Selected Comments on the Psalms

Contents

Some columns are missing from the scan text used (PG 12:1321–1365, 1369–1371, 1387–1389, 1393–1401), and a few are largely unreadable. Many notes in this catena are probably by Evagrius or other authors; the notes say so passage by passage.

Reading pages: 1053–1069 · 1071–1089 · 1091–1107 · 1109–1125 · 1127–1143 · 1145–1159 · 1161–1179 · 1181–1199 · 1201–1219 · 1221–1239 · 1241–1259 · 1261–1279 · 1281–1299 · 1301–1383 · 1385–1421 · 1423–1441 · 1443–1461 · 1463–1481 · 1483–1501 · 1503–1523 · 1525–1545 · 1547–1567 · 1569–1585 · 1587–1603 · 1605–1621 · 1623–1643 · 1645–1663 · 1665–1679

1. 1053Origen sets out philosophical definitions of “end” (from Aristotle and the Stoics, via Herophilus) and of “God,” as background to the psalm titles.
2. 1055The five books of the Psalter, and a Jewish teacher’s view that the eleven untitled or authorless psalms after Psalm 89 (LXX) belong to Moses.
3. 1057The remaining psalms ascribed to Moses, the Jewish teacher’s answer to the objection from Samuel’s name in Psalm 98 (LXX), and the beginning of Origen’s inquiry into “diapsalma.”
4. 1059Origen’s proof from the Hexapla that “diapsalma” stands for Hebrew selah, and the start of his general notes on psalm titles: the three psalms “for the winepresses” signify the churches.
5. 1061The winepresses as the many churches (Psalms 8, 80, 83 LXX); the titles “for the eighth” as pointing to the resurrection on the eighth day (Psalms 6 and 11 LXX).
6. 1063The titles “for those who will be changed” (Psalms 59, 68, 44, 79 LXX) as the change of the nations, of Christ in his passion, and of the former people; “for the hidden things” as Christ’s hidden war and victory.
7. 1065The titles “for a pillar inscription” (humility, Psalms 55–56 LXX), “for a remembrance” (David’s sin), “a prayer,” and “do not destroy” (David’s forbearance toward Saul).
8. 1067The Sabbath psalm and the thanksgiving psalm (91 and 99 LXX), and the title of Psalm 33 (LXX), which Origen links with David’s visit to Ahimelech at Nob and the holy bread.
9. 1069Origen finishes the title of Psalm 33 (LXX), discusses psalms without musical titles, and explains “the hymns of David have failed” at the end of Psalm 71 (LXX) by the Greek versions.
10. 1071Psalm 71 (LXX) can refer only to Christ; Origen discusses the meaning of “diapsalma” and argues that not every psalm entitled “psalm” was sung to the psaltery (Psalms 50 and 3 LXX).
11. 1073The title “in hymns” and the victory titles (“for the end”) of Psalms 4, 6 and 53 (LXX); the Psalms are not in chronological order, which raises the question of their arrangement.
12. 1075The arrangement of the Psalms by the meaning of numbers (the seven, the two, the one), and the beginning of Origen’s preface to his tome on Psalm 1: the Scriptures are shut and sealed.
13. 1077Scripture is shut and sealed, as the Apocalypse and Isaiah show, and the Savior rebuked the lawyers who took away the key of knowledge; Origen addresses his patron Ambrose.
14. 1079Origen tells Ambrose of his reluctance to write on Scripture, asks for his prayers, and gives the Hebrew teacher’s parable of the locked rooms and scattered keys.
15. 1081The Holy Spirit has placed wisdom in every letter of Scripture, as the Creator has in the smallest creatures; difficulties in Scripture, like those in creation, do not justify the heretics’ rejection of the Creator.
16. 1083Origen’s list of the twenty-two books of the Hebrew canon, with their Hebrew names, from his tome on Psalm 1.
17. 1085Psalm 1 begins the Psalter with the blessedness of the man who is like the Only-begotten, the tree of life; the three steps of walking, standing, and sitting describe three kinds of error.
18. 1087Meditating on the law day and night means practicing it, so that the perfect man’s every action is prayer; Aquila’s “transplanted” tree is Christ, rooted in the Father, or the Savior’s soul taken to paradise.
19. 1089Christ, the tree of life transplanted to paradise, gives his fruit in season according to the fitness of those who receive it; fruits and leaves are the primary and the secondary things of creation, of Scripture, and of the blessed man’s life.
20. 1091On Ps 1:5 Origen examines the simpler believers’ view of the resurrection of the same flesh, raising the problems of bodily flux and of bodies eaten by other bodies; they appeal to God’s omnipotence and to Ezekiel’s dry bones.
21. 1093Origen’s answer: the material substrate of the body is always in flux, but the bodily form that makes Peter or Paul himself remains, and it is this form, changed for the better into a spiritual body suited to heaven, that rises.
22. 1095The spiritual body keeps the form but not the flesh; Ezekiel’s dry bones signify the restoration of the captive people, and the “gnashing of teeth” cannot be taken literally.
23. 1097The gnashing of teeth is the soul’s anguish at conviction; Paul’s words on the mortal body made alive and the seed show that the form, not the same matter, rises; a further note on the bodies of the righteous and the ungodly at the judgment.
24. 1099God “knows” the way of the righteous, Christ, and does not know evil, as his questions to Adam and in the Gospel show; Psalm 2 opens with Origen’s note that some Hebrew copies join it to Psalm 1, as Acts 13:33 does.
25. 1101The speakers of Psalm 2 change at the diapsalma; the nations, peoples, kings and rulers who set upon Christ are both the human agents of the passion and the invisible powers, and war against Christ is impiety against the Father.
26. 1103On the divine names: Adonai, Iah, and the unpronounced four-letter name written in the old Hebrew script, rendered “Lord” in Greek; and on the Septuagint’s use of the past tense for prophecies about Christ.
27. 1105The first verses of Psalm 2 are the angels’ words and the reply is the Son’s, who breaks the bonds of sin; God speaks in wrath to bring sinners to repentance, as at Nineveh; anger and wrath are distinguished.
28. 1107God’s wrath gives sinners time to repent; Christ receives the nations as heir “as a man,” by the economy of the incarnation; a further note on the inheritance as contemplation; the rod of iron is the sterner treatment that heals sinners.
29. 1109Christ is the rod for the more beastlike and the flower for those worthy of kindness; the shattering of the nations “like a potter’s vessel” is the beneficial breaking of the proud spirit and heart, as in Psalm 50 (LXX).
30. 1111Two short notes on Christ the shepherd and the iron rod of the cross; “kings” and “judges of the earth” may be the persecutors called to repentance or the saints, who reign over their own impulses; instruction by punishment is either imposed on the immature or accepted willingly.
31. 1113Some accept painful instruction willingly; the saints “judge the earth” by their example, as the Ninevites and the queen of the south will; service “with fear” may be that of slaves, but sons too serve, out of love, as Christ served his disciples.
32. 1115Fear as servile dread or as reverence, and joy with trembling as joy kept from conceit; “laying hold of instruction” is perfection, and Origen discusses the word “righteous,” which only the Septuagint has in Ps 2:12.
33. 1117The end of Psalm 2 (God’s quickly kindled anger and the blessedness of trust) and the beginning of Psalm 3: the psalm cannot be read wholly as history of David’s flight from Absalom, for in Scripture David often stands for Christ.
34. 1119David in Scripture often stands for Christ the judge; on Ps 3:1–2, those who afflict and rise up against David are Absalom’s followers in the history, those who opposed Christ in the passion, and, in a higher sense, the teachers of false doctrine, their disciples, and unbelievers.
35. 1121Every sinner afflicts the Son of God as a wicked son grieves his father; affliction yields the righteous a weight of glory; on Ps 3:3 Christ is exalted by the Father, and the saint’s glory is God himself, as with Moses and Elijah.
36. 1123On Ps 3:4 Origen asks why the prayer is reported after the thanksgiving, and explains the saints’ “cry” as the intense, intelligible voice of the soul, uttered by the Spirit and by the Savior himself.
37. 1125The Word, who is Wisdom, always cries out; on Ps 3:5 Origen gives a literal reading (David blaming his own lack of watchfulness) and a higher one, in the person of Christ, distinguishing “lying down” from “sleep.”
38. 1127Sleep also means the soul’s inattention; applied to Christ, “I lay down” is his death and “I slept” the separation of his soul from the body, during which his soul was active for the salvation of souls, as 1 Peter 3:19 shows.
39. 1129Christ after his falling asleep was raised by the Father; the saint, like Christ in the passion, fears no multitude; on Ps 3:7 Origen notes that the Hebrew has “jaw” where the Septuagint has “without cause,” and discusses God “arising” and enmity “without cause.”
40. 1131Who hates God: not persons but the evils in them, which must be hated with a perfect hatred; the broken teeth of sinners are irrational thoughts; the end of Psalm 3 and the start of Psalm 4, with its title “for the end.”
41. 1133The title “for the end” signifies the end of the rational nature, life in Christ, and Christ’s victory, which he wins by persuasion; the musical terms of the title; the speaker of Psalm 4 is the Prophet or Christ.
42. 1135God hears the saint while he is still calling; “calling upon the Lord” belongs only to the righteous, like Samuel, whose works say “Lord”; Christ is “the righteousness” of the righteous; Scripture calls the trials of the saints “affliction,” those of sinners “scourges.”
43. 1137Afflictions of the righteous and scourges of sinners; giving way under affliction is “being crushed,” but the saints are enlarged by God, who gives greatness of soul; on “sons of men,” the name “man” is blame when the saints are called gods and praise when sinners are called beasts.
44. 1139“Son of man” in the prophets is a title of honor (Daniel, Ezekiel) recalling the image of God, but “man” can also be blame; the “heavy-hearted” sons of men are those who bear the man of dust and carry lawlessness like lead.
45. 1141The heavy-hearted are slow disciples and those who seek the falsehood of antichrist; the “cry” God hears is the soul’s silent voice; “be angry” in Ps 4:4 may be imperative or indicative, and anger may be a chosen passion or an involuntary first movement.
46. 1143The anger that is an involuntary first movement is not sin, and Aquila’s “be agitated” confirms the reading; Ps 4:4 teaches an examination of conscience at bedtime; “compunction” in Scripture means being stung by sin, as with Ahab.
47. 1145More examples of “compunction” (LXX Ps 59, Isaac) and the other translators’ “be silent”; on Ps 4:5 the sacrifice of righteousness is not the animal sacrifices but justice, mercy and a broken heart, as Psalms 49 and 50 (LXX) and Jeremiah teach.
48. 1147The sacrifices of the law are a copy and shadow, to be read symbolically and mystically; hope in the Lord follows righteous action; Origen takes up the philosophers’ question whether the perfect man hopes, answering from Scripture that love “hopes all things.”
49. 1149Love “hopes all things,” the promised beatitudes; on Ps 4:6, “Who will show us good things?” is the cry of those who long to understand the promises, which only the wise, like Paul, can show; then an extract from Origen’s tome on the question what the good things are.
50. 1151Three views of good and evil (only chosen things, only unchosen things, or both); Scripture plainly calls virtues good, but some think it also teaches goods of the body and external goods, citing the promises and curses of the law.
51. 1153The texts cited by those who think Scripture promises bodily and external goods: the promises and curses of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.
52. 1155The case for bodily and external goods from the Gospels’ healings and from eternal punishment; Origen answers with the prophets who kept the law yet lived in poverty and suffering — Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist — so that the promises need a higher sense.
53. 1157Afflictions cannot be evils, since the Apostle boasts in them and the righteous are always afflicted, as Job’s trials show; the literal blessings of the law (lending to nations, health, wealth) do not fit the saints, and true health and wealth belong to the soul.
54. 1159The literal reading would make health and wealth higher than virtue and leads to crude hopes of eating and begetting after the resurrection; Origen’s own view: the unchosen good is the Lord’s power that cooperates with our building and guarding.
55. 1161The good of a rational being is mixed, from our choice and God’s cooperating power, as a harvest needs both the farmer and the weather; even the perfect fall if they claim the credit, like the fallen morning star; Scripture uses “good” and “evil” loosely for pleasant and painful things.
56. 1163On Ps 4:6, God is light to the pure and consuming fire to vice; as the sun’s light reaches whoever turns to it, so God’s light is imprinted on the mind turned to him, as with Moses’ shining face.
57. 1165The soul that shares in God’s light, like Moses, must veil itself for the many; the “sign” of God’s light preserves the saints in judgment, as in Psalm 59 (LXX) and Ezekiel 9; the gladness of Ps 4:7 is the mind’s joy in contemplating God, not the flesh’s.
58. 1167The end of Psalm 4 (the true bread; the Hebrew “from the time of” the harvest; Christ or the saint dwelling “alone” in hope) and the beginning of Psalm 5: only one whose King and God the Lord truly is can pray its words.
59. 1169On Ps 5:3–7: God does not let the lawless remain before him, as a physician does not leave the sick uncured; he hates sinners and will destroy heretics; the house of God is the virtuous soul and the church, entered only by his mercy.
60. 1171On Ps 5:8–12: God’s judgment profits the sinner, and he thrusts no one from himself; the righteous ask God’s guidance against envious men and demons; the false teachers’ throat is an open grave; boasting in God belongs to those who love.
61. 1173The Lord himself blesses the righteous; the shield and crown of Ps 5:12 are practice and contemplation; Psalm 6 begins: “for the eighth,” the plea against God’s anger and wrath, and David, forgiven, asking the physician to end the bitter remedies.
62. 1175On Ps 6:4–8: God turns and rescues the soul; in death, God’s enemy, there is no remembrance of him; the weary groaning and the bed washed with tears (applied to the chaste who weep over past sins); anger blinds the mind; demons always work lawlessness, humans sometimes, angels never.
63. 1177The end of Psalm 6: God hears weeping, petition, and prayer; the shame of the enemies, visible and invisible; and the beginning of Psalm 7, on the pursuers from whom the Prophet asks to be rescued.
64. 1179On Ps 7:3–8: the righteous man does not repay evil, being no longer a child under the law; the empty and the full; the enemy who tramples those who bear the image of the man of dust; God’s “arising” is his power to discipline, and the enmity of his enemies ends in reconciliation; Christ’s return on high after the resurrection.
65. 1181The end of Psalm 7: the devil’s instruments of death; the lover of pleasure conceives toil and brings forth lawlessness, the lover of God conceives joy and brings forth righteousness; the pit dug by the devil; the title of Psalm 8, “for the winepresses.”
66. 1183The winepresses in Scripture (Noah, Judah, Issachar, the righteous man’s wife) are rational natures receiving the fruit of the spiritual vine; on Ps 8:2 the infants of Matthew 21 teach an allegorical reading; the enemy is the devil, overthrown through simple fishermen; the heavens, the works of God’s fingers, and the moon and stars.
67. 1185On Ps 8:4–8: God visits man to do him good; man, made in God’s image, is a little lower than the angels and rules the creatures; Hebrews applies the psalm to Christ, and through the incarnation man is crowned with glory; Psalm 9 begins with its title, “for the hidden things.”
68. 1187On Ps 9:1–5: only the Savior can tell all God’s wonders; the enemy’s defeat makes those strong in vice grow weak; Christ is God’s throne; God’s rebuke is correction, and the blotting out of the nations’ name is like the renaming of Abram, Sarai, and Simon.
69. 1189On Ps 9:10–17 (LXX 9:11–18): God dwells in the soul that is a Zion; the deeds to be declared are Christ’s miracles and the saving cross; the gates of death are mortal sins; the nations stuck fast in the body; Hades, the place where the souls awaited the soul of Jesus descending.
70. 1191On Ps 9:18–19 (LXX) the endurance of the poor; the second half of LXX Psalm 9, which is Psalm 10 in the Hebrew: God seems far off when he does not help the wronged; sinners prosper and are praised; the sinner profanes his ways.
71. 1193On Ps 10:5–8 (LXX 9:26–29): Satan “rules” the righteous in some respect, for Christ alone was sinless, or the text states the devil’s vain will; the righteous still progressing are subject to him; the mouths full of cursing are the heretics who speak evil of the Creator; the devil lurks among the rich in ignorance.
72. 1195The end of LXX Psalm 9 (Ps 10:9–18): God “punishes” by breaking the sinner’s arm, freeing him from sin; Christ reigns until his enemies become friends; the land of the Lord is the contemplation of creation; God hears the desire of the poor, which is effective prayer.
73. 1197The beginning of LXX Psalm 10 (Ps 11), whose heading is lost: the sinners’ bow and arrows are the impure mind and passionate thoughts, shot in the darkness of ignorance; God watches the poor with his eyes but examines sinners only with his eyelids, sparing them.
74. 1199The end of LXX Psalm 10 (Ps 11:5–7): the lover of injustice hates his own soul; the beginning of LXX Psalm 11 (Ps 12): the failure of the holy and the diminishing of truths give rise to heresies; God destroys the evils that have attached themselves to his first creation.
75. 1201On Ps 12:4–6 (LXX 11:5–7): the Lord arises for the poor and needy, as Paul’s sufferings and thanks show, and appoints in salvation; only the words of the Lord are pure, like silver purified seven times.
76. 1203LXX Psalm 12 (Ps 13): God turns his face away in care, to draw us to himself, and the Son is the Father’s face; the light of knowledge drives away the sleep of death; the enemy rejoices at every sin, the angels at every repentance.
77. 1205The end of LXX Psalm 12 (Ps 13): the saved sing and add practice to contemplation; LXX Psalm 13 (Ps 14), whose heading is lost: the fool’s denial of God leads to a corrupt life; salvation from Zion is Christ, who comes from the Father; captivity is the fall from knowledge into ignorance.
78. 1207Only Christ, the physician, could bring the salvation from Zion, and the Old Testament calls him “salvation”; LXX Psalm 14 (Ps 15): the holy mountain is the knowledge of Christ, reached by one who walks blameless like Abraham and works all the virtues, unlike Cain.
79. 1209The end of LXX Psalm 14 (Ps 15:3–4): the blameless man harms no neighbor and reproaches no one; LXX Psalm 15 (Ps 16), whose heading is lost: only the sinless can call God “my Lord,” and God needs nothing of our offerings; the goods and the saints in his land.
80. 1211On Ps 16:3–5 (LXX 15:3–5): God makes his “wishes,” the virtues, wonderful in the saints; Christ gathers his assemblies not from blood but by an unbloody sacrifice and the one blood of the Lamb; the Lord as portion and cup.
81. 1213On Ps 16:5–7 (LXX 15:5–7): the Father is the portion of Christ the high priest, and the restored people his inheritance; the Lord as bread and cup; the “lines” as the measure of the receiver, not of the Spirit; the kidneys that instruct as the soul’s generative thoughts.
82. 1215The end of LXX Psalm 15 (Ps 16:7–10): the heart is the mind, the tongue the gift of the Spirit; Christ’s flesh rested in hope of the third-day resurrection and did not see decay, as Peter teaches; the beginning of LXX Psalm 16 (Ps 17).
83. 1217On Ps 17:1–7 (LXX 16:1–7): God alone is Master of righteousness; judgment comes from the Son, the Father’s face; the prayer for uprightness as the restoration of all things; God’s testing by fire, the night of affliction, the narrow way of practice; the cry of great prayers and God’s wonderful mercies.
84. 1219On Ps 17:7–11 (LXX 16:7–11): God’s mercies are “made wonderful” in Christ’s miraculous healings; the one who resists Christ resists God’s right hand; the righteous are sheltered under God’s wings; the enemies’ shut-up “fat” is the thickness of a mind bound to matter, or the loss of brotherly love.
85. 1221On Ps 17:11–13 (LXX 16:11–13): the enemies surround those they have cast out of virtue; whether the vices, like the virtues, follow one another; the lion lying in wait is the impure thought; God’s sword is the righteous soul, to be rescued from the enemies of his hand.
86. 1223The end of LXX Psalm 16 (Ps 17:14–15): philosophers’ fine doctrines come from God’s hidden things; the enemies’ portion is in this life; the saint will be satisfied by the sight of God’s glory; the beginning of LXX Psalm 17 (Ps 18): the Lord is the very strength and firmness of the saints.
87. 1225On Ps 18:2–6 (LXX 17:3–7): the titles of God as wall, helper, champion and horn of salvation (Christ, the horn of Zechariah’s song); prayer with praise; the pangs and snares of death that surrounded Christ but could not hold him; God hears from his temple, which is Christ.
88. 1227On Ps 18:7–11 (LXX 17:8–12): God “stands” for those who stand firm and “is shaken” for those who are shaken; his consuming fire burns up wicked habits, as in Matthew and Paul; his ascents and descents are his dispensations; the darkness that hides him is human ignorance.
89. 1229On Ps 18:11–15 (LXX 17:12–16): God’s tent is the flesh of Christ, or bodily nature through which the Creator is seen; his arrows, lightnings and rebukes are healing, revealing the springs of living water and the foundations of the world, which are the holy Trinity or the saints on whom believers are built.
90. 1231Notes on Ps 17 LXX (18):17–24: rescue from mighty enemies, the broad place of affliction, and cleanness of hands.
91. 1233Notes on Ps 17 LXX (18):24–28: blamelessness with God, repayment by righteousness, and God holy with the holy but not crooked with the crooked.
92. 1235Notes on Ps 17 LXX (18):29–34: the lamp of the soul, life as trial, the fiery sayings of the Lord, and feet like a deer’s.
93. 1237Notes on Ps 17 LXX (18):35–41: the bow of bronze, the right hand as the Son, and pursuing the enemy arguments and passionate thoughts.
94. 1239End of the notes on Ps 17 LXX (18):40–49 (Christ as head of the nations) and beginning of Ps 18 LXX (19): which heavens tell the glory of God.
95. 1241Notes on Ps 18 LXX (19):2–5: contemplatives as heavens and the practical as firmament, day and night as Old and New Testaments, and the Father’s tent in the Son.
96. 1243Notes on Ps 18 LXX (19):6–10: Christ the bridegroom, and the five names of the law.
97. 1245End of Ps 18 LXX (19):10–15 (pure fear, hidden faults, the meditation of the heart) and beginning of Ps 19 LXX (20): the afflicted are heard.
98. 1247Notes on Ps 19 LXX (20):4–9: the burnt offering made fat, salvation as the Son and the cross, and the fall of the opposing powers.
99. 1249Notes on Ps 20 LXX (21):3–9: the crown of precious stone, the life Hezekiah asked for, and the glory of the risen king.
100. 1251End of the notes on Ps 20 LXX (21):9–14: the punishment of the wicked, which destroys their evil works but not their being, and the face prepared for them among the remnants.
101. 1253End of Ps 20 LXX (21) and beginning of Ps 21 LXX (22): the cry from the cross, Christ as the worm, and the Saviour drawn from the womb by the Father.
102. 1255Notes on Ps 21 LXX (22):10–14: Christ’s sinless infancy, his struggle in Hades without the angels’ help, and the calves, bulls and lion as hostile powers.
103. 1257Notes on Ps 21 LXX (22):15–27: the scattered bones of the Word, the dust of death, the divided garments, and the sword of temptation.
104. 1259End of Ps 21 LXX (22):27–32 (the turning of all the ends of the earth) and beginning of Ps 22 LXX (23): the shepherd, the paths of righteousness, and walking through the shadow of death.
105. 1261Notes on Ps 22 LXX (23):4–5: the rod and staff as God’s merciful punishment, and the table prepared for each affliction.
106. 1263Notes on Ps 22 LXX (23):5–6: the table of mystical teaching in the age to come, the oil and the cup of wisdom, and Mercy (Christ) who pursues.
107. 1265End of Ps 22 LXX (23) and beginning of Ps 23 LXX (24): the earth filled by Christ’s coming, the church as the inhabited world, and the ascent to the mountain of the Lord.
108. 1267Notes on Ps 23 LXX (24):4–10: clean hands and a pure heart, seeking the face of God, and the gates of the virtues.
109. 1269End of Ps 23 LXX (24) (the gates taken away at the ascension; “Sabaoth” as “Almighty” of the Saviour) and beginning of Ps 24 LXX (25): lawlessness without cause and the meek taught God’s ways.
110. 1271Notes on Ps 24 LXX (25):7–18: sins of youth confessed, God’s remembering, law for sinners, and toil that removes sins.
111. 1273End of Ps 24 LXX (25) (hope that does not shame) and beginning of Ps 25 LXX (26): the kidneys and heart tested, truth as Christ, the councils of heretics avoided, and the mind as altar.
112. 1275End of Ps 25 LXX (26):6–10 (the mind circling the altar; the righteous not destroyed with the ungodly) and beginning of Ps 26 LXX (27): the Lord as light and saviour, whose name is Jesus in Hebrew.
113. 1277Notes on Ps 26 LXX (27):2–5: the demons who eat our flesh, the army that the heart does not fear, and the one thing asked of the Lord.
114. 1279Notes on Ps 26 LXX (27):4–5: the house of the Lord as the church, the tent as progress and the house as perfection, and the rock as Christ.
115. 1281Notes on Ps 26 LXX (27):5–14: David hidden at Nob, the soul made a circle without corners, seeking God’s face, and forsaken by the devil as father.
116. 1283Beginning of Ps 27 LXX (28): crying aloud in secret prayer, God speaking within the heart, and the pit (cistern) as the cold place of sin and captivity.
117. 1285Notes on Ps 27 LXX (28):2–3: Christ as the holy temple, the grades of prayer (1 Tim 2:1), the lifting of hands as godly actions, and the righteous among sinners.
118. 1287Notes on Ps 27 LXX (28):3–5: the righteous drawn among sinners to save them, hypocrites who speak peace, and punishment as remedial discipline.
119. 1289End of Ps 27 LXX (28) (the works of God, the flesh flourishing, the Paraclete shepherding) and beginning of Ps 28 LXX (29): bringing sons and glory to the Lord, and the calf of Lebanon as the devil.
120. 1291End of Ps 28 LXX (29) (the voice of the Lord) and beginning of Ps 29 LXX (30): exalting the Lord who takes us up, the soul raised from Hades, and the envy of invisible enemies.
121. 1293Notes on Ps 29 LXX (30):3–7: Christ confessing the sins of his body as his own, “his” holy ones, wrath and life, and prosperity without being shaken.
122. 1295Notes on Ps 29 LXX (30):7–10, with readings of Symmachus and Aquila: the perfected soul unshaken, the church as Christ’s mountain, the turned-away face, and the blood shed in vain for those who persist in sin.
123. 1297End of Ps 29 LXX (30) (dust that cannot confess, mourning turned into joy) and beginning of Ps 30 LXX (31): rescue in righteousness rather than by mercy.
124. 1299Notes on Ps 30 LXX (31):2–9: God as protector, “into your hands I commit my spirit” and the three senses of “spirit,” vanities kept to no purpose, and the broad place.
125. 1301End of Ps 30 LXX (31):10–24 (lots, deceitful lips, the soul as a walled city breached in David’s sin) and beginning of Ps 31 LXX (32): sins forgiven in baptism and covered by repentance.
126. 1303End of Ps 31 LXX (32):5–11 (confession, horse and mule, boasting in afflictions) and beginning of Ps 32 LXX (33): the lyre and the ten-stringed harp as body and spirit, and the new song.
127. 1305Notes on Ps 32 LXX (33):5–21: God’s mercy and judgment, the shaking of the world by the churches of Christ, coming into being and creation, and God the knower of hearts.
128. 1307Notes on Ps 33 LXX (34):1–15: David’s changed face, tasting the Lord, no lack of knowledge for the saints, and love greater than fear.
129. 1309End of Ps 33 LXX (34):18–22 (the broken heart, death as punishment that frees from wickedness, ransom) and beginning of Ps 34 LXX (35): God judging and fighting for the good of those he fights, and his armour transformed after the punishments.
130. 1311Notes on Ps 34 LXX (35):3–13: the drawn sword, Christ who has conquered the world, the devil caught in the snare of the cross, and fasting that humbles the soul.
131. 1313End of Ps 34 LXX (35):13–27 (prayer returning to the bosom, the serpent’s peaceable word, magnifying the Lord) and beginning of Ps 35 LXX (36): the wicked man’s lawlessness is a choice of free will, not his constitution.
132. 1315Notes on Ps 35 LXX (36):4–12: lawlessness devised on the bed, Aristotle’s denial of providence below the moon, the good drunkenness of God’s house, and Christ the spring of life.
133. 1317Notes on Ps 36 LXX (37):8–20: the end of the wicked as the end of their sin (not of their being), the meek inheriting knowledge, and the bread of heaven.
134. 1319A short note on Ps 36 LXX (37):20: sinners perish by ceasing to be sinners, not by ceasing to exist.
135. 1367Notes on Ps 37 LXX (38):2–22: rebuke and discipline, holy powers that withdraw in temptation, and deafness to the tempter’s thoughts as freedom from passion.
136. 1373Fragments of notes on Ps 37 LXX (38):3–4: God’s arrows as words that pierce the hearer, and the fear of God’s wrath.
137. 1377Fragments of notes on Ps 37 LXX (38):5–7: sins that rise over the head, the stench of sins perceived by the penitent, and Paul’s “wretched man.”
138. 1379A damaged fragment on Ps 37 LXX (38):13: the enemies who seek evil for the righteous and speak vanities.
139. 1383Beginning of Ps 38 LXX (39):3–5: silence from good things in temptation, and the heart that grows hot without anger.
140. 1385Notes on Ps 38 LXX (39):5–14: the knowledge of the Trinity as the end of rational nature, walking in God’s image or a beast’s, and life on earth as sojourning.
141. 1391A damaged fragment, probably on Ps 38 LXX (39):4: the heart that burns with God’s sayings, and anger without sin.
142. 1403A damaged fragment on Ps 38 LXX (39):11–12: the sinner’s spider’s web and the soul wasted for its own benefit.
143. 1405Notes on Ps 39 LXX (40):3–9: the pit of misery, the new song, and the sacrifice not desired, read with Hebrews as Christ’s words.
144. 1407End of Ps 39 LXX (40):9–17 (Christ’s will to take away sin, his lips the teachers of the church) and beginning of Ps 40 LXX (41): blessed is he who understands the poor.
145. 1409Notes on Ps 40 LXX (41):3–12: the bed of pain, Judas who saw but did not understand, and Christ asking mercy and resurrection for us.
146. 1411End of Ps 40 LXX (41) and beginning of Ps 41 LXX (42): thirsting for God, tears as bread, and where God is (everywhere but in the sinner’s soul).
147. 1413Notes on Ps 41 LXX (42):5–9: the tent as progress and the house as perfection, the soul rebuking its own sadness, the Jordan and Hermon, and the night deliverance from Sennacherib.
148. 1415End of Ps 41 LXX (42) (gloom in oppression; God in no place) and beginning of Ps 42 LXX (43): Christ asks to be judged, and the light and truth sent to lead to the holy mountain.
149. 1417End of Ps 42 LXX (43) (light and truth as the Only-begotten sent upon the soul of Jesus, the high priest) and beginning of Ps 43 LXX (44): the fathers’ report and the nations destroyed.
150. 1419Notes on Ps 43 LXX (44):3–11: the nations of wickedness uprooted before the gentiles are planted, the Saviour as God’s hand and right hand, virtue in our power but knowledge a gift, and the horn of a pure mind.
151. 1421Notes on Ps 43 LXX (44):12–20: sheep for food, God’s people sold by their sins, faithfulness to the covenant in persecution, and the body as the place of affliction.
152. 1423End of Ps 43 LXX (44):19–26 (sheep for slaughter, the sleeping Christ in the storm of thoughts) and beginning of Ps 44 LXX (45): the “good word” as the account of the Son, not the Son himself.
153. 1425Notes on Ps 44 LXX (45):3–7: grace on Christ’s lips, the sword on the thigh as his birth and purity, the arrows of the virtues, and Christ as God.
154. 1427End of Ps 44 LXX (45):7–17 (the queen as the church, her glory within, virgin souls, the apostles in place of the patriarchs) and beginning of Ps 45 LXX (46): God our only refuge.
155. 1429Notes on Ps 45 LXX (46):2–10: God the power of the saints, the saints as mountains removed like Enoch, the river of the Spirit’s gifts, and the kingdoms bowing at Christ’s coming.
156. 1431End of Ps 45 LXX (46):9–10 (wars ended under one Roman empire at the Saviour’s birth) and beginning of Ps 46 LXX (47): the nations clap at Christ’s victory, and God becomes king of all the earth.
157. 1433End of Ps 46 LXX (47):4–10 (God went up with a shout; the throne of God is Christ) and beginning of Ps 47 LXX (48): the Lord great in his city.
158. 1435Notes on Ps 47 LXX (48):2–12: Christ as the well-rooted joy of all the earth, Jerusalem the city of the great king, the ships of Tarshish, and hearing by faith made seeing by a pure life.
159. 1437End of Ps 47 LXX (48):13–15 (going round Zion, the bulwarks as contemplations, the disciples dividing the world) and beginning of Ps 48 LXX (49): Christ calls all nations, rich and poor, and his mouth is those who minister his word.
160. 1439Notes on Ps 48 LXX (49):4–10: the harp as the chosen vessel through which Christ opens his riddle, the “lawlessness of the heel” (Judas, Adam, or small sins), and Christ’s ransom for all.
161. 1441Notes on Ps 48 LXX (49):9–12: the toil of repentance rewarded with true life (with Symmachus and Aquila), the death of the worldly wise, and tombs as unclean souls.
162. 1443End of Ps 48 LXX (49):12–21 (men named for earthly titles, likened to cattle, death as their shepherd, the glory that does not go down to the grave) and beginning of Ps 49 LXX (50).
163. 1445Notes on Ps 49 LXX (50):1–6: God speaking through Christ, the Word who comes openly in the flesh, equal in power to the Father, and the separation of God’s people at the judgment.
164. 1447Notes on Ps 49 LXX (50):5–18: Christ as judge, sacrifices set aside, the sinner who recites God’s ordinances, and discipline as moderation of the passions.
165. 1449End of Ps 49 LXX (50):21–23 and beginning of Ps 50 LXX (51): an excerpt on the story of David and Uriah, defending allegory, since the letter alone charges David with cruelty and leads the heterodox to invent another God.
166. 1451Notes on Ps 50 LXX (51):1–12: God’s mercy on a weak nature, baptism surpassing the cleansings of the law, “against you only,” and the pure heart that God alone creates.
167. 1453Notes on Ps 51 LXX (52):3–7: vaunting in wickedness, Doeg’s tongue serving his heart, and Doeg’s evil building pulled down at the end, when death is abolished.
168. 1455End of Ps 51 LXX (52):9–11 (Doeg’s wealth, the fruitful olive of mercy) and beginning of Ps 52 LXX (53): the fool who denies God in his heart, and none who does good.
169. 1457End of Ps 52 LXX (53) (who is a men-pleaser; salvation out of Zion) and Ps 53 LXX (54): the structure of the prayer and its thanksgiving, and the Father and the Son as helpers.
170. 1459End of Ps 53 LXX (54) and beginning of Ps 54 LXX (55): bold prayer, “musing” as prayer, and the devil’s powers troubling the heart of Jesus before his death.
171. 1461Notes on Ps 54 LXX (55):4–9: sins of thought kept within, the passions that remain in human nature, the dove’s wings as contemplation, and flight into the desert.
172. 1463Notes on Ps 54 LXX (55):10–18: the confusion of tongues for the builders of evil cities, Jerusalem and the traitor, and going down alive into Hades.
173. 1465End of Ps 54 LXX (55):18–23 (evening, morning and noon as passion, resurrection and faith; the one who exists before the ages) and Ps 55 LXX (56): Christ trampled by man, sinless in the flesh, and the demons who cannot read hearts.
174. 1467Ps 56 LXX (57): the shadow of the Spirit’s wings, the Saviour sent from heaven, the demons’ teeth as evil thoughts, and mind and soul as harp and lyre; beginning of Ps 57 LXX (58).
175. 1469Notes on Ps 57 LXX (58):2–3: speaking righteousness truly, sin beginning in the heart and ending in the hands, with the readings of Theodotion, the fifth edition and Aquila.
176. 1471Notes on Ps 57 LXX (58):4–11: the deaf asp that will not hear the charms of prophets and apostles, the teeth broken as a mercy, and the sun not seen experienced as fire.
177. 1473End of Ps 57 LXX (58), Ps 58 LXX (59) (the Saviour who ran without lawlessness, God rising to meet the returning son, the heterodox with swords on their lips), and the beginning of Ps 59 LXX (60).
178. 1475End of Ps 59 LXX (60) (the rejection of the Jews after Christ’s coming, the wine of compunction, the sign of the sealed) and beginning of Ps 60 LXX (61): the soul that feels its lack cries aloud, listless in mortal life.
179. 1477Notes on Ps 60 LXX (61):2–6: Christ the rock and guide, the hope of the nations, the eternal tent and the state beyond it in the Trinity, and the inheritance of those who fear God.
180. 1479End of Ps 60 LXX (61) (paying vows daily, singing for ever) and beginning of Ps 61 LXX (62): the psalm of the coming Judge; the soul of the Saviour subject to God and shaken only a little.
181. 1481Notes on Ps 61 LXX (62):3–12: Christ who did not sin, subjection to God, the remnant and all Israel, and human vanity as vapour (with Theodotion’s version).
182. 1483Beginning of Ps 62 LXX (63): rising early to God, flesh in the desert as purity, God’s mercy better than lives, and hands lifted in the Lord’s name.
183. 1485End of Ps 62 LXX (63) (the soul’s rich food, remembering God on one’s bed, clinging to God, the foxes as punishing demons) and beginning of Ps 63 LXX (64): fear that is a friend and fear that is an enemy.
184. 1487Notes on Ps 63 LXX (64):3–11: the heterodox who conspire, their tongues as swords and their dialectic as snares, the deep heart, and the joy of the righteous (with Aquila and Symmachus).
185. 1489End of Ps 63 LXX (64) (the upright from the nations) and beginning of Ps 64 LXX (65): the hymn in the heavenly Zion, flesh becoming spirit, the chosen few, and Christ as the holy temple.
186. 1491Notes on Ps 64 LXX (65):5–11: Christ the hope of the nations foretold by Jacob, the calming of the sea, spiritual food prepared before the world, and Christ coming down like rain.
187. 1493End of Ps 64 LXX (65) (the year of the Lord’s favour after the incarnation, the fruitful desert) and beginning of Ps 65 LXX (66): a shout of resurrection after repentance, and the fearful works of God.
188. 1495Notes on Ps 65 LXX (66):4–9: the fearful works of God, the sea turned to dry land as a lasting figure of teaching, and Israel warned not to exalt itself over the nations (with Theodotion, Aquila and Symmachus).
189. 1497Notes on Ps 65 LXX (66):9–18: testing as silver is refined, entry into the kingdom through afflictions, and the burnt offerings, rams, oxen and goats read as virtues, the body and repentance.
190. 1499Notes on the end of Psalm 66 (LXX 65), on Psalm 67 (LXX 66), and the beginning of Psalm 68 (LXX 67).
191. 1501Notes on Psalm 68:1–6 (LXX 67:2–7): the enemies of God as smoke and wax, the Lord who rides on the west, and the solitary whom God settles in a house.
192. 1503Notes on Psalm 68:7–18 (LXX 67:8–19): the voluntary rain as Christ, the dove's wings, the chariot of God, and Christ's ascent leading captivity captive.
193. 1505Notes on Psalm 68:18–34 (LXX 67:19–35): the heads of the enemies, Bashan as shame, Benjamin as Paul, and the one who rides toward the east.
194. 1507Notes on the end of Psalm 68 (LXX 67) and the beginning of Psalm 69 (LXX 68), read as the prayer of the Word who went down to Hades and repaid what he did not seize.
195. 1509Notes on Psalm 69:5–14 (LXX 68:6–15): the folly and offences Christ took up for us, zeal for God's house, and fasting as a covering of the soul.
196. 1511Notes on Psalm 69:14–25 (LXX 68:15–26): the pit, the reproach of Christ, the gall and vinegar at the cross, and the table that became a snare.
197. 1513Notes on the end of Psalm 69 (LXX 68), on Psalm 70 (LXX 69), and the opening of Psalm 71 (LXX 70), read as spoken by Christ.
198. 1515Notes on Psalm 71:1–11 (LXX 70): Christ who leaned on God from the womb and was sheltered from Herod, and who became a portent to the many on the wide road.
199. 1517Notes on Psalm 71:12–22 (LXX 70) and the title of Psalm 72 (LXX 71), applied to Christ, the arm of God, who rose from the depths of the earth.
200. 1519Notes on Psalm 72:1–11 (LXX 71): Christ the king who will hand over the kingdom, the judgment of the poor, the moon taken away, and every rational nature serving Christ.
201. 1521Notes on the end of Psalm 72 (LXX 71) and the beginning of Psalm 73 (LXX 72): Christ living in believers, the nations as his fruit, and the prosperity of the wicked.
202. 1523Notes on Psalm 73:9–28 (LXX 72): the doubt about Providence answered in God's sanctuary, the parts of the soul, and God as the portion of the righteous.
203. 1525Notes on the end of Psalm 73 (LXX 72) and Psalm 74:1–7 (LXX 73): degrees of rejection, God's congregation acquired from the beginning, and the sanctuary burned, fulfilled at the fall of Jerusalem.
204. 1527Notes on Psalm 74:11–22 (LXX 73): the hand and the right hand of God, salvation in the midst of the earth, summer and spring, and the demons as beasts.
205. 1529Notes on the end of Psalm 74 (LXX 73) and on Psalm 75:1–3 (LXX 74): God's own cause, the title "Do not destroy", and the Saviour who will tell the wonders of the Father.
206. 1531Notes on Psalm 75:8 (LXX 74:9), the cup in the Lord's hand, and on Psalm 76:1–5 (LXX 75): God's place in peace and the bows broken in the Jerusalem above.
207. 1533Notes on the end of Psalm 76 (LXX 75) and Psalm 77:1–4 (LXX 76): the men of wealth, the demons riding on passionate men, and the remembrance of God that comforts the soul.
208. 1535Notes on Psalm 77:5–19 (LXX 76): the memory of past ages, the change of the right hand of the Most High as the Saviour taking the form of a servant, and God's way in the sea.
209. 1537Notes on the end of Psalm 77 (LXX 76) and on Psalm 78:7–56 (LXX 77): God's untraceable way, Matthew's soul made a table, the bread of angels as knowledge, and the dog-fly.
210. 1539Notes on the end of Psalm 78 (LXX 77) and on Psalms 79–82 (LXX 78–81): the crooked bow, Christ as God's face and the man of his right hand, and the new god.
211. 1541Notes on Psalms 82–87 (LXX 81–86): the demons plotting against the soul, baptism and repentance, and the meeting of mercy and truth.
212. 1543Notes on the end of Psalm 87 (LXX 86) and on Psalm 88 (LXX 87): the man born in Zion, the life that drew near to Hades, and Christ halting God's wrath.
213. 1545Notes on Psalm 89:17–51 (LXX 88) and the beginning of Psalm 90 (LXX 89): the mind as horn, the holy oil as essential knowledge, and the days of the rational nature.
214. 1547Notes on the end of Psalm 90 (LXX 89) and on Psalms 91–92 (LXX 90–91): brightness as knowledge of God, the noonday demon of listlessness, and the psaltery and lyre of mind and soul.
215. 1549Notes on the end of Psalm 92 (LXX 91) and on Psalms 93–94 (LXX 92–93): rivers as holy rational natures, discipline as the moderating of the passions, and Christ the throne of righteousness.
216. 1551Notes on Psalms 94–98 (LXX 93–97): God making the wicked disappear by making them good, "today" as this life, the new song of the new man, and the trees that exult.
217. 1553Notes on the end of Psalm 98 (LXX 97) and on Psalms 99–102 (LXX 98–101): the footstool as Christ's flesh, the gates of wisdom, and the value of keeping watch.
218. 1555Notes on the end of Psalm 102 (LXX 101) and on Psalms 103 and 104:2 (LXX 102–103): the powers of the inner man, the eagle's youth, and the heavens perishing in form, not essence.
219. 1557Notes on Psalm 104:4–29 (LXX 103): angels as spirits and fire, the earth held by God's art, the abyss of the knowledge of God, and the sun of righteousness.
220. 1559Notes on the end of Psalm 104 (LXX 103) and on Psalm 105 (LXX 104): renewal as resurrection, the anointed who share in Christ, and the plagues of Egypt.
221. 1561Notes on Psalm 106:8–46 (LXX 105) and the opening of Psalm 107 (LXX 106): the golden calf, Moses standing in the breach, Baal-Peor, and the empty soul satisfied.
222. 1563Notes on Psalm 107 (LXX 106), Psalm 108 (LXX 107) and Psalm 109:6–24 (LXX 108): knowledge rejected by the impure, Christ's flesh as his shoe, and the curses of Psalm 109 read as prayers against evil thoughts.
223. 1565Notes on the end of Psalm 109 (LXX 108) and on Psalms 110–112 (LXX 109–111): the Son begotten before every rational nature, the works and commandments of God, and wisdom as wealth and glory.
224. 1567Notes on Psalm 112:5–10 (LXX 111) and Psalm 113 (LXX 112): the stewards of the mysteries, the mind exalted in knowledge, and the barren soul made a mother.
225. 1569Notes on Psalm 114–115 (LXX 113) and Psalm 116:1–5 (LXX 114): the rock that is Christ, the small blessed with the great, and the dangers of Hades that find the tempted but do not hold them.
226. 1571Notes on Psalm 116:5–12 (LXX 114–115): mercy joined with righteousness, baptism and repentance as the soul's rest, faith as rational assent, and the liar paradox of "Every man is a liar."
227. 1573Notes on Psalm 116:12–19 (LXX 115): what to render to the Lord, the cup of salvation, and the martyr's death as God's breaking of the bonds of sin and of the body.
228. 1575Notes on Psalm 118:2–12 (LXX 117): Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the Lord as one, the devil called "man," and the sweet doctrines of the nations surrounding the saint like bees.
229. 1577Notes on Psalm 118:12–22 (LXX 117): the sweet doctrines that are not bees, the Word as strength and song, the gates of righteousness and of the virtues, and the rejected stone.
230. 1579Notes on Psalm 118:22–27 (LXX 117): the rejected stone as Christ, the day the Lord made as the day of reconciliation, and the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
231. 1581Notes on the end of Psalm 118 (LXX 117) and the opening of Psalm 119 (LXX 118): the leafy boughs of the festival, thanksgiving for God's greatness, and the alphabetic arrangement of Psalm 119.
232. 1583Notes on Psalm 119:1–4 (LXX 118): why each letter is repeated eight times, the eighth day of Christ's resurrection, and the ways of God as contemplations.
233. 1585Notes on Psalm 119:5–14 (LXX 118): ways directed by God, looking upon all the commandments, temptation within our strength, and keeping secret sayings hidden.
234. 1587Notes on Psalm 119:16–25 (LXX 118): meditating on the statutes by doing them, the law unveiled by allegory, and the soul that cleaves to the ground now and to the Lord in the resurrection.
235. 1589Notes on Psalm 119:25–33 (LXX 118): the extreme of humiliation, listlessness as anger and desire together, God's law as a physician's art, and the heart enlarged to hold the Father and the Son.
236. 1591Notes on Psalm 119:33–47 (LXX 118): understanding the law, the Son as the Father's righteousness, and the spaciousness of the heart that loves God even in affliction.
237. 1593Notes on Psalm 119:47–55 (LXX 118): meditation that ends in action, hope as comfort, the resurrection as the soul's true life, and the remembrance of God's name at night.
238. 1595Notes on Psalm 119:56–70 (LXX 118): the face of God as the stamp of his substance, the cords of linked sins (David, Cain), and prayer at midnight.
239. 1597Notes on Psalm 119:70–85 (LXX 118): the demons not wicked from the beginning, the body as a wineskin cooled by the divine word, and the devil as the first persecutor.
240. 1599Notes on Psalm 119:85–91 (LXX 118): who interprets Scripture well, life asked as a help toward eternal life, the word that remains in heaven, and God as master of all.
241. 1601Notes on Psalm 119:91–98 (LXX 118): the ant not under a master, meditation on the law as a preparation for martyrdom, day and night in the life of the beginner and of the perfect, and wisdom above one's enemies.
242. 1603Notes on Psalm 119:98–104 (LXX 118): the Christian who understands more than the first teachers of the law, freedom of choice, and Christ's Gospel as the spiritual law.
243. 1605Notes on Psalm 119:106–109 (LXX 118): the believer's oath in accepting God's covenant, virginity as a freewill offering, and the soul in God's hands.
244. 1607Notes on Psalm 119:110–116 (LXX 118): the snares laid for Joseph and Daniel, the reward stored up, and hating the lawless man's sin while loving the image of God in him.
245. 1609Notes on Psalm 119:116–121 (LXX 118): salvation complete only with the angels, sinners of the earth and of heaven, and the fear of God as the cross from which perfect love takes us down.
246. 1611Notes on Psalm 119:125–133 (LXX 118): understanding as the wage of God's servant, the time to act for the Lord, the wonderful testimonies searched out, and the Spirit drawn in through an open mouth.
247. 1613Notes on Psalm 119:136–143 (LXX 118): temptations in thought as waters, burning zeal, the fire-refined word of God, and eternal righteousness.
248. 1615Notes on Psalm 119:143–152 (LXX 118): commandments that comfort in affliction, understanding before knowledge, the righteous man's great cry, and drawing near to God who draws near.
249. 1617Notes on Psalm 119:152–157 (LXX 118): the testimonies as a living foundation, humility before God, salvation as the knowledge of God, and the need of even the most righteous for mercy.
250. 1619Notes on Psalm 119:157–165 (LXX 118): the imprints of good works, the rulers of this darkness, seven times a day as a symbol of this world, and the great peace of those who love God's law.
251. 1621Notes on Psalm 119:166–170 (LXX 118): the prayer that draws near to God at the last letter of the psalm, drawing near by the hidden inner man through Christ, and the request that comes before the Lord.
252. 1623Notes on the end of Psalm 119 (LXX 118): the hymn poured out by those filled with the bread that is the Word, psalms for men and hymns for angels, and the lost sheep sought.
253. 1625The end of an introduction to the fifteen Songs of Ascents, and notes on Psalm 120 (LXX 119): the cry of the afflicted, unjust lips, the arrows of Christ, and the prolonged sojourning.
254. 1627Notes on the end of Psalm 120 (LXX 119) and on Psalm 121 (LXX 120): Kedar as darkening, help from the Lord rather than the angels, and the going out from vice and the coming in to knowledge.
255. 1629Notes on Psalm 123 (LXX 122) and Psalm 124 (LXX 123): the despised seated in the Church, the true Israel, and the torrent of thoughts, with the story of Elijah at the torrent.
256. 1631Notes on Psalm 124:7 (LXX 123) and Psalm 125:1–2 (LXX 124): the soul rescued like a sparrow, the snares of action and of thought broken by the Old and New Covenants, and those who trust in the Lord like Mount Zion.
257. 1633Notes on Psalm 125:3 (LXX 124) and Psalm 126:1–2 (LXX 125): the rod of sinners and those who deny God in persecution, captivity as the fall of the rational nature, and the mouth filled with joy.
258. 1635Notes on Psalm 126:2–5 (LXX 125) and Psalm 127:1 (LXX 126): the return from captivity, sowing in tears and reaping in joy, the builders who labour in vain, and Christ as master, king, and God of the soul.
259. 1637Notes on Psalm 127:2–3 (LXX 126): sleep as the contemplation and knowledge of God given after the bread of the practical life, and sons as the Lord's inheritance.
260. 1639Notes on Psalm 128 (LXX 127) and Psalm 129:1–6 (LXX 128): the labours of one's fruits, the wife and sons taken as wisdom and deeds, and lawlessness drawn out like a long rope.
261. 1641Notes on the end of Psalm 129 (LXX 128) and on Psalm 130 (LXX 129): crying out of the depths, no one clean from sin, Christ the propitiation, and the chain from fear of God to hope.
262. 1643Notes on Psalm 131 (LXX 130) and Psalm 132 (LXX 131): the humble-minded righteous man, the weaned child exalted to the Jerusalem above, David's meekness, and the priests clothed with the virtues.
263. 1645Notes on Psalm 133 (LXX 132) and Psalm 134 (LXX 133): the ointment as the Holy Spirit, Hermon and the tradition of the rebel angels, baptism as dew, and hands lifted in prayer.
264. 1647Notes on Psalm 135 (LXX 134) and the opening of Psalm 136 (LXX 135): the Lord great above all gods, evil not made by God's will, clouds and lightnings as rational natures and spiritual teaching, and the divine presence in the temple.
265. 1649Notes on Psalm 136:2–16 (LXX 135): God of gods by love and by creation, the Saviour God by essence and not by participation, the wonders of goodness, and the psalm read as the soul's journey from Egypt to knowledge.
266. 1651Notes on the end of Psalm 136 (LXX 135) and on Psalm 137 (LXX 136): God's remembering under the aspects of righteousness and wisdom, the captives by the rivers of Babylon, and the demons who mock us with the songs of Zion.
267. 1653Notes on the end of Psalm 137 (LXX 136) and on Psalm 139:1–8 (LXX 138): dashing the base thoughts against the rock, God testing not to learn but to prove, and vice as neither the beginning nor the end.
268. 1655Notes on Psalm 139:8–16 (LXX 138): God's presence everywhere compared with Deuteronomy and Amos, the darkness that cannot overcome the light, and God's book as the contemplation of bodies and incorporeals.
269. 1657Notes on the end of Psalm 139 (LXX 138) and on Psalm 140 (LXX 139): awakening from vice, the demons' warfare through thoughts and the thought of listlessness, and the judgment to come.
270. 1659Notes on the end of Psalm 140 (LXX 139), on Psalm 141 (LXX 140) and on Psalm 142:1–3 (LXX 141): seeing God face to face, prayer as incense, the sinner's oil as almsgiving for show, and the snares hidden in the virtues.
271. 1661Notes on Psalm 142:4–7 (LXX 141) and Psalm 143:1–8 (LXX 142): snares laid for orthodox doctrine by heresies, Christ as Wisdom and the portion of the living, the soul's prison, and no one living justified before God.
272. 1663Notes on Psalm 143:8–10 (LXX 142) and Psalm 144:1–8 (LXX 143): the good Spirit who leads to the level land, the war against the opposing power and the origin of dreams, and the vanity of human fortunes.
273. 1665Notes on Psalm 144:8–15 (LXX 143): the foreign sons and their false prosperity, the new song of the New Covenant, and true blessedness as freedom from passion with knowledge of God.
274. 1667Notes on Psalm 145 (LXX 144) and the beginning of Psalm 146 (LXX 145): the boundless greatness of God, the knowledge of the Trinity without limit, the destruction of the sinner as the destruction of his sin, and flesh in good and bad senses.
275. 1669Notes on Psalm 146:7–10 (LXX 145) and Psalm 147:2–8 (LXX 146): passionate thoughts as the true bonds, Christ's reign before the ages and in the flesh, God numbering the stars, and sinners humbled into the earthly body.
276. 1671Notes on Psalm 147:13–18 (LXX 147) and Psalm 148:1–3: the bars of Jerusalem and Zion, the borders of peace, the Saviour as the grain of wheat, the Son in the flesh, and the Word who melts the snow of the rational nature.
277. 1673Notes on Psalm 148:4–14 and Psalm 149:1–5: the waters above the heavens as rational natures, the new song of the new man, "made" according to the image and "formed" from dust, and the meek exalted to the land of the Jerusalem above.
278. 1675Notes on Psalm 149:5–9 and Psalm 150:1: rejoicing on their beds, the two-edged sword of the mind, the binding of the teachers of the heterodox, and praise in the holy places.
279. 1677Notes on Psalm 150:1–5: praise among the holy, the firmament of faith, the trumpets of Numbers and of the resurrection, and the instruments of the psalm as the soul, the mind, and the Church.
280. 1679The last notes on Psalm 150: the soul of the wise man as the organ, love as the true cymbal, and every breath that breathes in the Lord's light.