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Now, who will praise him for what he is? No one. What is the meaning of for his righteousness? In the sense of “for the reason of his righteousness, I shall sing to the Lord most high”. His, after all, are the fruits of victory, his the trophies, not mine. You see, just as in war when the king proves victorious the bystanders sing songs of praise and offer congratulations to him, so shall I do, he says. Hence he did not say, “I give thanks “, but I shall give thanks, indicating that he has neither forgotten the good results after they occurred nor become more indifferent, but stays alert and is awake, not because God requires this but because it is useful and beneficial to us. In other words, just as he accepted sacrifices, not out of need for sacrifices (“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, he says, remember) but to encourage respect for him in human beings, so he also receives songs of praise, not needing honour from us but desirous of our salvation. Dear to God’s heart, after all, is our growth in virtue. Now, nothing so moves us to give ourselves to virtue as constantly conversing with God and ceaselessly giving thanks and praise to God.
