John Chrysostom, On Psalm 118

For this reason I have hated every way of unrighteousness. For having understood what things are pleasing, I have turned away from all forms of wickedness. But the whole character of the meaning of the present psalm shows us the guarding and keeping of the commandments, and the expression is not something legal and shadowy, but evangelical, and a safeguard of our grace as Christians, and an outline and security for our life. For it continually sets forth law, commandments, ordinances, judgments, and testimonies, about which it has been said in the initial exegesis of the psalm what their meaning is; but now let us proceed to the matter at hand. From your commandments I have understood; as if we were to say, from your commandments we have paid attention and understood; and for this reason we have hated every way of unrighteousness. For these are the commandments that are ordained: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not fornicate, you shall not steal, you shall not do wrong, you shall not lie, you shall not revile, you shall not desire what belongs to others, neither your neighbor’s field, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor any of his cattle; You shall not charge your brother interest, interest on money, or interest on gold, or interest on food. The commandments of God, which we take to heart each day through the reading of both the holy Gospel and the apostolic teachings; for they themselves guide us to hate every way of unrighteousness. For all sins and forms of wickedness are called unrighteousness; because of which the wrath of God comes upon the sons of men, or rather upon the sons of disobedience. From which may you be guarded, brothers, and be strengthened in the will of God; and he himself will grant you his rich mercies and compassion, for he is our Savior. Your law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths. I walk in darkness, but am enlightened as if by a lamp, by your law. However, one must know that the law is called a lamp; but our Savior and Lord, the sun of righteousness. For the one, like a lamp, scarcely illumined one nation; but the other enlightened the whole world. Thus also the Lord Christ called the divine John a lamp, who appeared to the Jews while it was still night. But when the true light, which enlightens every person coming into the world, arose, he also called the holy apostles light, as having partaken of that light which enlightened all people. And since, according to the Lord's voice, The whole world lies in the evil one, and is in confusion and in sins, which are darkness (for David himself said, as it is written in the Books of Kingdoms: Night was about me, miserable one, and I was ignorant), we need a lamp. The law is given to us for help, and it becomes a light in our paths; for it is written: Because your commandments are a light upon the earth. But the passage has another meaning. The Old Testament given once to the Israelites is a lamp; for it enlightened only one nation. But when the sun of righteousness, Christ our God, came, the true light, which enlightens every person coming into the world, he himself enlightened the ends of the earth, and said to his disciples: You are the light of the world; from which light we all have received. I have sworn, and have determined to keep the judgments of your righteousness. 5. Since most things are confirmed by an oath, he called the firm and unchangeable disposition which the prophet possessed toward the commandments of God an oath. For this is customary in the divine Scripture; as in, The Lord God swore to Abraham; and, The Lord swore to David a truth, and he will not annul it, because of the certainty of the divine promise; since an oath is forbidden by all of divine Scripture, and indeed by the Old Testament: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; and, You shall not swear by the

τοῦτο ἐμίσησα πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἀδικίας. Συνεὶς γὰρ τίσιν ἀρέσκῃ, ἀπεστράφην ἅπαντα τῆς κακίας τὰ εἴδη. Πᾶς δὲ ὁ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ἐννοίας τοῦ προκειμένου ψαλμοῦ τὴν τῶν ἐντολῶν φυλακήν τε καὶ τήρησιν ἡμῖν ἐμφαίνει, καὶ οὐ νομική τίς ἐστιν ἡ φράσις καὶ σκιώδης, ἀλλ' εὐαγγελικὴ, καὶ τῆς χάριτος ἡμῶν τῶν Χριστια νῶν προφυλακτήριον, καὶ τοῦ βίου ἡμῶν ὑπογραμμὸς καὶ ἀσφάλεια. Συνεχῶς γὰρ προτίθεται νόμον, ἐντολὰς, δικαιώματα, κρίματά τε καὶ μαρτύρια, περὶ ὧν ἐν τῇ κατ' ἀρχὰς ἐξηγήσει τοῦ ψαλμοῦ εἴρηται, τίς ἡ τούτων δήλωσις· νυνὶ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἴωμεν. Ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου συνῆκα· ὡς ἵνα εἴπωμεν, ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τολῶν σου προσέσχομεν καὶ ἐνοήσαμεν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐμισήσαμεν πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἀδικίας. Αὐταὶ γὰρ αἱ ἐντολαὶ διατάσσονται, Οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ πορ νεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, οὐκ ἀδικήσεις, οὐ ψεύσῃ, οὐ λοι δορήσεις, οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις τὰ ἀλλότρια, οὔτε τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦ πλησίον σου, οὔτε τὸν παῖδα, οὔτε τὴν παιδίσκην, οὔτε πᾶν κτῆνος αὐτοῦ· Οὐκ ἐκτοκιεῖς τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου τόκον ἀργυρίου καὶ τόκον χρυσίου καὶ τόκον βρωμάτων. Αἱ ἐντολαὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἃς καθ' ἑκάστην ἐνωτιζόμεθα διὰ τῆς ἀναγνώσεως τῆς τε τοῦ ἁγίου Εὐαγγελίου καὶ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν μαθημάτων· αὐταὶ γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὁδηγοῦσι πρὸς τὸ μισῆσαι πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἀδικίας. Πάντα γὰρ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα καὶ τὰ τῆς κακίας εἴδη ἀδικία προσαγορεύεται· δι' ἃ ἔρχεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας. Ἐξ ὧν φυλαχθείητε, ἀδελφοὶ, καὶ στηριχθείητε εἰς τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ αὐτὸς ὑμῖν δωρήσεται πλούσια τὰ ἐλέη καὶ τοὺς οἰκτιρ μοὺς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι Σωτὴρ ἡμῶν ὑπάρχει. Λύχνος τοῖς ποσί μου ὁ νόμος σου, καὶ φῶς ταῖς τρίβοις μου. Ἐν σκότει βαδίζω, ἀλλ' οἱονεί τινι λύχνῳ, τῷ σῷ φω τιζόμενος νόμῳ. Εἰδέναι μέντοι χρὴ, ὡς ὁ μὲν νόμος λύχνος ὠνόμασται· ὁ δὲ Σωτὴρ καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν, δι καιοσύνης ἥλιος. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ, οἷα δὴ λύχνος, μόλις ἓν κατηύγασεν ἔθνος· ὁ δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐφώτισεν. Οὕτω καὶ τὸν θεσπέσιον Ἰωάννην λύχνον προσηγό ρευσεν ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς, ἔτι νυκτὸς οὔσης ἐπιφα νέντα Ἰουδαίοις. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἀνέ τειλε, καὶ τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλους φῶς προσηγόρευσεν, ὡς ἐκείνου τοῦ φωτὸς μετειληφότας, τοῦ πάντας ἀν θρώπους φωτίσαντος. Καὶ ἐπειδήπερ, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνὴν, Πᾶς ὁ κόσμος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται, καὶ ἐν συγχύσει καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐστὶν, ἅτινά ἐστι σκότος (ἔφη γὰρ ὁ αὐτὸς ∆αυῒδ, ὡς γέγραπται ἐν τοῖς Βασιλείοις· Νὺξ ἦν περὶ ἐμὲ τὸν δείλαιον, καὶ ἠγνόουν), λύχνου δεόμεθα. ∆ίδοται ἡμῖν ὁ νόμος εἰς βοήθειαν, καὶ γίνεται φῶς ἐν ταῖς πορείαις ἡμῶν· γέγραπται γάρ· ∆ιότι φῶς τὰ προστάγματά σου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἕτερον ὁ λόγος. Λύχνος ἐστὶν ἡ παλαιὰ ∆ιαθήκη ἡ δοθεῖσά ποτε τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις· ἓν γὰρ ἔθνος μόνον ἐφώτιζεν. Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν ὁ ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, αὐτὸς ἐφώτισε τὰ πέρατα, καὶ εἶπε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐ τοῦ· Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· ἐξ οὗ φωτὸς ἡμεῖς πάντες ἐλάβομεν. Ὤμοσα, καὶ ἔστησα τοῦ φυ λάξασθαι τὰ κρίματα τῆς δικαιοσύνης σου. εʹ. Ἐπειδὴ ὅρκῳ βεβαιοῦται τῶν πραγμάτων τὰ πλεῖ στα, τὸ στεῤῥὸν καὶ ἀμετάθετον, ὃ ἐκέκτητο ὁ προφήτης πρὸς τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅρκον ἐκάλεσε. Σύνηθες γὰρ τοῦτο τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ· ὡς τὸ, Ὤμοσε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Ἀβραάμ· καὶ, Ὤμοσε Κύριος τῷ ∆αυῒδἀλήθειαν, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀθετήσῃ αὐτὴν, διὰ τὸ βέβαιον τῆς θείας ἐπαγγελίας· ἐπεὶ ὁ ὅρκος παρὰ πάσης τῆς θείας Γραφῆς ἀπᾴδεται, καὶ παρὰ μὲν τῆς Παλαιᾶς· Οὐ λήψῃ τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου ἐπὶ μα ταίῳ· καὶ, Οὐκ ὀμεῖσθε τὸ