The Blessed Man And Others

Μακάριος ὁ ἀνὴρ ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν. Ἐπεὶ φυσικῶς ὀρεγόμεθα πάντες τοῦ μακάριοι εἶναι, τέλος ἀγαθοῦ τὸ μακάριον ὁριζόμενοι, πεπλανημένως γε μὴν πολλοὶ τοῦτο μεταδιώκειν ἐν σωμάτων ἡδοναῖς ἡγοῦνται, πλούτους θαυμάζοντες καὶ ἀξιώματα, καὶ τὰς ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ τρυφάς· εἰκότως ὁ λόγος ἐν τούτοις ὅθεν ἐχρῆν τὴν καταρχὴν ἐποιήσατο τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ὑμνῳδίας, τὸν ἀληθῶς μακάριον καὶ τέλους ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ παρὰ Θεῷ ἠξιωμένον ὑπογράφων. Καὶ ἐνθάδε μὲν διὰ τὸ σπάνιον τῶν πάλαι πρότερον κατορθούντων ἕνα τινὰ μακαρίζει· ὁ δὲ Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν πλείονας ποιῶν μακαρίους, πληθυντικῶς τοὺς μακαρισμοὺς προσφέρεται. Πάντων δὲ πρῶτος αὐτὸς ἂν εἴη ὁ μακαριζόμενος· διὸ καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἀνοίσει τις τὸν παρόντα ψαλμὸν, ἅτε γενόμενον ἄνδρα τῆς νύμφης αὐτοῦ Ἐκκλησίας· τοῦτο δὲ ἔοικεν ἡ Ἑβραϊκὴ φωνὴ παριστᾷν, καθ' ἣν μακάριος ὁ ἀνὴρ μετὰ τῆς τοῦ ἄρθρου προσθήκης εἴρηται. Καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη, καὶ ἐπὶ καθέδραν λοιμῶν οὐκ ἐκάθισεν. Πρῶτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὴν ψευδώνυμον ἔχοντες γνῶσιν, μηδὲν ἔχοντες ἑστηκὸς, ἀλλ' ἀνεξετάστοις κινούμενοι λογισμοῖς ἐν οἷς ἂν βουληθῶσιν, οἱ ἀσεβεῖς. Δεύτεροι πάντες οἱ μετὰ γνῶσιν ἀληθείας ἐξαμαρτάνοντες. Οἱ δὲ λοιμοὶ τρίτοι, μὴ μόνον νοσοῦντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ φθοροποιοῦ διδασκαλίας μεταδιδόντες τοῖς ἄλλοις, ἢ κατὰ γνῶσιν ἢ κατὰ πρᾶξιν, ἢ κατ' ἀμφότερα· οἳ καὶ ἐνίδρυνται τῷ κακῷ, τῶν δευτέρων ἑστηκότων ἐν ἁμαρτίαις, τῶν δὲ πρώτων ὁδευόντων ἐν πλάνῃ. Ὁ δὲ πάντων τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος μακάριος. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμὸς Αʹ Source: Migne PG 23.76c-77a

Blessed is the man who does not go off into the counsel of the godless.. 1 Since by nature we all desire to be happy, the end of the good man is said to be happiness, but being deceived many are led to think that they should seek this in the pleasures of the body, and in the magnificence of wealth and honour here, and in the delights of the present life, whence rightly this is placed at the beginning of the hymns praising God, in which is described who the blessed man really is, and it follows that the good end is from God. And here because certainly in the past those who lived rightly were rare, so the Psalmist speaks of one man who is blessed. But our Saviour who makes many blessed, adds an abundance of blessed ones. And He is the first among those who are blessed. Certainly the first Psalm must be referred to Him, as the man of whom the bride is the Church. And the Hebrew seems to signify this, according to which, Blessed is 'the' man, is said, with the article. ...and in the way of sinners he does not stand, and in the seat of pestilence he does not sit. The first are those who having the false name of knowledge, have nothing stable , but shifting about with untested thoughts, in which they delight, they are wicked men. The second are all those who after knowing the truth turn to error. The third are not only those who are diseased but they give to others the teachings of corruption, either of knowledge, or deeds, or both. They are sat in evil, the second stand in sin, and the first walk in the way of error. But the blessed man is delivered from all of them. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 1 1 Ps 9.10-11 2 Mt 7.13, 5.3