This psalm seems to refer to the Lord Jesus, not to Solomon, as Jews claim: even if under pressure they transfer most of the content to Solomon for being expressed in human fashion, yet the verse Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the rod of your kingship a rod of equity completely shuts their mouth, since Solomon was not called God and did not reign forever. Instead, Christ alone as God also adopted the human condition for our sake and, being God and king forever, also retained his own status by nature. If, however, most of the things it mentions are human, that is no surprise, since in becoming human he accepted also commendation for his humanity. After all, if he accepted suffering as a human being, much more also commendation as a human being, no harm transferring to his divine nature.

In this psalm he prophesies events concerning Christ, foretelling how he will attract many people on the basis of his teaching and, as well, all that he will accomplish by his coming, including the establishment of the church by achieving the assembly of the faithful. He mentions also the spiritual graces, the gift provided by him to the saints and the virtue of those in the church.

It seems right for me to add what I am accustomed to quote in every question that is debated about his Godhead, that reverent saying: Who shall declare his generation? . . . For such expressions are connected with mental imagery alone and are accordingly subject to the laws of metaphor. And so the words My heart has produced a good word may be explained as referring to the constitution and coming into being of the primal Word, since it would not be right to suppose any heart, save one that we can understand to be spiritual, to exist in the case of the supreme God.

The Son lives by the Father, because he is the Son begotten of the Father; by the Father, because he is of one substance with the Father; by the Father, because he is the Word given forth from the heart of the Father, because he came forth from the Father, because he is begotten of the bowels of the Father, because the Father is the fountain and root of the Son’s being.

And how can he be made of things that are not, when the Father says, My heart belched forth a good Word.

The inspired authors were not like the seers. In their case, after all, when the demon takes possession of their soul, it cripples their mind and clouds their reasoning, and so they utter everything without their mind understanding anything of what is said; rather, it is like a flute sounding without a musician to play a tune. This was said also by a philosopher of theirs in these words, Just like the soothsayers and seers saying many things without knowing anything of what they say.^[1] The Holy Spirit, [by contrast], does not act like that; instead, he allows the heart to know what is said. I mean, if the psalmist did not know, how could he have said good news? The demon, you see, being enemy and foe, commits an assault on human nature; the Holy Spirit, by contrast, being caring and beneficent, renders those who receive him sharers in his purposes, and with them understanding him he reveals what he has to tell.

The one who speaks from his own resources, you see, hesitates and thinks twice about the efforts he makes, handicapped in his composition by ignorance, error and uncertainty, and there are many things that undermine the speed of his utterance. When on the contrary it is the Spirit who moves the mind, there is no obstacle.

Any word you speak yourself you bring forth from your heart; there is no other source for the word that sounds audibly and then fades away. Are you surprised that the same should be true for God? But there is this difference: God’s speaking is eternal. . . . God’s speaking has no beginning and no end, yet he speaks one Word only. He could speak another only if what he had spoken could pass away; but as he by whom the Word is spoken abides eternally, so too does the Word he speaks abide. This Word is spoken once and never ceases to be spoken; nor had the speaking of it any beginning; nor is it spoken twice. . . . But still, why does it say, I tell my works? Because in this uttered Word are all the works of God. Whatever God was to create was already present in the Word. Nothing could have existed in the created order that was not present in the Word, just as nothing can be in your own handiwork that was not present in your plan. The gospel makes this plain by saying, What was made was alive in his life.^[1] Created beings existed, but only in the Word; they were there in the Word, though they had as yet no existence in themselves. . . . Let anyone who understands about this Word listen to the Speaker and contemplate both the Father and his everlasting Word, in whom are present all things that will come to be in the future, as are present still all those that have passed away. These are the works of God: works in his Word, in his only-begotten Son, in the Word of God.

How, then, does another inspired author say, We saw him: he had no form or beauty; instead, his form was dishonorable, of no importance beside human beings.^[1] He is not speaking about deformity—God forbid—but about an object of scorn. You see, once having deigned to become human, he went through every demeaning experience, not choosing a queen for his mother, not placed in a bed of gold at the time of swaddling clothes but in a manger, not reared in an affluent home but in an artisan’s humble dwelling. Again, when he picked disciples, he did not pick orators and philosophers and kings but fishermen and tax collectors. He shared this simple life, not owning a house, or clad in rich clothing or enjoying similar fare, but nourished at others’ expense, insulted, scorned, driven out, pursued. Now, he did this to trample underfoot human conceit in fine style. So, since he did not fit himself out in any pomp or circumstance or attach to himself hangers on or bodyguards, but went about at times alone, like any ordinary person, thus that author said, We saw him, and he had no form or beauty, whereas the psalmist says, Comely to behold beyond all human beings, suggesting grace, wisdom, teaching, miracles. Then to underline the comeliness he says, Grace streamed out on your lips.

But to ensure that you do not put the man Christ on a par with any other human, it says that he is fair beyond all humankind. He is human indeed but beyond all humans; he is among humans but beyond them; he takes his human birth from humankind, but he is beyond all humankind.

He had no form or comeliness in the eyes of the Jews, but to David he is fairer than the children of people. And on the mountain he was bright as the lightning and became more luminous than the sun, initiating us into the mystery of the future.

He came to us with the word of grace on his lips, with the kiss of grace. . . . If he had come as a strict judge, without this grace bedewing his lips, who would have had any hope of salvation? Would anyone have been unafraid of what was owing to a sinner? But he came bringing grace, and so far from demanding what was owed to God, he paid a debt he did not owe. Did one who was sinless owe a debt to death: but you, what was owing to you? Punishment. He canceled your debts and paid off debts that were none of his. This is mighty grace. Grace—why grace? Because it is given gratis. It is up to you to give thanks, then, but not to repay him, for that you cannot do . . . because when you look for something to render to him that you did not first receive from him . . . all you will find is your sin. . . . This is the grace of God, bedewing Christ’s lips. He made you, and made you gratis, for he could not give anything to you before you were there to receive it. Then when you had gone to ruin, he sought you; he found you and called you back again. He did not hold your past sins against you, and he promised you good things for the future. Truly, O Christ, grace bedews your lips.

After mentioning the glory, here he mentions its effect, namely, that you were invested with such persuasion as even to attract disciples merely by your lips: the extraordinary degree of wisdom required no great number of words for persuading.

Now a proof that grace was poured on his lips is the fact that although the time he spent in teaching was short, . . . the world has been filled with this teaching and with the religion that came through him. For there has arisen in his days righteousness and an abundance of peace lasting until the consummation.

After describing his charm and wisdom, he gives us a glimpse of both his power and his accouterments, which he used to wipe out his adversaries, teaching us the baffling character of it all.

These terms, you see, signify his operations. . . . I mean, just as Scripture says God gets angry, not to attribute passion to him but to indicate through this expression his action of punishing and thus make an impression on more materialistic people, so too by mentioning weapons it suggests this. After all, since we are punished not through ourselves but by other instruments, in his wish to demonstrate God’s power to punish he indicates it in terms familiar to us . . . so that we may gain a more vivid impression of his punishing. . . . Why, then, does he say this here? In these rather materialistic terms he shows his operation, through which he set the world on its course, through which he brought the war to an end and set up the trophy. It was a harsh war, after all, more bitter than all wars, not against savages in battle but against the demons exercising their wiles and destroying the whole world.

By sword he means the cross, using it just like a sword. He hangs amid two enemies, namely, the devil and death. By thigh he means the flesh, using the part for the whole. . . . He says the cross girds itself with the flesh, being powerful in appearance and beauty, so that by this (i.e., his humanity) he takes up our suffering; and by that (i.e., his divinity) he overcomes suffering, as if to have no part in it. We may be able to understand appearance and beauty as mercy. For there is nothing so fitting of God than to deliver his special creation. And bend the bow against the enemies, and prosper the faithful, and rule everywhere, so you may subdue the enemies; you may crown the faithful, because this is fitting of a judge and king.

The sword separates the spirit from evil and the mind from ignorance, destroying the old man and making him new in Christ.

It is therefore clear from this that he is not speaking of a human being as king: no human being exercises such zeal for bringing about the kingdom in himself and uses weapons and all such things so as to teach gentleness to his own; on the contrary, he is concerned to gain power, and wipe out the opposition and in every way make his own people fearsome to the enemy.

All other people, you see, exercise royal power by making war so as to gain cities or wealth, or because of enmities or vainglory. God, by contrast, acts not for any of these things but for the sake of truth, to plant it on earth; and for the sake of gentleness, to make those who are more savage than wild beasts become gentle; and for the sake of righteousness, to make those who are in thrall to lawlessness become righteous, first from grace, and second from good deeds.

What was being achieved was in fact fearful and productive of terror: death was destroyed, hell was broken asunder, paradise was opened, heaven was thrown open, demons were shackled, the lower regions were mingled with the upper, God became human, a human being is seated on the kingly throne, hope in resurrection dawned, expectation reached beyond death, ineffable good things were enjoyed, and all other good things he achieved by his coming. . . . The Septuagint, [by contrast], reads, Your right hand will guide you in marvelous fashion, that is to say, we should marvel not only at what is achieved but at the fact that it is achieved in surprising fashion: through death is death destroyed, through a curse is a curse lifted and blessing bestowed, through eating were we lately expelled, through eating we have once again been admitted. A maiden expelled us from paradise, through a maiden we find eternal life. What was the means of our being condemned becomes the means of our being crowned.

To what human being would he apply this achievement or the magnitude of what is described? To whom would he apply the verse Your right hand will guide you in marvelous fashion when the divine Scripture consistently says of all the righteous that it is with God’s help that they acquire strength?

The sharp arrows of the Mighty One are the well-aimed words that touch the hearts of the hearers, striking and wounding their keenly perceptive souls.

His meaning is, direct well-aimed words, like arrows, at the hearts of the listeners, and as a result all peoples will be subjected to you as well (using a metaphor of people wounding with arrows and subjecting the wounded). He means, your arrows are so effective that not only will they subject disciples but also fall on enemies and bring them into subjection.

Do you see the successful outcome of the war? The submission of those previously rebellious? The instruction? The catechesis? Their very fall and submission to him, you see, are for everyone the basis and foundation of their exaltation. In fact, having delivered them from their folly and empty conceit and from the demons’ error, he subjected them to himself.

The psalm goes on to explain where this falling occurs: in the heart. There they exalted themselves against Christ, and there they fall before Christ. . . . They were your enemies, they were wounded by your arrows, and they fell before you. So from enemies they were transformed into friends; your enemies died, and your friends live.

The prophetic word afterwards teaches the nature of God the Word incarnate himself . . . that he is God and eternal king, not having had a beginning and not due to have an end. This is what forever suggests.

By throne here he means not simply throne but kingship. He calls it eternal here, but elsewhere elevated: I saw the Lord seated on an elevated throne,^[1] Scripture says. And again: Because your throne is elevated. Another author . . . contemplates him seated on a throne of glory,^[2] whereas David presents also a throne of lovingkindness: Mercy and judgment the foundation of his throne.^[3] Now, all of these references are to his kingship, that it is everlasting (this is the meaning of for ages of ages), that it is in high esteem, that it is elevated, that it is powerful and mighty. Also that it has no beginning, when he says, Your kingdom a kingdom of all ages.^[4]

How is it that this throne will stand forever and ever? Because it is God’s. . . . O eternal Godhead! God could not possibly have a temporary throne.

That is to say, your kingdom is beyond the ages and older than all thought.

Even before he became man, he was King and Lord everlasting, being image and word of the Father.

Immediately he proceeded to say also a rod of equity, which suggests correctness and justice in prosecution. Such an expression, however, seems not applicable to a human being—at least such an expression occurs nowhere in reference to a human being—whereas it is applicable to God, of whom he says also in another place, He will judge the world in righteousness; he will judge peoples in rectitude, and elsewhere, Good and upright is the Lord, and Because the word of the Lord is upright.^[1]

It is a scepter of righteous rule because it guides us aright. People were bent, distorted, they wanted regal power for themselves, they were in love with themselves, they cherished their own evil ways. They did not submit their wills to God but sought to bend the will of God to their own lusts. . . . You must straighten yourself to fit his will, not attempt to bend his to suit you. You cannot anyway. Your effort is futile, because his will is always perfectly straight. Do you want to be united with him? Then allow yourself to be corrected. Then it will be his rod or scepter that rules you, his scepter of righteous rules. . . . Draw near to this scepter and let Christ be your king, allow this scepter to rule you, because otherwise it may break you; it is an iron rod, and inflexible. . . . Some it rules, others it breaks; it rules the spiritual but breaks the carnal. Come near to this scepter, then.

These words also show clearly that he who did all things [God the Father] testified that he [Jesus] is to be worshiped both as God and Christ.

The Spirit designates both [of them] by the name of God—both him who is anointed as Son and him who does anoint, that is, the Father.

God is anointed by God. In Latin it looks as though the word God is just repeated in the nominative case, but in Greek the distinction is perfectly clear: one name belongs to the person addressed, the second to the person who addresses him. . . . You have to accept this and understand the verse in this way, because it is quite clear in the Greek. . . . God was anointed by God, and when you hear the word anointed, understand that it means Christ, for Christ is derived from chrism, and the name Christ means Anointed one.

This ointment mentioned was nothing common or earthly, nothing resembling that ordained by the Mosaic law, fashioned of corruptible matter, with which it was the custom to anoint Hebrew priests and kings.

Christ was not anointed by people with oil or material ointment, but the Father, having before appointed him to be the Savior of the whole world, anointed him with the Holy Spirit. . . . As he was anointed with an ideal oil of gladness, that is, with the Holy Spirit, called oil of gladness, because he is the author of spiritual gladness, so you were anointed with ointment, having been made partakers and fellows of Christ.

The flesh of the Lord was anointed with the true anointing, by the coming of the Holy Spirit into it, which was called the oil of gladness. And he was anointed above his fellows; that is to say, all people who are members of Christ. Therefore, a certain partial sharing of the Spirit was given to them, but the Holy Spirit descending on the Son of God, as John says, abode on him.^[1]

Christ, to be sure, was nowhere anointed with oil but with the Holy Spirit. For this reason he added beyond your companions to indicate this very fact, that no one was like him.

You have been anointed with the oil of gladness above your fellow people, above your apostles. You possess the font of unction; they, the drops.

God anoints him before his own people with the oil of joy. Just as he appeared before humankind incarnate and perfect, Christ appeared anointed with oil before all Christians. There were many righteous people from Abel to Christ, but none born of a virgin, none of this appearance, this form. Who is like our God among the children of God? Let us, children pleasing to him, listen to this one, anointed with oil of anointing, as angels worshiped, the stars sang out and the prophets prophesied. As John was fearing, the skies opened, the Father called from heaven, and the Spirit descended from the heavens and remained on him. It is Christ, the first before the partakers who share this name.

On the one hand, he separated the natures by uttering definite statements of different ideas (there being a great difference between Your throne, O God, is forever and ever and Hence, God your God anointed you), and on the other hand, he gave a glimpse of the union by saying this of one person.

He was also anointed in the all-holy Spirit, not as God but as a human being: as God he was of one being with the Spirit, whereas as a human being he receives the gifts of the Spirit like a kind of anointing. Thus he loved righteousness and hated lawlessness: this is a matter of intentional choice, not of natural power, whereas as God he has a rod of equity as the rod of his kingship.

He was anointed above his fellows, because all we people first exist as sinners and afterwards are sanctified through the unction of the Holy Spirit. But he who, existing as God before the ages, was conceived as man through the Holy Spirit in the Virgin’s womb at the end of the ages was there anointed by the same Spirit, even where he was conceived. Nor was he first conceived and afterwards anointed; but to be conceived by the Holy Spirit of the flesh of the Virgin was itself to be anointed by the Holy Spirit.

He is here anointed, not that he may become God, for he was so even before, or that he may become King, for he had the kingdom eternally, existing as God’s image, as the sacred Oracle shows; but for our sake is this written.

The word therefore does not imply the reward of virtue or conduct in the Word but the reason why he came down to us. It indicates that the Spirit’s anointing took place in him for our sakes. For he does not say, Therefore he anointed you so that you will be God or King or Son or Word, for he was already such before and is forever . . . ; but rather, Since you are God and King, therefore you were anointed, since none but you could unite humanity to the Holy Spirit, you the image of the Father, in which we were made in the beginning; for even the Spirit is yours. For the nature of things originate could give no warranty for this, angels having transgressed and people disobeyed. Therefore there was need of God; and the Word is God, that he himself might set free those who had come under a curse. If then he was of nothing, he would not have been the Christ or Anointed, being one among others and having fellowship as the rest. But, since he is God, being the Son of God, and is everlasting King and exists as radiance and expression of the Father, therefore he is rightly the expected Christ, whom the Father announces to humankind, by revelation to his holy prophets; that as through him we have come to be, so also in him all people might be redeemed from their sins and by him all things might be ruled. And this is the reason for the anointing that took place in him, and of the incarnate presence of the Word, which the psalmist foreseeing, celebrates, first his Godhead and kingdom, which is the Father’s, in these tones, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom; then announces his descent to us thus, Wherefore God, even your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

God, his God, has anointed him with the oil of gladness above his companions in order that he may deign to make us also companions of that anointing of his, that is, sharers of spiritual grace.

He himself promised the favor of the same holy anointing to his companions,^[1] . . . that is, to the faithful; and he sent what he had promised, as we know, not long after.

Just as on hearing reference to bow and sword and all those similar things you do not take them in a material way, so on hearing mention of myrrh and cassia you would not think of them in a material way but at an intellectual level.

The sweet odor of Christ gives forth the fragrance of myrrh because of his passion, and of aloes because he did not remain motionless and inactive for three days and three nights but descended to the lower world to distribute the graces of the resurrection. . . . And it breathes forth the fragrance of cassia, a very delicate and fragrant bark, . . . because of the suffering of the cross undertaken in kindness to every creature. Therefore, you have myrrh because of burial; aloes, because of the passage down to the lower world (since every drop is borne downward); and cassia, because of the dispensation of the flesh on the wood. . . . And these aromatic herbs, he says, are not sparingly present in the garments of Christ (that is to say, the parable of the sermons and the preparation of the doctrines) but are brought from all the buildings. He says that the largest of the dwellings are houses and that these are constructed of ivory, because the prophet is teaching, I think, the wealth of the love of Christ for the world.

In his wish to imply both the passion and the glory of the passion he says myrrh, resin, and cassia from your garments, suggesting by myrrh the passion, and by mention of resin and cassia implying the fragrance and splendor of the passion, as if to say, Even the passion itself, which affects your temple, will be accompanied by great fragrance and glory, with the result that the fragrance from it will spread to the whole world, as the apostle also says: We are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.^[1] Now, he did well to mention myrrh and associate it with the phrase from your garments for us to understand the divinity to be free of suffering.

By buildings he means houses, and by ivory the splendor of the houses, by this implying the churches. So his intention is to say that after the death of Christ splendid and beautiful temples will be erected to him, like the churches to be seen in our day.

The queen . . . is the soul that is joined with the Word, its Bridegroom; not subjected by sin but sharing the kingdom of Christ, it stands on the right hand of the Savior in gilded clothing, that is to say, adorning itself charmingly and religiously with spiritual doctrines, interwoven and varied.

What can be fairer than a soul that is called the daughter of God and that seeks for itself no outward adorning. She believes in Christ, and dowered with this hope of greatness, makes her way to her spouse, for Christ is at once her bridegroom and her Lord.

When these kings preach and spread the gospel, many souls are born to them, and all these souls are the daughters of kings.. . . The daughters of kings can also be taken to represent the cities that have believed in Christ and were founded by kings. . . . They are no longer seeking to promote the reputation of their city fathers but are concerned to honor you . . . they have found favor with their true King and come to do him honor. And from all of them is formed one single queen.

The church is in attendance on you, he is saying, on your right; that is, it will always be assembled for you. The church is always assembled in union with him both in purpose and in the grace of rebirth, just as members and body are with the head, as the apostle says in one place, You are the body of Christ and individually members of it.^[1] . . . For this reason, at your right hand was well put, as if to say by way of underlining the honor stemming from the more important member. [The church] is in attendance on you, enjoying the greatest honor from you. . . . clothed in much adornment. So while it was vouchsafed the dignity of sonship and called and made body of Christ, it was clothed in the greatest adornment, the beauty of the spiritual graces: the marvels performed through the saints were like a kind of golden and marvelous adornment, bringing splendor to the believers in Christ, who composed the church.

The church was formed from pagans and Jews, so he does well to say Forget your people and your father’s house, meaning idolatry and observance of the law, practicing instead a new life by grace.

The reference is not to beauty of body, since he says it arises from obedience to him. Obedience, however, gives rise not to beauty of body but to beauty of soul. If you do this, he says, note, then you will be beautiful, then you will be desirable to the groom.

What beauty is this, if not what he himself created in her? He has desired beauty, but whose? The beauty of a sinner, a wicked, ungodly woman, as she was in the house of her father the devil, and among her own people? No, no; but the beauty of the bride described in the Song of Songs: Who is this who comes up washed in white?^[1] She was not white before, but now she has been washed pure white, as the Lord promises through a prophet: Even if your sins are brilliant red, I will wash you white as snow.^[2] . . . The King you are marrying is God; he provides you with your portion, by him you are adorned, by him redeemed, by him healed. Whatever you have in you that can please him, you have as his gift.

Do not seek to please the eyes of human beings but seek not to offend the eyes of Christ. Let him see in you what he loves; let him find what he gave; let him recognize that by which he is delighted. The king will desire your beauty, but all the glory of the king’s daughter is within.

By progressing in virtue and attaining to better things, reaching forth to those things that are before,^[1] according to the word of the blessed Paul, we rise ever to . . . spiritual beauty, so that to us too it may be said hereafter, The king greatly desired your beauty.

You do not make God, but God makes you. If, then, you are God’s workmanship, await the hand of your Maker that creates everything in due time; in due time as far as you are concerned, whose creation is being carried out. Offer to him your heart in a soft and tractable state, and preserve the form in which the Creator has fashioned you, having moisture in yourself, lest, by becoming hardened, you lose the impressions of his fingers. But by preserving the framework you shall ascend to that which is perfect, for the moist clay that is in you is hidden [there] by the workmanship of God. His hand fashioned your substance; he will cover you over [too] within and without with pure gold and silver, and he will adorn you to such a degree that even the king himself shall have pleasure in beauty. . . . For creation is an attribute of the goodness of God; but to be created is that of human nature. If, then, you shall deliver up to him what is yours, that is, faith toward him and subjection, you shall receive his handiwork and shall be a perfect work of God.

The inspired author, forebearing to mention the whole world, refers to the neighboring city, which at that time was in the grip of impiety, the devil’s stronghold, with an awful reputation for extravagance, and he thus implies the whole from the part.

Tyre was a neighbor to the land where prophecy flourished, so Tyre symbolized the Gentiles who were to believe in Christ.

Within, he is saying, she has the comeliness of virtue and is resplendent with the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The visible beauty is not hidden, but that which is unseen is visible to God. All the glory of the king’s daughter is within, clothed with golden fringes, embroidered whether by actions or by contemplation.

By within he refers to the mind, and the words can refer only to not bodily beauty but virtue of soul. This, in fact, is the true glory of the devout, purity of conscience, for which they will be utterly conspicuous in the judge’s sight.

The spiritual garment is woven when the attendant action is interwoven with the word of doctrine. In fact, just as a bodily garment is woven when the woof is interwoven with the warp, so when the word is antecedent, if actions in accordance with the word should be produced, there would be made a certain most magnificent garment for the soul that possesses a life of virtue attained by word and action.

The queen who, chosen out of many, stands at the right hand of God, clothed in the golden ornament of virtue, whose beauty the King desired, is, as I said, the undefiled and blessed flesh, which the Word himself carried into the heavens and presented at the right hand of God, wrought about with many colors, that is, in the pursuits of immortality, which he calls symbolically golden fringes. This garment is variegated and woven of various virtues, as chastity, prudence, faith, love, patience, and other good things, which, covering as they do the unseemliness of the flesh, adorn humankind with a golden ornament.

The Lord, having been born the First-begotten of the dead and receiving into his bosom the ancient ancestors, has regenerated them into the life of God, he having been made himself the beginning of those that live, as Adam became the beginning of those who die.

The apostles, you recall, traversed the whole world and became rulers more masterful than all other rulers, more powerful than emperors. Emperors, after all, are in power while alive but on their death are no more, whereas the apostles exercise power at their death. And while emperors’ laws are in force within their own boundaries, the fishermen’s commands extend to every part of the world. The Roman emperor cannot legislate for the Persians, nor the Persian for the Romans, whereas these Palestinians passed laws for Persians, Romans, Thracians, Scythians, Indians, Moors and the whole world. The laws remained in force not only while they were alive but also after their death; and those subject to them would prefer to lose their life rather than abjure those laws.

Where he began, there he concluded—in Christ. . . . Because you have achieved so much, you have appointed such rulers, you have driven out evil, you have planted virtue, you have plighted your troth to our nature, you have performed these wonderful good things. All the world will offer you hymns of praise, not for a short time, not for ten, not twenty, not a hundred years, or in one part of the world, but earth and sea, both inhabited and uninhabited, will sing praise for all time, giving thanks for all the good things accomplished. For all these good things let us too give thanks to the loving Christ, through whom and with whom be the glory to the Father, together with Holy Spirit, now and forever, for ages of ages.