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daily caught alive by the evangelic and apostolic nets; and her poor are the blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; who eat the bread that came down from heaven; but also her priests, having first clothed themselves in righteousness, as he said, are clothed by God with salvation; then he speaks concerning the saints, those who are distinguished in the Church by virtue and life; concerning whom Aquila said: With praise they will praise; but Symmachus, Praising they will praise. Upon him my holiness shall flourish. This he says concerning John, according to what was said by the Lord: He was the burning and shining lamp. It is also possible to see these things differently according to the times of the persecutions; but Symmachus said, his holiness; for the holiness of our Savior in the Church sanctifies throughout the whole world.

PSALM 132.

Behold now, what is good or what is pleasant, other than for dwelling, etc. Not everything that is good,

is also pleasant; nor is what is pleasant, necessarily also good; for many things are pleasant, but wicked; just as others are toilsome, but good; but the concord and peace of like-minded and like-believing souls is praised for having both the pleasant and the good at the same time; not simply for brothers to dwell, but when they are in unity, according to the Apostle who says: That you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment; and he teaches that the good and the pleasant are not to be placed in the body, nor in the pleasure of the flesh. As the dew of Hermon that comes down upon the mountains of Sion. Hermon is a mountain, situated next to Lebanon, upon which much snow is gathered, which the Word has called dew; and since that dew, gathered from many drops, is made into one body and solidified, he has fittingly compared the concord and harmony of the Church through another example not to the snow that remains on Mount Hermon, but to that which comes down upon the mountains of Sion; for in order that we might understand the quantity of the snow, Mount Hermon has been included; but in order that he might show the harmony of the commonwealth according to God, he said the dew comes down upon the mountains of Sion. For there the Lord commanded the blessing. There, he says, among the brothers who dwell in unity; and life, not the common life, but the immortal.

24.29 PSALM 133.

May the Lord bless you from Sion. It has already been said to Abraham: Those who bless you, are blessed;

and in effect, he who does this blesses himself; and if this is so for Abraham, how much more for the Lord? For he does not need our blessing. But each one does a favor to himself, and blesses himself, being blessed in return by the Maker of all. Therefore it is first said: Bless the Lord; then next: May the Lord bless you.

PSALM 134.

With the last of the odes having the same words, the present praise is fittingly placed next;

for this reason Alleluia is written before; with 'allelu' signifying 'praise', and 'ia', 'the Lord'. One might say that the first parts are a hymn, as if in a prelude stirring up those commanded to praise God; beginning the praise from,

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τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν καὶ ἀποστολικῶν δικτύων ὁσημέραι ζωγρούμενοι· πτωχοὶ δὲ αὐτῆς οἱ μακάριοι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν· οἳ τὸν ἄρτον σιτοῦνται τὸν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταβάντα· ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ταύτης ἱερεῖς, πρῶτον ἑαυτοὺς δικαιοσύνην, ὡς εἶπεν, ἐνδύσαντες, ὑπὸ Θεοῦ περιβάλλονται σωτηρίαν· εἶτα λέγει περὶ τῶν ὁσίων, τῶν ἀρετῇ καὶ βίῳ διαπρεπόντων ἐν Ἐκκλησίᾳ· περὶ ὧν Ἀκύλας μὲν ἔφη· Αἰνέσει αἰνέσουσιν· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, Εὐφημοῦντες εὐφημήσουσιν. Ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτὸν ἐξανθήσει τὸ ἁγίασμά μου. Τοῦτο περὶ Ἰωάννου φησὶ, κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον παρὰ Κυρίου· Ἐκεῖνος ἦν ὁ λύχνος ὁ καιόμενος καὶ φαίνων. Ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα καὶ ἄλλως ἰδεῖν κατὰ τοὺς τῶν διωγμῶν καιρούς· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, ὁ ἁγιασμὸς, εἶπεν, αὐτοῦ· ἁγιάζει γὰρ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης τὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ ἁγίασμα.

ΨΑΛΜΟΣ ΡΛΒʹ.

Ἰδοὺ δὴ τί καλὸν ἢ τί τερπνὸν, ἀλλ' ἢ τὸ κατοικεῖν, κ.τ.λ. Οὐ πᾶν τὸ καλὸν,

ἤδη καὶ τερπνόν· οὐδὲ τὸ τερπνὸν, πάντως καὶ καλόν· πολλὰ γὰρ ἡδέα μὲν, φαῦλα δέ· ὡς καὶ ἕτερα ἐπίπονα μὲν, ἀγαθὰ δέ· ὁμόνοια δὲ καὶ εἰρήνη ψυχῶν ὁμοφρονούντων καὶ ὁμοδοξούντων, ἄμφω κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ τὸ τερπνὸν καὶ τὸ καλὸν ἔχειν ἐπαινεῖται· οὐ τὸ κατοικεῖν ἀδελφοὺς ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ' ὅταν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ὦσι, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον λέγοντα· Ἵνα τὸ αὐτὸ λέγητε πάντες, καὶ μὴ εἶεν ἐν ὑμῖν σχίσματα· ἦτε δὲ κατηρτισμένοι τῷ αὐτῷ νοὶ καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ γνώμῃ· διδάσκει δὲ τὸ καλὸν καὶ τὸ τερπνὸν μὴ ἐν σώματι, μηδὲ ἐν ἡδονῇ σαρκῶν τίθεσθαι. Ὡς δρόσος Ἀερμὼν ἡ καταβαίνουσα ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Σιών. Ὄρος ἐστὶν Ἀερμὼν, τὸ παρακείμενον τῷ Λιβάνῳ, ἐφ' ὃ χιὼν συνάγεται πολλὴ, ἥντινα ὁ Λόγος δρόσον ὠνόμασεν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ δρόσος ἐκείνη ἡ ἐκ πολλῶν συναγομένη σταγόνων, ὑφ' ἓν σωματοποιεῖται καὶ συμπήγνυται, εἰκότως τὴν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὁμόνοιαν καὶ συμφωνίαν ἀπείκασε δι' ἑτέρου παραδείγματος οὐ τῇ χιόνι τῇ ἀπομενούσῃ ἐν τῷ Ἀερμὼν ὄρει, ἀλλὰ τῇ καταβαινούσῃ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Σιών· ἵνα μὲν γὰρ νοήσωμεν τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χιόνος, τὸ Ἀερμὼν ὄρος παρείληπται· ἵνα δὲ τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν πολιτεύματος τὴν συμφωνίαν δηλώσῃ, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη Σιὼν ἔφη κατιέναι τὴν δρόσον. Ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἐνετείλατο Κύριος τὴν εὐλογίαν. Ἐκεῖ λέγει παρὰ τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν ἀδελφοῖς ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό· καὶ ζωὴν οὐ τὴν κοινὴν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀθάνατον.

24.29 ΨΑΛΜΟΣ ΡΛΓʹ.

Εὐλογήσαι σε Κύριος ἐκ Σιών. Ἤδη τῷ Ἀβραὰμ εἴρηται· Οἱ εὐλογοῦντές σε,

εὐλόγηνται· δυνάμει δὲ ἑαυτὸν εὐλογεῖ ὁ τοῦτο ποιῶν· εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ Κυρίου; οὐ γὰρ δεῖται τῆς παρ' ἡμῶν εὐλογίας. Ἕκαστος δὲ ἑαυτῷ χαρίζεται, καὶ ἑαυτὸν εὐλογεῖ, ἀντευλογούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Ποιητοῦ. ∆ιὸ πρῶτον εἴρηται· Εὐλογεῖτε τὸν Κύριον· εἶθ' ἑξῆς· Εὐλογήσαι σε Κύριος.

ΨΑΛΜΟΣ ΡΛ∆ʹ.

Τῇ τῶν ᾠδῶν ἐσχάτῃ τὰς αὐτὰς ἔχων λέξεις, ὁ παρὼν αἶνος εἰκότως

παράκειται· διὸ τὸ ἀλληλούϊα προγέγραπται· τοῦ μὲν ἀλληλοὺ δηλοῦντος τὸ αἰνεῖτε, τοῦ δ' ἴα, τὸν Κύριον. Εἴποι δ' ἄν τις ὕμνον εἶναι τὰ πρῶτα, ὡς ἐν προοιμίῳ διεγείροντα τοὺς προσταττομένους αἰνεῖν τὸν Θεόν· ἀρχομένους τοῦ αἴνου ἀπὸ τοῦ,