Commentary on the Psalms 42

'Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord.'

'Lord, hearken unto the voice of my supplication.'

What is the meaning of 'Out of the depths'? Not merely from the mouth, nor merely from the tongue;

for even when the mind is wandering, words are poured forth;

but rather from the deepest heart, with much earnestness and zeal, from the very foundations of the mind.

For such are the souls of the afflicted;

they stir the whole heart together, and with much contrition they call upon God;

for prayers of this kind have great power, being neither overturned nor shaken, even though the devil should come upon them with great violence.

For just as a strong tree, sending its root down deep into the earth and clasping tightly its inmost recesses, stands firm against every rush of the winds, whereas that which lies near the surface is shaken by the slightest breeze that falls upon it, and, torn up by the roots, lies flat upon the ground;

even so also do prayers: those which rise up from below and are rooted in the depth, even though ten thousand thoughts assail them, even though the whole array of the devil come upon them, remain persistent and unyielding, not being overturned;

but those which proceed from the mouth and the lips, and do not rise up from below, cannot even ascend to God, because of the slothfulness of the one who approaches.

For as for such a man, even if some noise arise, it overturns him;

and if there be a tumult, it draws him away from his supplication.

And the mouth indeed rings out, but the heart is empty and the mind is a wasteland.

But the saints did not pray in this way; rather, they prayed with such intensity that their whole [being was strained toward it].

At any rate the blessed Elijah, when he prayed, first of all sought out a solitary place;

then, placing his head between his knees and kindling himself with great fervour, he in this manner sent up his prayers.

But if you wish also to behold him standing upright in prayer, look at him once more stretched out toward heaven, and so intensely stretched out that he even brought down fire from above.

So too, when he wished to raise up the widow's little child, he braced his whole self together and wrought that resurrection, not slackening nor yawning as we do, but growing hot with the eagerness of his prayer.

And why do I speak of Elijah and those saints? I have often seen women, on account of a husband away from home or a sick child, praying so from the depths and pouring forth such fountains of tears that they attained the very end of their prayer.

But if women grow so fervent in prayers for a child and an absent husband, what pardon will a man have who grows soft while his soul lies dead? For this very reason, though we pray often, we again withdraw empty.

Hear how Hannah prayed from the depths, what fountains of tears she poured forth, how she was lifted up on high by her prayer.

For he who prays in this way, even before receiving what he asks, reaps great and good fruits from his prayer: he calms all his passions, softens his anger, casts out envy, melts away lust, withers his craving for the things of this life, sets his soul in deep serenity, and mounts up at last to heaven itself.

For just as rain falling upon hard ground, or fire, softens iron;

so does such prayer, more powerfully than fire and more than rain, soften and soak through the hardness of the mind that comes from the passions.

For the soul is indeed tender and easily moulded;

but that very thing which the water of the Danube often suffers, being turned to stone by the frost, this our soul also suffers, being hardened by sin and by much slothfulness and turned into stone.

We have need, therefore, of great warmth,

so as to soften what is hard.

And this above all is what prayer accomplishes.

When, therefore, you take prayer in hand, do not seek this only, that you may receive what you ask;

but seek also that in that very prayer you may make your soul better.

For this too is a work of prayer.

He who prays in this way becomes superior to the things of this life, takes wing in his mind, makes his reasoning light, and is captured by none of the passions.

'Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.'

He sets down two things here, both the 'Out of the depths' and the 'crying out';

by 'cry' meaning not the loudness of the voice, but the disposition of the mind.

'O Lord, hearken to my voice.'

From this we learn two things: first, that one cannot simply obtain the things that come from God unless what depends on us is present;

wherefore he says first, 'Out of the depths have I cried,' and then, 'Hearken';

next, that prayer which is intense and full of tears of compunction has great power to persuade God to assent to what is spoken.

For as though he had achieved some great thing and fulfilled his own part, he thus added:

'O Lord, hearken to my voice.'

'Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.'

By 'ears' he means the faculty of hearing;

and again he says 'voice,' hinting not at the strain of the breath nor at the shouting, but at the intense disposition.

'If thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?' For lest anyone say, 'Being a sinner and full of countless evils, I cannot draw near and pray and call upon God,' he removes this pretext by saying:

'If thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?' For the word 'who' here means 'no one.'

For it is not possible—it is not—for anyone who renders an exact account of his deeds ever to obtain mercy and loving-kindness.

And we say these things not to cast souls into slothfulness, but to console those who are falling into despair.

For who shall boast that he has a pure heart, or who shall speak freely that he is clean from sins? And why do I speak of

others? For if I should bring Paul into the midst and be willing to demand of him an exact scrutiny of what he has done, he would not be able to stand.

For what indeed could he say? He had read the prophets with exactness, being a zealot for the ancestral law; he had seen signs being wrought, and yet he remained a persecutor, and did not turn aside until he enjoyed that wondrous vision and heard that awful voice:

But before this he remained mixing and confounding all things together.

Yet nevertheless God passed by all those things, and called him, and counted him worthy of much grace.

And what of that chief one, Peter? Was it not after ten thousand wonders and signs, and after so much exhortation and counsel, that he was convicted of falling into that grievous fall? Yet nevertheless God passed even that by, and set him first of the apostles.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to sift you as wheat;

but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.

And even after these things, if He should come to judge not with mercy and lovingkindness, but should make an exact scrutiny, He will assuredly find all men liable.

I know nothing against myself, yet am I not thereby justified.

If You should mark iniquities, O Lord, Lord.

The doubling is not made simply, but belongs to one who marvels and is astonished at the great mass of His lovingkindness, and at His boundless majesty, and at the immense sea of His goodness.

Who shall stand? And he did not say, Who shall escape? but, Who shall stand? Not even to stand, he says, will one be able.

For with You there is propitiation.

What does it mean, For with You there is propitiation? It is not in our own righteous deeds, but in Your goodness, that escape from punishment lies.

For to escape the judgment rests in Your lovingkindness.

And unless we enjoy this, our own doings do not suffice to snatch us out of the wrath to come.

This too He declared through the prophet, saying:

I am He who blots out your iniquities.

That is to say, This is Mine, it belongs to My goodness, to My lovingkindness.

For your own doings never suffice for deliverance from punishment, unless that which belongs to My lovingkindness be added.

For Your name's sake have I waited for You, O Lord.

My soul has waited for Your word; my soul has hoped in the Lord.

Another translator has: For Your law's sake.

Yet another again: That Your word may be made known.

And what he means is this:

Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your law, I have looked for salvation;

for if I had looked to my own deeds, long ago would I have despaired, long ago would I have given up all hope;

but now, giving heed to Your law and to Your word, I have good hopes.

By what word? By that of lovingkindness.

As the heaven is distant from the earth, so are My counsels distant from your counsel, and My ways from your ways.

According to the height of the heaven above the earth, the Lord has made mighty His mercy toward those who fear Him.

As far as the east is distant from the west, so far has He removed our iniquities from us.

That is to say, I did not save only those who had done right, but I also spared those who sinned, and in the very midst of your transgressions I displayed My succor and My tender care.

Another says: That You may be feared, I waited for the Lord.

Feared by whom? By my enemies, by those who plot against me, by those who bear me enmity.

And again, what does it mean, For Your name's sake? Because, even if I am a sinner, he says, and laden with ten thousand evils, yet I knew that, lest Your name be profaned, You would not have overlooked us perishing.

This He Himself also says in Ezekiel:

It is not for your sakes that I do this, but for My name's sake, that it may not be profaned among the nations.

That is to say, we were not worthy to be saved, nor did we have from our deeds any good expectation;

but because of Your name we look to be saved, and this hope of salvation is left to us.

Another: For fear's sake I waited for the Lord.

My soul has waited for Your word.

Another translator renders it: 'My soul waited in hope for His word.'

Another: 'My soul endured, and I awaited His word with earnest expectation.'

That is to say: from His promises and His unbroken pledges concerning His loving-kindness and His goodness I held, as it were, a sacred anchor, and I did not despair of my own condition.

From the morning watch until night let Israel hope upon the Lord.

That is to say, throughout the whole night and day.

For nothing is so conducive to salvation as to look continually to God and to hang upon that hope, even though ten thousand things fall upon us that would cast us into despair.

This is a wall that cannot be breached; this is a security that cannot be conquered; this is a tower that none can storm.

Therefore, even if circumstances threaten death and danger and utter destruction, do not fall away from hoping in God and looking for the salvation that comes from Him.

For all things are easy and effortless to Him, and out of what has no way through He will be able to find a way.

Do not, then, expect to enjoy His alliance only when your affairs are running smoothly with the current;

but especially then, when there is a surging sea and a storm, and the danger of the uttermost extremities hangs over you.

For it is then above all that God most fully displays His own power.

One must hope in the Lord continually, all one's days, throughout the whole of one's life.

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.

And He Himself shall redeem Israel out of all his iniquities.

What does it mean, 'For with the Lord there is mercy'? There, he says, is a fountain and a treasure of loving-kindness, gushing forth without ceasing.

And where there is mercy, there also is redemption;

and not simply redemption, but plenteous redemption, and a boundless ocean of loving-kindness.

Therefore, even if we have been betrayed by our sins, we must not sink down, nor give ourselves up to despair.

For where there is mercy and loving-kindness, no strict reckonings are made of the offences that have been committed, since the Judge, on account of His great mercy and His readiness to loving-kindness, passes over the many.

For such is God: ever inclined and ready to show mercy and to grant pardon.

And He Himself shall redeem Israel out of all his iniquities.

If, then, He is of such a nature, and the greatness of His loving-kindness is poured out everywhere, it is plain that He will also save His people, and deliver them not only from punishment, but from their very sins as well.

Knowing this, therefore, let us continue calling upon Him and beseeching Him, and let us never fall away, whether we receive or whether we do not receive.

For if He is Lord of the giving, He is also Lord of when to give, and He Himself knows exactly the fitting time.

Let us therefore continue supplicating, beseeching, taking courage in His mercy and His loving-kindness, and let us never despair of our own salvation, but let us bring forward what is ours, and what is His will assuredly follow, since with Him the mercy is unspeakable and the loving-kindness is boundless;

which may it be granted us all to obtain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.