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1 But he that giveth his mind to the law of the most High, and is occupied in the meditation thereof, will seek out the wisdom of all the ancient, and be occupied in prophecies. 2 He will keep the sayings of the renowned men: and where subtil parables are, he will be there also. 3 He will seek out the secrets of grave sentences, and be conversant in dark parables. 4 He shall serve among great men, and appear before princes: he will travel through strange countries; for he hath tried the good and the evil among men. 5 He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and will pray before the most High, and will open his mouth in prayer, and make supplication for his sins. 6 When the great Lord will, he shall be filled with the spirit of understanding: he shall pour out wise sentences, and give thanks unto the Lord in his prayer. 7 He shall direct his counsel and knowledge, and in his secrets shall he meditate. 8 He shall shew forth that which he hath learned, and shall glory in the law of the covenant of the Lord. 9 Many shall commend his understanding; and so long as the world endureth, it shall not be blotted out; his memorial shall not depart away, and his name shall live from generation to generation. 10 Nations shall shew forth his wisdom, and the congregation shall declare his praise. 11 If he die, he shall leave a greater name than a thousand: and if he live, he shall increase it. 12 Yet have I more to say, which I have thought upon; for I am filled as the moon at the full. 13 Hearken unto me, ye holy children, and bud forth as a rose growing by the brook of the field: 14 And give ye a sweet savour as frankincense, and flourish as a lily, send forth a smell, and sing a song of praise, bless the Lord in all his works. 15 Magnify his name, and shew forth his praise with the songs of your lips, and with harps, and in praising him ye shall say after this manner: 16 All the works of the Lord are exceeding good, and whatsoever he commandeth shall be accomplished in due season. 17 And none may say, What is this? wherefore is that? for at time convenient they shall all be sought out: at his commandment the waters stood as an heap, and at the words of his mouth the receptacles of waters. 18 At his commandment is done whatsoever pleaseth him; and none can hinder, when he will save. 19 The works of all flesh are before him, and nothing can be hid from his eyes. 20 He seeth from everlasting to everlasting; and there is nothing wonderful before him. 21 A man need not to say, What is this? wherefore is that? for he hath made all things for their uses. 22 His blessing covered the dry land as a river, and watered it as a flood. 23 As he hath turned the waters into saltness: so shall the heathen inherit his wrath. 24 As his ways are plain unto the holy; so are they stumblingblocks unto the wicked. 25 For the good are good things created from the beginning: so evil things for sinners. 26 The principal things for the whole use of man's life are water, fire, iron, and salt, flour of wheat, honey, milk, and the blood of the grape, and oil, and clothing. 27 All these things are for good to the godly: so to the sinners they are turned into evil. 28 There be spirits that are created for vengeance, which in their fury lay on sore strokes; in the time of destruction they pour out their force, and appease the wrath of him that made them. 29 Fire, and hail, and famine, and death, all these were created for vengeance; 30 Teeth of wild beasts, and scorpions, serpents, and the sword punishing the wicked to destruction. 31 They shall rejoice in his commandment, and they shall be ready upon earth, when need is; and when their time is come, they shall not transgress his word. 32 Therefore from the beginning I was resolved, and thought upon these things, and have left them in writing. 33 All the works of the Lord are good: and he will give every needful thing in due season. 34 So that a man cannot say, This is worse than that: for in time they shall all be well approved. 35 And therefore praise ye the Lord with the whole heart and mouth, and bless the name of the Lord.
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[AD 500] Salvian the Presbyter on Sirach 39:7
The holy book says that everything, day after day, is ruled by the divine will and that God governs all things unceasingly. It says, “The Lord loves wisdom and an ordered life,” and “There is no other God who cares for all.” And still, “Since you are just, you guide all things with equity, and you govern us with great respect.” So then, it speaks to you of God who guides and governs without interruption, but in this passage of Scripture not only is the government of God set forth but the dignity of human beings as well, since by saying “he governs us,” it wants to convey the power of the divine rule, and by saying “with great respect,” it allows us to understand how high is human dignity. Elsewhere in a prophet, it is written, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” God declares the reason why he fills all things: “Because I am with you to save you.” And with these words the Lord makes us understand not only that he governs and fills the universe but also the power and fruits of his presence. The divine presence, of itself, produces this fruit: the salvation of what it fills. And this is why saint Paul says in the Acts of the Apostles, “In him we have life, movement and being.”

Source: THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 2:2.8-9
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Sirach 39:15
The confession of sins is that ordinary confession that is known to you. It is therefore unnecessary to speak of the reasons for its use. We must rather look into confession in praise of God and the proofs that demonstrate it. People are so habituated to calling “confession” the confession of sins that every time they hear the reader say the words, “Confess yourselves,” they beat their breasts, and a kind of noisy buzz arises in their consciences as they are reminded of their duty. This almost always happens, and yet one is not always speaking of the confession of sins. At times, in fact, one speaks of the confession of praise, as in that passage of Scripture where it says, “Confess to the Lord, and in your confession you will say, ‘All the works of the Lord are very good.’ ” When you hear, “In your confession you will say, ‘All the works of the Lord are very good,’ ” it is clear that this is a confession of praise to God and not of your guilt. In this case, you confess that all the works of the Lord are good, not that your actions are bad. And here is another passage about which, as with the previous one, there can be no doubt. The Lord Jesus certainly committed no sin, yet in the Gospel it says, “I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.” And he continues with praise: “Because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to the little ones. Yes, Father, because that is what it pleased you to do.” This is the confession of one who praises God, not of one who accuses himself. Since, therefore, one who confesses either accuses himself or praises God, you should reflect a bit about the advantages of each type of confession.

Source: SERMONS 8:2
[AD 435] John Cassian on Sirach 39:16
All the merits of holiness, though good and useful not only for the present life but also in view of gaining eternity, when compared with the merits of divine contemplation must nevertheless be considered vile and, so to speak, of little worth. And so that this comparison would be confirmed by the authority of the Scriptures, is it not true that the Scripture states comprehensively concerning all the things created by God, “And all the things that God created were very good,” and, “All the things created by God are good in their time”? So then, the things of the present world are not simply called good but superlatively good. For us who live in this world, they serve for the needs of life, of bodily health, or some other useful reason unknown to us. Or, they are even “very good” in that they enable us “to see the invisible things of God from the creatures of the world, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,” through such a great and ordered disposition of the created universe and of all the things existing in it. Yet all of these things will not be deemed worth being called good once they are compared with the future age, in which there will be no alteration of good things and where no interruption of the true blessedness is to be feared.

Source: CONFERENCES 3:23.3
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Sirach 39:33
Your creature had existence from the fullness of your goodness, so that a good that was entirely useless to you and, though it was from you and not equal to you, because it could be created by you, would not fail to exist. What value did the heavens and the earth, which you created in the beginning, have for you? And spiritual and bodily natures, created by you in your Wisdom—let them too declare what they deserve from you, because even the inchoate and the formless beings depend on your Word. In their element, whether spiritual or corporeal, they tend away from you toward disorder and degeneration—although a formless spiritual being is superior to a formed bodily being and a formless corporeal being in turn superior to what is absolutely nothing. Thus they would have remained suspended in your word, formless, if this same word had not called them to your unity, endowed them with form and made all of them very good11 thanks to you, the One and highest Good.

Source: Confessions 13.2.2