Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness.
זַמְּר֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה חֲסִידָ֑יו וְ֝הוֹד֗וּ לְזֵ֣כֶר קָדְשֽׁוֹ׃
7 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Praise the Lord, you His faithful ones. The prophet, envisioning what is to come, exults and proclaims, Praise the Lord, you His faithful ones. Acknowledge the memory of His holiness (Psalms 29:4). Recognize that He has not overlooked the consecration through which He has made you holy, even amidst the desires that occupy this interval.
"Rejoice in the Lord, O you who honor Him." Not everyone who vocalizes the words of the psalm truly sings "to the Lord," but those who offer heartfelt praise, those who are reverent and uphold truth before God, can genuinely sing to Him, maintaining the essence of spiritual devotion. How many have arrived here weighed down by their moral failings! How many harbor deceit or untruth within! They may believe they are singing, yet their hearts are not truly engaged. The psalm invites the praise of the Reverent One. "Neither can...an evil tree bear good fruit" (Matt. 7:18), and a tainted heart cannot resonate with the words of life. Thus, "Create a good tree, and its fruit is good" (Matt. 12:33).
Cleanse your hearts that you may bear fruit for the Spirit, and as you become reverent, approach the Lord with discernment in your song. "And confess the remembrance of His holiness." It is not merely a confession of His holiness, but rather an act of thanksgiving for "the remembrance of His holiness." Here, confession is synonymous with gratitude. Therefore, give thanks for "the remembrance of His holiness," you who have, in the past, fallen into sin and sullied yourselves with earthly impurities, reaching a state of forgetfulness regarding the sanctity of your Creator. To attain forgiveness for your transgressions, confess your misdeeds that have caused harm.
And acknowledge the remembrance of His sacredness. In honoring God's affection for humanity, we ought to present our praises.
Art. 5 “Sing unto the Lord, O ye his venerable ones, and confess the memory of his holy things”: Art. 6 “As wrath in his fury, and life in his will.” The Prophet rightly assigns the duty of praise and thanksgiving to the reverent ones. While the gift of resurrection is offered to everyone, not all are deemed deserving of this grace, making it appropriate for him to choose those who are worthy to sing. Additionally, he skillfully distinguishes between anger and wrath (the former being seen as punishment) and identifies life with God’s will, emphasizing that it is God's desire that prevails, not the former, as we are the ones who bring anger upon ourselves. It is declared, “God neither creates death, nor rejoices in the destruction of the living.
He created in order to be all things, and to save the being of the world” (Prem. 1:13-14). We also hear God express through the Prophet Ezekiel, “How can I desire the death of a sinner, but not to turn him and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23). “Weeping shall prevail in the evening, and joy in the morning” (Ezekiel 18:23). This was true in Ezekiel's time, and it resonates with the fulfillment of universal salvation. The Assyrians, who instigated sorrow in the city through their threats, faced punishment by night, while in the morning, those who had grieved were filled with joy. Likewise, the prophet Isaiah, who delivered the decree of death to Hezekiah during the night, brought him the gospel of life with the dawn. This also reflects the fulfillment of common salvation: when the holy Apostles and all the believers mourned for the suffering of the Lord, early in the morning, women arrived to proclaim the joy of the resurrection.
Sing to the Lord, O esteemed servants of His. The call is directed to those who are righteous and virtuous. Those who lack these qualities may sing outwardly, yet their songs hold no true worth. As the Lord stated, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit” (Matthew 7:18). Similarly, a heart that is corrupted by sin cannot produce words that are life-giving and virtuous. This idea is supported by Sirach, who proclaimed, “Praise is not becoming in the mouth of a sinner” (Sirach 15:9).
Basil the Great remarked that it is not merely the act of singing psalms that counts, but rather the offering of praise from a sincere heart. Only those who are reverent and uphold the truth of God are truly equipped to sing unto Him. Thus, cleanse your hearts so that you may yield fruit for the Spirit and, in reverence, sing to the Lord with understanding. Acknowledge the remembrance of His holiness, and give thanks for it, as it has accounted for us, even though we are unworthy due to our shortcomings and transgressions.
David, not satisfied with simply expressing gratitude to God for His blessings, encourages others who have also received such grace to consistently offer praise to God. It is as though he is saying, "All who live righteously and enjoy divine favor, exalt God the Creator. Acknowledge the remembrance of His holiness; celebrate that He holds you in sacred, merciful, and paternal memory. For while He may discipline at times, it is not for destruction but for our sanctification. This truth is profoundly significant and deserving of everlasting recognition by God: we, who constantly need His remembrance, often neglect to remember Him. Yet, He who has no need of our offerings continually remembers us, particularly when He sent His Son, the Redeemer of the world. This caused the same prophet David to marvelingly inquire, 'What is man, that you remember him' (Psalm 8:5)?"
The Monk, along with Adam, Abel, Abraham, and others, who have been delivered from the shackles of hell, joyfully exalt and honor Christ the Lord, their Redeemer. They commemorate the sacred events, particularly the Incarnation of Christ and His precious blood, which was generously shed on the cross for the redemption of humanity. The Prophet urges the Monk to offer praise to the Venerable, noting that the songs of transgressors are distasteful.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS