Изъяснение псалма 67-го.

Ps.67:1. To the head of the choir. Psalm of David. Song. "At the end, a psalm to David." The Divine David, seeing the wickedness and predominance of the devil prevailing among people, and taught by the All-Holy Spirit about the coming of God and our Savior, offers prayer, asking that it come as soon as possible; and immediately accepts the revelation of the future; together he learns and offers teaching about the salvation of the human race, about the destruction of enemies, in short, about an extraordinary change in affairs. Ps.67:2. May God arise, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His presence. “May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His presence.” It’s time for You to rise again, Master, says the Prophet, and accomplish the salvation of people. The entire horde of enemies will immediately take flight, scattered by the light of Your coming. Resurrection, as we have said more than once, refers not only to the cessation of long-suffering, but also to the fact that the Savior of the world, having accepted a free death for us, was resurrected after three days. Ps.67:3. As smoke dissipates, You scatter them; As wax melts in the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. “As smoke disappears, let them disappear; as wax melts before the fire, so let sinners perish before the face of God.” As smoke is scattered by the blow of the winds, and wax melts, approaching the fire, so by Your coming, Lord, those hostile to man will be completely rendered inactive. Those who were called sinners by the seventy were called wicked by all other translators. This is what both the Hebrew text and the Syriac translator call them. Ps.67:4. But let the righteous rejoice, let them rejoice before God and triumph in joy. “And let the righteous rejoice.” When this is accomplished, says the Prophet, the entire congregation of the righteous will be filled with joy. “Let them rejoice before God, let them enjoy themselves with joy.” The Prophet showed that he brought this prayer not against people, but against demons who are hostile to people. When they are scattered and brought into inaction, then the nations will rejoice and glorify the God who saved them. For the Prophet says: Ps.67:5. Sing to our God, sing to His name, exalt Him who walks in heaven; His name is Lord, and rejoice in His presence. “Sing to God, sing to His name: make a way for him who ascended into the west, the Lord is His name: and rejoice before Him.” Here the Prophetic word invites the holy Apostles to go to the pagans with rejoicing and singing, and prepare the way for the All-King of all. This is similar to what the Lord said to them: “Go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). By the teaching of this teaching and the rebirth of baptism, the harsh path was turned into a smooth one and was prepared for God, who, according to the word of the Prophet, wanted to dwell and walk in them (Lev. 26:12). The Prophet says that He ascended to the west, signifying the darkness that then enveloped human souls. Symmachus translated this: “even the path of the one who travels in an uninhabited land.” The desert is uninhabited, and Divine Scripture often calls the pagans desert. For it is said: “The thirsty desert rejoiced” 17 (Is. 35:1); and again: “for many more are empty children than those who have husbands” (Is. 54:1). Over this desert, uninhabited, devoid of light, and therefore called the West, the Sun of Truth rose and dispelled the darkness, and made the uninhabited area His church. Ps.67:6. God is the Father of the orphans and the Judge of widows in His holy habitation. “Let the father of the orphans and the judge of widows be troubled at His presence.” For they will not endure His coming, knowing that He is a righteous judge. And by caring for widows and caring for orphans, the Prophet expressed the truthfulness of His Providence, which brings demons into confusion and fear, as the divine gospel story reveals to us. For, we hear, they themselves say: “What have we to do with You, O Son of God? You came before the time to torment us” (Matthew 8:29). “God is in His holy place.” since the Prophet said: “may God rise again”, and: “make a way for him who ascended to the west”, then by the way he added this, so that no one could think that God carries out all kinds of works of His observation, moving from place to place. Similar to this is what the Lord said: “no one ascends into heaven, except the Son of man who came down from heaven, who is in heaven” (John 3:13). For this Lord, as he showed the indescribable nature of the Divine nature, taught about Himself in such a way that He descended, and while staying down, living with people, was in heaven, and was not separated from the Father. Ps.67:7. God brings the lonely into the house, frees the prisoners from their shackles, and the rebellious remain in the sultry desert. “God brings like-minded people into the house, destroying those who are shackled with courage, and those who live in the tombs are also grieving.” The Prophet calls those of one mind those who have one goal, who have decided to care about virtue alone, and sometimes do not prefer one thing and sometimes another; The prophet says that they are moving into God's house. He calls those bound by the bonds of sin “chained,” and predicts about them that, having been released from the bonds, they will become courageous. Such was Matthew, such was Jacob Alphaeus, such was Zacchaeus; They, freed from the bonds of unrighteousness, very courageously entered into battle with those who bound them. But the Prophet says that he not only makes those in chains courageous, but also those who have reached the extreme degree of wickedness and, like in stinking tombs, dwell in their bodies, together with the first he will be worthy of salvation. Ps.67:8. God! when You went out before Your people, when You walked in the wilderness. Ps.67:9. The earth shook, even the heavens melted at the face of God, and this Sinai - at the face of God, the God of Israel. “God, you never go before your people, you never pass by in the desert.” “The earth shook, for the heavens were in ruins.” Symmachus translated it this way: “When You, O God, preceded Your people, walking through the uninhabited, the earth shook, the sky sank”; that is, when You intended to pass through this uninhabited desert that had not yet received the rays of light, You shook and shook the earth, and the dew of grace fell from the sky. This happened while you were on the cross, for then the earth shook and the stones disintegrated, and after you ascended into heaven, for then the grace of the Spirit descended on the Apostles, as if like drops of dew. Then, more clearly revealing to the Jews the One who was doing all this, the Prophet added: “On behalf of the God of Sinai, on behalf of the God of Israel.” Whoever appeared to our ancestors on Mount Sinai, says the Prophet, shook the earth during suffering, denouncing your madness; He also bestowed the grace of the Spirit. Ps.67:10. You, O God, poured abundant rain on Your inheritance, and when it was exhausted from labor, You strengthened it. “Take away the rain, O God, for Thy inheritance.” What the Prophet called above drops of dew, here he calls rain, because grace was given to teachers in proportion to the needs of the students. For rain calls watering teaching. He called him free at his own discretion, because a person easily gets drunk, but, having been convinced by the teaching, accepts grace. “And I was exhausted, but You did it.” The Prophet did not call rain exhausted, but wealth; he called the uprising of the wicked “exhaustion.” So the Lord said to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you; for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). But even during the uprising, You established and strengthened the ascetics, because they are Your heritage, according to the prophecy, which says: “Ask of Me, and I will give You the tongues of Your inheritance, and Your possession the ends of the earth” (Ps. 2:8). This is how Symmachus translated: “which He perfected and firmly founded”; Aquila expressed it even more clearly: “And you made the weary strong”; because he preserved the property, burdened by persecution, unshakable. Ps.67:11. Your people dwelt there; According to Your goodness, O God, You prepared what was necessary for the poor. “Your animal live on it.” The Prophet calls the sacred Apostles animals of God, through whom the Lord drove away delusion and turned people to the knowledge of God. So it is said about Paul: “This vessel is chosen by Me, to carry My name before the tongues and kings and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15). They will live in the property of God, that is, among the pagans, so proclaims the prophetic word. They live to this day, not only sanctifying those who approach the crayfish containing their bodies, but also converting human souls with the teaching contained in their writings. “Thou hast prepared with Thy goodness for the poor, O God.” This, says the Prophet, in Your goodness You have granted to impoverished human nature. Ps.67:12. The Lord will give his word: there are a great number of heralds. “The Lord will give the word to those who preach the gospel with much power.” The animals mentioned above are called here by the Prophet as evangelists. And since they were fishermen, tax collectors, and tabernacle workers, and were appointed teachers of philosophers, sophists, rhetoricians and those who boast the gift of speech, then by the way he informs where, drawing streams of teaching, they give everyone drink. Ps.67:13. Kings of armies flee and flee, but she who sits at home divides the spoil. “King of the forces of the Beloved, through the beauty of Your house, divide the gain.” Symmachus translated it like this: “The Lord gave speeches to those who preached good news to the army.” The kings of armies are beloved, have become beloved, and the dwelling of the house will share the gain. He calls those who believe “an army” to many. So the Apostle, writing to Timothy, says: “Let you fight a good army” (1 Tim. 1:18); and: “No one who has been a warrior is obligated to buy money for life, so that it may be acceptable to the commander” (2 Tim. 2:4). And he called their teachers kings of armies, and said that they are beloved and are called beloved. This is what the Lord calls them: “You are naturally My friends. I say that you are not servants to anyone, but friends” (John 15:14–15). So the divine Apostle says: “The love of God will sustain us” (2 Cor. 5:14); and: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” (Rom. 8:35). And the Prophet calls those who, in ancient times, made their own members slaves of sin and gave them over to slavery to the devil. He divided them among the holy Apostles, making one a teacher of the Romans, and the other of the Greeks, making some preachers to the Indians, and others to the Egyptians. These self-interests of the sacred Apostles were shared by the beauty of the house. The house of God, according to the divine Apostle, is those who believe (Heb. 3:6), and the beauty of the house is the grace of the Holy Spirit, decorating and illuminating it with every abundance of gifts. And the Prophet revealed this more clearly in the addition. Ps.67:14. Having settled down in [your] inheritances, you became like a dove, whose wings are covered with silver, and whose feathers are pure gold. “If you sleep in the midst of the limit, the krill of the dove is covered with silver, and its interspace is in the glitter of gold.” The Prophet calls the grace of the Spirit the wings of a dove, because in the form of a dove it descended on the streams of the Jordan. He says that His wings are plated with silver, and His interdoramia is decorated with gold, because He offers to simple people what is simplest and most convenient for understanding, and to perfect people - something more profound. For My secrets are mine and mine. And he gives milk to some, as imperfect ones, and offers solid food to others. He calls two covenants limits. Therefore, in both teachings he says: come, and see the manifold grace of the Holy Spirit. He commands not just to begin, but to always pay diligent attention. Ps.67:15. When the Almighty scattered the kings in this land, it turned white like the snow on Selmon. “The kings of heaven will always separate from each other; they will snow in Selmon.” And above he called the Apostles kings, as heirs of the heavenly Kingdom, just as in Psalm 44 he called them princes. For he says: “Make them princes throughout the whole earth” (Ps. 44:17). He predicts the descent of the All-Holy Spirit, which happened on the day of Pentecost, on which they received the grace of various tongues. Therefore, he says that at the time when he will divide the kingdom of the universe for them, and command one to rule over those, and another over other nations, he will make them shining and white like snow. He also predicts the place where this will happen, because he named Jerusalem Selmon. For, abiding in it, the apostolic face was granted the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. Ps.67:16. The Mountain of God is Mount Bashan! high mountain - Mount Vasanskaya! “Mountain of God, fat mountain: strewn mountain, fat mountain.” Those who are called animals, evangelists, and kings are also called mountains. So the Lord said in the Holy Gospel: “a city cannot be hidden on top of a standing mountain” (Matthew 5:14). So Isaiah cries: “in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be revealed” (Is. 2:2). He calls it fat and strewn, as if it provides abundant nutrition to the herds grazing on it, and has received much fat from Divine grace. Ps.67:17. Why do you look enviously, O high mountains, at the mountain on which God is pleased to dwell and the Lord will dwell forever? “Do you not feel the strewn mountains? mountain, where God willed us to live in it.” Aquila translated it like this: “Why do you compete with the proud mountains with the mountain that God desired to sit on?” This prophetic word is addressed to the Jews and the lawless heretical congregations who call themselves churches. It says: why are you arrogant, competing and equating yourself with the mountain, which God made his abode? “For the Lord will dwell to the end.” Not for any specific time, as He dwelt among you Jews, will He dwell in this mountain; on the contrary, he will have an eternal dwelling in it. For this means what is said: “to the end.” Ps.67:18. There are thousands of thousands of chariots of God; the Lord is among them at Sinai in the sanctuary. “The chariot of God is in darkness, a thousand gob-hungers.” Among you Jews, God had a small number of saints on whom He sat and with whom He was in communion, but it will not be so now. For the darkness is worthy of God sitting on it; countless thousands and thousands of those who eat food and bear fruit for God have a new inheritance; they are all well-ordered, worthy of crowns, hastening “to the honor of the highest calling” (Phil. 3:14). "The Lord is in them at Sinai in the Holy Place". Whoever appeared to our ancestors at Sinai, says the Prophet, is the one who rules these too. For there is not another this, and another this, but one and the same Lord of all, rich in all who call on Him. Thus, the prophetic word, having indicated Him who descended and overthrew a horde of enemies, shows Him ascending and giving freedom to those who were captivated in ancient times. Ps.67:19. You ascended on high, took captivity captive, accepted gifts for people, so that those who resist could dwell with the Lord God. “Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast taken captivity captive.” Ascension makes it possible to see the descent. Witness to this is the Apostle, who says, “And the hedgehog came up, what is, just as he went down before into the deepest parts of the earth? He who descended is also the one who ascended above all the heavens” (Eph. 4:9-10). “The captivity captivated,” taking those who had become captives of old, and, as it were, captivating them again and granting them freedom. “Thou hast received the giving of men.” The Apostle said: “gave” (Eph.4:11). Both have been accomplished. For, accepting faith from those who come to Him, He bestows grace. “For those who disobey will not dwell.” Aquila translated this more clearly: “even those who did not agree to settle.” You did not look upon, says the Prophet, their previous disobedience, but, seeing them as contradictory, you continued to do good until you made them Your own dwelling. Ps.67:20. Blessed be the Lord every day. God puts burdens on us, but He also saves us. “Blessed be the Lord God, blessed be the Lord day by day.” Rightly, the Prophet moved his tongue to chant. Having shown such great love for mankind, he says, You are worthy to always be praised. “God will hasten our salvation.” He who gave us salvation, says the Prophet, will level the path so that we do not remain without achieving so many benefits. Ps.67:21. God for us is God for salvation; in the power of the Lord Almighty are the gates of death. “Our God is the hedgehog to save.” This will give, being the source of salvation. "And the Lord's departure from death." For the Lord opened for us the eternal prison of death, crushed the “brazen gates”, and broke the “iron ropes” (Is. 45: 2). This is what the Prophet allows us to see in addition. Ps.67:22. But God will crush the head of His enemies, the hairy crown of one stubborn in his iniquities. “Instead, God will crush the heads of His enemies, the top of the powers that pass away in their sins.” He, says the Prophet, opened the gates of death for us, crushing the heads of the enemies who entered into the search for human sins and did not want to leave even a hair of the head unsearched. By hair is meant the most unimportant offense. And the meaning of these words is as follows: God has determined death as punishment for those who sin. The devil, like some merciless executioner, subjecting human life to search, does not lose sight of even the most unimportant, but puts our nature to death. Therefore, seeing the Lord Christ clothed with the same nature, he approached Him, looking for mortal guilt. For the Lord also said this in the Holy Gospel: “The prince of this world is coming, and in Me nothing will be found” (John 14:30). However, having gained nothing, he unjustly put him to death. This untruth crushed his power, and opened hell to people, which I spoke about at greater length in my words about Providence. And the divine Apostle said that the devil has the power of death (Heb. 2:14). Ps.67:23. The Lord said: “I will bring you back from Bashan, I will bring you out of the depths of the sea. “The Lord said: I will convert from Bashan, I will convert in the depths of the sea.” Symmachus translates this as follows: “the Lord said: I will bring you back from Bashan, from the depths of the sea.” And “Vasan” translated means “shame”; shame is the fruit of sin. Therefore, the God of all turned us from sin and from the depths of the sea. What is the depth of the sea, the Prophet himself teaches this, crying: “Let me get rid of those who hate me, and from the deep waters. Let the storm of water below not drown me, let the depth devour me.” (Ps. 68:15–16). Ps.67:24. So that you may immerse your foot, like your dogs’ tongue, in the blood of your enemies.” “For let Thy foot be dipped in blood, and let Thy dog’s tongue be kept from him by the enemy.” Symmachus translates this as follows: “Let Your foot crush until there is blood, and the tongue of Your dogs lick each of Your enemies.” Since the Prophet showed that the God of all, like a valiant warrior, overcomes enemies and frees those enslaved unjustly, he depicts in words both streams of blood and the trampled dead, who, moreover, are thrown unburied and left as food for dogs. So through Isaiah the Lord cries: “I alone have trodden the winepress, and no one has been with me; I have trampled in My fury, and brought down their blood into the ground, and sprinkled My vestments with their defeat” (Is. 63:3). Ps.67:25. We have seen Your procession, O God, the procession of my God, my King, in the holy place. “Your processions, O God, have been seen, the processions of my God the King, who is in everything holy.” The Prophet calls the works of the economy processions of God; and to the saints a church received from the seed of David. To all people, says the Prophet, Thy providence has become clear, everyone has come to know the various works of Thy economy. Ps.67:26. In front were the singers, behind them playing the instruments, in the middle were maidens with tympanums. “Preceding the princes near the singers, in the midst of the tympanic virgins.” Here the Prophet already shows the joy of the churches; he calls the sacred Apostles princes, as those who became the architects of churches, and virgins of the tympanum, preserving their virginity and bringing divine sweet singing to God. Ps.67:27. “In your assemblies, bless God the Lord, you are of the seed of Israel!” “In the churches bless God, the Lord from the fountain of Israel.” The Prophet showed the end of the Old Testament, because the Jewish church was one, but here he foretells many churches, in which he commands the Lord of all to sing praises from the fountains of Israel. Others will rightly call the prophetic books from which we offer sweet singing to God the sources of Israel. But since, in addition to prophetic sources, God has also given us apostolic sources, the Prophet rightly adds: Ps.67:28. There Benjamin the Younger is their prince; the princes of Judah are their rulers, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. “Tamo the youngest Veniamin is terrified.” Aquila translates: “there is little Benjamin who possesses them”; and according to Theodotion’s translation: “their mentor.” “The youngest Benjamin” is blessed Paul, descended from the tribe of Benjamin. He is the youngest, as if he was called after all and so named. Moreover, the history of Acts calls him a youth (Acts 7:58). He possesses the Church, instructs in the divine and guides those who wish to salvation. But he was also “horrified” by the fact that the One who was persecuted by him and revered as dead was in heaven. But since not only blessed Paul, but also the rest of the Apostles instruct believers in the divine, the prophetic word rightly mentioned them too. "The princes of Judah are their rulers, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali." For from these tribes the other Apostles descended. And the so-called brethren of the Lord came from the tribe of Judah. Peter and Andrew, James and John and Philip were from the village of Bethsaida, and Matthew and Jacob, according to history, lived in Capernaum; Simon the Zealot is called a Canaanite; and these were the villages of Galilee: Zebulun and Naphtali had Galilee as their lot. To this there are two witnesses: the Prophet and the Evangelist, and one predicts, and the other brings as testimony; They say this: “the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and the rest of the sea dwellers, and about the land of Jordan, the people who sat in darkness, saw the great light” (Is. 9:1-2. Matt. 4:15-16). Ps.67:29. Your God has ordained strength for you. Confirm, O God, what You have done for us! Ps.67:30. For the sake of Your temple in Jerusalem, kings will bring You gifts. “The commandment, O God, by Thy power: strengthen, O God, this which Thou hast done in us.” "From Your Temple to Jerusalem". Symmachus translates it as follows: “Command, O God, about Your power. Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us, for the sake of Your church, which is above Jerusalem,” that is, confirm, O Master, the grace which You have bestowed for the sake of Your church, which You have taken from us, and which has been planted “above all principality and authority and power, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1, 21). For the Prophet calls the highest city Jerusalem, about which Blessed Paul says: “And the highest Jerusalem is freedom, which is the mother of us all” (Gal. 4:26). Therefore, for the sake of kinship with the church, they ask that this grace be confirmed, so that for the sake of the firstfruits the whole mixture may enjoy the given gift. From here the Prophet begins his prediction about the conversion of kings. “The kings will bring you gifts.” For, having stopped the persecution, they will give worthy honor as to God. And just as they themselves accept tribute from their subjects, so, like slaves and subjects, they will bring gifts to You. Our own eyes are witnesses to this, with which we see the truth of the prophecy. Ps.67:31. Tame the beast in the reeds, the herd of oxen among the bulls of the nations boasting of ingots of silver; scatter the nations who desire war. “Forbid the reedy beast”; in other lists it reads: “forest”. But whether to take a forest or a reed, both mean barrenness. Their dwellings are mental beasts, which the Prophet taught to drive out by invoking the name of God. “A host of youths among the youths of men, who are tempted by silver.” The Prophet calls the entire multitude of Jews youths, for their usual insolence, and called the youths of men those who believed from the pagans, according to the news of their calling. Therefore, the prophetic word predicts the uprising of the Jews against the pious, which happened at the beginning of the sermon. The Jews will do this, says the Prophet, with the intention of excommunicating and depriving of this good lot those who, like kindled silver, turned out to be worthy. Blessed Paul also said this about them: “They are jealous of you for no good, but want to excommunicate you” (Gal. 4:17). since there were dissenters among the pagans who put the saints to various deaths, the Prophet rightly says about them too: “Waste away the tongues of those who want to curse.” Thus, having announced those who contradict, the Prophet turns his speech to those who believe. Ps.67:32. The nobles will come from Egypt; Ethiopia will stretch out her hands to God. "Women of prayer will come from Egypt." About Egypt he mentioned the first, as from ancient times prevailing in wickedness. The story of the Acts also mentions the Egyptians, telling about those gathered on the day of Pentecost, in which the grace of the All-Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles. "Ethiopia will bring her hand before God." And this came to fruition. This is witnessed by the eunuch of the Ethiopian queen Candace, whom Philip led to the truth. Then the Prophet calls upon the kingdoms of the entire universe. Ps.67:33. Kingdoms of the earth! sing to God, sing praises to the Lord. “Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, sing to the Lord.” All who live in the universe, says the Prophet, accept the light of the knowledge of God and offer chants for a good deed. Ps.67:34. Walking in the heavens of heavens from eternity. Behold, He gives His voice the voice of power. “He who ascended into heaven, heaven to the east.” For the Lord Christ ascended not only to what is visible, but also to what is above, heaven, and “sat at the right hand of the Majesty,” in the most exalted upper room of His east, sending down rays to all people. “Behold, he will give his voice a voice of power.” This Prophet signifies, after the ascension of our Savior, the former descent of the All-Holy Spirit. For the Lord also called it power, saying: “But you sit in this city until you are clothed with power from above” (Luke 24:49). Blessed Luke also mentions this voice, saying: “And there came a voice from heaven, like a storm of breath, and it filled the whole house where he sat” (Acts 2:2). Ps.67:35. Give glory to God! His greatness is above Israel, and His power is in the clouds. "Give glory to God." This is similar to the legitimation of the Apostle; for he says: “Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which is God” (1 Cor. 6:20). Having taken advantage of so many benefits, it is fair to glorify the benefactor for everything. “His glory was upon Israel, and His power was upon the clouds.” The Holy Apostles, descending from Israel, proved the greatness of God by the miracles they performed; and after them those who received the gift of teaching, like some clouds, drawing rain from the sea of ​​the All-Holy Spirit, bring irrigation to people. Ps.67:36. Thou art terrible, O God, in Thy sanctuary. The God of Israel – He gives strength and strength to [His] people. Blessed be God! “Wonderful is God in His saints.” And all other lovers of virtue, says the Prophet, are preparing to sing songs to God, according to the word of the Lord, “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). “The God of Israel, He will give strength and power to His people.” It was not just the Prophet who mentioned Jacob here, because Jacob, having feared Esau, and then being honored with the Epiphany, became stronger and drove fear out of his heart. This word teaches us that He who made Jacob strong and showed him the conqueror of his enemies will also strengthen His new people and make them invincible and invincible. "Blessed be God". A fitting ending to a psalm! For the tale of so many blessings had to be concluded with a song. These words, according to some editions, are read in the Prophet Isaiah ch. 24. art. 17. You might be interested in: