Собеседование 43 на псалом 95

Ps.95:1. Fucking song of praise David a. When the house was being built, after the captivity. Not inscribed in Hebrews. 1. And this psalm among the Jews does not have an inscription, but only seventy have it; the Jew naturally rejects their inscription, since the latter denounces him, clearly showing that it is directed against the Jewish people. In fact, David, to whom this psalm belongs, lived many generations before the captivity, after which, as the inscription says, the church was built; therefore, here we are talking about the captivity that Paul also speaks of: “he ascended on high, took captivity captive and gave gifts to men” (Eph. 4:8), and by the construction of the church we mean the divine incarnation, because the Lord Himself spoke of His flesh: “Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Thus, the construction of this church was completed after our captivity, perpetrated by the devil, because, wanting to free us from him, Christ became incarnate. David himself spoke about this captivity in another prophecy: “You went up on high, you brought captivity captive” (Ps. 67:19). “Sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless His name, preach His salvation daily" (Ps. 95:1-2). Why does the prophet command to sing a new song to the whole earth, and not just to the Jews, if not because of, undoubtedly, new miracles? David, as it were, precedes Paul with his gospel, saying: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, everything that is new is now” (2 Cor. 5:17). Well, what? This is a new song, and from whom will we learn it? The Prophet gave us many songs, but now pointing to a “new song,” he means some other new song, different from those. Isaiah also sang the song: “I will sing to my beloved,” he says, “the song of my beloved about his vineyard,” etc. (Is. 5:1). But this should not be sung by the whole earth, but only by the Jewish people, in whose honor, as the prophet says, this is sung. It is obvious, therefore, that the prophet meant the song of the angels, recorded by Luke. It really was a new song. And the prophet invites the whole earth to sing because, as the named Evangelist narrates, the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” (Luke 2:14). When were these words spoken? When was the church created, i.e. Christ became incarnate. At His birth, these words were sung by the jubilant angels in Bethlehem. Inviting three times to chant, the prophet names the Lord three times, wanting to show that in Christ the Trinity is glorified, since through Him we have come to know both the Spirit and the Father. Accordingly, the prophet added: “Bless His name,” whether you mean the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit, because the name of the Trinity is God. This name was blessed by the angels who announced the new song to us, who first of all brought glory to God in the highest. “Sing to the Lord, bless His name, preach His salvation daily” (Ps. 95:2). The further time goes, the further the Gospel, and the further time extends, the further the knowledge of Christ spreads. This is confirmed by further words: “proclaim His glory among the nations, His wonders among all nations” (Ps. 96:3). Can the Jewish people apply this to themselves? How can one proclaim the glory of God among the pagans who does not even have the right to read the law outside his own borders? It was for this that the prophet Amos reproached the Jews: “offer leavened bread as a thanksgiving sacrifice, proclaim your freewill offerings and make known about them, for this is what you love, O children of Israel, says the Lord God” (Am. 4:5). And what is the punishment for this? “For this reason I have given you bare teeth in all your cities” (Amos 4:6). It is clear, therefore, that David pointed to the gospel covenant, saying first: “proclaim,” and then: “his glory among the nations, his wonders in all nations.” Which ones exactly? That we, born of flesh and blood to death, are reborn through the water of baptism to life. It was these miracles that God commanded the disciples to proclaim to the pagans: “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). Look what the prophet said next about this name, i.e. about the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. “For the Lord is great and very glorious, terrible to all gods” (Ps. 95:4). How great God is is needless to say, because it is recognized by everyone. The prophet calls Him “very glorious” because He, being excessively great, condescends to the humble, and, being righteous, patiently awaits the salvation of sinners. But if God is good for us, then He is terrible for demons. The prophet called these latter gods here, not because they really are gods, but because they are called that by some, as Paul testifies: “we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but the One. For although there are so-called gods, either in heaven or on earth” (1 Cor. 8:4-5). And by whom they are called that, find out from the following words: “for all the gods of the pagans are demons, but the Lord created the heavens” (Ps. 96:5). In Holy Scripture, evil spirits are usually called demons, as can be seen from the Gospels, which constantly use this expression. The Greeks, finding the name honorable, call them demons, i.e. fiery and possessing knowledge, and by this, without knowing it, instead of praise, they inflict shame on themselves, since this name for demons, as those who know wickedness, serves as a shameful name. Symmachus, instead of: demons, translated: non-existent, since demons are devoted to wickedness that has no basis for themselves, and Aquila: imaginary, since they have a false and fictitious name. 2. So, all pagan gods are demons: whether the pagans recognize some of them as lesser, others as greater, they all equally belong to hostile and evil forces. Where can you see this? “But the Lord created the heavens” (Ps. 95:5), i.e. the demons would not have been cast out of heaven if they had not fallen away through their wickedness from the creator of heaven. But look who the sky accepted instead of them and why. “Confession and beauty are before Him, holiness and splendor are in the holiness that seeks Him" (Ps. 95:6). By confession the prophet means confessors, and by shrines - saints. It was them who God accepted into heaven instead of cast-down demons. God combined beauty with confession, because he who confesses his sin before God is transformed from one covered in shame into one clothed in splendor and appears before the face God, whereas before He was not before Him. God turns His face away from sinners until they repent and confess to Him, which is why the same psalmist calls out to God: “Do not turn away the face of Your anointed” (Ps. 131:10), when he felt his sin. God has combined splendor with holiness, because there is nothing more splendid than the holy—neither a prophet, nor a priest, nor a king can compare with it, because God rests in the saints as the Holy One. That is why He does not place them before His face as confessors, but He accepts them into His own sanctuary, and makes them His cohabitants and sharers of His glory and kingdom. The following words apply to these saints: “Bring to the Lord, the fatherland of the nations, give glory and honor to the Lord! Give glory to the Lord to His name, take sacrifices and enter His courts” (Ps. 96:7-8). It was not without reason that the prophet ordered a new song to be sung at the beginning of the psalm, but because it contained some new calling, a new sermon. As you see, here the pagans are called, from whom a verbal offering is required, not bulls or sheep, or any other similar kind of sacrifice, but glory and honor - glory as to God, because glory belongs to Him - which is why the cherubim bring Him hymns, saying: “Blessed is the glory of the Lord from his place!” (Ezek.3:12), - and honor as the Father, because the law says: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). The pagans knew God as Father through the perception of the Spirit. That is why the Savior taught us to say to God: “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Having spoken about glory and honor, the prophet also remembered another glory. “Give to the Lord,” he says, “the glory of His name,” and with this second glory he points to the cross, wanting us to bring it to Christ, insofar as it constitutes His glory. That is why other translators said: glory to His name. How do we bring the cross to Christ? If we crucify ourselves in our lives. “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me,” says Christ, “is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). Notice how the prophet wants God to be glorified in the Trinity. That is why he commands that glory be given to Him three times and he calls Him Lord three times. “Give to the Lord the glory of His name, take the sacrifices and enter into His courts.” What kind of yards? Apparently churches scattered throughout the universe. So that anyone would not think that the latter, due to their multitude, were separated from each other, the prophet called them one courtyard, adding further: “Worship the Lord in His holy courtyard. Let the whole earth move at His presence!” (Ps.95:9). So, although there are many churches in number, in essence they constitute one church, which is called holy, as the body of the Holy One in saints. The prophet commands that sacrifices not be bloody, but sacrifices of glorification, as he clearly showed with the words: “Worship the Lord in His holy courtyard.” Let all the earth move at His presence” (Ps. 95:9). For what? In order for her to change her previous state and receive a stronger and more solid foundation through Christ. 3. The earth shook during the crucifixion and resurrection, each of which represents the face of the Only Begotten, since in the cross and resurrection we still see the power of His face. “Tell the nations that the Lord has reigned and established the world, which does not move, and He will judge the nations in righteousness” (Ps. 95:10). Why "peoples"? Because the Jews cannot bear to hear preaching, which is why Paul and Barnabas said to them: “The word of God should have been preached to you first, but because you reject it and make yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). What is the sign of the kingdom of the Lord? “The Lord reigned and established the universe, which does not move.” By the kingdom of God, the prophet means our subordination to God; with this last God corrected the universe, subduing the disobedient and rebellious man to the knowledge of God. Why should the earth no longer shake, if not because the coming of Christ destroyed those who shook it, that is, the demons? “He will judge the nations according to truth”, i.e. in fairness. We cannot justify ourselves by ignorance and grumble at the judgment of God because we allegedly did not know His law, because the Gospel of Christ has spread throughout the whole earth. However, these words can apply much more to the Jews; God will judge them “with righteousness” because “he came to his own, and his own did not receive him” (John 1:11), as John says. “Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth rejoice, let the sea begin to move and what fills it!” (Ps. 95:11). What is the reason for this joy? The coming of the Savior, as is clearly seen from what follows. So, the sacrament that took place on the latter was common to both heaven and earth, since it is said about the one who bowed the heaven and came down from it that He will also come from the earth in the flesh. “Let the sea move and that fills it!" - not with stormy excitement, but with excitement of joy and exultation. Under its fulfillment, rivers and lakes are understood, since all the collections of waters during creation were called by God by the name of the sea: “God called the collection of waters seas,” it is said, “(Gen. 1:10). What do the waters bring to the sacrament of the Only Begotten? Obviously baptism. “The fields and everything that is in them will rejoice, then all the trees of the grove will rejoice” (Ps. 95:12). Having spoken about the sea and mentioned what fills it, the prophet naturally further points to the fields, or arable lands, and what is on them, wanting to designate by this the totality of everything on earth. Why does he tell them to rejoice? “Then all the oak trees will rejoice.” When and why? “From the presence of the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth, ... to judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His truth” (Ps. 95:13). The prophet announces the greatest joy to the trees, which they will receive with the coming of Christ through His Cross - and not just trees, but oak trees, i.e. barren, since it is known that to make the cross it was not a fruitful tree that was taken, but a barren one. Nevertheless, all the trees of the earth became partakers of the joy, as this verse testifies. Understand by oak trees in view of their barrenness and sinners, about whom Isaiah said: “Let not the eunuch say: Behold, I am a dry tree” (Is. 56:3), i.e. not bearing fruit. But the coming of Christ made them rejoice too. “For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth, ... to judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His truth.” It is not without reason that the prophet says “he is coming” twice, but wanting to point out both comings of Christ. Above, he clearly announced His first coming, which is why he spoke about it without mentioning judgment, since Christ came then not to judge the world, but to save the world (John 12:47); now points to the second coming, in which He will judge the earth and the universe, i.e. man, who, as having come from the earth, is called by its name, and the universe, as the dwelling place of God: “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The prophet not only called humanity the earth and the universe, but also peoples - not a people - in view of the differences in language, way of life, worship of God, and many other things that separate people from each other. If it is said that he will judge “the universe in righteousness” and “the nations in truth,” then by the universe is meant not anything other than people, because if there were no people, then who would populate the earth? In the same way, truth is not something separate from truth, but one complements the other, so that there is neither truth without truth, nor truth without truth, which is why Christ is called by both names. 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: