The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 113
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 114 and 115 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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Alleluia. At the going forth of Israel from Egypt, Of the house of Jacob from a barbarous people,
Ἀλληλούϊα. Ἐν ἐξόδῳ Ἰσραὴλ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, οἴκου Ἰακὼβ ἐκ λαοῦ βαρβάρου,
"When Israel came out of Egypt, and the house of Jacob from among the strange people", "Judah was His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion"; "the sea saw that and fled, Jordan was driven back". Think not that past deeds are related unto us, but rather that the future is predicted; since, while those miracles also were…
Judea became his sanctuary, And Israel his dominion.
ἐγενήθη Ἰουδαία ἁγίασμα αὐτοῦ, Ἰσραὴλ ἐξουσία αὐτοῦ.
The sea saw and fled: Jordan was turned back.
Ἡ θάλασσα εἶδε καὶ ἔφυγεν, ὁ Ἰορδάνης ἐστράφη εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω.
The mountains skipped like rams, And the hills like lambs.
Τὰ ὄρη ἐσκίρτησαν ὡσεὶ κριοὶ, καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ ὡς ἀρνία προβάτων.
What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? And thou Jordan, that thou wast turned back?
Τί σοι ἐστὶ θάλασσα ὅτι ἔφυγες; καὶ σὺ Ἰορδάνη ὅτι ἐστράφης εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω;
Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams, And ye hills, like lambs?
Τὰ ὄρη ὅτι ἐσκίρτησατε ὡσεὶ κριοί; καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ ὡς ἀρνία προβάτων;
The earth trembled at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob;
Ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου ἐσαλεύθη ἡ γῆ, ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ,
"Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob". What means, "at the presence of the Lord," save at the presence of Him who said, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." [Matthew 28:30] For the earth trembled; but because it had remained slothful, it was made…
Who turned the rock into pools of water, And the flint into fountains of water.
τοῦ στρέψαντος τὴν πέτραν εἰς λίμνας ὑδάτων, καὶ τὴν ἀκρότομον εἰς πηγὰς ὑδάτων.
"Who turned the hard rock into standing waters, and the flint stone into springing wells" (ver. 8). For He melted Himself, and what may be called His hardness to water those who believe on Him, that He might in them become "a fountain of water gushing forth unto everlasting life;" because formerly, when He was not…
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, But to thy name give glory, Because of thy mercy and thy truth;
Μὴ ἡμῖν Κύριε, μὴ ἡμῖν, ἀλλʼ ἢ τῷ ὀνόματί σου δὸς δόξαν, ἐπὶ τῷ ἐλέει σου καὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου·
"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Your Name give the praise". For that grace of the water that gushed from the rock ("now that rock was Christ" [1 Corinthians 10:4]), was not given on the score of works that had gone before, but of His mercy "that justifies the ungodly." [Romans 4:5] For "Christ died for…
For we do not by our deservings prevent the mercy of God; but, "The Lord has been mindful of us, and has blessed us. He has blessed the house of Israel, He has blessed the house of Aaron". But in blessing both of these, "He has blessed all that fear the Lord". Do you ask, who are meant by both of these? He answers,…
For the great ones, of the house of Aaron, have said, "May the Lord increase you more and more, you and your children". And thus it has happened. For children that have been raised even from the stones have flocked unto Abraham: [Matthew 3:9] sheep which were not of this fold, have flocked unto him, that there might…
Therefore the Prophet says unto these great and small, the mountains and the little hills, the rams and the young sheep, what follows: "You are the blessed of the Lord, who made heaven and earth". As if he should say, You are the blessed of the Lord, who made the heaven in the great, earth in the small: not this…
...But nevertheless since they derive the truth and richness of wisdom, not from man nor through man, but through God Himself, they have received little ones who shall be heaven, that they may know that they are heaven of heaven; as yet however earth, unto which they say, "I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave…
"For Your loving mercy, and for Your truth's sake". Observe how often these two qualities, loving mercy and truth, are joined together in the holy Scriptures. For in His loving mercy He called sinners, and in His truth He judges those who when called refused to come. "That the heathen may not say, Where is now their…
"As for our God, He is in heaven above" (ver. 3). Not in heaven, where they see the sun and moon, works of God which they adore, but "in heaven above," which overpasseth all heavenly and earthly bodies. Nor is our God in heaven in such a sense, as to dread a fall that should deprive Him of His throne, if heaven were…
"Their idols," he saith, "are silver and gold, even the work of men's hands" (ver. 4). That is, although we cannot display our God to your carnal eyes, whom ye ought to recognise through his works; yet be not seduced by your vain pretences, because ye can point with the finger to, the objects of your worship. For it…
"For they have mouths, and speak not: eyes have they, and see not" (ver. 5). "They have ears, and hear not: noses have they, and smell not" (ver. 6). "They have hands, and handle not; feet have they, and walk not; neither cry they through their throat" (ver. 7). Even their artist therefore surpasseth them, since he…
The result that ensues is that described in the next verse: "They that make them are like them, and so are all such as put their trust in them". Let them therefore see with open eyes, and worship with shut and dead understandings, idols that neither see nor live.
"But the house of Israel has hoped in the Lord". "For hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." [Romans 8:24-25] But that this patience may endure to the end, "He is their helper and defender." Do perhaps…
Every note is a real passage, quoted word for word from a published English translation, with its source. Nothing here is summarised or written by us. Some verses have many notes and some have none, because the Fathers wrote more on some passages than others.
All of these translations are in the public domain. The passages were matched to their verses by the Historical Christian Commentaries project, which also hosts the full texts we link to. The Fathers are a treasury of the Church's mind, and they are best read alongside the life of the Church: if a passage raises a question, bring it to your priest.