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multitudes of wild beasts, and the lack of all necessities. And you know how many things man needs. But nevertheless, stripped of all those things, and having no roof, no food, no sufficient clothing, no sandals, nor anything else of that kind, as if dancing in the midst of cities, so they walked through that entire desert. But consider, I pray you, how many wonders that occurred in the desert he passed over, and the leadership of so many years; and he mentions two wonders, those that happened in the time of those kings. For omitting to speak of that new table, the wondrous roof, the lamp that was never not seen, the durability of their garments, the unwearying nature of their sandals, the springs from the rocks, the other new and wondrous things, by which He made their journey easy, he mentions only two, how He destroyed the kings of the barbarians, and how He set up the trophy, and granted them the victory, leaving the rest for the hearer to recount with accuracy; wherefore he says: To Him who smote great kings. And slew mighty kings: Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan. And for each of these he adds, For His mercy endures forever, showing that even if enemies succeeded enemies, yet no one overcame them. Why? Because they continuously enjoyed His 55.404 loving-kindness. For he hints at this by saying continuously, For His mercy endures forever. And gave their land for a heritage, a heritage to Israel His servant. The benefactions are twofold, both to conquer the enemies, and to become masters of their possessions. For this also was a mark of great power, not to cast out the inhabitants, but to be able to take possession and overcome the land of another. Then again, showing this more clearly, that they did not become masters of these things from their own worthiness, but from His goodness alone, he added: For in our low estate the Lord remembered us; showing that it was not in our achievements, not in our prosperity, but in our low estate. And what he says is this: our misfortune was sufficient to bend Him, and our suffering evil. Since also from the beginning, when He delivered them from Egypt, He did not say, I have surely seen their turning toward the better; but, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. And delivered us from our enemies. That he might not recount bit by bit the wars, the assaults, the victories, the trophies, again in a single word passing over a string of achievements, and omitting the particular things that happened to the Jews, he comes to His universal providence, saying: Who gives food to all flesh. Another, Who gives bread. Another, Giving bread. So then the generations of fruits are not of the earth, nor of waters, nor of airs, nor of a sunbeam, nor of anything else, but the whole is from Him. And see here not only the power, but also the ineffable loving-kindness. For what Christ says, He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust; this he also hinted at here, saying: Who gives food to all flesh; that is, not to the just, nor to the well-doers only, but also to sinners and to the ungodly, and to the whole nature of men; which also especially proclaims His dominion. Do you see that it is for this reason especially that the psalm is composed, so as to lead us by the hand to the knowledge of God? For this reason, both in beginning he started from universal things, and in ending he concluded with these; above saying sun and moon, and lightnings and rains, which do not happen in part of the inhabited world; but at the end concluding with the common food of all. Then, having established the universal providence from these things, he added: Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy endures forever. For from these things that is also clear, that He Himself is Lord of all things both above and below, and everywhere the works of His providence

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θηρίων πλήθη, καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἁπάντων ἐρημία. Οἶδας δὲ ὅσων ὁ ἄνθρωπος δεῖται. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἁπάντων ἐκείνων γυμνωθέντες, καὶ οὐ στέγην ἔχοντες, οὐ τροφὰς, οὐκ ἐνδύματα ἀρκοῦντα, οὐχ ὑποδήματα, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν, ὡς ἐν μέσαις χορεύοντες πόλεσιν, οὕτω διὰ τῆς ἐρήμου πάσης ἐκείνης ἐβάδιζον. Σὺ δέ μοι σκόπει, πόσα παρέδραμε θαύματα τὰ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ γινόμενα, καὶ πόσων ἐτῶν δημαγωγίαν· καὶ δύο τινῶν μέμνηται θαυμάτων, τῶν ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων ἐκείνων γεγενημένων. Καὶ γὰρ παρεὶς εἰπεῖν τὴν καινὴν τράπεζαν ἐκείνην, τὴν στέγην τὴν παράδοξον, τὴν λαμπάδα τὴν μηδέποτε μὴ φανεῖσαν, τῶν ἱματίων τὸ διαρκὲς, τῶν ὑποδημάτων τὸ ἀνένδοτον, τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν πετρῶν πηγὰς, τὰ ἄλλα τὰ καινὰ καὶ παράδοξα, δι' ὧν ῥᾳδίαν ἐποίει τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν αὐτοῖς, δύο μόνον μέμνηται, πῶς τοὺς βασιλέας τῶν βαρβάρων ἀνεῖλε, καὶ πῶς τὸ τρόπαιον ἔστησε, καὶ τὴν νίκην αὐτοῖς ἐχαρίσατο, τὰ λοιπὰ παραχωρῶν τῷ ἀκροατῇ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἀναλέγειν· διό φησι· Τῷ πατάξαντι βασιλεῖς μεγάλους. Καὶ ἀποκτείναντι βασιλεῖς κραταιούς· τὸν Σηὼν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀμοῤῥαίων, καὶ τὸν Ὢγ βασιλέα τῆς Βασάν. Καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ τούτων ἐπιλέγει, Ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, δεικνὺς ὅτι εἰ καὶ ἀπὸ πολεμίων πολέμιοι διεδέχοντο, ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς αὐτοὺς ἐχειροῦτο. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι διηνεκῶς τῆς φιλανθρωπίας αὐ 55.404 τοῦ ἀπέλαυον. Τοῦτο γὰρ αἰνίττεται λέγων συνεχῶς, Ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ δόντι τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν κληρονομίαν, κληρονομίαν Ἰσραὴλ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ. ∆ιπλᾶ τὰ τῆς εὐεργεσίας, καὶ τὸ κρατῆσαι τῶν πολεμίων, καὶ τὸ γενέσθαι κυρίους τῶν ἐκείνων. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο δυνάμεως πολλῆς ἦν, οὐ τὸ ἐκβαλεῖν τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ δυνηθῆναι κατασχεῖν καὶ περιγενέσθαι τῆς ἀλλοτρίας. Εἶτα πάλιν σαφέστερον τοῦτο δεικνὺς, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπ' ἀξίας τούτων γεγόνασι κύριοι, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ μόνης, ἐπήγαγεν· Ὅτι ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει ἡμῶν ἐμνήσθη ἡμῶν ὁ Κύριος· δηλῶν ὡς οὐκ ἐν τοῖς κατορθώμασιν, οὐκ ἐν τῇ εὐπραγίᾳ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει ἡμῶν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοῦτό ἐστιν· ἤρκεσεν ἡ συμφορὰ ἐπικάμψαι αὐτὸν, καὶ τὸ κακῶς πάσχειν ἡμᾶς. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ὅτε αὐτοὺς ἀπήλλαττεν Αἰγύπτου, οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἰδὼν εἶδον τὴν καταβολὴν αὐτῶν τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον· ἀλλ', Ἰδὼν εἶδον τὴν κάκωσιν τοῦ λαοῦ μου τοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. Καὶ ἐλυτρώσατο ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν. Ἵνα μὴ κατὰ μικρὸν καταλέγῃ τοὺς πολέμους, τὰς ἐφόδους, τὰς νίκας, τὰ τρόπαια, πάλιν ἑνὶ ῥήματι κατορθωμάτων ὁρμαθὸν παραδραμὼν, καὶ τὰ μερικὰ ἀφεὶς τὰ εἰς Ἰουδαίους γινόμενα, ἐπὶ τὴν καθολικὴν αὐτοῦ πρόνοιαν ἔρχεται λέγων· Ὁ διδοὺς τροφὴν πάσῃ σαρκί. Ἄλλος, Ὃς δίδωσιν ἄρτον. Ἄλλος, ∆ιδοὺς ἄρτον. Οὐκ ἄρα γῆς, οὐδὲ ὑδάτων, οὐδὲ ἀέρων, οὐδὲ ἀκτῖνος, οὐδὲ ἄλλου τινός εἰσι τῶν καρπῶν αἱ γοναὶ, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ τὸ πᾶν. Καὶ ὅρα κἀνταῦθα οὐ τὴν δύναμιν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν τὴν ἄφατον. Ὅπερ γὰρ ὁ Χριστός φησιν, Ἀνατέλλει τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς, καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους· τοῦτο καὶ οὗτος ἐνταῦθα ᾐνίξατο, εἰπών· Ὁ διδοὺς τροφὴν πάσῃ σαρκί· τουτέστιν, οὐχὶ τοῖς δικαίοις, οὐδὲ τοῖς κατορθοῦσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς καὶ ἀσεβέσι, καὶ πάσῃ τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσει· ὃ καὶ μάλιστα αὐτοῦ τὴν δεσποτείαν ἀνακηρύττει. Εἶδες ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα ὁ ψαλμὸς σύγκειται, ὥστε πρὸς θεογνωσίαν χειραγωγῆσαι; ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ ἀρχόμενος ἀπὸ τῶν καθόλου ἤρξατο, καὶ τελευτῶν εἰς ταῦτα κατέληξεν· ἀνωτέρω μὲν εἰπὼν ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην, καὶ ἀστραπὰς καὶ ὑετοὺς, ἅπερ οὐκ ἐν μέρει γίνεται τῆς οἰκουμένης· ἐν δὲ τῷ τέλει εἰς τὴν κοινὴν ἁπάντων καταλήξας τροφήν. Εἶτα ἀπὸ τούτων κατασκευάσας τὴν καθόλου πρόνοιαν, ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ Θεῷ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτων κἀκεῖνο δῆλον, ὅτι καὶ τῶν ἄνω καὶ τῶν κάτω πάντων αὐτός ἐστι ∆εσπότης, καὶ πανταχοῦ τὰ τῆς προνοίας αὐτοῦ