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my heart from all gladness. And behold, all things are vanity, and a striving after wind. For what is unprofitable and useless is vain; such are the seeming pleasures of life. The prophet therefore supplicates that the eyes of his mind might turn to another contemplation, and not be charmed by the vanity of present things. And the phrase, Quicken me in your way, means, grant me to live according to your laws. Establish your word to your servant, for your fear. Make me steadfast in your words, keeping me unswerving by your fear, instead of, let your fear be upon me, frightening me, and not allowing me to turn away from your oracles, so as to take away from me all evil and sin. Thus, therefore, I pray that it may be so in me your servant. For the fear of God, it is written, leads a man to life; and, By the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil; and in the following parts of the same psalm the prophet says: Pierce my flesh with your fear. Let your fear, therefore, be upon me, not allowing me to do the will of the flesh. For the will of the flesh is enmity against God, according to the divine Apostle Paul. Take away my reproach, which I have suspected, for your judgments are good. But Aquila, instead of, "I have suspected," says, "I have shrunk from," 55.684 and so does Theodotion; but Symmachus, "Which I revere." Here he calls reproach that which is caused by sin. For he both shrank from this and feared it, and lived a suspicious life. For this reason he did not add, as usual, that I have sought your judgments, or I have kept them, but, "Because your judgments are good." And he calls judgments the just decrees of God. And the phrase, "I have suspected," means this, I knew myself to have sinned; and this is my reproach, that having been created in your image, I have slipped into sin. Take this, therefore, away from me, for you bring not only punishment upon sinners, but also more so salvation upon the repentant. For your judgments are good, being an intensification of the good; for when goodness abounds, graciousness comes to be, as the wise concerning these things say. Behold, I have longed for your commandments; in your righteousness quicken me. My perfect desire is to walk in your commandments; and to me who am eager, grant life in righteousness. For in doing this, I possess the sum of all virtues. And let your mercy come upon me. O Lord. For we are all in need of the divine love for mankind; and he who has grasped the very highest summit of virtue needs it continually; since both those who sin and those who have lived uprightly need the mercy of God. For all are in need of the divine love for mankind, and All fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace. For with the cooperation of God, both the sinner turns from his evil way, and the good man becomes more good and is preserved in goodness. Your salvation according to your word. And I will answer with a word those who reproach me. 7. Which you promised. O Master, grant salvation in your holy words, that I may speak with boldness to those who mock me. For he who is in misfortune bears reproaches in silence; but he who lives a pleasing life refutes those who reproach evilly. For perhaps some unbelievers, seeing me in life to be in afflictions and misfortunes, reproach me; but I will nevertheless answer them with a word; that Christ our God has appointed a day, on which he will judge the world, and will render to each one according to his works; to those who by patience in good work seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury and tribulation, and upon every soul of man that works evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek. Wherefore also the rich man heard: You received in your lifetime the

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καρδίαν μου ἀπὸ πάσης εὐφροσύνης. Καὶ ἰδοὺ τὰ πάντα ματαιότης, καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος. Μάταιον δέ ἐστι τὸ ἀκερ δὲς καὶ ἀνόνητον· τοιαῦτα δὲ τὰ δοκοῦντα τοῦ βίου τερ πνά. Ἱκετεύει τοίνυν ὁ προφήτης εἰς ἑτέραν θεωρίαν ῥέψαι τῆς διανοίας τὰ ὄμματα, καὶ τῇ τῶν παρόντων ματαιότητι μὴ θελχθῆναι. Τὸ δὲ, Ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ σου ζῆ σόν με, κατὰ τοὺς σοὺς δός μοι πολιτεύεσθαι νόμους. Στῆσον τῷ δούλῳ σου τὸ λόγιόν σου εἰς τὸν φόβον σου. Βέβαιον ἐν τοῖς σοῖς λόγοις ἀπόφηνόν με, ἀπερί τρεπτον φυλάττων τῷ φόβῳ σου, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἐπικείσθω μοι ὁ φόβος σου, δεδιττόμενος, καὶ μὴ ἐῶν ἐκτραπῆναι τῶν λογίων σου, εἰς τὸ περιελεῖν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ πᾶσαν κακίαν καὶ ἁμαρτίαν. Οὕτω τοίνυν δέομαι γενέσθαι ἐν ἐμοὶ τῷ δούλῳ σου. Φόβος γὰρ Θεοῦ, γέγραπται, εἰς ζωὴν ἀνδρί· καὶ, Τῷ φόβῳ Κυρίου ἐκκλίνει πᾶς ἀπὸ κακοῦ· καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς δὲ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ψαλμοῦ ὁ προφήτης λέγει· Καθήλω σον ἐκ τοῦ φόβου σου τὰς σάρκας μου. Ἐπικείσθω μοι οὖν ὁ φόβος σου, μὴ ἐῶν με πρᾶξαι θέλημα σαρκός. Τὸ γὰρ θέλημα τῇ σαρκὸς ἔχθρα εἰς Θεόν ἐστι, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον Παῦλον τὸν ἀπόστολον. Περίελε τὸν ὀνειδισ μόν μου, ὃν ὑπώπτευσα, ὅτι τὰ κρίματά σου χρηστά. Ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ὑπώπτευσα, Ὑπεστάλην 55.684 εἴρηκεν, οὕτω δὲ καὶ ὁ Θεοδοτίων· ὁ δὲ Σύμμαχος, Ὃν εὐλαβοῦμαι. Ὀνειδισμὸν δὲ ἐνταῦθα καλεῖ τὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας γενόμενον. Τοῦτον γὰρ καὶ ὑπεστέλλετο καὶ ἐδεδίει, καὶ ὕποπτον ἔζη ζωήν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπήγαγε συνήθως, ὅτι τὰ κρίματά σου ἐξεζήτησα, ἢ ἐφύλαξα, ἀλλ', Ὅτι τὰ κρίματά σου χρηστά. Κρίματα δὲ καλεῖ τὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαίας ψήφους. Τὸ δὲ, Ὑπώπτευσα, τοῦτό ἐστι, συνέγνων ἐμαυτὸν ἁμαρτήσαντα· καὶ ὄνει δός μοι τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι κατ' εἰκόνα σου κτισθεὶς εἰς ἁμαρτίαν κατωλίσθησα. Περίελε οὖν ταύτην ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι οὐ μόνον τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐπάγεις τιμωρίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς μετανοοῦσι πλέον σωτηρίαν. Χρηστὰ γὰρ κρί ματά σου, κατ' ἐπίτασιν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ὄντα· πλεοναζού σης γὰρ τῆς ἀγαθότητος ἡ χρηστότης γίνεται, ὡς οἱ περὶ αὐτὰ σοφοὶ λέγουσιν. Ἰδοὺ ἐπεθύμησα τὰς ἐντο λάς σου· ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου ζῆσόν με. Ἐπιθυμία μοί ἐστι τελεία τὸ ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς σου πορεύεσθαι· γλιχομένῳ δέ μοι παράσχου τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ζωήν. Τοῦτο γὰρ ποιῶν, τὸ κεφάλαιον πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν κέ κτημαι. Καὶ ἔλθοι ἐπ' ἐμὲ τὸ ἔλεός σου. Κύριε. Πάν τες γὰρ ἐνδεεῖς ἐσμεν τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας· καὶ ὁ αὐτὴν κατειληφὼς τὴν ἀκροτάτην τῆς ἀρετῆς κορυφὴν, ταύτης δεῖται διηνεκῶς· ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτάνοντες καὶ οἱ τὸν βίον κατωρθωκότες χρῄζομεν τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐνδεεῖς γὰρ πάντες τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας, καὶ Πάντες ὑστεροῦμεν τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ, δικαιού μενοι δωρεὰν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι. Μετὰ γὰρ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεργίας καὶ ὁ ἁμαρτάνων ἐπιστρέφει ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς, καὶ ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἀγαθύνεται καὶ συντη ρεῖται τῇ ἀγαθωσύνῃ. Τὸ σωτήριόν σου κατὰ τὸν λόγον σου. Καὶ ἀποκριθήσομαι τοῖς ὀνειδίζουσί μοι λόγον. ζʹ. Ἣν ὑπέσχου. ∆έσποτα, σωτηρίαν ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς σου λόγοις, παράσχου, ἵνα τοῖς τωθάζουσί μοι σὺν παῤῥησίᾳ διαλεχθῶ. Ὁ γὰρ ἐν συμφοραῖς ὢν, φέρει τὰ ὀνείδη σι γῶν· ὁ δὲ τὸν θυμήρη βιοτεύων βίον, διελέγχει τοὺς κακῶς ὀνειδίζοντας. Καὶ γὰρ ἴσως τινὲς ἄπιστοι ὁρῶντές με ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἐν θλίψεσι καὶ συμφοραῖς ὄντα, ὀνειδίζουσί με· ἀλλ' οὖν ἀποκριθήσομαι αὐτοῖς λόγον· ὅτι ἔστησεν ἡμέραν Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἐν ᾗ μέλλει κρίνειν τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ ἑκάστῳ ἀποδοῦναι Κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐ τοῦ· τοῖς μὲν καθ' ὑπομονὴν ἔργου ἀγαθοῦ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν ζητοῦσι, ζωὴν αἰώνιον· τοῖς δὲ ἐξ ἐριθείας, ἀπειθοῦσι μὲν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, πει θομένοις δὲ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, θυμὸς καὶ ὀργὴ καὶ στενοχω ρία, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ψυχὴν ἀνθρώπου τοῦ κατεργα ζομένου τὸ κακὸν, Ἰουδαίου τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλλη-νος. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος ἤκουσεν· Ἀπέλαβες ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου τὰ