First: “Rise up, Lord, help us and deliver us in Your name!” (Ps. 43:27).
Second. “God, be merciful to us, and bless us, make Thy face shine upon us, and have mercy on us!” (Ps. 66:2).
Third. “Thou hast been well pleased, O Lord, with Thy land; Thou hast returned the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forsaken the iniquities of Thy people, Thou hast covered all their sins. Thou hast tamed all Thy wrath, Thou hast returned from the wrath of Thy wrath. Bring us back, O God of our salvation, and turn away Your wrath from us. Food forever are you angry with us? Or spread wrath from generation to generation? God! You will come to life, and Your people will rejoice in You. Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy, and grant us Thy salvation!” (Ps. 84:2-8). When the enemy raises weapons and attacks our Fatherland, this means nothing more than the wrath of God, kindled by our sins. Also, when our fields do not bear fruit for us, or there are frequent fires, or a pestilence is spreading, or some other disaster comes upon us, God punishes us with a common disaster, so that we come to our senses and repent.
This righteous wrath of God is aroused by all kinds of sins, but especially by unrighteous courts, bribery, perjury, insults and evil towards widows, orphans and other poor, the shedding of innocent tears, mutual untruth in trade, mutual kidnapping, theft, mutual flattery, deceit, lies and deception, when they are wary of each other and do not trust each other in anything. This includes vile uncleanness, when people are not horrified to desecrate the bed of their neighbors, and to commit other uncleanness, for which the first world was destroyed by a flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah by fire and brimstone - destroyed by God's righteous wrath.
The same righteous wrath of God acts in that country, in which there are fires, from which cities and villages are empty, then there is a shortage of bread and hunger, then one hears about the fall of many thousands of people from military weapons, from which the entire Fatherland falls into trouble: people become beggars, the general treasury is depleted and disappears, the lament, sob and cry of orphaned children, widowed wives, mothers who have lost theirs rise pitifully. the sons who fell in battle, all the sons of the Fatherland, are overwhelmed by sadness and sorrow, confused by the fear and horror of despair at the unfortunate end of the war. In such disastrous circumstances, when people do not feel God’s punishing hand, and not only do not lag behind their sins and do not repent, but also add sins to sins, an even greater general disaster must certainly be expected. Therefore, as always, and especially in such cases, we must all together, having recognized and acknowledged our sins and iniquities, unanimously from the depths of our hearts raise our voice: “Lord God of Hosts! Turn us, and make Your face shine, and we will be saved” (Ps. 79:8), and pour out the prayers given, or others that faith gives, to God.
For common sins are punished by common punishment, and therefore we must propitiate God with common repentance. And lawless oath-breakers, predators, bribe-takers, those who shed tears of the poor, innocently condemn and other lawless people, as a common plague of the Fatherland, those to whom the sword of justice has been given by God must be humbled and rendered righteous judgment to everyone according to his deeds, and the earthly judges themselves will not be cut by the sword of God’s righteous judgment, and they will not accept the lot with the infidels. It is bad and unlawful to show leniency there, where severity and justice should be used. Condescension is needed where sins are committed from weakness, to which every good person is subject. And fearlessness and godlessness should be strictly punished, like a common pestilence, so that others also have fear and do not become infected.
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