Conversation with Archpriest Alexy Ladygin about the Psalter.
- Let's continue the conversation about the Psalter. Today we will look at Psalm 24.
Psalm 24 of the Psalter of King David is very significant for every Christian, because in it David teaches all the faithful to pray correctly, teaches how to behave in difficult life circumstances. When a person experiences any shocks in life, he needs to turn to God, but he must pray not only for himself. Prayer should expand and go beyond the boundaries of oneself, being filled with a petition for one’s loved ones. When finding yourself in difficult circumstances, you need to read this psalm, in which the person praying asks for God’s mercy and receives it.
“To You, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul, my God, in You I have trusted, so that I may never be ashamed; let my enemies laugh at me.” David says that “I lift up my soul to You,” that is, I present it before the Lord. But in order for the soul to stand before God, it must be freed from everything superfluous, superficial, earthly, to which it is attached during our life.
We go to church and stand up for prayer only when we can break away from our everyday life, bustle, and laziness. Only then does the soul, together with the body, turn to God in prayer. " I trust in You, let me not be ashamed" Trust in the Lord never puts a person to shame. When he is with God, he is never ashamed - without God he can be ashamed, because in a state of God-forsakenness a person is left alone with his weakness, poverty and falls into the hands of enemies.
« Below, let my enemies laugh at me" You don’t even have to explain these words, because, indeed, a person without God will be ridiculed. Why did God take David's side? Because David always placed his trust in any matter, in any battle, in the Lord. And this hope never failed him.
“For all those who endure You will not be ashamed" What means " patient"? In this context, the word “enduring” does not mean patience. This speaks of those who trust in God and call upon His mercy. And hope in God will never put you to shame.
« Let the wicked be ashamed in vain" What means " lawless in vain"? Every person is sinful, there are no sinless people. But there are sins - known and unknown, voluntary and involuntary. If a person commits involuntary sins, sins accidentally, then these sins are not imputed to him as a great sin. And those sins that he commits purposefully, abides in them, reduce the sinner to the underworld. The psalmist draws attention to them, saying that these sins are in vain, they need to be fought, they need to be overcome.
« Tell me Your ways, O Lord, and teach me Your paths" The psalmist David very often uses magnifiers, emphasizing the meaning of spoken words, strengthening them with repetitions, replacing them with synonyms, similar words. “Paths”, “paths” - stitches, paths - it would seem that these are one and the same thing. Only there are wide paths, there are narrow ones, but any path of God is holy. If we talk about the ways of God, then we are talking about following the will of God through keeping His commandments. The Psalmist says: “Show me the way, teach me Your commandments.”
« Guide me to Your truth, and teach me: for You are the God of my Savior, and I have endured You all day long.“, that is, I trust in you all day long. " Guide me to Your truth, teach me“Teach me Your commandments. " For You are God, my Savior" Why does David call God - “ My saver"? Because only the Lord delivers a person from those difficulties, sorrows, and illnesses that exist in his life. He calls Him Savior because without God it is impossible to find peace and quiet. And David asks the Lord to teach, show the truth, and instruct in it. Thanks to this, a person finds salvation from the difficulties that he encounters in his life.
« And I endured you all day" For Jews, the concept of “day” included all daylight hours, this understanding of all life. They did not consider the night to be life, it is a temporary resting place for a person, a temporary death, because at night a person does not create, does not live. It says that “I trust in You all my life.”
“Remember Thy compassions, O Lord, and Thy mercies, as they have been from time immemorial.”. David says: “Remember, O Lord, Your mercies in which I have trusted throughout my life. For me this is the essence of life, I cannot do anything differently in my life.” Indeed, David always acted very mercifully towards everyone, remembering that the Lord gives His mercy only to those who have shown this mercy in their lives. He goes on to say: “ The sin of my youth and my ignorance do not remember: according to Thy mercy, remember me, for the sake of Thy goodness, O Lord.”. David asks that the Lord not remember the sins of youth and ignorance. In youth, a person is characterized by ardor, which is why he commits sins so easily, unconsciously. These sins, as the holy fathers say, can be forgiven by the Lord in a single prayer of repentance. Conscious sins require not just repentant prayer, but also depression of the body. Such grave sins are forgiven only through bearing some serious hardships and sorrows.
“The Lord is good and right; for this reason He will give a law to those who sin along the way.” According to all interpreters, the Lord is good because He is perfect. Goodness can only be in the Lord. We remember the words of Holy Scripture when the Lord said to one lawyer: “ ...why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”(Mark 10:18) . Indeed, goodness, as the highest good, grace, is found in full only in the Lord. Such treatment is appropriate only to God. A judge who conducts a trial without any bias, hypocrisy, bribery, or untruth is called right. The Lord is called righteous because He carries out righteous judgment, without any partiality.
“For this reason he will give a law to those who sin in the way”. It says here that the Lord gives the law for the sinner and judges him according to this law. " He will guide the meek in judgment, He will teach the meek in his way.” The meek are justified in court. They are shown the correct, saving path along which they are walking - “ teach the meek in his way" The Lord always teaches the meek His commandments.
We talked about the fact that the Psalter is Christological: it contains many prophecies about Christ. We cannot call a single person truly meek before the coming of Christ, because this feat was not completed in full before the suffering of Christ. We learn meekness only from the Lord. The Lord says: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Learn from Me that he is meek and lowly in heart” (See: Matthew 11: 28-29). Only the disciples of Christ could learn meekness and humility in full from the Lord. According to the patristic interpretation, the words about the meek who follow the path of God speak of the disciples of Christ - the holy apostles, who joyfully began to fulfill the commandments of Christ, the commandments that the Lord left them.
« All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to those who seek His covenant and His testimony.” "Date" And " covenant"are called the commandments of God. He who learns from the Lord the commandments of God, to him the Lord shows mercy and truth. In everything we must strive to fulfill the commandments of God.
“For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, and cleanse my sin, for there is much.”. Of course, a person has many sins and untruths, but for the sake of glorifying the name of God, the Lord cleanses a person.
“If anyone is a man, fear the Lord; He will set a law in his path according to his will.” It talks about holiness and godliness. When a person lives according to the commandments of God, then the Lord shows him His mercy, his paths become correct and righteous. In the same time " his soul will dwell in good things, and his seed will inherit the earth" Here we speak about the villages of the righteous, about the time of the opening of the Kingdom of Heaven in the villages of paradise. The doors of the Kingdom of Heaven were closed in Old Testament times, but in hell there were villages of the righteous. Naturally, the one who lives according to the commandments of God, his soul will settle in the villages of the righteous. What does it mean to “inherit the earth”? The Jews had an important task - to have a continuation of their family, so that through this their family would be sanctified by the meeting with the Messiah, with the Chosen One, who would come to save humanity. For them, this was task number one, so having many children was always encouraged. At the same time, a person who did not have children was considered a sinner. Children contained not only continuation of the family, but also the meaning of earthly life. Parents did not squander the wealth they had accumulated for their children to enjoy. Therein lies great joy.
“The Lord is the power of those who fear Him, and He will show His covenant to them.” That is, he will show them the commandments. " Power"- means “fortress”. The Lord is a strength for us, a protection for all those who fear God.
“I will lift up my eyes to the Lord, for He will pluck my eyes from the snare.” Here we are talking about the human mind. " Will pluck the nose from the network“- the enemy of the human race lays snares, but the Lord preserves man, his life and path from the temptations of the devil.
“Look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am the only begotten and the poor.” Here the psalmist speaks about himself: that there is a time when a person is left alone in his spiritual quest, abandoned by everyone. In this state he says: “ The sorrows of my heart have increased, deliver me from my needs.” "The Sorrow of My Heart"- these are very difficult internal experiences that relate not to some physical infirmities, but to a state of abandonment by God, despondency. The man says: “I am alone in this life, poor, and everyone has left me.” Then a strong heartfelt experience is born, when everyone turns away from you, is ready to betray you, then you think and cry out to God: “ Deliver me from my needs.”
“See my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins.” What can we offer to the Lord? Just to show that there is humility and work in our hearts. “For this reason, Lord, deliver me from all my sins.”
“My enemies have seen that they have multiplied, and they hate me with unrighteous hatred.”. Man has many enemies. Sometimes he feels lonely and fears that he is overcome by many enemies. What can he say to God? They hated him unjustly. Here David says that there must be truth in everything: if I did something bad and evil to a person, let him down, for which he hated me, it means that he truly hates me. And if I didn’t do anything bad, didn’t betray him, didn’t do any harm to him, then why and how he hated me is unjust.
“Keep my soul and deliver me, so that I will not be put to shame because I trusted in you.” When every person experiences such difficulties, torment, is left alone with himself, with his trials, then he knows that there is someone else who can share his sorrows and experiences with him, can help in this test. This is David's prayer. He asks God for help, for Him to preserve, correct, teach; brings repentance in this psalm, asks the Lord to forgive the sin of youth and ignorance. At the same time, he says: “Lord, I didn’t do anything to make these people rebel against me and hate me. I’m lonely, Lord, help me.”
This psalm is like a kind of lamentation, groaning to the Lord about the state in which you are now. At the end of the psalm, David asks: “Keep my soul and deliver me, so that I may not be put to shame because I trusted in You.”. With these words he wants to say: “Save me, Lord, deliver me, show me that I believe correctly, so that everyone knows that I trust only in God, I do everything with the blessing of God.” The strength of the psalmist David lies not in wisdom, not in intelligence, not in the support of his people. Everything he has - he always talked about it - is all thanks to the fact that he trusts in God, believes in Him and considers Him his helper, protector and deliverer from all evil.
“I cleave to me in kindness and righteousness, for I have suffered Thee, O Lord.“- I constantly trusted in You, placed my hopes on You. Which " kindness and justice"? These are those who saw that the Lord helps David, gives him strength, strength, and victory. And then they turned to him and stood next to him, feeling the power of God and the reverence of God. Seeing such hope, they joined David, realizing that David's strength was in his God.
“Deliver, O God, Israel from all their sorrows.” These are the wonderful words of the psalmist David, in which he shows how prayer should end. When praying, you need to ask not only for yourself, about your needs and sorrows, but also for those people who are dear and close to you. Many people argue in this regard that you need to pray for yourself, you need to know those for whom you are praying, you cannot pray for those you do not know. The psalmist David answers us by saying that we must pray for everyone, especially for our people of the same faith. Therefore, he ends his prayer with a petition for all of Israel, since he is part of the Israeli people.
Transcript: Lyudmila Kedys
Each verse of this psalm begins with a Hebrew letter. alphabet, which is why it is called alphabetic. This method of writing was quite common not only among Jews, but also among eastern peoples in general, representing one of the types of artistic construction of speech that facilitates its memorization.
The psalm was written during the persecution of Absalom, as indicated by the duality of its content: on the one hand, David calls his enemies lawless, undeservedly persecuting him (Ps. 24_3, 19), on the other, he asks God for forgiveness of his sin, which he considers very great (Ps. 24_7, 11–18). Other parts of the psalm, depicting David alone, abandoned (Ps. 24_16), with only a small number of people devoted to him (Ps. 24_19) and in view of the great danger threatening him (Ps. 24_1, 20), correspond to his position under Absalom, during flight from Jerusalem.
Save me, Lord, from my enemies and teach me to follow the truth (1–6). You are merciful, forgive my sins and guide me (7–10). Purify and save me from the surrounding enemies and severe suffering, since I trust only in You (11–21).
Ps.24:3. Let not all those who trust in You be put to shame; let them that do wrong in vain be put to shame.
“Those who commit lawlessness in vain” are those who attack me without any reason or reason on my part.
Ps.24:4. Show me, O Lord, Your ways and teach me Your paths.
Ps.24:5. Guide me to Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I hope in You every day.
“Ways” and “paths” are Divine commandments. David prays to God to teach both these commandments and His “truth,” that is, righteousness, law. By this learning we mean not the external assimilation of those commandments, not just the study of the written Mosaic Law, which was not difficult for David to do, but the development in oneself of the inner strength of unswervingly following the prescriptions of the law, from which, as David says below, he retreated. - “I hope in You every day” - I spend my whole life in hope of You, that is, despite all the suffering, I only seek and expect help from You.
Ps.24:6. Remember Thy compassions, O Lord, and Thy mercies, for they have been from everlasting.
Ps.24:7. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my crimes; by Thy mercy remember me, for the sake of Thy goodness, O Lord!
“Generosity” and “mercy” for the most part mean - the first word - external expressions of divine love for a person in sending him material benefits, and “mercy” - spiritual, for example, peace of mind from the consciousness of the closeness of God, purity and sublimity of views, etc. . P.
– “Sins of youth... and sins of crimes” – sin with Bathsheba. David recognizes the guilt and illegality of this act, but calls it not an intentional or conscious violation of the Divine commandment, but the fruit of passion (“youth”), unconscious. This sin was a consequence of the temporary domination of sensual attraction over David, that impulse that is given to a young age, when the ability to strictly evaluate one’s actions and thoughts has not yet developed, but when a person is guided more by the area of feelings that directs the will, and therefore a person’s actions are often not in accordance with the direction where they would go if they were illuminated by reason. Depending on what lies at the basis of the latter - whether the motives are sublime or base - the actions are also corresponding, such as feats of heroism, self-sacrifice, or, conversely, gross selfishness and base passions. Such an impulse, which darkened David’s consciousness and assessment of what he was doing, was his action with Uriah and Bathsheba. David's clarification of the inner, psychological side of his sin was not, however, an attempt at self-justification and an expression of the desire to remain unpunished, but such a deep consciousness of his fall and his guilt before God that he prayed to Him for his mercy only because of God's great condescension to man, because of His extraordinary generosity and mercy to the unworthy, which God often showed to the Jews (6).
Ps.24:8. The Lord is good and righteous, therefore he guides sinners in the way,
Ps.24:10. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His covenant and His revelations.
“He guides sinners in the way.” The law represents guidelines with which human activity must be consistent if it is aimed at his spiritual improvement and drawing closer to God. But a person often retreats from this sublime task and directs his energies to satisfying his bad, base desires. In this case, the Lord gives him admonitions that indicate the error of his chosen path. These instructions can be general, characteristic and inherent in each person, and private, given not to everyone and not always. The first refers to the moral feeling of a person that approves or condemns his deeds (the voice of conscience), the second refers to the special instructions given by God to a person for his correction, such as, for example, in relation to David - the denunciation of him by the prophet Nathan. The Lord does all this out of love for man, with the goal of making it easier for him to appear “in judgment” before “God,” and thereby freeing him from heavy responsibility before Him for his behavior. – “All the ways of the Lord” – all the actions of God; “those who keep His covenant and revelations” - those who thirst for union with Him and intimacy, that is, the Lord always helps a person in his quest for Him with special actions and instructions. David here means the reproof of him by the prophet Nathan, which opened David’s eyes to his act and prompted him to repentance and greater spiritual vigilance over himself.
Ps.24:11. For the sake of Your name, Lord, forgive my sin, for it is great.
Purification for the sake of the great name of God indicates the height of David's reverence for Him. God is all-perfect, there is and cannot be any deficiency in Him; Accordingly, His admirers must be people of high moral purity; those who are unworthy seem to belittle the greatness of His name. This is the same thing that we see in everyday life: the higher a person’s position, the more worthy his face should be; an insignificant person, as it were, defiles and degrades his very rank. David calls his sin grave (“great is it”) and himself a great sinner before God, humiliating Him with his worship if he does not take care of his cleansing.
Ps.24:12. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will show him the path to choose.
Ps.24:13. His soul will remain in goodness, and his seed will inherit the earth.
Ps.24:14. The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them.
Here is a paraphrase of the main thought of Deuteronomy, according to which the faithful to God will enjoy both spiritual and external material benefits. - “The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them,” that is, the Lord becomes so close to those who revere Him that He tells them everything hidden from others. Here we need to understand the direct influence of God on man by communicating revelation to him and his inner guidance.
Ps.24:18. look at my suffering and my exhaustion and forgive all my sins.
“Look at the suffering” - look at my humiliation and “forgive all my sins” - that caused these disasters. David connects the crime with Bathsheba with real disasters.
Ps.24:20. Preserve my soul and deliver me, so that I may not be ashamed that I trust in You.
“Let me not be ashamed that I trust in You” - save me from my enemies, so that my faith in protection from You will not be ridiculed by my enemies. My death can be interpreted by enemies as an indicator of Your powerlessness to save those who believe in You; By providing protection, do not allow Your great name to be insulted.
Ps.24:21. Let integrity and righteousness protect me, for I trust in You.
After my sin has been forgiven and cleansed, “let integrity and righteousness protect me,” may I never stray from the truth or fall into sin.
Ps.24:22. Deliver, O God, Israel from all their sorrows.
This verse represents a liturgical addition that may have appeared during the Babylonian captivity, when the Jews, in the position of the oppressed and repentant David, could see an image of their suffering in captivity and pray for deliverance from it in the words of their sincerely repentant pious ancestor.
In the service, this psalm is included in the 3rd hour, supplementing the content of the XVI psalm with a sincere and fervent prayer to God for the spiritual cleansing of the person praying (Ps. 25:1, 7, 11) for worthy presence during the celebration of the liturgy.
This psalm is filled with reverent feelings for God, impulses of holy desires directed towards His favor and grace, living acts of faith in His promises. Based on its content, we can learn
(I.) What it means to pray (v. 1:15).
II. What we should pray for: forgiveness of sin (v. 6, 7, 18), direction to duty (v. 4, 5), favor of God (v. 16), deliverance from troubles (v. 17,18), protection from our enemies (vv. 20,21) and salvation of the Church of God (v. 22).
(III) In prayer speak of our trust in God (vv. 2, 3, 5, 20, 21), of our despair and the malice of our enemies (vv. 17, 19), of our sincerity (v. 21).
IV. What precious promises we have to encourage us in prayer, to guide and guide us (v. 8, 9, 12), of the privileges of the covenant (v. 10), and the pleasure of God's fellowship (v. 13, 14). As we sing this psalm, it is very easy to apply some of its passages to ourselves, for we often face difficulties, always sin, and have cause to complain at the throne of grace.
Psalm of David.
Verses 1-7. Here David confesses his desire for God and his dependence on Him. He often begins the psalms with similar confessions, but not in order to motivate God, but to motivate himself and force him to live up to these confessions.
I. David confesses his desire for God: “To Thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul (v. 1). In the previous psalm (v. 4) we are presented with the character of a godly man who did not swear his soul in vain, and then the call was made for the eternal gate to be lifted up and let the King of glory enter (v. 7). And here David responds to this call, to the requirements for this character: “To Thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” Please note that when we worship God, we must lift up our souls to Him. Prayer is the ascent of the soul to God; our soul must be aimed at God. “Sursum corda – lift up your hearts” - this phrase was used in ancient times as a call to worship. With a holy contempt for this world and its goods, with active faith and concentrated thought, we must keep God before us and allow our desires to strive towards Him as the source of our happiness.
II. David confesses his dependence on God and, as a consequence, asks for privileges and comforts (v. 2): “My God! I trust in You." His conscience testifies that he has no confidence in himself or any other creature, that he has no mistrust of God, of His power or promises. He pleases himself with this profession of faith in God. Having placed his trust in the Lord, he is calm, satisfied and not afraid of evil. He says all this to God, who is honored to help those who have honored Him with their trust in Him. What people trust in brings them either joy or shame, depending on what it turns out to be. And here David, under the instruction of faith, earnestly prays, (1.) That disgrace may not fall upon him: “Let not my trust in thee be ashamed; May I not be shaken by my fears; and so that in the end I will not be upset because I trusted in You, keep my deposit.” If we make our trust in God our stronghold, we will not be ashamed; if we rejoice in Him, our enemies will not rejoice over us, as they would have done if we had not died of fear; or we would end up losing our hopes.
(2) So that this fate is spared for all who believe in God. All saints have acquired equally valuable faith; and therefore, undoubtedly, it will lead to a similar success for everyone in the end. Such communion of saints is supported even by their prayers for each other. True saints offer prayers for all saints. It is certain that none of those who, believing, trust in God and wait for Him with believing hope, will be ashamed of their hope and hope.
(3) That this should be the fate of the wicked: “Let those who do wrong in vain (without reason or in vain) be ashamed.”
With no reason. They rebelled against God and their duty, against David and his government (as some understand) without any cause, without being able to pretend that they found any iniquity in God or in what He imposed on them. The weaker the temptation by which people are inclined to sin, the stronger the depravity by which they are drawn to sin. The worst evildoers are those who sin for the sake of sinning.
Without a goal. They know that their attacks against God will be fruitless; they imagine the impossible and therefore will soon be ashamed of their actions.
III. David asks for guidance from God to walk the right path (vv. 4,5). Again and again He prays to the Lord to teach him. David himself was a knowledgeable man, but even the most educated and the most observant man needs and strives to be taught by God; from Him we must continually learn. Note,
1. What David wants to learn: “Teach me, but not beautiful words or interesting knowledge, but Your truth, Your paths - those paths along which You go to people and which are all mercy and truth (v. 10), those paths along which You want me to go to You." Those who are best instructed are those who understand their duty and know what they ought to do (Eccl. 2:3). The ways of the Lord and the truth are one and the same; all divine laws are based on divine truths. The way of God's commandments is the way of truth (Ps. 119:30). Christ is the way and the truth, and therefore we must study Christ.
2. What does David want from God in this regard?
(1.) That the Lord should explain what his duty is: "Show me, O Lord, thy ways, and thus teach me." When in doubt, we must pray earnestly that God will give us a clear understanding of what He wants from us.
(2.) That the Lord might bend His will to do this, and strengthen him: “Guide me, and thus teach me.” This situation is not like the case when we guide a person with poor vision and support him so that he does not lose his way. It resembles the case when we lead a weak, sick, losing strength person and help him move forward along the road, supporting him from falling. On the way to heaven, we go no further than where God wants to lead us and support us.
3. What is David talking about?
(1.) His great hope in God: "Thou art the God of my salvation." Note that he who has chosen salvation from God as his goal and made Him the God of his salvation, can boldly come to Him for instruction in the path leading to this goal. If He saves us, He will teach and guide us. He who gives salvation will also give instruction.
(2) The psalmist's constant appeal to God: “In You I hope all day long.” From whom else does a servant expect to receive instruction about what to do, if not from his master, on whom he trusts every day? If we sincerely desire to know our duty and decide to fulfill it, then we should not doubt that God will direct us to fulfill it.
IV. He appeals to the infinite mercy of God and relies entirely on it, without counting on his own merits (v. 6):
“Remember Thy tender mercies, O Lord, and Thy mercies, and for the sake of these mercies lead and teach me, for they have been from everlasting.”
(1) “You have always been a merciful God; such is Your name, Your nature, and Your right to show mercy.”
(2) “Your commandments and desire to show mercy have been from eternity; the vessels of mercy were ready before the foundation of the worlds, and were predestined for glory.”
(3) “The examples of Your mercy for the Church in general, and for me in particular, were early and ancient, and therefore constant; they started a long time ago and never stopped. You taught me from my youth, teach me now.”
V. He asks in a special manner for the forgiveness of his sins (v. 7): “Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions; Lord, remember your mercies (v. 6), which speak for me, and not my sins, which speak against me.” These verses contain (1) a full confession of sin; David especially highlights the sins of his youth. Please note that we must repent of the sins and mistakes of youth and humble ourselves many years later, since time does not erase the guilt of sin. Old people must grieve for the sinful merriment and suffer for the sinful pleasures of their youth. The psalmist aggravates his sins by calling them crimes; and the more holy, just and good the law, the offense against which is sin, the more monstrous and sinful it must become to us.
(2) An expressive request for mercy,
So that he can be acquitted of guilt: “Do not remember the sins of my youth and my crimes, that is, do not remember the sins that testify against me, do not call me to account for them, do not sue me because of them.” Scripture says that when God forgives a sin, He remembers it no more, which means unconditional forgiveness; He forgives and forgets.
That he may be admitted into the presence of God: “Remember me; think about me for my good and come to my aid in a timely manner.” We should not desire greater happiness than when God remembers us with favor. David's request is accompanied by the words "by Thy mercy" and "for the sake of Thy goodness." Please note, this is God's goodness, not ours; it is His mercy, and not our merits, that must be cited in the petition for the forgiveness of sin and all those benefits that we need. We must always rely on such a request as people conscious of our own poverty and unworthiness, as people satisfied with the riches of God's mercy and grace.
Verses 8-14. In these verses, David's prayers echo God's promises. Many petitions were presented in the previous part of the psalm and many we will find in the last. And here, in the middle part of this psalm, David meditates on the promises, and by his vigorous faith is fed and satisfied from these breasts of consolation. For the promises of God are not only the best foundation for prayer, telling us what to pray for, and encouraging our faith and hope in prayer, but they are also the answer to prayer. Let the prayer correspond to the promise, and then the promise can be read as an answer to prayer; and we must believe that the prayer is heard, because the promise will be fulfilled. But among the promises we find one petition that seems to come suddenly and should follow verse 7. These are the words: “Forgive my trespass” (v. 11). But prayer for the forgiveness of sin can never be inappropriate; There is sin in all our actions, and therefore such petitions must be repeated in our prayers. The psalmist strengthens his petition with a double plea. The first sounds very natural: “For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, forgive my trespass, for Thou hast declared Thy name to be merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity for Thy glory’s sake, for Thy promise’s sake, and for Thy own sake” (Isaiah 43:25). And the last prayer sounds amazing: “Forgive my sin, for it is great.” The greater the sin, the more magnified is the divine mercy manifested in His forgiveness. The glory of the great God is revealed when He forgives great sins, iniquities, and trespasses (Exodus 34:7). “My sin is great, and therefore I am lost, lost forever, unless infinite mercy intervenes to forgive it. He is great; That’s how I see him.” The more the heinousness of sins is revealed to us, the more qualified we are to find favor with God. When we confess sin, we must strengthen it.
Now let us consider the great and precious promises that are presented in these verses, and notice the following:
I. To whom these promises belong, and who may hope to benefit from them. We are all sinners; and how can we hope to have any progress thanks to them? Yes (v. 8), He will teach sinners, although they are sinners, for Christ came into the world to save sinners, and to call them to repentance they must be taught. These promises are intended for those who, although they were sinners, although they forsook their way, yet at the same time kept the Word of God.
(1.) To those who have kept their covenant and their testimony (v. 10), who have taken His statutes as a rule for themselves, and His promises as their portion; who, having accepted the Lord as their God, lives based on this, and having given themselves to Him as a people, lives in accordance with this. Although sometimes through the weakness of the flesh they break the commandments, yet through sincere repentance whenever they do wrong, and constant devotion to God as their Lord, they keep the covenant and do not break it.
(2.) These promises belong to those who fear Him (v. 12, 14), who are in awe of His majesty and worship Him with reverence, who submit to His authority and obey cheerfully, who fear His wrath and fear to offend Him.
II. What are these promises based on, and what encouragement should we receive from them? There are two things that ratify and confirm all promises:
(1) the perfection of the nature of God. We value a promise by the character of Him who gave it. Therefore we can trust in God's promises, for the Lord is good and righteous; and therefore He will be as good as His Word. He is so good that He cannot deceive us, and so true that He cannot break His promise. For He who promised is faithful, who will do what he promised. God was good in making the promise, and therefore He will be righteous in fulfilling it.
(2.) The correspondence of His words to the perfections of His nature (v. 10): “All the ways of the Lord (that is, all His promises and providences) are mercy and truth; they are all, like God himself, good and righteous. He deals with His people according to the mercy of His purposes and the truth of His promises. Everything He does comes from love, covenant love; and believers can see in her His mercy revealed and His word fulfilled. What a rich satisfaction it can be for good people to know that, whatever suffering they may have to endure, all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. This is how it will turn out when their journey comes to an end.
III. What are these promises?
1. God will instruct and guide them in the path of duty. This is insistently asserted, for it is the answer to David's prayer (v. 4, 5): "Show me, O Lord, thy ways, and guide me." We must concentrate and live out our faith especially in those promises that best suit our situation.
(1.) He instructs sinners in the way, because they are sinners and therefore need teaching. When they see themselves as sinners and want to learn, then He will teach them the way of reconciliation with God, the way of thorough peace of conscience, and the way to eternal life. By His Gospel He will make this path known to all, and by His Spirit He will open the minds and lead repentant sinners who ask for it. The devil leads people blindfolded to hell, but God enlightens people's eyes, puts things before them in their true light, and thus leads them to heaven.
(2) He guides the meek; He will teach the meek, that is, those who are humble and low in their own eyes, who do not rely on themselves, who desire to be taught, and who sincerely resolve to follow divine guidance. “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” He will guide such people to righteousness, that is, according to the principle of His written Word; He will lead them to practical knowledge that has to do with sin and duty, so that they may have a clear conscience. He will do this wisely (as some understand this passage), that is, He will adapt His behavior to their situation; He will teach sinners wisdom, tenderness and compassion as much as possible. He will teach them His way. All pious people make the way of the Lord their own way and desire to be instructed in it, and such will be instructed and led along this path.
(3) To the man who fears the Lord, He will show him the path to choose: either the path that God chooses, or this good man will choose the path. This is one and the same thing, for he who fears the Lord chooses what pleases God. If we choose the right path, then the One who directed our choice will direct our steps and lead us along it. If we make wise choices, God will give us the grace to choose wisely.
2. God will make their life easy (v. 13): “His soul shall abide in goodness.” He who devotes himself to the fear of God and gives himself up to be taught by God will be well off unless he makes mistakes. The soul, sanctified by His grace and, moreover, comforted by the peace from God, remains in goodness. Even when the body hurts and suffers from pain, the soul can safely abide in the Lord, can return to Him and rest in Him as in its peace. There are many things that happen that make us worry, but there are enough good things in the covenant of grace to balance them out and make us prosperous.
3. God will give them and their loved ones as many worldly goods as are good for them: “His seed shall inherit the earth.” After caring for one's own souls comes caring for one's descendants, and God has blessings in store for the next generation. Those who fear God will inherit the earth, they will have material provision and comfort from it, and the lot of their children, thanks to their prayers, will be much better after they are gone.
4. God will admit them to the secret of communication with himself (v. 14): “The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him.” They understand His Word; for whoever wants to do His will will know about this teaching whether it is from God (John 7:17). He who accepts the truth, loving it and feeling its power, will better understand its mystery. Such people know better than others the meaning of His providence and what God does with them. “Will I hide from Abraham what I want to do?” (Genesis 18:17). He does not call them servants, but friends, as He called Abraham. They know by experience the blessings of the covenant and the pleasure of fellowship which gracious souls have with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. This honor is given to all His saints.
Verses 15-22. In these verses David, having been encouraged by the promises upon which he had been meditating, resumes his appeal to God, and ends this psalm as he began, with a confession of his trust in Him, and his longing for Him.
I. He reveals his plight to God. His feet were caught in a snare, tightly bound in such a way that he himself could not free himself from his difficulties (v. 15). He was lonely and oppressed (v. 16). Very often people who find themselves in a difficult situation find themselves alone; their friends desert them, and they can only sit alone and be silent (Lam. 3:28). David calls himself lonely and oppressed because he did not rely on his servants and soldiers, but completely trusted God, as if he did not hope to receive help from anyone else. Being in despair and surrounded by troubles, when the sorrows of his heart are increased (v. 17), he becomes more and more sad and troubled. The feeling of his own sin struck him more than anything else: it was what crushed and wounded his spirit, surrounded him with external problems. He was in pain and exhaustion (v. 18). The enemies who pursued him were numerous and vicious; they hated him; they were barbarians and hated him with a fierce hatred (v. 19). Such were the enemies of Christ and the enemies of His Church.
II. Finding himself in these troubles, David expresses his trust in God (v. 15): “My eyes are always on the Lord.” The idolaters had gods whom they could see with their bodily eyes, and their eyes were constantly directed toward the idols (Isa. 17:7,8). But we must direct the eye of faith to God, who is the Spirit (Zechariah 9:1). Our thoughts of Him should be pleasant, and He should always be before our eyes: in all our ways we should acknowledge Him and do everything for His glory. Thus we must live in communion with God: not only in decrees, but also in providences, not only in acts of worship, but also in the general way of life. In his sufferings David had consolation, for, as his eyes were always directed towards the Lord, he had no doubt that God would free His feet from this snare and deliver him from the wickedness of his own heart (as some understand this passage), from the plans of his enemies ( as others understand). Those whose eyes are constantly fixed on God will not long suffer from having their feet caught in a snare. The psalmist repeats the confession of his trust in God (v. 20): “Let me not be ashamed that I have trusted in Thee,” and of his hopes in Him: “For I have trusted in Thee” (v. 21). It is very good to hope in this way and quietly wait for salvation from the Lord.
III. David earnestly prays to God for deliverance and help.
1. For yourself.
(1) Notice how he asks.
He asks God to forgive his sin (v. 18): “...forgive all my sins.” This was his heaviest burden, and all other difficulties were the result of it. David had already asked God to forgive the sins of his youth (v. 7), to forgive lawlessness (v. 11), which he considered especially great (according to some, this was his sin in his relationship with Uriah). But here he prays: “Lord, forgive all my sins.” It is noteworthy that, mentioning his troubles, he asks God to pay His attention to them: “Look at my suffering and at my exhaustion; and do as You please." David asks for complete forgiveness of all his sins: “Forgive all my sins.” When we find ourselves in some kind of trouble, we should be more concerned about our sins (so that they are forgiven) rather than about suffering (so that they are removed). At the same time the psalmist prays,
So that God would save him from suffering. His mind was troubled that God had withdrawn from him, and David felt His displeasure. So he prays (v. 16): “Look upon me.” And if the Lord turns to us, then it doesn't matter who turns away from us. David's situation was dire, and referring to this, he prays: “Bring me out of my troubles. I don’t see a way of deliverance, but You can either find it or create it.” His enemies gloated, and referring to this, he prays: “Keep my soul from falling into their hands, or deliver me from them.”
(2.) In his petition David mentions four points which strengthen these petitions, and commits himself and them to God's consideration.
He asks God for mercy: “Have mercy on me.” People of the greatest merit will perish if they do not have fellowship with the God of infinite mercy.
He speaks of his distress, his despair, suffering and pain, especially the sorrows of his heart, and all this made him a worthy object of divine mercy.
David speaks of the iniquities of his enemies: “Lord, look at them, how cruel they are, and deliver me.”
He speaks of his integrity (v. 12). Although the psalmist considered himself guilty before God and confessed his sins to Him, at the same time, when he speaks of his enemies, he has the testimony of his conscience that he did not harm them, which served him as a consolation when they hated him with fierce hatred. And David prays that his integrity and righteousness may protect him. This implies the fact that he hoped to be safe only through his own integrity and rightness, and so long as he remained so, he did not doubt his own safety. Sincerity will be our best security in the worst of times. Integrity and righteousness will serve a person as better security than the riches and honors of this world, since they will preserve us for the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, we must pray to God to keep us in integrity, and then be confident that this will keep us.
2. For the Church of God (v. 22): “Deliver, O God, Israel from all their troubles.” At that time, David himself was in trouble, but he considers this prayer quite appropriate, since disasters were the lot of God's Israel. Why then can the fate of one member be so much better than that of the whole body? David's troubles multiplied, and he was very sincere in asking God to deliver him. At the same time, he does not forget the suffering of the Church of God; and when we have many personal requests from the throne of grace, we must remember and pray for the people. Godly men have little comfort in their own welfare while the Church is in trouble and danger. This prayer is a prophecy that in the end God will give David peace and will also give Israel peace from all the enemies that surround them. This is also a prophecy that at the right time God will send the Messiah and He will deliver Israel from all their iniquities (Ps. 129:8) and thus from all tribulations. This place also indicates bliss in the future state. In heaven and only in heaven, the God of Israel will absolutely redeem him from all sorrows.
Each verse of this psalm begins with a Hebrew letter. alphabet, which is why it is called alphabetic. This method of writing was quite common not only among Jews, but also among eastern peoples in general, representing one of the types of artistic construction of speech that facilitates its memorization.
The psalm was written during the persecution of Absalom, as indicated by the duality of its content: on the one hand, David calls his enemies lawless, undeservedly persecuting him (Ps. 24_3, 19), on the other, he asks God for forgiveness of his sin, which he considers very great (Ps. 24_7, 11–18). Other parts of the psalm, depicting David alone, abandoned (Ps. 24_16), with only a small number of people devoted to him (Ps. 24_19) and in view of the great danger threatening him (Ps. 24_1, 20), correspond to his position under Absalom, during flight from Jerusalem.
Save me, Lord, from my enemies and teach me to follow the truth (1–6). You are merciful, forgive my sins and guide me (7–10). Purify and save me from the surrounding enemies and severe suffering, since I trust only in You (11–21).
. Let not all those who trust in You be put to shame; let them that do wrong in vain be put to shame.
"The Wicked in vain"- attacking me without any reason, no reason for it on my part.
. Show me, O Lord, Your ways and teach me Your paths.
. Guide me to Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; I hope in You every day.
“Ways” and “paths” are Divine commandments. David prays to God to teach both these commandments and His “truths,” that is, truth and law. By this learning we mean not the external assimilation of those commandments, not just the study of the written Mosaic Law, which was not difficult for David to do, but the development in oneself of the inner strength of unswervingly following the prescriptions of the law, from which, as David says below, he retreated. – “I trust in You every day”- I spend my whole life in hope of You, that is, despite all the suffering, I only seek and expect help from You.
. Remember Thy compassions, O Lord, and Thy mercies, for they have been from everlasting.
. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my crimes; by Thy mercy remember me, for the sake of Thy goodness, O Lord!
“Generosity” and “mercy” for the most part mean – the first word – external expressions of divine love for a person in sending him material benefits, and “mercy” – spiritual, for example, peace of mind from the consciousness of the closeness of God, purity and sublimity of views, etc. . P.
– "Sins of youth... and sins of crimes" - with Bathsheba. David is aware of the guilt and illegality of this act, but calls it not an intentional or conscious violation of the Divine commandment, but the fruit of passion (“youth”), unconscious. This was a consequence of the temporary dominance over David of sensual attraction, that impulse that is given to a young age, when the ability to strictly evaluate one’s actions and thoughts has not yet developed, but when a person is guided more by the area of feelings that directs the will, and therefore a person’s actions are often in the wrong direction. the direction where they would go if they were illuminated by reason. Depending on what lies at the basis of the latter - whether the motives are sublime or base - the actions are also corresponding, such as feats of heroism, self-sacrifice, or, conversely, gross selfishness and base passions. Such an impulse, which darkened David’s consciousness and assessment of what he was doing, was his action with Uriah and Bathsheba. David's clarification of the inner, psychological side of his sin was not, however, an attempt at self-justification and an expression of the desire to remain unpunished, but such a deep consciousness of his fall and his guilt before God that he prayed to Him for his mercy only because of God's great condescension to man, because of His extraordinary generosity and mercy to the unworthy, which God often showed to the Jews (6).
. The Lord is good and righteous, therefore he guides sinners in the way,
. He guides the meek to righteousness, and teaches the meek His ways.
. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth to those who keep His covenant and His revelations.
"He guides sinners in the way". The law represents guidelines with which human activity must be consistent if it is aimed at his spiritual improvement and drawing closer to God. But a person often retreats from this sublime task and directs his energies to satisfying his bad, base desires. In this case, the Lord gives him admonitions that indicate the error of his chosen path. These instructions can be general, characteristic and inherent in each person, and private, given not to everyone and not always. The first refers to the moral feeling of a person that approves or condemns his deeds (the voice of conscience), the second refers to the special instructions given by God to a person for his correction, such as, for example, in relation to David - the denunciation of him by the prophet Nathan. The Lord does all this out of love for man, with the goal of making it easier for him to appear “in judgment” before “God,” and thereby freeing him from heavy responsibility before Him for his behavior. – "All the ways of the Lord"- all the actions of God; "storing His covenant and revelations"- thirsting for union with Him and intimacy, i.e. the Lord always helps a person in his desire for Him with special actions and instructions. David here means the reproof of him by the prophet Nathan, which opened David’s eyes to his act and prompted him to repentance and greater spiritual vigilance over himself.
. For the sake of Your name, Lord, forgive my sin, for it is great.
Purification for the sake of the great name of God indicates the height of David's reverence for Him. God is all-perfect, there is and cannot be any deficiency in Him; Accordingly, His admirers must be people of high moral purity; those who are unworthy seem to belittle the greatness of His name. This is the same thing that we see in everyday life: the higher a person’s position, the more worthy his face should be; an insignificant person, as it were, defiles and degrades his very rank. David calls his grave (“great is it”) and himself a great sinner before God, humiliating Him with his worship if he does not take care of his purification.
. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will show him the path to choose.
. His soul will remain in goodness, and his seed will inherit the earth.
. The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them.
Here is a paraphrase of the main thought of Deuteronomy, according to which the faithful to God will enjoy both spiritual and external material benefits. – “The secret of the Lord is to those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them.”, that is, the Lord becomes so close to those who revere Him that He tells them everything hidden from others. Here we need to understand the direct influence of God on man by communicating revelation to him and his inner guidance.
. look at my suffering and my exhaustion and forgive all my sins.
"Look at the suffering"- look at my humiliation and "forgive all my sins"- who caused these disasters. David connects the crime with Bathsheba with real disasters.
. Preserve my soul and deliver me, so that I may not be ashamed that I trust in You.
“Let me not be ashamed, because I trust in You”- save me from my enemies, so that my faith in protection from You will not be ridiculed by my enemies. My death can be interpreted by enemies as an indicator of Your powerlessness to save those who believe in You; By providing protection, do not allow Your great name to be insulted.
. Let integrity and righteousness protect me, for I trust in You.
After my sin is forgiven and cleansed “Let integrity and righteousness protect me” May I never deviate from the truth and fall into sin.
. Deliver, O God, Israel from all their sorrows.
This verse represents a liturgical addition that may have appeared during the Babylonian captivity, when the Jews, in the position of the oppressed and repentant David, could see an image of their suffering in captivity and pray for deliverance from it in the words of their sincerely repentant pious ancestor.
In the service, this psalm is included in the 3rd hour, supplementing the content of the XVI psalm with a sincere and fervent prayer to God for the spiritual purification of the one praying () for worthy presence during the celebration of the liturgy.
Everyone who recites a psalm must believe that the Lord will hear him. Everyone will be consoled in their sorrow by saying psalms. Anyone who helps the one who sings them will be under God's protection.
If you want to be confirmed in your fearlessness and hope in the Lord - Psalm 90.
If you want to move to the house of God - 83.
Ask for bounties from the King of Heaven - 66.
It’s hard to live and weak in spirit - 101.
When there are a lot of angry and proud people around - 11.
If you know the unspiritual thoughts of others, then you must resort to 13 and not join in with those who blaspheme.
Comfort the offended, 19.
If you encounter evil lawlessness on the way, you should read 35.
Psalm 38 will help you become stronger before a fight with the enemy.
You can avoid succumbing to the evil one and avoid falling into the placed nets with the help of 7 and 5.
During a prolonged attack by attackers, under various circumstances, one must strengthen one’s spirit, calling on God - Psalm 12; 25; 34; 42.
Patience of hardships and oppression from someone, what the benefits of patience are suggested by Psalm 39.
To ask for mercy with sincere repentance for what you have done - Psalm 50.
If you want to thank the Lord, learn to do it correctly - Psalm 28; Psalm 104; 106; 134; 145-150.
Thanks be to God, who heard your sorrowful feelings - 4; 74; Psalm 114; 45.
With happy salvation from cruel persecutors and evil enemies - Psalm 9, 17.
Knowing that the Almighty does not leave you and makes the path easy, Psalm 23.
Having avoided captivity by clever action, evading the chains of enemies - 33.
Psalms usually used in Divine Services
Matins: 19, 20.
Six Psalms: 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142.
Before canon: 50.
Psalms of praise: 148-150.
Watch:
First: 5, 89, 100.
Third: 16, 24, 50.
Sixth: 53, 54, 90.
Ninth: 83-85.
Supper: 103, “Blessed is the man”: 1. On “Lord, I have cried”: 140-141, 129, 116.
At the end of Vespers only during Lent: 33.
Pevechery: 4, 6, 12, 69, 90, 142.
Before Communion: 22, 33, 115.
Liturgy: 102, 145.
Burial: 118.
When to read during the week?
Resurrection - Psalm 23.
Monday - 47.
Wednesday - 93rd.
Friday - Psalm 92.
Saturday – 91.
Psalms read for different occasions
In defense against all evil spirits and demons, it is advisable to resort to the following.
Psalm 6: So that God may remove the spell cast from man.
Psalm 8: About all those who have suffered the atrocities of demons.
Ps. 9: To get rid of fear in dreams.
Ps. 13: Read three times for three days when the demon is terrible.
Ps. 24: About those who provoke the envious feelings of the tempter so that they resist.
Psalm 33: Standing on the threshold of death, languishing from the devil’s wiles.
Psalm 45: About a future family that is being hindered by ill-wishers.
Psalm 57: To hinder the wicked and dishonest. To help good people. Psalm 65: To avoid falling into the house of the evil one along with sorrow and vile temptations.
Ps. 70: About the forgotten, abandoned by everyone due to the envy of the devil, about the desperate, so that God would become merciful to them.
Ps. 90: To the disappearance of the devil, whose appearance plunges a person into fear.
Psalm 94: To avoid evil witchcraft and enchantment towards the wife and husband, so that there are no disputes and squabbles in the family.
Psalm 96: To drive away witchcraft.
Psalm 121: To remove the evil eye, to protect yourself from natural disasters.
Psalm 17: During a thunderstorm with lightning, strong winds and a destructive earthquake. Psalm 21: When a fire rages and so that it stops quickly.
Ps. 28: About those who are feared by the sea elements.
Ps. 30: In constantly bad weather, so that the crops in the gardens and fields do not perish. Psalm 31: About lost travelers, so that they find the right road or path.
Ps. 47 (read 40 days): Victims of major robberies whose home was destroyed.
Ps. 50: During epidemics, livestock pestilences, mass deaths from incurable diseases of people.
Psalm 68: During floods that carry away villages and houses.
Psalm 5: For the healing of a beaten person if his eyes are damaged.
Psalm 7: To get rid of fear, fear from threats, maintain peace of mind.
Ps. 10: To soften spouses who swear violently.
Ps. 11: About malicious, malicious people.
Ps. 14: About those who rob, so that they change their thoughts and repent.
Ps. 16 (3 times every 3 days): To avoid grave slander.
Ps. 22: So that disobedient children who do not respect their parents will humble themselves.
Ps. 26: About the Lord’s protection of the population from the enemy’s army, when it would seem there is no way out for anyone.
Ps. 29: When someone is in a dangerous situation, alone and without loved ones nearby. So that the enemies do not commit crimes and are pacified.
Ps. 32: For the release of those who are unjustly in prison and should not be there, so that this truth will be revealed to the judges.
Ps. 33: To protect against an attack on the enemy’s country when the border has already been crossed.
Ps. 34: For the Almighty to free ordinary decent people from the tricks of the cunning and greedy.
Psalm 36: So that a person who has been hurt by a criminal will survive.
Psalm 42: So that those who are captured will receive freedom.
Ps. 84: Those suffering from violent acts were not afraid to recover.
Ps. 87: Protects the powerless, who do not respond to the cruel actions of their neighbors and are unable to protect themselves from them.
Ps. 93: To admonish those who want to rebel and commit riots and pogroms.
Tell your fortune for today using the “Card of the Day” Tarot layout!For correct fortune telling: focus on the subconscious and don’t think about anything for at least 1-2 minutes.
When you are ready, draw a card:
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