14. Then He gives thanks to God the Father
for the accomplishment of all these acts: I will give thanks
unto Thy name, O Lord, for it is good, for Thou hast delivered Me out
of all affliction. He has assigned to each clause its strict
fulfilment. Thus at the beginning He had said: Save Me,
O God, by Thy name; after the prayers had been heard it was right
that there should follow a corresponding ascription of thanks, in order
that confession might be made to His name by Whose name He had prayed
to be saved, and that inasmuch as He had asked for help against the
strangers that rose up against Him, He might set on record that He had
received it in the burst of joy expressed in the words: Thou
hast delivered Me out of all affliction. Then in respect of
the fact that the violent in seeking after His soul did not set God
before their eyes, He has declared His eternal possession of
unchangeable divinity in the words: And Mine eye hath looked
down upon Mine enemies. For the Only-begotten Son of God was
not cut off by death. It is true that in order to take the whole
of our nature upon Him He submitted to death, that is to the apparent
severance of soul and body, and made His way even to the realms below,
the debt which man must manifestly pay: but He rose again and
abides for ever and looks down with an eye that death cannot dim upon
His enemies, being exalted unto the glory of God and born once more Son
of God after becoming Son of Man, as He had been Son of God when He
first became Son of Man, by the glory of His resurrection. He
looks down upon His enemies to whom He once said: Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will build it up St. John ii. 19.. And so, now that this temple of His
body has been built again, He surveys from His throne on high those who
sought after His soul, and, set far beyond the power of human death, He
looks down from heaven upon those who wrought His death, He who
suffered death, yet could not die, the God-Man, our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who is blessed for ever and ever. Amen.