Собеседование 11

1. The inscription of the prophecy is clear; Therefore, let us turn to the interpretation of the psalm. It does not contain a condemnation of the pagans, as some think, but a prophecy of what will happen to the Jews when the pagans receive their inheritance. "God! The pagans came into Your inheritance and desecrated Your holy temple" (Ps. 78:1). This happened to the Jews when Jerusalem was taken by the Assyrians, then by the Macedonians, and finally by the Romans. Since this is understandable, let us turn to the spiritual meaning of the prophecy. When the pagans entered into the inheritance of the Jews, i.e. received the knowledge of God, - because this is what the ancient the lot of the Jews, as Moses told them about this in Deuteronomy: “The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own people out of all the nations that are on the earth” (Deut. 7:6), - then they desecrated their holy church, located in ancient Jerusalem, - not in the sense that they themselves were the perpetrators of the desecration, but in the fact that they discovered the hidden desecration of the church, which was brought about by the wickedness of the priests in it. Just as a priest, who looked at an alleged leprosy and, after investigation, declared the disease, makes the sick person, as they say, unclean, not because he caused defilement (this is not characteristic of a priest), but because he declared the patient to be truly infected, so the pagans did the same with the Jews. The justification of the latter deprived the former of sanctity, and the disobedience of the ancient people became more obvious through the obedience of the new. “They turned Jerusalem into a vegetable storehouse” (Ps. 78:2). Why “to the vegetable store”? Because they, having received the spirit of the law and the prophets, retained for themselves only the fruits of the letter. And this was not the work of people, but of God, who wanted the evidence of our faith to be preserved by our enemies. The letter is rightly called an autumn fruit, because it does not provide true food, but transitory food. “You threw down the corpses of Your servants as food for the birds of the air, the bodies of Your saints as beasts of the earth” (Ps. 78:2). Birds of the air are often taken to have a bad meaning in divine Scripture. This is confirmed by the baker of Pharaoh, who, having seen in a dream the birds of the air pecking at the bread that he was carrying on his head, received the interpretation of the dream in the sense that his head would be taken away. The Church gave the corpses of Jews as food for these birds; in the same way, the bodies of the saints were given to the beasts of the earth. And these beasts are evil forces, as Isaiah clearly explained to us when he speaks of Babylon: “the beasts of the desert will dwell in it,” and indicates which ones: “and the houses will be filled with owls; and ostriches will dwell there, and shaggy ones will jump there” (Is. 13:21). There is nothing surprising in calling the Jews slaves, because the slave who hid his talent and served as their image was called a lazy and evil slave. If they had been good slaves, they would not have become corpses, i.e. would not have criminal thoughts and evil deeds. If the prophet also called them saints, then not by deeds, but by name, just as false prophets are often called prophets, although they do not prophesy in the name of God, just as they are saints who have received holy anointing, although they do not keep holy things. That is why Ezekiel, when he saw in a vision the destroyers of Jerusalem, heard the following words that God spoke to him: “Beat the old man, the young man and the maiden, the child and the women, to death, but touch not one person on whom is the mark, and begin at My sanctuary” (Ezekiel 9:6), because they were holy only in appearance, and not in reality; otherwise they would have had a sign and would not have been destroyed like the others. So now the prophet calls them saints by name; therefore their flesh, i.e. earthly affairs were eaten, as he figuratively says, by mental animals. Those who think only about earthly things are called flesh, as shown by the words of God when He wanted to bring the flood: “My Spirit will not forever be despised by men [these], because they are flesh” (Gen. 6:3). “They shed their blood like water around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them” (Ps. 78:3). 2. Their blood is spiritual sins, for which blood is the punishment. These sins spilled out like water, i.e. can no longer be corrected, just as spilled water cannot be collected. That is why the Tekoitite woman said to David: “We will die and be like water poured on the ground, which cannot be gathered together” (2 Sam. 14:14). Where did God shed it? “Around Jerusalem”, i.e. in it, destroying its inhabitants, because their blood is on them and their children, as the accusers of Christ themselves said. “And there was no one to bury them.” Why? Because they, being already dead, could not bury each other, and the Church could not bury them, i.e. covering up their sins is not allowed. What is the obstacle to this? The saying of God that says: “Let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22). Why? Because whoever tries to cover up sinners only more clearly reveals his shameful deeds to everyone. “We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a laughing stock and a reproach... to those around us” (Ps. 78:4). Neither poverty, nor plainness of appearance, nor illness, nor anything else is as shameful as sin, because it is a voluntary disease, a wound arising from the disposition of the will. Note the wisdom of the prophet: punishments, he says, came on them, that is, on those who sinned; but to reproach, he declares, He was also involved with them. If he was a prophet, then he was ashamed for those who did not believe the prophecy, if he was a priest, then for those who were sanctified by him, but then were subjected to punishment. For which neighbors did the Jews become a laughing stock, and for which others did they become a reproach and shame? them. “How long, Lord, will you be angry until the end? How long will Your zeal burn like fire?” (Ps. 78:5). The legislator Moses also pointed out this zeal of God in relation to the Jews, saying, “They have provoked Me with no God, they have grieved Me with their vanities: and I will provoke them with a foolish people, I will grieve them with a senseless people” (Deut. 32:21), and further adds: “For fire was kindled in My wrath” (Deut. 32:22). Since this wrath of God against the Jews served as the reason for the calling of the Gentiles (Paul says: “just as you were once disobedient to God, but now have received mercy because of their disobedience”, and he also: “if their fall”, that is, the Jews, “wealth to the world, and their lack of wealth is riches to the Gentiles” - (Rom. 11:30, 12), then the prophet naturally asks to what extent for now, and will God remain angry with the Jews forever? To this the Spirit through Paul gives the following answer: when “the full number of the Gentiles come in,” then “all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25–26). “Pour out Your wrath on the nations... who do not know You, and on the kingdoms that have not called upon Your name. For they devoured Jacob and laid waste his place” (Ps. 79:6-7). The prophet does not speak about all the pagans, which is why he did not simply say: a people, but “nations... who do not know You.” But we know God, and His name is upon us (Jeremiah 14:9). But we do not devour Jacob, because we do not reproach or blame him, which is what consuming consists of, according to the explanation of Paul, who says: “If you bite and devour one another, beware that you were not destroyed one by one” (Gal. 5:15), and we also do not devastate its place, because how can this be if everyone considers Israel to be their own common fatherland? It is not us, therefore, who the prophet wished harm, but those who remain ignorant and do not want to accept (the name of) the kingdom of God; “Do not remember our past iniquities, may Your compassions soon appear upon us, O Lord, for we have become very poor” (Ps. 78:8), because how can we satisfy for old and new crimes? Perhaps by former iniquities the prophet means those that were committed in the desert, since for them God uttered many different threats, which is why the prophet was afraid of remembering them. “Soon may Thy compassions appear to us, O Lord, for we have become very poor.” Nothing makes a person poor like sin; but he becomes even poorer when wickedness is added to sin. That is why they pray to God that He would quickly show His mercy to them, so that they, driven by extreme poverty to despair, would not perish. “Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of Your name. God ! Deliver us and cleanse the sins of our names and for Your sake” (Ps. 78:9). Well the prophet pointed to the glory of God, since he could not point out the righteousness of the people; and the words of the name of God are expressed in mercy towards sinners, which is why God is called generous, merciful and long-suffering. So Moses says: “And the Lord came down in the cloud, and stood there near him, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: The Lord, the Lord, a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and truth” (Exodus 34:5–6). 3. Do you see that the prayer is addressed to Christ here? He is called not only God, but also directly the Savior. He is also the glory of the name of God, i.e. Father, which is why Paul called Him the radiance of the glory of the Father (Heb. 1:3). And further words clearly show that we are talking about Christ. Deliver us and cleanse the sins of our names and for Your sake. Let the pagans never say: “Where is their God?” And let the vengeance of the shed blood of Thy servants be known before our eyes among the pagans” (Ps. 79:9-10). Who can cleanse sins for the sake of his own name, if not Christ, Who acquired cleansing? He gained the cleansing of the sins of the Jews when the crucified one said to the Father: “Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). That is why Paul says about Him: “whom God set forth as a sacrifice of propitiation in His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness in the forgiveness of sins previously committed” (Rom. 3:25). He is merciful to the sins of the Jews not only for their own sake, but much more for the sake of the pagans, so that the latter, not knowing the mercy of God, would not say: “Where is their God?” ? and would not fall into deception due to their unbelief, but on the contrary, so that, having known this mercy, they would be guided by it, apply themselves with all diligence and be saved. Further words can serve as confirmation for you of what was said. And may vengeance for the shed blood of Your servants be known before our eyes among the pagans.” Why does the prophet want vengeance to become known to the pagans? Because it had to be done over demons who are blood, i.e. the souls of God's servants, the Jews, were defiled by idolatry. What was the vengeance? In the overthrow of idols, in the burning of demonic churches, which takes place before the eyes of the Jews; they see what is happening, but remain indifferent. On the contrary, the pagans know vengeance; they know by what hand and by whose hand this is done and accomplished, and they attribute the destruction of those who see it to the cross of Christ. “Let the groaning of the prisoners reach You; with the might of Your arm preserve the sons of the slain” (Ps. 79:11), not with iron bonds, but with the bonds of sin, because everyone is bound by the chains of their sins. For this groaning to be heard by God, the prophet asks for this, so that what is spoken about next can happen. By the might of Your arm preserve the sons of the slain." Christ is called the muscle of the Father, as we have said many times; according to His greatness, i.e. the great sacraments of His theophany, which are the cross and resurrection. The prophet asks God to preserve not the dead, but the sons of these latter; those who did not believe in the continuation of real life were killed; and their sons, captured by the apostles, were a great multitude. “Reward our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom (for) their reproach with which they reproached You, O Lord!” (Ps.79:12). And now the prophet called not people neighbors; he would not pray for reward to them with the sevenfold, knowing that the Judge would not allow this; how could he then sing to Him: “Will You reward everyone according to his deeds?” He is therefore talking about demons. The latter rightly receive the punishment of seven for the fact that, having a higher nature compared to us, they, being cast out of heaven, did not come to their senses, but continue to disturb the earth with their deceit; because they not only sin themselves, but also encourage us to sin, and at the same time they dishonor God, whose image seemed to have fallen into them; finally, because even after the coming of Christ they did not abandon idolatry, but still indulge in it now. What is their depth? Gehenna. This place was assigned to them from the beginning, as Christ testifies when he says: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). “We are Your people and the sheep of Your pasture, we will confess You, O God, forever, to generation and generation, to proclaim Your praise” (Ps. 79:13). The prophet means all mankind. Contrasting us with the demons cast out from heaven, he calls man the people of God and the sheep of His pasture. Why are the sheep of His pasture? Because we, the faithful, feed on Him. through participation in the sacraments, “we will confess You, O God, forever, to generation and generation, to proclaim Your praise.” This confession means that there was already some other confession before. Beforehand, Christ confessed us as His sheep, saying: “My sheep obey My voice” (John 10:27); then, since He wanted to accept the pagans as well, He added: “I have other sheep which are not of this fold, and these I must bring” (John 10:16). We also bring confession to Him, calling Him Shepherd in the next psalm. And we do this not for a short time, but forever, i.e. incessantly; and we proclaim His praise to generation and generation, offering Him thanksgiving praise to all generations; or we praise Him from both generations - not only from those who are in the flesh, but also from those who have already departed from the flesh, when in our prayers we call upon the patriarchs, apostles, prophets or martyrs. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and in the Patrology of Min, classified as Spuria The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: