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in calamities, much more those who care for virtue. When, therefore, He is both able and willing, and all things with Him happen to be sufficient, and He accepts virtue, and has mercy because of calamities, for what reason do you not leave the one who is perishing, the weak, the mortal, and flee for refuge to the strong and invincible One, who does not reproach calamities, but corrects them, who is able to do all that He wills? Consider also how precisely He has spoken the last thing. For He did not say, He will destroy sinners, but, Their way, that is, their practice. For He does not turn away from their nature, but He hates their wickedness. The Lord shall reign for ever, your God, O Zion, unto generation and generation. If, therefore, He reigns for ever and abides for ever, it is not possible to be suspicious, but even if He does not give the recompense here, He keeps it for greater things. Let us not, therefore, be disturbed and troubled in temptations if the release does not come at our feet, but let us yield the time for the release to the Lord; nor if we accomplish some good thing, should we immediately demand the rewards, but so too let us again await His will; for He gives with a greater reward when He postpones; and let us give thanks through all things, and let us remain praising. For thus we shall both live the present life with much security, and we shall obtain the ineffable good things, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, with His beginningless Father and the life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen. ON THE 146TH PSALM. Praise the Lord, for a psalm is a good thing. 1. Above in the one hundred and forty-fourth psalm he said, Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and he discusses many things concerning His glory; but here he shows also that praising itself is good, and that the psalm is the cause of countless good things. For it draws the mind away from the earth, and gives wings to the soul, it lightens and makes it soar. Wherefore Paul also says, Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. To our God may praise be made sweet. Another, Alleluia, for a song is good to God. What is, To our God may praise be made sweet? May it be well-pleasing, he says. For it is not enough simply to sing for the praise to be made sweet to God, but there is need also of the life and the prayer and the precision of the one singing. And this psalm seems to me to be of the return. And he shows 55.476 it through the following. For he continues, saying, The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He will gather together the dispersed of Israel. For even if Cyrus released them, yet the whole thing was not of his will, but of the inclination of God. But another interpreter, instead of, Building up, Will build up. And the dispersions, he said, The outcasts. Why ever is that? Because they were not all brought back at once, but after the return they were gathered together little by little. He who heals the broken in heart, and binds up their fractures. Another, Their broken parts. Since he could not speak of the confidence from his life, he puts forward again the calamity, and what is customary for God. For it is His work to comfort the humble, and this is peculiar to Him; just as when Paul also says, Who gives life to the dead; and again, Who calls the things that are not, as though they were, speaking of His own peculiar work; so indeed also here this one says, He who heals the broken, showing that even if we are unworthy, since we are His work, He will not abandon His practice, He will not forsake what is customary for Him. So also Paul, But He who comforts the humble,

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συμφοραῖς, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τοὺς ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελουμένους. Ὅταν οὖν καὶ δύνηται καὶ βούληται, καὶ διαρκῆ τυγχάνῃ τὰ παρ' αὐτῷ πάντα, καὶ ἀρετὴν ἀποδέχηται, καὶ διὰ συμφορὰς ἐλεῇ, τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἀφίης τὸν ἀπολλύμενον, τὸν ἀσθενῆ, τὸν ἐπίκηρον, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἰσχυρὸν καὶ ἄμαχον καταφεύγεις, τὸν οὐκ ὀνειδίζοντα τὰς συμφορὰς, ἀλλὰ διορθούμενον, τὸν πάντα ὅσα βούλεται δυνάμενον; Σκόπει δὲ καὶ τὸ ἔσχατον πῶς μετὰ ἀκριβείας εἴρηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπε, Ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀφανιεῖ, ἀλλὰ, Τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτῶν, τουτέστι, τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτῶν. Οὐ γὰρ τὴν φύσιν ἀποστρέφεται, ἀλλὰ τὴν κακίαν μισεῖ. Βασιλεύσει Κύριος εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ὁ Θεός σου, Σιὼν, εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεάν. Εἰ τοίνυν βασιλεύει διὰ παντὸς καὶ μένει διὰ παντὸς, οὐκ ἔστιν ὑποπτεῦσαι, ἀλλὰ κἂν μὴ ἐνταῦθα δῷ τὴν ἀντίδοσιν, ἐπὶ μείζοσιν αὐτὴν φυλάττει. Μὴ τοίνυν μήτε ἐν πειρασμοῖς θορυβώμεθα καὶ ταραττώμεθα, ἂν μὴ παρὰ πόδας ἡ λύσις γένηται, ἀλλ' αὐτῷ παραχωρῶμεν τὸν καιρὸν τῷ Κυρίῳ τῆς λύσεως· μήτε ἂν ἀγαθόν τι κατορθώσωμεν, εὐθέως ἀπαιτῶμεν τὰς ἀμοιβὰς, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτω πάλιν ἀναμένωμεν τὸ αὐτοῦ βούλημα· μετὰ γὰρ πλείονος δίδωσι τῆς ἀμοιβῆς, ὅταν ἀναβάλληται· καὶ διὰ πάντων εὐχαριστῶμεν, καὶ μένωμεν αἰνοῦντες. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τὸν παρόντα βίον μετὰ πολλῆς βιώσομεν τῆς ἀδείας, καὶ τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων ἐπιτευξόμεθα ἀγαθῶν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, σὺν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ αὐτοῦ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, Ἀμήν. ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΡΜςʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ. Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον, ὅτι ἀγαθὸν ψαλμός. αʹ. Ἀνωτέρω ἐν μὲν τῷ τεσσαρακοστῷ τετάρτῳ καὶ ἑκατοστῷ ψαλμῷ ἔλεγε, Μέγας Κύριος καὶ αἰνετὸς σφόδρα, καὶ πολλὰ περὶ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ διαλέγεται· ἐνταῦθα δὲ δείκνυσι καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ αἰνεῖν ὅτι καλὸν, καὶ μυρίων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον ὁ ψαλμός. Ἀφίστησι γὰρ τὴν διάνοιαν τῆς γῆς, καὶ πτεροῖ τὴν ψυχὴν, κουφίζει καὶ μεταρσίους ποιεῖ. ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλος λέγει, Ἄδοντες καὶ ψάλλοντες ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν τῷ Κυρίῳ. Τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν ἡδυνθείη αἴνεσις. Ἕτερος, Ἀλληλούϊα, ὅτι καλὸν ᾠδὴ τῷ Θεῷ. Τί ἐστι, Τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν ἡδυνθείη αἴνεσις; Εὐπρόσδεκτος γένοιτο, φησίν. Οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ τὸ ψάλλειν ἁπλῶς πρὸς τὸ ἡδυνθῆναι τῷ Θεῷ τὴν αἴνεσιν, ἀλλὰ δεῖ καὶ τοῦ βίου καὶ τῆς προσευχῆς καὶ τῆς ἀκριβείας τοῦ ᾄδοντος. ∆οκεῖ δέ μοι οὗτος ὁ ψαλμὸς εἶναι τῆς ἐπανόδου. Καὶ δεί 55.476 κνυσι διὰ τῆς ἐπαγωγῆς. Ἐπάγει γὰρ λέγων Οἰκοδομῶν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὁ Κύριος· τὰς διασπορὰς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπισυνάξει. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ Κῦρος αὐτοὺς ἀφῆκεν, ἀλλ' οὐ τῆς ἐκείνου γνώμης, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ῥοπῆς τὸ πᾶν ἐγίνετο. Ἕτερος δὲ ἑρμηνευτὴς, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Οἰκοδομῶν, Οἰκοδομήσει. Τὰς δὲ διασπορὰς, Τοὺς ἐξωσμένους εἶπε. Τί δή ποτε; Ὅτι οὐκ ἀθρόον ἀνήχθησαν πάντες, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον κατὰ μικρὸν συνήγοντο. Ὁ ἰώμενος τοὺς συντετριμμένους τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ δεσμεύων τὰ συντρίμματα αὐτῶν. Ἄλλος, Τὰ κατεαγμένα αὐτῶν. Ἐπειδὴ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ βίου παῤῥησίαν οὐκ εἶχεν εἰπεῖν, προβάλλεται πάλιν τὴν συμφορὰν, καὶ τὸ τῷ Θεῷ σύνηθες. Ἔργον γὰρ αὐτῷ, τὸ τοὺς τεταπεινωμένους παρακαλεῖν, καὶ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ τοῦτο· ὥσπερ ὅταν λέγῃ καὶ Παῦλος, Ὁ ζωοποιῶν τοὺς νεκρούς· καὶ πάλιν, Ὁ καλῶν τὰ μὴ ὄντα, ὡς ὄντα, τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ λέγων ἔργον· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα οὗτος, Ὁ ἰώμενος τοὺς συντετριμμένους, λέγει, δεικνὺς ὅτι κἂν ἀνάξιοι ὦμεν, ἐπειδὴ ἔργον αὐτοῦ ἐσμεν, τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει, τὸ εἰωθὸς αὐτῷ οὐκ ἀφήσει. Οὕτω καὶ Παῦλος, Ἀλλ' ὁ παρακαλῶν τοὺς ταπεινοὺς,