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has made stronger and higher than the enemies. 35. "Teaching my hands for war." For by extending them in prayer, I overcome my adversaries. "And has made my arms a bronze bow." For this reason, he has prepared my arms, like a bronze and unbreakable bow, to shoot arrows against the enemies. 36. "And you have given me the shield of my salvation; and your right hand has upheld me; and your instruction has corrected me to the end; and your instruction itself will teach me." And you have instructed one who has sinned, and raised up one who has fallen down; and you have taught how great an evil sin is, and have deemed me worthy of salvation. 37. "You have enlarged my steps under me; and my footsteps have not weakened." In the distress of affliction you gave the broad space of consolation; being refreshed by it, I have endured until the present. For Symmachus has said "you made spacious" for "you enlarged". 80.985 38, 39. "I will pursue my enemies, and I will overtake them; and I will not turn back until they are consumed. I will crush them, and they will not be able to stand; they will fall under my feet." Thus, being strengthened by your providence, I hope to overcome all my adversaries; and not to desist before I make them subject again; for he has indicated this by saying: They will fall under my feet. 40. "And you have girded me with strength for war; you have tripped up all those who rise up against me under me." To me you have given courage and strength; but of the enemies you have bound the attack; and this is what happened in the case of Goliath, and in the case of Saul. For the one who was spending the time for action on foolish words he brought down with a sling; but the other, who was bound by sleep, he easily escaped. Thus also he escaped the plots of the Gittites. 41. "And my enemies you have given me their back." Instead of, you have turned them to flight; for it is characteristic of those who flee to give their backs. "And those who hate me you have destroyed;" Saul, Ahithophel, Absalom, and countless others. 42. "They cried, and there was no one to save; to the Lord, and he did not listen to them." For neither the foreigners calling upon their own gods for help, enjoyed their providence; nor did Saul, and Absalom, and Shimei, and the rest of the Israelite enemies, have God as an ally. 43. "And I will beat them fine as dust before the wind; as the mud of the streets I will crush them." They will become completely gone and unseen, with your grace working with me. 44. "You will deliver me from the contradictions of the people." From this he prophesies the madness of the Jews against the Savior, and the salvation of the gentiles. And he exhorts to have no fellowship with their contradiction. "You will make me the head of the nations." And yet we do not know that David ruled over the gentiles. Therefore the prophecy is fulfilled through the one born of him according to the flesh. For the one born of David according to the flesh, himself also named David according to the divine Ezekiel, the Lord, I say, Christ, reigned over all the nations; always indeed ruling over all things as God, but after the incarnation, also accepting the voluntary servitude of those who believed in him. 80.988 45. "A people whom I did not know has served me, at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me." He foretells these things from the person of the Lord Christ. And he says that, Those who had never accepted my lawgiver, nor my prophet, when called very readily obeyed, and loved my lordship. 46. "Alien sons have lied to me; alien sons have grown old, and have become lame from their paths." But those who were called sons, and were written in the rank of sons, have made themselves aliens, having become ungrateful for the benefits, and having limped in the faith, and having abandoned the pious path. Thus also God says through Jeremiah the prophet: "How have you turned to bitterness for me, O alien vine? But I planted a fruitful vine, all true." And the one part shows his own planting, while the other rebukes their ingratitude. And the,

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κρείττονα καὶ ὑψηλότερον τῶν πολεμίων ἀπέφηνε. λεʹ. "∆ιδάσκων χεῖράς μου εἰς πόλεμον." Εἰς εὐχὴν γὰρ ταύτας ἐκτείνων, περιγίνομαι τῶν δυσμε νῶν. "Καὶ ἔθετο τόξον χαλκοῦν τοὺς βραχίονάς μου." ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, δίκην τόξου χαλκοῦ καὶ ἀῤῥα γοῦς τοὺς ἐμοὺς βραχίονας τὰ κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἀφιέναι παρεσκεύασε βέλη. λʹ. "Καὶ ἔδωκάς μοι ὑπερασπισμὸν σωτηρίας μου· καὶ ἡ δεξιά σου ἀντελάβετό μου· καὶ ἡ παι δεία σου ἀνώρθωσέ με εἰς τέλος· καὶ ἡ παιδεία σου αὐτή με διδάξει." Καὶ ἐπαίδευσας ἡμαρτη κότα, καὶ καταπεπτωκότα ἀνώρθωσας· καὶ ἐδίδα ξας ὅσον ἡ ἁμαρτία κακὸν, καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ἠξίωσας. λζʹ. "Ἐπλάτυνας τὰ διαβήματά μου ὑποκάτω μου· καὶ οὐκ ἠσθένησε τὰ ἴχνη μου." Ἐν τῇ στε νοχωρίᾳ τῆς θλίψεως ἔδωκας τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν τῆς παρακλήσεως· ὑφ' ἧς ψυχαγωγούμενος, μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος διήρκεσα. τὸ γὰρ ἐπλάτυνας, εὐρυχώ ρησας ὁ Σύμμαχος εἴρηκεν. 80.985 ληʹ, λθʹ. "Καταδιώξω τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου, καὶ καταλήψομαι αὐτούς· καὶ οὐκ ἀποστραφήσομαι ἕως ἂν ἐκλείψωσιν. Ἐκθλίψω αὐτοὺς, καὶ οὐ μὴ δύνωνται στῆναι· πεσοῦνται ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας μου." Οὕτως ὑπὸ τῆς σῆς προνοίας ῥωσθεὶς ἐλπίζω πάντων περιγενήσε σθαι τῶν δυσμενῶν· καὶ μὴ πρότερον ἀποστῆναι, ἕως ἂν αὐτοὺς αὖθις ὑπηκόους ἐργάσωμαι· τοῦτο γὰρ παρεδήλωσεν εἰρηκώς· Πεσοῦνται ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας μου. μʹ. "Καὶ περιέζωσάς με δύναμιν εἰς πόλεμον· συνεπόδισας πάντας τοὺς ἐπανισταμένους ἐπ' ἐμὲ ὑποκάτω μου." Ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀνδρείαν ἐδωρήσω καὶ ῥώμην· τῶν δὲ πολεμίων ἐπέδησας τὴν ὁρμήν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Γολιὰθ, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Σαοὺλ γεγενημένον. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ τὸν τοῦ πράττειν καιρὸν εἰς ἀνοήτους ἀναλίσκοντα λόγους τῇ σφενδόνῃ κατήνεγκεν· τὸν δὲ ὕπνῳ πεδηθέντα ῥᾳδίως διέφυ γεν. Οὕτω καὶ τῶν Γετθαίων ἐξέφυγε τὰς ἐπι βουλάς. μαʹ. "Καὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου ἔδωκάς μοι νῶτον." Ἀντὶ τοῦ, εἰς φυγὴν ἔτρεψας· ἴδιον γὰρ τῶν φευ γόντων τὸ διδόναι τὰ νῶτα. "Καὶ τοὺς μισοῦντάς με ἐξωλόθρευσας·" τὸν Σαοὺλ, τὸν Ἀχιτόφελ, τὸν Ἀβεσσαλὼμ, καὶ μυρίους ἑτέρους. μβʹ. "Ἐκέκραξαν, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὁ σώζων· πρὸς Κύριον, καὶ οὐκ εἰσήκουσεν αὐτῶν." Οὔτε γὰρ ἀλ λόφυλοι τοὺς οἰκείους καλοῦντες εἰς ἐπικουρίαν θεοὺς, τῆς παρ' αὐτῶν προνοίας ἀπέλαυσαν· οὔτε ὁ Σαοὺλ, καὶ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ, καὶ ὁ Σεμεεὶ, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν πολέμιοι, τὸν Θεὸν ἐσχήκασι σύμμαχον. μγʹ. "Καὶ λεπτυνῶ αὐτοὺς ὡσεὶ χοῦν κατὰ πρόσωπον ἀνέμου· ὡς πηλὸν πλατειῶν λεανῶ αὐ τούς." Φροῦδοι καὶ ἀφανεῖς γενήσονται παν τελῶς, τῆς σῆς μοι χάριτος συνεργούσης. μδʹ. "Ῥύσῃ με ἐξ ἀντιλογιῶν λαοῦ." Ἐντεῦθεν προθεσπίζει τὴν κατὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος Ἰουδαίων μανίαν, καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν σωτηρίαν. Καὶ παρακα λεῖ μηδεμίαν ἔχειν κοινωνίαν εἰς τὴν ἐκείνων ἀντι λογίαν. "Καταστήσεις με εἰς κεφαλὴν ἐθνῶν." Καὶ μὴν οὐκ ἴσμεν τὸν ∆αβὶδ τῶν ἐθνῶν βασιλεύ σαντα. Οὐκοῦν διὰ τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ σάρκα τεχθέν τος ἡ προφητεία πληροῦται. Ὁ γὰρ ἐκ ∆αβὶδ κατὰ σάρκα τεχθεὶς ∆αβὶδ καὶ αὐτὸς ὀνομαζόμε νος κατὰ τὸν θεῖον Ἰεζεκιὴλ, ὁ ∆εσπότης, λέγω, Χριστὸς, πάντων ἐβασίλευσε τῶν ἐθνῶν· ἀεὶ μὲν ὡς Θεὸς τῶν ἁπάντων δεσπόζων, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐναν θρώπησιν, καὶ τὴν ἐθελούσιον τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν πεπι στευκότων δουλείαν δεξάμενος. 80.988 μεʹ. "Λαὸς ὃν οὐκ ἔγνων ἐδούλευσέ μοι, εἰς ἀκοὴν ὠτίου ὑπήκουσέ μου." Ἐκ προσώπου ταῦτα προαγορεύει τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ. Λέγει δὲ, ὅτι Οἱ μήτε νομοθέτην, μήτε προφήτην ἐμὸν δεξάμενοι πώποτε, ῥᾳδίως μάλα κληθέντες ὑπήκουσαν, καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν δεσποτείαν ἠγάπησαν. μʹ. "Υἱοὶ ἀλλότριοι ἐψεύσαντό μοι· υἱοὶ ἀλλό τριοι ἐπαλαιώθησαν, καὶ ἐχώλαναν ἀπὸ τῶν τρίβων αὐτῶν." Οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ προσαγορευθέντες, καὶ ἐν υἱῶν τάξει γραφέντες, ἀλλοτρίους σφᾶς αὐτοὺς πεποιή κασιν, ἀγνώμονες περὶ τὰς εὐεργεσίας γενόμενοι, καὶ περὶ τὴν πίστιν χωλεύσαντες, καὶ τὴν εὐσεβῆ τρίβον καταλιπόντες. Οὕτω καὶ διὰ Ἱερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου φησὶν ὁ Θεός· "Πῶς ἐστράφης μοι εἰς πικρίαν, ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀλλοτρία; ἐγὼ δὲ ἐφύτευσα ἄμπελον καρποφόρον πᾶσαν ἀληθινήν." Καὶ τὸ μὲν τὴν οἰκείαν δείκνυσι φυτουργίαν, τὸ δὲ τὴν ἐκεί νων ἀχαριστίαν ἐλέγχει. Τὸ δὲ,