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shall I go up? And he said, 'To Hebron.'" Then the historian, having related how he went up, added: "And the men of Judea come, and anoint David there, to reign over the house of Judah." And concerning the third, again thus: "And all the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron." And a little after: "And king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anoint David to be king over all Israel." Thus it is clear that he uttered this psalm before he received the second anointing, and was manifestly entrusted with the management of affairs; therefore, being persecuted by Saul, he used these words, when he came to Ahimelech the priest, and having prayed in the tabernacle of God, and having received the blessing of the holy loaves, he escaped the hands of his pursuer. And this he also says in the psalm itself: "For he has hidden me in his tabernacle in the day of my troubles." Then Doeg the Idumaean, who was feeding the royal mules there, reported David's flight to Saul. For which reason he says in the psalm, that "Unjust witnesses rose up against me." But the verse-by-verse interpretation will teach these things more clearly: "The Lord is my light and my savior; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Being enlightened by you, he says, and illuminated by your noetic light, I despise all my enemies together. 2. "When evildoers drew near against me to eat my flesh; those who afflict me, and my enemies, they themselves were weakened and fell." I was not deceived, he says, in my hope, having thus trusted in your help. For those who pursued me like wild beasts, 80.1052 and tried to make of me a raw-flesh feast, they did not harm me, but they themselves suffered utter destruction. And history teaches that this happened many times. For once, and twice, being hunted by Saul, he escaped the snares, and rather would have killed his pursuer, if he had wished; but he himself showed his own philosophy, while the other paid the penalty for his wickedness among the foreigners; what has been said is therefore a prediction of things to come. 3. "If an army should encamp against me, my heart will not fear; if war should rise up against me, in this I will hope." Having had so much experience of your help, he says, even if twice as many, or three times as many enemies should try to attack me, I will be bold against the dangers, armed with this hope. 4, 5. "One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the delight of the Lord, and to visit his holy temple. For he has hidden me in his tabernacle in the day of my troubles; he has covered me in the secret place of his tabernacle; he has set me up on a rock." But I, he says, having enjoyed such great benefaction, do not ask my benefactor for wealth, and power, nor kingdom and glory, but to continually attend the divine temple, and to behold the divine beauty from there, and to observe all the things that happen according to the law; for I have experience of the benefit, having already reaped salvation from there, and having escaped the hands of my pursuers; these things the great David asked for, and he received them from the greatly-giving God. For he himself brought back the divine ark, and pitched another more wonderful tabernacle, and he established the various choirs of psalmists; and one may learn these things more accurately from the book of Chronicles. And the phrase, "One thing have I asked of the Lord," means, "one grace." For so it must be understood. 6. "And now, behold, he has lifted up my head above my enemies; I have gone round and have sacrificed in his tabernacle a sacrifice of praise and of jubilation." Here the tense is changed; and this Aquila also taught; for instead of, "he has lifted up my head," he has put, "my head will be lifted up." It signifies, therefore, that he will reign, and will overcome his enemies, and he who is now surrounded by them will surround them; and he will offer to God, not the legal sacrifices in the tabernacle, but the sacrifice of praise, which in all throughout the inhabited world

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ἀναβῶ; καὶ εἶπε· Εἰς Χεβρών." Εἶτα διηγησάμενος ὁ ἱστοριογράφος, ὅπως ἀνῆλθεν, ἐπήγαγε· "Καὶ ἔρχονται ἄνδρες τῆς Ἰου δαίας, καὶ χρίουσιν ἐκεῖ τὸν ∆αβὶδ, τοῦ βασιλεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰούδα." Περὶ δὲ τῆς τρίτης πάλιν οὕτως· "Καὶ παραγίνονται πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς ∆αβὶδ εἰς Χεβρών." Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγον· "Καὶ διέθετο αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεὺς ∆αβὶδ διαθήκην ἐν Χεβρὼν ἐνώπιον Κυρίου, καὶ χρίουσι τὸν ∆αβὶδ εἰς βασιλέα ἐπὶ πάντα τὸν Ἰσραήλ." Ὡς εἶναι δῆλον, ὅτι τὸν ψαλμὸν τοῦτον εἴρηκε, πρὶν τὴν δευτέραν δέξασθαι χειροτονίαν, καὶ προφανῶς ἐγχειρισθῆναι τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων οἰκονομίαν· τοίνυν διωκόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Σαοὺλ τούτοις ἐχρήσατο τοῖς λόγοις, ἡνίκα πρὸς Ἀβιμέλεχ εἰσῆλθε τὸν ἱερέα, καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ σκηνῇ προσευξάμενος, καὶ τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων ἄρτων εὐλογίαν λαβὼν, διέφυγε τοῦ πολεμοῦντος τὰς χεῖρας. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ψαλμῷ λέγει· "Ὅτι ἔκρυψέ με ἐν σκηνῇ αὑτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῶν μου." Τότε καὶ ∆ωὴκ ὁ Ἰδουμαῖος τὰς βασιλικὰς ἡμιόνους νέμων ἐκεῖ, τοῦ ∆αβὶδ τὴν φυγὴν τῷ Σαοὺλ κατ εμήνυσε. ∆ιόπερ ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ λέγει, ὅτι Ἐπ ανέστησαν ἐπ' ἐμὲ μάρτυρες ἄδικοι." Σαφέστερον δὲ ταῦτα ἡ κατὰ μέρος ἑρμηνεία διδάξει· "Κύριος φωτισμός μου καὶ σωτήρ μου, τίνα φοβηθήσομαι; Κύριος ὑπερασπιστὴς τῆς ζωῆς μου, ἀπὸ τίνος δειλιάσω;" Ὑπὸ σοῦ, φησὶ, φωτιζόμενος, καὶ τῷ νοερῷ σου φωτὶ καταυγαζόμενος, πάντων ὁμοῦ τῶν πολεμούντων καταφρονῶ. βʹ. "Ἐν τῷ ἐγγίζειν ἐπ' ἐμὲ κακοῦντας, τοῦ φαγεῖν τὰς σάρκας μου· οἱ θλίβοντές με, καὶ οἱ ἐχθροί μου αὐτοὶ ἠσθένησαν, καὶ ἔπεσον." Οὐκ ἐψεύσθην, φησὶ, τῆς ἐλπίδος, οὕτω τῇ σῇ θαῤῥήσας ῥοπῇ. Καὶ γὰρ φθάσαντές με οἱ δίκην θηρίων διώ 80.1052 κοντες, καὶ θοίνην ὠμοβόρον ποιήσασθαι πειραθέν τες, ἐμὲ μὲν οὐκ ἐλωβήσαντο, αὐτοὶ δὲ πανωλεθρίαν ὑπέμειναν. Τοῦτο δὲ γεγενῆσθαι πολλάκις ἡ ἱστορία διδάσκει. Καὶ ἅπαξ γὰρ, καὶ δὶς, ὑπὸ τοῦ Σαοὺλ θη ρευθεὶς, τὰς ἄρκυας διέφυγε, μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸν ἀνεῖ λεν ἂν, εἴπερ ἠθέλησε, τὸν διώκοντα· ἀλλὰ αὐτὸς μὲν τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπεδείξατο φιλοσοφίαν, ἐκεῖνος δὲ παρὰ τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις ἔτισε τῆς πονηρίας ποινήν· πρόῤ ῥησίς ἐστι τοίνυν τῶν ἐσομένων τὰ εἰρημένα. γʹ. "Ἐὰν παρατάξηται ἐπ' ἐμὲ παρεμβολὴ, οὐ φο βηθήσεται ἡ καρδία μου· ἐὰν ἐπαναστῇ ἐπ' ἐμὲ πό λεμος, ἐν ταύτῃ ἐγὼ ἐλπίζω." Τοσαύτην, φησὶ, πεῖραν τῆς ἐπικουρίας λαβὼν, κἂν δὶς τοσοῦτοι, κἂν τρὶς, προσβαλεῖν μοι πειραθῶσι πολέμιοι, κατα θαῤῥῶ τῶν δεινῶν, τῇ ἐλπίδι ταύτῃ καθωπλισμένος. δʹ, εʹ. "Μίαν ᾐτησάμην παρὰ Κυρίου, ταύτην ζητή σω· τὸ κατοικεῖν ἐν οἴκῳ Κυρίου πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς μου· τοῦ θεωρεῖν με τὴν τερπνό τητα Κυρίου, καὶ ἐπισκέπτεσθαι τὸν ναὸν τὸν ἅγιον αὐτοῦ. Ὅτι ἔκρυψέ με ἐν σκηνῇ αὑτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῶν μου· ἐσκέπασέ με ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ τῆς σκηνῆς αὑτοῦ· ἐν πέτρᾳ ὕψωσέ με." Ἐγὼ δὲ, φησὶ, τοσαύ της ἀπολαύσας εὐεργεσίας, οὐ πλοῦτον ζητῶ τὸν ἐμὸν εὐεργέτην, καὶ δυναστείαν, οὐδὲ βασιλείαν καὶ δόξαν, ἀλλὰ τὸ διηνεκῶς τῷ θείῳ προσεδρεύειν ναῷ, καὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖθεν κατοπτρίζεσθαι κάλλος, καὶ ἐπι σκοπεῖν ἅπαντα τὰ κατὰ νόμον γινόμενα· πεῖραν γὰρ ἔχω τῆς ὠφελείας, ἤδη τὴν ἐκεῖθεν σωτηρίαν δρεψά μενος, καὶ τῶν διωκόντων τὰς χεῖρας διαφυγών· ταῦτα καὶ ᾔτησεν ὁ μέγας ∆αβὶδ, καὶ ἔλαβε παρὰ τοῦ μεγαλοδώρου Θεοῦ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ καὶ τὴν θείαν ἐπανήγαγε κιβωτὸν, καὶ σκηνὴν ἑτέραν θαυμασι ωτέραν ἐπήξατο, καὶ τοὺς διαφόρους τῶν ψαλτῳδῶν χοροὺς συνεστήσατο· καὶ ταῦτα ἐκ τῆς τῶν Παραλει πομένων βίβλου μάθοι τις ἂν ἀκριβέστερον. Τὸ δέ· "Μίαν ᾐτησάμην παρὰ Κυρίου," ἀντὶ τοῦ, "μίαν χάριν." Οὕτω γὰρ νοητέον. ʹ. "Καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ὕψωσε κεφαλήν μου ἐπ' ἐχθρούς μου· ἐκύκλωσα καὶ ἔθυσα ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ αὐτοῦ θυσίαν αἰνέσεως καὶ ἀλαλαγμοῦ." Ἐνταῦθα ὁ χρόνος ἐνήλλακται· τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας ἐδίδαξεν· ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ, ὕψωσε κεφαλήν μου, ὑψωθήσεται ἡ κε φαλή μου τέθεικεν. Σημαίνει τοίνυν, ὅτι βασιλεύ σει, καὶ περιγενήσεται τῶν δυσμενῶν, καὶ κυκλώσει αὐτοὺς ὁ νῦν ὑπ' αὐτῶν κυκλούμενος· καὶ τῷ Θεῷ προσοίσει, οὐ τὰς νομικὰς θυσίας ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῆς αἰνέσεως θυσίαν, ἣν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην