

13. "The north and the sea thou didst create." But Theodotion says thus: "The north and the south thou didst create." ^C [He calls the south "the sea," because it most perturbs its depths.] And the winds, he says, and these parts of the world are thy handiwork. Nor did he make mention of these two parts without reason; but because the Egyptians are to the south of Jerusalem, and the Assyrians are to the north; and having overturned the boldness of the Egyptians, he granted them freedom. It is easy for thee, he says, to destroy these as well as those. When that has come to pass, "Thabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name." By these he indicated the whole land of promise; for these are the mountains of that land. As for "shall rejoice," ^D Aquila said "shall praise," and Symmachus said "shall celebrate." However, he did not say that the mountains would do this, but the men who dwell upon the mountains or by the mountains.

^A Ver. 14. "Your arm with power." It is proper to You to effect all things powerfully. For he took "arm" for efficacy, and "power" for strength; for indeed Aquila substituted "strength" for "power." "Let Your hand be strengthened; let Your right hand be exalted." But Symmachus says it thus: "Your hand is unconquerable, your right hand is lofty." We have often said that by the hand, efficacy is signified, and by the right hand, good efficacy; being in need, therefore, of twofold efficacy, they made mention of both. For they desire to see their enemies overthrown, and they themselves beg to obtain salvation. For this reason they call the hand unconquerable, and the right hand lofty, as being able both to punish those and to liberate their own selves. And they declare this also through the things that follow.

Ver. 15. "Righteousness and judgment are the preparation of Your throne; mercy and truth shall go before Your face." ^B For as they entreat God to judge both themselves and the Babylonians, they beseech Him to bring forth a just verdict against the latter, but to show mercy to themselves and to demonstrate the truth of the promise. For this reason they said that His judicial throne is adorned with righteousness and judgment, but that mercy and truth go before God, because the promise was made many ages before.

Ver. 16. "Blessed is the people that knows jubilation." Jubilation, as we have often said, is the voice of those who have conquered. Since, therefore, they had been conquered and led into slavery, they call those blessed who have achieved victory. The discourse also foretells the people, who in every land and sea offer mystic jubilation to God and sing the triumphal hymn. ^C And the following things harmonize with this sentiment: "Lord, they shall walk in the light of Your countenance." [Ver. 17.] "And in Your name shall they exult all the day, and in Your righteousness shall they be exalted." They exult, and chant a paean on account of the victory won against the enemies, and to You, the author of victory, they offer the triumphal hymn, being illuminated by Your advent, and having received from You the splendor [through the laver of regeneration], and continuously enjoying delight, and performing the righteousness ordained by law, and having thereby become lofty and illustrious.

Ver. 18. "For You are the glory of their strength." Because of Your power, he says, they are extolled: for from You they received this very thing. "And in Your righteousness shall our horn be exalted." ^D Moreover we, he says, have this hope, and we await Your aid:

for by this means we shall be superior to the enemies. For He called the horn "strength" and "power," a metaphor taken from horned animals, which, armed with their horns, use them against those who attack them. ^B

VERS. 19. "For the Lord is our protector, and of the Holy One of Israel, our King." And we are nourished by this hope, having You as King, and living under Your protection.

VERS. 20. "Then You spoke in a vision to Your sons." Symmachus, however, says: "Then You spoke through a vision to Your sons." For we know the promises that You made through the prophets. For these (prophets) He named as both "seers" and "beholders." ^C

"And You said: I have placed help upon the mighty one; I have exalted the elect one from my people. [VERS. 21.] I have found David my servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him." You, he says, testified to Your servant David, and having found him mighty in the accomplishments of virtue, You deemed him worthy of Your help, and You chose him, and anointed him, and appointed him King.

VERS. 22. "For My hand shall help him, and My arm shall strengthen him." You promised that You would provide him with strength, and would share Your protection with him. ^D

VERS. 23. "The enemy shall not prevail against him; and the son of iniquity shall not add to afflict him." Moreover, You promised that You would show the plots of his enemies to be vain, and that You would set him above those who attempt to harm him.

VERS. 24, 25. "And I shall cut his enemies from before his face, and those who hate him I shall put to flight. And My truth and My mercy shall be with him; and by My name his horn shall be exalted." You promised also to overthrow all his enemies, and to provide him with lasting kindness, and to make him illustrious and conspicuous.

^A

Vers. 26. "And I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers." I will give him dominion over sea and land; for by the rivers, he indicated the mainland. ^B

VERS. 27. "He shall call upon me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the supporter of my salvation." [When Christ said, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me," and again, when He said to His apostles, "I am going to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God."]

VERS. 28. "And I will make him my firstborn, high among the kings of the earth." These things truly reached their end neither in the days of David nor of the most celebrated Solomon. For neither did Solomon or David possess the sea, nor was he called the firstborn of God, nor did he receive authority over all kings. Thus indeed did Aquila interpret it: "Highest among the kings of the earth"; and Symmachus: "The Most High of the kings of the earth." But if these words befit neither David nor Solomon, and the promise of God is true, the Jews are blind, not willing to worship Him who, according to the flesh, is sprung from David, who has dominion over both the earth and the sea, and is superior to all kings: having some as voluntary worshippers, and exposing the weakness of those who dare to contradict Him. For although they employ countless machinations, they cannot overcome the laws established by Him. Moreover, the blessed Paul also names Him the firstborn: "That he might be [the] firstborn among many brethren." And: "The firstborn from the dead"; and: "The firstborn of all creation." ^C Indeed, the Lord Himself after the resurrection said to Mary: "Go, and tell my brethren: I am going to my Father and your Father, my God and your God." For just as He is the only-begotten insofar as He is God (for He alone was begotten of the Father), so He is the firstborn insofar as He is man (for as man He has as brothers those who have believed); thus, as God He calls God His Father, but as man He calls Him His God. In Him, therefore, the prophecy ^D

^A received its end. The following verses also bear witness to this.

VER. 29. "And I will keep My mercy for him forever, and My covenant shall be faithful to him." [By "covenant" he means that which God the Father did covenant with their fathers, that He would, as we say, raise up the Lord from their seed.]

"And I will establish his seed forever, and his throne as the days of heaven." [His seed are those nurtured by grace, and the kingdom is that which He Himself bestowed upon them; concerning which the Lord Himself said to those who believe in Him: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."] Let the Jews, then, show the royal throne of David lasting even until today, which God promised He would keep forever. Let them also show his seed adorned with a kingdom. If they can demonstrate neither of these, even though they boast of these things most impudently, one of two things remains: either to call God’s promise false, or, trusting the true promise, to accept the testimony of the facts. For Christ, born of David according to the flesh, "sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say: 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You'?" Concerning Him, the blessed David said: "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ^B Accordingly, through the Lord Christ, the seed of David has endured forever, and His throne has the quality of permanence. For thus also the blessed Isaiah prophesied. Having said, "A Child is born to us, a Son is given to us, whose government is upon His shoulder," [lest anyone think that that Child is a man, and not God, he expresses the matter more ^C distinctly through what follows: "And He shall be called the Angel of great counsel," whom he also calls God and Mighty, by which he signifies that the one who appeared as a child is the same as He who is from eternity. For he did not say that He arrived at a beginning as if He were receiving a rank, but that the government was given to Him as if to one who was indeed inherently King, in order to show that He who is God the Word, incarnate for our sake, is He of whom David spoke, having inherited a throne that does not pass away.]

^A And He is called by name Angel of the Great Counsel,

Wondrous,

Vers. 31–34. «If his sons should abandon my law and not walk in my judgments; if they should profane my righteousness and not keep my commandments, I will visit their iniquities with a rod, and their injustices with scourges. But my mercy I will not scatter from him, nor will I do him injury in my truth.» He says that although those who derive their lineage from David may commit countless lawless acts, I will indeed subject them to punishments, but I will keep the promise made to David firm. ^B "But my mercy I will not scatter from him," that is, from David, "nor will I do him injury in my truth." For "I will do him injury," Symmachus said "I will transgress," but Aquila [said] "I will not lie." [“Nor will I do him injury,” instead of “I will not transgress, nor will I lie regarding my promises.”]

Vers. 35. «Nor will I profane my covenant, and I will not render void what proceeds from my lips.» I will not be false to my promises, nor will I transgress the pacts, but I will reveal the truth of the promises, [when my Son, who is co-beginningless and co-eternal with me, is made flesh from David; for this is what he says through the following verses].

Vers. 36. «Once I have sworn by my holy one, if I shall lie to David.» For having made the promise to him firm, I will bring it to its end; for he placed "I have sworn" for the sake of confirmation, since those who promise something are accustomed to confirm their promises with an oath.

Vers. 37, 38. «His seed shall remain unto the age, and his throne as the sun before me. And as the moon, established unto the age; and a faithful witness in heaven.» Instead of "witness," Symmachus has placed "he who has testified." ^D And in the seventy-first Psalm, blessed David prophesied concerning the Lord Christ: "Before the sun remains his name," and [concerning the one] existing together ...

with the moon, for all generations. ^A Since the sun, by rising and setting, causes time to be measured and creates day and night, through the sun He wished to signify the indissolubility of the throne, and promised that his seed would endure unto eternity. [The seed of the Word of God are all who believe in him.] He who promises and testifies to these things is in heaven, and uses true and faithful words, [inasmuch as he alone knows not how to lie.] In this way, having spoken the promises made to David, they lament the calamities that have come upon them.

39, 40. "But thou hast rejected and despised, thou hast deferred thy Christ. Thou hast overturned the covenant of thy servant." Symmachus says it thus: "But thou thyself hast cast off and rejected, thou hast been enraged ^B against thy Christ, thou hast given thy servant’s covenant unto cursing." But thou thyself, who promised that thou wouldst provide those things, hast indeed rejected the descendants of David, and rendered them cheap, and delivered them into slavery; and thou hast destroyed his kingdom, and dissolved the covenants made with thy servant. For by "Christ" he refers here to the kingdom. And the two descendants of David were led away as captives, Jechonias and Sedecias; and in them the kingdom of David came to an end. For Zorobabel, who led the people after the captivity, was a leader of the people, not a king. "Thou hast profaned his sanctuary to the ground." By sanctuary he names the temple, which David had desired to build, but Solomon erected after David; he says ^C that this was profaned by the incursion of the Babylonians, and became like a flowering herb. For, having been destroyed, it fell to the dust, and was made level with the ground.

41. "Thou hast pulled down all his hedges." Thou didst strip him of all protection. "Thou hast made his strongholds a terror." For he who formerly trusted in the walls of the cities, fell from his confidence, and is surrounded by terror.

42. "All that pass by the way despoiled him." Moabites, Ammonites, Allophyli (Philistines), Idumeans, Syrians, Assyrians, Babylonians. "He became a reproach to his neighbors." He became a laughingstock ^D and contemptible to those dwelling round about.

43. "Thou hast exalted the right hand of those who oppress him." Thou hast made his enemies mightier than he.

^A Ver. 44. "Thou hast turned away the help of his sword, and hast not helped him in the war." His weapons became useless to him, since he was stripped of thy guardianship.

Ver. 45. "Thou hast cast him down from his purification." But Symmachus says thus: "Thou hast caused his purity to cease." For he cannot be cleansed by sprinklings, being a captive and dwelling far from thy temple. "And thou hast cast his throne to the ground." Thou hast utterly destroyed his kingdom.

^B Ver. 46. "Thou hast shortened the days of his time." Though thou didst promise to preserve his kingdom for eternity, thou hast limited it to a short time. "Thou hast covered him with confusion." He has become ignominious, and is filled with disgrace. For Zedekiah, with his eyes gouged out, was condemned to the millstone for all the remaining time. And Jechoniah himself also served. But these things are full of shame and reproach. Having thus recounted the calamities, the prophetic discourse exhorts one to supplicate and pray.

Ver. 47. "How long, O Lord, wilt thou turn away unto the end, shall thy wrath burn like fire?" But Symmachus: "Until when, O Lord, wilt thou hide thyself unto the end, and shall thy fury burn like fire?" How long, he says, O Lord, dost thou not wish to look upon our pains, nor appear, and put an end to our calamities, but, like fire, kindlest thy wrath by the memory of our sins?

^C Ver. 48. "Remember what my substance is." Thou art the author and creator, and thou knowest the measures of my strength. "For hast thou created all the sons of men in vain?" Not without reason, nor in vain didst thou fashion men, but goodness preceded the creation. For it was for goodness alone that thou didst create us. Do not, therefore, despise us who are allotted to so many and such great evils.

Ver. 49. "What man is he who shall live and not see death, who shall deliver his soul from the hand of hell?" The end of every man is death; for it is impossible for us to be superior to death itself: grant therefore thy kindness to those who are living. Then he again reminds him of his promises.

Ver. 50. "Where are thy old mercies, O Lord, which thou hast sworn to David in thy truth?" He does well, in every place, to bring forward the truth of... ^D

"Thou didst swear unto David in thy truth?" ^A Wisely, however, he everywhere brings forward the testimony of truth, inciting the one who made the promise to the confirmation of his promises. Having woven the prelude from mercy, at the end he again makes mention of mercy; for this was what they needed most.

VER. 51. "Remember, O Lord, the reproach of thy servants, which I have borne in my bosom of many nations." Symmachus puts it thus: "And I have borne in my bosom of very many nations." Do not despise me, he says, being reproached, not by one nation, but by infinite nations. For not only the Assyrians and Babylonians insult me, but also all my neighbors, who continually exercise enmity against me. And they do not only mock me, but they also move their tongue against thee, and employ blasphemous words, thinking my servitude to proceed from thy weakness. This he shows through the things that follow.

VER. 52. "Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord, wherewith they have reproached the substitution of thy Christ." Symmachus and Theodotion put it thus: "They have reproached the footsteps of thy Christ." ^B By "footsteps of Christ," he designates the kings of that time, through whom the word concerning the kingdom of Christ went forth. The Seventy, however, called them a "substitution," as they were ancestors according to the flesh, and as those who administered the kingdom while in a certain darkness. Therefore, for the sake of thy Christ, whose footsteps and substitution these are, cause, O Lord, that our reproaches may cease.

VER. 53. "Blessed be the Lord for ever; let it be, let it be." The melody of the hymns is one of good hope. For when they had believed that God had accepted their prayers, they offered this hymn unto God. ^C Aquila shows this thought more accurately, by having interpreted *Amen, Amen*; for he said, "Certain and faithful," as if he were to say, "Thou art true, and very true." Blessed therefore for ever; for thou confirmest thy promises by thy works.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM LXXXIX

VER. 1. "A prayer of Moses the man of God." ^D Some of the authors have said that the great Moses composed this prayer; but others have said that the blessed David was its writer, but that he adapted it to the divine Moses. But the psalm produces a twofold prophecy.

^A It predicts not only the calamities of the Jews, but it also teaches how transient and fleeting the whole of human nature is. It also prophesies a change for the better for both the one and the other. [The present psalm was accurately written by the blessed David, just like all the others.] "Lord, you have become our refuge from generation to generation." For the refuge of the Jews was not only in Egypt, but also in the wilderness, ^B and in the time of Joshua the son of Nun, and of Gideon, and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samson, and Samuel, and David; and through the prophets He deemed them worthy of every care, and when they had kings, He imparted every aid to them. Moreover, the whole of human nature uses these words, calling to memory the diverse benefits of God: how He translated Enoch, how, when all had embraced a beast-like life, He preserved the divine Noah as a spark for the race, how, having chosen the patriarch Abraham, He promised the blessing to all nations. For not, as some of the unbelievers dare to say, did the Lord of all things come to adorn the nations with benefits out of repentance, ^C but the Lord of all things always took care of all humans, even before He took on human nature in an incomprehensible way. And the prophecy has taught us to assert this: "Lord, you have become our refuge from generation to generation." For we have always enjoyed Your hope, O Master.

VER. 2. "Before the mountains were made, or the earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, You are." For You exist before all created things; before the mountains, and the earth, and the entire world; for You are eternal, without beginning and without end, circumscribed by no limit. For with the words, "Before the mountains were made," that which follows, "You are," must be conjoined.

VER. 3. "Do not avert man into humiliation." ^D I implore You, therefore, the eternal, the everlasting, who have always been our refuge, not to overlook us who are completely beset by so many and such great evils. For since He Himself condemned Adam to sweats and labors, saying: "In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread, until you return to the earth from which you were taken; for you are earth, and to earth you shall return," the prophetic word fittingly teaches us to pray not to be averted altogether into humiliation and into the destined miseries. Moreover, the Jews were compelled to serve,

^A and they offer this supplication, lamenting their enslavement and bondage. "And You said, ‘Turn back, O sons of men.’" Aquila, however, says it this way: "And you will say, ‘Turn back, O sons of men.’" It is not in vain, he says, that we entreat, but because we know clearly that You will accept our prayers and bring about for us a change of the current evils, urging us to return and to be delivered from our former wickedness.

Vers. 4. "For a thousand years in Your sight, O Lord, are as yesterday which has passed, and as a watch in the night." The meaning of the words is involved in a transposition. For this clause corresponds to the former: "Do not turn man to humiliation, for a thousand years in Your sight, O Lord, are as yesterday which has passed, and as a watch in the night." But in the middle are set these words: "And You said, ‘Turn back, O sons of men.’" He says, therefore, that the life of men is small and very painful; but to You, the eternal and everlasting One, the number of a thousand years is compared to one day, or rather to a small part of the night. For he called the night-watch the fourth part of the night; for those to whom it was entrusted to keep watch used to divide the night into four vigils; and it was in the fourth watch that the Lord also came ^B to the apostles.

Vers. 5. "As for their years, they shall be as things of no account." For a long time, he says, You have subjected them to these miseries. And at the same time he indicates both the rejection of the Jews after the cross of our Savior and the deprivation of divine care, which was to last not for a short time, but for a very long time.

"In the morning, as grass, let it pass away. [Vers. 6] In the morning let it bloom and pass away; in the evening let it fall, be hardened, and wither." For the Jews, when they were deemed worthy of divine care, immediately bloomed and flourished and acquired much splendor. But when they would not give the ripe fruit to the Husbandman, but hardened their hearts, they withered completely, since they no longer partook of the former irrigation. By "morning" he calls the beginning of the Jews' care, and by "evening," the cessation of divine providential protection. They were stripped of this after the cross, ^C [because they erected the cross against God and the Savior; for he says this in what follows].

Vers. 7. "For we have failed in Your wrath, and in Your fury we have been troubled." These words are applicable both to the Jews and to all men. For the nature of men, paying the penalties for its transgressions, has been subjected to

^A calamities and is encompassed by all kinds of tempests. The Jews, too, on account of the perversity of their mind, fell away from their liberty, [just as many men also, because they refused to believe, have dug a pit for themselves. "For he dug a pit and hollowed it out, and he shall fall into the pit which he made."]

vERS. 8. "You have set our iniquities before you, our age in the illumination of your countenance." Symmachus, however, says: "You have placed our iniquities before you, [so that] our negligences might appear to your face." You subjected us to these punishments when you saw that we were sinning against your laws through negligence and passing our lives in iniquity.

vERS. 9. "For all our days have declined, and in your wrath we have vanished." Sin, he says, stirred up wrath against us, and wrath brought on the punishment, and the punishment brought on pains; for we have spent our short life in pains.

^B vERS. 10. "Our years have meditated as a spider." Nothing firm, he says, or constant does human nature possess, but it is easily torn away like a spider's web. "The days of our years are seventy years; but if they should be in strength, eighty years; and what is more than these is labor and sorrow." These things are similar to what was said by the patriarch Jacob: "My days are few and evil, and they have not reached the days of my fathers." There are, indeed, some who live for more time than what has been stated, but that happens to few. Yet here he teaches what happens commonly and for the most part. For just as he made no mention of those who perish by an untimely death, so he also omitted the long-lived life of those who grow old. Yet nevertheless, he says, even this short time is filled with ^C sorrow and labors. [Just as even for those who were led away captive from Jerusalem, that period of seventy years during which they served those by whom they had been made captives was most bitter and most grievous.] "For mansuetude has come upon us, and we shall be instructed." Behold, indeed, by how many evils we are overwhelmed on account of your moderate wrath! For he called ^D the moderate punishment which came upon them "mansuetude."

vERS. 11. "Who knows the power of your wrath, and because of your fear, your wrath?" Symmachus, however,

writes thus: "Who knows the strength of your anger, and according to your fear, your wrath?" If your moderate displeasure, he says, has brought such great discipline upon us, who is capable of discerning the punishment inflicted by your wrath? The passage hints at eternal punishment.

^B 12 "Make known to me to number your right hand, and those fettered in heart in wisdom." I beseech you, he says, that I may be a partaker of your benefit, and that I may be able to count and tell of the gifts of your right hand, and to imitate those who have been made wise by your grace, who lead others to your knowledge.

13 "Turn, O Lord; how long? and be entreated concerning your servants." Do not, O Master, any longer disregard those who are suffering, but receive their supplication and deign to treat your servants with loving-kindness.

14 "We were filled in the morning with your mercy, and we rejoiced and were glad all our days." The tense is changed among the Seventy. For Aquila and the others have said thus: "Fill us in the morning with your mercy, and we will praise and be glad all our days." They call the change of calamities "morning" and "dawn"; and they entreat that that darkness be scattered, and that light may rise for them, not because of their own virtue, but because of divine mercy. For when this happens, he says, being filled with every pleasure, we shall offer corresponding hymns of praise.

15 "We were glad for the days in which you humbled us, for the years in which we saw evils." Here, too, the tense is similarly changed. For Symmachus and the rest have said: "Make us glad." Grant, he says, gladness in place of dejection, and bestow upon us a change from the adversity that presses upon us.

16 "And look upon your servants and upon your works." And from this it is clear that they have not said these things as already having come to pass, but as things that are to be. For they did not say, "You have looked upon your servants and upon your works." For we, he says, are your works, and the servants of your dominion; therefore we implore to obtain your providence. "And guide their sons." That is, your servants; for those who were in Babylon, offering their supplication, were imploring the God of those who had died to bring back their sons—and human nature prays,

that men who will be found at the coming of the Savior may be led to the truth.

Ver. 17. ‹And let the splendor of the Lord our God be upon us.› [He calls the incarnation of the Word of God ^A the "splendor," for at that time] he made us clear and illustrious by the light of divine knowledge: [for of this the son of thunder said, ‹And the light shineth in darkness.›] And the Jews, after their return, again became illustrious. ‹And direct the works of our hands over us; yes, the work of our hands direct thou it.› The addition of "over us" is rightly made. For the profit of righteousness is ours; and God indeed assists those who are diligent in virtue, and brings to perfection the things that belong to it: but those who sow it reap the fruit of these things. For God is in need of nothing, yet he rejoices in the prosperity and happiness of men, [if they surrender themselves entirely to him, ^B like a victim: just as Paul instructs us: ‹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.› Amen.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XC

‹A praise of a song by David. Without a title among the Hebrews.› The Psalm is indeed without a title. It teaches, however, the impregnable strength of hope placed in God. For when blessed David, with prophetic eyes, had foreseen from afar the things that happened to blessed Hezekiah, ^C and had seen how, by his hope fixed in God, he had routed the army of the Assyrians, he composed this psalm, teaching all men what an abundance of good things those have who place firm hope in God [so that each one, led by this song, having provided for his own life and placing his own confidence in the Savior, may entreat.]

Ver. 1. ‹He that dwelleth in the help of the Most High, shall abide in the protection of the God of heaven.› He who, he says, relies on divine help shall obtain protection from the God of heaven, and shall have a most secure rampart and safe security. [If, indeed, he carries this shield and, being aided by Him, remains free from wounds, he shall then say:]

Ver. 2. ‹He shall say to God: Thou art my protector and my refuge: ^D my God, and I will hope in him.›

› ^A For having firm hope in Him, he shall call Him his protector, his guardian, and his indissoluble shield.

Ver. 3. ‹For he shall deliver me from the snare of the hunters, and from the sharp word.› From this point on, He addresses the one who has believed the words, and encourages him, saying that He renders him superior not only to manifest enemies, but also to those who lie in wait, ambush, and secretly contrive treachery. ^B For by the "snare" He indicated secret plots. Symmachus called the "sharp word" a word of contumely. Such are they who weave lies and calumnies. Nevertheless, many have become superior even to these through their hope in God. Thus the great Joseph, enduring the calumnies of adultery, avoided its snares; thus the admirable Susanna enjoyed help from above. [And not only she, but we have also known and heard of countless multitudes saved up to the present day.]

Ver. 4. ‹He shall overshadow thee with his shoulders, and under his wings shalt thou hope.› For He shall be your champion and shall cover you when you are attacked in war. He has set this down using a metaphor taken from those who stand in the front lines of battle and cover with their shoulders those who are behind them. He calls the powers of Providence His "wings." He has established this using the image of birds; for they cover their chicks with their wings. Thus, the blessed Moses called upon the care of God. ^C He preserved them, he says, as the apple of an eye; as an eagle, to cover its nest, and He yearned over his chicks, spreading his wings, He took them up and carried them on His shoulders (Deut. xxxii, 10, 11). This the Lord also said to Jerusalem: ‹How often would I have gathered thy children, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!› (Matt. xxiii, 37).

Ver. 5. ‹His truth shall encompass thee with a shield.› Since He made mention of the "sharp word" and of lies above, He rightly promised here His truth as a suit of armor for him. ^D ‹Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, for the arrow that flieth

› ^A by day, 6. ‹from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, from the destruction and the noon-day devil.› Thou shalt overcome not only visible enemies, but also those who are not seen, having thy hope fixed in God, and thou shalt avoid the ambuscades that come by night, and the assaults made by enemies during the day. And having confidence, as one who is guarded by God, thou shalt banish fear; nor shalt thou be seized by panic at noon, but thou shalt escape the deceits of the demons, partaking of help from above. The "noon-day devil" he mentions according to the opinion that prevailed among the masses. It is likely that those who plot against men, after food and satiety, rush as if upon ready prey, and easily overcome those who are deprived of divine care.

7, 8. ‹A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. But thou shalt observe with thine eyes, and shalt see the reward of the wicked.› Instead of "at thy side," Symmachus and Aquila ^B have rendered "from the side." He means that even if an infinite multitude should come upon thee, whether from thy right or thy left, no harm shall come to thee, but thou shalt see them struck down by a divine plague. This also happened in the time of Hezekiah; for one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians were slaughtered without instruments of war. Likewise, in the time of Gideon, and of Jonathan, and of Jehoshaphat, and of the prophet Elisha, this very thing occurred.

9. ‹For Thou, O Lord, art my hope; Thou hast made the Most High thy refuge.› But this aid, he says, thou shalt obtain if thou hast placed thy hope in God and made Him thy refuge. For the structure of the prayer lacks the words, "Thou saidst, O Lord, Thou art my hope." For the prophetic Scripture ^C has this peculiar mode of speaking, especially in the psalms. Nevertheless, the order and sequence of the discourse resolve the ambiguity. For since, he says, thou hopest in God and callest upon Him for aid, thou obtainest the care that comes from Him.

10. ‹Evil shall not come to thee, and no scourge shall draw near thy tabernacle.› Thou shalt be superior to diabolical assaults, and from them thou shalt receive no harm. In this way, divine grace walled about the house of Job; and the enemy himself is witness, shouting: ‹Hast Thou not hedged about the things inside and the things outside of his house?› ^D

› ^A Since he gave permission, he also showed his own wickedness, and the just judge crowned the victorious athlete.

VERS. 11. ‹For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.› This he also mentioned in the thirty-third Psalm: ‹The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall rescue them.› We have also heard the patriarch Jacob saying: ‹The angel who rescued me from all evils.› And the great Abraham, encouraging his servant, said: ‹God will send His angel before thy face, and thou shall take a wife for my son Isaac from thence.› Everywhere, therefore, we learn that through angels the God of all protects those who have placed their hope in Him.

VERS. 12. ‹They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.› You will enjoy every kind of providence from them, so that not even the slightest harm may come to you from anywhere; for he has indicated a small harm through the striking against a stone. But the phrase ‹They shall bear thee up in their hands› is the same as saying they will lead you by the hand, they will guide you, they will bring you every kind of assistance.

VERS. 13. ‹Thou shalt tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample the lion and the dragon.› ^B He made mention of the most powerful and most bitter beasts, wishing to demonstrate the mastery over every kind of wickedness. For through the lion and the dragon, he indicated strength; for these are indeed very powerful beasts. But through the asp and the basilisk, he tacitly hinted at extreme malice. For the asp injects lethal poison, but the basilisk does harm even by its very gaze. Yet many who have believed in God have overcome these beasts. Thus the admirable Daniel bound the mouths of the lions; thus the divine Paul did not receive harm from the viper; [and that I may speak briefly, let us recur to the history of more ancient times:] thus, Noah, dwelling among beasts, was preserved unharmed. Thus countless ^C people who have embraced a solitary life and live with wild beasts escape the destructive power of these beasts through their firm hope placed in God.

VERS. 14, 15. ‹Because he has hoped in Me, I will deliver him; I will shelter him, because he has known My name. He shall cry unto Me, and I will hear him.› ^D

These things, then, the God of all said, teaching what is the fruit of hope: I shall rescue him, he says, from the aforementioned visible and invisible adversaries, he having fenced himself with my hope. For this reason I will guard him and cover him, and I will hear him when he speaks, and I will accept his petition. ^B "I am with him in tribulation." Even if he should fall into some temptation, I will be with him, and I will offer the sufficient consolation. "I will deliver him, and I will glorify him." And not only will I set him free from painful things, but I will also make him a spectacle of renown.

Ver. 16. "I will fill him with length of days, and I will show him my salvation." I will grant him also to arrive at a ripe old age, and I will pre-show to him the salvation that is to be in the future life. The blessed Hezekiah also obtained these things. For having asked for an increase of life, he received the number of fifteen years, and he acquired for himself great glory from the destruction of the Assyrians. And that saying very much applies to him: "I will deliver him, and I will glorify him, and I will show him my salvation." But also all those who have placed their hope in God will enjoy goods of every kind, just as the ancient histories teach, and those things which are now seen bear witness.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCI

Ver. 1. "A Psalm of a song, for the day of the Sabbath." The Sabbath prescribed rest, but not every kind of rest, since it multiplied the work of the spirit; for it commanded to attend to prayers and hymns, and to offer double sacrifices to God. Therefore the law concerning the Sabbath enjoined the cessation of bodily labors. Since, therefore, the future life also is free from such cares, it is rightly called rest. For this reason also the blessed Paul exclaims: "Let us therefore be diligent to enter into his rest." And again: "There remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God." Because, then, the psalm sings in advance of the reward of the just and the punishment of the impious, and in

^A that rest these things will come to pass, it has appropriately received this inscription.

Verses 2 and 3. "It is good to give praise to the Lord, and to sing to thy name, O Most High. To show forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night." It is useful, he says, and profitable, by night and by day, to hymn thee the benefactor, and to recount thy benefits—the philanthropy thou hast toward us, and the truth directed against those who do evil. For toward the latter, employing truth, thou dost chastise them justly; but us, who possess the knowledge of thee, thou dost deem worthy of thy providence.

Verse 4. "On an instrument of ten strings, with canticle, on the harp." They were accustomed to hymn God with such instruments. He says, therefore, that it is just for us, by both playing the prescribed instruments and using the melody of the voice, to offer thee a hymn of thanksgiving. ^B

Verse 5. "For thou hast delighted me, O Lord, in thy work; and I will rejoice in the works of thy hands." For beholding thy creations and thy unspeakable dispensations, I rejoice and exult, and with the pleasure of my soul I move my tongue to hymnody.

Verse 6. "How magnificent are thy works, O Lord! Thy thoughts are exceeding deep." Symmachus puts it thus: "Thy thoughts are very deep"; Aquila and Theodotion: "They are made deep." For thy works, he says, are great and wonderful—for he has set "how" as intensive—but thy wisdom has an inaccessible depth. For what mind is sufficient to examine the reasons of thy providence? But we bring this to the attention even of those who are ignorant. But those ^C who are bereft of their wits and have lost their rational faculty are neither willing to understand, nor do they deign to learn from others. For this is what he adds.

Verse 7. "An unwise man shall not know, and a fool will not understand these things." He has said these things in different ways, because he who is sick in his wits and destitute of understanding knows nothing of these things, nor does he wish to hear anything about them.

Verse 8. "When the ungodly shall spring up as grass, and all the workers of iniquity shall appear: that they may perish for ever and ever." ^D Regarding "shall appear," Aquila has said "shall flourish"; in the same way Symmachus...

and Theodotion have likewise interpreted it. They did not wish to understand, the foolish ones, because like grass they have flourished, and like green herb the workers of iniquity have sprouted from the earth, and they shall bring upon themselves eternal destruction after their present prosperity. But those who called themselves happy, and wished to be thought so, shall shortly behold their most wretched end. ^B

VERS. 9, 10. "Tu autem altissimus in æternum, Domine. Quoniam ecce inimici tui, Domine, quoniam ecce inimici tui peribunt, et dispergentur omnes qui operantur iniquitatem." For they indeed wither like grass and perish; but thou hast the sovereignty over all, being higher than all, and subjecting to punishments those who are held fast by folly.

VERS. 11. "Et exaltabitur sicut unicornis cornu meum." But we, who have the knowledge of thee, and have gazed upon the destruction of thy foes, shall boast in thee and shall exult; inasmuch as we have been freed from the error of many gods, and worship thee who truly art God, [receiving the horn of the cross as a weapon against afflictions and demons.] For he has again brought forward the unicorn in this place, that by the single horn he might manifest the one God. For just as that animal received one horn from nature, so do the disciples of piety worship one divinity. "Et senectus mea in oleo pingui." Symmachus, however, says thus: "My old age [shall be] as a flourishing olive tree." For I shall flourish, and I shall put away old age, and I shall imitate the flourishing olive tree, and, according to the Septuagint, I shall be ^C fattened with pleasure as if with a certain oil.

VERS. 12. "Et despexit oculus meus inimicos meos, et insurgentibus in me malignantibus audiet auris mea." For "despexit," Symmachus and Theodotion, and the Hebrew himself, have said "shall look upon." For the things spoken are a prophecy of future events; but the Seventy, using their customary manner, have interpreted the things that were to be as if they had already come to pass, declaring in this also the unanswerable nature of the prophecy. For just as...

it is impossible for things that have happened not to have happened, so it is impossible for the prophecy of the Spirit not to reach its end. He says, therefore, that I shall not only behold the painful end of the wicked, but I shall also hear ^A all men reporting this, and marveling at the justice of the punishment. Thus, therefore, must it be divided: "And [rising] against me malignant ones"; here one must place a pause, and then add, "my ear shall hear." I shall hear of those living in lawlessness, and of those weaving for me countless evils, as many recount their destruction.

Ver. 13. "The righteous shall flourish as the palm, he shall be multiplied like the cedar that is in Libanus." The sinners, therefore, having flourished like grass, were quickly extinguished and perished; but the righteous man shall imitate the density, the warmth, and the nourishing power of the cedar, and the lofty top and fruitfulness of the palm. Both remain for a very long time, and both require time for growth. Such too is the planting of virtue, which grows with much labor and time, but having raised itself on high, bears a seasonable and most pleasant fruit, and provides sufficient shade for its possessor. [As if planted in a divine paradise in the house of God. For this he says more clearly in what follows:]

Ver. 14. "They that are planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God shall flourish." These, he says, who are likened to these trees, have God Himself as their husbandman, and the divine temple as their paradise.

Ver. 15, 16. "They shall still be multiplied in a fat old age, and they shall be well-tending." That they may announce that the Lord our God is upright, and there is no iniquity in Him. Symmachus, however, says thus: "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing, announcing that the Lord, who defends me, is upright, and there is no injustice in Him." For in the life to come, receiving the promised perfection, they shall bring to God more and richer fruit, singing of His just judgment. For ^B beholding then the providence which is now hidden, made manifest, they shall marvel at His wisdom and praise His justice. ^C He has called perfection old age. For we also call the perfect man a "senior," and the imperfect one a "junior."

and we also call the old "aged," but the new "imperfect." ^A Through old age, therefore, he indicated the future perfection in which the fruit of justice will grow many times over, and the justice of God will become manifest to all.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCII

A praise of a song for David. Without a title among the Hebrews.

The words "Without a title among the Hebrews" are not in the Hexapla, nor are they with Eusebius. The psalm foretells a change in men. For God is immutable and unchangeable, always existing in the same way. For he does not rule at one time and lack a kingdom at another; rather, by nature he is always King, ^B though this has not always been manifest to men. For since most people were ignorant of him for a very long time, they offered the worship which was fitting for God to idols. But after the incarnation of God and our Savior, the knowledge of God spread, like light, over the whole world. [For he is the true light, which illuminates every man who comes into the world. Therefore the prophet, whose mind foresaw future things, says:]

VER. 1.

"The Lord has reigned, he is clothed with majesty."

^A *“The Lord has reigned, he is clothed with strength and hath girded himself.”* That Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, the divine Paul has clearly taught us. Consequently, he did not receive strength from any other source which he did not possess before, but he used his own power against his enemies. The prophetic word depicts him like a certain king putting on royal armor, using a girdle, and fighting against his enemies. ^B Next he shows the successes that proceed from this. *“For he has established the world, which shall not be shaken.”* He says that he made the world steady and firm, having obtained the stability of divine knowledge and having been delivered from the error of falsehood. For men no longer worship these gods now, and those gods then, but offer their veneration to the true God.

v. 2. *“Thy throne is prepared from then, from everlasting thou art.”* He says, it is not now that you received the election of the kingdom, but you have authority from everlasting, and a kingdom that is eternal. And concerning the kingdom, he also said in the forty-fourth Psalm: ^C *“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.”* And that he is unchangeable and invariable, he taught us again in the hundred and first Psalm: *“For thou art the same,”* he says, *“and thy years shall not fail.”* [For even if thou wast born a man, thou wast not in need of divinity, nor wast thou separated from the Father or the Holy Spirit; for the essence of the immaculate Trinity is one, one kingdom, one dominion.] Both testimonies, however, the blessed Paul applied to the Lord Christ.

v. 3. *“The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices; the rivers shall lift up their illisions.”* He calls the holy apostles rivers, and those who received the proclamation after them. ^D For these, like rivers, brought all irrigation to men. Thus the blessed Habakkuk also addressed them: *“The earth shall be cleft by rivers,”* that is, it will be divided and will receive the irrigation. So also the Lord said: *“He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly.”* These rivers, therefore, lifted up their voice, preaching divine dogmas and making their own journeys. For he called the paths *illisions* (or "clashings"). Since the nature of water is accustomed to wear away the earth beneath it and to create a path, he rightly called the movement of the waters a journey.

^A

VERS. 4. "From the voices of many waters, wonderful are the elations of the sea." Just as when great rivers debouch into the deep and hold back the force of the waves against the sand, the waves are curved back for a great distance by the conflict of the river currents, so too, when the sweet and potable doctrine of the Apostles was brought to the salt and bitter sea of the world, a certain tempest arose, and continuous waves stood up against one another. This the blessed Habakkuk also foretold. For having said, "The earth shall be cleft with rivers, the peoples shall see thee and be in travail, dividing the waters of the journey," he added: "The abyss gave its voice, the height of its imagination." ^B Every city was filled with this commotion. For it is the voice of the Lord Himself: "I came not to send peace upon the earth, but a sword, to set a man at variance against his neighbor, son against his father, daughter against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." But the beginning of the preaching indeed had the tempest; now, however, the Lord of the sea has rebuked the storm, and it has settled into a breeze, and its waves have been silenced, and there has been a great calm. "Wonderful is the Lord in the high places." Aquila, however, says: "Very great in height is the Lord." Most fittingly he has added this to what was said before, showing the power of Him who accomplishes the work. For He is very great, and most high, and Lord, and possessing a power ^C neither to be measured by the tongue nor grasped by the mind. [Allos ("The others") refers to the great patriarchs, prophets, and holy apostles, and all who are like them.]

VERS. 5. "Thy testimonies, O Lord, have been made very credible." You foretold all these things from above, and proclaimed them through your holy prophets. But the truth is confirmed by the testimony of the deeds. The addition of "very" is also good. As if to say, not even the slightest falsehood can be found in the predictions, but all things now seen were precisely foretold. "Holiness befits thy house, O Lord, into the length of days." ^D Furthermore, this is the greatest and most beautiful of all blessings, that the enjoyment of the gifts granted is not for a temporary period, nor limited to certain times, according to the Jewish worship; but

long-lasting, and permanent, and eternal; for to your new house these things are both a gift and fitting. ^A And the blessed Paul calls the assembly of the faithful the house of God, to which the prophet said that holiness belongs. It behooves us, therefore, according to the apostolic exhortation, to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, and to complete holiness in the fear of God, so that by preparing a house worthy of God, we may receive the eternal indweller.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCIII

^B • A Psalm of David, for the fourth day of the sabbath: without title among the Hebrews. It is clear that others placed the inscription, not the prophet, nor those who interpreted this from the beginning. The argument of the psalm is this. Many of the Jews, both leaders and kings, loved iniquity, and judging unjustly, they pronounced sentence, and dared commit murders, selling the blood of the innocent for bribes. The blessed Isaiah also accused them, saying: “Hear, leaders of Sodom.” And again: “Your leaders are disobedient, loving bribes, pursuing retributions, not judging for orphans, and not heeding the judgment of widows.” And he did not only accuse, but also exhorted: “Judge for the orphan, and justify the widow.” ^C The blessed Habakkuk also made this same accusation, and offering prayer to God, said: “You will make men like the fish of the sea, and like reptiles having no leader, and the ungodly shall devour the just.” Thus also the admirable Jeremiah, and indeed the other prophets, constantly kept arguing against their injustice. The divine David, seeing these things from afar with prophetic eyes, wrote this psalm, so that through the melody which happened in the divine temple, the men of that time might reap the benefit; and he teaches the providence of God, and the punishment which arises from this for those who have determined to live wickedly. He fashions the psalm in the person of pious men who suffer these things from them. ^D

VERS. 1. • “God of revenges is the Lord, God of revenges hath spoken freely.” Instead of “hath spoken freely,” Aquila said “appear,” and in the same way the other interpreters also. “You,” he says, “I supplicate, O God and Lord of all, and...”

^A the one who guides the creation and brings condign punishment upon the impious, that you might hearken and receive my petition.”

VERS. 2. “Exalt yourself, you who judge the earth, render a recompense to the proud.” Show to all the loftiness of your sovereignty, and cast down the brow of the arrogant, teaching through experience that you are the judge of the world.

VERS. 3, 4. “How long will sinners, O Lord, how long will sinners boast? They will utter and speak iniquity; they will speak, all who work lawlessness.” He does not pray that the lawless suffer destruction, but that they do not reign, and that they do not have authority as a means for acting unjustly.

VERS. 5, 6. “They have humbled your people, O Lord, and have vexed your inheritance. The widow and the orphan they have killed, and the sojourner they have slain.” Every kind of iniquity, O Lord, is committed by them. They exult in their power and use unjust words, and their deeds are harsher than their words. Wretched men, bewailing the loss of their parents, are set before them as prepared prey. Those who have come ^B from the Gentiles and desire to live according to your laws suffer unjust slaughter at their hands; for them he has named sojourners.

VERS. 7. “And they said: ‘Man will not see, nor will the God of Jacob understand.’” This is an exaggeration of impiety. For this, he says, they dare to do, not imagining that you look upon or take thought for human affairs. Not without reason, however, did he add “the God of Jacob,” but for the amplification of the accusation. For whereas they have learned of the great providence of God toward his people, through the prophets, through the priests, in war, and in peace, they do not fear the God of the universe as one who looks upon them. From this point on, he brings forward counsel and admonition, not only for those who were at that time so affected, but also for such men who now exist, and who will exist for all time.

VERS. 8. “Understand, you senseless among the people, and you fools, ^C at length be wise.” At least late, O senseless ones, may you wish to understand and to learn the nature of things; for the state of this present life is like a spider’s web.

^A

VERS. 9. “Qui plantavit aurem, non audiet? aut qui finxit oculum, non considerat?” He establishes this teaching with a powerful argument. He says: He who fashioned the eye from clay, and bestowed upon it the power of sight, and similarly formed the ears and granted them the faculty of hearing—does He Himself not see or hear? Is the Artificer of these things deprived of the powers He has bestowed upon others?

VERS. 10. “Qui corripit gentes anne arguet?” Does He not bring to trial the nations, He says, those who have neither received the law nor enjoy the prophetic teaching? He subjects them to corrections, and will He not blame your iniquity? “Qui docet hominem scientiam.” Yet he Himself created the nature of men as rational, and through the things seen in the structure of the universe, and those which happen day by day, He brings about greater knowledge. ^B

VERS. 11. “Dominus scit cogitationes hominum, quoniam vanæ sunt.” For He not only sees and hears, but also knows our thoughts, those that entertain false notions about His providence; by thus applying a medicine appropriate to them, He brings suitable consolation to those who are wronged, and, by making it more persuasive, He produces the words.

VERS. 12. “Beatus homo quem tu erudiveris, Domine, et de lege tua docueris eum.” For many are accustomed to call those who have embraced piety wretched, and those who suffer injustice; but I call those who are trained in discipline and who reap the benefit from the divine law, highly to be praised and blessed. ^C

VERS. 13. “Ut mitiges eum a diebus malis.” For he who has endured a small correction in the present life will have a milder judgment in the future; for he called eternal punishment “an evil day.” “Donec fodiatur peccatori fovea.” For those who have loved iniquity will be delivered to eternal punishment. For just as it is impossible for someone who has fallen into a deep pit to climb out if no one helps him, so it is impossible to escape eternal punishment unless the divine philanthropy wills it.

VERS. 14. “Quia non repellet Dominus populum suum, et hæreditatem suam non derelinquet.” He named as an inheritance not only Israel, but also the people from the nations, and especially this one. ^D For concerning the former, the blessed Moses said: “And his people Jacob became a portion of the Lord, Israel the measuring-line of his inheritance.” Deut. xxxII, 9. But concerning the new people, whom God, who is from God, acquired for Himself by His voluntary death, He calls them co-heirs.

^C And for the present life, the divine ^D people shall enjoy the appropriate providence, inasmuch as they have been designated as His inheritance and His people.

Ver. 15. “Until justice shall turn again into judgment.” ^A He will, however, obtain this providence until the justice of God shall appear, rendering judgment to all men. By this, the divine utterance tacitly intimates the incarnation of God and our Savior, and the denial of the Jews. For He called the Lord Christ Himself “Justice.” For He is also named the Sun of Justice, and of Him the blessed Paul says, “Who was made unto us wisdom from God, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption.” [I Cor. 1, 30.] Having therefore made mention of the providence of God, and having said, “For the Lord will not cast off His people, and He will not forsake His inheritance,” and having foreseen their future denial, He quite fittingly added, “Until justice shall turn again into judgment.” For as long as they do not deny the radiance of justice, they shall obtain the help from above. ^B “And all those who are upright in heart after it.” But Aquila and Theodotion say, “And behind it all those who are upright in heart.” For this salvation, he says—which He has called justice—they shall follow who have a mind free from perfidy and who use upright reasonings. To these things the words of the Lord correspond. For seeing Peter and Andrew casting a net into the sea, He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” [Matth. IV, 19.] And to him who said, “Permit me to go and bury my father,” the Lord said, “Let the dead bury their dead, but you come and follow me.” [Luc. IX, 60.] He says, therefore, that He will take care of the Jews until the denial, but those who are upright in heart He will have as followers, cleaving to Him and embracing Him, and not at all willing to forsake Him. ^C

Ver. 16. “Who will rise up for me against the malignants, or who will stand with me against those who work iniquity?” Symmachus says more clearly: “Who will rise up on my behalf against the evildoers? Who will stand for me against those who work iniquity?” ^D

^A I am deprived, he says, of all human help, but I have a great helper, who is able easily to put to flight the host of the enemy. For he declared this by what follows.

17. “Unless the Lord had helped me, my soul would have nearly dwelt in hell.” For if I had not obtained the providence from him, they would certainly have delivered me to death.

18. “If I said, ‘My foot has slipped,’ your mercy, O Lord, helped me.” For as soon as I called upon your providence, and acknowledged my own weakness, I obtained your loving-kindness.

19. “According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your comforts have gladdened my soul.” I was receiving from your goodness a consolation corresponding to my sorrows. Thus also the blessed Paul said: “As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also our consolation abounds through Christ.” And again: “We are troubled in every way, but not afflicted; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” ^B

20. “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with you, which frames labor against a commandment?” Symmachus says more clearly: “Shall the throne of injury be joined to you, which forms misery against a commandment?” You will not allow, he says, the participation of injustice with those who judge unlawfully; those who deliver a vote contrary to what has been ordained by you draw upon themselves the misery that springs from this. For by “throne of injury and iniquity” he called those unjust judges who reap labor and calamity, the fruit of injustice. ^C

21. “They will hunt for the soul of the righteous, and will condemn innocent blood.” For it is the work of these lawless judges to use every device against the righteous, and to pass the sentence of death upon the innocent and guiltless, [and to inflict other punishments: I mean proscriptions, and exiles, and things similar to these.]

22. “And the Lord became my refuge, and my God as the helper of my hope.” And I, from ^D the

^A Lord, have obtained providence, and I have had Him as a most secure rampart.

Vers. 23. “And the Lord will render to them their iniquity, and according to their wickedness the Lord our God will destroy them.” Those men shall reap the fruits of their own toils, and shall receive the rewards worthy of their wickedness. These things were written not for them alone, but for all human beings as well. For the God of all things, caring for all mankind, applies to everyone the appropriate remedy.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCIV

“A praise of a canticle for David.” It is without a title among the Hebrews. King Josiah was exceedingly pious. Having seen that the greater part of the people had embraced the worship of idols, he ordered all the priests of the idols to be put to death, and their altars to be torn up from the foundations; and, having dug up the tombs of the deceased priests, he burned their bones upon the very altars of the demons. ^B Then, having gathered together the entire people, he exhorted them to exercise repentance, and to appease God, and in this way to escape the threatened total destruction. For Huldah the prophetess had predicted grave and harsh things for the whole people. This, then, the blessed David, foreseeing from afar with prophetic eyes, composed this psalm, both for their benefit and for the instruction of all people. The psalm is fashioned in the person of Josiah and the priests of God.

1. “Come, let us exult in the Lord, let us shout to God our Savior.” The prologue is one of those dancing and rejoicing that they have been delivered from impiety. Let us, he says, in common offer a triumphal hymn to God. For a shout is the voice of those who have won the victory. ^C The chorus of the pious has indeed conquered the host of the impious. Fittingly, therefore, they offer a triumphal song to God; [and especially the chorus of the Apostles and martyrs. Moreover, let all who are like them think that these words are spoken to them: “Come, let us exult in the Lord, let us shout to God our Savior,” who wrought our salvation through his sufferings, that he might render us all free from suffering; indeed, who even willed to descend into Hades, that he might lead us up into the heavens.]

2. “Let us come before his face with confession, and let us shout to him with psalms.” Before the time of punishment, let us employ repentance, and before the sentence against us is pronounced, let us appease ^D

^A Lord, shall seek to appease Him, and let us bring to Him the fitting hymnody. Then he teaches of God’s victory, and the defeat of the idols.

3. “For the Lord is a great God, and a great king over all the earth.” For the power of our Master is ineffable. This is the true God; this one possesses authority over all, and refutes the false appellation of those who are called gods. Then, as far as is possible for human nature, he reveals the proofs of the divine power.

4, 5. “For in His hand are the ends of the earth, and the heights of the mountains belong to Him. For the sea is His, and He made it; and His hands fashioned the dry land.” He is the Maker of all, the Master of all, and He Himself governs all things; He holds creation in His hand, and He Himself created both the liquid substance and the dry land by His word. The summits of the mountains are also His, even though demons may have persuaded foolish men a thousand times to set up their temples in these very places.

6. “Come, let us worship, and fall down before Him, and let us weep before the Lord who made us.” Let us therefore run together with eagerness, and offer Him the fitting reverence, and lamenting and weeping, let us beseech for mercy; for He is our Maker and Master. The history of Josiah and the people teaches this, and the tears which they shed after the reading of Deuteronomy. ^B

7. “For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” By nature He is our Master, and in a surpassing way He exists as our God. For He calls us His own people, and provides care for us as for His own sheep. [And the Lord Himself, after His incomprehensible incarnation, says: “My sheep hear my voice.” And again: “I am the good shepherd, and I lay down my life for the sheep,” and what follows.] Then, afterwards, He threatens the disobedient with punishment, frightening them with the memory of their fathers, and achieving benefit through that accusation.

8, 9. “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. As in the provocation.” Since the Master, because of His own loving-kindness, has overlooked your former impiety, now at least listen to Him as He exhorts you and brings you saving teaching, and do not imitate the endless and obstinate ^D mind of your fathers. ^C

For he called "provocation" the contradiction that frequently occurred in the desert. Thus, also in another psalm he said: "How often did they provoke him in the desert, and anger him in an in-waterless land." He also demonstrated the free choice of the mind. For he did not say simply: "Do not be hardened," but: "Do not harden your hearts," teaching that they themselves are the authors of such a hard heart; then, more clearly, he recalls the disobedience of the fathers.

"According to the day of temptation in the desert, where your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my works. [Vers. 10.] Forty years." Since they did not wish to enter into the promised land, [but spoke against God who commanded it], putting forward irrational fear and declaring cowardice,* that they themselves would be killed and their children would become captives, he caused them to pass forty years in the desert, until they were consumed. "I was provoked by this generation, and I said: They always err in heart." Aquila and Symmachus, for the word "I was provoked," placed "I was displeased"; because of this, he says, I loathed that generation, seeing their light and inconstant mind.

VERS. 11. "But they did not know my ways, as I swore in my wrath: They shall not enter into my rest." But they did not wish to attend to the threats confirmed by an oath, nor did they wish to turn away the threat by repentance. For this reason, they did not obtain the land promised to the fathers. For he called that land his "rest," or according to other interpreters, "quiet." Since, as they were making the journey in the desert, they made frequent changes of place, with the tabernacle leading—in which God was thought to dwell—but in the land of promise, both they ceased from their journeying and the tabernacle was fixed in consecrated locations, he rightly called the land of promise "rest." And he called the ways of God his "governance."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCV

"A song of David, when the house was built after the captivity: Without a title among the Hebrews." Neither did the blessed David write this inscription, nor did those who interpreted the prophecy from the beginning; but someone else, as is likely, observing the superficial meaning of the psalm, placed this title. But the first aspect of the letter is fitting ^D also for those from Babylon.

Interpretation of Psalm 95

those who returned from Babylon and built the divine temple, since in them the salvation of all men was foreshadowed. The prophecy, however, foretells both the first and the second coming of our God and Savior, as well as the future judgment and the salvation already granted to the nations. ^A

Vers. 1. "Sing to the Lord a new song." For new things, a new composition of hymns is required. "Sing to the Lord, all the earth." How does this apply to the Jews, who are attacked by all men? For those who saw their freedom did not rejoice; but on the contrary, they were grieved and attempted to involve them in every kind of evil. But the prophetic word invites the whole world into the dance. ^B

Vers. 2. "Sing to the Lord, bless his name: proclaim from day to day his salvation." Each day, he says, narrate the benefit that has been bestowed. Then he teaches to whom it is necessary to bring such a narrative.

Vers. 3. "Declare his glory among the nations: his wonders among all peoples." Let every race of men enjoy such teaching and learn of the divine miracles.

Vers. 4. "For the Lord is great and highly to be praised: he is terrible above all gods." For the Lord of all has an inexpressible greatness, and he showed his own power against the falsely-named gods and refuted their deception. For he indicated this by the things that follow. ^C

Vers. 5. "For all the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the heavens." [For the blessed Paul also speaks concerning him: "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. ii, 8).] For those who were called gods were seen to be wicked demons; but ours was revealed as the Maker of the heavens. [For during the time of his voluntary passion, not only did the sun grow dark and the rocks split and the veil of the temple tear, but even the powers of the heavens were shaken, and, to speak briefly, the entire universe threatened ruin when it saw Him who bears all things hanging upon the cross.] ^D

Vers. 6. "Confession and beauty are before him: holiness and magnificence are in his sanctuary." For having assumed human nature, and through it having appeared to men, he sends forth the rays of his own magnificence, and all to his worship.

^A For he called the temple a sanctuary, which he took up. He had already made mention of [his] beauty in the forty-fourth psalm: "You are fair in beauty," it says, "beyond the sons of men."

Verses 7, 8. "Bring to the Lord, O families of the nations, bring to the Lord glory and honor. Bring to the Lord glory to his name." Run therefore, all you ^B men, to the Master who wishes to bestow salvation, and bringing him the honor that is proper, and though you do not see the author of the benefit with the eyes of the body, offer up hymns to his name.

"Bring sacrifices, and go into his courts. [v. 9] Worship the Lord in his holy court." He calls "sacrifices" the rational ones, which we see continually offered and performed by the priests. The multitude of the courts signifies the churches. For he did not command this to the Jews, lest anyone might suspect the legal sacrifices, but to the families of the nations, who offer the sacrifices of the New Testament ^C in the churches. Regarding these, God spoke also through another prophet, addressing the Jews: "I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands: for from the rising of the sun even to the setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice."

"Let all the earth be moved at his presence." But Aquila [says]: "Bring forth [as in labor] at his presence, all the earth." Symmachus also [says] the same. These things are similar to those said by the prophet Isaiah: "For the fear of you, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb, and have been in labor, and have brought forth the spirit of your salvation, which we have made upon the ^D earth." Here also, therefore, the prophetic word exhorts the nations that have received the seeds of salvation to bring forth and give birth to piety, and to be moved from their former state, but to be set fast and fixed in the divine laws.

Verse 10. "Say among the nations, that the Lord has reigned; for he has ordered the world, which shall not be moved." Proclaim therefore the kingdom of the God of all, who has changed the erring world, him

^A who was carried hither and thither, and has rendered it firm. Thus also Symmachus: "The Lord has reigned, and has made the world immovable." It is evident, however, that the kingdom of God is eternal; but it was demonstrated at that time by the very change of affairs. "He shall judge the peoples in equity." After he showed God as King, he rightly makes mention of judgment, demonstrating the uprightness and justice of it.

11. "Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice." The whole creation, he says, must share in this gladness with men, and both the heavenly and the earthly must be filled with pleasure. For if the angels rejoice over one sinner who repents, they most certainly have a greater gladness over the transformation of all mankind. ^B "Let the sea be moved, and the fullness thereof." Theodotion and Symmachus, however, say: "The sea shall resound with its fullness." For the entire life of men, which imitates the stormy sea, shall receive the sound of the divine preaching. He likewise foretells the attacks that have occurred from unbelievers against the heralds of the truth, as we have also demonstrated in other psalms.

12. "The fields shall rejoice, and all that are in them." Symmachus, however, says: "The field shall exult, and all that is in it." And the Lord, in interpreting the parable of the tares, named the world the field. He says, therefore, that all things shall be filled with joy and pleasure. "Then shall all the trees of the forest exult." Aquila: "Then shall all the trees of the forest praise." They especially will offer a hymn to God, since from them came the salutary wood, upon which the body of the Savior was fastened, through which good things sprout forth for ^C humanity. It is necessary, however, to know that the Prophet has used personification. For neither heaven, nor earth, nor sea, nor fields, nor trees are endowed with reason or soul, but those who are in them offer praises to God. For islanders inhabit the sea, while those on the continent inhabit the land, and angels inhabit heaven. But those who see the forests freed from the worship of idols offer a hymn to God; in the same way, the Prophet, teaching of the journey of the sons of Israel out of Egypt, again used personification: "The sea saw, and fled; the Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs of the sheep." And he brings forward a question, and ^D

accepts the answer, thereby declaring the joy of the saved. ^A

Ver. 13. "Before the face of the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth." He has aptly posited two things: "For he comes," and "for he arrives." For the first advent gave divine knowledge to men; the second will effect the discernment of things. "He shall judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his truth." For then, he says, then he will render righteous judgment, no longer utilizing his former patience, but examining the truth of matters, and pronouncing a just verdict upon all.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCVI

"Of David, when his land was established." It is without a title among the Hebrews. ^B Whoever placed this title here confessed that he did not find it among the Hebrews, but attached it himself. Therefore, the inscription is not that of the prophet himself; nor, in fact, does it square with the meaning of the psalm, for the prophet speaks of the establishment of the whole world, and not of Judea alone. It is probable, however, that he who affixed the inscription meant by the "land" of the prophet the whole world, as all men utilize its harmony. Nevertheless, the psalm foretells both the first and the second advent of our God and Savior, the divine knowledge of the nations, and the future judgment.

Ver. 1. "The Lord has reigned, let the earth exult, let many islands rejoice." Through these words, he foretells the first advent of the Savior; for this reason, he has stirred the inhabitants of the continents and the islands to dance and joy. ^C For both the former and the latter, by receiving pleasure from the hope of future things, are gladdened. He says the Lord "has reigned," not as if he then received the kingdom, but as having then shown his own kingdom to men. And that we may not repeat the same things, we beseech those who wish to learn this more accurately to read what has already been explained by us.

Ver. 2. "Cloud and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the setting of his throne." Through the darkness and the cloud, he has taught the invisible nature of the divine. As indeed he who is enfolded by some cloud and darkness cannot be seen, so it is utterly impossible ^D to behold the invisible nature. However, he reminds us that he himself is

^A teaches that, although the divine nature cannot be beheld, yet by its operation it is possible to perceive its power. For he taught righteousness to men, and taught those who regard all things indifferently to live with upright judgment. These things his throne and kingdom have accomplished.

Verse 3. «A fire shall burn before him, and shall inflame his enemies round about.»

Verse 4. «His lightnings illuminated the world.»

Verse 5. «The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.»

Verse 6. «The heavens have declared his righteousness, and all the peoples have seen his glory.»

^A His, though, those who dwell across the inhabited world, by their own transformation, have seen the power of God and our Savior. The second coming, however, will clearly teach all men of the Lord’s kingdom; then we shall all hear the hymnody of the angels.

Verse 7. Let all who worship sculptured images be put to shame, and let those who boast of their idols be covered in confusion.

Worship Him, all you His angels.

When He brings the Firstborn again into the inhabited world, He says: And let all the angels of God worship Him.

Verse 8. Sion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Judea exulted because of Thy judgments, O Lord.

For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.

Verse 9. For Thou art Lord Most High over all the earth; Thou art greatly exalted above all gods.

the height was shown. But since we need not only faith, but also good works, the Prophet necessarily brings forward this piece of advice as well. ^A

Vers. 10. "You who love the Lord, hate evil." If good is beloved to you, reject its opposite. "For what fellowship has light with darkness?" By "evil," however, he forbade all forms of wickedness. "The Lord keeps the souls of his saints; he will deliver them from the hand of the sinner." By turning away from wickedness and attending to a correct and just way of life, you will have the Lord of all as your protector and guardian, and you will be superior to the enemies rising up against you. ^B

Vers. 11. "Light has dawned for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." For not all men desired to enjoy the light, nor did all receive the gladness that comes from faith. For the Sun of Righteousness Himself sent forth the rays of salvation to all; but there are those who closed their eyes and were unwilling to see the light. ^C

Vers. 12. "Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord, and give thanks to the remembrance of His holiness." Therefore, all you who have enjoyed the light and have embraced the lot of virtue, rejoice and hymn God, declaring the multitude of His benefits. For here he called thanksgiving a "confession."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCVII

Vers. 1. "A Psalm of David." This psalm also has the same purport; for it foretells both advents of the Savior, but it recounts more about the former. "Sing to the Lord a new song." Because he proclaims a change in ancient things and foretells a new manner of life, he rightly commands a new song to be offered to God. "For the Lord has done marvelous things." For what is done by the God of all is supernatural and paradoxical. "His right hand and His holy arm have brought salvation to Him." We have often said that "hand" signifies action, and "right hand" signifies good action. He says, therefore, that the salvation of men is the work of His power; but, using measureless philanthropy, He considers the life of men His own gain. ^D For this reason, He did not say, "He saved them by His right hand," but, "He brought salvation to Him." For whereas, from the delusion of idols...

^A He had set them free, and had pointed out the majesty of His own kingdom, He imparted salvation. And He made this clearer through what follows.

VERS. 2. "The Lord has made known His salvation; in the sight of the nations He has revealed His righteousness." He offered streams of salvation to all mankind, and demonstrated His righteous kingdom to the nations.

VERS. 3. "He has remembered His mercy to Jacob, and His truth to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." These things are very similar to the prophecies of Isaiah the prophet. For through him, the God of all said to the Lord Christ: "I have given you for a covenant ^B of the people, for a light of the nations, that you should be for salvation unto the ends of the earth." Since God, the Lord of all, had promised to the wonderful patriarchs—to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, and to the divine David—that He would raise up Christ from their seed according to the flesh, and would provide salvation through Him to all mankind, He called the promise made to the fathers a "covenant." For other interpreters have called the "covenant" a "league." He called His "people" Israel, because Christ was born from the Jews according to the flesh, as the Apostle says. "I have given you, therefore," He said, "for a covenant of the people," that is, in order that you might fulfill the leagues made with the Jews; but [I have given you] for a light, no longer of the Jews, but of the nations. For these, through faith, partook of salvation, confessing Him and confessing God from God. But those others loved the darkness of unbelief. The blessed David says this here as well: "He has remembered His mercy to Jacob, and His truth to the house of Israel," since He fulfilled ^C the promises made to them. "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." For the light of truth has dawned not only for the Jews, but also for all mankind.

VERS. 4. "Shout with joy to God, all the earth; sing, and exult, and chant." Since, therefore, you have all been set free from the bitter tyranny of the devil, offer a triumphal hymn to God who has granted salvation. For a shout of joy is the voice of those who have conquered. Therefore, we fulfill what has been commanded. For this hymn, shouting and crying out, according to the mystical institution, we offer to God. ^D

^A We are accustomed to bring an acceptable season to God, singing and psalming, and dancing with all gladness.

Verse 5. "Sing to the Lord with the harp, and with the voice of the psalm." One can see this law continuously fulfilled in the churches. For with a spiritual harp we strike up the divine melody. We also make our own bodies into rational harps, and for strings we use our teeth, and for brass our lips; and the tongue, moved more swiftly than any plectrum, produces the harmonious sound of the striking. The mind moves the tongue, just as a skilled musician moves it with knowledge. This harp is more pleasing to God than that which lacks a soul. And he himself is witness, crying out to the Jews through the prophet: "Remove from me the sound of your songs, and I will not hear the voice of your musical instruments."

Verse 6. "With ductile trumpets, and the voice of a horn trumpet." The divine Scripture often calls a shout a trumpet. Similarly, the Lord says in the holy Gospels: "When you do an almsgiving, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do," ^B instead of saying, "Do not proclaim it, nor make it manifest to all, lest by vain glory you injure the fruit of your kindness." Therefore, in this place too, He calls doctrine a trumpet, by which we learn of the benefits conferred upon us, and are instructed in the fruitful laws. He calls the bronze ones "ductile trumpets," but the ones made of horn, "horn trumpets." These were the ones the Jews were accustomed to use. But the shadow of our realities was among them. Just as they sacrificed a speechless lamb, while we sacrifice the Savior [God from God], who takes away the sin of the world, so they used inanimate trumpets, while we use those that have soul and reason. Therefore, our trumpets are the holy apostles, and the wonderful prophets, and those who after them have been granted the grace of teaching. "Shout aloud before the King, the Lord." ^C Offer the triumphal hymn to the King and Lord of all.

Verse 7. "Let the sea be moved, and its fullness, the world, and all who dwell in it." Symmachus, however, says thus: "Let the sea resound with its fullness, the world, and they who dwell in it." It is possible to see the fulfillment of the prophecy most especially in densely populated cities. For the surging sea imitates the multitude of pious peoples in the churches. Such also is the sound of those who sing psalms. According to the Septuagint, however, ^D

and the change of those who inhabit the sea and the land, the prophetic discourse has declared. For that which is moved is agitated: and that which is changed is moved.

VERS. 8. “The rivers shall clap their hands together.” ^A Again, he named as rivers those who have been allotted the grace of teaching, and like rivers pour forth divine streams; these he says clap their hands and sing the praises of God. For clapping again belongs to the victorious.

“The mountains shall exult [VERS. 9.] from the face of the Lord, for he comes: for he comes to judge the earth.” Here he called mountains those who possess an elevated and sublime mind, upon whom the city of God has been built. “For it is not possible,” he says, “for a city to be hidden situated upon a mountain.” And: “His foundations are in the holy mountains.” ^B These he says rejoice and exult upon learning of the advent of God and our Savior. For awaiting the rewards of their labors, they rejoice, knowing the justice of the judge: “He shall judge the world in justice, and the nations in equity.” For the first advent had much mercy, but the second will have justice. “For we shall all,” he says, “stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may render account for what he has done in the body, according to what he did, whether good or evil.” This the prophet also said: “God has spoken once, these two I have heard, that the power of God is, and yours, O Lord, is mercy, for you ^C will render to each according to his works.”

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCVIII

VERS. 1. “A Psalm of David. Without title among the Hebrews.” This psalm also prophesies the return of the Jews from Babylon: but it also foretells the advent of our Savior, and the incredulity of the Jews. “The Lord has reigned, let the nations be angry.” For both Jews and Gentiles are enraged and burn with fury when they hear of the kingdom of the Lord Christ. And when the Jews had obtained their liberty, all the neighboring regions were gnashing their teeth, seeing their unexpected return. ^D But this declared the power of him whom they worshipped. “You who sit upon the Cherubim, let the earth be moved.” Furthermore, this one, he says, who is proclaimed by us, is also the God and Lord of the heavenly powers; and the phrase “you who sit” he said as if conversing with men. For the incorporeal nature, and the incomprehensible and in-

^Acircumscript nature, which holds the circuit of the earth and contains those dwelling upon it like locusts, what need has it of a seat? Nevertheless, he depicts in speech the God of all as sitting royally upon the Cherubim, striking with dread and inspiring fear in those who hear.

VERS. 2. “The Lord is great in Sion, and he is high above all peoples.” When the Jews had returned and had rebuilt the divine temple, the power of God was demonstrated to all. For in particular, He who endured the cross was declared Lord of the whole world, when the holy apostles brought the saving proclamation to the nations.

VERS. 3. “Let them confess to thy great name, for it is terrible and holy.” It is fitting, therefore, for all to sing thy praises, and to recount thy benefits, and not to curiously investigate thy ineffable nature, but to bring honor to thy name, because it is ^Bterrible and holy: for it sanctifies those who believe, but terrifies those who are unbelieving.

VERS. 4. “And the honor of the king loves judgment.” It follows that we ought to fear Him as King, using justice: for it is the property of the true kingdom to guide its subjects justly. For “the honor of the king loves judgment,” that is to say, it makes the king honorable to cherish justice. This is also declared by what follows: “Thou hast prepared uprightness; judgment and justice in Jacob thou hast done.” For as a righteous king, Thou hast brought forth a right and just decision, and hast delivered Israel from the power of those who had enslaved them, [and the nations from the yoke of the devil.] But according to another prophecy, it is to be understood thus: Thou hast shown the truth ^Cof thy promise, having fulfilled the pledges that were made to the ancestors of Israel, and having bestowed salvation through the seed of Abraham.

VERS. 5. “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of his feet, for he is holy.” Repay therefore the author of the benefit as you are able, and offer to Him fitting honor; and “exalt” means the same as “proclaim His sublimity.” And the “footstool of his feet,” in times past, was thought to be the temple in Jerusalem: but now it is the churches which are everywhere over land and sea, in which the most holy God is worshipped.

VERS. 6. “Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his name.” Not rashly, having passed over the other prophets, did He make mention only of these, but in order to teach the ^Dinnate madness and tyranny of the Jews. For even under Moses and Aaron they attempted to seize the priesthood:

and in the time of Samuel they spurned the divine kingdom and loved the human one. The divine word therefore teaches that those who now move with madness against the Savior and do not receive His saving kingdom are doing nothing new; for from the beginning this madness has been ^A habitual to them.

“They called upon the Lord, and He heard them. [Vers. 7.] In the pillar of the cloud He spoke to them.” Although, he says, they had great boldness toward God. For they used to entreat, and He used to listen, and He granted their requests, and while everyone was looking on He held conversation with them, showing His own manifestation through the cloud. Then He teaches that it was not unjustly that He imparted this grace to them. “For they kept His testimonies, and the commandments which He gave to them.” For to those living according to the law and living according to His commandments, He bestowed this grace.

Vers. 8. “O Lord our God, You heard them; O God, You were propitious to them.” You are, O Master, he says, the One who is preached by us, the One who made them partakers of such great boldness, and deemed them worthy of much favor. “And ^B taking vengeance on all their undertakings.” But Symmachus says it thus: “And an avenger for their injuries.” For those who had attempted tyranny against the great Moses He delivered to the fire, and those who had escaped the flame He committed alive to the grave, commanding the earth to gape open, and making the place of the tyranny a grave prepared instantly for them; and those who had walked through the sea and crossed that deep sea on foot, He submerged in the earth, burying them with unusual waves. But those who in the time of the prophet Samuel had stirred up sedition, He subjected to the dominion of Saul and surrounded with all kinds of calamities.

Vers. 9. “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.” ^C Imitating therefore the piety of these admirable men, render the fitting honor to God. Moreover, the Holy Mountain was once called Sion, but now it is the sublimity of divine knowledge. For so also did Isaiah and Micah prophesy: “It shall be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest”: that is, the knowledge of God shall become clear to all. The divine Apostle also knows of a mystical Mount Sion: “For you have come,” he says, “to Mount Sion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.” We are commanded, therefore, according to the knowledge which has been given to us by God, to offer worship to Him ^D

^A and to confess the Son of God, who is from God, the Only-Begotten of the Father, who for our sake became man. Amen.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM XCIX

VERS. 1. “A Psalm of David, for confession. Without a title among the Hebrews.” The prophet here calls all men to the singing of hymns, exhorting them in every way to worship God the Savior.

VERS. 2. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth.” Offer, all you people, a triumphal hymn to God; for by “the earth” he designates those who dwell upon the earth. “Serve the Lord with gladness.” For the kingdom of our God and Savior is not like the bitter tyranny of the devil, but His dominion is gentle and philanthropic. Therefore, approach His service with rejoicing. ^B “Come before His presence with singing.” Symmachus said “with blessing,” but Aquila said “with praise.” Truly, the hymn belongs to those who are exultant and joyful.

VERS. 3. “Know that He is our God.” [For even though the Lover of mankind willed to become man, nevertheless He remained God at all times. But he says,] learn from the very facts themselves that our Master is truly the God of all. This is the teaching that the holy choir of the apostles also brought to the nations, as the history contained in the Acts teaches. “He made us, and not we ourselves.” For we did not become our own creators, but were fashioned by Him. Thus, the blessed Paul instructed the Athenians: ^C “God, who made the world and all things in it, He, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth.” This is what the prophet also teaches here: “He made us, and not we ourselves.” But Symmachus puts it this way: “He made us, who were not.” “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Through these words, He reveals not only His dominion, but also His providence. For He is not only our Master, but also a Shepherd, providing good pasture for us; and we are His, both as a people to a king, and as sheep to a shepherd. ^D

VERS. 4. “Enter into His gates with confession, into His courts with hymns.” He calls the churches His gates and His courts, inasmuch as they provide us with access to Him.

for they provide us with our entrance to Him, in which it is fitting to recount His divine and saving works, and to offer a hymn of thanksgiving like some sort of gift. ^A “Confess to Him; praise His name. [V. 5] For the Lord is good; His mercy is forever, and His truth is unto generation and generation.” For how is it not just to praise Him who exercises ineffable kindness and puts an end to His good promises? For what He promised in the time of our ancestors, these things He has fulfilled in our own time, and the salvation which He promised, He truly bestowed, [having accomplished our salvation through the cross and death. Amen.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM C

V. 1. “A Psalm of David.” Some ^B manuscripts have: “Of the fourth Sabbath.” But we have found this addition neither in the Hebrew, nor in the other interpreters, nor in the Septuagint. However, this is the argument of the psalm: King Josiah pulled up from their foundations all the altars of the idols; he slew their priests and led the people back to their former piety. He was concerned not only for the soundness of doctrines, but also took care of the performances of virtue, judging rightly, honoring justice, bringing aid to the injured, punishing those who inflict injury, and looking out for the utility of his citizens. When the blessed David foresaw these things, he wrote this psalm, both explaining ^C that man’s virtue and proposing to all men the character of perfection. “I will sing to You, Lord, of mercy and judgment.” For because the admirable Josiah both pitied those who were injured and condemned those who inflicted injury, he called the account of them a hymn of mercy and judgment.

V. 2. “I will sing and will understand in a blameless way.” But Symmachus [has] it thus: “I will sing, I will consider a blameless way.” By the grace of the Holy Spirit, I saw the way that is blameless and pleasing to God, and I will now add it through my melody. “When will You come to me?” For this ^D admirable man possessed such purity that he could cry out to God with confidence, “When will You come to me?” As if to say: “I have prepared for You royal, splendid, and magnificent halls; I long for Your arrival, O Lord, and I desire Your presence, but grant that which is longed for.” “I walked in the innocence of my heart in the midst of my house.” I lived in simplicity; I did not use fraud,

^A nor was I one person outwardly and another within, but my hidden thoughts corresponded to my outward actions.

VERS. 3. “I did not set before my eyes an unjust thing.” I not only detested wicked actions, but I also shook off the thoughts concerning them, ordering and directing my reason before all other things. “I hated those who commit transgressions.” I turned away from those who despise the divine laws.

VERS. 4. “A perverse heart did not cleave to me.” Those who honored justice were my close associates; but those who chose the contrary, and did not wish to possess right reason, I kept far away from my gatherings. ^B “I did not know him who turns away from me, the wicked one.” If any of those who were with me, using wickedness, wished to depart from my company, I did not even consider such a departure a separation; so insignificant to me was he who chose wickedness.

VERS. 5. “He who secretly slanders his neighbor, him I drove away.” I did not admit secret accusations, but rather I drove out those who attempted to do this. “With a proud eye and an insatiable heart, with such I did not eat.” Neither did I make those who use arrogance [and greed] my table-companions.

VERS. 6. “My eyes are upon the faithful of the earth, so that they may sit with me.” Those who were adorned by faith and held divine matters in high regard I made partakers of my gatherings and councils. ^C “He who walks in the way of the blameless, he ministered to me.” I took great care not only of friends and counselors, but also of my servants. For I employed as servants those who were diligent in virtue and devoid of wickedness.

VERS. 7. “He who does pride did not dwell in the midst of my house.” I did not choose to have anyone who uses haughtiness as a housemate. “He who speaks unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.” If anyone gave counsel or requested unjust things, he departed frustrated in his hope; [for it was my concern to close my ears to those who wish to slander others.]

VERS. 8. ^D “In the mornings I destroyed all the sinners of the earth, to root out from the city of the Lord all who work iniquity.” This is clearly manifest from

this we have clearly learned from history. For he put to death all the impious priests and purified the holy city. ^A [He calls the 'morning' the beginning of his reign; for like the morning star he rose with fitting and illuminating justice.] But whoever wishes to learn the virtue of this man more accurately will find it in the second book of Chronicles and in the fourth book of Kings. [Let everyone therefore be eager to become an imitator of this man, so that he may share in the same confidence before Christ. Amen.]

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CI

VERS. 1. «The prayer of the poor one, when he is afflicted, and pours out his supplication before the Lord.» The psalm contains a prediction of the affliction of the people of the Jews, who were captive in Babylon, and of their return from there. It also prophesies the calling and salvation of the Gentiles. It is also fitting for anyone struggling with any calamity ^B and imploring to obtain divine assistance. For he calls a "poor one" someone who is in need of divine providence.

VERS. 2. «O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.» Accept my entreaty, O Master, and extend your aid to me as I call upon you. For Symmachus called the "cry" a "lamentation."

VERS. 3. «Do not turn your face away from me.» Be gracious to me, and let go of your indignation. «On whatever day I am afflicted, incline your ear to me; on whatever day I call upon you, quickly hear me.» These words of the psalm also show that it contains a prediction of future things, and not a narration of things that have already happened. For since the people were in great happiness and splendor under the rule of the divine David, the prophet rightly ^C uses their person to offer the supplication, and begs to obtain divine protection whenever the time for this should occur.

VERS. 4. «For my days have vanished like smoke, and my bones have dried up like a piece of wood.» Next, according to his own idiom, he narrates future calamities as if they were past, and says that his time of life has been consumed like smoke, and that out of sorrow his body has become as dry as a firebrand, as if burned by some impression of fire. ^D For this is also how Aquila interpreted it: «And my bones as a burning were dried up.»

VERS. 5. «I have been struck like grass, and my heart has withered.» For indeed, like grass I have been extinguished; and I have lost my former flower.

^A For I have cast away the appetite for every kind of food, and have been entirely stripped of my former good condition; for by the wasting away that comes from despondency, my body has been consumed, and I have nothing but skin clinging to my naked bones. ^B Now, the bread of our soul is the Word of God; for just as bread, which is without quality, feeds the body, so too does the Word which is from heaven feed the substance of the soul. And it was this bread that Christ, when handing down the prayer to the apostles, understood, saying: «Give us this day our daily bread.» Whosoever, therefore, forgets to eat this—that is, to labor for it (for the eating of the intelligible bread consists of labor)—thereby shows what the Lord said to the apostles: «Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life.» The heart of such a man, being struck like grass, withers. But how is grass struck and withered? When the rain no longer falls upon it. Even so the heart, when it suffers from a deficiency of the Word, is then struck and withers, being unable to cause the flower of virtue to sprout.

VERS. 7, 8. «I am become like a pelican of the wilderness; I am become like an owl in a ruined house. I have watched, and am become as a sparrow alone upon the housetop.» ^C He employs many comparisons, wishing to worthily set before our eyes [his] calamities. By each of these birds mentioned, he demonstrates timidity and the absence of a protector. For the sparrow drives away sleep on account of its distress, and the owl, shunning inhabited houses, hastens to deserted and abandoned places. For what [the text calls] «ruined house,» Symmachus has termed «ruins»; thus, the other bird also dwells in the wilderness.

VERS. 9. «All the day my enemies reproached me, and they that praised me did swear against me.» I became an object of mockery to my enemies, and I, who was once enviable and looked upon with admiration, have now become a curse to those who formerly admired me; for they swear by my calamities, saying: "May I not suffer what these wretches have suffered."

VERS. 10, 11. «For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping. Because of thy anger and thy indignation.» The psalmist said these same things in the ^D seventy-ninth psalm: «Thou shalt feed us with the bread of tears, and wilt give us tears to drink in measure.» By these words, he demonstrates the excess of his pain. For if the time of eating was filled with pain, how much less could another time be free from this pain? But by these things, he says, I am overwhelmed with evils, because, O Master, Thou hast stirred up Thy wrath against me. «For having lifted me up, Thou hast cast me down.» For having shown me as high and

^A conspicuous, Thou hast suddenly cast me away. For when He says «Thou hast dashed me down,» he has used a metaphor taken from those who lift something up on high and dash it against the ground.

VERS. 12. «My days have declined like a shadow, and I have withered like grass.» I am, he says, near the sunset of life; and I am like a shadow that is declining and now ending; and I imitate the dryness of grass, which calls for the hands of the reapers.

VERS. 13. «But Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever, and Thy memorial unto generation and generation.» But I, on the one hand, have such a nature, and am yoked with such calamities; Thou, however, being everlasting and eternal, couldst easily grant me some change from my present evils. For this is what he adds: ^B

VERS. 14. «Thou, arising, shalt have mercy on Sion; for the time is come to have mercy upon her, for the time is come.» Grant, he says, a change for the better to my calamity: for the time demands mercy. By these words he intimates the end of the punishment which was bounded by the seventy-year limit. Thus also the admirable Daniel, having numbered the time of the captivity, offers his prayer. With these words the expressions of the spiritual song also agree: «For the time is come to have mercy upon her, for the time is come.» [VERS. 15.] «For Thy servants have taken pleasure in her stones, and they shall pity her dust.» For Sion is very dear to us, although she is become very desolate; and the stones that were pulled down are also worthy of love, and the memory of the mounds that were made from the devastation inspires pity in us. ^C

VERS. 16. «And the Gentiles shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory.» For seeing our return and the building up of the city, those who beheld our former afflictions—kings, and princes, and subjects alike—will marvel at Thy power, and fearing Thee, will believe that Thou alone art God. This, however, truly and properly came to pass after the incarnation of our God and Saviour. For after the recall of the Jews, the neighbors did indeed marvel at what had happened; but they were so far from believing in the God of all that they actually waged war against them at the same time. But in this passage the divine discourse foretells the conversion of all nations and kings. Of these things, some we see have already been accomplished, while others we hope are yet to be. For the divine ^D Apostle says: «For we do not yet see all things subjected to Him.» Nevertheless, he taught that indeed every knee shall bow to Him, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.

^A Ver. 17. «For the Lord shall build up Zion, and He shall appear in His glory.» For since those who were ignorant of the divine dispensations supposed the servitude of the Jews and the desolation of Jerusalem to proceed from the weakness of God, he rightly called the restoration of the city the glory of God; as if to say: Once Zion is rebuilt, all will behold the God of the universe in His former glory.

Ver. 18. «He has looked upon the prayer of the humble [the destitute], and has not despised their supplication.» For He did not despise them as captives and slaves, but accepted their entreaty and granted them freedom.

Ver. 19. «Let this be written for another generation, and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord.» This benefit we shall have inscribed forever, so that those who are to come may learn of Thy loving-kindness. By the people that shall be created, He designates those gathered from the nations, concerning whom the blessed Paul also says: «If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature.» And the divine David himself said in the twenty-first psalm: «A generation that is to come shall be announced to the Lord, and they shall announce His righteousness to the people that shall be born, whom the Lord has made.» This people, being instructed in both the old and the new [covenants], offers the fitting hymn to God the Savior. ^B

Ver. 20-22. «For He has looked down from His holy height; the Lord has looked down from heaven upon the earth; to hear the groaning of those who are in bonds, to release the sons of those who have been put to death; to announce in Zion the name of the Lord, and His praise in Jerusalem.» For God, the ruler of all, who beholds all things and providentially orders them, heard those He beheld, and issued the decree of freedom, so that the bound, in place of those who had been slaughtered, might return, rebuild their ancestral city, and according to custom, offer in it the worship according to the law to God. ^C

Ver. 23-25. «When the peoples are gathered together in one, and the kings, to serve the Lord. He answered him in the way of His strength: Declare to me the fewness of my days; do not take me away in the midst of my days.» That is to say: When we have obtained our return, peoples and kings will be gathered together, admiring Thy power. Then, therefore, we shall have such great joy that we will even beseech Thy goodness to grant us an addition of years, and not deliver us to death in the middle of our time. By the «way of strength,» he describes the return granted through the power of God. ^D «In generation and generation are Thy years.» For Thou hast a nature

^A that is without end, and it is easy for Thee to make others also long-lived.

Vers. 26, 27. «In the beginning Thou, O Lord, didst found the earth, and the works of Thy hands are the heavens. They shall perish, but Thou remainest.» For what is impossible for the Creator of all? Thou gavest "to be" to the earth, Thou madest the heavens when they were not; and while these undergo change, Thou remainest unchangeable. Furthermore, He shows Him to be the Creator of all other things from the elements that hold all things together. «And all shall wax old as a garment, and as a covering Thou shalt fold them, and they shall be changed.» Symmachus, however, says: «And all shall wax old as a garment, and as a mantle Thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed.» For all things that are seen shall grow old, and will imitate the decrepitude of garments; but Thou shalt change them and make them new, and shalt make them incorruptible instead of corruptible. This is what the divine Apostle also said: «That the creature itself also ^B shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.»

Vers. 28. «But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall not fail.» Thou indeed, O Master, alterest created things as Thou willest; Thou, however, hast an unchangeable nature, superior to alteration. Yet the divine Apostle attributes these things to the property of the Son in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Nevertheless, in the Son we contemplate the Father. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in like manner; and the identity of nature is recognized in both, for we know that the action of the Trinity is one.

Vers. 29. «The children of Thy servants shall dwell, and their seed shall be directed forever.» Symmachus has set down, «shall remain.» He signifies that those released from bondage will inhabit Jerusalem, but that their seed will remain forever. ^C Concerning this seed the divine Apostle said: «Until the seed should come to whom the promise was made.» And: «To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.» This seed shall remain forever. For having been united to God the Word, it has an immortal nature, and bestows life upon those who believe, according to the voice of the Lord Himself: «He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, shall live forever.» ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CII

^A VERSE 1. "Psalm of David." This psalm seems to correspond to the preceding one and to have the same subject matter. For in that one, those who were lamenting the calamities they endured in Babylon implored God that they might achieve their return; whereas here, having obtained what they had asked for, they praise the author of the benefit. Personally, I believe this hymn is appropriate for all people who have been delivered from a more bitter servitude and have been deemed worthy of a greater freedom. Furthermore, the meaning of the words will demonstrate that this subject is more true than the former: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, his holy name." Those who are disposed gratefully regarding divine favors stir themselves up to hymnody, repaying the benefactor in whatever ways they can. ^B It is possible, however, to praise Him always, and to carry about in the soul a constant memory of His benefits. Such people consecrate all that is within them, and arouse every thought toward divine praise. For by "that which is within," he meant the reasonings, the reflections, and all the movements of the soul.

VERSE 2. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his rewards." Again, the soul is taught to stir itself up, to dispel the mist of forgetfulness, and to renew the memory of good deeds. Symmachus referred to the "rewards" as "benefits." Then he goes through these one by one.

VERSE 3. "Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases." For He has bestowed upon you the forgiveness of sins; He has granted you the healing of infirmities. ^C The paralyzed man enjoyed these things. For at the same time he heard, "Your sins are forgiven," and, "Take up your bed and go to your house" (Matt. IX, 2; Mark II, 2). Likewise, the sinful woman obtained forgiveness; likewise the thief, likewise the publicans, and likewise all who have believed.

VERSE 4. "Who redeems your life from destruction." While He freed those who had been led captive to Babylon from servitude, He did not deliver them from an existence subject to corruption. To us, however, He has granted the hopes of the resurrection, and has given the pledge of the Spirit, and has clothed us in the garment of incorruptibility. "Who crowns you with mercy and compassions." "By grace you have been saved," as the divine Apostle says, "and this is not from you; it is a gift of God, so that no one may boast" (Ephes. II, 8, 9). And again, ^D "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. But for this reason I received mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all his patience, for the instruction of those who

will believe in him for eternal life. Therefore, this is a crown of grace and kindness. ^A Thus also the inspired Isaiah, in the person of the bride, cries out: "Let my soul exult in the Lord, for he has clothed me in a garment of salvation, and has covered me with a tunic of joy; as a bridegroom he has adorned me with a crown, and as a bride he has decorated me with his jewelry." And shortly after: "And you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God." Now all these are the wedding gifts and dowries of the bridegroom: the bride has brought only faith.

VER. 5. "Who satisfies your desire with good things." Because there is a blameworthy desire, which the divine law forbids, he correctly added "with good things." For the Lord fulfills our good desires. "Ask," he says, "and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you abundantly." ^B "Your youth will be renewed like the eagle's." This restoration, too, the Lord has granted to us through holy baptism; having removed the old age of sin, he has made us young instead of withered. Consistent with these things, God says through Isaiah the prophet: "But those who wait for me shall change their strength; they shall put forth wings like eagles." Since, indeed, when we were created, we received divine and royal marks, and then we darkened and corrupted them by the pursuit of sin of every kind, the prophetic word promises us the recovery of the kingdom. For this bird is royal, and to it the kingdom of birds has been entrusted. He further teaches us the manner of divine generosity. ^C

VER. 6. "The Lord performs mercies, and judgment for all who suffer injury." For it was not because of the righteous deeds which we did, as the divine Apostle says, but according to his great mercy that he saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. And having seen us suffering injury from the enemy of the truth, he opened to us the fountains of mercy, but against him he pronounced a just sentence.

VER. 7. "He made known his ways to Moses, his wills to the sons of Israel." He did not accomplish this salvation for us prompted by repentance; but he foretold these things from above through the most holy prophets, and through the inspired Moses he foreshadowed our salvation. And the sea was a type of the most holy baptism, the rock a shadow of the immortal streams...

and the manna an image of the heavenly food. And other things, too—that I may not go through them one by one—can be found foreshadowed among them.

^A Ver. 8. “The Lord is merciful and compassionate, long-suffering and rich in mercy.” He says that the cause of all these good things is the abyss of divine goodness, the immeasurable mercy, the ocean of philanthropy.

Ver. 9, 10. “He will not be angry for ever, nor will he bear a grudge unto eternity. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor has he requited us according to our iniquities.” ^B He did not endure to measure the punishment by our sins, nor to extend his indignation against us for too long.

Ver. 11, 12. “For as the height of heaven is from the earth, the Lord has strengthened his mercy upon those who fear him. As far as the East is from the West, he has removed our iniquities from us.” If he could have found distances greater than these, he would certainly have brought them forward as well, wishing to demonstrate the infinity of the divine goodness. But the human reason found nothing, neither a measure higher than heaven nor an interval longer than that between the West and the East.

Ver. 13. “As a father pities his children, the Lord has pitied those who fear him.” Being Creator and Maker, he imitated the goodness of a father and displayed the same affection for his servants that a father does for his children.

^C Ver. 14. “For he himself knew our frame; he remembered that we are dust.” For the Creator of our nature knows its infirmity; he knows from what we were fashioned and whither we shall go once more.

Ver. 15. “Man, his days are as the grass; as the flower of the field, so shall he bloom.” We differ in nothing from the grass and the flower, which indeed blossoms in the spring but shortly thereafter withers and falls away.

Ver. 16. “For a spirit passed through it, and it shall be no more, and it shall no longer know its place.” ^D Symmachus puts it thus: “For a spirit passes through it, then it is not.” He calls the soul “spirit,” by whose presence the body lives and acts; when it has flown away, it is extinguished and decays, so that the former features are no longer recognized, nor is it understood whose body this or that was. And one might perceive this more accurately by looking down into a tomb; for all things alike become the prey of decay, and do not preserve their former features.

^A VERS. 17, 18. "But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children. To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." Nature, therefore, is thus fragile, but the divine philanthropy grants a long span of life, and preserves the reward of righteousness due to the ancestors even for their descendants. Thus, he preserved the kingdom for Jehu up to the fourth generation, even though he had not acquired perfect piety, but had shown zeal at the beginning of his reign. Thus, he kept the spark of his lineage unextinguished for the divine David, even though many impious men had arisen in the midst. This mercy, he says, he will extend to those who keep his covenant—and not simply to those who are mindful of his commandments, but to those who add works to words and direct their life according to them.

VERS. 19. "The Lord has prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all." This is similar to what is said in another psalm: "Who dwells on high, and looks upon the humble." For the prophetic word here teaches us that the Lord of all has his throne in heaven, but he also looks upon and governs the creation, since he is the creator of all, and king, and master.

VERS. 20. "Bless the Lord, all you his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his word, to hear the voice of his utterance." Deservedly he has summoned ^C the heavenly powers to the communion of the hymn. For human nature is not sufficient worthily to celebrate the author of blessings; but the incorporeal and holy natures, having a life free from passions, are capable of fulfilling the divine commands.

VERS. 21. "Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, his ministers, who do his will." Many and various are the orders of the heavens. For there are Principalities, and Powers, and Thrones, and Dominions, and Seraphim, and Cherubim, and other names unknown to us, as the divine Apostle says; but the prophetic word has included everything under these two names. For he called them Angels, as those who labor in divine commands and ferry the divine words across; and Virtues (Hosts), as those capable of performing what is ordered, having received the power of acting from the creator through their very nature.

VERS. 22. "Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion." Neither does this ^D [remain unstated].

suits the Jews. For they, when ordered by those who had led them into slavery to sing one of the songs of Sion, said, properly and lawfully: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" ^A But to us, the divine Apostle gives instruction to lift up holy hands, praying in every place. This also the Master Christ said to the Samaritan woman: "Amen, amen, I say to you, woman, that the hour is coming, and now is, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will they worship the Father. For God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." — "Bless the Lord, O my soul." The end is in harmony with the beginning. For having called the intelligible substances into the communion of the hymn, he teaches us also, as we are able, to honor the Creator and to offer a hymn of thanksgiving equal to our capacity.

Interpretation of the 103rd Psalm

^B 1. "A Psalm of David." The grace of the all-holy Spirit brings not only moral and dogmatic teaching to men, but also teaches them accurately how it is fitting to hymn the Creator. For this reason, it has composed this psalm, using the blessed David as a minister, so that we may all learn with what hymns it is proper to requite the Benefactor. Here, however, it sets forth the common benefits, and shows God to be the Maker of all things together, and the Governor of the universe. "Bless the Lord, O my soul." It teaches every nursling of piety to hymn the Benefactor God. "O Lord my God, how ^C you are magnified exceedingly!" Here too, the "how" is for emphasis. And the word "magnified," is not an indication of addition, but signifies an immeasurable greatness. For so also Symmachus interpreted it: "And my God, you are great exceedingly." For it is not that, being small, he was magnified, but being great by nature, this was shown to the pious; not the whole greatness, but as much as the nature of men could contain. "You have put on confession and majesty." Symmachus says thus: "You have clothed yourself in praise and glory." For those who enjoy your good things no longer ^D ignore you, nor do they offer your worship to idols, but they hymn you, and pay to you the debt of doxology.

2. "Who cover yourself with light as with a garment." Consonant with these, the Apostle also said: "Who alone has immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable." For that light is so great that no one dares to approach; for the excess of the radiance turns back the eyes. For if the perceptible sun forces those who try to look at it insatiably to do this, who is capable of...

contemplating the unapproachable light? He is, therefore, himself the true light; and he is wrapped in light as in a garment, and he dwells in unapproachable light, and clouds and darkness are round about him, and he has made darkness his hiding place; and these things do not in the least contradict one another, because to those who are unable to perceive it, the unapproachable light is the same as gloom and darkness. For neither the things in the former, nor the things in these, can be seen. This, therefore, both here and there, declares that the divine nature is by no means visible. ^A *“Stretching out the heaven like a curtain.”* Through these words he taught the ease of the creation. For just as it is easy for a man to stretch out a skin and make a tent, so the God of all stretched out the great expanses of the heavens, using only his word.

VERS. 3. *“Covering his upper chambers with waters.”* This also the blessed Moses taught. For he says that God said: *“Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,”* and it shall divide between the waters that are above the firmament and the waters that are under the firmament. *“Who makes the cloud his ascent, who walks upon the wings of the winds.”* By these words he declared his providence, which penetrates everywhere. He presides over, he says, both winds and clouds; and he himself directs them and steers them, and he opportunely distributes the benefit that is produced from them. Furthermore, he teaches at the same time that the divine nature is present everywhere and flies to all things. Since, then, the nature of the winds is the swiftest of all perceptible things—for in a moment of time it runs from the west to the east, and from the east to the west—not finding among perceptible things another image of swiftness more exact, he says that God rides upon the wings of the winds, declaring through this that he is present everywhere. We find, moreover, that the God of all appeared to the children of Israel in a cloud, and in the tabernacle he offered himself to be seen through a cloud. ^B And indeed, when Solomon was dedicating the house, a cloud covered the house, and the Lord Christ on the mountain showed to the three apostles a radiant cloud around him; and as he was being taken up, a bright cloud received him out of their sight. ^C

VERS. 4. *“Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire.”* He showed that he himself is the maker not only of visible things, but also of invisible ones. He called the same beings both spirits and fire, teaching through both their power and their speed. For the nature of the spirit is swift, but the power of fire is strong. And using the angels as ministers, the God of all bestows benefits upon those worthy of them, and ^D

punishes those who are opposed. For this reason, he also makes mention of fire, signifying its punishing energy.

VER. 5. "Who foundations the earth upon its stability." But Aquila and Symmachus [say], "upon its seat." "It shall not be swerved forever and ever." For having fashioned it upon itself, he has granted it immobility, and it shall remain in this way for as long as he himself shall will. Thus, he says elsewhere, "He hangs the earth upon nothing."

VER. 6. "The abyss as a garment is its covering." He has placed "of Him" instead of "of its." For thus also Aquila and Theodotion interpreted: "You covered it with the abyss as with a garment." Now the divine Scripture calls the liquid substance the abyss. Thus also in the beginning of the creation the blessed Moses said: "The earth was invisible and unformed, and darkness was over the face of the abyss." Since, therefore, the earth is surrounded on all sides by waters, and the great and unnavigable seas are its boundaries, and other more numerous [waters] cut through its middle, he rightly said that the abyss lies upon the earth as a garment.

"Upon the mountains shall stand the waters." [Ver. 7, 8.] "At your rebuke they shall flee; at the voice of your thunder they shall be afraid. The mountains go up, and the plains go down, to the place which you founded for them." Through all things he teaches that the providence of God is presiding over creation. For this reason the sea, mimicking the peaks of the mountains with its waves, does not inundate the continent; but just as we tremble at the thunder, so it fears the established boundary. The phrase, "Upon the mountains shall stand the waters," is equivalent to "they stood as mountains"; and the phrase, "The mountains go up," is equivalent to "as mountains."

VER. 9. "You set a boundary which they shall not pass over, nor shall they turn to cover the earth." The sea indeed stands in awe of the sand, and raging as far as that, being restrained as if by a bridle by the divine boundary, it turns back again and retreats.

VER. 10. "Sending forth springs in the ravines, the waters shall pass through the midst of the mountains." Then he points out their utility.

VER. 11, 12. "All the beasts of the field shall drink; the wild asses shall wait for their draught. Upon them the birds of the heaven shall dwell; from the midst of the rocks they shall give their voices." And this is the greatest proof of divine Providence, not only to supply the need of humans, but also that of the brute animals. Therefore the mountains

^A he carved out as paths for the waters, so that not only might humans have the streams of the fountains in abundance, but also the generations of land animals and winged creatures. Regarding the phrase, "The wild asses shall wait for their thirst," Symmachus translated it thus: "The wild ass shall refresh his thirst."

VER. 13. "Watering the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of thy works." He not only prepares the nature of the waters from below and causes them to gush forth, but he also brings irrigation from above through the clouds. Next, he indicates the benefit that arises from this.

VER. 14. "Bringing forth hay for the beasts, and herb for the service of men, that thou mayest bring forth bread out of the earth." For the herb grows and nourishes the beasts that were created for the service of humans; the fruits are also nourished by the rains, and they become ripe and are offered to men. He said this also in another ^B psalm: "Thou shalt save men and beasts, O Lord." Nevertheless, it is for the sake of human need that even the beasts enjoy this providence.

VER. 15. "And wine gladdeneth the heart of man, to make his face cheerful with oil; and bread strengtheneth man's heart." Symmachus spoke more clearly: "Bringing forth hay for the beasts, and herb for the use of men, so as to bring forth food from the earth, and to make wine gladden the heart of man, to make the face shine with oil, and bread to strengthen the heart of man." For to this end, he says, the God of all constantly provides rains to the earth so that it might bring forth fruits of every kind, and with bread, indeed, strengthen and nourish the nature of humans; with wine, to gladden and make life more pleasant; and with oil, not only to nourish the bodies from within, but also to make them shine from without.

VER. 16. "The trees of the field ^C shall be satisfied." But the Hebrew and the other interpreters have put "the trees of the Lord." Since he had set forth the fruit-bearing trees, quite appositely he also made mention of the barren ones, inasmuch as they too provide a necessary use for humans. For this reason he also called them "the Lord's," inasmuch as they grow of their own accord and are not hand-wrought, but were brought forth by the divine Word. Therefore he adds: "And the cedars of Lebanon, which thou hast planted." For no foresters were the planters of these, but the divine Word abundantly clothed the summits of the mountains with them. In making mention of Lebanon as most famous, and of the cedars that are in it, he indicated ^D other mountains and trees through these.

^A VERS. 17. "There the sparrows will build their nests; the house of the heron is the leader of them." Aquila renders it thus: "There birds will build their nests; the house of the heron is the fir trees." Symmachus says: "Where sparrows will build their nests, the kite’s dwelling is the fir tree." For the same trees provide one use for men, and another for birds; for men they are suitable for the construction of houses, while they receive the dwellings of the birds.

^A VERS. 18. "The high mountains for the deer, the rock a refuge for the hares." Your providence, he says, does not overlook even the smallest of living creatures, but has given to the deer the summits of the mountains as a dwelling, and to the smaller animals, the hollows of the rocks.

^B VERS. 19. "He made the moon for seasons." Having gone through all things on earth, and having shown the creation of the invisible natures, and having indicated the making of the heavens, he also makes mention of the luminaries, which were made on the fourth day. And he says that the creation of the moon came about for the instruction of the seasons; for its changes cause time to be measured. For it creates the measure of the month, increasing and waning in so many days. "The sun knew his setting." Not that it is ensouled, nor that it uses reason; but traveling according to the divine decree, it thus, by appearing, creates the day, and by hiding, the night; and it always holds the same course and keeps its measures.

^C VERS. 20. "You set darkness, and it became night." The need for this is also necessary; for night, arising upon the withdrawal of the light, provides rest to mortals. "In it all the beasts of the forest will prowl." [VERS. 21] "Young lions roaring to snatch, and to seek their food from God." For the night procures rest for men, but grants safety to wild beasts, so that they may fill their hungry bellies. And the phrase, "to seek their food from God," is the same as, "Divine Providence provides the need even for these." For to ask from God is proper to rational beings; to seek is proper even to those lacking reason; yet even to these, God provides the necessary sustenance.

^D VERS. 22, 23. "The sun has risen, and they were gathered together, and they will be laid to rest in their dens. Man will go forth to his work and to his labor until evening." When the sun has risen, the former [the beasts] depart to their own lairs; but men, refreshed from the labor of the previous day, pass the day again with promptness in their tasks.

^A VERSE 24. "How magnified are thy works, O Lord! Thou hast made all things in wisdom." The Prophet, weighing each of the things previously mentioned and perceiving the great providence of God, bursts forth in the middle of his narrative into praises, saying that all the works of God are admirable, worthy of admiration, and filled with wisdom. For he found that the night, which is maligned by some ungodly men, is most useful, and that barren trees provide a different kind of utility, and that the kinds of wild beasts are in many ways suitable to men. "The earth is filled with thy possession." Some other interpreters have read "with thy creation," as if to say: "Thou hast filled it with goods of every kind." From the earth, moreover, he passes to the neighboring sea, and says: ^B VERSE 25. "This sea, the great and spacious, there are reptiles without number, animals small with great." And this, too, is a proof of divine Providence, that the very minute species associate with the greatest ones, and are not at all entirely consumed by them. 1339 VERSE 26. "There ships pass through." And this is also of the greatest utility to men. For through the art of shipbuilding, and through the science of navigation, we receive from one another the things we need, and we supply the fruits that grow among us to others, and we receive those that are produced among them. "This dragon whom thou hast formed to play in it." ^C By the dragon he has indicated the great sea monsters, which dwell in the great seas. But as for the phrase "to play in it," he said it in the masculine gender, because the Hebrew and the Syrian call the sea by the masculine gender. So great, he says, is it, that it contains infinite kinds of fish, and the largest monsters swim securely in it. But if it pleases some to interpret the dragon allegorically, because Isaiah says: "The sword, the great, and the holy, and the mighty, shall come upon the dragon, the crooked serpent, who dwells in the sea," we do not at all reject such an interpretation; since we find in Job, too, that this animal is held as a mockery by the divine angels; and the Lord gave his disciples power to walk upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy. ^D VERSE 27. "All things look to thee, to give them food in due season." From thee, he says, in due time, all receive what they need. For the irrational creatures do indeed seek food, but they do not know the donor; they receive it, however, from the Creator. VERSE 28. "When thou givest to them, they will collect." With thee providing this abundance, each of these enjoys the goods accommodated to it. "When thou hast opened thy hand, all things..."

shall be filled with goodness." He has declared through this the ease of the bestowing of goods. For just as it is easy to extend fingers that are bent inward, so is it easy for God to bestow an abundance of all goods. ^B

VERS. 29. "But when thou turnest away thy face, they shall be troubled." Just as thou fillest with all gladness those who enjoy good things, benevolently bestowing them, in the same way, when thou turnest away, all things are filled with perturbation and fear. "Thou shalt take away their spirit, and they shall fail, and they shall return into their dust." For when thou willest it, the separation of both soul and body takes place, after which the body is delivered to corruption and dissolves into the dust from which it originated. By "spirit" in this place, he means the soul.

VERS. 30. "Thou shalt send forth thy spirit, and they shall be created, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth." In this place he has clearly proclaimed to us the resurrection and the restoration of life, which comes about through the benefit of the most holy Spirit. Thus also the great Elias did when he breathed three times upon the widow's son and, through the spiritual grace that dwelt in him, brought life back; so also Elisha made the son of the Shunamite alive, having used the spiritual breathing and having effected life with the life-giving Spirit. Having shown in this manner the divine power and its force, he turns his tongue to the singing of praises. ^C

VERS. 31. "Let the glory of the Lord be for ever." It is just, he says, that he be praised by all. "The Lord shall rejoice in his works." Through these words he prophesied the future knowledge of God among men. For when men are delivered from their former error and have received the knowledge of God, God shall rejoice—not because he is worshipped, but because he sees that men have attained salvation.

VERS. 32. "He who looketh upon the earth and maketh it tremble; he who toucheth the mountains and they smoke." With good reason he has added these things, teaching that the divine nature is in need of nothing. For he is not delighted by being worshipped as though he were in need; but, wishing to grant salvation, he shows the truth; and though he is able to punish, he does not inflict punishment, even though by his mere presence he shakes the earth and fills the mountains with fire and smoke. This, indeed, he also did on Mount Sinai; for when he appeared, he caused the whole mountain to be smoking. ^D

VERS. 33. "I will sing to the Lord in my life; I will sing praise to my God while I exist." And these things he has also added with good reason. "For there is no one in death who is mindful of him; and in hell who shall confess to him?"

[1707] ^D and to him; thus was the door of the bridal chamber closed to the foolish virgins, because they had wasted the time for light-bearing in the purchase of oil.

VER. 34. *Let my speech be pleasant to him.* By "speech" (eloquium), Symmachus meant "discourse," but Aquila "conversation." I pray, he says, that these praises of mine may appear most sweet and most pleasant. *But I will delight in the Lord.* For when this is done, he says, I shall harvest the joy that proceeds from it.

VER. 35. *Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and the wicked, so that they may not be.* After he has recounted the divine beauty and the inexplicable riches, as far as was possible for human nature, he desires that all men should become participants in the knowledge of the same; and he entreats that the gatherings of sinners might utterly fail—not praying that they themselves should perish, but beseeching that they might be changed, and requesting that their assembly might desist, so that they might pass over to the side of the good and learn divine things. But if anyone should wish to understand these words otherwise, as if the prophet were subjecting impious men to curses, even in this way he will find the prophecy in agreement with the apostolic doctrine. For the blessed Paul, writing to the Corinthians, set down this conclusion: *If any man love not our Lord Jesus, let him be anathema.* For this is characteristic of those who love with an ardent soul. *Bless the Lord, O my soul.* Those, therefore, who are unwilling to praise the Giver of so many good things, let them suffer what I have said. But do thou, O my soul, exalt thy Savior and Creator to heaven with perpetual praises. ^C

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CIV

*Alleluia.* This psalm also commands that God, who is over all, be celebrated with praises. The inscription declares this; for Alleluia, if you interpret it, means "Praise the Lord." It calls to mind the promises made by God to the patriarchs, and the good things which He bestowed upon their descendants through them. For the recollection of these things is sufficient to sharpen and enkindle those who have been affected by such benefits, so that they may be excited to emulate the virtue of their ancestors. At the same time, it teaches the new people that He did not unjustly deprive that ungrateful people of His care. For since they were called the people of God, and openly enjoyed divine aid, but were later completely stripped of it—by means of the present psalms, He teaches all men how many and how great were the benefits He bestowed upon them, and how they became unmindful of those benefits, so that all may learn both the justice of the sentence pronounced ^D upon them and the penalty for an ungrateful mind.

seeing that they may not walk in the same way as they did, but step upon the straight path.

^A VERS. 1. "Confess to the Lord, and call upon his name." Symmachus translates "Proclaim" instead of "call upon." This discourse truly commands us to offer a hymn of thanksgiving and to recount the divine benefits. "Declare His works among the nations." It is clear and manifest that this provides benefit not only to the Jews, but also to all the nations.

VERS. 2. "Sing to Him, and chant to Him; recount all His wonders." Render Him hymns and melodies, and teach those who are ignorant the wonders performed by Him.

^B VERS. 3. "Be praised in His holy name." Aquila put "Glory" instead of "be praised." This discourse truly exhorts us not to boast in riches, nor in strength, nor in power, but in the knowledge and providence of God. The divine Apostle also warned of this: "For he who boasts," he says, "let him boast in the Lord." That most wise Anna also explains this: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the strong man boast in his strength." And, "Let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, in understanding and knowing the Lord, and doing judgment and justice upon the earth." "Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice." For joy is the fruit of hope placed in God.

^C VERS. 4. "Seek the Lord, and be strengthened." And teaching how one must do this, he added: "Seek His face evermore." For it is not once or twice, but throughout the whole of life that it is fitting to seek help from above and to reap the benefit. For those who seek it will be unconquerable and invincible. The Lord Himself, legislating this, promised: "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened."

^D VERS. 5. "Remember His wonders which He performed, His prodigies, and the judgments of His mouth." Do not consign to oblivion the ineffable manifestations of wonder which the Master wrought, adorning them with His just decree. For here He termed the wonders justly performed by God as "judgments." For because He makes a narrative of those things which occurred in Egypt, He first teaches the justice of the punishment of the Egyptians.

VERS. 6. "Seed of Abraham His servants, sons of Jacob His elect." He calls the same people both by this and by that manner.

He called them "elect" because they were named the people of God above all nations. This he also demonstrated through the following words.

VERS. 7. "He is the Lord our God; His judgments ^A are in all the earth." For since He is the God and Lord of all, and holds dominion over the whole world, He has named them His own people.

VERS. 8. "He has been mindful of His covenant forever, of the word which He commanded for a thousand generations." Through this, He teaches the continuity and perpetuity of the promises that were made to Abraham. For this statement is not hyperbolic, as some have supposed, but true and divine. For the God of all promised that in his seed He would bless all nations. Now his seed, according to the flesh, is the Lord Christ, who has an everlasting dominion and an eternal kingdom. This is also what the mention of a thousand generations signifies; for the text does not denote a number of years, but signifies the continuity and eternity of the multitude of generations. ^B

VERS. 9, 10. "Which He established with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac. And He established it to Jacob for a command, and to Israel for an eternal covenant." The divine Moses also makes mention of these oaths. "For He said," he says, "God to Abraham: By Myself I have sworn, that in blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven in multitude; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." He also reminds Isaac of this oath and confirms the covenants entered into with Jacob; and, indeed, he also fulfills them: to be sure, by freeing their descendants from the slavery of the Egyptians through Moses; by giving the promised land through Joshua, the son of Nun; but bringing the fulfillment of the promise to completion through the Lord Christ.

VERS. 11. "Saying: To you I will give the land of Canaan, the ^C lot of your inheritance." He called the dominion of the land a "lot" (or measuring cord); for it is characteristic of those who possess [land] to subject the earth to measurements.

VERS. 12. "When they were few in number, very few, and strangers in it." These things, he says, He promised to the fathers when they were few and very easily counted. But by this he demonstrates the power of the One promising: that although they were so few, He was able to bestow upon them the dominion of such a vast land.

VERS. 13. "And they passed from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people." For the patriarchs were engaged in perpetual pilgrimage, ^D and were not settled in any one place; but wandering now here, now there, moving their tents.

^A Ver. 14. "He suffered no man to do them wrong." For He rendered them superior to those who attempted to harm them. "And reproved kings for their sakes."

Ver. 15. "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." Thus He punished Pharaoh with great and terrible visitations on account of Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Thus by night He terrified Abimelech, saying: "Behold, thou art a dead man, because of Sarah the wife of Abraham, for she is married to a husband." Thus He rendered Isaac venerable in the eyes of those who then inhabited Palestine. Thus He threatened Laban, who wished to murder him: "Take heed," He said, "that thou speak not harshly against my servant ^B Jacob." He calls them "anointed," not as those anointed with oil, but as those who have become chosen. And God Himself called Abraham a prophet: "For restore," He said, "the wife to her husband, for he is a prophet; and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt be saved."

Ver. 16. "Moreover He called for a famine upon the land." Sin draws down chastisement; chastisement reproves a bestial life; and reproof works a change of life. Therefore, He brought the famine because of the lawless life of the men of that time; but even so, He still took care of His own servants. "He brake the whole staff of bread." As if to say, He caused a scarcity of all things that could provide nourishment, not only of wheat, but also of barley, and legumes, and other things by which men sustain their lives.

Ver. 17. ^C "He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant." He declared both things at the same time: the wickedness of the brothers and his own wisdom; for he made use of their malice for a good purpose. For he himself did not compel them to sell their brother, but he permitted their malice. Yet he, making timely use of this, turned the slave into a king, and procured the descent of his kin into Egypt. For it was necessary that those who were to be called the people of God should become famous and conspicuous through the miracles wrought on their behalf. For the care shown toward them proclaimed their God, and illuminated those who heard of it with the light of the knowledge of God.

Ver. 18. "Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron." ^D For after the calumny of adultery, he dwelt in the prison, and immediately, as is likely, they placed upon him bonds of iron. This, however, Symmachus has expressed thus:

"His soul passed into iron," that is, he was in danger even unto death.

Ver. 19. "Until his word came, the oracle of the Lord inflamed him." He endured all these things to be tested like gold, not that the God of all—who knows all things before they come into being—might learn the unsullied nature of Joseph’s virtue, but that He might demonstrate his philosophy to other men and set forth a model of truth.

Vers. 20, 21. "The king sent, and released him; the ruler of the people, and let him go. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possession." And showing the utility of this dispensation, he adds:

Ver. 22. "To teach his princes as himself, and to instruct his elders in wisdom." For having become renowned ^B and famous to the king through the interpretation of dreams, and having obtained authority, he led others to the knowledge of God, not using words only, but also attracting them to that same piety through his deeds.

Ver. 23. "And Israel entered into Egypt, and Jacob dwelt as an immigrant in the land of Ham." This, he says, was the occasion for the patriarch’s sojourning in Egypt. He calls Egypt the "land of Ham," because Mesraim was the second son of Ham. "For Ham," he says, "begat Chus the firstborn, and Mesraim his brother." Divine Scripture calls Ethiopia "Chus," and Egypt "Mesraim," and he calls Jacob and Israel the same person. For he received the former name from his parents, but God imposed the latter upon him, signifying by this appellation that He had appeared to him.

Ver. 24. "And he increased his people exceedingly, and strengthened them over their enemies." The history of the Exodus teaches this also. "For by as much," it says, "as the Egyptians afflicted them, by so much more did they become numerous, and the land caused them to multiply."

Ver. 25. "He turned their heart, so that they should hate his people." Not that He Himself changed the mind of the Egyptians, but He permitted it to their own free will; and while He did not hinder their plots, He showed those who were being plotted against to be superior to those who were plotting. "And to deal craftily against his servants." Sometimes the Egyptians ordered ^D the midwives to destroy the male children of the Hebrews, and at other times they ordered them to cast them into the river. But even so, the race avoided the machinations of death.

Vers. 26, 27. "He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he chose for himself. He set among them the words of his signs, and of his wonders, in the land

^A of Ham." Since He was creating them as helpers and ministers of the liberty of their own people, He granted them the power to perform miracles.

Vers. 28. "He sent darkness, and it grew dark, because they provoked his words." For those blessed servants did not oppose the divine commands, but performed what was commanded, and they brought upon them a most deep and three-day night, or rather, a darkness more gloomy than night. For night, even if it lacks the moon, is tempered by the brightness of the stars; but that darkness, the holy Scripture calls palpable.

Vers. 29. "He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish." For He changed not only the color ^B of the waters, but the very quality of their taste, so that all the kinds of fish were destroyed.

Vers. 30. "Their land brought forth frogs in the inner chambers of their kings." For because they had delivered the infants of the Hebrews into the river, He turned the water of the river into blood, by this means exposing the slaughter that had been committed; and He caused frogs to swarm forth from it, crawling like the murdered infants, and invading houses, and proceeding even into the very royal chambers.

Vers. 31. "He spoke, and the dog-fly came, and lice in all their borders." For deeds followed upon the words, and immediately, upon God commanding and Moses speaking, the dog-fly and the lice filled the land, not crossing the Egyptian borders, ^C nor causing harm to other men, but bringing correction to the enemies of God. For this is what is meant by, "In all their borders"; as if to say: outside the Egyptian borders, one could see nothing of the sort happening.

Vers. 32, 33. "He made their rains hail, fire burning in their land. And he struck their vines and their fig trees, and shattered every tree of their border." For the clouds exchanged their usual travail, and instead of rain produced hail; and lightning and whirlwinds were borne along with the hail, and although they are contrary natures, water and fire did not harm one another. For neither did the fire melt the frozen water of the hail, nor did the water quench the flame; but setting aside their natural combat, they brought a combined punishment upon the Egyptians and exposed their ferocity: that though they were human beings, they did not revere nature, but ^D

compelled those of the same race to serve them bitterly. ^A For this reason, their vines and fig trees and other kinds of plants were utterly destroyed by them.

VERS. 34, 35. «He spoke, and the locust came, and the bruchus, of which there was no number. And it ate all the grass in their land, [and it ate all the fruit of their land].» By the hail and the fire, He destroyed the trees; but by the locust and the caterpillar, the marshes, meadows, and grain-fields; for it consumed not only their fruit, but also their grass. ^B

VERS. 36. «And He struck every firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their labor.» He brought this final plague upon the Egyptians, after which He urged the Hebrews to depart with haste. Every house was full of lamentations and wailing, since all their firstborn children had suddenly met their end. For He brought the plague against those who were most beloved, striking with sharper darts those who had shown no pain regarding the previous calamities.

VERS. 37. «And He brought them out with silver and gold.» For since the Egyptians did not even allow the Hebrews to take their own belongings, they took besides their own things the wealth of the Egyptians also, carrying off gold and silver as a kind of wage for their bitter servitude. For God did not command this to be done unjustly, but both to punish those who did wrong and to comfort those who had been wronged. «And there was not one feeble among their tribes.» For they did not share in the plagues brought upon the Egyptians. ^C

VERS. 38. «Egypt rejoiced at their departure, because their fear had fallen upon them.» They had been so terrified by various punishments of this sort, that they actually considered the liberation of the Hebrews a benefit to themselves.

VERS. 39. «He spread a cloud for their protection, and fire to give them light by night.» For that same cloud was a tent for them during the day, and shielded them from the discomfort of the sun’s rays; but by night, taking on the appearance of fire, it provided them with the convenience of light.

VERS. 40. «They asked, and the quail came, and He satisfied them with the bread of heaven.» Because they had also craved meat, He provided them with a spontaneous catch of birds, and for those who needed bread, He supplied it from above, granting them not rain through the clouds, but food itself. ^D

VERS. 41. «He broke the rock, and waters flowed, and rivers ran on dry land.» Their

He also quenched their thirst with the wondrous parturitions of the rock. For in a dry land, destitute of moisture, He commanded rivers to gush forth. By rivers, He means the channels of water that flowed from the rock. ^B

Vers. 42, 43. "For He remembered His holy word, which He had spoken to Abraham His servant. And He brought forth His people with exultation, and His elect in gladness." He bestowed all these things upon them, fulfilling the promises made by Him to Abraham.

Vers. 44. "And He gave them the lands of the nations, and they possessed the labors of the peoples." For He did not only deliver them from Egyptian servitude, but even granted them the land of the Canaanites, and made them masters of the labors of others, justly punishing the former and confirming His own promises. That the expulsion of those who formerly inhabited Palestine was not unjust, He teaches both through the laws He gave to the Jews, commanding them to avoid imitating their way of life, and also by explaining, when making the promises to Abraham, why He did not immediately grant him lordship over that land, but allowed him to dwell as a stranger for a long time. "For not yet," He says, "are the iniquities of the Amorites fulfilled until now" (Gen. xv, 16), meaning, they have not yet dared things worthy of total destruction. It was not just to bring punishment upon them, nor, through the foreknowledge of a greater sin, to pronounce the sentence of punishment, but rather to await the end of events. "For I use a measure, and I govern by a scale, and there is nothing with Me that is not weighed. Therefore I await the period of four hundred years." Thus, He drove out those, and fulfilled the promises to these.

Vers. 45. "That they might keep His statutes, and seek out His law." He gave them, He says, the land He had promised, at the same time giving them the law and commanding them to live in accordance with it.

Interpretation of Psalm CV

Alleluia. In the one hundred and fourth psalm, the prophetic discourse set forth the divine benefits; in this one, however, it both commemorates the benefits and accuses the ingratitude of those who had received the benefits, and teaches the various punishments brought upon them. It is composed as if from the person of the more pious, those lamenting the common calamities and supplicating to obtain indulgence.

Ver. 1. "Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever." And for the former benefits, praise the Lord, and conceive better hopes. For the Lord is good and philanthropic, and always continues in His mercy. Then

^A he teaches how the narration of divine miracles transcends human nature.

VERS. 2. "Who shall declare the mighty acts of the Lord? Who shall make all His praises heard?" No speech is sufficient to hymn the God of all.

VERS. 3. "Blessed are they that keep judgment, and do righteousness at all times." The blessing of virtue follows upon the recognition of sin. For he who pays the penalties for sin deems those blessed who are free from it, and who adorn their own life with righteousness. And he designates as blessed not him who has used righteousness once, but him who always and perpetually follows in the footprints of virtue.

VERS. 4. "Remember us, O Lord, in the good pleasure of Thy people: visit us with Thy salvation." ^B In this place he designates the new people and the Church gathered from the nations, which He has deemed worthy of salvation, the community of which the multitude of the Jews learns to snatch away. The subsequent words also harmonize with this thought.

VERS. 5. "That I may see the goodness of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may praise with Thine inheritance." We entreat, he says, that we may be participants in the gladness of Thy new nation, and that we may become sharers in the goodness granted to them.

VERS. 6. "We have sinned with our fathers, we have acted unjustly, we have committed iniquity." For as if it were a certain inheritance, he says, we have received from our parents the transgression of Thy laws. By "fathers," he indeed does not call the holy patriarchs, but those who came after them. ^C For he made this clear through what follows.

VERS. 7. "Our fathers in Egypt understood not Thy wonders, and remembered not the multitude of Thy mercy." For although so many and so great miracles had been wrought in Egypt for their sake, they did not wish to see Thy power. "And they provoked Him, going up by the Red Sea." For having seen the Egyptians pursuing, and the sea preventing their flight, they did not wish to wait for Thy help; but they clamored against the great Moses, saying, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou brought us out to kill us in this wilderness?" But nevertheless, even though they appeared ungrateful, Thou didst deem them worthy of salvation. For this is what he adds:

VERS. 8-10. "And He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His power known. And He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up; and he led

them through the deep, as through the desert. And He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, and He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy." For by His word He laid bare the foundations of the sea, and made that great abyss a desert, passable for horses. Since, in the deserts, those who run find great ease—because there are no trees or fences to hinder them—He indicated the ease of their crossing by the comparison of the desert.

^B VERS. 11. "The water covered those who oppressed them; one of them did not remain." For He drowned all the Egyptians, and the same sea brought salvation to the Hebrews, but punishment to the Egyptians.

VERS. 12. "And they believed His word, and they celebrated His praise." For of the men praising, Moses the great was the leader, and of the choir of women, Miriam the prophetess. And the song is also recorded.

VERS. 13, 14. "They made haste, they forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel. And they coveted a desire in the desert, and they tempted God in the waterless place." For having so many and such pledges of the divine power, they did not ask to receive what they needed, nor did they wait for the divine gift, but immediately used insults against the divine ministers.

VERS. 15. "And He gave them their request, and sent fullness into their souls." He called the desire a "request." For they did not ask, but they murmured; yet He gave them an abundance of meat, and bread not made by hand, and water ^C both most sweet and abundant.

VERS. 16. "And they provoked Moses in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord." For Korah and his company attempted to seize the priesthood, while Dathan and Abiron plotted another tyranny.

VERS. 17, 18. "The earth opened and swallowed Dathan, and covered the congregation of Abiron. And fire was kindled in their congregation; the flame burned up the sinners." Dathan and Abiron, with their whole family, were swallowed up, but Korah and those with him were burned by fire sent by God. God brought these punishments upon them, forcing the others to be wise, but they would not receive any benefit from this; and the account of what they dared to do demonstrates this.

VERS. 19. "And they made a calf in Horeb." He does not mention the mountain simply, but to ^D teach the enormity of the impiety. For on this mountain the Lord of all appeared; on this, He put fear into them,

^A appearing with abundant fire, employing trumpets, and shaking their ears with thunderclaps, and with such great dread offering the legislation. In this they dared to commit impiety. "And they worshipped the graven image." This is an accusation of an even different madness; for that which they saw had received its form through human art, to this they offered divine honor.

VERS. 20. "And they changed their glory into the likeness of a calf that eateth grass." Very aptly he deplores their madness. For instead of Him who had performed such miracles, and had granted that marvelous salvation, and who was able to do such and such things, they honored the image of a calf, whose archetype is in need of food. Moreover, the calf's food is not bread, which those possessed of reason eat, but grass and hay. Now for the calf, whose nature is void of reason, ^B and the food is hay, and servitude is rendered to men, the image is far more worthless. For it is not only void of reason, but also inanimate, not able to work, nor to low, nor to eat; yet nonetheless they preferred this feeble thing to the God of all.

VERS. 21, 22. "And they forgot God who saved them, who did great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, terrible things in the Red Sea." For they remembered neither their own salvation, nor the punishment of the Egyptians, nor the great miracle that had happened in the sea, but they spurned all things instantly.

VERS. 23. "And He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood in the breach before Him, to turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them." For when the ^C God of all had said, "Let Me alone, and being angry in My wrath I will wipe them out, and I will make thee a great nation," the blessed Moses said, "If Thou wilt forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me out of Thy book which Thou hast written."

VERS. 24, 25. "And they set at naught the desirable land, they believed not His word. And they murmured in their tents, and they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord." He commemorates another act of faithlessness. For when God had commanded them to enter the promised land, suffering from the vice of cowardice, they openly resisted, asserting that the Canaanites indeed were valiant, but that they themselves did not possess forces sufficiently firm to do battle against ^D them. This is clearly an argument of unbelief; for it was right for those who had been spectators of so many and such great wonders to trust in all things to the omnipotence of Him who had granted them salvation.

^A

Vers. 26, 27. "And He lifted up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness; and to overthrow their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands." He indeed willed to impose the punishment corresponding to their unbelief and to bring destruction upon them all at once; but still, using His accustomed philanthropy, He brought upon them only a partial chastisement.

Vers. 28, 29. "And they were initiated to Beelphegor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. And they provoked Him with their practices." For having again slipped into lasciviousness and having mixed with the women of the Moabites, they learned their impiety. Now Beelphegor is an idol ^B worshipped by them; and Phegor was the name of the place of the idol, while Baal was the idol itself. They say this is called Saturn in the Greek tongue. He calls the sacrifices of the dead those which are called among the Greeks libations, which they were accustomed to offer to the dead; and one would not be wrong to call the very beings who are termed gods "dead." "And the fall was multiplied among them." For He brought another death upon them.

Vers. 30, 31. "And Phinees stood, and made atonement, and the slaughter ceased; and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, from generation to generation forever." Symmachus called the slaughter a "plague." But history also teaches this; for Phinees pierced with a spear Zambris, who had evidently dared to have intercourse with a certain Midianitish woman, along with the woman. God, ^C approving his zeal, lauded him, but restrained the punishment that was being brought upon the others.

Vers. 32, 33. "And they provoked Him at the waters of contradiction, and Moses was ill-treated for their sake; because they exasperated his spirit, and he spoke distractedly with his lips." For when they approached him while he was mourning for his sister, they demanded their necessity with great disorder. But he, being struck by the despondency of mourning and seeing their incontinence, and being seized by anger and sorrow, did not minister to the divine command with the customary harmony; but having mixed a certain ambiguity into his words, he struck the rock and brought forth the water. For this is what is declared by "He spoke distractedly with

his lips," ^A that is, he did not use his words without doubt. For he says: "Moses said to them: 'Shall I bring forth water for you from this rock?'" On account of this, God, the ruler of all, being angry, as it were, did not give to him the land promised to the fathers, but commanded him to reach the end of his life, while He fulfilled the promise through Joshua the son of Nun. And indeed, the ruler of all seems to have inflicted this punishment upon him; but He accomplished this while managing other things as well. For, first of all, knowing the insanity of the Jews, He did not allow the entire promise to reach its fulfillment through him, lest they should assume him to be God. For if they had made a god of the image of a calf, what honor would they not have offered to him who had been the minister of so many miracles? For this reason, also, God willed his burial place to be hidden. Furthermore, He willed to show from what happened to the legislator himself that the law was given for a time. For if the legislator himself could not enjoy the promised land, it can ^B easily be perceived from this that they themselves would not enjoy it for long through His providence. Thus, having recounted the things that happened in the wilderness, he reproves the transgression they committed in the promised land.

VERS. 34-36. "They did not destroy the nations, of which the Lord told them. And they were mingled among the nations, and learned their works. And they served their idols, and it became a scandal to them." For He forbade the mingling to avoid communion with impiety, removing the end together with the beginning, and obliterating the fruit together with the root, and checking a worse evil by a lesser one. But ^C nevertheless, they, transgressing the divine law even in this, neither destroyed the impious nations nor avoided communion with them, but imitated their wicked manner of life.

VERS. 37-39. "And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. And they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. And it was contaminated by their works." They left the ultimate climax of impiety for last. For what excess of impiety do they leave for themselves who polluted the land with the blood of sons and daughters, and offered these sacrifices to ^D the blood-thirsty demons? For indeed, they did not even offer to God that which was lawful, but to the idols they offered even the slaughter of their children. "And they committed fornication in their practices." By fornication in this place, he means not only intemperance, but also the worship of idols. Since, being joined to God, they loved the service of those others, he rightly called their superstition fornication.

^A VERSES 40-42. "And the Lord was angry with fury against His people, and He abhorred His inheritance. And He delivered them into the hands of enemies, and those who hated them ruled over them. And their enemies oppressed them, and they were humbled under their hands." This too the history of the Judges teaches, as well as the writing of the Books of Kings. For at one time He delivered them to the Moabites, at another to the Ammonites, at another to the Amalekites and Midianites, and to the Philistines, reaping the benefit through chastisement.

VERSE 43. "Many times He delivered them; but they embittered Him by their counsel, and were humbled in their iniquities." For He who brings the chastisement would again impart loving-kindness; but they repaid Him with the opposite.

VERSES 44. "And the Lord saw when they were oppressed, when He heard their prayer." These things the histories also teach: that they both besought God, pushed by necessity, and that, having prayed, they were heard. ^B

VERSE 45. "And He remembered His covenant, and repented according to the multitude of His mercy." For because of the promises made to the fathers, He granted mercy. By "repentance," however, he refers to the cessation of the chastisement. For the God of repentance has no such passion, nor is He pleased now with these, now with those; but wisely governing all things, He both inflicts punishments and offers loving-kindness.

VERSE 46. "And He gave them up to mercies, in the sight of all those who had taken them captive." Thus He softened Cyrus, and bent him to mercy, and caused him to grant freedom to the captives. ^C

VERSE 47. "Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, to give thanks unto Thy holy name, to glory in Thy praise." These things also show how the prophetic word teaches them how it befits one to appease God and to obtain His providential care. And the divine Apostle also proclaims the future salvation of the Jews through Elias the Tishbite: "There shall come out of Sion," he says, "the Deliverer, and He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; and this is my covenant to them, when I take away their sins." ^D Therefore one ought not to expect the rebuilding of Jerusalem, according to the fables of the foolish, and worship according to the Law, and irrational sacrifices, and circumcision, and the sabbath, and shadowy sprinklings after the all-holy baptism (for all these are the ravings of drunken old women), but the calling and the knowledge of the truth, and faith in the Master Christ, and the constitution of the New Testament.

VERS. 48. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, and all the people shall say: Fiat, fiat." ^A For the Lord of all is praise-worthy—He who is called the God of Israel, and who underwent so much for the salvation of men. It is fitting, moreover, for all the people who praise Him to append "Amen" to the voice of those chanting; for the Hebrew calls "Fiat, fiat" by the name "Amen and Amen." Whence also the custom has remained in the churches that the people should assent through the word "Amen" to the priest’s doxology, and offer the communion that proceeds from this, and in turn receive the blessing.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CVI

"Alleluia." We have often shown that the Old Testament is a shadow of the New; and it is no less easy to learn this from this present psalm. For it proclaims the freedom of the Jews, and foretells the salvation of all men. It coheres beautifully with those that precede it. For the one hundred and fourth psalm contains the account of the promises made by God to the patriarchs, and the gifts granted to their descendants. The one after it, besides the benefactions, taught of the ungrateful spirit of the Jews, and the punishments inflicted upon them for this reason. This one, however, prophesies the deliverance from captivity that came to pass through the ineffable kindness of God. And since our own affairs are foreshadowed in those ^B things, and we see in this psalm too the oracles concerning our own salvation, the prophecy applies for the most part to us rather than to them.

VERS. 1. "Confess to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy is forever." Once again the prophetic discourse exhorts us to praise God, the author of our benefaction; and it says that benevolence is the cause of this praise.

VERS. 2. "Let them say who have been redeemed by the Lord, whom He redeemed from the hand of the enemy." It was fitting for the Jews who had been delivered from the servitude of the Babylonians to sing hymns; and it is appropriate for us to do this always, who have been delivered from the tyranny of the devil.

VERS. 3. "And He gathered them out of the lands; from the rising and the setting, from the north and from the sea." We have not learned that this happened in this way in the case of the Jews. For they live scattered throughout the whole world. But He called and gathered the Church of the nations in all the parts of the world—the eastern and western, the southern and northern; and such congregations can be seen everywhere on land and sea. ^C In the case of the Jews, however, this has happened only obscurely, when some returned from Babylon, and a few others were gathered at that time from Egypt and the neighboring nations.

^A VERS. 4. "They wandered in the desert, in a place without water." Babylon was a desert and without water; for it was destitute of God and of spiritual irrigation, and the multitude of the Jews, serving it, was deprived of these. And those who from the Gentiles believed likewise lived in a desert and in a place without water, having no hope and being godless, as the divine Apostle says. "They found no way to a city of habitation." For neither were the Jews able to escape those who had enslaved them and reach their own fatherland; nor did those who from the Gentiles believed, before the incarnation of the Savior, find the way leading to the divine city. By "city" here must be understood the pious manner of life.

e. "Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them." A famine of divine teaching pressed upon both these and those. For the Jews, serving in Babylon, were deprived of priests, and could not fulfill the worship according to the Law. The Gentiles, on the other hand, had neither received a divine law nor did they enjoy a spiritual teaching, by which souls are wont to be nourished. God had threatened this famine to the Jews: "For I will bring," he said, "a famine upon the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord." ^B

ϛ. "And they cried to the Lord when they were in trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses." The more pious among the Jews offered their supplications to God; and the prophecy of Daniel teaches us this. For he himself, and Ananias, and Azarias, and Misael, agonizing for all, besought the divine mercy. The Gentiles, however, while struggling with calamities of every kind, and using wailings and inconsolable lamentations, yet having no hope of the resurrection, did not seek from the God of all the release from the evils by which they were held. But the lover of mankind saw them groaning, and offered his mercy. ^C

ζ. "And he guided them into a straight way, that they might go into a city of habitation." For to the Jews, indeed, he granted the return through Cyrus the Persian; but the Gentiles he guided through the holy apostles, and pointed out the city above, which has its foundations on the holy mountains, of which the artificer and builder is God. ^D

η. "Let them confess to the Lord his mercies, and his wonders to the sons of men." Symmachus puts it thus: "And his prodigies revealed to the sons of men." A hymn of thanksgiving indeed...

is offered to God not by mercy, nor even by ^A wonders, but by those who have participated in so many good things. For the liberation of the Jews was indeed wonderful and worthy of admiration; but far more wonderful, and worthy of all admiration, is the salvation of the world, the change for the better, the cessation of error, and the knowledge of truth. And divine mercy was the conciliator of all these things. "For not by works of righteousness which we have done," says the divine Apostle, "but according to His abundant mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly." [a]

VERS. 9, 10. "For He has satisfied the empty soul, and filled the hungry soul with good things. Those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in poverty and iron." ^B He liberated the Jews—who were joined to servitude and misery, and wasting away with famine—from the evils that held them fast; and He nourished the whole nature of men with divine teachings, and having delivered it from the gloom of ignorance, He illuminated it with the light of the knowledge of God, and scattered the shadow of death that lay upon it, having given the hope of resurrection; and He broke the strong bonds of sin. "For each one," he says, "is bound by the chains of his own sins." And: "Woe to them who draw their sins as with a long rope, and their iniquities as it were with a heifer's yoke-strap." [x]

VERS. 11, 12. "Because they rebelled against the words of God, and provoked the counsel of the Most High. And their heart was humbled by labors; they were weakened, and there was no one to help." ^C Now sin was the cause of all these calamities, both for the Jews and indeed for all men. For they too, paying the penalty, were handed over to the servitude of the Babylonians; and all men, after the transgression of the commandment, were made subject to the misery of toils. For after this, Adam heard: "Cursed is the ground in your works; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. In sorrows you shall eat of it all the days of your life; in the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread, until you return to the ground out of which you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return." [y] Surrounded by such calamities, they found no solution to the evils that were upon them; but He who had condemned them to these evils, He Himself also bestowed their deliverance from them. For He says: ^D

VERS. 13, 14. "And they cried to the Lord when they were in trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. And He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bonds." For having had compassion on both these and those, the former He freed from the impending...

^A calamities, and the latter He delivered from the darkness of ignorance, and broke the bonds of slavery.

VERS. 15, 16. "Let them confess to the Lord His mercies, and His wonders to the sons of men. For He broke the gates of brass, and crushed the iron bars." By "gates of brass and iron bars" He designates the inevitable power of evils. For just as it is impossible for one who is held captive within such gates and bars to escape, so it was fundamentally impossible for the Jews to escape the slavery of the Babylonians, or for all men to escape the dominion of death. But the divine mercy alone sufficed to destroy the power of both these and the latter, and to grant a solution from sorrowful things.

VERS. 17. "He took them up from the way of their iniquity; for because of their iniquities they were humbled." Neither the Jews, nor the whole nature of men, fell into evils unjustly; but both these and those pay the price for the things they dared to commit. Nevertheless, to both these and those implicated in such evils, He deemed it fitting to grant salvation. ^B

VERS. 18. "Their soul abhorred all food, and they drew near to the gates of death." For the Jews, being oppressed by a multitude of evils, turned away from food itself. This is what the prophet said in another psalm, as if in their person: "For I have forgotten to eat my bread." Now, the nations did not even wish to attend to the teachings of their own philosophers. On account of this, some condemned Socrates to death; others handed Anaxarchus over to a strange punishment; others, having bitterly tortured the followers of Pythagoras, brought a premature death upon them. But nevertheless, God of all things provided for these also to partake of the immortal food, and persuaded them to run toward it with all readiness, and delivered them from the gates of death.

VERS. 19. "And they cried out to the Lord when they were afflicted, and He saved them out of their distresses." Then He teaches the mode of salvation. ^C

VERS. 20. "He sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their corruptions." For God the Word, having become man and having been sent as man (for as God, He is uncircumscribed and is present everywhere and contains all things), healed the manifold wounds of souls, and strengthened minds that had been corrupted. Thus He healed that sinful woman and encouraged her to be confident; thus He strengthened the paralytic, saying, ^D

^A "Thy sins are forgiven thee." Thus He opened paradise to the thief; thus He rendered publicans the teachers of the world; thus He renews those approaching the all-holy baptism, and cleanses them, and delivers them from the wounds of sin.

VERS. 21, 22. "Let them confess to the Lord His mercies, and His wondrous works to the sons of men. And let them sacrifice to Him a sacrifice of praise, and declare His works with exultation." For all these things, he says, it is just to pursue with praises the benevolent God, who has used such mercy and has bestowed upon us an admirable salvation. But it is necessary that we not only know the divine miracles, but also teach those who are ignorant, and incite all to the singing of praises. It must be noted, however, that here He has exhorted men to offer to God a sacrifice of praise, and not the victims of irrational animals. Therefore, he rejects here too the worship that is according to the law; and the "sacrifice of praise," Aquila has called a "sacrifice of thanksgiving."

VERS. 23, 24. "They that go down to the sea in ships, doing work in many waters. They have seen the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep." ^B The prophet has set these things forth parabolically. He says this, that just as those who navigate and traverse the great seas, beyond all others, behold the divine miracles—when they fall into grave tempests and, contrary to all human expectation, attain salvation—so also the Jews, when they had fallen into those calamities and had received back their freedom, learned the divine power. And indeed, all men also, beholding the strange mutation of affairs, and the cessation of former error, and the tranquility of souls, and the harbor of the resurrection, celebrate with praises the Giver of these things.

VERS. 25, 26. "He spoke, and the spirit of a storm stood, and its waves were exalted. They mount up to the heavens, and they go down to the abysses." By these words also He taught that, by His nod, both sad things come to pass, and afterwards pleasant things succeed them.

"Their soul melted away in evils. [VERS. 27.] They were troubled, and they reeled like a drunken man, and all their wisdom was swallowed up." He persists in the similarity. ^C And while it seems indeed that he speaks of those navigating, he implies through these things the various and manifold calamities of the nature of man, which no one by the power of human wisdom is able to dispel. For not even the helmsmen of ships, when they are tossed hither and thither like drunken men when a tempest is present, are able, by employing all their skill, to overcome the evils.

VERS. 28-30. "And they cried to the Lord in their ^D

affliction, and he brought them out of their distresses. And he commanded the storm, and it stood in a breeze, and its waves were silent. And they were glad, because they were stilled." To those who sail and call upon Him, He extends His own assistance, and He nods [assent]; and immediately the storm is transformed into a gentle breeze, and the sea is delivered from the surging waves, and those who were struggling with various sorrows discover through His grace a change of their evils. Thus, the Jews were liberated from that bitter slavery. "And he guided them into the port of his will." For as soon as He willed it, there was a release from evils, and instead of the storm, the port appeared; and this is more appropriate to us than to them. For He has anchored us into the port of His will, having bestowed upon us His divine knowledge.

VERS. 31, 32. ^B "Let them confess to the Lord his mercies, and his wonderful works to the sons of men. Let them exalt him in the church of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders." And this, one can see happening continuously by those nations who have believed. For in all the churches throughout the world, with the holy assembly leading the way, the whole people praise the Author of the benefit, recounting the wonders of His divine philanthropy.

VERS. 33, 34. "He turned rivers into a desert, and the outgoings of waters into a thirsty ground. A fruitful land into saltiness, from the wickedness of them that dwell therein." But they who have obtained salvation praise Him, beholding the strange transformation. For those who were formerly irrigated by many prophetic rivers, and were offering ripe fruit to God, now do not enjoy even a small drop, but have become entirely desert due to their own wickedness, bereft of their former irrigation.

VERS. 35. ^{C D} "He turned the desert into pools of water, and a land without water into outgoings of waters." But the nations that were formerly desert, and which did not even possess a shallow stream, are inundated with the waters of doctrine, the rational [flocks] receiving the spiritual streams beyond what is necessary.

VERS. 36. "And he placed there the hungry, and they established cities for habitation." For those who were formerly wasting away with famine, and were in need of spiritual food, He caused to dwell in those rivers, and established a pious manner of life.

VERS. 37. "And they sowed fields, and planted vineyards, and made fruit of income." And the prophet spoke all these things figuratively. And the Lord Himself also used such comparisons; for at one time He called the apostles reapers, and at another...

^A He called Himself the sower and farmer, and those who readily accept the seeds of the Word He called good soil. And the Apostle also says: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Cor. iii, 6). And again: "You are God’s tillage, you are God’s building" (ibid). The apostles, therefore, sowed the saving proclamations, and they planted gardens endowed with reason for God, and brought the ripe fruit of righteousness to God; and all those who, after them, have been entrusted with the office of teaching continue to do this same thing.

Ver. 38. "And He blessed them, and they multiplied greatly, and He did not diminish their cattle." For he who sows with blessings, shall also reap with blessings, according to the divine Apostle (2 Cor. ix, 6). He calls those "cattle" who are pastured by them, whom He Himself increased, having supplied them with the power of working miracles. And the blessed Luke is witness to this in the Acts, saying: "And the Lord was adding to the Church daily those who were being saved" (Acts ii, 47). And the Lord Himself also calls those who believe ^B "sheep": "For my sheep," He says, "hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life" (John x, 27, 28). Here again He prophesies the evils that were to befall the Jews.

Ver. 39. "And they became few, and were vexed with the tribulation of evils and sorrow." He says this, therefore: Those who formerly inhabited the wilderness and the waterless land, having believed, obtained such great abundance and blessing. But the Jews, who formerly enjoyed the irrigation of the prophetic rivers, then being deprived of this because of the wickedness of their mind, and having remained utterly desolate and barren, fell into calamities of every kind, and were scattered throughout the entire world, so that their populous metropolis came to be inhabited by very few.

Ver. 40. "Contempt was poured out upon their princes." The outcome ^C indeed bears witness to the prophecy. For those who were thought to be their princes and teachers have become of no account; but those who were once illustrious and famous are now completely obscure and despised even by those very people. "And He caused them to wander in a pathless place, and not in a way." Symmachus, however, says thus: "And He will cause them to wander in the vanity of their mind." God does not bring about error, but He forbids error; however, He permits those who are not at all obedient to be without a rudder, and they, being unballasted and tossed ^D hither and thither, wander about. This is also what the Jews have suffered: for having abandoned the divine way, they follow their own musings.

^A 41. "And he helped the poor out of poverty." For the nations that were formerly destitute have enjoyed divine assistance and have acquired spiritual wealth. "And he placed, like sheep, families." Aquila says thus: "And he will lift up the poor from poverty, and will place them as a flock of kindred." For He takes care of His own as of sheep, and as of kindred according to the flesh, He provides for and cares for them.

42. "The upright shall see it and be glad, and all iniquity shall stop its mouth." For seeing these things, those who possess upright thoughts are filled with joy; but those who have chosen to live in wickedness and lawlessness are forced to cast their eyes to the ground and stay silent, curbed by the just sentence.

43. "Who is wise and will keep these things, and will understand the mercies of the Lord?" For it is not for everyone to understand and discern the philanthropic dispensations of the Savior, nor for everyone to keep the divine laws, but for one who uses wisdom and discernment, and who cries out to the Master: "Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things out of your law."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CVII

1. "A Song of a Psalm by David." This psalm likewise prophesies both the return of the Jews and predicts the salvation of the nations; furthermore, it has a close kinship with the fifty-sixth and fifty-ninth psalms.

2. "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; I will sing and make melody in my glory." We have already said before that the prophet calls his own glory the prophetic grace. By using, he says, the melody of prophecy, I say to you, Master, that I have a broad heart, and ^B ready for the reception of your divine grace.

3, 4. "Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and cithara; I will awake at dawn. I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; I will sing to you among the nations." The prophet calls himself a psaltery and a cithara. For as on a musical instrument, the grace of the Spirit struck the prophetic melody within him. Having therefore roused himself to the hymnody of the Master, he answers again, and promises to do this at dawn. For at that time he will not bring the hymn alone, but will perform the divine song together with countless nations and peoples. ^{C D}

^A Ver. 5. «For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.» The greatness of Thy mercy surpasses the celestial vaults; the rays of Thy truth have run through all things everywhere. And we have already said that He calls the prophets, the apostles, and those who have obtained the gift of teaching “clouds.” For through these, as if through certain clouds, He brings spiritual refreshment to men; through them we have learned the true doctrines.

Ver. 6. «Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Thy glory over all the earth (be celebrated).» The blessed Habakkuk also said this: «His virtue covered the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise.» The blessed David also said this in the eighth psalm: «O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all the earth! For Thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.» Therefore, «Be thou exalted» he said in place of «show thyself sublime» and superior to all, and let the whole earth learn Thy glory.

Ver. 7. «That Thy beloved may be delivered, save with Thy right hand, and hear me.» The salvation of those whom Thou hast deigned to make Thy familiars ^B will show Thy power to all men. Receive, therefore, my supplication, and stretch forth Thy right hand. By “right hand” He means good action.

Ver. 8. «God hath spoken in His holy one.» That is, through the grace of the all-holy Spirit. «I will be exalted, and I will divide Sichem, and I will measure out the valley of tabernacles.» What the prophet asked for, he obtained. For since he said: «Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens,» the Lord answers, saying: «I will be exalted.» Then He shows the manner: «I will divide Sichem.» This is a city that was given to Joseph by prerogative. But also the valley, which had previously been desert and had received the huts of shepherds, I will again fill with inhabitants, and I will arrange for it to be distributed to those who have returned.

Ver. 9. «Gilead is mine, and Manasses is mine, and Ephraim is the protection ^C of my head, Juda is my king.» For I shall claim as mine not only Manasses, but also his region. For Gilead is the name of a place, but Manasses is the name of a tribe. But I will also restore to Ephraim its former power, and I shall constitute Juda as king of all the tribes. After

^A the return, the tribes remained undivided. Zorobabel was the leader of both of these and those. But properly and truly, the Lord Christ, who sprang from Juda according to the flesh, reigns over the whole world.

VERS. 10. « Moab is the pot of my hope; upon Idumaea I will cast my shoe; for me the foreigners have been made subject. » I shall grant such strength to my people that they will conquer the foreigners, and have both the Moabites and the Idumaeans as subjects. We have explained these things more accurately in the fifty-ninth Psalm.

VERS. 11, 12. « Who will lead me into a fortified city? Or who will guide me as far as Idumaea? Is it not you, O God, who have cast us off? » Filled with joy by the prediction of good things, the prophet desires to behold the city which had been destroyed rebuilt, and the Idumaeans serving the Jews. But these things, he says, no one else is able to provide but you alone, who have now cast us off and commanded us to serve. « And will you not go forth, O God, in our armies? » Symmachus expresses it thus: « And not going forth, O God, in our armies. » For we have never been defeated while you were acting as general and leading the phalanx.

VERS. 13. « Give us help from distress, and vain is the salvation of man. » Put an end, therefore, to these sorrowful things, and extend your favor. For it is impossible to obtain this from anywhere else. For all help from men, if you do not cooperate, is vain and useless.

VERS. 14. « In God we shall work power, and he himself will bring to nothing our enemies. » For this reason we invoke your providence; for by this alone shall we be able to prevail over our foes.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CVIII

VERS. 1. « Unto the end: a Psalm of David. » This psalm foretells the saving passion, the madness of the Jews, and the betrayal of Judas. The great Peter also leads us to this understanding, delivering a speech, accusing the betrayal of Judas, and deriving the proof of the prophecy from this source. But let no one, hearing the Lord legislating to bless those who persecute us, consider the prophecy to be contrary ^D to the Lawgiver. For not even here does the prophetic discourse speak by cursing, but it predicts the punishments that will befall the Jews and Judas. And this prophecy is cast in the form of a prayer, as is for the most part the custom in divine Scripture.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CVIII

^A VERSE 2. "O God, do not be silent regarding my praise, because the mouth of the sinner, and the mouth of the deceitful one, has been opened against me." Christ the Lord says these things in a human manner. For as a man He prays, fulfilling the measures of human nature; but as God, He accepts the prayers of those who pray sincerely. He calls His passion "praise," for in the holy Gospels He names that glory: "For the hour has come," He says, "that the Son of Man should be glorified" (John XII, 23). By the "mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful one," He meant Judas; for he made the covenants of betrayal with the Jews in secret.

VERSE 3. "They spoke against me with a deceitful tongue, and surrounded me with words of hatred." He transfers the discourse from Judas to the whole council of the Jews. For they, serving envy, contrived an unjust death. "And they fought against me without cause." [VERSE 4.] "Instead of loving me, they slandered me." For not only were they not provoked by any evil from Me, but they were also showered with countless good things; in return for which, when they ought to have loved, they behaved in a hostile manner. "But I was praying." And the history of the holy Gospels bears witness to this. For when nailed to the cross He cried out: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke XXIII, 34).

VERSE 5. "And they placed evil against me for good, and hatred for my love." I, therefore, showered them with benefits; but they repaid Me with the opposite.

^C VERS. 6. "Set a sinner over him, and let the devil stand at his right hand." He said "set" for "you shall set," and "let him stand" for "he shall stand." And the divine evangelist clearly taught us this. For when the blessed John asked who the traitor was, the Lord said: "He to whom I shall give the dipped morsel is the one." And having dipped it, He says, He gave it to Judas; and after the morsel, Satan entered into him (John XIII, 26 sq.), finding easy approaches. For he, going to the Jews of his own accord, made the pacts of betrayal, and after being showered with many benefits thereafter, he remained ungrateful. Of his own will, therefore, he received the enemy into his company.

^D VERS. 7. "When he is judged, let him go forth condemned [instead of, he shall go forth]. And let his prayer become sin [instead of, it shall become]." For the traitor was devoid of every excuse. Therefore, when he is judged, he is condemned, and the prayer offered by him increases the accusation. For he was not ignorant of his Benefactor, but even enjoyed divine conversations and...

having received authority from Him, became not only a spectator but also an operator of most great miracles. ^A

Vers. 8. “Let his days be few, and his office let another take.” This prophecy also received its fulfillment; for he immediately suffered death by the halter, and Matthias, being appointed in his stead, filled the number of the apostles.

Vers. 9. “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” These things occurred not to Judas only, but to all the faithless Jews. For but few years after the cross having passed, their entire race was cast out; and some were slaughtered, while their wives, together with their children, were led into slavery. This also the prophetic word prayed. ^B

Vers. 10. “Let his children be wandering, and let them beg, and let them be cast out of their dwellings,” or according to others, “out of their ruins.” For the houses having been burned, or having become ruins, some of the inhabitants were slaughtered, and others were led away captive.

Vers. 11. “Let the creditor search out all that he has.” Symmachus [renders it] thus: “Let the exactor strike at all things that are his.” Exactors are also the kings of the Romans, exacting the tribute imposed. And these plundered the entire substance of the Jews, searching accurately so as to find and claim for themselves even hidden things. “And let strangers spoil his labors.” [Vers. 12.] “Let there be no helper to him, nor anyone to take pity on his fatherless children.” When these things are happening, and the enemies are dividing what belongs to them, there will be no one to help them, nor will their children be considered worthy of mercy. ^C

Vers. 13. “Let his children be for extermination; in one generation let his name be blotted out.” For forty years not having yet passed, the people of the Jews suffered total destruction, and they no longer govern themselves, nor do they have their own kings and princes, nor that much-famed metropolis, nor do they perform worship according to the law; but all those things are vanished—both the ark, and the tablets, and the representations of the Cherubim, and the mercy seat, and the lampstand, and the altar, and the high-priestly vestment, and all other things which were divinely given to them and were most notable. ^D

Vers. 14. “Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out.” Paternal virtue often...

^A profited those who sinned afterward, as the faith of Abraham profited the Jews, and the piety of David profited Solomon. But the depravity of fathers increases the punishment for their similar children, because from no place shall any opportunity for mercy be found. This, therefore, the prophetic word also says: that the Jews, while suffering utter destruction, will appear even more detestable beyond their own impieties on account of the memory of their fathers' evil deeds. For he calls their "fathers" those who acted impiously in the wilderness, those in the time of the Judges and of the Kings, and those who lived in lawless ways after the return from Babylon; but he speaks of "the mother" as Jerusalem, in which the crime of parricide against the Lord Christ was dared. For the Lord said this in the holy Gospels: “That upon this generation may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, whom they slew between the temple and the altar.” For they shall pay the penalties for all of these at the same time.

Vers. 15. “Let them be before the Lord continually, and let their memory perish from the earth.” For all the lawless deeds which were dared by them, he says, God always beholding, will deem them worthy of no mercy, but will punish them with slaughter. And from this, however, it is clear ^B that He spoke these things not about Judas alone, but about all the unfaithful; for he transfers the discourse from the singular to the plural. For he no longer said "his," but "theirs."

Vers. 16, 17. “Because he remembered not to show mercy, and persecuted the poor and needy man, and the broken in heart, to slay him.” These things, he says, they shall suffer, because they have acted cruelly and in the manner of wild beasts in their parricide, and have persecuted even unto death Him who used all moderation and meekness. The Apostle confirms these words with his testimony, and the Lord Himself also. The Apostle, indeed, crying out: “Who, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.” And again: “Who, being in the form of God, did not account it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.” But the Lord now says: “Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.” And now: ^C “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Vers. 18. “And he loved cursing, and it shall come to him, and he did not desire blessing, and it shall be removed from ^D him.”

^A In this place, he has clearly changed the form of prayer, and in the manner of a prophecy has posited both: that they will receive the curse which they loved, and that they will be deprived of the blessing which they did not wish to receive. “And he clothed himself with cursing as with a garment.” As if to say: he is encompassed by it on every side. “And it entered like water into his inward parts.” For evils surround him not only from without, but also from within, and by these he is drenched as if by water. Then, because water indeed irrigates and wets the body but does not possess a lasting moisture, he adds: “And as oil into his bones.” For oil remains in the body for a very long time. That which he says is this: a supply of evils will come upon him, which will imitate the vehemence of water and the permanence of oil.

VERS. 19. “Let it be to him as a garment wherewith he is covered, and as a girdle wherewith he is always girded.” On every side, he says, let him be covered with the aforementioned evils as if with a garment, and let him be constricted as if with a belt.

VERS. 20. “This is the work of those who slander me before the Lord.” Others, however, interpreted this as “of those who stood against me.” “And of those who speak evil against my soul.” These fruits shall they reap, both those who committed the crime against me, and the traitor who served them. For since they called him an adversary of God and a transgressor of the law, he rightly said: “Of those who slander me before the Lord.”

VERS. 21. “And you, O Lord, O Lord, do with me for the sake of your name, for your mercy is kind.” These things, too, the Lord Christ said in a human manner; for he fulfilled all things human, ^B except sin. For he was born both according to the law of nature, and above the law of nature. For that he was born from a woman is of human nature; but that he was born of a Virgin is above it. He received swaddling clothes and circumcision, and nourishment from milk, and offered sacrifices, fasted, and hungered, ^C thirsted, and labored. Similarly, it is recorded in the holy Gospels that he prayed constantly. In this place, therefore, he also implores divine help in a human manner.

VERS. 22. “Deliver me, for I am needy and poor, and my heart is troubled within me.” We find this also said by him in the holy Gospels. For when he was about to approach the passion, he said: “Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour; but for this purpose I have come to this hour.” ^D

^A VERSE 23. “I am removed like a shadow when it declines, and I have been shaken off like locusts.” By these words he manifested his death. For he says 20 I received the end of my life in a manner like to a shadow that is inclined and passes away; and I lived like locusts, which are tossed by the winds and driven from place to place, having no city, no village, no house; but moving now to this place, now to that, and at another time passing over into the mountains and running into the wilderness. 18

VERSE 24. “My knees grew weak from fasting, and my flesh was changed because of oil.” 19 For I did not lead a dissolute or delicate life, but one that was austere, hardened, and squalid. And the witnesses are those who were deemed worthy of his sacred discipleship, and the barley loaves which they carried, and the ears of grain which they plucked and rubbed with their hands because of hunger. 24 But as to, “My flesh was changed because of oil,” Symmachus translated it thus: “And my flesh was changed because of a lack of anointing.” 23

^B VERSE 25. “And I became a reproach to them; they saw me and shook their heads.” And this reached its end. 26 Seeing him on the cross, they shook their heads, 28 saying: “Aha! You who destroy this temple and rebuild it in three days, descend from the cross.” Others said: “He saved others, himself he cannot save.”

VERSES 26, 27. “Help me, O Lord my God, and save me according to your mercy. And let them know that this is your hand, and that you, O Lord, have done it.” He says, let them learn that they did not deliver me to the cross against my will, but that this is the work of your dispensation. For by my passion you willed to bestow impassibility upon men; for he calls the power of God his “hand.”

VERSE 28. “They shall curse, and you shall bless.” Even to this day the Jews persist in employing cursings against the Savior, but while they curse, the preaching of the Word becomes more illustrious day by day. “Let those who rise up against me be put to shame, but your servant shall rejoice.” This utterance does not force us to apply the psalm to another subject. 40 For we hear even 41 the divine Paul saying 32 that “He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.” And he himself, crying out 33 through Isaiah, says thus: “He who formed me from the womb to be his servant.” 34 And after a few words: “I have set you as a covenant of the race, for a light to the Gentiles, that you should be my salvation to the end of the earth.” And in the holy Gospels he spoke thus: “Just as the Son of man did not come

to be served, but to serve, and to give his ^A life as a ransom for many.” Therefore, "servant" is the name of the nature assumed; not because it serves (for how would that be, when it was conjoined with the divine Word, and had received dominion over all things?), but so that the characteristic property of that nature might be shown. Thus, the name "servant" in this place indicates not dignity, but nature.

ver. 29. “Let them be clothed with shame who slander me; and let them be covered with their own dishonor as with a cloak.” The others translated “those who slander” as “adversaries.” The facts bear witness to the prophecy. For those men are in continual disgrace, and they put this on as if it were a garment.

ver. 30. “I will give thanks to the Lord greatly with my mouth, and in the midst of many I will praise him.” The Master, Christ, is called the Head of the Church, and the assembly of the Church constitutes His body; and He calls the hymn of this body His own hymn.

ver. 31. “For he stood at the right hand of the poor, to save my soul from those who persecute me.” He said this also in the fifteenth ^B Psalm: “I foresaw the Lord always before my face, that he is at my right hand, that I might not be moved.” For the divine nature, having made the union inseparable, was indeed present to the human nature, but permitted it to suffer, managing the salvation of men. For it was easy for Him to make the nature which He assumed immortal; but because the passion was the salvation of the world, He permitted the passion, and after the passion, He communicated immortality and incorruptibility. And He Himself indeed suffered no detriment to His human nature from those torments; but He filled it with His own glory, and with it He reigns and rules over all things. But so long as He held that nature subject to death, He permitted it, in a human manner, to both suffer and speak, apart from sin.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CIX.

ver. 1. “A Psalm of David.” ^C Having foretold in the preceding Psalm the saving passion, he now foretells the assumption of the Savior, which took place after the passion. The most divine Peter also mentions the beginning of this Psalm in the Acts of the Apostles. He speaks as follows: “For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he says himself: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” And the Lord Himself, seeing that the Pharisees held other opinions concerning Christ, proposed this question to them: “What think you of

Christ? Whose son is he?” And when they had replied, “David’s,” He answered: “How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand’?” Then He adds the syllogism: “If therefore David in spirit calls Him Lord, how is He his son?” He said this not by denying that Christ was the son of David, but by adding to that which was acknowledged that which was unknown. For the Pharisees confessed that Christ was the son of David, but they were entirely ignorant that He was also David’s Lord. He therefore adds what was missing, but does not in the least take away what was acknowledged, teaching that He is both his son according to the flesh, and his Lord as God and Creator. Clearly, therefore, the blessed David proclaims the divinity of Christ the Lord, and says: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand.” If David the king, and a pious king who was also endowed with the gift of prophecy, calls the Christ his Lord, then He is surely not only a man according to the madness of the Jews, but also God, inasmuch as He is the Creator and Lord of David. Moreover, the communion of names indicates the identity of substance; for Lord speaks to Lord, and not Lord to creature, nor Lord to handiwork: “Sit at my right hand.” This is indeed great, and not only above human nature, but also above every creature. However, this is also spoken in a human manner. For as God, the Son has an eternal throne. “For thy throne, O God,” He says, “is for ever and ever.” ^B For He was not granted this honor as God after the cross and the passion; but as man, He received what He already possessed as God. For He did not become exalted when He was humble, but being the Most High, and existing in the form of God, He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant. Therefore also the evangelist cries out: “The only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” And the Lord Himself says: “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” And elsewhere: “Glorify thou me, O Father, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” As man, therefore, He hears: “Sit at my right hand”; for as God, He has eternal power. “Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.” The enemies are, most especially, the devil and his ministers, the demons, and in addition to them, those who resist His divine preachings, indeed the Jews and the Gentiles. But the word “until” does not denote a time, but is an idiom of the holy Scriptures. For thus also God says through the prophet: “I am, and ^C until you grow old, I am.” It is clear, however, that the being of God is not circumscribed by the old age of men. ^D

^A For if the prophet says of the heaven and earth, “They shall perish, but you remain,” and again, “But you are the same, and your years shall not fail,” then much more does the Lord of all remain, while men grow old and die. This is comparable to that apostolic statement: “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” Nor does the “until” here denote time; for what reason would there be for him to reign while some still oppose him, yet to be deprived of his kingdom after the subjection of all? Moreover, the prophet Daniel, after the destruction of the beasts, said that he reigns forever and that his kingdom shall have no end. And how do the saints reign with him, or with whom do they reign, if he who promised the kingdom lays down the kingdom? Thus, “until” does not denote time, but is used according to the idiom of the divine Scripture.

^B Verse 2. “The Lord will send the rod of power to you from Sion.” The rod from Jesse is indeed from Bethlehem: “For there shall come forth,” he says, “a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise out of the root, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.” And the things that follow declare the power of the rod of the saving cross; for by it he subdued the entire phalanx of his adversaries. And this was fixed in Sion. “And rule in the midst of your enemies.” For the heralds of the divine Gospels were not borne along by fair winds, but being besieged by Greeks and Barbarians, and overwhelmed by the floods of impiety, they became masters of their enemies and converted the majority, and brought them as it were like captives to the King, and prepared them to embrace his servitude.

Vers. 3. “With you is the beginning in the day of your power, in the splendors of your saints.” You possess an immortal empire; but you will show this especially on the day of judgment, when you will make the saints clear and illustrious. For he called the second advent of the Savior the day of power, at which time he will come with the angels in the glory of the Father. Then also the saints will shine like the sun, according to the voice of the Lord himself. “From the womb before the morning star I have begotten you.” ^D In this place 1395 he also revealed the magnificence of his divinity. And the Lord who

said to him, “Sit at my right hand,” confesses the consubstantiality and proclaims the identity of nature. For “Before the morning star” signifies that he existed before times and before ages. And “From the womb” teaches the sameness of substance. For he says, it is not from elsewhere, but you have been begotten from my own nature, with the womb clearly being understood metaphorically. For just as humans produce from the womb, and things born possess the same nature as those who beget them, so you have been begotten from me, and you show in yourself the substance of the one who begot you.

Ver. 4. “The Lord has sworn, and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” ^B The divine Apostle accurately interpreted these words in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and showed the eternity of this high priesthood, from the fact that the Levitical priesthood did not receive its promises with an oath, whereas this one was confirmed by an oath. For this reason he also added, “He will not change his mind,” because, although the God of all has often arranged many things, he allowed them to be subject to change. Thus he both established and ended the Jewish priesthood; thus he founded that kingdom and overthrew it; thus he allowed the empire of the Assyrians, and the Babylonians, and the Macedonians to come into being, and commanded it to cease. Desiring, however, this priesthood to be eternal, he says he swore that he would by no means change his mind. ^C But he said these things in a human way, for the divine is devoid of passions, and repentance is a passion. Now Melchizedek was a priest not of the Jews, but of the Gentiles. Thus also the Lord Christ offered himself to God not for the Jews alone, but for all mankind. For he began his priesthood on that night after which he underwent his passion; when, having taken bread and given thanks, he broke it and said: “Take, eat of it; this is my body.” Likewise, mixing the cup, he gave it to his disciples, saying: “Drink from it all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” ^D We find, moreover, that Melchizedek was both a priest and a king (for he was a type of the true priest and king), and that he offered to God not irrational victims, but bread and wine. For he offered these things to Abraham also, foreseeing spiritually in the loins of the patriarch the archetype of his own high priesthood. If, therefore, Christ was born of David according to the flesh, and David was of Judah, and Christ received the high priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, then the Levitical priesthood has ceased, and the blessing of the greater priesthood has passed to the tribe of Judah.

^A Christ, having sprung from Judah according to the flesh, is now the Priest; not that He Himself offers anything, but He exists as the Head of those who do offer. For He calls the Church His body, and through her He performs the priestly office as man, while as God He receives what is offered. The Church offers the symbols of His body and blood, sanctifying the whole lump through the first fruits.

Vers. 5. “The Lord at thy right hand hath shattered kings in the day of his wrath.” He will deliver to punishment the princes and kings who now oppose and act insolently in the day of judgment. ^B And this, “The Lord at thy right hand,” is similar to that which was said in the fifteenth Psalm: “I beheld the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand, that I might not be moved.” For he said this there according to his humanity, and disclosed the inseparability of the united nature; and here too He says things both divine and human simultaneously. For the expression, “Sit at my right hand,” is appropriate to human nature; but the expression, “From the womb before the morning star have I begotten thee,” declares the divinity; and again, “Thou art a priest unto eternity,” is said once more as to a man. Likewise also the expression, “The Lord at thy right hand,” is instead of, “Thou hast the divinity joined to thee inseparably.”

Vers. 6. “He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill with corpses, he shall shatter the heads of many upon the earth.” ^C More clearly in this place he has manifested the judgment and that on that day He will deliver to punishments those who have lived in impiety; and indeed in the present life He has often subjected them to many chastisements, teaching those who were ignorant of His own power.

Vers. 7. “He shall drink of the torrent by the way; therefore shall he lift up his head.” He says that, having been made man, He will experience great lowliness, so that He will even quench His thirst with waters that are found by the way. ^D But it seems to me that the prophecy has another, deeper meaning. He is accustomed to call the passion a cup. For He said, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” But by "torrent" He calls the Jews, who indeed obtained divine grace, but did not always enjoy it. For just as a torrent does not have a perennial flow of waters, but arises from the rains that are born from the clouds, so the Jews had the grace of the Law for a time, supplied as if by certain clouds, the prophets. But afterwards, when summer approached, according to the voice of the Lord—for He said, “Lift up your eyes and look upon the fields, for they are white for harvest”—the torrent necessarily...

remained bereft of its former abundance, and it appears dry, ^A stripped of all moisture. Since, therefore, the Jews devised the cross, and the Lord calls His passion a cup, the Prophet, foreseeing these things, rightly said: “He shall drink of the brook in the way.” For by “way” he signifies life. And the following words also testify to this meaning: “Therefore shall he lift up his head.” Similar to this is what the Apostle Paul said: “He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore God also hath highly exalted him.” It is evident, however, that this is said in a human sense as well. For as God, He did not become exalted when He was humble, but being most high, He humbled Himself; whereas as man, He received what He did not have.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CX

Alleluia. The Ammonites, Moabites, and Idumeans, having gathered a very great multitude, once upon a time waged war against the tribe of Judah. At that time, Josaphat, a man celebrated for piety and of the lineage of David, reigned over it. Having heard of the multitude of the enemy, he approached God with all the people, imploring invincible aid; and indeed he became partaker of his petition. For the God of all commanded them to be of good courage against their enemies, as if He Himself were leading the army. When the light appeared, therefore, the enemies were set in motion against one another, ^B and they slew themselves mutually as enemies, so that no one escaped that destruction. When the army of the Jews observed this from a certain watchtower, they ran as if toward ready spoils, plundered the enemies, and returned with a great abundance of possessions. And as the history of the Chronicles teaches, they entered into the divine temple with musical instruments, praising the Giver of victory. Foreseeing these things, the Prophet composed this psalm, as if it were a certain hymn offered by the pious Josaphat. For the inscription of the hymn is this; for Alleluia, as we have already interpreted, signifies “Praise the Lord.” For “Allelu” signifies “praise,” and “ia” signifies “the Lord,” or “Him who is.”

VERS. 1. “I will confess to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart.” From my whole mind, O Lord, I offer to thee praises of thanksgiving. “In the council of the just, and congregation.” ^C And not I alone, but also the coven of the pious with me. For at that time, the people had been liberated from the error of idols, as the king instructed everyone in piety. Therefore, he calls the assembly of the pious the “council of the just.”

VERS. 2. “Great are the works of the Lord.” For they are truly admirable and worthy of admiration, which have been wrought by His power. “Sought out unto all the

^A will of Him.” He indeed does whatever He wills, but every one of those things which come to pass is full of wisdom, and brings to itself praise from all.

VERS. 3. “Confession and magnificence is His work.” All things that are done by Him—both creation and providence—are magnificent and exceed nature, and are worthy to be celebrated with praise by all men. In this place, he calls thanksgiving “confession.” “And His justice abides unto the age of the age.” There is nothing unjust among the things that have been made, but all things are adorned with justice; for using this always, He governs all things.

VERS. 4. “He has made a remembrance of His wonders.” Since He openly wrought the destruction of the enemies. And He performed this same thing also in the time of our ancestors: once by overwhelming the Egyptians, and at another time by striking down the Amalekites through the stretching out of the hands of Moses; and by destroying the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and other nations through Joshua the son of Nun. He called the punishment of the enemies a “remembrance of his wonders,” as if he were to say: Thy most renowned miraculous deeds, which are thought to be false by the unbelievers, Thou hast shown to be true by a new miracle, and Thou hast brought to our remembrance those things which Thou didst perform in the time of our ancestors. ^B

“The Lord is merciful and compassionate.” [VERS. 5. He has given food to them that fear Him.] Other interpreters have called the “food” plunder. But both are true. For they ran to the wealth of the enemies as if it were prepared plunder, and brought back much food from thence. “He shall be mindful into the age of His testament.” Symmachus [renders it] thus: He has given plunder to them that fear Him, remembering His eternal covenant. For He has an unforgetting memory of the promises made to the fathers, and ^C through that He imparts good things to us.

VERS. 6, 7. “He shall declare the power of His works to His people, that He may give them the inheritance of the Gentiles.” More expressly He showed His own power to us, by bestowing upon us the wealth of the enemies. For He not only delivered us from their harm, but He also transferred their abundance into our own houses. “The works of His hands are truth and judgment.” Not unjustly, but most justly did He perform these things. For when they had nothing at all to complain of against us, they attempted to destroy us utterly. A true and just sentence therefore He has brought forth against them. ^D

VERS. 8. “All His commandments are faithful, confirmed unto the age of the age, made in truth and equity.” When giving the law, God promised His own benevolence to those who keep the law. This is what he says here also, that the promises concerning the keeping of the commandments are truthful, and those who have determined to carry these out, always enjoy His aid.

For we too, having prayed to Him with purity, have emerged superior to our enemies. For He has declared this through the things that follow.

VERS. 9. "He sent redemption to His people, He has commanded His covenant forever." For the promises of God are not only most true, but they also remain for eternity. ^A "Holy and terrible is His name." For to those who believe, it is holy and most desirable, and pours forth a store of good things; but the unbelieving, and those given over to vices, He chastises and punishes.

VERS. 10. "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord." It is necessary, therefore, to fear and tremble before Him. For this is the first element of divine doctrine. For he calls wisdom not the faculty of speaking correctly, but the knowledge of divine things. Fear, therefore, pertains to the beginners; but the possession of charity pertains to the perfect. "A good understanding to all who do it." For knowledge is not sufficient for perfection, but contemplation requires action; and it is fitting for one who has been gifted with divine understanding to adorn knowledge with works, and through this to honor the Giver of understanding. "His praise remains for ever and ever." He has added this quite fittingly, teaching that the lover of virtue gathers the fruit from this source. For God, even if no one wanted to praise Him, has an eternal and everlasting hymn. Moreover, they assert that this psalm among the Hebrews is written according to the series of the elements, and is composed according to the order of the letters. The one following it is composed in a similar way. ^B

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXI

Alleluia. The inscription also calls this psalm a hymn; yet it offers the doctrine of piety to those who desire it.

VERS. 1. "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, he will delight greatly in His commandments." He who is endowed with this reverence, and is clothed with divine fear, transfers all his counsel to the execution of the divine oracles, and hastens ^C to fulfill these with all alacrity of soul. Then he demonstrates the fruit of such seeds.

VERS. 2. "His seed will be mighty on the earth." Since this seemed most desirable to the men of that time, He promises that He will give this gift to those who keep the commandments. Indeed, He even gave it: for the sake of Abraham to Israel, and for the sake of David to those who drew their origin from him, and for the sake of Israel to their descendants, even though they were wicked. "The generation of the upright will be blessed." For those who take care concerning equity and justice will reap the fruits of divine blessing. ^D

Interpretation of Psalm 111

^A Ver. 3. "Glory and riches are in his house." These promises He makes as if to those who are still imperfect and not yet able to grasp perfect things. For the Master Christ teaches the perfect the opposite, saying: "Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, nor a bag for your journey, nor tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff." And again: "Unless one renounces all that he possesses, he cannot be my disciple." And: "If you wish to be perfect, sell what you possess, and give to the poor." Yet, while legislating these things, He both promises and bestows those former things upon the imperfect. Thus, He added both wealth and glory to Solomon. Thus, He bestowed the wealth of the Egyptians upon the sons of Israel. "And his justice remains for the age of the age." For the God of all holds an unforgetting memory, and keeps His glory everlasting.

^B Ver. 4. "Light has arisen in the darkness for the nations." He calls ignorance darkness at one time, and calamities at another; and similarly, He calls light knowledge at one time, and at another, deliverance from evils. Therefore, He says that He will show the truth even to those who are ignorant, and in the assault of grievous things He will offer His own aid. Thus, He snatched Joseph from the fratricidal intent of his brothers; thus, He proved him superior to the false accusation; thus, when Sarah was carried off, He offered his own assistance to Abraham; thus, He struck terror into Laban, and showed the one who was fleeing to be more powerful than his pursuer. This, therefore, is a proof of divine power: for the sake of discipline to permit grievous things to assail the righteous, but then to disperse the cloud of these things, and to grant clear serenity. "He is merciful, and compassionate, and righteous." He governs these things using justice, mercy, and goodness. For He cares for them as a lover of mankind, but wishing to crown the righteous, He allows the struggles, yet looses them promptly on account of His measureless goodness.

^C Ver. 5. "A generous man is he who pities and lends; he will manage his words in judgment." Symmachus says it this way: "Good, bountiful, and lending, who manages his affairs with judgment." For he who imitates his own Master assists his fellow servants with a generous hand—pitying them as a sharer of the same nature, and lending as one awaiting a reward from the common Master. Such a person does nothing incautiously, but employing right reasoning, he adorns both his words and his deeds.

^A

VERS. 6. "For he shall not be moved for ever." For such a person possesses a firm mind, which suffers no change through the difficulties of the times.

VERS. 7. "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance." Such a person will be highly celebrated, praised by all, and shall leave behind an everlasting glory. "He shall not fear for an evil report." Furthermore, he will fear neither threats nor messengers who might be able to strike terror. "His heart is prepared to hope in the Lord." Symmachus interpreted "prepared" again as "firm." For he says that he has a firm and steadfast hope in God, and on this account he despises such disturbances.

VERS. 8. "His heart is strengthened, he shall not fear, until he looks upon his enemies." For he not only does not fear his adversaries, but he even waits for their downfall because of his hope placed in God. ^B

VERS. 9. "He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth for ever and ever." Each of these things brings a lesson of virtue to those who wish for it. But it says that he who is endowed with reverence and the fear of God does not simply offer mercy to those in need, but does this with much liberality, imitating those who sow seeds generously and scatter them for the, hope of the sheaves. For similarly, he, too, waits for the profit of righteousness. "His horn shall be exalted in glory." By "horn" he denotes strength, a metaphor taken from animals that are armed with horns and with them take vengeance on those who attack them. He says, therefore, that he who possesses the riches of virtue will be both powerful and illustrious. ^C

VERS. 10. "The sinner shall see, and shall be angry; he shall gnash his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the sinner shall perish." But those who have decided to live wickedly, seeing the splendor of the righteous, will indeed melt away with envy and will devise schemes of murder; yet they will not obtain their desire, and what they covet they shall not attain. For this is unjust and very hateful to God.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXII

"Alleluia." This is another hymn composed for our benefit, and one that stirs up people to the praise of the Benefactor. ^D

VERS. 1. "Praise the Lord, O ye servants." By "servants" in this place he does not mean the young, as some have supposed, but slaves. For so Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion have interpreted, and the Hebrew "Abde" says this. So also does the Syrian. And as for "Praise," the Hebrew said "Alleluia," so that it is manifest that "Alleluia" is interpreted as "Praise the Lord."

^A Praise the name of the Lord. [Verse 2] May the name of the Lord be blessed, from this time forth and forevermore. It is befitting, he says, that you, being servants and having received from God the fact that you exist, should praise His name, even if you are ignorant of His nature. For He possesses blessing and glorification without beginning and without end. For the phrase, "from age to age," signifies this. Nevertheless, it is necessary for us also, as if to a Creator, to offer a hymn of thanksgiving.

Verse 3. "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised." The psalm foretells the knowledge of God granted to the nations after the incarnation of the Only-Begotten. For of old, the God of all was not praised even by all the Jews, but only by the few living in piety. But after the birth from the Virgin and the saving passion, the sound of the heralds of truth went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world, and the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas. This, God of all, also spoke through another prophet: "I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept an offering from your hands, for from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, My name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering." ^B The spiritual melody proclaims in harmony with these things.

Verse 4. "The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens." For all the nations have learned that He is the Most High, and God, and the Creator of all things, and is hymned by the heavenly angels.

Verse 5. "Who is like the Lord our God?" The divine Scripture says this often. For even blessed Moses says this: "Who is like to Thee among the gods, O Lord? Who is like Thee, glorified in the saints?" And the blessed David [says], "For who in the clouds shall be compared unto the Lord? Or who shall be likened unto the Lord among the sons of God?" And again, "For who is God, save the Lord? or who is a God, besides our God?" ^C Through all of these things we learn the incomparable nature of the God of all, and that nothing that exists can be compared to the nature, or power, or energy of God.

"Who dwells on high," [Verse 6] "and beholds the humble things in heaven and in earth." For He who seems to dwell in the heavens inspects all things, and none of the things that exist are neglected [by Him].

Verses 7, 8. "Raising the needy from the earth, and lifting the poor out of the dunghill; that He may set him with princes."

with the princes of his people." ^A This is what the blessed Anna also said, weaving a hymn of thanksgiving to God. We see these things being done continuously by the God of all. Thus He made the blessed David a king when he was a shepherd; thus He seated Joseph, who had fallen into slavery, upon the royal throne; thus He revealed Moses, who was a tender of sheep, as the leader of the people, and appointed him god to Pharaoh; thus He deemed the nations, which were serving the poverty of impiety and sitting in the filth of sin, worthy of the good things bestowed upon Israel; thus He took up human nature, which had fallen into the very abyss of death, and raised it up, and seated it above every principality, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

^B Verse 9. "Who makes the barren woman to dwell in a house, a joyful mother of children." This too can be seen happening among men. For both Sarah, and Rebecca, and Rachel, and Anna, and the mother of Samson, and Elizabeth, being barren, He made mothers of children. But this can be seen more properly and more truly in the Church: for having been barren ^C and without children formerly, He has made her a mother rejoicing over countless children, according to the prophecy that says: "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry, you who are not in labor: for the children of the desolate one are more than those of her who has a husband."

Interpretation of Psalm CXIII

Alleluia. And this is a hymn commemorating ^A the benefits bestowed upon the Jews by God, relating the power of God, and mocking the weakness of idols. This hymn is also suitable for those who have believed from among the Gentiles, and who have been delivered from the error of idols; for they learn how great is the difference between those who are not, and God who is.

1, 2. "When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people. Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion." Having liberated Israel from Egypt, he says, and having delivered them from the servitude of those foreigners and barbarians, the Master declared this people to be His own, and in Judah He built His own temple. For He called this His "sanctuary." ^B

3, 4. "The sea saw it, and fled; the Jordan was turned backward. The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like lambs of the flock." He uses personification in what is said, and by his word attributes perception to inanimate things, preaching the power of God. For when Thou wert leading the people, he says, the sea withdrew in fear from this side and that, and provided an unobstructed path. The river also retreated and checked the force of its own currents, as if some rational being in the ark were contemplating Thy power; and the hills and the mountains were moved, and seemed to dance, ^C as they were receiving the Master of the heavens. He refers to Mount Sinai and Choreb, for in those places God manifested His own appearance. Then he also adds a question to what was previously said.

5, 6. "What ails you, O sea, that you fled? And you, O Jordan, that you were turned backward? You mountains, that you skipped like rams, and you hills like lambs of the flock?" And because those were irrational and inanimate, he himself provides the answer on their behalf.

7, 8. "The earth was shaken from the presence of the Lord, from the presence of the God of Jacob. Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the flint into fountains of waters." Each of these, he says, came to pass because of the Lord, who ^D [was made manifest as Lord...]*

[alt-version omitted]

*[Note: The translation continues to the start of the next page, as the fragment at the bottom of the column is incomplete and requires the next page for context.]*

as Lord [has appeared]. This is the cause of the shaking of the earth, and of the dividing of the sea. For He Himself flooded the barren rock, deprived of all moisture and unable to be cut because of its hardness, with an overflow of waters, commanding that fountains should gush forth from it abundantly. ^A Nothing, therefore, he says, is marvelous. For the Creator commanded, and the sea was divided, and the sharp-edged rock gushed forth, heaven provided manna, the winds gathered the quail, and all other things came to be by His mere nod.

VERS. 9, 10. “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory. For Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake, lest at any time the nations should say, Where is their God?” It was fitting for those who of old were circumcised to say these things while imploring divine help and remembering former benefits: Do not turn Thy face away from us, O Lord, nor overlook us because of our many transgressions; for those who are ignorant of the justice of the punishment will take our servitude for Thy weakness, ^B and will say: “Where is their God?”

VERS. 11. “But our God is in heaven and in earth, He hath done all things whatsoever He would.” And those say, Where is their God? But we know that Thou art God, the Creator of all things, having heaven as Thy dwelling place, and power commensurate with Thy will. Then, by way of comparison, he creates a refutation of idols.

VERS. 12. “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men.” For Thou indeed doest whatsoever Thou willest; but the idols worshipped by the nations do not create, but are created, and they have their worth from the matter—for they are fashioned from gold and silver and colors—and from art they receive their beauty. For silversmiths and goldsmiths and painters make these. ^C Therefore, from matter and art they obtain their existence. Then, with many words, he bewails their weakness, saying: ^D

^A "They have a mouth, but they shall not speak; they have eyes, but they shall not see; they have ears, but they shall not hear; they have noses, but they shall not smell; they have hands, but they shall not touch; they have feet, but they shall not walk." He says that, while they are clad with the likenesses of sense-organs, they are bereft of their operation. They are, therefore, more worthless not only than those who make them, but even than the smallest living creatures; for flies and gnats—and things even smaller than these—possess the activity of the sense-organs; they see, and hear, and fly, and walk; but these things, worshipped as gods, do not possess even the activity of minor and small animals.

^B "They shall not make a sound in their throat." For since the demons who worked through them and used false vaticinations did not utter these things through the inanimate idols, but brought them forth through rational human beings or declared something through certain signs, he rightly said, "They shall not make a sound in their throat"; for idols are altogether motionless and inanimate.

^C "Let those who make them be like them, and all who put their trust in them." To those, in truth, both those who worship them and those who create them may well be likened. For since they have been honored with reason and yet have fallen into such irrationality, it is just that they should lose their sense, like the idols that are worshipped by them.

^D "House of Israel, hope in the Lord; he is their help and protector. House of Aaron, hope in the Lord; he is their help and protector." Through their worship, the former reaped not profit, but detriment; but the house of Israel, having placed its hope in the true God, continuously enjoys His providence. He makes the mention by division, honoring the priesthood in this way, and teaching the men of that time how great is the difference between the priests and the rest of men.

"They who fear the Lord have hoped in the Lord; he is their help and protector." This is a different order from the former ones. The discourse teaches that even if someone does not possess the dignity of the priesthood, nor is of Israelitic lineage, if he is adorned with divine fear and is diligent in virtue, he too will obtain equal providence from the God of the universe. There were indeed many such men among the Jews in old times, who had not sprung from the root of Abraham but had come from other nations and were called proselytes, and who held divine things in high regard. And now, the nations do not have the kinship of Abraham according to the flesh, but having obtained the faith of Abraham, they are called children of Abraham.

VERS. 21, 22. "The Lord hath been mindful of us; He hath blessed us: He hath blessed the house of Israel; He hath blessed the house of Aaron. He hath blessed them that fear the Lord." ^A He makes the same division here as well, and shows the fruit of hope. For he conjoins blessing with hope, and says that this was imparted not only to the house of Israel and the house of Aaron, but also to those who fear Him. Then again he makes a division of ages and ranks. "With the small along with the great." For He has blessed not only the young, but also those who have grown old: nor only those who abound in riches, but also those who live in poverty: nor only those who are honored with liberty, but also those who have been forced to bear the yoke of slavery.

VERS. 23. "The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children." The prophetic discourse prays for increase and amplification for those who possess the divine hope.

VERS. 24. "Blessed are ye of the Lord, which made heaven and earth." Moreover, he says, you shall altogether obtain this help, inasmuch as you have received the blessing from the Creator of all things.

VERS. 25. "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath He given to the children of men." For He Himself has the heaven as His dwelling-place, not this which is seen, but that which is higher, ^B which is a roof to Him, just as this is to us. The Lord of all dwells in heaven, not having a nature that is circumscribed, but rejoicing in the choirs of the holy angels who dwell there. The earth, however, He has assigned to the race of men. He does not, therefore, provide care only for the Jews, but also for all men, to whom He also gave the earth as a habitation.

VERS. 26, 27. "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore." He called those who serve inanimate idols dead; for what is more insensate than they? But he called those who worship the living God, to whom He has assigned the divine hymn, "living." ^C Besides this, he teaches that it behooves those who worship God to praise Him with all alacrity while they still live, inasmuch as death prevents this from being done. For this reason he also says in another psalm: "I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being." ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXIV

Alleluia. Antiochus, son of Seleucus, surnamed Epiphanes, afflicted the Jews with many and all kinds of calamities: and he was the cause that many, who in

^A desidia vivebant, divinæ legi transgressors might become. But the zealous followers of piety, having eagerly accepted the struggles on behalf of this, attained the crowns of victory. This courage of theirs the present melody foretells. It narrates at once the assaults of sufferings, and the help provided to them by the God of all.

^A 1, 2. "I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer; because He hath inclined His ear unto me." The prophecy teaches that these things are to be said by them, because: To me, divine things are more desirable than all things, and it is more worthy of love for me to serve God than other things; for He accepts my prayers and deems me worthy of His own care. "And in my days I will call upon Him." On account of this, throughout all my life, I will both continue to praise Him and will ask for assistance from Him. Then it narrates the multitude of sorrows:

^B 3. "The sorrows of death have compassed me; the perils of hell have found me." Strictly, "sorrows" are called the pains of a woman in labor before birth. Therefore, by this metaphor, the calamities that make one approach even to death are called "sorrows of hell." He says, therefore, that they were surrounded by many and all kinds of dire straits, so that they were near to death itself, and had arrived at the very gates of hell.

"I found tribulation and sorrow. [Ver. 4] And I called upon the name of the Lord." But I did not surrender myself to rest and ease, having fallen upon these things, nor did I apply myself to other amusements of life; but, using lamentations and tears, and continually beseeching, I requested divine help. ^C This one might learn more accurately from the history of the Maccabees. For those who were trained in piety, having fled into the desert and being pressed by hunger and thirst, besought God and enjoyed His help. "O Lord, deliver my soul." These things, he says, I was saying while lamenting: Bring help, O Master, and deliver our souls from the impending evils. I knew, indeed, while praying, that I would obtain my petition, having learned His great philanthropy by experience. For He added this:

^D 5. "The Lord is merciful and just, and our God showeth mercy." For He pours forth the fountains of mercy upon men; yet He also has justice, and He punishes the unjust who are unwilling to use repentance. Having, indeed, made mention of mercy twice, he made mention of justice once. For the philanthropy of God overcomes the verdict of justice.

6. "The Lord protecting the little ones." Such

indeed, is the care he exercises over all men, that he deems even infants worthy of every ^A providence. And he does not only care for those who have already been brought into the light, but he also preserves, guards, and brings to perfection those who lie hidden in their mothers' wombs, and who float in foul-smelling waters, and are confined in a dark and narrow place, and brings them into the light, and offers the fountains of milk, and rescues them from the plotting demons, and, to say it in one word, bestows fatherly providence. The prophetic discourse, however, did not make mention of these things without reason, but to teach that God, the God of all, does not only reward the fruits of the righteous, but he also initiates the act of beneficence, and creates those who do not exist, and, having fashioned them, cares for them, and after the age of maturity awaits the fruits of righteousness, and only then again overwhelms the righteous with benefits. "I was humbled ^B, and he saved me." Symmachus, however, says: "I failed in strength, and he saved me." For if infants, who have not yet received knowledge of him, obtain such care from him, how much more does he impart salvation to those who sincerely worship him? Therefore, having seen us humbled by calamities, he deemed us worthy of his own assistance.

VERS. 7. "Turn, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you." They exhort themselves, and rouse themselves to courage, pointing out the multitude of benefits, and teaching themselves that even if they should undergo death for the sake of piety, they will nevertheless be transferred to a pleasant and delightful life. For he called that "rest." And the things that follow indicate this also.

VERS. 8, 9. "For he has delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I will be pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living." By "land of the living," he does not mean the present life, in which there are lamentations, and wailing, and diseases, and deaths, and sins, and calamities, but the life free from all these, in which the ^C possession of virtue is without toil, and the riches of righteousness are present without labor. For those who, with labor, have been willing to acquire these here, will multiply them there without labor. Therefore, they offer a hymn of thanksgiving, because the eyes have been delivered from tears, and the feet have escaped the slippery life, and the soul has been able to avoid the death of sin; and they teach themselves to endure the attacks of painful things manfully, and to despise death, because a life without sorrow will succeed death. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXV

^A Alleluia. The Hebrew, and the remaining interpreters, and also the Syrian, connect this to those which precede it; for it holds the same sense, and by dividing the ninth [psalm] in two, they preserve an equal number of psalms through the conjunction of these two psalms. Yet it has the same subject matter. For those who made mention of the land of the living there, and placed this as an ending, begin here and say:

「1」 ^B "I believed, therefore I spoke." For I did not behold that land with the eyes of the body, but faith has made it manifest to me.

"But I was humbled exceedingly." [Ver. 2] "I said in my ecstasy: Every man is a liar." Aquila, however, says: "I said in my being stunned: Every man is a falsehood." Theodotion: "Every man is failing." Symmachus: "And I said in being anxious: Every man is proved a liar." I have not set down all the interpretations without reason, but wishing to show that he calls human prosperity "falsehood," because it flows away as quickly as possible and has nothing permanent. For having beheld, he says, this sudden change, and having remembered our previous prosperity, and seeing the successive calamities, I said in my anxiety: "Nothing is firm or stable; ^C but he who trusts in present things as if they were permanent is frustrated and errs in his hope." He said this also in the thirty-eighth psalm: "But all things are vanity, every man living." When the wise Solomon was instructed in these things, although he traveled through every prosperity and had touched upon the natural philosophy of human affairs, he set down this preamble: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."

「3」 "What shall I render to the Lord for all [the things] he has returned to me?" Being inundated by many and various benefits, I do not know with what I shall repay the Benefactor. ^D He did not join this to the previous [verse] without reason; but he teaches that God, the Lord of all, extends His own assistance to men even in the various changes of life, and brings consolation of every kind to those who are despondent. The blessed Paul also said this: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any tribulation, through the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted by God; for as abounds

the sufferings of Christ in us, so also through Christ our consolation abounds.” This also the blessed David said: “According to the multitude of my sorrows, thy consolations have gladdened my soul.”

^B

VERS. 4. “I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.” It is fitting, therefore, to accept death for His sake boldly, and to give this in return as a recompense for various benefits. For he called the death undergone for the sake of religion the “cup of salvation.” For thus the Lord also names it: “For Father,” He says, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” And to the pair of the apostles asking for the fellowship of the kingdom, He thus responds: “Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” Therefore, he says, even in this place, the noble and excellent athletes of piety encourage themselves to do this; and they fulfill this promise as their fellow tribesmen look on, so that they might kindle them also into the same love. Then they demonstrate the fruit of this death.

VERS. 5, 6. “I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” If it is precious to God, to whom among the saints is it not venerable?

VERS. 7. “O Lord, I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.” If, therefore, we undergo that death worthy of admiration, we shall obtain glory and honor from God, and we shall leave behind a memory of eternal fame. But if, having become superior to our enemies, we have routed their battle line, we shall offer a hymn of thanksgiving to the Master, confessing our servitude, and boasting that we have this from our ancestors. For those who are forced to serve men sometimes boast that they have had free ancestors. But the well-disposed servants of God confess that they have their servitude from their ancestors, rightfully believing such servitude to be the greatest glory. “Thou hast broken my bonds.” You have delivered me from many and various calamities.

VERS. 8-10. “I will sacrifice to thee a sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. In the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.” Having been delivered from calamities, I shall not be ungrateful for the benefits; but I will pay to you the sacrifice of praise, and I will render a hymn of thanksgiving, while all my fellow tribesmen look on, and from this, profit...

by [those] receiving, I will offer. But I will offer this rational sacrifice in the temple consecrated to thy name. ^A From this, therefore, it is also possible to learn that even when the law was prevailing, those who attended to the law more according to the spirit preferred rational sacrifices to animals devoid of reason, foreshadowing the new testament. It is fitting to know, moreover, that both psalms are appropriate for all the triumphant martyrs; for the purpose of these and those is the same. For both they suffered a praiseworthy death for the law and the lawgiver, and these chose to die for Him who gave salvation and destroyed death, rather than to live.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXVI

Alleluia. This hymn also is appropriate for all men. For the grace of the Spirit exhorts those who have obtained salvation to praise the Author of the benefit.

Verse 1. “Praise the Lord, all ye nations.” He calls all together into a choir; for He provided the occasions of salvation to all the nations, ^B not only to Greeks and Romans, but also to all the barbarians, using the holy apostles as ministers of the benefit. “For going,” He said, “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Obeying this law, they traversed every land and sea, and one led the Indians to Christ, another the Egyptians, and another the Ethiopians.

The blessed Paul teaches briefly to how many nations he brought the divine proclamations, “so that from Jerusalem through the circuit as far as Illyricum I have fulfilled the Gospel of Christ.” For he did not walk a straight path, but going around the nations which were in between, ^C he offered the saving doctrines. “And so I strived,” he says, “to preach this Gospel, not where Christ was named, that I might not build upon another's foundation; but as it is written, they to whom it was not announced concerning him shall see, and they who have not heard concerning him shall understand.” Later, however, he also entered Italy and arrived in Spain, and brought the benefit to the islands situated in the sea. For writing to the Romans, he said: “For I hope that as I journey into Spain, I will pass through [and] see you, and that I will be set forward on my way thither by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.” And writing to the admirable Titus, he says: “For this cause I left thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, ^D and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee.” Thus the great John delivered Asia from its former impiety; thus the godlike Andrew illuminated Greece with the rays of divine knowledge; thus the most divine Philip [brought] both Phry-

Phrygias; thus the great Peter ran from Jerusalem as far as the city of Rome, offering to all the rays of truth. Thus all, having traversed the whole world, both scattered the cloud of ignorance and pointed out the sun of righteousness. It is fitting, therefore, that the prophetic word exhorts all nations to offer a hymn to God, since all have enjoyed salvation: "Praise him, all you peoples." For the Jews were formerly scattered throughout the whole world, having been taught to worship the one God. Since, therefore, they no longer inhabited Palestine alone, nor did they constitute one people placed under one king, but, scattered among the nations, they obeyed their princes, yet lived among themselves by obeying the precept of the Law; with justice it does not call them a people, but "peoples," since very many even among them had received the divine proclamation. For in the city of Jerusalem, three thousand and five thousand were at the same time caught by the fishermen like fish. And afterwards there were many myriads, as the divine James said. And in Syria, and Cilicia, and Lycaonia, and Pisidia, and Asia, and Pamphylia, and in all the other ^B nations, the apostles offered the divine proclamations first to the Jews. And some believed and followed the truth, while others contradicted the beneficial teachings. It is fitting, therefore, that the prophetic word exhorts even these to praise the Benefactor; for he calls these "peoples."

VERS. 2. "For his mercy is confirmed upon us." For by using mercy alone, he brought our salvation to pass. Thus also the blessed Paul said: "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did, but according to his great mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly." And again: "By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God." And elsewhere: "It is a faithful word, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first, but I obtained mercy." But God commends his ^D love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. With justice, therefore, the prophetic word says: "For his mercy is confirmed upon us. And the truth of the Lord remains forever." For the salvation which he promised through the most holy prophets, he has bestowed. This is also what the blessed Paul said, beginning his Epistle to the Romans: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto

gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. And again: "For I say that Christ Jesus became a servant of the circumcision for the sake of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, but that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy." Since, therefore, the God of all has fulfilled the promises and given the salvation which he had pledged, and has opened to all the fountains of his mercy, both we who have come from Judaism, and you who have believed from the Gentiles, having blended a consonant hymn of praise, requite the Benefactor.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXVII

Alleluia. This hymn also is offered to God by those who have attained salvation. For the Jews, after the return from exile, when all their neighbors were gathered together against them, envying them their former prosperity and having summoned other barbarian nations as well, and were subsequently routed by divinely-inflicted plagues according to the prophecy of Joel, Ezekiel, Micah, and Zechariah, offered this hymn of thanksgiving to God. But since our affairs were foreshadowed in those events, this sweet symphony ^B is more fitting for those who have believed from among the Gentiles; for they, having been persecuted, tortured, and tormented by many—both princes and subjects, peoples and demagogues, kings and commanders—and having endured countless kinds of death, were shown to be superior to those who warred against them. It is to these and to those that the grace of the Spirit has provided the teaching of this hymnody.

1. "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endures forever." Praise the Good One, and the Giver of all good things. For he possesses mercy that endures, and he always bestows this upon those who are in need.

2, 3. "Let the house of Israel now say that he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say that he is good, for his mercy endures forever." Having mentioned these by division, he makes a common commemoration ^C of those who have believed from among the Gentiles.

4. "Let all those who fear the Lord now say that he is good, for his mercy endures forever." All of you, he says, praise the benevolence of God: both you who trace your lineage from Israel and take pride in the piety of your ancestors, and those among you who have been counted worthy of the priesthood, and those who have come from diverse nations and have been freed—

^A For one is the God of all, and He offers diverse benefits upon all, and extends mercy to those who ask. Then he teaches the providence of God more clearly.

VERS. 5. « Out of tribulation I called upon the Lord, and He heard me, and brought me into a wide place. » For He did not prevent the onset of evils, but showed the dangers, and immediately dissipated them. He stated this also in the fourth Psalm: Thou hast enlarged me in tribulation; that is to say, Thou hast brought me a consolation greater than the pain.

VERS. 6, 7. « The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. The Lord is my helper, and I shall look upon my enemies. » For having the Lord of all as my assistant, I do not fear the onsets of the enemies. I hope, indeed, having obtained help from Him, to see their destruction as soon as possible. Then with good reasonings he confirms the pious mind.

VERS. 8, 9. « It is better to trust in the Lord, than to trust in man. It is better to hope in the Lord, than to hope in princes. » For He is good and benign, and wills good things, and can do whatever He wills, and possesses an immortal power. But men are both by nature subject to decay, and changeable in mind, and often they do not will good things; yet at times, even when willing to aid those who are treated unjustly, they cannot; and when ^B they rule, they possess power only for a time; and sovereignty among men is fleeting, and lasts for but a little while. It is better, therefore, to abandon the aid of men, and to implore divine assistance.

VERS. 10. « All nations compassed me about, and in the name of the Lord I have been avenged on them. » The Church indeed suffered the onsets of all the nations, but Jerusalem [suffered] not from all, but from some. Concerning those, therefore, this discourse is delivered hyperbolically, but for the Church it is spoken truly. For those who believed in each nation endured the disturbances and dangers from the infidels; but nevertheless, both these and those, trusting in God, overcame their adversaries. ^C

VERS. 11. « They compassed me about, and in the name of the Lord I have been avenged on them. » But Symmachus [renders it] thus: They compassed me, and again they compassed me around; that is, they used frequent incursions and manifold sieges; but I, fortified by the invocation of God, routed their column.

VERS. 12. « They compassed me about like bees [about] a honeycomb. » Just as, he says, bees finding a honeycomb suck up the moisture of the honey: thus they ^D

μοι γλυκύτητα τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀφελεῖν ἐπειράθησαν. « Καὶ ἐν ἐξεκαύθησαν ὡς πῦρ ἐν ἀκάνθαις. » Ἤλπισαν δὲ καὶ μάλα ῥᾳδίως μου περιέσεσθαι, καθάπερ τὸ πῦρ εὐπετῶς δαπανᾷ τὰς ἀκάνθας. « Καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Κυρίου ἡμυνάμην αὐτούς. » Ταῦτα δὲ προσδοκήσαντες διήμαρτον τῆς ἐλπίδος, τῇ ἐμῇ νικηθέντες ἐλπίδι· τὸν γὰρ ἐμὸν Δεσπότην πᾶσιν ἐκείνοις ἀντέταξα, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν νίκην ἐκομισάμην.

^B ιγʹ. « Ὤσθεὶς ἀνετράπην τοῦ πεσεῖν, καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἀντελάβετό μου. » Ταῦτα κἀκείνοις ἁρμόττει, καὶ τούτοις. Κἀκεῖνοι γὰρ ὄλεθρον ἂν ὑπέμειναν παντελῆ, εἰ μὴ τῆς θείας ἀπήλαυσαν χάριτος· καὶ οὗτοι ἂν ἐξέπεσαν εἰς ἀσέβειαν, μὴ τῆς θείας αὐτοὺς ὑπερεισάσης ἀρετῆς.

ιδʹ. « Ἰσχύς μου καὶ ὕμνησίς μου ὁ Κύριος, καὶ ἐγένετό μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν. » Αὐτὸν τοίνυν ἔχομεν καὶ δύναμιν, καὶ νίκην, καὶ πηγὴν ὑμνῳδίας. Παρ' αὐτοῦ γὰρ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσαντες μετ' εὐθυμίας τὸν ὕμνον προσφέρομεν.

ιεʹ. « Φωνὴ ἀγαλλιάσεως καὶ σωτηρίας ἐν σκηναῖς δικαίων. » Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν νίκην, τῶν προτέρων θρήνων ἀπαλλαγέντες, ἐν θυμηδίαις ἦσαν καὶ εὐφημίαις, τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνοῦντες.

« Δεξιὰ Κυρίου ἐποίησε δύναμιν. [ισʹ] Δεξιὰ Κυρίου ὕψωσέ με. » Δεξιάν, καθὰ πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν, τὴν ἀγαθὴν ἐνέργειαν λέγει. Εὖ δὲ ποιοῦντες οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς ἐπιγράφουσι τὴν νίκην, οὐδὲ τῇ οἰκείᾳ προθυμίᾳ καὶ δυνάμει θαῤῥοῦσιν, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς θείας χάριτος ταύτης τετυχηκέναι βοῶσιν.

« Δεξιὰ Κυρίου ἐποίησε δύναμιν. [ιζʹ] Οὐκ ἀποθανοῦμαι, ἀλλὰ ζήσομαι, καὶ διηγήσομαι τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου. » Τῆς ἄνωθεν τοίνυν ἐπικουρίας ἀπολαύσας, καὶ κρείττων τοῦ θανάτου γενόμενος, τὰς θείας εὐεργεσίας, καὶ τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας διδάξω, καὶ τοὺς εἰδότας ἀναμνήσω, καὶ τῇ μνήμῃ τούτων τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν ἀγάπην πυρσεύσω.

^C ιηʹ. « Παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέ με ὁ Κύριος, καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ οὐ παρέδωκέ με. » Συνεχώρησε γὰρ προσβαλεῖν μοι τὰ λυπηρά, πατρικῶς με παιδεύων· τὸ δὲ στυγνὸν τούτων διέλυσε νέφος, καὶ τῆς ἐκεῖθεν με παντελῶς ἠλευθέρωσε λώβης.

ιθʹ. « Ἀνοίξατέ μοι πύλας δικαιοσύνης· εἰσελθὼν ἐν αὐταῖς ἐξομολογήσομαι τῷ Κυρίῳ. » Πύλας δικαιοσύνης οὐ τὰς τοῦ ναοῦ πύλας καλεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὰς διαφόρους τῆς ἀρετῆς ἰδέας· δι' ἐκείνας γάρ δυνατὸν ἀξίως ὑμνῆσαι τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεόν. Καὶ τοῦτο σαφέστερον διὰ τῶν ἐπιφερομένων ἐδήλωσεν. Οἷον γάρ τινα ἀπόκρισιν δίδωσι, καί φησιν·

κʹ. « Αὕτη ἡ πύλη τοῦ Κυρίου, δίκαιοι εἰσελεύσονται ἐν αὐτῇ. » Οὕτω καὶ τῷ νεανίσκῳ τῷ τῆς

τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς τὴν ὁδὸν ᾐτηκότι μαθεῖν, ὁ Κύριος ἔφη· « Τὰς ἐντολὰς οἶδας· Οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. » Ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ὁ Δεσπότης ἑαυτὸν ὠνόμασε θύραν, ὡς τῆς ἀρετῆς ποδηγὸν καὶ διδάσκαλον· « Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι, φησὶν, ἡ θύρα τῶν προβάτων· ἐάν τις δι᾿ ἐμοῦ εἰσέλθῃ, εἰσελεύσεται, καὶ ἐξελεύσεται, καὶ νομὴν εὑρήσει. » Τοῦτο καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ προφητικὸς ἔφη λόγος· « Αὕτη ἡ πύλη τοῦ Κυρίου, δίκαιοι εἰσελεύσονται ἐν αὐτῇ. » ^B

καʹ. « Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι, ὅτι ἐπήκουσάς μου, καὶ ἐγένου μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν. » Ὑμνῶ σε τοιγαροῦν δεξάμενόν μου τὴν δέησιν, καὶ δεδωκότα τὴν σωτηρίαν.

κβʹ. « Λίθον, ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας. » Τοῦτο, κἂν μυριάκις ἀναισχυντῶσιν Ἰουδαῖοι, ἄλλῳ προσαρμόσαι οὐ δύνανται. Εἰ γὰρ τῶν διαιρεθεισῶν πάλαι φυλῶν ἡγεμόνευσε Ζοροβάβελ, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον διήρκεσεν. Ὁ δὲ Δεσπότης Χριστὸς τοὺς δύο τοίχους, τοὺς ἀπ' ἀλλήλων ἑστῶτας ἐκ διαμέτρου, τοὺς ἐξ Ἰουδαίων φημὶ, καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν πεπιστευκότας, τοὺς μὲν δυσσεβείᾳ δουλεύοντας, τοὺς δὲ τοῦ νόμου τὸν ζυγὸν ἕλκοντας, καὶ εἰς ἓν συναγαγὼν τὰ διεστῶτα συνέζευξε, καὶ μίαν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων συνήρμοσεν Ἐκκλησίαν, γωνίαν τινὰ μιμησάμενος δύο τοίχους συνδέουσαν, καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους συνάπτουσαν. Τοῦτον μέντοι τὸν λίθον οἰκοδόμοι πάλαι ὄντες Φαρισαῖοί τε καὶ Σαδδουκαῖοι, ἱερεῖς τε καὶ Γραμματεῖς, ἀπεδοκίμασαν, ^C καὶ ἐσταύρωσαν· ἀλλ' « ἐγένετο εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας, » ἢ, κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, ἀκρογωνιαῖος. Περὶ τούτου δὲ τοῦ λίθου καὶ διὰ Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου προεθέσπισεν ὁ Θεός· « Ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον πολυτελῆ, ἐκλεκτόν, ἀκρογωνιαῖον, ἔντιμον εἰς τὰ θεμέλια αὐτῆς, καὶ πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. » Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔφη Παῦλος· « Ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. » Τοῦτον εἶδε τὸν λίθον καὶ ὁ μακάριος Δανιὴλ τμηθέντα ἄνευ χειρῶν, τὸν ἀκοινώνητον τῆς Παρθένου διδασκόμενος τόκον. Τοῦτον εἶδε τὴν εἰκόνα συντρίψαντα, τοῦτ' ἔστι τοῦ βίου τὴν ματαιότητα, καὶ ὄρος μέγα γενόμενον, καὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην καλύψαντα. ^D

κγʹ. « Παρὰ Κυρίου ἐγένετο αὕτη, καὶ ἔστι θαυμαστὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν. » Ταύτης δὲ τῆς χάριτος χορηγὸς ὁ Θεός, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν ἄῤῥητον αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν θαυμάζομεν.

κδʹ. « Αὕτη ἡ ἡμέρα ἣν ἐποίησεν ὁ Κύριος· ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ εὐφρανθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῇ. »

^A He calls the day made by God that in which this stone arose after the passion. For immediately after the resurrection, He commanded the holy apostles to go and teach all nations. And He says that this day in particular was made by God. For since from the beginning God made light on that day, and it received the resurrection of our Savior, it sent forth the rays of the Sun of righteousness into the whole world. And having created the light, He called the light day, and made nothing else on that day. This day, therefore, alone, as the first day, received the creation of light. For on the second day He made the firmament, on the third the plants and the seeds, and in the others likewise the others; but on the first day He made the light, and He called the light day. With good reason, therefore, ^B He said, "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it," insofar as we have received the fountains of good things on it.

Ver. 25. "O Lord, save me now; O Lord, prosper me now." And for the time to come, O Master, grant salvation, and make the way leading to You easy and accessible for us.

Ver. 26. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." The children also offered this shout to the Master for the reproof of those who professed to teach the divine oracles, but were unwilling to understand their true meaning. For when the Scribes and Pharisees were calling the Master a Samaritan, the children were revealing Him to be the Coming One who is blessed, and the "Hosanna" is likewise found in this prophecy; for we find that "Save now" ^C is placed in the Hebrew text for "Hosanna." From this, the blessed John the Baptist, leading his own disciples to the truth, asked the Lord through them: "Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?" But He, being the Lord, came in the name of the Lord. Thus He also said to the Jews: "I have come in my Father's name, [and you did not receive me;] another comes in his own name, and you will receive him." And being blessed, He is the son of the Blessed. Similarly, the high priest also asked: "Are you the son of the Blessed?"

"We have blessed you from the house of the Lord." Those who have achieved the victory say these things to their friends: "We bring you the blessing of this stone, which became the house of the God-Word who dwelt in it." For, he says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." And the Lord said to the Jews: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

Ver. 27. "God is the Lord, and He has shown light to us." He clearly theologized here about the Master Christ. For Him whom he called the stone above, and afterwards blessed, ^D

^A and who comes in the name of the Lord, he named both Lord and God, having manifested His own epiphany, and having bestowed salvation upon those who believe. "Establish a festival in thick boughs, even unto the horns of the altar." Gather together, therefore, all of you, and celebrate a great festival, celebrating your own salvation, so that the crowd ^B coming even unto the altar itself may be constrained. For he has used “in the thick boughs” instead of “crowded,” and “constrained” because of the multitude. For “the thick,” “the crowded,” even those outside our School call it. I know the Master, Thee the benefactor I will praise through my life. ^C Ver. 28. “You are my God, and I will give thanks to You; You are my God, and I will exalt You.” I know Thee as God, I know Thee as Master, I will praise Thee the benefactor through all my life. “I will give thanks to You, for You heard me, and became my salvation.” [Ver. 29] “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy is eternal.” Having first stirred up themselves, inasmuch as they are set before the others, to the doxology, thus they also exhort the others to praise the good Master; inasmuch as He abundantly extends to all the fountains ^D of mercy. It is necessary, however, to know that it was also appropriate for those besieged by those nations, to know Him who was to sprout from them according to the flesh, and to provide salvation to all. For thus they became more courageous against those attacking them, being refreshed by the faith of the blessing hidden within them.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXVIII

Alleluia. The divine David experienced many and various changes of circumstances. For he fled from enemies, and he pursued enemies, and he fell into despondencies, and again he had a more joyful life, and he ran the divine path, and he stumbled while journeying, and again he followed the divine laws. These things, therefore, he has all gathered together in this one Psalm, and having connected the prayers offered by him to God at each time to one another, he has proposed one teaching most useful to all men, and he teaches through what he says, how it is possible to achieve

^A practical virtue. Yet he does not neglect the precision of dogmas, but adds to the moral precepts instruction concerning these as well. For this psalm is sufficient to bring those who desire perfect virtue to its perfection, to rouse those living in sloth to zeal, to console the despondent, to regulate the sorrowful, and, in a word, to provide a panacea of every kind for the various maladies of men.

VERS. 1. « Blessed are the undefiled in the way. » He says that those are blessed who walk in the royal road without swerving, and who do not turn aside to the right or to the left through transgressing the precepts of the law. And he teaches who these are: « Who walk in the law of the Lord. » For those who conduct their lives according to these have "the undefiled" [way]. For he calls life a way. For we all travel this from birth until the grave.

VERS. 2. « Blessed are they that search his testimonies, with their whole heart they shall seek him. » And explaining the eighteenth psalm, we said in what the law differs from testimonies, and justifications, statutes, and commandments; but we shall briefly recall in summary what was said. He calls "law" that which was given by the God of all through the divinely-inspired Moses. He calls the same again "commandments" and "precepts," as having been enjoined and commanded in a royal manner. "Justifications" ^B, as being able to make the one who acts rightly just. "Judgments," as indicating divine decrees, and the fitting rewards for those who live lawfully and for those who live unlawfully. And "testimonies," as testifying and showing to what punishments those who transgress it will be subjected. Therefore, he blesses here too those who continuously search the testimonies of God, and who seek God with their whole heart; but this is not for everyone, but for him who has attained the very summit of virtue. For such a one does not divide his mind between God and the cares of life, but devotes himself wholly to God.

VERS. 3. « For they that work iniquity have not walked in his ways. » He made this distinction also in the first psalm. For there too, having blessed the man who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, and having shown the fruit of the meditation, he added: « Not so the ungodly, not so. » And here too, then, having blessed the undefiled, he teaches that the workers of iniquity have prepared another way for themselves, and have abandoned that which was fixed by God.

VERS. 4. « Thou hast commanded thy commandments, to be kept most diligently. » This the Lord enjoins ^C both through the law, and through the prophets, and through the holy Gospels; and all divine Scripture is filled with such an edict. Not

simply to keep, but to keep most diligently—which is to say, with every precision. ^A

VERS. 5. « O that my ways were directed to keep thy justifications. » Therefore, he says, I pray that my way may be directed by your law as if by some rule, that I might be able to keep your justifications. And showing the fruit of this, he adds:

VERS. 6. « Then shall I not be confounded, when I look into all thy commandments. » For the fruit of sin is confusion. So also the divine Apostle said: « What fruit therefore had you then in those things of which you are now ashamed? » But they who fulfill all the commandments of God have boldness from their conscience.

VERS. 7. « I will confess to thee in uprightness of heart, in that I have learned the judgments of thy justice. » He calls thanksgiving confession. Then, he says, I shall be able to offer thee a pure hymn, when I have fully learned all thy judgments and have led my life according to them. ^B

VERS. 8. « I will keep thy justifications: O do not thou utterly forsake me. » Often divine grace forsakes some for a short time, procuring for them a benefit from this. Thus the great Elias, when he was forsaken, fell into the passion of timidity and learned the weakness of human nature; but he immediately attained divine grace again. Thus the divine Peter fell by denying, but the Lord immediately supported him. But Judas, being utterly destitute of divine providence, became an easy prey for the enemy. The blessed David also was forsaken after that sin, and he fell into those grievous calamities; but he again received boldness toward God and obtained help from thence. Saul, however, being utterly deprived of this, both lost the grace of the Spirit and became subject to an evil spirit. Rightly, therefore, does the Prophet pray not to be forsaken utterly, that is, that he may not be completely despoiled of the grace of providence. ^C

VERS. 9. « By what doth a young man correct his way? by observing thy words. » Youth is unstable and prone to evil; for it is confounded by the various waves of the passions. It needs, therefore, a leader who directs it to the harbors. This is the property of the divine oracles. For these, by turning us away from wicked ways, can correct us and lead us to the divine way. For what a bridle and a breaker are to a young horse, the divine word is to the young. ^D

^A VERS. 10. "With my whole heart I have sought thee: do not repel me from thy commandments." Many indeed seek God, but not with their whole heart; for they divide it, not only into the cares of worldly affairs, but also into absurd desires, envies, deceits, and plots against their neighbors. But the lover of divine things consecrates his entire mind to God and depends upon His providence.

VERS. 11. "In my heart I have hidden thy words, that I might not sin against thee." He who possesses gold, or silver, or precious stones, does not display these abroad, but hides them within in treasure-chambers and storerooms, so as to avoid the hands of those who dig through walls. Similarly, he who possesses the riches of virtue hides them in his soul, so that the thieves of souls might not steal them away through vain glory. The word also teaches another lesson; for it does not advise us to offer the divine oracles to all. "Give not," he says, "that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine" (Matt. vii, 6). ^B

VERS. 12. "Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy justifications." That is, You are gentle, and kind, and worthy to be praised by all. For this reason, I beseech Thee to learn from Thee those things which can make me righteous.

VERS. 13. "With my lips I have declared all the judgments of thy mouth." For whatever I learn from Thy goodness, this I will teach to those who do not know it.

VERS. 14. "I have delighted in the way of thy testimonies, as in all riches." The way of virtue is indeed laborious, but to the perfect it is most delightful. Therefore the Master Christ said, "Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is sweet, and my burden is light" (Matt. xi, 29, 30). The prophetic word also says this, that the possession of Thy testimonies is more pleasant to me than all wealth. ^C And the phrase, "as in all riches," is not added senselessly, but declares wealth of every kind; for there are many types of wealth. One who has gold is called rich, another who has silver, another who possesses the most land—whether planted or sown—and another who has flocks. But the Prophet, comprehending all these things and comparing them to the divine testimonies, said that the divine testimonies were as delightful to him as all forms of wealth are to those who are fond of money. ^D

VERS. 15. "I will meditate on thy commandments, and I will contemplate thy ways." For this reason, he says, I will continuously carry forward the meditation of Thy words, and I will make my journey on Thy ways.

VERS. 16. "I will meditate on thy justifications, [and] will not...

^A forget thy words." I will guard in myself the memory of thy oracles as something not to be forgotten.

VERS. 17. "Render good to thy servant." It is not for everyone to use this expression; for no one carrying a corrupt conscience arouses the Judge to render [good] to him. But he who employs righteous thoughts uses this expression with confidence. "Give me life, and I will keep thy words." For, enjoying thy assistance, I will escape the death of sin, and I will harvest the life that is in thy words.

VERS. 18. "Uncover my eyes, and I will consider wonderful things out of thy law." For not all who read the divine oracles consider their wonders, but [only] those who enjoy the splendor from above. This is the reason why the blessed Paul says: "But when they shall have turned to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away; and the Lord is the Spirit." ^B Being himself illuminated by the divine light, he rightly exclaims: "But we all, with open face reflecting as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." It behooves us, however, to pray to the Lord, that, removing the veil from the eyes of our understanding, He may show us the power of the divine oracles.

VERS. 19. "I am a sojourner upon the earth; do not hide thy commandments from me." We do not inhabit the earth, but we are sojourners in it; for having passed a short time of life, we cross over to another life. But not all wish to know this, but are puffed up regarding present goods ^C as if they were permanent and lasting. But he who has been instructed in the knowledge of divine things knows the brevity of life. Therefore he calls himself a sojourner, and supplicates that he may in no way be ignorant of the divine commandments.

VERS. 20. "My soul has desired to long for thy justifications at all times." Many desire divine judgments and seek the kingdom of heaven, but not always. At one time they are delighted with divine things, and at another time they follow the passions of the body; but the prophet yearns to have this desire continuously.

VERS. 21. "Thou hast rebuked the proud." Those who despise the divine laws fall into the disease of pride, but receive their punishment from the just Judge. This, indeed, Absalom suffered, ^D this Saul, this Pharaoh, and Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar, and countless others. Knowing this, the Prophet, as a prophet, added: "Cursed are they who decline from thy commandments." This curse the law also [pronounces] upon the transgressors

"Cursed," he says, "is everyone who does not remain in those things which are laid out in the book of the law, to do them." ^A

Verse 22. "Remove from me reproach and contempt, for I sought out thy testimonies."

Verse 23. "For princes sat and spoke against me."

Verse 24. "For thy testimonies are my meditation, and my counselors are thy justifications."

Verse 25. "My soul has adhered to the pavement."

Verse 26. "I declared my ways, and thou didst hear me; teach me thy justifications."

Verse 27. "Instruct me in the way of thy justifications, and I will meditate on thy wondrous things."

Verse 28. "My soul has slumbered from laggardness; confirm me in thy words."

^A for the slackened soul admits sleep, and sleep brings on death. Therefore the Prophet beseeches that he may be confirmed and strengthened. He said the same in another psalm: "Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death," ^B calling sin death.

VERS. 29, 30. "Remove from me the way of iniquity, and have mercy on me by thy law. I have chosen the way of truth, and thy judgments I have not forgotten." This prayer too is necessary. For it behooves us to implore help from the God of all, so that we may turn away from the path of iniquity and choose the way of truth, and carry about an unforgetting memory of God's testimonies.

VERS. 31. "I have cleaved to thy testimonies, O Lord, let me not be put to shame." He did not say simply, "I have followed," ^C but "I have cleaved," meaning that I have not separated my mind from them even for a moment. He asks, moreover, to reap the fruit of such a disposition: namely, that he may undergo no experience of shame.

VERS. 32. "I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart." There is need for both: our own promptness of heart and God's providence. For divine grace is not given to those who do not possess a good readiness, nor can human nature attain virtue without help from above. The Prophet teaches this too, that "I ran the way of thy commandments" without hindrance, receiving from thee the ease of the course. For he called "enlargement" ease. And elsewhere he says: "In tribulation ^D thou hast enlarged me." And again: "Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, and my feet have not been weakened."

VERS. 33. "Set me a law, O Lord, the way of thy justifications, and I will seek it always." Symmachus said "show me" for "set me a law"; Aquila and Theodotion, "enlighten me." He says: I require thy enlightenment and thy teaching always, so that I may both know the way of thy justifications and walk along it without hindrance.

VERS. 34. "Give me understanding, and I will search into thy law, and I will keep it with my whole heart." The Lord also commanded us to "search the Scriptures," but those who search them have need of heavenly light so that they may both find what is sought and keep what they have grasped.

VERS. 35. "Guide me in the path of thy commandments, for I have desired it." He does not simply ask that the God of all become his guide, but shows his desire for the journey.

VERS. 36. "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness." The nature of water is accustomed to be carried down a slope, and if it finds an outlet,

thither it all flows; thus, when the devil reveals the path to sin, human nature inclines toward the worse. ^A Hence the Prophet very appropriately prays that his heart may be inclined toward the divine testimonies, and that he may escape the trial leading to the other side.

VERS. 37. "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity." That which is useless and foolish is called vanity; such are those things which appear pleasant in this life. Thus the wise Solomon also names them: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." And having recounted how he built houses, and planted gardens, and made pools of water, he added: "And behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." Therefore the Prophet beseeches that the eyes of his understanding may turn toward another contemplation, and not be beguiled by the vanity of present things. "Quicken thou me in thy way," that is, grant that I may be able to live according to thy laws.

^B VERS. 38. "Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear." Make me constant and firm in thy words, keeping me continually by thy fear, so that I cannot be overturned by any force; as if he were to say: Let thy fear rest upon me, striking terror, and in no way allowing me to turn aside from thine oracles.

VERS. 39. "Turn away my reproach which I feared: for thy judgments are good." Aquila, instead of "feared," said "I stood in awe." So also did Theodotion. But Symmachus interpreted it as "that which I dread." Here he calls "reproach" that which arises from sin. For he was indeed trembling and afraid, and lived a life of suspicion. ^C For this reason he did not add, as is his custom, "For I have sought thy judgments," or "I have kept them," but, "For thy judgments are good." For thou dost not only threaten punishment to those who sin, but thou also promisest salvation to those who repent. For he calls God's just sentences "judgments."

VERS. 40. "Behold, I have desired thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness." Grant me the life that is in righteousness, since I long for it.

VERS. 41. "Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord." For we are all in need of the divine loving-kindness; and even he who has attained the topmost height of virtue is in constant need of it.

"Even thy salvation, according to thy word. ^D [VERS. 42.] So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me." Grant, O Master, the salvation which thou hast promised in thy holy words, that I may speak with boldness to those who insult me. For he who is in calamities bears reproaches by keeping silent, but he who lives a pleasant life refutes those by whom

he is afflicted with insults through injustice. ^A *For I have hoped in thy words.* For I depend upon thy promise, and I walk in the path of this hope.

VERS. 43. *And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.* The Prophet teaches us to love the truth, and to ask for it from the God of all with great eagerness.

VERS. 44. *And I will keep thy law continually, for ever and ever.* For thus I shall be more eager for the keeping of thy laws. By the words, *for ever and ever*, he demonstrated the future life, in which pure and sincere observance of the divine laws shall be given to all.

VERS. 45, 46. *And I walked in a wide place: for I sought out thy commandments. And I spoke of thy testimonies before kings, and was not ashamed.* With great ease, he says, and living according to thy commandments, I neither feared royal power, but with great boldness I held discourse with them. For a life lived according to the law is the creator of boldness. And of this the great David is a witness. ^B For before his sin, he speaks with great boldness to Saul; but after the sin, and avoiding his parricide son, he walked looking down at the earth, and covering his head. And Elias, that great man, trusting in his justice, rebuked the impiety of Ahab. Thus the divine Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar: *And now, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and redeem thy sins with alms, and thine iniquities by mercies to the poor.* ^C Thus the divine Paul addressed Agrippa, and Festus, and Felix. Thus the triumphant martyrs despised impious kings.

VERS. 47, 48. *And I meditated on thy commandments, which I have loved exceedingly. And I lifted up my hands to thy commandments, which I have loved.* For the kingdom of God is not in speech, but in power; and he who does and teaches, this man shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For this reason the divine Prophet has placed action before meditation. For when he had said, *I meditated on thy commandments, which I have loved exceedingly*, and had declared his ardent desire, he added, ^D *And I lifted up my hands to thy commandments, which I have loved.* For what I learned through the divine oracles, these I executed through works. For not the hearers of the law are just before God, as the divine Apostle says, but the doers of the law shall be justified. *And I meditated on thy justifications.* For I made these my constant meditation.

^A Ver. 49. *Remember thy words to thy servant, in which thou hast given me hope.* God, in giving the law, promised his own benevolence to those who keep the law, and punishment to the transgressors. He prays, therefore, that God may be mindful of his own promises. For, he says, you taught me to hope in them; and, showing the usefulness of hope, he added:

Ver. 50. *This has comforted me in my humiliation, because thy word has quickened me.* For this I had as a consolation in calamities; and, borne by this, I sailed over the waves.

Ver. 51. *The proud did wickedly altogether; but I declined not from thy law.* He calls the proud Saul, Absalom, and the king of the Ammonites, who did those iniquitous things against those who were sent by him. But those people, he says, embraced an iniquitous life; but I have followed thy laws. Moreover, the triumphant martyrs could also say these things, who suffered those grievous and harsh things from cruel and impious tyrants.

^B Ver. 52. *I remembered thy judgments from of old, O Lord, and I was comforted.* For I brought to mind the things of Abel, the things of Abraham, the things of Isaac, the things of Jacob, the things of Joseph, the things of Job, the things of Moses, how you permitted them to fall into various temptations, and afterwards rendered them illustrious and conspicuous; from which I obtained sufficient consolation.

Ver. 53. *Indignation hath taken hold of me, because of the sinners who forsake thy law.* I, though suffering evil, was consoled by the memory of thy judgments; yet I was grieved and continued to be distressed, seeing many violating thy laws with impunity.

Ver. 54. *Thy justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage.* The blessed David sojourned among the Philistines when he was persecuted by Saul. But I think he calls not that time alone, but his whole life, his pilgrimage. For he continued not as an inhabitant, but as a sojourner, ^C and singing the justifications of God he passed through this life. For so also the other interpreters have translated: *All thy commandments were my songs in the place of my pilgrimage.*

Ver. 55. *I remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night, and I kept thy law.* The choir of the saints, always rising in the night, both prays and praises the God of all. I think, however, that the time of temptations is called night in this place. For it brings gloom, and comes upon men like the night. ^D

In this [situation], however, the memory of the God of all is especially necessary, for it refreshes us, encourages us, and drives away contrary thoughts.

Ver. 56. "This has become mine, because I sought out your justifications." Thus, he says, I was able to overcome and to choose the possession of your justifications.

Ver. 57. "You are my portion, O Lord; I said that I would keep your law." God is not the portion of all, but of those who have embraced perfection. Thus, it was the portion and inheritance of the priests and Levites. For, he says, "To the sons of Levi there shall be no portion among their brothers, because I am their portion, the Lord." So also in the fifteenth psalm he said: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup." Therefore, he says in this place too: Despising all other things, I have you as my portion, and abundance of wealth, and riches. Therefore, I hasten to keep your laws. ^B

Ver. 58. "I have entreated your face with my whole heart." Everywhere he adds "with my whole heart," obeying this law also. For so the God of all commanded: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your power." "Have mercy upon me according to your word." He does not ask for mercy to be granted absolutely, but to obtain mercy according to the divine oracle. A wise patient would be able to say this to a physician: "Heal me as you know how, as the art prescribes." A wise merchant could also say this to the pilot: "Direct the ship according to the laws of the art, and steer as science commands." Thus, it also becomes us to proclaim the divine mercy: for He who is asked knows the mode of mercy. ^C For often, through chastisement, He brings about salvation, and the punishment becomes a kindness. Thus, a physician also cuts and cauterizes, procurring health for the sufferer. Thus, it is fitting for us to ask for mercy. For there is a time when mercy is dispensed through poverty, and kindness is granted through maladies, and according to medical theory, it heals opposite things with opposites.

Ver. 59. "I thought upon your ways, and I turned my feet unto your testimonies." The Hebrew has "my ways," and likewise the other translators also interpreted it, and the Seventy in the Hexapla. But he says: Pondering my ways, I directed my feet unto your testimonies, and I did not allow them to turn aside from the path that leads to you. ^D

Ver. 60. "I am prepared, and I am not troubled, to keep your commandments." For having made myself ready against the assaults of grievous things, from the

sudden irruption of the storm I did not suffer. Thus the divine Daniel, thus the blessed youths, thus those admirable Maccabees, thus all the martyrs of the Savior, overcame the assaults of the impious. This also the Lord urges in the holy Gospels: "Watch, for you do not know at what hour the thief comes." ^A

Ver. 61. "The cords of sinners have surrounded me, but I have not forgotten your law." He called the snares, whether of demons or of men, "cords," taking the occasion for the comparison from the entanglement. So also Isaiah says: "Woe to those who draw their sins as a long rope." But, he says, when these ropes had surrounded me, I did not cast away the memory of the divine law. Then he teaches also the causes of his remembrance. ^B

Ver. 62. "At midnight I would rise to praise you for the judgments of your righteousness." For not only by day, but also by night, and at the very middle of the night, when sleep comes to men with greater pleasure, I ceased not to praise you, and would extol your just sentences. This also the divine Apostle did with Silas. For bound with Silas, and shackled by the stocks, after stripes and scourging, he mingled the chanting of hymns with prayer, and reaped the fruit of that good vigil; for they partook of divine liberality. ^C

Ver. 63. "I am a partaker of all who fear you and who guard your commandments." Symmachus, instead of "partaker," has said "joined," and the Syrian, "friend." For, turning away from those who have chosen things contrary to your laws, I had as companions and associates those who set great store by your fear, and who have chosen to pass their lives according to the law. This he also said in another psalm: "But your friends, O God, are highly honored by me." ^D

Ver. 64. "The earth, O Lord, is full of your mercy; teach me your justifications." Upon all, he says, you pour out abundantly the fountains of your mercy, and you make your sun to rise upon both the wicked and the good, and you rain upon both the righteous and the unrighteous, and you do not bring your wrath every day, but you suffer patiently both those who break up the marriages of others, and those who are defiled with unjust blood; others also who claim for themselves what does not belong to them; and those who defile their tongues with blasphemies, and others who dare anything else that is lawless. Since, therefore, you exhibit such philanthropy, make me also worthy of it, O Master, by granting me the knowledge of your justifications.

Ver. 65. "You have dealt kindly with your servant, O Lord, according to your word." I have received a trial of your goodness; therefore again I pray to be made worthy of your teachings.

and I beseech you that I may conduct my life according to your laws. ^A Ver. 66. "Teach me goodness and discipline and knowledge, for I have believed your commandments." The Prophet knows the utility of castigation, and that the Lord brings this upon men while employing philanthropy; for the sake of which he deems himself worthy to partake of it. For God brings about castigation while employing goodness, and the discipline works knowledge. Thus also the prophet Jeremiah supplicates: "Correct us, O Lord, but in judgment, and not in anger, lest you make us few." Thus also a sick man, desiring health, seeks both the incision of the iron and cauteries. Then he teaches from where he learned the utility of the discipline.

Ver. 67. "Before I was humbled, I transgressed; therefore I have kept your word." I, he says, was the cause of my own discipline. The sentence concerning the punishment is free from injustice: transgression followed by castigation, and castigation followed by the observance of the laws. I was sick, I was cut, I recovered.

Ver. 68. "You are good, O Lord." For you are in truth good and benign. "And in your goodness, teach me your justifications." Therefore, I confidently ask to receive from you the knowledge of your justifications.

^B Ver. 69. "The iniquity of the proud has been multiplied upon me, but I with my whole heart will search out your commandments." For those who use pride weave every kind of stratagem against me; nevertheless, I am not provoked to their lawlessness, being governed by your commandments.

Ver. 70. "Their heart was curdled as milk, but I have meditated on your law." This is similar to that prophetic saying: "For the heart of this people has been thickened, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and have closed their eyes." It is also similar to what is said in Exodus concerning Pharaoh: "And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened." Those men, therefore, he says, have had an antitype for a heart, having worked that which was soft into something hard, even as they have thickened and curdled milk; but I have cleaved to the ^C meditation of your law.

Ver. 71. "It is good for me that you humbled me, so that I might learn your justifications." The Prophet gives thanks, recognizing the health which resulted from the physician's more severe remedies.

^A Ver. 72. "Better to me is the law of thy mouth than thousands of gold and silver." For even if I was driven from the kingdom by my son, nevertheless, through this discipline, I have regained thy law, which I hold more precious than all wealth.

Ver. 73. "Thy hands have made me, and fashioned me: give me understanding, and I shall learn thy commandments." He reminds the Creator of his love for human nature. For although he created all things by his Word, he is said himself to have fashioned the nature of men, not by using hands—for he is incorporeal—but by demonstrating a greater affection for this work. He prays, therefore, that he who fashioned him may grant wisdom to his handiwork.

^B Ver. 74. "They that fear thee will see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in thy words." I shall provide a cause of joy, he says, to the pious, since I have placed my hope in thee and have found an end corresponding to my hope.

Ver. 75. "I have known, O Lord, that thy judgments are equity, and in thy truth thou hast humbled me." He says these things especially to show his own gratitude. I know, he says, precisely that thou hast rightly and justly passed judgment upon me, and hast beset me with all manner of calamities.

Ver. 76. "Let thy mercy be, O Lord, to comfort me." But it is now the time for kindness and consolation. "According to thy word to thy servant." For thou hast promised thy favor to those fulfilling repentance. This thou didst also say through Isaiah: "When you return and sigh, then you shall be saved." And through Jeremiah thou criest: "Turn to me, and I will turn to you."

^C Ver. 77. "Let thy mercies come unto me, and I shall live: for thy law is my meditation." He deems himself dead when deprived of the divine favor; for which reason he prays to be, as it were, brought to life through the divine kindness.

Ver. 78. "Let the proud be ashamed, for they have wronged me unjustly: but I will meditate on thy commandments." He does not curse his enemies, but prays for them; for shame brings about salvation. He asks, therefore, that they too may obtain the same remedy which he himself has enjoyed.

Ver. 79. "Let those who fear thee be turned to me, and those that know thy testimonies." Since he had become very far removed from the choir of the just on account of sin, and since all of them had turned away from him as if from God, ^D he prays again to be united with them and to regain fellowship with them. For this, Symmachus revealed more clearly: "Let those who fear thee turn me."

^A

VERS. 80. "Let my heart be blameless in thy statutes, that I may not be put to shame." He desires to have a heart free from all reproach, since a heart of this kind is free from shame. For this reason, also, beginning the psalm at once, he called those who are blameless blessed.

VERS. 81. "My soul faileth for thy salvation; because I have hoped in thy words." Those who intensely desire something, and yet are deprived of the object of their desire, are said to "fail." Thus those who are intensely thirsty, and lack water; thus those who wait for some member of their household to return from abroad, they always desire him, but not having attained their desire, they are consumed with sorrow. Thus also those who struggle with certain calamities and await divine benevolence, when they see it delayed, they "fail." ^B

VERS. 82. "My eyes have failed for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?" An "eloquium" (word/oracle) is called both the divine promise and the divinely inspired Scripture. Therefore, he "fails" not only who awaits the divine promise and deliverance from the evils that threaten him, but also he who reads the divine oracles and eagerly desires to learn their meaning accurately, and considers the discovery of them to be his own consolation and delight of soul.

VERS. 83. "Because I have become like a bottle in the frost, I have not forgotten thy statutes." A bottle, when warmed, becomes soft, and, when inflated, distends; but in the frost, it hardens and shrinks. Thus also the nature of the body is softened ^C by luxury and distends, and rises up against the soul; but through the affliction of exercise it is humbled and pressed. And of this fact the Apostle is a witness, crying out: "I discipline my body, and bring it into subjection, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." Hence the Prophet, when he was suffering persecution from Saul, was superior to his passions; but when he enjoyed peace, he was wounded by the goads of luxury; yet when he had humbled his body, he renewed the memory of the divine laws.

VERS. 84. "How many are the days of thy servant? When wilt thou execute judgment against those who persecute me?" The time of human life, he says, is short. "For the days of our years are seventy years." When, therefore, wilt thou render justice to me ^D and deliver me from those who are hostile?

VERS. 85. "The wicked have related fables to me, but not as thy law, O Lord." They advised the Prophet, indeed, to slay his enemies; but he, obeying the divine law, awaited the divine sentence.

But the instruction of these oracles is also most useful for us. For it behooves us to flee not only the fables of the Greeks and the unbelief of the Jews, but also the blasphemous dogmas of the heretics. ^A

Vers. 86. All thy commandments are truth.

[Vers. 87.] I have been almost consumed in the earth: but I have not forsaken thy commandments.

Vers. 88. Quicken me according to thy mercy, and I will keep the testimonies of thy mouth.

Vers. 89. O Lord, thy word endureth for ever in heaven.

Vers. 90. Thy truth is unto all generations.

[Vers. 91.] Thou hast founded the earth, and it continueth. By thy ordinance the day goeth on.

For all things serve thee.

Vers. 92. And if thy law had not been my meditation, I might then have perished in my humility.

^A

Ver. 93. « I will not forget thy justifications for ever; for in them thou hast quickened me. » For having learned by experience that thy justifications produce life, I shall preserve an everlasting memory of them.

Ver. 94. « I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy justifications. » We cannot all use this voice. For the servant of sin lies when he calls himself the servant of God; for by whom a man is overcome, to the same he is also a slave. If, therefore, being delivered from that sin, we choose the divine laws, we can use this voice.

Ver. 95. « The sinners have waited for me to destroy me; I have understood thy testimonies. » Instead of "waited for," Symmachus and Theodotion have "expected." They indeed hoped to hand me over to death; but I, paying attention to thy testimonies, was reaping life from them. ^B

Ver. 96. « I have seen the end of all perfection; thy commandment is exceeding broad. » But Symmachus thus: "I have seen the end of every structure; thy commandment is exceeding broad." All human things, he says—both riches, and abundance of wealth, and power, and leaderships, and military prefectures, and tyrannies, and kingdoms—have an end, and a very swift end. But thy commandment is broad, and immortal, and procures for those who keep it that endless and eternal life, and goods which admit no change.

Ver. 97. « O how have I loved thy law, O Lord! It is my meditation all the day. » Not everyone who fulfills the divine law fulfills it led by love; but some do so through fear and dread of punishment, ^C others through hunting for glory from men. But the sincere lovers of virtue hasten to fulfill the divine commandments because of their affection for good things.

Ver. 98. « Through thy commandment thou hast made me wiser than my enemies; for it is ever with me. » When the Prophet had confessed that he loved the divine law with most ardent zeal, he ascribes everything to divine grace. For having received wisdom and knowledge from thee, he says, I loved thy law; for thou hast bestowed upon me greater knowledge than upon my enemies. Therefore they are eager to kill me, but I do not even endure to take vengeance on those who do me wrong. For I consider the eternal gain of virtue.

Ver. 99, 100. « I have understood more than all my teachers, because thy testimonies are my meditation. I have understood more than the ancients, because I have sought thy commandments. » It is proper for kings to teach, but for subjects to learn. ^D Saul reigned, and he was also older in time; but yet neither the power of the kingdom, nor the period of his age, made him wise, but he desired to destroy the author of the benefit

^A But the great David, while still subject to his subjects, and leading a young life, loved philosophy, and neither endured to rule with unjust hands, nor to avenge himself upon those who did him wrong.

Verse 101. "From every evil way I have restrained my feet, that I might keep thy words." For it is not possible to walk in two ways at the same time—of incontinence and temperance, of righteousness and unrighteousness; but it is necessary to flee the opposites, and to walk in the straight path: for thus it is possible to become guardians of the divine words.

Verse 102. "From thy judgments I have not declined, because thou hast set a law for me." For knowing thee to be the lawgiver of these things, I embraced them with all my disposition.

Verse 103. "How sweet are thy oracles to my throat, more than honey to my mouth." For the sweetness of honey does not so sweeten the sense of my mouth, as the meditation of thy oracles gladdens my soul. ^B For he has set [the word] "throat" as an instrument of voice; but through the voice, meditation takes place. And the soul, using these, gathers the benefit therefrom.

Verse 104. "From thy commandments I have understood; therefore I have hated every way of iniquity." For having understood what things are pleasing to thee, I have turned away from all forms of wickedness.

Verse 105. "Thy law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths." For I do not walk in darkness, being illuminated by thy law as by a certain lamp. One must know, however, that the law indeed is named a lamp, but our Saviour and Lord is the sun of righteousness. For the one, as a lamp, with difficulty illuminated one nation; but the other illuminated the whole world. Thus, the Lord Christ also called the divine John ^C a lamp, who appeared to the Jews while it was still night. After that, however, "the true light, which illuminates every man coming into the world," dawned. And he called the holy apostles light, as having partaken of that light, and illuminating all men through their teaching.

Verse 106. "I have sworn, and have firmly resolved to keep the judgments of thy righteousness." He called the firm judgment of the soul an oath, since most things are confirmed by an oath.

Verse 107. "I was humbled exceedingly, O Lord, quicken me according to thy word." He did not say simply that he was humbled, but that he was humbled exceedingly; and that, too, while being a king and a prophet, and having the confidence that comes from virtue, and abounding in wealth, and overcoming ^D his enemies. But he never endured to trust in wisdom, nor in courage, nor in righteousness; but he supposed these to be gifts of divine grace. And he [supposed] life from

the One who is able to give it, not asking indiscriminately, but [asking for] that which is rational, lawful, and illumined by the divine law. ^A

Verse 108. Let the freewill offerings of my mouth be acceptable, O Lord, and teach me thy judgments.

Verse 109. My soul is in thy hands always, and I have not forgotten thy law. For, being guarded by thy providence, I have banished forgetfulness of thy laws.

Verse 110. Sinners have laid a snare for me, and I have not wandered from thy commandments. Both men and demons construct many and various snares against me; but I have determined to walk the unerring path of thy commandments.

Verse 111. I have acquired thy testimonies as an inheritance for ever, because they are the rejoicing of my heart. Believing thy testimonies to be an eternal and secure inheritance, I rejoice and am glad in the possession of them.

Verse 112. I inclined my heart to perform thy justifications for ever, for the sake of a reward. The counsel of the soul is like a balance, and the mind, which performs the role of leader, holds the scales. If, therefore, it applies itself to pious thoughts, it must necessarily incline the scales toward the better things. The Prophet declares that he has done this: "I inclined my heart to perform thy justifications for ever, for the sake of a reward." For having seen the gain that is accustomed to be perceived from this, I willingly and gladly undertook the labors for them. And teaching how he chose divine things, he added: ^C

Verse 113. I have hated the lawless, but I have loved thy law. For casting away the thoughts that prompt one to act lawlessly, I have preferred thy law.

Verse 114. Thou art my helper and my protector, in ^D

thy word I have hoped. ^A And I did not accomplish this without thy assistance, but having enjoyed thy support and being nourished by hope in thee.

Verse 115. Depart from me, you evildoers, and I will search out the commandments of my God. ^B This, he says, I was telling both to the absurd thoughts and to those who attempt to advise me to do base things, that you should propose no such counsel to me; for by me, life according to the divine commandments is to be preferred. Nor will I follow these simply, but I will search them out with all precision; so that nothing of them may escape me, but I may fulfill all that the Lord of all has commanded.

Verse 116. Uphold me according to thy word, and vivify me, and do not put me to shame from my expectation. ^C Having this aim, therefore, count me worthy of thy providence, so that I may not, by missing my hope, be filled with shame; and he says here that "word" means the promise, as if to say: Grant me the salvation that has been promised.

Verse 117. Help me, and I shall be saved, and I will meditate on thy statutes always. For I will not neglect to obtain the salvation of thy statutes, but I will always make a meditation of them. And he says meditation, not that which is in words only, but also that which is in deeds.

Verse 118. Thou hast brought to nothing all those departing from thy statutes, because their thought is unjust. ^D I will manifest this readiness regarding thy commands, knowing that those who violated them have become infamous and ridiculous.

Verse 119. I have accounted all the sinners of the earth as transgressors: therefore I have loved thy testimonies. Instead of "transgressors," Theodotion said "as nothing," and Symmachus said "dross." 1468 The Prophet has declared that, inasmuch as he himself considers the transgressors just as God does, he brought all readiness to the fulfillment of the divine oracles, since he indeed knew the loss that sin brings.

Verse 120. Nail down my flesh from the fear of thee; for I have been afraid of thy judgments. My soul, he says, is wrapped in thy fear. But since the body rises up against it, and its members, I pray that this be nailed down by this fear; so that having become dead to sin, they may follow the lead of the soul. This is like that apostolic saying: "Mortify your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colos. ill, 5). And again: "Since"

I have chosen to follow your laws, I pray that I may not become an easy prey to those who hate me. But who in this day possesses such purity of soul as to be able to use these words with confidence? Yet the divine Apostle also spoke similar things to these: "For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience" (II Cor. i, 12).

^A VERS. 122. "Sustain your servant for good." Symmachus renders: "Receive me, your servant, for good." Aquila and Theodotion render: "Be surety [for me]," that is: I speak the truth, I do not lie; believe your servant who makes a promise; be yourself the guarantor of my undertaking, since I shall strive to fulfill your laws. "Let not the proud accuse me falsely." Slander is a bitter thing, even if it brings a great reward. The admirable Joseph fell into this, as did countless others. And the Lord also commands us to pray that we enter not into temptation. Therefore, the Prophet has done nothing absurd in making this request, since the slander of arrogant and powerful men is far more grievous. For injustice, when combined with power, produces greater destruction.

^B VERS. 123. "My eyes have failed for your salvation, and for the word of your righteousness." Here again he calls the promise a "word." "I constantly," he says, "look for salvation from you, and I await the fulfillment of the promise." He used the term "failed" to indicate an intense longing.

VERS. 124. "Deal with your servant according to your mercy, and teach me your justifications." Such a worker of virtue prays to obtain mercy, and through it, asks to enjoy salvation. He does not demand a reward, but implores benevolence.

VERS. 125. "I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies." While all men are by nature servants of God, those who have most willingly chosen the rule of God are servants by disposition. Being of this company, the Prophet calls himself a servant and beseeches that he be granted wisdom, so that he may know the testimonies of God.

^C VERS. 126. "It is time for the Lord to act; they have broken your law." God, who governs all things by weight and by measure, bears with the sins of men for a long time; but when He sees that their wickedness has grown through His patience, then He inflicts punishment. This, therefore, is what he says here: "It is time to rise to the aid of those who have been treated unjustly, O Lord; for the enemies have greatly trampled upon your law."

^A VERS. 127. "Therefore I loved your commandments above gold and topaz." They, indeed, despised your law, but I consider your commandments more desirable than gold and precious stones. For topaz is a precious stone, and by this one, he has signified all of them. It is likely, however, that at that time this stone was preferred above the others.

VERS. 128. "Therefore I walked rightly toward all your commandments; I hated every wicked way." For desire produces readiness; and readiness of mind caused him to choose the straight path and to abhor the trail of unrighteousness.

VERS. 129. "Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul has searched them out." He shows that he was not a student of these things in vain. They are, he says, worthy of admiration, and capable of charming and exciting to love those who are able to perceive them. And from where did you learn their virtue?

^B VERS. 130. "The declaration of your words gives light, and gives understanding to the simple." By your light, he says, appearing to me, I received this knowledge; and your law fills with understanding all who are held by ignorance and are like infants.

VERS. 131. "I opened my mouth, and drew in the spirit, because I desired your commandments." By "mouth," in this place, he calls the readiness of the mind. For this attracts the grace of the spirit. And indeed, he says elsewhere: "Open your mouth, and I will fill it." And the divine Apostle prayed that a word might be given to him in the opening of his mouth. And the Prophet himself said in another psalm: "The Lord will give a word to those who preach the gospel with great power." He says this also here: "I opened my mouth, and drew in the spirit, because I desired your commandments." For having seen me yearning for your commandments, you deemed me worthy of your grace.

^C VERS. 132. "Look upon me, and have mercy on me, according to the judgment of those who love your name." He prays to attain divine benevolence, not simply, but as you are accustomed, he says, to grant mercy to those who love you. For this is what he said: "according to the judgment of those who love your name," as if to say: I beseech you that I may receive a like sentence to theirs.

VERS. 133. "Direct my steps according to your word; and let no iniquity have dominion over me." For when we put forth our readiness, and God provides the help and directs our journey, the power and tyranny of sin has nowhere to stand.

^D VERS. 134. "Redeem me from the calumny of men, and I will keep your commandments." And the Lord Christ calls those who are reproached and calumniated blessed and happy—

but He also exhorted us to pray not to enter into temptation. Thus, the prayer of the Prophet is in harmony with the evangelical laws.

VERS. 135. "Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your justifications." God is indeed incorporeal, simple, and without composition; but divine Scripture speaks of Him as if of a corporeal thing, and in a coarser manner, measuring its words to human nature. Therefore, by the demonstration of the divine face, we must understand the dissolution of sorrows and the generous giving of good things.

VERS. 136. "My eyes have sent forth outlets of water, because I did not keep your law." This is also the apostolic law: "If one member suffers," he says, "all the members suffer with it" (1 Cor. XII, 26). The Prophet, therefore, pursues evangelical perfection, lamenting the iniquities of others. He called the "outlets of water" a multitude of tears, as if to say: "I poured out tears like a river when I beheld the sins of men."

VERS. 137, 138. "You are just, O Lord, and your judgment is right. You have commanded justice, your testimonies, and your truth exceedingly." You govern all things justly, O Master, both caring for men and wishing to make them workers of righteousness. You have both given a law and testify to those who transgress it what penalties they shall pay, and you promise good rewards to those who keep it, and you confirm your promises with deeds. For this is what [the phrase] "truth exceedingly" signifies.

VERS. 139. "Your zeal has caused me to pine away, because my enemies have forgotten your words." The Prophet laments those who live in iniquity, and seeing the Lawgiver neglected, he is justly indignant. This zeal exalted Phinehas to the highest praise. This made the great Elijah illustrious. Enkindled with this same zeal, the victor Stephen refuted the perfidy of the Jews. Carrying this within himself, the divine Paul cried out, saying: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I do not burn?" (2 Cor. XI, 29). And the blessed Luke also says of him, that when he was in Athens, his spirit was stirred up within him as he saw the city wholly given to idol worship (Acts XVII, 16).

VERS. 140. "Your word is refined exceedingly, and your servant loved it." It is proven, he says, and unadulterated is your word, and free from every fault; and I am held by an ardent love for it.

VERS. 141. "I am young, and despised; I have not forgotten your justifications." When God commanded the divine Samuel to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as king (1 Reg. XVI, 1-13),

^A he passed over all the others, who were endowed with strength, power, and beauty of body. But he asked Jesse if no other sons remained, and he replied that a small boy was left, who pastured the flocks, and was thought unsuitable for the kingdom. The prophet ordered him to be summoned, and as soon as he arrived, he anointed him. The Prophet mentions this gift here and says: "And being young, and considered of no account by my parents, you deemed me worthy of such grace, and made me both a prophet and a king; for which reason I desire to guard your justifications with all eagerness."

VERS. 142. "Your justice is justice forever, and your law is truth." He who obeys human laws does not even enjoy in the present life the honor from the legislators; but he who follows divine commandments has eternal life as the reward for his labors. Furthermore, human laws do not entirely possess justice in all things, but the law of God shines with truth. Therefore, he says reasonably: "Your justice is justice forever, and your law is truth."

VERS. 143. "Tribulation and anguish have found me." For these things are joined ^B to those who are lovers of virtue. "Your commandments are my meditation." For from the instruction of these I learn fortitude, and I bear painful things courageously.

VERS. 144. "Your testimonies are justice forever." That is: they are the means to eternal blessings. "Give me understanding, and I shall live." For by being enlightened by you, I shall attain true life.

VERS. 145. "I cried out with my whole heart, hear me, O Lord; I will seek your justifications." By the word "crying out," he again calls upon the eagerness of the soul; for this reason he added "with my whole heart." Thus also Moses was crying out while silent; and to him praying in his mind, God said: "Why do you cry to me?" (Exod. XIV, 15).

VERS. 146. "I cried out to you, save me, and I will keep your testimonies." For receiving salvation from you, I shall be a keeper of your laws.

VERS. 147. "I prevented in the early morning, and I cried out; because I have hoped in your words." The Prophet, being a king and being overwhelmed by ^C countless cares, and having also undertaken warlike struggles in addition to these, not only offered prayers to God when the day was dawning, but even in the middle of the night, not waiting for the singing of the cocks. So much did he desire God the Creator, so promptly did he beseech help from Him.

VERS. 148. "My eyes have prevented the early morning, that I might meditate on your words." And not only during the time of sweet sleep, but also at the first light, he would meditate upon the divine laws. But we, poor and ^D removed from all care, on our bed...

^A we pass the night tossing and turning; and neither at the beginning of the day do we offer a hymn to the Giver of all good things.

VERS. 149. "Hear my voice, O Lord, according to thy mercy; according to thy judgment quicken me." He who overflows with such great blessings asks to obtain mercy; and he does not ask for mercy indefinitely, but according to Thy profitable decree.

VERS. 150. "They that persecute me draw nigh to iniquity; but they are far from thy law." For they are far from the divine laws who attempt to wage war upon the righteous. "For he that despiseth you," He says, "despiseth not you, but Him that sent you." And: "I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and will oppose those that oppose thee."

VERS. 151. "Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy ways are truth." Thou seest, he says, everything, O Lord; for Thou hast not departed, but Thou fillest the whole world, and, using truth, Thou governest all creation. This even God Himself says through the prophet: "I am a God drawing near, and not a God far off." And the blessed Paul says: "In Him we live, and move, and have our being."

VERS. 152. "Concerning the beginning, I have known from thy testimonies that thou hast founded them for ever." He calls heaven and earth testimonies. "Coming down," He says, "testify to them by heaven and earth." For this reason also the great Moses, beginning his song, said: "Attend, O heaven, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth." In these things, moreover, God's providence is ^C continuously seen, for all things proceed with great order. From this, he says, I have known most certainly that Thou art near, and present with the things that are coming to pass, and that nothing at all of the things that are done escapes Thee.

VERS. 153. "Look upon my humiliation, and deliver me, for I have not forgotten thy law." "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted," according to the voice of the Lord. And: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." With this the divine Prophet also adorned his other virtues; and by putting this forward, he invokes divine help.

VERS. 154. "Judge my cause, and deliver me; for thy word's sake quicken me." He reminds the Master of His promises, and seeks salvation from Him, and pleads that He may judge his cause and that of his adversaries.

VERS. 155. "Salvation is far from sinners, because they..."

have not sought after thy justifications." They have deprived themselves of the salvation which comes from You, he says, by living in transgression, unwilling to learn what You have commanded to be done.

^A VERS. 156. "Thy mercies are many, O Lord; quicken me according to thy judgment." Great is the wealth of Thy philanthropy; Thy decree is just. I beseech Thee for the salvation that flows from these.

VERS. 157. "Many are they that persecute me, and afflict me; but I have not declined from thy testimonies." Neither, he says, when surrounded by many calamities, did I consent to transgress anything of what You have decreed. When we were explaining the subject of the psalm, we asserted that the divine David gathered together in this psalm everything that occurred to him; and that some things correspond to the painful events that happened to him at the hands of Saul, and others to those committed by Absalom. It is clear, however, that he said these things while he was being persecuted by Saul; for at that time he was free from sin.

VERS. 158. "I have seen the foolish and I was wasting away, because they kept not thy words." Thus the blessed Paul lamented the Jews; thus the Lord Himself lamented Jerusalem; thus the divine Jeremiah bewailed the iniquity of the people. ^B

VERS. 159. "Consider that I have loved thy commandments, O Lord: quicken me in thy mercy." He makes continuous mention of commandments, and laws, and justifications, and testimonies, showing his desire for these things.

VERS. 160. "The beginning of thy words is truth: and all the judgments of thy justice are for ever." You have promises alien to falsehood; you adorn your promises with truth, and confirm your words by the deed. He calls the promises made to Abraham the "beginning of [Thy] words." For from him the race of the Jews was established. But He fulfilled the promises, and increased the people as the stars of heaven in multitude, and in his seed blessed all the nations according to the promises. ^C For he indicated this by saying, "And all the judgments of thy justice are for ever." For he was a prophet and foresaw the everlasting kingdom of Christ. Therefore he also said that the beginning of the divine words was adorned with truth.

VERS. 161. "Princes have persecuted me without cause: and my heart hath been in awe of thy words." I did not fear, he says, those who were fighting and persecuting me, but I revered Thy laws. Therefore, even when I found the enemy sleeping, I did not dare to kill him; and pitying that parricide and loathsome son, I said: "Spare the lad for me." ^D

VER. 162. ^A "I will rejoice in Thy sayings, as one that findeth great spoils." Since he made mention of the pursuing enemies, he reasonably also brought into remembrance the spoils. He says, therefore, that even if I had slain them all and, having despoiled them, had gathered together countless spoils, I would not have felt such joy as I feel in rejoicing over Thy laws.

VER. 163. "I have hated and abhorred iniquity, but I have loved Thy law." This word is also true: for he who is fervently disposed toward divine things hates their contraries.

VER. 164. "Seven times a day I have praised Thee, for the judgments of Thy justice." Some have interpreted "seven times" as "very often." Both this and that demonstrate the Prophet’s fervent love; for the satiety of divine praise did not take hold of him at all.

VER. 165. ^B "Great peace have they that love Thy name, and there is no scandal for them." Those who are inflamed with divine love, and who acquire peace with Him through the observance of His commandments, live a serene life, even if they are warred against by all men. And the divine Paul is our witness, crying out: "In all things we suffer tribulation, but we are not distressed; we are needy, but we are not forsaken; we suffer persecution, but we are not left alone; we are cast down, but we perish not." And the Lord, when He sent the holy apostles as sheep into the midst of wolves ^C into the whole world, said to them: "My peace I give unto you; My peace I leave with you."

VER. 166. "I was expecting Thy salvation, O Lord, and I have loved Thy commandments." Nor, even when surrounded by calamities, did I cast away my better hopes; but I continued to await Thy salvation, following Thy commandments.

VER. 167, 168. "My soul hath kept Thy testimonies, and hath loved them exceedingly. I have kept Thy commandments and Thy testimonies, because all my ways are before Thee, O Lord." For knowing that You behold all things, and that I live under You as a spectator, I not only fulfilled Thy commandments, but I did so with fervent disposition.

VER. 169. ^D "Let my supplication come near in Thy sight, O Lord; give me understanding according to Thy word." Having brought forward the whole of his entreaty, he prays that his prayers be accepted and not rejected. And he begs to receive understanding, not human understanding, but the knowledge of the divine oracles.

VER. 170. "Let my petition come into Thy sight, O Lord; deliver me according to Thy word." He calls his entreaty a petition; for this is also what he calls it among the others.

found among the interpreters. Using diverse words, however, he appeases ^A the Lord.

VERS. 171. "Let my lips pour forth a hymn, when you teach me your justifications." A "pouring forth" is appropriate to food; for, he says, having learned your justifications, I shall offer a hymn of praise to you, the teacher of such things.

VERS. 172. "Let my tongue declare your oracles, because all your commandments are justice." I shall dedicate my tongue to the meditation of your oracles, knowing that your commandments are adorned with all justice.

VERS. 173. "Let your hand be, to save me, for I have chosen your commandments." Symmachus says "I preferred," but Aquila and Theodotion say "I have chosen." ^B By "hand," he refers to the divine power, by which he beseeches that he might obtain divine salvation.

VERS. 174. "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my meditation." I yearn, he says, to obtain salvation from you, while having your law as my constant meditation.

VERS. 175. "My soul shall live, and it shall praise you, and your judgments shall help me." I know that I shall not be frustrated in my hope, but shall obtain true life from you, and shall praise you, the giver of good things.

VERS. 176. "I have gone astray like a lost sheep." This was fitting for the ^C Prophet to say after his sin, and for the whole nature of mankind. "Seek out your servant, because I have not forgotten your commandments." For even if he transgressed some, he did not admit to a total forgetting of them. But the Prophet offered this prayer, and the whole nature of mankind has obtained salvation. For the good shepherd ran to the wandering sheep, and having gone around the mountains and the hills—for among these it wandered, worshipping demons—he found it, and carried it back upon his shoulders, and rejoiced over it more than over the ninety-nine that ^D did not wander. As for us, having completed the explanation of the psalm in summary, we exhort those who read it not to be satisfied with what is written, nor to think that these things pertain only to the Prophet, but that each person should take the appropriate benefit from them, and create for himself a medicinal remedy with which to drive away his own afflictions.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXIX

VERS. 1. "A song of degrees." Theodotion: "Song of ascents"; and Symmachus and Aquila: "Into the ascents."

^A These ascents, or "steps," signify the return of the captive people from Babylon. For the grace of the Spirit, foreseeing both the captivity and the future liberty, predicted both the one and the other, procuring the benefit of those people and bringing us therefrom a gain. Yet each of the "steps" does not prophesy the same thing; rather, one signifies the calamities that befell them in Babylon, another the good tidings of the return, another the joy experienced on the journey, another the wars that took place after the return, and another the rebuilding of the temple. And this variety in the prophecy banishes satiety from the singing of the hymns. Each of these psalms, moreover, is structured according to the person of the saints who formed the chorus at that time. For the prophetic word introduces those very individuals as speaking the things set before us. ^B Indeed, the first of the steps explains both the calamities and the divine benevolence: "I cried to the Lord when I was in distress, and he heard me." The prologue teaches both the magnitude of the grief and the excess of the divine loving-kindness. For, being gripped by grief, he says, I besought the Master, and I enjoyed his benevolence; then he relates with what words he prayed in his petition.

VERS. 2. "O Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips, and from a deceitful tongue." I beseech you, he says, to deliver me from those who plot unjustly and from those who use deceitful trickery. Such were those who laid snares for Daniel on account of his prayer, the bitter accusers of those who were with Ananias.

VERSINGS 3, 4. "What shall be given to thee, or what shall be added to thee, for a deceitful tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of the desert." ^C Here, the grace of the Spirit comforts the despondent and indicates that a just judgment is pronounced against those who use deceit. For he calls the God of the universe "the Mighty One," and the "arrows of the Mighty One" signify the swiftness of punishments, borrowing from the metaphor of arrows that are shot and easily pierce the air. And he calls them "coals of the desert" to denote the vehemence of the punishment, its capacity to consume, and the desolation it brings. For such is the nature of fire. It is as if he were saying: Do not despond when struck by an unjust tongue, for punishments are prepared and sent forth by the just Judge, which imitate the swiftness of arrows and the power of the consuming coals.

^D VERS. 5. "Woe is me, that my sojourn is prolonged!" These things, he says, I was saying as I poured out my prayer, and when the loving Lord heard these, he had mercy. He calls his stay in a foreign land a "sojourn." And the seventy-year period is rightly termed long; for the Prophet says that such is the full span of human life. "For the days, he says, of our years in them..."

annorum nostrorum in ipsis septuaginta anni ^A. ‹Habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar.› Cedar was the second son of Ishmael, and his descendants inhabit the region not far from the city of Babylon to this very day. Since, therefore, from the beginning they were disposed in hostility toward one another—for it says, "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with my son Isaac"—they rightfully lament themselves, as those who have fallen from their former liberty, dwelling almost like semi-servants and being compelled to serve.

VERS. 6. ‹Jam diu incola fuit anima mea.› The time of sojourn, he says, is long. ‹Cum his qui oderunt pacem, eram pacificus; si loquebar cum illis, impugnabant me gratis.› In this place he teaches the wickedness of the Babylonians; for since, he says, they had nothing to allege against him, they sought him out with ambushes, and treated those who embraced peace as if they were enemies.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXX

‹Canticum graduum.› This psalm is also suitable for those who were still dwelling in Babylon.

VERS. 1. ‹Levavi oculos meos ad montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi.› Surrounded by many and various calamities, I was turning my eyes everywhere, longing to obtain some assistance.

VERS. 2. ‹Auxilium meum a Domino, qui fecit cœlum et terram.› But I know that I shall obtain no human aid; for the benevolence of God alone is sufficient for me. And showing the power of that aid, he subjoined: ‹Qui fecit cœlum et terram.› For He who created these things by His word is able to assist me as well. From this point the Prophet explains what must be done by them.

VERS. 3. ‹Non det in commotionem pedem tuum, neque dormitet qui custodit te.› If you remain, he says, having firm hope in Him, you will obtain every aid from Him. That expression, however, ‹Neque dormitet qui custodit te,› he has set down according to human fashion, by a metaphor taken from those who diligently guard flocks, armies, and cities. For he has shown through the things that follow that the divine nature is not subject to passions.

VERS. 4. ‹Ecce non dormitabit, neque dormiet qui custodit Israelem.› He is by nature a wakeful guardian; but if you are wavering, He Himself will receive your neglect as a kind of slumber. For He will no longer take thought for you, but will abandon you to those who have set their hearts on plotting against you.

VERS. 5. ‹Dominus custodiet te, Dominus protectio tua super manum dexteram tuam.› This he also mentioned in the fifteenth psalm: ‹Prævidebam Dominum in conspectu meo semper, quoniam a dextris meis est, ut non commovear.› And here ^D

he says that, being at your right hand, He will shelter you, and guard you, and deem you worthy of every providence. ^B

VERS. 6. ‹The sun shall not scorch you by day, nor the moon by night.› They say that the moon is not only moist but also hot, and that it burns bodies just as the sun does. He says, therefore, that whether by night or by day, enjoying the providence that comes from Him, you shall be kept unharmed. He also reminds them of ancient history. For when they had been freed from the slavery of the Egyptians, covered by the cloud, they did not experience the power of the sun’s flame.

VERS. 7, 8. ‹The Lord shall guard you from every evil; the Lord shall guard your soul. The Lord shall guard your coming in and your going out, from this time forth and even unto the age.› He has declared by these words the manifold providence of God, in the presence of which we become superior to our warring enemies and escape the snares ^C of those who are seen and those who are not seen.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXI

‹A song of ascents.› The preceding ones the Prophet adapted for those who were mourning; but this one, which is at hand, he adapted for those who had already received the good news of the return and for whom the very welcome journey had come about. Exulting and dancing, they say to one another:

VERS. 1. ‹I was glad for those who said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord.› This is a voice of piety: for they exult and rejoice, not as though they were to receive their own houses, but as though they were to see the divine temple.

VERS. 2. ‹Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem.› Now, he says, we seem to be standing in those sacred courts and performing the divine ^D services.

VERS. 3. ‹Jerusalem, which is built as a city, whose participation is together.› But Symmachus says thus: ‹Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which has connection.› For that which is now deserted, and has scattered houses, will bloom again and will be crowded, and will take back its former walls.

VERS. 4. ‹For there the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, a testimony for Israel, to confess the name of the Lord.› Under Rehoboam the tribes were divided, and ten were separated from the Davidic kingdom; but after the return one sovereignty came to be, and all ran together to Jerusalem according to the divine law, offering to God their customary worship. This, therefore, the Prophet does

offering the customary liturgy. The prophet therefore foretells ^A here that the tribes will recover their former harmony and will gather together to Jerusalem, singing praises to God in the customary manner. He designates the divine law as a "testimony," since it explicitly commands Israel to assemble in the place which the Lord God shall choose.

5. "For there sat thrones for judgment, thrones for the house of David." Having prophesied of things divine, he now foretells also human affairs. For since in Jerusalem not only was the divine temple built, but also the royal palaces, and all who wished to resolve disputes gathered there, the prophet necessarily predicted this too: that the ten tribes would not run to Samaria; but just as in David's time they had that fixed tribunal, so also after the return they would all gather there.

6. "Pray for the things that make for the peace of Jerusalem, and abundance for those that love thee." Symmachus puts it thus: "Embrace Jerusalem, and those who love you shall be at ease," meaning: when you have enjoyed profound peace, embrace the dwelling of Jerusalem. For those who love her shall dwell in all cheerfulness.

7. "And let there be peace in thy power, and abundance in thy towers." Symmachus puts it thus: "Let there be peace in your enclosure, and quiet in your palaces." The divine David ^B prays for good things for her, so that the walls, the palaces, and the houses within her might all enjoy peace.

8, 9. "For the sake of my brethren and my neighbors, I was speaking peace of thee. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for thee." These things, he says, I pray for you, not that I myself am living in you—for how could he, having reached the end of life long ago, say such things?—but desiring strictly that my fellow tribesmen might enjoy peace, and longing for the house of my God to recover its former splendor.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXII

"A canticle of degrees." This psalm also shows the piety of the righteous of that time.

1. "To thee have I lifted up my eyes, who dwellest in heaven." ^C Having despised all human aid, I await your help, O Lord, and I depend upon your providence; for I know you to be the Lord of the heavens. He says that He dwells in heaven, not as one circumscribed by place, but as one who delights in the invisible powers that inhabit the heavens.^D

VERS. 2. ^A “Behold, as the eyes of servants attend to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes unto the Lord our God.” For, he says, just as servants look to the hands of their masters, inasmuch as they derive therefrom the supplies for their living, so do we also, O Lord, wait to receive from You the enjoyment of good things. He mentions the maid not out of tautology, but to show the intensity of the affection. For maids, more so than menservants, as they are continually with their mistresses in their chambers, are accustomed to attend to them ^B continually, and desire their favor. “Until He have mercy upon us.” For we do not limit this hope to a fixed time, but we wait until we are deemed worthy of forbearance.

VERS. 3. “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.” The duplication of the supplication demonstrates the zeal of the request.

“For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.” [VERS. 4.] “Our soul is exceedingly filled.” We beg, he says, for mercy, not as those worthy to attain it, but as those who have become exceedingly insulted. “The reproach to the prosperous, and the contempt to the proud.” Symmachus puts it thus: “Our soul is satisfied with the obloquy of those who abound, and the scorn of the proud.” For as the proud Babylonians taunt us and reproach us, we are afflicted with sadness. According to the Septuagint, however, it must be understood thus: “The reproach to the prosperous, ^C and the contempt to the proud.” Turn round, he says, the circumstances, O Lord, and upon those who are now exalted because of the prosperity that surrounds them, inflict our calamities.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXIII

VERS. 1. “A Song of degrees.” After the return from Babylon, all the neighbors, bearing the liberty of the Jews with ill will, joined together in waging war against them, and gathering the barbarian nations, they campaigned against them with united forces, hoping that they would extinguish even their memory. But again, the God of all brought aid to His own, and utterly vanquished all the enemies. This is asserted by most of the prophets, both Joel, and Ezekiel, and Micah, and Zechariah, and others besides these many. These things the blessed David also prophesies here.

“If it had not been that the Lord was with us, let Israel now say.” [VERS. 2, 3.] “If it had not been that the Lord was with us, when men rose up against us, then they had swallowed us up alive.” Do not, he says, ^D ascribe the victory to your own power; for God has been the source of this.

a provider. Say, therefore, to one another while dancing: If we had not attained the divine assistance, with so many enemies having gathered against us, we would not even have been deemed worthy of a burial, but like living beings we would have been swallowed up by wild beasts. ^A *When his fury was kindled against us.* Through these words, he revealed the envy and hostility of the neighboring nations; for they gnashed their teeth, seeing the freedom of the Jews.

Vers. 4, 5. *Perhaps the water would have overwhelmed us. Our soul has passed through the torrent; perhaps our soul has passed through the insufferable water.* He expresses everything figuratively. Since he had said, "Perhaps they would have swallowed us alive," he indicates the greatness of the forces, which were rushing in like a torrent and expecting to cover everyone. He has fittingly placed the image of a torrent. For just as a torrent, gathering from many rains, becomes more violent, so those who at that time attacked Jerusalem were assembled from many and various nations; but they were destroyed by a just decree. This is what the prophet teaches.

Vers. 6. *Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.* At the same time, he revealed both their cruelty and the help of God; for he has set the "teeth" [as a metaphor], showing their ferocity.

Vers. 7. *Our soul has been snatched like a sparrow from the snare of the hunters.* ^B In good faith they confess their own weakness, comparing themselves to a sparrow, and they proclaim the power of God, while demonstrating the strength of their enemies; for they call them "hunters." But he also teaches the manner of their salvation: *The snare was broken, and we were rescued.* For we did not only enjoy salvation, but we also witnessed the destruction of our enemies.

Vers. 8. *Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.* Because of this, we despise all human power, having as our succor the Maker of heaven and earth, whose very name is sufficient for us for salvation.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXIV

Vers. 1. *A song of ascents.* Those who have attained that victory sing a triumphal hymn and proclaim the strength of the hope placed in God. *They who trust in the Lord are as Mount Sion.* Whoever is fortified by hope in God will remain, just like Mount Sion, steady and unshakable, as well as conspicuous and prominent. *He who dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved.* He who inhabits Jerusalem, according to the laws...

of Jerusalem, ought to live. For to those who dwell there in such a way, and who obey the purpose of the law, the Prophet promises stability. ^B

VERS. 2. *Montes in circuitu eius, et Dominus in circuitu populi sui.* For just as the mountains surround the city, so does divine providence surround the pious people. *From this time forth and forevermore.* For the power of God is not temporary, but eternal; and he deems those who value his worship highly worthy of this.

VERS. 3. *For the Lord will not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of the righteous.* The Lord called the Assyrians the rod of fury through the prophet Isaiah: "Woe," he says, "to the Assyrians! The rod of my fury and my wrath is in their hands. I will send my wrath against a lawless nation, and against my people will I command him to take spoils and plunder." This means: using the Assyrians as a kind of rod, I punish those who are deserving of correction. Therefore the Prophet says here too that the Lord, the God of all, using a righteous judgment, will not permit the rod of the lawless to be inflicted upon the community of the righteous. Then he reveals the reason: *Lest the righteous stretch out their hands to iniquity.* That is, lest the diligent students of virtue, thinking that all things are carried on without order and without governance, turn to the worse, and bring harm upon themselves from this. ^C

VERS. 4. *Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to them that are upright in heart.* Having shown forth the justice of God, he pours forth righteous prayers; for he prays that the good may attain equal rewards. The Lord also said this: "With what measure you measure, it shall be measured back to you." And: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

VERS. 5. *But those who turn aside to crooked paths, the Lord will lead away with the workers of iniquity.* Aquila translated "crooked paths" as "complications," Symmachus as "obliquities," and Theodotion as "perverse things." The Prophet, however, asked for nothing unjust; but that the good might enjoy good things, while those who have abandoned the straight path, and have made use of complications and disputes, might find a fitting end. *Peace be upon Israel.^D* Having received the destruction, the former [the wicked] experienced this peace. Yet it is fitting to know that Jacob obtained this name when he was deemed worthy of the divine vision. Therefore, he has as his namesakes all those who have the same character, and possess pure faith and soul. For not all those who are from Israel are Israelites, but those who embrace the piety of Israel.

Interpretation of Psalm 125

^A Ver. 1. ‹Canticum graduum.› Cyrus, king of the Persians, issued an order for the Jews to return, but the majority, possessing a depraved mindset and resisting the divine laws in all things, did not wish to return. Those, however, who cared for the piety of their ancestors and longed for the worship according to the law, gladly made the return. These, therefore, seeing their own freedom in this Psalm, rejoice, and pray that their fellow countrymen might also attain the same. ‹When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion, we became as those that are comforted.› The word "as" here is used to denote intensity. We enjoyed, he says, great gladness, when God dissolved the term of our punishment and bestowed freedom upon the captives.

^B Ver. 2. ‹Then was our mouth filled with joy, and our tongue with exultation.› For immediately, being diffused by gladness, we moved our tongues to sing hymns. For Aquila translated "exultation" as praise, and Symmachus as benediction. ‹Then shall they say among the nations, The Lord has magnified to do with them.› This made us widely talked of among all people. For all marvel at the God-wrought magnitude, because He has delivered us from that bitter slavery; and we cry out:

Ver. 3. ‹The Lord has magnified to do with us; we are become rejoicing.› For it is absurd that those who are deprived of divine knowledge should marvel at the benevolence shown to us, while we, who have received the benefits, should suffer from the vice of ingratitude.

^C Ver. 4. ‹Turn again, O Lord, our captivity, as the torrents in the south.› They desire that the others of their own blood might also enjoy the good things they have obtained, and they beseech the common Master to impart freedom to them as well, so that the multitude of those returning might imitate a torrent. Calling Jerusalem the "south," he derives the appellation from its situation; thus also Ezekiel and Habakkuk name it. But the text also signifies another thing. For the south wind, being moist, fills the air with clouds and brings on heavy rains; and, furthermore, since it is wont to dissolve snow, it fills the torrents with water. So therefore, he says, order our own fellow countrymen who are scattered everywhere to be gathered, and to make their journey in the likeness of a torrent.

^D Ver. 5. ‹They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.› We do not offer our supplications in vain, but knowing the fruits of tears. For those who cast the seeds with these, rejoice when they see the abundant harvest.

their own seeds, but in coming they shall arrive with exultation, carrying their sheaves.” He has stated the same thought in different ways, procuring greater benefit through the variety of his teaching.

Interpretation of Psalm CXXVI

of the sea. This he said here also ^A: "Lo, children are the inheritance of the Lord, the reward of the fruit of the womb"; that is to say, the divine promise, and the blessing concerning children, has been given as a kind of reward to us, who have placed our hope in Him.

4. "As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of those who have been shaken out." Theodotion: "As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth"; Aquila and Symmachus also interpreted it according to this meaning. He says, then, that putting our trust in God, we shall be not only numerous, but also powerful, like arrows shot by some mighty man; and we who are now weak, and very much distressed (for this is what "those who have been shaken out" signifies), shall become very strong, enjoying the help from above.

5. "Blessed is the man who shall satisfy his desire with them," that is, with the enemies. For not only shall we not be defeated, but we shall even overcome them, and we shall be ^B envied by all. "They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gates." That is to say, when we converse with the envoys sent by the enemies before the gates. He said this according to the ancient custom; for they did not admit the sent envoys inside the gates, but offered their replies outside. Through all this, he demonstrated the unconquerable nature of hope placed in God.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXVII

"A song of ascents." Having shown in the preceding psalm what great benefits being confident in God brings, here he calls those blessed who together with hope possess the fear of God, through which the acquisition ^C of virtue also comes about. For a life composed in accordance with God is necessary for those who have believed in God; since this is the perfect end of piety.

1. "Blessed are all who fear the Lord." The prophetic word does not declare blessed him who draws his lineage from Abraham, nor him who is from the seed of Israel, but him who is adorned with the fear of God. This also the blessed Peter says in the Acts: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality, but in every nation he who fears Him and works righteousness is acceptable to Him." The prophetic word also indicated the character of this divine fear. For it added: ^D "Who walk in His ways." "For not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." It is, therefore, the characteristic of those who fear the Lord, not to step outside the divine ways, but to make their journey in them continuously.

^A VERSE 2. "You shall eat the labors of your hands." Symmachus says, "Eating the labor of your hands," so that it is clear that the Seventy also did not term the fruits [of the spirit] as the crop-yield itself, but rather the labor of the hands. He says, therefore, that you shall harvest the fruits of the good things sown by you. The divine Apostle also said this: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows in blessings will also reap in blessings." "You are blessed, and it shall be well with you." For you shall not be enviable and notable by word alone, but you shall also possess well-being in reality.

VERSE 3. "Your wife shall be as a flourishing vine on the sides of your house." Since at that time this was considered happiness, the prophetic discourse promises them also the fecundity of wives, so that they might be like flowering vines and clusters heavy with grapes. "Your children like olive shoots around your table." Even in the fifty-first Psalm he compared the righteous man to an olive tree: "I, indeed," he said, "am like a fruit-bearing olive tree in the house of God." And here, too, he likened the children of one who fears the Lord to olive shoots, since they bear the irrigation of piety, ripe fruit, and do not cast off their leaves, according to the image of the man who is called blessed in the first Psalm.

VERSE 4. "Behold, thus the man who fears the Lord shall be blessed." For God is the judge of character, not of lineage. Thus, He deemed worthy of crowns even Job, who traced his lineage from Esau; thus, He led Abimelech to the truth; thus, the eunuch; thus, Cornelius; thus, ^C all the nations.

VERSE 5. "May the Lord bless you from Sion." He spoke according to the opinion that prevailed at that time. For God was thought to dwell there. "And may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life." For those who had returned from Babylon, and were seeing the desolation of the city, yearned to see this.

VERSE 6. "And may you see your children's children." It was considered a great grace to reach extreme old age and to see one's children's children. Therefore, he assigns the blessings adjusted to the opinions of that time. But the blessed Isaiah taught that the possession of goods does not in the least consist in these things: "Let not the eunuch say, 'I am a dry tree,' because thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things I will, I will give to them in my house and within my wall a place distinct, and a good name, better than sons and daughters." "Peace upon Israel." Again, he prays for peace for Israel. But the true peace is peace with God. The carnal Israel, having fallen from that, has been deprived of the other as well. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXVIII

^A Ver. 1. « A song of ascents. » This psalm also contains a prediction concerning the nations that attacked the Jews after their return; and they are taught to say: « Many a time have they fought against me from my youth up: let Israel now say. [Ver. 2.] Many a time have they fought against me from my youth up: but they have not prevailed against me. » By "youth," he refers to their sojourn in Egypt and their deliverance from there. Celebrating the author of this benefit, he enumerates the divine graces, saying: "From of old and from the beginning, many enemies rose up against me and attempted to surround me with all kinds of evils; but through divine assistance, I escaped their snares." However, these words more truly befit the new people, who, having received many assaults ^B of enemies, overcame them all and rendered the enemies suppliants.

Ver. 3. « Upon my back have sinners laboured. » Aquila and Theodotion rendered it « they plowed. » The expression indicates the scourges and torments inflicted by the impious upon the triumphant martyrs. These things, moreover, the blessed Daniel and the admirable Ananias, Azarias, and Misael endured, as did the Maccabees in the time of Antiochus. « They have prolonged their iniquity. » Aquila [translated it] « they extended, » and Symmachus « they drew out while doing evil; » this is to say, they persisted for a long time in making war upon me and enlarging their own iniquity.

Ver. 4. ^C « The righteous Lord has cut the necks of sinners. » Aquila and Symmachus interpreted « necks » as « snares, » while Theodotion interpreted it as « halters; » and all are true. For the snares which they prepared for the holy ones, God—who is their God—crushed; and the halters bound upon them He broke, and the very necks of the sinners He cut.

Ver. 5. « Let all those be ashamed and turned back that hate Zion. » He says, let them fail in their wicked designs and let those who war against Zion be turned to flight.

Ver. 6, 7. « Let them be even as the grass of the housetops, which withers before it is plucked up; wherewith the mower fills not his hand, ^D nor he that binds up the sheaves his bosom. » Some of the copies do not have « withers, » but « is plucked up; » and this we see constantly happening in the cornfields. For no one wishes to reap the ear while it is still green; rather, he waits for it to ripen and turn dry, and only then applies the sickle. But the grass that grows on the housetops, before it produces fruit, withers at the onset of the sun. He prays that the attempts of the enemies may be likened to these herbs, and that, like them, they may receive an untimely end.

VERS. 8. ^A « And they that passed by said not: The blessing of the Lord be upon you: we have blessed you in the name of the Lord. » Those who behold the abundant crops are accustomed to admire the farmer’s care, and as they pass by, they bless those who are reaping such things; but to those gathering hay from the rooftops, no one has ever uttered such a thing.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXIX

VERS. 1. « A song of ascents. » ^B The chorus of the righteous offers this prayer to God; and the very prologue of the Psalm bears witness to it: « Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord. » That is, from the depths and from the very heart I pour forth prayers. For the divine Scripture condemns those who use only their lips. And even now the prophet Jeremiah says to the God of all: « Thou art near to their mouth, and far from their reins; » but now God himself, through the prophet Isaiah, accuses the Jews, saying: « This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. » But those now praying send up their prayer from the depth of the heart.

VERS. 2. « Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. » ^C Although he has used words in the human manner, he knows that the Divinity is incorporeal; for he has called the power of hearing by the name of seeing. For our eyes have the power of seeing, and to the ears the power of hearing has been entrusted. But God, by which power he hears, by that same he also sees, and by which he sees, by that same he also hears.

VERS. 3. « If thou shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord. » The chorus of the righteous prays to the Lord not to measure out punishments strictly for sins. Thus also the blessed Ananias attributed the sins of the people to his own person. « O Lord, who shall stand? » For if thou rightly holdest the scales of justice, who is able to endure the sentence brought forth by them? For it is necessary for all to undergo destruction. ^D

VERS. 4. « For with thee there is propitiation. » Thou hast kindness joined to justice, and thou art accustomed to use the former more than the latter. « For thy name’s sake I have waited for thee, O Lord: my soul hath waited for thy word. » For the word 'name', Aquila and Theodotion have translated 'fear', but Symmachus 'law'. However, the sense of the speech is plain. For he says: Knowing this kindness of thine (for thou usest mercy as if it were a law), I do not cast away the better hope, awaiting the promise of good things. For this word in this place

the good promise; he promised benevolence to those who repent.

VERS. 5. "My soul has hoped in the Lord, from the morning watch until night." As if to say, all the day long; since the morning watch is the final hour of the night, for the last guards keep watch until that time.

VERS. 6. "From the morning watch let Israel hope in the Lord." The righteous are not content to have the treasure of hope in God for themselves alone, but they exhort all others to a similar possession, and declare the profit that arises from it.

VERS. 7. "Because with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption." [For the Lord is merciful and loves mankind, and grants salvation to those who offer repentance.]

VERS. 8. "And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." The discourse contains a prophecy concerning the Lord; for he is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Thus also the divine Gabriel said to the holy Virgin: "You shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he himself shall save his people from their sins."

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXX

VERS. 1. "A Song of degrees." The prophetic discourse teaches humility, and introduces the person of those who love it, as they pray and beseech God. "Lord, my heart is not exalted." The height of the heart harms not only the ungodly, but even the holiest men. And the history of Chronicles teaches this regarding pious King Hezekiah, saying: "Because he was humbled from the height of his heart." Therefore, the Lord also exhorts his holy disciples, saying: "Everyone who humbles himself shall be exalted, and he who exalts himself shall be humbled."

"Nor have my eyes been lifted up." It is peculiar to the proud to raise their eyebrows, to puff out their cheeks, and to despise everyone. But those who are freed from this malady do not teach this to the judge as if he were ignorant, but they call him as a witness because he is all-knowing.

"Nor have I walked in great things." Symmachus says, "in majesties"; Aquila, "in magnificences."

"Nor in things too wonderful for me." But Symmachus says: "Nor in things that exceed me." That is, I measured myself, and I did not attempt things that exceeded my dignity. ^D

Vers. 2. ^A “If I did not feel humbly, but exalted my soul, as one weaned from his mother, so wilt thou repay it unto my soul.” But Symmachus: “Unless I have behaved like a child, and compared my soul to one weaned from milk at his mother’s side, so let it be repaid unto my soul.” If, he says, I have not feared thee like a babe now taken from the breast, and trembling at his mother, and submitted myself to thee, but have instead entertained high thoughts, I ask to receive that same requital.

Vers. 3. “Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth and even unto eternity.” The prophetic word has shown for what cause it made a narrative of right actions. For they do not recount their own virtue to boast of themselves, but to kindle equal zeal in others. Therefore they exhorted all Israel to hold fast to the same hope, to have it continually, and to gather the fruits that spring from it.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXI

VERS. 1. “A song of ascents.” This psalm has much in common with the eighty-eighth. For both here and there, the captives who were in Babylon beseech the God of all things, offering the promises made by Him to the great David in place of entreaties, ^B and praying to obtain pardon. It also contains a prophecy of the Saviour of the world, who was to spring according to the flesh from the race of David. “Remember, O Lord, David, and all his meekness.” Since we have committed many sins and have been stripped of all confidence, we pray thee, O Lord, to remember David, and that meekness and piety of his. The preceding psalm indeed made mention of this, and clearly taught the moderation of his mind.

VERS. 2-5. “As he swore unto the Lord, he vowed unto the God of Jacob. If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house, if I shall ascend into the bed of my couch. If I shall give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids. And rest to my temples ^C until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.” The history of the Chronicles teaches these things more clearly. For first, he himself prayed to build the divine temple. But after God forbade him through the prophet Nathan, and predicted the building of the temple to be established by Solomon, he indeed postponed the construction, but he did not embrace sloth; rather, he gathered gold, and silver, and iron, and bronze, and wood, and stones. And all these things, as I said, that book teaches those who wish to read them. ^D

^A Ver. 6. "Lo, we heard of him in Ephrathah, we found him in the fields of the wood." He prayed that he might erect a temple to God; but the only-begotten Word of God promised that from the fruit of his loins He would build for Himself an ensouled and rational temple. Therefore the prophecy says: "Lo, we heard of him in Ephrathah, we found him in the fields of the wood." Now that place Ephrathah was called by the name it now bears, Bethlehem. For there the Lord Christ was born, who, showing His own body to the Jews, said: "Destroy this temple." He calls the place of the Jerusalem temple "fields of wood," which was desolate and had no building. For there the great David, having stayed the destroyer angel by his prayers poured out to God, both set up an altar, and offered sacrifice, and consecrated that place for the building of the temple. Since, however, there were two tabernacles—the one made of stones and wood, and the other of body and soul—and the one was built in Jerusalem by Solomon, while the grace of the most holy Spirit wove together the one in Bethlehem; and those who were pious at that time beheld the one and awaited the other, rightly does the prophetic word say: "Lo, we heard of him in Ephrathah," that is, to be brought about by the holy Spirit; "We found him in the fields of the wood," according to the promise of the Spirit built by Solomon. ^B

Ver. 7. "Let us enter into his tabernacles, let us worship in the place where his feet have stood." He has changed the tense. They say, however: We enter there and worship, believing the temple to have been made worthy of divine appearing. For this meaning is held by the words: "Where his feet have stood." For we believe the Divinity to be not only incorporeal, but also uncircumscribed. Yet divine Scripture speaks of Him more corporally, adapting its language to human ears.

Ver. 8. "Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy holiness." By the "arising" of God they call the worship according to the law—not that He is in need of this, nor that He receives pleasure from it, but that He embraces the piety of those who offer it; and they entreat that His grace may appear again, and that He may bestow upon the temple its former splendor. ^C Since in the Holy of Holies stood the ark containing the tablets of the law, and above it was the mercy seat, and through that, certain signs of the divine appearing were made to the high priest, he rightly made mention of the ark. For God who made heaven and earth, according to the voice of the blessed Paul, does not dwell in temples made with hands. And thus also the wise Solomon prayed: "If the heaven and the heaven of heavens will not suffice for thee," then this also, the Lord of all... ^D

^A said: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet. What house will you build for me? Or what is the place of my rest?"

VERS. 9. "Thy priests shall be clothed with justice, and thy saints shall rejoice." This being done, he says, and the house having been built, and the ark having been placed again in the inner sanctuary, the priests indeed, performing the sacred rites according to the law, shall be justified; and those who, while not partaking of the priestly dignity, are yet zealous for piety, will be filled with every joy.

VERS. 10. "For the sake of David thy servant, do not turn away the face of thine Anointed." By "Anointed" he here denotes the kingdom. And because at that time their kings were impious, they pray for David's sake that the royal line might not be extinguished. Then they call to mind the promises that had been made.

VERS. 11. "The Lord swore truth unto David, and he will not frustrate it." Truthful, he says, is He who promised, and He is the fountain of truth, and it is impossible that the promise should not attain its end. "Of the fruit of thy belly I will set upon thy throne." This is one promise, and it received its fulfillment. For not Solomon alone, but also those who drew their origin from Solomon, were deemed worthy of the royal thrones. But the Lord Christ confirmed the end of the prophecy, strengthening the kingdom of David. For this is what the blessed Isaiah ^B also prophesied beforehand: "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder, and his name is called the Angel of Great Counsel, Wonderful, Counselor, God the Mighty, Potentate, Prince of Peace, Father of the age to come, amen." And a little later: "Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom he shall sit, to establish it from henceforth and even unto the age of time." This promise, as I said, the Lord Christ confirmed; but the other one God did not give without condition; He speaks as follows:

VERS. 12. "If thy sons shall keep my covenant, and these my testimonies which I will teach them, their sons also even unto the age shall sit upon thy throne." Such, then, is the promise of the Lord, but their iniquity hindered the course of the kingdom. For soon Solomon, having fallen into impiety, drew down the divine wrath upon himself. For which reason the throne was seized by tyranny, and the ten tribes received another kingdom; and later, even the two tribes were deprived of the Davidic ^C kingdom.

VERS. 13. "For the Lord has chosen Sion; he has chosen her for his habitation." Of old, he says, O Lord, thou didst prefer this city to others, and didst declare it to be thine own dwelling place. ^D

14. "This is my resting place for ever and ever." ^A These things, he says, You said, O Lord, and promised that You would always have rest in Sion. And this also has reached its fulfillment. For although the ancient temple was laid waste on account of the madness of the Jews, yet there again, and in the places of the cross, and of the resurrection, and of the ascension, they have been deemed worthy of divine grace; and from every land and sea all run together to draw the blessing gushing forth in those places. "Here will I dwell, for I have chosen it." And this has reached its fulfillment, and a certain change of houses has taken place. And the prophetic word also mentioned Sion. And in it is the place of the cross and of the resurrection.

15. "I will surely bless her provision." Symmachus, however, says: "I will surely bless her grain supply." That is to say, I will provide an abundance of all good things for them. "I will satisfy her poor with bread." And I will also provide for the needs of those who are in want of necessities.

16. "I will clothe her priests with salvation." What he called righteousness above, he here named salvation. For salvation is the fruit of righteousness. "And her saints shall shout for joy." And those who are lovers of piety will be filled with every kind of delight.

17. "There I will make a horn to sprout for David." ^B The immediate meaning refers to Zorobabel. But because he did not transmit the rule to descendants or sons, no one could rightly call him a horn, since he ruled for only a little while. For a horn indicates something strong and lasting. Since, however, the prophecy does not befit Zorobabel, the word foretells the birth of Christ according to the flesh. And so also the blessed Peter said in the Acts: "Being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath that He would raise up the Christ according to the flesh from the fruit of his loins, to sit upon his throne, he, foresaw it, spoke of his resurrection." "I have prepared a lamp for my Christ." ^C Again, the prophetic word calls the temple from David a lamp, which received the light of the divinity.

18. "His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon him my holiness shall blossom." Of the shame, then, the Jews are witnesses, who embraced enmity and reaped shame. But the holiness refers to the Churches everywhere on earth and sea, which are called the body of the Lord Christ, and which receive the fountains of holiness from Him. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXII

1. "A Song of degrees." In the time of Roboam

the tribes were divided, and ten indeed followed Jeroboam, but two embraced the Davidic kingdom. After the return, however, from Babylon, they came together again, and they loved concord, and had one dominion, and performed the common worship according to the law. These things, therefore, this psalm foretells: ^A “Behold now, what is good, or what is pleasant, but that brothers should dwell together in unity?” By them, he says, we have learned from the events that nothing is more agreeable than fraternal concord. He calls the tribes brothers, since the tribal leaders after whom they were named were also children of one father.

VERS. 2. “As the ointment upon the head, that descendeth upon the beard, the beard of Aaron.” The pontifical oil was composed of various spices; but none of them by itself emitted so much fragrance, but the mixture and blending of all produced a very great and most sweet odor. To this he rightly compared fraternal concord. For the bringing together of many right actions produces the fragrance of perfect virtue. ^B “That descendeth to the hem of his garment.” To that ointment, he says, is like the gift of charity, which was poured upon the head of Aaron: and it did not only come down as far as the beard, but it also made his tunic fragrant around the chest. For he called the collar, which we term the *collare*, the *ora*—this, however, Aquila called the “mouth of the garments.” As, therefore, the holy ointment running down from the head through the beard as far as the garment filled the priest with fragrance, so does the benefit of concord reach from the prince even to the subjects.

VERS. 3. “As the dew of Hermon, which descendeth upon the mount of Sion.” Again he passes to another likeness, teaching the utility of concord; and this he said is like the dew which is carried from Hermon to Sion. ^C But this is so great that even the tiles emit drops. Now, Hermon is a mountain of Palestine, and is all but contiguous to the land of Israel. “For there the Lord commanded the blessing, and life for evermore.” Not in Hermon, but in Sion, in which also the life-giving dew of the all-holy Spirit was sent down upon the holy apostles, through whom all the faithful reap the eternal blessing. ^D

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXIII

VERS. 1. “A song of degrees.” This psalm also is fitting for those who returned from Babylon. But it proposes an admonition to all the pious, that they should follow after God with praises not only by day, but also by night. “Behold now, bless the Lord, all ye ser-

of the Lord. ^A Not all men are entitled to praise God, but only those who have embraced the divine sovereignty and hold the worship of the Lord in high esteem. For it is characteristic of those who have received the wounds of sin to shed tears, to lament, and to entreat the divine kindness. "You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God." Having exhorted them to praise, he also taught the manner of the hymnody. For although the divine Paul commanded everyone to lift up holy hands everywhere, he teaches that it is especially fitting in consecrated places to offer the worship owed to God.

^B V. 2. "In the nights lift up your hands towards the holy places, and bless the Lord." Having taught the place, he also teaches the time, since night is appropriate for hymnody, as it provides much quiet and is free from many disturbances. The custom, moreover, of lifting up hands is also required by an established usage.

V. 3. "May the Lord bless you from Sion, who made heaven and earth." ^C For lest anyone should suppose that the God of all is circumscribed by Sion, he rightly demonstrated that He is the Creator of all things; for by heaven and earth he encompassed the whole of creation; for in heaven there are angels, and on earth men, and the things that were made for their sake.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXIV

V. 1. "Alleluia. A Song of degrees." This is another hymn, and the same one offered to God by those who have attained freedom. We have already explained the interpretation of "Alleluia." "Praise the name of the Lord; praise, O servants, the Lord." Since the divine nature is invisible, and yet He commands that it be praised, he said with good reason, "Praise the name of the Lord." Be content, he says, with the appellation of God, and do not seek to see what it is forbidden to see.

^D V. 2. "You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God." Having been delivered from the servitude of the Babylonians, he says, and enjoying the magnificence of the divine courts, praise the Giver of these good things.

V. 3. "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good." Take the goodness of Him who is celebrated as the theme of your hymn: "Sing to His name, for it is good." For there is great benefit accruing to you from this. Then he makes mention of the benefits bestowed upon them.

V. 4. "For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession." Symmachus puts it thus: "And Israel for a chosen one for Himself." He deems him worthy, he says, of greater care, and has called him His own people, and [shows] care for all men

^A. These things also the blessed Moses said: "When the Most High was dividing the nations, when He was scattering the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and the portion of the Lord became His people Jacob, the cord of His inheritance Israel."

VERS. 5. "For I have known that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods." By these things, he says, we have learned the strength of our God, and that the gods worshipped by other nations can in no way be compared to Him. For no one compares that which is not at all with Him who exists and always exists. Then, from the creation of all things, he demonstrates the power of God.

VERS. 6. "All things that the Lord willed, He did in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all the abysses." The things that came into being were made not in proportion to His power, but according to His will ^B. For He could have fashioned both many more things than these, and much greater ones, but He willed only so many and such things. Yet all are His works: the heaven and the heavenly things, the earth and the earthly things, the sea and those things that are in it. By "abysses" he calls the infinite multitude of waters. He called them "seas" in the plural, because the one sea is divided into many expanses. For there is the Atlantic gulf, and the Ocean, and the Tyrrhenian, and the Ionian, and the Aegean, and the Arabian, and the Indian, and the Euxine Sea, and the Propontis, and the Hellespont, and other seas far more numerous than those mentioned.

VERS. 7. "Bringing up clouds from the end of the earth." For the downward-tending nature of water is drawn up by the divine Word, and becomes sublime, and waters the continent ^C. He said it is brought up from the "end of the earth" because it consists of water from the seas; for the ends of the earth are the sea-gulfs. "He made lightnings for rain." He heralds the abundance of rains by lightnings, and displays the most miraculous wonder of all. For the lightning fire runs through the waters, yet neither warms those waters nor is itself extinguished. "He who brings forth the winds from His treasuries." He does not say that the treasuries of the winds are like storerooms; but because the air is often without wind, and the divine will easily moves it at His nod whenever He wishes, He called it a treasury of winds. As soon as He nods, they blow from every side. Thus, having demonstrated the common creation and providence, he goes on to recount the benefits conferred upon the Jews ^D.

VERS. 8. "Who struck the firstborn of Egypt, from man even to beast." He placed the final plague first, because it was after this that they received their freedom.

^A VERS. 9. "He sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt." Through these he signified all manner of miracles and instructions. "Upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants." For the kingdom was not able to deliver him from the scourges inflicted by God, but both the subjects and the king fell into the same evils. Thus also the God of the universe said to the great Moses: "Behold, I strike every firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the maidservant who is at the mill." ^B VERS. 10. "Who struck many nations." Those that long ago inhabited Palestine. "And slew mighty kings." [VERS. 11.] "Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan." The divine Moses overturned their kingdom. "And all the kingdoms of Canaan." These the blessed Joshua conquered, and he divided the lands and cities held by them among the people. The Prophet speaks of this here as well. VERS. 12. "And he gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel his people." For just as a sort of paternal heritage, the God of these gave to Israel the land which had long been occupied by those impious kings. VERS. 13. "O Lord, thy name is for ever, and thy memorial to generation and generation." For the greatness of the miracles brought about by thee has taught everyone thy name; and indeed the memory of thy benefits will be preserved for future generations. ^C VERS. 14. "For the Lord will judge his people, and will be pleaded with for his servants." For thou wilt not behold us being warred against by our enemies and disregard us, nor wilt thou inflict upon us punishments worthy of our sins, but thou wilt be merciful and benign. By thus showing the power of the true God, He mocks the weakness of those who are called gods but are not. And since He called them gods, He showed them to be bereft of the reality as well as the name. VERS. 15. "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands." Our God, he says, is the Maker of all things, but those have not only no creative power, but have received even their very form from human art. For their substance consists of matter and art. ^D VERS. 16, 17. "They have a mouth, and will not speak; they have eyes, and will not see. They have ears, and will not hear." They have, he says, the images of the senses, but are bereft of the activity. "For there is no breath in their mouth." But the nature of even irrational beings partakes of this, for every animal breathes, whereas idols cannot even be compared to those that lack reason in this respect.

VERS. 18. « Similes illis fiant qui faciunt ea, et omnes qui confidunt in eis. » ^A Of this lack of sense are they worthy to partake, both those who make them and those who worship them. For just as it is right that those who, while endowed with reason, have deemed things devoid of life and reason to be gods, should themselves partake of their lack of reason.

VERS. 19. « House of Israel, bless the Lord. » They, he says, pay such great honor to inanimate idols; but you, praise the Maker of all things. « House of Aaron, bless the Lord. » He distinguished the priests from the people, and exhorted them to praise by themselves and separately, thereby showing the difference.

VERS. 20. « House of Levi, bless the Lord. » Again there is another difference here. For the Levites are more honorable than others, but inferior to the priests. ^B Therefore, in order that they might not also snatch at the priestly dignity (for they had dared to do this in times past while the divine Moses was still alive), it was necessary that He should distinguish them also from the priests. « Ye that fear the Lord, bless the Lord. » This is also another order, of those who do not indeed trace their lineage from Jacob, but embrace his piety. Thus indeed did they also name the pious proselytes. This itself can also teach the Jews that the God of all prefers the kinship of character to the kinship of the body.

VERS. 21. « Blessed be the Lord out of Sion, who dwelleth in Jerusalem. » ^C When God is blessed, He blesses; but He blesses in deed, while He is blessed in word. And they who praise bring forth words, but He makes recompense with the blessing of things themselves. He says, however, that He dwells in Jerusalem, not circumscribing the divine nature there, but knowing that God appeared there at that time.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXV

VERS. 1. Alleluia. The prophetic grace wrote this hymn also for the same people, procuring profit for them through more instructions. « Confess to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy is forever. » Offer, he says, to God the hymn of thanksgiving, remembering the good things which have been provided by Him, and marveling at His immeasurable mercy.

VERS. 2. « Confess to the God of gods, for His mercy is forever. » ^D By "gods" in this place he does not mean idols; for he would not have called Him the God of those which are not. For God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. He calls "gods," therefore, those who have been honored with the priesthood, who have been named sons of God. Thus also in the Law He says: « Thou shalt not revile the gods, and thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. » And, « Israel is my firstborn son. » And through Isaiah

« I have brought up children and exalted them. » And in the psalms: « I said, Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. » He called these gods, as having been named children of God.

^B VERSE 3. « O give thanks unto the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. » Both kings and princes, having received authority from God, rule over their subjects. Thus also the Lord says: « The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. » There are also certain angels who are called dominions. Therefore the divine Apostle also said: « For though there be that are called gods (many there are that are called so, but yet are not, partakers of the name, but not of the reality), whether in heaven or on earth, as there be gods many; yet to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. » This one the psalm called the Lord of true lords.

VERSE 4. « To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. » The performances of miracles are also those of his benevolent servants. But we call the miracles of Moses, and of Joshua, and of Elijah divine. And likewise also the signs which were done by the holy apostles. With good reason, therefore, does the Prophet say that He alone is the worker of the greatest wonders. Then he shows also his great works.

VERSE 5. « To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. » For the heaven, if it is only looked upon, proclaims the wisdom of God. For great is the magnitude, and the beauty, and the long-enduring perseverance. ^C

VERSE 6. « To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. » And this is worthy of admiration, and transcends human understanding, that the earth, being surrounded on all sides by waters, should stand, and remain upon its own nature. With good reason, therefore, the psalmist connected the eternal mercy to all these statements, since the Lover of mankind did not create all things for any need of his own, but for his benevolence alone.

VERSE 7. « To him who alone made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever. » People, partakers of the divine Providence, are accustomed to lighting torches, but the whole terrestrial fire does not in any way imitate the splendor of one star. But more brilliant than all the stars, and than the moon itself, is the sun. For when it appears, it hides those, and dulls the very rays of the moon. ^D

VERSES 8, 9. « The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever. The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever. »

^A He divided, he says, time by the luminaries, and with the solar rays he makes the day, while with the moon and stars he illuminates the night. By these things which were made, he shows his own goodness.

VERS. 10. « Who smote Egypt with their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever. » But perhaps someone might wonder how death is brought about by mercy? Let him consider, then, the solution of the present words: that he who has mercy on those who are wronged, punishes those who do the wrong. For this is what the Prophet added in this place.

VERS. 11. « Who brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever. » Mercy toward this people inflicted punishment upon them. That mercy, however, and this justice are joined together. For he both justly had mercy on the one, and justly afflicted the others with punishments.

VERS. 12. « With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. » He called the hand the operation, and the arm the power. By both, however, he showed that he revealed his own power through the salvation provided to the people. ^B

VERS. 13. « Who divided the Red Sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever. » Some, following Jewish fables, have said that the divisions in the Red Sea were made equal in number to the twelve tribes, because the Prophet said not "a division," but "divisions." But they ought to have understood that the sea, being cleft in two, became two parts out of one. For the water was a wall to them on the right hand, and a wall on the left; for which reason he called the cutting of the sea into two the "divisions."

VERS. 14, 15. « And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever. And overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea: for his mercy endureth for ever. » For both are works of his power: both that he granted them to cross the sea easily, and that he [Pharaoh] was submerged by the waters.

VERS. 16. « Who led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever. » And this truly is a demonstration of divine power: to have nourished such a great multitude for so long a time in the desert, and to have supplied them with an abundance of necessary things. ^D

VERS. 17, 18. « Who smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever. And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever. » In summary, we have already provided the explanation of these.

VARIOUS READINGS AND NOTES.

Verses 19, 20. "Sihon king of the Amorites, for his mercy endureth for ever. And Og the king of Bashan, for his mercy endureth for ever." It was not without reason that, while passing over others, he made mention of these in particular, but to bring to the people's remembrance the victory granted them by God; for these men prided themselves on their strength, power, and size of body. Og even used an iron bed, ^A which, because of the size of his body, was nine cubits in length and five in breadth.

Verses 21, 22. "And gave their land for an heritage, for his mercy endureth for ever. Even an heritage unto Israel his servant, for his mercy endureth for ever." For having consumed them all with death, He made Israel lord of their land.

Verses 23, 24. "Who remembered us in our low estate, for his mercy endureth for ever. And hath redeemed us from our enemies, for his mercy endureth for ever." Blessed Moses also makes mention of these things: "The children of Israel groaned," he says, "by reason of the works, and their cry ascended unto God." ^B And when they were again taken captive, He took pity on them and led them back to their native land.

Verse 25. "Who giveth food to all flesh, for his mercy endureth for ever." From specific providence He returns again to general, proclaiming God’s care for all things. For He provides suitable food not only for humans, but also for irrational creatures. Thus also the Lord says in the holy Gospels: "Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them."

Verse 26. "O give thanks unto the God of heaven, for his mercy endureth for ever." God is indeed God of all, for He is the Maker of all; but He is properly called God of heaven, being served ^C by the angels who dwell in heaven; for that place is pure from sin.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXVI

This psalm is without a title among the Hebrews; but some, having dared a bold thing, have inscribed it, "To David by Jeremiah," and have added, "Without title among the Hebrews." Furthermore, this fabrication of an inscription carries with it the folly of those who inscribed it. For Jeremiah was not led away to Babylon with the captives, but having lived for a short time in Jerusalem, he was compelled by the wicked Jews to go with them into Egypt. How then is it fitting for Jeremiah to say, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept"? They, therefore, [ascribed it to] that prophet

^A that it is by no means appropriate for him is clear from what has been said. Yet the subject of the psalm is clear. For those who had been led away captive, and had obtained their return, recount what befell them in Babylon.

VERS. 1. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." It is customary for those who are grieving to seek out more desolate places, and there to deplore their own calamities. They, therefore, sitting by the banks of the rivers and pondering the desolation of their mother city, poured forth many tears, imitating the currents of the rivers.

VERS. 2. "Upon the willows in the midst thereof we hung our harps." For they were completely useless to them, since the law commands that worship be performed in only one place.

VERS. 3. "For there they that led us away captive asked of us the words of a song; and they that carried us away [said]: Sing us one of the songs of Zion." ^B Mocking us and insulting our calamities, they ordered us to sing, and to soothe them with our songs, not that they might obtain any benefit thence, but that they might laugh at our plight.

VERS. 4. "How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?" We, however, knowing the lawlessness of what was enjoined upon us, did not obey those who commanded it; and these things are a rebuke to those lawless Jews who are eager to fulfill the law, and perform legal [rites] outside of the appointed places.

VERS. 5, 6. "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. Let my tongue cleave to my throat, if I do not remember thee." They are taught by the Prophet to say these things, so that they might have a tenacious memory of the holy city, and, refreshed by the hopes of their return, might not learn the impiety of those who had led them into slavery. ^C They say, therefore, that not even when I was far from thee, O Jerusalem, did I hand thy memory over to oblivion; and if I should do this, I would suffer this, and fail to obtain help from above. For this is what he calls the right hand. "If I do not set Jerusalem above the chief of my joy." The sum, he says, of my joy is the sight of thee, and thy restoration, and the festivals in thee. For from these I reap true gladness.

VERS. 7. "Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who say, Raze, raze it, even to the foundation thereof." The Idumeans, ^D descending from Esau, remained steadfast in their ancestral enmity. These, as Jerusalem was being burned and razed, said with exultation: "Raze, raze it—"

"empty out, empty out to its foundations": that is, uproot it from the foundations, so that not even the traces of the foundations remain.

^A Ver. 8. "O daughter of Babylon, thou miserable one." Having thus entrusted the judgment to the God of the Jews, he foretells the coming destruction upon Babylon. He calls her "miserable" as one who is to be wretched. But Aquila, for "miserable," has said "the one who has been devastated." "Blessed is he who shall repay thee thy retribution, which thou hast repaid to us." But what is this?

Ver. 9. "Blessed is he who shall take and dash thy little ones against the rock." Because they themselves had acted cruelly towards their own infants, the Prophet declares an equal punishment for them. Cyrus is therefore declared blessed, who both punished those and liberated these; not because he was a nursing child of sincere piety, but because he deemed a pious people worthy of liberty and gave orders for the divine temple to be built. For God accepts even small fruits and provides great rewards: thus He praised the two mites of the widow.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXVII

^B Ver. 1. "Of David." After the return from Babylon, when the Jews had routed the nations that had risen up against them through divine favor, they offer a hymn of thanksgiving to God. These things, therefore, the divine David foretells. "I will confess to Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart." They were not ungrateful toward the benefactor. But after having offered supplication and having obtained help, they compensate for the benefits according to their power and offer hymns for the assistance. "And in the presence of the angels will I sing to Thee." Let us imitate, he says, the ranks of the angels; and just as they in the heavens dance and hymn the God of the universe, so shall we also upon earth offer Thee our spiritual melody.

^C Ver. 2. "I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and will confess to Thy name, for Thy mercy and Thy truth." The temple consecrated to Thy name shall be for me instead of heaven. In it I will worship Thee and will offer thanksgiving, beholding the philanthropy shown to me and the justice against my enemies. For by using truth, Thou didst condemn the latter to destruction as unjust, while me Thou didst preserve by Thy mercy. "For Thou hast magnified Thy holy name above all." For Thy name is august in all things, and it is sung by all who have beheld Thy power.

Ver. 3. "In what day soever I call upon Thee, hear me speedily." I pray that I may continuously enjoy this joy. "Thou shalt make my soul exceedingly abound with Thy power."

That is to say, Thou shalt cherish my soul with Thy power and fill it with consolation and courage. Symmachus translates it thus: "Thou hast established [me] with the power of my soul." He says: Thou hast deemed me worthy of much aid and providence. ^A

Ver. 4. "Let all the kings of the earth confess to Thee, O Lord, for they have heard all the words of my mouth." At that time, indeed, all of them, having learned of that great victory, marveled at the power of the God of the universe. But especially after the incarnation of God our Savior, both kings and princes praise the Creator of all things. In that former victory, they did not hear words, but beheld an extraordinary event; but now they have heard words, and they enjoy the evangelical sermons. ^B

Ver. 5. "And let them sing in the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord." He speaks of future things by way of a wish, and predicts a change of circumstances, namely, that all will marvel at the providence and governance of God. For he calls governance "ways."

Ver. 6. "For the Lord is high, and He looketh upon the lowly." He also said this in another psalm: "Who dwelleth on high and looketh upon the lowly." He says, however, that while He is by nature high and ineffable, He does not neglect the lowly, but deems even them worthy of His own providence. "And He knoweth the high things from afar." For He knows all things before their birth, and seeing from afar those who are established in dignities and principalities, He applies suitable remedies to each one. ^C

Ver. 7. "If I walk in the midst of tribulation, Thou wilt quicken me." It is the voice of sincere faith. I am confident, he says, that even if I am surrounded on all sides by calamities, I shall be superior to the difficulties, and I shall reap life from Thy assistance. "Thou hast extended Thy hands over the wrath of my enemies, and Thy right hand hath saved me." For, having been angered against my adversaries, Thou didst deliver them to punishment, but didst deem me worthy of salvation. And it is clear from this that he calls "hand" any action whatsoever, but "right hand" a good action. For with the punishment of the enemies he coupled the "hand," but with the benefit conferred upon himself, the "right hand."

Ver. 8. "The Lord shall recompense for me." I, says he, being a man and tangled in sins, cannot repay the benefits. But the Lord Himself, who became the dispenser of these things to me, having become incarnate and having assumed my nature, shall pay my debt. The divine Apostle agrees with this, saying that the Lord Christ blotted out the handwriting ^D that

^A was against us. * "Lord, your mercy is forever, do not despise the works of your hands." Since therefore your mercy is boundless, and extends with eternity, grant swift salvation to your works. This prayer the Prophet offered up, having learned through the grace of the all-holy Spirit that the Creator of nature would pay the debt of nature.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXVIII

^B 1. "In the end, a Psalm of David." In some copies it is added: "Of Zacharias for the dispersion." This I have not found in the Hebrew, nor in the Septuagint, nor in other interpreters; but someone who had understood the psalm as he wished, made this addition to the inscription. The psalm, however, contains a prophecy concerning King Josiah. For he, born of an impious father and being the descendant of such a grandfather, detested their impiety and walked in all virtue; and, being inflamed with divine zeal, he struck down all the priests of the idols, and deemed those who embraced piety worthy of every care. These things the psalm predicts. The prophetic word introduces him praying and marveling at the foreknowledge [of God] concerning him. "Lord, you have tested me and known me." A test of virtue is not only poverty and distress, but also kingship and prosperity. For just as we are tested in painful circumstances to see if we can bear the things that afflict us nobly, so too are we exercised in prosperity, and we are shown whether we are puffed up by good fortune or whether we know the nature of these things. Having therefore undertaken ^C the kingship, the blessed Josiah, having governed it with piety, fittingly said: "Lord, you have tested me and known me." [2.] "You have known my sitting and my rising." Everything, he says, you have learned accurately, what I was doing while sitting and what I was doing while rising. For by "sitting and rising," he indicated his whole life. These are words of a pure soul and sound conscience. And because he said, "You have tested me and known me," so that no one might suppose that God learns what happens after the end of events, he added quite appropriately: [3.] "You understood my thoughts from afar." For from above, and from the beginning, and many generations before my formation, you have foreseen not only my actions, but you have foreseen the thoughts that would be mine. "You have investigated my path and my measuring line." Theodotian says it thus: "You have investigated my path and my way." He calls actions a "way" and a "path," but the "measuring line" [he calls] their straightness—a metaphor ^D taken from those who build houses, and who straighten the walls with a line. You knew, he says,

funicle, they direct the walls. You have known, he says, exactly my actions, and nothing of my affairs has escaped your knowledge.

^A VERS. 4. "And you have foreseen all my ways, for there is no guile in my tongue." Not only did the God of the universe foresee, but He even foretold through the prophets; and to Jeroboam while he was sacrificing, and offering divine honor to the calves, He prophesied that a son would be born to David, Josiah by name, who would consign the priests of the idols to death, and would burn their bones upon that altar.

VERS. 5. "Behold, O Lord, you have known all things, the latest and the ancient." By these very events I have learned that You possess the knowledge of all things, both of those that were done of old, and of those that have not yet come to pass. "You fashioned me, and laid Your hand upon me." For how could any of my affairs escape my Maker, who fashioned me within the maternal womb, and deemed me worthy of every care? Furthermore, "You laid Your hand upon me" is similar to that saying: "Your hands made me, and fashioned me." It indicates by the same words the providence that continues even after creation. ^B

VERS. 6. "Your knowledge is become wonderful from me; it is strengthened, and I shall not be able to attain to it." From those things which have been done in regard to me, I have recognized Your power, and wishing to praise Your wisdom, and yet being unable to attain to it according to its worth, I confess myself overcome. Since, therefore, he had marveled at the knowledge and foreknowledge of God regarding all things, and that nothing, whether of things past or of things to come, could escape Him, he passes to another point, saying these things:

VERS. 7. "Whither shall I go from Your spirit? And whither shall I flee from Your face?" Since He is known so clearly to know all things, how is it possible for one who flees to escape Him? It ^C should be noted that he teaches that God and the Holy Spirit possess the same operation: "Whither," he says, "shall I go from Your spirit, and whither shall I flee from Your face?" Now, those for whom there is one operation, there is altogether one power; and for those for whom there is one power, there is certainly one nature. Therefore, the nature of God and the Holy Spirit is one.

VERS. 8. "If I should ascend into heaven, You are there; if I should descend into hell, You are present." Everything, he says, You fill, both the things above and the things below. For the one is the extremity of height, the other of depth. He correctly conjoined to heaven, "You are there," and to hell, "You are present." For He rests in the angels who ^D dwell in the heavens. But everywhere He is present, and He is at hand to all things: "and in Him we live," according to the divine Apostle, "and move, and are."

^A Ver. 9, 10. "If I take my wings in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. For even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." By "morning" he designated the east, and by the "uttermost parts of the sea," the west. For to the height and to the depth he added length and breadth, teaching that the divine nature cannot be bounded. The prophet Jonah experienced the proof of this power. For having attempted to flee from the God of all, he was captured, constrained by the waves, and delivered as if into a prison within the sea-monster, and was led to the city to which he had been sent. Therefore, the words of the prophecy are shown to be true here also: "If I should dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."

Ver. 11. "And I said, Perhaps darkness shall trample me, and night shall be light in my delight." Symmachus says it thus: "If I say, 'Perhaps darkness shall cover me,' yet even night is luminous around me." Even if I flee to the rising sun, he says, or to the setting sun, I shall not escape thy power; even if I attempt to hide myself in the darkness of the night, not even so shall I be hidden. For to thee, darkness is light.

Ver. 12. "For darkness shall not be darkened from thee, and night shall be illuminated as the day." Symmachus says it thus: "Neither shall darkness be dark to thee, but night shall appear as day." Darkness, he says, is darkness to me; for I have the difference between light and darkness. But to thee, the intellectual light, even night is most manifest and brighter than any midday sun. "As its darkness, so also its light." For just as the night is gloomy to me, so is it luminous to thee.

Ver. 13. "For thou hast possessed my reins." But these things, he says, I do not say rashly, but illuminated by thy grace, and receiving thy radiance in my thoughts. For he called the thoughts "reins" here. Since the faculty of desire resides in the reins, and thoughts receive its impulse, he called the thoughts "reins." "Thou hast taken me up from my mother’s womb." Thou hast become my pedagogue, and governor, and teacher, and as soon as I came forth from the womb, I enjoyed thy providence.

Ver. 14. "I will confess to thee, for thou hast been magnificently wondrous; thy works are wonderful, and my soul knoweth it exceedingly." For this reason I continue to hymn thee, being illuminated by thy great works, and being stirred up to this.

^A

VERS. 15. "Non occultatum fuit os meum a te, quod fecisti in occulto, et substantia mea in inferioribus terræ." All things, he says, that concern me thou knowest accurately. For thou didst fashion me while I was still hidden in the maternal womb, and didst bring me into the light, even as if I had been in the lowest part of the earth. For thus also Aquila interpreted: "My bones were not covered from thee, in which I was made in secret, I was diversely fashioned as in the lowest part of the earth." Nothing, he says, can escape thee, who fashonest the nature of men in the hidden workshop of nature.

VERS. 16. "Imperfectum meum viderunt oculi tui, et in libro tuo omnes scribentur, dies formabuntur, et nemo in eis." But Symmachus [has it] thus: "My formless [state] thy eyes foresaw, with all those who are written in thy book, in the days [when they] were being fashioned, when not one [of them] was lacking." Thus, he says, thou didst see me, before I was fashioned and formed, just like those who have already been born and are become perfect, and are lacking in no day, and are written in thy books. Of these books the blessed Daniel also makes mention: "For judgment, he says, sat, and the books were opened" (Dan. VII, 26). And the Lord in the holy Gospels: "The hairs of your head are all numbered" (Matt. X, 30). By books, therefore, we must understand the knowledge of God, which embraces all things, and the unforgetting memory of God. Having explained the divine things in this way, he reveals his own purpose, not using it for vainglory, but proposing a model of utility. ^B

VERS. 17. "Mihi autem magno in honore sunt amici tui, Deus, valde confortatus est principatus eorum." This, the history also clearly teaches. For he deemed the divine priests worthy of all observance. For all heard the promises which God made to Abraham: "I will bless, saying, them that bless thee, and them that curse thee I will curse" (Gen. XII, 3). For "confortatus est principatus eorum," Theodotion thus interpreted: "Their poor were strengthened." For they who formerly, on account of the sins of the impious kings, lived in a thin and very impoverished life, obtained all honor from Josiah.

VERS. 18. "Dinumerabo eos, et magis quam arena multiplicabuntur." For by the piety of the king, even those who formerly were impious, their minds having been illuminated, sang a palinode, and embraced the worship according to the law; and those who were formerly easy to number— ^C

have become more numerous. The discourse also ^A preannounces the change of the world that took place after the incarnation of God and our Savior. For those diligent in the worship of God surpass in number [the inhabitants] in every city and region. "I have arisen, and am still with thee." Symmachus, however, says: "I will awaken, and will always be with thee." For by always rousing myself, I will cast out the sleep of sloth and will keep the memory of thee in my mind. For thus shall I enjoy thy providence.

v. 19. "If thou, O God, wilt slay the wicked, depart from me, ye men of blood, for ye are contentious in your dissertations." It is characteristic of those who love the good to detest those who are contrary. Therefore he says: Since thou, who art kind, slayest the wicked, much more shall I turn away from their company, knowing their contentious disposition. For they do not endure good admonitions, but because of the moroseness of their disposition, they reject them.

v. 20. "They will take thy cities in vanity." But thou wilt slay them, he says, not unjustly, but because they will inhabit the cities in vain, reaping no benefit at all from thy laws.

v. 21, 22. "Did I not hate those who hate thee, O Lord, and did I not pine away over thy enemies? With a perfect hatred I hated them; they became enemies unto me." I hang upon thy love, O Master. I desire to love and to hate the same things that thou dost. Therefore, I both love and honor those who adhere to thy worship; but ^C as for those who hate thee, I not only pursue them with hatred, but I also grieve for them and pine away. For I hate them as impious, but I pity them as human beings, and because of our natural kinship I am forced to weep for them; yet I detest them again because of their exceeding wickedness.

v. 23, 24. "Prove me, O God, and know my heart; examine me, and know my paths. And see if there be any way of iniquity in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." I indeed think that these things are so; but I beseech thee, the best physician of souls, to examine my life diligently and to inquire into the movements of my heart; and if anything repugnant to thy laws is found therein, I implore that it may be cured by thy wisdom, and that I may be led along the eternal way. These things were said by the blessed David, and were foretold concerning the pious Josiah, and they are proposed to all who wish to seize an opportunity for salvation.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXXXIX

v. 1. "Unto the end, a Psalm of David." When the blessed David was suffering persecution from Saul, he calls upon the God of the universe for aid.

^A

v. 2. "Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man; rescue me from the unjust man." Saul is unjust, and ungrateful toward his benefactor. For he sought to kill the blessed David, who had not only done him no injury, but had actually been the source of many good things for him.

v. 3. "Who have devised iniquities in their heart; all the day they set arrayed for war." For he did not use only evil thoughts, but added deeds to his thoughts. Symmachus translated "all the day" as "every day."

v. 4. "They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips." For he often attempted to kill him through deceit; and often, having sworn and used friendly words, he violated his oaths. Therefore, he rightly compared his treacherous mind and hidden deceit to the venom of creeping beasts. ^B

v. 5. "Keep me, O Lord, (that I may escape) from the hand of the sinner; deliver me from unjust men." This prayer is appropriate for a righteous man. For he does not ask for the destruction of his enemies, but for his own salvation. "Who have devised to trip up my steps." Driven out by Saul, the blessed David took refuge with the Allophyli [Philistines]; but they were impious and workers of all iniquity. Therefore, he is highly admirable, as he was a guardian of piety everywhere and refused to be a slave to necessity. "But," he says, "this man who is driving me out almost tripped up the steps of my piety." ^C

v. 6. "The proud have hidden a snare for me, and have stretched out snares with cords for my feet; they have set stumbling blocks for me near the path." He calls Saul himself proud. By "snares," and "cords," and "stumbling blocks," [he means] various treacheries, plots, and ambushes. He said these things figuratively, with a metaphor taken from hunters who spread out snares, and nets, and traps.

v. 7. "I said to the Lord, 'You are my God.'" I, having disdained all human things, have entrusted myself to You, and I acknowledge You as Lord and God, and I await the help from You. "Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication."

[v. 8] "O Lord, O Lord, the strength of my salvation." This repetition is of one who believes and loves. ^D "In You," he says, "I have the hope of salvation; for You alone have the power to bring salvation." "You have overshadowed my head in the day of battle." And I have learned this by experience. For when I undertook the single combat against Goliath, and when I stood in the battle line against the Allophyli, You protected me with Your impulse as if with a shield.

^A VERS. 9. "Do not deliver me, O Lord, from my desire to the sinner." Symmachus says thus: "Do not give, O Lord, the desires to the iniquitous." Similarly also Theodotion, and Aquila. "To the one desiring," he says, "my slaughter, do not give the fulfillment of his desire." And according to the Septuagint, it must be understood thus: "Do not let him obtain through me what he covets." For I indeed desire to be saved, whereas he desires to slay me. Do not, therefore, grant my desire to him. "They devised against me; do not forsake me, lest they be exalted." They set every scheme in motion against my slaughter; do not, therefore, strip me of Your providence, so that You do not afford them a pretext for arrogance.

^B VERS. 10. "The head of their circuit, the labor of their lips, shall cover them." From here he foretells the evils that will befall them. Symmachus explained this more clearly: "The bitterness of those surrounding me, the labor of their lips, may it cover them." Into their own traps, he says, may they fall, and may they suffer the things they contrive against me, and may the bitterness that is being brewed against me completely cover those who use it. This is similar to what is said in the seventh Psalm: "He opened a pit and dug it, and he shall fall into the pit which he wrought."

VERS. 11. "Coals shall fall upon them, and You shall cast them into the fire." For as with a certain fire, You will consume them with Your wrath. "In miseries, and they shall not withstand." They shall fall into calamities, and they shall not survive them. These things befell Saul in the war against the Allophyli; for there, being smitten, he received the end of his life.

^C VERS. 12. "A slanderous man shall not be established upon the earth." Through these words he tacitly indicates those who slandered him continuously before Saul—such were Doeg, the Ziphites, and the others, who employed many slanders. And he teaches that those who for the sake of wealth and power use false speech miss the mark, and do not obtain what they crave. "Evils shall hunt the unjust man to destruction." For Saul also suffered these things; for he was captured in the war, and he received the death-dealing wound.

VERS. 13. "I have known that the Lord will accomplish the judgment of the indigent, and the justice of the poor." I have learned, he says, the justice of the divine sentence, and I know that those who are bereft of all human help, He will not leave vulnerable to the injuries ^D of their enemies; but He will exact due punishment upon the unjust.

VERS. 14. "Nevertheless, the just shall make confession to Your name..."

mini tuo, et habitabunt recti coram vultu tuo. Idcirco igitur justorum chorus te laudat, hoc præsidio a te adjutus: et tuam dignitatem amant, semper de te cogitantes, tuamque faciem se intueri putantes. Hujusmodi est illud, quod in decimo quinto psalmo dictum est: « Providebam Dominum in conspectu meo semper, quoniam a dextris est mihi, ne commovear. » ^A

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXL

VER. 1. « A Psalm of David. » This psalm also has the same sense as the preceding one. For when he suffered persecution from Saul, he beseeches God: « O Lord, I have cried unto thee, hear me. » For he calls the alacrity of the soul a cry. For thus God also said to Moses when he was silent: « Why criest thou unto me? » « Attend to the voice of my prayer, when I have cried unto thee. » Be kindly, he says, O Master, and receive my supplication.

VER. 2. « Let my prayer be set forth as incense before thee: the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. » He joined the practice of virtue with prayer; for the lifting up of the hands declares this, since work is wont to be committed to the hands. But he prays that, just as the vapor of incense, his prayers may ascend and imitate its good fragrance; and in the same way, the extension of his hands may appear similar to the evening sacrifice. He made mention ^B of evening, and not morning, because he was in calamities and sorrows; and calamities are similar to darkness and night.

VER. 3. « Set, O Lord, a watch before my mouth, and a door of restraint about my lips. » The Creator gave two walls to the tongue—that of the teeth and that of the lips—checking its irrational impulses. But nevertheless, the Prophet beseeches to obtain other watches, fearing lest he say something indecorous while bewailing his miseries. For history testifies that, not even when persecuted by Saul, did he ever endure to say anything blasphemous. ^C But when others attempted to kill Saul, he himself named him the Lord’s Anointed; and conversing with him, he called himself a servant. And the man who announced the slaughter of his [Saul’s] son, boasting youthfully that he had done this, he slew, saying: « Thy blood be upon thy head, for thou saidst: I have killed the Lord’s Anointed. »

VER. 4. « Incline not my heart to words of wickedness, to make excuses for excuses in sins. » He beseeches that not only his tongue, but also the very ^D

^A motions of the mind might be guarded, so that no thought other than the divine laws might be found therein. Instead of, « to make excuses in sins, » Symmachus has said, « iniquitous thoughts. » And according to the Septuagint, it is to be understood thus: The blessed David could reason as follows: Saul is mine enemy and foe, and he desires my slaughter; it is not unjust, therefore, to kill such a man, when the Law openly declares: « You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. » But, foreseeing the evangelical way of life, he wished to live according to that, and he prays that he may take no occasion for sin. « With men who work iniquity: and I will not communicate with their elect. » For these, he says, the workers of iniquity do; but for me, may there be no association with them, ^B even if they possess the height of prosperity. For here he terms the evildoers who are living prosperously, « elect. »

VERS. 5. « The just man shall strike me in mercy, and shall reprove me; but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head. » It is better for me, he says, that the things which happen at the hands of the just for the sake of correction and utility, though they are painful, should be preferred to the sweet things offered by sinners, even if these, like oil brightening the head, provide me a pleasant life. For I choose to be corrected by the just, rather than to be flattered by the wicked. « For yet my prayer also is in their good pleasures. » But Symmachus ^C says: « But still my prayer is among their evils. » For I am so far from envying their prosperity that I pray for them to be changed, so that with their prosperity changed, they might receive a change of wickedness.

VERS. 6. « Their judges have been swallowed up along the rocks. » In a short time, he says, they shall be powerless, and those who have attained extreme authority shall be like rocks hidden in the sea, covered by the waters and sinking, that is to say, they shall be given over to oblivion. « They shall hear my words, for they have been made sweet. » But when they have learned by experience the truth of my words, they shall perceive their sweetness and benefit.

VERS. 7. « As the fatness of the earth is crushed upon the earth, their bones have been scattered near the grave. » ^D He calls the solidity of the earth its « fatness, » which, being cut by the plow, is divided into clods. Like these clods, he says, those who now stand shall be dissolved by death, and their bones in the sepulchers

will be destroyed; for he called the tombs graves beside Hades.

VERS. 8. ^A *“For to thee, O Lord, O Lord, are my eyes; in thee have I hoped, do not take away my soul.”* I, for my part, trust in nothing human, but I await thy help, and I pray that my soul may not be deprived of it.

VERS. 9. *“Keep me from the snare which they have set for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of those who work iniquity.”* He made mention of these snares and stumbling-blocks in the preceding psalm as well. He calls intrigues snares and stumbling-blocks, from which he begs to be delivered.

VERS. 10. *“Sinners shall fall into his net.”* That is, into God’s. For those who prepare snares for others, like a net, shall be caught by divine punishment, and they will suffer what they do, and will endure what they contrive for others. *“I am alone until I pass by.”* But I shall remain separated from these until I receive the end of my life. ^B

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXLI

VERS. 1. *“Of understanding for David, when he was in the cave, praying.”* The subject of the psalm is clear. For the blessed David, being persecuted by Saul, fled into the cave and hid in its innermost chambers. Then, having seen Saul brought thither, he banished the fear from his mind, and called upon divine help, and obtained it.

VERS. 2. *“With my voice I cried to the Lord, with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.”* And from this it is clear that he calls the intention of the mind a cry. For how could one who is hiding and wishing to remain unnoticed use a voice and cry out? Therefore, he says: With all alacrity I made supplication to the Lord. ^C

VERS. 3. *“I will pour out my prayer before him, and I will declare my tribulation before him.”* And my calamity, he says, I have made known to Him, and on its behalf I have diligently offered prayer; but he signified the vehemence of the prayer through the words “pour out.”

VERS. 4. *“When my spirit was failing from me.”* And I was doing this when I saw the magnitude of the evils; for I was dwelling close to death itself. *“And thou hast known my paths.”* All my things are naked to thee, and nothing of my actions has escaped thy eye. *“In this way in which I was walking, they hid a snare for me.”* And those who hunt wild beasts track out the paths and set traps in them. Saul, imitating these, ^D kept inquiring curiously into the matters concerning David, and where he learned that he was staying, there he employed his ambushes. This also

the devil ^A prepares the snare of sensuality for him who walks the path of temperance; for him who delights in almsgiving, the net of vainglory; for him who disdains wealth, the occasions of avarice; for virginity, pride; and, to say it in a word, he weaves a snare adapted to the mode of life of each individual.

VERS. 5. “I looked to the right, and beheld, and there was no one who took knowledge of me.” I saw, he says, no helper from anywhere. He called the right hand the assistance of the benevolent. “Flight has perished from me, and there is no one who seeks after my soul.” I have fallen into inescapable straits, and I find no way of flight, nor anyone to defend me.

VERS. 6. “I have cried to thee, O Lord, I said, Thou art my hope.” I therefore beseech thee, in whom I have anchored my hopes.

“Thou art my portion in the land of the living. [VERS. 7.] Attend to my supplication, for I have been brought very low.” Often has the divine David called God his portion, and now he has done the same. I have, he says, no other help, but thee alone as my helper, and I beseech thee that through thee I may attain life. By humiliation here he means his calamities. This is what Symmachus also indicated: “Hearken to my words, because I have grown very weak.” ^B “Deliver me from them that persecute me, for they have been strengthened against me.” My enemies have become stronger than me, but through thine inclination I shall escape their hands.

VERS. 8. “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess thy name.” Aquila expresses it thus: “Bring my soul out of confinement.” For he was held as if in some prison and dungeon, with the enemies sitting at the mouth of the cave. He promises, however, that once he has attained salvation, he will repay the benefits with hymns. “The righteous shall wait for me, until thou recompense me.” Symmachus says it this way: “The righteous shall crown thy name, when thou hast benefited me”; for they will take the benefit bestowed upon me as a pledge of the salvation that is to come to ^C them, and they will praise thee as a just judge.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXLII

VERS. 1. “A Psalm of David, when his son Absalom was persecuting him.” In some copies I found: “When his son Absalom was persecuting him.” But I have not found this addition either in the Hebrew exemplar or among the other interpreters; yet it attaches to the truth. For this is the theme of the psalm. “O Lord, hearken to my prayer, give ear to my supplication in thy ^D truth.

^A The divine David, while paying the penalty for the sins he had committed, fell into these evils. Yet Absalom was unjust, and lawless, and impious, and a parricide, for he desired the slaughter of his own father. For this reason the blessed David beseeches God to hearken to the prayer in truth and justice.

Ver. 2. “And enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.” In truth and justice, he says, I have besought thee with my words, not trusting in my own justice, but knowing the iniquity ^B of my enemies. For I know that it is impossible for anyone to depart innocent from thy tribunal. For if thou shouldst hold up the rule of the laws given by thee to the life of men, no one will be found to have lived in accordance with it; and if thou shouldst also bring into the middle thy benefits, and how many good things thou hast provided for men, what human justice would again be equal to thy gifts?

Ver. 3. “For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath humbled my life to the earth.” I pray, therefore, to obtain thy truth and justice; not that thou shouldst descend into judgment with me, but that I and my enemies should be judged. For I have been cast out of the kingdom by them, I have been driven from my fatherland. History also teaches this humility of his. For he used to walk shoeless, and concealed, and weeping. “He hath set me in darkness, as those that have been long dead.” For I differ in nothing from a dead man kept in darkness, being cast out and forced to dwell in desert places.

Ver. 4. “And my spirit is vexed within me.” For this reason I have been filled with great despondency and distress. For here he calls the soul “spirit.” “My heart within me is troubled.” All my thoughts, he says, have been ^C filled with tumult and agitation.

Ver. 5. “I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy works, I meditated on the works of thy hands.” I took into my mind, he says, from how many calamities thou hast freed our ancestors, and didst not suffer them to become easy targets for their enemies; and I was reminded of the things concerning Abraham, the things concerning Isaac, the things concerning Jacob, the things concerning Joseph, the things concerning Moses; and I received consolation from thence.

Ver. 6. “I stretched forth my hands unto thee.” That is, I poured out prayers with all alacrity. “My soul is as a land without water unto thee.” And thus I thirst for thy help, just as the waterless land awaits the rain.

Ver. 7. “Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit hath failed.” By these words he expressed the magnitude of his distress; for this ^D is a characteristic emotion of those who are suffering greatly. “Turn not away thy face from me, and like...

them that go down into the pit.” ^A For if you were to reject my prayer because of sin, I would immediately be delivered unto death. He calls death a pit metaphorically. For just as one who is confined in a pit cannot escape without those who help him, so it is impossible for the dead to revive, unless God wills it.

VERS. 8. “Make me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for in thee have I hoped.” Show me, he says, thy loving-kindness, lest I fail of my hope. For here he called the soon-coming "morning." “Make known to me, O Lord, the way wherein I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul unto thee.” Be my guide, he says, and show me the straight path. For I have withdrawn my soul from all human things and brought it to thee, O Master.

VERS. 9. “Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord; to thee I have taken refuge.” Fleeing from my enemies, I have thee as a place of refuge, and I pray to be delivered from their plots.

VERS. 10. “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God.” I beseech this also: not only that I may know what thou willest, but also that I may do what thou willest, since I know thee to be my God and Master. “Thy good Spirit shall lead me in the straight land.” ^B And from this we have learned the dignity of the Spirit. For just as God is good, so also the Spirit is called good; and just as he besought God to lead him himself, so also he prays to enjoy the guidance of the Spirit, so that nothing may appear arduous or difficult to him, but that he may follow a straight, smooth road, free from error.

VERS. 11. “For thy name’s sake, O Lord, thou shalt quicken me.” Thou didst appoint me king; I have enjoyed thy voting and ordination, and I fear lest, being despised by thee, I become a cause of blasphemy against thy name. Do not, therefore, look upon my worthiness, but for the sake of the glorification of thy name, grant me salvation. “In thy righteousness thou shalt bring my soul out of tribulation.” For having judged between me and my enemies, thou wilt justly deliver me from the troubles brought upon me by them.

VERS. 12. “And in thy mercy thou shalt destroy mine enemies, and thou shalt destroy all them that afflict my soul; for I am thy servant.” ^C This he also said in the hundred and thirty-fifth Psalm: “To him who smote Egypt with their firstborn, for his mercy endureth forever.” And here he says, “And in thy mercy thou shalt destroy mine enemies.” For the mercy manifested toward the one being wronged inflicts destruction upon the one wronging him. Thus also the excellent farmer roots out the thorns but waters and cultivates the plants.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXLIII

^A VERSE 1. *Davidi.* In some copies I have found this added to the inscription: "Against Goliath." But I have not found it in the Hebrew exemplar, nor among the other interpreters, nor indeed in the Septuagint in the Hexapla. However, it has this subject matter: Many of the prophets made mention of the nations that rose up against the Jews after the return from Babylon; but the divine Ezekiel does so more copiously than the others. He says these things among many others: "After many days you shall be prepared, and you shall come to the land that has been overturned by the sword, gathered from many peoples, to the land of Jerusalem, which was a desert continually. And they themselves shall have come forth from the nations, and they all shall dwell in peace. And you shall go up as rain, and you shall come as a storm, and as a cloud, to cover the land, and you shall fall, you and all your troops, and many nations with you." Then, after much, he also teaches the manner of death: "And I will summon against him on all my mountains the fear of the sword, saith Adonai the Lord. The sword of a man shall be against his brother, and I will judge him in death, and in blood, and in an inundating rain, and stones of hail. And I will rain fire and sulphur upon him, and upon all who are with him, and upon the many nations that are with him." It is permitted for him who wishes to learn these things more accurately to read the prophecy itself. This Psalm also foretells these things: "For incline the heavens, O Lord, and descend; touch the mountains, and ^B they shall smoke; flash forth your lightning, and you shall scatter them; send forth your arrows, and you shall trouble them." But the interpretation of the individual parts will set these forth more clearly. "Blessed be the Lord my God, who instructs my hands for battle, my fingers for war." For having just returned from Babylon, and being deprived of both arms and defensive walls, they were superior to the invading enemies through divine aid. Indeed, the things said also apply to us. For, being delivered from the tyranny of the devil, we have been taught by God to fight: working justice with our hands indeed, and by our fingers placing the sign of the cross upon our foreheads.

^C VERSE 2. "My mercy, and my refuge, my supporter and my deliverer, my protector, in him I have hoped." He derived these names from the things themselves. For you are, he says, "my mercy," for from you I have received the fountains of mercy. You are "my refuge"; for taking refuge in you I have been saved. You are "my supporter"; for having obtained your aid, I have overcome my enemies. You are "my deliverer and protector." For you in war ^D

^A and have shielded the besieged, and rescued the one held in siege. I shall therefore have a firm hope in you." "Who subjects my people under me." This ^B fits Zerubbabel and Joshua the priest; for these were leading the people at that time.

VERS. 3. "Lord, what is man, that you have made yourself known to him? Or the son of man, that you take account of him?" In place of "have made yourself known," Symmachus interpreted it as "you are known." He says: "I greatly admire your immeasurable kindness, that, being God and the Creator of all, you take such care of this lowly creature." He then reveals the frailty of nature.

VERS. 4. "Man has been made like vanity; his days pass by like a shadow." Theodotion says: "Man has been made like an exhalation"; and Symmachus, "like a vapor." For the nature of men, not being firmly established but easily dissolved like vapor, perishes, and their life proceeds similarly to a shadow; since, in this way, you care for frail men. ^C

VERS. 5. "Lord, incline your heavens, and descend." He spoke in human fashion, not knowing the divine nature to be circumscribed by heaven, but imploring a helper for the punishment of the enemies. "Touch the mountains, and they will smoke." For this happened also on Mount Sinai. For the mountain, he says, was smoking.

VERS. 6. "Send forth lightning, and you will scatter them; send out your arrows, and will confuse them." He forms his speech optatively; but he foretells the things that are to come, which God has predicted through the prophet Ezekiel; for so he consumed them all.

VERS. 7. "Send forth your hand from on high." Teaching that you are sufficient, with a nod, to provide salvation to those who ask. He called power "hand," as we have often said. "Rescue me, and deliver me from many waters." He called the multitude of enemies "many waters." So also in the 123rd Psalm he said: "Our soul has passed through the torrent, the ^D intolerable water." And teaching that he had figuratively called the enemies "waters," he added: "From the hand of alien sons." He called them "aliens," not as foreigners, but as ungodly.

VERS. 8. "Whose mouth has spoken vanity." They have used blasphemies, he says, Lord, against your glory. "And their right hand is a right hand of iniquity." The deeds correspond to the words. For just as they blaspheme with their words, so they act unjustly with their deeds. For this right hand of theirs accomplishes nothing right, but has appeared as an instrument of iniquity.

VERS. 9. "O God, I will sing a new song to you; on the psaltery"

on a ten-stringed instrument I will sing to you." ^A For I will not be ungrateful after attaining salvation, but rather will I offer a hymn of thanksgiving using the usual musical instruments.

VERS. 10. "Who gives salvation to kings." For in this way, he says, you have also saved our ancestors to whom the kingdom had been entrusted by you, and you showed them to be victors over the enemies who rose up against them—David, Josaphat, Hezekiah, and anyone else who sought your aid. "Who rescued David his servant." For because of the covenants entered into with them, you take every care of us.

"From the evil sword" [VERS. 11] "snatch me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children." By "evil sword" he refers to the frenzy and wildness of the invaders; and he calls them "strange children" as being impious. "Whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity." He has not used this tautology in vain; but since he is about to recount their prosperity, he introduces an accusation of their wickedness, stirring up God to provide aid. For those who thus blaspheme you, he says, and live in injustice and wickedness, are carried along by favorable winds; and having received from you an abundance of good things, they possess their prosperity as a provision for their iniquity. ^B

VERS. 12. "Whose sons are as newly planted seedlings, firmly rooted in their youth." They have attained, he says, many good children, and they are surrounded by their offspring, imitating newly budding plants. "Their daughters are adorned, embellished as the likeness of a temple." For not only does the beauty of nature adorn them, but they are also greatly decorated by art, so as to resemble temples adorned for the honor of idols. Such, however, is the cosmetic art of a harlot. ^C

VERS. 13. "Their storehouses are full, and they produce abundantly from this to that." For when they see their receptacles filled beyond their needs, they transfer the excess into others, according to that man who says: "I will pull down my barns, and I will build larger ones" (Luke XII, 18). "Their sheep are prolific, abounding in their goings-out. [VERS. 14.] Their oxen are fat." Moreover, their animals are fat and fertile. "There is no ruin of a wall, nor passage, nor outcry in their streets." Symmachus, however, says it thus: "Nor fracture, nor carrying out for burial, nor lamentation in their streets." Thus also the other interpreters. For because of their great prosperity and their abundance of goods, ^D

abundance, and live in luxury and laughter, ^A not experiencing the trials of the wicked. This he also stated in the seventy-second Psalm, saying: "Because there is no regard in their death, and firmament in their plague. They are not in the labors of men, and they shall not be scourged with men." We find many things consonant with these among the other prophets; but they all furnish a solution to the matters in dispute. The divine David has done this here as well. For he added: 15. "They have called the people blessed, to whom these things are: blessed is the people, whose Lord is its God." For those uninitiated in the truth do not know how to discern the nature of things, but define prosperity by luxury, wealth, and power, and call those who enjoy these people to be envied and blessed. But those initiated in virtue, having partaken of divine wisdom, call the people who are provided for by Thee ^B blessed, and prefer Thy care to the whole of life. The Lord also instructed us in such beatitudes, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness; and blessed are they that mourn; and blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." But those who choose the pleasure of life, enjoying it for a little while, will reap long-lasting pain from their brief pleasure.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXLIV

^A in the glory which I had with Thee before the world was. He did not, therefore, receive what He did not have, but that which He did have was made manifest to those who did not know. And here, therefore, the Prophet does not promise to make God high, but to show His height to men, as far as is possible. And he names the God of all, both God and his own King, impelled by the force of love to do this.

VERS. 2. "Every day I will bless Thee; and I will praise Thy name forever and ever." I will always, he says, continue to hymn Thee, and I will not let any day be without song.

VERS. 3. "Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; and of His greatness there is no end." Since every sensible magnitude, if measured in length, and breadth, and depth, is shown to be great, he rightly added, "of His greatness there is no end," ^B so as to show that the One being hymned is incorporeal and uncircumscribed. For, he says, I know Him to be great, yet not reachable, nor measurable. For I find neither beginning nor end of His greatness: for this is infinite, and transcends all comprehension of the mind.

VERS. 4. "Generation and generation shall praise Thy works, and shall declare Thy power." From here he proclaims the divine knowledge of the nations. For not only, he says, will we who are from Israel, in this generation, praise Thee as our benefactor, but also another generation, namely the Church from the nations, will proclaim the magnificence of Thy works.

VERS. 5. "They shall speak of the magnificent glory of Thy holiness, and shall recount Thy wonders." The nature of the One being praised exceeds the powers of the Prophet. For, seeking fitting and suitable appellations, and then being unable to reach them, he connects many names into one, calling it the glory of holiness and magnificence. These things, therefore, he foretells will be proclaimed by the other generation.

VERS. 6. "And they shall speak of the power of Thy terrible acts, and shall recount Thy greatness." He seems to use a tautology, but nevertheless signifies different things. For he calls "wonders" the miracles wrought for the benefit of some; but by the "power of terrible acts," he means the great works ^C performed for the punishment of others. For example, that through the divine Moses he inflicted various scourges upon Egypt; in these, the power of terrible acts is to be understood: that in the wilderness He supplied manna to the people, and gathered quails as if in a net, and flooded the arid land—these things stirred the tongues of grateful men to wonder. ^D

^A The divine Apostle also made this same distinction. For he says that there were given by the Holy Spirit not only gifts of healing, but also workings of powers. And he calls "gifts of healing" the walking of the lame, the health of the sick, the resurrection of the dead, and things of that kind. But "workings of powers" are the blindness of Elymas, the death of Ananias and Sapphira, and those surrendered to Satan so that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

Ver. 7. «They shall utter the memory of the abundance of Thy goodness, and shall shout for joy at Thy righteousness.» The Prophet wishes to show the wealth of the divine goodness and power; but using human language, and being unable to attain what he desires, he again heaps up more names, and predicts the gratitude of the coming generation, that when it happens to enjoy the divine oracles, it shall bring forth as it were certain eructations of the narration of divine benevolence. This is what the divine Apostle also experiences, and ^B since he cannot worthily narrate divine things, he attempts to do so through many names. For he says, «the exceeding riches of His grace.» And elsewhere he confesses that he is overcome, saying, «O how incomprehensible are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!»

Ver. 8. «The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and very pitiful.» In this place too, the Prophet has again undergone the same condition. For taking to mind how He fashioned the nature of men, and with how much honor and care He deemed it worthy, and how He decreed that the whole visible creation should provide the necessity for them, and that He endures those who sin every day, and makes His sun to rise upon both evil and good, and rain upon the just and the unjust, he calls Him not only compassionate, but also merciful, and long-suffering, and very pitiful. For using immeasurable goodness, He has removed our iniquities from us as far as the east is from the west, and so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son for it.

Ver. 9. «The Lord is sweet to all, and His mercies are over all His works.» For He did not take care only for the Jews, but poured out His benevolence upon all men. And He cares not only for men, but also for those without reason, and provides for everyone what is suitable.

Ver. 10. «Let all Thy works confess to Thee, O Lord, and let Thy saints bless Thee.» It is not that inanimate things sing hymns to God, nor do the animals emit a rational voice; but through these, those who are rational and God-loving weave the hymn. For looking toward each of the things created by Him, and ^D of the wisdom... [index: entries preserved]

as they gaze upon the things that have been made by Him, and observing the magnificence of His wisdom, they urge their tongues into praise.

^A VERS. 11, 12. «*They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power. To make known to the sons of men thy power, and the glory of the majesty of thy kingdom.*» For these most holy men, whether prophets or apostles, and those who after them received the ministry of the preaching, will teach all men of the eternal kingdom and the ineffable power. For they will bring this teaching not to the Jews alone, but to the entire nature of mankind.

VERS. 13. «*Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, and thy dominion is in every generation and generation.*» For thou hast an empire concluded by no end, and an eternal kingdom, neither beginning nor ending. «*The Lord is faithful in all his words, and holy in all his works.*» For the truth of his words shines forth, confirmed by their effects; and these are adorned by justice.

VERS. 14. «*The Lord upholdeth all that are falling, and setteth up all that are broken.*» For He cares not only for the fosterlings of justice, but also for those who slip and are broken, and who receive the wounds of sin. ^B For He shores up those who are falling and does not allow them to fall, and He raises up those who have fallen, reaching out His right hand.

VERS. 15. «*The eyes of all hope in thee, and thou givest them their food in due season.*» He has not used "hope" here because of affection; for neither do those who live in impiety have this hope, nor do the kinds of animals devoid of reason possess the command of reason; but He teaches that each one receives from Him the appropriate need. Then He also indicates the ease with which He provides.

VERS. 16. «*Thou openest thy hand, and fillest every animal with thy pleasure.*» For at the same time that Thou willest, each one partakes of the good things Thou dost minister. For just as it is easy for us to extend contracted ^C fingers and open the hand, so it is easy for Thee to provide the abundance of good things in a moment of time.

VERS. 17. «*The Lord is just in all his ways, and holy in all his works.*» Furthermore, in all Thy dispensations justice shines forth. For He called the dispensations "ways."

VERS. 18. «*The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.*» "Near" does not signify a spatial interval; for as to nature, God is present everywhere. For «*in him we live, and move, and are*» (Acts XVII, 28), according to the divine Apostle; but by these words He has declared the relationship ^D and the disposition. But beautiful is

the addition of truth. For it is not near to those who call upon Him simply, but to those who have determined to do this in truth. For «*not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of God, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven*» (Matt. VII, 21). Therefore He added:

^B Ver. 19. «*He will do the will of those who fear him, and he will hear their supplication, and save them.*» Those who possess the fear of God first do the will of God. Since, therefore, it happens that their purpose corresponds to the divine will, the Lord necessarily fulfills their desires. For they desire nothing contrary to what He wills.

Ver. 20. «*The Lord protects all who love him, and all sinners he will destroy.*» He has shown how the Lord is righteous in all His ways. For it is peculiar to the righteous to grant what is appropriate to each individual; on which account He guards and protects those who are well-disposed toward Him, and delivers them from those who plot against them, but He delivers to punishments those who have entered upon the contrary path.

Ver. 21. «*My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.*» I, therefore, he says, have written this hymn. But it befits the whole human nature to always honor the Creator with praises, and to offer fitting worship to the divine name. It is to be noted that here He does not assign the hymn only to the Jews, but has called all flesh to the singing of the hymn. The prophecy, therefore, is manifest and confirmed by the outcome. For in all the nations throughout the world, according to the prophecy, the God of all is praised.

Interpretation of Psalm CXLV

1. «*Alleluia.*» In some copies, it is added, of Haggai and Zechariah. But I found this neither in the Hebrew, nor in the other interpreters, nor in the Septuagint in the Hexapla. This psalm also exhorts us to pursue the God of all with praises. For the inscription itself signifies this. For Alleluia is translated, Praise the Lord, as we have often said.

2. «*Praise the Lord, my soul.*» The grace of the Spirit warns us all to rouse ourselves to the praises of God. «*I will praise the Lord in my life; I will psalm to my God as long as I exist.*» In the sixth psalm he said: «*For there is no one in death who remembers you, and in Hades who will confess you?*» (Ps. VI, 6). For this reason we are taught to praise God during the time of our life, until we have received the

^A end.

«Do not trust in princes.» A good admonition. For princes do not always rule, but possess power for a limited time, nor do all princes honor justice. But so that both may be present, the frailty of nature must be regarded; for it adds this:

Ver. 3. «In the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.» Look at nature, and do not be reliant upon power. «For man has been made like to vanity, and man—his days are as grass.»

Ver. 4. «His spirit shall go forth, and shall return to his earth.» In this place he calls the soul spirit. And once it has departed, the body returns to its own kindred, according to the divine decree: «For you are earth, and to earth you shall return.» ^B «In that day all his thoughts shall perish.» For the soul having been separated, and the body dissolved into dust, the vanity of thoughts is revealed. The Lord taught us this also by means of a parable. For when He introduced the rich man, whose land had yielded very fertile fruits, intending to tear down his barns and build larger ones, He added: «Fool, this night they require your soul from you, and what you have prepared, whose shall it be?» And as for other men, some imagine empires and powers, others possessions of fields and buildings; others dream of victories in wars, and others plot death for their enemies: but death, rushing in suddenly, makes the vanity of their thoughts unfulfilled. Thus, having shown the vanity of the hope that is placed in men, he demonstrates the usefulness of the hope fixed in God.

Ver. 5. «Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.» He did not call Him the God of Jacob without reason; but in calling Him to our minds, he reminds us of how much aid Jacob obtained when he placed his hopes in God, and what and how great were the fruits of hope he reaped; he urges us to hope in the God of this man. And he names Him both Lord and God, and through both he proclaims His power. Then, from the creation of works itself, he teaches us His goodness and His power. ^C

Ver. 6. «Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them.» In a brief word he comprehended the whole world, which is seen and which cannot be seen. For he made mention not only of heaven, and earth, and sea, but also of all things that are in them. For in heaven are angels, and the nature of invisible things, and the sun, and the moon, and the multitude of stars. And upon the earth and in the sea are men, and the kinds of animals devoid of reason. Such, he says, is the power of the Creator of the universe. Do you see, therefore, how great is the difference between passing princes and the creator of all things?

all things. Having thus shown Him to be the maker of all things, he demonstrates that He also takes care of what He has made. ^A

Interpretation of Psalm CXLVI

Vers. 7. "Who keepeth truth for ever, executeth judgment for them that suffer wrong, giveth food to the hungry." For He who promises is truthful, and as a lover of truth, He zealously fulfills His promises. He helps those who suffer wrong, and judges justly; he also provides for all the hungry the food that is appropriate. From this, he foretells the benefits that have come to us through the incarnation of our Savior.

Vers. 8. "The Lord looseth the prisoners: the Lord giveth sight to the blind: the Lord raiseth up them that are bowed down." These things also, God, the ruler of all, foretold through the prophet Isaiah. For when He had said, "I have given thee for a light to the Gentiles," He added, "to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the prisoners out of the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." And elsewhere, speaking from the person of the Master, Christ, He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me, he hath sent me to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind." And in another place, "Then shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness."

[Vers. 9.] "The Lord loveth the righteous. The Lord preserveth the strangers." The Lord of all offers to each what is fitting. And to those who love Him, being righteous, He requites with like deeds, and bestows upon them love and paternal affection; but those who have fled from their ancestral impiety, and have approached Him with faith, He deems worthy of every protection and providence. For he calls strangers proselytes. Thus also the blessed Paul said, that "we were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants, not having hope of the promise: but we who sometimes were far off are made nigh." "He will take up the fatherless and widow, and the way of the wicked he will destroy." From universal Providence, he brings the speech down to particular cases, and says that the governor of all neglects no one, but that he deems those who are destitute of human care worthy of every providence, and dissolves the snares set against them. ^{B C}

Vers. 10. "The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Sion, unto all generations." For He who is now, O Sion, thought to be thy God alone, has eternal power and an everlasting kingdom. ^D

Interpretation of Psalm CXLVI

Vers. 1. "Alleluia." Here we have been clearly taught the interpretation of "Alleluia." For "Praise the Lord," which is what the Hebrew says; but Symmachus left it untranslated...

he speaks thus: "Alleluia, for it is a good psalm." Theodotion says, "Praise Iah." This psalm, therefore, also exhorts us to praise; it predicts the return from Babylon and the restoration of Jerusalem that occurred afterwards. For the prophetic word is not predicting that Jerusalem will be rebuilt again, as the Jews expect, but it is predicting the building that has already been done by Zorobabel. "Praise the Lord, for it is a good ^A psalm; let praise be pleasing to our God." Beneficial, he says, is the singing of hymns, and it is a cause of good things. Yet it is not the hymn itself that is pleasing to God, but the intention of those who sing; for He, needing nothing, rejoices in the salvation of men.

VERS. 2. "The Lord building Jerusalem, will gather together the dispersions of Israel." And for this reason, he says, it is fitting to praise Him, because He will both rebuild Jerusalem, which had been torn down, and will deem those carried away captive worthy of the return. But if not all returned, it is not the divine word that has proven false, but their own wickedness that was exposed. For He Himself gave the command through Cyrus for all to return, but they, possessing a contrary mind, preferred the foreign land to their fatherland. ^B

VERS. 3. "Who heals the broken in heart, and binds up their bruises." He has joined spiritual things to bodily ones and shown that God has not only granted freedom to the captives but has also bestowed healing upon those who had received the wounds of sin.

VERS. 4. "Who numbers the multitude of the stars, and calling them all by names." He proclaims the power of God through all things. By "numbers" here he meant knowledge, and by "names of the stars," the differences of the stars, and their position, and arrangement, and their relationship to one another. For God, the creator of all, does not use names to call the stars; for these are inanimate and devoid of reason. But men, making use ^C of an impious mind, have imposed names upon the stars from myths fabricated by themselves.

VERS. 5. "Great is our Lord, and great is His power, and of His understanding there is no number." All things are immense—the greatness, and the strength, and the praise: nevertheless, we praise Him as best we can. ^D

VERS. 6. "The Lord taking up the meek; but humbling sinners even to the ground." Symmachus said "restoring." And this is characteristic of divine Providence: to deem those who, on account of their meekness, suffer plots from some, worthy of His care; but to deliver to death those who have unjustly attacked them. And He makes the former illustrious and conspicuous, while He delivers the memory of the others to oblivion. Thus, the chorus of the holy apostles has been celebrated; thus the most famous assemblies of the martyrs. But the memory of those who warred against them has been delivered to oblivion.

^A Ver. 7. “Sing to the Lord with confession; sing psalms to our God with the harp.” Knowing, therefore, this goodness, wisdom, and power of God, begin your hymn-singing, using the instruments to which you are accustomed.

Ver. 8. “Who covers the heaven with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth.” Both are signs of both power and goodness. For as He is good and loving towards mankind, He provides for those things that are upon the earth; and as He is omnipotent, He carries the nature of the waters through the air and covers the sight of the heaven, fashioning through the clouds a sort of covering between heaven and earth, and watering the earth with their labors. Then He shows the crop that springs up from this. “Who makes grass to spring up on the mountains, and green herb for the service of men.” For He does not only water the land cultivated by men, but also the mountains and the desert places, offering the fodder that grows from them to the cattle. And this He does for the sake of the benefit to men, for He commanded the cattle to serve mankind.

Ver. 9. “And to the beasts their food, and to the young of the ravens that call upon him.” The nature of ravens is not rational, nor do they call upon the Creator through reason; but their cry, ^B emitted out of need, imitates a petition. From this I suppose that even the Lord Christ, while leaving aside the memory of other birds, remembered the ravens and said to the disciples: “Look at the ravens, for they neither sow, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them.”

Ver. 10, 11. “He will not delight in the strength of the horse, nor will he be well pleased with the legs of a man. The Lord is well pleased in those who fear him, and in those who hope in his mercy.” He says that God does not take pleasure in bodily strength, or equestrian skill, or the swiftness of feet; but He is delighted by good actions, of which reverence is the creator. And He does not only diligently provide for these people, but also for those who have fallen into sins, provided that they have had recourse to repentance and have been strengthened by the hope of mercy. For He says that God is well pleased not only with those who are perfect athletes of virtue, but also with those who await the divine ^C mercy.

Interpretation of Psalm CXLVII

Alleluia. Here too the prophetic word encourages us to praise God. It also foretells the victory that occurred after the return. And besides this, it prophesies the preaching of the apostles, which ran through the whole inhabited world as quickly as possible. ^D

^A Ver. 12, 13. "Praise, O Jerusalem, the Lord; praise thy God, O Sion. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates." Through the unassailable aid of God, and freed from enemies, and remaining unbesieged, O Jerusalem, render hymns to the Author of thy benefits. He does not here call the buildings Jerusalem, but its inhabitants. "He hath blessed thy sons within thee." For having received a blessing of good children and many children, thou hast increased into a multitude.

Ver. 14. "Who maketh thy borders peace." From every side he has granted thee peace. For those who were terrified by the fear of those who were slaughtered do not dare to return again. "And filleth thee with the fat of wheat." He has overwhelmed thee also with goods brought from the earth. For he called the abundance of the fruits the "fat of wheat," naming the whole from the part; for the wheat is the grain, and the "fat of wheat" is the finest bread. By this, however, he indicated the other fruits as well. But the Jews once enjoyed this providence; yet, having acted insanely against the Saviour, they were deprived of all good things. Therefore, the prophetic discourse, having spoken of them, predicts the salvation of the ^B nations.

Ver. 15. "Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth; his word runneth very swiftly." Here he called the preaching of the Gospel "speech." And he sent this not to the Jews only, but to all other men as well. "For go," he says, "teach all nations." He also showed the swiftness of the course. For in a short time they filled the whole earth and sea with the teaching. Foreseeing this, the Prophet said, "His word runneth very swiftly." And this is nothing new, nor is it incredible. For all things yield to the divine will. Therefore, he transforms the nature of water, which is one, into myriad forms as soon as he wills.

Ver. 16, 17. "Who giveth snow like wool; he scattereth the mist like ashes. He casteth forth his crystal like morsels." For out of the one substance of waters, there is produced crystal, which is solid and resistant; and snow, which is sparse and soft, and mimics the fluff of wool; and there is produced moist dust—for such is the nature of mist. "Who shall stand against his cold?" He also changes the air easily, and makes that which was just now hot, soon after cold. ^C

Ver. 18. "He shall send forth his word, and shall melt them; his wind shall blow, and the waters shall flow." But again, when he wills, he easily dissolves the frozen water and makes it flow in streams. For when the south wind blows, both the snow and the crystal are dissolved. He did not, however, construct the narrative of these things without reason, but signifies other things through them. For just as the snow, having been brought down, fills the mountains,

and when it melts, it flows into the neighboring rivers and brings irrigation to other lands. So, too, the abundance of goods given by God was first offered to the Jews; but when they rejected the grace, the irrigation of doctrine was offered to the nations through the holy apostles, as if through certain rivers.

VERS. 19. "Who announces His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel." ^A Once it was the Law, but after this also the grace; yet they proved themselves unworthy of both.

VERS. 20. "He has not done so for any nation, and He has not manifested His judgments to them." For He gave the Law through Moses to none of the nations, nor did He bring the benefit through the prophets to them. But He deemed these alone worthy of such irrigation; ^B yet they became ungrateful toward their benefactor. But the nations, having received the ray of spiritual light through the holy apostles, acknowledged their own Creator, and offer Him worship continuously.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXLVIII

VERS. 1. "Alleluia, Alleluia." The Prophet made the exhortation twofold, to ^C stir their souls to greater zeal. This is another hymn, inciting all creation—both that which falls under the understanding and that which falls under the senses, the reasoning and the unreasoning, the animate and the inanimate—to a single, as it were, concert of hymns to be sung. Therefore, he enjoins heaven and earth and the abysses, and the luminaries that are in heaven, and mountains, and plants, and all other things of this kind, to offer a hymn. However, he commands those who have shared in reason to look at these things, and ^D while contemplating the wisdom that is evident in them, to praise the Creator. "Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest." The great Moses taught us that two heavens were made by God: one created together with the earth, and the other commanded to be made later in the midst of the waters, which he also called the firmament. For this reason, he commanded God to be praised from the heavens and from the highest, that is, those who dwell in this and in that, the choirs of incorporeal beings. Since the divine Moses taught us nothing concerning the creation of the nature of spiritual beings, the Prophet necessarily made mention of them here as well. Therefore, he commands them to offer a hymn to the Creator. For this debt is owed to Him by the creatures, and it is fitting that everything made by Him and honored with reason should pay this debt at all times. But if those that have a created nature offer praise, and neither the Son nor the all-holy Spirit is numbered with those who offer praise, it is manifest that they are not of created nature; for otherwise they would have praised the Creator before all others, as justly

^A as fountains of justice honor that which is just. But neither does the Son praise, nor the Holy Spirit: thus, neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit is of created nature. Manifestly, both He and the Holy Spirit are praised themselves; for there is no other intermediate thing between those who praise and those who are praised, but rather, the creature praises, and the Creator is praised. If, however, anyone does not praise his Creator, he fails to praise Him like an ungrateful man. But we have expounded these matters more copiously in the books concerning the Holy Spirit. Let us, therefore, proceed to the continuation of the interpretation.

VERS. 2. “Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts.”

VERS. 3. “Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all stars and light.”

VERS. 4. “Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens.”

VERS. 5. “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He spoke and they were brought into being; He commanded and they were created.”

^A

VERS. 6. “He established them for ever and ever; He gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.” He not only created them, but He also continues to take care of them; whence they also possess endurance, as He Himself wills. For neither will they be able to transgress the boundaries established by Him. Inanimate things, then, and all other genera, revere the laws that have been laid down; yet only the nature of man, which is gifted with reason, transgresses the laws. Indeed, the sea knows its boundaries and respects the sand, and night and day preserve the set measures; but men despise divine laws. And so, after He has called the super-celestial and the celestial realms into the communion of choirs of hymns, He turns to the earth, the common mother of men and of animals that lack reason. ^B

VERS. 7. “Praise the Lord from the earth.” Then separately, “Dragons, and all the deeps.” The sea is a part of the earth, and in it are the sea monsters. Yet this providence of the Creator is also worthy of admiration, that having created animals of the greatest and most immense bulk, He confined them in the seas, which cannot be navigated; by His workmanship demonstrating these things, and by the mention of them terrifying men, while by preventing the harm that could arise from them, He proclaims His own goodness. ^C

VERS. 8. “Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy wind.” And these things also have their beginning from the waters. For in the air, both hail, and snow, and ice, and violent winds come to be; for these he called “storms.” And fire, likewise, can be seen appearing not only on the earth, but also in the air; for flashes of lightning, and thunderbolts, and fiery whirlwinds are brought down from the air. “Doing His word.” And these things, he says, yield to His nods, not as endowed with soul and reason, but as following His will. For with God nodding assent, each of these things comes to pass. ^D

VERS. 9. “Mountains and all hills, fruit-bearing trees, and all cedars.” These things are also sufficient to move our tongues to thanksgiving. For not only is the magnitude of these things worthy of admiration, but also the use which arises from them; for it is manifold and of diverse kinds.

VERS. 10. “Beasts, and all cattle.” He spoke of these also by division. For he did not speak simply of four-footed animals, but he distinguished the wild from the tame. And through these, therefore, as well as through those, he bids us celebrate the Creator. For nothing is superfluous and useless, even if it escapes our knowledge. “Creeping things and winged birds.” To the mention of creeping things, the nature of swimming creatures is joined; for they creep in the waters. And so God also designated them.

repetition of life, and birds flying above the firmament of heaven. After all these things, he calls upon him who praises Him through all things; for man was deemed worthy of divine creation after all these things. And he gathers him by classes and orders; first, he introduces the choir of kings, then the masses of the subjects, and says:

VERS. 11. ^A *Reges terræ, et omnes populi.* He does not deprive of this psalmody the subordinate princes, nor the judges who follow them, but he distributes a share of this benefit to them as well. *Principes, et omnes judices terræ.* And he commands each age, and both sexes, of men and women, to do this; and first those who are in the full maturity of age.

VERS. 12. *Juvenes et virgines.* Then he mentions each extreme: *Senes cum junioribus laudent nomen Domini.* And he says, let the immature and the advanced age alike celebrate God.

VERS. 13. *Quia exaltatum est nomen ejus solius.* For the memory of the false gods has been extinguished, and the venerable name of the one true God alone appears.

VERS. 14. *Confessio ejus super cœlum et terram.* For the heavenly beings do not praise Him alone any more, but *Tota terra Domini cognitione plena est, ut multa aqua ad operiendum maria.* *Et exaltabit cornu populi sui.* He says He will render His people invincible and illustrious. For he called the horn strength, a metaphor taken from horned ^C animals, which boast that their strength lies in them. *Hymnus omnibus sanctis ejus.* For He makes those who have believed in Him not only strong, but also famous among all. *Filiis Israel, populo appropinquanti sibi.* Israel also enjoyed this glory when he cleaved to God; but now, with piety, the splendor has passed away, and while they (the Jews) are deprived of this, the nations (Gentiles) rejoice in His divine gifts.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CXLIX

VERS. 1. *Alleluia, Alleluia.* Those who, after the return, overcame those many nations by relying on divine assistance, are commanded to offer this hymn. It also contains a prediction concerning the things which were rightly accomplished by the Maccabees. ^D

VERS. 2. *Cantate Domino canticum novum, laus ejus in ecclesia sanctorum.* For it is the property of the holy, not of the lawless, to praise God.

^A 3. "Let Israel rejoice in him that made him, and let the sons of Zion exult in their king." Although God is the God of all things, He was called king of the Israelites in a special sense. Thus, when they were afflicted with the disease of ingratitude and asked for another king, God said to Samuel, "They have not rejected you, but me, that I should not reign over them."

4. "Let them praise his name in chorus: let them sing to him with timbrel and psaltery." By every kind of instrument, he says, according to our law, let us praise our Benefactor.

5. "For the Lord takes pleasure in his people." He has deemed us worthy of much benevolence, he says, and has shown us his own goodness. "And he will exalt the meek in salvation." And those who are destitute of help, and who follow good ways, he will render lofty and notable.

6. "The saints shall exult in glory; they shall rejoice in their beds." And those who honor justice will be in glory, enjoying much rest. For he called the resting-place a "bed," since the couch signifies rest.

7. "The exaltations of God are in their throat." They continually proclaim the divine benefits, praising the Author of them. ^B "And two-edged swords are in their hands." [Ver. 8.] "To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples." It is not contrary to rest to win in wars. For to win is more delightful than any rest. He predicts, however, through these words, the valor of the Maccabees, by which they used, and subdued those around them, and vanquished the Macedonians.

9. "To bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with iron handcuffs." History teaches that many such things were successfully accomplished by them, and it is easy for those who wish to read to learn the truth of the prophecy.

10. "To execute among them the written judgment." For what they justly performed against them became written, and their glory has remained unforgotten to this day. For this is what he adds: "This glory shall be for all his saints." For holiness is the mother of glory, and those who work it become ^C famous through it.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM CL

1. Alleluia, Alleluia. This hymn, too, is a song of victory; it predicts the knowledge of God that will come to all men.

2. "Praise God in his saints." For this is a sufficient occasion for singing hymns. For if from...

^A plants, wild beasts, and reptiles, we are commanded to find an occasion for giving thanks, much more is it right to look to the saints and to praise their God more justly. For who, when he learns of the things that happened to the blessed Paul, or the divine Peter, or the most divine John, or the other apostles, or the triumphant martyrs, or the other saints, or those who are now champions of virtue, does not move his tongue to sing a hymn to the One who has bestowed such1 an abundance of good things upon men? "Praise him in the firmament of his power." Now, Symmachus says it thus: "Praise him in his impregnable firmament." For he alone possesses an unshaken, immortal, and eternal dominion.

VERS. 3. "Praise him for his mighty deeds." For the things that are continually wrought by his saints are ineffable. "Praise him according to the multitude of his greatness." This is similar to the things already explained by us: "For his greatness has no end." ^B For he says his magnitude is infinite and his power is immeasurable; therefore, persevere in praising him at all times.

VERS. 4. "Praise him with the sound of the trumpet." This instrument was priestly; for the priests used the trumpets, calling to mind the trumpets that occurred on Mount Sinai. "Praise him with the psaltery and harp. [VERS. 5, 6.] Praise him with the timbrel and choir; praise him with strings and organ. Praise him with well-sounding cymbals; praise him with cymbals of jubilation." ^C The Levites of old used these instruments while praising God in the divine temple; not because God was delighted by the sound of these things, but because he approved of the intention of those who were doing them. For that God is not at all delighted by songs and sounds, we hear him saying to the Jews: "Remove from me the sound of your songs, and I will not hear the sound of your musical instruments." He permitted these things, therefore, wishing to deliver them from the error of idols. For since they were somewhat fond of games and laughter, and all these things were performed in the temples of idols, he allowed ^D these things, alluring them by this means, preventing a greater harm by a lesser one, and teaching them perfect things through what is imperfect. "Let every spirit praise the Lord." Not the Jews alone, but all men. For God is not the God of the Jews only, according to the divine Apostle, but also of the Gentiles. In the hundred and forty-fourth Psalm, therefore, he says: "Let all flesh bless his holy name." But here he says, "Let every spirit praise the Lord." Yet he did not call only the flesh there, nor only the spirit here; but through both this and that, he commands that God of all be praised both by body and by soul. Moreover, worthy of amazement is

INDEX OF THE PSALMS

^A The end of this entire work of the Psalms is worthy of admiration, and it corresponds to the purpose of prophecy. For prophecy proclaims salvation to the nations, and the end of prophecy commands those who have obtained this to extol the Author of this benefit with praises. But we do not merely hear the words; here, too, we behold the events. For in every city and village, and in the fields, and in the corners, and on the mountains and the hills, and in the solitude that is totally uncultivated, the God of all things is praised.

I beseech the readers of this book that, if it appears to have been interpreted well and fittingly, they may reap the benefit from it. But if anywhere we have not attained to the hidden mysteries of the Holy Spirit, let them not be excessively angry with us. For what we were able to find, we have set forth abundantly for all; and what we have learned from our Fathers, we have endeavored to bring to those who come after us. And indeed, we have undertaken the labor, but we offer the fruit to others without labor. Whom I entreat and implore to compensate our labor with their prayers, so that, supported by them, we may add works to our words, and, from both together, may reap the composed blessedness. "For whoever," He says, "has done and taught, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." k May this indeed be given to us all through Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom glory is fitting for the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

k Matt. v, 19.

INDEX OF THE PSALMS

Ps. | Leaf --- | --- Ps. | Leaf 40' | Shout to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord. | 1510 XI. | It is good to confess to the Lord, and to sing. | 1264 43' | Rejoice, O you righteous, in the Lord; it becomes the upright. | 806 65' | Shout to the Lord, all the earth; sing to His name. | 1041 IX. | Rejoice in God, our helper; shout to the [...]. | 1179 67' | Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered. | 1053 XVII. | I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength; the Lord is my support. | 701 XL. | Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth. | 1289 CXLV. | Praise, O my soul, the Lord; I will praise the Lord in my life. | 1563 CXLIX. | Sing to the Lord a new song; His praise is in the church. | 1581 CXII. | Praise, O you servants, the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. May the [...]. | 1406 — | Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things. | 1501 CXLVIII. | Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in [...]. | 1576 — | God is known in Judea, in Israel His name is great. | 1159 CXLVI. | Praise the Lord, for the psalm is good; to our God. | 1569 — | Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us shout. | 1284 CXVI. | Praise the Lord, all you nations; praise Him. | 1421 XXXIV. | Judge, O Lord, those who wrong me, fight against those. | 819 CIII. | Praise God in His saints, praise Him. | 1583 — | Unless the Lord build the house. | 1195 CXXXIV. | Praise the name of the Lord, praise, O servants, the Lord. | 1514 XLVIII. | Hear these things, all you nations, give ear all you [...]. | 913