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you have rooted out, thus you have made them disappear, so that even their memory is lost. The swords of the enemy have failed utterly. Another, The ruins. But the Hebrew, Arboth. And you destroyed cities. What is this? That having consumed his devices and his counsels, he says, you made him destitute of his own weapons. For such is the wrath of God; it makes all things disappear and destroys them. Or as another interpreter teaches, saying, Desolations; that not only their cities, but also you made their deserts disappear, and you destroyed cities. For so the righteous one made war, so he cast down the adversaries, not using arms and spears, but having the turning of the scale from God. For this reason his war is also splendid and manifest, and the victory is overwhelming. His memorial has perished with a sound. Another, With them. But the Hebrew, Em. What is, With a sound? Either it means utter destruction, or the wailing over the evils. And this is of God's providence, not to do these things secretly, so that by the misfortunes of others others also may become better. Therefore the manifest nature indicates the destruction. 4. And the Lord abides forever. Another, Will sit. For to sit in many places refers to the permanence of substance; as Jeremiah also shows saying, You sit forever. And the Hebrew here says Ieseb. The prophet continually says this concerning the destruction of men, showing the unending nature of his substance, and that the race of men is mortal. But His substance and majesty are unending. He does this to inspire fear, so that they might tremble before him on both counts, both on account of the greatness of his glory, and on account of the imperfection of their own substance, and as one who always remains, and as one who always punishes exceedingly. And if it is necessary to say something also according to the anagogical sense, we must not refuse. For some things it is possible to contemplate; but others one must understand only as they are said; as, In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth; and others contrary to the words; as, A hind of friendship, and a foal of your graces, let her consort with you. And again; Let them be only for you, and let no stranger share with you. Your spring of water let it be for you alone. For this, if you should understand the literal text, and not flee the word but pursue the meaning, is also of much inhumanity, to not even share water with someone; but here the discourse is about a wife, so that one may enjoy her with self-control, calling her a spring, and a hind, because of the purity of marital intercourse. And here indeed it is so; but else 55.127 where one must accept both the literal text, and what is signified by it; as in the case of, As Moses lifted up the serpent. For one must believe that this happened—for it did happen—and what came from it, as a type of Christ. So also here one would not err in taking what has been said as referring to Jewish matters. You sat upon a throne who judges righteousness. You have rebuked the nations, and the ungodly one has perished; you have blotted out his name forever, and forever and ever. The swords of the enemy have failed utterly, and you have destroyed cities. His memorial has perished with a sound. For both the calamity of those who crucified Christ is manifest throughout the whole world, and their cities were destroyed, and the devices of the devil have failed, as the providence of Christ has taken possession of all things. But leaving these things for the studious to fit together, let us hold to the matters before us. He has prepared His throne in judgment. Another, He has established for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall judge the peoples in uprightness. Do you see how little by little he elevates the discourse? For since he mentioned a throne, he shows the nature of the throne, not composed of wood, nor of any material, but of righteousness. For in righteousness, he says, it is founded. He shall judge the world in righteousness. And the

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ἀνέσπασας, οὕτως ἠφάνισας, ὡς καὶ τὴν μνήμην αὐτῶν παραπολέσθαι. Τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἐξέλιπον αἱ ῥομφαῖαι εἰς τέλος. Ἄλλος, Τὰ ἐρείπια. Ὁ δὲ Ἑβραῖος, Ἀρβώθ. Καὶ πόλεις καθεῖλες. Τί ἐστι τοῦτο; Ὅτι τὰς μηχανὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς βουλὰς ἀναλώσας, φησὶν, ἔρημον αὐτὸν τῶν οἰκείων ὅπλων ἐποίησας. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ· πάντα ἀφανίζει καὶ ἀπόλλυσιν. Ἢ ὅπερ ἕτερος ἑρμηνευτὴς διδάσκει, Ἔρημα, εἰπών· ὅτι οὐ τὰς πόλεις αὐτῶν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἐρήμους ἠφάνισας, καὶ πόλεις καθεῖλες. Οὕτω γὰρ ὁ δίκαιος ἐπολέμει, οὕτω κατέβαλλε τοὺς ἐναντίους, οὐχ ὅπλοις καὶ δόρασι κεχρημένος, ἀλλὰ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ῥοπὴν ἔχων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ πόλεμος αὐτῷ λαμπρὸς καὶ περιφανὴς, καὶ κατὰ κράτος ἡ νίκη. Ἀπώλετο τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτοῦ μετ' ἤχου. Ἄλλος, Σὺν αὐτοῖς. Ὁ δὲ Ἑβραῖος, Ἔμ. Τί ἐστι, Μετ' ἤχου;Ἢ τὴν πανωλεθρίαν φησὶν, ἢ τὸ διωλύγιον τῶν κακῶν. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ κηδεμονίας, τὸ μὴ λανθανόντως ταῦτα ποιεῖν, ἵνα ταῖς ἑτέρων συμφοραῖς καὶ ἕτεροι γένωνται βελτίους. Τὸ περιφανὲς οὖν δηλοῖ τῆς ἀπωλείας. δʹ. Καὶ ὁ Κύριος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει. Ἄλλος, Καθεδεῖται. Τὸ γὰρ καθῆσθαι πολλαχοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ μονίμου τῆς οὐσίας κεῖται· ὡς καὶ Ἱερεμίας δηλοῖ λέγων, Σὺ καθήμενος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Καὶ ὁ Ἑβραῖος ἐνταῦθα Ἰησήβ φησι. Συνεχῶς τοῦτο λέγει ὁ προφήτης ἐπὶ τῆς ἀπωλείας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, δεικνὺς αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀτελεύτητον τῆς οὐσίας, καὶ ὅτι τὸ μὲν τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος ἐπίκηρον. Ἡ δὲ ἐκείνου οὐσία καὶ ἡ μεγαλωσύνη ἀτελεύτητος. Τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῖ τὸν φόβον ἐπαρτῶν, ἵνα ἑκατέρωθεν ὦσιν αὐτὸν τρέμοντες, καὶ διὰ τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῦ τῆς δόξης, καὶ διὰ τὸ ἀτελὲς τῆς οἰκείας οὐσίας, καὶ ὡς ἀεὶ μένοντα, καὶ ὡς ἀεὶ μεθ' ὑπερβολῆς κολάζοντα. Εἰ δὲ χρή τι καὶ κατὰ ἀναγωγὴν εἰπεῖν, οὐ παραιτητέον. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔστι καὶ θεωρῆσαι· τὰ δὲ οὕτω δεῖ νοεῖν, ὡς εἴρηται μόνον· ὡς τὸ, Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν· τὰ δὲ ἀπεναντίας ταῖς λέξεσιν· ὡς τὸ, Ἔλαφος φιλίας, καὶ πῶλος σῶν χαρίτων, ὁμιλείτω σοι. Καὶ πάλιν· Ἔστω σοι μόνῳ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ μηδεὶς ἀλλότριος μετασχέτω σοί. Ἡ πηγή σου τοῦ ὕδατός σοι ἔστω μόνῳ. Τοῦτο γὰρ, ἂν τὸ κείμενον νοήσῃς, καὶ μὴ φύγῃς μὲν τὸ ῥῆμα, διώκῃς δὲ τὸ νόημα, καὶ πολλῆς ἀπανθρωπίας ἐστὶ, τὸ μηδὲ ὕδατός τινι μεταδοῦναι· ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα περὶ γυναικὸς ὁ λόγος, ὥστε αὐτῆς ἀπολαύειν μετὰ σωφροσύνης, πηγὴν καλῶν αὐτὴν, καὶ ἔλαφον, διὰ τὸ καθαρὸν τῆς τοῦ γάμου συνουσίας. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα μὲν οὕτως· ἀλλα 55.127 χοῦ δὲ δεῖ καὶ τὸ κείμενον δέχεσθαι, καὶ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ δηλούμενον· ὡς ἔχει τὸ, Καθὼς τὸν ὄφιν ὕψωσε Μωϋσῆς. Καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο δεῖ πιστεύειν ὅτι ἐγένετο ἐγένετο γὰρ, καὶ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ, εἰς τύπον τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι εἰς τὰ Ἰουδαϊκὰ ἐκλαμβάνων τὰ εἰρημένα. Ἐκάθισας ἐπὶ θρόνου ὁ κρίνων δικαιοσύνην. Ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβής· τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἐξέλιπον αἱ ῥομφαῖαι εἰς τέλος, καὶ πόλεις καθεῖλες. Ἀπώλετο τὸ μνημόσυνον αὐτοῦ μετ' ἤχου. Ἥ τε γὰρ συμφορὰ αὐτῶν τῶν τὸν Χριστὸν σταυρωσάντων πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης κατάδηλος, αἵ τε πόλεις αὐτῶν καθῃρέθησαν, τοῦ τε διαβόλου ἐξέλιπε τὰ μηχανήματα, τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ κηδεμονίας τὰ πάντα καταλαβούσης. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα τοῖς φιλομαθέσι καταλιπόντες ἁρμόζειν, τῶν προκειμένων ἐχώμεθα. Ἡτοίμασεν ἐν κρίσει τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ. Ἄλλος, Ἥδρασεν εἰς κρίσιν. Καὶ αὐτὸς κρινεῖ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, κρινεῖ λαοὺς ἐν εὐθύτητι. Εἶδες πῶς κατὰ μικρὸν ἀνάγει τὸν λόγον; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ θρόνου ἐμνημόνευσε, δείκνυσι τοῦ θρόνου τὴν φύσιν, οὐκ ἀπὸ ξύλων συγκειμένην, οὐδέ τινος ὕλης, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ δικαιοσύνης. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ, φησὶν, ἵδρυται. Κρινεῖ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ. Καὶ τὰ