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He shall come down like rain upon the fleece, and like drops falling upon the earth. In his days shall righteousness arise, and abundance of peace until the moon be taken away. And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the world,” 7.3.20 and a little later he says: “His fruit shall be exalted above Lebanon. His name shall be blessed for ever, his name shall endure before the sun: and in him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed, all nations shall call him blessed.” 7.3.21 Since the psalm is inscribed “for Solomon,” the first verse of the psalm might refer to him, but all that follows refers to the son of Solomon, not Rehoboam who reigned over Israel after him, but the one born “from his seed according to the flesh,” the Christ of God. 7.3.22 For that it is not possible to refer the things in the psalm to Solomon nor to his successor, because of what has been declared concerning him, everyone not ignorant of the divine scriptures will confess. But how is it possible to understand the things mentioned throughout the whole psalm as applying to Solomon or to his son Rehoboam, such as “he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers unto the ends of the world,” and “he shall endure with the sun, and before the moon for generations of generations,” and whatever else is said similar to these? 7.3.23 Therefore, without examination, the saying at the beginning of the psalm, “O God, give thy judgment to the king,” might be attributed to Solomon himself, but what follows, “and thy righteousness to the king's son,” to the son of Solomon, not that firstborn who became his successor to the kingdom—for he, having presided over the nation of the Jews alone for seventeen years, made very poor use of his rule—nor to any other of those who succeeded to the throne of Solomon's kingdom after Rehoboam, but only to him who was of the seed of David, thus being called the son of Solomon as well as of David. 7.3.24 This was our savior and lord Jesus Christ; for of him alone and of no other ever was the throne of the divine kingdom said to “endure with the sun,” and he indeed, and no other man, “before the moon” and before the foundation of the world, being the Word of God, pre-existed, and he alone dripped from heaven like dew upon all the earth, and it is said that he has risen for all men, according to what we have shown a little before, and righteousness abiding until the consummation of life, which is called the taking away of the moon. 7.3.25 And clearly the power of our savior holds sway and has dominion from the eastern sea to the setting sun, having begun to be active from the river, that is, the mystery of the bath, or from when he first appeared at the Jordan and began his beneficence to men. 7.3.26 Therefore, his kingdom among men, having been extended from that point, has spread throughout the whole world. And Jerusalem being understood by “Lebanon,” as is shown from very many prophecies, on account of the sanctuary and the altar of old in it, and the things offered on it in honor to God like frankincense, the “fruit” of Christ, the church from the Gentiles, is prophesied to be raised “above Lebanon.” 7.3.27 But the studious man, having examined the psalm for himself word by word at his leisure, would confess that the things in it pertain to our Lord alone, but neither to the ancient Solomon nor to any other of the kings after him, who ruled one nation of the Jews, and not for more than a few years, and not over any other land than that of Judaea alone. 7.3.28 8. From Isaiah. “And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from his root. And the spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and godliness; the spirit of the fear of God shall fill him. He shall not judge according to appearance, nor reprove according to report,

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καταβήσεται ὡς ὑετὸς ἐπὶ πόκον, καὶ ὡσεὶ σταγόνες στάζουσαι ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. ἀνατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης ἕως οὗ ἀνταναιρεθῇ ἡ σελήνη. καὶ κατακυριεύσει ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἕως θαλάσσης, καὶ ἀπὸ ποταμοῦ ἕως περάτων τῆς οἰκουμένης», 7.3.20 καὶ μετὰ βραχέα φησίν· «ὑπεραρθήσεται ὑπὲρ τὸν Λίβανον ὁ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ. ἔσται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ εὐλογημένον εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, πρὸ τοῦ ἡλίου διαμενεῖ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη μακαριοῦσιν αὐτόν». 7.3.21 Ἐπειδὴ ἐπιγέγραπται «εἰς Σολομῶνα» ὁ ψαλμός, ὁ πρῶτος τοῦ ψαλμοῦ στίχος εἰς αὐτὸν ἂν ἀναφέροιτο, τὰ δὲ ἑπόμενα πάντα εἰς τὸν υἱὸν Σολομῶνος, οὐ τὸν Ῥοβοάμ, ὃς μετ' αὐτὸν ἐβασίλευσεν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ἀλλὰ τὸν «ἐκ σπέρματος» αὐτοῦ «κατὰ σάρκα» γενόμενον, τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ. 7.3.22 ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸν Σολομῶνα οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τὸν τούτου διάδοχον ἀναφέρειν δυνατὸν τὰ ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ διὰ τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ δεδηλωμένα, πᾶς ὁ μὴ ἀνεπιστήμων τῶν θείων ὁμολογήσει γραφῶν. ἀλλὰ καὶ πῶς οἷόν τε ἐπὶ Σολομῶνα ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν τούτου υἱὸν Ῥοβοὰμ ἐκλαμβάνειν τὰ ἐμφερόμενα δι' ὅλου τοῦ ψαλμοῦ, οἷον τὸ «κατακυριεύσει ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἕως θαλάσσης, καὶ ἀπὸ ποταμῶν ἕως περάτων τῆς οἰκουμένης», καὶ τὸ «συμπαραμενεῖ τῷ ἡλίῳ, καὶ πρὸ τῆς σελήνης γενεᾶς γενεῶν», καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τούτοις ὅμοια ἐπιλέγεται; 7.3.23 διόπερ ἀβασανίστως ἀποδοθείη ἂν ὁ μὲν φάσκων ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ λόγος «ὁ θεός, τὸ κρίμα σου τῷ βασιλεῖ δός» ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον Σολομῶνα, ὁ ἐπιλέγων δὲ «καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ βασιλέως» ἐπὶ τὸν Σολομῶνος υἱόν, οὐ τὸν πρωτότοκον ἐκεῖνον τὸν διάδοχον αὐτοῦ τῆς βασιλείας γενόμενον οὐδ' ὅλοις γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἑπτακαίδεκα ἔτεσιν μόνου τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους προστὰς κάκιστα κέχρητο τῇ ἀρχῇ, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐφ' ἕτερον τῶν μετὰ Ῥοβοὰμ τὸν θρόνον τῆς τοῦ Σολομῶνος βασιλείας διαδεξαμένων, ἐπὶ μόνον δὲ τὸν ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αβίδ, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ Σολομῶνος υἱὸν ὡς καὶ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ χρηματίσαντα. 7.3.24 οὗτος δ' ἦν ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός· τούτου γὰρ μόνου καὶ οὐδ' ἑτέρου τῶν πώποτε ὁ τῆς ἐνθέου βασιλείας θρόνος «συμπαραμενεῖ τῷ ἡλίῳ», καὶ οὗτός γε ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς ἕτερος ἀνθρώπων «πρὸ τῆς σελήνης» καὶ πρὸ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου συστάσεως, ἅτε λόγος ὢν θεοῦ, προϋπῆρχεν, ἔσταξέν τε μόνος οὗτος οὐρανόθεν δρόσου δίκην ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν, εἴρηταί τε αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἀνατεταλκέναι, κατὰ τὰ μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἡμῖν ἀποδεδομένα, καὶ δικαιοσύνην παραμένουσαν μέχρι τῆς τοῦ βίου συντελείας, ἥτις ἀνταναίρεσις ὠνόμασται τῆς σελήνης. 7.3.25 ἐναργῶς τε ἡ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν δύναμις κρατεῖ καὶ κυριεύει τῶν ἐξ ἑῴας θαλάσσης καὶ ἐπὶ δύοντα ἥλιον, ἐνεργεῖν μὲν ἀρξαμένη ἀπὸ ποταμοῦ, ἤτοι τοῦ κατὰ λουτρὸν μυστηρίου, ἢ καὶ ἀφ' οὗπερ κατὰ τὸν Ἰορδάνην πρῶτον φανεὶς ἤρξατο τῆς εἰς ἀνθρώπους εὐεργεσίας. 7.3.26 παρεκταθεῖσα γοῦν ἐξ ἐκείνου ἡ ἐν ἀνθρώποις βασιλεία αὐτοῦ διῆλθεν καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης. «Λιβάνου» δὲ ἐπινοουμένης τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ, ὡς ἀπὸ πλείστων ὅσων προφητειῶν ἀποδείκνυται, διὰ τὸ πάλαι ἐν αὐτῇ ἁγίασμα καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τά τε ἐπὶ τούτῳ εἰς τιμὴν ἀναφερόμενα λιβάνου δίκην τῷ θεῷ, ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ «καρπός», ἡ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησία, «ὑπὲρ τὸν Λίβανον» ἀρθήσεσθαι θεσπίζεται. 7.3.27 ἐπὶ σχολῆς δ' ἂν ὁ φιλομαθὴς ἑαυτῷ τὸν ψαλμὸν πρὸς λέξιν βασανίσας, μόνῳ τῷ ἡμετέρῳ κυρίῳ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ προσήκειν ὁμολογήσειεν ἄν, ἀλλ' οὔτε τῷ παλαιῷ Σολομῶνι οὔτε ἑτέρῳ τῶν μετ' αὐτὸν βασιλέων, ἑνὸς ἔθνους τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀρξάντων, καὶ οὐ πλεῖον ὀλιγοστῶν ἐτῶν, καὶ οὐδ' ἐφ' ἑτέρας ἢ μόνης τῆς Ἰουδαίας γῆς. 7.3.28 ηʹ. Ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαΐου. «Καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαί, καὶ ἄνθος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης ἀναβήσεται. καὶ ἐπαναπαύσεται ἐπ' αὐτὸν πνεῦμα θεοῦ, πνεῦμα σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως, πνεῦμα βουλῆς καὶ ἰσχύος, πνεῦμα γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας· ἐμπλήσει αὐτὸν πνεῦμα φόβου θεοῦ. οὐ κατὰ τὴν δόξαν κρινεῖ, οὐδὲ κατὰ τὴν λαλιὰν ἐλέγξει,