the earth is full of Thy mercy. Thou hast done good unto the human race, as Thou didst promise through Thy prophets.
God chastens in kindness. For since He is God, He bestows good things upon us, and when we sin, He instructs us, turning us toward admonition. For whom the Lord loves, He instructs, and He scourges every son whom He receives (Prov. 3:12), according to the word of the Proverbs. Therefore we stumble, and He justly chastens us, that we might turn back from the evil way. For it is written: And the people turned not, until they were smitten (Is. 9:13). And we are taught through His bounty both instruction and knowledge, and that in His commandments we might believe that salvation is granted to us. 66. Teach me bounty and instruction and knowledge, for I have believed in Thy commandments. 67. Before I was humbled, I committed errors: therefore I have kept Thy word. For because I fared well and grew wealthy in this world, I sinned in every way; for this is what "Before I was humbled" signifies; for wealth is gathered in every way from unrighteousness; but turn me back, that I may keep Thy words. For I, he says, brought chastening upon myself. For the vote is free from the punishment of unrighteousness. Instruction followed upon sin, and the keeping of the laws followed upon instruction. I was sick, I was cut, I was made whole. Thou art good, O Lord. For in truth Thou art good and philanthropic, a benefactor, and good beyond measure; and in Thy goodness preserve me in Thy righteous ordinances. For from Thee are all things that bring salvation. And in Thy goodness teach me Thy righteous ordinances. For this reason I boldly pray to receive from Thee the knowledge of Thy righteous ordinances. 69. The unrighteousness of the proud has been multiplied against me: but I will search out Thy commandments with my whole heart. All those who do not keep the commandments of God, and those who proudly exalt themselves against His knowledge, are themselves the proud. And even if I move about in the midst of such men, he says, yet I will not follow them, but I will search out Thy commandments with my whole heart, remaining established in them. For those who use arrogance weave every form of ambush against me; but nevertheless, I am not provoked against their lawlessness, being ordered by Thy commandments. These things were written for our admonition, that we might be rooted and grounded in the good. 70. Their heart was curdled as milk: but I studied Thy law. This resembles the prophetic utterance: For the heart of this people was fattened; and they heard heavily with their ears, and they shut their eyes (Is. 6:10). It resembles also what is said in Exodus concerning Pharaoh: And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened (Exod. 7:22). The Jews, therefore, were curdled like cheese; but the choir of the apostles, and those who believed through them, occupy themselves in the study of the words of God, having obeyed the Gospel of God. Those ones, therefore, he says, had a heart like curd, having made its softness hard, and having, as it were, curdled and cheesed it like milk; but I have dissolved myself in the study of Thy law. 71. It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me, that I might learn Thy righteous ordinances. The prophet confesses grace to the harsher medicines of the Physician, having learned the health that came therefrom. For above he said, Before I was humbled I committed errors; but here he says, It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me. For one falls into afflictions and misfortunes for the sake of instruction and turning back; and those who receive these in patience say: It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me, that I might learn Thy righteous ordinances. 72. The law of Thy mouth is good to me above thousands of gold and silver. 11. For even if I was driven out of the kingdom by the child, yet through the instruction I recovered Thy law, which I count more precious than all wealth. And the same prophet says in what follows, I will rejoice in Thy words, as one finding great spoils; but here he says, The law of Thy mouth is better to me above thousands of gold and silver, hedging us about, that we might keep this, that is to say, His commandments, and value them, and be occupied in them. In which may you be deemed worthy, brothers, to direct your life, that you might arrive at the eternal goods laid up for you, and in the present age be preserved from all malice and sin by the grace and mercies of Christ our God, to whom belongs glory and honor, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
ON PSALM CXVIII. STATION II.
73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: instruct me, and I shall learn Thy commandments. 1. The prophet David, having been in the experience of many things—namely, prince's power, royalty, wealth, glory, honor, luxury, and the bravery of wars—having deemed all things as filth, looked toward that which is truly desirable and sought-after and lovable, saying: The law of Thy mouth is good to me above thousands of gold and silver. And we, brothers (for these things were written beforehand for our admonition), deeming all things as nothing, let us keep the law and the commandments of God. And wishing to show of what honor man has been deemed worthy, he said in song: Thy hands have made me and fashioned me. For by a word God established all things, and brought them from non-existence into being. For having made the heaven and the earth, He said, Let there be light, and there was light; and, Let there be a firmament, and let it divide between water and water; and, Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass; and, Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heaven; and, Let the waters bring forth creeping things of living souls; and, Let the earth bring forth a living soul, cattle, and creeping things, and wild beasts according to their kind; but man, having taken dust from the earth, He fashioned. The prophet therefore, moved by divine Spirit, reminds the Creator of the affection He has for human nature. For having fashioned all things by a word, He alone is said to have formed the nature of men, not having used hands (for He is bodiless and without form; for God is Spirit, according to the voice of the Lord), but having shown the greater disposition and appropriation toward this work, which we men possess; for we were created according to His image; wherefore also man alone among living creatures is instructed. He pleads, therefore, for the One who fashioned him to grant instruction to His handiwork; for he added: Instruct me, and I shall learn Thy commandments. 74. They that fear Thee will see me, and rejoice, because I have hoped in Thy words. A pretext, he says, of rejoicing I shall become to the pious, having hoped in Thee, and having found the end corresponding to my hope. And since God rejoices over one sinner who repents according to the Lord’s voice, the just, as being His imitators, rejoice over a man who is understanding and hoping in the words of God. 75. I have known, O Lord, that Thy judgments are righteousness, and in truth Thou hast humbled me. He says these things in various ways, showing his own gratitude. I know, he says, accurately, that Thou didst pass judgment on me rightly and justly, and didst clothe me with all kinds of misfortunes. For when we sin, there is a time when God is angry, and there is a time when He is long-suffering, waiting for our repentance. So that we might not persist in sin, He brings anger for our instruction and correction, and judges justly. For it is written through the prophet: In a little anger I smote thee, but in eternal mercy I will have mercy on thee; and, The Lord makes to grieve, and again restores; and, The people turned not, until they were smitten. For in truth He brings misfortunes and afflictions. This is what he signifies by "humbling." 76. Let Thy mercy be to comfort me. For it is now time for philanthropy and consolation. The mercy, therefore, of God is the presence in the flesh of Christ our God. For He performed mercy with us, and He Himself is the paraclete toward the Father, and the propitiation for our sins, as John the apostle says; and He promised another Paraclete, the Holy Spirit; for He Himself said to the disciples: When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth, He will bear witness concerning Me. He asks, therefore, for this mercy of His to come to the human race, just as He promised through the patriarchs, the law, and the prophets; for this...
is: "According to Thy word unto Thy servant." For to those who do penance, Thou hast promised Thy benevolence. He also said this through Isaiah: "But when you have turned and lamented, then shall you be saved," A and through Jeremiah He cries out: "Be converted to Me, and I will be converted to you."
77. *Dead is he who is deprived of divine benevolence.* "Let Thy tender mercies come unto me, and I shall live: for Thy law is my meditation." He deems himself dead, being deprived of divine benevolence, and therefore prays that he may come to life through divine clemency. He certainly calls those mercies "tender" which the Lord has bestowed upon us in His advent: the evangelical word, the apostolic teaching, so that living in these, we may meditate upon them always.
78. "Let the proud be confounded, for they have unjustly worked iniquity against me: but I will be occupied in Thy commandments." He does not imprecate against his enemies, but prays for them. For shame works salvation. Therefore, he asks that they might attain the same medicine he used. The devil acted proudly with his subordinate hostile powers against the human race through transgression; but they were put to shame at the advent of Christ our God. For they said: "Permit us to depart into the herd of swine," and, "What have we to do with Thee, O Son of God? Hast Thou come to torment us before the time?" Now, regarding "I will be occupied in Thy commandments," one of the interpreters rendered it: "I was recounting in Thy commandments"; another, "I will speak"; another, "I will be conversant."
79. "Let those who fear Thee be converted unto me, and those who know Thy testimonies." Because he was placed far from the choir of the righteous through sin, and with all men likewise turning away from him as if from God, he prays that he may be united with them again and enjoy their fellowship. Symmachus signified this more clearly: "Convert me, those who fear Thee." The prophet, however, speaks in the person of the human race. For the apostles and those who feared God converted all the nations to the knowledge of the truth. For the Lord said to them: "Go, teach all nations." For they themselves truly knew the testimonies of God.
81. "My soul hath fainted for Thy salvation, and I have hoped in Thy words." Those who vehemently desire something, and are deprived of what is desired, are said to faint. Thus, those who await someone among their acquaintances who is traveling are always longing, and not being masters of their vow, they are worn away by grief: so too those who are consumed by thirst and labor under a penury of water; and those who struggle with certain calamities and await divine benevolence, while they see it procrastinating, they faint. Furthermore, the salvation of the human race is the descent to us of one of the holy Trinity. Since in another Psalm it is said: "Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy, and grant us Thy salvation"; so too here, he was praying that this very salvation, which had been stored up, might arrive all the sooner.
82. "My eyes have failed for Thy word, saying, When wilt Thou comfort me?" The word and promise of God is called scripture inspired of God. He fails, therefore, not only by awaiting the divine promise and liberation from impinging evils; but also by reading the divine words and eagerly desiring to learn their sense, and deems the discovery of them to be for himself a consolation and amusement. He extends his discourse, therefore, expecting this consolation, which is the evangelical word. For the Savior Himself, coming, consoled us, saying: "Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you"; and, "For my yoke is sweet, and my burden light."
B 83. "For I am become like a bottle in the frost: I have not forgotten Thy justifications." A bottle warmed is softened; if inflated, it swells; but in the frost, it hardens and contracts. Therefore, those who have received the evangelical word set aside every pleasure, the softness and tumescence of their bodies, and lead this life with gravity, piety, and temperance. Such, indeed, is the nature of the body: for it is softened by pleasure and swells, and rises up against the soul; but by the affliction of exercise, it is depressed and contracted. The witness to this is Paul, shouting: "But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway." He was superior to the passions from Saul; indeed, when he enjoyed peace, he was wounded by the lasciviousness and goads of pleasure; but when he had repressed the body, he renewed the memory of the divine laws.
84. "How many are the days of Thy servant? When wilt Thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?" Few are the days of our life, and evil thoughts, carnal concupiscences, and worldly cares persecute us: "For the flesh lusteth against the spirit," as the Apostle says; for truly, "The days of our years in them are seventy years." When, therefore, wilt Thou render judgment to me, and deliver me from my enemies? Judge, therefore, and drive these away from us.
85. "The wicked have told me fables, but not as Thy law, O Lord." The prophets indeed persuaded him to kill his enemies; he, however, obeying the divine law, awaited divine judgment. But the teaching of these oracles is most useful to us as well. It is right, therefore, for us to flee not only the fables of the Gentiles and the incredulity of the Jews; but also the blasphemous dogmas of the heretics. For the Jews also, as well as the Gentiles and heretics, narrate, and seem to be teachers, having lies for their shield, and speaking nothing from the divine Scriptures; but if they do speak, it is according to their own purpose, and as wicked men, they babble and deceive. This is what happened in our generation: the accusers of the Christians, the Iconoclasts, carried many away, as did the Paulicians, who share the heresy of the Manichaeans. For they do not speak from the divine Scriptures, but are covered in lies, and are strengthened by them: we, however, who follow the Gospel and believe correctly, say as the holy and Catholic Church of God has received.
C 86. "All Thy commandments are truth: they have persecuted me unjustly, help me." 87. "They had almost made an end of me upon earth: but I have not forsaken Thy commandments." "Much," he says, "is the iniquity and the power of the enemies; for they almost deprived me of life." But He teaches us to hold to the traditions which we have received; he leads us further to another teaching, that we should not avenge ourselves, nor render evil for evil, but implore the help of God, and commit the judgment to Him. For it is written through the prophet: "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." "But I have not forsaken Thy commandments." Because I approached almost to death from the incursion of that wicked one and from carnal pleasures; I did not, for that reason, forsake Thy commandments. These are the glory of the saints, which the prophet speaks for our instruction.
88. "According to Thy mercy quicken me, and I shall keep the testimonies of Thy mouth." What mercy! That which Thou didst execute, O Lord, through Thy carnal economy. Grant me, therefore, this grace, that I may keep Thy testimonies. Through humility, however, the prophet desires the discourse; for a heart of this kind is free from shame. Therefore, from the very beginning of the Psalm, he pronounced the blameless happy. When, therefore, was our heart blameless, if not when we were regenerated through water and the Spirit, and became clean in soul and body, and when through holy baptism we live in the justifications of God, so that we may not be confounded when the just shall rise into honor and glory; but the sinners into eternal ignominy? Since indeed even in this life there is shame for a Christian when he is called either a fornicator, or an unjust man, or a contumelious person, or a perjurer, or a hater of his brethren, or a drunkard, or a vain man, or a beggar, or anything of the sort.
A They are powerful, and in your strength you perform your word. For generation and generation is your truth. 90. Of old, a law was given to the Israelites, who are the first generation; after this, however, the evangelical law was given to us Gentiles; this is the truth. For you have preserved this both for the generation of the Jews and for the other that was born after them. He speaks of the people from the Gentiles, who through our Savior Christ have attained salvation. You founded the earth, and it remains. By your ordinance the day remains, because all things are your servants. You gave to the earth the greatest endurance, and it has remained, as you commanded. You separated the day from the night, and it travels according to your laws. B The earth also remains according to your creation, sprouting in its time herbs, plants, and trees, bearing fruits, and seeds for the food of all animals; and by your ordinance the day remains. For the sun rising proceeds toward the setting. For all things serve you, and yield to your nods. For you are the creator of all things, and everything obeys you, O God. If your law were not my meditation, then I would have perished in my humiliation. Each of the pious could say these things upon falling into calamity, as Joseph did, fleeing slavery and adultery and slander, and Daniel, being forbidden to pray, and those three children, being compelled to worship the image, and the victorious martyrs who endured all kinds of C punishment. With good reason the blessed David said these things, having been driven out by Saul, and being forced to live among foreigners and hostile men. For he would have shared in their impiety if he had not carried with him the meditation of the divine laws; wherefore he also adds: 93. I will never forget your justifications, for in them you have saved me. Blessed is he who sends up this voice in truth to God, and lives in this world in his justifications. For the sinner cannot say, "I will never forget your justifications," while transgressing the commandments of God; for having learned by experience, the prophet says that your justifications produce life, and I will keep the memory of them unshaken. 94. I am yours, save me, for I have sought out your justifications. The phrase "I am yours" is understood in different ways: for D I am yours as a servant, yours as a minister, yours as a son by grace. If anyone, therefore, is confident in keeping the commandments of God, he himself says: "I am yours, save me." Why? "Because I have sought out your commandments." For those who do the works of the adversary do not seek out the commandments, and they cannot say: "I am yours, save me." Therefore, we cannot all use this voice. For the servant of sin speaks falsely, naming himself as God's. For by whom anyone is overcome, to him he is also enslaved. If, therefore, having been delivered from that, we choose the divine laws, we can use this voice. 95. Sinners waited for me, to destroy me; I understood your testimonies. "Waited" is what Symmachus and Theodotion have said. They, therefore, hoped to hand me over to death; but I, paying attention to your testimonies, have reaped the life that follows from them. In many ways do those living in sins rise up against the righteous, not expecting the judgment and retribution, nor having an equal punishment for their wickedness, having present things as secure, gathering wealth from injustice, and living luxuriously off the things of others; but the righteous seek out the testimonies of God, and whatever may happen to them, they do not swerve from his commandments. 96. I have seen the end of all completion; your commandment is exceedingly broad. But Symmachus [puts it] thus: "I have seen the end of all structure; your commandment is very spacious." Everything, he says, that is human—both wealth and abundance and power, magistracies and military commands, tyrannies and kingdoms—has an end, and a quick end; but your commandment is broad and imperishable, and bestows upon those who keep it the boundless and eternal wealth and the goods that undergo no change. For the sinners themselves, while being rich and rejoicing in this life, and passing through it in prosperity and power, consider as the end of goods those things that are present; but the prophet is not so, but sings: "I have seen the end of all completion; the commandment of God is exceedingly broad, and remains unto the age, and holds the reward of the eternal goods."
How I loved your law, O Lord!
All the day it is my meditation. Not everyone who fulfills the divine law fulfills it by loving it; but some do so by fear and dread of the punishment, others by hunting for glory from men; but the genuine lovers of virtue hasten to fulfill the divine commands with a disposition toward good things. Therefore, let us pay attention, brethren, to what is said. All the day he commands us to meditate upon the divine law and the commandments of God; and we do not suffer to listen for two or three hours to the divine reading, through which our life is set straight. For there are some who, like the adder, close their ears, and withdraw, not wishing to hear divine words and soul-profiting instruction; and the more terrible thing is that some clerics do this, and brothers and our fellow ministers. And if we did not have the command from the Apostle saying, "Reprove, rebuke, exhort," we would have placed a door upon our mouth, and have borne and carried the burdens of these men. Yet they are wise and understanding men, and can correct themselves. For it is written: "The wise are their own witnesses."Above my enemies you made me wise in your commandment, for it is mine unto the age.
D The prophet, in confessing that he loves the divine law fervently, attributes the whole thing to divine grace. "For from you," he says, "having received wisdom and knowledge, I have loved your law." For you have given me more knowledge than my enemies; wherefore they are eager to destroy me, but I do not even bear to defend myself against those who do me wrong; for I envision the eternal reward of virtue. And the choir of the apostles cries out these things; for their enemies were the scribes and the Pharisees. They, therefore, having been made wise by Christ the Word, preached the evangelical message, and their teaching has prevailed unto the age; that of the scribes and Pharisees was temporary. 99. I have understood more than all those teaching me, because your testimonies are my meditation. 100. I have understood more than the elders, because I have sought out your commandments. It is a royal trait to teach; but to be taught is the trait of subjects. Saul reigned, and he was old in time; yet neither the power of the kingdom, nor the passage of time made him temperate, but he desired to kill his benefactor. But the great David, while yet assigned to subjects and leading a young age, loved philosophy, and neither endured to start unjust hands, nor to defend himself against those doing him wrong. The prophet, therefore, holds to the same concept. For the teachers of the law and the scribes, wishing to be called "Rabbi" by men, were teaching what was not lawful; but the apostles, understanding the true knowledge witnessed by the law and the prophets, were preaching. Those teachers of the Jews, therefore, are called elders on account of their being in time before the apostles; but the apostles understood both the law and the prophets, understanding these things spiritually. For this reason, the commandments of God were truly sought out by them. 101. From every evil path I have restrained my feet, so that I might keep your words. For it is not possible to travel two roads at once—that of licentiousness and that of temperance, of justice and of injustice—but it is necessary to flee the opposites, and travel the straight one; for thus it is possible to become keepers of the divine words. Therefore, he who keeps all the commandments says himself: "I have restrained my feet from every evil path." For neither can the perpetrator of injustice say this, nor the reviler, nor the covetous man, nor he who has envy or hatred of his brethren, or the one returning evil for evil. 102. I have not turned aside from your judgments, because you have legislated for me. The word teaches us that he never turned aside from the commandments and the judgments of God. For knowing you to be the legislator of these, I embraced them with all disposition. Wherefore he also added: 103. How sweet are your words to my throat, more than honey to my mouth. Honey is indeed sweet as far as the throat, since it proceeds to the belly and the drain; but the words of God sweeten the heart and the soul. For in another psalm he says: "More desirable than gold and precious stone, and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." For my mouth is not so sweetened by...the sweetness of honey as my soul is gladdened by the meditation of Thy oracles. He mentions the throat as the instrument of the voice; but meditation comes through the voice; and the soul, using these, receives fruit from them. B 104. "From Thy commandments I have understood; therefore I have hated every way of iniquity." For understanding what is pleasing to Thee, I have turned away from every species of wickedness. But the entire scope of this Psalm declares to us the custody and observation of the precepts, and the mode of expression is not legal or shadowy, but evangelical; and the grace of our Christian protection, and the norm and safeguard of our life. He frequently puts forward the Law, the commandments, the justifications, the judgments, and the testimonies, concerning which it was said in the beginning of the explanation of this Psalm what indeed they signify; but now let us come to the subject at hand. "From Thy commandments I have understood" — as if we said: from Thy commandments we have received attention and understanding; therefore we have hated every way of iniquity. For the commandments themselves command: "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not commit fornication, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not behave insolently, thou shalt not covet the things that are thy neighbor's, nor his field, nor his servant, nor his maidservant, nor any of his beasts" (cf. Exod. 20.13-17): "Thou shalt not lend thy brother money at interest, nor gold at interest, nor food at interest" (Deut. 23.19-20). These are the commandments of God which we perceive daily through the reading of the holy Gospel and the apostolic disciplines; for these indeed lead us to hate every way of iniquity. For all sins, and all species of wickedness, are called iniquity; through them the wrath of God comes upon the sons of men, or rather, upon the sons of disobedience. From which may you be saved, brethren, and be strengthened in the will of God; and He Himself will give you the riches of His mercy and compassion, for He is our Savior. 105. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my paths." I walk in darkness, but, by Thy law, as if by a certain lamp, I am illuminated. It must be understood, indeed, that the Law is called a lamp, but our Savior and Lord is the Sun of Justice (Mal. 4.2). For that one, indeed, as a lamp, scarcely illuminated one nation; but this One has illuminated the whole world. Thus also the divine John was called a lamp by the Lord Christ (John 5.35), who, while night still was, appeared to the Jews. But since the true light, "which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world" (John 1.9), arose, He declared the apostles to be lights, as those who participated in that light which illuminates all men. And since, according to the voice of the Lord, "the whole world is seated in wickedness" (1 John 5.19), and his darkness is (for David himself said, as it is written in the Books of Kings: "Night was about me, a wretched man, and I knew not"), we have need of a lamp. The Law was given to us for an aid, and it becomes a light on our path. For it is written: "Because Thy precepts are a light upon the earth" (Isa. 26.9). The Old Testament was given long ago to the Israelites; for it illuminated that one nation alone. But when the Sun of Justice, Christ our God, the true light that "enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world," came, He Himself illuminated the ends of the earth, and said to His disciples: "You are the light of the world" (Matt. 5.14); from which light we have all received. 106. "I have sworn, and have determined to keep the judgments of Thy justice." C Since most things are confirmed by an oath, the prophet called his oath the firmness and immobility which he had regarding the commandments of God. That is customary in the divine Scripture: as that, "The Lord God swore to Abraham" (Gen. 22.16); and, "The Lord swore to David the truth, and He will not make it void" (Ps. 131.11). Nevertheless, an oath is forbidden by the whole divine Scripture: by the Old, indeed: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" (Exod. 20.7); and, "Thou shalt not swear by my name in iniquity" (Lev. 19.12); and, "Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing" (Eccl. 23.9), naturally for secular affairs: for the Ecclesiastes said: "I possessed gold, silver, garments; I made for myself gardens, vineyards, aqueducts; and behold, all is vanity and agitation of spirit" (Eccl. 2.4-11). He who for these things takes the name of God upon his tongue, receives the oath in vain and iniquitously. And again the Lord: "But I say to you, swear not at all" (Matt. 5.34); and His disciple James: "Before all things, my brethren, swear not" (James 5.12). Just as, therefore, it is commanded, "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not act unjustly," so also, "Thou shalt not swear."
"I have been humbled, O Lord, exceedingly: quicken me according to Thy word." He said not simply that he was humbled, but *exceedingly* humbled; and this when he was king and prophet, and had confidence from virtue, and abounded in riches, and was a victor over enemies. But he neither trusted in wisdom, nor in strength, nor in justice; he held these to be gifts of divine grace. And when he asks for life from Him who can give it, he does not ask absolutely, but for a life reasonable, legitimate, and made splendid by divine law. And because, while we live, we fall into sin at all (for no one at all is free from filth in the sight of the Lord, not even if he be but one day old in his life), let us embrace groaning, tears, temperance, the maceration of the body. For that is "humbled exceedingly." But when the prophet says, "quicken me," he does not demand this life which is in foods and drinks, but a reasonable, practiced life, endowed with virtue, which keeps the divine commandments.
"The voluntary things of my mouth, O Lord, make acceptable, and teach me Thy judgments." Many duties of virtue the laws prescribe, but some our will adds. Thus also among the sacrifices, some were legal, some were voluntary. For those which were for sin, for trespass, and for ignorance, which the law commanded to offer—these, I say, were paid as a debt to God; but those which were offered from the liberality of the mind, he called gifts. Thus also now, temperance and justice the evangelical laws command; but virginity, and continence after weddings, and poverty, and a solitary life, and sojourning in the desert, are works of the mind, which transcend the law. Such things, therefore, the prophet called *voluntary*. For those matters that are not subject to the necessity of the law, but are fruits of a religious mind, are rightly called *voluntary*. But often having fallen into calamities and hardships, we approach God, according to that: "I will render to Thee my vows, which my lips have distinguished: and my mouth has spoken in my tribulation" (Ps. 65.13-14). These we ought to fulfill entirely.
In another way also these can be understood. Voluntary things are as many as exceed the commandments of God themselves; it is a commandment of God to be joined to one wife: "For marriage is honorable, and the bed undefiled: but fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Heb. 13.4). If, however, anyone wishes to practice virginity, this is voluntary. Similarly, it is permitted to us to possess food, clothing, and garments; but if we institute the practice of poverty, that is voluntary. And if we wish to practice a solitary and monastic life, that is at our discretion. For these things, therefore, the prophet prays that they may be rightly directed, those who wish to perform such things. 109. "My soul is in Thy hands always; and I have not forgotten Thy law." For preserved by Thy providence,
if we are standing in the divine liturgy and we let go of our prayer and praise, and speak with one another about worldly matters and concerns, we have not placed our souls in the hands of God. 110. "Sinners have laid a snare for me; but I have not wandered from Thy commandments." Both men and demons set many and various traps for me; but I chose to walk the unwavering path of Thy commandments. For indeed, both demons and thoughts in many ways ensnare those who live according to God, and then wicked men too; yet they themselves boast that they have not wandered from the commandments of God. For Saul, snaring David himself and seeking to kill him, did not turn him away from the commandments of God. And although David found Saul once and twice, he did not render evil for evil. And long ago in Egypt, the Egyptian woman laid a snare for Joseph, but he did not wander, having kept his own chastity. Susanna suffered this same thing from the elders. "I have inherited Thy testimonies for ever, for they are the exultation of my heart." C 6. The saints and those who live piously exult, and rejoice in the keeping of the commandments of God, and having God as Father, they have also become heirs of His testimonies, and they possess these as a paternal inheritance, exulting; for the inheritance of parents is sweet. For this reason, then, the prophet also praying says, that believing Thy testimonies to be an eternal and inviolable inheritance, I exult and rejoice at the memory of them. "I have inclined my heart to perform Thy justifications for ever for the sake of recompense." The council-chamber of the soul is like a scale; and the mind holds the scale, having obtained the lot of governing. If, therefore, it inclines toward pious thoughts, it is necessary to tilt the scales toward the better. The prophet says he has done this. And not "I inclined" at one time, and not at another; but "for ever," that is, for all the days of my life. For in them I exult, finding the reward, "Which eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man" (1 Cor. 2:9). For these things are the recompense. For good things have been created for the good. "I have hated the lawless, but I have loved Thy law." For having cast aside the thoughts that advocate lawlessness, I have preferred Thy law. Such are the boastings of the saints. And in another Psalm he also says: "Did I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord, and did I not pine away over Thy enemies? I hated them with a perfect hatred; they became enemies to me" (Ps. 138:21-22). Just as he who loves light hates the darkness, so he who loves the law of God hates lawless thoughts and actions, and the turning away from these is love toward the promises of the law. He, then, who is in such a state, cries out: 114. "Thou art my helper and my upholder; I have hoped in Thy words." And this was not accomplished without Thy help, but having enjoyed Thy support, and being nourished by Thy hope. And I have not hoped in wealth, nor in worldly honor and glory and in the help of men, but in Thy words. Whence also one of the wise men said: "Give me not the help of men." "Depart from me, you who do evil, and I will search out the commandments of my God." He commands [one] to turn away from every assault of demons and evil thoughts, in order that he may keep the commandments of God within himself in deed and in word. For this is what "I will search out" means. For these things, says he, I also said to the irrational thoughts and to those who attempt to advise base things: do not suggest any such counsel to me; for for me, life is to be chosen according to the divine commandments. I will not follow these simply, but I will search them out with all accuracy, so that none of these may escape me, but that I may fulfill all that the Lord of all has commanded. D 698 "Uphold me according to Thy word, and quicken me; and do not put me to shame from my expectation." Therefore, deem me worthy of Thy providence, I who possess this goal, so that not having failed of my hope, I may be filled with shame. And "word" here means the promise, meaning, "grant me the salvation promised to me." As then a perfect person and one who has kept the commandments of God, the prophet expects honor and glory at the second coming of Christ our God, where he also hopes to live the eternal life, and not to be put to shame with the sinners, and those who have disobeyed, and those who have removed themselves from the commandments of God. "Help me, and I shall be saved, and I will meditate in Thy justifications continually." For having attained salvation, I will not neglect Thy justifications, but will continually make these my meditation. And he means by meditation not that in words only, but also that in deeds. For the meditation on the justifications of God that is always taking place draws His help toward us, and from it, salvation is born. "Thou hast brought to nothing all those who depart from Thy justifications, for their plan is unrighteous." I will have this fervor regarding Thy commandments, knowing the law-breakers of these to have become shameful and ridiculous. And in another Psalm he also says concerning the sinners: "They shall be brought to nothing as water flowing away" (Ps. 57:8). And again, "Their reproach [is] to those who prosper, and the nullification to the proud." "I have reckoned as transgressors all the sinners of the earth; therefore I loved Thy testimonies." Concerning "transgressors," Symmachus says "dross." But the prophet has declared that he himself also, in a way similar to God, treated the transgressors as nothing, knowing the penalty of lawlessness, and brought all his fervor to the fulfillment of the divine [commandments]. John the apostle therefore said: "He who practices lawlessness, practices sin" (1 John 3:4). Therefore, among those who live piously, sinners are recognized as transgressors of the law. "Nail down my flesh from Thy fear; for I was afraid of Thy judgments." My soul, says he, is surrounded by Thy fear; but since the body rises up against it, I also call upon its members to be nailed down by this fear, so that they, having become dead to sin, might follow the guidance of the soul. This is like that apostolic saying: "Put to death your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5). And again: "I have been crucified with Christ. And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:19-20). For just as one nailed to a stone cannot move, so neither can the one nailed in the fear of God be moved away from the fear of God. And again the same apostle said: "I buffet my body and bring it into bondage, lest having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27). "I have performed judgment and justice; do not deliver me to those who wrong me." To those following Thy laws, says he, I have chosen [to belong], lest I become vulnerable to enemies. And who now has such purity of soul, so as to use such words with boldness? However, the divine apostle also said things similar to these: "For this is our boasting, the testimony of our conscience" (2 Cor. 1:12). Great is he who dares such things in his speech with God. For by saying, "I have performed judgment and justice," he laid claim to the accomplishment of all the virtues and commandments. Whence also he beseeches not to be delivered to those who wrong him, [that is, to] wicked demons and irrational impulses and disorderly thoughts. "Receive Thy servant into good." And Symmachus [says], "Bail out for me, Thy servant, into good"; but Aquila and Theodotion, "Go surety"; meaning, "I am speaking the truth, I do not lie; trust Thy servant who makes promises; become Thyself the guarantor of my promise, that I will strive to fulfill Thy laws." "Bail me out," Master, says he, "and trust Thy servant, and become my guarantor for good, that I may keep Thy commandments and not be slandered by the proud." For all who do not keep the commandments of God are called proud, according to the saying which says: "The proud acted lawlessly exceedingly." Let not the proud slander me. Slander is painful, even if it has a great reward. The admirable man has fallen into this.