Psalm 118: A Commentary by Saint Theophan the Recluse

Publication Data: Liberty, TN: The St. John of Kronstadt Press, 2014
Number of Pages: 351
Dimensions (l × w × h): 23.6 cm × 15.8 cm × 2.3 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations, one bookmark ribbon
ISBN: 978‒1‒928920‒87‒8

   
Translated from the Russian by Archpriest Gleb Wleskov
Revised by Seraphim Englehardt
Edited by Archpriest Gregory Williams

“Psalm 118 is second only to Psalm 50 (‘Have mercy on me, O God...’) in its frequency of use in Orthodox liturgical practice. In a full cycle of services, despite (or perhaps because of) its extraordinary length, it is recited at the Midnight Office every night during the week, and (for most Sundays of the year) at Matins. It forms the backbone of all funeral services and the Lamentations at the Tomb served on the night of Holy Friday, elaborated with intercalated troparia. Its unusual structure, organized as it is into twenty-two stases in which each verse (in Hebrew) begins with the same letter of the alphabet, in sequence, may well have been intended as a mnemonic device. In many ways, this psalm may be seen as a summation of the entire Psalter, a legacy to be especially treasured. St. Theophan’s commentary is meditative, not scholarly in intent, despite his extraordinarily extensive quotations from earlier commentators and spiritual authorities. What he, like King David before him, wants is for us to do the commandments, the law of God, not just think about them. The attentive reader will quickly discern also the saint’s wide-ranging linking of the thoughts of the psalmist to other books of holy Scripture, both Old Testament and New.”
—“Editor’s Preface”

CONTENTS

Editor’s Preface
Foreword
The First Octave
Verses 1-8
The Second Octave
Verses 9-16
The Third Octave
Verses 17-24
The Fourth Octave
Verses 25-32
The Fifth Octave
Verses 33-40
The Sixth Octave
Verses 41-48
The Seventh Octave
Verses 49-56
The Eighth Octave
Verses 57-64
The Ninth Octave
Verses 65-72
The Tenth Octave
Verses 73-80
The Eleventh Octave
Verses 81-88
The Twelfth Octave
Verses 89-96
The Thirteenth Octave
Verses 97-104
The Fourteenth Octave
Verses 105-112
The Fifteenth Octave
Verses 113-120
The Sixteenth Octave
Verses 121-128
The Seventeenth Octave
Verses 129-136
The Eighteenth Octave
Verses 137-144
The Nineteenth Octave
Verses 145-152
The Twentieth Octave
Verses 153-160
The Twenty-first Octave
Verses 161-168
The Twenty-second Octave
Verses 169-176
BRIEF NOTES ON AUTHORITIES CITED BY ST. THEOPHAN
(not part of the original Russian text)