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having declared. For since Abraham, having left his homeland and kindred, believed God, He fittingly promised to make him a father of nations and to bless all the nations through him and through his seed, that is, Christ. So also in the case of David, since he was a king and well-pleasing to Him, He fittingly also promised him both that his seed and the throne of his kingdom would remain without a successor, that is, again, Christ. 5.123 This David was deemed worthy by the Holy Spirit to prophesy concerning the Lord Christ four psalms, the second and the eighth and the forty-fourth and the one hundred and ninth, having spoken all four of them entirely about him. For both the Lord Christ and the apostles are seen to have taken testimony concerning him from the four psalms, for example, as I say, in the Acts of the Apostles, all the apostles, praying to God, said: "For truly they were gathered together in this city against your holy child Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate," taking the second psalm as referring to him. 5.124 Likewise again in the same Acts, when Paul was discoursing in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia, he spoke thus: "And we bring you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, that God has fulfilled this for our children by raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm: You are my Son, today I have begotten you," taking the 'begetting' as referring to the resurrection and confirming himself also that the second psalm is spoken of him, just as all the apostles said. And these things are concerning his humanity. For that which is spoken concerning his divinity in this psalm is this: "You will shepherd them with a rod of iron, and like a potter's vessel you will dash them to pieces," as if making known the strength and power of his divinity, at the same time signifying the renewal, that is, the remolding, of men; for the potter's vessel, being broken, not yet having come near the fire, accepts remolding. 5.125 Likewise he has also spoken the eighth again concerning him, speaking the first parts of the psalm with reference to his divinity, just as the Lord Christ himself also testifies concerning this in the Gospel, when they were shouting praises with the branches, saying: "Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." And since the Jews were not able to rebuke the crowds and the infants—for the things being seen were marvelous, children and nursing infants and babes and disciples and crowds shouting praises and crying out the hymn to him—they attempted to cast blame and say to him: "Do you not hear what these are saying?" 5.126 But the other evangelist says: "Some from the crowd said to him: Rebuke your disciples," as if to say: You blaspheme by accepting a hymn which is fitting for God alone, both parties having the same mind; to whom the Lord says, to the first: "Yes, have you never read that: Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise?" stating expressly that the eighth psalm was spoken of him, at the same time also hinting that: I do not seize what belongs to God, for I am this, just as the Apostle also cries out: "He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant"; and to the others saying again: Why do you marvel concerning the infants and concerning the disciples? "If these should be silent, the stones will cry out." 5.127 But those who knew that it is written, and also beheld by the very deeds the infants and nursing babes marvelously crying out the hymn, and reasoning that it is possible for the one who made the infants cry out the hymn beyond nature, it is possible for him also to make inanimate things cry out, they were silenced, being ashamed. Oh, the power of the Lord Christ; oh, the love for mankind; oh, the compassionate condescension. How through the teaching, which he undertook in the form of a servant, did he deign to gently show his own divinity, to both receive accusations from his own creatures and to answer not with anger, but gently and with forbearance. O excess of long-suffering. O such things also worthy of David

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ἀποφηνάμενος. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ Ἀβραὰμ πατρίδα καὶ γένος καταλείψας ἐπίστευσε Θεῷ, καταλλήλως πατέρα τῶν ἐθνῶν αὐτὸν ποιεῖν ὑπέσχετο καὶ εὐλογεῖν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι Χριστοῦ. Οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆αυΐδ, ἐπειδήπερ βασιλεὺς ἦν καὶ εὐάρεστος αὐτῷ, καταλλήλως καὶ αὐτῷ ἐπηγγείλατο καὶ τὸ σπέρμα καὶ τὸν θρόνον τῆς βασιλείας ἀδιάδοχον διαμένειν, τουτέστι πάλιν Χριστόν. 5.123 Οὗτος ὁ ∆αυΐδ ἠξιώθη ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου προειπεῖν περὶ τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ ψαλμοὺς τέσσαρας, τὸν δεύτερον καὶ τὸν ὄγδοον καὶ τὸν τεσσαρακοστὸν τέταρτον καὶ τὸν ἑκατοστὸν ἔνατον, ὅλους τοὺς τέσσαρας δι' ὅλου εἰς αὐτὸν εἰρηκώς. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι φαίνονται καὶ ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων ψαλμῶν λαβόντες μαρτυρίαν περὶ αὐτοῦ, οἷόν τι λέγω ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων πάντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι προσευχόμενοι τῷ Θεῷ ἔλεγον· "Ἐπ' ἀληθείας γὰρ συνήχθησαν ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ ἐπὶ τὸν ἅγιον παῖδά σου Ἰησοῦν, ὃν ἔχρισας, Ἡρώδης τε καὶ Πόντιος Πιλάτος", τὸν δεύτερον ψαλμὸν εἰς αὐτὸν ἐκλαβόντες. 5.124 Ὁμοίως πάλιν εἰς αὐτὰς τὰς Πράξεις, ὅτε ὁ Παῦλος διελέγετο εἰς τὴν συναγωγὴν Ἀντιοχείας τῆς Πισιδίας, οὕτως ἔφη· "Καὶ ἡμεῖς ὑμᾶς εὐαγγελιζόμεθα τὴν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἐπαγγελίαν γενομένην, ὅτι ταύτην ὁ Θεὸς ἐκπεπλήρωκε τοῖς τέκνοις ἡμῶν ἀναστήσας Ἰησοῦν, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ γέγραπται τῷ δευτέρῳ· Υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε", τὴν γέννησιν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐκλαβὼν καὶ κυρώσας καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς ὁ δεύτερος ψαλμὸς εἰς αὐτὸν εἴρηται, καθὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι εἶπον. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν περὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος αὐτοῦ. Τὸ γὰρ περὶ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ψαλμῷ εἰρημένον ἐστὶ τοῦτο· "Ποιμανεῖς αὐτοὺς ἐν ῥάβδῳ σιδηρᾷ καὶ ὡς σκεῦος κεραμέως συντρίψεις αὐτούς", ὡσανεὶ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ δυνατὸν τῆς θεότητος γνωρίσας, ἐν ταὐτῷ τὸν ἀνακαινισμόν, ἤτοι ἀναπλασμόν, τῶν ἀνθρώπων σημάνας· τὸ γὰρ σκεῦος τοῦ κεραμέως συντριβόμενον, μήπω προσομιλῆσαν πυρί, δέχεται ἀναπλασμόν. 5.125 Ὁμοίως καὶ τὸν ὄγδοον εἰς αὐτὸν πάλιν εἴρηκεν, εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ θεότητα εἰπὼν τὰ πρῶτα τοῦ ψαλμοῦ, καθὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς μαρτυρεῖ περὶ τούτου ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, ὅταν μετὰ τῶν κλάδων ἐπευφήμουν λέγοντες· "Ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ ∆αυΐδ· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου." Καὶ ἐπειδὴ μὴ ἴσχυον οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐπιτιμᾶν τοῖς ὄχλοις καὶ τοῖς νηπίοιςἦν γὰρ παράδοξα τὰ ὁρώμενα, παῖ δες καὶ θηλάζοντα καὶ νήπια καὶ μαθηταὶ καὶ ὄχλοι ἐπευφημοῦντες καὶ τὸν ὕμνον ἀνακράζοντες αὐτῷ, ἐπεχείρουν τὴν μέμψιν ἐπιρρίπτειν καί φασι πρὸς αὐτόν· "Οὐκ ἀκούεις τί οὗτοι λέγουσιν;" 5.126 Ὁ δὲ ἕτερος εὐαγγελιστής φησι· "Τινὲς ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· Ἐπιτίμησον τοῖς μαθηταῖς σου", ὡσανεὶ ὅτι· ∆υσφημεῖς καταδεχόμενος ὕμνον, ὃς τῷ Θεῷ μόνῳ ἁρμόζει, ἑκάτεροι τὸν αὐτὸν νοῦν ἔχοντες· πρὸς οὓς ὁ Κύριός φησι, τοῖς μέν· "Ναί, οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι· Ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον;" διαρρήδην φήσας τὸν ὄγδοον εἰς αὐτὸν εἰρῆσθαι ψαλμόν, ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ αἰνιξάμενος ὅτι· Οὐχ ἁρπάζω τὰ τῷ Θεῷ προσόντα, τοῦτο γάρ εἰμι, καθὰ καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος βοᾷ· "Οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα Θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε μορφὴν δούλου λαβών"· τοῖς δὲ πάλιν εἰπών· Τί θαυμάζετε περὶ τῶν νηπίων καὶ περὶ τῶν μαθητῶν; "Οὗτοι ἐὰν σιωπήσωσιν, οἱ λίθοι κεκράξονται." 5.127 Οἱ δὲ εἰδότες ὅτι γέγραπται, θεωροῦντες δὲ καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἔργοις τὰ νήπια καὶ θηλάζοντα παραδόξως κράζοντα τὸν ὕμνον, ἀναλογιζόμενοι δὲ ὡς δυνατὸν τῷ ποιήσαντι τὰ νήπια ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἀνακράζειν τὸν ὕμνον, δυνατὸν αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ ἄψυχα ποιῆσαι κρᾶξαι, ἐφιμοῦντο αἰσχυνόμενοι. Βαβαί, δύναμις τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ· βαβαί, φιλανθρωπία· βαβαί, συγκατάβασις εὔσπλαχνος. Πῶς διὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας, ἧς ἀνέλαβε δούλου μορφῆς, ἠξίωσε πραέως τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θεότητα ὑποδεῖξαι, δέχεσθαί τε ἐναγωγὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων κτισμάτων καὶ ἀποκρίνεσθαι οὐ μετ' ὀργῆς, ἀλλὰ πραέως καὶ ἀνεξικάκως. Ὢ μακροθυμίας ὑπερβολή. Ὢ καὶ τοῦ ∆αυΐδ ἄξια τὰ τοιαῦτα