Salmos 55

Salmos 55:19-20

Just as the most holy David blames the stubbornness of miserable and unhappy people who decline to be changed from evil to good during the course of this life, so he announces the coming punishment of divine retribution, saying, "For them there is no change, and they have not feared God." And lest they who were not willing to be changed vainly promise themselves that they will receive the forgiveness of sins at the end of their earthly life, he then added, "He extended his hand in retribution." The beginning of this retribution starts when the wicked person, receiving the reward that his error demanded, by a just judgment is allowed to remain in his wickedness. The completion comes when, for these same iniquities, he will be tortured by eternal fire. Nor should this retribution be considered small by which the wicked person, deprived of the light of justice, is permitted to wander in his darkness, prejudged not by blindness of the flesh but of the heart. This also is relevant to the accumulation of retribution, if the blind person not only is unable to perceive the light but also with pleasure seeks to increase the darkness of his blindness. — ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 2:13.1