Изъяснение псалма 137-го.

"To David." Upon their return from Babylon, the Jews, with God's help, having overthrown the nations that had rebelled against them, bring a song of thanksgiving to God. This is what the divine David predicts. Ps.137:1. I praise You with all my heart, before the gods I sing to You, [that You have heard all the words of my mouth] 42. “I will confess to You, Lord, with all my heart.” They did not remain ungrateful to the Benefactor, but having offered prayer and received help, they repay the benefits to the best of their ability, and offer chants for the help provided. “And before the Angels I will sing to You,” that is, we will imitate the hosts of Angels, and just as they, rejoicing in heaven, glorify the God of all, so we on earth will bring You spiritual sweet singing. Ps.137:2. I worship before Your holy church and glorify Your name for Your mercy and for Your truth, for You have magnified Your word above every name of Yours. “I will bow to Your holy church, and let us confess to Your name about Your mercy and Your truth.” And instead of heaven, I will have a church dedicated to Your name. In it I will worship You and perform a hymn of thanksgiving, seeing the love for me and the truth in the reasoning of my enemies; because, guided by the truth, You condemned them to destruction as offenders, but You saved me by Your mercy. “For You have magnified Your Holy Name above all”; because in everything Your name is honored, and is praised by all who have seen Your power. Ps.137:3. On the day when I called, You heard me and instilled cheerfulness into my soul. “Whenever I call on you, you will soon hear me.” I also beg you to always enjoy this joy: “Multiply me in my soul by Your power,” that is, “by Your power” you will take care of my soul, fill it with consolation and hope. Symmachus translated this: You are inherent in the strength of my soul, that is, you have made me worthy of great help and care. Ps.137:4. All the kings of the earth will glorify You, O Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth. “May all the kings of the earth confess to You, Lord, because they have heard all the words of Your mouth.” And then, having learned about this great victory, they marveled everywhere at the power of the God of all; Most of all, after the incarnation of our God and Savior, kings and princes sing songs of praise to the Creator of all. During that victory they did not hear “verbs,” but saw only an extraordinary thing; and now the “verbs” have heard and enjoy the preaching of the Gospel. Ps.137:5. And they will sing to the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. “And let them sing in the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.” In the form of a desire, the Prophet speaks of the future and predicts a change in affairs, namely, that everyone will marvel at the providence and economy of God. For the Prophet calls the economy “ways.” Ps.137:6. The Lord is high: he sees the humble and recognizes the proud from afar. “For the Lord is high and looks down on the humble.” The Prophet said this in another psalm: “He lives on the high and looks down on the lowly” (Psalm 113:5-6). He says that the Lord is high in nature and cannot be expressed, but does not leave small creatures without care, and He honors them with His providence. “And high news from afar;” because he knows everything before he comes into being, and seeing from afar those who will rule, he gives each person appropriate benefits. Ps.137:7. If I walk in the midst of adversity, You will revive me, You will stretch out Your hand against the fury of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. “If I go in the midst of sorrow, live for me.” This is the voice of sincere faith. I am confident, says the Prophet, that even if I am surrounded by disasters everywhere, I will overcome all difficulties, and with Your help I will gain life. “Thou hast stretched out Thy hand to anger my enemy, and Thy right hand has saved me.” For being angry with those who were hostile to me, You put them to death, but You made me worthy of salvation. And from this it is clear that the Prophet calls “hand” action, and “right hand” - good action; because, speaking about the punishment of enemies, he used the word: “hand”, and speaking about the benefit shown to himself, he used the word: “right hand”. Ps.137:8. The Lord will do it for me! Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever: do not forsake the work of Your hands. “The Lord will reward me.” I, as a human being and guilty of sins, cannot repay good deeds. But the Lord himself, the Giver of these blessings to me, having become human and taking on my nature, will repay my debt. In agreement with this, the divine Apostle says that the Lord Christ destroyed “the handwriting against us” (Col. 2:14). “Lord, Your mercy endures forever; do not despise the work of Your hand.” So, since Your mercy is immeasurable and extends forever, grant speedy salvation to Your creatures. The Prophet said this prayer, having learned by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit that the debt of nature would be repaid by the Creator of nature Himself. Translation of the 70: before the Angels You might be interested in: