The Eastern Cross/Bible/Psalms/Psalm 43
The Book of Psalms · the Psalter
Psalm 44 in the KJV and most English Bibles
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For the end, a Psalm for instruction, for the sons of Korah.
Εἰς τὸ τέλος, τοῖς υἱοῖς Κορὲ εἰς σύνεσιν ψαλμός.
O God, we have heard with our ears, Our fathers have told us, The work which thou wroughtest in their days, in the days of old.
Ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ἡμῶν ἠκούσαμεν, οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἀνήγγειλαν ἡμῖν, ἔργον ὃ εἰργάσω ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτῶν, ἐν ἡμεραίς ἀρχαίαις.
"O God, we have heard with our ears; our fathers have told us the work that You did in their days, and in the days of old". Wondering wherefore, in these days, He has seemingly forsaken those whom it was His will to exercise in sufferings, they recall the past events which they have heard of from their fathers; as if…
Thine hand utterly destroyed the heathen, and thou didst plant them: Thou didst afflict the nations, and cast them out.
Ἡ χείρ σου ἔθνη ἐξωλόθρευσε, καὶ κατεφύτευσας αὐτοὺς, ἐκάκωσας λαοὺς καὶ ἐξέβαλες αὐτούς.
"Your hand destroyed the nations; and You planted them: Thou weakened the peoples, and cast them out". That is to say: "You drove out 'the peoples' from their own land, that You might bring 'them' in, and plant them; and might by Your mercy establish their kingdom." These are the things that we heard from our fathers.…
For they inherited not the land by their own sword, And their own arm did not deliver them; But thy right hand, and thine arm, And the light of thy countenance, because thou wert well pleased in them.
Οὐ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ῥομφαίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐκληρονόμησαν γῆν, καὶ ὁ βραχίων αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔσωσεν αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ ἡ δεξιά σου καὶ ὁ βραχίων σου, καὶ ὁ φωτισμὸς τοῦ προσώπου σου, ὅτι εὐδόκησας ἐν αὐτοῖς.
"For they gat not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your countenance". Your "right hand" is Your Power: Your "arm" is Your Son Himself. And "the light of Your countenance." What means this, but that You were present with…
Thou art indeed my King and my God, Who commandest deliverances for Jacob.
Σὺ εἶ αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεύς μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου, ὁ ἐντελλόμενος τὰς σωτηρίας Ἰακώβ.
"You have turned us away backward in presence of our enemies", so that they are, as it were, before; we, behind; they are counted as conquerors, we as conquered. "And they which hate us spoiled for themselves." What did they "spoil" but ourselves?
"You have given us like sheep appointed for meat, and hast scattered us among the nations". We have been "devoured" by "the nations." Those persons are meant, who, through their sufferings, have by process of assimilation, becomes part of the "body" of the Gentile world. For the Church mourns over them, as over…
"You have sold Your people for no price". For we see whom You have made over; what You have received, we have not seen. "And there was no multitude in their jubilees." For when the Christians were flying before the pursuit of enemies, who were idolaters, were there then held any congregations and "jubilees" to the…
"You made us a reproach to our neighbours; a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us".
"You made us a similitude among the heathen". What is meant by a "similitude"? It is when men in imprecating a curse make a "similitude" of his name whom they detest. "So may thou die;" "So may thou be punished!" What a number of such reproaches were then uttered! "So may thou be crucified!" Even in the present day…
"My shame is continually before me; and the confusion of my face has covered me." "For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth": that is to say, from the voice of them that insult over me, and who make it a charge against me that I worship Thee, that I confess Thee! and who make it a charge against me that I…
"All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten Thee." What is meant by, "have not forgotten Thee"? "Neither have we behaved ourselves frowardly in Thy covenant."
"And the shadow of death has covered us". For this mortality of ours is but the "shadow" of death. The true death is condemnation with the devil.
"If we have forgotten the Name of our God." Here is the "understanding" of the "sons of Korah." "And stretched out our hands to a strange God".
"For, for Your sake we are killed all the day long: we are counted as sheep for the slaughter". For you may see a man being put to death; you do not know why he is being put to death. God knows this. The thing in itself is hid. But some one will say to me, "See, he is detained in prison for the name of Christ, he is a…
"Wherefore hidest Thou Your face:" as if You were not present; as if you had forgotten us? "And forgettest our misery and trouble?".
"Arise, O Lord, help us". And indeed, dearly beloved, He has arisen and helped us. For when he awoke (i.e. when He arose again, and became known to the Gentiles) on the cessation of persecutions, even those who had cleaved to the earth were raised up from the earth, and on performing penance, have been restored to…
"What? Was He then other than now He is?" Away with the supposition. For what follows? "You are Yourself my King and my God.". "You are Yourself;" for You are not changed. I see that the times are changed; but the Creator of times is unchanged. "You are Yourself my King and my God." You are wont to guide me: to govern…
Thus much of the future. "I will not trust in my bow," even as our fathers did not in "their sword. Neither shall my sword help me".
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.