Fragments on the Psalms · §47

The Two Kinds of Wealth and Prayer

To signify a cross from the preceding word, having the shape of a horn (Ps 21:23).

The Epistle to the Hebrews says that this word is spoken from the person of Christ, as he says to the Father: 'O Father, your own name, that is, your own property and peculiarity, I will declare, making it manifest to my brothers who were born of me, to whom you sent my spirit; to whom it will be said, What you are, God sent the spirit of his Son into your hearts. For they are not those who have received the spirit of adoption from God, so as to be sons of God and brothers of the only-begotten. And having indeed risen from the dead, he appeared to the women, he says, "I have gone to my brothers." And in the midst of this gathering assembly, he will sing praise to the Father, sending up theological thoughts and songs.'

In many ways he is called Jacob (for the typology signifies this: when he is the divine man, the son of Isaac, the father of the twelve patriarchs; when he is the twelve-tribed people proceeding from him; when he is the ten tribes alone having split from David and having followed Jeroboam; when he is the savior himself, 'Jacob my servant, I will take hold of him'; 'Israel my chosen one, my soul has received him'; for Matthew wrote this prophecy concerning the Savior), it should be sought why it is said, 'O all the seed of Jacob, glorify him' (Ps 21:24). And one might say: the twelve-tribed seed of Jacob, having studied the law and the prophets, wishes to glorify God also through thoughts and words and good works. But perhaps, since this is a falsehood, many of those descended from Jacob being unfaithful and traitors to Jesus, someone will say: what is said of the seed of Jacob the 'plucked-up' and 'beaten-down' by death and the opposing power (and Jesus is that seed), his seed who came from teaching, will be able to glorify God. And since Israel is also the one whom the soul of God has received, the chosen seed of his, Israel will fear God. And each of those imitating...

If Jesus has a struggle against the principalities, powers, and rulers of this darkness, Jacob is one who beats back the opponents; but if he has a pure heart and a clear mind, he will see God, Israel being such a person. No seed of such a person will fail to fear God.

Since he did not reject the prayer of me the poor man nor crush it (Ps 21:25), for this reason, becoming thankful that the prayer for us was heard by the Lord, you praised, glorified, and feared him. For even though I prayed to him as a poor man, but you ought to know what I am: a rich man, a treasure of the fullness of goods; through you I became poor so that through my poverty I might make you rich; for those who are surrounded by the flesh did not receive my wealth, knowing and prophesying only a part of it. Having become poor for you, I cried out to the Lord on your behalf, and he heard me, giving you those things by which you were found rich. For in my interceding for you, he did not turn his face away from me, but rather he shone it upon me; therefore he also applied his attention to my cry.

Men indeed praise based on visible works and conveniences, but God, seeing the hidden, praises based on perfect virtue and surpassing knowledge (Ps 21:26a). It is not for anyone to say with boldness: 'O God, my praise is from you, not based on chance things, but on a great assembly'; for a great assembly is the one gathered from the great according to their kind, just as a great assembly is the one gathered from many (Ps 21:26b).

A prayer is a confession made in thanksgiving, if one should obtain these things from God (Ps 21:27). Concerning the two kinds of wealth, as the Scriptures say, to be the one rich in good works and in every word and in all knowledge, and the other to be rich from false-glorious dogmas and unpleasant deeds, being a poverty contrary to each kind of wealth. And he who possesses the divine wealth, being deprived of the worthless, possesses the contrary poverty, yet as a rich man and a poor man, I praise him as being such; just as he who possesses the laborious wealth possesses also the false poverty opposed to the wealth that...

Greek

σταυρὸν σημαίνεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς προκειμένης λέξεως κέρατος σχῆμα φέροντα. 192 Ps 21,23 Καὶ ταύτην τὴν λέξιν ἐκ προσώπου Χριστοῦ εἰρῆσθαι ἡ πρὸς ̔Εβραίους ̓Επιστολή φησιν, ἀναφθεγγομένου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα· Ω πάτερ, τὸ σὸν ο νομα, τουτέστιν τὴν σὴν ἰδιότητα καὶ οἰκειότητα, τὴν ε ννοιάν σου διηγήσομαι, φανερὰν αὐτὴν ποιῶν τοῖς γεναμένοις μου ἀδελφοῖς οι ς τὸ ἐμὸν πνεῦμα κατέπεμψας· πρὸς ου ς ῥηθείη α ν ο τι ̓Εστὲ υἱοί, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν. ου τοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς υἱοθεσίας ἐκ θεοῦ λαβόντες, ι να τοῦ θεοῦ μὲν υἱοί, ἀδελφοὶ δὲ τοῦ μονογενοῦς ω σιν. καὶ ἐκ νεκρῶν γοῦν ἀναστάς, ἐπιφανεὶς ταῖς γυναιξίν, Πορευθεῖσαι, ε φη, ει πατε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου ο τι ἠγέρθην. ἐν μέσῳ δὲ τῆς ἐκ τούτων συναγομένης ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσει τὸν πατέρα, αι νους καὶ παιᾶνας θεολογικοὺς ἀναπέμπων. 193 Ps 21,24 Κατὰ πλείονας τρόπους τοῦ ̓Ιακὼβ ὀνομαζομένου (σημαίνει γὰρ ἡ προσηγορία αυ τη ὁτὲ μὲν τὸν θεῖον α νδρα, υἱὸν μὲν ̓Ισαάκ, πατέρα δὲ τῶν δώδεκα πατριαρχῶν, ὁτὲ δὲ τὸν ἐκ τούτου προελθόντα δωδεκάφυλον λαόν, ὁτὲ δὲ τὰς δέκα φυλὰς μόνας ἀποσχισθείσας τοῦ οι κου ∆αυὶδ καὶ ἀκολουθησάσας τῷ ̔Ιεροβοάμ, ὁτὲ δὲ τὸν σωτῆρα αὐτὸν κατὰ τὸ ̓Ιακὼβ ὁ παῖς μου, ἀντιλήψομαι αὐτοῦ· ̓Ισραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου, προσεδέξατο αὐτὸν ἡ ψυχή μου· ταύτην γὰρ τὴν προφητείαν περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ὁ Ματθαῖος εἰρημένην ε γραψεν) ζητητέον κατὰ τί τῶν σημαινομένων ει ρηται τὸ Απαν τὸ σπέρμα ̓Ιακώβ, δοξάσατε αὐτόν. καὶ ὁ μὲν πολὺς ἐρεῖ· τοῦ πατριάρχου ̓Ιακὼβ τὸ σπέρμα τὸ δωδεκάφυλον ἐντραφὲν τῇ ἀναγνώσει τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν δοξάσαι βούλεται τὸν θεὸν καὶ διὰ νοημάτων καὶ λόγων καὶ ε ργων ἀγαθῶν. τάχα δέ, ἐπεὶ ψεῦδος ει η τοῦτο πολλῶν ἐκ τοῦ ̓Ιακὼβ γεγενημένων ἀπίστων καὶ προδοτῶν ̓Ιησοῦ, λέξει τις ο τι τοῦ ̓Ιακὼβ τοῦ πτερνιστοῦ καὶ καταπαλαίσαντος τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὴν ἀντικειμένην δύναμιν ( ̓Ιησοῦς δέ ἐστιν ου τος) τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ τὸ γενόμενον ἐκ διδασκαλίας δοξάσαι τὸν θεὸν α παν δυνήσεται. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ ̓Ισραήλ ἐστιν ο ν προσεδέξατο ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκλεκτὸν ο ντα σπέρμα αὐτοῦ, ῃ ̓Ισραήλ ἐστιν φοβηθήσεται τὸν θεόν. καὶ ε καστος δὲ τῶν μιμητῶν ̓Ιησοῦ, εἰ μὲν ε χει τὴν πάλην πρὸς ἀρχὰς καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου, ̓Ιακώβ ἐστιν πτερνίζων τοὺς ἀντιπάλους· εἰ δὲ καρδίαν ε χει καθαρὰν καὶ νοῦν διαυγῆ, ο ψεται τὸν θεόν, ̓Ισραὴλ κατὰ τοῦτο τυγχάνων. παντὸς ου ν τοῦ τοιούτου τὸ σπέρμα θεὸν φοβηθήσεται. 194 Ps 21,25 ̓Επεὶ οὐκ ἐξουδένωσεν ἐμοῦ τοῦ πτωχοῦ τὴν δέησιν οὐδὲ προσώχθισεν μυχθίζων αὐτήν, τούτου χάριν εὐχάριστοι γινόμενοι ἐπὶ τῷ ἐπηκοῦσθαι ὑπὸ κυρίου τὴν δέησιν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν γινομένην αἰνέσατε καὶ δοξάσατε καὶ φοβήθητε αὐτόν. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ὡς πτωχὸς πρὸς αὐτὸν προσηυξάμην, ἀλλ' εἰδέναι ὀφείλετε ο τι ἐγὼ πλούσιος ω ν, θησαυρὸς ω ν τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν ἀγαθῶν, δι' ὑμᾶς ἐπτώχευσα ι να διὰ τῆς ἐμῆς πτωχείας πλουσίους ὑμᾶς ποιήσω· οὐ γὰρ οι οί τε η τε σάρκα περικείμενοι δέξασθέ μου τὸν πλοῦτον τέως ἐκ μέρους γινώσκοντες καὶ προφητεύοντες. πτωχεύσας ου ν δι' ὑμᾶς, 51 ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν πρὸς κύριον ἐκέκραξα, καὶ ὑπήκουσέν μου δοὺς ὑμῖν ἐκεῖνα ἐφ' οι ς πλούσιοι ἀπεφάνθητε. ου τω γάρ μου περὶ ὑμῶν πρεσβευομένου, Οὐκ ἀπέστρεψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ἀλλ' ε τι μᾶλλον ἐπέλαμψέν μοι αὐτό· διὸ καὶ τὴν κραυγήν μου προσήκατο. 195 Ps 21,26a 195 Ανθρωποι μὲν ἐπὶ φανεροῖς ε ργοις καὶ ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἐπαινοῦσιν, θεὸς δὲ τὸ κρυπτὸν ὁρῶν ἐπὶ τελείᾳ ἀρετῇ καὶ γνώσει ὑπερβαλλούσῃ ἐπαινεῖ. μεγάλου τινὸς ου ν ἐστιν μετὰ παρρησίας εἰπεῖν· Παρὰ σοῦ, ω θεέ, ὁ ε παινός μου, οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν τυχόντων ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἐκκλησίας μεγάλης· μεγάλη δὲ ἐκκλησία ἡ ἐκ τῶν καθ' ε καστον μεγάλων συναγομένη, ὡς ἐκκλησία πολλὴ ἡ ἐκ πολλῶν συλλεγομένη. 196 Ps 21,26b Εὐχή ἐστιν ὁμολογία γινομένη εὐχαριστίας, εἰ τῶνδέ τινων θεόθεν τεύξοιτο. 197 Ps 21,27 ∆ιττοῦ πλούτου κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς λεγομένου, ὡς τοὺς μὲν πλουτεῖν ἐν ε ργοις ἀγαθοῖς καὶ παντὶ λόγῳ καὶ πάσῃ γνώσει, τοὺς δὲ πλουσίους ει ναι ἐκ ψευδοδόξων δογμάτων καὶ πράξεων δυσαρέστων, ἀκόλουθον ἑκατέρῳ πλούτῳ ἐναντίαν ει ναι πενίαν. καὶ ὁ τὸν μὲν θεῖον πλοῦτον ε χων, τοῦ φαύλου στερούμενος, ε χοι α ν τὴν ἐναντίαν αὐτῷ πενίαν ὡς α μα πλούσιον καὶ πένητα ἐπαινετῶς αὐτὸν ει ναι· ὡς αυ ὁ τὸν μοχθηρὸν πλοῦτον ε χων ε χοι α ν καὶ τὴν ψεκτὴν πενίαν ἀντικειμένην τῷ πλούτῳ τῷ

About this text

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

Original English Translation — new OET from PG Greek.

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