Fragments on the Psalms · §1

The Tree of Life and the Vine of Wisdom

In the new covenant, the testimonies taken from the book of the Psalms are set forth as having been spoken by the Holy Spirit. Paul, having taken a chapter from the ninety-fourth Psalm in the epistle to the Hebrews, writes that it was announced by the Holy Spirit, saying, 'As the Holy Spirit says: If today you hear his voice...' (Hebrews 3:7), and the following. To this, Peter, the forerunner of the apostles, also says in the Acts of the apostles according to the pattern: 'It was necessary for the scripture to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who seize Jesus' (Acts 1:16), and the following, having said a few words, he brought forward: 'For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let his habitation become a desert, and let him not dwell in it; and let another take his oversight' (Psalm 69:25). It is nothing foreign if the apostles write these things, especially since the Savior is sealing these things. For a memory having occurred in the Gospel of the ninety-first Psalm at the beginning, sounding thus: 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet' (Psalm 109:1), the Pharisees were eager to ask if David, in the Holy Spirit, says Christ is Lord, how he is his son. If, therefore, the Psalms contain spiritual meanings, it was not by chance that they were composed in their scripture.

2 Ps 1,1 It is the way of sinners for the devil to say, in which the one having become one should not remain, following the deceptive teaching: 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you' (James 4:7). He who does not stand in this way will come to the one saying, 'I am the way' (John 14:6), and if, having become one, running according to the purpose, he will win the prize. 3 Ps 1,3 ab For how must the one testified to by the things said, as being wise, not resemble wisdom? For someone resembles one bestowing such a quality, or does not the righteous resemble the just...

Eternal and holy in holiness; if this is so, then the wise man is also wise in wisdom. Having approached and broken being away from it, the wise man becomes like it, according to what was said by the Savior: 'It is sufficient for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the servant as his lord' (Matt 10:25).

And he who becomes like the tree of life is planted in paradise to be with it; thus it is heard of what is written in Isaiah from the face of God: 'The days of the people of my God shall be as the days of the wood of life' (Isa 66:19). This being true, since the wood of life is eternal, it joins and shares in the passion of Him; thus the likeness makes us grow together in the wood, so that we may be made branches and shoots to bring forth divine fruit. For the wood of life is said to be a true vine toward those becoming imitators through goodness: 'I am the true vine; you are the branches; my Father is the gardener; every branch abiding in me, he prunes it, so that it may bear more fruit' (John 15:1, 2, 5).

But also, the mystical and spiritual understanding of the Scriptures is a fruit of the wood planted by the watercourses (this is the wisdom of God), and the ready words are leaves covering the said fruit, intended to do the proper work in guarding the fruits and becoming food for the most pure men, those called simple like cattle, according to: 'You will save men and cattle, Lord' (Ps 35:6).

For if they desire to be in the deficiency of dust through impiety and to bear the image of the swine, similarly they are swept away from the face of the earth by the most meager dust, being scattered there by the evil wind. And you will understand the one sweeping them away and the one punishing them, the angel, and the impulse of the teaching that tosses them about, being carried around by every wind of teaching in the...

Greek

Fragmenta in Psalmos Prologus 1 ̓Εν τῇ καινῇ διαθήκῃ λέξεων ἀπὸ τῆς βίβλου τῶν ψαλμῶν παραληφθεισῶν μαρτυρίαι κεῖνται ὡς ὑπὸ ἁγίου πνεύματος εἰρημέναι. Παῦλος ἐν τῇ πρὸς ̔Εβραίους ἐπιστολῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐνενηκοστοῦ τετάρτου ψαλμοῦ κεφάλαιον λαβὼν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἀπηγγέλθαι αὐτὸ γράφει φήσας Καθὼς λέγει τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ α γιον· σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. πρὸς τούτῳ καὶ ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων πρόκριτος Πέτρος ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων σύμφωνα λέγει ο που μὲν Εδει πληρωθῆναι τὴν γραφήν, η ν προεῖπεν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ α γιον διὰ στόματος ∆αυὶδ περὶ ̓Ιούδα τοῦ γενομένου ὁδηγοῦ τοῖς συλλαβοῦσιν ̓Ιησοῦν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, οι ς ὀλίγα ἐπειπὼν ἐπήγαγεν Γέγραπται γὰρ ἐν βίβλῳ ψαλμῶν· γενηθήτω ἡ ε παυλις αὐτοῦ ε ρημος καὶ μὴ ε στω ὁ κατοικῶν ἐν αὐτῇ, καί· τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν αὐτοῦ λαβέτω ετερος. Οὐδὲν δὲ ξένον εἰ οἱ ἀπόστολοι ταῦτα γράφουσιν, αὐτοῦ μάλιστα τοῦ σωτῆρος ταῦτα ἐπισφραγιζομένου. μνήμης γὰρ γενομένης ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ ἑκατοστοῦ ἐννάτου ψαλμοῦ ω δε ἐχούσης· Ει πεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου· κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ε ως α ν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου, ἐπύθετο τῶν Φαρισαίων, εἰ ∆αυὶδ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ τὸν Χριστὸν κύριον ει πεν, πῶς υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἐστιν. Εἰ τοίνυν πνευματικὰ νοήματα περιέχουσιν οἱ ψαλμοί, οὐχ ὡς ε τυχεν ἐντευκτέον τῇ γραφῇ αὐτῶν. 2 Ps 1,1 Εστιν ἁμαρτωλῶν ὁδὸν τὸν διάβολον εἰπεῖν, ἐν ῃ ὁ γενόμενος μὴ ἐμμενέτω ἑπόμενος τῇ φασκούσῃ διδασκαλίᾳ ̓Αντίστητε τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ φεύξεται ἀφ' ὑμῶν. ̔Ο μὴ στὰς ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὁδῷ ἐλεύσεται πρὸς τὸν εἰπόντα κύριον ̓Εγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός, ἐν ῃ γενόμενος κατὰ σκοπὸν δραμῶν τεύξεται τοῦ βραβείου. 3 Ps 1,3 ab Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ε δει τῇ σοφίᾳ ὁμοιοῦσθαι τὸν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων μαρτυρούμενον ὡς ει η σοφός; ὁμοιοῦται γάρ τις τῷ ποιότητα τοιάνδε χαριζομένῳ, η οὐχ ο μοιος δικαιοσύνῃ ὁ δίκαιος καὶ ὁ αγιος ἁγιότητι· εἰ δὴ τοῦτο, καὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ ὁ σοφός. προσελθὼν σπάσας ἀπ' αὐτῆς τὸ ειναι, σοφὸς ὁμοιοῦται αὐτῇ, κατὰ τὸ λεχθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος ̓Αρκετὸν τῷ μαθητῇ ινα γένηται ὡς ὁ διδάσκαλος αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ δοῦλος ὡς ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ. ̔Ο δὲ ὁμοιούμενος τῷ τῆς ζωῆς ξύλῳ γίνεται μὲν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, ι να σὺν αὐτῷ φυτευθῇ· ου τως ἀκουστέον τοῦ ἐν ̔Ησαΐᾳ γεγραμμένου ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ Κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς ε σονται αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ λαοῦ μου. τούτου ἀληθοῦς ο ντος, ἐπεὶ ἀΐδιον τὸ τῆς ζωῆς ξύλον, συναιωνίζει καὶ συναπαθανατίζεται αὐτόν· αυ τη ἡ ὁμοιότης συμφυεῖς ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ, ω στε κλάδους αὐτοῦ καὶ κλήματα χρηματίσαι ἐπὶ τῷ θεῖον καρπὸν ἀγαγεῖν. αμπελος γὰρ ἀληθινὴ τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς τυγχάνον φησὶ πρὸς τοὺς μιμητὰς διὰ καλοκἀγαθίας γινομένους ̓Εγώ εἰμι ἡ αμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή· ̔Υμεῖς τὰ κλήματα· ̔Ο πατήρ μου ὁ γεωργός· Πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μένον, καθαίρει αὐτό, ι να καρπὸν πλείονα φέρῃ. 4 Ps 1,3 cd ̓Αλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ πεφυτευμένου παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων (τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ σοφία) καρπὸς μέν ἐστιν ἡ μυστικὴ καὶ πνευματικὴ τῶν γραφῶν διάνοια, φύλλα δὲ σκέποντα τὸν εἰρημένον καρπὸν αἱ πρόχειροι λέξεις εἰσὶν αι πρὸς τῷ ποιεῖν τὸ ι διον ε ργον ἐν τῷ φυλάττειν τοὺς καρποὺς καὶ τροφὴ γίνονται τῶν ἀκεραιοτέρων ἀνθρώπων τῶν δι' ἁπλότητα κτηνῶν λεγομένων κατὰ τὸ ̓Ανθρώπους καὶ κτήνη σώσεις, κύριε. 5 Ps 1,4 ̓Αμέλει γοῦν δι' η ν ε σχον ἐκ τοῦ ἀσεβεῖν εὐτέλειαν χνοῦς θελήσαντες ει ναι καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ φέρειν, παραπλησίως εὐτελεστάτῳ χνῷ ἐκριπτοῦνται ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς, ἀνέμου αὐτοὺς ἀναρριπίσαντος πονηροῦ καὶ τῇδε κἀκεῖσε διαρριπτοῦντος. νοήσεις δὲ α νεμον 1 ἐκριπτοῦντα αὐτοὺς καὶ τὸν τιμωροῦντα αὐτοὺς α γγελον καὶ τὴν ὁρμὴν τῆς πλανησάσης αὐτοὺς διδασκαλίας Περιφερομένους παντὶ ἀνέμῳ διδασκαλίας ἐν τῇ

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

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