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and most naturally he is named denier-of-God. For if the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, fearlessness and rejection would be the opposite of wisdom. For to you I will pray, O Lord; in the morning you will hear my voice; in the morning I will stand before you, and you will see me. Through these words, she who inherits is taught to dedicate the first-fruits of the day's actions to the worship of God; which she would not do unless she also had ignorance from her bed. For you are not a God who wills iniquity; the evil-doer will not dwell with you, nor will the lawless remain before your eyes. Since she who inherits has been deemed worthy of the promised goods, she points out the lawless to herself. For the lawless, even if they once dwelt with you before transgressing, like those who received the law of Moses, yet having become transgressors, they do not remain. And you hate those outside of godliness, inasmuch as they do things worthy of hatred. You have hated, Lord, all who work iniquity, you will destroy all who speak falsehood. The Lord abhors a man of blood and deceit. Not those who once worked it, but also those who are still now working it, as they persist in evil, does God hate. But beyond all these he delivers to destruc 23.117 tion those who not only reckon falsehoods according to deceit, but also speak them, and minister them to others, such as are the godless, the heretics. And in addition to all these, the Lord abhors the man of blood, and he places the deceitful man in the same punishment as this one. And abhorrence signifies an exceeding aversion, as in the case of a great violation, of the one who abhors toward the one who is abhorred. Lord, guide me in your righteousness; for the sake of my enemies, make my way straight before you. And Christ is righteousness; for he himself became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain. Vain also is the heart of the wise men from without, concerning whom it has been said: The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain; whose larynx breathed out dead doctrines, as they did not teach the life-giving word of God, but the false and dead one; Judge them, O God, who plot against my hopes concerning the inheritance; for these are the ones who provoke you to anger. Judge; for while you are eager to save, they make war by plotting. But he wishes that they also, having been judged from this point on, might be helped, having come out of the multitude of their impieties. And let all who hope in you be glad; they will rejoice forever, and you will dwell among them. But also at the coming of the Savior, those who eagerly awaited his incarnation rejoiced; which was hoped for by the prophets and by those who understood their words. For God the Word appeared, having become flesh by the assumption of flesh, that he might dwell in those who have believed in him, according to the text, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us; who also will rejoice forever, seeing the glory of the incarnate Word, as of the Only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. who also say: Even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer, having a vision of his glory, according to which he is the Only-begotten from the Father. And those who love your name will boast in you, for you will bless the righteous. There being a reason for boasting, concerning which Paul says: Let no one boast in men, and the prophet: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and so forth; such is not the boasting of the one who says: But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; and, He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. Such are those of whom the word speaks, who have loved his name. For by choice, not by fear, having honored him, they boasted. And the reason for boasting is the obtaining of heavenly blessings; concerning which the Apostle says: Blessed be the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

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καὶ φυσικώτατα ὁ ἀρνησίθεος ὠνόμασται. Εἰ γὰρ σοφίας ἀρχὴ φόβος Θεοῦ, ἀφοβία καὶ ἀθέτησις τοὐναντίον ἂν γένοιτο τῆς σοφίας. Ὅτι πρὸς σὲ προσεύξομαι, Κύριε, τὸ πρωῒ εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς μου· τὸ πρωῒ παραστήσομαί σοι καὶ ἐπόψῃ με. Παιδεύεται διὰ τούτων ἡ κληρονομοῦσα τὴν ἀπαρχὴν τῶν ἡμερινῶν πράξεων τῇ πρὸς Θεὸν ἀνατιθέναι λατρείᾳ· ὅπερ οὐκ ἂν ἐποίει μὴ καὶ ἀπὸ κοίτης ἔχουσα τὴν ἀγνωσίαν. Ὅτι οὐχὶ Θεὸς θέλων ἀνομίαν σὺ εἶ· οὐ παροικήσει σοι πονηρευόμενος, οὐδὲ διαμενοῦσι παράνομοι κατέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου. Ὡς ἂν ἠξιωμένη τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων ἀγαθῶν ἡ κληρονομοῦσα, τοὺς ἀνόμους ἐπιδείκνυσιν ἑαυτῇ. Οἱ γὰρ παράνομοι, εἰ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ παρανομῆσαι παρῴκησάν σοί ποτε, καθάπερ οἱ τὸν Μωϋσέως δεξάμενοι νόμον, ἀλλὰ παραβάται γεγονότες οὐ μένουσιν. Μισεῖς δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἔξω τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐν ὅσῳ μίσους ἄξια πράττουσιν. Ἐμίσησας, Κύριε, πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν, ἀπολεῖς πάντας τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος. Ἄνδρα αἱμάτων καὶ δόλιον βδελύσσεται Κύριος. Οὐ τούς ποτε ἐργασαμένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἐργαζομένους, ὡς ἂν ἐπιμένοντας τῇ κακίᾳ, μισεῖ ὁ Θεός. Παρὰ πάντας δὲ τούτους ἀπω 23.117 λείᾳ παραδίδωσι τοὺς μὴ μόνον κατὰ ἀπάτην λογιζομένους τὰ ψευδῆ, ἀλλὰ καὶ λαλοῦντας αὐτὰ, καὶ ἑτέροις διακονουμένους, ὁποῖοι τυγχάνουσιν οἱ ἄθεοι, αἱρεσιῶται. Καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις τὸν ἄνδρα αἱμάτων βδελύσσεται Κύριος, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἴσῃ τούτῳ τιμωρίᾳ καὶ τὸν δόλιον τίθησιν. Ὁ δὲ βδελυγμὸς ὑπερβάλλουσαν ἀποστροφὴν, ὡς ἐπὶ μεγάλῳ βιάσματι, τοῦ βδελυσσομένου πρὸς τὸν βδελυκτὸν παρίστησι. Κύριε, ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου· ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου κατεύθυνον ἐνώπιόν σου τὴν ὁδόν μου. Χριστὸς δὲ ἡ δικαιοσύνη· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐγενήθη σοφία ἡμῖν ἀπὸ Θεοῦ, δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἁγιασμὸς καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις. Ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἀλήθεια, ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν ματαία. Ματαία δὲ καὶ τῶν ἔξω σοφῶν ἡ καρδία περὶ ὧν εἴρηται· Κύριος γινώσκει τοὺς διαλογισμοὺς τῶν σοφῶν, ὅτι εἰσὶ μάταιοι· ὧν ὁ λάρυγξ ἀπέπνει νεκρὰ δόγματα, τὸν ζωοποιὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγον μὴ διδασκόντων, τὸν δὲ ψευδῆ καὶ νεκρόν· Κρῖνον αὐτοὺς, ὁ Θεὸς, τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύοντάς μου ταῖς περὶ τῆς κληρονομίας ἐλπίσιν· οὗτοι γάρ σε παραπικραινοῦσι. Κρῖνον· σοῦ γὰρ σώζειν σπουδάζοντος, πολεμοῦσιν ἐπιβουλεύοντες. Βούλεται δὲ καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη κριθέντας ὠφεληθῆναι, τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἀσεβημάτων ἔξω γεγενημένους. Καὶ εὐφρανθήτωσαν πάντες οἱ ἐλπίζοντες ἐπὶ σὲ, εἰς αἰῶνα ἀγαλλιάσονται καὶ κατασκηνώσεις ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπιδημίας ηὐφράνθησαν οἱ τὴν αὐτοῦ καραδοκήσαντες ἐνανθρώπησιν· ἥτις τοῖς προφήταις καὶ τοῖς νοοῦσι τὰ τούτων ἠλπίζετο. Ἐπεδήμησε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος σὰρξ γεγονὼς, προσλήψει σαρκὸς, ἵνα σκηνώσῃ ἐν τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν αὐτῷ, κατὰ τὸ, Ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν· οἳ καὶ εἰς αἰῶνα ἀγαλλιάσονται, ὁρῶντες τοῦ σαρκωθέντος Λόγου τὴν δόξαν, ὡς Μονογενοῦς παρὰ Πατρὸς, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας. οἳ καί φασιν· Εἰ καὶ ἐγνώκαμεν κατὰ σάρκα Χριστὸν, ἀλλὰ νῦν οὐκέτι γινώσκομεν, ἔχοντες θεωρίαν τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ, καθ' ἣν Μονογενὴς παρὰ Πατρός ἐστιν. Καὶ καυχήσονται ἐν σοὶ οἱ ἀγαπῶντες τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὅτι σὺ εὐλογήσεις δίκαιον. Οὔσης λόγου καυχήσεως, περὶ ἧς ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Μηδεὶς καυχάσθω ἐν ἀνθρώποις, καὶ ὁ προφήτης· Μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ σοφὸς ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· οὐ τοιαύτη τυγχάνει ἡ τοῦ λέγοντος· Ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ· καὶ, Ὁ καυχώμενος, ἐν Κυρίῳ καυχάσθω. Τοιοῦτοι περὶ ὧν ὁ λόγος, ἠγαπηκότων αὐτοῦ τὸ ὄνομα. Προαιρέσει γὰρ, οὐ φόβῳ, τετιμηκότες ἐκαυχῶντο. Αἴτιον δὲ τῆς καυχήσεως τὸ τῶν ἐπουρανίων τυγχάνειν εὐλογιῶν· περὶ ὧν φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὁ εὐλογήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ εὐλογίᾳ πνευματικῇ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις.