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being compelled, one thus supplicates more earnestly him who is able to give. 11. "Will you work wonders for the dead? Or will physicians raise them up, and they will give thanks to you?" While I am still alive, he says, show your wonder-working; for having died, I will not see it. For there is no physician able to deliver from death; for what medicine has this power? 12. "Will anyone declare your mercy in the tomb, and your truth in destruction?" [that is, no one will declare nor give thanks after the departure from here.] 13. "Will your wonders be known in the darkness, and your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" Is it possible, he says, for the dead who have been dissolved into dust, and who are living in the tomb of death, and who have been given over to oblivion, to perceive your love for mankind, and to become spectators of your wonders? 14. "And I have cried to you, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer shall come before you." [But 80.1573 Symmachus thus: But my cry to you, O Lord, and at dawn my prayer shall come before you.] For desiring to be delivered from the impending evils in this life, I lament in pain, and I anticipate the dawn with my supplication. 15. "Why, O Lord, do you cast off my soul, do you turn your face from me?" Why then do you send me away, Master; and not share your good will? 16. "I am poor, and in labors from my youth." The youth of Israel is the exodus from Egypt; and for all men, it is the life outside of paradise after the transgression of the commandment. And both these and those continued to suffer throughout the intervening time. "And having been exalted, I was humbled and was in distress." For the Jews after their eminence fell into slavery; and the nature of men, having been made in the divine image and having been deemed worthy of life in paradise, desiring greater things, also fell from what had been granted. 17, 18. Your wraths have passed over me, your terrors have disturbed me. They have surrounded me like water." All your wrath, he says, you have moved against me, and with the most terrible punishments you have disturbed me, and with these you have made me submerged as if by waters. "All the day long they have encompassed me together." By these I am inundated every day. 19. "You have put far from me friend and neighbor, and my acquaintances because of my misery." But wrestling with so many misfortunes I do not even have the consolation of companions, having become destitute of their company because of the misery of servitude; and it was fitting not only for the Jews to say these things, nor for all men before the epiphany of the Savior, but even now the supplication is suitable and appropriate for those suffering similar things; "For whatever was written before, according to the divine Apostle, was written for our instruction, that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

INTERPRETATION OF THE 88TH PSALM. 1. "Of understanding for Ethan the Israelite," The blessed David, seeing the 80.1576 falsely named gods honored with shrines, while the ark of God alone remained unhonored, promised to build the divine temple. God, accepting this purpose of his, rewards the good promise, and promises to prepare for himself a rational temple from his loins, and through this to accomplish the salvation of all men, and to grant him a kingdom without end. And he made these promises to him through the prophet Nathan; and the history of the Chronicles clearly teaches this." And in the second of Kings Nathan said to him, "And the Lord will declare to you that he will build a house for himself." And the history of the Acts also remembers these things. For the blessed Peter, speaking publicly among the Jews, in addition to many other things also recounted these: "Therefore, since David was a prophet, and knew that with an oath he swore to him, the

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ἀναγκαζόμενος σπουδαιότερόν τις οὕτως ἱκετεύει τὸν δοῦναι δυνάμενον. ιαʹ. "Μὴ τοῖς νεκροῖς ποιήσεις θαυμάσια; ἢ ἰατροὶ ἀναστήσουσι, καὶ ἐξομολογήσονταί σοι;" Ἔτι μοι ζῶντι, φησὶ, τὴν σὴν δεῖξον θαυματουργίαν· ἀπο θανὼν γὰρ ταύτην οὐκ ὄψομαι. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἰατρὸς ἀπαλλάξαι θανάτου δυνάμενος· ποῖον γὰρ φάρμα κον ταύτην ἔχει τὴν δύναμιν; ιβʹ. "Μὴ διηγήσεταί τις ἐν τῷ τάφῳ τὸ ἔλεός σου, καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου, ἐν τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ;" [τουτ έστιν, οὐδεὶς διηγήσεται οὐδὲ ἐξομολογήσεται μετὰ τὴν ἐνθένδε ἐκδημίαν.] ιγʹ. "Μὴ γνωσθήσεται ἐν τῷ σκότει τὰ θαυμά σιά σου, καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου ἐν γῇ ἐπιλελησμένῃ;" Μὴ δυνατὸν, φησὶ, τοὺς εἰς κόνιν διαλυθέντας νεκροὺς, καὶ ἐν τῷ τάφῳ τοῦ θανάτου διάγοντας, καὶ λήθῃ παραδεδομένους, τῆς σῆς αἰσθέσθαι φιλανθρωπίας, καὶ τῶν σῶν θαυμάτων θεατὰς καταστῆναι; ιδʹ. "Κἀγὼ πρὸς σὲ, Κύριε, ἐκέκραξα, καὶ τὸ πρωῒ ἡ προσευχή μου προφθάσει σε." [Ὁ δὲ 80.1573 Σύμμαχος οὕτως· Ἐμοῦ δὲ πρὸς σὲ, Κύριε, ἡ οἰ μωγὴ, καὶ κατ' ὄρθρον ἡ προσευχή μου προφθάσει σε.] Ἐπιθυμῶν γὰρ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ τῶν ἐπικειμένων ἀπαλλαγῆναι κακῶν, ὀδυνώμενος ποτνιῶμαι, καὶ φθάνω τῇ δεήσει τὸν ὄρθρον. ιεʹ. "Ἱνατί, Κύριε, ἀπωθεῖς τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἀποστρέφεις τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ;" Τί δήποτε τοίνυν ἀποπέμπεις με, ∆έσποτα· καὶ τῆς εὐμενείας οὐ μεταδίδως τῆς σῆς; ιʹ. "Πτωχός εἰμι ἐγὼ, καὶ ἐν κόποις ἐκ νεότη τός μου." Νεότης τοῦ μὲν Ἰσραὴλ, ἡ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἔξοδος· πάντων δὲ ἀνθρώπων ἡ μετὰ τὴν παράβα σιν τῆς ἐντολῆς ἔξω τοῦ παραδείσου ζωή. Καὶ οὗτοι δὲ κἀκεῖνοι πάντα τὸν ἐν μέσῳ χρόνον ταλαιπωρού μενοι διετέλεσαν. "Ὑψωθεὶς δὲ ἐταπεινώθην, καὶ ἐξηπορήθην." Οἵ τε γὰρ Ἰουδαῖοι μετὰ τὴν περιφάνειαν περιέπεσον τῇ δουλείᾳ· καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώ πων ἡ φύσις, κατ' εἰκόνα θείαν γεγενημένη, καὶ τῆς ἐν παραδείσῳ ζωῆς ἠξιωμένη, μειζόνων ἐπι θυμήσασα, καὶ τῶν δεδωρημένων ἐξέπεσεν. ιζʹ, ιηʹ. Ἐπ' ἐμὲ διῆλθον αἱ ὀργαί σου, οἱ φοβερισμοί σου ἐξετάραξάν με. Ἐκύκλωσάν με ὡσεὶ ὕδωρ." Πᾶσαν, φησὶν, ἐκίνησας κατ' ἐμοῦ τὴν ὀργὴν, καὶ ταῖς φοβερωτάταις με διετάραξας τιμωρίαις, καὶ ταύταις καθάπερ ὕδασιν ὑποβρύ χιόν με πεποίηκας. "Ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν περιέσχον με ἅμα." Ὑπὸ τούτων καθ' ἑκάστην περικλύζο μαι τὴν ἡμέραν. ιθʹ. "Ἐμάκρυνας ἀπ' ἐμοῦ φίλον καὶ πλησίον, καὶ τοὺς γνωστούς μου ἀπὸ ταλαιπωρίας." Τοσαύ ταις δὲ συμφοραῖς προσπαλαίων οὐδὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν συνήθων ἔχω παραψυχὴν, ἔρημος τῆς τούτων συν ουσίας διὰ τῆς δουλείας ταλαιπωρίαν γενόμενος· ταῦτα δὲ οὐ μόνον Ἰουδαίοις ἥρμοττε λέγειν, οὐδὲ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπιφανείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν τοῖς τὰ ὅμοια πάσχουσιν ἡ ἱκετεία προσφυὴς καὶ κατάλληλος· "Ὅσα γὰρ προεγράφη, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον, εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν διδα σκαλίαν προεγράφη, ἵνα διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς, καὶ τῆς παρακλήσεως τῶν Γραφῶν, τὴν ἐλπίδα ἔχωμεν."

ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ ΠΗʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. αʹ. "Συνέσεως Αἰθὰμ τῷ Ἰσραηλίτῃ," Ὁ μακάριος ∆αβὶδ σηκοῖς τετιμημένους

ὁρῶν τοὺς 80.1576 ψευδωνύμους θεοὺς, μόνην δὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν κι βωτὸν ἀγέραστον διαμένουσαν, ὑπέσχετο τὸν θεῖον οἰκοδομήσειν νεών. Ταύτην αὐτοῦ τὴν γνώμην ἀποδεξάμενος ὁ Θεὸς, τὴν καλὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ἀμεί βεται, καὶ ὑπισχνεῖται ἐκ τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτοῦ λογι κὸν ἑαυτῷ κατασκευάσαι νεὼν, καὶ διὰ τούτου τὴν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων πραγματεύεσθαι σωτη ρίαν, καὶ ἀτελεύτητον αὐτῷ παρέξειν τὴν βασι λείαν. Ταύτας δὲ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Νάθαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐποιήσατο· καὶ τοῦτο σαφῶς ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἱστορία διδάσκει." Καὶ ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ δὲ τῶν Βασιλειῶν Νάθαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη, "Καὶ ἀπαγγελεῖ σοι, Κύριος, ὅτι οἶκον οἰκοδομήσει ἑαυτῷ." Μέμνηται δὲ τούτων καὶ ἡ τῶν πράξεων ἱστορία. Ὁ γὰρ μακάριος Πέτρος ἐν Ἰουδαίοις δημηγορῶν, πρὸς ἄλλοις πολλοῖς καὶ ταῦτα διεξ ελήλυθεν· "Προφήτης οὖν ὑπάρχων ὁ ∆αβὶδ, καὶ εἰδὼς ὅτι ὅρκῳ ὤμοσεν αὐτῷ ὁ