Psalm 118 [MT 119]

...We are taught in this Psalm, when we chaunt Allelujah, which means, Praise the Lord, that we should, when we hear the words, "Confess unto the Lord" [Psalm 118:1], praise the Lord. The praise of God could not be expressed in fewer words than these, "For He is good." I see not what can be more solemn than this brevity, since goodness is so peculiarly the quality of God, that the Son of God Himself when addressed by some one as "Good Master," by one, namely, who beholding His flesh, and comprehending not the fullness of His divine nature, considered Him as man only, replied, "Why do you call Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God." [Mark 10:17-18] And what is this but to say, If you wish to call Me good, recognise Me as God? But since it is addressed, in revelation of things to come, to a people freed from all toil and wandering in pilgrimage, and from all admixture with the wicked, which freedom was given it through the grace of God, who not only does not evil for evil, but even returns good for evil; it is most appropriately added, "Because His mercy endures for ever."

Exposition on Psalm 118

We have been admonished to confess to the Lord, and indeed commanded to do so by the Spirit of God. And we have been told the reason for confessing to the Lord: “since he is good.” It is said very briefly; it can be thought about very deeply. “Confess to the Lord,” he says. And as though we asked him “Why?” the answer comes, “since he is good.” What more can you ask for, if you ask for anything, than the good? Such is the power of the good, that the good is what is sought even by the bad.

Sermon 29:1

2–5

"Let Israel now confess that He is good, and that His mercy endures for ever" [Psalm 118:2]. "Let the house of Aaron now confess that His mercy endures for ever" [Psalm 118:3]. "Yea, let all now that fear the Lord confess that His mercy endures for ever" [Psalm 118:4]. You remember, I suppose, most beloved, what is the house of Israel, what is the house of Aaron, and that both are those that fear the Lord. For they are "the little and the great," who have already in another Psalm been happily introduced into your hearts: in the number of whom all of us should rejoice that we are joined together, in His grace who is good, and whose mercy endures for ever; since they were listened to who said, "May the Lord increase you more and more, you and your children;" that the host of the Gentiles might be added to the Israelites who believed in Christ, of the number of whom are the Apostles our fathers, for the exaltation of the perfect and the obedience of the little children; that all of us when made one in Christ, made one flock under one Shepherd, and the body of that Head, like one man, may say, "I called upon the Lord in trouble, and the Lord heard me at large" [Psalm 118:5]. The narrow straits of our tribulation are limited: but the large way whereby we pass along has no end. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" [Romans 8:33]

Exposition on Psalm 118

4–5

Therefore, if one examines these matters and because of this despises whatever is held in honor among people and longs only for the divine life, knowing that “all flesh is grass and all the glory of people is as the flower of grass,” is he likely to think of grass, which exists today and is gone tomorrow, as something worth striving for? The one who has examined well the divine things knows that not only human affairs have no stability but also that the whole world itself has not remained forever unchanged. Therefore, he despises this life as alien and impermanent, since “heaven and earth will pass away,” according to the word of the Savior, and all things of necessity undergo a transformation. Therefore, as long as he is “in the tent, burdened” by the present life, as the apostle says to illustrate its impermanence, he laments the lengthening of his stay, as the psalmist says in his divine songs. For they truly live in darkness who spend their life in these quarters. Because of this, the prophet groans over the extension of his sojourn here and says: “Alas, my stay is lengthened.” But he attributes the cause of his dejection to darkness, for in Hebrew darkness is equivalent to qedar, as we learn from the scholars. Is it not true that people overcome by some night blindness are thus dim-sighted in recognizing delusions, not knowing that whatever is considered honorable in this life, or even whatever is assumed to be the opposite, is understood thus only on the assumption of the foolish? Of themselves they are never anything at all.

On Viriginity 4

Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. [Psalms 118:6]

6–7

The injuries and punishments of persecutions are not to be feared, because the Lord is greater in protecting than the devil in assaulting. John in his epistle approves, saying, “Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.” Likewise in Psalm 117 [LXX]: “I shall not fear what people do to me; the Lord is my helper.” And again: “Those are strong in chariots, these in horses, but we, in the name of our God. They with their feet bound have fallen, but we are risen up and stand erect.”

Treatise XI. Exhortation to Martyrdom 5:10

6–7

And how should Christ, who said to Abraham, “Fear not, for I am with you,” and encouraged Moses against Pharaoh and said to the son of Nun, “Be strong and of a good courage,” himself be terrified before Herod and Pilate? Furthermore, did he who helps others overcome fear (for “the Lord,” says Scripture, “is on my side, I will not fear what people shall do to me”), fear governors, who are mortals? Was he who himself encountered death terrified of death? Is it not both unseemly and irreligious to say that he was terrified of death or hades, whom the keepers of the gates of hades saw and shuddered? But if, as you would maintain, the Word was afraid, wherefore, when he spoke long before of the conspiracy of the Jews, did he not flee, no, said when actually sought, “I am he,” for he could have avoided death, as he said, “I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again”; and “No one takes it from me.”

Discourses Against the Arians 3.29.54

The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man does unto me

Exposition on Psalm 118

6–7

A brother asked an old man, “What shall a man do in every temptation that comes on him and in every thought sent by the enemy?” He replied, “He must weep in the sight of the goodness of God, that he may aid and assist him. For it is written, ‘The Lord is with me to help me, and I shall avenge myself upon my foes.’ ”

Sayings of the Egyptian Fathers 36

The Lord is my helper: therefore shall I despise mine enemies

Exposition on Psalm 118

8–9

Avoid entertaining people of the world, especially those whose honors make them swell with pride. You are the priest of a crucified Lord who was poor and lived on the bread of strangers. It is a disgrace to you if the consul’s lictors or soldiers keep watch before your door and if the governor of the province has a better dinner with you than in his own palace. If you plead as an excuse your wish to intercede for the unhappy and the oppressed, I reply that a secular magistrate will defer more to a pastor who is self-denying than to one who is rich; he will pay more regard to your holiness than to your wealth. Or if he is a man who will only listen to the clergy over a glass, I will readily forego his aid and will appeal to Christ, who can help more effectively than any judge. Truly “it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in people. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”

Letter 52.11

It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put any confidence in man

Exposition on Psalm 118

It is good to hope in the Lord rather than to hope in people

On Eighty-three Varied Questions 69:4

It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put any confidence in princes

Exposition on Psalm 118

All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.

Exposition on Psalm 118

They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.

Exposition on Psalm 118

When a thought oppresses you, do not be downhearted but put up with it in courage, saying, “They swarmed around me closer and closer, but I drove them back in the name of the Lord.” Divine help will arrive at your side immediately, and you will drive them away from you, and courage will compass you round about, and the glory of God will walk with you; and “you will be filled to your soul’s desire.” For the ways of God are humility of heart and gentleness. It is said indeed, “Whom shall I consider if not the humble and the meek?” If you move ahead in the ways of the Lord, he will watch over you, will give you strength and will fill you with knowledge and wisdom. Your remembrance will remain before him at all times. He will deliver you from the devil, and in your dying day he will grant you his peace.

Instructions 9

"They came about me as bees do a hive, and burned up even as the fire among the thorns: and in the Name of the Lord have I taken vengeance on them" [Psalm 118:12]. Here then the order of the words corresponds with the order of events. For we rightly understand that our Lord Himself, the Head of the Church, was surrounded by persecutors, even as bees surround a hive. For the Holy Spirit is speaking with mystic subtlety of what was done by those who knew not what they did. For bees make honey in the hives: while our Lord's persecutors, unconscious as they were, rendered Him sweeter unto us even by His very Passion; so that we may taste and see how sweet is the Lord, "Who died for our sins, and arose for our justification." [Romans 4:25] But what follows, "and burned up even as the fire among the thorns," is better understood of His Body, that is, of a people spread abroad, whom all nations compassed about, since it was gathered together from all nations. They consumed this sinful flesh, and the grievous piercings of this mortal life, in the flame of persecution. "Taken vengeance on them:" either because they themselves, that wickedness, which in them persecuted the righteous, having been extinguished, were joined with the people of Christ; or because the rest of them, who have at this time scorned the mercy of Him who calls them, will at the end feel the truth of Him who judges them.

Exposition on Psalm 118

"I have been driven on like a heap of sand, so that I was falling, but the Lord upheld me" [Psalm 118:13]. For though there were a great multitude of believers, that might be compared to the countless sand, and brought into one communion as into one heap; yet "what is man, save Thou be mindful of Him?" He said not, the multitude of the Gentiles could not surpass the abundance of my host, but, "the Lord," he says, "has upheld me." The persecution of the Gentiles succeeded not in pushing forward, to its overthrow, the host of the faithful dwelling together in the unity of the faith.

Exposition on Psalm 118

"The Lord is my strength and my praise, and has become my salvation" [Psalm 118:14]. Who then fall, when they are pushed, save they who choose to be their own strength and their own praise? For no man falls in the contest, except he whose strength and praise fails. He therefore whose strength and praise is the Lord, falls no more than the Lord falls. And for this reason He has become their salvation; not that He has become anything which He was not before, but because they, when they believed on Him, became what they were not before, and then He began to be salvation unto them when turned towards Him, which He was not to them when turned away from Himself.

Exposition on Psalm 118

The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.

Sermon 299E.1

"The voice of joy and health is in the dwellings of the righteous" [Psalm 118:15]; where they who raged against their bodies thought there was the voice of sorrow and destruction. For they did not know the inward joy of the saints in their future hope. Whence the Apostle also says, "As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;" [2 Corinthians 6:10] and again, "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also." [Romans 5:3]

Exposition on Psalm 118

And there are some who suppose that God is fashioned after a bodily manner, when they read of his hand or finger, and they do not observe that these things are written not because of any fashion of a body, since in the godhead there are neither members nor parts, but they are expressions of the oneness of the godhead, that we may believe that it is impossible for either the Son or the Holy Spirit to be separated from God the Father; since the fullness of the godhead dwells as it were bodily in the substance of the Trinity. For this reason, then, is the Son also called the right hand of the Father, as we read: “The right hand of the Lord has done mighty things, the right hand of the Lord has exalted me.”

On the Holy Spirit 2.7.69

"The right hand of the Lord has brought mighty things to pass" [Psalm 118:16]. What mighty things? Says he. "The right hand of the Lord," he says, "has exalted me." It is a mighty thing to exalt the humble, to deify the mortal, to bring perfection out of infirmity, glory from subjection, victory from suffering, to give help, to raise from trouble; that the true salvation of God might be laid open to the afflicted, and the salvation of men might remain of no avail to the persecutors. These are great things: but what are you surprised at? Hear what he repeats: "The right hand of the Lord has brought mighty things to pass."

Exposition on Psalm 118

Thus it is that sinners, and all those who are aliens from the catholic church, heretics and schismatics, since they are excluded from glorifying [God] with the saints, cannot properly even continue to be observers of the feasts. But the righteous person, although he appears dying to the world, uses boldness of speech, saying, “I shall not die but live and narrate all your marvelous deeds.” For even God is not ashamed to be called the God of those who truly mortify their members that are on the earth but live in Christ; for he is the God of the living, not of the dead. And he by his living Word quickens all people and gives him to be food and life to the saints; as the Lord declares, “I am the bread of life.”

Festal Letters 7:4

"I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord" [Psalm 118:17]. But they, while they were dealing havoc and death on every side, thought that the Church of Christ was dying. Behold, he now declares the works of the Lord. Everywhere Christ is the glory of the blessed Martyrs. By being beaten He conquered those who struck Him; by being patient of torments, the tormentors; by loving, those who raged against Him.

Exposition on Psalm 118

I shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord.

Against Faustus, a Manichaean 19:31

Consider the carefulness and the wisdom and the power of this Educator [Christ]: “He shall not judge according to appearance or reprove according to gossip, but he shall render judgment with humility and shall reprove the sinners of the earth.” And through the lips of David, he says, “The Lord chastising has chastised me, but he has not delivered me over to death.” Indeed, the very act of being chastised, and being educated by the Lord as a child, means deliverance from death. Again, he says through the same psalmist: “You shall rule them with a rod of iron.” Similarly, the apostle exclaimed when he was aroused by the Corinthians: “What is your wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?” By another psalmist, the Lord says again: “The Lord will send forth the rod of power out of Zion.”

The Instructor Book 1

“When we are judged by the Lord,” says the apostle, “it is for our education, so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” Earlier the prophet said, “The Lord has given me a stern lesson but not handed me over to death.” Scripture says, “It is to teach you his righteousness that he taught you a lesson, tested you and exposed you to hunger and thirst in a desolate land, for you to know in your heart all his statutes and judgments that I am laying on you today. The Lord your God will educate you just as a human will educate his son.” Scripture again emphasizes the lesson taught by a good example: “It is a great education when a malefactor sees a criminal punished,” for “the fear of the Lord breeds wisdom.”

The Stromata Book 1

Rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord has chastened and corrected me, but he has not given me over to death.” … A messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh. Lift up your heart, for you see that you have received a gift like that of St. Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water,” and then, “you brought us out to a place of rest.” … Threefold suffering like this will make you perfect. He also said, “You set me at liberty when I was in trouble.” Thus, let us test our souls by this kind of self-discipline, for we have our enemy before our eyes.

Sayings of the Fathers 7:16

When the devil does not use the goads of poverty to tempt, he uses wealth for the purpose. When he cannot win by scorn and mockery, he tries praise and flattery. If he cannot win by providing health, he tries illness; if he cannot win by comfort, he tries to ruin the soul by vexations that lead a person to act against the monastic vow. He inflicts severe sicknesses on people whom he wants to tempt, and so makes them weak and thereby shakes the love that they feel toward God. But although the body is shattered and running high temperatures and thirsting unbearably—yet you who endure all this are a sinner, and remember the punishments of the next world, and the everlasting fire and the torments of the judgment. So you will not fail in the sufferings of this present time; indeed you should rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord has chastened and corrected me, but he has not given me over to death.” Iron is cleaned of rust by fire. If you are righteous and suffer, you grow to a yet higher sanctity. Gold is tested by fire. A messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh. Lift up your heart, for you see that you have received a gift like that of Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water”—and then “you brought us out into a place of rest.” If you have endured the suffering, you may expect the place of rest, provided you are following what is good. Cry aloud the prophet’s words, “I am poor and destitute and in misery”—for the threefold suffering shall make you perfect.

Sayings of the Fathers 7:16

Nevertheless, let him point out to us, why the body of Christ, the holy Church, the people of adoption, suffered such indignities. "The Lord," he says, "hast chastened and corrected me, but He has not given me over unto death" [Psalm 118:18]. Let not then the boastful wicked imagine that anything has been permitted to their power: they would not have that power, were it not given them from above. Oft does the father of a family command his sons to be corrected by the most worthless slaves; though he designs the heritage for the former, fetters for the latter. What is that heritage? Is it of gold, or silver, or jewels, or farms, or pleasant estates? Consider how we enter into it: and learn what it is.

Exposition on Psalm 118

[Syncletica] also said, ‘When the devil does not use the goad of poverty to tempt us, he uses wealth for the same purpose. When he cannot win by scorn and mockery, he tries praise and flattery. If he cannot win by giving health, he tries illness. If he cannot win by comfort, he tries to ruin the soul by vexations that lead us to act against our monastic vows. He inflicts severe sicknesses on people whom he wants to tempt and so makes them weak, and thereby shakes the love they feel towards God. But although the body is shattered and running a high temperature and thirsting unbearably, yet you, who endure all this, are a sinner; you should therefore remember the punishments of the next world, the everlasting fire, the torments of judgement. Then you will not fail in the sufferings of this present time, indeed you should rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: “The Lord hath chastened and corrected me: but he hath not given me over unto death” (Ps. 118:18). Iron is cleaned of rust by fire. If you are righteous and suffer, you grow to a higher sanctity. Gold is tested by fire. When a messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh, lift up your heart, for you have received a gift like that of St Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, “We went through fire and water,” and “thou broughtest us out into a place of rest” (Ps. 66:12). If you have overcome suffering, you may expect rest, provided you are following what is good. Cry aloud the prophet’s words, “I am poor and destitute and in misery” (Ps. 66:29). Threefold suffering like this shall make you perfect. He said also, “Thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble” (Ps. 4:1). So let this kind of self-discipline test our souls, for our enemy is always in sight.’

The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

19–20

Let us therefore root this out quickly, and let us fall down before the Master and entreat him with tears, that he may show himself propitious and be reconciled to us and may restore us to the seemly and pure conduct that belongs to our love of the brothers. For this is a gate of righteousness opened to life, as it is written: “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter in thereby and praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter in thereby.” Seeing then that many gates are opened, this is that gate that is in righteousness, even that which is in Christ, whereby all are blessed who have entered in and direct their path in holiness and righteousness, performing all things without confusion. Let a person be faithful, let him be able to expound a deep saying, let him be wise in the discernment of words, let him be strenuous in deeds, let him be pure; for so much the more ought he to be lowly in mind, in proportion as he seems to be the greater; and he ought to seek the common advantage of all, and not his own.

1 Clement 48

19–20

In this place, then, the gates of hades are spoken of; but in the Psalms the prophet gives thanks saying, “He who lifts me up from the gates of death that I may declare all your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion.” And from this we learn that it is never possible for anyone to be fit to declare the praises of God, unless he has been lifted up from the gates of death and has come to the gates of Zion. Now the gates of Zion may be conceived as opposed to the gates of death, so that there is one gate of death, dissoluteness, but a gate of Zion, self-control; and so a gate of death, unrighteousness, but a gate of Zion, righteousness, which the prophet shows forth saying, “This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter into it.” And again there is cowardice, a gate of death, but courage, a gate of Zion; and want of prudence, a gate of death, but its opposite, prudence, a gate of Zion. But to all the gates of the “knowledge that is falsely so called” one gate is opposed, the gate of knowledge which is free from falsehood. But consider if, because of the saying, “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood,” etc., you can say that each power and world ruler of this darkness and each one of the “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” is a gate of hades and a gate of death. Let, then, the principalities and powers with which our wrestling is, be called gates of hades, but the “ministering spirits” gates of righteousness. But as in the case of the better things many gates are first spoken of, and after the gates, one, in the passage, “Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will enter into them and will make full confession to the Lord,” and “this is the gate of the Lord, by it the righteous shall enter”; so also in the case of those gates that are opposed, many are the gates of hades and death, each a power; but over all these the wicked one himself.

Commentary on Matthew 12:13

19–20

And it is not incredible that the gates that are said to open spontaneously are referred obscurely by some to the words “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may go into them and praise the Lord; this gate of the Lord, into it the righteous shall enter”; and again, to what is said in the ninth psalm, “You that lift me up from the gates of death, that I may show forth all your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion.” The Scripture further gives the name of “gates of death” to those sins that lead to destruction, as it calls, on the contrary, good actions the “gates of Zion.” So also “the gates of righteousness,” which is an equivalent expression to “the gates of virtue.” These are ready to be opened to one who follows after virtuous pursuits.

Against Celsus 6:36

19–20

Our father Jacob too prayed at Bethel and saw the gate of heaven opened, with a ladder going up on high. This is a symbol of our Savior that Jacob saw: the gate of heaven is Christ, in accordance with what he said: “I am the gate of life; every one who enters by me shall live forever.” David too said, “This is the gate of the Lord, by which the righteous enter.” Again, the ladder that Jacob saw is a symbol of our Savior, in that by means of him the just ascend from the lower to the upper realm. The ladder is also a symbol of our Savior’s cross, which was raised up like a ladder, with the Lord standing above it; for above Christ is the Lord of all, just as the blessed apostle said: “The head of Christ is God.” Now Jacob called that place Bethel; and Jacob raised up there a pillar of stone as a testimony, and he poured oil over it. Our father Jacob did this too in symbol, anticipating that stones would receive anointing—for the peoples who have believed in Christ are the stones that are anointed; just as John says of them: “From these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham.” For in Jacob’s prayer the calling of the nations was symbolized.

Demonstrations 4:5

"Open me," he says, "the gates of righteousness" [Psalm 118:19]. Behold, we have heard of the gates. What is within? "That I may," he says, "go into them, and give thanks unto the Lord." This is the confession of praise full of wonder, "even unto the house of God, in the voice of joy and confession of praise, among such as keep holiday:" this is the everlasting bliss of the righteous, whereby they are blessed who dwell in the Lord's house, praising Him for evermore.

Exposition on Psalm 118

But consider how the gates of righteousness are entered into. "These are the gates of the Lord" he says, "the righteous shall enter into them" [Psalm 118:20]. At least let no wicked man enter there, that Jerusalem which receives not one uncircumcised, where it is said, "Without are dogs." [Revelation 22:15] Be it enough, that in my long pilgrimage "I have had my habitation among the tents of Kedar:" I endured even unto the end the intercourse of the wicked, but "these are the gates of the Lord: the righteous shall enter into them."

Exposition on Psalm 118

"I will confess unto You, O Lord, for You have heard me, and have become my salvation" [Psalm 118:21]. How often is that confession proved to be one of praise, that does not point out wounds to the physician, but gives thanks for the health it has received. But the Physician Himself is the Salvation.

Exposition on Psalm 118

22–23

And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? [Psalms 118:22-23] And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

22–23

Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? [Psalms 118:22-23] Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

22–23

Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? [Psalms 118:22-23] Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

22–23

And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. [Psalms 118:22-23] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

22–23

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner [Psalms 118:22-23], And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

22–23

Thus we find from this passage also, that Christ possessed a body of flesh, such as was able to endure the cross. “When, therefore, he came and preached peace to them that were near and to them which were afar off,” we both obtained “access to the Father,” being “now no more strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God” (even of him from whom, as we have shown above, we were aliens and placed far off), “built on the foundation of the apostles”—[the apostle added] “and the prophets”; these words, however, the heretic erased, forgetting that the Lord had set in his church not only apostles but prophets also. He feared, no doubt, that our building was to stand in Christ on the foundation of the ancient prophets, since the apostle himself never fails to build us up everywhere with [the words of] the prophets. For whence did he learn to call Christ “the chief cornerstone” but from the figure given him in the psalm: “The stone that the builders rejected is become the head [stone] of the corner”?

Against Marcion 5.17

22–23

For Jesus tells them [the disciples] that “the Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected,” before his coming, at which his kingdom will be really revealed. In this statement he shows that it was his own kingdom that his answer to them had contemplated and that was now awaiting his own sufferings and rejection. But having to be rejected and afterwards to be acknowledged and taken up and glorified, he borrowed the very word rejected from the passage where, under the figure of a stone, his twofold manifestation was celebrated by David—the first in rejection, the second in honor. “The stone,” he says, “that the builders rejected is become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing.” Now it would be idle, if we believed that God had predicted the humiliation, or even the glory, of any Christ at all, that he could have designed his prophecy for any but him whom he had foretold under the figure of a stone and a rock and a mountain.

Against Marcion 4.35

22–23

Likewise at the setting of the sun and at the end of the day necessarily there must again be prayer. For since Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, as the sun and the day of the world recede, when we pray and petition that the light come on us again, we pray for the coming of Christ to provide us with the grace of eternal light. Moreover, the Holy Spirit in the Psalms declares that Christ is called the Day. He says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us exalt and rejoice therein.” Malachi the prophet also testifies that he is called the Sun when he says, “But to you who fear my name, the Sun of justice shall arise with healing in his wings.” But if in holy Scripture Christ is the true Sun and the true Day, no hour is appointed for Christians, by whom God should be adored frequently and always, so that we who are in Christ, that is, in the true Sun and in the true Day, should be insistent throughout the whole day in our petitions and should pray. When, by the law of nature, the revolving night, recurring in its alternating cycle, follows the day, there can be no harm from the darkness for those who pray, because to the sons of light even in the night there is day. For when is he without light who has light in his heart? Or when does he not have sun and day, to whom Christ is Sun and Day?

Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 35

22–23

[Christ] ordained that the former law should stand till he came, and he was revealed as the originator of the second law of the new covenant preached to all nations, as being responsible for the law and influence of the two religions, I mean Judaism and Christianity. And it is wonderful that divine prophecy should accord:“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, choice, a cornerstone; precious, and he that believes on him shall not be ashamed.” Who could be the cornerstone but he, the living and precious stone who supports by his teaching two buildings and makes them one? For he set up the Mosaic building, which was to last till his day, and then fitted on to one side of it our building of the gospel. Hence he [Christ] is called the cornerstone. And it is said in the Psalms: “The stone that the builders refused, the same is become the head of the corner. This is of the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” This oracle too indubitably indicates the Jewish conspiracy against the subject of the prophecy, how he has been set at naught by the builders of the old wall, meaning the scribes and Pharisees, the high priests and all the rulers of the Jews. And it prophesied that though he should be despised and cast out he would become the head of the corner, regarding him as the originator of a new covenant, according to the preceding proofs.

Proof of the Gospel 1:7

22–23

But I must proceed to my former statement that Christ is called the stone in the prophets. For in ancient times David said concerning him, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the building.” And how did the builders reject this stone that is Christ? How else than that they so rejected him before Pilate and said, “This man shall not be king over us.” And again in that parable that our Lord spoke that a certain nobleman went to receive kingly power and to return and rule over them; and they sent after him envoys saying, “This man shall not be king over us.” By these things they rejected the stone that is Christ. And how did it become the head of the building? How else than that it was set up over the building of the Gentiles and on it is reared up all their building. And who are the builders? Who but the priests and Pharisees who did not build a sure building but were overthrowing everything that he was building, as is written in Ezekiel the prophet: “He was building a wall of partition, but they were shaking it, that it might fall.” And again it is written, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land, that I might not destroy it, but I did not find one.” And furthermore Isaiah also prophesied beforehand with regard to this stone. For he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chosen stone in the precious corner, the heart of the wall of the foundation.’ ” And he said again there, “Every one who believes on it shall not fear. And whosoever falls on that stone shall be broken, and every one on whom it shall fall, it will crush.” For the people of the house of Israel fell on him, and he became their destruction forever. And again “it shall fall on the image and crush it.” And the Gentiles believed on it and do not fear.

Demonstrations 1:6

22–23

“A stone was placed at the entrance to the tomb.” Thus, one stone [was placed] against another stone, so that [this] stone might be keeping guard over “the stone that the builders rejected.” This [stone], lifted “up by” [human] hands, had to keep guard over that which was “detached, without [human] hands”; this [stone], on which “the angel was sitting,” [had to keep guard] over that which “Jacob had placed under his head"; this [stone] with its seal [had to keep guard] over that which, through its seal, watches over the faithful. Thus did the gate of life go forth from the gate of death. “For this is the gate of our Lord, through which the just enter.” When it was closed, it delivered those closed in. Through its death the dead lived. Through its voice the silent cried out. Through its resurrection, there was an earthquake. Its emergence forth from the tomb introduced the Gentiles into the church.

Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 21:21

But who is this whom we speak of? "The Stone which the builders rejected" [Psalm 118:22]; for "It has become the head Stone of the corner" to "make in Himself of two one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body;" [Ephesians 2:15-16] circumcision, to wit, and uncircumcision.

Exposition on Psalm 118

The stone that the builders rejected, this very one has become the head of the corner.

Sermon 4:18

The stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner.

Sermon 89:4

The Faith is not a survival. It is not as if the Druids had managed somehow to survive somewhere for two thousand years. That is what might have happened in Asia or ancient Europe, in that indifference or tolerance in which mythologies and philosophies could live for ever side by side. It has not survived; it has returned again and again in this western world of rapid change and institutions perpetually perishing. Europe, in the tradition of Rome, was always trying revolution and reconstruction; rebuilding a universal republic. And it always began by rejecting this old stone and ended by making it the head of the corner; by bringing it back from the rubbish-heap to make it the crown of the capitol.

The Everlasting Man, The Five Deaths of the Faith (1925)

"By the Lord was it made unto it" [Psalm 118:23]: that is, it is made into the head stone of the corner by the Lord. For although He would not have become this, had He not suffered: yet He became not this through those from whom He suffered. For they who were building, refused Him: but in the edifice which the Lord was secretly raising, that was made the head stone of the corner which they rejected. "And it is marvellous in our eyes:" in the eyes of the inner man, in the eyes of those that believe, those that hope, those that love; not in the carnal eyes of those who, through scorning Him as if He were a man, rejected Him.

Exposition on Psalm 118

24–25

We must keep the law regarding Easter in such a way that we do not observe the fourteenth as the day of the resurrection; that day or one very close to it is the day of the passion, because the feast of the resurrection is kept on the Lord’s day. Moreover, we cannot fast on the Lord’s day; fasting on this day is what we criticize in the Manichaeans. One shows disbelief in the resurrection of Christ if he proposes a law that we fast on the day of the resurrection, since the law says that the Passover should be eaten with bitterness, that is, with sorrow because the author of our salvation was slain by humanity’s great sacrilege. On the Lord’s day the prophet bids us rejoice, saying, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice at it.”

Letter 36

"This is the day which the Lord has made" [Psalm 118:24]. This man remembers that he had said in former Psalms, "Since He has inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live;" making mention of his old days; whence he now says, "This is the day which the Lord has made;" that is, wherein He has given me Salvation. This is the day whereof He said, "In an acceptable time have I heard you, and in a day of Salvation have I helped you;" [Isaiah 49:8] that is, a day wherein He, the Mediator, has become the head Stone of the corner. "Let us rejoice," therefore, "and be glad in Him."

Exposition on Psalm 118

This is the day that the Lord has made.

Sermon 258:1

24–25

“And he summoned the twelve,” the text says. After the long centuries of dreadful night, the eternal day, our Christ, shone forth. The world had long awaited the splendor of his dawning. In the case of his twelve apostles he desired to signify the twelve hours of this day. The blessed psalmist saw this day in spirit when he sang, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.” Consequently, the apostle, too, calls the believers children of light and of faith: “You are children of the light and children of the day.”

Sermon 170

As long as that word ["holidays"] remains, it will always answer the ignorant slander which asserts that religion was opposed to human cheerfulness; that word will always assert that when a day is holy it should also be happy.

All Things Considered, Phonetic Spelling (1908)

"Save me now, O Lord: prosper Thou well my way, O Lord" [Psalm 118:25]. Because it is the day of Salvation, "save me:" because we, returning from a long pilgrimage, are separated from those who hated peace, with whom we were peaceful, and who, when we spoke to them, made war upon us without a cause; "prosper well our way" as we return, since You have become our Way.

Exposition on Psalm 118

And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; [Psalms 118:26] Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. [Psalms 118:26] And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. [Psalms 118:26] And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt. These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him. The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.

26–27

But let every one that cometh in the name of the Lord be received, and afterward ye shall prove and know him; for ye shall have understanding right and left. If he who cometh is a wayfarer, assist him as far as ye are able; but he shall not remain with you, except for two or three days, if need be. But if he willeth to abide with you, being an artisan, let him work and eat; but if he hath no trade, according to your understanding see to it that, as a Christian, he shall not live with you idle. But if he willeth not to do, he is a Christ-monger. Watch that ye keep aloof from such.

The Didache, Chapter 12

26–27

As for us, brothers, understanding these things, let us keep each to his own measure, the one who is considered a shepherd of souls as well as the one who is considered a sheep. Yet let us all pray to be sheep, for no one is the shepherd save he who said, “I am the good Shepherd.” But when he appeared, as David had foretold and signified, “God is the Lord, and he has appeared to us,” God the Word appearing in human form saved us, bestowing on us knowledge of the faith. And before going up into heaven, he established the apostles as his successors, saying to Peter, “Feed my lambs” and “Look after my sheep.” For this reason there is need now too for people who, generation after generation, feed the souls in the Lord, who says, “I am with you.” For we know that after the apostles it is the bishops who are the fathers. But all those who listen to Christ who is in them are also their children, although they do not belong to the clergy and have no ecclesiastical rank.

Life of Pachomius (first Greek) 135

26–27

But if the Gentiles are honoring the same God who gave the law to Moses and made the promise to Abraham and whose word the Jews dishonored—why are they [the Jews] ignorant of, or rather why do they choose to ignore, that what the Lord foretold in the Scriptures has been revealed in the world and appeared to it in bodily form, as the Scripture said: “The Lord God has shined on us”; and again: “He sent his Word and healed them”; and again: “Not a messenger, not an angel but the Lord himself saved them”? Their state may be compared to that of one out of his right mind, who sees the earth illumined by the sun but denies the sun that illumines it.

On the Incarnation of the Word 40

"Blessed be He that comes in the Name of the Lord" [Psalm 118:26]. Cursed, therefore, is he that comes in his own name; as He says in the Gospel: "if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive." [John 5:43] "We have blessed you out of the house of God." I believe that these are the words of the great to the little, of those great ones, to wit, who in spirit commune with God the Word, who is with God, as they may in this life; and yet temper their discourse for the sake of the little ones, so that they may sincerely say what the Apostle says: "For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constrains us." [2 Corinthians 5:13-14] They bless the little children from the inner house of the Lord, where that praise fails not age after age: consider therefore what they proclaim from thence.

Exposition on Psalm 118

26–27

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “In the name of the Lord” signifies “in the name of God the Father,” just as [our Lord] himself said elsewhere to the unbelieving Jews, “I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; another will come in his own name, him you will receive.” Christ came in the name of God the Father, because in everything that he did and said he was concerned with glorifying his Father and with proclaiming to human beings that he is to be glorified. The antichrist will come in his own name, and although he may be the most wicked person of all and a convivial companion of the devil, he will see fit to call himself the Son of God while “being opposed to and raised above everything that is said to be God and is worshiped.” The crowd took this verse of praise from Psalm 117 [LXX], and there is no one who doubts that it is sung about the Lord. Hence it is appropriate that there is previously sung of him in the same psalm, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” For Christ, whom the Jews rejected as they were building the decrees of their own traditions, became a memorial for believers from among both peoples, namely, the Jews and the Gentiles. For as to the fact that Christ is called the cornerstone in this psalm, this is what was being chanted in high praise in the gospel by the voice of those who followed and those who went ahead.

Homilies on the Gospels 2:3

God is the Lord, who has showed us light

Exposition on Psalm 118

Declare a holy day in full assemblies, even unto the horns of the altar

Exposition on Psalm 118

And what shall we sing there, save His praises? What else shall we say there, save, "You are my God, and I will confess unto You; You are my God, and I will praise You. I wilt confess unto You, for You have heard me, and art become my Salvation." We will not say these things in loud words; but the love that abides in Him of itself cries out in these words, and these words are love itself. Thus as he began with praise, so he ends: "Confess unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and His mercy endures for ever" [Psalm 118:29]. With this the Psalm commences, with this it ends; since, as from the commencement which we have left behind, so in the end, whither we are returning, there is not anything that can more profitably please us, than the praise of God, and Allelujah evermore.

Exposition on Psalm 118

Let us commend ourselves to God, my brothers, by works of mercy. “O praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endures forever.” Give praise, for God is merciful, and he wishes to forgive the sins of those who give praise. In addition, offer sacrifice to him. O man, be merciful to your fellow mortals, and God will show mercy to you. You are a mortal; the other person is a mortal also; you are both in need of mercy. On the other hand, God is not in need of mercy, but he is merciful. If, however, the person who is in need of mercy does not show mercy to another who is in need of mercy, how does he expect mercy from One who will never be in need of mercy? Think over what I am saying, brothers. For example, whoever is pitiless in regard to a shipwrecked person remains pitiless until he himself suffers shipwreck. But if he has been shipwrecked, whenever he sees a shipwrecked person he recalls his former experience and he experiences a sympathetic feeling of mercy. Hence, a personal experience of misfortune softens the one whom the common bond of human nature was not able to incline to mercy. How readily he who has been in service in the past has compassion on a servant! How readily he who was once a hired laborer feels sorry for a laborer deprived of his pay! The person who has once suffered a similar loss sympathizes most sincerely with a parent lamenting the loss of a child. Therefore, a similarity of suffering softens any degree of hardness in a human heart. If, then, you who either have been in need of mercy or who fear that you may be in such need (for, as long as you are on this earth, you ought to fear what you have not been, to remember what you have been and to consider what you may be)—if, then, encompassed with the memory of your former need of mercy, with the fear of future needs and with the suffering of present miseries, you do not have mercy on a person who is in trouble and in need of your help, do you expect him whom misery has never afflicted to have mercy on you? And do you fail to give of the abundance that you have received from God and then wish God to give to you from that which he has not received from you?

Sermon 259:3