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of yours of old, O Lord, which you swore to David in your truth? But he remedies his own perplexity, having said above: In the heavens your truth will be prepared, but in the things that follow: The heavens will confess your wonders, and indeed your truth in the Church of the saints. For who in the clouds shall be equal to the Lord, shall be made like the Lord among the sons of God? Instead of: in the clouds, Symmachus says: For who in the ether? And he has brought forward what lies before us very consistently with what was said before: for your truth, he says, and your wonders, even if men are not able to understand; for which reason I am about to say a little later: Where are your ancient mercies, O Lord, which you swore to David? But the heavens will declare and the Church of the saints will testify, that nothing of what you swore to David will fall through, nor will your promises prove false; for it is impossible for you to lie. For who will be made equal to you in truth, or who will be made like you in speaking and confirming your promises? For no one can withstand your will, so as to overturn the things once determined by you, let alone the things promised with an oath; so that even if the truth of your promises is not yet known to us, we know this accurately, that you are powerful, O Lord, and your truth is round about you. Therefore, you can do all that you have willed, and the truth of your words foretold concerning David is wrapped around you; so as to be known to all those who are about you and who attend your divinity as a bodyguard, but to be unknown to those who are far removed from you. And it seems to me that through these words the Prophet, borne by the Holy Spirit, and having the eyes of his soul illuminated with intelligible light, has seen the glory of the Only-begotten of God standing in the midst of the Church of the saints, and attended as by a bodyguard by the saints in his kingdom. Therefore, having mentioned the heavens, and having gazed intently by the divine Spirit at the Church of the saints, he seems to have seen the Son of God in the midst; then after the perception of him to turn his eyes to the surrounding holy angels and archangels, and the choir of divine spirits and powers 23.1084; and to marvel at their divinity; but to be exceedingly astounded at the one who is beyond all, and above all, the Only-begotten of God; then out of wonder to have cried out: For who in the clouds shall be equal to the Lord? or according to Symmachus: For who in the ether will be compared to the Lord among the sons of God? But these things, when said concerning the Only-begotten of God, would preserve a pious meaning, but not concerning the Father and God of all; for the comparison is inappropriate and impious. For to compare the cause of all things to the sons of God, and to dare to compare the God beyond all things to others, would be the most unholy of all things. But the statement would be without risk if it compares the only-begotten Son of God with the sons of God, and signifies his incomparability and inability to be compared with all, and his preeminence by way of hyperbole through the words: Who in the clouds shall be equal to the Lord? instead of, no one. For even if there are many saints and myriads of angels, and the Church of the firstborn, and principalities and powers and thrones and dominions, and holy spirits, and divine powers in the heavenly hosts, completing the heavenly Church; but who, he says, in the ether beyond the firmament shall be equal to the Lord? And if there are many sons of God and gods according to the verse: God stood in the congregation of gods, and: The Lord God of gods has spoken, and: I have said: You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High; but Who will be likened to the Lord among the sons of God? For though there are myriads of sons, no one, he says, will be likened to this one, nor made equal, because he is chosen and only-begotten and firstborn of all creation, both the Word, wisdom, and power, and wisdom of God. And it seems to me that he signifies the knowledge of these things through the words above, in which he said: The heavens will confess your wonders. For this too was one of the wonders, which he was about to

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σου τὰ ἀρχαῖα, Κύριε, ἃ ὤμοσας τῷ ∆αυῒδ ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου; Ἀλλ' ἀποθεραπεύει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀμηχανίαν, ἀνωτέρω μὲν εἰρηκώς· Ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἑτοιμασθήσεται ἡ ἀλήθειά σου, ἐν δὲ τοῖς μετὰ χεῖρας· Ἐξομολογήσονται οἱ οὐρανοὶ τὰ θαυμάσιά σου, καὶ γὰρ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου ἐν Ἐκκλησίᾳ ἁγίων. Ὅτι τίς ἐν νεφέλαις ἰσωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ, ὁμοιωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν υἱοῖς Θεοῦ; Ἀντὶ τοῦ· ἐν νεφέλαις, ὁ Σύμμαχός φησι· Τίς γὰρ ἐν αἰθέρι; Σφόδρα δὲ ἀκολούθως ἐπήγαγε τὰ προκείμενα τοῖς προλεχθεῖσι· τὴν γὰρ ἀλήθειάν σου, φησὶ, καὶ τὰ θαυμάσιά σου, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἄνθρωποι συνεῖναι δύνανται· δι' ὃ μέλλω λέγειν μικρὸν ὕστερον· Ποῦ ἐστι τὰ ἐλέη σου τὰ ἀρχαῖα, Κύριε, ἃ ὤμοσας τῷ ∆αυΐδ; Ἀλλ' οὐρανοὶ διηγήσονται καὶ Ἐκκλησία ἁγίων μαρτυρήσει, ὅτι μηδὲν ὧν ὤμοσας τῷ ∆αυῒδ, διαπεσεῖται, οὐδὲ ψεύσονταί σου αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι· ἀδύνατον γάρ ἐστι τὸ σὲ ψεύσασθαι. Τίς γάρ σοι ἐξισωθήσεται ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἢ τίς ὁμοιωθήσεται ἐν τῷ λέγειν καὶ πιστοῦσθαί σου τὰς ἐπαγγελίας; Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀντιστῆναί σου τῇ βουλῇ δύναταί τις, ὡς ἀνατρέπειν τὰ ἅπαξ ὑπὸ σοῦ ὡρισμένα, μήτιγε τὰ μεθ' ὅρκου ἐπηγγελμένα· ὥστε εἰ μὴ καὶ ἡμῖν ἔγνωσταί πω ἡ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν σου ἀλήθεια, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο ἀκριβῶς ἴσμεν, ὅτι δυνατὸς εἶ, Κύριε, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου κύκλῳ σου. Πάντ' οὖν ὅσα καὶ βεβούλησαι δύνασαι, καὶ τῶν λόγων σου τῶν περὶ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ προῤῥηθέντων ἡ ἀλήθεια ἀμφὶ σὲ εἱλεῖται· ὡς πᾶσι μὲν τοῖς περὶ σὲ οὖσι καὶ τὴν σὴν θεότητα δορυφοροῦσι γινώσκεσθαι, ἀγνοεῖσθαι δὲ τοῖς μακρὰν ἀφεστηκόσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ. ∆οκεῖ δέ μοι διὰ τούτων ὁ Προφήτης, ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι θεοφορηθεὶς, καὶ τοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμοὺς φωτὶ νοερῷ καταυγασθεὶς, τὴν δόξαν ἑωρακέναι τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῶν ἁγίων ἑστῶτος, καὶ δορυφορουμένου ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων τῶν ἐν βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ. Μνημονεύσας γοῦν τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ τῷ θείῳ Πνεύματι ἐνατενίσας τῇ τῶν ἁγίων Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἔοικεν ἑωρακέναι μέσον τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἶτα μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου κατανόησιν ἐπιστρέφειν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν πέριξ ἁγίων ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων, πνευμάτων τε θείων καὶ δυνάμεων 23.1084 χορόν· καὶ θαυμάζειν τὴν τούτων θειότητα· ὑπερεκπλήττεσθαι δὲ τὸν ἐπέκεινα πάντων, καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντας τὸν Μονογενῆ τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἶτ' ἐκ τοῦ θαύματος ἀναπεφωνηκέναι τό· Ὅτι τίς ἐν νεφέλαις ἰσωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ; ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον· Τίς γὰρ ἐν αἰθέρι ἀντιπαραθήσει τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν υἱοῖς Θεοῦ; Ταῦτα δὲ περὶ μὲν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τοῦ Θεοῦ λεγόμενα σώζοι ἂν εὐσεβῆ τὴν διάνοιαν, οὐ μὲν περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων· ἀνοίκειος γὰρ καὶ ἀσεβὴς ἡ παράθεσις. Τὸ γὰρ υἱοῖς Θεοῦ παραβάλλειν τὸ πάντων αἴτιον, καὶ τὸ συγκρίνειν ἑτέροις τολμᾷν τὸν ἐπέκεινα τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν, πάντων ἂν γένοιτο ἀνοσιώτατον. Ἀκίνδυνος δ' ἂν εἴη ὁ λόγος υἱοῖς Θεοῦ συγκρίνων Υἱὸν Θεοῦ μονογενῆ, καὶ τὸ πρὸς πάντας ἀσύγκριτον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπαράθετον, καθ' ὑπερβολήν τε ὑπερέχον σημαίνειν διὰ τοῦ· Τίς ἐν νεφέλαις ἰσωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ; ἀντὶ τοῦ, οὐδείς. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πολλοὶ ἅγιοι καὶ μυριάδες ἀγγέλων, καὶ Ἐκκλησία πρωτοτόκων, ἀρχαί τε καὶ ἐξουσίαι καὶ θρόνοι καὶ κυριότητες, πνεύματά τε ἅγια, καὶ δυνάμεις θεῖαι ἐν ταῖς κατ' οὐρανὸν στρατιαῖς πολιτεύονται, τὴν ἐπουράνιον συμπληροῦντες Ἐκκλησίαν· ἀλλὰ τίς, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ αἰθέρι τῷ ἐπέκεινα τοῦ στερεώματος ἰσωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ; Εἰ δὲ πολλοὶ υἱοὶ Θεοῦ καὶ θεοὶ κατὰ τό· Ὁ Θεὸς ἔστη ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν, καί· Θεὸς θεῶν Κύριος ἐλάλησε, καί· Ἐγὼ εἶπον· Θεοί ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου πάντες· ἀλλὰ Τίς ὁμοιωθήσεται τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν υἱοῖς Θεοῦ; Μυρίων γὰρ ὄντων υἱῶν, οὐδεὶς, φησὶ, τούτῳ ὁμοιωθήσεται, οὐδὲ ἐξισωθήσεται, ἐκλεκτῷ ὅτι καὶ μονογενεῖ καὶ πρωτοτόκῳ πάσης κτίσεως, Λόγῳ τε σοφίᾳ καὶ δυνάμει καὶ σοφίᾳ Θεοῦ. Καί μοι δοκεῖ τὴν τούτων γνῶσιν διὰ τῶν ἀνωτέρω σημαίνειν, ἐν οἷς ἔφη· Ἐξομολογήσονται οἱ οὐρανοὶ τὰ θαυμάσιά σου. Ἓν γὰρ τῶν θαυμασίων καὶ τοῦτο ἦν, ὅπερ ἤμελλεν ἑξῆς