True Madness vs False Divination and the Fulfillment of Sacrifice
Let the spider-like webs of the reproaches against lawlessness be destroyed; the soul of the one reproached is entangled like a spider's web (Ps 38:13-14).
Since he is not himself asking for much, he prays that he might be granted something to spend his life in, so that he might find refreshment after being worn out by perfect goods. For if he departs not as he should but as one lacking, he shall no longer exist—not in the sense of being destroyed into non-existence (for the soul is both immortal and indestructible), but in the sense of no longer being in participation of Being. For this is what truly is being: to participate in the One who says, 'I am the Being,' meaning that those not having this participation do not exist according to what was said in prayer to God: 'Do not give your scepter to those who are not' (Ps 39:3ab). Longing to participate in this existence, he prays that time might be given to him to find refreshment in the participation of Being, so that he may truly exist.
He calls idolatry a pit of misery, as those drawing from it are being miserable; for they draw nothing from that which is useful for life, just as Jeremiah, reproaching the Jews, said: 'They have dug for themselves broken pits, in which no water can be held' (Jer 2:13). Pleasures are a mud of clay, since they are dust and corruption of bodies and mere pits; whereas on the other hand, Christ saved the mortals through the faith in him and through the preaching.
Those who think that nothing is made manifest in the Scripture apart from the Word say: 'As one having attained a small good, he set the feet of the body upon the sensible rock, and thus he thanks the one who gifted this.' But we say that he who, having been freed from the aforementioned pit and mud, has been established upon the unshakeable and immovable perfection according to virtue, proclaims the things to come; for he follows the one standing on the rock, and his steps are directed by the passing Lord from evil to virtue and from mortal things to immortal things, and indeed according to every progress (Ps 39:4ab).
It is fitting that the moral discourse is new by the novelty of the spirit, and perhaps even new by Aisma, while theology is a hymn. He says that life's pursuits are to be called vanity, and false teachings and false prophecies are to be called madness. It should be noted, however, that as...
He added 'false' to 'madnesses' in contrast to true madnesses; for perhaps those seized prophetically possess a true madness, while false diviners possess a false madness.
Regarding Ps 39:6b, he speaks of the thoughts of God, meaning the deliberations occurring according to God's providence. To these, he says, no created thing shall be found resembling the mind of the Lord which knows all. Regarding Ps 39:6c, 'Your wonderful works and your thoughts'; for if anyone wished to examine something regarding depth, he would find it even more obscure than before: 'If I said, I will act wisely, but it has escaped from me far away, and a deep depth, who can find it?'
Regarding Ps 39:7, the Epistle to the Hebrews says that these upcoming verses are spoken from the face of the Savior concerning the Savior: 'Therefore, entering into the world, you said, a sacrifice and an offering you did not desire,' and the rest. This provided an occasion for him to speak the whole psalm, maintaining the same person until the end of what is said. Now, having passed the time of the shadow, according to which sacrifice and offering were brought, God, not wishing for worship through these things, perfected a body from the Virgin for the Son, so that whole burnt offerings and sacrifices concerning sin would no longer be pleasing. When the Savior said to the Father, 'Behold, I have come to do your will,' according to the will by which He removes the sin of the world, He himself, having been taken and brought forward for the sin of all, so that once remission has occurred, there is no longer a need for the sacrifice concerning sins.
Regarding Ps 39:8b-9a, he says the heading of the book calls all the God-breathed writing both legal and prophetic: 'For in this it is written concerning the coming conduct of the Savior.' And it is a heading because it summarizes all into one. And it is the becoming of the Savior a man, so that the will of the Lord might be done. It should be noted, however, that the concurrent will is something else, standing as a different will from the deliberative hypostasis which is of the one Willing.
Regarding Ps 39:9b, 'You have written it upon my leading principle.' And everyone who does according to the spiritual law has the law in his heart, that is, in his own disposition.
Greek
ε ργα τὰ ἀράχνη ἐοικότα ἐκ τῶν ἐλέγχων τῶν ὑπὲρ ἀνομίας ἀφανισθῇ, ἐκτήκεται ὡς ἡ ἀράχνη ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ ἐλεγχομένου. 399 Ps 38,13.14 ̓Επεὶ οι δεν ε τι ἑαυτὸν πολλῶν δεόμενον, παρακαλεῖ ἐνδοθῆναι αὐτῷ ε τι ἐνδιατρίψαι ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ, ο πως 82 ἀναψύξῃ κατατρυφήσας ἐν τελείοις ἀγαθοῖς. εἰ γὰρ μὴ ου τως ἀλλ' ε τι λείπων ἀπέλθοι, οὐκέτι μὴ ὑπάρξῃ, οὐ τῷ καταστρέφειν εἰς τὸ μὴ ο ν (ἀθάνατος γὰρ καὶ ἀνώλεθρος ἡ ψυχὴ) ἀλλὰ τῷ μηκέτι ἐν μετοχῇ τοῦ ο ντος ὑπάρχειν. τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ἀληθῶς ει ναι τυγχάνει, τὸ μετέχειν τοῦ εἰρηκότος· ̓Εγώ εἰμι ὁ ω ν, λεγομένων μὴ ει ναι τῶν ταύτην τὴν μετοχὴν οὐκ ἐχόντων κατὰ τὸ λελεγμένον ἐν εὐχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν· Μὴ παραδῷς τὸ σκῆπτρόν σου τοῖς μὴ ου σιν. ταύτης τῆς ὑπάρξεως μετασχεῖν ποθῶν ευ χεται καιρὸν αὐτῷ δοθῆναι τοῦ ἀναψύξαι τῇ μετουσίᾳ τοῦ ο ντος, ι ν' ἀληθῶς ὑπάρξῃ. 400 Ps 39,3ab Λάκκον ταλαιπωρίας τὴν εἰδωλολατρίαν καλεῖ, ὡς ταλαιπωρουμένων τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀντλούντων· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀντλοῦσιν τῶν εἰς ζωὴν ἐπιτηδείων, ο περ ̔Ιερεμίας ὀνειδίζων τοὺς ̓Ιουδαίους ε λεγεν Ωρυξαν ἑαυτοῖς λάκκουςσυντετριμμένους οι οὐ δυνήσονται υ δωρ συνέχειν· Πηλὸν ἰλύος τὰς ἡδονάς, ἐπειδὴ τρὺξ αυ τη καὶ φθορὰ σωμάτων καὶ σηπεδόνες τυγχάνουσιν, ὡς ἐξ ἑκατέρου δὲ ὁ Χριστὸς τὰ ε θνη διὰ τῆς πίστεως τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ τοῦ κηρύγματος ε σωσεν. 401 Ps 39,3cδ Οἱ παρὰ τῆς λέξεως μηδὲν δηλοῦσθαι ἐν τῇ γραφῇ νομίζοντες λέγουσιν· ὡς α ν πηλίκου ἀγαθοῦ τυχὼν ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς αἰσθητῆς πέτρας τοὺς πόδας τοῦ σώματος στάς, ου τως εὐχαριστεῖ τῷ τοῦτο δωρησαμένῳ. ἡμεῖς δέ φαμεν ο τι ὁ τῶν προειρημένων λάκκου καὶ πηλοῦ ἀπαλλαγεὶς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρραγῆ καὶ ἀκλόνητον κατ' ἀρετὴν τελειότητα ἱδρυνθεὶς ἀπαγγέλλει τὰ προκείμενα· τῷ γὰρ ου τω στάντι ἐπὶ πέτραν ἀκολουθεῖ καὶ τὸ κατευθύνεσθαι τὰ διαβήματα αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ κυρίου διαβαίνοντος ἀπὸ κακίας εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ ἀπὸ θνητῶν εἰς ἀθάνατα ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ πᾶσαν προκοπήν. 402 Ps 39,4ab Οἰκεῖον τῇ καινότητι τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ τάχα Αισμα καινὸν ὁ ἠθικός ἐστιν λόγος, υ μνος δὲ ἡ θεολογία. 403 Ps 39,5b Ματαιότητας ἡγητέον λέγειν αὐτὸν τὰς βιωτικὰς σπουδάς, Μανίας δὲ ψευδεῖς τὰς ψευδεῖς διδασκαλίας καὶ ψευδοπροφητείας. σημειωτέον δὲ ο τι, ὡς οὐσῶν ἀληθινῶν μανιῶν, προσέθηκεν τὸ Ψευδεῖς ταῖς μανίαις· τάχα γὰρ οἱ προφητικῶς κατεχόμενοι ἀληθῆ ε χουσιν μανίαν, οἱ δὲ ψευδομάντεις μανίαν ψευδῆ. 404 Ps 39,6b ∆ιαλογισμοὺς δὲ θεοῦ λέγει τούς, ι ν' ου τως ει πω, ἐκλογισμοὺς τῶν κατὰ πρόνοιαν θεοῦ γινομένων. τούτοις ου ν, φησίν, τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς σου οὐκ εὑρεθείη τις τῶν γενητῶν ὁμοιούμενος τῷ μηδένα ει ναι τὸν γινώσκοντα νοῦν κυρίου. 405 Ps 39,6c Τὰ θαυμάσια καὶ οἱ διαλογισμοί σου· ο ταν γάρ τις περὶ βάθεός τινος διεξελθεῖν ἐθέλοι, τότε μᾶλλον ἀσαφέστερον εὑρήσει αὐτὸ η πρότερον· Ει πα γὰρ Σοφισθήσομαι, καὶ αὐτὴ ἐμακρύνθη ἀπ' ἐμοῦ μακρὰν ὑπὲρ ο η ν, καὶ βαθὺ βάθος, τίς εὑρήσει αὐτήν; 406 Ps 39,7 Τούτους δὲ τοὺς προκειμένους στίχους ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰρῆσθαι ἡ Πρὸς ̔Εβραίους ἐπιστολή φησιν φάσκουσα περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ∆ιὸ εἰσερχόμενος εἰς τὸν κόσμον λέγει Θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, καὶ τὰ λοιπά. παρέσχεν ου ν ἀφορμὴν τοῦ ο λον τὸν ψαλμὸν εἰρῆσθαι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τηροῦντα τὸ αὐτὸ πρόσωπον μέχρι τέλους τοῦ λέγοντος. παρελθόντος τοίνυν τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς σκιᾶς καθ' ο ν θυσία καὶ προσφορὰ προσήγετο, οὐκέτι τὴν διὰ τούτων λατρείαν βουληθεὶς ὁ θεός, κατηρτίσατο ἐκ τῆς παρθένου σῶμα τῷ υἱῷ, ὡς μηκέτι εὐδοκεῖν ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας. τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰπόντος τῷ πατρὶ ̓Ιδοὺ η κω ἐπὶ τὸ θέλημά σου, καθ' ο θέλημα η ρεν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, αὐτὸς τυθεὶς καὶ προσενεχθεὶς ὑπὲρ τῆς πάντων ἁμαρτίας, ι να ἀφέσεως γεναμένης μηκέτι χρεία ῃ τῆς περὶ ἁμαρτιῶν θυσίας. 407 Ps 39,8b.9a Κεφαλίδα βιβλίου πᾶσαν τὴν θεόπνευστον γραφὴν νομικήν τε καὶ προφητικὴν λέγει· ἐν ταύτῃ γὰρ γέγραπται περὶ τῆς δεῦρο φοιτήσεως τοῦ σωτῆρος. ̓Εν κεφαλίδι δὲ ει πεν διὰ τὸ τὴν πᾶσαν εἰς ε ν ἀνακεφαλαιοῦσθαι. Εστι δὲ τὸ τὸν σωτῆρα α νθρωπον γενέσθαι, ο πως ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου βουληθῇ. 83 σημειωτέον δὲ ο τι τὸ συντρέχον βούλημα ἐξ α λλου ἑτέρῳ θελήματι παραστατικόν ἐστιν τοῦ ὁμοούσιον ει ναι τὴν βουλευτικὴν ὑπόστασιν τῇ τοῦ θέλοντος οὐσίᾳ. 408 Ps 39,9b ̓Εγγράψας αὐτὸν τῷ ἡγεμονικῷ μου. καὶ πᾶς δὲ ὁ κατὰ τὸν πνευματικὸν νόμον ποιωθεὶς ε χοι α ν τὸν νόμον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ ε ξει τῇ ἑαυτοῦ. 409
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
Original English Translation — new OET from PG Greek.
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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