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Since nature is a pentad because of the senses, and time is a heptad, as has become very clear to all, and combining five with seven, you would clearly complete the number twelve.

Perhaps also the number of those who were slain signifies the triad of the soul's powers that, through deception, was wrongly and unnaturally intertwined with the tetrad of sensible things in a relationship through which every sin is naturally produced; which he rightly slaughters who serves the spiritual David in the struggles for truth, and knowledgeably joins the unseen battles, and is spiritually arrayed against the wicked powers; for every power of the soul, when moved contrary to nature, is naturally intertwined with sensible things. Therefore, when reason, spiritedness, and desire, being the three general powers of the soul, are defeated by the four sensible things, they make up the number twelve; for four times three and three times four, being put together, complete this number, which he destroys who faithfully draws near to the Lord and nobly excels against every unseen and hostile spirit.

Therefore, the present psalm is inscribed, “For those who shall be changed,” that is, us, “for instruction” concerning the good things that came to us from the spiritual David, “and for a monumental inscription for David,” that is, for a proclamation of his divine and saving achievements on our behalf; for a monumental inscription signifies a proclamation of achievements, according to the knowledgeable interpreters of such names.

“O God, you have cast us off and destroyed us; you were angry and you have pitied us.” God cast us off when, not having kept at the beginning (14A_370> the commandment, we appeared unworthy of conversing with Him face to face; He destroyed us when, because of our wickedness, He alienated us from the height of glory in paradise; He was angry when, for the punishment and chastisement of wickedness, He subjected us to the penalty of death; He pitied us when, through his only-begotten Son, God the Word, who became incarnate and accepted the debt on behalf of us all, He redeemed us from death and led us back again to His own glory.

“You have shaken the earth and troubled it; heal its breaches, for it has been shaken.”

He has shaken our earth and troubled it, that is, our heart, giving us the sword of the Spirit that knowledgeably distinguishes the worse from the better, and arousing the law of the Spirit against the law of the flesh, and creating within us the praiseworthy war against the passions, and shaking and troubling the continuity of the passions within us, and our conscience at the unseemly memories arising from preconception; and He heals the breaches of our heart, which it sustained at the beginning, having been shaken and having slipped through disobedience because of the transgression in paradise, through spiritual regeneration in grace.

“You have shown your people hard things; you have made us drink the wine of compunction; you have given a sign to those who fear you, to flee from the face of the bow, that your beloved may be delivered.”

God shows hard things to those who fear him through the commandments, suggesting, according to practical philosophy, the ways of the mortification of the body or, on the contrary, through manifold providence and judgment lovingly instructing us for our benefit (14A_372>, those of us not willing to submit to the divine yoke of the law of the commandments; and He makes us drink the wine of compunction, that is, bestowing the knowledge that follows purification through praxis, according to spiritual contemplation; for all spiritual knowledge pricks the heart, leading it to an awareness of the greatness of the divine benefits conferred upon us; and He gives to those who fear Him a sign to flee from the face of the bow, the mortification of the

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εἴπερ πενταδικὴ μὲν ἡ φύσις διὰ τὰς αἰσθήσεις, ἑβδοματικὸς δὲ ὁ χρόνος, ὡς πᾶσι καθέστηκεν εὔδηλον, πέντε δὲ τοῖς ἑπτὰ συνθείς, τὸν δώδεκα πληρώσαις ἂν σαφῶς ἀριθμόν.

Τυχὸν δὲ καὶ τὴν κακῶς δι᾽ ἀπάτης παρὰ φύσιν συμπλακεῖσαν τῇ τετράδι τῶν αἰσθητῶν τριάδα τῶν δυνάμεων τῆς ψυχῆς κατὰ τὴν σχέσιν, δι᾽ ἧς πᾶσα γίνεσθαι πέφυκεν ἁμαρτία, ὁ τῶν ἀνῃρημένων ἀριθμὸς ὑποσημαίνει, ὃν καταφονεύει καλῶς ὁ τῷ νοητῷ ∆αβὶδ ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας ἀγῶσιν ὑπουργῶν καὶ γνωστικῶς τὰς ἀοράτους μάχας συνάπτων καὶ κατὰ τῶν πονηρῶν δυνάμεων πνευματικῶς παραταττόμενος· πᾶσα γὰρ ψυχῆς δύναμις, παρὰ φύσιν κινουμένη, τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς συμπλέκεσθαι πέφυκεν. Ἐπειδὰν οὖν ὅ τε λόγος καὶ ὁ θυμὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία, τρεῖς τὸν ἀριθμὸν οὖσαι γενικαὶ τῆς ψυχῆς δυνάμεις, τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἡττηθῶσι, τέσσαρσιν οὖσι, τὸν δώδεκα ἀριθμὸν ἀποτελεῖ· τέσσαρα γὰρ ἐπὶ τρία καὶ τρία ἐπὶ τέσσαρα συντιθέμενα, τοῦτον πληροῖ τὸν ἀριθμόν, ὃν ἀναιρεῖ ὁ τῷ Κυρίῳ πιστῶς προσχωρῶν καὶ καλῶς ἀριστεύων κατὰ παντὸς ἀφανοῦς καὶ πολεμίου πνεύματος.

Ἐπιγέγραπται γοῦν ὁ παρὼν ψαλμὸς «τοῖς μὲν ἀλλοιωθησομένοις» ἡμῖν, «εἰς διδαχὴν» τῶν εἰς ἡμᾶς παρὰ τοῦ νοητοῦ ∆αβὶδ γενομένων ἀγαθῶν, «εἰς στηλογραφίαν δὲ τῷ ∆αυΐδ», τουτέστιν εἰς ἀνάρρησιν τῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν αὐτοῦ θείων καὶ σωτηρίων κατορθωμάτων· ἀνάρρησιν γὰρ κατορθωμάτων ἡ στηλογραφία δηλοῖ κατὰ τοὺς ἐπιστήμονας τῶν τοιούτων ὀνομάτων ἐξηγητάς.

«Ὁ Θεός, ἀπώσω ἡμᾶς καὶ καθεῖλες ἡμᾶς, ὠργίσθης καὶ ᾠκτείρησας ἡμᾶς». Ἀπώσατο ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός, ὅταν, μὴ φυλάξαντες κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς (14Α_370> τὴν

ἐντολήν, ἀνάξιοι ἐφάνημεν τῆς κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὁμιλίας· καθεῖλεν ἡμᾶς, ὅταν τοῦ ὕψους τῆς ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ δόξης διὰ τὴν ἡμῶν κακίαν ἀπεξένωσεν· ὠργίσθη, ὅταν ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ καὶ κολάσει τῆς κακίας τῷ τοῦ θανάτου ἐπιτιμίῳ ἡμᾶς καθυπέβαλεν· ᾠκτείρησεν ἡμᾶς, ὅταν διὰ τοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτοῦ Υἱοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου σαρκωθέντος καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ πάντων ἡμῶν ὀφειλὴν καταδεξαμένου ἐλυτρώσατο ἡμᾶς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δόξαν πάλιν ἐπανήγαγεν.

«Συνέσεισας τὴν γῆν καὶ συνετάραξας αὐτήν· ἴασαι τὰ συντρίμματα αὐτῆς, ὅτι ἐσαλεύθη».

Συνέσεισεν ἡμῶν τὴν γῆν καὶ συνετάραξε, τουτέστι τὴν καρδίαν, δοὺς ἡμῖν τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν τὸ χεῖρον τοῦ κρείττονος γνωστικῶς διακρίνουσαν καὶ τὸν νόμον τοῦ Πνεύματος κατὰ τοῦ νόμου τῆς σαρκὸς ἐπεγείρουσαν καὶ τὸν κατὰ τῶν παθῶν ἐπαινετὸν πόλεμον ἐν ἡμῖν δημιουργοῦσαν καὶ τὴν ἐν ἡμῖν τῶν παθῶν συνέχειαν συσσείουσαν καὶ συνταράσσουσαν ἐπὶ ταῖς κατὰ πρόληψιν ἀτόποις μνήμαις τὴν συνείδησιν· ἰᾶται δὲ τὰ συντρίμματα τῆς ἡμῶν καρδίας, ἅπερ σαλευθεῖσά τε καὶ ὀλισθήσασα διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς ἐκ τῆς ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ παραβάσεως ὑπέμεινε, διὰ τῆς ἐν χάριτι πνευματικῆς ἀναγεννήσεως.

«Ἔδειξας τῷ λαῷ σου σκληρά· ἐπότισας ἡμᾶς οἶνον κατανύξεως· ἔδωκας τοῖς φοβουμένοις σε σημείωσιν τοῦ φυγεῖν ἀπὸ προσώπου τόξου, ὅπως ἂν ῥυσθῶσιν οἱ ἀγαπητοί σου».

∆εικνύει σκληρὰ τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτὸν διὰ τῶν ἐντολῶν ὁ Θεός, κατὰ τὴν πρακτικὴν φιλοσοφίαν τοὺς τρόπους τῆς τοῦ σώματος νεκρώσεως ὑποτιθέμενος ἢ τοὐναντίον διὰ τῆς ποικίλης προνοίας καὶ κρίσεως φιλανθρώπως πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον (14Α_372> παιδεύων ἡμᾶς, τοὺς μὴ κατὰ θέλησιν ἀνεχομένους τὸν θεῖον ζυγὸν ὑπελθεῖν τοῦ νόμου τῶν ἐντολῶν· ποτίζει δὲ οἶνον κατανύξεως, ἤγουν τὴν ἑπομένην τῇ διὰ τῆς πρακτικῆς καθάρσει κατὰ τὴν πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν χαριζόμενος γνῶσιν· πᾶσα γὰρ γνῶσις πνευματικὴ κατανύσσει τὴν καρδίαν, εἰς συναίσθησιν ἄγουσα τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν θείων εὐεργεσιῶν· δίδωσι δὲ τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτὸν σημείωσιν τοῦ φυγεῖν ἀπὸ προσώπου τόξου, τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ