God's strength in old age and Christ's righteous kingdom
Apollinaris is commenting on Psalm 70 (71) and Psalm 71 (72), reading David's words as spoken in the person of Christ and interpreting Solomon as a type of Christ's kingdom.
Since in the season of youth I took your help, not bodily vigor, as my strength, let this strength remain with me even as youth fades, and when human strength has passed away entirely, let the power that comes from you stand by me—as it did for David himself in old age (Psalm 71:9; LXX 70:9). For when he was young, his son rose up against him, but when he was old, no one did. Chilled already by old age and lying helpless on his bed, he still ruled Israel and gave orders to the nation. He ruled Israel and appointed Solomon as his successor, after casting out Adonijah, who had tried to reign against his will.
These words would fit the time of Absalom's rebellion, the time about which those other words were spoken in Psalm 3: “Many say of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in his God’” (Psalm 3:2). And by his fellowship with the righteous, the Lord also suffered this kind of rebellion from his enemies, who said, “Let him be delivered, since he delights in him” (Psalm 22:8), and who thought that the one suffering according to the Father's will had been abandoned. So let the wicked, he says, fail in their purpose, and let the matter turn out according to my hope, not according to their supposition.
Do not be far from me, but hasten your help and turn their boasting into shame, so that my hope may increase all the more, and my hymns to you as well (Psalm 71:12; LXX 70:12).
Symmachus says, “I do not know how to count them out.” For since he had promised to recount God's righteousness and the salvation that had come to him, and the promise was greater than what belongs to a human being, he added these words.
He begins the hymn at the very point where he had promised, doing it immediately, crying out with a loud voice the height of God's wonders: that human beings who had been brought through many afflictions attain good things in eternal life, having risen from the dead. This is the chief point of the divine hymns and the clearest demonstration of God, since none of those who are called gods could rival it. For God is the one who gives life to all things, and in him Christ is known, being the Son of God, saying that he himself is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25) and showing this in deed. So even if these words are spoken by Christ as a human being to the Father, it is fitting that they be spoken to him as well by human beings, as to the Son and image of God. For he is the firstborn from the dead, having descended in the manner of a human being, but having ascended by the power of God, being himself the author of the ascent, as he says to the Jews, in which the excellence of his divinity is shown.
Even if you made your great power manifest by handing human nature over to death, yet to the one despaired of among human beings you gave back a new and blessed life.
The glory of Christ after the passion is hymned. Solomon is a type: the peace of his kingdom, the protection of the righteous, the glory of his wisdom, and the honor he received from all people. But beyond the type is this: that the days of the king endure to the consummation, and his peace and his fruit become most brilliant. For these things in no way fit Solomon, who lived only a short time, had opponents, and left no fruit from himself except one son—and that son did not preserve the kingdom handed down to him. But Christ's power is perpetual and unshaken, and his fruit is most glorious: those who believe. And the other things that came to pass in a typical way in Solomon are more perfectly fulfilled in him, as the discourse will explain point by point. “O God, give your judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the king's son, to judge your people in righteousness and your poor in judgment” (Psalm 72:1-2; LXX 71:1,2). The Lord Christ is both king and son of King David according to the flesh, and for this reason he arose from the royal line, so that he might set right the ancestral kingdom according to Isaiah's prophecy, make it divine instead of human, and—what did not exist in any human kingdom—apply the exactness of righteousness to his subjects and grant to the wronged that they not be wronged. For not even in David himself was this preserved. Even though he was most righteous and pleasing to God beyond others, he still became the perpetrator of injustice against Uriah. And Solomon's case was even greater injustice, stretching into impiety through the making of idols. But this is the king foretold through Isaiah and Jeremiah: a righteous king seated on a throne established with mercy, judging and seeking judgment and hastening righteousness, as Isaiah says (Isaiah 16:5), and understanding and doing judgment and righteousness, as Jeremiah says (Jeremiah 23:5).
Greek
95a Ps 70,9 Ἐπείπερ ἐν τῷ νέῳ τῆς ἡλικίας καιρῷ τὴν σὴν βοήθειαν, οὐ τὴν σώματος ῥώμην, ἰσχὺν ὑπέλαβον, διὰ τοῦτό μοι καὶ ληγούσης τῆς νεότητος ἡ ἰσχὺς αὕτη παραμεινάτω καὶ παρελθούσης παντάπασι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἰσχύος τὸ παρὰ σοὶ δυνατὸν παρέστω, οἷόν
τι τῷ ∆αυὶδ ὑπῆρξεν αὐτῷ κατὰ τὸ γῆρας. νέῳ μὲν γὰρ ὁ υἱὸς ἐπανέστη, πρεσβύτῃ δὲ οὐδείς· ἀλλ' ἐψυγμένος τε ἤδη ὑπὸ τοῦ γήρως καὶ ἄπρακτος ἐπ' εὐνῆς κείμενος ἦρχε τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐπέταττε τῷ ἔθνει. [... ἦρχε τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ καθίστη διάδοχον Σολομῶνα τὸν παρὰ γνώμην αὐτοῦ πειραθέντα βασιλεύειν ἐκβαλὼν Ἀδωνίαν.] 96a Ps 70,10.11 Ἁρμόζοι ἂν εἰς τὸν καιρὸν ταῦτα τὸν τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως Ἀβεσαλὼμ εἰς ὃν κἀκεῖνα εἴρηται διὰ τοῦ Γ ψαλμοῦ· Πολλοὶ λέγουσι τῇ ψυχῇ μου Οὐκ ἔστι σωτηρία αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ θεῷ αὐτοῦ. κοινωνίᾳ δὲ τῇ περὶ τοὺς δικαίους καὶ ὁ κύριος πέπονθε τὴν τοιαύτην τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπανάστασιν λεγόντων Ῥυσάσθω αὐτὸν ὅτι θέλει αὐτόν, καὶ οἰομένων ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι τὸν κατὰ βουλὴν πάσχοντα τὴν πατρός. Σφαλήτωσαν οὖν, φησίν, τῆς προαιρέσεως οἱ πονηροί, καὶ κατ' ἐλπίδα τὴν ἐμὴν μὴ καθ' ὑπόληψιν τὴν ἐκείνων ἔχον φαινέσθω τὸ πρᾶγμα. 97A Ps 70,12 Μὴ γάρ μοι γένῃ μακράν, ἀλλ' ἐπίσπευσον τὴν βοήθειαν καὶ μετάβαλε τὸ καύχημα τὸ ἐκείνων εἰς αἰσχύνην, ἵν' ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἐμοὶ τὰ τῆς ἐλπίδος αὔξηται καὶ τὰ τῶν ὕμνων τῶν σῶν. 98a Ps 70,15 Ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος Οὐκ οἶδα ἐξαριθμῆσαι. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὑπέσχετο διηγεῖσθαι τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην καὶ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν γεγενημένην σωτηρίαν, μεῖζον δὲ ἢ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ἡ 12 ὑπόσχεσις ἐπήγαγε ταῦτα. 99A Ps 70,19.20 Αὐτόθεν ἄρχεται τοῦ ὕμνου ὅθεν ἐπήγγελται παραχρῆμα ποιῶν, τὸ ὑψηλὸν τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ τεραστίων μεγαλοφώνως ἀναβοῶν, τὸ διὰ πολλῶν κακώσεων ἀχθέντας ἀνθρώπους τυγχάνειν ἀγαθῶν ἐν αἰωνίῳ ζωῇ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάντας· ὃ δὴ τῶν θείων ὕμνων κεφάλαιον καὶ θεοῦ μάλιστα δεικτικόν, καθὸ μηδεὶς τῶν λεγομένων εἶναι θεῶν ἁμιλλήσαιτο ἄν. θεὸς γὰρ ὁ πάντα ζωογονῶν ἐν ᾧ γινώσκεται Χριστὸς υἱὸς ὢν θεοῦ ἀνάστασίν τε καὶ ζωὴν εἶναι λέγων ἑαυτὸν καὶ τοῦτο ἔργῳ δεικνύς, ὥστε, εἰ καὶ παρὰ Χριστοῦ ταῦτα ὡς ἀνθρώπου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα λεγόμενα, προσήκει καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγεσθαι παρὰ ἀνθρώπων ὡς πρὸς υἱόν τε καὶ εἰκόνα θεοῦ· πρωτότοκος γάρ ἐστιν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνθρώπου τρόπῳ κατελθών, ἀνελθὼν δὲ δυνάμει θεοῦ αὐτουργὸς ὢν τῆς ἀνόδου, ὡς λέγει πρὸς Ἰουδαίους, ἐν ᾧ τὸ τῆς θεότητος ἐξαίρετον δείκνυται. 100α πς 70,21 Εἰ καὶ ἐμφανῆ σου τὴν μεγάλην κατέστησας δύναμιν παραδοὺς τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν εἰς θάνατον, ἀλλὰ τῷ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἀπελπισθέντι τὴν νέαν ἀπέδωκας καὶ μακαρίαν ζωήν. 101a Ps 71,1.2 Ἡ Χριστοῦ δόξα μετὰ τὸ πάθος ὑμνεῖται. τύπος δὲ ὁ Σολομὼν καὶ ἡ τῆς ἐκείνου βασιλείας εἰρήνη καὶ ἡ τοῦ δικαίου προστασία καὶ τὸ τῆς σοφίας ἔνδοξον καὶ ἡ παρὰ πάντων ἀνθρώπων τιμή, ὑπὲρ δὲ τὸν τύπον τὸ μέχρι συντελείας διαμένειν τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ διαφανέστατον γίνεσθαι. ταῦτα γὰρ οὐδαμῶς ἥρμοσε Σολομῶνι τῷ βραχὺν μὲν διαγενομένῳ χρόνον, ἐσχηκότι δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἐναντιουμένους, καρπὸν δὲ οὐδένα ἐξ αὐτοῦ καταλιπόντι ἀλλ' ἕνα παῖδα καὶ τοῦτον οὐ διαφυλάξαντα τὴν παραδοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ βασιλείαν· Χριστοῦ δὲ τὸ διενεκὲς καὶ ἀσάλευτον κράτος καὶ καρπὸς ἐπιφανέστατος οἱ πιστεύσαντες· τελεώτερα δ' ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τὰ τυπικῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Σολομῶνος πεφθακότα γενέσθαι ἃ καθ' ἕκαστον ἐπιὼν ὁ λόγος ἐξηγήσεται. Ὁ θεός, τὸ κρίμα σου τῷ βασιλεῖ δὸς καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ βασιλέως κρίνειν τὸν λαόν σου ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ τὸν πτωχόν σου ἐν κρίσει. Καὶ βασιλεύς ἐστι καὶ υἱὸς βασιλέως τοῦ ∆αυὶδ ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς κατὰ τὴν σάρκα καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ γένους ἀναστὰς τοῦ βασιλικοῦ, ἵνα τὴν πατρῴαν κατορθώσειε βασιλείαν κατὰ τὴν Ἡσαΐου προφητείαν καὶ θείαν αὐτὴν ἀντ' ἀνθρωπίνης ποιήσειεν καὶ, ὅπερ οὐκ ἦν ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ βασιλείᾳ, τὸ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀκριβὲς ἐφαρμόσειε τοῖς ὑπηκόοις καὶ τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις ἀποδοίη τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖσθαι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦτο ἐφυλάχθη τοῦ ∆αυίδ· εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα δίκαιος καὶ ἀρέσκων θεῷ παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτουργὸς ἀδικίας ἐγένετο τῆς πρὸς τὸν Οὐρίαν. τὸ γὰρ τοῦ Σολομῶνος καὶ μείζων ἀδικίας ἣν εἰς ἀσέβειαν τεῖνον ἡ τῶν εἰδώλων κατασκευή· ἀλλ' οὕτως ἐστὶν ὁ καὶ διὰ Ἡσαΐου καὶ διὰ Ἱερεμίου προειρημένος βασιλεὺς δίκαιος καθήμενος ἐπὶ θρόνου μετ' ἐλέους κατορθουμένου, κρίνων καὶ ζητῶν κρίμα καὶ σπεύδων δικαιοσύνην ὡς ὁ Ἡσαΐας φησίν, συνιεῖς δὲ καὶ ποιῶν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ὡς ὁ Ἱερεμίας λέγει.