На псалом 98. Давиду. Ненадписанный у евреев

1. All other translators have left this psalm without an inscription. But the seventy attributed it to David, since it also contains a prophecy about the spiritual David-Christ. The Lord reigns, let men be angry (v. 1). The prophet understands the Jews, whom the accession of Christ led to anger and rage, so that they said to Pilate: do not say that He is the king of the Jews (John XIX, 21), and also: not the imams of the king, only Caesar (–15). Sit on cherubs; let the earth move. The prophet again points to the land of Judea, because when the power came from the east, saying: where is the king of the Jews born? I saw his star in the east, and when I breathed, I bowed to him; When Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him (Matthew II: 2–3). What exactly the one sitting on the cherubim did was clear from the following words. The Lord is great in Zion, and high above all people (v. 2). When Christ entered through the closed doors into Zion, He revealed His greatness and clearly showed by this miracle that He is the one who sits on the cherubim, and therefore His works, as the works of the Creator of all nature, are higher than human nature. Then He showed Himself high above all people, imparting the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, who announced His greatness not to just one people, but to all people everywhere. Let them confess to your great name that it is terrible and holy (v. 3). Every name of God is great, because the names of God must be understood according to His glory. If for example He is called the Lord, not in the sense in which this name is used among us; if he is called the King, then the royal dignity in Him should be represented differently. However, great is the name of God with which He called Himself when, in response to the words of Moses: Behold, I will go to the children of Israel, and I will say to them: The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to you; and if they ask me: What is his name? why the river to them? He answered him: You said to the children of Israel: He sent me to you (Exod. III, 13, 14). The prophet commands confession to this terrible and holy name. One who exists in time, even if he were strong, is not particularly terrible, because after some time he loses his power; but Whoever exists always and forever is truly terrible, because there is no hope for Him to change or cease to exist. The indicated name, says the prophet, is terrible and holy: imagine it as terrible for enemies, that is, demons, which is why they avoid invoking it, but recognize it as holy for saints, since the latter are sanctified only through the name of Christ. And the court loves the honor of the king (v. 4). What is the duty of the court? To free the innocent, to expose the guilty; therefore, the honor of the king, that is, his power, power, - why other interpreters instead of: honor and translated - some: strength, others: power, - and loves court. You have prepared righteousness. How did you prepare? Having predetermined the law, in which he gave commandments that direct the path of life. If anyone wants to follow them, he can direct his life path. You brought justice to Jacob. How? Obviously stated above, because the law given in Jacob (of course, the descendants of Israel) brought judgment, that is, condemnation, to sinners, and those who lived virtuously indicated the truth by which they should live. Why did the prophet say this now? He wanted to make us more attentive and clearly testify that the one who did this is the One who suffered the cross for us. This can be seen from the following words. Lift up the Lord our God, and worship His footstool, for He is holy (v. 5). Why does the prophet order us to worship not even the throne of God, but the footstool? And what is this footstool? Obviously, earth, because heaven, it is said, is my throne, and earth is my footstool (Isa. LXVI, 1). 2. However, we should not bow to the elements. The Prophet points here to the same place to which he more clearly pointed out in another psalm, saying: let us bow to the place where his nose stands (Ps. CXXXI, 7), that is, to Golgotha. This place was actually under the feet of Christ's flesh during His suffering. That is why the prophet did not limit himself to the expression: footstool, but said: footstool his feet, although it is clear to everyone that the footstool is the raising of the feet. Obviously, by legs he here refers to the human nature of Christ, meaning by head the deity. So Golgotha ​​was under the feet of the human nature of Christ; therefore, whoever worships here exalts Christ, because He himself considered suffering to be His exaltation, since through it He accomplished our salvation. That is why He said to Nicodemus: just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so it is fitting for the son of man to be lifted up (John III, 14). This saint is rightly called, since he possessed such great holiness that he made saints and sinners into his community. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call on his name. The call of the Lord, and she obeyed them (v. 6). Although, says the psalmist, both priests and prophets were called saints, the footstool of these saints should not be worshiped, and by this he wants to show what the difference was between Christ and other saints. He was the Holy of Holies. That is why, having mentioned Moses as a lawgiver, Aaron as a high priest, and Samuel as the first of the prophets who were saints, the psalmist nevertheless says that they called on the name of God and if they did anything, they did it not by their own strength, but by the strength of the One who was called. He expresses this idea even more clearly further. In the pillar of cloud you spoke to them. For I keep His testimony and His commandments which He gave them (v. 7). They, he says, were perfected in virtue, because they kept the law of God and fulfilled the commands given by God; when they were rewarded with the sight of God, they saw God in a pillar of cloud, because they were not able to see His being. Christ is not like that, but has the Father in Himself, and Himself abides in the Father, and did not acquire His dignity through gradual improvement. Look, in fact, at Pilate’s question: are you a king? Christ, evading this question, says: you say that you are a king. For this I was born (John XVIII: 37), that is, my kingdom, like my birth, is untimely. Without any doubt, the psalmist refers to Him further words: Lord our God, you listened to them (v. 8). Our God. Whose? Those who through faith became His servants and through adoption in baptism acquired their property, made the God of all things theirs. That God is truly called primarily the God of those who believe in Him, this is taught by Thomas, who, calling the God of all his Lord or God, exclaimed: My Lord and my God (John XX, 28). This God, in whom we believed, was not, therefore, unknown to the ancient righteous and heard their prayers, as further words confirm. God, you were merciful to them, and took vengeance on all their undertakings (v. 8). As you see, the prophet speaks of Christ, since it is His nature to be merciful to our sins not only now, but also in times past, as Paul also says: God hath ordained cleansing through faith in His blood, at the revelation of His righteousness (Rom. III: 25). He himself defends the good undertakings of the righteous. Since the latter did a lot to save the human race, but they were opposed by a spiritual enemy, the cross avenged them, at the same time strengthening the actions of the righteous and destroying the one who made their labors useless, about which Jeremiah grieved, saying: woe to me, mother, for whom have you given birth to a healthy man, who is judged throughout the whole earth? If I don’t get stuck, someone else gets stuck with me; my strength is diminished by those who slander me (Jeremiah XV, 10). Exalt the Lord our God (v. 9). What need is there for a tall man to rise up? And how can he who is in heaven be exalted by men? Think, says the prophet, high things about Him. How? And repent in his holy mountain. The height of God the Word, therefore, is His worship on the holy mountain. Just as the glory of the king is the trophies of war, so the glory of Christ is the endurance of suffering, which took place on the holy mountain, having accepted the cross. The prophet calls the mountain holy not because it was such in itself, but because of the coming of the Crucified One to it. That is why the prophet added: For holy is the Lord our God. If He is holy, then everything that He deigns to visit becomes holy. 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: