The Soul's Cry and the Nature of Faith
It says, to the child of the Lord, David. A conclusion to be taken from these things is victory over all enemies; for on account of this both wars and everything contributing to the excellence of a king exist. And it is rightly said that it is not the other things, but this itself, that triumphs. For since victory exists, it is not necessary to give thanks to anyone else but to God who granted it. For it is said to him by Ezra: 'From you is the victory.'
David refers the song to the Lord, as his child and servant, having wisely and faithfully expressed all the words of thanksgiving on that day (that is, in that light), in which all the enemies and Saul the king of Israel were overthrown, and David was rescued unharmed from them. And these things are said as regarding the history.
But since it seems to many of the faithful that the song is present from the face of the Savior, it must be said that the triumphal hymn refers to the resurrection from the dead, his being rescued from all the guarding nations and the empty peoples who studied to destroy him, but also from the kings who stood against him and the rulers gathered against him. And you say that he was rescued also from the hand of Saul, who was then ruling the Jews, in a certain way; for it was not an inaccurate representation of their manner, being wrathful and having with them an evil spirit, saying they did not have a god for a king; for how could they not be about to deny God, to be ruled by some base person? (Ps 17:5b,6).
'Streams of iniquity' were called, as another says, and because of entering into iniquity those who do not bravely stand against the trials. And if the preceding words concern the death that follows those who sin, and the harmony having with it slavery, then the pains of death and slavery are the sins that exist toward death. In accordance with this understanding, you will say 'streams of iniquity' referring to the currents of wickedness, and 'snares of death' referring to those which practically constitute sins toward death.
According to the previous explanation, the present passages fit the economy of the Lord according to the flesh. For 'My soul is greatly troubled, and my soul is very sorrowful near death' (Ps 17:7) possesses much intimacy with the Now.
Prayer has much boldness from a pure conscience, since to call upon the Lord is not a mere report, but to cry out to God. Lest it be not in agreement with us that God is the Father and Jesus Christ is Lord. We shall call God the Father and the Son Lord, unless both are said of the same one as Father and Son of God and Lord, being through the same divinity and lordship. How then, having said 'He heard my voice from His holy temple?' (Ps 17:7) It is said metaphorically that his cry enters into the ears of God. To this, one says: that having heard God, the one who prayed will become out of the distress, believing that, having cried again to God, he receives him into the ears and before him the upward-sent cry. Another saying: the one who perceived through the calling from His holy temple that the Paraclete had breathed upon him, is emboldened that he will find the outcome of those things for which he cried, the cry being sent up from a pure disposition into the ears of God and before Him.
These oracles remove from the deceived those having faith like a grain of mustard seed (Ps 17:8b); for if Paul says that faith as a grain of mustard seed removes them. Among these was also the spirit of moon-sickness about which the Savior says: 'If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you say to this mountain, Move from here to there' (Ps 17:9). 'Smoke ascended in His wrath' (Ps 17:10a); having an analogy with the exhausting of the material, regarding those being built up upon Christ, being the foundation, wood is a brush of reeds by wicked men, and evil deeds and...
Greek
φησίν, τῷ παιδὶ κυρίου τῷ ∆αυίδ. τέλος ἐν τούτοις ληπτέον κατὰ πάντων τῶν ἐχθρῶν νίκην· ὑπὲρ ταύτης γὰρ καὶ οἱ πόλεμοι καὶ πάντα τὰ συντείνοντα πρὸς ἀριστείαν βασιλέως. τέλος δὲ ὀρθῶς λέγεται τὸ ου χάριν τὰ α λλα, αὐτὸ δὲ οὐδενὸς ε νεκα. νίκης τοιγαροῦν ὑπαρξάσης οὐκ α λλῳ δεῖ εὐχαριστῆσαι η τῷ θεῷ τῷ ὀρέξαντι αὐτήν. ει ρηται γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ Εσδρα· Παρὰ σοῦ ἡ νίκη. ἀναφέρει δὲ τὴν ᾠδὴν ὁ ∆αυὶδ τῷ κυρίῳ, ὡς παῖς καὶ θεραπευτὴς αὐτοῦ πάντας τοὺς λόγους τῆς εὐχαριστίας σοφῶς καὶ πιστῶς διεξιὼν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ (τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ φωτισμῷ) ἐκείνῃ, ο τε πάντες οἱ ἐχθροὶ καὶ ὁ τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ βασιλεὺς Σαοὺλ κατελύθησαν, τοῦ ∆αυὶδ ἀβλαβοῦς ἀπ' αὐτῶν ῥερυσμένου. καὶ ταῦτα ὡς πρὸς τὴν ἱστορίαν. ̓Επειδὴ δὲ πολλοῖς τῶν πιστῶν δοκεῖ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ σωτῆρος ει ναι τὴν ᾠδήν, λεκτέον μετὰ ἀνάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν εἰρῆσθαι τὸν ἐπινίκιον υ μνον, ῥυσθέντος αὐτοῦ ἐκ 31 πάντων τῶν φρυαξάντων ἐθνῶν καὶ μελετησάντων κενὰ λαῶν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν παραστάντων βασιλέων καὶ συναχθέντων ἀρχόντων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατ' αὐτοῦ. ἐρεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ε ρρυσθαι καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς Σαούλ, ἐκ τοῦ τότε κρατοῦντος τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων, ῳ , μετὰ τοῦ τρόπου, οὐκ ἀπεικὸς γὰρ κεκρατηκέναι αὐτῶν τρόπον ὠμόθυμον καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ πνεῦμα πονηρὸν εἰρηκότων μὴ ε χειν βασιλέα θεόν· πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ε μελλον ἀρνησάμενοι θεὸν ὑπὸ φαύλου τινὸς βασιλεύεσθαι; 111 Ps 17,5b.6 Χείμαρροι δὲ ἀνομίας ἐκλήθησαν, ὡς α λλος φησίν, καὶ διὰ τὸ εἰς ἀνομίαν ε ρχεσθαι τοὺς μὴ γενναίως ὑφισταμένους τὰ πειρατήρια. εἰ δὲ περὶ τοῦ ἑπομένου τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι θανάτου καὶ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἁρμονίαν ε χοντος ᾳ δου τυγχάνουσιν αἱ προκείμεναι λέξεις, καὶ ὠδῖνες θανάτου καὶ ᾳ δου τὰ ἁμαρτήματα τὰ πρὸς θάνατον ὑπάρχει. καταλλήλως ταύτῃ τῇ νοήσει χειμάρρους ἀνομίας ἐρεῖς τὰ ῥεύματα τῆς κακίας καὶ θανάτου παγίδας τὰς ἀποτελουμένας πρακτικῶς ἁμαρτίας. Κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀπόδοσιν ἁρμόζει τὰ προκείμενα τῇ κατὰ σάρκα τοῦ κυρίου οἰκονομίᾳ. ε χουσι γὰρ πολλὴν οἰκειότητα πρὸς τὸ Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται καὶ τὸ Περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ε ως θανάτου. 112 Ps 17,7 Πολλὴν δὲ παρρησίαν ἀπὸ καθαρᾶς συνειδήσεως ἡ εὐχή, ἐπεὶ τὸ ἐπικαλεῖσθαι πρὸς τὸν κύριον ει πεν ἀναφορὰν ε χειν, πρὸς τὸν θεὸν δὲ τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτοῦ ἐφθακέναι. ο ρα μήποτε συμφώνως τῷ ̔Ημῖν δὲ ει ς θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ει ς κύριος ̓Ιησοῦς Χριστός. θεὸν τὸν πατέρα, κύριον δὲ τὸν υἱὸν ἐκληψόμεθα, εἰ μὴ α ρα κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀμφότερα λέγεται πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ θεοῦ καὶ κυρίου ο ντος διὰ τὸ ταὐτὸν τῆς θεότητος καὶ κυριότητος. Πῶς δὲ εἰπὼν Ηκουσεν ἐκ ναοῦ ἁγίου αὐτοῦ φωνῆς μου; μελλητικῶς λέγεται εἰσελεύσεσθαι εἰς τὰ ω τα τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ κραυγὴ αὐτοῦ. πρὸς τοῦτο ὁ μέν τις ἐρεῖ· η δη ἐπακούσαντος θεοῦ ὡς ἐκτὸς τῆς θλίψεως γενέσθαι τὸν εὐξάμενον, πιστεύει ο τι πάλιν κράξας πρὸς θεὸν ε χει αὐτὸν δεχόμενον εἰς τὰ ω τα καὶ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀναπεμπομένην κραυγὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. α λλου λέξοντος· ὁ δὲ αἰσθηθεὶς α μα τῷ ἐπικαλέσασθαι ἐκ ναοῦ ἁγίου αὐτοῦ ἐπινεύσαντα τὸν παρακληθέντα θαρρεῖ ο τι ἐκβάσεως τεύξεται τὰ περὶ ω ν ηυ ξατο, εἰσελευσομένης εἰς τὰ ω τα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀπὸ καθαρᾶς διαθέσεως ἀναπεμφθείσης κραυγῆς. Ps 17,8b Τὰ ο ρη ταῦτα μεθίστησιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἠπατημένων ὁ α πασαν τὴν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως ε χων πίστιν· ̓Εὰν γάρ φησιν ὁ Παῦλος ε χω πίστιν ω στε ο ρη μεθιστάνειν. τούτων ὑπῆρχε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ σεληνιασμοῦ περὶ ου φησιν ὁ σωτήρ· Εἰ ει χετε πίστιν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, ἐλέγετε α ν τῷ ο ρει τούτῳ Μετάβηθι ε νθεν ἐκεῖ. 113 Ps 17,9.10a ̓Ανέβη καπνὸς ἐν ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ· τῆς μοχθηρᾶς υ λης δαπανωμένης ἀναλογίαν ἐχούσης πρὸς τὰ ἐποικοδομούμενα ἐπὶ τῷ Χριστῷ, θεμελίῳ ο ντι, ὑπὸ φαύλων ἀνθρώπων ξύλα χόρτον καλάμην, πράξεις δὲ φαῦλαι καὶ
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Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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