Изъяснение псалма 17-го.

Ps.17:1. To the head of the choir. The servant of the Lord David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord, when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said. “In the end, to the servant of the Lord David, even the words of the Lord said this song, on the same day the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul, and said.” The inscription is clear and does not require interpretation. And in the writings of the kings the meaning of this psalm is set forth. The wisdom of the Prophet is worthy of surprise. For, having endured so many intrigues from Saul, he did not classify him as an enemy, but, separating him from those at war, did not mention him as an enemy. It is attached in the inscription: “to the end”; because the psalm also contains a prophecy about the calling of the pagans and the alienation of the Jews, which happened at the end of distant times. Ps.17:2. I love you, Lord, my strength! Ps.17:3. The Lord is my rock and my refuge, my Deliverer, my God is my rock; in Him I trust; my shield, the horn of my salvation and my refuge. “I will love you, O Lord, my strength”: “The Lord is my strength, and my refuge, and my deliverer, my God, my helper, and I trust in him: my protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my intercessor.” The Prophet repays good deeds with love; because it is the only one he can offer as a gift to God, blessed by him. Love and God legitimized at the beginning of the law. For it is said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5). And after love comes pleasing the beloved; because “she loves everything, has faith in everything, trusts in everything, endures everything. Love no longer ceases” (1 Cor. 13:7-8). Blessed David makes a promise to love God, not as having already fulfilled this completely, but as not allowing the possibility of being satisfied with this love. Then he renames the divine blessings, and from the list of benefits he has received, he makes a list of the names of God, and calls God strength, as one who has received strength; affirmation, as having become firm against enemies; refuge, as having God as a wall and a strong hedge; deliverance, as delivered by God from the hostile; a helper, as one who has been granted help from Him; protector, as having Him as a supporter at the time; a horn of salvation and an intercessor, as saved by His providence. He used the expression: “horn of salvation” in a figurative sense, borrowing it from animals that repel enemies with their horns. Ps.17:4. I will call upon the venerable Lord and I will be saved from my enemies. “With praise I will call on the Lord and I will be saved from my enemies.” From this we learn to testify to gratitude for the blessings given to us, and again to ask for what we need. For by doing this, says the Prophet, I will overcome those who are hostile to me. Then he describes various uprisings of enemies. Ps.17:5. The torments of death overwhelmed me, and the torrents of iniquity frightened me. Ps.17:6. The chains of hell have encircled me, and the snares of death have entangled me. “Mortal diseases have overcome me, and the sweat of iniquity has crushed me.” “The diseases of hell have overcome me, having preceded me to the snares of death.” He refers to dangers that threaten death as mortal and hellish diseases. For just as illnesses occur at birth, so great dangers bring one closer to death. He called unjust and frequent attacks by enemies streams of lawlessness. For, as a stream, receiving rushing flows of water from here and there, suddenly overflows, so Saul and other enemies raided it. He called ambushes mortal snares, for what a snare is to the dumb is an ambush to those at war; both serve as a means to cause harm covertly. Ps.17:7. In my distress I called on the Lord and cried out to my God. And He heard my voice from His [holy] palace, and my cry came to His ears. “And when I was in sorrow, I called on the Lord and cried out to my God: I heard my voice from my holy church, and my cry before Him entered into His ears.” When I was besieged by so many disasters, neglecting all human help, I called on Divine help, and was not deceived in my hope, because God immediately accepted my prayers. What he means here is not a church made with hands, which was not yet built then, because Solomon built it after this, but called heaven a church. Ps.17:8. The earth shook and shook, the foundations of the mountains trembled and moved, for [God] was angry; Ps.17:9. smoke arose from His wrath, and from His mouth a consuming fire; hot coals fell from Him. “And the earth moved and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains were shaken and moved, as if God was angry with her.” “The smoke of His wrath arose, and fire was kindled from His presence, coals kindled from Him.” The Prophet said all this not because it was absolutely so, but because it is what is imagined by faith. God, not only to punish, but also to frighten people, often did this, terrifying them with lightning, thunder, earthquakes, and fire. So, wanting to frighten Israel, he showed them Mount Sinai smoking with fire. Therefore, this Prophet also depicted to the enemies the punishment imposed on them in the same way. He also teaches other people not to do similar things, so as not to suffer similar executions. Ps.17:10. He bowed the heavens and descended, and darkness was under His feet. Ps.17:11. And he mounted the Cherubim and flew and was carried on the wings of the wind. Ps.17:12. And he made darkness His cover, the darkness of waters and clouds of air surrounding Him. Ps.17:13. Because of the brilliance before Him, His clouds, hail and coals of fire fled. “And bow down the heavens and below, and darkness under His feet.” “And you ascended upon the Cherubim: and you flew on the wing of the wind.” “And put Your darkness close around His village.” And here again, depicting the coming of God, he leads the listeners into no small fear. However, we do not comprehend either the descent or the ascent of the Divine nature, because the Divinity is indescribable, abides everywhere, and sustains everything. Through this we learn different ways of building the economy, because God appears to people, sometimes with favor, sometimes in splendor; and in other cases, with the intention of instilling fear, he reveals something wonderful and extraordinary. Therefore, the words: “incline the heavens and come down,” we will understand in such a way that He revealed His own coming. And the darkness underfoot signifies the invisibility of the coming, while the ascent of the Cherubim and the flight of the winds show the speed of the coming; the words: “put up Your darkness” signifies the invisibility of nature, and the words: “His habitation is around Him” - His light is around: that’s why blessed Paul said: “He alone has immortality, and in the living light is unapproachable” (1 Tim. 6:16). “The water is dark in the clouds of air.” “The clouds came from the leafing before Him”; that is, just as the density of the clouds makes the air dark and emits the flash of lightning, so the God of all, being invisible, emits rays of intelligent light and punishes those who live wickedly with punitive fire. The Prophet made this clear by adding: “hail and coals of fire.” Ps.17:14. The Lord thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave His voice, hail and coals of fire. Ps.17:15. He shot His arrows and scattered them, many lightning bolts, and scattered them. “And the Lord roared from heaven, and the Most High gave His voice.” “I sent down arrows and dispersed them, and multiplied lightnings and crushed me.” This has happened to us many times: in recent wars, God destroyed the northern barbarians who invaded us with hail and fire, and recently God destroyed the Persians who had also taken up arms from the east and hoped that they would take our cities without shedding blood, He tied them with the same fetters, prevented them from going further, and put some to death, and sent others as messengers of what had happened. Ps.17:16. And springs of water appeared, and the foundations of the universe were revealed at Thy terrible voice, O Lord, at the breath of the spirit of Thy wrath. “And the springs of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were revealed, from Thy prohibition, O Lord, from the inspiration of the spirit of Thy wrath.” And this happened in many countries. For the earth moved and parted, immeasurable depths opened up on the high mountains, and waters flowed in waterless places. The Ruler of all does this, showing people His punitive power and teaching how He, although He can commit final destruction in an instant, is nevertheless, driven by love for mankind, delays punishment and awaits repentance. Ps.17:17. He stretched out his hand from on high and took me, and brought me out of many waters. “He sent down from on high and received me: they took me from many waters.” And showing what he calls waters in a figurative sense, he added: Ps.17:18. He delivered me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, who were stronger than me. “He will deliver me from my mighty enemies and from those who hate me: for she has become stronger than me”; that is, He clearly showed His care to my enemies. The Prophet expressed this by saying: “He sent me down from on high and received me,” that is, he assured everyone that he had given me help from heaven, and that he had made me worthy of this providence, having seen the power of my enemies. For he says: “established more than me.” Ps.17:19. They rose up against me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my strength. Ps.17:20. He brought me out to a large place and delivered me, for He delights in me. “Previous me in the day of my bitterness.” Here it seems to me that the Prophet implies the rebellion of Absalom after he committed a sin, because bitterness (which Symmachus expresses with the word: “distress”) refers to the spiritual weakness due to which the sin was committed. “And the Lord was my confirmation. And take me out into the wideness." Me, overthrown and deposed, says the Prophet, God strengthened me, and changed narrowness into breadth, and instead of the expected death, gave me life. He says the same thing in another psalm: “I was rejected by the mouth, and the Lord accepted me” (Ps. 117:13). “He will deliver me as he pleases me.” I hope that in the future he will grant me the same help, and I will prevail over those who are hostile to me, although they will have the greatest power. Ps.17:21. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, He rewarded me according to the purity of my hands. Ps.17:22. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not been wicked before my God. Ps.17:23. For all His commandments are before me, and I have not departed from His statutes. “And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hand he will reward me.” “For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not dishonored my God.” “For all His destiny is before me, and His justification does not depart from Me.” Not contrary to justice, says the Prophet, God provides for me, on the contrary, knowing my intention, knowing that most of all I try to preserve all His commandments. since he showed that God’s care for him was great, he also shows its justice, thereby encouraging his listeners to virtue and teaching that it is not by chance that we become the subject of this care, but only by acquiring a sincere commitment to God. For the Prophet did not want to count his own merits before everyone, but to explain how one can be worthy of Divine providence. Ps.17:24. I was blameless before Him and took care lest I sin. I will “be blameless with him.” How can you succeed in this? “And I will be preserved from my iniquity.” By abstaining from what I have done badly, in the future I will behave blamelessly. So the great David, being forced to mention his own good deeds in order to show the justice of Divine providence for him, could not hide the lawlessness he committed. Ps.17:25. And the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the purity of my hands in His sight. “And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness and according to my purity before His eyes.” Then, he says, when I have become completely blameless, I will be worthy of perfect blessings, because the God of all supervises everyone over good deeds (the Prophet called them cleanliness of hands) and with a pious intention he proportions rewards. Then the Prophet expounds this same thing more clearly. Ps.17:26. With a merciful man You act mercifully, with a sincere man You act sincerely. Ps.17:27. With the pure it is pure, but with the evil one according to his wickedness. “You will be with the monk, and with the innocent man you will be innocent.” “And you will be chosen with the chosen, and with the obstinate you will be corrupted.” You adapt your rewards to the heartfelt disposition of people, O Lord. You give to the reverends what is worthy of their reverence; innocent and free from sin, which is appropriate for them, and the chosen and perfect, which is perfect, but for those who have turned away from the right path and follow the opposite path, you arrange that they find an end consistent with this path. How and in what way? Ps.17:28. For You save the oppressed people, but You bring down haughty eyes. “For you have saved the humble people and humbled the eyes of the proud.” Those who are led by a modest way of thinking, or are humbled by circumstances, you merit salvation and make glorious. And you force those who raise their eyebrows and are enslaved by arrogance to bow their gaze to the ground and reflect on the poverty of their nature. Ps.17:29. You kindle my lamp, O Lord; My God enlightens my darkness. “As you enlighten my lamp, O Lord: my God, enlighten my darkness.” since he often called sorrow “my,” he very appropriately calls liberation from sorrow “light.” But I will accept this liberation, says the Prophet, from Your providence, because the lamp that has received the true light (as he calls the image of the slave) is “mine,” and from my loins is formed. This is also said in another psalm: “There I will make the horn of David grow; I will prepare a Lamp for my anointed one” (Ps. 131:17). Ps.17:30. With You I defeat the army, with my God I climb the wall. “For through You I will get rid of temptation, and through my God I will cross the wall.” I will avoid all malicious intent, all snares (I call these snares temptation and a wall) by Your grace. Ps.17:31. God! – His way is blameless, the word of the Lord is pure; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. “My God, His way is blameless.” You manage everything truthfully, and therefore I do not lose my complacency. “The Word of the Lord is kindled.” And I learned this from Your untruthful words, for He calls it kindled, as we said before, what has been tested and has no forgery in itself. “He is the Protector of all those who trust in Him.” I am not the only one who uses this help; everyone who has the same hope in Him uses it. Ps.17:32. For who is God besides the Lord, and who is a defense besides our God? “Who is God, except the Lord? and who is God, except our God? For there is no other God, so that one God gives what is asked to one, and another to another. Ps.17:33. God girds me with strength and arranges for me the right path. “God gird me with strength, and make my way blameless.” Strengthened by His strength, I hasten to walk in the right path. Ps.17:34. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and sets me on my high places. “Make my nose like trees, and place me on high.” As the trees in their nature gave them the power to trample on poisonous animals; so he gave me the strength to surpass and become higher than my enemies. Ps.17:35. He teaches my hands to fight, and my muscles crush the copper bow. “Teach my hands to fight.” For by raising them to prayer, I overcome those who are hostile to me. “And you put the onion of the copper in my arm.” Therefore, I arranged that my muscles, like a copper and indestructible bow, shoot arrows at enemies. Ps.17:36. You have given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand upholds me, and Your mercy magnifies me. “And You have given me the protection of salvation, and Your right hand will receive me: and Your punishment will correct me in the end: and Your punishment will teach me.” You have enlightened the sinner, You have restored the fallen; and showed what evil sin is, and made it worthy of salvation. Ps.17:37. You widen my step under me, and my feet do not falter. “Thou hast enlarged my feet under me, and my feet are not weary.” In the closeness of grief, You gave me scope for consolation, and inspired by it, I continue my life to this day. What was said: “thou hast broadened” Symmachus expressed: “thou hast extended.” Ps.17:38. I pursue my enemies and overtake them, and I do not return until I have destroyed them. Ps.17:39. I strike them, and they cannot get up; they fall under my feet. Ps.17:40. For You have girded me with strength for war, and You have put under my feet those who rebelled against me. “My enemies will marry, and I will suffer, and will not return, until they die.” “I will insult them, and they will not be able to: they will fall under my feet.” Thus, having strengthened myself under Your providence, I hope to overcome all those who are hostile to me, and not to retreat until I make them submissive to me again. For he expressed this by saying: “They will fall under my feet.” “And thou hast girded me with strength for battle: thou hast slept all that risen against me under me.” He gave me courage and strength, and put barriers to the aspirations of my enemies: this happened with both Goliath and Saul. For one, when, instead of acting, he wasted time on meaningless words, David struck with a sling, and from the other, when he was bound in sleep, he easily escaped by flight, and also escaped from the malicious intent of the Hethaites. Ps.17:41. You have turned the rear of my enemies to me, and I destroy those who hate me. “And you gave me a backbone to my enemies,” that is, you put them to flight, because it is natural for a runner to turn his back. “And you consumed those who hated me.” Saul, Ahithophel, Absalom and thousands of others. Ps.17:42. They cry out, but there is no one to save; to the Lord, but He does not listen to them. “You cried, and did not save: to the Lord, and did not hear them.” Foreigners, calling on their gods for help, did not see any provision for themselves from them; and Saul, and Absalom, and Shimei, and the other warring Israelites did not have God for their companion. Ps.17:43. I scatter them like dust before the wind, I trample them like the dirt of the streets. “And I will be like dust before the wind; like the clay of the paths I will stroke.” They will become completely powerless and insignificant, with Your grace assisting me. Ps.17:44. You delivered me from the rebellion of the people, you made me the head of the foreigners; a people whom I did not know serves me. Ps.17:45. According to one rumor about me, they obey me; foreigners caress me. Ps.17:46. The foreigners turn pale and tremble in their fortifications. “Deliver me from the bickering of people.” Here he foreshadows the frantic striving of the Jews for the Savior and the salvation of the pagans, and advises not to have any communication in their bickering. “Put me at the head of the tongues.” We do not know that David reigned over the pagans, therefore the prophecy is fulfilled by the One who was born of Him in the flesh, who Himself is called David, according to the word of blessed Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:24), that is, the Lord Christ reigned over all the pagans, and always ruling over everyone, like God, and upon becoming man, accepting from those who believed in Him the voluntary inclusion of himself in servants to Him. “People, we don’t know them, Mi’s work.” “You listened to me in the ear of your ear.” This is foreshadowed on behalf of the Lord Christ. He says: those who never accepted either a lawgiver or My Prophet, having been called, obeyed without difficulty and loved My dominion. "The alien sons of Mi's lie." “The sons of strangers have vowed, and are lame from their paths.” Those who were called sons, and included in the number of sons, made themselves strangers, becoming unappreciative of good deeds, wavering in faith, and abandoning the path of piety. So through the Prophet Jeremiah God says: “How have you turned into sorrow, strange grapes? I planted fruitful grapes for you, all true” (Jer. 2:21). He shows some that they are His own planting, while others expose their ingratitude. Symmachus translated the words “betshasha” and “ohromosha”: “they will be dishonored and put to shame.” And the fulfillment testifies to the truth of the prophecy, because the Jews are filled with dishonor and appear vile to everyone. Ps.17:47. The Lord lives and blessed is my protector! Exalted be the God of my salvation. “As the Lord liveth, and blessed is my God: and let the God of my salvation be exalted.” Having mentioned the bickering of the Jews, he makes clear suffering and resurrection after suffering. And since the Jews have the custom of calling someone crucified dead, he himself cries out: “As the Lord lives, and blessed is my God: and may the God of my salvation be exalted.” Not only is he alive, but he has ascended back to heaven and provides salvation to those who wish. Ps.17:48. God, who avenges me and subdues the nations for me. Ps.17:49. And who delivers me from my enemies! You raised me above those who rebelled against me and delivered me from the cruel man. “God grant vengeance to Me and subdue people under Me.” “My deliverer from my wrathful enemies, from those who rise up against Me, lift Me up; deliver Me from an unrighteous man.” Therefore, You, Who will finally accomplish all this in distant times, will also deliver me from those who are unjustly hostile to me, and You will make the people that You have subjected to me submissive. Ps.17:50. For this reason I will praise You, O Lord, among the foreigners and I will sing to Your name. “For this reason let us confess to You among the nations, O Lord: and I will sing to Your name.” In all the churches of the whole world I will sing praises to You through the nations who will soon be called. And the fulfillment of this prophecy is visible to us, because in all cities and villages, in the fields, on the mountains and on the hills, on land and on the sea, in inhabited countries and in deserts, the divine David, through the lips of the pious, praises God. Ps.17:51. Greatly saving the king and showing mercy to Your anointed David and his descendants forever. “Glorify the salvation of the king, and show mercy to your Christ David and his seed forever.” For You, having anointed me as a king, not only save me, but also make me glorious. And you will vouchsafe this providence not only to me, but also to my children, and you will preserve this glory to my seed even to eternity. If we understand this in Jewish terms, then this prophecy was not fulfilled, because before the captivity the family of David continued to reign, but upon returning from captivity, Zerubbabel alone, being the ruler of the people, did not leave any heirs in this government. Therefore, if the prophecy is true, as it is truly true, because it is a revelation of the Spirit of truth, then it remains to understand the Seed of David, who has eternal glory, that is, the Lord Christ born of David according to the flesh, who has an eternal kingdom and eternal glory and, as the Creator and God, has it from eternity, and yet received it as a man at the last of days. Therefore, through the divine Ezekiel, the God of all spoke: “And I will give them David their king” (Ezek. 34:23); and again: “and David is King among them” (Ezek. 34:24). He called Him David, as having come in the flesh from the loins of David. So blessed Isaiah cries out: “There will be a root of Jesse, and he who rises up to control the tongues, in him the nations will trust” (Is. 11:10). Having learned this, blessed Matthew began the Gospel he wrote: “the book of the kinship of Jesus Christ, the son of David” (Matthew 1:1). You might be interested in: