Изъяснение псалма 23-го.

"Psalm to David." In some lists I found: “one from the Sabbaths,” but this is not included in the Exaplah. However, in order not to leave this unexplained, let’s say: you need to know that these words mean the Lord’s Resurrection, after which everything, earth and sea, received the rays of the knowledge of God. And thus the psalm foreshadows the resurrection, and moreover, the ascension of the Lord into heaven. Ps.23:1. The earth is the Lord's and what fills it, the universe and everything that lives in it. “The earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness, the world, and all who live on it.” Since the Jews assumed that the Lord possessed Palestine alone, and cared only for them alone, being their only God, the prophetic word very opportunely teaches that He possesses the whole universe. He possesses it, not by seizing power for himself, and not by depriving anyone else of possession, but by Himself creating the universe and bringing it from non-existence into existence. Ps.23:2. For He founded it on the seas and established it on the rivers. “He founded food on the seas, and prepared food on the rivers.” And this indicates not only creation, but also Providence. For the earth, which by nature is dry, gave proportionate moisture, placing great seas outside and in the middle of it, and arranging that in the middle of the solid lands very numerous and great rivers flow, or springs flow. And thus, having proven the sovereignty of God and foreshadowed the knowledge of God among the pagans, the Prophet offers advice on virtue, again speaking in the form of questions and answers. For he says: Ps.23:3. Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord, or who will stand in His holy place? “Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord? or who will stand in His holy place?” The mountain here refers not to earthly, but to heavenly Zion, which blessed Paul pointed out to us, saying: “Come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22). since he previously taught that the God of all is the Creator and Creator, he very opportunely points out the path leading to Him, and gives an answer to the question. Ps.23:4. The one whose hands are innocent and whose heart is pure, who has not sworn with his soul in vain and has not sworn falsely [to his neighbor]. “He is innocent in his hands and pure in heart, who does not take his soul in vain, and does not swear by his sincere flattery.” Whoever wants to climb this mountain, says the Prophet, must cleanse his soul of inappropriate thoughts and have his hands free from such acts. For I used the word “hands” instead of the word “deeds,” and by the word “heart” I meant thoughts, because we form intentions in the heart, and put them into action with our hands. The Prophet says that such a person should not desire anything transitory and perishable. For this he calls vain. This is what Ecclesiastes calls it, saying: “vanity of vanities, all kinds of vanity” (Eccl. 1:2). And since covetousness is associated with flattery and breaking oaths, by the way, it also prohibits this: “and they do not swear to their sincere flattery.” Then he shows the fruit of these good deeds. Ps.23:5. He will receive a blessing from the Lord and mercy from God, his Savior. “This one will receive a blessing from the Lord and alms from God his Savior”: Very decently he also bought alms with the blessing; because what we honor as reward is given to people according to God’s love for mankind, and any human truth means nothing in comparison with the gifts sent down from God, not to mention the gifts of the future, which exceed even human thought. Ps.23:6. Such is the generation of those who seek Him, those who seek Your face, O God of Jacob! “This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” Those who intend to lead life according to these rules, says the Prophet, really long to see the founder of virtue, Who of old once vouchsafed His appearance to the great Jacob. Therefore, just as in the eleventh psalm, speaking about another generation, living in all malice and in all deceit, he begged God: “You, Lord, have preserved us, and have kept us from this generation and forever,” so here they proclaim the opposite: “this is the generation of those who seek the Lord.” For, after the incarnation of our God and Savior, the whole earth and sea, having believed the divine preaching, left their fatherly gods and sought the God of Jacob. Thus, the Prophet, having predicted the salvation of the universe, teaches those who have come to faith that the Lord Christ not only rose again, destroying the power of death, but also ascended to heaven. And since the twenty-first psalm contained a foreshadowing of saving suffering and a prophecy of the salvation of the pagans, then by the way, here too, having again mentioned the pagans and predicting their knowledge of God, it prefigures the Master’s ascension into heaven and shows us the faces of the Angels, some of whom precede the Lord Christ, while others ask from above and want to know what this wonderful thing means spectacle. Ps.23:7. Lift up your heights, O gates, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will enter! Ps.23:8. Who is this King of glory? - The Lord is mighty and strong, the Lord is mighty in battle. Ps.23:9. Lift up your heights, O gates, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will enter! Ps.23:10. Who is this King of glory? - The Lord of hosts, He is the king of glory. “Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in.” “Who is this King of glory? The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is mighty in battle.” “Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory." Let no one be surprised when they hear about ignorance of invisible forces. For they have no foreknowledge, and do not know everything; this knowledge has one Divine nature. Angels and Archangels and other faces of the invisible Forces know only to the extent that they are taught. Why did the divine Apostle, speaking about them, say: “Let the manifold wisdom of God now be revealed as the ruler and authority of the heavenly Church” (Eph. 3:10). If, from what is happening in the Church, they recognize God’s wisdom more accurately, then there is nothing strange that the heavenly Powers did not recognize the mystery of the ascension of Christ, having seen human nature, but not seeing the Divinity hidden in it. But if anyone does not agree to admit this thought, then let him extract the solution for the present passage from what is explained in this psalm. Above, the Prophet presented the instruction on moral virtue in the form of a question and answer, saying: “Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord? or who will stand in His holy place?” and having proposed this question, he added the answer: “innocent by hand, and pure in heart,” etc. Imagine a similar way of speech here, assume that those asking the question not out of ignorance, but in order to teach all people through this proclamation about the dominion of Him who ascends into heaven. Why do the corresponding Powers say that He is the King of glory, as receiving glory from everyone and having a true and permanent kingdom. They call Him the mighty Lord and strong in battle, because He destroyed the cruel torment of the devil and dispelled the seduction of the demons submissive to Him. The command is given to the eternal gates to open, because they have not yet been opened for human nature, and no man has ever passed through them. But God the Word, who became man, having received our firstfruits, raised it into heaven, “and sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3), “above all principality and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come” (Eph. 1:21). The great Elijah was also caught up, not into heaven, however, but “as into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11). So, after the first question and answer, again some question, others answer, and learn that “the Lord of hosts is the King of Glory,” that is, the Creator and Maker of Angels and Archangels and every invisible and created nature. You might be interested in: