Psalm 18 (17):21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Lord will recompense Me based on the righteousness of His grace, as He has shown compassion even before bestowing His grace upon Me. He will reward Me according to the integrity of My hands. He will grant Me rewards reflecting the purity of My deeds, He who has graciously brought Me into the abundant realm of faith.

The Lord will compensate me for my actions. I am confident that when the time comes for His just judgment, He will reward me in accordance with righteousness, forgetting my transgressions. In His justice, He will consider my shortcomings against my virtuous actions and recognize that my good works surpass the sins I have committed. This passage indicates that even those who struggle with weaknesses can find support through their other righteous acts. By my righteousness, Pravda refers to virtue as a whole, emphasizing the purity of hands in performing good deeds, while skillful actions can also lead to a state contrary to holiness.

The Prophet asserts that it is not unjust for God to attend to my needs; rather, He understands my motives and recognizes my earnest efforts to observe all His commands. By illustrating the immense divine care bestowed upon him, the Prophet simultaneously reveals its just nature, urging his audience towards righteousness and demonstrating that we do not become recipients of this attention by chance, but through a genuine commitment to God. The Prophet’s intent was not to boast of his own virtues but to clarify how one can attain the favor of Divine Providence.

The Lord will grant me a reward based on my integrity. He proclaims that I have not acted unjustly towards those who oppose me, and I have remained steadfast in my righteousness towards them; thus, I will seek a similar recompense from God. For this reason, He rewards me as is right through His support. In accordance with the purity of my actions, He will bestow upon me His reward. The mention of my hands' purity serves to clarify the earlier reference to righteousness. I, the prophet, declare that I have not been a thief, nor have I been greedy, and I have not spoken ill of those who have spoken against me; my actions are free from such corruption when compared to those of my adversaries. Alternatively, the prophet may refer to his hands symbolically, representing his deeds in general, as hands are the primary instruments through which we act.

David, while celebrating the blessings of the Lord, articulates the reasons that pleased God to rescue him from his adversaries. The primary reason lies in his earnest commitment to lead a righteous and faultless life before God. He declares, "Reward me, according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands reward me." It is essential to clarify that David is not boasting of his righteousness or other virtues as accomplishments rooted in pride or arrogance. Rather, when inspired by God’s word, one acknowledges that God is the true source of all goodness. Importantly, David does not refer to righteous acts that no human can claim as a basis for boasting before God; instead, he speaks of the justice in his actions toward his foes.

The Lord's promise to the just is the Kingdom of Heaven, established from the very beginning of creation (Matthew 25:34). The cleanliness of our actions—deeds that are pleasing to God—are the means through which the eternal crown is fashioned by the hand of the Lord for the elevation of the deserving (Athanasius).