Commentary on the Psalms 56

'Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands for the battle-line, my fingers for war.'

What are you saying? Is God a teacher of wars, and of battle, and of the battle-array? Assuredly so;

one would not err in reckoning even the victory in these things to Him.

For this is what he means: 'Who teacheth my hands.'

That is to say, the One who causes me to prevail over my enemies, to gain the mastery, to set up a trophy of victory.

For indeed, when he struck down Goliath, it was He who was the author of the victory;

and when he brought many wars to a successful end, and set up trophies, and captured certain enemy cities together with their men, it was He who made him prevail.

'The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in war.'

And in the case of Moses too He wrought many such things.

But there is also another war, more grievous than this one, in which we most of all need help from on high, whenever we are drawn up in battle against the opposing powers.

And that our warfare is against these, hear Paul saying:

'Our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age;'

for this reason too it is more grievous, because the hostile ranks are of a different nature, and that an invisible one, and because the contest is not over small matters, but over salvation and destruction.

Here it is not possible to see those who are being slain, nor to learn the time beforehand, nor the difficulty, nor the place, nor anything else of the kind.

For indeed, both in the marketplace and in the house, and while we are at play and taking our ease, these ranks fall upon us;

so that we must be fortified and on guard at all times.

For this war knows no truce, nor has it heralds, nor ambassadors, nor anything else of the kind, but the battle is one without any declaration;

we must be fortified on every side and vigorously nourished.

And the nourishment of this war, and the weapons of such soldiers, is the hearing of the divine Scriptures.

He who does not partake of this wastes away with famine.

'For I will send them,' He says, 'not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord.'

Here too, therefore, just as in the wars that are perceived by the senses, there is need of help from above.

For 'a king is not saved by great power,' it says, 'and a giant shall not be saved by the abundance of his strength.'

'A horse is a false hope for safety, and by the abundance of its power it shall not be saved.'

Indeed it was in this way that the multitude put their enemies to flight: prayers going first before them, and casting down the hostile battle-lines.

'My mercy and my refuge, my helper and my deliverer.'

Do you see how once again he asks to be saved out of God's loving-kindness? Rather, he even hints here at something further.

For by this he shows and declares: 'I was not even worthy of that very mercy, had He Himself not consented to it.'

'He Himself, therefore, is my mercy,' he says.

'It was not I who obtained it by my works.'

For even though it is mercy, yet it does not come indiscriminately upon all.

'For I will have mercy,' He says, 'on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion on whomever I show compassion.'

It is necessary, therefore, if we are indeed to be shown mercy, that we ourselves supply from within the occasions for such loving-kindness.

But this man declares that he has even the very fact of being shown mercy from Him.

Did you see a contrite soul? Did you see a right-minded disposition, and how he ascribes the whole to the God who loves mankind? 'My helper, and my deliverer, my defender.'

Continually he turns his hope back toward Him, teaching all not to be overwhelmed by dreadful things, but even in the midst of them—

in the midst of calamities, to keep looking there with open longing, and neither to give up nor to collapse.

For He Himself is my helper and my deliverer.

So that even if He does not come to our aid at the very first onset of dreadful things, nor deliver us at once, we must take courage.

If, then, He Himself is our helper, He will free all from their dreadful troubles.

For hope is most truly hope then, when—though the things seen cast one into despair—it prepares him to take courage for what is to come.

'He who subdues my people under me.'

For here too there is need of help from above, so that subjects may yield and not rebel, nor rise up in revolt.

So it is not only in the subjection of foes and enemies, but also in that of our own people, that we have great need of the inclining of favor from above.

For this too is a great thing—to order one's own people well—and no less than to prevail over enemies.

Indeed, many have often set up trophies in war, yet in peace were cut to pieces, because they did not know how to hold the reins over their subjects.

It is not, then, in the power of the kingdom that the subjection of armies lies, but in the inclining favor of God.

And just as victories over enemies come from this, so also do the submissions of one's own people.

'Lord, what is man, that You are made known to him? Or the son of man, that You take account of him?' Another version has:

'What is man, that You should know him?' Another: 'That You should acknowledge him?' Great, then, must he be who is going to know God—or rather, who is going to be known by Him.

And not only this one, but also that one to whom God is going to make Himself known.

Therefore the Seventy have said it best with the phrase 'You are made known to him,' showing that it was not we who found Him, but He who was found.

For he did not say, 'What is man that has come to know You?' but, 'What is man, that You are made known to him?' (part 2)

Therefore Paul too continually turns this over, up and down, saying:

'But then I shall know fully, even as I also have been fully known.'

'You did not choose Me, but I chose you.'

And elsewhere again Paul says:

'But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.'

For this very reason he also continually, up and down, calls himself 'called,' showing that he did not himself run to God, but was first called.

'But I press on, that I may also lay hold of that for which I was also laid hold of.'

He did not say, 'I laid hold,' but, 'I was also laid hold of.'

But how does this man say, 'What is man?' And yet another says, 'A great thing is man, and a merciful man is precious.'

And another says, 'In the image of God He made him.'

For indeed he obtained the oversight of all creation.

And there are some of whom not even the world is worthy.

But those sayings concern virtue, and are spoken when certain men display it;

whereas the words, 'What is man?' are spoken concerning our nature.

And truly our nature also is great;

great indeed, but if you consider the knowledge of which it has been deemed worthy, it is far inferior to that knowledge.

Let the children of the heretics hear, that they rave with such great madness, overstepping their own measure, and are sick with the utmost ignorance, claiming to know the things that are above them.

For it is possible that there be knowledge in ignorance, and ignorance in knowledge;

and if you please, let us exercise this point upon things perceptible to the senses.

For tell me, if someone should say that he is able to measure out the sea and to know how many ladles it holds, is not this man above all the one who is ignorant of what the sea really is? But he who says that he does not know it, but maintains that its number is infinite, this man above all is the one who knows what the sea really is.

But what of God? If someone should say, 'I have seen God, and comprehended Him with my own sight,' is not this man above all the one who is ignorant of God, saying that the invisible is visible, and under the pretense of adding to knowledge stripping away even the knowledge that is possible? But if someone should call Him invisible, and say that no one can see Him, is not this man above all the one who knows? And again, what if one should call Him incomprehensible, while another calls Him comprehensible;

is not the latter the one who is ignorant, and the former the one who knows? Do you not see Paul also traveling this same road, and saying, 'We know in part, and we prophesy in part'? Consider how many things came to pass, that we might learn concerning God, not who He is in His essence, but that He is.

This, at any rate, is what Paul also says:

'For he that comes to God must believe that He is.'

All creation proclaims Him aloud. For 'from the greatness,' it says, 'and beauty of created things the Author of their being is proportionably seen'; the very fashioning of man, the honors given by Him, the chastisements, the benefactions, the dispensations, the things foretold through the prophets, the manifold miracles.

After these things the Only-begotten Himself came, and fulfilled that wonderful and awesome dispensation.

And yet there are some who have not even now learned the plain truth;

and do you say that from your own reasonings you are able to comprehend what He is in His essence? Then you are ignorant of God, he says.

But I do know that He is, and that He is loving toward mankind, and that He is good, and that He is provident, and all the other things which the Scriptures have declared;

yet what He is in His essence, I do not know.

Adam too supposed that he would find something more, being persuaded by the devil, and through this covetousness he lost even what he had.

This is the very thing these men also suffer, being led on by human reasonings, and not hearing that 'the Lord gives wisdom, and from His presence come knowledge and understanding.'

Do they not hear Paul saying, 'Through the Spirit He revealed it to us,' and casting out the reasonings? 'Casting down reasonings,' he says, 'and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.'

And another wise man says, 'The reasonings of men are timid, and their devices are prone to fail.'

'What is man, that You are made known to him?'

Consider that boundless greatness;

or rather, not even in saying this do I speak in a manner worthy of God;

but I do not know how I shall speak;

for not even when we speak of greatness in reference to God do we speak of it properly;

but since it is not possible to express it otherwise, I have used the words that are within our reach.

Since even when I call Him Most High, I do not confine Him to a place;

but I declare the loftiness and majesty of His nature, and that it is set apart, and withdrawn above all things.

'What is man, that You are made known to him?' For on this account He made him both lowly and bestowed great things upon him, that he might not be lifted up, having the greatest need of moderation—namely the meanness derived from his nature.

'...of man, that You take account of him?' Do you see how great is the majesty of the nature of God? 'Man is like to vanity.'

But another interpreter rendered the word 'vanity' as 'vapor.'

And the word 'vanity' signifies nothing else than that he is perishable, transient, short-lived.

Here he takes up the discourse concerning the body.

'But I am earth and ashes.'

And Isaiah says: 'All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.'

But what does it mean, 'He is made like unto vanity'? Like unto nothing, he says;

since nothing among human things is stable or fixed, but all things pass on and pass away.

'His days pass away like a shadow.'

That is, not even while they are present do they possess any strength, but they even swiftly fly away.

And observe this in the very affairs of life: consider those in high dignities, those riding upon their chariots, those in positions of power, those who cast men into prison and scourge them.

For how do these differ from a shadow, not only at the moment of death, but even before death? For whenever they are removed from office, all those things are gone and vanish out of the way;

but the true realities come after the departure from this world;

then there are the true reckonings and punishments, and likewise the good things, and the Judge who cannot be deceived.

But the things here below are like children at play.

For he who judges today stands tomorrow being judged; the changes are frequent, and the transitions unsteady.

'Lord, bow down thy heavens, and come down.'

'Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.'

'When thou didst bow the heavens and come down, and touch the mountains, they smoked.'

And what sort of sequence of words is this? A very great one indeed, and closely connected with what went before.

For since he had discoursed concerning the worthlessness of human nature, and had set forth the nothingness of our nature, here again he checks the arrogance of those swollen with pride, all but saying this by what he adds:

They ought indeed of themselves to have discerned the worthlessness of their nature, and not to have thought great things of themselves;

but since they will not, show from thine own works how far they are removed from lowliness.

'Lord, bow down the heavens, and come down.'

This he says, not because God comes down;

for how could He who is present everywhere? But in order that through these human expressions he might strike with awe the duller among his hearers, he speaks of Him in a more human manner.

Since even the matter of the touch, though it seems to be something great, is nevertheless far beneath the dignity of God.

For God has no need of a touch in order to make the mountains smoke, nor indeed of a nod, but only of counsel and of will.

Having therefore spoken of the worthlessness of man, he speaks also of the power of God, so far as it is possible for a man to speak;

since even these things fall far short of that majesty.

'Flash forth lightning, and thou shalt scatter them;'

'send forth thine arrows, and thou shalt confound them.'

By 'lightning' here and 'arrows' he does not mean this lightning nor these literal arrows, but he thus calls the punishments, persuading the scornful and the slothful, from things already familiar to them, to tremble and fear and bow themselves down.

For if a man could not bear even lightning, though it is not sent for punishment, should He be pleased to set in motion His punitive power, who shall withstand it? And God's arrows are famines, and pestilences, and thunderbolts, and manifold punishments.

'Send forth thy hand from on high;'

'take me out, and deliver me from many waters, from the hand of strange children.'

For the power of God is fully equipped not only for punishing, but also for saving.

And by 'hand' here he means the help, the alliance;

wherefore he did not say 'Stretch out,' but 'Send forth,' signifying this;

but if anywhere he does say 'Stretch out,' he hints again at the same thing.

And by 'waters' he calls the disordered onset of enemies, both confused, and borne along with great violence.

For that the discourse is not about literal waters is plain from what he adds;

for he says, 'from the hand of strange children.'

And by 'strange children' here he seems to me to mean those who are estranged from the truth.

For just as we account the faithful as our own household and as brethren, so we account the unbelieving as strangers;

And it is chiefly by this that we recognize the one who is our own and the one who is a stranger.

For this man is truly our own—he who is inscribed under the same Father as I, and who shares the same table—more so than the one who is akin to us by blood;

for this law of kinship is the more exact, just as the estrangement that arises from opposing principles is more manifest than that which is according to birth.

Do not, then, look merely at this—that we are under the same heaven and dwell in the same inhabited world;

for I seek another fellowship, one that is above the heaven.

There is our citizenship and our life;

for 'our life,' he says, 'is hidden with Christ in God.'

For we do not dwell upon earth, but have been transferred to the city above.

We have another true light, another fatherland, and other fellow-citizens and kinsfolk.

'So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow-citizens with the saints.'

How then, one asks, did Christ say that the Samaritan was a neighbor, though the distance between them was great? But he did not speak according to the principle of nature.

So then, when it is a matter of doing good, let every man be near to you;

but when the word of truth is being exercised, recognize who is your own and who is a stranger.

Even if you have a brother of the same father and the same mother, and he does not share with you according to the law of truth, let him be to you more barbarous than a Scythian;

and even if he be a Scythian, or a Sauromatian, yet knows the exactness of the doctrines and believes that very thing which you also believe, let him be to you nearer and more your own than the one who eased for you the same birth-pangs.

Let us therefore from this distinguish the barbarian and the one who is not such—not from his tongue, nor from his birth, but from his mind and his soul.

For this above all makes a man—when he has exactness of doctrine and a life of true wisdom.

But let us now see the strangers, how the prophet also has portrayed them, saying:

'Deliver me out of the hand of the sons of strangers, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.'

Do you see whom he calls strangers? Those who live in wickedness, those who love iniquity, those who utter senseless things, those who say nothing useful.

Recognize the strangers, therefore, from their mouth, from their works;

just as Christ also says:

'By their fruits you shall know them.'

For just as in armies many watchwords and signs are given, so that if ever a battle should take place by night, or dust raised up should mimic the darkness of night, or some other confusion and turmoil should arise, no one might mistake his own comrade for the enemy, nor the adversary for his own;

so also here the prophet gives you watchwords, by which you will be able to know your own and the stranger—namely, from what they utter, from what they do—saying:

'Whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.'

For even now there is war and battle, and a most grievous night-combat, with demons hurling their darts, evil desires plotting ambush, and reasonings rising up in revolt.

Among the initiated too there are watchwords and symbols;

and if we should wish to recognize someone, being in doubt whether he is uninitiated or initiated, by asking these things we come to learn.

'Their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.'

What, then, could be more grievous than this—when we turn to plotting harm the very thing that was given for help? For it is on this account that we have right hands: that we may defend both ourselves and others who are wronged, that we may put an end to lawlessness, that we may become a harbor and a refuge to those who are oppressed.

What pardon, then, could they have who use this weapon not for the salvation of others, but for their own destruction? 'O God, I will sing to you a new song.'

What again is the connection here? Great indeed is it in this place too.

For since he had said, 'Send forth your hand,' and, 'Deliver me,' and 'Scatter those men,' he promises also to give a recompense for the alliance—

a recompense that brings nothing more to Him, but brings the gain to the one who offers the recompense.

And what is this? 'O God, I will sing to you a new song.'

But if this is a small thing in comparison with the greatness of the benefit, yet it is what he had to give.

Since we too seek nothing else from the poor and those who possess nothing, but only their good report and their gratitude.

But we seek this in order that we may become more illustrious;

whereas God does so not because He has need, but that He may make the very ones who sing more illustrious, and by this again may bestow His benefit upon them.

'Upon a ten-stringed psaltery will I sing praise unto Thee';

that is to say, 'I will give thanks unto Thee.'

But in those days there were instruments through which they offered up their songs;

yet now, in place of instruments, one may make use of the body.

For it is possible to sing also through the eyes, not through the tongue alone, and through the hands, and through the feet, and through the hearing.

For when each of these members does such things as bring glory and praise to God—as when the eye looks upon nothing unchaste, when the hands are stretched out not toward plunder but toward almsgiving, when the ears are made ready for the reception of psalms and of spiritual hearings, when the feet run toward the church, when the heart weaves no deceits but overflows with love—then the members of the body become a psaltery and a harp, and it sings a new song, not the song made of words, but the song made of deeds.

'Who giveth salvation unto kings.'

For it is not armies and multitudes of soldiers, nor bodyguards, but the inclination of God that is wont to save.

'Who redeemeth David His servant.'

Having spoken of what is common to all, he speaks also of what concerns himself; and he did not say, 'Who redeemed,' but, 'Who redeemeth,' showing that God's providence over him is unceasing.

Then again he asks for the very things he asked before, continually falling down and beseeching, that he may be delivered from wicked men, speaking thus:

'Deliver me from the evil sword, and rescue me out of the hand of strange children, whose mouth hath spoken vanity, and whose right hand is a right hand of iniquity.'

'Whose sons are as new plants firmly set in their youth.'

Here he depicts the worldly prosperities and wealth, and he sets down that which is first, namely the having of children who are vigorous and in their prime, and of both kinds of nature.

'Their daughters are adorned, decked about like the likeness of a temple.'

Together with their youth he displays their great luxury, and he sketches their head-coverings and their womanly adornment, which come from great abundance.

Then that which seems to be second—though perhaps now it is first—he again sketches, namely wealth, saying:

'Their store-chambers are full, overflowing from this into that.'

What is the meaning of 'overflowing'? Being pressed for room.

The wealth cannot be contained by the store-chambers, he says.

'Their sheep are prolific, multiplying in their goings-forth.'

And this too was reckoned to be no small prosperity.

For among the ancients wealth consisted in these things—in herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and in seed—before the softness of the present day was invented.

'There is no breaking-down of the fence, nor any passing-through.'

That is to say, the farms too enjoy much protection, much care, much diligence, with the fruits luxuriant, the fences standing firm, the vine planted on every side and walled about.

'Neither is there any crying in their streets.'

Another version has, 'In their homesteads.'

Another kind of prosperity, one which is not the lot of every wealth;

that is to say, peace and freedom from care and security;

no one plotting against them, no one making war, but neither uproar nor disturbance.

'They have called the people blessed that hath these things.'

'Blessed is the people whose Lord is their God.'

Do you see the virtue of the man? For having set forth all this wealth, and having gone over it in his discourse, and then having added the verdict of the many concerning it, he himself suffers nothing merely human from these things, nor does he count those who possess them to be objects of envy; but passing by all these,

and extends the blessing to the true treasure.

For others, he says, have called those blessed who have these things;

but I call blessed the people whose Lord is their God;

by this one thing alone declaring all their abundance, the plenty of good things, and their wealth.

For those things flow away and pass by, but this blessedness abides forever; and in place of sheep and children and oxen and fence and vineyard, the blessedness of God shall be both wealth and security and a wall that cannot be overthrown.

Hearing these things, therefore, be not troubled by any of them, but running past the shadows, hold fast to the truth.

For he had said beforehand that 'Man is made like unto vanity,' and, 'His days pass away as a shadow.'

If, then, amid all these things you see certain men swimming in abundance yet living together with wickedness, though the whole world call them blessed, do you count them wretched and regard them as miserable;

but those who are dedicated to God, consider them enviable and blessed.

And let us all ever seek this wealth, and this blessedness;

that we may attain both the good things of the present and those of the age to come, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages.