Беседа 32 на псалом 122 87

Ps.123:1. Song of Degrees. I have lifted up my eyes to You, who dwells in heaven. While in captivity, the Jews learned many truths and, in particular, to seek help only from the Lord. Prayer for mercy for the sake of the severe punishment suffered. – “Our soul is greatly filled with contempt from those who are prosperous and humiliation from the proud” (Ps. 123:4). You see how the benefits of captivity are visible everywhere. Those who have always been tied to the earth, hoped in the Assyrians and Egyptians, in the strength of the walls, in the abundance of wealth, now renounce all this, resort to the invincible right hand, turn to this hope, acquire high thoughts and, having abandoned the earth and having lost the church - because their church was destroyed - finally call on God himself from heaven. He is called living in heaven, not because He is limited to a place - no, He fills everything - but because He primarily dwells in the powers there, just as it is said that He dwells in people: “I will dwell in them and walk in them” (2 Cor. 6:16). Thus, while in the country of foreigners, the Jews learned considerable truths, namely, to renounce the land, and to clearly understand that God will quickly hearken everywhere when they call on Him. Since, finally, a ray of new life appeared, the prophet begins to touch the future, rejecting little by little and secretly the law on observing places. “Behold, as the eyes of servants are (turned) to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a servant are (turned) to the hands of her mistress, so our eyes are to the Lord our God, until He rewards us” (Ps. 122:2). Look here again how their piety has increased: they do not only cherish hope in God for a short time, but forever surrender to it and are established in it. Therefore, a comparison is made, which expresses precisely the fact that they do not expect help and assistance from anyone else and do not look to anyone else, just as a slave and a slave have only one means of receiving food, clothing, and all maintenance - from their masters, and do not stop looking at them, but wait until they receive, and when they receive, they remain grateful, and do so constantly. So they too, wanting to show that they look to Him and do this constantly, that they have no other hope and are constantly awaiting His help, and that everything they have belongs to Him, they mention female and male servants. See how those who previously, being invited to go to God, listened to this with disgust and carelessness, have now become so better from misfortunes that they do not want to depart from Him, but expect, serve and ask from Him, “until He spares us.” He did not say: until he gives a reward, or: until he makes a reward, but: “until He rewards us.” So you, man, constantly proceed, although you will receive, although you will not receive; If you don’t get it, don’t give up, and you will certainly get it. If even the cruel boss was brought to the mercy of the widow’s persistence (Luke 18:5), then can you have forgiveness, so quickly retreating from God, becoming despondent and weakened? Don't you see how the maids do not retreat from their masters, not allowing either their thoughts or their gaze to wander to either side? So do you too; follow God alone and, leaving everything else, be among His listeners, and you will certainly receive what you ask for your benefit. “Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we are filled with much humiliation” (Ps. 122:3). Do you see a broken soul? They ask to be saved by mercy, and not even by deserved mercy, but because they have suffered great punishment, just as Daniel says: “they are humbled, O Lord, more than all nations” (Dan. 3:37). They say the same thing in their prayer: we suffered extreme misfortune, were deprived of our fatherland and freedom, became slaves of foreigners, lived in humiliation, were exhausted by hunger, oppression and thirst, were spat upon and trampled underfoot throughout the entire time: for this, forgive and have mercy on us. What does it mean: “our soul is greatly saturated”? Our soul itself, he says, has become weak and exhausted from great disasters. Many, although exposed to disasters, endure them courageously; and we, he says, have lost even this; We become discouraged during times of adversity and are distressed. They did not make proper use of the advantages bestowed upon them; that is why God corrected them contrary to what he always does. So Adam, who did not use his stay in paradise to his advantage, He corrected by expulsion from paradise; and the wife, who became worse because of equal honor with her husband, He made better through enslavement and submission. So these Jews, who from freedom and security in their fatherland became worse, unbridled and incontinent, He corrects the opposite. Begging for mercy, they say to God: “Our soul is greatly filled with contempt from those who are prosperous and humiliation from the proud” (Ps. 122:4). Another translator (Symmachus) says: “our soul is filled with much, from the reproach of the prosperous, from the contempt of the proud” (πολλων εχοστάσθη .. εύθηνούντων, έξευτελζόντων των ύπερηφάνων). Third (Aquila): “reproach of the arrogant” (του μυκτηρισμου των ύπερφερω). Fourth (unknown translator): “humiliation of the prosperous themselves” (έξουδενωσεως αύτων εύθηνούντων). They express the same thought: they mourn disasters with the words: “our soul is filled with contempt”; but seventy interpreters say something else, namely: so that all this turns on them, so that they themselves experience the same thing that they subjected us to, so that their pride and arrogance are humbled. This happens often; God usually does this by humbling the arrogant and humiliating the proud in order to turn them away from the path that leads to destruction. There is nothing worse than pride. This is why there are temptations and sorrows, a mortal body is given and many unfortunate circumstances are sent, for suffering and illness, in order to firmly curb the soul, which is easily arrogant and reaches the point of pride. Therefore, do not be embarrassed, beloved, when you are exposed to temptations, but remembering the words of the prophet: “It is good for me that You have humbled me, so that I may learn Your justifications” (Ps. 119:71), take misfortune as medicine, use temptation appropriately, and you will achieve the greatest peace, which may we all be worthy of, by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom glory and power forever and ever. Amen. The psalms in the text are translated by P. Yungerov - Editorial office of the ABC of Faith You might be interested in: