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The judgment from the divine face. Let my eyes see equity. He prays for the eyes of the inner man to see equity, according to which God will judge, bringing forth the judgment from his own face, or he prays to behold the virtue of equity. But if he prays to see it, he does not yet have it present, from which it follows that he is not boasting when offering the prayer in this way. These things must be considered as said about perfect virtue, which arrives late at some point, after very many things have been accomplished beforehand.

100 Ps 16,3 And through the preceding words, much confidence of the speaker is shown. For if he says these things before God, he reveals his own great purity; for the heart of everyone who endures hardships is tested, when, though afflicted in every way, he is not crushed, but by enduring to the end he is proven righteous; such was Job, to whom God said: "Do you think I have dealt with you in any other way than that you might be shown to be righteous?" along with his heart having been tested by the Lord and tried by fire and no iniquity having been found in it? Next, one must see what is meant by "You have visited by night"; and see if he calls the state of hardships "night" because it is without light and has nothing cheerful, in which God, having visited him, declared him approved and, having refined him through afflictions, showed him to be pure of all wrongdoings. "You have visited by night" might also be said in this way: since the secrets of the heart are not manifest except only to him of whom it is said, "You alone know the hearts of men," it was called "night," which secrets, although they are dark to others because of their incomprehensibility, have been made manifest to you who tested me because you visited me by night. With this agrees the verse, "If I had regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me."

101 Ps 16,4a To report the works of men by deed and disposition, and even by word, is characteristic of the wicked. And what are these works but those about which the apostle writes: "For where there are strife and jealousy among you, are you not men and do you not walk according to man?" What prevents speaking of the works of men is also that no iniquity was found in him who was tried by God through temptations and similar things.

102 Ps 16,4b The ways that lead to virtue seem hard, having much that is rough; for how is the way not hard that commands one who is slapped on one of the cheeks to readily offer the other for receiving insult? In addition to these things, the way seems rough in which someone struggles for the sake of the truth even to death. Sometimes this is accomplished through the bitterest tortures and the threat of fire and sword and attack by wild beasts, but even if these ways and those related to them are hard, yet they are kept because of the words of the lips of the commanding God and they are made easy, so as to no longer have anything hard or heavy. John, at any rate, writes, "And his commandments are not burdensome," and Jesus says to those who hear his words, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." For from much habituation and from exercises carried out without interruption, even heavy things seem very light and bitter and unpleasant things are accomplished with much ease.

103 Ps 16,5a And the paths of the Lord and of his saints are the keeping of the commandments, or rather, the activities according to virtue, shown to be smooth and level from being continually trodden by those hastening to reach their end; and their end is blessedness and the bestowal of the promises. Let us run, therefore, along them, so that we may obtain salvation, with our steps not being shaken, that is, not stumbling. When the Lord establishes them in his paths, the one who has obtained this request says, "Without iniquity I have run and directed my course," and, "I have run the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart."

104Ps 16,6-7b "I will cry out" must be understood spiritually; for one must not cry out to the invisible God with a louder voice but with an intense understanding; and this is the cry of the inner man. Make marvelous the mercies

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τὸ κρίμα ἐκ τοῦ θεϊκοῦ προσώπου. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ἰδέτωσαν εὐθύτητας. ευχεται τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ εσω ἀνθρώπου εὐθύτητα ἰδεῖν καθ' ην κρινεῖ ὁ θεὸς ἐξάγων τὸ κρίμα ἐκ προσώπου ἑαυτοῦ, η ευχεται τὴν ἀρετὴν εὐθύτητας θεάσασθαι. εἰ δὲ ευχεται αὐτὴν ἰδεῖν, ουπω παροῦσαν αὐτὴν εχει, ῳ επεται τὸ μὴ ἀλαζονεύεσθαι αὐτὸν ουτω τὴν εὐχὴν ἀναφέροντα. ταῦτα περὶ τῆς παντελοῦς ἀρετῆς εἰρῆσθαι ἡγητέον, ητις ὀψέ ποτε παραγίνεται πλείστων οσων προδιανυσθέντων. 100 Ps 16,3 Καὶ διὰ τῶν προκειμένων ἐμφαίνεται πολλὴ παρρησία τοῦ λέγοντος. εἰ γὰρ ταῦτα ἐπὶ θεοῦ λέγει, πολλὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐμφαίνει καθαρότητα· δοκιμάζεται γὰρ ἡ καρδία παντὸς τοῦ σκυθρωπὰ ὑπομένοντος, οτ' αν ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενος μὴ στενοχωρῆται, ἀλλ' ὑπομένων εἰς τέλος ἀποδείκνυται δίκαιος· οιος ην ̓Ιὼβ ῳ ειπεν ὁ θεός· Οιει με αλλως σοι κεχρηματικέναι η ινα ἀναφανῇς δίκαιος, πρὸς τῷ δεδοκιμάσθαι τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ πεπυρῶσθαι καὶ μὴ ηὑρᾶσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ ἀδικίαν; ̓Ακόλουθον ἰδεῖν τί σημαίνεται ἐκ τοῦ ̓Επεσκέψω νυκτός· καὶ ορα εἰ τὴν κατάστασιν τῶν σκυθρωπῶν διὰ τὸ ἀφεγγὲς καὶ μηδὲν ἱλαρὸν εχειν νύκτα καλεῖ, ἐν ῃ ἐπισκεψάμενος αὐτὸν ὁ θεὸς δόκιμον ἀπέφηνεν καὶ πυρώσας διὰ τῶν θλιβερῶν καθαρὸν πάντων ἀδικημάτων ἀνέδειξεν. ῥηθείη τὸ ̓Επεσκέψω νυκτὸς καὶ ουτως· ἐπεὶ τῆς καρδίας τὰ κρύφια οὐκ εἰσὶν φανερὰ η μόνῳ τῷ πρὸς ον ειρηται Σὺ μόνος γινώσκεις τὰς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, νὺξ ὠνομάσθη, α καὶ αὐτά, καίτοι τοῖς αλλοις οντα σκοτεινὰ διὰ τὸ ἀκατάληπτον, σοὶ τῷ δοκιμάσαντί με διὰ τὸ ἐπεσκέφθαι με νυκτὸς πεφανέρωται. τούτῳ συνᾴδει τὸ Εἰ ἀδικίαν ἐθεώρουν ἐν καρδίᾳ μου, μὴ εἰσακουσάτω μου κύριος. 101 Ps 16,4a Τὸ ἀπαγγέλλειν τὰ εργα τῶν ἀνθρώπων πράξει καὶ διαθέσει, ετι μὴν καὶ λόγῳ, φαύλων ἐστίν. τίνα δὲ τὰ εργα τούτων η ἐκεῖνα περὶ ων ὁ ἀπόστολος γράφει· Οπου γὰρ ερεις καὶ ζῆλος ἐν ὑμῖν, οὐχὶ ανθρωποί ἐστε καὶ κατὰ ανθρωπον περιπατεῖτε; κωλυτικὸν τοῦ λαλεῖν τὰ εργα τῶν ἀνθρώπων τυγχάνει καὶ τὸ μὴ εὑρέσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ ἀδικίαν ὑπὸ θεοῦ πυρωθέντι διὰ πειρασμῶν καὶ τῶν παραπλησίων. 102 Ps 16,4b Αἱ ἐπὶ ἀρετὴν φέρουσαι ὁδοὶ δοκοῦσιν σκληραὶ ειναι πολὺ τὸ τραχὺ εχουσαι· πῶς γὰρ οὐ σκληρὰ ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ παραγγέλλουσα τῷ ῥαπίζοντι εἰς θατέραν τῶν σιαγόνων καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν προχείρως εἰς ὑποδοχὴν υβρεως παρέχειν; πρὸς τούτοις δοκεῖ τραχεία ὁδὸς ειναι καθ' ην εως θανάτου ἀγωνίζεταί τις ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας. εστιν οτε δι' αἰκιῶν πικροτάτων ἀπειλῆς τε πυρὸς καὶ σιδήρου καὶ προσβολῆς θηρίων ἀγρίων τελειουμένου τούτου πλὴν εἰ καὶ σκληραὶ αυται αἱ ὁδοὶ καὶ αἱ συγγενεῖς αὐταῖς, ἀλλά γε φυλάττονται διὰ τοὺς λόγους τῶν χειλέων τοῦ προστάττοντος θεοῦ καὶ ἐξευμαρίζονται ὡς μηκέτι σκληρόν τι η βαρὺ εχειν. ̓Ιωάννης γοῦν γράφει τὸ Καὶ αἱ ἐντολαὶ αὐτοῦ βαρεῖαι οὐκ εἰσίν, καὶ ὁ ̓Ιησοῦς τοῖς ἀκούουσι τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ λέγει ̔Ο ζυγός μου χρηστὸς καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν. ἐκ γὰρ πολλοῦ συνεθισμοῦ καὶ γυμνασίων ἀδιαστάτως προσαγομένων καὶ τὰ αχθη κουφότατα φαίνεται καὶ τὰ πικρὰ καὶ ἀηδῆ κατορθοῦται σὺν ῥᾳστώνῃ πολλῇ. 103 Ps 16,5a Τρίβοι δὲ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ αἱ τηρήσεις τῶν ἐντολῶν τυγχάνουσιν, μᾶλλον δὲ αἱ κατ' ἀρετὴν ἐνέργειαι λεῖαι καὶ ὁμαλαὶ ἀναδειχθεῖσαι ἐκ τοῦ συνεχῶς πατεῖσθαι πρὸς τῶν σπευδόντων φθᾶσαι ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος αὐτῶν· τέλος δὲ αὐτῶν ἡ μακαριότης καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν ἀπόδοσίς ἐστιν. δράμωμεν τοίνυν κατ' αὐτάς, ινα σωτηρίας τύχωμεν, οὐ κλονουμένων τῶν διαβημάτων τουτέστιν οὐ σφαλλομένων. οτ' αν ὁ κύριος ἐν ταῖς τρίβοις αὐτοῦ καταρτίσῃ αὐτά, ὁ ταύτης τῆς αἰτήσεως τυχών φησιν Ανευ ἀνομίας εδραμον καὶ κατεύθυνα, καὶ τὸ ̔Οδὸν ἐντολῶν σου εδραμον, οτ' αν ἐπλάτυνας τὴν καρδίαν μου. 104Ps 16,6-7b Τὸ Κεκράξομαι πνευματικῶς ἀκουστέον· οὐ γὰρ γεγωνοτέρᾳ τῇ φωνῇ πρὸς τὸν ἀόρατον θεὸν κεκραγέναι δεῖ ἀλλ' ἐπιτεταμένῃ νοήσει· αυτη δὲ ἡ κραυγὴ τοῦ εσω ἀνθρώπου. Θαυμαστοῖ τὰ ἐλέη