“The prophet Habakkuk gives this title to his canticle: "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet for ignorance." For he had spoken in a bold manner to the Lord and had said, "How long, O Lord, shall I cry, and you will not hear? Shall I cry to you 'suffering violence,' and you will not save? Why have you shown me iniquity and grievance, to see rapine and injustice before me? Judgment is done against me and opposition is more powerful. Therefore the law is torn to pieces, and judgment comes not to the end, because the wicked prevails against the just; therefore, wrong judgment goes forth." As a reproof to himself for having spoken these words through ignorance, he writes the Canticle of Penance. If ignorance were no sin, it was a futile effort on his part to compose a book of penance, and his desire to express sorrow over an act that was not a sin was an empty gesture.”

“With Him is nothing incomplete or out of due season, just as with the Father there is nothing incongruous. For all these things were foreknown by the Father; but the Son works them out at the proper time in perfect order and sequence. This was the reason why, when Mary was urging [Him] on to [perform] the wonderful miracle of the wine, and was desirous before the time to partake of the cup of emblematic significance, the Lord, checking her untimely haste, said, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come" -waiting for that hour which was foreknown by the Father. This is also the reason why, when men were often desirous to take Him, it is said, "No man laid hands upon Him, for the hour of His being taken was not yet come;" nor the time of His passion, which had been foreknown by the Father; as also says the prophet Habakkuk, "By this Thou shalt be known when the years have drawn nigh; Thou shalt be set forth when the time comes; because my soul is disturbed by anger, Thou shalt remember Thy mercy." Paul also says: "But when the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son." By which is made manifest, that all things which had been foreknown of the Father, our Lord did accomplish in their order, season, and hour, foreknown and fitting, being indeed one and the same, but rich and great. For He fulfils the bountiful and comprehensive will of His Father, inasmuch as He is Himself the Saviour of those who are saved, and the Lord of those who are under authority, and the God of all those things which have been formed, the only-begotten of the Father, Christ who was announced, and the Word of God, who became incarnate when the fulness of time had come, at which the Son of God had to become the Son of man.”

“The Father gave to the Son new disciples after Moses and Elijah had been exhibited along with him in the honor of his glory and had then been dismissed as having fully discharged their duty and office.… But we have the entire structure of this same vision in Habakkuk also, where the spirit in the person of some of the apostles says, "O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid." What speech was this, other than the words of the voice from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, hear him"? "I considered your works and was astonished." When could this have better happened than when Peter, on seeing his glory, knew not what he was saying? "In the midst of the two you shall be known"—even Moses and Elijah.”

“And we think that the expression also which occurs in the hymn of Habakkuk, "In the midst either of the two living things, or of the two lives, you will be known," ought to be understood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. For all knowledge of the Father is obtained by revelation of the Son through the Holy Spirit, so that both of these beings which, according to the prophet, are called either "living things" or "lives" exist as the grounds of the knowledge of God the Father. For it is said of the Son that "no one knows the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." The same also is said by the apostle of the Holy Spirit, when he declares, "God has revealed them to us by his Holy Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." And again in the Gospel, when the Savior speaks of the divine and profounder parts of his teaching, which his disciples were not yet able to receive, he thus addresses them: "I cannot bear them now; but when the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is come, he will teach you all things, and will bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." We must understand, therefore, that as the Son, who alone knows the Father, reveals him to whom he will, so the Holy Spirit, who alone searches the deep things of God, reveals God to whom he will: "For the Spirit blows where he lists." We are not, however, to suppose that the Spirit derives his knowledge through revelation from the Son.”

“When the sacred lesson was read just now, we heard that at the time when the twelve spies were sent to view the land of promise, two of them brought back on a lever to the children of Israel a bunch of grapes of wonderful size. Those two men can be understood in many ways, dearly beloved, for they are not unfittingly believed to have signified both the two Testaments and the two precepts whereby God and the neighbor are loved. They can, likewise, be understood both historically and allegorically. That they were a type of the two Testaments we know definitely from the fact that the grapes are read to have been brought between those two men, just as Christ our Lord is clearly recognized in the middle of the two Testaments. According to what is written, "In the middle of the two animals you will be known," that is, between the Old and New Testaments. When we read "in the middle," we are not to understand that Christ was between the New and Old Testaments in such a way that he was contained in neither one. This is not true, beloved brothers, but when it says, "In the middle of the two animals you will be known," we must realize that he is in the midst of the Old and New Testaments, that is, within in an interior and spiritual sense. This is not according to the letter, … but according to the spirit that vivifies all Christians who have spiritual understanding. Therefore "in the middle of the two animals you will be known" means in the inner sense of the New or Old Testaments.”

“"For mildness will come upon us, and we shall be corrected. Who knows the power of your anger, or can number your wrath for fear?" He now elaborates on his earlier statement: "the greatest number of them are labor and sorrow." He says that we must not go beyond the precepts of the law, for Jesus Christ, who is mildness perfected, comes upon us and corrects and improves us if we wantonly ignore his Testaments. Since he used the word corrected, he prefaced it with "mildness," so that we may realize that all the changes wrought by God in the faithful result from the application of devoted love. Next comes "Who knows the power of your anger or can number your wrath for fear?" Moses, who had experienced the severity of the Lord's response to his errant people when they roused him with incessant grumbling, rightly exclaims that no one's reckoning can measure his vengeance and that the potentialities of angry action open to him cannot be numbered. Observe in both instances that his boundless power is proclaimed, for just as the Lord's rewards cannot be understood in their fullness, likewise the measure of his vengeance cannot be grasped. He did well to add "for fear;" as another prophet remarks: "I have pondered your works and was afraid."”

“Lord, I heard Your report and feared. The report of the Lord the Savior is what He heard from the Father, that He would come in the flesh, be born into the world, dwell among the weak as the Almighty, among sinners as the Just, among men as God, perform heavenly works, teach heavenly precepts, promise heavenly gifts, be tempted, scourged, mocked, killed, and by His death destroy our death; rising from the dead, ascend into the heavens, and having sent the Spirit from above, illuminate the world with the grace of truth. Of this report He Himself frequently made mention in the Gospel, saying: "But He that sent me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him" (John 8:26). And again: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you" (John 15:15). Concerning this, John the Baptist also says: "He that comes from heaven is above all, and what He has seen and heard, that He testifies" (John 3:31). Therefore, the prophet heard this report of the Lord in spirit, and feared because he complained of the oppressions of the righteous in the world, while even the Lord Himself, who makes the prosperous journey for us to salvation and life, met with death's end in the world. He feared because he lamented over the tribulations of the saints, who are not only to be delivered from tribulations by the Lord but also to be crowned eternally with the Lord.”

“The third origin of the fear of the Lord is from the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance. Whence in Habakkuk: "Lord, I have heard your report and was afraid." He says: "I have heard your report and was afraid," namely, that report when it shall be said: "Depart, you cursed, into eternal fire." Not only in the day of tribulation or severity of the last judgment, but of any other judgment whatsoever, because the judgments of God are many.”

“And there are also some of them who say, "The Lord hath spoken in Zion, and uttered His voice from Jerusalem;" and, "In Judah is God known;" -these indicated His advent which took place in Judea. Those, again, who declare that "God comes from the south, and from a mountain thick with foliage," announced His advent at Bethlehem, as I have pointed out in the preceding book. From that place, also, He who rules, and who feeds the people of His Father, has come. Those, again, who declare that at His coming "the lame man shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall [speak] plainly, and the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear," and that "the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, shall be strengthened," and that "the dead which are in the grave shall arise," and that He Himself "shall take [upon Him] our weaknesses, and bear our sorrows," -[all these] proclaimed those works of healing which were accomplished by Him.”

“Habakkuk the prophet says, "God shall come from the south, and the holy one from the dark and dense mountain." Whom would they have come from the south? If they say that God the Father almighty came, then God the Father came from a place; consequently, he is also enclosed by space and contained within the limits of some abode. Thus the sacrilegious heresy of Sabellius, as we said, takes concrete form because of these people who believe that Christ is not the Son but the Father. It is strange how these heretics, while insisting that Christ is a mere man, make an about-face and acknowledge that Christ is the Father, God almighty.”

“(Verse 3) God will come from the South, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. LXX: God will come from Teman, and the Holy One from the dark and thickly wooded mountain. Diapsalma. Aquila and Symmachus, and the fifth edition, set forth the Hebrew itself in Teman (): only Theodotion interpreted what Teman meant, saying, 'God will come from the South, and the holy one from Mount Paran, to the end.' From this we understand that the reading of the Seventy is from the dark and thickly wooded mountain. But even this, which the Seventy translated as 'psalm', and we have retained, forever; Symmachus interpreted as 'eternity'; Theodotion, 'to the end'; the fifth edition has the Hebrew 'Sela'. Therefore, God will come from the South, that is, from the South, from the clear light, and from those who are called the sons of days. Hence, in the Song of Songs, the bridegroom drives away the north wind and calls the south wind, saying: Arise, o North wind, and come, o South wind, blow through my garden, and let my spices flow (Song of Songs IV, 16). God is always in the midday: Where, he says, do you graze? Where do you lie down? in the midday (Ibid., I, 6). And to Abraham when he was under the oak, God did not come except in the midday (Gen. XVIII and XLIII). And Joseph, who foreshadowed the Savior, makes a meal for his brothers at midday. Therefore, the recognition of God the Father comes to those who are worthy in full light. And the recognition of the Holy One, that is, the Son of God, comes from the shady and thick mountain. The shady and dense mountain, or rather the Father himself, is understood to be full of virtues and all wisdom, protecting all things with his majesty, and spreading his wings, and cherishing his children; or certainly a paradise and heaven full of angels, full of virtues, full of abundant trees. And I wish that it may also happen to me, that God may come to my voice and my exposition in clear light, and his Son, of whom it is written: 'Be holy, for I am holy' (Lev. 20:26), from the lofty and dense eloquence, and the intertwining testimonies of the Scriptures from here and there, and as the Father and the Son come together, may their listener be made their dwelling, and may the Scripture be fulfilled, saying: 'I and my Father will come to him, and we will make our dwelling with him' (John 14:23). But because it is written in Hebrew as the shady and dense mountain, it is interpreted as the mountain Pharan, and Pharan means the mouth of the seer: fittingly, according to our interpretation, the knowledge of the Son comes in the eloquent speech of a learned man, and not just any speech, but one that is full of light, full of eyes, so that it may be clearly and purely conveyed to the ears of the listeners. And by what he says about the mountain, understand sublime teachings. I have heard this Hebrew passage explain that Bethlehem is located to the South, where the Lord and Savior was born, and it is he about whom it is now said: The Lord will come from the South, that is, he will be born in Bethlehem and rise from there. And because he who was born in Bethlehem once gave the Law on Mount Sinai, he is the Holy One who came from Mount Paran: for Paran is adjacent to the mountain of Sinai. And what is inferred, diapsalma, that is, always, has meaning: he who was born in Bethlehem, and who in Sinai, that is, in Mount Paran, gave the Law, is always the author and giver of all past, present, and future benefits. In the Psalter, there is a more detailed discussion about the diapsalmate, which is called Sela in Hebrew. Also, according to the Septuagint, the diapsalmate is only found in the Psalter and in the present place. From this, we rightly understand that the song of prayer was marked by the Septuagint.”

“But tell us the other thing you were saying you were going to tell us. "The prophet," says he, "says God 'will come from Afric,' and now of course where the Afric is, there is Africa." Well, there's a fine testimony for you! God will come from the Afric, and from Africa God will come. The heretics are announcing another Christ who is born in Africa and goes through the world. I'm asking what it means, God will come from Africa. If you said, "God has only remained in Africa," you would certainly be saying something shameful enough. But now you also say, "He will come from Africa." We know where Christ was born, where he suffered, where he ascended into heaven, where he sent his disciples from, where he filled them with the Holy Spirit, where he instructed them to evangelize the whole world, and they complied, and the world is filled with the gospel. And you say, "God will come from Africa!" …So how does he come from "the shady mountain"? Read the Gospel once more: it was from the Mount of Olives that Christ ascended into heaven. Continue. And what could be clearer? You hear "from the Afric"; you have heard "from the shady mountain." We recite the law, we recite the Gospel; you have heard "beginning from Jerusalem"; now hear "throughout all the nations." In the same prophet continue with those words that you ignored, those words you left out.… "God will come from the Afric, and the Holy One from the shady mountain," that is, from the Mount of Olives, where he ascended into heaven, where he sent his disciples from, where he also said as he was about to ascend, "It is not for you to know the times which the Father has placed in his own power; but you will receive might from on high, and you will be witness to me … in Jerusalem, and in Judea and in Samaria, and as far as the whole earth."”

“God will come from Lebanon and the Holy One from the dense and dark mountain. Lebanon is the highest mountain of Phoenicia, notable for its lofty, incorruptible, and aromatic trees, from which the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem was also made, as Scripture testifies; hence in the Scriptures, sometimes even the temple itself is designated by the name of Lebanon. Hence, for instance, Zechariah speaks about the coming of the Chaldean army against it: "Open, O Lebanon, your gates, and let fire consume your cedars" (Zech. XI, 1). Therefore, God comes from Lebanon, because the Lord appearing in the flesh sowed the first seeds of the Gospel in that very temple, and from there filled the entire world with the seed of His faith and truth. Hence, Isaiah says, "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah II, 3). He sprinkled there the first seeds of faith not only through the apostles, who, filled with the Holy Spirit after His passion and resurrection, laid the first foundations of the Church there by preaching, whose sound then went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world (Psalm XVIII, 5); but also through Himself, first in that very temple giving testimony of the faith to be had in Him, sitting in the midst of the doctors when He was of tender age, asking them questions as a mere boy, but answering those teaching as God of eternal majesty; where, being sought and found by His parents, He Himself indicated that He was God and God's Son by saying: "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke II, 49). However, it should be noted that in the Hebrew truth this verse is as follows: "God will come from Teman," that is, from the South, which has an easy sense according to the letter, because Bethlehem, where the Lord was born, is situated to the south of Jerusalem. And when He was brought to Jerusalem by His parents on the fortieth day of His birth, that an offering might be made for Him according to the law, God indeed came from the South. And he says, "the Holy One from the dense and dark mountain." The Holy One, the same Mediator of God and men, who is plainly called God above, of whom Gabriel announcing to the Virgin Mother said: "Therefore, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke I, 35). The mountain from which the same Holy One is sung to come can be understood to mean the kingdom of the Jews, from which He took His fleshly origin. From which also Daniel saw the stone cut out without hands, that is, Christ begotten without the work of a man, who crushing the kingdoms of the world, would fill the whole world with the glory of His name (Dan. II, 45). This mountain is rightly called dense and dark; for it has many fruitful trees, that is, many holy men laden with the fruits of virtue, who both instruct our hunger with the sweetest taste of their doctrine, and with the shade of their intercession protect our frailty from being dried up by the heat of tribulations from the inner greenness of love. This fits figuratively with what the apostle Peter, certainly a distinguished tree of this mountain, not only refreshes the hungry and thirsty for righteousness with the fruit of doctrine but also saves the sick with the shadow of his body (Acts V, 15). These holy and sublime men can also be designated by the term "South," from whom God is said to come, on account of the fervent love with which they are usually enflamed in the Lord and the doctrine with which they enlighten men, from which South God came because He deigned to be incarnate from such men. From which South God comes daily, when, reading or hearing their words or examples, the love or knowledge of truth is more perfectly generated in our hearts.”

“What does the psalm have to say of the Savior? "As the beloved Son of unicorns." Our beloved Lord and Savior is the Son of the unicorns, the Son of the cross, of whom Habakkuk sings, "Rays shine forth from beside him, where his power is concealed." After this beloved Son was crucified, then, was fulfilled the prophecy of the psalm: "The voice of the Lord strikes fiery flames." For when Christ had been baptized and the entire universe had been purified in his cleansing, the fire of hell was extinguished.”

“His brightness will be like the light. The brightness of the virtues and the doctrine of the Lord and Savior will enlighten the believers; from which he is called the Sun of Righteousness in the Scriptures; but because the same brightness could not shine perfectly in the world unless he, having tasted death for a time, destroyed the kingdom of death, and rising from the dead granted the hope and faith of rising to the world, it is rightly added:”

“This fortitude is from God redeeming through the incarnation of the divine Word. By what is the soul redeemed? It is said in Habakkuk: "His splendor shall be as the light; horns are in his hands; there his fortitude is hidden." For "the weakness of God is stronger than men." The Son of God was made weak for our sake.”

“(Verse 5.) Before his face, death will go, and the devil will go forth before his feet. LXX: Before his face, the word will go, and it will go forth into the field behind his feet. For because we have translated death, in Hebrew three letters are placed, Daleth, Beth, Res, without any vowel, which if they are read as Dabar (), they signify word; if Deber, pestilence, which in Greek is called λοιμός. Finally, Aquila has interpreted it as Before his face, pestilence will go; Symmachus, Before his face, death will go ahead; the fifth edition, Before his face, death will walk; only the LXX and Theodotion have interpreted the word as death. And in the following verse, where we said, 'The devil will go out before his feet,' and the Seventy translated differently, according to whom we will discuss later: Aquila translated it as 'bird' instead of 'devil'; Symmachus and Theodotio, and the fifth edition, as 'bird,' which is called Reseph in Hebrew (). However, the Hebrews convey that, just as the prince of demons is called Beelzebub in the Gospel (Matthew 12): so Reseph is the name of a demon who holds authority among others, and because of his excessive speed and running in different directions, he is called a bird; and that he is the one who spoke to the woman in paradise in the form of a serpent, and received the name from the curse with which he was condemned by God: for Reseph, crawling on the belly, is interpreted. This is therefore what is said: immediately when the Lord came and was baptized in the Jordan, and the voice of the Father thundered at the descent of the dove: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt. III, 17), as the devil goes out from the waters, death will meet him and the ancient serpent will stand before him, who tempted him for forty days in the wilderness. But if we read according to the Septuagint, the word will go before him and come out into the fields behind his feet, this signifies that the word of God, before his visitation, which is now called his face allegorically, should precede and prepare the hearts of the believers: so that crooked things may be made straight, and uneven things may be made level, and the soul of the listener may be like a cultivated field, able to receive the spiritual seed.”

“The word will go before his face, and it went out into the fields. Before the Lord came in the flesh, the words of the prophets preceded, bearing witness to his coming; and these same words went out into the fields when, as the apostles preached, they were spread throughout the whole world: not only in the prophetic writings did the word of preaching precede the Lord, but also in the apostles, when they evangelized the world about the now accomplished advent of Christ in the flesh, the word went before his face, because obviously the doctrine of truth first reaches the ears of those who are to be taught, and then the faith and understanding of the Word enlightens hearts and makes them worthy for God to inhabit; this is typologically designated in the Gospel, when the Lord himself sent disciples to preach in every city and place to which he himself was about to come: which we see done in the same order even to this day; for the Lord follows his preachers, because the word of the teacher must first be heard, and thus the light of truth is established in the heart of the listener, whence it is aptly added:”

“(Verse 6.) He stood and measured the earth: he beheld, and scattered the nations, and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. For there are also other mountains and hills, which the bridegroom leaps upon and transgresses in the Song of Songs (Chapter 2), about which it is also said in the second psalm of degrees: I lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence shall my help come (Psalm 120, 1). But the mountains of the world themselves are also the dark mountains; concerning them Jeremiah commanded that our feet should not stumble upon them (Jeremiah 31). These are the hills in which Saul reigned when he killed the priests of God (I Samuel 22): for indeed Gabaa is interpreted as a hill. And the hills of the world were elegantly curved, he said. Before the coming of the Savior, they walked with their heads held high, and no one could humble their pride. But they were crushed and bent by the paths of His eternity, that is, God's, because His eternity deemed it worthy to come to us, either because He always came to the saints from the beginning of the world until His incarnation and became the Word of God in the hands of each of them, and He triumphed over all and bent His eternal journey, breaking the hills and mountains. These things should be said through metaphor, according to the Hebrew. Furthermore, according to the Septuagint, after the word of God has preceded, and has gone out into the open, God the Father comes there, where a royal preparation is made for his word, and he comes after the footsteps of his word, and he stands; never going before, but always waiting, so that he may prepare a way for himself. But when he stands by the footsteps of his word, immediately the earth, namely the works of flesh and bodies, unable to withstand the presence of God, are moved. And when they have been stirred up, the power of speech and the presence of God look upon all the nations of souls, whose thoughts and manifold opinions we are able to understand, which there are dissolved and wasted away. If anything has also exalted itself against the knowledge of God on earth, and has taken hold of the mind of the listener, it will be broken and crushed by this preceding speech and the coming of God. But when the mountains have been broken and crushed at the sight of God, the hills will be consumed by liquification and reduced to nothingness. For the mountains of God are not, but the mountains of the world. For the eternal journey of God, looking back at those things which His word precedes, will consume and destroy them more strongly than the hills of the world. Moreover, the mountains can also be understood as demons, who dwell in heretics and rise up against the knowledge of God. The hills are also other fortresses of demons, which make people admire the beauty of bodies, dignities, riches, nobility of birth, and other goods of the world. It is allowed to see after the advent of the word of God, and the presence of God the Father, how human souls are moved, and everything that is earthly is dissolved, and former thoughts are reduced to nothing. Then demons are destroyed, then the heights of the world are brought to nothing, and all knowledge of heretics, which was once swollen, is humbled, crushed, and consumed by the advent of the word of God. And what previously seemed beautiful and great is cast aside and considered small. And this happens because of the coming of God and the hospitality of Christ, as it is written elsewhere: I will dwell in them, and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Lev. XXVI, 12).”

“In all of what he said he conveyed to us the ineffable power of God: action follows his will, and by merely wishing it (the sense of "he took his position and looked down") he moves the earth, undoes human nature, splits open the mountains and melts the hills like wax. In fact, he has not ceased doing such things for people's benefit (by "passing" referring to his doings). Now in what is said he implies also the cross, which is the source of salvation for all people. On it Christ the Lord "took his position," shook the earth, moved and split open the mountains, struck with fear the hordes of demons, and destroyed their shrines on mountains and hills. While it was from the beginning and before the formation of the world that he so decided, it was in the last days that he accomplished it.”

“His feet stood, and the earth was moved. For when the steps of truth are impressed upon the minds of the listeners through the preaching doctor, soon the mind itself, troubled in its consideration, is moved. However, the feet of the Lord can not inconveniently be understood as the doctors themselves, through whom the word is ministered, for he who is present everywhere by himself is carried into the whole world through them as through his feet. These feet stand, and the earth is moved, because the more the holy doctors persist strongly in preaching and preserving the truth, the sooner the hearts of earthly people are struck to repent of their errors; and because this action of repentance should be attributed not to the human preacher but to illuminating grace, it is rightly added:”

“We meanwhile, exposed to the outbreaks of the barbarians and the storms of war, are tossing in the midst of troubles, and from these toils and dangers can only gather that those of our future life will be still more grievous. Wherefore that saying of the Prophet seems to accord with our condition, "I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction." For since I have now lived in the body fifty and three years, among the shadows of this world, whereby the truth of future perfection is obscured, and have already endured such heavy afflictions, am I not camping in the tents of Cushan, and having my habitation among the dwellers of Midian? For these, owing to their consciousness of their darksome works, dread being judged even by mortal men, "but he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man."”

“(Verse 7.) I have seen the tents of Ethiopia because of iniquity, the skins of the land of Midian will be troubled. LXX: I have seen the dwellings of the Ethiopians because of their labors; they will be afraid, and the dwellings of the land of Midian. The dark Ethiopians (or rather the darkest) and lovers of darkness, not belonging to any light, who feed on the flesh of the dragon (of whom it is written: You have given him as food to the peoples, to the Ethiopians, Ps. 73:14), are understood to be demons, whose dwelling place is made by anyone in this world who labors for honors and riches: which is significantly shown by one word of iniquity, for indeed every rich person or unjust person, or heir of the unjust, is such. See how men cross the seas: they stand guard at the doors before the powerful: they endure all that the condition of slaves barely allows, in order to gather riches, in order to obtain some dignity. And once they have achieved this, they surrender themselves to luxury and pleasures and all kinds of wickedness, so that what greed has gathered, extravagance may consume. Therefore, these people, for their efforts, become the dwelling place of demons, and those who should be the temple of God become the dwelling place of Ethiopians. But also this which follows: The skins of the land of Midian will be troubled, or they will fear and the tabernacles of the land of Midian, understand the same tabernacles of the Ethiopians, and the tabernacles of the land of Midian. For after they have become enriched, and have risen to the highest degree through right and wrong, then the conscience of their sins will always fear death, always judgment, and they will sigh for eternal punishments like thieves in prison sigh for a slight fever. But the word 'Madian' in our language signifies 'judgment', that is, condemnation, and it is shown that they always live in fear of eternal judgment and punishment, and endure daily torment, knowing that they deserve the torments.”

“The tents of the Ethiopians will be terrified, and the tents of the land of Midian. For who does not know that the Ethiopians and Midianites are peoples of the nations? By whose names all the nations of the Gentiles are hinted, who, upon hearing the preaching of the gospel, would be shaken with a healthy fear, so that just as the prophet heard the future report of the Lord and feared, considered the future works of His incarnation, and trembled, so the nations, upon hearing the same report through the apostles, and with His works already accomplished, would begin to serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. And appropriately, he first mentioned the Ethiopians, who are at the ends of the world, to mystically indicate that the sound of the preachers would go out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In this mystery, the eunuch of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, as it is read in the Acts of the Apostles, the first fruits of the Gentiles, with Philip evangelizing, received the faith and sacraments of Christ. The people of the Midianites, however, descended from one of the sons of Abraham from Keturah, who was called Midian, and is in the desert of the Saracens towards the east of the Red Sea in Arabia. Therefore, let the Ethiopians fear the name of Christ, so that His faith may be signified as reaching the ends of the world. Let the Midianites also fear, thus indicating that the Mediterranean peoples too may be saved through this. But that he did not say: The Ethiopians and Midianites will be terrified, but the tents of the Ethiopians will be terrified, and the tents of the land of Midian, is said in that manner of speech, as it is said in the Gospel: And the whole city went out to meet Jesus; and in the psalm: And your cup intoxicating (Psalm 21:5), while it was not the city itself, but those who were in the city, who went out; nor was it the cup itself, but that which is in the cup that is accustomed to intoxicate: this figure of speech is called metonymy in Greek, that is, transnomination, when through that which contains, that which is contained is shown.”

“"He cast forth horse and rider into the sea; he became my helper and protector in salvation." The men who pursue us are horses, and, so to speak, all who have been born in the flesh are figuratively horses. But these have their own riders. There are horses that the Lord mounts, and they go around all the earth, of whom it is said, "And your cavalry is salvation." There are horses, however, who have the devil and his angels as riders. Judas was a horse, but as long as he had the Lord as his rider he was part of the cavalry of salvation. Having been sent with the other apostles indeed, he gave health to the sick and wholeness to the weak.But when he surrendered himself to the devil—for "after the morsel, Satan entered him"—Satan became his rider, and when he was guided by his reins he began to ride against our Lord and Savior. All, therefore, who persecute the saints, are neighing horses, but they have evil angels as riders by whom they are guided and therefore are wild. If, then, you ever see your persecutor raging very much, know that he is being urged on by a demon as his rider and therefore is fierce and cruel.”

“"Chariots and steeds lay stilled." Let us examine this verse in its tropological significance. At last Pharaoh mounted his steeds, sank into sleep and perished. The Egyptians too had steeds, but they perished. That is the reason for the prescription found in the law that no Hebrew should possess a horse. Solomon, you recall, had no horses from Jerusalem or Judea but bought some from Egypt. Horses are always for sale in Egypt. "Some are strong in chariots; some in horses; but we are strong in the name of the Lord, our God." They, in truth, who mounted horses slumbered and perished. Our Lord has horses too, and he has shining mountains besides, whereas the devil's mountains are full of darkness. Now just as there are bright mountains and dark mountains, there are good horses and again bad horses. We have made a few remarks about bad horses; let us say something about good horses. When horsemen came to Elisha to arrest him and the servant boy went out and saw an army of Assyrians round about the city, Elisha said, "Fear not: for there are more with us than with them." A little further on in Kings it says, "Lord, open the eyes of your servant that he may see." And when his eyes had been opened, he saw chariots and horses. These were helpmates. You notice that it says "chariots and horses." There were no men on the horses, only chariots and horses, in other words a multitude of angels. They were the chariots and they were the horses; the charioteer was the Lord. That is why the prophet Habakkuk sings, "Your chariots are salvation." This is said to God. O, if only we too were God's horses, and God deigned to ride us! But those other horses slept their long sleep and their charioteers with them.”

“Is your wrath against the rivers, O Lord, or your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea? By the term "rivers" and "sea," the hearts of the unbelievers are signified, which are rightly called rivers because they flow downwards with the whole force of their intention; the sea, because they are darkened within by turbulent and bitter thoughts, and they exalt themselves above others with swollen waves of arrogance. Therefore he asks, did those who sink their minds from heavenly desires into the appetite for lowly things, and those who, unstable with pride in their spirits, raise themselves against their neighbors, sin so grievously that the deserved wrath in such people should never be lifted? Or will you bestow the grace of your mercy on all those around the world sinning in either a lighter or graver manner as it appears in the world? For indeed I see that you are going to send apostles to proclaim your glory to the nations; but who will believe is known by you, not by human knowledge. This is what follows:”

“Stretching, you extend your bow over scepters, says the Lord. The bow signifies the sudden coming of the divine judgment, by which he foresaw that even scepters, that is, the kingdoms of the world, should be examined. Therefore, the prophet insinuates what the Lord, ascending on his horses, that is, filling and ruling the apostles and their successors with his grace, does among them: Stretching, he says, you extend your bow over scepters, that is, by threatening through the teachers, you will threaten that your judgment will come suddenly, so that whoever is terrified at the threat of wrath, as at an extended bow, and takes care to supplicate to your piety, will not feel the release of the arrows, that is, the threat of eternal punishments. But when he added, stretching, you extend your bow over scepters, he added: Says the Lord, he signifies God the Father, about whom the Son himself says: The Father, he says, judges no one; but has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22).”

“(Verse 10) You will split the rivers of the earth. LXX: The earth will be split by rivers. Because the Lord has stirred up his bow, in order to fulfill the oaths he spoke to the tribes, it is subsequently said, you will split the rivers of the earth, which means that the kings of the earth who fight against your people, you will divide and scatter. According to the Septuagint, which says, The earth will be split by rivers, let us first consider this example, so that we can proceed to higher things as if in steps. We read in those who have written volumes about wonders, and who have brought the Olympic Games of Greece down to our own memory, explaining what new things happened in each year in the world, namely that among other things rivers have burst forth from the movement of the earth, which were not there before, and on the other hand other rivers have been swallowed up and have disappeared: namely, that all the veins of the earth, just as blood does in the human body, contain hidden waters which are broken open by the shaking of the earth, and they remain as rivers. If we understand this, let us see that the human soul naturally contains waters and rivers, and our compassion, which are hidden and do not flow. But when it is shaken by the preaching of God's word and moved from its previous state, then what was hidden bursts forth and flows for the refreshment of those who drink. I believe that this is what is also signified in Genesis by the wells dug by Isaac's servants, which were buried in the land by the Philistines (Genesis 26). As long as Abraham is alive, his wells are not closed; but when he dies and the wells are closed, if the servants dig, the Philistines object, and there is a dispute. But if Isaac himself comes and digs a well and finds water, the Philistines cannot object. Look at Peter and Paul, and you will not doubt about the wells and rivers of Christ. Observe all the apostles, and you will understand that not four rivers, but twelve rivers flow out of the paradise of the Scriptures. These rivers were hidden before the earth was moved, and when they were in the veins of the earth, they did not provide cups for the thirsty. But after the coming of Christ, the world and all the earth were shaken, they suddenly burst forth, and then it was fulfilled: He turned rivers into a desert, and the exits of water into thirst, fruitful land into salt marsh, because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it (Psalm 33). He turned a desert into pools of water, and a waterless land into fountains of water, and there he made the hungry to dwell, and they built a city to inhabit. For when the Lord came into the world, and that which he said in the Gospel was fulfilled: 'I came into this world for judgment, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind' (John 9:39): then the land of Israel, from which rivers used to flow forth and water the entire Jewish people, became dry and its springs were blocked up. But the entire world, which was once deserted and sterile and did not have the waters of the Lord's preaching, turned into marshes of water, and as many teachers as it sent forth, so many springs it had. It was not enough for them to irrigate the peoples of the world with fountains and rivers; but in each province, gathering together those who were hungry and suffering from the hunger for the word of God, they built the Church, which is called the city to dwell in, and which is made joyful by the rushing of the river.”

“The waters shall see you, and the nations shall mourn. Indeed, the hearts of sinners, broken to the acknowledgment and confession of the truth by the frequent exhortation of teachers, as if by the flood of frequent torrents, see God for now through faith, and lament that they have been separated from Him for so long by their guilt; yet when their sorrow of repentance is ended, they see Him more fully in the future by sight, and rejoice forever in the blessed vision of Him. It can also be understood in this way that it is said the earth will be split by rivers, as if it were said that the earth is to be split so that newly formed rivers might arise from it—a phenomenon often recounted in ancient histories, namely, that, when an earthquake occurs, rivers that were not there appear. Whoever understands prudently does not doubt that this can happen, because the earth is as full of countless water veins as the human body is full of blood veins; according to this perception, the earth is split by rivers when a carnal conscience, broken to repentance, progresses so much over time with the help of divine grace that it can also bring forth streams of doctrines to others, watering the parched hearts of others with its example or words to bear the fruits of virtues.”

“LXX: The sun was lifted up, and the moon stood in its place. If we follow a simple interpretation, the progress of the sun and moon is shown by the words at hand: that, according to Isaiah, in the future age the sun will shine sevenfold in light, and the moon will shine with the brightness of the sun (Isaiah XXX, 26). For since the creature will be set free from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Romans VIII), which is now subjected to vanity, because of the one who subjected it in hope of freedom, when at the consummation of the world every creature will be set free, the sun and the moon will also be set free, and they will stand in their place. But if we desire to receive Christ, the sun of justice, in whose wings is health, and the moon, which is illuminated by the splendor of this sun, as the Church: it is not difficult to say that the true light, the light of men, and the splendor of the glory of God, and the splendor of eternal light, may illuminate it: which now in this age may increase and decrease according to prosperities and trials. But when the sun will be exalted, and, according to the Apostle, God will exalt it, and give it a name above every name (Philippians 2): then also the Church, which in the present age cannot maintain its order, will return to its rightful order, and will not be changed; but will stand firm in its position, and will hear with Moses: But you stand here with me (Exodus 34:2).”

“And the prophet Habakkuk proclaims the ascension of Christ and the strength of the ecclesiastical order under the titles of the sun and the moon: "The sun raised high its hands; the moon stood still in its exalted place." So the heart of each of the faithful is not improperly called a spiritual sun terrace, because it is illumined for its salvation by the rays of that sun above. Therefore Rahab the harlot hid those spies of Joshua on the terrace of her house. That is, she kept them in the upper parts because of the deep love of a heart illumined by spiritual knowledge so that she might sing this prophetic word by the truth of her deed: "I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you."”

“Concerning this glory of His Ascension, Habakkuk also says, "The sun was lifted up, and the moon stood in its order." For who is designated by the name of sun except the Lord, and who by the name of moon except the Church? For until the Lord ascended to heaven, His holy Church utterly feared the adversities of the world; but after it was strengthened by His Ascension, it openly preached what it secretly believed. Therefore the sun was lifted up, and the moon stood in its order, because when the Lord sought heaven, His holy Church grew in the authority of preaching.”

“The sun was raised, and the moon stood in its place. For the sun, the Lord of righteousness, was raised to heaven after his passion and resurrection, and having sent the Spirit from the Father, he illuminated the Church and spread it through the whole world, so that it might stand in its place, that is, after the mystery of the Lord's incarnation was fulfilled, rising from a long languor of infidelity, standing in faith, acting manfully, and being strengthened in his love. And because he had aptly compared Christ to the sun and the Church to the moon, he immediately subjected it to the same sun.”

“As indeed a cloud rises aloft in order that it may rain down, so does Christ ascend in order that He may grant His gifts. The sun has been lifted up, and the moon remained in its shelter. For at first He had given the Holy Spirit to the world in a secret way, but He did it manifestly after He had ascended on high, for this Holy Spirit was the cleansing, enlightening, and perfecting Hierarch, and the Holy Spirit came down into the heavenly and sub-heavenly hierarchies.”

“LXX: In the threat, you will approach the earth, and in anger, you will drag away the nations. This can be understood as occurring at the end of the world, when, through frequent wars, a great multitude is killed, and few people are found, and those who did not want to be part of God's people, but remained as nations and foreigners, are led to Tartarus by the anger of the Lord. But it is better to interpret the threat to the earth as a diminution of earthly works, and those who are established in the Church, not waiting for sinners, are corrected by the anger of the Lord; but hearing in the Scriptures the punishments that await sinners, they repent, and gradually diminish their earthly desires, and advance towards heaven. If anyone of us fears the threatening of the Lord, to him the earth is diminished: but he who perseveres in the number of the nations, and does not want to be among those whose land decreases, nor of the people of God, of whom it is said: They shall see thee, and shall bear children, this one shall be taken away in punishment with the nations.”

“In your threatening, you will humble the earth, and in your fury, you will bring down nations. By threatening the severity of judgment by which the wicked are condemned, you will healthily humble those who were accustomed to place earthly things before heavenly things, so that, with earthly desires gradually diminished, they might begin to understand and seek what is above; and by inflicting fury, you will condemn forever those who, in their obstinate exaltation, despised being humbled for a time, which the Psalmist prays might not happen to him, saying: "O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor chasten me in your wrath" (Psalm 6:2).”

“LXX: You went out for the salvation of your people, to save your anointed ones. First, let us see how many anointed ones there are, and then we will discuss how the Lord went out for the salvation of his anointed ones. The anointed ones in the Old Testament were called Christ and patriarchs, about whom it is written in the Psalms: He rebuked kings for their sake: 'Do not touch my anointed ones, and do not harm my prophets' (Psalm 105:14-15). And in the first book of Chronicles, all those who came out of Egypt are called anointed ones. The anointing oil in Exodus (Ch. XXX) is also used for the priestly consecration, which is later mentioned in Leviticus (Ch. VIII) when the anointed priests are referred to. There is another anointing oil used for anointing kings in the kingdom, which is divided into two. If it is David or Solomon, that is, one who is strong in hand and peaceful (I Sam. XVI), the horn is anointed. But if it is Jehu or Hazael, they are drenched with lentil (II Kings IX and XIX): and the vessel in which it is carried is called fictile, that is, φακός. But even Cyrus, the king of the Persians and the Medes, who released the people from captivity (although many may err and think that it refers to the Lord Savior), is mentioned in Isaiah: Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to make the nations listen before him (Isaiah 45:1), etc. And at the end it is said: But you did not know me, which is blasphemous to understand about the Savior. It is the prophetic ointment, with which Elijah is commanded to anoint Elisha as a prophet (1 Kings 19). And above all kinds of ointments, there is a spiritual ointment called the oil of gladness, with which the Savior is anointed, and it is said to Him: Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Psalm 44:8). And I consider those to be His companions to whom John speaks: And you have an anointing from the Holy One (1 John 2:20). And a little later: These things I have written to you concerning those who deceive you: And the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; but as the anointing teaches you about all things, and it is true, and it is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in Him (ibid., 26, 27). So that those who have lost the anointing of baptism may not despair of receiving the anointing, it is written in Leviticus: When a leper who has been cast out of the camp comes to the priest and his leprosy is cleansed, the priest shall take in his left hand some olive oil and with his right finger sprinkle it seven times before the Lord. The priest shall then touch with the same oil the ear of the one who was a leper, as well as his right hand, his right foot, and the remainder of the oil he shall pour on his head (Leviticus 14). And when he has properly completed all these things: then let him offer a burnt offering for himself, and let him be called the Christ of God. I want to say something; but I fear that I may give occasion for ruin to the negligent: that in the Holy Scriptures the same man is frequently found anointed. Finally, David was anointed a third time (2 Samuel 6 and 19): which we do not understand to be about someone who has sinned; and he is anointed again (for it is enough for a leper to be anointed a second time after the first anointing has been lost), but it is about someone who progresses day by day, and his anointing is always increased. And it goes from the oil of the leper to the oil of the people and the saints, and from the oil of the people it reaches the oil of the priests, and it surpasses the priests to the anointing oil of the high priest, and from the high priest it even goes to the king, from the king to the patriarchs, and from the patriarchs it goes to Christ, and he is anointed with the oil of joy (Psalm 44:8), by which whoever is anointed becomes one with God in spirit, and where the Father and the Son are, there he will also be. But this is rare, and there are the wishes of the believers. However, I do not know if the effect will follow. For it is said: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions, that is, with that oil which those who are your companions will seldom or never be able to find. Therefore, God has gone out from his place for the salvation of these Christians, just as Micah says: And he will go forth from his place to save (Micah 1:3). For those who were in need of salvation did not want to enter to him, therefore he went out from his majesty and his place, so that he could lead those who were outside into the land of gentle ones and the region of the living, from which Adam had been expelled: from which Cain, when he went out, dwelled in the land of Nod (Gen. III and IV, according to the Septuagint). It should be known, however, as we have said above, that where the Septuagint placed the plural number, 'to save your Anointed Ones,' in Hebrew it is Joshua son of Nun and the Anointed One (Messiah), which Aquila translated, 'to salvation with your Anointed One (Messiah),' not that God went out to save the people and save his Anointed One (Messiah), but that he came to the salvation of the people with his Anointed One (Messiah), according to that passage of the Gospel: 'The Father is in me, and I am in the Father'; and the Father, remaining in me, he himself does his works (John XIV, 10). But even the fifth edition translated similarly: 'You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation with your Christ.' However, Theodotion, being truly like a poor Ebionite, and Symmachus of the same belief, following a poor interpretation, translated: 'You went out for the salvation of your people, in order to save your Christ.' And: 'You went out to save your people, to save your Christ.' I am going to say something unbelievable, but nevertheless true. These half-Christian Jews translated: and the Jew Aquila interpreted, as a Christian. The sixth edition, clearly revealing the sacrament, thus translated from Hebrew: 'You came forth to save your people by your Jesus Christ,' which in Greek is said: 'ἐξῆλθες τοῦσῶσαι τὸν λαόν σου διὰ Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστόν σου.' This meaning can be applied to the fact that the Father came forth with the Son from the temple and the ceremonies of the Jews, saying: 'Your house will be left to you desolate' (Luke 13:35); and he came for the salvation of the Gentiles, to save those who believe through Jesus Christ his Son.”

“And yet, someone may say, we shall find the name Christ applied not to Emmanuel alone, but also applied to others. For God said somewhere about those chosen and sanctified by the Spirit, "Do not touch my anointed ones, and to my prophets do no harm." The divinely inspired David calls Saul, who had been anointed as king by God through the hand of Samuel: the "Lord's anointed." And why do I mention this when it is possible for those who desire to look at the matter calmly to see that those who have been justified by faith in Christ and have been sanctified in the Spirit are honored by such a name? And therefore the prophet Habakkuk has foretold the mystery of Christ and salvation through him, saying, "You went forth for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed ones." Consequently the name Christ would not be applicable exclusively and properly to Emmanuel, as I said, but also to all the rest who may have been anointed with the grace of the Holy Spirit. For the word is derived from the action and the name anointed from the fact of having been anointed.”

“Concerning [his] companions in the anointing, the apostle says, "To each of us grace is given according to the measure of Christ's bestowal." Both the priests and kings are called "christs" in the law, undoubtedly as figures of this king and high priest, our Lord and Savior, and as a type of him they were also anointed with the earthly oil. Not only they, but also the faithful of our own time, as they are called "Christians" from Christ, so also are they rightly called "christs"—from the anointing with the sacred chrism, from the grace of the spirit with which they are consecrated. The prophet testified to this when he said, "You went forth for the salvation of your people, so that you might save your christs." He did indeed go forth for the salvation of his people, so that he might save his christs. "On account of us human beings and on account of our salvation, he descended from heaven and became incarnate" so that he might grant to us who have been thoroughly anointed and healed by spiritual grace to be sharers in his holy name.”

“LXX: You have divided the heads of the mighty in astonishment. Just as Christ is the head of the Church and of all men (I Cor. XI), so Beelzebub, the prince of demons, is the head of all the demons who roam about in this world, and each of their groups has its own head and leaders. For example, the spirits of fornication have their own supervisor, the spirits of greed have their own ruler, the spirits of vain glory, the spirits of lies, and the spirits of unfaithfulness have their own leaders of wickedness. And so, God, most merciful, who sent death upon the heads of the wicked, who loosened the bonds even to the neck, divides the heads of the powerful in their astonishment, so that he may first separate the rulers from their subjects, and as if beheading the body from the head, and where the worst head was, there the best head may be placed. Let us give an example, so that what we say may be made clearer: whenever a tyrant is slain, his images and statues are also taken down, and with only the face changed and the head removed, the face of the victor is placed over it, so that while the body remains, and the heads have been severed, a different head is substituted. I want to understand about the councils of heretics, which, with the heads of heresies separated from other nations, begin with Christ as their head. Also, consider the significance of the Holy Scriptures, that it does not say 'you have cut off' or 'you have cut down the heads of the mighty,' but 'you have divided.' For what is divided is not so much cut off and lost as it is separated into parts. Just as in the building of the tower (Genesis 11), the language which had been improperly united was separated, and the wicked pact was torn apart by a beneficial division: so also, these heads, which seemed to have agreement among their bodies, for there are many heads of heretics which have different eyes, yet bark in one common language of blasphemy against the Church, were divided into parts and separated from the deceived bodies, making room for the good head. We can use this verse whenever we see kings and their leaders shed Christian blood, and afterwards witness the vengeance of the Lord. We have seen this recently in the case of Julian, and before him in Maximian, Valerian, Decius, Domitian, and Nero; and we can say to the Lord with joy and prayer in the Song: You have struck the heads of the mighty in astonishment, that is, in the astonishment of the believers, or in the astonishment of all nations, which did not think they could fall so quickly. While I was still a boy, and was exercising in the game of grammar, and all the cities were being polluted with the blood of victims, and suddenly it was announced in the midst of the very heat of Julian's persecution that he had died, one of the pagans wittily said, 'How, he said, do the Christians say that their God is patient and without malice? Nothing is more irritable, nothing is more present with this fury: he could not even delay his indignation for a little bit.' He said this jokingly. Nevertheless, the Church of Christ sang with joy: You have divided in astonishment the heads of the mighty. I will also say something similar: Divide, Lord, in astonishment all of them, Ahab, and Jezebel (III Kings 21 and 18). I am not Elijah, but nevertheless, they Ahab and Jezebel killed Naboth and took his vineyard, and made their garden for indulgence (IV Kings 9 and 10). Let one of your servants, Obadiah, be found, who will feed your poor and beggar, let the blood of fornicators be given to the dogs; let the impious and greedy Ahab be killed by the spear of the Lord.”

“You cut off the heads of the mighty in their alienation; the nations will be moved in it. In the Greek, it is written "in ecstasy," which some have interpreted as "in stupor," others "in mental excess." Whether it is called stupor, alienation, or mental excess, it all means the same thing: when someone, astonished and bewildered by a sudden miracle, is rendered alien from their own mind, something the Evangelical history frequently recounts as having happened to the Jews, saying they were astounded and marveled at the teachings and virtues of Jesus, saying: "Where did this man get all these things, whose father and mother we know?" (John 6:42). And in the Acts of the Apostles, when the lame man was healed by Peter and John at the temple gate, it says: "They were filled with astonishment and ecstasy" (Acts 3:10), in which ecstasy, that is, admiration or mental alienation, many people were moved to believe in the Lord; but the heads of the mighty, that is, the chief priests and elders, were cut off by not believing, from the lot of the faithful. Nations were also moved in it, when, hearing or seeing the virtues of the Lord and his apostles, they were so astonished and amazed that, anathemaing and rejecting the gods they had worshipped, they devoutly received the new faith of Christ. Regarding them, aptly it is added:”

“For a soul that is at peace quickly turns and corrects itself, even if it has sinned before, and Christ ascends to it more fully and deigns to rule it, to which it is said: "Mount your horses, your chariot of health." And elsewhere: "I have sent forth your horses to Tharsis." Behold the horses of Christ. Thus, Christ ascends his horses, the Word of God ascends to holy souls.”

“70: And you led your horses into the sea, disturbing the many waters. After God sent death upon the heads of the unjust, and the heads of the mighty were brought down in astonishment, and you broke them in the sea (for it is written in the Psalms: You have broken the heads of the dragons (Psalm 73:4)), with the princes slain, or broken, and the strong one overcome, they came to his house and all his possessions were plundered (Mark 13). But the vase and the strong house and the prince's belongings, what else can be interpreted except the sea of this world, in which the dragon dwells? Therefore, God, the outstanding knight and chief charioteer, adds his horses, namely angels, and sublime powers above the sea of this world, to disturb the many waters, demons and contrary powers. But if we want to interpret it as the coming of Christ, according to what is written in the Apocalypse (Chapter 19), that the word of God sits on a white horse and the whole army follows him on white horses, we will see how Christ ascended among his apostles, saying to them: Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world; and: Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them, and the rest (Matthew 28). And later he mounted a white horse, which I believe to be none other than the apostle Paul, upon which he rode and traveled around the whole world. Now, the word of God ascended upon his horses, so that many waters, that is, many people who were previously in the sea and held captive by the dragon, were troubled. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13), and they were troubled, abandoning their initial error: then they were disturbed and received the approaching rider. Certainly, the hordes of demons we have spoken of above should not rule over the sea in such a way; rather, they should be disturbed and retreat, fearing the wounds of a fighting knight. And I hope that the word of God will also rise in me and kill, through the spear of my mouth, the one who reigns in the waters, so that the waters that were subjected to them will be disturbed unto the destruction of the king, and offer their necks to my knight, and when brought together in one chariot, we may become the Cherubim of the Lord, which is interpreted as a multitude of knowledge. For never before has a charioteer been so well composed and so adorned, as in those who are connected by the multitude of knowledge and the reins of wisdom among themselves.”

“You sent your horses into the sea, stirring up many waters. For the sea, indeed, means the world; the horses of God, the holy preachers; the many waters, the peoples of the nations. When the horses of God were sent into the sea, the many waters were stirred up, because when the heralds of the word were scattered into the world, the hearts of the nations were disturbed, some to believe and receive the sacrament of faith, others to contradict or even persecute the heralds of this faith. Hence the Psalmist aptly says: "All who saw them were troubled, and every man feared, and they declared the works of God and understood His deeds" (Ps. 63:9). For although all were troubled, not all feared and declared the works of God, but whosoever remained rational men; and those who were estranged from human reason were compared to senseless animals and became like them. Although such people were disturbed and moved by the virtues of the saints, they neither wanted to fear God nor to declare or understand His deeds. Furthermore, it is aptly said of these horses, namely the holy preachers, earlier: "You will ascend, you will ascend on your horses," and now it is added about the same: "You sent your horses into the sea," so that from both sentences it may be gathered that the Lord sent preachers into the world in such a way that, while they preached, He was never absent, but like a charioteer to horses, He was always present to guide their minds.”

“He who is cautious and wary can avoid sins for a while, but he who is secure in his own justice opposes God, and deprived of his help, he is subject to the snares of the enemy. "Let rottenness," says Habakkuk, "enter into my bones and swarm under me, that I may rest in the day of tribulation, that I may go up to my people that are girded." He prays earnestly for tribulations and trials and affliction of soul so that, in the next world, he may join the company of those who are already reigning with Christ. It is clear from all this that here, in this life, there is strife and contention, and, in the next world, there is victory.”

“I guarded and my stomach was terrified at the voice of the prayer of my lips. He calls his mind his stomach in the manner customary to prophets, because just as the stomach receives food by which the strength and life of the body are replenished; so are holy thoughts received in the mind, by which the life of the inner man is sustained and maintained, lest it should fail. Therefore, I guarded, says the Prophet, carefully attending to the future passions of Christ and the subsequent glories, the reprobation of my people, the faith of the nations, the disturbance of the same nations at the new preaching, the persecution to be stirred up by unbelievers against believers; and my heart was terrified by these things which I, foreseeing, spoke of as coming. Or certainly contemplating the different states of the human race: I guarded, he says, myself, with a trembling mind more diligently, lest I should sin in deed, in word, or in thought, and lest I, while preaching to others, should become a reprobate. And it should be noted that he says he was terrified by the voice of the prayer of his lips, although he seems to have prayed nothing at all in this whole song; but only describing with fear and trembling the future mysteries of Christ and the Church; nor is he mistaken who calls his song a prayer, he who also gave it such a title: The Prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet for Ignorances, because whatever a holy man speaks, indeed the whole of this is a prayer to God; whatever he does, anyone whose sincere intention is to please the Lord, this itself intercedes with God for him, and recommends him to the Lord.”

“The third origin of the fear of the Lord is from the consideration of the severity of divine vengeance. Whence in Habakkuk: "Lord, I have heard your report and was afraid. I heard, and my belly was troubled; at the voice my lips trembled. Let rottenness enter into my bones and swarm beneath me, that I may rest in the day of tribulation." He says: "Let rottenness enter into my bones, and let it swarm beneath me, that I may rest in the day of tribulation." Not only in the day of tribulation or severity of the last judgment, but of any other judgment whatsoever, because the judgments of God are many.”

“(Verse 17.) For the fig tree will not blossom, and there will be no fruit on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food. The flock will be cut off from the fold, and there will be no cattle in the stalls. According to the Septuagint: For the fig tree will not bear fruit, and there will be no blossoms on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food. They have vanished, because the sheep have been devoured, and there are no cattle in the stalls. According to the Hebrew text as we have mentioned before: Let rot enter my bones and let it spread beneath me, so that I may rest in the day of trouble. Let me ascend to our prepared people. What has gone before will be connected to what follows. Therefore, I have chosen to endure tribulation for now, and afterwards ascend to our strong people. For a day of trouble and necessity will come, and to those who are established in distress, I will rejoice in your majesty. For the fig tree will not blossom, and there will be no fruit on the vines. The work of the olive tree will deceive, and the fields will not produce food, and so on. Since these things do not differ much from the Septuagint, let us likewise discuss their interpretation. When the day of tribulation comes and I ascend to the people with whom I have once traveled as a pilgrim, or certainly when the day of the destruction of Judah comes and the former people and daughter of Zion are abandoned, like a tent in a vineyard, and like a hut in a cucumber field, and like a city that is besieged, I, who have been chosen from the perishing people (of whom it has been said, 'Unless the Lord had left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah, similar to them'), will join myself to the disciples of Christ, whom he teaches on the mountain, leaving the crowds and the weak below, I will ascend to the mountains. For indeed the fig tree did not bear fruit, to which the Lord came in the Gospel hungry, and did not find any fruits on it, and he cursed it, saying: You shall not bear fruit forever (Matt 21:19). And consider carefully what he said: You shall not bear fruit forever, not until forever and ever, but when this age has passed, and the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, then this fig tree will also bear its fruits, and all Israel will be saved. This is the fig tree to which the master of the house came for the third time, and wanting to uproot it because it was not producing fruit. For this reason, the farmer, to whom it was entrusted, pleads that he give it more time and says: Master, let it be for another year, until I dig around it and put manure, and if indeed it bears fruit: but if not, then you can cut it down (Luke 13). This farmer is either Gabriel or Michael, to whom the people of Judah have been entrusted, who pleads with the Lord during his suffering and says: Lord, give them time for repentance, and do not uproot them, and if indeed they bear fruit: but if not, then uproot them. If they produce fruit, he said, he did not say what they endured; nor did he say, if they produce fruit, they will remain as they were; but if they produce fruit, the sentence is suspended, so that it may be understood, you will transfer them into the Church of the Gentiles, and you will transplant them into another vineyard. The Lord came a third time, and did not find fruit in them. He gave the Law first through Moses: second, he spoke through the prophets: third, he himself descended. And after the Passion, with forty-four years given for repentance, because they did not produce fruit, they were overthrown on the fourth occasion. However, it is left to our understanding. For in the parable it is not written what the master of the house did afterwards, but only what the farmer prayed for. From this we understand that those who have made fruit from this fig tree have been transferred to the people of the nations, to whom the prophet also ascended, saying: I will rest on the day of tribulation, so that I may ascend to the people of my pilgrimage. However, those who did not bear fruit and remained in their hardness have been uprooted. This very thing signifies the voice of John in the Gospel: Behold, the axe is laid at the roots of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matt. III, 10; Luc. III, 9) We have spoken about the fig tree, showing that it represents the Jewish people: let us also speak about the vineyard, which will be easily understood by those who have read Isaiah: The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. (Isai. V, 1). And afterwards: And I waited for it to bring forth fruit: but it made thorns, and not judgment, but outcry. And in Jeremiah: But I planted you as a fruitful vineyard, all of it true: how have you turned into the bitterness of a foreign vine (Jer. II, 21)? And more clearly in the Psalms: You brought a vine out of Egypt, you drove out the nations, and you planted it (Ps. LXXIX, 9). This therefore is the vineyard to which the master of the house often sent his servants (Matth. XXI), to receive from it the wine that gladdens the heart of man, but it has turned into bitterness, and finally it even dared to kill the son of the master of the house, not producing grapes, but thorns, and not judgment, but outcry: Crucify him, crucify him! And we have no king but Caesar (John 19:15). Therefore, the boar from the forest has destroyed it, and the savage beast in the field has devoured it (Psalm 79:14). Moreover, the olive tree will clearly represent the people of the synagogue, who, by breaking off the branches of the olive tree, will be grafted in as wild olives (Romans 11), and we, being grafted in from the wild olive tree, will understand that the multitude of the Jews has been cut off, but the election of the apostles has been preserved at its roots, and we will remain grafted in if we bear fruit, and it will be said of us: Your children are like olive saplings around your table (Psalm 128:3). Many people think that the fig tree, vine, and olive tree are symbols of the Holy Trinity. The fig tree represents the sweetness of the fruits, which is understood as the Holy Spirit. The vine is our Lord Jesus Christ himself, as he said in the Gospel: 'I am the vine' (John 15:1). The olive tree represents God the Almighty Father, from whom all things are illumined, and from whom light proceeds. We can say to Him: 'O olive tree, in your light we shall see light' (Psalm 36:9), meaning that in the Son we shall see the Holy Spirit. In the book of Judges (Chapter 9), there are fruitful trees and a very fertile vineyard. However, unfruitful trees come and ask to reign over them. But never does the olive, fig, or vine, which are owed to the fire, reign over the trees of the forest. Rather, the bramble full of thorns commands them, and the hedgehog-like creature that dwells in Babylon and always moves about in the pits. This little tree not only has thorns, but also fire, injuring and burning whatever it touches. Finally, the fire went out and consumed the wood of the forest. But so that you may know, according to the higher understanding in which we have received from the synagogue, it is said: The fig tree will not bear fruit, and there will be no offspring in the vineyards. It is not about the fruits, but about good deeds. In the olive, the riddle is clearly revealed and it is said: The work of the olive will lie. For the fruits that should have been brought forth are shown in deeds. But the work of the olive, promising one thing and doing another, saying to Moses: We will do everything that the Lord has spoken (Exod. 24:7), they did not want to believe in him who was preached by Moses. The fields also will not produce fruit. Consider that Jerusalem, which once was situated on mountains, and the mountains surrounding it (Ps. 124:2), and its foundations were in holy mountains (Psalm 86:1), is now called lowly and flat, which not only does not feed humans, that is, rational animals, but not even animals such as sheep and cows, of which Solomon speaks in Proverbs: Take care of the regions that are in the field, and tend the grass, and gather hay so that you have food for the sheep to eat. Cattle also will not be in the mangers: because where the mangers are full, the strength of the ox is evident (Prov. XIV, 4). The ox is a worker: the ox of the Lord bearing the yoke: blessed is the one who follows in its footsteps. All these things will be taken away from the people, because they have acted unjustly towards their Creator God. But if you are willing (or unwilling) to accept the day of tribulation, the day of consummation, you will see that all those who claim to be of the Church but do not have the works of justice will be referred to them. Both the fig tree and the vine and the olive, namely the mystery of the Trinity, do not bring forth their fruit in them, and not only the grains and food of the rational ones; but neither do they have food even for their livestock in their fields and their stables are empty, and they are turned from lofty mountains to plains and low places.”

“For the fig tree will not bear fruit, and there will be no generation in the vineyards. The work of the olive will lie and the fields will not yield food. The sheep have failed from their food, and there will be no oxen in the stalls. But I will glory in the Lord, and I will rejoice in God my Savior. For when the opulence of worldly things fails, carnal and lovers of this life are troubled, the righteous do not grieve over the loss of temporal goods but rejoice in the possession of the heavenly kingdom promised to the poor of Christ, mindful of the promised consolation of Him who said: Do not fear, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. And what wonderful faith, hope, and love of the prophet! The Son of God had not yet appeared in man receiving the name Jesus from His parents, and he, foreseeing the same name in the Spirit, testifies that he rejoices in Him amidst adversities, who would open the gate of the heavenly homeland for His faithful long after being born in the flesh. If anyone also seeks to expound these verses figuratively, the fig tree, vineyard, and olive were the synagogue of the Jews, which brought forth the sweetness of good works, the fragrance of fervent love, and the richness of a merciful soul devoted to God. Sheep and oxen were typically in the same people; the sheep, namely, in those who humbly heard the voice of the supreme Shepherd; the oxen, on the other hand, were in those who, zealously bearing the yoke of the law, by diligently teaching and correcting the hearts of listeners, as it were plowing the land of the Lord, prepared for the fruits of good works; and for those living spiritually, the fields of the divine Scriptures most widely made spiritual foods, with whose nourishment he who was made like a beast before the Lord delighted, and always adhered to Him, saying: The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want, in a place of pasture, He has placed me there (Ps. 22:1). But this fig tree, to which the Lord came the third time, that is, in the legislation through Moses, in the diligent rebuke and exhortation through the prophets, in the offering of grace through Himself, neglected to bear the fruit of virtue, because of which it was condemned to eternal dryness by His curse. The generation in the vineyards of the Lord once failed, that is, the fruit of charity failed among the crowds of the Jews, because they offered vinegar to Him who thirsted instead of wine, that is, the sweetness of virtues He sought in them, they brought forth the bitterness of vices desiring virtues. The work of the olive lied, when that people anointed the heads of the wretched with the oil of flattery, and echoed the true words of the prophet falsely, saying: But I, like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God, have trusted in the mercy of God (Ps. 51:10), wherefore at the time of the final retribution, bringing forth extinguished lamps, with their own darkness, they will be excluded from the entrance to the heavenly homeland. The fields do not yield food when the same people, opening the pages of divine writings, cannot rightly understand and find the pastures of truth. The sheep fail from their food, for those whom the refreshment of internal sweetness is absent, whence the innocence of a simple life may not come forth. Thus it was said: the sheep have failed from their food, that is, because food was lacking, as the Prophet in the Psalms: And my flesh, he says, was changed because of the oil (Ps. 108:24), that is, because the oil with which I might be refreshed or anointed was not there. Indeed, some Codices have it this way: The sheep have failed because they did not eat, and there are no oxen in the stalls. For although there are abundantly in the Jews the stalls of heavenly writings; yet because they do not taste the food of heavenly understanding in them, those who bear the sweet yoke of the Gospel are absent. Considering all these things that are to come upon the perfidious part of his people, the prophet immediately shows what he himself would do with the faithful of the same people, or rather with the society of the Church, which was gathered in Christ from all over the world, or elected: But I, he says, will glory not in my own righteousness, but in faith in the divine protection, I will rejoice in God my Savior, that is my Savior, because I perceive salvation to be not in me, but in Him. And as if we were to ask him why he glories in the Lord and rejoices in God his Savior, whom he called his own with great affection of love, he immediately, as if insinuating the most just cause of the same joy, ended his song thus:”

“(Verse 18, 19) But as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord, and exult in God my savior. God, the Lord, is my strength, and he will make my feet like the feet of deer. And he will lead me up to the high places triumphantly, singing in Psalms. According to the Septuagint: But as for me, I will exult in the Lord; I will rejoice over God my savior. The Lord God is my strength, and he will set my feet in the consummation: he will place me upon the high places, so that I may overcome in his song. Ficus tree, vine, and olive tree, as I explained, not producing their fruit, and the fields of the Jews not yielding food, and also the livestock and cattle being cut off from the sheepfold and the stalls, after they heard from the Lord: Your house shall be left desolate (Matthew 23:38), and the people also being handed over to captivity and dispersed throughout the whole world, the prophet from the people of Judah, who is called the embrace (because he loved the Lord and clung to him, and joined himself to him), speaks on behalf of the apostles and the people who believe in Christ: But I will rejoice in the Lord, and I will exult in the God of my Jesus. For they translated LXX as τῷ Σωτῆρί μου, that is, my Savior. The same with Gabriel interpreting: And His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people (Matt. II, 21). God the Lord is my strength; for I shall have no other but in Christ, and I shall count all the righteousnesses of the law as garbage. And He shall make my feet like the feet of a deer, to tread upon the asp and the basilisk, and like a little child I shall put my hand in the hole and draw out the serpent (Alexandria. Judah) and play. For my brother is like a roe or a young stag (Song of Solomon II, 9). And because he himself is a stag, he also gave to me, that I may be a stag, with lofty horns, splitting hooves, chewing cud, and driving away serpents by my scent: of which it is said in the seventeenth Psalm: He made my feet like those of stags, and he will set me on high. And in the twenty-eighth: The voice of the Lord who accomplishes stags. Therefore, he will set my feet among his other stags, and he will lead me to the heavenly things, so that I may sing the glory of the Lord among the angels, and announce peace on earth to people of good will. Let us sing of his victory and triumph and the trophy of the cross. This, according to the Hebrew version and the fifth edition, we should refer to the time of the destruction of Judea and the coming of the Lord. But if we wish to understand the consummation of the world, it should be explained as follows: just as in Exodus (Chapter 9) when Egypt was struck, and God struck their vineyards and fig trees, and killed the firstborn of men and animals with hail, and destroyed the Egyptian crops with caterpillars and locusts. The fig trees in Egypt did not bear fruit, nor were there any buds on their vines; the olive tree, where it could still be found in Egypt, produced no oil, and their fields did not yield food; and their cattle were dying in the pasture and there were no oxen in the stalls. But the people of Israel rejoiced in the Lord, and delighted in God their Savior: so in the consummation of the world, when charity shall have grown cold through multiplied iniquity, and the fig-tree shall not bear fruit, and the vineyard shall not yield grapes, and the work of the olive shall be deceitful, and the fields shall not yield food, and other things that follow: then whoever shall be found just and worthy of God's election, shall speak in exultation. But I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in God my Savior. The Lord is my strength. And being placed by God above the end of the age, so that afterwards He might ascend to higher things, and being educated by God to the highest, He shall say: He will set my feet upon the end, He will place me upon the highest places, so that when with Jesus, the ἀγωνοθέτης, who first triumphed in the struggle, the reward will be given to those singing hymns: I will conquer in His song, and my hands will play the lyre, and the harp, and every kind of instrument, and I will write a panegyric praising the triumphant one. And I, who spoke at the beginning, said: How long shall I cry out, and you will not hear? I will cry out to you of violence, and you will not save? And I have been accused of his justice and judgment: then I will praise his equity, and surpass the other singers with my song.”

“"And [Joseph] called his name Jesus." "Jesus" in Hebrew means "saving" or "Savior" in Latin. It is clear that the prophets most certainly call upon his name. Hence these things are sung in great desire for a vision of him: "My soul will exult in the Lord and take delight in his salvation." "My soul pines for your salvation." "I, however, will glory in the Lord; I will rejoice in God my Jesus." And especially that [verse]: "God in your name save me!" as if [the prophet] would say, "You who are called Savior; make bright the glory of your name in me by saving."”

“The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet as sure as deer's, and He will set me on high places, so that I may triumph in His glory. As if He openly says: Indeed, beneath me my strength is troubled, that is, while I contemplate the condition of human frailty, which is below; and while I lift the eyes of my mind to the grace of divine help, I trust that I can make strength in Him. He is able to lead the steps of my works to the completion of a firm end; He can set me on high so that we may utterly despise all the loftiness of worldly power by the contemplation of eternal goods. I shall overcome all temptations which come to me either from the adversities or the blandishments of the world in His love through which I will be, that is, while in all things I do not seek my own glory, but His, from whom I remember that I have received whatever good I do. For deservedly, they are helped by the Lord, that having overcome temptations, they, having been proven, may reach the prize of the heavenly calling, who refer the entire cause of their victory to His praise. Some manuscripts have: And I will triumph in His Song, which looks to the same sense. For whoever knows how to give thanks to Him from the heart in all the tribulations he suffers, he triumphs in the Lord's Song, knowing that all things work together for good to those who love God, and as accustomed with blessed Job: Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). Finally, the apostles Paul and Silas, amid beatings, darkness, and chains of prison, sang a hymn to God; and thus divinely helped, they suddenly emerged as victors, for indeed, although their feet seemed to be tightly bound in stocks, the steps of their works were made complete in virtues. Beautifully, the end of this prophetic song corresponds to its beginning. For he who, having heard and considered the works of the Lord appearing in the flesh, faithfully fears and trembles, is made so that, despising those things which in this life are borne in various states like the waves of the sea, he may glory and rejoice in Him alone whose joys he can perpetually enjoy; helped by Him, so that he is neither broken by the adversities of the present world nor enervated by its allurements; he sings the praises of His grace both in the present, that he may deserve to conquer, and in the future, because he has conquered, he should never cease to sing. It also happens that such a soul overcomes the world in the glory of the Lord, namely, by His same glory, both often recalled to memory in times of struggles, and beheld perpetually in times of rewards, according to what He promised: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). It should be noted, however, that with the prayer or song of Habakkuk explained, his name, which is interpreted as embracing, corresponds to the sense of the same prayer. For it is clear that he embraced the Lord with the inward love of the heart and adhered to Him, who testifies that he glories and rejoices in Him alone. May it happen, dearest sister and virgin of Christ, that also we, loving Him, may be made worthy of such a name. If indeed we strive to embrace Him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength, He will deign to embrace us with the arms of His love, mindful of His promise where He says: He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him (John 14:21); and thus we will deserve to be numbered among the members of that bride who is accustomed to joyfully sing to her Creator, her heavenly spouse: His left hand is under my head, and His right hand shall embrace me. Amen (Song of Solomon 2:6).”