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age." So also through Isaiah the prophet he says: "For I will give to those traveling in a waterless place in their thirst; and I will open springs on the mountains, and rivers on the hills, to give drink to my chosen race, my people whom I have acquired." Justly, 80.872 therefore, the blessed David also compared the one who has devoted himself to the divine oracles to trees planted by the banks of the waters, which have evergreen leaves, and bear their fruit in due season. For the athletes of virtue will indeed receive the fruits of their labors in the life to come; but like certain leaves, bearing the good hope continually in themselves, they have flourished and rejoice, and they relieve the burden of their labors by this spiritual delight. And they have the great-giving Master cooperating continually with their zeal; "For to those who love God," says the divine Apostle, "all things work together for good." For this very reason the blessed David also said: "And whatsoever he does shall prosper; for by the Lord, he says, the steps of a man are directed, and he will greatly delight in his way." But he did not posit "all things" simply, but with great precision. For having first forbidden all forms of wickedness, and having pointed out the perfection of the divine laws, he thus added, "Whatsoever he does shall prosper;" knowing that such a one will want to do nothing contrary to the laws, conforming his own will to the divine law. "For his will," he says, "is in the law of the Lord." Thus for this reason, having urged to virtue, and having taught the perfect philosophy, he also anoints the athletes by means of opposites, and says: 5. "Not so the wicked, not so." By the doubling of the negation he shows the opposition more clearly. "But they are like the chaff which the wind drives away from the face of the earth." For the former, he says, being watered by the divine oracles, are both evergreen and bear ripe fruit; but the latter, being trampled by contrary winds, are like the chaff that is easily carried here and there by the contrary winds. 6. "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the counsel of the righteous." The all-holy Spirit goes through everything with great precision. For it did not say, "the ungodly shall not rise," but, "they shall not stand in the judgment;" that is, not for judgment, but for condemnation. For they do not need refutations, since their ungodliness is manifest, but they await punishment alone. For just as those who 80.873 judge do not bring murderers caught in the act into the court for the purpose of refuting them, but in order to pass the sentence decreed by the laws against them; so also those who have lived in ungodliness immediately after the resurrection endure punishment, not being brought to judgment, but receiving the sentence of punishment. And yet even those who are free from impious doctrines, but have lived a lawless life, will be somewhere far from the assembly of the righteous. For indeed Aquila and Theodotion have interpreted "counsel" as "synagogue," but Symmachus as "assembly." 7. "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." The righteous judge, he says, knows all things even before judgment, and needs neither proofs nor refutations. Therefore, assigning to each according to their worth, he will deem some worthy of proclamations and crowns, but he will consign others to perpetual punishment. But, "The way of the ungodly shall perish," is like those apostolic sayings: "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss." For the work of righteous men remains, shining forth; but for ungodly and unholy men, their wickedness is also destroyed with them.

INTERPRETATION OF THE SECOND PSALM. Without an inscription among the Hebrews. Having concluded the first psalm on the memory of the wicked,

from this again he made the beginning of the second; teaching that the aforementioned end of the wicked, and those who raged against the Savior

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αἰῶνα." Οὕτω καὶ διὰ Ἡσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου φησίν· "Ὅτι ἐγὼ δώσω ἐν δίψει τοῖς πορευομένοις ἐν ἀνύδρῳ· καὶ ἀνοίξω ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων πηγὰς, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν βουνῶν ποταμοὺς, ποτίσαι τὸ γένος μου τὸ ἐκλεκτὸν, τὸν λαόν μου ὃν περιεποιησάμην." Εἰκό 80.872 τως τοίνυν καὶ ὁ μακάριος ∆αβὶδ τὸν τοῖς θείοις λο γίοις ἐσχολακότα δένδροις ἀπείκασε παρὰ τὰς τῶν ὑδάτων ὄχθας πεφυτευμένοις, καὶ ἀειθαλῆ μὲν ἔχουσι τὰ φύλλα, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν φέρουσιν εἰς καιρόν. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθληταὶ τῶν μὲν πόνων κατὰ τὸν μέλλοντα βίον κομίσονται τοὺς καρπούς· οἷον δέ τινα φύλλα, τὴν ἀγαθὴν ἐλπίδα διηνεκῶς ἐν ἑαυτοῖς φέροντες τεθήλασι καὶ ἀγάλλονται, καὶ συλῶσι τῇ ψυχαγωγίᾳ τὴν τῶν πόνων βαρύτητα. Ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ τὸν μεγαλόδωρον ∆εσπότην τῇ προθυμίᾳ συνεργοῦντα διηνεκῶς· "Τοῖς γὰρ ἀγαπῶσι τὸν Θεὸν," φησὶν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, "πάντα συνεργεῖ εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν." ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἔφη ∆αβίδ· "Καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ κατευοδωθήσεται· παρὰ Κυρίου γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰ διαβήματα ἀνθρώπου κατευθύνεται, καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ θελήσει σφόδρα." Τὸ δὲ πάντα οὐχ ἁπλῶς τέθεικεν, ἀλλὰ σὺν ἀκριβείᾳ πολλῇ. Πρότερον γὰρ ἅπαντα τῆς κακίας ἀπαγορεύσας τὰ εἴδη, καὶ τῶν θείων νόμων ὑποδείξας τὴν τελειότητα, οὕτως ἐπήγαγε, "Πάντα ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ κατευοδωθήσεται·" εἰδὼς ὡς οὐδὲν ἐναντίον τοῖς νόμοις ὅ γε τοιοῦτος δρᾶσαι βουλήσεται, τῷ θείῳ νόμῳ τὸ οἰκεῖον θέλημα συναρμόττων. "Ἐν γὰρ τῷ νόμῳ, φησὶ, Κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ." Οὕτω διὰ τοῦτο προτρέψας εἰς ἀρετὴν, καὶ τὴν τελείαν ἐκπαιδεύσας φιλοσοφίαν, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων ἀλείφει τοὺς ἀθλητὰς, καί φησιν· εʹ. "Οὐχ οὕτως οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, οὐχ οὕτως." Τῷ δι πλασιασμῷ τῆς ἀπαγορεύσεως σαφέστερον τὴν ἐν αντιότητα δείκνυσιν. "Ἀλλ' ἢ ὡσεὶ χνοῦς, ὃν ἐκρίπτει ὁ ἄνεμος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς." Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ, φησὶν, ὑπὸ τῶν θείων λογίων ἀρδόμενοι, ἀειθαλεῖς τέ εἰσι, καὶ ὥριμον φέρουσι τὸν καρπόν· οὗτοι δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων πνευμάτων πατούμενοι μιμοῦνται τὸν χνοῦν τὸν τῇδε κἀκεῖσε ῥᾳδίως ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων τῶν ἐναντίων φερόμενον. ϛʹ. "∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀναστήσονται οἱ ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει, οὐδ' ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐν βουλῇ δικαίων." Μετὰ πολλῆς ἀκριβείας διέξεισιν ἅπαντα τὸ πανάγιον Πνεῦμα. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, "οὐκ ἀναστήσονται ἀσεβεῖς," ἀλλ', "εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἀναστήσονται·" ἀντὶ τοῦ, οὐκ εἰς κρίσιν, ἀλλ' εἰς κατάκρισιν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἐλέγχων δέονται, προφανῆ τὴν ἀσέβειαν ἔχοντες, ἀλλὰ τὴν τιμωρίαν μόνην προσδέχονται. Καθάπερ γὰρ τοὺς ἐπ' αὐτοφώρῳ ἁλόντας ἀνδροφόνους οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸ διελέγξαι εἰς τὸ δικαστήριον εἰσάγουσιν οἱ 80.873 δικάζοντες, ἀλλ' ὥστε τὴν τοῖς νόμοις δοκοῦσαν ψῆ φον ἐξενεγκεῖν κατ' αὐτῶν· οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀσεβείᾳ συνεζηκότες εὐθὺς μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τὴν κόλασιν ὑπομένουσιν, οὐκ εἰς κρίσιν ἀγόμενοι, ἀλλὰ τῆς τιμωρίας τὴν ψῆφον δεχόμενοι. Καὶ μέντοι καὶ οἱ τῶν δυσσεβῶν δογμάτων ἀπηλλαγμένοι, βίον δὲ βε βιωκότες παράνομον, πόῤῥω που τοῦ τῶν δικαίων συλλόγου γενήσονται. Τὴν γάρ τοι βουλὴν ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων συναγωγὴν ἡρμηνεύκασι, συνέλευσιν δὲ ὁ Σύμμαχος. ζʹ. "Ὅτι γινώσκει Κυρίος ὁδὸν δικαίων, καὶ ὁδὸς ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται." Οἶδε, φησὶν, ἅπαντα καὶ πρὸ κρίσεως ὁ δίκαιος κριτὴς, καὶ οὔτε ἀποδείξεων, οὔτε ἐλέγχων προσδεῖται. ∆ιόπερ τὰ πρὸς ἀξίαν ἀπονέμων ἑκάστῳ, τοὺς μὲν ἀναῤῥήσεων καὶ στεφάνων ἀξιώ σει, τοὺς δὲ διηνεκεῖ παραπέμψει κολάσει. Τὸ δὲ, "Ὁδὸς ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται," ἔοικε τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς ἐκείνοις ῥητοῖς· "Εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον κατακαήσεται, ζημιωθήσεται." Τῶν μὲν γὰρ δικαίων ἀνδρῶν καὶ τὸ ἔργον μένει διαλάμπον· τοῖς δὲ ἀσεβέσι καὶ ἀνοσίοις ἀνθρώποις καὶ ἡ πονηρία συγκατα λύεται.

ΕΡΜΗΝ. ΤΟΥ Βʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΥ. Ἀνεπίγραφος παρ' Ἑβραίοις. Ἐν τῇ μνήμῃ τῶν ἀσεβῶν τὸν πρῶτον συμ

περάνας ψαλμὸν, ἐκ ταύτης πάλιν τοῦ δευτέρου τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐποιήσατο· διδάσκων ὅτι τὸ προειρημένον τῶν ἀσεβῶν τέλος, καὶ τοὺς κατὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος λυττή σαντας