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against his Christ.” But the resurrection of Christ from the dead worked the scattering of all these; and they vanished as smoke vanishes, and as wax melts before the face of fire. And they hated this very Christ of God, and they hate him still even now, who continually blaspheme him with godless words and insults, and war against his Church, and slander his teaching. For otherwise one would not find any who hate the God over all; for not even the atheists and the impious themselves, nor even the evil demons, nor the unclean spirits would say this. But they admittedly hated the Christ of God; first, those about whom he himself spoke through the prophecy: “They have spoken against me with a deceitful tongue, and with words of hatred they have surrounded me, and they have warred against me without cause. Instead of loving me, they slandered me. And they have rendered me evil for good, and hatred for my love;” then also those after them who blaspheme him even now. Nevertheless, all his enemies, and those who hate him have been scattered and have fled from the face of his power. And they vanished as smoke vanishes and as wax melts before the face of fire. At any rate, no one who has ever hated him has passed through life unpunished; but also the high priests and scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees who long ago contrived the plot against him vanished so that not even their memory nor their name is preserved among the Jews to this day. Then their whole nation endured dispersion and scattering into all the nations; and in the times after these, all who have warred against his Church have likewise themselves vanished as smoke vanishes and as wax melts before the face of fire. So then, the enemies of Christ and those who hate him have suffered such things, and even more so the unseen and invisible enemies, evil demons and wicked spirits, through whom the works of polytheistic error were formerly accomplished; whose complete scattering has occurred after the resurrection from the dead; and they themselves, melting like wax before the face of fire, cried out, saying: “Ah! What have we to do with you, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” For the invisible and unseen rays of his divinity inflicted torments and pains on those who said these things. But what sort of good things the company on the right hand of the friends of God enjoyed in the resurrection of our Savior, the prophecy teaches next, saying: “And let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; let them be delighted with gladness.” And what it is not simply to be glad and to rejoice, but to enjoy these things before God and in the presence of God, and to revel in divine pleasure, it is not possible to recount worthily in words. 23.685 “Sing to God, sing praises to his name; make a way for him who rides upon the west.” The prophecy cut short the word concerning the enemies and those who hate God; but it expands the one concerning the righteous, dwelling upon the memory of them. And so the Holy Spirit exhorts the righteous to sing and play the psaltery to God, as through these things they are about to enjoy the divine gladness and the aforementioned delight and rejoicing. And since of these two things, I mean of singing and playing the psaltery, singing was the better, and playing on an instrument the subordinate, it reasonably dedicated the better to God, and acting through the instrument to his name. For it says, “Sing to God, and sing praises to his name.” He sings to God who has instructed his soul through sound doctrines and sends up fitting theologies to him from a purified mind; and he sings praises to his name, who through the movements of the body and through the activity of the senses does such things that the name of God is glorified through him among those who see. These things, then, first

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κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ.» Πάντων δὲ τούτων διασκορπισμὸν ἡ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασις τοῦ Χριστοῦ κατειργάσατο· ἐξέλιπόν τε ὡς ἐκλείπει καπνὸς, καὶ ὡς τήκεται κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρός. Καὶ τοῦτόν γε τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐμίσησαν, μισοῦσί τε εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν, οἱ συνεχῶς αὐτὸν ἀθέοις λόγοις καὶ λοιδορίαις βλασφημοῦντες, τήν τε Ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ πολεμοῦντες, καὶ τὴν διδασκαλίαν διαβάλλοντες. Ἄλλως γὰρ τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων Θεὸν οὐκ ἂν εὕροι μισοῦντάς τινας· οὐδὲ γὰρ αὐτοὶ οἱ ἄθεοι καὶ δυσσεβεῖς· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οἱ πονηροὶ δαίμονες, οὐδὲ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα πνεύματα τοῦτ' ἂν εἴποιεν. Τὸν δὲ Χριστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁμολογουμένως ἐμίσησαν· πρῶτοι μὲν ἐκεῖνοι, περὶ ὧν αὐτὸς διὰ τῆς προφητείας ἔφασκεν· «Ἐλάλησαν κατ' ἐμοῦ γλώσσῃ δολίᾳ, καὶ λόγοις μίσους ἐκύκλωσάν με, καὶ ἐπολέμησάν με δωρεάν. Ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀγαπᾷν με ἐνδιέβαλλόν με. Καὶ ἔθεντο κατ' ἐμοῦ κακὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν, καὶ μῖσος ἀντὶ τῆς ἀγαπήσεώς μου·» ἔπειτα καὶ οἱ μετ' ἐκείνους εἰσέτι νῦν αὐτὸν βλασφημοῦντες. Πλὴν πάντες οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οἱ μισοῦντες αὐτὸν διεσκορπίσθησαν καὶ πεφεύγασιν ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ. Ἐξέλιπόν τε ὡς ἐκλείπει καπνὸς καὶ ὡς τήκεται κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρός. Αὐτίκα γοῦν οὐδεὶς πώποτε τῶν μεμισηκότων αὐτὸν ἀτιμώρητος διεξῆλθε τὸν βίον· ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πάλαι τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν αὐτῷ τυρεύσαντες ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς, Φαρισαῖοι καὶ Σαδδουκαῖοι οὕτως ἐξέλιπον, ὡς μηδὲ μνήμην αὐτῶν εἰσέτι νῦν μηδ' ὄνομα παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις σώζεσθαι. Τότε πᾶν ἔθνος αὐτῶν διασκεδασμὸν καὶ διασκορπισμὸν ὑπέμεινε εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη· καὶ ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ χρόνοις πάντες ὅσοι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ πεπολεμήκασιν, ὁμοίως ἐξέλιπον καὶ αὐτοὶ ὡς ἐκλείπει καπνὸς καὶ ὡς τήκεται κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρός. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐχθροὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ οἱ μισοῦντες αὐτὸν τοιαῦτα πεπόνθασι, καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον οἱ ἀόρατοι καὶ ἀφανεῖς ἐχθροὶ, πονηροὶ δαίμονες καὶ μοχθηρὰ πνεύματα, δι' ὧν τὰ τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης ἐνηργεῖτο πάλαι· ὧν παντελὴς διασκορπισμὸς μετὰ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν γέγονεν· οἱ δ' αὐτοὶ, τηκόμενοι ὡς κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρὸς, ἐβόων λέγοντες· «Ἔα· τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοὶ, Υἱὲ Θεοῦ; Ἦλθες πρὸ καιροῦ βασανίσαι ἡμᾶς.» Αἱ γὰρ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ ἀόρατοι καὶ ἀφανεῖς ἀκτῖνες, βασάνους καὶ ἀλγηδόνας τοῖς ταῦτα λέγουσι παρεῖχον. Τὸ δέ γε δεξιὸν τῶν φίλων τοῦ Θεοῦ τάγμα ὁποίων ἀπέλαυεν ἀγαθῶν ἐν τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀναστάσει, ἑξῆς διδάσκει ἡ προφητεία λέγουσα· «Καὶ οἱ δίκαιοι εὐφρανθήτωσαν, ἀγαλλιάσθωσαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, τερφθήτωσαν ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ.» Ὁποῖον δέ ἐστι τὸ μὴ ἁπλῶς εὐφραίνεσθαι καὶ ἀγαλλιᾷν, ἀλλ' ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ τούτων ἀπολαύειν, ἡδονῇ τε θείᾳ ἐντρυφᾷν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπαξίως λόγῳ διηγήσασθαι. 23.685 «Ἄσατε τῷ Θεῷ, ψάλατε τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ· ὁδοποιήσατε τῷ ἐπιβεβηκότι ἐπὶ δυσμῶν.» Τὸν μὲν περὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ μισούντων τὸν Θεὸν λόγον διὰ βραχέων ἐπετέμετο ἡ προφητεία· τὸν δὲ περὶ τῶν δικαίων ἐξαπλοῖ, ἐνδιατρίβουσα τῇ περὶ αὐτῶν μνήμῃ. Καὶ δὴ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον παρακελεύεται τοῖς δικαίοις ᾄδειν καὶ ψάλλειν τῷ Θεῷ, ὡς ἂν διὰ τούτων μέλλουσιν ἀπολαύειν τῆς θείας εὐφροσύνης καὶ τῆς προλεχθείσης τερπωλῆς καὶ ἀγαλλιάσεως. Καὶ ἐπείπερ τῶν δύο τούτων, λέγω δὲ τοῦ ᾄδειν καὶ ψάλλειν, τὸ μὲν κρεῖττον ἦν τὸ ᾄδειν, τὸ δὲ ὑποβεβηκὸς τὸ δι' ὀργάνου ἀνακρούεσθαι, εἰκότως τὸ μὲν κρεῖττον ἀνέθηκε τῷ Θεῷ, τὸ δὲ διὰ τοῦ ὀργάνου ἐνεργεῖν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ. «Ἄσατε» γὰρ, φησὶ, «τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ψάλατε τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.» Ἄδει δὲ τῷ Θεῷ ὁ δι' ὑγιῶν δογμάτων τὴν ψυχὴν πεπαιδευμένος καὶ τὰς πρεπούσας αὐτῷ θεολογίας ἐκ διανοίας κεκαθαρμένης ἀναπέμπων· ψάλλει δὲ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ, ὁ διὰ τῶν τοῦ σώματος κινήσεων καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν αἰσθητηρίων ἐνεργείας τοιαῦτα πράττων, ὡς δοξάζεσθαι δι' αὐτοῦ παρὰ τοῖς ὁρῶσι τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν πρῶτα