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by your righteousness you shall bring my soul out of affliction. Truly it is an affliction of the soul for one's life to be humbled to the earth, and to sit in dark places; and he who is troubled in soul by evil thoughts and the burning of passions is afflicted; but no one else frees from such affliction than God who knows the secret of the heart. But also he whose soul is disturbed by the annoyances of deceivers would be greatly afflicted, especially when, unable to refute their sophistries, he is afraid of straying from the truth; but he leads a soul out of all such affliction, shining upon it and illuminating it with his own splendors and leading it to live according to his righteousness, as has just been demonstrated. By the mercy of God the enemies will be destroyed, not being corrupted in substance, for this is impossible, but having cast off the disposition by which they happen to be enemies of the righteous man and afflicters of his soul; for thus the righteous man will be at ease, living in peace without war. And calling upon the one being invoked to consent, he added, Because I am your servant. Of possessions and boasts, the greatest is to be called a servant of God. And the Savior shows the greatness of this, saying to those with him: You call me Lord and Teacher, and you are right, for so I am; nothing so drives away our enemies as spiritual contemplation.

PSALM 143.

If you refer these things to David, especially because according to one of the

manuscripts it is inscribed against Goliath, you will say it is fitting for him, who according to the story conquered the man not with common armor, but with trust in God; whom, ascribing to him as a teacher, he then struck down Goliath by casting a sling; and at other times he killed the beasts of the field by strangling them with his hands. And it was especially fitting for him to say these things while playing the psaltery, when, using his hands and fingers instead of a plectrum, he drove away the unseen demons troubling Saul. But if the sayings are referred to every righteous man, you will say that all the actions of the God-loving man effect the destruction of the opposing powers, with God becoming the teacher of such an extension of the hands; and his fingers signified the actions down to the 24.53 smallest details of human life; and Moses, stretching out his hands, routed Amalek. But see if it is not Christ who is speaking, having routed the unseen enemies; for the psalm signifies, as will be shown, both his descent from heaven, and the routing of demons, and the calling of the nations, and two peoples. Who subdues my people under me. It is God's to subdue his own people to men; which, if it did not come from God, would never happen; for not even Moses would have led so great a multitude, had the Lord not subdued his own people to him, not through weapons or human battle array, but through the greater power. Lord, what is man, that you are made known to him? The word asks inquiringly, what is man, wishing to teach us that man is something great; for he would not have contained the knowledge of God, nor would God have been so mindful of him, as to send to him his own Word as Savior and Redeemer. And in the same, he exhorts not to despise any man, and that no one performs a deed worthy of such a benefaction. Lord, bow your heavens, and come down. Very necessarily and consequently he says that the Word of God himself came down for the destruction of the enemies; for even if, he says, he most of all teaches my hands and fingers

17

δικαιοσύνῃ σου ἐξάξεις ἐκ θλίψεως τὴν ψυχήν μου. Ψυχῆς ἀληθῶς θλίψις τὸ ταπεινωθῆναι εἰς γῆν τὴν ζωὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν σκοτεινοῖς αὐτὸν καθῆσαι· καὶ ὁ ὑπὸ λογισμῶν δὲ φαύλων καὶ πυρώσεως παθῶν ἐνοχλούμενος τὴν ψυχὴν θλίβεται· οὐδενὸς δὲ ἄλλου ἔν ..ν τοιαύτης θλίψεως ἐλευθεροῦντος, ἢ τοῦ τὸ κρυπτὸν τῆς καρδίας εἰδότος Θεοῦ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ὑπὸ διοχλήσεων ἀπατεώνων τὴν ψυχὴν ταραττόμενος θλίβοιτο ἂν μεγάλως ὅτε μάλιστα, οὐ δυνάμενος διελέγχειν τὰ σοφίσματα, εὐλαβεῖται μὴ ἀποσφαλῇ τῆς ἀληθείας· ἐξάγει δὲ ψυχὴν πάσης θλίψεως τοιαύτης, ἐπιλάμπων αὐτὴν καὶ καταλάμπων ταῖς ἰδίαις μαρμαρυγαῖς καὶ ἄγων αὐτὴν εἰς τὸ ζῆσαι κατὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἔναγχος ἀποδέδεικται. Ἐλέει δὲ Θεοῦ ἐξολοθρευθήσονται οἱ ἐχθροὶ, οὐ κατ' οὐσίαν φθειρόμενοι, ἀδύνατον γὰρ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἕξιν ἀποβαλόντες, δι' ἣν ἐχθροὶ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ θλίβοντες τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τυγχάνουσιν· οὕτω γὰρ ἐν ἀνέσει ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ἄνευ πολέμου ἐν εἰρήνῃ διάγων. Ἐκκαλούμενος δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἐπινεῦσαι τὸν παρακαλούμενον, ἐπήγαγε τὸ, Ὅτι ὁ δοῦλός σου εἰμὶ ἐγώ. Κτημάτων δὲ καὶ αὐχημάτων τὸ μέγιστον χρηματίσαι Θεοῦ δοῦλον. ∆είκνυσι δὲ τὸ μέγεθος τούτου καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ λέγων τοῖς συνοῦσιν αὐτῷ· Ὑμεῖς φωνεῖτέ με ὁ Κύριος καὶ ὁ ∆ιδάσκαλος, καὶ καλῶς λέγετε, εἰμὶ γάρ· οὐδὲν οὕτως ἀποδιώκει τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἡμῶν, ὡς θεωρία πνευματική.

ΨΑΛΜΟΣ ΡΜΓʹ.

Εἰ μὲν ἀναφέρεις ταῦτα ἐπὶ τὸν ∆αυῒδ, μάλιστα ὅτι κατά τινα τῶν

ἀντιγράφων ἐπιγέγραπται πρὸς τὸν Γολιὰθ, ἐρεῖς ἁρμόζειν αὐτῷ, κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν νενικηκότι τὸν ἄνδρα οὐ τῇ κοινῇ παντευχίᾳ, πεποιθήσει δὲ τῇ ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν· ὃν ὥσπερ διδάσκαλον ἐπιγραφόμενος, τότε μὲν τὸν Γολιὰθ τῇ σφενδόνῃ καθεῖλε βαλών· ἄλλοτε δὲ τοὺς κατ' ἀγρὸν θῆρας ταῖς χερσὶ πνίγων ἀνῄρει. Ἔπρεπε δὲ μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ψαλτηρίου ἀνακρούσει ταῦτα λέγειν αὐτὸν, ὅτε, ταῖς χερσὶ καὶ τοῖς δακτύλοις ἀντὶ τοῦ πλήκτρου χρώμενος, τοὺς ἀοράτους δαίμονας ἤλαυνε τῷ Σαοῦλ ἐνοχλοῦντας. Εἰ δ' ἐπὶ πάντα δίκαιον ἀνάγοιτο τὰ ῥητὰ, ἐρεῖς πάσας τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς πράξεις καθαίρεσιν τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων ἐνεργεῖν, τοῦ Θεοῦ διδασκάλου τῆς τοιᾶσδε τῶν χειρῶν ἐκτάσεως γινομένου· τοὺς δὲ δακτύλους αὐτοῦ τὰς μέχρι τῶν 24.53 μικροτάτων ἐνεργείας τῶν κατὰ τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον ἐδήλωσε· καὶ Μωϋσῆς δὲ τὰς χεῖρας ἐκτείνων ἐτροποῦτο τὸν Ἀμαλήκ. Ὅρα δὲ μὴ Χριστὸς ὁ λέγων, τροπωσάμενος τοὺς ἀοράτους ἐχθρούς· δηλοῖ γὰρ ὁ ψαλμὸς, ὡς δειχθήσεται, καὶ κάθοδον αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ τροπὴν δαιμόνων, καὶ κλῆσιν ἐθνῶν, καὶ δύο λαούς. Ὁ ὑποτάσσων τὸν λαόν μου ὑπ' ἐμέ. Θεοῦ ἐστι τὸ ὑποτάσσειν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν ἀνθρώποις· ὅπερ εἰ μὴ ἐκ Θεοῦ γίνοιτο, οὐκ ἄν ποτε γένοιτο· οὐδὲ γὰρ Μωϋσῆς ἡγήσατο ἂν τοῦ τοσούτου πλήθους, μὴ τοῦ Κυρίου ὑποτάξαντος αὐτῷ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν, οὐ δι' ὅπλων ἢ διὰ παρατάξεως ἀνθρωπίνης, διὰ δὲ τῆς κρείττονος δυνάμεως. Κύριε, τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι ἐγνώσθης αὐτῷ; Πυνθάνεται ὁ λόγος ἐρωτηματικῶς τὸ, τί ἔστιν ἄνθρωπος, ἡμᾶς διδάξαι βουλόμενος, ὅτι μέγα τι ἄνθρωπος· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐχώρησε Θεοῦ γνῶσιν, οὐδ' ἂν ἐμνήσθη αὐτοῦ ὁ Θεὸς οὕτως, ὡς καὶ Σωτῆρα καὶ Λυτρωτὴν ἐξαποστεῖλαι αὐτῷ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Λόγον. Παραινεῖ δὲ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ καὶ μηδενὸς ἀνθρώπου καταφρονεῖν, καὶ ὅτι μηδεὶς ἄξιον κατορθοῖ τῆς τοιαύτης εὐεργεσίας. Κύριε, κλῖνον οὐρανούς σου, καὶ κατάβηθι. Σφόδρα ἀναγκαίως καὶ ἀκολούθως λέγει καὶ αὐτὸν καταβῆναι τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον εἰς καθαίρεσιν τῶν πολεμίων· εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα, φησὶ, διδάσκει τὰς ἐμὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς δακτύλους