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being called to, "let us fall down and weep," having heard it right at the beginning; unless perhaps through these words it indicates two orders; one, the better, which 23.1213 it primarily calls to praise and exultation; and a second, that which is in need of healing; for which reason, "Come, let us exult," is said in the first parts; then, next, after the theological statements about the Lord and after the call of the former, it passes to the latter, teaching these to use weeping and confession for their first sins, instead of water and instruments for sprinkling. But by exhortatively adding, "let us weep before the Lord," who made us, it has sketched out good hopes, teaching that we are not strangers to him, but his work and his creation; for which reason it is fitting to expect the better things, since he indeed cares for his own creation. Further, in addition to this, through "Let us fall down and weep before the Lord," it teaches not to do this before men nor for men's sake, but in secret, according to, "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you." In general, then, the precepts are fitting for all; but properly and primarily the Word exhorts the Jewish people to repentance for what they dared to do, "For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand." Not only is he our Lord as a master of servants, nor only a maker as our creator, but he is also our God, since he is good and merciful. For which reason he will both spare us and have mercy on us; because we happen to be not only his creation, but also his possession; and the more rational are his people, while those still imperfect and more irrational are the sheep of his hand; so that if we confess to him and worship and fall down and weep before him, we shall by all means be saved, some as his people, others as the sheep of his hand. For he is said to be the good shepherd; and we are taught to say: "The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall not want." "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation." Once then, it says, you hardened your hearts, when you heard his voice in the wilderness; see to it, therefore, that you do not do the same thing a second time, if you again hear his voice today, having come among men. The word is spoken primarily to those of the circumcision, being uttered from the person of the choir of prophets; who indeed at the beginning said everything in the plural, counting themselves among those who were called; for they said, "Come, let us exult and shout for joy and come before his presence;" and again, "Come, let us worship and fall down and weep;" but in the present case they exhort others in person not to refuse the call; nor to disbelieve the voice that is about to speak to them today. And the Apostle has taken "today" to mean the entire extended time of our life, according to, "as long as it is called today." The word also exhorts us from this point to begin the things which have been commanded. For even if there has been much indifference in the time that has passed; yet at least from the 23.1216 day called today and from the present time let us hasten to attend to what has been said; and let us not emulate that people, who, hearing the voice of God in the vision in the wilderness, hardened their hearts in the time of the provocation, when the limbs of all of them were strewn in the wilderness, because they disobeyed the voice of God. Necessarily, therefore, it reminds us of them, so that we too, hearing the commands of God on this day and disobeying, might not provoke him by hardening our hearts, and not obeying the saving commands, and because of this making him a bitter and severe judge for ourselves. And so, as I said, the command is fitting for all of us; but according to the preceding argument, to

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καλούμενοι τὸ, προσπέσωμεν καὶ κλαύσωμεν, εὐθὺς ἐν ἀρχαῖς ἀκούσαντες· εἰ μὴ ἄρα δύο τάγματα διὰ τούτων δηλοῖ· ἓν μὲν τὸ κρεῖττον, ὃ 23.1213 προηγουμένως ἐπὶ τὸν αἶνον καὶ τὴν ἀγαλλίασιν καλεῖ· δεύτερον δὲ τὸ δεόμενον θεραπείας· δι' ὃ, ∆εῦτε ἀγαλλιασώμεθα, ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις εἴρηται· εἶθ' ἑξῆς μετὰ τὰ τεθεολογημένα περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ μετὰ τὴν τῶν προτέρων κλῆσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς δευτέρους μεταβαίνει, καὶ τούτους διδάσκων ἀντὶ ὕδατος καὶ περιῤῥαντηρίων, κλαυθμῷ καὶ ἐξομολογήσει ἐπὶ τοῖς πρώτοις αὐτῶν ἁμαρτήμασι χρήσασθαι. Προτρεπτικῶς δὲ τὸ, κλαύσωμεν ἐναντίον Κυρίου, ἐπαγαγὼν, τοῦ ποιήσαντος ἡμᾶς, ἀγαθὰς ὑπέγραψεν ἐλπίδας, διδάξας, ὅτι μὴ ἀλλότριοί ἐσμεν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἔργον αὐτοῦ καὶ ποίημα αὐτοῦ· δι' ὃ προσήκει τὰ χρηστότερα προσδοκᾷν, ἅτε δὴ κηδομένου αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἰδίου ποιήματος. Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις διὰ τοῦ, Προσπέσωμεν καὶ κλαύσωμεν ἐνώπιον Κυρίου, διδάσκει μὴ ἐνώπιον ἀνθρώπων μηδὲ δι' ἀνθρώπους τοῦτο ποιεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ κατὰ τὸ, Ὁ Πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι. Καθόλου μὲν οὖν ἅπασιν ἁρμόζει τὰ παρηγγελμένα· κυρίως δὲ καὶ προηγουμένως ὁ Λόγος τὸν Ἰουδαίων λαὸν ἐπὶ μετανοίᾳ ὧν ἐτόλμησαν παρακαλεῖ, Ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ ἡμεῖς λαὸς νομῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πρόβατα χειρὸς αὐτοῦ. Οὐ μόνον Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐστιν ὡς οἰκετῶν δεσπότης, οὐδὲ μόνον ποιητὴς ὡς ἂν κτίστης ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Θεός ἐστιν ἡμῶν, ἅτε δὲ ἀγαθὸς ὢν καὶ ἵλεως. ∆ι' ὃ καὶ φείσεται ἡμῶν καὶ ἐλεήσει ἡμᾶς· ὅτι οὐ μόνον ποίημα, ἀλλὰ καὶ κτῆμα αὐτοῦ τυγχάνομεν ὄντες· καὶ οἱ μὲν λογικώτεροι λαὸς αὐτοῦ, οἱ δὲ ἔτι ἀτελεῖς καὶ ἀλογώτεροι πρόβατα χειρὸς αὐτοῦ· ὥστε ἐὰν ἐξομολογησώμεθα αὐτῷ καὶ προσκυνήσωμεν καὶ προσπέσωμεν καὶ κλαύσωμεν ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ, ἐξ ἅπαντος σωθησόμεθα, οἱ μὲν ὡς λαὸς αὐτοῦ, οἱ δὲ ὡς πρόβατα χειρὸς αὐτοῦ. Λέγεται γοῦν αὐτὸς εἶναι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός· καὶ ἡμεῖς λέγειν διδασκόμεθα· Κύριος ποιμαίνει με, καὶ οὐδέν με ὑστερήσει. Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ. Ἅπαξ τότε, φησὶν, ἐσκληρύνατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ἀκούσαντες αὐτοῦ τῆς φωνῆς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου· ὁρᾶτε οὖν μὴ καὶ δεύτερον ταὐτὸν πράξητε, ἐὰν αὖθις τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε ἐν ἀνθρώποις σήμερον γενομένου. Ὁ δὲ λόγος προηγουμένως πρὸς τοὺς ἐκ περιτομῆς λέλεκται ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ χοροῦ τῶν προφητῶν προφερόμενος· οἳ δὴ κατὰ μὲν τὴν ἀρχὴν τὰ πάντα ἔλεγον πληθυντικῶς, καὶ ἑαυτοὺς συγκαταλέγοντες τοῖς καλουμένοις· ∆εῦτε, γὰρ ἔφασκον, ἀγαλλιασώμεθα καὶ ἀλαλάξωμεν καὶ προφθάσωμεν· καὶ πάλιν· ∆εῦτε προσκυνήσωμεν καὶ προσπέσωμεν καὶ κλαύσωμεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ παρόντος ἑτέρων εἰς πρόσωπον μὴ παραιτήσασθαι τὴν κλῆσιν παραινοῦσι· μηδ' ἀπιστῆσαι τῇ φωνῇ τῇ σήμερον αὐτοῖς μελλούσῃ λαλεῖν. Τὸ δὲ, σήμερον, ὁ Ἀπόστολος εἰς πάντα τὸν παρατείνοντα τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν χρόνον ἐξείληφε, κατὰ τὸ, ἕως οὗ τὸ σήμερον καλεῖται. Προτρέπει δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς ὁ λόγος ἐντεῦθεν ἀπάρξασθαι τῶν παρηγγελμένων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πολλή τις γέγονε ῥᾳθυμία ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι χρόνῳ· ἀλλὰ κἂν ἀπὸ τῆς 23.1216 σήμερον καλουμένης ἡμέρας καὶ ἀπὸ ἐνεστῶτος καιροῦ σπουδάσωμεν προσέχειν τοῖς εἰρημένοις· καὶ μὴ ζηλώσωμεν τὸν λαὸν ἐκεῖνον, ὃς, ἀκούσας φωνῆς Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον ὀπτασίας, ἐσκληρύνθη τὴν καρδίαν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ παραπικρασμοῦ, ὁπηνίκα πάντων αὐτῶν τὰ κῶλα κατεστρώθη ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, διὰ τὸ παρακοῦσαι τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἀναγκαίως οὖν ἐκείνων ὑπομιμνήσκει, ἵνα μὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ παραγγελμάτων ἀκούοντες καὶ παρακούοντες παραπικραίνωμεν αὐτὸν σκληρυνόμενοι τὰς καρδίας, καὶ μὴ ὑπακούοντες τοῖς σωτηρίοις παραγγέλμασι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πικρὸν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπότομον κριτὴν ἑαυτοῖς κατασκευάζοντες. Καὶ πρὸς πάντας μὲν οὖν ἡμᾶς, ὡς ἔφην, ἁρμόζει τὸ παράγγελμα· κατὰ δὲ τὸν προηγούμενον λόγον πρὸς