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Praise him, because he delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the wicked. Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said: O eternal God, the knower of hearts, who knows all things before their birth, you know that they have borne false 95.1269 witness against me. And behold, I die having done none of the things which these men have testified against me. And God heard her voice, and as she was being led away to perish, God raised up the Holy Spirit of a younger boy, whose name was Daniel, and he cried out with a loud voice: I am clean from her blood. The patriarchs, being jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt, and God was with him, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, and he made him ruler over Egypt. If God is with us, who is against us? He who has God with him is stronger than all. If all the things which the wicked and godless sorcerers were zealous for came to pass for them and for their defenders and fellow-working demons, they would not have left a single living Christian person on the earth, nor a house of prayer, nor good counsel, nor a saving word to be manifest anywhere.

TITLE IV. —Concerning baptism, and the prophecy of the divine font.

Come to him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be ashamed. You who are thirsty, go to the water, and as many as have no silver, go buy, and drink wine without silver and price. Draw water with gladness from the springs of the savior. Wash yourselves, be clean. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. In the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. Which also now saves us, baptism, as a counterpart, not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the appeal of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and have fallen away, to be renewed again to repentance, since they crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put him to an open shame. The time for baptism, is the entire life of man. For it is not possible for a body to live without breathing, nor for a soul to exist without knowing the Creator. For ignorance of God is the death of the soul. But he who is not baptized is not enlightened. And without light, neither does the eye see its own things, nor can the soul receive the vision of God without baptism. 95.1272 John preached a baptism of repentance; and all Judea went out to him. The Lord preaches a baptism of adoption; and who of those who have hoped in him will not obey? That baptism was introductory, this one is perfecting; that one a departure from sin, this one an appropriation to God. Israel, if it had not passed through the sea, would not have been separated from Pharaoh; and you, if you do not pass through the water, will not be separated from the bitter tyranny of the devil. That one would not have drunk from the spiritual rock, if he had not been typically baptized; nor will anyone give you the true drink, if you are not truly baptized. That one ate the bread of angels after the baptism; but you will not eat the living bread, unless you first accept baptism. That one entered into the land of promise through baptism; but how will you return to paradise, not being sealed with baptism? Or do you not know that a flaming sword is appointed to guard the way of the tree, to the unbelievers fearsome and flaming, but to the believers easy to approach, and shining like day? but the Master also made it to turn. For when it sees a faithful one, it gives its back; but when some

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αἰνέσατε αὐτὸν, ὅτι ἐξείλετο ψυχὴν πένητος ἐκ χειρὸς πονηρευομένου. Ἀνεβόησε φωνῆ μεγάλῃ Σωσάννα, καὶ εἶπεν· Ὁ Θεὸς αἰώνιος, ὁ τῶν καρδιῶν γνώστης, ὁ εἰδὼς τὰ πάντα πρὶν γενέσεως αὐτῶν, σὺ ἐπίστασαι ὅτι ψεύδη 95.1269 μου κατεμαρτύρησαν. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀποθνήσκω μὴ ποιήσασα μηδὲν ὧν οὗτοι κατεμαρτυρήσαντο κατ' ἐμοῦ. Καὶ εἰσήκουσεν ὁ Θεὸς τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῆς, καὶ ἀπαγομένης αὐτῆς ἀπολέσθαι, ἐξήγειρεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον παιδάριον νεώτερον, ᾧ ὄνομα ∆ανιὴλ, καὶ ἀνεβόησε φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· Καθαρός εἰμι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς. Οἱ πατριάρχαι ζηλώσαντες τὸν Ἰωσὴφ, ἀπέδοντο εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ ἦν ὁ Θεὸς μετ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ χάριν καὶ σοφίαν ἐναντίον Φαραὼ, καὶ κατέστησεν αὐτὸν ἡγούμενον ἐπ' Αἴγυπτον. Εἰ ὁ Θεὸς μεθ' ἡμῶν, τίς καθ' ἡμῶν; Ὁ τὸν Θεὸν ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ, πάντων ἐστὶν ἰσχυρότερος. Εἰ πάντα ὅσα διεσπούδαζον οἱ πονηροὶ καὶ ἄθεοι γόητες, ἐξεγίνετο αὐτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς τούτων ὑπερασπισταῖς καὶ συνεργοῖς δαίμοσιν, οὐκ ἂν ἀφῆκαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἕνα που ζῶντα Χριστιανὸν ἄνθρωπον, οὐκ εὐκτήριον οἶκον, οὐ παραίνεσιν ἀγαθὴν, οὐ λόγον οὐδαμοῦ περιφανῆναι σωτήριον.

ΤΙΤΛ. ∆ʹ. -Περὶ βαπτίσματος, καὶ τῆς τοῦ θείου λουτροῦ προφητείας.

Προσέλθετε πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ φωτίσθητε, καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. Οἱ διψῶντες, πορεύεσθε ἐφ' ὕδωρ, καὶ ὅσοι μὴ ἔχετε ἀργύριον, βαδίσαντες ἀγοράσατε, καὶ πίετε οἶνον ἄνευ ἀργυρίου καὶ τιμῆς. Ἀντλήσατε ὕδωρ μετ' εὐφροσύνης ἐκ τῶν πηγῶν τοῦ σωτηρίου. Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε. ∆εῦτε πρός με πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες, καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Ἀμὴν, ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν· ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύματος, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐν ἡμέραις Νῶε κατεσκευασμένης κιβωτοῦ, εἰς ἣν ὀλίγαι, τουτέστιν ὀκτὼ ψυχαὶ διεσώθησαν δι' ὕδατος. Ὃ καὶ ἡμᾶς νῦν ἀντίτυπον διασώζει βάπτισμα, οὐ σαρκὸς ἀπόθεσις ῥύπου, ἀλλὰ συνειδήσεως ἀγαθῆς ἐπερώτημα εἰς Θεὸν, δι' ἀναστάσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἀδύνατον τοὺς ἅπαξ φωτισθέντας, γευσαμένους τε τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς ἐπουρανίου, καὶ μετόχους γενηθέντας Πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ καλὸν γευσαμένους Θεοῦ ῥῆμα, δυνάμεις τε μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, καὶ παραπεσόντας, πάλιν ἀνακαινίζειν εἰς μετάνοιαν, ἀνασταυροῦντας ἑαυτοῖς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ παραδειγματίζοντας. Καιρὸς βαπτίσματος, ἅπας ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίος. Οὔτε γὰρ σώματι ζῇν μὴ ἀναπνέοντι δυνατὸν, οὔτε ψυχῇ συνεστάναι, μὴ γνωριζούσῃ τὸν Κτίσαντα. Θεοῦ γὰρ ἄγνοια θάνατός ἐστι ψυχῆς. Ὁ δὲ μὴ βαπτισθεὶς, οὐ πεφώτισται. Ἄνευ δὲ φωτὸς, οὔτε ὀφθαλμὸς τὰ ἑαυτοῦ καθορᾷ, οὔτε ψυχὴ δύναται Θεοῦ δέξασθαι θεωρίαν ἄνευ βαπτίσματος. 95.1272 Ἰωάννης ἐκήρυσσε βάπτισμα μετανοίας· καὶ ἐξεπορεύετο πρὸς αὐτὸν πᾶσα Ἰουδαία. Κύριος κηρύσσει βάπτισμα υἱοθεσίας· καὶ τίς τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν ἠλπικότων οὐχ ὑπακούσεται; Ἐκεῖνο εἰσαγωγικὸν τὸ βάπτισμα, τοῦτο τελειωτικόν· ἐκεῖνο ἁμαρτίας ἀναχώρησις, τοῦτο οἰκείωσις πρὸς Θεόν. Ὁ Ἰσραὴλ, εἰ μὴ παρῆλθε τὴν θάλασσαν, οὐκ ἂν ἐχωρίσθη τοῦ Φαραώ· καὶ σὺ ἐὰν μὴ παρέλθῃς διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὐ χωρισθήσῃ τῆς πικρᾶς τυραννίδος τοῦ διαβόλου. Οὐκ ἂν ἔπιεν ἐκεῖνος ἐκ τῆς πνευματικῆς πέτρας, εἰ μὴ τυπικῶς ἐβαπτίσθη· οὐδὲ σοί τις δώσει τὴν ἀληθινὴν πόσιν, ἐὰν μὴ ἀληθῶς βαπτισθῇς. Ἔφαγεν ἄρτον ἀγγέλων ἐκεῖνον ἐκεῖνος μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα· σὺ δὲ οὐ βρώσῃ τὸν ζῶντα ἄρτον, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον ἀποδέξῃ τὸ βάπτισμα. Εἰσῆλθεν ἐκεῖνος εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας διὰ τὸ βάπτισμα· σὺ δὲ πῶς ἐπανέλθῃς εἰς τὸν παράδεισον, μὴ σφραγισθεὶς τῷ βαπτίσματι; Ἢ οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι φλογίνη ῥομφαία τέτακται φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου, τοῖς μὲν ἀπίστοις φοβερὰ καὶ φλογίζουσα, τοῖς δὲ πεπιστευκόσιν εὐπρόσιτος, καὶ ἡμέραν ἐπιλάμπουσα; ἀλλὰ καὶ στρέφεσθαι αὐτὴν ἐποίησεν ὁ ∆εσπότης. Ὅταν μὲν γὰρ ἴδῃ πιστὸν, τὰ νῶτα δίδωσιν· ὅταν δέ τινα