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God, and everyone shouted out with the one chanting the Alleluia. But whenever the grace of the Holy Spirit departed for a short while, the instruments then not being moved, it was likely then that they also wrote the *diapsalma*.

PSALM 1. Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly. Since we naturally desire

all of us to be blessed, defining blessedness as the end of the good, though many mistakenly think to pursue this in the pleasures of the body, admiring riches and high offices, and the luxuries in the present life; appropriately the discourse has made in these things where it ought its beginning of the psalmody according to God, describing the truly blessed one and the one deemed worthy by God of a good end. And here indeed, on account of the rarity of those who formerly achieved virtue, he calls a certain one blessed; but our Savior, making more people blessed, offers the beatitudes in the plural. And He Himself would be the first of all to be called blessed; therefore one might also refer the present psalm to Him, as having become the man of His bride, the Church; and the Hebrew language seems to indicate this, in which *blessed is the man* is said with the addition of the article. And has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of the pestilent. First are those having the knowledge falsely so-called, having nothing established, but being moved by unexamined reasonings in whatever they wish, the ungodly. Second are all those who sin after the knowledge of the truth. The pestilent are third, not only being sick, but also imparting destructive di 23.77 teaching to others, either in knowledge or in practice, or in both; who are also entrenched in evil, while the second stand in sins, and the first walk in error. But the one who is rid of all these is blessed. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he will meditate day and night. Since there is a great difference between those compelled to do good by fear of punishments and those who choose the good itself by choice, for this reason he says: *His will is in the law of the Lord*. And by law he means not entirely the shadowy and typical law, but much rather the spiritual word hidden in it. And the law of the Lord would also be that which is implanted by nature in all men, by which the saints before the law through Moses are said to have acted rightly; concerning whom the Apostle says: *For when the Gentiles who do not have the law*, that is the written one, *do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are a law to themselves*. Or the law of the Lord would be the evangelical word proclaimed to all the nations by our Lord and Savior Himself. And he will be like the tree planted by the channels of waters, which will give its fruit in its season. He who throughout his whole life and at every time of night and day is occupied with the divine law, and is irrigated by its rational streams, is very aptly compared to a plant rooted by the waters; wherefore he is also truly blessed, since being especially watered by the divine teachings, he yields his fruit ripe. Then, since the Son of God is a tree of life according to Solomon who said concerning Wisdom: *She is a tree of life to all who lay hold of her, and for those who lean upon her, as upon the Lord, she is safe*; appropriately the one who is blessed is likened to the Son of God, who is by the channels of waters, being testified to and proclaimed by the teachers and prophets of the divine Scripture; who are also called outlets of waters in the divinely-inspired Scripture. Therefore, the blessed one is likened to this one, being watered by the channels from the divine Scripture

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τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ πάντες ἐπεφώνουν τῷ ψάλλοντι τὸ Ἀλληλούϊα. Ὁπηνίκα δὲ ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου ἀπέστη χάρις πρὸς βραχὺ, τῶν ὀργάνων λοιπὸν μὴ κινουμένων, τὸ τηνικαῦτα εἰκὸς καὶ τὸ διάψαλμα ἔγραφον.

ΨΑΛΜΟΣ Αʹ. Μακάριος ὁ ἀνὴρ ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν. Ἐπεὶ φυσικῶς ὀρεγόμεθα

πάντες τοῦ μακάριοι εἶναι, τέλος ἀγαθοῦ τὸ μακάριον ὁριζόμενοι, πεπλανημένως γε μὴν πολλοὶ τοῦτο μεταδιώκειν ἐν σωμάτων ἡδοναῖς ἡγοῦνται, πλούτους θαυμάζοντες καὶ ἀξιώματα, καὶ τὰς ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ τρυφάς· εἰκότως ὁ λόγος ἐν τούτοις ὅθεν ἐχρῆν τὴν καταρχὴν ἐποιήσατο τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ὑμνῳδίας, τὸν ἀληθῶς μακάριον καὶ τέλους ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ παρὰ Θεῷ ἠξιωμένον ὑπογράφων. Καὶ ἐνθάδε μὲν διὰ τὸ σπάνιον τῶν πάλαι πρότερον κατορθούντων ἕνα τινὰ μακαρίζει· ὁ δὲ Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν πλείονας ποιῶν μακαρίους, πληθυντικῶς τοὺς μακαρισμοὺς προσφέρεται. Πάντων δὲ πρῶτος αὐτὸς ἂν εἴη ὁ μακαριζόμενος· διὸ καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἀνοίσει τις τὸν παρόντα ψαλμὸν, ἅτε γενόμενον ἄνδρα τῆς νύμφης αὐτοῦ Ἐκκλησίας· τοῦτο δὲ ἔοικεν ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ φωνὴ παριστᾷν, καθ' ἣν μακάριος ὁ ἀνὴρ μετὰ τῆς τοῦ ἄρθρου προσθήκης εἴρηται. Καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη, καὶ ἐπὶ καθέδραν λοιμῶν οὐκ ἐκάθισεν. Πρῶτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὴν ψευδώνυμον ἔχοντες γνῶσιν, μηδὲν ἔχοντες ἑστηκὸς, ἀλλ' ἀνεξετάστοις κινούμενοι λογισμοῖς ἐν οἷς ἂν βουληθῶσιν, οἱ ἀσεβεῖς. ∆εύτεροι πάντες οἱ μετὰ γνῶσιν ἀληθείας ἐξαμαρτάνοντες. Οἱ δὲ λοιμοὶ τρίτοι, μὴ μόνον νοσοῦντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ φθοροποιοῦ δι 23.77 δασκαλίας μεταδιδόντες τοῖς ἄλλοις, ἢ κατὰ γνῶσιν ἢ κατὰ πρᾶξιν, ἢ κατ' ἀμφότερα· οἳ καὶ ἐνίδρυνται τῷ κακῷ, τῶν δευτέρων ἑστηκότων ἐν ἁμαρτίαις, τῶν δὲ πρώτων ὁδευόντων ἐν πλάνῃ. Ὁ δὲ πάντων τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος μακάριος. Ἀλλ' ἢ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ Κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσει ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. Ἐπειδὴ πολλή τίς ἐστι διαφορὰ τῶν φόβῳ τιμωριῶν εὖ πράττειν κατηναγκασμένων καὶ τῶν προαιρέσει αὐτὸ τὸ καλὸν αἱρουμένων, διὰ τοῦτό φησι· Ἐν τῷ νόμῳ Κυρίου θέλημα αὐτοῦ. Νόμον δέ φησιν οὐ πάντως τὸν σκιώδη καὶ τυπικὸν νόμον, πολὺ δὲ πρότερον τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ λεληθότα πνευματικὸν λόγον. Εἴη δ' ἂν νόμος Κυρίου καὶ ὁ κατὰ φύσιν πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐνεσπαρμένος, δι' οὗ κατορθῶσαι λέγονται οἱ πρὸ τοῦ διὰ Μωϋσέως νόμου ἅγιοι· περὶ ὧν φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· Ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα, τὸν γραπτὸν δηλονότι, φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιῇ, οὗτοι, νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες, ἑαυτοῖς εἰσι νόμος. Ἢ νόμος Κυρίου εἴη ἂν ὁ πρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι κατηγγελμένος εὐαγγελικὸς λόγος. Καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυτευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων, ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ. Ὁ διὰ πάσης τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ζωῆς καὶ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ νυκτός τε καὶ ἡμέρας τῷ θείῳ σχολάζων νόμῳ, καὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ λογικοῖς νάμασιν ἀρδόμενος, σφόδρα οἰκείως φυτῷ παρ' ὕδασιν ἐῤῥιζωμένῳ παραβέβληται· διὸ καὶ μακάριος ὡς ἀληθῶς οὗτος, ἅτε μάλιστα ποτιζόμενος τοῖς θείοις μαθήμασιν, ὥριμον ἑαυτοῦ τὸν καρπὸν ἀποδίδωσιν. Εἶτ' ἐπειδὴ ξύλον ἐστὶ ζωῆς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸς κατὰ τὸν Σολομῶντα φήσαντα περὶ τῆς Σοφίας· Ξύλον ἐστὶ ζωῆς πᾶσι τοῖς ἀντεχομένοις αὐτῆς καὶ τοῖς ἐπερειδομένοις ἐπ' αὐτὴν ὡς ἐπὶ Κύριον ἀσφαλῆ· εἰκότως ὁ μακαριζόμενος τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱῷ ἀφωμοίωται τῷ παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους ὄντι τῶν ὑδάτων μαρτυρούμενος καὶ κηρυττόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς θείας Γραφῆς διδασκάλων καὶ προφητῶν· οἵτινες καὶ ἀφέσεις ὑδάτων παρὰ τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ λέγονται Γραφῇ. Τούτῳ οὖν ἀφωμοίωται ὁ μακαριζόμενος, ἀρδόμενος διεξόδοις τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς