Directing Ways

Κύριε ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σου, ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου κατεύθυνον ἐνώπιόν σου τὴν ὁδόν μου. Ἔνια τῶν ἀντιγράφων, ἐνώπιόν >μου τὴν ὁδόν σου, ἔχει· ἐκάτερα δὲ τῆς εὐσενοῦς ἔχεται διανοίας. Εἴτε γὰρ ἡ ἡμετέρα ὁδὸς κατεθυνθείη ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, πλάνης οὐ ληψόμεθα πεῖραν· εἴτε ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁδὸς ἐνώπιον ἡμῶν κατευθυνθείη, αὐτὴν ὁδεύσομεν, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν προθύμως δραμούμεθα. Αἰτεῖ τοίνυν ἡ κληρονομοῦσα ὁδηγηθῆναι μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δικαιοσύνης, κατευθυνθῆναι δὲ αὐτῇ τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ ἐξευμαρισθῆναι, ἵνα ῥᾳδίως ὁδεύῃ. Ταύτην ὁ Συμμαχος τὴν διάνοιαν τέθεικεν· ἀντὶ γὰρ τοῦ, κατεύθυνον, ὁμάλισον εἴρηκεν. Ἀκούμεν δὲ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διὰ Ἠσαῗου·Ἕσται τὰ σκολιὰ εἰς εὐθεῖαν, καὶ ἡ τραχεῖα εἰς ὁδοὺς λείας. Καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ δὲ ψαλμῷ ὁ μακάριος ἔφη Δαβίδ· Παρὰ Κυρίου τὰ διαβήματα ἁνθρώπου κατευθύνεται, καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ θελήσει σφόδρα. Ταπεινοφροσύνης δὲ μεστὰ τῆς κληρονομούσης τὰ ῥήματα. Οὐ γὰρ αἰτεῖ διὰ τὴν ἑαυτῆς δικαιοσύνην κατευθυνθῆναι αὐτῇ τὴν ὁδὸν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τούς ἐχθροὺς τοὺς δυσεβείᾳ συζῶντας, τοὺς ἀδίκως αὐτῇ πολεμοῦντας. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Ε´ Source: Migne PG 80.897c-900a

'Lord, lead me in your righteousness. Because of my enemies direct my way into your sight.' 1 Certain translations have 'direct your way into my sight.' But both retain a pious meaning. For either our way is directed into the sight of God, and we do not wander away, or the way of the Lord is directed before us, and we walk in it, and to it we swiftly run. Thus the inheritor 2 seeks that he be led by the righteousness of God and that his way be directed to Him, and that it be made smooth, that he might walk on it easily. Symmachus translates it with this sense, since for 'direct' he has 'make level'. We hear Christ through the prophet Isaiah saying, 'The crooked shall be made right and the rough ways smooth.' 3 The blessed David says in another Psalm: 'The steps of a man shall be directed by the Lord and his way shall delight exceedingly.' 4 However the words of the inheritor are full of humility, for he does not ask that his way be directed because of his own righteousness, but in truth because of the impiety of his accustomed enemies, who are warring against him unjustly. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5.1 2 Ps 5.1 3 Isaiah 40.4 4 Ps 36.23