The Distinction of Righteousness
He will cease to act in such a way. The interpretation is confirmed by the approaching verse: 'the enemies, having been turned, no longer driving forward toward evil, but turning back into the virtuous life they left behind.' This happens to them for a good purpose, not by chronological succession or slowly, but let it happen very quickly.
Psalm 7:1: 'The son of Jemini was called from the people' (Ps 7:1), who was Saul, and Shimei, who denounced the message to Saul, a son of Arahi from his father, and the high priest was the leader of the friends and an old man according to friendship. He sings the psalm practically, while also bringing it forth theoretically. It is said in the inscription of the fourth that the psalm denotes practice, while the ode denotes theory; and since there are inscriptions having 'Psalm of an Ode' or 'Ode of a Psalm,' it must be said about them that Psalm 8 is a theory concerning practical and moral instruction, while Ode is the practice necessary to be received in contemplating the truth; for many things are done for the sake of the theory of wisdom, and no one will say a 'Psalm of an Ode' without purpose. These things being observed as an ode, it is fitting that David sings the present psalm practically while contemplating theoretically concerning each of the things being done wisely and very Godward, desiring to know what is signified by those things being accomplished in such a sensory way. And the words of the psalm beginning in such a way must also be set forth: 'Lord my God, etc.'
Psalm 7:2-3: 'Who is it that said, Saving is not from me, he who has come to seek and to save the lost, and to give his soul as a ransom for many?' (Ps 7:2-3). These signify that the Father God saves through the Son, the existing Word of God; therefore, even in the present matters, the divinity of Father and Son must not be divided, as some might suppose.
Psalm 7:7-8: 'I beseech you, Lord, arising in wrath, appear high at the ends of the enemies; for the end of iniquity will consume those things through which my enemies occur.' (Ps 7:7-8). It is possible to say the ends of the enemies are their arrogance and pride, upon which they have reached and consider themselves to be secure, thinking themselves to be in the best states. The prayer is not defensive; for he does not give back evil for evil.
When God, sparing the enemies who oppose Him, wishes them to know how God is exalted in their borders, He uses wrath not against their essence, but against the malicious intention they possess. Since the Scripture says, 'In the borders of my enemies,' it is revealed that those enemies are the enemies of the Holy and God. Psalm 7:9: 'Bring Your judgment upon me only according to Your wickedness and my righteousness; for I shall be justified when no iniquity is found in my deeds.' Regarding 'wickedness' here, he says, one must not lack goodness according to what is written, 'The innocent believes all words,' but rather the simplicity that cleanses from deceit, as signified by what is said to God by the Holy One: 'But I have taken hold of you through innocence,' and 'In innocence I have gone forward.' In certain copies, 'Judge me, Lord, according to Your righteousness,' the word is to be explained thus: there is a righteousness of God reaching to men, being distributed toward a lower righteousness.
Paul, writing about the difference of these things concerning the Jews, says, 'For I testify to them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge; for knowing not the righteousness of God, but seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to the righteousness of God' (Romans 10:2-3). By saying the righteousness of God, he means that which comes to all who believe through Jesus Christ, which He Himself also desired. He says all things were sent so that one might be found having the righteousness from God through faith and not his own. Wishing this to be present also for the disciples, Jesus says to them, 'If your righteousness does not exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 5:20). This distinction between human righteousness and that of God, according to the will of the Lord, is to be judged, knowing how this judgment will lead Him to salvation.
Psalm 7:10–11: 'To God belongs the examining and searching of hearts'; this does not signify merely seeking and tracing, but having a perfect apprehension; for He is a knower of hidden things, and every mind is revealed to Him. And one must not hear 'kidneys' as the bodily ones, but the intellectual powers of the soul, homonymous with the...
Greek
πεπαύσεται τοῦ ἐνεργεῖν ε τι ου τως. Βεβαιοῦται ἡ ἐξήγησις ἐκ τοῦ ἐπιφερομένου στίχου ου τως ε χοντος· ̓Επιστραφείησαν ταραχθέντες οἱ ἐχθροὶ, εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω μηκέτι τῆς κακίας ε μπροσθεν ἐλαύνοντες ἀλλ' ἀνακάμπτοντες εἰς η ν κατέλειπον ἐνάρετον πολιτείαν. τοῦτο δὲ αὐτὸ πρὸς ἀγαθοῦ γινόμενον αὐτοῖς μὴ ἐν ὑπερθέσει χρονικῇ η ἀνειμένως ἀλλὰ Σφόδρα διὰ τάχους γενέσθω. 39 Ps 7,1 Υἱὸς ̓Ιεμενεὶ ἐκλήθη ἀπὸ τοῦ δήμου, ο θεν η ν ὁ Σαοὺλ καὶ ὁ Σεμεεὶ καὶ ὁ τὴν ἀγγελίαν καταμηνύσας τοῦ Σαούλ, υἱὸς δὲ ̓Αραχὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρός, ἀρχιεταῖρος δὲ ὁ α ρχων τῶν φίλων καὶ παλαιὸς κατὰ τὴν φιλίαν. Αιδει δὲ τὸν ψαλμὸν πρακτικῶς, α μα καὶ θεωρητικῶς αὐτὸν προφέρων. ει ρηται δὲ ἐν τῇ ἐπιγραφῇ τοῦ τετάρτου ὡς πρᾶξιν ὁ ψαλμός, θεωρίαν δὲ ἡ ᾠδὴ δηλοῖ· καὶ ἐπεί εἰσιν ἐπιγραφαὶ ε χουσαι Ψαλμὸν ᾠδῆς η ̓Ωιδὴν ψαλμοῦ, ῥητέον περὶ αὐτῶν, ὡς ψαλμοῦ 8 μὲν ᾠδή ἐστιν ἡ περὶ πρακτικῶν καὶ ἠθικῆς παιδεύσεως θεωρία, ψαλμὸς δὲ ᾠδῆς ἡ ἀναγκαίως ἐν τῷ θεωρεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν παραλαμβανομένη πρᾶξις· πολλὰ γὰρ πράττεται ὑπὲρ θεωρίας τῆς σοφίας, α ψαλμὸν ᾠδῆς οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ τις ἐρεῖ. τούτων ω δε θεωρουμένων, εἰκότως τὸν προκείμενον ψαλμὸν ᾳ δει ὁ ∆αυὶδ πρακτικὸν ο ντα θεωρῶν περὶ ἑκάστου τῶν πραττομένων σοφῶς καὶ πάνυ θεοπρεπῶς, γνῶναι θέλων τί ε καστον δηλοῦται ἐκ τῶν ου τως αἰσθητῶς ἐπιτελουμένων. ̓Εκθετέον δὲ καὶ αὐτὰς τὰς τοῦ ψαλμοῦ λέξεις ου τως ἀρχομένας· Κύριε ὁ θεός μου κ.τ.λ. 40 Ps 7,2–3 Τίς δὲ ου τος η ὁ εἰπὼν Σῴζων οὐκ ε στιν πάρεξ ἐμοῦ, ὁ ἐληλυθὼς Ζητῆσαι καὶ σῶσαι τὸ ἀπολωλός, καὶ ∆οῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀντίλυτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν· ταῦτα δὲ δηλοῖ, ὡς ὁ πατὴρ θεὸς ω ν σῴζει διὰ υἱοῦ θεοῦ λόγου ο ντος· ο θεν οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις διαιρετέον τὴν θεότητα πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ, ὡς ε δοξέ τισιν. 41 Ps 7,7–8 Παρακαλῶ Κύριε, ἀναστάντα σε ἐν ὀργῇ ὑψηλὸν ἐν τοῖς πέρασιν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὀφθῆναι· ου τω γὰρ τέλος ε ξει τὰ τῆς ἀδικίας, δι' η ν ἐχθροί μου τυγχάνουσιν. δυνατὸν πέρατα ἐχθρῶν εἰπεῖν τὰς ἀλαζονείας καὶ ὑψαυχενίας αὐτῶν, ἐφ' α ς φθάσαντες καὶ ει ναι βέβαιοι ἐν αὐταῖς ἡγούμενοι ἐν τέλεσιν ἀρίστοις ει ναι ἑαυτοὺς ὑπονοοῦσιν. οὐκ ἀμυντικοῦ ἡ εὐχή· Μὴ γὰρ ἀποδιδοὺς κακὰ ἀντὶ κακῶν, φειδὼ πρὸς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ο ντας αὐτῷ ε χων, ευ χεται γνῶναι αὐτούς, ὡς θεὸς ὑψοῦται ἐν τοῖς πέρασιν αὐτῶν, ὀργῇ χρησάμενος οὐ κατὰ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν ἀλλ' η ς ε χουσιν χειρίστης προθέσεως. φερομένης δὲ γραφῆς ἐχούσης ̓Εν τοῖς πέρασι τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου, φανεροῦται ὡς οἱ τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ θεοῦ τυγχάνουσιν ἐχθροί. 42 Ps 7,9 Μονονουχὶ κατὰ τὴν ἀκακίαν καὶ δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐμὴν ἐπάγαγέ σου τὸ κρίμα· ου τω γὰρ καὶ δικαιωθήσομαι, ἀδικίας οὐχ εὑρισκομένης ἐν ταῖς πράξεσίν μου. ἀκακίαν δὲ ἐν τούτοις, φησίν, οὐ τὴν εὐήθειαν ἐκληπτέον κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον Ακακος πιστεύει παντὶ λόγῳ, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἁπλότητα τὴν δόλου καθαρεύουσαν, καθ' ο σημαινόμενον ει ρηται πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου ̓Εμοῦ δὲ διὰ τὴν ἀκακίαν ἀντελάβου, καὶ τὸ ̓Εν ἀκακίᾳ μου ἐπορεύθην. Φερομένου ε ν τισιν ἀντιγράφοις Κρῖνόν με, κύριε, κατὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου, ἐξηγητέον τὴν λέξιν ου τως· ε στιν τις δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ ἀνθρώποις ἐφικτή, διαστελλομένη πρὸς δικαιοσύνην ὑποδεεστέραν. Παῦλος γοῦν περὶ τῆς διαφορᾶς τούτων γράφων περὶ ̓Ιουδαίων Μαρτυρῶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς, ε φη, ο τι ζῆλον θεοῦ ε χουσιν ἀλλ' οὐ κατ' ἐπίγνωσιν· ἀγνοοῦντες γὰρ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν θέλοντες στῆσαι, τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ὑπετάγησαν. θεοῦ δὲ δικαιοσύνην λέγων τὴν εἰς πάντας τοὺς πιστεύοντας διὰ ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ γινομένην, η ν καὶ αὐτὸς ε σχεν ποθήσας, λέγει πάντα ἀποπεπέμφθαι δι' α ἰουδαϊκῶς δίκαιος ὑπῆρχεν, ι να εὑρεθῇ τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ διὰ πίστεως δικαιοσύνην ε χων καὶ μὴ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ. ταύτην καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς ὑπαρχθῆναι ὁ ̓Ιησοῦς θέλων ει πεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ̓Εὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ὑμῶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη πλέον τῶν Γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. ταύτης τῆς διαστολῆς ου σης ἀνθρωπίνης δικαιοσύνης καὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ δεσπότου βούλεται κριθῆναι, εἰδὼς ὡς ̓Αποβήσεται αὐτῷ εἰς σωτηρίαν τὸ ου τω κριθῆναι. 43 Ps 7,10–11 ̓Επὶ θεοῦ τὸ ἐξετάζειν καὶ ἐρευνᾶν καρδίας, οὐ τὸ ζητεῖν καὶ ἀνιχνεύειν δηλοῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸ παντελῆ κατάληψιν ε χειν· γνώστης γὰρ τῶν κρυπτῶν ἐστιν, καὶ πᾶς νοῦς αὐτῷ πεφανέρωται. Νεφροὺς δὲ οὐ τοὺς σωματικοὺς ἀκούειν δεῖ, ἀλλὰ ψυχῆς νοητικὰς δυνάμεις ὁμωνύμως τοῖς
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Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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