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He teaches, then, how it is possible to achieve the righteousness dear to God. λʹ, λαʹ. "The mouth of the righteous will meditate on wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment. The law of God is in his heart, and his steps will not be tripped up." It is fitting, he says, both in the tongue and in the mind to carry the divine oracles, and to meditate on them continually. For thus the lover of virtue, learning what must be done, will remain unmoved and unshaken, overcoming those who attempt to cast him down. These things he also said in the first psalm: "But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he will meditate day and night;" and so forth. 80.1136 λβʹ, λγʹ. "The sinner watches the righteous, and seeks to put him to death. But the Lord will not abandon him into his hands, nor will he condemn him when he is judged." He says the same things in different ways, making the memory more steadfast through more frequent meditation. And he says that the Master will not overlook the righteous man when he is plotted against by the wicked, nor will He vote with them when they dare such things, but will prepare him to leap over the nets. Abraham enjoyed this providence, when Sarah was seized twice; Isaac, suffering this very thing; Jacob, envied by his brother and father-in-law; Joseph, warred against by envy and slander. And why must I list everything? For it is easy for those who love learning both to collect the ancient things and to observe the new. λδʹ. "Wait for the Lord, and keep His way, and He will exalt you, to inherit the earth; when the sinners are destroyed, you will see it." Having learned these things, then, await the divine decree, and keep the established laws. For thus you will become conspicuous both in the present life, and in the future you will enjoy the enduring good things, and you will see the thrice-wretched end of sinners. Then since not seeing the punishment of the unjust now, but having to wait a long time, vexes many, he fittingly confirms future things from what has happened. λεʹ, ιʹ. "I saw the ungodly highly exalted and lifted up, like the cedars of Lebanon. And I passed by, and behold, he was not; and I sought him, and his place was not found." For the great David saw both the end of the kingdom of Saul, and the destruction of the tyranny of Absalom, and both the arrogance and the ruin of Nahash the Ammonite, and the death with the pride of Goliath the foreigner; and besides these, of not a few others, both the insolence, and the arrogance, and the utter ruin. Fittingly, therefore, he likened their prosperity to fruitless trees. And he said that they had vanished, not only them, but also their places; and by these things he signified their memory. Then again he brings in a suggestion and counsel. λζʹ. "Keep innocence, and behold uprightness, for there is a remnant for a peaceable man." But Symmachus said this thus: Keep simplicity, and see what is right, because there is a future for a peaceful man. Do not look, he says, to the present sorrows, but await the things to come. For there is a time in which the fitting reward will be given to those who have used simplicity and uprightness. 80.1137 ληʹ. "But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the remnants of the wicked shall be destroyed." Again Symmachus has said this thus: But the transgressors will be wiped out together, the posterity of the lawless will be cut off. At that time, he says, these too will receive their wages, and will endure a common destruction. λθʹ, μʹ. "But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, and He is their defender in time of affliction. And the Lord will help them, and deliver them, and He will rescue them from sinners, and will save them, because they hoped in Him." But the workers of righteousness will enjoy the divine favor, and will attain salvation, and will overcome those who try to do wrong, since indeed they have acquired a pure hope for themselves.

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διδάσκει λοιπὸν, πῶς ἔνεστι τὴν τῷ Θεῷ φίλην κατορθῶσαι δικαιοσύνην. λʹ, λαʹ. "Στόμα δικαίου μελετήσει σοφίαν, καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα αὐτοῦ λαλήσει κρίσιν. Ὁ νόμος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐχ ὑποσκελισθήσεται διαβή ματα αὐτοῦ." Προσήκει, φησὶ, κἀν τῇ γλώττῃ, κἀν τῇ διανοίᾳ τὰ θεῖα λόγια περιφέρειν, καὶ τὴν τούτων μελέτην ποιεῖσθαι διηνεκῶς. Οὕτω γὰρ τὸ πρακτέον μανθάνων ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐραστὴς, ἀτρεμὴς μενεῖ καὶ ἀσάλευτος, τῶν καταβαλεῖν ἐπιχειρούν των περιγινόμενος. Ταῦτα καὶ ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ ἔφη ψαλμῷ· "Ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ νόμῳ Κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσει ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός·" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. 80.1136 λβʹ, λγʹ. "Κατανοεῖ ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς τὸν δίκαιον, καὶ ζητεῖ τοῦ θανατῶσαι αὐτόν. Ὁ δὲ Κύριος οὐ μὴ ἐγκαταλείπῃ αὐτὸν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲ μὴ καταδικάσηται αὐτὸν ὅταν κρίνηται αὐτῷ." ∆ιαφόρως τὰ αὐτὰ λέγει, τῇ πλείονι μελέτῃ μονι μωτέραν κατασκευάζων τὴν μνήμην. Λέγει δὲ ὡς οὐ περιόψεται τὸν δίκαιον ὁ ∆εσπότης ἐπιβουλευόμε νον ὑπὸ τῶν πονηρῶν, οὐδὲ συμψηφιεῖται αὐτοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα τολμῶσιν, ἀλλ' ὑπερπηδῆσαι παρασκευάσει τὰ δίκτυα. Ταύτης ἀπέλαυσεν Ἀβραὰμ τῆς προ νοίας, δὶς ἁρπαγείσης τῆς Σάῤῥας· ταύτης ὁ Ἰσαὰκ αὐτὸ τοῦτο παθών· ταύτης ὁ Ἰακὼβ ὑπ' ἀδελφοῦ καὶ κηδεστοῦ φθονηθείς· ταύτης ὁ Ἰωσὴφ ὑπὸ φθόνου καὶ συκοφαντίας πολεμηθείς. Καὶ τί δεῖ καταλέγειν πάντα; Ῥᾴδιον γὰρ τοῖς φιλομαθέσι, καὶ τὰ πάλαι συλλέξαι, καὶ θεωρῆσαι τὰ νέα. λδʹ. "Ὑπόμεινον τὸν Κύριον, καὶ φύλαξον τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑψώσει σε, τοῦ κατακληρονομῆσαι τὴν γῆν, ἐν τῷ ἐξολοθρεύεσθαι ἁμαρτωλοὺς, ὄψει." Ταῦτα τοίνυν μεμαθηκὼς, τὴν θείαν πρόσμενε ψῆ φον, καὶ τοὺς κειμένους φύλαττε νόμους. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ γενήσῃ περίβλεπτος, καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι τῶν μονίμων ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσῃ, καὶ ὄψει τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν τὸ τρισάθλιον τέλος. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ πολλοὺς ἀνιᾷ τὸ μὴ νῦν ὁρᾷν τῶν ἀδίκων τὴν τιμωρίαν, ἀλλ' ἀναμένειν χρόνον μακρὸν, εἰκότως ἀπὸ τῶν γεγενημένων πιστοῦται τὰ μέλ λοντα. λεʹ, ιʹ. "Εἶδον τὸν ἀσεβῆ ὑπερυψούμενον καὶ ἐπαιρόμενον, ὡς τὰς κέδρους τοῦ Λιβάνου. Καὶ παρῆλθον, καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἦν· καὶ ἐζήτησα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ εὑρέθη ὁ τόπος αὐτοῦ." Εἶδε γὰρ ὁ μέγας ∆α βὶδ καὶ τῆς τοῦ Σαοὺλ βασιλείας τὸ τέλος, καὶ τῆς τοῦ Ἀβεσσαλὼμ τυραννίδος τὸν ὄλεθρον, καὶ Ναὰς τοῦ Ἀμμανίτου καὶ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ τὴν ἀπώλειαν, καὶ τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου Γολιὰθ σὺν τῷ τύφῳ τὸν θάνατον· καὶ ἄλλων αὖ πρὸς τούτοις οὐκ ὀλί γων καὶ τὴν ἀλαζονείαν, καὶ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν, καὶ τὴν πανωλεθρίαν. Εἰκότως τοίνυν τοῖς ἀκάρποις δένδροις τὴν ἐκείνων εὐημερίαν ἀπείκασε. Φρούδους δὲ ἔφη γεγενῆσθαι οὐ μόνον αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνων τόπους· διὰ τούτων δὲ τὴν μνήμην ἐδήλωσεν. Εἶτα πάλιν εἰσήγησιν εἰσφέρει καὶ συμ βουλήν. λζʹ. "Φύλασσε ἀκακίαν, καὶ ἴδε εὐθύτητα, ὅτι ἐστὶν ἐγκατάλειμμα ἀνθρώπῳ εἰρηνικῷ." Τοῦτο δὲ ὁ Σύμμαχος οὕτως ἔφη· Φύλασσε ἁπλότητα, καὶ ὅρα εὐθὺ, ὅτι ἐστὶ μέλλοντα ἀνθρώπῳ εἰρη νικῷ. Μὴ ἀποβλέψῃς, φησὶν, εἰς τὰ παρόντα λυπη ρὰ, ἀλλὰ προσδέχου τὰ μέλλοντα. Ἔστι γὰρ καιρὸς, ἐν ᾧ τοῖς ἁπλότητι καὶ εὐθύτητι κεχρημένοις ἀποδο θήσεται ὁ προσήκων μισθός. 80.1137 ληʹ. "Οἱ δὲ παράνομοι ἐξολοθρευθήσονται ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό· τὰ ἐγκαταλείμματα τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐξολοθρευ θήσεται." Τοῦτο πάλιν ὁ Σύμμαχος οὕτως εἴρηκεν· Οἱ δὲ ἀθετοῦντες ἐξαλειφθήσονται ὁμοῦ, τὰ ἔσχατα τῶν ἀνόμων ἐκκοπήσεται. Ἐν ἐκείνῳ, φησὶ, τῷ καιρῷ, καὶ οὗτοι τὰ ἐπίχειρα δέξονται, καὶ κοινὸν ὑπομενοῦσιν ὄλεθρον. λθʹ, μʹ. "Σωτηρία δὲ τῶν δικαίων παρὰ Κυρίου, καὶ ὑπερασπιστὴς αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἐν καιρῷ θλίψεως. Καὶ βοηθήσει αὐτοῖς Κύριος, καὶ ῥύσεται αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐξελεῖται αὐτοὺς ἐξ ἁμαρτωλῶν, καὶ σώσει αὐτοὺς, ὅτι ἤλπισαν ἐπ' αὐτόν." Οἱ δὲ τῆς δι καιοσύνης ἐργάται τῆς θείας ῥοπῆς ἀπολαύσονται, καὶ σωτηρίας τεύξονται, καὶ τῶν ἀδικεῖν πειρωμέ νων περιγενήσονται, ἅτε δὴ ἀκραιφνῆ τὴν περὶ αὐ τῶν ἐλπίδα κτησάμενοι.