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the furrows are made drunk, drinking in gladness, so that also the fruits of righteousness, growing in it, might abound, concerning which it is said, Sow for yourselves unto righteousness, reap unto the fruit of life; and again, Seek the Lord until the fruit of righteousness comes to you. And since the furrows of the earth are made drunk not only from the river but also from the spiritual rain which the clouds sprinkle according to what was said, And let the clouds rain righteousness, the earth, springing up, rejoices in the drops that come upon it. And these are the words and the thoughts of the divinely inspired scriptures. 659a Ps 64,13b.14ab It is possible to say that the rams have been clothed with rejoicing so that it might be a common expression for 'The hills shall gird themselves with rejoicing, the rams of the flock are clothed,' so that rejoicing is a garment for some and a girdle for others. Since all the aforementioned things bear fruit, the hollowed-out souls, called valleys because they have no elevation of thought, abounded in that grain which one, having made it into bread, can be nourished by, according to, Open your eyes and be filled with bread; which is, open the eyes of the heart so that they may partake of the light of knowledge. For when this happens, the loaves, the practical virtues, abound, nourishing the inner man. 660a Ps 64,14bc The bridegroom in the Song of Songs (and this is the Savior) says, I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys. And what he says is this: I became a flower of the place on earth called a plain because of its lowliness so that men might receive a beginning of fruitfulness, and I became a lily also to the valleys (to the souls in hades), having taken on mortality. He therefore who became the lily of the valleys will also be a grain of wheat, as he himself said, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls and dies, it remains alone; but if it falls and dies, it bears much fruit. Since the grain, having fallen through the cross into the earth, reached its very heart, producing more fruit, he became the cause of an abundance of wheat also in those regions and in the valleys. Since throughout the whole psalm the wonderful works of God are declared, it has fittingly ended in a hymn; for it is added to the things that have been diligently accomplished: They will shout, and indeed they will sing, with all those who have been well-treated glorifying with a loud voice and with intense thought the cause of good things.

661a Ps 65,1b.2 The shout is the voice of those who have been victorious over those who have been captured,

sent up without distinct words so that the sound of the voice might be spread to the greatest distance. Since, therefore, by the grace of God, Jesus having tasted death for everyone, the dead are raised, the devil who had the power of death having been destroyed, not a part of the earth but all of it is commanded to shout to God, as the dead everywhere, both just and unjust, are being raised. And it is also fitting for all the earth to shout in regard to the waking kind of resurrection through repentance, since a place of repentance is mentioned for men everywhere on earth. For it is said to each one, Does not he who has fallen rise again? and to the whole church from the nations the Lord says, Arise, come, my love, so as to rise through repentance and come to him. When, therefore, the voice has become a shout against the vanquished, those who have been freed from the enemies are commanded, while confessing to God the cause of the victory, to praise him and to sing to his name, yet not in a haphazard way, but gloriously; for he says, Give glory to his praise. And this happens when the one who hymns has an action suitable to the praise; For praise is fitting for the upright. Therefore he who is still wicked is hindered from doing this, since praise is not beautiful in the mouth of a sinner. 662a Ps 65,3 One must not always take 'falsehood' in the sense of speech and opinion. For sometimes this word is used in the sense of missing the mark. In this sense the enemies of God were false, nor

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αροτρον μεθύσκονται πίνοντες ἐπ' εὐφροσύνῃ, ὡς καὶ τὰ γενήματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐξανόμενα ἐν αὐτῇ πληθύνεσθαι, περὶ ων ειρηται Σπείρατε ἑαυτοῖς εἰς δικαιοσύνην, τρυγήσατε εἰς καρπὸν ζωῆς· καὶ ετι ̓Εκζητήσατε τὸν κύριον εως ελθῃ ὑμῖν γενήματα δικαιοσύνης. Καὶ ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ μόνον μεθύουσιν οἱ ἐκ τῆς γῆς αυλακες ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πνευματικοῦ ὑετοῦ ου ῥαίνουσιν αἱ νεφέλαι κατὰ τὸ λεχθὲν Καὶ αἱ νεφέλαι ῥανάτωσαν δικαιοσύνην, εὐφραίνεται ἀνατέλλουσα ἡ γῆ ἐν ταῖς σταγόσι ταῖς ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐρχομέναις. εἰσὶ δὲ αυται αἱ τῶν θεοπνευστῶν γραφῶν λέξεις καὶ τὰ νοήματα. 659a Ps 64,13b.14ab ∆υνατὸν εἰπεῖν ἀγαλλίασιν ἐνδεδύσθαι τοὺς κριοὺς ιν' ῃ κατὰ κοινοῦ λεχθὲν τὸ ̓Αγαλλίασιν οἱ βουνοὶ περιζώσονται, ἐνεδύσαντο οἱ κριοὶ τῶν προβάτων, ὡς τὴν ἀγαλλίασιν τῶν μὲν ενδυμα τῶν δὲ ζώνην ειναι. Πάντων καρποφορούντων τῶν προειρημένων, καὶ αἱ κεκοιλωμέναι ψυχαί, τῷ μὴ εχειν επαρμα νοήσεως κοιλάδες καλούμεναι, ἐπλήθυναν σῖτον ἐκεῖνον ον ἀρτοποιήσας τις τραφῆναι δύναται, κατὰ τὸ ∆ιάνοιξον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου καὶ ἐμπλήσθητι αρτων· οπερ ἐστὶ τοὺς τῆς καρδίας ὀφθαλμοὺς διάνοιξον ινα μεταλάβωσι φῶς γνώσεως. τούτου γὰρ γινομένου, πληθύνονται οἱ αρτοι, αἱ πρακτικαὶ ἀρεταί, τρέφοντες τὸν εσω ανθρωπον. 660a Ps 64,14bc ̔Ο νύμφιος ἐν τῷ Αισματι τῶν ᾀσμάτων (ουτος δ' ἐστὶν ὁ σωτήρ) φησὶν ̓Εγὼ ανθος τοῦ πεδίου, κρίνον τῶν κοιλάδων. ο δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· ἐγὼ γέγονα ανθος τοῦ περὶ γῆν τόπου πεδίον διὰ τὸ χθαμαλὸν ὠνομασμένου ιν' ἀρχὴν καρποφορίας οἱ ανθρωποι λάβωσιν, γέγονα δὲ καὶ ταῖς κοιλάσι (ταῖς ἐν ᾳδου ψυχαῖς) κρίνον, νεκρότητα ἀναδεξάμενος. ὁ γεγονὼς τοίνυν τῶν κοιλάδων κρίνον καὶ κόκκος εσται σίτου, ὡς αὐτὸς ειπεν ̓Αμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου πεσὼν ἀποθάνῃ, αὐτὸς μόνος μένει· ἐὰν δὲ πεσὼν ἀποθάνῃ, πλείονα καρπὸν φέρει. ἐπεὶ πεσὼν ὁ κόκκος διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ εἰς τὴν γῆν μέχρι τῆς καρδίας αὐτῆς εφθασε καρπὸν πλείονα ποιήσας, καὶ ἐν ἐκείνοις τοῖς χωρίοις αιτιος γέγονε καὶ ταῖς κοιλάσι πλήθους σίτου. ∆ιὰ παντὸς τοῦ ψαλμοῦ εργων θαυμασίων θεοῦ δηλουμένων, εἰκότως εἰς υμνον κατέπαυσεν· ἐπενήνεκται γὰρ τοῖς σπουδαίως τελεσθεῖσι· Κεκράξονται, καὶ γὰρ ὑμνήσουσιν, πάντων τῶν εὐπαθόντων μεγαλοφώνως ἐπιτεταμένῃ νοήσει δοξολογούντων τὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν αιτιον.

661a Ps 65,1b.2 ̔Ο ἀλαλαγμὸς φωνή ἐστι νενικηκότων κατὰ τῶν ἑαλωκότων,

ἀσήμως ἀναπεμπόμενος ὑπὲρ τοῦ εἰς μήκιστον τὸν ψόφον τῆς φωνῆς διαδοθῆναι. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν χάριτι θεοῦ, ̓Ιησοῦ ὑπὲρ παντὸς γευσαμένου θανάτου, οἱ νεκροὶ ἐγείρονται, καταλυθέντος τοῦ διαβόλου τοῦ τὸ κράτος εχοντος τοῦ θανάτου, προστάττεται οὐ μέρος τῆς γῆς ἀλλὰ πᾶσα αὐτὴ ἀλαλάξαι τῷ θεῷ, ἐγειρομένων τῶν ἁπανταχοῦ νεκρῶν δικαίων καὶ ἀδίκων. Καὶ πρὸς τὸ εγειρον δὲ ειδος τῆς κατὰ μετάνοιαν ἀναστάσεως ἁρμόζει πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἀλαλάξαι, τοῖς ἁπανταχοῦ γῆς ἀνθρώποις τόπου μετανοίας λεγομένου. λέγεται γὰρ πρὸς εκαστον Μὴ ὁ πεσὼν οὐκ ἀνίσταται, καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησίαν ὁ κύριος λέγει ̓Ανάστα ἐλθέ, ἡ πλησίον μου, εἰς τὸ ἀναστῆναι διὰ μετανοίας καὶ ηκειν πρὸς αὐτόν. Γενομένης ουν ἀλαλαγμῷ τῆς φωνῆς κατὰ τῶν ἡττηθέντων, προστάττονται οἱ ἐλευθερωθέντες τῶν πολεμίων τῷ θεῷ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς νίκης ὁμολογοῦντες αἰνεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ ψάλλειν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ, πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ετυχεν ἀλλ' ἐπιδόξως· ∆ότε γάρ φησι δόξαν αἰνέσει. γίνεται δὲ τοῦτο οταν ὁ ὑμνῶν κατάλληλον τῇ αἰνέσει πρᾶξιν εχῃ· Τοῖς γὰρ εὐθέσι πρέπει αινεσις. διὸ κωλύεται ὁ ετι φαῦλος τοῦτο ποιεῖν, οὐκ οντος ὡραίου αινου ἐν στόματι ἁμαρτωλοῦ. 662a Ps 65,3 Οὐκ ἀεὶ τὸ ψεῦδος ἐπὶ λόγου καὶ δόξης λαμβάνειν δεῖ. εστι γὰρ οτε καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ διαμαρτάνειν τοῦ σκοποῦ κεῖται ἡ φωνὴ αυτη. τούτῳ τῷ σημαινομένῳ ἐψεύσαντο οἱ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐδὲ