Изъяснение псалма 78-го.

"Psalm to Asaph." The prophetic word foretells the fury of Antiochus, nicknamed Epiphanes, against the Jewish people, and sets out this foreshadowing in the form of a prayer, which will then be offered by the pious, who have not yet won victory, but are overwhelmed by disasters. Ps.78:1. God! The pagans have come into Your inheritance, desecrated Your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins. “O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance, desecrating Your holy church.” The grace of the Spirit wisely taught those struggling with such cruel disasters to begin their prayers in this way. For, first of all, they depicted not their own suffering, but the wicked desecration of the divine church, while the church did not sin in any way against God’s law. “The Gentiles,” it is said, living in wickedness and lawlessness, prevailed over Thy property, because they dared to enter the sanctuary of Thy church; not only with altars, but also with demonic sacrifices have you desecrated your holy place. Ps.78:2. The corpses of Your servants were given to the birds of the air to be devoured, and the bodies of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. “Having laid Jerusalem like a vegetable storehouse.” Having destroyed the entire city to the ground, they made the notorious Jerusalem no different from a tabernacle intended for storing vegetables. “Thou hast laid the corpses of Thy servants for meat for the birds of the air, and the flesh of Thy saints for the beasts of the earth.” They treated Your servants with such brutality and fury that their bodies were given to be eaten by beasts and carnivorous birds. Ps.78:3. Their blood was shed like water around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. “You have shed their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and thou shalt not bury it.” Having decided to kill those who live piously, they make rivers of blood flow across the earth, but those killed are not allowed to have the dignity of burial. Ps.78:4. We have become a laughing stock among our neighbors, a reproach and a disgrace to those around us. “We are reproaching our neighbors, imitation and desecration of those around us.” For this reason those who live around us revile us; this made us worthy of ridicule from those neighboring us. The Prophet calls the Philistines, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites and other neighboring peoples, who have always been in confrontation and enmity with the Jews, neighbors. Ps.78:5. How long, O Lord, will you be angry unceasingly, will your jealousy burn like fire? “How long will the Lord be angry until the end? Will Your zeal be kindled like fire?” God commanded in the law to serve Him alone, and not to worship any other named God, because, He said, “I am the Lord your God who is jealous, consuming fire” (Deut. 4:24). This was also recalled here by the prophetic word: “Thy zeal will kindle like fire.” Do not be angry anymore, Master, says the Prophet, and do not kindle Your jealousy against us like fire for our sin. Ps.78:6. Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. “Pour out Your wrath on tongues that do not know You, and on kingdoms that you have not called upon Your name.” Since You punish people for their sins, I beg You to turn your anger on those who do not at all want to know Your name, but are enslaved to extreme wickedness. Ps.78:7. For they devoured Jacob and devastated his dwelling. “Like Jacob was eaten, and his place was laid waste.” And this serves as a clear sign of their lawlessness. For, without suffering any harm from us, they destroyed us by murder, devastated the country, and destroyed the cities. The expression: “his place” Aquila translated: “his beauty”, Symmachus: “his kindness”, and Theodotion: “his beauty”, and this best means the house of God. The Prophet beautifully named the people Jacob, a reminder of the forefather, prompting God to have mercy. Ps.78:8. Do not remember for us the sins of our ancestors; May Your mercies soon precede us, for we are very exhausted. Ps.78:9. Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and forgive us our sins for Thy name's sake. “Do not remember our first iniquities.” Those who offered this prayer were pious, and had great zeal for piety. For glorious is the virtue of the Maccabees. Therefore, they rightly beg not to hold the people accountable for past sins. But having said this, they did not say anything else, that is, so that God would look at their real piety. And this especially proves their great virtue, namely, that they mention previous sins and hide their real piety. “Let Thy compassions soon precede us, O Lord, for we are so poor.” “Help us, O God, our Savior.” As soon as possible, give us Your irresistible help, because we are deprived of any providence for us. You are our only Helper and Savior. “Glory to Your name, O Lord, deliver us and cleanse our sins in Your name.” Nowhere do they mention their virtue, but they ask that they be honored with divine help for the sake of the name of God. For, they say, when we suffer evil, blasphemy falls on Your name. Therefore, we beg You not to look at our sins, to change our plight and to show Your power to the ignorant. Ps.78:10. Why should the pagans say, “Where is their God?” Let the vengeance for the shed blood of Your servants become known among the pagans before our eyes. “Never mind when the pagans say, “Where is their God?” Other interpreters present this as having already happened. “Why do the pagans say: Where is their God?” That is, sometimes it saddens me, sometimes it stings me more painfully than any sharp edge, that the pagans dare to blaspheme You, and mockingly say: Where is your God? Where is God, of whom you say that He executed Egypt, divided the sea, and performed all other great and glorious deeds? “And let the vengeance of the shed blood of Thy servant be made known before our eyes.” Therefore, we beg that they may be punished for murder, and that all others, together with us, will see Your truthful verdict and Your wrath for the murder of Your servants. Ps.78:11. Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; By the might of Your arm save those doomed to death. “Let the groaning of the chained come before Thee: according to the greatness of Thy arm, provide the sons of the slain.” I beg You to look at those who, although still alive, are surrounded by chains and await death, and not to subject our race to all-destruction, but to save the “sons of the slain” and raise up a younger generation from them. Ps.78:12. Return to our neighbors seven times the reproach with which they, O Lord, reproached You, into their bosom. “Reward our neighbors sevenfold in their bosom for their reproach, who has reproached Thee, O Lord.” Punish the peoples neighboring us many times over for blasphemy. For the Prophet did not mean any specific number in what was said, but asked to send the greatest punishment upon them. Similar to this is what was said: “bring forth seven unfruits,” that is, many (1 Sam. 2:5). The Prophet used the word “bosom” in a figurative sense, borrowing a figure of speech from those who carry something in their bosom and hold it securely so that nothing falls; and this means: multiply the number of disasters that constantly threaten them. Ps.78:13. And we, Your people and the sheep of Your pasture, will forever glorify You and proclaim Your praise to generation and generation. “We, your people and the sheep of your pasture, confess to you, O God, forever: to generation and generation we will proclaim your praise.” And we, who have been called Your people, who are called Your flock, will unceasingly offer up hymns to You and give thanks for your good deeds, and having committed this to writing, we will tell the story of this to future people. The Prophet said: “Let us confess” instead of: Let us give thanks. For this word means thanksgiving. You might be interested in: