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they will not say; nor will they declare: We have swallowed him up, seeing my resurrection and the establishment of my Church throughout the whole world. For he is swallowed up who has once gone down into the abyss and not come up again; for thus death once prevailed and swallowed up. But even there those who were swallowed up returned, which is why it has been said: And again God wiped away every tear from every face. And here, therefore, even if for a time they seemed to swallow him up, yet in the end, he says, they will not say so, prophesying according to these things: Let those who rejoice at my misfortunes be ashamed and confounded together; let those who speak boastfully against me be clothed with shame and dishonor. And it is easy to see how these things found their fulfillment when referred to the person of our Savior. For from that time, and to this day, those who formerly prided themselves on many gifts have been cast out and rejected, But those from all the nations who have accepted the one killed by them have been freed from polytheistic error, and continue to worship the God over all. Then the ones, covered with shame for what they did, were confounded, while the others are daily filled with joy and boldness; so that the saying from Moses is fulfilled, spoken to the people of the Jews: 23.316 The sojourner among you shall be higher and higher; but you shall be lower and lower; he shall be the head to you, and you shall be the tail. Let those who desire my righteousness rejoice and be glad, and let them say always: Magnified be the Lord, who desire the peace of his servant. And my tongue shall meditate on your righteousness, all the day long your praise. The beginning of the prophecy threatened that judgment and war would come upon those who wronged and made war against the one prophesied; the middle parts denounced their manner of life; and the end described the shame and dishonor that befell them. But the summary of the whole prophecy proclaims rejoicing and gladness, and brings good news to all who desire his righteousness. But you will understand his righteousness by taking it as his divinity; since he himself became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, let those who have understood this rejoice, he says, and be glad; and he also teaches them to say always, 'Magnified be the Lord,' if indeed they would embrace peace toward the one prophesied; since those who took up enmity against him have paid the just penalty. This would be his peace, which he bestowed on his own disciples, saying: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you. And these things are concerning those who desire and love his peace, and who honor his righteousness. Finally, he himself seals the end of the whole discourse concerning himself, saying: And my tongue shall meditate on your righteousness, all the day long your praise? When these things, he says, have happened both to those who love me and those who hate me, I will not cease to meditate on your righteousness, and all the day long your praise, not all the days, but one single, infinite, and perpetual day. For the dwelling and sojourning with you is an eternal day. And I will meditate on it with hymns, in which, having judged righteous things, you have deemed worthy of your grace and calling not one nation, but all those throughout the whole world. But according to another interpretation, since we are the body of Christ, and members in part, the practitioners of the divine teachings could be called his tongue, so that the preceding words could also refer to them. FOR THE END, FOR THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, DAVID, 35. Neither a psalm, nor a song, nor anything of the sort is inscribed; but it contains teaching, at the beginning refuting everyone who is without fear and reverence, and for this reason to all
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ἐροῦσιν· οὐδὲ φήσουσι· Κατεπίομεν αὐτὸν, τὴν ἀνάστασίν μου καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς ἐμῆς τὴν καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἵδρυσιν θεώμενοι. Καταπίνεται μὲν γὰρ ὁ ἅπαξ εἰς βυθὸν χωρήσας καὶ μηκέτ' ἀναβεβηκώς· οὕτω γάρ ποτε κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας. Ἀλλὰ κἀκεῖ οἱ καταποθέντες ἐπαλινδρόμησαν, διὸ λέλεκται· Καὶ πάλιν ἀφεῖλεν ὁ Θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν, εἰ καὶ πρὸς καιρόν τινα ἔδοξαν αὐτὸν καταπίνειν, ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς τέλος, φησὶν, ἐροῦσι, προφητικῶς κατ' αὐτὰ θεσπίζων· Αἰσχυνθείησαν καὶ ἐντραπείησαν ἅμα οἱ ἐπιχαίροντες τοῖς κακοῖς μου· ἐνδυσάσθωσαν αἰσχύνην καὶ ἐντροπὴν οἱ μεγαλοῤῥημονοῦντες ἐπ' ἐμέ. Καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ὅπως τέλους ἔτυχεν ἀναφερόμενα ἐπὶ τὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν πρόσωπον, ῥᾴδιον δὴ ἰδεῖν. Ἐξ ἐκείνου γὰρ, καὶ εἰς δεῦρο τοῦ χρόνου ἀπεῤῥιμμένοι καὶ ἀπόβλητοι τυγχάνουσι πάλαι κομῶντες ἐπὶ πολλοῖς χαρίσμασιν, Οἱ δ' ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν τὸν ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἀνῃρημένον παραδεδεγμένοι τῆς μὲν πολυθέου πλάνης ἠλευθέρωνται, τὸν δ' ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸν εὐσεβοῦντες διατελοῦσιν. Εἶθ' οἱ μὲν αἰσχύνην καταχεάμενοι ἐφ' οἷς ἔδρασαν, ἐνετράπησαν, οἱ δὲ χαρᾷ καὶ παῤῥησίας ὁσημέραι πληροῦνται· ὡς πληροῦσθαι τὸ παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ λόγιον φῆσαν πρὸς τὸν Ἰουδαίων λαόν· 23.316 Ὁ προσήλυτος ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἔσται ἄνω ἄνω· σὺ δὲ ἔσῃ κάτω κάτω· αὐτός σου ἔσται κεφαλὴ, σὺ δὲ ἔσῃ οὐρά. Ἀγαλλιάσαιντο καὶ εὐφρανθείησαν οἱ θέλοντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην μου καὶ εἰπάτωσαν διὰ παντός· Μεγαλυνθήτω ὁ Κύριος, οἱ θέλοντες τὴν εἰρήνην τοῦ δούλου αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἡ γλῶσσά μου μελετήσει τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν τὸν ἔπαινόν σου. Ἡ μὲν ἀρχὴ τῆς προφητείας δίκην καὶ πόλεμον ἐπελεύσεσθαι ἠπείλει κατὰ τῶν ἀδικησάντων καὶ πολεμησάντων τὸν προφητευόμενον· τὰ δὲ μέσα τὸν τρόπον αὐτῶν διέβαλλε· τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τέλει τὴν καταλαβοῦσαν αὐτοὺς διέγραφεν αἰσχύνην καὶ ἐντροπήν. Ἡ δὲ τῆς ὅλης προφητείας περιγραφὴ ἀγαλλίασιν καὶ εὐφροσύνην, καὶ ἀγαθὰ πάντας εὐαγγελίζεται τοὺς τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ θέλοντας. Νοήσεις δὲ τὴν αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνην, θεότητα αὐτοῦ ἐκλαβών· ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν σοφία ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἁγιασμὸς καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις. Οἱ γοῦν ταύτην νοήσαντες ἀγαλλιάσαιντο, φησὶ, καὶ εὐφρανθείησαν· τούτους δὲ καὶ διδάσκει λέγειν ἀεὶ, Μεγαλυνθήτω ὁ Κύριος, εἰ δὴ ἀσπάζοιντο τὴν πρὸς τὸν προφητευόμενον εἰρήνην· ἐπεὶ οἱ ἀράμενοι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχθραν, δίκην δεδώκασιν τὴν ἀξίαν. Εἴη δ' ἂν αὕτη ἡ εἰρήνη αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἐχαρίζετο τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς λέγων· Εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν, εἰρήνην τὴν ἐμὴν ἀφίημι ὑμῖν. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν περὶ τῶν ἐθελόντων καὶ ἀγαπώντων τὴν εἰρήνην αὐτοῦ, τήν τε δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ τιμώντων. Λοιπὸν δὲ αὐτὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ τὸ τέλος τοῦ παντὸς λόγου ἐπισφραγίζεται φάσκων· Καὶ ἡ γλῶσσά μου μελετήσει τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν τὸν ἔπαινόν σου; Τούτων, φησὶ, γενομένων ἐπί τε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντάς με καὶ μισοῦντάς με, οὐ παύσομαι μελετῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου, καὶ ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν τὸν ἔπαινόν σου, οὐχὶ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας, ἀλλὰ μίαν μόνην τὴν ἄπειρον καὶ διηνεκῆ. Ἡ γὰρ παρὰ σοὶ μονὴ καὶ διατριβὴ ἡμέρα αἰώνιος τυγχάνει. Μελετήσω δὲ αὐτὴν ἀνυμνῶν, καθ' ἣν τὰ δίκαια κρίνας, οὐχ ἓν ἔθνος, ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης τῆς σῆς χάριτος καὶ κλήσεως κατηξίωσας. Καθ' ἑτέραν δὲ διάνοιαν, ἐπεὶ σῶμά ἐσμεν Χριστοῦ, καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέρους, οἱ ἀσκηταὶ τῶν θείων μαθημάτων, λέγοιντο ἂν αὐτοῦ γλῶσσα, ὡς δύνασθαι καὶ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀναφέρεσθαι τὰ προκείμενα. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ, ΤΩ ∆ΟΥΛΩ ΚΥΡΙΟΥ ΤΩ ∆ΑΥΙ∆ ΛΕʹ. Οὔτε ψαλμὸς, οὔτε ᾠδὴ, οὔτε τι τοιοῦτον ἐπιγέγραπται· διδασκαλίαν δὲ περιέχει κατὰ μὲν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐλέγχουσαν πάντα τὸν ἄφοβον καὶ ἀνευλαβῆ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πάσαις