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you, because you will hear me; so that the things of the prayer being sent up are for a future time, asking for help from God; so that, if ever a time of trial should come, and if ever affliction should befall, calling upon the Lord in tribulations, he might find Him attentive. But it is good before affliction and before gloomy times not to be supine in desires, nor to be negligent of prayers to the Lord, but to prepare oneself for the time to come. There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, and there is nothing according to your works. All the nations which you have made will come and worship before you, Lord, and they will glorify your name. For you are great 23.1033, and do wondrous things; you alone are God. And indeed all the prayers of the saints of God are beneficial and necessary; I think that not all have been written down, but only those in which, when they prayed, they were moved by the divine Spirit, so as to utter prophetic words. I believe, therefore, that David also sent up many prayers to God, none of which was deemed worthy of being written, but only those that partake of foreknowledge and prophetic power. Wherefore also the present prayer has been included in the book of Psalms, and has been inserted in the midst of the prophecies concerning Christ, as being mingled with prophetic words, and containing the calling of the nations. In fact, the calling of the nations is certainly proclaimed through these words. For since he prayed for many things concerning himself alone, saying, "Hear me," and, "Preserve my soul," and, "Save your servant, my God," and, "Have mercy on me," and, "Gladden the soul of your servant;" since, therefore, he prayed for so many things concerning himself, the rich and munificent God shows him that He will not grant the things asked in prayer to him alone, but that the divine grace will be extended also to all the nations, as they too are about to enjoy those things which David deemed worthy to receive. Whence, being enlightened by the Holy Spirit and beholding the future, he is exceedingly astonished at the munificence of God's grace, and says the things spoken before. But some will suppose that "gods" are here said to be the just and God-loving men among people, because of the saying: "I have said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High;" another, the divine powers in heaven, because of the Apostle saying: For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many gods and many lords), for us there is one God, the Father. Since, therefore, neither any of the angels, nor of the prophets, made the calling of the nations, I reasonably think that the words, "There is no one like you among the gods, Lord," are spoken in the person of Christ. Another will say, because it is falsely and erroneously believed by many people that there are gods, and among all the nations one is deified here and another there, but our Savior and Lord alone has been proclaimed God throughout the whole world, and has acquired for himself peoples from all the nations; for this reason the preceding theologies are prophetically proclaimed in his person. Then, since many prophets before our Savior were performers of wondrous works, but no one has ever been recorded as having done such things as are reported in the Gospels of our Savior, and such as have been shown through the conversion of all the nations; for this reason it is also said, "There is nothing according to your works." And what works does he teach, saying next: "All the nations which you have made shall come and worship before you." And if there is added the phrase, "You alone are God," you will also apply this to the Savior, placing it alongside, "There is no one like you among the gods, Lord;" for just as in comparison with the aforementioned gods "there is no one like you," so in juxtaposition with the same you are God 23.1036 alone. Since our Savior and Lord alone was in the beginning, and was the Word of God, and was with God, and was God; wherefore there is no one like him among the gods, and he alone would be God, as among gods, none of the so-called many gods

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σε, ὅτι εἰσακούσεις μου· ὥστε εἶναι τὰ τῆς προσευχῆς ἀναπεμπόμενα εἰς μέλλοντα χρόνον αἰτοῦντα παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ βοήθειαν· ἵν', εἴποτε καιρὸς γένοιτο περιστατικὸς, καὶ εἴποτε θλίψις ἐπέλθοι, ἐπικαλούμενος τὸν Κύριον ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν, ἐπήκοον αὐτὸν σχοίη. Καλὸν δὲ πρὸ θλίψεως καὶ πρὸ τῶν σκυθρωπῶν καιρῶν μὴ ὑπτιοῦσθαι ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις, μηδὲ ἀποῤῥᾳθυμεῖν τῶν πρὸς τὸν Κύριον εὐχῶν, ἀλλὰ προπαρασκευάζεσθαι εἰς τὸν μέλλοντα χρόνον. Οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς, Κύριε, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι κατὰ τὰ ἔργα σου. Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ὅσα ἐποίησας, ἥξουσι καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιόν σου, Κύριε, καὶ δοξάσουσι τὸ ὄνομά σου. Ὅτι μέγας 23.1033 σὺ, καὶ ποιῶν θαυμάσια, σὺ εἶ Θεὸς μόνος. Καὶ πᾶσαι μὲν ὠφέλιμοι καὶ ἀναγκαῖαι αἱ τῶν ἁγίων τοῦ Θεοῦ προσευχαί· νομίζω καὶ μὴ πάσας γεγράφθαι, ἀλλ' ἢ μόνας ἐκείνας ἐν αἷς προσευχόμενοι ἐκ θείου Πνεύματος ἐκινήθησαν, ὡς καὶ προφητικὰς ἀφεῖναι φωνάς. Ἡγοῦμαι δ' οὖν καὶ τὸν ∆αυῒδ προσευχὰς πολλὰς ἀναπέμψαι τῷ Θεῷ, ὧν οὐδεμία γραφῇ ἠξιώθη, ἀλλ' αἱ μετέχουσαι προγνωστικῆς καὶ προφητικῆς δυνάμεως. ∆ιόπερ καὶ ἡ παροῦσα προσευχὴ τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν Ψαλμῶν παρελήφθη, καὶ μέση τῶν περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ προφητειῶν παρεμβέβληται, ὡς ἀνακεκραμένη προφητικοῖς λόγοις, καὶ κλῆσιν ἐθνῶν περιέχουσα. Ἄντικρυς γοῦν κλῆσις τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ διὰ τούτων θεσπίζεται. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ μόνου ηὔξατο, Ἐπάκουσόν μου, εἰπὼν, καὶ, Φύλαξον τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ, Σῶσον τὸν δοῦλόν σου, ὁ Θεός μου, καὶ τὸ, Ἐλέησόν με, καὶ, Εὔφρανον τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ δούλου σου· ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τὰ τοσαῦτα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ηὔξατο, ὁ πλούσιος καὶ μεγαλόδωρος Θεὸς δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ, ὅτι μὴ αὐτῷ μόνῳ τὰ τῆς προσευχῆς αἰτουμένῳ παρέξει, ἁπλωθήσεται δὲ ἡ θεία χάρις καὶ εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, ὡς καὶ αὐτῶν μελλόντων ἀπολαύειν τούτων, ὧν ὁ ∆αυῒδ τυχεῖν ἠξίου. Ὅθεν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ φωτισθεὶς καὶ τὸ μέλλον θεασάμενος, ὑπερεκπλήττεται τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος τὴν μεγαλοδωρίαν, καί φησι τὰ προλεγόμενα. Θεοὺς δὲ ἐνταῦθα λέγεσθαι ὁ μέν τις ἡγήσεται τοὺς ἐν ἀνθρώποις δικαίους καὶ θεοφιλεῖς ἄνδρας, διὰ τὸ λέγον· Ἐγὼ εἶπον, Θεοί ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου πάντες· ὁ δὲ τὰς κατ' οὐρανὸν θείας δυνάμεις, διὰ τὸ φάσκειν τὸν Ἀπόστολον· Καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶ λεγόμενοι θεοὶ, εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ, εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς, (ὥσπερ εἰσὶ θεοὶ πολλοὶ, καὶ κύριοι πολλοί·) ἡμῖν εἷς Θεὸς ὁ Πατήρ. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν οὔτε ἀγγέλων τις, οὔτε προφητῶν τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν κλῆσιν ἐποιήσατο, εἰκότως εἰς πρόσωπον ἡγοῦμαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγεσθαι τὸ, Οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς, Κύριε. Ἄλλος δέ τις φήσει, διὰ τὸ ψευδῶς μὲν καὶ πεπλανημένως παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων νομίζεσθαι εἶναι θεοὺς, καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἄλλον ἀλλαχοῦ θεοποιεῖσθαι, μόνον δὲ τὸν Σωτῆρα καὶ Κύριον ἡμῶν καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης Θεὸν ἀνηγορεῦσθαι, ἐξ ἁπάντων τε τῶν ἐθνῶν λαοὺς ἑαυτῷ περιπεποιῆσθαι· τούτου χάριν προφητικῶς εἰς πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ τὰς προκειμένας ἀναφωνεῖσθαι θεολογίας. Εἶτ' ἐπειδήπερ πολλοὶ προφῆται πρὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν παραδόξων ἔργων γεγόνασι ποιηταὶ, οὐδεὶς δὲ πώποτε τοιαῦτα πράξας ἀναγέγραπται, ὁποῖα ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐμφέρεται, καὶ ὁποῖα δέδεικται διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων ἐπιστροφῆς· διὰ τοῦτο λέγεσθαι καὶ τὸ, Οὐκ ἔστι κατὰ τὰ ἔργα σου. Καὶ ποῖα ἔργα διδάσκει λέγων ἑξῆς· Πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ὅσα ἐποίησας ἥξουσι καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιόν σου. Ἐὰν δὲ ἐπιφέρηται τὸ, Σὺ εἶ Θεὸς μόνος, καὶ τοῦτο ἐφαρμόσεις τῷ Σωτῆρι, παραθεὶς τὸ, Οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς, Κύριε· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ συγκρίσει τῶν ἀποδοθέντων θεῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιός σοι, οὕτως ἐν παραθέσει τῶν αὐτῶν σὺ εἶ Θεὸς 23.1036 μόνος. Ἐπειδήπερ μόνος ὁ Σωτὴρ καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν, καὶ Θεοῦ Λόγος ἦν, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἦν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν· διόπερ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιος αὐτῷ ἐν θεοῖς, καὶ μόνος αὐτὸς ὡς ἐν θεοῖς εἴη ἂν Θεὸς, οὐδενὸς τῶν λεγομένων πολλῶν θεῶν