209

from fear of the enemy, not to not have enemies, nor for their designs to be repulsed; but for his own soul to be preserved unterrified and unstartled, and fearless, so that, having come into a state of tranquility, he himself might also say, like Paul: “Afflicted in every way, but not distressed; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” But in saying these things to God, David was not unmindful of the benefactions already previously done for him. 23.617 Therefore giving thanks for things past, he adds: “You have sheltered me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the multitude of workers of iniquity.” For having already had experience of those things that came upon me, I can never forget them; but bearing them always in memory, I am ever thankful. Nevertheless, even now I ask to receive the same help from you. But according to the other interpreters, one and the same charge of the word has been preserved, and one meaning of what was said; therefore it has been said according to Symmachus: “Hear, O God, my voice as I speak, you will fence my life from the terror of the enemy; you will hide me from the councils of evildoers, from the tumult of workers of iniquity.” For not as concerning things past, but as concerning things to come has the whole been said, and likewise according to the other interpreters. “Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword, they have bent their bow, a bitter thing, to shoot in secret at the blameless. Suddenly they will shoot him, and will not fear.” Although David preceded in time the saving advent, yet he was not ignorant of the evangelical lessons, having been taught by the divine Spirit; for he knew very well the saving oracle that said: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul;” therefore he did not dread a multitude in military array, nor those drawn up with full armor and spears; but these he despised, as one who had cast down so great a Goliath without toil and without sweat; but he dreaded those whom he hinted at through the preceding words, saying: “Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword, they have bent their bow, a bitter thing.” Do you see what kind of panoply of enemies he describes? And in the preceding passages it was said: “Sons of men, whose teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” But these things are recorded as said, “when he fled from the face of Saul into the cave.” Therefore from similar words it appears to be the same time, in which also the present matters were said concerning those very men and those like them. But also “when Saul sent and watched his house to kill him,” again concerning the same men he uttered similar words, saying: “Behold, they will speak out with their mouth, and a sword is in their mouths.” But in those psalms these things were said; but in the present one, his enemies, from fear of whom he prayed to be delivered, he says have sharpened their tongues like a sword; or according to the other interpreters, “as a knife;” but also they bent their bow, according to the Seventy interpreters, “in a bitter thing;” for through a bitter thing they tried to shoot the righteous one; but according to Symmachus, “They have filled,” he says, “their bow with a bitter word.” For truly bitter were they, containing nothing sweet, those who slandered David to Saul; such as was Doeg, and the Ziphites, and those 23.620 like them. But also every godless word would be bitter, just as the divine word is good and sweet. Therefore it is said: “Taste, and see that the Lord is good.” And terrible bows and truly sharp swords are those of the godless heretics, who shoot down innocent souls, and slaughter them with their own swords. And the wise of this age, putting forward deceitful and sophistical speech, have destroyed many souls. Therefore we have need of prayer

209

ἀπὸ φόβου ἐχθροῦ, οὐκ ἐχθροὺς μὴ ἔχειν, οὐδὲ τὰς ἐκείνων ἀποκρουσθῆναι προαιρέσεις· τὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ ψυχὴν ἄτρομον καὶ ἀπτόητον, καὶ ἄφοβον διατηρεῖσθαι, ὅπως, ἐν ἕξει γενόμενος ἀταραξίας, λέγῃ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁμοίως Παύλῳ· «Ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενοι, ἀλλ' οὐ στενοχωρούμενοι· διωκόμενοι, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγκαταλειπόμενοι· καταβαλλόμενοι, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπολλύμενοι.» Λέγων δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὁ ∆αυῒδ, οὐκ ἠμνημόνει τῶν ἤδη πρότερον εἰς αὐτὸν γε 23.617 νομένων εὐεργεσιῶν. ∆ιὸ εὐχαριστῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς παρωχηκόσιν, ἐπιλέγει· «Ἐσκέπασάς με ἀπὸ συστροφῆς πονηρευομένων, ἀπὸ πλήθους ἐργαζομένων ἀδικίαν.» Ἤδη γὰρ πεῖραν εἰληφὼς τῶν φθασάντων εἰς ἐμὲ, οὔποτε λήθην αὐτῶν ποιήσασθαι δύναμαι· φέρων δὲ αὐτὰ διὰ παντὸς ἐν μνήμῃ, εὐχάριστος εἰσαεὶ τυγχάνω. Ὅμως δὲ καὶ νῦν τῆς αὐτῆς ἀξιῶ παρὰ σοῦ βοηθείας τυχεῖν. Κατὰ δὲ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς, μία καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ πεφύλακται τοῦ λόγου ἔγκλησις, καὶ μία διάνοια τῶν εἰρημένων· διὸ λέλεκται κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· «Εἰσάκουσον, ὁ Θεὸς, τῆς φωνῆς μου προσλαλοῦντος, ἀπὸ ἐκπλήξεως ἐχθροῦ περιφράξεις τὴν ζωήν μου· κρύψεις με ἀπὸ συσκέψεων κακούργων, ἀπὸ κυκήσεως ἐργαζομένων ἀδικίαν.» Οὐ γὰρ ὡς περὶ παρῳχηκότων, ἀλλ' ὡς περὶ μελλόντων τὰ ὅλα εἴρηται, καὶ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς ὁμοίως. «Οἵτινες ἠκόνησαν ὡς ῥομφαίας τὰς γλώσσας αὐτῶν, ἐνέτειναν τόξον πρᾶγμα πικρὸν, τοῦ κατατοξεῦσαι ἐν ἀποκρύφοις ἄμωμον. Ἐξάπινα κατατοξεύσουσιν αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσονται.» Εἰ καὶ προῆγε τοῖς χρόνοις εἰς τὴν σωτήριον ἐπιδημίαν ὁ ∆αυῒδ, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἠγνόει τὰ εὐαγγελικὰ μαθήματα θείῳ Πνεύματι μεμαθητευμένος· ᾔδει δὲ εὖ μάλα τὸ σωτήριον λόγιον τὸ φῆσαν· «Μὴ φοβηθῆτε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι·» διὸ οὐκ ἠγωνία στρατιωτικῆς παρατάξεως πληθὺν, οὐδὲ τοὺς παντευχίαις καὶ δόρασι παραταττομένους· ἀλλὰ τούτων μὲν κατεφρόνει, ὡς ἂν τὸν τοσοῦτον Γολιὰδ ἀκμητὶ καὶ ἀνιδρωτὶ καταβαλών· ἐκείνους δὲ ἠγωνία οὓς ᾐνίττετο διὰ τῶν προκειμένων λέγων· «Οἵτινες ἠκόνησαν ὡς ῥομφαίαν τὰς γλώσσας αὐτῶν, ἐνέτειναν τόξον πρᾶγμα πικρόν.» Ὁρᾷς ὁποίαν διαγράφει πανοπλίαν ἐχθρῶν; Καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν δὲ ἐλέγετο· «Υἱοὶ ἀνθρώπων, οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτῶν ὅπλον καὶ βέλη, καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα αὐτῶν μάχαιρα ὀξεῖα.» Ταῦτα δὲ ἀναγέγραπται εἰρηκὼς, «ὁπότε ἀπεδίδρασκεν ἀπὸ προσώπου Σαοὺλ εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον.» Ἀπὸ τῶν ὁμοίων τοιγαροῦν λόγων φαίνεται ὁ αὐτὸς ὢν χρόνος, καθ' ὂν καὶ τὰ μετὰ χεῖρας περὶ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων καὶ τῶν ἐκείνοις παραπλησίων λέλεκτο. Ἀλλὰ καὶ «ὅτε ἀπέστειλε Σαοὺλ, καὶ ἐφύλαξε τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτὸν,» περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν πάλιν τὰς ὁμοίας ἠφίει φωνὰς λέγων· «Ἰδοὺ ἀποφθέγξονται ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν, καὶ ῥομφαία ἐν τοῖς στόμασιν αὐτῶν.» Ἀλλ' ἐν ἐκείνοις μὲν ταῦτ' ἐλέγετο· ἐν δὲ τοῖς μετὰ χεῖρας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ, ὧν ἀπὸ φόβου ῥυσθῆναι ηὔχετο, ἠκονηκέναι φησὶ τὰς γλώσσας αὐτῶν δίκην ῥομφαίας· ἢ κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἑρμηνευτὰς, «ὡς μάχαιραν·» ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνέτειναν τὸ τόξον αὐτῶν, κατὰ μὲν τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα ἑρμηνευτὰς, «ἐν πράγματι πικρῷ·» διὰ γὰρ πικροῦ πράγματος κατατοξεύειν ἐπειρῶντο τὸν δίκαιον· κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον, «Ἐπλήρωσαν, φησὶ, τὸ τόξον αὐτῶν λόγῳ πικρῷ.» Ἦσαν γὰρ ἀληθῶς πικροὶ, οὐδὲν γλυκὺ περιέχοντες, οἱ τὸν ∆αυῒδ διαβάλλοντες πρὸς τὸν Σαούλ· οἷος ἦν ὁ ∆ωὴκ, καὶ οἱ Ζιφαῖοι, καὶ οἱ 23.620 τούτοις παραπλήσιοι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶς ἄθεος λόγος πικρὸς ἂν εἴη, ὥσπερ ὁ θεῖος, χρηστὸς καὶ γλυκύς. ∆ιὸ εἴρηται· «Γεύσασθε, καὶ ἴδετε, ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Κύριος.» ∆εινὰ δὲ τόξα καὶ μάχαιραι ὡς ἀληθῶς ὀξεῖαι αἱ τῶν ἀθέων ἑτεροδόξων, τῶν τὰς ἀκεραίους ψυχὰς κατατοξευόντων, καὶ ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ῥομφαίαις κατασφαττόντων αὐτάς. Καὶ οἱ σοφοὶ δὲ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, τὸν ἀπατηλὸν καὶ σεσοφισμένον λόγον προβαλλόμενοι, πολλὰς ἀνεῖλον ψυχάς. Εὐχῆς οὖν ἡμῖν δεῖ