Беседа 35 на псалом 125 90

Ps.125:1. Song of Degrees. When the Lord returned the captivity of Zion, how we were comforted! 91 Spiritual captivity is heavier than sensory captivity. – The condition of the Jews who returned from Babylonian captivity was different from the condition of their fathers upon leaving Egypt. - A special reason for the joy of the former. – Why does it say at the beginning of the psalm: “when he returned”, and then: “return” (Ps. 126:1, 4)? – “Those who sow in tears will reap with joy” (Ps. 126:5). – Peace is of little benefit to anyone as much as to man. – There is no need to lose heart in suffering in view of the reward promised for it. 1. The word: “captivity” is simple in name, but has many meanings. There is good captivity, about which, for example, Paul speaks: “and we take into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5); There is also a bad one, about whom, for example, he says: “who sneak into houses and deceive women” (2 Tim. 3:6); there is a spiritual one, about which it is said: “to preach liberation to the captives” (Is. 61:1); There is also a sensual one - from enemies. But the first one is harder. Those who take someone prisoner according to the law of war often spare the prisoners; although they are forced to carry water, chop wood and walk behind horses, they do not harm their soul at all; and whoever is taken captive by sin has acquired for himself a cruel and merciless ruler, forcing him to do the most shameful things. This tyrant knows how to neither spare nor show mercy. Listen, for example, how he, having captured the pitiful and unfortunate Judas, did not spare him, but made him a blasphemer and a traitor, and after committing a sin, he brought him to a spectacle before the Jews, discovered his crime and did not allow him to take advantage of repentance, but, having prevented repentance, brought him to the noose. Sin is a cruel ruler, giving wicked orders and dishonoring those who obey him. Therefore, I exhort you, let us flee his power with great zeal, we will fight with him, we will never put up with him, and, freed from him, we will abide in this freedom. If the Jews, having freed themselves from foreigners, were comforted, then all the more, having been freed from sin, we should rejoice and admire, and preserve this joy forever, and not violate or defile it by again indulging in the same vices. "How We Were Comforted". Other translators say (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.): “like those who dream in a dream” (ένυπνιαζόμενοι); in Hebrew: as those who dream in a dream (chaolemim). What does it mean: “comforted”? We, he says, are filled with peace, joy, pleasure. “Then our mouth was filled with joy and our tongue with gladness. Then they said among the nations: “The Lord has done great things to them.” The Lord has done great things with us: we rejoiced” (Ps. 125:2-3). Joy on the occasion of release from captivity contributes no little to a change for the better. But, you say, who doesn’t rejoice at this? Their fathers, when they were freed from Egypt and brought out of slavery there to freedom, grumbled with extreme ingratitude among the blessings themselves, were indignant, dissatisfied, and constantly complained. But we, he says, are not like that: we rejoice and admire. They also express the reason for the joy. We rejoice, he says, not only because of our liberation from disasters, but also because from here everyone will know God’s providence for us: “then they said among the nations: “The Lord has done great things with them.” The Lord has done great things with us." It is not in vain that repetition is allowed here, but in order to show the great joy that they had. Some words belong to the pagans, and others belong to them. And, look, they did not say: saved us, or: freed us, but: “created,” wanting with the word: “created” to express the extraordinary nature of the deed, filled with wonder. Do you see that, as I have often said, the universe learned through this people when they were taken into captivity and returned from there? The return itself was instead of a preacher, because the rumor about them spread everywhere, revealing to everyone the love of God for mankind; and truly great and extraordinary were the miracles that happened to them. Cyrus himself, who possessed them, released them when no one asked, but God softened his soul; and he let him go not just, but with gifts and donations. “Bring back, O Lord, our captives, like streams (drawn) by the south wind” (Ps. 125:4). Why did he say at the beginning of the psalm: “when the Lord returned the captivity of Zion,” and here: return? He talks about the future. This is especially suggested to us by another translator, who did not say: when he returned, but: when he returned. Moreover, this work, having begun then, did not all happen suddenly, but there were many relocations of the Jews - there was the first, and the second, and the third. 2. So, either this is what (the prophet) says, or he prays that the deliverance will be complete. Many of the Jews wanted to remain in the country of foreigners; therefore, ardently desiring deliverance, he says: “bring back, O Lord, our captives, like streams (drawn) by the south wind,” i.e. urging and encouraging with great swiftness, with great strength. Another translator (Aquila), expressing this very thing, said: “like streams” (καταρροίας). Third (Symmachus): “like channels” οχετούς). Fourth (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.): “like the release of water” (αφέσεις). “Those who sow in tears will reap with joy” (Ps. 125:5). This is said about the Jews, but can often have application to many other cases. Such is virtue: it receives brilliant rewards for its labors. Therefore, we need to work and exhaust ourselves in advance, and then seek peace. Anyone can often see this in everyday affairs. That is why the prophet in his speech pointed to sowing and harvest. Just as the one who sows must work, toil, shed sweat and endure the cold, so does the one who practices virtue. Nothing is more alien to peace than man. That is why God made his path narrow and cramped; He even combined not only the deeds of virtue, but also the deeds of everyday life with labor, and the latter much more so. And the sower, and the builder, and the traveler, and the woodcutter, and the artisan, and every person, if he wants to acquire something useful, must work and labor. And just as seeds need rain, so we need tears. Just as the earth needs to be plowed and dug, so the soul, instead of a spade, needs temptations and sorrows, so that it does not grow bad herbs, so that its cruelty is softened, so that it does not become proud. And the land, without careful cultivation, does not bring anything healthy. So, the meaning of the prophet’s words is as follows: one must rejoice not only in the return, but also in captivity, and for both, confess gratitude to God. This is sowing, and this is reaping. Just as those who sow after labor enjoy the fruits, so you, he says, when you went into captivity, were like those who sowed, experienced sorrows, labors, exhaustion, disasters, endured bad weather, war, rains, cold, and shed tears. What rain is to seeds, so are tears to those who suffer. But, he says, they received reward for these efforts. Thus, when he says: “those who go by the way or weep, throwing away their seeds, but those who come will come with joy, gathering their sheaves” (Ps. 125:6), he is not talking about bread, but about deeds, teaching the listener not to lose heart in suffering. Just as a sower does not lose heart, although he faces many difficulties, imagining a bountiful harvest, so a sufferer should not lose heart, even though he encounters many sorrowful things, awaiting the harvest, imagining the fruits that come from suffering. Knowing this, we too will thank the Lord for both suffering and peace. Although the circumstances are different, everything together and each separately is directed towards one end, just like sowing and harvesting; Let us endure disasters courageously and with gratitude, and peace with praise, so that we may be worthy of future blessings, the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The psalms in the text are translated by P. Yungerov - Editorial office of the ABC of Faith Another translator (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.) says: “when the Lord returns captivity, we will be comforted” (έπιστέψη ... έσόμεθα). You might be interested in: