Изъяснение псалма 44-го.

Ps.44:1. To the head of the choir. On the Shoshan musical instrument. Teaching. Sons of Korah. Song of love. “In the end, about those who are changed into mind by the son of Korah, a song about the beloved.” The prophetic word, having predicted the sorrowful in the previous psalm, foreshadows the pleasant, comforting the despondent and teaching that they will win the victory and prosper and enjoy God's help until the Beloved Son comes from them in the flesh and brings about a new change of nations. For the Prophet calls the Son of God beloved. This is what the divine Isaiah says about Him: “The grapes became to the Beloved in a rose, in a fat place” (Is. 5:1). The Father Himself announced this about the Son: “This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). He gave the nations a new appearance through holy baptism. The psalm foreshadows these peoples and urges them to forget their native gods and truly honor the true God. Symmachus expressed the word “changeable” with the word “flowers,” and Aquila and Theodotion with the word “lilies.” Flowers and lilies are the essence of spring growth, and spiritual spring is the coming of the Savior, in which, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, the ancient desert rejoiced and blossomed “like a tree” (Is. 35: 1). This is what the present prophecy predicts, indicating the Planter and Tiller of the Farm, Who changed everything and made it fruitful. Ps.44:2. A good word poured out from my heart; I say: my song is about the King; my tongue is a cursive cane. “My heart will burp out the good word”; because I belch out these things and utter such words, having been brought up with spiritual words. “I say I am my princess.” Whom the inscription calls beloved, the beginning of the psalm calls him King; deeds refers to the true word of prophecy, foretelling what will happen. Therefore, the Prophet says: I will speak about the King Himself; and teaching that his words were not human, but Divine, he added: “My tongue is the reed of a scribe.” I do not actually utter anything of my own, says the Prophet, and I do not offer anything generated by my own mind; my tongue is an instrument of another power, and it is likened to a cane; the grace of the Spirit, like a cursive writer, writes to them what is pleasing to it. So the Prophet, having indicated who is speaking in him, begins the prophecy as follows. Ps.44:3. You are more beautiful than the sons of men; grace poured out from Your mouth; Therefore God has blessed You forever. “Beautiful in kindness more than the sons of men, grace was poured out on Your lips: for this sake God bless You forever.” You, says the Prophet, Whom I called King, You, Whom in the inscription I called Beloved, conquer human nature with beauty, and from your tongue you pour out springs of wisdom - and this with You is not temporary, but eternal. One must know that the prophetic word depicted not the Divinity, but the humanity of the Lord Christ, because God the Word would not be compared with people, and would not say that He received a blessing from God, since He Himself is an abyss of blessings, exuding blessings to believers. Therefore, the Prophet with these words foreshadowed the humanity of the Lord Christ. And let no one call the Prophets contradictory to each other when he hears what Isaiah cries: “I have seen Him, and not in appearance, nor in kindness: but His appearance is dishonorable, lower than the sons of men” (Is. 53:2-3). For these words proclaim the cross and suffering, and this was full of reproach and insult. That’s why the Prophet added: “a man in the plague, and knowing to endure sickness, because he turned away His face, he became dishonorable, and was not accounted for” (Is. 53:3). And the words that follow also indicate suffering. The psalm proclaims the beauty of Christ, and not the beauty of the body, but the beauty of virtue and all truth, the beauty that has not accepted sinful impurity, removed from all filth. Ps.44:4. Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your beauty. Ps.44:5. And in this Your adornment hasten, sit on the chariot for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness, and Your right hand will show You wondrous deeds. “Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One.” “By Thy beauty and Thy kindness: come, and prosper, and reign.” Having described beauty and wisdom, the Prophet shows the power and weapons with which Christ crushed his opponents, and reveals something more amazing to us. For He calls His very beauty both weapon and strength. “Gird Your sword,” he says, “on Your thigh, O Mighty One. By Your beauty and Your kindness." And having said: “And Nalyatsi, and succeed, and reign,” he immediately added: “for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness,” clearly showing that truth, meekness and truth are His beauty, and strength, and weapons, and victory. And the Lord himself, as we can hear, says: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29); and again: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and to the Divine John: “leave it now: so it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). And in this way He overthrew the torment of the destroyer, crushed death, and granted salvation to the believers. Ps.44:6. Thy arrows are sharp, O Mighty One, the nations will fall before Thee, they are in the heart of the enemies of the King. “Thy arrows are sharp, stronger: people under You will fall into the hearts of the enemies of the Tsars.” Acting against enemies with sharp arrows, you will throw them straight and wound the hearts of the enemy, and you will teach the peoples over whom the enemies ruled to worship You; because Your arrows, O Mighty One, are sharp, they are in the heart of the king’s enemies, and when the enemies are wounded, “people will fall under You,” giving You due worship. This prophetic word, having announced what was accomplished by the Lord in His incarnation, then reveals the nature of the God-Word himself who became man. Ps.44:7. Thy throne, O God, endures forever; the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. “Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.” since what was said above: “beautiful in kindness more than the sons of men: for this sake God bless you forever,” was below Divine dignity: then by the way, the Prophet in these words reveals that Christ is God and the eternal King, that He did not accept the beginning, and will not accept the end, which means eternity. Why did Symmachus call Him eternal: “Thy throne, O God, is Eternal.” The Prophet also shows the rightness of the kingdom. For he says: “The scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.” Then he descends again to Christ’s humanity. Ps.44:8. You loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore, O God, Your God has anointed You with the oil of joy more than Your fellows. “Thou hast loved righteousness, and thou hast hated iniquity: therefore, for the sake of the anointing of Thee, O God, Thy God is more than a partaker of Thy with the oil of joy.” Or, as Symmachus translates: “more than Thy friends.” Those who are partakers of Christ, and friends and brothers in humanity, are those who have believed. This is what the divine Apostle says: “we will hold the partakers of Christ, even if the firstfruits of the composition are known to the end” (Heb. 3:4); and also: “as if he were the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). Likewise, Christ was anointed with the All-Holy Spirit not as God, but as a man, because as God he has the Spirit in one essence, and as a man he accepts the gifts of the Spirit as a kind of anointing. So he loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. For this is a matter of the will of the heart, but not of natural force. And as God, he has the scepter of righteousness as the scepter of kingdom. Ps.44:9. All Your garments are like myrrh and scarlet and casia; from the palaces of ivory they rejoice Thee. Ps.44:10. The daughters of kings are among Your honorable ones; the queen stood at Your right hand in Ophir gold. “Myrrh and stakti and casia from Your garments, from the weights of elephants, from which You made You glad.” "Daughters of kings in Thy honor." Instead of: “from the weights of elephants,” Aquila and Symmachus said: “from the churches of elephants.” The Prophet calls the body of Christ a robe, just as the divine Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews calls it a veil. For he says: “having the boldness, brethren, to enter into the holy blood of Jesus Christ, the new and living way, which he renewed for us with the veil, that is, with his flesh” (Heb. 10:19-20). And the Prophet calls suffering myrrh, because myrrh is primarily offered to the dead; and with cassia - the fragrance of the suffering of Christ, and with ivory weights, or, according to the translation of Symmachus and Aquila, ivory churches - the splendid and bright churches that princes and kings erected everywhere on land and sea. Therefore, the Prophet predicts that suffering, although it will be physical, will fill the whole universe with a fragrance, so that the peoples who were in error in ancient times will erect churches to Christ, splendidly built and shining with royal decorations. Having made a prediction about churches - these, as it were, bridal chambers, the Prophet incidentally describes the decoration and gender of the bride, and offers her a suitable admonition. “The queen appears at Your right hand, adorned with gilded vestments.” Having thus shown the value of the bride’s attire, and by calling her queen and placing her at the right hand of such a great King, making her high dignity visible, the Prophet offers useful instruction and admonition. Ps.44:11. Hear, daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house. “Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear, and forget Thy people and Thy Father’s house.” This does not apply in the least to the Jews, who are magnified by the piety of their ancestors, for whose sake they enjoyed God’s care for them for so long, because the Prophet commands the Jews to follow the piety of their fathers and commands them not to forget their fathers. The pagan church had fathers and ancestors who served idols. Therefore, the Prophet advises her not to leave her father’s customs in her memory. And the Holy Spirit calls her daughter, as having received spiritual rebirth, and for keeping the commandments he promises her the love of the King: Ps.44:12. And the King will desire your beauty; for He is your Lord, and you shall worship Him. “And the King will desire Your kindness.” And then the Prophet reveals her nature and the dignity of the King. “Behind You is your Lord, and worship Him.” Ps.44:13. And the daughter of Tire with gifts, and the richest of the people, will pray before Your face. “And Tirov’s daughters with gifts.” The other three translators ordered the queen herself to perform the worship. Aquila and Theodotion translated: “and worship Him,” and Symmachus: “for He is your Lord, and worship Him.” But the seventy teach the queen that the bridegroom is not only her Lord, but also those who still dare to contradict, so that the daughters of Tyre will bring gifts and express their readiness to serve. And in these daughters the Prophet allows us to see general wickedness. For Scripture usually means the whole by the part. Thus in another place the complete cessation of superstition is foreshadowed by the fall of Lebanon. For it is said: “Lebanon with the high ones will fall” (Is. 10:34). In the following words, the Prophet mentions not only the Tyrian daughter, but many. “Rich people will pray to Your face.” The person of the Church in the proper sense is the Lord Himself, because He is the head of the body. It is said: “And He will give him the head above all the Church” (Eph. 1:22). It can be seen that this prophecy has already been fulfilled, because those abounding in wealth and famous for the height of their dignity honor the person of the Church named here. And since the Prophet said that the queen “is in robes of gilded clothes,” the devotees of virtue are adorned by the low value of their clothes, which is why they spend their lives in such clothes, he explains what exactly this high value of decoration consists of. Ps.44:14. All the glory of the King's daughter is within; her clothes are embroidered with gold. “All the glory of the princess’s daughter is inside: her garments are covered with gold and speckled.” Inside herself, says the Prophet, she has the splendor of virtue, and shines with the many different gifts of the Holy Spirit, because the actions of God's Spirit are different. For “the divisions of gifts are, and the same is the Spirit. To one is given the word of wisdom by the Spirit, and to another the word of understanding by the same Spirit: to another faith is given by the same Spirit, to another prophecy, to another the generation of tongues” (1 Cor. 12:4-10). And the Church consists of many spiritual people who have received various gifts of the Spirit. Therefore, the Prophet rightly likened the division of gifts to golden cassocks, because the cassocks are separate from one another, but together they are connected, as if suspended from the same robe. Ps.44:15. In speckled clothes she is led to the King; after her the virgins, her friends, are led to You. Ps.44:16. They are brought in with joy and rejoicing and enter the palace of the King. “Virgins will be brought to the King after her, her sincere ones will be brought to You.” “They will be brought in joy and joy, they will be brought into the Church of the Kings.” since not everyone reaches the heights of perfection, the Prophet calls some brides, as those who are perfect in virtue, and others - virgins, as those who have preserved their accepted faith in purity. However, he says that the virgins will follow the queen and with her enter the church of the Kings. The Lord showed us this difference in the Holy Gospel, saying: “Many mansions” are with My Father (John 14:2). In agreement with this, blessed Paul said: “Death is by man, and by man the resurrection of the dead; Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will live: each in his own order” (1 Cor. 15:21-23). Ps.44:17. Instead of Your fathers, Your sons will be; You will make them princes throughout the whole earth. “In place of your fathers were your sons: I made you princes throughout all the earth.” Let the Jews say: what sons did they have who would become princes “throughout all the earth”? Of course, they will not indicate such princes, because they have not been in charge and are not in charge, but are in extreme slavery. The Divine Apostles, having patriarchs for their fathers, even after death rule on land and sea, like certain regional governors and commanders appointed by Christ the All-Tsar. And those who followed the Apostles, whom no one would be wrong to call sons of the Church, I mean the victorious martyrs, were also appointed leaders, and everyone now submits to them, some deciding to submit out of love, and others being forced to do so by fear. Ps.44:18. I will make Your name memorable to generation and generation; Therefore the nations will praise You forever and ever. “I will remember Your name in every generation and generation: for this reason people will confess to You forever and ever.” Having predicted this, the psalmist vows to hymn the name of God in every generation through the mouths of the pious of that time. For this is how three translators translated 12: “I will praise Your name in every generation, because the nations will praise You forever and ever.” All the peoples in the universe, says the Prophet, using the hymn I wrote and having learned from it the salvation given to them and foretold from ancient times, will not cease to sing hymns to You, the Benefactor and Giver of blessings. Probably bl. Theodorit here means Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, whom he often mentions. You might be interested in: