1. Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a title.
58:0 This is the 8th Psalm in the second part, that is, of the second fifty. In the last Psalm he showed how
through the humility of his Passion Christ reached the glory of the Resurrection and Ascension, as well as the
scorn of unbelieving Jews who denied his royal dignity by their words and deeds, although they sometimes
appeared to admit it in their words. Here determines their consequent misery. The Psalm at hand, while
directing us to the end, is a warning to you, O Jew, not to destroy David, that is Christ, not in himself but
in the inscription of his title, which you denied in the Passion, after saying -Mat 22:16 Master, we know that
you are true, and teach the way of God in truth. Again, while the preceding Psalm was about Christ's Passion
and Resurrection, this one is about his Crucifixion and the consequent misery for those who denied and
crucified their King.
The Psalm has three parts: (1) a condemnation of the sin of those who crucified him, (2) a threat of punishment
for their sin: "God shall break", (3) a correction of the good who see the punishment of the former: "The just
shall rejoice". In the first, he blames them (1) for doing evil against Christ, (2) for fleeing the good of
correction: "Their madness". In the first, he argues against their malice (1) of heart, (2) of deed: "your hands",
(3) of speech: "they have spoken". In the first, he (1) argues, (2) shows that they deserve this blame: "For in
your heart".
2. If in very deed ye speak justice: judge right things, ye sons of men.
Counselors, leaders, pronounce just verdicts, govern men with justice.
58:1.1.1.1 The idea is: Christ was exalted through his Passion. Therefore, O sons of men, of the Patriarchs
and Prophets who were men, that is, who had the use of reason -Ps 9:21 Let the nations know they are only
men, who have reason and are like God -Gen 1:26 Let us make man in our image and likeness-- judge right
things, carefully investigating the merits of cases -Job 29:16 I examined cases I was not familiar with, not
accepting persons -Prov 18:5 To respect the person of the wicked is not good. -Deut 1:17 Do not accept
persons in judgment. Listen to the least as well as the greatest. Do not (1) turn from the truth out of fear -Sir
7:6 Do not seek to be a judge if you cannot root out crime (2) Nor be lax because of love, as did Felix, the
Prefect of Syria -Acts 24:27 Wanting to show the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul bound. (3) Nor be over-severe
out of hatred, as did the high priest -Acts 23:3 God will strike you, white-washed wall. Do you sit judging me
according to the Law and against the Law order me to be struck? (4) Nor take bribes to judge wrongly, as
those spoken about in Micah 3:11, Their princes judge by bribes. -Ex 23:Do not take a bribe, which blinds
those who can see and twists the words of the just.
You will do this if you really speak justice, with the idea: If you are speaking the truth, then stick to it and give
a right judgement -Wis 1:1 Love justice, you who judge the earth. -2 Chron 19:6 Judges, be careful of what
you are doing, because you are not judging for man but for Yahweh. Not only judges, but all are warned,
because everyone will be judged according as he has shown justice in judging others -Prov 20:10 Varying
weights, varying measures are both an abomination to Yahweh. The weight by which you judge another and
the measure by which you punish him should be the same as the weight by which you judge your own sin and
the measure by which you punish it. Likewise you should judge justly, not doing for any temporal advantage
the works that merit eternal life. -Gregory: Whoever desires an earthly reward for the good that he does is
bearing a precious load for a cheap price.
3. For in your heart you work iniquity:
But no, you act with a malicious heart,
58:1.1.1.2 Here he shows that they deserve to be blamed, because of their malice of heart and perversity of
judgment. The idea is: You do not judge rightly, for you work iniquity interiorly in your hearts -Micah 2:1
Woe to you who plot evil, who lie in bed planning mischief. -Mat 9:4 Why do you cook up evil in your
hearts? You, I say, who live on the earth, absorbed with earthly things which you love -Ps 44:25 For our
neck is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaves to the ground. Because of the earth of the body which you
see, you judge him to be merely a man -Is 53:2 He had no shape or beauty; we saw him and his appearance
was not attractive to us.
your hands forge injustice in the earth.
you lawlessly juggle decisions as you please.
58:1.1.2.1 This is about wickedness in deed, (1) first is multiplication, and (2) secondly the almost natural
attachment to it: "The wicked are alienated". The idea is: You sin in your hearts, but your hands also forge,
gather and amass injustice. This is to do evil -Ex 35:8 for burning (concinnanda) lamps. Strabus says that
cinnus is a collection of different species. So a collection of hair is called cincinnus, like a belt (cinctus) of
hair -Cant 5:2 My head is covered with dew, and my hair (cincinni) with the drops of the night. So to
"concinnate" iniquity is to gather and amass it -Hosee 4:2 Cursing, lying, murder, theft and adultery are
overflowing, and bloodshed touches bloodshed. -Hosee 12:1 He multiplies lies and devastation all day (Vul).
4. The wicked are alienated from the womb; they have gone astray from the womb: they have spoken false
things.
The wicked are hateful from the womb, from birth liars are wayward.
58:1.1.2.2 This is about their almost natural attachment (1) to abandon the good and (2) to do evil: "they have
gone astray". The idea is: Their hands have amassed iniquity, and there is nothing new about that, because the
wicked are alienated from the good since they came from the womb. This is not surprising, because -Eph
2:3 By nature we were sons of wrath, therefore alienated from all good from our very origin -Is 1:4 They have
turned back from him. The womb here can also stand for the Church's teaching . So sinners are alienated
from the womb when they abandon the teachings of the saints -Gen 30:22 God rememberd Rachel and heard
her; God opened her womb. -Is 51:2 Remember Abraham your father and Sarah who gave birth to you.
Note the Gloss, which makes its own distinction concerning this spiritual conception and birth and its
consequences -Ez 16:4 At your birth your umbilical cord, that is, your carnality and superfluity, was not cut.
This seems to be the case of some children who seem to sin almost from the womb and quickly abandon their
baptismal grace, like some birds who try to leave the nest as quickly as they can -Hosee 9:11 Ephraim's glory
will fly away like a bird. These are those who from the womb look for chances to lord it over others -Hosee
9:11 cont. from birth, from the womb, from conception. Seneca said: It is a vile nobility which is born in filty
places.
5. Their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent:
Their venom is like that of a serpent,
58:1.2.1 After their iniquity has been condemned, here their incorrigibility is attacked (1) for their indiscrete
hostile action, like that of an angry snake, (2) for their deliberate obstinacy in malice: "like the deaf asp". The
idea is: They are perverse in heart and deed and speech, and their madness against the good and any
willingness is like that of a serpent which injects venom and corrupts nature. That is what they do to the soul,
feeding it with perverse teaching, as serpents bit the people of Israel in the desert (Num 21:6). The worst
sinners are called serpents, because (1), as the serpent exposes its whole body, it only cares about its head, not
its tail. So these people care only about the present life where they were born, and not about the end -Sir 7:36
In whtever you do, rememer your last days, and you will never sin. (2) Also the serpent sheds its skin, not its
venom. So a sinner sheds his youthful beauty, but not his perversity -Is 65:20 To die at a hundred years is
to die a boy, and a sinner will be cursed for dying at one hundred. -Dan 13:5 Wickedness has come to
Babylon through the elders and judges posing as guides to the people. They cannot mature in morals. A poet
said:
Nequitia est quae te non sinit esse senem
Wickedness is what does not allow you to be an old man.
(3) Likewise it does not see itself nor does it move forward, but looks right and left and moves by twisting. So
sinners see prosperity on their right, which they desire, and adversities on their left which they shun, but see
nothing ahead. Against this -Prov 4:25 Let your eyss be fixed ahead, your gaze be straight before you, as Paul
did -Phil 3:13 Forgetting what is behind, I stretch forward to what is ahead. (4) Likewise the serpent moves
on its whole belly. So the sinner is involved with earthly things with his whole body -Gen 3:14 You will move
on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. The sinner is the same -Ps 44:25 For our neck is bowed
down to the dust; our belly cleaves to the ground. (5) Also it licks dust. So does the sinner with vain glory,
which is called dust -Mat 10:14 Shake the dust off your feet- while for the serpent -Is 65:25 Dust is the bread
of the serpent. -Micah 7:17 They will lick dust, that is, vain glory, like the serpent. (6) Also the serpent hides
to bite, and punctures with its divided tongue. So a sinner, with his double tongue, bites and detracts in secret.
-Qoheleth 10:11 If a serpent bites in silence, it is not worse than one who detracts secretly (Vul), with his
double tongue -Sir 5:17 The reproach of his neighbor has been created for the double-tongued. (7) Also the
serpent fears the spit of a fasting man. So the sinner fears being scorned and spit on by the good, for spitting
is a sign of contempt -Deut 25:9 The woman will pull his sandal off and spit in his face. The Jews spit in the
face of Christ as a sign of contempt (Mat 26). (8) Also a serpent will flee from a naked man, but bite one who
is clothed. So a sinner flees from anyone who leaves all for the sake of Christ, and harms one who gathers
possessions -Mat 19:27 See, we have left everything. This can correspond to Luke 10:19 I gave you power
to trample upon snakes.
like the deaf asp that stoppeth her ears:
they are like an adder that stops its ear,
58:1.2.2.1 Here their obstinacy is compared to an adder, (1) first with the comparison, (2) then an exploration
of the comparison: "that will not hear". The idea is: They also have the madness of the deaf adder, that is,
one that stops its ears, putting one against the ground and its tail into the other. And adders are poisonous
-Ps 140:4 Viper's venom is under their lips. And they make themselves deaf like adders by running away
from doctrine -Ez 23:25 They will cut off your nose, that is, your discretion, and your ears, that is, your
obedience. -Prov 28:9 If anyone closes his ears so as not to hear the Law, his prayer will be an abomination.
See the Gloss for details on this.
6. Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the wizard that charmeth wisely.
that will not hear the voice of charmers, or of skilled enchanters.
58:1.2.2.2 This explanation shows (1) their obstinancy and (2) the extent of their obstinancy: "nor of the
wizard". The idea is: You act like an adder closing its ears, which will not hear, so as to come out of its hole,
the voice of the charmers. So sinners do not listen to the voice of preachers -Jer 8:17 See, I am letting snakes
loose among you, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you, says Yahweh. These were the
worst Jews, whom Stephen could not charm -Acts 7:57 Covering their ears, they rushed together against him.
It was not that they were deaf only to ordinary charmers, but also to the wizard charming wisely, using his
art. Note that a wizard is a charmer who looks for adders for the sake of their poison in most cases, or to make
medicine or to ward off their poison. One who make medicine is comparable to a good preacher who draws
sins from their holes, that is, people's hearts, to make out of them medicine for souls -Is 11:8 The nursing child
shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den.
Note that those who will not hear the word of God are called mad, and that rightly, for (1) they reject medicine,
even though they are sick to the point of death -Ex 47:12 Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for
healing. (2) And they reject bread, although they are members of the family -Lam 4:4 The children beg for
food, but no one gives them anything. This bread should be chewed by meditation, swallowed by love and
digested by action. (3) They reject water, though they are thirsty -Sir 15:3 She gives him the water of wisdom
to drink. (4) They reject fire, though they are frozen -Jer 23:29 Is my word not like fire, says Yahweh. -Prov
30:5 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (5) They reject light,
although they are enveloped in darkness -Ps 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet. (6) They reject a staff,
although they are feeble. This is the staff of Elisha which was stretched over the child to revive him (2 Kings
5:11). They reject consolation, though they are dejected -Rom 15:4 Whatever was written in former days was
written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might
have hope.
7. God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouth: the Lord shall break the grinders of the lions.
God, rip their teeth from their mouths, knock out the fangs of the young lions, Yahweh.
58:2.1.1 After the first part about the sin of the worst sinners, this part is about their punishment, in three
points: (1) the punishment of all Christ's adversaries in general, (2) the mercy of God kindly threatening so that
they may reform: "he bent his bow", (3) the irrevocable misery of those who do not reform: "like wax that
melts". In the first, there are two punishments: (1) their confusion, so that they can no longer contradict the
truth, (2) their annihilation, so that they cannot oppose it: "They shall come to nothing". In the first, there is
(1) the confusion of those who contradict the preaching of Christ, (2) the confusion of those who shouted asking
for his death: "the Lord shall break". The idea is: They spoke falsely and rejected the truth, but at last God
will break their teeth. Deceptive and biting words are the teeth mentioned in the previous Psalm (57:5), Their
teeth are spears and arrows. -Lam 3:16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in
ashes. And that in their mouth, that they may see that their words are false and realize that they are broken
and vain in themselves. That is what happened to the Jews when, with their stories shattered, they were forced
to say (Mat 28:13) that the disciples came at night, while you were sleeping, and took the body -Luke 19:22
I judge you by your own words, wicked servant. And the Lord will break the molars of the lions. The
molars are the teeth that grind. So their voices, by which Christ was broken and in a way ground on the cross,
are the molars of lions -Jer 12:8 My heritage has become to me like a lion in the forest; she has lifted up her
voice against me. But he broke them when he arose and took his prey from Sheol -Job 29:17 I broke the fangs
of the unrighteous, and made them drop their prey from their teeth. -Joel 1:6 Its teeth are lions' teeth, and
it has the fangs of a lioness.
Note that the wicked are like the serpent in anger, the adder in astuteness, the lion in pride. They are said to
have teeth for dividing the goods that they obtain, and molars to chew these goods. On the first -Sir 28:14 A
meddlesom tongue (Albert: teeth) destroys walled cities and overthrows powerful dynasties. On the second
-Sir 28:17 A blow from a whip raises a welt, but a blow from the tongue smashes bones.
8. They shall come to nothing,
Let them flow off like fast running water,
58:2.1.2 The idea is: They will be put to shame, and besides, even though they now seem to be on course,
eventually they will come to nothing, first the nothingness of sin, since sinners count for nothing -Ps 15:4 I
was reduced to nothing and did not know (Vul)- later on to the nothingness of punishment, condemned in hell
-2 Sam 14:14 We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground. -Job 6:15 My companions are
treacherous like a torrent-bed, like freshets that pass away. -Seneca: Every day we die, and the very day in
which we live we divide with death.
he hath bent his bow till they be weakened.
let him shoot his arrows without vigor.
58:2.2 This is about God's mercy threatening so that they will wake up. The idea is: They will be reduced to
nothing, but all these troubles are for their own good, if they wish, because the Lord has bent his bow,
threatening from afar, till they be weakened for their good, that is, till they are sorry for the evil things they
did and repent. This is the weakness that makes one strong -1 Sam 2:4 The weak wrap themselves with
strength. This is how Saul was weakened when he fell, but afterwards he got up stronger (Acts 9) -Micah 1:12
The inhabitants of Maroth were sick looking for something good.
Another interpretation is that the bow stands for the revenged that is intended, with the idea: He bent his bow,
that is, revenge and punishment for sin, till they weakened with an incurable weakeness, which is misery in
hell. This is the bow referred to in Habakkuk 3:9 You brandished your naked bow. -Lam 2:4 He bent his bow
like an enemy. This is the weakness whereby every spirit will faint and all knees will turn to water (Ez 21:12).
9. Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away:
Like someone wasted by AIDS, may he pass on.
58:2.3.1 After stating the punishment of the evil without qualification, and pointing to God's mercy calling
them back, here the Psalmist talks of the incurable misery of those who refuse to be corrected. He states (1)
their very speedy destruction, like wax before the fire, and (2) the reason for their destruction: "fire fell on
them". The idea is: He stretched his bow threatening so that they would turn back, but they would not do so.
Therefore they will be carried away by the fire of evil concupiscence -Sir 9:8 Lust is kindled like a fire.
-Prov 6:27 Can fire be carried in the bosom without burning one's clothes? No, because -Job 31:12 [Lust]
is a fire consuming to Abaddon, burning to the root all my harvest. So they shall be taken away from their
land and scattered throughout the whole world, because they were afraid to lose it if they did not kill Christ
-John 11:48 The Romans will come and sweep away our sanctuary and our nation. And that, like wax
melting before the fire; so they, facing concupiscence, will be liquified by various vices and flow by the fire
of persecution to various lands and places -Job 6:17 In time of heat they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish
from their place. -Micah 1:4 The mountains will melt under him and the valleys will burst open, like wax
near the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.
fire hath fallen on them, and they shall not see the sun.
Like a woman's miscarriage, may they not see the sun.
58:2.3.2.1 Here is the reasons why they are punished: (1) their blindness by the fire of concupiscence, so that
they do not recognize the sentence, (2) their full possession by concupiscence and envy: "Before". The idea
is: They will be taken away and flow like wax throughout the world, and rightly so, because on them has fallen
the fire of pride, which rises upwards -Is 14:13 I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars
of God- and the fire of concupiscence, that is, avarice -Job 1:16 The fire of God fell from heaven and burned
up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them. And they did not see the sun of justice, since they were
blinded by this triple fire -Wis 5:6 We wandered from the way of truth and justice; so the light did not shine
on us and the sun did not rise for us. -Mal 3:21 For you who fear my name, the Sun of justice will rise. Here,
as the Gloss says, it is shown that there are some sins which are both sins and punishment for sins.
10. Before your thorns could know the brier; he swalloweth them up, as alive, thus in his wrath.Before their thorns grow sharp (?), with blazing fury, sweep them away.
58:2.3.2.2 Here is their full possession by sin, (1) which is malice, (2) even in this life, since it is obviously so
in the next: "he swallowed them". The idea is: Beforehand, as we re-arrange the words, they are blinded by
the fire of concupiscence, pride and anger, and that fire is thus in God's anger, but not simply speaking,
because God is not moved when he is angry. Or "thus" shows that their punishment here is nothing compared
to what they will receive in hell. He swallows them up, where the present stands for the future: he will
swallow, as in John 15:6 Such branches are collected, thrown into the fire and burned. As alive, that is, they
are not fully alive, lacking half of life, namely, the life of grace, while they have the life of nature -Luke 10:30
They went away, leaving him half alive. -Deut 9:6 The earth, that is, love of earthly things, opened its mouth
and swallowed them alive. And that before etc.
If the passage is addressed to the wicked, this is the meaning: This will happen to you, O miserable ones,
before the divine thorn bush, still in its tenderness, produces your hard and piercing thorns. It should be
noted that from sin's pleasure, which is soft and beautiful, like a thorn bush in the beginning, there arise
infernal punishments, like thorns from a thorn bush. The idea therefore is that they are absorbed by sin before
they are brought to eternal damnation.
There is another common interpretation which is not contrary to the preceding: Fire will absorb you alive,
and that has happened to you, unhappy people, before your thorns understand, that is, make you understand
by experimental knowledge the thorn bush, which is hell afflicting you most sharply.
Here note that there are thorns (1) of worldly care -Mat 13:7 = Luke 8:7 The thorns grew up and choked them.
But many do not feel their punctures -Job 30:7 They huddled together in the thistles (Vul: considering it a
pleasure). (2) And there are the thorns of remorse of conscience. It is the very sin that punctures conscience
and tortures it -Prov 24:31 There it all lay, deep in thorns. A sin on one's conscience is like a thorn in the
foot. So one who felt this puncture said (Ps 32:4), I turned back to worry, while a thorn was stuck in me
(Vul). (3) And there is the thorn of defence and excuse of sin. For a carnal man punctures the confessor by
excusing his sin -2 Sam 23:6-7 But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be
picked up with the hand; to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. The first thorns lead to
hell. The second give a foretaste of it. The third inevitably lead to it.
11. The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge:
The just man will rejoice when he sees his victory,
58:3.1 After a description of the persecutors of Christ and their punishment, this third part is about the
correction of the good and their joy over God's justice. Or, to put it under one point, it is about the benefit and
utility that comes from the punishment of the wicked. These are three: (1) gladness at the affliction of the evil,
(2) a correction of the saints themselves, and their progress in cleanliness and holiness: "he will wash his
hands", (3) a commendation of God's justice which makes the good progress and punishes the wicked: "And
man shall say". The idea is: The wicked will be punished, and because of that the just shall rejoice when he
sees the revenge, that is, the rightness of divine justice afflicting the evil for their sins. This is not contrary
to Job 31:29 If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them etc.,
because Job is talking about the joy that arises from hatred and rancor of heart. This passage, however, is
about the just man's joy over the divine rightness, which gives joy even now to the saints -Ex 14:31-15:1
Israel saw the great work that Yahweh did against the Egyptians... Then they sang this song to the Lord. I
will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. But they will have greater and more perfect joy in the
future -Is 66:24 All humanity will be satisfied (Vul). That is, they will be happy because God himself is happy
-Prov 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you. -Bernard: Not cruelty, but
the very mode of ordering according to justice should make one happy that God is punishing them. And this
will truly happen -Luke 18:7 And will not God grant justice (Vul: vengeance) to his chosen ones who cry to
him day and night?
he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.
he will wash from his feet the blood of the wicked.
58:3.2 The idea is: The just man will not only rejoice, but he will also be corrected and become cleaner,
because he will wash his hands, that is, his works, from uncleanliness, if he feels that they are unclean, or to
make them cleaner if they are already clean, in the blood of the sinner, that is, in his misery and death, making
that an occasion of praise. -Gregory: The souls of the saints wash their hands in the blood of dying sinners,
because when the punishment of sins is seen, the life of the onlooker is changed. But he will wash not only in
this blood, but also in the most precious blood of Christ -Rev 7:14 They washed their stoles in the blood of
the Lamb, making use of the occasion, so that the more the sinner is dirty, the more the saint shines -Rev 22:11
Let the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.
12. And man shall say: If indeed there be fruit to the just: there is indeed a God that judgeth them on the earth.
And people will say: "To be just is worthwhile. Yes there is a God who governs the earth."
58:3.3 This is the third benefit, and it is a commendation of [God's] justice in (1) rewarding the good, and (2)
punishing the evil: "If indeed". The idea is: Man, that is, one who is rational and good, will rejoice and be glad
at God's justice, and will say to himself, Surely there is a benefit for the just, a sweet reward to refresh him
-Is 3:10 Tell the innocent how fortunate they are, for they shall eat the fruit of their labors. The animal-man,
who almost lacks reason, will not speak this way -1 Cor 2:14 Those who are unspiritual do not receive the
gifts of God's Spirit. Certainly there is a God who is judging them, that is, the evil, on earth, with a
judgement of punishment and affliction -Ps 35:1 Attack, Yahweh, those who attack me. In this verse, the word
"if" is used for "because".
Augustine gives another reading: Man will say, as before, therefore there is a benefit for the just. And there
immediately follows: He will wash his hands etc. Therefore there is a God who is judging them on earth,
that is, the evil will be absorbed by fire. And this is true, because everyone will eat the fruit that he has made.
As for the evil -Prov 1:31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way. As for the good -Sir 6:19
Soon you
will eat of her produce. Therefore the Apostle warns -Col 1:10 Lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing
to him, as you bear fruit in every good work
Note that there are twelve fruits of justice that the just man has from his justice in the present life: (1) an
abundance of temporal things -Is 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
(2)
the subjection of what he ownes to his use and for the good -Ps 8:8 You put all things at his feet. Otherwise
they would not be his, but rather he would belong to them -2 Cor 3:22-23 All things belong to you, and you
to Christ. (3) a growth of spiritual goods -Prov 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day. -2 Cor 3:18 We are transformed into the same image from
one degree of glory to another. (4) a firm rooting of these spiritual goods -Eph 3:17 rooted and grounded in
love. For habit is a second nature. (5) A frequent perception of spiritual consolations in the sorrows of this
world -Ps 94:19 When my cares grew too many within me, your consolations delighted my soul. (6) the
revelation of secrets -Gen 18:17 Yahweh said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? -John
15:15 I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my
Father. (7) Cheerfulness in work, fulfilling Psalm 100:2 Worship Yahweh gladly. -Sir 35:8 With each
contribution show a cheerful face. -2 Cor 9:7 not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver. (8) gladness over the triumph over the devil that he realizes he has. This was prefigured by the joy the
Israelites had in overcoming the Egyptians -Sir 35:7 Happy the man who finds joy in his children, regarding
number 7, and he who lives to see his enemies' downfall, as for this number. (9) a weakening of flesh rebellion
-Gen 32:26 Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him. -Joshua 11:6 You shall hamstring their
horses. -Decimus: Learning is by sure experience. Paul said the same -1 Cor 2:11 so that we may not be
outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. -Sir 34:10 An inexperienced person knows few
things. (11) a foretaste of divine things in contemplation -Ps 34:9 Taste and drink deeply, for Yahweh is sweet.
Jacob said -Gen 32:31, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved. (12) obtaining what he asks
of the Lord -Ps 37:4 Take your delight in Yahweh, and he will grant you your heart's request.
Another twelve fruits of justice are listed in Galatians 5. There are another twelve which will be had in the
future -Ez 47:12 Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree (Albert: twelve on the left,
twelve on the right). On the right it is Christ, the tree of life, who brings forth twelve fruits for the just in the
homeland, on the left he does so with the river of death running down the middle.