Chapter One Hundred Eighteen

In the Hebrew Bible this psalm has no inscription, but in the Greek and Vulgate texts it, like all the psalms beginning with 110, is inscribed as “Alleluia.” The psalm is alphabetic, with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet beginning not a single verse, as in those psalms which we have already encountered, but a strophe of 8 verses, and therefore there are altogether 176 verses in the psalm and 22 strophes, corresponding to the number of signs in the Hebrew alphabet. The psalm can be considered written during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, since the indications in the psalm of the disorders of life, such as hostile relations of the government toward the Jews (Ps 118:23), the appearance among the Jews themselves of apostates (Ps 118:21), as well as the numerous indications that the righteous man struggled and found defense and support only in faith in the Lord and obedience to His law (v. Ps 118:1-8 and others) coincide with the situation of the Jews in the era of the activity of Ezra and Nehemiah, when the Persian kings hindered the Jews through the intrigues of the Samaritans in the ordering of their civil, political and religious life, when the Jews for their faithfulness to the law underwent direct persecution, for example, under Artaxerxes III, his military commander Bagoas imposed a tax on sacrifices; the well-known Artaxerxes Longimanus even issued an order through the intrigues of a courtier to destroy the Jews (Esth 3:8-14). In this time there were many apostates from the faith of the fathers among the Jews.

The content of the psalm is devoted to clarifying the loftiness of the content of the law of God and explaining its beneficial significance for man. Despite the extensiveness of the psalm and the apparent repetition of many thoughts, it, however, according to the expression of Bishop Theophanes (see the commentary on this psalm, introduction to it), is full of variety either in the clarification of the properties of the law, or different nuances of it, so that for one who delves into its reading it presents an inexhaustible material for instruction. The indicated work of the reverend author will acquaint those who desire it with the details and nuances of the content of the psalm, in its moral and educational understanding; we, however, here will dwell only on those passages which due to some obscurity need clarification of the direct, literal sense.

Psalm 118:1. Blessed are those blameless in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Psalm 118:2. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart. Psalm 118:3. They do not commit iniquity; they walk in His ways. Psalm 118:4. You have commanded Your commandments to be kept firmly. Psalm 118:5. Oh, if only my ways were directed to the observance of Your statutes! Psalm 118:6. Then I would not be ashamed, beholding all Your commandments: Psalm 118:7. I would praise You with an upright heart, learning the judgments of Your righteousness. Psalm 118:8. I will keep Your statutes; do not forsake me entirely. The law of God here is called by different names, yet they express, in the unity of their inner content, its varied manifestations, expressions and significance. “Law”—a general indication, the fundamental generic concept, pointing to those immutable norms to which both physical nature and the spiritual life of man are subject in their structure and activity. “Testimonies”—special commandments communicated by God to man for his spiritual growth. They are “testified,” that is, not fashioned by man, hence they cannot have obligatory force if they are not authoritatively revealed, and can be erroneous, but they are sinless and holy, since they are opened and communicated by the Lord Himself, and therefore are universally binding. This law is a “way,” indicating the direction of man’s activity to achieve the purpose appointed him for his existence on earth. “Commandments”—particular precepts giving guidance to the direction of activity in various forms of life—family, social, religious and others. “Statutes,” that is, prescriptions which establish certain relations of man to God, obligations assumed by the former, the violation of which brings punishment in the form of various misfortunes and disorders of life, for such violation. “Precepts,” that is, limits indicating the boundaries of what is permitted and beneficial, within which boundaries the will of man and his activity should be confined. From the Greek and Latin “precepts” are understood as “justifications,” that is, commandments of the Lord which, when kept and followed, make man holy and righteous before God. “Judgment”—in the sense of impartiality and infallibility of its decisions: in the law there is nothing that panders to the passions of man or is ambiguous, there is only truth. The writer of the psalm praises and considers blessed the one who did not depart from this law and steadfastly followed it, and he prays to God to give him also the strength for such fulfillment of these commandments, since only in the latter lies the condition of spiritual peace and moral satisfaction.

Psalm 118:9. How shall a young man keep his way pure?—By guarding himself according to Your word. In comparison with verse 8, the youth mentioned here should be understood as the writer of the psalm, which is also indicated by verse 100. By this indication, one can partly explain the very extensiveness of the psalm, in which (extensiveness) one cannot fail to see the inquisitive effort of the writer to understand and clarify to himself all the content of the law and its great significance for man, to clarify it even in particulars; this is the first attempt of conscious thought and effort to determine and map out for himself the path of life. Together with this, in the psalm we will see many indications where its writer is permeated with a thirst for struggle and fervent, passionate indignation against all who do not follow the law. The latter trait, the trait of fervent desire for struggle and intention to follow steadily and directly that which is recognized as lofty, is a peculiarity and property particularly of youth. If the writer of the psalm was a youth, then the numerous suppositions which attribute its origin to David, who wrote the psalm to his son Solomon for his instruction, are thereby eliminated: David, when Solomon was born to him, was not a youth, but a mature and experienced man. “Word” is called here the same law of God, as communicated to man from the Lord through Moses and the prophets by means of word and speech. By following this word the youth will preserve his purity, since this law proposes instructions that elevate man, ennoble his soul and are holy.

Psalm 118:11. In my heart I have hidden Your word, so that I might not sin against You. “To hide...in the heart”—to love, to assimilate deeply, so that external behavior would be the expression of internal disposition. In such agreement of inner life and its external expression lies the fullness of personal life and the definiteness of its direction.

Psalm 118:13. With my mouth I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. As a result of deep penetration of the law into the heart of the writer, it is that he constantly speaks of this law, preaches it, since there is no other subject, more lofty and valuable for him.

Psalm 118:14. In the way of Your testimonies I rejoice, as in all riches. “In the way of Your testimonies I rejoice,” I rejoice when I follow Your commandments, because here I find satisfaction of my inclinations. This following of the commandments does not mean only theoretical study of the law, but the varied manifestation of it in activity, which in all its forms and directions was the realization and actual, practical preaching of the statutes of the Lord.

Psalm 118:18. Open my eyes, and I shall see the wonders of Your law. “To see the wonders of the law of God”—to understand all its lofty content, to appreciate the transforming power of it, which makes of a sinful man a righteous man, of one weak in will—a great ascetic, of one insignificant—a hero. Such testimonies of wondrous transformation of man under the action of the law history points out by the thousands: all the prophets were martyrs for the law and unwavering preachers of it, and in the history of the Christian church such facts of great asceticism and martyrdom are impossible even to recount. To understand and know such power and action of the law of God upon man one can when the “eyes are opened,” when one does not turn away from it with a predetermined conviction, but carefully, concentrately, “with opened eyes,” studies it.

Psalm 118:19. I am a sojourner on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. Life on earth is a “sojourning,” a journey accomplished by man to reach his fatherland and permanent, eternal dwelling place. Clearly, the latter is not on earth, but beyond the grave. If this is so, then earthly life must be a preparation for the afterlife and can lead to it only the faultlessly chosen path on earth. How and where is the latter to be found? This path is indicated in the commandments of the law. Who does not follow them is deceived and will not reach the afterlife dwelling, that is, afterlife peace, as a reward for the labors undertaken to achieve it. Here is a rather clear teaching on the purpose of earthly existence, the immortality of the human soul and afterlife retribution.

Psalm 118:21. You have subdued the proud, the cursed, who turn aside from Your commandments. Psalm 118:22. Remove from me scorn and reproach, for I keep Your testimonies. Psalm 118:23. Princes sit and speak against me, but Your servant meditates on Your statutes. In these verses is an indication of the position of the Jewish people in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, when they encountered opposition both from apostates from the faith of the fathers among the Jews themselves and from the Samaritans. The latter are called those who turned aside from God’s commandments because the Samaritans recognized only the Pentateuch of Moses, but rejected the remaining sacred books of the Jews, and consequently turned aside from the observance of the revelation communicated in these books. The Samaritans intrigued against the Jews before the Persian rulers, and the princes of the Persians, trusting their reports, issued decrees restricting the activities of the Jews, such as, for example, the prohibition of the building of the temple and Jerusalem. Such prohibitions were an undeserved scorn and reproach of the Jews, who cared only in these buildings for the satisfaction of their religious needs, and not for political secession, as falsely reported against them by their enemies.

Psalm 118:25. My soul is cast down to the dust; revive me according to Your word. “My soul is cast down to the dust”—I am tormented, torn to such a degree that I am near to death, turned to dust, to nothing—an indication that the circumstances contemporary with the writer were acting upon him in a depressing way, he was close to despair. “Revive me according to Your word”—help me with Your almighty assistance.

Psalm 118:29. Remove from me the way of falsehood, and grant me Your law. “Remove from me the way of falsehood”—preserve me from false and wicked deeds. It is possible that the writer, in order to weaken the intrigues of the Samaritans, was temporarily stopping at the thought of influencing the Persian court by indirect means, but then, realizing that such a method, being impure, might lead to a whole series of similar acts, developing in man indifference to the moral side of deeds, making its measure of worth only their external advantage, he became frightened of his thought and with a prayer of repentance turned to the Lord, so that He might establish him in following only righteousness, His law (see v. 30).

Psalm 118:33. Show me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep it to the end. Psalm 118:34. Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and guard it with my whole heart. Psalm 118:35. Lead me in the path of Your commandments, for I have desired it. Psalm 118:36. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. Psalm 118:37. Turn away my eyes, that they may not see vanity; give me life in Your way. Psalm 118:38. Establish Your word to Your servant, for the sake of Your reverence. The awareness of the writer of the loftiness of the law, its holiness and his own weakness and inexperience, aroused in him, in his resolve to follow steadily the directions of the law, a prayer to the Lord that He would not abandon him by His constant guidance and direction in the most varied circumstances and positions of life.

Psalm 118:39. Turn away my reproach, which I fear, for Your judgments are good. “Reproach”—is understood as coming from God for the sin of man, that is, for turning aside from His commandments. This reproach is expressed in the deprivation of man of the greatest blessing—closeness to the Lord. Such “reproach” for a pious man is the greatest calamity, the most severe punishment, which he fears and from which, in the event of violation of Divine commandments, he prays for the mercy of the Lord to have compassion on him.

Psalm 118:42. And I will answer the one who reproaches me, for I trust in Your word. The ordinary, everyday measure applied to the evaluation of the worth of various directions of life is, for the most part, narrowly materialistic: worth is measured by the degree of advantage and the quantity of practical conveniences. The writer of the psalm found himself in such a position with his deep faith in the fruitfulness of the law of God for those who keep it. His faith was deep, but his external position was calamitous. This brought ridicule upon him from both enemies of the Jewish people, pagans, and from his fellow tribesmen, unstable in their faith and apostates from it. Since the reproach of the hopes of the righteous passed into reproach of the Lord Himself, as if powerless to reward and deliver from misfortunes His worshippers, the writer prays to Him (see vv. 40 and 41) for the sending of mercies to believers in Him, so that thereby to give a factual refutation of the lies of those who reproach.

Psalm 118:43. Do not take the word of truth from my mouth entirely, for I hope in Your judgments. “Do not take the word of truth from my mouth entirely.” “Entirely” means forever, constantly, more precisely from the Hebrew “never,” that is, allow me never to depart from Your commandments.

Psalm 118:46. I will speak of Your testimonies before kings and will not be ashamed; “To speak of Your testimonies before kings”—to explain the true meaning of that which was being established by the Jews after the return from captivity, not fearing any false interpretations and distrust on the part of the rulers (see v. 29).

Psalm 118:51. The proud have greatly mocked me, but I did not turn aside from Your law. See v. 42.

Psalm 118:53. Horror seizes me because of the wicked, who abandon Your law. By the wicked, “abandoning the law of God,” are understood not the pagans, who did not observe this law, but the Jews who had turned away from it.

Psalm 118:55. At night I remember Your name, O Lord, and keep Your law. “Night...”—a time of misfortunes. In the difficult moments of life the writer was comforted only by the strength of his faith in the Law of God and the promises set forth there for all worshippers of the Lord.

Psalm 118:61. The nets of the wicked have surrounded me, but I have not forgotten Your law. “The nets of the wicked,” probably the schemes of the Samaritans.

Psalm 118:67. Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now I keep Your word. The misfortunes experienced by the Jews during the time of captivity showed them that the strength and might of their people consisted not in the ordering of life according to their own judgment, but according to the indication of the Lord. Although constant preaching of the prophets was heard, foretelling severe misfortunes for turning away from God, yet the people did not believe and “went astray” until the moment the calamities foretold by the prophets arrived, in the form of Babylonian captivity. Now, during the time of captivity, the Jew had learned, understood, that his well-being depended on the observance of “the word of God.” The writer of the psalm here is the exponent of the general mood of the pious Israelites.

Psalm 118:69. The proud have fabricated lies against me; I will keep Your commandments with my whole heart. Psalm 118:70. Their heart is thick as fat; but I delight in Your law. By “the proud” can be understood either pagan princes in general, who treated the Jews with contempt, or those among the Jews who directed all their efforts only to their own material welfare, not caring for the common needs of the people and their own moral purity. For all of them the Jew, devoted to his people and pious, was an obstacle, which they wished to remove.

Psalm 118:81. My soul faints for Your salvation; I hope in Your word. Psalm 118:82. My eyes fail for Your word; I say: when will You comfort me? Psalm 118:83. I have become like a wineskin in smoke, but I have not forgotten Your statutes. A depiction of the severity of the hardships experienced by the writer. “A wineskin in smoke,” more precisely, a wineskin in frost, which hardens from it, breaks and becomes smoke from it. “Frost” here is an image of the misfortunes of the Jews, which exhausted the latter.

Psalm 118:94. I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your commandments. “I am Yours”—devoted to You alone and from You alone do I expect help and protection.

Psalm 118:96. I have seen the limit of all perfection, but Your commandment is exceedingly broad. “I have seen the limit of all perfection.” All deeds and undertakings of man, limiting their content and worth to the bounds of earthly life, can be perfect and finished, but “the commandment of the Lord is exceedingly broad,” it cannot be finished by man, no one can say that he has achieved perfection in the law, for the commandments of the latter are of such height that their measure and limit can be only the complete assimilation to God of man, that is, his infinite development not on earth only, but also beyond the grave.

Psalm 118:98. By Your commandment You have made me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. Psalm 118:99. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for I meditate on Your testimonies. Psalm 118:100. I am wiser than the elders, for I keep Your commandments. Guidance by the commandment of the Lord makes a young man wiser than teachers, more understanding than elders and wiser than enemies. Here is an indication that the psalm was written after the removal of some obstacles which the Jews encountered during the time of Ezra. Remaining devoted to the law of God, believing in His help, the true and pious zealots for the well-being of the people did not cease to care for the ordering of its life and these cares were often crowned with success, although they encountered direct opposition from the enemies of the Samaritans and disapproval from the elders-teachers (Hag 1:1-15), who were undermining the energy of the builders of the second temple and in some disorders of life saw signs of the rejection of their people by God, and therefore predicted failure to all their undertakings.

Psalm 118:109. My soul is continually in my hand, but I do not forget Your law. “My soul is continually in my hand,” that is, open to all, subject to the action of the enemy, or—in constant danger. Probably, by hand is meant here the open and direct activity of the writer of the psalm for the restoration of the people’s well-being and this activity was displeasing to the enemies of the Jewish people, who sought to find in it a basis for condemning the writer, perhaps through slander before the Persian government. But the writer was not troubled by the hostile attitude toward him, but steadfastly proceeded to fulfill and restore lawful service among his people.

Psalm 118:116. Strengthen me according to Your word, and I shall live; do not shame me in my hope; Psalm 118:117. Support me, and I shall be saved; and I will constantly look into Your statutes. Although the faith of the writer in the word of God was deep, yet the difficult circumstances in which he had to act placed such insurmountable obstacles in his way that he had recourse to God’s help and cried out for His direct assistance. An indicator of the strength of his faith here is the characteristic that even in moments of some spiritual depression he seeks support not from men, but from the Lord.

Psalm 118:120. My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments. “My flesh trembles for fear of You,” the writer is in trembling, in fearful expectation of what the determination of the Lord will be regarding the success of his activity, he is afraid that by the judgment of Divine righteousness the Jewish people may prove unworthy of His mercy, and along with this the restoration of their well-being. This fear is what causes him to tremble.

Psalm 118:121. I have done judgment and righteousness; do not leave me to my oppressors. Psalm 118:122. Be surety for Your servant for his good, so that the proud may not oppress me. Activity for the sake of the people’s well-being created for the author many enemies, who not only regard him with contempt, but also “persecute” him in various ways, which greatly harm the success of his good endeavors. He prays to the Lord for the cessation of these attacks.

Psalm 118:126. It is time for the Lord to act: they have broken Your law. Against the wicked apostates from the law the writer prays to the Lord to pronounce His judgment. Their impunity and well-being are harmful in that they instill in wavering souls distrust in the activity in accordance with the directions of the law, so that it alone will be crowned with success and will call forth the favor of God. The example of the well-being of the wicked seems to say otherwise. To strengthen the wavering, to convict the apostates and to encourage the pious, the writer prays to God to pronounce His judgment.

Psalm 118:134. Deliver me from the oppression of man, and I will keep Your commandments; Deliverance from “the oppression of man” is a condition of whole and constant service to the Lord and the fulfillment of His law. External misfortunes do not have the power to undermine man’s faith in God, but they can prevent such an arrangement of time and one’s conduct as would always be directed to the service of the Lord, diverting the strength and attention to the removal of these misfortunes.

Psalm 118:136. Rivers of waters run down from my eyes, because they do not keep Your law. Since the writer everywhere preaches about the extraordinarily elevating action of the law on the soul of man, and equally about the fact that obedience to the statutes of the Lord is the true source of both the spiritual and external well-being of man on earth, every violation of the commandments of God which he saw anywhere must have acted depressingly upon him: he laments with bitter sorrow those deceived people.

Psalm 118:141. I am small and despised, but I do not forget Your commandments. The writer of the psalm was not prominent in position among the Jewish people (“I am small and despised”), but he was one of those faithful Jews who sincerely loved their people, were devoted to the service of the Lord and ardently strived for the restoration of true worship of God and a pious life. Possibly the writer of the psalm was one of the pious Levites.

Psalm 118:147. I rise before dawn and cry out; I hope in Your word. “I rise before dawn and cry out,” that is, from early morning, “before the appearance” of dawn, I pray and cry out to You for protection and help.

Psalm 118:164. Seven times a day I praise You for the judgments of Your righteousness. “Seven times a day I praise You for the judgments of Your righteousness.” Seven times—in the sense of often. “The judgments of righteousness”—manifestations of Divine wrath upon the enemies of the pious writer and all the faithful Jews. Here can be seen an indication that the actions of the enemies of the Jewish people were not always successful: their intrigues could be exposed, improvement would occur and these moments of life fill the writer with feelings of grateful exultation.

Psalm 118:171. My lips will speak forth praise, when You teach me Your statutes. Instead of “when” it would be more precise to translate “since.” The meaning is: since only from You, O Lord, comes instruction in the law, therefore I am full of praise for You.

Psalm 118:176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep: seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments. “A wandering...sheep”—a lost, oppressed writer, as is every true worshipper of the Lord at that time, which indicates the general difficult situation of the Jewish people at that time. The content of the psalm presents little indication of the external position of the writer, but speaks much more of what feelings and thoughts are aroused in him by the reading of the law. In it alone he finds consolation and peace, draws faith in the triumph of righteousness and energy for his activity. Such content of the psalm clearly testifies to the fact that the hostile actions of the haters of the Jews placed obstacles before the latter, which impeded and hindered their endeavors. But the hardship of such a position was not without a gleam of light: the writer found it possible to rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for the manifestation of His judgments (v. 164), that is, there were moments when the activity of his enemies was fruitless. The general oppressive tone of the content of the psalm with gleams of light and joy in the writer confirms the supposition expressed at the beginning of the psalm concerning the time of its origin in the era of Ezra, when intrigues were waged against the Jews at court, which called forth a prohibition to the Jews to build the temple and other persecutions and when the leaders of the Jewish people had to intensively expose the lies and slanders of their enemies and partly to call forth gleams of favor from the Persian government.