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to the philanthropic God; because to him is the glory and the power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. ON THE 47TH PSALM. A song of a psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain, well-rooted with the exultation of all the earth. Another says, With a goodly shoot, a joy to all the earth. Another, With the splendor of all the earth set apart from the beginning. 1. And here he declares a release from wars, and freedom from battle. For since, having returned from that of the Babylonians, and having been released from the long captivity, they received their ancestral land, and escaped many wars, giving thanks for all things to the cause of these goods, they sing these hymns, and say: Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. They say "Great," but how great, no longer; for no one knows this; for this reason he added, And greatly to be praised. For of his greatness there is no end. What he says is this: It is necessary to glorify him 55.217, and to praise him only, and this with all exaggeration; to praise him both for the magnitude of his essence, this infinite and incomprehensible thing, and for the abundance of his benefactions towards us. For indeed he willed, and he had the power for what he willed. In the city of our God, in his holy mountain. What are you saying? Do you confine his praise there, that of the great one, the one to be praised, in the city and in the mountain? I do not say this, he says, but that we recognized this before others. Or, therefore, he said, In the city of our God, for this reason, or wishing to declare that through the wonders happening in it his greatness and glory were shown, that indeed the captives, the outcasts, the despised, those held as in a tomb in the enemy's land, he prepared these to shine forth so suddenly, as to overcome their conquerors, and to return, and to lead them back to their former prosperity, and to restore the ancient form of their homeland. For it shows him, he says, and the magnitude of the visible creations; but since most people were disposed more foolishly in the old days, he adds also the knowledge from the enemies, and from the victory, continuously setting up these paradoxical trophies, and working the change for the better, and working such wonders beyond all hope and expectation. He calls this his city, not depriving the others of his providence, but showing that these have something more than the others according to the principle of knowledge. For those might be called his only according to the principle of creation; but this one also according to the principle of appropriation, and because all the wonders happen there. At that time, then, the city was called God's; but now we are all called God's. For those who are of Christ, he says, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Did you see an intensification of virtue? For this reason it was also called the mountain of God, since God was worshipped there. Well-rooted with the exultation of all the earth. Great is the obscurity of the saying, wherefore it is necessary to pay attention. For to one who simply reads it, it creates much confusion, but one who goes through it with precision will see the sequence and the exact series of thoughts. For what he says is this: Great is the Lord in the city of our God, in his holy mountain, well-rooting, that is, rooting well, fixing well, establishing it well in joy and gladness

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φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ· ὅτι αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΜΖʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ. Ὠδὴ ψαλμοῦ τοῖς υἱοῖς Κορέ. Μέγας Κύριος καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα, ἐν πόλει τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ, εὐριζῶν ἀγαλλιάματι πάσης τῆς γῆς. Ἕτερός φησι, Καλῷ βλαστήματι, χάρματι πάσης τῆς γῆς. Ἄλλος, Ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ἀφωρισμένῳ ἀγλαΐσματι πάσης τῆς γῆς. αʹ. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἀπαλλαγὴν πολέμων, καὶ μάχης ἐλευθερίαν δηλοῖ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐπανελθόντες ἀπὸ τῆς Βαβυλωνίων, καὶ τῆς μακρᾶς ἀπαλλαγέντες αἰχμαλωσίας, τὴν πατρῴαν ἀπέλαβον γῆν, καὶ πολλοὺς διέφυγον πολέμους, εὐχαριστοῦντες ὑπὲρ πάντων τῷ τούτων αἰτίῳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, τούτους ᾄδουσι τοὺς ὕμνους, καί φασι· Μέγας Κύριος καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα. Τὸ μὲν Μέγας, λέγουσι, τὸ δὲ πόσον, οὐκέτι· οὐδεὶς γὰρ τοῦτο ἐπίσταται· διὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα. Τῆς γὰρ μεγαλωσύνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πέρας. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· ∆οξάζειν αὐτὸν 55.217 δεῖ, καὶ αἰνεῖν μόνον, καὶ τοῦτο μεθ' ὑπερβολῆς ἁπάσης· αἰνεῖν δὲ αὐτὸν, καὶ διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς οὐσίας τὸ ἄπειρον τοῦτο καὶ ἀκατάληπτον, καὶ διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τῶν εἰς ἡμᾶς. Καὶ γὰρ ἠβουλήθη, καὶ ἴσχυσεν ἅπερ ἠβουλήθη. Ἐν πόλει τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ. Τί λέγεις; Ἐκεῖ συγκλείεις αὐτοῦ τὸν αἶνον, τοῦ μεγάλου, τοῦ αἰνετοῦ, ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ ἐν τῷ ὄρει; Οὐ τοῦτο λέγω, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἡμεῖς πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων τοῦτο ἐπέγνωμεν. Ἢ διὰ τοῦτο οὖν εἶπε τὸ, Ἐν πόλει τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἢ θέλων δηλῶσαι ὅτι διὰ τῶν εἰς αὐτὴν γινομένων θαυμάτων ἐδείχθη αὐτοῦ ἡ μεγαλωσύνη καὶ ἡ δόξα, ὅτι δὴ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους, τοὺς ἀπεῤῥιμμένους, τοὺς εὐκαταφρονήτους, τοὺς καθάπερ ἐν τάφῳ τῇ πολεμίᾳ κατεχομένους γῇ, τούτους ἀθρόον οὕτως ἐκλάμψαι παρεσκεύασεν, ὡς τῶν κρατησάντων περιγενέσθαι, καὶ ἐπανελθεῖν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν προτέραν εὐημερίαν ἐπαναγαγεῖν, καὶ τὸ παλαιὸν τῆς πατρίδος ἀποδοῦναι σχῆμα. ∆είκνυσι μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν, φησὶ, καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν κτισμάτων τῶν ὁρωμένων· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οἱ πλείους ἀνοητότερον διέκειντο τὸ παλαιὸν, προστίθησι καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νίκης γνῶσιν, τὰ παράδοξα ταῦτα τρόπαια συνεχῶς ἱστὰς, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον μεταβολὴν ἐργαζόμενος, καὶ παρ' ἐλπίδα καὶ προσδοκίαν ἅπασαν τὰ τοιαῦτα θαυματουργῶν. Πόλιν δὲ αὐτοῦ καλεῖ ταύτην, οὐ τὰς ἄλλας ἀποστερῶν αὐτοῦ τῆς προνοίας, ἀλλὰ δεικνὺς τούτους πλέον τι τῶν ἄλλων ἔχοντας κατὰ τὸν τῆς γνώσεως λόγον. Ἐκεῖναι μὲν γὰρ κατὰ τὸν τῆς δημιουργίας μόνον λόγον αὐτοῦ ἂν λέγοιντο· αὕτη δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸν τῆς οἰκειώσεως, καὶ διὰ τὸ πάντα αὐτόθι τὰ θαύματα γίνεσθαι. Τότε μὲν οὖν ἡ πόλις ἐλέγετο τοῦ Θεοῦ· νῦν δὲ πάντες ἡμεῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ λεγόμεθα. Οἱ γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, φησὶ, τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν σὺν τοῖς παθήμασι καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις. Εἶδες ἀρετῆς ἐπίτασιν; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὄρος ἐλέγετο τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπειδὴ ὁ Θεὸς ἐκεῖ ἐθεραπεύετο. Εὐριζῶν ἀγαλλιάματι πάσης τῆς γῆς. Πολλὴ ἡ ἀσάφεια τοῦ ῥητοῦ, διὸ προσέχειν δεῖ. Τῷ μὲν γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἀναγινώσκοντι πολλὴν τὴν ἀπορίαν ποιεῖ, ὁ δὲ μετὰ ἀκριβείας αὐτὰ ἐπιὼν, ὄψεται τὴν ἀκολουθίαν καὶ τὴν σειρὰν ἀκριβῆ τῶν νοημάτων. Ὃ γὰρ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Μέγας Κύριος ἐν πόλει τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ εὐριζῶν, τουτέστι καλῶς ῥιζῶν, καλῶς πηγνὺς, καλῶς βεβαιῶν αὐτὴν ἐν χαρᾷ καὶ εὐφροσύνῃ