Psalm 18 (17):27Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And within the chosen, You will be selected. (Psalm 17:26). With those You elect, You will be counted. With the unrighteous, You will share their fate. To those wicked, You will appear wicked, for they claim, The Lord’s path is unjust (Ezekiel 18:25), and indeed their path is not right.

You, O Lord, bestow Your rewards in accordance with the inclinations of people's hearts. To the reverent, You grant what befits their dignity; to the blameless and sinless, what is fitting to their purity; and to the chosen and righteous, the fullness of perfection. For those who have wandered from the true way and are moving in the wrong direction, You ensure that their journey concludes in alignment with that path. In what manner does this occur? “For thou wilt save humble men, and wilt humble the eyes of the proud.”

You will experience decay; rather, you will undergo transformation. You will be considered righteous in society, seen as honorable, blameless, and chosen, as you turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. However, some interpret these words as referring to God Himself, suggesting that the prophet conveys the idea that God rewards each individual based on their deeds, being the most just being. You set apart the honorable, acquit the blameless, select the chosen, transform the stubborn into the good, and protect them from wrongdoing. Those who offer this interpretation note that the prophet employs the verbal adjective in place of the participle, demonstrating a particular idiomatic expression, such as using honorable instead of condemned or sanctified.

The Lord will repays me based on my integrity; for God is just and consequently loves the just, aiding, shielding, and favoring them. Yet, he converses directly with God, stating: With the humble you show humility, meaning that with a person who has compassion for others, you will exhibit compassion. I treated my worst adversary with kindness and humility; for you have also shown mercy to me. Similarly, the other expressions should be interpreted in this way.

Chosen by God the Father, Christ the Redeemer offers salvation to humanity, as noted in Scripture (1 Pet. 2:4). From Him, the holy apostles and others were called, echoing His declaration: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you’ (John 15:16). The rebellious spirit, once an angel, fell from grace and influenced Judas, turning him from his apostolic mission to become the son of destruction. Denying Christ constitutes a grave sin, as highlighted by Euthymius, Athanasius, and Theodoret.