HOMILY 36
HOMILY 36
ON PSALM 109 (ll 0) LORD SAID to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand." A psalm of David.'l It is David who is speaking, a prophet, a holy man, a king. What is the king saying? What does the king and prophet say? 'The Lord is my
Lord.' The Savior has revealed the meaning of these words in the Gospel when He asked: 'If the Christ is the Son of David, how then does David in the Spirit call him Lord?'2
Notice, therefore, that He is saying: If He is David's son, as you say, how does David in the Spirit call Him Lord?
Someone may ask: Is He, therefore, not the son of David?
The Lord was interrogating the Pharisees because they were acknowledging Christ simply as the son of David.
I am directing the same question to the Jews and to Photius: If Christ is the Son of David, how, then, does David call his own son, Lord? On the other hand, for the benefit of him who admits that the Lord is God and the Son of Godfor example, Manichaeus, who denies that Christ is the Son of David-in his presence I shall prove that Christ is the Son of David. Now to us, He who is the Son of God is also the Son of David; there is not one Son and another son; I do not make two persons, one in God and another in man; but He who is the Son of God is Himself also the Son of David. The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand." ,
In the Hebrew, the first title of Lord is written in those I Cf. Ps. 109 (lID).!.
Cf. Matt. 22.43.
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characters that are reserved for God alone,s but the second title of Lord is written with letters ordinarily respectful in polite address, as, for instance, a master is called lord by those who serve him, and as kings are called lords.
Understand, then: 'The Lord said to my Lord' to mean, to the Lord to whom is given the command to be seated.
God does not sit; He who has assumed a human body sits; hence, He who is told to be seated is man, the Incarnate
Word. This we affirm against the Arians and in contradiction to those who say: The Father, who gives the command to be seated, is greater than He who receives the command.
All the Gospels proclaim the Person in His human nature; no need to stop for proof now, since anything and everything less than divinity is referred to the man, is referred to the flesh. Now we turn our attention to the psalm.
'The scepter of your power the Lord will stretch forth from Sian: 'Scepter: The Hebrew text does not so much employ the word for rod as the word for scepter, the symbol of royal power. 'The scepter of your power the Lord will stretch forth from Sion,' 'for from Sian shall go fort)l instruction, and the word of the Lord from J erusalem:4 'Rule in the midst of your enemies: The psalmist did not say, kill your enemies, but what? Rule in the midst of Your enemies. Bring it to pass that Your enemies who had been strangers become Your friends. 'Rule in the midst of your enemies,' Your enemies of whom it is written in the sixty-seventh psalm: 'The tongues of your dogs will have their share of your enemies:5 These are the enemies who were under a foreign power. Now, however, the prayer of David is: rule over Your enemies; deign to be Lord of Your enemies.
'With you is the beginning in the day of your strength, in the brightness of the saints:6 This versicle is very obscure.
Let us ponder the day of the Lord's strength, so that when 3 Cf. Commentarioli in ps. 109.1.
4 Isa.2.3.
5 Cf. Ps. 67.24.
6 Cf. Ps. 109 (110).3; d. Commentarioli in ps. 109.3.
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we know the day, then, we may know what beginning this is, and how this beginning is with Him and has been with Him; as this same beginning in the day of His strength is also in the brightness of the saints. This beginning that is with the Lord in the day of His strength, I say, then, is with Him in order that His saints may be in splendor. 'With you is the beginning in the day of your strength': 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.'? The Father is the beginning, but the Son also is the beginning, for beginning does not have a beginning; if it has another beginning, it has ceased to be the beginning.
Whatever, therefore, we attribute to the Father, we attribute also to the Son, for if the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, and all things of the Father are of the Son, and all things of the Son are of the Father, the beginning of the Father is also the beginning of the Son.
What the passage means, therefore, is this: At the time of Your Passion when You cried out: 'Father into your hands
I commend my spirit:s and You uttered these words in Your state as man, You were not praying as weak man, for with You was the beginning, with You was divinity. You were praying for help in order that, when You had received it,
You might give it to Your saints, and they might be resplendent.
The notion of 'receiving that You might give' should not be a scandal to anyone; it is expressed in accordance with the human nature of the Son, for if He has assumed the body of man, necessarily He takes upon Himself the language of man. Christ is man, and truly man; we say this because of the Incarnation. Since, if He is man by virtue of His human nature, you see His body and you are not scandalized; why, then, is it such a wonder to you if He speaks in the manner of man? If, however, the meanness of a body scandalizes
7 John 1.1, 2; cf. Letter 108.10, PL 22.885 (698).
8 Luke 23.46.
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you, if the cross, the injuries, the blows, and the scourging, and all the wrong of the cross, if that is scandal to you, revert to the beginning, to the divine generation, and do not be scandalized, for the Father says to the Son: 'From the womb before the daystar, I have begotten yoU.'9 Are you surprised if our Lord and Savior, who truly assumed a human nature, speaks as man does, when God the Father who did not as· sume a human nature says in the manner of man: 'From the womb before the days tar, I have begotten you'? I do not have a womb, but I cannot indicate My Fatherhood in any other way except to use human language.lo 'From the womb before the days tar, I have begotten you.' 'From the womb'; from My substance. 'From the womb.'
Listen, Eunomius; listen, Arius. If the Lord is a creature, if He is something that has been fashioned, does the craftsman beget his own work? Does the craftsman call his work his son? A carpenter makes a bench; has he begotten it from his womb? Does he say to it: From my womb, I have begotten you, 0 bench? By no means. What does he say? I made you with my hands. When the womb is specified, however, a son is signified and not an adopted son, even though the adopted also are called sons. 'To as many as received him he gave the power of becoming sons of God.'ll
This psalm, however, actually specifies that He begets a Son from the womb, from His nature, from His own vitals, from His own substance. 'From the womb,' clearly means from the marrow of His Godhead. Everything whatsoever the Father is in divinity, He has given to the Son whom He has begotten: 'From the womb before the daystar, I have begotten you:
'Before the daystar: The rhetorical figure in this phrase is the one called in Greek, and by the grammarians 9 Cf. Ps. 109 (110).3.
10 Cf. Letter 65.5, PL 22.626 (377).
11 John 1.12.
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a1l"6 l'..EpOV> r6 miv,12 for the expression, 'before the days tar,' mentions by name one creature, but includes all. When the psalmist says, 'before the days tar,' let us understand, 'before the moon, before the sun, before every creature.' From the womb before the days tar, I have begotten You. 'Before the daystar.' Before the days tar that is seen in the world, true light was begotten; hence, another psalm says: 'In your light we see light.'13 This remark is addressed to the Father: 0
Father, in the light of the Son we see light, the Holy Spirit.
'From the womb before the days tar, I have begotten you:
'The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent.' The Lord has sworn. The Lord made a solemn promise, not to Him who was begotten before the daystar, but to Him who was born of a virgin after the daystar. 'You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedec.' It is superfluous for us to attempt the interpretation of this versicle, since the holy Apostle has discussed it amply in his Letter to the Hebrews, for this is that Melchisedec without father, without mother, without origin.14 Furthermore, it is very carefully explained there why he is without father, without mother, without birth; and all ecclesiasts agree that 'without father' means according to the flesh, 'without mother,' according to God. Let us, therefore, restrict our comments on: 'You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedec,' simply to a consideration of why he said 'according to the order.'
'According to the order': You will be priest in no wise according to the Jewish sacrifices, rather in the line of Melchisedec. Just as Melchisedec, the king of Salem, offered bread and wine,15 even so shall You offer Your Body and Blood, true bread and true wine. This is our Melchisedec who gave us the divine sacrifice that we have. It is He who 12 Cf. commentary on lsaia 14.2, PL 24.160 (176); on Jona 2.2, PL 25.1131
(405); on Matthew 12.40, PL 26.85 (83).
13 Ps. 35.10; cf. Commentarioli in ps. 35.10.
14 Heb.7.3.
15 Cf. Gen. 14.18; cf. Letter 46.2, PL 22.484 (200).
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said: 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood';16 according to the order of Melchisedec, He gave us His sacrament.17
'The Lord is at your right hand: I see something new here.
In the beginning of the psalm, we find: 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand" '; now the psalmist says:
'The Lord is at your right hand: If He is sitting at the right hand of the Father, how, on the contrary, is the Father sitting at the right hand of the Son? 'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand,'" obviously means that the Son sits at the right hand of the Father; 'The Lord is at your right hand,' means that the Father is sitting at the right hand of the Son. I am saying all this to make clear that the Son is equal to the Father.
There is much to be said on this subject. In the case of sinners, the devil is standing at their right side; but that is another matter for discussion. Whoever is a sinner has the devil standing at his right hand. Someone is raising the objection: How, then, in Zacharia is the devil said to stand on the right hand of Jesus, the Son of Josedec? 'And Satan stood at his right hand:1s How in Zacharia is it written that the devil stands at the right hand of the Savior? You appreciate that this is a problem. At the time that the devil stood at the right hand of the Savior, 'Jesus,' Holy Writ says,
'was clad in filthy garmer;tts:19 He was wearing our sins; He was wrapped up in the folds of our vices; that is why the devil was standing at His right side.
'He will crush kings on the day of his wrath: 'All these have been delivered to me:2Q 'In a moment of time,' Scripture says the devil 'showed him all the kingdoms of the world:
The kingdoms of the world, the devil shows Him, and what does he say? 'To me they have all been delivered; if thou
16 John 6.55.
17 Cf. Letter 73.3, PL 22.678 (442); Hebrew Questions on Genesis 14.18,
PL 23.1011 (329).
18 Cf. Zach. 3.l.
19 Cf. Zach. 3.3; d. Against Jovinian 2.4, PL 23.302 (328).
20 Cf. Luke 4.5, 6.
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wilt worship before me, the whole shall be thine.'21 'On the day of his wrath: on the day of conflict and strife, He will crush kings.
'He will do judgment on the nations.' Notice the contrast: kings are crushed; nations are judged. 'Heaping up corpses:
Our Lord ascended the cross, and as a result many fell away in disgust. 'He is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted.'22 'Heaping up corpses: He will heap corpse upon corpse, not of believers, but of those who have not believed the herald apostles. Moses, too, sent scouts into the world; and because the people did not believe the messengers, they fell while in the desert. Even to this day, the bodies of nonbelievers fall in the death of the desert of this world. 'He will crush heads in the land of many.'23 He will heap up corpses of nonbelievers; He will crush heads of those who waver, of those whose faith is imperfect. He will crush heads in the land of many, but not in the land of all; for if it had said
'of all: there would be no hope for us. 'Of many: Scripture says, to signify that there may be room for others to survive.
'From the torrent by the wayside he will drink.'24 Who will drink of the wayside torrent? He to whom it was said: 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand" '; He who heard: 'You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedec'; He who crushed kings on the day of His wrath;
He who passes sentence on the nations, who stacks up corpses, who crushes heads in the land of many. What else will this One do? He will drink from the torrent by the wayside. Let us the way first, that afterwards we may consider the torrent by the wayside. Now the way is the way.o£ this world, the way on which He walked. In fact, it is written in the Gospel: 'Come to terms with thy opponent
21 Cf. Luke 4.6.
22 Cf. Luke 2.34.
23 Cf. Ps. 109 (1l0).6.
24 Cf. Ps. 109 (1l0).7.
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quickly, while thou art with him on the way.'25 In other words, while you travel through this world, you are hastening on the way to Him who is the true way; hence, Psalm 118 says: 'Happy are they whose way is blameless.'26
Happy are they who pass through this life blamelessly, and through this world; hence, the Priest in the line of Melchisedec, because He came in the way of the world and walked in our way, drank also of the torrent that was in the world.
A torrent does not have natural or running waters; its waters come from rains, floods, storms, tempests. A torrent is never found on the mountains, but always in valleys, in downhill and steep places. The torrent becomes pregnant with foreign waters, and is swollen and in labor as it rushes on. 'From the torrent by the wayside he will drink.' A torrent's water is never clean but always muddy. This is said because the waters of this world are always turbid, always full of tempests.
Would you know how it is that He has drunk of a troubled torrent? He said Himself: 'My soul is sad, even unto death';27 and the Evangelist says: 'He began to be saddened and exceedingly troubled.'28 Our Lord, then, drank of the troubled waters from the torrent of this world, sad waters, waters that had no joy. He took up the chalice and filled it from the floods of the world, and because the waters were muddy,
He prays: 'Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me.'29 He drank of the torrent of this world, not in His own home, but on the way, hastening to another place. He drank of the wayside torrent; He drank of the torrent because it was on the way. 'From the torrent by the wayside.' If the Lord drinks of the torrent of this world, how much more do
His faithful servants? Would you like evidence that saints always drink of the torrent?
Another psalm says: 'Our soul has passed through a tor25 Matt. 5.25; d. Luke 12.58.
26 Ps. 118.1.
27 Matt. 26.38.
28 Matt. 26.37.
29 Matt. 26.39.
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rent.'30 'From the torrent by the wayside.' We have discussed the significance of the torrent; we may even say with the assurance of Sacred Scripture: 'Our soul has passed through a torrent.' Would you like to hear of another torrent? When
Jezebel was persecuting the holy prophet Elias; when he received food and for forty days made his way through the desert: 'He was in the desert,' Scripture says, 'and he drank of the torrent Carith.'31 Now you who are hearing about the torrent of this generation, do not lose hope, for it often happens that the torrent dries up. The flood looks swollen, indeed, threatening with many waters, but almost overnight, it dries up if only you endure it patiently.
Back now to Elias, for he drank water in the desert when he was in deep sorrow and in dire want. He had fled from Judea; see how full of fear he was? He had quitted Judea and made for Mount Sinai; because Jezabel was in dread pursuit of him, he had drunk of the torrent Carith. Nevertheless, because he persevered to the end, the waters of the torrent dried up. Because the water of the torrent failed, the Lord said to Elias: 'Arise and go to the widow in Sarephta of the Sidonians.'32 See, there, how Elias also drinks of the torrent?
But the Lord and Savior Himself drinks the cup of the torrent Cedron; for that is where Scripture records He was when His enemies came to arrest Him. 'They came,' it says,
'beyond the torrent to arrest him.'33 Notice how lowly is the place of the torrent, how rough and rugged it is. Cedron in Hebrew means 'darkness,' so you see that the torrents of this world are in darkness. The Lord, as we were saying, is betrayed; He is not betrayed on the Mount of Olives nor in the temple, but in the torrent, and in the torrent of 'darkness,' Cedron, for all who hate the light, love the darkness.
30 Cf. Ps. 123.5.
31 Cf. 3 Kings 17.4-6.
32 Cf. 3 Kings 17.9.
33 Cf. John 18.1; d. Hebrew Questions on Genesis 26.17, PL 23.1029 (346); Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1.7. PL 23.1070 (389-390A).
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'From the torrent by the wayside he will drink.' Because, moreover, the Lord drank of the torrent and tasted death, the Father 'has exalted Him and bestowed upon Him the name that is above every name.'34 Logically, then, the psalmist says: 'From the torrent by the wayside he will drink,' and because He drank of the torrent by the wayside: 'therefore will he lift up his head.' And what does He say? '1, if 1 be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.'35
He was lifted up and He has lifted us up. His head has been exalted, but the heads of the dragon have been crushed and smashed beneath the waves of the sea;'l6
'Therefore will he lift up his head.' The psalmist did not say, 'His head is lifted up,' implying that it is lifted up by someone else, but He who had humbled Himself, lifted Himself up. He says in the Gospel: '1 have the power to lay my life down, and 1 have the power to take it up again.'37 'Therefore will he lift up his head.' He who is head of all has lifted up Himself; or, more accurately, He lifted up His head; not,
He lifted up Himself; He lifted up His head, for He has always been erect. When, however, the psalm says, He lifted up His head, it really means, He lifted up our head, the heads of us who were lying prostrate on the ground; He lifted up the heads of us who were bent over and unable to look upwards at the sky, only down at the ground. Would you be convinced that He lifted up the head of man?38 He released that woman39 whom the devil held in bonds; He lifted up the head of her who had been bent over all her life, and she adored Him, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
34 Phil. 2.9.
35 John 12.32.
36 Cf. Ps. 73.13, 14.
37 John 10.18.
38 Cf. Commentarioli in ps. 109.7.
39 Cf. Luke 18.Il-11l.
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ON PSALM 110 (llI) D WILL GIVE THANKS to the Lord with all my heart.' If David were not single-hearted and sincere, he would not have said, I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; not only with his lips, but with all his heart.
'In the company and assembly of the just. Great are the works of the Lord.' Of the just, he says, of those who at first were sinners, but are now just. Is it not cause for wonderment when, moreover, we behold the elephant and the camels on the one hand, and the fly and the mosquito on the other, all with the same mobility, breath of life, and members?
'He has given food to those who fear him.' He fed Elias when he was hungry; He rained down manna in the desert for the Jews, and 'fulfilled the Scripture: He has given food to those who fear Him. This interpretation accords with the literal sense. The food that He gave, however, was the Bread which came down from heaven;' with this He feeds us if we are worthy. How many martyrs there are, indeed, who have been consumed with hunger and are now with the Lord!
'Holy and awesome is his name'; holy to the saints, terrible to sinners. 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'; there is no wisdom in those who do not fear the Lord, or, they who have no wisdom have no fear.
'His praise endures forever.' Because 'alleluia'2 is inscribed in the title, naturally the psalm closes with a doxology, for the translation of alleluia is, praise the Lord.
1 John 6.41-59.
2 Cf. Commentarioli in ps. 104.1; Homily 32 on Ps. 105, p. 234; 56 on Ps.
146, p. 400; 58 on Ps. 148, p. 416.