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He who thus called the Son reveals also the Father and the Holy Spirit. For as there is one Godhead, so also the Most High is one, so that there might be no difference in this regarding the Trinity, just as in other things we correctly theologize.

843 Ps 83,2.3a The word 'How' does not here signify a likeness and a parable

but that which is beloved itself, just as also in the case of Moses 'in all his house as a servant', and further, 'but Christ as a son'. For 'as a son' signifies truly a son and not a likeness, and Moses was not a likeness of a servant of God but was his servant. Therefore, regarding the present word, the tabernacles of God are beloved not by way of a parable but in truth. And if we understand what they are, we shall understand even more that they are beloved and not like beloved things. These, therefore, are eternal and heavenly, about which the Savior said to those present, 'Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal tents'. 'My soul longs and faints', by putting off the soulish state and becoming spiritual so as to be fit for the way of life in the heavenly courts which have been mentioned in parallel.

844 Ps 83,4c Altars not perceptible by the senses. For there was not a multitude but one altar according to the history. Unless one might thus also call the altar, but he said the altars of the Lord of the heavenly powers to which better sacrifices are offered than those according to a shadow and a pattern; by which the apostle says, 'It is necessary for the patterns of things in the heavens to be cleansed with these sacrifices; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these'. For the sacrifices of praise and righteousness are offered up to these altars, and those offering their own bodies as a living sacrifice, well-pleasing to God, offer it not to others but to these altars.

845 Ps 83,5 And the house of God is complete virtue and the highest knowledge of the truth. And it was said before that the tent is a symbol of progress; for it is proper for those who are on a journey. But the very goal of blessedness is what the phrase 'house of God' indicates. Whence also according to the history, the people on their journey had the tent of testimony (a house of theology) and various tents of its own virtues in which all the people dwelt. But when they arrived at the holy land, they themselves had their dwelling in houses, no longer progressing; for they had reached the goal of virtue and knowledge. But they no longer approached the tent of testimony but the established house to perform the acts of worship. And so here, after having longed for and loved the stages of progress which he hinted at through the tabernacles, saying, 'How beloved are your tabernacles, O Lord', he pronounces blessed those who through stages of progress have ascended to the summit, as dwelling in the house of God, bearing the state which is according to God, that being fulfilled in them which says, 'When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is'.

846 Ps 83,7.8a 'He placed' means then 'to make', as in 'I placed a guard on my mouth', instead of 'I made'. And 'he who places the whole world desolate' is the same as 'to make the world desolate'. And so here, 'into the place which he placed' presents 'He made a place'. And this is the earthly place. For in this place God established his covenants with men. Let us therefore weep praiseworthily, to weep blamelessly, learning from the covenant which God established for those who are still here. For thus we shall also obtain the blessings, having lived according to the will of the covenant given here. And we shall know the magnitude of the given blessings, when we understand who it is who bestows them. And this is God who gave the law. 'And they shall go from strength to strength'. The virtues and contemplations of the truth are powers. Therefore those who have them are able to do something more. Therefore those who have advanced according to the stages of progress of the introductory power will press on to

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ὁ τὸν υἱὸν ουτω καλέσας δηλοῖ καὶ τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸ αγιον πνεῦμα. ὡς γὰρ μία θεότης, ουτω καὶ τὸ υψιστος εν, ινα μηδὲν τούτῳ διαφορὰ ῃ περὶ τὴν τριάδα, ωσπερ ἐν τοῖς αλλοις ὀρθῶς θεολογοῦμεν.

843 Ps 83,2.3a ̔Η ̔Ως λέξις οὐχ ὁμοίωσιν καὶ παραβολὴν ἐνταῦθα σημαίνει

ἀλλ' αὐτὸ τὸ ἀγαπητόν, ωσπερ καὶ ἐν τῷ Μωυσεῖ ̓Εν ολῳ τῷ οικῳ αὐτοῦ ὡς θεράπων, καὶ ετι Χριστὸς δὲ ὡς υἱός. τὸ γὰρ ̔Ως υἱὸς ἀληθείᾳ υἱὸν ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοίωμα τοῦτο σημαίνει, καὶ Μωυσῆς δὲ οὐχ ὁμοίωμα θεράποντος τοῦ θεοῦ ην ἀλλὰ θεράπων ην αὐτοῦ. οθεν ἐπὶ τῆς προκειμένης λέξεως οὐ κατὰ παραβολὴν ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματα τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ εἰ νοήσαμεν αὐτὰ τίνα ποτέ ἐστιν, ετι μᾶλλον συνήσομεν ὡς ἀγαπητὰ ἀλλ' οὐχ ομοια ἀγαπητοῖς τυγχάνει. εστι τοίνυν αἰώνια καὶ ἐπουράνια ταῦτα, περὶ ων ὁ σωτὴρ τοῖς παροῦσιν εφη Ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ιν' οταν ἐκλίπῃ δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς. ̓Επιποθεῖ καὶ ἐκλείπει ἡ ψυχή μου, τῷ ἀποβαλεῖν τὴν ψυχικὴν κατάστασιν καὶ γενέσθαι πνευματικὴν ὡς καταλλήλως εχειν πρὸς τὴν διατριβὴν τὴν ἐν ταῖς ἐπουρανίαις αὐλαῖς ἐκ παραλλήλου εἰρημέναις. 844 Ps 83,4c Θυσιαστήρια οὐκ αἰσθητά. οὐ γὰρ πλῆθος ἀλλ' εν ην τὸ θυσιαστήριον κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν. εἰ μὴ αρα καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον ουτω τις καλέσοι, κυρίου δὲ τῶν δυνάμεων τῶν οὐρανίων τὰ θυσιαστήρια ειπεν ἐφ' α ἀνάγονται κρείττους θυσίαι τῶν κατὰ σκιὰν καὶ ὑπόδειγμα· ῃ φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος ̓Ανάγκη τὰ ὑποδείγματα τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ταύταις ταῖς θυσίαις· αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ ἐπουράνια κρείττοσι θυσίαις παρὰ ταύτας. αἱ γὰρ τῆς αἰνέσεως καὶ δικαιοσύνης θυσίαι ἐπὶ ταῦτα τὰ θυσιαστήρια ἀναφέρονται, καὶ οἱ θυσίαν δὲ ζῶσαν εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ προσάγοντες τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα οὐκ ἐπ' αλλα η ἐπὶ ταῦτα τὰ θυσιαστήρια αὐτὴν προσφέρουσιν. 845 Ps 83,5 Οικος δὲ θεοῦ ἡ παντελὴς ἀρετὴ καὶ ἀκροτάτη γνῶσις τῆς ἀληθείας ἐστίν. ειρηται δ' ἐν τοῖς εμπροσθεν τὴν σκηνὴν προκοπῆς σύμβολον ειναι· ὁδευόντων γὰρ οἰκεία αυτη. αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ τέλος τῆς μακαριότητος δηλοῖ ἡ οικος θεοῦ φωνή. οθεν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν ὁδεύων ὁ λαὸς σκηνὴν μαρτυρίου (οικον δὲ θεολογίας) ειχε καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἀρετῶν διαφόρους σκηνὰς ἐν αις πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ῳκει. φθάσαντες δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἁγίαν γῆν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν οἰκίαις τὴν οικησιν ειχον, οὐκέτι προκόπτοντες· εἰς τὸ τέλος γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ ἐπιστήμης εφθασαν. ἀλλ' οὐκέτι τῇ σκηνῇ τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἀλλὰ τῷ οικῳ τῷ ἱδρυμένῳ προσερχόμενοι ἐπετέλουν τὰ τῆς λατρείας. καὶ ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν μετὰ τὸ ποθῆσαι καὶ ἀγαπῆσαι τὰς προκοπὰς ας διὰ τῶν σκηνωμάτων ᾐνίξατο εἰπὼν ̔Ως ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σου, κύριε, μακαρίζει τοὺς διὰ τῶν προκοπῶν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκρώρειαν ἀναβεβηκότας ὡς οἰκεῖν τὸν θεοῦ οικον φέροντας τὴν κατὰ θεὸν κατάστασιν, πληρωθέντος ἐπ' αὐτοῖς τοῦ Οταν φανερωθῇ, ομοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, οτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν. 846 Ps 83,7.8a Τὸ Εθετο δηλοῖ τότε ποιῆσαι, ὡς τὸ ̓Εθέμην τῷ στόματί μου φυλακήν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐποίησα· καὶ ̔Ο τιθεὶς τὴν οἰκουμένην ολην ερημον ταὐτὸν ον τῷ ποιῆσαι τὴν οἰκουμένην ερημον. καὶ ἐνταῦθα ουν τὸ Εἰς τόπον ον εθετο παρίστησι τὸ ̓Εποίησε τόπον. ουτος δ' ἐστὶν ὁ περίγειος τόπος. ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς διέθετο τὰς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους διαθήκας αὐτοῦ. κλαύσωμεν ουν ἐπαινετῶς τὸ ἀμέμπτως κλαίειν, μανθάνοντες ἐξ ης διέθετο ὁ θεὸς διαθήκης τοῖς ετι ἐνταῦθα τυγχάνουσιν. ουτω γὰρ καὶ τῶν εὐλογιῶν τευξόμεθα, κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τῆς διαθήκης ζήσαντες τῆς ἐνταῦθα δοθείσης. γνωσόμεθα δὲ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν δεδομένων εὐλογιῶν, συνέντες τίς ὁ ὀρέγων αὐτάς. εστι δὲ ουτος ὁ νομοθετήσας θεός. Πορεύσονται δὲ καὶ ἐκ δυνάμεως εἰς δύναμιν. αἱ ἀρεταὶ καὶ θεωρίαι τῆς ἀληθείας δυνάμεις εἰσίν. διὸ καὶ πλέον τι δύνανται οἱ ταύτας εχοντες. οἱ πορευθέντες ουν κατὰ τὰς προκοπὰς τῆς εἰσαγωγικῆς δυνάμεως σπεύσουσιν ἐπὶ