Royal Service

Καὶ νῦν, βασιλεῖς σύνετε· παιδεύθητε πάντες οἱ κρίνοντες τὴν γῆν. Πάντων γὰρ ἡμῶν βασιλεὺς, ὁ πάλαι δόξας μόνων Ἰουδαίων κρατεῖν. Δουλεύσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐν φόβῳ, καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε αὐτῷ ἐν τρόμῳ. Οὐ γὰρ δεῖ μόνῃ τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ θαῥῥῆσαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ταύτῃ συνημμένην δικαιοσύνην, ἀγαλλομένους ἐπὶ τῇ σωτηρίᾳ καὶ χαίροντας, δεδιέναι καὶ τρέμειν.  Ὁ γὰρ δοκῶν, φησὶν, ἑσταναι, βλεπέτω μὴ πέσῃ. [Ἐπειδ' ἂν γὰρ φοβηθέντες τὸν Δεσπότην τὰ προσήκοντα διαπραξώμεθα, πλείστην ἐκ τῶν πραχθέντων ἡμῖν ἔχομεν τὴν εὐφροσύνην ἐγγινομένηνμ τοῦ συνειδότος ἀγαθοῦ μὲν τυγχάνοντος, μεγίστην δὲ ἡμῖν διὰ τούτου τὴν χαρὰν παρεχομένου.] Ἐν τρόμῳ δὲ, τουτέστιν ἐν κατανύξει· μήποτε ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ χαρὰ εἰς τοῦ κόσμου μεταπέσῃ χαράν. Δράξασθε παιδείας, μήποτε ὀργισθῇ Κύριος, καὶ ἀπόλησθε ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαίας. Οὐκ ἀρκεῖ γὰρ μόνη τῆς θεογνωσίας ἡ κτῆσις εἰς τελειότητα· ἀλλὰ χρὴ καὶ τὴν πρακτικὴν μετελθεῖν ἀρετήν, ἧς ἐπιλαμβανόμενοι τὴν ἀπλανῆ πορείαν ὁδεύσετε. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Β' Source: Migne PG 80.884

'And now, kings, understand, and be learned all you judge the earth.' 1 For He is king of all of us who before seemed to rule the Jews alone. 'Serve the Lord in fear and rejoice in Him in trembling.' For one must not only be cheered by His benevolence to men but even join this to His justice, and rejoicing and delighting in salvation also fear and tremble. For, as it is said, he who thinks he stands, let him take care lest he fall. 2 [For when we make ourselves one of those who fear the Lord, as befits, we have good conscience in our deeds from which comes to us the greatest joy.] 3 And 'in trembling', that is, in compunction, lest joy in God fall into joy in the world. 'Attend to discipline, lest at sometime the Lord be angry and you perish from the way of righteousness.' For it is not enough for perfection to possess only the knowledge of God, but we should also take to practical virtue, which taking up we shall walk in the safe and sure way. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Interpretation of the Psalms, from Psalm 2 1 Ps 2.10 2 1 Cor 10.12 3 Passage between brackets not found in certain MSS