2. Благодарение и преданность Богу и заповедей Его хранение суть источники благоденствия народа

Blessed is the tongue, which is the Lord its God, the people whom He has chosen for His inheritance (Ps. 32:12). To have the one true God as your God, to be called and to be God’s: this is the only solid and unshakable foundation of greatness and prosperity for every people! “Blessed is the people whom the Lord has chosen and accepted” (Ps. 65:5). “Blessed are the people, whose Lord is their God” (Ps. 143:15). But, brothers, going through in thought everything that the Lord has done for us, we cannot help but confess God’s special favor towards us, special election and protection. How many mercies we accept from His hand! He raises wise Kings to our throne and saints, blesses our weapons, delivers us from violence, punishes, but with mercy. He established unanimity and autocracy in us, protected us with wise institutions; expanded our borders and in the depths of our land hid for us a source of contentment and abundance; and now he blesses us with long peace and rejoices with the hope of its continuation; but, what is higher and more valuable than all else, He gave us the one true, holy faith, He deigned to build in us a home for Himself, the holy Church, which has ineffable promises, blessed the faith and believers, protecting its truth as an indestructible bulwark, glorifying those who confessed it in their incorruptible and miraculous relics. With all such good deeds, does not the Lord show that He is our God, saving us? Therefore, for the stability of our well-being, what else remains for us to wish for, except that the Lord does not deprive us of His mercy in the future, does not reject us from His presence, does not turn His eyes away from us? And it is most natural for such a desire to manifest itself in all its strength now, when, triumphant in honor of the Sovereign Heir, we are rich in zealous readiness to contribute to all the good of our fatherland. How can we ensure that the Lord, who has received us to Himself, does not cease to support us in His love? How can we deserve that He does not change His face and right hand in relation to us? The Holy King and Prophet David, wanting to keep his people in the mercy of God, with a lengthy song convinces them that, like their fathers, they should not be an obstinate and bitter generation, (or ungrateful), an unjust generation in their hearts and not trusting their spirit to God, but on the contrary, they would constantly remember the works of God, place their trust in God alone and walk in His commandments. “Let them,” he says, “put their trust in God, and not forget the works of God, and seek His commandments: let them not be like their fathers, a generation that is obstinate and bitter, a generation that has not straightened its heart, and has not trusted its spirit with God” (Ps. 77:7-8). That is, he convinces them to be grateful, devoted to God and fulfill the commandments. This is how we can retain God’s mercy behind us, how to prolong and strengthen the well-being of our fatherland! This is, firstly, a grateful confession of the mercies of the Lord. We have received and are receiving so many benefits from the Lord: let us give thanks to Him, and He will not shorten His beneficial hand for us. Gratitude always attracts new favors, and ingratitude deprives those that have already been received. Let us give thanks, confessing Him as one, good and rich in mercies: for to the Lord, whose earth and its fulfillment, what shall we render for all that He has rendered to us, except for the confession that it is not for the sake of our righteousness, but solely out of His rich mercy, that He has graciously given us so much? The Lord loves this truth and makes the humble people, in whose heart He rests, the vessel of His unceasing blessings: on the contrary, every people that does not give glory to Him and dreams that with its mind and its strength it prospers and exalts, punishes and shames. This is how the Assyrian people dreamed of themselves; and the Lord then condemned him for magnifying through the mouth of his Prophet Isaiah, who says: “The Lord of Hosts will bring dishonor upon your honor, and upon your glory the fire of grief will kindle.” For what? “I will make speech with the strength of my hand, and with the wisdom of my understanding I will take away the limits of tongues and the power of their captivity. Food will be glorified by the ax without the cleaver” (Ps. 10:16, 13, 15)! Babylon became proud and soon heard the judgment of God: “You have declared in your mind, I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit on the high mountain, on the high mountains even to the north: I will ascend above the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Now I will descend into hell, and into the foundations of the earth... and I will make Babylon desolate” (Is. 14:13, 14, 15, 23). Egypt suffered the same thing; “It will be,” says the Lord, “the land of Egypt into destruction and desolation” (Ezek. 29:9). For what sake? “For this reason says the Lord: “For this reason you were great in your majesty, and you gave your power into the midst of the clouds: and his heart was exalted in his height, and he saw when he was exalted: and I will deliver him into the hand of the prince of the heathen” ( Ezekiel 31:10–11) This is the fate of every people who does not recognize the hand of God in their prosperity and does not confess His bounties. Let us now confess to the Lord and say to Him in our confession: “We did not inherit this land with our sword, O Lord, and it was not our arm that saved us: but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the illumination of Your face, as You have pleased in us. You are our King and our God, commanding our salvation. “For you saved us from those who afflicted us, and you put to shame those who hated us.” Let us boast in You God all day long, and in Your name we will confess forever” (Ps. 43:4, 5, 8–9). Secondly, complete devotion to the holy and wise will of God. Hitherto the Lord has blessed us and with His blessing raised us to the prosperity that we enjoy today. But what will happen to us from now on? What's next for us? The Lord has rewarded us with His blessings: but will these generosities continue? Will His mercy withdraw from us? Will He not shorten His hands? We see that the Lord loved us, created us into a great language, chose us to be a part of Himself, as Israel once was: but “or should the wretch in the earth not have power, because of the same confusion to create for us a vessel for honor, but not for honor” (Rom. 9:21)? Who will set limits to the goodness of God, or a charter for God’s independent government of the world? There is no doubt that everything from the Lord will be arranged for our true, eternal good: for He is good, and His mercy is eternal. But how will this good come to us? Will it be sown with joy or tears? Will it grow and multiply in the midst of storms or in silence? Will it be preserved and remain in us in visible or hidden ways? Will we understand these ways of the Lord? Shall we not cut off the hands of God out of ignorance or self-will? The future is hidden from us, and the past teaches that in the destinies of nations everything is built not so much according to human discretion and assumptions, but according to the inscrutable guidance of God. Regarding it, even with the most obvious reasons, human wisdom does not dare to make decisive determinations. “Whoever learns from man the counsel of God; or whoever thinks what God wants; For the thoughts of mortals are fearful” (Wis.9:13). Let there be contentment, and good institutions, and experienced wisdom, and a lot of strength: but this is not the final hope. “The salvation of man is in vain” (Ps. 59:13). “A king cannot be saved by the abundance of his strength, and a giant will not be saved by the abundance of his strength: a horse lies for salvation, but by the abundance of his strength he will not be saved” (Ps. 32:16-17). Where is the salvation? Where is the solid foundation of hope? “Unless the Lord builds a house, it labors in vain to build it; unless the Lord preserves a city, it builds in vain” (Ps. 127:1). “In God, and only in God alone, let us create power” (Ps. 59:14). So, a wise people, seeking lasting happiness and prosperity, should place all their trust in God, and completely surrender themselves to His holy and wise will. For “he who trusts in the Lord is like Mount Zion” (Ps. 124:1). There is all the power where God's favor is; but the Lord “does not delight in the strength of bones, but rather in the baldness of men: the Lord delights in those who fear Him, and in those who trust in His mercy” (Ps. 146:10-11). May our soul long for the Lord for its helper and protector, and may it continually cry out to Him in its longing: “Lord, let Thy mercy be upon us, as we trust in Thee” (Ps. 32:22). “Because of You we will tear our enemies by their horns, and because of Your name we will despise those who rise up against us. We do not trust in our bow, and our sword will not save us” (Ps. 44:6-7). “These on chariots, and these on horses: we are in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 19:8, 120:2). Thirdly, by fulfilling the commandments of God. Placing ourselves in the hands of God with complete devotion to His wise and holy will, we must not, however, ourselves indulge in unforgivable carelessness, or, even worse, criminal activity. The Lord alone knows how and where to lead us: however, there is no doubt that His future leadership will be completely consistent with our present state, whether pleasing or displeasing to Him. The Lord will be to us as we are to Him. “You will be with the venerable reverend,” the Prophet calls to Him, “with the innocent man you will be innocent, and with the chosen you will be chosen, and with the obstinate you will be corrupt” (Ps. 17:26-27). What shall we do? Let us do what the Lord commanded. Through His Prophet Moses, He said to His beloved people: “If you have listened with your ears to the voice of the Lord your God, keep and do all His commandments... all these blessings will come upon you, and will cover you... Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the countryside: blessed are the offspring of your womb, and the fruit of your land, and the herds of your oxen, and your sheep pasture... Blessed are you when you come in, and blessed are you when you go out. - If you do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, keep and do His commandments... all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Cursed are you in the city, and cursed are you in the countryside; cursed are your barns, and your remains; cursed are you, the offspring of your womb, nor the fruit of your land, nor the herds of your oxen, nor the pasture of your sheep; cursed are you, never enter in, and cursed are you, never leave out” (Deut. 28:1-4, 6, 15-19). So, if we want to prosper, let us do the commandments. Walking in the will of God is the only basis for national happiness. Without this, our hope will be put to shame, and prayer will not bear fruit. For look what the Lord says to Israel: “Do not come and appear to Me. “When you stretch out your hands to Me, I will turn My eyes away from you: and even if you increase your prayer, I will not hear you, for your hands are full of blood” (Is. 1:12, 15). At another time, the Prophet Jeremiah wanted to pray for them; but the Lord warns him: “don’t pray for these people, and don’t ask them to be shown mercy, and don’t pray, come to me about them, because I won’t hear you.” For what? For the transgression of His will. “The word of my commandments was: Hear my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people, and walk in all my ways that I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you. They did not hear Me, and their ears were not attentive: but they walked in the lusts and reluctance of their evil heart. Behold, My wrath and wrath are pouring out on this place” (Jer. 7:16, 23, 24, 20). Fury and anger for the lawlessness of the whole people! This is the law of God’s government: and it has always been strictly observed, especially in relation to the people of Israel. For every time he forgot the true God and indulged in vices, he experienced execution after execution, until, being admonished, he recognized the truth and retreated from his untruths. Thus, during the time of the Prophet Isaiah, Israel turned back and abandoned the Lord in its heart: and for this reason it itself was abandoned by the Lord. “Alas, sinful tongue,” the Prophet calls to them, “forsake the Lord... turn back. “For this reason the daughter of Zion will be left, like a tabernacle of vineyards, and like a vegetable storehouse in a hillside city, like a city at war” (Is. 1:4, 8). Those who grew rich in Israel multiplied with the oblivion of God and His righteousness, luxury spread, feasting became more frequent: and this is what the Lord says to them: “Woe to those who join house to house, and village to village, so that they may take away something from their neighbor. “Woe to those who rise in the morning, and strong drink to those who chase away the evening; for I will burn the wine: for they drink wine with harps, and singers, and tambourines, and pipes; but they do not consider the works of the Lord, and they do not consider the work of His hand” (Is. 5:8, 11-12). The Israelites gave themselves up to a distracted life, noisy amusements, vain pomp, - and “this saith the Lord, the daughter of Zion was lifted up, and walked with a high neck, and with the brushing of the toe, and with the treading of the feet, dragging their garments together, and with their feet playing with each other. And the Lord will humble the chief daughters of Zion, and the Lord will reveal their shame... and the Lord will take away the glory of their garments, and their beauty, and the woven gold (on the head)... and the beauty of their face, and the structure of the glorious beauty... and the rings and the monist... and instead of a good stench there will be a stench, and instead of a belt they will be girded” (Is. 3:16-19, 23). The Israelites loved splendor, pomp, and grandeur: “their country was filled with silver and gold, and not more than the number of their chariots.” What about the Lord? “I will not endure them,” says the Lord. The height of man will be humbled, and the Lord alone will ascend. “For it is the day of the Lord of hosts against everyone who is annoying and proud, and against everyone who is high and majestic, and they will humble themselves” (Ps. 2:7, 9, 11-12). The Israelites allowed themselves to philosophize depravedly, and instead of the sound words of the Lord to proclaim their own speculations: and this is the judgment for them: “Woe to those who speak evil of good and good evil, who put light into darkness, and light into darkness, who put bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter. - Woe to you, be wise within yourself and understand before yourself. “For this reason, as a reed is burned by a coal of fire, and burned by a burning flame, their root will be like dust, and their flower will come up like dust: for you did not desire the law of the Lord of hosts, but provoked the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Is. 5:20-21, 24). These are the immutable judgments of God’s truth! So, what kind of people are there, “despite life and love the days to see good things: turn away from evil and do good” (Ps. 33:13, 15). Flee luxury and all sensual pleasures, avoid covetousness and unrighteous gains, be humble and truth-loving, love God with all your heart, and be devoted to His holy faith with all your soul. The Lord did not hide what especially attracted His wrath, and He depicted the foundations of His judgments in His word precisely so that all subsequent generations would see which paths they should walk and which they should evade. So, this is what our love for the fatherland obliges us to do! This is how we can testify to the sincerity of our good wishes for him and our readiness to contribute to his common good! By grateful confession of God's mercies to us, devotion to His wise and holy will and zealous fulfillment of His commandments. The Lord has blessed us in the past: we will not anger Him with our iniquities, and He will not leave His mercy from us for the future. Let us confess our gratitude to Him and, having completely surrendered ourselves to His will, let us renew our determined intention to live holy and unswervingly according to His saving commandments. “Come, brothers, on this famous day, let us rejoice in the Lord, let us exclaim to God our Savior: let us go before His face in confession. For He is our God: He created us, and not we: we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Ps. 95:1–2, 7, 78:13). But at the same time, hearing a voice calling to the law of God, let us harden our hearts: let us not give room to iniquities. Loving our fatherland in the Lord, “let us hate evil: and the Lord will preserve our souls and deliver us sinners out of every hand” (Ps. 96:10). On the name day of His Imperial Highness, the right Sovereign Tsarevich and Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich. You might be interested in: