384

Therefore, signifying these things, he also said through the preceding words: Why, O Lord, do you cast off my soul? Why do you turn your face from me? and, Your wrath has passed over me, your 23.1069 terrors have undone me. But seeing those for whom he made prayers, who were most dear to him and beloved for the sake of the fathers, falling far from the salvation of God, he said: You have put friend and neighbor far from me, and my acquaintances because of my misery. And it indicates those in the nation who were formerly his acquaintances and friends; since they were both his portion and inheritance; but they were truly removed from him through their own unbelief; and being friends long ago, they made themselves enemies; and being his acquaintances, when he came they did not recognize him, nor did they receive him. For all these reasons they were also removed from God on account of their own misery. Thus, then, they have also fallen away from God according to the saying, For those who remove themselves from you shall perish. And to this do the psalms inscribed "of the sons of Korah" conclude. OF UNDERSTANDING. ETHAN THE EZRAHITE. 88. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. To generation and generation I will declare your truth with my mouth. Since, proceeding in order, he is about to say: Where are your former mercies, O Lord, which you swore to David in your truth? he prepares for what is about to be said through the preceding words, saying this in effect: Even if human affairs, throwing my soul into helplessness, disturb it, and cause me dizziness and perplexity concerning your judgments, O Lord, so that a little later I am about to dare and to be perplexed about those things of which you, the truthful God, made promises to David; but the opposite has happened to your promises; for which reason I am about to say: Where are your former mercies, O Lord? but nevertheless, being persuaded that your promise will not prove false, nor will the truth of your word fail, anticipating the words about to be spoken by me from human weakness, I secure beforehand my own faith and the piety of my own mind; wherefore I say: Your mercies, O Lord, I will sing forever. For not only now, when I speak and utter these things, will I sing of the mercies of the Lord, but also in the more somber times, and in those very ones on account of which I am about to say: Where are your former mercies, O Lord? For then, and in the time after these things, and through all eternity I will not cease praising your mercies, O Lord, knowing precisely that, having once promised the prophecies in the psalm, you will not prove false, being a true God. Therefore, not only will I sing of your mercies, O Lord, forever, but I will also declare your truth in every generation. For even if some such things should especially happen in the meantime, which seem to occur contrary to your promises to David, yet even so I have believed, and have truly persuaded myself, that the truth of your words, O Lord, will never fail. Therefore, for all the time of my life I will not cease declaring your truth with my mouth. But also, committing this to my writing, I will leave it to posterity, so that they too may be taught and learn, just like me, to bear your truth in their mouth in every generation, 23.1072 and to be persuaded that your promises can never fail. And the entire discourse proclaims the birth of Christ from the seed of David and his kingdom. For since his birth among men was prophesied through the preceding things according to what was presented in the 80th and ... psalm; but it was necessary to learn, in addition to his birth, also from where he would come; the present Scripture necessarily teaches this, the promise of God to David

384

∆ιὸ δὴ ταῦτα σημαίνων καὶ διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ἔλεγεν· Ἵνα τί, Κύριε, ἀπωθεῖς τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἀποστρέφεις τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ; καὶ τὸ, Ἐπ' ἐμὲ διῆλθον αἱ ὀργαί σου, οἱ 23.1069 φοβερισμοί σου ἐξετάραξάν με. Ὁρῶν δὲ μακρὰν ἐκπίπτοντας τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σωτηρίας τοὺς ὑπὲρ ὧν τὰς εὐχὰς ἐποιεῖτο φιλτάτους ὄντας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀγαπητοὺς διὰ τοὺς πατέρας, ἔλεγεν· Ἐμάκρυνας ἀπ' ἐμοῦ φίλον καὶ πλησίον, καὶ τοὺς γνωστούς μου ἀπὸ ταλαιπωρίας. ∆ηλοῖ δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῷ ἔθνει γνωστοὺς ὄντας αὐτοῦ πρότερον καὶ φίλους· ἐπεὶ καὶ μέρος ἦσαν αὐτοῦ καὶ κληρονομία· ἀλλ' ἐμακρύνθησαν ἀληθῶς ἀπ' αὐτοῦ διὰ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀπιστίας· καὶ πάλαι ὄντες φίλοι, ἐχθροὺς ἑαυτοὺς κατέστησαν· καὶ γνωστοὶ τυγχάνοντες αὐτοῦ, ἐλθόντα αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐπέγνωσαν, οὐδὲ παρεδέξαντο. Ὧν ἕνεκα πάντων καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐμακρύνθησαν δι' αἰτίαν τῆς ἑαυτῶν ταλαιπωρίας. Οὕτω δ' οὖν καὶ ἐκπεπτώκασι τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ τὸ φάσκον λόγιον, Ὅτι οἱ μακρύνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ ἀπολοῦνται. Καὶ εἰς τοῦτο καταλήγουσιν οἱ ἐπιγεγραμμένοι τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ ψαλμοί. ΣΥΝΕΣΕΩΣ ΑΙΘΑΝ ΤΩ ΕΣ∆ΡΑΙΤΗ. ΠΗʹ. Τὰ ἐλέη τοῦ Κυρίου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ᾄσομαι. Εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεὰν ἀπαγγελῶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου ἐν τῷ στόματί μου. Ἐπειδὴ προϊὼν ἑξῆς μέλλει λέγειν· Ποῦ εἰσι τὰ ἐλέη σου τὰ ἀρχαῖα, Κύριε, ἃ ὤμοσας τῷ ∆αυῒδ ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου; προθεραπεύει τὸ μέλλον ῥηθήσεσθαι διὰ τῶν προκειμένων, δυνάμει τοῦτο λέγων· Εἰ καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα πράγματα τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχὴν εἰς ἀμηχανίαν ἐμβαλόντα ταράττει, ἴλιγγόν τέ μοι καὶ ἀπορίαν ἐμποιεῖ, τῶν σῶν, ὦ Κύριε, κριμάτων, ὡς μέλλειν μικρὸν ὕστερον ἀποτολμᾷν καὶ ἀπορεῖν, ὑπὲρ ὧν σὺ μὲν ὁ ἀψευδὴς Θεὸς πρὸς τὸν ∆αυῒδ ἐπαγγελιῶν πεποίησαι· τἀναντία δὲ συμβέβηκε ταῖς σαῖς ὑποσχέσεσι· διὸ καὶ μέλλω λέγειν· Ποῦ εἰσι τὰ ἐλέη σου τὰ ἀρχαῖα, Κύριε; ἀλλ' ὅμως πεπεισμένος, ὅτι μὴ διαψεύσεταί σου ἡ ἐπαγγελία, οὐδὲ διαπεσεῖται ἡ τοῦ σοῦ λόγου ἀλήθεια, προλαβὼν τοὺς μέλλοντας ἐξ ἀνθρωπίνης ἀσθενείας ῥηθήσεσθαί μοι λόγους, τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ πίστιν καὶ τὸ εὐσεβὲς τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ γνώμης προασφαλίζομαι· διό φημι· Τὰ ἐλέη σου, Κύριε, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ᾄσομαι. Οὐ γὰρ νῦν μόνον, ὅτε ταῦτα λαλῶ καὶ φθέγγομαι, τὰ ἐλέη τοῦ Κυρίου ᾄσομαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τοῖς σκυθρωποτέροις καιροῖς, καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις δι' οὓς μέλλω λέγειν· Ποῦ εἰσι τὰ ἐλέη σου τὰ ἀρχαῖα, Κύριε; Καὶ τότε γὰρ καὶ εἰς τὸν μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνον, καὶ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος οὐ παύσομαι ἀνυμνῶν τὰ ἐλέη σου, Κύριε, ἀκριβῶς εἰδὼς, ὅτι, ἅπαξ ἐπαγγειλάμενος τὰς ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ προφητείας, οὐ διαψεύσεις, ἅτε Θεὸς ὢν ἀληθής. ∆ιόπερ οὐ μόνον τὰ ἐλέη σου, Κύριε, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ᾄσομαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου καθ' ἑκάστην γενεὰν ἀπαγγελῶ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα τοιαῦτά τινα μεταξὺ γενήσεται, ὡς δοκεῖ, ἐναντία ταῖς σαῖς πρὸς τὸν ∆αυῒδ ἐπαγγελίαις συμβαίνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτως ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα, καὶ ἀληθῶς ἐμαυτὸν πέπεικα, ὅτι τῶν λόγων σου, ὦ Κύριε, ἡ ἀλήθεια οὐδέποτε διαπεσεῖται. ∆ιόπερ τὸν πάντα μου χρόνον τῆς ζωῆς οὐ παύσομαι ἐν τῷ στόματί μου τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου ἀπαγγέλλων. Ἀλλὰ καὶ παραδιδοὺς τῇ ἐμαυτοῦ γραφῇ ταύτην καταλείψω τοῖς μεταγενεστέροις, εἰς τὸ καὶ αὐτοὺς διδάσκεσθαί τε καὶ μανθάνειν ὁμοίως ἐμοὶ καθ' ἑκάστην γενεὰν τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου διὰ στόματος φέ 23.1072 ρειν, καὶ πεπεῖσθαι μηδέποτε δύνασθαι διαπίπτειν τὰς σὰς ἐπαγγελίας. Ὁ δὲ πᾶς λόγος τὴν ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυῒδ γένεσιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ θεσπίζει. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἡ εἰς ἀνθρώπους γένεσις αὐτοῦ προεφητεύετο κατὰ τὰ ἐν τῷ πʹ καὶ ʹ ψαλμῷ παραστάντα· ἐχρῆν δὲ πρὸς τῇ γενέσει μαθεῖν καὶ πόθεν προελεύσεται· διδάσκει τοῦτο ἀναγκαίως ἡ παροῦσα Γραφὴ, τὴν πρὸς τὸν ∆αυῒδ ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ