Psalms 71:3

2. For this John, dearly beloved brethren, was one of those mountains concerning which it is written: “Let the mountains receive peace for thy people, and the hills righteousness.” The mountains are lofty souls, the hills little souls. But for this reason do the mountains receive peace, that the hills may be able to receive righteousness. What is the righteousness which the hills receive? Faith, for “the just doth live by faith.” The smaller souls, however, would not receive faith unless the greater souls, which are called mountains, were illuminated by Wisdom herself, that they may be able to transmit to the little ones what the little ones can receive; and the hills live by faith, because the mountains receive peace. …

5. “Let the mountains bear peace to the people, and the hills justice” ( ver. 3 ). The mountains are the greater, the hills the less. These are without doubt those which another Psalm hath, “little with great.” For those mountains did exult like rams, and those hills like lambs of the sheep, at the departure of Israel out of Egypt, that is, at the deliverance of the people of God from this world’s servitude. Those then that are eminent in the Church for passing sanctity, are the mountains, who are meet to teach other men also, by so speaking as that they may be faithfully taught, by so living as that they may imitate them to their profit: but the hills are they that follow the excellence of the former by their own obedience. …

10. Whence the Psalmist at once addeth: “As for such as turn aside, the Lord shall lead them forth unto strangling with the workers of unrighteousness” ( ver. 5 ): that is, those whose deeds they have imitated; because they took delight in their present pleasures, and did not believe in their punishments to come. What then shall they have, who are righteous in heart, and who turn not back? Let us now come to the heritage itself, brethren, for we are sons. What shall we possess? What is our heritage? what is our country: what is it called? Peace. In this we salute you, this we announce to you, this the mountains receive, and the little hills receive as righteousness. Peace is Christ: “for He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Since we are sons, we shall have an inheritance. …

Since, then, Christ is Wisdom, let the intelligent reader consider our opponent’s account of the matter, and our own, and judge which is the more pious, which better preserves in the text those conceptions which are befitting the Divine nature; whether that which declares the Creator and Lord of all to have been made, and places Him on a level with the creation that is in bondage, or that rather which looks to the Incarnation, and preserves the due proportion with regard to our conception alike of the Divinity and of the Humanity, bearing in mind that the great Paul testifies in favour of our view, who sees in the “new man” creation, and in the true Wisdom the power of creation. And, further, the order of the passage agrees with this view of the doctrine it conveys. …