Chapter 37

Ps.37:1. Psalm to David, in remembrance of the Sabbath. David sings this psalm, bringing to mind the distress that weighs on him, to which he suffered for sin. He also asks God for himself - to grant him Sabbath, that is, repose from misfortunes. Ps.37:2. Lord, do not reprove me with Your wrath; do not punish me with Your wrath. “Wrath” and “wrath” of God refer to demons serving for punishment and forces serving for retribution. Thus, he pleads that he be convicted not through evil forces and not through the sending of wrathful angels, but through saving words. The Lord punishes us to bring us to the remembrance of virtue. And the saint does not renounce reproof or punishment, but repudiation and punishment with anger and rage. Ps.37:3. Like Your arrows are unzosha in me. He calls punitive forces arrows. And You have established Your hand on me. I was touched, he says, by Your hand, punishing for sin. Ps.37:4. There is no healing in my flesh from the face of Your wrath. I relaxed my flesh when Your wrath overtook me. There is no peace in my bones from the face of my sins. The strength of my soul has failed, and the cause of weakness is sin. Ps.37:5. For my iniquities have exceeded my head. The weight of the sinful burden crushed me, he says. I am tormented by the stench of those rotten wounds that I suffered on myself, rejecting prudence and enslaving to unreason, and therefore, deprived of all joy, I constantly grieve, I am embarrassed, and I do not find a way to change sadness to joy. Like a heavy burden weighs on me. He calls the most painful the strongest reproaches of conscience, leading to despair. Ps.37:6. My wounds have grown stale and rotten because of my madness. For every sin is vile and stinking, and if the soul had not fallen into foolishness, it would not have suffered sin. From this we understand the nature of sin. What is this property? Of course, sins happen to us because of foolishness. Ps.37:7. I walked around complaining all day. This should be repeated to those who laugh a lot and have fun. Ps.37:8. As if my life was filled with reproaches; because I saw how my enemies mocked me. He understands mental enemies. Ps.37:9. I was embittered and humbled to death. It was because of lust, he says, that I sank to the ground and incessantly complained from painful heart diseases. Therefore, by changing the activity of desire, he made it servant of God’s will. For the Psalmist adds: roars from the groaning of my heart. Scourged his conscience, he forced his heart to frequent sighs. Ps.37:10. And my sighing will not be hidden from You. May my desire to repent be imputed to You before You. As much as I desire, I desire to be saved. What is Christ's desire? – celebrate Passover for us (Luke 22:15). Ps.37:11. My heart is troubled, my strength leave me. The mind calls it the heart. And the light of my eyes, and that one is with me. The light of the eyes is the Spirit that shone upon the eyes of his mind. Ps.37:12. My friends and my sincere ones are approaching me directly and stasha. When I was struck, they opposed me. This speaks of Absalom and Ahithophel. Ps.37:13. And my neighbors are farther away from me. For the Angels who helped him abandoned him because of his sin. For it may be that the holy powers are removed during temptation, or for testing, or for punishing the tempted one. And I need those who seek my soul. It is likely that when the Angels left him, the demons began to attack more strongly. And those who seek evil say vain words to me, that is, they spoke to each other, preparing intrigues for me. Ps.37:14–15. As if I were deaf, I couldn’t hear... and so on. When they said this, I did not seem to hear or speak, because sin had taken away my boldness. Ps.37:16–17. For in Thee, O Lord, have I trusted. As if he said: Yes, not when will my enemies rejoice. With such a multitude of disasters, he says, I have only one hope of salvation - the help that You will provide me. Ps.37:17. And when my feet can never move, you speak to me. Sin, which shook my feet, gave them a reason to be arrogant before me. Ps.37:18. As if I am ready for wounds, and my illness is before me. He confesses that he readily accepts punishment that turns him to the good path. Ps.37:19. For I will proclaim my iniquity, and take care of my sin. For this reason, I become an accuser of myself, and I will make every effort to restore my health. Ps.37:20. My enemies live, and are stronger than me. Although, he says, I am not insensitive to sin, but on the contrary, I am constantly worried about it, yet I see that my enemies are strengthening. These enemies, without suffering any offense from me, blaming me for sin, and turning it into a pretext for fighting against me, began to pursue me, saying that they were doing justice. I became disgusting to them, like a dead man. Therefore I beg You, Lord: Ps.37:22–23. “don’t back down from me”, but even more so “hurry to our aid” You might be interested in: