Ambrose of Milan

(Verses 27, 28, 29.) Turn away from evil and do good; and dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice, and will not forsake his saints: they will be preserved forever. But the wicked will be punished, and the seed of the wicked will perish. The righteous will inherit the land, and dwell forever upon it. These verses demonstrate that we belong to the Lord, and that he is the judge of our thoughts and actions, considering the merits of each individual. He does not act without judgment, but discerns between good and evil deeds. Therefore, it must be avoided and good must be done. Do not confuse good and evil; first, you must be free from sin; then, you must bear the fruits of innocence, so that you can be eternal. Do not think that your sins go unnoticed by God; for many fall in this way. He himself sees and condemns all things, and exterminates the seed of the wicked; indeed, the seed is not of physical generation, but of internal mind and succession of impiety (Job 1:1). For certainly Job, born of the seed of Esau, is testified in the Scripture. How then did the seed of Esau perish in Job, when he was such a great man, foreseeing the coming of the Lord to the earth, who would subdue the prince of this world, the devil? Therefore, this is questioned, lest evil be transferred to future generations. Christ works this through the sacrament of baptism, so that each person may put off what they were born with and put on what they are reborn with: so that they may become heirs not of their family, but of grace; so that they may acquire for themselves an eternal dwelling place. But whoever deserves to dwell in the world of ages, he himself shall honor God in the ages of ages.

(Verse 30 and following) When he established the just moral disciplines, to teach you what kind you ought to be, and what would be the perfect form of justice; he wants his mind to rise to wisdom and theorems; and arouse his intention, so that he may look at heavenly things with an attentive heart, and revolve the divine oracles within himself, and direct his affection towards those things which please God: let him meditate on the Law, and let no commandments of the Lord escape him; let him recognize the movement of the divine Sacrament. Finally, I saw in the teachings that the holy Prophet arose: The mouth of the just man will meditate wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment. The law of God is in his heart; the Lord will not condemn him when he is judged. Wait for the Lord and keep his way; and he will exalt you to possess the land: when sinners are destroyed, you will see. I saw the wicked man exalted and lifted up above the cedars of Lebanon; and I passed by, and behold, he was no more; and I sought him, but his place was not found. Superior moral things, these are intelligible. For what is the just mouth that will contemplate wisdom, if not the inner man? For there are two men in each person: one inner, the other outer; the inner one thinks about things of the mind, speaks about things of the mind; the outer one about things of the body. However, the coming Lord united both; and he established two in one person; so that they would not oppose each other with conflicting movements, but rather be united to each other by the unity of their wills. Therefore, the mouth of the righteous will meditate wisdom. For now even the outer man of the righteous is transformed into the discipline of the inner man, and is conformed to its nature, and performs its duties, so that the flesh may meditate on what is of the inner mind. But lest this seem incredible to you, listen to the Apostle saying (Philippians 3:21) that the Lord Jesus transfigured the body of our lowliness, so that it would be conformed to the body of his glory. Who would dare to say that the flesh, assumed from the Virgin, generated by the Spirit of God coming upon Mary, was without sin, which in no way differed from the teachings of wisdom, and was devoid of the virtues of the inner man, and could not pass into his uses; since it was above man that the sick were healed by touching it, the blind had their sight restored, and the dead were raised? Therefore, it is fittingly written: the mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom; because the whole man is spiritual, not earthly: for as earthly, so also are earthly; and as heavenly, so also are heavenly. Therefore, let the earthly be absent, let the heavenly remain. And so, referring to the times of the Redeemer, the Prophet meditates, saying: although one out of many, he meditates and writes. And it does not deviate from sense; for the spirits of the prophets are close to the future as well as the present. Others think that the mouth speaks instead of the mind. But Solomon has beautifully explained this to us, saying: The account of the righteous is always wisdom; but the fool is like the moon that changes (Sirach 27:12); that is, he often varies and does not persist in his opinion, and seems to shed light in darkness but cannot hold it.


Therefore, let the meditation of wisdom always be in your heart and on your lips, and let your tongue speak judgment, may the law of your God be in your heart. Therefore, Scripture says to you: Speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you rise up (Deut. VI, 7). Let us therefore speak of the Lord Jesus; for He is Wisdom, He is the Word and the Word of God. For it is also written: Open your mouth with the word of God. He breathes it out, who resonates His words, and meditates on them. Let us always speak. When we speak of wisdom, He is: when we speak of virtue, He is: when we speak of justice, He is: when we speak of peace, He is: when we speak of truth, and life, and redemption, He is. Open your mouth to the word of God, it is written: you open, He will speak. Therefore David said: I will hear what the Lord will speak in me (Ps. LXXXIV, 9). And the Son of God Himself says: Open your mouth, and I will fill it (Ps. LXXX, 11). But not all can perceive the perfection of wisdom like Solomon; not all like Daniel. However, the spirit of wisdom is poured out on all according to their capacity, but on all who are faithful. If you believe, you have the spirit of wisdom; therefore, the Wise One says: 'I believed, therefore I spoke' (Ps. 116:10). When you believe, you will receive the grace of speaking. And the one who believes is redeemed; and the one who prays is redeemed: if they devoutly apply themselves to prayers, and are constant in prayer, let them precede the day, frequent the night, be the first to meet the morning sun, so that they may be enlightened by Christ himself before the earth by the rising of the sun; and the one who sings is redeemed; and the one who is contrite is redeemed.


Therefore, always meditate, always speak of the things of God, sitting in the house. We can take the Church as our home, we can receive an interior home within ourselves, so that we may speak within ourselves. The judges sit in Jerusalem; the seats have been set in judgment; the council of judges also sat, and the books were opened. The prophecy says: And you, with counsel, do everything (Sirach 32:24). Judge with counsel about your actions, drink wine with counsel, speak with counsel; so that you may avoid sin, lest you fall through speaking too much. Speak while you are sitting, as if you were a judge: speak on the way, so that you may never be vacant. On the way, speak if you speak in Christ, for Christ is the way. Speak to yourself on the way, speak to Christ. Listen to how you speak to them. I want, he says, men to pray in every place, lifting up pure hands without anger and argument (I Tim. II, 8). Speak, O man, while you are sleeping, so that the sleep of death does not creep upon you. Listen to how you speak while sleeping: If I give sleep to my eyes and slumber to my eyelids; until I find a place for the Lord, a tabernacle for the God of Jacob (Ps. CXXXI, 4 and 5). Conquer nature by diligence, exclude bodily sleep. We cannot shape nature, but we can shape diligence. David was a man who indulged in some sleep during the night, but he excluded sleep by washing his bed every night and watering his couch with tears. Therefore, he was always mindful of his Lord on his bed, and he meditated on Him. He would rise early in the morning, and Christ would shine upon him in the darkness, saying: Rise, you who are sleeping (Ephesians 5:14). Not in all things is this grace, but it can be in many things with diligence. Therefore, do not expect Christ to awaken you; but rather awaken Christ. He awakens himself who thinks about him while sleeping. If you awaken him, he will also awaken you from sleep, resurrect you from death, saying to you: Rise from the dead (Ibid.). Therefore, when you rise or when you resurrect, speak to him, so that you fulfill what you are commanded. Hear how Christ awakens you. Your soul says: The voice of my brother knocks at the door (Song of Songs, 5:2); and Christ says: Open to me, my sister, my bride. Listen to how you awaken Christ. The soul says: I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you awaken and revive charity (Song of Songs, 3:5). Charity is Christ. Also listen to how you speak while sleeping: I sleep, but my heart keeps watch (Song of Songs, 5:2). These things collectively: raise your mind a little higher now.


Speak while sitting in the house, in this earthly house of this habitation, which is dissolved, in which we are pilgrims from the Lord. For in this body we are placed, while we desire to put on more rather than to strip off, we are exiled from Christ, and we groan heavily. Therefore, sitting in this, confess your sins; because you sat, and did not stand, and did not say: Our feet were standing in your courts, O Jerusalem (Psalm 122:2). Speak more, and do not hide your sins; speak while sitting, so that you may hear the one speaking: 'Arise after you have sat, you who eat the bread of sorrow' (Psalm 126:2). Speak while walking on the way, that is, following the course of this life. Speak here, lest you remain silent there, as he remained silent who did not believe the angel of Christ at first; afterwards, however, when he believed, he regained his voice. Speak while sleeping and be at rest, buried in Christ; so that you may rise again with him in the newness of life. Speak even when buried in a tomb; as the souls of the saints spoke, seeking vengeance from the author of death. How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you not judge and avenge our blood (Rev. 6:10)? Speak finally when you rise; as he taught who said: I have slept and have rested and have risen; for the Lord will receive me (Psalm 3:6). And there, therefore: The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom, until he reaches the higher secrets of the heavenly tabernacle, full of sacred joy and gladness; just as Scripture has taught us, with David saying: I have remembered these things, and I have poured out my soul upon myself; for I will enter into the place of the admirable tabernacle, even to the house of God. In the voice of exultation and confession the sound of feasting (Psalm 41:5). Therefore, both while sitting in this earthly house and when we go out and walk along the way, if we are worthy, we shall meet Christ when we are caught up and even speak while asleep.

Take the third lifting up, by which the soul elevates itself to justice. For there is a certain spiritual sleep to be understood, about which Solomon says: 'If you sit down, you will sit without fear; if you sleep, you will rest sweetly, and you will not fear the terror that will come upon you, nor the attacks of the wicked that will come upon you' (Prov. III, 24 et seq.). You will rest sweetly and not fear the terror or the attacks of the wicked; if your tongue speaks the judgment of God, and you always keep that before your eyes; so that you leave no place for sin, and know that the price of sin is paid by the retribution of punishment. For he himself interpreted this in the ninetieth Psalm, saying: “You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow flying by day, nor the business wandering in darkness, nor the encounter and the midday demon. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. Only with your eyes shall you consider, and you shall see the retribution of sinners” (Psalm 90, 5 and following). For when the just person speaks of the judgment of God, or when he speaks of what is just, and is full of true judgment, he does not speak with anger, nor with the affliction of a grieving soul, nor with sorrow, nor with any passion; but he speaks with truth, he speaks with equity, so that he does not lean towards affection, but rather weighs with a true examination what he speaks: for he judges what should be said, or not proclaimed. To what is that similar: The lips of the wise are bound by understanding (Prov. 15:7); because everything they say seems to correspond to true understanding, and by the prudence of their own understanding, they know what they ought to speak or be silent about: so that what should be kept silent is restrained by a certain confinement and binding of the lips; but in those things which ought to be spoken, the bonds of the lips are loosened. Therefore, he appropriately adds: The mouth of the righteous meditates wisdom; for through prolonged meditation, it will be able to have full judgment, which the righteous person will speak at the appropriate time; since he has seen face to face those things which are perfect. For now we cannot speak of those things which we do not comprehend. Nor did Paul presume to speak, who, caught up into paradise, heard secret things of heaven: but willing not to err in what he would say, he said: How incomprehensible are the judgments of God, and unsearchable his ways! (Rom. 11:33) But now, being freed from the body, perhaps he comprehends the kinds of unsearchable ways, and the judgments of God which are as deep as an abyss.

(Vers. 31.) Justice is still described and increased in form, as the Scripture says: The law of God is in his heart, and his steps will not be supplanted. In the heart of the righteous is the law of God. What law? Not written, but natural; for the law is not imposed on the just, but on the unjust. In his heart is the law, not superficially, as in the lips of the Jews; for it is believed in the heart for righteousness. He who believes, speaks; but he who speaks does not always believe. Finally, the people did not believe, of whom it is said: This people honors me with their lips; their heart, however, is far from me (Isaiah 29:13). Therefore, if the nations do what the law requires, they themselves are the law, knowing what they should follow or avoid. How much more faithful and just is the person who lives in the image and likeness of God, knowing how to discern the beautiful and the honorable, and using a legitimate guide of natural wisdom, so that its traces are not supplanted; just like Esau, whom his brother supplanted and made him fall due to his greed, and his traces were spilled unto death.

(Vers. 32, 33.) The more righteous someone is, the more their enemy plots against them; and therefore Scripture says: The sinner considers the just person and seeks to destroy them. But the Lord will not abandon them into their hands, nor will He condemn them when He judges. Therefore, when the sinner sees that the just person speaks in their mouth and meditates on wisdom in their heart, because they speak judgment on their tongue, because they keep the law of the Lord in their heart; the sinner tries to bring death of sin upon them, but the Lord protects them. And therefore we do not fear the snares of the sinner, for God is for us. If God is for us, who is against us? Therefore, God will not abandon his just one, nor will he condemn him when he is judged. For he is a true judge, and therefore justice cannot be in jeopardy. Hence, Aquila said: He will not condemn him when he is judged. Symmachus: He will not condemn when the just one is being judged.

But because the Seventy men have thus set forth: When he shall be judged; we think that he refers to something else, because it is written: For the Lord himself shall come to judgment (Isaiah 3:14). But to what judgment? Hear him saying: Against you, you alone have I sinned, and done evil in your sight; that you may be justified in your words, and overcome when you are judged (Psalm 50:6). Therefore the Lord offers himself to be heard, that he may be judged by himself, so that he may overcome even more. How have I treated you? Hear, my people, what have I done to you? Or how have I made you weary? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery (Micah 6:3-4). And elsewhere: I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins; but you, remember me, and let us argue our case together (Isaiah 43:25-26).

It is a serious judgement when the Lord demands to be judged by man. For what can you answer to Him, who has given you everything, who has placed you in charge of everything; who subjected the Egyptians to you, to whom you came as a guest, and afterwards drowned them in the sea. He destroyed your enemies and overthrew them, He created and established you, He redeemed you with His own blood; and yet you betray yourself to serve His enemy! He has forgiven you all your sins, and yet you commit even worse ones! He calls you, you will come to judgment, what will you answer to him, who unless he gives to you again, you are lost? And so, seeing this, the holy David, with this certain moral teaching, avoids judgment, and pleads for mercy, saying: And do not enter into judgment with your servant; for no one who lives will be justified in your sight (Ps. CXLII, 2). He confesses that he is placed in darkness like one dead of the world. Carefully, he said like one dead of the world, not dead; for those who die in Christ are not dead of the world; but those are dead of the world, who place their entire life that they lived in the world in destruction and death. And so, as if desperate for a remedy, he turns to saying: 'Hear me quickly, Lord; for my spirit has failed' (Ibid., 7). For such a judgment has failed in the offering presented to it, in which the truth should be examined rather than mercy conferred.

However, the Lord is so merciful that even though no one is justified in His sight while living (for even the most righteous person is not free from sin; or whose life is such that it is deemed worthy of God's likeness?), nevertheless, one must be made in the image and likeness of God, just as God, who is without sin, is so too the one who is in His image, must be without sin. Therefore, what punishment is worthy for someone who has lost such great grace of the Lord's work and the likeness of divine beauty? But because he is merciful, even if he subjects himself to judgment; he does not judge the just, but the unjust. He spares the just, as if they were sinning due to the fragility of their condition: he punishes the unjust, as if he detests the ungrateful. Furthermore, even if you have many works of justice, do not be impatient and arrogant, so that you do not consider the rewards of justice in this age to be demanded, or lament that any adversity has befallen you undeservedly. For as long as you live, the struggle is owed to you, not the reward.

(Verse 34.) Therefore, wait either for a helper or for the Lord as a reward: And keep His ways; that is, to wait and to keep the commandments of the one whom you think you need to wait for. Even if you are worn out, even if you are troubled, even if you lose strength due to sickness, still wait for the Lord, and your hope will not be in vain.

The Lord will come and exalt you, that you may possess the land as an inheritance. It is clear that the land is superior, not this earthly valley; but that which is the promise of eternity, in which whoever is established is exalted by the Lord.

But you will see when sinners perish; then indeed there will be a reward for the righteous, when judgment is made about the wicked's merits. However, sinners do not perish in the same way. They perish for you beforehand, if you do not marvel at their power and wealth: if it does not move you when you learn that they abound in honors, children, and friends. For these things are of the world, and the world is subject to worldly malice: and the prince of the world favors those who serve him, according to that: 'All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me' (Matth. IV, 9). What do you seek for those things to be given to you, when the very impious one who gives cannot himself abide in them for long? He himself also passes away, so how can the things he has conferred not also pass away? Just maintain a steady mind, hold on to justice, let no one sway you, and you will see that there is nothing impious.

(Verse 35.) Finally, listen to him saying: I saw the wicked one exalted and raised above the cedars of Lebanon. And I passed by, and behold, he was not. I saw him in this age, I saw with the eyes of the body; I also saw him boasting and exalting himself with his words, considering himself to be something, who is nothing. How does he exalt himself? I will set my throne above the clouds, and I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). He exalts himself so that you may see him exalted like the towering cedars of Lebanon: and they themselves are tall, and they are on the highest mountain. Therefore, those who are exalted are deservedly exalted, and the wicked, who establishes himself on that mountain about which it is written: If you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain: Be lifted up and thrown into the sea (Matt. XVII, 19). To whom? To the devil, he says, from whom this man was possessed and oppressed, whom you marvel at being healed. Therefore, he has more love in Christ than power in the devil. You see the cedar on the highest mountain exalted; but it is broken by the wind, it is burned by fire, it is dissolved by age: so it is with the rich person in the world. It shines indeed with a certain brilliance of secular grace, like Mount Lebanon. It leans on the power of the world, rejoicing in wealth and riches. Something seems to be to you, before you say: \"I will go over and see\" (Exodus 3:3). For just as Moses passed over material things with his soul and mind, and saw God, so too, if you pass from here, lifting the footprint of your mind to the grace of God, you will see that He is nothing who seemed most powerful to himself in this land. Therefore, God, the Word, says to your soul, says to your mind: Come here from Lebanon, my bride, come here from Lebanon: you will pass over and go through. If you pass over worldly things, you will go through to paradise. Listen to the one passing by, Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom. Listen again to the one passing through: Truly, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

What is: Behold, it was not. In the beginning, indeed, the Word was. And whoever sees the Word, who is a partaker of the Word, indeed he himself is; because the Word of God always is, and the speech which is from Him is not: It is and it is not; but: It is; and it remains in the one who follows God. But whoever does not know the Word, he is not, because he does not adhere to Him who said: I am who I am (Exod. III, 14). But whoever adheres to Him, is one spirit. Wherever the spirit is, there is also life. Therefore Scripture says of God: 'Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist' (Rom. 4:17); this means, he calls the nations that did not exist as his own people; for our ancestors were chosen by God. And elsewhere it is said: 'The Lord knows those who are his' (2 Tim. 2:19); he does not know those who are not his. And Esther says: 'Do not give your scepter to those who do not exist' (Esther 14:11). Therefore, the righteous man says rightly: And I passed by, and behold he was not; that is, I saw him exalted in the world before I considered that the world is nothing. But when I passed above the world in my mind, I saw that he who was before exalted in this world was no longer.

And you, if you are just, pass from present things to those things which are to come, and present things will pass away from you. Heaven and earth will pass away; but my words will not pass away (Matt. XXIV, 35). Therefore, all things pass away for the just. The wicked passes away, similar to vanity, and his days pass like a shadow. Not only do present things pass away from the just; but also when they intend to reach those things which are to come, those present things already pass away. See how present things have passed away from the just. Indeed, in the time of the prophet David, there was the Synagogue, but there was not yet the Church from the Gentiles. And he speaks of the future as if it were present, saying: Bless our God, O nations (Psalm 65:8). Furthermore, he says: God has ascended in jubilation (Psalm 47:6). The times of deceit will pass, not by age, but by mindset. And he celebrated the resurrection of the Lord, which would come many centuries later, with devout faith, saying: Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing (ibid., 7). As though it were of interest to Christ himself and the sacraments of the wedding union of the Church, it leaps and rejoices. It also expressed the reason for the celebration, saying: The Lord has reigned over all the earth (Ibid., 8). Therefore, if we pass by, and those things which are to come seem to have passed by us; just as if you pass by land while sailing, you also see it pass by, and as if it were departing from you. Often sailors, especially in a storm, flee from land; and yet when they flee from it, it seems rather to flee from the sailors. And if you flee from this world, it too will flee from you; if you pass by this earth, it too will pass by you. And you sail in this sea, and in this age you fluctuate; flee the earth, it has rocks, it has stones; as it is written: Cast stones from the path (Isaiah 62:10). If you hasten through this airy abyss to the port of divine will, you will see that all these things have passed by you. For what difference does it make whether they have passed by, or whether you judge that you have passed them by?

There is another wicked one who appears exalted and elevated above the cedars of Lebanon; but if you pass by, he will not be, nor will you find his place. See to me a Jewish scribe returning the series of the old Scriptures, but not following; you hear that he gives it back with his lips, you wonder how learned he is. You ask what he believes: he answers according to the letter, he goes through the history. He seems to you to be exalted and elevated, if you consider the letter. Pass on to spiritual understanding, because the Law is spiritual; you see that he is nothing, then you say: I saw the wicked one exalted. ...and I passed by, and behold, he was not there; and I searched for him, and the place of him was not found. I searched for him where he should have been, where life is: I did not find him. He was not there, where life was; for he was dead, and therefore the place of him was not found. For what is the place of the dead, who was not, nor ever was? For he was not, who was in the letter; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. Therefore, I sought him, that I might find him: he did not present himself, that he might be found; that is, I wanted to convert him: he did not want to present himself to me, that he might be converted. I did what a seeker would do: he fled from that which should have returned. Finally, the soul that desires to be converted, seeks the Word; and when it finds it, it says: I have taken hold of him, and I will not let him go (Song of Solomon 3:4). That is, the Son of God, the Word of God. But the unjust person who refused to be healed, I sought him, and I did not find him; and therefore, do not imitate him.

(V. 37.) Keep innocence, and see equity. Whoever keeps innocence, sees equity; for whoever is pure sees God, whose staff is upright, and upright is his justice; to turn away from those who turn to the pursuit of wickedness. Blessed is innocence, which sees God. Finally, others have added: Keep perfection; for he is perfect who knows no evil, nor does he know deceit. Therefore, it says: Keep perfection; for there are remnants for a peaceful man. Relics are said to be from the body of the dead, from his remains. They are called relics because after the death of a person, they appear to survive; for what remains are preserved for resurrection. Indeed, it is necessary for this corruptible to put on incorruption, and for this mortal to put on immortality. Therefore, relics are more so the hope of resurrection for a person, and the faith of conversion, and the grace of love; since the wicked do not rise to judgment; but the life of the Just is known to God, and is proven by the judgment of the Lord. To this place it beautifully applies, 'According to the election of grace, the remnant has been saved.' (Rom. 11:5).

(Vers. 1.) Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; nor chasten me in your wrath. He who repents should be prepared to endure reproaches and suffer injuries; and not be disturbed if someone accuses him of his own sin. For if he himself must accuse himself, why does he not endure others accusing him? And if he should not fear being accused by a man, how much more by his Lord God, to whom we all, even in secret things, sin; since the condemnation of present things, especially the absolution of future things, is from Him. But those who are not condemned in this world, when they are not punished by men. Woe to me! if it is said of me: he has received his reward (Matthew 6:2). If a good deed is condemned by this judgment, how much more does the crime weigh down? For if mercy, thrown about with easy words, is robbed of eternal reward, how much more is the punishment of wickedness deferred by the bitter addition of interest? Therefore, he who repents should offer himself for punishment; so that he may be punished here by the Lord, and not be reserved for eternal torment: nor should he wait for the time, but rather confront divine indignation.


See that his actions agreed with David's prayers. He had offended the Lord because he had ordered the people to be numbered. He anticipated the messenger of God with his confession, acknowledging that he had sinned greatly and foolishly. Not as if he were reminding the forgetful, but as if he were urging the one who hesitated, so that he would not delay the resolution of the offense any longer. 'I have sinned greatly,' he said, 'for I have done this thing' (1 Chronicles 21:8); and now, Lord, remove the iniquity of your servant. But how sins are removed, listen to the one who says: 'Her sin is forgiven; for she has received double from the hand of the Lord for all her sins' (Isaiah 40:2). Therefore, he does not demand that the sin be completely remitted; but rather that it be erased by a moderate solution; that is, that its memory be erased in the future. Finally, as if with the voice of an interrupter, the Lord, so that the punishment for the committed error would not be deferred, sent Nathan the prophet to him; and he came to the king and said to him: Choose what you want to happen: three years of famine over the land, or three months of fleeing from the face of your enemies and those pursuing you, or three days of death in the land. And now know, and see what I should answer to him who sent me (I Par. XXI, 11 and 12). See how God, as a teacher, moderates his anger, if we are not completely resistant to punishment; but let us request a method of alleviating, not avoiding, the penalty. He proposed three options, so that he could choose what he considered more moderate. Also, see how he provokes repentance; that we should offer ourselves to the offense: commanding the choice of punishment, so that a certain prerogative of choice is maintained in the punishment itself, and soothing the accused with this word. And David said to Nathan: I am in distress in these three, but I will fall more into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great, more than in the hands of men (1 Chronicles 21:13). Did he demand punishment for himself for the error? If he had, he would be blamed for impudence, for he would have been ungrateful for divine moderation. For a modest confession greatly supports the defendant; and the punishment we cannot avoid by defense, we lessen through shame. He chose not what was immune from punishment, but what he judged more moderately; so that he would entrust himself more to the kindness of God, who knows how to forgive, than to the power of men, who often exceed the measure of vengeance. Therefore, he has mercy on those who do not know how to err; he does not have mercy on those who are partakers of error.

And the holy David's faith did not deceive him, but even in his offense, he obtained the grace of divine mercy. For he, who had determined to exercise death for three days on earth, did not allow even one day to pass by; but willingly granted a pardon until the hour of lunch, and, as I may use the word of Scripture, he repented of his wickedness (2 Samuel 24:16). See how Scripture exhorts you to not reject repentance, but to follow God, whom you ought to follow. He added well, above wickedness; because every revenge seems to be hard. Therefore even the day of judgment is called a bad day, from which blessed is the one who is freed by God; as it is written: In the bad day, the Lord will deliver him (Psalm 40:2). And the Lord said, saying, to the angel that he should spare there. Notice, however, that when the Lord wants to forgive, He gives grace and confidence to pray. And David saw the angel striking, and he said: Here I am; I have sinned, and I have done evil as a shepherd, and what have these done in this flock? Let your hand be upon me and upon the house of my father (I Chronicles 21:17). If the Lord had commanded the angel to spare, how then did the angel still strike, unless it is because the Lord, although he desires to forgive, desires to be asked for forgiveness, and in order to be asked, he acts? And no man would have seen the striking angel, unless the Lord had revealed the angel to his eyes. Hence, Elisha says: Lord, open the eyes of this boy, that he may see. And the eyes of the boy were opened, and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots all around the prophet (II Kings 6:17). Do not be moved by the lowly appearance of a servant, compared to that of prophets or kings; for the appearance of horses and chariots is lower than the holiness of angels.

And perhaps it may seem difficult to some who read hastily that David, humble in heart and meek, who spared his enemies, chose the death of the people rather than his own flight or hunger on the earth. He avoided the hunger of the people because it is considered more severe than the plague, which pollutes the sky and causes death. He did not request his own flight because of this; for the prophet could intercede for the people, as it happened: the people could not intercede for the prophet. For it is written: If the people should err, the priest shall pray for them; if the priest should err, who shall pray for him? Yet when he saw that the people were about to be killed, he offered himself to the striking angel, so that he himself would be struck instead of the people. It is even more that, not terrified by the appearance of the dead, he offered himself to the sword, rather than wishing for a discourse on the proposed condition. Therefore, he followed reason in his choice, and piety in his grief.

But behold the grace of God, that he himself turned away from the intended condition. Is mercy a crime? For he threatens more and exacts less. He who keeps his promises in rewarding his rewards, in demanding punishments, violates the prescribed punishment. When he is angry with the guilty, he delays; when he takes pity, he hastens to absolve; he terrifies in order to correct; he admonishes in order to amend; he anticipates in order to forgive. Hence the Prophet also says of the Lord elsewhere: The cup in the Lord's hand is full of mixed wine. . . . but his dregs have not been poured out (Psalm 74:9). The cup is full for frightening, but it is not emptied for striking. The cup was full when death was commanded for three days, but the mercy of God intervened, the hand of the Angel held back before emptying that cup. But in order for you to know that the cup is a punishment or a sword, hear him saying: Take this cup of pure wine from my hand and make all the nations to which I send you drink from it, and they will vomit and act insane from the sight of the sword (Jeremiah 25:15-16). And it is said to Jerusalem: You have drunk the cup of wrath from the hand of the Lord; you have drunk the cup of ruin and have drained it, and there was no one to console you (Isaiah 51:17). Jerusalem has drunk the measure, which has sinned beyond measure: the Church of the Christians does not know how to drain the cup of wrath, but the anointed one has been drained: for whom Christ has emptied himself, so that he might be fragrant everywhere. This gift has been received from the hand of the Lord, but it does not know the cup of death. I choose two cups, one of death, the other of life. Christ emptied the cup of death with His blood; and He served a new cup, so that we may say: I will receive the cup of salvation (Psalm 115:13). The new cup is the Testament, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. This cup is poured out, and its dregs are not found, because it cleanses every offense.

We have said how the Lord bends his anger in vengeance; let us declare how he anticipates our prayers in rewarding us, and let us teach by his example. Listen to the robber saying to the Lord: Remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom (Luke 23:42). The Lord answered: Amen I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise. He was still asking that he be remembered when he would come into his kingdom; and although the Lord had not yet come, he was already giving him the heavenly kingdom. How swift is mercy! Slower is the fulfillment of the prayer than the reward for the one who gives.

Therefore, David held moderation and did not ask for forgiveness, saying: Lord, do not accuse me in your anger, nor rebuke me in your fury. Fury in Greek is called θυμὸς, and it is the impulse of anger. This is what the Latin wanted to express: Neither in anger, nor in the very impulse of anger, do you accuse me or rebuke me. But rebuke is education. It is also said in Greek παίδευσις, about which it is said: Blessed is the man whom you have educated, O Lord (Psalm 93:13)! For indeed God is not open to passion, such as to become angry, since He is impassible; but because He vindicates, He appears to be angry. This appears to us; because we ourselves are accustomed to vindicate with emotion. However, often both men are found to vindicate without being moved; but to celebrate revenge with the utmost patience, to exercise torments. Therefore, why do you wonder in God, if you sometimes recognize this in man? We have already said that revenge is a form of anger. Finally, it has a use, so that we may say of anyone being punished, because it falls within the scope of the laws: not because it falls within the anger of the laws, but because it falls within the severity of the laws. Thus, in the same place, it says concerning the ten plagues of the Egyptians: He sent upon them his anger by evil angels (Psalm 77:49), that is, vengeance; for the law does not know how to be angry, but it knows how to be the minister of laws. Therefore, he who is the author of laws does not know how to be angry, to whom it is a desire to instill fear, not to punish. Therefore, imitate, O rulers, the divine example; so that you may be stricter in enacting laws, and merciful in exacting punishments. Let the severity of the laws restrain audacious insolence, and let the mercy of princes withdraw the guilty from punishment. Therefore, the Prophet recognizes his own fault, sees the wounds, and demands to be healed. He who wants to be healed does not shrink from being accused, but does not want to be accused in anger, but in the word of God. The word of God is healing. For we read thus: He sent forth his Word, and healed them (Psalm 107:20). He does not want to be educated in anger, but in doctrine; so that if you ask a doctor, he does not cut your wound, but applies medicine; he urges with the remedy, but does not cut. Finally, there is pain, but not beyond the measure of pain: it bites, but does not draw blood.

(Verse 2.) And he added: Because your arrows have pierced me. He seems to be saying the same thing as the holy Job; but they are different. For he also says: The arrows of the Lord are in my body, the fury of which drinks my blood: when I begin to speak, they pierce me (Job 6:4). He complains about the wound of his body; here he deplores the wounds of his soul. And perhaps here he is repenting of sin: he pleads the cause of human weakness; and as an advocate of our frailty, he seeks the remedy of the Creator's work. Therefore he prays, and he intercedes. And for this reason, the pain of this one is more intense; because the wounds of the soul are more severe than those of the flesh. He says that the arrows of the Lord are in his own body, while this one laments those which are embedded; his blood is drunk, while this one's is spilled; he is pierced, while this one is wounded; the hand of God has touched him, while it is confirmed upon this one by the weight of the burden; he laments that his soul is filled with illusions, while this one laments his body with wounds. But the hand of God, we understand as the power of punishing. This hand punished the king of the Egyptians because of the injury to Abraham, for the attempted chastity of Sarah. This hand sank the chariots, horses, and people of the Egyptians in the deep of the Red Sea. This hand burdened the mind of king Saul, so that he hated the favor of his preserver; and for his transgression of heavenly authority, deserted by his companions and also forsaken by his sons who were killed, he turned his sword against himself, a spectacle nothing is more deformed than for a king, so that the captive old man would not live, surviving his sons and his kingdom. David, having experienced in himself and his children the one's incest, the other's parricide, lamented and wept both the disgrace of his offspring and the destruction of his piety, which is more serious for a devoted father. One of them, inflamed with desire for his sister, was driven to incest, while the other, armed with zeal for chastity, was driven to parricide. See how they have been ensnared in the most serious crimes by the closest bonds of virtue. Would that either he had not loved his sister, or this one had not sought revenge! Finally, even he himself, driven from the boundaries of his homeland by his son, fled from the enemy whom he desired to inherit: he feared to win, lest he be conquered at the expense of his piety.

But perhaps someone may say: How can God's hand be in the act of murder or incest, when that work belongs to the enemy? Let us therefore understand that just as the devil wounds, the arrows of the Lord are said to wound. For we read this, that when the Lord turned to the devil in the council of the holy angels and spoke about his servant Job (Job 1:8 et seq.): that the envious one and adversary of the human race (for the praise of a lower substance is condemnation of the one who has been cast from a higher state) the devil replied, saying that Job did not worship the Lord gratuitously, who had been blessed by the will of God with abundance for all. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and see if he will not curse you to your face (Job 1:11). And God allowed the devil to have power, to stretch out his hand over all that Job possessed. After these events, when the holy Job remained unyielding in his strength, because Job was not moved by the death of his children or the loss of his possessions: the Lord again spoke to the devil, mocking him, that he had scattered all that Job had, and killed his children; yet he could not in any way move Job from his position of virtue. And he answered: Whatever a man has, he will give it for his soul. But put forth your hand, he said, and touch his flesh and bones (Job 2:4-5). And he took power again, to put his hand upon his body; but to keep his soul. And he poured out ulcers on the holy Job (Job 19:21), where is his going out from the Lord. Therefore, we understand that the hand of the Lord is said to be where the man is, the devil attacking, temptation. Indeed, Job said that the hand of the Lord is the one that touches him (Job 16:12), and he mentioned that the arrows of the Lord are the arrows of pirates. And he said, 'He has delivered me into the hands of the unjust' (ibid., 14). Therefore, he absolves himself, because when the devil wounds, the arrows belong to the Lord, who allowed the devil the power to wound. Finally, if you command that your servant be beaten, is he not considered beaten by you even if he is beaten by someone else standing by? And there is this reason; because the Lord gives power to the tempter, so that the affections of men may be tested in temptations. Therefore persecution occurs, so that faith may shine, virtue may excel, and the inner mind may be revealed to all.

Therefore, temptation pierces the innermost part of a person like an arrow, and it is like the sword of God that examines the inner thoughts. And indeed, the sword is the powerful word of God, sharper than any sharp sword, as we hear in the saying of Simeon to Mary: 'And a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed' (Luke 2:35). For by the word of God, everything is revealed, in whose presence all things are naked and open. The soul itself seems to be, the innermost thoughts are revealed: and there is no creature finally, as the Scripture says (Heb. IV, 12 and 13), which hides itself from His knowledge. Therefore let us sell all things, in order to buy the word, and hide it in our hearts.

Finally, the devil himself testifies that man gives everything he has for his own soul, and does not consider that price worthy of the redemption of one soul. Why do we spare our possessions, which the devil himself deems worthless for salvation? I have said too little for salvation, he also declares that it is too little for error. Finally, he says, 'All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me' (Matt. IV, 9). He showed not only the riches of the world, but also honors and kingdoms. It is agreed that the devil should be worshipped; how much should a Christian offer to be resurrected with Christ? But let us send the devil away like a goat sent into the desert; for he is not a faithful advocate of the truth; although sometimes he transforms himself into an angel of light.

We have abundant testimonies from divine scriptures which teach us that nothing is more precious in a person than faith, and that there is no greater inheritance that can be offered to our salvation and soul. By faith, Abraham left his country (Gen. XII, 4 et seq.), his land, and even the neighbors whom he saw, and he followed the One whom he did not see as though he were seeing Him. Moses also esteemed the price of his soul greater than all the riches of Egypt (Heb. XI, 26). What lofty things shall I speak of? Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2, 4 et seq.) that foreigner from another age, nevertheless thought that her soul should be redeemed not only by the contempt of all that she possessed, but also by the perils of life: she denied the spies of Joshua to her fellow citizens who were searching for them; and she chose to hide the enemies of her homeland rather than betray them, the messengers of faith. Neither the threats of her fellow citizens, nor the perils of war, nor the burning of her homeland, nor the dangers to her own people frightened her. Learn, man, learn, Christian, how you should follow the true Jesus; when a woman despised all her possessions and followed Jesus in appearance because of the similarity of their names. Therefore, Solomon wisely said: The wealth of a man is the redemption of his soul (Prov. XIII, 8). So redeem your soul. Money is cheap, but it becomes precious through faith: it is cheap when accumulated, precious when dispersed; for it is written: He scattered, he gave to the poor: his righteousness endures forever (Psal. CXI, 9).

Therefore, if you are such that you are able to despise not only all your possessions, but even your own flesh for the sake of justice, which is the most valuable possession (for a righteous person is rich), and although the rivers may enclose you on all sides, you cross over. For even if the Lord gives the power of temptation to you, He commands the devil to guard your soul himself, as it is written: 'That you may destroy the enemy and defender' (Psalm 8:3); for he tempts as an adversary, but defends as a servant. For it is written: And the unicorn will serve you (Job XXXIX, 9). He serves, indeed, who executes not what he wishes from his own will, but unwillingly obeys the imperial commands out of necessity. Consider the height of Christ, how He turned back against the devil the price of His own malice. He forces us to do what we hate: For what I wish, that I do not; but what I hate, that I do, as the Apostle said (Rom. VII, 15). The Lord repays him in the same way, as he often does not do what he wants; but he does what he hates. In conclusion, he keeps in check the soul that he wants to subdue. We condemn the corruption of the flesh, yet we follow it; like that widow who breaks her promise to her husband and then wants to remarry, which she had previously avoided (1 Timothy 5:20). He is an enemy to the saints, and a defender is employed, so that he may be punished even more; so that he who desires to harm may not dare to do so. And how much more bearable it is to love virtues, even if you cannot fulfill them, than to hate virtues, which you cannot harm.

(Verse 3.) There is no soundness in my flesh from the face of your anger. Isaiah explained this passage to us: We have sinned, and you are angry with us (Isaiah 64:5). But who can withstand the face of the Lord's anger? Perhaps he can, because the eyes of the Lord are on those who do evil (Psalm 34:17). For if the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, how can the Prophet be weakened by the face of God's anger? Therefore, consider this, which David himself said later: For you have delivered me from all my troubles; and my eye looks upon my enemies (Psalm 54:9). For just as He looks upon the good deeds of the righteous, so He also uncovers the hidden sins of the wicked. Unless, perhaps, you refer this to Christ, who was delivered from all those who oppressed Him, when He withdrew Himself from the Jewish people, who were constantly wearing Him down with sacrileges and daily impieties; and He called His enemies to His grace, whom the eye of God saw and loved. Therefore, because God is merciful, there is no reason for despair. Though He may be angered, He forgives; though He may strike, He heals; though He delivers the flesh to destruction, He saves the spirit. Therefore, do not fear the weakness of the flesh; for when the holy one is weak, he is stronger.

But what does he mean when he says, 'There is no peace in my bones because of the face of my sins'? What are these bones; are they of the soul or of the body? But the care for bodily pain would not be so great if the soul did not also suffer; for it is the desire of the holy to have the flesh scourged for the sake of the soul, just as Paul himself scourged himself lest his teaching be discredited. There are certain inner bones of man, just as there are other members, the eyes of the mind, and the nostrils; as Job said, 'The divine spirit is in my nostrils' (Job. XXVII, 3). Therefore, there are also bones by which a certain bond of charity is formed. Hence, Adam said of the partner of charity and co-heir of the grace of life: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.' (Gen. II, 23). The Apostle, interpreting this, said: 'This is a great mystery; but I speak in Christ and in the Church.' (Ephes. V, 32). And who would doubt that the sacrament of Christ and the Church is not carnal but spiritual, since every good person is bound in that marriage not by the flesh but by the beauty of virtue? And should one love the character of morals in his wife, not mere physical satisfaction? Finally, listen, because he speaks not according to the flesh, but according to inner virtue: My mouth is not hidden, which you made in secret (Psalm 138:15). Therefore, virtue is not flesh, which knows the hidden things of God the Father.

Therefore, there is no peace for the soul with virtues, when our sins come together before our eyes and pour into our minds. And this has been well interpreted by the chosen Doctor of the Gentiles, in the second letter to the Corinthians, saying: For even when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in all things: fights outside, fears within (II Cor. VII, 5). The sins of the Macedonians troubled them; how much more do our own sins disturb each one of us, so that there can be no rest for us? Our greatest enemy is our own guilt, which disturbs the idle, afflicts the healthy, saddens the joyful, unsettles the peaceful, agitates the meek, and awakens the sleeping. We are guilty without an accuser, tormented without a torturer, bound without chains, and sold without a seller. As Scripture says, 'You were sold for your sins' (Isaiah 50:1). These, therefore, are the sins that are always against us, as the Prophet said, 'They have sold us and hold dominion over us' (Isaiah 3:12). The servant who is sold leaves with his previous service; to migrate to another Master: we neither remove the yoke of the past nor are we bent towards new sins.

(Ver. 4.) And the Holy One groaned, saying: For my iniquities have overwhelmed my head: as a heavy burden they have been laid upon me; that is, my iniquities have surpassed my head, and they tower above me, crushing my senses; for the eyes of the wise are in their head. And therefore Nabal was a wicked and stubborn man; because his senses were obstructed by malice and wickedness. Therefore he could not accept the word of Abigail; but his heart hardened, and he lay like one infirm. But see to it that this is not the head about which the Apostle says (Colossians 2:19), for he does not hold fast to it, being inflated with the mind of the flesh. But this head is Christ; for Christ is the head of every man. This is the head which, through the joints and bands of the whole people, grows to the increase of God; for in all of us, Christ rises up through his individual members. Therefore, when our sins weigh us down, and we are depressed by the leaden weight of wickedness, let us break their chains and cast away their yoke from us, so that we can lift up the eyes of our mind and hear him saying: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you (Matthew 11:28). Finally, Egypt was burdened by greed, money troubled the markets of the Ethiopians, as it is written: Egypt toiled, the markets of the Ethiopians, and the men of Saba, lofty men, will come over to you (Isaiah 45:14). Egypt toiled before knowing the truth: but now they no longer toil since they have turned to Christ. The willing men of Saba follow, who previously fled; for they are held by the bonds of charity, which are stronger than adamant. And beautifully it is applied to this place in Isaiah: Every head is in pain, and every heart is in sadness: from feet to head there is no wound, nor scar, nor plague with heat (Isaiah I, 5 and 6). For injustice boils, when it dominates, lifting itself up and occupying its place over our head, so that Christ the teacher of repentance does not hold him. These injustices have great power, if you consider that man of injustice, who is to come according to the works of Satan in every power, and signs, and deceitful wonders, and every kind of wickedness: whom the Apostle showed us to beware of (2 Thessalonians II, 9 and 10), because he will receive the work of error, so that the faithful may be proven, and the unfaithful may be judged.

(Verse 5.) Therefore, rightly placed under iniquities, and (what is worse) his own, he says that his scars have become corrupted and decayed from the face of his foolishness; because the remedy for lifting the burden of iniquities followed slowly. However, even Job, who with a holy razor shaved the pus from his sores, was deprived of health; and Lazarus, a poor man who lay at the rich man's gate, with dogs licking his wounds, was lifted from the stench of his scars and placed in Abraham's bosom by angels. So in the holy David there is hope for the remedy of health; for it is not fragrant ointments, but the stench of his wounds of sin that heal; and because he is afflicted and bent down by them, and not delighted. Look now at some lewd young man, and remarkably lustful, who spends his life in debauchery, lying in luxury like that rich man in fine linen and purple, and feasting splendidly every day, with wine-soaked floors beneath him, the ground covered with flowers and thorns, the dining rooms filled with the fumes of various incenses, thinking himself blessed and considering himself to smell good; even though he bears heavy and enduring wounds of his soul, and his corrupted blood flows, he does not perceive any stench from his scar. For he has obstructed his nostrils with filth, and he cannot say: The divine spirit, which is in my nostrils (Job. XXVII, 3). Therefore, that rich man could not find the remedy of salvation, but the poor man found it. Finally, one is in torment among the dead, the other in rest.

Therefore, the holy prophet David also found the remedy for eternal salvation, who confessed the wounds of his soul and spoke of his own scars having decayed from the face of his folly. But there is also a folly that brings salvation to those who believe through the foolishness of preaching. Therefore, the prophet rejects the wisdom of this world, which is not known by God, with the Gospel spirit. It covers its wounds and does not reveal them to the Lord. Therefore, better is the foolishness that has eyes to see its own wounds than wisdom that does not have them. And therefore, with the gaze of his own foolishness, such a great king admits to being afflicted by miseries; so that he may find the remedy of repentance, which Judas, who possessed a field with the wages of iniquity, could not find.