A Jacob from a barbarian people, Judea became his sanctuary, Israel [his] dominion.* He also sings these things in the hundred and twenty-fourth psalm: *He sent Moses his servant, Aaron whom he had chosen; he put in them the words of his signs, and his wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness and made it dark, and they rebelled against his words. He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish. Their land brought forth frogs into the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and there came dog-flies and gnats in all their borders.* And, in short, one can find this whole psalm, as well as the hundred and fifth, written concerning the same matters. And as for the things which concern the priesthood and the tabernacle, he recounts them in the end-of-tabernacle psalm, the twenty-eighth: *Bring to the Lord, O you sons of God, bring to the Lord the sons of rams, bring to the Lord glory and honor.*
δ'. And the things concerning Joshua and the Judges, he reveals in the hundred and sixth, saying: *And they built cities for habitation, and sowed fields, and planted vineyards.* For under Joshua the land of promise was distributed to them. And by saying repeatedly in the same B psalm, *And they cried out to the Lord when they were in trouble, and he saved them from their necessities*, he signifies the book of Judges; for whenever they cried out then, [he] raised up judges at the right time, and saved the people from those who were oppressing them. And he sings of the things of the books of Kings as in the nineteenth, saying: *Some in chariots, and some in horses, but we will be magnified in the name of the Lord our God. They were fettered and fell, but we have risen and have been set upright. O Lord, save the king, and hear us in the day when we call upon you.* The C things of Ezra he sings in the hundred and twenty-fifth, of the ascents: *When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion, we became as those comforted.* And again, in the hundred and twenty-first: *I was glad for them that said to me: We will go into the house of the Lord. Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city, whose part is in one; for thither the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, a testimony to Israel.*
ε'. He signifies the things of the Prophets in almost every psalm. Concerning the coming of the Savior, and that being God he will come, he says so in the forty-ninth psalm: *God shall come manifestly, our God, and he will not keep silence.* And in the hundred and seventeenth: *Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord; God is the Lord, and he has appeared to us.* D That this is the Word of the Father, he sings thus in the hundred and sixth: *He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.* For the God who comes is himself both God and the Word who is sent. And knowing this Word to be the Son of God, he sings the voice of the Father in the forty-fourth psalm: *My heart has uttered a good word.* And again in the hundred and ninth: *From the womb before the morning star I have begotten you.* For what else would one call the offspring of the Father than the Word, and the Wis-
Wisdom of Him? Knowing Him to be this very One, to whom the Father said: "Let there be light," and "a firmament," and "all things," this Book of Psalms also contains this, saying in the thirty-second: *By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the breath of His mouth all their power.* A
6. Nor was He ignorant that Christ Himself was to come; indeed, he makes particular mention of this in the forty-fourth Psalm: *Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.* And that no one might think He came according to a mere phantasy, he reveals that He was to become man, and that He is the One through whom all things were made, saying in the eighty-sixth: *Mount Sion shall say: A man, and a man was born in her, and the Most High Himself has established her.* For this is equivalent to saying: *And the Word was God; all things were made through Him, and the Word became flesh.* Therefore, since he knew He would be born of a Virgin, he was by no means silent about it, but immediately gave an indication of this matter in the forty-fourth: *Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house, because the King has desired your beauty, for He is your Lord.* For this is surely similar to this saying of Gabriel: *Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.* For indeed, having called Him Christ, he immediately declared His human generation from the Virgin with these words: *Hear, O daughter.* And behold, while Gabriel calls her by name, Mary—since he was B alien to her by generation—David, seeing that she was sprung from his own seed, rightly addresses her as daughter. C
7. And having declared that He would become man, it follows logically that he signifies He is passible in the flesh. For seeing the future machinations of the Jews, he sings in the second Psalm: *Why did the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ?* And in the twenty-first he speaks of the manner of His death in the person of the Savior: *You have brought me down to the dust of death. For many dogs have surrounded me; the assembly of the wicked has beset me. They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones. And they have considered and looked upon me; they divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.* For what else does it signify when he says that his hands and feet were pierced but the cross? After teaching all these things, he adds that the Lord does not suffer these things for His own sake, but for our sake. And he says again in His person in the eighty-seventh: *Your wrath has been laid heavily upon me*; and in the sixty-eighth: *What I did not plunder, I then restored.* For D
A he died not because he was guilty, but he suffered for our sake, and the wrath against us because of the transgression he bore upon himself, as Isaiah says: *He took our infirmities*; and as we say in the one hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm: *The Lord will recompense for me.* And as the Spirit also says in the seventy-first: *And he will save the sons of the poor, and will humble the slanderer, for he delivered the poor from the hand of the powerful, and the needy one, who had no helper.*
8. For this reason, he also foretells his bodily ascent into the heavens, and says in the twenty-third: B *Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall enter.* And in the forty-sixth: *God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.* He also announces his sitting, and says in the one hundred and ninth: *The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.* And in the ninth Psalm, he also cries out regarding the destruction of the devil: *You have sat on the throne, you who judge righteousness; you have rebuked the nations, and the ungodly one has perished.* For that he received all judgment from the Father, he did not keep hidden, but even foretells that he is coming as the judge of all, in the seventy-first: *O God, give your judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the king's son, to judge your people in righteousness, and your poor in judgment.* And in the forty-ninth he says: C *He shall call the heaven from above, and the earth, to judge his people. And the heavens shall announce his righteousness, for God is judge.* And in the eighty-first: *God stood in the congregation of the gods; he judges gods in the midst.* Moreover, it is possible to learn of the calling of the nations from this very book, in many places, but especially from the forty-sixth: *All you nations, clap your hands, shout to God with a voice of exultation.* And in the seventy-first: *The Ethiopians shall fall down before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust; the kings of Tharsis and the isles shall offer gifts; the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts; and all the kings of the earth shall worship him, all the nations shall serve him.* These things are sung in the Psalms, but they are foretold in each of the other books.
9. D Furthermore, he said that he was not unaware that in each book of the Scripture the same things are preeminently signified concerning the Savior; and this is the message of them all, and the same concord of the Spirit. For just as it is possible to find the things of the others in this one, so too the things of this one are often found in the others. For both Moses writes a song, and Isaiah sings, and Habakkuk prays with a song. Again, in every book it is possible to see both prophecies and legislation and histories. For the same Spirit is over all, and according to the division made of him in each one, each person performs the task given to him
A and accomplishes it; whether it be prophecy, or legislation, or the recording of history, or the grace of the psalms. Since, however, the Spirit is one and the same, to whom also all divisions belong, and he himself is indivisible by nature, for this reason he is whole in each one, but according to the ministry, the manifestations and divisions of the Spirit occur to each individual. And henceforth, according to the present necessity, each one—the Spirit offering—administers the word, so that, as I said before, Moses the lawgiver sometimes prophesies and sings, and the prophets, while prophesying, sometimes give instructions: "Wash yourselves, become clean," "Cleanse the malice from your heart, O Jerusalem," B and sometimes relate history, as Daniel did regarding the events of Susanna, and Isaiah regarding the events of Rabshakeh and Sennacherim. In the same way also the book of the Psalms, having that which is proper to songs, which is spoken of in detail in other books, sings these things itself in a broad voice with melody, as has been said before. For it also legislates at times: "Cease from anger and forsake wrath," and, "Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." And it sometimes relates the journey of Israel, and prophesies about the Savior, as has been said before.
10. Therefore, let such grace of the Spirit be common among all, and let it be found coming to pass in each one, and be the same in all, as necessity demands and the Spirit wills. For the "more" and "less" make no difference in this need, as each one fulfills and perfects his own ministry without hesitation. C But the book of the Psalms has also in this way a certain grace of its own and an exceptional observation; for besides the other things in which it has a relationship and communion with the other books, it has this further and specific wonder, that it has the movements of each soul, and the changes and corrections of these, written down and modeled within itself; so that someone wanting to receive and understand them from it as if from an image without measure, might thus inform himself, as it is written there. For in the other books, one only hears the law commanding what one ought and ought not to do; and one listens to prophecies, so as only to know the coming Savior; and one pays attention to histories, from D which one is able to know the deeds of kings and the saints. But in the book of the Psalms, besides learning these things, the listener also discerns and is taught the movements of his own soul within it; and henceforth, as regards what he suffers and by what he is held, he is able again to take from this very book a pattern of words; so that he does not merely pass by after hearing, but is also taught how he ought to speak and act in order to heal the passion. For while there are indeed in other books limiting words that forbid evil things, in this one it is also modeled how one must abstain: for example
repentance is enjoined; repentance is the cessation of sin; and in this book it is taught in what way one ought to repent, and with what words it is necessary to speak during repentance. And again, Paul has said: *Tribulation worketh patience, and patience probation, and probation hope, and hope confoundeth not* (Rom. v, 3–5). But in the Psalms it is written and inscribed A how it is necessary to endure tribulations, what it is fitting for one who is afflicted to say, and what after tribulations, and how each person is proved, and what are the words of those who hope in the Lord. Again, there is a commandment to give thanks in all things; but the Psalms teach what he who gives thanks ought to say. Then, as we hear from others: *All who desire to live piously in Christ shall suffer persecution* (II Tim. iii, 12), we are taught by the Psalms what they who flee ought to say, and what words those who are persecuted and those who have been delivered after the persecution ought to offer to God. We are commanded to bless the Lord and to confess to Him, but in the Psalms we are instructed in what manner it is necessary to praise the Lord, and by saying what words we confess fittingly. And so one would find the divine canticles in every case B set forth with reference to us and to our own movements and the tempering of those movements.
11. For this too is marvelous again in the Psalms, that in other books what the saints say, and what they say concerning certain things, those who read them refer to those about whom they are written; and those who hear them consider themselves to be different from those about whom the discourse is held, so that the actions recounted serve only for them to admire and propose to themselves to imitate. But he who takes up this book passes through the prophecies concerning the Savior with admiration and C adoration, as is customary in the other Scriptures; yet he reads the other psalms as if they were his own words; and he who hears them is pricked at heart as though he himself were saying them, and is disposed to the words of the canticles as if they were his own (9). For the sake of clarity, one should not be reluctant—following the blessed Apostle—to repeat the same thing again. There are very many words of the patriarchs, and they were spoken specifically by them; for Moses spoke, and God answered; and Elijah and Elisha, sitting upon Mount Carmel, invoked the Lord and always said: *The Lord liveth, in whose presence I have stood this day* (III Reg. xvii, 1; IV Reg. ii, 14). The words of the other holy prophets D are, in the first place, those concerning the Savior; then, very many have been spoken to the nations and to Israel. And yet no one would ever speak the words of the patriarchs as his own, nor would anyone dare to imitate and speak the specific words of Moses, nor those of Abraham concerning his household servant and Ismael and the things concerning the great Isaac, even if the same need and necessity should seize him, would he dare to say them as his own. And if someone should sympathize with those who suffer, and should ever feel a longing for the better, he would never say as
A his own the words of the prophets, nor would he blame or praise those who have done things similar to those whom the prophets themselves blamed or praised; nor would he presume to imitate, as his own utterance, the words: "The Lord lives, before whom I stand today." For it is clear to one who reads the books that he is not speaking the words as his own, but as the words of the saints and of those who are indicated by them.
But as for the Psalms, it is a marvelous thing that, after the prophecies concerning the Savior and the nations, the one who recites the other parts [of the Psalter] speaks as if they were his own words, and each one sings them as if they had been written concerning himself; he does not receive or go through them as if another were speaking them or signifying another person, but he is moved B as if he were speaking about himself; and he refers to God as if he himself had done these things and were speaking from himself. For he does not at all shrink from using words like those of the patriarchs, or Moses, or the other prophets; rather, the one who sings them is most confident in saying that these words are his own and were written about him. For the Psalms contain the deeds of both the one who has kept the commandment and the one who has transgressed it. And it is necessary for every human being to be in one of the two conditions, and thus to speak the words written concerning each, whether he has kept the commandment or has transgressed it.
12. And it seems to me that to the one who sings them, they become C as a mirror, so that he may discern therein both himself and the movements of his own soul, and thus, having sensed them, may proclaim them. For even the one who hears the reader accepts the song as if it were said about himself; and, either pricked by his conscience and convicted, he will repent, or, hearing of the hope in God and the help given to those who believe, he will exult with joy as if such grace were coming to him, and will begin to give thanks to God. When, therefore, someone sings the third Psalm, while contemplating his own afflictions, he deems the words in the Psalm to be his own; and then, he proclaims the eleventh and the sixteenth as if for his own confidence and prayer; and the fiftieth Psalm he brings forth as if they were the very words D of his own repentance; and when someone sings the fifty-third, the fifty-fifth, the hundredth, and the hundred and forty-first, he is moved, not as if another were being persecuted, but as though he himself were the one suffering, and he sings these words to the Lord as his own. And, in short, each Psalm has been uttered and composed by the Spirit in such a way that in them, as has been said before, the movements of our soul may be discerned, and they may all be spoken as if they were about us, and be for us as our own words, for the remembrance of the movements within us and for the correction of our conduct. For what those who sang them have said, can be for us types and patterns.
13. This is again the grace of the Savior; for the human—begotten for our sake—offered his own body for us unto death, that he might deliver all men from death. Moreover, the heavenly and
A life-pattern for himself he wished to show unto us, he imprinted it in himself, that no one might be easily deceived hereafter by the enemy, having as a pledge for their security the victory which he himself won for us over the devil. For this reason, then, he not only taught, but also performed what he taught, so that each one might indeed hear him speaking, and yet, looking upon him as in an image, might receive from him the example of how to act, hearing: "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." And a more perfect doctrine of virtue no one could find than that which the Lord imprinted in himself. For whether you look at long-suffering, or human kindness, or goodness, or courage, or mercy, or justice, you will find all things fulfilled in him, so that nothing is lacking in the way of virtue for him who contemplates this human life of the Lord. For Paul, knowing this, said: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." The lawgivers among the Greeks have the grace of words only; but the Lord, as he who is truly the Lord of all things, and who cares for the things he created, not only legislates, but has also given himself as a pattern, so that those who wish may have a known rule of B action. For this reason, then, even before his coming to us, he caused this to resound even in those who sing the Psalms, so that just as he showed the earthly and heavenly man modeled in himself, so also he who wishes may be able to learn from the Psalms the movements and dispositions of the soul, finding in them the cure and correction for each movement.
14. For if one must speak even more persuasively, the whole of Holy Scripture is a teacher of virtue and true faith; but the book of Psalms contains a sort of image of the conduct of souls. For as one who is about to enter before a king composes and adorns both his posture and his words, so that he may not be cast out as unlearned for speaking contrary to these, so too this divine book reminds him who is running toward virtue and wishes to consider the Savior's life in the flesh, first through the reading, of the movements of the soul, and thus thereafter instructs and teaches those who meet with such words. There are, therefore, so that one may first observe this about the book, some which are spoken in the form of narrative, others in exhortation, others in prophecy, others as in prayer, and others in confession.
And there are those in narrative: 18, 43, 48, 49, 72, 76, 77, 88, 89, 106, 113, 126, 156. Those as in prayer: 16, 67, 89, 101, 131, 141. Those as in entreaty and prayer and supplication: 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 15, 24, 27, 30, 34, 37, 42, 53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 63, 82, 85, 87, 137, 139, 142. And the one as in entreaty and thanksgiving: 138. Those as in entreaty only: 3, 25, 68, 69, 70, 73, 78, 79, 108, 122, 129, 130.
A Under the form of confession: 9, 74, 91, 104, 105, 106, 107, 110, 117, 135, 137. Those which have confession joined with narrative: 9, 74, 105, 106, 117, 137. That which has praise joined with confession and narrative: 110. Under the form of admonition: 36. Those which have prophecy: 20, 21, 44, 46, 75. That which has announcement joined with prophecy: 109. Those which have the mode of exhortation and as it were of precept: 28, 32, 80, 94, 95, 96, 97, 102, 103, 113. The hortatory with a canticle: 149. Those which describe a life adorned with virtue: 104, 111, 118, 124, 132. Those which announce praise: 90, 112, 116, 134, 144, 145, 146, 148, 150. Those which are of thanksgiving: 8, 9, 17, 33, 45, 62, 76, 84, 114, 115, 120, 121, 123, 125, 128, 143. Those which proclaim blessedness: 1, 31, 40, 118, 127. There is one that exhibits alacrity with a canticle: 107. Another exhorts to fortitude: 80. Those which rebuke the impious and the unjust: 2, 13, 35, 51, 52. Of invocation: 4. Those which make vows: 19 and 63. B Those which contain words of glorification in the Lord: 22, 26, 38, 39, 41, 61, 75, 83, 96, 98, 151. Those written for the sake of rebuking: 57, 81. Those which contain words of a hymn: 47, 64. Of jubilation, and concerning the resurrection: 65. And another which utters words of jubilation only: 99.
15. Since, therefore, the Psalms are disposed in such order, it is henceforth possible for those who read them to discern in each, as I said above, the movements and the constitution of their own soul, and also in each matter the form and doctrine; and what one, by saying, can please the Lord, and by what words one can correct oneself and give thanks to the Lord, so that he who says such things may not lapse into impiety. For we shall have to render an account to the Judge not only for our works, but also for every idle word. D Therefore, if you wish to call someone blessed, you have the way, and the occasion, and what you ought to say: Psalm 1, and 31, and 40, and 111, and 118, and 127. If you wish to rebuke the conspiracy of the Jews against the Saviour, you have the second ode. If you suffer persecution from your own people, and many rise up against you, say the third Psalm. But if, being afflicted, you have called upon the Lord and, having been heard, you wish to give thanks, chant the fourth, and 74, and 114. And if, seeing the wicked preparing snares, you wish your prayer to reach His ears, chant the fifth at the morning hours. If the Lo-
-Ard’s threat makes you feel its force, and you see that, for this reason, you are troubled, you may say the 6th and the 37th. And if some plot against you, just as Ahithophel did against David, and someone brings you this news, chant the 7th, and trust in the God who delivers you.
16. Seeing the grace of the Savior extended everywhere, and the human race redeemed, if you wish to address the Lord, chant the 8th. But if you wish to sing again for the winepresses, giving thanks to the Lord, you have the same 8th and the 83rd. For victory over the enemy and the liberation of creation, do not boast in yourself, but knowing that it was the Son of God who accomplished this, recite the 9th psalm spoken of Him. And if anyone wishes to greatly disturb you, have you the confidence in the Lord, and chant the 10th. When you see the pride of many and wickedness abounding, so that nothing holy is found among men, flee to the Lord, and say the 11th. When the secret plot of enemies is prolonged, do not grow faint as if you were forgotten by God, but entreat the Lord, singing the 12th. When you hear some blaspheming against Providence, do not participate in their impiety, but B suppliantly turning to God, say the 13th and the 52nd. And finally, if you wish to learn what sort of person the citizen of the kingdom of heaven is, chant the 14th.
17. You need prayer for those who have set themselves against you and encompass your soul; chant the 16th, and the 85th, and the 87th, and the 140th. But do you wish to know how Moses prayed? You have the 89th. Or, you have been saved from your enemies and delivered from those who pursue you; chant also the 17th psalm. Do you marvel at the order of creation, and the grace of Providence within it, and the sacred precepts of the law? Chant the 18th and the 23rd. Seeing those who are afflicted, comfort them by praying well and saying to them the words in the 19th psalm. Do you see yourself being shepherded and prospered by the Lord? Rejoicing in this, chant the 22nd. Enemies are round about you, but you, lifting up your soul to God, say the 24th, and you shall see them sinning in vain. The enemies persist, having naught else but hands full of blood, and seeking to drag you down and destroy you; give not judgment to man (for all human C things are suspect), but asking God to be the Judge (for He alone is just), say the things in the 25th, and the 34th, and the 42nd. And if they attack more harshly, and the enemies become a multitude like encampments, despising you as though you had not yet been anointed, and for this reason wishing to wage war: do not tremble, but chant the 26th psalm. Since the nature of men is weak, if the conspirators are again shameless, so that you do not have to concern yourself with them, cry out to God, saying the words in the 27th. And if you wish, while giving thanks, to learn how one ought to offer to the Lord, understanding spiritually, chant the 28th. And finally, when you dedicate your house—that is, your soul, which receives the Lord, and also the sensible house in which you dwell corporally—give thanks, and say the 29th, and the 126th from the Graduals.
A 18. When you perceive that you are hated and persecuted for the sake of the truth by all, both friends and kinsmen, do not lose heart in observing these things or yourself, nor should you be dismayed if you see acquaintances turning away from you; rather, separating yourself from them and considering the things that are to come, chant the 30th. When you see those being baptized and redeemed from corruptible generation, marveling at the philanthropy of God, chant for their sake the 31st. When you wish to chant with many, having gathered together just men and those who live rightly, say also the 32nd. If you happen upon enemies and prudently escape them, and have turned aside from their snares, if you wish to give thanks, having gathered together the meek, chant over them the 33rd. And if you see the contention of the lawless towards evil, do not think that malice is natural in them, as the heretics say; but say the 35th, and you will see that they themselves are the causes of their sinning. If you see wicked men committing many iniquities and rising up against the little ones, and you wish to admonish others not to heed them, nor to emulate them, because they are quickly to be extinguished, say for yourself and for others the 36th.
19. But indeed you yourself, having purposed to attend to yourself, if you see the enemy attacking—for then he rises up all the more against such people—and you wish to stir yourself up against him, sing the 38th Psalm. And if, as enemies attack, you endure tribulations and wish to learn the benefit that comes from patience, chant the 39th Psalm. Seeing many who are poor and needy, and wishing to show mercy to them, you can praise those who have already shown mercy, and exhort others to do the same, by saying the 40th Psalm. Then, if, having a great longing for God, you hear enemies heaping reproaches upon you, do not be troubled; but, understanding the immortal fruit from such a longing, console your soul with hope in God, and by this relieving and soothing its pains in this life, say the 41st Psalm. And wishing constantly to remember the benefits of God which were bestowed upon the fathers, and concerning the exodus from Egypt and the sojourn in the desert, and how God is good, while humans are ungrateful, you have the 43rd, and the 77th, and the 88th, and the 104th, and the 105th, 106th, and the 113th. Having taken refuge in God and having been delivered from the tribulations that befell you, if you wish to give thanks to God and to recount the philanthropy that has come to you, you have the 45th.
20. But you have sinned, and being ashamed you repent and ask to find mercy; you have the words of confession and repentance in the 50th Psalm. If you have been slandered before an unrighteous king, and you see the devil boasting against you, withdraw, and you too say the things in the 51st. And when indeed you are persecuted, and some slander you, wishing to betray you, as the Ziphites and the foreigners did to David, do not be downcast, but trusting in the Lord, and praising Him, say the things in the 53rd and the 55th. If you also...
A should meet with persecution, and the imprudent persecutor should enter the cave in which you are hiding, do not be afraid even so; for you have in such a necessity, for your consolation, the words of the psalm titles and the discourses in the 56th and in the 141st. And if the one plotting against you also orders your house to be guarded, and yet you escape, give thanks to the Lord, and, as if writing it on tablets, inscribe it in your soul as a memorial that you were not destroyed, and say the things in the 58th psalm. And if your enemies, who afflict you, reproach you, and those who seem to be your friends speak slanderously, and you are saddened for a little while by your vexation, you can nevertheless be comforted by praising God yourself, and saying the words in the 54th B psalm. And against those who pretend and boast to your face, say for their confusion the 57th psalm; and against those who attack you fiercely and wish to take your life, oppose your own submission to God, and be confident. For by as much as they rave, by that much more submit yourself to the Lord, and say the words in the 61st. And if, being persecuted, you depart into the wilderness, do not fear as though you were alone there, but, having God there and rising early to Him, chant the 62nd. And if your enemies frighten you and do not cease to lay ambushes, but even search out everything against you, even if they are a multitude, do not yield; for their blows will be as the arrows of babes, when you chant the 63rd, and the 64th, and the 69th, and the 70th.
21. And when you wish to praise the Lord, C chant the things in the 64th. But if you wish to instruct some concerning the resurrection, chant the things in the 65th. Asking for mercies from God, praise Him, chanting the 66th. And when you see the impious prospering in peace and living hedonistically, while the just are afflicted, that you may not be scandalized and shaken, say you also the things in the 72nd psalm. And when God is angry with the people, you have for your consolation regarding this the prudent words in the 73rd; and when you have need of confession, chant the 9th, 74th, and 41st, and 104th, and 105th, 106th, and 107th, and 110th, and 117th, and 125th, and 137th. And wishing to put to shame the opinions of the Greeks and the heretics, because the knowledge of God is not among them, but only in the Catholic Church, you can, D while reflecting, chant and say the things in the 75th. But when the enemies have seized the escape routes, and you are greatly afflicted, even if you are troubled, do not despair, but pray; and if, crying out, you are heard, give thanks to God, saying the things in the 76th. And if the enemies, persisting, break in, and profane the house of God, and slay the saints, and cast their bodies to the birds of the air, so that you may not, being overcome, shrink from their cruelty, sympathize indeed with those who suffer, but intercede with God, saying the 78th psalm.
22. In a feast, wishing to chant to the Lord, having called together the servants of God, chant the things in the 80th and 94th. And when the enemies have gathered again from every direction, and are threatening the house of God, and making covenants against piety, do not lose heart on account of
their multitude and power: you have, as an anchor of hope, the words of the eighty-second Psalm. A And if, seeing the house of God and His eternal tabernacles, you have a longing for them, as the Apostle had, say also the eighty-third Psalm. When the anger has finally ceased and the captivity has been loosed, if you wish to give thanks to the Lord, you have the words in the eighty-fourth and the one hundred and twenty-fifth. And if you wish to know the difference between the Catholic Church and schisms, and to put the schismatics to shame, you can recite what is written in the eighty-sixth Psalm. If you wish to give yourself and others confidence in the worship of God, and to show that hope in God does not fail, but rather renders the soul fearless, praise God by saying the words of the ninetieth Psalm. Do you wish to psalm on the Sabbath? You have the ninety-first.
23. Do you wish to give thanks on the Lord's Day? You have the ninety-second. Do you wish to sing on the second day of the Sabbath? Say what is in the forty-seventh. Do you want to offer praise on Preparation Day? You have the praise in the ninety-second. For then, once the crucifixion was accomplished, the house was built, B although the enemies tried to prevent it; and for this reason, it is fitting to sing a triumphal hymn to God, namely, the words said in the ninety-second Psalm. But if, after a captivity has occurred, the house is razed and yet built up again, sing what is in the ninety-fifth. And if the land is at rest from those making war, and is finally living in peace, and the Lord is reigning, if you wish to sing about this, you have the ninety-sixth. Do you wish to psalm on the fourth day of the Sabbath? You have the ninety-third; for then the Lord, having been betrayed, began to exact justice for His death, and to triumph over it with confidence. When, therefore, you are reading the Gospel and see on the fourth day of the Sabbath that the Jews took counsel against the Lord, C observing Him then acting with confidence to take vengeance for us upon the devil, sing the words in that ninety-third Psalm. Again, when you see the providence of the Lord over all things and His dominion, and you wish to instruct some in His faith and obedience, persuading them first to make confession, sing the ninety-ninth. And when you recognize His power of judging—that is, that God judges by tempering judgment with mercy—if you wish to approach Him, you have for this purpose the words of the hundredth Psalm.
24. Since our nature is weak, if you should ever become discouraged, as one who has become destitute, D because of the pressures of life, and wish to receive consolation, you have the hundred and first Psalm. And because it is fitting for us to give thanks to God through all things and in all things, when you wish to bless Him, you have the words to stir up your soul, and to say the hundred and second and hundred and third. Do you wish to praise God, and to know how and for what one ought to praise Him, and who it is that ought to offer praise? You have the hundred and fourth, and the hundred and sixth, and the hundred and thirty-fourth, and the hundred and forty-fifth, and the hundred and forty-sixth, and the hundred and forty-seventh, and the hundred and forty-eighth, and the hundred and fiftieth. Do you have faith, as the Lord said, and do you believe the things you speak when you pray? Say the hundred and fifteenth. But do you perceive yourself ascending in your actions, so that you can say: "I forget the things that are behind, and stretch forth to those that are before?" You have for each step the fifteen songs of ascents to recite.
A 25. If you have been taken captive by alien thoughts and have perceived that you were led away, and have repented, cease from what follows, and standing your ground where you discovered yourself sinning, sit and weep, and as the people did in the past, say the words in Psalm 136. If you suppose that temptations are a testing for you and you want to give thanks after the temptations, you have Psalm 138. If you are gripped again by enemies and want to be delivered, say the words in Psalm 139. If you want to petition and pray, sing the 5th and 142nd. If a tyrant enemy has risen up against the people and against you, just as Goliath did against David, do not be afraid; but believe as David did, and say the words in Psalm 143. Then, marveling at the benefits of God for everyone, and remembering His goodness shown both to you and to all, if you wish to bless God for these things, say the words of David, which he himself also said in Psalm 144. Do you want to sing to the Lord? You have what to say in the 12th and 17th. If, being small, you are preferred for some authority over your brothers, do not exalt yourself against them; but giving glory to the Lord who chose you, you too sing the 151st, which is David's own. But you want to sing psalms echoing the praise of God, or ones having the title "Alleluia"? You have 104, 105, 106, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 134, 135, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150.
26. B When you wish to sing in private about the Savior, you find such things in almost every psalm. You have especially the 44th and 109th, which declare His genuine generation from the Father and His advent in the flesh; the 21st and 68th, which foretell the divine cross and how many snares He endured for our sake and how much He suffered; the 2nd and 108th, indicating the treachery and malice of the Jews and the betrayal by Judas Iscariot; the 20th, 49th, and 71st, declaring His kingdom and judging power, as well as His second advent to us in the flesh and the calling of the Gentiles. The 15th reveals His resurrection from the dead; the 23rd and 46th proclaim His ascension into the heavens. When you read the 92nd, 95th, 97th, and 98th, you will be able to contemplate the benefits of the Savior conferred upon us through His sufferings.
27. C Such, then, is the character of the Book of Psalms, which is adapted for the benefit of people, having its own psalms, while in the others there are also, as I previously said, more frequent D prophecies concerning the advent in the flesh of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why such words are sung with melody and chant is something that must not be passed over. For some of the more simple-minded among us, even though they believe the words are divinely inspired, nevertheless think that the psalms are sung because of the melodic sound and for the sake of the pleasure of the ears. But it is not so; for Scripture did not seek what is sweet and persuasive. Rather, this too has been ordained for the sake of the benefit of the soul, for all reasons but especially for these two: first, because it was fitting that divine Scripture should praise God not only with continuity, but also with an expansive voice.
A For thus shall be kept the commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your strength." Secondly, because, just as harmony by fittingly arranging the pipes creates a single concord, so, since various movements appear in the soul—there being within it the capacity for thinking, desiring, and being irascible, and from the movement of these comes the operation of the bodily members—reason demands that a man not dissent from himself, nor be at odds with himself: so that he might think the best things, yet do the worst, as did Pilate, who said indeed: "I find no cause of death in him," B yet agreed with the judgment of the Jews; or desire evil things but be unable to perform them, like the elders in the case of Susanna; or again, refrain perhaps from fornication, but steal; or not steal, but kill; or not kill, but blaspheme.
28. Lest, therefore, any such disturbance be in us, reason demands that the soul, which, as the Apostle 23 says, has the mind of Christ, should use Him as its guide, and through Him restrain the affections of the mind and command the members of the body, that they may obey reason; so that, just as the plectrum in a harmony, so man himself, being made a psaltery and C directed entirely to the Spirit, may obey and serve the will of God with all his members and movements. The image and type of such an imperturbable and settled state of mind is that melodic reading of the Psalms. For just as by the words which we utter we bring forth and indicate the thoughts of our mind: so, when the Lord wished the spiritual harmony in the soul to be signified by the modulation of words as by a symbol, He commanded that it be sung with modulation, and that the psalms be recited with singing. And that is the desire of the soul, that it be rightly affected and composed, as it is written 24: "Is any among you afflicted? Let him sing." In this way, if there is anything in it that is turbulent, harsh, and disordered, it is mitigated by psalmody; grief, moreover, is lifted as we sing: D "Why are you sad, my soul, and why do you trouble me?" 25 The soul shall recognize its own error by saying: "My feet were almost moved." 26 And it shall strengthen its fear with hope by saying: "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me." 27
29. Those, therefore, who do not read the divine songs in this way do not sing prudently, but merely please themselves, and are surely to be blamed, because "Praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner." 28 But those who sing in the aforementioned manner, so that the modulation of the words is brought forth from the rhythm of the soul and from its consonance with the Spirit, such persons sing indeed with their tongue, but they sing also in their mind, not
only for their own benefit, but to the great benefit of those who wish to hear them. A Thus the blessed David, 1 Reg. xvi, 23. playing the psalms in that manner for Saul, not only pleased God, but drove away the disturbance and the maddening passion from Saul, and prepared a tranquillity for his soul. In like manner also the priests, while they sing the psalms, call the souls of the people to tranquillity and to harmony with those who conduct the choirs in heaven. Therefore, that the psalms are said with melody is not an effort toward vocal beauty, but a sign of the harmony of the thoughts within the soul. And the melodious reading is a symbol of the well-ordered and calm state of the mind. For indeed to praise God with well-sounding cymbals and with the harp and the ten-stringed psaltery, Psalm cl, 3-5. was again a symbol and sign that the members of the body are B lawfully composed like strings, and that the thoughts of the soul are to be like cymbals, and that finally, by the sound and the impulse of the Spirit, all these things are moved and live; so that, according to what is written, Rom. viii, 13. by the Spirit man lives, and mortifies the deeds of the body. For thus also he who properly sings the psalms regulates his soul, and leads it, as it were, from inequality to equality; so that, established according to nature, it is not terrified by anything, but rather becomes calm in the face of phantasms, and is moved toward a greater desire for future good things. For being disposed by the melody of the words, it forgets its passions, and joyfully looks toward the mind which is in Christ, thinking upon the best things.
C 30. It behooves, therefore, O son, everyone who reads this book to read with sincerity and a noble spirit all things that are contained in it, as being divinely inspired, and then to pluck from them, as if from the fruits of a garden, those which he perceives to be useful and appropriate to his own needs. For I believe that in the words of this book the whole life of men, the affections of the soul, and the movements of the thoughts are measured and contained, and that nothing more than these is to be found in men. For whether the need arises for repentance or confession, or if tribulation and temptation have seized one, or if one has been pursued D and has been delivered from those laying snares, or if one has become sorrowful and is troubled, and suffers anything of this kind, as has been said before, or even sees himself progressing while the enemy is being destroyed, or wishes to praise and offer thanks and bless the Lord, he has the instruction for these things in the divine psalms. For let him choose what is said in them concerning each of these things, and reciting them as if they were written about himself, and being attuned to what is written, let him offer them to the Lord.
31. Let no one, however, overlay them with persuasive words from the outside, nor let anyone attempt to alter the expressions or to change them entirely; but let him recite the written words 31 and sing them just as they are, without artifice, as has been said, so that the men who ministered them to us, as if...
recognizing their own words, may pray with us; or rather, that the Spirit who spoke in the saints, seeing His words inspired A into them, might assist us. For by how much the life of the holy ones is better than the life of others, by so much are their words, one might justly say, better and more powerful than those composed by us. For by these they pleased God, and by saying these things, as the Apostle said: "They subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, and women received their dead by resurrection."
52. Let everyone therefore, even now, when saying these things, be confident that through them God will quickly hear those who pray; for whether he who says these things is afflicted, he will perceive a great consolation in them; or whether he is tempted and persecuted, he who chants in this way will appear more approved, and will be protected by the Lord, who also protected the one who spoke these things; by these he will put the devil to flight, and drive away his demons. Moreover, by saying these things, if he has sinned, he will turn himself to shame and put an end to sinning; but if he has not sinned, he will see himself rejoicing, because he is stretched out toward the things which are before, and being attacked, he will prevail by the power of the psalms; he will not be moved forever from the truth: nay, rather, he will convict those who deceive and attempt to lead him into error; and the sponsor for this is not a man, but the divine Scripture itself. For God commanded Moses C to write the great Ode, and to teach it to the people; and he commands him who is appointed ruler to write Deuteronomy, to have it in his hands, and to meditate always on the words in it, since they are sufficient both for the admonition of virtue, and to bring help to those who meditate on them with a sincere mind. Indeed, when Joshua the son of Nun entered into the land of promise, having observed the battle lines of the enemies, and all the kings of the Amorites gathered together for war, he, instead of weapons and swords, read Deuteronomy to the ears of all, and recalled to their memory the words of the law, and having armed the people with these, he overcame the enemies. But King Josiah, the book having been found and read to the ears of all, no longer feared the enemies. And if at any time war pressed upon the people, the ark, which contained the tablets of the law, preceded everyone, and it sufficed them for help just as well as any battle line, unless there was some sin or hypocrisy dominant among those who carried it or among the people. For there is need of faith and a sincere and upright affection, so that the law may contribute to those things that are prayed for.
53. I for my part, the old man used to say, heard also from prudent men, that of old in D
Israel, merely reading the Scriptures, used to put demons to flight and expose the snares prepared by them against men. A Hence he used to say that they deserve all condemnation who, while omitting these things and composing for themselves plausible words from extraneous sources, call themselves exorcists in them. For they rather play, and offer themselves to the demons to be mocked—just as happened to the Jewish sons of Sceva, who even themselves attempted to exorcise in this manner. For the demons, when they hear these things from such people, mock them; but they fear the words of the saints, and cannot even endure them. For the Lord is in the words of the Scriptures, whom, being unable to endure, they cried out: "I beseech You, do not torment me before the time." For they were burning when they saw the Lord present. And so Paul commanded the impure spirits; B thus also the demons were subject to the disciples. And the hand of the Lord came upon the prophet Elisha, and he prophesied concerning the waters for the three kings, when the psalmist chanted according to his command. In the same way also now, if anyone is concerned for those who are suffering, let him say these things, and he will greatly benefit the sufferer, and will demonstrate his own faith to be true and firm; to such an extent that God, beholding this, will grant perfect healing to those who ask. Recognizing this, the saint also said in the hundred-and-eighteenth Psalm: "I will meditate on Your justifications; I will not forget Your words." And again: "Your justifications were delightful to me in the place of my pilgrimage." For in these they even obtained salvation, saying: "Unless Your law were my meditation, then I would perhaps have perished in my humility." Hence even Paul was confirming his own disciple in these things, saying: "Meditate upon these things; be in these, that your progress may be manifest." Meditating on these things, and thus reading the Psalms wisely, you too will be able to attain the meaning of each one, with the Spirit as your guide. And you will also imitate such a life, as those holy men who spoke these things, being inspired by God, possessed. C
ADMONITION ON THE EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS
We have a twofold exposition of Athanasius on the Psalms. The former is presented by the Maurist edition, and it is the one that Montfaucon prefaces here, to which are also added the supplements subsequently edited by him himself with the Argumentum of Athanasius on the Psalms. The other exposition, or the book *On the Titles of the Psalms*, was made public by Antonelli, whose Preface see below in the column.
I. We present to you, learned Reader, the expositions of Saint Athanasius on the Psalms, those indeed long sought after and praised by many, in authors of ancient, middle, and late age. Some fragments of these existed in previously published works. But whether these commentaries are the same as the book *On the Titles of the Psalms* praised by Jerome, as the opinion of a certain recent scholar holds, it is not sufficiently explored; if that were indeed true, the inscription would not have been placed appropriately enough, since it treats not only of the titles, but here also of all the verses. He who most recently after Jerome praised these expositions is Theodoret, if indeed the following are not of some amanuensis of a most ancient royal codex, where the Expositions of Theodoret on the titles of the psalms exist; these are his words, speaking of Psalm 109: "Saint Athanasius says thus: The birth of the Lord according to the flesh..."