Commentary on the Psalms 1 part 23/24

The river of God is filled with waters. For as a river from a spring, so proceeds from God and the Father the God the Word who is by nature begotten of Him. ] (

) [ For the blessed disciples did not keep silent, but rather lifted up their own voices;

that is, they proclaimed the mystery of Christ throughout all the earth. ] From the voices of many waters.

) For just as, he says, from many waters, and as from the sound of the waves the surgings of the sea — that is, the voice raised on high or into the heights — is marveled at, so also is the doxology of the nations;

for they sing praises to Christ the Saviour of all.

[ Wonderful is the Lord on high.

[ How long, O Lord, shall the sinners? (

) And who are these? Clearly the Scribes and the Pharisees, who dared to set Christ at naught. ] [ Thy people, O Lord, they humbled.

) For they truly ill-treated the inheritance of God;

for they did not permit them to recognize Christ, nor to partake of the good things that come through faith.

We shall find that the Jews suffered this together with their own teachers. ] (

For they not only wrong the weaker, and those who ought rather to be pitied, casting them into unbearable calamities (for this is what 'they slew' signifies), but they also blaspheme against the very supreme Nature, saying that it neither oversees human affairs nor indeed visits the things that concern us.

Such an opinion belongs to the godless Greeks, who neither know the God who truly and by nature is, nor endure to consider that all things are governed by His nods.

But some of those from Israel have fallen sick with such folly. ] [ And they said:

Understand now, you senseless among the people.

) The rebuke in these words signifies reproof and indignation.

My son, do not make light of the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him;

for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives. Therefore the force of the reproofs signifies the being scourged. — (

) It is a natural reasoning that the maker is in no way inferior to the thing made.

Senseless therefore and foolish, and with good reason, are those who do not even know this much of the things that are according to nature, but turn to reasonings that lead up to what is contrary to nature;

and by not being willing to submit to judgment for such deeds,

they even go so far as to persuade themselves to hold the opinion that there will be no judgment at all;

but this is a thing impossible to suppose —

unless one should imagine that God is deaf toward the things that are spoken, and blind toward the things that are done, and ignorant of these matters.

) [ When God reproved their sin, He did not straightway bring on the effects of wrath, but as one who is good and loving toward mankind, and possessing an incomparable gentleness, He rather bestows on them the medicine of admonition, and prepares the word of catechesis;

Understand now, you senseless. As if to say:

Even if late, yet now at least be wise, having pondered this within yourselves:

He who planted the ear for others, does He Himself not hear? He who fashioned the eye for us, does He not see? He who is the supplier to us of all good things, is He Himself deprived of these? Therefore, forsaking the opinions of the senseless, let us remember the Proverbialist who says:

Make straight paths for your feet, and direct your ways. For the ways of a man are before the eyes of God;

and He watches over all his paths.

Being thus disposed, we shall live out an upright and blameless life, as under the eye of a watching God. ] [ He who chastens the nations, shall He not reprove? (

) He wills that those on the earth should depart from vanity and from temporal, corruptible, and perishing matters;

and should rather choose instead the things that are fixed and abiding, and that carry over into eternal life.

for they did not have the righteousness that is in faith, nor the sanctification that is through the Spirit.

But blessed in truth are those who are being perfected in Christ, and who gain from Him the illumination that is through the Holy Spirit, and who grow rich in exact knowledge of the mysteries concerning Him.

And in what manner will you chasten? Perhaps by scourges? He does not say this;

But how this must be understood here, the Psalmist himself interprets, saying:

'And out of Thy law shalt Thou teach him.' 'From evil days.'

For truly they are ill-omened and evil days for those who are utterly cut off,

and who are destined to be consigned to the punishment by fire — the days of the impartial judgment.

'Until the pit be dug for the sinner.'

But for those who love sin the pit shall be dug;

for they shall be sent down into Hades, to be punished together with Satan.' 'For the Lord will not cast off His people.'

For He has not permitted us to be borne down into the pits of sin forever, but He has rescued and saved us, justifying the ungodly by grace that remembers no wrong, and delivering from all defilement those who had been polluted.

For He departed from us, as far as concerns the flesh, after His rising from the dead, having ascended into the heavens and taken His seat at the right hand of God the Father.

But since He is God who fills all things, and heaven is full of Him and the whole earth is full of Him, we are disposed and believe that even now He is with us, and through Him we gain the power to overcome the wiles of the devil and the tyranny of sin and the assault of our innate pleasures.

Since then we have remained in the world, while He has ascended to the Father, has He withdrawn from those who love Him? By no means!

For He Himself has given us full assurance, saying:

'I will not leave you orphans, but I come to you.' For He came to us, sending to us in His stead and as His very self the Paraclete, that is, the Spirit who proceeds from the Father, yet who is also the Son's own.

'Until righteousness return unto judgment.'

And He says that He will return unto judgment;

for He was taken up after trampling death underfoot, and ascended to the Father and God in the heavens; but He will return in due season unto judgment, and with Him all the upright in heart, that is, the saints.

For thus does God and the Father name Him through the holy prophets, saying:

'My righteousness draws near speedily, and My mercy is about to be revealed.' And a little later:

'He shall return unto judgment,' that is, He shall come from heaven in the glory of His Father with the holy angels, that He may judge the world in righteousness.

For then, he says, when righteousness returns unto judgment, they shall be close to it — that is, near and about it, or rather with it — all the upright in heart, that is, the righteous.

'Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?'

When I do battle, he says, against the evildoers, who will stand up together with me? Or who will stand at my side against those who work iniquity? And this is not the voice of those who are ignorant, but of those who know well and have believed that in every place and in every way they will have Christ as their fellow-defender, and that He Himself will deliver them and make them stronger than the perversity of their enemies. 'If I said:'

By 'foot' here he means not that of the body — do not suppose this — but the inclination of the mind and the will of the soul, from which we proceed to each of our actions.

For each of us has been entrusted with the rudder of his own mind.

Therefore the lover of purity, who practises the self-control most pleasing to God, is often made to totter, as Satan overturns him, drawing him, as one might expect, towards unnatural pleasures.

God comforts those who labour for virtue, who toil for godliness, who desire to accomplish the manner of life pleasing to Him, who mortify the impulse of the flesh and do battle against their own desires, until they attain the goal for which they strive.

'Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with Thee?'

By 'iniquity' he names Satan;

for he is the inventor and teacher of iniquity and sin;

and the 'throne' signifies rule, that is, authority.

For Thou alone art God and Lord of the powers, and Thou rulest over all things together with Thine own Father.

For against every divine command Satan fashions toil;

for he does not allow those who wish to accomplish virtue to be able to do so easily, but he lays snares and leaps upon them, and endeavours to drag down into the pits of iniquity those who wish to lead a holy and most lawful life.

So then he fashions toil against the command, plainly warring against the divine precepts and not allowing good men to fulfil them.

Rather he roughens the road of godliness, which is most smooth and easy to travel for those who wish to walk it. 'They shall hunt after the soul of the righteous.'

For the wicked and accursed demons plot against the saints, and together with them unjust and most abominable men, hateful to God;

for whom it is a care to think their thoughts;

and they set up snares of many kinds;

but, as Solomon says, 'The deceitful shall not attain his prey.' For God delivers and saves those who are devoted to Him, so that, rejoicing over this, they say:

'Our soul is escaped as a sparrow out of the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken, and we are delivered.' And a little later:

The wicked and accursed demons have hunted the souls of the saints and set snares for them, and their leader Satan himself as well.

For they plot against every saint and gnash their teeth against those who are wont to be approved.

Those who say these things call to fellowship those who have separated themselves from them.

The shout of triumph is a certain victorious cry, raised over fallen foes and enemies destroyed.

For He redeemed both Israel and those of the Gentiles from the greed of the devil, from the tyranny of the enemies, from sins and accusations;

He set them free from the condemning law that exacts penalties from those who have sinned;

and He justified through faith both Greeks and Jews and the rest of the nations.

Let us dance in triumph over Satan, let us raise the shout over him now that he lies fallen;

let us leap for joy over the unholy beast now caught in the inescapable snare.

So then, does He say 'great' by comparison with other lesser things? He does not say this, but rather that, namely, that the dignity of majesty befits Him alone who is God by nature.

For He Himself is truly the glory of God and the incomparable majesty.

And that Christ is great God, and was so named even in the God-inspired Scriptures,

the blessed Paul will confirm, saying: 'Awaiting the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.'

What sort of gods? Are they falsely so called? He does not say this, but rather those in heaven and on earth;

that is, the rational and heavenly powers, and also the saints who are on earth;

to whom the name of divinity has been given by Him who is above all, for the sake of honour and glory.

Thus the Psalmist also makes mention of them, saying:

'The Lord, the God of gods, hath spoken,' and what follows. 'And the heights of the mountains are His.'

What are the heights of the mountains? That is, those exalted in glory, more illustrious than those in the heavens;

but all these are His;

for He as Son sits enthroned together with the Father, while they stand by ministering to Him and crowning Him with doxologies.

'For the sea is His.' But while we measure out praises to them only up to this point, we do not say that they have become makers of the elements;

for this befits only the God who is over all;

for He Himself is the author of birth and the craftsman of all things.

Let those who go astray, therefore, come, and let them come to the light of truth;

let them recognize together with us the Word of God who became man;

When you see, he says, the King and Lord of all things, the Word of God who shares the throne with the Father, appearing in a form like ours, that is, in human shape, do not fail to recognize the divine economy, do not flee from worshipping Him, do not refuse to fall down before Him;

but rather recognize that He is our God, and we are His people. 'Today, if ye will hear His voice.'

And what is 'today'? Plainly, according to the present time, in which the only-begotten Word of God became man;

For then we all heard His voice.

For He has not spoken to us through any single one of the saints,

nor has He come to us in the rank of the prophets, but as God of all things and Lord. [ 'Forty years was I grieved'

) For those of Israel were unwilling to give heed to the threats, nor did they wish to dissolve the threat by repentance;

wherefore they did not enjoy the land that had been promised to the fathers;

for He called that land His rest. ] PSALM 95 (96)

[ 'Sing to the Lord a new song'

) All things have become new in Christ, and the old things have passed away;

and in us is fulfilled what is written in the book of Psalms:

'Your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's.' For we have been renewed in Christ, having put off the old man, which is corrupted according to the lusts of deceit,

and having put on the new man, which is renewed after the image of Him who created him. ] 'Proclaim His salvation from day to day', etc.

that is, the Son, concerning whom He says to us through one of the holy prophets:

'that My righteousness and My mercy may be revealed;

and My salvation shall be kindled as a lamp.' And He names the Son 'mercy' and 'righteousness';

for through Him we obtained mercy, and we learned every way of righteousness.

And the phrase 'from day to day' stands for 'every day';

which indeed the blessed disciples accomplished;

for they left no season idle in which they did not go about through every land and city, proclaiming Christ and performing the divine ministry of the preaching.

[ 'For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised'

) Truly great is our Lord, and He possesses a supremacy over all things most befitting God;

but none whatsoever is equal to Him or of the same essence.

For there is one Son, true by nature, of God the Father, crowned with the dignities of Him who begot Him, 'greatly to be praised,' that is, glorified both by the spirits above and in the heavens, and by those upon the earth.

The new song, therefore, in addition to what has been said, teaches that the Lord of the new song is one who is great and greatly to be praised, and besides this, terrible above all the gods;

praised as the benefactor and Saviour of all;

but terrible not to all, but to those formerly reckoned as gods, namely to the wicked demons, whom He cast down, driving them away from their plotting against mankind.

'For all the gods of the nations are demons. But the Lord Himself is great and greatly to be praised.' ] [ 'The gods of the nations are demons'

But that we who are enlightened, and enriched with the knowledge of the truth, may point out to them the One whom they knew not, saying:

'But the Lord made the heavens.' For from the greatness of His works and from the beauty of the creatures, their Author is proportionately discerned.

The Divine is by nature visible, and no one could see whatever it is according to nature;

but from the beauty of the creatures, and from the fairness of the visible creation, the surpassing greatness of His glory is discerned. ] [ 'Confession and beauty are before Him'

) And what is the meaning of 'before Him'? Or what does the verse intend to say? For He deems none worthy of His regard, it says, unless one has spiritual beauty in mind and heart, and knows also how to make confession, that is, to give glory in a manner magnificent and worthy of God's glory.

This is the meaning of 'Confession and beauty are before Him,' that is, in His eyes. ] 'Bring sacrifices, and enter into His courts'

) But by which paths do you come as you enter? Manifestly through faith;

for this is the entrance to salvation.

And what sacrifices? The blessed Paul makes mention, saying:

'Present your bodies as a sacrifice pure, living, well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.' 'He shall judge the peoples in uprightness'

) The Lord judged the peoples in uprightness, He saved that which is under heaven, He rescued it from the hands of the devil, He set it free from the tyranny of the demons, He justified it in faith, those once led astray He placed under His own yoke, He made them holy worshippers, He condemned to destruction Satan and his angels.

And when you hear 'sea' in these words, do not suppose it to be the one signified in the ordinary sense, but rather another, that is, this terrestrial region, or indeed the whole inhabited world and those in it.

[ 'Let the heavens rejoice'

) For Satan, the author of evil, the sower of the tares, the inventor and teacher of all baseness, snatched away unto death the nature of man in the beginning, through the transgression in Adam;

Therefore for these things the Holy Spirit commands both those who are in heaven and all who are upon the earth to keep festival, saying:

'Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad.' ] 'Then shall all the trees of the wood exult'

) We by no means say that rejoicing belongs to the insensible trees;

rather this thing befits the saints, whom indeed it says shall the more rejoice when Christ has shone upon the world.

'For He comes to judge the earth'

) For He came, employing a holy and God-befitting decree.

He will condemn the beast that is the author of evil, and will send it into the unsleeping flame.

And He will redeem those who have come to be under it, that is, us, and will justify us by faith;

even as, without doubt, also Israel, those of Israel, and Jacob, those of Jacob.

But when is it sung, and over what things? When, it says, His earth was established.

For the Only-begotten Word of God appeared to us, He stilled the tumults, He established the earth.

And in what manner, the psalm will teach, saying:

'The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice, let the many islands be glad.' Thus were our affairs set in order;

for Christ has reigned.

This has become the occasion of the feast.

) For Christ has reigned over us, that He might justify by faith those in their sins.

And He has employed a judgment both befitting God and loving good;

for He justified us not out of works of righteousness, but according to His great mercy.

And He saved us also through water.

) By 'fire' He means not at all this perceptible fire, nor yet the visible flame, but a certain divine power, invincible, irresistible, and hard to escape, which like fire devours those who are hostile to Him.

And these were, before all others, the wicked demons, and the ruler of their herd;

this one the Saviour consumed together with the rest.

For there was no other way to deliver those upon the earth who had come to be under it, unless He let loose upon it, like a kind of fire, His wrath that consumes and annihilates it.

Thus, then, He delivered those who had come to be under it, He saved those in captivity, He rescued those who had gone astray, and He called them into the light of the truth. ] [ 'His lightnings gave light to the world'

) For the shining-forth of Christ has been made manifest to those throughout all the earth, and has illumined the hearts of all.

In these words the blessed Psalmist seems to name as 'lightnings of Christ' those who minister the divine and evangelical preaching, that is, the apostles and evangelists, to whom Christ Himself also said:

'You are the light of the world.' For the true light is the Son Himself, who illumines all rational creation.

But since they have become partakers of the light that is from Him, they too are designated 'light of the world';

running everywhere, and sending into the hearts of those being initiated the divine and spiritual light. ] [ 'He looked, and the earth was shaken'

) And 'He looked' stands for 'He looked up' (regarded).

For having first said that His lightnings shone upon the world, he straightway shows how greatly it profited the whole realm beneath heaven that the spiritual lightnings were sent forth by Christ, by which, as we said, are signified the holy apostles and evangelists, through whose all-wise initiations into the mysteries the earth recovered its sight.

And this too is the achievement of Christ, the Saviour of us all. 'The mountains melted like wax.'

By 'mountains' he means the lofty and arrogant hostile powers, that is, the world-rulers of this darkness, which because of their exceedingly great pride are likened to mountains.

These the Saviour melted like wax, as fire cast upon wax.

'The heavens declared His righteousness.'

By 'heavens' in this place he does not mean the element itself, but those who are in the heavens, that is, the holy angels;

these will proclaim the righteousness of God the Father.

For He saved those upon earth, having justified them by the faith which is in Christ.

For thus the earth became full of His glory.

But since practical virtue also is in many places called righteousness, this the heavens alone know how to proclaim in deed, being righteous men.

For the righteous man will proclaim the faith that is displayed, their faith being reckoned unto righteousness.' 'Worship Him, all you angels.'

Whom are they commanded to worship? Christ, clearly, that is, the Only-begotten who became man.

'For when,' he says, 'He brings the firstborn into the world, He says:'

'And let all the angels of God worship Him.' Of necessity, then, he here introduced the worship of the angels, that we might not be ashamed to worship as God the One whom the angels worship;

and at the same time that we might know that we who worship God are raised up to the rank of angels.

Besides this, that to worship is proper to the angels, not to be worshipped.

The demons, therefore, having fallen away from this dignity of the angels also, will be able to be worshipped, but only by the deceiving of those who worship them.' 'Zion heard, and was glad.'

It seems, then, that in these words the passage wishes to indicate the first calling of the Jews, which indeed Christ also made first.

'But I was appointed king by Him upon Zion His holy mountain, proclaiming the ordinance of the Lord.' That is, He will make manifest the good will of God the Father.' 'Light has dawned for the righteous.'

He uses 'has dawned' in the sense of 'dawns.'

For everyone, if he is good and righteous, upon him assuredly there rises in mind and heart the spiritual and divine light.

For those who are diligent in the noblest pursuits will not be without a share of the sacred gifts of grace.

To him, therefore, who has succeeded in the practical virtue that is called righteousness, there has dawned the light of knowledge, which is none other than the true Light, concerning which the Father said:

'But to those who fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise.' 'For those upright in heart.'

And what is it to have the heart upright? To have it, as it were, straight and undistorted.

'Be glad, you righteous, in the Lord.'

For it truly befits those who love Christ and those who are lovers of godliness to rejoice greatly in Him, and in the good things that shall be given us by Him—spiritual things, that is—which possess a secure and inalienable establishment (another reading: motion).

'Give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.'

The 'giving thanks' signifies thanksgiving.

And having made remembrance, he also blessed.

'Sing to the Lord a new song.'

For all things in Christ are new; the old things have passed away.

And what are these new things? Those through Christ, clearly.

For of old, as I said, the God of all redeemed Israel through Moses, and delivered them from bitter slavery;

and Pharaoh who pursued was drowned in the sea, and by this very thing God was glorified.

But in these things were the deeds of that former age.

Let us now behold the new things that are through Christ.

As of old Israel alone was saved, so now rather the whole earth has been saved.

We behold, not an Egyptian man drowned in the sea, but the boaster and wicked Satan himself fallen, and lying beneath the feet of the saints.

'Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.' By 'serpents' and 'scorpions' He names the wicked and venomous demons;

from whose malignity we have been delivered.' And a little later:

On what grounds, then, and having what occasions for singing psalms? He Himself will again teach you, saying:

'For the Lord has done marvellous things.' And what are these? The extraordinary and wondrous things which the Saviour and Lord of all has done.

'His right hand has saved for Him.'

For the right hand of the Father saved all that is beneath heaven, that is, the Son;

and so the Father Himself also names Him, saying:

'For I will lift up My hand to heaven, and swear by My right hand, by which I established the heaven, and laid the foundation of the earth.'

For through Him, as through His own hand, the Father brought all things into being;

and the most wise John will bear witness, saying concerning Him:

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'

'The same was in the beginning with God.'

'All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made.' But just as a man's hand is not foreign to the body, but is of it and in it;

so then this all-powerful right hand of the Father, the Creator and Artificer of all things, at which all the works tremble, has saved for Himself and for the Father.

And what has He saved? All that is beneath heaven, clearly;

for through the gospel preachings He has drawn it as with a net into the knowledge of His glory.' 'The Lord has made known His salvation.' He names Christ 'salvation' and 'righteousness';

for God the Father saved us through Him and in Him, and justified us by faith.' 'All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.'

That is, No one has remained without a share in the salvation that is through Christ.

For, as I said, the whole earth has been called through faith.' 'The rivers shall clap with the hand.'

What hands do rivers have? Or how can they clap? Since, when the nations were brought under dominion and were called through faith, the disciples rejoiced, leading off victory songs like those who clap their hands. Out of overflowing joy, he likens them to rivers, saying:

'The rivers shall clap with the hand together.' It is the custom of the God-inspired Scripture at times to liken to springs and rivers the holy prophets, apostles and evangelists, and further, in addition to these, the leaders of the holy Churches, who are ambassadors of the divine word to the peoples, and who are versed in the sacred doctrines and possess the office of initiating others into the mysteries.

And indeed He said concerning them through the voice of the prophet Isaiah:

'Draw water with joy from the springs of salvation.' He names them 'springs of salvation';

for they gush forth, as it were, to the peoples under their charge the word from heaven, themselves receiving it from Christ.

For as the saints themselves say:

'Of His fullness we have all received.' 'Whenever, then, you hear concerning the holy rivers that they shall clap their hands, in the sense that they shall be glad, understand: they shall be delighted, and shall rejoice, and shall keep festival.

This is the occasion of the good cheer of the saints; for these things they are bidden to clap, that is, to be glad.' 'The mountains shall exult.'

By 'mountains' he means not these sensible and visible ones, but the intelligent and lofty powers, that is, the angels who stand about the divine throne.

Lofty indeed are the virtues.

These rational and highest powers, therefore, rejoice greatly over those who are saved in Christ;

and they rejoice on our account, glorifying the One who saved us.' PSALM 8