Изъяснение псалма 117-го.

"Hallelujah" And this song is brought as a gift to God by those who have achieved salvation. For when, upon the return of the Jews, all the neighboring nations gathered together, envying their previous prosperity, they called on other nations, even barbarians, to help them, but according to the prophecy of Joel, Ezekiel, Micah and Zechariah, they were destroyed by executions sent from God; then the saved brought this song of thanksgiving to God. since in what happened to the Jews, what happened to us was written; This hymn is especially fitting for those who believed among the pagans, who, by many rulers and subordinates, nations and rulers, kings and military leaders, having been persecuted, tormented and tormented, having endured thousands of different deaths, turned out to be victorious over the warring parties. And to the Jews and to those who believed, the grace of the Spirit offered teaching in this song. Ps.117:1. Praise the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. “Confess to the Lord that His mercy endures forever.” Sing the Good and the Giver of Goods; because His mercy is immutable, and He always shows mercy to those who need it. Ps.117:2. Let [the house of] Israel say today: [He is good,] for His mercy endures forever. Ps.117:3. Let the house of Aaron say today: [He is good,] for His mercy endures forever. “Let the house of Israel say, For God is good, for His mercy endures forever.” “Let the house of Aaron say: For He is good, for His mercy endures forever”: Having mentioned the Jews separately, he makes a general mention of those who believed among the Gentiles. Ps.117:4. Let those who fear the Lord now say: He is good, for His mercy endures forever. “Let all who fear the Lord say, For He is good, for His mercy endures forever.” God's love for mankind, says the Prophet, all of you sing songs: those who led the race from Israel, boasting of their ancestral piety, even those who were honored among them with the priesthood, and you, who came from different nations, but were delivered from the wickedness of your ancestors; because the God of all is one, and He provides various benefits to everyone, and He shows mercy to those who ask. Then the Prophet speaks more clearly about God's providence. Ps.117:5. Out of the cramped space I cried out to the Lord, and he heard me, and the Lord brought me to a spacious place. “Out of sorrow I called on the Lord, and heard me into space.” For he did not prevent disasters from coming to me, but showed the dangers and immediately dispelled them. The Prophet said this in the fourth psalm: “You have spread me through sorrow” (Psalm 4:2), that is, you have given me greater consolation than even the sorrow itself. Ps.117:6. The Lord is for me - I will not be afraid: what will man do to me? Ps.118:7. The Lord is my helper: I will look upon my enemies. “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man does to me.” “The Lord is my helper, and I will look upon my enemies”; because, having the Lord of all as an assistant, I am not afraid of attacks from enemies. I hope that, using His help, I will very soon see their destruction. Then the Prophet reinforces this pious thought with good thoughts. Ps.117:8. It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. Ps.117:9. It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man.” “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes.” He is good, philanthropic, wants good, can do whatever He wants, and His power is indestructible. But people are perishable by nature and perverse in their thoughts, and often do not want good; and sometimes they want, but cannot protect the offended; if they are in charge, then their leadership is temporary; and the royal power of people is not strong, but lasts a short time. Therefore, it is better to leave human help and seek God’s help. Ps.118:10. All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I overthrew them. “All the nations have gone after me, and in the name of the Lord I have resisted them.” All nations attacked the Church, but not all nations attacked Jerusalem, only some. Therefore, this word is pronounced exaggeratedly about the Jews, but it is true about the Church; because in every nation those who believed suffered revolts and troubles from the unbelievers. However, both the Jews and those who believed, placing their trust in God, defeated their opponents. Ps.117:11. They surrounded me, surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I overthrew them. “They cheated me, and in the name of the Lord they resisted them.” And Symmachus translated this: they surrounded me, and surrounded me again, that is, they constantly attacked, besieged from all sides. But, protecting myself by calling on the name of God, I scattered their hordes. Ps.118:12. They surrounded me like bees [of a honeycomb] and went out like fire among thorns: in the name of the Lord I cast them down. “You have gone through me like a bee on a honeycomb.” Just as bees, having found a honeycomb, suck out the honey moisture: so they, says the Prophet, tried to take away from me the sweetness of piety that was in me. “And it burned like fire among thorns.” They hoped; that they will overcome me very easily, just as fire quickly consumes thorns. “And in the name of the Lord I resisted them.” But expecting this, they were deceived in their hope, defeated by my hope; because I opposed My Master to all of them, and through Him I gained victory. Ps.118:13. They pushed me hard so that I would fall, but the Lord supported me. “I turned away from the mouth, and the Lord accepted me.” This befits both those who believed and the Jews. For the first would have suffered complete destruction if they had not used God’s grace; and the latter would have fallen into wickedness if Divine power had not supported them. Ps.117:14. The Lord is my strength and song; He became my salvation. “The Lord is my strength and my song, and be my salvation.” Therefore, God for us is strength, and victory, and the source of song; because, having received benefits from Him, with complacency we offer a song as a gift to Him. Ps.117:15. The voice of joy and salvation in the dwellings of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord creates power! Ps.117:16. The right hand of the Lord is high, the right hand of the Lord creates power! Ps.117:17. I will not die, but will live and proclaim the works of the Lord. “The voice of joy and salvation in the villages of the righteous”; because after the victory, having gotten rid of the previous crying, they indulged in joy and praise, singing songs to God. “The right hand of the Lord create power.” “The right hand of the Lord has exalted me.” “Right hand,” as we have said many times, the Prophet calls good effectiveness. Those who do good do not attribute victory to themselves, do not place their hope in their own zeal and strength, but cry out that they received it by God’s grace. “The right hand of the Lord create power.” “I will not die, but I will live, and I will tell the works of the Lord.” Therefore, having taken advantage of help from above and having overcome death, I will tell the blessings of God to those who do not know, and I will remind those who know, and by reminding them I will kindle love for God. Ps.117:18. The Lord punished me severely, but did not put me to death. “When the Lord punished me, He did not give me over to death.” The Lord, fatherly admonishing me, allowed sorrows to strike me, but dispelled their gloomy cloud, and completely delivered me from the harm that threatened me. Ps.118:19. Open the gates of truth to me; I will enter into them and glorify the Lord. “Open the gates of righteousness for me: when we enter, let us confess to the Lord.” The prophet does not call the gates of the church “the gates of righteousness”, but various types of virtue, in which one can praise the God of all in a worthy manner. And he made this clearer to see in what was added; because it seems to answer the question and says: Ps.117:20. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter into them. “This is the gate of the Lord: the righteous shall enter.” So to the young man who wanted to know the path to eternal life, the Lord said: “Keep the commandments: you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, and honor your father and your mother” (Luke 18:20); “Love yourselves as you love yourself” (Matthew 19:19). Thus, the Lord called Himself, as a guide and teacher of virtue, a door. For he says: “I am the door of the sheep: By me if anyone enters, he will go in and come out and find pasture” (John 10:9). This is where the prophetic word was spoken: “This is the gate of the Lord: the righteous shall enter into it.” Ps.117:21. I praise You that You heard me and became my salvation. “Let us confess to You, that You heard me, and You were my salvation.” Therefore, I sing praises to You, who accepted my request and granted salvation. Ps.117:22. The stone that the builders rejected became the head of the corner. “The stone that was built carelessly, this quickly became the cornerstone.” Even if the Jews shamelessly asserted it a thousand times, this cannot be applied to anyone else. For if the divided tribes of old were ruled by Zerubbabel; His reign was not long. And the Lord Christ two walls, standing directly opposite one another - I mean those who believed, both from Jews and from pagans, and some enslaved by wickedness, and others drawn by the yoke of the law, bringing together into one, he united what was separated, and from both of them he formed a single Church, like a certain angle connecting and mutually combining these two walls with one another. This Stone, which was built in ancient times, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the priests and scribes, neglected and crucified: but “to be at the head of the corner,” or according to the translation of Symmachus, became the cornerstone. God foretold about this Stone through the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of great value, chosen, a cornerstone, honorable, for its foundation, and whoever believes in it will not be put to shame” (Is. 28:16). Blessed Paul also said this: “on the foundation that was once an Apostle and a Prophet, I am the chief cornerstone of Jesus Christ himself” (Eph. 2:20). Blessed Daniel saw this Stone cut off without hands, taught by this inexperienced birth of the Virgin - he saw that He crushed the body, that is, the vanity of life, and “became a great mountain,” and covered the universe with Himself (Dan. 2:34-35). Ps.117:23. This is from the Lord, and is marvelous in our eyes. “This came from the Lord and is marvelous in our own hands.” The giver of this grace is God; and we marvel at His unspeakable love for mankind. Ps.117:24. This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad on it! “This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad on it.” The Prophet calls the day created by God the day on which this Stone, after suffering, was resurrected; because soon after the resurrection he commanded the holy Apostles to go and teach all nations. But the Prophet said that this day was primarily created by God; because in it in the beginning God created light; and he, having accepted the resurrection of our Savior, poured out the rays of the Sun of Truth onto the whole universe. God, having created light, called light day, and did not create anything else on that day. Therefore, this one day, like the first day, received the creation of light. For on the second day God created the firmament, on the third day plants and seeds, and also on other days He created everything else: but on the first day He created light, and called the light day. Therefore, the Prophet rightly said: “This is the day that the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad on it,” as those who received sources of blessings on it. Ps.117:25. Oh, Lord, save me! Oh, Lord, make haste! “Oh, Lord, save me; oh, Lord, hurry up.” And in subsequent times, grant salvation, Lord, and make the path leading to You easy and comfortable. Ps.117:26. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The youths also exclaimed this to the Lord in reproof of those who assured themselves that they had studied the words of God, but did not want to understand the true meaning. For when the scribes and Pharisees called the Lord a Samaritan, the youths cried out that He was both coming and blessed. Similarly, the word: “Hosanna” is found in the same prophecy. For we find that what is said: “save” is read among the Hebrews: “hosanna.” Borrowing from this, Blessed John the Baptist, guiding his disciples to the truth, asks the Lord through them: “Are you the one who is coming, or someone else” (Matthew 11:3)? But he who is the Lord came in the name of the Lord. Thus he said to the Jews: “I came in the name of My Father, and you did not accept Me; if one comes in his own name, him you will receive” (John 5:43). He who is the Blessed One is also the Son of the Blessed One. So the high priest asked: “Are you the Son of the blessed” (Mark 14:61)? “Blessed are you from the house of the Lord.” This is what the victorious say to their beloved: we bring you a blessing from that Stone, which has become the home of the God of the Word who is in it. For it is said: “The Word became flesh and dwelt in us” (John 1:14). And the Lord said to the Jews: “Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Ps.117:27. God is Lord and has shone upon us; bind the sacrifice with ropes, lead it to the horns of the altar. “God is the Lord, and appear to us.” Here the Prophet clearly confessed the Lord Christ as God. For Whom above he called the Stone, and then blessed and coming in the name of the Lord, the same he called both Lord and God, who accomplished His coming and granted salvation to those who believed. “Make a holiday in the frequenting horns of the altar.” Therefore, gather together, all of you, and celebrating your own salvation, perform such a great celebration that the crowded multitude will reach right up to the altar. The Prophet said: “in the crowds,” that is, crowded and crowded due to the crowd. Ps.117:28. You are my God: I will praise You; You are my God: I will exalt You, [I will praise You, for You heard me and became my salvation]. Ps.117:29. Praise the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. “You are my God, and we will confess to You: You are my God, and I will exalt You.” I know You, my God, I know You, my Lord, I will praise You, the Benefactor, all my life. “Let us confess to You, that You heard me, and You were my salvation.” “Confess to the Lord that His mercy endures forever.” They themselves, as presented to others, prompting the first to sing praises, then convince others to sing songs of praise to the good Lord, as He richly opens the sources of mercy to all. It is necessary to know that even for the Jews, when these nations surrounded them, it was saving to know the One who would come from them in the flesh and grant salvation to everyone. For this made them more courageous against the attackers, encouraging them with faith in the blessing hidden within them. You might be interested in: