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we may not leave unexplained, it is necessary to know that it signifies the Lord's resurrection, after which all land and sea received the rays of the knowledge of God; thus indeed the psalm also foretells, and in addition to this the ascension of the Lord into heaven. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and all that dwell in it." For since the Jews supposed that he was master of Palestine alone, and provided for them alone, being their God alone, it is fitting that the prophetic word teaches that he is master of the whole world. But he is master of it, not by seizing the authority, nor by depriving anyone else of mastery; but by being its own creator, and bringing it from non-being into being. 2. "For he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods." And through these things, he shows not only the creation, but also the providence; for the earth, being by nature dry, has been granted corresponding moisture, having joined it externally and through the middle to the greatest seas, and having prepared very many and very great rivers, and indeed also springs, in the midst of the continents, some to run always, and others to gush forth. Having thus shown the mastery of God, and prophesied the knowledge of the nations, he offers exhortation concerning virtue, having again framed the discourse into question and answer. 3. "Who (for, he says) shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord? and who shall stand in his holy place?" But the mountain here, he does not mean the earthly one of Sion, but the heavenly one, which the blessed Paul pointed out: "You have come, he says, to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." For since he has taught before that the God of all things is maker and creator, it is fitting that he shows the way that leads to him, and he makes the answer to the question. 4. "Innocent in hands, and pure in heart; who has not received his soul in vain, and has not sworn deceitfully to his neighbor." It is fitting, he says, for the one desiring to ascend to that mountain, to purify the soul from unfitting thoughts, and to have hands free from such deeds. For indeed the hands, he has put in place of actions; and through the heart, he has alluded to the thoughts. For with the one we deliberate, and with the others we act. It is fitting, he says, for such a one to desire none of the things that flow and perish; for these he called vain; for thus also Ecclesiastes names them, saying "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." And since both deceit and the transgression of oaths are joined with the love of money, it is fitting that he forbids these also with it: "And has not sworn deceitfully to his neighbor." Then he shows the fruit of these good deeds. 5. "This one shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Savior." And very fittingly he joined mercy with blessing. For even the supposed rewards are given to men through the divine philanthropy alone. For all the righteousnesses of men are not at all sufficient in comparison to the gifts already given by God, much less indeed to those to come, which also surpass human reasoning. 6. This is the generation of them that seek the Lord, of them that seek the face of the God of Jacob." Those who choose to live according to these precepts, he says, truly desire to see the lawgiver of virtue, who long ago also deemed the great Jacob worthy of his own appearance. Therefore, in the eleventh psalm, [the Prophet speaking] about another generation living with all malice and wickedness, he besought God, saying: "You, O Lord, shall keep us, and you shall preserve us from this generation and for ever." But here he decrees the opposite: "This is the generation of them that seek the Lord." For after the incarnation of our God and Savior, all the earth and sea, having been persuaded by the divine preaching, left the ancestral gods, and seeks after the God of Jacob. Having thus foretold the salvation of the world, he then teaches those who by faith

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καταλίπωμεν ἀνερμήνευτον, εἰδέναι χρὴ ὡς τὴν δεσποτικὴν ἀνάστασιν προσημαίνει, μεθ' ἣν πᾶσα γῆ καὶ θάλασσα τὰς τῆς θεογνωσίας ἀκτῖ νας ἐδέξατο· οὕτω δὲ καὶ ὁ ψαλμὸς προαγορεύει, καὶ πρὸς τούτῳ τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον τοῦ ∆εσπό του. "Τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ γῆ, καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς· ἡ οἰκουμένη, καὶ πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ." Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὑπελάμβανον Ἰουδαῖοι μόνης αὐτὸν δεσπόζειν τῆς Παλαιστίνης, καὶ μόνων αὐτῶν προ μηθεῖσθαι, μόνων αὐτῶν ὄντα Θεὸν, εἰκότως ὁ προφητικὸς διδάσκει λόγος, ὅτι πάσης δεσπόζει τῆς οἰκουμένης. ∆εσπόζει δὲ αὐτῆς, οὐχ ἁρπάσας τὴν ἐξουσίαν, οὐδὲ ἄλλον τινὰ τῆς δεσποτείας στερήσας· ἀλλ' αὐτὸς αὐτὴν δημιουργήσας, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγαγών. βʹ. "Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐπὶ θαλασσῶν ἐθεμελίωσεν αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐπὶ ποταμῶν ἡτοίμασεν αὐτήν." ∆ιὰ τούτων δὲ, οὐ μόνον τὴν δημιουργίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πρόνοιαν δείκνυσι· φύσει γὰρ ἡ γῆ οὖσα ξηρὰ, ἀναλογοῦ σαν νοτίδα δεδώρηται, ἔξωθεν μὲν καὶ διὰ μέσου τοῖς μεγίστοις αὐτὴν συνάψας πελάγεσι, ποταμοὺς δὲ ὅτι μάλιστα πλείστους, καὶ μεγίστους, καὶ μέντοι καὶ πηγὰς, ἐν μέσαις ταῖς ἠπείροις, τοὺς μὲν διατρέχειν ἀεὶ, τὰς δὲ ἀναβλυστάνειν παρασκευά σας. Οὕτω καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δεσποτείαν ὑποδείξας, καὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν προθεσπίσας, τὴν περὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς προσφέρει παραίνεσιν, εἰς ἐρώτησιν καὶ ἀπόκρισιν πάλιν σχηματίσας τὸν λόγον. γʹ. "Τίς (γὰρ, φησὶν,) ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου; καὶ τίς στήσεται ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ αὐ τοῦ;" Ὄρος δὲ ἐνταῦθα, οὐ τὸ ἐπίγειον λέγει τὸ τῆς Σιὼν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐπουράνιον, ὅπερ ὁ μακάριος ὑπέδειξε Παῦλος· "Προσεληλύθατε, λέγων, Σιὼν ὄρει, καὶ πόλει Θεοῦ ζῶντος Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρα νίῳ." Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ προεδίδαξεν, ὅτι ποιητής ἐστι καὶ δημιουργὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, εἰκότως τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν φέρουσαν ὁδὸν δείκνυσι, καὶ ποιεῖται τὴν ἀπόκρισιν πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν. δʹ. "Ἀθῶος χερσὶ, καὶ καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ· ὃς οὐκ ἔλαβεν ἐπὶ ματαίῳ τὴν ψυχὴν αὑτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ὤμοσεν ἐπὶ δόλῳ τῷ πλησίον αὑτοῦ." Προσήκει, φησὶ, τὸν εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὄρος ἀναβῆναι ποθοῦντα, καὶ 80.1032 λογισμῶν ἀτόπων τὴν ψυχὴν, καθαρεύειν, καὶ πρά ξεων τοιουτοτρόπων ἐλευθέρας ἔχειν τὰς χεῖρας. Τὰς γὰρ δὴ χεῖρας, ἀντὶ πράξεων τέθεικε· διὰ δὲ τῆς καρδίας, τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις ᾐνίξατο. Τῇ μὲν γὰρ βουλευόμεθα, ταῖς δὲ πράττομεν. Προσήκει δὲ, φησὶ, τὸν τοιοῦτον μηδενὸς τῶν ῥεόντων καὶ φθει ρομένων ἐφίεσθαι· ταῦτα γὰρ ἐκάλεσε μάταια· οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὰ καὶ ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς ὀνομάζει, "Ματαιότης, λέγων, ματαιοτήτων, τὰ πάντα ματαιό της." Καὶ ἐπειδὴ καὶ δόλος καὶ παράβασις ὅρκων τῇ φιλοχρηματίᾳ συνέζευκται, εἰκότως καὶ ταῦτα μετ' ἐκείνης ἀπαγορεύει· "Καὶ οὐκ ὤμοσεν ἐπὶ δόλῳ τῷ πλησίον αὑτοῦ." Εἶτα δείκνυσι τὸν τῶν κατορθωμάτων τούτων καρπόν. εʹ. "Οὗτος λήψεται εὐλογίαν παρὰ Κυρίου, καὶ ἐλεημοσύνην παρὰ Θεοῦ σωτῆρος αὑτοῦ." Κομιδῆ δὲ προσφυῶς τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην τῇ εὐλογίᾳ συνέζευ ξε. Καὶ γὰρ αἱ νομιζόμεναι ἀντιδόσεις διὰ μόνην τὴν θείαν φιλανθρωπίαν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παρ έχοντα. Πᾶσαι γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων αἱ δικαιοσύναι, οὐδὲν πρὸς τὰς ἤδη δεδομένας ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεὰς ἀποχρῶσι, μήπου γε δὴ πρὸς τὰς ἐσομέ νας, αἳ καὶ λογισμὸν ἀνθρώπινον ὑπερβαίνουσιν. ʹ. Αὕτη ἡ γενεὰ ζητούντων τὸν Κύριον, ζητούν των τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακώβ." Οἱ κατὰ ταύτας, φησὶ, τὰς ὑποθήκας βιοῦν προαιρούμενοι, τῷ ὄντι ποθοῦσι τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸν νομοθέτην ἰδεῖν, ὃς πάλαι ποτὲ καὶ τὸν μέγαν Ἰακὼβ τῆς οἰκείας ἐπι φανείας ἠξίωσεν. Ἐν μὲν οὖν τῷ ἑνδεκάτῳ ψαλμῷ περὶ γενεᾶς ἑτέρας [ὁ Προφήτης διαλε γόμενος] πάσῃ κακίᾳ καὶ πονηρίᾳ συζώσης ἠντιβό λει τὸν Θεὸν λέγων· "Σὺ, Κύριε, φυλάξεις ἡμᾶς, καὶ διατηρήσεις ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα." Ἐνταῦθα δὲ τἀναντία θεσπίζει· "Αὕτη ἡ γενεὰ ζητούντων τὸν Κύριον." Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, πᾶσα ἡ γῆ καὶ θάλασσα τῷ θείῳ πεισθεῖσα κηρύγμα τι, κατέλιπε μὲν τοὺς πατρῴους θεοὺς, τοῦ δὲ Ἰα κὼβ ἐπιζητεῖ τὸν Θεόν. Οὕτω προαγορεύσας τῆς οἰκουμένης τὴν σωτηρίαν, διδάσκει λοιπὸν τοὺς τῇ πίστει