Friday, November 19, 2021

Patristic Wisdom: Looking to the Last Sunday of the Year


The Lord reigns; He clothed Himself with majesty;
The Lord clothed and girded Himself with power;
And He established the world, which shall not be moved.
Your throne is prepared from of old;
You are from everlasting.
The rivers, O Lord, lift up;
The rivers lift up their voices;
Because of the voices of their many waters,
Marvelous are the billows of the sea;
Wondrous is the Lord on high.
Your testimonies are very much believed;
Holiness is proper to Your house, O Lord,
Unto length of days. (Ps 93:1–5)

It was not just now, he is saying, that You received election as king: You possess eternal sway and everlasting kingship. About His kingship he says also in the forty-fourth psalm, “Your throne, O God, is for ages of ages.” And His unchangeableness and immutability he likewise taught us in the hundred and first psalm, “You are the same,” he says, “and Your years will not come to an end”: even though You became man, You did not lack divinity, nor were You separated from the Father or the all-holy Spirit, there being one substance of the undefiled Trinity, one kingship, one lordship.

You prophesied all this from of old, and announced it in advance through Your holy prophets, and it has been shown to be true by the testimony of the events. The addition of exceedingly was also good, meaning, a chance falsehood cannot be discerned in the prophecies, whereas everything now seen was prophesied precisely. Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, for length of days: the greatest and finest of all the good things is the fact that the enjoyment of the gifts is not transitory or limited to certain times in the style of the worship of Jews; rather, it is permanent, stable, and everlasting, this being suited and appropriate to Your new house. The divinely inspired Paul gave the name “house of God” to the assembly of the believers, to whom the inspired author said holiness is fitting. Accordingly, it behooves us, in keeping with the apostolic exhortation, to “purify ourselves of every defilement of body and spirit, and bring sanctification to completion in fear of God,” so that by preparing the house of God we may welcome the eternal guest.

Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Psalms 93.3, 6

The prophet spoke of the Lord’s coming, an event which he most truly foresaw. Now he expounds the nature of the praise, for the testimonies of the prophet were become exceedingly credible, when the saving incarnation of the Word which had been foretold to the world made its appearance. At His glorious coming was revealed all that was kept hidden in the sacred books. Which of the wise could have doubts about the promise of the gifts when the very Fullness which was promised arrived?…

The house of the Lord, then, is the universal Church, which we know is established round the circumference of the world. Holiness, in other words “the abundant blessing of Your coming,” becomes it. This is the beauty which can transcend all adornments, for it beautifies without ever forsaking it, and unifies so that it is wholly unfragmented. But this holiness, a beauty most outstanding, is not imparted for a moment, but is granted eternally; for length of days denotes an eternity which cannot be ended.

Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms 92.5–6

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