Interpretation of the books of the Old Testament. Psalter

PSALM 71

The previous psalm was written by David when he was already old, and this one seems to be too, since at that time Solomon was preparing to receive the crown. That psalm was the king's prayer for himself, and this one was for his son and heir, and these two prayers of David, the son of Jesse, end his psalms (which we read about in the conclusion). If during this life we \u200b\u200bhave the presence of God and good hopes that heirs will come after us who will praise God on earth when we praise Him in heaven, then that is enough. This psalm is entitled “About Solomon”. Perhaps David dictated it, or, rather, the blessed Spirit dictated it to the king shortly before his death, when he established the order of inheritance by divine command and ordered that Solomon be declared king (1 Kings 1:30, etc.). Although the name of Solomon is used here, the kingdom of Christ is prophesied. David knew that God had promised him from the fruit of his loins to raise up Christ in the flesh and set him on his throne (Acts 2:30). He here testifies to him of the glory of His kingdom and consoles himself at the hour of death, foreseeing that his family will not be so close to God, will not be as great and pious as he would like. David in spirit

(I) begins the psalm with a short prayer for the heir to the throne (v. 1).

(III) ends the psalm with praise to the God of Israel (v. 18-20). While singing this psalm, we should look to Christ, glorifying Him as King, and (as subjects of this kingdom) rejoice in our own bliss.

About Solomon.

Verse 1

This verse is a prayer for a king, or rather, for a king's son.

I. We can apply these words to Solomon: “God! give your king judgment and to the son of your king righteousness; make him a man, a king, make him a good husband and a good king. ”

1. This is the father's prayer for his child - the blessing of the dying, the testament of the patriarch to his children. The best thing we can ask God for our children is to give them wisdom and grace to know their duty and fulfill it. It's better than gold. Solomon learned to pray for himself the way his father prayed for him: he asked God not for riches and honors, but for a wise and understanding heart. David was comforted by the knowledge that his own son would be his heir, but even more so that he seemed to be just and righteous. David gave him a good education (Prov. 4: 3), taught him judgment and righteousness, but he did this only after God gave him His judgments. Parents cannot give grace to their children, but with their prayer they can lead them to the God of grace, and they will not seek the Lord in vain, since either the prayer will be answered, or it will return to them with consolation.

2. This is the prayer of the king for an heir. Throughout his reign, David worked judgment and justice, and now he prays that his son will do the same. We should show the same concern for our descendants, striving so that those who come after us can serve God more and better than we did in our time. The one who does not care what will happen to the world and the Church after his death weakly loves both God and man, being in the grip of a limited selfish spirit.

3. This is a prayer for the king's subordinates. It seems that David wrote this psalm for general use so that the people would pray for Solomon while singing it. Anyone who wants to have a peaceful and calm life should pray for kings and power, so that God will give them His judgments and righteousness.

II. We can apply this verse to Christ. This is not to say that He who intercedes for us needs our intercession, but

(1) this is the prayer of the Old Testament church for the sending down of the Messiah - the king of the Church, a prayer for the King of the holy mountain Zion, about whom the King of kings said: “You are my Son” (Ps. 2: 6,7). “Hasten the coming of the One to whom all judgments have been entrusted,” and therefore we must hasten the Second Coming of Christ when He will judge the universe in truth.

(2) These words express the satisfaction of all true believers with the authority that the Lord Jesus received from the Father: “May all authority in heaven and on earth belong to Him, and may He be Lord of our righteousness. May He be the great Steward of divine grace for all His subjects; give it to Him so that He can give it to us. "

Verses 2-17

These verses are a prophecy of the prosperity and endlessness of the kingdom of Christ, typified by the reign of Solomon. It follows (1) as a petition, reinforcing the prayer: “God! grant the king Your judgment and Your righteousness, and then He will judge Your people with righteousness and thus will answer the purpose of His exaltation (v. 2). Grant him Your grace, and then Your people, entrusted to them, will benefit from this rule. ” Because of the love of your God for Israel ... He made you king over him - to do justice and righteousness (2 Chronicles 9: 8). We can fight God in faith, pleading for the grace that we believe will benefit His Church.

(2) As a gracious answer to prayer. As with the prayer of faith we give answers to God's promises of mercy, so with the promises of mercy, God answers our prayers of faith. It is clear that this prophecy refers to the kingdom of the Messiah, since many of these passages cannot be applied to the reign of Solomon. Undoubtedly, in the early days, peace and righteousness were present in the government of the kingdom, but not long before the end of his reign, difficulties and wickedness arose. The kingdom spoken of here will continue as long as the sun shines, and Solomon's reign was soon extinguished. Therefore, even Jewish interpreters agree that it is talking about the kingdom of the Messiah.

Let's look at the many and precious promises cited here that can only be fully fulfilled during the reign of Christ, although some of them were partially fulfilled during the reign of Solomon.

I. It will be a righteous government (v. 2): “Let Thy people judge righteously” (cf. Isa. 11: 4). All laws of the kingdom of Christ are consistent with eternal principles of justice; his judgment of conscience, which is supposed to help against harsh conditions imposed in violation of the law, is undoubtedly a court of justice, and there are no exceptions to the sentences of this court. The peace and quiet of this kingdom will be maintained by truth (v. 3), for the world becomes like a river only when truth is like the waves of the sea. God will righteously judge the universe (Acts 17:31).

II. It will be a peaceful reign: “May the mountains bring peace to the people and the hills bring righteousness” (v. 3), that is, says Dr. Hammond, the high and secondary courts during the reign of Solomon. At that time there will be an abundance of peace (v. 7). The name Solomon means “peaceful,” and that was exactly how his reign was, for at that time Israel was rejoicing in the victories won during the previous reign, and kept serenity and peace. But the world is in a special way the glory of the kingdom of Christ, for as long as it abides, it reconciles people with God, with themselves and with each other and destroys all hostility, since He is our world.

III. The poor and needy during this reign will be taken under the care of the state: “(He) judges thy poor righteously” (v. 2). The beggars of God are those who are driven to poverty by their good conscience. They will be cared for in a special way, judged, paying particular attention to their situation and giving special credit to those who have wronged them. He judges the poor of the people and will save the sons of the poor (v. 4). This statement is repeated emphatically in verses 12 and 13, implying that Christ will certainly stand up for His grieved poor. He will deliver the beggar who is left to the mercy of his oppressors, and the oppressed who has no helper, for it is His honor to help them, as they cry to Him, and He promised to help them in answer to their prayers. They commit themselves to You by prayer (Psalm 9:35). He will be merciful to the beggar who surrenders himself to the power of His mercy, and will not be hard on him. He will save the souls of the poor, and that is all they desire. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Christ is the King of the poor.

IV. The proud oppressors will receive what they deserve: "He will humble the oppressor, take away their power so that they cannot do harm, and will punish for all the evil they have done." This is the ministry of a good king - parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos - to pity the vanquished and humble the proud. The devil is the great oppressor whom Christ will humble and whose kingdom he will destroy. He will kill the wicked with the spirit of His mouth (Isa. 11: 4) and deliver the souls of His people from deceit and violence (v. 14). Christ will save them from the power of Satan, who, being an old serpent, tried to deceive them into a net, and, being a roaring lion, with the help of violence tried to frighten and devour them. And their blood will be so precious in his eyes that not a single drop of it will be shed because of the deception or violence of Satan and his instruments, without retribution. Christ is a King who, although sometimes calls on His subjects to fight for Him to the point of blood, nevertheless does not shed it abundantly, but only after long reflections, so that it serves Him or their glory and fill the cup of the iniquity of their enemies.

V. During the reign of Christ, religion will flourish (v. 5): "They will fear You until the sun and the moon remain." Solomon built the temple, and during his reign for some time the fear of God was maintained and the worship of God was performed, but this did not last long. Therefore, these words speak of the kingdom of Christ, all of whose subordinates keep in themselves the fear of God, since the Christian religion has a direct tendency and has a tangible impact on the support and promotion of natural religiosity. Faith in Christ will confirm and sustain the fear of God, and this is the eternal gospel, which is preached: “... fear God and give Him glory” (Rev. 14: 7). And since Christ's reign develops reverence for God, it likewise promotes the growth of justice and charity among the people (v. 7): “In his days the righteous shall prosper,” righteousness will flourish everywhere, and the righteous will be preferred everywhere. Righteousness will prevail and command; it will be in power and honor. The law of Christ, written in the heart, will motivate a person to be honest and just, to give others what they deserve. In like manner he will dispose people to live in love, produce abundance of peace, and melt swords into plows. Holiness and love will eternally abide in the kingdom of Christ, they will never fade away, as his subjects will fear God as long as the sun and moon remain. Christianity, being confessed, will take root in this world and will exist until the end of time, and rooted in the heart of a person due to its strength, it will remain there until, due to death, the sun, moon and stars (that is, bodily sensations) are extinguished. Despite all the changes in the world and in life, the kingdom of Christ will maintain itself and (if the fear of God continues as long as the sun and moon shine) the abundance of the world. Peace in the Church and peace in the soul should flow parallel to their purity and piety as long as they exist.

Vi. The reign of Christ will be pleasing to all His faithful and loving subordinates (v. 6): "He will come down, thanks to the graces and consolations of His Spirit, like rain on a mown meadow that has been mowed so that the grass grows better." The gospel of Christ cleanses like rain, which softens petrified soil, moisturizes that which has dried up, and makes it green and fruitful (Isa. 55:10). Let our hearts drink from the rain falling on them (Heb. 6: 7).

Vii. The kingdom of Christ will extend very far and will be very large if we consider:

1. About the size of its territories (Article 8): "He will possess from sea to sea (from the South Sea to the North, from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean), from the river (Euphrates or Nile) to the ends of the earth." Solomon's domain was very vast (1 Kings 4:21) in accordance with God's promises (Gen. 15:18), but the name of the river is not mentioned here, so that thanks to these expressions we understand that here is meant the universal monarchy of the Lord Jesus. His Gospel was or will be preached to all nations (Mat.24: 14), the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord (Rev. 11:15) when the fullness of the Gentiles will enter into it. Its territories will stretch to countries like this

(1) who were previously strangers to him: “The desert dwellers who live far from all roads and rarely hear the news will hear the good news of the Redeemer and the redemption that can be obtained through him, and will fall before him; they will believe in Him, receive Him, worship Him and take His yoke for themselves. " Before the Lord Jesus, we must either bow down and then we will live forever, or He will crush us and we will perish.

(2) Who were at enmity and opposed him: “His enemies will lick the dust; they will be crushed and reduced to dust. They will gnaw the ground out of vexation; they will be so tormented by hunger that they will rejoice in the dust - the food of the serpent (Gen. 3:15), since they come from his seed ”. So over whom, then, will He not rule if His enemies are humbled and defeated in this way?

2. The virtues of those who pay tribute to Him. He will reign not only over those who live in the wilderness - farmers and herders - but over those who live in palaces (v. 10): “The kings of Tarshish and the islands, which are located farthest from Israel and are pagan islands (Gen. .10: 5), will offer him a tribute as the sovereign Lord, thanks to and obeying whom they wear their crowns and own their lands. " They will seek His favor and take an interest in Him in order to hear His wise sayings. This prophecy was literally fulfilled in Solomon (since all the kings of the earth sought to see Solomon in order to listen to his wisdom, and each of them offered from himself as a gift, 2 Chronicles 9: 23,24), and also in Christ, when the wise men from the east who may have been prominent in their country came to worship and offered Him gifts (Matthew 2:11). They will present themselves to Him, which is the best gift we can bring to Christ, and without which no other gift will be accepted (Rom. 12: 1). They will offer Him a tribute - spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, offer them to Christ as their God, lay them on Christ as on their altar, which sanctifies every gift. Their appeal to God is called the offering of the Gentiles (Rom. 15:16). Nevertheless, sooner or later all kings will worship Him, either to fulfill their duty to Him or to accept their death sentence (v. 11). They will fall before Him, either as willing subordinates or as defeated captives who rely on His mercy or await His judgment. And when the kings submit, the nations will follow them: “… all nations will serve Him; all will be invited to serve Him; representatives of all nations will participate in the ministry and will offer incense to His name, a pure sacrifice ”(Mal.1: 11; Rev.7: 9).

VIII. He will be revered and loved by all His subjects (v. 16): “He will live; his subjects will wish him a long life (king, live forever!), having a good incentive for this, because he said: “I live, and you will live”; and of Him it is testified that He always lives to make intercession for them (Heb. 7: 8,25). He will live and prosper;

(1.) Gifts will be presented to him. Although He can live without them, since He does not need anyone's gifts or services, nevertheless they will give Him from the gold of Arabia: gold, the most expensive metals, the gold of Sava, which was considered the best gold, since the best must be brought to the best. He who possesses the riches of this world, who has a lot of gold at his disposal, must give it to Christ, must serve Him for them and do good. Honor the Lord from your possessions.

(2.) And they will pray for him incessantly. The people prayed for Solomon, and this made himself and his reign a great blessing to them. The duty of subjects is to pray, intercede and give thanks for the kings and authorities, not to please, as is often done, but for the sake of public welfare. But how does this relate to Christ? He does not need our prayers and receives nothing from them. But the Old Testament saints prayed for His coming and prayed constantly, calling Him "He who must come." And now, after He came, we must pray for the success of His gospel and the expansion of His kingdom, which He calls a prayer for himself (“Hosanna to the Son of David, prosperity in His kingdom!”), As well as for His second coming. This verse can be read like this: "And they will pray through Him without ceasing or for Him." Whatever we ask the Father, it must be done in the name of Christ and with hope in His intercession.

(3.) Praise and the highest praise should be given to him, his wisdom, justice, and mercy — his subjects will bless him every day. By praying His name every day, we give Him honor. The subjects should speak well of their government, which is a blessing to them; and much more, all Christians should glorify Jesus Christ, giving praise to Him every day, for everything that they have is due to Him.

IX. During this reign there will be an extraordinary increase in the amount of food and people - the fruit of the earth and the number of people inhabiting the cities (v. 16).

(1) The country will become rich: there will be an abundance of grain on the earth, on the top of the mountains, where previously little was grown, but now its fruits will ripple like a forest in Lebanon; the wheat will be like a tree thick, tall and strong, like the Lebanese cedars. Even on the tops of the mountains, the earth will produce many fruits, which speaks of the greatest abundance (Gen. 41:47), and will be (as the Scripture says) like grass on the roofs, with which the reaper will not fill his hand. These words can also speak of the miraculous effect of the seed of the gospel in the days of the Messiah. The abundance of this seed, sown on the barren and bitter soil of the pagan world, will produce a wonderful harvest reaped for Christ - fruits as firm as Lebanon. The fields turned white and ripe for the harvest (John 4:35; Matthew 9:37). A huge tree grows from a mustard pea.

(2) The population of the cities will increase - in the cities people will multiply, like grass on earth, in quantity and freshness. The gospel of the Church — the city of God among men — will have all the signs of prosperity; many people will be added to it who will become happy.

X. This kingdom will be eternal to the honor of its ruler and to the bliss of His subjects. The Lord Jesus will reign forever, and these words speak only of Him, not Solomon. Only Christ will be feared ... for generations and generations (v. 5), until the moon ceases (v. 7).

(1) The honor of the rulers is immortal and will never be tarnished (v. 17): "His name will be forever, in spite of all the evil attempts of the forces of darkness to overshadow him and suppress his kind." It will be saved; it will be eternal; it will spread. As the names of earthly rulers continue to live through the heirs, so the name of Christ is in Himself. Filiabitur nomen ejus - His name will be passed on to the next generation. All nations, while this world stands, will bless Him, bless God for Him, will constantly talk about Him and consider themselves happy in Him. Until the end of time, until eternity, His name will be exalted and live on the lips of people; every tongue will profess him, and every knee will bow before him.

(2) People everywhere will be happy; this bliss will be eternal and perfect .: “... in it all truly and forever tribes of the earth will be blessed”. This verse clearly refers to the promise made to the fathers, which states that all the families of the earth will be blessed in the Messiah (Genesis 12: 3).

Verses 18-20

Such a glorified prophecy about the Messiah and His kingdom, which has sounded in the previous verses, must accordingly end with sincere prayers and praise, which is present here.

I. The psalmist's heart is overflowing with gratitude for the prophecy and promise (v. 18, 19). Every word of God is unshakable and we can rely on it with satisfaction, so we have ample reason to give praise for His words, even though they have not yet been fulfilled. We must acknowledge that God is worthy of praise for all those great deeds that He has done for the world, for the Church, for the sons of men, for His own children in the kingdom of providence and in the kingdom of grace, for all the power and trust that have been placed in the hands of the Redeemer ... We must encourage ourselves and all our inwardness to praise Him in the best possible way, and desire others to do the same. Blessed is the Lord God, that is, blessed is the name of His glory forever, for only in His name can we add at least something to His glory and bliss, but at the same time, Your name is above all praise and praise! May it be blessed forever, and it will be blessed forever, as it deserves eternal blessing, and we hope that it will be so. These verses teach us to bless the name of Christ and to bless God in Christ, for everything He has done for us is done through Him. We must bless Him

(1) as the Lord God - a self-existent and self-sufficient Person and our almighty God.

(2.) As the God of Israel who entered into a covenant with this people, who worship him and fulfill it, so that the truth to Jacob and the mercy of Abraham might be fulfilled.

(3.) As God, who is the only one who does miracles in creation and providence, and especially in the work of redemption, which surpasses all other works. Human affairs are small, simple and insignificant, but even they cannot be done without Him. But God does everything by His power, and His works are wonderful, as they will cause the eternal amazement of the saints and angels.

II. He fervently prays for this prophecy and promise to be fulfilled: "May the whole earth be filled with His glory, as it will be when the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute to him." It is sad to think about how meager the glory of God is on earth, how little service and honors He receives from the world for which He is such a generous Giver. And everyone who wants to give honor to God and serve for the well-being of mankind cannot but want the earth to be filled with His glory and properly ascend to Him with gratitude. May every heart, every mouth, every meeting be filled with the highest glory to God. We will see how zealous David is in this prayer, how fully his heart participates in it, if we pay attention to the fact

(1) how he ends his prayer with a double seal: “Amen and Amen; over and over again I say, I repeat these words and let all others say the same. Let it be so. Amen to my prayer, Amen to the prayers of all the saints dedicated to this goal: "Hallowed be Your name, may Your kingdom come."

(2.) How he ends his life with this prayer (v. 20). This is the last psalm written by David, although it is not the last in this collection of psalms. The psalmist composed it while on his deathbed, and with his last breath he said: “May God be glorified, may the kingdom of the Messiah be established - and that is enough for me, I want nothing more. These words ended the prayers of David the son of Jesse. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ”.

71:1-4 About Solomon. God! grant judgment to your king, and righteousness to your king's son,
2 Let him judge thy people and thy poor with righteousness in judgment;
3 May the mountains bring peace to the people and the hills truth;
4 Let him judge the poor of the people, let him save the sons of the poor, and humble the oppressor.
David's last prayer for the reign of Solomon in Israel. The main thing that the people of any country need is skillful leadership and the ability to solve all problems for the benefit of the people of the country and the state as a whole. The people always have internecine problems and the ruler of the country cannot do without the ability to fairly judge everyone without respect. And it is good that the court in Israel and the administration of the state were focused on one ruler: being aware of ALL problems, it is always possible to solve state affairs taking into account the whole picture of society.

71:5 and they will fear You, until the sun and the moon remain, for generations and generations.
The skillful government of the king, chosen by God and with His support, will glorify God throughout the earth by the fact that looking at the prosperity of God's state in comparison with human crises, everyone will have the opportunity to appreciate God's government and wish to live under SUCH Ruler. Actually, the goal of governing the country under the leadership of a heavenly Ruler is precisely to this in Israel that should have been reduced - Deut. 4: 6-8.
Glorifying Jehovah in this way - in fact and in the fact of the prosperity of God's state - was originally part of God's intention, and in the new world order it will be fulfilled.

71:6,7 It will descend like rain on a mown meadow, like drops that irrigate the earth;
7 In his days the righteous will prosper, and there will be an abundance of peace until the moon ceases.
If not for the words until the moon stops (the moon will not cease to exist) - these words could be attributed to the prediction for the reign of Solomon, for under him Israel prospered and was famous for the abundance of peace. However, he is not eternal, which means that such prosperity was predicted beyond Solomon and for the reign of the eternal "Solomon" - Jesus Christ.

71:8-11 he will possess from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth;
9 The inhabitants of the wilderness will fall before him, and his enemies will lick the dust;
10 the kings of Tarshish and the islands will pay tribute to him; the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts;
11 and all kings will bow down to him; all nations will serve him;
His dominion will extend to the whole earth, and there will be no king left on it who would not obey Christ, and there will not be a single wicked person who could be exalted with him. Not only the kings of the earth, but all nations will be obedient to Christ.

Here is the thought: in the new world order of God on earth there will be no chaotic movement of thought in actions to manage the affairs of the earth, it will be arranged in the same way as now with the leaders-organizers of the life of society and with the people in this society. The only difference is that the kings of the earth will be subjugated to Christ in the absolute, which means that the will of God will be fulfilled on it, just as in heaven. That is why the society of the earth can become happy.

71:12-14 for he will deliver the beggar, the crying and the oppressed, who has no helper.
13 He will be merciful to the poor and the poor, and save the souls of the poor; 14 He will deliver their souls from deceit and violence, and their blood will be precious in his eyes;
Under the reign of Christ, the life of all those who did not have the strength to stand up for themselves in this century, the poor and the poor, will change. Jesus will put an end to the system of gnawing out space in the sun by elbowing and marching over the heads of the weak and poor. No one else will use diabolical methods for self-promotion at the expense of others: everyone will be able to provide their own well-being with their own hands as much as the hardworking hands of the one striving for well-being will be.

71: 15,16 and he will live, and they will give him of the gold of Arabia, and they will pray for him incessantly, bless him every day;
16 there will be an abundance of bread on the earth, above the mountains; its fruits will ripple like [a forest] in Lebanon, and people will multiply in cities like grass on the earth;
During the reign of Christ - Christ will be exalted in the minds and hearts of those living on earth, his righteousness and ability to lead - will be appreciated, the whole earth will thank him (cannot be compared with the attitude that was presented to him in the first coming). Thanks to the ability of Christ to organize everything for the good of the people - the whole earth will be used in order to give a person good fruits, even inaccessible mountains will submit to a person and bring him benefit.

71:17 his name will be forever; As long as the sun remains, his name will be transmitted; and in him [the tribes] will be blessed, all the nations will bless him.
The name of God's King Jesus Christ will be blessed in the lips and hearts of the grateful happy society of the earth - forever. Still: only with him they will be able to know what is the true life, which God planned to give to a person from the beginning without suffering, fatigue and death, because after Adam squandered such an inheritance for a person - since then no one can even know the edge of joy from God's plan of life: thorns and thistles, illness, exhaustion and old age catastrophically spoil the whole impression of the process of human life.

71:18–20 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, one who works wonders,
19 and blessed be the name of his glory forever, and the whole earth will be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are over.
And for all this future prosperity with prosperity in eternity - it is clear WHO should be thanked: the God of Israel Jehovah is He is the main Architect of such a world order in which everyone can become happy and in which the proposal to live forever will not seem like an offer to burn forever in the throes of sorrow and problems. Because today people with horror move away from the proposal to live forever: the devil has achieved success in this, too, creating such living conditions on earth that any desire to live is destroyed, and at the mention of eternity, they exclaim “Oh no !!! Not that. Why punish me SO?

So, all these predictions - about Christ, although partial elements of him - were fulfilled in his son, Solomon.

According to the inscription of the Slavic Bible, this psalm appears to belong to David and was written by him about Solomon, thus being the king's prayer for his son, the heir to the throne. In the Hebrew Bible, he bears the inscription of the Psalm of Solomon (the Russian translation is incorrect). From the fact that historical books do not say anything about David's dying prayer for Solomon, the silence about which case, important in its essence, as the testament of the Jewish beloved king, is incredible, if only such a fact existed in reality, then from the fact that here the localities of Tarshish and Sheba are mentioned, unknown during the time of David, and became known only under Solomon, when he started lively trade relations with the first (;), and from the second the queen () and David came to him, therefore, he could not know about them and to speak outside the conditions and setting of his time, finally, from the fact that, differing in the nature of reasoning, which the psalms of David do not possess, he represents a great similarity with the prayer of Solomon at Gibeon (), we must conclude that the writer of the psalm was Solomon. The psalm itself represents in its content the image of that ideal of king and reign, which Solomon drew for himself and which he would like to realize.

If he prays for himself in the third person, then this is not unusual in the Psalms. For example, David in Ps. 17 prays for himself in the third person; psalms 19, 20 were written by him about himself on behalf of the people. The LXX inscription attributing this psalm to David is probably due to the fact that after this psalm there is a postscript, "David's prayers ended", i.e., this psalm ends the collection with the song of David, which is why they replaced the inscription in the sense "Psalm of Solomon"... But this postscript cannot be understood literally for sure. In the collections preceding the LXXth psalm there are psalms belonging to the sons of Koraev (43-48), Asaph (49), and this inscription indicates only the predominant abundance of David's psalms in this collection, the latter, as a writer a potiori, and not the only one.

God! Grant the king's son the power to establish righteousness and peace, may his reign be beneficial, as rain is beneficial to the earth (1–6). His kingdom will be eternal and will spread throughout the world and over all nations, as he will protect the beggar from violence (7-14). They will pray for him incessantly; his reign will be full of external benefits, and all the tribes will bless him (15-17). Blessed be the Lord forever! (18-19).

. God! grant judgment to your king and righteousness to your king's son,

. let him judge thy people and thy poor in righteousness in judgment;

"Judgment", "truth a" are synonymous expressions, meaning Solomon's desire to be strictly fair in court cases, making his decisions in accordance with the essence of the case, and not for any external, accidental, even if very bribing reasons. This is, for example, his decision of the controversial case of two harlots (see). His decisions, as based only on justice, must therefore be impartial: they are the same for all people, both noble and strong, as well as the weak and the poor (" beggars ").

. may mountains bring peace to people and hills truth;

. let him judge the poor of the people, let him save the sons of the poor and humble the oppressor, -

"May mountains bring peace to people and hills truth" - let a peaceful life and justice rule in people's lives, let everyone feel calm, in the confidence that his truth will always find protection, and the "oppressor" who lives by deceit, by untruth, will receive punishment. "Mountains" and "hills" are elevated areas, far visible; let law rule over everything, as mountains and hills are visible from everywhere. In parallel with Ch. 6. 1-2 tbsp. book Prophet Micah () under the mountains and hills one can understand the noble classes of the Jewish people, due to their prevailing position, capable of crushing the lower themselves. Then the aforementioned expression will mean - let the feelings of legality and justice be assimilated by the upper class.

. and they will fear You, until the sun and the moon remain, for generations and generations.

. It will descend like rain on a mown meadow, like drops that irrigate the earth;

. in his days the righteous one will prosper, and there will be an abundance of peace until the moon ceases;

"As long as the sun and the moon remain, for generations and generations"... The sun and moon, surviving generations of people and always unchanging, are symbols of strength, eternity. May the reign of this king be eternal and unchanging, as the sun and moon shine unchanging and eternal; let the beginnings of his reign (law, peace and justice) pass indestructible from generation to generation, to all generations. Let his reign be the same sign of Divine favor for the king and people, as the fleece was for Gideon; let his reign be as beneficial as rain is beneficial to flora and fauna. - "The righteous will flourish, and there will be an abundance of peace" - let his reign as its predominant, dominant feature be justice and the fullness of the world ("the abundance of the world").

. he will possess from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth;

. the inhabitants of the wilderness will fall before him, and his enemies will lick the dust;

. the kings of Tarshish and the islands will pay tribute to him; the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts;

"From sea to sea" - from the Mediterranean Sea, the western border of Palestine, to the "sea", probably the Indian in the east, "from the river", as the Euphrates is usually called - the northern border of the world known to the ancient Jew at that time, "To the ends of the earth" - to the extreme, final border of the world from the south. The meaning is - let the possessions of this king embrace the whole world. - "The inhabitants of the desert shall fall before him", - that is, wild peoples, independent of any rulers and self-governing tribes. - "Lick the ashes." The Eastern peoples (Assyrians, Egyptians and Hindus) had a custom, as a sign of special reverence, to kiss the ruler's footprints on the ground. Let the enemies show the king the signs of the deepest respect. - "Kings of Tarshish" - Tarshish - a city in Spain, "islands" - the islands of the Phoenician possessions in the Mediterranean, to the west of Palestine. "Sav a" - from the Hebrew Sheva. Some of this area is found in happy (southern) Arabia (which, according to the parallelism of the opposition of speech, is more likely), others - in Africa, precisely in present-day Abyssinia. May the power of this king extend not only to the lands of nations but also on the nations themselves, let all nations and kings submit to him. ”Here, geographic points of the east and west are taken as extreme points, to represent the countries of the whole world.

. for he will deliver the beggar, the crying and the oppressed, who has no helper.

. He will be merciful to the poor and the poor, and save the souls of the poor;

. he will deliver their souls from deceit and violence, and their blood will be precious in his eyes;

. and he will live, and they will give him of the gold of Arabia, and they will pray for him incessantly, bless him every day;

The spread of the dominion of this king will be achieved, however, not by conquests, not by violent means, but by peaceful - the voluntary submission of all peoples to him, by virtue of the consciousness rooted in them that only his reign is the kingdom of peace and justice. - "Precious will be their blood in his eyes" - he will protect the righteous from violence and preserve and cherish their life ("blood" is the bearer of life), that is, the righteous will prevail in his kingdom and will rule. Therefore, the name of this king will always be revered, he will live in the people's memory, he will be presented with Arabian gold, distinguished by its value for the abundance of nuggets, and from day to day they will pray for him and his rule.

. there will be an abundance of bread on the earth, at the top of the mountains; the fruits of it will worry like forest in Lebanon, and in cities people will multiply like grass on the ground;

. his name will be [blessed] forever; as long as the sun is, his name will be transmitted; and in him will be blessed [all the tribes of the earth], all nations will bless him.

Since the reign of the king will be peaceful and will take over all countries and peoples, then hostile relations between the latter must stop. All human efforts will then be directed towards the development of a peaceful culture, which will reach such a degree of heights that "There will be an abundance of bread ... at the top of the mountains"... Man will find a way to cultivate the previously bare and barren peaks, where vegetation will appear so valuable in its fruits that it will surpass the rich cedar forests of Lebanon, famous throughout the world as the best material for building ships and providing Jews with significant income. - "People will multiply in cities like grass"... The population in cities under peaceful conditions of existence will increase so that it will be as numerous as grass. - "And they will be blessed in it" - through this king, through the assimilation of the foundations of his reign, well-being ( "Blessed") will pass to all inhabitants and peoples of the earth.

. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, one who works wonders,

. and blessed be the name of His glory forever, and the whole earth will be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.

Verses 18-19 do not belong to the writer of the psalm, they represent the addition of the compiler of the collections of songs of the Psalms, which we find at the end of each collection of psalms.

Psalm 71, as we have said, represents the image of the ideal of king and reign that Solomon drew for himself and to which he strove to approach. But the famous, historical Solomon just began his reign in the spirit indicated in the psalm. There were no wars under him, the Jews enjoyed external contentment - each had his own vineyard and his own tent, as well as respect among foreigners; with his court decisions, he amazed his contemporaries and his name became known throughout the world. In the second half of his life, as you know, he even deserved condemnation from God. And in essence, the ideal drawn here is beyond the power of man in general. The king is portrayed as eternal (v. 5), his dominion is the whole earth and nations (8–11), his kingdom is full embodiment, the realization of peace (12 and 16). Such a reign can only belong to God. The ideal of the kingdom drawn by Solomon found fulfillment in Jesus Christ, whose teaching is the teaching of love and forgiveness, His kingdom - the kingdom of peace and righteousness and its purpose - to spread throughout the whole earth and forever.

Historical Solomon only partially, at the beginning of his activity, realized his ideal, which will be fully achieved and can only be achieved in the kingdom of Christ. Therefore, the entire content of the psalm has a representative-messianic meaning. Then verse 16, in addition to the direct meaning already indicated by us, may have the following. Bare tops can denote pagan peoples in general, who did not have, for the falsity of their religions, neither the correct doctrine of God, nor lofty morality, and almost had no righteous.

With their acceptance and assimilation of Christianity, the latter will appear in them more than in Lebanon, that is, among the Jews, which has really already come true, since the Jews did not accept the teachings of Christ, and the pagans readily followed and follow Him.

About Solomon, a psalm to David. Transfer: About Solomon, a psalm to David. The highest meanings of this psalm song are not dedicated to Solomon - this is the general opinion of the interpreters: “Only about the Messiah, and not an ordinary earthly king, could it be said that His kingdom would spread throughout the whole earth (v. 8), that He would rule over all kings and peoples (vv. 9-11) and that He Himself will live forever (vv. 5,7,17) ”(GR). As an epigraph to the interpretation, you can take the words of the Lord: "... And now, there is more Solomon here" (Luke 11:31). Then what role did the commentators of the Holy Psalter play on Solomon? Bp. Irenaeus summed up their opinions: “This psalm has always been considered messianic, but in such a way that some first of all attributed it to Solomon, contemplating in it the prototype of the Messiah; others exclusively to Christ, and under Solomon in the inscription they meant the Messiah, the King of the world; others some words of the psalm referred to Solomon, and others to Christ" (AND ABOUT). So let's look at these three positions.

1. Solomon is present in the psalm, not as a complex living person, but as prototype... The highest and best that is in Solomon participates in the prototype: the wise king Solomon is the builder of the Temple, and Christ is the Incarnate Divine Wisdom - the Creator and Head of the Church, the King of Heaven and earth. ABOUT representative-messianic the nature of the psalm was said, for example, by Fr. Grigory and A.P. Lopukhin. The first of them writes: “There is no doubt that the first and closest subject of prayer was King Solomon... On this basis, this psalm is considered among representative messianicas one who utters a prophecy about the Messiah, the eternal King of glory, the type of which is depicted here in the person of the famous king of Israel Solomon"(GR).

2. St. Athanasius, blessed. Theophylact, bishop Irenaeus believe that David speaks only of the Messiah, and this makes “to recognize the psalm exclusively messianic " (AND ABOUT). “That this psalm is in no way befitting of Solomon is, I think, admitted by the Jews who want to tell the truth, all the more so by the nurses of faith. For, firstly, Solomon did not possess the borders of the earth, did not collect tribute from the western and eastern peoples; moreover, as a man, having lived a time commensurate with nature, he accepted the end of life, and not even a glorious one. And the psalm shows that the One about whom he prophesies is older than the sun and the moon ”(FC). Solomon is not a type of Christ, but only name ... Name "Solomon" translates as “ peace, appeasement ":" God through Nathan says to David: " Solomon is his name and I will give him in the days of his peace"(1 Chron.22: 9). The Lord Christ also has this name. The great preacher of truth Paul calls out: “ He is our world, who made one of both and destroyed the barrier that stood in the middle"(Ephesians 2:14)" (FC). Christ broke down the barrier between Gentiles and Jews by uniting them in His Church so that they gained access to the Father. He turned into nothing the great mediastinum - between God and man: Christ united them in Himself, so that deification would become available to the children of the Church. Having ascended the Cross, the Lord reconciled mankind that had sinned with God. David sings only Christ, who after incarnation will be called the Son of David. And He will say about Himself: “... And now, there is more Solomon here”(Luke 11, 31).

3. Zigaben suggests not to commit violence against the text, pulling each the image to the height of messianic meanings, “raising by force to the contemplation of what is said purely - historically, but both (* history and what is contemplated prophetically) giving decently - the corresponding meaning ”(in EZ). Some words should be attributed to Solomon and others to Christ. However, all images of the psalm are easily and naturally elevated to Christ and the New Testament meanings - insurmountable difficulties begin when the commentator tries to explain the text purely historically.

Prot. Gregory noted that "some of the newest researchers and interpreters of the Psalter (such as: priest N. Vishnyakov, priest N. Kamensky, Andrei Parkhomovich, etc.) ... find it possible that this psalm was composed by Solomon himself." A.P. Lopukhin continues their thought: Solomon prophesies about himself - in the third person. However, this is impossible, since the psalmist speaks of the eternity and beginninglessness of the King. Ancient commentators and most modern ones consider the author of the psalm to King David. And we, following them, believe that psalm represents prayer and prophecyDavid about himDivine SonLord Jesus Christ ... On this prophecy under construction theology and praise psalm. The main meanings are - messianic .

Art. 1-2. God, give Thy judgment to the Tsarev, and Thy truth to the Tsarev's Son: judge by Thy people in righteousness, and Thy poor in judgment. Transfer: God, grant Thy judgment to the King, and Thy righteousness to the Son of the King, may He judge Thy people according to righteousness and Thy poor according to the law! "God, grant Thy judgment to the Tsarev, and Thy truth to the Tsarev's Son." "King "And" Son of Tsarev "- one person . 1. Prot. Gregory thinks David is praying and about Solomon(story plan) and about Christ(prophetic plan). In terms of history: “King, as well as the son of the king, he calls Solomon” (GR). 2. Only “Christ is both the King and the Son of the Tsarev” (AB).

Does God need prayer? We need prayer for Him, but here the prophet prays not for the Word, but for the Man Jesus. David “asks God to be given Christ as a man, those advantages that he had according to the Divine. So Christ spoke about the Father, that He gave every judgment to the Son (John 5:22); also: given to meany authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28,19) "(EZ). And the Father will give Jesus judgment and authority. Why does David ask for a foregone conclusion? By prayer he adjusts his will to the will of God and prophesies: One God will give to Jesus Divine court and Divine the truth. “The Son, who is despairing righteousness, is called accepting the truth according to humanity” (AB).

"Your judgment" . 1. "Your judgment" \u003d "Your truth" . Word "court" in the Slavic language can mean: "justice", « true"... The judgment of God is a manifestation of God's righteousness, Divine reasoning about the human soul. We are constantly under the judgment of God, according to this judgment, God's providence for the salvation of everyone is arranged. The verdict of truth follows every thought and deed of a person and is sometimes read in the subsequent events of his life. Beyond the line of earthly existence, a person receives the eternal definition of the Last Judgment: at the right hand or at the right hand. David asks that all judgment (both providential and the last) be given to the Son of Man.

2. By the court truth can be called decision of the Eternal Council on the Incarnation and the Cross : “It has been determined by Thee, Father, that Thy only begotten Son should shine upon those on earth. Therefore, let it be brought to the end of the old determined by Thy judgment ”(AB). Let it be fulfilled by You, Father. The decision was made by the Holy Trinity, but the Father is the Source of everything, therefore: “Give ”, Father, the King Christ will incarnate in order to save the world with the Cross and rise again. The court of truth is not only the decision of the Eternal Council, but also fulfillment by Christ ... Performing His main work, ascending to the Cross, the Savior said: “ nowcourt there is to this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out "(John 12:31). Court suggests separation: separation of truth from untruth, grain from chaff, good from evil. Compare: Babylon is a mixture of good and evil, and God's judgment is separation. The Savior judges not only and not so much people as the culprit of their fall. What does the Truth that comes from Heaven cut off? - “Satan has dominion over us. Therefore, proceeding from the crucifixion, Christ said: now the judgment is to this world; now the prince of this world will be exiled(John 12, 31) ”(AB). Whoever follows the exiled is himself transformed into an exile from the Kingdom.

3. In PCSD: by the court "The psalmist here (* Psalm 71: 1) calls the very ability to judge." Christ is able to judge a person because unites in Himself Divine Omniscience, Wisdom with human nature... St. Maximus the Confessor says: “As God, neither the Father, nor the Son judge anyone, for man does not become a judge of foolish animals, but people. And the fact that the Father gave judgment to the Son is not because the Son is God, but because He became a man. The Son judges everyone by comparing their life with His life among us as a person... And again: His word judges, i.e. doctrine which He revealed by His works. " And St. Maxim recalls in this regard: “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My wordshas a judge to himself: word which I spoke it will judge his last day "(John 12: 47-48). So the Father gives court The Son, and the Son - To your word. Everything that is necessary and salutary is revealed in the Gospels and penetrates into the heart of a person by the power of the Holy Spirit. Legislator and Teacher established spiritual laws, revealed them to man and teaches them. He is true Judge and Court, i.e. measure of things for believers. Christ is incarnate true... Comparing ourselves with Him, we know our darkness and our sins, and He shows Himself the way out of our darkness. By comparing our life with His word, we can make judgment on ourselves: our conscience will be based on this word. Through the Gospel, a person learns the will of God quite definitely, clearly, and not cunningly. The gospel word will judge us, it, i.e. attitude towards him, will put a person at the right hand or oshiyuya - by the judgment of the Court - in eternity... AND on the ground: the one who rejects the light of the Gospel is darkened even more, and himself voluntarily goes into his own darkness. God does not destroy, but saves.

4. Life is continuouslitigation (court) man with his adversaries: the devil, death and hell, and Christ (Judgment and Truth) came to: "Judge by your people in righteousness, and by your poor in judgment." Christ \u003d Truth will come judge people with their enemies (the devil, death, hell) and to produce among the people themselves separation - in their relation to God, His word and His truth. Christ by His word (" come "(to Me) or “ come from me "(Matt. 25, 31-46)) will make the final division. Christ “There is our world"(Ephesians 2:14) , but he brought the sword of separation: some will rush to Him, and others from Him. Those who are established in falsehood will persecute the followers of Truth.

Thy people \u003d Thy poor. 1. These are meek people, trusting in God, living by His word, not by themselves. It " poor in spirit"To which the Heavenly Kingdom belongs. Even sitting on the royal throne, they believe that they have nothing on their own, therefore they turn to the Almighty in prayer. They consider their sin their own and fight against it. 2. “Under the name of the poor means everything poor mankind oppressed by sin ... " (GR). 3. “Some say that people calls the Jewish people, as once formerly of God, and beggarscalls the new people of the pagans, as beggars in the knowledge of God and virtue ”(EZ).

Yours give people Your - Your judgment \u003d Your truth : send to the world of Christ the King. The judgment of the world and its prince will take place on the Cross ( "in a court" \u003d at Calvary). Thanks to the Sacrifice of the Cross, evil will lose its strength, death - a sting, hell - victory, demons - power over souls, then the prayers of King David will be fulfilled.

The next verse helps to make sure once again that what David means by judgment is not a final judgment, but dispensation of salvation... He prays , so that the peace and truth of God - Christ - settle in the world, and that man perceived this world was reconciled with God. Focus on acceptance truth and peace: Art. 3. May the mountains perceive the world as people, and the hills the truth... Transfer: May the mountains overshadow the peace sent to people, and the hills overshadow the truth!

Mountains and hills. 1. Mountains and hills of Palestine, as if animated, must receive from the Savior wandering through them peace and truth... "This is an impersonation showing change in all"(FC). David says about people: « the world is human". The world of Christ is destined person.However, all creation, which God subordinated to his beloved creature, will someday cease to groan and suffer from the fall of his master (Rom. 8:22), it will be exalted after human- to the monks and saints, who is likened to grief. Here is the image of the world being saved, into which Christ entered: "... Everywhere, throughout the whole earth, may peace and truth appear as the fruits of the blessed Kingdom of the Messiah (cf. Rom. 14:17)" (GR).

true just walked in hand with the court (2 tbsp.), And now he goes with the blessed the worldcoming from the Conciliator. Christ is Truth (Judgment), therefore his word became the sword that cuts off death from life, evil from good. It is " penetrates to the separation of soul and spirit, compounds and brains, andjudges thoughts and intentions of the heart”(Heb. 4, 12). The Judgment of Truth separates us from evil in order to reconcile with God. Christ is the world , therefore, will reconcile a person with God, and the best of people ( "the mountains" ) will accept His peace on earth: “David commands the mountains here to receive peace from Christ, and the hills to receive righteousness, so that the mountains serve as a peaceful dwelling, rejecting the battle-loving demons, whom they deified on the mountains, and the hills - so that they righteously obey Christians, as the servants of the Creator his own "(EZ). So, whoever follows Christ will be separated from the power of those who oppose him and will find true peace and truth.

2. On the mountains and hills, on the heights of the earth, idolaters served demons. And David prays that the place of the former pagan wickedness will become a holy place, for the pagan world to turn to Christ: “However, we see a change in the mountains and hills. For, instead of the ancient wickedness that had infiltrated them, those who loved the angelic life reap the gospel truth on them and, interceding about people, try to petition them for Divine reconciliation ”(FC).

3. Eusebius interprets: the mountains are the Archangels, and the hills are the Angels of God: "These are the archangels and angels, he (* David) compels for the future to live in peace with the people of Christ and treat them righteously, as the heritage of the Lord Christ" ( EZ). Angels "anciently, because of the widespread wickedness, did not dwell on the earth," but now they are "commanded to perceive peace with all people" (AB).

When can the peace and righteousness of Christ be accepted by the world? When the judge judges a man with his accuser: v. four. Judges the poor, and will save the sons of the poor and humble the slanderer... Transfer: He will judge the poor people, and will save the sons of the poor people, and humble the slanderer. Here and below (5, 6 and 8 st.), The subject is omitted, which is easily completed: the psalm speaks of Tsare \u003d Son Tsarev (1 tbsp.), I.e. about Christ . "King" = "Son of Tsarev" (i.e. Christ) is the subject of action. The trial is shown as litigation a person with his eternal enemy and how separation: Judge Christ saves some and humbles others. Judgment of god has a consequence 1) salvation of the poor and the poor, whom the world persecutes and despises (" save the sons of the poor »), 2) humility the sorrows of those who are accustomed to acting in him with slander and impiety (“ humble the slanderer "), And victory over the devil... Christ saves by the Cross, the Resurrection and the Grace of the Sacraments. This is what Divine truth does. The poor and the poor. Among them was the glorious King David who stood before God. Beggars do not have and pray, asking for Divine benefits , and poor (not rich)labor, humbling themselves before God and confessing their poverty. Christ makes judgment for them, the righteous, who have become impoverished for Christ's sake: “ judges the beggars ". They are opposed "Slanderer": « Slanderer named the ancient enemy of the human race - the devil, who at the beginning slandered God Himself when he told Eve that God forbade people to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil out of envy. He tries to destroy every person with lies and slander, which is why he is called the devil, which (from Greek) means a slanderer ”(GR, the same for EZ). Then: " will humble " = will win. A slanderer can be a person who is like the father of lies. Such Lord humbles with sorrows - for the sake of their repentance, i.e. for the benefit of them. So, David showed that the King and Lord, according to His judgment, saves some and humbles others. Judgment (although incomparable in power, strength and perfection) can also be judged by a wise, pious king, for example, Solomon. However, many subsequent verses 71 Ps. cannot be attributed to King Solomon - for all his glory.

So, 5 tbsp. prophesies about the eternal existence of the King: Art. five. And he will remain with the sun, and before the moon of the generation of generations... Transfer: And He will abide with the sun and before the moon from generation to generation. « And will abide with the sun ". That Tsar and the Son of Tsars unchanging and eternal like the sun, and was before the creation of the moon, for he is their Creator. “This one who reigned at His coming over those on earth is also eternal Creator of all"(AB). And also: "... All the sayings of these verses must be understood in a prophetic sense about the Messiah, the coming Savior of our Lord Jesus Christ" (GR). You cannot demand literal accuracy from the poetic text: the sun is not eternal, but there was no more significant and unchanging object that accompanies the Divine being. In addition, the Jews considered the luminaries to be forever approved (GR). Therefore, with the constancy of the sun, David compares the existence of the One who is eternal in the absolute sense and incomparable.

The king stayed " and before the moon of the kind of birth ". 1. God the Word beginningless : He existed before creationluminaries and the endless kind of genera of all earthly creations. « Sort of childbirth "- endlessly. If “a genus calls the space of time, in the continuation of which one genus of a person, or a person, can live” (EZ), then “ by birth " David named an unlimited number of these time periods. 2. The sun - eternal God, moon - Church: "... P by the moon you can understand the Christian Church, in front of and before whose face Christ stands throughout the generations, that is, always... And as the moon borrows its light from the sun, so, according to the same, the church receives its mental light from the Sun of righteousness - Christ and, enlightening those in the darkness of ignorance, shows the way to those who are deluded ”(Didim in EZ).

Further, David speaks no longer about the Eternal and Beginningless Word, but about Jesus, who came into the world - from Heaven, about the Mystery of the Incarnation: v. 6. It will fall like rain on the fleece, and like a drop dripping on the ground.Transfer: He will descend like rain on a fleece, like drops falling to the ground.David prophesies about conception and christmas Savior of the world.

Conception There was a God-child mysterious to the world and invisible to Virgo: “Like a fleece, taking on the rain, does not make any noise, and drops of dew, falling on the ground, do not produce any sensation in the ear; this is how the Master's conception was accomplished, imperceptible for the betrothed who lived with Mary ”(FC). Neither St. Joseph and the world were unaware of what had happened. Zigaben emphasizes: this Sacrament was imperceptible for the Virgin herself: “With these words, the mystery of the incarnation of God the Worddescended into the womb of the Virgin without any feeling, just as rain falls on a fleece of wool ... ”(EZ). Zigaben writes in a note: “Virgo is named by a rune, as from Adam, which the Gospel parable calls a sheep, lost from a hundred. It revealed what was done at the request of Gideon, which meant the earth and the fleece, alternately irrigated, then remaining not irrigated ... "(in EZ). Once God called Gideon through an angel: “ Save Israel from the hands of the Midianites; I send you"(Judg. 6.14). Gideon was not then a judge of Israel, but only the youngest son in his father's house, and he belonged to the poorest tribe - Manassian. " And the Spirit of the Lord embraced Gideon”, And he gathered soldiers from his own and other tribes, and then asked for a very specific sign and received it: first, the fleece (shorn wool) was covered with dew, which Gideon spread on the threshing floor (the ground around remained dry), then dew covered the entire land around rune, leaving the latter dry (Judg. 6, 34-40). And the new judge saved the people from their enemies - he fulfilled the appointment of the judge: judge \u003d protect, save by the power of God... “In accordance with this explanation of the fathers, the Holy Church in the liturgical hymns calls the Blessed Virgin Mary "an animated rune, provided by Gideon" (see in the canon of the Sabbath akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, ode 6, troparion 2) ”(GR).

The dew sign is gone from God - from heaven the Divine Word descended: “When everything was surrounded by quiet silence, and the night in its course reached the middle, your almighty word descended from heaven from the royal thrones to the middle of the perishing earth, like a formidable warrior. It carried a sharp sword - Your unchanging command ”(Wis. 18: 14-16). 6 tbsp. prophesies and about conception, andabout birth Christ who came to us in the silence of the night of Bethlehem. Chrysostom emphasizes humility and meek worldBorn: “He did not come with a noise, without causing confusion, without shaking the earth, without throwing lightning, without shaking the sky, without sending many angels, without breaking the firmament and without descending on the clouds, but peacefully carried in the womb of the Virgin for nine months, he is born as the son of a carpenter, relies on a manger and poor swaddling clothes, endures persecution and fled with his mother to Egypt ”(Zlat. Conversations on Ps 49). The Teacher is a Wanderer Who has no place to lay his head"(Luke 9.58). He gets tired, thirsty, endures heat and cold. The silence of a meek spirit, the silence of passions, humility are needed both for condescension to earth and for ascent to the Cross: only he who walks the path of humility can be ascended to the Father.

In the 7th Art. David develops the image of the previous v. 6, applying it to the properties of the Incarnate: rain will quietly descend from heaven and shine in drops in the sun: v. 7. His righteousness and abundance of peace will shine in the day, until the moon... Transfer: In His days righteousness and great peace will shine, untilforever the moon will not be taken away... Here is the fruit First Coming: The King will quietly come to earth, and the promised truth will shine on it (“ his truth will shine in the day "), And the world will appear (" a lot of the world " ) - in His Face. " In his day " - one) in the days of His preachingwhen He walked with His disciples in Palestine, 2) during the days from the First to the Second Coming (from Christmas to the Last Judgment). Divine true associated with the world , not with enmity; she will shine in the words of doctrine and deeds of the Savior's mercy. The Lord will bring peace to souls fighting against own evil, and not against a neighbor. He will forgive these righteous ones, cleanse their sins, reconcile them with the Father. The Lord will reconcile those who labor and are burdened with the burden of the cross, as He will share with them its burden. Jesus will reconcile the afflicted with adversity by making it a stepping stone to the Kingdom. He will reconcile the dying with death, since He Himself will meet their souls beyond the threshold. The peace of the Lord will shine in the soul of a saint, reflecting in its purity the blinding light of the Divine. Thousands will be saved from this world and become one in Christ. Met. Anthony Surozhsky said: "It is enough to see the radiance of eternal life on a person's face for everything to change." Truth and peace will shine in His saints, which can be perceived by people.

The king is eternal (" And will remain with the sun "(5 st.)), Beginningless (" and before the moon kind of childbirth "(V. 5)) according to the Divine, and His kingdom will shine and" in his days ", « until the moon is gone ". 1. Can Golgotha \u200b\u200bput an end (limit) the radiance of truth and peace? No, there is the place of their victory. The Limit of Action of Divine Truth and Peace on this earth will not lay Golgotha, but the trumpet of the Archangel and the Last Judgment. The days when the Lord walked the roads of Palestine - only start accession, the dawn of Truth and the peace of Christ, and His Kingdom will abide on this earth in the militant Church " until the end of the worldwhen "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light" (Matt. 24:29) ”(GR, following Theodoret, Eusebius, Zigaben). From the time of His coming and preaching, which was so short that it was called days, before the last day of the world a person can know and accept the truth and peace of Christ in His Church on the ground ... In words "In his day "David hints that we are not talking about the Triumphant Church, which belongs to eternity (therefore, no time frame applies to it), but about Church militant which "In the day". Dondeje with this interpretation of the context, it acquires limit value, and in the following interpretation it is excluded.

2. David contrasted the actions of opposite forces: in the days of the Lord's preaching His righteousness and peace will shine, and meanwhile (« dondeje ") power will be taken away from the resistance, evil will begin to lose its power: “... The moon, that is, the resistance force, will be taken away, with the gradual ending and depletion of her glory. For, according to the Deities. Cyril, night prince - devil was glorified throughout the whole world ”(in EZ) among the Gentiles. He was symbolized by the moon, the mistress of the night with her improper "fake" light, which means the wisdom of this world. Deities. Cyril continues: “But his (* the devil's) glory was destroyed by the Prince, who took away the sin of this world. In his days shone true through faith and a lot of the world - through an appeal to God. Well said: taken away... For, as hitherto the devil took away a man; now it will be taken away by itself ”(in EZ).

3. Truth and peace will shine especially gratifying« in his day », when the Savior walks the earthand man can see his God. These days of His will end on Friday on the eve of Jewish Passover, and the date of Passover is associated with the waning of the moon. And Christian Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon, when it decreases, “ taken away"The moon. The cross puts a limit to only those exceptional days. However, Golgotha \u200b\u200bdoes not take away truth and peace, but affirms them, defeating Satan - the father of lies and the enemy of God.

Having said about the time - the time of the existence of the Church, militant on earth, - David goes on to review it spatial limits. Christ will possess not separate countries, but all over the land: Art. 8. And possesses from sea to sea, and from rivers to the end of the universe.Transfer: And He will rule from sea to sea, and from rivers to the limits of the universe.The authority of the Christ King will spread « until the end of the universe " , - those. the inhabited part of the earth in which man has moved... “This means that the Kingdom of Christ, or His Holy Church, will spread throughout the whole earth” (GR). Solomon's kingdom did not go that far.

Further the prophet continues the song about the glory of the King Christ... Up to 9 tbsp. David focused on the properties of the Divine and Human nature of the Savior and His mission: He is the King of the universe, Judge, Truth and Peace; The eternal, beginningless God who took flesh. Now the prophet reveals how the pagan world will respond to the coming of the Lord, who and what gifts will bring him - what fruit the Church will grow. Art. 9. The Ethiopians will fall down before Him, and they will lick his fingernails.... Transfer: The Ethiopians will bow down before Him, and His enemies will lick the dust of the earth... “The Eastern peoples (Assyrians, Egyptians and Hindus) had a custom, as a sign of special reverence, to kiss the ruler's footprints on the ground. Let the enemies show the tsar the signs of the deepest respect ”(Lopukhin). They will fall down to Christ and worship extremely low, zealously, with reverence - like God - ethiopians . 1. These are “the inhabitants of Ethiopia - a country of African deserts (from the Hebrew word“ Ethiopians ”is translated;“ inhabitants of the desert ”), where nowadays Nubia and Abyssinia. These half-savage and recalcitrant peoples, who are hostile (antagonize him) are towards any civic and peaceful life - even they will obey ... ”(GR). David prophesies about the enlightenment of the pagans.

2. " Ethiopians"David calls people living wickedly: they went wild, living without God, like distant tribes. So they are intended for salvation, and they bow down before the Truth and Grace of the King of Glory. And they will fall to Him so sincerely, with such zeal that their face will bury themselves in the roadside dust. This will be their repentance. “Or, according to Kirill, one can understand that enemies of the gospel preachingchanging, they will kiss the land of the holy temples ”(in EZ). “The enemies will submit to Him so much that they will not even think about fighting with Him, why, in a figurative sense, they are depicted falling to the ground and through this expressing their submission” (AB). David prophesies about the repentance of sinners.

3. “By the Ethiopians we can also mean demons. For the demons for the most part appear in the form of Ethiopians because of their darkness and gloom ”(EZ). They "will come down, humble themselves and die" (EZ). The saints will trample on them, and "from the inability to rise, they will seem to lick the ground" (EZ). David prophesies about defeating demons.

Nations and kings alike will worship Christ as King and God, desiring to serve Him: v. 10-11. The king of Tarshia and the islands will bring gifts, the king of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts: and all the king of the Zemstia will worship him, all the heathens will work for him. Translation: The kings of Tarsh and the islands will bring gifts to Him, the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts to Him. And all the kings of the earth will worship Him, all the nations will serve Him.

« King of Farsiystia - the same as the kings of Tarshish, who were the rulers of individual cities and regions in Spain, where the Phoenician trading colonies were located. However, by the name of Tarshish, the Jews generally called remote coastal countries. (...) Sava (or Savea) - this was the name of the country lying to the southeast of Palestine, near the Persian Gulf, where the tribe of the Savei lived ”(GR). Tarshish and the islands "Will bring ", And the kings of Arabia and Sheba "Lead" \u003d they will deliver their gifts on caravans - as a sign of reverence and obedience to the King. Here David is not talking about a tribute to Solomon's treasury, but about the fruits of love, worship and work of Christian rulers and peoples Heavenly King - on earth and in eternity. David only repels Solomon, but speaks of Christ, "to Whom" will come" (see Matthew 8:11) "and all the kings of the earth and all nations will bow down (you are the heathens) " will serve Him, some, according to bl. Theodorite, - voluntarily in real life, and all - after the resurrection, ... then " every knee of heavenly and earthly and hells will bow to Him"(Phil. 2:10)" (GR).

The Church of Christ now covers the whole earth, prays for the whole world, although not everyone has accepted Christ. David prophesies of the fullness and perfection of worship that will come in blissful eternity, however, he also says about the beginning of worship, about the firstborn of the Church of Christ - from the pagan world... They will be the wise men from the East, who will bring gold, incense and myrrh to the Born King and become heralds of Jerusalem and the world. They will bow to the Child on behalf of all the peoples of the earth. And then these peoples, who did not know God before, will bring their hearts and labors to the Master. History says that the nations “in faith truly submitted to Christ, worshiped Him as Godand brought gifts through the Magi, as to the king"(EZ). According to some commentators, the wise men fulfilled the ancient prophecy recorded in the words of v. 11. 71 Ps.

Why pagans who love " freedom", And sinners, attached to their sin, will willingly and joyfully worship Christ, wish to serve Him, and not the flesh, not their own wickedness? They will find in Him the Conqueror of their mighty adversary and their Savior: v. 12-14. Yako save the poor from the strong, and the poor, he has no help. He will spare the poor and the wretched, and save the souls of the poor: He will deliver their souls from excess and from unrighteousness, and His name is honest before them. Translation: For He will deliver the beggar from the strong, He will deliver the poor who have no help. He will have mercy on the poor and the poor, and He will save the souls of the poor. He will deliver their souls from self-interest and from unrighteousness, and His name will be honored with them. The poor and the poor. The prophet called the beggars “ human natureas it was then without God ”(EZ). David talks about those who realizes their poverty and works to acquire righteousness. Man cannot transform his nature, and the world, hostile to God, is not an assistant to him in this: “ he has no assistant ». The world is strong for evil, but with even greater right, “he (* David) here calls the devil strong, as he always did violence to people” (GR). “From the extremes, he says, and to the extremes of the universe, nations and kings will worship Him, thanks for delivering them from Satan's dominance"(AB)," from the cruel diabolical torment "(EZ), -" like save poverty from strong ».

David prophesies: Christ “ will spare the poor and the poor, and save the souls of the poor ". God spares and saves humble, striving for righteousness... And then the psalmist reveals some particulars: God delivers from the most common, deep-rooted and therefore dangerous sins: “ from reluctance and from untruth ». « Dashing is called growth, an increase in money interest, in a figurative sense - covetousness, avaricewhich, according to the Apostle, is "root of all evil" (1 Tim. 6:10). Under the name untruths here it is necessary to understand every sin, because whoever sins, he does wrong either in relation to himself, or in relation to his neighbor ”(GR). By the power of the Lord, man hates sin, resists it and becomes righteous. The sacraments of the Church have such power that they transform a person: they also cleanse from the most common sins: love of money and self-deception. Or: “Someone says that he calls sin in thought unrighteousness, and sin in action as deceit. For, by sinning in deed, we pay the growth of the devil, but we do unrighteousness with ourselves in thought. Therefore, firstly, it takes away the reward, and then the most untruth. For, in the first place, we must refrain from sin in action, and then from what we produce in thought ”(in EZ). So, Christ saves His people from their sins.

« And His name is honest before them. " “What is this name? The name Christ, by which we are called Christians. This name is so lofty and honorable that instead of any other merit, it alone is sufficient to attest to our nobility, even if we combine with the glorious name of a Christian a life worthy of this name ”(GR). To give honor to Christ is to honor Him as the Perfect God and Perfect Man. The words will refer to Him: “ The Lord lives!»

Art. 15. And he will live, and it will be given to Him from the gold of Arabian, and they will pray for Him, take them out, they will bless Him all day. Translation: And he will live, and they will bring him a gift of Arabian gold; and they will pray for him incessantly, every day they will bless him. " And he will live ". Baby Jesus was doomed to death by the order of the wicked Herod, but by the Providence of God. will be alive»: He will not be killed with the babies, but will fulfill everything (AB). As it was at the beginning of life, so it will be at the end of it: Jesus, the King of glory, rests on the Cross, but resurrect and will be alive forever in resurrected flesh, and His Kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:33) (GR and EZ).

« And it will be given to Him from the gold of Arabian ". 1. These words "clearly mean gifts brought by the magi"(AB). The gifts brought by the Magi to the Christ Child represent the gifts of the reverent Tsar-Christ all subsequent times... “One might think that the prophet named Arabia and all other countries, from which gifts and sacrifices will be brought to Christ with Arabian gold and other jewels in His temples or generally for the benefit of His Church, from all kings and peoples who have joined through faith to His spiritual kingdom ”(GR). 2. However, this is not about precious metal: the saints will bring the King deeds of love and prayer, and the martyrs will also bring their lives. This is real spiritual gold. Why is gold called Arabian? "In ancient times, Arabia had a lot of beautiful gold; and therefore she was called by others happy, but by the Greeks gold ”(EZ). But Zigaben sees in 15 tbsp. prophecy about the preaching of the Apostle Paul: having received the blessing from the Lord to go to the pagans, he went to Arabia. He's writing: " I did not go to Jerusalem to the Apostles who were before me; but went to Arabia (Gal. 1:17) ”(EZ). And there he preached Christ to the inhabitants of those places, and they accepted the faith, thereby becoming "Gold Arabian".

« And they will pray for Him, I will take them out, they will bless Him all day ” ... Who will pray? Church \u003d Arabian gold. In prayer "Our Father" we pray for God: for what belongs to God - about His name, about His kingdom and His will... We confess our desire before Him: for people to revere the name of God, for the Kingdom of God to become the Kingdom of the righteous, so that all God's holy will may be fulfilled, even if it brings suffering to the one who is praying. A person sincerely prays for God and blesses Him when he knows Him and His deeds, when he treats Him as a person precious to himself. The enlightened nations will constantly offer prayers of thanks and praise to the King-Christ " about the general expansion of His Kingdom, about the welfare of the Holy Churches of God and about his eternal salvation through Christ the Savior of all. Always making such a prayer, they bless him all day, i.e. every day, every day, they will thank and glorify the King Christ for freeing them from slavery to the devil and for all His great mercies ”(GR).

Art. 16. There will be an affirmation on the earth on a version of the mountains, His fruit will be exalted more than Lebanon: and the grass of the earth will flourish from the hail. Translation: His strongholds will be on the earth, on the tops of the mountains; His creation will rise above the ridges of Lebanon, and the inhabitants of the city will flourish like the grass of the earth. " There will be approval for the land on the version of the mountains ". What "statement" ? What will the Lord confirm? one. Church - « on the ground ", Apostles and Prophets - on the tops of the mountains this land (AB), i.e. among the saints of the Church and the saints of God. “The Lord Jesus Christ will establish and strengthen who believed in him, will make them high and exalted, as if standing on the very tops of the mountains ”(Blessed Theodoret in the GR). The Church will be based on the Stone, which is Christ, and will be confirmed by Him. "Statement" can be perceived as an object (as something to be confirmed: the Church is affirmed) and How subject ("Statement" \u003d Approver: the Lord affirms). The affirmation of all Christians, small and tall, laymen (“ on the ground") And monks (" on a version of the mountains"), There will be Christ:" Christ, he says, there will be an affirmation on earth, or for those who inhabit the earth, claiming the shaken by the devil... AND - on the tops of the mountains - means that Christ will be affirmed to the very tops of the mountains, which is attached about devotees and asceticswho dwell on the tops of the mountains, which Christ also affirms ”(EZ). 2. Based on the Hebrew text, Archpriest. Gregory believes that we are talking about approval bread, about fruits ears of wheat: on the blessed land, splendid wheat will grow on bare dry tops. Both those peaks and the forest of golden ears on them will be higher, closer to God, than the peaks of Lebanon with their cedars. Although David is not talking about the ears: this wheat is from God, its seeds are human souls, which the Lord will gather into His granary.

« His fruit will be exalted more than Lebanon ». « Lebanon is Jerusalem, and the Savior's fruit is the Church"(Eusebius in EZ). The fruit that the Lord will grow is the Church and her salvation, and the choice wheat among other fruits are the saints of the Church. They will be exalted by God above all that the Old Testament righteous could have thought of - to the Heaven of communion with God. Or: " Lebanon is Jerusalem, and His fruit is the gospel word... Therefore, he says that the preaching of the Gospel will be higher than the ministry of the subordinate ”(AB). And incomparably higher than the "wisdom" of the pagan.

"And from His city will flourish like the grass of the earth" ... Those Who Should Become Good Fruit Prosper: People Who Come to the Kingdom Prosper from his city \u003d from his church: "... From every city the Christians flourished and grew like grass - because of their great multitude" (EZ). “And by this again signifies the Church of which it is written: glorious verb about you, the city of God (Psalm 86: 3) ”(AB, the same in Eusebius in EZ). They will flourish as gloriously as those lilies of the field, which surpassed the beauty of the dress of the glorious Solomon. We remember the words of the Lord: “ Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you that Solomon, in all his glory, did not dress like any of them"(Matthew 6: 28-29). The saints of the Church of Christ are greater than Solomon. And they, unlike the grass of the field, will live forever - in the Kingdom of Glory.

With their lives and lips, the saints will worthily bless and praise the name of the Savior: v. 17. His name will be blessed forever, before the sun is his name, and in him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed, all the nations will bless him. Translation: His name will be blessed forever; His name is before the sun; and all the families of the earth will be blessed by Him, all the nations will praise Him. " His name will be blessed forever. " David spreads his gaze from its time to the end of time and prayerfully prophesies: name Lord Jesus Christ (God-man) and The words (God) Tsar and Son Tsarev (1 tbsp.), will be blessed forever, and the task of man is to bless the Blessed One.

Then David turns his gaze back and claims that the Word ( Divine the name of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity) was before the sun. AND abides forever, always: " before the sun is his name ". Some interpreters (EZ, GR) call this blessed and everlasting name of God: Shy, existing : «" I am Siy- said the Lord to Moses. - This is my eternal name"(Ex 3: 14,15). This is the name of the Lord, which exists before the foundation of the world, remains before the sun and will be blessedfrom all kinds forever... Through Him all the peoples of the earth will receive the blessing of God, to whom it will be said: "Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matt. 25:34). This blessing, therefore, is nothing but justification and adoption to God in Christ. In turn, those who have received the blessing will reciprocally glorify and bless the Lord Jesus, who "One is One of the Holy Trinity, which is glorified by the Father and the Holy Spirit" (song "The Only Begotten Son and the Word of God" at the liturgy): all tongues will please him"(GR). Or otherwise: before the creation of the world, "Before the sun" took place decision of the Eternal Council about the salvation of the world and about the Savior, the God-man, whose name Jesus, i.e. Savior .

In this name Jesus Christ : « And in Him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed; all the nations will bless Him. " "Blessed - means - will be sanctified, filled with grace... Because we - believers, called Christians, are glorified by this name. God also promised Abraham that blessed in his seed all nations: and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed in your seed (Genesis 26: 4). And Paul says that this seed of Abraham is Christ (Gal. 3:16). Why will all the nations, he says, glorify Him ”(EZ).

The following doxology, "according to the newest scholarly interpreters of the psalms (priest X. Horde, priest N. Vishnyakov, A. Parkhomovich and others), does not refer to this psalm, but was added to it by the collector of psalms in one book" (GR) ... David just prophesied: “ His name will be blessed forever ". And then he or an unknown collector of psalms blesses the Lord God of Israel, bringing him this gift. Thus, he fulfills this prophecy of v. 17: v. 18-19. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, work miracles alone, and blessed be the name of His glory for ever and ever, and all the earth will be filled with His glory: awake, awake. Translation: Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, the One who works wonders, and blessed is His glorious name forever! And the whole earth will be filled with His glory. Let it be, let it be so. The psalmist blesses 1) Of a singlein Three Persons God and the name of His glory is Jesus Christ, 2) or does he mean only Christto whom this psalm song is dedicated: “No other God than the same Messiah, Christ our God, about whom the whole psalm prophesies and One works miracles in both the Old and New Testaments, - One is not one in distinguishing the three persons of the Holy Trinity, but in distinguishing other, false gods - pagan ”(GR).

"The name of His glory ". one. Glory name (A son)His (Father or One in Three Persons). “Cyril calls the Son by his name” (in EZ). “His glory must spread throughout the whole earth, as the prophet Isaiah testifies, who saw the throne of the Lord of glory, surrounded by heavenly seraphim, and heard how they cried out to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! The whole earth is full of His glory."(Is 6: 1,3) ”(GR). « Lord of hosts» refers to all Persons of the Holy Trinity, and to To the Son of God, therefore belongs to and to the Incarnate Christ.

2. The name of His glory - God-man - This name suffering: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews (John 19, 19) was written over the Crucified as His guilt, as the cause of execution and dishonor. The dishonor of the Cross is the reason for the glory of the Savior: “ The glory of Christ is His incarnation and suffering for humanity... For this is how He was glorified among the believers, that, being God, He underwent this for us. And the name in His incarnation is - Christ. For Christ means God and man, who in this age is blessed and glorified, as I said above, and in the future there is much more, when no one will revile Him and, therefore, when everyone, both people and demons, will submit to Christ. We can say that the name of His glory is said descriptively instead of - His, or the name of glory - instead of - glorious ”(EZ).

« And the whole earth will be filled with His glory ». « Glory to him "- the glory of Christ (EZ). "Wake up, wake up "- this means the same as -" yes it will", and according to translation from Hebrew:" amen and amen!"" (GR). Grace will descend on the Church, militant on earth, but fullness glory will be available only for the Triumphant Church: “And Hesychius: why he repeats - yes it will? desiring the speedy approach of our freedom and the hope of the righteous. For when the earth is filled with the glory of Christ, then the real world will end and the Kingdom of Heaven will appear ”(EZ).

General content of 71 Ps. King Solomon , which the inscription indicates, is a type of Christ or only a name: Solomon \u003d "Peace", "peaceful". Lord - "The world is ours" (Eph 2, 14); He will come to reconcile in His Church the former pagans and Jews - with each other and with God. David prays for the King of righteousness and peace, for the Judge and Provider (1-4 stt.). He will come not for the judgment-judgment, but for the judgment-salvation. Judgment - 1) truth, continuous Divine justice, followed by the dispensation of saving Providence; 2) the decision of the Eternal Council on the Lord's work on earth and its fulfillment by Christ: “ now is the judgment of this world " (John 12, 31), - He will say before the Cross about the imminent defeat of Satan; 3) the litigation of mankind with its enemy (the devil, death and hell); 4) judgment - separation, a sword with which evil is cut off. This King-Judge is eternal and beginningless in Divinity (v. 5), but he will be meekly born - like a Man - in the silence of the night of Bethlehem. His coming - the Incarnation - David compares with a quiet, life-giving rain (v. 6). In His Church, which is militant on earth, peace and truth will shine forth (v. 7); they will stay while the sun and the moon are shining (" until the moon is taken away " ) (Art. 8). “They constitute the weapon with which the Messiah-King will conquer the whole world for Himself” (IO): the space of the earth, peoples and times - from Christmas to the Day of Judgment. Through Christ, the pagan world will turn to the One God: “The wildest ( Ethiopians ) and the most hostile nations (v. 9) will bow down before him; western ( king Farsiystia ) and southern ( king of Arabia ) kings, kings from all over the world will bring Him gifts, worship Him and obey (v. 10-11) ”(IO). These are spiritual gifts: hearts and lives, repentance and obedience to His word (v. 15). He is the Deliverer from eternal enemies and the Savior from sins; He is the righteous and impartial Judge, the hope of the beggar and the poor (vv. 12-14). This King is not subject to death: he will enter it to conquer, and will rise, and "Will live" (Art 15). He will be praised by the saints confirmed by Him (v. 16), and all His Church. They are the wheat of God, the fruit of His deed. They will be exalted and prosperous in the Kingdom: they will be higher than the Old Testament righteous and will be placed on high in the Kingdom of glory (vv. 16-17). The Church of Saints will bless the name of God and Savior of its Lord Jesus Christ. And now she sings: “ Blessed is the Lord God of Israel " (One in the Trinity) and “ blessed be the name of his glory "- the name of the Lord of Glory Jesus Christ (18 st.). He is the King of Heaven and Earth, therefore « the whole earth will be filled with his glory ”(Article 18).

Literature

Sources:

Psalter. Slavic translation from Greek. Russian translation from Greek... - Ed. Verotsky V.D., Kustovsky E.S., Serdyuk V.M .: "Palomnik", 2000.

Psalter with parallel translation into Russian... - M .: Orthodox St. Tikhon University for the Humanities, 2005.

Interpretation:

Athanasius the Great, St. Interpretations on psalms... - St. Athanasius the Great. Creations in 4 volumes, M., 1994 - abbreviated AB.

Gregory of Nyssa, St. On the inscription of psalms. http://www.golden-ship.ru/knigi/1/grigoriy_nisskiy_oNP.htm - GN.

Grigory Razumovsky, prot. Explanation of the sacred book of psalms... - M .: Orthodox St. Tikhon University for the Humanities; 2010 - GR.

Zigaben Euthymius. Explanatory Psalter. M., 2002 - EZ.

John Chrysostom, St. Conversations on psalms... - M .: Orthodox St. Tikhon's Theological Institute, 2003 - Zlat.

Irenaeus (Horde), bishop A Guide to Understanding the Psalms. - M .: "Ladder"; SPb .: North-Western Center of Orthodox Literature "Dioptra", 2000. (According to the publication of 1882); http://www.pravbeseda.ru/library/index.php?page\u003dbook&id\u003d856 - AND ABOUT.

Lopukhin Alexander Pavlovich. An explanatory Bible or commentary on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Book of the prophet Jeremiah. - http://lib.eparhia-saratov.ru/books/11l/lopuhin/lopuhin12/483.html. - Lopukhin.

The Monk Maxim the Confessor. Questions and difficulties.- Moscow: Pilgrim, 2008.

Trinity sheets. Interpretation of the Gospel. - M .: "Blagovest", 2002.

Interpretation of Scripture. -http://bible.optina.ru./

Theodorite of Kirsky, blzh. Psalter explaining the meaning of each verse... M., 1997 - FC.

Tutorials:

Klimenko L.P. Dictionary of figurative, figurative and symbolic uses of words in the Psalter... - Nizhny Novgorod: "Christian Library", 2012 - SK.

Complete Church Slavonic Dictionary of Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko. -http://www.slavdict.narod.ru/ - PCSD.

Church Slavonic Dictionary Archpriest A. Svirelina... - Publishing house: "City of Kitezh", 1991 - SS.

Abbreviations:

St. Athanasius - St. Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria.

St. Basil - St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of \u200b\u200bCappadocia.

St. Gregory - Saint Gregory of Nyssa.

Prot. Gregory - Archpriest Grigory Razumovsky.

Chrysostom - St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople.

Bp. Irenaeus - Bishop Irenaeus (Horde).

Blzh. Theodorite - the blessed Theodorite of Cyrus (or: Cyrrian).

Zigaben - Euthymius Zigaben.

Note

We usually comment only Slavic text , not the text of the Russian translation. The latter is given for the sake of convenience of perception of the Church Slavonic language. If the need arises additionally highlight any thought in quoted the text of the interpretation, we will emphasize it one line ... Our remarks and explanations, interrupting the quotation, will be in brackets with an asterisk (*) .

Sorry, your browser does not support viewing this video. You can try downloading this video and then watching it.

Interpretation of Psalm 71

In the Septuagint (and in the Old Church Slavonic Bible) this psalm is erroneously attributed to David (apparently, on the basis of what was said in the last verse of the psalm) and is perceived as a prayer of David for his heir ("inscription" - about Solomon). In fact, we have before us one of two psalms (Ps. 126), written by King Solomon himself (in the Hebrew text, this is directly indicated in the inscription to the psalm, which in the Russian text is transmitted incorrectly - About Solomon). In Ps. 71 reflects the nature of the reign of Solomon, but also speaks of the Millennial reign of the Messiah.

It depicts a picture of the blessed theocratic government exercised by the righteous "chosen one" of God. The psalmist expresses confidence that this king will rule according to the laws of peace and justice, in the interests of the oppressed and the helpless, and that many kings will obey him and all nations will bless him (verse 17).

A. Prayer for Just "Judgments" (71: 1-7)

Ps. 71: 1-4... Solomon asks God to give the king (apparently himself) the ability to judge justly and righteously - in the interests of people who are the property of God, including those of them who are poor and helpless. The images of “mountains” and “hills” in verse 3 (compare Micah 6: 1-2) may imply a righteous life everywhere under the rule of a king pleasing to God. Some, however, believe that these "mountains" and "hills" symbolize high-ranking people in Israel, about whom the king expresses his wish that they, too, do not oppress the poor, but bring them peace and truth.

Ps. 71: 5-7... The phrase "they will fear You" clearly refers to the Divine Ruler. The beneficial fear of Him will "abide", being passed down from generation to generation (from generation to generation), while the sun and moon are shining. But if verse 5 is compared with verse 17, then here you can see the following thought: the psalmist would like the name of the righteous earthly king and his good reputation not to fade away in the memory of future generations. His reign is compared to the beneficial effect of rain on the earth (verse 6). Therefore, the righteous will prosper in his days ... and there will be an abundance of peace (verse 7).

B. May all and all submit to righteous government (71: 8-11)

Ps. 71: 8-11... The psalmist foresees that his kingdom will spread from the sea (Mediterranean) to the sea (probably the Indian Ocean) and from the river (the Euphrates, which defined the northern border of the world familiar to the ancient Jews) to the ends of the earth (the southern borders of this world are meant). The "desert dwellers" meant wild nomadic tribes that did not know statehood. They will lick the ashes - this implies the ancient Eastern custom of kissing the sovereign's footprints as a sign of the humble humility of his enemies from now on (verses 8-9).

The kings of Tarshish and the islands ... Tarshish was in the southwestern part of Spain; "islands" most likely meant islands in the Mediterranean that belonged to the Phoenicians. Arabia (in the Hebrew text Sheva) was understood as the south-western part of it, corresponding to today's Yemen; Sava is the same as Seva in Genesis. 10: 7; was in upper Egypt. The rulers of all these places will pay tribute to the king sung in the psalm.

C. The Justification of His Sovereignty (71: 12-20)

Ps. 71: 12-15... The spirit of violence and murder will be alien to this king; on the contrary, he will save the life (of the soul) of the poor. Judging by what was said in verse 14, especially from the phrase “their blood (the pledge of life) will be precious in his eyes”, he will expand his kingdom “from end to end of the earth” not through conquest, but by peaceful means; Seeing the dignity of this king, his mercy, the peoples will voluntarily submit to him and will gladly give him from the gold of Arabia (especially highly valued, in particular, because of the abundance of nuggets in him), and pray for him incessantly and bless him.

Ps. 71: 16-17... During the reign of a righteous king, there will be an abundance of bread on the earth. This will happen because the forces of his subjects will be used not for war, but for "peace matters", in particular, for the development of agriculture; under him even the tops of the mountains will be cultivated and sown, and the fruits of the harvest will delight the eye, as the wonderful cedar forests in Lebanon delight him. The growth of the population in cities, similar to the growth of grass on the earth, which happens only in peacetime, will also be significant.

And in a righteous king the tribes, that is, other nations, will be blessed; "be blessed" in the sense that the principles of his government will benefit them. And they will begin to "please" him, that is, in turn, bless him.

Ps. 71: 18-20... Verses 18-19 represent the doxology (belonging, as is said in verse 20, not to the author of Psalm 71, but to the compiler of the second book of Psalms), with which each of the books of the Psalms ends. Recall that Book II includes psalms 40-71.

So in Ps. 71 depicts a picture of the ideal reign, which Solomon initially strove for (his prayer at Gibeon in 1 Kings 3: 5-10). Indeed, his reign was peaceful, his wise and just "judgments" won him fame throughout the world of that time; Israel flourished under him. But in the second half of his life, this king cared little about pleasing God. It must be admitted that the ideal kingdom depicted here is unattainable for man. Only God can create it. Hence the sounding of "messianic notes" in individual verses of the psalm: it is both the "eternal king" (verse 5), and his dominion extending to "the whole earth" (verses 8-11), and the truly blessed nature of his reign (verses 12 and 16 ).

The remark in verse 20 that this ended the prayers of David, which, perhaps, as already mentioned, gave reason to consider him the author of this psalm, in fact, only means that in this collection (II book of Psalms) the works of David predominate. Let us recall that Psalms 43-48 included in it belong to the "sons of Korah," and Ps. 49 - Asaf. In addition, in the subsequent books of the Psalter, the reader will come across 18 more psalms written by King David (Psalm 85; 100; 102; 107-109; 121; 123; 130; 132; 137-144).