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Here he calls 'servants' not the young, as some have supposed, but the slaves. For thus also Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotion have interpreted; and the Hebrew says Abde. And so also the Syriac. And for 'praise' the Hebrew said 'Hallelujah'; so that it is clear that Hallelujah is interpreted as 'Praise the Lord'. 80.1785 "Praise the name of the Lord. [2] Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth, and for evermore." It is fitting, he says, for you who are slaves, and who have received your being from God, to hymn his name, even if you are ignorant of his nature. For it possesses blessing and praise without beginning and unconquered. For, "from everlasting and to everlasting" indicates this. Nevertheless, we too must offer the hymn of thanksgiving, as to a maker. 3. "From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised." The psalm prophesied the knowledge of God that was provided to the nations after the incarnation of the Only-begotten. For long ago the God of all was not hymned even by all the Jews, but by the few who lived in piety; but after the birth from the Virgin, and the saving passion, the voice of the preachers of truth went out into all the earth, "and their words to the ends of the world," and the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas. This the God of all also said through another prophet: "I have no pleasure in you, and I will not accept a sacrifice from your hands, for from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering." And the spiritual melody proclaims things in harmony with these. 4. "The Lord is high above all nations, his glory is above the heavens." For all the nations have learned that he is most high, and God, and the creator of all things, and is hymned by the heavenly angels. 5. "Who is like the Lord our God?" The divine Scripture says this often. For the blessed Moses also says this: "Who is like you among the gods, Lord?" Who is like you, glorified in the saints? And the blessed David, that "Who in the clouds will be equal to the Lord? or who will be like the Lord among the sons of God?" And again, that "Who is God besides the Lord, or who is God except our God?" Through all these things we learn the incomparability of the God of all, and that nothing that exists can be compared to the nature, or power, or energy of God. "Who dwells on high, [6] And looks upon the humble things in heaven and on earth." For though seeming to dwell in the heavens, he oversees all things, and leaves nothing that exists neglected. 7, 8. He raises the poor from the earth, and lifts the needy from the dunghill; to make him sit with 80.1788 princes, with the princes of his people." These things blessed Hannah also said, weaving the hymn of thanksgiving to God. And we see these things continually being done by the God of all. Thus he made the blessed David, who was a shepherd, a king; thus he seated Joseph, who had fallen into slavery, on the royal throne; thus he appointed Moses, who had become a shepherd, a leader of the people, and ordained him a god to Pharaoh; thus the nations, who were enslaved to the poverty of impiety, and who were sitting on the dunghill of sin, he deemed worthy of the good things that had been given to Israel; thus he took up human nature, which had fallen into the very pit of death, and raised it up, and seated it above every principality, and authority, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. 9. "He makes the barren woman to dwell in a house, a mother rejoicing over her children." And this likewise can be seen happening among men. For he made Sarah, and Rebecca, and Rachel, and Hannah, and the mother of Samson, and Elizabeth, who were barren, mothers of children. But this can be seen more properly and more truly in the case of the Church; for her, who was long ago barren and childless, he has made a mother

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Παῖδας ἐνταῦθα οὐ τοὺς νέους, ὥς τινες ὑπέλαβον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς δού λους καιεῖ. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας, καὶ ὁ Σύμμα χος, καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων ἡρμήνευσαν· καὶ ὁ Ἑβραῖος Ἀβδὴ λέγει. Οὕτω δὲ καὶ ὁ Σύρος. Καὶ τὸ αἰνεῖτε ὁ Ἑβραῖος Ἀλληλούϊα εἶπεν· ὡς εἶναι δῆλον ὅτι Ἀλληλούϊα, Αἰνεῖτε Κύριον ἑρμη νεύεται. 80.1785 "Αἰνεῖτε τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου. [βʹ] Εἴη τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου εὐλογημένον, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν, καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος." Προσήκει, φησὶν, ὑμᾶς δούλους ὄντας, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ εἶναι λαβόντας, ὑμνεῖν αὐτοῦ τὸ ὄνομα, κἂν ἀγνοῆτε τὴν φύσιν. Ἔχει μὲν γὰρ τὴν εὐλογίαν καὶ τὴν εὐφημίαν ἄναρχον καὶ ἀήττη τον. Τὸ γὰρ, "ἀφὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος" δηλοῖ τοῦτο. ∆εῖ δὲ ὅμως καὶ ἡμᾶς, οἷα δὴ ποιητῇ, προσφέρειν τὸν χαριστήριον ὕμνον. γʹ. "Ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου μέχρι δυσμῶν αἰνετὸν τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου." Τὴν μετὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησιν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τοῖς ἔθνεσι παρασχεθεῖσαν θεογνωσίαν ὁ ψαλμὸς προεθέσπισε. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς οὐδὲ παρὰ πάντων Ἰουδαίων ὑμνεῖτο, ἀλλὰ παρ' ὀλίγων τῶν εὐσεβείᾳ συζώντων· μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκ Παρ θένου γέννησιν, καὶ τὸ σωτήριον πάθος, εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος τῶν κηρύκων τῆς ἀλη θείας, "καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ῥήματα αὐτῶν," καὶ ἐπληρώθη ἡ σύμπασα γῆ τοῦ γνῶναι τὸν Κύριον, ὡς ὕδωρ πολὺ κατακαλύψαι θαλάσσας. Τοῦτο καὶ δι' ἑτέρου προφήτου ὁ τῶν ὅλων ἔφη Θεός· "Οὐκ ἔστι μοι θέλημα ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ θυσίαν οὐ προσδέξομαι ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου μέχρι δυσμῶν μέγα τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ θυμίαμα προσφέρεται τῷ ὀνόματί μου, καὶ θυσία καθαρά." Συνῳδὰ δὲ τούτοις καὶ ἡ πνευματικὴ μελῳδία θεσπίζει. δʹ. "Ὑψηλὸς ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ὁ Κύριος, ἐπὶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἡ δόξα αὐτοῦ." Ἅπαντα γὰρ τὰ ἔθνη μεμάθηκεν ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ὕψιστος, καὶ Θεὸς, καὶ τῶν ἁπάντων δημιουργὸς, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγγέλων ἀνυμνούμενος. εʹ. "Τίς ὡς ὁ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν;" Πολλάκις τοῦτο ἡ θεία Γραφὴ λέγει. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ μακάριος Μωϋσῆς τοῦτο λέγει· "Τίς ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς, Κύ ριε;" Τίς ὅμοιός σοι, δεδοξασμένος ἐν ἁγίοις; Καὶ ὁ μακάριος ∆αβὶδ, ὅτι "Τίς ἐν νεφέλαις ἰσωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ; ἢ τίς ὁμοιωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν υἱοῖς Θεοῦ;" Καὶ πάλιν, ὅτι "Τίς Θεὸς παρὲξ τοῦ Κυ ρίου, ἢ τίς Θεὸς πλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν;" ∆ιὰ πάντων δὲ τούτων τὸ ἀσύγκριτον τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων μαν θάνομεν, καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν ὄντων παραβληθῆναι δύναται τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσει, ἢ δυνάμει, ἢ ἐνερ γείᾳ. "Ὁ ἐν ὑψηλοῖς οἰκῶν, [ʹ] Καὶ τὰ ταπεινὰ ἐφορῶν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ." Τοῖς οὐρα νοῖς γὰρ ἐνδιαιτᾶσθαι δοκῶν ἐποπτεύει τὰ σύμ παντα, καὶ οὐδὲν ἀτημέλητον τῶν ὄντων ἐᾷ. ζʹ, ηʹ. Ὁ ἐγείρων ἀπὸ γῆς πτωχὸν, καὶ ἀπὸ κοπρίας ἀνυψῶν πένητα· τοῦ καθίσαι αὐτὸν μετὰ 80.1788 ἀρχόντων, μετὰ ἀρχόντων λαοῦ αὐτοῦ." Ταῦ τα καὶ ἡ μακαρία εἴρηκεν Ἄννα, τὸν χαρι στήριον ὕμνον ὑφαίνουσα τῷ Θεῷ. Ὁρῶμεν δὲ αὐτὰ διηνεκῶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων γινόμενα. Οὕτω τὸν μακάριον ∆αβὶδ ποιμένα ὄντα βασιλέα πεποίηκεν· οὕτω τὸν Ἰωσὴφ εἰς δουλείαν μεταπεσόντα ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλικὸν κεκάθικε θρόνον· οὕτω τὸν Μωϋσέα προβατέα γινόμενον δημαγωγὸν ἀπέφηνε τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ Θεὸν ἐχειροτόνησε τοῦ Φαραώ· οὕτω τὰ ἔθνη, τὰ τῇ πτωχείᾳ τῆς ἀσεβείας δουλεύοντα, καὶ τῇ κόπρῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐπικαθήμενα, τῶν τῷ Ἰσ ραὴλ δεδωρημένων ἠξίωσεν ἀγαθῶν· οὕτω τὴν ἀν θρωπείαν φύσιν εἰς αὐτὸν καταπεσοῦσαν τὸν τοῦ θανάτου πυθμένα ἀνέλαβε, καὶ ἀνήγαγε, καὶ ἐκάθι σεν ἐπάνω πάσης ἀρχῆς, καὶ ἐξουσίας, καὶ κυριότη τος, καὶ παντὸς ὀνόματος ὀνομαζομένου, οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι. θʹ. "Ὁ κατοικίζων στεῖραν ἐν οἴκῳ, μητέρα ἐπὶ τέκνοις εὐφραινομένην." Καὶ τοῦτο ὡσαύτως ἔστιν ἰδεῖν καὶ ἐπ' ἀνθρώπων συμβαῖνον. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὴν Σάῤῥαν, καὶ τὴν Ῥεβέκκαν, καὶ τὴν Ῥαχὴλ, καὶ τὴν Ἄνναν, καὶ τοῦ Σαμψὼν τὴν μητέρα, καὶ τὴν Ἐλισάβετ, στερίφας οὔσας, μητέρας παίδων ἀπέφηνεν. Κυριώτερον δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἀληθέστερον ἐπὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἔστιν ἰδεῖν· στεῖραν γὰρ ταύ την οὖσαν πάλαι, καὶ ἄπαιδα, μητέρα πεποίη