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Abraham repeats what was decreed by the oracle, the saying teaching that it would be fulfilled in no other way than through Christ, stating: «And in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.» Then it says next: «All the nations shall call him blessed.» But how will all the nations call him blessed? by the blessedness in them, representing the grace from him. «Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.» The nations, being blessed in the one prophesied according to the saying that stated: «And in him all the nations shall be blessed;» it increases with the increase of God, and multiplies, and has dominion over the earth. Therefore the divine Apostle says: «Blessed be the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.» Being so, it blesses in return the one who has become the cause of blessing for them. Wherefore first they called him blessed, then they are also taught to bless him by saying: «Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.» And observe that each part of the 23.820 book of Psalms ends in a similar conclusion. For of the first part, the last was the 40th, at the end of which was said: «Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from now and forever; so be it, so be it;» and of the second, the last was the one at hand, similarly saying at the end: «Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. And blessed be the name of his glory,» and the rest; and of the third part, the last happens to be the 88th, whose end is: «Blessed be the Lord forever; so be it, so be it.» Similarly also of the fourth part, the last is the 105th, and its end: «Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, and all the people shall say: So be it, so be it.» And the fifth part ends with «hallelujah,» in which the whole book is also encompassed. However, the present one, after the previously expounded prophecy concerning Christ, adds: «Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,» and adds, «who alone does wondrous things.» And what wondrous things, but those foretold, among which were that he would descend upon the fleece like rain, and humble the slanderer, and remain with the sun; and that in his days righteousness would spring up, and that he would have dominion from sea to sea; that the Ethiopians would fall down before him; and that gifts would be brought to him from all the nations; but also that he would become a support in the land, and his fruit would be lifted up above Lebanon, and as many other things as are enumerated in order after these? for all of which we are taught to say: «Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. And blessed be the name of his glory forever.» But the name of his glory happens to be his divinity; for if the one born of the holy Virgin was deemed worthy of the name of Jesus according to Gabriel who said to Joseph: «And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins;» it follows that the name of his glory is understood as the theology concerning him, through which God the Word and only-begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father has been conceived; whence it is said next: «And the whole earth shall be filled with his glory.» For of old he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.» And since not even the Jews, to whom he had shown so many wonders, accepted the knowledge of him, he rightly says to Moses: «Let me alone, and being wroth with anger I will destroy them, and I will make of you a great nation;» and he adds: «As my name lives, all the earth shall be filled with my glory.» For even if these especially, he says, reject my glory, yet at some time the whole world will be filled with my glory. This indeed the present saying also teaches, stating: «And the whole earth shall be filled with his glory.» This Isaiah also presented, prophesying that the seraphim encircle the Lord Sabaoth, crying out and saying:
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Ἀβραὰμ διὰ τοῦ χρησμοῦ τεθεσπισμένα ἐπαναλαμβάνει τὸ λόγιον διδάσκον οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πληρωθήσεσθαι, φάσκον· «Καὶ εὐλογηθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς.» Εἶθ' ἑξῆς φησι· «Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη μακαριοῦσιν αὐτόν.» Πῶς δὲ μακαριοῦσιν αὐτὸν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη; διὰ τῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς μακαριότητος τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ χάριν παριστῶντα. «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ, ὁ ποιῶν θαυμάσια μόνος.» Εὐλογούμενα τὰ ἔθνη ἐν τῷ προφητευομένῳ κατὰ τὸ λόγιον τὸ φῆσαν· «Καὶ εὐλογηθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη·» αὔξει τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν αὔξησιν, καὶ πληθύει, καὶ τῆς γῆς κατακυριεύει. ∆ιόπερ φησὶν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος· «Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ.» Οὕτω δὲ ἔχοντα, ἀντευλογεῖ τὸν τῆς εὐλογίας αὐτοῖς αἴτιον γεγενημένον. ∆ιὸ πρῶτον μὲν ἐμακάριζον αὐτὸν, εἶτα καὶ εὐλογεῖν διδάσκεται διὰ τοῦ λέγειν· «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ, ὁ ποιῶν θαυμάσια μόνος.» Ἐπιτήρει δὲ, ὡς ἕκαστον μέρος τῆς 23.820 βίβλου τῶν Ψαλμῶν εἰς ὅμοιον καταλήγει τέλος. Τοῦ μὲν γὰρ πρώτου μέρους τελευταῖος ἦν ὁ μʹ, οὗ πρὸς τῷ τέλει ἐλέγετο· «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· γένοιτο, γένοιτο·» τοῦ δὲ δευτέρου τελευταῖος ἦν ὁ μετὰ χεῖρας ὁμοίως ἐπὶ τῷ τέλει λέγων· «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ὁ ποιῶν θαυμάσια μόνος. Καὶ εὐλογητὸν τὸ ὄνομα τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ,» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· τοῦ δὲ τρίτου μέρους τελευταῖος ὁ πηʹ τυγχάνει, οὗ τέλος· «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· γένοιτο, γένοιτο.» Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοῦ τετάρτου μέρους τελευταῖος μὲν ἔστιν ὁ ρεʹ, τέλος δὲ τούτου· «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος, καὶ ἐρεῖ πᾶς ὁ λαός· Γένοιτο, γένοιτο.» Τὸ δὲ πέμπτον μέρος εἰς τὸ «ἀλληλούϊα» καταλήγει, ἐν ᾧ καὶ πᾶσα περιγέγραπται ἡ βίβλος. Πλὴν ὁ παρὼν μετὰ τὴν προεκτεθεῖσαν περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρόῤῥησιν ἐπιφέρει τό· «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ,» καὶ προστίθησι τὸ, «ὁ ποιῶν θαυμάσια μόνος.» Ποῖα δὲ θαυμάσια, ἢ τὰ προλεχθέντα ἐν οἷς ἦν τὸ καταβήσεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πόκον ὡς ὑετὸν, καὶ τὸ ταπεινῶσαι συκοφάντην, καὶ τὸ συμπαραμενεῖν τῷ ἡλίῳ· καὶ τὸ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ ἀνατελεῖν δικαιοσύνην, καὶ τὸ κατακυριεύσειν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἕως θαλάσσης· τοὺς Αἰθίοπας προπίπτειν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ· δῶρά τε αὐτῷ προσαχθήσεσθαι ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ στήριγμα αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ γενήσεσθαι, καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ τὸν Λίβανον ἀρθήσεσθαι, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τούτοις ἑξῆς κατηρίθμηται; ἐφ' οἷς πᾶσι διδασκόμεθα λέγειν· «Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ὁ ποιῶν θαυμάσια μόνος. Καὶ εὐλογητὸν τὸ ὄνομα τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.» Ὄνομα δὲ δόξης αὐτοῦ ἡ θεότης αὐτοῦ τυγχάνει· εἰ γὰρ τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου γεγενημένον ὀνόματος ἠξίωται τοῦ Ἰησοῦ κατὰ τὸν Γαβριὴλ φήσαντα πρὸς τὸν Ἰωσήφ· «Καὶ τέξεται υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν· αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτοῦ·» ἀκόλουθόν ἐστι τὸ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ ὄνομα τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ νοεῖσθαι θεολογίαν, δι' ἧς Θεὸς Λόγος καὶ μονογενὴς Θεὸς ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐπινενόηται· ὅθεν ἐπιλέγεται ἑξῆς· «Καὶ πληρωθήσεται τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ.» Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω.» Καὶ ἐπεὶ μηδὲ Ἰουδαῖοι οἷς τοσαύτας ἐνεδείξατο θαυματουργίας παρεδέξαντο τὴν γνῶσιν αὐτοῦ, εἰκότως φησὶ πρὸς Μωϋσῆν· «Ἔασόν με, καὶ θυμωθεὶς ὀργῇ ἐκτρίψω αὐτοὺς, καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα·» καὶ ἐπιλέγει· «Ζῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου, ὅτι πληρωθήσεται τῆς δόξης μου πᾶσα ἡ γῆ.» Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα οὗτοι, φησὶ, παρωθοῦνται τὴν ἐμὴν δόξαν, ἀλλὰ καιρῷ τινι πληρωθήσεται ἡ οἰκουμένη πᾶσα τῆς ἐμῆς δόξης. Ὃ δὴ καὶ τὸ παρὸν λόγιον διδάσκει φῆσαν· «Καὶ πληρωθήσεται τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ.» Τοῦτο καὶ Ἡσαΐας παρίστη θεσπίζων τὰ σεραφεὶμ κυκλοῦντα τὸν Κύριον Σαβαὼθ βοῶντά τε καὶ λέγοντα·