Exposition on the Psalms

^A Likewise, Peter, the foremost of the apostles, says equivalent things in the Acts of the Apostles, where he says: "The Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus," and so forth; after which, having said a few things, he added: "For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let his habitation become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it, and let another take his office." And it is nothing strange if the apostles write these things, when the Savior himself seals them; for a mention having been made in the Gospel of the beginning of the one hundred and ninth Psalm, which is as follows: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool," he put the Pharisees to the test: ^B "If David in the Holy Spirit called Christ Lord, how is he his son?" If, therefore, the Psalms contain spiritual meanings, one should not read their text perfunctorily.

PSALMUS I

VERS. 1. It is possible to call the devil the way of the wicked; he who has entered upon this way, let him take care not to linger there, according to that: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." For he who has not stood in it shall come to the Lord who says: "I am the way," and he who has followed it, running toward the goal, shall obtain the prize.

VERS. 3. He who is assimilated to wisdom becomes like Him who bestows such a quality; for the just man is made similar to God by justice, the holy by holiness, and the wise by wisdom, drawing from it the capacity to be wise, according to that which was said by the Savior: "It is enough for a disciple that he become as his teacher." He who makes himself similar to the tree of life stands in paradise, so that he may be planted together with it, just as the prophet Isaiah says in the person of God: "And as the days of the tree of life, so shall be the days of my people." ^C Therefore, the just man lives through the same time as the tree, becoming a branch grown together with it, and a shoot brought forth to produce divine fruit; for the true vine, which is the tree of life, said to the disciples: "I am the true vine, you are the branches, my Father is the husbandman; every branch in me abiding, my Father prunes, that it may bring forth more fruit."

He who is such as this prospers, for "to those who love God, all things work together for good." "For by the Lord," he says, "are a man's steps directed." He said "all things" accurately, to show the perfection of the matter; for he who conforms his own will to the divine law will do nothing contrary to it. But if it is written, "The way of the wicked prospers," ^D this is not said simply...

but with the addition of "of the wicked," according to that: "There is prosperity for a man in wickedness." ^A

The tree is the wisdom of God; its fruit is the mystical and spiritual sense of the Scriptures: the leaves covering the aforementioned fruit are the external words, which, besides expending their proper labor for the benefit of those who gather the fruits, also become fodder for good men, who on account of their simplicity are called beasts of burden, according to that: "You will save men and beasts, O Lord."

You will consider the wind, which scatters them here and there, to be the avenging angel, and also the impetuous nature of their fallacious doctrine; for they are indeed carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the wickedness of men, in craftiness.

Verse 5. That is, they will not rise to judgment; for they will indeed rise, but they will not be judged, being already condemned by themselves; for "he who does not believe," he says, "is already judged."

PSALM II

Verse 8. Since all men are moved by their own choice, for they are endowed with free will, no one is naturally good or evil. And because he alone who is possessed of virtue becomes familiar to God, whoever is of this kind is the inheritance of God. As long, therefore, as Israel was good, it was said of him: "Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel the line of his inheritance." But he did not possess this status merely by lot; rather, he also existed as such on account of the probity of his morals, as holy men speak of God: "He chose for us his inheritance, the beauty of Jacob which he loved." But if someone becomes the inheritance of God by the observance of the commandments and by faith in God, he who in turn transgresses the commandments of God and falls away from faith in Him is cast out of this honor; just as, conversely, he who turns away from evil and does good becomes God’s possession, even though he was not so before. Since matters stand thus, the people who were once the heir of God, Israel, on account of their piety, having turned away from God, fell from their status, because they did not receive Him who came as Savior, first for their benefit, and then for other men also. It was necessary, therefore, for another people to be introduced, gathered from many nations and approaching the Gospel. The words, therefore, "Ask of me, and I will give to you," were said for our sake, and not for the sake of the Son; for they signify that nothing is added to the Son Himself, but to those who are in need of Him; just as power is given to a teacher and a physician so that men may become sound and wise through his help. But also the words, "your possession the ends of the earth," will be understood more simply thus: Up to the ends of the earth will your doctrine obtain power, with the Gospel being preached; ^D up to the ends of the earth your teaching will prevail.

^B 9. *By Didymus and Theodoret.* But if this is said concerning the Jews, "You shall break them with a rod of iron," that will be fulfilled: "How are the precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter?" as though nothing useful remained of them anymore. I have said these things in agreement with the prophet who says: "And there shall be a ruin," that is, of the sinful people, "as of a city captured, and like the breaking of an earthen vessel into small pieces." From which...

10, 11. But understand the words, "And now, O kings," instead of: Even if he is now crucified, yet he shall soon rise from the dead; fear, therefore, O princes, knowing that he is God; so that, when the service in fear has profitably ceased, gladness may follow for you. Such also is the verse: "Shout with joy to God with a voice of exultation, for the Lord Most High is terrible." For since this is the case, it is necessary that exultation should not be without trembling.

12. Now the phrase, "Apprehend discipline," can also signify this: As long as you use this life, learn discipline. It is not foreign to the kindness of the Savior that he says to the kings of the earth standing by, with the princes that gathered against him: "And now, O kings, understand." For even if you previously plotted in ignorance, yet now that you are instructed, repent; or return to understanding, after he who had been crucified has risen from the dead. Departing from there, the speech delivers discipline to the princes and kings who are to be shepherded by the iron rod, and says: Hear this, you who are already instructed, and understand what the power is of him who received the nations as an inheritance from the Father, and what and how great the rod is that is stretched out against you; cease from attacking him; but rather, being imbued with a prudent mind, surrender yourselves to rational discipline.

13. The phrase, "in a short time," should be referred to, "Apprehend discipline," as if it had been placed by hyperbaton; so that the series of the diction might be thus: Apprehend discipline in a short time, while you still enjoy this vital light; lest perhaps, while you are slothful, the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way. But the word "to trust" denotes faith with the most steadfast, unfailing hope; for not even in circumstances that seem most harsh does the pious man, strong in trust, despair of the Lord’s future aid to him.

PSALM III

1. God permits many to afflict the righteous man, giving him an occasion to acquire a weight of glory, which is produced from an abundance of tribulations. And if at any time the righteous man...

being in straits, should say to God, "O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me?" even while he is yet speaking, God replies, "Behold, I am here," ^A so that He may immediately make light for you the weight of the affliction, as it is phrased by hyperbole. Hence that saying: "Many are the tribulations of the righteous." And lest salvation should seem to be without God, David adds, "in God."

VERS. 4. Since the psalm is uttered as if from the person of the Lord, it must be said that His head also—which is God—is exalted, whenever His divinity becomes manifest to the faithful by demonstration. The word "head" signifies in these places "ruler"; wherefore Christ, being the ruler of holy men, is deservedly their king, and in this way is established as their head. ^B For if he has been raised with Christ, and sets his mind on things that are above, not on things that are upon the earth, his head will be exalted by the Lord, who is the Word. This is the glory of Him who chose him, which he seeks from Him alone, who does not receive glory from men.

VERS. 5. The holy mountain of God may be understood to mean His transcendent knowledge; the holy mountain of God from which God hears those who pray, the only-begotten Son of God, concerning whom it has been said, "The mountain of the Lord shall be conspicuous in the last days." ^C This phrase denotes His manifestation that was to come, when He would arrive at the consummation of the ages.

VERS. 6. "To lie down" signifies recline, after which sleep ensues. Because, therefore, He voluntarily laid down His soul, afterwards, by reclining, He fell asleep; but rising again from the dead, with God supporting Him, He became the first-born from the dead.

VERS. 7. It becomes a holy man, trusting in God, to be free from fear. Thus in the twenty-sixth psalm he says: "If a camp should array itself against me, my heart shall not fear." The Savior also foretells these things, seeing the myriads who would demand that He be crucified, toward whom He remained undisturbed.

VERS. 8. He has many enemies in vain who has provided no cause for hatred or enmity. ^D Such are all who suffer persecution because they live piously in Christ Jesus, to whom it is said by the Savior: "Blessed are you when they shall revile you and speak all evil against you, lying, for my sake," and the rest. Being of this disposition, David also had many enemies without cause, such as Saul, and Absalom, and their followers. For though the holy man had often manifested much gentleness and goodness toward them, they were his enemies for no reason.

VERS. 9. What other is the blessing coming upon the people, if not the will of the Father concerning the advent of the Son into the world?

PSALM IV

^A, produced by the voice alone; a psalm, however, is a hymn played on the instrument called the psaltery or even the cithara. According to the anagoge, an ode is the contemplation of truth, which takes place solely by the intellect, tempered as if by musical harmony; a psalm likewise denotes actions performed according to right reason, such that he who follows the practical life "psalms," while he who follows the theoretical life "sings." Since, then, David contemplates God and His truth with a pure heart, he brings forth a canticle, which he says is in the psalms, because he himself had accomplished many things through practice. This is the canticle. "To the end" is that which it is customary to call the final desirable object, for the sake of which all other things are desirable and to be sought; but it is for the sake of no other thing, which is the perfection of all. Regarding which Paul also speaks. Secondly, the end is that by which one, having become similar to God, will see Him. But why is it inscribed a "canticle *to* David," and not a "canticle *of* David"? Some say that it is a psalm or canticle *of* David when he himself recites it, being inspired by God; but that it is a canticle or psalm *to* David when the things said pertain to him. It often happens, however, that what is recited belongs both to him and to the other; namely, when David, yielding to the Spirit, prophesies the things suggested to him by it: then the psalm is given to some cantor, by whom it is in turn recited to David. But how those things which lie in the sacred Scriptures are in reality, only he who is wise according to God will be able to know.

^C VERS. 2. God dilates in tribulation, not by settling the calamity, nor by overturning the evildoers, but by providing greatness of soul to bear the calamitous events bravely; in this sense one must also understand: "Many are the afflictions of the just, and out of them all the Lord will deliver them [Ps. XXXIII, 20]," namely, by supplying patience. Sometimes God also actually delivers from calamities the just man who was magnanimous in the face of them, such as Joseph and Job, and this man of whom the present discourse treats.

VERS. 3. "Sons of men" is a periphrasis, just as among the heathens "sons of the Achaeans." Many things of this kind are also found in sacred Scripture; such as, "For mortal is he born of woman [Job XIV, 1]," and, "Among those born of women, there is no one greater than John [Luc. VII, 28]." For even these expressions mean nothing other than "men." ^D Or is the holy man of God not worthy of admiration when he bears tribulations with great heart, which seem to be beyond human patience, especially since, when he calls upon God, he finds Him immediately assenting? All of which the man of heavy heart—that is, he who has a mind filled with wickedness—is ignorant. Or, the discourse concerns Christ addressed to the Jews, who, because of the hardness of their heart, are no longer sons of God but sons of men. For why did He not inspire wonder in Himself and through Himself in…

^A His miraculous fulfillment of prophecies and the stupendous miracles wrought by Him, and finally in His rising from the dead? You will recognize these things if you put aside the hardness of your heart and search the Scriptures that speak of the Holy One. For to you who search, the newness of the Spirit will be found.

VERS. 5. The Apostle, seizing upon this utterance, forthwith subjoined: “Let not the sun go down upon your anger, and give not place to the devil.” He who accepts this apostolic exhortation does not sin when moved to anger, because he is not like the one who fosters rage and possesses it persistently—the one whom it is custom to call "the irritable." The text confirms this sense of the passage in what immediately follows, for it says: “What you say,” clearly when you are angry, “in your hearts, be pricked in your beds,” so that when you awake from sleep you do nothing or say nothing of what you devised in your heart during your anger. ^B

VERS. 7. We can say that the light of the countenance of God is the character of His substance and the image of God Himself, who is invisible. This light was subsequently marked upon us, who are conformed to His image. It should not be ignored that some read it thus: “Who will show us good things?” For it is not for many, but for one, to show good things; and this is the only-begotten Son of God. Those who interpret the word "who" (or "what person") in this way signify what is properly called something endowed with a certain quality, an individual, and a substance one in number. They use in evidence the text: “A certain nobleman.” For in this place, too, "who" (or "a certain") denotes something that is specifically such. ^C

VERS. 8. Although these men seem to be sated with things pleasant to them, yet I, expecting the future age and the reward of a righteous life, being placed beyond all perturbation on account of hope, “will lay me down and sleep in peace”; calling the departure from this life a lying down and a sleep. Having stated the reason why he reclined and slept in peace, he straightway adds: “For Thou, O Lord, hast established me in hope.” Indeed, it is also said in Hosea to the soul, from the person of God: “I will establish you in hope.” God does this, offering the hope of future divine good things to those established by Him in intellectual and practical virtue, and in the dogmas of truth and the laws of the Church. ^D

PSALM V.

VERS. 1. *Unto the end.* A hymn of thanksgiving is sung for the soul, or the Church, that has been elevated to a divine inheritance—not material, but spiritual. For the servants of God are raised up, according to the Apostle, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in the heavens. To which the Savior, inviting them, said: “Come, you that are at my right hand, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared...”

for you; and he who speaks here, desiring this, offers up prayers to God who has prepared it for them.

^B Ver. 2. The word “give ear,” which is unusual, is constantly used in Holy Scripture, signifying that he who hears receives into his ears the words announced by someone to whom he himself is near. Now, just men are near to God in affection. Whence it comes about that God is said to hear the prayers of the just, and to offer His ears to their supplications. God is at once King and Creator of those who have not stretched out their hands to a strange god, nor are subject to the dominion of sin.

Ver. 4. Furthermore, by contemplative reasoning, he to whom the sun of righteousness has risen, having come into being at the beginning of an intelligible day, offers a hymn of thanksgiving to the author of his illumination, saying: “In the morning you will hear my voice.” For to whom ought one to render thanks for so great a good, if not to you, O Master, who have caused light to rise for me, which is for me the cause of the greatest contemplation? Thus, love always precedes illuminations, and the will to know the beautiful truth. This is also demonstrated by the word “I shall see”; for just as “I come” denotes a restless person, so “I shall see” signifies a contemplation that is constantly being added to. For why should he not always see, who has merited the promise: “The Lord shall be your eternal light, and the light for the righteous forever”? For another Scripture also matches this: “I will present myself to your view,” which it is not permitted for everyone to say, but for those like the great Elijah, who, on account of the confidence of their past lives, dare to say: “The Lord lives, in whose sight I stand today.” ^C

Ver. 6. Since this is true, evil is not from God, according to the opinion of those who say that wickedness is substantial. For from the mouth of the Most High there shall not go forth evil and good, for He wills only that which is good. Since this is so, evil cannot exist in any being. But He destroys liars, in so far as they are liars, so that the truth may be known. And since all who speak lies are destroyed by God, he too shall perish, of whom it is said: “When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own.” But if this is so, he is not substantially evil; for he did not come into being and into substance at the same time; but having turned after these things, he had the beginning of speaking lies, having once been in the truth. This is shown by what is written of him: “He stood not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” For since he is blameworthy because he did not stand, it is manifest that he was assailed by these passions. One must judge the liar by his intention, and not by his voice alone, so that those who have sometimes acted in this way for the sake of economy might not fall under the threat; as did Rahab, for she seemed to lie to those who were searching seeking to kill the spies—who were good men, for they were sent by Joshua son of Nun and were praiseworthy. Since the intention of this woman was very honorable, it is not consistent that she should be placed among the lost, or among those who speak lies. Just as ^D indeed, because someone...

kills a man, he is not always a murderer; so, too, he who sheds blood is not absolutely a man of blood. For we do not call those men murderers or men of blood who, according to Divine law, slay those who are worthy of suffering such a fate; since it would be time to call Samuel and Elijah such, who for the sake of true religion caused many to be put to death. ^A

VERS. 7. To the wicked and to the transgressors of the law not dwelling with You, nor abiding before your benevolent gaze, I, He says, shall through Your mercy enter Your house. For so shall I be able to say: "In the morning I will stand before You and watch," and as one who has obtained mercy, I will piously worship You in spirit and in truth. Yet the condition according to virtue is the temple of God, which those who possess it say with confidence: Christ is as a son over his own house, whose house we are, we who say to those like ourselves: "You are the holy temple"; ^B and "Your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit," among whom the Son and the Father make their dwelling. The ecclesiastical dogma and doctrine also are the house of God and the temple, as in Timothy: "How you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God." And in both senses, one enters the house and worships at the temple of the Lord, namely, by the mercy of God rather than by one's own frugal and righteous life. — I lack, he says, the virtues that are able to join me to God and bring me into His house; but nevertheless, I trust in Your goodness, and relying ^C on it, I shall enter. Nor henceforth shall he be contemptible to me, who acts uprightly by Your guidance and providence. The more violent part of my strengths they shall remove, as if they were obstacles of a certain road, so that thus holding true righteousness, I might also have the strength thereof against my adversaries.

VERS. 8. He who has proposed to himself to think and act rightly experiences many opposing men and demons, who are hostile out of envy toward the benefits of those doing well: against whom, feeling himself weak, he implores God to be his helper. In some copies it is written: "Before me [is] Your way." For if our ^D way is straight before God, we shall experience no error. And if the way of the Lord is before our eyes, we shall traverse it eagerly. But for "direct," Symmachus says "make level," according to Isaiah who says: "The crooked shall become straight, and the rough [places] into smooth ways." It is also said in another psalm: "The steps of a man are directed by the Lord." Nor does he, being of a humble mind, ask for direction for the sake of his own righteousness, which he has been allotted to act rightly, but on account of those who were impiously attacking him. Then he proceeds to speak in detail: For they live a life full of lies, and have thoughts consonant with their tongue, and they emit a manifest stench for the corruption of others. He designates, of course, the blasphemy against God, and the words of intemperate lasciviousness; indeed, even things worse than words, hidden by guile against

their neighbors. — But how a person is guided by the justice of God must be examined. Is it not that he who, progressing according to the justice of God (for this is the genuine virtue), is following God, according to the text, "You shall walk after the Lord your God," is guided by Him who bestows upon him virtue, that is to say, by God? ^A

VERS. 11. Since "they provoked" is a human expression, it must be considered how it ought to be understood when said of God. God, being immutable and unchangeable... we have. For our own states are judged as though they were approaching Him; for instance, the forgetfulness we have regarding Him is supposed to be His. Regarding us, therefore, He said: "You have forgotten the law of your God, and I also will forget your children." Similar to this saying is that which is written by Paul: "If anyone is ignorant, he is ignored," evidently by God, who said to the wicked: "Depart from me, workers of iniquity; I never knew you." Therefore, just as he who embitters his own character experiences, through the most bitter wickedness, things commensurate with what he has done, he imagines that God is embittered against him. This very thing, then, the soul says, having fallen under the sentence of God on account of sins: "I, provoking, have been provoked." Whence, also perceiving the sequence of the judgment, she said: "The Lord is righteous, for I have provoked His mouth." ^B

VERS. 12. These things can also be said concerning the coming of the Savior, with all those who were expecting His incarnation rejoicing. For the prophets and as many as understood the prophecies were hoping for it. For the Word of God came, having become flesh to... For "the Word," he says, "became flesh and dwelt among us." Having thus dwelt, they who have received Him within themselves shall rejoice forever; for they shall see the glory of the Word who has dwelt within them via the flesh "as of the Only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." They do not rejoice for this time only, having seen in deed the glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father, of which they say: "And if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him no longer," having the contemplation of His glory, according to which He is the Only-begotten from the Father. ^C

Armor and crown is the shield; armor for those who are fighting, a crown for those who are victorious; armor for the soldiers who are to endure hardships, a crown for those who are reigning.

PSALM VI.

VERS. 1. Since the psalm has a more divine meaning, it is contained in hymns; but it is sung "at the end" because the contemplations concerning the octave are most perfect. Whoever has the spiritual circumcision is circumcised unto God; but he who has the carnal, not necessarily. Therefore the prophet says: "Be circumcised to your God, and do not be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin"; and again: "All the nations are uncircumcised in flesh, but the house of Israel is uncircumcised in their hearts." Just as, therefore, he who is circumcised materially removes a portion of the

^A genital member; so he who casts away every thought of reproductive concern is circumcised in heart; just as those who are genuinely unmarried, who are anxious for the things of the Lord, so that they may please Him. This circumcision is accomplished on the eighth day; for it is necessary, by rising above this world created in six days, to arrive at the seventh, which is the true, holy, and delightful Sabbath. And since it does not suffice for perfect blessedness merely to have ceased from the things brought about in a worldly manner, it is necessary to take hold of the super-mundane state, which is above the preceding one, namely the eighth; and he who desires to attain this will love neither the world nor any of the things in it. That the Law indeed conducts the understanding to this goal is clear from the fact that it intended the threat of destruction against the male child not circumcised on the eighth day, and not, rather, against the parents or those who otherwise might have been rearing the child; for it would not be consistent to threaten death to one ^B who was not even able to observe the commandment.

VERS. 2. A man, however, having acquired understanding from the chastisement, says: "I will bear the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He judges my cause and removes my punishment, and brings me out into the light." For he knew that judgment occurs for the sake of bringing aid, and that this would be the outcome of the matter. But verbal admonition is better than angry rebuke, for it provokes voluntary repentance; better, I say, than that which is not entirely voluntary. Regarding verbal chastisement, Paul also said: "Everything corrected is made manifest by the light." For the correction that occurs by means of light is a manifestation, by way of demonstration, presented not only to sinners but also to the just, as God illuminates the hidden things, which because of ignorance or malice are called darkness, and makes manifest the deliberations of the hearts of the just. ^C Yet, even if anger and chastisement drive the wicked, it is still for a good end, since they are thus drawn back from evil and impiety. He who has perceived the utility from these things, therefore, says: "I will bless You, O Lord; for You were angry with me for my salvation. You turned away Your face, and You had mercy on me." And God Himself manifests the goodness hidden in His anger by saying: "When the wrath of My fury comes, then I shall heal." For even if the "wrath of God is revealed from heaven," it tends "against all impiety and injustice of men," in order to remove them from the midst. That the wrath of God is not a passion, Moses teaches by saying: "You sent Your wrath, and it devoured them like stubble." For the wrath which is a passion is not sent, being an irascible faculty of the soul; but here he calls the bringing of calamities upon the wicked by the name of "wrath." ^D

VERS. 3. The healing of an infirm soul is the power of God, so that he who has experienced this may say: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me." That, however, where "bones" are named in sacred Scripture, the discourse is not always about material things, is realized from this: "All

^A my bones shall say, Lord, Lord, who is like unto thee?" And again: "Our bones are scattered at the grave."

Vers. 4, 5. "And thou, O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, deliver my soul; save me for thy mercy's sake." He speaks thus, as if God had turned away from him on account of his sins, by reason of which all his domestic affairs became calamitous to him, and the rebellion of his own son came to pass. "Turn," he says, "O Lord," and from henceforth be favorably disposed, and save my soul from its infirmity, for the sake of thy unique loving-kindness.

The word "turn" is understood in two ways. For sometimes the meaning is this: Since thou hast turned thy face from me, I pray that thou wouldst turn it toward me in mercy, and reveal thyself to me. At other times, its significance is this: Since my soul, through sinning, has turned toward its own destruction, do thou, by turning it back ^B and recalling it to thyself (according to the saying, "Turn, ye backsliding children"), redeem it from the sins that have removed it far off, and from the evil powers that work these sins.

Vers. 6. Those who suppose that the preceding words are spoken concerning common death are mistaken, or rather, they think irreligiously. For holy men are not mindful of God only when they possess this common life, but much more so when they are separated from this corruptible body. What, then, does he say? Because no one who is mindful of thee falls into that death which sin begets; for this is that death which separates the sinning soul from the life of virtue. But I desire to be mindful of thee, and, looking toward thy benevolence for this very thing, save me, ^C lest, my present infirmity and perturbation prevailing against me, I be swallowed up by death. For it is not said, "The one who is dying is not mindful of God," but, "He who is mindful of him does not exist in death," concerning which the Savior says: "He who hears my word shall not see death for ever."

Vers. 8. See if the saying, "I have grown old among all my enemies," is capable of another meaning. When I lived in righteousness, I was always growing young, living according to the newness of the Spirit and the new covenant. But since, on account of my human negligence, I fell from that commendable way of life and became among enemies, I have grown old, according to the antiquity of that man whom Paul exhorts us to put off (for he speaks, of course, of a vicious life) ^D so that we may "put on the new man, which is created according to God in righteousness and true holiness." And this life is the unblemished one.

Vers. 9. You will understand these things to be said even against the invisible enemies and evil powers that were setting traps for him, who envied his progress toward God, and, after the sin was committed, said with perverse joy: "There is no salvation for him in his God."

^A Ver. 11. He prays for his enemies with a praiseworthy purpose of mind; for he wishes them to be ashamed of the deeds they committed, through which they were enemies of both the righteous and of God. This, moreover, would be useful for them; for he who feels shame from his inner conscience, and is troubled at the wickedness performed by him, becoming convicted of it, will cease to act on it any longer. This explanation is confirmed by the subsequent verse, which reads thus: "Let the enemies be turned back, confounded," not advancing further in their malice, but turning back to the virtuous life which they had abandoned. And may this good befall them, not after a long delay or slowly, but very speedily!

PSALM VII

Ver. 1. Chusi, son of Jemini, is named, from the people whence Saul and Semei originated, and who brought the message of Saul; and he is called son of Arachi, who was his father; he was the greatest friend, that is, the prince of friends, and joined by old friendship. He sings the psalm, performing it both practically and theoretically. It has, furthermore, been stated by us in the title of the fourth psalm that by the term "psalm" is denoted practice, but by "canticum" (ode), theory; and since there are also titles in which is written "psalm of a canticum" or "canticum of a psalm," it must be said that a "psalm of a canticum" is the theory of practical life and moral discipline, but a "canticum of a psalm" is that practice which is necessarily joined to the contemplation of truth. For many things are done above the contemplation of wisdom, which one might not incongruously call a "psalm of a canticum." With these things thus observed, David aptly sings the present psalm as he dwells on the event, ^B contemplating simultaneously and wisely, and quite divinely, regarding every deed: desiring to know what each of these things signifies, which are thus realized materially. But come, let us set forth the very words of the psalm, which begin thus: "O Lord my God, in thee have I hoped," etc.

Ver. 2. Who, however, is this, if not he who says: "There is no one who saves besides me"?—he who came to seek and to save what was lost, and to give his soul as a ransom for many. These things show ^C that God the Father saves through God the Son, who is the Word; whence neither in the aforementioned words is the divinity of the Father and the Son to be separated, as seemed right to some.

Ver. 6. Or let it be said thus: He prays that God may appear high above the ends of the enemies. For thus, he says, iniquity—because of which they are my enemies—shall have an end. He perhaps also calls the "ends" of the enemies their pride, into which, being lifted up, they think they will have stability in the best of ends.

Ver. 9. Or, rather, bring down your judgment according to my innocence and righteousness. For thus shall I be justified, with no iniquity found in my actions. But "innocence" in this place is not to be understood as foolishness, according to the saying: "Innocent [is he who is free from guile]."

^A Since this is the significance in which it is spoken to God by the holy man: "And for my innocence You have sustained me," and: "I walked in my innocence." But since, in some copies, it is carried as: "Judge me, O Lord, according to Your justice," the phrase is to be explained as follows: There is a certain justice of God which men are able to attain, which is distinguished from another, inferior justice. Paul, therefore, writing regarding the difference between these concerning the Jews, said: "I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For unaware of the justice of God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to the justice of God." By the justice of God he means that which is given to all who believe through Jesus Christ; which he himself also, having desired to possess, says he has sent away all things in which he was just in the Jewish manner, in order that he might be found having the justice which is from God through faith, and not his own. Jesus, wanting this same thing to be present in His disciples, said to them: "Unless your justice abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." With this distinction having been established—of human justice and that of God—the Psalmist wishes to be judged according to the Lord’s justice; knowing well that it shall be for his salvation to be judged in such a way.

^B V. 10. When the discourse is about God, the words "to examine and search hearts" by no means denote seeking and investigating, but rather having a complete comprehension. And by "reins," one must understand the intellectual faculties of the soul. Certainly, it is said of the foolish: "You are near to their mouth, but far from their reins." By this He teaches in essence: if He saves those who are upright in heart, I ask for just aid. I shall be saved by Him, he said, because I have an upright heart and one vacant of all guile; therefore, I also ask to be judged according to my innocence.

^D V. 15. "He who has labored with iniquity has conceived pain, to bring forth injustice." These offspring bring destruction upon the one who bore them, because of his own iniquity and injustice, for which he will be punished; for which cause he will experience pain in his punishment, or in the very commission of the sin. For the work of iniquity is most heavy and burdensome, one that can be compared to a talent of lead; for nothing is more weighted than wickedness, which always inclines downward the man who is burdened by it. Some say that because of the disordered nature of wickedness, the labor (or "throes") is spoken of as occurring before the conception; for surely in pregnant women the pain comes after conception, and after this the birth; but here the pain is named before the conception, because wickedness possesses no order or sequence. It is well, likewise, that iniquity is mentioned before lawlessness (or "anarchy"). For a man having become a transgressor through iniquity, he is no longer under the law of justice; and so henceforth he sets his mind even against other men, so as to inflict injury upon them. This is found most especially in the case of Cain; for he was previously a lawless...

man, because he did not divide correctly things that were to be sacrificed to God; ^A later he brought forth injustice, violently attacking his brother. And these expressions are, first of all, fitting for the devil, who is the origin of evils, for he was unjust and unrighteous before all others. Every sinner harms first himself, and then another or others; for since sin is something damaging and harmful, it harms and punishes the one who commits it above all. "For the foolishness of a man perverts his ways." Whence it is aptly said: "Evils shall pursue sinners." Who is the pit which he who is censured digs for himself, if not the very sin he has committed? For it is written concerning the sinful soul: "As a pit cools water, so its wickedness cools the soul." In many places in Scripture, "pit" is taken to mean wickedness, as it is written: "If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Here, too, teachers who are blind through foolishness and other wickedness, along with their disciples, are to be understood as staggering. ^B

VERS. 18. Having begun the psalm with hope in the Lord his God, he concludes it with thanksgiving, as is fitting, having obtained his petitions or faithfully awaiting them. For the word "I will confess" signifies thanksgiving here; wherefore "I will sing" is also conjoined to it. He confesses, moreover, not in any haphazard way, but according to the righteousness of God; and he sings not perfunctorily, but to the name of the Lord Most High, as if, having invoked it, he had already obtained it for himself, because He is exalted through holiness and virtue. For no one who is cast down, but only he who has been raised to the heights through piety, participates in the title of the Most High. ^C

PSALM VIII.

VERS. 1. The life of every man is called a vineyard in the Sacred Scriptures. For this reason also Naboth preferred to die rather than be tyrannically despoiled by him who wished to make of it a garden of herbs. For that vineyard signified this militant life, both practical and contemplative, which the wicked wish to drag toward temporal things and quickly-withering affairs, such as are herbs; for like herbs, they quickly fall away. Concerning such vineyards, the bride says: "The sons of my mother fought against me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have not kept." He who in this vineyard brings forth the clusters of truth also bears a grape, which it is necessary to pluck in its own time and gather into wine-presses, that when pressed they may make wine which gladdens the heart of man; some bringing forth doctrines of truth, others spiritual works. ^D And the wine-press is not one; for there are many practical virtues, and for the fruit of each there is a peculiar wine-press prepared: for instance, those who rightly maintain celibacy bring their fruits to the wine-press of chastity, and likewise those who keep the marriage bed undefiled; and so it is with others. There are also many wine-presses for the contemplative life, to which those who are productive of truth bring the doctrines.

^A Yet we say these things not by destroying the interconnectedness and sequence of the virtues, but because not all who pursue them have an inclination toward every one; rather, each person becomes especially distinguished by that in which he participates more. For this reason, there are also different beatitudes in the Gospels. But this ode is also set in a proper numerical order, as it is the eighth; for it has much harmony with the Lord’s day of resurrection, in which a vintage of many vine-presses occurred, because the disciples were sent out to bear witness to the One who had risen to the ends of the earth.

Formerly, indeed, it was said of God: “In Israel His name is great,” but now the prophecy that says, “All nations shall serve Him,” has been fulfilled concerning Him; for He Himself is the expectation of the nations. Therefore, His name is wonderful among all; and he adds the cause, namely, His assumption: “For He magnified over all His holy name,” as it is said in another psalm. ^B There is no other magnificence that has been lifted up beyond His incarnation. For what is there in it that is not most magnificent? It is therefore exalted, now that He has sat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, after having made purification for sins; this is how one must understand the fact that He became higher than the heavens after the resurrection. All who have approached the faith are infants, being infantile in malice. Yet those who are infants in age surpass those who are still nursing, and for these, after milk, suitable food is to be given; such are all who have turned and become like children.

Ver. 4. There is for those who contemplate precisely a kind of expectation of being able to know the heavens and what is in them, in what manner they have been founded when they first began to exist. You may also call “heavens” those who mind the things above, and not the things of time; for these heavens declare the glory of God. By “moon” you may understand the Church, and by “stars” those who have heard, “You are the light of the world.” So it is as if he were saying that men are the works of God’s hands. ^C “For the heavens are the works of Your hands.” Unless, perhaps, he says that the greater works of God are created by His hands, but the rest by His fingers. But in order to show that he is speaking about the human body, he adds: “or the son of man.” For it is according to the body, not according to the soul, that one is a son of man. After which, denoting the rational substance, he subjoins its preeminence. ^D

Ver. 5. He did not say, “You formed him,” for he is not discoursing now about creation, but about providence. Scripture often laments human insignificance: “For man,” it says, “has been made like to vanity; his days pass away like a shadow”; and again: “Man, his days are as grass; as the flower of the field, so he will flourish; for a spirit passes through him,

...and it shall not exist, and its place shall be known no more.

^B VERSE 8. You see what follows. Man is not said to rule over all mortal living things indiscriminately, but over the tame ones: for he is not said to dominate the unicorn, nor does he stand over other strong and wild beasts as he is affirmed to rule over the tame ones, as is clear from these words: "Sheep and all oxen, and also the beasts of the field," etc. And I think this is well said; for before the transgression, man ruled even over these. Indeed, righteous men have ruled over them even after the transgression; just as Daniel, having been cast into the lions' den, suffered no harm from them; and Paul shook off the viper from his hand into the fire; for, it says, wild beasts will be at peace with you. Furthermore, by the "beasts of the field," the wild beasts are also included, as we have learned in Genesis.

VERSE 10. "O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is your name in all the earth!" It was fitting for the song spoken regarding the Savior’s resurrection to have a conclusion similar to its beginning. For in fact, both in beginning and in ending, he uses the same expression, the Spirit teaching that the beginning corresponds to the end in the subject matter. So, "How wonderful is your name in all the earth!" agrees with, "Let all the earth worship you and sing psalms to you."

^C PSALMUS IX.

The term "son" is used indefinitely in many places of Scripture. Certainly when it is not added whose son it is, it is clear that this is the Savior, who is often shown and named thus. And so Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews says: "Christ, as a son over his own house, whose house we are"; and again: "In these last days he has spoken to us in a Son." And the Savior himself says of himself in the Gospel: "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." Moreover, the expression "to the end" is well referred to the present song of victory; for it was for the sake of that end that the Savior arrived; concerning whom the prince of the apostles writes: "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls; concerning which salvation the prophets inquired and searched diligently." And after a few words: "Testifying beforehand the sufferings that were to come for Christ, and the glories after them." Perhaps the Jews will say the title speaks of ^D Absalom, the son of the Psalmist; yet they are argued not to interpret it well, since they err everywhere through neglecting the search of the Scriptures. For what probable thing do they have to say regarding the expression "for the hidden things," unless perhaps they might say that the expression "for the hidden things" is set down on account of the secret conspiracy of Absalom? But this is said by them very foolishly.

VERS. 2, 5. (Of Theodoret, and likewise of Origen, and of Didymus.) It is the custom of perfect men to offer their whole heart to God, and to dedicate to Him their entire...

^A intellect. For it says: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength" (Luc. x, 27). He who is not so disposed cannot truly say: "I will confess to Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart." But the prophet, foreseeing future events with spiritual eyes, not only confesses "with his whole heart," but also declares "all His marvelous works," making all who hear the hymnody participants therein. For having routed all my enemies behind me, and having seen them perish from Thy face, I shall continue to sing of Thy benefits; and "rejoicing in Thee, my God," having as joy the "fruit of the Spirit," I shall "sing to Thy name" on high, and, having contemplated with exaltation, "I will declare all Thy marvelous works." The prophet speaks these things on behalf of human nature, which has both been snatched from the evil demon and received freedom through the divine nature. For it is not, as some have supposed, the Savior Himself who recites this psalm, but rather it is spoken to Him by those who have benefited from Him, as the words themselves demonstrate: "For Thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause" (Ps. IX, 5). In what way? "Thou didst sit upon the throne, Thou that judgest justice" (Ps. IX, 5). And what sentence did He pass? "Thou hast rebuked the heathen, and the wicked one hath perished: Thou hast blotted out their name for ever and for ever and ever" (Ps. IX, 6). For Thou didst not endure, he says, to overlook for long the nature of men being wretchedly enslaved by the bitter tyrant; but like a judge seated upon a high and fearful tribunal, Thou didst inflict upon him such punishment that his memory was consigned to total oblivion. ^B Now that saying, "Thou hast rebuked the heathen, and the wicked one hath perished," has this meaning: through the holy apostles and those who came after them, the heralds of the truth, He brought divine teachings to the Gentiles; and when they received them and departed from their errors, the wicked one perished, having no longer any who were deceived or who worshipped him. Thus, Barnabas and Paul rebuked the Lycaonians who tried to sacrifice to them, crying out: "Men, why do you do these things? We also are men of like passions with you, preaching unto you from these vanities to turn unto the living God" (Act. XIV, 15). Thus the blessed Paul rebuked the Galatians, crying out: "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" (Gal. III, 1). Thus to the Corinthians: "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles" (1 Cor. V, 1). "Thou hast rebuked," therefore, "the heathen, and the wicked one hath perished; Thou hast blotted out his name for ever and for ever and ever." Those [rites] were altogether abolished and delivered unto perpetual oblivion, so that now no one knows the mysteries of impiety. For those ^C initiations were extinguished entirely, and delivered to oblivion, so that no one of the men of today knows even the mysteries of their impiety.

VERS. 6. Such a sitting signifies Him as Judge, and not that He is established upon some [material] chair. Consider whether there is still room to say that, with the nations rebuked, their godless way of life perishes, so that they no longer exist [as such]. This will happen when...

that which was said before is completed: "The way of the ungodly shall perish." ^A

*From Origen and Didymus.* The word "rebuked" signifies correction, which is made clear by the [following] words: "reprove, rebuke, exhort"; for it is evident that the rebuke is for the sake of benefit.

VERS. 7. The swords of the enemy may perhaps be heretical doctrines and individual iniquities, which have failed so that they can no longer defend the cities they occupied, and they themselves are also destroyed. The cities, moreover, are crowds unlawfully established and administered. For it is written concerning their founder: "Who builds cities with blood, who constructs cities in iniquities"; for the substance of them is iniquities, and the shedding of the blood of those who are scandalized. The Savior destroyed these by His coming, defeating the enemy who wished to hold tyrannically the cities he thought he possessed. Now those who view this glorious deed with a lofty eye, applauding the victor, sing a prayer of thanksgiving with one voice, as it were, beginning thus: "O Lord my God, I will praise thee, I will celebrate thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, a counsel of old, true." Yes, O Lord! "For thou hast made cities a trench, the cities of the ungodly shall not be built up for ever." See whether the irreparable ruin of Jerusalem is denoted, after the Savior was crucified there, and its citizens were thenceforth held in the number of the ungodly on account of the murder of the Lord. "With a sound," that is, not without military clamor for the victors, the achievement has come to pass. ^B

VERS. 8. "He hath prepared his throne in judgment; and he himself shall judge the world in equity: he shall judge the peoples in justice." These words admonish us to depart from malice and impiety, and to follow virtue and piety. For what person of good sense, if he actually believes these things, will not fear lest he fall into the hands of him who judges justly and rightly, because of his own blameworthy acts and impious thoughts? For under such a judge, one will not escape condemnation. ^C

VERS. 10. He demonstrates this fact by what was said by God Himself: "In an acceptable time I have heard thee"; and [also by] what is in the one hundred and first Psalm, which runs as follows: "Thou arising shalt have mercy on Sion; for it is time to have mercy upon her, for the time is come."

VERS. 11. "And let them hope in thee that know thy name; for thou hast not forsaken them that seek thee, O Lord." They have surely become superior to every kind of human hope. For having an assured and perfect knowledge of thy name, they place their trust in nothing else. They seek God, these who desire all things to be brought about for them by Him which they are unable to obtain by their own powers. Wherefore they are not abandoned by Him; which expression ought to be understood piously and prudently. For if anyone thinks that a man who prospers in worldly affairs is not abandoned by God, he is deceived; for many ungodly people fare in this way. Otherwise, [it might be thought that] Abel had been abandoned ^D

for he was put to death; and indeed, the prophets and apostles too, for they were constantly afflicted, and in the end, most of them were put to death by men. Having made this distinction, we say that he who remains with God until his last breath is not abandoned, even if he suffers countless things from his enemies; for this is what it truly means not to be abandoned by the Lord. The manner in which one ought to seek God is shown by what is written in the Book of Wisdom: "Think of the Lord in goodness, and seek him in simplicity of heart; because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and he appears to those who do not distrust him."

Ver. 12. They are commanded to sing a hymn, who are accustomed to sing in spirit and in mind; for these are the ones who sing with pious understanding and the inspiration of the Spirit. For they are commanded to chant and sing in their heart, who thus sing to the Lord dwelling in Sion, with the Holy Spirit leading the choir. Moreover, they receive another command from him, namely, to announce his deeds among the nations; these are the things which he did miraculously upon his advent, both intelligible and sensible. This second command could be said to pertain especially to the apostles, who were sent to make disciples of all nations.

Vers. 13, 14. And since, in seeking their blood, he remembered those who were slain by the fiery darts of the evil one; to these terms, he says, is added: "He has not forgotten the cry of the poor." One might raise a question here, saying: How did the heathens cry out to God, being poor, even though they had been slain by the prevailing error of polytheism and by the invisible enemies who promote it? To this it must be answered that they send forth their cry through their works, just as the blood of Abel cries out to God; and [as is the case with] the wages of the laborers that have been withheld: "Behold," he says, "the wages of those who have mown your fields, which you have withheld, cry out." For the cry was that of the withheld wages, which were not in the possession of the laborer, but in that of the owner of the field that was mown. Let us suggest another meaning for the passage. It is not necessarily the case that the heathens, whose blood he remembered, are the poor whose cry the benefactor God has not forgotten; for these poor might be those prophets who uttered prophecies about the heathens; of whom one said, "To you the nations shall come from the ends of the earth," and another, "All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you." And they are called poor here because they were lacking in a great part of the riches of the godhead or of divine knowledge; for until that time they prophesied only in part.

Ver. 15. The death which is in the lower parts, of which it is written, "Death has devoured, having prevailed," is somewhere below; his enemies strive to place there those whom they have humbled, whether through affliction or through sin. It is possible, by the mercy of God, to escape this kind of death and humiliation. For as to him who is still [exposed] to this kind of death...

world and suffering under its influence, if he attains a perception of his own evils and a knowledge of God’s goodness, he will speak in the manner of a prayer: "Have mercy upon me, and look upon my humiliation caused by my enemies." For they have humiliated me by dragging me down; but You alone, because of the goodness which essentially dwells in You, are able to lift me up from the gates of death.

*Of Origen and Didymus.* The gates of death are the sins that lead to death, from which he is raised up who has not even thought of committing them; he who alone can declare all the praises of the Lord.

By the daughters of Zion, understand the inhabitants thereof, just as when others are called children of light, of peace, and of wisdom. The gates of the daughter of Zion, being contrary to the gates of death, are praiseworthy deeds, meditations performed according to virtue and the wisdom of God.

^B VERSE 16. Since virtue is called incorruption in the place where it says, "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption," that which is entirely contrary to it, namely wickedness, will consistently be called corruptela and corruption. Furthermore, that wickedness is identified by the name of corruption is evident from this: "If any man defile the temple of God." Also from the prophet saying to the wicked: "Because of incorruption you have been corrupted with corruption." Consonant with this is also the saying: "To your corruption, O Israel, who shall bring help?" Or rather, corruption is so called from the work, and is said to be created by its authors. Here it is said that the nations are fixed in the corruption which they committed. For no one is bound by the impiety and sin of another; for each shall die in his own sin. Next, because the wicked, having first harmed themselves, then attempt to lure others into the same ruin through deceit, they secretly construct snares with their treacherous thoughts and words, so as to capture the unwary. But they are punished by the very snare they had hidden; for those whom they deceived become their avengers. ^C This punishment actually occurs by the judgment of the provident God. For why would it not be the judgment of God that the sinner is caught by his own works, since he possesses the cause of his own condemnation in the things he has wickedly done? Consonant with this is what was said a little earlier, which runs as follows: "He that diggeth a pit for his neighbor, shall fall into it."

Having already spoken concerning the *diapsalma*, we must now speak concerning the canticum of the *diapsalma*. Since the present psalm begins with the words, "I will confess to You, O Lord," the discourse continues up to, "the sinner is caught." After which expression, the canticum beginning with the word, "Let them be turned back," it is consistent to couple the name of *canticum* to the *diapsalma*. For if the whole psalm were called a *canticum* in its own right and power, the appellation of *canticum* would certainly have been placed before it, as happens in many psalms. But since the matter stands otherwise ^D

^A a *canticum* is properly placed after the diapsalma. It will be shown that the following verses possess the sense of a psalm, once the words themselves are set forth: "Let the sinners be turned into hell, all the nations that forget God; for the poor man shall not be forgotten to the end; the patience of the poor shall not perish forever."

Verse 18. "Let the sinners be turned into hell," as if they were oppressive enemies. ^B Explaining further who these sinners are, he proceeds to say that by "the nations that forget God," we must understand not only men, but also immaterial powers. For if the word "sinner," which is a noun derived from sin, does not signify a substance but a quality, then one must think that the nations are also named in a way suited to these. Just as someone who is not yet in heaven locally, even while still walking the earth, can attain to being there through his conduct and his mind, so too someone not yet dwelling in hell locally can manifest signs of death and sin, as if he already dwelt in hell, even while still living in the body. Furthermore, he is called "poor" who is wretched on account of sin, as well as he who is modest and humble, and he who needs to receive something from God. Every human being born is such as this. By all these meanings, the person called "poor" is held in remembrance by God, even if for some useful purpose he seems sometimes given over to oblivion, which, however, is not perpetual. What the difference is between the "poor" (*ptochos*) and the "needy" (*penes*), we shall say later, when the occasion to speak of these things arises.

Verse 20. "Thou, O Lord," who causest those who are puffed up and arrogant to fall from their blameworthy height, opposing the proud; let them not therefore be strengthened, but let them be judged before thee; for great profit shall follow for them. ^C The words "Let not man be strengthened" might be interpreted as spoken concerning the devil; he whom the parable of the tares calls the "envious man." Indeed, it is also said in the prophecy: "This is the man that troubleth the earth." And because this man was being strengthened before the coming of the Savior, saying: "I will take the whole world in my hand as a nest, and as eggs that have been left I will take them; there is no one who will escape me or speak against me," the human race, unable to bear his prideful words, offers up a prayer to the Savior, saying: "Arise, O Lord, come to us, that the man who prides himself against us may not long prevail." The devil is called "man," not because he is a mortal, rational animal, but because he, like men, has fallen from the divine state; to whom God said: "I have said, You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High; but you shall die like men." ^D Certainly, the devil chooses those sorts of people who seem to be rich in lying words, with whom he sits in secret.

^A wishing to remain hidden so that he may kill the innocent by piercing him with his burning arrows; for they are deadly, as they tear one away from a life of virtue. The phrase "in secret" could also be joined with the preceding and following sentences. However, he cannot kill with his own arrows him who is clothed in the armor of God. Hence, he casts his eyes upon the poor man as one easy to capture—who is the same as the poor man kindled by the pride of the impious. With such words or even with deceitful works, he drags him into his net, so that he may devour him like a lion. Furthermore, he lies in wait when, perhaps speaking of domestic administration, he secretly introduces words of avarice; or he suggests a manner of lasciviousness to one who had resolved to live chastely, just as he also led Eve into transgression under the guise of divine equality. ^B And "he will bow down" signifies how, by turning his eye downward, he fell. For how does he not look downward, he who says, "God has forgotten," and thus denies providence? In the commandment given in paradise, he seized the poor man and dragged him into his trap, so that he might humiliate the one thus seized. Again, having lain in wait in secret, he seized Judas, who had become poor through avarice; and having dragged him to himself, he humiliated him in the trap which he had hidden.

Psalm X according to the Hebrews, but still IX according to the Latins and Greek Vatican.

VERS. 1. "Why, O Lord, have you stood afar off, do you overlook us in opportune times, in tribulation? When the impious man acts proudly, the poor man is set on fire." The Prophet asks as a man, and inquires of God, saying, "Why, O Lord, have you stood afar off?" Yet the Word might answer him by saying that the goodness of God leads sinners to repentance. Now, God has withdrawn far from sinners, because sin itself separates and drives away those who sin, according to what was said: "Your sins create an interval between me and you." ^C For otherwise, God is always present to all, and, existing everywhere, He fills all things. Therefore, it is said in the prophecies: "I am a God drawing near, says the Lord, and not a God far off." But when the just are distressed in the present life and are oppressed by the impious, it is as if you were absent from afar, he says, O Lord, and you overlook them. Therefore, the pride of the impious increases; but your needy and poor man is burned by care, zealously striving with religious zeal, and inflamed in his inmost soul.

VERS. 3. Such are, especially, those who lack divine riches and wisdom, and who do not accurately hold the dogmas of piety. ^D For these stumble at the judgments of wise providence, praising the sinner who indulges his own desires; since it is sufficiently apparent that the sinner seeks not better things, but only pleasant and voluptuous ones. Moreover, by this same error, they judge those to be in a state of blessing who possess wealth and human, temporal glory, and they say that the wicked

^A are blessed by God: but one ought to believe that God's blessing is bestowed upon the righteous.

Vers. 4. Even if God should seem to be far away and to neglect afflicted men, and those troubled by the pride of the impious, nevertheless He is greatly enraged against the proud man who brings scandals and, to speak with Scripture, sets the poor on fire, and makes ill use of the goods provided to him by God's providence. For this is set forth in the following words. It is said, namely: "The sinner has provoked the Lord;" but this refers to the proud impious man, who is praised in his desires. And he has provoked the Lord so much as to make burst forth the wrath which he had heaped up for himself; according to the saying: "According to your hardness and impenitent heart, you are storing up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath." But however much wrath the sinner may have heaped up for himself, yet, because of the goodness of the judging God, an inquiry will not be held according to its multitude and magnitude on the day of judgment. For if an inquiry were instituted according to the magnitude of the wrath, the wicked would perish utterly and at once. Observing this very thing, those who put forward God's goodness say: "If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall endure?"

Vers. 5. But the reason why the sinner provokes the Lord is that he does not have Him before his eyes, for he turns away from God. For whoever sins behaves in this way. On this account, God says concerning all such people: "They turned their backs to me, and not their faces." The parent of this impiety, Cain, "went out from the presence of the Lord God," that is, he turned away from Him. And if these things are said of sinful men, they are said much more regarding the devil who provokes God and does not have Him before his eyes; for the following readings are said especially of him: "His ways are defiled at all times." For whose ways are defiled at all times? Since even the impious often do many things honestly. But he proceeds profanely, leading men not only to vicious acts, but also denying divine providence. Thus, he persuades many to believe that the world is without God's governance, after he himself was the first to fall away from the right judgment concerning God's governance ^B and judgment. This is proven from those things that are said to God concerning the sinner: "Your judgments are taken away from before his face, he shall lord it over all his enemies;" not because he shall altogether succeed in this, but because he has proposed this rather to himself to do; for it would be falsely said that he is or will be the lord of all his enemies, for his foremost enemies are men perfect in holiness, none of whom he possesses, but he lords it only over those who commit sin. For it was said: "Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin." Therefore, he who works sin in himself is pressed by the devil's rule.

Vers. 6. But from the insatiable nature of his malice, which

the following passage signifies: "For he says: I shall not be moved from generation to generation without evil." This phrase indicates both the audacity and the shamelessness of his arrogance. If one attends to this expression, he might interpret it as though he were to rule over men alone, who are his enemies. For if he said "from generation to generation" in his heart, meaning that he would never be moved, being devoid of evil, it is clear that it was spoken only of men who succeed one another in a line of descent. Nevertheless, this is not entirely true; for he did not rule over the holy patriarchs, prophets, and apostles; rather, they themselves had him placed under their feet, with Jesus granting them this authority.

Vers. 7. ^B "Whose mouth is full of cursing, and bitterness and deceit; under his tongue are labor and sorrow." He who has fallen away from the holiness of God, and has led himself far from truth and blessing, has a mouth full of cursing, striving, as it were, to make those whom he deceives subject to punishment and curse. Yet his speech possesses great power, together with deceit. Therefore his word overflows with cursing, bitterness, and deceit, being called "his mouth." Upon these ones, to injure and destroy, he brings forth what is under his tongue; and this is his deceitful word, it is labor and sorrow; for it has nothing pleasant or good, but whatever causes labor and sorrow, that he brings forth.

Vers. 8. Since he has resolved to be in all things harmful and the cause of ^C destruction, he chooses for himself associates who appear to be rich in speech, men using false-sounding words. And sitting secretly with them, so as to lie hidden in who he is, he lays traps by which he may kill the innocent, wounding him with his fiery darts; for these are deadly, inasmuch as they draw a man away from the life accompanied by virtue, when he is pierced by these weapons.

However, we can also punctuate it thus: "He sits in ambush with the rich," and then, having made a punctuation mark, we continue: "that in secret he may kill the innocent." For because "in secret" contains an ambiguity, it can be punctuated on either side, which we have already done previously, punctuating: "He sits in ambush with rich men in secret." ^D But later we preferred to read: "He sits in ambush with the rich, that in secret he may kill the innocent." Yet, although he lies in wait, sitting with the aforementioned rich for the sake of catching and killing the innocent, nevertheless it must be known that no one who is wise according to God can be wounded by him, as being fortified by the armor of God.

Whence he directs his eyes toward the poor, hoping to catch him, as if he were a poor man who is burned by the arrogance of the wicked. "He lies in wait in secret like a fierce lion in his den," so as to snatch away the poor through deceitful words, and sometimes through deeds; and after he has caught someone in his snare, he draws him to apostasy. For he is a fierce beast, or rather, a lion. Therefore, frequently lying in wait, while he speaks on the subject of economy, he secretly persuades one to avarice; and while speaking of purity, he insinuates some form of licentiousness. Thus he deceitfully compelled Eve in paradise to the transgression of the commandment,

^A asserting it to be equal to God. Thus avarice ensnared Judas.

Vers. 10. That he lies bowed down demonstrates that he has collapsed with his eye fixed downward. For why should he who denies providence look downward, when he says, "God has forgotten," and the rest?

Vers. 12-15. Since you are able to humble the proud man who tyrannically oppresses those disturbed by his audacity without delay, why, when you are able to assist them most effectively, do you leave them to be afflicted for some time? It is understood that the suffering of this matter is overseen by you. But it comes to pass so that those who have been educated by temporal calamity might willingly surrender themselves into your hands, desiring henceforth to be ruled and taught by you. The poor man, therefore, has been left to you; you will look after the matter of his salvation, so that you may make him rich by providing blessings from above. Thus, he himself also assists the orphan, ^B patronizing and nurturing him in the place of a son. By the orphan here, one should understand the person who formerly had the devil as a father because of his own wickedness, but who has now cast him off through the habits of repentance. Now, who is the sinner and the wicked one—especially if it is expressed with the article (according to Greek and Latin usage)—if not the devil? His arm is crushed by the Lord, and his sin, when sought, is not found to have existence; it concludes in the very moment it is committed. For evil is not some substance, but a quality. And thus, that final end for the sake of which all things were made will be established; but it itself exists for the sake of no cause.

Vers. 16. "The Lord shall reign for ever, and for ever and ever," ^C so that his kingdom has no end. For it is not possible that the same human being be under two lords and kings. While sin was ruling and reigning over the one who committed it, the Lord God was not the lord, nor was he the king, of the sinner. But after the sin that used to rule has been sought for and not found by its author, "The Lord reigns for ever, and for ever and ever. You shall perish, O nations, out of his land." The good heart is called the land of God; from this land nations perish whenever every base thought and evil calculation is expelled. For by the name of nations are denoted the base workings of the mind and the thoughts, which by God's favor perish. But if one wishes to denote the land of the meek (for this, too, is the Lord's), nations perish from this land: ^D since no sinner is permitted to enter into it; for only the saints shall possess it. For it was said by a certain holy man: "I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living" (Ps. XXVI, 13), and to another God said: "I will raise you up to the good things of the earth."

Vers. 17. "You have heard the desire of the poor, O Lord: your ear has listened to the preparation of their heart." The desire of the poor was that he who tyrannically oppressed them should fall. Since, therefore, this has come to pass, with the arm of the sinner and the wicked one broken, rightly is God...

who knows the hearts and understands the hidden things, revealed to have had their desire, it being an efficacious prayer. And the Lord heard them, His ear attending to the preparation of their heart. For how would they not have a heart prepared for their own salvation, they who had a desire for the aforementioned goods, and were making their soul ready for the kingdom of God promised to them? ^B

VERS. 18. Here, too, the word "man" must be taken in a double sense: both of the mortal, rational animal which is puffed up with pride, and of the devil, who says: "I shall take hold of the whole world with my hand, and there is no one who shall escape me or contradict me." For he will no longer boast, now that the saints are treading upon his power with their feet, Jesus having granted this to them.

PSALM X

VERSUS. 1. "In the Lord I put my trust; how say ye to my soul," etc. "For, lo, the sinners have bent their bow, they have prepared their arrows in the quiver," and the rest. By these words he urges his own soul to lift itself up like a sparrow on the wings of virtue, so that, having passed over to the spiritual mountains which hold the heights, it may remain unharmed. But however the division of this reading should be made, one must certainly trust in the Lord.

VERS. 3. But in a spiritual sense, regarding the many enemies, both visible and invisible, who are full of cunning and who have a bent will, and who are compared to the prepared force of the bent bow—but the prepared weapons are also eloquent discourses—these are present for you to trust ^C in. Yet you, O soul, have your dwelling in the high mountains; placed there, you shall in no wise be wounded. Furthermore, it has been said that the more divine meanings of the Scriptures are designated by the title of "mountains"; and not only these, but also wise teachers, apostles, and prophets. We may, therefore, reckon that the word, "Flee as a bird to your mountain," is spoken by the Spirit, urging the soul to retreat, if it wishes to avoid the poisoned shafts of the archers. But if even the invisible powers themselves, being the same or akin to the archers, were to say, "Flee as a bird to your mountain," we should take this to be said mockingly, while they wish to denote those who trust in God with all their heart. Furthermore, because they are children of darkness and of night, they who use this sophistical speech, they are like archers who resolve to shoot their arrows ^D through the dark night against men who are gifted with an upright heart.

VERS. 5. If the discourse is about the Father, or even about the Savior Himself before the incarnation, His holy temple must be understood to be that holy and heavenly intellect of His, in which, as in His holy temple, He has His throne, reigning divinely and sublimely in heaven as in heaven. And we have noted in previous places that the "throne" is taken to represent "kingdom." But the observant and providential powers of God, which are called His eyes, being directed toward the poor, keep him unharmed. With these powers caring for the poor, the eyelids of the eyes of God examine the actions and thoughts of men. And this

^A demonstrates the benevolence of the Judge. For if He were to examine with both eyes and eyelids, the judgment would be intolerable to men; but since He examines their affairs only with His eyelids, it is clear that not all the sins of those being judged are observed, nor is the magnitude of these sins of such a degree. It is also well said that His eyes are directed toward him who receives a benefit, even if he be one of the number of the poor, while His eyelids are directed toward the multitude of the sons of men, in order that benefits may be bestowed copiously and with readiness, while punishments on the part of God proceed much more secretly. And these things, when considered according to the letter, do not signify any material eyelid or anything of that sort; wherefore these things too must be understood in a manner worthy of God.

Ver. 6. "The Lord explores the just and the impious."

Ver. 6. "He shall rain snares upon sinners."

Ver. 7. "Fire and brimstone and the spirit of a storm are the portion of their cup."

But the same meaning is also revealed in Jeremiah by the following words: "The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take the cup of unmixed wine from my hand, and you shall give it to all the nations to whom I shall send you." Can it not be, then, that in the present passage also, the portion of the cup distributed to them signifies punishments, especially since the fullness of this cup is fire, sulfur, and a spirit of storm—the symbols of which are the types of punishments that were brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah by the Lord, as recorded in Genesis? In addition to the fire and sulfur, there is also in this cup a spirit of storm; and the fire indeed signifies inflamed threats, the sulfur the impetus by which the fire is further fueled, and finally ^B the spirit of storm demonstrates a certain whirlwind of temptation. That the storm signifies temptation, we can clearly learn from Isaiah who writes: "And as a storm passing through the desert, a terrifying and cruel vision was announced to me." Let us, therefore, flee impiety, so that a cup of this kind may be far from us, and let us live piously, that we may drink to satiety what is best; of which it has perhaps also been said: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup." Since the Lord is just, and loves justice, His countenance beholds righteousness; and therefore He has His eyes fixed upon the poor, concerned for his salvation. Yet, nevertheless, He casts snares upon sinners; for the providence and judgments of God do not happen rashly; for God is substantially just, and not merely a participant in justice; and since He is so constituted by His own nature, He loves that justice should exist alike in many righteous people, approving the good intention of each one. We can also explain in another way how God loves justices: for since there is a certain justice for each individual judgment, and the judgments of God are many, concerning which it is written: "The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves"—it follows necessarily from this that there are many justices. And as He is just, so also you might call rectitude that will which is fashioned according to right reason; this God gladly gazes upon in those who possess it. ^C But concerning rectitude, one must speak in a sense congruent with that second notion of justices which we established regarding the inscrutable judgments of God—which, because of His complete approval, His face is said to behold. For the presence of God is known from the acts of providence and the effects of His judgments.

PSALM XI.

VERSUS 4. It must by no means be thought that the members of the body are said to be destroyed here, but rather their deceitful use and arrogant speech. For it is also said in Proverbs: "Remove from yourself a perverse mouth, and cast away from you unjust lips far away."

VERS. 5. "Our lips are our own; who is our lord?" Elevated by this audacity, the impious man, while exulting ^D

^A with a boastful tongue and deceitful lips, causes the poor to suffer, and the needy to groan, as they cannot bear their tyrannical manner. Because of this, the Lord says: "Now will I arise, that I may set the counsel in salvation; I will speak confidently in him against those who proudly exalt themselves over their inferiors; I will deliver them from their misery, so that the poor and the needy may not groan." By "poor and needy" here, you may understand those who are unable to defend themselves due to their inherent weakness, or because of the wickedness that has led them to such a state. These became superior to misery and groaning [at that time] when the Lord arose and came to us during the time of His visitation; thus, the salvation of those who were outside of misery and groaning was made manifest. ^B It is appropriate, therefore, for those who hear the verses now before us, to say: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" To which saying he immediately and confidently adds: "I thank God through Jesus Christ." For through this, it is shown that it is Jesus Christ who delivers the man who was suffering because of the body of death he possessed, He who says: "Now will I arise, saith the Lord."

It has occurred to some to say that the poor are those who have fallen from wealth, while the needy are those who provide for their livelihood through labor and work. And in this sense, the poor man is necessarily in need; yet, conversely, the needy man is not [necessarily] poor. Perhaps even what is said ^C about the poor can be argued from Scripture, where it is said: "The rich have become poor," and "We have become very poor." Consistently with this, what is said of the Savior will also be understood: "For He being rich, became poor for our sakes, that we through His poverty might become rich." The expression "greetings of the needy" also supports the sense of the word "needy," who indeed always groan and lament because of the toil they endure due to the lack of necessities. The expression, "I will set in salvation," signifies "I will ordain and I will perform," just as in the words: "Whom He appointed heir of all things," ^D that is, whom He decreed and established as heir. You will understand in like manner: "God has set in the Church first apostles," and the rest; and that which was said to the elders of the Church: "The Holy Spirit has made you bishops to feed the Church."

^A For He has set them, indicating proof by the fact of their being appointed and made apostles and bishops.

VERS. 8. By this meaning of the word "keep," the Savior also said to the Father concerning the disciples: "Holy Father, keep them; while I was with them, I kept them, and the evil one did not touch them." I have spoken according to this meaning because of what is said in Genesis to the serpent concerning Adam: "He shall keep thy head, and thou shalt keep his heel." For it is no longer the same thing here to "guard" and to "keep," for it seems from this: "He shall watch/observe thy head, and thou his heel." The one who says, "Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us," offers up the prayer ^B after doing everything in his own power, keeping the admonition which says: "With all watchfulness keep thy heart." And since, when these things are accomplished, what we strive for is not sufficient to avoid being plotted against—for "unless the Lord keep the city, in vain does he stay awake who guards it"—the sequence leads us, after being guarded by ourselves, to offer the prayer saying: "Thou, O Lord, shalt keep us, and preserve us." For while He guards, we shall be confident, as we shall be safe from plots forever. For since Thou art most high, O Lord, and dwellest on high, according to the height which belongs to Thy goodness, Thou hast multiplied the sons of men, deeming them worthy to experience the protection of Thy providence.

PSALM XII

VERSUS 1, 5, 6. Although these things are said by the holy man in the guise of one praying, he is not, however, as one forgotten by God, but as one having taken on the persona of others, that he recites this prayer. It is absolutely certain that the words of the prayer do not speak of material light, nor of sleep and death, but of the light which we obtain from the knowledge of God. "Light for yourselves the light of knowledge," and, "Come to the Lord and be enlightened." This enlightenment takes place, not in the eye of the flesh, which looks only at the sun and any other material light. For the eyes which look upon the Sun of justice—which is the true light—are not of the body, but of the heart; for the eyes of the inner man are the intellectual powers. To one thus enlightened, a blessed life ensues; "For I am the light of the world," the Lord says. "He who walks in me," he says, "shall not remain in darkness, but shall have the light of life." When this life has come to the one who has been enlightened, his is an ^D end to sleeping unto death, as one who sleeps and dies is the man who dwells in the darkness of ignorance. For he who through negligence and sloth gives his eyes over to sleep will straightway die, departing from the life lived with virtue. Wherefore this blameworthy sleep and death must be shunned, so that, with the light of the eyes of the soul thus preserved, the enemy may no longer say: "I have prevailed against him," imagining he had prevailed long since, when we sinned. "Those who trouble me will exult if I should be moved."

^A But even if they exult when someone is shaken, I, O Master, hoping in Your mercy, shall not suffer the things they long to see in me; for I await Your salvation, which shall arrive speedily, at which my heart shall exult. For why should he who has experienced the salvation of God not be gladdened and exultant? And if this prophecy also reveals that the salvation of God—Christ—is to come, observe it carefully. For He, having come for the salvation of the world, destroyed those who rejoiced at the stumbling of souls, overthrowing with them the enemy who exalted himself ^B proudly; He gave light to the eyes, so that no one might see the death of the soul. He, having come, having looked upon us, heard us and eased our pain. With these things successfully accomplished, man, having received the benefit, sings a hymn of thanksgiving, saying: "I will sing to the Lord who has dealt bountifully with me, and I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High," having learned in practice what was well said by the Lord to those who pray: "While you are still speaking, I will say: 'Behold, I am here.'" He says this truly to those who are already with Him: "I have fared well, having attained that which I asked; wherefore I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High." Therefore, at every benefit that occurs to us, we also sing the proposed hymn, saying that it consists not in contemplation alone, but also in chanting. For "singing" signifies contemplation, but "chanting" signifies ^C practical action.

PSALM XIII

Verse 1. The "fool" here is understood not as one lacking common sense ^D or sharpness of mind, but as one who lacks one of the virtues: prudence, about which it is written: "He who possesses prudence loves his own soul, and he who guards prudence finds good things." That he does possess natural sharpness is shown by the discourse, which indicates that he does not say it to the ears of others, but "in his heart" that there is no God; for he knew that no one would tolerate hearing talk that denies God, since almost all men possess a firm belief about God. This first verse has a great affinity with that which was said concerning the devil; for even the devil did not say it to someone or to others, but within his own mind: "I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will be like the Most High." For just as he who has knowledge of God keeps His word and translates His commandments into deeds, so everyone who sins does so because he is ignorant of God. John writes, therefore, that everyone who sins is far from having knowledge of God; for everyone who sins has not seen Him.

^A For if one departs from the soul that holds the preeminent and queenly place among virtues, piety, the other virtues depart with it as well. That this judgment rests upon a firm foundation is evident from those things that happened to the sons of Eli. For these men, not knowing the Lord, proved themselves to be wicked—or rather, they acted impiously in their priestly functions, performing legal and religious offices in an evil manner. You will recognize those things said so far by comparing them to what is stated in Jeremiah: “Usury upon usury, deceit upon deceit; all are committing adultery; a gathering of those who act lawlessly; because they have gone from evil to evil, and Me they have not known, says the Lord.” For how could they not have been transgressors of His laws while lacking the knowledge of God? These things, when viewed generally, persuade us to keep God in our memory, so that we may be shown to be praiseworthy in our activities, pursuing them ^B with an incorruptible intention. “There is none who does good, there is not even one.” Among those who have defiled themselves with abominable pursuits, no one is found who does something good. For all are reprobate, and they have cast aside all goodness because of the hardness of their hearts.

VERS. 2. “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is any who understands or seeks God.” Since the incorporeal nature is subject neither to limitations nor to the dwellings of places, if God is ever said to be in a place, or to pass from one place to another, this must be understood in a manner worthy of God, just as with the other things said about Him in a similar way—such as His having feet and hands and eyes, and that He arises and sits. Since, ^C therefore, this conclusion is religious, we should understand God to dwell in heaven insofar as He uses the august powers that reside in the heavens as His temple, which have the same name as the places in which they are. For so too are men called by the name of the earth, as when it is said: “Let all the earth worship You,” and, “All the earth cries out with joy.” Then, because God also dwells within men who retain the heavenly image, it can be said that He dwells in the heavens. Furthermore, a third reason for such language may be mentioned. Since the world is His work, and He is present in all creation by way of formation and providence, it is demonstrated that God is in the world by referring to the most beautiful part of the world, which is the heavens. As in: “Our Father, who art in the heavens,” and, “God in heaven above.” ^D Beyond what has been said, it appears in many places of divine teaching that the term “heaven” denotes the intellectual substance in which it is most appropriate to seek God: “For the heaven of heaven belongs to the Lord.” From this He looks down condescendingly, observing men of an inferior nature, to see which of them, endowed with prudent sense, are seeking God, desiring to find Him so that they may obtain the gifts from Him. Then [1220 = Page ending]

^A This happens especially when there is a great deal of wickedness among men, accompanied by impiety, as it is written: “There is no mercy, nor truth, nor knowledge of God on earth; cursing and lying and theft and adultery have overflowed upon the earth, and blood mingles with blood.” [Ose. iv, 1, 2.] Since men were so exceedingly harmed, how could the good Savior not look upon them, in order that if He discovered even a trace of understanding in anyone, He might increase it, or rather, bring it to fulfillment? Or if there were someone who was seeking God, that He might make Himself found by him? For He reveals Himself to those who do not withhold their faith from Him.

Verses 3, 4, 5. As wisdom will not enter a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sin, [Sap. i, 4.] so he who still works iniquity does not receive divine knowledge; for no one who sins sees or knows God, according to what is written in the Epistle of John. [1 Joan. iii, 6.] Hence, the one who desires to be a gnostic sows for righteousness and reaps the fruit of life, so that he may light for himself the lamp of knowledge. And since the enemies of God’s people happen to be workers of iniquity, so that they devour them like bread, they are deprived of the knowledge of God. A man is seen to devour a man when he aims to harm him, according to the saying: “If you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.” [Galat. v, 15.] And it is likewise ^B written in Isaiah: “Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with their whole mouth.” [Isa. ix, 12.] Yet, although they were at times able to devour the people of God—delivered to them because of their sins—they will nevertheless suffer punishment; for Israel is holy to the Lord, the first-born of His children. Evils will come upon them, says the Lord, who proposed to devour the people of God like bread. They did not call upon the Lord, thinking that they could accomplish all things by their own power and dominate the people of God. For if they had known that they had taken them captive only by the judgment of God, the avenger of sins, they would surely have feared to heap up the measure of evils against those who had been delivered up, lest they fall into the same judgment.

Therefore, it is said to those who acted with excessive savagery: “Because I was angry a little while, they fell upon them to inflict miseries.” And thus, having oppressed the people of God unjustly, ^C they fell into fear where there was no need to fear; for there was no fear if they had received those who were delivered up by the judgment of God and had behaved toward them humanely and gently; but since they did everything harshly and mercilessly, they became fearful, having fallen into the very things they had inflicted upon others.

This happened, moreover, because God is with the generation of the just. You may call a “generation of the just” either the harmony of just deeds, in which the just Judge is found, or the concord of just men and their gathering to the same purpose. For if where two or three are gathered in His name, the Lord is found to be present, ^D how much more will He be found there where

^A Does the whole generation of the righteous exist there? That those who are of the same opinion and the same life form one generation, even if they were born in different times, will be said later, when the occasion calls for it. Someone fears with a fear where there was no fear, namely, he who fears man, and specifically those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. For it has been said: "Except for God, fear no one else." The Lord rebukes Jerusalem for suffering from this ailment, saying: "Who are you, that you were afraid of mortal man?"

Verse 7. We must first consider what the captivity of the people was, so that we may subsequently see its return. He who, due to his own laziness, fails to do good is captured by the law of sin, so that he falls under the tyranny of the devil, who has the power of death. ^B The Lord recalls such a man, captured by enemies and exiled from his homeland—that is, from the society of virtue—through repentance, and at the same time promises him the remission of sins; and this is what the words signify: "To release the captives, and to turn back the captivity." When this has been accomplished through the Lord’s Cross, as the whole people believing from among the nations is redeemed, Jacob exults: who indeed is the same man as Israel, distinguished only by mental conception. For if, acting honorably and applying himself to virtue, he trips up desire and vices and the evil powers that tempt him, so that he emerges the victor over them, he is the exulting Jacob. But if, after the practical way of life, possessing a clean heart, he sees God, then he becomes Israel—that is, a mind seeing God. For this is how these terms are translated ^C into the Greek language: "exulting with divine exultation," and nothing prevents it from being said with equal sense that he should exult and rejoice.

PSALM XIV

Verse 1. When all have turned aside from equity, it follows that we need Him who is able to forgive sins and to save. He is said to be from Zion, since He is from the seed of Israel, according to that which is written: "There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer;" and again: "Out of Zion is the beauty of His excellence." You would also say from the heavenly Zion; therefore, our hope is the kingdom of heaven. But when all nations are saved, then those who are truly just and prophets in Israel will rejoice, congratulating us that their prophecies have been fulfilled; for Simeon, too, after he called the Savior "a light for revelation to the Gentiles," added: "and the glory of Your people, Israel." ^D

Verse 3. He who was described in the preceding verses, being benevolent and fond of society, takes care to be wise by associating with the wise, fleeing from the foolish with all his might, lest he be seen as one of their number. If, therefore, he avoids wicked men and associates with the good—for the wise are good, and it is the wise with whom he has decided to associate—it follows that he does not receive reproach because of those who draw near to him; for those who have wicked men drawing near to them are always reproached.

Conversely, those are praised who have good companions and friends. ^A This sentiment is echoed by the one who says: "He who walked in a blameless way, this man ministered to me; he who spoke iniquities did not direct them before my eyes."

Verse 4. If at any time there is need of God’s testimony among those with whom we are speaking, we do this without negligence, just as the divine Apostle left behind a pattern and instruction for oaths in his Epistles, where he says: "God is my witness, whom I serve in the Gospel of his Son," and elsewhere: "I call God as a witness upon my soul," and again: "God, who is over all, knows that I do not lie." For this is the blameless faith; for an oath ^B is nothing other than speech with the testimony of God, or a matter confirmed with the testimony of God. Yet whatever the oath may be, no one who has sworn to his neighbor makes it void.

Verse 5. It is also possible to lend spiritually without usury, in the sense that was spoken to the disciples by the Master Jesus: "And him who wishes to borrow from you, do not turn away." For how could one think this was spoken of a material matter, given those who say: "We have left everything, and followed you; what then shall be ours?" and those who say: "Silver and gold have I none?" Since, therefore, it is forbidden for the righteous to practice ^C material usury, if ever they are said to do so, it must be understood in a spiritual sense, namely, that everyone lends spiritually to the author of doctrine, which is like silver by which material gains are made. For indeed, those who by teaching sow spiritual things receive carnal things only to the extent of needing sustenance (for "the laborer is worthy of his food"), yet they do not practice usury; for they do not receive silver in proportion to the merit of the spiritual things given, but only food.

He shall not be moved forever, but will remain through his whole life in the exercise of the virtues. For what is said here is the same ^D as: "I will never eat meat forever." Unshakable forever remains he who hears the words of Jesus and performs them; for he has the foundations of his own life—which is referred to by the term "house"—planted upon Christ, who is called the Rock. Those who were so secure were they of whom Jesus said: "There are some of those standing here," etc., and also those of whom the Apostle writes: "Rooted and grounded in love." But if the phrase "not to be moved forever" implies a greater extension of time, it is similar to the statement: "And everyone who lives and believes in me shall live forever." For the saints, while having their citizenship in heaven, dwell on His earth, even if they still reside in this lower earth.

You might also say this: The actions of sinners

do not last. For the pleasure of sin is said to be temporary, and the crime of the sinner and the wicked man will not remain; for when sought, it shall not be found. But the life of the saints is not of this kind; for they contemplate the invisible and eternal things, regarding each of whom it is said: "His righteousness remaineth for ever and ever" (Ps. CXI, 3). For the life of such people is, in a way, a column and a symbol of victory. But they also call "columns" those places where the decrees of the laws are attached, which they call *kyrbeis* or tablets; a designation which the teachings of the saints also receive, not being written on tablets of stone, but on the fleshy tablets of the heart; for these are yielding and receive the writing.

PSALM XV

^B VERSE 3. The will of God consists in the individual virtues; as in the passage: "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall fulfill all my wills" (Acts XIII, 22; I Kings XIII, 14). God is wonderful in His saints, who practice the virtues better than other men. For the apostles, prophets, and martyrs incomparably excelled in courage; and Joseph and Susanna in chastity; and others likewise in other virtues. Thus, therefore, a man having become wonderful, recognizes his own infirmity and how vastly inferior he is to the divine power. Yet these infirmities remain only insofar as they are recognized; truly they depart immediately, because the saints are strengthened by Christ, saying: "In God we shall perform power" (Ps. LIX, 14).

VERSE 4. He does not say simply that He will not gather their conventicles, but adds "from bloods." Nor does He say absolutely that He will not be mindful of their names, but "by my lips." Is it the case, therefore, because there are some who gather conventicles out of bloods—or rather, who disperse them, because they inflict harm upon those gathered—is it possible, I ask, that God, who rather aids and gives life to those whom He calls to Himself, gathers them not from bloods, but from immortality, mindful of their names, not in a superficial way, but with total depth of soul? ^C But it may also be explained in another way: Even if many prophets and apostles have been killed, their blood being shed, nevertheless I shall not gather their conventicles because of the abundance of these bloods, but only on account of the one blood of the spotless and pure Lamb, Christ. For this was given as a price, that they might be redeemed from their vain conversation handed down by their fathers. He will be mindful of those thus redeemed, not merely by an outward pronouncement, but by inward contemplation. ^D He who possesses God will harmoniously possess also those things which are His. Wherefore, he who has the Lord as the portion of his inheritance will also enjoy His goods, and will say: "Thou art He who restores my inheritance to me." Does He not, indeed, restore this to him who says: "Come, inherit the portion prepared for you" (Matth. XXV, 34)? "My portion art Thou in the land of the living."

^A Since this spiritual inheritance is given to the heirs in accordance with their faith and the excellence of their life, it is fitly added: "The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places" (or "in excellent places"). The measuring line is a symbol of allotment and inheritance; indeed, it is often written regarding the material land into which the Hebrews were introduced by Joshua, son of Nun, when it was being divided: "The line fell to the tribe of Judah, or Reuben, or another of the twelve tribes," toward the eastern region, for instance, or elsewhere. These things being considered in this way, he who says, "The lines have fallen to me in excellent places," indicates that good things have been allotted to him, that the most excellent part of the inheritance has fallen to him by lot, which he makes known through these spiritual geometer’s lines. Holding such a line in his hand, an angel appeared to Zechariah the prophet for the purpose of measuring the length and the width of the true Jerusalem. To these things is added: "For my inheritance is most excellent to me." It signifies: "Truly my inheritance exists." According to this meaning, Theophilus, to whom Luke the Evangelist writes, was "most excellent" (κράτιστος).

^B Ver. 7. "I will bless the Lord who has given me understanding; moreover, my reins also have instructed me until night." Having received understanding from God, and having been instructed by his own reins until night, he blesses the Giver of these good things. Now, this understanding occurs from the consideration of divine things presented to the mind. For he says, "From His face comes knowledge and understanding." In this way, the Savior, revealing Himself to him who has His commandments and keeps them, becomes the author of understanding. But what is meant by a man being instructed by his own "reins"? It is clear that this is not said of material reins, but of the intellectual ones, which are named together with the heart in the saying: "God, who searches hearts and reins." For these, being perfect understandings, instruct the one who attends to them, providing the light of knowledge until that night of ignorance is dissolved, concerning which it is said: "The night is far spent, and the day is at hand" (Rom. XIII, 12). For the night will have an end, with the day succeeding it, which is fashioned by the instruction of the reins. But if deeper understandings also occur through the night, ^C insofar as a certain discourse is dark and mystical, it is clear that by such a night the reins provide instruction, making clear things hidden and enigmatic. You will recognize this efficacy of the reins of which we speak if you consider the bodily reins for a moment. They say, therefore, that in the material reins, seminal power and generation are elaborated, from which they proceed into the genital passages and become the causes of offspring. Using the likeness of the aforementioned things, you will see if there are not powers of the soul, from which proceed certain understandings matching seeds, by which the offspring of the inner man are brought into being, which consist in good acts and contemplations of the truth. But whoever might wish to think that material reins are denoted by the aforementioned words will say that supreme temperance... is taught to a man by his reins, not

as they are restrained by a temperate mind so that material procreation flows—

VER. 8. “I foresaw the Lord before me always, because he is at my right hand, that I might not be shaken.”

Since these things are said from the person of Christ, that person who speaks these things under the name of the Lord is preserved without any change—that is, “The portion of my inheritance”—and if anyone accepts these verses also as said by the Lord, he will not wander from the truth. But those who do not have sufficiently firm thoughts about God understand the Son to be at the right hand of the Father locally, on account of the words: “Sit at my right hand,” or those which say that the Savior, after his ascension, sits at the right hand of Majesty. It is impossible to dispute with them; for if the Son is locally at the right hand of the Father, it is impossible for the Father to be at the right hand of the Son himself; which, however, the Son says: “I foresaw the Lord at my right hand.” Whence it must be understood differently that the Son is at the right hand of the Father, and the Father at the right hand of the Son: just as in that saying: “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.”

^B It must further be observed, since the Savior is at once God and man, that now... [we must] interpret [this], or [speak] of his dispensation in the flesh. But it cannot reverently be said as if from the person of God the Word, that he has the Father at his right hand, or always before him, so that he may remain immovable. For God the Word is immutable, and suffers no commotion at all. And furthermore, he implies that he is stating the cause why God the Word is immovable, since the Father is always in his sight and at his right hand; for because he himself is in the Father, and has him in himself, this is the cause why he who sees him, and who has him at his right hand, is not moved. ^C Since, therefore, he implies this—nay, it would be irreligious to understand these words concerning the only-begotten Son of God without his dispensation in the flesh—it must fittingly be conceded that these words were spoken concerning the time when, being immutable, he became man, and humbled himself, and being rich, he made himself poor. For his humanity was made like to us in all things without sin. But neither was his flesh inanimate; for flesh lacking a soul would not say that it has God at its right hand, and that it always sees him before it, lest it should sin; for commotion indicates the movement of sin. But if these things are impossible—for a body does not foresee God, nor does it have an understanding of one standing at the right hand, nor indeed in its sight at all—it remains that these things were said according to the human ^D dispensation by God the Word, who was immutably, perfectly, and truly incarnate; for as from one person all things are pronounced, both those which are of God and those which are of man. As a man, therefore, when he had become such, having God at his right hand, he was not to be moved, however bitter the things that surrounded him, even if the kings of the earth should stand by, and the princes should be gathered together against the Lord and against

^A his Christ. Thus, therefore, not being shaken in soul, "he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, having been tempted in all points like as we are, apart from sin." Next it is added how his heart rejoiced and his tongue exulted, because he had the Lord always at his right hand and before him. A laudable exultation and joy it is, when it comes about not because of anything casual, but through the contemplation of God.

Verse 9. "Moreover, my flesh also shall dwell in hope; because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, nor wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption." From these expressions, it is demonstrated most perfectly that the Lord has become man. For, the flesh having been deposited in the tomb, his soul was in the ^B heart of the earth for three days and three nights; after which, rising again, he took up the flesh which he had previously separated from the spirit. It is said, moreover, that the flesh "dwelt in hope," because of the resurrection that was to take place immediately; for it was not dissolved, nor did it suffer any corruption, but remaining unharmed, it was joined again to the soul that had not been left in Hades. But if the soul in question, being separated from the flesh, subsisted and was in Hades, where the rational souls of men are, it is clear that it cannot be irrational. For an irrational soul, when separated from the body, does not subsist, nor does it journey to Hades. But indeed, the soul of Jesus experienced both: for it was in the region of human souls, and being outside the body, it lived and subsisted. It is rational, therefore, and of the same substance as the ^C souls of men, just as his flesh is of the same substance as the flesh of men, having come forth from Mary. And if he appeared to suffer because of the cross, yet nonetheless he did not know corruption, both the soul and the flesh remaining unharmed, from which, being recomposed, the Holy One of God was again revealed, not having seen corruption, but even existing as the cause of the resurrection of other dead persons. For because of him, having become the firstborn from the dead, our corruptible and mortal nature, having put on incorruption, is rendered immortal along with the Holy One of God who did not see corruption.

Verse 10. "Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt fill me with joy with thy countenance; at thy right hand there is delight for evermore." Having risen from the dead, the incarnate Word of God celebrates with a hymn, ^D insofar as he is man, not ceasing at the same time to be God, the One who showed him the ways leading to eternal life, so that he might also be filled with the perfect joy of Him who otherwise fills the saints with all spiritual joy. But the countenance of God is His image and the character of His substance. And what follows for one who has walked the ways known to be of life, but to have divine delight at the right hand of God, which is truth and wisdom? This is indeed the only-begotten Son of God; and because the delight at the right hand of God is most exquisite, it shall be the ultimate desirable

^A end. For it is not for the sake of any other thing, but for its own sake that all things exist. If, therefore, the Son of God is the Word, even when He became man, He discoursed by turns as God and as man; and He endured the cross, despising the shame, and He died and rose again, just as the foremost Peter, preaching in the Acts concerning David, said: "Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins he would set Christ according to the flesh, he foreseeing spake of the resurrection of him." Now that which he added, "according to the flesh," shows that He was also God; and that as man He was voluntarily offered and suffered, while at the same time He was God.

PSALM XVI

VERS. 1, 2. Some argue against David praying for boasting, saying that, in the manner of the modest, ^B no one would ever dare to say: "Hear, O Lord, my justice," and also, "Let my judgment come forth from thy countenance." But David is not boasting, he who does all the will of God; but wishing to be judged with kindness, he desires that his judgment should proceed from the divine countenance. "Let my eyes see equities." He prays that the eyes of the inner man may see the equities by which God judges, bringing forth judgment from His own countenance. Or he prays to contemplate the virtue which he calls equities. But if he is seeking to see it, he does not yet have it present. From which it follows that he is not boasting when he offers these prayers. This must be considered to have been said regarding the perfect virtue, which at length, after many intermediate ^C steps have been passed through, supervenes.

VERS. 3. From the aforementioned, the great confidence of the speaker is manifest. For if he says these things before God, he exhibits much of his own purity. For the heart of everyone suffering troubles is proved, if, pressed on all sides, he is not cast down, but enduring to the end he is found just. Such was Job, to whom God said: "Do you think that I have dealt with you otherwise than that you might appear just?" Namely, his heart having been proved by the Lord and examined by fire, no iniquity was found in him. But what is signified by, "Thou hast visited me by night"? Does he not call troubles night, on account of their darkness and because they have nothing entirely joyful in them, in which [night] God, visiting him, found him proven, and burning him through tribulations, rendered him pure from all iniquity? These things can also be understood thus: Since the hidden things of the heart are not manifest except to Him of whom it was said: "You alone know the hearts of men," they are called night. Which indeed, although they are obscure to others on account of their impenetrable nature, ^D to You, who have proved me, when You visited me in the night, are made manifest. With which agrees also that [saying]: "If"

I looked upon iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” ^B

VERS. 4. To proclaim the works of men by way of acting and living, and even by way of speech, is the mark of abject men. But what are those works if not those about which the Apostle writes: “For where there is strife and jealousy among you, are you not of the flesh and walking according to man?” 16 He therefore takes care not to speak the works of men, since in him there was no iniquity found, and he had been tested by God through temptations and other things of that kind, as if by fire.

VERS. 5. The paths of the Lord and of His saints are the observations of the commandments, or rather, the strivings toward virtue. These are shown to be smooth and level, since they are constantly trodden by those who hasten to reach their end; and the end of them is blessedness and the rendering of things promised. Let us therefore run along them, that we may attain salvation; let our footsteps not be moved, that is, let them not slip, since the Lord has perfected them in His paths. He who prays these things says: “Without iniquity I have run and directed [my steps],” 17 and that [other verse]: “I have run the way of Your commandments, when You did enlarge my heart.” 18

VERS. 6-8. “I have cried out, for You have heard me, O God: incline Your ear to me, and hear my words. Make wonderful Your mercies, You who save those who hope in You.” The word “I will cry out” must be understood spiritually. For it is not with a louder voice that one must cry out to the invisible God, but with an intense mind; for this is the cry of the interior man. He makes His mercies wonderful toward those who hope in Him when they receive something more wondrous from the bounty of His mercy. Then God inclining toward us and hearing the words of our voice is nothing other than His power graciously descending ^C to receive our prayers. In this sense must also be understood that: “The eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and His ears unto their supplication.” 19 Since the right hand of God is nothing other than His only-begotten Son, as has been said a little while before, in the explanation of this verse, “In Your right hand there are delicacies even to the end,” 20 those who resist Him are the devil, and his angels, and besides them, sorcerers and wicked men; desiring to be kept unharmed by whom, the saint says to God: “Keep me from those who resist Your right hand, as the apple of the eye,” that my mind may remain unharmed; and also: “In the shelter of Your wings protect me,” from the countenance of the wicked who desire to surround me with misery. It is possible, according to the understanding, to say that the wicked and those who resist the right hand of God are different, even though in subject they be one and the same. That voice, “Keep me as the apple of the eye,” is not the voice of just anyone, but only of one who is illuminated according to the spirit, and who has the eyes of the heart illuminated. That also, “In the shelter of Your wings overshadow me,” must be understood ^D spiritually. For the overshadowing faculties of God are His wings

through which He covers and leads to cheerfulness the one who prays to be delivered from the impious who are plotting affliction against him. These are certain invisible enemies, who bring into misery those overcome by them, by inciting them to sin. ^B

VERS. 9-12. “My enemies have surrounded my soul; they have closed their fat; their mouth has spoken pride; casting me out, they now have surrounded me; they have set their eyes to turn aside to the earth.” The wild and raw nature of those who oppose him is signified by his saying that his soul is surrounded by his enemies, who have “closed their fat” on account of their affection for material things. For, being entirely and throughout material and carnal, they are made subject to sin, and were filled as with fat and suet from much cheerfulness and luxury. Therefore Symmachus translates: “They have blocked up with their fat.” Hence, too, their mouth speaks pride, for they forthrightly utter nothing friendly or proper. These enemies, casting out as it were the one who says these things through their great arrogance, surround him in order to harm and destroy him who has fallen into their snares; for they do not contrive anything good or beneficial. Having become transgressors of the divine laws, when they cast their eyes upon the earth, they become bowed down and rebellious. This is what the phrase “to set their eyes upon the earth” implies: wishing to contemplate temporal things and to savor earthly ones, turning aside and not wishing to walk along the straight path, but along winding paths, just as he who is “crooked” is perplexed. “For,” he says, “those who abandon the straight paths, to walk in the ways of darkness, whose paths are crooked and their tracks winding...” These, therefore, have set their eyes on the earth to turn aside; while those who bear the image of the heavenly One fix their eyes in heaven, to succeed in the straight path that leads up to the heavens. ^C

VERS. 13. Since, on account of Your longsuffering, they thought that You were sleeping, not immediately exacting punishment for the things they had committed murderously, “Arise,” then, “O Lord, that You might forestall them and supplant them.” It will be profitable for them to suffer this, so that they may not, by always running toward evil, increase their own destruction. For as they surround my soul and do other things, if they are not prevented, they harm it very greatly. Whence, “Supplant them,” so that they may no longer prevail against me, You having rescued my soul from each one who is of such a kind, and who for this reason is called impious. “Rescue,” he says, “my soul from the impious.” He will take His sword from their hand, for they had it given to them reasonably, but it is taken away from them since they do not use it as they ought. Therefore they become few on the earth, that is, they are held in low esteem; for those who are occupied with material and earthen things, being attached to them, lose the stature of the soul and the riches they would have possessed, had they...

not preferred earthly things. Therefore they are even called non-existent, as in this passage: "Do not deliver your scepter to those who do not exist; divide them in their life." ^A

VERSE 14. "They have been satisfied with sons, and have left the remainders to their infants."

"And your stomach has been filled with your hidden things." The "hidden things of God" are those things unworthy of His memory, of which they have left the remainders to their infants after having filled their own stomach. That wicked acts are unworthy of the eyes of God is shown by the example of Cain; for he went forth from the presence of God; and by this text: "Nor shall the lawless stand before your eyes." ^C Filled with these things, which are far removed from God, they left the remainders to their infants, having been "satisfied with sons"—that is to say, with the unclean. For they are worse than all those who are defiled, since they harm both themselves and become the cause of harm to others; this is indicated by the words: "And they have left the remainders to their infants." For they are not able to deceive the Just One; therefore it is written concerning them: "Because they treated infants unjustly, they shall be killed; and inquiry shall destroy the impious." ^D There is a version of the text that has "satisfied with sons," for whose sake they had grandchildren—those whom they held in aversion. Divided in their life, they suffered a multiform harm: for not only they themselves, but also their infants, were filled with the hidden things of God.

VERSE 15. "They indeed in this way," he says, "as has been said; but I shall appear in justice in your presence."

^A the glory of the Son, "glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

PSALM XVII

VERS. 1. What is this end spoken of? That for whose sake all other things exist, while it itself exists for the sake of nothing. Therefore, the wars are because of the victory over enemies, and all things tending to the superiority of the king are rightly called the "end"; and it invites us to hymn the Author to whom Ezra said, "With thee is victory." Whose servant and attendant then was David! And thus he brings forth the canticle in the day, that is, in the light, when all—even Saul—have been undone, with David having suffered no harm from them.

VERS. 5. "Torrentes of iniquity," because those who do not bravely endure temptations tend toward iniquity; and "pains" represent "death" and "hell," which are mortal sins. Furthermore, you may call "torrents of iniquity" the currents of malice, and "pains of death" the practical sins.

VERS. 7. These things are in harmony with those: "To us there is one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ"; unless, indeed, both are said of the same, since He is both Father and Son, both God and Lord, because of the same divinity and dominion. He who is heard believes that his cry will again come before Him; or, having perceived that God has assented, he is secure about the outcome.

VERS. 8, 9. Another says: He moves those mountains of errors, he who has faith like a grain of mustard seed. "For if," says Paul, "I have faith so that I could move mountains." Of this kind is the spirit of the lunatic, concerning whom the Savior says: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain: 'Remove from hence thither.'" "And smoke ascended in his anger," the wood of troubles being consumed, having a likeness to those things which are built upon Christ, the cornerstone, by vain men—wood, hay, stubble; and these are base actions and thoughts. The coals, perhaps, indicate chastisements, as in this passage: "If thy enemy be hungry, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head"; and that: "Coals of fire shall fall upon them, and thou shalt cast them down." These will be thy help. And perhaps they are the kindled words of God, which purify the words of the soul. This is manifest by Isaiah saying: "And one of the seraphim was sent, and he took a coal from the altar." Therefore, it burns to brightness the words of the soul prepared for that. But it cleanses sins, burning up their actions. But if they do not receive that fire, the eternal fire will burn them.

VERS. 10. The descent indicates the Incarnation of the Savior. He descended, however, not locally, but with ^D

^A in the form of God, that He might take upon Himself the form of a servant. Whatever is obscure and hidden in the knowledge of God is represented by the darkness, into which Moses penetrated as far as is possible for man. It also designates the Savior’s sojourn on earth, insofar as He was little known by mortals.

VERS. 11. By the cherubim is signified the abundance of knowledge. Therefore, God ascends and flies above these spiritual living beings, or over such souls, with the most lofty mind. But if you take "winds" as sensible ones, God ascends above them by the word of His providence, leading them as He Himself wills; for He leads the winds out from their treasuries. But if you think of those who are uplifted in spirit, and who, like winds, emit breaths—that is, wise men—you will understand that God, ascending upon the wings of these as well, flies everywhere, that is to say, upon their lofty contemplations. And speaking of the winds of doctrine concerning the heterodox, the Apostle said: "By every wind of doctrine in the sleight of men, in craftiness toward the way of error." And upon the wings of such winds fly fallacious spirits; but God, carried upon the wings of true doctrine, blows where He wills. ^B

VERS. 12-15. As dark clouds proceed into the light through revelation, no pretext of excuse is left for those who sin. Therefore, along with the clouds shining far and wide, there follow hail and coals of fire. These are images of punishments indicated through these words, and they also prophesy things that happen at the coming of Christ. Immediately Christ thunders from heaven; either because of the great majesty of the words spoken by Jesus, or because God infuses into each mind the most lofty divine sense concerning His only-begotten Son, exclaiming only this: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." ^C But also, revealing His Son, the Most High gives a voice to those who have high thoughts concerning Christ, since neither blood nor flesh revealed this to them, but the heavenly Father His own Son. And just as for those whose minds are prepared for the vision of God and the interior hearing... the Lord and Most High gives His voice, so that, being uplifted by the thunders sent from heaven, they may depart from earthly things and reach toward heaven, bearing the image of Him who is above the heavens, and receiving the lofty thoughts given by the Most High. To those who set themselves as adversaries, the Lord sends forth arrows sufficiently capable ^D of disturbing those who previously conspired for evil. By "arrows," however, He now means the words that prophesy punishments. For threats are sufficient to agitate and disturb the soul; and when He clarifies threats previously spoken in riddles, and illuminates them like lightning, He will disturb those who were dispersed by the aforementioned arrows. For those who are dispersed lose their harmony for evil, becoming as if trembling in perturbation and confusion.

In many places of Scripture, clouds indicate the prophets.

^A For ^A calling the house of Israel a vineyard, He commands the clouds not to rain upon it; for no longer is that saying found among them: "Thus saith the Lord," nor that: "The word of the Lord came unto me." Up to these clouds, the truth shines. Gliding into souls with spiritual words, they pour out rain drop by drop, not for the earth, but for those who cultivate the earth of the air, being suspended through the ether by their own virtue and the spirit acting within. The moisture that was in them, however, before the descent and revelation through the Savior, is said to be obscured. But when God has spoken in the Son in the last days, and the law and the prophets have been fulfilled, and the splendors have shone forth widely, the clouds shall gather together in His sight, having become brighter through the presence of Him whom they had foretold.

Vers. 16. "And the fountains of waters appeared." When all things that have just been spoken of have come to pass, the fountains of waters shall appear; and if someone calls "fountains of waters" the thoughts of good things, he would say that these are to be seen, with all ignorance and malice of spirit cast aside; for when these are removed, they will no longer hide the fountains of good things within us. But if ^B it is permitted to call all divinely inspired spiritual Scripture, obscured by darkness, "fountains" that will be seen, consider this: whenever we have been converted to the Lord and the veil of ignorance and obscurity has been removed, the fountains of waters that lie beneath will be revealed, so that one may easily draw from each, according to that word: "Draw water with joy from the fountains of the Savior." For this water is full of gladness, which flows from the fountains of the Savior; for they are given to the perspicacious, and to those who are capable of seeing God; according to that word: "In the ^C churches bless God, the Lord from the fountains of Israel."

"And the foundations of the world were uncovered at Thy rebuke, O Lord." The world builds through those things which are done, and said, and thought therein. regarding the "foundations" assumed, you would not err much if you called them customs and habits... For when He has struck the wicked with His arrows, and has grazed them with the brightness of His lightnings, the hidden things of men will become manifest, as God illuminates the thickest darkness and reveals the foundations of the world, ^D and will make the deep things manifest out of the darkness by His rebuke of the world upon all things. But if one should also call the "foundations of the world" the divine men, because of the vigor of their life and the steadfastness of their virtue, upon whom those who live according to Christ are built, it will come to pass that these foundations also are revealed, a rebuke having been made against those who have sinned; for the punishment not touching these foundations, there shall be a manifestation and revelation of the righteous, "by the blast of the spirit of Thy wrath." God does not immediately exact punishments from sinners; for if this were done, all would be entirely destroyed; but by

His great goodness and love for mankind, while a multitude of sins occurs at every moment, He does not breathe the spirit of His wrath upon him every day, because He proclaims beforehand the punishments of wrath: "For I will chasten them in the wrath of their tribulation."

^B Ver. 17. "From many waters," that is, from the tumultuous and bitter affairs of life, ^A which are figuratively called the sea, or from hostile and disturbed things. Consider, moreover, whether the dogmas of ungodliness are not the "many waters" which are unable to quench love. By the "mighty enemies" from whom God delivers, we must understand the invisible ones; or perhaps also men in high positions, and those who set themselves to deceive through science falsely so-called, when they are skilled in sophistry. Nor would one be wrong—even if they might be disturbed by providence or persist in some other ungodliness—to call these "mighty enemies." When he prays to be delivered from those who hate him and have prevailed against him, he refers to those who hate him without cause; for no one who is hated on account of his own vices would dare to offer this prayer to God. But when one is hated by sinners who abhor piety because of Christ and a righteous life, then he may; for they consider the conduct of the righteous man to be a reproach to their own way of life. Moreover, those who cherish such hatred against the righteous attack them most of all when a time of affliction occurs; for, being ignorant of the judgment of Providence, they assume that the righteous man is being afflicted for no other reason than on account of sins, just as those who conversed with Job. For, although God had subjected him to afflictions in order that he might be proved righteous, those men claimed that the man had fallen into these evils on account of impiety and sin. But further, all the wicked demons and the devil also prevail against the one who is falling, so that now affliction is even considered to be sin.

Ver. 19. "And the Lord became my support." For when a person flees to God in the day of affliction, he shall have Him as his support—that is, as one who supports him, so that he may not be shaken and fall. And regarding the perfect soul, which has God the Word as its support, those who marvel at its ascent and brightness exclaim: "Who is this that comes up whitened, leaning upon her brother?"

Ver. 20. "And He brought me forth into a broad place." For when the Lord becomes a support to someone, He brings him out of the narrowness of afflictive things and bestows upon him breadth, according to the words, "In tribulation Thou hast enlarged me." But a person is enlarged in tribulation—not by being entirely free of the tribulation, but by being bravely and piously stretched toward it. "He delivered me because He delighted in me." Even if my enemies have very great power, yet He delivered me, because He delighted in me, who performs all His wills.

Ver. 21. "And the Lord will recompense me according to the

"and my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands he will render unto me." ^A This is truly the liberty of the most pure and most perfect, who finds in himself nothing—not even the slightest thing—to reproach. Therefore, those who refer this psalm to the person of the Savior apply these words to Him, who was tempted in all things by way of likeness, yet without sin. By "righteousness," he designates the virtuous life in its entirety; and by "purity of hands," he means practical actions which have become clean and undefiled because they are performed in accordance with the most excellent discourse; for one may frequently find the "hands" spoken of in reference to practical powers.

VERS. 22. God desires him who performs His will. ^B "Because I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not acted impiously toward my God." He does not say this arrogantly, as it seems to some, but rather attributes the cause of his prosperity to God. For he keeps the ways of the Lord who walks the path of His commandments and does not show himself impious toward his God. Those who think rightly concerning the dogmas of truth profess a just opinion about God and Christ, think reverently of the Holy Spirit, and, in short, believe about all dogmas as it is fitting to believe.

VERS. 23. "For all his judgments are before me." ^C For even if His judgments are unsearchable and like an abyss because they are beyond comprehension, yet it is possible for the one who has them "before" him neither to be opposed to Providence nor to be impious toward the Provider. For even if we do not understand, having become persuaded that all these things are brought to pass by the judgment of God, we are content with them. And the word itself, "judgments," indicates the equity of administration; for it has implicitly—and as it were understood—that these things are done according to justice, since judgments held contrary to what is right are for that very reason unjust and disorderly. For this reason he says: "The judgment shall go forth distorted, and I did not cast off His justifications from me." I keep, he says, to the justifications of God. For those who do not embrace them depart from them; and by "justifications" must be understood those things instituted according to equity and justice, such as: "If you acquire a Hebrew boy," ^D and what follows. For before all these it is stated: "And these are the judgments which you shall set before them," etc. The things here called "justifications" can also signify the proven and exquisite words of God. For since they can neither be corrected nor refuted, they are held as "judged," and therefore have been called "judgments." Of the same kind are the judgments held as the opinions of the just, being most accurate and for that very reason similar to canons.

VERS. 24. Those who have anything unspotted or irreproachable not for the sake of God, but for the sake of glory or something else, may indeed be spotless, but not with God. But those who practice the good for the sake of God and for the sake of no one else are spotless with God; for one

^A who separates and distances himself from God immediately becomes blameless*, turning into a blameless child because of the sin that occurs. *And I shall keep myself from my iniquity.* How does he who has accomplished all the aforementioned things speak of his own iniquity? You will note that perhaps what he means is this: The mind of man diligently inclines toward evil things from his youth, so that he is easily swayed toward sin, being charmed by pleasure. He, therefore, who has surrendered himself to the law of God keeps himself from the iniquity that leaps upon men; and perhaps even what is called the "mind of the flesh" in us, being enmity toward God and not subject to His law, is the "iniquity of man" from which one keeps himself, by the Spirit putting to death the deeds of the body and abstaining from the works of the flesh.

^B Ver. 25. *And the Lord will recompense me according to my righteousness.* He calls "righteousness" here that which consists in the faith of Jesus Christ; for the righteousness of God has been manifested unto all who have believed, for to him who rightly believes, faith is counted for righteousness. And in conjunction with this, you will call the purity of hands those works of faith which are performed brilliantly and undefiledly, without which faith is dead.

Ver. 26-28. With a sudden change of person having occurred, someone might say that the present verses are directed toward God because of what follows; for to no one else would he say that: *For Thou wilt save the humble people, and wilt humble the eyes of the proud,* ^C except to God. But another will say that these things are not said to God, but to man, because he who associates with the holy imitates their virtue; but he who is with the wicked undergoes a distortion, as the divine Scripture of the Proverbs says: *He who walks with the wise shall be wise, but he who walks with the foolish shall be known.* You will interpret it thus: With the holy, O Master, you will be made holy, providing him with the holiness granted from You, so that having perfected him through it, You may lead him into the appropriate promise, and the rest accordingly. It is well said, moreover, to use the word: *Thou shalt pervert.* For since he could have said "with the crooked you will be crooked," ^D he did not say this, but *Thou shalt pervert.* For God, restraining the path toward evil things, perverts him who is then racing down it, blocking his way with thorns and obstructing his paths. For the beginning of beneficence is to be hindered from evils. But he who wishes these things to be understood of man will say that the man who associates with a holy person is sanctified by the holy deeds being performed, just as Elisha was with Elijah, and Timothy with Paul; and he who hastens to be with the innocent, by seizing upon his virtue, will be innocent. And similarly, he who dwells with an elect man, and he who is with a perverse man, wishing to be made like him, will pervert his own life. He, therefore, who has thus interpreted these verses will transfer the person to God from the point of: *For Thou wilt save the humble people.*

^A

VERS. 29. *For Thou shalt light my lamp, O Lord my God; Thou shalt light my darkness.* That portion of the soul which is capable of light, or capacity, that is, the mind—which some also call reason—is said to be its lamp; it is not itself light by essence, but is capable of light. Its darkness, however, is irascibility and concupiscence. When, therefore, the mind has been illuminated by the Lord, who imparts to it His own light, then the irrational movements which arise in the soul are illuminated and are fulfilled wisely; not because the irrational parts themselves attain light (for they are incapable of knowledge), but because they are led in the manner that is fitting by that which is illuminated, by knowledge and virtue. When, therefore, the mind—which has been called the lamp—is illuminated by the Lord, it follows necessarily that what is here called our darkness is also illuminated. And if that which is naturally capable of being illuminated within us, that is, the mind, becomes darkness due to ignorance and lack of knowledge, then much more are the irrational powers of the soul—not having an illuminated guide—rendered intense darkness. And this is what the Savior says: *If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness?* For if the eye of the body, that is to say, the mind, which ought to be a lamp, lacks light, much more is the remainder, so to speak, the body of the soul, a shadow; yet not the human body that surrounds it, but that which relates to its irrational constitution. ^B Furthermore, those who have been illuminated by the knowledge of the truth have a lamp kindled by the gift of the Lord; and by performing their deeds rightly, on account of the illumination of the mind, they have their darkness also illuminated. Especially this can also be said: those who possess speculative knowledge regarding spiritual and invisible things have received a lamp illuminated by the Lord; but also, being very well disposed according to the intellect regarding sensible things, they have a perception that is clearly illuminated concerning realities, which is as it were a shadow to one who is not apt to be illuminated according to it—that is, to receive knowledge; for even brute animals are able to receive knowledge to a certain extent, having perception.

VERS. 30. *For in Thee I shall be snatched from temptation, and in my God I shall leap over a wall.* In no other way can we be liberated from the troublesome things surrounding us than in God: he is, however, in God who is a partaker of Him. ^C For just as one who is established in knowledge is liberated from ignorances, so he who hastens to be in God will be snatched from temptation, not falling into the tempter; not that he becomes immune to the tempter, but that he is not ensnared by his traps. For this reason, also, he who confesses Jesus before men is in Him: *For everyone who shall confess Me before men, I also will confess him before My Father who is in heaven.* For he who is a partaker of Him confesses Jesus, and he is confessed by God, as one who is in Him. ^D Moreover, the multitude of our iniquitous deeds separates us from God and disjoins us, as the prophet says: *Does not the right hand of the Lord have power to deliver? Or is it weighed down*

^A so that it cannot hear? But your iniquities stand between you and God.* Whenever, therefore, one comes to be in God, clinging to Him and being joined to Him, he passes over the wall of sins, throwing them behind his back, so that, being hindered by nothing from God, he may cast himself upon Him face to face. Perhaps also the mass of bodily and sensible things, situated between our intellect and God, separates us from Him. When, therefore, we think wisely and as far as is possible about God, perceiving Him above all bodies and sense, and longing to be united with Him, we withdraw from sensible things and bodies, so as to overleap the world and all visible things, in order that we might be able to stand before God.

Ver. 31. Our God has an immaculate way that leads to Him; and this is virtue, which, as we pursue it through study and ascetic practice, we shall be shown to be immaculate while coming to Him. But most of all, the way of God would be immaculate, He who said, *I am the way, and the truth, and the life.* For through this way it is possible to come to the Father. *The utterance of the Lord is refined,* because it is guileless and pure, or because it is a fire that warms those who partake of it, consuming the chaff of material things. *He is a protector of all those who hope in Him.* Those who are aware of the weakness that is present in them, when they discover that their adversaries are stronger, casting their hope upon God, desire to have Him as a defender, praying, *Fight against those who fight against me.* And thus God defends them with His own shield, according to the saying, *His truth shall encompass thee with a shield.*

Ver. 32. *For who is God besides the Lord?* For no one is truly Lord God, except the Word of God, as He is also called Only-Begotten God, because He alone is God, just as the Father is God. All others are constituted as gods by the presence of the Word of God; for He called those gods to whom the word of God came. But the Savior, not as a participant of divinity, is God, because He is the maker of gods. *And who is God besides our God?* By saying that no one is God in the proper sense except the Lord, He says that there is none who is God in the same way as our God. For no one of those who are gods by participation can be as the Lord ^D Jesus Christ; or our God, as the Father of the Only-Begotten—for to us there is one God the Father, and one Lord ^C Jesus Christ. And you yourself shall examine whether these two verses can be said in parallel.

Ver. 33. Here it is said, *He who girds me with strength.* But in Paul, those who have put on the armor of God gird themselves with truth; from which it is gathered that the truth is Christ, the power of God. For the Savior says, *I am the truth,* and Paul says, *Christ the power of God.* And He set my way to be immaculate—that is, He showed [it].

^A For "to set," in this place, signifies "to prove"; for even the phrase, "Whom He set heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2), signifies this.

It is also well observed that from this verse the whole psalm is spoken in the person of Christ. He who says these things, having purged all serpentine malice and the wicked powers that energized it, has—under God—the feet of his inner man complete—that is, his executive powers—so that he is able to say: "I have run without iniquity, and I have walked rightly." And having completed the course upon the high places, he shall hear from God: "But you, stand with Me." For to have stood in the high places, one does not have of himself, but from God.

^B VER. 35. "Who teaches my hands for war." Just as the other things are beautiful, so also are we taught by God to war against the opposing powers. For the hands of the soul signify its active powers; if we understand these prudently, they reveal the intelligible shield, and the sword of the Spirit, and whatever other spiritual armor there may be, and instruct us on how to use such things. For the Savior, having become man, warring on our behalf, taught us how to wrestle and war against the opposing power. And in prayer, he says, extending my hands, I become victor over the enemies. "And He set my arms as a bronze bow, teaching my hands for war." ^C Symbolically, those things called arms are set as a bronze bow; by the bronze, He signifies the invulnerable and the firm, but by the bow, the letting fly of arrows from our arms, capable of wounding the arrayed opponents.

VER. 36. "And You have given me the protection of Your salvation." In addition to all these, You have given me the protection of salvation, sending Your Son as my own shield to fight on my behalf. "But also Your discipline," he says, "has corrected me unto the end"—that is, formative teaching and laborious training. "Unto the end," that is, He has led me into perfect restoration and a perfect state; for discipline signifies correction, as in these words: "Receive my discipline, and do not let it go" (Prov. 4:13), but also indicates laborious effort, because of that which says: "Do not despise the discipline of the Lord" (Prov. 3:11). ^D And this discipline of Yours, in both ways, has become to me a teacher of good things. Symmachus indeed published: "And my obedience will increase me," but Aquila: "And Your meekness has multiplied me."

VER. 37. "You have dilated my steps beneath me." My steps, insofar as I advance from wickedness to virtue, and from sensible things to intelligible, and from the present into the future age. "You have dilated beneath me." For at first, those things which seemed narrow and laborious, as I walked the trodden way—and as I progressed, I beheld all these things, having been overcome, as if they were dilated. For he who has arrived at the summit, as he hastens toward the end, no longer feels the narrowness of the labors nor the sweats of the ascent, progressing as he is on a wider way. "And my footprints were not weakened," if he shall persevere continually in everything.

For if he were ^A continually enduring in the state of all things, then his footprints—that is, the legs of the inner man—would have been weakened. But since rest succeeds the labors endured for the sake of virtue, my footprints are not weakened, but are made stronger, so that I may say: "You set my feet in a wide place." And also, he who follows Jesus walks in His footprints, and by the very act of treading the path worn smooth by Jesus, he acquires stronger footprints for himself, so that in deed he may say, "My footprints were not weakened."

Verses 38, 39. Having been aided by God in a thousand ways, he took courage to pursue his enemies; and the end of the pursuit is the ruin of those enemies to the end; for neither weariness nor fear shall be an obstacle to me. "I will crush them, and they shall not be able to stand." Being cautious ^B towards those who hate him, he crushes them, so that they may not be firm and immovable in their hatred. For he does not surround them with tribulation with the intent of killing them, but so that, perceiving the evils they are in, they might cease from their hateful disposition. "They shall fall beneath my feet." For enemies to fall beneath the feet of a saint signifies nothing other than the submission of those who were at variance; for just as it is base to be involved in the worst condition, it is the beginning of salvation to fall; for he who falls from that condition no longer persists in opposition.

Verses 40-42. "You tripped up all those who rose against me," not permitting them to press forward in their wickedness; for being restrained from the impulse toward evil, they shall come under me, no longer considering me at variance with them, but as their leader and head. For in this way, instead of haters, they might become friends; for they did not perish according to their essence, but according to that which they hated. For it belongs to a good God to ^C destroy evil, but not the essence to which it has happened. For He says to some: "And if you multiply your prayer, I will not listen to you, because your hands"—that is, your deeds—"are murderous and full of blood."

Verses 43, 44. "And I will crush them as dust before the face of the wind; as the mud of the streets I will trample them." These whom the discourse concerns, having become gross by minding earthly things and having become material, bearing the image of the earthly, I will crush through exhortations, admonitions, threats, and a laborious way of life, so that, having become like dust before the face of the divine Spirit—metaphorically called wind—all the earthly matter about them may be scattered by the breath of the Spirit, leaving the subject of it pure of all dust, as it happens to be earthen. They should also be ^D called to this voluntarily. To them the Lord says, as if to a whole city: "Shake off your dust, Jerusalem." And these very ones the Lord, or His just imitator, will trample as the mud of the streets. Being trampled in this way, the mud will be able to become an earthen vessel, useful in the great house, in which there are gold and silver and wooden and earthen vessels. But since gold and silver are for honor, while wooden and earthen are for dishonor, he who cleanses himself from...

^A these becomes a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, prepared for every good work, ridding those who were until then the mire of the streets—that is, the mud of pleasures and desires—of all the roughness that comes from the passions. He who says these things, by producing smoothness through polishing, will make them earthen vessels, so that by their own willing impulse they may cleanse themselves, in order to become vessels of honor, golden or silver; for just as some have made themselves into earthen vessels from gold and silver: "For the sons of Sion, most honorable, weighing as much as fine gold, how have they been reckoned as earthen vessels, the work of the hands of the potter?" ^B Thus they are vessels through their own power of choice. But since gold and silver are… how were they reckoned as earthen vessels, the work of the hands of the potter? Thus, from earthen vessels they will become gold or silver.

VERS. 45. A twofold kind of knowledge is displayed here: the former signifies to know simply; the latter signifies that the one who knows is united and mingled with the one who is known. According to the first meaning, God knows all, and not the righteous alone. For the Savior said to the wicked: "You are they who justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts." And in the prophet: "For I have known all your iniquities." According to the second meaning, however, he is said to know the righteous alone: "For the Lord knows those who are his," but he ignored the wicked. And the Savior says to them: "Depart from me, workers of iniquity, I never knew you." And so the people from the Gentiles, unknown to the Savior when they worshipped idols and demons and practiced all other iniquity, having turned through repentance, have arrived at the worship of Christ. Therefore it is well said, "Whom I have not known." For he did not say, "The people whom I do not know served me"; as long as one does wickedly, he is not known. But he who abstains from sins, though previously unknown, is now known. To these things refer these apostolic words: "But then indeed, not knowing God, you served those who by nature are not gods; but now having known God, or rather being known by God." ^C For when they were ignorant of God, they were being ignored by him; but having known him, they were known by him. Yet perhaps it will seem to some that what is added is redundant, "In the hearing of the ear he has heard me," since everyone who hears hears with an ear. But the ear is not added redundantly or superfluously, since everyone who hears with God does not use human and mortal hearing, but a divine ear, which is added to him; for he has added to me an ear to hear.

VERS. 46. "Alien children have grown old," and what follows. Since God is the beginning and source of goods, he becomes the father of those who do good; and as long as they do what is necessary, these are the own sons of God, partakers of his Only-Begotten Son; but if they turn away, they will suffer the contrary, that is, they will be alienated from God by evil; "to grow old" has a fitting sense. For those who share in virtue ^D...

were formerly youthful, with a brilliant, unfading, and ever-new wisdom; but having fallen into wickedness, they grow old, as I might say, being worn away by their own corruption. And furthermore, since the verse concerns the Jews—for they remain seated in the antiquity of the letter, and are not willing to follow the newness of the Spirit, even in the slightest degree—it is said, "Alien children have been born and grown old." These indeed, having become indecisive and double-minded, are said to limp from their own paths. For Elias called this indecision limping, saying: "How long will you limp on both knees? If the Lord is God, follow him." And perhaps everyone who has received the divine Scripture, but does not understand it as he ought, is said to limp when ^A he neither walks properly nor behaves as one limping in it; for he who does not accept it, neither walks nor limps in it.

VERS. 47. "The Lord lives and blessed is God." God is said to live, not by receiving life, but by bestowing it. And so He Himself often speaks of Himself: "I live, says the Lord." But the Savior also, saying: "As the living Father has sent me, and I live through the Father," shows that He lives, not by a participation in life—for He Himself is the Life. From which it follows that the Son is consubstantial with the Father. For if the Son is life, He is not a participation in life, but He who vivifies those who participate in Him. The Father also lives in the same way, bestowing life just as the Son does, with the same power proceeding equally from the Father and the Son. Therefore, ^B the substance of the Father and the Son must be the same; and this phrase also shows this. "Living," He says, "the Father, and I live through the Father," as if to say: because He has such a Father, who lives according to substance. And He Himself is the one who exists; He is the living and blessed God, having blessed the saints with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. He might be called blessed because all blessing is from Him. For whatever is said and thought about Him is also said and thought in a state of blessing. "And let the God of my salvation be exalted." The God of my salvation is exalted when I grasp the sense of His greatness; for those whose works are great, they themselves are great. Since, therefore, the salvation of the rational living being is a great work, it is necessary that its author be great. Indeed, God is exalted not by moving from a humble place to a high one, but when we resolve to think great things about Him. ^C

VERS. 50, 51. For either by giving thanks for their growth and salvation, he confesses to Him; or, having taken their sins upon himself, he becomes an intercessor for their repentance. For the voice "I will confess to you" indicates both; but the Son also sings to the name of the Father, doing all things according to the will of the Father. "Magnifying the salvations of His king." The Father magnifying the salvations of Christ the King, not in the sense that the King Himself is saved, but those which He Himself provides to those being saved by Him. But the King is God’s, not in the sense that He reigns over God Himself, but over those devoted to God; for we say a leader at one time is of those he governs, as their guide, and at another time, the leader of the king according to his laws. ^D

^A VERSE 51. *And showing mercy to His Christ.* He shows mercy to Christ, by showing mercy to those under Christ, over whom He serves as priest and king; for the word "Christ" signifies priest and king. *To David and to his seed forever.* If the expression refers to David—that is, anyone capable [of understanding it] by hand—it shows God showing mercy to practical men, who are capable in their actions, and to those who happen to be their seed, through the instruction and imitation of their life. The mercy that he shows to them is not temporary nor for a short time, but unto the ages. But if the discourse is concerning God, the true David—for "I will raise up for you one shepherd, my servant David"—He shows eternal mercy to Him and to His seed, because His anointing and His priesthood cannot be undone; for with the old priesthood being changed, the priesthood of Christ is inviolable. ^B

PSALM XVIII.

VERSE 2. *The heavens, therefore, declare the glory of God.* The glory of God is either the Only-Begotten according to the radiance of His glory, according to the saying, *And the glory of the Lord shall be seen*, or it is the ordinance and magnificence of His kingdom. These things, then, the powers proper to the heavens declare, singing and theologizing, being named homonymously with the heavens which they inhabit, according to the trope of metonymy. But the firmament makes known the work of the active powers of God, which are called His hands, not so much by words as by the very deeds themselves. But also those who embrace the contemplative life store up treasure ^C in heaven, and having their heart there, they are heavens declaring this glory of God through contemplation of intelligible things. But the practical ones are the firmament, as they are steadfast, and they declare the work of the hands of Christ, working the things of God, and being themselves the works of God. A lucid mind is day; for God called the light day. This day, harmonious to a lucid mind, belches forth a word, just as Old Scripture, filled with spiritual food, is brought forth belching out words of abundance into the New Testament. Night, however, the deepest perception of mystical things, leads us to another obscurity, which perception the Spirit of God gives to those possessing Him, He who also searches the depths of God. Speech brings forth words, and words bring forth knowledge, providing arguments. Both are said by God for this reason, that they might be heard. Therefore, for the obstinate there is no defense; ^D they receive the sound, whoever they are that are like earth suitable for receiving seeds—that is, the reading and the sense of Scripture. Those who have advanced beyond them, and are called the ends [of the earth], receive the words, having been wisely instructed. Hearing this sound, Peter said: *You have the words of eternal life*; and the Savior said: *the words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit*. For He said these things to the apostles, who are the ends of the earth.

^A Ver. 6. According to the law of anagogy, the Church can be the tabernacle of God, placed in the sun, that is to say, wherever and as long as the sun appears; for it harmonizes with the solar motions that reach to the ends of the earth. Moreover, everyone who receives the glory of God, and is named His tabernacle, can be placed in the Sun of righteousness—that is to say, in Christ. For the foundation and base of such tabernacles is the light of the world. And the Savior is called the true Light and the Sun of righteousness (nor is it possible to have an understanding of this Light while being ignorant of the sensible light). He who partakes of the transcendent light—which is the Sun—receives from its contemplation a representation of the intellectual light, just as he will find the true Light dwelling in the sensible sun. For ^B we must not heed certain heretics who say that after the resurrection from the dead, the Savior deposited the body He wore in the solar sphere, to be guarded until His second and glorious coming. "He set His tabernacle in the sun," and what follows, you will understand in a deeper sense, because the Sun of righteousness [proceeded] from the bridal chamber of the paternal bosoms... of God, whether in things or in wicked powers. God will spare His own servant, since He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for all. For what would it have been to spare the Son? The destruction of all. But to not have spared Him was the salvation of all. And the Son Himself will be immune from every detriment, since His nature cannot possibly suffer that.

^C Ver. 8. God is worthy of trust, bearing witness through good works and the knowledge of the truth: according to that which is written, "Faithful is the word"—not because He believes, but as one who is believed; and again, "God is faithful"; and "There is no iniquity in Him"; and "Faithful is God, by whom you have been called." Therefore, the testimony is faithful because it is steadfast. It makes wise those who have turned and have become like children. And the Gospel grants wisdom to infants newly born, and likewise to those unskilled in human wisdom, the illiterate and the simple-minded. Moreover, His righteous decrees, having nothing crooked, make those who receive them upright; these, experiencing no grief, become partakers in divine joy. ^D Since godly fear is not affected by passion, it is pure; for it is not like that which is cast out by divine love, being the same—namely, fear in piety and reverence—which also makes men holy and is not temporary. As for the judgments that God judges, they are called such because of the truth according to which He judges. Paul also says, "For we know that the judgment of God is according to truth upon those who do such things." There are also false and unjust judgments, from which He has distinguished these. These divine [judgments] are known to be bound together with one another; and to the pleasure of these things said, he says, nothing in life is to be compared; for to the sweetness of intelligible things, nothing of the sensible is to be likened. He who has transferred his psychic perception from the latter to the former receives all his desire; for these things, every man of God...

^A guards, being about to have a great recompense, which is not among things sensible.

VER. 13. He calls "astrology" a great sin. For if I were not cleansed from my hidden matters, these remaining trespasses would lead to shameful action, and I would become liable to great sin.

VER. 15. "And the words of my mouth shall be for pleasure." For when these things befall me from Thee, then the words of my mouth—which I have offered up praying to Thee, hymning Thee, and giving Thee thanks—shall be for pleasure. They are "for pleasure" because they are worthy of acceptance. "And the meditation of my heart in Thy sight," since it consists in thoughts and perceptions, and being outside of all blame, it occurs in Thy sight at all times. ^B Indeed, that the meditation is blameless arises from nothing else but from Thee, who hast cleansed me from my hidden matters. "O Lord, my helper and my redeemer." With Thee helping me, O Master, I yield to none of those who fight against me spiritually. But if, by my own negligence, it happens that I yield to adversaries, do Thou redeem me from those who have mastered me, becoming both my helper and my redeemer.

PSALM XIX

VER. 5. God grants [the request] according to the heart of the person praying, whenever he asks for such things as are fitting for God to give and advantageous for the recipient. For a petition made correctly regarding such things will find God compliant. "And may He confirm all thy counsel"—counsel, that is, the right intention—may He confirm it. ^C But an intention is fulfilled when it does not fall away from its purpose, but encounters those things which it had previously intended.

VER. 6. "We shall rejoice in Thy salvation." This is that of which it was said: "Behold, there is born to us today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." He indicates "salvation" to be that by which he whom God hears in the day of tribulation shall be saved, from which salvation there shall be rejoicing. "And in the name of the Lord our God we shall be magnified." While others are magnified by worldly things, we shall be magnified in the name of the Lord our God. The word "we are magnified" signifies progress in that which is truly good. For he did not say "we are great." On this account also, Isaac, as he progressed, became greater, until he became very great. ^D One is magnified in the name of the Lord if he fulfills the duties of a true and perfect servant.

VER. 7. "May the Lord fulfill all thy petitions." It is a great praise of the person concerning whom the discourse is, that all his petitions are to be fulfilled by the Lord, and that he seeks nothing which God does not grant. The fulfillment of petitions is when those things which we have desired occur and succeed prosperously. "Now I have known that the Lord has saved His Christ." The designation "Christ" signifies now the priest, now the king, and now the incarnation of God the Word according to the flesh. And this David, according to some, or

^A Hezekiah, according to others, is to whom this psalm is ascribed; some also refer it humanly to the incarnation. But in all who believe, the body of Christ is fulfilled, according to that saying: "So also Christ is one body, but many members." Christ is said to be saved when those of whom his body and members consist receive salvation. And rightly it is said: "Now I have known"; for now, that is, in the present time, we have known Christ saved, having received therefrom the earnest of salvation. "He will hear him from his holy heaven; in mighty deeds is the salvation of his right hand." He hears Christ, having attained all these things we mentioned before. But the right hand of God, that is, his Word, works salvation; not in any way whatsoever, but "in mighty deeds," as befits a leader or a most excellent king.

^B VERSE 8. By "horses" one should understand the goads of the passions, by which the opposing powers are carried along; and by "chariots," the vehement conspiracy of the passions, with which they attack us. But if they have these for themselves, for us the invocation of God is an unconquerable fortress.

PSALM XX.

VERSES 2, 3. He who has been established king upon Mount Sion is peculiarly and truly king, exulting with divine exultation on account of the power of God present to him. But the whole psalm may be understood of Christ the king and of him who reigns with him, lest we be forced to point this out at ^C every single verse. "And in thy salvation he will exult vehemently. Thou hast given him the desire of his heart, and hast not deprived him of the will of his lips." He who does not fulfill the desire of the flesh, walks in the Spirit. This man, therefore, tempered by the Spirit, receives the desire of his heart from God; for he is not hindered by the incitements of the flesh, but those things by which his heart—that is, his mind—is incited, he receives from God, who fulfills his desire with good things; and if anyone obtains those things which he needs, he is not defrauded by the Lord of the will of his lips.

VERSES 4, 5. Christ, having received oil from the Most High, when he is anointed with the oil of exultation, possesses an inviolable priesthood ^D according to the order of Melchisedec; for it will not be temporary or unstable.

VERSE 12. You might say that they inclined evil or impious dogmas about God toward him; or that they imputed the cause of their malice to him; and that the traitors and his enemies inclined evil toward the Savior. It must be noted that evils are performed by an inclination, and not by rectitude; but the base, having become distorted, undertake attempts against the powerful. For they plot against one who does not suffer harm. And furthermore, every wicked man has a malice that is uncertain and unstable. But over those whom God turns away, he places the back, when they could have been made face; and those who do not have a pure heart, and for this reason cannot see his face, he...

constitutes as the back for them to meditate upon the things that are after him—namely, the works—so that through the spectacle of creation they might be led back to him. For the things of God that are above his sensible creatures are more exalted. ^A

VERS. 14. "Exalt thyself in thy power." After you have indulged our weakness and taken on something weak, which is nonetheless stronger than men—having been crucified out of weakness—"exalt thyself in thy power." "We will sing and chant thy powers." Singing is to be understood as referring to speculation, and chanting as referring to efforts toward virtue. Therefore, contemplating the concept of the virtues and acting according to them, "we will sing and chant thy powers," which you have exalted while triumphing as a King against the devil and opposing powers. This can also be understood in this way: We sing grateful praises to you for the triumph over death. ^B

PSALM XXI

VERS. 1. "Morning help" is rightly spoken of when the Sun of justice arises and prepares the beginning of the day; for the true light rises, which, putting an end to ignorance and error, illuminates the spiritual dawn. But this, beginning, will reach the limit of perfect light, through which light all other spiritual things are also spiritually perfected, because he himself is the end. For his sake all other things exist, while he is not for the sake of anything; which they also call the supreme object of desire, because there is nothing higher than this, and it is the highest desirable good. The inscription, therefore, of the present psalm, "Unto the end," is sung of the morning help for David, that is, for him who was to be born according to the flesh from his seed. And this must be noted, that from beginning to end this psalm preserves one person and transfers nothing away from this person; and since the New Testament accepts the words of this psalm as spoken by Christ, it is necessary to interpret everything concerning this same person of Christ; however, we shall explain those passages which the New Testament has used, whenever we arrive at them. ^C

VERS. 2. It must be noted that it uses the nominative case instead of the vocative. For whereas he could have said, "My God, my God, why?" he says, "God, my God." Scripture is accustomed to doing this in many places. But what he wishes to say is this: "You, who are the universal and true God, being my God, assist me as I am fought against and surrounded by many miseries: why have you abandoned me?" The voice is that of one asking the cause of the abandonment; for since he was conscious of extreme purity within himself (for he knew no sin), he knew that he had not been abandoned on account of sin, but for something else that would be for the benefit of all. He wishes this, therefore, to be made manifest: that he is suffering not for his own sake, but for the sake of those who see him. For recognizing that he was abandoned for their sake, they will celebrate him with hymns as the Savior. One must say, therefore, "words of transgressions," not words spoken concerning transgressions; for just as we say "word of heaven," by which it is established, and "word of the sun," by which it subsists, so we shall also speak the word of transgressions, and not the transgressions ^D themselves.

He took on the transgressions for the Savior into His own body. Indeed, His body bore these accounts of transgressions before the passion. But having risen from the dead, because He is also said to have been saved, He kept the accounts of the aforementioned sins far from His salvation, having stripped off the principalities and powers that act out the transgressions, when He triumphed over them in Himself, having made a display of them on the cross. ^B

VERS. 3. "O my God, I will cry by day, and Thou wilt not hear; and by night, and not for my ignorance." It is not only when painful and gloomy things surround me, which "night" allegorically signifies, that I cry to Thee, my God, so that I might not suffer anything; but even when the things concerning me are bright and shining, I cry again so that nothing harmful may come from exaltation. The Savior, confessing these things concerning us, says: But I know that when I cry in this way, Thou wilt hear; for it must be read with a pause: "And by night I will cry, and not [for] my folly," when the things surrounding me are gloomy, [as happens] when many are darkened by their circumstances; for one ought not to be ignorant even of what to say when crying to God; for I know on account of what the nightly condition is around me.

VERS. 5. And the fathers from whom I am according to the flesh, these are the patriarchs; they hoped in Thee, expecting my illumination; but they also did not fail in their hope. For they were delivered from death and the devil, by My having redeemed and delivered them. For when they also cried to Thee, they obtained salvation *through* Me and *from* Me. For they were not put to shame by hoping in Thee; for they received what they had hoped for and expected. But let those who say these things, those claiming to be learned in the law, know that they are holding false opinions concerning Providence. For one might say the same things concerning the sawn-asunder Isaiah, and those who else have suffered for the sake of piety. For we say that to be delivered and saved from the painful things that surround us is not to be outside of them, but to bear them bravely and patiently, so that the mind might not be harmed, by having its right purpose deflected because of the pains. For we say that the martyrs of the truth, having suffered countless things and having died in their torments, have been delivered and saved from their tribulations. For those who are made "outside" of tribulating things through abjuration, not only were they not delivered and saved from temptations, but they were also swallowed up by them. ^C

VERS. 10. For perhaps he who is conceived from seed in the womb, when the time of birth is completed, is cast forth by the womb itself to the air. But the Father alone draws the Savior out from the womb of the Virgin, not with seed introduced from the outside, but drawn out *from* her by a divine birth. "My hope from my mother's breasts; I was cast upon Thee from the womb." To other human beings, hoping and expecting things to come belongs to those who have reached maturity after the completion of the word, but the infant from Mary alone from His mother's breasts hopes for perfection; for He has God as His hope; and He was never made in malice. ^D

[;] as Isaiah indicated, saying ^A: "Before he knows good or evil, he rejects evil to choose the good."

VER. 11. "From my mother's womb, you are my God." Before His incarnation, Jesus had His intimacy only with the Father; for God was His Father, and He Himself was the Son of God. But from the time He became flesh and came forth from the womb, He had a relationship with the Father as God. Therefore He says: If You are always my Father, yet You also began to be my God from the womb of my mother.

VER. 12. "Do not withdraw from me, for tribulation is near, for there is no one who helps." When God is present at a time of tribulation, He is able to provide steadfastness so that one may endure the tribulation courageously. But when God is absent, the surrounding circumstances are overpowering. Therefore, he who speaks the psalm prays—becoming a model for us humans and teaching us in temptations—and prays in this way, that he might not commit such things on account of which God might withdraw, so that with God present he might be able to defeat those who stir up the tribulation; for if God should withdraw from anyone, there will be no one to help him. ^B

VER. 13. "But calves" would be the wicked powers that stir up things pertaining to the earth and the flesh; for this animal is used for the cultivation of the earth. Those, however, who preside over false doctrines, insulting as if with horns through deceitful words and sophistry, are "fat bulls" on account of their ostentatious, learned, and refined speech. It is also possible to say that the Jews, who according to the Law sacrifice oxen—from which they also prepare what are called calves—hostilely surround the Lord; and Pontius Pilate, and any others in the highest rank of dignity—and therefore being like horned bulls—hasten to besiege Him. Furthermore, the Savior may also speak these things regarding His own body, the Church, seeing men who are groveling and hostilely tilling the earth ^C surrounding His body: "Many calves have surrounded me." And seeing the rulers of this age who promise wisdom surrounding His body, He will say: "Fat bulls have beset me."

VER. 14. Having exposed the savage nature of their perversity, which is always prepared for oppression, He says: "They opened their mouth against me, as a lion that tears and roars." For their mouth, opened to seize the deceived, is a word of captious wisdom. Perhaps, however, "as a lion that tears and roars" refers to the devil; from which lion the good Shepherd snatched two legs, and [he, the devil,] was devouring the lobe of an ear; for by hearing, you will understand the ear of the soul of man, and by the legs, its way of life. ^D

VER. 15. "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are scattered." Since the body of Christ are the faithful...

^A having taken upon himself the sufferings of those who believe, He says these things, which have happened to those who constitute His body. Since, therefore, the sheep suffered dispersion when the Shepherd was struck down, He says: "Like water I am poured out"; for water that has been poured out is scattered. But He also says concerning the apostles, "My bones have all been scattered." For they are His bones, as they are solid and support the whole body. "My heart has become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels. My strength has dried up like a potsherd." Perhaps someone's heart becomes melting like wax in the middle of his bowels when he sees those whom he has brought forth in pain and begotten suffering calamity. Since, therefore, the things mentioned above also happened to the disciples of Jesus, His heart, being disposed toward them with burning love, received the state of wax in the midst of the bowels, sympathizing with those whom He had begotten. But also the sweetness ^B of the heart, as it were wax, melts when it becomes food and descends into the belly; for the thoughts of the heart, nourished as if wax, are sent down into the belly, melting and becoming refined through constant meditation, so that they may be rendered for the constitution of what has been fed. But also strength, having been introduced into the furnace of life, has dried up like a potsherd; for after the experience of tribulations, as one brought forth from a furnace, a man presents the dryness of a potsherd, no longer moist like the mud from the moisture of clay and the fluid of pleasures.

VER. 16. "And my tongue has stuck to my throat." The listeners being scattered, and no longer present to whom the tongue might be active in teaching and discoursing, it would be inactive, stuck to the throat; for...

VER. 17. To dig, therefore, signifies the perforation of nails. The bones of the body are numbered when it is stripped of the bones that are stuck to it; his bones, then, are the apostles; the flesh, however, are those who have believed in a more superficial and corporal manner. ^C When, therefore, the body is at unity, the bones support the flesh. But the flesh, as it happens, covers the bones.

VER. 18, 19. When, therefore, fear disturbs, those of weaker faith fleeing, the robust and staunch zealots remain, and being stripped of the multitude, they are easily numbered. In addition to the historical sense, you might consider the garments of Jesus to be the common expressions of the Scriptures; for each of them accepts some Scriptures, but rejects others. Here, the tunic of Jesus is not indicated, since it is indivisible, being without seam; for it possesses not a forced, but a natural unity; and it is also from above, because it is divinely inspired; it is woven throughout, for the Scripture is from above in every power. But the Church does not divide the garments, nor does she cast lots for them. For ^D she possesses them all and is clothed in them, standing at the right hand of Jesus like a queen "clothed in a golden garment, adorned" (Ps. xliv, 10). She, having gone beyond the garments, and

himself, clothing himself with Jesus, the wisdom and power of the Father, and having become wise and strong.

VERS. 20. "But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help far from me; look to my defense." Therefore, while these are doing these things, do not remove thy help far from me; for with thee helping and looking to my defense, who on the third day didst rise from the dead, I shall show the machinations against me to be vain.

VERS. 21. "Deliver my soul from the sword." Since the enemies who surround me, thirsting for my blood, are drawing a sword against me—one capable of wounding not the body, but the soul—deliver my soul from their sword, keeping it unharmed from turmoil and fear. For even if our soul is well prepared, yet on seeing the devil with the whole phalanx of demons and the company of opposing powers and wicked men incited by them, it becomes agitated (for it is of a changeable nature) and petitions to have as a helper Him who is able to rescue it from the sword of the enemies. Perhaps also the devil himself may be called a sword allegorically, since he dares against every soul, seeking to wound it; and it is from this sword that he asks to be delivered. "And my only one from the hand of the dog." Those whom he earlier called in the plural "dogs" surrounding him, he now calls in the singular, by genus. He calls his soul his "only one" because it is set apart and separated from other souls; for while all those have known iniquity, this one has not. And to those, God the Word comes and converses only at intervals, but to this one He remains inseparably and without interruption, indissoluble until the end. These noble things that belong to it are therefore termed its "only" qualities; moreover, the glorious Church that stands with Him, not having spot or wrinkle, being filled entirely with the perfect, is held to be His only one. These are indeed distributed into many ranks according to the degree of perfection; for although there are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and an innumerable number of maidens, this one is above all others the perfect dove, she who is the only begotten to her mother, the Jerusalem above.

VERS. 22. "Save me from the lion's mouth, and my lowliness from the horns of unicorns." He now prays to be saved from the aforementioned lion, the devil; but also for his lowliness, in accordance with which he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the Father even unto death, even the death of the cross. He also wishes to be saved from the horns of unicorns, another kind of opposing power that claims a kingdom for itself; for the horn is a symbol of kingdom. There are those, however, who think that the cross is signified in this place, as it presents the shape of a horn.

VERS. 23. The Epistle to the Hebrews says that this verse also is spoken in the person of Christ, declaring to the Father: O Father, thy name...

that is, thy property, thy notion, I will declare, manifesting it to those who have become my brothers, to whom thou hast sent my Spirit; to whom it might be said: "Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts." These are they who have received the Spirit of adoption from God, so that they may be sons of God, and brothers of the Only-begotten. And so, rising from the dead, having appeared to the women, he said, "Go, tell my brothers that I have risen." And in the midst of the Church gathered from these, he will praise the Father with hymns and songs.

^B VERS. 24. Jacob is named in various senses. This designation signifies now the holy man, the son of Isaac, and father of the twelve patriarchs; now the nation of twelve tribes that sprang from him; now only the ten tribes that separated from the house of David and followed Jeroboam; now the Savior himself, according to that word: "Jacob is my servant, I will uphold him; Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him." For Matthew wrote that this prophecy was spoken concerning the Savior. It must be inquired to which of those we have just enumerated the following refers: "All the seed of Jacob, glorify him." Most will say that he wishes the seed of the patriarch Jacob—namely, the twelve tribes, nourished by the reading of the Law and the Prophets—to glorify God by their thoughts, words, and good works. But this would have to be counted as false, since many who sprang from Jacob became unbelievers and betrayers of Jesus. It can be said of that Jacob who tripped up ^C and cast down death and the opposing power—for this is Jesus; his seed, having been begotten by his teaching, will be able entirely to glorify God. But if Israel is also he whom the soul of God has accepted, being his chosen seed, as he is Israel, he will fear God. And each of the imitators of Jesus, if he endures the struggle against the principalities and powers and world-rulers of this darkness, is a Jacob, tripping up his adversaries by the struggle. But if he has a pure heart and a clear mind, he will see God, and therefore will be an Israel. Every such person, therefore, as his seed, will fear God.

^D VERS. 25. "For he did not despise the supplication of me the poor man, nor was he angry, spurning it." On account of this, becoming grateful that the prayer made for us on our behalf was heard by the Lord, "praise and glorify and fear him." For if, even as a poor man... you owe it, because I, who am rich and being the treasury of the fullness of all good things, became poor for your sake, that by my poverty I might make you rich. For you, who are clothed with flesh, could not have received my riches, knowing and prophesying only in part. I, therefore, having become poor for your sake, cried out to the Lord on your behalf, and he heard me, giving to you those things by which you were shown to be rich. For so, when I am praying for you...

^A, "He did not turn his face from me," but rather made it shine more brightly upon me; and for this reason he also accepted my cry.

VERS. 26. Men indeed praise according to manifest works and pursuits; but God, seeing the hidden things, praises according to perfect virtue and surpassing knowledge. It is therefore for someone great to say with boldness: "With you, O God, is my praise," not in just any place, but in the "great Church"; and the great Church is that which is gathered together from individuals who are great, just as a large Church is that which consists of many. — Prayer is the consensus of acts of thanksgiving, if it consists of things pertaining to God.

VERS. 28. Those who are called the ends of the earth—for their kingdom is in heaven—turn to him; and the nations, which previously were unable to worship according to the law of Jerusalem because they were too far away, fulfill the prophecy of Zephaniah: "And they shall worship in his presence, each from his own place, all the families of the nations ^B."

VERS. 30. The "fat ones of the earth" can be those who are nourished by earthly things; but those who are called in spirit to repentance, mortifying in spirit the deeds of the body so as no longer to mind earthly things, and having eaten the spiritual food supplied by Jesus, have worshipped God in spirit. One might also call those "fat" who excel in wisdom, whether they are participants in the wisdom of the world, or are flourishing in wealth and are ruling according to the senses. For these, too, having eaten the food received from Jesus, which is a bulwark against encroaching evils, worship God, finding him to be above all the wisdom and wealth and rule that they possess. Those "descending into the earth" can be called all the angels sent from heaven to earth, worshipping the Lord and Savior according to that: ^C "Let all the angels of God worship him." Observe, however, whether those who have undergone the common death are able to descend into the earth, who shall worship the Lord, who for their sake descended into the lowest parts of the earth.

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." As for that, "A generation goes and a generation comes," some, taking this to refer to the two peoples, have called the departing generation the people of the circumcision, which withdrew from the Lord. Therefore it became a crooked and perverse generation; but the coming generation is the calling of the Gentiles... hastening. This, then, shall be announced to the Lord by those who have been sent as ambassadors on its behalf, saying to you: "Nations shall come from the end of the earth"; and, "All nations, as many as you have made, shall come and worship in your sight." For the Savior does not cast out this generation coming to him, saying: ^D "Him who comes to me I will not cast out." And it is well also that...

^A the generation of which the discourse treats has not already come, but is now coming to him, following the precepts of faith. These same people, announcing to the Lord the coming generation, and the justice of God which through faith in Jesus extends to all who believe, shall announce to the people to be born through the divine birth: "which the Lord has made," for he formed it by his own blood and called it his own people.

PSALM XXII

Vers. 1, 2. He who has rendered the meek and steady flock of Christ upright will say concerning the good Shepherd: "The Lord rules me, and nothing shall be lacking to me." For he leads me into salutary pastures, where there are divine herbs. Then the Shepherd himself says concerning his own flock: "He shall enter and go out and shall find pasture." For the grassy place can be divine doctrine, where spiritual grass is found, that is, moral instruction. In this place, then, he has settled me, but did not dwell [continuously]. For he wishes me, as I make progress, ^B to use such pasture perfectly. For when I have ceased to make progress, I shall have need, not of a shepherd, but of a master and teacher, once the sheep has been made a man. I am no longer a sheep, which, having wandered from the pasture on account of iniquity, is brought back to it by the shepherd who finds what was lost; for what has once departed is able to return; for sin supervenes upon those who reject God. "He has brought me up over the water of refreshment." For ethical knowledge is not only a remedy for thirst, but also provides the forgiveness of sins.

Vers. 3. "He converted my soul." For if, even being a sheep, I have wandered, having become outside the pasture through sinning, yet the shepherd who turns back what has wandered has converted my soul. It is to be noted that no one is evil by nature, since he is capable of conversion; but someone is returned to that place where he once was in the beginning; sin, therefore, has happened to those who have turned away from God; therefore let it be removed. "He led me upon the paths of justice for his name's sake." He says this concerning the shepherd: "He led me," implying one going before and making the way, so that we may tread the paths he himself has trod, following his footsteps; for whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and his own sheep follow him. ^C He calls justice the habit by which we practice the works of justice; but its paths are those performed in accordance with it; or perhaps justice is the universal and general virtue, and its paths are the virtues in their specific forms. Therefore, because of his name called upon me, he has led me upon the aforementioned paths of justice.

Vers. 4. Whenever God is with someone, nothing of those things that are harmful can cause damage or injury, as the prophet says— ^D

^A "Behold, the Lord will help me; who shall harm me?" If, therefore, I walk in tribulations and in the bitter things which are called the shadow of death, I shall not fear evil things, having God with me. He does not call "evil" here what is evil in the proper sense, but rather difficulties, poverty, sickness, calamity, and other things of that kind, about which Job says: "Shall we not endure evil things?" For whoever does not have God with him dwells where evils are peculiarly contrary to the good. Some say that the rod signifies to chastise and to teach, according to the passage: "What will you? Shall I come to you with a rod?" and that the staff [signifies] to support the spirit with counsel, exhortation, and incitement. "You have prepared a table before me in the face of those who tribulate me." What does that mean, "in the face of those who tribulate me"? There is an ineffable mystery in this, that we should pray to be tribulated. Consider, I beseech you, how in great contests prizes are proposed for each individual struggle; just so, for each individual tribulation, when the tribulation is raging and the powers that tribulate [us] are adverse, think that a spiritual and intellectual table has been prepared for the sake of this tribulation. As often, therefore, as you are tribulated, so often is a spiritual table set before you. Only have eyes such as can behold my tables, so that you may say, giving thanks with the Apostle: "Not only so, but we also glory in tribulations."

Vers. 5.

many are the adversaries." ^A This means that He pours understanding into him abundantly; for this priestly oil is the ointment, of which Aaron bore the symbol. For it says, "Like the ointment upon the head, that runneth down upon the beard, even Aaron's." And "Thy cup is intoxicating, how excellent it is!" Since Wisdom has prepared not only a table, but has also poured into a mixing bowl her own wine, derived from herself, since she is the true vine—she poured out that wine by mixing divine knowledge with human language. From this bowl, dispensing to each one, she gives drink; and that cup is called "excellent," that is, beautiful and precious to the one who receives it, just as the Holy Spirit himself says: "He who receives it, receives my cup." And if it were read, "Thy cup," this would be the sense: "It is Thy cup, O Lord, which Thou hast given me to drink." For the aforementioned mixture offered by Wisdom is not human. ^B

VERS. 6. "And Thy mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Not so much does one reap salvation from works as from the grace of the merciful God. For God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love He has for men, has brought to life with Christ those who were dead because of sins and transgressions. Whence also the saint says: "And Thy mercy shall follow," always leaping upon and rushing to me. And this is not by some interruption, or for a time, but it follows me all the days of my life. For "all the days of my life," that is to say, either the various illuminations of the truth and those by which we are made alive, or Christ who is present to us through life, happen to be. "And my dwelling in the house of the Lord, unto length of days." He dwells in a place of pasture, but he houses in the house of the Lord, not for a certain time, but all the days of immortal life, being perpetually and without any intermission illuminated. Trusting in Thy mercy and Thy grace, I know that I shall not fall away from the hope placed in Thee, ^C my every day of life being instituted by Thy mercy. This mercy of Thine, therefore, and this grace of Thine has deemed me worthy to inhabit Thy house and Thy Church, where, making my abode as in a sacred house of God and a holy temple, I shall obtain length of days with Thee and eternal life. For my dwelling in Thy house, and never to recede or turn away from it, but always to make my sojourns within the sacred precincts—these things I believe will be the causes for me of the length of days arising from Thy light. Instead of "unto length of days," Symmachus interpreted it as "unto length of time," signifying a life according to God, namely, limitless and immortal.

PSALM XXIII

^A it is necessary to know that it signifies the Lord’s resurrection. Mystically, the earth became the Lord's when, having descended, he freed it from the demons that tyrannically held it, dismantling everything performed upon it through deception—magic, sorcery, and the oracles that the demons on earth brought forth, along with laws concerning idols and sacrifices. Indeed, its fullness consists of both good and evil, according to whether people turn away from iniquity, according to the saying: "The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord."

VERS. 2. Moreover, the Catholic Church, inhabited by the faithful, is one with the inhabitants who think and live in accordance with the Church. It has an immovable seat, remaining unshaken in faith even when the surges and storms of temptations strike. He established4 it upon rivers, making it fit through divine legislation to receive the Holy Spirit, from whom, as from a fountain, various graces and rivers of living water flow.

Didymus and Eusebius. VERS. 3. The mountain of God signifies the supreme good and the divine Word; for rarely is anyone able, by progressing, to ascend to its summit.

Didymus and Origen. For he who has been perfected, since he can no longer advance further, stands firm, and is therefore called the holy place of God. For he who walks behind the Lord ascends, forgetting the things that are behind and stretching forward to those things that are in front, having as his goal to stand with God in his holy place, to which it is necessary ^B for the one who evangelizes Sion to ascend and stand. To Moses, as he arrived there, God said: "But do you stand here with me;" and also, "He set my feet upon a rock," just as the prophet says concerning another sanctuary, for the rock was Christ.

VERS. 4. But who is the one who will enjoy these promises? This is the one who "has not received his soul in vain." Truly, also, if someone receives a rational soul, capable of virtues and doctrines, and does not receive the things for which it is capable, but is tormented by the deception of life and worldly anxiety, and is addicted to pleasures and passions, he has received his soul in vain. But he who conducts himself otherwise has not received it in vain. Therefore, the life of most people is the vanity of vanities.

VERS. 5, 6. Since the petition was not made regarding ^C one single person ascending into the mountain of the Lord and standing in his holy place, nor was the answer regarding one, but regarding everyone innocent in hands and pure in heart. Therefore, he adds: "This is the generation of those who seek the Lord," instead of saying, "All such people," and those having the aforementioned virtue, are the generation seeking; while seeking the Lord, they seek to find the face of the God of Jacob, whom they desire to behold, so that having been improved by the knowledge and radiance of him, they may say: "The light of your countenance, Lord, has been marked upon us."

^A VER. 7. The divine angels running ahead were saying to those standing guard at the heavenly gates: "Lift up your gates, you princes," whose custodians you are. For just as when he descended, he bowed the heavens and passed through without opening them, so also, when he was taken up, he did not enter by gates that were opened, but by those that were lifted up. Then, since these gates are also rational, the angels say to them: "Be lifted up, you eternal gates." These spiritual gates are not temporary, since they are not bodily, but eternal, inasmuch as they are devoid of matter and separated from all coagulation. Furthermore, by saying that the gates should be lifted up and exalted, they do not mean that one of the glorious ones is to enter, but they declare it is the King of glory. Now the Savior is the King of glory, because he rules over all glorious beings; he is called this as God, and as one who receives glory from all, and possesses a true and permanent kingdom, which he grants to those who are worthy. And he is called the Lord of it, according to the text: "For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

^B VER. 8. But since not only God the Word ascended, but brought with him the flesh he had taken, animated by a rational soul, the supernal powers, struck with amazement, were asking: "Who is this King of glory?" For they were astonished to see him who is called the King of glory clothed in flesh.

Again, those running ahead were saying: "The Lord is strong and mighty," crying out this directly: "He whom you know as King of kings and Lord of all, strong and mighty—this one is here clothed in a body, having triumphed over those who fell from us and assumed a tyrannical habit; the Lord strong in battle has appeared, for he has overthrown all who wished to resist him and oppose him."

^C VER. 9. Hearing these things, the princes who were at the eternal gates were not content merely to do what was commanded, but announced what they had heard to the powers established higher up, and even to the gates of the higher heavens themselves, crying out: "Lift up your gates, you princes," and the rest. And when they in turn asked them, they gave back the same answer that they themselves had received.

VER. 10. "The Lord of hosts," they saying, "he is the King of glory." They called him Lord of hosts as commander of armies. It should be noted that those who have accurately studied the Hebrew texts say that the word *Sabaoth*, which is found in Hebrew, was translated into the Greek language by the Seventy sometimes as "Lord of hosts," sometimes as "Lord of armies," and sometimes as "the Almighty." They say, therefore, that in this place, *Sabaoth* was rendered by "Lord of hosts." But if *Sabaoth* is spoken of the Savior and is translated as "the Almighty," then the word "Almighty" would deservedly be attributed to the Savior. For if all things were made through him, and he is before all things, and all things are to be referred to him.

^A and he holds them providentially, having been made through him, and is before all things that have their existence in him, consequently he is called Almighty. It is his person, therefore, that is speaking in Zechariah: "Thus says the Lord Almighty: After glory he sent me; and you shall know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you." For the Almighty being sent by the Almighty is the Son being sent by the Father. And most clearly the Savior is called Almighty in the Apocalypse of John: ^B "For thus says the Lord, the faithful and true witness, who was, and is, and is to come, the Lord God Almighty." For undoubtedly these things are spoken concerning the Son.

PSALM XXIV

VERS. 2. He who trusts in anything other than God, such as in riches, will be mocked: which I shall not suffer, for I have trusted in you; but the enemies are the devil with his demons and impious men. Perhaps he also foresees the incarnation of the Savior, after which the laughter of the enemies has ceased.

VERS. 4. By ways and commandments, he perhaps means those paths he deems worthy to learn, which those who went before have trodden, so that by following their footsteps, he may make his journey unerring; and because practical action is not sufficient for salvation, he supplicates to attain also the contemplation of the truth.

VERS. 10. "All the ways" leading to the Lord, or those which he himself traverses in the manner mentioned, being directed according to truth and conducted with integrity, "are mercy and truth." For [divine] mercy is necessary before all things, so that one may set upon them and thus, by advancing, arrive at truth itself. Yet the ways of the Lord are not seen as mercy and truth by all, but to those who "seek his testament and his testimonies"; ^C for whoever is outside the testament and the testimonies is unacquainted with the excellence and beauty of the Lord’s ways. It is required, therefore, to seek the testament which the Lord established for the fathers, leading them out of spiritual Egypt, that is, the error of polytheism; for by seeking and searching into it, we shall also know the new testament which Jesus confirmed with his own blood. For every testament is weak when he who established it has not yet died, just as the Apostle says: "For a testament is firm over dead bodies, since it is never valid as long as he who established it lives." Wherefore, wishing his own testament to be fulfilled, Jesus accepted death. ^D There must also be sought in the testament the testimonies of God, witnessing and inspired words from him.

VERS. 11. "For your name's sake, O Lord,"

^A I, your servant, will seek your testament, expecting from it liberty or the inheritance, which you have determined for one who has become a son; but also "be propitious to my sin," not to one still being committed, but to one that has ceased; "for it is great," not in quantity, but in comparison to the purity we ought to possess.

VERS. 13. The soul of the prudent man, not going beyond the good things, dwells in them, always performing them; and therefore he shall in general obtain the seed to inherit the earth, not that which lies under our feet, but the earth of the meek.

VERS. 16. He calls himself "unigenitus" [only-begotten], according to him who says: "I am left alone, and they seek my soul." Therefore I am poor, not having help from peers. It must be known, however, that you should not take the word "Unigenitus" in the sense of the Only-Begotten Son; for where the word "Son" ^B is added to "Unigenitus," or where it is said, "the Only-Begotten from the Father," then the generation of the Son exclusively begotten of God is expressed.

VERS. 17. You will understand the "tribulations of the heart" as troublesome and adverse thoughts; and these are necessary circumstances, compelling us to swerve from our purpose.

VERS. 21. He calls "innocent" those who are void of malice, or the simpler ones; but "upright" those who have attained perfect virtue. "These therefore clung to me" by like-mindedness, "because I waited for you, O Lord." Perhaps he also calls "innocent" those who are zealous among men; and "upright" the divine angels who cling to him, when divine virtues surround the righteous man.

PSALM XXV

VERS. 2. No sinner wishes to be judged regarding the things he has done, and especially by him who sees secret things. But he who has walked in innocence, that is, who has progressed, desires this to happen to him; for he knows he will obtain a reward or inheritance. Or he calls "innocence" the not participating in the depravity and malice of one's own people and the madness of others. "And hoping in the Lord, I shall not be weakened." As long as hope in God will hold me, strengthened by it, I shall not be weakened. ^C It is reported in the Scripture: "I shall not waver"; and through this, it is signified: Since hope in God has provided me a firm and immovable seat, hoping in the Lord I shall not waver. I would not have desired to suffer the previously mentioned painful things, unless your mercy had entered my mind as being an aid to me in enduring them.

VERS. 6. Whoever washes his hands—symbolically called the active powers of the soul—among the innocent, does nothing base through them, but performs something excellent; perhaps even he who previously defiled them, if instead of water he uses good works.

VERS. 8. He who loves the Lord with his whole soul, loves also all things of God, among which the beauty of his house is reckoned; the beauty of the house of God is the truth of the dogmas, and the order of the canons of the Church, which is understood as a house. And besides this, he loves the tabernacle of the glory of God. ^D

^A And perhaps the tabernacle of testimony, which Moses constructed in the desert, is the tabernacle of the glory of God; this is a sign of progress. But the house which Solomon built after the journey to Jerusalem is the house whose beauty he loves, bearing the type of perfection. He prays further not to be dealt with in the same way as the impious, so that his soul may not perish with them; for anyone possessing a pious mind will not suffer this. He also asks not to become a man of blood, so that his life may not perish with men of blood.

VERS. 11. ^B "Redeem me and have mercy on me." Even if he spoke the aforementioned things, supported by a good conscience, yet fearing that he might not be justified in this—since secret sins often lie hidden—he desires to be redeemed and treated with mercy.

PSALM XXVI

Of Theodoret and Didymus. VERS. 1. In some copies it is inscribed, "A Psalm of David, before he was anointed." You will not find this inscription in the Hexapla, but it is in some manuscripts. From this, some have taken the opportunity to reject all the inscriptions as untrue. For how, they say, could David, not yet having been anointed and not yet having received the grace of the most Holy Spirit, have written prophetic psalms? Besides, he was young at that time, tending sheep, not steering a kingdom, nor being pursued by any enemies. But they ought to have observed that the history of the Kings relates that David was anointed twice, or rather three times: first, indeed, in Bethlehem by Samuel the prophet; second, in Hebron by the tribe of Judah after the slaughter of Saul; and third, by all the tribes after the death of Mephibosheth. He uttered this psalm, therefore, before he received the second anointing and clearly undertook the administration of affairs. ^C Furthermore, being pursued by Saul, he used these words when he went to Achimelech the priest and prayed in the tabernacle of God, and having received the blessing of the holy loaves, he escaped the hands of the one warring against him. And he says this in the psalm itself: "For He hid me in His tabernacle in the day of my evils." Then also Doeg the Edomite, pasturing the royal mules there, reported the flight of David to Saul. Wherefore he also says in the psalm: "For unjust witnesses have risen up against me." Our Savior is God, delivering us from sins and from death; and He is the illumination, dissolving the mist of malice and ignorance, and shining with the light of knowledge. ^D Being thus united and illuminated by the Lord, whom shall he fear? For no one is able to harm one who has attained such goods and such safety.

VERS. 3. These things can be said both concerning sensible enemies and concerning the phalanx of invisible foes. "For if," he says, "war should rise up against me," in this my heart which does not fear them, I hope, having confidence to have God as my protector.

^A Ver. 4. He asks to dwell in the Church by contemplating ecclesiastical things all the days of his enlightened life. "When I am on earth," he says, "although I have need of many good things, I have for the present asked one thing of Him." Since it is impossible to enjoy all good things, take heed lest you leave behind that which is great or precious.

Ver. 5. It has been said many times elsewhere that the tabernacle signifies progress, but the house signifies perfection. Therefore, no one, when the day of evils is upon him, can be in the house of God, but he is hidden in the shadow, because being freed from malice covers his progress; for some things are manifest, others are mystical. God does not, then, protect the one who is advancing in things of light moment. He says "His tabernacle," because not every progress is toward God; but the rock of perfection has succeeded to progress. He says fittingly, "He hid me" with progress, and "He exalted me" with perfection. ^B You might say that the tabernacle is the life according to the law and the prophets, in which the one being instructed is hidden, whom God, having instructed him, exalts upon the rock, Christ.

Ver. 7. He who says these things, knowing that God listens to the prayers of the righteous, crying out to the righteous with the same disposition, desires to be heard. For no one is worthy to be heard by God unless he is pitied. These things, he says, I have not spoken from the surface of my lips, but from the heart itself; for God listens to such a voice.

Ver. 11. "Set a law for me," that, having received such a law from you, I may follow Him who said, "I am the way," and, "Guide me in a straight path and in your path which is not winding, because of my enemies," who place snares for me along the path; furthermore, since virtue is a mean between excess and deficiency, ^C as I must keep the mean, do you, O Master, "guide me," leading me to its end, "because of my enemies," who work iniquity by acting in excess, standing at the door of virtue and deceitfully capturing those who do not attend to the difference between the mean and the excess. But if you call the walk of true doctrines a straight path, know that when God is not guiding them, those who lead others into false doctrines alongside the truth—the rulers of this world—are enemies; because of whom, that we may not fall into their deceit, we pray to be guided by the Lord along the straight path.

Ver. 12. "Since I chose to walk the straight path, all the wicked have set themselves to afflict me. But you, O Lord, caring for me, do not deliver me into their souls"; that is, either praying not to be delivered to them, ^D or not to be numbered among the souls which the oppressors had, choosing by this very fact to be unjust witnesses. But the iniquity which they had attached to themselves, being unstable and insecure, lied to itself; for it was not found to be such as it claimed to be. For the speech that lied...

meaning not always that which is contrary to the truth, as in the prophet: ^A “The threshing floor and the wine-press lied to them,” instead of: “The threshing floor and the wine-press were not found as they promised to be year after year.”

VERS. 13. The “land of the living” is called the land of promise, on account of eternal life, since no one in it suffers the death which comes from sin. Furthermore, this land is situated in invisible and eternal things, and upon it sits the truth, and properly that of God... It is of such a sort: “I believe that I shall be a participant in eternal life, so that by this life I may be moved into the land of the living, in order to behold the good things of the Lord that are in it, which remain according to the promise for those who have lived holily.” And it is well said “to behold,” and not necessarily to eat or to touch, or anything else; for all utility is in the contemplation of the good things of God. ^B

VERS. 14. He says, “In the virility of the soul and the infirmity of the body, act viriliter”; for we have a battle against strong and non-carnal enemies; but by endurance we both gain victory and enjoy the good things promised by God.

PSALM XXVII

VERS. 1. The name “pit” designates the place where the condemned are guarded.

VERS. 2. Since, therefore, being in need of many things, I have known that these can be fulfilled by you, I cry out to you and pray that you may hear the voice of my supplication, for I implore no one other than you. For no one else is able to fulfill that of which I am in need. But the temple of God is the glory of God; the temple of God would also be the supercelestial place, and the powers in it receiving the presence of God, as far as is possible; it would also be the Word of God, saying: “The Father remaining in me, does the works.” ^C

VERS. 3. He prays, therefore, saying: Since destruction awaits the one who acts entirely unjustly, grant me justice, lest you allow me to be placed in iniquity, so that I may not perish with those who work it.

VERS. 4. He who prudently discerns matters, as one who knows that harmful things are base, turns away from them, preferring the good things which are useful; but the base man, charmed by pleasure, performs evils, not seeing their harmfulness. Since, therefore, he does not logically perceive the harmful things, the saint prays that retribution be dealt to the base man according to his laborious works, so that, if even through these hardships, he might turn away from the evils which have become the cause of punishment for him. ^D

VERS. 5. Just as a man acts, these are his works, and these are the works of his hands: for he himself acts according to his disposition. Moreover, the active powers, called his hands, perform the things that are to be done in sins. He asks, therefore, among other things, that retribution come about, “because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the works of his hands.” Of the works of God, some are visible, others are invisible. Therefore, those who have not understood the works of God and the works of his hands, retribution...

^A he wishes to receive; for they voluntarily chose not to understand the works, which was followed by their falling subject to punishments.

Vers. 7. “In the Lord as helper and protector,” my heart having hoped, it was helped, so that no shameful thought or base doctrine remains in it; for it is the mark of a heart that is helped to consent to what is right, and to recoil toward the contrary. And with my heart thus helped, my flesh has flourished again in practicing these things. And perhaps the heart that hopes might be helped, receiving at the time of the resurrection the flesh that has sprung up; which is nearly similar to this: “And our bones shall spring up like grass.” For our present body has the relation of seed to that which will be at the resurrection; for this very thing sown in corruption flourishes again, being sown in incorruption; whence Paul also used the example of that which is sown for matters concerning the resurrection. ^B

Vers. 8. For what other bulwark is there for the people of God, except the Lord? Everyone who partakes of Christ is called Christ by the same name. Since, therefore, he is saved by things pertaining to salvation, in this way Christ himself is the protector; or since he is in reality Christ, he is the protector of the salvations according to which he saves.

Vers. 9. “Save this thy people, of whom thou happenest to be the strength, and bless thine inheritance,” which is no other than thy people; but bless it with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, having raised and lifted them up through virtue; and also ^C “pasture them” for all this age; for in the age to come, having surpassed the condition of beasts, they will rely on thee as instructor and teacher.

PSALM XXVIII.

Vers. 1. The subject psalm, containing the greatest mysteries, is deservedly ranked as the twenty-eighth, being a heptad in power. For if you sum the numbers from one to seven, the number twenty-eight is completed; whence it is also triangular, showing seven on every side; it is also a perfect number, the second after the number six. They call a number perfect that is composed of its own parts in such a way that nothing exceeds or falls short. And the number in question has as its parts the half, the fourth, the seventh, the fourteenth, and the twenty-eighth; which, when added together, complete the number itself: 14, 7, 4, 2, 1.

He commands either the angels, or human beings endowed with the spirit of adoption, to bring ^D to the tabernacle things necessary for the sacrifice. Those who have received the spirit of adoption are commanded, among other things, to bring also the sons of rams; but by rams are to be understood those who have undertaken a life of intensity toward piety, and who do not fail to contemplate the truth intelligently; therefore, they are capable of ruling; and the sons of rams are those who have been born of them, as it were, through the imitation of their way of life. For those who believe as is fitting regarding the Trinity bring glory; and all who keep the commandments bring honor. For even he who transgresses the law, through his transgression dishonors God. In

^A the holy atrium he worships, who honors God according to the dogmas and canons of the Church.

Vers. 3, 7. One might, taking a closer interpretation, say that John, baptizing in the river Jordan, is the "voice of the Lord upon the waters." Furthermore, John, having taken up an austere and strictly ordered life, making the burning heat of the pleasures of life passable, is the "voice of the Lord cutting through the flame of fire."

Vers. 9. "Harts" signify souls that by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, and by the Spirit, through their lips, in imitation of God, destroy the impious serpent from their midst. That the wild beasts dwelling within them might be made manifest, the harts are aroused; for the wood is a place overgrown with fruitless trees, which are cut down by the axe of the Word and cast into the fire. When those things which, because of their density, were an impediment to the progress of men are removed, then every man, having abandoned the error of false gods, will speak of glory in the temple of God. ^B

Vers. 10. This session shows the immutability of God. He assigns it, therefore, to those who have perished on account of change, saying that He sits for eternity, while we perish with time. He demonstrates, therefore, the stability of His kingdom.

PSALM XXIX.

Vers. 1. The true David, born according to the flesh from the seed of David, after He built the Church, whose foundation He laid with His own blood, saying, "I will establish my holy house," purposed to dedicate this, giving the beginning of the dwelling in it to those who believe; on account of which the "Psalm of the Canticle" is sounded forth in thanksgiving. David, most desirous of building a sensible house, had heard: "You shall not build me a house, because you have been a man of war from your youth, but he who shall come forth from your loins, he shall build me a house." Having therefore prepared the materials for his son, he also left behind this psalm as something necessary, so that, when it was completed, it might be sounded forth with thanksgiving. ^C

Vers. 4. God saves either by not allowing one to succumb to death, or by raising up those who have fallen. These things may also be understood of the person of Christ, who gave His own soul for us, and rose again from the dead with the approval of God and His Father.

Vers. 6. But also those upon whom the true light has set, weep, being placed in the beginning of the night; while those for whom the "Sun of Righteousness" has risen, rejoice. It set for the old people, and they wept; it rose for the nations, and they rejoiced.

Of Didymus and Basil. Vers. 7. This is fitting both for Adam before the transgression and for Hezekiah after his victory; for in Chronicles it is said that his heart was lifted up. ^D

Vers. 8. The beauty of the soul is the harmony of its powers, just as the symmetry of the limbs is the beauty of the body. Grant me, therefore, this beauty, which I received by doing your will and that of the Father who is in heaven; for he who...

^A has become conformed to the image of the Son of God has received beauty from God by being united to the Lordly will.

VERS. 11. By this, “The Lord became my helper,” it is shown that “became” does not altogether indicate creation, but also a relation toward something. This, therefore, must be understood also regarding the Savior, if it should ever be said. Now properly, it is a lamentation when the hands strike the breast, from which is said—taking place in the consciousness of one’s own sins—that through spiritual hands one must turn the lament into gladness, taking up the fruit of joy from the Spirit. The words “that I may not be stung” mean the glory of the one singing; right conduct and pure knowledge are illuminated.

PSALM XXX

VERS. 2. He who hopes to enjoy the blessed end is not put to shame; and when harassed by the enemy, he asks to be delivered by the Only-begotten of God, who is his righteousness. And when he does not attain it, he says: “Our cry is to your height; incline your ear to me,” descending so that you may add speed, being implored. And now, the phrase “be unto me” shows the status of one protecting toward one protected; he asks that a house of refuge may become his, as he avoids the enemies, and that he may be fed with the heavenly bread.

VERS. 8. “I will exult and rejoice,” trampling underfoot sorrow and the other passions. Humility sometimes denotes a lack of pride, and sometimes the harm received from enemies; but it is a good thing for God to look upon both ^B forms of humility. Here, however, the discourse is about damages, when necessities are submitted; for he calls the circumstances of things “necessities.” If, however, he means by “spatiosum” the same as the broad and spacious way, which is a life of pleasure, he gives thanks that, while he is in a worldly place—where it is dangerous to live on account of the hidden snares—he has stood in such a way as not to be carried hither and thither by desires. He calls it “spatiosum” in a praiseworthy manner, and gives thanks that he is not in a narrow place, but has been enlarged and endures tribulations with an even mind.

VERS. 11. In the sensible realm, it is not absolutely the case that a beggar is weak, nor that a weak person is a beggar; but in spiritual matters, since strength and riches are the same, he who grows rich in good works possesses strength. Therefore he says, “I was weakened,” as one who has turned away from looking at riches. He speaks of strength, however, as one who possesses this condition; for just as it is not possible to be ignorant of science, so neither is it possible for strength to be weakened. Similar ^C to this is that saying of Paul, “That we might become the righteousness of God in him,” instead of “himself as just.”

VERS. 12. The enemies, being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, not only are not ashamed, nor ^D

^A do they think to accept reproach for the things they do wickedly, but on the contrary, they glory in them. Hence it is said of them: “Whose glory is in their confusion,” in that they boast of things for which they ought to be held in contempt. Be ashamed, therefore, of your boasting before the Lord; from whence also these shall rise to reproach and everlasting confusion. The one who perceives himself to be in the aforementioned poverty confesses that he is a subject for reproach; therefore he says, “I have become a reproach among all my enemies,” and also among all who draw near to me in habitation, that is, among those who think the same things, who, having considered from what wealth I have fallen into what poverty, fearing to suffer similar things, fled from my situation, because I, who was once a vessel precious and useful to the Master, have become so useless that I seem to have been lost. The Master hears reproach from those who are seen to be his disciples, because they do not adhere to his doctrines nor remain in them; perhaps also by dwelling among these reproached ones, I have become a lost vessel, according to that which is written: “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?” “Fear has become the lot of my acquaintances,” for he says they feared to be with me, lest they fall in with my enemies.

VERS. 16. By "assisting hands" he means the powers, in which he says all the lots are held, according to the divine judgment, whether to suffer or to be delivered. For do not think that these things happen by chance. ^B In the protecting and assisting powers, which are termed thy hands, are my lots, that is, all things that I have obtained as a portion according to thy judgment, namely, to be delivered from them or to suffer; for I believe that nothing happens by chance. Others, however, interpret this passage thus: The authority given, they say, to those who govern, or to masters, or to those exercising some kind of superiority, is called their "lots." These, therefore, are in the hands of God; for as he himself establishes, so also does he depose kings. If, therefore, because of the authority granted to me, certain people come wishing to overthrow it, they will not be able, because all things that concern me are in thy hands.

VERS. 20 and 21. He does not entirely hide the sweetness from those who fear him; for they already see much of it, but he hides the ^D “multitude” of it, so that they may not be harmed. And it is rightly said, “to those who fear thee,” for it is for them that he stores it up. He manifests it to them when, having advanced to perfect love, they cast out fear. And these very things which thou hast hidden “from those who fear thee,” thou hast already effectively manifested to those who have more hope than fear before the sons of men. By "men" you shall understand those who have kept the Word and the sign undefiled, and by "their sons" those who have wisely become their disciples and imitators. And you shall call that which is hidden from the face of God that which is not now accessible to knowledge, but which shall be revealed then, when we shall see him as he is. To this hidden thing is opposed that which is said in Paul, “Science”

^A distinguish what is said by Paul, “that which is known of God is manifest to them,” that is, His creative and providential power. For immediately after “God hath manifested it,” it is said: “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.” Perhaps the Savior, being the face of God, holds hidden everything that pertains to His Divinity, but makes manifest everything that pertains to the Economy. When, therefore, the Word, having become flesh, dwells among us, we are hidden in the secret place of His face, about to see it when we behold His glory, “glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” ^B Observe, however, if the manifest works of providence can also be His face; for through them we imagine God for ourselves; but His hidden things are the secret words according to which those things come to pass which are happening, which we shall know at the end of all things, away from the turmoil of men. Those who proclaim human dogmas are men who cast forth turmoil, by which they confuse the unstable. God, keeping those who hope in Him apart from this turmoil, hides them in the secret place of His face, according to all the ways we have just mentioned. But he who advances still further, and in the tabernacle desires that God, dwelling within him, should protect him, warding off from him the false opinions—which He called “tongues”—but as for the one who has attained to perfection, freed from every stage of progress, and contemplating henceforth the very truth itself, it is said: “And every voice that shall rise up against thee in judgment, thou shalt overcome them all.”

^C VERS. 22, 23. It is not so much worthy of admiration when the mercy of God appears in prosperous and sprawling cities, as it is admirable when it comes to pass in a fortified city. Wherefore it is fitting that God be blessed, and they bless Him who have been delivered from many vicissitudes of affairs. The word “excess” signifies distraction, but it also denotes admiration accompanied by astonishment. The present passage indicates the second of these meanings. For what it says is this: “In an excess,” namely, having fallen into astonishment, “I said: I am cast away from the presence of thy eyes,” that is, I thought I was far from those powers of yours which watch and keep vigil; but when I imagined these things, I prayed that I might not remain cast away, but that the face of your eyes might appear to me, “and therefore you heard the voice of my supplication when I cried to you.”

^D VERS. 24. While there is one truth that says, “I am the truth,” many arise in those who partake of the truth in the soul of each one; which it received as a type from the unique truth. Since, therefore, the Lord seeks all these truths, He wishes to demand payment for them from those who possess them; for which sake, “O love the Lord, all ye his saints: seek him”; not returning without reward for the truth which you have.

PSALM XXXI. VERS. 1. Since the psalm contains many hidden things

^A repent, but they even become more hardened in their evil state.

VERS. 2. “He who is without sin,” not simply “man,” but “husband” (or “man” in the sense of one who has attained the measure of a perfect man) is spoken of on account of [his] perfection. Thus, therefore, “God does not impute sin,” either by forgiving it or because it did not exist at all. This is most fittingly applied to Christ according to the dispensation. And that which is said: “There is no deceit in his mouth,” ought to be interpreted in the same way, whether it means that deceit has been cast out or that it never existed; for there is no deceit in the mouth of Him who possesses the true and unblameable Word.

VERS. 3. “Illumined by the true light, I lived in the day, and in this whole time I cried out, praying with hymns.” Since, therefore, through carelessness I ceased from this crying out, the strong and robust [parts] of my dogmas, called my bones, became old. He signifies the backsliding of one who speaks in this way, since his bones became old, and were not old by nature. He distinguishes the sins resulting from the transgression of the law from offenses [committed] outside the law; for the former are forgiven—since, being outside the law, they meet with indulgence—but sins are not forgiven at all; they are only veiled by love; for love covers a multitude of sins, when those who have transgressed the law subsequently repent. Since, therefore, there is remission through the laver, and covering through repentance, he embraces both. Some say that the remission refers to the Gentiles, but the covering to those of the circumcision who believed.

VERS. 4. It has already been said above that, in many places of Scripture, the chastening power of God is called His hand. He says, therefore, that this pressed heavily upon him day and night, that is, continuously, because of his turning to the worse. The Savior interpreted the life-cares and pleasures of this age as thorns. When, therefore, such a thorn is driven into anyone, he immediately turns to misery. It is worth knowing that one becomes miserable through conversion and change, whereas by nature he is not such. The word signifies a pitiable and wretched person; and the fact that a thorn is driven in shows that it is not there by nature, but penetrates from without. Being ulcerated by this, therefore, he turned to misery, which is born, of course, from repentance and the chastening admonition of the Lord: “For whom the Lord loves, He chastens; and He scourges every son whom He receives.” We know also from the books of Kings how much he suffered on account of this sin, being chastened by the Lord because of his previous righteousness, so that, having been freed from that sin and the punishment he had merited for it, he might be restored to his former health.

VERS. 5. He who falls into sin, as long as he wishes to be active in it, covers and hides it; but he who has come to hate it makes it manifest to Him who is able to heal it, laying it open through confession; and he also reveals the lawlessness which is akin to this. For lawlessness is a species of sin; for everyone who acts lawlessly sins; and

^A repent of their evil deeds, but even think that they can properly act in accordance with them. And ^B it can be stated by way of comparison that all who sin are law-breakers; especially because of this: “Everyone who commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” But when he says, “I will confess against myself the injustice I have committed,” he received more than he had asked for; for God forgave not only this, but also the impiety of the heart. Now, the impiety of the heart can be that peevishness regarding providence which happens to many, born from the apparent confusion of circumstances.

VERS. 6. Even if the holy are free from actual lawlessness, they still have their thoughts lightly touched by that impiety of heart which we just mentioned. Therefore, they will not pray for the lawlessness which they do not have, but will pray for that impiety, asking for its remission at an opportune time. An opportune time of prayer for this remission is when one purifies oneself from impurities. And just as one who is wounded all over will not request a physician’s service for a mere scratch, while one who has his whole body intact but is wounded only by that scratch might, so no one burdened by deeds will pray for purity of thoughts, but only one who has been entirely sanctified. When a flood of many spiritual waters comes, and someone has within himself a fountain of water springing up into eternal life, that is to say, waters that wipe away all sins and the impiety of the heart along with them, then impiety and lawlessness will not approach him who has prayed for them.

VERS. 7. He who says these things does not think he can find deliverance from the surrounding tribulation in any other way than by fleeing to Christ.

VERS. 9. That is, lest, by failing to act prudently, they fall into the condition of brute animals, so as to be likened to a horse because of lust for women, or to a mule because of stubbornness in evil. Those who are teachable and obedient approach God by their own voluntary impulse; but the others, of whom I have just spoken, having become like a horse and a mule because of their lack of understanding, will be dragged to you by the aforementioned necessity of the bridle.

PSALM XXXII

VERS. 1. Those who have perfected a moral life are just, rejoicing in the Lord; but the upright, whom it befits to praise, are those who have escaped all the crookedness of false doctrine: for it is appropriate for these to praise God, since “praise is not seemly in the mouth of a sinner.”

VERS. 2. The confession indicated here signifies thanksgiving; this, therefore, must be performed on the lyre. And if the lyre be the body, its stretched strings are nothing other than the senses, which, when we use them in a praiseworthy manner, allow us to confess to the Lord in a rhythmic and harmonious way. But if one should take the lyre to be the soul, its faculties—such as memory, approval, rejection, and others which the mind strikes like strings according to reason—will mystically confess to Christ the Lord.

^A cithara difference, musicians say that the cithara produces sound from lower parts, but the psalter makes it from upper parts, while also being perfectly straight throughout. Therefore, the soul is given as the cithara, and the spirit of the man that is in him—which is perhaps nothing other than the mind—is the psalter, singing to none other than God. For when we use upright thoughts and take up the Holy Spirit into our own spirit, then we sing on a ten-stringed psalter. Perhaps its perfection is represented by it having ten strings. For it is possible to find such a number being constantly praised in the Scriptures; and indeed to the high priest Moses, God revealed no more than ten general commandments, and the people are ordered to pay tithes.

VERS. 3. For he who celebrates God in all things also shouts aloud through the voice; for the shout is a kind of voice, universal and confused, occurring against those conquered in war, so that it is aptly called "shout"; but the new song is akin to the New Testament and the newness of the Spirit.

VERS. 4. The word of the Lord, which He gives to those pursuing the things of knowledge, has nothing deceitful or crooked. To this word, the deeds that its workers perform in faith are corresponding and steady, since the deeds of the word are also immovable, and the word is straight according to what it foretells. But if we consider the Word of God as straight, the deeds which He does within Himself were in the faith of those in whom Jesus performed every miracle: for "Let it be done to you according to your faith." ^C

VERS. 6. In this passage, men of proven piety agree that the Holy Spirit is the Creator. ^D

VERS. 7. Since He calls the water of the sea and pours it out upon all the earth through rains at His command like a wineskin, He makes the water aloft in the air, so that, with the clouds hanging, rain is brought down upon the earth. Allegorically, the life of men is often called the sea, because of the unstable and salty character of those upon the earth, which the Savior gathered as in a wineskin in the body He assumed, making it serene and tranquil. He also shows that nothing in created things is carried on in a disorderly way. For He holds everything together as in a treasury by His own will; indeed, even the winds, not moved by their own impulse, are said to be led out from His treasuries, not being moved by their own power. Thus, therefore, He regulates the great multitude of waters by His own judgment, appearing either to restrain or send forth the showers—which He also did through the prophet Elijah.

VERS. 7. But also, opening the good treasury, the heaven, He gives rain to the seed of the earth; just as, conversely, He stays the rain by closing the heaven. Therefore, the abysses, which because of the immense multitude of waters might harm

^A, He places in a treasury, shutting them in, that when He wills, He may use them as is appropriate according to the season. He is also able to set those things which are incomprehensible to thoughts and unsearchable in His judgments—the abysses—in the hidden treasuries of knowledge and wisdom, so that none of them may be perceived by anyone, unless God Himself grants it.

Vers. 9. Since at His saying they were made, and at Him commanding they were created, let them be moved by Him; for it belongs to Him who has made to also change for the better. He signifies by "they were made" the bringing into essence of those things brought to being; and by "they were created," the arrangement which happened after the bringing into essence. If then God speaking and commanding, all were made and created, He to whom He spoke and commanded is none other than the creative Word; and this is the Son of God.

Vers. 10. Of Didymus and Basil. But also the customs and doctrines of the nations are dispersed; only the truth of the Gospel reigns in the world. For there is much counsel in men, but the counsel of the Lord has prevailed; and it has stood firm in our souls, when we have dispersed human counsels, just as ^B things written in tablets are erased. For then the soul purely receives the divine words. Therefore He adds, "Who has dispersed the counsels of the impious nations," throwing down the nation-deceiving customs and ancestral ways of theirs, and the reasonings—that is, the syllogisms—against the truth, He will reject, rejecting the wisdom of the wise; but also the counsel of the people of the circumcision, who have reasoned much against Jesus, the Lord will reject. He will also reject ^C the counsels of the rulers, of Herod and Pontius Pilate and of those invisible rulers of this age acting through them.

Vers. 11. Just as He speaks of other human things which we know, as if He had hands and eyes and other such things, so (He speaks of) His heart, that I might so say, His deliberative and intellectual energy. Therefore, the reasonings of this heart, being fixed and firm, extend from generation to generation, that is, in every succession in a generation the same divine reasonings remain; or perhaps the reasonings which He infused into the generation of the circumcision, these He infuses into the generation of the nations who believe; ^D for the nations are not called to other things, but to those which the people of the circumcision had, hidden in shadow.

Vers. 14. But not only men inhabit the earth, but also invisible spirits and the other mortal animals. Therefore, the care of God extends over all who are on the earth, looking down upon them from His aforementioned dwelling-place.

Vers. 16. That "a king is not saved by much power," you will learn from history: Pharao... but God threw his chariots and his power into the sea.

^A And all history is full of such things. Furthermore, he said that the giant, excessively strong as he is, shall not be saved by the strength he possesses at present; you will perceive this if you attend to what happened to Goliath. But if this designation looks to him who fights against God, neither in this way shall he be saved by a multitude of diabolical doctrines which he follows. Therefore, it is possible to find the strong man so-called in Isaiah saying, "A giant and a vigorous one"; and again, the one who fights against God in the same: "They come rejoicing to exert my wrath," rejoicing together. And in Genesis: "And Nembrod was a hunting giant before the Lord."

^B Vers. 20. Surely even those who, before the incarnation, could not help themselves, hope for and await the Savior who is to be their helper and protector; in whom alone all the faithful rejoice with their whole heart, taking no pleasure in any of the things of this life. It is permitted to say freely: "Measure your mercy by my hope." Now the Savior himself also taught this, saying: "With what measure you measure, it shall be measured back to you."

PSALM XXXIII

Vers. 4. Just as those who were seen in the furnace in Babylon, being unhurt by the fires, praising God, summoned the whole of creation to this, knowing that they themselves were unequal to so great a task (for to praise God is a great thing), so also he who says, "Magnify the Lord with me," wishes either the whole of creation or the meek to join with him in this. To magnify God is not to increase his magnitude (for he is without magnitude; this is a property of bodies, but God is incorporeal), but to think and speak about him ^C what is great, not in relation to him, but in relation to us. They "exalt his name together" who are attuned by the same mind and the same judgment; the name of God is exalted by created beings, not because it is moved from a humble to a sublime place, but when those who perceive it consider nothing earthly, but high and heavenly things. For as they profane the name of God—not that the name itself is defiled, but as far as it pertains to those who are encompassed by it, while they do and think profane things—so also it is sanctified by our actions. Whence the Savior, among other things, also says this in the prayer, teaching, "Hallowed be thy name," not that his name is hallowed by becoming holy from a non-holy state; for we must pray for it to be hallowed in us, as we think and act ^D holily, and thus the conception which we have regarding God, according to a most accurate knowledge of God—this is the name of God. We shall have this hallowed when we perform all things holily. For if at any time some of mankind are in error and ignorance, the name of God is, in a certain way, injured, being dragged toward things to which it ought not to be; for some have called idols and their own bellies "gods."

Vers. 7. Here he calls him "poor" who is not able to save himself from present tribulations; and we all have this poverty. Wherefore, regarding everyone...

he says, touching the salvation requested from God: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him."

^A Ver. 8. If we understand "them that fear God" to be the perfect, and that He "encampeth an angel round about them" to deliver them, we shall say it is none other than God, the Savior of the great counsel. This is also confirmed by what was said by Jacob: "The angel that delivereth me from all evils." 25 The angel is not able to deliver, but the Savior who is signified [is].

Ver. 9. God’s optimal [thing] is the same as the good. Since, therefore, the bread of life is also nourishing, ^B the Spirit commands those who do not have an appetite for it to be filled with it, and at least to taste of it; for the taste is sufficient to make them desirous, just as it indicates that they wish to be satisfied by tasting, even if in another way it is necessary to extract and seek from God. But blessed is the man who, through perfection, hopes entirely in the Lord.

Ver. 12. For neither does he speak here of the introductory fear, which observes the commandments, according to that: "Fear God, and keep his commandments." 26 For now he calls saints those who, through initiation, are traveling toward perfection, to whom he also imparts a fear that fulfills every good. — It should be noted that, like other goods, divine fear is also something that can be taught; from which we learn that it is not a passive fear being indicated. For the latter is not taught by nature, but exists not only in humans, but in other animals as well.

Ver. 16. Since the powers of God that look upon all things, metaphorically called eyes, look upon the just, and His ears are also ready to receive their prayer, for this reason, he says, if you wish to enjoy these things, "turn from evil, and do good." — For, he says, God provides for the just; for he does not call eyes here simply with regard to inspection, but that which is done by God for beneficence and providence. ^C And with God looking upon them, turn from evil and do good.

Ver. 21. "The bones of the just," that is, the dogmas of truth or the powers of the soul, the Lord will guard, not allowing even one of them to be broken; of the just, namely, so that neither the dogmas nor the virtues themselves are shattered.

Ver. 22. The sinner is deprived of the life that remains for the observers of the commandments, succumbing to a "pessimistic" (or evil) death; and a pessimistic death is either that which is contrary to the good life, or that which brings punishment to the dying. For so also was Job tormented by a pessimistic ulcer, that is, one causing pain.

Ver. 23. Note that, properly speaking, redemption delivers souls from captivity. For if ever bodies are redeemed, it is not primarily, but accidentally; and it is not just any soul that is delivered, but of His servants.

PSALM XXXIV

Ver. 1. Since many, through false doctrines and [the... ^D

^A other wickedness, set themselves to make war, for this reason, do You fight against them on my behalf; for they shall undoubtedly be destroyed, since You, O Lord, are one who crushes wars. — By "to harm," it signifies injury, as in, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall in any way harm you." [Luk. x, 19]

Ver. 2. One must understand "arms" in the same way, in reference to God. — The way of the wicked is a burdensome life. Let there be no light in it, he says, even if they have thought it broad. He prays also that they find no stance within it; and the powers of the angels are the arms of God.

Ver. 8. He shows, moreover, that each person is requited according to what he has done; and instead of optatives, he uses imperatives.

Ver. 10. Those who wish to accept everything literally and nothing allegorically should be refuted by this verse. For nothing is so absurd as to believe that sensible bones have any understanding of God so as to praise Him and know that no one is like Him; for these things [“All my bones”] were said regarding the bones of the inner man, his powers, and true dogmas. For through every insight and true dogma they were strengthened, so that none of them that are created would be like the Lord; for only the Son is the image of the invisible God and the character of the divine substance. It is possible, however, for the same person to be both poor and destitute: the former as one who has lost his wealth; the latter as one providing for the necessities of life with labor. ^B

Ver. 13. The prayer of one who has prayed well returns to him, bringing the good things for which it was made; and having been turned aside, it gathers into the bosom of the one who sent it forth. The "bosom" signifies their ruling faculty. For thus their humiliation in the land of Egypt is "into their bosom," and "into the bosom come all things to the wicked"; and for this reason all the righteous go into the bosom of Abraham, that is, into the same judgment and promise as he.

Ver. 14. The present verse can be understood as an explanation of, "They rewarded me evil for good"; for while I was mourning for him and sorrowing over the ruin to which they were coming, they, gathering against me, were filled with joy, as though they would seize me as easy prey. ^C

Ver. 15. Having gathered and rejoiced against me, and yet even so being scattered, they still were not pricked at heart—that is, they did not repent of the things they wickedly plotted, but again set themselves to the same things.

Ver. 17. The saint says, "O Lord, when will You look down?" For when God looks down, all the aforementioned things will vanish, passing away together with those who do them. By "my unique one" he calls his own soul, because he has it alone; for we must not give credence to the myth-making regarding metempsychosis. Or perhaps the "unique one" that is distinct from his soul is the substance of the spirit conjoined to the soul— ^D

^A for this is unique in that it is separated from all things that are in us according to divinity.

Verse 18. The Church is great, gathered from many saints; it is a numerous people, firm and robust, distinguished from the light and tractable.

Verse 22. When you are standing by me, let my enemies be far away, "do not depart from me," lest they attack me when I have been left by you.

Verse 23. Since God's long-suffering is in many places called his sleep, when the enemies have worn him down, he rouses the Lord to anger, saying: "Arise, O Lord, and heed my judgment," that is, rouse your watchful power to examine the things which my enemies have plotted against me; for this belongs to a good father, since they are wickedly raging against me. Then he concludes the end of the whole discourse regarding himself, saying: "And my tongue will meditate on your righteousness." (Didymus rendered the psalm indefinitely in the just man.)

Verse 26. These things are said for the benefit of the enemies, so that they might be ashamed and feel compunction, and receive perception of their own sins, and turn back from the path upon which they had set out.

PSALM XXXV

Verse 2. He who is habitually lawless while reflecting within himself says nothing other than to sin. For one who has first given consent in thought proceeds to sin in action. Moreover, he is able to sin also in the things he says within himself, such as: "But you said in your mind, 'I will ascend to heaven'," and the rest; that is, he thinks that no one sees his deliberations.

Verse 4. There is another Scripture saying: "The words of his mouth are iniquity and trouble," that is, he brings burdensome trouble to those who pay attention to him. "He would not understand to do good." It is clear from the things said that the lawless man is not such by nature; for the refusal to have understanding for the purpose of doing good is an act of free will.

Verse 6. So also in Isaiah mention is made of the clouds as follows: "Let the heaven rejoice from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness." But sensible clouds do not rain down righteousness or truth, but rain. Therefore, the clouds that rain down righteousness are divine men pouring forth the spiritual rain, that is, the word according to virtue. Those who exalt the heaven above them are the blessed natures who inhabit the heaven, or the Savior allegorically so named. For this heaven is from above, that is, it is above the nature of every created thing, and it rejoices for the benefit of all. And so here, in the heaven, I mean in the Savior, is the mercy of the Lord, who has mercy on all; and his truth, which is separated from the figures, is in the aforementioned clouds; for even if the prophets lived in shadow, they were not ignorant of the truth of which this is the symbol.

Verses 7, 8. It is no wonder that those who take men [in the form]

of rational movement obtain salvation. But when someone sees those who had already become like beasts and horses, mad with lust, and who had taken on the habits of other irrational animals, now coming to salvation, he will be struck with amazement at the goodness of God and will say: "Since you have multiplied your mercy, O God, not only men are saved, but even beasts; for great sins require greater and abundant mercy."

Ver. 9. Since the house of God is the Church, its abundance is ecclesiastical discipline. From this, those who are surrounded by it will be made drunk with a sober drunkenness. But if the Savior is the house of God, those who are imbued with his teaching, which is abundance, will be made drunk.

Ver. 9, 10. "For with you is the fountain of life" (and this is he who says: "I am the life"), perhaps you will make those who have been made drunk with the abundance of your house drink from the fountain of life that runs like "the torrent of your delights." The Savior is the fountain of life, because he has nothing from outside, but offers himself again to all living things, not only to men, but also to those who are superior; and therefore he is called the fountain of wisdom. But the torrent of delight is the Holy Spirit, because those who drink of him enjoy delights, receiving his various graces. "In your light we shall see light." The light of God is the true light, the light that is the brightness of eternal light. In this light, therefore, we shall see light, that is, you, the eternal light, concerning whom it is said: "God is light." You will join to this: "He who has seen me has seen the Father."

Ver. 12. The divine word knows how to use metaphorical expressions. As here it called "foot," not of an animal furnished with feet, but of a habit, [the foot] of pride. And in the Proverbs: "For the feet of folly lead astray." What, therefore, he prays for is this: "Let not pride have opportunity to penetrate into my soul, nor let a hand, that is, the work of a sinner, move me; for if I perform the works of sinners, I shall be cast down from virtue."

PSALM XXXVI

Ver. 3. This goodness will cause you to inhabit the holy land, that you may feed upon its riches; for you shall have a true shepherd leading you to divine pastures, which are called the riches of that land.

Ver. 4. Providing himself to us through all things useful, the Lord is found to be both our food and drink. When, therefore, we feed upon him who is the bread of life, and are filled with his flesh and his blood, being true food and drink, delighting in him, we shall have him granting the petitions of the heart, that is, of the mind; not those which are sensible [perceptible to the senses], but spiritual and intelligible.

Ver. 8. Anger is a destructive passion, so much so that

it kills even the wise; but it is also an impediment to virtue: "For the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God." Therefore, "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath," having become a zealot of gentleness and sweetness... ^B

Ver. 10. But it shall not avail the sinner, since his evil nature, whereby he is such a one, is rendered ineffectual; and the "place" which is not found is to be understood as an "order," as, for example, the other order of a master and a disciple. Until [the disciple], having received the same knowledge, shall be placed in the same order as he, having left the place of a disciple. Thus, wickedness being removed, those who have chosen it shall have no place. "But there shall be a multitude of peace in the land of the meek," when all the enemies with whom we must do battle shall be dissolved.

Ver. 12. These things may also be said of the devil; for with the article [the] he calls him "the sinner." And sinners do not harm even those who are growing rich in evils, nor do they slaughter the wicked, since they are friends to them in their hearts.

Ver. 14. For the sinner perishes by his own sin, and their sword, which they had sharpened against others, shall harm them, entering into their own hearts; but their bows also shall be shattered, so that they may be able to shoot no one. Now their bows, stretched taut, are their wicked thoughts; but the sword sharpened against those differing from them is their destructive speech.

Ver. 17. Understand by "arms" the practical faculties of the soul. In regard to the sense, it is better for the just man to have a little knowledge with piety than riches with the impiety of sinners—riches which some, pursuing the things of "falsely named knowledge," think they possess. ^C

Ver. 19. It is an evil time when someone endures hardships on account of sins. In such a time, therefore, the blameless shall not be put to shame, not doing those things for which one ought to be ashamed.

Ver. 25. In regard to the sense, from the childish and unstable manner of living in which I was young, I have been changed and have come to old age, having obtained an unblemished life and hoary wisdom. Yet, having advanced thus far, "I have not seen a just man forsaken," who indeed has had God as his provider and the one who grants divine loaves, so that the seed of the just—that is, those educated in the discipline of the just—has never sought bread. Therefore, the one established in meekness shows mercy all the day, being most helpful to all and lending, whether ^D precepts to those who hear, or to God. For he who shows mercy to the poor lends to God, having gained the fruits of salvation; and therefore their seed is blessed with every spiritual blessing.

Ver. 30. The just man, after he has corrected every moral virtue, comes to contemplation. And for this reason his speech, allegorically called a mouth, is nothing other than that which is in the

^A mind, which mediates on wisdom; to this will be received that saying: "The speech of a pious man is always wisdom, but a fool is changed like the moon." The tongue of the righteous does not speak indiscriminately or as it happens; for, having judged and examined the difference between what should be said and what should not be said, he will speak some things and keep silent about others. Such is that saying: "The lips of the wise are bound by understanding," for he has understood when to speak and when to be silent, using understanding as a bridle for his lips.

VERS. 31. The law which we have by nature in our heart, by which we discern what must be done and from what we must abstain, is none other than that of God who created us according to His own image. Assuredly, when we preserve upright thoughts, retreating from worse things, we seek better ones. Using this law as a guide for our path, we walk without being tripped up toward the goal to which we are hastening. It is possible also for the evangelical law to be signified in this passage.

VERS. 34. To the righteous man, whom the sinner watches, seeking to put him to death, it is said: "Wait for the Lord," even if you have many plotting death against you, receive salvation from God. For if you are thus disposed, the companion will be present to help you and will exalt you, so that you may inherit the land already mentioned many times. It should be noted that he says the land of promise is situated on high. Someone is exalted, for that land is celestial. Therefore, it is said in Isaiah: "The Lord will advance you to the good things of the earth." And consider at what height that land itself is found, ^C as God Himself leads [people] to it and exalts them, so that they may inherit it, since it is not possible for anyone to reach it by himself.

VERS. 36. Having passed, he says, in [his] mind to the future life, I no longer found the ungodly, so that I sought his place, nor did I afterwards find the wicked, not because their substance was destroyed, but the disposition by which they are such. And that their place was not found in the order of things has been demonstrated before. But if these things were said concerning Satan, since he is called the prince of this world, and this world passes away, anyone seeking in the future age the place of this prince will not find it. And if sin is the place of the devil, according to that saying: "Give no place to the devil," ^D with wickedness destroyed, the place of the ungodly is not found.

VERS. 37. Perhaps someone might say that this is the difference between innocence and equity: if innocence is to abstain from evil, equity would be the habit by which we rightly do all things; but if he calls innocence upright morals, equity would be the inflexible contemplation of the dogmas of truth. He commands us to do both: to guard innocence and to see equity, that they may be left for the future life to the peaceful man, who has guarded the double innocence and has beheld the previously mentioned double equity, to the

^A total destruction of the impious together, and at the same time in the time of judgment. But salvation of the just comes from the Lord, protecting them in the time of tribulation. It shall come to pass for them also to obtain help from the Lord, and to be delivered from enemies, but also to be rescued from the hand of sinners—that is, from evil deeds or powers—because they have hoped in Him. Wherefore this psalm also is placed in its own number among those mentioned in it; for it is the thirty-sixth. But this number is together both triangular and quadrangular with a side of eight; now the eight is the day of the resurrection of the Savior. For the quadrangular has for a side the number six, which is perfect; for six times six is thirty-six; and it is triangular in this way. For if you count in order from unity to the eight, ^B you will find this same number.

PSALM XXXVII

^C VERS. 2. A confessing person is introduced in this psalm. If it has been done to me, he says, as I have deserved, let me be reproved with fury, but being penitent I pray to be reproved by word and not by fury, and to be chastised by discipline and not by anger. And he explains the reasonableness of the request by adding these words: “Because thy arrows have stuck fast in me, and thou hast laid thy hand heavily upon me.” The words of the Lord are arrows. For the Savior Himself says: “He has made me as a chosen arrow, and in his quiver has he hidden me.” He, therefore, who speaks the word of the Lord, shoots an arrow; and when he speaks things that convert, he pierces the prudent listener with this arrow. He, therefore, who is able, from having been pierced, to have understood and hoped, is confident that the intelligible arrows of God have not fallen, ^D nor have they passed beyond him, but have struck him; as if it were said, “Have you seen how such-and-such a person has been pricked?” and, “Thou hast laid thy hand heavily upon me.” The one who is being struck might say to the teacher or pedagogue striking him, when he is not struck idly, “Thou hast laid thy hand heavily upon me.” For with the hand of the Lord resting upon the one who shoots the intelligible arrows, the arrows are sent forth, and they pierce and stick fast in the soul of the listener. But the naming of arrows sometimes also signifies punishments, as was said in the preceding. He says, therefore: Since I have committed sins, which are followed by punishment, thy arrows have already stuck fast in me.

VERS. 5. He says that his iniquities have gone over his head, so as to press down and weigh heavily upon his ruling faculty, which is allegorically named the head, and that these have also been weighed upon him like a burden. For since wickedness is by nature prone and very heavy, so as to be compared to a talent of lead, only the penitent perceives its weight, while he who performs it with pleasure thinks it to be most light. Whence Jesus invites those who labor and are burdened through repentance to come to Him, having become aware of the load of sin, and

^A he says that the scars which he had from the inflamed arrows of the wicked have turned to putrefaction and stench, due to the face of the folly he possessed. For folly is always accompanied by malice; whereas the works of virtue are performed with wisdom. But what follows must be interpreted thus: "Unto the end," that is, throughout the time of life, "I am bowed down," viewing things that are below and looking toward the earth, and therefore I was saddened and miserable; which is indicated by "I have become wretched."

VERS. 6, 7. Whether because of my thoughts, or because of perverse spirits. Therefore, I walked about saddened throughout my whole life, with all hilarity cast off. And since the Scriptures relate—sometimes indeed "my loins," at other times "my flanks are filled with illusions"—it must be said that, since the seeds pertaining to generation gather in the loins and flanks, these are filled with illusions when they are used not for generation, but for fornication.

VERS. 9. Drawing sighs of sorrow from the depth of repentance, not feigned nor simulated, as is done by those who simulate repentance, and therefore confident, he says to You, O Lord: "For before You is the desire of my heart." For every lust for evils is far from You and is hidden. But the desire of my heart, wishing to pass from iniquity to virtue... desiring repentance, has a good desire, which is not found in the eyes. One may also speak of evil desire: Since the wicked lust implanted in me does not escape You, I shall groan having confessed this, so that my groan, once freely uttered, may not be hidden from You. ^{B C}

VERS. 10. My heart, that is, my faculty of understanding, having suffered disturbance, my strength, which contemplates the thoughts of the mind, has forsaken me. But also the knowledge of truth, which is the light of my eyes, that is, of my mind, "is not with me." For intent upon that which lacks reason, I shall be able neither to think clearly nor to decide firmly. Strength may also be [considered] that of him who speaks, and the light of his eyes, the right word by which he is endowed with reason. This, therefore, has forsaken him, and it no longer seems to be with him, the strength of his heart having been disturbed, as it is called according to the instruction of those who are practical; but the light of the eyes [is so called] according to the illuminating of those who see by clarity. But those whom he says he had as friends and neighbors, while he was living sumptuously, he had as adversaries and enemies when he began to depart from evil and do good. These very ones, who lately were neighbors to me in form and habit, "stood afar off," in the manner of enemies. This can also be taken in this way: If anyone should fail in his affairs, he is forsaken by all who lately were nearby him, friends and neighbors... whom they formerly desired. You may find images of these in Job: "And they who hostil- ^D itly and contention-wise sought my soul and desired to offer violence to me," with compelling words, thinking they could deceive me as if with arguments that are beyond doubt;

but the things said previously regarding the investigation of the evils to which they hastened to subject me, appeared to me as vanity. For I heard them not as arguments, but as vain and deceitful sophistry. And this is the vanity through which they practice sophistry, speaking throughout the whole day—that is, throughout their whole life—meditating on deceit, not then providing proofs for the matters, but judging how to seize [others] sophistically. ^A

Ver. 14. He who is endowed with judgment observes this: "Thou shalt not receive a vain report." He has become deaf to deceitful and treacherous words, not even wishing to have the perception of them from hearing; but even more, like one who is mute, he would not wish to reply to such words, nor to refute them. For it has been said in another place that it is characteristic of a fool to refute very foolish words. "I became," therefore, he says, "to such men as one not hearing, and not having in my mouth reproofs." ^B For it is often dangerous to hear blasphemous words and to discourse upon problems subject to punishment. Therefore, it is blessed to be deaf to such things, and to be considered unable to refute them.

Ver. 15. Since, having despised all other things, I have hoped in Thee alone, O Lord, who art my [God] and being [God], Thou wilt hear me, Whom I called upon when I began, starting from the Lord, "Do not convict me in Thy wrath." For often the wicked demons, who are with me when I sin, reproach me, bringing to light what I had previously done, trying through this to hinder my repentance and to cause [me] despair of salvation. ^C I, therefore, toward those who suggest such thoughts, have become as one deaf and not hearing, not even wishing to refute them, so that, by not occupying myself with this, I may not weaken my intense zeal for repentance. Since, therefore, I have hoped, O Lord, I am confident that I shall be heard.

Ver. 18. I am ready and prepared for the scourges of conscience. Accordingly, my pain, by which I grieve over what was done of old, is before me, wounding and scourging me. For there is, clearly, a compassion toward us, for the sake of which He always has the memory of His own suffering. ^D "For in that which He Himself has suffered, being tempted," says Paul, "He is able to help those who are tempted."

Ver. 19. It is one's duty to be anxious for one's own sin while hastening to perform the works of repentance. He calls the sin of our own race "my own iniquity," as having become the first-fruit of our lump; as the new Adam, wishing to reform the old one in Himself, He is anxious about the sin for which He is in some way purified. For He was anxious about the words that were spoken in the Gospels: "I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what do I wish if it be already kindled?" He says; for He spoke of that which consumed our thorns.

Ver. 20. Of Theodoret and Didymus.—As far as repenting for sins is concerned, I ought to have been beloved; ^B

^A but they, so far from loving me, cast me away like a loathsome corpse, because of the stench. Ver. 21. Even if they cast me away like a loathsome corpse, do Thou protect me under Thy strong hand; for when Thou art present, my enemies are powerless and weak.

PSALM XXXVIII

^B Ver. 1. King David, while bringing the ark of God to Jerusalem, instituted certain holy men as singers, to whom the office and duty should belong of singing hymns to God. One of them, therefore, was Idithun, as is stated in the catalogue and enumeration of the aforementioned singers. Something similar is seen in the Paralipomena [Chronicles]. He either sang the psalm appointed for him, having composed it himself for David, or he recited it having received it as written by David himself. There is also, in the aforementioned psalm, the person of one returning from repentance to virtue, who is speaking.

Ver. 2. Since the cause of almost every iniquity lies in the word, he who intends to guard his ways in his own deeds makes a pledge with himself not to sin with his tongue. For if he were to abstain in his speech from every impure word, it would follow that he would be purified from every iniquitous act. "For by thy words," He says, "thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned"; and: "Amen I say unto you, of every word you shall render an account in the day of judgment." Here the sinner is called the devil, or even the evil angel present to man. When, therefore, someone has said to himself that he will guard his ways and set a guard over his mouth, then the sinner, rising up and arrayed against the penitent, calls to his memory what he had done before and upbraids him, bringing it into the open; or he wishes to entice him by the memory of it, so that he may lead back to his former sin the one who has already turned away from it. Thus, therefore, he says, when the sinner stood against me, being dumb to his words, I kept silence, when I had already begun to speak good things; for I had begun to speak to us concerning innocence, or concerning good doctrines.

Ver. 3. With the sinner rising against me with his words, my heart grew hot and inflamed. ^C Since I said nothing to such utterances, the heat grew within me, and by my meditation a fire shall be kindled. He who does not loosely, but diligently and fervently meditates upon divine things, will say this, when such a fire is kindled by such meditation and deep down destroys the former perverse manner of acting. Toward the sinner, he says, "I became dumb, and was humbled and kept silence"; but toward God, "I spoke in my tongue." He who brings forth words out of sincere desire and understanding speaks in his own tongue, while he who speaks deceitfully speaks in an alien tongue. ^D Furthermore, since we have also, in the interior...

^A to the man, the tongue; strictly speaking, this is our tongue, that by which we speak according to our disposition.

Ver. 3. Since every prudent person acts and works toward a certain end, which is called a limit, and it is necessary to have knowledge of this, he prays to know what is the end for which he is set to live, and what is the number of his days according to the considerations of truth. For thus he will know what he lacks for the fulfillment of his goal.

Ver. 6. ^B "Behold, you have made my days as wrestlers [palæstricos]." From the time I came into life, I was inscribed to wrestle. Since, in the beginning, I had the struggle against blood and flesh. But when I passed beyond the child and became a man, my struggle was against principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness. Therefore, "wrestlers" signifies the same as "In struggle you have placed my days."

Substance [hypostasis] can now be said instead of essence [ousia], so that the statement is as follows. Another Scripture contains, "Behold, you have made my days ancient [palaias]," having an affinity to the old man whom I put on. Therefore, "and my substance, by which I stood before the things before faith, is as nothing before You; nevertheless, all things are vanity." He calls everything upon the earth vanity: animals, plants, and similar things. Man alone is living, besides these, a participant in immortal life.

Ver. 7, 8. ^C Constancy [hupomonē] is expectation. Even if "substance" [hypostasis] is spoken of, it itself is from God as from a creator; and even if we consider that by which we exist [hupistametha], this subsistence of ours is also from Him, giving to us the subsistence of those things which happen, even if they be painful. He who proceeds in advancing, partaking of the divine image, does this, being conformed to the image of the Son of God.

And yet, every living man travels in an image—either that of God, keeping what is according to the image, or that of some other animal—becoming an unbridled horse or some other irrational thing according to his character. And further, the sensible and manifest world is an image of the intelligible and invisible. Man therefore travels of his own volition in this world, which is an image.

Speaking then of the common man, he says what was said about individuals, that "they are troubled in vain" in their anxieties for mortal things. For each one, therefore, he adds, "He gathers treasures, and knows not for whom he shall gather them." For he who gathers on earth does not know who will succeed to the wealth for which he himself has labored. But he who gathers in heaven, having gathered for himself and not for another, knows for whom; knowing his wealth to be something he cannot be deprived of.

Ver. 10. ^D From the present verse we learn that the so-called "plagues" of God are nothing other than reproofs. For after saying, "Remove your plagues from me," he adds that they are "in reproofs for iniquity." For by reproofs brought upon them for iniquities, a man is disciplined, his soul being thinned out by casting away all carnal fatness.

^A VERS. 12. For then, like a spider, he is able to weave, not by using material supplied from without, but by bringing it forth from his house and from himself. Since I have prayed to be delivered from all my iniquities, and have not yet attained this, the foolish man insults me as if he held your work in his own power: "For I have failed by the strength of your hand." For when the chastising hand strikes severely, the one being chastised fails in proportion to what he is.

VERS. 14. After he has known himself to be still in need of many things, he prays that it be granted to him to remain yet in this life, that he may be refreshed by enjoying perfect goods. For if it were not so, but he were to depart while still deficient, he would no longer exist—not by falling into nothingness, for the soul is immortal and indefeasible—but by no longer having a share in the Being. For this happens to be true existence: to share in Him who said, "I am who I am." Those who do not enjoy this participation are said not to be, according to that which is said in prayer to God: "Do not deliver your scepter to those who are not." Desiring to be a partaker of this existence, he prays that time be given to him to be refreshed by the communication of Him who is, so that he may truly exist.

PSALM XXXIX

VERS. 3. Let those who think that nothing is signified in Scripture by this passage state how excellent is the good that man has obtained whose feet have been set upon a sensible rock; for he gives great thanks to Him who has bestowed this upon him. We, however, say that this is proclaimed by one who has been led out of the aforementioned pit and mire, and has been established in perfection, which is unbreakable and unfading through virtue. For he who has thus stood upon the rock also follows [the path] of having his footsteps directed rightly by the Lord, passing from wickedness to virtue, ^C and from mortal things to immortal, and indeed in every progression.

VERS. 4. Proper to the newness of the spirit. And indeed, a new song is moral discourse; but a hymn is theology.

VERS. 5. One must consider him to be calling the anxieties of life "vanity," and false doctrines and lying prophecies "false frenzies." It should be noted that, because these frenzies are not true, he added that they are "lying," for true prophets have a true frenzy, whereas false prophets have a lying one.

VERS. 6. He calls "thoughts of God" the meditations—so to speak—on the providence of God; he says, therefore, that no one among created beings has been found like these thoughts of yours, ^D because there is no one who knows the mind of the Lord.—"Your wonders and your thoughts." For when someone wishes to discourse upon some deep matter, then he finds it more obscure than before. "For I said: I shall become wise,"

^A and it was far removed from me, beyond what it was, and the depth is deep, who shall find it?

Vers. 7. The Epistle to the Hebrews shows that these verses are spoken from the person of the Savior, saying: "Wherefore, coming into the world, he says: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me." It gives grounds to understand the whole psalm as spoken from the person of the Savior. By the will of the Father, he says, he took away the sin of the world, being sacrificed for the sin of all. For when forgiveness has occurred, there is no longer need for a sacrifice for sin.

Vers. 8. By "the head of the book" he means all divinely inspired Scripture, both legal and prophetic. For in it is written concerning the coming of the Savior hither. He said "head" because the whole is gathered into one. And this "the whole" signifies the Savior becoming human, so that he might wish to do the will of the Lord. Aquila and Symmachus say ^B "volume." In this way, Jews are accustomed to preserve the divine Scriptures even until today.

Vers. 9. It should be noted that a will which runs together with another's will is indicative of the consubstantiality of the deliberative faculty with the essence of the wisher. "And your law in the midst of my belly—you wrote it in my governing faculty." And whoever has been trained according to the spiritual law would have the law in his heart, that is, in his own moral habit. He spoke this metaphorically, as those who are well-disposed toward someone and strive to bring the beloved within. He says, therefore, that I have every zeal to fulfill your commandments and to conduct myself according to your will. These things it is not fitting for David, nor for any other of the prophets, to say. While the law held sway, burnt offerings and sacrifices were offered to God; but the prophetic word, casting out all such things, pointed to the spiritual sacrifice. ^C

Vers. 10. The Church is great, being completed from great and perfect things, in which is evangelized the righteousness which is through faith in Jesus. And he knew this of his, as both receiving and appropriating it. As one steadfastly proclaiming it, he said: "I will not hinder my lips."

Vers. 11. By these things he signifies the remission of sins which occurred through mercy; by truth, that which is distinguished from the shadow. God, who knows good things, also accepted it from him who said, "He knew righteousness." By "many assembly" he speaks of that gathered from all nations, in which, openly proclaiming the mercy and truth of God, he says he has not hidden them. And perhaps he proclaims mercy, declaring the remission of sins that occurred through mercy; but truth, that which is distinguished from the shadow. ^D

Vers. 15. Since the psalm is of a single person and is spoken from Christ, it must also be said to those who contend that the Lord assumed only a body, using the [following words]...

^A *“But a body you have prepared for me,”* because it declares that he also possesses a soul, which those who erroneously suppose him to possess none seek to take away—those whom it also behooves to be ashamed. And just as those who hasten toward virtue are commanded not to turn back, for this is destructive, so let those who are hurried toward evil hasten to turn back, rejecting their vile purpose; for then they will have [their share] of shame from [what they now perceive by] feeling. ^B

VERS. 2. *An evil day,* perhaps that of judgment, in which God, having had mercy on the one who showed mercy, will deliver him from all punishment. Or perhaps, the entire present life is an evil day, in which the Lord delivers [one] from the things that beset him.

VERS. 3. *He will make him live*—that is, [with] the true life—*in the land of the meek.* He who is forbidden to be such is not handed over to the souls of his enemies.

VERS. 4. From these things we learn that sin is a disease and a wound of the soul.

VERS. 5. All agree that what follows applies properly to the discourses concerning the passion of the Savior. As for *“I have sinned against thee,”* [it is] because I have violated thy laws, O Master; for all our sin is convicted as being of this kind.

VERS. 7. Judas, having already departed from the society of the Savior and of the disciples from the moment he resolved to betray the teacher, having entered in as if he were still an apostle, *spoke vainly,* calling Jesus “Rabbi” and “Master,” while iniquity gathered in his heart. For when the devil had cast avarice into his heart, he also spurred him on to betray Jesus. But this man, having gone out—that is, having become outside the discipleship of Jesus—*spoke to the same intent* as the Pharisees against the Savior. And since they were secretly conspiring concerning the giving of the thirty pieces of silver, they were whispering against him... for whispering is a voice not free. They *devised evil,* planning to encompass the Savior with death; they set an iniquitous word against him, for to buy and sell innocent blood is the work of an iniquitous agreement. ^C

VERS. 10. Nothing strange, the Savior will say, if those who are enemies have set such things against me; for even *the man of my peace* who was at peace with me, and who was laboring for my peace, in whom I had hoped, [he] upon whom it happened to rely and [who was] a participant in the same salt, or rather, who was eating my bread and dining with me, has hostilely lifted up his heel against me, saying deceitfully, “Hail, Rabbi,” and whatever else the malignant one said. Clearly, therefore, he speaks here concerning Judas, having already treated of him covertly in the preceding verses. ^D

VERS. 13. Because you have supplied me with another people in place of the one rejected, and Matthias in place of Judas. But also, raise me up, so that I may recompense them [with] the recompense, which will happen for their good.

^A Ver. 14. "Blessed" indeed is he when there are those who bless [him]; but "Blessed" [in the absolute sense], that is to say, worthy to be blessed eternally—with the blessed God of Israel being [present]—[the Psalmist] prays, "Fiat, fiat." Not that prayers make God blessed; just as the prayer of those who say "Hallowed be thy name" does not sanctify the name of God either. But this has been spoken of in a preceding place.

PSALM XLI

^A Ver. 1. There were three sons of Core appointed with others to sing the divine psalms, which the Scripture also calls "canticles," the names of whom are also recorded in Chronicles. These three, therefore, being fashioned by the same mind and the same opinion, and being united in all things, [and] especially since they were in agreement, ^B they bring forth all things that are set forth in the present psalm with a unified voice.

Ver. 2. The divine fountain is the Father, saying, "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water"; and the Savior, concerning whom it has been said to someone, "Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom"; and the Holy Spirit, concerning whom it has been announced, "He who shall drink of the water that I will give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting." Perhaps also all divinely inspired Scripture is a saving fountain. The disposition of the prudent man toward God is therefore likened to the longing of the deer for the fountains of waters. And since he knows that in the present life he approaches God through a mirror—the vision face to face being reserved for the things after this—he prays for the time to arrive when, having come, he might be seen by the face of God. And furthermore, since the Law, embracing a shadow of the good things to come, exists, ^C and the feasts during which the males appeared before the face of God are the shadow and symbols of future feasts, he prays to arrive at the spiritual feasts, so that he might appear perfectly before the face of God, which [appearing] is nothing other than the image of the invisible God. — The deer is an animal that acts in a hostile manner toward serpents and eats them; if ever, having eaten, it is burned with thirst from the [venom] produced by the reptiles it has eaten, it seeks with haste the fountains of waters, in order to slake its thirst. And there are those who say that, wishing to look at itself as in a mirror in the waters, it seeks the fountains so that it might see the stain impressed upon it from the blood of the serpents: for in tearing apart the serpents, those [serpents] splash their own blood upon it. Therefore, the holy man, subduing the serpents and scorpions according to the power ^D which he received from Jesus, but also condemning all disobedience—being a spiritual deer—hastes to track down the divine fountains of waters.

Ver. 4. He who does not weep in vain, but from a disposition [of soul], laboring for the sake of virtue, he shall be fed by his tears as if by bread, not [only] in times of ease, which he calls "day," but also in times of trouble, which he calls "night." It is for the perfect to be able to say this. Since the imperfect [man], moved by those things that buffet him from without, pours his soul out externally...

he is shameless and reproached by all, revealing his own soul through the voice itself and through the words he utters. ^A Since they are deceived in all things, they go astray also by thinking that God is in a [specific] place; consequently, they say reproachfully: "Where is your God?"

VER. 6. For along with this desire, he increased for me the despondency and the reproach from those who act as if there were no one to help me; and in addition to these, [there is] the memory of the things accomplished in those places for your healing; and [as for] the phrase, "These things I remembered, and poured out my soul on me," it means, "I was being dissolved from despondency."

VER. 7. "If I should be in the land of Jordan," that is, if I should be accounted worthy of holy baptism, ^B then I will remember you. They interpret *Hermoniim* also as "way of the lamp," as if holy baptism were opening for them a way of illumination and brightness into the mind and heart.

VER. 8. The cataracts of God are the most profound words about Him, or the divine prophets. Therefore, the teaching of Jesus, being an abyss, calls out to the abyss from the old Scripture. Perhaps also, since the judgments of some have been called [judgments] of others, and those again [judgments] of all, all come from the Word of God, which is called a "small mountain." For the great mountain, he says, is God the Word; but the small mountain is that for which He underwent a voluntary emptying for our sake. — "All your billows and your waves have passed over me." ^C Since the sea is allegorically the human life, he who does not suffer shipwreck in it, but sails aright, having experience of the swells and the winter of the sea, having reached the harbor of salvation, will say the verse; for he did not say, "they are passing over me," but "they have passed."

VER. 10. The voice of one speaking with boldness. For he who says, "Why have you forgotten me?" is confident that he has done nothing for which the Lord should forget him. And since, when the enemy presses me, ^D I go about sorrowful, I ask what the cause of this is. So that if it should be from me, I may remove it through repentance; for we all clearly know about God, that He is merciful, even if we do not all see how He shows mercy. For often we do not gladly accept things that are done for our mercy, because they are painful, nor do we think they are works of mercy. And for this reason we say, "Why have you forgotten me?" But he who has understood that everything God brings, He brings for our profit, will say nothing of this sort, unless he is working out his own repentance.

VER. 11. The bones of the soul, as we saw above, are called its solid dogmas and faculties. Therefore, since it often happens that the bones are broken by the arguments of wicked sophists, the deceivers reproach [us], saying constantly, "Where is your God?"—whom you preach, and in whose discipline you say you are instructed. But even concerning this affliction he converses with his own soul, saying: "Why are you sorrowful?" For having hoped in the Lord, I will confess to Him. For His countenance will greatly shine upon you, indeed the truth, so that possessing the truth of God, you may be able [to solve the deceits of those who would crush you].

your bones, as we have said.

PSALM XLII

VERS. 1. The person of the Savior is introduced, saying to the Father what is in the psalm: and he called the Jews "a nation not holy," and Judas "the man unjust and deceitful." These things, however, cannot be harmonized with what follows. For how could He possibly say: "Send forth Your light and Your truth," and what follows?

VERS. 3. Since the Savior is the true light and says that He Himself is the truth, those who lived before the incarnation, having learned from the prophecies that the light and truth of God would shine forth, prayed that the light and truth be sent through the incarnation, so that they might be led by them into the holy mountain—the higher discourse concerning the Trinity—and the eternal tabernacles. Light and truth are not different in essence. Both are the Son of God, but distinct only in thought; for the one frees from shadow and falsehood, while the other is light from error and ignorance.

VERS. 4. This expression, "I will go in," is not spoken thoughtlessly; for having received from the material altar an image of the intelligible one, he enters unto God Himself invisibly, offering sacrifices to Him.

PSALM XLIII

VERS. 2. Those who reject the Scripture as if it were not just say: "For whom could they hear, if not with their own ears?" ^B Being ignorant that He speaks not to their own ears, but to the ears of those men who listen rationally. Just as musical men passed on musical disciplines to the ears of musicians, such as that saying: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." You might call them fathers, and those who teach.

VERS. 3. God, having afflicted the peoples of the circumcision, drove them out from the holy instruction of the law; yet those from the nations who believed did not inherit the aforementioned land by the law of war; nor did their arm save them, that is, their own works. For they obtained salvation by grace through Your right hand and arm, that is, through the only-begotten Son; and the illumination which lights up Your face, "because You were pleased in them," saving them by grace, not from their works, so that ^C they might not boast.

VERS. 5. God commands the holy spirits, who are sent forth for service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation, concerning the salvations of Jacob, of him who supplants base things, through which he is saved.

VERS. 6. The horns for the saints are the powers of Christ, by which they corner their enemies. And for this reason all animals that have horns, if they are clean, are either led to the divine altar or become food for the portion of God.

VERS. 9. He speaks of life as being in God all the day, which is lived with tranquility and the knowledge of God.

VERS. 10, 11. But God has not cast off from Himself... ^D

^A entirely because of sin, but also for other causes which He Himself knows. Not everyone, however, who turns backward undergoes this blamelessly; for if anyone, having abandoned evil things, flees far away, departing from them, this person, if he turns backward to the things he left behind, falls into destruction. But if anyone, having abandoned Zion—that is, virtue—hastens toward wickedness, which is called Babylon, [and] while turning backward receives [back] a blessed thing, [that is another matter]. However, those who say the things set forth here, since they have come to be among the enemies, have fallen into a turn backward worthy of reproach.

VERS. 12. Those who say these things appear to be certain saints, similar to him who is led as a sheep to the slaughter, being like sheep for food, to be consumed by those who, for the sake of utility, have expended words and life upon them. But even among the nations these were dispersed by God like seed, which farmers cast out, so that having changed the nations, they might bring them to the same quality as themselves. For we must not pay attention to those who say that the portion of God has been dispersed among the nations by way of captivity. ^B

VERS. 16. After we have succumbed to the aforementioned abominations, blushing throughout the day in our lives, we have our confusion against us, and the shame of our face covers us, such that we no longer dare to contemplate the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face of the soul.

VERS. 17. From the voice of him who reproaches and brings forth strife and constrains, one sees shame [being] against oneself all the day; and from the enemy showing his own dreadful face and pursuing [them], shame has covered their face. ^C

VERS. 18. This is the voice of those who have attained perfect manliness; for when many and various tribulations came upon them and incited them to the forgetfulness of God, they nevertheless kept God before their eyes, so that each of them could say, "In tribulation I remembered the Lord."

VERS. 19. God turns aside the paths of someone from His own way, handing him over to the desires of his own heart and to a reprobate mind.

VERS. 20. A place of affliction is that which is upon the earth and the subterranean region, where those who have borne the death of the body are humbled. The impressions in the heart, which must be addressed next. ^D

VERS. 26. If these things are said tropically, the meaning is this: since we are clothed in dust—that which is composed from pleasures and other passions—for this reason our soul has been humbled into the dust, since we have become low-lying; and indeed our belly has been glued to the earth, since we are not fed by anything heavenly, but like the serpent, we are eating earth all the days of our life. But if the passage set forth is interpreted allegorically, the soul inhabiting the body will say, "Our soul has been humbled in the dust." This soul, having fallen from the blessed life which is in the heavens by setting its mind on things below, will say, "Our belly has been glued to the earth." For it is not nourished by anything of the earthly things,

^A

Verse 27. He speaks here also to the Savior, lying in the heart of the earth during the time of the passion, so that rising, He might provide help and redemption, giving His soul as a redemption for many. ^B

PSALM XLIV

Of Didymus and Eusebius. Verse 1. Some have thought that the canticle is spoken from the person of the Father concerning the Word that was in the beginning with Him, ^C whom, as it were from the heart or the very bowels, He brought forth, he says, and from a good heart the good Word came forth. But to me it seems that these things should be referred to the prophetic person. For what follows immediately in the passage does not similarly accord with this interpretation concerning the Father. For the Father could not have said regarding His own tongue that, "My tongue is the pen of a ready-writing scribe." ^D "Beautiful in beauty beyond the sons of men." For it does not possess the excellence of beauty from comparison with men. And going forward He says, "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness." For He did not say, "I, God, anointed you," but, "He anointed you." From this, it seems demonstrated to us that the person speaking here is another. Who then is this, if not the Prophet, when he felt the power of the Holy Spirit descended into himself? "My heart has poured forth," he exclaims, "a good word."

Verse 2. He calls God the Word the scribe, who inscribes His divine laws upon the minds; and the reed of the ready-writing scribe, which He took up, is the man who writes the word of the Gospel in the whole earth, that is to say, in the soul of man.

Verse 3. It also teaches certain doctrines to those who are writing; for as the word of the Gospel, compared to a grain of mustard, if it meets with cultivation, becomes greater than human words—which are called herbs because of their fleeting nature—so the things which God the Word writes with His own pen at the opportune time manifest themselves [as superior] to the writings of men. Since the things of generation are performed about the thigh, and shameful desires grow up about these, there is need for the censuring word, which is called a sword, so that, girded about the thigh, it may cut away licentious pleasures. The Savior, therefore, according to the human type, establishing a pattern of the best discipline on account of His absolute purity, is girded with a sword upon His thigh, possessing grace and beauty on account of the virtue inherent in His sinlessness. That the thigh is a symbol of the things mentioned above has already been stated. The Word who became flesh can, in so far as He is Word, be a sword, but in so far as He is flesh, a thigh, since the flesh has its beginning thence. This one, however, with whom the Word was, having escaped all infirmity, is capable of possessing the splendor of divinity, grace, and beauty.

Verse 5. But extending like an excellent archer [his] bow, prosperously wound those who are struck with divine love. And it should also be read [as] "prosperously direct"; it is equal to...

^A granting prosperity. And in addition to these, "Rule over those wounded by desire." The reason for your reigning is the perfection of virtue, not in action alone, but also in knowledge. For "[because of] truth and meekness and justice" signifies this: Reign, he says, for the sake of truth being known, and that meekness and justice may be rectified for those under your authority. "And your right hand shall lead you wonderfully." He who does all things according to God is led wonderfully by the practical power of goods, which is the right hand, using it as a guide on the way to the Savior; and the Savior, therefore, performing wonderful deeds with his right hand, is led wonderfully by his own right hand. VERS. 6. The status of those sitting in evils is base, and being struck by these arrows, they fall under him, that is, they are subjected to him and come into his power. The enemies of the King, Christ, are all sinners. When, therefore, the aforementioned arrows come into their hearts, they fall from enmity, bowing at the knees of the King. Or perhaps those who stand in the heart of the enemies of the King, being confirmed according to the desire of their enmity, once struck by the arrows, shall be brought under Christ, having fallen at the heart of his enemies. VERS. 8. But if these things refer to the only-begotten Son of God, the Son of God, having hated the iniquity that was lived out before his advent, and having loved the righteousness that springs from faith after his coming, gave himself by the will of the Father to become man, and ^B to be anointed with the oil of gladness, that is, with the Holy Spirit. VERS. 10. Kings are mentioned here who reign together with Christ, of whom he himself is the King of kings. Their daughters have become such through discipline—which they are teaching—[namely] souls; or rather, Churches, which, being daughters held in honor of him who is celebrated, delighted King Christ "from ivory palaces." But you shall call lofty theologies ivory palaces; for ivory, as God [is], is a symbol of the word; for the teeth are organs of speech. Ivory palaces are, of course, the great houses. Since, therefore, they so magnified their own word that the many daughters of the kings became the greatest house of speculations concerning God, they delighted Christ from the aforementioned ^C ivory kingdoms. VERS. 11. There is a change of person occurring. For it is God who is addressing the Church from among the nations, whom he also calls his daughter. He says, therefore: Having received my words, O daughter, listen and see their meaning, applying your mind to them. For you shall be willing to incline your ear even far more to hear and desire them more fully and effectively; and oblivion of your fellow countrymen will follow for you, no longer wishing to dwell in those same customs and ancestral traditions among the nations; and you shall forget also the house of your father who begat you ^D according to the iniquity of the devil.

^A Ver. 12. "For this reason I call you, daughter," says God to her, "so that you may perform what has been commanded to you, since my Son, being King, has desired the beauty that resides within you, who were made according to my image and likeness." But this same King, desiring your beauty, is not one of your peers; for He is your Lord, since He is not an angel or an archangel or any other created being. For everyone worships Him. Since, therefore, it belongs to God to be worshipped, know that the King who desires your beauty is God, and He is also your Lord.

Ver. 13. Furthermore, know that you have undergone a great change. For being a daughter of Tyre, because of those superstitions in which you were steeped, you have been named my daughter, so that all the rich of the people may entreat your countenance; whoever becomes rich in faith and the truth of the Gospel comes to you, entreating your countenance, ^B because you have become a consort to the King. For just as the ancients from the nations, brought by piety toward God, would betake themselves to Israel, invoking his countenance, so now those who are converted from the Jews flee for refuge to the Church of the nations, asking to be received by her.

Ver. 14. "All the glory of the daughter of the king is from within." Esebon is interpreted as "thoughts." The King of the just thoughts is the Lord: hence the glory of her who is called the daughter of Tyre is not external, but comes from the King of thoughts. It should be noted that in many places in the Scriptures, gold is taken to represent intelligible existence. Since, therefore, the word concerning intelligible things—especially that concerning the Trinity—is woven together with the virtues existing in her garments, she is robed in golden fringes, being adorned because of the manifold and varied nature ^C of the doctrine of Christ.

Ver. 15. Although there may be many incorrupt souls whom it is customary to call virgins, not all are yet brought to the King, but those who in their disposition have drawn near and become close to the perfect bride, to whom also they "shall be brought." For those who have not had experience of the bridegroom Word are not able to go to Him by themselves. But those who impart the preliminary teachings to them lead them to Him; these are the Law and the Prophets. — Since the phrase has a certain obscurity, let us take its meaning from another source. In the Song of Songs, interpreting the differences between the souls coming to Christ, the Scripture says: "There are queens, and concubines, and maidens without number; one is my dove, my perfect one." ^D As if it were said regarding her: "The daughters saw her and will call her blessed; the queens and concubines and they will praise her." From which it is shown that there are others besides the daughters, who...

are called young women and concubines and queens. It is shown from these words that souls approaching Christ, the ones not yet having the time for marriage, are young women, but those who are gathered unto Him are already joined to them; ^A some are noble, having surpassed the world created in six days, and are sixty queens; others, having received the circumcision on the eighth day, and having the spirit of bondage, are eighty concubines. But the glorious Church of the Word, which has surpassed all these, fashioned according to the spirit, so as to be a dove, is perfect, having neither spot nor wrinkle nor anything of the sort. The Psalmist, praising this Church in the preceding verses, now says that those who were formerly not yet having the hour of union, but now because of their perfection have been brought into the bridal chamber, along with her belong to the King, their Groom, so that reclining with the King they may be deemed worthy to become members of the one perfect bride, no longer being separate from her as they were when they were imperfect.

VERS. 17. Since almost all things in the Psalm are said unto Christ, so this verse also says: "Instead of the fathers you had according to the flesh," that is to say, those from the circumcision, "there have been born to you from the same race sons," having embraced the evangelical word; "whom you have also established as princes over all the earth," saying to them: "Going, teach all nations."

VERS. 18. Therefore, the peoples will gratefully confess, not for one or a second age, but even to the age of the age; for the confession regarding sins does not happen for the age of the age, for there is a place for repenting and confessing only in this age. But if it has "they shall be mindful" according to another Scripture, instead of that, those who have been chosen by you to rule will be mindful of your name in every generation and generation, extending your kingdom unto all ages. ^{B C}

PSALM XLV

VERS. 1. It is customary to call things spoken obscurely, by some arrangement, "hidden." For just as, according to that word, the wisdom of God is hidden in a mystery, so also the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are called hidden. There is, therefore, an end or limit to these hidden things, either that they hide the knowledge of divine things from the unworthy, or that the peoples who are more studious of divine knowledge, applying themselves to labors and exercises, might attain the goal.

VERS. 2. God is not a refuge for all, but only for those who have repudiated human aids; for their security and strength comes from the participation ^D of Him, according to the Apostle saying: "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me, Christ," and that: "which have found us exceedingly," which can be referred either to "aids" or to "tribulations."

^A Ver. 3. Do not think that the mountains translated into the heart of the seas are sensible parts of the earth, but rather wicked powers translated into souls stirred up by the tumults of the passions, where there is brine and bitterness of character. Indeed, the Savior also says to the disciples: “If you have faith as a mustard seed,” you will not only do what is done with the fig tree, but “even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and cast into the sea,’ nothing will be impossible for you.” The mountain indicated here by the Savior is none other than the hostile power; for, speaking again of the demon that drives the epileptic [(76)], He said: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there.’” He seems to compare the most perfect faith to a mustard seed. For the Apostle also says: “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains.”

Ver. 4. By the might of Christ, the wicked spirits were stirred up, being driven out from the souls and bodies of those they had previously possessed; for those mountains, thinking great things of themselves, on seeing Him who drives them out with authority, suddenly fell into commotion.

Ver. 5. The city of God must be understood to be the Church, or the heavenly Jerusalem. The streams of the river gladden this city, which is called by either name; the river is the Word of God, which flows ^B forth from Eden, the divine delight, and irrigates the whole spiritual paradise, and calls all to Himself: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” Its streams are in part the doctrines, or the thoughts which He suggests to the soul.

— Of Didymus and Basil. —

The Tabernacle of the Highest

— Of Didymus and Cyril. — Ver. 6. — There is another Scripture which says: “God will help her with His countenance.” For He preserves its beauty intact and uncorrupted, that is, the spiritual beauty, when it suffers turmoil ^C from the adversaries. For as long as the soul keeps faith unassailable within itself, and clothes itself with the ornaments of every virtue, it possesses that spiritual beauty in which Christ Himself also delights. But having turned away from the good, it immediately becomes deformed and hateful. But that which is not

^A in such a state will not be subject to this, he says, for the Church preserves its beauty. “God is in the midst of it, it shall not be shaken,” because of the sinlessness that resides within it. For it is shaken by those who sin; whence Adam also is found walking about after his sin; and in Zechariah it is said: “The Lord shall go forth in the tumult of threats.”

VERS. 7. He calls the “nations” the throngs of demons warring against it. When, therefore, these behold the incarnate manifestation of the Savior, they are troubled against His Church, or even filled with fear. Then it will also come to pass that the wicked kingdoms, over which death and sin reigned, will be called. But if you call those who are ruled “kingdoms,” even they have been called from error to the knowledge of truth, and have turned from malice to virtue; for when God is silent, earthly and material things seem to have firmness and stability, but they are shaken when God has given His voice. For when God cries out in the mind, immediately everything therein that is earthly is shaken. After God gave a voice through the Gospel, “the earth was shaken,” with the customs, laws, and ancestral belongings therein changed, and everything in the nations and kingdoms of the earth that is infected with the error of the wicked being shaken. But we take courage, having with us the Lord of powers, our Savior, the God of Jacob. For as he who does the ^B works of Abraham is his son, so he who imitates the exercise of Jacob becomes his son, having help from the God of Jacob.

VERS. 9. The Holy Spirit calls those who perceive keenly to the contemplation of these things with the words, “come,” inviting them to draw near; and by the words, “see,” He prepares them to look attentively at the truth. — The apostles also filled the whole world with miracles, traveling here and there, recounting the things that were done by Him, and performing wonders in His name. The Spirit can also call the nations by the contemplation of the miracles that appear in creation, so that they may recognize its Creator.

VERS. 10. Coming and overthrowing the devil who has the power of death, and the other wicked powers, “He has taken away ^C wars unto the end of the earth,” that is, unto those who have put an end to earthly desires. “Breaking the bow,” out of which the flaming arrows of the wicked one were shot; but He shall also burn with fire the shield of infidelity, which stands in opposition to the shield of faith.

PSALM XLVI

VERS. 2. Since hands are often used for deeds, and the nations practiced different things according to the diversity of their ancestral customs before the incarnation, the Savior, having dwelt among men, commands a clapping to be made, that is, a harmony of the practical virtues of the nations, which are allegorically called hands. Harmony in action alone is not sufficient for salvation, unless also ^D

^A a right mind be added to these; for this reason He commands the nations to shout aloud in a voice of exultation with a clapping of hands. It is not doubtful that He reigns over the celestial realms. But concerning those who doubt whether He also rules over the earth, the preceding verse is brought forward, and especially on account of those who circumscribe providence up to the lunar sphere, not wishing for terrestrial things to be under providence.

Vers. 3. He is terrible because He is venerable; wherefore those who meditate upon Him are more cautious in themselves.

Vers. 4. You will understand this also in this way: He subjected the peoples of the circumcision to the holy apostles, and the nations under their feet, having appointed them as rulers and teachers of all men.

Vers. 5. Choosing His inheritance, which is no other than the election of Israel and Jacob, which having chosen, He loved. He calls Jacob the entire people of the Hebrews: from this is also recognized the impartiality of God, for He loved nothing else than the beauty of Jacob. For in every nation he who fears Him and works justice is acceptable to Him. ^B

Vers. 6. The "shout," in which He ascends, is the confused clamor of the falling enemies. But He ascends having been found above our understanding. It seems that the great and distinguished voice of the dogmas is called the voice of a trumpet; for the trumpet is used in the Gospel also for manifestation, as in the saying: "When you do an alms, do not sound a trumpet before you," that is, do not make it known.

Vers. 7. It is necessary for him who psalms to also have an understanding of those things which are brought forth in the hymn; for he ought not to be primarily occupied with the modulation and harmony of the voice, but with understanding those things which are sung. For God rejects those who do not psalm in this way, but only produce a sound, saying: "Remove from Me the sound of Thy songs, and I will not hear the psalm of Thy instruments." Now he who acts according to the divine precepts and meditates upon them psalms intelligently. ^C

Vers. 10. The princes of the peoples, either the apostles, or the leaders of the Churches, are gathered with the God of Abraham, that they may lead the peoples benefited by them; for He is the God of them who have become children of Abraham. But consider whether angelic beings can be the princes of the peoples, concerning whom it has been said: "He set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God." Who indeed are also gathered with the God of Abraham, since through faith they have been made children of Abraham—the portions of which they happen to be princes. "The strong ones of the earth," who have conducted their own affairs rightly, being lifted up by thinking on the things above, by seeking the things above. For these, having been greatly lifted up by divine knowledge, and exalted by virtue, have become ^D of God; for the strong ones of the earth, having become an acquisition of God, have been lifted up.

^A

PSALM XLVII

Vers. 2. "Great and greatly to be praised" is not shown everywhere, but in the city of God, that is, in the holy Church, the heavenly Jerusalem. This city is not lowly, nor is it in a base and hollow place, but it is situated specifically on a holy mountain. This holy mountain, that is, the most perfect virtue and knowledge of God, is the Word; for He Himself is the foundation of this city, just as He is its architect.

Vers. 3. "The exultation of all the earth," having excellent and noble foundations, is in truth nothing other than He who said: "I am the true vine." For He Himself is the exultation of all the earth, being the cause and provider of all jubilation. It is fitting that the cities of the great King should be souls pregnant from Him who is their bridegroom; having also taken on the form of the seeds received from Him, they are at the time of parturition. I do not know by what mindset some have been moved to believe that what the Savior suffered is indicated in this passage; for they say that the Savior was crucified on the northern sides of Sion, since the place of the skull is there. But we maintain, following many Scriptures, that the "north" ^B is none other than the devil, according to the passage: "Arise, O north, and come, O south." Therefore, the "sides" of this one are wicked men, just as they say the "sides" of a ruler are his attendants. Wicked men, therefore, who attend the devil, being previously his sides, if they should undergo such a change toward virtue, are no longer called sides of the north, but are shown to be mountains of Sion. Paul, therefore, when he was a persecutor, was a side of the north; but having converted, he was called a mountain of the Church, which is Sion. And since a woman is called a "side," and those who become the wives of the devil are "sides" of him through their communion with him, through conversion they become mountains of Sion. Whence it is also called the city of the great King, Christ. ^C

Vers. 5. "In the city, the kings arrived and gathered together into the same," having been brought into harmony in the same mind and the same opinion. These kings are those who have ruled according to God, such as Abraham was, to whom some said, even if he did not reign bodily: "You are a king from God among us." These, seeing those who were once sides of the north raised to such a height that they were mountains of Sion, wondered, being struck by so great a conversion of their spiritual nature. But when one sees those who have become prudent and wise from being base, having marveled at the change, he will be troubled because he will reconsider that those who have become prudent and wise can fall back again, that is, reflecting on those who have advanced the most in virtue, he will place disturbance and tumult ^D in his soul, and from fear, trembling will seize them. To this is consonant that which says: "In the places of the impious..."

^A *In the places of the impious the just groan;* for when these fall, they fear.

VERS. 8. To the sense: the bodies of souls are often termed "ships" in Scripture, just as they are who "go down to the sea in ships." These bodies are therefore broken for them—that is, dissolved—so that at the time of the resurrection they may become from corruptible, weak, dishonorable, and psychical, incorruptible, strong, glorious, and spiritual. And they are not just any ships, but the *ships of Tharsis*, that is, of "exultation," if interpreted by the Greek tongue. For then the decayed and dead bodies are laudably broken when those who inhabited them contemplate the divine joy.

VERS. 11. By the name of God, ^B divine glory is customarily designated in Holy Scripture. Now God is celebrated by those crying out: "Who shall be like unto Thee?" And the "ends of the earth" are not to be considered only its boundaries, but also those who have passed from the earth into heaven, among whom the name and praise of God have reached.

VERS. 13. Since the speculative doctrine of the Church is the truth, and is therefore called Sion, it behooves us to encompass it with understanding, so that, comprehending the dogmas of truth, we may mark them out as in a circle within our mind. And since the city of God is fortified on all sides because of ^C attacking enemies, and possesses towers already prepared from which it is possible to look out upon the advancing foes, it is necessary for those dwelling in its towers to recount them. This also accords with the text: "Upon thy walls they have set keepers, day and night, who shall not be silent for ever, mindful of the Lord." Hence also wisdom is preached upon the heights of the walls. Place, therefore, your heart—that is, your mind—wisely setting it upon the strength of Sion, which is ecclesiastical discipline, and divide and distribute it to each according to its nature. For just as it is possible to logically divide existing things into substance and accident, and genera into species, so too ^D is the strength of Sion able to be divided into its "towers" (or weightier parts). Its "towers" are the contemplations of each, in which the dogmas of piety reside. Do this, consequently, so that you may "recount it to another generation, because this is our God." For the former generation, which received the city and its strength, was proven wicked, adulterous, deceitful, and perverted by its own heresy. Standing, therefore, in the strength of the city and distributing its towers, you shall know concerning the vocation of the saints, what is the "other generation" after the former; and you shall recount that this is God, who, having performed the aforementioned miracles, rejected the former generation and called another, and others. Now this God of whom the present Scripture speaks, according to the same and similarly, remains into the age and into the age of the age. And He Himself rules us into the ages, according to that which was said: "He shall stand and see, and shall feed His flock in the strength of the Lord."

PSALM XLVIII

VERS. 3. Since among the nations that are called to hear, some are entirely earth-born ^A regarding matter and earthly thoughts, while others are made sons of men through knowledge and discipline, those who are trained in teachings and words. He calls not only the common and brutish men, but also the understanding ones. He will say: "Hear these things, you who are earth-born among the nations, and you sons of men"; for teachers are debtors not only to the wise but also to the foolish.

VERS. 4. I will bring forth wisdom from my mouth, having meditated on prudence in my heart. For then a person will be able to offer a wise word blamelessly, when he has a mind well-exercised in understanding.

VERS. 6. If then the iniquity of my heel shall encompass me, not being other than that handed down from the father, which the serpent ^B set in the heel of Adam.

Didymus, Basil, Origen. VERS. 7, 8. — It extends to the earth-born and the rich: the former "in their strength," the latter "boasting in the multitude of their riches." For hear, you who think that because of bodily strength or the obscurity of wealth you are sufficient for yourselves. Redemption is necessary for us that we might be freed from the slavery of the devil. But the redemption must be valuable, and not of the same kind as those who are held captive. For no man will be able to persuade the devil, nor will anyone be given to pay for his brothers. A man, therefore, is not able to give an ^C expiation to God even for his own sins. What is so precious to him that it can be given in exchange for the price of his soul? Since it was also made in the image of Him who created it. And what total sum of labors will a man perform that is worthy of the life to come? For this reason, this Scripture sufficiently suppresses the conceit of men. Things loftier can be said regarding the powers of the soul, if we speak of strength and riches: for no soul is sufficient for its own salvation. For even if one be perfect among the sons of men, if the wisdom which comes from God is absent, he will be reckoned as nothing. And if he possesses the wealth of human studies, he should learn his own slavery, being led captive ^D by sin; and that no man given for men is sufficient for the recovery of the liberty which he lost. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Do not seek, therefore, for redemption, a brother or a mere man, but the God-man Jesus Christ, who alone can give an expiation to God for us, because God set Him forth as a propitiatory through faith. Since Moses was of the same blood and was a brother of Israel, and was not able to redeem him, how then will any chance man redeem? Wherefore, that voice, "a man will redeem," is that of one indignant,

^A for Moses did not free the people from sin, but he averted the wrath of God regarding that sin; and even when he fell into error, he was not able to offer a piacular sacrifice on his own behalf to God, when, after so many and such great signs, he doubted, saying, "Shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" Wherefore God said, "Therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them." The holy and most precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was therefore given as the price of the redemption of our soul. And so we were bought with a price. But if man does not redeem, it is not a man who redeems us, nor was there need for Him who redeemed us to give to God a propitiation for Himself. Wherefore He did not commit sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth. He who redeemed us did so not with payments or gifts, according to Isaiah, but by His own blood, having made us not brothers, but enemies to Him by our transgressions. And after the freedom which He deigns to grant us, He Himself calls us His brothers. "For I will declare," He says, "Your name to My brothers," not according to the nature of the divinity by which we were redeemed, but according to the indulgence of grace; He who had no need of propitiation, since He is Himself the Propitiator. For such a High Priest was befitting for us, holy, guileless, undefiled, and all that follows. Who, being the very Life, the indefatigable nature, labored in this world; for He was weary from the journey, and sat by the spring. ^{B C} VERS. 7. All mortals are of the same nature, and are brothers. For no one can redeem his brother who sins; for only that man will redeem, of whom it is said, "He will send them a man, who will save them." Who also said of Himself, "But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has spoken the truth to you." But this man, since He did not know sin nor commit iniquity, will not give to God a propitiation for Himself, such as is given for those who sin; but neither will He offer a price for the redemption of His soul; but having labored in virtue, He will live forever, no longer to die. It can also be said of the redeemed one, "He will not give to God his propitiation," for no one is able to give a propitiation for himself, since Christ makes propitiation for all in His own blood; but neither is anyone capable of giving the price of the redemption of his soul, since Christ gave His own soul as a ransom for all. Even if he will not give a propitiation nor the price of the redemption of his soul, yet, after he is redeemed, he receives commandments, so that by laboring according to them he may be able to live to the end, having attained eternal life. ^D VERS. 10. He who is redeemed by Christ will have salvation so secure that nothing can shake or disturb him. Even if, therefore, they might deem... the wise, by reason of those things which they have wickedly committed, are dying. When, however

to have been injured by seeing those who were thought to be wise fall, it is in fact a small thing to be injured by seeing them fail. ^A

VERS. 14. *The senseless and the foolish, not knowing who they themselves are, have imagined that their soul, like that of animals lacking reason, does not endure.* They say, indeed: *Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.* These men think the tombs in which they are buried to be their homes forever, not awaiting the resurrection of the dead. But they also believe their tabernacles to be monuments from generation to generation, hoping for compassion only in this life; for they perform nothing vital, but are dead because of the sins they have committed. Cast down into the tomb, they imagine the grave to be their eternal home. He calls the fool not someone entirely devoid of reason, but one who thinks and opines wickedly. For we are accustomed to call one who has a base countenance, "countenanceless," and one who is poorly skilled, "unskilled." Thus, therefore, the evil-minded and evil-thinking shall suffer punishment together. For this is their destruction, by which they shall leave to others the riches which they had wickedly amassed. For no one is a closer heir to these things than the one who is a wealthy fool and senseless. ^B

VERS. 19. That rich man, who in his life knows no other life, thinks his soul is blessed in this one. And he will confess only then, when You have gratified him with the fulfillment of his carnal desires. Even if the aforementioned things happen to most men, yet God will redeem my soul from the underworld, which is already overcoming it and striving to devour it. And since the sinner is in the underworld because of his iniquity, he who has the redemption of the sins that are bringing force upon him gives thanks to God, who delivers his soul from the very hand of the underworld. ^C

VERS. 20. He had fathers who begat him with wicked works and evil counsels. Doing the same things himself, he imitated his parents, even until he shall enter in, being made similar to them in the generations of his fathers. But this man, acknowledging only the present life, did not desire to contemplate the light. Therefore, it is said that he shall not draw near to it even unto eternity. For to one condemned to the outer darkness, it will no longer be permitted to behold the eternal light. ^D

PSALM XLIX

Eusebius and Didymus. VERS. 1. He was the choir-master of those chanting the psalms, as the book of Chronicles taught: *The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken, and called the earth.* The three others interpreted this differently: *The Mighty God has spoken, and called the earth.* But the Seventy call "gods" those who have been allotted to rule and have been entrusted with the ministry of judging, which is proper to God. This is taught to us by the eighty-first psalm, which is also inscribed to Asaph. For it says: *God stood in the assembly of gods, and in the midst He judges the gods.* It adds: *How long do you judge

^A iniquity, and accept the faces of sinners? Judge the fatherless and the destitute: do justice to the humble and the poor.* Now this is proper to priests and to others whoever have been entrusted with the office of judging. Thus also the law declares: *You shall not revile the gods, and you shall not speak evil of the rulers of your people.* Yet they would reasonably be called gods who have kept the image [of God] intact; God gathers the whole world of these to the judgment.

Verse 2. And again, it says, *From the rising of the sun even unto the going down thereof,* it has shone forth; for out of the supernal Sion He shall make His second coming. Having therefore called the earth, that is, those who dwell upon the earth, He shone upon them so that they might know, as they approached Him, that *out of Sion is the beauty of His splendor.* For it was shown that He was *of the seed of David according to the flesh.* He Himself, the God of gods, who called the whole earth to the participation of Himself, shall come not secretly, nor in a hidden manner, but *manifestly* in His second coming in glory, with His angels; He shall not keep silent, judging each one according to his works and deeds. And it should be noted that even in the present psalm He signifies both comings of Christ: the first, through the words *out of Sion is the beauty [of His splendor];* but the second, through the words *God shall come manifestly.*

Verse 4. He calls the divine powers ^B *heaven*, and those who dwell upon it *earth*, so that they may be reproved concerning those very things for which they were adopted as sons. Since the giving of the law was provided with witnesses in heaven and on earth, as it is written in Deuteronomy, it is necessary that the people, being judged before the witnesses in whose presence they received the law, should undergo an examination, having transgressed the divine laws. Therefore, He calls from above the *heaven*, that is, the divine powers; and the *earth*, I mean those who dwell upon it, that they may be reproved concerning their own adoption: *For hear, O heaven,* He says, *and give ear, O earth,* concerning the proclamation of the children of God; for they did not keep the law that they received in your presence; and through these things, He signifies those who are in heaven and upon the earth.

Verse 5. Perhaps He is commanding the angels or sacred men that, having gathered His holy ones ^C to establish and set in order His divine testament upon spiritual sacrifices; for He calls spiritual sacrifices the sacrifice of praise and whatever other sacrifice is similar. Therefore, accepting the sacrifices upon which the testament is ordered, He commands His holy ones to be gathered so that they may perform the things aforementioned.

Verse 6. *The heavens shall declare righteousness,* being called holy men, who are priests bearing the image of the heavenly one.

Verse 8. But I do not argue against the intent with which you offer these, just as I censured Cain because he did not divide his offerings rightly. God argues, not against those who offer,

but against the intent with which these are brought. Even if someone offers a spiritual sacrifice—offering his own body as a whole burnt offering through the complete absence of marriage—he must do this with a right mind; for one is rebuked not for actions that are commendable in themselves, but when they are not performed with a right mind (85). ^B

VERS. 9. Since those in your house who are metaphorically called calves were seen to be hostile to the Saviour, as he says: "Many bulls have surrounded me, fat bulls have beset me," for this reason I will not accept them, nor the kids that are numbered along with them; for even these, while offering themselves for sins, sin none the less. Understand that those who were once beasts of the forest, those who have risen from wild heathen nations, having been tamed by divine teaching, have become mine—they who previously understood nothing but barrenness, for the forest is a symbol of this. But also the beasts of burden [are mine], as it were, the ^C sheep of Christ, and the "oxen" who have gone up from your house—that is, from the shadow of the law—into the doctrines of the Gospel, dwelling in them because of their sublimity as on "mountains." Paul, therefore, being an ox among those on the mountains, while explaining the law concerning the ox, added: "Is it for oxen that God is concerned?" Or does he speak entirely for our sake? But also souls that have become high-flying, having been winged by right thoughts and actions, are called "birds of the heavens": "which I have known," for I am knowing of those who belong to me.

VERS. 11. The good field, that is to say, the upright heart which receives the seed sown by Christ and brings forth fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold, having full and mature fruit, is the beauty of the field, which is not far from the sower. For he himself says: "The beauty of the field is with me."

VERS. 12, 14. The Saviour hungers for the salvation of some, just as, naturally, he says to the disciples concerning the salvation of the Samaritan woman: "I have food to eat which you do not know," and: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me." Since, therefore, the Jews, surrounded by darkness, offer him corporeal victims as if to one who is hungry, he says: "If I were hungry, I would not tell you: for the inhabited world is mine," occupied by my illustrious Church, "and its fullness." His fullness, however, is the Gospel, which is no longer a figure or a shadow. Since, therefore, the fullness of the nations is my food, I will not desire your food, which is nothing but a figure. But if you wish to worship me, your true God, with worthy service, "sacrifice to me a sacrifice of praise," asking and theologizing; for I accept these offerings: "For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." But also ^D "render to the Most High," to the Father, through me, those things for which you prayed intellectually; for the true and purest knowledge of God may be [attained] through faith in Christ.

^A Ver. 16. Since it is not seemly (praise) in the mouth of a sinner, God rebukes the one who sins, saying: "Why do you declare my statutes," which you refuse to perform? "And why do you take my covenant through your mouth?" For you ought to have received it first into your heart and modeled your thoughts according to it, so as to then bring forth the words of my covenant. In harmony with this is the one who proclaims: "You who preach not to steal, do you steal?" and the rest.

Ver. 18. And you may understand it in this sense as well: If at any time you observed someone with a heretical mindset stealing away the will of the truth, and by approving the matter you ran along with him. And if there were adulterers who attempted to violate the virgin of Christ by dragging faithful souls into their own factions, by agreeing with them, or by neglecting to oppose them, "you were setting your portion with adulterers." You may say this expression is fitting for those who profess to be ecclesiastical, but who come into communion with men who are not ecclesiastical.

^B Ver. 19. He who, not knowing the good, does evil, sins less; but he who sins while knowing the good possesses an intensified wickedness. Wherefore also, "the servant who knew his master’s will and did not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes." But it may also be interpreted this way: Since, having taken up the covenant of God by his mouth, he had a heart full of sin—to whom the word is addressed (for he is a sinner "out of the abundance of his evil heart")—he truly had wickedness teeming in his mouth, so that he uses his tongue, by which he employs sophistry, "to weave deceits." For he weaves and composes heretical discourses, which are nothing but sophistries.

^C Ver. 21. The silence of God is called the patience that sustains sinners. For when He exacts punishments from them, He is not silent, but reveals the punishments that are imminent for them. This same meaning is held by that which says, "I have kept silence from of old; shall I also remain silent and refrain forever?" The Lord therefore says to the sinner whom He rebukes: You have committed all these aforementioned sins, and I have held my peace, giving place for repentance through patience. But you, failing to benefit from such silence, have on the contrary assumed, in addition to the evils you already had, an iniquity by which "you thought that I am like yourself," imagining, that is, that I consent to your deeds and would never take action against you.

^D Ver. 23. It is not here in the perceptible worship, but there in the divine [worship] which consists of praise, that the way lies which God reveals, enlightening His salvation, the only-begotten Son, our Savior; or [rather] salvation itself, for at times it signifies the Savior Christ.

PSALM L

Ver. 1. But let no one trample upon the great David; for since God has justified him, there shall be no one to condemn him. And though he held supreme power for so many years, only this one sin of his is reported, namely, that he commanded the people to be numbered contrary to the will of God. But

^A nor did he keep the sin for long; for such a king, when rebuked by a private individual, did not take it amiss, but at once humbled himself, so that the prophet said: "The Lord also has taken away your sin." By the phrase "the Lord also," he signifies that the sin had already been taken away by David himself through repentance. For while other men are broken by their sins, the saints, who are running the course of salvation, even if they should happen to suffer something through negligence, do not fall in the midst of their running, but soon finish the journey they have begun. The failings of the saints are recorded so that we might not hesitate to strive for their zeal, fearing that they were possessed of a divine fate and in no way prone to sin. ^B Divine Providence therefore permits them to slip at times, and so provides us with holy examples of both virtue and repentance. For it could be the case that, unless they had sinned at some time, they might think their virtues were perfected by their own strength, and not by the cooperation of God. In this way, divine grace meets the danger of an overly proud mind and teaches everyone how weak our nature is, and how necessary is refuge in God.

The fiftieth psalm is so numbered because it is concerned with remission; for the Holy Spirit would not have placed it before the fifty-first, the fifty-third, and others which occur later, unless there were some reason other than the chronological order. ^C For the fifty-first is inscribed concerning Doeg the Syrian and his plot against Saul, which happened before David was king; and the fifty-third concerns the plot of the Ziphites against Saul. Since, then, the number fifty has a certain relation to mercy, the Savior, explaining his teaching on remission, introduced two debtors, one of whom owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty; and to both, the remission was granted, because they were debtors of fifty and an amount related to it—five hundred denarii. Not without reason do we celebrate feasts for fifty days, because through his death and resurrection the Lamb of God has granted us the remission of sins; and on the fiftieth day we were deemed worthy ^D to be cleansed through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Among the Jews, too, money owed was remitted to a debtor in the Jubilee or fiftieth year, when everyone returned to liberty and to their own possessions, so that this year was considered celebratory. Rightly, therefore, is the fiftieth psalm, which treats of mercy, written under this number. The number fifty is composed of seven weeks and a unit, so that it constitutes a week of weeks, to which he who lays aside the burden and work of sin is said to come.

VERSE 3. Moved by intense sorrow, and exhibiting fruits worthy of repentance, he asks that the great mercy of God be bestowed upon him; for repentance is not sufficient unless God has mercy, nor is the mercy of God sufficient unless we, as much as lies in us, turn through repentance to salvation.

VER. 4. ^A Just as the most stubborn stains do not vanish unless they are washed many times, so too must graver sins be removed by the greater mercy of God. He calls the mortal activity iniquity and sin, differing in their nuance: iniquity is termed that which is done apart from the law, while sin is that which is done contrary to the law. Yet he prays that God would wash and cleanse him from both, for He alone has the power to wash and cleanse the soul from the aforementioned habit.

VER. 5. If you had the sin once committed always before your eyes, you would not be able to commit another; for it is only because we forget our previous offenses that we sin again.

VER. 6. ^B Insofar as he was king, he was not subject to human law; hence he did not sin against any of the lawgivers, nor did he do evil before any of them. But inasmuch as, being king, he also wishes to be godly, he was subject to the law of God; therefore he sinned against God alone, and did the evil before Him. And again: since God says that the human mind is more prone to evil, and that "there is no man who will not sin," ^C God is justified in His words to those who sin, or even to the saints, in which He contends that all have turned aside and become worthless. Thus He prevails when He judges men, and proves all to be sinners. To this agrees the text: "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar"; for whoever boasts of his own innocence, insofar as it rests with him, declares God to be a liar.

VER. 8. ^D He who is trained in the art of the sophists for the pursuit of truth, once he has known its greatness, has felt a perfect love towards it; for those who have been exercised in falsehoods, having become more clear-sighted, perceive the adorable beauty of the truth—such as Moses and Daniel. For after having been tried by sophistic discourses, and having ascended to the true wisdom itself, they received testimony from God as being perfect, with God clearly revealing to them the hidden and secret things of His wisdom, so that nothing of these disciplines remained obscured to them. David, having attained this same condition, uttered the verse before us.

VER. 10. It has been said many times that these are opinions and powers of the soul. These bones are humbled by sin and sophistic trickery; but when God makes them to hear, the humbled bones will exult with joy and gladness.

VER. 11. Sins are blotted out through the participation of the virtues; for just as knowledge, when it comes into the soul, destroys and blots out ignorance, so does the presence of perfect virtue blot out all sin.

VER. 13. While all the righteous always stand before the face of God, the sinner is cast far from Him. "May I not suffer this," he says, being encompassed by divine understanding; "and may I not be stripped of the divine Spirit that was given to me."

^A VERSE 14. Expecting the coming of our Savior to earth, through which it happens that perfect joy is attained, he invokes the Father, saying: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and confirm me with a guiding and perfect spirit." By "spirit" in both these instances he signifies the guiding and leading power, either the Holy Spirit, which is ruling and guiding, or the spirit of man, which in him is other than the soul.

VERSE 15. In the preface to the Psalm we already taught that, God permitting, sometimes even the saints sin, so that by performing sincere repentance they may provide examples of repentance to others. Behold, he confirms the same thing in this verse; for he promises that by confessing his sins to God, he will show the ways of God Himself to the iniquitous, so that, having entered them, if they ever slipped through negligence, they might turn back to Him.

VERSE 16. "Since I am full of blood from the sins by which I surrendered myself unto death, deliver me from these, O God, my God." "My tongue," that is, my speech, which is always occupied in celebrating your justice, "will exult in your justice."

VERSE 17. God opens the lips of him who speaks words to praise Him. Therefore also his mouth will announce the praise of God, always praising and celebrating Him.

VERSE 20. He who laments his own sins, what does he wish to say regarding Sion and Jerusalem? We respond that, even if he has deviated from the straight path, he has not for that reason been stripped of all gifts. Therefore, retaining the prophetic grace and his former communion with the Holy Spirit, he offers vows and prophecies. And he celebrates Sion, ^C kindly accepted by your Son and assisted by the Spirit. That which says, "the walls of Jerusalem shall be built," indicates the care of angels for men, or the unshakable foundation of evangelical doctrines.

VERSE 21. By "justice" he here indicates that which is established through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. This justice itself is a spiritual offering and a spiritual sacrifice: in the same sense is that, "Sacrifice a sacrifice of justice," then also "they will place" spiritual "calves upon the altar," not those working the earth and pulling plows, but souls which are none other than the souls of the martyrs, seen above the heavenly altar, and there offered in the manner of calves; for in the Apocalypse of John the souls of those slain for the name of Jesus and for His testimony are seen ^D beneath the heavenly altar.

PSALM LI. VERSE 1. Truly that is the meaning of the spoken words, which is understood only by God illuminating it. But for what reason he might rage with such fury, [or who must provide the cause for such a tragedy, if not the shepherd...]

of brute animals? For Doeg was a muleteer. ^A When David therefore saw this utter villain, or the devil who had stirred up envy within him, he uttered the words of this psalm as if against one who were present.

Vers. 4. By the term "day," it is signified how manifest the malice of Doeg is, or for what length of time it may have endured.

Didymus and Eusebius. Vers. 8. Just men, when they see others turning away from virtue to evil, fear lest they suffer the same things. Nay, rather, they themselves utter biting words, as is said: "They laughed at him, and will say: Behold the man," and so forth.

Vers. 9. Truly any evil man, rich and deceived by a false opinion, prides himself on the multitude of his riches and hopes in them, and thus thinks himself to be superior; for which reason he both surrenders himself to iniquity and also retreats from the good.

Vers. 10. "In the house of God," he who is planted through faith brings forth the fruit of virtue, by which desires and sins are kept at bay, while the light of knowledge is nourished. He who brings forth such merciful fruits "hopes in the mercy of God," for he is not ignorant that the merciful shall obtain mercy (Matt. v, 7); nor does he hope for one age only, but "unto the age of the age."

PSALM LII

Vers. 2. The "fool" here is to be understood as one deprived of divine instruction. For he who is under discussion seems to lack common sense; for although he knows that the knowledge of God is implanted in every mind, he nevertheless professes impiety, not indeed before another, but "in his heart" saying: "There is no God." ^C

Didymus and Eusebius. Vers. 3. This present verse declares that God provides not only for celestial things, but also for those which come to pass upon the earth. For it is said: "From heaven He looks down providently upon the sons of men"; it is not said that He looks upon them merely from the outside, with respect to the body, but also with respect to the secret parts of the heart. "He looks down, therefore, upon the sons of men, to see if there is any one who understands," and who by that means does good, or by examining the truth "is seeking God." It is said in a human manner and in a way adapted to our mind that God "looks down from heaven" and sees if there is any one who understands; for with a great, so to speak, sweep of his eyes, He beholds even the most hidden things. ^D

Vers. 4. From these words we learn that sin comes about through the violation of the law: whence it follows that no one is evil by nature, for "all have declined." They sin, however, who decline, because they turn away from the straight path. "At the same time they have become useless," who had declined; they are called useless either because they serve their passions, or because, encumbered by a crowd of constantly succeeding affairs, they can no longer make use of reason.

Didymus and Eusebius. Vers. 4. The same things occur in Psalm XIII. Wherefore, especially in interpreting

^A certain words, he seems to contain variations. For there it is written: “they were corrupted and became abominable in their pursuits,” but here: “they were corrupted and became abominable in their iniquities.” The variation is attributed to the interpreters. By these words, the discourse indicates the fall from common perceptions—the wicked and godless mindset of all humanity that prevailed before the manifestation of the Savior—and how they corrupted the sound seeds sown in them concerning God, and surrendered themselves to the worship of abominable idols, dividing impiety among themselves, whether by complete atheism or polytheism, and by observing the consequences, and their own godless and perverse pursuits. For he who thinks wrongly regarding God falls into other evils as well. For by casting piety out of his own soul, he has at the same time cast out every virtue that accompanies piety as a queen. Thus, those who, through folly, say that there is no God, corrupted their own ^B mind in the iniquities they committed, from which they became abominable—that is, they became detestable. Either because all sin, or because even those who seem to do good do not perform it properly and truly. ^C Vers. 5. Since wisdom will not enter into a soul that devises evil, “they will not know” what must be known according to divine knowledge. And this must be read not as a question, but as a statement. Vers. 6. “They trembled” is written instead of “they will tremble.” Therefore, the words there, “they will tremble with fear, where there was no fear,” can be referred to the age to come; for they will tremble, having perceived the punishments by which they are to be punished, which, however, should have been faced with a firm mind. They will tremble for this reason, that God will demonstrate that they were liars here and intent solely on the desire “to please men,” and will reveal it there by God “scattering their bones,” that is, their opinions and the vain counsels of the soul. ^D PSALM LIII. Vers. 3. The power of the Father is Christ. He will judge the hidden things of men, and he prays to be handed over for examination not to other judges, but to the power of the good God; for he knew that he would thus obtain forgiveness for his own negligences, whereas those who were undeservedly plundering him were to be condemned. Vers. 5. He calls those “strangers” who lead a life alien to the ways of the righteous, and “mighty ones” the evil demons. He says, therefore: Since “they did not set God before them,” fleeing from Him and departing from Him, “they rose up against the righteous, and sought his soul.” Vers. 6, 7. He confesses that he has God as a helper, perhaps the Father, and the Lord as the sustainer of his soul; yet he hints at the Son, who “will turn back the evils upon my enemies.” For as they themselves will suffer the same evils by which they had determined to oppress me, the Lord judging so. To which corresponds the statement: “And you shall do to him as he was malicious enough to do against his brother.”

^A Of Didymus and Theodoret. Ver. 8. These things having been accomplished, he says, with a willing spirit I shall be about to give thanks and “voluntarily I will sacrifice to you,” not by force or necessity compelled, but moved by the free study of the mind.

PSALM LIV

Ver. 2. Invoking God, he prays that He may draw near to him, and with His own ears receive the prayer of the one supplicating: for He hears who stands near the one speaking, and perceives the words of the speaker with His ears. Praying, he then adds: “For no other cause shall I hope to obtain those things of which I am in need, except that you will not despise my prayer; attend to me,” ^B lifting up holy hands to you with a placid and simple mind, in a seemly and composed manner invoking you, “and hear” the prayers which I pour out to you with a pure mind.

Ver. 4. Perhaps the enemy and the sinner are not two different people, for they differ only in their affections. When therefore the sinner was troubling me by the things which he does evilly, and the enemy of truth was uttering impious things, “I was saddened in my exercise, and was troubled to such a degree.” These things must be referred to the prayer itself. Therefore the holy man says: Seeing the enemy insolently raging, and the sinner troubling me, I was saddened unto God without any intermission through prayers; seeing my citizens and fellow-tribesmen fallen into an abyss of malice, I was troubled concerning this depraved nature; lest perhaps I myself should admit the same ways. It was possible also for him to be saddened with concern, on account of the insanity of the wicked; thus a father groans when he sees those who are insane raging against his son. For some think that this psalm should be interpreted as if it were put forth in the person of Christ. To whom it befits ^C to grieve concerning afflicted men.

Ver. 5. The righteous man knows that it is one thing to sin in thought, which is tolerable, and another to sin in deeds and words, which is grave and full of danger. Wherefore, if by chance he has sinned or transgressed in thought, he keeps it quiet, nor does he bring forward the hidden sin by words, nor does he perform it effectively, knowing that the thought is curable, but what is in deed and words is difficult to cure, or even ^D incurable; wherefore he says, “My heart was troubled within me;” for I neither explained the disturbance by speech, nor did I perform anything according to it, but the “fear of death” which follows upon sin “fell upon me,” and I kept it within myself; for it happens that out of that which is external, fear is made manifest, and he who is revealed becomes a stumbling block to others.

Ver. 17. Such being those who attack the Savior with such great impetuosity, “I cried to God,” and I had my voice heard by the Lord; for only he who cries to God is heard by the Lord; for not everyone who cries, calls out to God; it is written about the Sodomites: “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied,” even though they were not crying to God.

^A Ver. 18. When the just man is always meditating on wisdom, the Psalmist, being as he is pious and always meditating on wisdom, says: “At evening,” when the malice and the quenching light of the impious have set; “and in the morning,” when the Sun of Justice rises for me—to make me like the dawn—and when He is at His peak, I shall enter into the “midday,” and I shall recount the affairs of the aforementioned evening, and of the morning previously announced, and of the aforementioned midday. And when I recount these things, God will listen to my voice, accepting it and, so to speak, delighting in my voice which has recounted all things.

Ver. 20. “Who is before the ages,” He says of God, and not “who was.” For if He had said “who was,” He would have implied that He came into being at some certain time before the ages. For this reason He says “who is,” positing Him as eternal and lacking any beginning. By the phrase “before the ages,” He declares that the ages had a beginning. Let it not escape you that by “ages” all creatures are to be understood. The Savior likewise is eternal and exists from eternity before the ages, since the ages themselves were made through Him. And Paul says, “And He is before all things,” which means the same as “who is,” for this is what that utterance signifies: “And He is before all things”; for we do not read, “And He was before all things.”

“For there is no commutation for them,” regarding sins. Some sins are with difficulty or even impossible to heal, while others can be healed. Concerning those that can be healed, you will indeed find a commutation if you offer sacrifices for delinquencies, and especially almsgiving and prayer together with fasting; for these deliver from death. But for those who have committed incurable sins, there is no commutation, nor can a price of redemption be established: “For if a man sins against a man, and others pray for him, there occurs a commutation of such an injury. But if they pray to the Lord God for him,” no commutation shall be made; for there is none for such sins as these. ^B

Ver. 21. “He extended His hand,” while rendering to each according to their merits. For when they betrayed and sacrificed Christ, stained by most grievous iniquity, they were seen as worthy to pay the penalties; for “they defiled the covenant of God,” not recognizing the prophet, but rather killing Him whom it had announced. It can also be said that, since this covenant was to be kept by sensing it in a carnal way only until a definite time, once the time had elapsed during which it was necessary to transfer it from the carnal sense to the spiritual, those who retained the worship of the figure “defiled the covenant of God.” ^C Wherefore, extending His avenging hand, He delivered them over, so that His wrath might take them away, by which they had already been divided, scattered among all the nations.

Ver. 22. “God drew near,” He says, having mingled with men, His words being like oil, salutary and soothing the ailment of those who labor. But ^D

^A these words that are smoother than oil will be for those who despise them avenging darts; for many times the term "arrow" is used regarding punishments, and "arrow" and "dart" signify the same thing. Even if the Jews are thought to be soft and smooth, because they behave with hypocrisy, they were deadly darts and full of poison.

Ver. 24. He prays that those who are not intimidated by God, but who also defiled His covenant, may be humbled by God who ^B “is before the ages.” He calls them “men of blood,” saying those who said: “His blood be upon us and upon our children,” and upon whom “shall come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth.” They are also called “men of deceit,” who always pursued the Savior and the saints with their wiles. He prays, therefore, that these may not reach half of their days; for since, having turned away from the day constituted by the shining of the true light, they devised for themselves another day of illumination through mythical traditions, and it is a wicked thing for their days to be fulfilled in these, he petitions that they might not reach half of their days, so that the sun of righteousness might arise for them, that they may come to be in the day of the Lord. And one might also force the literal meaning to this: Since they remain in life with an impenitent resolve and do evil, he, sparing them, asks that they be snatched from life in the middle of their human span, so that they might be punished for few sins and not for many. Things being so, he says, I have my expectation and hope in You, O Lord.

PSALM LV

Ver. 2. Scripture employs the word “trampled” ^C for things considered vile; thus it is said regarding the salt that has lost its savor, “It is cast out to be trampled by men.” And the Apostle: “Of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy, who has trampled under foot the Son of God?” Therefore, the holy man is trampled by one who, on account of depravity, is a man, according to the text, “For where jealousy and faction are among you, are you not men?” and in need of mercy from God. But this person, being an unceasing and murderous enemy, “all the day” of his life, oppresses, warring against the righteous man, not wishing to be peaceful even in the slightest. And since in the parable of the tares the sower of these, the “wicked man,” is interpreted as the devil, understand that the things presently stated are spoken concerning him as well.

Ver. 3. Having begun a long time ago to do this, he says, or perhaps having fallen from a “higher day” and life, “my enemies have come.”

Ver. 5. By “flesh” he means either man or that mind which, being hostile to God, is not subject to the law of God; for he who is in the flesh cannot please God. Let not flesh, therefore, cause fear to him who is in the spirit, as if it will do anything to him, having mortified the works of the flesh; for thus he has truly hoped in God.

VERS. 9. You promised, O Lord, that You would hear the groaning of the oppressed: For, "he groans unto me, and I have fulfilled the promises; and while I was still speaking, You said: 'Behold, I am here,' according to Your unwavering promises." ^A

VERS. 11. The word uttered in God and through God is worthy of praise; the same is true of the discourse. Indeed, the terms "word" and "discourse" are used here in the same sense, applied to repeat the same things. But elsewhere, they occur with different meanings. For since a "word" is but a portion of a "discourse," God does not address a man who is still a novice in piety with a most complete discourse, which he could not grasp, but first with a word, which is, as it were, a part of the discourse. Indeed, the word of the Lord came first to Jeremiah, and later the discourse of the Lord. Likewise, in Isaiah: "Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His discourse;" but "hear the word of the Lord" is spoken to one who is being initiated through it. If anyone objects, saying that the word is given to those who evangelize with great power, so that it may be received as a word pertaining to the knowledge and instruction of future things—things which we now know and prophesy only in part—one might answer that, having attained both the beginning and the sum of the knowledge of the discourse at once, he praises God in word and discourse. ^B

VERS. 12. He who makes a vow, when he acts fittingly, prays by means of the vow. Within it are vows of praise, which he will render to God; for vows of praise are the praises themselves. For just as you promise God that you will do or give this or that, so also does one promise that God will praise him.

VERS. 13. It is customary to accompany the dead with tears and groaning; but no one except yourself will grieve for the death of your soul. Deservedly, therefore, O soul delivered from death, will you refrain from tears. He also "rescued [my] feet from slipping," by binding upon the feet, as it were, a shoe that lifts one up and makes one rise above the earth. For when you have raised yourself to sublime things, it is fitting that the feet should be rescued from slipping. You are rescued from the aforementioned evils so that you may please God, living and enlightened. For he who pleases God "in the light of the living" does this. He who is a partaker of God truly lives and is enlightened. For He Himself, being Life, is the light of men. My enemies indeed attacked me with all their might and tried to inflict death upon me. For by driving me out of my country and forcing me to flee to foreign and alien nations, in so far as it lay within their power, they sought to kill my soul, forcing it to surrender itself to the idols of the foreigners. But by Your grace and mercy, O God, You did not allow such things to happen, but protected me even among the foreigners, that I might suffer no evil from their company. Therefore I give thanks to You, because "You have rescued my feet" from the "slipping" of the soul. ^{C D}

PSALM LVI.

VERS. 1. Some contend that this psalm was written by David at the time when he hid from the face of Saul in the cave.

^A of Engaddi, and when he entered it to relieve himself, he was able to kill him, but did not kill him.

VERS. 2. The repetition of the word "have mercy" indicates that we need the mercy of God both in this present life and in the life to come. He calls the divine providence the "shadow of the wings." If, however, the "shadow" must be taken in a literal sense, the meaning of the passage is this: As long as I spend this life, I am in the shadow of the wings, but I hope to attain the wings themselves, being winged by virtue and spiritual intelligence. The wings of God are either His protective powers or the sublime thoughts concerning Him. The fact that iniquity "passes by" shows that it is temporary. Just as it passes, so also it began at a certain time. For it has been said concerning a certain kind of iniquity: "It was not from the beginning, nor will it be forever."

VERS. 3. Since iniquity is creeping and groveling, he who wishes to be rid of it cries out to the "Most High," so that by being lifted up in his cry to the height, he may be far from the harmful beast; for this reason he says, "God Most High."

VERS. 4. He who is sent from heaven to save is the Lord, who says, "I have descended from heaven." For God sent forth this, being His Word, and He healed those who were crushed because of their destructions ^B. One might ask regarding this "being sent from heaven" whether it signifies a local departure from the corporeal heaven. For it would seem absurd to attribute a local descent to God. Might it be, then, that the term "heaven" signifies the incorporeal and intelligible essence, according to the passage: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," that is, on high? He who, "being in the form of God and equal to God, having taken the form of a servant," came to men. And this is what "sending from heaven" is, so that the God-Word might become flesh and, having been seen upon the earth, might converse with men. Peter, initiating us into the mysteries, writes the same things concerning the Holy Spirit: "Which now have been declared to you through those who preached the gospel to you, by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." For the Spirit, being sent from that intelligible essence, was made to dwell in the men who preached the gospel to you.

VERS. 5. In the preceding verse he said, "He sent from heaven," without saying what was sent; now he explains that it is "His mercy and His truth." These are not different in essence, but the Savior Himself is both, rescuing His own soul having fallen among enemies who have trampled it; these are called "lion cubs" because of their fierce and cruel spirit.

Sleep often signifies rest, as in the passage: "In peace I will both sleep and rest." What he wishes to say, then, is this: Even if I was troubled while being trampled by enemies, and terrified by the lion cubs that took me into their midst, still the disturbance did not prevail; "for I slept" ^C troubled, not remaining awake while troubled, but I slept having cast off my soul. The image of this is that woman, ^D

^A who "had a spirit of infirmity, who was bent over and could not lift herself up at all," whom Jesus "loosed from the bonds of Satan," being "a daughter of Abraham." Perhaps every person who thinks in a lowly way has a bent-over soul, unable to contemplate the things above so long as they are such.

VERS. 10. By "peoples" you will understand those from the circumcision, and by "nations" those who have converted from the worship of idols, so that one Church might be formed.

PSALM LVII

VERS. 2. The same is asserted concerning justice also in Proverbs: "To understand true justice, and to direct judgment." But he who serves sin, and operates evil without any intermission, weaves together injustice. To this is equivalent the saying: "Each one is constricted by the ropes of his own sins." Not without cause is it added to the working of iniquity, "on the earth"; for even if someone commits iniquity in their heart, "on the earth," that is, by dealing with material things, they perform it.

VERS. 4. The great Judge, he says, is hidden from nothing, even of those things which anyone has conceived only in thought. For even if you think you might hide from the eyes of men, you will not be able to deceive God, since even before they come into the light, all things are known to Him who sees all things before they come to be. Therefore, before they were born, He foresaw them as though they already existed and were such as they now are. Already from that time they were rejected by Him. "The sinners are therefore alienated from the womb." And even if they pretend at most to speak justice today, while in their deeds they carry out the opposites, they cannot hide from God Himself; for before they went out from the womb, or rather even before they were conceived in the womb, they were reckoned among the erring by Him, and it was not unknown what sort of people they were to become. ^C

VERS. 5. Those who do not hesitate to inveigh against the Scriptures also impugn this verse, saying: It is absurd for a human to err and speak false things from the womb; for no one sins unless they are in possession of their reason. But we will say that an infant freshly born is capable of virtue and vice by potentiality, but by act will only be good or bad when it is able to discern between good and evil. Although one does not begin to institute a life toward virtue until one has become a person of reason, nonetheless one is said to have done good from the mother's womb. Thus we read in Job: "If I have eaten my morsel alone, and have not shared with the orphan... for from my mother's womb I was a guide to them and fostered them as a father." And these, therefore, of whom we now speak, likewise, when they became participants of reason, began to err in act. The words of the psalmist themselves signify this, when it is said that they "speak false things." And you will not interpret these things ineptly also regarding the proponents of depraved teachings, ^D since they are accustomed, from the very womb—that is, the parent discipline itself—both to err and to "speak false things."

VERS. 8. We have already noted earlier that arrows signify

^A the punishments. Now the "bow," from which these arrows are sent, signifies the very power of judging. He therefore stretches this "bow" until those whom He attacks are weakened; but for them, being weakened is a good thing, since the strength they once possessed for wickedness is destroyed. "As wax that melts, so shall it pass away," ^B because it is both fusible and possesses thickness, having been transformed by the first fire upon which it is placed; so, too, sinners, having experienced punishments, cast off the thickness born of their evil habit. Before the punishment, however, there is the true light, which is the Sun of Justice. It is not possible to endure the brilliance of this intelligible Sun. Hence it is said here that "the fire" of retribution "has fallen," and those who have fallen into punishment "have not seen the sun." But those who understand their own passions—which are allegorically called thorns—will no longer experience the wrath that punishes; but "before they understand" those things which, by way of metaphor, are called thorns and buckthorn, "as living" they shall be swallowed up by wrath. For they will not be taken by wrath as truly living, but as those who seem to be living. For in Scripture "to swallow" signifies to conquer and overcome, such that the one swallowed is by then mastered and defeated. Thus, what is mortal is swallowed up by life, ^C as life masters and overcomes death.

PSALM LVIII

VERS. 5. He rightly says "I ran," for this is the voice of one completing his course. But if anyone objects regarding the sin against the wife of Uriah committed later, saying that it is absurd for David to speak as if he had already attained the desired finish line, we say that he is striving for this one thing: that he had conducted himself "without iniquity" toward Saul, and therefore he was being unjustly accused. Perhaps the sense of the words spoken is also this: "Up to this point I have run 'without iniquity,' and I have directed my perfect journey in the best way possible." But since human nature is liable to change, he later stumbled; ^D yet, as he was not habituated to sinning, he very quickly repented.

VERS. 12. In his narration, he reports that his enemies were punished by God, but he prays that they not be killed. For he knew that if they perished before being reformed, they would forget the divine law; but if they were dispersed by God's power and handed over into captivity, having experienced the trial of punishment, they would cry out to God with groans. He also wishes that they be brought down from the great pride with which they are lifted up, and that You may do this, he says, "You who shield me, O Lord," for every punishment is prepared and intended for conversion. And that David, in sparing them, is asking for this—that they might be corrected by lighter punishments and recalled to saner paths—is declared by what follows; for if they are dispersed and at the same time chastised, once penance has been done, they will be able to be gathered back into one. For this same reason he wishes that their "sin of the mouth," the "speech of their lips," be brought down—that is, humbled—for this is very useful both to those who must be humbled and to many others, lest they imitate those who in pride 47, 51.

^A speak and utter unjust things. But when those who speak in pride and lie about unjust things are caught in the calamities brought about by the pride of their own words, it will be clear to everyone that they were apprehended on account of their iniquity. [Psalm LIX]

[Verse 6.] What is the sign that God gives, or the light by which it is permitted to discern between spirits, the good and the bad? For once this discernment has been made, we would flee far from evils, from wicked works, and from the evil spirit. But this sign is not given to just anyone who happens by, but to those who, according to God, are ^B "those who fear" God.

[Verse 8.] God speaks in every person who participates in holiness. Thus, at any rate, God spoke in Paul, because he was holy, and in every prophet. But if that voice—"holy"—in which He speaks is referred to the Father, it would be the Savior, in accordance with [the text], "The Father abiding in me does the works," and, "The Father has given me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak." And these things fit the economy very well.

[Psalm LX]

[Verse 3.] He who pours out prayers here, knowing that he is far from Him to whom he sends his vows, says that he is "from the ends of the earth," and that he cries out to God when he is "in distress." The same meaning is conveyed by that passage in Ecclesiastes: "God is in heaven above, and you are upon earth below." By these words is indicated a distinction not of place, but of natures, of the uncreated and the created. For God, since His nature is superior, is said to be "above in heaven"; man, however, is "below upon the earth," because ^C he was not, and afterwards was made. Thus also the Baptist says that the Savior is "from above, from heaven," but that a human being "is from the earth" and speaks from it; for he utters that which is fitting for a creature.

We understand that Christ is signified by the "rock" from which the spiritual drink flows. He who is in this rock, having become a participant in it (for it is wisdom and righteousness and sanctification), is lifted up in his mind, raised on high by God. And those who propose to follow the Savior, in accordance with His exhortations, as He says, "Come after me," use Him as their guide, not expecting to find another leader for the way that leads to the Author of all things. Having received this gift, David also celebrates God with these words: "You have guided me, for you have become my hope"; ^D and not only have you been my guide, but You have become a "tower from the face of the enemy"; for having You as my strength and "tower of strength," I have remained unharmed, even though the enemy rose up against me and sought to attack me.

^A One may also refer the words "from the face of the enemy" to what follows: "You have led me," in a connection such as this: "You have led me from the face of the enemy," having become my hope. But the Savior has also become for me a true and unfailing hope of the saints, as Paul says: "and Christ Jesus, our hope." And the prophecy says: "In him shall the nations hope," for he is the one who was foretold to be the expectation of the nations. ^B "But he who has been perfected in holiness shall dwell for ages in that tabernacle"; this clarifies the meaning of: "Who shall dwell in your holy mountain?" For this is eternal, being the same as the tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man. Yet, even if such a tabernacle has such perfection that it is called the Holy of Holies, there will nevertheless be after it a state superior to created beings, according to which they shall be in the Father and the Son, or rather in the Trinity. Therefore it is said: "to dwell for ages," and not "to dwell in the tabernacle." He who has come to be in this house "shall be protected in the covering of the wings of God."

^C VERSE 6. For being rich, He says, and bestowing great gifts, or rather, granting to perfect men that they should become your sons, "you have given them an inheritance." For even if it is expected to be given after the resurrection in the age to come, nevertheless, it is already given on earth to men who approach it at the proper time: [giving] His name to those who believe in Him and in His name. It has already been said often that those who call upon the name of the Lord are of a lower rank than those who are united with God Himself. Behold, an inheritance is given even to those who fear God; and if this grace is granted to the lesser, how much more so to those who have surpassed them.

^D VERSE 7. The King who has obtained such gifts is some [sort of] person, according to what has been said regarding the pious, that they are "a royal priesthood, a holy nation." Expecting to reign with this meaning, the apostles also say to the Corinthians: "Without us you have reigned... that we also might reign with you." To the king who has thus come to be, years are added by the Lord, as day is brought to day. For one must pass from a preceding state of light to another having the same quality, so that from the days being named, the eternal years may be completed, concerning which it is said: "And I remembered eternal years." And the life of those who take up day after day extends unto the day of generation of generations before God.

VERSE 8. "And who shall seek out His mercy and truth?" Very often in divine teachings, His mercy is conjoined with the truth of God. For such is the infirmity of men that they could never by their own strength attain to the truth of God; for this reason, we have need of the mercy of God in order to understand the truth. To these points agrees that utterance: "I desire all men to be saved..."

and to come to the full knowledge of the truth." For one must first be saved by the mercy of God, through which—for those who follow—there exists the full knowledge of the truth; for the salvation of men is the work of God’s mercy. For "God sent forth His mercy and His truth," and so on.

^B VERSE 9. Having become master of my vows, offering thanks to Thee, "I will sing to Thy name," praising through works, thoughts, and good words Thy name which has been invoked upon me. Furthermore, day by day "I will pay my vows," as Jacob says: "If God will give me bread to eat," and so on; "everything that Thou shalt give me, I will tithe a tithe to Thee." For before these words it is written, "And Jacob made a vow, saying, If the Lord God will be with me," up to, "I will tithe a tithe to Thee." Not ineptly does he say that he pays his vows day by day, and sings to the name of God for ever and ever; for singing to the name of the One being hymned is fitting even for those who have entered the future age. However, the capacity for paying vows is bounded by the same ends as our days—namely, the life granted to us. As long, therefore, as we live, let us pay our vows to God, so that we may also be able to sing to the name of God for ever and ever.

PSALM LXI.

VERSE 3. Everyone is shaken who turns aside from virtue to wickedness; and this happens by a manifold movement. For first the mind is disturbed by passions; then, if it carries out the plans of the disturbing passions, it slips and falls. Therefore, when an evil desire, or any other wicked affection, has invaded our mind, we must immediately flee piously to God, lest we also perform the evil in deed and thus commit a still greater sin. This ^C the Savior teaches us most openly through the Gospel, removing the beginnings of sins, so that, they not remaining, it may not happen that we are shaken even more in action.

[Note: [alt-version omitted]]

VERSE 4. A man who is founded and rooted in charity is a wall that cannot be shaken, and he has a most valid hedge, lest those who pass by the way—wicked men and evil powers—should harvest him. God Himself has hedged round this most firm hedge, as He said: "And I hedged it about and fortified it." For this wall is fortified both by angels guarding it, and by the doctrine of the truth and works instituted for virtue. While this stands, no one will be able to steal the divine fruits of the spiritual plant. If, however, it should happen that the vineyard which is so carefully guarded should produce thorns instead of grapes, then God, abandoning it, says: "I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for a spoiling; and I will pull down its wall, and it shall be for a trampling." But when this has happened on account of sin—

then it is said: "The wall is inclined," and "the fence is broken down." ^A

VERS. 5. Virtue and piety are the ornament of the wise, according to that: "Glory and honor and peace to every one that worketh good." Sin, however, is a disgrace; having committed it, sinners, perceiving what they have suffered, say: "Our disgrace hath covered us" in tribulation. And that: "Man being in honor, did not understand." He does not say, "They repelled my price," but, "They devised to repel my price"; for demons do not attack us by force, but by wiles. Not unlike them are the men about whom Paul wrote: "By smooth words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the innocent." That also does not differ from this: "If thine enemy ask thee with a loud voice, do not believe him: for there are seven wickednesses in his soul"; perhaps these are the seven spirits which the unclean spirit takes with him, being worse than himself. Do not, therefore, believe his flatteries. ^B

VERS. 7. He indicates perhaps that since he had been protected by God, he had not wandered. "He is therefore my Savior," he says, "but not I, myself." For He gives glory to those who seek Him, and salvation, not of the flesh, but of the rational soul, which one possesses having trusted in the homeland, according to that: "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." Wherefore, if anything should again force me into a storm, I place my hope in God who has already often saved me. ^C

VERS. 9. All you congregations of the peoples who have believed from the nations, be no longer without hope and piety. "Hope in him," putting aside iniquity, "and pour out your hearts before him": for God will be a helper to you. These words, "to pour out the heart before God," mean the same as: "to love him with all the heart and with all the soul." Understand, therefore, that the Psalmist intends this: Do not approach him with a double heart; but as it is written: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy mind." Or he urges also those from the nations, that they might no longer be without hope and without piety, revealing their hearts to God without craftiness, and loving him with all their soul: for the outpouring is often one of abundance, as in that: "The love of God is shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Spirit." ^D

VERS. 10. To such as these it is said: "Why do you love vanity and seek lying?" It is likewise forbidden to them to have a small and a great weight, but to have a true balance, since a double weight is an abomination before the Lord. They also repent who strive for a hollow agreement. "Sons of men" is said by circumlocution, either for men themselves, or for those who die like men, for they are no longer gods or sons of the Most High. "For whereas there is among you," he says, "envying and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk according to man?"

^A VERSE 11. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon," nor indeed hope in iniquity and in God. For the wealth of the unrighteous man seems to slip away and diminish. "Do not," therefore, "set your heart" upon riches that are soon to diminish. Now, by iniquity we sin against others. Thus it sounds: "But ye have wrought iniquity and plundered," or, brothers, especially by heaping up robberies and deceptive riches. Now also by iniquity are designated evil works, the Scripture saying: "I have hated iniquity and abhorred it"; and elsewhere: "Who rejoices in iniquity": for robbery is truly a species of malice.

VERSE 12. Since God is unbegotten and has a spiritual nature, he speaks with a single and simple voice. The prophet, however, as one begotten, hears "these two" things signified; for the word "these" is demonstrative. Therefore, these things were said with a pure mind and simple voice. For it is not permitted for me to grasp by thought what is called by some an arcanum, and never "arcane words," as Paul calls them. For they are not uttered by syllables, and therefore are they arcane (untold); but words are those things that signify something true. For where there is truth, there is a proposition to be expressed in words; it also happens that we understand what God commanded concerning sacrifices properly, at the same time in a spiritual and literal sense: the same is valid regarding circumcision. By the word "God," perhaps the Father is indicated; and by the word "Lord," the Son, or both by each word. But by what pact will God "render to each according to his works"? If "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed," nor will sinners be punished according to their merits: for "if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" Retribution happens, therefore, not according to quantity, but according to quality. But if, however, you understand these things concerning quantity, the reward of good things will be greater, but the punishment of evil things lesser: God’s justice will be equitable, not in punishing evils, but in distinguishing the just from the unjust. ^{B C}

PSALM LXII. ^D VERSE 2. It belongs to a man liberated from the servitude of malice and ignorance to say: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand." The same thing is sounded by: "With my spirit will I watch for thee from the dawn, O God." But for one doing the works of night and darkness, the dawn has not shone. And the "toward thee" is not to be taken as of place: for God is not circumscribed by any place; but they express the affections and senses of a man rejecting worldly things and approaching God. He also says, "O God, my God"; for God is the God of the saints serving him, but not in fact the God of all who exist, since some are rejected. "I have thirsted for thee uniquely," who bestow upon me the "fountain of water springing up into eternal life"; let my soul be illuminated, and indeed even "my flesh": it tends toward thee with all its strength; it "thirsted for thee." But if the Prophet makes these words to the Father, "his power and glory is the Only-begotten; for Christ"

is the power of God, and, "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed." But if referred to the Son, the theology concerning him is his power and glory and the energy that accomplishes miracles. According to that in the Gospel: "Power went out from him and healed all"; and again: "The power of the Lord was to heal them." And concerning glory: "We beheld his glory, glory as of the Only-begotten"; and again: "Glorify me, Father, with the glory which I had before the world was." Consequently, you will understand both, as well as the ^A verse: "In the sanctuary I have appeared to you." Observe that the place meant is the desert, a trackless and waterless, region—that is to say, a land destitute of perfection, and waterless by not having in abundance the gifts of the Spirit; for it is said: "Rivers of living water." For this reason it is also trackless, with nothing dwelling upon it that is, as far as possible, made like to God, and therefore it is justly called a desert. For knowledge is in part within it, and only a pledge of the Spirit. For the words indicate what is scarce, but not a total deprivation.

Ver. 5. The Apostle has written that godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. By the words "that now is," he does not mean the common life which all living things share, but that which is capable of being realized in this life, concerning which the Savior says: "He that believes in me has eternal life"; and: "This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ." This present life and the life to come, which happens according to its perfection to those who ^B encounter the truth face to face. "Thy mercy is better than life," by which and for which the one being led into them comes to be in these lives; for it is not according to the merit of action or contemplation, but by the goodness and mercy of God that one comes to live according to both lives. Therefore, mercy is better as the cause is better than the caused, which designates the God Word, of whom it is said: "God sent his mercy and his truth."

Ver. 6. See if the fat that fills the soul is that with which Wisdom has slaughtered her victims, and the true food is the flesh of the Word, and the fatness is that which gladdens the inner man, the wine harvested from the true vine. And the true drink of Wisdom is the blood. For whoever is called to partake of the table prepared by Wisdom, having slaughtered her own victims and mixed her own wine, and having already been satisfied ^C by the divine feast and longing for more, has said: "Let my soul be filled as with fat and fatness." And since the one partaking of this feast drinks because of the insatiability of the appetite of the mind, "Let it be filled," he says, "and not filled," my soul, even though having already partaken abundantly of the food and drink; therefore, some hope in vain that sensible foods and drinks are to be bestowed upon men after the resurrection, for the reason that he who is admitted to this banquet here, although he has used both foods and drinks abundantly, says nonetheless that his soul is not satisfied due to the insatiable appetite of the mind. Not

the body, but the soul, he says, shall be filled with fat and richness, with God satisfying the soul's desire with good things, as he said in another psalm. Having been filled with gladness, he gives thanks to the One who offered this, saying: "And the lips of rejoicing shall praise Thy name." Regarding whom he had said: "My lips shall praise Thee." It is possible to call them "lips of rejoicing" because virtue is called "rejoicing"; just as it is said regarding "folly," for the feet of those who engage in it lead them down to the folly of practice. ^B

VERS. 9. These things may be said of him who refrains himself from iniquity, so that by being concerned with the things of the Lord he may please Him; and of him who keeps an undefiled bed and is joined to his wife purely after the example of the holy men. Just as it is permitted for one who completes the course of virtue and piety to set goals, as it was said: "I have finished the course"; and elsewhere: "Without iniquity I ran and directed my steps"; for the word "I ran" belongs to one who has reached the goal. Thus, he who follows God according to Jeremiah: "But I have not labored while following after Thee." And according to Hosea: "I will walk after the Lord"; and as Moses says: "You shall walk after the Lord your God." He might eventually complete the walk after God having reached the goal of blessedness itself, when he shall hear from God: "But you, stand here with Me." Therefore, he who has "cleaved" and been united no longer walks, just as those who hate evil and cleave to the good are united; such as the saying: "He who cleaves to the Lord is one spirit," which is more perfect than merely walking after Him. For even if one who applies himself to the Lord attains the end of the journey, he who cleaves to the Lord and thus becomes one spirit with Him obtains yet more excellent things. But he confesses that his soul cleaves after the Lord, being supported by the right hand of God, which is the Only-Begotten, the power of God. With Him fighting for us, the enemies, visible and invisible, will make vain attacks, nor will they be able to harm him whom the powerful hand of God defends. ^C

VERS. 11. That is, of the evil powers; for by nature foxes are crafty and malicious. The verse, "Let sinners be turned into hell," agrees with this one. For this "sword" denotes the punishments there; and the "hands" of this sword indicate either the labors of punishments, or the ministers of punishments, who are also elsewhere called "vessels of wrath." Because of their malice, the evil powers are likened to foxes. ^D

VERS. 12. Thereafter, all shall celebrate Him with a sincere mouth, calling Him King, and swearing by His salvation, having laid aside all fear of the slanderers, whose mouths have been obstructed by death—a thing which they were afraid to do while Saul was alive, when so many priests were slaughtered for David's sake.

^A Ver. 3. He calls the conspiracy of the wicked a "gathering" and a consent unto evil, the opposition to which is better displayed as having been successfully repelled as if protected by a wall of divine providence; for they wove slanders against me, kindling war against me.

Ver. 5. They approach from ambush, not regarding God who beholds them. And the heterodox say that there is no one who can grasp their refined and sophistical teaching.

Ver. 7. "They have failed in searching out their searches," because they searched out iniquity so intensely as to establish for themselves an evil word, and to hide snares in their narratives, thinking that no one would find them out and break them. "A man will approach," one who is true, preserving the image, and having articulated what it is to be learned, and having a deep understanding for reproof; so that "God will be exalted," grasping the wise in their craftiness. In this way He revealed the guile of Elymas the sorcerer; for God is exalted through holy men, when error is exposed, just as Moses exposed the sorcerers and enchanters of Pharaoh. And all shall praise God, through the "deep heart" given by the Spirit who searches all things.

^B Ver. 8. Those who saw that they had failed in their wicked attempts were filled with confusion and fear, and marvelled at the divine providence; for the following verses show this. As the arrows of infants are made void, so too will the impiety and bitter speech of the sophists be broken, and their words will be refuted by those armed with the shield of faith. Wherefore those who formerly admired them were afraid, ceasing from the error by which they were convinced that there is no providence, and that all things happen automatically, and that people are good or evil by nature and live under fate. But when they were shaken, they thought the opposite, having contemplated the Creator from the greatness and beauty of his creatures.

PSALM LXIV

Ver. 1. It has been said previously that the psalm denotes action, while the 'ode' denotes contemplation; for the life that is looked upon as both contemplative and practical proves a man perfect.

Ver. 5. He who is chosen for holiness, if he persists in his choice, is taken up by God, as one removed from the place concerning the earth, to dwell in the courts of Him who chose him, concerning which it is said: "Enter into His courts with hymns." And the Psalmist, having been struck with a longing for them from that point on, said: "My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord." And since the end of happiness is not in the courts, the one who has been taken up there dwells in them in order that, having progressed, he might afterwards be admitted into the house of God itself, being blessed: "Blessed are they who dwell in thy house; for ever and ever they will praise thee." This shows that it is less to be chosen than to be taken up by the One who chooses.

This is made clear by: "Thou didst guide me in thy counsel, and with glory thou didst take me up." For when one who is chosen performs all things according to the will of God, then he is taken up with glory into the promises. These are the words used by those who pronounce the eulogy for those who have departed from this life. ^B

Vers. 8. How would all not be afraid and troubled, when the oracles were brought to nothing, and the demons, who proclaimed their own healing, along with magic and sorcery, and Satan himself, who holds the power of death, were confounded? Truly, through the signs, those who had been instructed concerning his divinity knew him thereafter, as one who takes providence even over the things of the heavens; by his laws the stars rise and set; for the "outgoings of the morning" are the risings, and the "evening" are their settings, upon which those who believe rejoice, having acknowledged him who became man and liberated us from the servitude of error.

Vers. 10. ^C God gives spiritual rain, the early rain through the Old Testament, and the latter rain through the New Testament; by which the earth, spoken of here by allegory, is made drunk. This is the soul of man, which was enriched "with every word and every knowledge" and with good works by God himself who fills it. The river of God and the fount of life is his Word. And perhaps the Word is the fount with God; because "with thee is the fount of life," the river is found when he waters the rational creation. Its streams, which are the teachings given in parts, gladden the city of God, the Church; and since "the fullness of the divinity dwells in him," he is full of waters, as it is written concerning him: "We beheld his glory, glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." From these waters, which the river is full of, every rational creature is watered. ^D Moreover, it has food prepared by God, the sowing of wheat that bears fruit a hundredfold. By this river the furrows of the earth, upon which the spiritual plow has been cast, are made drunk and drink in gladness, so that the fruits of righteousness growing in it may increase and multiply, concerning which it is written: "Sow for yourselves in righteousness, reap the fruit of life"; and again: "Seek the Lord until the fruits of righteousness come upon you." And since the furrows of the earth are made drunk not only by the river, but also by the spiritual rain which the clouds shower down, according to that which is written, "And let the clouds rain righteousness," the earth rejoices as it springs up with the drops that come upon it, namely, the words and thoughts of the divinely-inspired Scriptures by which it is illuminated.

Vers. 14. Some say that by "valleys" are signified souls that are humbled, having no loftiness, which abound in wheat from which bread can be made. Thus: "Open your eyes, and be filled with bread." For when the eyes of the soul are opened...

^A they are illuminated by the light of knowledge; and when this occurs the loaves are multiplied—that is, the practical virtues by which a man is fed inwardly. In the Song of Songs, the Bridegroom, who is none other than the Savior, says: "I am the flower of the field, the lily of the valleys." He calls the earth the field, where the flower germinates so that men might also begin to bring forth fruit. But by the valleys, He indicates here the souls existing in the underworld, for whom He became a lily by taking on death. He also became a grain of wheat, just as He Himself taught: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit." Through death, therefore, He produced much fruit, and was the cause in the underworld for the valleys to abound with wheat.

It is worth noting that some writers have asserted that after the return from Babylon there was a year of great abundance and plenty of rain, and that the Jordan flowed deeply, which they contend is called the river of God. ^B Yet, in truth, they were in the greatest poverty, as Ezra taught, and the remaining parts of the Psalm require that the calling of the nations be understood. Others falsely claim that these things will be fulfilled when, at the end of time, the Jews are gathered again to inhabit Jerusalem.

PSALM LXV

VERS. 1. The victors jubilate against the captives with a festal and most loud voice. Since, therefore, by the grace of God the Savior, who tasted death for everyone, the dead arise, the devil having been defeated who held this power of death, the Psalmist commands all the earth to jubilate to God—for all, ^C both just and unjust, arise. Let all jubilate, especially since that resurrection which comes through repentance befalls everyone. For it is said to all men: "Does not he who falls rise again?" And to the whole Church converted from the nations the Lord says: "Arise, come, my neighbor." For he who has arisen through repentance is no longer far from Christ. And with the voice in jubilation against the defeated having occurred, those who have been liberated are commanded to chant to God, the author of victory. He gives glory to His praise who praises God with works. For praise is fitting for the holy. Therefore the wicked man is forbidden to do this, since praises are untimely in the mouth of a sinner.

^D VERS. 6. He refutes with these words those who contend that these miracles were done by one, and those which are recounted in the Gospels by another. For Jesus saved the people from the land of Egypt, as is read in the Apostolic Epistle. But why should those things which concern the directing of the chaste and the poor be unbecoming to the divine plan? For He dried up the surging passions, casting fire upon the earth, the Word drying up all moisture, so that the passage might be easy for everyone. For the same reason Peter walked upon the waters to signify greater things, trusting in the Savior; but the river is nothing else than the Word, fortified by Greek wisdom and art, blocking the way to the holy...

^A land. But He turned even this by grasping the wise in their craftiness, and made it passable for those journeying toward holiness.

VERS. 7. ^B And all the opposing power acts bitterly; for it was threatening the nations that were departing from them, while terrifying some, and emboldening others who were departing from them. "His eyes," he says, "look upon the nations," indicating the protection from God.

VERS. 9. The feet of the inner man are not cast into a shaking when one is established upon the unbroken and most firm Word of God; so as to say in thanksgiving: "You set my feet upon a rock." ^C And the soul of him who attains the end of faith, which is salvation, is placed for life; so as to say with faithful purpose: "And my soul lives for Him." Now the soul that is adorned with virtues and wisdom lives; for the sinning soul shall die. For which reason it says to God: "In Your righteousness, give me life." Therefore, the feet of the man who is established on the most firm Word of God are not moved.

VERS. 11. For we must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom of heaven. But even if You did "place men upon our heads," we are nevertheless persuaded that, having cast down the enemies, we shall lift them up through patience, with the hostile men who were set upon us being dragged down.

VERS. 17. Without any utterance, I exalted Him in my mind in silence. ^D For when God saw me purified of such thoughts, He bountifully deemed me worthy of His own gifts. And the words, "I did not behold iniquity in my heart," agree with that utterance of the great Paul: "I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this justified," for God sees many things that escape us: the saying, "Who will understand lapses? Cleanse me from my secret faults," sounds exactly the same.

PSALM LXVI

VERS. 2. The Creator of all things illumines His countenance upon us when He has filled us with blessing and mercies, when the character of His hypostasis has appeared to us, and has appeared to those who are worthy of such a gift, just as He himself says concerning those who keep His commandments. For since Christ is the image of the invisible God, he who in a pure mind clings to Him, sees the Father: for, "He who sees me," He says, "sees the Father." Then He has mercy on those who do well, and He blesses them "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

VERS. 5. Once the way of the Lord has become known in the earth, and His salvation among all nations, having been freed from all malice and the deception of many gods, the nations rejoice and exult, having received the knowledge of the true God. The terms "peoples" and "nations" here designate the same thing; for they are called peoples who are from the circumcision, and nations who are from the gentiles, having professed the true faith. Let them rejoice, he says, since

^A he judged the injustices against them with all equity, and leads them back and brings them to ^B their own land, by having become a leader to them, on account of leading them back with his own power.

Ver. 6. For how was it not going to be that every earth, that is, those of mankind upon it, should be filled with praise, and bear the fruit of piety, with incense and a pure sacrifice offered in every place among the nations?

PSALM LXVII

Ver. 2. This prayer is sent forth with imperative verbs. This is customary in Scripture also. You might say that the enemies of God being scattered refer, if I am not mistaken, to those who err concerning the knowledge of the truth; but those who hate and flee are those who follow, being those who sin in matters of practice. For those who love God keep his commandments. He might also pray for the resurrection of him who descended to spoil Hades, in order to scatter the Jews who have stood together with the demons; for, unable to look upon him who has risen, they will flee. And he says those who hate and flee from God "from his face" are those who have practical wickedness; for if he who loves him keeps his commandments, he who does not keep them does not love God. In every place where they prophesied and were worshipped, they used to dictate—the demons having fallen to such a state of madness—that their own followers should offer even their most beloved to them. But now, of all those, there has been a disappearance and a desolation of destruction, so that not even a memory of them is left to remain.

Ver. 4. What it is not merely to rejoice and exult, but to do so ^C "in the presence of God," and to receive these things from God, and to revel in divine pleasure, cannot be worthily explained in speech. For righteousness does not perish, as wickedness does. For it is written: "His righteousness remains for ever and ever." Consonant with these things is also: "As a sour grape is harmful to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so is iniquity to those who use it." For figuratively, the teeth of the soul are the faculties by which it cuts and grinds spiritual food, and the eyes are the thoughts; by both of these, wickedness is harmed, while the essence of the soul remains incorrupt. For not even the melting wax is destroyed into non-existence, but it is given over into the substance of the fire, its quality perishing, just as that according to which someone is a sinner. For he did not say simply that sinners perish, but that they perish from the face of God. Exultation, being a certain kind of joy, is a "fruit of the Spirit; for the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace." And cheerfulness is the pleasant affection that ^D pours out the mind of the soul.

Ver. 5. One would not perform the good unless he had departed from the evil; for they are incompatible. Nor would one be illuminated by the sun of righteousness, while still participating in him who "transforms himself into an angel of light," and pretends to be the sun of righteousness, but is called the light of impiety. "For the light of the ungodly shall be extinguished." For when that one sets, the other rises in our hearts,

ascendens super occasum » prioris; for the sunset of the day prepares a path for him toward evil. Therefore, Adam was cast out of Paradise, which was planted to the east, so that he might be led back again to the east. This is what Christ also did for the thief when he was repenting, saying: «Today you will be with me in Paradise.» ^A

VERS. 6. Thus, He gladdens men oppressed by the rule of Satan, while He declares the Savior to them. Let us, therefore, as quickly as possible abandon the former father who birthed us in wickedness, and the man who lived with us in iniquity, so that we may have God as our Father, who enriches us with divine gifts. — «God’s holy place,» He established as the Church, sanctified by Christ, or indeed every faithful person, or His holy body gifted with soul and reason.

VERS. 7. But in truth, He also brings the dead out of the sepulchers, according to that word: «The dead shall rise, and those in the tombs shall awaken; for the dew which is from You is a healing unto them.» ^B Such also is that which is in the Gospel: «The hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life; but those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.»

VERS. 8. Truly, when God withdrew from the sight of His people, or from their midst, when He said: «Behold, your house is left to you desolate;» and as in Jeremiah: «I have abandoned my house, I have left my inheritance;» when He passed through the desert, that is, the Church which is from the nations, «then the earth was moved,» namely, the letter and the shadow of the Law, ^C with «the heavens distilling» the divine mind, according to the life-giving Spirit of the divine Scriptures. By “heavens” are meant, strictly speaking, Moses and the prophets and the mystical contemplations hidden in their words; for such are the drops that those clouds distill of which it was said: «Let the clouds rain down righteousness.» Concerning which the clouds and heavens have been celebrated by the prophecies. The earth was moved, especially when the nations were converted from the worship of idols to the true doctrine, with the evangelical faith achieving victory, while the apostles and evangelists and the other teachers distilled spiritual dew.

VERS. 14. Another says that by these words are signified the «cleri» (lots) and the «aqueducts»; for it is said in Genesis concerning Issachar, that when he was called a husbandman, he rested among the cleri. ^D But these things must now be understood of the Old and New Testaments; for they irrigate souls with a spiritual river, so that they may bring forth spiritual fruits. He sleeps between these two testaments who thinks that both are of one God, and therefore distinguishes the spirit from the letter. Thus, also, he is shielded as if with wings, perceiving according to the Holy Spirit. But these wings, which are the insights that lift up the winged soul, must be confirmed by divine utterances, which are called silver (or rather gold) tested by fire; wherefore they are silver-plated. «Gold» in many places of Scripture indicates the most pure mind; which, as having

^A the greenness of the life of those who live, it possesses. You might also interpret «in the midst of the lots» otherwise. According to Leviticus, on the day of atonement, two goats were brought to the tabernacle of testimony; then, the lot having been cast, the one was led to the altar to be sacrificed to the Lord, but the other, upon whom the lot of the scapegoat had fallen, was sent away into the desert. These were symbols of good and evil. Between these [two] it is necessary for a person to discriminate, to perform the holy service of the good to the Lord, and to send away the evil to him who is pleased by it, since from him also it took its beginning. For thus shall one have wings silver-plated and the greenness of gold upon his back.

^B Ver. 15. The kings having been distinguished will follow; «they shall be made white in Salmon,» that is, they shall be filled with snow. By snow are signified virtues, which irrigate the mind with their stream and quench the burning of the passions; for neither in the passage, «Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow,» is the word used in a literal sense, since it is not sufficient to express the whiteness of a purified soul. The same holds true in that passage: «And if your sins shall be as crimson, I will make them white as snow;» and in that: «Her Nazarites were purer than snow.» Salmon is interpreted as «the shadow of the portion.» Perhaps, therefore, since these kings were apostles who once Judaized, keeping the law that was according to the shadow, they are of the portion of the shadow, having indeed a spiritual portion, but having been experienced in the shadow; such as he who says, «A Hebrew of Hebrews, according to the Law, a Pharisee.» Or, since the portion of Christ’s disciples was in the heavens, according to, «Who has made us worthy for the portion of the saints in light.» Yet they had not yet reached it, even though they had their citizenship in heaven, for while they still walked upon earth, knowing in part and prophesying in part, and having the earnest of the Spirit, they are in the shadow of their own portion. And therefore it is a great thing to be made snowy in this [portion], having a spotless life.

^C Ver. 19. The chorus of the saints declares these things to Him who ascended the height of the cross, and from thence took captive those oppressed by the tyranny of Satan, having given His own soul as the price of redemption for many. For thus, having proclaimed remission to the captives, He redeemed all from their vain manner of life; He draws even those who do not believe, sometimes through sickness and tribulations; and many also have been brought through miracles to dwell with Jesus.

^D Ver. 21. «Our God, is the God of saving,» giving eternal salvation. He says, therefore: «The Savior is none beside me.» Therefore, He provides issues through which one escapes, by repentance, the death that follows upon sin. For the devil is also called thus in the passage, «Death has swallowed, having prevailed.» And He provides «the issues of death» to Him who has been lifted up from the gates of death; «the heads of enemies,» either indicate the princes, or the principality: to the former

^A it is used in the sense of: «From the head of the princes of the nations;» and to the latter in that which says: «I have given their ways upon their own heads;» and in that: «Your hands are upon your own head.» Both perhaps signify that which says: «You have cast death upon the heads of the ungodly.» By His benefits, God was exhorting them to change the life miserably given over to sins; but since they were enemies to Him on account of their transgressions, they continued walking in their sins.

VERS. 25. Another version has: «To be seen.» The Psalmist calls thoughts what we grasp not but by reflection; for you shall not discern the goings of God with the sharpness of the eyes.

VERS. 26. He calls those who instruct themselves to live uprightly «the singing ones.» And «young maidens, the timbrel-players,» are the souls which mortify the members that are upon the earth, and always «carry about the mortification of Jesus in their body.» These singing ones were anticipated by those who, according to the teaching, are called «princes,» because in rightly ordering their life they have held the principality. And «in the midst of the young maidens» are the apostles, by reason of having the authority for timbrel-playing—that is, the mortification of the members that are upon the earth of the aforesaid young maidens.

VERS. 29. «Command Your strength,» so that, having descended, it may loose the infirmity of men; «from Your temple,» having arrived—she through whom is empowered that which was for our sake, the birth of Emmanuel. For by this strength, which is none other than the Word of God, God says that all things were made, and He commanded that diverse things should be created. ^C When the infirmity has been loosed, «kings shall bring gifts» to the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the Church. And by kings, either those whom «the heavenly One has chosen» in His inheritance, who lead their own to the truth, as Peter led his brother Andrew, and Philip Nathanael, and every apostle his own disciples; or all the faithful are meant, according to that: «And would to God you did reign, that we also might reign with you,» whose gifts, and movements of mind, and words, and works are praiseworthy for praising God.

VERS. 30. Symmachus says: «Because of Your temple which is above Jerusalem,» so that the phrase «they shall offer You gifts» no longer coheres with these words. «Because of the temple,» he says, You have been taken up from us, and are seated above every principality, and power, and virtue; for He calls Jerusalem the city which is above, which is also called free by Paul. They ask, therefore, through the affinity by which it is joined to the temple, that the grace granted might be confirmed, and that, through the first-fruits of the gifts already received, they might attain the whole mass of flour.

VERS. 31. «The beasts of the reed» are called those who profess false doctrine, to whom pertains that prophecy: «Woe to those who write wickedness.»

VERS. 32. By Egypt is indicated the whole earth which served that crafty Pharaoh, and by Ethiopia...

^A the darkened soul of those in sin. And elsewhere it is also said: «And behold, the foreigners and Tyre and the people of the Ethiopians, these were born there,» clearly meaning in the spiritual Sion. And Sophonias also says: «Then will I turn to the peoples a language, that all may call upon the name of the Lord, and serve Him under one yoke. From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia they shall bring me sacrifices.» That Ethiopia denotes all the nations, the bride, speaking through repentance, proves, saying: «I am black and beautiful:» black indeed, and misshapen because of the worship of idols and perverse habits; but beautiful, because she had already embraced healthier things. Moreover, reaching out her hand to God, she was so enlightened that those who saw her with the Bridegroom said: «Who is this that cometh up whitened?» ^B

VERS. 36. Showing yourselves grateful, therefore, in works and in word, you ought to extol God with hymns and benedictions, that you may be able to celebrate His magnificence, seeing God, because you are of a clean heart: for this is Israel. For the transcendent knowledge of God, possessing that which is fitting in great things, abides only with him who has holiness and peace.

PSALM LXVIII

VERS. 1. In all those things which are here put forward as if from one person, recognize the mind of God calling us away ^C from the errors of sinners and the unfaithful. They are changed also who believe from the circumcision, living according to the spirit of the law. Those too are changed who have turned toward evil: indeed, a certain change exists for the dead, according to that: «And we shall be changed,» which through the passion Christ will perfect, which the Apostle also mentions in that same place; for to Him whom death serves, there also belongs the power of raising all the dead.

VERS. 2. As if from our person the Savior utters most of the words of this psalm, bearing our infirmities, and afflicted for our sake. For he did not commit the sins which he confesses, just like friends of a King who intercede for those who have sinned. For these, commending the cause of the sinners, seem to confess everything of/for themselves. Thus, indeed, praying for others, holy men say: «We have sinned, we have done ^D wickedly, we have offended.» By affection, or rather by supereminent solicitude, the Savior has become a patron for the whole world, as God bestowing all things that are asked. Therefore He takes away the sin of the world, and grants remission of sins to those who approach Him. Since, therefore, He went to death not for His own sake but for ours, «A tempest,» He says, «has sunk me into the depths of the sea,» calling the temptation a tempest, as in that: «A tempest passed through the desert;» and that, «I expected Him who would save me from faint-heartedness and the tempest.» By what reasoning, then, does He say, just as if He were approaching death with a willing mind: «No one takes my soul from me, but I lay it down of myself»? Since it was not by sickness nor by anything of that sort, but by the cross that [He...]

^A he perished; yet he endured this with a willing mind, and calls it a tempest.

VERS. 4. This passage expresses how deaf the Jews made themselves: «I have labored crying out». He also admonishes us not to grow weary in praying day and night. He agrees with the one who said: «With a strong cry». He also adds, being uniquely intent in his hope in God: «My eyes have failed», that is, the eyes of the heart. For they hated and persecuted without cause a man performing such great deeds, as the Savior, healing every kind of infirmity among the Jews and raising the dead, on account of which their city was an object of wonder to all. Scripture is accustomed to using hyperbole, and by exaggeration it says: «more than the hairs of my head». If he paid back what he had not stolen, he certainly redeemed us, by settling the accounts which we ourselves were obliged to pay.

VERS. 6. Thus Paul also not undeservedly calls the passion of Christ foolishness, and his cross weakness: «because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men». God knows those who are his, since he has chosen certain ones whom he judged worthy of the knowledge of God; and that foolishness of his which is spoken of, being worthy of the knowledge of God, had a great and profound meaning. For God was not unaware of that supposed foolishness, according to which ^C «he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and humbled himself even unto death», for it came about by his own judgment. «For the word of the cross», says the Apostle, «is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God: for God was well pleased through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe». For even if it seemed foolishness to the Greeks, it was nevertheless being fulfilled according to profound reasons. Symmachus writes: «You know my ignorance»; for being ignorant of human malice, he attributes this noble ignorance to the knowledge of the Father. «If there had been offenses of mine for which I was crucified, they would not have escaped your notice. But there were none: they persecuted me, hating me without cause, and having set up false witnesses against me, they exacted from me what I had not stolen.» He says these things especially by the sentence of the Father, taking upon himself our sins, according to the passage: «He bore our sins and suffered for us», etc. It is also written concerning him: «He became a curse for us».

There is no sinner whose foolishness and offenses are known by God, as he himself remains before God, while transgressions do not remain before his eyes. Foolishness does not differ much from ignorance, by which he says to many: «I never knew you», and by which he himself...

says that he does not know the day or the hour of judgment. ^A If we understand these things piously, we shall also understand foolishness in the same way; for the Teacher, possessing perfect knowledge, seems to know these things through acts of condescension toward those who are being introduced, to whose capacity these things are adapted, in a certain manner becoming like them. He accepted such condescension, which was, in a way, ignorance and foolishness. Since, therefore, «Jesus, being rich» in wisdom, «became poor for our sake», so as not to appear to be wisdom, he possessed foolishness through which we have been enriched in every word and in all knowledge; we must understand his failures accordingly. If anyone takes offense at this, let him consider the things that appear worse than these which are said about God: forgetfulness, change of counsel, fury, anger, and such like.

^B Verse 10. This utterance is explained by that Paul who had Christ within himself, saying: «Let each of us please his neighbor for his good; for Christ did not please himself, but as it is written: The reproaches of those who reproached you fell upon me.»

Verse 11. One might say: Did he not bear the reputation of being a glutton and a wine-drinker among the malicious? To which it must be replied that neither he nor his disciples attended banquets very often, but they did not refuse when invited a few times, since they intended to provide benefits and perform miracles. The evangelists relate that miracles were performed on such ^C occasions, but he attended a banquet only very rarely. Now, the calumniators, seeing this, used such words against him, as if he lived addicted to luxury. To refute them, it is sufficient to recall that fast of his which lasted forty days continuously and without any interruption. And since fasting is a preventative against the pride of irrational passions, he says: «I afflicted my soul with fasting.» It is customary for the wicked to reproach the good for the virtues with which they are adorned, for «godliness is an abomination to a sinner.» The sackcloth signifies the harsh and miserable life he led, confessing on our behalf. Some say that by this is meant the body that he has taken on.

Verse 14. Hear me, he says, in an opportune time, for the sake of the multitude of your mercy, providing true salvation to those for whom I plead. This you will do by saving him who died for them through the resurrection; for I undertake life and salvation on their behalf. The salvation according to God is «in truth», while the salvation from doctors and commanders is typological. If, therefore, you have said at other times that you were well-pleased in me, show your good pleasure at the time of the passion ^D by raising me up for their sake. For with me, those who are dead through sins shall be made alive. Teaching these mysteries, the Apostle said: «God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love...

with which he loved us, even when we were dead through trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ.»

Verse 15. He prays that we may not be mired in mud, that is, that we may not be ensnared in our bodily desires. Perhaps he took our sins upon his own body as mud, so that he might take them away. He also prays that we might be rescued from temptations; for with him we overcome the depths of the waters. «For in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.» Those who do not bravely endure temptations fall into these depths, and only God can rescue them. To whom he also says: «Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord,» and he asks for the things that follow on our behalf. For he himself fears nothing of those things which harm others. If, therefore, he is troubled and distressed before his death, he bore these evils primarily for our sake, and also to prove that he had truly become man. ^A

Verse 17. He invokes the kindness of God for those for whom he prays, for he dissolves their sins. For this same reason he also asks for a multitude of mercies, as it were for all; for he was sent «not that he might judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved.» He calls the mercy of God sweet, so that he may deprecate all punishments; for when God is about to punish men, he says: «My eye shall not spare, and I will have no mercy on him.» He calls himself a child because he was made man, though the word also signifies the Son. For having been made like us «without sin, and taking the form of a servant,» and having assumed our natural and blameless affections, he says these things. And his soul was redeemed, not being held in Hades, but also redeeming the souls captive there. This is a thing one would not say of a soul destitute of reason and having no proper subsistence of its own; but it is possible for a rational soul to be redeemed. You might call his soul, and every soul that has been joined to him, his; for the holy one is called the man of God. For thus also the soul that has adhered to him and become one spirit with him was. And he is redeemed by giving for it that which he assumed; as also body for body, so that a whole human being might be given for a human being. These he seeks to rescue through his resurrection, so that the enemies might be destroyed, and the devil who holds the power of death. «Whom you know, he says, to be in your sight,» unless perhaps these tribulations indicate being oppressed for those for whom he was sent. Through these words he teaches us how greatly God has spared us, since he did not spare his own Son. And by «reproach and misery» he indicated the cross. ^B

Verse 21. By allegory, it is said that Jesus looked for reproach and misery, so that by suffering for the world he might take away its sin. None of the Israelites according to the flesh desired to die with him, so that he was saddened, having his soul full of grief.

^A And there was no one to console him, for they were not instructed by his own prophecies concerning his death. On the contrary, gall and vinegar were their fruit, for they did not keep the plantation which God had planted from the beginning: the Jewish crowd as a "vine fruitful, all true." Having turned into bitterness, it became a strange vine. It is said, therefore, concerning those enemies who had become senseless: "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their branch is from Gomorrah; their grape is a grape of gall, their cluster is of bitterness; their wine is the rage of dragons, and the rage of asps is incurable." This gall of the grape, and this cluster of bitterness, they brought to him as a drink, although he thirsted for their salvation; for the corruption of wine is vinegar. Yet in the calling of the nations, one is found who is both saddened and consoles. They say, therefore: "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him," and, "We have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in that of his resurrection."

^B Vers. 27. His body was affected by wounds, clearly, on account of our sins, in order to heal them. Those are called "wounds" which we suffered by being struck by robbers while traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho; but here he says "pain" because he was moved [on account of] our sins. But if we also persecute him, we add "upon his pain," since he now grieves not only for sinners, but also for those who persecute him.

Vers. 29. That those who possess virtue and the knowledge of God live is shown by the text: "This is your life, and the length of your days, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul," and by the text: "He who believes in me has eternal life." The book in which those living in this way are written is the knowledge of God, who knows those who are his own; from which it follows that the ungodly are blotted out from his memory.

Vers. 34. For he is the one who looses those who are bound, and brings those who are fettered out of bonds and from the house of confinement.

Vers. 37. Those, clearly, who were formerly called prophets and godly men, and those who after them were ministers and deacons of the Gospel.

PSALM LXIX

^C Vers. 1. The salvation for every penitent man is the memory of those things which he had forgotten. For "all the ends of the earth will remember and turn toward the Lord"; for the memory of the good is the end of conversion. For all, having been made according to the image and likeness of God, have notions concerning God sown within them; and even if someone sins out of negligence, by repenting he is reminded of the good, the notion of which he possesses by nature.

Vers. 3. Insensibility to good leads to sin. For this reason, evil is often committed with pleasure and boldness, according to the text: "Whose glory is in their shame." To whom the prophecy says: "Be ashamed of your boasting." For it brings both reproach and...

^A ruin: for those who are ashamed will cease from evil, and will consequently do good. He prays that those who are his enemies even now may be brought to shame, remembering the things they have committed. For they "sought my soul," not desiring to fall into sin in the same way, or to slay one who does not run with them into the apostasy by which they are alienated from God. He asks on their behalf, for their benefit—that they may be turned back from their evil path, and that they may be confounded in the counsel by which they wished to lead him astray, saying: "Euge," that is, "We shall seize you as you flee from us." Observe, however, that they have the power to wish to do harm, but they do not perform the damage unless God permits them.

VERS. 5. This salvation is none other than Christ, who is the author of eternal salvation for us, and "all flesh shall see this salvation."

PSALM LXX

VERS. 1. He who hopes in God will not be confounded forever, and for the same reason, the hope of one who confides in anything else will soon fail him; for it is written: "He that trusteth in riches, he shall fall." Likewise: "Do not trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation." And: "Cursed is the man who hath hope in man; but blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his hope." Concerning this hope it is written: "You have regenerated us into a living hope," which he who possesses, he says, will not be confounded forever. "In justice he is delivered," that is, he who abstains from sin, and in wisdom he who seeks after it. You might perhaps say he is praying to be delivered from the unrighteous; and this would not be unfitting for men, who, according to the psalm's inscription, had been led into captivity for the sake of others, and therefore not undeservedly asked for freedom. But righteousness is also called a life adorned with virtues, and injustice is every sin perfected in act. He prays, therefore, that he may be delivered from injustice into righteousness; he who loves his own soul hates ^C injustice. That righteousness signifies all virtues is taught by the saying: "He who walks in righteousness," is blameless; and that all wickedness is called injustice is indicated by: "I have hated and abhorred injustice," and again: "The blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all injustice." The same expression will be used by anyone who wishes to abandon the shadow of the law, that he may have the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and not his own righteousness which is from the law.

VERS. 2. How could men, or creatures so far inferior to you, utter cries audible to your hearing? But you, being good, and accommodating yourself to our weakness, "incline your ears to me" as I pray for salvation.

VERS. 6. These things can be referred to all: for if the power of God did not guard and cherish what is conceived in the womb, it would not subsist at all, bereft entirely of life. We should not interpret "from the womb" in a spiritual, but in a literal sense; for in a spiritual sense the word would not be appropriate here. For it is written that Samuel also knew God "before he came to know the Lord" (in the sense of full maturity), although he had been reared piously from his tenderest years. He says also...

^A that Moses in the desert [said]: "And all the little ones who today do not know good or evil, they shall enter into the land of promise." How then is it that he who speaks this, knowing God at that time, was established by his own choice in Him? He is saying, therefore, that "You have bestowed upon me the beginning of both knowing and acting; from which [time] I knew you alone." This, however, a person would not say who had returned from wickedness through repentance, but only he who had remained from the beginning in God, saying like Job: ^B "If I have eaten my morsel alone, and have not shared it with the orphan; if I did not lead them from my mother's womb and nurture them as a father"—[it is] clear that [he spoke] from the time he began to act rationally. Just as those saying: "If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have stretched out our hands to a strange god"—from the time they began to think, clearly. But it is also fitting for him who is born of divine instruction and of water and the Spirit, that the "womb" and "belly"—from which he who is born has intellectually emerged—are understood in a manner ^C befitting this birth.

Ver. 7. "For godliness is an abomination to the sinner." And such people say: "Let us bind the just man, because he is troublesome to us." Therefore, he said "to the many"—that is, to the base and vulgar, by whom you keep me unharmed. Thus, the Apostle said consistently: "We have become as the offscourings of the world and are the refuse of all things even until now." So also is the [scriptural] "We are foolish for Christ's sake," and the "For I think that God has shown us the apostles last, as men appointed to death," and the "We have become a spectacle to the world." By no other reasoning does God say to the sinners: ^D "And Ezechiel shall be a portent to you," as the prophet records, since he so often indicated [what was] to come by his symbolic actions—such as his lying for so many days upon his right side, and for as many again upon his left, and the shaving of the hair of his body. And if such men seemed to be [a portent] to the many, yet to God and to the holy people they were wise and just; and to many, the Savior also, because of the cross, seemed a portent.

Ver. 10. For if Christ is the one speaking, it follows [that the words], "If an enemy had reviled me, I would have endured it," apply to him; for this, and the things that follow, pertain to Judas.

Ver. 12. Having you as a helper, I know that I shall see all my enemies put to shame.

Ver. 16. Because of my shamed enemies, and because they have labored in vain against me, I add now also, singing to you with victory, to the previous praise concerning which he said: "In you is my singing always." But they were casting down his soul, saying: "God has forsaken him." For nothing is shown to be more of a reproach against the one forsaken. Regarding the words, "But I will hope always," he says [this], showing that he is not to be forsaken by...

^A God, nor that any evil has happened to him from these outcries. As the law according to the letter has not yet been cast away, nor [are we] under the letter and the shadow, I will enter in according to the life-giving Spirit, possessing kingly power. God has granted me that I should not be anxious about the righteousness which is according to the shadow of the law; regarding which Paul writes, "As touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless," judging all shadowy things—which were formerly his gains—as having been suffered as loss, "and [I] count them but dung for the excellency of the knowledge of God." In some [manuscripts] it is written "negotiations," signifying that one has become far removed from every worldly negotiation, because of the injustice that for the most part accompanies it, [in the one] who has made mention of divine righteousness.

VERS. 19. These high and great things took place when Christ came to us: for when Christ was born of the Virgin, a multitude of the heavenly host cried out, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." For since this good will had come to pass, all hostile things upon earth were destroyed, and glory came to be in the highest, as those who had been saved ascended to the highest places. For since they had already become perfect, just as the heavenly Father is perfect, and possessed supreme holiness, they had God within themselves, becoming all in all. The Savior therefore said in the Gospels: "Father, I will that where I am, they also may be with me, that they may behold my glory."

VERS. 20. ^B Since, however, to the words, "Thou hast brought me up from the abysses," he added "again," it will be consistent, if "abyss" be understood as the depth of calamities, to refer it to this sentiment, namely, that we can emerge from this abyss not once, but always, with God—who is prepared to do good—as our helper; [as is] that well-known testimony of Scripture: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all." For by His goodness and mercy, God draws back from the abyss of evils those who are immersed in them. But since committed evils seem to lead [men] down into the underworld, it is necessary that, having rejected evils, we be made alive by this common life. He speaks these things in the person of humanity, which has suffered so many calamities and so many afflictions before the coming of the Savior; but the Savior afterward made us alive, giving His own soul as a ransom for us, so that the faithful might possess eternal life. He Himself also descended into Hades, to bring back those who had been cast down into those places because of their own sins. If, therefore, "abyss" indicates calamitous matters, the word "again" declares that he who is carried out of such gulfs has been the object of many benefits: "For many are the afflictions of the righteous, and the Lord ^C delivereth them out of them all." But if it signifies Hades, how ^D again from thence...

will they be brought back? For there is one entry to life, and the same departure. The voice "again" seems to suggest that the vivified soul is brought forth from Hades as if by a second benefit.

^B V. 22. In other words he says: "With psaltery and harp I will sing to God who makes alive after evil things, and who sanctifies Israel." For he declares that we are sanctified by the holy God, in which sense also some are called the holy ones of God. For it is written in reference to Christ: "He has been made for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." For this happens to those who are fashioned according to Him. And elsewhere it says: "You have provoked the holy one of Israel to anger." He redeems a rational soul, providing such a one on its behalf, just as He provided a body of like substance for the body.

PSALM LXXI

V. 1. These things do not befit Solomon himself, but Him who is signified through Solomon and who likewise showed Himself to be a peacemaker (for this is the force of the name), for He says: "My peace I give to you." Concerning whom the Theologian has written: "For He Himself is our peace," and again: "He announced peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near," removing the enmity separating the Gentiles from the Hebrews; so that all might become one flock to the Son of David and the Virgin according to the flesh. For this is what is indicated by the words: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David."

V. 2. Since all were condemned to death, He most graciously tasted death for them. He calls those from the circumcision the "people," and those who believed from the nations "poor," on account of the extreme poverty in which they were laboring, held captive by infidelity and malice. He may also be intending those of whom it is said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

V. 5. This has the same meaning as: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." And with regard to the words "before the moon," it is the same as "Before the age he established me," and "It shall endure with the sun," that is to say, the righteousness of the flesh which He assumed for Himself, which was animated by a rational and intelligent soul, having that union indivisible. But it also exists before the moon, which is spoken of analogously, because the Church is established in Him and through Him, being composed of all human beings who have line after line of descent; for these have their succession from generation to generation. It has been spoken of also concerning the Church, which is figured as the spouse: "Who is this who comes forth like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, chosen?"

V. 6. But just as rain is the cause of fertility for the earth, so is the Savior for the faithful in terms of fruit. Perhaps it signifies the fleece as Israel, and the earth as the nations; since first it "descended upon the fleece," and from there afterwards "upon the earth," because of the incredulity of Israel, all the earth was watered with droplets to bring forth spiritual fruits.

V. 7. Now we have established the moon as the Church

^A designated. For the moon shines with a spurious light borrowed from the sun, and does not have it from itself; so the Church, as long as it is upon the earth, knows in part, and is not yet entirely illuminated by the genuine light. But at the end, it will be with the sun, when it shall see God perfectly and face to face; for the lunar constitution of the Church shall be restored, being informed according to the Sun of justice; and they who fulfill the Church shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Wherefore it is said to the bride: "Who is this that comes forth as the dawn," that is, already illuminated by the rising light? Then it shall be as the full moon, when it shall astonish all like the sun.

V. 15. They shall celebrate the Father of Christ, instructed by Him in this matter, according to Paul saying: "I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ" (Rom. I, 8); and again, "Through whom we have access to the Father" (Eph. II, 18); the Savior Himself also says: "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John XIV, 6). Therefore they shall return thanks to the Father for the good things they have obtained, taught hymns by the Son, and by the Son through whom they have been deemed worthy of such things.

V. 16. "The summit of the mountains," the words of the prophets; which, perfecting him who had been predicted, became a foundation upon the earth.

PSALM LXXII

V. 1. Asaph, a lyric poet and leader of the chorus of singers. — Israel is to be interpreted as "seeing God." Therefore, those who consider Whom they see, know that He is good, and that He turns even the most grievous calamities to our advantage.

V. 9. They have sinned by impiety and the depravity of their morals, "clothed about" with iniquity, that is, with perverse morals, and at the same time with impiety, especially errant concerning the divine providence. "Iniquity," however, "proceeds" from those who lead a luxurious life, having become the fat of the aforementioned intentions through evil works. For they did not do such evil merely by the deliberation of the heart, but they also wished to destroy others. For this reason, with a badly disposed mind, they spoke deceitfully, ostensibly preaching good things. But while they attacked the divine providence with insults, it escaped no one on earth how unjust those insults were. Such are they who attribute to the affections of the stars things which are governed by divine providence. They who hold the stars to be gods, and set the creature before the Creator, ^D "have set their mouth against heaven." But they are proven by the wise to offer nothing but futile and nonsensical things.

V. 10. To the impious speaking proudly, the people of God found an occasion for repentance, having been recalled to the contemplation of luminous doctrines, which are here called "days." The voice "hither" designates the place which God holds; as it was said to Moses: "But you stand here with me" (Exod. XXXIV, 2). Again, "How would He know," they say, as if God were lacking senses and corporeal members

^A of regarding the things on earth, since the divine mind cannot receive the images of things spoken or occurring. And yet the phrase, "How would He know?" contains an admission that God knows, though the method of this knowledge escapes them. Subsequently, however, they contend that He does not know, saying, "Is there knowledge in the Most High?" But they are deceived in thinking that He possesses a disposition according to quality, for He is the Father of wisdom, of truth, and of divine knowledge. It is said, therefore, "God is the Lord of knowledge" (1 Reg. II, 3) and, "He that teaches man knowledge" (Ps. XCIII, 10), and, "The Lord knows the thoughts of men" (ibid. 11).

Vers. 12. And how is it that He who teaches and bestows is ^B lacking? To desire that everyone should receive according to their merits is a trait of a resentful passion, whereas the truly wise man does not consider the one who abounds in pleasures to be happy, nor the one who abounds in calamities to be miserable; but determines a man to be blessed or unhappy according to how he is adorned or stripped of virtues and piety. Since, therefore, things pleasant and unpleasant happen to both—and not solely to sinners or to the pious, for this would contradict the present verse—but while they recall in speech the things that disturb the mind, God piously delivers them. God Himself asserts this in Malachi: "You have weighed heavily upon me with your words, and you have said: In what have we spoken against Thee? You said: Vain is he who serves God; and now we pronounce the aliens happy; and all who do iniquitous things are built up; they have resisted ^C God and have been saved, and we have nothing more, who serve Him; although we are suppliants going before His face." And to those who say these things He adds, among other matters: "You have said that everyone who does evil is good before Him, and in these He has been well pleased."

Vers. 23. He did not say simply, "I have become a beast," but added, "with Thee." For before the Father of wisdom and God of knowledge, any creature whatsoever is ignorant. For thus Moses, seeing God, said: "I am not fit, neither from yesterday, nor from the day before, nor from the time that You began to speak to Your servant: for I am of a weak voice and slow of tongue" (Exod. IV, 10). For that most eloquent man did not say this absolutely, but "since You began to speak to Your servant." For before he had heard the divine voice, he ^D thought himself to be of prompt and magnificent eloquence. Abraham also said to the Creator: "Now I have begun to speak to my Lord; but I am earth and ashes" (Gen. XVIII, 27), which he did not know before he spoke with God. Such is the beast "with Him," whose own knowledge is unequal to divine providence. "Always is he with Him," who always performs virtue and all piety, and has never fallen away from it even in the least.

Vers. 27. There is no one who is separated by local distance from God, who is not contained in a place; but whoever indulges in depraved and iniquitous affections is seen to be far distant from the Just and Good, and perishes; thus he is saved

solely by repentance, no longer distancing himself; in this way "he who commits," but not "he who has committed," sin, is a servant of sin. While many have philosophized much concerning the good, the wise man here briefly says that there is no other good than to cling to God and to place one’s hope in Him. The virtues that lead us to perfection are the "gates of Zion," whose daughter is the soul that has been formed and instructed according to them. ^A

PSALM LXXIII

VER. 1. They inquire into the cause of evils, so that if the cause be removed, they themselves may also be removed. Now, God repels no one except those who withdraw themselves from God; for "him who comes to me I will not cast out," 40 says Jesus. Do not judge the anger and fury of God by the standard of men. Far be this madness from you! For we can profess nothing human about God, but by the words spoken, the writer hints at the superabundant aversion which he says the sheep of His pasture endure. But the pasture of God is the oracles of the Spirit, such as the prophets and the law, by which He feeds the righteous as sheep. ^B

VER. 17. You who have done all these things, he says, Creator of such and so great things, be mindful of your creation.

VER. 18. "The enemy mocking the Lord," is the devil; but the imprudent people is the chorus of demons. But even Caiaphas, being high priest, mocked Christ. And the imprudent Jewish people provoked His name, crying out: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him." 41 And He refers to those beasts of whom it is said: "Israel is a scattered flock; the lions have driven him away." 42 And their teeth the Lord has broken. 43 Out of these is Satan, according to Peter, who says: "Our adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 44 For not all the martyrs were eaten by beasts. But His "poor" are those who say: "Behold, we have left all, and followed you"; 45 and again, those who have cast off the riches of vain doctrine and malice are perhaps the same as the poor in spirit. 46 Then he urges God to be mindful of His covenant with Abraham, so that He might not "utterly" abandon the seed of this patriarch. But those who, inasmuch as they are pressed down to the earth by the body, having their minds darkened by ignorance, "have been filled with houses of iniquity." ^C

PSALM LXXIV

VER. 1. "Destruction" or "corruption" in Scripture frequently indicates sin, whereas incorruption indicates virtue. For "grace," he says, "be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruption." 47 And since he who has begun a good work must also bring it to completion, "do not destroy," he says, until, having avoided corruption, one may subsist in incorruption. ^D

^A And after this. Therefore, once it is completed, a "psalm of a song" is sent up to God. Those, then, who have hastened to this same end confess to God, the author of every virtue; for those who are not yet perfect confess to Him regarding what they have received, and they pray that they might obtain the rest; but those who are already perfect confess regarding all things, and they pray for the secure preservation of them.

Verse 7. "Desert" he speaks of as being destitute of virtue and piety. He indicates their wickedness, in that they are appeased through sacrifices; for they are harmful if they do not receive libations, and smoke, and the steam of fat. But if they are pious and acknowledge God, He will free them from the perceptions of soothsayers and enchanters.

PSALM LXXV

Verse 3. Malice is nothing other than war. But having obtained the peace "which surpasses all understanding," we have become a place and dwelling-place of God, contemplating all truth and virtue; for Zion is a watchtower. The holy Church, established in peace, is also a place of God. But since these things are accomplished by the grace of God and not by our own power, the discourse here invokes God as the author of peace. ^B

Verse 7. By the word "they slumbered," he indicates how easily death invades them; for just as a drowsy man sleeps most easily, so also did they reach the end of their life most swiftly.

PSALM LXXVI

Verses 2-4. Whenever the speaker is far from the one to whom he addresses his words, it is necessary to cry out with a loud voice. Since, therefore, the created substance is far removed from its Creator, it is fitting that it should cry out. He calls Him God, because He has made all things, and Lord, because He reigns over those things that have come to be from Him. One might also say that he calls the Father God, and the Son Lord. "Day of tribulation" means his whole life, or the present age, in which one prays to be rescued by God, as if one were calling a physician for a distressing illness. ^C And he seeks Him in action and disposition, not being deceived like those who are ignorant of the end of contingent circumstances, as Saul was deceived when he went to the ventriloquist. But a holy man, as long as he is troubled, seeks God in the confusion of circumstances, which in this place is called "night," according to the passage in Isaiah: "In tribulation I remembered Thee."

Verse 4. Communing with Him in a praiseworthy manner. For so it is often placed in Scripture as constant prayer. At any rate, when Anna was hindered by the priest’s boy from continuing in prayer, she says: "Because of the abundance of my meditation, I have extended it until now"; but also "Isaac went out to meditate in the field." But it is used in a blameworthy sense in: "The lawless have told me meditations." ^D The quality of the person, however, distinguishes the term. Now, therefore, also the person...

nature. Here, however, the mind and the voice [are] praiseworthy: ^A it reveals the soul, whose spirit has become pusillanimous. For thus also Stephen says: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." [Acts VII, 58] Distrusting himself because of the pressing enemies, he delivers himself to God. — "I was troubled by a certain anticipated perturbation; but I spoke nothing turbulent, the mind alone was troubled."

VER. 17. For [the] arrows of God flying on all sides were preaching him in [their] passage.

VER. 20. Because the reason for his ways [is] clear to no one.

PSALM LXXVII

VER. 1. Here, he calls the entire Old Testament "the law," ^B inasmuch as it teaches us to avoid these things and to perform those; this is the work of the law, [which is] partly forbidding and partly commanding. Those who have the mind of Christ have understood these things spiritually. For the fathers according to the spirit told them to them; and they themselves also begat others in knowledge, so that they too might tell them to those after them.

VER. 21. Namely, the fire which burned for the enlightening of their humble senses.

VER. 63. Perhaps they even called those who had died amid such great calamity blessed, rather than lamenting them.

VER. 67. Again, leaving aside the other tribes, he mentions only the tribe of Ephraim, which he foresaw would possess the kingdom; for from it came Jeroboam, who led the ten tribes away from the Davidic empire.

VER. 70. On account of this, and [because of] the divine providence toward them, God chose a man of faith and piety who had conducted himself as an example, so that he might preside over the wiser flock.

PSALM LXXVIII

VER. 1. Some interpret these things as concerning Jerusalem [being] captured by the Romans after the Jews raged against Christ; ^C others, however, [interpret them] concerning the incursions of Antiochus Epiphanes.

VER. 2. "Not far from Jerusalem, nor near Jerusalem, but in its circuit" (for this is the vision of peace). Since, therefore, he who is scandalized is cast out of Jerusalem, the citadel of true doctrines, the aforementioned blood is poured out outside it and in its circuit, "and there is none to bury [it]," or to account him worthy of burial, so great are his sins! Such are the lapses [that occur] after the recognition of the truth! And so, since the one who is baptized is buried together with Christ, there will be no other redemption, ^D and certainly "there was no one to bury" those who, once redeemed, sin again.

VER. 4. These [words] are of one defending his cause, and indeed before God. For even if we are deserving of what we have suffered, he says, yet "Thy name is used for reproach." For thus God himself speaks through Isaiah [Isa. LII, 5]: "Because of you, my name is always blasphemed among the gentiles." He calls the Idumeans, the Ammonites, and the Moabites "neighbors," and those other neighboring nations which are adverse and hostile to them. "In our circuit are" the nations

^A of the Greeks, the wise ones, mocking and deriding us as believing without examination and foolishly. "Thou hast instructed," he says, "the Idumeans sufficiently." "Pour out thy wrath now upon the impious nations, and upon the kingdoms which do not fear thee."

Ver. 13. Mystically you shall say: In the present and in the future life. Or in both generations, in that which is from circumcision, and in that which is called from the nations, so that they too may learn to praise God.

PSALM LXXIX

Ver. 12. "She extended her shoots," even to the very rivers which irrigate her, in order to yield the appropriate fruit in return.

Ver. 13. These are false teachers, and the spirits of error. Yet they harvest her when she bears grapes of gall and clusters of bitterness; for she has become productive of such things. And when, on the one hand, instead of moral virtues she brings forth passions, she has brought thorns instead of grapes; but when ^C she errs regarding the truths of knowledge, she brings forth a grape of gall and a cluster of bitterness.

Ver. 18. "The Son of man," he says, "whom thou hast strengthened for thyself," not allowing him to have the constitution of his body from the seed of a man. For when the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin, and the power of the Most High, this holy offspring came into being, which prepared the vine for fruitfulness.

PSALM LXXX

PSALM LXXXI

on account of his humble modesty, and on account of the things he endured for piety, has been made needy.

VERS. 7. Men do not die the common death, but the death that follows sin, falling similarly to one of the princes. ^B This is the devil; this came to pass through his condescension towards the serpent.

PSALM LXXXII

VERS. 14. The nature of the wheel is shifting and inconstant; such is the life of the impious; according to the variety of times they are now carried to the height, now fall back from thence, after the likeness of a wheel.

VERS. 19. Some indeed come forth as high and exalted through the most high God, being lifted up and raised by virtue. But there is no one among them who is such of himself and by his nature: for God alone is the Most High, the Creator, not a creature, just as He alone is wise and alone true, teaching wisdom and truth.

PSALM LXXXIII

VERS. 12. God gives grace to those who are saved by grace, according to that: "By grace you have been saved."

PSALM LXXXIV

VERS. 2. The Lord blesses His land, a good heart studious of righteousness. For he who has received the seed from Him gives back a hundredfold. A multitude of those who were held in captivity by evil powers ^C and who, resisting carnal desires, are called Jacob, will return into the land of the Lord. Which being done, He will remit all sins; and if they sin besides, He will cover the sins through virtue, not by hiding them, but by taking them away entirely, as it says: "Love covers a multitude of sins." For as knowledge covers ignorance, so divine love, which is not other than virtue, covers the sins of those whom He has deigned to bless. He has blessed them, moreover, by sending His own Son to be seen upon the earth and to dwell with men. At whose birth, it was said: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men." Hence it is apparent that the wrath of God is not a passion; it is kindled by the sins of men, and when sins are removed, it is immediately extinguished. Wrath and fury mean one and the same thing; the ministers of which are called "vessels of wrath."

VERS. 4. He prays to the God of salvations, that He might provide an occasion of repentance for conversion; for thus they will appease the fury which they themselves had incited through their sins: for when all combustible matter is taken away, there is no longer a fire. When God brings to life those who turn to Him from their former manner of life, He Himself also receives back those whom He had rejected on account of their sins.

VERS. 10. When salutary miracles shall be performed, and the dead shall rise, and the blind shall see, and the lepers shall be cleansed, and other wonders of this kind shall be seen. As salvation is far from sinners who perform ^D the works of destruction, so the Lord is near to those who...

perform the works of salvation; and they possess this ^A inseparably, nor is there any lack in those in whose heart He causes His glory to dwell—for He called this heart of theirs the earth, yielding fruit a hundredfold, according to the text: “God, who said light would shine out of darkness, shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ.” Thus also concerning the body, according to the text: “Glorify God in your body,”—for those who possess perfect temperance.

Ver. 11. ^B From this place it can be perceived in what intimate union certain virtues are joined among themselves, mercy with truth, justice with peace. Now they occur conjoined in this: “Thy mercy and Thy truth have gone before my face,” and in that: “Send forth Thy mercy and Thy truth.”

Ver. 13. As the earth, when rain is given, brings forth its fruit, so the spiritual earth, our soul, brings forth fruit by the kindness of God, adorned with every kind ^C of virtue.

PSALM LXXXV

Ver. 2. All the saints glory in the service of God as in a certain dignity. Thus, when Jonah was asked whence he was: “I am a servant of God,” he said, “and I worship the God of heaven.” Likewise the apostles testify concerning the Savior, excellently confessing Him Lord by works and by words: “You call me Master and Lord, and you speak well, for so I am.” This they also place as a great dignity of their own writings. For James, “a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and Paul, “a servant of Jesus Christ,” ^D bear themselves no otherwise than those who in their writings concerning their life mention all the dignities and honors with which they can be illustrated.

Ver. 5. God is not called gentle in the absolute sense—for this is a human emotion—but He is called gentle in the same way as He is said to rejoice, and to be glad, and to remember.

Ver. 8. Again He calls the saints gods, not demons or idols; for the Lord alone is God in the same sense as the Father. But every saint is a participant of the Lord—a god, because he has received the Word of God, according to the text: “He called them gods to whom the word of God came.” For they were made according to the image and likeness of God, but no one is a god by nature; they are not made like unto God, but were made. For “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” He Himself is holy, but they shall be those who are made holy. Concerning whom it is true to say: “Who is holy as Thou, O Lord?” For, He says, “who shall be compared among the gods, O Lord? but who is like unto Thee?” For they shall be like Him according to what was said: “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” There is therefore no one now among the gods who is like God, nor even according to His works. Therefore we read...

in the Gospel: ^A “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin.” For although they do the same works at times with regard to the underlying matter, the manner is different. For they did theirs by prayer and faith, but He did His by His own authority and power. But sufficient has been said about these things at the beginning of the eighty-second Psalm.^B

VERS. 11. He who has chosen good things, in the enjoyment of which he may rejoice. So also to fear the name of the Lord, that he may enjoy it with gladness.

PSALM LXXXVI

VERS. 6. In it are inscribed not only princes, but also peoples: this scripture is none other than the Church of the first-born who are registered in heaven. Whose inscription is not made by syllables and names, but by signs signifying the quality of the soul; nor can anyone recount their writing, except Him who alone sees the inscription. On the contrary, “Those who have received upon the earth shall be written,” says Jeremiah. It is fitting for those who savor earthly things to remain in earthly matters; but those who cultivate the image of the heavenly God have their citizenship in heaven, being inscribed in the book of God. ^C

PSALMUS LXXXVII

VERS. 1. *Pro macleth*, that is, for the dance of the choir of the sons of Core, that he who fears God and is therefore a true Israelite may wisely respond. For *Heman* is interpreted as “their fear,” and anyone who has feared God will be a *Heman*. It behooves those reciting the song of the Psalm to respond with understanding, and with understanding to direct the solemn dance while listening to the song the Psalm proclaims.

VERS. 2. By day, indeed, oppressed by the weight of affairs, I pray that you may share your good things with me. But in the night and in sadness, that when the night has fled, my spirit may be able to rise to you. It might also be spoken more simply according to that which was said by the Savior: “My Father will execute justice for His children crying out to Him day and night.” For he who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, by this very fact cries out to the God of his salvation day and night, ^D that God may either grant him salvation or preserve it. With much confidence he adds: “Let my prayer enter into your sight,” certain that he is asking for those things which are useful to him, and in themselves good, and which God will freely grant; he also prays that He may more kindly incline His ear to his prayer. “For I have cried out to you,” he says.

VERS. 6. As the dead, he says, now no longer hope for any human help, so I too have been freed from hoping for any good thing, that is: now not even the slightest hope remains for me. For I have not been cast out of your hand; and “no one will be able to snatch me” from it, as the Savior himself testifies; for as long as

^A a person is encompassed by God, he is invincible to those who wish to snatch him away; whereas, from that [hand], he who sins is cast out, being no longer worthy of it.

Vers. 7. That I may draw them out from thence into the paradise of God; for though I have been made to undergo death on their account, yet it was not actual death, but the shadow of death; for on the third day I rose ^B from the sepulcher. Having been placed by them in darkness, I shone upon them, so that they might no longer lead their lives in darkness, but in me, who am the light.

Vers. 15. That famous saying fittingly applies to Jesus: “Why do you cast me off?” For there is no cause for you to cast off my prayer, since I have committed no sin. Therefore, receive it, and save those for whom I intercede, illuminating your face upon them.

Vers. 17. For he underwent the wrath which we ourselves had stirred up by our sins. ^C The terrors of the Father only perturbed him, but there was no way for them to afflict one who was innocent, as he had committed no sin. But the wraths and terrors of God are powers serving the punishments, which are called vessels of wrath. For which cause the Savior also said, “Now my soul is troubled.” For he had a most perfect soul. But in the midst of such a multitude of enemies, he felt the pressure, especially as they were choking him on every side like water, as happens to one who does not know how to swim. But he ^D passed through these things in the best manner. “For many waters shall not quench love.” For the soul that is perfect and placed towards God through love is subsequently unquenchable, which is what inhered in Jesus according to his humanity.

PSALMUS LXXXVIII

Vers. 2. But we have also often said that wherever the word “generation” occurs twice, it signifies both the people from circumcision and the gentiles. Then he tells the reason why he sings of the mercies of the Lord: for as long as the present age continues, the mercy of God will manifestly adorn many with its benefits; just as a building is made from many stones, so perhaps mercy is built up, when Wisdom builds a house for herself. For her incarnation is the foundation and the goal of mercy, since all, being then liberated from their sins, have obtained mercy. But truth is prepared in the heavens for those who have prepared themselves from here below, as they think, to approach it through a glass and in an enigma, through which we here on earth imagine it; for its face is beauty there, and the perfection of truth, when the imperfect version has been brought to nothing. It is also prepared for those who have their conversation in the heavens, because they bear the image of the heavenly one, for which reason they are also called heavens.

Vers. 3. Therefore he says that his kingdom shall have no end. And it was not through respect of persons that he swore to David, but because he was a servant of God. And he gave a sign to his house, that he who is God with us men should be born of a Virgin; for this is “Emmanuel,” which is meant...

^A that which is the prepared seed of David. But toward those to whom God grants securely, He is said to swear, because among men words are confirmed by an oath. Since God is immutable, His oath indicates the immutability of His counsel. It is manifest that this is not understood as referring to David himself (for how could one who is dead hear such things?), but to Christ, the descendant of David, who lives and reigns forever.

VERS. 7. None of those who receive adoption, and thus become children of God, will be similar to the true Son of God. For how can he who is a participant be similar to Him who is not a participant by any reason? For this cause Paul, when he says, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father,” fearing lest any should think that he attributes equality to himself with the only-begotten Son, added, “and from our Lord Jesus Christ.” For although by grace He has become our Father, He is nevertheless in nature the Son, to whom all are servants. Wherefore also now, “Who,” he says, “is similar to the Lord?” For there is no similarity according to essence, but according to quality; for the Son Himself is consubstantial with the Father. For according to quality we also become merciful, “as the heavenly Father is merciful.” And the Father Himself is perfect, saying, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” This Lord indeed shall come with power and great glory, and the saints “shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so that they may always be with the Lord.” Therefore, when the ^B Lord and the saints are in the clouds, not even then will any of those who are caught up in the clouds be similar to Him who shall come “upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” For even if each one has been caught up with power and glory, yet not with “great” power and glory; for he will have that power and that glory which he has received; but the Savior comes with the “great” power which He Himself bestows. And while they are “in the cloud,” He is “upon the clouds,” which marks supreme and royal power. Furthermore, any one of the saints is a spiritual cloud dropping spiritual dew (for “the clouds,” he says, “shall rain righteousness”). But no one of them is similar to the Lord, who is Himself the clouds. For each of those clouds scarcely waters a few, but this One [waters] not only all men, but also all rational creatures.

VERS. 8. He is also terrible when He inflicts punishments upon His enemies. For if those who are instructed by divine discipline approach Him too closely, by sinning they are carried to the fire. For this cause the Savior says: “He who is near Me, is near the fire; ^C but he who is far from Me, is far from the kingdom.” Now, therefore, He says to those who neglect the commandments round about Him, that He is “great and terrible” truly to those who are opposed to Him because of [their lack of] virtue.

VERS. 10. That God also rules over the sea as over other creatures, Jonas testifies, saying: ^D “He raised up”

^A a storm on the sea,” and again: “By His will the sea stood still from its commotion.” Jesus also rebuked this, showing that He is the Son of the “Master of its power.” But if the sea represents the life of men, then its power is nothing other than the devil, whom the whole world serves, that is, the mortal and fleeting dominion. Having unnerved him, the Lord gave His disciples the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all his ^B power, restraining his unstable impulses, which are called its waves, so that it might become passable for those treading upon it—of whom Peter is the image. For no one without Jesus can tread upon the sea of life, overcoming its pleasures and worries, but only by Him walking alongside. For He Himself is the one who walks upon the sea as upon solid ground, to whom it has been said: “In the sea is Your way, and Your paths in many waters.” ^C He having trodden in this life both the passions and the worries, which it is possible for those to tread upon when following in His footsteps.

VERS. 12. You might understand it thus: The heavens, which are interpreted as confessing His wonders, and the earth which receives the seed of Jesus and produces fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty, is “Your earth.” The inhabited world which He founded together with its fullness is also the Lord’s, revealing the Church. For in it dwell souls, having received the true Word, and holy powers encamped round about those who fear Him. In which, says Paul, “No man can lay another foundation beside that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Upon whom is the fullness of virtues and godly doctrines, and of the gifts of the Divine Spirit. The Lord created the north and the seas so that they should no longer be what they were before; even as He who created the two into one new man, has made them one out of two. And a pure heart is also created, from which one has become pure; and He creates also those who are outside the faith, that they may become a ^D new creation in Christ.

VERS. 13. Thabor is “elect,” and Hermoniim is “the elevation of light.” For he who has obtained divine election, and is elevated by the light, which light of knowledge has illumined him, exults in the name of God. And Thabor is interpreted as a “pit.” For God gives to some [the grace of] the Spirit in the manner of a pit, hewn out, which they who receive did not hew out for themselves. And even if it is used for reproach, if he who is thus addressed changes his life so that it may be called a well or a fountain, he will exult in the name of the Lord.

VERS. 14. The Only-Begotten is called “arm,” in the verse: “And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” and in the verse: “Your arm is exalted, and we did not know [it].” And as “hand” in the verse: “Your high hand has made all these things;” and as “right hand” in the verse: “The right hand of the Lord”

^A creates wonders; Peter therefore used this with God: “Grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, by your stretching out your hand for healing, and signs and wonders.” The right hand of the Lord is also exalted, lifting up everyone who imitates Him to sublime things. “Mercy and truth go before your face.” For who shall reach your face unless he has first reached mercy, and has lived in truth? Perhaps you might say again that the Only-begotten is designated by mercy and truth, as in the passage: “God sent forth his mercy and his truth.” For as one arriving beforehand in the minds [of men], He reveals the Father who is joined with Him: “For he who receives me, receives the Father,” and: “We shall come, I and the Father.” For being the image of the invisible God, He shows Himself to the pure mind, revealing the Father through Himself. He is also the face of the Father, being the character of His substance. And it is necessary that He first be in the hearts of those who are able to see Him in purity: mercy through moral virtues, and truth through pious knowledge. For by moral action we are made merciful, and by knowledge we approach truth. Therefore, these are often linked together in Scripture.

^C VERS. 16. Observe how He said, “He who knows,” and not “He who has known.” For he who always carries on the struggle against adversaries must always strive for victory. For this leads him to the contemplation of truth; and he will henceforth be illuminated by the face of the Lord in the eternal day, in which he will rejoice with his companions, having obtained the saving fellowship of God. For this is the occasion of exultation. Your justice, ^D too, shall be exalted by Him who has been made wisdom and holiness and sanctification, who is Himself high and draws those who adhere to Him to Himself. We are also exalted by that justice which, through faith in Jesus Christ, is fitting for all the faithful. For even if they have the power by which they can act and contemplate, they boast of the gifts received from You, according to the word: “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” And they shall say: For He Himself gives the strength to do mighty things. Therefore, they also say with boldness: “In God we shall make strength, and in your good pleasure our horn shall be exalted.” For Christ has been exalted in us by the good pleasure of the Father, who says: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” For in Him, He was pleased to save us. And His reception is of Him who fights for us, who is the holy king of the true Israel, [the people] seeing God—Christ Himself and the Lord. The reception can also be of the Lord, as being brought about by Him, and of the holy Israel as awaiting it; for holy is he who is now being sanctified; to perceive Him with the mind is most excellent: “For the reception is of the Lord our king, and of the Holy One of Israel.”

^A

Vers. 20. He who does not understand hears only the speaker. But he who also understands perceives the intent of the speaker through the vision of the mind. God shows rather than speaks to those who are called perfect sons. Therefore, it is said that he spoke in a vision, according to that: “And the people saw the voice of the Lord,” that is, they perceived it. Such are the visions of the prophets, who do not behold things that are sensory, but see things that are intelligible. “Upon the mighty one,” who from the root of Jesse had placed an aid to help the whole creation, upon Him who was exalted from the people according to the flesh, according to which He was also chosen and accepted. For he is indeed “chosen from ten thousands,” as it has in the Song of Songs. And the Father exalted Him, granting Him the name which is above every name, to Him who is called both servant and David, from whose seed He was. Being mighty and sufficient in hand to teach the rational creation to serve God, for which office He was also anointed by the Holy Spirit, being declared both high priest and king over all. Regarding which anointing it is said: “God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” The hand and the arm by which He took hold of and strengthened Him are the divinity of the Only-begotten, which wrought great things through Him. And He has become superior to the devil, by not having committed sin, nor having had deceit in His mouth, by which that one seems to profit. Nor will “the son of iniquity” be able to injure Him through sins. But that he profits in the enemy, the Gospels testify; for the Pharisees and priests were saying among themselves: “Ye see that ye profit nothing: behold, the world is gone after him.” ^B

Vers. 30. Do not imagine that the throne of Christ will be cast down when the time of the heaven is fulfilled. For “heaven and earth,” He says, “shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” If, however, the words do not pass away, He will certainly reign even after the passing of heaven and earth. For He does not say until the heaven passes, but “as the days of heaven,” and the heaven will remain even when it has passed; for it is one thing for it to perish, and another for it to pass. It should also perhaps be said that the days of the earth signify those splendors and honors which men pursue with such zeal; while the days of heaven are the lucid mysteries of the truth, to which the throne of the Savior is similar and unshaken. ^C

Vers. 36. When God makes a promise that is perpetual and lasting, He swears. Therefore, when He gives an eternal priesthood according to the order of Melchisedech, He will not repent. So also to Abraham He declares with an oath that in his seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. But concerning things that are transient and perishable, He does not swear; and He is even said to repent, as when He had anointed Saul as king. Therefore, He also swears to David that the Savior Christ would be born from his seed, the throne of his kingdom being destined to endure with him alongside the sun of justice: the moon, He says—this is the assembly of those who are illuminated by Christ—will remain full for eternity, being filled by the sun, the righteous shining forth as the sun in the kingdom ^D of their Father. And that all these things are so in heaven,

concerning which Job says: "For behold, my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is in the highest." ^A

VERS. 39. "You said, O Lord, that the seed of Christ remains forever, and yet You have cast away his seed; and having said that You would not profane the covenant made with him, You have profaned," that is to say, "His sanctuary unto the earth," by delivering his body unto death and the tomb. Or, by permitting the Church, which is his house and sanctuary, to be delivered over at times to the persecutions brought upon her by the impious. Christ is the servant of God, inasmuch as he took the form of a servant, being born of her who said to the angel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word." ^B But You have also destroyed all the most powerful aid of his children, so that they lay exposed to the snares of all; for Scripture calls "macerias" (walls/hedges) divine protection. The divine apostles are also perchance called the hedges of the vineyard of the Lord, whom those who saw them scattered and scandalized on the night in which Jesus was betrayed say were taken away by God. These are also called fortifications, having at that same time fallen into fear, which was followed by the plundering of Christ, who is his body; for "You are the body of Christ, and members in particular." His fortifications are also the Churches scattered throughout the world, which have become a reproach to those who are called neighbors standing round about her. ^C These, indeed, are they who seem to adhere to Scripture and to belong to the Church, but bring her into reproach by their doctrines and evil works. For just as we glorify God by acting and feeling rightly, so his enemies are exalted, as if they were doing by their own power what You permitted him to suffer. Wherefore those who hate him are gladdened, seeing him destitute of every aid while his enemies attack him with war; and for that reason, having bound him, they led him to the cross and afflicted him with the most grievous torments.

Such things are brought forth by those who desire Christ and confess his providence, but have not perceived the purpose ^D by which God, not sparing his own Son, delivered him up to those who rose up against him. But they shall be silent when they recognize that salvation is established by his death. For not only did the Father deliver him up for us, but he also delivered up himself; for he gave his soul as a redemption for many. Previously they thought that Christ was also dissolved from the purification which he himself worked by his blood, and that his throne had been dashed to the ground, although God had established him "as the days of heaven." For seeing his passion and the cross, they thought that his kingdom had reached its end, having been diminished and overturned by the shame that occurred upon the cross. Concerning which the Apostle said: "Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,"

^A according to that word: "Having made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high," having a seat restored and firmly founded, abiding for long days and unto eternity.

Ver. 48. "Remember," they say who speak thus, that we are mutable by nature, having free will, lest we slip into impiety; perhaps it refers also to that substance by which we endure all sorts of evils.

Ver. 49. The word "Who" is used ^B sometimes interrogatively, as in the passage: "Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord?" Sometimes it signifies rarity, as in: "Who then is the faithful and prudent servant?" and, "Who is wise, and shall understand these things?" And impossibility, as in: "Who hath known the mind of the Lord?" and, "Who hath gathered the winds in his fist?" It also signifies someone contemptible, as in: "If God be for us, who is against us?" and, "Behold, the Lord will help me, who will harm me?" Among some, the word so ^C used indicates a quality, while among others it indicates an individual, and one in number; as in: (a man) which is a token of "no one." For "Who shall avoid the common death?" For "death," he says, "passed unto all men." And in the same way, sin, by which we have fallen away from the divinity. Likewise, this rings true: "But you shall die like men"; and that which says: "For whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man?" But such a person, being homonymous, shall not escape death. For this is ^D the substance of the divinity of those who have become gods. They live forever, having obtained eternal life, which is bestowed by God who is exalted above the underworld.

PSALM LXXXIX

Ver. 3. When you have raised man on high, distracted from worldly businesses, do not turn him back to them.

Ver. 9. Every time, therefore, during which we live with our body is manifest and illuminated to you, so that you see everything whatsoever we have committed in mind or in deed.

Ver. 12. This prayer belongs to those who know that God has a right hand, by which He created and governs the universe, and who desire to see it, so that they may never be seized by it but rather cleave to it. This prayer can also be understood of the coming of Christ. For then the right hand of God was revealed, when the Word, made flesh, dwelt among us. "For we saw his glory, glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father." Then, together with him, we saw manifest the "erudite in heart in wisdom," who are none other than those saying: "We speak wisdom among the perfect." Then

^A even the prophets who spoke of him at that time are revealed as having said true things, although they might have been suspected before the fulfillment, as not having their hearts instructed in the wisdom of God—such is one who is wise in mind, even if he errs in spoken word. For one who is truthful will speak, even if he be unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge. And it is also written: "those fettered," for the shackles of wisdom do not permit one to walk without piety; for we are commanded to place the feet of the soul into these. They are despondent and say: "Until when?"—that is, "Do you turn your face and your right hand away from us?" For even the briefest delay is, for this, a very long time. However, turn back to those who have turned away from your commandments. Then he says: "As your right hand, when it shone upon us, being the Sun of Righteousness, prepared the beginning of a spiritual day, through which we were filled with your mercy, so that we might rejoice in all the days which your true light illuminated for us, affecting in various senses the hearts which it enlightens." And indeed, rising in actions and thoughts, it brings about many days in us, so that we, exulting, may dissolve the gloom of the troublesome days in which we were humbled, being delivered into captivity on account of wickedness and ignorance, having come to be in evils or in things contrary to the truly good things—concerning which it has been said: "The fool does evil in amusement"—or in the grievous things, concerning which Job said: "If we have received good things from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil?" Look, therefore, upon your servants, and guide ^B those born to us in the teaching and imitation of virtue, vigorous and manly, on the path of salvation. For thus your splendor shall be upon us, and shine as the sun in your kingdom. And trusting in what they have done, they ask that they themselves be directed, and the works of their hands upon them—which the wicked man does not want, desiring rather that all things be consigned to oblivion.

PSALM XC

VERS. 7. For at the very moment of desiring to draw near to the righteous man, the phalanx of the enemies falls; for "at the drawing near" of "those who do evil against me, to eat my flesh, those who afflict me and my enemies, they themselves grew weak and fell."

PSALM XCI

VERS. 3. Being a subject of theology and the vision of God, it has as an end the truth, which it is fitting to announce, not from the surface and from manifest things, but from deep and hidden things, the excellence of discernment. And he called the wisdom that is in such things "night"; for by nature, the things said piously and rightly about God are remote from the knowledge of the many, due to the greatness of the power. And it is "night" because of its incomprehensibility; and this night has a reference to the darkness which God made his hiding place.

VERS. 8. When sinners spring up like grass, and lawlessness is ^C at work, their hostility toward God is intensified. But the height and greatness of God is unknown, as wickedness blinds the eye of the mind which is able to reach out to the Lord; and when the dissolution...

^A from sin occurs, so that those who have become enemies of God through sin perish—and those who are such ought to perish—then God most high will be found by the purified mind.

Verse 10. On the day of judgment, when the pride of all men concerning fleeting things is humbled, the Lord shall be exalted, being revealed as the only King of all, having provided for and ordered all things blamelessly.

PSALM XCII

Verse 3. The rivers which imitate the river that gladdens the city of God first lift up their own understanding, and afterwards the voices which express their mind. By the voice, therefore, of these many waters, those who were once, through arrogance and wealth and insolence and the swellings of vain opinions, the sea of human life, become ^B wonderful and worthy of acceptance through repentance and the reception of virtue. The very words of the divinely inspired Scriptures, both New and Old, can also be called rivers, because of their precious, life-giving power and their cause of fruitfulness.

Verse 4. According to the mind of the writer, the swellings of the sea are nothing other than what are called temptations, which for this reason also become wonderful, appearing as causes of salvation from the voices of the many potable waters. It is possible, therefore, to see in these temptations and struggles some who are shown to be victors. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation,” and the rest. For from the affairs themselves, and from those who enter into them in themselves, ^C the swellings of the sea become wonderful when they are examined rationally and wisely. In the lofty and exalted words, the Lord is wonderful, so that the testimonies related to what are called ordinances and laws may be confirmed by this.

Verse 5. All who have admitted Him into themselves are the house of God; to whom it truly befits to be holy, not for one day or a second, but “unto length of days.” Whence the mystagogue, wishing for the house of God to have sanctification “unto length of days,” says: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, ^D God will defile him. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.” For holiness and sanctification truly befit every house that becomes God’s, so that as they are God’s, they are holy, or as they are holy, so they are God’s. Whether one speaks of it as His own flesh, or the Church, or those who have been consecrated to Him, the sanctification of these is “unto length of days,” that is to say, unto the ages of ages. Therefore, the other translators have rendered it as “lengths of time.” The prophecy, therefore, cannot be understood as referring to the temple of the Jews; for since that was destroyed long, long ago, how would its sanctification be “unto length of days”? But as for us, if we should desire to be called the temple of God, so that He may dwell

^A and we may have the Holy Spirit, let us preserve [that] sanctification “unto length of days.”

PSALM XCIII

VERS. 1. God brings about vengeances with confidence because He accurately perceives what they have done and with what intent those who are being judged acted, whereas other judges are sometimes deceived, so that they no longer exact penalties according to the magnitude of the offenses. For which reasons judges are sometimes affected by confusion, punitively punishing in an inept manner those who are caught in malice. Only He acts with confidence in taking vengeance, who says: “In what measure you measure, it shall be measured back to you.” For He renders to each according to his works.

VERS. 2. Show everyone how lofty your dominion is, and break the arrogance of the proud, teaching through experience that You are the Judge of the world, who opposes the proud and renders to them the punishment that is appropriate for them. All these things became manifest at the coming of Christ. For then He acted with confidence, having become a man without sin, although He was the Lord of vengeances. He also judged the earth, declaring it full of sins, although He Himself neither committed sin ever, nor knew sin. Therefore, He “repaid” the Pharisees who arrogantly despised Him, and the invisible enemies who mocked Him as He was crucified.

VERS. 20. O our Creator, Lord, and truly You care for us. If any good befalls us, we know it is as much from You. But when we see that certain evil men are killing the just and condemning the innocent, we cry out to You: “Shall a throne of kingdom ^B adhere to You, or shall it adhere” to You, when such things are perpetrated against Your servants? But no throne of iniquity adheres to You; for You have established the law as queen of all, by which all things are directed. — And a little later: A throne of iniquity is nothing other than the most powerless dominion. For, being most cruel and hateful, it commands heavy and laborious things, and adds toil to its precepts. But the commandments of the Lord, according to John, are not heavy by nature; therefore they bear one upward, and exalt, and lift to high places him who serves them. — And again: “Therefore restrain their most cruel” attacks against us. — Feigning ^C themselves to be judges and equipped with the office of magistrates, they condemn innocent blood.

PSALM XCIV

VERS. 3. He calls gods those whom the Scripture calls angels; but God reigns even over those who have become gods, to whom the word of God has come.

VERS. 4. The word, laying hold of the whole earth according to the principle of providence, has in its own hand the so-called ends of the earth; for its possession is the ends of the earth.

^C By the "ends of the earth," he refers to men who are distinguished, being separated by their life and mindset, those who are godly men. They are "excellent" in a special way, and this is why he calls them the "heights of the mountains."

Verse 8. The Apostle, testifying that these words up to the end of the psalm were spoken by the Holy Spirit, used them in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in some way adding his own interpretation to them. He interpreted "today" as referring to the entire present age, extending it to everyone; for every single day of the age is signified by the word "today."

Verse 10. "I was offended," he says, "I became provoked," not with every generation, but with that one which was always living in error, because it did not wish to have knowledge of God. He says that God, having been angered, swore that they should not enter into His rest. Since he said these things in the seventy-seventh [psalm], and since Paul also explained this expression, we shall say no more than what was said at that time. Yet these things will also reach us if, when we hear the voice of God calling us even now in the present day, we harden our own hearts; for the wrath of God will overtake us, and we shall be cast out of the rest which is from Him and with Him.

PSALM XCV

Verse 1. It must be said, therefore, regarding such a restoration of the house to its ancient state, that David, having perceived this in a more prophetic way, composed the song for the renewal of the house. Those who strip off the old man and put on the new—the man being renewed so as to be in the image of Him who created him—sing this song, having been taught by the New Testament and having embraced the newness of Christ's covenant and teaching.

Verse 2. All these who sing to God are commanded to sing to Him and to bless His name; for by good works and by knowledge of the truth one blesses and glorifies the name of God.

Verse 3. Concerning the wonders of which it was said in the thirty-ninth psalm: "You have done many things, O Lord my God, Your wonders." ^D Celebrating the author of these wonders, the prophet Isaiah says: "O Lord God, I will glorify You, I will praise Your name; for You have done wonderful things, an ancient and true counsel." For God the Savior has done wonderful things, having liberated every soul oppressed by the devil. And a little later: But if one wishes these things to be the "terrible powers" and the wonders promised to the nations, such as how Jesus raised up the dead and restored sight to the blind, and if anything else of such a kind is recorded, he is not mistaken.

PSALM XCVI

Verse 1. The hand of the sufficient one. This is the spiritual David, who [is] from his seed according to the flesh.

has been made. His earth, therefore, was established, either because he took away every disturbance and warlike tumult of any kind, or because he fashioned the earth so that, upon receiving the seed, it might offer fruits of a hundred, sixty, and thirty-fold to those who sow justice for themselves, and so that the seeds of justice sown by Jesus himself might be filled. For this reason God also reigns—not that he attained a kingdom which he previously lacked entirely, but because he became king to sinners who were doing penance, those who formerly denied his rule. Therefore all the earth exults, commanded to do this because its Lord reigns. ^B

VERS. 2. Not corporally. For if the things in the circuit were bodies, then the one encircled would also be a body, or at least he would be clothed with a body—he who is encompassed. But God, and his only-begotten Son, in so far as he is God the Word, is incorporeal, or rather superior to those bodies. To indicate that he cannot be comprehended by the intellect, it is said now that he is surrounded by cloud and darkness. Perhaps the cloud signifies those potable discourses which flow from him; the darkness, however, declares how difficult he is to grasp: for it was said already before: “He bowed the heavens and came down, and darkness was under his feet.” For the fact that he is most difficult to behold, or rather incomprehensible to the mind of any creature, as to the manner in which God creates and governs all things, is declared by those words: “Darkness under his feet.”

VERS. 3. The enemies of justice are those who lead a foolish and wicked life, just as those who teach and profess falsehoods are alien to the truth; and it has been said ^C that friendship with the world makes us enemies of God. “He will inflame them,” not by destroying and rendering their nature null—for the substance of the soul is immortal—but by taking away from them the works of the flesh and base affections that have grown up around them. Therefore the Savior glories in having sent fire upon the earth, so that he might consume all worldly things.

VERS. 4. The illustrious discourses of his divine discipline “shone like lightning” to the whole world, illuminating and brightening it, so that it might obtain the light of knowledge. Seeing these lightnings, the earth was moved and changed, putting off earthly senses so that it might put on the image of the heavenly one. It will see human laws and the customs in harmony with them; all, having abandoned their ancestral ways, ^D have betaken themselves to the evangelical discipline. The whole world is illuminated having seen the lightnings of the Lord. But the earth is moved by the quaking, taking its beginning so that it might also be called the world, so that the divine lightnings of the Lord might appear to it as having been made such.

VERS. 6. Those who announced the Savior—that is to say, the justice of God—as about to come hither, are aptly called the heavens, because they bear the image of the heavenly one, and—

^A they have their citizenship in heaven, announcing that the justice of God shall come from heaven, which is not different from His own justice. But because practical virtue is often called justice, only the heavens—that is, righteous men—know how to announce this in a practical manner; for the righteous man announces the faith that is demonstrated, with their faith being reckoned as justice.

Verse 10. The wicked one is hostile and hateful to God, not by an opposition of nature; for nature does not differ from the good, nor are you to suppose that a nature is indicated here which is called "wicked." For we do not understand any such nature in our knowledge, such that we might hate it upon knowing it; but we call anything that is a work of malice "wicked," and we pursue it with hatred, provided we think rightly. ^B If anyone ever assaults the holy ones, he will have the power, at most, to harm the body or inflict death; but their soul will remain unharmed and unimpaired. For who would not confess that the martyrs of the truth are guarded in their souls by the Lord whom they confess?

Verse 11. To him who has perfected practical virtue, which is called justice, the light of knowledge has arisen, which is no other than the true light, of which the Father said: "But to you that fear my name, *the Sun of justice* shall arise."

PSALM XCVII

Verse 3. Israel differs from Jacob by way of disposition, but not in substance; for the same person is at one time Jacob and at another Israel. ^C For when he is a practitioner of practical virtue, wrestling down irrational passions, sins, and the wicked powers that effect them, he is Jacob, "tripping up" the aforementioned ranks. But when, having risen above all malice, he approaches God through the purity of his mind, he is called Israel. — For the Gospel having been preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, according to the prophecy of Christ: "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God," namely Christ. — And a little later: They who have passed beyond the earth and have been raised above it, by no longer thinking thoughts that are humble and earthly, but by seeking and thinking on the things that are above—these are the "ends of the earth," seeing salvation and its author, the Word of God, who is the salvation ^D of God.

Verse 4. He commands all the earth—that is, all men living upon the earth—to send up a song of victory to the Lord who has defeated the enemies, the invisible foes of men, the devil and his henchmen.

Verse 5. What the cithara is, we have often said; what it is to play upon it, what it is to perform the things of virtue practically through the body, or through all the powers of the soul. — Instead of: "With the voice of the psalm," that is, in addition to the psalm played upon the instrument, let there be an added voice which is the contemplation of those things that are to be practiced.

^A VERSE 6. "With ductile trumpets" note: the Latin text here follows a different reading of the verse than the common translations, reflecting the context of the commentary they sing, whoever proclaims the word of truth brilliantly and clearly. For these are truly capable of rousing [the assembly] to a spiritual festival, saying: "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient ministers of the new Testament"; a thing which others cannot confess, except for those who are rich in every word and every knowledge.

VERSE 7. In the densely populated cities of men, the perfection of prophecy is especially to be considered. For the multitude of pious men in the churches imitates the surging sea, and the voices of those singing psalms resound there in accompaniment.

VERSE 8. Again, he calls them "rivers," to whom the duty of teaching others has been entrusted, and who, like rivers, pour forth divine waters; he bids them to clap their hands, that is, to celebrate God; for this is the speech of those who rejoice. — And again: What occurs here perhaps designates the multitude of those who, like waves, are rolled toward salvation, and with voices and praises celebrate the kingdom of the Lord.

VERSE 9. He shall judge his servants first "in equity." For when peoples have a right heart and right customs, he will render to each according to his works.

PSALM XCVII

^C VERSE 2. First, in Sion, with the law given and the prophets sent forth, the Lord is great; then he appeared exalted over all the peoples who turned to the faith from the nations. For "glory and honor and peace to everyone working good, to the Jew first and to the Greek." For having been exalted from the earth, he drew everyone to himself.

VERSE 5. "Exalt the Lord," not indeed by carrying him from an inferior place to a higher one; for this would befit none but bodies; but by thinking high and sublime thoughts concerning him. ^D And his "footstool" is declared to be the old temple, as it is written in Jeremiah: "How has the Lord obscured in his wrath the daughter; he cast down from heaven to earth her sanctification, and did not remember his footstool?" And a little after: He commands that the footstool be worshipped, namely, the supreme rule over the whole world, which will then appear, to which not only the holy, but all, will be subject. Priests and prophets were also called holy. But he says that this footstool is not to be worshipped by this [kind of] holy person, desiring to declare how much he differs from the other holy ones; for he himself was the Holy of Holies. For this reason he mentions Moses as the lawgiver, Aaron as the high priest, and Samuel as the prince of the prophets. These things are not to be referred to these men alone, but to all who excel in the same virtues. And a little after: What then do we have

to say about these things? Or is it that he gave the name eponymously to those who possess the same virtues? If this is the case, it is evident that all who become faithful servants ^A are after the likeness of Moses; and the same holds true for the others similarly.

Vers. 7. Since the Word of God is firm and unwavering, it is fittingly called a pillar, so that the Church, which has received it, is the pillar and foundation of the truth. But since it is also drinkable and the cause of fruits, coming like rain into the minds of men, it is a “pillar of cloud.” Perhaps also by this was foretold the coming of the Savior hither, by which, ^B having mounted a light cloud, he came into Egypt, which is the region around the earth. — It is the part of a perfect man, and one endowed with all virtues, to keep all the testimonies and commandments of God. —

Vers. 8. You are our Lord and God, I mean the King of the nations—the very One who also heard both Moses and Aaron. When they stood in need of instruction, just as Aaron did concerning the making of the calf, and Moses concerning the unbelief at the water of provocation.

PSALM XCIX

Vers. 4. The gates of the Lord are virtues by type, concerning which it has been said in other places: “Open to me the gates of justice.” Having entered into the courts of the Lord, singing hymns to God, they will gladly confess to God.

PSALM C

Vers. 1. He who is now singing ^C informs and adorns the characters of the hearers through the song, celebrating God as the judge of the deeds perfected by men. Then, since his judgment is accurate, searching out not only what is manifest but also the hidden things of the heart, he adds with a good intention: for if he should look upon—according to their deserts—our deeds and words and thoughts, we perish utterly; so that this might not happen, he shows mercy before judgment: “If thou, O Lord, shalt mark iniquities, who shall stand?” And since with thee is propitiation, for you happen to be the source of goodness and mercy, we are confident that when you examine our affairs with mercy and judgment, we shall attain salvation.

Vers. 2. Those who walk according to the operations of the law, as many as are moved ^D with malice, become outside of themselves, being passionately enslaved to sensible things. Accordingly, it is customary to say that such persons are outside themselves and beside themselves. But he who moves with innocence, that is to say with virtue, concerning things that are to be done and thought, turns cyclically toward himself, being wholly of the mind and the care of the inner man, and walks “in the midst of his house” with an excellent habit. The house of each of the diligent is what they bring to perfection: virtue.

^A Ver. 3. I have no law given to me that I should transgress. This verse could be used by Joseph, and Susanna, and the three youths in the furnace, and whoever else has followed in their footsteps. Ver. 4. It is written in Ecclesiastes: “God made man upright.” If, therefore, man became upright, having been instructed in virtue from the beginning, all malice and depravity of morals is far from him. Whoever, then, has remained keeping uprightness and the likeness to God, utters this voice. Ver. 8. For when the members that are upon the earth are dead, and the body is oppressed and reduced to servitude, these are the impulses by which the flesh drives us to sins, which so affect souls that, for the love of pleasure, they do not hesitate to work iniquity.

^B PSALM CI Vers. 1. But if you ask for something, not having what you seek, and are about to obtain it through petition, you are poor. Everyone, therefore, who prays to God asks for a participation in good things, which he is not able to have from himself; hence all are poor before God. Although, therefore, David was great and a king, he was poor, in need of those things which God bestows; hence, knowing himself to be lacking in many or all of the things provided by God, he is filled with despondency, so as to be greatly troubled. Then, after being thus disposed, he pours out his prayer before the Lord, asking from Him who gives good things to those who ask Him. For he who does not ask for such things, but for what will perish, does not dare to pour out his prayer before the Lord, having a soul addicted to evil affections.—Praying to God, we invoke Him as suppliants; requesting, we seek those things which He wishes to be supplied to the needy. These, however, are things absolutely good, which it is fitting for God to bestow, and beneficial for us who ask to receive. It has already been said concerning the cry of the saints praising God and calling upon Him with a loud voice, that they do not cry out with the mouth, but with the affection of the mind towards God.

^C Vers. 4. It has already been noted often that “bones” are nothing other than the most firm doctrines of the inner man and the strongest virtues of the soul, which are crushed by the fire of passions; but his heart is withered, having nothing joyful by which he might be gladdened. For I have fallen into such great calamities that I have even forgotten to eat my bread, which is convenient and congruent to his superior nature. He who is no longer agitated and whirled about by external things has become a participant in this bread.

Vers. 17. By which words, if I am not mistaken, he announces the sojourn among men of the Word of God, the Lord and Savior himself, Jesus Christ; by whose works Zion has been rebuilt again. But if you confess this, do not think that a worldly city or an earthly Jerusalem is under discussion here; but he says that the way of life of piety is to be renewed.

^A Since those who are ignorant of the divine economies supposed that the captivity of the Jews and the desolation of Jerusalem were a weakness of God, he not undeservedly calls the restoration of the city the glory of God.

^B VER. 22. The soul, which is understood here by the name Sion, will have teachers who announce the name of the Lord to it, and who also celebrate his praise in their minds; this is called Jerusalem, because it sees peace. Sion and Jerusalem also designate the Church; for she chooses the best things and sees peace, with doctrines so fittingly connected to one another. Nor is it without cause that the name of the Lord is announced in this Sion, and his praise is preached in this Jerusalem. For in her are recounted the mysteries of his divinity, both those things which are before the ages, and those which are to be referred to his second and glorious coming.

VER. 24. "Who answered him in the way of his strength?" The Scripture does not indicate that these words are used by the new people to celebrate the Lord. You would think more rightly, therefore, that these words are uttered by him who is called "pauper" and "anxious" in the heading, and who is pouring out his prayer before the Lord, and that he is answering not with voice and speech, but in the way of his strength: that is, by perfecting the way of virtue and honorable life with a firm and certain step.

VER. 25. "In the half of his days," he is taken away, who did not bring forth perfect or worthy fruits of virtue on this earth. ^C For these things are not measured by a temporal interval, since I am found full of days according to Abraham when I have attained the perfect knowledge of truth and perfect virtue.

VER. 26. That is to say, you made the earth at the same time that you brought it into existence. And the text, "In the beginning God made heaven and earth" (Gen. I, 1), agrees with this; it is not able to overturn the opinion of those who contend that the earth is the element of all things, such that all things were made from it, and nothing existed before it. For it appears that it is not a first principle, but that there were certain principles of it conceived beforehand, which are its foundations. And it is said by the Lord himself to Job, who founded the earth: "Where were you when I founded the earth?" (Job XXXVIII, 4). The Lord, through whom all things were made, is the one who founded the earth. It is also said of the Father: "God in wisdom founded the earth" (Prov. III, 19); and again: "Suspending the earth over nothing" (Job XXVI, 7), which implies that the earth was placed in the center of the whole universe. ^D By "hands" are meant the powers by which God operates; for since with us craftsmen finish their works with their hands, they imagine that God created these things in a similar way. It is manifest from the fact that creatures are called "the works of his hands" that they are properly the works of God.

VER. 28. "You are not one who can be corrupted or changed; for this is the property of creatures, inasmuch as they are created even through change." While all things grow old in time—for those things that have come into existence at a certain time,

^A when much time has passed, they grow old. And a little later: "That which is growing old and being folded up indicates that the need for which they contributed to the present arrangement has passed; for just as a cloak is folded up after it has fulfilled its purpose, so too, since there will again be a re-constitution of heaven together with the earth, after they have passed away, according to the Savior who says: 'Heaven and earth will pass away.' It is fittingly said to be folded up like a cloak. At least, the phrase 'and they will be changed' is added to this folding of his. As for You, O Master, who are always the same and unchanging, You neither began to be, nor do You will to have years in time; for He about whom these things are said is timeless. And again: 'He said that His years would not fail,' because His existence is infinite, remaining incorruptible, and He is the only one who truly possesses immortality."

Vers. 29. "The sons of the servants of God" are not to be understood according to the flesh, but are those who are formed according to their standard and discipline. For this is why certain men were called "sons of the prophets," clearly because they organized their lives according to the ways of the prophets. "And their seed" refers to those who were increased by them.

PSALM CII

Vers. 1. Although the composite man is nothing other than soul and body, for he is composed of these very things, yet he addresses his own soul as if it were distinct from himself. Therefore, the man himself rouses his soul to praise God. Those who maintain that this soul is the Spirit do not, in truth, think that it is animated by it, but that it directs it by command and care. He calls "my inward parts" all the faculties of the mind; for in this sense you must interpret what the Savior said to some: "The kingdom of heaven is within you."

Vers. 3. "Heal," he says, "my soul, for I have sinned against You." He redeems life from destruction so that you might no longer live a corrupt and lustful life, but might love the Lord Jesus in incorruption. He will also redeem your life from corruption when, in the resurrection, He bestows upon you an incorruptible body.

Vers. 4. "For your crown consists of mercy and compassion." For just as others obtain the crown of righteousness and the unfading crown of glory, woven from righteousness and right report, so too will you be crowned for your works with mercy and compassion, according to the passage: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." ^D But this will be even more on account of the mercy and compassion of God, than on account of the praise which you may have earned for yourself in this life. He crowns us not for our merits, but for His own supreme mercy and compassion.

Vers. 5. "(He satisfies) with good things, bestowing them upon those who ask Him. Since—"

it is the same thing, moreover, to desire good things and to ask to obtain them—for He gives you all things for which you yearn—^A "He satisfies your desire with good things"; for every desire of the righteous is good. For just as that bird, when it grows old, is plucked of its feathers so that it may be renewed by another nature, so too does he who has grown old in malice become renewed, exchanging the antiquity of your youth in the release that comes to pass. In those things which you once used, being strong, and now utilizing, you are lifted aloft to heaven towards all who have awaited God together with you. "For they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall put forth feathers as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary."

VERS. 6. The Father of mercies and the only good Lord acts with pity, bestowing mercy and beneficence upon all. Whence, rendering judgment for those suffering injury from the devil and from malice, He sent His own Son ^B to heal and to liberate those whom Satan held enslaved. "That by the blood of His Lord Jesus Christ we might be cleansed from all unrighteousness," not only that which we have suffered, but also that which we have ourselves committed. From this we learn, according to Paul’s exhortation, that it is better to suffer injury than to inflict it; for God renders judgment to those who suffer injury, heaping benefits upon them, whereas He brings punishment upon those who inflict injury, so that they do not inherit the divine promise. "For the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

VERS. 7. By "ways," here, virtues are designated. For he who says, "Make known to me Thy ways, O Lord," ^C asks that the virtues be made manifest to him.

VERS. 8. Of these good things, he says, the cause is the abyss of divine goodness, the infinite mercy, the ocean of philanthropy.

VERS. 9. All these things apply to the Lord, since He is the true God. But since He is the true God, He is not adorned with these virtues, but is the fountain of them, not merely their substance; wherefore we also have confidence. For even if He should be angered at us when we sin, He does not do so to destroy or to bring us to an end. For that would be the meaning of "He will be angry unto the end," ^D that is, that the anger should remain until the end and ruin of those against whom the anger is directed. Since, however, He is not "angry unto the end," He will not be indignant forever.

VERS. 14. For although our entire composition is not of dust—for we possess also a rational nature, having attained to the image and likeness of God—yet in our prayers to God, imploring His help and benefits, we present ourselves as most infirm and most feeble, saying: "Remember, O Lord, that we are dust." Wherefore, help our infirmity and our vileness.

VERS. 15. Following the text, "Remember, O Lord, that we are dust," it declares these things, not regarding the inner man, but the outer. For according to our material and fleshly life, we have certain days that complete for us the length of our time.

^A And a little later: He compares the time of life lived in the flesh to grass that is withering. And a little later: He shows that these prosperities, riches, glories, honors, and other such successes appear to exist for those who live in the flesh. These flow away and wither like a flower and grass, so that they seem not even to have existed.

VERS. 16. By "Spirit" he means the soul, in whose presence the body also lives and acts; but when it has flown away, the body is extinguished and decays, so that its former characteristics are not even recognized—that is to say, those [characteristics] that exist in this present mortal life.

VERS. 17. Our nature, then, is transitory. But divine kindness grants a long-lasting life, and even keeps for the sake of the ancestors the reward due to the just [descendants]. You might find countless such things in the histories; for because of the righteousness of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, God deemed the people who later sprang from them worthy of the calling and of his own providence. "Children of the just," that is, those who emulate their works; thus, the mercy upon those who fear Him is uncircumscribed, extending ^B "from everlasting to everlasting." For He is not merciful at one time and not at another; but being good by nature, He is always merciful. And a little later: But righteousness, which is joined with this mercy, is also not limited by time; it extends to all generations, to the sons of sons, and remains for every succession, so that it always possesses this righteousness, along with the mercy that is from everlasting to everlasting. And those who by doing good works became heirs of the future promises.

VERS. 18. For these commandments are given not that they may be merely committed to memory, but that they may also be performed in deed. That they were given to men for the sake of doing them, the Savior Himself testifies, saying: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me." For the reward and inheritance of the promises belong to the doing of them, not to the mere memory of them. ^C

VERS. 19. It has been said elsewhere that God is not circumscribed in place, but that He is said to dwell in heaven for some consistency and economy of speech. Consistently with those [teachings], then, it is said even here that He has prepared, that is, established, the throne of His kingdom in heaven, signifying that His rule and kingdom not only govern and reside over those in heaven, but over all things without exception.

VERS. 20. One must understand that it is not the prophet, being a man, who commands the angels in the things set forth, but the Holy Spirit inhabiting him: for "All his angels," he says—namely the Lord's—"bless Him." But by commanding all the angels, the Spirit is seen to be different from them in essence. ^D If this is so, how could some have dared so rashly to claim that He is of the order of the angels, even though He is distinct from them all?

PSALM CIII. VERS. 3. He covers the air above us and the ether that inclines toward God with waters through those that gather in clouds

In accordance with the meaning, He calls the intellectual substance "heaven," extending and spreading itself for the protection of the mind. He who covers the higher regions of the soul with intellectual and divine waters—that is, its faculties which happen to be above the sensory realm— ^A VERS. 6. He calls the immeasurable knowledge of God an "abyss"; He has put this on and wrapped Himself in it because of its incomprehensible beauty. Therefore, He is unknown in the magnitude of His knowledge. ^B VERS. 9. The sea seems to revere the sand, just as it is held back by the divine limit as if by a bridle, returning and withdrawing backward. VERS. 18. The race of deer is hostile to the race of serpents; they are eager, therefore, to destroy them. Such are, by all means, the disciples of Christ, who are ready to avenge every disobedience. They also possessed power against the intellectual serpents from Him who gave them authority "to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy." VERS. 27. It is in due season that they expect to obtain this, when they are delivered from all depravity and disease. For then, when it is given, they will gather it, being as eager to receive it as they are to be satisfied. This is spoken only of spiritual things; for to wait and to have expectation toward God implies nothing else. ^C VERS. 31. The Lord rejoices in our worship, not as though He were in need of it. But since He wishes us to be saved, He shows the truth; and while He has the power to punish, He does not inflict punishment. But if you wish to understand these things spiritually, as God looks upon us according to the saying, "Look upon me," and, "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous," this is not in a worldly sense, but those who are laboring under a dark dizziness tremble, so that the humble ways are cast off and pass away. VERS. 32. And God, touching the evil powers which are called "mountains" because of their pride, causes them to smoke, lighting in them the fuel for punishment by fire. VERS. 33. This is the gain of life, and for this reason it is worth living. Therefore, death is to be feared, because it silences the one who sings praises. For death is destruction. Because "there is no one in death who remembers You," and life is existence alone, since "the living," He says, "will praise You"; for in the union with Him who is, we have our being. And the song is not in the voice, but in the mind that possesses existence. "I will sing," He says, "and in perfect works to God," as long as I have existence, through which I partake of Him who existed before the ages, and who said, "I am who I am." ^D VERS. 34. For thus also Christ Himself, having accepted the Church, says in the Song of Songs, "Your voice is sweet." When the predicted time arrives, that of God’s righteous judgment, then "I shall rejoice in the Lord."

if even now, in the present time, my discourse may be sweet to Him. ^A

PSALM CIV

VERS. 4. Just as, as history attests, Samuel, ministering continuously in the tabernacle of the testimony, saw the face of the Lord, so those who dedicate themselves unceasingly and without any interruption to the contemplation of true doctrine and to the works of virtue always seek the face of God, desiring to behold Him with a pure mind. The face of God, moreover, is the character of His hypostasis, the image of the invisible God. Therefore, he who sees the Son sees the Father also.

VERS. 5. About to recount the prodigies that took place in Egypt, he first recalls how just were the punishments of the Egyptians. Think of His mouth as His Word, who, like a lawgiver and an accurate teacher, handed down to you most just laws and doctrines. ^B

VERS. 8. The number of thousands of generations is cited not to declare a multitude, but because it is more becoming to the one God. Thus also in that passage: "Thousands of those who rejoice," and again: "The law of your mouth is good to me, above thousands of gold and silver."

VERS. 12. "Short" is said instead of "few"; for brevity is referred to length, while paucity is referred to number.

VERS. 18. He humbled only his feet in shackles, but his soul was not bound at the same time, and it escaped the iron. For whoever, upon being surrounded by bonds, bears this affliction ignobly, possesses a soul bent by the iron. This man, however, did not endure it forever: for He Himself defines the end of the captivity, saying that it lasted until the Word of God came, by whom, once freed from the shackles, he was appointed curator and nourisher of all.

VERS. 19. That he might be fervent in spirit and adhere to the divine light itself; for by whose works will you be able to fulfill that exhortation: "Do not quench the Spirit"? ^C

VERS. 20. Nor did Joseph himself miss this doctrine. For he says to his brothers: "You did not send me here." "For you indeed devised evil, but God intended it for good."

VERS. 22. Since not all are able by their own strength to escape from evils, God sends to men who have fallen into that infirmity guides by whom they may be directed as they make their way toward good things. Such, moreover, are the law of God, Moses, and the tradition of the high priests, of which Aaron is the symbol. ^D

VERS. 26. This discourse recalls the memory of these things as in the chanting of a hymn, wishing to teach that God, being mindful of His people, pursued and punished the Egyptians, His enemies, not by any of the great...

^A things; for the almighty hand did not need ministers such as lions, or bears, or famine, or death, to press upon them with wrath. But He afflicted them with the aforementioned evils, gradually exhorting them also to repentance.

PSALM CVI

VERS. 17. In the way of their iniquity still proceeding, God took them up in His mercy, since because of the multitude of their impieties, having been humbled, they were held back by those things from which the Lord brought them out. And see if what is recounted concerning the thief who repented upon the cross can be applied to these. For while he was still in the way of iniquity—for he had been judged on account of robbery—and humbled by punishment on account of the iniquities he possessed, the Lord took him up, saying to him, "Today you shall be with me in paradise."

VERS. 20. Whom did He heal, if not those of whom it has been spoken above? For the only-begotten Son, sent from above by the Father, healed these who had suffered so much and had been tried in such great evils, and delivered them from their corruptions. So that they no longer wander as of old, nor are ignorant of the way of salvation and the city of God, toward which the Word urges them to hasten; nor do they hunger and ^B thirst and cause their souls to famish through the lack and scarcity of spiritual nourishment; nor do they sit in darkness and the shadow of death, nor are they bound in poverty and iron, nor are they hemmed in around the gates of death; but they have been delivered from all these things. And they not only know, but also walk, the way that leads to the heavenly city, and hasten to attain the kingdom of heaven.

VERS. 22. Not the sacrifices commanded through Moses, but those handed down through the New Testament. Aquila, therefore, interpreted most accurately, saying: "And let them sacrifice a sacrifice of praise." Clearly, through such an interpretation, by pointing out the rational and bloodless [sacrifices], he designates those of the New Testament, which it is our custom to call also the sacrifices of the Eucharist. And they are commanded, when offering these, to announce to all men the achievements of God the Word that have been accomplished for them, and to do this in exultation. — And everyone who announces to others what has been done for himself, and has had experience of His benefit, announces the works of the Lord in exultation, not he who simply recounts the works performed for the sake of others.

VERS. 26. These things are said by way of exaggeration; for you might find thousands of examples of such a trope in the Scripture. For concerning the cities of the enemies of Israel, it is said that they were walled up to heaven, because they were walled with excessively high walls; and so it is with that which says, "And I shall be whitened more than snow." ^{C D}

^A VERSE 32. After what has been said concerning the apostles and the Church, he clearly makes mention of the honors established for the elders in the Church; for in the announcement of good things, this was also to be commended. It is commanded, moreover, to those who are going to exalt their Lord "in the assembly of the people," that they should also praise Him "in the seat of the elders."

VERSE 33. What are these rivers? The ancient people of the circumcision: indeed, they, who were previously adorned with great goods, were afterwards afflicted with evils. And a little later: "Because of the malice of those who dwell in it," and for no other cause was the land changed into saltiness. The whole nation of the Jews has been deprived of all the good things in which it once abounded: so that now no prophets teach it, nor do angels appear to it. And everything sacred to them has been taken away: fatherland, temple, Holy of Holies, kingdom, priesthood; nay, they have become slaves instead of free, and they who had been masters of their own laws have become subject to the laws of the nations. And all these things they have suffered because of their own malice and iniquity.

VERSE 35. The Church of those who believed from the nations, which had previously been deserted by God and was destitute of good and barren, has been changed "into pools of water," and what had once been without water has become "into outlets of water."

VERSE 36. And they have dwelt in it, whosoever once hungered and perished and wandered in the false worship of many gods; who, when they had wandered for a long time, at length found a tower of refuge and a sure harbor, having attained the evangelical discipline. This saying indicates their pious manner of life. There have been settled those who once hungered: for, with Jesus God sent into the earth, they obtained the help and benefits of the Lord, and established "a city of habitation," and in it settled those who had previously thirsted, being freed from the scarcity of divine and spiritual foods from which they suffered, and deemed worthy of the heavenly food.

^C VERSE 37. Those who recall men from worse things to better, so that they also sow the heavenly seed here—as if born of the Father and having attained it through the ministry of the apostles—and plant vineyards in the hearts of men, that is, the Churches dispersed everywhere in the world: at the same time they were deemed worthy to be blessed and multiplied. Those who are lesser in understanding and reason are called beasts of burden; it is right that these should be multiplied and illuminated, seeing the grace of the Saviour diffused over the whole world.

VERSE 39. This does not differ from that saving utterance, in which it is said that the kingdom of God is to be taken away from the former people and given to a nation producing its fruit.

VERSE 43. It is not permitted to everyone to understand and recognize the benign counsels of the Saviour, nor to keep the divine commands.

but ^A only to him who uses divine wisdom and understanding, and who cries out to the Lord: "Open my eyes and I will consider the wondrous things of your law."

PSALM CVII

VERS. 2. "His glory," nothing other than the disposition of the mind for recognizing virtue in the soul and for perfecting it in deed.

VERS. 4. To whom the true light has shone. Having risen early to the Lord, as those walking decently in the day, striking the psaltery and plucking the harp, they sing to the all-wise God, sending up hymns in good rhythm and harmony.

VERS. 6. This verse, from the first word down to "your glory over all the earth," occurs in Psalm LVI. The rest of this psalm to the end is found in Psalm LIX: therefore, what was said there needs to be briefly repeated here. God is exalted in those who bear the image of the heavenly, and are for this reason called heavens. His glory is extended over all the earth that is able to bear fruit a hundred, sixty, and thirty-fold. Or, God being exalted upon the theoretical natures of the world, called heavens, His glory extends to the practical ones, which are called earth.

VERS. 7. For not otherwise would those worthy of being loved by Thee be delivered from the enemies oppressing or pursuing them, unless Thou saved them by Thy right hand, and heard me praying on their behalf. ^B He calls the "right hand" the good operation.

VERS. 8. Sichem is interpreted as "shoulder," being a symbol of labor. The Lord, therefore, having been exalted upon the cross, having ascended, divided the works of men, so as to justify some and condemn others; for He is a righteous judge.

VERS. 9. Galaad is translated as "transmigration," Manasses as "oblivion," and Ephraim as "fruitfulness." The Saviour therefore says: "Galaad is mine and Manasses is mine," being translated from evil to truth, and from evil to virtue, or from earth to heaven; and he is mine who, having forgotten all evils, has now laid aside that very oblivion. For he who after oblivion comes to remembrance is Manasses, that is to say, he casts off and rejects the oblivion by which he had been unmindful of God and His good things. ^C But also the abundant fruitfulness of the nations who have believed has become a covering and a protection for the Saviour. For just as Paul writes to those benefited by him, "You are my joy and crown," so the Saviour has as His crown the protection of those who weave into themselves justice and exhibit truth. And Judas is His king, not in the sense that he rules over Him, but that this king is intimately united with Him; such is David, or perhaps anyone who confesses the miracles of the Lord, for Judas is interpreted as "confession." ^D

^A

Ver. 10. Moab is the cauldron of hope to the one singing psalms, because it is the chastiser of those who were delivered to it by the Lord; for "cauldron" everywhere designates the chastisement of the prophets. Since, therefore, punishments are brought on with a good purpose, possessing a good hope following after them, the cauldron is the hope and expectation of good things. But if these things were to be proclaimed from the person of Christ, since Idumaea designates earthly things, He would say that He descends to the earth and to earthly things; for the sandal is a symbol of a hidden journey. For long ago the Creator used to walk openly, taking care of affairs. Now, however, He has come clothed in flesh, which His sandal declares.

Ver. 11. When the Prophet heard such things concerning the calling of the nations, and also learned what was said in the fifty-ninth Psalm regarding the Jewish nation, and knew that the foreigners and aliens would be brought into subjection and would become friends with God, he praises those who are deemed worthy of this experience, and prays that he himself might be one of them. That is, [he prays for] that state of all-blessedness which is to be, when God deems it worthy to place His foot upon their land. And a little later: "Who therefore will guide me to the grace given to the nations, if not you, O God?" For thus Symmachus interpreted these things, saying: "If not you, O God, who rejected us?"

Ver. 12. For you do not shield or fight for us, but you have delivered us as servants and subjects into the hands of your enemies, no longer free; for we would never have been defeated, had you been our general and leading our phalanx.

Ver. 13. For we are not protected by a military array, nor by human strength; but Symmachus says: "May you be our hope against the afflictions that are about to rise up against us."

Ver. 14. Truly, we are those whom He set out to tread upon with His sandal, and whom He will again comfort with society and friendship. For when these were lost, we confessed ourselves rejected, because God "no longer went forth in our virtues." And He himself, with an invisible and hidden hand, "will bring our afflicters to nothing."

PSALM CVIII

Ver. 6. The right hand is not the same for all, but for the righteous it is spiritual things and virtue, while for the wicked it is sensible things and malice. For at the right hand of the saint, God stands, but at the right hand of the sinner, the devil.

Ver. 7. When he asks for things that are not proper, and which would harm the one receiving them, he is condemned by God for no other reason than that he asks for things which it would be neither proper for God to give, nor beneficial for him to receive.

Ver. 8. For to everyone who betrays the truth, the days become few—those days which he had, enlightened by the true light, before he betrayed the truth. And his episcopate also...

he receives, and he becomes his own teacher, he who has remained and progressed in the truth. ^A

Ver. 14. The fathers of Judea who were able to beget him by betrayal are those who urged him on to this by the offering of money, as well as he who cast the betrayal of the Lord into his heart, Satan, and the rulers who possess the wisdom of this age, concerning whom Paul says: "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

Ver. 21. Because he is kind and full of goodness. You might call the apostles his heart and fellow-minded ones, since the rest of the faithful have been accounted as his body. Since, therefore, the disciples were scattered, having been scandalized on that night when the crowd of the Pharisees stood upon him to seize him, it happened that his heart was troubled, as he considered them to be his heart. Yet even if his heart was troubled, it did not depart from him, but remained enveloping him and within his disciples. ^B

Ver. 23. The Lord says this concerning human life, which is neither firm nor stable. Locusts, on account of the weakness of their nature, are shaken off and driven away very easily. Thus I too, having assumed a weak life for the sake of men, was driven out from weakness to be crucified, and having been taken up, I have migrated. It is possible to apply to all the disciples what is said about him: "I have been shaken off like locusts." For since they are pursued and shaken off by those who wish to do evil, they are not humbled, but flying aloft they are carried on high. All the martyrs, therefore, having been shaken off like locusts, leaving behind the things below, pursue the prizes of the upward calling. ^C

Ver. 31. Namely, of me who became a pauper for the sake of all, so that by my poverty they might be enriched. And the Lord stands at the right hand of him who does and thinks all things rightly. And again, concerning the Lord standing at his right hand, he sets forth the reason, saying: "to save my soul."

PSALM CIX

Ver. 1. To the Son who is Lord, who has fulfilled the economy and risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, the Lord—that is to say, the Father—said: "Sit at my right hand," and so on. Paul, indeed, knows that this utterance was spoken after this ascension, by saying: "When he had made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high," and so on. And again: "To which of the angels did he ever say, Sit at my right hand?" The Father, therefore, being Lord of all things created by him, says to the Lord of creation: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ^D The Father speaks to the Son just as a father might speak to a son and a son to a father. For he does not use vocal utterance to converse with the Son. For he himself is his own thought, truth, wisdom, and Word. The Lord sits at the right hand of the Lord; for if he were a body, he would not

position, or else he would not have said: "And in place we sought the right hand." Therefore, those who have become partakers of the divine holiness and goodness are the right hand of God; over whom He rules in no other way than by reigning together with the Father. For that which says, "Sit at my right hand," ^B indicates the Son reigning together with the Father.

VER. 3. The word for "beginning" here signifies the kingdom which the Savior attained "in the day of his power," or after the resurrection, when He rose from the dead; for if He was crucified out of weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. Or, it signifies the inherent authority present to Him, by which He rules and holds dominion. "In the splendors" by which the true light illuminates and brightens them. Whence it is also said: "Let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us." All ecclesiastical writers, not today for the first time but always, have thought that these words were spoken by the Father and should be joined to the beginning of the psalm, thus: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool; out of the womb before the morning star I have begotten you," ^C believing that the other verses were inserted between them. And the Apostle also seems to have followed this thought, saying: "To which of the angels did He ever say, Sit at my right hand?" He says this as if to mean: He said it to no creature, but only to His uniquely begotten Son, "Sit at my right hand." Since He alone is the Only-Begotten, who is "in the bosom of the Father." When we speak of legitimate offspring, we mention the womb; for some are truly sons, while others are adopted and put in that position. Whenever we indicate not the adopted but the true ones, we call them the offspring of the parents' womb. God, therefore, wishing to present His own and uniquely begotten Son, makes mention of the womb. And a little later: The Father does not say these things to the Son because the Son does not know them, but these things were written so that we might know the intimacy of the Father toward the Son, and of the Son toward the Father. And a little later: ^D The morning star is not only sensible light, but also intelligible light. But if it is prior to intelligible things, it is evident that it is also prior to every creature, according to what is said: "And He is before all things."

VER. 4. Just as the Savior defines swearing for us by saying, "Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No,'" so, and indeed much more, God is said to swear when He asserts the truth, even though He has employed no imprecation or oath. "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind," because He will never repent of His gifts, nor of the greatest of all callings, by which the Savior was called to the priesthood. His gift will surely remain forever, and the priesthood "according to the order" not of Aaron, but "of Melchizedek" forever.

VER. 5. Whereas the Father had previously said, "Sit at my right hand," it is now said to the Son: "The Lord is at your right hand," that it may appear that the Son is not at the right hand of the Father by reason of place; for otherwise the Father would simultaneously be at the right hand

of the Son, and the Son himself at the right hand of the Father. But this is absurd, unless these things are understood spiritually. Just as, therefore, the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father, so the Son is the right hand of the Father, and the Father is at the right hand of the Son. ^A These kings are none other than the devils, instructed in the kingdom, empire, and dominion of darkness. These same are they who are to be trampled by the feet of the Savior on account of the malice and wickedness through which they have become his enemies. They are to be crushed and cast out from the kingdom when the Lord shall break the empire and power of those. The day of wrath is called in the Scriptures the time in which all things are to be judged.

VERS. 6. He will not send away empty or deprived of his fullness any of those who are meant for salvation, that they may rise again to eternal life. — [To those] resisting because of the malice of many of those who are called. ^B

VERS. 7. This torrent signifies temptation, as it does elsewhere; for to drink from the torrent is nothing other than to undergo temptation. Now Jesus was tempted for [our] salvation, having entered into the way of men, as the Apostle testifies, writing thus: "For in that he himself hath suffered and been tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." Having been proclaimed King of all, and having been granted authority in heaven and on earth, he raised his head, having been appointed by the Father not only of those on earth, but also of those in heaven, ^C so that "every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"; the cross bears the symbol of this exaltation.

PSALM CX

VERS. 5. By a wonderful method, God gives food to them that fear him, with a certain miraculous action. Thus, he gave a meal to Daniel, who was hungering in the lions' den in Babylon; for he carried Habakkuk from Jerusalem through the air into Babylon, so that he might bring food to Daniel. Thus also he commanded the ravens to bring bread in the morning and flesh in the evening to Elijah, and when the whole region was ravaged by famine, he fed him who feared the Lord. The Old Testament, since it was to be dissolved upon the arrival of Christ, "shall be mindful forever of his testament," [the testament] of the new [covenant] instituted according to the Gospel, and destined to endure forever without any interruption. — When, with Israel becoming blinded in part, the fullness of the Gentiles has obtained the incorrupt and glorified inheritance, he "is mindful forever of his testament" ^D made with the sons of Israel on account of their fathers.

VERS. 6. Revealing to them what power his works have, which were to be performed by the people, and what account they are to render for their deeds. — To the Israelite people, that considering the virtue of the redemption, they too may be saved, [after] the fullness of the Gentiles has obtained the inheritance, being divinely taught concerning the inheritance granted to the Gentiles.

^A VERSE 7. And these things are also proper to the New Testament, fitting appropriately to the introduction and the elementary discipline of the evangelical teaching. But what are these? It is for us to know and learn that the works of the New Testament were not in types, shadows, and symbols, such as those of Moses, but the works of Christ were truth. Wherefore it is said: "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." But besides truth, the works of our Savior were also judgment; hence it is said in Isaiah concerning him: "And he shall be clothed with justice about his loins, and wrapped with truth about his sides." Since the disciples of the Gospel do not obtain salvation from the works of the law, but from the hearing of faith, according to the holy Apostle, the commandments of Moses were temporary; but those of the Gospel, not merely for this present age, but will abide into the future. For just as the works of his hands were truth and judgment, so too are his commandments performed by his disciples in truth and uprightness.

VERSE 9. These things mean the same as those: "The Son of man came to give his life as a ransom for many." ^B By that same precious blood, therefore, by the grace of God who tasted death for everyone, we have been redeemed from the manner of life handed down to us from our fathers. So that, serving the testament with firm and perfect zeal, they might obtain the eternal inheritance according to the immovable and eternal promises. His name, he says, is "holy" to the saints, and "terrible" to sinners.

VERSE 10. As the beginning of the good way (which is the contemplation of truth) is to do what is just, so too is the beginning of the introduction into the wisdom of God—which is itself nothing other than the contemplation of truth—the divine fear, which is the same as that which is named among practical matters as justice. Therefore, in whatever relation doing what is just has to the good way, just so does the fear of God have to wisdom. It is not for those who have understood it without doing it, but for those who do it. For to those who perform the understanding—which is not something other than virtue—it ^C is of benefit; from which benefit they learn how good it is. For this is the appropriate end for those who theologize, to say: "His praise"—that is, of the One who has been theologized—"remains forever." For since He who is praised is eternal, it is necessary that his praise also be unending, so as to last for all ages.

PSALM CXI.

VERSE 1. He who performs the commandments of the Lord for their own sake, and not for any other cause, such as for human glory, or so as not to fall into the punishment impending over sinners, or to seek any sort of reward, but loves and works the good itself; for he is truly blessed.

VERSE 2. But if one wishes to interpret the seed of the blessed man in a literal and Jewish sense, this pronouncement would be false. For there have been ^D countless holy and pious men

^A and prophets whose seed did not appear powerful upon the earth. For no one is able to point out, let us say, the seed of Melchizedek, or of Jesus Nave, or of Elijah, or of Jeremiah, or of the rest of the prophets—that is, sons and successions of sons—and seed that has become powerful upon the earth. But according to the spiritual understanding you will grasp the result of the word; having given consideration to each of the apostles, whose rational seed, having partaken of so much power, was cast as if into fertile and fruitful lands, namely the souls of men. It is not possible to say, for instance, that the apostle Paul, having established for God churches of ten thousand men from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum, did not possess a powerful seed upon the earth. Likewise, also, for each of the other disciples. And after a little: "But this seed of the saints, together with those themselves who sow such things, is blessed, not in a passing generation, but in that of the upright."

VERS. 3. This you will interpret by hearing Paul saying: "As poor, yet making many rich; and as having nothing, ^B and possessing all things." For who could become richer than he who has become an heir of God, and a co-heir of Christ? He who, having turned the words of Jesus which he heard [into] deeds, builds his house upon the rock, upon the unshaken word of God, having entirely changed his foundations of the contemplative and practical life. This house, therefore, which each of those who fear the Lord has built, by having willed to be in the commandments of the Lord—that is, having willed intensely to be in the words of Jesus—he fills with the glory of the true discipline, and with riches composed of every word and every knowledge and good works. But you will also understand this, having given consideration to the fact that "by the works of the law no flesh will be justified ^C before God," according to the Apostle, "but he who does them shall live by them; but by the hearing of faith." "First, indeed, Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness." And then also those who similarly attain the Gospel of Christ through faith.

VERS. 9. He calls God a horn. For all the righteous, trusting in Him, say, "In thee we shall gore our enemies." And since the one who is blessed has gored his own enemies in the Lord, he necessarily has the horn by which he defeated them exalted in glory.

VERS. 10. In the life to come after these things, while the righteous attain the promises, each of the sinners afflicted with punishments will see ^D the righteous man whom he provoked, and will be enraged, being moved by the most violent repentance. Then he will also gnash his teeth, and he will be laid low, having cast off the tumor and the weight of his material and carnal frame and choice, as the desire of sinners perishes.

PSALM CXII

VERS. 1. That "children" is used absolutely does not permit one to suppose that it is said instead of "slaves"; for young ones are called children simply and without any addition; but slaves are called the children of someone. For just as a slave, ...

so also a child has his reference toward a master.

^A Ver. 3. Perhaps there are certain risings of the sun of righteousness, according to which it rose; and these have kinship, or they themselves happen to be relative to the risings in which Paradise is planted. And there would be likewise settings corresponding to these risings, according to which risings and settings it is fitting to praise the name of the Lord; for it set to Israel, but rose to the nations that believe.

Ver. 5. And through the words set forth we learn that God provides for all things; concerning whom the saint, seeing that He is incomparably superior to these created things, says: "Who is like the Lord our God?" For there is no one like Him, since He alone is the Creator and Governor of all. And he says these things not dividing the Son from the Father, or the Father from the Son; for the Godhead is one, and the Son is not another God, and the Father another, or the Son also different; and the Father is the Father of the Son.

^B Ver. 9. "He will make her dwell in a house," who before, on account of barrenness, lacked children, but now has become a mother most abundant in children and rejoicing. — And a little later: The prophet exhorts the Church from among the nations, which was first barren and lacked children, to rejoice, saying: "Rejoice, O barren one who bearest not; break forth and cry out, thou who travailest not, for the children of the desolate one are many more than of her who has a husband." For truly the Church from among the nations has become prolific and beautiful in children, more than the synagogue of the Jews, which has the Law as a husband. And every soul that is childless on account of barrenness is made to dwell by God in a house, namely, in the Church of the living God; she becomes a mother of works, of doctrines, of concepts, and of words, so as to rejoice together with her offspring through God the Word, who dwells with her. And history, ^C according to Scripture, provides many proofs of this matter. For instance, Anna, the mother of Samuel, was made to dwell in a house; she is called a mother rejoicing in her children, having become the mother of six children in total. And similar things are reported of Sarah, and Rebecca, and Elisabeth, and before her the mother of Samson. One might well say concerning each of them: "He has made her to dwell as a mother of children, rejoicing."

PSALM CXIII.

Ver. 1. While You, O Master, provide for us with benefits, the nations will have no place to say, "Where is their God?" For since they themselves have local gods and such as are established somewhere, they suppose this same thing about You, saying, "Where is their God?" Or perhaps they say this mockingly, thinking that we have no God. But if they, being in error, say such things, we, by a sure faith, are persuaded that our God is above in the heavens. — The whole race of the pious, when it possesses a mind that perceives God, is called the house of Israel, because it is the Church of the living God.

Ver. 10. And the house of those who worship the Divine, when ^D

^A they are priests, "hoped in the Lord," with a hope greater and more contemplated than that of Israel. For for those who have advanced in contemplation and practice, hope is greater, as they more intensely ask to have Him as their helper and protector. ^B These are the proselytes, they who are added to the Law from the nations, who, having hoped also themselves in the Lord, are called to have Him as their helper and protector. And the children according to God are taught to say these things, so that they might see that they too have become fellow-citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And so that they might see that just as the ancients hoped in the Lord and had Him as a helper when they acted rightly, so also now we, the new ones, the children who have come from the nations and have taken up the fear of the same Lord. In the battle against enemies we, who fear the Lord, have the Lord as protector and helper. But in our own affairs, both those concerning the soul and those concerning the body, we again have Him blessing us. So that the Lord alone suffices for us instead of every good and beautiful thing, and instead of every treasure and great possession, both for external things and for internal things. Thus, indeed, He blesses us now, as formerly He blessed the prior people; for the grace has passed from them to us. For as there is one and the same Lord, He presided over the ancients in the same way as He does over the new ones. And again, He blesses the new ones in the same way as He blessed the ancients; so that there is one calling, and one grace, and one people ^C from both ranks standing fast before God. Ver. 23. For he himself is the one whose laws we keep; for lest anyone should think that the oracles which Moses ministered were brought forth by some other, the hierophant consistently delivered the things concerning the creation of the world before the giving of the laws, through which he teaches that there is one God, and all parts of the world belong to Him.

PSALM CXIV

Ver. 2. "He inclined," he said, "his ear to me," ^D not that you should take any notion of bodies concerning God, as having ears and declining them to the spoken word—which we do to those who speak in a low voice, that we might receive the meaning of the spoken words from being nearby—but "he inclined," he said, that he might acknowledge his own weakness. For He descended to me, lying on the ground, on account of philanthropy; for the divine hearing needs no voice for perception. For He knows how to recognize even in the movement of the heart the things that are set before Him. And after a few words: "His auditory power." That is to say, I have called upon Him in all the time of my life, in my days which have come to be under the sun of righteousness, and being always illuminated, I have called upon Him. Ver. 3. So much, he says, was I from falling into these temptations as if involuntarily, that I have even invited upon myself many more temptations than these voluntarily. - "The pains of death," by which the mind is offended. - "I will call upon in my days," where it seems Didymus read "I will call upon."

^A - The things that are sinned in the thoughts are the pains of death. The "perils of hell" can be the practical effects of sins. Nor should one despair concerning these things, [even] for the sins of the soul, against the wicked powers, for the soul that receives them into [sin].

VERS. 4. Being confident, because I am strengthened by the same name, I shall endure all the things heretofore mentioned. - "Tribulation and sorrow," which I have found for myself voluntarily. For though he had said before: "The perils of hell found me;" here, however, he says: "I found tribulation and sorrow." Since, therefore, I was found with an unbroken spirit against the evils brought by the tempter, that I might show the abundance of my love toward God, I added tribulations upon tribulation, and sorrow upon sorrow, overcoming all temptations, not indeed by my own strength, but because I invoked the name of the Lord. ^B

VERS. 5. Everywhere Scripture joins God's mercy with justice, teaching us that neither is God’s mercy indiscriminate, nor is his judgment unmerciful. Mercy is an emotion by which we grieve for the miseries of those who endure unworthy things. Thus [God] pities man, who is cast down from the highest prosperity into the lowest penury, or who falls from the most perfect health into the most grievous diseases. Since, therefore, we too were once glorious, but afterward, on account of sin, were cast out of paradise and became inglorious and humble, God pities us, seeing how much we have been changed from those who we once were.

VERS. 6. But if you look to the body, you will feel that human nature could not subsist unless God were to preserve the very small and infants. ^C For how could they be carried in the womb or nourished or move, living in such a narrow and confined, nay, rather, in such a dark and humid prison, and not even being able to breathe, unless they were cherished by the custody of God? And how could they, who are cast into this strange place and [pass] from a most warm womb into a most cold air, live even for a little while, unless they were preserved by God? "The Lord preserves the little ones." Since I was humbled and became as a little child, and as a child I received the kingdom of heaven, [as] the Lord who preserves the little ones, He saved me from the pains of death and the perils of hell. ^D

VERS. 7. The good athlete exhorts his own soul, consenting closely to Paul, who says: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; as to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice," etc. - And a little later: For an eternal rest awaits those who have legitimately contended in the life here, not indeed as a debt due to the merits of their works, but granted by the grace of the munificent God to those who hope in Him.

^A

VERS. 8. He describes the rest to come, by comparing it with this present life. For here, he says, "the pains of death have surrounded me," but there "He has delivered my soul from death"; here the eyes of those in tribulation shed tears, but there there are no tears to obscure the pupils of the saints who rejoice in the contemplation of the most beautiful God. "For God has taken away every tear from every face." Here there is great danger of falling, whence even Paul said: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall"; but there are firm foundations, and an immutable life.

PSALM CXV.

VERS. 1. "I believed." The Apostle explains the sense of this expression when writing to the Corinthians: "Having," he says, "the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: I believed, therefore I have spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak." He calls it the spirit of faith, either faith itself, or the spirit granted by God to those who have faith, which concurs with that which says: "I believed, therefore I have spoken." "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This was not said because of the loss of his own height, but because he saw God as greater and higher than himself. ^B

VERS. 2. The prophet does not contradict himself with these words, as certain of the sophists attempt to argue by posing a question through permission, as though he were raving. For, they say, if every man is a liar, and David is a man, he himself will be a liar, and no faith should be placed in his words. But if his statement is false, then not every man is a liar, and David himself is freed from the charge of lying. But if he does not lie, his words must be believed; and believing his words, we must at the same time deny him faith. If, therefore, David speaks the truth, he contradicts himself, being at once a man and truthful; but if he lies, he asks for no faith for himself. For who would believe a liar? Since, therefore, he asserted that every man is a liar, David must lie so that he might confirm this statement; or if he is truthful, he overturns his own doctrine. But these are the games of sophists, and those who entice the unlearned with the snares of disputations; for this is how the truth stands. Men are called those who still serve the desires of man here. ^C But he who has been raised above carnal desires, and through the perfection of his mind, has arrived near to the angelic nature, whenever he speaks of other men, he distinguishes himself from them, as is evident. For truthful is He who says: "I said, you are gods." Although this name may befit others as well as David; for "the Son of the Most High," who is most closely conjoined with God by virtue, does not die like a man, but has the living God within Himself. ^D

VERS. 3. Having come to a realization of the myriad gifts with which he has been adorned by God; for he who was made by God, when before he was not,

was honored by reason, through which he is able to bear the image of the Heavenly One. Furthermore, looking toward the dispensation for the human race, that the Lord gave Himself as a ransom for many, he is perplexed and seeks among all these things that he possesses, what gift he might find worthy for the Master—not sacrifices, nor burnt offerings, but his entire life. ^B VERS. 4. He calls the cup the endurance in the struggles undertaken for piety, by which we struggle against sin even unto death. The Savior Himself teaches this in the Gospels: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me"; and again He says to the disciples, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" He signified the death that He was to undergo for the salvation of the world. "Do not fear the glorious struggle," He says, "O men, nor fear death; for it is not the end of life, but its beginning. By death we are not utterly destroyed, but we pass over to glory." But if this is indicated as the death of the saints, by which they die together with Christ, and carry about the putting to death of Jesus in our body, I know that I shall render worthy thanks by accepting the cup of this saving death. And he who accepts it will drink it piously, if he has called upon the name of the Lord that he may drink it worthily.

PSALM CXVII

VERS. 1. Since God, being good, desires the repentance of the sinner rather than his death, confess to the Lord with a contrite heart, all you who are subject to sin, and make confession to Him, and He will forgive you the things for which you confess; for His mercy, which is inseparable from Him, remains forever. Since the Lord always has mercy, not only now for the first time, but also from of old, all who have experienced His mercy confess to Him.

VERS. 5. Where God had previously gathered the defined ranks and had fashioned one body and one people, He teaches this people that tribulations must be endured by it, having been convinced that "tribulation works patience, and patience probation, and probation hope, and hope does not put to shame." Wherefore the people of Christ is taught to profess: "From tribulation I called upon the Lord." Through prayers he found the Lord made a breadth for him; as on one side, according to his human life, he walks the narrow and afflicted path, and therefore says, "From tribulation I called upon the Lord"; but on the other side, he has the Lord Himself as breadth and roominess. Whence Symmachus also has: "And He heard me in a broad place." The righteous man who is distressed by tribulation does not so much pray to be outside of it, but that he may endure it with a noble and joyful spirit. For even he who is about to wrestle with adversaries in the stadium, most willingly initiates the struggle, not only not refusing it; but he asks the trainer—

to assist him, so that by holding out against the assaults brought on ^A by the adversary, in the hope of victory and a crown, he may seem to earn the crown more easily. Furthermore, who these invisible enemies are, who also stir up other men against us by communicating their own hatred to them and desire our downfall, this shall also be stated.

VERS. 6. It also commands Christ’s people to withstand the assaults of men, and not to fear them, nor to surrender their spirit to despondency, but to say: "The Lord is my helper," and the rest. For they are enemies for no other reason than out of envy toward the people of God, because they are instructed in pious doctrine and conduct their lives according to God. And both those instructed through the senses and those lacking them—the impious and wicked demons—are to be called enemies.

VERS. 8. It is not in the same way ^B and with the same reason good to trust and hope in the Lord, as it is to trust in man and hope in princes. For the former is simply and absolutely good. But to trust and hope in man and in a prince is not good. Therefore, it exhorts those who do not hesitate to trust in man and hope in a prince, that they should learn to trust in the eternally abiding, mighty, and omnipotent God, and not to trust in a mortal and easily perishable man.

VERS. 10. This is impossible, unless it is spoken by way of hyperbole. For who could say, being a single man living in Judea: "All the ^C nations surrounded me," and surrounding, they surrounded him to wage war, and in the name of the Lord he took vengeance upon them? For this name becomes a weapon, a shield, and a bulwark for the person who is equipped with it. But consider whether it may not be permissible to interpret these things according to that verse: "In the morning I slew all the sinners of the land," by saying that the righteous man is surrounded by evil spirits, who beset him with the allurements of the flesh and the provocations of other passions, and further, with impious words that subtly and craftily subvert the doctrines of the truth. But he, ^D bravely and strongly, and equipped with the name of God, will repel all the nations and put them to flight, and sometimes even completely destroy them.

VERS. 12. Do not imagine that having been attacked once, you will have peace and will henceforth live your life tranquilly; rather, new battles await you. But let not your spirit grow sluggish, nor fail, but remain steadfast in reliance upon your name, for the sake of which they endure persecutions. The race of drones bears a resemblance to bees; for although they happen to be larger than bees in their bulk, they deceive those who are unlearned into thinking them bees. They do not produce honey, nor do they fashion a honeycomb, nor do they have the means to repel those who attempt to harm the wax. On the contrary, they consume the honey and attack the bees themselves; so that the bees, employing their own stings against them, destroy the drones in heaps, as being harmful to their fruits. But by the allegory of the bee producing honey and wax, [it means] nothing other than the Church of God...

Since she is a worker, desirable and glorious, kings and commoners offer their toils to her for their health, although she is weak in physical strength, because her preaching is not in the persuasive words of human wisdom. ^B Yet she possesses a sting, as she has the word of faith in the demonstration of the Spirit and the power of God, so that she may destroy heresies like drones, dividing them by the refutation of the truth. And the Church remains one, having honored the wisdom of God, as it is written, prevailing by the power of God over those who fight against her. And those who oppose her are not bees, but as it were bees (whom you would not ineptly call drones, as they surround the honeycomb to plunder the honey). They also burn ^C as a fire among thorns. For heretics kindle the fire of base deeds and desires, according to that word of Paul: "For the things that are done by them in secret, it is shameful even to speak of." And the Gospel interprets the thorns as pleasures. For it not only remained without loss itself, but also destroyed all their sophisticated reasoning and every height raised up against the knowledge of God; because his weapons are not carnal, but powerful to God—that is, the name of God—it defended itself against them.

VERS. 13. These things can be referred simultaneously to the Jews and to the faithful from the nations. For those would have perished completely had not God cherished them with grace; and these would have been submerged even more deeply into impiety, had not God rescued them from thence.

VERS. 14. We therefore have Him as our strength, and victory, and the subject matter of our hymns; for we celebrate with a joyful mind the One who grants us all good things. ^D "Becoming a salvation," the Lord does not then for the first time begin to exist, for He is perpetual and eternal. But He becomes a salvation when He takes us up to be saved, and according to that principle, all those things that are said to be made about Christ are to be interpreted. For neither the Word of God, nor Truth, nor Wisdom, nor the Son, was made, but He has become for us righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. For since He is simple and eternal, that which comes to pass is said with regard to our condition. Thus also God has made Him both Christ and Lord. Christ, indeed, meaning King and Priest to those subject to his rule and to those for whom He offers sacrifices; but Lord, to those desiring to serve Him. And in general, if you explain the things said about Him relatively, you will not err.

VERS. 15. "The tabernacles of the just": those mansions with the Father, according to the teaching of the Gospel. Concerning which the Savior says: "When it fails"—that is, mammon—"that they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles." In these tabernacles all the just rejoice; for they have attained the good things they had hoped for. Whence it is excellently said: "The voice of exultation and"

^A of confession is in the tabernacles of the just," for sorrow and sighing have fled away. And with peace finally prevailing, and the tabernacles of God—that is, His Churches raised up throughout the whole inhabited world—the voice, he says, is heard within the Churches of those who are saved and rejoicing.

Ver. 16. And after a little: "For this is the right hand, and it has strengthened its own people," during the time of persecutions; this also, having humbled the enemies of the Lord, exalted the people themselves. This also procured power for those who were previously being warred against, so that they might not succumb to the death of the soul, but live to God. Hence each one says: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me." This [right hand] exalts and lifts up the one who partakes of it, as having been strengthened more brightly and more greatly by the right hand of the Lord, and it allows one to say, "The right hand of the Lord has wrought power." His right hand works power in everyone who thinks and acts rightly; but it also exalts him, so that he becomes a second time in Him ^B to have power from the former power, by which, having attained immortality, he will say: "I shall not die, but live."

Ver. 17. I shall no longer die the death that follows upon wickedness, but I shall live, having partaken of the life contrary to the evil death, to the end that I may recount the wondrous works of God that have come to pass for me.

Ver. 19. Since the name of righteousness occurs here, and it designates every moral virtue, it must be said that this concerns the very gates of virtue, into which we enter when, by exercising ourselves studiously in them, we have knocked at them. And they enter [them] in order to confess the things for which, while they were outside the gates of righteousness, they sinned. But he says to enter not *through* the gates, but *into* the gates. For we must not pass over the operations of the virtues, but abide in them. Of old, the Law and the prophets were the gates, through which Israel approached God; but now faith is the gate ^C through which we now approach more intimately, being confirmed by the testimony of the Law and the prophets.

Ver. 21. Therefore I will sing to Him who opened to me the gates of righteousness, and I give thanks because You heard me, and accepted my prayer, and provided salvation.

Ver. 22. The stone which became reprobate for our sake, "which the builders rejected," after their rejection, became the head of another corner. And after a little: "Isaiah called him a chief cornerstone, and elect, and precious," because it joins two buildings under one corner. But the Son of God is truly a living and elect stone, so that He might bind together the building according to God, and hold together the two corners—of the old building of those from the circumcision, and the new one from the Gentiles—under one corner. This stone, therefore, the teachers of the law and the chief priests from among the circumcision of old, who were builders, previously cast off ^D and rejected; He Himself, however, has become the foundation.

and head of the other corner, namely the Church which is from the nations; and this has been granted as a most great gift from Christ. ^A

VERS. 23. Symmachus, however, says: "From the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our sight." Truly, it was indeed wonderful and beyond all amazement. For who could ever have believed that the Son of God would be rejected by the rulers of His former people and repudiated by the builders among them, yet become the leader and head of strangers and foreign nations, who had for so long been deceived by demonic errors? And a little later: "And it is wonderful in our eyes," namely the stone just mentioned. And a little later: The blessed Daniel also beheld this stone cut without hands, learning that He is the incommunicable Son of the Virgin.

VERS. 26. The evangelists also contended that this voice was preached concerning Christ. For He is truly the One who comes with authority and in the name of the Lord, whereas all holy men and angels who came before Him professed themselves to be servants of God. Certainly, each one used to say: "Thus says the Lord," and the angels, when they approach someone, address them with these words: "The Lord has sent me." But He is: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." And again: It is well said "who comes," and not "who has already come." For He is always coming and visiting the human race, even if not in the flesh. The Lord is not moved by coming, nor does He pass from one place to another, for He is Himself immovable and unchangeable, filling heaven and earth with His divine presence; but we approach Him or are distanced from Him by our habit and disposition. "From the house of the Lord," that is, He who comes goes forth from the bosom of the Father. ^B

VERS. 27. For His coming is not a matter of moving from one place to another, but of appearing when He was not previously seen; for He who was invisible, the invisible image of God, took the form of a servant, and the Word was made flesh so that He might be seen, and by appearing in this sight, He might lead us to contemplate His glory, "glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

VERS. 28. Glorifying and theologizing, I praise Thee for the wonders Thou hast done for me; for Thou hast exalted me and given me strength, that I might not die, but live to declare Thy works.

VERS. 29. Therefore, having wondrously experienced how great is Thy mercy and how great Thy goodness, I exhort others, saying: "Confess unto the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." ^C

PSALM CXVIII

VERS. 1. Those who, having extinguished all evil desire, approach God through good works and an upright mind. He rightly declares those blessed who "walk," and not those who have walked. ^D

^A Ver. 3. He indicates that they had never learned the precepts of the divine law, as if that saying applied to them: "As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law." These are they who have never heard divine instruction. But those who are instructed and then fall, sin under the law, and are called transgressors of it.

Ver. 4. He who performs the things commanded by the Lord with all vigor and intensity will be able to appropriate this verse.

Ver. 5. For I would not otherwise have kept your commandments, had not my ways been directed by you. What, then, are these commandments? Are they those which you set forth "before the children of Israel? If you acquire a Hebrew slave, six years he shall serve you; but in the seventh he shall let go free," and the rest. And a little later he says: I wish, therefore, that my ways were directed, so that all that you have justified, these I might render to each as is fitting.

^B Ver. 11. He who does not receive the words of God superficially hides them in his heart, so that, having informed his mind and purpose according to them, he might be blameless before God, who sees the hidden things; not only not committing adultery, but not even having an impure desire. He who is conscious of his own progress from the words “to seek God with the whole heart,” blesses Him, already giving thanks for the things of which he has been deemed worthy; for having obtained ineffable words worthy of being hidden, he blesses the Lord on their account.

Ver. 13. For I have declared with my lips what God was about to do with those who hear and inquire into his judgments.

Ver. 14. For just as one who has attained wealth—not moderate, but ^C countless, consisting of both immovable and movable property—rejoices in it, so also he who has fulfilled spiritual desires rejoices in them; and by progressing in the testimonies of God and performing the virtues, he attains every good thing, saying: "For many, Thy testimonies are my joy and my wealth."

Ver. 17. So that I might not appear to have performed your commandments for nothing, repay me with the divine and blessed life, so that living by it I may keep your words; for since I will not forget them, it is fitting that I should also perform them.

Ver. 18. The Word comes and opens the eyes, removing the veil; for when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. The prophet knew that the law contained a shadow of the good things to come; therefore he desired to perceive the ^D good things whose shadow the law provided; and praying not in a Jewish manner, but in a generous and prophetic one, he cries out to the Lord: "Open my eyes, and I will consider the wonders from your law," so that with unveiled face he might behold the glory of the Lord, transforming himself into the image, and contemplating the wonders of God from His law.

^A Ver. 20. Thinking not of judgments, but of precepts, he considered the judgments of the Lord to be beneficial, as they were in themselves truly good. Having, therefore, a desire for them at all times, he longed for them, not wishing to perform them out of sorrow or necessity, as those do who perform them for fear of falling into punishment, but with appetite and desire. For from this it will happen that he will bear all things prudently and generously, not only what is pleasant, but also what is laborious and disagreeable, and he will proceed to every good work with ardor of soul. Why, however, did he not say, "My soul desired your judgments," but "He longed to desire the judgments of God"? As we explained regarding "Render to your servant," that it is not for everyone to pray, "Render to your servant," but only for those who serve God with a pure conscience; so it is not for everyone to "desire the judgments at all times," but only for those who do not sin. For at the time when I sin, if I desire judgments, I desire them so that I may be punished. Since, therefore, it is the mark of a perfect person to desire the judgments of God at all times, for this reason the Prophet says these things.

Ver. 21. For the opposing (diabolical) power does not cease to provoke us. For sometimes it attacks us openly, and at other times it seeks us out even when we are excelling in virtue and merits, in order to make us proud and puffed up. But "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Therefore, the greater you are, be so much the more humble, and you will find grace before the Lord. We have already said that we turn aside not only from the right way, but even from the commandments. For where there is a commandment, there an inclination can occur: for the commandment of God is righteousness.

^B Ver. 22. Therefore, not only is he accursed who has fallen away from the commandment, but also he who has turned aside even a little from the commandment of God. "Since certain people pursue me with insults and contempt, because I have sought your commandments, take away from me reproach and contempt." These things, however, will perhaps be taken away if those who previously provoked me with insults and contempt attain to the knowledge of the truth. When this happens, they themselves will seek your commandments with me.

Ver. 25. The saint has these words in the name of the sinner performing penance.

^D Ver. 26. Another Scripture says: "I have recounted my ways," meaning, the ways that lead to you, which are no different from the ways of virtue, O Lord. My life, that is, with a good mind and good works, I have recounted, and you have heard me. Wherefore he says to God who hears him: "Teach me your justifications."

Ver. 27. For if, through your teaching, I understand the way of the mysteries that are in your justifications, I shall consider it such that I may be able to perform it, and understanding the wonders that are in your justifications, I shall meditate upon them.

^A in these, and that it may be permitted to converse by recounting them.

Vers. 29. He who has determined to depart from the way of iniquity and to approach the law of God, desires these things to be achieved by God, who supplies the perfection of all good things. Thus, he who hates his former ignorance and desires to be illuminated by divine knowledge, since he cannot of his own power dispel ignorance and be instructed in holy doctrines, cries out to the Master: "Remove ignorance from me, and by your knowledge have mercy on me."

Vers. 32. The way that leads to life is narrow and afflicted, but the heart is broad and spacious, enlarged by the Word, ^B contemplating all holy things and God himself, and running the noble course of the way of the commandments of God. Likewise, the broad and spacious way leads to perdition; but the narrow heart, which does not contain within itself the dwelling of the Father and the Son, turns itself away from God through the narrowness that those have acquired for themselves by their own wickedness.

Vers. 40. "Because I have desired your commandments," he says, "vivify me according to your justice," and recompense me not only for performing your commandments, but also for being disposed towards them with zeal. Therefore, since I observe them for no other reason than for their own sake, I pray: "In your justice vivify me," which is to live according to virtue. Moreover, since the Son is the justice of the Father, he who wishes to live in the Son will profess the same.

Vers. 43. Although sometimes many doubts occur concerning providence, ^C and questions of a similar nature, to which I might not have an answer to resolve the objections of those who doubt; yet you, by your own goodness, open my mouth, and do not deny to your word the ability to explain the truth. Grant that the word of truth may not be utterly taken away from my mouth, but rather that I may be able to profess it even in calamities, saying, "I have hoped in your judgments"—in the just and approved words and in the judgments by which you guide and govern men.

Vers. 51. The heterodox have boasted against the law by attacking it; but I have continued to the utmost in keeping it, nor has my mind turned away from it even in the slightest.

Vers. 52. Again, we shall consider the affections of the just man. ^D Mindful, he says, of the judgments of God, which have been determined for each one from eternity and unto eternity, he is consoled, and he remains free from pain and imperturbable. He says that the sufferings of this present time are not comparable to the glory that is to be revealed in us in the future life.

Vers. 65. The same is meant by partaker, companion, and friend, as Ecclesiastes indicates: "If one falls, another will raise up his partaker." This, therefore, declares that he will never be a friend or companion, except of those who...

who fear the Lord, and who keep His commandments;

VERS. 65 ^A. Since both goodness and severity exist in God, as the Apostle testifies, He cherishes those who remain in faith with goodness, and pursues those who diverge from it with severity. The saint, therefore, being confirmed in faith, says: "You have dealt kindly with your servant." He says "thy servant," declaring that God's kindness does not occur with this one or that one by mere chance, but rather with His servant, whoever he may be. The phrase "according to thy word," which is added, shows that the Lord's kindness occurs with someone in accordance with reason and a rational cause.

VERS. 66. By "discipline" he refers to moral virtue, and by "knowledge" to intellectual virtue. — Because I have rightly and prudently believed in Thy commandments, to the point of fulfilling them, grant me wisdom, teaching me goodness and discipline and knowledge. This agrees with the saying: "I have desired wisdom; keep the commandments, and the Lord will provide it to you."

VERS. 72. ^B There is a twofold law: one spiritual and directed toward the intellect, the other written according to the letter and the shadow, ordained by angels through the hand of a Mediator. Therefore, the Prophet says that the law of the divine mouth is good for him, above all the goods of the world, which he designates by "thousands of gold and silver." To one who considers the matter, silver will be seen to stand for the word, and gold for the mind.

VERS. 74. Those who fear God, since they lack nothing, are perfect; likewise, they are good because they fear rightly; therefore they also rejoice in those who are pleasing to God. ^C

VERS. 75. All the judgments of God are perfected. The faithful person believes that the judgments of God are justice, but he would not have known this had he not received the word of knowledge. The unfaithful person does not even believe, but complains against Providence. Regarding these judgments, therefore, some believe, while others do not; but the better person is he who not only believes but also knows what the justice of God is in these matters. The prophet understands this knowledge in relation to those things which happen to men. — And a little later: I have often noted that the phrase "You have humbled me," which is used in many places, and especially in the Psalms, means the same as "You have surrounded me with temptations." ^D For unless one were exercised by many calamities and helped by God beyond hope, it would not be possible for a human being to be confirmed in virtue.

VERS. 76. The Prophet, like a noble athlete and one accustomed to bearing temptations, prays not to be liberated from things that afflict him, but that in the time of tribulations he might be consoled by a strengthening word, so that he might be able to endure whatever happens with a tranquil and joyful mind. For in this, he says, have mercy on me, that I may attain exhortation and consolation.

^A

Vers. 79. He desires, as it behooves a prophet, that those who fear God may turn to him and converse with him, so that he may bestow upon them the grace with which he himself is filled.

Vers. 83. The Word of God is a spiritual hoarfrost; for since it is also called dew and rain in many places, it cools the burning flames of my passions and weakens my flesh, so that I may bear in it the mortification of Jesus.

Vers. 84. All the days of human life are few. Since, therefore, I live for a short time on earth, and desire to see those who persecute me judged, I pray you do not delay. But who are those whom he considers to be judged? Those who persecute us—Satan and the spiritual forces of wickedness. For when a man seems to persecute us, it is not the man who is primarily persecuting us, but that man merely provides an occasion for persecution. But you will perform this judgment, trampling down Satan under my feet very quickly, and subjecting to my soul the powers hostile to you, and causing them to be trodden upon by your Word, which is formed within my intent.

Vers. 85. For many attempt to interpret the divine Scriptures, both those of the Church and those outside it—of heretics, Jews, or Samaritans; but not all speak well. For rare is he who has the grace from God for this; for many there is only idle talk and trifling; for a right, firm, and saving word cannot be found in the soul of an iniquitous man.^B

Vers. 86. Your commandments are not figures or symbols: "Injustly they have persecuted me; help me." For it is possible to be persecuted justly, and unjustly. The one who lives wickedly is justly persecuted; but the just man, the lover of truth, who has become an enemy to men because of the truth, is persecuted unjustly. Those who were persecuting me have assailed me so much that I was near to being brought to an end by them; I was near to perishing through their persecutions; the time of my life was finished as the devil pressed upon me; yet I did not fall away from your commandments, I did not yield to evil, I did nothing lawless, but I persisted in the love of your commandments. And a little later: To be brought to an end in the earth does not mean to die by a common death, but to sink down to lowly things, which he calls earth, as if to an end, so that one might live thenceforth in them. To live according to the word of God is to live with piety, not simply to live this sensory life. For he who has attained this will be in a good life, he who guarded the testimonies of the mouth of God, testified and demonstrated by the Word of God, which he says is his mouth.^C

Vers. 88. This verse is to be used by him who performs the commandments of the Lord more accurately and diligently.

Vers. 91. By set and equal times...^D

^A the yearly circles are fulfilled, nor does the day fail, nor does the constant series of days, now longer and now shorter, ever change.

VERS. 98. Our invisible enemies leave nothing untried to propel us toward seeking pleasure; but pleasure softens us so that we might even reject the divine commandment, which is to be performed with sweat. But he who understands the commandment of God, taught by God, overcomes pleasure and the enemies who advocate for it, so that he possesses it for eternity, having confessed concerning the pleasure which is for a little while and fleeting. Therefore, singing hymns of thanks to God, he says: "You have made me wise in your commandment, from which I have even become superior to my enemies." ^B

VERS. 105. The law was a lamp to those who walked in the night before the rising of the sun of righteousness; but the true light is not a lamp, but the sun illuminating those for whom the night has passed, as the day approaches so that they may walk honorably.

VERS. 106. What is meant by that, "I have sworn," must be inquired. He established a testament for his elect, and the faithful received this testament established by God. And the faithful man who has admitted the testament handed down by God is bound as if by a sacrament to God. For by receiving the testament, we have promised God as by a pact that we will keep and observe the judgments of his righteousness. "I establish these," I say, "in my soul," and by this action, it happens to me as Solomon said in the Proverbs: "The thoughts of the just are judgments." These, therefore, are the judgments of the righteousness of God, which were once made when I swore and established them in myself. But to "establish" here ^C is nothing other than to define firmly. And to "swear"—not to swear by God, but to propose this to oneself immutably, and to keep it faithfully—this is the work of an oath that I can perform.

VERS. 125. No slave of sin is a slave of God. For he who serves God, and shapes his works and affections according to the word of God, may deservedly say: "I am your servant." Being such, the prophet requests a reward for his servitude, "Give me understanding." For there is an understanding which God bestows, which is deposited with God as in a treasury; for "the Spirit of God is a spirit of wisdom and understanding," and the rest of the gifts of good things. ^D

VERS. 126. "Time to act," this is, to turn the nations to the Lord. For that Israel dissipated the law. For the time had not yet come when the Lord was to come, as long as the Jews had not dissipated the law of God; which this prophet, taught by the Spirit, declares, which Isaiah also predicts, and the Apostle explains the same. Behold the words of Isaiah: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you." The Apostle, however, bringing forward this passage, adds: "Behold, now is the acceptable time."

It is for the one who has accomplished the time of doing for the Lord, when the law has been scattered by those who received it.

^A Ver. 127. It is the mark of a more perfect man to do and to love at the same time; but of a less perfect man to do [it], yet not to do so with love. Now, of things in the world, gold seems to be the most precious. Even if all wealth and your commandment were presented together, I would not look upon the wealth as I would upon your commandment. This is in harmony with the verse: "The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces," and with the verse: "Receive instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than tested gold; for wisdom is better than precious stones; and every precious thing is not worthy of it."

Ver. 137. Therefore, your judgment is right. Since you are just, according to the most straight laws of justice, you will judge all who have accepted your judgments.

Ver. 138. For your divine Scriptures, which you commanded to men—not only the new ones but also the old—are justice consistent with righteous morals, that is, tested: you commanded us to perform judgments, in order that we might judge according to the law, and provided that we judge even the smallest thing with a just judgment, and bring to bear every rectitude, which is truth and justice.

Ver. 144. "The testimonies which you have given me," are not of short-lived utility, but are "justice forever," justifying those who cling to them with affection.

Ver. 152. God has established his testimonies so that no one could live if they were to fall; for your Word, being wisdom and your Son, is their foundation. For this reason, declaring how inexpugnable and invincible they are, he says: "My words shall not pass away, even if heaven and earth pass away."

^B Ver. 161. There is a twofold fear: one is irrational, occurring in the irascible part of the soul, while the other is rational, forming in the heart and the mind, not without reason; and perhaps it is, or is capable of being, the very same as the fear of God.

Ver. 163. What he means is almost as follows: Those men now loathe a dead body and the cadaver of a man, like a newt or a weasel; but I [loathe] what is worthy of loathing. And what profit is there in loathing those things? "I have loathed iniquity"; that provides great profit to the one who has loathed it. "I have loved your law," not like those men who drag it down to earthly things and pull it down to lower matters. For we, as having been resurrected with Christ, seek the things above, not the things on earth, and we understand the law spiritually.

Ver. 170. He prays that "the supplication" may be such ^C as…

^A to be tested, accepted, and inexpugnable, so that it may enter into the sight of the Lord. "But I shall know if my supplication has entered into your sight, if I am delivered by you according to your word," and my supplication and wisdom. For he who has overcome every craving, and has withdrawn as far as possible from impious words and works, is delivered by God according to His word. In place of "my supplication," Aquila says "my prayer," and Symmachus "my entreaty." He therefore petitions for two things: to understand the divine oracles, and to be delivered and removed from the miseries of life, which is likewise necessary for us.

Ver. 171. My lips shall proclaim your hymn, when you have taught me your justifications. ^B Eructation usually occurs with those who are sated. For when we have been filled, we belch forth the quality of the food which we have received. The divine word therefore speaks here of spiritual food; for the Word Himself says that He is bread: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. He who eats this bread shall live forever." And the Word also says that He has flesh: "He who eats my flesh has life in himself: for my flesh is food indeed." If, therefore, we have been sated with this bread and this flesh, we shall belch forth a hymn. Sometimes they also belched forth vows; for he declared that the same thing happens through vows: "When you have taught me your justifications." Unless I am taught your justifications, I am unable to belch forth such an eructation. ^C From being energized and having them clearly guaranteed to me, I may offer to you a grateful hymn from the lips of my inner man. But the eructation, of course, is the praises of God, which, having become the food of the soul, is the fullest theology.

Ver. 172. My tongue shall speak of your word, for all your commandments are justice. The various commandments of yours, being prescriptions of individual virtues, are all in each. Or, I declare that general virtue is such that by the pursuit of the individual virtues, he who possesses one perfectly possesses them all. "My lips will speak your word"—but they truly speak the word regarding justice, not merely pronouncing it with the voice, but also in works and practical intentions aligned according to right reason.

Ver. 175. My soul shall live and shall praise you, and your judgments shall help me. ^D Since, by remembering your judgments and adhering to them, I escape the death impending from sin; no longer sinning, but performing those works by which the soul lives and gratefully praises you, he said: "Provide for it eternal life."

PSALM CXIX. Ver. 1. It must be noted that the temple in Jerusalem had fifteen steps, and on each of them, as they were ascending, those who had been assigned the office of singing stood and sang a verse. Thus it happened that upon entering

^A there were as many verses as there were steps of the temple: these are found in the books of Paralipomenon, where it was established that they should be sung on each step of the temple. Consider the holy temple of God to be at once spiritual and rational—the subsistent being of God.

PSALM CXXI.

VERS. 4. He declares that the inhabitants themselves are to be united, saying: "Thither ascended the tribes, the tribes of the Lord." They are united, not because they had walls, but because they themselves—by being, as it were, a "testimony to Israel" ^B (that is, the truth, the marvelous promise)—owe the confession of thanksgiving for the benefactions they have received. He says that the thrones of the house of David were established upon it, since Daniel also prophesies of the kingdom over all things. And the kingdom of David is restored by the grace of Christ, who gave the twelve apostles the authority to sit on twelve thrones to judge Israel.

VERS. 7. "In thy strength," because she reigns powerfully, having overthrown every adversary. Great towers are called "munited towers" ^C in the walls, built for the sake of spying on those who are advancing. Among the Syrians, large houses are locally called "fortresses"; by these are signified those who, through the height of their moral conduct and their contemplation, not only perceive the enemies coming to war but are also able to repel them from on high with refutations.

PSALM CXXIV.

VERS. 1. The mountain of divine words is unshaken and immovable; unshaken also are those who, by imitation, reflect the likeness of this. ^D If you understand this properly, every mountain is immovable. But the question here is about that mountain of which the Spirit says through the prophet: "Get thee up into the high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion." For the Church, which searches for and contemplates the good, is Sion; it is interpreted as "a high watchtower of the heavenly Sion," regarding which it is said: "Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Therefore, it is blessed to rely upon God, according to the saying, "Thou shalt be confident in the Lord," and to ascend to "the good things of the land," that is, the land of the living and the meek. For reliance upon God is the beginning of the ascension toward it. Scripture calls the Church Jerusalem, as in the passage: "Be enlightened, O new Jerusalem that is being built." He who thinks the thoughts of the Church is said to dwell in it, not to be shaken for ever from such a dwelling, provided he remains sound in his thinking and acting. But neither shall one who possesses a love for God and a zealous desire for the good die; he shall not be shaken, having received from this the pledge of eternal life. But he who neither desires nor strives for the good will be cast off from this discipline on account of his sloth. Whence it says in the Proverbs: "The just shall not change for ever."

VERS. 2. Mountains are the sublime doctrines of the truth.

^A And the ecclesiastical canons, and all the saints who lived before the coming of Christ or after it. For the Church is hedged about by all these; and the saints who encamp are in a circle around those who fear the Lord. But greater than all is He who circles her house... You see, Lord, not in terms of place... standing among them, both now and in the age to come.

VERS. 4. You who are by nature good, preserve for those who by discipline have become good, a disposition toward Your goodness that is unwavering. ^B Those are "good" who possess virtue; but "upright in heart" are those who think piously. The difference is not one of substance, but of conception; for both possess those who dwell for eternity in Jerusalem. Those whom God benefits, He blesses by giving an increase of virtue and faith, and a participation in gifts, so that He might lead them also into the kingdom of heaven. Since, therefore, we learn this in all other things from divine philosophy—that the Divine always becomes toward us such as we show ourselves to be toward God through our own free choice—David testifies that He is good to the good. To those, however, who have become beast-like through their life, another of the prophets calls Him a bear or a leopard, setting forth through enigmas the evangelical doctrines, in which the character of the King’s words is seen: to others, He is good and gentle, while to others, He is fearful and implacable. Great is the goodness of God, and great the cruelty of the slave who cast his fellow slave into prison. The evangelical utterance called "evil" those who are good—comparing the goodness of men with the divine kindness—saying: "If therefore you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children." But it is written: "Do good, O Lord, to the good." And, "If the good man brings forth out of his treasure the good things, how much more will your Father give good things to those who ask Him!" ^C

PSALM CXXVI. VERS. 1. There is no other place in Scripture that declares more clearly than these verses how much God provides for all things; for human efforts would be in vain unless they received from God the power to attain the fitting end. Therefore, when we have done something, let us not ascribe everything to ourselves, but to God who brings it to perfection; nor, by remaining idle, shall we entrust all things to Him to be carried out. For both these verses most aptly define what belongs to God and what belongs to us: they say that he builds in vain who does not have God helping him; yet He does not work except with us.

VERS. 5. He declares those to be blessed who are instructed by discipline; it clearly indicates the arrival of the preacher. ^D

PSALM CXXVII. VERS. 2. "Palms," he says—using the hands as a sign of the part—that is, you shall eat the labors of your practical powers. To him who fears the Lord, a gift is given, not an ordinary wife...

but one adorned with good fruits, so that it might be said of her: "A good wife, a good portion." ^A

PSALM CXXVIII

VERS. 1. He shall not usurp this who has been harassed by enemies only once, but only he who from his youth even unto old age has put the enemies to flight, always adorned with victory and trophies.

VERS. 6. Such are the wise of the world, who by their way of thinking and acting seem to have surpassed the heights of human life. Therefore, they also wither most quickly, neither casting their roots into the earth of the senses, nor hastening to become a spiritual planting instead of grass. Wherefore, even before they are plucked up, they wither on account of unbelief; for "The ungodly shall not rise in judgment," and, "He that believeth not is already judged." They fill neither hand nor bosom, because they are not received first into the bosom of Abraham, then into the bosoms of the reaping angel; for the Savior declared the angels to be the reapers. But in the prophet it is written: "Therefore I slew your prophets." For He Himself will purge His floor, gathering the wheat into His barn, but burning the chaff with unquenchable fire. Those who hate Sion—not being grass, but being as grass—are the tares sown by the wicked one among the good seed, which at the time of harvest are delivered to the fire in the age to come, signifying the heretics to whom the discourse is addressed, who appear to surpass the human life: "Why have you all ascended onto vain roofs?" Let not the citizens of Sion who are on the roofs descend to take the vessels from their house. But what they have heard in the ear, let them proclaim upon the rooftops, so that, remaining good seed and bearing fruit, they may be gathered into the threshing floor of salvation. But the heretics, since they possessed the promise of life and of wisdom only for a time, are called "those passing by"; they consider no one great except themselves, and they greet no one with a blessing. ^B But we, who bless the name of the Lord, having love toward all, pronounce a blessing upon those with whom we speak. Or the discourse is indeed about the same people: "For those that pass by did not say, Blessing be upon you," nor did they say, "We have blessed you in the name of the Lord."

PSALM CXXIX

VERS. 4. "For with Thee there is propitiation," O Savior, who art propitious and takest away sins; do not watch, examining iniquities. For if You were to do this, no one would stand; for all have turned aside, all have sinned. Since, therefore, no one endures Your judgment, there is need of the propitiation from You, which grants salvation to all. And that the Savior is the propitiation, John writes: "And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he himself is the propitiation for our sins: not for our sins ^C only, but also for the whole world." ^D

As Paul also cries out: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood," and so forth.

Vers. 5. He holds on in the law who conforms his character to the law; just as he who is in knowledge and virtue lives according to them, so that he both meditates upon them and fulfills them in his works. Therefore, mindful of the good things of God, he awaits them and says that he hopes in the Lord.

Vers. 6. We must hope in the Lord always and at every time, not only when things are prosperous, but also when difficult things encompass us. "From the morning watch," that is, when things are bright, "even until night," when things are cheerless and darker; and from the morning watch, as the true light rises and brings the beginning of the spiritual day, the discerning mind, called Israel in the Hebrew tongue, should hope in the Lord; expecting from Him an addition of pleasant things and an escape from the cheerless ones, because they are with Him as in a fountain. And with Him also is mercy, which those who hope in Him await. "And with him there is much redemption," which is nothing other than propitiation. Whence the Lord himself shall redeem him from all his iniquities. For although the iniquities of Israel are many, the Lord shall redeem him from them all.

PSALM CXXXI

Vers. 1. "Remember these things, O Lord," he says, when Thou comest to men, and offerest Thyself as a redemption for all sinners, granting the remission of sins to all men. Together with all of them, O Lord, remember also David, and the torments by which he afflicted himself at that time, punishing himself for his sins, when, prostrate upon the ground before the face of Thy sanctuary, he swore with an oath that he would not sooner rise from the pavement, nor depart from the place where he lay in piety, than he should learn and know who it was that had been defined and prepared as the place for God when He comes to men, where the tabernacle of the God of Jacob would be. For he had learned through the Holy Spirit and the prophetic disciplines that the Lord was to come to men, so that He might effect for all men a redemption of their former sins. Being hopeful, therefore, that he would then be saved, he burned with a desire to know and learn at what time, in what place, and in what manner the Lord would come to men. Moved by this desire, he was so consumed by sorrow that he even rejected his bed, and would not return to his own house, and lay prostrate upon the ground before God, and suppliantly asked where the place of the Lord was and the tabernacle of the God of Jacob. But to him who was urgent in prayers, and lying upon the ground, and constantly and unceasingly repeating the same petition, and confirming his desire with an oath, God, in His mercy, assented, thus

not being one to lie, having once sworn not to rise until he attained what he longed for. Therefore, he is gifted with knowledge through the prophetic Spirit, seeking the inheritance, the land of the meek. ^B

Vers. 7. He refers to the Mount of Olives, where all who approach worship. We worship the flesh of the Savior, not because of its nature, but because Christ is in it; and the flesh is indeed worthy of worship because of Christ, and Christ because of God the Word who dwells in Him. By Christ here I mean the rational and holy soul, which, together with God the Word, entered into the life of human beings; flesh alone is not by nature capable of receiving God, because our God is wisdom. "In a good heart," says Solomon, "wisdom will rest." None of the four constituent elements is capable of knowledge, but our God is known. ^C

Vers. 14. It is by no means fitting to speak of the earth as "forever and ever," since heaven and earth will pass away. Thus the statement refers to the Church, concerning which it was said: "Sing to the Lord who dwells in Zion."

Vers. 15. Behold prosperity from every side: from the lack of nothing necessary, from the priests being in safety, from the people being in gladness, from the king being in strength (for he calls this [strength] a lamp, or protection), and, what is greatest, the enemies being covered in shame.

Vers. 16. Who is the author of the righteousness with which the priests are clothed, and of the exultation with which the holy ones exult, if not David, who is mighty in hand and holy? Hence the addition: "For the sake of David the servant," that is, he who "took the form of a servant" when "he emptied himself."

Vers. 17. "There," in Zion, "I will make a horn to sprout for David." This horn of the kingdom is made by God to sprout in the house of David, according to that which was said by the righteous one: "He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David." And the Father prepared for this horn, who is Christ, a lamp running ahead of His coming, the divine law, concerning which it is written: "Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths." Or indeed, John, up to whom the law and the prophets were, is the lamp prepared for His Christ. Concerning whom the Savior Himself said: "He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a time in his light." These things being spoken theologically concerning Him who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, His enemies shall be clothed in shame, wishing they had been consumed by fire, because "A child is born, a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder"; they shall suffer even greater shame in that, while professing the same things as other men, He had a life that is not surpassing. For therefore over

^A His sanctification shall blossom. Concerning this he says in Isaiah: "And a flower shall ascend from the root." In accordance with this: "The flowers of the earth were seen in our land." These flowers are those that have received the sanctification blossoming from the Lord. For this which blossoms sanctifies those who approach it, it being the holy thing of God, being at once both a flower and the lily of the field and of the valleys. With good reason shall flowers be seen in our land, for God has caused His sanctification to sprout forth upon those who are enlightened and are becoming young for the blessed and spiritual feast.

PSALM CXXXIII

VERS. 1. Those who bless the Lord are such as have not walked far from Him, but rather are in His house, drawing near to the Lord according to the understanding that is in the divine Scriptures and the doctrines of truth; for these are His courts. They stand ^B and with good reason bless God; for sleep shall not then overcome the assembly of the saints, by the power of their incorruptible bodies.

PSALM CXXXIV

VERS. 1. After the completion of the songs of ascents, it was logical that those who had ascended into the temple itself should praise with thanksgiving the God whose temple it is. For this reason the psalm is inscribed "Alleluia," the heading indicating that the God who is must be praised. ^C

VERS. 13. To the end. — This is a memorial from the former generation of the Hebrews down to the generation of the calling of the nations, concerning which it is said: "A generation to come shall be announced to the Lord." These things remain firm, although God, moved by the prayers of His servants, has mercy upon the people: the praise of God interrupted the continuity of the discourse. For even Paul, writing to the Galatians, said: "Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord, who gave Himself," and so forth. Then he adds: "To whom be the glory forever"; and elsewhere: "Whose adoption is that of sons, and the glory and the service and the promises; from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." But now the Prophet, considering the providence in its entirety and the events that happened to Israel, ^D being inflamed by love for mankind, praises God as having glory that does not fade. Regarding the people, however, he says either that He will exact punishment and will cease after this, or that He will indeed avenge the people, but will be entreated for them, not according to their merits. For where there is entreaty, there is need of pardon and a time for mercy.

PSALM CXXXV

VERS. 1. The present psalm also, being inscribed for the praising of God, urges us to confess to the Lord, who does all things with great kindness and goodness. For this reason, on every verse, by way of a refrain, is added: "For His mercy is forever." For since He does not show mercy only at one time or another, but always shows mercy, with good reason do those who sing the refrain say: "For His mercy is forever."

^A Verse 4. "Who alone does great wonders." For the Father, remaining in the Son, does the works. But one must also confess Him who made the heavens in understanding, and established the earth upon the waters. To this agrees what is said: "God by wisdom founded the earth; He prepared the heavens in prudence." What else, then, could be the understanding and prudence by which the heavens are prepared and established, if not the Word of God by whom all things were made? Concerning whom the theologian says: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." But indeed, those who bear the image of the heavenly One also become, in a spiritual sense, heavens. Such souls are prepared in the aforementioned understanding and prudence of God. And the earth is established upon the waters, having received the seed sown by Jesus in order to bring forth fruit; for while still dwelling among the flux and transient affairs of this life—referred to allegorically as waters—it proved itself firm and constant so as to yield the greatest possible fruit. Most aptly, then, did the Prophet recall the eternal mercy of God in every verse; for He was not moved by any necessity of His own, but by mercy, when the most merciful One created all things. He rightly says "Who does wonders" ^B and not "Who did," declaring that God ever acts and performs wonders. These things, however, are not said to disparage Christ, but to distinguish Him from the demons.

Verse 7. Having alone done great things, by saying, "Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven," He appointed "the sun for the power of the day, and the moon and stars for the power of the night." As it is also said in the account of creation, the sun was made for the beginnings of the day, and the moon and stars for the beginnings of the night. These elements contribute no small amount to our orderly conduct of life and to life itself, nourishing and ripening the fruits without which one cannot live. They show us the seasons, characterize the hours, mark the courses of day and night, guide travelers on land and sea, and provide a myriad of other necessities. See how "His mercy is forever."

Verse 10. But how is death wrought by mercy? Because mercy is for those who suffer injustice, ^C whilst for those who commit injustice there is punishment, and justice applies to both. He calls the operation "hand" and the strength "arm," while referring to the meting out of justice to sinners—which both cuts off wickedness and lessens future punishment—as mercy. For the ungrateful, [the Psalmist] persistently rehearses what happened in Egypt, cutting off their forgetfulness of these things. Egypt is otherwise called the region "about the earth," whose firstborn God strikes for the sake of helping Israel. For thus the mind that sees God gets outside of this [region], being led by God. And the Word of His and Wisdom leads it out from the midst of the Egyptians. ^D

^A For this is His arm and mighty hand. "And Jesus also saved the people," according to the Epistle of Jude; whose mighty hand and exalted arm is His wonder-working energy and power.

Vers. 13. God did not divide the Red Sea into one part, but into several, so that He might lead Israel through the midst of it as if walking upon dry land. It is handed down, however, that the sea was divided into twelve parts, so that twelve paths were made, and a passage lay open to each of the tribes of Israel.

Vers. 24. As often as we humble ourselves through lack of pride, our God both remembers us and grants us redemption.

PSALM CXXXVIII

Vers. 2. "Sessio" (Sitting) designates the best habit of the rational nature, according to which it becomes slow to move toward wickedness; but by "resurrection" we are transferred from humble things to sublime things.

Vers. 7. After he has celebrated God as provident over all things, and instructed in all knowledge and understanding, he declares that the same [God] is everywhere. "When Thy Spirit fills the whole world, whither shall I go from Him? When also Thy countenance searches and sees all things, whither shall I be able to flee from it?" For if I ascend to heaven, I see Thee standing there; if I descend to hell, I feel Thee conversing with me there. But if God is known to be present in heaven and in hell, it is necessary that He also occupy the intermediate regions. Yet He represents Him as being everywhere, not as occupying space, but as composing all things and directing them by His providence. ^B

Vers. 9. I considered, he says, whether, lifted up by the wings of thoughts, having crossed the sea and the ocean itself, and having been placed in the furthest regions, I shall be able to go from Thy Spirit and to flee from Thy countenance. But there also I perceived Thy active and provident hand, and Thy own surpassing right hand working. Thus, even for one dwelling in the ends of the sea, all things succeed in the aforementioned manner, with Thy hand leading me, and Thy right hand holding me. For although the ocean is infinite, yet those [things] which are beyond the world are directed by the will of the Lord; for all things which were made by Him, wherever they may be, He rules and governs by the empire of His providence. ^C

Vers. 11. Enlightened by the knowledge of the Lord in the morning, as if having attained the rising of the day, I thought that I was able to be raised up by spiritual wings, by which every substantial nature is instructed, so that I might pass far beyond the ocean. But I knew this also, that I had not gone away from the Spirit of God, and the rest. Therefore I devised another way, by which I might go from the Spirit of God and flee from His countenance. ^D I sought, namely, whether I might be hidden from God, veiled in darkness. I said therefore, "Perhaps beneath darkness having become..."

^A I shall be able to escape notice? Therefore I say, 'Shall darkness tread upon me?' ^B that is to say, shall it hide me? For just as the ground that is trodden upon is hidden, so might I be hidden below, if darkness were to tread upon me, having become vastly around me and upon me. Then, when I thought to revel in obtaining what was sought, I immediately saw that even this night and the dense darkness is light, nothing of the darkness itself being darkened, since God illuminates it just as all other things. Among us, who use our sense of sight, there is a difference between night and day; during the day we see and are seen, but at night we neither see nor are seen. With God, however, the night is illuminated as the day, those in darkness and in the night being as manifest to Him as those in the light and in the day, since even the night is illuminated by God Himself as though it were day. The just man attributes all these things to his own person, intending to teach those who do not have an upright conception concerning God that it is impossible to escape God. For if You are a knower of my hidden things, inasmuch as You possess my reins, in whatever part of the world I might be, You have knowledge as though I were present—for You didst also lay hold of *—me from my mother's womb, ^C forming me in the womb and placing Your hand upon me. Then, since You were fearfully marveled at through all the aforementioned—for with fear I have marveled at all things which I have considered concerning You—turning to thanksgiving I say: 'I shall confess to You, because You were fearfully marveled at.'

Verse 13. God possesses the reins of him who has achieved purity in chastity. He, therefore, who has leisure for virginity, having inscribed his own reins to God, will say: 'You possessed my reins, O Lord.' With which achievement, having obtained knowledge of all His wonderful works—namely, those of creation and providence and the working of wonders—'Wonderful,' he said, 'are Your works, and my soul knows it exceedingly.' The 'exceedingly' can be referred either to the knowledge of the soul or to the wonderful things. 'My bone,' he says, 'which You made in secret,'—so that no one knows the manner of its cohesion—'is not hidden from You.' For how would it be possible, when You are the creator of it just as of the whole body, for it to be so? It has been said even by those who have dealt with the nature of animals that the transformation of blood into bone is invisible and incomprehensible, even though they observe how the rest—I mean the flesh and nerves—are generated; yet not even the substance has been hidden from You, not even having reached the lowest parts of the earth. For neither does the soul, having been in Hades, nor the body itself, buried and dissolved into earth, escape Your contemplation.

Verse 18. He speaks from himself the hope laid up for the just, which is life eternal from the resurrection. But the Lord is also with the saints from there onward. For they have heard Him say, 'Lo, I am with you all the days.' ^D Then it is manifest that it will be with him when You slay, he says, 'sinners...'

' ^A clearly the devil and the malign powers along with him, who are sinners.

Verse 21. It is also of the same person both to receive and honor the friends of God, and to hate those who hate Him and are considered His enemies, because they think impious and godless thoughts concerning God. For how are they not enemies of God who lead those who are deceived away from the truth, when God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth? Hatred toward such men is perfect when one hates them not for any other reason than that they are enemies of God. And just as one has perfect love for the good, when he desires it not for the sake of anything else but for its own sake, so he who hates the enemies, as enemies of God alone—not hating them because of any passion, but only because they are enemies of God—is fervent against them according to the Prophet who says, "I have been very jealous for the Lord Almighty, because the children of Israel have forsaken Thee." If the perfect man who has hated evil abstains from all wickedness, he who partakes in any of its wickedness has not perfectly hated the evil one.

^B PSALM CXXXIX.

Verse 2. *A malign man* is the treacherous and deceitful one; but *an unjust man* is one who has advanced beyond these in malice, so that through cunning and mischief, he hastens to do injustice, trying by some artifice to transfer the rational nature from virtue to malice. He who says the things before us prays to God, wishing to be saved from both. For they devised injustice against him, hiding it in their heart, so that by staying hidden to show what they are, they might be able to ensnare him, standing as enemies and adversaries against him for the whole duration of his life. Therefore it is said, "All the day they prepared wars," having no moment of peace and rest. Instead of a sword, they have sharpened their tongue to bring forth a word that is deceitful and capable of wounding, in imitation of ^C the serpent who destroyed Eve by his craftiness. Whence also under their lips—that is, in their utterance, which is like poison—they have thoughts suggested to them by malign powers, because of the harmful and venomous nature of those called asps. It is possible, however, to take these things also as regarding the devil and the other invisible enemies; for the devil is often called a malign man and enemy; but you may also call him Antichrist who serves the counsels of the devil. But also he who serves his will could be called Antichrist.

Verse 5. *The hand of the sinner* is the sinful act, from which he prays to be guarded, with God protecting him. He asks, furthermore, to be rescued from the men who by their own choice wish to wrong him; ^D because they have devised in their words and false thoughts to trip up the steps of those who are advancing toward better things. It is possible in these to understand the sinner as the devil, and the unjust men as his malign angels, or the men in whose souls he works, so as to wrong them. These, however, are perhaps none other than those who think false wisdom in their pride.

which they do not bring forth openly, but hide as a snare ^A under their sophistical words. But they also stretch forth their ropes, that is, their manifold wickednesses, or the sophistical words composed and woven by them, in order to catch the feet of those who walk uprightly, thinking by these ropes to trip up the steps of those who are unsuspecting, and they place as obstacles in the path that someone has trodden, what he also called stumbling-blocks. These are the reasonings that are suggested to those who choose to walk well and according to virtue. But he who knows himself, that he is not self-sufficient to remain unharmed from such things, flees to God and demands power.

^B Ver. 9. "Lest they should have devised many things against me," and prevail, do not abandon me; guard me in the shelter of your wings, and under your mighty hand, from which no one can snatch [me], lest they be exalted arrogantly against me as if I had been captured by him.

Ver. 12. He seems to call the quarrelsome and abusive man "tongue-thrilled." For no one of such men, so long as he feels earthly things, can be guided, being always agitated by the fact of being quarrelsome; for it is the character of those who love sin to rejoice in fights and insults and revilings. Hence it is impossible for such a person to be guided by virtue.

^C PSALM CXL.

Ver. 5. Their malice would be sufficient, if I were to become a participant with them, to scatter my prayer and to cast it within their wickednesses.

Ver. 6. But Symmachus: "For still my prayer is among their evils. Their judges shall be emptied by the hand of the rock. They shall hear my sweetest words; just as a farmer when he breaks the earth, so that our bones are scattered along the side of hell."

Ver. 8. "To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my eyes, having hoped in you." Therefore, "do not take away my soul," that it might not fall completely. For even if the bones of each one of us are scattered ^D along the side of hell, yet I hope that you, having gathered them, will restore them to their proper harmony and concord. This being brought about by your goodness, not only shall I not be captured, while you are guarding me, "from the snare which they have laid for me," but you will also guard me "from the stumbling-blocks of those who work iniquity."

PSALM CXLI.

Ver. 8. Fittingly, as if imprisoned in the innermost parts of the cave, he prays, saying according to Symmachus: "Bring my soul out from the enclosure," the rest being known. But for those who interpret the verse mystically, malice and all impiety seem to hold the soul as if it were a guarded troupe, surrounded and kept within, from which custody everyone, desiring to be freed, sends up these vows to the Lord.

^A beseeching Him to come in answer to their prayer to lead the bound out of their chains and to bring those sitting in darkness out of the house of custody. Yet these words, “Bring my soul out of custody,” are not for all to say, but only for those who, through purity of heart and having laid aside this body, are able to indulge in the contemplation of things that are. Aquilas, however, renders it: “Lead my soul out of the blockade,” as if it were being held in a kind of prison or jail, with enemies sitting in wait at the cave’s mouth. He promises that, having received salvation, he will repay these benefits with hymns. ^B

PSALM CXLII

VERS. 1. The third psalm is already inscribed: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom his son.” Regarding this, however: “When his son pursued him.” There is less danger for one who flees than for one who is pursued. For it is possible for someone to flee out of mere suspicion. But when they pursue one who is already fleeing, the cruelty and savagery of the pursuers becomes manifest. He says, therefore: “Being in need of many things, I took refuge in Thee, knowing precisely that Thou wilt fill me with all that I lack, having inclined Thine ear to my petition, ‘in truth,’” ^C either because God said, “I am the truth,” or because he wishes to hint at this: "I who worship Thee now in image and shadow, pray that the rest may be granted to me, which is to transcend the typical worship so as to approach Thee in Thy naked truth, that I may worship Thee in spirit and in truth." “Hear me in Thy righteousness,” justifying me in it; for my own righteousness will be reckoned as nothing before Thee. Therefore I beseech Thee, “enter not into judgment with me,” for I am Thy servant, and I have no desire to be judged before Thee or by Thee; for Thou searchest not only words and deeds, but also considerest with what intent these things are accomplished. Hence, there is no one among men, even if they be furnished with the most perfect virtue, who could be judged ^D before Thee. All the righteous, therefore, comparing their own righteousness with Thine, say with sincere heart that all our righteousness is as nothing before Thee. We are justified, however, freely by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, having the righteousness which—apart from the law—has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.

VERS. 3. You may also interpret these things anagogically regarding the devil, for he does not cease pursuing us. Who, then, shall be delivered from his persecutions? When we have found a place that he cannot enter. And what is this place, if not heaven? And by what means shall we ascend to heaven? Hear now Paul saying: “Seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God,” and: “Our conversation is in heaven.” “He has humbled my life to the earth.” The word “humiliation” signifies many things; for there is a humiliation of virtue, as when he says, “A broken and humbled heart, God will not despise.”

^A Humiliation also comes from calamities and from sins. Here, however, he speaks of the humiliation that comes from calamities; therefore he added: «He has humbled my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness,» and «as those who have been long dead.» He speaks of a double calamity: that he is in darkness, and that he is like those who have been long dead, hinting at his captivity and flight. For since he is in darkness, he knows that when a lamp is lit, it signifies one’s duty; wishing to show with intensity the excess of his evils, he does not hesitate to use the name of the dead to paint this tragedy. «Those who have been long dead» would also be those who are deprived of the life in God, concerning whom He says: «Let the dead bury their own dead.»

^B VERSE 6. «This thirsty land,» and souls similarly disposed, that is, arid places, the unclean spirit passes through, finding no rest nor repose for itself among them. Yet even if they are in a thirsty land, deprived of evil waters, they pursue the Lord as if to find Him ready like the dawn, when He shall come to them like the early and latter rain. Therefore they, too, shall become watered lands, having in themselves fountains of living water springing up into eternal life.

^C VERSE 9. A moment ago he said that a single enemy was pursuing his soul, as he just said, but now he prays to be delivered from a multitude of enemies. Yet these different expressions do not contradict one another; for he called the leader of wickedness a single enemy, but he called his army, in the plural, enemies. He asks to be delivered from the enemies most justly, since he has taken refuge with no one but God alone.

VERSE 10. «Teach me,» he says, not only to know, but «to do your will.» For knowledge alone is not, without action, a sanctifying and beatifying thing for him, but rather that which is worked and performed. Therefore the Savior also says: «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 clear that he who does the will of God knows it, but not everyone who knows it does it. With this that ^D also agrees: «Learn to do good.» And what this learning of the divine will is, the following phrase signifies: that it is the guidance of the Holy Spirit to the «right land.» For he who has learned the will of God in moral virtues shall be guided by the grace of God by the Holy Spirit, who leads everyone into the truth. The «right land» is either the good and pure heart in which Jesus will make the seed bear fruit, or it is the land of the meek.

VERSE 11. «For the sake of your invoked name, I am called yours; you shall quicken me in your righteousness,» justifying me according to it. For in this way it will come to pass that I shall be quickened in it; and it is fitting that he refers «you shall quicken me» to a future time, since here, just as we have other good things partially, so too do we have life; we shall live perfectly then when Christ, our life, is manifested. For He Himself is the righteousness of God, in which he shall live...

who clings to it. ^A PSALM CXLIII. Vers. 2. He has it confirmed by experience, that which he here professes. For "You," he says, "are my mercy," who have refreshed me with the fountains of mercy; "You are my refuge," for trusting not in the aid of men, I took refuge in You and was saved; "You are my supporter," for encouraged by Your spur I overcame my enemies; "You are my deliverer and protector," for with Your protection You fortified me when I was harassed, and rescued me when I was besieged. In You, therefore, I shall have a firm hope.

^B PSALM CXLIV. Vers. 4. Since the things which God has made, as Ecclesiastes witnesses, remain forever, every generation that beholds the works of God praises them, although they may appear greater than any praise. They also announce Your power through which You brought them into existence. This is that wisdom according to which You have made all things. Your power and wisdom is Your Only-begotten Son; for Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Vers. 5. Those who have received the holiness of God, at the same time attain also to His glory, and magnificently celebrate Him whose holiness and magnificent glory it is. They do not praise God by voice alone, but first by deeds, and with an upright mind, holily and excellently—nay, even magnificently—they perceive, act, and speak. Vers. 13. God possesses sovereignty over all things which He has created through His Wisdom and His Word, and He uses supreme authority. Nay, He even made the ages; for it is said: "Through whom He also made the ages." Whence He reigns also into the ages, according to that word of Paul: "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, to the only wise God." If, therefore, the Father is the King of the ages, the kingdom of the Son is also the kingdom of all the ages. Hence, this kingdom shall lack beginning and end, since He reigns both before the ages and after the ages. For "The Lord" is "reigning [for] the age, and upon ages, and beyond." And elsewhere: "Our God is King before the age," that is, before every age. Since His kingdom is such, His dominion ^C must also extend to all generations. He indeed holds dominion over those who are comprehended by time and generation; but He reigns over those who have passed beyond what is perishable, contemplating hidden and eternal things. Vers. 14. Perhaps those who go astray not in deed, but in desires and wicked words, are falling; but those who sin in deeds are crushed. Nevertheless, He helps both; for the latter He sustains, commanding each one: "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife," and the rest; while the former He exhorts through the words of the wise: "Do not let the desire for beauty overcome you." ^D Those who are falling

^A might be those who commit sins in moral matters but still retain the Christian doctrine; while those who are crushed are those who have abandoned it.

Ver. 17. "In all the ways in which He proceeds," whether providing, or governing, or judging, or benefacting, or granting favors, or punishing, God is always found to be just. "For God is faithful, and there is no injustice." But if someone should call His ways the virtues (for they lead to God whoever attaches himself to them in mind and deed), in these too He appears just. Therefore, there is no one among the saints and those endowed with virtue who finds fault with the providence of God; but only those who are depraved and walk outside of His ways blame God.

Ver. 18. We approach Him by invoking the name of the Lord. Whence it is said "near" to them, because they are perfect ^B who invoke Him. As Moses and Aaron and Samuel and Samson used to invoke the Lord. But he who renounces his own human will says to God: "Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God." Which petition God brings to fulfillment. The wills, therefore, are the individual virtues; but the will is the general and common name for virtue. He is guarded whom God loves; and the wicked one shall touch him not at all. There is laid up for him who loves with his whole soul and heart and strength, "what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it risen into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for them that love Him."

PSALM CXLV

Ver. 9. Since the text before us mentions proselytes simultaneously with the righteous, one must say that those "righteous" are those loved by the Lord, who pleased Him according to the Old Testament; but the proselytes are those who have been called from the nations to the instruction of the Gospel. In addition to these, note that perhaps those who have just come to piety are proselytes, ^C while those who have advanced and matured in it are called righteous. Whence He loves the righteous, but protects the proselytes; for those who have immediately come to the word of truth, not yet being strong and stable, are in need of the protecting Lord in order to remain unharmed, whereas the righteous, through perfection, become familiar to Him and are loved by Him.

Ver. 10. "Sion" is that which contemplates and searches out the truth, that is to say, the perfect soul or the Church of the living God. "Thy God shall reign unto the ages," of whose kingdom there shall be no end, as His sovereignty embraces generation and generation. It was said in the previous psalm concerning His unending kingdom, that it will endure throughout all ages, and how He reigns ^D unto generation and generation. For "The Lord shall reign unto the ages, thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation."

PSALM CXLVI

Ver. 1. "Psallite" (Sing psalms), he says; for it is "good" and useful. In this respect, "psalm" does not differ from praise, especially when one sings with spirit and with mind.

^A If, however, to sing psalms is further to act in a practical way, he exhorts those who perform this good psalm to also praise God through theology, so that, by being perfected in both action and thought, they may gladden God; for "a sacrifice," he says, "of praise shall glorify me," and the Spirit commands the one capable of offering it: "Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise."

Ver. 5. With such rational bonds, God healed the one wounded and beaten while descending from Jerusalem to Jericho.

PSALM CXLVII

Ver. 4. Much as the wisdom of God is not earthly, nor soulish, nor demonic, but from above, originating from God Himself, so too His word is not from the earth, but being sent to earth, it comes to each of those capable of ministering to it, being the same as the promise given by the Lord to those evangelizing with great power. Then, having been given, this is distributed to many souls, for it runs with speed, being the word of God, as that which is written is fulfilled: "Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." ^B For no sooner had Christ’s ascension occurred than the evangelical word immediately passed into all the earth that is under heaven. These things appear to us to be spoken as though by way of a parable, with the works of the cosmic creation being set forth in likeness to the dispensation regarding the Church. For just as hoar-frost descends into a certain place, and afterwards dissolves, and pours forth waters, so the divine Word first fell upon the Jews, and then spread to all. Therefore, the sending forth of the Word, and the breathing of the Spirit, are excellently designated by such works. For when the Word had come into the world, and the Spirit had breathed, the word of holy and salutary instruction went out from Jerusalem to the whole world. By way of allegory, you should understand the snow, the crystal, and the mist as temptations brought against the saints for their testing. ^C For these things, sent by the opposing powers, attempt to freeze the charity that is in them; for just as cold freezes a pool, so malice freezes charity. "Before the face of this cold, who shall stand?" Unless perhaps you interpret these things according to the mind of Peter and Paul, and of Job and Jacob, who said: "I became burned by the heat of the day and by the frost of the night." Compare with these also the things said by Moses: "Let my speech be expected as rain, and let my words descend as dew, as a shower upon the grass, and as a drop upon the herb." For in the same way that the words of Moses are similar to these, the word of God sent to the earth is divided into all the aforementioned things.

^D Ver. 7. The prudent word of God, being sent from heaven, will melt the snow and those things that are of the same nature; especially—

if one is to hear these things spiritually, the word of God, the interpreter of things spoken with hidden meaning, being sent forth, will melt the mist, the crystal, and the snow, in order to make them drinkable at the same time that the spirit of God himself breathes. But also the word of God, being sent into the heart of those who receive it, will render those same temptations invisible. And those who are fervent in spirit, bravely enduring such temptations, will dissolve them.

PSALM CXLVIII.

Ver. 2. There might be angels in the heavens, but there are powers even above these, [dwelling] in the highest, ^B pertaining to the Most High, being [set] above the task of delivering messages to men. For they possess their blessedness only in that stability which is with God, [being] such as those called "thrones" by the Apostle, the name indicating that God Himself is seated upon them. And that they are subject to the divine majesty that is above creation; and in this they are ever established, possessing [both] that which is stable and [that which is] fixed in the receiving of divine glory.

PSALM CXLIX.

Ver. 1. Those who have put on the new man ^C are the only ones able to sing the new song, by thinking and doing the things of the New Testament, serving in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. These also fulfill the Church of the saints, accomplishing the holy and faithful things of David, and possessing a most holy righteousness before God; by the accomplishment of which they praise the Lord.

PSALM CL.

Ver. 3. He who is not ashamed of Jesus and his words, but with boldness, clearly and with a great voice, sets forth the things of theology, praises Him and His Father ^D "in the sound of the trumpet." Whence those heralds of the truth, in order to proclaim the doctrine more boldly and clearly, are commanded to raise their voice as with a trumpet. It was said to them, therefore: "Blow the trumpet in Sion, preach on my holy mountain." But also the resurrection of the dead, so that it may be rendered manifest to all who rise, is signified by a trumpet: "For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise incorruptible." And in another Epistle: "With the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God He shall descend from heaven, so that those who have fallen asleep in Christ may rise." As, therefore, the command of the resurrection, being revealed to all so that both the just and the unjust may rise, is [signified] by the loud-voiced [trumpet] of the instruments, it is understood as a consequence that the praises of God are also to be offered with the same instrument. "Praise Him with the psaltery and harp." What is the psaltery?

^A And what difference they have from one another has been stated in the preceding pages. Let us therefore praise God, singing in spirit and in mind; this is the psaltery. For the spirit and the mind from above, from God, resound together through the sublimity of the doctrines.

VERS. 5. This phrasing, "praise Him with cymbals of well-sounding," indicates, in my judgment, that the Lord must be celebrated by us with a distinct voice. The Apostle seems to confirm this meaning when he writes: "I have become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." ^B For he says that unless I speak in mind and tongue, and interpret whatever is uttered by the tongue, the listeners will perceive only empty sounds, so that to them I appear to use a barbaric tongue. While they perceive nothing but the noise of voices, it becomes to them as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal, merely striking the ears and causing a clamor. Let us therefore praise God with a distinct voice, imitating the holy men. For of each of these it is said: "The narration of a righteous man is always wisdom." And likewise: "The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment. The law of his God is in his heart," ^C that is, with mind, tongue, and mouth he celebrates God. A well-sounding cymbal he calls a sweet and pleasing voice, clearly proclaiming works; for "the cymbal of jubilation" he calls the song concerning enemies who have been overcome and defeated.

VERS. 6. When God shall be all in all, this saying will be fulfilled; for helping our infirmity, the Spirit grants us the mind of the divine breath, as it is written concerning the first man: "And He breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." ^D For He is life and the fountain of life, Who said: "I am the life." Concerning this life it is said to the Father: "With Thee is the fountain of life." The breath of this beatifying and sanctifying life, coming to man, makes his soul alive, so that the one who has attained such things, giving thanks, may say: "And my soul lives for Him." No one enjoys this gift except him who has received the word of Jesus: "He who believes in Him who sent Me, has eternal life." This breath He will grant to those who despise earthly things and tread upon those things which are subject to the people, as the prophet testifies concerning Him: "Thus says the Lord God, Who made the heaven and established the earth, and Who gives breath to the people upon it, and spirit to those who tread upon it," namely, the earth. It is also said by some ancient writer: "The breath of the Almighty is what teaches me."