Psalms 89:1

Understand, beloved, this Psalm, which I am about to explain, by the grace of God, of our hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, and be of good cheer, because He who promised, will fulfil all, as He has fulfilled much: for it is not our own merit, but His mercy, that gives us confidence in Him. He Himself is meant, in my belief, by "the understanding of Æthan the Israelite:" which has given this Psalm its title. You see then, who is meant by Æthan: but the meaning of the word is "strong." No man in this world is strong, except in the hope of God's promises: for as to our own deservings, we are weak, in His mercy we are strong. Weak then in himself, strong in God's mercy, the Psalmist thus begins: "I will sing of Your mercies, O Lord, for ever: with my mouth will I make known Your truth unto all generations" [Psalm 89:1].

Orthodoxos: Listen now how the prophet praises God at the very beginning of the psalm. He saw with his prophetic eyes the future iniquity of his people and the captivity that was in consequence foredoomed; yet he praised his own Lord for unfailing promises. "I will sing," he says, "of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known your faithfulness to all generations, for you have said, Mercy shall be built up forever, your faithfulness you shall establish in the very heavens."Through all this the prophet teaches that the promise was made by God on account of loving-kindness and that the promise is faithful. Then he goes on to say what he promised, and to whom, introducing God as the speaker. ("I have made a covenant with my chosen.") It is the patriarchs that he called chosen; then he goes on, "I have sworn to David my servant," and he states concerning what he swore, "Your descendants will I establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations."

The eighty-eighth psalm is prefaced with this title: The Understanding of Ethan the Ezrahite. Wherever "understanding" is placed first, what follows is mystical and obscure. Ethan is interpreted as "strong," or "robust"; and Ezrahite as "one helped," or "one who has obtained help." I say this because we are dealing with the literal history. Rightly, therefore, is "understanding" placed first, so that this strong or robust man may obtain help from the Lord, and may be able to recognize the things that follow. But the Ezrahite either took his name from a place, or was of the tribe of Merari. Read the books of Numbers and Leviticus, and there you will find everything more fully. The Understanding of Ethan. "Understanding" is placed first, so that the reader may be summoned to knowledge. For if the history were plain, and had nothing mystical about it, what need would there be for the reader to be reminded of "understanding" in the title? And so that Ethan, as we have said, "strong" or "robust," and the Ezrahite, "one helped" or "one who has obtained aid," is rightly summoned to understanding, so that he may be able to know the things that are to be said. For it follows in the psalm, The Lord has sworn to David his servant, unto eternity I will prepare your seed. The Jews say that the Lord promised with an oath that from the seed of David there would not fail among them a leader or prince, which even now their patriarchs also say: Behold, to this day the Lord keeps his oath to us. But if they truly think this, how is it that we see them subject to the Roman power, and serving the commands of emperors? But mystically it is promised to us concerning Christ. And I will build up your throne unto generation. Did God, then, lie, in that he promised with an oath and did not do it (since surely what God promised ought to be firm), if indeed to this day we see that this does not stand in the race of the Jews? But here understanding is necessary. Rightly, therefore, does that strong or robust man have necessary understanding as an aid or help, so that he may be able to perceive the mysteries of this psalm. Let us return, then, to the beginning of the psalm. Your mercies, O Lord, I will sing forever. He did not say "mercy," but "mercies." If there were one sin, there would be need of one mercy: since therefore the sins are many, the mercies too are very many. Your…