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COMMENTARY ON PSALM 91 To the end, on the son’s secrets. A psalm of David. hile symmachus read “a triumphal ode on the son’s death,” Aquila read “to the author of victory on the son’s youth,” and Theodotion, “on the son’s prime.” By being in agreement, then, in making mention of the son, all of them teach us that this psalm also contains a prophecy of Christ the Lord’s victory over death: having bravely and vigorously conquered sin without giving death any occasion for capture , he brought to an end its dominion.2 Now, the Septuagint called this mystery secret since it escaped the notice of everyone including the apostles themselves.3 The evangelist is witness to this frequent statement of the Lord to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise”; and the evangelist added, “And this was hidden from their eyes.”4 Hence blessed Paul also calls out, “We speak of God’s wis87 1. The long psalm which the LXX retains as one, our (Masoretic) Hebrew text has divided, in defiance of its original alphabetic structure. 2. This time, like Chrysostom on this psalm, Theodoret seems deliberate in citing the ancient variants, and in so doing reveals again his uncertainty about its relation to the original. Modern commentators regard Muth Labben in the title as a technical term, perhaps a cue to the melody from a song beginning thus, as occurs with other phrases. The ancients, on the other hand, practiced popular etymology on it, coming up with references to death, secrets, and son, and having to find corresponding elements in the body of the psalm. 3. The two words, despite popular English usage and some unfortunate translations of the Bible, are not synonymous: for Paul the mystery of Christ is God’s whole plan (oikonomia being close to it in meaning), at the summit of which comes the death and Resurrection of Jesus—a design found weak and foolish by some, and in fact not clear until the New Testament. See note 12 on Commentary on Ps 22. 4. A precis of Luke 18.31–34. dom, hidden in mystery, which none of the rulers of this age understood ; had they known it, after all, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”5 [921] And again, “the mystery hidden for ages and generations.”6 It was proper, therefore, for the Septuagint to call the Son’s death a secret. (2) I shall confess to you, O Lord, with all my heart, I shall recount all your marvels. I shall rejoice and be glad in you, I shall sing to your name, O Most High (vv. 1–2). It is characteristic of the perfect to dedicate their whole heart to God and to consecrate their whole mind to him. “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart,” Scripture says, “with your whole soul, with your whole strength, and with your whole mind.”7 Those who divide their thoughts between mammon and God, between Christ and gold, between the present and the future life, cannot truthfully say, I shall confess to you, O Lord, with all my heart. The inspired author, however, foresees what is to come with the eyes of a prophet, and does not only confess with his whole heart but also recounts all his marvels. He makes the listeners sharers in the hymn singing, and wishes only to sing the praise of his benefactor and to have as the basis of his satisfaction not wealth or influence, not bodily health or strength, but the remembrance of God. I shall rejoice and be glad in you, he says, note. In similar terms in another place, too: “I remembered God, and was overjoyed”;8 and elsewhere, “Rejoice in the Lord, and be glad, you righteous ones”;9 and again, “Let the hearts of those seeking the Lord rejoice .”10 (3) When my enemies turn backwards, they will lose their strength and vanish from your sight (v. 3). Symmachus translated it this way: “I shall sing to your name, O Most High, as my enemies are turned backwards, stumble and vanish from your sight.” In oth88 THEODORET OF CYRUS 5. 1 Cor 2.7–8, telescoped, not without some damage to the syntax. For the Pauline corpus “wisdom” is another synonym for “mystery...

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