[A Prayer, with Thanksgiving, Declarative of God’s Providence Over the Beings He Has Made.]

XXXV. Great art thou, O Lord Almighty, and great is Thy power, and of Thy understanding there is no number. Our Creator and Saviour, rich in benefits, long-suffering, and the bestower of mercy, who dost not take away Thy salvation from Thy creatures: for Thou art good by nature, and sparest sinners, and invitest them to repentance; for admonition is the effect of Thy bowels of compassion. For how should we abide if we were required to come to judgment immediately, when, after so much long-suffering, we hardly get clear of our miserable condition? The heavens declare Thy dominion, and the earth shakes with earthquakes, and, hanging upon nothing, declares Thy unshaken stedfastness. The sea raging with waves, and feeding a flock of ten thousand creatures, is bounded with sand, as standing in awe at Thy command, and compels all men to dry out: “How great are Thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy creation.”  144  Rom. xvi. 21. Rom. xvi. 21. And the bright host of angels and the intellectual spirits say to Palmoni,  145  [i.e., “the wonderful Numberer;” Eng., marg.] “There is but one holy Being;”  146  Dan. viii. 13. [Not according to Heb. nor LXX. as now.] and the holy seraphim, together with the six-winged cherubim, who sing to Thee their triumphal song, cry out with never-ceasing voices, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts! heaven and earth are full of Thy glory;”  147  Isa. vi. 3. and the other multitudes of the orders, angels archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, and powers cry aloud, and say, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord out of His place.”  148  Ezek. iii. 12. But Israel, Thy Church on earth, taken out of the Gentiles, emulating the heavenly powers night and day, with a full heart and a willing soul sings, “The chariot of God is ten thousandfold thousands of them that rejoice: the Lord is among them in Sinai, in the holy place.”  149  Ps. lxvii. 17. The heaven knows Him who fixed it as a cube of stone, in the form of an arch, upon nothing, who united the land and water to one another, and scattered the vital air all abroad, and conjoined fire therewith for warmth, and the comfort against darkness. The choir of stars strikes us with admiration, declaring Him that numbers them, and showing Him that names them; the animals declare Him that puts life into them; the trees show Him that makes them grow: all which creatures, being made by Thy word, show forth the greatness of Thy power. Wherefore every man ought to send up an hymn from his very soul to Thee, through Christ, in the name of all the rest, since He has power over them all by Thy appointment. For Thou art kind in Thy benefits, and beneficent in Thy bowels of compassion, who alone art almighty: for when Thou willest, to be able is present with Thee; for Thy eternal power both quenches flame, and stops the mouths of lions, and tames whales, and raises up the sick, and overrules the power of all things, and overturns the host of enemies, and casts down a people numbered in their arrogance. Thou art He who art in heaven, He who art on earth, He who art in the sea, He who art in finite things, Thyself unconfined by anything. For of Thy majesty there is no boundary; for it is not ours, O Lord, but the oracle of Thy servant, who said, “And thou shalt know in thine heart that the Lord thy God He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath, and there is none other besides Thee:”  150  Deut. iv. 39. for there is no God besides Thee alone, there is none holy besides Thee, the Lord, the God of knowledge, the God of the saints, holy above all holy beings; for they are sanctified by Thy hands. Thou art glorious, and highly exalted, invisible by nature, and unsearchable in Thy judgments; whose life is without want, whose duration can never alter or fail, whose operation is without toil, whose greatness is unlimited, whose excellency is perpetual, whose habitation is inaccessible, whose dwelling is unchangeable, whose knowledge is without beginning, whose truth is immutable, whose work is without assistants, whose dominion cannot be taken away, whose monarchy is without succession, whose kingdom is without end, whose strength is irresistible, whose army is very numerous: for Thou art the Father of wisdom, the Creator of the creation, by a Mediator, as the cause; the Bestower of providence, the Giver of laws, the Supplier of want, the Punisher of the ungodly, and the Rewarder of the righteous; the God and Father of Christ, and the Lord of those that are pious towards Him, whose promise is infallible, whose judgment without bribes, whose sentiments are immutable, whose piety is incessant, whose thanksgiving is everlasting, through whom  151  One V. ms. reads, “with whom.” adoration is worthily due to Thee from every rational and holy nature.

[35] Μέγας εἶ, Κύριε παντοκράτορ, καὶ μεγάλη ἡ ἰσχύς σου καὶ τῆς συνέσεώς σου οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός: κτίστα, σωτήρ, πλούσιε χάρισιν, μακρόθυμε καὶ ἐλέους χορηγέ, ὁ μὴ ἀφιστῶν τῶν σῶν κτισμάτων τὴν σωτηρίαν: φύσει γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ὑπάρχεις, φείδῃ δὲ ἁμαρτανόντων, εἰς μετάνοιαν προσκαλούμενος: οἰκτίρμων γὰρ σοῦ ἡ νουθέτησις. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν ὑπέστημεν ἐπειγομένην ἀπαιτούμενοι κρίσιν, ὁπότε μακροθυμούμενοι μόλις ἀνανεύομεν τῆς ἀσθενείας; Σοῦ τὸ κράτος ἀνήγγειλαν οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ γῆ κραδαινομένη τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἐπ' οὐδενὸς κρεμαμένη. Θάλασσα κυμαινομένη καὶ μυρίαν βόσκουσα ζῴων ἀγέλην πεπέδηται ἄμμῳ, τὴν σὴν βούλησιν πεφρικυῖα, καὶ πάντας ἀναγκάζει βοᾶν: »Ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθη τὰ ἔργα σου, Κύριε: πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας, ἐπληρώθη ἡ γῆ τῆς κτίσεώς σου.« Καὶ στρατὸς ἀγγέλων φλεγόμενος καὶ πνεύματα νοερὰ λέγουσιν: »Εἷς ἅγιος τῷ Φελμουνί«, καὶ Σεραφὶμ ἅγια ἅμα τοῖς Χερουβὶμ τοῖς ἑξαπτερύγοις σοι τὴν ἐπινίκιον ᾠδὴν ψάλλοντα ἀσιγήτοις φωναῖς βοῶσιν: »Ἅγιος, ἅγιος ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ, πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου«, καὶ τὰ ἕτερα τῶν ταγμάτων πλήθη, ἄγγελοι, ἀρχάγγελοι, θρόνοι, κυριότητες, ἀρχαί, ἐξουσίαι, δυνάμεις, ἐπιβοῶντα λέγουσιν: »Εὐλογημένη ἡ δόξα Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτοῦ.« Ἰσραὴλ δέ, ἡ ἐπίγειός σου Ἐκκλησία ἡ ἐξ ἐθνῶν, ταῖς κατ' οὐρανὸν δυνάμεσιν ἁμιλλωμένη νυκτὶ καὶ ἡμέρᾳ ἐν καρδίᾳ πλήρει καὶ ψυχῇ θελούσῃ ψάλλει: »Τὸ ἅμρα τοῦ Θεοῦ μυριοπλάσιον, χιλιάδες εὐθηνούντων, Κύριος ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐν Σιναΐ, ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ.« Οἶδεν οὐρανὸς τὸν ἐπὶ μηδενὸς αὐτὸν καμαρώσαντα ὡς λιθόκυβον, καὶ γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ ἑαυτοῖς ἑνώσαντα, καὶ ἀέρα διαχέαντα ζῳοτρόφον, καὶ τούτῳ πῦρ συμπλέξαντα εἰς θάλπος καὶ σκότους παραμυθίαν: ἐκπλήσσει χορὸς ἀστέρων τὸν ἀριθμήσαντα σημαίνων καὶ τὸν ὀνομάσαντα δεικνύων, ζῷα τὸν ψυχώσαντα, δένδρα τὸν ἐκφύσαντα: ἅπερ ἅπαντα τῷ σῷ λόγῳ γενόμενα παριστᾷ τῆς σῆς δυνάμεως τὸ κράτος. Διὸ καὶ ὀφείλει πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν στέρνων σοὶ διὰ Χριστοῦ τὸν ὑπὲρ πάντων ὕμνον ἀναπέμπειν, διὰ σὲ τῶν ἁπάντων κρατῶν. Σὺ γὰρ εἶ ὁ χρηστὸς ἐν εὐεργεσίαις καὶ φιλόδωρος ἐν οἰκτιρμοῖς, ὁ μόνος παντοκράτωρ: ὅτε γὰρ θέλεις, πάρεστί σοι τὸ δύνασθαι: τὸ γὰρ σὸν αἰώνιον κράτος καὶ φλόγα καταψύχει καὶ λέοντας φιμοῖ καὶ κήτη καταπραΰνει καὶ νοσοῦντας ἐγείρει καὶ δυνάμεις μετατρέπει καὶ στρατὸν ἐχθρῶν καὶ λαὸν ἀριθμούμενον ἐν τῷ ὑπερηφανεύεσθαι καταστρώννυσιν. Σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὁ ἐπὶ γῆς, ὁ ἐν θαλάσσῃ, ὁ ἐν περατουμένοις ὑπὸ μηδενὸς περατούμενος: »Τῆς γὰρ μεγαλοσύνης σου οὐκ ἔστιν πέρας.« Μὴ γὰρ ἡμέτερόν ἐστιν τοῦτο, δέσποτα, τοῦ θεράποντός σου λόγιόν ἐστιν φάσκοντος: »Καὶ γνώσῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, ὅτι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, Θεὸς ἐν οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς κάτω, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι πλὴν αὐτοῦ.« Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστι Θεὸς πλὴν σοῦ μόνου, ἅγιος οὐκ ἔστι πλὴν σοῦ, Κύριος Θεὸς γνώσεων, Θεὸς ἁγίων, ἅγιος ὑπὲρ πάντας ἁγίους: »Οἱ γὰρ ἡγιασμένοι ὑπὸ τὰς χεῖράς σού εἰσιν«: ἔνδοξος καὶ ὑπερυψούμενος, ἀόρατος τῇ φύσει, ἀνεξιχνίαστος κρίμασιν: οὗ ἀνενδεὴς ἡ ζωή, ἄτρεπτος καὶ ἀνεκλιπὴς ἡ διαμονή, ἀκάματος ἡ ἐνέργεια, ἀπερίγραφος ἡ μεγαλειότης, ἀένναος ἡ εὐπρέπεια, ἀπρόσιτος ἡ κατοικία, ἀμετανάστευτος ἡ κατασκήνωσις, ἄναρχος ἡ γνῶσις, ἀναλλοίωτος ἡ ἀλήθεια, ἀμεσίτευτον τὸ ἔργον, ἀνεπιβούλευτον τὸ κράτος, ἀδιάδοχος ἡ μοναρχία, ἀτελεύτητος ἡ βασιλεία, ἀνανταγώνιστος ἡ ἰσχύς, πολυάριθμος ἡ στρατιά. Σὺ γὰρ εἶ ὁ σοφίας πατήρ, ὁ δημιουργίας τῆς διὰ μεσίτου κτίστης ὡς αἴτιος, ὁ προνοίας χορηγός, ὁ νόμων δοτήρ, ὁ ἐνδείας πληρωτής, ὁ τῶν ἀσεβῶν τιμωρὸς καὶ τῶν δικαίων μισθαποδότης, ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ καὶ τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν εὐσεβούντων Κύριος, οὗ ἀδιάψευστος ἡ ἐπαγγελία, ἀδωροδόκητος ἡ κρίσις, ἀμετάπιστος ἡ γνώμη, ἄπαυστος ἡ εὐσέβεια, ἀΐδιος ἡ εὐχαριστία, δι' οὗ σοι καὶ ἡ ἐπάξιος προσκύνησις ὀφείλεται παρὰ πάσης λογικῆς καὶ ἁγίας φύσεως.