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The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup, you are he who restores my inheritance to me. It is fitting to be reminded of what was said in the second psalm. For there again the Father spoke to him in a human way: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. And in the holy Gospels he himself said to his Father concerning the holy apostles: Father, those whom you gave me were yours, and you have given them to me, and not one of them was lost except the son of perdition. But just as here he speaks in a human way, entreating to receive, so elsewhere he shows that he himself is the master of all: For my sheep hear my voice; and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life; and again: And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. In the present psalm, however, 23.160, he says in a human way: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; calling the kingdom of the nations an inheritance; and the cup, the death he endured for us. For thus he also said in the holy Gospels: Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; as if he said more clearly: And of my Church, which is my inheritance, the Lord is a portion; and the same is he who has become a portion of my cup, that is, of death. You are he who restores my inheritance to me. For of old, he says, my inheritance was something else, and my allotted portions were others. For when the Most High divided the nations, his people Jacob became the Lord's portion, Israel his allotted inheritance. But then the former people was the portion and inheritance and allotted land; and when they fell away and were cast out on account of their impiety, another portion and other allotments and other lots instead of those former ones were given to me among the best. For this second one, he says, is the best and is pleasing to me. I foresaw the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, that I might not be shaken. The holy one, always reckoning that the Lord is before his eyes, is not shaken; but the Lord stands firm at the right hand of the just one. But concerning Judas, Let the devil stand, he says, at his right hand. A PRAYER OF DAVID. 10. Hear, O Lord, my justice, attend to my supplication. Give ear to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. Through prayer he beseeches God to be a hearer, not of his voice, nor of his words, but of the very virtue within him, which cries out as it were through the deeds of righteousness and importunes the divine hearing. For one who is conscious of evil in himself would not easily utter such a cry. And as for, Attend to my supplication, this would be said by one who has been tested and sends up supplications worthy of God in prayer, who does not entreat God for small and ordinary requests, nor for mortal and human things. For this is what the Savior also taught, saying: Ask for the great things, and the small will be added to you. And thirdly he beseeches that the very words of the prayer be heard, and that, so to speak, the very voice be judged, because it is not uttered with deceitful lips. For often we utter solemn things, and use words from the divine Scriptures, but with lips that are not purified. And some, after having indifferently used railings against some, or slanders, or falsehoods, or deceits, or perjuries, or foul language, or some other improper utterances, suddenly changing, call upon God in prayer. But only the holy one purifies his tongue and his lips, and his voice itself, and his common words;

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Κύριος μερὶς τῆς κληρονομίας μου καὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου μου, σὺ εἶ ὁ ἀποκαθιστῶν τὴν κληρονομίαν μου ἐμοί. Ἀναμνησθῆναι προσήκει τῶν ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ εἰρημένων ψαλμῷ. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ ἀνθρωπίνως πάλιν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔλεγεν ὁ Πατήρ· Αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου, καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσίν σου τὰ πέρατα τῆς γῆς. Καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις αὐτὸς πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἔφη Πατέρα περὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων· Πάτερ, οὓς ἔδωκάς μοι σοὶ ἦσαν, καὶ ἐμοὶ αὐτοὺς δέδωκας καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπώλετο εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐνταῦθα ἀνθρωπίνως διαλέγεται λαβεῖν παρακαλῶν, οὕτως ἑτέρωθι δείκνυσι, ὡς αὐτός ἐστι τῶν ἁπάντων δεσπότης· Τὰ πρόβατα γὰρ τὰ ἐμὰ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούει· κἀγὼ γινώσκω αὐτὰ, καὶ ἀκολουθοῦσί μοι· κἀγὼ ζωὴν αἰώνιον δίδωμι αὐτοῖς· καὶ πάλιν· Καὶ ἄλλα δὲ πρόβατα ἔχω, ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς ταύτης· κἀκεῖνά με δεῖ ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούσουσι, καὶ γενήσεται μία ποίμνη, εἷς ποιμήν. Ἐν τῷ παρόντι μέντοι 23.160 ψαλμῷ, ἀνθρωπίνως λέγει· Κύριος μερὶς τῆς κληρονομίας μου καὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου· κληρονομίαν καλῶν τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν βασιλείαν· ποτήριον δὲ ὃν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὑπέμεινε θάνατον. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἔλεγεν Εὐαγγελίοις· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, παρελθέτω τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· ὡσεὶ σαφέστερον ἔλεγε· Καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ κληρονομία μου, μερίς ἐστιν ὁ Κύριος· ὁ αὐτὸς δὲ καὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου μου, τουτέστι τοῦ θανάτου, μερὶς γεγενημένος ὁ αὐτός. Σὺ εἶ ὁ ἀποκαθιστῶν τὴν κληρονομίαν μου ἐμοί. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἄλλη τις ἦν κληρονομία μου, καὶ ἄλλα σχοινίσματά μου. Ὅτε γὰρ διεμέριζεν ὁ Ὕψιστος ἔθνη, ἐγενήθη μερὶς Κυρίου λαὸς αὐτοῦ Ἰακὼβ, σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν μερὶς καὶ κληρονομία, καὶ σχοίνισμα ὁ πρότερος ἦν λαός· οὗ διαπεσόντος καὶ ἀποβλήτου γενομένου διὰ τὰς ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν, ἑτέρα μερὶς καὶ ἄλλα σχοινία, καὶ ἕτεροι κλῆροι ἀντὶ τῶν προτέρων ἐκείνων ἐδόθησάν μοι ἐν τοῖς κρατίστοις. Αὕτη γὰρ, φησὶν, ἡ δευτέρα κρατίστη καὶ ἀρέσκουσά μοί ἐστιν. Προωρώμην τὸν Κύριον ἐνώπιόν μου διὰ παντός· ὅτι ἐκ δεξιῶν μου ἐστὶν, ἵνα μὴ σαλευθῶ. Ὁ ἅγιος, ἀεὶ λογιζόμενος ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ εἶναι τὸν Κύριον, οὐ σαλεύεται· ἀλλὰ βέβαιος ἕστηκεν ὁ Κύριος ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ δικαίου. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ Ἰούδα, Ὁδιάβολος στήτω, φησὶν, ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ. ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗ ΤΩ ∆ΑΥΙ∆ Ιʹ. Εἰσάκουσον, Κύριε, δικαιοσύνης μου, πρόσχες τῇ δεήσει μου. Ἐνώτισαι τὴν προσευχήν μου οὐκ ἐν χείλεσι δολίοις. Ἱκετεύει διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς τὸν Θεὸν ἀκροατὴν γενέσθαι, οὐ τῆς φωνῆς, οὐδὲ τῶν ῥημάτων αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' αὐτῆς τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ ἀρετῆς, ὥσπερ βοώσης διὰ τῶν πράξεων τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ δυσωπούσης τὴν θείαν ἀκοήν. Οὐκ ἂν γάρ τις, ἑαυτῷ φαῦλα συνειδὼς, ῥᾳδίως ἂν τοιαύτην ἀφῆκε φωνήν. Τὸ δὲ, Πρόσχες τῇ δεήσει μου, εἴποι ἂν ἐκεῖνος ὁ βεβασανισμένος καὶ πρεπούσας Θεῷ ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ ἀναπέμπων δεήσεις, ὁ μὴ ἐπὶ μικροῖς καὶ τοῖς τυχοῦσιν αἰτήμασι, μηδ' ἐπὶ θνητοῖς καὶ ἀνθρωπίνοις παρακαλῶν τὸν Θεόν. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐδίδασκε λέγων· Αἰτεῖτε τὰ μεγάλα, καὶ τὰ μικρὰ προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν. Καὶ τρίτον δὲ ἱκετεύει, καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ ῥήματα τῆς προσευχῆς ἐνωτίσασθαι, κρῖναί τε, ὡς εἰπεῖν, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν φωνὴν, ὅτι μὴ ἐν χείλεσι δολίοις προφέρεται. Πολλάκις γὰρ σεμνὰ φθεγγόμεθα, καὶ λόγοις χρώμεθα τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, οὐ κεκαθαρμένοις τοῖς χείλεσιν. Ἤδη δέ τινες, ἀδιαφόρως λοιδορίαις κατά τινων χρησάμενοι, ἢ διαβολαῖς, ἢ ψευδολογίαις, ἢ ἀπάταις, ἢ ἐπιορκίαις, ἢ αἰσχροῤῥημοσύναις, ἢ ἄλλοις τισὶν ἀτόποις φωναῖς, ἀθρόως μεταβάλλοντες ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ τὸν Θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦνται. Μόνος δὲ ὁ ἅγιος καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ χείλη, καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτὴν, καὶ τὰ κοινὰ ῥήματα καθαίρει·