So let them keep quiet, let them now see that the real Hercules is the God to whom the faithful say, “God, who is like you? Do not keep silent, or grow gentle, God.” What I had undertaken was to show how “do not grow gentle” means rooting out errors, not people. He does not grow gentle, so he gets angry. But he is God, so he also takes pity. He gets angry, and he takes pity. He gets angry and strikes; he takes pity and heals. He gets angry and does to death; he takes pity and brings to life. In one person he does this. It is not that he does some people to death and brings others to life, but in the same people he is both angry and gentle. He is angry with errors; he is gentle with bad habits put right. “I will strike, and I will heal; I will kill, and I will make alive.” (Deut. 32:39) One and the same Saul, afterward Paul, he both laid low and raised up. He laid low an unbeliever, he raised up a believer. He both laid low a persecutor, he raised up a preacher—St Augustine

Prayers are recited early in the morning so that the first movements of the soul and the mind may be consecrated to God and that we may take up no other consideration before we have been cheered and heartened by the thought of God, as it is written: “I remembered God and was delighted,” and that the body may not busy itself with tasks before we have fulfilled the words “To you will I pray, O Lord; in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will stand before you and will see.” (Psalm 5:3)—St Basil the Great

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As a door leads into a house, so the title of a psalm leads into understanding. Now this one has a heading as follows: “When the house was being built after the captivity.” You ask what house; the psalm shows you straightaway: “Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord, all the earth.” There you are, that is what house it is. When the whole earth sings a new song, it is the house of God. It is built by singing, its foundations are believing, it is erected by hoping, it is completed by loving. So it is being built now, but it is dedicated at the end of the world. Let the living stones, then, come flocking together to the new song, come flocking all together and be fitted together into the fabric of God’s temple. Let them recognize their Savior and receive him as their occupant—St Augustine

As it has been supposed by some that the book of Psalms merely consists of hymns to God and sacred songs and that we shall look in vain in it for predictions and prophecies of the future, let us realize distinctly that it contains many prophecies, far too many to be quoted now, and it must suffice for proof of what Isaiah to make use of two psalms ascribed to Asaph, written in the time of David. For Asaph was one of the temple musicians then, as is stated in the book of Chronicles, and was inspired by the divine Spirit to speak the psalms inscribed with his name―Eusebius of Caesarea

Although fire seems to human intelligence to be incapable of being cut or divided, yet by the command of the Lord it is cut through and divided. I believe that the fire prepared in punishment for the devil and his angels is divided by the voice of the Lord, in order that, since there are two capacities in fire, the burning and the illuminating, the fierce and punitive part of the fire may wait for those who deserve to burn, while its illuminating and radiant part may be allotted for the enjoyment of those who are rejoicing. Therefore, the voice of the Lord divides the fire and allots it, so that the fire of punishment is dark, but the light of the state of rest remains unkindled—St Basil the Great

After that [the killing of Goliath] he never entered on a war without seeking counsel of the Lord. Thus he was victorious in all wars, and even to his last years [he] was ready to fight. And when war arose with the Philistines, he joined battle with their fierce troops, being desirous of winning renown, while careless of his own safety (2 Sam 21:15). But this is not the only kind of fortitude which is worthy of note. We consider their fortitude glorious, who, with greatness of mind, "through faith stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong," (Heb 11:33–34) They did not gain a victory in common with many, surrounded by comrades and aided by the legions, but [they] won their triumph alone over their treacherous foes by the mere courage of their own souls―St Ambrose of Milan

In vain also do they object that what we have established from Scripture in the books of Kings and Chronicles—that when God wills the accomplishment of something which ought not to be done except by people who will it, their hearts will be inclined to will this, with God producing this inclination, who in a marvelous and ineffable way works also in us that we will—is not pertinent to the subject with which we are dealing—St Augustine