which were spoken through the prophet Nathan. But he says that he is exalted by his own mercy and by the fitting zeal for the just one, just as he also won victories in wars in a marvelous way and was undefeated. 152 Ps 88,36 God swears by himself, since he has no one greater by whom to swear, just as Paul says. For he says, "I have sworn in my holy one," or as the E edition has it, "By my sanctification," instead of "By my holiness." 153 Ps 88,39-46 [Theodoret set these things forth in a manner similar to Apollinarius.] 154 Ps 88,49 He appears to be seeking something greater and beyond man, despising the life we live as being nothing, saying that men proceed to a certain vanity, yet not to become vanity, which in saying he deems worthy not to be added to corruption, so that then the kingdom will also be restored, clearly, when it is loosed from corruption and to live forever is given. From where could an escape from death come to us? From where, if not from you? For this would not come to a man from himself; there is no one who will live and not die, nor will he be able to deliver himself from death. These things clearly seek the heavenly king, the redeemer from vanity, who is himself both superior to death and a savior for men from death, and who transforms the vanity of the present life into truth and establishes the eternal kingdom upon eternal life. 155 Ps 88,51-53a He did not despair of mercy, but seeks the promise and calls upon the justice of God against the impious nations who reproach the just one who has fared ill regarding the race from him and has fallen; whom he says are enemies of God, and they reproach the track of the just king as having been wiped out. Having entreated these things, he blesses. But the blessing is of one who hopes. And what is he hoping for, if not that the prayers will be fulfilled, the promise, and that it will not fall away, just as from the beginning he appears to believe, as Paul also says, "Is it not possible that the word of God has failed?"

156 Ps 89,4a But if he has spoken thus concerning a thousand years, it is clear that the life of man

will be the slightest interval and as it were indivisible. 157 Ps 89,10 The whole of human life, he says, is circumscribed by a period of about seventy years. He says this for the most part. Nor is this given in ease, but almost the whole of it in hardship; for either as infants we are disciplined, or as youths we toil, or as old men we suffer hardship. Well, therefore, did he say, "And the greater part of them is toil and trouble." For since the order according to age is so, the time stolen away for gladness is found to be very little. 158 Ps 89,17 He fittingly called all this time night, in which man sleeps, being put to death, but the coming time morning, in which we will live when the Lord has appeared and mercy has come down from heaven. He deems it worthy for the sun to come and for the day to shine through, and for perpetual gladness to be given to the righteous in place of the days in which we were afflicted, encountering countless evils. These were the "Times of refreshing" which Peter also foretells, into which he says the foreordained Jesus our Lord will be sent.

159 Ps 90,7.8 Next he says that a thousand will fall on the left, and a myriad on the

right, before it even draws near and any evil rubs off, so that he will fearlessly look upon those falling and perishing in the retribution from God, such as happened to Jehoshaphat by promise, so that without having fought, but while singing psalms and praising God, he saw his enemies perishing at one another's hands; For it says, "They came to the watchtower of the wilderness and looked, and they saw the multitude, and behold, all were dead, fallen on the ground, and there was no one who survived." And similar to this also upon

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ἅπερ εἴρηται διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Νάθαν. ἐλέῳ δὲ τῷ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῇ προσηκούσῃ περὶ τὸν δίκαιον σπουδῇ φησιν ὑψοῦσθαι αὐτόν, καθὰ καὶ παραδόξως ἤρατο νίκας ἐν πολέμοις καὶ ἀήττητος ἦν. 152 Ps 88,36 Καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ὄμνυσι θεός, ἐπεὶ κατ' οὐδενὸς ἔχει μείζονος ὀμόσαι, καθάπερ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν. Ὤμοσα γάρ φησιν ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ μου, ἢ ὡς ἡ Ε ἔκδοσις Κατὰ τοῦ ἁγιασμοῦ μου ἀντὶ τοῦ Κατὰ τῆς ἁγιωσύνης μου. 153 Ps 88,39-46 [Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Θεοδώρητος ὁμοίως Ἀπολιναρίῳ ἐξέθετο.] 154 Ps 88,49 Μεῖζόν τι καὶ ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον ἐπιζητῶν φαίνεται, τὸν μὲν βίον ὃν ζῶμεν ἐξευτελίζων ὡς ὄντα οὐδέν, εἰς μάταιόν τι χωρεῖν φάσκων ἀνθρώπους, οὐ μὴν εἰς ματαιότητα γενέσθαι ὅπερ λέγων ἀξιοῖ μὴ προσθῆναι φθορᾷ ὡς τότε καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἀνορθωθησομένης δηλαδή, ἐπειδὰν καὶ φθορᾷ λυθῇ καὶ τὸ εἰς αἰῶνας ζῆν δοθῇ. πόθεν δ' ἂν ἡμῖν ἡ θανάτου γένοιτο ἀποφυγή; πόθεν δὲ εἰ μὴ παρὰ σοῦ; οὐ γὰρ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ ἂν τοῦτό γε ὑπάρξειεν ἀνθρώπῳ· οὐδείς ἐστιν ὃς ζήσεται καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται, οὐδ' ἑαυτὸν ἐκ θανάτου δυνήσεται ῥύσασθαι. ταῦτα δὲ ἄντικρυς τὸν οὐράνιον ἐπιζητεῖ βασιλέα τὸν λυτῆρα τῆς ματαιότητος τὸν αὐτόν τε θανάτου κρείττονα καὶ ἀνθρώποις ἐκ θανάτου σωτῆρα καὶ τὸ μάταιον τῆς νῦν ζωῆς εἰς ἀλήθειαν μεταβάλλοντα καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αἰώνιον ἐπ' αἰωνίου ζωῆς κατασκευάζοντα. 155 Ps 88,51-53a Οὐκ ἀπέγνω τὸν ἔλεον, ἀλλ' ἐπιζητεῖν τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν καὶ τὸ δίκαιον ἐπικαλεῖται τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐθνῶν τῶν ὀνειδιζόντων τὸν δίκαιον κακοπραγήσαντα περὶ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γένος καὶ πεπτωκότα· οὓς θεοῦ μὲν εἶναί φησιν ἐχθρούς, ὀνειδίζειν δὲ τὸ τοῦ δικαίου βασιλέως ἴχνος ὡς ἐξαληλιμμένον. ταῦτα παρακαλέσας εὐλογεῖ. ἐλπίζοντος δὲ ἡ εὐλογία. τί δὲ ἐλπίζοντος ἢ τὰς εὐχὰς περαιωθήσεσθαι τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν καὶ μὴ διαπεσεῖσθαι καθὰ ἐξ ἀρχῆς πιστεύων φαίνεται, ὡς καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν Οὐχ οἷόν τε ὅτι ἐκπέπτωκεν ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ;

156 Ps 89,4a Εἰ δὲ περὶ χιλίων ἐτῶν οὕτως εἴρηκεν, δῆλον ὅτι βίος ἀνθρώπου

διάστημα ἔσται τὸ λεπτότατον καὶ ὥσπερ ἀμέριστον. 157 Ps 89,10 Ὅλος μὲν οὖν, φησίν, ὁ ἀνθρώπινος βίος ἐν ἑβδομηκοστῷ που περιγράφεται χρόνῳ. ἐκ τοῦ πλείστου δὲ λέγει τοῦτο. οὐδὲ οὗτος δὲ ἐν ἀνέσει δοθεὶς ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν ὅλος ἐν ταλαιπωρίᾳ· ἢ γὰρ ὡς νήπιοι παιδευόμεθα ἢ ὡς νεανίσκοι κάμνομεν ἢ ὡς γέροντες ταλαιπωρούμεθα. καλῶς οὖν εἶπεν Καὶ τὸ πλεῖον αὐτῶν κόπος καὶ πόνος. οὕτως γὰρ τῆς τάξεως τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ἐχούσης ὀλίγος ἄγαν ὁ ὑποκλεπτόμενος εἰς εὐφροσύνην εὑρίσκεται χρόνος. 158 Ps 89,17 Νύκτα μὲν εἰκότως τὸν χρόνον ἐκάλεσεν ἅπαντα τοῦτον ἐν ᾧ καθεύδει θανατούμενος ἄνθρωπος, πρωΐαν δὲ τὸν ἐπιόντα ἐν ᾧ ζησόμεθα φανέντος κυρίου καὶ τοῦ ἐλέου κατελθόντος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. ἀξιοῖ δὲ παραγενέσθαι τὸν ἥλιον καὶ ἡμέραν διαλάμψαι καὶ δοθῆναι διηνεκῆ τοῖς δικαίοις εὐφροσύνην ἀντὶ τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐν αἷς ἐκακώθημεν μυρίοις κακοῖς περιπίπτοντες. οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν οἱ Καιροὶ τῆς ἀναψύξεως οὓς καὶ Πέτρος προλέγει, εἰς οὓς ἀποσταλήσεσθαί φησι τὸν προκεχειρισμένον Ἰησοῦν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν.

159 Ps 90,7.8 Ἑξῆς χιλιάδα μὲν ἐξ εὐωνύμων πεσεῖσθαί φησιν, μυριάδα δ' ἐκ

δεξιῶν πρὶν καὶ συνεγγίσαι καὶ κακόν τι προστρίψασθαι ὥστε αὐτὸν ἀδεῶς ἐπόψεσθαι πίπτουσι καὶ ἀπολλυμένοις ἀνταποδόσει τῇ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, οἷον τῷ Ἰωσαφὰτ ὑπῆρξε κατ' ἐπαγγελίαν ὥστε μὴ διαπολεμήσαντι ψάλλοντι δὲ καὶ αἰνοῦντι θεὸν δι' ἀλλήλων ἰδεῖν τοὺς πολεμίους ἀπολλυμένους· Ἦλθον γάρ φησιν ἐπὶ τὴν σκοπιὰν τῆς ἐρημίας καὶ ἐπέβλεψαν καὶ εἶδον τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ ἰδοὺ πάντες νεκροὶ πεπτωκότες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ οὐκ ἦν σῳζόμενος. παραπλήσιον δὲ τούτῳ καὶ ἐφ'

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