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his ways to Moses, to the sons of Israel his will. He did not bring about these things, your salvation, out of repentance, but from above he foretold these things through the prophets, and through the divine Moses he foreshadowed our salvation. And the sea received a type of the all-holy baptism, and the rock was shown to be a shadow of the immortal streams, and the manna an image of heavenly delight, and the other things also, so that I may not go through each one, thus it is possible to find them foreshadowed among them. Therefore, both ways and will signify virtues, according to, Lord, make known to me your ways; and that from Paul to Elymas: Will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Such also is this: I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will. He says, therefore, that the transitions from the types of the law and the shadow to the good things to come, which are spiritual and archetypal, he taught Moses, giving him the law, such as what circumcision is, what the sabbaths are, what the sacrifices are, having taught these things also to him who is a son of Israel, concerning whom it is said: Israel my chosen one. For God makes these things known to the discerning: the Jew in secret, the circumcision of the heart, the sacrifice of praise and of justice. The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and full of mercy. For these are the causes of so great a benefit both of old and now, as Moses also said: The Lord is long-suffering and full of mercy, and true, showing mercy to thousands. Therefore, He made known to Moses these powers of His which are called ways, and the abyss of divine goodness, the immeasurable mercy, the sea of loving-kindness, governs virtues in all things. He will not be angry forever, nor will he be wrathful for eternity. Therefore, he neither uses wrath forever (for this is what 'to the end' means), nor does he perpetually grant mercy to the unworthy. Since how, because God is a just judge, and mighty and long-suffering, how will he render to each according to his works? Therefore, he mixes wrath with mercy, when it is the time for mercy, setting it forth, but when it is for wrath, inflicting it on the day of wrath and of righteous judgment, in which, says Paul, He will render to each according to his works. Wherefore he says, He will not be wrathful for eternity, meaning the present age; for he has kept judgment and wrath for the age to come. He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor has he repaid us according to our sins. For he did not endure to measure the punishment by our sins, nor to extend his indignation against us for very long. For being the true God, he does not have these virtues as a habit, but is their source and essence; whence he does not punish to the point of completion, persisting in wrath until destruction. For he is the one who says: When the anger of my wrath occurs, I will heal again; and he lessens the punishments, not chastising according to what is deserved. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so has the Lord made his mercy to prevail over them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our iniquities from us. If he had found longer distances than these, he would certainly have brought these forward as well, wishing to show the infinity of the divine goodness; but human reasoning has found neither a measure higher than heaven, nor one longer than the distance between west and east. But people who happen to be in sins are in darkness and the west; but having been delivered from their offenses, it is clear that they are transferred into the light. So that he has fittingly called the deliverance from sins a transition from west to east, wishing at the same time to teach us what is between sin and righteousness. As 55.644 a father has compassion on his sons, so the Lord has compassion on them that fear him.

3. The Creator and Maker shows the goodness of a father, or rather the

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ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ Μωϋσεῖ, τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ τὰ θελήματα αὐτοῦ. Οὐκ ἐκ μεταμελείας δὲ ταῦτα ὑμῶν ἐπραγματεύσατο, τὴν σωτηρίαν, ἀλλ' ἄνω θεν ταῦτα διὰ τῶν προφητῶν προεθέσπισε, καὶ διὰ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Μωϋσέως τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐσκιαγράφησε σωτη ρίαν. Καὶ τοῦ παναγίου βαπτίσματος ἡ θάλασσα τύπον ἐδέξατο, ἡ πέτρα δὲ τῶν ἀθανάτων κρουνῶν ἀπεφάνθη σκιὰ, τῆς ἐπουρανίου δὲ τρυφῆς εἰκὼν τὸ μάννα, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δὲ, ἵνα μὴ καθ' ἕκαστον διεξέρχωμαι, οὕτως ἔστιν εὑρεῖν παρ' ἐκείνοις ἐσκιαγραφημένα. Ὁδοὶ τοίνυν καὶ θελήματα τὰς ἀρετὰς ἄμφω σημαίνουσι, κατὰ τὸ, Κύριε, γνώρισόν μοι τὰς ὁδούς σου· καὶ τὸ παρὰ Παύλου πρὸς Ἐλύμαν· Οὐ παύσῃ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς Κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας; Τοιοῦτον καὶ τὸ, Εὗρον ∆αυῒδ τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου, ὃς ποιήσει πάντα τὰ θελήματά μου. Λέγει τοίνυν, ὅτι τὰς μεταβάσεις τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν τυπικῶν τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῆς σκιᾶς ἐπὶ τὰ μέλλοντα ἀγαθὰ, ἅπερ ἐστὶ πνευματικὰ καὶ πρωτότυπα, τὸν Μωϋσέα, διδοὺς αὐτῷ τὸν νόμον, ἐδίδαξεν, οἷον τίς ἡ περιτομὴ, τίνα τὰ σάββατα, τίνες αἱ θυσίαι, ταῦτα διδάξας καὶ τὸν ὅστις ἐστὶν υἱὸς Ἰσραὴλ, περὶ οὗ λέλεκται· Ἰσραὴλ ὁ ἐκλεκτός μου. Ταῦτα γὰρ γνωρίζει τοῖς διορατικοῖς ὁ Θεὸς, τὸν ἐν κρυπτῷ Ἰου δαῖον, καρδίας περιτομὴν, θυσίαν αἰνέσεως καὶ δικαιο σύνης. Οἰκτίρμων καὶ ἐλεήμων ὁ Κύριος, μακρόθυμος καὶ πολυέλεος. Ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ τῆς τοσαύτης εὐεργε σίας καὶ πάλαι γέγονε καὶ νῦν αἴτια, φήσαντος καὶ Μωϋσέως· Κύριος μακρόθυμος καὶ πολυέλεος, καὶ ἀληθινὸς, ποιῶν ἔλεος εἰς χιλιάδας. Ταύτας οὖν αὑ τοῦ τὰς δυνάμεις ἐγνώρισε τῷ Μωϋσεῖ λεγομένας ὁδοὺς, καὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς κατὰ τὰ πάντα διέπει τῆς θείας ἀγα θότητος ἄβυσσος, ὁ ἀμέτρητος ἔλεος, τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τὸ πέλαγος. Οὐκ εἰς τέλος ὀργισθήσεται, οὐδὲ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μηνιεῖ. Οὐκοῦν οὔτε διὰ παντὸς τῷ θυμῷ (τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ, Εἰς τέλος) χρήσεται, οὔτε τὸν ἔλεον διηνεκῶς τοῖς ἀναξίοις χαρίζεται. Ἐπεὶ πῶς, ὅτι Θεὸς κριτὴς δίκαιος καὶ ἰσχυρὸς καὶ μακρόθυμος, πῶς ἀπο δώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ; Κιρνᾷ τοίνυν τῷ ἐλέῳ τὴν ὀργὴν, ὅτε μὲν ἐλέους καιρὸς, αὐτὸν προβαλ λόμενος, ὅτε δὲ ὀργῆς, ἐπιφέρων αὐτὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ δικαιοκρισίας, ἐν ᾗ, φησὶν ὁ Παῦλος, Ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. ∆ιόπερ φησὶν, Οὐκ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μηνιεῖ, τὸν παρόντα λέγων αἰῶνα· τῷ μέλ λοντι γὰρ τὴν κρίσιν καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν ἐφύλαξεν. Οὐ κατὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν ἐποίησεν ἡμῖν, οὐδὲ κατὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἀνταπέδωκεν ἡμῖν. Οὐκ ἠνέσχετο γὰρ ταῖς ἡμετέραις ἁμαρτίαις μετρῆσαι τὴν τιμωρίαν, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον καθ' ἡμῶν ἐκτεῖναι τὴν ἀγανάκτησιν. Ἀλη θινὸς γὰρ ὢν ὁ Θεὸς, ταύτας οὐ καθ' ἕξιν ἔχει τὰς ἀρε τὰς, πηγὴ δὲ ὢν αὐτῶν καὶ οὐσία· ὅθεν οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ συν τελέσαι κολάζει, τῇ ὀργῇ μέχρι φθορᾶς ἐπιμένων. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ λέγων· Ὅταν ὀργὴ τοῦ θυμοῦ μου γένηται, πάλιν ἰάσομαι· ἐλαττοῖ δὲ καὶ τὰς τιμωρίας, μὴ πρὸς ἀξίαν κολάζων. Ὅτι κατὰ τὸ ὕψος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἐκραταίωσε Κύριος τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς φοβουμένους αὐτόν. Καθ' ὅσον ἀπέχουσιν ἀνατολαὶ ἀπὸ δυσμῶν, ἐμάκρυνεν ἀφ' ἡμῶν τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν. Εἰ καὶ τούτων εὗρε μακρότερα διαστήματα, πάν τως ἂν καὶ ταῦτα εἰς μέσον παρήγαγε, δεῖξαι τὸ ἄπειρον τῆς θείας βουλόμενος ἀγαθότητος· ἀλλ' οὐχ εὗρεν ὁ ἀνθρώπινος λογισμὸς οὔτε οὐρανοῦ ὑψηλότερον μέτρον, οὔτε τοῦ μέσου τῆς ἑσπέρας καὶ τῆς ἑῴας μακρότερον. Ἐν σκότῳ δέ εἰσι καὶ δυσμαῖς οἱ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις τυγχά νοντες ἄνθρωποι· ἀπαλλαγέντες δὲ τῶν πλημμελημάτων, ἐν φωτὶ δῆλον ὅτι μεταθέντες γίνονται. Ὥστε εἰκότως τὴν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀπαλλαγὴν, μετάβασιν τὴν ἀπὸ δυσμῶν εἰς ἀνατολὰς κέκληκεν, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς διδάξαι τί μέσον ἁμαρτίας καὶ δικαιοσύνης βουλόμενος. Καθὼς 55.644 οἰκτείρει πατὴρ υἱοὺς, ᾠκτείρησε Κύριος τοὺς φο βουμένους αὐτόν.

γʹ. Πατρὸς ἀγαθότητα δείκνυσιν ὁ ∆ημιουργός τε καὶ Ποιητὴς, μᾶλλον δὲ τοὺς