Commentary on the Psalms (Fragments) 1 part 25/40

as though all but crying, 'Make a way for Him who rides upon the west, the Lord is His name.'

Assuredly it is also said concerning John: 'And he shall go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah,' and 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who shall prepare Your way before You.'

But if the Savior too is righteousness going before the Father into the minds of those who are borne by God, apply your mind and consider in what manner it is said: 'He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.'

All the saints boast, as in a great dignity, in being servants of God.

Jonah, at any rate, when asked from what country and from what people he was, said, 'I am a servant of God, and I worship the God of heaven.'

And the apostles too are attested by the Savior as rightly confessing Him Lord through deeds and words;

'For you call Me the Lord and the Teacher, and you say well;'

and indeed at the head of their own writings they place this designation, exulting in it as in the greatest dignity;

'For James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,' and 'Paul a servant of Jesus Christ.'

For just as the men of this world, in the drafting of the contracts of ordinary life, wish to be styled according to the ranks that pertain to them, so the Apostles, at the openings of their writings, count it worthy to be styled servants of God and of Christ.

David did something very similar; for though he was a king, he said, 「Save Thy servant, O God, who hopeth in Thee.」

「Save me by Thy mercy,」 since 「all the day long」 — that is, throughout the whole span of my life — 「I cry unto Thee.」

The word 「gentle」 (or 「forbearing」) is not used of God in its proper sense.

For forbearance is a human virtue.

But it is said of Him in a more human manner, as are the other things too — to rejoice, to be glad, to remember.

And here too, by 「gods」 we must not understand the idol-images and the demons, but rather the saints.

For among these no one is in every respect and without any difference like unto the Lord.

For He alone is God in the same way as the Father, whereas each of these has become god by participation, having received God the Word, according to the saying, 「He called them gods, unto whom the word of God came.」

For even though they have been made according to the image and likeness of God, yet none of them is like unto the Lord in essence, they being such as shall be made like, but not being so already.

For 「Ye shall be holy, because I am holy」 — He being holy, but they only being about to be so.

Concerning those who are yet to be, it is true to say, 「Who is holy as Thou, O Lord?」 For it is not written, 「Who shall be made like unto Thee among the gods, O Lord?」 but, 「Who is like unto Thee?」

For they shall be like Him, according to that which is said, 「We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him even as He is.」

None, therefore, of the gods here spoken of is like unto the Lord; nor does any of them attain to His works.

Wherefore also in the Gospel He says, 「If I had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin.」

For even if the saints have sometimes done the same things as the Saviour with respect to the underlying deed, yet in the manner they differ greatly: for they work by prayer and by faith toward God, whereas He accomplishes them by His own authority.

Hence it is said that none of the gods is like unto the works of the Saviour.

And it has been said by us also at the beginning of Psalm 82, how the words 「O Lord God, who shall be made like unto Thee?」 were spoken; and these things we think the reader should apply also to the passage now before us.

It is impossible to partake blamelessly of the knowledge of the truth without having first passed through the moral disciplines and works.

Accordingly, he first prays to be guided by God in the way.

And this is progress in the practical virtues.

For 「the beginning of a good way is to do the things that are just,」 in order that thus he may be able to walk in the truth of God, advancing in it until he passes over unto the end.

And the end of the knowledge of the truth is to lay hold of the things that are known perfectly and as they are in their very being.

He who chooses good things for their own sake rejoices in the possession of them.

And to fear the name of God is also among the good things; wherefore, wishing to possess it with gladness, he prays that his heart may be made glad by God in the fear of His name.

And having obtained this, he gives thanks and confesses to the Lord God with his whole heart, which has been made glad at having obtained his requests.

And he glorifies the name of God unto the age — that is, throughout the whole time of his life — since the great divine mercy has come upon him.

By reason whereof he was also delivered out of the depth of Hades.

For this he named the lowest Hades.

For those who sin much and grievously fall down into the lowest Hades, out of which, that they may be delivered, they have need of great mercy, so that each of them says in prayer, 「Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.」

To confess unto Him with the whole heart.

And one might not inappropriately accept that these things were said by our Lord Jesus Christ, when the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against Him.

For Thou dost look upon those whom Thou shalt behold for no other cause than to do good and to show mercy.

Wherefore also in what follows, being a king, he asks that there be given and kept for him the dominion which God Himself gave him.

For upon this will follow also his being saved, since he is the son of the handmaid of God.

But if the things promised should be a prophecy concerning Christ, the passage before us might be smoothed out in this manner:

Having looked upon me as God, have mercy on me.

And it shall belong to Thee who givest Thy dominion to Thy child in becoming man and taking the form of the servant.

And since it follows for one who has become man also to die, God, raising Him up, will save Him, since He is the son of His handmaid, who said, when she heard from the angel, 「Wherefore also the holy thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God」:

「Be it unto me according to thy word.」

For truly she who bore Him was both handmaid and mother of the Lord.

And consider that the 「child」 and the 「son of the handmaid」 are spoken of the Lord in parallel.

But the son of the handmaid can also be the people from the circumcision.

For Paul, writing to the Galatians, clearly says concerning these things, 「But he who was of the handmaid was born after the flesh.」

「Let there be given me a sign for good」 — the prophecy being fulfilled which declares that God shall come to be among us men, a virgin bringing forth before knowing a man and remaining a virgin even after the birth.

This was seen as a good sign for the help of our race.

For how should we not have the fullest consolation, having obtained God as our helper? 「God will make mention of Rahab and of Babylon,」 He says, of those that know Him.

In harmony with these is the saying, 「But now, having known God, or rather being known of God.」

For having taken up the knowledge of Him, we shall rather and above all be known by Him.

For 「if anyone is ignorant, he is ignored.」

And to someone God says, 「Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt not serve me as priest.」

「Thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, and I also will forget thy children.」

The wicked, therefore, being ignorant of Him, God had forgotten, but He remembered them at the time when they too knew Him.

Behold, then, God said that He would make mention of Rahab — which is interpreted 「enlargement」 — and of Babylon — which is rendered 「confusion」 — of those who have come to know Him.

For those who, having changed, once walked the broad and spacious way are Rahab, having come to know God; and those who from confused and troubled thoughts have come into calm and settled understanding are Babylon, having come to know God — whom God remembers, deeming them worthy of His remembrance when they are judged.

And the 「enlargement」 can signify those coming from the east and the west unto the Kingdom.

Of the Church, not only the rulers but also the peoples have been enrolled in the citizenship of the heavenly city of the living God, having their reference to the church of the firstborn who are written in heaven, since God alone is able to recount their record.

For the recording of them has not been made of names composed of syllables, but of things that make manifest their quality according to the soul, of which He alone is the overseer.

And it is possible, from the contrary, to attend to that which is contemplated.

In Jeremiah it is written, 「Those who depart shall be written upon the earth.」

Those who bear and have their commonwealth in the heavens, being there enrolled as citizens, have been entered in the book of God.

「For Maeleth,」 that is, for the choir or dance of the sons of Korah; for understanding and for answering with understanding to him who fears God and is thereby truly an Israelite.

For Heman is interpreted 「their fear,」 so that everyone who has divine fear and reverence is Heman, to whom it is fitting to answer with understanding, being an intelligent hearer who declares the song of the psalm with a divine dance and choir.

「I will cry unto Thee」 not only by day but also by night — being not only amid the bright and gentle affairs of life (it is impossible that all should be day), but also finding myself in the gloomy affairs that entail a nocturnal condition:

crying out by day, that the participation in good things may abide with me; and by night, that when it has come to its end, my spirit may be able from the night to rise early unto Thee.

It is also possible to speak more simply, in a manner similar to what was said by the Saviour: 「The Father will execute the vindication of His children who cry unto Him day and night.」

For he who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night, and through the very act of meditating, in works and disposition, cries out unto the God of his salvation day and night — at one time asking for salvation, at another entreating that it be kept when it is already present.

And the voice which says 「Let my prayer enter in before Thee」 belongs to one who has much boldness toward God.

For since I ask such things as both benefit me and befit Thee and are dear to Thee to give (for I ask the things that are properly good), let our prayer come to be before Thine eyes.

For thus Thou wilt also consent to grant what I have asked, condescending and inclining Thine ear unto me.

For it is thus that I have believed I shall be heard;

and for this reason I cry out to Thee, O Master.

For many are the enemies pressing upon me, who desire to drag down my life into Hades; being disheartened and in anguish over them, I have my soul filled with evils, that is, with painful and injurious things.

It is by way of parallelism that the divine Scripture is accustomed to call the same place both Hades and the pit.

The Saviour Himself, then, having come for the salvation of all, came to give His soul as a ransom for many, by the grace of God tasting death for every man.

For He alone died on behalf of all, and in this sense He said, 'I was reckoned with those who go down into the pit.'

For while each one fittingly goes down into the pit because of what he has done or devised, I was reckoned and numbered with them, not because any sequence of works led me to this, but because the Father's good pleasure and My own will judged that I should be reckoned among those going down into the pit.

Whence of My own choice and willingly I became as a man without help, the likeness not being referred to man as such.

For He truly became man; yet He says He was made like, not simply to a man, but to a helpless man.

For though He was able not to suffer, not to be seized, not to be bound, He gave Himself up, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

But even if He became willingly a man without help, so as even to be clothed with death, yet among the dead He was free.

For while all who depart into the realm of the dead are led thither by certain powers—not only the base, but also the diligent—Jesus alone had the confidence to say, 'No one takes My soul from Me;

I lay it down of Myself, that I may take it again.'

That the soul of everyone is led into Hades by certain powers will be clear to thee if thou attendest to the Gospels.

For concerning Lazarus, a man who was diligent, it is said, 'And it came to pass that the poor man died and was carried into Abraham's bosom;'

and to a certain base man it was said, 'Thou fool, this night they demand thy soul from thee;'

for he who is brought down somewhere is brought down thither by others.

Whence no one among the dead is free of those who are dragged away by others or led down to the place of the dead; but Jesus alone, having laid down His soul of His own accord, no one taking it from Him, became free among the dead.

Since all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being removed from life with bonds that differ in degree, more or less, they have come to be in Hades; but He alone who did no sin and knew no sin, having become free among the dead, is even able to loose the bonds of death of the other dead, so as to raise them up and give them life.

For as, among those on earth, He alone is the liberator, granting forgiveness of sins—He says indeed, 'If the Son set you free, ye shall be free indeed'—so also, having come to be in Hades, He set free with liberty the souls held there, striking fear into those who held them.

Indeed the gatekeepers of those places cowered in fear, beholding His authority and His freedom.

It would be fitting also to interpret the preceding verses as spoken by Christ.

The Saviour, then, says to His own Father:

'Though I am come as Saviour of the world, to seek and to save that which was lost, having become the author of eternal salvation to all, yet, O Father, of this salvation which I provide to those who are saved, Thou art God;

for by Thy will I bestow it;

whence, becoming also an advocate before Thee on behalf of those who have sinned, I shall save them, interceding for them.'

In accordance with what has already been said before, thou shalt understand also what follows.

For him who is guarded by the mighty hand of God no one shall be able to snatch away, says the Saviour;

for as long as he is encompassed by God, he remains invincible to those who wish to plot against and snatch him away.

But whenever one, having become base through the sins he commits, becomes unworthy of the hand, he is thrust away, being no longer worthy to be held and remembered by God.

Since He came to Hades and to death not according to His own works but for the sake of others, tasting death on their behalf, referring to those others the cause of His having reached the lowest pit and the very heart of the earth, He says the words 'They set Me,' in the sense of 'They caused Me to go into the lowest parts of the pit,' that, having drawn up even those in its depth, I might lead them thence, to bring them into the paradise of God.

'And they set Me in dark places and in the shadow of death.'

For though for their sake I came to be in death, yet not in death itself properly so called, but in its shadow (for I rose again on the third day); and in the same way, having been placed by them in the dark places, I illumined them, so that they no longer pass their time in darkness, but in Me the light.

The wrath of God, being like fire, has sins as its food and fuel.

So long, then, as these persist, it too is active;

but when they are consumed, it too departs along with them.

Since, then, there were many human transgressions, the wrath of God was borne against them; but the Saviour, being a benefactor, subjected Himself to the wrath of God, so that it settled upon Him and was no longer moved or active, finding no fuel.

Whence it came to pass that it was even extinguished, not being fed by Him upon whom it had settled, since He knew no sin, having been tempted in all things apart from sin.

He brought upon Him also all His billows, which are temptations and afflictions, that, having contended and been tempted in all things, He might be shown approved, so that we should no longer be subject to those billows.

And these are said to be God's, since they are brought on by His judgement for our benefit.

For His own Son, who is also His hand, made them far off; from that hand He thrust them away, according to the words, 'They were thrust away by Thy hand.'

Whence, declaring also the reason for their having been made far from Him, He says, 'They made Me an abomination to themselves.'

For the Jews, having become sinners, regarded the worship of God as abominable;

for 'the worship of God is an abomination to the sinner.'

Wherefore they made even the initiator of this worship an abomination to themselves, though He was not such.

'I was delivered up, and I did not go forth.'

For the Saviour, once delivered up by them to death, did not straightway go forth, forsaking them, but still remained with them, providing an occasion for repentance.

For it behoved them to be discerning, so as even to be called His eyes—the eyes which also grew weak, so as no longer to see Him.

For this reason He says, 'My eyes grew weak from poverty.'

For the cause of their weakness was the spiritual poverty which they longed to possess, taking all that was written also according to the letter.

But how His eyes can be the discerning ones of Israel will become clear to thee if thou attendest to the saying, 'But ye are the body of Christ, and members in part.'

For as those who have believed according to the Gospel fill up the body of Christ, so that the discerning are eyes, the intelligent hearers are ears, and further the practical are called hands, so also before His coming those who cleaved to the Scriptures constituted the body of God the Word, according to the said analogy.

'Wilt Thou work wonders for the insensible dead, who have lost the power of response?' For these are done alike for those who perceive and are able to marvel, not for the God-fighting giants who are impious toward God and therefore remain unrepentant.

For no one will pray on their behalf.

'Shall there be a resurrection unto confessing to Thee?'

For they who are God-fighters are not disposed by nature to make confession.

And by 'resurrection' here he does not mean the more common one understood by all (for all shall partake of that), but that which comes about through repentance, concerning which it is said, 'Doth not he that falleth arise?' It is possible that it is a denial: 'Wilt Thou work wonders for the dead?'

as much as to say, 'Wilt Thou work wonders for those who are dead in giving heed to other gods?'—since not even the giants who exist by fighting against God shall rise unto confessing.

For no one, he says, will recount Thy mercy—which is proclaimed to the living and to those who long to be shown mercy—to those who have been despaired of and are already hidden away in tombs; nor would anyone tell Thy truth to those who do works of destruction and are therefore named destruction.

For the Word recounts mercy to those who are by nature fit to be shown mercy (and these are they who show mercy to their neighbours;

for 'Blessed,' He says, 'are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy'); and it recounts truth also, not in destruction, but in those who have departed from it and reached unto salvation.

'Shall Thy wonders be known in the darkness?'

Those who are held fast by excessive wickedness and ignorance are darkness.

For not only is 'darkness' spoken of concerning certain persons, but also the heart is called 'a land forgotten and unremembered,' the heart which is filled with the thorns that are pleasures and the cares of life.

In these, then, who are darkness, the wonders of truth shall not be known; nor shall righteousness, the practical and ethical virtue, be known in those who through the thorns have become a forgotten land.

It is fitting to the boldness of Jesus to say, 'Why, O Lord, dost Thou reject my prayer? For there is no cause for which Thou rejectest my prayer and turnest away Thy face from me, since I have in no wise sinned;

wherefore, having received my prayer, bring all unto salvation, on whose behalf I make intercession, causing Thy face to shine upon them.'

When, being rich, He became poor for our sake, and toiled on our behalf, labouring for our salvation, He will speak the words set forth, not saying that He was poor once for all, but from youth.

For being rich and existing in the form of God, having emptied Himself, He became poor in this present age, from the time He was born and began to have age;

having been humbled, when His body was brought into the tomb, He seemed to be at an utter loss, many of those who had believed in Him being made to stumble; but rising from the dead He was again exalted into the heavens, being taken up so as to draw to Himself those who are able no longer to see Him poor and toiling because of the incarnation, but rich and being the image of the invisible God.

Since the Lord who became man bears the person of all humanity, which has sinned much (for He took up the sins of all into His own body), all the wraths that are against the various sins passed over upon Him, and His terrors, so as to trouble Him; yet they were able to accomplish nothing against Him, who neither knew nor committed sin.

Now the wraths and terrors of God may be understood to be the powers that serve for punishments, which are vessels of wrath.

These, passing over upon the Saviour, troubled Him, so that He said: 「Now is my soul troubled.」

For even though He possessed a most perfect soul, yet seeing so great a multitude of enemies it experienced a foreboding of suffering, especially since, in the manner of water, all the day long they surrounded Him, rushing together against Him at once, and would have drowned Him, had He not been the best of divers.

For just as sensible water, when it surrounds someone, drowns him—especially one who does not know how to swim—so the wicked powers slay the one who has been swallowed up by them.

But if these, like water, came round about Jesus, surrounding Him all the day long at once, yet they were not even able to harm Him.

「For many waters cannot quench love.」

For the perfect disposition, established through love toward God, is unquenchable.

And this was present to Jesus according to His humanity; wherefore the phalanx of the worse powers was not able to harm Him.

And thus indeed did Eusebius of Caesarea, and Didymus, and Apollinarius expound it.

And it has been said often that here 「generation」 is used in a twofold sense.

It signifies the people both from the circumcision and from the nations.

And he renders the reason for which he sings of the mercies of the Lord for ever, adding: 「For You said, Mercy shall be built up for ever.」

For as long as this present age endures, God manifestly shows mercy and does good.

And in this way he says that mercy is built up for ever.

For as a building is completed out of many and diverse things fitted together, so, when many are benefited by the mercy of God, a building comes to be.

And perhaps mercy is built up when Wisdom builds herself a house.

For her incarnation is the foundation and the completion of the building of mercy, all being shown mercy by the removal of the sin that had previously taken hold.

Next to these comes: 「In the heavens Your truth shall be prepared.」

For since we who are upon the earth behold divine realities through a glass and in a riddle, not yet being able to apprehend them by a pure encounter, in the heavens the truth of God is prepared for those who have here already prepared themselves, as far as was possible, to encounter it.

For then they encounter the beauty of the truth face to face, having received the consummation of knowledge and understanding, once the partial apprehension of realities has been abolished for them.

And the truth of God is prepared among those who do not mind earthly things but have their citizenship in the heavens, in that they bear the image of the heavenly One, on account of which they are called heavens.

To Him God gives the throne of David his father, that He should reign over the house of Jacob for ever, so that there is no end to His kingdom.

But that no one might suppose that David chanced upon this blessing at random, by favouritism, God says: 「I have sworn to David my servant.」

For since David has been proved a genuine servant and attendant of mine, I give to his house a sign: that a virgin, undefiled and untouched by man, should bear the God who is with you men.

For this is what the name Emmanuel signifies.

And the phrase 「I have sworn,」 spoken by God, sets forth the certainty of the promise to David.

For as the one who swears keeps his purpose inviolable, since the oath is a word made firm by the invocation of God, so also God is said to swear concerning those things which He graciously grants eternally and surely—yet not by another.

For it is said: 「By myself have I sworn, says the Lord,」 not because He employs adverbs of oath-taking or abjuring, but because, being unchangeable and having an immutable counsel, He gives His promise.

Since therefore His will also—that His Son should become a man from David—was unchangeable, fittingly He said, 「I have sworn to David my servant.」

None of those begotten of God, through having received the Spirit of adoption, will be able to be made like the Lord.

For He alone is in truth the offspring of God, while the others are called sons of God by partaking of Him.

And for the perfect understanding of what lies before us, we shall make use of the apostolic saying which runs thus:

「Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.」

For having called God his own Father and the Father of those like him, he was cautious, lest he should seem to some to assign to himself equality of honour with the only-begotten Son.

Wherefore he added, 「And of the Lord Jesus Christ,」 all but crying aloud:

even if by the grace of God we have become sons, and He is our Father, yet we are also servants of Jesus Christ, since He is our Lord by nature.

For 「who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God?」 None is Son of God according to essence except the Saviour alone, who is His own and alone is consubstantial with the Father; but these will be made like Him not according to essence but according to quality—as they also become compassionate as the Father, and perfect as the Father.

「For you shall be holy, because I am holy.」

This same Lord comes upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and the saints shall be caught up in clouds to meet the Lord in the air, that they may be for ever with Him.

Now while the Lord and the saints are in the clouds, none of those caught up in the clouds shall be made equal to Him who comes upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

For even if each one was caught up with power and glory, yet not with great glory.

For he had that power and glory which he received, whereas the Saviour will come with power and great glory which He Himself bestows.

And each of those is in a cloud, but He is upon the clouds.

And the expression 「upon the clouds」 sets forth what is authoritative and kingly; wherefore no one in clouds shall be made equal to the Lord.

Furthermore, since each of the saints is a spiritual cloud raining down the intelligible rain (for it says, 「Let the clouds rain down righteousness」), none of such clouds will be able to be made equal to the Lord, who is Himself also a cloud—inasmuch as each of those gives drink to a few, but this One gives drink not to all men only, but also to all rational beings.

And He is terrible, threatening punishments upon His adversaries and bringing them upon those who desert from His divine commandments.

For all who, being near to Him through having received His divine teaching, yet sin, are near to the fire—as has somewhere been said by the Saviour: 「He who is near me is near the fire, but he who is far from me is far from the kingdom.」