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1. "To the end, a psalm of David." Some have taken this psalm to refer to the blessed Jeremiah, others to the wondrous Daniel; since both he and the other were cast into a pit, and the introduction of the psalm mentions a pit; and having paid attention to this one saying, they turned to that interpretation. But some said the psalm is fitting for the captives who dwelled in Babylon. But I think it was written typically about the events that happened to David; but that it also refers to the whole nature of humankind, which received the hopes of resurrection from our God and Savior. The divine Paul guides us to this interpretation, having mentioned some of the sayings in the epistle to the Hebrews. 2, 3. "With patience I waited for the Lord, and He was attentive to me. And He heard my supplication, and brought me up out of the pit of misery, and from the miry clay." The words are also fitting for the blessed David; for they are in harmony with the preceding psalm. For in that one he said: "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and my supplication; give ear to my tears; do not be silent, and spare me, that I may be refreshed before I depart, and I shall be no more." And earlier he said: "And now, who is my patience? Is it not the Lord? And my substance is from you." Here, however, as if the supplication was accepted, and the request granted, "With patience," he says, "I waited for the Lord, and He was attentive to me." For having turned away from sin, He showed me a favorable face, and heard my supplication. And what has He done, having heard? "And He brought me up out of the pit of misery, and from the miry clay." 80.1153 Thus it is customary in the divine Scripture to name the greatest dangers, as we have already said before. And having delivered you from dangers, what has He again graciously given you? "And He set my feet upon a rock." For He did not allow me to be shaken and carried about, but made my standing firm. "For upon this rock," He says, "I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." -"And He directed my steps." He prepared me to run without hindrance on the path of righteousness. For having freed me from error, He showed me the straight path of truth. 4. "And He put into my mouth a new song, a hymn to our God." For instead of the impious worship of idols, I was taught to praise the true God, and to offer a song, not an old one, but a new one, and one that befits the new benefactions. For I no longer supplicate with laments, but I sing hymns for the benefactions. These things, therefore, as I said, typically fit the sufferings of David, and the benefactions that were done for him. But it is especially fitting for the nature of humankind, which was brought down to the very depth of sin, and handed over to death, and drawn up through the incarnation of our Savior, and having received the hopes of resurrection, to say, "With patience I waited for the Lord, and He was attentive to me. And He heard me, and brought me up from the pit of misery." And death was rightly called a pit of misery, being full of corruption; and the miry clay, sin, as it gives off a great stench, and hinders the straight course of humankind. "Many shall see, and shall fear, and shall hope in the Lord." Since he recounts these things in the person of one who has enjoyed salvation, the Prophet rightly said that those who have not yet tasted of the good things, seeing them, will also fear, since they have not yet approached, and being strengthened by hope, they will obtain salvation from God. 5. "Blessed is the man, whose hope is the name of the Lord, and who has not looked upon vanities and false madnesses." The Prophet mentioned these vanities also in the psalm before this one: "Surely all things are vanity, every living man." And again, "Surely in vain is he troubled 80.1156 And here, therefore, he blesses the one who has despised present things, but has acquired the divine hope in place of all things. ʹ. "Many things have you done, O Lord my God, your wondrous works, and in your thoughts

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αʹ. "Εἰς τὸ τέλος, τῷ ∆αβὶδ ψαλμός." Τινὲς εἰς τὸν μακάριον Ἱερεμίαν τοῦτον ἔλαβον τὸν ψαλμὸν, τινὲς εἰς τὸν θαυμάσιον ∆ανιήλ· ἐπειδὴ κἀκεῖνος καὶ οὗτος εἰς λάκκον ἐβλήθησαν, μέμνηται δὲ λάκκου τοῦ ψαλμοῦ τὸ προοίμιον· καὶ τῷ ἑνὶ προσεσχηκότες ῥητῷ, εἰς ἐκείνην ἐτράποντο τὴν διάνοιαν. Τινὲς δὲ τοῖς οἰκήσασι τὴν Βαβυλῶνα δορυαλώτοις ἁρμότ τειν ἔφασαν τὸν ψαλμόν. Ἐγὼ δὲ τυπικῶς μὲν εἰς τὰ συμβεβηκότα τῷ ∆αβὶδ τοῦτον συγγεγράφθαι νομίζω· ἀναφέρεσθαι δὲ καὶ εἰς ἅπασαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὰς τῆς ἀναστάσεως δεξαμένην ἐλπίδας. Εἰς δὲ ταύτην ἡμᾶς ποδηγεῖ τὴν διάνοιαν ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος, ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους ἐπιστολῇ ῥητῶν ἐνίων μνησθείς. βʹ, γʹ. "Ὑπομένων ὑπέμεινα τὸν Κύριον, καὶ προσέσχε μοι. Καὶ εἰσήκουσε τῆς δεήσεώς μου, καὶ ἀνήγαγέ με ἐκ λάκκου ταλαιπωρίας, καὶ ἀπὸ πηλοῦ ἰλύος." Ἁρμόττει δὲ καὶ τῷ μακαρίῳ ∆αβὶδ τὰ ῥήματα· σύμφωνα γάρ ἐστι τῷ προτεταγμένῳ ψαλμῷ. Ἐν ἐκείνῳ μὲν γὰρ ἔλεγεν· "Εἰσάκουσον τῆς προσευχῆς μου, Κύριε, καὶ τῆς δεήσεώς μου· ἐνώτισαι τῶν δακρύων μου· μὴ παρασιωπήσῃς, καὶ ἄνες μοι ἵνα ἀναψύξω πρὸ τοῦ με ἀπελθεῖν, καὶ οὐ κέτι οὐ μὴ ὑπάρξω." Καὶ ἀνωτέρω δὲ ἔφη· "Καὶ νῦν τίς ἡ ὑπομονή μου; οὐχὶ Κύριος; καὶ ἡ ὑπόστασίς μου παρὰ σοῦ ἐστιν." Ἐνταῦθα δὲ, ὡς τῆς ἱκε τείας δεχθείσης, καὶ τῆς αἰτήσεως δοθείσης, "Ὑπο μένων, φησὶν, ὑπέμεινα τὸν Κύριον, καὶ προσέσχε μοι." Ἀπεστραμμένος γὰρ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, εὐμενές μοι πρόσωπον ἔδειξε, καὶ εἰσήκουσε τῆς δεήσεώς μου. Καί τι πεποίηκεν εἰσακούσας; "Καὶ ἀνήγα γέ με ἐκ λάκκου ταλαιπωρίας, καὶ ἀπὸ πηλοῦ ἰλύος." 80.1153 Οὕτω δὲ τοὺς μεγίστους κινδύνους σύνηθες ὀνομά ζειν τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ, καθὰ καὶ ἤδη προειρήκαμεν. Τῶν δὲ κινδύνων ἀπαλλάξας, τί σοι πάλιν κεχάρι σται; "Καὶ ἔστησεν ἐπὶ πέτραν τοὺς πόδας μου." Οὐ γὰρ εἴασέ με κλονεῖσθαι καὶ περιφέρεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἑδραίαν μοι τὴν στάσιν εἰργάσατο. "Ἐπὶ ταύτῃ γὰρ, φησὶ, πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς." -"Καὶ κατεύθυνε τὰ διαβήματά μου." Ἀκωλύτως με τρέχειν εἰς τὴν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ὁδὸν παρεσκεύασε. Τῆς γὰρ πλάνης ἐλευθερώσας, τὴν εὐθεῖαν ὑπ έδειξε τῆς ἀληθείας ὁδόν. δʹ. "Καὶ ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὸ στόμα μου ᾆσμα καινὸν, ὕμνον τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν." Ἀντὶ γὰρ τῆς δυσσεβοῦς τῶν εἰδώλων λατρείας τὸν ὄντα Θεὸν ἐδιδάχθην ὑμνεῖν, καὶ προσφέρειν ᾆσμα, οὐ παλαιὸν, ἀλλὰ καινὸν, καὶ ταῖς καιναῖς εὐεργεσίαις συμβαῖνον. Οὐκέτι γὰρ θρηνῳδῶν ἱκετεύω, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ ταῖς εὐερ γεσίαις ὑμνῶ. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν, ὡς ἔφην, τυπι κῶς ἁρμόττει τοῖς τοῦ ∆αβὶδ παθήμασι, καὶ ταῖς εἰς αὐτὸν γεγενημέναις εὐεργεσίαις. Ἁρμόττει δὲ διαφερόντως τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, εἰς αὐτὸν κατενεχθείσῃ τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας πυθμένα, καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ παραπεμφθείσῃ, καὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἀνιμηθείσῃ, καὶ δεξαμένῃ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τὰς ἐλπίδας, λέγειν, "Ὑπομένων ὑπέμεινα τὸν Κύριον, καὶ προσέσχε μοι. Καὶ εἰσ ήκουσέ μου, καὶ ἀνήγαγέ με ἐκ λάκκου ταλαιπω ρίας." Λάκκος δὲ ταλαιπωρίας εἰκότως ὁ θάνατος ἐκλήθη, φθορᾶς ὑπάρχων μεστός· πηλός δὲ ἰλύος, ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὡς δυσοσμίαν ἀφιεῖσα πολλὴν, καὶ τὸν εὐθυτενῆ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπέχου σα δρόμον. "Ὄψονται πολλοὶ, καὶ φοβηθήσονται, καὶ ἐλπιοῦσιν ἐπὶ Κύριον." Ἐπειδὴ εἰς τῶν τῆς σωτηρίας ἀπολελαυκότων τὸ πρόσωπον ταῦτα διέξεισιν, εἰκότως ὁ Προφήτης ἔφη, ὅτι οἱ μηδέπω γεγευσμένοι τῶν ἀγαθῶν, θεωροῦντες καὶ φοβηθήσονται, ὡς ἤδη μὴ προσεληλυθότες, καὶ τῇ ἐλπίδι κρατυνθέντες, τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τεύ ξονται σωτηρίας. εʹ. "Μακάριος ἀνὴρ, οὗ ἐστι τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἐπέβλεψεν εἰς ματαιότητας καὶ μανίας ψευδεῖς." Τῶν ματαιοτήτων τούτων ἐμνημόνευσεν ὁ Προφήτης, καὶ ἐν τῷ πρὸ τούτου ψαλμῷ· "Πλὴν τὰ σύμπαντα ματαιότης, πᾶς ἄν θρωπος ζῶν." Καὶ πάλιν, "Πλὴν μάτην ταράσσε 80.1156 ται Κἀνταῦθα τοίνυν μακαρίζει τὸν τῶν μὲν παρ όντων καταφρονήσαντα, τὴν ἐλπίδα δὲ τὴν θείαν ἀντὶ πάντων κτησάμενον. ʹ. "Πολλὰ ἐποίησας σὺ, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, τὰ θαυ μάσιά σου, καὶ τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς σου