The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 18
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 19 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.
Οἱ οὐρανοὶ διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ, ποίησιν δὲ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναγγέλλει τὸ στερέωμα.
"The heavens tell out the glory of God". The righteous Evangelists, in whom, as in the heavens, God dwells, set forth the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, or the glory wherewith the Son glorified the Father upon earth. "And the firmament shows forth the works of His hands." And the firmament shows forth the deeds of…
Day to day utters speech, And night to night proclaims knowledge.
Ἡμέρα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐρεύγεται ῥῆμα, καὶ νὺξ νυκτὶ ἀναγγέλλει γνῶσιν.
"Day unto day utters word". To the spiritual the Spirit gives out the fullness of the unchangeable Wisdom of God, the Word which in the beginning is God with God. [John 1:1] "And night unto night announces knowledge." And to the fleshly, as to those afar off, the mortality of the flesh, by conveying faith, announces…
There are no speeches or words, In which their voices are not heard.
Οὐκ εἰσὶ λαλιαὶ οὐδὲ λόγοι, ὧν οὐχὶ ἀκούονται αἱ φωναὶ αὐτῶν·
"There is no speech nor language, in which their voices are not heard". In which the voices of the Evangelists have not been heard, seeing that the Gospel was preached in every tongue.
Their voice is gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.
Εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτῶν, καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ῥήματα αὐτῶν·
"Their sound is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world".
In the sun he has set his tabernacle; And he comes forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber: He will exult as a giant to run his course.
ἐν τῷ ἡλίῳ ἔθετο τὸ σκήνωμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς νυμφίος ἐκπορευόμενος ἐκ παστοῦ αὐτοῦ· ἀγαλλιάσεται ὡς γίγας δραμεῖν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ.
"In the sun hath He set His tabernacle." Now that He might war against the powers of temporal error, the Lord, being about to send not peace but a sword on earth, in time, or in manifestation, set so to say His military dwelling, that is, the dispensation of His incarnation. "And He as a bridegroom coming forth out of…
His going forth is from the extremity of heaven, And his circuit to the other end of heaven: And no one shall be hidden from his heat.
Ἀπʼ ἄκρου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἡ ἔξοδος αὐτοῦ· καὶ τὸ κατάντημα αὐτοῦ ἕως ἄκρου τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὃς ἀποκρυβήσεται τὴν θέρμην αὐτοῦ.
"His going forth is from the highest heaven". From the Father is His going forth, not that in time, but from everlasting, whereby He was born of the Father. "And His meeting is even to the height of heaven." And in the fullness of the Godhead He meets even to an equality with the Father. "And there is none that may…
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting souls: The testimony of the Lord is faithful, instructing babes.
Ὁ νόμος τοῦ Κυρίου ἄμωμος ἐπιστρέφων ψυχὰς, ἡ μαρτυρία Κυρίου πιστὴ σοφίζουσα νήπια.
"The law of the Lord is undefiled, converting souls" (ver. 7). The law of the Lord, therefore, is Himself who came to fulfil the law, not to destroy it; an undefiled law, "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth," not oppressing souls with the yoke of bondage, but converting them to imitate Him in…
The ordinances of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes.
Τὰ δικαιώματα Κυρίου εὐθέα εὐφραίνοντα καρδίαν, ἡ ἐντολὴ Κυρίου τηλαυγὴς φωτίζουσα ὀφθαλμούς.
"The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart". All the statutes of the Lord are right in Him who taught not what He did not; that they who should imitate Him might rejoice in heart, in those things which they should do freely with love, not slavishly with fear. "The commandment of the Lord is lucid,…
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever and ever: The judgments of the Lord are true, and justified altogether.
Ὁ φόβος Κυρίου ἁγνὸς διαμένων εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος, τὰ κρίματα Κυρίου ἀληθινὰ δεδικαιωμένα ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό·
"The fear of the Lord is chaste, enduring for ever". "The fear of the Lord;" not that distressing fear under the law, dreading exceedingly the withdrawal of temporal goods, by the love of which the soul commits fornication; but that chaste fear wherewith the Church, the more ardently she loves her Spouse, the more…
To be desired more than gold, and much precious stone: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Ἐπιθυμητὰ ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ λίθον τίμιον πολὺν, καὶ γλυκύτερα ὑπὲρ μέλι καὶ κηρίον.
"The judgments of the Lord are true, justified together." The judgments of Him, who "judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son," are justified in truth unchangeably. For neither in His threatenings nor His promises doth God deceive any man, nor can any withdraw either from the ungodly His…
For thy servant keeps to them: In the keeping of them there is great reward.
Καὶ γὰρ ὁ δοῦλός σου φυλάσσει αὐτὰ, ἐν τῷ φυλάσσειν αὐτὰ ἀνταπόδοσις πολλή.
"For Your servant keeps them". For to him who keeps them not the day of the Lord is bitter. "In keeping them there is great reward." Not in any external benefit, but in the thing itself, that God's judgments are kept, is there great reward; great because one rejoices therein.
Who will understand his transgressions? Purge thou me from my secret sins.
Παραπτώματα τίς συνήσει; ἐκ τῶν κρυφίων μου καθάρισόν με,
"Who understands sins?" [Psalm 19:12.] But what sort of sweetness can there be in sins, where there is no understanding? For who can understand sins, which close the very eye, to which truth is pleasant, to which the judgments of God are desirable and sweet? Yea, as darkness closes the eye, so do sins the mind, and…
And spare thy servant the attack of strangers: If they do not gain the dominion over me, then shall I be blameless, And I shall be clear from great sin.
καὶ ἀπὸ ἀλλοτρίων φεῖσαι τοῦ δούλου σου· ἐὰν μή μου κατακυριεύσωσι, τότε ἄμωμος ἔσομαι, καὶ καθαρισθήσομαι ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας μεγάλης.
"Cleanse me, O Lord, from my secret faults." From the lusts which lie hidden in me, cleanse me, O Lord. "And from the" faults "of others preserve Your servant". Let me not be led astray by others. For he is not a prey to the faults of others, who is cleansed from his own. Preserve therefore from the lusts of others,…
So shall the sayings of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, Be pleasing continually before thee, O Lord my helper, and my redeemer.
Καὶ ἔσονται εἰς εὐδοκίαν τὸ λόγια τοῦ στόματός μου, καὶ ἡ μελέτη τῆς καρδίας μου ἐνώπιόν σου διαπαντός· Κύριε βοηθέ μου, καὶ λυτρωτά μου.
"And the words of my mouth shall be pleasing, and the meditation of my heart is always in Your sight." The meditation of my heart is not after the vain glory of pleasing men, for now there is pride no more, but in Your sight always, who regardest a pure conscience.
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.