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and His name is fearful; the beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord. Lest perhaps, since he who fears is not yet perfected, the introduction is achieved through fear, but the end through love? For perfect love casts out fear. Such a one would be he who loves the Lord God with all his heart and soul and strength. Good understanding have all they that do it. His praise endures for ever and ever. And understanding is then good, when it is accomplished in deeds; wherefore he did not simply say understanding is good, but for all those who do it. His praise endures for ever and ever. For the end of the blessed is to be with God, and to stand by Him, and to be occupied only with theology and praise of Him. HALLELUJAH. 111. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, he will delight greatly in His commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth, the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Glory and riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness endures for ever and ever. Thus He is accustomed to call everyone from the nations who comes to God. This is established from the fact that, distinctly after Israel and after the house of Aaron, and after the house of Levi, those who fear the Lord are called to the hymn of God, as has been said in other places. For who would those who fear the Lord be after these, other than the foreigners and gentiles from the nations? Therefore in the psalm at hand, the one who is called blessed would be none other than the people from the nations who has come to God, whom he names "one who fears the Lord". Such a one, however, is not yet blessed, unless he also does what follows from them; that is, to delight greatly in His commandments, and he possesses this delight securely, so that one might keep the commandments not by necessity nor against his choice, but voluntarily, and with affection along with all eagerness and genuine love for the keeping of God's commandments. 23.1348 Light has sprung up in the darkness for the upright, merciful and compassionate and righteous. The one who is called blessed does not fail in his own light, rising not for all, but providing his teaching to the upright, and the light of knowledge within the generation of the upright, and enlightening the upright. A good man is he that pities and lends. He does not shut up his own bowels of compassion, but imparts of his possessions to those in need, because he keeps the commandment that says: Who then is that faithful and wise steward, who in due season will give the measure of wheat to his fellow servants? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all that he has. He will order his words with judgment, because he shall not be moved for ever. Such a one, he says, and doing such things, will neither fall, nor be moved from his standing upon the rock. For he will not be terrified by the threats of rulers, nor by those who try to disturb and trouble him in critical times. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance, he shall not be afraid of evil tidings. Nor from false words, which promise truth but are raised up against the knowledge of God, will he suffer anything terrible, since he is founded upon the rock, and nothing separates him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. His heart is ready to hope in the Lord, his heart is established; he shall not be afraid, until he look upon his enemies. For these reasons, he says, he will not be moved, nor will he be afraid of evil tidings, because his heart is ready to hope in the Lord. Instead of which Symmachus put: His heart is firm, free from care in the Lord. For this reason he despises such disturbances; and not only does he not fear his enemies, but also their

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καὶ φοβερὸν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ· ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος Κυρίου. Μήποτε, ἐπεὶ ὁ φοβούμενος οὔτε τελείωται, ἡ μὲν εἰσαγωγὴ διὰ φόβου κατορθοῦται, τὸ δὲ τέλος δι' ἀγάπης; ἡ γὰρ τελεία ἀγάπη ἔξω βάλλει τὸν φόβον. Τοιοῦτος δ' ἂν εἴη ὁ ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ δυνάμεως ἀγαπῶν Κύριον τὸν Θεόν. Σύνεσις δὲ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν. Ἡ αἴνεσις αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Καὶ ἡ σύνεσις τότε ἀγαθὴ τυγχάνει, ὅτε ἔργοις ἐπιτελεῖται· διὸ τὴν σύνεσιν οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἀγαθὴν εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν. Ἡ αἴνεσις αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Τέλος γὰρ τῶν μακαρίων τὸ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν εἶναι, καὶ παρεστάναι αὐτῷ, καὶ μόνῃ τῇ αὐτοῦ θεολογίᾳ καὶ αἰνέσει σχολάζειν. ΑΛΛΗΛΟΥΙΑ. ΡΙΑʹ. Μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Κύριον, ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς αὐτοῦ θελήσει σφόδρα. ∆υνατὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ, γενεὰ εὐθέων εὐλογηθήσεται. ∆όξα καὶ πλοῦτος ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Οὕτως εἴωθε καλεῖν πάντα τὸν ἐξ ἐθνῶν προσιόντα τῷ Θεῷ. Παρίσταται δὲ τοῦτο ἀπὸ τοῦ διεσταλμένως μετὰ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ μετὰ τὸν οἶκον Ἀαρὼν, καὶ μετὰ τὸν οἶκον Λευῒ, τοὺς φοβουμένους τὸν Κύριον ἐπὶ τὸν ὕμνον τοῦ Θεοῦ καλεῖσθαι, ὡς ἐν ἑτέροις εἴρηται. Τίνες γὰρ ἂν εἶεν μετὰ τούτους οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον ἀλλ' ἢ οἱ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἀλλόφυλοι καὶ ἀλλογενεῖς; Οὐκοῦν ἐν τῷ μετὰ χεῖρας ψαλμῷ οὐκ ἄλλος τις ἂν εἴη ὁ μακαριζόμενος τοῦ ἐξ ἐθνῶν προσεληλυθότος τῷ Θεῷ λαοῦ· ὅντινα ὀνομάζει φοβούμενον τὸν Κύριον. Οὐ μὴν ἤδη που μακάριος ὁ τοιοῦτος, εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸ ἑξῆς αὐτῶν ἐποιεῖτο· τουτέστι τὸ ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς αὐτοῦ θέλειν σφόδρα, ἀσφαλῶς δὲ τὸ θέλειν κέκτηται, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἐπάναγκες μηδὲ παρὰ προαίρεσιν φυλάττοιτό τις τὰς ἐντολὰς, ἀλλ' ἐθελοντὴς, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ στέργειν σὺν πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ καὶ γνησίως ἀγαπᾷν τὴν τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ φυλακήν. 23.1348 Ἐξανέτειλεν ἐν σκότει φῶς τοῖς εὐθέσιν, ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων καὶ δίκαιος. Ὁ μακαριζόμενος τὸ οἰκεῖον φῶς οὐ διαλείπει, ἐξανατέλλων οὐ πᾶσι, τὴν διδασκαλίαν δὲ τοῖς εὐθέσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ τῆς γνώσεως φῶς ἔνδον ἐν τῇ τῶν εὐθέων γενεᾷ παρέχων, καὶ τοὺς εὐθεῖς φωτίζων. Χρηστὸς ἀνὴρ ὁ οἰκτείρων καὶ κιχρῶν. Οὐκ ἀποκλείει τὰ ἑαυτοῦ σπλάγχνα, ἀλλὰ μεταδίδωσι τῶν ὑπαρχόντων τοῖς δεομένοις, διὰ τὸ φυλάττειν ἐντολὴν τὴν λέγουσαν· Τίς ἆρα πιστὸς καὶ φρόνιμος οἰκονόμος, ὃς ἐν καιρῷ δώσει τὸ σιτομέτριον τοῖς συνδούλοις; Μακάριος ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος, ὃν ἐλθὼν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ εὑρήσει ποιοῦντα οὕτως. Ἀληθῶς λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν αὐτοῦ καταστήσει αὐτόν. Οἰκονομήσει τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ ἐν κρίσει, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα οὐ σαλευθήσεται. Ὁ τοιοῦτος, φησὶ, καὶ τοιαῦτα πράττων, οὔτε πεσεῖται, οὔτε σαλευθήσεται τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν στάσεως. Οὔτε γὰρ ἀπειλαῖς ἀρχόντων πτήξει, οὔτε τῶν θορυβεῖν καὶ ταράττειν αὐτὸν πειρωμένων ἐν καιροῖς περιστατικοῖς. Εἰς μνημόσυνον αἰώνιον ἔσται δίκαιος, ἀπὸ ἀκοῆς πονηρᾶς οὐ φοβηθήσεται. Οὐδ' ἐκ λόγων ψευδῶν, ἐπαγγελλομένων μὲν ἀλήθειαν, ἐπηρμένων δὲ κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, πείσεταί τι δεινὸν, ἅτε δὴ τεθεμελιωμένος ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν, καὶ μηδενὸς αὐτὸν χωρίζοντος ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Ἑτοίμη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ Κύριον, ἐστήρικται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ· οὐ μὴ φοβηθῇ, ἕως οὗ ἐπίδῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα, φησὶν, οὐ σαλευθήσεται, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀπὸ ἀκοῆς πονηρᾶς φοβηθήσεται, ἐπειδὴ ἑτοίμη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ Κύριον. Ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἐποίησεν· Ἑδραία ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἀμέριμνος ἐν Κυρίῳ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τῶν τοιούτων θορύβων καταφρονεῖ· καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐ δέδιε τοὺς δυσμενεῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων