Изъяснение псалма 134-го.

"Alleluia." Song of degrees. This is another song of praise, and it is offered to God by those who have been delivered. The word: “halleluia” has already been interpreted by us. Ps.135:1. Praise the name of the Lord, praise ye servants of the Lord. “Praise the name of the Lord, praise the servants of the Lord.” since the nature of God is invisible, it is commanded to sing songs about it; then the Prophet rightly said: “praise the name of the Lord.” Be content, he says, with the name of God, and do not strive to see what is not allowed to be seen. Ps.135:2. Standing in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. “They stand in the church of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.” Having got rid of the slavery of Babylon, and enjoying the splendor of the courts of God, says the Prophet, sing praises to the Giver of these blessings. Ps.134:3. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to His name, for it is sweet. “Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.” Choose the goodness of the One being praised as the subject of your chant. “Sing to His name, for it is good.” And this will bring a lot of benefit to you. Then the Prophet reminds us of the benefits He has provided. Ps.134:4. For the Lord chose Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own. “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession.” Symmachus translated it this way: He also made Israel His chosen ones, that is, He made them worthy of great care, He called them His own people, and although it cares about all people, it nevertheless primarily cares about them. Blessed Moses also said this: “When the Most High divided the tongues, as if the sons of Adam were scattered, set the boundaries of the tongues according to the number of the Angels of God. And the portion of the Lord became His people Jacob: Israel is even His inheritance” (Deut. 32:8-9). Ps.134:5. I knew that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods. “For I have known that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods.” From the very deeds, says the Prophet, we learned the power of our God, we learned that the gods worshiped by other peoples could not be equal to Him; because no one compares something that does not exist at all with the Existing and the Existing forever. Then the Prophet proves the power of God by the work of creation. Ps.134:6. The Lord does whatever He wants, in heaven and on earth, on the seas and in all the abysses. “The Lord create all that He pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the abysses.” What is brought into existence is proportionate not to force, but to will; because he could have created many times more and much larger creatures, but he wanted to create just that many and such creatures. However, all creatures belong to Him, the sky and everything in heaven, the earth and everything on earth, the sea and everything in it. The Prophet calls the limitless multitude of waters “abysses.” I used the word “seas” in the plural, because one sea is divided into many. So there is the Atlantic Gulf, the ocean, the seas: Tyrrhenian; Jopian, Aegean, Arabian, Indian, Pontus Euxine, Propontis, Hellespont and other seas, the most numerous mentioned. Ps.134:7. He raises clouds from the ends of the earth, creates lightning in the rain, and brings out the wind from His storehouses. "Raising the clouds from the last of the earth"; because the watery nature, tending downward, is raised up by the word of God, rushes in the highest and irrigates the dry land. The Prophet said that it was being built “from the last of the earth”; because it is made up of sea waters, and the bays of the sea are the limits of the earth. “Create lightning in the rain.” With lightning he foreshadows the sending of rains, and reveals a miracle that is most extraordinary; because the lightning fire, running through the waters, does not warm the waters, and does not go out on its own. "Drive away the winds from your treasures." By “treasures” of the winds he does not mean any vaginas. But since God’s will often, without difficulty, sets in motion the air, which in itself is windless; then the Prophet called it the treasures of the winds; because, as soon as God gives His signal, the winds appear everywhere. Thus, pointing to the work of creation in general and to Providence, the Prophet then describes the benefits shown to the Jews. Ps.134:8. He smote the firstborn of Egypt, from man to beast. “Who shall smite the firstborn of Egypt, from man to beast.” The Prophet put the last execution in first place, because after it the Jews received freedom. Ps.134:9. He sent signs and wonders among you, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. “I sent signs and wonders to you in the midst of Egypt.” Sim outlined many different miracles and punishments. "Against Pharaoh and all his servants." For even his royal dignity could not save him from the punishments sent down by God, but both his subjects and the king fell under the same disasters. So the God of all spoke to the great Moses: behold, I will strike every firstborn of Egypt, “from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on the throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is at the millstone” (Ex. 11:4-5). Ps.134:10. He defeated many nations and destroyed powerful kings. Ps.134:11. Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan. “Those who smite many tongues” are the peoples who inhabited Palestine in ancient times. “And beat the kings mightily.” "Zion, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan." Their kingdoms were crushed by the divine Moses. "And the whole kingdom of Canaan." Blessed Jesus subjugated them, and divided the countries and cities they occupied among God's people. The Prophet speaks about this here too. Ps.134:12. And he gave their land for an inheritance, for an inheritance for Israel his people. “And he gave the land their inheritance, an inheritance for Israel for his people”; because the land, which from ancient times was in the possession of these evil kings, was given to Israel by their God as a kind of paternal inheritance. Ps.134:13. God! Your name endures forever; God! memory of You to generation and generation. “O Lord, Thy name is forever, and Thy memorial is forever and ever.” The greatness of the miracles You performed has made Your name known to everyone, and the memory of Your good deeds will be preserved in future generations. Ps.134:14. For the Lord will judge His people and have mercy on His servants. “For the Lord will judge His people, and He will pray for His servants.” For you will not despise, seeing that the hostile attack us, and you will not impose punishments that our sins deserve; but you will be merciful and forgiving. Thus, having shown the power of the Existing God, the Prophet ridicules the weakness of the gods, so-called, but not existing. And since he called them gods, he shows that both reality and the name itself do not belong to them. Ps.134:15. The idols of the pagans are silver and gold, the work of human hands: “Idol the tongue of silver and gold, the works of human hands.” Our God, says the Prophet, is the Creator of everything; and not only do they not have creative power, but they themselves received their appearance from human art; because their composition requires substance and art. Ps.134:16. They have lips, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see. Ps.134:17. They have ears, but they hear not, and there is no breath in their mouth. “They have lips and do not speak; they have eyes and do not see.” “They have ears and will not hear.” They have, says the Prophet, images of sensory instruments, but are deprived of their activity. “There is no spirit in their mouth.” And the nature of the dumb also participates in this; because every animal breathes; idols are not involved in this even on a par with dumb ones. Ps.134:18. Those who make them and everyone who trusts in them will be like them. “Let those who create, and all who trust in her, be like them.” Both those who make idols and those who worship them are worthy of this insensibility. For those who are gifted with speech and recognize as gods those who are devoid of life and the gift of speech, it is right to be partakers of the dumbness of their gods. Ps.134:19. House of Israel! bless the Lord. House of Aaron! bless the Lord. "Bless the Lord unto the house of Israel." They, says the Prophet, deserve such service from inanimate idols: but you sing songs to the Creator of all. “At the house of Aaron, bless the Lord.” The Prophet distinguishes the priests from the people, and commands them to sing special songs, showing their difference. “Bless the Lord in the house of Levi.” Here again there is another difference; because the Levites are more honorable than others, but lower than the priests. Therefore, so that they do not admire the priestly dignity (and in ancient times, even during the life of the divine Moses, they dared to do this); then, out of necessity, he distinguished them from the priests. Ps.134:20. House Levin! bless the Lord. Those who fear the Lord! bless the Lord. “You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.” And this is a different order - people who do not descend from Jacob, but who loved his piety. This is what the Prophet named the pious strangers. This is enough to convince the Jews that God prefers all kinds of kinship to morals over bodily kinship. Ps.134:21. Blessed be the Lord of Zion, who dwelleth in Jerusalem! Hallelujah! "Blessed be the Lord from Zion, who dwelleth in Jerusalem." God who is blessed blesses; But He blesses with deeds, and He is blessed with words: and those who sing songs bring words as a gift, and He rewards blessings with deeds. 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