149

of the nations. But these things were fulfilled in the Gospels. And indeed the ancient prophets, foreseeing the future by the Spirit, and coming to a love and longing for good things, cried out in prayers, at one time saying: Show us, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your Salvation; at another time saying in prayer: Who will give out of Sion the Salvation of Israel? For what was to happen when the Salvation appeared, the text next presents, saying: When the Lord brings back the captivity of his people, Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad. Do you see how, when the Salvation appeared, it decrees that a return from captivity would come about, according to the saving voice spoken by the prophet speaking in his own person: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind? which the Savior himself, after taking it in his hands in the synagogue of the Jews, and reading the passage, confirmed, saying: Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Therefore, when the captivity was released, choirs were then formed from it, sending up hymns to the liberator king. And then Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad. And then, when, if not at the time of the declared freedom of the people of God, so that you understand one to be the people being freed, and others those who rejoice at its salvation? For the meaning suggests this, with the text saying: When God brings back the captivity of his people, and what follows. 23.464 For these will be glad when the Lord brings back the captivity of his people. Therefore, through these words two orders are presented: one of those who have not fallen into captivity, and the other of those who have fallen, but have obtained freedom through the Salvation. You will say, then, that the ancient prophets and righteous men, and patriarchs, and all who were pure from the error of idolatry, are themselves those who did not fall into the capture of the spiritual enemies; but those from the nations who had turned to godlessness, and those enslaved to the error of polytheism, or even those of the circumcision sold into their own sins, and, in a word, all about whom it was said above: The fool said in his heart, There is no God; they are corrupt and have become abominable in iniquity, that these happen to be the ones who have suffered captivity. When these are freed through the shining forth of the Salvation, the prophetic choir long since at rest with God, properly called Jacob and Israel because of the things signified by the names, will rejoice and be glad, rejoicing with those freed through the Salvation as with its own members. TO THE END. IN HYMNS. OF UNDERSTANDING. FOR DAVID. WHEN THE ZIPHITES CAME

AND SAID TO SAUL, IS NOT DAVID HIDDEN AMONG US? 53.

O God, in your name save me, and in your power judge me. Just as those psalms in the first part of the book of Psalms spoken after the sin against Uriah were demonstrated from the inscription placed on each; so also now the inscriptions for each psalm happen to be indicative of the time in which they were spoken. At any rate, the present psalm has also referred back to the first book of Kings; so that from there we might learn under what circumstances David sent up the present hymn. And the history is as follows: And David dwelt in the wilderness of Masedek in the strongholds; and he stayed on the mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. Then when came

149

τῶν ἐθνῶν. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις ἐπληροῦτο. Οἵ γε μὴν παλαιοὶ προφῆται, τὸ μέλλον τῷ Πνεύματι προθεωροῦντες, καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν εἰς ἔρωτα καὶ πόθον ἐρχόμενοι, ἐπεβόων ἐν εὐχαῖς, τοτὲ μὲν φάσκοντες· ∆εῖξον ἡμῖν, Κύριε, τὸ ἔλεός σου, καὶ τὸ Σωτήριόν σου δῴης ἡμῖν· τοτὲ δὲ ἐν εὐχῇ λέγοντες· Τίς δώσει ἐκ Σιὼν τὸ Σωτήριον τοῦ Ἰσραήλ; Τί γὰρ καὶ ἔμελλε γίγνεσθαι ἐπιφανέντος τοῦ Σωτηρίου, ἑξῆς ὁ λόγος παρίστησι φάσκων· Ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι τὸν Κύριον τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἀγαλλιάσεται Ἰακὼβ, καὶ εὐφρανθήσεται Ἰσραήλ. Ὁρᾷς, ὡς, ἐπιφανέντος τοῦ Σωτηρίου, ἐπιστροφὴν γενήσεσθαι τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας θεσπίζει κατὰ τὴν σωτήριον φωνὴν τὴν ἐμφερομένην ἐν τῷ λέγοντι ἐξ αὐτοῦ προσώπου προφήτῃ· Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμὲ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέ με, εὐαγγελίζεσθαι πτωχοῖς ἀπέσταλκέ με, κηρῦξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν, τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν; ἢν μετὰ χεῖρας αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐπὶ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων λαβὼν, καὶ τὸν τόπον διελθὼν ἐπεσφραγίσατο φήσας· Σήμερον ἡ Γραφὴ αὕτη πεπλήρωται ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ὑμῶν. Τῆς οὖν αἰχμαλωσίας ἀνεθείσης, χορεῖαι λοιπὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς συνίστανται, τοὺς ὕμνους ἀναπέμπουσαι τῷ ἐλευθερωτῇ βασιλεῖ. Τότε δὲ καὶ ἀγαλλιάσεται Ἰακὼβ, καὶ εὐφρανθήσεται Ἰσραήλ. Τότε δὲ, πότε, ἢ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς δηλουμένης ἐλευθερίας τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς νοεῖν σε ἕτερον μὲν εἶναι τὸν ἐλευθερούμενον λαὸν, καὶ ἑτέρους τοὺς ἐπὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ σωτηρίᾳ εὐφραινομένους; Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ διάνοια ὑποβάλλει φάσκοντος τοῦ λόγου· Ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέψαι τὸν Θεὸν τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. 23.464 Οὗτοι γὰρ εὐφρανθήσονται ἐν τῷ ἐπιστρέφειν Κύριον τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ. ∆ύο τοίνυν διὰ τούτων παρίσταται τάγματα, τὸ μὲν τῶν μὴ ὑποπεπτωκότων τῇ αἰχμαλωσίᾳ, τὸ δὲ τῶν ὑποπεπτωκότων μὲν, ἐλευθερίας δὲ τετυχηκότων διὰ τοῦ Σωτηρίου. Ἐρεῖς οὖν τοὺς μὲν πάλαι προφήτας καὶ δικαίους, καὶ πατριάρχας, καὶ πάντας τοὺς καθαροὺς τῆς εἰδωλολάτρου πλάνης γενομένους, αὐτοὺς εἶναι τοὺς μὴ ὑποπεπτωκότας τῇ τῶν νοητῶν πολεμίων ἁλώσει· τοὺς δὲ ἐξ ἐθνῶν εἰς ἀθεότητα περιτραπέντας, τούς τε τῇ πολυθέῳ πλάνῃ καταδουλωθέντας, ἢ καὶ τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς τοὺς ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτίαις πραθέντας, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς ἅπαντας, περὶ ὧν ἀνωτέρω ἐλέγετο· Εἶπεν ἄφρων ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· Οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς, διέφθειραν καὶ ἐβδελύχθησαν ἐν ἀνομίᾳ, τούτους τυγχάνειν τοὺς τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν πεπονθότας. Ὧν ἐλευθερουμένων διὰ τῆς τοῦ Σωτηρίου ἐπιλάμψεως, ὁ πάλαι παρὰ Θεῷ ἤδη ἀναπεπαυμένος προφητικὸς χορὸς, Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ κυρίως ὀνομαζόμενος διὰ τὰ ἐκ τῶν ὀνομάτων σημαινόμενα πράγματα, ἀγαλλιάσεται καὶ εὐφρανθήσεται, συγχαίρων ὡς οἰκείοις μέλεσι τοῖς διὰ τοῦ Σωτηρίου ἐλευθερουμένοις. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ ΕΝ ΥΜΝΟΙΣ, ΣΥΝΕΣΕΩΣ ΤΩ ∆ΑΥΙ∆, ΕΝ ΤΩ ΕΛΘΕΙΝ ΤΟΥΣ ΖΙΦΑΙΟΥΣ

ΚΑΙ ΕΙΠΕΙΝ ΤΩ ΣΑΟΥΛ· ΟΥΚ Ι∆ΟΥ ∆ΑΥΙ∆ ΚΕΚΡΥΠΤΑΙ ΠΑΡ' ΗΜΙΝ; ΝΓʹ.

Ὁ Θεὸς, ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου σῶσον με, καὶ ἐν τῇ δυναστείᾳ σου κρῖνόν με. Ὥσπερ ἀπεδείκνυντο οἱ κατὰ τὸ πρῶτον μέρος τῆς βίβλου τῶν Ψαλμῶν μετὰ τὸ πταῖσμα τὸ εἰς τὴν τοῦ Οὐρίου γεγονὸς λελεγμένοι ἐκ τῆς ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ κειμένης προγραφῆς· οὕτω καὶ νῦν αἱ καθ' ἕκαστον ψαλμὸν προγραφαὶ δηλωτικαὶ τυγχάνουσι τοῦ χρόνου καθ' ὃν ἐλέχθησαν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν καὶ ὁ προκείμενος ἀνέπεμψεν ἐπὶ τὴν πρώτην βίβλον τῶν Βασιλειῶν· ὡς ἂν ἐκεῖθεν μάθοιμεν, ἐφ' οἵοις πράγμασι τὸν προκείμενον ὕμνον ὁ ∆αυῒδ ἀνέπεμψεν. Ἔχει δὲ ἡ ἱστορία τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον· Καὶ ἐκάθισε ∆αυῒδ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ Μασεδὲκ ἐν τοῖς στενοῖς· καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ Ζείφ. Εἶθ' ὡς ἦλθεν