Собеседование 8

To the saying: “Pray and give (praise) to the Lord our God” (Ps. 75:12) 1. The mentors of this world teach children to read letters, and church teachers instruct their students to perform feats. The undoubted truth of what has been said can be verified, beloved, from what we read today in the psalm. What did the prophet of the Spirit, the great David, say today? “Pray and give (praise) to the Lord our God.” This is what blessed Judith once said. When the Babylonian Holofernes with his army besieged Jerusalem and closed all the springs that supplied the city with water, and the Jews were dying from lack of water to such an extent that they were ready to surrender together with the city to the one who brought them to such an extreme, then this blessed woman came forward with a courageous thought and a firm decision and prevented the surrender of the city; she dared to fight and be at war with such an army and, wanting to avenge her sex and save the city, with firm hope in God, she gave her bodily strength to fight the enemy. Then she said to the priests and all the faithful: “Pray and give (praise) to the Lord our God.” Leaving the city after evening, with one maid, with a supply of food approved by faith (because, being a Jew and restrained by the law, she did not want to eat pagan food), she appeared to Holofernes as a deserter, in clean clothes and appropriate female jewelry, and captivated the foreigner with passion for a woman, maintaining her purity, because her chastity was not violated. At night, when the whole camp was immersed in sleep, and Holofernes drank wine to the point of insensibility, courageously armed with his two-edged sword, she beheaded him; Clearly God was strengthening the young woman's hand. On the same night, when she accomplished the feat, returning to the city as a winner and throwing his head over the wall, she announced to all the foreigners her victory over him, so that in the morning, seeing their leader killed by the hand of one woman, they, overwhelmed with great fear and horror, fled before the Jews, and what was written was fulfilled: “how could one pursue a thousand and two drive away darkness” (Deut. 32:30)? Indeed, it turns out that the bravest Samson alone drove away thousands, and the most courageous Judith, together with her maid, put tens of thousands of foreigners to flight. Do you see what a blessing it is to pray and give thanks to the Lord our God? Also, King Hezekiah, a faithful man, relying on faith and prayer more than on weapons and military strength, won victories over the enemy beyond expectations. It was when Sennacherib came with a great multitude, besieged Jerusalem and reviled God and the people faithful to Him, that he sent Hezekiah written curses against God; then Hezekiah, taking his letter and reading it before the face of God, prayed and gave thanks to the Lord our God, after which he immediately got rid of the danger that threatened him. He received quick and miraculous help from God: one angel with a sword descended from heaven that night and struck one hundred eighty-five thousand foreigners. None of them could resist the blows of his hand, so that the pagan peoples would learn not to raise blasphemous language against God. This is what a blessing it is, beloved, to pray and give thanks to the Lord our God. (This was also experienced by) the wisest David. When, under Saul, the king of Israel, the foreigners went to war against the people of Israel, they put up one giant man with bodily strength, and even greater self-esteem than the giant, who shouted loudly and loudly challenged him to single combat: it was Goliath, at the sight of whose mere height the Jews were seized with fear and horror and fled from the military battle. Then David stepped forward, retaining his presence of mind, and knowing that for victory, the strength of the body, nor military or cavalry means anything, [because “a king cannot be saved by much strength, and a giant will not be saved by the abundance of his strength.” A deceiving horse for salvation: in the multitude... of his strength he will not be saved” (Ps. 33:16–17)]. Taking five stones, the symbol of the Pentateuch given to them by God, the small, youngest one, humiliated by his own and his enemies, struck him in the forehead with one blow of the stone, and knocked down the arrogant giant. And it is worthy of inquiry, beloved, why Goliath, struck on the forehead, did not topple back, but fell on his face? Obviously, we must think that behind the god-fighter stood an angel who cast him down on his face. This is the goodness of praying and giving thanks to the Lord our God. 2. Blessed Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt and led them to the shores of the Red Sea. The Egyptians with a strong and numerous army pursued them, and the Jews were unable to resist or escape, because the sea spread out in front of them, which did not allow them to flee, and behind them, the armed and formidable Egyptian army instilled fear in them; and as much as the Jews rejoiced at the memory of the events that had just happened, they were now overwhelmed with fear, unexpectedly seeing Pharaoh and the Egyptians behind them; from anxiety they became agitated, just as the sea is agitated when strong winds attack it, so that in despair and fear they said to Moses: Do you see what end awaits us, and what fear grips our souls? They are already preparing our fate - to be food for birds, seeing that we have reached the extreme and are in a completely hopeless situation. Why are you delaying, O Moses? It would be better for us to die in Egypt than, having reached here, to see our children and wives and ourselves betrayed as prey and to be torn to pieces by wild animals and birds. Under such and such a set of circumstances, Pharaoh, under the influence of annoyance, acts arrogantly, as if he has power in his hands, and takes up arms against God Himself. Then Moses - what does he say to them? Do not be afraid and do not be intimidated: “pray and give (praise) to the Lord our God,” and you will see the help sent to you from God. The Lord will fight for us, and you are silent. When such a prayer was offered to God, immediately the wet sea turned into dry land and a clear path opened before them. You had to see, beloved, this amazing sight: the sea had just foamed, and now parted, two walls of water, gloomy, dark, motionless on both sides hanging over Israel. And until then the water stood like a wall, until Israel, without any haste or haste, crossed the sea. And they walked with joy, as if through a green meadow, and their enemies, the Egyptians, sank like lead to the bottom of the sea. in the desert they did not meet the need for water and bread? How could they not suffer a shortage of water and bread in the middle of the desert, where there was no arable land, no grapes, no wood, no grass, no sowing, no harvest? But here, too, holy prayer opened the sky for them to give manna, moved the air to give them meat, and produced streams of water for them from the rock. Thus, three elements served them - sky, air and stone. The sky scattered snow-white water for them, the air easily brought them fattened quails. A whole day will not be enough for me to list victories won, contrary to all expectations, through the prayer of forefathers, prophets and kings, and cases of good and saving deliverance from illnesses, dangers and other difficult circumstances granted through prayer. It is such a great blessing to pray and give thanks to the Lord our God. If any of you is in a situation that people consider hopeless, or is oppressed by some need or danger, let him remember this saying: let him pray and give thanks to the Lord our God - and he will see the saving and blessed fruit of this wonderful instruction. If anyone, beloved, wants to understand this verse of Scripture differently, and says that “to pray” means to “promise,” then even in this case this saying will be useful. Many times in Scripture we find to pray (τὸ ευζασθαι) in the meaning of “to promise.” Thus, wisdom says: “It is better for you not to promise (μὴ ευζασθαι) than to promise and not fulfill” (Eccl. 5:4), that is, not to make a vow to God is better than, having made a vow, to deceive Him. This is why he instructs: “When you make a vow to God, do not hesitate to fulfill it” (Eccl. 5:3). Have you promised to dedicate your daughter or your son, who is recovering from a serious illness, to God? “When you make a vow to God, do not hesitate to fulfill it.” But just as blessed Anna, having previously been barren, made a vow to dedicate to God what was born to her, and having fulfilled this, she herself became the heir of eternal blessing, and her son Samuel is considered the first and chosen among the prophets and is so honored by God that he is numbered with Moses and Aaron: “Moses and Aaron are his priest, and Samuel is among those who call on His name” (Ps. 99:6). First. It is good to make a promise, that is, to make a vow, (the second) to fulfill it without delay with pure and good zeal, because God loves a good man and “a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Thus, Abel pleased God because he brought Him gifts with a sincere and good disposition, but Cain became displeasing to God because he brought gifts to Him not from a pure heart, but with grief and compulsion, upset. brother's glory. Having allowed a terrible spark of envy into his heart, he was inflamed by an insidious murder instead of, imitating his brother’s God-loving disposition, and himself receiving from the Lord equal honor with his brother; now, he despised close and consanguineous kinship and, rejecting God, who warned him against a lawless deed, luring the young man into the field with flattering words, he destroyed God’s beautiful creation by murder. He was the first to commit fratricide, the first to desecrate the earth with blood, the first to open the gates of death. Death still spared people when Cain, with his envy, gave birth to murder. Why, O Cain, did Abel’s life bother you? Or what benefit did his death bring you? Or better yet, did she hurt you? So you end your life in mental confusion and shaking. 3. Oh, envy, sister of hypocrisy, author of deceit, sower of murder, serpent's seed, destructive flower. What's worse than envy? Nothing. And what gave birth to death itself? Nothing else but envy, as Scripture testifies, saying that “God did not create death and does not rejoice in the destruction of the living, but through the envy of the devil death entered the world” (Wis. 1:13, 2:24). It seems to me, beloved, that envy is the invention of the serpent, and that it is impossible to have envy from anywhere except if the serpent gives birth to it by secretly crawling into someone and spewing poison from its heart into the heart of the one who receives it. Thus, the envious person stands alongside the serpent and has the same power. Have you seen the envious one? Did you see the snake? He tells you his own as a friend, and receives yours from you as your enemy. The serpent comes to Eve as a friend, charming her with sweet words, but ensnaring her with bitter thoughts; carrying honey on his lips, and hiding a sword in his heart; hiding your head in one direction and wagging your tail in the other. Cain comes to Abel as a friend; speaks peacefully but thinks hostilely; his lips breathed deceit, and envy hid in his heart. An envious person comes to you; he says something nice to you, addressing you with flattering words and an insinuating laugh, he makes your face brighten; he opens your heart to empty its innermost recesses. In conversation, he will find out your secrets and spread them everywhere. If you deceive him, he cannot stand it: he stops laughing, the smile disappears from his face, he stands with the air of a stern accuser and does not move until he notices your embarrassment, and then he begins to laugh. If at a feast something is said against you, he listens eagerly. Fine. If something is said in your favor, he, by inserting various words, poisons the attention of the listeners, so that what is said about you does not benefit you even in your absence. What's worse than an envious person? Nothing. Which beast should he be classified as? If you compare him with a lion or a leopard, you will find more evil in the envious person, because every animal loves his own kind, but the envious person hates his brother and kills him. The ravens fed Elijah on the mountain, and the brothers devoured Joseph and sold him out of envy. The serpent, out of envy, deceived Eve, and Cain, out of envy, killed Abel. A whale in the depths of the sea gave shelter to Jonah, and Saul, out of envy, pursued David. The lions were ashamed of Daniel, and the Jews crucified Christ out of envy. Poisonous snakes are tamed by affection, and envious people, receiving benefits, are even more inflamed. But so that it does not seem, beloved, that we are exaggerating too much and going beyond the limits of the current reading, let us return to the saying in question. Pray, too, you, pursued by envy, so that you do not suffer something worse from envious people, and do not fall into the same illness yourself, because “if anyone thinks he stands, be careful lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Pray also, you who envy, that, having spewed out the snake’s venom, you will be worthy of heavenly bread as a testimony of a clear conscience. “Pray and give (praise) to the Lord our God.” Prayer, beloved, has great power, making the impossible possible for people. Moses prayed and dried up the sea and led the Jews as if through a flowering meadow. Joshua prayed and turned back the streams of the Jordan, and what was written was fulfilled: “What is the matter with you, O sea, that you fled? you], Jordan, why did you turn back?” (Ps. 113:5). Elijah, who ascended in the chariot, prayed and closed the clouds that brought rain, and then again released them with his prayer. The same Elijah prayed and gave the poor widow flour and oil every day according to the measure of her faith. His disciple Elisha prayed, and the Somanite woman, having previously been barren, contrary to hopes, gave birth to a son. Daniel prayed and overthrew Bel, killed the serpent and taught the lions to look at the sky. The three youths prayed in the oven, and the roaring flame of the oven was extinguished. Hezekiah prayed and, having healed his illness, averted death and increased his life span by fifteen years. Jonah prayed, and the whale became meek and accepted him in its belly for three days to show that there was refuge for saints even in the abysses of the sea. Pious Tobit prayed and received light from the hand of an angel. Sarah, the daughter of Raguil, prayed in Ecbatana and put to flight the demon, the destroyer of husbands. Silas and Paul prayed while in prison, and the earth shook, the doors of the prison opened and the iron chains of the shackles fell apart, and all those held in chains were free. Peter prayed and raised Tabitha from the dead. The same Peter prayed in Rome and cast down Simon, who was flying through the air, and at the same time did not allow the Romans to beat him. Prayer raises the dead, drives away demons, heals diseases, resolves death. Oh, prayer, giver of life, treasury of health, flower of hope. So, “pray” and you, beloved, “and give (praise) to the Lord our God,” because to Him belongs all glory, forever and ever. Amen. 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: