Chapter 21

Ps.21:1. Finally, about the morning intercession, a psalm to David. The proposed psalm is sung about the “morning intercession,” that is, about the fact that the only begotten Word of God, as it is written, “East from above” (Luke 1:78), shining forth, freed us from the night and darkness of the devil. Or, “morning intercession” also refers to the time of the Savior’s resurrection; for Christ rose “very early” (Luke 24:1), paving the way for human nature to incorruption. This psalm is sung by Christ himself on behalf of humanity, and clearly depicts to us what He suffered from the Jews during the crucifixion. Ps.21:2. God, my God, consider Me, where have you left Me? This is what the Savior says on behalf of humanity, and in order to put an end to the oath and turn the Father’s face to us, he asks the Father to look upon us, applying our need to Himself; because we were rejected and abandoned for the crime of Adam, but now we have been received and saved. Far from salvation are the words of my sins. Note again that in Christ the face of humanity pleads for liberation from falls, or from misdeeds, and from words about them. It is clear that he is asking for the truth that is due to everyone. Ps.21:3. My God, I will call in the days, and you will not hear, and in the night, and you will not become foolish. Should be read with punctuation. Shows us that the fruit of prayer is not useless; for it is said: “I am not foolish,” that is, I clearly know that as soon as I call, He will hear. For dwelling in the saints, whose mind is directed towards You, you become their praise and glory. Ps.21:4. You live in the holy, praise of Israel, that is, You are either the One Whom Israel praises, or the One Who is the praise in Himself. Ps.21:5. Our fathers trusted in You: You trusted, and Thou didst deliver. He calls the patriarchs and prophets his fathers according to the flesh. He also shows the benefit of hope, saying: those who were before Me in the flesh, that is, the prophets, as well as the patriarchs, put their hope in You, expecting My shining, and were not deceived in their hope. Ps.21:7. I am a worm, not a man. Teaches to be humble in wisdom, and especially to those who come to God. Defamation of people and humiliation of people. The Evangelist clearly says that this was fulfilled on Him during the crucifixion, when those passing by nodded their heads at Him and blasphemed Him, saying: “If you are the Son of God,... save yourself” (Matthew 27:40; Mark 15:30). Ps.21:10. For You are the one who plucked Me from the womb. He says this because he became man by the favor of the Father. For it is said: “When the end of the year had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4). He calls His Father His hope, and speaking like a man. For God tore one Christ out of Mary, but other people are not torn out, but come out, as it is said: “Esau came forth like a shaggy skin” (Gen. 25:25). Ps.21:11. I am committed to You from falsehood, from the womb... Again he prays as if on behalf of humanity; because He was also abandoned by the host of disciples. Then he predicts types of grief. Ps.21:13. Bydosha my little bodies are many, refers to the rulers of the Jewish people. Ps.21:15. Like water, I was poured out, and all my bones were scattered. He calls the holy builders of mysteries His bones. For, if the Church is His body, then we can rightly imagine those who bind it as bones. We hear that the Evangelist says that after He was captured by the army of soldiers, the disciples scattered and fled from Him, like water spilled across the plain. And otherwise: the holy dogmas of the Church are the bones of wisdom, and it was these that the law forbade the Jews to break during Easter. For it is said: “You shall not break any bones from it” (Ex. 12:46). My heart will melt like wax, - an expression characteristic of sadness, since it is written: “grief and torment have begun” (Matthew 26:37). He grieved for the Jewish people and for the traitor, because by their wickedness before Him they plunged themselves into destruction. Ps.21:16. Because My strength has become weaker, and My tongue is attached to My throat. This depicts His thirst on the honorable cross, when He asked for a drink, and they offered Him an ocet with gall. Why does he say: and My tongue adheres to My throat. And you brought Me into the dust of death. For, by the grace of God, he tasted death for the whole world; but not into death, but into the dust of death, Christ was brought down, “for His soul did not remain in hell, nor His flesh in the form of corruption” (Acts 2:31). Ps.21:17. Yako obidosha My psi mnozi. Again means people's rulers. Plow My hands and My nose. He talks about the nails that nailed him to the cross. Ps.21:18. You have cut up all my bones, touching (as was natural) His whole body, and measuring every bone so as to know where to insert the nails. You look at and despise Me, that is, they laughed at Me. This speaks of a scarlet robe, a crown of thorns, and a cane instead of a scepter. Ps.21:19. I divided my vestments for myself. This is clearly written in the Gospels. Ps.21:20. But You, Lord, do not remove Your help from Me. He turns His speech into prayer. With Your help, he says, and with Your intercession, having risen for three days, I will show the vanity of their malice. And in this he serves as an example for us of how we should call on God in temptations, and not fall into despondency, not weaken from sorrows. Ps.21:21. Deliver My soul from weapons. With this weapon, the dog's hand, the mouth of a lion and the horns of a unicorn, he depicts the malice and madness of the Jews. The devil, who always tries to hurt, can also be called a weapon. He calls his soul the only begotten, because it is separated and separated from other souls (for all souls have known sin, but she has not known sin), and also because she alone, together with the flesh, always has a hypostatic unity with God the Word. For Christ is one out of two opposites, perfect God and perfect man. But being far from those (sinful) souls, He comes to them. But it may be that he also calls the Church that stands before Him the only begotten, because it “has no filth or vice” (Eph. 5:27), is replenished from those who are blameless in succession, from “six and ten and queens and eighty and concubines” (Song. 6:7). And from the hand of my only begotten dog. By the hand of a dog he calls both what was done by this dog and the dog himself. For it is said: “It is not good to take away the bread of a child and damage it with a dog” (Matthew 15:26). Ps.21:22. Save Me from the mouth of lions, and save My humility from the horn of the unicorn. Ps.21:23. I will tell Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the Church I will sing praises to You. For He taught us the knowledge of Him who by nature and in truth is God, and the Father of one essence with Him. And again, as a person, he enters into unity through the Church. Ps.21:24. Ye who fear the Lord, praise Him; all you seed of Jacob, glorify Him. Since the Church consists of pagans and Jews, it excites both of them to hymns, calling some Jacob and Israel after their ancestor, and others according to virtue, which is sufficient to decorate the same as the race. Thus, it was customary to call those who approached the Law from among the pagans Jews. This is what the story of Acts teaches us. For the divine Paul in his speech to the people said this: “men of Israel and those who fear” the Lord in you (Acts 13:16). Ps.21:25. Don't disparage me. The Only Begotten clearly shows His merits for us. Ps.21:26. My praise comes from You. He calls praise praise. One can also see in this the glorification by the Father, when “a voice came from above... and I glorified, and again I glorified” (John 12:28). Or, just as I have made You known to men, so, without a doubt, You will do so that the same honor is given to Me, sometimes saying: “This is My Son” (Matthew 3:17), sometimes revealing Me to Peter (Matthew 16:17) and others. In divine Scripture prayer is called a promise. Therefore, the fulfillment of obedience to the Father, in which the Son remained even until death in the flesh, can also be taken as the fulfillment of the prayer He offered to the Father. Ps.21:27. They eat the squalor and are satisfied. This expresses the proclamation of the calling of the Gentiles. Ps.21:28. And the whole tongue of the fatherland will bow before Him. Although He, as God, is the King of all, it is said that He will reign over those on earth, because He will turn them from demonic delusion to faith in Him, to gratitude and truth. Ps.21:29. For the Lord is the kingdom, and He has tongues. The God of the Jews is not only God, as they think, but the Creator of all human nature. The Apostle also says this: “Or is the God of the Jews only, and not of the tongues? her and languages. For there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision by faith” (Rom. 3:29-30). Ps.21:30. Eaten and bowed to all the fatness of the earth, that is, they tasted spiritual food. He calls them fat because of the nutritional value of divine words. All who descend into the earth will fall before Him. This is said because believers kneel before Him. But these were the believers of old. that is, they fell into destruction and corruption because they did not see the Lord. Ps.21:31. And My seed will work for Him. For holy and blameless was the life that Christ lived in the flesh on earth. For He alone did not create sin, although He became like us and took upon Himself sin-loving flesh. By the seed of God we can understand those whom He called through faith. The coming generation of the Lord will be announced. And this proclaims the Gentiles. Ps.21:32. People will be born having things as the Lord created. This is similar to what was said: “not of blood, nor of carnal lust..., but born of God” (John 1:13). You might be interested in: