The Multiplicity of the Human Spirit
One who has not become aware in the consciousness of his own sins, and who has not actively awakened his sensation through spiritual hands, changing from being consumed by grief, will receive the fruit of the Spirit as joy. The phrase 'You have turned' signifies a change from cutting and grieving into joy; and 'I shall not be confounded' (Ps 30:2) is said instead of 'I shall not know'. He who sings glory while saying these things to God possesses a right conduct and sincere knowledge.
He who has hoped to reach the end of what is laid up for the saints, and who will not be put to shame for ever, has placed such an expectation upon the Lord. 'In your righteousness, he says, save me' (Ps 30:3) (not by any other than your only-begotten Son) 'from those surrounding me and bring me out from those intending to fight against me' (Ps 30:3). And since our cry may not reach your height, 'Incline your ear to me' (Ps 30:4) so that you may descend to accompany me; for the existence of this means that, having received my prayer, you will immediately deliver me by your wills.
And here 'Make me a hiding place' (Ps 30:4) signifies a protector for the one being protected. It is also worthy that those near a refuge should have God become a salvation for them, just as one is saved unharmed while remaining enclosed by an impregnable and unassailable fortress. This I have often and always attempted, as the Psalmist says, 'You are my strength and my refuge, since your name is my stronghold; for I am your man and your servant' (Ps 30:3). Even if I am not worthy to receive what I ask, because of your goodness you will guide me toward salvation and sustain me, providing me with your heavenly bread (Ps 30:5).
Diligence belongs to the good; the body is not so much to be wounded by enemies, for the war does not seek to deceive him with phantoms and terrors, but rather it seeks not to strike the flesh but to wound the mind from before; the spirit places itself into the hands of God, being able to guard it. And the Savior, having been hung upon the stake, his hands and feet having been pierced according to the prophecy, 'Into your hands I shall commit myself' (Ps 30:6), has used the hands of God, which are none other than his providential and protective powers, to be exercised.
It should be noted that the spirit of man is spoken of in many ways. For in the prophecy of the Virgin, where it is said she is to be holy in spirit and body, spirit refers to the intellect. But according to James (as the body without spirit is dead), the designation of 'spirit' signifies nothing other than the soul. And in the passage 'For what are the things of man, except the spirit of man which is in him?', it is shown to be nothing other than the spirit joined to the soul or being part of it, which is also called conscience; for the conscience of man is the inward thoughts, which are something other than the soul; for the soul is the man, not the inward thoughts.
Regarding the Psalm 'the spirit of man having been set in your hands', stand firm to grasp in what way it is meant: 'Into your hands I commit my spirit' (Ps 31:5). And it pleases me that the present text is true according to the three ways. 'Having been seized by enemies, as having become a captive, I will redeem, O Lord, you who are the God of truth and of the truth shared by each of those participating in the truth of the Only-Begotten' (Ps 30:7a). In general, everyone guarding vanity for no reason does this, making the uncertain to be, or making vanity to happen emptily and superfluously. And he who hates this makes those guarding it hateful to God.
The humiliation, on one hand, shows blindness, when it calls for humility, and on the other hand, the harm by enemies. And it is good to see God in both kinds of humiliation. What follows, he considers to be the harm following the humiliation: 'For you have compressed my soul by necessity' (Ps 31:5), saying 'necessities' regarding the circumstances from which the soul, having been rescued, is not enclosed into the hands of the harming enemy. If the 'spaciousness' were to say the same regarding the wide and spacious way (which is the love of pleasure), it would thank it for its stability and for desiring a standing in this life. For it says something like this: being in the place of the earth, where living is slippery and unsafe because of the sliding pleasures, you have given a standing to my soul, so that I might not be carried away there by the passions. But if it were to praise the spaciousness, it would say: 'Since being afflicted, I am not constricted, being more strengthened by pains', or perhaps, 'being widened by the...'
Greek
κοπτουσῶν. ὁ ου ν ἐν συναισθήσει ἰδίων ἁμαρτημάτων γεγονὼς καὶ ἐνεργητικῶς διὰ χειρῶν πνευματικῶν τὴν αι σθησιν αὐτοῦ διεγείρας μεταβαλὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀλοφύρεσθαι χαρὰν τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ πνεύματος ἀναλήψεται. τὸ Εστρεψας δηλοῖ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ κόπτεσθαι καὶ λυπεῖσθαι εἰς χαρὰν μεταβολήν· τὸ δὲ Οὐ μὴ κατανυγῶ ἀντὶ τοῦ οὐ μὴ μεταγνῶ φησιν. δόξα δὲ ψάλλουσα τοῦ ταῦτα λέγοντος τῷ θεῷ ὀρθὴ πολιτεία καὶ γνῶσίς ἐστιν εἰλικρινής. ἀντὶ τοῦ ̓Επὶ πᾶσι τοῖς συμβαίνουσιν οὐ προσηνέσι μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπιπόνοις εὐχαριστῶ σοι, δέσποτα. 268 Ps 30,2–3b ̔Ο ἐλπίσας τυχεῖν τοῦ τέλους τοῦ ἀποκειμένου τοῖς ἁγίοις οι δεν μὴ καταισχυνθήσεσθαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἐπὶ κύριον θέμενος τὴν τοιαύτην προσδοκίαν. ̓Εν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου, φησίν, ῥῦσαί με (οὐκ α λλῃ ου σῃ τοῦ μονογενοῦς σου) ἐκ τῶν περιεστηκότων καὶ ἐξελοῦ ἐκ τῶν προσπολεμεῖν βουλομένων. καὶ ἐπεὶ μὴ φθάνῃ ἡ ἡμετέρα κραυγὴ πρὸς τὸ σὸν υ ψος, Κλῖνον τὸ ου ς σου πρός με διὰ τοῦ συγκαταβαίνειν μοι· τούτου γὰρ ὑπάρξαντος δεξάμενός μου τὴν προσευχὴν ἀμελλητὶ ἐξελέσθαι με θελήσεις. 269 Ps 30,3c–4 Καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ Γενοῦ μοι σχέσιν δηλοῖ ὑπερασπιστοῦ πρὸς ὑπερασπιζόμενον. ἀξιοῖ δὲ καὶ οι κον καταφυγῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῷ γενέσθαι τὸν θεόν, ι ν' ω σπερ ὑπὸ φρουρίου δυσαλώτου καὶ ἀκαταμαχήτου περιεχόμενος σωθῇ ἀβλαβὴς διαμείνας. τούτου δὲ πολλάκις η δη καὶ ἀεὶ ἐπειράθην, ὡς Κραταίωσις καὶ καταφυγή μου ει σύ, ἐπεὶ τὸ σὸν ο νομα ᾠκείωταί μοι· σὸς γὰρ α νθρωπος η δοῦλος χρηματίζω. εἰ καὶ μὴ α ξιός εἰμι τυχεῖν ω ν αἰτοῦμαι, ἀλλ' ε νεκεν τῆς σῆς προσηγορίας ὁδηγήσεις με πρὸς σωτηρίαν καὶ διαθρέψεις δέ με παρέχων τὸν σὸν οὐράνιον α ρτον. 270 Ps 30,6 Σπουδὴ δὲ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἐστιν μὴ τοσοῦτον τὸ σῶμα α τρωτον πρὸς ἐχθρῶν ε χειν ο σον τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν. ἐπεὶ ου ν πρὸς φένακας καὶ δεινοὺς ἀπατῆσαι ὁ πόλεμος αὐτῷ, ου τοι δὲ οὐ σάρκα βάλλειν ἀλλὰ νοῦν τρῶσαι προύθεντο, εἰς χεῖρας τοῦ θεοῦ παρατίθεται τὸ πνεῦμα δυναμένας αὐτὸ διαφυλάξαι. καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ δὲ ἀναρτηθεὶς εἰς τὸν σκόλοπα, τρωθεισῶν αὐτῷ τῶν χειρῶν καὶ τῶν ποδῶν ὠρωρυγμένων κατὰ τὸ προφητικόν, τῷ Εἰς χεῖράς σου παραθήσομαι κέχρηται. χεῖρας δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ α λλας τῶν προνοητικῶν καὶ σκεπαστικῶν αὐτοῦ δυνάμεων ἐκδεκτέον. Σημειωτέον δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πολλαχῶς λέγεσθαι. ο τ' α ν γὰρ λέγῃ τὴν παρθένον σπουδάζειν ει ναι ἁγίαν πνεύματι καὶ σώματι, πνεῦμα τὴν διάνοιαν λέγει. παρὰ δὲ ̓Ιακώβῳ ( Ωσπερ δὲ τὸ σῶμα χωρὶς πνεύματος νεκρόν ἐστιν) οὐκ α λλο τι η τὴν 64 ψυχὴν σημαίνει ἡ τοῦ πνεύματος προσηγορία. ἐν δὲ τῷ Τίς γὰρ οι δεν ἀνθρώπων τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰ μὴ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ α λλο πνεῦμα δηλοῦται η τὸ συνεζευγμένον τῇ ψυχῇ ε τερον ο ν αὐτῆς, ο καὶ συνείδησις καλεῖται· τὸ γὰρ συνειδὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὰ ἐνθυμήματα α λλο τῆς ψυχῆς ἐστιν· ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ ὁ α νθρωπός ἐστιν, οὐ τὰ ἐνθυμήματα. τριχῶς ου ν πεφηνότος τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἐπίστησον κατὰ ποῖον σημαινόμενον ἐκλαβεῖν δεῖ τὸ Εἰς χεῖράς σου παραθήσομαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου. ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀρέσκει καὶ κατὰ τοὺς τρεῖς τρόπους ἀληθεύεσθαι τὸ προκείμενον. Κρατηθέντα δέ με, φησίν, ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων καὶ αἰχμάλωτον η δη γεγενημένον ἐλυτρώσω, ω κύριε, ο ς καὶ θεὸς τῆς ἀληθείας ει καὶ τῆς ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν μετεχόντων τῆς τοῦ μονογενοῦς ἀληθείας. 271 Ps 30,7a Καθόλου πᾶς ματαιότητα φυλάσσων διὰ κενῆς τοῦτο ποιεῖ η τοι τῷ ἀβέβαιον ει ναι η τῷ κενῶς καὶ περιττῶς γίνεσθαι τὴν ματαιότητα. μισητὴ δὲ αυ τη ου σα τῷ θεῷ μισητοὺς ποιεῖ τοὺς διαφυλάσσοντας αὐτήν. 272 Ps 30,8b–9 ̔Η ταπείνωσις δὲ ὁτὲ μὲν δηλοῖ τὴν ἀτυφίαν η ν ε θος ταπεινοφροσύνην καλεῖν, ὁτὲ δὲ τὴν ὑπ' ἐχθροῖς κάκωσιν. ἀγαθὸν δὲ τὸ ἐπειδεῖν τὸν θεὸν τὴν ἑκατέρως ταπείνωσιν. τὸ ἑξῆς δὲ ἀκολουθεῖ τῷ ταπείνωσιν νομίζειν τὴν κάκωσιν· Εσωσας γάρ φησιν ἐξ ἀναγκῶν τὴν ψυχήν μου, ἀνάγκας λέγων τὰς περιστάσεις ἀφ' ω ν ῥυσθείσης αὐτοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς οὐ συγκλείεται εἰς χεῖρας τοῦ καταπονοῦντος ἐχθροῦ. Εἰ τὸ εὐρύχωρον δὲ ὡσαύτως λέγοιτο τῇ πλατείᾳ καὶ εὐρυχώρῳ ὁδῷ (αυ τη δέ ἐστιν ἡ φιληδονία), εὐχαριστεῖ τῷ βεβαιότητα αὐτῷ καὶ στάσιν ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ ὀρέξαντι. ο γὰρ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· ἐν τῷ περὶ γῆς τόπῳ ὑπάρχων, ε νθα ὀλισθηρὸν καὶ ἐπισφαλὲς διὰ τὰς φωλευούσας ἡδονὰς τὸ ζῆν, στάσιν τῆς ψυχῆς μοι δέδωκας, ο πως μὴ ω δε κἀκεῖσε ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν παραφέρωμαι. εἰ δ' ἐπαινετὸν λέγοι τὸ εὐρύχωρον, ἐρεῖ· ἐπεὶ θλιβόμενος οὐ στενοχωροῦμαι ἐγκαρτερῶν τοῖς πόνοις, ι ν' ου τως ει πω, πλατυνόμενος διὰ τὸ
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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Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.