319. Беседа по освящении храма Святителя Алексия, в Рогожской слободе

(Said January 22; printed in the Works of the Holy Father, 1856 and in the collection, 1861) Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness (Ps. 132:1). These words begin one of the psalms sung during the consecration of the church. Who is this who remembers David? Why does he remember? What does this psalm mean? And why did our God-wise Fathers command us to sing it at the consecration of the church? – These questions are timely now, and can lead us to useful reflections. “Remember, Lord, David and all his meekness.” Who is it that remembers King David in the psalm? - One must think that this is his son, King Solomon. The following words of this psalm lead to this thought: “Rise up, O Lord, into Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy holiness” (Ps. 132:8). These words refer to the consecration of the Jerusalem temple. In its consecration, its most important action was that by the hands of the priests it was brought into this ark of the covenant of the Lord with the God-written tablets of the commandments, and placed in the inner, most important part of it, similar to our altar. The Psalmist looks at this sacred action and lifts up this prayer to God: “Rise, O Lord, into Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy holiness.” That is: being invisibly present in the sign of the holy ark, arise, Lord, from Your place of rest in the ancient tabernacle and enter into a new place of rest in the newly created church. - Who could offer this prayer during the consecration of the Jerusalem temple, if not Solomon, who, according to the book of Kings, created this church, and celebrated its consecration, and said a special prayer at its consecration? The following words of the prayer continued in the psalm point even more clearly to Solomon: “David, for the sake of Thy servant, do not turn away the face of Thy anointed one” (Ps. 132:10). The anointed one, who during the consecration of the Jerusalem temple asks for mercy from God, for the sake of David, is obviously King Solomon. But why does Solomon, at the consecration of the church, remember David? - To this he himself responds with the words of the psalm: “For they swear to the Lord, making a promise to the God of Jacob: if I go into the village of my house, or go up to the bed of my bed, if I give sleep to my eyes, and slumber to my every side, and rest to my soul, until I will find the place of the Lord, a village to the God of Jacob” ( Ps.132:2-5). That is: David had such a zealous desire to create a church for God that he promised with an oath not to give himself rest until he found, at least, a place pleasing to God for the church, the actual creation of which by the fate of God was granted to his son. And David fulfilled this promise, appointing a place for the church, after the appearance of an Angel, and having prepared for it in abundance jewelry and various substances necessary for creation, as well as drawings of the proposed church. So Solomon, at the consecration of the church, remembers David as the founder of the building of the church, in order to present him in the favor of God, for his zeal for the church; but at the same time she remembers him as a saint of God, in order to reinforce her prayer for the newly created church with his prayer. “For David’s sake,” he says, “do not turn away the face of your anointed one.” From what has been said so far, one can understand what the entire psalm we are considering means. It is a prayer song at the consecration of the Jerusalem temple. And from this it is not difficult to understand why this psalm is sung at the consecration of a Christian church. Just as the Mosaic “law” was, in the words of the Apostle, “a nurturer... into Christ” (Gal. 3:24), that is, a leader to Christ: so the Old Law temple in Jerusalem was a preparation for the New Grace Christian church, and contained preliminary images of our sacraments. So, it is fitting, at the triumph of new grace, to remember its ancient omens, and for this purpose use the words of the Inspired Psalmist. This is all the more appropriate because what happened in the consecration of the Jerusalem temple, and indicated in the psalm, is remarkably repeated in the consecration of the Christian church. Just as there, in the sign of the ark of the Lord, “the Lord has risen into His rest,” He entered and dwelt in the Holy of Holies with His holiness and grace: so here, in the sign of the holy relics, “The King of glory has appeared” (Ps. 23:9), the All-holy God, who rests in the holy places, entered the church and the holy altar, and from now on dwells here With its holiness and grace. Brethren! The Song of Solomon, sung for the consecration of the church, was sung for the hearing of all of you, and therefore for your edification. Hear that Solomon in the consecrated church commemorates his deceased parent David. Note where the church custom of commemorating those who have fallen asleep in the faith comes from. How deeply ancient it is! On what high and holy examples is it based! Do not forget in the holy church, through the prayer of faith and love, to remember those who have departed from this life, those who are close by nature, by faith, by their charitable participation in the creation and beautification of the church. Hear that Solomon partly prays for the deceased David: “Remember, O Lord, David,” and partly through his prayer he hopes to turn the merciful eye of God upon himself: “David for the sake of Thy servant, do not turn away the face of Thy anointed one.” See in this an indication of the profound power of prayerful remembrance of the departed. If you remember someone who has departed from this temporary life with faith, but not with the satisfied fruits of repentance and good deeds, then God, in His mercy, remembers him for the sake of your prayer, and the peace of your faith conveys to the soul of the departed one, to its repose. And if you remember, like Solomon, David, who reposed in faith and good deeds, in grace and holiness: then the prayer of your love arouses his love and prayer, and you, for the sake of his prayer, like Solomon for the sake of David, acquire for yourself the gracious care of God. Hear that Solomon, passing over David’s many exploits and virtues, especially remembers him before God for his pious zeal for the church. Conclude from this how important pious zeal for the church of the Lord is, how pleasing it is to God, how capable it is of confirming a person in blessed hope. Solomon had no doubt that God would remember David in favor, although he did not create the church of the Lord, but only tried to create it, and made preliminary offerings for it. From this example, learn that every work of zeal for the church of the Lord, every pious offering is pleasing to God and beneficial to the soul. If you can, bring God an abundant gift: having sowed your zealous giving abundantly, you will also abundantly reap God’s gracious reward. But if you can do a little, do not be embarrassed by the smallness of your gift. Remember the widow of the Gospel, who only put two money into the treasure of the church, but was praised by the Lord more than those who brought much; because she brought her gift with all her soul, with all her ability. But, more than any external gift, let us be zealous, brethren, for God and His church with ourselves. When the time comes, especially appropriated to God and His church, the day of the holiday, the hour of Divine service: beware lest you rob God of the time that belongs to Him, and lest you give yourselves for this time to some creature instead of God. Hurry to tear yourself away from the affairs and worries of this life, and voluntarily and diligently present yourself to God in His church, may he sanctify you with his shrine, may he inspire you with prayer, may he enlighten you with the word of the Gospel and the grace of the sacraments, may he protect you with the power of the Divine name and the cross of Jesus Christ. Don’t tell me that you can sacrifice a contrite spirit to God at home, call on the name of the Lord Jesus, and protect yourself with the sign of the cross. I know that you can: and I wish that you not only could, but also do this carefully and constantly: only you can do this, not without the help of the church of God. You can drink the water in your house; but it is necessary that, from time to time, you come to draw it from a source or river: similarly, you can, in your home, and in the secluded church of your heart, partake of the water of grace in prayer: but it is necessary that, from time to time, you come to draw the water of grace in the church of God, where it is especially alive and life-giving, as in a source, and abundant, as in a river. Some, excusing themselves with a need that in fact does not exist, carried away by the desire for profit or pleasure, during the days and hours dedicated to God and His church, rush to the affairs of everyday life. Hobby, no matter how unfair, is just as unsafe. The things that you do illegally during the holiday, which belongs to God, will not bring you any benefit, as they are illegal. They, like an unclean mixture, will bring damage to those deeds that you lawfully do during non-holiday times, instead of the fact that from the consecration of the holiday and from diligently visiting the church of God, a special blessing and prosperity would come to the deeds of the working days. If you require confirmation of this, listen to the Prophet: “Here the Lord Almighty says: My church is empty, but you flow every one to your house, for this reason the sky will be kept from dew, and the earth will be depleted of its wear” (Hag. 1: 9-10). That is: since you do not come to bless and glorify God in His church, then blessing will not come from Him on your deeds outside His church. Lord Almighty! Look with grace at this newly consecrated church. Remember in Thy favor those who loved the beauty of Thy house; build into Your spiritual churches those who recreated this material church; decorate the souls of those who decorate it. Irrigate the souls of our brethren with Thy grace, and warm their hearts with love for Thee and for the dwelling of Thy holiness, so that they here diligently seek Thy blessing, and Thy blessing, which creates and grows, preserves and saves, may henceforth come abundantly to their souls, and to their deeds, and to all their lives. For You are the Source of blessings, most blessed forever. Amen. You might be interested in: