Psalm 118:
A Commentary
by Saint Theophan the Recluse
(1815-1894)
by Saint John of Kronstadt Press, 2014
Goodreads

VERSE 13:
With my lips have I declared
all the judgments of Thy mouth.

The 4th house for the commandments is the spoken word, as it houses thoughts and feelings. And when everything inside you is preoccupied with the commandments, your lips utter only what is inside you.

That’s what should happen, but when there’s a special event, we keep talking about that only (nothing new since Theophan’s time, cf. Covid19). No one talks about God’s salvation! We are ashamed to speak about those things, but King David was not. These are the richest topics!

Our conversation leaves traces, like seeds. And empty talks empty the soul.

Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit by a corrupt communication!

The more I read this commentary, the more I am amazed at how Theophan manages to develop a logical and spiritual commentary, just following the order of the verses. This is really powerful.

Besides, this section sounds like in what written fr our 21st century.

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Any reflection on these quotes?