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in wickedness their father the devil, or even a husband, orphans and widows are taken up; when these have been taken up, the way of sinners, being none other than wickedness, will be destroyed by God. And these things have been said rather allegorically. But he speaks of widows, not of any chance ones, but of those who continue in purity and gravity, and of orphans, those who for the sake of piety have left their kindred.

PSALM 146

In the present psalm, instead of, Praise the Lord, Symmachus has said, Alleluia, for a song is good, keeping untranslated the Hebrew word that means, Praise the Lord. Likewise also the fifth edition has rendered it, Praise Jah. Therefore, the psalm before this one exhorts a single soul to praise the Lord; but here, Praise the Lord is said to the multitudes; since no one is good except God alone, it is fitting that everything that is referred to his glory, and done for his honor, would be good; so then, the psalm is also good, as it is sent up to a good God. Instead of which, Aquila translated, a good encomium; but Symmachus, a good song. But not only that, but the praise that is sent up to God happens to be sweeter to him than any fragrant incense and any pleasure; for truly, praise of God sent up from a rational and pure soul would be dear to him, and sweet, as it were; for he rejoices and accepts such fruit of the human mind. He who heals the brokenhearted. Since it is the work of a Savior and physician to heal and bind up the broken, it is fitting that through these things he himself would be understood to be the Lord our Savior, the Word of God, who said: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” And being a physician of souls, he will heal those who are brokenhearted and turned aside from their natural reasonings, having redeemed them from spiritual captivity. Symmachus says, He who heals the crushed in heart, and binds up their fractures, clearly applying rational bonds; thus, indeed, he bound with spiritual and rational bonds the one who was wounded and broken by robbers while going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. And binding up their broken parts. Who numbers the multitude of stars, etc. After healing the brokenhearted, and binding up their broken parts, bringing back to natural health those who had long been sick, and having made them luminaries, he establishes them as worthy of his number. As is customary, the discourse intertwines that which concerns the salvation of men, and that which concerns 24.68 universal Providence, showing that he not only cares for the parts of the world, but also for human doctrines; and he alone knows the number of the stars, and their positions, and their causes, their sizes and distances, their powers and energies, and gives to each a fitting name. Begin to the Lord in confession. Symmachus, Recount to the Lord a confession, sing melody to our God with a lyre. Aquila, Recount to the Lord in thanksgiving, sing melody to our God with a cithara. Those who command others to confess and sing psalms would be different from those who are commanded; therefore, a prophetic and apostolic choir through these words calls to the same God those who are not of them, that is, those from the nations, saying: Sing psalms to our God. And the word commands to confess with the mind and reasonings of the soul, but with the deeds of the body as with a cithara

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ἐν κακίᾳ πατέρα αὐτῶν διάβολον, ἢ καὶ ἄνδρα, ὀρφαναὶ καὶ χῆραι ἀναλαμβανόμεναί εἰσι· τούτων ἀναληφθέντων, ἡ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν ὁδὸς οὐκ ἄλλη τῆς κακίας οὖσα ὑπὸ Θεοῦ ἀφανισθήσεται. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν εἴρηνται ἀλληγορικώτερον. Χηρῶν δὲ λέγει οὐ τῶν τυχουσῶν, ἀλλὰ τῶν σὺν ἁγνείᾳ καὶ σεμνότητι διατελουσῶν, ὀρφανῶν δὲ, τοὺς θεοσεβείας ἕνεκα καταλιπόντας γενεάς.

ΨΑΛΜΟΣ ΡΜςʹ

Ἐν τῷ παρόντι ψαλμῷ ἀντὶ τοῦ, αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, ὁ μὲν Σύμμαχος,

ἀλληλούϊα, ὅτι ἀγαθὸν ᾠδὴ, εἴρηκεν, ἀνερμήνευτον φυλάξας τὴν Ἑβραίων λέξιν τὴν σημαίνουσαν τὸ, αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἡ πέμπτη ἔκδοσις, αἰνεῖτε τὸν ἰὰ, ἐξέδωκεν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν πρὸ τούτου ψαλμὸς μιᾷ ψυχῇ αἰνεῖν τὸν Κύριον παρακελεύεται· ἐνταῦθα δὲ πλήθεσι λέγεται τὸ, αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον· ἐπειδὴ οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεὸς, εἰκότως πᾶν τὸ εἰς αὐτοῦ δόξαν ἀναφερόμενον, καὶ εἰς αὐτοῦ τιμὴν πραττόμενον, ἀγαθὸν ἂν εἴη· ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ὁ ψαλμὸς ὡς ἂν εἰς ἀγαθὸν Θεὸν ἀναπεμπόμενος. Ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας, ἀγαθὸν ἐγκώμιον ἡρμήνευσεν· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, ἀγαθὸν ᾠδή. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ αἴνεσις ἡ εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἀναπεμπομένη παντός τε εὐώδους θυμιάματος καὶ πάσης ἡδονῆς ἡδίων αὐτῷ τυγχάνει· καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς αἶνος Θεοῦ ἐκ λογικῆς καὶ καθαρᾶς ἀναπεμπόμενος ψυχῆς προσφιλὴς ἂν εἴη αὐτῷ, καὶ ὡς ἂν εἴπερ τις ἡδύς· χαίρει γὰρ καὶ ἀποδέχεται τὸν τοιοῦτον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης διανοίας καρπόν. Ὁ ἰώμενος τοὺς συντετριμμένους τὴν καρδίαν. Ἐπειδὴ Σωτῆρός ἐστι καὶ ἰατροῦ τὸ ἰάσασθαι καὶ καταδεσμεύειν τὰ συντετριμμένα, εἰκότως καὶ διὰ τούτων νοηθείη αὐτὸς ὢν ὁ Κύριος ὁ Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν, ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ὁ εἰπών· Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ' οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες· οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν. Ψυχῶν δὲ ὢν ἰατρὸς, τοὺς τὴν καρδίαν συντετριμμένους, καὶ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν λογισμῶν παρατετραμμένους, ἐκ τῆς νοητῆς αἰχμαλωσίας λυτρωσάμενος ἰάσεται. Ὁ μὲν Σύμμαχός φησιν, Ὁ ἰώμενος τοὺς κεκλασμένους τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ ἐπιδεσμῶν κατάγματα αὐτῶν, δηλονότι δεσμοὺς ὑποβάλλων λογικούς· οὕτω γοῦν ἐπέδησε τοῖς πνευματικοῖς καὶ λογικοῖς δεσμοῖς τὸν ὑπὸ λῃστῶν τραυματισθέντα καὶ συντριβέντα ἐν τῷ καταβαίνειν ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ εἰς Ἱεριχώ. Καὶ δεσμεύων τὰ συντρίμματα αὐτῶν. Ὁ ἀριθμῶν πλήθη ἄστρων, κ.τ.λ. Μετὰ τὸ ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ δῆσαι τὰ συντρίμματα αὐτῶν, ἐπανάγων εἰς τὴν φυσικὴν ὑγείαν τοὺς πάλαι νενοσηκότας, φωστῆράς τε αὐτοὺς ἀπεργασάμενος, ἀξίους τοῦ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀριθμοῦ καθίστησι. Συνήθως ὁ λόγος συμπλέκει τό τε περὶ σωτηρίας ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τὰ περὶ 24.68 τῆς καθόλου Προνοίας, δεικνὺς, ὡς οὐ μόνον κήδεται τῶν τοῦ κόσμου μερῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων δογμάτων· καὶ μόνος ἀριθμὸν ἄστρων οἶδε, καὶ θέσεις, καὶ τὰς αἰτίας, μεγέθη τε καὶ ἀποστήματα, δυνάμεις τε καὶ ἐνεργείας, ἑκάστῳ πρόσφορον ὄνομα τίθησιν. Ἐξάρξατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν ἐξομολογήσει. Ὁ Σύμμαχος, Καταλέξατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐξομολόγησιν, μελῳδήσατε τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν διὰ λύρας. Ἀκύλας, Καταλέξατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ, μελῳδήσατε τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν ἐν κιθάρᾳ. Οἱ προστάττοντες ἑτέροις ἐξομολογεῖσθαι καὶ ψάλλειν, ἕτεροι ἂν εἶεν τῶν προσταττομένων· χορὸς τοίνυν προφητικὸς διὰ τούτων καὶ ἀποστολικὸς ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν Θεὸν τοὺς μὴ ὄντας ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀνακαλεῖται, τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν δηλονότι, λέγοντες· Ψάλατε τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν. Προστάττει δὲ ὁ λόγος διανοίᾳ μὲν καὶ λογισμοῖς ψυχῆς ἐξομολογεῖσθαι, ἔργοις δὲ τοῖς διὰ τοῦ σώματος ὥσπερ διὰ κιθάρας