6

This psalm seems to be a sequel to the one preceding it, even in its hypothesis. For in that one, those who were lamenting the calamities in Babylon supplicated God to obtain their return; but here, having obtained what they asked for, they hymn their benefactor. But I think that this hymnody is fitting for all people who have been delivered from a bitterer slavery, and have been deemed worthy of a greater freedom. And the meaning of the sayings will show that this hypothesis is truer than that one.

1. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. The soul, being in the middle, the body pulls it down toward pleasures, but the spirit draws it up toward God, commanding it to bless him, that is, to speak of God and glorify him always. And Paul also mentioned the three, saying: And may God make you completely whole, and may your whole body and spirit and soul be kept. And this is called the spirit of man that is in him, about which he says again: I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the mind also. And Moses also makes mention of the body in the words, God took dust from the earth, and formed man; of the soul in the words, Let us make man in our image; and of the spirit, saying: And God breathed into his face the breath of life. And the spirit exhorts all the powers of the soul to bless God, such as the intellectual, the rational, the spirited, the desiderative, the opinion-forming, the imaginative, the perceptive, all of which he called, Within; which Paul interpreted saying: Whether you eat, or whether you drink, do all to the glory of God. And what is within the body, also provides a hymn to God; but also through the organic parts of the body it moves the active powers of the soul to hymn. And those who say the soul belongs to the spirit, do not say so as if it animates it, but as being under its care. And he says the rational power is within, just as the Savior also said the kingdom of heaven is within us. And the powers of the soul, while they are at rest from the good things they can do, are said to be within; but when moved by their energies toward improper things, they go out from what is within. Which he now stirs up to a hymn of God. It is fitting, therefore, for all to say, Bless the Lord, O my soul. For those who are gratefully disposed concerning the divine graces stir themselves up to hymnody, repaying their benefactor with what they can. And it is possible to hymn always, and to carry about a vivid memory of his benefits. These consecrate all that is within, and stir up every thought to the divine hymn. For he called 'within' the thoughts and the reflections and all the movements of the soul. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his rewards. Again the soul is taught to stir itself up, and to drive out the cloud of forgetfulness, and to renew the memory of his benefits. For he who remembers the divine benefits does not cease hymning him. However, 'Rewards,' Symmachus has rendered as 'Benefits'. Then he recounts these in part. Who is merciful to all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. For he has granted you the forgiveness of sins, he has graciously given you the healing of your passions. The paralytic enjoyed these. For he heard, Your sins are forgiven you; and, Take up your pallet, and go to your house. Thus the sinful woman obtained healing and forgiveness; thus the thief, thus the tax collectors, thus all who have believed. Who redeems your life from corruption. 55.642 Those who were led away as captives to Babylon he freed from slavery, but he did not deliver them from this corruptible life; but to us he has graciously given the hopes of the resurrection, and has given the pledge of the Spirit, and has clothed us with the tunic of incorruptibility. Who crowns you in

6

∆οκεῖ μὲν ὁ ψαλμὸς οὗτος ἀκόλουθος εἶναι τῷ προτε ταγμένῳ καὶ κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν ὑπόθεσιν. Ἐν ἐκείνῳ μὲν γὰρ οἱ τὰς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι συμφορὰς ὀλοφυρόμενοι, τὸν Θεὸν ἱκέτευον τῆς ἐπανόδου τυχεῖν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ τετυχη κότες ὧν ᾔτησαν, ὑμνοῦσι τὸν εὐεργέτην. Ἐγὼ δὲ οἶμαι πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ταύτην ἁρμόττειν τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν καὶ πικροτέρας ἀπαλλαγεῖσι δουλείας, καὶ μείζονος ἀξιω θεῖσιν ἐλευθερίας. ∆ηλώσει δὲ καὶ τῶν ῥητῶν ἡ διάνοια, ὡς αὕτη μᾶλλον ἡ ὑπόθεσις ἐκείνης ἀληθεστέρα.

αʹ. Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐντός μου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ. Μέση οὖσα ἡ ψυχὴ, τὸ μὲν σῶμα πρὸς ἡδονὰς κατασπᾷ, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα πρὸς Θεὸν ἀνέλκει, προστάττον αὐτὸν εὐλογεῖν, τουτ έστι θεολογεῖν καὶ δοξάζειν διαπαντός. Τῶν δὲ τριῶν καὶ Παῦλος ἐμνήσθη λέγων· Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς καταρτίσαι ὑμᾶς ὁλοτελεῖς, καὶ ὁλόκληρον τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τηρηθείη. Τοῦτο δὲ λέγεται τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ, περὶ οὗ πάλιν φησί· Προσεύξο μαι τῷ πνεύματι, προσεύξομαι δὲ καὶ τῷ νοΐ. Μέ μνηται δὲ καὶ Μωϋσῆς σώματος μὲν ἐν τῷ, Ἔλαβεν ὁ Θεὸς χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἔπλασε τὸν ἄνθρωπον· ψυχῆς δὲ ἐν τῷ, Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν· τοῦ δὲ πνεύματος, λέγων· Καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς. Πάσας δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς τὰς δυνάμεις παρακαλεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸν Θεὸν εὐλογεῖν, οἷον τὴν νοερὰν, τὴν λογικὴν, τὴν θυμι κὴν, τὴν ἐπιθυμητικὴν, τὴν δοξαστικὴν, τὴν φαντασια στικὴν, τὴν αἰσθητικὴν, ἃς δὴ πάσας εἶπεν, Ἐντός· ὅπερ ἑρμηνεύων ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Εἴτε ἐσθίετε, εἴτε πίνετε, πάντα εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ποιεῖτε. Καὶ τὰ ἐντὸς δὲ τοῦ σώματος, ὕμνον προξενεῖ τῷ Θεῷ· ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν ὀργανικῶν τοῦ σώματος μερῶν τὰς ἐνεργητικὰς τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις πρὸς ὕμνον κινεῖ. Καὶ οἱ τὴν ψυχὴν δὲ λέγοντες εἶναι τοῦ πνεύματος, οὐχ ὡς ψυχοῦσαν αὐτό φασιν, ἀλλ' ὡς ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτοῦ κηδεμονίαν τυγχάνουσαν. Τὴν λογικὴν δὲ δύναμιν ἐντὸς εἶναι λέγει, καθ' ἃ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐντὸς ἡμῶν ἔλεξεν ὁ Σωτήρ. Καὶ αἱ ψυχικαὶ δὲ δυνάμεις ἠρεμοῦσαι μὲν, ὧν δύνανται ποιῆσαι καλῶν, ἐντὸς εἶναι λέγονται· κινηθεῖσαι δὲ ταῖς ἐνεργείαις εἰς ἄτοπα, τῶν ἐντὸς ἐξιέναι. Ὃν δὴ νῦν πρὸς ὕμνον ἀνακινεῖ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἁρμόττει οὖν πᾶσι τὸ λέγειν, Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον. Οἱ γὰρ εὐγνωμόνως περὶ τὰς θείας χάριτας διακείμενοι, εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν ἑαυτοὺς διεγείρουσι, τὸν εὐεργέτην οἷς δυνα τὸν ἀμειβόμενοι. ∆υνατὸν δὲ ὑμνεῖν ἀεὶ, καὶ τῶν εὐερ γεσιῶν ἔναυλον περιφέρειν τὴν μνήμην. Οὗτοι καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐντὸς καθιεροῦσι, καὶ πάντα λογισμὸν εἰς τὸν θεῖον ὕμνον ἀνακινοῦσιν. Ἐντὸς γὰρ ἐκάλεσε τοὺς λογισμοὺς καὶ τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις καὶ πάντα τῆς ψυχῆς τὰ κινήματα. Εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μὴ ἐπιλαν θάνου πάσας τὰς ἀνταποδόσεις αὐτοῦ. Πάλιν ἑαυ τὴν ἡ ψυχὴ διεγείρειν διδάσκεται, καὶ τῆς λήθης ἐξελαύ νειν τὸ νέφος, καὶ τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν ἀνανεοῦσθαι τὴν μνήμην. Ὁ γὰρ τῶν θείων εὐεργεσιῶν μεμνημένος οὐ παύεται τοῦτον ὑμνῶν. Τὰς μέντοι Ἀνταποδόσεις, Εὐ εργεσίας ὁ Σύμμαχος εἴρηκεν. Εἶτα ταύτας κατὰ μέρος διέξεισι. Τὸν εὐϊλατεύοντα πάσαις ταῖς ἀνομίαις σου, τὸν ἰώμενον πάσας τὰς νόσους σου. Οὗτος γάρ σοι δεδώρηται τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων τὴν ἄφεσιν, οὗτός σοι κεχάρισται τῶν παθημάτων τὴν ἴασιν. Τούτων ὁ παρ ειμένος ἀπήλαυσεν. Ἤκουσε γὰρ, Ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου· καὶ, Ἆρον τὸν κράββατόν σου, καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου. Οὕτως ἡ ἁμαρτωλὸς γυνὴ τετύχηκε τῆς ἰάσεώς τε καὶ ἀφέσεως· οὕτως ὁ λῃστὴς, οὕτως οἱ τελῶναι, οὕτως ἅπαντες οἱ πιστεύσαντες. Τὸν λυτρούμενον ἐκ φθορὰς τὴν 55.642 ζωήν σου. Τοὺς μὲν ἀπαχθέντας ἐν Βαβυλῶνι δορυ αλώτους δουλείας μὲν ἠλευθέρωσε, τῆς δὲ φθαρτῆς οὐκ ἀπήλλαξε βιοτῆς· ἡμῖν δὲ κεχάρισται τῆς ἀναστάσεως τὰς ἐλπίδας, καὶ τὸν ἀῤῥαβῶνα τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔδωκε, καὶ τὸν τῆς ἀφθαρσίας ἡμᾶς ἐνέδυσε χιτῶνα. Τὸν στε φανοῦντά σε ἐν