Chapter XCIX.—In the commencement of the Psalm are Christ’s dying words.

And when I had said these words, I continued: “Now I will demonstrate to you that the whole Psalm refers thus to Christ, by the words which I shall again explain. What is said at first—‘O God, my God, attend to me: why hast Thou forsaken me?’—announced from the beginning that which was to be said in the time of Christ. For when crucified, He spake: ‘O God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ And what follows: ‘The words of my transgressions are far from my salvation. O my God, I will cry to Thee in the day-time, and Thou wilt not hear; and in the night-season, and it is not for want of understanding in me.’ These, as well as the things which He was to do, were spoken. For on the day on which He was to be crucified,378    [Jewish computation of the evening as part of the succeeding day.] having taken three of His disciples to the hill called Olivet, situated opposite to the temple in Jerusalem, He prayed in these words: ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.’379    Matt. xxvi. 39. And again He prayed: ‘Not as I will, but as Thou wilt;’380    Ibid. showing by this that He had become truly a suffering man. But lest any one should say, He did not know then that He had to suffer, He adds immediately in the Psalm: ‘And it is not for want of understanding in me.’ Even as there was no ignorance on God’s part when He asked Adam where he was, or asked Cain where Abel was; but [it was done] to convince each what kind of man he was, and in order that through the record [of Scripture] we might have a knowledge of all: so likewise Christ declared that ignorance was not on His side, but on theirs, who thought that He was not the Christ, but fancied they would put Him to death, and that He, like some common mortal, would remain in Hades.

[99] Καὶ εἰπὼν ταῦτα ἐπήνεγκα: Ὅλον οὖν τὸν ψαλμὸν οὕτως ἀποδείξω ὑμῖν εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν εἰρημένον, δι' ὧν πάλιν αὐτὸν ἐξηγοῦμαι. ὃ οὖν εὐθὺς λέγει: ὁ θεός, ὁ θεός μου, πρόσχες μοι: ἵνα τί ἐγκατέλιπές με; τοῦτο ἄνωθεν προεῖπεν ὅπερ ἐπὶ Χριστοῦ ἔμελλε λέγεσθαι. σταυρωθεὶς γὰρ εἶπεν: Ὁ θεός, ὁ θεός, ἵνα τί ἐγκατέλιπές με; καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς: Μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς σωτηρίας μου οἱ λόγοι τῶν παραπτωμάτων μου: ὁ θεός μου, κεκράξομαι ἡμέρας πρὸς σὲ καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσῃ, καὶ νυκτὸς καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἐμοί, ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτὰ ἃ ποιεῖν ἔμελλε, ἐλέλεκτο. τῇ γὰρ ἡμέρᾳ, ᾗπερ ἔμελλε σταυροῦσθαι, τρεῖς τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ παραλαβὼν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸ λεγόμενον Ἐλαιών, παρακείμενον εὐθὺς τῷ ναῷ τῷ ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, ηὔχετο λέγων: Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστι, παρελθέτω τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο ἀπ' ἐμοῦ. καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο εὐχόμενος λέγει: Μὴ ὡς ἐγὼ βούλομαι, ἀλλ' ὡς σὺ θέλεις: δηλῶν διὰ τούτων ὅτι ἀληθῶς παθητὸς ἄνθρωπος γεγένηται. ἀλλ' ἵνα μή τις λέγῃ: Ἠγνόει οὖν ὅτι μέλλει πάσχειν: ἐπάγει ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ εὐθύς: Καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἐμοί. ὅνπερ τρόπον οὐδὲ τῷ θεῷ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἦν τὸ ἐρωτᾶν τὸν Ἀδὰμ ποῦ ἐστιν, οὐδὲ τὸν Κάϊν ποῦ Ἅβελ, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸ ἕκαστον ἐλέγξαι ὁποῖός ἐστι, καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς τὴν γνῶσιν πάντων διὰ τοῦ ἀναγραφῆναι ἐλθεῖν, καὶ οὕτως ἐσήμαινεν οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλὰ τῶν νομιζόντων μὴ εἶναι αὐτὸν Χριστόν, ἀλλ' ἡγουμένων θανατώσειν αὐτὸν καὶ ὡς κοινὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐν ᾅδου μένειν.