The Musical Allegory and the Tongues of Fire
To depart from you. For if we are not partakers of you, we shall not be made alive, and we shall not call upon your name. For from this salvation will also follow us; for everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Ps 80:2).
Since the commands of those being improved by Christ are many, and his stages have been spoken of as the true vine, there are various presses—that is, promises—in which the fruit is being pressed out, making the name of God and gladdening the heart of man. And since all the God-breathed Scripture speaks of vines (for concerning it, after it was taken away from the Hebrews and given to those believing from the Gentiles, it was said to the Jews, 'The kingdom of heaven shall be taken from you'—'the vine in the parable had grown'—'and it shall be given to a nation producing its fruits'; the fruit and clusters of this vine are the bearing of thoughts; the minds of the believers, having received divine presses, will not receive seeds as fruit, but will press out the Name, from which the one able to say to God, 'Joy has come into my heart' (Ps 80:2), drinks.
Fittingly, the eighty-first psalm is arranged according to its title, this number containing eights and tens as a symbol of the resurrection of the Lord being accomplished on the eighth Lord's day. And it is not the first that is written concerning the presses, but also the eightieth. And it himself, because of the aforementioned thought, is arranged in the order of the number eight.
Since Jesus, helping us through his death, dissolved the one having dominion over death, the devil, we shout aloud, triumphing against the abolished tyrant, rejoicing in the one providing the help (Ps 80:2).
Since the timbrel is made of the skin of a dead animal, he wants us, having killed the members upon the earth and carrying the death of Jesus in the body, to construct a timbrel for ourselves, which we shall give instead of a psalm. We do not take by the present...
The word commands not only to strike a timbrel for the psalm, but also a harp and a lyre. As it is said in other psalms, the harp is called so because it is straight and unbending, and because it gives back the sound from above; the spirit is the human spirit within him, the soul being signified by the lyre, with the senses stretched out and the powers of the soul composing the sound through well-ordered and musical activities.
If, then, the harp is the spirit, the lyre the soul, and the body the timbrel, it is being allegorized: we take the divine word as a psalm, in order to make the spirit, the soul, and the body active through the contemplation and actions according to virtue. According to an upward leading, it is thus: the command which declares the spiritual will of the shadowy feast is set as a testimony by the Lord to those who were added to the Gentiles by the Gospel. For the name of Joseph and what was said before signify these. For they did not leave behind the passions and the evils and the very place of the earth by wisdom, fleeing out of tropical Egypt, but in leaving it, they previously did not know the language, that is, the dialect they heard. The symbols of this paradox are carried into the Acts of the Apostles, where, having appeared as tongues of fire, they sat upon each of the believers, so that each one might suddenly speak the greatness of God in his own dialect heard in various voices. But those receiving this gift turned away from lifting up the sense of their souls, no longer enduring to lift up the material and muddy things of tropical Egypt. For they served, but they shall not serve with their hands in the basket; their hands in their actions are no longer touching wheat and brick, but are lifting up gracefully and freely some of the baskets, of which Jesus filled, from which he broke.
Greek
ἀποστῆναί σου. ου τω γὰρ μετέχοντές σου ζωοποιηθησόμεθα καὶ τὸ σὸν 162 ἐπικαλεσόμεθα ο νομα. ἐκ τούτου γὰρ ἀκολουθήσει καὶ σωτηρία ἡμῖν· Πᾶς γὰρ ο ς α ν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ο νομα κυρίου σωθήσεται. 830 Ps 80 αργ ̓Επεὶ τάγματά εἰσι πολλὰ τῶν ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ βελτιουμένων οι καὶ κλήματα αὐτοῦ ει ρηνται ο ντος ἀμπέλου ἀληθινῆς, ποικίλαι ει εν ληνοὶ τουτέστιν ἐπαγγελίαι, εἰς α ς ἀποθλιβόμενος ὁ καρπὸς αὐτῶν οι νον ποιεῖ εὐφραίνοντα καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ θεόπνευστος γραφὴ ἀμπελὼν ει ρηται (περὶ γὰρ αὐτῆς ἀρθείσης ἀπὸ τῶν ̔Εβραίων καὶ τοῖς ἀπὸ ἐθνῶν πιστεύσασι δοθείσης ει ρηται τοῖς ̓Ιουδαίοις ̓Αρθήσεται ἀφ' ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν–η ν ἀμπελὼν ἐν τῇ παραβολῇ ὑπῃνίξατο–καὶ δοθήσεται ε θνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς), ταύτης τῆς ἀμπέλου καρποὶ καὶ βότρυες ἡ τῶν νοημάτων φορά· ου σπερ καρποὺς αἱ διάνοιαι τῶν πιστευόντων παραλαβοῦσαι οι α θεῖαι ληνοὶ ἐκθλίψασαι ποιήσουσιν οι νον, ἀφ' ου πίεται ὁ δυνάμενος εἰπεῖν θεῷ Εδωκας εὐφροσύνην εἰς τὴν καρδίαν μου. Καταλλήλως δὲ τῇ ἐπιγραφῇ καὶ ὀγδοηκοστὸς ὁ ψαλμὸς τέτακται, τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τούτου ὀγδοάδας δεκάδων περιέχοντος ὡς σύμβολον φέρειν τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ κυρίου ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ὀγδοῇ ου σῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιτελεσθείσης. οὐ πρῶτος δὲ ου τος ̔Υπὲρ τῶν ληνῶν ἐπιγέγραπται ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ο γδοος. καὶ αὐτὸς διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην διάνοιαν ἐν τάξει τοῦ ὀγδόου ἀριθμοῦ τεταγμένος. 831 Ps 80,2 Καὶ ἐπεὶ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου ἑαυτοῦ βοηθῶν ἡμῖν ̓Ιησοῦς κατέλυσε τὸν τὸ κράτος ε χοντα τοῦ θανάτου διάβολον, ἀλαλάζομεν ἐπικερτομοῦντες κατὰ τοῦ καταργηθέντος τυράννου, τῷ τὴν βοήθειαν παρασχόντι ἀγαλλιώμενοι. 832 Ps 80,3 ̓Επεὶ τὸ τύμπανον ἐκ δορᾶς νενεκρωμένου ζῴου ὑπάρχει, βούλεται ἡμᾶς νεκρώσαντας τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ ̓Ιησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι περιφέροντας τύμπανον κατασκευάσαι ἑαυτοῖς, ο περ δώσομεν ἀντὶ ψαλμοῦ. οὐ λαμβάνομεν τῷ παρερχομένῳ αὐτόν· οὐ μόνον δὲ τύμπανον ἀποδοῦναι πρὸς τὸν ψαλμὸν προστάττει ὁ λόγος ἀλλὰ καὶ ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάραν. ε στι δὲ καθὰ ἐν ἑτέροις ει ρηται ψαλμοῖς ψαλτήριον διὰ τὸ εὐθὺ καὶ ἀκαμπὲς ει ναι καὶ ἐκ τῶν α νωθεν ἀποδιδόναι τὸν η χον τὸ πνεῦμα ει ναι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ, τῆς ψυχῆς δηλουμένης διὰ τῆς κιθάρας τῷ τεταμένας τὰς αἰσθήσεις καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτῆς ἐμμελῆ καὶ μουσικὴν τῶν ἐνεργειῶν ἀποτελεῖν τὴν φθογγήν. εἰ τοίνυν τὸ ψαλτήριον τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἡ κιθάρα καὶ τὸ σῶμα τὸ τύμπανον αἰνίττεται, λαμβάνομεν τὸν λόγον θεῖον ψαλμὸν ο ντα ἐπὶ τῷ δοῦναι τὸ πνεῦμα τὴν ψυχὴν τὸ σῶμα τὰς κατ' ἀρετὴν θεωρίας καὶ πράξεις ἐνεργεῖν. 833 Ps 80,6–8b Κατὰ δὲ ἀναγωγὴν ε χει ου τως· τὸ πρόσταγμα τὸ δηλοῦν τὸ πνευματικὸν βούλημα τῆς σκιώδους ἑορτῆς μαρτύριον τέθειται ὑπὸ κυρίου τοῖς ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν προστεθειμένοις τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ. τούτους γὰρ ἀποσημαίνειν ἡ τοῦ ̓Ιωσὴφ ὀνομασία καὶ πρότερον ει ρηται. ου τοι γὰρ τὰ πάθη καὶ τὰς κακίας καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν περὶ γῆν τόπον τῷ φρονήματι καταλιπόντες ε ξω τῆς Αἰγύπτου τῆς τροπικῆς ε σπευσαν γενέσθαι, α μα δὲ τῷ ἐξιέναι ταύτην η ν πρότερον ἠγνόουν γλῶτταν τουτέστι διάλεκτον η κουσαν. τούτου δὲ τοῦ παραδόξου τὰ σύμβολα ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων φέρεται, ο τε ὀφθεισῶν ὡσεὶ πυρὸς γλωσσῶν ὡς καθίσαι αὐτὰς ἐφ' ε να ε καστον τῶν πιστευόντων ἐξαπιναίως ε καστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ η κουσε λαλούμενα πρὸς διαφόρων φωνῶν τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ· ἀλλ' οἱ τούτου τοῦ χαρίσματος τυχόντες ἀπέστησαν ἀπὸ α ρσεων τὸν νῶτον τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῶν, οὐκέτι αι ρειν ὑπομένοντες τὰ ὑλιπὰ καὶ πηλώδη τῆς τροπικῆς Αἰγύπτου πράγματα. ἐδούλευσαν γὰρ ἀλλ' οὐ δουλεύσωσιν ἐν τῷ κοφίνῳ αἱ χεῖρες αὐτῶν, τῶν πράξεων αὐτῶν α ς χεῖρας ει πεν οὐκέτι ἀχύρου καὶ πλίνθου ἐφαπτομένων ἀλλ' αἱρουσῶν εὐγενῶς καὶ ἐλευθερίως τινὰ τῶν κοφίνων, ω ν ἐπλήρωσεν ̓Ιησοῦς ἀφ' ω ν ε κλασεν
About this text
Discover how early Christians interpreted the Psalms as divine messages and prophecies about salvation and judgment.
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- Copy-text PG (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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