Изъяснение псалма 28-го.

"A Psalm to David, the Exodus of the Tabernacle." And I did not find this inscription in the Exapla, but it is in some lists. Based on this, some of the writers concluded that blessed David uttered this psalm when he was transferring the ark. But such a thought is not at all contained in the sayings of the psalm, because the psalm foreshadows something else. It contains two combined prophecies, one of which is applicable to King Hezekiah, and the other to our common King, Who, having dispelled idolatry, enlightened the universe with the rays of the knowledge of God. And I will speak briefly about the prophecy relating to Hezekiah, and at greater length about the prophecy concerning us, as more requiring our attention. The wonderful Hezekiah, having gained the upper hand over the Syrians, and rejoiced at the extraordinary victory, gives the command that the people reward God for this with sacrifices, bring Him songs and praise, and perform service according to the law in His holy courtyard; because the church was inaccessible to many, and only priests were allowed to enter it. Then he explains the reason for this, pointing to God’s defeat of the Assyrians, mentioning together thunder and lightning, and figuratively calling many enemies many waters. After this he also calls them cedars, letting them see their pride and abundance; and says that they are crushed, and the beloved people became like the son of a unicorn, as one who worships one God, and through Him scattered many darknesses of advancing enemies. At the same time, it inspires that God stopped and scattered the enemies, like a flame, shook the army ignorant of God, and the place, due to the multitude of those who took up arms on it, was likened to an oak grove, He cleared us of those encamped there, and strengthened us, who indulged in the timidity of the trees, and made it so that we did not turn to flight, but stood in place. Therefore, justice demands that we flock to the church and give thanks to God in songs; because, having freed us from enemies, it gives us the opportunity to rebuild and populate what was outside the fences devastated by enemies and, as it were, washed away by a flood. For we will conveniently correct everything, having an eternal King, who gave us victory and gave us peace. So, that this psalm was spoken about blessed Hezekiah, this clearly makes us see the interpretation of it. since the Old Testament is an image of the new; then, by comparing the body with the shadow, we will show their similarity. There is a pious king, and here is the Teacher of piety, Christ; there is a people submissive to the king, and here is a people saved by Christ; there is the war waged by the Assyrians and their destruction, and here is the rise of demons and their destruction. Therefore, the grace of the Spirit commands that the holy Apostles preach salvation to the pagans and lead those who believe to God. For the Prophet calls the Apostles sons of God, as if they were called brethren of Christ. It is said: “tell my brothers that I will go before you to Galilee” (Matthew 28:10); and those who believed among the Gentiles were called sons of rams, as being born of fathers without understanding. Ps.28:1. Give to the Lord, sons of God, give to the Lord glory and honor. Ps.28:2. Give the Lord glory to His name; worship the Lord in His splendid sanctuary. “Bring to the Lord, sons of God, bring to the Lord, sons of rams, bring to the Lord glory and honor:” “Bring to the Lord the glory of His name: worship the Lord in His holy court.” You, says the Prophet, who have believed in the divine preaching and have been called sons of God, with all zeal, carry the divine preaching everywhere, make those brought up in foolishness reasonable, and offer them first as a gift to God. Then, through them, honor and sing songs in the houses of God, glorifying the Benefactor. This is similar to what the Savior said to the holy Apostles: “Go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). For the psalm, following what was said above, mentioned sacred waters. Ps.28:3. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory has thundered, the Lord is over many waters. “The voice of the Lord is on the waters, the God of glory roars.” This word is predicted by a voice coming from heaven on the Jordan: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The Prophet called it thunder, as rushing across the entire universe in the sacred Gospel. This is how the Lord called the couple of Apostles sons of thunder for their supernatural and divine proclamation of theology. "The Lord is upon many waters." For not only Jordan received this grace, but throughout the land and sea the sacrament of baptism is performed, with the sanctification of the watery nature by divine invocation. This psalm foreshadows the power given to the Apostles. Ps.28:4. The voice of the Lord is strong, the voice of the Lord is majestic. “The voice of the Lord is in strength, the voice of the Lord is in splendor.” The history of Acts also teaches us according to this. For from it we learn that the Lord Christ, before His ascension into heaven, commanded His saints to His disciples, saying: “But remain in this city until you are endowed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49); and, after ten days, on the Feast of Pentecost, “there came a voice from heaven, as if the breath were stormy, and it filled the house where it sat: and the nations were divided by them like fire, and they sat on one of them” (Acts 2:3). The Prophet calls the voice the grace of the Spirit, which filled the Apostles with strength and strength, and gave splendor to the poor. Then he shows what those strengthened by this voice have done. Ps.28:5. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; The Lord breaks down the cedars of Lebanon. “The voice of the Lord that breaks in pieces the cedars: and the Lord destroyeth the cedars of Lebanon.” In these words the Prophet means the destruction of idols. Since in ancient times the churches of idols were high, and did not bear any fruit to those who honored them, the Prophet likened them to the cedars of Lebanon, which are high, but do not bear fruit suitable for food. Ps.28:6. and makes them gallop like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. “And I will grow up like the calf of Lebanon.” Scripture repeatedly calls Jerusalem Lebanon. For it is said: “Open thy doors to Lebanon, and let fire burn thy cedars” (Zech. 11:1). And the Lebanese calf was poured together by the Israelites at Horeb. For it is said: “I made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the graven image” (Ps. 105:19). But Moses the lawgiver crushed and destroyed him. Therefore, the Prophet says that, like him, all idols in the universe will be ground to dust and destroyed. “And the beloved is like a unicorn son.” The people who believe, freed from this delusion, and therefore called beloved, will be invincible and insurmountable, as those freed from polytheism and honoring the one Divinity. Ps.28:7. The voice of the Lord cuts out a flame of fire. “The voice of the Lord cutting off the flame of fire”: because the face of the sacred Apostles, having received the fiery grace of the All-Holy Spirit, was enlightened, but was not burned. And the future life is given the dual effectiveness of fire: it will enlighten the devotees of virtue, and it will burn the workers of vice. Why is the punishment of the lawless called fire, and is called darkness, because the luminiferous power of fire did not appear there. Ps.28:8. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. “The voice of the Lord shaking the desert: and the Lord will shake the Qaddian desert.” Symmachus translated: not “shaking”, but “defeating”; and Aquila - “sick in childbirth.” Isaiah also foreshadows this desert, saying: “Rejoice, thirsty desert, let the desert rejoice and let it bloom like a tree” (Is. 35:1). The Prophet calls the pagans a desert, as they were deprived of ancient knowledge of God. And about them the divine Isaiah said that they would prosper, and blessed David that they would suffer and give birth. Similar to this is what was said in Isaiah in another place: “rejoice, you barren, you who do not give birth, shout and cry, you who are not sick with stomach, for many are more empty children than those who have husbands” (Is. 54:1). The Lord who shakes this desert (the shaking means the coming of God) will prepare for the birth of salvation, in accordance with the prophecy that says: “For the sake of Thy fear, O Lord, the Spirit of Thy salvation came into the womb, and was sick, and gave birth, which Thou didst create on earth” (Is. 26:18). That is why the Prophet calls the Qaddian desert, that is, holy, because this is what the word “Kadiz” means in translation. Ps.28:9. The voice of the Lord releases the burden of the deer and strips the forests bare; and in His church everything proclaims His glory. “The voice of the Lord brings forth the tree and opens the oak groves.” Helens tend to disdain reptiles. The Lord also granted this power to the sacred Apostles. For he says: “Behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion and all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). Strengthened by this word, they expelled the seducers of the universe of demons and discovered idolatrous weakness. And this was foreshadowed by the prophetic word: “The voice of the Lord brings forth the tree and will open the oak groves.” For it is extraordinary that with the help of the olive tree he destroyed many kinds of animals, with the help of unlearned people he exposed the infertility of philosophers, and with the help of fishermen he stopped the torment of the devil. The Prophet called the idol churches oak groves, as they were completely barren. For these are the thickets or oak groves that good farmers are in the habit of cutting down in order to clear the land they occupy and plant fruitful trees on it or sow it with seeds suitable for food. The farmers of the universe also did this, because, having uprooted the idolatrous churches, they planted divine churches in their place. Therefore, “in His church everyone speaks glory,” being excited by this unusually great deed to sing. Ps.28:10. The Lord sat over the flood, and the Lord will sit as king forever. “The Lord inhabits the flood, and the Lord will sit as king forever”; because the universe, flooded with a stream of lawlessness, will recreate, renew and make a new creation. Why does blessed Paul cry out: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). Having done this, says the Prophet, he will no longer allow wickedness to take place, but will reign forever. Ps.28:11. The Lord will give strength to His people, the Lord will bless His people with peace. “The Lord will give strength to His people, the Lord will bless His people with peace.” And with this the Prophet foretold the uprising of the wicked, and the victory of the victorious martyrs, and the peace given to the Church after this: “The Lord will give strength to His people,” that is, during the battle, and “he will bless His people with peace,” ending the long-term battle. You might be interested in: