187
it became a vine, and put forth the greatest branches, the multitude of those who have believed in him. Truly the shadow of these covered the mountains, and its climbing branches the cedars. Truly this is the vine that stretched out its branches to the sea, and its offshoots to the rivers. [For there is not a place, there is not under heaven, where the divine winepresses of this vine have not been established.] Because of this one they supplicate that that one also might enjoy forbearance, recounting its manifold sufferings. 17. "Burned with fire, and dug up." From this it is most clear that the psalm prophesies the events concerning the Babylonian and not those concerning Antiochus, as some have thought. For the Babylonian both burned the temple, and gave over most of the city to fire; so also here he says that not only did they depart having harvested the fruit, but they also dug it up, and tore it up by the roots, and consumed it with fire. "At the rebuke of your face they will perish." [But when you appear and are moved, they will vanish completely and receive destruction.] 18. "Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, and upon the son of man whom you made strong for yourself." [Let us then enjoy your care because you, being thus overcome by love for mankind, were incarnate from us; and he calls the Lord of glory the Son of man; concerning whom Paul says, "For if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."] 19. "And we will not turn away from you." [For you are true 80.1520 to fulfill your promises.] For when this firstfruit is taken from us, all human nature will know the true God, and will sing hymns to the love for mankind that has been shown. "You will give us life, and we will call upon your name." And in this way the power of death will be loosed, and we will obtain eternal life, worshipping you, the Savior God. 20. "O Lord God of hosts, restore us; and cause your face to shine, and we will be saved." For all these things, therefore, and for the salvation that will come through us to all people, release us from sad things, and grant us the return; for if only you appear, we will obtain salvation. INTERPRETATION OF THE 80TH PSALM. 1. "To the end, for the winepresses, a psalm of Asaph." This psalm prophesies the recalling of the Jews, and the alienation that happened after this; after which is the calling of the gentiles, and the Fruit of piety, offered to God as in certain winepresses, the holy churches. The introduction of the psalm is fashioned as if those who had offered that supplication have already returned, and are dancing, and exhorting one another to hymn the God who saved them. 2. "Rejoice in God our helper." But Symmachus has 'praise'; and Aquila, 'make praise'. Offer, he says, a hymn of thanksgiving to God, who has shared with us his own providence. "Shout for joy to the God of Jacob." The shout is for victory, as we have often said. Therefore, they exhort one another to weave a hymnody for the God who granted the victory. 3. "Take a psalm, and bring the timbrel; the pleasant psaltery with the harp." Using various instruments they struck up the divine melody; and the history of Chronicles teaches this. The word therefore exhorts those choirs to give back and forth to one another the all-harmonious sound of those instruments; and that these should praise God with lyres, those with timbrels, and others with harps. But Symmachus called the psaltery a lyre. 4, 5. "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, on the appointed day of your feast. For it is an ordinance 80.1521 for Israel, and a judgment for the God of Jacob." God commanded the priests to use trumpets. And these reminded the people of the trumpets that were on the mountain. For when the God of all was speaking on Mount Sinai, the voice, he says, of the trumpet sounded loudly. Therefore the priests using the trumpets reminded the people of that epiphany. And so these, who had obtained the return, and enjoyed the divine help,
187
γέγονεν ἄμπελος, καὶ κλήματα ἐβλάστησε μέγιστα, τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν πε πιστευκότων τὸ πλῆθος. Τούτων ἀληθῶς ἡ σκιὰ ἐκάλυψε τὰ ὄρη, καὶ αἱ ἀναδενδράδες τὰς κέδρους. Αὕτη ἀληθῶς ἡ ἄμπελος ἐξέτεινε τὰ κλήματα ἕως θαλάσσης, καὶ ἕως ποταμῶν τὰς παραφυάδας αὐτῆς. [Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι τόπος, οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν, ἐν ᾧ οὐχ ἵδρυνται τῆς ἀμπέλου ταύτης αἱ θεῖαι ληνοί.] ∆ιὰ ταύτην ἱκετεύουσι κἀκείνην ἀπολαῦσαι φειδοῦς, τὰ παντοδαπὰ αὐτῆς διηγούμενοι πάθη. ιζʹ. "Ἐμπεπυρισμένη πυρὶ, καὶ ἀνεσκαμμένη." Ἐντεῦθεν μάλιστα δῆλον, ὡς τὰ κατὰ τὸν Βαβυ λώνιον ὁ ψαλμὸς καὶ οὐ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἀντίοχον, ὡς τισὶν ἔδοξε, προθεσπίζει. Ὁ Βαβυλώνιος γὰρ καὶ τὸν νεὼν ἐνέπρησε, καὶ τῆς πόλεως τὸ πλεῖστον πυρὶ παραδέδωκεν· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθά φησιν, ὅτι οὐ μόνον τὸν καρπὸν ἀπῆλθον τρυγήσαντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνέσκαψαν, καὶ πρόῤῥιζον αὐτὴν ἀνέσπασαν, καὶ πυρὶ κατηνάλωσαν. "Ἀπὸ ἐπιτιμήσεως τοῦ προσ ώπου σου ἀπολοῦνται." [Ἀλλὰ σοῦ φαινομένου καὶ κινουμένου, φροῦδοι γενήσονται παντελῶς καὶ τὸν ὄλεθρον δέξονται.] ιηʹ. "Γενηθήτω ἡ χείρ σου ἐπ' ἄνδρα δεξιᾶς σου, καὶ ἐπὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου ὃν ἐκραταίωσας σεαυτῷ." [̓Απολαύσωμεν τοίνυν τῆς σῆς κηδεμονίας διὰ τὸ οὕτω σε φιλανθρωπίᾳ νικώμενον ἐξ ἡμῶν σαρκοῦ σθαι· Υἱὸν δὲ ἀνθρώπου τὸν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ὀνο μάζει· περὶ οὗ Παῦλος· "Εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν, οὐκ αὐτὸν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν."] ιθʹ. "Καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστῶμεν ἀπὸ σοῦ." [Ἀψευ 80.1520 δὴς γὰρ ὑπάρχεις τὰς σὰς πληρῶσαι ὑποσχέσεις.] Ταύτης γὰρ ἐξ ἡμῶν λαμβανομένης τῆς ἀπαρχῆς, πᾶσα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις τὸν ἀληθῆ Θεὸν ἐπι γνώσεται, καὶ τὴν γεγενημένην φιλανθρωπίαν ὑμνή σει. "Ζωώσεις ἡμᾶς, καὶ τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐπικαλεσό μεθα." Τῷ τρόπῳ δὲ τούτῳ καὶ τοῦ θανάτου τὸ κράτος λυθήσεται, καὶ ἡμεῖς τῆς ζωῆς τῆς αἰωνίου τευξόμεθα, σὲ προσκυνοῦντες τὸν Σωτῆρα Θεόν. κʹ. "Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῶν δυνάμεων, ἐπίστρεψον ἡμᾶς· καὶ ἐπίφανον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου, καὶ σωθη σόμεθα." ∆ιὰ ταῦτα τοίνυν ἅπαντα, καὶ τὴν ἐσομένην δι' ἡμῶν ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις σωτηρίαν, λῦσον μὲν ἡμῖν τὰ σκυθρωπὰ, χάρισαι δὲ τὴν ἐπάνοδον· εἰ γὰρ μόνον φανῇς, τῆς σωτη ρίας τευξόμεθα. ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ Πʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. αʹ. "Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν, ψαλμὸς τῷ Ἀσάφ." Τὴν Ἰουδαίων οὗτος ὁ ψαλμὸς ἀνάκλησιν προθεσπίζει, καὶ τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα γενομένην ἀλ λοτρίωσιν· μεθ' ἣν ἡ κλῆσις τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ ὁ τῆς εὐσεβείας Καρπὸς, ὡς ἐν ληνοῖς τισὶ ταῖς ἁγίαις ἐκκλησίαις τῷ Θεῷ προσφερόμενος. Ἐσχημάτισται δὲ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ τὸ προοίμιον, ὡς ἐπανελθόντων ἤδη τῶν τὴν ἱκετείαν προσενηνοχότων ἐκείνην, καὶ χορευόντων, καὶ ἀλλήλοις παρεγγυώντων ὑμνεῖν τὸν σεσωκότα Θεόν. βʹ. "Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε τῷ Θεῷ τῷ βοηθῷ ἡμῶν." Ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, εὐφημεῖτε εἴρηκεν· ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας, αἰνοποιεῖτε. Προσενέγκατε, φησὶ, τῷ Θεῷ τὸν χαρι στήριον ὕμνον, τῷ τῆς οἰκείας ἡμῖν μεταδεδωκότι προνοίας. "Ἀλαλάξατε τῷ Θεῷ Ἰακώβ." Ἐπινίκιος ὁ ἀλαλαγμὸς, ὡς πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν. Πα ρακελεύονται τοίνυν ἀλλήλοις τῷ τὴν νίκην δωρησα μένῳ Θεῷ τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν ὑφῆναι. γʹ. "Λάβετε ψαλμὸν, καὶ δότε τύμπανον· ψαλτή ριον τερπνὸν μετὰ κιθάρας." ∆ιαφόροις ὀργάνοις κεχρημένοι τὴν θείαν ἀνεκρούοντο μελῳδίαν· καὶ τοῦτο τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ ἱστορία διδάσκει. Παρ εγγυᾷ τοίνυν τοῖς χοροῖς ἐκείνοις ὁ λόγος ἀλλήλοις ἀντιδιδόναι τὴν παναρμόνιον τῶν ὀργάνων ἐκεί νων ἠχήν· καὶ τούτους μὲν λύραις, ἐκείνους δὲ τυμπάνοις, ἄλλους δὲ κιθάραις τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνῆ σαι. Τὸ δὲ ψαλτήριον ὁ Σύμμαχος λύραν ἐκά λεσεν. δʹ, εʹ. "Σαλπίσατε ἐν νεομηνίᾳ σάλπιγγι, ἐν εὐσήμῳ ἡμέρᾳ ἑορτῆς ὑμῶν. Ὅτι πρόσταγμα 80.1521 τῷ Ἰσραήλ ἐστιν· καὶ κρῖμα τῷ Θεῷ Ἰακώβ." Ταῖς σάλπιγξιν ἐκέλευσεν ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς ἱερέας κεχρῆσθαι. Ἀνεμίμνησκον δὲ αὗται τὸν λαὸν τῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει γενομένων σαλπίγγων. Τοῦ Θεοῦ γὰρ τῶν ὄλων ἐν τῷ Σινᾷ ὄρει διαλεγομένου, φωνὴ, φησὶ, τῆς σάλπιγγος ἤχει μέγα. Ἐκείνης τοίνυν τῆς ἐπιφανείας ἀνεμί μνησκον τὸν λαὸν ταῖς σάλπιγξιν οἱ ἱερεῖς κεχρημέ νοι. Καὶ οὗτοι τοίνυν τοὺς τῆς ἐπανόδου τετυχηκό τας, καὶ τῆς θείας ἐπικουρίας ἀπολαύσαντας,