23. Therefore, Paul the apostle went up to Jerusalem in order to see the righteous ones; and he stayed with Peter for fifteen days, so that he might benefit in some way from their cohabitation (Galatians 1:18). Therefore, Paul himself and Barnabas, when they entered Jerusalem, were received magnificently by the Church, by the apostles, and by the elders (Acts 15:4). But when they wanted to leave, they were begged not to depart; and, as we read later about Paul, they were escorted with tears (Acts 20:38). For if there is so much power in natural things, that the sight of an animal benefits those with jaundice; as it is said that even the horn of that creature when dead can be helpful if it has been demonstrated to those who have fallen into this condition: can we doubt that a just sight heals? Therefore, a worthless irrational animal has such great power that it can heal a person in a brief moment when it is seen: a just person, however, if indeed they are looked upon with faith by one who desires benefit from them, contributes nothing? Do the rays of his eyes seem to infuse a certain power into those who faithfully desire to see him?
24. But just as the righteous person brings joy to the heart of the innocent, as it seems: in the same way, the wicked are tormented by their knowledge of the righteous; for they are accused by the silent conduct of the saints. Chastity torments immorality, generosity torments greed, and faith torments impiety. Let us take an example of a similar lowly creature. For just as we said that a mute animal benefits when it is seen: in the same way, we perceive the wolf to be harmful if it has anticipated someone by seeing them; for they are said to lose their voice, those whom the wolf has seen first. Basiliscus, also known as the harmful snake, is said to kill any animal that it sees first. It is said that anyone who can foresee such a snake is immediately killed. The snake itself is also said to die if it is seen by a human before it can strike. Therefore, if there is such power either in the eyes of the snake or in the eyes of a human, that one can kill the other by seeing it first, then there is no power in the eyes of a just person who is filled with the grace of virtue. Especially since faith alone works wonders, such as the woman who touched the fringe of the Lord's cloak and was healed (Matthew 9:22), and the person whom the Lord Jesus looked at and immediately received the grace of healing from his eyes (Luke 9:38 and 43).
But whoever sees the just person must know what they see: they do not see them in their body, nor in their clothing, nor in their possessions, nor in their appearance; but they see them within; I say they do not see them unless they see their mind, unless they understand their speech, unless their senses can comprehend them, unless they can acquire wisdom from their conversation. Therefore, they will rejoice when they have perceived these things, when they have come to know these things. So, wherever we hear of a just person, let us hasten to see them, just as that woman who heard that the Lord Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, and she entered and poured ointment on his feet (Luke 7:37-38). Let us imitate him; for who would doubt that the Church is figured in that woman? Therefore, wherever the just man sits or reclines, let us hasten to see him. It is precious to see a just man, to see him according to the image of God. What is on the outside is of no use; what is on the inside, heals. Surely, even in him who is on the outside, we frequently see him who is on the inside; so that if we see a poor man, let us honor him in the poor man, in whom he has been made like, of whom He said: You gave me to eat. For what you have given to one of them, you have given to me (Matt. 25:35 and 40). For he who crowns the image of the emperor, honors him surely, whose image he crowned. And he who despises the statue of the emperor, seems to have done wrong to the emperor, whose statue he spat upon. The Gentiles worship wood, for they consider it the image of God. But the invisible image of God is not in what is seen, but surely in what is not seen.
26. Do you see, therefore, why we walk among many images of Christ? Let us be careful not to appear to detract from the crown of the image that Christ has imposed upon each one. Let us be careful not to take away anything from those to whom we owe assistance. But what is worse, we not only fail to honor the poor, but also dishonor them, destroy them, persecute them: and we are unaware that we heap these abuses upon the image of God when we think that those made in the likeness of God should be harmed. For whoever ridicules a poor person, aggravates the one who made them. But the one who says, 'I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat; I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink... I was sick... and you did not visit me' (Matthew XXV, 42 and 43). And how much lighter are these things, compared to if someone were to say, 'You have wronged me, you have stripped me, you have beaten me?' If someone were to ask, 'When have we wronged you, when have we stripped you, when have we even beaten you?' He says: As long as you have done it to one of these least ones, you have done it to me (Ibid., 45). Therefore, let us be more diligent so that we do not bring insult to anyone, even the least of them, lest we appear to have been insulting to the Lord Himself in those least things.
27. However, by what reason he said, 'Those who fear you will see me and rejoice,' he himself explained, saying, 'Because I have hoped exceedingly in your words.' This is to say, 'They have seen me within, they have touched me within, they have beheld me within; where I have taken hope in your words, where I have received your words.' Therefore, blessed are those who see the righteous and rejoice, because they hope in the words of God. But how many there are who hate the righteous, who scrutinize the words of God, who are righteous themselves: and when the wicked hear some learned individuals, they are accustomed to avoid them because of their teaching.'
28. (Verse 75.) The third verse follows: I have known, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous and that in Your truth You have humbled me. Whoever can understand the divine providence uses the same language as the holy prophet David; for all things are done by the judgment of God, so that one person may have a sick body, another a healthy one, one may be rich, another poor, one may die young, another old. If anyone pays attention to the divine Scriptures, they understand that these things happen by the judgment of God; for there is nothing outside of God's knowledge. We seek an example? It is not hidden; indeed, Job would never have lost his possessions if he had not been handed over to the power of the adversary. For the Lord gave the devil power over his possessions, so that he might be tested to see what disposition he would have, having lost his inheritance (Job 1:12): he gave over his children, he gave over his body (Job 2:6); so that it might be proven whether, in the face of the grief of his deceased children or the torment of his body, he would stray from constancy of mind and soul. Indeed, the Lord knew him to be strong; but He wanted to teach and test us in him, whether we could be his imitators. And finally, Abraham also was tested, when he sought to offer up his only son, an old man (Gen. XXII, 2). Surely the Lord knew Abraham's intent, but He tests with knowledge, as you have read in the Gospel, that when the Lord Jesus asked His disciples how many loaves they had, and they answered that they had only five loaves, He Himself said: What shall we do among so many people? However, he said this, testing them; for he knew what he was about to do. (John 6:5-6) Therefore, whoever is righteous, relies on the examination of his own righteousness, because the judgments of God are just; or according to the Greek, because the judgments of God are righteousness itself.
29. But in order to acknowledge this, he made a preceding prayer; since he asked to be given understanding, to learn God's commandments. Therefore, the grace of understanding and knowledge was granted to him, and he recognized God's judgments to be just: but to recognize is the act of the perfected. Finally, it is one thing to believe, another to acknowledge. Faith is for those who fear, knowledge is for the wise. For the one who fears, does not seek reason: but the wise person investigates both knowledge and understanding, whatever he desires to perceive. I believed, he said, because of what I spoke: but the understanding one acknowledged what he spoke.
30. Therefore, where are the just judgments of God? It is through labors, tribulations, and afflictions that one reaches the heavenly reward. For just as a crown is given to athletes who compete according to the judgment of men, so a palm is awarded to Christians who compete according to the divine judgment. To the one who is victorious, it is said, I will grant them to sit with me on my throne (Revelation 3:21). Therefore, our life is tested by fire, like the brilliance of silver, in order to prove our virtue in the struggles. We have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us into a place of refreshment. Therefore, I have known that your judgments are true. For I have been humbled, so that I may see these things; because those who are exalted in heart cannot open their eyes to the truth. But when we are humbled, we recognize our sins and cleanse our offenses through humility itself. I have been humbled, he says, and he has saved me. Therefore, in truth, he who was humiliated was humiliated for salvation: and he who followed the salvation of truth did not bear the passion in vain.
31. Therefore, there is a difference between knowing and fearing, so that we may return to it. Finally, the reading of the Gospel should teach us. For the Lord said to those who believed in him from the Jews: If you remain in my word, . . . . you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John VIII, 31 and 32). If you remain, he says, you will know. You see that whoever fears God could not know from the beginning when they heard his word. Moreover, not only is fear not the same as knowledge, but faith is also not the same as knowledge. Indeed, the Apostle also taught that there are different gifts of grace. For he says that to some is given the word of wisdom through the same Spirit, to others the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to others faith in the same Spirit (I Cor. XII, 8 and 9). Therefore, if faith is given to some, knowledge is given to others; you see that where there is faith, there is not immediately knowledge; but where there is knowledge, there is both faith and prudence, and we cannot separate diligence from it.
Therefore, the holy David had knowledge as a perfect prophet; for he knew so perfectly that he humbled himself in the truth itself. Therefore, whether he was placed in adversity, he recognized the grace of testing, which is to endure what is laborious and adverse, and that God's judgment is just; and therefore, those who strive well are never abandoned or forsaken, and a crown can be bestowed on them after their labors. Or whether he was placed in prosperity and success, he also knew that the wealth of kings and various favorable outcomes are usually provided for the sake of temptation; so that the one who uses them may be tempted by the prosperity of things. Therefore, the prophet David is to be praised, because when he recognized these things, he humbled himself; either to exclude the temptations of prosperity by his humility, or to endure the trials of adversity with constant equanimity.
33. Therefore, the Prophet would not be greatly praiseworthy if he praised the judgments of God, making use of the abundance of worldly goods. For what great thing do we do if we praise God when we are prosperous, when we are rich, when we are not plagued by any injustices? It is magnificent if, subjected to injuries, insults, you praise the judgment of God; if, afflicted by sickness, you proclaim the judgments of God; if poverty does not prevent you from praising the justice of God. Therefore, the judgments of God are always to be praised, as it is written: The daughters of Judah rejoiced because of your judgments (Psalm 47:12). Who are the daughters of Judah, if not the religious souls, the souls of the Church, who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and who, seeing the reason of your judgments, always rejoice? For he who rejoices not from any external gain but from the knowledge of reason, is established only in perpetual rejoicing.
34. (Verse 76.) The fourth verse follows: Let your mercy now be made so that it may comfort me, according to your word to your servant. Some have in this place: Let it console me. But we also read in the Apostle an exhortation made for consolation, and consolation made for exhortation (II Cor. I, 4 and 6). Therefore, the mercy of God is great, which not only grants the forgiveness of sins; but also applies the spurs of exhortation to those who are striving, so that the passions of the undertaken struggle may not be abandoned through weak fear. Therefore, he does not seek mercy as one who is overcome and yields, nor as one who prays for pardon, but as one who is girded with God's mercy, supported by greater strength, accomplishes greater things. Remarkable and unique is the virtue of the Prophet. For another would ask to be relieved of humbling hardships, that the trials around him may cease, and that the Lord might deign to calm his troubles, so that the storm of tribulation would not rage against him; but this one, like a strong and patient athlete who knows how to exercise and anoint his soul with hardships, does not desire to remove sorrows, nor to avoid confrontations, nor to cease everything that brings fatigue and labor; rather, he seeks in the time of his labor to receive the word of consolation against the storms of temptation, so that he may be able to endure with a strong mind to what is being thrown upon him, lest he be weakened by any disturbance of sorrow. Therefore, he implores the mercy of God, so that, not being abandoned without help in his undertaking, he may not abandon the military service he has begun.
35. Finally, clear evidence shows that the exhortation is of divine mercy; for God says to Moses: I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will show compassion on whom I show compassion. Therefore it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy (Rom. IX, 15 and 16). Perhaps you may say: So we should not desire or strive; but God is accustomed to desert the negligent. Therefore he does not say this; but let us consider what he does say. The perseverance of a person who is unwilling or hesitant is not enough; for it is not within the power of a person, but rather it is the mercy of God who enables you to accomplish what you have begun. Moreover, it is said to Moses again: 'For this very reason I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you' (Ibid., 17). Therefore, it is concluded that we should rely on the exhortation of divine mercy. Hence it follows: 'So he has mercy on whom he wills, and he hardens whom he wills' (Ibid., 18). He encourages those he shows mercy to, and does not reject them; he does not curse those he hardens. And truly, the mercy of our God is the support of our sufferings, through which our sins are diminished. Finally, Lazarus, the poor man, because he endured many evils in this life, found rest and consolation in the bosom of Abraham; but the rich man, who had consolation in the world, lost the fruit of rest after the course of this life. If God had shown mercy to him, He would have chastised him in this world, so that he would not be scourged afterwards. Finally, Job, though severely afflicted, indeed with many lashes of poverty, loss of children, bodily pains, and the reproaches of friends, still enjoys eternal consolation.
Therefore, the greater the tribulations, the more abundant consolation is reserved. And yet, so that you do not fall and give in, the greater the temptations you see, the more you should pray to the Word of God, so that it may bring you comfort: just as Paul also prayed, saying, Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulation, so that we may also be able to comfort those who are in any tribulation by the exhortation with which we ourselves are exhorted by God; for just as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also through Christ does consolation abound (II Cor. I, 3-5). He prays with such great force of Apostolic petition, that he may receive consolation from the Lord in every tribulation, so that not only may he himself put on endurance; but also may he console others, so that they too may be able to endure the hardships of their own mind. Therefore, if you have been found worthy in every tribulation, then at last you will be deserving to receive consolation in every tribulation. And yet not every suffering is worthy of consolation: but the suffering which is for Christ, this deserves the consolation of Christ.
Moreover, he beautifully added: According to your word, to your servant. For the Lord himself promises help to those who fight for his name, saying: Therefore, when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you will speak; for it will be given to you in that hour what to speak. For it is not you who speak, but the Father who speaks in you (Matt. 10:19-20). Therefore, so that we may not be unequal to the struggle, let us always pray for divine help, so that he may grant us encouragement. For if we have someone who exhorts us, we do not easily give up.
However, most people have this opinion: He who consoles us, and does not shy away from the truth. For there is a certain charm in the encouragement of someone who urges us on, which ignites our striving for praise and soothes us, as it were, with a kind of consolation, so that we are not discouraged by the roughness of our labors.
39. (Verse 77.) The fifth verse follows: Let your mercies come to me, and I shall live; for your law is my meditation. To whom the meditation of God's law is, to them mercy is granted, so that they may live forever. How can anyone be blessed without divine mercy? Blessed indeed is the one who meditates day and night in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:1-2). But the one who meditates in the Law is instructed in the Law, and the one whom the Law instructs, the Lord has instructed, who spoke the Law. Therefore it is written: Blessed is the one whom you instruct, O Lord, and teach from your law (Psalm 94:12). Let us also learn to meditate on the law, not be distracted by worldly temptations, not be hindered by obstacles, but always be attentive to the law of God. For it is written: The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom, and his tongue will speak justice (Psalm 36:30). This is in the Old Testament. Listen to what it says in the New Testament: The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (Romans 10:8). And this meditation is shown to be necessary for priests, as he writes to Titus, because the bishop must embrace Him who is according to the doctrine, faithful in speech, so that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict (Tit. 1:9). And writing to Timothy, he says: Attend to reading, exhortation, and doctrine (1 Tim. 4:13). Frequent reading, without any interruption, fulfills the duty of teaching.
40. However, what it asks for in order to live, we frequently show that the life of this body does not have the grace of true life; but that true life will be, whose blessings each of the saints believes they see on the earth of the living. What we believe we will see, not at present of course, but it will be in the future.
Verse 41 (Verse 78): The sixth verse follows: Let the proud be confounded, because they acted unjustly towards me; but I will meditate on your precepts. The same Prophet said earlier: If I have rendered evil to those who repay me (Psalms 7:5). Does he curse those who acted unjustly towards him? Certainly not. For he saw that even his enemies should be shown love when the preacher of the Gospel came. Therefore, I believe that he, like a physician, wants to heal those who have been injured; so that, by considering their own wickedness, they may be ashamed of their own crimes: in which not only do they begin to prove their patience in accordance with prophecy, but also to correct their own insolence. Shame is usually a corrector of ourselves; and while we begin to feel ashamed of what we have done, so that we are not ashamed any longer, we are reminded to abandon what deserves to be blushed at. Therefore, the Prophet does not curse, but as a good doctor, he wants to know and understand what they have done; so that when they have taken themselves back into their own conscience, they may begin to blush at how great a heap of sins they have committed, and in blushing, they may be able to renounce their previous sins. Consider now to me some fornicators, unjustly seizing widows and girls, plundering the property of others; and in these things not only do they not feel shame, but they also tend to boast, as if they were carrying titles of either beauty or power: concerning whom the Apostle spoke well, that their glory is in their own shame (Philippians 3:19); they are more detestable to themselves because, despite committing such great sins, they are not ashamed. But if anyone afterward comes into the Church, believes in the Lord Jesus, hears the Gospel, is heartily contrite: then at last will he begin to recognize how atrocious and serious the sins he has committed are, and will blush for those sins he has recognized.
42. And what does it mean to be exercised in the precepts of our Lord, as He said: But I will be exercised in your precepts, in the Law you have learned (Exod. XXIII, 5)? This means that if the ox of an adversary falls or the beast, you should not consider it forsaken, but rather to be helped. And when He says: They have done injustice unjustly, consider who this is spoken to, except for the one who perhaps acts justly in doing injustice: that is, if the injured person begins to seek justice according to the precepts of Moses, he seems to be doing injustice justly, but not according to the precepts of the Gospel. And thus he says: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew IX, 13); because the Jews use the authority of the Law to seek vengeance for themselves.
You have this also in the Apostle: Be sober and just (1 Corinthians 15:34). He clearly taught that not only should we be sober, but also justly sober. However, one can be sober but not justly sober; they may be sober from wine but not sober in fairness and justice, for drunkenness is a form of injustice. Likewise, someone can be constantly indulging in drunkenness and debauchery but still attempt to steal from others, being preoccupied with the desire to be sober from wine but not sober from theft. Such a person is not justly sober. Therefore the Apostle admonishes us to have just sobriety within us. Finally, he added: 'And do not sin.' For whoever sins, even if they are sober, cannot be called justly sober. 'Do not be deceived,' he says, 'lest the drunkenness of another's error make you intoxicated.' Evil conversations corrupt good morals, because the drunkenness of the unbelievers' words and lips is poured into the character of the listener. And rightfully he added: Be soberly just and do not sin. For certain ones have ignorance of God; so let that one be sober, who has no ignorance of God, and does not stagger with the drunkenness of treachery: but let him be justly sober, in whom the grace of works shines forth with the sobriety of faith.
Verse 44. (Line 79.) The seventh verse follows: Let those who fear you turn to me, and those who know your testimonies. Another version, most according to the Greek, has: Let them turn to me. If we read it as 'turn to me': let those who fear God turn to me, let them be ashamed of their committed sins; or certainly let them pay the punishments of their crimes: but let them turn to the servant of God, and to the prophetic teaching; so that they may unlearn the shameful things, and by the correction of the teacher, cast off their manners, and, with the stain of their sins cleansed, put on the discipline of virtues. But if we read it thus: 'Let them be converted to me,' that is, 'because I will be exercised in your precepts,' let them be converted to me, but to me no longer sinning, no longer wandering. 'Let them be converted,' he says, 'who, renouncing their own sins, fear you; so that the Prophet may be more fully advanced to the fellowship of the righteous, and may himself impart most abundantly to those who listen from that grace which is in himself. Let them, therefore, who no longer sin, be converted from the righteous to the righteous.' But I think there is no need to repeat the evidence, since it has already been mentioned before.
45. (Verse 80.) The eighth verse follows: Make my heart immaculate in your justifications, so that I may not be confounded. The greater the Prophet is in the gift of prophecy or in the grace of the kingdom, the more he follows humility and teaches us what we should imitate; that is why the Prophet asks that his heart be made completely immaculate. Above, he requested: Create a clean heart in me, O God (Psalm 50:12). He did not say, do it, but create it; so that he may completely restore and purify his heart. Indeed, there is a great depth in this discourse. For the heart, created by the Lord, is great, as it receives the Word of the heavenly virtues and powers. Great is the heart that receives the Lord Himself saying, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them' (2 Corinthians 6:16). Therefore, in order to receive these things, it prays not to become an angel, but to have the Lord Himself as the creator of its heart, who created the heaven and the earth.
And he rightly says: Immaculate; because the heart of man is stained by a kind of collection of indecent thoughts. If the thought itself pollutes, how much more do the actions themselves contaminate? Do not contaminate the innermost recesses of nature with extraordinary thoughts; lest you pollute with serious defilement, what you think you have clean. You wash your hands as if you can wash away sins, when you cannot wash your mind polluted by impure thoughts. And Pilate washed his hands: but he could not wash his heart. He remained stained with guilt, even though he had washed his hands with water. Understand that even thoughts defile: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a person: but what comes out of the mouth. For evil thoughts come out of the heart, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a person (Matthew 15:17-20). If, therefore, you are defiled inwardly, first cleanse what is inside. If you have cleansed what is inside, you have also cleansed the outside: just as if turbid water flows, you would think in vain that the lake needs to be cleansed if the fountain itself is filthy; for it will be of no benefit to have cleansed the receptacles when the fault is in the fountain. You yourself must be cleansed beforehand, so that everything that is pure may flow. Your heart is the source of your thoughts. In that fountain, either the turbid water of impurity is vomited forth, or the clear wave of piety bursts forth.
47. You have learned that the heart must be cleansed, learn how to cleanse it. Justification cleanses this fountain, that is, the confession of sins. Finally, the tax collector who confessed his own sins was justified more than the Pharisee who left the temple; because the Pharisee preferred his fasts and gifts, as well as his innocence. Therefore, cleanse your water, that water of which it is said: Deep waters are the counsel in the heart of a man (Prov. XX, 5). Nature has given you good water, unless you pollute it with your filth: nature itself washes you, if it is pure, if it is simple, if it is also natural, if it has nothing sordid and earthly. What harm is there if the water that should cleanse, defiles? But it is not your water that defiles, it is foreign water. Finally, it has been said to you: Keep yourself away from foreign water (Prov. V, 15). Foreign water is deceitful and deceptive, and it goes against nature. Therefore he says: The sons of strangers have lied to me (Psalm XVII, 46); for if they were not strangers, surely they would not have deceived. Therefore let no one boast of having a pure heart, as Solomon said (Proverbs XX, 9): but let him who boasts, boast in the Lord (II Corinthians X, 17), who has deigned to create a pure heart for his saints, and to make it immaculate by his justifications. What the justifications are, you have heard him saying: Declare your iniquities, that you may be justified (Isaiah XLIII, 26). Therefore, those who confess their sins are justified; but those who are justified are not ashamed, because mature confession anticipates the shame of sins.