Изъяснение псалма 90-го.

“The praise of the songs of David is not written in Hebrew.” The psalm does not have an inscription, but it shows the invincibility of trust in God. For blessed David, seeing from afar with spiritual eyes what would happen to blessed Hezekiah, and seeing how he, having placed his hope in God, crushed the Assyrian army, spoke this psalm, indicating to all people what an abundance of blessings lies in trusting in God. Ps.90:1. He who lives under the shelter of the Most High rests in the shadow of the Almighty. “He who lives in the help of the Most High will dwell in the shelter of the heavenly God.” Whoever relies on God's care for him will take advantage of the protection from the heavenly God and will have this firm fence, this invincible protection. Ps.90:2. He says to the Lord: “My refuge and my defense, my God in whom I trust!” “The Lord says: You are my protector and my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him.” For, having firm trust in God, he will call Him patron, trustee and indestructible fence. Ps.90:3. He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the destructive plague. “Yako Toy will deliver you from the snare of traps and from rebellious words.” From here the Prophet begins a speech addressed to the believer himself, and encourages him, saying that God will make him a conqueror not only of open enemies, but also of those who lie in wait, prepare ambushes and plot in secret; because the network meant secret intrigues, and instead of this: “a rebellious word,” Symmachus translated: “an offensive word”; These are the words of those who weave lies and slander. However, many overcame this too by trusting in God. So the great Joseph, having suffered the slander of adultery, escaped the snares, so the wonderful Susanna took advantage of help from above. Ps.90:4. He will overshadow you with His feathers, and under His wings you will be safe; shield and fence - His truth. “His cloak will overshadow you, and you will trust under His wing.” God will be your protector and will cover you when enemies attack. The figurative image of speech is borrowed from those who stand in the front rows during battle, and cover those behind with their shoulders. And the Prophet calls the actions of providence by wings, and he used this expression, taking in his likeness the birds that cover their chicks with their wings. So blessed Moses called God’s guardianship wings and said: “Keep him like the apple of your eye. As an eagle has covered its nest, and is desirous of its chicks: it spreads out its wings, and receives them, and lifts them up on its frame” (Deut. 32:10–11). This is what the Lord said to Jerusalem: “How much did your fellow children desire, just as your chicks gather kokosh under a krill, and did you not desire?” (Matthew 23:37). “His truth will surround you with weapons.” since I mentioned above the word rebellious and deceitful; then, by the way, he promises here that truth will be his all-weapon. Ps.90:5. You will not be afraid of horrors in the night, nor of arrows flying during the day. Ps.90:6. The plague that walks in darkness, the plague that destroys at midday. “Do not be afraid from the fear of the night, from the arrow that flies in the days”: “From things in the darkness that pass away, from clots and the midday demon.” You will overcome not only sensory, but also mental enemies with divine hope, you will avoid threatening intrigues at night, and enemy attacks committed during the day, and with complete confidence, as someone protected by God, you will drive away fear from yourself, you will not be afraid in the middle of the day, but you will avoid demonic slander, using help from above. The Prophet used the expression: “demon of the noon” in accordance with the accepted opinion of many, because it is natural for an evil person to rush at someone after he has taken food and after he is full, as if he were ready prey, and it is not difficult to enslave someone who is deprived of care for him from above. Ps.90:7. A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but will not come close to you: Ps.90:8. Only you will look with your eyes and see the retribution of the wicked. “Thousands will fall from your country, and darkness will fall at your right hand, but it will not come close to you.” “Behold both your eyes and see the reward of sinners.” Instead of: “from your country,” Symmachus and Aquila translated: “opposite you.” The Prophet says that if a countless multitude comes out from your right and left sides, you will not suffer any harm, but you will see them deposed by Divine punishment. This happened under Hezekiah, because one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians were defeated without military weapons. So under Gideon, so under Jonathan, and also under Jehoshaphat and under the prophet Elisha it was the same. Ps.90:9. For you said: “The Lord is my hope”; You have chosen the Almighty as your refuge. “For You, O Lord, are my hope: You have made the Most High your refuge.” You will be worthy of this providence, says the Prophet, by abandoning yourself to trust in God and making Him your refuge. For the following is missing in the composition of the speech: You said, “Lord, is my hope”; and this is a distinctive property of the prophetic writings, especially the psalms. However, the connection of speech makes this incompleteness obvious. It is said: since you trust in God and call on Him for help, you will be worthy of His care. Ps.90:10. No evil will befall you, and no plague will come near your dwelling. “No evil will come to you, and no wound will come near your village.” You will overcome the devil’s attacks and you will not suffer harm as a result. Thus, Divine grace protected Job’s house; Witness to this is the enemy himself, who cries out: “Have you not fenced off the outer and inner parts of his house?” (Job 1:10). When God allowed it, the enemy showed his malice, and the righteous Judge crowned the victorious ascetic. Ps.90:11. For He will command His angels about you - to guard you in all your ways. “As His Angel commanded you, keep you in all your ways.” He also said this in the thirty-third psalm: “The Angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him and will deliver them” (Ps. 33:8). We heard that Patriarch Jacob said: “An angel like me delivers from all evils” (Gen. 48:16). And the great Abraham, to encourage the servant, said: “God will send His angel before You, and take a wife for my son Isaac from there” (Gen. 24:7). Therefore, from everything we know that the God of all through the Angels protects those who trust in Him. Ps.90:12. They will carry you on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. “They will lift you up in their arms, but not when you dash your foot against a stone.” You will benefit from them in every way they can provide for you, so that not even the slightest harm comes to you from anywhere. For the Prophet meant the slightest harm with the words: “to stumble on a stone,” and the expression: “they will take you up in their arms,” means: they will lead you by the hand, show you the way, and give you all kinds of help. Ps.90:13. You will step on the asp and basilisk; You will trample on the lion and the dragon. “Tread on the asp and the basilisk, and cross the lion and the serpent.” The Prophet mentioned the most powerful and fierce beasts, wanting to express dominance over every kind of wickedness. For by lion and serpent he meant strength, because these beasts are very strong, and by asp and basilisk he meant extreme cunning, because the asp emits deadly poison, and the basilisk causes harm even with its gaze. However, many, having believed in God, overcame these animals. Thus the wonderful Daniel bound the mouth of the lions; so the divine Paul suffered no harm from the echidna; So Noah, living with the beasts, remained unharmed; Thus, thousands of those who loved the desert life, staying with the beasts, by trusting in God, avoided their hostile attack. Ps.90:14. “Because he loved Me, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he has known My name. Ps.90:15. He will call to Me, and I will hear him; I am with him in sorrow; I will deliver him and glorify him. “For I have trusted in Me, and I will deliver, and I will cover, because I have known My name.” He will call to Me, and I will hear him. The God of all has finally spoken this, showing what is the fruit of hope. For he says: I will deliver him, protected by his trust in Me, from the mentioned visible and invisible accusers. And for this I will protect and cover him; I will hear him as soon as he begins to speak, and I will accept his request. “I am with him in sorrow.” If he falls into any temptation, I will be with him and give him sufficient consolation. “I will betray him and glorify him.” I will not only free him from sorrows, but also make him glorious. Ps.90:16. I will satisfy him with long days, and show him My salvation.” “I will fill him with length of days, and show him My salvation.” I will let him reach a ripe old age and first “show the salvation” that is prepared for him in the future life. Blessed Hezekiah was also honored with this, because, having asked for the addition of years of life, he received it for fifteen years and acquired great eminence for himself through the death of the Assyrians. These words are very fitting for him: “I will destroy him and glorify him, and show him My salvation.” But all who trust in God will enjoy all kinds of good things, as ancient history shows and as what is visible today testifies. You might be interested in: