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The Baptist, leading his own disciples to the truth, asked the Lord through them: "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?" But being Lord, he has come in the name of the Lord. Thus he said to the Jews: "I have come in my Father's name [and you did not receive me]; another is coming in his own name, and you will receive him." And being blessed, he is the son of the blessed one. Thus also the high priest asked: "Are you the son of the blessed one?" -"We have blessed you from the house of the Lord." These things the conquerors say to their own lovers, that we bring to you the blessing of this stone, which became the house of the Word of God within it; "For the Word," he says, "became flesh, and dwelt among us." And the Lord said to the Jews: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 27. "The Lord is God, and he has appeared to us." He clearly theologized here about the Master Christ. For he whom he called a stone above, and after this blessed, 80.1820 and coming in the name of the Lord, he named him both Lord and God, having made his own appearance, and having granted salvation to those who believed. "Appoint a festival with dense branches, up to the horns of the altar." Gather together, therefore, all of you, and celebrate a very great festival, celebrating your own salvation, so that the crowd, being packed together, reaches the altar itself. For, 'with dense branches' he has put instead of 'densely packed' and 'pressed by the crowd'. For what is made dense, those outside our discourse also call densely packed. 28. "You are my God, and I will confess to you; you are my God, and I will exalt you." I know you as God, I know you as Master, I will hymn you, the benefactor, throughout my life. "I will confess to you, for you have heard me, and you have become my salvation. [29] Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever." Having first moved themselves to doxology, as being set before the others, they thus also exhort the others to hymn the good Master; as he abundantly offers to all the streams of mercy. It is fitting to know, however, that it was also appropriate for those besieged by those nations to know the one who would spring from them according to the flesh, and would provide salvation to all. For thus they became more courageous against their assailants, being encouraged by the faith of the blessing hidden in them.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM 118. Alleluia. The divine David had many and various experiences of things

changes. For he both fled from enemies, and pursued enemies, and fell into despondencies, and again had a more cheerful life, and ran the divine road, and stumbled while traveling, and again followed the divine laws. Therefore, he gathered all these things together in this psalm, and having fitted to one another the prayers offered by him to God on each occasion, he has set forth one beneficial teaching for men; and he teaches through what he says, how it is possible to achieve 80.1821 practical virtue. But he does not neglect the precision of doctrines either; but to the moral precepts he also adds the teaching concerning these things. So that this psalm is sufficient both to perfect in it those who aspire to perfect virtue, and to rouse to diligence those who live in ease, and to encourage the despondent, and to regulate the indolent, and, in short, to apply every kind of therapy to the various sufferings of men. 1. "Blessed are the blameless in the way." He calls blessed those who travel the royal road unswervingly, and have turned neither to the right nor to the left according to the precepts of the law. And he teaches who these are: "Those who walk in the law of the Lord." For those who live according to these have what is blameless. For he calls life a way. This

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Βαπτιστὴς τοὺς οἰκείους πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ποδηγῶν μαθητὰς, ἤρετο δι' ἐκεί νων τὸν Κύριον· "Σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, ἢ ἕτερον προσ δοκῶμεν;" Κύριος δὲ ὢν, ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου ἐλή λυθεν. Οὕτως δὲ ἔφη πρὸς Ἰουδαίους· "Ἐγὼ ἐλήλυθα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Πατρός μου [καὶ οὐκ ἐλάβετέ με]· ἔρχεται ἄλλος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ ὀνόματι, κἀκεῖνον λήψεσθε." Καὶ εὐλογημένος ὢν, εὐλογημένου ἐστὶν υἱός. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς ἤρετο· "Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ εὐλογητοῦ;" -"Εὐλογήκαμεν ὑμᾶς ἐξ οἴκου Κυ ρίου." Ταῦτα λέγουσιν οἱ νενικηκότες τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐρασταῖς, ὅτι τοῦ λίθου τούτου τὴν εὐλογίαν ὑμῖν προσφέρομεν, ὃς οἶκος ἐγένετο τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ Θεοῦ Λόγου· "Ὁ γὰρ Λόγος, φησὶ, σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν." Καὶ ὁ Κύριος πρὸς Ἰουδαίους ἔφη· "Λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέ ραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν." κζʹ. "Θεὸς Κύριος, καὶ ἐπέφανεν ἡμῖν." Σαφῶς ἐθεολόγησεν ἐνταῦθα τὸν ∆εσπότην Χριστόν. Ὃν γὰρ ἐκάλεσεν ἄνω λίθον, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εὐλογημένον, 80.1820 καὶ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου ἐρχόμενον, αὐτὸν ὠνόμασε καὶ Κύριον καὶ Θεὸν, τὴν οἰκείαν ποιησάμενον ἐπιφάνειαν, καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν τοῖς πιστεύσασι δω ρησάμενον. "Συστήσασθε ἑορτὴν ἐν τοῖς πυκά ζουσιν, ἕως τῶν κεράτων τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου." Συν αθροίσθητε τοίνυν ἅπαντες, καὶ πανήγυριν μεγί στην ἐπιτελέσατε, τὴν οἰκείαν ἑορτάζοντες σωτη ρίαν, ὡς μέχρις αὐτοῦ φθάσαι τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τὸ πλῆθος στενοχωρούμενον. Τὸ γὰρ, ἐν τοῖς πυ κάζουσιν, ἀντὶ τοῦ, πεπυκνωμένοι, καὶ τῷ πλή θει στενοχωρούμενοι τέθεικεν. Τὸ γὰρ πεπυκασμέ νον, πεπυκνωμένον καὶ οἱ ἔξω τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς λό γου καλοῦσιν. κηʹ. "Θεός μου εἶ σὺ, καὶ ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι· Θεός μου εἶ σὺ, καὶ ὑψώσω σε." Σὲ οἶδα Θεὸν, σὲ οἶδα ∆εσπότην, σὲ τὸν εὐεργέτην διὰ βίου ὑμνήσω. "Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι, ὅτι ἐπήκουσάς μου, καὶ ἐγένου μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν. [κθʹ] Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ Κυρίῳ, ὅτι ἀγαθὸς, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ." Πρώτους ἑαυτοὺς, ἅτε δὴ τῶν ἄλλων προ τεταγμένοι, εἰς τὴν δοξολογίαν κινήσαντες, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις παρεγγυῶσι τὸν ἀγαθὸν ὑμνῆσαι ∆εσπότην· ἅτε δὴ πᾶσιν ἀφθόνως ὀρέγοντα τοὺς τοῦ ἐλέου κρουνούς. Εἰδέναι μέντοι προσήκει, ὡς καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκείνων πολιορκουμένοις ἥρ μοττεν, εἰδέναι τὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν κατὰ σάρκα βλαστή σοντα, καὶ πᾶσι τὴν σωτηρίαν παρέξοντα. Οὕτω γὰρ θαῤῥαλεώτεροι κατὰ τῶν ἐπιόντων ἐγίνοντο, τῇ πί στει τῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς κρυπτομένης εὐλογίας ψυχαγω γούμενοι.

ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ ΡΙΗʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. Ἀλληλούϊα. Πολλὰς καὶ διαφόρους ὁ θεῖος ∆αβὶδ πραγμάτων ἔσχε

μεταβολάς. Καὶ γὰρ ἔφευγε πολεμίους, καὶ ἐδίωξε πολεμίους, καὶ περιέπεσεν ἀθυμίαις, καὶ θυμηρεστέραν πάλιν ἔσχε ζωὴν, καὶ τὴν θείαν ὁδὸν ἔδραμε, καὶ ἔπταισεν ὁδεύων, καὶ αὖθις τοῖς θείοις ἠκολούθησε νόμοις. Ταῦτα τοίνυν ἅπαντα κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἐν τῷδε συνήγαγε ψαλμῷ, καὶ τὰς καθ' ἕκαστον καιρὸν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ προσενεχθείσας τῷ Θεῷ προσευχὰς προσαρμόσας ἀλλήλαις, μίαν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὀνησιφόρον διδασκαλίαν προτέθεικε· καὶ διδάσκει δι' ὧν λέγει, πῶς δυνατὸν κατορθῶσαι 80.1821 τὴν πρακτικὴν ἀρετήν. Οὐκ ἀμελεῖ δὲ οὐδὲ τῆς τῶν δογμάτων ἀκριβείας· ἀλλὰ ταῖς ἠθικαῖς ὑποθήκαις καὶ τὴν περὶ τούτων διδασκαλίαν προστίθησι. Ὡς ἀρκεῖν τοῦτον τὸν ψαλμὸν, καὶ τοὺς τῆς τελείας ἀρε τῆς ἐφιεμένους ἐν αὐτῇ τελειῶσαι, καὶ τοὺς ῥᾳστώνῃ συζῶντας πρὸς σπουδὴν διεγεῖραι, καὶ ψυχαγωγῆ σαι τοὺς ἀθυμοῦντας, καὶ ῥυθμῖσαι τοὺς ῥᾳθυ μοῦντας, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς παντοδαπὴν θεραπείαν ἐν θεῖναι τοῖς ποικίλοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων παθήμασιν. αʹ. "Μακάριοι οἱ ἄμωμοι ἐν ὁδῷ." Μακαρίζει τοὺς τὴν βασιλικὴν ὁδὸν ὁδεύοντας ἀκλινῶς, καὶ μήτε δεξιᾷ, μήτε ἀριστερᾷ κατὰ τὰς ὑποθήκας τοῦ νόμου παρατραπέντας. Τίνες δὲ οὗτοι διδάσκει· "Οἱ πορευόμενοι ἐν νόμῳ Κυρίου." Οἱ γὰρ κατὰ τού τους πολιτευόμενοι τὸ ἄμωμον ἔχουσιν. Ὁδὸν γὰρ τὸν βίον καλεῖ. Τοῦτον