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Symmachus, "I called upon him, they say, with my mouth, and my tongue was immediately exalted." But not only were we occupied with prayers and petitions and supplications to God; but also in our very deeds we turned away from all injustice, so as not even to be willing to look upon it, or even to consider anything unjust in our mind. For if we considered any such thing, we would not even be worthy to be heard; wherefore they say: "If I had regarded iniquity in my heart, let the Lord not hear me." Since, therefore, he both had such a disposition and sent up such 23.672 prayers, he rightly says: "For this reason God heard me and attended to the voice of my supplication." And these were the reasons why He brought us into refreshment after so many trials. For all these things, sending up the due hymn of thanksgiving to God, they make a seal for the whole discourse, saying: "Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me." And all these things the apostolic chorus sealed from one person after all the aforementioned words, sending up blessing and doxology and thanksgiving to God for all that has been said before. TO THE END, IN HYMNS, A PSALM OF A SONG, 66. "May God have compassion on us and bless us, may he make his face shine upon us and have mercy on us." And the present psalm, being evangelical, holds to the same thought as the one before it; wherefore it also refers "to the end," and is inscribed "a song" of "a psalm"; since that one was also said to be a psalm of a song. Perhaps neither of them indicates in the title whose words they are, on account of the clarity of the persons prophetically introduced in them. At any rate, the preachers to the Gentiles, that is, the apostles of our Savior, were included in each. Indeed, through the present words they cry out openly, praying that both the salvation of God and his way may be known in the earth and in all nations; then next: "Let the peoples confess to you, O God, let all the peoples confess to you. Let the nations be glad and rejoice." And again they repeat the word for the confirmation of what is being decreed. The apostolic chorus, therefore, which through the preceding words has said: "Shout for joy to God, all the earth;" and again: "Let all the earth worship;" and again: "Bless our God, O nations;" and in the present one likewise, seeing that it needs much of God's cooperation for the success of the evangelical preaching, as if chanting to itself through prayer, it says: "May God have compassion on us and bless us, may he make his face shine upon us, and have mercy on us." For we say that we ourselves are nothing, and we confess that we can do nothing, being humble and unlearned, poor and the last of all men; but God himself, having willed that we become ministers of the salvation of the Gentiles, may he first have compassion on us, taking pity on our weakness; then may he add something that can strengthen us; and this was to bless us, with a spiritual blessing indeed, so that the blessing which says might also be fittingly fulfilled in us by his grace: "Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it." For these things were said of old at the beginning at the creation of the world; and it was thought by the Jews to be fulfilled in no other way than only bodily through procreation. But we, knowing that there are also offspring of the soul, and that the disciples are the children of teachers, we ask to receive such a blessing, that we might increase and multiply in the multi 23.673 tude of those who are discipled, and by myriads of those saved through us, so that we may say: "Blessed be God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Thus

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Σύμμαχον, «Αὐτὸν, φασὶ, τῷ στόματί μου ἐπεκαλεσάμην, καὶ ὑψώθη παραχρῆμα ἡ γλῶσσά μου.» Ἀλλ' οὐ μόνον ταῖς εὐχαῖς ἐσχολάζομεν καὶ ταῖς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν δεήσεσι καὶ ἱκετηρίαις· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ἀπεστρεφόμεθα μὲν πᾶσαν ἀδικίαν, ὡς μηδὲ ἐμβλέπειν αὐτῇ ἐθέλειν, ἢ καὶ τῷ νῷ ἐνθυμεῖσθαί τι ἄδικον. Εἰ γάρ τι τοιοῦτον ἐνενοοῦμεν, οὐδ' εἰσακούεσθαι ἄξιοι ἂν ἦμεν· διό φασιν· «Ἀδικίαν εἰ ἐθεώρουν ἐν καρδίᾳ μου, μὴ εἰσακουσάτω Κύριος.» Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν τοιαύτην εἶχε καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς τοιαύ 23.672 τας ἀνέπεμπεν, εἰκότως φησί· «∆ιὰ τοῦτο εἰσήκουσεν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ προσέσχε τῇ φωνῇ τῆς δεήσεώς μου.» Καὶ ταῦτα ἦν τὰ αἴτια δι' ἃ ἐξήγαγεν ἡμᾶς εἰς ἀναψυχὴν μετὰ τοὺς τοσούτους πειρασμούς. Ἐφ' οἷς ἅπασι τὸν ὀφειλόμενον εὐχαριστήριον ὕμνον ἀναπέμποντες τῷ Θεῷ, ἐπισφράγισμα τοῦ παντὸς ποιοῦνται λόγου φάσκοντες· «Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ὃς οὐκ ἀπέστρεψε τὴν προσευχήν μου, καὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ ἀπ' ἐμοῦ.» Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ὁ χορὸς ὁ ἀποστολικὸς ἐξ ἑνὸς προσώπου μετὰ πάντας τοὺς προλεχθέντας λόγους ἐπεσφραγίσατο, εὐλογίαν καὶ δοξολογίαν καὶ εὐχαριστίαν ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς προλεχθεῖσιν ἀναπέμπων τῷ Θεῷ. ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ ΕΝ ΥΜΝΟΙΣ ΨΑΛΜΟΣ Ω∆ΗΣ, Ξʹ. «Ὁ Θεὸς οἰκτειρήσαι ἡμᾶς καὶ εὐλογήσαι ἡμᾶς, ἐπιφάναι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐλεήσαι ἡμᾶς.» Καὶ ὁ παρὼν ψαλμὸς εὐαγγελικὸς ὢν, τῆς αὐτῆς ἔχεται τῷ πρὸ αὐτοῦ διανοίας· διόπερ «εἰς τὸ τέλος» παραπέμπει καὶ αὐτὸς, «ᾠδή» τε «ψαλμοῦ» ἐπιγέγραπται· ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνος ψαλμὸς ᾠδῆς ἐλέγετε εἶναι. Μήποτε δὲ τὸ τίνος εἶεν λόγοι οὐδέτερος αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ προγραφῇ παρίστησι διὰ τὸ ἐναργὲς τῶν προφητικῶς εἰσηγμένων ἐν αὐτοῖς προσώπων. Οἱ κήρυκες γοῦν τῶν ἐθνῶν, οἱ ἀπόστολοι δηλαδὴ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, ἐν ἑκατέρῳ παρελήφθησαν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν καὶ διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ἀκαλύπτως ἀναβοῶσιν ἐν τῇ γῇ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι τό τε σωτήριον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ γνωσθῆναι εὐχόμενοι· εἶθ' ἑξῆς· «Ἐξομολογησάσθωσάν σοι λαοὶ, ὁ Θεὸς, ἐξομολογησάσθωσάν σοι λαοὶ πάντες. Εὐφρανθήτωσαν καὶ ἀγαλλιάσθωσαν ἔθνη.» Καὶ αὖθις δευτεροῦσι τὸν λόγον εἰς βεβαίωσιν τῶν θεσπιζομένων. Ὁ χορὸς τοίνυν ὁ ἀποστολικὸς, ὁ διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν εἰρηκώς· «Ἀλαλάξατε τῷ Θεῷ, πᾶσα ἡ γῆ·» καὶ αὖθις· «Πᾶσα ἡ γῆ προσκυνησάτωσαν·» καὶ πάλιν· «Εὐλογεῖτε, ἔθνη, τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν·» καὶ ἐν τῷ μετὰ χεῖρας ὁμοίως, ὁρῶν, ὅτι πολλῆς δεῖται συνεργίας Θεοῦ εἰς κατόρθωσιν τοῦ εὐαγγελικοῦ κηρύγματος, ὥσπερ κατεπᾴδων ἑαυτῷ δι' εὐχῆς φησιν· «Ὁ Θεὸς οἰκτειρήσαι ἡμᾶς καὶ εὐλογήσαι ἡμᾶς, ἐπιφάναι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐφ' ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐλεήσαι ἡμᾶς.» Ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς τὸ μηθὲν εἶναί φαμεν, καὶ τὸ μηδὲν δύνασθαι ὁμολογοῦμεν, εὐτελεῖς ὄντες καὶ ἰδιῶται, πένητές τε καὶ πάντων ἔσχατοι ἀνθρώπων· αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Θεὸς βουληθεὶς ἡμᾶς ὑπηρέτας γενέσθαι τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν σωτηρίας, πρῶτον μὲν οἰκτειρήσειεν ἡμᾶς, οἶκτον ἡμῶν λαβὼν τῆς ἀσθενείας· εἶτα προσθείη τι τὸ δυνάμενον ἡμᾶς δυναμῶσαι· τοῦτο δὲ ἦν τὸ εὐλογῆσαι ἡμᾶς· εὐλογίᾳ δὴ πνευματικῇ, ὡς ἂν καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς πληρωθείη πρεπόντως τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι ἡ φάσκουσα εὐλογία· «Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε, καὶ πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν, καὶ κατακυριεύσατε αὐτῆς.» Ταῦτα μὲν γὰρ καὶ πάλαι κατ' ἀρχὰς ἐπὶ τῆς κοσμοποιίας εἴρητο· ἐνομίσθη τε Ἰουδαίοις οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ σωματικῶς μόνως διὰ τῆς πολυτελείας πληροῦσθαι. Ἡμεῖς δὲ, εἰδότες, ὡς ἔστι καὶ ψυχῆς ἔκγονα, διδασκάλων τε παῖδες οἱ μαθητευόμενοι, τοιαύτης ἀξιοῦμεν τυχεῖν εὐλογίας, ὡς ἂν αὐξηθείημεν καὶ πληθυνθείημεν πλή 23.673 θει τῶν μαθητευομένων, μυριάσι τε τῶν δι' ἡμῶν σωζομένων, ὡς ἂν εἰπεῖν· «Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ.» Οὕτως