Изъяснение псалма 48-го.

Ps.48:1. To the head of the choir. Sons of Korah. Psalm. “To the end, son of Korah, psalm.” The Divine Apostolic Face has already commanded the pagans to proclaim a victorious song to God, and now also gives advice to the same pagans to add a virtuous life to faith, and teaches the vanity of wealth and the vanity of worldly wisdom, predicts future judgment and worthy reward. That is why the psalm is inscribed: “to the end,” as foreshadowing the end of an entire life. Ps.48:2. Hear this, all you nations; Heed this, all you who live in the universe. “Hear this, all the nations, teach it to you, all who live in the world.” That the Prophets taught the doctrine only to the Jews is known to everyone, but here the prophetic word excites the whole universe to listen; This is characteristic of apostolic grace, because the Lord Christ entrusted the salvation of all nations to the Apostles. He says to them: “Go and learn all languages” (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, it is clear that on behalf of the Apostles these words are spoken not only to the Jews, and not to this or that people, but to the entire human race. Ps.48:3. Both simple and noble, rich as well as poor. “The earth-born and sons of humanity.” The Prophet seems to be saying this: listen to my words, all residents of cities and villages, educated and rude people, everyone in general and each individual. This is how Symmachus translated it, and instead of the words: “the sons of earth and the sons of mankind,” he said: “mankind, as well as the sons of every man,” that is, the whole race in general, let him heed my words, and let each one in particular benefit from them. “Rich and poor at the same time.” Take my advice together, both those who abound in wealth and those living in poverty, because the teaching word does not distinguish between wealth and poverty. Ps.48:4. My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditations of my heart shall speak knowledge. Ps.48:5. I will incline my ear to a parable; I will reveal my riddle on the harp. “My mouth shall speak wisdom, and my heart shall teach the understanding.” “I will incline my ear to a parable, I will open my prayer to a psalter.” The words I utter, says the Prophet, are filled with wisdom. I studied this, listening with my hearing in the depths to the hidden words of the Lord; and what I received with my ears, I pronounce with my tongue as if on an organ. And by this he wants to say: I do not use anything of my own, but serve only as an organ of God’s grace. He calls allegory parables. For the Lord, speaking with the people in parables, explained these parables to the Apostles at home. The Prophet, having said this as if in the form of a preface, then begins an exhortation. Ps.48:6. “Why should I be afraid in the days of trouble, when the iniquity of my ways surrounds me?” “What am I afraid of on the day of fierceness? The iniquity of my heel will pass over me.” I fear and tremble for the day of retribution, on which the righteous Judge will reward everyone according to his deeds. The cause of my fear is the lawless life to which I deviated from the right path; because others called the way of life the heel. And I think that the Prophet implies seduction, borrowing a figure of speech, as we said before, from those competing in running speed, who often overthrow their opponents by exposing their heel. The lamenting Esau teaches us this. Ибо говорит: «праведно наречеся имя ему Иаков: запя бо мя се уже вторицею, и первенство мое взя, и ныне взя благословение мое» ( Быт.27:36 ). The Prophet called the day of judgment a fierce day, according to the established custom among us; for many are in the habit of calling the day bad on which they happen to encounter something unfortunate. This is what the divine Apostle calls the day of judgment: “Because of your cruelty and unrepentant heart, you store up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, and revelation, and the righteous judgment of God, who will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:5-6). Ps.48:7. Those who trust in their own strength and boast of the abundance of their wealth! “Those who trust in their strength and boast about the abundance of their riches.” I fear and tremble at the expected day, says the Prophet; but you, who abound in wealth, have no concern for it; vainglorious about excessive abundance, you place firm hope in the soon-to-be-perishing, as in something permanent. Ps.48:8. A man will not redeem his brother in any way and will not give God a ransom for him. Ps.48:9. The price of the redemption of their souls is dear, and it will never be so. Ps.48:10. So that someone can live forever and not see the grave. Ps.48:11. Everyone sees that the wise die, just as the ignorant and senseless perish and leave their property to others. Ps.48:12. They have in their minds that their houses are eternal, and that their dwellings for generations and generations, and their lands they call by their proper names. “A brother will not deliver, will a man deliver? God will not allow betrayal for himself”, “and the price of the deliverance of my soul.” You should have known that, just as the virtue and piety of ancestors and brothers does not benefit those who themselves are deprived of them, so after leaving here it is impossible to acquire salvation with money. For in this life, as the Wise One says, “the deliverance of a man is his wealth” (Prov. 13:8). Having offered this advice to those who would use their wealth for evil, the Prophet turns his speech to the workers of virtue and says: “and he will live to the end, he will not see destruction.” “When the wise see the dying.” He who shed sweat for the sake of piety and truth, endured labors for the sake of eternal blessings, the fruit of his labors has an undying life, and with the wise men of the world, whom the apostolic word calls boi, he will not share eternal death and endless torment. “Together the foolish and the foolish will perish,” because these so-called wise men, having found no benefit in their wisdom, will suffer the same destruction as the ignorant. This is how Symmachus translated: “the foolish and the ignorant will perish together.” And he calls the so-called sage foolish, because he did not want to know what he should: and ignorant - the wisdom of someone who is not involved and lives viciously. “And they will leave their wealth to the stranger.” “And destroy their dwellings forever: their villages from generation to generation.” Deprived not only of wisdom, but also of dominion and all property, they will receive the end of their lives, and taken from their luxurious dwellings to the grave, they will be forced to remain there forever. “I have named my names on the lands.” It is true, says the Prophet, that their name is also on what belongs to them: the house of such and such, the field of such and such, the slave of such and such. But along with dominion, the name also changes. For, as soon as others became masters of what they left behind, a change occurs in the names, and names are again given by the names of the new masters. In all this, the prophetic word teaches us not to rely on the present, but to have concern for the future. Ps.48:13. But man will not remain in honor; he will become like animals that perish. “And a man who is ignorant of honor and understanding is likened to foolish cattle, and becomes like them.” The reason for this foolishness, says the Prophet, is that we do not want to understand our own honor and dignity given to us by God, but we love bestial and brutal life. Ps.48:14. This way of theirs is their madness, although those who follow them approve of their opinion. "This way is their temptation." And they fell into this nonsense because from the very beginning they had bad morals and wandered into evil deeds. For the Prophet called things a way. “And to this day they are pleased in their mouths.” They will resort to repentance after leaving here, and will not receive any benefit from it. Ps.48:15. They will be thrown into the pit like sheep; death will rule over them, and in the morning the righteous will rule over them; their strength will be exhausted; the grave is their dwelling. “As sheep are in hell, I will save death.” Symmachus translated this more clearly: “they have placed themselves among the sheep of hell, death will feed them”; because they brought punishment upon themselves, and preferred death to life. “And they have the power of the morning, and their help is promised in hell, from the glory of their wickedness." Those who now suffer insults from them and are neglected by them will not in the distant future receive power over them: because, having been deprived of all their former prosperity, they will be given over to death. The Lord’s parable, which represents Lazarus resting on Abraham’s bosom, also agrees with this. the proud rich man is cruelly tormented and asking for mercy from the poor. So the Prophet, having described their end, brings a prayer to God; he asks not to suffer the same death as them, expressing this in these words and saying this: Ps.48:16. But God will deliver my soul from the power of hell when He accepts me. “Otherwise, God will deliver my soul from the hand of hell when He accepts me.” After this he gives instruction and advice to those living in poverty and oppressed by the pride of the rich. Ps.48:17. Do not be afraid when a person becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. Ps.48:18. For in dying he will take nothing; his glory will not follow him. “Fear not when a man becomes rich, or when the glory of his house increases.” “For when he dies, everything will not be taken away; his glory will fall from him.” True prosperity, says the Prophet, do not consider it something great; because this wealth, which attracts the attention of everyone, is impermanent. Those who, because of their wealth, frown and puff out their cheeks, will soon after this time, leaving everything, be put to death. Ps.48:19. Although during his lifetime he pleases his soul, and they glorify you that you satisfy yourself. “For his soul will be blessed in his belly.” While he who is rich in wealth is alive, says the Prophet, others please him, but when he dies soon, they call him the most unfortunate. “I will confess to you when you do good to him.” Symmachus expressed this more clearly: “he will praise you if you do good to them.” This is true praise, not only during life, but also after death, to be glorious and famous. And he who disposes of wealth for his own benefit is worthy of such praise, because doing good to others turns into a benefit for the benefactor himself. Ps.48:20. But he will go to the family of his fathers, who will never see the light. “The father will go down even to his generation; he will not see the light even to an age.” Instead of: “he will enter,” three translators used: “you will enter,” that is, you will see that the one to whom I said: “Do not be afraid, when a man becomes rich,” like the fathers, is subject to death and is deprived of not only the present, but also the eternal light. Ps.48:21. A man who is honorable and foolish is like animals that perish. “And a man who is in honor without understanding, is related to senseless cattle and becomes like them.” And the reason for this is the bestial life that many people have chosen, rejecting the honor given to them by God. For, calling themselves verbal, they loved speechlessness. You might be interested in: