having power and wisdom that fill him, but a fullness that has come forth from himself, just as Solomon also calls wisdom an offspring and presents wisdom itself as having come from God, and by saying that created things came to be by wisdom he teaches that the begetter of wisdom is something greater than the direct act of creation, to whom also belonged the long-standing pre-eminence which has transcended the connection to created things that is present in the one who creates, it being impossible to conceive of anything greater than the greatest, so that what is conceived as greatest by having transcended all relation to created things, this pertains to the Father of wisdom and power; and so great is his strength and his understanding as to be both from him and with him, an offspring and fruit and son, not as an accident in him, concerning which it is said, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God; then, since wisdom is power itself, having a synonymous relationship to the understanding in which he made heaven, according to the saying, To him who made the heaven in understanding, in addition to being great strength his understanding happens to have no number; the understanding of God is innumerable and unsearchable, whence it is written, O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. For being most deep, his understanding has no number on account of its incomprehensibility. But if it is also said to have no number because of the exceeding multitude of the theorems in it, you yourself will understand.
311 Ps 148,2 The angels would be those in heaven, but the powers even of these
above, belonging to the highest things, being beyond announcing things to men, and having their perpetual blessedness in the certainty that is from God alone, such as also are those called thrones by the Apostle, the name indicating that God is seated upon them, but that they are subject to the divine and supracreatural majesty, being established in this always and having what is stable and fixed in the reception of the divine glory.
312 Ps 148,3.4 *** lights *** in heaven by day and by night, illuminating both heaven itself, the highest, that is, the firmament according to Moses, and indeed he exhorts the water above this to praise God. It is clear that all these things are a hymn to God, manifesting by their own beauty and power and energy the all-praiseworthy nature of the one who created them.
313 Ps 148,14 And by saying 'to all his saints' he indicates those from every nation. By prophecy, introducing Israel on account of having drawn near from the beginning, he declares its following after the nations.
314 Ps 149,5 Therefore the word necessarily prophesied of the repose after death for those who have fallen asleep and their exultation in this, according to the saying, 'In peace [at the same time] I will both lie down and sleep.'
43
πληροῦσαν αὐτὸν δύναμιν καὶ σοφίαν ἔχων ἀλλὰ πλήρη προελθοῦσαν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ, καθὰ καὶ Σολομὼν γέννημα τὴν σοφίαν λέγει καὶ ἐκ θεοῦ προσεληλυθυῖαν τὴν αὐτοσοφίαν παρίστησι, τῇ δὲ σοφίᾳ γεγενῆσθαι τὰ δημιουργήματα φάσκων μεῖζόν τι τῆς αὐτουργικῆς δημιουργίας τὸν τῆς σοφίας γεννήτορα εἶναι διδάσκει, ᾧ καὶ ἡ μακρὰ προσῆκεν ὑπεροχὴ ἡ τὴν πρὸς τὰ ποιήματα συνάφειαν ὑπεραναβεβηκυῖα τῇ προσούσῃ τῷ δημιουργοῦντι, ἀδυνάτου ὄντος ἐννοηθῆναί τι μεῖζον τοῦ μεγίστου ὥστε ὅπερ νοεῖται μέγιστον τῷ πᾶσαν ἐκβεβηκέναι τὴν πρὸς τὰ ποιήματα σχέσιν τοῦτό ἐστι περὶ τὸν τῆς σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως πατέρα· καὶ οὕτω μεγάλη ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ σύνεσις ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ τε οὖσα καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ γέννημα καὶ καρπὸς καὶ υἱός, οὐχ ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ συμβεβηκός, περὶ ἧς εἴρηται Χριστὸς θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία· εἶτ' ἐπεὶ καὶ σοφία ἐστὶν ἡ δύναμις αὐτὴ συνωνύμως ἔχουσα πρὸς τὴν σύνεσιν ἐν ᾗ τὸν οὐρανὸν πεποίηκε κατὰ τὸ λεχθὲν Τῷ ποιήσαντι τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐν συνέσει, πρὸς τὸ εἶναι ἰσχὺς μεγάλη καὶ σύνεσις αὐτοῦ τυγχάνει ἀριθμὸν οὐκ ἔχουσα ἀναρίθμητος καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστος ἡ θεοῦ σύνεσις, ὅθεν γέγραπται Ὦ βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως θεοῦ. βαθυτάτη γὰρ οὖσα ἡ σύνεσις αὐτοῦ δι' ἀκαταληψίαν ἀριθμὸν οὐκ ἔχει. εἰ δὲ καὶ διὰ τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλῆθος τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ θεωρημάτων μὴ ἔχειν ἀριθμὸν λέγεται, καὶ σὺ αὐτὸς ἐπιστήσεις.
311 Ps 148,2 Ἄγγελοι μὲν ἂν εἶεν οἱ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, δυνάμεις δὲ καὶ τούτων
ὑπεράνω τοῖς ὑψίστοις προσήκουσαι, ὑπὲρ τὸ διαγγέλλειν ἀνθρώποις οὖσαι, ἐν δὲ μόνῃ τῇ παρὰ θεῷ βεβαιότητι διηνεκῇ τὸ μακάριον ἔχουσαι, ὁποῖαι καὶ αἱ καλούμεναι παρὰ ἀποστόλῳ θρόνοι ἐνδεικνυμένου τοῦ ὀνόματος τὸ ἐφιδρῦσθαι αὐταῖς τὸν θεὸν τὰς δὲ ὑποκεῖσθαι τῇ θείᾳ καὶ ὑπὲρ κτίσιν μεγαλειότητι, ἐν τούτῳ δὴ καθεστηκυίας ἀεὶ καὶ τὸ στάσιμον καὶ πεπηγὸς ἐχούσας ἐν τῇ τῆς θείας δόξης ὑποδοχῇ. 312 Ps 148,3.4 *** φέγγη *** οὐρανῷ μεθ' ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτωρ φωτίζοντα αὐτόν τε τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸν ἀνωτάτω, τουτέστι τὸ κατὰ Μωυσέα στερέωμα, καὶ δὴ τού του δὲ ἀνώτερον ὕδωρ ὑμνεῖν τὸν θεὸν παρακελεύεται. δῆλον ὅτι πάντα ταῦτά ἐστιν ὕμνος θεοῦ κάλλει καὶ δυνάμει καὶ ἐνεργείᾳ τῇ ἑαυτῶν τὸ πανύμνητον ἐμφανίζοντα τοῦ δημιουργήσαντος. 313 Ps 148,14 Καὶ πᾶσι δὲ λέγων ὁσίοις τοὺς ἐξ ἅπαντος ἔθνους ὑποδείκνυσι. προφητείᾳ τὸν δὲ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπεισάγων διὰ τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς πεπλησιακέναι ἐπακολούθησιν αὐτοῦ δηλοῖ τὴν μετὰ τὰ ἔθνη.
314 Ps 149,5 Τῶν οὖν κεκοιμημένων τὴν μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ἀνάπαυλαν καὶ
τὴν ἐν τούτῳ ἀγαλλίασιν ἀναγκαίως ὁ λόγος ἐθέσπισε κατὰ τὸ Ἐν εἰρήνῃ [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ] κοιμηθήσομαι καὶ ὑπνώσω.
43