Fragments on the Psalms · §195

From Shadows to Spiritual Reality

Working through God. And this shall be to you, your youth being renewed according to the eagle. For just as this old feather is cast off, and immediately it grows new wings, so also you, having grown old through wickedness, are renewed from your antiquity, and your youth comes in completion, and those who once used strong wings are not so, but now being clothed with new ones, you may be lifted up into heaven toward all those who have waited for God. For those waiting for the Lord shall change strength, they shall become wing-bearing like eagles, they shall run and shall run the course.

Father of mercies and alone good is the Lord, who performs acts of mercy, showing compassion to all, doing good (Ps 102:6). God also, toward those being wronged by the devil and by wickedness, making judgment, sent his only Son to heal and to set free those being oppressed by Satan, redeeming souls from bondage and from injustice, having torn the handwriting of our debt and having nailed it to the cross. The one holding us, the devil, had made us debtors, through whom we were practicing, having set up the handwriting of our debt for him. We were rescued from all our injustice, God making judgment for those being wronged, so that through the blood of his Son Jesus Christ we might be cleansed from all injustice, not only the injustice by which we were being wronged but also the injustice which we were practicing. From here we learn, according to the exhortation of Paul, the difference between being wronged and doing wrong. For to those being wronged God performs judgment, doing them good, but to those doing wrong he brings punishment, so that they do not inherit the divine promise: For those who do wrong shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Ps 102:7/1 Cor 6:9).

Virtues are called parallel. For he who says, 'Lord, make known to me your ways' (Ps 102:7), it is worthy that virtues become manifest to him; and that part by Paul toward Elymas, saying, 'You will not cease turning away the straight ways of the Lord' (Acts 13:10), presents the same, signifying that virtues are also the wills of God. And otherwise the coming thing might be understood; for since God gave the law of the things to come through Moses, having a shadow of them, but not every part...

This law bears an image and a type of the intelligible and spiritual, as if it were to move from the sensible things to the spiritual and original ones by a way of analogy. And the Lord will teach such transitions—fittingly, concerning these transitions it is said, 'He made known His ways to Moses' (Ps 105:5). For who else besides Moses, having learned from God how to ascend from the sensible circumcision and bodily sacrifice and the other shadowy things to the truth, knew this way? For He made known His ways to him.

But also, if anyone is a son of Israel, if it is not said, 'Israel is my chosen one,' how will he understand the wills of God, which are made known to the discerning ones by Him, such as the Jews who, hurrying in secret, circumcise not the flesh but the heart; and they also offer a sacrifice of righteousness and pleasingness to God, not as a spiritual sacrifice. All these things spoken are the Lord, since God is true; but a true God is not in the excellence of the aforementioned virtues, but is the source and essence of them. Therefore, we also take courage that He will not be angry with us for having sinned, in order to complete and destroy this. For this was 'He will be angry unto the end,' that is, to remain in anger as an end, and the anger toward the gods is destruction. He does not become angry unto the end, nor does He remain for an age. For the deceiver does not have lasting anger: 'When the anger of my spirit is kindled, I shall be healed' (Ps 102:13).

But the mercy of God takes its beginning upon the earth, according to what was said: 'The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord' (Ps 32:5). If mercy, beginning from there, becomes directed toward the pious, it lifts them up and suspends them upon the height of the heavens: 'For great is your mercy, O Lord, unto the heavens' (Ps 36:5). For ascending into the kingdom of heaven happens more by the mercy of God than by anything else. And the saving virtues appear to be sunrises, while sins are sunsets, entirely deprived of light. Since no one can exist in both virtue and wickedness, he who has associated himself with the aforementioned sunrises, as if to dwell in them, is like the one in Eden, planted by God according to sunrises.

Greek

συνεργηθείης θεόθεν. καὶ ε σται σοι τοῦτο, ἀνακαινιζομένης σου τῆς νεότητος κατὰ τὸν ἀετόν. ὡς γὰρ τὸ ο ρνεον τοῦτο γηράσαν ἀποτιλλοῦται, ι ν' αυ θις νέα πτερὰ φύσῃ, ου τω καὶ σὺ γηράσασα τῇ κακίᾳ ἀνανεώθητι τῆς ἀρχαιότητος καὶ τῆς νεότητός σου ἐν ἀπολήσει γινομένη, ι ν' οι ς ποτε ἐχρῶ ἰσχυροῖς ου σι καὶ νῦν χρωμένη μετέωρος εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀρθῇς πρὸς πάντας τοὺς α μα σοι τὸν θεὸν ὑπομεμενηκότας· Οἱ γὰρ ὑπομένοντες τὸν κύριον ἀλλάξουσιν ἰσχύν, πτεροφυήσουσιν ὡς ἀετοί, δραμοῦνται καὶ κοπιάσουσιν. 979 Ps 102,6 Πατὴρ οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ μόνος ἀγαθὸς ω ν ὁ κύριος ἐλεημοσύνας ποιεῖ, πάντας ἐλεῶν εὐεργετῶν· ο θεν καὶ τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις ὑπὸ διαβόλου καὶ τῆς κακίας ποιῶν κρίμα, τὸν ι διον υἱὸν ἐπέπεμψεν ἐπὶ τῷ ἰάσασθαι καὶ ἐλευθερῶσαι τοὺς καταδυναστευομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐκ τόκου καὶ ἐξ ἀδικίας λυτρούμενον τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν, α ρας τὸ καθ' ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον καὶ προσηλώσας τῷ σταυρῷ. ὁ κατέχων, ὁ διάβολος, ὑποχρέους ει χεν ἡμᾶς, ἡμῶν δι' ω ν ἐπράττομεν συστησάντων αὐτῷ τὸ καθ' ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον. ἐρρύσθημεν ου ν ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας τῆς καθ' 210 ἡμῶν, ποιήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ κρίμα τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις, ο πως διὰ τοῦ αι ματος τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ καθαρισθῶμεν ἀπὸ πάσης ἀδικίας οὐ μόνον καθ' η ν ἠδικούμεθα ἀλλὰ καὶ η ς ἐπράττομεν. ἐντεῦθεν μανθάνομεν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου προτροπὴν μᾶλλον ἀδικεῖσθαι η ἀδικεῖν. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀδικουμένοις ὁ θεὸς ποιεῖ κρίμα εὐεργετῶν αὐτούς, τοῖς δ' ἀδικοῦσι κόλασιν ἐπιφέρων ὡς μὴ κληρονομεῖν αὐτοὺς θείαν ἐπαγγελίαν· Αδικοι γὰρ βασιλείαν θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν. 980 Ps 102,7 ̓Εκ παραλλήλου αἱ ἀρεταὶ καλοῦνται. ὁ γὰρ λέγων Τὰς ὁδούς σου, κύριε, γνώρισόν μοι τὰς ἀρετὰς ἀξιοῖ φανερὰς αὐτῷ γενέσθαι· καὶ τὸ Οὐ παύσῃ δὲ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας ὑπὸ Παύλου πρὸς ̓Ελύμαν λεγόμενον τὸ αὐτὸ παρίστησι σημαῖνον. ο τι δὲ καὶ θελήματα τοῦ θεοῦ αἱ ἀρεταί, πιστωθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ Ευ ρον ∆αυὶδ τὸν τοῦ ̓Ιεσσαί, α νδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου, ο ς ποιήσει πάντα τὰ θελήματά μου. Καὶ ἑτέρως δὲ νοηθείη τὸ προκείμενον· ἐπεὶ γὰρ σκιὰν ε χοντα τὸν νόμον τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν δέδωκεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ Μωυσέως, ε καστον δὲ μέρος τοῦ νόμου τούτου εἰκόνα καὶ τύπον νοητοῦ καὶ πνευματικοῦ φέρει ὡς οι όν τ' ει ναι τρόπῳ ἀναλογίας ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν η τῆς κακίας ἐπὶ τὰ πνευματικὰ καὶ πρωτότυπα μεταβαίνειν, τὰς τοιαύτας δὲ μεταβάσεις οὐκ α λλος η ὁ κύριος διδάξει–εἰκότως περὶ τούτων τῶν μεταβάσεων ει ρηται ̓Εγνώρισε τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ τῷ Μωυσῇ. καὶ τίς γὰρ α λλος Μωυσέως ἠπίστατο ἀπὸ τῆς αἰσθητῆς περιτομῆς καὶ σωματικῆς θυσίας καὶ τῶν α λλων σκιωδῶν ἀναβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὑπὸ θεοῦ μαθὼν τὸ ου τως ὁδεύειν; ἐγνώρισε γὰρ αὐτῷ τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ ει τις τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ υἱὸς ει η περὶ ου λέλεκται ̓Ισραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου, ου τως ἐπιστήσεται τοῖς θεοῦ θελήμασι γνωριζομένοις ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῖς διορατικοῖς, ο πως ἐν κρυπτῷ ̓Ιουδαῖοι σπεύδοντες ει ναι μὴ τὴν σάρκα ἀλλὰ τὴν καρδίαν περιτέμνωνται· ἀλλὰ καὶ θύουσι θυσίαν δικαιοσύνης καὶ αἰνέσεως τῷ θεῷ ου σαν πνευματικὴν θυσίαν. 981 Ps 102,9 Εστι πάντα τὰ εἰρημένα ὁ κύριος, ἐπείπερ ἀληθινός ἐστι θεός, ω ν δὲ θεὸς ἀληθινὸς οὐκ ἐν ε ξει τῶν προειρημένων ἀρετῶν ἀλλὰ πηγὴ καὶ οὐσία αὐτῶν ὑπάρχει. διὸ καὶ θαρροῦμεν ο τι κα ν ποτε ἁμαρτήσασιν ἡμῖν ὀργισθείη οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ συντελέσαι καὶ ἀπολέσαι τοῦτο ποιεῖ. τοῦτο γὰρ η ν τὸ Εἰς τέλος ὀργισθήσεται, τουτέστι παραμεῖναι τῷ ὀργίζεσθαι ε ως τέλους καὶ φθορᾶς τῶν πρὸς ου ς ἡ ὀργή. Μὴ εἰς τέλος ου ν ὀργιζόμενος οὐδὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μηνιεῖ. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπίμονον ὀργὴν ε χει ὁ φάσκων Οταν γὰρ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ θυμοῦ μου γένηται, πάλιν ἰάσομαι. 982 Ps 102,11.12 Τὸ δὲ ε λεος τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν λαμβάνει ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν κατὰ τὸ λεχθὲν Τοῦ ἐλέους κυρίου πλήρης ἡ γῆ· ει τα ἐντεῦθεν ἀρχόμενον τὸν ε λεον γίνεσθαι ἐπὶ τοὺς εὐλαβεῖς ἐπαίρει καὶ μετεωρίζει τούτους ἐπὶ τὸ υ ψος α γων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· ̓Εμεγαλύνθη γὰρ ε ως τῶν οὐρανῶν τὸ ε λεός σου. καὶ αὐτὸ γὰρ τὸ εἰς βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἀνελθεῖν μᾶλλον ἐλέῳ θεοῦ η ἑτέρῳ τινὶ γίνεται. Φωτειναὶ δὲ τυγχάνουσαι αἱ σωτηριώδεις ἀρεταὶ ἀνατολαῖς ἐοίκασι, δύσεσι δὲ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι πάντῃ φωτὸς ἐστερημέναι. ἐπεὶ ου ν α μα τις ἐν ἀρετῇ καὶ κακίᾳ οὐ δύναται ει ναι, ὁ συνεγγίσας ταῖς προειρημέναις ἀνατολαῖς ὡς ἐν αὐτῷ διατρίβειν τῷ ἐν ̓Εδὲμ κατὰ ἀνατολὰς ὑπὸ θεοῦ πεφυτευμένῳ

About this text

Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.

Catalogue & scope

Khazarzar scan

Witnesses

Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)

This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.