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so bearing the struggles, that he says scornfully: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Lord my God, I cried to you, and you healed me. Blessed is the one who knows his wound in the depth, so as to be able to approach the physician and say: Heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled; and, I said, Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. Here, then, there is thanksgiving for the healing brought to him; for, he says, O Lord my God. God is not the God of all, but of those who have been made His own through love. For God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob. And if He were God of all, this would not have been testified to them as something exceptional. And again Jacob: My God helped you. And Thomas after the assurance, embracing the Master, says, My Lord and my God. Therefore the utterance, O Lord my God, is heartfelt, 29.312 and befitting the prophetic state. I cried to you, and you healed me. Nothing came between my cry and your grace, but as soon as I cried out, the healing came. For while you are still speaking, he says, I will say: Behold, I am here. Therefore, one must utter great things when praying to God, so that healing may swiftly dawn upon us. Lord, you have brought up my soul from Hades. For this healing he thanks God, he who descended into Hades from weakness, but was brought up from Hades by the power of the one who for our sake wrestled down him who has the power of death. You have saved me from those who go down into the pit. In many places the pits are called the underground dungeons, prepared for the imprisonment of captives. For thus it is said in Exodus: From the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the captive who is in the pit. But they also cast Jeremiah into a pit; and Joseph's brothers, out of envy, shut him up in a pit that had no water. Therefore, every action either brings us down below, weighing us down through sin, or lifts us up, giving us wings toward God. You saved me, therefore, who was formerly in a wicked life, separating me from those who go down into the darkened and frozen place. This, then, is what is meant by, You have helped me; that is, You brought me back from the downward course, so as not to give my enemies occasion to rejoice over me. Therefore, what he has said elsewhere, that He makes my feet like a deer's, and sets me on high places, he calls the return to the high places a deliverance from the pit and a helping. Sing psalms to the Lord, you his saints. Not everyone who utters the words of the psalm with his mouth sings to the Lord; but those who send up psalmody from a pure heart, and those who are holy, preserving righteousness toward God, these are able to sing to God, following the spiritual rhythms harmoniously. How many are standing here from fornication, how many from theft! how many hiding deceit, how many falsehood in their hearts! They think they are singing, but in truth they are not singing. For the word calls the holy one to psalmody. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit, nor can a wicked heart bring forth words of life. Therefore make the tree good, and its fruit good. Cleanse your hearts, that you may bear fruit for the spirit, and may be able, having become holy, to sing with understanding to the Lord. And give thanks to the remembrance of his holi 29.313 ness. He did not say, Give thanks to his holiness, but, To the remembrance of his holiness; that is, Give thanks. For confession here is taken to mean thanksgiving. Give thanks, therefore, that you have come into the remembrance of his holiness; you who formerly, because of delving deep into evil, and being defiled by the impurities of the flesh, came into forgetfulness of the holiness of the one who made you. Therefore, for the atonement of sins, confess concerning the things you have not done rightly. For there is anger in his wrath, and life in his will. First he said the gloomy thing, anger in the wrath of God; then the

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οὕτω τὰ ἀγωνίσματα φέροντα, ὥστε λέγειν αὐτὸν καταφρονητικῶς· Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σὲ, καὶ ἰάσω με. Μακάριος ὁ τὴν ἐν τῷ βάθει πληγὴν ἑαυτοῦ γνωρίζων, ὥστε δύνασθαι τῷ ἰατρῷ προσιέναι καὶ λέγειν· Ἴασαί με, Κύριε, ὅτι ἐταράχθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου· καὶ, Ἐγὼ εἶπα, Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με, ἴασαι τὴν ψυχήν μου, ὅτι ἥμαρτόν σοι. Ἐνταῦθα μέν τοι εὐχαριστία ἐστὶν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐπαχθείσης αὐτῷ ἰατρείας· Κύριε γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ Θεός μου. Οὐ πάν των Θεὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ τῶν οἰκειωθέντων αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης. Θεὸς γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ Θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ, καὶ Θεὸς Ἰακώβ. Εἰ δὲ πάντων ἦν Θεὸς, οὐκ ἂν ἐκείνοις ὡς ἐξαίρετον τοῦτο προσεμαρτυρεῖτο. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἰακώβ· Ἐβοήθησέ σοι ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ἐμός. Καὶ Θωμᾶς μετὰ τὴν πληροφορίαν κατασπαζόμενος τὸν ∆εσπότην, Ὁ Κύριός μου, φησὶ, καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. Ἐνδιάθετος οὖν ἡ φωνὴ ἡ, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, 29.312 καὶ πρέπουσα τῇ προφητικῇ καταστάσει. Ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σὲ, καὶ ἰάσω με. Οὐδὲν ἐγένετο μέσον τῆς ἐμῆς φωνῆς καὶ τῆς σῆς χάριτος, ἀλλ' ὁμοῦ τε ἐκέ κραξα, καὶ προσῆλθεν ἡ ἴασις. Ἔτι γὰρ λαλοῦντός σου, φησὶν, ἐρῶ· Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι. Μεγάλα οὖν δεῖ φθέγγεσθαι εὐχόμενον τῷ Θεῷ, ἵνα ταχεῖα ἡμῖν ἐπ ανατείλῃ ἡ ἴασις. Κύριε, ἀνήγαγες ἐξ ᾅδου τὴν ψυχήν μου. Περὶ ταύτης τῆς ἰάσεως εὐχαριστεῖ τῷ Θεῷ ὁ κατελθὼν μὲν ἐξ ἀσθενείας εἰς ᾅδην, ἀναχθεὶς δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾅδου διὰ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καταπαλαίσαντος τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου. Ἔσωσάς με ἀπὸ τῶν καταβαινόντων εἰς λάκκον. Πολλαχοῦ μὲν οἱ λάκκοι ὀνομάζονται τὰ ὑπόγεια ὀρύγματα, εἰς φυλακὴν δεσμίων ἐπιτετηδευμένα. Οὕτω γὰρ εἴρηται ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ· Ἀπὸ πρωτοτόκου Φαραὼ ἕως πρωτοτόκου τῆς αἰχμαλωτίδος τῆς ἐν τῷ λάκκῳ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Ἱερεμίαν εἰς λάκκον ἐνέβαλον· καὶ τὸν Ἰωσὴφ ὑπὸ τοῦ φθόνου οἱ ἀδελφοὶ λάκκῳ ἐναπέκλεισαν ὕδωρ μὴ ἔχοντι. Ἑκάστη οὖν πρᾶξις ἢ ἐπὶ τὰ κάτω ἡμᾶς κατάγει, βαρύνουσα ἡμᾶς διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἢ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄνω κουφίζει, πτεροῦσα ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Ἔσωσας οὖν ἐμὲ πρό τερον ὄντα ἐν βίῳ πονηρῷ, χωρίσας ἀπὸ τῶν κατα βαινόντων εἰς τὸν ἐσκοτισμένον καὶ κατεψυγμένον τόπον. Τοῦτο οὖν ἐστι τὸ, Ὑπέλαβές με· τουτέστιν, Ἐπανήγαγές με ἀπὸ τῆς εἰς τὸ κάτω φορᾶς, ὡς μὴ δοῦναι καιρὸν ἐπευφρανθῆναί μοι τοὺς ἐχθρούς. Ὃ οὖν ἀλλαχοῦ εἴρηκεν, ὅτι Καταρτιζόμενος τοὺς πό δας μου ὡσεὶ ἐλάφου, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ ἱστῶν με, τὴν εἰς τὰ ὑψηλὰ ἐπάνοδον λάκκου ἀπαλλαγὴν καὶ ὑπόληψιν ὀνομάζει. Ψάλατε τῷ Κυρίῳ, οἱ ὅσιοι αὐτοῦ. Οὐκ εἴ τις τῷ στόματι προφέρει τὰ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ῥήματα, οὗτος ψάλλει τῷ Κυρίῳ· ἀλλ' ὅσοι ἀπὸ καρδίας καθαρᾶς ἀναπέμπουσι τὰς ψαλμῳδίας, καὶ ὅσοι εἰσὶν ὅσιοι, σώζοντες τὴν πρὸς Θεὸν δικαιο σύνην, οὗτοι δύνανται ψάλλειν τῷ Θεῷ τοῖς ῥυ θμοῖς τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ἁρμοζόντως ἀκολουθοῦντες. Πόσοι ἀπὸ πορνείας ἑστᾶσιν ἐνταῦθα, πόσοι ἀπὸ κλοπῆς! πόσοι δόλον, πόσοι ψευδολογίαν ἐν ταῖς καρ δίαις κρύπτοντες! Ψάλλειν οἴονται, τῇ ἀληθείᾳ μὴ ψάλλοντες. Ὅσιον γὰρ καλεῖ πρὸς ψαλμολογίαν ὁ λόγος. Οὐ δύναται δένδρον πονηρὸν καρποὺς ἀγαθοὺς ποιεῖν, οὐδὲ καρδία πονηρὰ ῥήματα ζωῆς ἐκβάλλειν. Ποιήσατε οὖν τὸ δένδρον καλὸν, καὶ τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ καλούς. Καθάρατε τὰς καρδίας, ἵνα καρποφορῆτε τῷ πνεύματι, καὶ δυνηθῆτε, ὅσιοι γενόμενοι, ψάλλειν συνετῶς τῷ Κυρίῳ. Καὶ ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῇ μνήμῃ τῆς ἁγιωσύ 29.313 νης αὐτοῦ. Οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῇ ἁγιωσύνῃ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ, Τῇ μνήμη τῆς ἁγιωσύνης αὐτοῦ· τουτέστιν, Εὐχαριστεῖτε. Ἡ γὰρ ἐξομολόγησις ἐν ταῦθα ἀντὶ εὐχαριστίας λαμβάνεται. Εὐχαριστεῖτε οὖν, ὅτι ἐν μνήμῃ τῆς ἁγιωσύνης αὐτοῦ ἐγένεσθε· οἳ πρότερον, διὰ τὸ ἐμβαθύνειν τῇ κακίᾳ, καὶ ταῖς ἀκαθαρσίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἐμμολύνεσθαι, εἰς λήθην ἤλθετε τῆς ἁγιωσύνης τοῦ ποιήσαντος ὑμᾶς. Ὑπὲρ οὖν τοῦ ἐξιλασμοῦ τῶν ἡμαρτημένων, ἐξομο λογεῖσθε περὶ τῶν οὐχ ὑγιῶς ὑμῖν προπεπραγμένων. Ὅτι ὀργὴ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ θε λήματι αὐτοῦ. Πρότερον εἶπε τὸ σκυθρωπὸν, ὀργὴν ἐν τῷ θυμῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἶτα τὸ