Psalm 139 (138):17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Another source suggests your companions have gained esteemed standing, and it is indeed a significant blessing to have the friends of God held in high regard. You have attended to my needs, bringing me forth from nothingness; You sustain me, and in return, I honor Your friends. Their authority is most secure, meaning they stand firm in their positions. Another interpretation notes how plentiful their leaders are, which is clearer, as it continues...

Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks through the Prophets, at times using His own voice and other times ours, as He identifies Himself with us, reflecting the truth that "the two shall become one flesh." This is why He declares in the Gospel regarding marriage that they are no longer two but one flesh. He assumed our mortal form, taking on flesh, but He remains the Creator while we are His creation. Thus, any declaration made by our Lord while embodying the Flesh He has taken on pertains to both the Head that has ascended to Heaven and those members still striving through worldly existence. Let us listen as our Lord Jesus Christ communicates in the prophecies. For the psalms were composed long before He was born of Mary, yet not before He became Lord; for He has been the Creator of all things from eternity, but was made manifest in time through His own creation. Let us have faith in this Divine nature and strive to comprehend Him as coequal with the Father. This Godhead, equal to the Father, took part in our mortality, deriving from our nature, so that we might share in His Divine nature, not stemming from our own essence, but from His.

"Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me" (Psalm 138:1). Let the Lord Jesus Christ proclaim this; He might also say to the Father: "Lord." His Father holds the title of Lord only because of His earthly birth. He is the Father of God and the Lord of mankind. Do you comprehend to whom He is a Father? To the equal Son. The Apostle states, "Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God" (Philippians 2:6-7). The Father is a figure of that form which is equal to Himself—the only begotten Son, emerging from His own essence. For our sake, that we might be reshaped and partake in His Divine nature, being renewed unto eternal life, He embraced our mortal nature. What does the Apostle state regarding Him? He said, "But He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found as a man" (Philippians 2:7-8). He existed in the form of God, equal to the Father; He took on the form of a servant, to be seen as lesser than the Father.

"You know my sitting down and my rising up" (Psalm 138:2). What is there to sit or rise? The one who sits acknowledges humility. Thus, the Lord sat during His Passion and arose in His Resurrection. "You have known it," meaning You willed it and approved it; by Your will it was accomplished. Yet, if one interprets the words of the Head in the context of the Body, a man sits when he humbles himself in repentance, and he rises when freed from sin, buoyed by the hope of eternal life. Do not elevate yourselves before humbling yourselves first. Many yearn to stand tall before they have knelt in humility; they wish to be seen as righteous before they confess their sinful state.

"You understand my thoughts from afar; you comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways" (Psalm 138:3-4). What does "afar" signify? While I am still on my journey toward my true homeland, You have perceived my thoughts. The youngest son journeyed to a distant land. After enduring labor, suffering, heartache, and want, he remembered his father and yearned to return, proclaiming, "I will arise and go to my father" (Luke 15:18). He decided to rise before sitting down. Here, you can recognize him saying, "You have known my sitting down and my rising up." I sat in want; I rose in my desire for Your Bread. You understand my thoughts from afar; I have traveled far, but where can I flee from You, whom I have forsaken? Therefore, the Lord stated in the Gospel that his father met him while he traveled. Indeed, for he understood his thoughts from afar. "My path," he said; what could it be but a misguided path, the way he took to abandon his father? What is my path? The one I have traversed. What are my limits? What I have accomplished. You have marked my course and my bounds, but this boundary of mine, no matter how remote, was not hidden from Your sight. I journeyed far, and yet You were there. You foresaw all my paths. He did not say "saw," but "saw beforehand." Before I undertook them, before I entered into them, You were aware; and You allowed me to journey in toil so that I could choose to return to Your ways. For no untruth is spoken by my lips. What does this mean? Behold, I confess to You; I have strayed from You, becoming distanced from the One with whom it was good for me, and for whom it was ill without You.

"Behold, O Lord, You have known my works, both last and ancient" (Psalm 138:5). You recognized my most recent deeds when I fed the swine; You were aware of my former actions when I requested my inheritance. Those ancient actions were the origin of my newest sorrows: the sin of our fall and the subsequent trials that introduced us to this tedious and perilous mortality. If there was a last for us, so it shall be if we choose to return. For there remains a final reckoning for the unrepentant, to whom it will be declared, "Depart into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41). You have fashioned me and laid Your hand upon me. Where has He molded me? In this mortality; to undertake the labors for which we were created. For no man is born without God's design; there exists no creature whose Maker is not God. Yet You have established me in this work, and placed upon me Your hand of discipline. Thus, He humbles the proud in such a way that heals them, uplifting the humble.

"Your artistry has marvelously been exhibited in me; it has become great; I cannot attain it" (Psalm 138:6). Listen now and take note of something that is genuinely profound, yet brings much joy in its understanding. Moses, the holy servant of God, through whom God spoke within the cloud, had to speak to His servant in ways He had undertaken, seeking to manifest His presence. He longed to witness the truth of God’s glory, beseeching God, "If I have found grace in your sight, show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:13). When he earnestly desired this, approaching God with a familiarity as he had been treated by Him, God replied, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see My face and live" (Exodus 33:20). "I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will pass by, and I will place My hand upon you; and when I have passed by, you will see My backside." This statement reveals another mystery: an obscure representation of truth. When I pass by, says God, you shall see My back; as if He portrays having a face on one side and a back on another. We do not ponder upon the majesty of God in such terms. For those who entertain such notions of God, what benefit is it to them if the temples are closed? They construct an idol in their hearts. These words hold great depth.

Those who were enraged at the Lord whom they saw now seek counsel for their salvation, and it is declared to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38). Behold, they perceived His back, yet could not see His face. His hand was not forever upon their eyes, but while He passed by. Once He departed, their sight returned. After His departure, they implored the disciples, "What shall we do?" Initially, they were violent, then loving; first furious, then fearful; first hard, then kind; first blind, and then enlightened.

"Where can I go from Your Spirit?" (Psalm 138:7). The fugitive in a distant land cannot evade the watchful eyes of the one from whom he runs. Where now can he escape who has exhausted his limits? "Where can I flee from Your presence?" He seeks refuge from God's wrath. What sanctuary can shield God's fugitive? Those who offer sanctuary inquire who he is fleeing from; and should they discover he is a servant of one less mighty than themselves, they shelter him without concern, thinking, "He does not have a powerful lord pursuing him." However, upon learning of a formidable lord, they hesitate to give refuge, or they do so with great trepidation. Where is there no God? Who can deceive Him? Who is unseen by God? From whom does God not demand accountability? Where can that fugitive escape from God’s gaze? He twists and turns, seeking an escape route.

"If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, You are there" (Psalm 138:8). Ultimately, wretched fugitive, you have discovered that it's impossible to depart from Him whom you wish to flee. Behold, He is everywhere; where will you go? You sought guidance—a counsel surely inspired by Him who brings remembrance. If, having sinned, I descend into the depths of wickedness and refuse to confess, thinking, "Who sees me?" (for in the abyss, who admits their transgressions?), You are there to enact judgment. "Where can I flee from Your presence?"—that is, to escape Your wrath? What is my plan? To evade Your face? "I will take flight," he declares, "from Your countenance, from Your Spirit—fleeing Your vengeful gaze." How? "If I take the wings of morning and dwell in the farthest parts of the sea" (Psalm 138:9). Can I really escape from Your presence by running to the edge of the sea? For what is the boundary of the sea but the edge of the world? Let us run with hope and longing, on the wings of divine affection; may we find no rest but at the beach’s end. For if we seek solace anywhere else, we shall plunge into despair. Let us fly to the shore and ascend on the wings of love while we hope and meditate on God at the sea’s far end.

Now listen to the One who leads us toward that place—He whose face we wish to flee in anger. "And Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall uphold me" (Psalm 138:10). Let us reflect on this, beloved brethren; let it be our hope, our comfort. Let us reclaim through love the wings we lost through lust. For lust was the weight that dragged down our wings, causing us to fall from the freedom of the Spirit of God. In our descent, we lost our wings and became prey to the fowler; from whom He redeemed us with His blood, through whom we fled to be caught. He grants us the wings of His commandments; we lift them up, liberated from lures. It is imperative that we possess wings, and He must lead us, for He is our Helper. We have free will; yet, what can we accomplish with it unless our Commander assists us?

And, recognizing the distance of the journey, what did he voice? "Perhaps darkness shall overwhelm me" (Psalm 138:11). Behold, now I have faith in Christ; I am raised on the wings of divine love. Regarding the journey, I thought: the night was illuminated in my delight. The night was lightened in my joy as I despaired of crossing the vast sea, of overcoming the extensive journey, of reaching distant shores, and of persevering until the end. I express gratitude toward Him who sought me when I was lost, who struck my back with the whip of correction, who summoned me back from ruin, who transformed my night into light. For as long as we exist in this life, night envelops us. How did night become light? Because Christ descended into the shadows. "For darkness shall not overcome You" (Psalm 138:12). Do not allow darkness to engulf you; God does not darken it, but rather illuminates it further. It is said in another Psalm: "Thou, O Lord, hast made my lamp; my God lightens my darkness" (Psalm 18:28). Who are those who obscure their darkness before God’s illumination? They are the wicked, the perverse; when they sin, they embody darkness indeed. If they refuse to confess their transgressions, opting instead to defend them, they obscure their own light. Now, if you have sinned, you are in darkness; yet by confessing your darkness, illumination shall come upon you; by defending your darkness, you shall cloud it. Where will you escape from the depths of double darkness if you found it hard to navigate single darkness? Let us not cloak our darkness by justifying our sins, therefore the night shall transform into light in our joy.

Yet, O God, your friends hold a great honor in my sight. This mirrors the statement: "He that receiveth the prophet in the name of the prophet shall receive the reward of the prophet" (Matt. 10:41).

Historical accounts illustrate this vividly: the priests of God were bestowed with immense blessings. Everyone was aware of the promises made to Abraham, declaring, “I will bless them that bless thee: and those that curse thee shall be cursed” (Genesis 12:3). Theodotion's translation of the phrase indicates that “their territories were solidified,” which can also be understood as “their impoverished were uplifted.” This transformation occurred because, amid the injustices of corrupt rulers, those who once endured hardship and destitution received honor from Josiah. Historical evidence reaffirms this point, showcasing how he elevated the priests of God with every possible delight.

Those who draw near to God through righteous living and adherence to His commandments are regarded as friends of God. As stated, "you are my friends, if you do what I command you" (John 15:14). According to Chrysostom, among the virtues, the reverence for God's friends holds significant importance. The term traditionally translated as their dominion can also be understood as their tribes, indicating their identity. Those who are friends of God have become robust in virtue and resolute in resisting evil. This concept of dominion may refer to the authority granted to each friend of God over unclean spirits, which can be seen as a reference by David to the holy apostles and those who emulate them.

Who, abandoning worldly desires, burned with the utmost love... The Prophet reflected on these divine companions when he proclaimed: “And I am highly honoured by your friends, O God; their dominion is very secure.” A friend can be seen as the guardian of the soul. Thus, the Psalmist, recognizing that God's chosen ones are detached from earthly love and abide by His heavenly commandments, expressed his awe with the words, “But to me Thy friends are very honourable, O God.” These are the elect of God who discipline the flesh, fortify the spirit, conquer demons, radiate virtues, disregard the present age, and proclaim the Eternal Homeland through both word and action; even in death, they cherish it and attain it through suffering. They may be slain, but they cannot be overcome. Therefore, “very secure is their dominion.” In this very suffering, where they laid down their mortal lives, we witness the greatness of their spirit. Whence, if not from this, can we assert that “very secure is their dominion”?

The Prophet expresses profound amazement at the teachings previously stated, and this response is well-founded. It is evident that the magnificent wisdom of God, revealed through the creation of humanity and the entirety of human existence, is often overlooked or undervalued by many, who do not recognize its true significance. Thus, the Prophet, emphasizing their worth, refers to them as precious because they transcend human comprehension. He also acknowledges their vastness, deeming it great, as it surpasses human understanding. This idea is reinforced in the subsequent verse, where he asserts that if he attempted to count God's hidden purposes, their vastness would far exceed the grains of sand on the shore.

The primary challenge in interpreting this psalm lies in its initial lack of clarity regarding the coherence of its thoughts. The prophet proclaims God's omniscience, emphasizing that no individual can conceal their existence or destiny from Him. Subsequently, he expresses admiration for God's companions, remarking on their elevated status and influence. He contemplates their abundance, likening them to grains of sand, and concludes with a declaration of his closeness to God: "I rise up, and yet I am with Thee." It is understandable that the connection among the ideas in St. David’s song may not be immediately evident. Often, in human creations driven by noble inspiration, we find a disorganized charm.