詩篇註釋 第 27 章 第 2/2 段

For that He did not choose them alone, but was the guardian of all, is shown both by the things before Moses, and no less by the things in his own day;

and after him, by what came to pass in each successive age.

For the sun, the earth, the sea, and all other things He gave in common to all, and He sowed the natural law in all.

And Abraham, though a Persian, He loved and translated;

for the Egyptians, and those in Canaan, and those who came from Persia, He set right through him;

and again, through that man's son and grandson He made many of the neighbors there better, at least so far as it lay in His own part.

And when Moses too was born, thereafter, through the things done toward the Jews, He led the Egyptians by the hand toward the knowledge of God, and those in Palestine, and after these, those in Babylon.

Thus when He says, 'The heaven of heavens is the Lord's,' He means this: that for this reason He rests upon those who are there, because they are set free from all wickedness.

And you too, if you are not nailed to the earth but become an angel, will swiftly ascend to heaven and to the Father's house; and even before the resurrection you have already removed thither from here, and you possess the dignity.

For just as many of those who belong to the great senate possess their dignity even while dwelling in the country;

so also you, if you are willing to have your citizenship in heaven, will enjoy that dignity even while dwelling here.

'The dead shall not praise You, O Lord, neither all those who go down into Hades.'

'But we the living will bless the Lord, from this time forth and even for evermore.'

By 'the dead' he does not mean those who have died, but those who have died in impieties, or those who have rotted away in sins.

Since Abraham also had died, and Isaac and Jacob, yet nevertheless they so lived that the living kept their memory.

Moses, at any rate, praying on behalf of the people whom he led, entreats God through them, taking them up into his supplication.

And the three young men too ask to be saved on account of these;

'Do not withdraw Your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham who is beloved by You, and for the sake of Isaac Your servant, and Israel Your holy one.'

But if they had such power, how were they dead? And again Christ says:

'Let the dead bury their own dead.'

For this reason Paul does not call those who have died 'dead,' but 'those who have fallen asleep,' writing thus:

'But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those' who are asleep.

For the righteous man, even though he comes to his end, has not died, but sleeps.

For he who is destined to be conveyed onward into a better life is but asleep;

but he who is destined to be led away into a deathless death, even while living has come to his end, and is dead.

The former go down into Hades;

these latter shall ascend into heaven, and shall be with Christ.

For this very reason the Prophet too did not say simply, 'They that live,' but, 'We that live,' setting down what pertains to himself.

And why did he not say, 'They that live,' but added, 'We'? Because Paul too spoke thus, saying, 'We that are alive and remain shall in no wise arrive before' the coming of the Lord.

Just as there the added word 'We' does not allow what is said to be spoken of all men, but only of the faithful, and of those who resemble him in their manner of life;

so here also the phrase 'We that live' refers to those who are like David, and to those who live in virtue.

'From henceforth and even for evermore.'

Do you see how the added clause also makes this plain? This—what, exactly? That he is speaking of those who live according to virtue.

For no one lives this life forever, but only those who also perpetually live the life that is attended with glory.

For indeed the sinners also live;

but in chastisement and torment, and in the gnashing of teeth;

whereas these live in splendour and glory, having for their occupation the offering up of the mystic hymns to God together with the bodiless powers.

In order, then, that we too may enjoy this joy, let us pursue this life, so that we may also attain to that portion which neither speech, nor mind, nor anything else can set forth, but which experience alone reveals in its blessedness;

which may it be granted us all to obtain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ;

to whom be the glory and the might, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.