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he has added, teaching with what reasonings he did not slay the enemy. 2. "Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; for in You has my soul trusted; and in the shadow of your wings I will hope, until iniquity pass away." Confined in the cave, and seeing the enemies confined, he proclaims the divine mercy, and lays bare the hope which he has in God. He has often interpreted the shadow of wings as referring to the divine care. The doubling of "mercy" reveals the extremity of the danger. But the phrase, "Until iniquity pass away," Aquila interpreted more clearly, "Until the plot pass away." And Symmachus, "Until the insolent one pass away." I will not cease, therefore, he says, to supplicate, until I am delivered from those who plot against me. For the Seventy named those who plot against him "iniquity" from the deed. 3. "I will cry to God the Most High, to God who has done me good." Having experience as my teacher of the divine assistance, I implore to enjoy it as is my custom. He calls the eagerness of the soul a cry. 4. "He sent from heaven, and saved me; he gave to reproach those who trampled me down." For having deemed me worthy of his own providence from above, he rendered 80.1292 my enemies ridiculous. And the history also teaches, that when Saul rose up, he followed him, and when he was far off, he declared the benefit bestowed during the night, and that having him under his hand, he did not inflict a blow; and this was a very great reproach to the one who was saved for warring against the one who saved him. [Wherefore he cries out giving thanks:] "God sent his mercy, and his truth. [5] And he rescued my soul from the midst of lion cubs." Having enjoyed, he says, a just loving-kindness, I was delivered from the beastliness of my enemies. For like lions they pressed upon me, wanting to tear me apart; and he joined truth to mercy, showing the justice of his loving-kindness. "I fell asleep troubled." This Theodotion interpreted thus: I slept among consuming ones; and Aquila, among voracious ones; and Symmachus, among burning ones. [Instead of, I slept almost among consuming thoughts; for they ravenously bit at me, so as to almost consume my mind.] Rightly, therefore, was I troubled, being forced to sleep in the midst of such men, and being surrounded by such. For he called Saul, and those with him, consuming, and burning, and voracious, and lion cubs, explaining the beastliness of their mind and the murderousness of their character. And this he also teaches more clearly through what follows. "Sons of men, their teeth are weapons and arrows; and their tongue is a sharp sword." Having called them lion cubs, he fittingly also made mention of teeth, comparing these to spears and arrows, and their tongue to a sharpened sword; and through all these things he signifies their murderous counsels. 6. "Be exalted above the heavens, O God; and your glory over all the earth." It is worthy in all things to praise you, who are supposed to dwell in heaven, but fill all the earth with your glory. This also the blessed Habakkuk said: "His excellence covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise." And the phrase, "Be exalted," instead of: Show all men your height. 7. "They prepared a snare for my feet, and bowed down my soul. [And not content with these things, but also] they dug a 80.1293 pit before my face, and fell into it." Having set up ambushes for me, he says, and establishing snares, they themselves were ambushed by us and were caught in their own snares. 8. "My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; I will sing and give praise in my glory." Symmachus translated this thus: My heart is steadfast. For seeing your providence manifest, I no longer fear the various contrivances of the enemy; but I am ready and prepared to follow your words, and to praise your good deeds. 9. "Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp." He therefore commands himself to weave the divine hymn; he calls his own prophetic grace his glory; and himself a psaltery,

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προστέθεικε, διδάσκων τίσιν χρησάμενος λογισμοῖς οὐκ ἀνεῖλε τὸν δυσμενῆ. βʹ. "Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεὸς, ἐλέησόν με· ὅτι ἐπὶ σοὶ πέποιθεν ἡ ψυχή μου· καὶ ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ τῶν πτε ρύγων σου ἐλπιῶ, ἕως οὗ παρέλθῃ ἡ ἀνομία." Καθειργμένος ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ, καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους καθειργμένους ὁρῶν, τὸν θεῖον ἔλεον ἀπαγγέλ λει, καὶ ἣν ἔχει πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐλπίδα γυμνοῖ. Σκιὰν δὲ πτερύγων πολλάκις ἡρμήνευσεν, ὅτι τὴν θείαν κηδεμονίαν καλεῖ. Ὁ δὲ τοῦ ἐλέους δι πλασιασμὸς τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ κινδύνου παραδη λοῖ. Τὸ δὲ, Ἕως οὗ παρέλθῃ ἡ ἀνομία, σαφέ στερον ὁ Ἀκύλας ἡρμήνευσεν, Ἕως οὗ παρέλθῃ ἡ ἐπιβουλή. Ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, Ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ ἐπηρεαστής. Οὐ παύσομαι τοίνυν, φησὶν, ἱκετεύων, ἕως ἂν τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων ἀπαλλαγῶ. Τοὺς γὰρ ἐπιβουλεύοντας οἱ Ἑβδομήκοντα ἀνομίαν ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματος προσηγόρευσαν. γʹ. "Κεκράξομαι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τὸν ὕψιστον, τὸν Θεὸν τὸν εὐεργετήσαντά με." Τῆς θείας ἐπικου ρίας τὴν πεῖραν ἔχων διδάσκαλον, συνήθως ἀπο λαῦσαι ταύτης ἀντιβολῶ. Κραυγὴν δὲ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς προθυμίαν καλεῖ. δʹ. "Ἐξαπέστειλεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἔσωσέ με· ἔδωκεν εἰς ὄνειδος τοὺς καταπατοῦντάς με." Ἄνω θέν με γὰρ τῆς οἰκείας ἀξιώσας προνοίας, καταγε 80.1292 λάστους ἀπέφηνέ μου τοὺς δυσμενεῖς. ∆ιδάσκει δὲ καὶ ἡ ἱστορία, ὡς ἀναστάντι τῷ Σαοὺλ ἠκολού θησε, καὶ πόῤῥω γενομένῳ τὴν νύκτωρ παρασχε θεῖσαν εὐεργεσίαν δεδήλωκε, καὶ ὅτι λαβὼν ὑποχεί ριον οὐκ ἐπήνεγκε τὴν πληγήν· ὄνειδος δὲ τοῦτο μέγιστον ἦν τῷ σεσωσμένῳ καταπολεμοῦντι τὸν σεσωκότα. [∆ιὸ δὴ βοᾷ εὐχαριστῶν·] "Ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ ἔλεος αὑτοῦ, καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὑτοῦ. [εʹ] Καὶ ἐῤῥύσατο τὴν ψυ χήν μου ἐκ μέσου σκύμνων." ∆ικαίας, φησὶν, ἀπολαύσας φιλανθρωπίας, τῆς τῶν πολεμίων ἀπηλ λάγην θηριωδίας. Λεόντων γὰρ δίκην ἐπίεσαν δια σπᾶσαι βουλόμενοι· τὴν δὲ ἀλήθειαν τῷ ἐλέῳ συν έζευξε, τὸ δίκαιον τῆς φιλανθρωπίας δεικνύς. "Ἐκοιμήθην τεταραγμένος." Τοῦτο ὁ Θεοδοτίων οὕτως ἡρμήνευσεν· Ἐκοιμήθην μετὰ ἀναλισκόν των· ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας, μετὰ λάβρων· ὁ δὲ Σύμ μαχος, μετὰ φλεγόντων. [Ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἐκοιμήθην σχεδὸν μετὰ ἀναλισκόντων λογισμῶν· λάβρως γάρ με κατέδακνον, ὡς σχεδὸν καὶ καταφλέγειν μου τὴν διάνοιαν.] Εἰκότως τοίνυν ἐταραττόμην μεταξὺ τοιούτων καθεύδειν ἠναγκασμένος, καὶ ὑπὸ τοιού των κυκλούμενος. Τὸν Σαοὺλ γὰρ, καὶ τοὺς συναναλίσκοντας, καὶ φλέγοντας, καὶ λάβρους, καὶ σκύμνους ὠνόμασε, τὸ θηριῶδες τῆς γνώμης, καὶ τοῦ τρόπου τὸ φονικὸν ἐξηγούμενος. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς διδάσκει σαφέστερον. "Υἱοὶ ἀν θρώπων, οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτῶν ὅπλα καὶ βέλη· καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα αὐτῶν μάχαιρα ὀξεῖα." Σκύμνους αὐτοὺς καλέσας, εἰκότως καὶ ὀδόντων ἐμνήσθη, αἰχμαῖς τούτους καὶ βέλεσιν ἀπεικάζων, καὶ τὴν γλῶτ ταν τεθηγμένῃ μαχαίρᾳ· διὰ πάντων δὲ τὰς μιαι φόνους αὐτῶν σημαίνει βουλάς. ʹ. "Ὑψώθητι ἐπὶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, ὁ Θεός· καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἡ δόξα σου." Ἄξιον δὲ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἀνυμνεῖν σε, τὸν ἐν οὐρανῷ μὲν διάγειν ὑπει λημμένον, πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν γῆν ἐμπιμπλῶντα τῆς δό ξης. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔφησεν Ἀββακούμ· "Ἐκάλυψεν οὐρανοὺς ἡ ἀρετὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῆς αἰνέσεως αὐτοῦ πλήρης ἡ γῆ." Τὸ δὲ, Ὑψώθητι, ἀντὶ τοῦ· ∆εῖξον πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις τὸ ὕψος σου. ζʹ. "Παγίδα ἑτοίμασαν τοῖς ποσί μου, καὶ κατ έκαμψαν τὴν ψυχήν μου. [Καὶ οὐκ ἠρκέσθησαν τούτοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ] ὤρυξαν πρὸ προσώπου μου βό 80.1293 θρον, καὶ ἐνέπεσον εἰς αὐτόν." Λόχους μοι, φη σὶν, ἐπιστήσαντες, καὶ ἐνέδρας καθιστάντες, αὐ τοὶ παρ' ἡμῶν ἐλοχίσθησαν καὶ ταῖς οἰκείαις ἐνεπάγησαν πάγαις. ηʹ. "Ἑτοίμη ἡ καρδία μου, ὁ Θεὸς, ἑτοίμη ἡ καρδία μου· ᾄσομαι καὶ ψαλῶ ἐν τῇ δόξῃ μου." Τοῦτο ὁ Σύμμαχος οὕτως ἡρμήνευσεν· Ἑδραία ἡ καρδία μου. Προφανῆ γὰρ ὁρῶν σου τὴν πρό νοιαν, οὐκ ἔτι δέδια τὰ παντοδαπὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μη χανήματα· ἀλλ' ἕτοιμός εἰμι καὶ εὐτρεπὴς τοῖς σοῖς ἕπεσθαι ῥήμασι, καὶ τὰς σὰς εὐεργεσίας ὑμ νεῖν. θʹ. "Ἐξεγέρθητι, ἡ δόξα μου, ἐξεγέρθητι, ψαλτή ριον καὶ κιθάρα." Ἑαυτῷ λοιπὸν ἐγκελεύε ται τὸν θεῖον ὕμνον ὑφῆναι· δόξαν δὲ οἰκείαν τὴν προφητικὴν χάριν καλεῖ· ἑαυτὸν δὲ ψαλτήριον,