464. Слово при освящении храма во имя Святителя Николая, созданного тщанием Его Сиятельства князя Сергия Михайловича Голицына в Москве, на месте, называемом Котельники

Lord remember David and all his meekness. (Psalm 132:1). We sang this sacred song during the mystery that took place here today: now we want to say something about this song. Then it was a spiritual drink that could fill our hearts with the sweetness of joy and the delight of reverence for God: now let it be spiritual food, which, being crushed in the mouth of the spirit and dissolved by meditation, would nourish and strengthen us with the saving power of active wisdom contained in it. “Lord remember David and all his meekness.” Who remembers David like that? Who entrusts it to the remembrance or, more clearly, to the good will and grace of God? Who with such boldness testifies before the Most High and All-Seeing of the meekness or humility of His servant? It seems not David himself: for this very meekness, or humility, would hardly have allowed him to testify about himself and in some way proclaim his own virtue? It seems that Solomon, in the days of his wisdom and purity, remembers his pious parent with a prayerful and solemn Psalm, and the entire Jewish church participates in this commemoration. The words found in the continuation of this Psalm: “let us enter into His villages,” that is, into the villages of God, “let us bow down to the place where His nose stands,” represent the spectacle of the people flocking to the church of God. Further, the words: “Rise up, Lord, into Your rest, You and the ark of Your holiness,” mark the majestic hour of the consecration of the church, when the priests bring the ark of God’s covenant into the Holy of Holies. The prayer: “David for the sake of your servant, do not turn away the face of your anointed one” (Ps. 132:7–8, 10) - makes it clear that David, who is here presented as an intercessor before God for the acceptance of this prayer, is not the one who pronounces this prayer; and that the other “Anointed One” who pronounces it is Solomon can be guessed from the fact that the prayer is said during the consecration of the church, at which Solomon was present and said the prayer, as the book of Kings describes in detail. What, or what kind word does Solomon remember David with? Or what virtue does he represent as especially worthy of the remembrance of God uninterrupted by oblivion, or eternal reward, and at the same time solemn proclamation before the whole Church? For who knows what a wise son could remember in a famous parent? He could remember David's faith, hope in God, zeal for His glory, courage, which suddenly shone in one of David's exploits against Goliath, when the last of the sons of Jesse contrasted the age of a youth with the power of a giant and the sling stone of a shepherd of sheep - with the full armor of a warrior. He could have praised fidelity and generosity, which the gravest injustices and the longest persecutions from Saul could not shake. He could glorify patience and gentleness, which the most daring oaths of the despicable Semey could not outrage. He could remind the people of David’s own royal virtues and exploits, with which he overcame many and strong enemies of his kingdom, expanded its borders, established its prosperity, so that he left “peace and tranquility” to his son, as a kind of lasting legacy (1 Chronicles 22:9). He could point to this pure, truly royal love for the people, which on the day of God’s wrath and vengeance inspired David with this prayer: “I am a sinner, I am a shepherd who has done evil, but what have you done to these sheep? Let Your hand be now upon me, and upon my father’s house” (2 Samuel 24:17). Finally, he could, in the deepest fall of David, discover the lofty virtue of repentance, which in one word: “those who have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13) could instantly attract grace and forgiveness in the gravest crimes, and, through this example, for many centuries give saving hope to many sinners struggling with despair. But, perhaps, because these virtues, these deeds, since they brought benefit to the people of God, related more to the good of the human kingdom than the kingdom of God, and since they brought spiritual fruit, they brought it more to the ascetic himself than to the entire people of God: for this or another reason, - the God-inspired Psalmist knows better, - just not these virtues, not these He commemorates his exploits in David before God and the Church. What does he find preferably worthy of such attention? “His meekness”, or the humility of David. And what exactly is the feat of humility? Let us hear how he depicts the sacred song: “As they swear to the Lord, promising to the God of Jacob: if I go into the village of my house, or go up to 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 habitation for the God of Jacob” (Ps. 132:2-5). That is: a particularly memorable feat of David’s humility was his zeal to create a church, or at least according to the circumstances of those times, a tabernacle for the true God, for public worship - a zeal so lively and active that David did not know rest, did not enjoy sleep, incessantly engaged in his pious care. This disposition of his spirit is called meekness or humility, because as a king, and especially as the king of an uninherited, but newly erected throne, he could think about royal splendor for himself; but, forgetting himself, he sees only the King of kings and thinks only about His house and throne. Truly, David was engaged in this throughout his entire reign, for having found the ark of the covenant of God, upon his return from the captivity of the Philistines, so to speak, cast out outside the tabernacle in Cariathyarim, David built a new tabernacle for him in Jerusalem and transferred him to it; brought order to the ministry of the Levites; expressed to the Prophet Nathan his desire to create a church, and when he learned that by the destinies of God this was granted to his son, unrelenting in his zeal, he prepared materials and treasures for the future building; found, at the direction of the Angel and the Prophet, a place for it; drew up drawings of all its parts and not before, in his last days, together with the throne, handed over this matter to Solomon. So, Solomon, at the consecration of the Temple of Jerusalem, before God and the Church, remembers David’s zeal for the Church of the Lord above all his other virtues. “Lord remember David and all his meekness; as they swear by the Lord." Because this very Psalm the God-wise ecclesiastics commanded us to use in the present consecration of the church: then, following their inspiration, I cannot fail now not to say, and not to invite the Church of believers gathered here to say with me: “Remember, Lord,” Thy servant, who, whether he himself “swore to the Lord,” or took upon himself the vow with which his ancestors “promised worship the God of Jacob,” did not become lazy, did not slumber, did not lose sight of the works of God in numerous worries or in the vain dispersion of human affairs, until finally now, through the grace-filled mystery, “he found” with us here “the place of the Lord, a dwelling for the God of Jacob.” But in order to turn the reflection we have undertaken to our common edification, let us note, Christians, how important before the judgment of the word of God, and consequently before God himself, is zeal for His church; - zeal, I say, for the Psalm commemorates David not by the actual creation of the church, in which not many can follow his example, and which he himself did not accomplish, but by his “meekness”, or humility, with which he was constantly ready and tried to serve the church, in whatever way and how it was possible for him. If you cannot, like David, take a vow to create a house for the Lord, so that the whole Church remembers you before God, learn to at least cry out with David: “The Lord has loved the beauty of your house” (Ps. 25:8); or: “We rejoiced at those who said to me: Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1). Learn this, so that your Angel, who brings your prayers before God, will have something to remember you before the throne of His glory. Since God said to Moses about the tabernacle: “Let me sanctify you, and I will appear in you” (Exodus 25:8), and after to Solomon about the church: “My eyes will remain there, and my heart will remain forever” (1 Kings 9:3), He has shown through numerous experiences that He remembers people, that is, He is pleased with them, as long as they remember and honor Him. sanctuary; and it is good for them, as long as they appear before Him in the church with pious humility. “We,” says Abijah on behalf of the Jews to the Israelites and their King, “keep the guards of the Lord God our Father,” that is, we faithfully perform the divine service established by him in His church, “but you have abandoned Him”: and from here he boldly concludes: “children of Israel, do not fight, ... until it prospers you.” And in fact, “The Lord struck down Jeroboam and Israel before Abijah and Judah” (2 Chronicles 13:11–12, 15). The kings of Judah, who were especially zealous for the church and His Divine services, like Hezekiah and Josiah, in the most dangerous times for the kingdom, had the most extraordinary experiences of God's favor, preservation and protection. But since, despite the church not overshadowed by miraculous grace, and its pious zealots, “there are still people there eating and drinking on high” (2 Chronicles 33:17, 34:25), and in general more neglect was shown to the church of God than zeal: what finally followed? “You have desecrated the house of the Lord who is in Jerusalem: the wrath of the Lord came down on His people until there was healing” (2 Chronicles 36:14, 16). Forgotten by the ungrateful, God forgot them in his turn: and then the church, and the throne, and the kingdom were buried in common ruins. After the captivity of Babylon, the restoration of the Jews began with the restoration of the church. Obstacles cooled them down and stopped the “creation” of the church: and God’s providence curtailed them by restoring their prosperity. “You have looked upon a great deal,” the Prophet Haggai says to them, “and it was small.” Cheso for the sake of titse? “The Lord Almighty says: My church is empty, but you go every one to your own house” (Hag. 1:2, 9). Finally, the living, cornerstone of the spiritual, indestructible church of God appeared, on which “the fallen... will be crushed” (Matthew 21:44; Luke 20:18), and on which Judaism, stumbling through unbelief, was crushed so that for whole centuries it was scattered to the ends of the universe. Where then did the judgment of this destruction begin? – The first crime that Jesus Christ exposed in the Jews was neglect of the church of God, or, according to His own saying, turning the house of the heavenly Father “into a house of purchase” (John 2:16), the church of prayer “into a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46). During Christianity, when churches are spread throughout the entire earth, it is not so convenient to pursue by observation the fate of them, and those who honor them, or do not care about them. And there is no need. There is one God of all true churches: therefore the fate of them and those who worship in them must be the same. If it was important in the eyes of God to respect the church, which was the shadow of the future, in which there was an altar of dead victims, isn’t it even more important to pay attention to the church, which is the abode of the one who came and appeared, the dwelling of truth, the sanctuary of living and life-giving sacraments. Thanks be to God, some may think: our church is full of those who zealously flocked to it. I will gladly say: thanks be to God for those who fill it with zeal and reverence. May the Lord remember their piety! But, remembering the example of David, which the sacred song presents to us, I cannot help but ask: is our zeal for the church of God as constant as in him? Do we, out of zeal for him, forget everything personal and worldly, just as David forgot sleep and rest for him? When metal, consecrated by pious art as a herald of the Church, proclaims one of the solemn hymns to the Divine, and calls us to it: how many hear these sacred sounds also without thought and without feeling, as copper produces them; and, not paying attention to them, some go to their village, others to their purchases, others to vain shows, others remain to continue their work or their amusement, and others do not want to leave sweet sleep? Is it a serious crime, they say, to miss one or more services? If you like, I won’t say that it’s hard; I don’t want to burden other people’s consciences; but each one reason for himself and consult his own conscience. When a legal obstacle that is not in your will does not allow you to enter the church for the praise of God: you can easily remain calm; but even in this case, if you love God, and His glory, and communication with Him, then, I think, your spirit will sigh, and your heart will say: “When will I come and appear to the face of God?” (Ps. 41:3). And if, hearing the call to the church, you do not forcefully and voluntarily go to the deeds of your own self-interest, or to the idleness of your own pleasure: in this case, obviously, you prefer what you choose to what you leave - that is, you prefer your own self-interest to your duty to God, you prefer sensual fun to spiritual joy, you prefer spectacular hypocrites to God and His servants. They will, perhaps, also say that it is possible to call on God not in the church. We don’t argue against this either; and we wish that everyone who says this will actually do it. Let us only say one thing to such: it is neither seen nor heard, and in itself it is incongruous and inconsistent, that the one who knows how to love, call and bless his Lord with his soul in every place of His dominion should not want to call and bless Him in His church, in the assembly of His believers and saints, when this is possible and convenient. David, who “knew the Lord before him” (Ps. 15:8), no doubt also knew how to stand before Him in prayer and praise: but David therefore did not run from His church, but on the contrary, whenever he could, he ran into it with admiration: “We rejoiced at those who said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1). We fill the church, but how do we fill it? Do we fill the visible space of the church with our body, or do we also fill with our spirit the invisible ranks between the Angels who serve us, and we ourselves are filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and here now, as once in the Upper Room of Zion, although not with a tangible, stormy breath, but just as truly and effectively breathing in the word and sacraments? This true fulfillment of the Church is seen by God and His Angels and those of people who stand at the highest levels of spiritual contemplation: but the lack of this fullness can be noticed by an ordinary, only attentive, viewer by visible signs. Don’t we see, for example, how the servant of this royal meal appears at these royal doors, shows the Divine meal and calls out: “come with the fear of God and faith,” but none of those present comes? What does this mean? - If not in all - for in some the prevailing custom takes away boldness - then in many is not this a sign that those who are so close to the altar, even to the point of hindering the clergy in their service, are not at all as close to it in spirit as in body; that they do not have enough zeal and zeal to approach their Savior when He Himself approaches them? Don’t we also sometimes notice that after the sacrament and prayer, and at the beginning of the teaching, when a new spiritual exercise should be approached with new attention, some, on the contrary, lose attention, retreat from the teacher and move away from the church? And isn’t this a sign that both the mind and the heart of such people, and consequently their entire inner man, do not belong to the fulfillment of the Church of God? So, perhaps, some of those standing in the house of God stand in it only as idle vessels and fill its visible space with their inner emptiness. So, perhaps, looking at the movement of our desires and thoughts, directed not towards God, but towards the world, the Lord Almighty speaks to us inaudibly: “My church is empty, but you flow every one to your home”; and that is why so often “you aim for much, and receive little”; If you do not bless God in the church, you do not receive His blessing in your homes. Christians! Let us seek the house of God with constant and everlasting zeal, with complete and perfect zeal: may God seek us with His grace. May prayer, sacraments, and teaching be equally desirable for us in the church; everything else, entering it, we will leave behind and forget: then the Lord will remember our humility in His kingdom. Amen. You might be interested in: