Изъяснение псалма 76-го.

Ps.77:1. To the head of the choir Idifumov. Psalm of Asaph. “At the end, O Idithum, a psalm to Asaph.” Symmachus translated: “through Idithum.” And the face of those singing songs of God was entrusted to him. Therefore, Asaph spoke this psalm, either on his own behalf, or by pronouncing David’s prophecy. It is not safe to speak affirmatively about a questionable matter. And the psalm predicts the wavering of thoughts and the resulting suffering among the Israelites, forced to slave in Babylon, and also teaches what kind of prayer it is appropriate for them to offer to God, asking for liberation from disasters. And the Prophet gave the psalm the appearance as if the Israelites were retelling this and singing songs to God after returning from captivity. Ps.76:2. My voice is to God, and I will cry out; my voice is to God, and He will hear me. “I cried out to the Lord with my voice, and with my voice to God, and was heard,” that is, I fervently offered my prayer, and soon received what I asked. Then it shows the time of this. Ps.77:3. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; My hand is stretched out at night and does not fall; my soul refuses consolation. Ps.76:4. I remember God and tremble; I think, and my spirit faints. “In the day of my sorrow I sought God.” Struck by suffering, I carefully sought divine help. For the word: “sought” gives the meaning of fervent prayer. Then he shows an image of prayer. “My hands are mine: I will endure the night before Him, and I will not be deceived.” And Symmachus translated it like this: “My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing.” Spending the night in silence, I stretched out my hands, begging for humanity, and was not deceived in my hope. For this is what the words mean: “I was not deceived,” that is, I did not remain vigil in vain, but reaped the fruit of prayer. “My soul refuses to be comforted.” “I remembered God and rejoiced.” I rejected every pretext for consolation, and the only pleasure for myself was the remembrance of God. “I mocked you, and my spirit became faint.” And Symmachus translated it like this: “I reasoned with myself, and fell into exhaustion.” Often talking to myself and reflecting on the disasters that befell me, I despaired of liberation from them, and the arrows of despondency painfully stung me. Ps.77:5. You do not let me close my eyes; I'm shocked and can't speak. “My eyes are before the watch.” He refers to the divisions of the night as guards, after which the guards transfer guard to each other. And the sim expresses a vigil that lasts all night. “I was confused and did not speak.” The same is said in the forty-first psalm: “my soul was confused towards myself” (Ps. 41:7). I could not resist expressing my thoughts to others. Ps.77:6. I think about the ancient days, about the years of centuries past. “I thought about the first days, and remembered the eternal summer, and learned.” I renewed in my memory Your previous good deeds, I reflected on how many good deeds our ancestors were granted by You: how they got rid of Egyptian work, how they crossed the Red Sea, how they took possession of the land promised to their fathers. Ps.76:7. I remember my songs in the night, I talk with my heart, and my spirit experiences: “At night they mocked my heart, and my spirit was saddened.” Reasoning with myself at night, I wondered why God provided so much for our ancestors and despises us who suffer? At the same time, I thought about the following: Ps.77:8. Has the Lord rejected you forever, and will no longer favor you? Ps.77:9. Has His mercy ceased forever, and His word been cut short from generation to generation? “The Lord will reject food forever: and will He not show favor again?” “Or will He cut off His mercy completely?” Has He really completely renounced us and recognized us as strangers to His care? “Skoncha is a verb from generation to generation.” And Symmachus translated it like this: “he finished the word about each generation.” And I was afraid of this, says the Prophet, that from the beginning he pronounces definitions about each generation, knowing the affairs of each generation. Ps.76:10. Has God really forgotten to have mercy? Did He shut up His mercies in anger? “Will God forget to be generous with food? or will He withhold His bounty in His wrath?” But again I consoled myself, reasoning that the generous God would not tolerate our deeds being consigned to some kind of oblivion, and would, as if with some kind of wall, block the sources of mercy with anger. Ps.76:11. And I said: “This is my grief - the change of the right hand of the Most High.” “And now I have begun: this is the betrayal of the right hand of the Most High,” that is, I myself was the culprit of such a change. Through sin I gave birth to punishment, therefore I have the beginning of disasters within me. Now I have begun to be admonished by the right hand of the Most High, which, instead of previous good deeds, imposes severe punishments on me. For the Prophet called punishment treachery of the right hand of God, because it is customary to give good things to the right hand of the Most High. But I was not satisfied with these thoughts, he says, but brought to mind the goodness of the Lord, which he expresses: Ps.76:12. I will remember the works of the Lord; I will remember Your ancient wonders; Ps.76:13. I will delve into all Your deeds, meditate on Your great deeds. “I will remember the works of the Lord: for I will remember Your wonders from the beginning.” “And I will learn from all Your works, and I will mock at Your undertakings.” I will offer on Wednesday all Your miracles performed among us, and constantly reflecting on them, I will not reject good hopes. Ps.76:14. God! holy is your way. Who is God as great as [our] God! Ps.76:15. You are a God who works miracles; You have demonstrated Your power among the nations; Ps.76:16. You delivered with your arm your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. “O God, Thy way is holy.” Symmachus translated this: “O God, Thy way is holy”; and Aquila: “in the sanctified.” You are Holy, says the Prophet, You rest in the Holy, and in these you dwell and walk. “Who is the great God as our God?” “You are the only God who works miracles.” You are superior to everyone, Lord; because You alone work miracles as You please. “Thou hast said Thy power among men.” “By Thy arm Thou hast delivered Thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph.” You have shown Your power to all people, freeing the people named Yours from slavery in Egypt. Although he had Jacob as his forefather, he became famous through his kinship with Joseph. Ps.76:17. The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw You and were afraid, and the deeps trembled. Ps.76:18. The clouds poured out water, the clouds made thunder, and Your arrows flew. Ps.76:19. The voice of Your thunder in the circle of heaven; lightning illuminated the universe; the earth shook and shook. “I saw the waters, O God, I saw the waters and was afraid: the abyss was crushed.” "Many Sounds of Waters". In everything, O Lord, You have shown Your power. Subjected the Egyptians to executions, freed Your people, appeared on the sea, and the sea was divided, and the flowing nature became here and here. “The voice of the clouds is loud, for Your arrows pass away.” "The voice of Thy thunder in the wheels." Symmachus translated: “the sound made ether,” because, as history says, a strong south wind blew and the sea was divided (Ex. 14:21), and the wind is born when the air is condensed and clouds are formed. Your punishments, says the Prophet, fell like arrows on your enemies. With thunderclaps You bound the wheels of the Egyptian chariots. This is also shown by history: “It came to pass in the morning watch, that the Lord looked upon the army of Egypt, and bound the axles of their chariots, and led them in their need” (Ex. 14:24–25). “Your lightning illuminates the universe.” The light of miracles, like lightning, flowed through the entire universe. “Move and tremble the earth.” Everyone was filled with fear when they heard about Your power. This is what Rahab the harlot said to the spies: “Your fear and your trembling are attacking us. I have heard how the Lord God divided the Red Sea before you” (Joshua 2:9-10). Ps.76:20. Your path is in the sea, and Your path is in the great waters, and Your footprints are unknown. “Thy way is in the sea, and Thy paths are in many waters, and Thy footsteps are not known.” It is not difficult for You to cut through the sea, to walk on many waters, and not leave a trace, because Your nature is immaterial. The Prophet added this to what was said above and says: You, invisibly leading the people, did not show us even a trace of Your procession. Ps.76:21. Like a flock, You led Your people by the hand of Moses and Aaron. “Thou hast trained Thy people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” Having used them as servants and spoken through them, You led Your people and instructed them in Your law. The captives in Babylon mentioned all this, bending everyone to the mercy of God and begging him to grant them His care. You might be interested in: