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incomprehensible. For as the so-called abyss is boundless and incomprehensible to men; which indeed the word that says signifies: "Putting the abysses in storehouses"; so also your judgments, O Lord, which proceed from your righteousness, are like a great abyss. But instead of, "Your righteousness is like the mountains of God," Aquila translated, "Your righteousness is like the strong mountains." And of all these things the Word opportunely made mention; showing that because of your mercy, O God, which is in heaven, and because of his truth and because of his righteousness, and because of: "As a great abyss, incomprehensible are his judgments," both the impious and the godless and sinners not only enjoy life, but also the rest of what is supplied from his love for humanity. Therefore it is added: "Men and beasts you will save, O Lord, as you have multiplied your mercy, O God." For because of your judgments which are like a great abyss, and because of your righteousness and your truth which is in heaven, men and beasts are saved in the same way; thus you have multiplied your mercy, O God, so that not only those worthy partake of the life from you, but also the beastly and senseless among men. For since many find fault and accuse: "Why do the impious prosper, and enjoy the good things of God?" it necessarily teaches that he is full of mercy. But if there were only mercy and love for humanity, nothing would prevent one from pursuing the life of sinners; but it teaches that with mercy are mixed truth and righteousness, as righteousness and truth will take hold of sinners after the mercy. For if they were not helped by the mercy and long-suffering of God, his righteousness and his truth will pursue them; for they will be subjected to a just judgment. For the judgments of God are, they are, ineffable; a great and boundless deep, or, as Scripture says, a great abyss is contained in the word of his judgments. These things, therefore, await the impious. But the sons of men will hope in the shelter of your wings. They will be drunk from the richness of your house, and you will give them to drink of the torrent of your delight. For with you is the fountain of life, in your light we shall see light. Since your judgments are 23.321 a great abyss, you rightly provide not only for men, but also for beasts; thus have you multiplied your mercy, O God. But there is yet besides these a special order of those who after the aforesaid things are called sons of men; who, having something more than the men and the beasts who are saved by you, have been deemed worthy to hope in the shelter of your wings; or according to Symmachus, "Under the shadow of your wings they are without care." For those who have hoped in you, and have been set apart from the order of the slandered, you yourself, O God, attend to and shelter with your own wings. And since these have hoped a good hope, "And hope does not put to shame," they will be drunk from the richness of your house, and you will give them to drink of the torrent of your delight. The house of God is his Church; the richness of the house, the divinely inspired readings; and sober and watchful drunkenness is the benefit from the readings; and the torrent of delight, from which those who have hoped in the shelter of his wings are given to drink, is the river in the Church of God, about which it has been said: "The streams of the river make glad the city of God"; and, "The river of God was filled with waters." And Christ is the torrent of delight because of the temporary nature of his appearance among men. For with you is the fountain of life. And we have known Christ to be life from the evangelical teaching, through which the Savior himself teaches, saying: "I am the light and the truth and the life." But also, "what was made in him was life, and the life was the light of men." Therefore here too the light is joined to the life in accordance with the Gospel; for after saying: "For with you is the fountain of life," it is added: "In your light we shall see light." For this life happens to be the provider of rational light; therefore

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ἀκατάληπτα. Ὡς γὰρ ἡ καλουμένη ἄβυσσος ἄπειρός ἐστιν ἀνθρώποις καὶ ἀκατάληπτος· ὃ δὴ σημαίνει ὁ φήσας λόγος· Τιθεὶς ἐν θησαυροῖς ἀβύσσους· οὕτως καὶ τὰ σὰ κρίματα, ὦ Κύριε, τὰ ἐκ τῆς σῆς δικαιοσύνης φερόμενα, ὡς ἡ ἄβυσσός ἐστι πολλή. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ, Ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου ὡς ὄρη Θεοῦ, ὁ Ἀκύλας, ∆ικαιοσύνη σου ὡς ὄρη ἰσχυρὰ, ἡρμήνευσε. Τούτων δὲ πάντων εὐκαίρως ἐμνημόνευσεν ὁ λόγος· δεικνὺς, ὅτι διὰ τὸ ἔλεός σου τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὐτοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ διὰ τό· Ὡς ἄβυσσος πολλὴ ἀκατάληπτα τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀσεβεῖς καὶ ἄθεοι καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ οὐ μόνον ζωῆς ἀπολαύουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας αὐτοῦ χορηγουμένων. ∆ιὸ ἐπιλέγεται· Ἀνθρώπους καὶ κτήνη σώσεις, Κύριε, ὡς ἐπλήθυνας τὸ ἔλεός σου, ὁ Θεός. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τὰ κρίματά σου τὰ ὡς ἄβυσσος πολλὴ, καὶ διὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου τὴν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ἄνθρωποι καὶ κτήνη κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ σώζονται· οὕτως ἐπλήθυνας τὸ ἔλεός σου, Θεὸς, ὡς μὴ μόνον τοὺς ἀξίους τῆς ἐκ σοῦ ζωῆς μεταλαμβάνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς κτηνώδεις καὶ ἀνοήτους τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλοὶ μέμφονται καὶ καταιτιῶνται· Ἵνα τί ἀσεβεῖς εὐθηνοῦσι, καὶ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύουσιν; ἀναγκαίως διδάσκει, ὅτι πολυέλεός ἐστιν. Ἀλλ' εἰ μὲν ἦν ἔλεος μόνον καὶ φιλανθρωπία, οὐδὲν ἐκώλυεν τὸν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν μετέρχεσθαι βίον· διδάσκει δὲ, ὅτι σὺν τῷ ἐλέῳ ἀνακέκραται ἀλήθεια καὶ δικαιοσύνη, ὡς τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας διαληψομένης τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς μετὰ τὸ ἔλεος. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ὠφελοῖντο τῷ ἐλέῳ καὶ τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια μετελεύσεται αὐτούς· ὑποβληθήσονται γὰρ κρίσει δικαίᾳ. Ἔστι γὰρ, ἔστιν ἀπόῤῥητα τὰ κρίματα τοῦ Θεοῦ· πολύς τε καὶ ἄπειρος βυθὸς, ἢ, καθὼς ἡ Γραφή φησιν, ἄβυσσος πολλὴ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῶν κριμάτων αὐτοῦ περιέχεται. Ταῦτα τοίνυν μένει τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς. Οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων σου ἐλπιοῦσι. Μεθυσθήσονται ἀπὸ πιότητος οἴκου σου, καὶ τὸν χειμάῤῥουν τῆς τρυφῆς σου ποτιεῖς αὐτούς. Ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς, ἐν τῷ φωτί σου ὀψόμεθα φῶς. Ἐπειδὴ τὰ κρίματά σου 23.321 ἄβυσσος πολλὴ, εἰκότως οὐ μόνον ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ καὶ κτηνῶν προνοεῖς· οὕτως ἐπλήθυνας τὸ ἔλεός σου, ὁ Θεός. Ἔστι δ' ἔτι παρὰ ταῦτα ἐξαίρετον τάγμα τῶν μετὰ τὰ προλεχθέντα ὀνομαζομένων υἱῶν ἀνθρώπων· οἵτινες, πλέον τι ἔχοντες τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ σωζομένων, κατηξίωνται ἐν σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων σου ἐλπίζειν· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, Ὑπὸ σκιὰν τῶν πτερύγων σου ἀμεριμνοῦσι. Τοὺς γὰρ ἐπὶ σὲ ἠλπικότας, καὶ ἀφωρισμένους τοῦ τάγματος τῶν διαβεβλημένων, σὺ αὐτὸς ὁ Θεὸς ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ πτέρυξι περιέπεις καὶ σκέπεις. Καὶ ἐπεὶ ἤλπισαν οὗτοι ἀγαθὴν ἐλπίδα, Ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ καταισχύνει· μεθυσθήσονται ἀπὸ πιότητος οἴκου σου, καὶ τὸν χειμάῤῥουν τῆς τρυφῆς σου ποτιεῖς αὐτούς. Οἶκος μὲν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἡ Ἐκκλησία αὐτοῦ· πιότης δὲ τοῦ οἴκου τὰ θεόπνευστα ἀναγνώσματα· μέθη δὲ σώφρων καὶ νηφάλιος ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναγνωσμάτων ὠφέλεια· χείμαῤῥος δὲ τρυφῆς, ἐξ οὗ ποτίζονται οἱ ἐπὶ σκέπῃ τῶν πτερύγων αὐτοῦ ἠλπικότες, ὁ ἐν Ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ ποταμὸς, περὶ οὗ λέλεκται· Τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὰ ὁρμήματα εὐφραίνουσι τὴν πόλιν τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ, Ὁ ποταμὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπληρώθη ὑδάτων. Χείμαῤῥος δὲ τρυφῆς ὁ Χριστὸς διὰ τὸ πρόσκαιρον τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ. Ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς. Ζωὴν δὲ ὄντα ἔγνωμεν τὸν Χριστὸν ἐκ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας, δι' ἧς αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ διδάσκει λέγων· Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή. Ἀλλὰ καὶ, ὃ γέγονεν ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐνταῦθα τῇ ζωῇ συνῆπται τὸ φῶς συμφώνως τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ· μετὰ γὰρ φάναι· Ὅτι παρὰ σοὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς, ἐπιλέγεται· Ἐν τῷ φωτί σου ὀψόμεθα φῶς. Φωτὸς γὰρ λογικοῦ χορηγητικὴ τυγχάνει αὕτη ἡ ζωή· διὸ