Exegesis of Psalm 118
And they do not see it as becoming; but he who, desiring these things and being of these, is established alone in understanding, that even to those lovers of her wisdom reveals her own beauty according to 'She loved me' (Ps 118:99), and 'will honor you; honor her, so that she may take hold of you' (Ps 118:100).
All things through study are beautiful in man, whence also the command regarding study was extended, as if through this one were to surpass the elder and the younger and the disciple surpassing the teachers. Presenting himself humble and obedient, he asks for the salvation upon this from God, on account of the one giving to the humble and having promised mercy to those who love him (Ps 118:107).
A greater proof than readiness is to go even through dangers without departing from the law, and being in attacks, not to be pulled away from the righteous path by anger and provocation toward the attackers, just as Saul's attack did not lead David astray from defending what was fitting (Ps 118:109-110).
He extended the demonstration of zeal concerning the law, since he said the law was set as a proper inheritance, not for a season but to live in all things approaching this, as not under any yoke of necessity but holily in the joy of the soul. For this indeed is both lasting and difficult to change, that which is done in joy.
Even if they are not hated according to man, it is not worthy of God to be called hated according to God such as these, according to 'You hated all workers of iniquity' (Ps 118:113), so that it is a greatest proof of loving the law to hate those who have strayed from the law; therefore also for Jehoshaphat, friendship toward such a one became a reproach through the prophet, because he loved the one hated by God (Ps 118:118-119). It shows an imitation of God. If even to God all the apostate of the decrees is exhausted by vain thoughts, and to Him they are accused as crown-wearers or dung-gatherers, being no more honorable; therefore also toward the love of the divine...
Disorders are raised up, the vanity of evils for the purpose of exhortation, taking care regarding the good. And the E edition was nothing reckoned.
By the non-evilness of God, the lacking is intended to be filled, waiting for Him, the good-working which is still to come, just as one guaranteeing this as it is to be fulfilled, just as those guaranteeing debts do so so as not to fall hard by deceits (Ps 118:122). 'Ally, raise up your servant to good' (Ps 118:129), and Akylas and Theodotion have guaranteed.
Others, he says, marvel at gold and precious stones, but I, standing only upon the wonderful and the good, have this and more importantly preserve all the divine commands as a treasure (Ps 118:130).
The words need opening; therefore also the Lord opened the mind of the disciples to understand the Scriptures, and the understanding given through the words keeps them away from the deception of pleasure or glory (Ps 118:130).
This also is requested, since even in disturbances and sorrows, the precision regarding the healthy word is difficult (Ps 118:134).
See the enmity which the righteous have (Ps 118:139). And this was against their injustice and the forgetting of the law.
It is possible, according to history, to refer the things contained here to David, saying these things about himself. For he was the shortest of all the sons of Jesse, but also being despised. For all his brothers having been taken by the father to where Samuel had prepared the table, David was among his father's sheep, not having been taken to the feast; but even though being younger and despised, he himself obtained the kingdom by the will of God, since the rights of God had not been neglected. And he was younger, and he who is being instructed in the divine words and being despised because of humbling himself, and the people called from among the Gentiles after the elder and the firstborn of Israel, should have shouted out the spoken word. For they despise him...
Greek
καὶ εὐπρεπὲς οὐ καθορῶσιν, ὁ δὲ τούτους ἑλόμενος καὶ τούτων εἶναι βουληθείς, οὗτος καὶ μόνος ἐν συνέσει καθίσταται, ὅτι καὶ μόνοις τοῖς ἐρασταῖς ἑαυτῆς ἡ σοφία τὸ ἴδιον κάλλος ἀποκαλύπτει κατὰ τὸ Ἐράσθητι αὐτῆς, καὶ τιμήσει σε· τίμησον αὐτήν, ἵνα σε περιλάβῃ. 234 Ps 118,99.100 Πάντα διὰ μελέτης ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ καλὰ, ὅθεν καὶ τῇ τῆς μελέτης ἐπιτάσει συνεπεκτείνετο, ὡς διὰ ταύτης ὑπερβαίνειν τὸν πρεσβύτερον καὶ τὸν νέον καὶ τὸν μαθητὴν τοὺς διδασκάλους. 235 Ps 118,107 Ταπεινὸν καὶ ὑπήκοον ἑαυτὸν παριστὰς τὴν ἐπὶ τούτῳ σωτηρίαν αἰτεῖ παρὰ θεοῦ τοῦ ταπεινοῖς διδόντος χάριν καὶ τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτὸν ἐπαγγειλαμένου τὸν ἔλεον. 236 Ps 118,109.110 Μείζων τῆς προθυμίας ἀπόδειξις τὸ καὶ διὰ κινδύνων ἰόντα μὴ ἀφίστασθαι τοῦ νόμου καὶ ἐν ἐπιβουλαῖς ὄντα μὴ ἀφέλκεσθαι τῶν δικαίων ὀργῇ καὶ 33 παροξυσμῷ τῷ πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύοντας, ὡς οὐκ ἐπλάνησε τὸν ∆αυὶδ ἡ τοῦ Σαοὺλ ἐπιβουλὴ πρὸς τὸ ἀμύνασθαι πρὸς τὸ προσῆκον. 237 Ps 118,111 Ἐπέτεινε τὴν ἔνδειξιν τῆς περὶ νόμον σπουδῆς, ὁπότε κλῆρον ἴδιον ἔφη τεθεῖσθαι τὸν νόμον, οὐ πρόσκαιρον ἀλλ' εἰς ἅπαν ἐν τούτῳ προσελόμενος ζῆν ὡς οὐχ ὑπό τι ζυγὸν ἀνάγκης ἀλλ' ἁγίως ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ ψυχῆς. τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ καὶ μόνιμον καὶ δυσμετάστατον ὅπερ εὐφροσύνῃ πράττεται. 238 Ps 118,113 Εἰ καὶ μὴ μισητοὶ καθὸ ἄνθρωποι, καθὸ καὶ θεῷ μισητοὺς λέγεσθαι τοὺς τοιούτους οὐκ ἀνάξιον θεῷ κατὰ τὸ Ἐμίσησας πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν, ὥστε ἀπόδειξις μεγίστη τοῦ τὸν νόμον ἀγαπᾶν τὸ μισεῖν τοὺς παρηλλαγμένους τοῦ νόμου· διὸ καὶ τῷ Ἰωσαφὰτ ἡ πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον φιλία μέμψις ἐγένετο διὰ τοῦ προφήτου, ὅτι τὸν ὑπὸ θεοῦ μισούμενον ἠγάπα. 239 Ps 118,118.119 Θεοῦ μίμησιν ἐνδείκνυται. εἰ θεῷ τε ἐξευτέληται πᾶς ὁ τῶν δικαιωμάτων ἀποστατῶν ἐπὶ ματαίοις ἐνθυμήμασι, καὶ αὐτῷ καταφαίνονται στεμφύλων ἢ σκωρέας οὐδὲν τιμιώτεροι· διὸ καὶ πρὸς ἀγάπην τῶν θείων διατάξεων ἐπεγείρεται, τὸ μάταιον τῶν φαύλων εἰς προτροπὴν τῆς περὶ τὸ καλὸν ἐπιμελείας λαμβάνων. Ἡ δὲ Ε ἔκδοσις Εἰς οὐδὲν ἐλογίσθησαν. 240 Ps 118,122 Ἀνεξικακίᾳ θεοῦ τὸ ἐλλεῖπον ἀναπληροῦσθαι ποθεῖ, περιμένοντος αὐτοῦ τὴν ἔτι μέλλουσαν ἀγαθουργίαν οἷον ἐγγυωμένου ταύτην ὡς ἐκπληρωθησο μένην, καθάπερ οἱ τοὺς ὀφείλοντας ἐγγυώμενοι πρὸς τὸ μὴ ταῖς ἀπατήσεσι χαλεπῶς ὑποπίπτειν. Σύμμαχος Ἀνάδεξαί με τὸν δοῦλόν σου εἰς ἀγαθόν, ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων Ἐγγύησαι ἐκδεδώκασιν. 241 Ps 118,129 Οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι, φησί, χρυσίον θαυμάζουσι καὶ λίθους τιμίους, ἐγὼ δὲ θαυμάσιον καὶ μόνον καλὸν ἐπιστάμενος τὰ θεῖα προστάγματα τοῦτον ἔχομαι καὶ θησαυροῦ παντὸς μᾶλλον διαφυλάττω. 242 Ps 118,130 ∆ιανοίξεως δεῖται τὰ λόγια· διὸ καὶ ὁ κύριος διήνοιξε τὸν νοῦν τῶν μαθητῶν τοῦ συνιέναι τὰς γραφάς, καὶ τὴν δι' ἡδονῆς ἢ δόξης ἀπάτην ἀφίστησιν ἡ διὰ τῶν λόγων ἐνδιδομένη σύνεσις. 243 Ps 118,134 Τοῦτο δὲ αἰτεῖ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ δύσκολος ἐν ταραχαῖς καὶ λύπαις ἡ περὶ τὸν ὑγιῆ λόγον ἀκρίβεια. 244 Ps 118,139 Ὅρα τὴν ἔχθραν ἣν ἔχουσιν οἱ δίκαιοι. αὕτη δὲ ἦν πρὸς τὴν ἀδικίαν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν λήθην τοῦ νόμου. 245 Ps 118,141 ∆ύναται μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀναφέρεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸν ∆αυὶδ τὰ ἐγκείμενα λέγοντα αὐτὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ. βραχύτατος γὰρ ἦν πάντων τῶν Ἰεσσαὶ παίδων ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξουδενώμενος. πάντων γοῦν τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ παραληφθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς εἰς ἣν ηὐτρέπισε Σαμουὴλ ἑστίαν, ὁ ∆αυὶδ ἐν τοῖς προβάτοις τοῦ πατρὸς ἦν οὐ παραληφθεὶς εἰς τὴν εὐωχίαν· ἀλλὰ καίτοι νεώτερος ὢν καὶ ἐξουδενώμενος τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτὸς ἔσχε ψήφῳ θεοῦ, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐπελέληστο τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιώματα. νεώτερος δὲ καὶ ὁ τοῖς θείοις λόγοις στοιχειούμενος καὶ ἐξουδενώμενος διὰ τὸ ταπεινοῦν ἑαυτόν, καὶ ὁ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν δὲ λαὸς κληθεὶς μετὰ τὸν πρεσβύτην καὶ πρωτότοκον Ἰσραὴλ φθέγξαιτο τὸ προκείμενον ῥητόν. ἐξευτελίζουσι γὰρ αὐτὸν οἱ
About this text
Apollinaris of Laodicea on the Psalms (catena fragments).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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