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1 For thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things. 2 Therefore chastenest thou them by little and little that offend, and warnest them by putting them in remembrance wherein they have offended, that leaving their wickedness they may believe on thee, O Lord. 3 For it was thy will to destroy by the hands of our fathers both those old inhabitants of thy holy land, 4 Whom thou hatedst for doing most odious works of witchcrafts, and wicked sacrifices; 5 And also those merciless murderers of children, and devourers of man's flesh, and the feasts of blood, 6 With their priests out of the midst of their idolatrous crew, and the parents, that killed with their own hands souls destitute of help: 7 That the land, which thou esteemedst above all other, might receive a worthy colony of God's children. 8 Nevertheless even those thou sparedst as men, and didst send wasps, forerunners of thine host, to destroy them by little and little. 9 Not that thou wast unable to bring the ungodly under the hand of the righteous in battle, or to destroy them at once with cruel beasts, or with one rough word: 10 But executing thy judgments upon them by little and little, thou gavest them place of repentance, not being ignorant that they were a naughty generation, and that their malice was bred in them, and that their cogitation would never be changed. 11 For it was a cursed seed from the beginning; neither didst thou for fear of any man give them pardon for those things wherein they sinned. 12 For who shall say, What hast thou done? or who shall withstand thy judgment? or who shall accuse thee for the nations that perish, whom thou made? or who shall come to stand against thee, to be revenged for the unrighteous men? 13 For neither is there any God but thou that careth for all, to whom thou mightest shew that thy judgment is not unright. 14 Neither shall king or tyrant be able to set his face against thee for any whom thou hast punished. 15 Forsomuch then as thou art righteous thyself, thou orderest all things righteously: thinking it not agreeable with thy power to condemn him that hath not deserved to be punished. 16 For thy power is the beginning of righteousness, and because thou art the Lord of all, it maketh thee to be gracious unto all. 17 For when men will not believe that thou art of a full power, thou shewest thy strength, and among them that know it thou makest their boldness manifest. 18 But thou, mastering thy power, judgest with equity, and orderest us with great favour: for thou mayest use power when thou wilt. 19 But by such works hast thou taught thy people that the just man should be merciful, and hast made thy children to be of a good hope that thou givest repentance for sins. 20 For if thou didst punish the enemies of thy children, and the condemned to death, with such deliberation, giving them time and place, whereby they might be delivered from their malice: 21 With how great circumspection didst thou judge thine own sons, unto whose fathers thou hast sworn, and made covenants of good promises? 22 Therefore, whereas thou dost chasten us, thou scourgest our enemies a thousand times more, to the intent that, when we judge, we should carefully think of thy goodness, and when we ourselves are judged, we should look for mercy. 23 Wherefore, whereas men have lived dissolutely and unrighteously, thou hast tormented them with their own abominations. 24 For they went astray very far in the ways of error, and held them for gods, which even among the beasts of their enemies were despised, being deceived, as children of no understanding. 25 Therefore unto them, as to children without the use of reason, thou didst send a judgment to mock them. 26 But they that would not be reformed by that correction, wherein he dallied with them, shall feel a judgment worthy of God. 27 For, look, for what things they grudged, when they were punished, that is, for them whom they thought to be gods; [now] being punished in them, when they saw it, they acknowledged him to be the true God, whom before they denied to know: and therefore came extreme damnation upon them.
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[AD 484] Vigilius of Thapsus on Wisdom 12:1
The Father is good, the Son is good, the Holy Spirit is good. About the Father it is written in Psalm 72, “How good is the God of Israel toward those who are pure of heart!” About the Son, “I am the good shepherd” and “Good Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” About the Holy Spirit, in Ezra, “You bestowed on them your good Spirit.”

Source: AGAINST VARIMADUS 3:19
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 12:8
“I will send hornets ahead of you, and they will drive out from your presence the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites.” We ask ourselves what these hornets might mean. God in fact makes this promise, and the book of Wisdom affirms that it occurred, saying, “And he sent them wasps as the vanguard of his army.” But we do not find it written that this took place, neither in the time of Moses, nor under Joshua, nor under the judges nor under the kings. But perhaps these wasps indicate the sting of the fear of understanding that prodded the peoples mentioned so that they would leave their land to the children of Israel. God in fact speaks, and if something is said figuratively in his words that did not take place in the proper sense, this does not preclude putting faith in the account, from which one perceives the truth of the narration. Likewise, neither does the Gospel account lose its historicity if something is said there about Christ in a figurative sense.

Source: QUESTIONS ON THE HEPTATEUCH 2:93
[AD 99] Clement of Rome on Wisdom 12:10
We look over all the generations, and we note that from generation to generation the Master “gave room for repentance” for all those who wanted to turn to him. Noah preached repentance, and all who listened to him were saved. Jonah predicted the destruction of the Ninevites, but, repentant for their sins, God looked favorably on them, and they received salvation, though they were foreigners to God.

Source: 1 CLEMENT 7:5-7
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on Wisdom 12:10
The God who “judges little by little” those he punishes “gives space for repentance.” By not punishing all at once for the sin, he delays the consummation of the punishment for the sinner. He thus punishes, “judging little by little.” We have an example of this in Leviticus. In the curses against those who transgress the Law, after the first punishments it is written, “The Lord says, if you do not repent after these things, I will multiply my blows sevenfold.” And again he sets forth another punishment, “And if, despite these punishments, you do not want to correct yourselves and turn to me but oppose yourselves to me, I will also oppose you with fury.” You will note that God metes out punishments stingily, as it were, since he wants to lead the sinner to conversion instead of making him pay for everything all at once. With respect to the text, then, these are the things that befell the people. And threatening them with how much they might have suffered afterward, the Word says, “And yet in those days, I will not wholly destroy you.”

Source: HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 7:1
[AD 398] Didymus the Blind on Wisdom 12:10
In the time of judgment, which is to say always, he judges everyone, sometimes calling this time the “time of judgment,” sometimes “the day of wrath” and “the day of rendering account.” “Until” this “punishment arrives,” while “the punishment has not yet come,” repent. There is “room for repentance.” “The Lord does not delay in fulfilling his promise, as some believe, but is patient toward you, not wanting that anyone should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Since therefore an extension is given to you for repentance, repent before “the punishment comes.”

Source: ON ECCLESIASTES 12:1c
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 12:11
Why would it have been written, “Their offspring was accursed from the beginning”? In fact, it was not said in the same sense in which we read, “offspring of Canaan and not of Judah,” where it was shown to what persons they had become similar and from what persons they had degenerated. Rather, it called accursed the offspring of those very people whom it wanted us to understand to be naturally evil, as are all of the children of Adam. From among these, by grace, children of God are made.

Source: UNFINISHED TRACTATE AGAINST JULIAN 3:11
[AD 403] Epiphanius of Salamis on Wisdom 12:12
We are all descendants of Adam, according to an order of succession that has reached to us. Nor are the works of God to be understood allegorically: Adam did exist, the fig leaves existed, the fig tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree set in the middle of the garden, the serpent, the disobedience, the obedience. The rivers existed, as did Eve. And everything was truly made by God, because “to him all things are possible,” he who can make corruptible things incorruptible and earthly things perfect in incorruptibility. No one should wonder at this. Indeed, he gave us proof of this when he clothed his divinity with corruptible flesh, to offer us a model of incorruptibility in the flesh he assumed. “Who will oppose what he has done?” Let us now examine another exegetical aspect. The Scripture says that God cast them out of the garden, placing two cherubim with flaming swords to guard the entrance to the tree of life, so that Adam and Eve took up their dwelling opposite the garden, barred from Paradise. But this notwithstanding—let no one deceive you with empty words—“God, who can raise up his children from stones,” was able to change corruptible beings into incorruptible, and he can do so at any time that he wants to make of the earth a place of peace, a paradise. In fact, earth and heaven do not have a different God, but everything is his, and he lavishes the gift of incorruptibility on every being as he wishes.

Source: ANCORATUS 61:1-7
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 12:12
The liberating grace of God appeals to us on every page of Scripture, so that we would entrust ourselves to it. And this psalm, of which we have begun to speak, by your leave, sings of it. May the Lord help us, so that grace would be given us to understand it as we should and to describe it according to your needs. In this, the love and the fear of God greatly urge us on. The fear of God, because he is just. The love of God, because he is merciful. “Who, in fact, could remonstrate with him” if he were to condemn the godless? How great, then, is his mercy when he justifies the godless!

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 70:1.1
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 12:18
Why did he not say “in wrath” but “as in wrath”? Because God does everything with absolute tranquility. Indeed, it is also written, “You, master of strength, judge with gentleness.” Therefore, even when he threatens he does not become angry, nor is he disturbed in any way. It calls him angry because he punishes and does justice. Similarly, people who do not want to amend their lives are as though they were alive, but they do not live, because vengeance for the first sin, and for those that they have added, hangs over them. This vengeance is called the wrath of God, because it proceeds from God’s judgment. Thus the Lord says of the one who does not believe, “but the wrath of God hangs over him.” We also, being born mortal, were under the wrath of God. Therefore the apostle says, “We were once by nature deserving of wrath, like the others.” What does “by nature deserving of wrath” mean, if not that we carry with us the wrath of the first sin? But if we convert, wrath ceases, and grace is offered to us. If, however, you do not want to convert, you add other offenses to the ones you were born with. And, “as in wrath,” you will be devoured even in the present time.

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 57:20
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 12:18
How is it that it is written, “Power is in your hands whenever you want,” as if God needs a period of time to carry out some work? Or, rather, are all things accomplished by God (as we say) like an artist thinks out a design—not over an extended period of time—but by that power that accomplishes in an enduring way even those things that we see are not enduring but passing? Even with our own speech, when some words pass away while others follow, we should not think that the same thing happens with the thought that gave rise to the expression we just finished. Consequently, although God, who exercises power when he wishes, accomplishes his works without the passage of time, nonetheless temporal natures themselves carry out their movements within time.

Source: UNFINISHED LITERAL COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 1:7.28
[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 12:18
With respect to existence and power, the Trinity is everywhere, wholly one God, filling all things with his power, not by his mass but wholly in each creature, and simultaneously wholly in all creatures. Regarding our thoughts, it is said that God descends to our level when he divinely moderates his word in such a way that he condescends to communicate his knowledge and love to us, speaking to us in a human way. Conversely, he rises in us when we ascend in charity and knowledge of the divinity, learning not to look for anything local in him who is infinite, or think that there is anything lowly in him who is sublime, or believe that there is anything changeable in God or think that there is anything temporary in him who is eternal.This is the way we are to understand the manifestation of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it is said that God rested in the beginning after having finished the creation of the world, although he was not fatigued by his work, because he accomplished everything solely by his will. To him it was said, “You exercise power when you wish,” as we hear in the psalm, “Whatever the Lord wishes he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the depths.”

Source: THREE BOOKS TO TRASAMUNDUS 2:11-12
[AD 533] Fulgentius of Ruspe on Wisdom 12:18
Abraham, “father of us all,” as the apostle says, “did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief but was strengthened in faith and gave glory to God, fully convinced that what he had promised, he was also able to do.” There is therefore no falsehood whatsoever in God’s promises, since no obstacle can stand before the action of the Almighty. And consequently, the effect of his will can ever fail, since we discover that his will itself is nothing other than his power. He who can do whatever he wants can want anything. Only of him, then, can it be truly said, “Whatever he wanted, he did.” And further, “You exercise power when you wish.” For this reason we said that in him there is as much power of the will as there is the will itself of the power. Since “power always accompanies his will,” in him will and power are one. In fact, just as God is not constrained by any necessity to promise what he does not want to do, so he is not impeded by anything in doing what he has promised to a lesser degree than he wants to or to delay its realization.

Source: LETTER TO MONIMUS 1:12.4-13:1
[AD 418] Pelagius on Wisdom 12:19
Their just God, teacher of mercy and compassion—who would later bestow the Law (by which he would give his people the precepts that would enable them to act with mercy and compassion and to do good works)—wanted them to first suffer every kind of affliction, tribulation and anguish in a foreign land. This was so they would more easily pity those who suffer these same things and so respect his commandments. Imagine a wise farmer who, before sowing the seed, takes time to soften the land with plow and rake, so that the seed that he entrusts to it will not be lost. Likewise God soaks and softens his people for a long time before bestowing on them the salutary seeds of the commandments. Finally, so that it would be even more evident that this was why he inflicted these things on his people, we see that the Lord says in his commandments, “Do not molest or oppress the alien, because you were aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.” We also read, “The great God, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes, who renders justice to the alien, the orphan and the widow. Delight in giving them bread and clothing, because you were like them in the land of Egypt.” And elsewhere it says, “When harvesting your fields, if you miss a sheaf, do not go back to get it. It will be for the alien, the orphan and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of your hands. You will remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this.” It is easy, then, to recognize that this is why he afflicted his people with every kind of misery, so that from what happened to them they would learn to be merciful toward others, as it is written, “In this way you taught your people that the righteous must love.” In my opinion, it is very clear how God wants his people to be and how he shows, with many examples, the works by which they can gain his kindness.

Source: ON THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 8
[AD 403] Epiphanius of Salamis on Wisdom 12:24
The Greeks did nothing other than design in the images of the gods their peculiar passions, almost so as to be able to contemplate them with their eyes. The bloodthirsty person called his passion Ares. The adulterer and the adulteress, promiscuous Aphrodite. The tyrant, winged Victory. The squalid person, entirely caught up in lust for possessions, designed Cronus as his archetype. The effeminate, Cybele, also known as Rhea, I believe because of the flowing moods of sexual contact. Those who are always breathlessly moving about portrayed as their type Artemis the hunter. The drunkard, Dionysus. The one who faced many difficulties, Heracles. One who had sexual intercourse with anyone, Zeus and Apollo. But it is pointless to enumerate all the passions that agitate human beings. Indeed, the Egyptians deviated from the truth more than anyone, not only worshiping their passions but also exchanging the supreme Orderer2 for winged creatures and four-legged animals, for wild and ferocious animals of land and sea—in short, with the beasts that the God of holiness had given them to serve them. They deviated more than others because, in a completely irrational way, they divinized the animals of their region. Even now they are not ashamed to worship the barking dog or the polecat who eats reptiles, the goat, symbol of incontinence, and the sheep, symbol of weakness, or the huge, terribly sad crocodile, or the ibis that feeds on poison, the kite and the sparrow hawk, or the crow, which seems the most despicable of all animals, and the serpent, who deviously slithers and is totally disgusting.

Source: ANCORATUS 103:1-5
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on Wisdom 12:26
For the one who does good, there are two judgments referred to in the Scriptures, one secret and the other manifest. The secret one takes place now, and the apostle Peter says of it, “It is time for judgment to begin with the household of the Lord.” It follows that the secret judgment is the pain by which each person is tormented now, so that he purifies himself, or by which he is admonished so that he converts or, if he has despised God’s calling and his teachings, he remains blind to damnation. The manifest judgment is rather that by which the Lord, when he comes, will judge the living and the dead, when all will know that it is he who assigns rewards to the good and torments to the wicked. But then, such a confession will not be a remedy for evils but a storing up of condemnation. It seems to me that the Lord spoke of these two judgments when he said, “The one who believes in me will pass from death to life and will not be judged,” that is, in the manifest judgment. In fact, the passing from death to life by means of the various sufferings with which God chastises every child he receives is precisely the secret judgment. “The one who does not believe,” rather, “is already judged,” that is, in this secret judgment he has already made himself ready to undergo the manifest one. We also read of these two judgments in Wisdom, where it is written, “As to reckless young people, therefore, you sent them a judgment to mock them. But those who were not corrected by this judgment experienced the just judgment of God.” Therefore, those who do not correct themselves following this secret judgment of God will be punished as they deserve in the manifest one.

Source: EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 9:1
[AD 484] Vigilius of Thapsus on Wisdom 12:27
And if they were to repeat what the Son said? “Those who know you, the one true God, and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.” Response: That the Son is true, just as the Father is, we demonstrate with the words of the prophets and the Gospels, since Isaiah says, “But my servants will be called by another name, which will be blessed on the earth, and they will bless the true God. And those who swear on earth will swear by the true God.” And in Solomon, “They will be ashamed of those who believed that it was the gods who punished them. Seeing him whom they had previously denied, they recognized the true God.” And in the psalm, “Truth sprung up from the earth, and justice looked down from heaven.” And the Lord in the Gospel, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” And in the same place, written of the Father, “Your word is truth.” Then in the letter of John the apostle, “We know that the Son of God has come, and God has given us understanding to know what is true, and so that we would be in his true Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” You must therefore acknowledge the unity of the Father and the Son, since the divine Scripture never fails to proclaim that, like the Father, the Son is true God.

Source: AGAINST VARIMADUS 1:34