Беседа 24 на псалом 113 73

Ps.113:1–2. Hallelujah. After the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the house of Jacob from the barbarian people, Judea became His shrine, Israel became His province. Why is it said first about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and then about the fact that Judea became a “shrine” of the Lord, and what do these last words mean? "Israel is His domain". – A special divine blessing to Israel during the crossing of the Jordan and the joyful readiness of the forces of nature to fulfill the will of the Creator, figuratively expressed by the Psalmist. – Name: “God of Jacob” and the height of the virtue of this patriarch. – Obedience of stones to the Creator and disobedience of people. – The Psalmist’s prayer for new divine mercies is not for the sake of the dignity of those asking, but for the glorification of the name of God and His love for mankind. – Divine providence and long-suffering. - The insensibility of idols, the shamelessness of the service they perform, and the incomparable superiority of the God of Israel. – God’s blessing to Israel and to all those who turn to Him from other nations (proselytes). - “May the Lord bring (good) to you, to you and to your son” (Ps. 113:22). – The difference between the blessings of God in the Old and New Testaments. – How should we understand: “the highest heaven is the Lord’s, but He has given the earth to the sons of men” (Ps. 113:24)? – The endless glorification of the Lord by those who live a real (virtuous) life, and not by those who die in wickedness. 1. Here the prophet testifies to the great condescension and mercy of God. Which? The one that He first reveals His own power, and then demands worship of Himself. The prophet expresses this with the words: “after Israel left Egypt..., Judea became His shrine.” Then, he says, He showed His power with signs in Egypt and in the wilderness, and then He took over the people of Israel for Himself. This is what He did with Adam: first He created the world and showed the power of His wisdom and strength, and then He created man and demanded that He worship Him. So the Only Begotten Son of God showed many and various signs in advance, and then demanded faith. Therefore, He did not say to the people who came to Him at the beginning, as those who had not yet received from Him a guarantee and proof of His divinity: Do you believe that I can do this? - but only showed signs. When He left monuments of His power throughout Palestine, healing bodily ailments, destroying evil, preaching about the kingdom, teaching saving laws, then he began to demand faith from those who came to Him. People try to acquire power in advance, and then they begin to do good; and God begins with good deeds. But what am I saying about other good deeds, when He first endured the cross itself and then conquered the universe, proving by His deeds His care for it? This is what the prophet expresses here in the words of the psalm: “after Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from the barbarian people, Judea became His shrine.” “According to the outcome”, i.e. upon removal, upon liberation from Egypt. He did not simply say: from Egypt, but added: “from the barbarian people,” showing the care of God by the name of the enemies. They could not have freed themselves from such cruel, inhuman, barbaric Egyptians if they had not received help from a strong hand and an invincible right hand. Indeed, the Egyptians were fiercer than wild animals, rougher than stones; being struck by countless blows, they did not soften. Thus, calling the Egyptians a barbaric people, the prophet expressed the superiority of the power of God, with which He partly convinced such a wild and so cruel people, partly forced them against their will to release their slaves, and then drowned their opponents in the sea, and thus freed His people. What does it mean: “Judea became His shrine”? In other words: she became a people serving Him, a people devoted to Him, a people adopted by Him. Actually, a church, a sanctuary, a holy of holies were called a shrine, just as Zechariah says about some who asked: “if you have entered (Russian entered, entered) here... a shrine,” or we will fast 74 (Zech. 7:3), indicating the return of the ark and everything else. “Judea became His shrine.” Previously, it was an unclean and despicable country; and when the people of Israel entered it, then it became “His sanctuary,” i.e. the shrine is brought into it by observance of the law, sacrifices, worship and other sacred rites. “Israel is His domain.” What does it mean: “Israel is His domain”? This means: subject to Him. Although the entire universe is under His authority, these people are also subject to their special closeness to Him. He communicated prophecies to them, talked with them and primarily arranged their affairs. In another respect, these people were His people, precisely in the fact that, at His behest, they often went to war and undertook many other things. Having freed them from the hands of the barbarians, from violence, slavery, extreme danger and misfortune, He became their king. Therefore, in another place, justifying Himself and showing that He gave them from Himself in advance, and then demanded His reward from them, He said: “Was I a wilderness to Israel? Was I a land of darkness? ( Jer. 2:31 ) The meaning of these words is as follows: was there. Am I barren for you? Have I not communicated to you countless blessings? Did he change nature itself? Have you made the elements serve you? Has he not given you a life free from human labor? Therefore He says: “Was I a wilderness to Israel?” Those. Have I not communicated to you countless blessings; liberation from Egypt, deliverance from the barbarians, the appearance of miracles, life in the desert, the inheritance of Palestine, the subjugation of the pagans, constant spoils, continuous victories, wonderful signs, continuous miracles, fertility of the earth, multiplication of your family, glory throughout the universe, and many others? Do you see the blessings of God? Therefore He adds: “Was I a land of darkness?” (Jer.2:31). Those. Have you not enjoyed countless fruits from Me? Have I not blessed your coming in and your going out, your flocks and your pastures, your bread and your water? Have I not protected you? Has it made you unapproachable, terrible and invincible? Did not everything flow to you as from springs, from earth and from heaven? The Lord especially shows Himself in that he provides for his subjects, cares for them and cares for them. 2. That is why Christ did not say: “The good shepherd accepts honor and service, but lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). This is where power lies, this is where pastoral wisdom lies: to despise one’s own benefits and take care of the good of those subordinates. A boss is the same as a doctor, or even more than a doctor. The doctor brings healing with his art, and the boss, moreover, with his own dangers. So did Christ, who endured strangulation, crucifixion and countless sufferings. That is why Paul said: “For Christ did not please Himself, but, as it is written, The slander of those who slandered You fell on Me” (Rom. 15:3). So, the prophet here counts two or three or more blessings, says that God delivered the Jews from the barbarians, freed them from foreigners, brought them out of slavery, stopped their labors and misfortunes, performed countless miracles, and then deigned to make them His shrine and subjects, because this is no small kind of blessing that He chose them to be His subjects. “The sea saw and fled, the Jordan turned back” (Ps. 114:3). See how he strengthens his speech and points out great benefits. Why, he says, mention barbarians and pagans, when nature itself submitted, retreated and returned, seeing the Leader and giving way to the Leader of the people? Indeed, everything then submitted and yielded to the Jewish people, so that they knew that everything that happened to them was not the result of human efforts, but a miraculous action of divine, ineffable power. And notice the expressiveness of the speech, how beautifully the prophet composed it. He didn’t say: it was retreating or moving away, but what? “The sea saw and ran.” With the expression: “ran” he wants to show the speed of retreat, the power of fear, the ease of God’s action. And lest anyone think that this phenomenon was periodic or accidental, from that time on it no longer occurred, but only once, when God commanded, and, moreover, it acted differently on different persons. The disorderly flow of waters, as if rational and animated, at the command of God, saved some and destroyed others, for some it became a coffin, and for others a chariot. You can also see it in the cave of Babylon. The fire, which acted in a simple and ordinary way, showed great discernment when God commanded - it saved some who were inside it, and captured and killed others who were outside. "The Jordan has turned back". Do you see how miracles were performed at different times and in different places? So that the Jews knew that the power of God is spread out everywhere and is not limited to a place, God appeared performing miracles everywhere, in the desert, and in the country of the barbarians, and in the sea, and in the rivers, and under Moses, and under Jesus; and signs accompanied them everywhere, so that, having softened their insensitive soul and rough mind with miracles, they would become submissive and capable of accepting the knowledge of God. “The mountains leaped like rams, and the hills like lambs among sheep” (Ps. 113:4). This presents us with an important question. Some say in bewilderment: about the above we know that it happened; history has told us that the Red Sea was divided during the exodus of the Israelites, and the Jordan turned back when the ark passed by; and we don’t see written evidence anywhere about mountains and hills jumping. What can I say to this? The fact that the prophet, wanting to more strongly express the joy and greatness of miracles, imagines the inanimate creatures themselves playing and jumping, as happens with those who are having fun. That is why he uses the similitude: “like lambs among sheep”; these dumb ones, when they rejoice, express their joy in leaps and bounds. As another prophet, depicting disasters, says that the grapes wept and the wine wept (Is. 24:7), not in the sense that the grapes really wept - how can grapes weep? - but, wanting to express the excessiveness of grief, in an intensified way he represents inanimate creatures as if participating in grief; so here too the prophet represents the creature participating in joy in order to show the greatness of this joy. So we, when we meet some respectable man and want to express the joy that comes from him, usually say: you filled the house with joy, meaning not the walls of the house, but expressing the excessiveness of joy. “What’s wrong with you, sea, that you ran? And what is the matter with you, Jordan, that you turned back? (what is the matter with you) mountains, why did you jump like rams, and hills like lambs among sheep? (Ps. 113:5–6) He continues his speech in the form of a question and addresses the elements again in the same sense in which he depicted them galloping. Just as there he spoke about them, not assimilating their feelings, but wanting to show the excessiveness of joy and the greatness of the deeds that had been accomplished, so here he asks them a question, not so that they have a feeling and can answer, but in order to more clearly express the subject and show its wonder. 3. Since something new and unusual happened, he asks such a question and offers the answer himself. Which one? “The earth moved from the presence of the Lord, from the presence of the God of Jacob” (Ps. 113:7). Here again the name of the movement expresses surprise, amazement, delight in order to show the greatness of the events. Wanting to show how great the virtue of this man (Jacob) is, he connects the name of the servant with the name of the Lord. So Paul attributes this to the great honor of the saints, and attributes it to the fact that they renounced all worldly things. He not only mentions this honor, but also sets out the reason for it, in order to show the listener the way in which he can achieve such an advantage. Which one? For God to be called by the name of slaves. That is why he said: for this reason he is not “ashamed of them, calling himself their God” (Heb. 11:16). How was God called by their name? He said: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:6). Setting out in advance the reason for this name, the apostle says: “all these died in faith, not receiving the promises, but only saw them from afar, and rejoiced, and said about themselves that they were strangers and strangers on earth.” This is the reason, and therefore he continues: for this reason, “and God is not ashamed of them, calling Himself their God” (Heb. 11:13, 16). What, tell me, is the reason for this? The fact that they confessed themselves to be strangers and strangers, had no attachment to the present, but, renouncing everything worldly, thus lived in a foreign land. “He who turns a stone into pools of water, and an uncut stone into springs of water” (Ps. 113:8). Can, tell me, cruel and stubborn people receive forgiveness when a stone, indestructible, hard and rough, obeys the command of God, and a person, adorned with reason, the most tender creature, becomes more insensitive than a stone? “Uncut” (άχρότομον) the prophet here calls a stone, as it is not easily inferior to iron and only from the surface (έχ των άχρων) it is barely crushed by a blow. But he also changed, he says, his natural properties and produced sources of water. The Creator of nature can change its very laws and manifest actions opposite to them, as He often did in many cases, showing that He created everything from nothing. Thus, having spoken about ancient blessings, miracles, signs - how God delivered the Jews from slavery to foreigners, how he brought them to freedom, how he changed the elements and filled everything with joy, the prophet now turns to the present, resorting to that pier. And just as in the past it was done not for the merits of the people who received benefits, but according to God’s love for mankind and “for the sake of My name, so that, as He said, it should not be blasphemed” (Ezek. 20:9), but so that everyone would see His power and might from His deeds and learn through them, so now the prophet presents the same basis and says: if we are faulty in life and unresponsive in deeds, then do it “for the sake of the name.” Yours,” which Moses once said. In agreement with him, the psalmist says: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Thy name give glory, according to Thy mercy and Thy truth!” (Ps. 113:9). Not for us, he says, not in order to make us more glorious and famous, but so that Your power may become known. And His name is glorified when He protects and helps, so it is glorified when we live virtuously and shine in our behavior. “Let your light, said the Lord, shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). And just as it is glorified by our virtuous life, so on the contrary, it is blasphemed by our vicious life. Pointing to this, He said through the prophet: “for your sake... my name is blasphemed among the nations” (Is. 52:5). Thus, unable to justify them with anything, the psalmist resorts to this, as Moses did. However, God, who cares about the salvation of people, does not always act this way. If He always did this, many of the careless people would become even worse, having their greatest hope of safety from disasters in that God would constantly save them for His glory. But this does not happen, because God cares not so much about his glory as about the salvation of people. If people sometimes despise glory, then much more God, who does not need anything from us. But the prophet, taking upon himself to intercede for them, as I said, presents in their defense what was possible, and repeats the expression twice: “not to us, Lord, not to us, showing the great unworthiness of those being saved, but give glory to Thy name.” We are worthy of countless disasters, but “according to Thy mercy and Thy truth!” . Another translator (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.) says: “by your mercy” (διά τό έλεόζ σου). You see how clearly the prophet himself knew that God often, forgetting about his own glory, cares only about the correction of sinners. That’s why he adds: “according to Thy mercy and Thy truth,” i.e. by Your mercy help us; if You do not desire Yourself glory from people, then - “according to Your mercy and Thy truth.” God can, yes - can, not only by merciful, but also by punishing, achieve glory; but not like this, he says, do to us, but “according to Your mercy.” We should give glory to Your name by our life and behavior; but since we did not do this, then deal with us according to Your condescension, mercy and philanthropy. “Let the pagans never say, “Where is their God?” (Ps. 113:10) 4. I hear how many people now repeat these words when they pray; but I am afraid that someday they will have to say in another sense: “Where is their God?” - when many will begin to kidnap, offend and cause countless troubles. “But our God is in heaven and on earth: whatever he wanted, he did” (Ps. 113:11). Here the prophet speaks against the error of the foolish. Since many of them do not know that there is a God, to destroy such a delusion he says: “But our God is in heaven and on earth: whatever he wanted, he did.” If in heaven, then much more on earth. What does it mean “in heaven... whatever you wanted, you did”? Here he means either the heavenly powers, their countless hosts, or the commands of God, which are easily fulfilled. If there is great confusion and disorder on earth, then do not be surprised. This comes from the malice of people, from the depravity of those who are responsible for this, and not from the powerlessness of God. Everything that happens in heaven testifies to the power and might of God. If this is not the case on earth, the people who are guilty of this are those who have made themselves unworthy. This expression can be understood differently, namely in such a way that God, due to His long-suffering, does not yet punish for many things according to their merit. That is why the wicked triumph over the righteous, because the man-loving God does not want to immediately punish for every crime; otherwise our race would have been exterminated long ago. The prophet says here that God is strong, powerful and able to punish - this is clear from His deeds in heaven - but He does not do this, observing long-suffering in everything and disposing those who live wickedly to repentance. “The idols of the pagans - silver and gold - are the work of human hands: they have lips, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; have nostrils, but do not smell; they have hands, but they do not touch them; they have legs, but they won’t walk; They will not utter a voice from their throat. Let those who make them and all who trust in them be like them!” ( Ps. 113:12–16 ). In the one hundred and fifth psalm, describing the madness of idolaters, the prophet said: “and they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons” (Ps. 105:37); in the present, he shows their insensibility, due to which they cleave to soulless matter, and listing all the members of idols, he laughs at them at length. Then he adds: “Let those who make them and all who trust in them be like them.” Although becoming like God is a virtue, here it served as a curse. Imagine what the pagan gods must be like when being like them results in a decisive curse. The prophet composed his speech well, exposing their extreme madness and presenting them as ridiculous. In fact, isn’t it funny, tell me, to become attached to an idol that represents extreme shamelessness? Who would want to see a naked woman? And the demon sits in the naked image. The idols depict either fornication or insane passion for men. What does the eagle on them mean? What - Ganymede? What is Apollo pursuing the maiden? What – other disgusting images? Everywhere there is voluptuousness, everywhere debauchery, everywhere images of illegal incest and violent passions. And idols, and festivals, and solemn meetings, and their rituals are expressions, monuments and schools of shamelessness, and not only shamelessness, but also human murder. That is why they give honor to demons in the same way. They have nothing but debauchery, intemperate drunkenness, cruelty, inhumanity, murder, and, as anyone can see, all their holidays consist of this. Thus, having exposed the insensibility of idols and the folly of those who trust in them to ridicule, the prophet turns to the glorification of God and says: “The house of Israel trusted in the Lord; He is their helper and protector. The house of Aaron trusted in the Lord; He is their helper and protector. Those who fear the Lord trusted in the Lord, He is their helper and protector” (Ps. 113:17-19). With these words he depicts the power of God and His incomparable superiority over everyone. Describing the deeds accomplished among the Jews, he showed the double or triple benefit of God: firstly, that He delivered them from demons; secondly, what he imparted to them was the knowledge of Himself; thirdly, that He gave them His help. Now he speaks separately, about Israel, about the priestly race and about those who come to Him from the pagans, because the priest and the laity are not equal to each other, but the first has some advantage; therefore he justly makes the division. Indeed, the priests were given a great honor. 5. Then, wanting to show that God’s providence was not limited to the Jews alone, he also mentions the proselytes who converted from the pagans, expressing that God extended His help and blessing to everyone. “The Lord, remember everything about us, he blessed us: he blessed the house of Israel, he blessed the house of Aaron, he blessed those who fear the Lord, small and great” (Ps. 114:20-21). What does “blessed” mean? Those. bestowed countless benefits. And a person blesses God, as, for example, it is said: “bless the Lord, my soul” (Ps. 102:1); but by blessing God, he himself gains benefit, receiving enlightenment for himself, and not delivering anything to Him; and God, by blessing, provides us with enlightenment, but He Himself receives nothing from us. God is a being who needs nothing. Therefore, in both cases we benefit. How did he bless the Jews? He gave them bread from heaven, brought water out of the rock, guarded their comings and goings, multiplied their flocks, called them a chosen people, a royal priesthood, gave a law, sent prophets. Proclaiming the same thing in another place, the prophet says: “He has not done this to any (yet) people, and He has not shown His judgments to them” (Ps. 147:9). And another prophet says: “Is there any great nation to which its gods would be as close as the Lord is close to us?” (Deut. 4:7) “Small and great.” Not a single generation, he says, was deprived of the blessing, but it was extended to everyone. “May the Lord give (good) to you, to you and to your son!” (Ps. 113:22). Do you see another type of blessing - multiplication of the race? Therefore, another prophet, presenting the opposite consequence in the form of punishment, says: “We are humbled, O Lord, more than all nations” (Dan. 3:37) 75. They received this blessing in Egypt, although there were countless obstacles, labors, oppression, and the cruelty of the guards; but nothing stopped the words of God, and His blessing acted in such a way that in two hundred years they multiplied to six hundred thousand. Then this was a blessing, but now, in the new covenant, there is another, much better one. Therefore Paul says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”; and again: “To him who, by the power that works in us, is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church” (Eph. 1:3; Eph. 3:20, 21). That is why the prophets in ancient times, wanting to provide a benefit, gave this blessing. So Elisha rewarded the wife who accepted him with the gift of a son. In the new covenant, this is not the blessing, but something much better. So the porphyry seller didn’t ask the apostles for this, but what? “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, then come into my house and live with me” (Acts 16:15) 76. Do you see what a difference there is between the Old and New Testaments - what they wanted then and what they wanted now? Christ also says: “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). And Paul: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom. 15:13). Do you see the power of a blessing that gives unspeakable blessings and does not contain anything earthly? And Paul also says: “The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20). And in the Old Testament, when people were more prone to sensuality, the objects of blessing were sensual, and having many children was considered the greatest good. Since death occurred from sin, God, wanting to console the human race and show that He would not destroy it and give it over to complete destruction, but would still make people more numerous than before, said: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 9:1). When it became known that death is a dream, then the dignity of virginity was revealed. That is why Paul said: “I wish that all people were like me”; and again: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (1 Cor. 7:1, 7). And Christ: “there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:12). However, even in ancient times, God secretly inspired that virtue is needed, and not having many children. So, listen, for example, to what the Wise One says: “Do not desire a multitude of worthless children and do not rejoice over the sons of the wicked. When they multiply, do not rejoice over them unless they have the fear of the Lord. Do not rely on their life and do not rely on their multitude. It’s better to have one righteous person than a thousand sinners, and it’s better to die childless than to have children of the wicked.” and one who does the will of the Lord is better than ten thousand wicked people (Sir.16:1-4). But the foolish Jews, always inclined to sensuality and careless of virtue, said: “he wanted to receive offspring from God” (Mal. 2:15)? Therefore, He, wanting to show that He did not require this, repeatedly betrayed them to destruction when virtue became scarce among them. “Blessed are you by the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 113:23). He added well: “by the Lord.” This is especially a blessing. Blessings also come from people, but they concern human things; and this is the greatest blessing. People bless, i.e. those with wealth, power and honor are praised and glorified; but such a blessing is temporary and, when it continues, does not bring any benefit; and God’s blessing is eternal and brings the greatest benefit to the Creator of “heaven and earth.” 6. Do you see the power of this blessing? His words become deeds. His Word created the heavens. “By the word, says the prophet, the heavens of the Lord are established” (Ps. 32:6). With this same word, so powerful, He blesses you too. “The highest heaven is to the Lord, but He has given the earth to the sons of men” (Ps. 113:24). What are you saying? Did God really choose heaven as His dwelling place, and having taken the heavenly places, assigned us these places? No, not like that; but these are words adapted to the concepts of people. If this were so, could there be other words spoken by God: “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? says the Lord" (Jer. 23:24)? The latter would contradict the former if we began to take them literally, and did not pay attention to the meaning contained in them. What does it mean: “the highest heaven belongs to the Lord, and He gave the earth to the sons of men”? It is expressed accommodatively, without placing God in heaven. And the words: “heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool” (Is. 66:1), as well as the words: “Do I not fill heaven and earth” (Jer. 23:24), also do not fully correspond to the dignity of God, but are said adaptively to us. God embraces everything, carries everything, not needing any place, but Himself containing everything; heaven is called His house because it is a place not defiled by vice. Here, therefore, it is not said that heaven is His chosen place, just as in the following words: “When the Most High gave inheritance to the nations and scattered the sons of men, then he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the children of Israel” (Deut. 32:8), or: “The Lord chose Jacob for Himself” (Ps. 135:4). It does not say here that the Jews belong to Him, and other people do not belong and are deprived of the actions of His providence and creativity - He is the common God of all, and this expression is used to show His love for them, as they were apparently better than others. And that He did not choose them alone, but provided for them all, this is shown by the events that happened before Moses, and with him, and after him on various occasions. So He gave the sun, the earth, the sea and everything else to everyone in general, and introduced the natural law into everyone. He loved Abraham the Persian and moved him; but through him he admonished the Egyptians, the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, and the Persians; also, through his son and grandson, he corrected many of their neighbors, as many depended on Him. Then, when Moses was born, He led the Egyptians, the inhabitants of Palestine and then the Babylonians to the knowledge of God through the events that happened to the Jews. Thus, when the prophet says: “The highest heaven belongs to the Lord,” he expresses that the Lord dwells in the abodes there, as if free from all evil. So you too, if you do not become attached to the earth, but become an angel, then you will soon enter heaven and your father’s house, and even before the resurrection you will move from here and will have such dignity. Just as many of the people elected as members of the great senate bear this title while living in the village, so you, if you want to be a citizen of heaven, then living here you can have this dignity. “Not the dead will praise you, O Lord, not all who go down to hell, but we who are alive will bless the Lord from now on and forever” (Ps. 114:25-26). Here he calls dead not those who have passed away, but those who have died in wickedness, or who are corrupted in sins. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are so alive even after their death that those who live bring them to memory. So Moses, praying for the people he ruled, implores God in their name, mentioning them in prayer. Also, three youths in their name pray for salvation and say: “Take not Thy mercy from us for the sake of Abraham, Thy beloved, for the sake of Isaac, Thy servant, and Israel, Thy holy one” (Dan. 3:35). If they had such power, then how are they dead? And Christ said: “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matthew 8:22). That’s why Paul calls those who have died not dead, but reposed: “I do not want, he says, to leave you, brethren, ignorant of the dead” (χεχοιμηένων - those who have fallen asleep)” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The righteous man, having passed away, does not die, but sleeps. He who expects a better life sleeps even after death; and whoever faces endless death has died while alive and is dead while alive. These latter will descend to hell, while the former will ascend to heaven and be with Christ. That is why the prophet did not simply say: the living, but: “we, the living,” pointing to himself. Why didn’t he say: “alive”, but added: “we”? So Paul said: “we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not warn those who have died” (1 Thessalonians 4:15). Just as here the addition: “we” does not allow what was said to apply to everyone, but only to the faithful and in their lifestyle similar to Paul, so there the addition: “we are the living” indicates those like David, living virtuously. "From Here to Eternity". Do you see how this addition also means? What too? What the prophet says about living virtuously. Truly, no one who lives in this life lives forever, except those who always live a glorious life. And sinners live, but they live in punishment, torment and gnashing of teeth; and those - in light and glory, engaged, together with ethereal forces, in offering up mysterious hymns to God. So, in order for us to enjoy this joy, let us lead such a life as to achieve that state that neither word, nor mind, nor anything else can imagine, but whose bliss can only be known by experience itself; May we all be worthy of it, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. The psalms in the text are translated by P. Yungerov - Editorial office of the ABC of Faith These words - η νηστεύσομεν - are not found either in 70 in this place or in Hebrew. Instead of έσμέν, as in 70, Chrysostom reads: έσμέν όλιγοστοί; instead of παρά πάντα τά έθνη – παρά πάντας τούς κατοίκοΰντας την γην Instead of εί κεκρίκατέ με πιστην τω Κυρίω είναι – in Chrysostom: εί ού κεκρίκατέ με άναξίαν τω Κυρίω You might be interested in: