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of the gods along with the oracles through which the demons deceived being overturned; but also when men, united to earthly things through prior passion, were transferred to the Word of Christ, the earth underwent turmoil and trembling. And the sea, that is, the present life, Jesus alone, being God, walked on, so as to leave behind footprints and proofs of the way, that those who wish to follow him might follow. For, it says, "Your paths are in many waters, and your footprints will not be known," because the principle of his journey is incomprehensible. But the sheep of Christ were led by God in the action (symbolically called "hand") of the spiritual law and the priestly word. But Christ has become both for us, being himself the spiritual law, the mystagogue of the spiritual rite of God, and the great high priest who has passed through the heavens. Moses signifies the law, and Aaron the high priest; for which reason they are brothers, being sons of the divine providence which brought forth this law and the priestly word suitable to it; for by its will these good things have come to exist for men.
804 Ps 77,1a In the present context, law can be called the entire Old
scripture. But if the commanding and forbidding word is signified by the term "law" according to the proposed verse, it commands to pay attention to the law, so that those who have received the command may have their morals corrected, choosing the good and fleeing the evil. 805 Ps 77:3 These things those who have the mind of Christ have heard and understood spiritually; for it was not hidden from their fathers who explained it to them according to knowledge. And these same ones have revealed the parables from the beginning to their own children, born of them through instruction, so that they might be known and not hidden for their next generation. 806 Ps 77:8d For he who is with God in spirit is made faithful and confirmed in spirit by the very fact of being with God. Here "spirit" must be understood to mean the mind, according to what was said of the virgin, that she might be holy in spirit and in body; for in these texts "spirit" calls the intention itself and the disposition, and when this is sanctified it follows that the body also is sanctified, ministering to sanctifying activities. But if the soul itself is also called spirit here, pay close attention. 807 Ps 77:17-22 The manna had been given before the contradiction, but the psalm says that both the manna and the meat were given after the contradiction. But this should not be a problem. For the psalm joins together events from different times, bringing a contradiction that occurred at different times under one cause. For if someone should think the first contradiction was the one before the making of the tabernacle, in the second month of the exodus, he does not place that history in the psalm at the right time; for the water from the rock had not yet been given at that time, nor indeed did the punishment of fire follow, since they were inexperienced and not unreasonably still disbelieved the wondrous gift of food and were fainthearted because they did not immediately receive the abundance. For this reason, Moses did not grow weary at the faintheartedness of the people. But in the second contradiction concerning the meat, even Moses bore it with difficulty; and it was fitting that the punishment from God came upon them at that time, and they were consumed by fire. Though they ought to have believed from what had gone before, they did not believe in the divine power, and though they ought to have hoped for salvation from him, they did not hope. 808 Ps 77:17-25a But it must also be spoken of according to the allegorical sense thus: in the desert of the Son where great ignorance of things prevails. Having cleaved and divided his most solid word, called a rock, a great drink has been given to the beneficiaries, so that the flowing water could be compared to an abyss because it is indescribable in depth and breadth. For the water brought forth from this rock, as
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θεῶν αμα τοῖς χρηστηρίοις δι' ων ἠπάτων οἱ δαίμονες ἀνατρεπομένων· ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοῖς γηΐνοις διὰ προπαθείας ἡνωμένων μετατιθεμένων τῷ Χριστῷ λόγῳ, κλόνον καὶ τρόμον ὑπέμενεν ἡ γῆ. Καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν δέ, τὸν παρόντα βίον, μόνος ̓Ιησοῦς θεὸς ων ωδευσεν ὡς ιχνη καὶ τεκμήρια καταλειπεῖν τῆς ὁδοῦ, οπως ἐπακολουθήσωσιν οἱ βουλόμενοι αὐτῷ επεσθαι· Αἱ τρίβοι σου γάρ φησιν ἐν υδασι πολλοῖς, καὶ τὰ ιχνη σου οὐ γνωσθήσεται, διὰ τὸ ἀκατάληπτον ειναι τὸν τῆς πορείας αὐτοῦ λόγον. ̔Ωδηγήθη δὲ τὰ Χριστοῦ πρόβατα ὑπὸ θεοῦ ἐν πράξει (συμβολικῶς χειρὶ ὀνομαζομένῃ) τοῦ πνευματικοῦ νόμου καὶ τοῦ ἱερατικοῦ λόγου. Χριστὸς δὲ ἡμῖν ἀμφότερα γεγένηται αὐτὸς ων ὁ πνευματικὸς νόμος, τῆς πνευματικῆς τελετῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μυσταγωγὸς καὶ ἀρχιερεὺς ὁ μέγας τοὺς οὐρανοὺς διεληλυθώς. σημαίνει δὲ Μωυσῇ τὸν νόμον, ̓Ααρὼν δὲ τὸν ἀρχιερέα· διὸ καὶ ἀδελφοὶ τυγχάνουσιν, υἱοὶ τυγχάνοντες τῆς θείας προνοίας γεννησάσης τοῦτον τὸν νόμον καὶ τὸν κατάλληλον αὐτῷ ἀρχιερατικὸν λόγον· βουλήσει γὰρ αὐτῆς ἀνθρώποις ὑπῆρκται τὰ ἀγαθὰ ταῦτα.
804 Ps 77,1a Νόμον ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος δύναται καλεῖν πᾶσαν τὴν παλαιὰν
γραφήν. εἰ δὲ σημαίνοιτο ὁ προστακτικὸς καὶ ἀπαγορευτικὸς λόγος ἐκ τῆς νόμος φωνῆς κατὰ τὸν προκείμενον στίχον, προσέχειν ἐντέλλεται τῷ νόμῳ, οπως κατωρθωμένα τὰ ηθη εχωσιν οἱ τὴν πρόσταξιν εἰληφότες αἱρούμενοι τἀγαθὰ καὶ φεύγοντες τὰ φαῦλα. 805 Ps 77,3 Ταῦτα οἱ Χριστοῦ νοῦν εχοντες ηκουσαν καὶ συνῆκαν πνευματικῶς· οὐ γὰρ ἐκρύβη ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν πατέρων κατ' ἐπιστήμην διηγησαμένων αὐτοῖς. καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ ουτοι τοῖς τέκνοις ἑαυτῶν γεννηθεῖσιν ὑπ' αὐτῶν διὰ παιδεύσεως ἐφανέρωσαν τὰ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς προβλήματα, οπως καὶ εἰς τὴν ἑξῆς αὐτῶν γενεὰν γνωστὰ καὶ μὴ κεκρυμμένα τυγχάνῃ. 806 Ps 77,8δ ̔Ο γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ θεοῦ πνεύματι γινόμενος ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ συνεῖναι θεῷ πιστοῦται καὶ βεβαιοῦται κατὰ πνεῦμα. πνεῦμα δὲ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐνταῦθα εἰρῆσθαι νομιστέον κατὰ τὸ περὶ τῆς παρθένου λεχθέν, οπως ῃ ἁγία πνεύματι καὶ σώματι· πνεῦμα γὰρ ἐν τούτοις τὴν γνώμην αὐτὴν καὶ τὴν διάθεσιν καλεῖ, ἀφ' ης ἡγιασμένης συμβαίνει καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἁγιάζεσθαι ἐνεργείαις ἁγιαστικαῖς ὑπηρετούμενον. εἰ δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ ψυχὴ πνεῦμα καὶ ἐνταῦθα καλεῖται, συνεπίστησον. 807 Ps 77,17-22 Πρὸ τῆς ἀντιλογίας δεδόμενον ην τὸ μάννα, ὁ ψαλμὸς μετὰ τὴν ἀντιλογίαν φησὶ καὶ τὸ μάννα καὶ τὸ κρέας δεδόσθαι. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο οὐκ αν ειη ζήτημα. ἐπισυνάπτει γὰρ τὰ ἐν διαφόροις χρόνοις ὁ ψαλμός, μίαν ἀντιλογίαν ἐν διαφόροις χρόνοις γεγενημένην συνάγων ὑπὸ μίαν αἰτίαν. εἰ γὰρ δὴ τὴν πρώτην ἀντιλογίαν τις οιητο τὴν πρὸ τῆς ποιήσεως τῆς σκηνῆς τὴν ἐν δευτέρῳ μηνὶ τῆς ἐξόδου, οὐκ ἐν καιρῷ τὴν ἱστορίαν ἐκείνην τῷ ψαλμῷ παρατίθησιν· ουπω γὰρ τότε τὸ ἐκ τῆς πέτρας υδωρ ἐτύγχανε δεδόμενον, οὐδὲ μὴν τιμωρία ἡ τοῦ πυρὸς ἐπηκολούθησεν, ατε δὴ καὶ πρωτοπείροις ουσι καὶ οὐκ ἀπεικότως ἀπιστοῦσιν ετι πρὸς τὴν παράδοξον δόσιν τῆς τροφῆς καὶ ὀλιγοψύχως εχουσι διὰ τὸ μὴ παραχρῆμα τῆς ἀφθονίας τυγχάνειν. διὸ οὐδὲ Μωυσῆς ἀπέκαμεν ἐπὶ ταῖς τοῦ λαοῦ μικροψυχίαις. ἐν δὲ τῇ δευτέρᾳ περὶ τῶν κρεῶν ἀντιλογίᾳ χαλεπῶς ηδη φέρει καὶ Μωυσῆς· εἰκότως δὲ καὶ ἡ παρὰ θεοῦ τιμωρία τηνικαῦτα αὐτοῖς ἐπῄει, καὶ πυρὶ κατεφλέγοντο. δέον πιστεύειν ἐκ τῶν προυπηργμένων μὴ πιστεύοντες τῇ θείᾳ δυνάμει, καὶ δέον ἐλπίζειν τὴν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ σωτηρίαν οὐκ ἐλπίζοντες. 808 Ps 77,17-25a ̔Ρητέον δὲ καὶ κατὰ ἀναγωγὴν ωδε· ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τοῦ υἱοῦ ενθα πολλὴ ἐπικρατεῖ αγνοια τῶν πραγμάτων. διελὼν καὶ διαιρήσας τὸν στερρότατον αὐτοῦ λόγον πέτραν ὀνομαζόμενον, ποτισμὸς πολὺς τοῖς εὐεργετουμένοις γεγένηται ὡς παραβληθῆναι τὸ ῥέον υδωρ διὰ τὸ ἀπερίγραφον κατὰ βάθος καὶ πλάτος ἀβύσσῳ. τὸ γὰρ ἐξαχθὲν ἐκ ταύτης τῆς πέτρας υδωρ ὡς