The Soul's Defense against the Sword of the Devil
This is not the body which the Savior, having entered into the womb from the Virgin, says, 'You have brought me into the dust of death' (Ps 22:14). Perhaps he also descended into mortality and the Hades, which for us is the dust of death; it took place in the depths of the earth for three days and three nights. Ps 22:17c–19: 'They pierced my hands and my feet' signifies the death of those coming to this, having their hands and feet dug out through the piercing of the nails. 'All my bones were counted.' All the bones of the body can be counted, if they are stripped of the joined flesh; and regarding the body of Christ, the apostles declare the bones, but his flesh is spoken of by those believing more superficially and more bodily. For the body is not the same thing: the bones hold the flesh together, and the flesh happens to be around the bones, covering them. If some fear should disturb those fleeing, the superficial believers, only the hard and zealous ones are left, as if they were counted as remaining having been stripped after the fleeing of the crowd. 'They understood and looked upon me; even though they did not cause my death to happen (for I took these things willingly), they divided my garments among themselves and cast lots upon my clothing' (Ps 22:18).
Regarding the history, the words of the Scriptures are more allegorical concerning the garments and the clothing of Jesus; for the Word of God, who exists in spiritual realities, both wears and is surrounded by these. The heterodox, the executioners and the spirits of the slayer, divide the garments of the Savior. For each of them receives the words of the Scriptures, and receives those not of the Scriptures, even though the seamless tunic of Jesus is seamless because it is woven; for it does not consist of joined parts but has a unified nature. And it is also from above because it is divinely inspired, woven through the Spirit; for the Scripture is from above by all power. But the Church does not divide the garments nor casts lots upon them; for she has and puts on, standing at the right hands of Jesus, a Queen clothed in golden attire, variegated. Having ascended above these garments, she will clothe herself with Jesus himself, becoming wise and powerful, possessing the wisdom and power of the Father. Ps 22:20: And doing these things...
Regarding his words: 'Do not withdraw your help from me; for if you do not help and attend to my understanding, I shall rise a third time from the dead to show the vainness of the plot against me' (Ps 21:21a).
Since the surrounding enemies, seeking to kill, possess a sword capable of wounding not the body but the soul, he asks to be saved from these blades, kept unharmed from disturbance and cowardice (Ps 21:21a). For even if our soul has been sufficiently prepared, seeing the devil with the whole phalanx of demons and the swarm of opposing and evil human energies acting through them, it becomes disturbed (for its nature is changeable) and calls upon the One capable of saving from the enemy's sword.
Perhaps even the devil himself is allegorically called a sword, since he dares to wound every soul by pre-meditation; thus, he asks to be saved from this sword.
He does not previously call the dogs surrounding him in the plural, but now calls them in the singular because of their kind (Ps 21:21b). And his soul is called 'only-begotten' because it is isolated and separated from all other souls; for all those there have known sin, but this one has not. And while God the Word visits those others at intervals, this one remains unseparated and indivisible without distinction until the end. Because of these exceptional qualities, he is called his only-begotten.
Perhaps also the glorious church standing before him, having no flaw or wrinkle and being filled by the blameless and perfect, is his only-begotten, though progressing into many ranks divided by the difference in progress: sixty indeed of queens, and eighty of companions and maidens whose number is countless; one of them is a perfect dove above all, an only-begotten one to her mother, the upper Jerusalem.
He asks to be saved now from the devil, previously spoken of as a lion, but also through his own humiliation, by which he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the Father unto death, even the death of the cross (Ps 21:22). And he wishes to be saved also from the horns of the unicorns, which are an opposing power promising a kingdom; for the horn is a symbol of a kingdom. And those who consider the...
Greek
τοῦτο ου ν τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου ἐμβὰς ὁ σωτὴρ Εἰς χοῦν, ε φη, θανάτου κατήγαγές με. τάχα καὶ εἰς η ν κατῆλθεν νεκρότητα καὶ τὸν ᾳ δην δι' ἡμᾶς χοῦς ἐστιν θανάτου· γέγονε γὰρ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς γῆς τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας. 187 Ps 21,17c–19 ̔Η Ωρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας λέξις τὸν διὰ σταυροῦ σημαίνει θάνατον τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐρχομένων, ἐξορυττομένων τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας διὰ τῆς τρυπήσεως τῶν η λων. ̓Εξηρίθμησαν πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου. ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ τοῦ σώματος δύναται, ο τ' α ν γυμνωθῇ τῶν συμπεπαρμένων σαρκῶν· καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σώματος μὲν ὀστᾶ προαποδέδονται οἱ ἀποστόλοι, σάρκες δὲ αὐτοῦ ῥηθεῖεν οἱ ἐπιπολαιότερον καὶ σωματικώτερον πεπιστευκότες. ο τε ου ν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα, τὰ μὲν ὀστᾶ διακρατεῖ τὰς σάρκας, αἱ δὲ σάρκες περὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ τυγχάνουσιν καλύπτουσαι αὐτά. ο τ' α ν ου ν φόβος τις ἐκταράξῃ φευγόντων τῶν ἐπιπολαιότερον πεπιστευκότων, καταλείπονται μόνοι οἱ στερροὶ καὶ ευ τονοι ζηλωταὶ ὡς ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς γυμνωθέντας πεφευγότος τοῦ πλήθους. Αὐτοὶ δὲ κατενόησαν καὶ ἐπεῖδόν με· καίτοι οὐκ αὐτῶν περιγεναμένων μου (ἐγὼ γὰρ ἑκουσίως αὐτὰ ἀνειλόμην), ∆ιεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ε βαλον κλῆρον. Πρὸς τῇ ἱστορίᾳ ἀλληγορικώτερον ̔Ιμάτια καὶ ̔Ιματισμὸς ̓Ιησοῦ ει ναιδύνανται αἱ πρόχειροι τῶν γραφῶν λέξεις· ταύτας γὰρ ἀμφίσκεται καὶ περιβάλλεται ὁ θεὸς λόγος ὑφεστὼς κατὰ τὰ πνευματικὰ νοήματα. οἱ ου ν ἑτερόδοξοι δήμιοι καὶ πνεύματα κυριοκτόνα τὰ ἱμάτια τοῦ σωτῆρος μερίζονται τὰς τῶν γραφῶν λέξεις. ε καστος γὰρ αὐτῶν τὰς μὲν δέχεται τῶν γραφῶν, τὰς δὲ ου , καίτοι τοῦ χιτῶνος ̓Ιησοῦ ἀσχίστου τυγχάνοντος διὰ τὸ ει ναι α ρραφον· οὐ γὰρ βεβιασμένην ε νωσιν ἀλλὰ συμφυῆ ε χει. ε στιν δὲ καὶ α νωθεν διὰ τὸ θεόπνευστος ει ναι ὑφαντὸς δι' ο λου· διὰ πάσης γὰρ δυνάμεως ἡ γραφὴ α νωθέν ἐστιν. ̔Η δὲ ἐκκλησία οὐ μερίζεται τὰ ἱμάτια οὐδὲ κλῆρον βάλλει ἐπ' αὐτοῖς· ο λα γὰρ ε χει καὶ ἐνδέδυται παραστᾶσα ἐκ δεξιῶν ̓Ιησοῦ οι α Βασιλὶς ἐν ἱματισμῷ διαχρύσῳ περιβεβλημένη πεποικιλμένη. ὑπεραναβᾶσα δὲ ταῦτα τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ αὐτὸν ̓Ιησοῦν ἐνδύσεται ο ντα σοφίαν καὶ δύναμιν πατρός, σοφὴ καὶ δυνατὴ γινομένη. 188 Ps 21,20 Ταῦτα δὲ ποιούντων ἐκείνων, Μὴ μακρύνῃς τὴν βοήθειάν μου· σοῦ γὰρ βοηθοῦντος καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀντίληψίν μου προσέχοντος, τριταῖος ἀναστὰς ἐκ νεκρῶν ματαίαν τὴν κατ' ἐμοῦ ἐπιβουλὴν ἀναδείξω. 189 Ps 21,21a ̓Επεὶ οἱ περικυκλώσαντές με ἐχθροὶ κατ' ἐμοῦ φονῶντες μάχαιραν ε χουσιν οὐ σῶμα ἀλλὰ ψυχὴν τρῶσαι δυνατήν, ̔Ρῦσαι ἀπὸ τῆς τούτων ῥομφαίας τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἀβλαβῆ αὐτὴν ἀπὸ ταράχου καὶ δειλίας φυλάττων. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἱκανῶς παρεσκεύασται ἡ ἡμετέρα ψυχή, ἀλλά γε θεωροῦσα τὸν διάβολον μετὰ πάσης τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων φάλαγγος καὶ τοῦ στίφους τῶν ἀντικειμένων ἐνεργειῶν καὶ πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἐνεργουμένων ταραχθεῖσα (τρεπτῆς γάρ ἐστι φύσεως) σύμμαχον ε χειν παρακαλεῖ τὸν δυνάμενον ῥύσασθαι ἀπὸ τῆς ῥομφαίας τῶν πολεμίων. Τάχα δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ διάβολος ἀλληγορικῶς ῥομφαία λέγοιτο, ἐπεὶ τολμᾷ κατὰ πάσης ψυχῆς τρῶσαι αὐτὴν προαιρούμενος· καὶ ἐκ ταύτης τοίνυν τῆς ῥομφαίας ῥυσθῆναι παρακαλεῖ. 190 Ps 21,21b Ου ς πρότερον πληθυντικῶς περικυκλώσαντας αὐτὸν κύνας ει πεν, νῦν ἑνικῶς διὰ τὸ γένος καλεῖ. μονογενῆ δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν ει πεν διὰ τὸ μεμονῶσθαι καὶ κεχωρίσθαι τῶν α λλων ψυχῶν. πᾶσαι μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖναι ε γνωσαν ἁμαρτίαν, αυ τη δὲ ου . κἀκείναις μὲν ἐκ διαλειμμάτων ἐπιφοιτᾷ καὶ σύνεστιν ὁ θεὸς λόγος, ταύτῃ δὲ ἀχωρίστως καὶ ἀδιαστάτως μέχρι τέλους ἀδιάζευκτος διαμενεῖ. ταῦτ' ου ν τὰ 50 ἐξαίρετα αὐτῇ συνόντα μονογενὴς ει ναι αὐτοῦ λέγεται. Τάχα δὲ καὶ ἡ παραστᾶσα αὐτῷ ε νδοξος ἐκκλησία, οὐκ ε χουσα σπῖλον η ῥυτίδα, συμπληρουμένη ἐκ τῶν ἀμώμως τελείων, μονογενὴς αὐτοῦ τυγχάνει, ω ν προκοπτόντων εἰς τάγματα πολλὰ διῃρημένων διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς προκοπῆς διαφοράν· ἑξήκοντα γοῦν οὐσῶν βασιλίδων καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα παλλακῶν καὶ νεανίδων ω ν οὐκ ε στιν ἀριθμός, μία αυ τη ὑπὲρ πάσας ἐστὶν περιστερὰ τελεία μονογενὴς ου σα τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς τῇ α νω ̔Ιερουσαλήμ. 191 Ps 21,22 ̓Απὸ τοῦ μικρῷ πρόσθεν εἰρημένου λέοντος διαβόλου νῦν σωθῆναι παρακαλεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν ἑαυτοῦ καθ' η ν ̓Εταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπήκοος γενόμενος τῷ πατρὶ μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ. σωθῆναι δὲ βούλεται καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων, α λλου ει δους ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως βασιλείαν ἐπαγγελλομένης· βασιλείας γὰρ σύμβολον τὸ κέρας. εἰσὶν δὲ οἱ νομίζοντες τὸν
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Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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