John Chrysostom — Commentary on Scripture

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

By “throne” here he means not simply throne but kingship. He calls it eternal here, but elsewhere elevated: “I saw the Lord seated on an elevated throne,” Scripture says. And again: “Because your throne is elevated.” Another author … contemplates him seated on a throne of glory, whereas David presents also a throne of lovingkindness: “Mercy and judgment the foundation of his throne.” Now, all of these references are to his kingship, that it is everlasting (this is the meaning of “for ages of ages”), that it is in high esteem, that it is elevated, that it is powerful and mighty. Also that it has no beginning, when he says, “Your kingdom a kingdom of all ages.”

Psalms 45:7

Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Christ, to be sure, was nowhere anointed with oil but with the Holy Spirit. For this reason he added “beyond your companions” to indicate this very fact, that no one was like him.

Psalms 45:8

All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

Just as on hearing reference to bow and sword and all those similar things you do not take them in a material way, so on hearing mention of myrrh and cassia you would not think of them in a material way but at an intellectual level.

Psalms 45:11

So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.

The reference is not to beauty of body, since he says it arises from obedience to him. Obedience, however, gives rise not to beauty of body but to beauty of soul. If you do this, he says, note, then you will be beautiful, then you will be desirable to the groom.

Psalms 45:12

And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.

The inspired author, forebearing to mention the whole world, refers to the neighboring city, which at that time was in the grip of impiety, the devil’s stronghold, with an awful reputation for extravagance, and he thus implies the whole from the part.

Psalms 45:16

Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.

The apostles, you recall, traversed the whole world and became rulers more masterful than all other rulers, more powerful than emperors. Emperors, after all, are in power while alive but on their death are no more, whereas the apostles exercise power at their death. And while emperors’ laws are in force within their own boundaries, the fishermen’s commands extend to every part of the world. The Roman emperor cannot legislate for the Persians, nor the Persian for the Romans, whereas these Palestinians passed laws for Persians, Romans, Thracians, Scythians, Indians, Moors and the whole world. The laws remained in force not only while they were alive but also after their death; and those subject to them would prefer to lose their life rather than abjure those laws.

Psalms 45:17

I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

Where he began, there he concluded—in Christ.… Because you have achieved so much, you have appointed such rulers, you have driven out evil, you have planted virtue, you have plighted your troth to our nature, you have performed these wonderful good things. All the world will offer you hymns of praise, not for a short time, not for ten, not twenty, not a hundred years, or in one part of the world, but earth and sea, both inhabited and uninhabited, will sing praise for all time, giving thanks for all the good things accomplished. For all these good things let us too give thanks to the loving Christ, through whom and with whom be the glory to the Father, together with Holy Spirit, now and forever, for ages of ages.

Psalms 46:1

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

He does not prevent tribulations coming, but he is at hand when they come, making us tried and tested … providing greater encouragement from the assistance than the pain from the tribulations. The assistance he provides us with, you see, is not simply as much as the nature of the troubles requires but much more.

Psalms 46:2

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Everything he shakes, he rocks, he moves when he wishes, so easy and trouble-free is everything for him.… So great is his power, you see, that he simply nods and all this happens. So how can we be afraid when we have such a Lord?

Psalms 46:4

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

As a river divided into countless tributaries waters the surrounding land, so God’s providence flows everywhere, spreading copiously, advancing in a rush and covering everything.

Psalms 46:5

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

He who is in fact so exalted, uncircumscribed by place, the ineffable being, deigned to call our city his dwelling and sustains it from every quarter. This, you see, is the meaning of “in her midst,” as elsewhere also he says, “Behold, I am with you.” He supports it on all sides; thus not only will the city come to no harm, but it will not even be shaken. The reason is that it enjoys the most prompt assistance, which is ever ready and prepared; this, you see, is the meaning of “as day dawns,” not pending or delayed but ever fresh and abounding, and at the appropriate time.

Psalms 46:8

Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

Since the weak prevailed over the strong, the few over the many, the powerless over the powerful, and the outcome defied expectations, rightly does he call them “marvels” for happening to everyone’s surprise and being spread everywhere on earth.

Psalms 46:11

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

This, then, is God, everywhere mighty, everywhere exalted; this is God who takes his place with us always. Have no fear, then, be not disturbed, having an invincible Master as we do, to whom all honor and glory is fitting, together with the peerless Father and his vivifying Spirit, now and forever, and for ages of ages.

Psalms 47:1

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

With hands that were previously defiled, accursed, daily stained with blood in the impure sacrifices in which you took the lives of your children, performed shameful rites and went beyond the limits of nature itself, with these hands now clap. “Shout to God in a voice of happiness.” With that tongue by which you tasted accursed things, by which you uttered blasphemous words, with that tongue shout a victory ode.… You have mounted above heavens and the heavens of heavens and have taken your place at the royal throne itself. Accordingly, “Shout to God,” that is, offer thanksgiving to him, the victory to him, the trophy to him. The conflict is not human or the battle physical, nor is the contest over any earthly concern but over the heavens and those in the heavens. He personally conducted this war and gave us a share in the victory.

Psalms 47:2 · 2 passages

For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.

When you hear that your Lord was impaled, that he was hanged on the cross, that he was buried, that he descended to the lower parts of the earth, do not be discouraged or troubled: he is most high, and by nature most high. What is most high by nature would never change its exaltation, nor would it become lowly; rather, even in his lowliness his exaltation remains and is revealed. For even in his dying he then most of all demonstrated his power over death. “The light shines in the darkness,” Scripture says, “and the darkness did not overcome it.” That was the way his elevation appeared in his lowliness.… At that time the sun diverted its rays, rocks were split, the veil torn, the earth disturbed, Judas expired, Pilate and his wife scared, the judge himself on the defensive. So when you hear that he was bound and scourged, do not be disturbed; rather, see him giving evidence of his might even in bondage. He said, “Whom do you seek?” and hurled them on their back. Do you see how he is fearsome, working such marvels by voice and nod alone?

This is really a great king, one who rids the world of error, and in a short space of time installs truth and abolishes the devil’s tyranny, who was a great king even before there were subjects, having the might of his rule not in slaves, nor in pomp and circumstance but in nature itself.… This is a great king, the one whose dignity is not from without, who depends on no one for his kingship, who does all he wishes.… He chose his subjects in such a way as to persuade them to surrender their spirit rather than disregard what was commanded. Whereas the king enjoys the esteem of his subjects themselves, he by contrast provides the subjects with esteem; thus one is only a name, the other is reality. A great king is the one who made the whole world heaven, caused savages to have sound values and persuaded them to imitate angels.

Psalms 47:3

He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.

What a marvel! He convinced those who crucified him to bow down in worship; those who mocked and blasphemed, those addicted to idol worship he taught to let their souls yield to his will. This transformation, you see, was not of the apostles’ doing but done by him who led the way before them and moved their spirit. I mean, how could a fisherman or a builder have so changed the world had not the words of this person cleared all these obstacles? Sorcerers and tyrants and demagogues and philosophers and all their opponents they scared away like grains of dust and dissipated like smoke. In this way they spread the light of truth, employing not weapons or abundance of wealth but simple speech—or, rather, the speech was not simple but more potent than any action. So how? They called on the name of the crucified, and death skulked away, demons were put to flight, diseases were cured, bodily disfigurement righted, wickedness dispelled, dangers dissipated and the elements transformed.… He it was who removed the obstacles as he went before them; he himself smoothed out problems and made diffic…

What a marvel! He convinced those who crucified him to bow down in worship; those who mocked and blasphemed, those addicted to idol worship he taught to let their souls yield to his will. This transformation, you see, was not of the apostles’ doing but done by him who led the way before them and moved their spirit. I mean, how could a fisherman or a builder have so changed the world had not the words of this person cleared all these obstacles? Sorcerers and tyrants and demagogues and philosophers and all their opponents they scared away like grains of dust and dissipated like smoke. In this way they spread the light of truth, employing not weapons or abundance of wealth but simple speech—or, rather, the speech was not simple but more potent than any action. So how? They called on the name of the crucified, and death skulked away, demons were put to flight, diseases were cured, bodily disfigurement righted, wickedness dispelled, dangers dissipated and the elements transformed.… He it was who removed the obstacles as he went before them; he himself smoothed out problems and made difficult things easy. And yet everything was beset by conflicts, everything with snares and hazards, no foothold or places to stand firm, all havens obstructed, every house shut, the ears of all stopped. Nevertheless, as soon as they entered and spoke, all strongholds of the enemy fell, with the result that they even surrendered their souls and then withstood countless dangers for the sake of what they had been told.

Psalms 47:4

He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

Someone may be bewildered and uncertain, and say, “So how is it that the Jews do not believe today?” … Listen to what follows; he added, “the beauty of Jacob, which he loved.” Here in fact he seems to me to be referring to the believers, as Paul indicated in saying, “It is not, however, as though the word of God had failed: not all of Israel belong to Israel; … it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise who are counted as descendants.” Now, the believers are rightly spoken of as the people’s beauty; what could be more appealing, after all, than those who have come to faith?

Psalms 47:9

The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

Here he shows the extent of the gospel’s influence, reaching not only simple people but even the very wearers of the crown and those seated on a royal throne.

Psalms 48:1

A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

While they say “great,” they do not go so far as to say how great; no one knows that, after all, so he added as well, “and highly to be praised.” There is no limit, you see, to his greatness. What it means, however, is something like this: It is necessary to praise him and sing to him alone, and this to an extraordinary degree; but the need is to sing his praises both for this infinite and incomprehensible greatness of his being and for the excess of his beneficence to us.