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conversing with one who knows all things, he makes a reminder only to him, passing over in silence the lengthy teaching of the matters. But perhaps he hinted at the "strangers" as the Ziphites who were slandering him to 23.468 Saul? And the "mighty" seeking his soul as Saul himself and those with him, who, not having set God before them, persecuted the one who had wronged them in nothing, deceiving themselves in thinking that even against the will of God they would be able to do something against him? And this was the act of men not setting God before them. But these things were written, says the Apostle, for our admonition, so that we might become imitators of the saints, should we ever fall into similar circumstances. For it is not the case that all who wish to live godly are not persecuted, and are not hated with an unjust hatred by those who choose the opposite way of life. And the things set before us are necessary for our instruction; so that we ourselves also, like a chant, might sing to ourselves, sending up such words to God, whenever, having fallen among enemies, we are plotted against by them, and slandered, and are in danger; being persuaded that the words of the prayer will not be idle, but will contribute great things to us, just as they did also for those who first prayed them. For instance, as soon as David prayed these things, he immediately met with a hearing from God, and is deemed worthy of help from him. For just when he was about to be captured and delivered into the hands of Saul, he is marvelously saved by God, a message having led Saul away to other business according to the cited history. Therefore he says next: For behold, God helps me, the Lord is the helper of my soul. He will turn back the evils upon my enemies, and in your truth destroy them. Diapsalma. The diapsalma has worked a change of thought. For some things were sent up to God as in prayer; but other things he adds prophetically, ordaining salvation for the one who prayed, but a fall for the enemies, from whom he prayed to be delivered. He prophesies these things, therefore, from the Holy Spirit, signifying in these words the things concerning himself: For behold, God helps me, the Lord is the helper of my soul; and the things concerning his adversaries, that is, concerning the Ziphites who had slandered him to Saul, or even certain spiritual or unseen enemies who were envious of his progress according to God, and for this reason conspired against him, in the phrase, He will turn back the evils upon my enemies, and in your truth destroy them. But according to Symmachus: He will repay, he says, evils to those who wall me in, in your truth silence them. And see if these things do not agree with the history. Since the Ziphites, when he wished to hide among them, as if stripping him bare and walling him off, slandered him to Saul, using slanderous words against him; wherefore, alluding to them, as is likely, he said: He will repay evils to those who wall me in, and in your truth silence them. For silence is good for them, so that they might not use such slanders against me. And very fittingly he named God the helper, or "support," according to Symmachus, of his own soul. For since 23.469 above the mighty were seeking his soul, not so much intending to plot against his body, as against his soul; reasonably he himself also called the Lord the helper of his own soul. For he cared nothing for the body, nor for external possessions, nor for this temporal life, but only for his own soul. I will sacrifice to you willingly, I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. Having sent up petition and supplication to God through the first words, and having set forth his justification, in the second part, being filled with the spirit, he proclaims both the things that are to be concerning himself, and the things that will happen to his enemies; then next and consequently in the third part he promises to perform sacrifices and thanksgivings to God for the good things he has well

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πάντα εἰδότι διαλεγόμενος, αὐτῷ μόνον ὑπόμνησιν ποιεῖται, τὴν μακρὰν τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποσιωπῶν διδασκαλίαν. Μήποτε δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἀλλοτρίους ᾐνίσσετο τοὺς Ζιφαίους τοὺς πρὸς 23.468 τὸν Σαοὺλ ἐνδιαβάλλοντας αὐτόν; τοὺς δὲ κραταιοὺς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζητοῦντας αὐτὸν τὸν Σαοὺλ καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ, οἳ, μὴ προθέμενοι τὸν Θεὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν, ἤλαυνον τὸν μηδὲν αὐτοὺς ἠδικηκότα, ἑαυτοὺς ἀπατῶντες τῷ νομίζειν, ὅτι καὶ παρὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνήσονταί τι κατ' αὐτοῦ; Τοῦτο δ' ἦν ἀνδρῶν μὴ προθεμένων τὸν Θεὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν. Ἐγράφη δὲ ταῦτα, φησὶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, εἰς νουθεσίαν ἡμῶν, ὡς ἂν μιμηταὶ γιγνοίμεθα τῶν ἁγίων, εἴποτε τοῖς ὁμοίοις περιπίπτοιμεν. Οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ ὅτε πάντες οἱ θέλοντες εὐσεβῶς ζῇν οὐχὶ διώκονται, καὶ μὴ μισοῦνται μῖσος ἄδικον ὑπὸ τῶν τὸν ἐναντίον αἱρουμένων βίον. Καὶ ἀναγκαῖά γε ἡμῖν τὰ προκείμενα εἰς διδασκαλίαν· ὡς ἂν καὶ αὐτοὶ δίκην ἐπῳδῆς ἑαυτοῖς ἐπᾴδοιμεν τὰς τοιαύτας φωνὰς ἀναπέμποντες τῷ Θεῷ, ἐπειδὰν ἐχθροῖς περιπεσόντες ἐπιβουλευοίμεθα ὑπ' αὐτῶν, καὶ διαβαλλοίμεθα, καὶ κινδυνεύοιμεν· πεπεισμένοι οὐκ ἀργὰ ἔσεσθαι τὰ ῥήματα τῆς προσευχῆς, τὰ μεγάλα δὲ συμβαλοῦνται ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς πρώτοις εὐξαμένοις. Αὐτίκα γοῦν εὐξάμενος ταῦτα ὁ ∆αυῒδ, παραχρῆμα ἐπηκόου ἔτυχε τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἀξιοῦται τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ βοηθείας. Ἤδη γὰρ μέλλων ἁλίσκεσθαι καὶ ταῖς τοῦ Σαοὺλ χερσὶ παραδίδοσθαι, παραδόξως ἐκ Θεοῦ σώζεται, ἀγγελίας τὸν Σαοὺλ ἀπαγαγούσης ἐφ' ἑτέρας ἀσχολίας κατὰ τὴν παρατεθεῖσαν ἱστορίαν. ∆ιὸ ἑξῆς φησιν· Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς βοηθεῖ μοι, Κύριος ἀντιλήπτωρ τῆς ψυχῆς μου. Ἀποστρέψει τὰ κακὰ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου ἐξολόθρευσον αὐτούς. ∆ιάψαλμα. Τὸ διάψαλμα μεταβολὴν εἰργάσατο τῆς διανοίας. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὡς ἐν προσευχῇ ἀνεπέμπετο τῷ Θεῷ· τὰ δὲ προφητικῶς ἐπιλέγει, τὰ θεσπίζοντα σωτηρίαν μὲν τῷ εὐξαμένῳ, πτῶσιν δὲ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἀφ' ὧν ῥυσθῆναι ηὔξατο. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἐξ ἁγίου Πνεύματος προφητεύει, τὰ μὲν περὶ αὐτὸν σημαίνων ἐν τούτοις· Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς βοηθεῖ μοι, Κύριος ἀντιλήπτωρ τῆς ψυχῆς μου· τὰ δὲ περὶ τῶν ἐναντίων αὐτῷ, ἤτοι περὶ τῶν Ζιφαίων τῶν διαβεβληκότων αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Σαοὺλ, ἢ καὶ νοητῶν τινων ἢ καὶ ἀφανῶν ἐχθρῶν τῶν διαφθονουμένων αὐτοῦ τῇ κατὰ Θεὸν προκοπῇ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο συσκευαζομένων αὐτὸν, ἐν τῷ, Ἀποστρέψει τὰ κακὰ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς μου, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου ἐξολόθρευσον αὐτούς. Κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· Ἀνταποδώσει, φησὶ, κακὰ τοῖς ἀποτειχίζουσί με, ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου ἀποσιώπησον αὐτούς. Καὶ ὅρα εἰ μὴ συμφωνεῖ ταῦτα τῇ ἱστορίᾳ. Ἐπειδήπερ οἱ Ζιφαῖοι βουλόμενον αὐτὸν κρύπτεσθαι παρ' αὐτοῖς, ὥσπερ ἀπογυμνοῦντες καὶ ἀποτειχίζοντες, διέβαλλον πρὸς τὸν Σαοὺλ, λόγοις διαβολικοῖς κατ' αὐτοῦ χρώμενοι· διόπερ αὐτοὺς, ὡς εἰκὸς, αἰνιττόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἀνταποδώσει κακὰ τοῖς ἀποτειχίζουσί με, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου ἀποσιώπησον αὐτούς. Καλὴ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡ σιωπὴ, ἵνα μὴ τοιαύταις χρῶνται κατ' ἐμοῦ διαβολαῖς. Σφόδρα δὲ καταλλήλως τὸν Θεὸν ἀντιλήπτορα, ἢ ὑπέρεισμα, κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, ὠνόμασε τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς. Ἐπειδὴ 23.469 γὰρ ἀνωτέρω οἱ κραταιοὶ ἐζήτουν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, οὐχ οὕτως ἐπιβουλεῦσαι αὐτοῦ τῷ σώματι προῃρημένοι, ὡς τῇ ψυχῇ· εἰκότως καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν Κύριον ἀντιλήπτορα τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς ὠνόμαζεν. Ἔμελε γὰρ αὐτῷ οὐδὲν τοῦ σώματος, οὐδὲ τῶν ἐκτὸς ὑπαρχόντων, οὐδὲ τῆς προσκαίρου ταύτης ζωῆς, μόνης δὲ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς. Ἑκουσίως θύσω σοι, ἐξομολογήσομαι τῷ ὀνόματί σου, Κύριε, ὅτι ἀγαθόν. ∆ιὰ τῶν πρώτων δέησιν καὶ ἱκετηρίαν ἀναπέμψας τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ τὴν δικαιολογίαν αὐτοῦ ἐκθέμενος, ἐν τοῖς δευτέροις, πληρωθεὶς τοῦ πνεύματος, θεσπίζει τά τε περὶ αὐτὸν μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι, τά τε τοῖς ἐχθροῖς αὐτοῦ συμβησόμενα· εἶθ' ἑξῆς καὶ ἀκολούθως ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ μέρει θυσίας καὶ εὐχαριστίας ἀνύσειν ἐπαγγέλλεται τῷ Θεῷ ἐφ' οἷς εὖ