Беседа 47 на псалом 137 108

Ps.137:1. Psalm of David. Haggai and Zechariah. I will confess to You, O Lord, with all my heart, and before the Angels I will sing to You, for You have heard all the words of my mouth. What does it mean: “I will sing to You before the Angels” (Ps. 137:1)? “It’s up to us to be heard by God.” – “You have magnified Your holy name above all..., increase your care for me, for my soul” (Ps. 137:2-3). - Calling all rulers of the earth to thank the Lord. – “And let them sing to the ways of the Lord” (Ps. 137:5). – The Lord foresees the future far and saves those in need, like a merciful Creator. 1. I often talked with you about this; Therefore, leaving this aside, let’s move on to the next one. What does it mean: “I will sing to You before the Angels”? Another translator (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.) says: “with boldness, O God, I will sing to you” (παρρησία ... άσω σε). Third (Aquila): “before the gods I will sing to you” (έναντι θεων μελψδήσω σοι). If he is talking about heavenly angels, then his words have the following meaning: I will try to sing along with the angels, I will compete with them, I will rejoice along with the heavenly powers; although I am different from them by nature, I will try through my diligence to become equal to them. If we accept these words according to the explanation of other translators, then, it seems to me, he is talking about priests. Scripture usually calls the priest both an angel and a god; then it says: “Do not curse the judges and do not revile the ruler of your people” (Ex. 22:28), then: “The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and the law shall be sought from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 2:7). Thus, if we accept the latter, then what has been said must be understood as follows: with the priests, in their presence, when they begin and precede, and I will go with due decorum, follow them and sing to You. “For You have heard all the words of my mouth.” Do you see great gratitude? Do you see the intense attention? Not like some of the careless and absent-minded people who are zealous before receiving, but careless after receiving - he begins diligently even before receiving, and after receiving, he incessantly thanks. And from the fact that he was heard by God, it is clear that he performed pure and excellent prayer, because then we are especially heard when our prayer is pleasing to Him. So, it is up to us to be heard. When we ask for what God is worthily able to give, when we ask with earnestness; when we ourselves make ourselves worthy of receiving, then He hears the prayer and gives what we ask for. “I will worship Your holy church and confess Your name for Your mercy and Your truth, for You have magnified Your holy name above all” (Ps. 137:2). It is no small virtue when someone can enter a church and, upon entering, bow with a clear conscience. The point is not to bend the knee or enter the church, but to enter with a diligent soul and an attentive mind, so as to remain in it not only with the body, but also with the soul. It is no small virtue to worship the God of all as one should worship. If this is considered a virtue before kings, then much more before the God of all. “And I confess Your name for Your mercy and Your truth.” What does it mean? I will thank You, he says, for the fact that I have experienced Your great care, because it was not because of my own merits that I was worthy to return to my fatherland and see the church, but because of Your mercy and Your love for mankind. For this I will worship You, for this “I confess Your name”, because You soon returned me from there, worthy of execution and torture and worth living permanently in a foreign country. “For You have magnified Your holy name above all.” The meaning of these words is as follows: not only will I give thanks for your good deeds, but also for Your ineffable glory itself, for your boundless greatness, for your incomprehensible nature. “For You have magnified, He says, Your holy name above all,” i.e. good deeds, elements - what is in heaven, what is on earth, deeds in relation to enemies, deeds in relation to one’s own. There is not a single part of creation, above and below, that does not proclaim the greatness of Your name louder than the trumpet. Whether we imagine angels, or archangels, or demons, or the insensible elements, stones, seeds, the sun, the moon, the earth, the seas, or fish and birds, or lakes, springs, rivers - Your great name appears in everything. Another translator (unknown, see Orig. Ex.) instead of: “You have magnified your holy name above all,” says: because “you have magnified your word above all your names” (υπερ πάντα τὰ νόματά σου τὴν ρη ΅ σιν σου). Third (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): “Thy saying” (λόγιον). “When I call on You, quickly hear me: by Your power increase your care for me, for my soul” (Ps. 137:3). Another (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): “on the day on which I called you, you heard me” (επεκαλεσάμην ... επήκουσας). God promised this, saying: “Then you will call, and the Lord will hear; You will cry out, and He will say: “Here I am!” (Isa.58:9); This is what the prophet asks. Such are souls in sorrow: they want to quickly see deliverance from disasters. “By Your power, increase your care for me, for my soul.” Another (Symmachus): “you have awakened strength in my soul” (συνέστης ... δυνάμεις), as before, instead of: hear me, another translator said: heard me. What do these words mean? Sublime (μετέωρα) is called everything high, from the verb: αιρεσθαι (to rise upward), and the elevations of the sea (μετεωρισμοὶ) are called its waves and uplifts, from αιρεσθαι. Therefore, multiply means: you will exalt me, you will exalt me. He said the same thing in another place: “According to Your height You have increased the care of the sons of men” (Ps. 11:9), i.e. exalted, exalted. So here he says: multiply to express: You will fill me with great joy, you will make my soul exalted and, most importantly, you will not allow this exaltation of mine, this joy of mine to be fleeting, but you will make it strong, durable, firm and immovable. This is what it means: “By Your power, increase your care for me, for my soul.” 2. The meaning of these words is as follows: You will exalt me ​​with strength, exalt me ​​with strength and help me. That is why another translator, expressing this same thing, said: “You have awakened strength in my soul.” He said well: in my soul. This is especially characteristic of God - to encourage souls in the midst of sorrow, as was the case with the apostles. They were scourged, but they returned with joy (Acts 5:41): so exalted was their soul! This is the primary work of God’s power, this primarily demonstrates His power - not to allow the soul to fall in the midst of disasters. “Let all the kings of the earth confess You, O Lord, for they have heard all the words of Your mouth” (Ps. 137:4). Look at his gratitude. He is not content with giving thanks himself, but also calls on all rulers to participate in gratitude, and even crowned princes. Although their power and strength is great, he says, they should all thank You for what they have done for others. Expressing this, he adds: “Have I heard all the words of Your mouth?” If they give thanks, they will receive great gain and benefit from this. Your gifts are so open to everyone that whoever wants can participate in them and use them. And the kingdom cannot bring as much benefit to people as hearing Your words. For them this is security, this is strength, this is decoration, this is splendor, this is kingdom, this is the splendor and power of power. “And let them sing to the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord” (Ps. 137:5). If you read: in Your ways, then what is said means: in Your laws, in Your commandments. If - “the ways of the Lord”, then: let them, he says, narrate, glorify, proclaim Your glorious deeds - this is exactly what the word means: “let them sing.” “For great is the glory of the Lord,” i.e. known to everyone, clear to everyone, obvious to everyone, ready to benefit everyone, so everyone owes her gratitude. “For the Lord is high and looks down on the lowly and knows from afar the exalted” (Ps. 137:6). High by nature, high in essence. But here it is also said in relation to Jewish service and not in the strict sense; and then he explains this and inspires a deep thought in the humble listener. What does it mean: “he knows the exalted from afar”? This speaks of foreknowledge, which is especially characteristic of the power of God. That is why God often refutes the error of idolaters in the prophets. Another translator (Aquila) says: “and he recognizes what is lifted up from afar” (επηρμένον ... διαγινώσκει). Third (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): “and the sublime” (μετεώρον). Since he said: “The Lord is exalted and looks at the lowly,” he adds: “He knows the exalted from afar,” in order to show that God not only knows the high, but also at a great distance, i.e. before it came true, before it was fulfilled, before it was realized in practice. “If I walk in the midst of sorrow, You will give me life: You stretched out Your hand against my wrathful enemies, and Your right hand saved me” (Ps. 137:7). He didn’t say: you will drive away sorrow; but: in the midst of the sorrows themselves you will revive me, i.e. you can save in the midst of danger itself. It is both amazing and extraordinary that at the very time when disasters and enemies surround you, you can put a person surrounded by them in safety. “You have stretched out Your hand against my wrathful enemies.” Another (Symmachus): “You will strike against the breath of my enemies” (αναπνοης ... εκτενεις). Do you see the greatest power extending on both sides? And I, he says, who am in the midst of disasters, You can save, and they, who are raging, raging and breathing fire, can humble and tame them. “And Your right hand saved me.” Another (Symmachus): “and your right hand will save me” (σώσει), i.e. Thy strength, Thy strength. Truly God has all the ways and all the means, and from a desperate situation He can lead to salvation. “The Lord will reward me; Lord, Your mercy endures forever; do not despise the works of Your hands” (Ps. 137:8). Another (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.): “will give” (συντελέσει). Third (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): “will pay” (επιτελέσει), i.e. will take revenge on his enemies. He did not say: take revenge, but: “will repay” in order to show that, although the debt is mine, He will satisfy and pay, because He is philanthropic. This can also be attributed to what Christ has done for us. He repaid for us. “Lord, Your mercy endures forever; do not despise the works of Your hands.” He gives two reasons for receiving mercy: one is that God is merciful and good, and is constantly merciful, so that His love for mankind is never interrupted, ceases or decreases; and the other is that He is the Creator and Creator. But if on these grounds we ask for salvation for ourselves, then on our part we must show something worthy of mercy. “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,” He says (Rom. 9:15). He does not show mercy indiscriminately, but He also makes some distinctions. If He had mercy indiscriminately, then no one would be punished. So, let us do what is due, not only in order to receive mercy, but also because we were created by God. He who was created by God and has such a Creator and King must lead a life worthy of His care and such providence. If we do this, we will receive future blessings, which may we all be worthy of, by 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 You might be interested in: