Verse 16. He seems moist before the sun comes. 76. Now the hypocrite is believed to be holy, but when Christ comes he will appear wicked. Often in sacred speech the Lord is figured under the name of the sun, as it is said through the prophet: But to you who fear the name of the Lord, the sun of righteousness shall arise (Mal. 4:2). And as the impious who are repelled in judgment are described in the book of Wisdom as saying: We have erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness has not shone upon us, and the sun has not risen upon us (Wis. 5:6). Before the sun, therefore, the rush is seen to be moist, because before the divine strictness shines white in judgment, every hypocrite makes a show of himself as suffused with the grace of holiness;
he is beheld as though verdant, because he is esteemed righteous, holds a place of honour, is potent in the glory of holiness, veneration is paid to him by all, the report of his praise is extended. And so this rush is moist in the night; but when the sun comes it is dried up, because indeed the hypocrite is believed by all to be holy in the darkness of the present life, but when the strict Judge shall have come, it will appear how wicked he is. Let him say therefore: He seems moist before the sun comes, because he now shows himself verdant to human eyes, but then in the heat of the divine judgment he shall wither. There follows: