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Rightly also the psalm, foretelling these things, said: 3. "My God, I will cry to you by day, and you will not hear, and by night, and not for foolishness to me." Or according to the others, and by night, and not silence. By night, he says, and by day, while I cry out continually, and do not endure to be silent, you have not heard, but have delivered me to the passion; but nevertheless I know the mystery of the economy. For this is what "Not for foolishness to me" indicated. For I have understood that you did not postpone the granting of the request in vain, but are arranging something great and salvific from the passion. 4. "But you dwell in the holy place, the praise of Israel." And he says what is most paradoxical of all, that while you are dwelling in this holy body, the passion is at work. And he calls him the praise of Israel, as being praised and hymned by his own worshippers; for instead of 'praise,' the other interpreters have put 'hymn.' 5. "In you our fathers hoped." He shows the gain of hope. "They hoped and you delivered them. [6.] To you they cried, and were saved; in you they hoped, and were not put to shame." And yet, he says, I know clearly, that all our fathers, having trusted in your help, were not deceived in their hope; and calling you for assistance, they enjoyed your providence. 80.1013 7. "But I am a worm, and not a man; a reproach of man, and despised by the people." But I, he says, like a worm, was seen as lowly, and became ridiculous. But some have said that through the worm the birth from a Virgin is also indicated; for this one does not have its being from sexual union. But I think that only the lowliness is indicated here through the worm, inferring, for he says: 8, 9. "All who see me have mocked me; they have spoken with their lips, they have shaken their head. He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him; let him save him, because he wants him." And these things are found in the holy Gospels; "For many, he says, shaking their heads, said: He saved others, himself he cannot save." And one of the robbers said: "If you are the Son of God, save yourself and us." And indeed also this: "He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him, let him save him, because he wants him," can be found in the holy Gospels. 10, 11. "For you are the one who drew me from the womb; my hope from my mother's breasts. On you I was cast from the womb; from my mother's belly you are my God." These things the blessed Isaiah also prophesied; for having said, "The virgin shall conceive in her womb, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel," he added: "He shall eat butter and honey, before he knows good or evil, he rejects wickedness to choose the good." And so the blessed David, using the person of the Lord Christ, says that You both formed me in the womb, and brought me forth from there again, and while still being nursed, and drawing from my mother's breast, I fixed my hopes on your care. 12. "Do not stand far from me, for trouble is near, for there is no one to help me." For then the company of the disciples had left him; then he foretells the kinds of affliction. 13, 14. "Many calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have beset me. They opened their mouth against me, like a ravening and roaring lion." And he calls the priests and Scribes bulls, those entrusted with the rule of the people, and who used great boldness; and the calves, those ranked under them; and he calls them fat, as having reveled in the good things provided by him. For thus also the great Moses has said before: "And Jacob ate, and was filled, and the beloved one kicked; he grew fat, he grew thick, he grew broad, and 80.1016 he forsook the Lord who made him." And indeed also the blessed Hosea likens him to a wanton heifer; "For as a stubborn heifer, Ephraim has been stubborn." Thus he addressed the people; "And so Ephraim, he says, is a heifer taught to love strife;" that is, contentious and quarrelsome. For he calls strife not victory, but contentiousness. And showing the subsequent humiliation, he added: "But I will ride upon the beauty of his neck

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εἰκότως καὶ ὁ ψαλμὸς ταῦτα προαγορεύων ἔφη· γʹ. "Ὁ Θεός μου κεκράξομαι ἡμέρας πρὸς σὲ, καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσῃ, καὶ νυκτὸς, καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἐμοί." Ἢ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς, καὶ νυκτὸς, καὶ οὐ σιγή. Νύκτωρ, φησὶ, καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν διηνεκῶς βοῶντος, καὶ σιγᾷν οὐκ ἀνεχομένου, οὐκ ἀκήκοας, ἀλλὰ τῷ πάθει παρέδωκας· ἀλλ' ὅμως οἶδα τὸ τῆς οἰκονομίας μυστήριον. Τοῦτο γὰρ παρεδήλου τὸ, "Οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἐμοί." Νενόηκα γὰρ ὡς οὐ μάτην ἀνεβάλου τὴν τῆς αἰτήσεως δόσιν, ἀλλὰ μέγα τι καὶ σωτήριον ἐκ τοῦ πάθους οἰκονομῶν. δʹ. "Σὺ δὲ ἐν ἁγίῳ κατοικεῖς ὁ ἔπαινος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ." Τὸ δὲ πάντων παραδοξότατόν φησιν, ὅτι σοῦ ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ τούτῳ σώματι κατοικοῦντος, ἐνεργεῖται τὸ πάθος. Ἔπαινον δὲ Ἰσραὴλ αὐτὸν ὀνομάζει, ὡς ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων θεραπευτῶν ἐπαινούμενον καὶ ὑμνού μενον· ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ ἔπαινος, ὕμνος οἱ ἄλλοι τεθεί κασιν ἑρμηνευταί. εʹ. "Ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν." ∆είκνυσι τῆς ἐλπίδος τὸ κέρδος. "Ἤλπισαν καὶ ἐῤῥύσω αὐτούς. [ʹ.] Πρὸς σὲ ἐκέ κραξαν, καὶ ἐσώθησαν· ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισαν, καὶ οὐ κατῃσχύνθησαν." Καίτοι, φησὶν, οἶδα σαφῶς, ὡς ἅπαντες ἡμῶν οἱ πατέρες τῇ σῇ βοηθείᾳ θαῤῥήσαν τες, οὐκ ἐψεύσθησαν τῆς ἐλπίδος· καὶ εἰς ἐπικουρίαν σε καλέσαντες τῆς σῆς προνοίας ἀπήλαυσαν. 80.1013 ζʹ. "Ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι σκώληξ, καὶ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος· ὄνειδος ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ἐξουθένημα λαοῦ." Ἐγὼ δὲ, φησὶ, δίκην σκώληκος, εὐτελής τε ὤφθην, καὶ καταγέλαστος ἐγενόμην. Τινὲς δὲ διὰ τοῦ σκώληκος εἶπον παραδηλοῦσθαι καὶ τὴν ἐκ Παρθένου γέννησιν· οὐκ ἐκ συνουσίας γὰρ οὗτος ἔχει τὸ εἶναι. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἡγοῦμαι τὴν εὐτέλειαν διὰ τοῦ σκώληκος ἐνταῦθα μόνον παραδηλοῦσθαι τεκμαιρόμενος, φησὶ γάρ· ηʹ, θʹ. "Πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντές με, ἐξεμυκτήρισάν με· ἐλάλησαν ἐν χείλεσιν, ἐκίνησαν κεφαλήν. Ἤλπι σεν ἐπὶ Κύριον, ῥυσάσθω αὐτόν· σωσάτω αὐτὸν, ὅτι θέλει αὐτόν." Καὶ ταῦτά ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐ αγγελίοις προσκείμενα· "Πολλοὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, κινοῦν τες τὰς κεφαλὰς, ἔλεγον· ἄλλους ἔσωσεν, ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται σῶσαι." Καὶ τῶν λῃστῶν θάτερος ἔλεγεν· "Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, σῶσον σεαυτὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς." Καὶ μέντοι καὶ τό· "Ἤλπισεν ἐπὶ Κύριον, ῥυσάσθω αὐτὸν, σωσάτω αὐτὸν, ὅτι θέλει αὐτὸν," ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ἔστιν εὑρεῖν. ιʹ, ιαʹ. "Ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐκσπάσας με ἐκ γαστρός· ἡ ἐλπίς μου ἀπὸ μασθῶν τῆς μητρός μου. Ἐπὶ σὲ ἐπεῤῥίφην ἐκ μήτρας· ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρός μου Θεός μου εἶ σύ." Ταῦτα καὶ ὁ μακάριος προεθέσπι σεν Ἡσαΐας· εἰρηκὼς γὰρ, ὅτι "Ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ λήψεται, καὶ τέξεται υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουὴλ," ἐπήγαγε· "Βούτυρον καὶ μέλι φάγεται, πρὶν ἢ γνῶναι αὐτὸν ἀγαθὸν ἢ κακόν, ἀπειθεῖ πονηρίᾳ, τοῦ ἐκλέξασθαι τὸ ἀγαθόν." Καὶ ὁ μακάριος τοίνυν ∆αβὶδ, τῷ τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ κεχρημένος προσώπῳ φησὶν, ὅτι Σύ με καὶ διέπλασας ἐν μήτρᾳ, καὶ ἐκεῖθεν πάλιν ἐξήγαγες, καὶ ἔτι τιθηνούμενος, καὶ τὴν μητρῴαν ἕλκων θηλὴν, τῆς σῆς κηδεμονίας τὰς ἐμὰς ἐλπίδας ἐξήρτησα. ιβʹ. "Μὴ ἀποστῇς ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι θλίψις ἐγγὺς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ βοηθῶν μοι." Καὶ γὰρ τότε τῶν μαθη τῶν αὐτὸν κατελελοίπει χορός· εἶτα προλέγει τῆς θλίψεως τὰ εἴδη. ιγʹ, ιδʹ. "Περιεκύκλωσάν με μόσχοι πολλοί· ταῦ ροι πίονες περιέσχον με. Ἤνοιξαν ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὸ στόμα αὑτῶν, ὡς λέων ἁρπάζων καὶ ὠρυόμενος." Καλεῖ δὲ ταύρους, τοὺς ἱερέας καὶ Γραμματέας, τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ πεπιστευμένους ἀρχὴν, καὶ πολλῇ θρασύτητι κεχρημένους· μόσχους δὲ, τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτοὺς τετα γμένους· πίονας δὲ αὐτοὺς ὀνομάζει, ὡς τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ χορηγηθεῖσιν ἐντρυφήσαντας ἀγαθοῖς. Οὕ τω γὰρ καὶ ὁ μέγας προείρηκε Μωσῆς· "Καὶ ἔφαγεν Ἰακὼβ, καὶ ἐνεπλήσθη, καὶ ἀπελάκτισεν ὁ ἠγαπημένος, ἐλιπάνθη, ἐπαχύνθη, ἐπλατύνθη, καὶ 80.1016 ἐγκατέλιπε Κύριον τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτόν." Καὶ μέντοι καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ὠσηὲ, δαμάλει αὐτὸν ἀπεικάζει θρασυνομένῃ· "Ὡς δάμαλις γὰρ παροι στρῶσα παροίστρησεν Ἐφραΐμ." Οὕτω δὲ τὸν λαὸν προσηγόρευσεν· "Οὕτω δὲ καὶ Ἐφραῒμ, φησὶ, δάμαλις δεδιδαγμένη ἀγαπᾷν νεῖκος·" τουτέστιν, ἐριστικὴ καὶ φιλόνεικος. Νεῖκος γὰρ οὐ τὴν νίκην, ἀλλὰ τὴν φιλονεικίαν καλεῖ. Καὶ δεικνὺς τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα ταπείνωσιν ἐπήγαγεν· "Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπιβήσομαι ἐπὶ τὸ κάλλος τοῦ τραχήλου