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With love the prophet repays good deeds; for it is possible for the one who has been well-treated to give only this back to God; this too God legislated at the beginning of the law. "For you shall love," He says, "the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength." But service follows the love of the one who is loved. "For love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things; love never fails." The blessed David promises to love God, not as one who has not yet perfectly accomplished this; but as one who cannot bear to have his fill of love; then he makes divine titles out of the good deeds, and he crafts a list of names from the list of good things he has received; and he calls God strength, as having partaken of it; fortress, as having become firm against enemies; refuge, as having had God as a wall and a strong rampart; deliverer, as through God having been freed from adversaries; helper, as having received aid from there; protector, as having become a champion in time of need; horn of salvation, and helper, as having been saved by His providence. He has put "horn of salvation" as a metaphor from animals, which ward off enemies with their horns. [But a horn is also called a kingdom, "For he will give strength to our kings; and will exalt the horn of his Christ;" instead of the kingdom of his Christ.] 4. "Praising I will call upon the Lord; and from my enemies I will be saved." Here we are taught to give thanks for the good things that have been provided, and to ask again for what is needed; for doing this, he says, I will be stronger than my enemies. Then he recounts the various uprisings of the enemies. 5, 6. "The pangs of death encompassed me; and torrents of iniquity terrified me. The pangs of Hades surrounded me; the snares of death came before me." He calls the death-bearing dangers the pangs of death and of Hades. For just as birth pangs happen at the very moment of birth, so the greatest dangers approach death; and "torrents of iniquity" the unjust and sudden attacks of enemies; for just as a torrent, receiving the confluences of waters borne from here and there, attacks suddenly; so also Saul, and the other enemies, made their attacks. And he called the ambushes 'snares of death,' 80.976; for what a snare is to irrational animals, an ambush is to those who are at war. For both are contrivances of secret harm. 7. "And in my affliction I called upon the Lord, and to my God I cried out; the Lord heard my voice from his holy temple; and my cry before him will enter into his ears." However, besieged by so many calamities, having disdained all human aid, I called upon the divine inclination, and I was not disappointed in my hope; for straightaway he received my supplications. But here he does not mean the man-made temple; for it had not been built at that time; for Solomon built it after these things; but he so designated heaven. 8, 9. "And the earth was shaken, and became trembling; and the foundations of the mountains were troubled; and they were shaken, because God was angry with them. Smoke went up in his wrath; and fire from his face will burn; coals were kindled from him." He has set all these things down, not as having happened in this way in every case, but as having been understood in this way by faith. But not only when punishing, but also when frightening men, God has often done such things, striking with thunder, and noises, and earthquakes, and fire. Thus also wishing to frighten Israel, he showed Mount Sinai smoking with fire. Through these things, therefore, the present prophet also declared the punishment brought upon the enemies; and he teaches other men not to do similar things, so that they may not suffer similar things. 11, 12. "And he bowed the heavens, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. And he mounted upon Cherubim, and flew upon the wings of the winds. And he made darkness his hiding place; round about him his tabernacle

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Ἀγάπῃ τὰς εὐεργεσίας ὁ προ φήτης ἀμείβεται· ταύτην γὰρ μόνην τῷ Θεῷ τὸν εὖ πεπονθότα δυνατὸν ἀντιδοῦναι· ταύτην καὶ τῆς νομοθεσίας ἀρχόμενος ἐνομοθέτησεν ὁ Θεός. "Ἀγα πήσεις γὰρ, φησὶ, Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου." Ἀλλ' ἕπεται τῇ ἀγάπῃ τοῦ ἀγα πωμένου ἡ θεραπεία. "Ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει· ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε ἐκπίπτει." Ὑπισχνεῖται δὲ ὁ μακά ριος ∆αβὶδ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπήσειν, οὐχ ὡς οὐδέπω τοῦτο τέλεον κατορθώσας· ἀλλὰ κόρον λαβεῖν τῆς ἀγάπης οὐκ ἀνεχόμενος· εἶτα τὰς εὐεργεσίας θείας ποιεῖ ται προσηγορίας, καὶ τὸν κατάλογον ὧν ἔτυχεν ἀγαθῶν κατάλογον ὀνομάτων ἐργάζεται· καὶ καλεῖ τὸν Θεὸν ἰσχὺν, ὡς ταύτης μεταλαχών· στερέωμα, ὡς στερεὸς κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων γενόμενος· κατα φυγὴν, ὡς τεῖχος ἐσχηκὼς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ περίβο λον ὀχυρόν· ῥύστην, ὡς διὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν δυσμε νῶν ἀπηλλαγμένος· βοηθὸν, ὡς ἐκεῖθεν ἐπικουρίας τυχών· ὑπερασπιστὴν, ὡς πρόμαχον ἐν καιρῷ γεγενημένον· κέρας σωτηρίας, καὶ ἀντιλήπτορα, ὡς τῇ αὐτοῦ προμηθείᾳ περισωθείς. Τὸ δὲ κέρας σωτηρίας τέθεικεν ἐκ μεταφορᾶς τῶν ζώων, τῶν τοῖς κέρασιν τοὺς πολεμίους ἀμυνομένων. [Κέ ρας δὲ λέγεται καὶ ἡ βασιλεία, "Καὶ δώσει γὰρ ἰσχὺν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἡμῶν· καὶ ὑψώσει κέρας Χριστοῦ αὑτοῦ·" ἀντὶ τοῦ τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὑτοῦ.] δʹ. "Αἰνῶν ἐπικαλέσομαι τὸν Κύριον· καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου σωθήσομαι." Ἐνταῦθα διδασκό μεθα χάριν μὲν ὁμολογεῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὑπηργμένων ἀγαθῶν, αἰτεῖν δὲ πάλιν τὰ ἐνδέοντα· τοῦτο γὰρ, φησὶ, ποιῶν, κρείττων ἔσομαι τῶν δυσμενῶν. Εἶτα διηγεῖται τὰς παντοδαπὰς τῶν πολεμίων ἐπαναστά σεις. εʹ, ʹ. "Περιέσχον με ὠδῖνες θανάτου· καὶ χεί μαῤῥοι ἀνομίας ἐξετάραξάν με. Ὠδῖνες ᾅδου περι εκύκλωσάν με· προέφθασάν με παγίδες θανάτου." Ὠδῖνας θανάτου καὶ ᾅδου καλεῖ τοὺς θανατηφόρους κινδύνους. Καθάπερ γὰρ αἱ ὠδῖνες παρ' αὐτὸν γίνονται τὸν τόκον, οὕτως οἱ μέγιστοι κίνδυνοι τῷ θανάτῳ πελάζουσι· χειμάῤῥους δὲ ἀνομίας τὰς ἀδίκους καὶ ἀθρόας τῶν ἐχθρῶν προσβολάς· καθά περ γὰρ ὁ χειμαῤῥους, τὰς τῶν ὑδάτων συῤῥοίας ἐντεῦθεν κἀκεῖθεν φερομένας δεχόμενος, ἐξαπιναίως προσβάλλει· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Σαοὺλ, καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι πολέ μιοι, ταῖς ἐφόδοις ἐχρῶντο. Παγίδας δὲ θανάτου, 80.976 τὰς ἐνέδρας ἐκάλεσεν· ὅπερ γὰρ τοῖς ἀλόγοις ἡ παγὶς, τοῦτο τοῖς πολεμουμένοις ὁ λόχος. Ἑκά τερα γὰρ λαθραίας βλάβης ἐστὶ μηχανήματα. ζʹ. "Καὶ ἐν τῷ θλίβεσθαί με ἐπεκαλεσάμην τὸν Κύριον, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν μου ἐκέκραξα· ἤκουσε Κύριος ἐκ ναοῦ ἁγίου αὐτοῦ φωνῆς μου· καὶ ἡ κραυγή μου ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὰ ὦτα αὐτοῦ." Ὑπὸ τοσούτων μέντοι πολιορκούμενος συμφορῶν, πάσης ἀνθρωπίνης καταφρονήσας ἐπι κουρίας, τὴν θείαν ἐπεκαλεσάμην ῥοπὴν, καὶ τῆς ἐλπίδος οὐκ ἐψεύσθην· παραυτίκα γάρ μου τὰς ἱκε τείας ἐδέξατο. Ναὸν δὲ ἐνταῦθα, οὐ τὸν χειροποίη τον λέγει· οὐδὲ γὰρ ᾠκοδόμητο τηνικαῦτα· ὁ Σολο μὼν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐδείματο μετὰ ταῦτα· ἀλλὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν προσηγόρευσεν οὕτω. ηʹ, θʹ. "Καὶ ἐσαλεύθη, καὶ ἔντρομος ἐγενήθη ἡ γῆ· καὶ τὰ θεμέλια τῶν ὀρέων ἐταράχθησαν· καὶ ἐσαλεύθησαν, ὅτι ὠργίσθη αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεός. Ἀνέβη καπνὸς ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ· καὶ πῦρ ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ καταφλεγήσεται· ἄνθρακες ἀνήφθησαν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ." Ταῦτα δὲ ἅπαντα τέθεικεν, οὐχ ὡς πάν τως οὕτω γεγενημένα, ἀλλ' ὡς οὕτω τῇ πίστει νε νοημένα. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τιμωρούμενος ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ δεδιττόμενος τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, πολλάκις τοιαῦτα πεποίηκε, καὶ βρονταῖς, καὶ κτύποις, καὶ σει σμοῖς ἐκπλήττων, καὶ πυρί. Οὕτω καὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ δεδίξασθαι θελήσας, τὸ Σινᾶ ὄρος πυρὶ καπνιζό μενον ἔδειξε. ∆ιὰ τούτων τοίνυν καὶ ὁ παρὼν προφήτης τὴν τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐπενεχθεῖσαν τιμωρίαν ἐμήνυσε· διδάσκει δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους, μὴ τὰ ὅμοια δρᾷν, ἵνα μὴ τὰ ὅμοια πάθωσιν. ιαʹ, ιβʹ. "Καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐρανοὺς, καὶ κατέβη· καὶ γνόφος ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ Χε ρουβὶμ, καὶ ἐπετάσθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμων. Καὶ ἔθετο σκότον ἀποκρυφὴν αὑτοῦ· κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ἡ σκηνὴ