Contemplating The Heavens

Ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου, σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας, τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν. Ἔστι δὲ τοῖς ἀκριβῶς κατανοοῦσι προσδοκία τοῦ δύνασθαι μαθεῖν τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς τίνα τρόπον τεθεμελίωται πρὸς οὐσίαν ἐλθόντα. Λέγοις δ' ἂν καὶ οὐρανοὺς τοὺς τὰ ἄνω φρονοῦντας, καὶ οὐ τὰ πρόσκαιρα· οὖτοι γὰρ οἱ οὐρανοὶ διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ· σελήνην δὲ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν· καὶ ἀστέρας τοὺς ἀκούσαντας, Ὑμεις τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· ὡς εἶναι τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ χειρῶν· Ἔργα γὰρ, φησὶ, τῶν χειρῶν σου εἰσὶν οἱ οὐρανοί. Εἰ μή τις λέγει τὰ μεγαλοφυέστερα τῶν κτισμάτων Θεοῦ γενέσθαι χερσὶν, τὰ δ' ἄλλα δακτύλοις αὐτοῦ. Σαφηνίζων δὲ ὡς κατὰ τὸ σῶμα τὸν ἄνθρώπου ἔλαβεν, ἐπάγει τὸ ἤ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου. Κατὰ σῶμα γὰρ, οὐ κατὰ ψυχὴν, υἱὸς τις ἀνθρώπου ἐστιν. Μεθ' ὄν δεικνὺς τὴν λογικὴν οὐσίαν, ταύτης τὸ μέγεθος ἐπιφέρει. Οὐκ εἶπε δὲ ὅτι, Ἔπλασας αὐτὸν, οὐ γὰρ περὶ δημιουργίας, ἀλλὰ προνοίας νῦν διαλέγεται. Ἐκτραγῳδεῖ δὲ πολλάλις ἡ Γραγὴ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐτέλειαν· Ἄνθρωπος γὰρ φησὶν ματαιότητι ὡμοιώθη· αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ὡς σκιαὶ παράγουσι· καὶ πάλιν· Ἄνθρωπος, ὡσει χόρτος αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ· ὡσει ἄνθος τοῦ ἀγροῦ, οὕτως ἐξανθήσει· ὅτι πνεῦμα διῆλθεν ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρξει, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιγνώσεται ἔτι τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Η' Migne PG 39.1185

'For I look at the heavens, work of your fingers, at the moon and the stars, which you have established; what is man that you are mindful of him, or a son of man, that you should look upon him?' 1 It is those who carefully contemplate who may have expectation of being able to know the heavens and the things of them and how they were established in the beginning. One may even say that the heavens are they who think of high things and not transient things, for these truly are 'the heavens telling of the glory of God.' 2 The moon you may understand as the Church, the stars those who have heard, 'You are the light of the world,' 3 as being from the hands of God, 'For the work of your hands,' it is said, 'are the heavens.' 4 If it may not be said more grandly of created things that they are from the hands of God, and the rest from His fingers. And let it be clear that concerning the body this is understood, and so he continues, 'the son of man', for according to the body not the soul is any 'son of man'. And so after referring to rational substance, he brings in something greater. But he does not say, 'You formed him,' for now he speaks not of creation but of providence. Scripture often deplores human vileness, for it says, ' A man is a vain thing, his days pass like a shadow,' 5 and again 'A man's days are like grass, like flower of the field he passes, because the spirit which is in him will not remain, and his place is not known anymore.' 6 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 8 1 Psa 8. 4-5 2 Ps 18.2 3 Mt 5.14 4 Ps 101.26 5 Ps 143.4 6 Ps 102 15-16