The progression of power and the superiority of the divine courts
The altars upon which sacrifices are brought up are better than the sacrifices of shadow and type. The apostle says that the types of those in the heavens are linked to these sacrifices, but the heavenly things are better sacrifices than these. For the sacrifices of praise and righteousness are brought up upon these altars, and those offering the living sacrifice, presenting their own bodies pleasing to God, they offer them not upon something else but upon these altars.
For the dwelling of God is perfect virtue and the highest knowledge of the truth (Ps 83:5). It is said that in the presence of God the tent is a symbol of progress; for those traveling, it is a home. But the end of blessedness is made manifest by the dwelling of God's voice. And according to the history, the people traveling had a tent of witness (the dwelling of theology) and they had various tents for their own virtues in which all the people dwelt. Having reached the holy land, they had the dwelling in houses, no longer progressing; for they had reached the end of virtue and knowledge. But they were no longer approaching the tent of witness but the dwelling established, completing the things of worship. And there, therefore, after desiring and loving their progresses through the tabernacles, he began, saying, 'How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord' (Ps 83:7), blessing those who have ascended through the progresses to the summit, as dwelling while bearing the state according to God, when the fullness is fulfilled upon them and the Son is revealed, we shall be like him, seeing him as he is (Ps 83:7-8a).
'The one set' signifies 'to do then,' as 'I set a guard with my mouth' instead of 'I did' (Ps 83:8a); and 'He who sets the inhabited world desolate' is the same as 'He who will make the inhabited world desolate.' And here 'the one set in a place' does not present 'He made a place.' For the surrounding place is not this. For in this God disposed of the things before...
He makes covenants for men. Let us not weep, nor let us praise the blameless weeping, learning from the fact that God established covenants for those who are here. For we shall also receive the blessings, living according to the will of the covenant given here. And we shall know the magnitude of the blessings given, understanding who the possessors of them are. And not such is the God who legislated. And they shall proceed from power to power. The virtues and contemplations of the truth are powers. Therefore, those having these are also more able.
Those having proceeded will not hasten according to the progress of the introductory power to become the more perfect, and those living according to the law toward the evangelical way—those knowing Christ according to the flesh to behold his glory, glory as unique from the Father; those knowing in part that he is on earth and that the most sharp knowledge does not fit—upon the coming of the perfect vision of contemplation to know as it is necessary to know, proceeding from a lower power of the intellect to a greater and more perfect power. Psalm 83:10b And more pure and more holy of the saints, but rather also of priests and kings, he is able to bring this merit to, Christ, the Son of God. For it is said, 'Do not be afraid of my Christs concerning all the saints,' and priests and kings were approaching as Christs in Hebrew. Psalm 83:11a Better it is to be in your courts for one day than a multitude of thousands of days outside your courts. For the perfection among men exceeds that which seems little in the courts of God. Such also is that which was said concerning John by the Savior: 'Among those born of women no one is greater than John, but the least in the kingdom is greater than him.' Matthew 11:11 Let it also be said thus here: men living are under time, but those in eternity are time unto a multitude.
Greek
τὰ θυσιαστήρια ει πεν ἐφ' α ἀνάγονται κρείττους θυσίαι τῶν κατὰ σκιὰν καὶ ὑπόδειγμα· ῃ φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος ̓Ανάγκη τὰ ὑποδείγματα τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ταύταις ταῖς θυσίαις· αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ ἐπουράνια κρείττοσι θυσίαις παρὰ ταύτας. αἱ γὰρ τῆς αἰνέσεως καὶ δικαιοσύνης θυσίαι ἐπὶ ταῦτα τὰ θυσιαστήρια ἀναφέρονται, καὶ οἱ θυσίαν δὲ ζῶσαν εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ προσάγοντες τὰ ἑαυτῶν σώματα οὐκ ἐπ' α λλα η ἐπὶ ταῦτα τὰ θυσιαστήρια αὐτὴν προσφέρουσιν. 845 Ps 83,5 Οι κος δὲ θεοῦ ἡ παντελὴς ἀρετὴ καὶ ἀκροτάτη γνῶσις τῆς ἀληθείας ἐστίν. ει ρηται δ' ἐν τοῖς ε μπροσθεν τὴν σκηνὴν προκοπῆς σύμβολον ει ναι· ὁδευόντων γὰρ οἰκεία αυ τη. αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ τέλος τῆς μακαριότητος δηλοῖ ἡ οι κος θεοῦ φωνή. ο θεν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν ὁδεύων ὁ λαὸς σκηνὴν μαρτυρίου (οι κον δὲ θεολογίας) ει χε καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἀρετῶν διαφόρους σκηνὰς ἐν αι ς πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ῳ κει. φθάσαντες δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἁγίαν γῆν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν οἰκίαις τὴν οι κησιν ει χον, οὐκέτι προκόπτοντες· εἰς τὸ τέλος γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ ἐπιστήμης ε φθασαν. ἀλλ' οὐκέτι τῇ σκηνῇ τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἀλλὰ τῷ οι κῳ τῷ ἱδρυμένῳ προσερχόμενοι ἐπετέλουν τὰ τῆς λατρείας. καὶ ἐνταῦθα τοίνυν μετὰ τὸ ποθῆσαι καὶ ἀγαπῆσαι τὰς προκοπὰς α ς διὰ τῶν σκηνωμάτων ᾐνίξατο εἰπὼν ̔Ως ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σου, κύριε, μακαρίζει τοὺς διὰ τῶν προκοπῶν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκρώρειαν ἀναβεβηκότας ὡς οἰκεῖν τὸν θεοῦ οι κον φέροντας τὴν κατὰ θεὸν κατάστασιν, πληρωθέντος ἐπ' αὐτοῖς τοῦ Οταν φανερωθῇ, ο μοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ο τι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν. 846 Ps 83,7.8a Τὸ Εθετο δηλοῖ τότε ποιῆσαι, ὡς τὸ ̓Εθέμην τῷ στόματί μου φυλακήν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐποίησα· καὶ ̔Ο τιθεὶς τὴν οἰκουμένην ο λην ε ρημον ταὐτὸν ο ν τῷ ποιῆσαι τὴν οἰκουμένην ε ρημον. καὶ ἐνταῦθα ου ν τὸ Εἰς τόπον ο ν ε θετο παρίστησι τὸ ̓Εποίησε τόπον. ου τος δ' ἐστὶν ὁ περίγειος τόπος. ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς διέθετο τὰς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους διαθήκας αὐτοῦ. κλαύσωμεν ου ν ἐπαινετῶς τὸ ἀμέμπτως κλαίειν, μανθάνοντες ἐξ η ς διέθετο ὁ θεὸς διαθήκης τοῖς ε τι ἐνταῦθα τυγχάνουσιν. ου τω γὰρ καὶ τῶν εὐλογιῶν τευξόμεθα, κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τῆς διαθήκης ζήσαντες τῆς ἐνταῦθα δοθείσης. γνωσόμεθα δὲ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν δεδομένων εὐλογιῶν, συνέντες τίς ὁ ὀρέγων αὐτάς. ε στι δὲ ου τος ὁ νομοθετήσας θεός. Πορεύσονται δὲ καὶ ἐκ δυνάμεως εἰς δύναμιν. αἱ ἀρεταὶ καὶ θεωρίαι τῆς ἀληθείας δυνάμεις εἰσίν. διὸ καὶ πλέον τι δύνανται οἱ ταύτας ε χοντες. οἱ πορευθέντες ου ν κατὰ τὰς προκοπὰς τῆς εἰσαγωγικῆς δυνάμεως σπεύσουσιν ἐπὶ 167 τὴν τελειοτέραν γενέσθαι καὶ οἱ κατὰ νόμον πολιτευόμενοι ἐπὶ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν πολιτείαν, οἱ γνόντες κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν εἰς τὸ θεάσασθαι τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, ∆όξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός· οἱ ἐκ μέρους γινώσκοντες τῷ ἐπὶ γῆς ει ναι καὶ μὴ χωρεῖν τὸ ἀκραιφνέστατον τῆς γνώσεως–ἐλθόντος τοῦ τελείου ει δους τῆς θεωρίας εἰς τὸ γνῶναι καθὸ δεῖ γνῶναι, ἐξ ὑποδεεστέρας δυνάμεως τῆς νοήσεως ἐπὶ μείζονα καὶ τελειοτέραν δύναμιν πορευόμενοι. 847 Ps 83,10b ̔Απλούστερον δὲ καὶ ε καστος τῶν ἁγίων, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἱερέων καὶ βασιλέων δύναται ταύτην τὴν ἀξίωσιν προσάγειν, χριστὸς ω ν θεοῦ. Μὴ α πτεσθε γὰρ τῶν χριστῶν μου περὶ πάντων ἁγίων ει ρηται, καὶ ἱερεῖς δὲ καὶ βασιλεῖς ̔Εβραϊκῷ ε θει χριστοὶ προσηγορεύοντο. 848 Ps 83,11a Κρεῖσσον ει η ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς σου γενέσθαι κα ν ἐπὶ ἡμέραν μίαν ὑπὲρ πλῆθος χιλιάδων ἡμερῶν ἐκτὸς τῶν αὐλῶν σου τυγχάνοντι. τῆς γὰρ παρ' ἀνθρώποις τελειώσεως ὑπερέχει τὸ δοκοῦν ὀλίγον ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς τοῦ θεοῦ. τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ περὶ ̓Ιωάννου πρὸς τοῦ σωτῆρος ῥηθὲν ̓Εν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν οὐδεὶς μείζων ̓Ιωάννου ἀλλ' ὁ μικρότερος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ μείζων αὐτοῦ ἐστι. Λεχθείη δ' α ν καὶ ου τως ἐνταῦθα· βιοῦντες οἱ α νθρωποι ὑπὸ χρόνον εἰσίν, ο στις χρόνος εἰς πλῆθος
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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