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and all the peoples among men will partake of your mercy, so that I, the prophetic Spirit, will fill all peoples at once at the appointed time, having come among them, and will confess to you and give thanks, when I will also sing psalms to you, not among the people of the Jews, but among all the nations throughout the whole world. For this reason I say: I will confess to you among the peoples, O Lord, I will sing psalms to you among the nations. And the reason for this, I mean for the prophetic spirit to dwell among all the peoples of the whole world and among all the nations. And he next clarifies that the prophetic words proclaimed of old will come to pass, saying: For your mercy has been magnified up to the heavens, and your truth up to the clouds. For this was the paradox, that the heavenly things, I say, are deemed worthy of mercy, but the earthly things of truth. For even if the things in heaven seem to be purified, and all perfect and having reached the summit of virtue; nevertheless, they too have become such through your mercy. For it is not from themselves, nor of their own accord that they partake of such blessedness, but from you, the giver of all good things. Or 23.516 otherwise, For your mercy has been magnified up to the heavens, which was poured out upon all men, which indeed was also said above to have been sent forth in the passage, God sent forth his mercy and his truth. For the mercy that was sent forth accomplished such things among men, that among all the peoples I, the Holy Spirit, confessed to you, and among all the nations sang psalms to you. Hence it was magnified up to the heavens; since it drew up to the heavens those among men who had progressed, so that the promise of the kingdom of the heavens was even given to them. But also up to the clouds, he says, is your truth. And clouds are ministers of rain, serving the will of divine Providence. Thus the word represents God as providing for men, from the fact that his governance extends up to the clouds, and the truth of his oversight reaches as far as the service of the clouds. And otherwise, Scripture is accustomed to call the perfect souls among men clouds, which supply the teachings from God like prophetic rains to the souls that need them. When, therefore, the prophet Isaiah threatened the nation of the Jews with desolation, he introduced God saying: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for a prey; and I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden down. And I will let my vineyard go, and it shall not be pruned, nor dug; and thorns shall come up on it as on barren land. And I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. Clearly through these divine prophets, named clouds, those who were filled with the heavenly spirit supplied spiritual rains to the souls of men. Since, therefore, the truth of God and his mercy, about which he said a little before, God sent forth his mercy and his truth, and delivered my soul from the midst of lion cubs; of old indeed he delivered the soul of David, but was also about to oversee all the nations after these things; fittingly the Holy Spirit, announcing these good tidings, and that he will confess among the peoples, and will sing psalms to God among all the nations, adds the reason, saying: For your mercy has been magnified up to the heavens, and what follows. Then to all these things he adds the seal, saying: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and your glory over all the earth, repeating the same theology a second time. For it is fitting for you, he says, to be exalted, even if you do condescend to our lowliness for the sake of men, calling peoples and nations by your grace. But be exalted, and take back your throne. For thus also, while making your abode in the heavens, and abiding in your own divinity and kingdom, you will be able to fill all the earth with your glory. Which indeed Moses also records, introducing God concerning

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καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν ἀνθρώποις λαοὶ τοῦ σοῦ ἐλέου μεθέξουσιν, ὡς ἐμὲ τὸ προφητικὸν Πνεῦμα πάντας ἀθρόως λαοὺς πληρῶσαι καιρῷ τῷ θεσπιζομένῳ, γενόμενον ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐξομολογήσασθαί σοι καὶ εὐχαριστῆσαι, ὅτε καὶ ψαλῶ σοι, οὐκ ἐν τῷ Ἰουδαίων λαῷ, ἀλλ' ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔθνεσι· τούτου χάριν φημί· Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν λαοῖς, Κύριε, ψαλῶ σοι ἐν ἔθνεσι. Τὸ δὲ τούτου αἴτιον, λέγω δὲ τὸ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης λαοῖς καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐμπολιτεύεσθαι τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα. Καὶ τοὺς πάλαι ἀναφωνηθέντας προφητικοὺς λόγους εἰς ἔργα χωρήσειν ἑξῆς διασαφεῖ φάσκον· Ὅτι ἐμεγαλύνθη ἕως τῶν οὐρανῶν τὸ ἔλεός σου, καὶ ἕως τῶν νεφελῶν ἡ ἀλήθειά σου. Τὸ γὰρ παράδοξον τοῦτ' ἦν, ὅτι τὰ μὲν οὐράνια ἐλέους φημὶ ἀξιοῦσθαι, τὰ δὲ ἐπίγεια τῆς ἀληθείας. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα δοκεῖ τὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς κεκαθαρμένα τυγχάνειν, καὶ πάντα τέλεια καὶ εἰς ἄκρον ἀρετῆς ἐληλακότα· ὅμως δ' οὖν καὶ αὐτὰ διὰ τὸν σὸν ἔλεον τοιαῦτα ὄντα καθέστηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν, οὐδὲ παρ' ἑαυτῶν τῆς τοιαύτης μετέχει μακαριότητος, ἀλλὰ παρὰ σοῦ τοῦ πάντων ἀγαθῶν χορηγοῦ. Ἢ 23.516 ἄλλως, Ὅτι ἐμεγαλύνθη ἕως τῶν οὐρανῶν τὸ ἔλεός σου, τὸ χυθὲν εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους, Ὃ δὴ καὶ ἀνωτέρω ἀπεστάλθαι ἐλέγετο ἐν τῷ, Ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ ἔλεος αὑτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὑτοῦ. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ ἐν ἀνθρώποις κατώρθωσε τὸ ἀποσταλὲν ἔλεος, ὡς ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς λαοῖς ἐμὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐξομολογήσασθαί σοι, καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι ψάλαι σοι· ὅθεν ἐμεγαλύνθη ἕως τῶν οὐρανῶν· ἐπεὶ μέχρι τῶν οὐρανῶν τοὺς ἐν ἀνθρώποις προκόψαντας εἵλκυσεν, ὡς καὶ ἐπαγγελίαν αὐτοῖς δεδόσθαι βασιλείας οὐρανῶν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕως τῶν νεφελῶν, φησὶν, ἡ ἀλήθειά σου. Νεφέλαι δὲ ὑπηρετικαὶ τυγχάνουσιν ὑετῷ, τῷ τῆς θείας Προνοίας βουλήματι διακονούμεναι. Οὕτω δὲ παρίστησιν ὁ λόγος προνοεῖν ἀνθρώπων τὸν Θεὸν, ἐκ τοῦ μέχρι τῶν νεφελῶν ἐκτείνεσθαι αὐτοῦ τὴν διοίκησιν, καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς αὐτοῦ μέχρι τῆς τῶν νεφελῶν ὑπηρεσίας φθάνειν. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις τελείας ψυχὰς, τὰς προφητικὰς ὥσπερ ὑετοὺς τὰς ἐκ Θεοῦ διδασκαλίας χορηγούσας ταῖς τούτων δεομένων ψυχαῖς, νεφέλας εἴωθεν ὀνομάζειν ἡ Γραφή. Ὅτε γοῦν ἠπείλει τῷ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνει ἐρημίαν ὁ προφήτης Ἠσαΐας, τὸν Θεὸν εἰσῆγε λέγοντα· Καθελῶ τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσται εἰς διαρπαγήν· καὶ καθελῶ τὸν τοῖχον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσται εἰς καταπάτημα. Καὶ ἀνήσω τὸν ἀμπελῶνά μου, καὶ οὐ μὴ τμηθῇ, οὐδὲ μὴ σκαφῇ· καὶ ἀναβήσεται εἰς αὐτὸν ὡσεὶ χέρσον ἄκανθα. Καὶ ταῖς νεφέλαις ἐντελοῦμαι τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι ἐπ' αὐτὸν ὑετόν. Ἄντικρυς διὰ τούτων τῶν θείων προφητῶν, νεφελῶν ὠνομασμένων, οἱ πνεύματος οὐρανίου πληρούμενοι λογικοὺς ὑετοὺς ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐχορήγουν ψυχαῖς. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἡ ἀλήθεια τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, περὶ ὧν μικρὸν πρόσθεν ἔλεγεν, Ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ ἔλεος αὑτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὑτοῦ, καὶ ἐῤῥύσατο τὴν ψυχήν μου ἐκ μέσου σκύμνων· πάλαι μὲν τὴν ψυχὴν ἐῤῥύσατο τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, ἤμελλε δὲ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ πάντα ἐπισκοπεῖν τὰ ἔθνη· εἰκότως τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ταῦτα εὐαγγελιζόμενον, καὶ ὅτι ἐν λαοῖς ἐξομολογήσεται, καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι ψαλεῖ τῷ Θεῷ, τὴν αἰτίαν προστίθησι λέγον· Ὅτι ἐμεγαλύνθη ἕως τῶν οὐρανῶν τὸ ἔλεός σου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Εἶτα τούτοις ἅπασι τὸ ἐπισφράγισμα ἐπάγει λέγον· Ὑψώθητι ἐπὶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἡ δόξα σου, δεύτερον ἐπαναλαβὼν τὴν αὐτὴν θεολογίαν. Σοὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, πρέπει ὑψοῦσθαι, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα δι' ἀνθρώπους συγκαταβαίνεις τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ταπεινώσει, λαοὺς καὶ ἔθνη προσκαλούμενος τῇ σαυτοῦ χάριτι. Ἀλλ' ὑψώθητι, καὶ ἀπολάμβανε τὸν σαυτοῦ θρόνον. Καὶ οὕτως γὰρ ἐν οὐρανοῖς τὰς διατριβὰς ποιούμενος, καὶ ἐν τῇ σαυτοῦ τυγχάνων θεότητί τε καὶ βασιλείᾳ, πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν πληροῦν δυνήσῃ τῆς σαυτοῦ δόξης. Ὃ δὴ καὶ Μωσῆς ἀναγράφει τὸν Θεὸν εἰσάγων περὶ