Псалом 24

Each verse of this psalm begins with a Hebrew letter. alphabet, which is why it is called alphabetic. This method of writing was quite common not only among Jews, but also among eastern peoples in general, representing one of the types of artistic construction of speech that facilitates its memorization. The psalm was written during the persecution of Absalom, as evidenced by the duality of its content: on the one hand, David calls his enemies lawless, undeservedly persecuting him (Ps. 24:3, 19), on the other hand, he asks God for forgiveness of his sin, which he considers very great (Ps. 24:7, 11-18). Other parts of the psalm, depicting David alone, abandoned (Ps. 24:16), with only a small number of persons devoted to him (Ps. 24:19) and in view of the great danger threatening him (Ps. 24:1, 20), correspond to his position under Absalom, during the flight from Jerusalem. Save me, Lord, from my enemies and teach me to follow the truth (1–6). You are merciful, forgive my sins and guide me (7–10). Purify and save me from the surrounding enemies and severe suffering, since I trust only in You (11–21). Ps.24:3. Let not all those who trust in You be put to shame; let them that do wrong in vain be put to shame. “Those who commit lawlessness in vain” are those who attack me without any reason or reason on my part. Ps.24:4. Show me, O Lord, Your ways and teach me Your paths. Ps.24:5. Guide me to Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I hope in You every day. “Ways” and “paths” are Divine commandments. David prays to God to teach both these commandments and His “truth,” i.e., righteousness, law. By this learning we mean not the external assimilation of those commandments, not just the study of the written Mosaic Law, which was not difficult for David to do, but the development in oneself of the inner strength of unswervingly following the prescriptions of the law, from which, as David says below, he retreated. - “I hope in You every day” - I spend my whole life in hope of You, that is, despite all the suffering, I only seek and expect help from You. Ps.24:6. Remember Thy compassions, O Lord, and Thy mercies, for they have been from everlasting. Ps.24:7. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my crimes; by Thy mercy remember me, for the sake of Thy goodness, O Lord! “Generosity” and “mercy” for the most part mean – the first word – external expressions of divine love for a person in sending him material benefits, and “mercy” – spiritual ones, for example, peace of mind from the consciousness of the closeness of God, purity and sublimity of views, etc. – “Sins of youth... and sins of crimes” – sin with Bathsheba. David is aware of the guilt and illegality of this act, but calls it not an intentional or conscious violation of the Divine commandment, but the fruit of passion (“youth”), unconscious. This sin was a consequence of the temporary domination of sensual attraction over David, that impulse that is given to a young age, when the ability to strictly evaluate one’s actions and thoughts has not yet developed, but when a person is guided more by the area of ​​feelings that directs the will, and therefore a person’s actions are often not in the direction where they would be directed if they were illuminated by reason. Depending on what lies at the basis of the latter - whether the motives are sublime or base - the actions are also corresponding, such as feats of heroism, self-sacrifice, or, conversely, gross selfishness and base passions. Such an impulse, which darkened David’s consciousness and assessment of what he was doing, was his action with Uriah and Bathsheba. David’s clarification of the internal, psychological side of his sin was not, however, an attempt at self-justification and an expression of the desire to remain unpunished, but such a deep consciousness of his fall and his guilt before God that he prayed to Him for his mercy only because of God’s great condescension towards man, because of His extraordinary generosity and mercy towards the unworthy, which God often showed over the Jews (6). Ps.24:8. The Lord is good and righteous, therefore he guides sinners in the way, Ps.24:9. He guides the meek to righteousness, and teaches the meek His ways. Ps.24:10. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His covenant and His revelations. "Instructs sinners in the way". The law represents instructions with which human activity must be consistent if it is aimed at his spiritual improvement and approach to God. But a person often retreats from this sublime task and directs his energies to satisfying his bad, base desires. In this case, the Lord gives him admonitions that indicate the error of his chosen path. These instructions can be general, characteristic and inherent in each person, and private, given not to everyone and not always. The first refers to the moral feeling of a person that approves or condemns his deeds (the voice of conscience), the second refers to the special instructions given by God to a person for his correction, such as, for example, in relation to David - the denunciation of him by the prophet Nathan. The Lord does all this out of love for man, with the goal of making it easier for him to appear “in judgment” before “God,” and thereby freeing him from heavy responsibility before Him for his behavior. – “All the ways of the Lord” – all the actions of God; “those who keep His covenant and revelations” - those who thirst for union with Him and intimacy, that is, the Lord always helps a person in his desire for Him with special actions and instructions. David here means the reproof of him by the prophet Nathan, which opened David’s eyes to his act and prompted him to repentance and greater spiritual vigilance over himself. Ps.24:11. For the sake of Your name, Lord, forgive my sin, for it is great. Purification for the sake of the great name of God indicates the height of David's reverence for Him. God is all-perfect, there is and cannot be any deficiency in Him; Accordingly, His admirers must be people of high moral purity; those who are unworthy seem to belittle the greatness of His name. This is the same thing that we see in everyday life: the higher a person’s position, the more worthy his face should be; an insignificant person, as it were, defiles and degrades his very rank. David calls his sin grave (“great is it”) and himself a great sinner before God, humiliating Him with his worship if he does not take care of his cleansing. Ps.24:12. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will show him the path to choose. Ps.24:13. His soul will remain in goodness, and his seed will inherit the earth. Ps.24:14. The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them. Here is a paraphrase of the main thought of Deuteronomy, according to which the faithful to God will enjoy both spiritual and external material benefits. - “The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them,” that is, the Lord becomes so close to those who revere Him that He tells them everything hidden from others. Here we need to understand the direct influence of God on man by communicating revelation to him and his inner guidance. Ps.24:18. look at my suffering and my exhaustion and forgive all my sins. “Look at the suffering” - look at my humiliation and “forgive all my sins” - that caused these disasters. David connects the crime with Bathsheba with real disasters. Ps.24:20. Preserve my soul and deliver me, so that I may not be ashamed that I trust in You. “Let me not be ashamed that I trust in You” - save me from my enemies, so that my faith in protection from You will not be ridiculed by my enemies. My death can be interpreted by enemies as an indicator of Your powerlessness to save those who believe in You; By providing protection, do not allow Your great name to be insulted. Ps.24:21. Let integrity and righteousness protect me, for I trust in You. After the forgiveness of my sin and cleansing, “let integrity and righteousness protect me,” may I never deviate from the truth or fall into sin. Ps.24:22. Deliver, O God, Israel from all their sorrows. This verse represents a liturgical addition that may have appeared during the Babylonian captivity, when the Jews, in the position of the oppressed and repentant David, could see the image of their suffering in captivity and pray for deliverance from it in the words of their sincerely repentant pious ancestor. In the divine service, this psalm is included in the 3rd hour, supplementing the content of the XVI psalm with a sincere and fervent prayer to God for the spiritual cleansing of the person praying (Ps. 25:1, 7, 11) for worthy presence during the celebration of the liturgy. You might be interested in: