Exultation and the Righteous

Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, δίκαιοι, ἐν Κυρίῳ· τοῖς εὐθέσι πρέπει αἴνεσις Συνήθης τῇ Γραφῇ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως ἡ φωνὴ, φαιδροτάτην τινὰ καὶ περιχαρῆ κατάστασιν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀξίοις εὐθυμίας ἐμφαίνουσα.  Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε οὐν, δίκαιοι, ἐν Κυρίῳ· μὴ ὅταν ὑμῖν εὐθηνῆται τὰ κατὰ τὸν οἶκον, μὴ ὅταν εὐεκτῆτε τῷ σώματι, μὴ ὅταν αἱ ἄρουραι πληθύνωσι καρπῶν παντοδαπῶν· ἀλλ' ὅτι Κύριον ἔχετε, τοιοῦτον μὲν τὸ κάλλος, τοιοῦτον δὲ τὴν ἀγαθότητα, τὴν σοφίαν τοιοῦτον. Ἀρκείτω ὑμῖν ἡ ἐπ' αὐτῷ εὐφροσύνη. Καὶ ἔοικεν ὁ μετ' εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς ἐπαγαλλόμενος τινι τῶν περισπουδάστων, οὕτως ἀγαλλιᾷν ἐπ' αὐτῷ. Διὸ τοὺς δικαίους παρορμᾷ ὁ λόγος αἰσθάνεσθαι μετὰ τοῦ ἀξιώματος, ὅτι τοιούτου Δεσπότου δοῦλοι εἶναι κατηξιώθησαν, καὶ ἐπαγάλλεσθαι αὐτοῦ τῇ δουλείᾳ μετὰ χαρᾶς ἀμυθήτου καὶ σκιρτημάτων, τῆς καρδίας οἱονεὶ πηδώσης τῷ ἐνθουσιασμῷ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Εἴ ποτέ σου τῇ καρδίᾳ οἱονεὶ φῶς ἐμπεσὸν ἀθρόαν Θεοῦ ἔννοιαν ἐνεποίησε, καὶ περιέλαμψε σου τὴν ψυχὴν, ὥστε ἀγαπῆσαι μὲν τὸν Θεὸν, καταφρονῆσαι δὲ κόσμου καὶ τῶν σωματικῶν πάντων, ἐκ τῆς ἀμυδρᾶς ἐκείνης καὶ βραχείας εἰκόνος γνώρισον τὴν ὅλην τῶν δικαίων κατάστασιν, ὁμαλῶς καὶ ἀδιακόπως τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ εὐφροσύνην κατορθούντων. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΛΒ' Ψαλμον

Exult, O righteous, in the Lord, praise befits the upright. 1 Common to the Scriptures is the voice of exultation, which shows by hilarity and happiness the state of the soul in those worthy of joy. Exalt, then, do the righteous in the Lord. And may we not exult when it happens to us that the things of our house prosper, nor when we have the goods of the body, nor when the fields are full of every kind of fruit, but because we have the Lord, with such beauty, such goodness, such wisdom. And may the joy of it be pleasing to you. And as a man who abounds in something appears with joy and cheer rejoicing, so rejoice in this. And may these words encourage the righteous, that they regard they own worth, and that they exult to be worthy of being servants of such a Master, in that service exulting with unspeakable joy and excitement, with the heart jumping from the infusion of the love of the good. If ever on your heart this light falls and you are suddenly given the knowledge of God, and your soul is enlightened, that you love God and disdain the world and all worldly things, from that faint and brief similitude, understand the whole state of the righteous, who uniformly and immovably delight in God. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 32 1 Ps 32.1