Mercy, Truth and Heaven

Κύριε, ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ τὸ ἔλεός σου.  Σφόδρα ἀκολούθως μετὰ τὴν ὑπογραφὴν τῆς τοῦ παρανόμου κακίας τὸν ὑπερβάλλοντα πλοῦτον τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ μακροθυμίας παρίστησιν, δι' ἦς καὶ τῶν παρανόμων καὶ ἀσεβων ἀνδρῶν ἀνέχεται· διδάσκων, ὅτι ὁ πλοῦτος τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀνοχῆς καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας ἐλέου πεπλήρωτι μεγάλου. Καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ Θεοῦ αἴτιον τυγχάνει τῆς τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ ἀσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν ζωῆς τε καὶ εὐθυμίας. Τὸν μὲν οὖν θησαυρὸν τοῦ ελέους αὐτοῦ τεταμιεῦσθαι φησιν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὐτοῦ εἶναι παρ' αὐτῷ, πληροῦντες· πάντα τὰ ὑπερουράνια· ὅμως δὲ καὶ μέχρι τῶν νεφελῶν, ἢ μέχρι τῶν αἰθέρων, κατὰ τὸν Συμμαχον, διήκειν. Οὕτω γοῦν καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέλεκται· Ἐν τῷ οὐρανῳ ἐτοιμασθήσεται ἡ ἀλήθειά σου. Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἡ ἀλήθεια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ δίκην δὲ ὑετοῦ φερομένου διὰ νεφῶ καὶ μέχρι τῆς γῆς ἐπιστάζει. Διὸ εἴρηται· Καὶ ἀλήθειά σου ἔεως τῶν νεφελῶν. Ἐκ δὲ τῶν λεγομενῶν νεφελῶν καὶ εἰς ἀνθρώπους προχέεται ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀληθεια· νεφέλας δὲ τοὺς προφήτας ἢ τὰς ἀγγελικὰ δυνάμεις, δι' ὦν ἡ αλήθεια τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰς ἀνθρώπους κατελήλυθεν, εἴωθεν ὁ λόγος ὀνομάζειν. Οὕτε λελεκται ἐν Ἠσαΐα· Καὶ ταῖς νεφέλαις ἐντελοῦμαι τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι εἰς αὐτὸν ὑετὸν, δηλαδὴ εἰς τὸ Ἰουδαίων λαὸν, ἀμπελῶνα τροπικῶς ὠνομασμένον.  Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΛΕ'

'Lord, in heaven is your mercy. ' 1 After describing the wickedness of impious men, he tells of the excellent wealth of Divine tolerance, which is accustomed to bear with the iniquitous and impious, teaching, then, the wealth of His kindness and the patience and long bearing, 2 of one replete with great mercy. And this mercy of God is the cause of why sinners and the impious live and are cheerful. Thus a treasury of his mercy is stored up in heaven, it says, but truth also is his possession, filling all the heavens, for even to the clouds, or as the translator Symmachus has it, to the air, it extends. So in another Psalm it is said, 'In heaven your truth shall be prepared' 3 Thus the truth of God is in heaven, whence it is like water carried in the clouds, hidden until it falls in drops upon the earth. So it is said, 'And your truth to the clouds.' For from the clouds the truth of God is poured on to men, and in the custom of Scripture these clouds are the prophets and angelic powers, through which the truth of God is given to men. So in Isaiah it is said, 'And I shall command the clouds lest they water it with rain,' 4 that is, over the Jewish people, who are figuratively named a vine. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 35 1 Ps 35.6 2 Rom 2.4 3 Ps 88.3 4 Is 5.6