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"Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God." He did not simply name the God of Jacob, but reminding us how much providence Jacob enjoyed by hoping in God, and what and how many fruits of hope he reaped, he exhorts us to hope in his God; and he calls him Lord and God, and through both proclaims his power. Then from the creation of the things that are made, he teaches his goodness and his power. ʹ. "Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them." He concisely embraced in his word all creation, both visible and invisible. For he mentioned not only heaven, and earth, and sea, but also all the things in them. And in heaven are angels, and the nature of invisible things, and sun, and moon, and the multitude of stars. And on earth and in the sea are men, and the kinds of irrational creatures. So great, he says, is the power of the Maker of all things. You see, therefore, how great is the difference between perishable rulers and the creator of all 80.1977 things. Thus having shown him to be the creator of all things, he shows him also as providing for what he made. ζʹ. "Who keeps truth forever, who executes judgment for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry." For he is true to his promises, and as a lover of truth he fulfills his promises. And he defends the oppressed, and judges righteously; and he provides suitable food for all who are hungry. From here he also foretells the benefits that came through the incarnation of our Savior. ηʹ. "The Lord sets the prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down." These things the God of all also foretold through the prophet Isaiah. For having said, "I have given you as a light to the nations," he added, "To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and from the prison house those who sit in darkness." And elsewhere he spoke in the person of the Lord Christ: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind." And in another place, "Then the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of obscurity and out of darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. "The Lord loves the righteous. [θʹ] The Lord watches over the sojourners." The Lord of all things offers to each what is suitable. And he repays the righteous who love him with the same, and gives them in return a fatherly love and affection; but those who have fled their ancestral impiety, and approach him with faith, he deems worthy of all protection and providence. For he calls the strangers "proselytes." Thus also the blessed Paul said, that "we were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope; but now we who once were far off have been brought near." -"He will uphold the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he will bring to ruin." From general Providence he brought his discourse down to particulars, and says that the ruler of all things neglects no one, but also deems those destitute of human care worthy of all solicitude, and thwarts the plots against them. ιʹ. "The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations." For he who is now considered your God alone, O Zion, has eternal dominion and an everlasting kingdom.

INTERPRETATION OF PSALM 146. αʹ. Alleluia. Here we were clearly taught the interpretation of "alleluia."

For the Hebrew says "Alleluia" for "Praise the 80.1980 Lord"; but Symmachus left it untranslated; and he says thus, Alleluia, because a psalm is good. But Theodotion, Praise Yah; therefore this psalm also exhorts to praise; and it prophesies the return from Babylon, and that which subsequently happened of the

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"Μακάριος οὗ ὁ Θεὸς Ἰακὼβ βοηθὸς αὐτοῦ, ἡ ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν αὐτοῦ." Θεὸν Ἰα κὼβ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ὠνόμασεν, ἀλλ' ἀναμιμνήσκων ἡμᾶς πόσης προμηθείας ἀπήλαυσεν Ἰακὼβ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐλπίσας, καὶ οἵους καὶ ὅσους ἐδρέψατο τῆς ἐλπίδος καρποὺς, εἰς τὸν τούτου Θεὸν ἐλπίζειν παρεγγυᾷ· καὶ Κύριον αὐτὸν, καὶ Θεὸν ὀνομάζει, καὶ δι' ἀμφο τέρων κηρύττει τὸ δυνατόν. Εἶτα ἐκ τῆς τῶν ποιημά των δημιουργίας διδάσκει αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀγαθότητα καὶ τὴν δύναμιν. ʹ. "Τὸν ποιήσαντα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς." Συντόμως ἅπα σαν τὴν ὁρωμένην καὶ ἀόρατον τῷ λόγῳ περιέλαβε κτίσιν. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον οὐρανοῦ, καὶ γῆς, καὶ θαλάσ σης ἐμνήσθη, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ἐν οὐρανῷ δὲ ἄγγελοι, καὶ τῶν ἀοράτων ἡ φύσις, καὶ ἥλιος, καὶ σελήνη, καὶ τῶν ἀστέρων τὸ πλῆθος. Ἐν γῇ δὲ καὶ θαλάσσῃ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ τῶν ἀλόγων τὰ γένη. Τοσαύτη, φησὶ, τοῦ Ποιητοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἡ δύνα μις. Βλέπεις τοίνυν πόσον ἐστὶ τὸ διάφορον τῶν φθειρομένων ἀρχόντων, καὶ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ τῶν 80.1977 ἁπάντων. Οὕτω δείξας αὐτὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸν, δείκνυσιν αὐτὸν καὶ προμηθούμενον ὧν ἐποίησεν. ζʹ. "Τὸν φυλάσσοντα ἀλήθειαν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ποιοῦντα κρῖμα τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις, διδόντα τροφὴν τοῖς πεινῶσιν." Ἀψευδὴς γάρ ἐστιν ὑπισχνούμενος, καὶ φιλαλήθης τὰς ἐπαγγελίας πληροῖ. Ἐπαμύνει δὲ τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις, καὶ κρίνει δικαίως· παρέχει δὲ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς πεινῶσι τὴν κατάλληλον τροφήν. Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τὰς διὰ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν γεγενημένας εὐεργεσίας προλέγει. ηʹ. "Κύριος λύει πεπεδημένους, Κύριος σοφοῖ τυφλοὺς, Κύριος ἀνορθοῖ κατεῤῥαγμένους." Ταῦτα καὶ διὰ Ἡσαΐου προφήτου προηγόρευσεν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός. Εἰρηκὼς γὰρ, "∆έδωκά σε εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν," ἐπήγαγεν, "Ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλῶν, ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ δεσμῶν δεδεμένους, καὶ ἐξ οἴκου φυλακῆς καθ ημένους ἐν σκότει." Καὶ ἑτέρωθι ἐκ προσώπου ἔφη τοῦ ∆εσπότου τοῦ Χριστοῦ· "Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμὲ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέ με, εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς ἀπέσταλκέ με, ἰάσασθαι τοὺς συντετριμμένους τὴν καρδίαν, κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν, τυφλοῖς ἀνά βλεψιν." Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ, "Τότε ἀκούσονται κωφοὶ λό γους βιβλίου, καὶ οἱ ἐν τῷ σκότει, καὶ οἱ ἐν τῇ ὁμί χλῃ ὀφθαλμοὶ τυφλῶν ὄψονται. "Κύριος ἀγαπᾷ δικαίους. [θʹ] Κύριος φυλάσσει τοὺς προσηλύτους." Ἑκάστῳ τὰ κατάλληλα προσ φέρει τῶν ὅλων ὁ Κύριος. Καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀγαπῶντας αὐτὸν δικαίους τοῖς ἴσοις ἀμείβεται, καὶ ἀγάπην αὐ τοῖς καὶ φιλοστοργίαν ἀντιδίδωσι πατρικήν· τοὺς δὲ τὴν πατρῴαν φυγόντας ἀσέβειαν, καὶ μετὰ πίστεως αὐτῷ προσιόντας, πάσης ἀξιοῖ φυλακῆς τε καὶ προ μηθείας. Προσηλύτους γὰρ τοὺς ξένους καλεῖ. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔφη Παῦλος, ὅτι "Ἦμέν ποτε χωρὶς Χριστοῦ ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι τῆς πολιτείας τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ξένοι τῶν διαθηκῶν, τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐλπίδα μὴ ἔχοντες· ἀλλ' οἱ ποτὲ ὄντες μακρὰν ἐγγὺς ἐγενή θημεν." -"Ὀρφανὸν καὶ χήραν ἀναλήψεται, καὶ ὁδὸν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἀφανιεῖ." Ἀπὸ τῆς καθόλου Προ νοίας ἐπὶ τὰ μερικὰ τὸν λόγον κατήγαγε, καί φησιν ὡς οὐδενὸς ἀμελεῖ τῶν ὅλων ὁ πρύτανις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐρήμους ἀνθρωπίνης κηδεμονίας πάσης ἀξιοῖ ἐπιμελείας, καὶ τὰς κατὰ τούτων ἐπιβουλὰς δια λύει. ιʹ. "Βασιλεύσει Κύριος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ὁ Θεός σου Σιὼν εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεάν." Αἰώνιον γὰρ ἔχει τὸ κράτος, καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἀΐδιον ὁ νῦν, ὦ Σιὼν, μόνης σου Θεὸς νομιζόμενος.

ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ ΡΜʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. αʹ. Ἀλληλούϊα. Ἐνταῦθα σαφῶς ἐδιδάχθημεν τοῦ ἀλληλούϊα τὴν ἑρμηνείαν.

Τὸ γὰρ Αἰνεῖτε τὸν 80.1980 Κύριον, Ἀλληλούϊα ὁ Ἑβραῖος λέγει· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος καὶ ἀνερμήνευτον αὐτὸ εἴασε· λέγει δὲ οὕτως, Ἀλληλούϊα, ὅτι ἀγαθὸς ψαλμός. Ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων, Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Ἰά· αἰνεῖν καὶ οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ ψαλμὸς παρακελεύεται· προθεσπίζει δὲ τὴν ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος ἐπάνοδον, καὶ τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα γενομένην τῆς