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leading to heaven, and being supported and led by the hand by his own righteousness that goes before him, he might attain the heavenly promises, which our Savior and Lord preached to all people, saying: The kingdom of heaven has drawn near; and, Blessed are such, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. A PRAYER OF DAVID. 85. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. Since there are four psalms in a row ascribed to the sons of Korah in the present sections, first the 83rd, then the 84th, and third the 80th, and last the 87th, one might reasonably inquire how the prayer of David is inserted in the middle, inopportunely, as one might say. I believe, therefore, that the present prayer has been mixed in with the prophecies about Christ not illogically, but most opportunely. For since the first psalms ascribed to the sons of Korah, that is the 83rd and 84th, prophesied promises of good things and remission of sins, and the presence of God among men and the arrival of Christ, the redeemer and Savior of men. But also the next psalms attributed to the sons of Korah, they too preached the calling of the nations, and the birth of Christ, and his death on behalf of mankind; I believe it was necessary that the prayer of David be inserted in the middle of the prophecy concerning these things, through which he himself also beseeches to obtain the good things procured for all men through the Savior; so that, he too having become a partaker of the things prophesied, he might obtain remission of sins, and might enjoy the saving, great gift proclaimed to all the nations. David, at any rate, in his prayer mentions the grace of God poured out upon the nations, marveling and being amazed at the grace, through what he says: There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like your works. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you. Since, therefore, he himself also prayed to obtain equal good things, he fittingly inserts his own prayer in the middle of the evangelical psalms. Let these things, then, have been said in response to the 23.1029 aforementioned proposition. But one must not be ignorant that there are also several other psalms with the inscription 'A Prayer'; but this one is spoken with the addition, 'of David'; and another is inscribed, 'A Prayer of Moses the man of God'; and another, 'A Prayer of the poor man, when he is faint and pours out his supplication before the Lord'. But as if having surpassed the prayers in the Old Scripture, the apostles of our Savior approached and asked him to teach them to pray; and he teaches, delivering a prayer suitable only for them and those like them. Wherefore he says to them: Thus therefore you should pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, and the rest. Let each one therefore examine himself, whether he is worthy, as having already become a son of God, to call upon the Father in heaven, and to say, Our Father who art in heaven, and the rest. If he should not be so great, let him be diligent to select for himself the prayer that is fitting to his own condition, both from the book of Psalms and from the prophetic voices. The present prayer, however, happens to be 'of David'; for thus have both Aquila and Symmachus translated, saying 'of David' instead of 'for David'. But David, by the divine Spirit, seems not to have been ignorant of the beatitude spoken by our Savior concerning the poor; wherefore he confesses that he is poor and needy, and this though he was a king and overflowing with great wealth. But since he was such in spirit, according to, Blessed are the poor in spirit, fittingly in the prayer, as his own virtues

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οὐρανοὺς φέρουσαν, ἐπιστηριζόμενός τε καὶ χειραγωγούμενος ὑπὸ τῆς προαγούσης αὐτὸν δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ, τύχοι τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐπαγγελιῶν, ἃς ὁ Σωτὴρ καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐκήρυττε πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις λέγων· Ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν· καὶ, Μακάριοι οἱ τοιοίδε, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗ ΤΩ ∆ΑΥΙ∆ ΠΕʹ. Κλῖνον, Κύριε, τὸ οὖς σου, καὶ ἐπάκουσόν μου, ὅτι πτωχὸς καὶ πένης εἰμὶ ἐγώ. Τεσσάρων ὄντων ἐφεξῆς ψαλμῶν τῶν ἐπιγεγραμμένων υἱῶν Κορὲ κατὰ τοὺς παρόντας τόπους, πρώτου μὲν τοῦ πγʹ, ἔπειτα τοῦ πδʹ, καὶ τρίτου τοῦ πʹ, καὶ τελευταίου τοῦ πζʹ, πῶς ἡ προσευχὴ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ ἀκαίρως, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, παρεμβέβληται μέση, εὐλόγως ἄν τις ἐξετάσειεν. Ἡγοῦμαι τοίνυν οὐκ ἀλόγως, ἀλλ' εὐκαιρότατα ταῖς περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προφητείαις παραμεμίχθαι τὴν προκειμένην εὐχήν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀγαθῶν ἐπαγγελίας καὶ ἀφέσεις ἁμαρτημάτων, Θεοῦ τε εἰς ἀνθρώπους παρουσίαν καὶ Χριστοῦ ἄφιξιν λυτρωτοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἀνθρώπων, οἱ πρῶτοι τῶν ἐπιγεγραμμένων υἱῶν Κορὲ προεφήτευον, ὅτε πγʹ καὶ πδʹ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἑξῆς ἐπιλεγόμενοι τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐθνῶν κλῆσιν εὐηγγελίζοντο, καὶ Χριστοῦ γένεσιν, καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων αὐτοῦ θάνατον· ἀναγκαίως ἡγοῦμαι τῆς περὶ τούτων προφητείας μέσην παρεμβεβλῆσθαι τὴν προσευχὴν τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, δι' ἧς ἱκετεύει τυχεῖν καὶ αὐτὸς τῶν διὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις προξενουμένων ἀγαθῶν· ὡς ἂν, καὶ αὐτὸς γενόμενος κοινωνὸς τῶν προφητευομένων, τύχοι μὲν ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτιῶν, ἀπολαύσοι δὲ τῆς σωτηρίου μεγαλοδωρεᾶς τῆς πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι εὐαγγελιζομένης. Μνημονεύει γοῦν ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ προσευχῇ ὁ ∆αυῒδ τῆς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη χυθείσης τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος, ἀποθαυμάζων καὶ ἐκπληττόμενος τὴν χάριν, δι' ὧν φησιν· Οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς, Κύριε, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι κατὰ τὰ ἔργα σου. Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ὅσα ἐποίησας ἥξουσι καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιόν σου. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν καὶ αὐτὸς ηὔχετο τοῦ ἴσων ἀγαθῶν τυχεῖν, εἰκότως τὴν ἑαυτοῦ προσευχὴν μέσην τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν ψαλμῶν παρεμβάλλει. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν εἰς τὴν 23.1029 λεχθεῖσαν πρότασιν εἰρήσθω. Χρὴ δὲ μὴ ἀγνοεῖν, ὅτι καὶ ἄλλοι πλείους εἰσὶ Προσευχῆς ἐπιγεγραμμένοι ψαλμοί· ἀλλ' οὗτος μετὰ προσθήκης, τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, εἴρηται· ἕτερος δὲ ἐπιγέγραπται, Προσευχὴ τοῦ Μωϋσῆ ἀνθρώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ ἄλλος, Προσευχὴ τοῦ πτωχοῦ, ὅταν ἀκηδιάσῃ καὶ ἐναντίον τοῦ Κυρίου ἐκχέῃ τὴν δέησιν αὐτοῦ. Ἀλλ' ὡς ἐπαναβεβηκότες τὰς ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ Γραφῇ προσευχὰς, οἱ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀπόστολοι προσελθόντες ἠξίουν αὐτὸν διδάξαι αὐτοὺς προσεύχεσθαι· ὁ δὲ διδάσκει, μόνοις αὑτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὁμοίοις κατάλληλον παραδιδοὺς προσευχήν. ∆ιό φησι πρὸς αὐτούς· Οὕτως οὖν προσεύχεσθε ὑμεῖς· Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἁγιασθήτω τὸ ὄνομά σου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἕκαστος οὖν ἑαυτὸν δοκιμαζέτω, εἴτε ἄξιός ἐστιν, ὡς ἤδη υἱὸς Θεοῦ γεγονὼς, τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἐπικαλεῖσθαι Πατέρα, καὶ λέγειν τὸ, Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Εἰ μὴ τοσοῦτος εἴη, ἀναλέγεσθαι ἑαυτῷ σπουδαζέτω τὴν ἁρμόζουσαν τῇ αὐτοῦ καταστάσει προσευχὴν ἀπό τε τῆς βίβλου τῶν Ψαλμῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προφητικῶν φωνῶν. Ἡ μέντοι παροῦσα προσευχὴ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ οὖσα τυγχάνει· οὕτως γὰρ ἡρμήνευσεν ὅ τε Ἀκύλας καὶ ὁ Σύμμαχος, ἀντὶ τοῦ, τῷ ∆αυῒδ, τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, εἰρηκότες. ∆οκεῖ δὲ ὁ ∆αυῒδ τῷ θείῳ Πνεύματι μὴ ἠγνοηκέναι τὸν περὶ τῶν πτωχῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εἰρημένον μακαρισμόν· διὸ πτωχὸν ἑαυτὸν καὶ πένητα ὑπάρχειν ὁμολογεῖ, καὶ ταῦτα βασιλεὺς ὢν καὶ πλούτῳ πολλῷ περιῤῥεόμενος. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τῷ πνεύματι τοιοῦτος ἦν, κατὰ τὸ, Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, εἰκότως ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ, ὡς ἀρετὰς ἑαυτοῦ