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he might propitiate with sacrifices; For "May he make your whole burnt offering fat," Symmachus translated thus, "And may he make your offering more abundant"; that is, having given you security from peace, he might grant you the opportunity to propitiate him with more sacrifices. εʹ. "May the Lord grant you according to your heart; and fulfill all your counsel." We beseech the righteous judge, he says, to give a recompense suitable to the purity of your soul. ʹ, ζʹ. "We shall rejoice in your salvation; and in the name of the Lord our God we shall be magnified. May the Lord fulfill all the requests of your heart." For when you receive your requests, we too will share in the gladness, becoming illustrious and conspicuous by the power of God. "Now I know that the Lord has saved his Christ; he will hear him from his holy heaven." Through these events themselves, he says, we have learned that our king, trusting in God, will obtain salvation; and offering his supplications in the temple below, he receives help from above. For since he showed him praying below, he shows him being helped from above; "In mighty acts is the salvation of his right hand." For the greatest salvation is the power of his right hand, which he extends to those who approach. And again, he has spoken here of a right hand in human terms, thus naming the divine energy. ηʹ, θʹ. "Some in chariots, and some in horses; but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. They were entangled and fell, but we have risen and stand upright." They, he says, trusting in horses and chariots, reaped no benefit from them; but being invisibly fettered, they fell; but we, having called upon the divine alliance, have clearly obtained salvation, and with our enemies as it were having fallen down in fear, we were shown to be superior to our foes. ιʹ. "O Lord, save the king; and hear us in the day that we call upon you." Therefore, having enjoyed such great assistance, we beseech you, Master, that both we ourselves and our king may continually partake of it.

80.1004 INTERPRETATION OF THE 20TH PSALM. αʹ. "For the end, a psalm of David." After that brilliant and illustrious victory, and the unseen destruction of the Assyrians, the blessed Hezekiah fell ill. And having learned through the prophet Isaiah that he would die, he propitiated God with fervent tears, and received deliverance from the illness, and accepted the promise of fifteen years of life. Again, therefore, the divine David, as from the person of the people, wrote this psalm also, praising God for the king's health. βʹ, γʹ. "O Lord, in your strength the king shall be glad; and in your salvation he shall greatly rejoice. You have given him his heart's desire; and have not withheld from him the request of his lips." Being powerful, he says, and philanthropic, you favorably received the prayer of our king; and you have given him all his requests; or rather, you have bestowed gifts greater than his requests. For he added this. δʹ. "For you have gone before him with blessings of goodness; you have set on his head a crown of precious stone." For you granted him the kingdom without being asked; but by your own munificence you adorned his head with the royal crown. εʹ. "He asked life of you, and you gave it to him, length of days for ever and ever." He received, he says, what he supplicated, and has obtained the life which he desired. For "for ever and ever" also signifies the life to come, [the one prepared for the saints,] which is indestructible. ʹ. "Great is his glory in your salvation; glory and great majesty you will lay upon him." For not only have you granted him salvation, but you have also made him illustrious and exalted, and conspicuous, both by the paradoxical death of his enemies, and by the sun running its contrary course. And so this became known everywhere on land and sea, that of the Babylonians the

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ἐξιλεώσηται θύμασι· τὸ γὰρ, "Ὁλοκαύτωμά σου πιανάτω," οὕτως ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσεν, Καὶ τὴν ἀναφοράν σου πλείονα ποιήσῃ· τουτέστι τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς εἰρήνης ἄδειαν δοὺς, παράσχῃ σοι καιρὸν, εἰς τὸ πλείοσιν αὐτὸν θυσίαις ἐξιλεώσασθαι. εʹ. "∆ώῃ σοι Κύριος κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν σου· καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν βουλήν σου πληρώσαι." Τὸν δίκαιον, φησὶ, κριτὴν ἱκετεύομεν, τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς σου καθαρό τητι κατάλληλον τὴν ἀντίδοσιν δοῦναι. ʹ, ζʹ. "Ἀγαλλιασόμεθα ἐπὶ τῷ σωτηρίῳ σου· καὶ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν μεγαλυνθησόμεθα. Πληρώσαι Κύριος πάντα τὰ αἰτήματα τῆς καρδίας σου." Σοῦ γὰρ τὰς αἰτήσεις λαμβάνοντος, καὶ ἡμεῖς κοινωνήσομεν τῆς εὐφροσύνης, περιφανεῖς καὶ περίβλεπτοι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμει γιγνόμενοι. "Νῦν ἔγνων ὅτι ἔσωσε Κύριος τὸν Χριστὸν αὑτοῦ· ἐπακούσεται αὐτοῦ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἁγίου αὑτοῦ." ∆ι' αὐτῶν, φησὶ, μεμαθήκαμεν τῶν πραγμάτων, ὡς τῷ Θεῷ θαῤῥήσας ὁ ἡμέτερος βασιλεὺς, τεύξεται τῆς σωτηρίας· καὶ ἐν τῷ κάτω νεῷ προσφέρων τὰς ἱκετείας, ἄνωθεν δέχεται τὴν βοήθειαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔδειξεν αὐτὸν προσευχό μενον κάτω, δείκνυσιν ἄνωθεν βοηθούμενον· "Ἐν δυναστείαις ἡ σωτηρία τῆς δεξιᾶς αὐτοῦ." Μέγιστον γὰρ σωτηρίας ἡ τῆς αὐτοῦ δεξιᾶς δύναμις, ἣν τοῖς προσιοῦσιν ὀρέγει. ∆εξιὰν δὲ πάλιν ἐνταῦθα ἀνθρωπίνως εἴρηκε, τὴν θείαν οὕτως ὀνομάζων ἐνέργειαν. ηʹ, θʹ. "Οὗτοι ἐν ἅρμασι, καὶ οὗτοι ἐν ἵπποις· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐπικαλεσόμεθα. Αὐτοὶ συνεποδίσθησαν καὶ ἔπεσον, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀνέστη μεν καὶ ἀνωρθώθημεν." Ἐκεῖνοι, φησὶν, ἵπποις καὶ ἅρμασι θαῤῥοῦντες οὐδεμιᾶς ἐκεῖθεν ὠφελείας ἀπώναντο· ἀλλ' ἀοράτως συμποδισθέντες κατέπε σον· ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν θείαν ἐπικαλεσάμενοι συμμαχίαν, τῆς σωτηρίας προφανῶς τετυχήκαμεν, καὶ οἱονεὶ καταπεπτωκότων τῷ φόβῳ τῶν πολεμίων, ὑπέρ τεροι τῶν δυσμενῶν ἀπεφάνθημεν. ιʹ. "Κύριε, σῶσον τὸν βασιλέα· καὶ ἐπάκου σον ἡμῶν ἐν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπικαλεσώμεθά σε." Τοιγάρτοι τοσαύτης ἀπολαύσαντες ἀντιλήψεως, καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς, καὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον βασιλέα ταύτης μεταλαγχάνειν διηνεκῶς ἱκετεύομεν, ∆έσποτα.

80.1004 ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ Κ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. αʹ. "Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ψαλμὸς τῷ ∆αβίδ." Μετὰ τὴν νίκην ἐκείνην τὴν λαμπρὰν

καὶ περιφανῆ, καὶ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων τὸν ἀόρατον ὄλεθρον, ὁ μακάριος ἠῤῥώστησεν Ἐζεκίας. Καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἡσαΐου μαθὼν, ὡς τεθνήξεται, δάκρυσι θερμοῖς ἱλεωσάμενος τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ τῆς νόσου τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν ἔλαβε, καὶ πέντε καὶ δέκα ἐνιαυτῶν ζωῆς ἐπαγγελίαν ἐδέξατο. Πάλιν τοίνυν ὁ θεῖος ∆αβὶδ, ὡς ἐκ προσ ώπου τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ τοῦτον ἔγραψε τὸν ψαλμὸν, ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ βασιλέως ὑγιείᾳ τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνῶν. βʹ, γʹ. "Κύριε, ἐν τῇ δυνάμει σου εὐφρανθήσεται ὁ βασιλεύς· καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ σωτηρίῳ σου ἀγαλλιάσεται σφόδρα. Τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ ἔδωκας αὐτῷ· καὶ τὴν θέλησιν τῶν χειλέων αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐστέρησας αὐτόν." ∆υνατὸς ὢν, φησὶ, καὶ φιλάν θρωπος, εὐμενῶς ἐδέξω τοῦ βασιλέως ἡμῶν τὴν προσευχήν· καὶ πάσας αὐτῷ δέδωκας τὰς αἰτήσεις· μᾶλλον δὲ μείζους τῶν αἰτήσεων δωρεὰς ἐδωρήσω. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπήγαγεν. δʹ. "Ὅτι προέφθασας αὐτὸν ἐν εὐλογίαις χρηστό τητος· ἔθηκας ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ στέφανον ἐκ λίθου τιμίου." Τὴν βασιλείαν γὰρ οὐκ αἰτηθεὶς παρέσχες αὐτῷ· οἰκείᾳ δὲ φιλοτιμίᾳ τῷ βασιλικῷ στεφάνῳ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ κατεκόσμησας. εʹ. "Ζωὴν ᾐτήσατό σε, καὶ ἔδωκας αὐτῷ μακρό τητα ἡμερῶν εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος." Ἔλαβε, φησὶν, ὅπερ ἱκέτευσε, καὶ τετύχηκε ζωῆς ἣν ἐπόθησε. Τὸ γὰρ αἰῶνα αἰῶνος καὶ τὸν μέλλοντα βίον παραδη λοῖ, [τὸν τοῖς ἁγίοις ηὐτρεπισμένον,] ὃς τὸ ἀνώλε θρον ἔχει. ʹ. "Μεγάλη ἡ δόξα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ σωτηρίῳ σου· δόξαν καὶ μεγαλοπρέπειαν ἐπιθήσεις ἐπ' αὐτόν." Οὐ γὰρ μόνον σωτηρίαν αὐτῷ δεδώρησαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ περιφανῆ καὶ ὑψηλὸν πεποίηκας αὐτὸν, καὶ περί βλεπτον, τῷ τε τῶν πολεμίων παραδόξῳ θανάτῳ, καὶ τῷ τὸν ἥλιον τὴν ἐναντίαν δραμεῖν. Οὕτω δὲ τοῦτο πανταχοῦ γῆς καὶ θαλάττης ἐγένετο γνώρι μον, ὡς τῶν Βαβυλωνίων τὸν