The Judgments of the Righteous

Regarding pre-passion: it seemed as if he were falling, but he was not shattered; for when desire has chosen to follow the thought and conquers it through beauty, he is shattered and has fallen. Such are the elders who remain, according to Sosannas. 24 For the Lord upholds his hand. 'Hand' is often said to mean the practice, the active power. Upholding his active power, He does not allow him to fall down completely. He finds where to rest the hand. And the Lord becomes for him a support, according to what was said before: 'And the Lord became my support.' He holds his power so as to say: 'You have grasped the hand of my right, and by your counsel you have guided me.' Behold the grasping 28 and the seed of the ungodly shall be destroyed.

Ungodliness is this. It is being done toward God. The 'seed' stands for 'the offspring of the ungodly.' But the 'seed' can also mean the disposition of the ungodly. And it is destroyed appropriately. In order that it may not bring forth anything remaining, the seed is destroyed. 29 The righteous shall inherit the land and shall dwell upon it for an age of ages. Upon the land spoken of. 30–31 The mouth of the righteous shall meditate on wisdom, and his tongue speaks judgment; his law is in his heart, and his steps shall not be slipped. The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom. When the wise man is enlightened, he brings forth luminous words; for it has been said: 'The wisdom of a man lights up his face.' He who speaks this wisdom has a mind illuminated; for 'discourse' means wisdom expressed in all things of the pious one.' And again, he who obeys the one saying to him: 'Open your mouth with the word of God,' saying: 'I opened my mouth and drew in spirit,' speaks wisdom. Therefore, 'the mouth' of the one 'the righteous shall meditate on wisdom.' He always meditates on wise things, not only the theories of piety, but also the wise things of practice. 'His tongue speaks judgment.' Having been judged, he utters all things; an 'idle word' is not brought forth; for he knows that 'from his own words a person is justified, and from his words he is condemned.' Because of this, having been judged, he speaks. And just as the thoughts of the righteous are judgments—for 'thoughts' are 'judgments'...

Regarding 'judgments': they do not simply have casual thoughts, but judged, examined, and established ones. From such judgments, even a word is brought forth as judged. For this reason, 'the tongue of the righteous speaks judgment.' If it speaks what is judged, it speaks judged and examined thoughts, and its word is of this kind. Furthermore, he gives the reason: 'his law' is not in the ears only, but 'in his heart.' For 'God gives his laws into the heart and writes them upon the mind' (Ps 119:11). Since his heart is filled with the law of God, for this reason he meditates on wisdom and speaks judgment.

This being present and made straight, 'he does not slip in his steps.' He walks straight, he does not stumble—so that I might say it this way—he has upward-pointing feet. He who has upward-pointing feet does not slip, nor does he fall. For the wise has put on 'the preparation of the gospel of peace' (Isa 52:7). 'The preparation of the gospel' becomes the footwear of the righteous; for these shoes are upward-pointing, lifting upwards. For God also says to the soul: 'I have clothed you with hyacinth' (Song 2:3). He did not permit any other to put on this footwear, but He Himself clothed it. And the hyacinth loves to imitate the color of the ether. Therefore, I have clothed you with ethereal footwear.

The sinner perceives the righteous and seeks to kill him. He perceives him not in order to imitate him. Paul writes to the men in Christ: 'perceiving them unto the provocation of love and good works' (2 Cor 9:2) and other things. They perceive in order to imitate them: 'obey' 'those who lead you,' 'who spoke to you the word of God, whose outcome of conduct observing, imitate the faith' (Heb 13:7). Here, perceiving is praiseworthy. But the sinner perceives the righteous, not to imitate, not to accept, but to kill. In both ways the sinner kills the righteous: if he turns him away from righteousness, he kills him, or he kills him by treacherously bringing death against him, as the elders intended to do according to Sosannēs. And he will by no means abandon him into his hands, nor will he condemn him, when...