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could there ever be such an interval of time, that it would be able to cause in my soul forgetfulness of such great benefactions?

OF THE SAME, ON THE 32ND PSALM.

Rejoice, O righteous, in the Lord; praise is fitting for the upright. Common to the

Scripture is the word of rejoicing, showing a most bright and joyous state of the soul over things worthy of good cheer. Rejoice therefore, O righteous, in the Lord; not when your household affairs prosper, not when you are well in body, not when the fields abound with all kinds of fruit; but because you have a Lord, such in beauty, such in goodness, such in wisdom. Let the joy in him be sufficient for you. And he who exults with joy and gladness over something highly prized, seems to rejoice thus in Him. Therefore the word urges the righteous to be sensible of their dignity, that they have been counted worthy to be slaves of such a Master, and to exult in his service with unspeakable joy and leaping, as the heart almost leaps with the enthusiasm of love for the good. If ever a light, as it were, falling upon your heart suddenly produced a thought of God, and illuminated your soul, so that you loved God and despised the world and all bodily things, from that faint and brief image recognize the whole state of the righteous, who achieve joy in God smoothly and without interruption. For that rejoicing comes upon you rarely by God's providence, so that through a small taste it may bring you to the remembrance of what you have been deprived; but for the righteous, the divine and heavenly gladness is continuous, because the Spirit dwells in him once for all; and the first fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. Rejoice. therefore, O righteous, in the Lord. The Lord is, as it were, a place that contains the righteous; in whom whoever comes to be must of necessity be cheerful and glad. And the righteous also becomes a place for the Lord, receiving him in himself. The one who sins gives place to the devil, disobeying the one who says, 'Neither give place to the devil;' and of Ecclesiastes, 'If the spirit of the ruler rise up against you, do not leave your place.' Being, therefore, in the Lord himself, 29.325 and as far as we are able, observing his wonders, let us thus gather gladness for our hearts from the contemplation. Praise is fitting for the upright; just as a crooked foot does not fit into a straight sandal, so also the praise of God is not fitting for perverse hearts. For this reason, I think, since the word concerning the Savior is not fitting for the mouth of demons, he takes away their authority, so that they might not make him known. And Paul rebukes the Python spirit, so that the holy one might not be commended by an unclean source. Of such a kind also is this: 'But to the sinner God said, Why do you declare my statutes?' Let us therefore strive to flee every crooked and twisted deed, and let us make our mind and the judgment of our soul straight as a right rule, so that when we have become upright, the praise of the Lord may be fitting for us. For just as the serpent who introduced sin is called crooked, and the sword of God is brought against the dragon, the crooked serpent, because it makes many turns and deviations in its course. For the trail of the slithering serpent is dragged unevenly upon the earth, with the front parts moving one way, and the next parts following sideways, and again the tail parts turning toward the opposite direction. So that he who follows the serpent will show his own life to be crooked and uneven and full of contradictions; but he who walks after the Lord God makes his paths straight, and the tracks of his feet right. For the Lord our God is upright, and

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γένοιτο τοσοῦτον χρόνου διάστημα, ὃ τῇ ἐμῇ ψυχῇ λήθην τῶν τηλικούτων εὐεργεσιῶν ἐμποιῆσαι δυνήσεται;

ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΛΒʹ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ.

Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, δίκαιοι, ἐν Κυρίῳ· τοῖς εὐθέσι πρέπει αἴνεσις. Συνήθης τῇ

Γραφῇ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως ἡ φωνὴ, φαιδροτάτην τινὰ καὶ περιχαρῆ κατάστασιν τῆς ψυ χῆς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀξίοις εὐθυμίας ἐμφαίνουσα. Ἀγαλ λιᾶσθε οὖν, δίκαιοι, ἐν Κυρίῳ· μὴ ὅταν ὑμῖν εὐ θηνῆται τὰ κατὰ τὸν οἶκον, μὴ ὅταν εὐεκτῆτε τῷ σώματι, μὴ ὅταν αἱ ἄρουραι πληθύνωσι καρπῶν παντοδαπῶν· ἀλλ' ὅτι Κύριον ἔχετε, τοιοῦτον μὲν τὸ κάλλος, τοιοῦτον δὲ τὴν ἀγαθότητα, τὴν σοφίαν τοι οῦτον. Ἀρκείτω ὑμῖν ἡ ἐπ' αὐτῷ εὐφροσύνη. Καὶ ἔοικεν ὁ μετ' εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς ἐπαγαλλόμενός τινι τῶν περισπουδάστων, οὕτως ἀγαλλιᾷν ἐπ' αὐτῷ. ∆ιὸ τοὺς δικαίους παρορμᾷ ὁ λόγος αἰσθάνε σθαι μετὰ τοῦ ἀξιώματος, ὅτι τοιούτου ∆εσπότου δοῦλοι εἶναι κατηξιώθησαν, καὶ ἐπαγάλλεσθαι αὐτοῦ τῇ δουλείᾳ μετὰ χαρᾶς ἀμυθήτου καὶ σκιρτημάτων, τῆς καρδίας οἱονεὶ πηδώσης τῷ ἐνθουσιασμῷ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Εἴ ποτέ σου τῇ καρδίᾳ οἱονεὶ φῶς ἐμπεσὸν ἀθρόαν Θεοῦ ἔννοιαν ἐνεποίησε, καὶ περιέλαμψέ σου τὴν ψυχὴν, ὥστε ἀγαπῆσαι μὲν τὸν Θεὸν, καταφρονῆσαι δὲ κόσμου καὶ τῶν σωματικῶν πάντων, ἐκ τῆς ἀμυδρᾶς ἐκείνης καὶ βραχείας εἰκόνος γνώρισον τὴν ὅλην τῶν δικαίων κατάστα σιν, ὁμαλῶς καὶ ἀδιακόπως τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ εὐ φροσύνην κατορθούντων. Σοὶ μὲν γὰρ ἐμπίπτει ποτὲ σπανίως ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἀγαλλίαμα κατ' οἰκονο μίαν Θεοῦ, ἵνα σε διὰ μικροῦ γεύματος εἰς ὑπό μνησιν ἀγάγῃ οἵων ἐστέρησαι· τῷ δὲ δικαίῳ διαρκής ἐστιν ἡ θεία καὶ ἐπουράνιος εὐφροσύνη, διότι ἅπαξ αὐτῷ ἐνοικεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα· πρῶτος δὲ Καρπὸς τοῦ Πνεύματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρὰ, εἰρήνη. Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε. οὖν, δίκαιοι, ἐν Κυρίῳ. Οἱονεὶ τόπος χωρητικός ἐστι τῶν δικαίων ὁ Κύριος· ἐν ᾧ τὸν γενόμενον πᾶσα ἀνάγκη εὐθυμεῖσθαι καὶ ἐνευφραίνεσθαι. Γίνεται καὶ ὁ δίκαιος τόπος τῷ Κυ ρίῳ, λαμβάνων αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Ὁ μὲν ἁμαρτάνων δίδωσι τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ, παρακούων τοῦ λέγον τος· Μηδὲ δίδοτε τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ· καὶ τοῦ Ἐκκλησιαστοῦ· Ἐὰν πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐξουσιάζοντος ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ σὲ, τόπον σου μὴ ἀφῇς. Ἐν αὐτῷ οὖν 29.325 γενόμενοι τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ καθόσον ἐσμὲν δυνατοὶ, κατ οπτεύοντες αὐτοῦ τὰ θαυμάσια, οὕτω συναγάγωμεν ἐκ τῆς θεωρίας ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν εὐφροσύνην. Τοῖς εὐθέσι πρέπει αἴνεσις· ὥσπερ σκολιὸς ποῦς ὀρθῷ ὑποδήματι οὐκ ἐναρμόζεται, οὕτως οὐδὲ καρ δίαις ἐνδιαστρόφοις ἡ αἴνεσις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιπρέπει ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, οἶμαι, ὡς οὐ πρέποντος τῷ στόματι τῶν δαιμόνων τοῦ περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος λόγου, ἀφαιρεῖ ται αὐτῶν τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἵνα μὴ φανερὸν αὐτὸν ποιή σωσι. Καὶ τῷ Πύθωνι ὁ Παῦλος ἐπιτιμᾷ, ἵνα μὴ ἀπὸ ἀκαβάρτου ὁ ἅγιος συνιστῆται. Τοιοῦτον καὶ τὸ, Τῷ δὲ ἁμαρτωλῷ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Ἵνα τί σὺ ἐκδιηγῇ τὰ δικαιώματά μου; Φιλοτιμώμεθα οὖν φυγεῖν πᾶν σκολιὸν ἔργον καὶ στραγγαλιῶδες, καὶ κατορθώσωμεν ὡς εὐθῆ κανόνα τὸν νοῦν ἡμῶν καὶ τὸ κριτήριον τῆς ψυχῆς, ἵνα γενομένοις ἡμῖν εὐ θέσιν ἐπιπρέψῃ ἡ αἴνεσις τοῦ Κυρίου. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καθηγησάμενος ὄφις σκολιὸς λέγε ται, καὶ ἐπάγεται ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ μάχαιρα ἐπὶ τὸν δρά κοντα τὸν ὄφιν τὸν σκολιὸν, ὅτι πολλὰς ἐκκλί σεις καὶ ἐκτροπὰς ἐν τῇ πορείᾳ ποιεῖται. Συρόμενος γὰρ ὁ ὁλκὸς τοῦ ὄφεως ἀνωμάλως τῇ γῇ ἐπισύρεται, ἄλλως ὁρμώντων τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, καὶ πλαγίως ἐφε πομένων τῶν ἑξῆς, καὶ πάλιν τῶν οὐραίων πρὸς τὸ ἐναντίον ἀπονευόντων. Ὥστε ὁ μὲν τῷ ὄφει ἑπό μενος σκολιὸν καὶ ἀνώμαλον καὶ ἐναντιωμάτων γέ μοντα τὸν βίον ἑαυτοῦ ἐπιδείξεται· ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω Κυ ρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ πορευόμενος εὐθείας ποιεῖται τὰς τρίβους, καὶ ὀρθὰς τὰς τροχιὰς τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. Εὐθὴς γὰρ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ