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But here the children of the old Jerusalem, those from the gentiles who have been added to her, will come to her from afar in their own ships, that is, in their own bodies changed for the better; “for the corruptible must put on incorruption, and the mortal must put on immortality.” Therefore, those mentioned before will come in their own bodies, bringing with them the deeds according to virtue, which are called silver and gold, and the Apostle knows gold and silver as deeds. For this reason it is said: Their silver and their gold are with them, and the holy name of the Lord will be glorified. In addition to these things it is said: And foreigners will build your walls, which you will see itself also being accomplished through deeds if you apply your mind, how men from foreign and strange nations who preside over the church of God enclose it with rational teachings, as with certain enclosures and walls, securing the word of godliness so that those alien to the faith may not creep in, nor have room for plotting against the doctrines of the truth. But also their kings, he says, that is, of the foreign nations, will stand by you, which it is also possible to perceive with the eyes. At any rate, the rulers of the Roman legions and the fear of the reigning kings contributes greatly to the overthrow of those attempting to plot against the church of God. For this reason it is said: And their kings will stand by you. And he adds: For because of my wrath I struck you and because of mercy I have loved you; for just as, he says, I once struck you, the city of God that professed to be pious, because of the multitude of those in you who were not pious, by handing you over to enemies and captivity, so that even prophets and teachers shared in the wrath against the impious, so because of those who have recently been set aright you will be deemed worthy of my “love,” of which “the fruits are much confidence and peace.” For this reason it is said: And your gates will be opened continually, day and night they will not be shut; And what would the gates of the city of God be other than the elementary and introductory teachings, which he says have been opened day and night to all men for the purpose of admitting all those from all the nations who have chosen to be pious? For this reason it is said: to bring in to you the power of nations, but he also promises that the kings of the same nations will be received in the aforementioned gates. Now, the powers of the nations are those who are able to say: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” and their kings are the chosen ones and those worthy of the heavenly kingdom. But now, also seeing the earthly Roman emperors and kings running up to the gates of the church of God and being deemed worthy of the mysteries within the gates, how could they not bear witness to the truth of the divine utterance? These, therefore, will also be received by the gates of the kingdom of heaven, but as for the nations that “remained in unbelief” and their rulers and kings who died in idolatry, the word sets forth next what sort of end they will have, saying: For the nations and the kings who will not serve you will perish; for those worthy of salvation must serve the saving and most beautiful servitude to the city of God, I mean, to the church and to the pious polity within it, or those who have been impious toward such servitude must be handed over to destruction. And to you, the church of God and the pious polity, also the most beautiful and tallest of the plants in Lebanon will be brought, so that through them my holy place may be glorified. And Lebanon again is a mountain of foreigners, where grow the tallest and very large trees, most useful for buildings. Such would be the eloquent men from the nations and those who have partaken of “the wisdom of this age,” whom, seeing them excelling in the church of God, and adorning it with the preparation of the word, you would not be mistaken that they are the timbers of Lebanon, cypress and

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ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὰ τέκνα τῆς παλαιᾶς Ἰερουσαλὴμ τὰ ἐξ ἐθνῶν αὐτῇ προσγενόμενα αὐτοῖς πλοίοις μακρόθεν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἥξει, τοῦτ' ἔστιν αὐτοῖς σώμασιν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβληθεῖσι· «δεῖ γὰρ τὸ φθαρτὸν ἐνδύσασθαι τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν καὶ τὸ θνητὸν ἐνδύσασθαι τὴν ἀθανασίαν». ἥξουσι τοίνυν αὐτοῖς τοῖς σώμασιν οἱ προλεχθέντες τὰς κατ' ἀρετὴν πράξεις ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον ὀνομαζομένας ἐπαγόμενοι, πράξεις δὲ οἶδε τὸν χρυσὸν καὶ τὸν ἄργυρον ὁ Ἀπόστολος. διὸ λέλεκται· τὸ ἀργύριον αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ χρυσίον αὐτῶν μετ' αὐτῶν, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τὸ ἅγιον δοξασθήσεται. Πρὸς τούτοις εἴρηται· καὶ οἰκοδομήσουσιν ἀλλογενεῖς τὰ τείχη σου, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ δι' ἔργων ἐπιτελούμενον ὄψει ἐπιστήσας τὸν νοῦν ὡς ἐξ ἀλλογενῶν καὶ ἀλλοφύλων ἐθνῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ προεστῶτες ἄνδρες λογικαῖς διδασκαλίαις περιφράττουσιν, ὥσπερ τισὶ περιβόλοις καὶ τείχεσιν ἀσφαλιζόμενοι τὸν τῆς θεοσεβείας λόγον εἰς τὸ μὴ παρεισδύεσθαι τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους τῆς πίστεως μηδὲ χώραν ἔχειν ἐπιβουλῆς κατὰ τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας δογμάτων. ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν, δηλαδὴ τῶν ἀλλογενῶν ἐθνῶν, παραστήσονταί σοί φησιν, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ πάρεστιν ὀφθαλμοῖς παραλαβεῖν. οἱ γοῦν τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν ταγμάτων ἄρχοντες καὶ τῶν κρατούντων βασιλέων ὁ φόβος τὰ μεγάλα συμβάλλεται πρὸς ἀνατροπὴν τῶν ἐπιβουλεύειν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ πειρωμένων. διὸ λέλεκται· καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν παραστήσονταί σοι. καὶ ἐπιλέγει· διὰ γὰρ ὀργήν μου ἐπάταξά σε καὶ διὰ ἔλεον ἠγάπηκά σε· ὥσπερ γάρ φησί ποτε σὲ τὴν ἐπαγγελλομένην θεοσεβεῖν πόλιν θεοῦ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐν σοὶ μὴ θεοσεβούντων ἐπάταξα πολεμίοις παραδοὺς καὶ αἰχμαλωσίᾳ ὡς καὶ προφήτας καὶ διδασκάλους ἄνδρας συναπολαῦσαι τῇ κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ὀργῇ, οὕτως διὰ τοὺς νεωστὶ κατορθοῦντας τῆς ἐμῆς καταξιωθήσῃ «ἀγάπης», ἧς «καρποὶ ἡ πολλὴ παρρησία καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη». διὸ λέλεκται· καὶ ἀνοιχθήσονται αἱ πύλαι σου διὰ παντός, ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς οὐ κλεισθήσονται· πύλαι δὲ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ πόλεως τίνες ἂν εἶεν ἢ αἱ στοιχειώδεις καὶ εἰσακτικαὶ διδασκαλίαι, ἃς διὰ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας φησὶν ἠνεῷχθαι πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις πρὸς τὸ πάντας εἰσδέχεσθαι τοὺς ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν θεοσεβεῖν προῃρημένους; διὸ εἴρηται· εἰσαγαγεῖν πρὸς σὲ δύναμιν ἐθνῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ βασιλεῖς τῶν αὐτῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσδεχθήσεσθαι ἐν ταῖς εἰρημέναις πύλαις ἐπαγγέλλεται. δυνάμεις μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσιν οἱ δυνάμενοι λέγειν· «πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με», βασιλεῖς δὲ αὐτῶν οἱ ἐξαίρετοι καὶ τῆς ἐπουρανίου βασιλείας ἄξιοι. ἤδη δὲ καὶ σωματικοὺς Ῥωμαίων αὐτοκράτορας καὶ βασιλεῖς ὁρῶντες ὑποτρέχοντας τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ τὰς πύλας καὶ τῶν εἴσω πυλῶν μυστηρίων καταξιουμένους, πῶς οὐκ ἀλήθειαν μαρτυρήσαιεν τῷ θεσπίσματι; τούτους μὲν οὖν εἰσδέξονται καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν αἱ πύλαι, τὰ δ' «ἐναπομείναντα τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ» ἔθνη καὶ οἱ τούτων ἄρχοντες καὶ βασιλεῖς οἱ τῇ εἰδωλολατρίᾳ ἐναποθανόντες, ὁποῖον τέλος ἕξουσι, παρίστησιν ἑξῆς ὁ λόγος φάσκων· τὰ γὰρ ἔθνη καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς, οἵτινες οὐ δουλεύσουσί σοι, ἀπολοῦνται· δουλεῦσαι γὰρ δεῖ τὴν σωτήριον καὶ καλλίστην δουλείαν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ πόλει, λέγω δὴ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ τῷ θεοσεβεῖ πολιτεύματι τῷ ἐν αὐτῇ τοὺς ἀξίους σωτηρίας, ἢ ἀπωλείᾳ παραδοθῆναι τοὺς ἀσεβήσαντας τῇ τοιαύτῃ δουλείᾳ. Σοὶ δὲ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῷ θεοσεβεῖ πολιτεύματι καὶ τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ ὑψηλότατα τῶν ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ φυτῶν κομισθήσεται εἰς τὸ δι' αὐτῶν δοξασθῆναι τὸν τόπον τὸν ἅγιόν μου. Λίβανος δὲ πάλιν ὄρος ἀλλοφύλων ἐστίν, ἔνθα τὰ ὑψηλότατα καὶ ὑπερμεγέθη εἰς οἰκοδομάς τε χρησιμώτατα δένδρα φύει. τοιοῦτοι δ' ἂν εἶεν οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐλλόγιμοι ἄνδρες καὶ «σοφίας τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου» μετεσχηκότες, οὓς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ διαπρέποντας, κοσμοῦντάς τε αὐτὴν τῇ τοῦ λόγου παρασκευῇ θεασάμενος οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοις αὐτοὺς εἶναι τὰ ξύλα τοῦ Λιβάνου, κυπάρισσον καὶ