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of the very eyes of God, there is no other hope of salvation, neither for a king trusting in military power, nor for a giant priding himself on the multitude of his power and strength, nor for a horse trusting in the swiftness of its feet. For all these things prove false, trip up, and lead astray those who have hoped in them. But you, be of good courage, who call upon the Lord, and have taken up His fear. And fear neither the counsels of nations, which the Lord scatters, nor the reasonings of peoples, which the Lord sets at naught, nor the counsels of rulers, which He Himself overthrows. But neither be dismayed by a king who trusts in the multitude of his military power, nor by a giant puffed up by the strength and might of his body. But having as a great protection the eyes of His providence, hope in Him alone and in His mercy, to rescue their souls from death. For the death of a soul would be the denial of God and complete apostasy, and sins unto death; so that, even if it should ever happen that the bodies of those who hope in the Lord are delivered over to common death for their witness to Him, yet His eyes, having taken care of the better part, have rescued their souls from death. And not only do they do this, but they also take care to nourish them in famine. For in times of persecution, during which the teachings and the readings of the divinely inspired Scriptures are often forbidden, and he who distributes spiritual food to the souls of men is scarce, nevertheless the eyes of the Lord by the influx of the divine Spirit, nourish also their souls, making them taught by God, so that even without human teaching they are nourished by an ineffable power. TO THE PSALM OF DAVID 33. When he changed his countenance before Abimelech, and he sent him away, and he departed. Some have supposed that the inscription of the present psalm signifies that history, by which it is recorded that David, fleeing from the face of Saul, had come to Achish king of Gath; when, feigning madness, he drummed upon the gates of the city, 23.289 and behaved strangely, and fell down, and let his spittle run down upon his beard; so that Achish said to his servants: "Why have you brought an epileptic man to me?" But that he changed his countenance, such people have heard; but that what is joined next, "before Abimelech," they seem to me to have overlooked. For Achish was king of the foreigners who inhabited Gath; but Abimelech is mentioned as a priest of God; to whom David is also recorded to have come before his arrival at Achish; for the Scripture says: "And David comes to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech was astonished at his coming; and he said to him: 'Why are you alone, and no one with you?'" And David said to the priest: "The king has commanded me a matter today and said to me: 'Let no one know the matter about which I am sending you, and for which I have commanded you, and I have appointed my young men to the place called God's faithfulness.'" "And now if there are loaves under your hand, give what is found into my hands." And the priest answered David, and said: "There are no common loaves under my hand, but only holy loaves; if the young men have kept themselves from women, then you may eat." And David answered the priest, and said to him: "But we have kept ourselves from women yesterday and the day before; when I came out on the way, the young men were sanctified; and this way is common; because today it will be sanctified through my vessels." And Ahimelech the priest gave him the loaves of the presence; because there was no bread, but only the loaves of the presence that had been removed from the presence of the Lord, to set hot bread on the day

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αὐτῶν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὀφθαλμῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλη σωτηρίας ἐλπὶς, οὔτε βασιλεῖ στρατιωτικῇ δυνάμει θαῤῥοῦντι, οὔτε γίγαντι ἐπὶ πλήθει δυνάμεως καὶ ἰσχύος γαυρουμένῳ, οὔτε ἵππῳ ποδῶν ὠκύτητι θαῤῥοῦντι. Πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα διαψεύδεται, σφάλλει καὶ πλανᾷ τοὺς ἐπ' αὐτοῖς ἠλπικότας. Ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς θαρσεῖτε, οἱ τὸν Κύριον ἐπικαλοῦντες, καὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ φόβον ἀνειληφότες. Καὶ μήτε βουλὰς ἐθνῶν φοβεῖσθε, ἃς ὁ Κύριος διασκεδάννυσι, μήτε λογισμοὺς λαῶν, οὓς ὁ Κύριος ἀθετεῖ, μήτε βουλὰς ἀρχόντων, ἃς αὐτὸς ἀνατρέπει. Ἀλλὰ μηδὲ βασιλέα πλήθει στρατιωτικῆς δυνάμεως πεποιθότα καταπλήττεσθε, μηδὲ γίγαντα ἰσχύϊ καὶ ἀλκῇ σώματος τυφούμενον. Ἔχοντες δὲ μέγα φυλακτήριον τοὺς τῆς προνοίας αὐτοῦ ὀφθαλμοὺς, ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἐλπίζετε μόνον καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, εἰς τὸ ῥύσασθαι ἐκ θανάτου τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν. Θάνατος δ' ἂν εἴη ψυχῆς ἡ ἄρνησις τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἡ παντελὴς ἀποστασία, καὶ αἱ πρὸς θάνατον ἁμαρτίαι· ὥστε, κἂν συμβῇ ποτε τῶν ἐλπιζόντων ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον τὰ σώματα θανάτῳ παραδίδοσθαι τῷ κοινῷ διὰ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν μαρτυρίαν, ἀλλ' οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ κρείττονος ἐπιμεληθέντες τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἐῤῥύσαντο ἐκ θανάτου. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ διαθρέψαι αὐτοὺς ἐν λιμῷ πρόνοιαν ποιοῦνται. Ἐν γὰρ τοῖς καιροῖς τῶν διωγμῶν, καθ' οὓς πολλάκις κεκώλυνται μὲν αἱ διδασκαλίαι καὶ τὰ τῶν θεοπνεύστων Γραφῶν ἀναγνώσματα, σπανίζει δὲ ὁ τὰς πνευματικὰς τροφὰς ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων διαδιδοὺς ψυχαῖς, ὅμως οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ Κυρίου τῇ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἐπιῤῥοῇ, καὶ τούτων τὰς ψυχὰς διατρέφουσι θεοδιδάκτους αὐτοὺς ἀπεργαζόμενοι, ὡς καὶ ἄνευ τῆς ἀνθρώπων διδασκαλίας ἀποῤῥήτῳ δυνάμει τρέφεσθαι. ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ ΤΩ ∆ΑΥΙ∆ ΛΓʹ. Ὁπότε ἠλλοίωσε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον Ἀβιμέλεχ, καὶ ἀπέλυσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν. Ὑπέλαβόν τινες τὴν τοῦ προκειμένου ψαλμοῦ προγραφὴν ἐκείνην σημαίνειν τὴν ἱστορίαν, δι' ἧς, φεύγων ∆αυῒδ ἀπὸ προσώπου Σαοὺλ, ἐληλυθέναι πρὸς Ἀγχοὺς βασιλέα Γὲθ ἀναγέγραπται· ὅτε μανίαν προσποιηθεὶς ἐτυμπάνιζεν ἐπὶ ταῖς θύραις τῆς πόλεως, 23.289 καὶ παρεφέρετο, καὶ ἔπιπτε, καὶ κατέῤῥει τὰ σίελα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν πώγωνα αὐτοῦ· ὥστ' εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀγχοῦς πρὸς τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ· Ἄνδρα ἐπίληπτον ἵνα τί εἰσηγάγετε πρὸς μέ; Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν ἠλλοίωσε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, ἤκουσαν οἱ τοιοῦτοι· ὅτι δ' ἑξῆς συνῆπται, ἐναντίον Ἀβιμέλεχ, δοκοῦσί μοι παρεωρακέναι. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἀγχοῦς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἦν βασιλεὺς τῶν κατοικούντων τὴν Γέθ· ὁ δὲ Ἀβιμέλεχ ἱερεὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ μνημονεύεται· πρὸς ὃν καὶ αὐτὸν ἐληλυθὼς ὁ ∆αυῒδ πρὸ τῆς παρουσίας τῆς πρὸς τὸν Ἀγχοὺς ἱστορεῖται· λέγει γὰρ ἡ Γραφή· Καὶ ἔρχεται ὁ ∆αυῒδ εἰς Νοβὰ πρὸς Ἀχιμέλεχ τὸν ἱερέα, καὶ ἐξέστη Ἀχιμέλεχ τῇ ἀπαντήσει αὐτοῦ· καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τί ὅτι σὺ μόνος καὶ οὐδεὶς μετὰ σοῦ; Καὶ εἶπε ∆αυῒδ τῷ ἱερεῖ· Ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐντέταλταί μοι ῥῆμα σήμερον καὶ εἶπέ μοι· Μηδεὶς γνώτω τὸ ῥῆμα περὶ οὗ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω σε, καὶ ὑπὲρ οὗ ἐντέταλμαί σοι, καὶ τοῖς παιδαρίοις διαμεμαρτύρημαι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τῷ λεγομένῳ Θεοῦ πίστις. Καὶ νῦν εἴ εἰσιν ὑπὸ τὴν χεῖρά σου ἄρτοι, δὸς εἰς χεῖράς μου τὸ εὑρεθέν. Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ἱερεὺς τῷ ∆αυῒδ, καὶ εἶπεν· Οὐκ εἰσὶν ἄρτοι βέβηλοι ὑπὸ τὴν χεῖρά μου, ὅτι ἀλλ' ἢ ἄρτοι ἅγιοί εἰσιν· εἰ πεφυλαγμένα τὰ παιδάριά ἐστιν ἀπὸ γυναικὸς, καὶ φάγετε. Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ∆αυῒδ τῷ ἱερεῖ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀλλ' ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ἀπεσχήμεθα ἐχθὲς καὶ τρίτην ἡμέραν· ἐν τῷ ἐξελθεῖν με εἰς ὁδὸν γέγονε τὰ παιδάρια ἡγνισμένα· καὶ αὕτη ἡ ὁδὸς βέβηλος· διότι σήμερον ἁγιασθήσεται διὰ τὰ σκεύη μου. Καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ Ἀχιμέλεχ ὁ ἱερεὺς τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως· ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἄρτος, ἀλλ' ἢ ἄρτοι τοῦ προσώπου οἱ ἀφῃρημένοι ἐκ προσώπου Κυρίου τοῦ παρατεθῆναι ἄρτον θερμὸν, ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ