Изъяснение псалма 115-го.

"Hallelujah" The Hebrew text, and both other translators and the Syriac, connect this psalm with the previous one; because he continues the same thought. since they divide the ninth psalm into two psalms, then by combining these psalms they preserve an equal number of psalms with us. However, this psalm has the same content; for the Jews, having mentioned there the land of the living and concluded their speech, begin it here like this: Ps.115:1. I believed, and therefore I said: I am greatly broken. Ps.116:2. I said in my rashness: every man is a liar. “Beliefs also proclaimed.” I did not see this country with my physical eyes, but faith made it obvious to me. “I have greatly humbled myself.” “And Az Rekh in my rage: every man is a lie.” Aquila translated it this way: I said in my amazement: every man is a liar; and Theodotion: every person disappears; and Symmachus: I said with sorrow: every man is deceived. It was not without intention that I presented all these translations, but wanting to show that the Prophet calls human well-being a “lie,” most likely fleeting and lacking any permanence: seeing, says the Prophet, this sudden change, bringing to mind our previous well-being, and looking at the disasters that followed one after another, I said with regret: there is nothing permanent and lasting; he is deceived and will not see the fulfillment of hope who relies on present, as something lasting. He also said this in the thirty-eighth psalm: “Every living man is all vanity” (Psalm 38:6). Having learned this, the wise Solomon, although he lived in all prosperity, touched upon the nature of human affairs and made such an introduction; Ps.115:3. What will I repay to the Lord for all His good deeds to me? “What will I repay the Lord for all that I have repaid?” Having been rewarded by many and various benefits, I do not know how to reward the Benefactor. Not without intention, the Prophet added this to the previous one, but hereby he teaches that, with the many different changes in life, God of all kinds helps people, and gives all kinds of consolation to those who fall in spirit. Blessed Paul also said this: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who comfort us in all our sorrow, for He is able to comfort us in all sorrow, with the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted from God: just as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds in Christ” (2 Cor. 1:3-5). Blessed David also said: “Because of the multitude of my illnesses, Your consolations have made my soul glad” (Psalm 93:19). Ps.115:4. I will accept the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. “I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” Therefore, one must fearlessly accept death for Him, and thereby repay for His many different blessings. For the Prophet called death for piety “the cup of salvation.” That is what the Lord calls her; for he says: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39). And to the couple of Apostles who asked for fellowship in the kingdom, he said this: “Can you drink the cup that Az imam drinks” (Matthew 20:22)? Therefore, here too, as the Prophet says, courageous and valiant ascetics of piety advise themselves to do the same. They fulfill this promise in the eyes of their fellow tribesmen, in order to encourage them to similar zeal. Then the Prophet shows the fruit of such death. Ps.116:5. I will pay my vows to the Lord before all His people. Ps.115:6. The death of His saints is dear in the eyes of the Lord! “I will offer my prayers to the Lord before all His people.” “The death of His saints is honorable before the Lord.” And if I’m honest before God; then for whom and among the saints is she not venerable? Ps.115:7. Oh my God! I am Your servant, I am Your servant and the son of Your handmaid; You have loosed my bonds. “O Lord, I am Thy servant, I am Thy servant, and the son of Thy handmaid.” Therefore, if we endure this amazing death, then we will receive honor and praise from God, and we will leave behind us an ever-memorable glory. And if, having overcome the enemies, we scatter their hordes; then let us bring a song of thanksgiving to the Lord, recognizing our slavery and boasting that we received it from our ancestors. For those who are forced to servile people sometimes boast that they had free ancestors; and those who voluntarily served God admit that they accepted this slavery from their ancestors, rightly being confident that such slavery is their greatest glory. “Thou hast torn my bonds to pieces.” You freed me from many and different disasters. Ps.115:8. I will offer you a sacrifice of praise, and I will call on the name of the Lord. Ps.115:9. I will pay my vows to the Lord before all His people. Ps.115:10. In the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem! Hallelujah. “I will devour a sacrifice of praise for you, and in the name of the Lord I will call.” “I will offer my prayers to the Lord before all His people.” “In the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of you is Jerusalem.” And having been delivered from disasters, I will not be ungrateful for the benefits, but I will give You a sacrifice of praise, I will offer a song of thanksgiving as a gift in the presence of all my fellow tribesmen, so that they too will benefit from it. I will perform this verbal sacred rite in the church dedicated to Your Name. Therefore, from here we can find out that even under the law that was still in force, those who delved more spiritually into the law preferred verbal sacrifices to wordless sacrifices, thus prefiguring the new covenant. You should know that both psalms are appropriate for all virtuous martyrs; because both have the same goal. Those of the Old Testament suffered a most miraculous death for the law and the lawgiver; and the New Testament people preferred death to real life for the sake of Him who saved them and crushed death. You might be interested in: