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always. What is it to seek the Lord? to think his thoughts, to always consider him, to always have him in mind, to never cease communing with him through prayer and good works. And those who seek will be unconquerable and invincible. However, having urged the preachers to the nations to seek the Lord eagerly, the word strengthens them still more, saying, Be strengthened, that is, Do not be slack in seeking him. And he addresses this to them, as those needing strength and power to be able to do what was commanded; which was to preach to the nations, both to Greeks and barbarians, according to, The Lord will give a word with great power to those who preach the gospel. And teaching how one must seek, and that it is not once or twice, but throughout one's entire life that it is fitting to seek help from above and to reap the benefit, he added: Seek his face always; not three times a year, appearing before him according to the law given by Moses, but throughout one's entire life. And by face here he means his manifestation, his oversight, his providence, his care, his help, his alliance, the thought of him. For no one shall see the face of his essence and live. And his Son is also his face. Remember his wondrous works that he has done, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth; whether those in the Old Scripture, or those in the Gospels. For it will be necessary for you, the preachers to the nations, to spread these to all the nations; since they have not previously learned them from anyone else. Therefore, having joined together all that the Word accomplished when he became man with the ancient things, remember to hand them down to the nations. Here it seems to me he shows the way by which it is possible both to seek and to find God. And what is the way? to continually bear in memory his marvelous works, and the laws and the commandments; wherefore he adds, His wonders and the judgments of his mouth; calling wonders the divine signs, and judgments the decrees, the commandments, or the wonders wrought by God justly and with righteous judgment. But what wonders, tell me? Those in Egypt, those after Egypt, those before Egypt, those after his coming. For all these are 23.1304 wondrous and marvelous things, and they transcend human sequence. Or wonders are the miracles that happened, such as to walk on the sea, and to raise a dead man, and such things; and judgments of his mouth are the words which he spoke, driving out the unclean demons from men, or also the commandments of the New Testament. But rather, here it seems to me he calls judgments the laws, those in heaven, those on earth, those in the sea. For man alone did not receive a law, but all visible things; the sea, not to transgress the shores; the mountains, to be fixed, the earth, to stand still, the sun, to run, the moon, its own good order, the varied chorus of the stars, the nature of bodies, of plants, of irrational creatures, of all other things; for all are governed by their own laws. And all these things came to be by commands, which is signified by "of the mouth." Therefore, whatever his mouth judged, whether it judged through the Old or through the New Testament, you shall add, commanding the nations to keep his judgments as royal laws. And you will understand judgments as the things miraculously wrought by a just decree. For since he is about to narrate the events in Egypt, he teaches beforehand the justice of the punishment of the Egyptians. For it was necessary that all men on earth, being subject to his judgments, should not be ignorant of either his works or his judgments. Through which judgments he judged not only the nation of the Jews, but also all men on earth worthy of his calling. Seed of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen. He is the Lord our God. For not all who are from Israel, these are Israel, nor as many as are the seed of Abraham,

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διαπαντός. Τί ἐστι τὸ ζητεῖν τὸν Κύριον; τὸ τὰ ἐκείνου φρονεῖν, τὸ ἀεὶ αὐτὸν λογίζεσθαι, τὸ ἀεὶ ἐν διανοίᾳ ἔχειν, τὸ μηδέποτε παύεσθαι ὁμιλοῦντα αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων. Ἄμαχοι δὲ οἱ ζητοῦντες ἔσονται καὶ ἀήττητοι. Παρορμήσας μέντοι ὁ λόγος τοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν κήρυκας ἐπὶ τὸ προθύμως ἐκζητῆσαι τὸν Κύριον, ἔτι μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἐπιῤῥώννυσι λέγων, Κραταιώθητε, τουτέστι, Μὴ χαυνοῦσθε εἰς τὸ ζητεῖν αὐτόν. Τοῦτο δὲ προσφωνεῖ αὐτοῖς, ὡς δεομένοις κράτους καὶ δυνάμεως εἰς τὸ ἰσχῦσαι τὸ προστεταγμένον ποιῆσαι· ὅπερ ἦν τὸ ἔθνεσι κηρύξαι, Ἕλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάροις, κατὰ τὸ, Κύριος δώσει ῥῆμα τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνάμει πολλῇ. ∆ιδάσκων δὲ πῶς δεῖ τὸ ζητεῖν ποιεῖν, καὶ ὅτι οὐχ ἅπαξ ἢ δὶς, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον τὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπικουρίαν προσήκει ζητεῖν καὶ τὴν ὠφέλειαν καρποῦσθαι, ἐπήγαγε· Ζητήσατε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ διαπαντός· οὐ τρίτον τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, κατὰ τὸν ὑπὸ Μωϋσέως δοθέντα νόμον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ φαινόμενοι, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον. Πρόσωπον δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ φησὶ, τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν, τὴν πρόνοιαν, τὴν κηδεμονίαν, τὴν βοήθειαν, τὴν συμμαχίαν, τὴν ἔννοιαν τὴν περὶ αὐτόν. Τὸ γὰρ τῆς οὐσίας πρόσωπον οὐδεὶς ὄψεται καὶ ζήσεται. Πρόσωπον δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Υἱός. Μνήσθητε τῶν θαυμασίων αὐτοῦ ὧν ἐποίησε, τὰ τέρατα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ κρίματα τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ· εἴτε τῶν ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ Γραφῇ, εἴτε τῶν ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις. Ταῦτα γὰρ δεήσει ὑμᾶς τοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν κήρυκας εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διαδοῦναι· ἐπεὶ μὴ πρότερον αὐτὰ παρά τινος ἄλλου μεμαθήκασιν. Ὅσα τοίνυν ἐνανθρωπήσας ὁ Λόγος διεπράξατο τοῖς παλαιοῖς ὁμοῦ συνάψαντες, μνήσθητε παραδοῦναι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. Ἐνταῦθά μοι δοκεῖ τὴν ὁδὸν δεικνύναι δι' ἧς δυνατὸν καὶ ζητεῖν καὶ εὑρεῖν τὸν Θεόν. Τίς δὲ ἡ ὁδός; τὸ διηνεκῶς ἐπὶ μνήμης φέρειν τὰ παράδοξα αὐτοῦ ἔργα, καὶ τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὰς ἐντολάς· διὸ ἐπάγει, Τὰ τέρατα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ κρίματα τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ· τέρατα μὲν τὰς θεοσημείας λέγων, κρίματα δὲ τὰς ἀποφάσεις, τὰς ἐντολὰς, ἢ τὰ ἐνδίκως καὶ κρίσει δικαίᾳ ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγενημένα θαύματα. Ποῖα δὲ τέρατα, εἰπέ μοι; Τὰ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, τὰ μετὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον, τὰ πρὸ τῆς Αἰγύπτου, τὰ μετὰ τὴν παρουσίαν τὴν αὐτοῦ. Πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα 23.1304 θαυμαστὰ καὶ παράδοξα πράγματα, καὶ ἀκολουθίαν ἀνθρωπίνην ὑπερβαίνοντα. Ἢ τέρατα μὲν τὰ γεγενημένα θαύματα, ὡς τὸ περιπατῆσαι ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ νεκρὸν ἀναστῆσαι, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· κρίματα δὲ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἔλεγεν, ἐλαύνων τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοὺς ἀκαθάρτους δαίμονας, ἢ καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς τῆς Καινῆς ∆ιαθήκης. Μᾶλλον δὲ ἐνταῦθά μοι δοκεῖ κρίματα τοὺς νόμους λέγειν, τοὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ, τοὺς ἐν γῇ, τοὺς ἐν θαλάσσῃ. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνος ἄνθρωπος ἔλαβε νόμον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὁρώμενα ἅπαντα· ἡ θάλασσα τὸ μὴ ὑπερβαίνειν τοὺς αἰγιαλούς· τὰ ὄρη τὸ πεπηγέναι, ἡ γῆ τὸ ἑστάναι, ὁ ἥλιος τὸ τρέχειν, ἡ σελήνη τὴν ἰδίαν εὐταξίαν, ὁ ποικίλος τῶν ἀστέρων χορὸς, ἡ φύσις τῶν σωμάτων, ἡ τῶν φυτῶν, ἡ τῶν ἀλόγων, ἡ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων· οἰκείοις γὰρ ἅπαντα διοικεῖται νόμοις. Καὶ ταῦτα ἅπαντα ἐπιτάγμασι γέγονεν, ὅπερ δηλοῦται διὰ τοῦ στόματος. Ὅσα τοίνυν τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἔκρινεν, εἴτε διὰ τῆς Παλαιᾶς, εἴτε διὰ τῆς Νέας ∆ιαθήκης ἔκρινε, ἐπισυνάψατε, φυλάττειν ὡς νόμους βασιλικοὺς τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἔθνεσι παραγγέλλοντες. Νοήσεις δὲ κρίματα τὰ δικαίᾳ ψήφῳ θαυματουργηθέντα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ μέλλει διηγεῖσθαι, προδιδάσκει τῆς Αἰγυπτίων τιμωρίας τὸ δίκαιον. Ἔδει γὰρ πάντας τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς ἀνθρώπους ὑποκειμένους τοῖς αὐτοῦ κρίμασι μὴ ἀγνοεῖν μήτε τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ μήτε τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ. ∆ι' ὧν κριμάτων οὐ μόνον τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς ἀνθρώπους ἔκρινε τῆς αὐτοῦ κλήσεως καταξιῶσαι. Σπέρμα Ἀβραὰμ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ, υἱοὶ Ἰακὼβ ἐκλεκτοὶ αὐτοῦ. Αὐτὸς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν. Ἐπεὶ μὴ πάντες οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, οὗτοι Ἰσραὴλ,μηδὲ ὅσοι εἰσὶ σπέρμα Ἀβραὰμ,