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we prophesy in part. Indeed, all your wonders are innumerable and incomprehensible; yet in those things I did comprehend I also found this, that for the present time you did not desire the sacrifices and offerings of Moses; but instead of those you prepared my ears and my obedience to your oracles; and instead of whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, I offered myself to you. Wherefore he says: Behold, I come, having been called by you, and having obeyed most eagerly. I come hastening to do your will; for I am persuaded that you accept this in place of every whole burnt offering. And this is written of me in the chapter of the book; what is this but to prefer your will to sacrifices and whole burnt offerings? and to do your law not according to the ready letter, nor similarly to the many who observe the commands from Moses; but in the midst of my belly; or according to Symmachus: I desired your law within my inward parts. For if there is a belly of the soul, so called tropically, of which it is spoken in the Gospels: Rivers of living water shall flow from his belly, springing up to eternal life; in this ineffable and hidden chamber of the soul, he says, I willed to do your law, and to fulfill the commands concerning sacrifices and whole 23.357 burnt offerings spiritually and according to the mind. For I knew these things to be dear to you, and much better than those given corporeally to the Jews. I have preached righteousness in a great church, behold, I will not restrain my lips; O Lord, you know. I have not hidden your righteousness in my heart; I have spoken your truth and your salvation. Truth, which is contrasted with the shadow. You will also understand it thus: As the blessed David promises to proclaim in the great Church, which is gathered throughout the whole world by divine grace, the righteousness of God, and the truth of prophecy, and the admirable salvation, and the immeasurable mercy and the assembly of the faithful themselves would say these things, promising to give a return for their salvation, by running together to the Church and moving their lips in hymnody, and proclaiming the just judgment of God, and recounting the ineffable providence, and showing the truth of the prophetic promises. But you, O Lord, do not remove your mercies far from me; your mercy and your truth have always helped me. And having obtained salvation, the Church of God again begs for the same providence because of the various rebellions of men and demons, of which mention has been made in what follows. For evils without number have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see. They have been multiplied more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me. Let no one think that what has been said is inconsistent with what has been interpreted. For indeed the three children, having attained the highest virtue and having been bound with the victor's crown, said while praying in the furnace: We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wrong, and we have departed from your commandments, and we have not kept your judgments. Thus did the wonderful Daniel, thus the divine Jeremiah, thus the divine Isaiah, thus the most wise Paul: For Christ, he says, came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first; and again: I am not worthy to be called an apostle. So then, here also the Church of God, being tossed by the tempests from the impious, is not high-minded, as though she were striving, but attributes what has happened to sins and transgressions, and beseeches to enjoy the help from the Savior. Besides, the Church of God is not entirely composed of the perfect, but also has those who live with ease, and embrace a relaxed life, and choose to serve pleasures. And since it is one body, as from one person also these things

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μέρους προφητεύομεν. Τά γε μὴν πάντα ἀναρίθμητα καὶ ἀκατάληπτα τυγχάνει τὰ θαυμάσιά σου· πλὴν ἐν οἷς κατέλαβον καὶ τοῦθ' εὗρον, ὅτι κατὰ τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν τὰς παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ θυσίας καὶ προσφορὰς οὐκ ἠθέλησας· ἀντὶ δ' ἐκείνων τὰ ὦτά μου καὶ τὴν ὑπακοὴν τῶν σῶν λογίων κατηρτίσω· καὶ ἀντὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων καὶ τῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας θυσιῶν αὐτὸς ἐμαυτὸν προσήγαγόν σοι. ∆ιό φησιν· Ἰδοὺ ἥκω κληθεὶς ὑπὸ σοῦ, καὶ προθυμότατα ὑπακούσας. Ἥκω δὲ σπεύσας τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀντὶ πάσης ὁλοκαύτου θυσίας πέπεισμαί σε ἀποδέχεσθαι. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ· τοῦτο δὲ ποῖον ἢ τὸ προτιμῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου θυσιῶν καὶ ὁλοκαυτωμάτων; καὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι τὸν νόμον σου οὐ κατὰ τὴν πρόχειρον λέξιν, οὐδὲ ὁμοίως τοῖς πολλοῖς τὰ παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ παρηγγελμένα φυλάττοντας· ἐν μέσῳ δὲ τῆς κοιλίας μου· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· Προεθυμήθην τὸν νόμον σου ἔνδοθεν τῶν ἐγκάτων μου. Εἰ γάρ τίς ἐστι κοιλία ψυχῆς, τροπικῶς οὕτως ὀνομαζομένη, περὶ ἧς ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις λέλεκται· Ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος, ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον· ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ἀποῤῥήτῳ καὶ ἀποκρύφῳ τῆς ψυχῆς ταμείῳ τὸν νόμον σου, φησὶν, ἐβουλήθην ποιῆσαι, καὶ περὶ θυσιῶν καὶ ὁλο 23.357 καυτωμάτων ἐντολὰς πνευματικῶς καὶ κατὰ διάνοιαν ἐπιτελέσαι. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἔγνων σοι φίλα, καὶ πολλῷ κρείττονα τῶν σωματικῶς Ἰουδαίοις παραδεδομένων. Εὐηγγελισάμην δικαιοσύνην ἐν Ἐκκλησίᾳ μεγάλῃ, ἰδοὺ τὰ χείλη μου οὐ μὴ κωλύσω· Κύριε, σὺ ἔγνως. Τὴν δικαιοσύνην μου οὐκ ἔκρυψα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου· τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου καὶ τὸ σωτήριόν σου εἶπα. Ἀλήθειαν δὲ τὴν ἀντιδιαστελλομένην τῇ σκιᾷ. Νοήσεις δὲ καὶ οὕτως· Ὡς ὁ μακάριος ∆αυῒδ ὑπισχνεῖται ἐν Ἐκκλησίᾳ μεγάλῃ τῇ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὑπὸ τῆς θείας χάριτος συλλεγείσῃ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην κηρύττειν, καὶ τὴν τῆς προφητείας ἀλήθειαν, καὶ τὴν ἀξιάγαστον σωτηρίαν, καὶ τὸν ἀμέτρητον ἔλεον καὶ αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν πιστῶν ὁ σύλλογος εἴποι ἂν ταῦτα ὑπισχνούμενος τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας ἀντίδοσιν δώσειν, τῷ συντρέχειν εἰς Ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τὰ χείλη κινεῖν εἰς ὑμνῳδίαν, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δικαίαν κρίσιν ἀνακηρύττειν, καὶ τὴν ἄῤῥητον διεξιέναι κηδεμονίαν, καὶ τῶν προφητικῶν ὑποσχέσεων ὑποδεικνύναι τὸ ἀληθές. Σὺ δὲ, Κύριε, μὴ μακρύνῃς τοὺς οἰκτιρμούς σου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· τὸ ἔλεός σου καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου διὰ παντὸς ἀντελάβοντό μου. Καὶ τυχοῦσα τῆς σωτηρίας ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησία, δεῖται πάλιν τῆς αὐτῆς προμηθείας διὰ τὰς παντοδαπὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ δαιμόνων ἐπαναστάσεις, ὧν ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς τὴν μνήμην πεποίηται. Ὅτι περιέσχον με κακὰ ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός· κατέλαβόν με αἱ ἀνομίαι μου, καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθην τοῦ βλέπειν. Ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου, καὶ ἡ καρδία μου ἐγκατέλιπέ με. Μηδεὶς δὲ ἀνάρμοστα ἡγείσθω τὰ εἰρημένα τοῖς ἡρμηνευμένοις. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες, τῆς ἄκρας ἀρετῆς ἐπειλημμένοι, καὶ τὸν νικηφόρον ἀναδησάμενοι στέφανον, ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ προσευχόμενοι ἔλεγον· Ἡμάρτομεν, ἠνομήσαμεν, ἠδικήσαμεν, καὶ ἀπέστημεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου, καὶ οὐκ ἐφυλάξαμεν τὰ δικαιώματά σου. Οὕτως ὁ θαυμάσιος ∆ανιὴλ, οὕτως ὁ θεσπέσιος Ἱερεμίας, οὕτως ὁ θεῖος Ἡσαΐας, οὕτως ὁ σοφώτατος Παῦλος· Χριστὸς γὰρ, φησὶν, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἁμαρτωλοὺς σῶσαι, ὧν πρῶτός εἰμι ἐγώ· καὶ πάλιν· Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἄξιος καλεῖσθαι ἀπόστολος. Οὕτω τοίνυν κἀνταῦθα ταῖς παρὰ τῶν δυσσεβῶν τρικυμίαις βαλλομένη ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησία οὐ μέγα φρονεῖ, ὡς ἀγωνιζομένη, ἀλλ' ἁμαρτίαις καὶ πλημμελείαις ἀνατίθησι τὰ γενόμενα, καὶ τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπικουρίας ἀπολαῦσαι παρακαλεῖ. Ἄλλως τε, οὐδ' ἐκ τελείων ἅπασα συνέστηκεν ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησία, ἀλλ' ἔχει καὶ τοὺς ῥᾳστώνῃ συζῶντας, καὶ τὸν ἀνειμένον βίον ἀσπαζομένους, καὶ ἡδοναῖς δουλεύειν αἱρουμένους. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἕν ἐστι σῶμα, ὡς ἐξ ἑνὸς προσώπου καὶ ταῦτα