Psalm 139 (138):20Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The reasoning unfolds as follows: "For you are courageous in your endeavors. Yet they shall futilely claim your cities." Another interpretation (Symmachus) states: "who have articulated a thought against you." A third voice (unknown, as noted in the original): "because they have maliciously caused you distress." Observe how he does not prioritize his own interests; rather, he withdraws from them out of respect for God and seeks to avoid companionship with those who offend Him. This was also the downfall of the Jews, as they associated with individuals of corrupt behavior. Consequently, they received the law, which set them apart from such individuals, forbidding them from intermarriage, and led them to depart from Egypt, spending forty years in the wilderness as a distinct people.

Our Lord Jesus Christ communicates through the Prophets, sometimes representing Himself, and at other times representing us, due to His unity with humanity, as stated, two shall be one flesh. Thus, in the Gospel, the Lord speaks about marriage, declaring that they are no longer two but one flesh. One flesh, as He assumed our mortal form; not one divine essence, for He is the Creator and we are His creation. Therefore, whatever our Lord expresses through the humanity He embraced is attributed to both the Head that has ascended to heaven and the members still journeying on earth. Let us listen to our Lord Jesus Christ speaking through prophecies. The psalms were sung long before the Lord was born of Mary, yet He has always been Lord: from eternity He is the Creator of all, but in time, He was born of His own creation. Let us embrace this Divine nature and, to the best of our understanding, relate to Him as equal to the Father. However, this equality took on our mortal nature, not from His own essence, but from ours; so that we might partake of His Divine nature, not from our essence, but from His own.

"Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me" (Psalm 138:1). Let the Lord Jesus Christ declare this, saying to the Father: "Lord." His Father is only His Lord because He chose to be born in the flesh. He is the Father of God, the Lord of Man. Do you know who His Father is? It is the equal Son. The Apostle states, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God" (Philippians 2:6-7). This form belongs to the Father, to the Son, who is begotten from His own Essence. For our sake, so that we might be renewed to eternal life and become partakers of His Divine nature, He embraced our mortal nature. What does the Apostle reveal about Him? He states, "But He emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man." He was in the Form of God, equal to the Father; He took the form of a servant to demonstrate His submission to the Father.

"You have known my sitting down and my rising up" (Psalm 138:2). What does it mean to sit or to rise? The one who sits humbles himself. The Lord sat during His Passion and rose in His Resurrection. You, He says, are aware of it; that is, You willed it, You approved of it; it was done by Your will. If you accept the words of the Head as spoken through the Body: a man sits when he humbles himself in repentance, and he rises when forgiven, lifted with hope for eternal life. Do not elevate yourself unless you have first humbled yourself, for many seek to stand tall before first sitting low, to appear righteous before acknowledging their sins.

"You have understood my thoughts from afar; You have established my path and my resting place" (Psalm 138:3). What does it mean, from afar? While I am still on my journey, before reaching my true home, You have encountered my thoughts. The younger son ventured into a distant land; after toil, suffering, and want, he remembered his father, resolved to return, saying, "I will arise and go to my father." He stated, "I will arise," before he took a seat. Here you can recognize him declaring, "You knew how I sat and rose." I sat in need; I arose desiring Your sustenance. You understood my thoughts from afar. I have indeed journeyed far, yet where can I escape Your presence? Therefore, the Lord maintains in the Gospel that his father approached him as he walked, understanding his thoughts from a distance. What path did he tread? The path that led him away from his father... What is my limit? What I have attained. You have traced my journey. However far I wandered, I was not far from Your sight. Though far from home, You were there, and all my ways were seen by You beforehand. He did not say "saw," but “saw in advance.” Before I encountered them, You saw them; and You permitted me to pursue my own ways, that if I were to labor, I might return to Your ways. For there is no falsehood on my lips. What does he mean by this? Behold, I confess to You, I have walked my own path, estranged from You, falling away from You, from whom it was good for me, whose absence was detrimental for me.

"Thou knowest my works, both my last and my ancient" (Psalm 138:5). You recognized my final works while I fed the swine; and You understood my earlier actions when I requested my share of the inheritance. The earlier deeds marked for me the beginning of the greatest miseries: the original sin at our fall and the subsequent judgment when we entered into this tedious and perilous existence. If that was our last judgment, it will serve the same purpose if we wish to return. For some evildoers will encounter one last warning, where it will be declared, "Depart into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:41). You fashioned me, placing Your hand upon me. Created where? In this mortal realm, destined for the toils for which we were born. For no person is born without being crafted by God in the womb; there is no being whose Creator is not God. You formed me in this labor and imposed upon me Your chastening hand, Your punishing hand, bringing low the proud. For in healing, He humbles the proud that He may uplift the humble.

"Your artistry has marvelously manifested within me; it has grown strong; I cannot comprehend it" (Psalm 138:6). Listen closely, for this is genuinely profound yet offers great delight in its understanding. Moses, the holy servant of God, to whom God spoke through a cloud, needed to converse with his servant through a created phenomenon. He earnestly longed to witness the truth of God's presence and said to Him, "If I have found favor in Your sight, show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:13). When he fervently desired this and entreated God, speaking with a closeness as God was willing to allow, God responded, "You cannot see My face; for no one can see My face and live" (Exodus 33:20). "But I will place you in the cleft of the rock. I will pass by, and I will place My hand upon you; and when I pass by, you will see My back" (Exodus 33:22). This speaks to a deeper mystery—a shadowy truth. "When I pass by," says God, "you shall see My back"—indicating that He has a front and a back. We do not form these concepts concerning His Majesty! For whoever posits such thoughts of God, would the closing of places of worship benefit him? He erects an idol within his heart. These words contain profound meanings... Those who were angry with the Lord whom they beheld now seek guidance on how they might find salvation, and it is instructed: "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38). Behold, they saw His back, when His face remained hidden; for His hand did not forever shield their eyes, but while He was passing by. When He withdrew, they exclaimed to the disciples, "What should we do?" First, they were cruel, then loving; first angry, then frightened; first hard-hearted, then softened; first blind, then enlightened.

"Where shall I go from Your Spirit?" (Psalm 138:7). A fugitive in a distant land cannot evade the eyes of the one they are fleeing from. Where now can they escape who are exhausted from running? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I descend to hell, You are present (Psalm 138:8). Wretched fugitive, you have realized that you cannot depart from Him from whom you desire to flee. Behold, He inhabits all places; where will you go? He found wisdom, inspired by the One who grants it... If, having sinned, I plunge into the depths of wickedness, refusing to acknowledge my wrongs, saying, "Who sees me?" (For in Hades, who confesses to You?) You are there to mete out punishment. How do I escape Your presence, that is, how may I evade the awareness of Your wrath? Such thoughts arise: "So I will flee," he says, "from Your face; I will escape from Your Spirit." How? "If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea" (Psalm 138:9). Thus may I hide from Your countenance. If one were to flee to the farthest corners of the sea from God’s gaze, will not the One from whom they flee still be there? For what is the end of the sea but the edge of the world? Let us now run there, embracing hope and longing on the wings of double love; let us seek rest only in the remote distance of the sea. For if we seek solace in any other place, we shall be plunged into the depths. Let us soar to the sea’s shore and ascend upon the wings of double love; and in the interim, let us strive toward God in hope, contemplating the other end of the sea in firm assurance.

Now listen to the One who will guide us there—the very One from whom we seek to flee in anger. "And there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall uphold me" (Psalm 138:10). Let us ponder this, beloved brethren; let it be our hope and consolation. Let us once more lift our wings through love, which we lost through lust. For lust was the weight that dragged our wings down, deterring us from the freedom of spiritual elevation, which is the gentle breath of God's Spirit. In our fallen state, we lost those wings and became captive to the fowler; yet He redeemed us with His precious blood, from whom we fled in our shameful pursuit. He grants us the wings of His commandments; now we exalt them, set free from what once hindered our ascension. We need these wings, and He must guide us, for He is our Helper. We possess free will; yet what can we accomplish with this free will, unless He, who commands us, extends His assistance?

And considering the distance of the journey, what did he say to himself? "I said, 'Perhaps darkness shall envelop me.'" Behold, now I believe in Christ; I am uplifted on the wings of double love. Concerning the extent of the voyage, I reassured myself: "The night became bright in my ecstasy." The night shone brightly in my joy because, in the night, I feared I could not navigate such a vast sea, prevail through enduring distances, or persevere till the end. I express gratitude to Him who sought me when I was a fugitive, who struck my back with the scourge, who called me back from despair, who transformed my night into light. As long as we dwell in this life, night falls upon us. How did the night become a ray of light? Because Christ ventured into the shadows... "For even the darkness shall not overshadow You" (Psalm 138:12). Do not let your darkness become more profound; God does not darken, but illuminates it even further. For in another psalm it states: "Thou, O Lord, hast lighted my candle: my God will enlighten my darkness." Who are they that darken their own gloom, whom God does not deepen? The wicked and perverse; when they sin, their darkness is profound. When they conceal their sins, refusing to confess, yet continue their self-justifications, they deepen their night. So now, if you have sinned, recognize that you reside in darkness; but by admitting your faults, you will be graced with clarity; by clinging to your transgressions, you will envelop yourself further in darkness. Where then will you escape double darkness, having struggled in single darkness...? Let us not worsen our gloom by justifying our sins, and the night shall become bright in our joy.

I am fervent in my reasoning. He articulates the rationale for distancing sinners from Himself, stating that they are cast out due to their opposition and contradiction to God, foolishly proud and ridiculed by earthly existence.

You harbor jealousy in your thinking. Refer to verse 19. Your cities will be captured in futility. It is not that you strike them out of a sense of justice, but rather because they dwell in these cities without purpose, gaining nothing from Your laws. How envious are your thoughts. Refer to verse 19. Your cities will be seized in futility. You do not punish them out of a desire for justice, but because they occupy these cities in vain, failing to benefit from Your laws.

You are consumed by jealousy in your thoughts. Depart, He says, do not join with me, you who have become murderers among humanity; your jealousy, which is ambition, leads you to disrupt peace with wicked reasoning and, in another interpretation, with malicious counsel. Your hailstones will be seized in futility. The aforementioned lawless individuals will reside in your cities in vain, O Lord; for every city and the entire earth belong to the Lord; indeed, the earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it (Psalm 23:1). Why will they inhabit them in vain? Because they will be devoid of virtue and, as Theodoret explains, will gain nothing from the law.

Through these expressions, it becomes evident how brazen those who are wicked can be, especially when God shows them mercy and refrains from delivering swift retribution. They not only believe that their actions will go unpunished but also spew blatant blasphemies against the Supreme Judge. While those who possess a modicum of decency might restrain their speech, these individuals direct vile words against You, openly demonstrating their disdain for the Almighty. The subsequent phrase, "And Thy enemies vainly exalt themselves," indicates that the wicked do not revere God; rather, they lift themselves up with empty praises, soaring in inflated pride. This self-exaltation is generally intertwined with the detestable acts referred to by the Prophet.