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being humble, he was exalted, but being most high, he humbled himself; and as a man, he received what he did not have.
INTERPRETATION OF THE 110TH PSALM. Alleluia. Ammonites, and Moabites, and Idumaeans, a very great multitude
having gathered, once long ago made war on the tribe of Judah. At that time Jehoshaphat, a man attested for his piety, of the line of David, reigned over it. So, having learned of the multitude of the enemies, he came with all the people to God, asking for his invincible help; and indeed he received his request. For the God of all urged them to be of good courage against the enemies, since he himself was their general. Therefore, at the beginning of the day, the enemies were moved against one another, and destroyed themselves as adversaries, so that no one escaped that destruction. The army of the Judaeans, seeing this from a certain watch-tower, ran as upon a ready prey, and despoiled the enemies, and returned with great abundance. And as the history of the Chronicles teaches, with musical instruments they entered into the divine temple, praising the giver of the victory. The prophet, foreseeing these things, composed this psalm, as a certain hymn offered by the pious Jehoshaphat; and the inscription is also of a hymn; for Alleluia, as we have already interpreted, is "Praise the Lord" in the Greek tongue. For "Allelou" signifies "praise," and "ia" signifies "Lord," or "the one who is." 1. "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart." With my whole mind, O Master, I offer you the hymn of thanksgiving. "In the counsel of the upright, and in the congregation." Not I alone, but also with me the assembly of the pious. For at that time the people were freed from the error of idols, as the king was teaching all to be pious. He therefore calls the assembly of the pious the counsel of the upright. 2. "Great are the works of the Lord." For indeed the things wrought by his power are wonderful and worthy of admiration. "Sought out in all his 80.1777 wills." For he does whatever he wishes, and each of the things that come to be is full of wisdom, and from all it draws forth praise. 3. "Confession and majesty is his work." All things done by him, both creation and providence, are both magnificent and supernatural, and worthy of the praise of all men. Here he calls thanksgiving "confession." "And his righteousness endures for ever and ever." Nothing of the things that happen is unjust, but all things are ordered by justice; for using this, he governs all things through the age. 4. "He has made a remembrance of his wonderful works." Since he manifestly wrought the destruction of the enemies. He has done this very same thing also in the case of our forefathers, at one time overwhelming the Egyptians, at another time striking down the Amalekites by the stretching out of Moses' hands; and destroying the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the other nations, through Jesus the son of Nave. He called the punishment of the enemies a remembrance of his wonders; instead of: You have shown your much-talked-of wonders, which are considered false by the unbelievers, to be true by this new wonder-working, and you have reminded us of what you did in the time of our forefathers. "The Lord is merciful and compassionate. [5] He has given food to them that fear him." The other interpreters have said "prey" instead of "food". But both are true. For they ran upon the wealth of the enemies as upon a ready prey, and from there they procured sufficient food. "He will be mindful of his covenant for ever." But Symmachus puts it thus: He has given prey to them that fear him, being mindful of his eternal covenant. For he has an unforgetting memory of the promises made to the fathers, and on account of that he imparts good things to us. 6, 7. "He has declared to his people the power of his works, that he may give them the inheritance of the nations." Rather to us clearly his own
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ταπεινὸς ὢν ὑψώθη, ἀλλ' ὕψιστος ὢν ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτόν· ὡς δὲ ἄνθρωπος, ὃ μὴ εἶχεν ἔλαβεν.
ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ ΡΙʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. Ἀλληλούϊα. Ἀμμανῖται, καὶ Μωαβῖται, καὶ Ἰδουμαῖοι, πλῆθος ὅτι μάλιστα
πλεῖστον συναγαγόν τες, ἐπεστράτευσαν πάλαι ποτὲ τῇ Ἰούδα φυλῇ. Ἐβασίλευσε δὲ τηνικαῦτα ταύτης Ἰωσαφὰτ, ἀνὴρ ἐπ' εὐσεβείᾳ μαρτυρούμενος, τῶν ἐκ ∆αβίδ. Οὕτως τῶν πολεμίων τὸ πλῆθος μαθὼν, μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ προσελήλυθε τῷ Θεῷ, τὴν ἄμαχον ἐπικουρίαν αἰτῶν· καὶ δὴ καὶ τὴν αἴτησιν ἔλαβε. Παρηγγύησε γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς καταθαῤῥῆσαι τῶν πο λεμίων, ὡς αὐτοῦ στρατηγοῦντος. Ἡμέρας τοίνυν ἀρχομένης, ἐκινήθησαν κατ' ἀλλήλων οἱ πολέμιοι, καὶ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐναντίους διέφθειραν, ὥστε μη δένα τὸν ὄλεθρον ἐκεῖνον διαφυγεῖν. Τοῦτο ἔκ τινος σκοπιᾶς θεασαμένη τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἡ στρατεία, ἔδρα μεν ὡς ἐφ' ἕτοιμον θήραν, ἐσκύλευσε δὲ τοὺς πο λεμίους, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐπανῆλθε τῆς περιου σίας. Καὶ ὡς διδάσκει τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ ἱστο ρία, μετὰ μουσικῶν ὀργάνων εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸν θεῖον νεὼν, τὸν τῆς νίκης χορηγὸν ἀνυμνοῦντες. Ταῦτα προορῶν ὁ προφήτης τόνδε συνέγραψε τὸν ψαλμὸν, οἷόν τινα ὕμνον ὑπὸ τοῦ εὐσεβοῦς Ἰωσαφὰτ προσ φερόμενον· ὕμνου δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐπιγραφή· τὸ γὰρ Ἀλ ληλούϊα, ὡς καὶ ἤδη ἡρμηνεύκαμεν, Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, ἐπὶ τῇ Ἑλλάδι φωνῇ. Σημαίνει γὰρ τὸ Ἀλληλοὺ, αἰνεῖτε, τὸ δὲ ἴα, Κύριον, ἢ τὸν ὄντα. αʹ. "Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι, Κύριε, ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ μου." Ἀπὸ πάσης σοι διανοίας, ∆έσποτα, προσφέρω τὸν χαριστήριον ὕμνον. "Ἐν βουλῇ εὐθέων καὶ συν αγωγῇ." Οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺν ἐμοὶ τῶν εὐ σεβῶν ὁ σύλλογος. Κατ' ἐκεῖνον γὰρ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς τῶν εἰδώλων πλάνης ὁ λαὸς ἠλευθέρωτο, τοῦ βασιλέως ἅπαντας ἐκπαιδεύοντος τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Βουλὴν τοίνυν εὐθέων τὸ σύστημα προσαγορεύει τῶν εὐσεβῶν. βʹ. "Μεγάλα τὰ ἔργα Κυρίου." Τῷ ὄντι γὰρ θαυμαστὰ, καὶ ἀξιάγαστα, τὰ ὑπὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ δυ νάμεως ἐνεργούμενα. "Ἐξεζητημένα εἰς πάντα τὰ 80.1777 θελήματα αὐτοῦ." Ποιεῖ μὲν ὅσα βούλεται, ἕκα στον δὲ τῶν γινομένων σοφίας ὑπάρχει μεστὸν, καὶ παρὰ πάντων τὴν εὐφημίαν ἐφέλκεται. γʹ. "Ἐξομολόγησις καὶ μεγαλοπρέπεια τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ." Ἅπαντα τὰ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γινόμενα, καὶ ἡ δη μιουργία, καὶ ἡ οἰκονομία, καὶ μεγαλοφυῆ, καὶ ὑπερ φυῆ, καὶ τῆς παρὰ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ὑμνῳδίας ἄξια. Ἐξομολόγησιν ἐνταῦθα τὴν εὐχαριστίαν καλεῖ. "Καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος." Οὐδὲν ἄδικον τῶν γινομένων, ἀλλὰ πάντα τῷ δικαίῳ κοσμεῖται· δι' αἰῶνος γὰρ ταύτῃ χρώμενος πρυτανεύει τὰ σύμπαντα. δʹ. "Μνείαν ἐποιήσατο τῶν θαυμασίων αὑτοῦ." Ἐπειδὴ προφανῶς εἰργάσατο τῶν πολεμίων τὸν ὄλε θρον. Ταυτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν προγόνων πε ποίηκε, ποτὲ μὲν τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους συγκαλύψας, ἄλ λοτε δὲ τοὺς Ἀμαληκίτας τῇ ἐκτάσει Μωσέως χειρῶν κατακοντίσας· καὶ Χαναναίους, καὶ Χετ ταίους, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἔθνη, δι' Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ κατα λύσας. Ἀνάμνησιν τῶν θαυμασίων ἐκάλεσε τῶν πο λεμίων τὴν τιμωρίαν· ἀντὶ τοῦ· Τὰς πολυθρυλλή τους σου θαυματουργίας, τὰς ψευδεῖς παρὰ τοῖς ἀπίστοις νομιζομένας, ἔδειξας ἀληθεῖς τῇ νέᾳ θαυ ματουργίᾳ, καὶ ἀνέμνησας ἡμᾶς ὧν ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμε τέρων εἰργάσω προγόνων. "Ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων ὁ Κύριος. [εʹ] Τροφὴν ἔδωκε τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν." Τὴν τροφὴν, θή ραν οἱ ἄλλοι εἶπον ἑρμηνευταί. Ἀληθῆ δὲ ἀμφό τερα. Καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἐπὶ θήραν ἕτοιμον ἔδραμον ἐπὶ τῶν πολεμίων τὸν πλοῦτον, καὶ τροφὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἱκα νὴν ἐπορίσαντο. "Μνησθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα δια θήκης αὑτοῦ." Ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος οὕτως· Θήραν ἔδωκε τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτὸν, μνημονεύων αἰω νίου συνθήκης αὑτοῦ. Τῶν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς πατέ ρας γεγενημένων ὑποσχέσεων ἄληστον ἔχει τὴν μνήμην, καὶ δι' ἐκείνην ἡμῖν μεταδίδωσι τῶν ἀγαθῶν. ʹ, ζʹ. "Ἰσχὺν ἔργων αὑτοῦ ἀνήγγειλε τῷ λαῷ αὑτοῦ· τοῦ δοῦναι αὐτοῖς κληρονομίαν ἐθνῶν." Μᾶλλον ἡμῖν ἐναργῶς τὴν οἰκείαν