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and sent up by 23.628 unclean spirits; and unseemly is the one sung to the sun and moon and stars and the other parts of the world by those who deify these things. And even more shameful and most unseemly is the one fashioned through shameful and licentious songs in the erotic stories about the gods. But only that hymn might be called beautiful and fitting, which is sent up to the one Maker and Creator and King of all, God, to whom it is proper also to render vows, and to do this not outside His Church. Wherefore it is said according to the Seventy: "And to you a vow shall be rendered in Jerusalem." Now it is customary for the divine Scripture to call a "vow" the promise which one might promise to God, either having resolved to live temperately and to dedicate one's own life to the philosophy according to God, or to consecrate something of one's possessions, or to make some solemn promise fitting for the life according to God. Wherefore it is said somewhere: "If you make a vow, do not delay to pay it; it is good not to vow, than to vow and not to pay." Therefore it is fitting first to hymn worthily the Maker and Savior of all; then through works to do what is consistent with theology in good promises. And when we render to him both the hymn fittingly and the vows, then, as having fulfilled what is on our part, we shall partake of boldness; so as to say: "Hear my prayer." But here it says precisely "prayer," and not "vow"; for the one signified a promise; but prayer means supplication and petition, which the Holy Spirit used to make on our behalf, offering a fitting petition to God and saying: "Hear my prayer." But whose prayer "hear"? He presents it next, prophesying the call of the nations; wherefore he says: "To you all flesh shall come." And the Holy Spirit prayed on behalf of all flesh, so that when all flesh should turn to God and call upon him, it might find him hearing. Wherefore he did not say: "Hear my prayer;" but: "Hear prayer, to you all flesh shall come;" as if he said more clearly: Since all flesh and every race of men is about to depart from the polytheistic error and to turn to you, the only true God, and to send up hymns to you and to render vows, and to make prayers and supplications, hear their prayer. "The words of the lawless have prevailed over us, and you will be gracious to our impieties." Very consistently after what was said about "all flesh," the present words have been added, containing the confession of the aforementioned "all flesh." Therefore, those from all the nations who were formerly carnal who have turned from the superstitious error are taught by the divine Spirit to confess in what evils they once were, and to remember their own impious deeds. Wherefore he says: "The words of the lawless have prevailed over us, and you will be gracious to our impieties." Now these things, being said from the person of the aforementioned "all flesh," would have much consistency. But since the ode 23.629 of the psalm is inscribed "of David," one might ask, when did the words of the lawless prevail over David or those with him; or according to Symmachus, "oppressed;" and what impieties did so great a prophet of God and those with him acquire, since he says, "you will be gracious to our impieties"? But indeed, as we have explained, the Holy Spirit prophetically, having remembered the call of the nations, and having said: "To you all flesh shall come," consistently describes their confession, speaking from their person: "The words of the lawless have prevailed over us," that is, the words of the lawless have become stronger than us and more powerful than us. And all those were lawless who first established the deification of idols; and their words are those set down in writings by poets and the wise of this age concerning the polytheistic error. But these indeed "oppressed us," according to

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καὶ πνεύ 23.628 μασιν ἀκαθάρτοις ἀναπεμπόμενος· ἀπρεπὴς δέ ἐστι καὶ ὁ ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς τοῦ κόσμου μέρεσιν ὑπὸ τῶν ταῦτα θεοποιούντων ᾀδόμενος. Καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον αἰσχίων καὶ ἀπρεπέστατος ὁ δι' αἰσχρῶν καὶ ἀκολάστων ᾀσμάτων τοῖς περὶ θεῶν ἐρωτικοῖς διηγήμασιν ἀναπλαττόμενος. Μόνος δ' ἐκεῖνος ὡραῖος λεχθείη ἂν καὶ εὐπρεπὴς ὕμνος, ὁ τῷ μόνῳ Ποιητῇ καὶ ∆ημιουργῷ καὶ Βασιλεῖ τῶν ὅλων Θεῷ ἀναπεμπόμενος, ᾧ καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ἀποδιδόναι προσήκει, καὶ τοῦτο ποιεῖν μὴ ἐκτὸς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας αὐτοῦ. ∆ιὸ λέλεκται κατὰ τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα· «Καὶ σοὶ ἀποδοθήσεται εὐχὴ ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ.» Εὐχὴν δὲ σύνηθες τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ καλεῖν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, ἣν ἂν ἐπαγγέλληταί τις τῷ Θεῷ, ἤτοι σωφρονεῖν ταξάμενος καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βίον ἀναθεῖναι τῇ κατὰ Θεὸν φιλοσοφίᾳ, ἢ τῶν κτημάτων ἀφιερῶσαί τι, ἢ τάξασθαί τινα σεμνὴν ἐπαγγελίαν πρέπουσαν τῷ κατὰ Θεὸν βίῳ. ∆ιὸ λέλεκταί που· «Ἐὰν εὔξῃ εὐχὴν, μὴ χρονίσῃς ἀποδοῦναι· ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαι, ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαι καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι.» Πρέπει τοίνυν πρῶτα μὲν ἐπαξίως τὸν τῶν ὅλων Ποιητὴν καὶ Σωτῆρα ἀνυμνεῖν· ἔπειτα δι' ἔργων ἀκόλουθα πράττειν τῇ θεολογίᾳ ἐν ἀγαθαῖς ἐπαγγελίαις. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ καὶ τὸν ὕμνον πρεπόντως καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ἀποδῶμεν αὐτῷ, τηνικαῦτα, ὡς ἂν τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν πεπληρωκότες, παῤῥησίας μεθέξομεν· ὥστε λέγειν· «Εἰσάκουσον προσευχῆς.» Ἀκριβῶς δ' ἐνταῦθα προσευχῆς, ἀλλ' οὐκ εὐχῆς εἴρηται· ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαν ἐδήλου· ἡ δὲ προσευχὴ δέησιν καὶ ἱκετηρίαν, ἣν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐποιεῖτο, πρέπουσαν ἱκετηρίαν προσαγαγὸν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ λέγον· «Εἰσάκουσον προσευχῆς.» Τίνων δὲ προσευχῆς εἰσάκουσον; Παρίστησιν ἑξῆς, τῶν ἐθνῶν τὴν κλῆσιν θεσπίζον· διό φησι· «Πρὸς σὲ πᾶσα σὰρξ ἥξει.» Ὑπερηύχετο δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον πάσης σαρκὸς, ἵν' ἐπειδὰν ἐπιστραφῇ πᾶσα σὰρξ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἐπικαλῆται αὐτὸν, τύχοι αὐτοῦ ἐπηκόου. ∆ιὸ οὐκ εἶπεν· «Εἰσάκουσον τῆς ἐμῆς προσευχῆς·» ἀλλ'· «Εἰσάκουσον προσευχῆς, πρὸς σὲ πᾶσα σὰρξ ἥξει·» ὡσεὶ σαφέστερον ἔλεγεν· Ἐπειδὴ μέλλει πᾶσα σὰρξ καὶ πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπων ἀναχωρεῖν μὲν τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης, ἐπιστρέφειν δὲ ἐπὶ σὲ τὸν μόνον ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν, ὕμνους τέ σοι ἀναπέμπειν καὶ εὐχὰς ἀποδιδόναι, προσευχάς τε καὶ ἱκετηρίας ποιεῖσθαι, εἰσάκουσον τῆς αὐτῶν προσευχῆς. «Λόγοι ἀνόμων ὑπερεδυνάμωσαν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ταῖς ἀσεβείαις ἡμῶν σὺ ἱλάσῃ.» Σφόδρα ἀκολούθως μετὰ τὰ περὶ πάσης σαρκὸς λελεγμένα, ἐπενήνεκται τὰ προκείμενα τῆς ὠνομασμένης πάσης σαρκὸς ἐξομολόγησιν περιέχοντα. Οἱ γοῦν ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν τῶν πάλαι σαρκίνων τῆς δεισιδαίμονος πλάνης ἐπιστρέψαντες διδάσκονται ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ὁμολογεῖν ἐν ὁποίοις ποτὲ κακοῖς γεγόνασι, τῶν τε οἰκείων ἀσεβημάτων μνημονεύειν. ∆ιό φησι· «Λόγοι ἀνόμων ὑπερεδυνάμωσαν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ταῖς ἀσεβείαις ἡμῶν σὺ ἱλάσῃ.» Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν λεγόμενα ἐκ προσώπου τῆς ἀποδοθείσης πάσης σαρκὸς πολλὴν ἂν ἔχοι ἀκολουθίαν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ «τοῦ ∆αυῒδ» ἐπιγέγραπται ἡ ᾠδὴ 23.629 τοῦ ψαλμοῦ, ζητήσειεν ἄν τις, πότε τὸν ∆αυῒδ ἢ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ λόγοι ἀνόμων ὑπερεδυνάμωσαν· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, «κατεδυνάστευσαν·» ποίας δὲ καὶ ἀσεβείας ἐκτήσατο ὁ τοσοῦτος τοῦ Θεοῦ προφήτης καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ, ἐπείπερ, «τὰς ἀσεβείας ἡμῶν σὺ ἱλάσῃ,» φησίν. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ, ὡς ἀποδεδώκαμεν, προφητικῶς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν κλήσεως μνημονεῦσαν, καὶ φῆσαν· «Πρὸς σὲ πᾶσα σὰρξ ἥξει,» ἀκολούθως τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν αὐτῶν διαγράφει, ἐξ αὐτῶν προσώπου φάσκον· «Λόγοι ἀνόμων ὑπερεδυνάμωσαν ἡμᾶς,» τουτέστι κρείττους ἡμῶν γεγόνασι καὶ δυνατώτεροι ἡμῶν οἱ τῶν ἀνόμων λόγοι. Ἄνομοι δὲ πάντες ἦσαν οἱ πρῶτοι συστησάμενοι τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων θεοποιίαν· λόγοι τε αὐτῶν οἱ διὰ ποιητῶν καὶ τῶν σοφῶν τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου περὶ τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης ἐν συγγράμμασι καταβεβλημένοι. Ἀλλ' οὗτοι μὲν «κατεδυνάστευσαν ἡμῶν,» κατὰ τὸν