On the Inscriptions of the Psalms 1 part 5/9

But let us understand this more clearly from the teaching of the great Paul, how he who was dragged down into the abyss by the weight of sin is brought up from the abyss through him who descended into the abyss for our sake.

"Do not say in your heart, Who shall ascend into heaven?" — that is, to bring Christ down.

"Or who shall descend into the abyss?" — that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.

For from that place whence death entered into the world, from there again also it was expelled.

Through man it entered in, and through man too it is driven out.

The first man opened the entrance to death;

through the second, life is brought in instead, whose entrance works the abolition of death.

For this reason, into the abyss of death—since the captive was held fast by death—he descended through the Passion into this abyss, so that he might gather to himself again, up above, the one who lay in the depths.

For these things the great voice of the Apostle has made clear with precision, and having said many other things about them, he also says this:

"As in Adam we all die, so in Christ shall we all be made alive."

For this reason, since the title "For those first taken captive" proclaims that the Lord's dispensation through the flesh comes to pass, the Hebrews stop up their hearing and do not admit the title.

Thus in the ninetieth psalm you will find the same reason why the Hebrews do not accept the title that discloses the theophany of Christ.

For to us, the psalm just mentioned bears the title "A Song of Praise";

for every praise has its reference to God.

But the Hebrews pass over the praise in silence, and they enjoin silence upon those who praise the Lord.

At any rate, they attempt to prevent the children in the temple from praising the Lord for his benefactions, just as the Gospel publicly exposes their ingratitude.

But it would be superfluous to demonstrate through contemplative exposition that the very words of this song's praise look toward the Lord, since the wording itself of what is written manifests such a meaning quite nakedly.

But the psalm following the ninety-first has again something still more evident in its title, on account of which the one who Judaizes avoids assenting to the title.

For who among those who have accepted the doctrine of true religion does not know that on the day of the Sabbath the mystery concerning death was wrought, since, exactly according to the Law, that body remained motionless in its resting-place in the tomb; and who does not know that day, when the earth was inhabited anew by our Settler, who, by destroying the destroyer of our dwelling, rebuilt again from its ruins what had fallen down? Now our destroyer was death, whom he then rendered powerless, at the very time when he seemed to us to be keeping Sabbath, remaining motionless in the place where he lay, while he was in fact warring down the power of death, opening through himself, for all the dead, the way to resurrection from death.

But the enemy of the cross of Christ does not accept the mystery of the Sabbath.

Therefore this praise too is, among them, without a title.

For they do not agree that this is the Lord who, having fashioned himself according to us and having put on our shame in the form of a servant, reigned again, and clothed himself with his own comeliness, and put on his own power.

And the power and comeliness of the Son is the Father.

He made firm again the human nature that had been dissolved through sin;

so that it might no longer be shaken loose toward evil, nor receive the turbulence that is in sin.

And having celebrated grace through many other riddles as well, he adds to his discourse certain rivers resounding greatly, meaning, I think, the voices of the Gospels.

And what need is there to go through one by one the things written in this psalmody, since there is no ambiguity at all in the divine sayings that the hymn looks to him—the God who went up with a shout of triumph, and who, through his good confession, made his testimonies trustworthy, and who prepared the sanctification of the Spirit to shine resplendent in his own house, the Church? In the same way, too, for the same reason the Hebrew does not accept the title of the psalm third after the ninety-first.

Now the wording of the title runs thus:

And the mystery in this title foretells the dispensation concerning the Passion.

For on the fifth day of the week—the betrayal by Judas having occurred the day before—he who redeems the whole world through himself is, in a certain manner, sold by the betrayer;

for thus also, by the prophecy of Jeremiah, the event that took place is named:

"And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was priced."

And for this reason, I think, he is sold, so that by his own sale he might redeem those who had been sold under sin;

Whence the prophet, having foreseen what was to come, is stirred with a certain indignation at what had happened, calling him the God of vengeance and calling upon him who was humbled for our sake to be exalted, and to render to the arrogant the recompense they deserve, so that sinners might not boast in their wickedness.

Against them he cries out, calling foolish and stupid those who did not accept the divinity of him who appeared.

For it is characteristic of the fool, as he says elsewhere, to say that God, who exists, does not exist.

And he cries out to such people: "Understand, you foolish ones among the people; and you fools, become wise at last."

"Who is it that planted the ear? Who is it that formed the eye? Who is it that instructs the nations? Who is it that knows the thoughts of men?" For through all these, I think, the prophet is signifying the miracles connected with healings, by which eyes were fashioned out of spittle worked into clay with earth, and by which hearing was, in a certain manner, implanted through the fingers in those deprived of this sense.

And whatever lay hidden and unnoticed in the secrecy of their thoughts was disclosed by him who saw their inward reflections.

Since, crying out these things, he was not heard, he turns his discourse to the Lord and says:

"Blessed is the man whom you instruct, O Lord, and teach out of your law;"

since the Law by itself profits nothing, unless some divine teaching should make clear the mystery lying within it;

just as this same prophet said, "Open my eyes, and I shall perceive the wondrous things of your law."

For the time of this life—being fleshly, and comparable to the beasts—through the instruction of the divine law, the curse being resolved into blessing, he becomes blessed;

because for him wrath is assuaged from the evil days, while for that other, a pit is dug;

Then, having proceeded a little further, he states the purpose of the Lord's dispensation according to man:

"Unless the Lord had helped me, my soul would in a little while have dwelt beside Hades."

For the help of the Lord did not allow us to become dwellers beside Hades.

And that, corresponding to the multitude of pains arising from sin, the healing given us by him who heals was made a counterbalance;

in which he also philosophizes something greater still, laying down the doctrine that evil does not exist from eternity.

For he says: "The throne of iniquity, which frames trouble by decree, shall not be joined with you."

And this means that the origin of evil is not seen as existing together with you.

For the throne is a beginning—the one that creates sin through a decree.

By these words he showed that evil does not exist from eternity, nor does it remain forever.

For that which did not always exist will not exist forever either.

And he recounts the manner of the abolition of evil, foretelling the disappearance of evil in the bloodguilt of the Jews against the Lord.

For he says: "These will hunt after the soul of the righteous, and will condemn innocent blood."

But this becomes salvation for me.

For the Lord, condemned to death, becomes through this a refuge for me, and this God is established as a helper of hope for those who have believed; he, rendering to each in righteous judgment what is deserved, will cause the wickedness of those who have sinned to vanish—not their nature.

having said this in the wording: "And the Lord will recompense them their iniquity, and according to their wickedness the Lord our God will cause them to vanish;"

signifying through these words that those who are now conformed by sin will be caused to vanish.

For, evil no longer existing, neither will the one who has been shaped according to it exist;

Therefore, when evil has perished and no trace of such a character remains in anyone, all will be conformed to Christ, and one form will shine forth in all—the form that from the beginning was impressed upon nature.

CHAPTER 9. After these things he proceeds in due order, employing none of the musical instruments,

but through his own voice offering up to God the auspicious praise by means of the song.

And this title, too, does not exist among the Hebrews.

"Let us shout in triumph to God our Savior."

And near the end it contains a rather more forceful threat against those who disbelieve—those who displayed this same malice both during the forty years of their sojourn in the wilderness, in which they provoked their benefactor, and afterward as well, when they did not accept the rest from sin given to us through the Gospel—for whom it was possible, on hearing today the voice of him who entered, for our sake, into the "today," and who descended from his pre-eternal and everlasting majesty into temporal generation, to open for themselves the entrance into rest.

But, ever putting forward error and unbelief as their own guide, both in the earlier times and in those afterward, they were shut out by an oath from entrance into the rest of God.

For how could those who have willingly alienated themselves from the blessing enter into the rest? Thus also the psalm following these, the ninety-fifth, is said to be without a title among those who follow the Hebrew tradition;

but for us it is a song sung to God after the return from captivity, when our nature's structure, which had been dissolved, was rebuilt;

for thus runs the wording of the title:

"A Praise of a Song, when the house was built after the captivity"—without a title among the Hebrews.

"Sing to the Lord a new song."

And it is reasonable that the title of this psalm has been passed over in silence among the Hebrews, because after the evangelic utterances which it has made in the opening of the psalmody, the prophecy inscribes its word to those from the nations, saying: "Bring to the Lord, O families of the nations, bring to the Lord glory and honor, and worship the Lord in his holy court, and take up sacrifices and enter into his courts."

And all the discourse that follows is of this same kind, foretelling the transfer of the blessing to the nations.

"For say," it says, "among the nations that the Lord has reigned."

And he set right the world, which had been dissolved by wickedness, so that it remains unshaken forever.

at which the heavens rejoice and all the earth exults, while the waters of the sea are shaken along with their own fullness.

By these he shows figuratively that the opposing power is troubled and unsettled in the face of our life, whenever we become heavens declaring the glory of God, or earth blessed through the fruit-bearing of the virtues.

"For let the sea be shaken," it says, "and its fullness."

And he says that the plains will rejoice, calling by "plains" the life that is level in virtue — of which Isaiah too, in his own words, makes mention in another manner, commanding that the ravines be filled up, and the hills and mountains be brought low.

which seems to me to be nothing other than this: that, wishing to remedy the deficiencies and the excesses of practices according to virtue, he says these things, so that the principle of virtue may neither be hollowed out through deficiency of the good, nor become uneven through excess.

"For the plains will rejoice," it says, "and all that is in them."

And likewise the psalm after this one also was not admitted into the title-list of the Hebrews, because it speaks of our affairs and by its word proclaims as good news the establishment of our earth.

For the earth, which had previously fallen away through wickedness, now has obtained stability through the knowledge of God.

And we are all the earth of God — we who formerly were unstable in the good, and for this reason came to be under a curse, but afterward were delivered from the curse and again attained stability in the good.

And this the very beginning of the psalmody immediately proclaims as good news, that when the Lord has reigned, the earth rejoices.

As if one were to say that when the sun has shone, the earth is illuminated.

Thus, when the kingdom of the Lord prevails, the gladness of the kingdom is in us.

"The Lord has reigned; let the earth exult."

"Let the many islands be glad."

Fittingly he called "islands" the souls of those who show steadfastness and immovability amid trials — souls which the brine of wickedness surrounds on every side, yet does not prevail so far in its onslaught as to produce any disturbance in the firmness of their virtue.

Then, in the midst of these things, the discourse enigmatically signifies, by the cloud and the darkness, the invisibility of the divine nature.

"For cloud," it says, "and darkness are round about him" — and having pointed out the fearful things of his retributive power, through which it says that "fire will go before him and will burn up his enemies round about," he unveils the illumination brought by the gospel, calling the words of the divine preaching "lightnings," which shine forth over the whole world.

"For his lightnings," it says, "appeared to the world."

And having next shown the height of the gospel mysteries, in saying that "The heavens declared his righteousness,"

"and all the peoples saw his glory."

And having foretold the abolition of idols and the vanishing of such error, in the words where he says, "Let all who worship graven images be put to shame, who boast in their idols," he adds the seal of these good things — the manifestation of the Lord to mankind that came about through the flesh — saying:

"Light has risen for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart."

The psalm that follows is joined to this psalmody.

For the same power becomes light and gladness to the righteous, but wrath to the unbelieving people.

"For the Lord," it says, "has reigned; let the peoples be angry."

Who is this Lord who has reigned, who sits enthroned above the angelic and heavenly nature? For through the Cherubim the discourse indicates that which is preeminent among the supramundane power (whose kingdom brings about the dissolution of that which is badly constituted —

for it is not the heavenly element within us, but the earthly, that it brings into commotion) — speaking thus in the phrase, "He who sits upon the Cherubim."

And I pass over what follows, so as not to bring a great mass of material into the sequence of the exposition, having said only this much: that everything looks to one and the same purpose right up to the end of the psalmody.

For it bears witness that this God who has reigned has not now first appeared to us, but that he, the very same, is manifest also to those of the prophets who are renowned.

Therefore it makes mention of Moses and Aaron and Samuel, each of whom, on account of piety toward God, is renowned and celebrated in song.

And to the discourse it adds also the pillar of the cloud, in which God conversed with them, teaching, I think, thereby the unbelieving not to be astonished at the converse of God with us that came about through man.

For the God who then spoke in the pillar of the cloud was afterward manifested in the flesh.

So that if anyone should say that the flesh is unworthy for God to speak to us through it, he would not attribute worthiness even to the pillar of the cloud.

For what is there in it of such a kind as to be judged worthy of the divine majesty? But if it is credible to the Jews that God spoke in a pillar of cloud, let it not be incredible either that he has spoken in the flesh — especially since Isaiah too understood the flesh by means of the cloud.

"For behold," it says, "the Lord sits upon a swift cloud."

And again the same prophet names those who follow him "clouds," where he says:

"Who are these that fly like clouds?" — so that through the shared name of the clouds he might show the kinship of the Lord's flesh with the rest of human nature.

"O Lord our God, you heard them."

"O God, you were forgiving to them, while taking vengeance upon all their practices."

But so that no one, looking to the economy, might slip into certain lowly and human conceptions concerning the divine, at the end of the psalmody it adds this utterance, turning its discourse toward us:

"Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of his feet, for he is holy."

And we suppose the sense of what has been said to be this: O men, the divine mysteries have been disclosed to you, insofar as human hearing is able to receive them.

But you, guided by these things toward the pious knowledge of God, exalt the glory of God as far as your reasoning has room to extend, knowing that when your mind is stretched to its utmost and passes beyond every lofty conception in your notions concerning God, then what is found and worshiped by you is not itself the majesty of that which is sought, but the footstool of his feet — thereby interpreting that which, in comparison with the unattainable comprehension, is lower and lies beneath our understanding.

Then after this, when not a few psalms in between have been passed over, in the hundred and third psalm — which he set among the many untitled ones according to the Hebrews — he explicitly speaks theologically of the Only-begotten God, ascribing to him the cause of the constitution of the universe.

And this signifies that they do not accept the purpose of this prophecy.

And the title reads thus:

But the sense of this psalm we shall set forth in due time; for now it will suffice for us to say only this much, that the same cause — I mean the unbelief of the Jews — made the title of this one also unacceptable to the Hebrews.

CHAPTER 10. And it is necessary not to pass over the diapsalma without consideration.

Now by those before us it was held that the diapsalma signifies a change of thought, or of person, or of subject matter.

But we do not reject the opinions of the fathers, and we shall not hesitate also to consider something of our own concerning the meaning of this expression.

And just as often certain people, either walking together along a road, or at some banquets, or conversing with one another in gatherings, if suddenly some sound should strike their ears from somewhere, cease from their conversation and strain their minds toward the sound, allowing their hearing, through stillness, the leisure to discern the nature of the sound; and then, when the resounding voice has ceased, they again take hold of their conversation with one another —

and if, while speaking in the meantime, he received further teaching, submitting the hearing of his soul to the Spirit sounding within him and silencing his song, then whatever thoughts he became filled with, these he went on to relate again, weaving his words into the melody.

The diapsalma, then, is — as one might say, encompassing it within a definition — a sudden stillness occurring in the midst of the psalmody, for the reception of the thought that is introduced from God.

Or rather, one might define the diapsalma in this way: it is a teaching that comes to the soul from the Spirit ineffably, the attention given to this thought cutting off the continuity of the melody.

But so that it might not be supposed by the many that the silence is a sign that the power of the Holy Spirit has failed the one who prophesies, for this reason some of the interpreters write "Always" (Ἀεί) at these intervals in place of the diapsalma, so that through this we might learn that the teaching from the Holy Spirit in the soul was always present, while the discourse that interprets the thoughts arising in the soul from God was not always present — rather, the one part gave voice to the mind, while the other part was receiving.

So then, in that time during which he was uttering the thoughts imprinted upon his mind, the psalmody proceeded in sequence;

but if something more divine resounded about the hearing of his soul, he was wholly given over to listening, silencing his song.

Since, then, the Holy Spirit was always speaking within him, even during the time of silence, the discourse occurred in intervals (and the interval was named "diapsalma" by those who translated it) —

and since the division that we have observed throughout the whole book of the psalmody is divided fivefold, it is possible also from these to demonstrate as true the cause we have understood, namely, that through a certain progression, the one who is guided through them is always led by the hand toward what is higher, through each of the sections;

for only the last of the sections has, in each psalm, from beginning to end, a hymnody that is continuous and unbroken, nowhere divided by the diapsalma.

For both the song at each of the "Ascents" has this character, and likewise those psalms whose title is "Alleluia."

For it is shown, I think, through such an observation, that in the other psalms, inasmuch as they are indeed of a lower order, there is room for the one who further teaches the higher thoughts, weaving in, in the midst of the sequence of the discourse, something of those things which are able to lead the mind up toward the better;

since it has been fully furnished with the whole perfection that lies in the good.

This is precisely what the sense of the title also attests concerning these psalms, naming all that is supreme "the praise of God."

For just as the progression through the ages of the body has, as its limit, the stability of nature, after which it no longer admits of increase toward the greater, but remains in itself for all the rest of time, so also there is, for the divine teachings, both growth and stability — through which teaching, nourishing with suitable food those who are infantile and immature in understanding, by means of milk and the like, leads them toward growth, while to those already mature it sets forth the solid table, for those whose sensory faculties of soul have already been trained beforehand through other lessons.

Therefore, the fact that in the last section there is nowhere any need for the interpreter of the Spirit to be further taught, by means of the diapsalma, any of the higher thoughts, would be a clear proof for understanding the argument concerning this, once one has set before oneself those parts of the psalmody that are marked off by the diapsalma.

In the third psalm, having first foretold the distress and helplessness that came upon him from the uprising of his enemies, and then having marked off that section with the diapsalma, he takes courage — in that saving utterance — through him who had secretly resounded within him, saying: "But you, O Lord, are my supporter, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head."

Again making the melody with a pause, after that thankful utterance which he has made, saying, "With my voice I cried to the Lord, and he heard me from his holy mountain," he is taught what is the solution to the common helplessness of human ills.

And having been taught the mystery concerning the Lord's passion, in the illumination that came upon him suddenly from the Spirit, he assumes the very person of the Master and says, "I lay down and slept."

"I awoke, because the Lord will support me."

But to set forth with precision the sense inherent in each of the words would be superfluous, since our discourse is hastening on toward other matters.

For it is necessary to confirm the sense given concerning the diapsalma by establishing the argument from the very things written — and this also in the fourth diapsalma, through which we learn the same lesson.

For in a certain way he cries out to all human nature concerning the vanity of the things men zealously pursue, calling the sons of men "heavy of heart," to whom the vain and unsubstantial falsehood is dear.

Again, having grown calm, he shows in what the truth consists.

"For know," he says, "that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful."

showing, I think, through "the holy one" the Lord himself, just as Moses says:

"For the Lord is righteous and holy."

Then, having laid down counsel by which one might pass through life in purity, becoming a judge and close examiner of the soul's own thoughts, he says among these things: "What you say in your hearts, be pierced with compunction upon your beds."

Again, having withdrawn into himself, he both heard the abolition of the legal sacrifice of animals and cries it out to those who hear.

For he says that one who has need of the soul's cleansing ought not place his hope even in the slaughter of irrational animals, but ought recognize by what sacrifices God is well pleased.

"Offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and hope in the Lord."

So also in the seventh of the psalms, the word of supplication comes first, in which he pleads his case before the righteous judge, that the evil done by his enemies does not arise as retribution, but that they themselves become the originators of wickedness;

and that he considers it equal in respect of sin, both to be the first to initiate wickedness, and to requite in like measure the one who began it.

And having said these things, he again lends his hearing to him who reveals the great mystery of piety, through which the vengeance of the Lord against the true enemies comes about.

For it is not possible for the host of adversaries to be brought down in any other way, unless the Lord has risen up on our behalf;

and death must certainly precede the resurrection.

He, then, who announced the resurrection of the Lord, also indicated together with it that which is joined to the resurrection — I mean, of course, the mystery of the passion.

"...of my enemies" — signifying by the word "wrath" the retributive power of the righteous judge, and by what follows, the annihilation of wickedness.

For by nature the only thing that is truly "enemy" is that which is seen to stand opposed to the good, which is wickedness, whose end is annihilation and passage into non-being.

He, then, who said, "Be exalted at the ends of my enemies," foretells, through the wickedness of the enemies being brought to its end, that no longer will a course toward wickedness be left remaining for life.

For as health becomes the end of disease, and wakefulness the end of sleep (yet neither does the one who sleeps, so long as he is in sleep, have the end of sleep, nor does the one who is ill come to be at the end of the sickness [while still ill];

but when health succeeds the sick person, and wakefulness the sleeper, we say that they have come to be at the end of that in which each of them was — the one at the end of sleep, the other at the end of the illness) —

so also here he has named the change of human nature into the blessed state "the end of the enemies."

We have observed only one altered manner of the diapsalma in the whole book of the Psalms, at the ninth psalm.

Perhaps, then, the text has been inverted through some scribal error, so that it ought rather to be read, "A diapsalma of a song," and not "A song of a diapsalma."

However, since it is fitting to keep before our eyes the judgment set forth in the Revelation of John against those who alter the divine words by addition or subtraction, we shall, while preserving the sequence handed down to us in this part of Scripture, attempt to seek out the reason for "the diapsalma of the song," which is as follows.

But it did not happen here in the same way as in the rest.

For in the other cases, the secret instruction that came to be in the soul from the Spirit was not operative at the same time as the declaration of the knowledge instilled in him;

but while the heart was being taught within, speech remained silent.

But here the two operate together at one and the same time: while he is in the midst of prophesying, the teaching of loftier thoughts from the Spirit comes to him, and yet the continuity of the melody is not interrupted;

rather, the Holy Spirit, having taken up its abode in the prophet as its instrument, itself moves the organs of voice according to its own design, so that neither is the song interrupted, nor is the teaching hindered by the sound;