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Sow doxology, that you may reap crowns and honors and praises in the kingdom of heaven. These things have not been said uselessly in a digression concerning, In his temple every one speaks of his glory, because of those in the temple of God who chatter ceaselessly and enter unprofitably; and would that it were unprofitably and not harmfully. The Lord will inhabit the flood. A flood is an inundation of water wiping out everything beneath it, and cleansing everything previously defiled. Therefore he calls the grace of baptism a flood, so that the soul, having washed away its sins, and having been cleansed of the old man, may be henceforth fit as a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. And what is said in the thirty-first psalm is in harmony with this. For after saying that, I acknowledged my iniquity, and my sin I did not conceal; and that, For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee; he added; Surely in a flood of many waters they shall not come near him. For sins will not come near to the one who has received the baptism of the remission of transgressions through water and the Spirit. And something akin to this is found also in the prophecy of Micah: For he is a willer of mercy, he will turn again and have mercy on us; he will sink our sins, and they will be cast into the depths of the sea. And the Lord will sit as king for ever. God, being established in the soul that is shining from the flood, makes it as a throne for himself. The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. From the sinful people the Lord will take away the strong 29.305 man and the strong woman, but to the one who practices righteousness he gives strength. Because To every one that has, it shall be given. And being strengthened for the working of good works, he becomes worthy of the blessing from God. And peace seems to be the most perfect of blessings, being a certain stability of the governing part; so that the peaceful man is characterized by the settled state of his morals; but the one who is warred against by the passions has not yet partaken of the peace from God, which the Lord gave to his own disciples, which, surpassing all understanding, will guard the souls of the worthy. The Apostle also prays for this for the Churches, saying: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. May it be then for us, having striven well, and having subdued the mind of the flesh, which is enmity to God, that when the soul is in a calm and waveless state, we may be called sons of peace, and partake of the blessing of God in peace, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the power now and for ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ON THE 29TH PSALM.

A psalm of a song of the dedication of the house of David. Tropically, a psaltery,

and an instrument harmonized musically for hymns to our God, is the constitution of the body; and a psalm is the actions through the body, which are rendered to the glory of God, when, harmonized by reason, we produce nothing dissonant in our movements. And a song is whatever pertains to high contemplation and theology. So that a psalm is a musical discourse, when it is struck rhythmically on the instrument according to the laws of harmony; but a song is a melodious voice rendered harmoniously, without the accompaniment of the instrument. Here, therefore, since it is inscribed, A psalm of a song, we think the discourse alludes to the practice that follows contemplation. And this psalm of the song, according to the inscription, contains certain words of the dedication of the house. And it seems that according to the corporeal sense, in the times of Solomon, when the famous temple was erected, the discourse was recited, being sung to the psaltery; but according to the spiritual sense, it signifies the incarnation of God the Word, and the dedication of the newly and

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Σπεῖρον δοξολογίαν, ἵνα θερίσῃς στεφάνους καὶ τιμὰς καὶ ἐπαίνους ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ταῦτα οὐκ ἀχρήστως ἐν παρεκβάσει εἴρηται εἰς τὸ, Ἐν τῷ ναῷ αὐτοῦ πᾶς τις λέγει δόξαν, διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄπαυστα γλωσσαλγοῦντας καὶ ἀνωφελῶς εἰσιόντας· εἴθε δὲ ἀν ωφελῶς καὶ μὴ ἐπιβλαβῶς. Κύριος τὸν κατακλυσμὸν κατοικιεῖ. Κα τακλυσμὸς ὕδατός ἐστιν ἐπίκλυσις ἐξαφανίζοντος πᾶν τὸ ὑποκείμενον, καὶ καθαρίζοντος ἅπαν τὸ προεῤῥυ πωμένον. Τὴν οὖν τοῦ βαπτίσματος χάριν κατακλυ σμὸν ὀνομάζει, ὥστε τὴν ἀποπλυναμένην τὰ ἁμαρτή ματα ψυχὴν, καὶ ἀποκαθηραμένην τὸν παλαιὸν ἄν θρωπον, ἐπιτηδείαν εἶναι λοιπὸν πρὸς κατοικητήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι. Συνᾴδει δὲ τούτῳ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ τριακοστῷ πρώτῳ ψαλμῷ εἰρημένα. Μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Τὴν ἀνομίαν μου ἐγνώρισα, καὶ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν μου οὐκ ἐκάλυψα· καὶ τὸ, ὅτι Ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς προσεύξεται πρὸς σὲ πᾶς ὅσιος· ἐπ ήγαγε· Πλὴν ἐν κατακλυσμῷ ὑδάτων πολλῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐγγιοῦσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐγγιοῦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι τῷ λαβόντι τὸ βάπτισμα τῆς ἀφέσεως τῶν παραπτωμάτων διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος. Συγγενὲς δὲ τούτῳ καὶ ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ Μιχαίου εὕ ρηται· Ὅτι θελητὴς ἐλέους ἐστὶν, ἐπιστρέψει καὶ ἐλεήσει ἡμᾶς· καταδύσει τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀποῤῥιφήσονται εἰς τὰ βάθη τῆς θα λάσσης. Καὶ καθιεῖται Κύριος βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Τῇ λαμπούσῃ ψυχῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ ἐνιδρυθεὶς ὁ Θεὸς, οἱονεὶ θρόνον αὐτὴν ἑαυτῷ ἀπεργάζεται. Κύριος ἰσχὺν τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ δώσει· Κύριος εὐλογήσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν εἰρήγῃ. Ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ λαοῦ ἀφελεῖ Κύριος ἰσχύον 29.305 τα καὶ ἰσχύουσαν, τῷ δὲ δικαιοπραγοῦντι δίδω σιν ἰσχύν. ∆ιότι Τῷ ἔχοντι παντὶ δοθήσεται. Ἐν δυναμωθεὶς δὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἐνέργειαν, ἄξιος γίνεται τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐλογίας. Ἔοικε δὲ τελειοτάτη τῶν εὐλογιῶν εἶναι ἡ εἰρήνη, εὐστάθειά τις οὖσα τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ· ὥστε τὸν εἰρηνικὸν ἄνδρα ἐν τῷ κατεστάλθαι τὰ ἤθη χαρακτηρίζεσθαι· τὸν δὲ πολεμούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν μήπω τῆς ἀπὸ Θεοῦ εἰρήνης μετεσχηκέναι, ἣν ὁ Κύριος ἔδωκε τοῖς ἑαυ τοῦ μαθηταῖς, ἥτις, ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν, φρου ρήσει τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἀξίων. Ταύτην καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἐπεύχεται ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις, λέγων· Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη πληθυνθείη. Γένοιτο οὖν ἡμῖν καλῶς ἀγωνι σαμένοις, καὶ τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς καταστρεψαμέ νοις, ὅ ἐστιν ἔχθρα εἰς Θεὸν, ἐν γαληνιώσει καὶ ἀκύ μονι καταστάσει τῆς ψυχῆς γενομένης, εἰρήνης ἡμᾶς υἱοὺς χρηματίζειν, καὶ τῆς εὐλογίας τοῦ Θεοῦ μετα σχεῖν ἐν εἰρήνῃ, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶ νας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΘʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ.

Ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ οἴκου ∆αβίδ. Ψαλτήριον μὲν τροπικῶς,

καὶ ὄργανον ἡρμο σμένον μουσικῶς εἰς ὕμνους τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἡ τοῦ σώματός ἐστι κατασκευή· ψαλμὸς δὲ αἱ διὰ τοῦ σώ ματος πράξεις, αἱ εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ἀποδιδόμεναι, ὅταν ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου ἡρμοσμένου μηδὲν ἐκμελὲς ἀποτελῶ μεν ἐν τοῖς κινήμασιν. Ὠδὴ δέ ἐστιν, ὅσα θεωρίας ἔχεται ὑψηλῆς καὶ θεολογίας. Ὥστε ὁ ψαλμὸς λόγος ἐστὶ μουσικὸς, ὅταν εὐρύθμως κατὰ τοὺς ἁρ μονικοὺς λόγους πρὸς τὸ ὄργανον κρούηται· ᾠδὴ δὲ φωνὴ ἐμμελὴς ἀποδιδομένη ἐναρμονίως, χωρὶς τῆς συνηχήσεως τοῦ ὀργάνου. Ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν, ἐπειδὴ ἐπιγέγραπται, Ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς, ἡγούμεθα τὴν ἀκό λουθον πρᾶξιν τῇ θεωρίᾳ τὸν λόγον αἰνίσσεσθαι. Οὗ τος δὲ ὁ ψαλμὸς τῆς ᾠδῆς, κατὰ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν, τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ οἴκου περιέχει τινὰς λόγους. Καὶ ἔοικε κατὰ μὲν τὸ σωματικὸν, ἐπὶ τῶν χρόνων τοῦ Σολομῶντος, ἀνεγερθέντος τοῦ περιβοήτου ναοῦ, ὁ λόγος διεξοδεύεσθαι, πρὸς τὸ ψαλτήριον μελῳδούμε νος· κατὰ δὲ τὸ νοητὸν, τὴν ἐνσωμάτωσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου σημαίνειν, καὶ τὸν ἐγκαινισμὸν τοῦ και νῶς καὶ