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thinking they accomplish this from themselves. But he confesses to have this from God who says to the Lord: You have known my sitting down and my rising up. and it is necessary to have joy and gladness when eating the bread that strengthens the heart of man; they eat it with pain, out of sorrow and necessity, but not approaching its use cheerfully. Therefore, these are completely imperfect and do all things in vain. 1170 Ps 126,3 And His former inheritance became Israel; For the measuring line of His inheritance is Israel; he was the firstborn son of God who says My firstborn son is Israel; and they all were one son because of the harmony and unity of mind, living according to one law *. And second after them are the sons about whom it was said by the Father to the Savior: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance. And from both of the two inheritances one has become, which the Spirit, showing in the Son, says: Behold, the inheritance of the Lord are sons, all having the spirit of adoption and having been born of God by doing righteousness. And the reward for it is the visiting Lord, who is the fruit of the virgin's womb. For it was said to her by Elizabeth: Blessed is the fruit of your womb. And it is called the fruit of the womb because it is not from a man but from Mary alone, the Holy Spirit having come upon her and the power of the Most High having overshadowed her. For those who have seed from fathers are their fruits; for it was said to David: Of the fruit of your loins I will set upon your throne, the word teaching him that his kingdom would not fail like that of Saul, but would be directed from his succession. But if the Son can also be the fruit of the Father's womb, in accordance with From the womb before the morning star I have begotten you, consider it together. 1171 Ps 126,4 And who is the mighty one who skillfully sends forth arrows so as to wound for love and wisdom and truth, other than the Savior, about whom it is written: Your arrows are sharpened, O mighty one? Similarly to him, the sons of the shaken off, who are born of holy men, shoot arrows. And these happen to be the shaken off, having sent away all material dust and earth by a rational movement; whence also * a discerning soul able to engage with the train of the sequence of doctrines. And for this reason, the Word, exhorting the one who sees peace, calls to this, saying: Shake off your dust, O Jerusalem. Since also by the ancestral custom of the Hebrews the young and those mighty for war are called "the shaken off," as we learn from Ezra, it is fitting that those who have put on the new man, having shaken off from themselves the old man with his deeds, becoming imitators of the mighty one in their deeds, which are accomplished with reason and are called their hands, have arrows, the sharpened words which they are able to shoot. And Ezra has the sayings about the shaken off thus: And it came to pass from that day that half of the shaken off were doing the work, and half of them held on, and the spears and shields and bows and breastplates and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah who were building on the wall, and so on. And clearly through the words set forth we learn that the sons of the shaken off, in building the house of the Lord, held javelins and swords and the other weapons, so as to do the work of building with one hand, and with the other to cast javelins at those wishing to hinder the construction of the divine house. For it is the concern of the divine teachers both to build a house for God in each of the souls being instructed and to fight against reasonings and evil powers trying to impede the growth of the building. 1172 Ps 126,5 He blesses the man who, because he has kept the image of God, remains so, for having fulfilled his desire from the arrows of the mighty one. For, having been wounded by them into a desire for good things, he has been shown to be blessed. whence also having an unashamed

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ἐξ ἑαυτῶν οἰόμενοι τοῦτο κατορθοῦν. ἐκ θεοῦ δὲ τοῦτ' εχειν ὁμολογεῖ ὁ φάσκων τῷ κυρίῳ Σὺ εγνως τὴν καθέδραν μου καὶ τὴν εγερσίν μου. δέον δὲ καὶ τὴν χαρὰν εχειν καὶ εὐφροσύνην ἐσθίοντα τὸν στηρίζοντα καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου αρτον· σὺν ὀδύνῃ ἐσθίουσιν αὐτὸν ἐκ λύπης καὶ ἐξ ἀνάγκης, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἱλαρῶς προσερχόμενοι τῇ χρήσει αὐτοῦ. διὸ πάμπαν ἀτελεῖς ουτοι καὶ μάτην πάντα ποιοῦντες. 1170 Ps 126,3 Καὶ ἡ μὲν προτέρα αὐτοῦ κληρονομία ̓Ισραὴλ ἐγενήθη· Σχοίνισμα γὰρ κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ ̓Ισραήλ· υἱὸς ην πρωτότοκος θεοῦ λέγοντος Υἱὸς πρωτότοκός μου ̓Ισραήλ· εις δὲ υἱὸς οἱ πάντες ἐτύγχανον διὰ τὸ σύμφωνον καὶ ἡνωμένον τῆς γνώμης καθ' ενα νόμον * βιοῦντες. δεύτεροι δὲ μετ' ἐκείνους υἱοὶ περὶ ων ειρηται ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῷ σωτῆρι Αιτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ δώσω σοι εθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου. ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων δὲ τῶν δύο κληρονομιῶν μία γέγονεν, ην δεικνύων ἐν τῷ υἱῷ τὸ πνεῦμά φησιν ̓Ιδοὺ ἡ κληρονομία κυρίου υἱοί, πάντες τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς υἱοθεσίας εχοντες καὶ τῷ ποιεῖν δικαιοσύνην ἐκ θεοῦ γεγεννημένοι. Μισθὸς δέ ἐστιν αὐτῇ, τοῦ ἐπιδημήσαντος κυρίου τυγχάνοντος καρποῦ τῆς γαστρὸς τῆς παρθένου. ειρηται γοῦν πρὸς αὐτὴν ὑπὸ τῆς ̓Ελισάβετ Εὐλογημένος ὁ καρπὸς τῆς κοιλίας σου. καρπὸς δὲ κοιλίας ὠνόμασται τὸ μὴ ἐξ ἀνδρὸς ειναι ἀλλ' ἐκ μόνης τῆς Μαρίας, πνεύματος ἁγίου ἐπελθόντος αὐτῇ καὶ τῆς τοῦ ὑψίστου δυνάμεως ἐπισκιάσης αὐτήν. οἱ γὰρ ἐκ τῶν πατέρων σπορὰν εχοντες ἐκείνων εἰσὶ καρποί· ειρηται γοῦν πρὸς ∆αυὶδ ̓Εκ καρποῦ τῆς ὀσφύος σου θήσομαι ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου σου, διδάσκοντος αὐτὸν τοῦ λόγου μὴ ἐπιλείψειν τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ ὡς τὴν τοῦ Σαοὺλ ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς διαδοχῆς αὐτοῦ ταύτην διευθύνεσθαι. Εἰ δὲ καὶ καρπὸς τῆς γαστρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς δύναται ειναι ὁ υἱὸς ἀκολούθως τῷ ̓Εκ γαστρὸς πρὸ ἑωσφόρου ἐγέννησά σε, συνεπίσκεψαι. 1171 Ps 126,4 Τίς δὲ ὁ δυνατὸς ὁ ἱκανῶς ἐκπέμπων τὰ βέλη ωστε εἰς ἀγάπην σοφίαν τε καὶ ἀλήθειαν τρῶσαι η ὁ σωτήρ, περὶ ου γέγραπται Τὰ βέλη σου ἠκονημένα, δυνατέ; παραπλησίως αὐτῷ τοξεύοντες οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν ἐκτετιναγμένων οἱ ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν γεγεννημένοι. ἐκτετιναγμένοι δὲ ουτοι τυγχάνουσι πᾶσαν κόνιν ὑλικῶν καὶ χοῦν κινήσει λογικῇ ἀποπεμψάμενοι· οθεν καὶ πο * διορατικὴν ψυχὴν προσβάλλειν τῷ εἱρμῷ τῆς ἀκολουθίας τῶν δογμάτων δυναμένην. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν εἰρήνην ὁρῶσαν προτρεπόμενος ὁ λόγος εἰς τοῦτο παρακαλεῖ λέγων ̓Εκτίναξαι τὸν χοῦν σου, ̔Ιερουσαλήμ. ̓Επειδὴ καὶ πατρίῳ εθει τῶν ̔Εβραίων ἐκτετιναγμένοι καλοῦνται οἱ νέοι καὶ πρὸς πόλεμον δυνατοί, ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ ̓Εσδρὰ μανθάνομεν, εἰκότως οἱ τὸν νέον ανθρωπον ἐνδυσάμενοι τῷ ἐκτετινάχθαι ἀπ' αὐτῶν τὸν παλαιὸν ανθρωπον αμα ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτοῦ, μιμηταὶ τοῦ δυνατοῦ γινόμενοι ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτῶν σὺν λόγῳ γινομέναις χερσὶν αὐτῶν καλουμέναις, εχουσι τὰ βέλη τοὺς ἠκονημένους λόγους ους βάλλειν οιοί τέ εἰσιν. εχει δὲ τὰ τοῦ ̓Εσδρὰ περὶ ἐκτετιναγμένων ῥητὰ ουτως· Καὶ ἐγένετο ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης ημισυ τῶν ἐκτετιναγμένων ἐποίουν τὸ εργον, καὶ ημισυ αὐτῶν ἀντείχοντο, καὶ λόγχαι καὶ θυρεοὶ καὶ τόξα καὶ οἱ θώρακες καὶ οἱ αρχοντες ὀπίσω παντὸς οικου ̓Ιούδα τῶν οἰκοδομούντων ἐν τῷ τείχει, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ διὰ τῶν ἐκκειμένων δηλαδὴ λέξεων μανθάνομεν τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἐκτετιναγμένων ἐν τῷ οἰκοδομεῖν τὸν οικον κυρίου κατέχειν βολίδας καὶ ῥομφαίας καὶ τὰ αλλα οπλα, ὡς μιᾷ μὲν χειρὶ τὸ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς εργον ποιεῖν, τῇ δ' ἑτέρᾳ βάλλειν ταῖς βολίσι τοὺς κωλύειν ἐθέλοντας τὴν κατασκευὴν τοῦ θείου οικου. σπουδὴ γὰρ τοῖς θείοις διδασκάλοις αμα οἰκοδομεῖν θεῷ οικον ἐν ἑκάστῃ τῶν παιδευομένων ψυχῇ καὶ καταπολεμεῖν λογισμοὺς καὶ πονηρὰς δυνάμεις ἐμποδίζειν πειρωμένας τὴν αυξησιν τῆς οἰκοδομῆς. 1172 Ps 126,5 Μακαρίζει τὸν διὰ τὸ τετηρηκέναι τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ μένοντα ανθρωπον ἐπὶ τῷ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ πεπληρωκέναι ἐκ τῶν βελῶν τοῦ δυνατοῦ. τρωθεὶς γὰρ εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ὑπ' αὐτῶν μακάριος ἀποδέδεικται. οθεν καὶ ἀκαταίσχυντον εχων