Беседа 50 на псалом 140 112

Ps.140:1–2. Psalm of David. Lord, I called to You, hear me, listen to the voice of my prayer when I cry to You. Let my prayer rise up like incense before You, let the lifting of my hands be (like) the evening sacrifice. A reproach to the listeners for not understanding the meaning of this psalm; its important meaning, as well as the other – morning (Ps. 62). – What appeal does God hear? What does the prophet teach when speaking about the evening sacrifice? – What is suggested by the comparison of prayer with incense? – The psalmist’s first request is for the wise use of the gift of speech; what should and should not be said; examples of ill-timed silence and the saving use of the word. – What do you mean by “protection of lips”? The destruction of idle words, treacherous kisses, words of murmuring against God's Providence. It is necessary to protect not only the lips, but even before that – the thought. “Do not turn my heart aside to evil words, to make excuses for sin” (Ps. 141:4). – The company of vicious people must be avoided, and the reproofs of the righteous must be accepted. “But my prayer (let it not be) is in their favor. They were devoured near the stone of their judges” (Ps. 141:5–6). – The psalmist’s expectation of a better future, when the instructions of the righteous will be accepted and, despite extreme disasters, hope in God will be established. – Prayer for deliverance from the secret machinations of the wicked and the hope that the latter will be defeated. – “I will remain alone until I pass over” (Ps. 140:10). 1. One might say that everyone knows the words of this psalm and constantly sings it at any age, but they do not understand their meaning. This deserves no small condemnation - to sing every day and pronounce words with your lips, and not try to delve into the power of the thoughts contained in the words. He who sees clean and transparent water cannot resist approaching, taking it and drinking it, and he who often goes to the meadow cannot leave there without collecting several flowers; and you, from an early age to a very old age, continuing to repeat this psalm, you know only its words, you are sitting at a closed treasure, you carry a closed wallet with you, and even out of curiosity, none of you tried to find out what these words mean, no one examined, did not delve into. Meanwhile, it cannot be said that this psalm is clear and puts everyone to sleep, so that there is nothing left to explore in it, since everything is in plain sight. No, it is unclear, and is able to wake up someone who is falling asleep, and even someone who is already fast asleep. What does it mean, for example: “do not turn my heart aside to evil words”? What does it mean: “the righteous will guide me with mercy and reprove me”? And the next thing, tell me, is it not darker than any darkness? “But my prayer (may it not be) in favor with them. Their judges were devoured near the stone; my words were heard, for they were powerful” (Ps. 140:4-6). But despite the fact that there is so much that is unclear in this psalm, many skim through it without paying attention, as if it were some kind of song. However, so as not to make our words heavy by spreading too much reproach, let us begin to explain what was said. Listen with attention, because, I think, the fathers established to read this psalm every evening not in vain and not for the one expression found in it: “the lifting of my hands - let it be (as) the evening sacrifice.” The same expression is found in other psalms, such as: “evening and morning and at noon I will tell and proclaim, and He will hear my voice” (Ps. 54:18); and again: “Your is the day and Yours is the night” (Ps. 73:16); and again: “Weeping may endure in the evening, but joy in the morning” (Ps. 29:6); and many psalms can be found suitable for the evening time. Consequently, this is not why the fathers chose this psalm, but commanded to read it as some kind of saving medicine and a means for cleansing sins, so that whatever we were defiled by during the day, being in the square, or at home, or in some other place, we would cleanse at the onset of evening through this spiritual song. She is the medicine that destroys all such things. Such is the morning psalm - nothing prevents us from briefly mentioning it - it ignites love for God, arouses the soul and, having strongly inflamed it and filled it with great goodness and love, in such a disposition allows us to get down to business. Let's see how it begins and what it teaches us. “Oh my God! I turn to You in the morning; my soul has thirsted for You” (Ps. 62:2). Do you see how he speaks the words of an inflamed soul? And where there is love for God, all evil flees from there; where there is memory of God, there is forgetting of sins and the cessation of evil. “So I would appear to You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory!” (Ps.62:3). What does “so” mean? With such devotion, he says, with such love, to see Your glory, which can be seen everywhere on earth. But so that we, leaving what is at hand, do not occupy ourselves with outsiders, we refer the listener to what is said about this psalm, and we ourselves turn to what is proposed now. What does the prophet say? “Lord, I cried to You, hear me.” What, tell me, are you saying? Is it because you called out, demand to be heard, and present this reason as sufficient for you to be heard? Therefore, people with loud and strong voices are now needed? But this would be unfounded. What sin has the one who has a weak and quiet voice and a slow tongue sinned? Wasn’t Moses like this, and yet he was heard most quickly? Didn't the Jews cry out the most, and yet God did not answer their prayers? A strong and weak voice is the perfection and flaw of nature; but this does not serve as a basis for either being heard or not being heard, because it deserves neither praise nor blame. There are many natural perfections in vicious people. Was not Absalom handsome and beautiful, and did not the beauty of his body extend even to the curls of his hair? So what? Wasn't Elisha bald, so that the children laughed at him? But beauty brought no benefit to the former, nor did ugliness harm the latter. What am I talking about a weak voice, or a slow tongue, when both the silent Moses and the silent Hannah were heard? And turning to the Jews, God said: “When you multiply your prayers, I do not hear” (Is. 1:15). What does the Psalmist express with the words: “Lord, I have cried to You, hear me”? He means here an internal appeal, which is uttered by an inflamed heart and a contrite spirit, which, uttering, Moses was heard. Just as a person who calls with his voice strains all his strength, so he who calls with his heart strains all his mind. 2. God requires such an appeal, an appeal that comes from the heart and does not allow the singer to yawn and have fun. However, not only does He require such an appeal, but also prayer to Him. There are many people who stand and do not cry out to God; their lips cry out to God and pronounce the name of God, but their minds do not understand a single word. Such a person does not cry out, although he pronounces the words loudly, and does not pray to God, although he seems to be praying to Him. Not so - Moses; he cried and was heard; That’s why God said to him: “Why are you crying out to Me?” ( Ex. 14:15 )? And not only when he cried out, but also when he was silent, he received what he wanted, because he turned out to be worthy of being heard. If you want to see sinners who prayed earnestly, cried out loudly and received what they asked for, then look at the harlot who prayed silently; Look at the publican, who was justified by one prayer. This is how the Psalmist also calls out, which is why he says: “Lord, I have called to You, hear me”; That's why he asks to be heard. "When I Call on You". Look at another virtue of his prayer. Not because he asks to be heard because he prays fervently, but also because he brings a prayer worthy of the ever-watchful eyes of God. What kind of prayer is this? The one when someone prays not against enemies, not for wealth and profit, not for power and glory, and not for any of the perishable blessings, but for incorruptible and eternal blessings. “Seek first, says the Lord, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). "When I Call on You". Do you see how he wants us to cry out with zeal, with zeal? Indeed, at this particular time, the devil is plotting us intrigues. He knows that prayer is the greatest weapon, and that, even if we were sinners and worthy of condemnation, we can accomplish much if we pray with zeal and in accordance with the laws of God; That’s why he then tries to instill carelessness in us and instill vicious thoughts in order to make prayer fruitless for us. Knowing this, we must protect our zeal from it and never pray against our enemies, but imitate the apostles. They, having endured thousands of disasters, being in chains, exposed to extreme danger, resorted to prayer and said: “look at their threats.” And then what? They did not say: crush or kill them, as many often say with curses; no, what? “Grant to Your servants to speak Your word with all boldness.” How and in what way? Is it not by killing opponents? Is it not their destruction and destruction? No, but how? “How You stretch out Your hand to heal and to do signs and wonders in the name of Your Holy Son Jesus” (Acts 4:29, 30). Do you see a prayer filled with wisdom, in which even after such disasters no punishment is asked for enemies? But they prayed this way while they were still alive and had breath; and Stefan, already leaving his present life, not only did not ask harm to his enemies, but also tried to save those who threw stones at him and killed him with their prayer from the wrath of God for such their iniquity and cried out: “Lord! Do not count this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). What kind of forgiveness can there be, what justification can there be for those who pray against their enemies? How can such a prayer be heard when it is offered contrary to the commandments of God? Let's not say anything like that. Not only should we not pray against our enemies, but we should even destroy our anger against them; That’s why the apostle says: “I desire that men say prayers in every place, lifting up clean hands without anger or doubting” (1 Tim. 2:8); those. if you have an enemy, then destroy your anger, and thus approach the Lord, and not only do not say anything against him with your lips, but also cleanse your soul from this poison. If this is your prayer, and if you diligently call on God, then before you finish your prayer you will be heard. This is what the Psalmist asks when he says: “Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry to You.” And God himself promised this: “you will call..., He says, and He will say: “Here I am!” (Isa.58:9). “Let my prayer rise up like incense before You.” Another (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.): “let my prayer be placed like a censer before you” (ταχθήτω). Third (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): “let it be prepared” (έτοιμασθήτω). “The lifting up of my hands shall be (as) the evening sacrifice.” Another (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): “evening gift” (δωρον). Third (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): "evening offering" (προσφρὰ). What does the prophet want to teach us by talking about the evening sacrifice? In ancient times there were two altars: one made of copper, the other of gold; the first was nationwide, appointed for almost all the sacrifices of the people; and the latter was in the sanctuary, behind the veil. But in order to make what we have said clearer, we will try to present this subject from the beginning. The Jews in ancient times had a church forty cubits long and twenty wide. Ten cubits of this length were separated inside by a curtain, and the separated part was called: the Holy of Holies; and that which was outside the veil is simply: holy. And everything shone with gold. 3. Some say that the top plank (of that altar) was forged of gold. One high priest entered there once a year; there was both an ark and cherubim; there stood the golden altar, on which incense was offered, and which was built for nothing other than incense. This happened once a year. In the outer church there was a copper altar; on it every evening a lamb was brought and burned. This was called the evening sacrifice, because there was also a morning sacrifice, and the altar in the church had to be lit twice a day, in addition to other sacrifices offered by the people. The priests were commanded and decreed by law, when no one offered, to offer and burn one lamb in the morning and one in the evening; the first sacrifice was called the morning sacrifice, and the last the evening sacrifice. This was commanded to do by God, who inspired by this that one must serve Him unceasingly, both at the beginning and at the end of the day. Such a sacrifice and such incense were always pleasing to God; and the sacrifice for sins was sometimes favorable, sometimes unfavorable, depending on whether those who offered it were disposed towards virtue or vice; on the contrary, what was offered not for the sins of others, but as a legalized sacred rite and ordinary service, was always favorable. So the Psalmist asks that his prayer be like this sacrifice, not desecrated by any uncleanness of the offerer, like this pure and holy incense. With such a petition, he teaches us to offer pure and fragrant prayers. This is the truth; on the contrary, sin is stinking. That is why, showing the stench of sin, he says: “For my iniquities have gone beyond my head, like a heavy burden they have weighed me down” (Ps. 37:5). Just as incense in itself is good and fragrant, but especially emits a fragrance when it is placed on the fire, so prayer in itself is good, but it is better and more fragrant when it is brought from the soul by flaming zeal, when the soul becomes a censer and ignites a strong fire in itself, incense was not put on before the fire was laid out or the coals flared up; Do the same with your soul: first inflame it with jealousy, and then put prayer into it. The prophet asks that his prayer be like a censer, and the raising of his hands like an evening sacrifice, because both are pleasing to God. How? If both are pure, if both are undefiled - both the tongue and the hands - these are clean from covetousness and theft, and the other is free from slander. Just as there should be nothing unclean in the censer, but only fire and incense, so the mouth should not utter a single foul word, but words filled with holiness and praise; also the hands should be a censer. Let your mouth be a censer, and be careful not to fill it with dung. This is what those who utter shameful and unclean words do. Why did the Psalmist not say: morning sacrifice, but: evening sacrifice? It seems to me that this is said indifferently. If he had said: morning, then a curious person would have asked: why didn’t he say: evening? If anyone wants to hear not just out of curiosity, then I will say that the morning sacrifice still awaits the evening one, and the evening one completes the sacred rite, and after its completion the daily service does not remain, as it were, unfinished, but has already been completed and has received an end. What does raising hands during prayer mean? Since the hands serve as instruments in the commission of many evil deeds, such as beatings, murders, theft, covetousness, therefore we ourselves are commanded to raise them, so that serving in prayer would be for them an obstacle to evil and abstinence from vice, so that you, intending to steal or appropriate something, or kill another, and remembering that you will stretch out your hands, as if intercessors before God, and with them bring spiritual sacrifice, did not disgrace them and did not make them unrequited from serving vicious deeds. So, cleanse them with alms, philanthropy, helping those in need, and then extend them to prayer. If you do not allow yourself to begin prayer with unwashed hands, then even more so you should not defile them with sins. If you fear the less, then fear the more. It is not so rude to pray with unwashed hands; and stretching out hands defiled by many sins brings on the great wrath of God. 4. We must also reason regarding the mouth and tongue, and we must keep them inaccessible to vice and use them for prayer. If the one who has a golden vessel does not dare to turn it to low use because of the preciousness of its substance, then much less we, having lips more precious than gold and pearls, should not defile them with shameless, vile, slanderous and abusive words. You offer incense not on a copper or golden altar, but on something much more precious, in the spiritual church. There is soulless substance there; and God dwells in you, you are the member and body of Christ. “Set, O Lord, a guard for my lips and a door for the guarding of my mouth” (Ps. 140:3). Having asked the Lord that his prayer be heard and favorable, look at what first request the prophet brings, what kind of prayer. He did not say: give me wealth, give me honors from people, give me victory over my enemies, give me children; He doesn’t ask for anything like that, but, leaving it all lying on the ground, he asks for what he should ask from God. How, you say, isn’t it necessary to ask for bodily benefits? It is necessary, but in moderation, as Jacob said: “if [the Lord] God... gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear” (Gen. 28:20), and as Christ commanded us to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). And, first of all, one must ask for spiritual benefits. This is what the Psalmist does: “Set, says, O Lord, a guardianship for my mouth.” Do you see his wisdom? Do you see his wisdom? Where does he start his petition? From the greatest of good deeds, which, if neglected, becomes the cause of all evils, and if done zealously, becomes the cause of good. Indeed, a lot of evil is caused by the talkativeness of the tongue, and on the contrary, its abstinence causes a lot of good. Just as there is no benefit from a house, a city, walls, doors, gates, if there are no guards and people who know when to lock them and when to open them, so there will be no benefit from the tongue and lips if the mind is not trained to open and close them with precision and great discretion, and to know what needs to be said and what to keep inside. Not so many, says the Wise One, “have fallen by the edge of the sword... as those who have fallen by the tongue” (Sir.28:21); and Christ says: “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11); and another: “Make a weight and a measure for your words, and a door and a lock for your mouth” (Sir.28:29). The psalmist, knowing that this matter is very difficult, adds a prayer and calls on God for help. However, the Wise One expresses the same thing when he says: “Who will give me... the seal of prudence on my lips” (Sir.22:31)? And we need to do our part; That’s why he speaks about this in the form of a commandment: “Make... for your mouth a door and a bolt”; We must also ask for God’s help so that our zeal will be fulfilled in practice. Let us constantly guard our lips, having put in place our minds like a bolt, not so that they are always closed, but so that they are opened at the appropriate time. Sometimes silence is more useful than words, and sometimes words are better than silence. Therefore, the Wise One says: “a time to be silent, and a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:7). If the lips were to be constantly open, there would be no need for a door for them; and if they were to be permanently closed, there would be no need for storage. Why keep something that is locked? In order for the door and storage to ensure that we do everything at the proper time. And another says: “Make weight and measure for your words” (Sir. 28:29), demanding even greater accuracy - so that we not only pronounce the words as we should, but with due care, so to speak, weigh and discuss them. If we do this with gold and perishable matter, then it is all the more necessary to do this with words, so that there is no shortage or excess in them. That is why the Wise One says: “Do not withhold your word when it can help” (Sir.4:27). Do you see the time when the words are spoken? And in another place, pointing to the time of silence, he says: “If you have knowledge, then answer your neighbor, and if not, then let your hand be on your lips” (Sir.5:14). Also: “he who speaks many words becomes disgusted” (Sir.20:8). “Better is a man who hides his foolishness than a man who hides his wisdom” (Sir.20:31). “You have heard the word, let it die with you: do not be afraid, it will not destroy you” (Sir.19:10). Also: “a fool suffers from a word the same torment as a woman in labor suffers from a baby” (Sir.19:11). Further, he says about the measure of words: “speak, young man, if you need, barely two words, when you are asked, say the main thing, a lot in a few words. Be like one who knows and, at the same time, like one who knows how to remain silent” (Sir.32:9, 10). Truly, a lot of caution is required in order to master a language and use it completely safely. That’s why he also says: “There is reproof, but at the wrong time, and it happens that someone is silent, and he is prudent; another is silent and turns out to be wise” (Sir.19:28; Sir.20:5). It is necessary not only to remain silent and speak at the right time, but also with great grace, which is why Paul says: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4:6). Think that this is the member with which we converse with God, with which we offer His praise; this is the member with which we accept the terrible Sacrifice. The faithful know what I'm talking about. Therefore, it is necessary that he be clean from all condemnation, censure, foul language, and slander. If any bad thought is born in us, then we must suppress it inside and not allow it to turn into words. If cowardice makes you grumble, then you need to destroy this root, hold the door tightly and guard it strictly. And vicious desires should not be allowed to be born, and those that are emerging should not be suppressed inside and dried up at the very root. 5. Job had such control of his tongue, which is why he did not utter a single obscene word, but was mostly silent, and when he had to answer his wife, he uttered words filled with wisdom. Then you should only speak when words are more useful than silence. That is why Christ said: “For every idle word that people speak, they will give an account on the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). And Paul: “Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth” (Eph. 4:29). And how you can keep this door safe and keep it strictly, listen to another about this, who says: “every conversation you have is in the law of the Most High” (Sir.9:20). If you learn not to say anything superfluous, but to constantly protect both your thoughts and lips with conversation from the Divine Scriptures, then your guardianship will be stronger than adamant. There are many ways of destruction through the mouth, for example, when someone curses, when he mocks, when he talks idlely, when he boasts, like the Pharisee, who, having no guard over his lips, in a few words poured out everything that was inside him, and therefore, like a house without a door, unable to hold on to the treasure that was in it, suddenly became poor. Another, look, died through vanity when he said: “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God” (Is. 14:13). And Jews sometimes, because they rejoiced at the misfortunes of their neighbors, hear: “Everyone who does evil is good in the eyes of the Lord”; sometimes they are reproached for grumbling and saying: “Those who commit iniquity do better, even though they tempt God. And now we consider the arrogant happy.” So it is written in the book (Mal.2:17; Mal.3:15). Others perished through murmuring, as Paul says: let us not grumble, “as some of them grumbled and died by the destroyer” (1 Cor. 10:10). When did they grumble? When they said: “Are there no tombs in Egypt, because you brought us to die in the desert?” ( Ex. 14:11 ). Others through ridicule: they ate and drank, “and then they stood up to play” (Ex. 32:6). Others through slander: “Everyone who is angry with his brother without cause is subject to judgment; Whoever says to his brother, “cancer,” will be subject to the Sanhedrin” (Matthew 5:22). And others, in much greater numbers, perished in other ways, not keeping their mouths. If you want to hear how some perished through untimely silence, I will show you. “If you do not admonish him and speak to warn the wicked..., said the Lord, I will require his blood at your hands” (Ezek. 3:18). And another - through what he says to everyone indiscriminately and throws away what is entrusted to him: “Do not give, said the Lord, holy things to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6). Another - through laughter, which is why it is said: “Woe to you who laugh now! for you will mourn and lament” (Luke 6:25). Do you see how lips destroy? Look how, on the contrary, lips save. Did you see the Pharisee who died through them? Look at the publican who was saved through them. Have you ever seen a foreigner who suffered punishment for vanity? Look at the humble righteous man who said: “I am dust and ashes” (Gen. 18:27). Have you ever seen someone rejoicing in the misfortunes of others, and for that reason condemned and punished? Look at the compassionate one who has received salvation - it is said: “Make a sign on the foreheads of people who mourn, who sigh” (Ezek.9:4). That is why Paul says: “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15); if you, he says, cannot do anything else, then you will bring considerable comfort to the mourner with your condolences. Have you ever seen someone laughing and crying for it? Look at someone who is grieving and receiving consolation. “Blessed are those who mourn, said the Lord, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Have you seen people who grumble and are punished for it? Look at the grateful - those who are saved. “Blessed are You, O Lord God..., says the prophet, praised and glorified is Your name forever. For You are righteous in all that You have done to us... and a little further: You have carried out true judgments in all that You have brought upon us” (Dan. 3:26, 27, 28). They said: “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord”; and these are the opposite: “It is not natural for Thy pure eyes to look at evil deeds” (Hab. 1:13). Those who pleased strangers, “those who commit iniquity arrange themselves better”; and this one pleases those who receive help from God: “Blessed,” he says, “is the people whose Lord is their God” (Ps. 143:15); and again: “Do not be jealous of the wicked and do not envy those who practice iniquity” (Ps. 36:1). Have you seen how the saints exhort others to persevere, and themselves remain steadfast in temptations? Listen to Jacob, who says: “And he will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear” (Gen. 28:20), and Abraham, who says: “I will not even take a thread or a shoe strap” (Gen. 14:23), and when the chastity of his wife was in danger, when hunger threatened him, he did not utter a single obscene word; also, when the son said to him: “My father! .. here is fire and wood, where is the lamb ... - look with what meekness and wisdom he says in response: God will provide for himself a lamb” (Gen. 22: 7, 8). Neither nature nor compassion forced him to change his intention at these words, which his son said, one on one, when love especially should have ignited with greater power. Lest anyone say that he did not cry, being ashamed of others, he, separating himself from everyone and being alone, showed such great wisdom. 6. Have you seen anyone punished for laughing? Look at those who are saved by tears and fasting, remembering the Ninevites. Have you seen anyone punished for slander? Look at those who receive the reward for the blessing. “He who blesses you is blessed, and he who curses you is cursed” (Num. 24:9). “Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44, 45). Do you see that one must neither shut one’s mouth completely nor always open it, but know the time for both? Knowing this, the prophet said: “Set, O Lord, a guard against my lips and a door to guard my lips.” What kind of barrier is this if not a thought that stands menacingly and holds fire in its hands, ready to burn those who use their lips recklessly? Set her as a gatekeeper and guardian, threatening conscience, and she will never open the door untimely, but in time, for benefit and for innumerable benefits. That is why someone said: “Remember your end, and you will never sin” (Sir.7:39). Do you see how this one suggests the same idea? And I made her more formidable by saying that she holds in her hands not only what happens at death, but also after death. If this is so, then no evil will be born in the soul. Compare with this another saying - that for every idle word you will give an answer on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:36). Remember that this is where death came from. If the wife had not spoken to the serpent about what she was talking about, if she had not accepted his words, then she herself would not have received harm, and she would not have given the fruit to her husband, and he would not have tasted it. I say this not to blame the tongue and lips - no - but their untimely use, which occurs from negligence of the mind. There is another way of destruction through the mouth, when there are shameful and unclean kisses, or treacherous and flattering kisses. And put storage on them. Such was the kiss of Judas, full of deceit. But this is not the kiss of Paul, with whom he commands to kiss each other: “Greet one another, he says, with a holy kiss” (2 Cor. 13:12). This was not the kiss between David and Jonathan, but holy, honest, filled with sincere love (1 Samuel 20:41). Such was the kiss of those who fell on Paul's neck and kissed him (Acts 20:37). That’s why the prophet says, “Lord, put a guard over my mouth and a door, not just a door, but adds: into a fence,” so that it will embrace everything and keep it safe. There is another kind of destruction through the tongue, when they say: why is this so, why was it done this way? Rebuking those who propose such foolish questions, Paul says: “Who are you, O man, that you argue with God?” (Rom.9:20)? However, it is necessary to protect not only the lips, but also the thought even before the lips. That’s why someone said: “Who will put a scourge on my thoughts... so that they will not spare my transgressions” (Sir.23:2)? That is why Christ destroys the very inner vicious thoughts when he says: “Whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her” (Matthew 5:28). Do you see how He does not allow either lust or anger to grow or even begin? “Whoever is angry with his brother..., He says, is subject to fiery hell” (Matthew 5:22). It also serves no little purpose for safety not to talk too much, which is why it is said: “With much talk, sin cannot be avoided, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19). “Do not turn my heart to evil words, to make up an excuse for sin, together with people who commit iniquity, and let me not unite with their chosen ones” (Ps. 141:4). Another (Symmachus): “Do not turn my heart into evil words, to think wicked thoughts” (μὴ παρατρέψης ... έννοειν εννοίας παρανόμους). Why did the prophet change the order of speech, and spoke first about the lips, and then moved to the heart? He did this not in vain and not by accident. Just as those who have supervision over prisoners planning to escape, the first thing they do is to hold the doors of the prison tightly, and everyone takes care of this, and when this is done, the rest is easy to do, so the Psalmist does the same here and in his prayer seems to say this: let the doors be closed, and evil thoughts will soon be tamed. Therefore, just as he stops incoming thoughts from the outside at the very beginning, he also destroys their evil root: “Do not, he says, turn away my heart to evil words,” he says not because God deviates - let him not - but in this sense: do not allow me to deviate, do not allow me to turn to vicious thoughts. Indeed, there – in the heart – is the source of virtue and vice. What are the “evil words”? Many and different. Such are the words of those who plot intrigues, blaspheme God, turn away from virtue, pursue vice, eagerly listen to corrupt teachings and sinful lives, words emanating from great wickedness. But just as there are “evil” words and thoughts, so there are also words of “life.” That’s why the disciples said to Christ: “Lord! who should we go to? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Words of life are those that bring life; words of salvation are those that bring salvation. That is why the Wise One says: “Do not withhold your word when it can help” (Sir.4:27). And “evil words” make those who utter them evil. 7. Just as air can be harmful and contagious, so can words. What produces air in the body, so do words in the soul that receives them. Therefore, the prophet, continuing his speech, prays and says: do not allow him to deviate there. Do you see how he points to the free will of the soul, to the fact that nature itself does not contain vice, but accepts it, carried away by carelessness? “Fabrications of apology for sin ah.” This especially serves as a path to destruction when either the sinning soul itself, having rejected fear, invents pretexts for carelessness, or when another, wanting to tear out a feeling of contrition from someone who has committed adultery, says: “Are you guilty? “Lust is to blame.” To sin is evil; but an even graver evil is to deny it after committing a sin. This in particular is the weapon of the devil. So it was with the primitive people. Whereas Adam should have confessed his sin, he places the blame on his wife, and she then blames it on the devil. Then, as he should say: “committing lawlessness,” others are not only not recognized, but also constitute an excuse. The devil, knowing that confession of sin is deliverance from sin, inclines the soul to shameless stubbornness. But you, beloved, when you sin, say: I have sinned. There is nothing more just than such an excuse. In this way you will appease God; Thus, you will make yourself slower to commit the same sins. And if you begin to look for empty excuses and free your soul from fear, you will strengthen the disposition in it to again indulge in the same sins and greatly anger God. No one who has sinned lacks shameless excuses. A murderer may refer to his irritability, a thief to poverty, an adulterer to lust, another to power; but all these are unfounded pretexts that do not represent any valid justification. Sins do not come from them, but from the will of those who sin. And that this is really so, I will explain with examples that are close to the point. If there is another person who spends his life in poverty, has lust, is subject to all the needs of nature, and yet does not fall into such sins, then what justification can they have? One Wise One said well: “Who will put a scourge on my thoughts and on the heart of my teacher in wisdom, so that they do not spare my transgressions and do not condone their errors” (Sir. 23:2)? Look: David, having sinned, does not justify himself, but says: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). Although he could have said: why did this woman expose herself, why did she wash herself before my eyes? - but he knew that this would be an unfounded excuse, and therefore resorts to a direct justification and says: “I sinned.” Saul did not do this, but being reproached for resorting to a sorceress, he said: “It is very hard for me; The Philistines are fighting against me” (1 Samuel 28:15); That's why he was severely punished. Then what should have been said: he sinned, committed iniquity, he did not say this, but tried to evade, presenting empty pretexts. "With people who commit iniquity". By adding this, the prophet shows that such people are especially likely to look for excuses and be shameless. This is why David often presents it as a virtue to avoid such societies, and even begins the book itself with this: “blessed is the man who did not go into the assembly of the wicked, and did not stand in the way of sinners, and did not sit in the company of the destroyers” (Ps. 1:1). Therefore, you yourself see him always confessing his sins. So, when he listed the people, he said: “Behold, I have sinned, I [the shepherd] have acted lawlessly” (2 Samuel 24:17). Didn’t say: what’s wrong with the fact that I made a transfer? - but he condemned himself, and for that he received forgiveness. Truly, nothing appeases God more than confession of sins. And this happens when they avoid societies that drown out the fear of sins and encourage carelessness. That is why both Paul and Jeremiah talk a lot about this and both command to avoid communication with vicious and careless people. Job also considers this among the virtues when he says: “If I walked in vanity, and if my foot hastened into wickedness” (Job 31:5). And this one testifies to himself that he did not even sit with them: “I did not sit,” he says, “in a vain assembly” (Ps. 25:4). That’s why Paul even forbids eating food with the wicked and having any kind of communication with them: “If anyone does not listen to our word in this epistle, take note of him and do not communicate with him, so as to shame him” (2 Thess. 3:14). “And let me not unite with their chosen ones.” Another (Symmachus): “and I will not eat their sweets with them” (μηδὲ συμφάγοιμι τὰ ήδέα). Third (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.): “I will not participate in their pleasures” (μὴ συναυλισθω εν ταις τερπνότησιν). Here he, in agreement with the apostle, expresses that one should avoid the pleasures and feasts of people, where sin especially increases, where there is a lot of shamelessness. 8. An important sign of virtue, an important means of correction is to avoid such feasts and societies, not to maintain friendship with them, not to weaken the strength of the soul and not to lose the strength of wisdom by subservience to the stomach. Many, respecting such friendship, drowned in the abyss of drunkenness, fell into adultery, ignited the fire of voluptuousness in themselves, running through feasts and spectacles filled with great wickedness. And the Psalmist testifies to himself that he moved away from such societies, that he did not even participate in their meals. “The righteous will guide me kindly and reprove me; but let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head, but neither shall my prayer be accepted with them” (Ps. 140:5). Another (unknown, see Orig. Ex.): “Let the righteous strike me with mercy and convict me” (κατελασάτω ... ελεγζάτω). And this, together with the previous one, is an important type of virtue - not to avoid reproaches and reproaches from righteous people. The meaning of his words is as follows: in those societies in which they speak pleasantly to harm, I do not want to participate, but I would rather be with those that curb, correct, expose, expose sins, and punish. This is especially characteristic of mercy and philanthropy - to heal wounds. “Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head.” Do you see a soul that is akin to virtue? She gladly endures the reproaches of the righteous, but does not even accept pleasant words from the wicked. Why? Because the latter, showing favor, often destroy, and the former, denouncing and reproaching, correct, mercy is connected with the reproach of the former, and death is connected with the mercy of the latter. That’s why someone said: “Reproaches from someone who loves are sincere, and kisses from someone who hates are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6). Note, moreover, how the apostolic commandment is expressed here. “reprove, rebuke, exhort” (2 Tim. 4:2). This is the reproof of the saints, this is what doctors do - they not only cut off, but also bind. That is why Christ, wanting to make reproof acceptable, does not allow public reproach at the very beginning and says: “Go and reprove him between you and him alone” (Matthew 18:15). This is what Paul did, combining reproof with mercy and expressing himself either: “O foolish Galatians,” or “my children, it is good to always be zealous for good things” (Gal. 3:1; Gal. 4:18, 19). The one who reproaches must think a lot about it so that the reproof is accepted willingly; a lot of prudence is needed for the one who applies this medicine; It’s better to say that the one who accuses must have more wisdom than the one who cuts the body. Why? Because there one thing is cut, and the other suffers pain; here the soul itself is amazed and feels pain. “Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head.” What does it mean? This one, he says, is not looking for the benefit of the listener, but for his own, in order to seem pleasant and friendly; and he has in mind the benefit of another before his own pleasure; So in this respect they differ greatly from each other. If it is necessary to move away from wicked people even when they show mercy, then when should one allow them to come to oneself? Never. Even if the wicked offers money, even if he promises pleasures and honors, reject him and run away; but follow the righteous, even if he hurts you with words and reproaches you, because he is the one who loves you. “But my prayer (may it not be) in favor with them.” Another (Symmachus): “since my prayer is also between their atrocities” (εντὸς των κακιων). Third (Aquila): “since my prayer is also in view of their wickedness” (εν ταις πονηρίαις). The Prophet asked one thing from God, and represents another from himself, and thereby shows that people should not rely on prayer alone, indulging themselves in carelessness and sleep, but do what is due on their own part. What does he bring from himself? Not sheep, not oxen, not money, but meekness of morals and extreme disgust for the wickedness of the wicked. Not only, he says, will I avoid harmful favors, not only will I willingly accept the reproof of the righteous, but I will also rebel against the lusts of the wicked; I am so far from desiring their mercy that I even pray against their lusts. This means the words: “they were devoured near the stone of their judges, my words were heard, for they are powerful” (Ps. 141:6). Another (Symmachus): “they will crumble in the hand of a stone” (εκτιλήσοντι εν χειρὶ πέτρας). Here the prophet shows how vice is easily overcome, how quickly wickedness falls. The rulers themselves, he says, who controlled everything, perished. And he did not say: they perished, but: “they were devoured,” expressing that they perished so that not a trace of them was visible, as he also says about the wicked: “and I passed by, and behold he was not: and I sought him, and his place was not found” (Ps. 36:36). What does it mean: “near the stone”? Up close. The meaning of his words is as follows: just as a stone thrown into the sea cannot be seen, so their prosperity, disappearing, finally becomes invisible and completely perishes. Or is he expressing this, i.e. uncertainty, complete destruction, or strength, power, fortress. This is what the words mean: “they will crumble in the hand of a stone.” “My words were heard, for they are powerful.” Another (Aquila): "because they are fenced by guards" (εδορυφορήθησαν). Third (Symmachus): “because they are comely” (ευπροσωπίσθησαν). Those. they will learn by experience the pleasantness of my admonition and advice. How? Reproof from the righteous brings this fruit, and their instruction brings great pleasure. 9. This is virtue: it requires short-term labor, but gives eternal joy. “As a clod of earth disintegrates on earth, so their bones were scattered in hell” (Ps. 141:7). Another (Symmachus): “Like a farmer who tears up the earth, so are our bones scattered in the mouth of hell” ( Third (Aquila): “like one who cuts and tears up the earth, our bones are scattered in hell” (ομοίως αποκλωντι καὶ διασχίζοντι τὴν γην). Fourth (unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.): “like one who tills and digs on the earth, our bones are scattered in hell” (ώς καλλιεργων καὶ σκάπτων εν τη γη). Having said that his words contain a lot of pleasantness, the prophet also speaks about previous disasters. Although, he says, we suffered extreme misfortunes and, just as the earth is cut up and dug up, or scattered by a plow, so we were all scattered, perished and approached the very gates of death, but even in this state we would rather accept admonition and reproof from the righteous than mercy from sinners; and no matter what happens, we will remain in hope of You and will never cease to look to You. That is why the prophet adds: “But to You, O Lord, Lord, my eyes are (turned); I have trusted in You: take not away my soul” (Ps. 141:8). Even if, he says, countless calamities, wars, battles, deaths, the gates of hell befall us, we will not retreat from the sacred anchor, but we will hold on to the hope of Your help and, leaving weapons and militias, from here we will expect deliverance - from Your help. “I have trusted in You: do not take away my soul.” Another (Aquila): “do not exhaust” (μὴ έκκενώσης), i.e. do not let me go away without any good deed. “Keep me from the snare that is laid out for me, and from temptations (from) those who practice iniquity” (Ps. 141:9). He is talking here not just about intrigues, but about secret, hidden intrigues, which are difficult to guard against and notice, and against which higher help is especially needed. Therefore, he concludes his speech with a prayer, ending it with the same thing as he began. He shows that on his part he brings hope in God, constant turning to God, removal from wicked societies, hatred of their evil desires; and from God comes help, assistance, strength - to rise above the most difficult circumstances. This is how virtue is accomplished, i.e. when our efforts are brought in and God’s help assists. “Sinners will fall into their net, but I alone will remain until I cross (it)” (Ps. 140:10) 113. Whose hell will they fall into? In the middle of God himself, i.e. will be caught and defeated. Disasters befall the righteous for their correction and to stimulate their wisdom; and sinners, as incurably sick, for punishment and torment. “I will remain alone until I cross.” Another (Akilah): “I will be together as long as I pass” (αμα). Third (Theodotion and unknown translator, see Orig. Ex.): “with the same thing” (επὶ τὸ αυτὸ). Those. solitary, concentrated, undistracted, or, according to the translation of seventy commentators, separated from the wicked, alien to their society and, as it were, spending life alone, which constitutes the greatest type of virtue; and, moreover, not for one, two or three days, he says, I behave this way, but throughout my entire life. This is how virtue is protected, strengthened and increased - by moving away from the wicked, by being collected and concentrated in oneself throughout one’s life, and by living in solitude from corrupting people. It is not the desert that makes one solitary, but a wise will. In this way, those who live in cities, among the noise and marketplaces, can be solitary if they avoid depraved societies and cleave to the assemblies of the righteous. This is a safe path. So, whoever is able to correct others, let him deal with those who are disposed to accept medicine, and make them better; and whoever is weak should avoid wicked people, so as not to become infected from them. In this way, he will live his present life safely, and will receive future benefits, which may we all be worthy of 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 In Slavic: “in my mind”; the saint read: “him” (αυτο). You might be interested in: