John Chrysostom — Commentary on Scripture

They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

Now, the soldiers divided his garments among themselves, but not his tunic. Notice how they frequently caused prophecies to be fulfilled by their wicked deeds. I say this for this detail had been foretold of old. Furthermore, even though there were three crucified, the prophecy was fulfilled only with reference to Christ. Why, indeed, did they not do this in the case of the other two, but only with regard to this One alone? Kindly notice, too, the exactness of the prophecy. The prophet declared not only that they divided the garments among themselves but also that they did not divide them. Thus, the soldiers divided some of Christ’s garments into parts, but they did not divide the tunic; on the contrary, they settled its possession by lot.

Psalms 33:15

He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

Only [God] can cure our hearts, he who alone created our hearts and perceives all our deeds. He alone has the power to enter into our conscience, touch our thoughts and comfort our soul. And if he does not console our hearts, all that people may do is superfluous and unprofitable. Just as when God comforts and pacifies us again, even if people greatly disturb us with myriad troubles, they will be unable to injure us in anything, for when he strengthens our heart, no one is able to shake it.

Psalms 34:13

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Let us train therefore our tongue to speak good words. For “refrain,” it is said, “your tongue from evil.” For God gave it not that we should speak evil, that we should revile, that we should calumniate one another, but to sing hymns to God, to speak those things that “give grace to the hearers,” things for edification, things for profit.

Psalms 36:8

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

The word for drunkenness, dearly beloved, is not always used in sacred Scripture for that failing only, but also for satiety.… Listen, after all, to David’s words: “They will become intoxicated from the richness of your house,” that is, they will be filled. [By contrast], those who give themselves up to drunkenness never have their fill; the more wine they imbibe, the more they burn with thirst, and indulgence proves to be a constant fueling of their thirst; by the time all that remains of the pleasure has disappeared, the thirst proves to be unquenchable and leads the victims of drunkenness to the very precipice.

Psalms 38:5 · 2 passages

My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

Sin is more foul than putrefaction itself. What, for instance, is more offensive than fornication? And if this is not perceived at the time of its commission, yet, after it is committed, its offensive nature, the impurity contracted in it, and the curse and the abomination of it is perceived. So it is with all sin. Before it is committed, it has something of pleasure, but after its commission, the pleasure ceases and fades away, and pain and shame succeed. But with righteousness it is the reverse. At the beginning it is attended with toil but in the end with pleasure and repose.

If you wish to learn the foulness of sin, think of it after it has been committed, when you are rid of the evil desire, when its fires no longer cause disturbance, and then you will perceive what sin is.

Psalms 40:9

I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.

What does he mean when he says, “I have declared your justice”? He did not simply say, “I have given,” but “I have declared.” What does this mean? That he has justified our race not by right actions, not by toils, not by barter and exchange but by grace alone. Paul, too, made this clear when he said, “But now the justice of God has been made manifest independently of the Law.” But the justice of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ and not through any labor and suffering.

Psalms 44:1

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

Listen to this, all you who are heedless of your children, who ignore their singing diabolical songs, while you pay no attention to the divine stories. Those people were not like that; on the contrary, they passed their life without interruption in stories of God’s great deeds and achieved a double advantage. On the one hand, it was a good experience for them to keep in mind the divine favors, and they were the better for it; on the other, their offspring gained no little grounding in the knowledge of God from these stories, and were moved to imitation of virtue. For them, you see, books were the mouths of their forebears, and these stories were a feature of every study and every employment, nothing being more agreeable or more profitable. After all, if mere adventure stories, fables and fictions generally divert the listeners, much more do these stories reveal his beneficence, power, wisdom and care, stimulate the listener with enjoyment and make them more observant. You see, those who were present during the events and eyewitnesses passed them on for our hearing, and hearing is equ…

Listen to this, all you who are heedless of your children, who ignore their singing diabolical songs, while you pay no attention to the divine stories. Those people were not like that; on the contrary, they passed their life without interruption in stories of God’s great deeds and achieved a double advantage. On the one hand, it was a good experience for them to keep in mind the divine favors, and they were the better for it; on the other, their offspring gained no little grounding in the knowledge of God from these stories, and were moved to imitation of virtue. For them, you see, books were the mouths of their forebears, and these stories were a feature of every study and every employment, nothing being more agreeable or more profitable. After all, if mere adventure stories, fables and fictions generally divert the listeners, much more do these stories reveal his beneficence, power, wisdom and care, stimulate the listener with enjoyment and make them more observant. You see, those who were present during the events and eyewitnesses passed them on for our hearing, and hearing is equally effective for faith development as sight.

Psalms 44:2

How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

So which triumphs is he recalling? Which successes? Some in Egypt, some in the desert, some in the land of promise, but especially those in the promised land.… They had no need of weapons; instead, they captured cities by a mere shout, and crossing the Jordan they overran the first city that stood in their way, Jericho, as though by dancing rather than fighting. I mean, they went out fitted with weapons not as if for battles but for a festival and dance, bearing arms for appearance’s sake rather than security; wearing sacred robes and having the Levites preceding the army, they encircled the wall. It was a marvelous and extraordinary sight to see, so many thousands of soldiers marching in step and order, in silence and utter regularity, as though no one was about, with that daunting harmony of trumpets keeping everything in time.

Psalms 44:11

Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.

What is the meaning of “like sheep for slaughter”? Making us vulnerable to attack, presenting us as insignificant. Some sheep, you see, those suited to breeding are for purchase; others, … whether from age or sterility, are useful only for eating. And what was actually worse, their being scattered even among the nations, which was hardest of all for them, their not being able to observe the Law in all precision there and being divorced from their ancestral way of life. And not in one race, he is saying, but in all parts; we are on the verge of only one thing, and that is being abused, whereas we do not have the strength for taking vengeance or lifting a hand in resistance. This fate, you see, illustrates the likeness of sheep.

Psalms 44:12

Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.

It is our custom, remember, to give away even without cost things that are worthless and insignificant, whereas what we put great store by we sell at a high price, should we sell at all, but make available even gratis what we put little store by.… Now, if disposing of something below cost demonstrates its lack of value, much more so to take nothing for it, no charge. So this is what he is saying: just as if someone were to let their possessions go without charge, so you too allowed us to be of no value, you spurned us completely.

Psalms 44:20

If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

This is the mark of loyal servants, to persevere in serving their master despite their ill treatment.… This verse, too, teaches the listeners not to pretend but to serve God with their whole heart.

Psalms 44:26

Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

See how they concluded the discourse: despite their countless good deeds, on what grounds did they appeal to be saved? On the mercy, the lovingkindness, the name of God. Do you see the humility and contrite heart? On what grounds do they appeal to be saved? Lovingkindness, mercy: as though bereft of good deeds, as though not having any claim on salvation, despite being in a position to take pride in so many troubles and dangers, they referred everything to God. Let us, too, living in the age of grace, imitate them and offer up glory to God, to whom be the glory for ages of ages.

Psalms 45:1 · 2 passages

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

The one who speaks from his own resources, you see, hesitates and thinks twice about the efforts he makes, handicapped in his composition by ignorance, error and uncertainty, and there are many things that undermine the speed of his utterance. When on the contrary it is the Spirit who moves the mind, there is no obstacle.

The inspired authors were not like the seers. In their case, after all, when the demon takes possession of their soul, it cripples their mind and clouds their reasoning, and so they utter everything without their mind understanding anything of what is said; rather, it is like a flute sounding without a musician to play a tune. This was said also by a philosopher of theirs in these words, “Just like the soothsayers and seers saying many things without knowing anything of what they say.” The Holy Spirit, [by contrast], does not act like that; instead, he allows the heart to know what is said. I mean, if the psalmist did not know, how could he have said “good news”? The demon, you see, being enemy and foe, commits an assault on human nature; the Holy Spirit, by contrast, being caring and beneficent, renders those who receive him sharers in his purposes, and with them understanding him he reveals what he has to tell.

Psalms 45:2

Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.

How, then, does another inspired author say, “We saw him: he had no form or beauty; instead, his form was dishonorable, of no importance beside human beings.” He is not speaking about deformity—God forbid—but about an object of scorn. You see, once having deigned to become human, he went through every demeaning experience, not choosing a queen for his mother, not placed in a bed of gold at the time of swaddling clothes but in a manger, not reared in an affluent home but in an artisan’s humble dwelling. Again, when he picked disciples, he did not pick orators and philosophers and kings but fishermen and tax collectors. He shared this simple life, not owning a house, or clad in rich clothing or enjoying similar fare, but nourished at others’ expense, insulted, scorned, driven out, pursued. Now, he did this to trample underfoot human conceit in fine style. So, since he did not fit himself out in any pomp or circumstance or attach to himself hangers on or bodyguards, but went about at times alone, like any ordinary person, thus that author said, “We saw him, and he had no form or beauty…

How, then, does another inspired author say, “We saw him: he had no form or beauty; instead, his form was dishonorable, of no importance beside human beings.” He is not speaking about deformity—God forbid—but about an object of scorn. You see, once having deigned to become human, he went through every demeaning experience, not choosing a queen for his mother, not placed in a bed of gold at the time of swaddling clothes but in a manger, not reared in an affluent home but in an artisan’s humble dwelling. Again, when he picked disciples, he did not pick orators and philosophers and kings but fishermen and tax collectors. He shared this simple life, not owning a house, or clad in rich clothing or enjoying similar fare, but nourished at others’ expense, insulted, scorned, driven out, pursued. Now, he did this to trample underfoot human conceit in fine style. So, since he did not fit himself out in any pomp or circumstance or attach to himself hangers on or bodyguards, but went about at times alone, like any ordinary person, thus that author said, “We saw him, and he had no form or beauty,” whereas the psalmist says, “Comely to behold beyond all human beings,” suggesting grace, wisdom, teaching, miracles. Then to underline the comeliness he says, “Grace streamed out on your lips.”

Psalms 45:3

Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.

These terms, you see, signify his operations.… I mean, just as Scripture says God gets angry, not to attribute passion to him but to indicate through this expression his action of punishing and thus make an impression on more materialistic people, so too by mentioning weapons it suggests this. After all, since we are punished not through ourselves but by other instruments, in his wish to demonstrate God’s power to punish he indicates it in terms familiar to us … so that we may gain a more vivid impression of his punishing.… Why, then, does he say this here? In these rather materialistic terms he shows his operation, through which he set the world on its course, through which he brought the war to an end and set up the trophy. It was a harsh war, after all, more bitter than all wars, not against savages in battle but against the demons exercising their wiles and destroying the whole world.

Psalms 45:4 · 2 passages

And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.

All other people, you see, exercise royal power by making war so as to gain cities or wealth, or because of enmities or vainglory. God, by contrast, acts not for any of these things but for the sake of truth, to plant it on earth; and for the sake of gentleness, to make those who are more savage than wild beasts become gentle; and for the sake of righteousness, to make those who are in thrall to lawlessness become righteous, first from grace, and second from good deeds.

What was being achieved was in fact fearful and productive of terror: death was destroyed, hell was broken asunder, paradise was opened, heaven was thrown open, demons were shackled, the lower regions were mingled with the upper, God became human, a human being is seated on the kingly throne, hope in resurrection dawned, expectation reached beyond death, ineffable good things were enjoyed, and all other good things he achieved by his coming.… The Septuagint, [by contrast], reads, “Your right hand will guide you in marvelous fashion,” that is to say, we should marvel not only at what is achieved but at the fact that it is achieved in surprising fashion: through death is death destroyed, through a curse is a curse lifted and blessing bestowed, through eating were we lately expelled, through eating we have once again been admitted. A maiden expelled us from paradise, through a maiden we find eternal life. What was the means of our being condemned becomes the means of our being crowned.

Psalms 45:5

Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

Do you see the successful outcome of the war? The submission of those previously rebellious? The instruction? The catechesis? Their very fall and submission to him, you see, are for everyone the basis and foundation of their exaltation. In fact, having delivered them from their folly and empty conceit and from the demons’ error, he subjected them to himself.