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He shows someone who is poor in sin, poor of all evil. If someone, having become without evil, having cast off the wealth of ignorance and of evil, should cry out to God, he has him listening. But perhaps, as I suggested topically for the occasion that it applies to the lesser and to the greater, exhorting those already enlightened and blessing "the Lord at all times," being rich, he says: even the poor man, if he should approach and cry out, is heard. But it is also possible that this was said concerning the people from the nations, that this people, "having no hope and without God in the world," approached and cried out and had him listening. For he says after other things in the same psalm: "The rich have become poor and hungry," speaking of those of the circumcision who became poor from having cast off the law and the prophets. On account of this he also says demonstratively: "This poor man"; he has become worthy of being pointed out by holy men and by the Holy Spirit himself. But it is also possible that this be said universally concerning all; as in relation to God the wealth-giver who graciously gives great things, we are all poor. since; did not Jesus "become poor for our sakes"? —for consider the apostolic precision: "that though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor." He was not enriched. "though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor," so that what might happen? "so that by his poverty we might become rich." For a poverty that produces wealth is not truly poverty. And just as he becomes "a curse for us," so that we might receive a blessing, but a curse that produces a blessing is not simply a curse, but this very thing, a curse productive of a blessing, so also is the poor man; "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant." behold the poverty which he became poor with; being always truly rich, existing in the form of God and being "the character of the substance of God," "having taken the form of a servant," he underwent all the things of poverty. he became "sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God," a curse, so that we might inherit a blessing, he underwent death and has been put to death, so that we might receive eternal life. "We have become very poor." Thus we descended, reaching even to your state, so that, the mercies of God having anticipated, we might bring you up. As some have said such a parable concerning the saints, that sailing in the vessel of this life they saw many who had fallen out of the vessel and because they were unable to swim were carried down to the deep, and they leaped into the deep and seemed to suffer the same as those who had sunk, but they have done this for their help, so that they might bring up those not able to come up by themselves. 7 and from all his tribulations he delivered him. The "to be delivered from all tribulations" has already often been explained by us that it is not to be overcome, not to be outside of afflictions. 8 The angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear him and will deliver them. An angel encamping around those who fear God and delivers them from every enemy, from every tribulation, from every wound. Will someone then say that: "one angel is sufficient to save all who fear God from the adversary"? Consider: one angel, when God willed it, destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand in a single moment, although perhaps he was not a pure angel, since he was not ministering for punishment. Therefore much more can the perfect man who keeps holiness, being an "eyewitness and minister" of God, deliver many who are afraid. But if to someone the explanation seems forced, thus: just as he says, that "God made man" to rule over the irrational animals, and we do not mean the particular individual, we do not mean this one, but the whole species. "I have made the earth and man upon it"; the whole species he so named. Therefore it is possible here too for "the angel" to signify the universal, that those who fear the Lord have angels who have encamped and are surrounding them

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δείκνυσίν τινα πτωχὸν τῇ ἁμαρτ̣ίᾳ ὄντα, πτ̣ωχὸν πάσης κακίας. ἐὰν ἄνευ κακίας τις γενόμενος ἀποβαλὼν τὸν πλοῦτον τῆς ἀγνοίας και`̣ τη῀̣ς κακίας πρὸς θεὸν βοήσῃ, ἔχει αὐτὸν ἐπακούοντα. τάχα δέ, ὡς υ῾̣φ̣εῖπον τοπικῶς τῆς ὥρας ὅτι τὸ τῷ ἐλάττονι καὶ τῷ μείζονι ὑπάρχει, προτρεπόμενος τοὺς ἤδη πεφωτισμένους καὶ εὐλογοῦντας "τὸν κύριον ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ" πλουσίους ὄντας, λέγει· καὶ ὁ πτωχὸς ἐὰν προσέλθῃ καὶ βοήσῃ, ἐπακούεται. δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο περὶ τοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν λαοῦ εἰρῆσθαι τοῦτο ὅτι· ὁ "ἐλπίδα μὴ ἔχων καὶ ἄθεος ὢν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ" λαὸς προσελθὼν ἐβόησεν καὶ ἔσχεν ὑπήκοον αὐτόν. λ̣έγει γοῦν μεθ' ἕτερα ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ψαλμῳ῀̣· "πλούσιοι ἐπτώχευσαν καὶ ἐπείνασαν", λέγων τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς πτωχεύσαντας ἀπὸ τοῦ τὸν νόμον καὶ τοὺς προφήτας ἀποβεβληκέναι. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ δεικτικῶς λέγει· "οὗτος ὁ πτωχός"· ἄξιος γέγονεν τοῦ δείκ ν̣υσθαι ὑφ' ἁγίων̣ ἀνδρῶν καὶ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ καθόλου περὶ πάντων τοῦτο λέγ̣εσθαι· ὡς 194 πρὸς τὸν πλουτοδότην θεὸν τὸν μεγάλα χαριζόμενον πάντες πτωχοί ἐσμεν. ἐπερ · οὐκ "ἐπτώχευσεν" Ἰησοῦς "δι' ἡμᾶς"; -θεώρει γὰρ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν ἀκρίβειαν· "ὅτι πλούσιος ὢν δι' ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν". οὐκ ἐπλο̣υ̣τίσθη. "ὢν πλούσιος δι' ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν", ἵνα τί γένηται; "ἵνα τῇ ἐκείνου πτωχείᾳ πλουτήσωμ̣εν"· ποιητικ̣ὴ γὰρ πλούτου πτωχεία οὐχ ἡ ἀληθῶς πτωχεία ἐστίν. καὶ ὥσπερ γίνεται "κατάρα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν", ἵν' εὐλογίαν λάβωμεν, κατάρα δὲ ποιητικὴ εὐλογίας οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐστιν κατάρα, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο κατάρα εὐλογίας̣ ποιητική, οὕτω καὶ πτωχός· "ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν μορφὴν δούλου λαβών". ἰδοὺ ἡ πτωχεία ἣν ἐπτώχευσεν· πλούσιος ὢν ἀληθῶς ἀεὶ ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων καὶ ὠ`̣ν "χαρακτὴρ τῆς θεοῦ ὑποστάσεως", "τὴν τοῦ δούλου λαβὼν μορφὴν" πάντα ὑπέστη τὰ τῆς πτωχείας. "ἁμαρτία" γέγονεν "ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἵνα δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ γενώμεθα", κατάρα, ἵνα εὐλογίαν κληρονομήσωμεν, θάνατον ὑπέστη καὶ νενέκρωται, ἵνα ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἀπολάβωμεν. "ἐπτωχεύσαμεν σφόδρα". οὕτως συνκατέβημεν φθάσαντες μέχρι τῆς κ̣αταστάσεως τῆς ὑμετέρας, ἵνα τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ θεοῦ προκαταλαβόντων ἀναβιβάσωμεν ὑμᾶς. ὡς εἴρηκάν τ̣ινες παράδειγμα τοιοῦτο περὶ τῶν ἁγίων ὅτι· ἐν τῷ σκάφει τοῦ βίου τούτου πλέοντες εἶδον πολλοὺς ἐκπεσόντας ἐκ τοῦ σκάφους καὶ διὰ τὸ ἀκολύμβους εἶναι κατενεχθέντας εἰς τὸν βυθόν, καὶ ἥλαντο εἰς τὸν βυθὸν̣ καὶ ἔδοξαν τὸ αὐτὸ πάσχειν τοῖς βυθισθεῖσιν, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐκείνων βοηθείας τοῦτο πεποιήκασιν, ἵνα ἀναβιβάσωσιν τοὺς μὴ δυναμένους δι' ἑαυτῶν ἀναβῆναι. 7 καὶ ἐκ πασῶν τῶν θλίψεων αὐτοῦ ἐρύσατο αὐτόν. τ̣ὸ ῥύσεσθαι ἐκ πασῶν τῶν θλίψεων ἤδη πολλάκις ἀποδέδοται ἡμῖν ὅτι τὸ μὴ ἡττηθῆναι, οὐ τὸ ἔξω γενέσθαι τῶν θλιβηρῶν. 8 παρεμβαλεῖ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου κύκλῳ τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτὸν καὶ ῥύσεται αὐτούς. ἄγγελος παρεμβάλλων κύκλῳ τῶν τὸν θεὸν φοβουμένων καὶ ῥύεται αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς πολεμίου, ἀπὸ πάσης θλίψεως, ἀπ̣ὸ παντὸς τραύματος. λέξει τις οὖν ὅτι· "εἷς ἄγγελος αὐτάρκης ἐστὶν πρὸς τὸ τοὺς φοβουμένους τὸν θεὸν πάντας σῶσαι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐναντίου"; σκόπει· εἷς ἄγγελος θελήσαντος θεοῦ ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα πέντε χιλιάδας ῥοπῇ μιᾷ ἀνεῖλεν, καίτοι τάχα οὐ καθαρὸς ἄγγελος ὤν, ἐπεὶ κολάσει οὐ διεκονεῖτο. πολλῷ πλέον οὖν ὁ τέλειος ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἁγιότητα φυλάττων, ὁ "αὐτόπτης καὶ ὑπηρέτης" ὢν θεοῦ, δύναται ῥύσασθαι πολλοὺς φοβουμένους. ἐὰν δέ τινι βίαιος φαίνηται ἡ ἀπόδοσις, οὑ´̣τ̣ως̣· ὥσπερ λέγει, ὅτι "ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον", ἵνα ἄρχῃ τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων, καὶ οὐ τὸν ἰδικῶς ποιὸν λέγομεν, οὐ τόνδε λέγομεν, ἀλλ' ὅλον τὸ εἶδος. "ἐποίησα γῆν καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἐπ' αὐτῆς"· τὸ εἶδος ὅλον οὕτως ὠνόμασεν. δύναται οὐ῀̣ν̣ καὶ ὧδε ὁ ἄγγελος τὸ καθόλου σημαίνειν, ὅτι οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν κύριον ἔχουσιν παρεμβεβληκότας καὶ κυκλοῦντας αὐτοὺς ἀγγέλους