Изъяснение псалма 148-го.

"Alleluia", Alleluia. The Prophet repeated the appeal, encouraging souls to greater zeal. And this new song excites all creation, rational and sensory, verbal and wordless, animate and inanimate, to a single consonant chant. The Prophet commands the sky, and the earth, and the abysses, and the heavenly bodies, and the mountains, and the plants, and everything that is similar, as well as everyone who has soul and mind, to offer a song as a gift. And he commands those who are gifted with reason to pay attention to all this, and, having studied the wisdom visible in it, to sing songs of praise to the Creator. Ps.149:1. Praise the Lord from heaven, praise Him in the highest. “Praise the Lord from heaven, praise Him in the highest.” The great Moses teaches us that two heavens were created by God, one was created together with the earth, and the other was later commanded to come into being in the midst of waters and waters, and God called it the firmament. Therefore, the Prophet commanded to sing songs to God “from heaven” and “in the highest,” that is, to the faces of the incorporeal, living in both heavens. since the divine Moses told us nothing about the creation of spiritual natures; then the Prophet, of necessity, made mention of them, and calls on them to bring chants as a gift to the Creator. For creatures are obligated to repay this debt to Him, and every creature that has received existence from Him and endowed with reason must repay this debt at all times. If, however, everything that has a created nature sings songs, and neither the Son nor the All-Holy Spirit are counted among those who sing songs; then it is clear that They are not of created nature. Otherwise, as sources of truth, honoring justice, they would sing songs of praise to the Creator before other creatures. But neither the Son nor the All-Holy Spirit sings songs. Therefore, both the Son and the All-Holy Spirit are not of created nature. It is obvious that hymns are given to both the Son and the All-Holy Spirit; because there is nothing in between those who sing songs and those who are hymned. The creature sings songs, and the Creator sings songs. If someone does not sing songs of praise to the Creator, then he does not sing songs of praise as if he were ungrateful. But we discussed this at greater length in words about the Holy Spirit. Therefore, let us turn to the continuation of the interpretation. Ps.149:2. Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His armies. “Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His might.” The Prophet calls spiritual beings “angels” and “powers”; and “Angels”, because they transmit divine broadcasts; and “With strength”, because they are free from bodily suffering, and are able to carry out what is commanded. They, as the Prophet says, “are mighty in strength, doing His word” (Psalm 102:20). By these two names the Prophet inclusively meant all the natures of spiritual creatures; It was very fitting that these heavenly faces first of all called upon them to sing. Ps.149:3. Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all stars of light. “Praise Him, sun and moon: praise Him, all stars and light.” And Symmachus translated it like this: sing praises to Him, all the stars of light. This is how others translated it too. According to the translation of the Seventy, this should be understood as follows: on the first day God created the light, and on the fourth - the luminaries. Therefore, the Prophet separately mentioned the light, not as existing independently, but as divided in the luminaries. And, as we have said before, the Prophet does not convene them, as if animated and verbal; but he gives us the command to look at them, study God’s wisdom, and constantly compose a song to God. Ps.149:4. Praise Him, heavens of heavens and waters that are above the heavens. “Praise Him, the heavens of the heavens: and the waters are above the heavens.” God separated the watery nature from the solid, by ineffable wisdom, arranging this great division, and commanded the vast light to make its way through the hardened waters. Water and fire are opposites; however, fire is not extinguished by water, nor is hardened water melted by the immense fire. And this shows the ineffable power of God. The Prophet put the word “heaven” in the plural, not because he knew many heavens, but because he followed the use of the Hebrew language. And the Jews call heaven in the plural: heaven, as we say: Athens, Thebes. And exactly what the Prophet called here “heaven of heavens”, in another place he called “heaven of heavens”; for he says: “Heaven is the heaven of the Lord” (Psalm 113:24). Ps.149:5. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He [said, and they were made,] commanded, and they were made. “Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He spoke, and He commanded, and was created.” It is worthy, says the Prophet, to glorify the One who built all this with words. Ps.149:6. He placed them forever and ever; gave a statute that will not pass away. “I have set it for the ages, and for the ages of ages: put the commandment, and it will not pass by.” He not only created, but does not cease to provide for this; That is why creatures continue to exist as long as He pleases. Both inanimate creatures and other kinds of creatures respect established laws. The sea knows its limits, and is ashamed of the sand, and day and night maintain its due measure; only people are careless about God's laws. So the Prophet, having called both the heavenly and the heavenly to communicate in song, moves on to the earth, the common mother of people and the dumb. Ps.149:7. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great fish and all the deeps. "Praise the Lord from the earth." Then, in particular: “The serpent and all the abysses.” The sea is part of the earth, and in the sea there are whales. The very providence of the Creator is worthy of surprise; because, having created great and huge animals, he imprisoned them in the insurmountable seas, showing their power by creating them, and frightening people by mentioning them, and by preventing harm from happening from this, proclaiming goodness. Ps.149:8. Fire and hail, snow and fog, a stormy wind that fulfills His word. “Fire, hail, snow, bareness, the spirit is stormy.” And this has its beginning in water; but in the air there is hail, and snow, and sleet, and strong winds (the Prophet called them “stormy spirits”); and also fire, as can be seen, appears not only on earth, but also in the air; because lightning, thunder, and fireballs are brought from the air. "She who does His word." And this, says the Prophet, submits to His beck, not as animate and rational, but as following His will; because all this happens by the will of God. Ps.149:9. Mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars. “You are mountains and hills, fruitful trees and all cedars.” And this is enough to move our tongue to thanksgiving; because this is worthy of surprise not because of its greatness alone, but also because of the benefits that come from it, which are both extensive and varied. Ps.149:10. Beasts and all livestock, reptiles and winged birds. "The Beast and All the Cattle". And in this the Prophet made a division; he did not simply say: four-legged animals, but he distinguished the meek from the fierce; and commands to sing songs to the Creator for both; because nothing is superfluous or useless, although this is hidden from our knowledge. "Reptiles and birds of feathers." The mention of reptiles is also associated with the concept of the nature of swimmers; because they creep in the waters. This is what God called them; for he said: “Let the waters of the creeping things take away the souls of the living, and the birds that fly in the firmament of the sky” (Gen. 1:20). After all this, the Prophet also calls the one who sings songs for everyone; because after all the creation of God, man was considered worthy. But he is also called by class; first introduces the face of the kings, and then the hosts of subjects, and says: Ps.149:11. The kings of the earth and all the nations, the princes and all the judges of the earth. "The kings of the earth and all the people." He does not deprive the second kings, the princes, and those who follow them, the judges, from singing, but he also imparts to them the benefit that comes from this. "The princes and all the judges of the zemstia." Even every age, every generation, both male and female, is commanded to do this, and of husbands and wives first those who are of full age. Ps.149:12. Boys and maidens, elders and youths. "Young Men and Maidens". Then he names extreme ages. "Elders with young people." And the immature and overripe age, says the Prophet, praise God. Ps.149:13. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His alone is exalted, His glory is on earth and in heaven. “For the name of Him alone has been exalted.” For the memory of the false gods has faded away, and the name of the only existing God has become venerable. "His confession on earth and in heaven." It is not the heavenly ones who only sing His praises; but the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord, “for there was plenty of water” to cover the seas (Hab. 2:14). Ps.149:14. He has exalted the horn of His people, the glory of all His saints, the children of Israel, the people who are close to Him. Hallelujah. “And he will exalt the horn of his people.” He will show His people invincible and glorious. For the Prophet called a fortress “a horn,” taking the image of speech from animals armed with horns, which provide their strength in the horns. “A song to all His saints.” For those who believed in Him makes not only strong, but also revered by everyone. “The Son of Israel, the people who draw near to Him.” Israel enjoyed this glory when it was close to God. But now fame has passed away along with piety, and The Israelites lost it, and the pagans were delighted with the gifts of God. You might be interested in: