Kathisma 17 about repose read in Russian. Archpriest Grigory Razumovsky

PSALM 118

Explanation on the guidance of His Grace Theophan, Bishop of Tambov, of blessed memory.

This psalm is the greatest of all psalms; it is inscribed, like many of the previous psalms, with the word Alleluia. Its distinctive feature is that it is written (in the Hebrew original) in the alphabetical order of the letters of the Hebrew language, which is why it is divided into 22 parts, each with 8 verses beginning with one letter; Each of the 22 parts contains a special subject for didactic instruction. In general, this is a song in praise of the law of God, or, more precisely, the prayer of one pious Israeli for the deliverance, amid oppression and persecution, of the true admirers of the law of God from the wicked and treacherous violators of it, especially from the pagan government hostile to the true religion. The expression of the desire for a living and active knowledge of the law of God that runs through the entire psalm, the glorification of its perfections and the importance of its preservation, which constitute the essential content of the psalm - all this gives grounds for recognizing the origin of this psalm in the time of the post-exilic state of the Jews, under Ezra and Nehemiah.

Before starting to explain this psalm, I had the opportunity to see the book “Psalm one hundred and eighteen, interpreted by Bishop Theophan,” 2nd edition of the Athos Russian Panteleimon Monastery. Having familiarized myself in some detail with this large book, I saw that it contained such a rich treasure of spiritual wisdom that I would not have been able to exhaust in all the other days and years of my life; and therefore I decided, without stopping my work - the psalm explanation, to extract and present for the general benefit at least small grains from the great treasury of St. Theophan. In view of this, I considered it necessary to title this psalm here in the form in which it exists. And from this very line I will speak not my own and not from other sources, but only what the above-mentioned book of Bishop Theophan says. On page 7 of the preface of this book it is said: “In offering our reflections, we consider it our duty to declare that there will be little of our own here. Everything will be borrowed from the holy fathers and teachers of the Church who labored in the interpretation of this psalm. In the presentation we will keep the division into osmisms. Each osmism is driven by one thought, on which the verses are strung, like beads on one thread. The interpretation and reflection itself will show how true this is. What is the general form of the sayings in this psalm? These are not parables, but prayerful appeals to God. Each verse is a prayer, but everything is about one thing - about fulfilling the law of the Lord. The soul, realizing that salvation is only in God, through the fulfillment of His holy will, talks with God, begging Him to enlighten, admonish, strengthen, deliver from internal temptations and external troubles, restore from falls, deliver from enemies, in a word - to grant her, by His mercy, to be pleasing to Him. Everywhere there is warm speech, addressed to God directly from the heart."

THE FIRST WORST (VERS. 1-8).

1. Blessed are the blameless ones who walk in the law of the Lord.
2. Blessed are those who experience His witness; they will seek Him with all their hearts.
3. Those who do no iniquity walk in His ways.
4. Thou hast commanded to keep Thy commandments strictly:
5. So that my ways may be corrected, preserve Your justifications.
6. Then I will not be ashamed, even if I look upon all Your commandments.
7. Let us confess to You in the righteousness of our hearts, always learning the destinies of Your righteousness.
8. I will keep your excuses: do not leave me until the end.

Immaculate- those who live without vice do not commit sin. By, according to the interpretation of the bl. Theodoret, the prophet here names the life that we all go through from birth to the grave. Walking in the law of the Lord- these are those who, in the words of the same blzh. Theodoret, “live in accordance with the laws of God”, fulfill every commandment that they encounter on the path of life - who do all good, as required by the law. All such people, according to the judgment of the prophet, are recognized blessed, happy. His Revelations (in Slavic dates) means: everything that is witnessed is revealed to us by God Himself about His law; try out dates means studying the Word of God and at the same time reflecting on the ways of God’s Providence for the salvation of man. But you can study the Word of God in different ways: theoretically, i.e. for knowledge alone; and practically, i.e. actively, for the purpose of following it, in order to live according to the law of God, attested in the Word of God. AND blessed the latter, i.e. Those who everyone they will seek him with their hearts that relate to him and experience him with full and sincere sympathy. “Heartless punishment,” according to Blessed Theodoret, “is not possible for everyone, but only for those who have reached the very top of virtue; such a person no longer divides his mind into thoughts about God and anything else, but devotes himself entirely to God.” Yes. There are such states in the spiritual life of blessed people when they, without committing lawlessness, walk in the ways of God (walk in His ways); preserved by the all-encompassing grace of the Lord abiding in them, they in no way allow themselves to do anything displeasing to the Lord, to offend Him with any lawlessness, but always unswervingly, in thought, feeling, and deed, walk in the same ways of God. This is the highest spiritual and moral state in which the saints were. the apostles and after them many equal to the apostles men and wives. These include the words of the Apostle John: “Whoever is born of God does not commit sin, for His seed abides in him; neither can he sin, for he is born of God” (1 John 3:9). This is what the apostle says about rebirth, which, beginning in baptism, appears in perfection at the last stages of spiritual advancement, when a person is completely renewed and adopted by God and is already led by the Spirit of God (see Rom. 8:14-16). And if in a person even after this there still remains the sinful “seed of aphids,” the infection of the old sinful man, why is it said: “Even if we say that we are not imams of sin, we remain unto ourselves” (1 John 1:8); and he, despite his complete success in spiritual life, is still subject to temptations from the flesh and the devil - then he is still in the possibility of one or another sin, and therefore, praying: “Thy kingdom come,” he prays like this: Thou hast commanded that Thy commandments be kept strictly(v. 4); that is, You, Lord, commanded that we keep Your commandments firmly, - not somehow, but with all accuracy. According to the blzh. Theodoret, the Lord “demands that we not act with scattered thoughts and carefree hearts in the circle of commandments, but diligently, with all attention, diligence and care, fulfill the commandments of God, with reverence for the One who gave them; only in this way will our deeds serve to our progress in faith." Having said this, the prophet continues his speech as follows: I am fully aware of all this and would like to fulfill it exactly and with all my strength; but can I, do I have enough strength? O, that my ways may be corrected, Thy justifications may be preserved.(v. 5). Here the prophet’s thoughts and feelings again turn to God’s help. “Oh, if only!”, he seems to cry out to God. And it will be the same as: help, Lord, give strength, send down Your grace!

Having actively directed his thoughts and feelings along the paths of the commandments and statutes of God, the prophet says that Then I would not have been ashamed if I had always respected all Your commandments. Saint Theodoret, in explanation of this, writes: “The fruit of transgression is shame. This is what the divine apostle said: “What fruit did you have then? Such deeds are of which you yourselves are now ashamed, because their end is death” (Rom. 6:21). But those who fulfill all God’s commandments have boldness in their conscience.” Look after- means to direct all your attention. In the saying of this verse (6) St. the prophet points to attention to the commandments of God, instilling that one must fix one’s gaze on the commandments, one must first of all tune in such a way that attention is exclusively occupied by the commandments and is not distracted by anything extraneous and unimportant - and then you will not be ashamed “I would praise You in righteousness hearts,” says the prophet further (v. 7), “having learned Your righteous laws” ( never learn the destinies of Thy righteousness). In other words: I desire and strive to be able to thank and glorify You, Lord, and I hope to achieve this when I acquire the skill, when I learn to reason about the destinies of Your righteousness. How close to these words is the incessant cry of those seeking salvation, which they express with the words: “In the image of fate, save us, the unworthy! Godly life, which is what the prophet expresses in words (v. 8): I will keep Your excuses: do not leave me to the bitter end., that is, I have decided, I will keep Your statutes, and You do not leave me completely. These words again secretly express hope for God’s help. If you leave me, as he says, then without Your help I can fall into sin, and then Your grace will depart from me. Therefore, do not leave me and with Your help I will keep Your excuses, Thus ends the first homage, which begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet - aleph, What means the science, since these verses combine the complete science of moral principles.

9. How will the youngest one correct his path? Always keep Your words.
10. With all my heart I seek You: do not turn me away from Your commandments.
11. I have hidden Your words in my heart, lest I sin against You.
12. Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me by thy justification.
13. In my mouth I have declared all the deeds of Your mouth.
14. On the path of Your testimonies we have enjoyed ourselves, as in all riches.
15. I will mock Your commandments, and understand Your ways.
16. I will learn from Your justifications: I will not forget Your words.

The second misunderstanding is stated with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet - bet, What means: house. It can be assumed that the thoughts and feelings set forth in it should be placed in the soul of a person, as in a house prepared for them, in accordance with what the book of Proverbs tells the disciple of wisdom: “But you write (commandments) to yourself three times, for advice and meaning and understanding in the breadth of Thy heart" (Prov. 22:21). Writing this means imprinting, taking inside, as into a house.

In verse 9, the prophet asks about adolescence, about how to more reliably guide us on the right path in life from a young age. According to the word of God, “from youth the thought of evil comes upon a man” (Gen. 6:5), if not guided, not directed; and if you give guidance, give direction, then the good will always rebel against the thoughts of the evil, and if you give a young man even a little skill in good, then the good will overcome the evil. The Wise One says: “Madness hangs in the heart of the young” (Proverbs 22:16). Like a weight, the excitement of desires pulls him towards evil, with the ease of concepts about life and the consequences of certain things. You can cut off this weight and hang another one, which will pull it to the opposite side, and also with no less force. This last weight, pulling to the opposite side, will words, or commandments, of God, which the second half of the verse reminds of: always keep Your words. Save- it doesn’t mean that, says the blzh. Augustine, to memorize and keep in memory, and then to carry them out by deed. Heart(v. 10), seeking the Lord, is, in particular, the first house in our being for the commandments. In ancient times, the heart meant the entire inner life, as it was expressed in external actions, i.e. her aspirations, quests, direction of internal activity. The Prophet, saying that with all my heart made up his mind seek the Lord, strive for Him alone, at the same time asks: do not turn me away from Your commandments; according to the translation from the Hebrew: “do not let me deviate from Your commandments,” that is, guide me by the power of Your grace so that I do not deviate from Your commandments. And having decided and focusing all your attention on seek the Lord, he says that I hid His words in my heart, in order to avoid the danger of the Fall, for let me not sin against You. This, one might say, is the second house in our being for the commandments, when a person has stocked up words of commandments God's, as if a weapon against the enemy hostile to him sin. To have the commandments hidden in the heart is a great perfection, but it is not acquired as quickly as it is said. The heart is always closer and more sympathetic to the passionate side. Who doesn’t know that “from my youth many passions have been beating me?”* The commandment hidden in the heart says: be humble, meek, truth-loving, pure, peace-loving, patient, etc.; but the heart is sometimes proud and vain, sometimes angry and hates, sometimes addicted and lustful, sometimes quarreling and grumbling, and so on. While it is such, it cannot be said that the commandments are hidden in it, and therefore it is necessary to transform it, to tear out one thing from it and introduce another. It is necessary to strengthen a person’s will “on the rock of faith.” But is it possible and easy to do? Although it is not easy, it is possible, with diligent desire, work and patience, and with the indispensable condition of God’s help and grace. In the following words: Blessed are you, Lord... - the prophet praises the Lord and immediately asks that the Lord Himself taught him excuses, i.e. statutes and commandments set forth in the law, or the Word of God. Learn excuses- does not mean studying only the commandments and statutes of the law. In Christianity, the paths of life are illuminated by the truths about the Trinitarian Deity, Creator and Provider, about the fall, about God’s good will to restore the fallen, about the descent of the only begotten Son of God to earth by incarnation, and His accomplishment of our salvation through His suffering, death, resurrection and ascension, and so on. It is these and other truths of our divine faith that the prophet means when he says: teach me by Your justification. And this God-taught mind of his is the third house or dwelling in our nature for the commandments of God. This last learning transforms the mind, and the first two - the will and heart. The Lord builds this inner spiritual building with His grace, with all sorts of efforts, without sparing oneself, on the part of man - he builds a dwelling into which he finally comes and dwells with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as He Himself promised: “to him we will come and we will make an abode with him" (John 14:23). In a word announced(in v. 13) prophet means at all times: I have proclaimed, I will proclaim and I will proclaim all the judgments of Your mouth. Since in the house of the prophet, i.e. in his soul, everything is already occupied with the commandments of God, then he places right there the word with which he announces the destinies of God, giving us a lesson about what we should talk about when meeting each other, in mutual conversation. There is no richer, more comforting and more edifying subject for conversation and there cannot be, as the fate of the mouth of God, that is, everything that the Lord was pleased to tell us, do for us and establish among us, for our salvation. Acts of Christ the Savior and St. the apostles, the fate of the Church, the lives of glorious men in Christianity in doctrine and deeds, the ways of God's Providence, the diverse cases in the life of each of us where the finger of God is visible - these are subjects worthy of conversations between Christian and Christian. And since our speeches and conversations leave a mark on both the speaker and the listener, how much power would flow from conversations about these subjects for the well-being of each person in particular and then for the whole society! Everyone knows that good speeches, like good seeds, create, improve, strengthen in goodness, and on the contrary, evil speeches upset, weaken all that is good and prepare for evil. Even the idle talk that comes from this, although empty, does not remain fruitless and harmless. That is why the prophet says further: On the path of Your testimonies we will enjoy, like all riches. That is, on the path of Your revelations, where there was an opportunity to learn the commandments and revelations of the Divine, I found pleasure and rejoiced as about any wealth, my spirit enjoyed just as one enjoys after receiving earthly blessings. To spend the time appointed for worship in the temple of God, to use part of one’s wealth on the sick, those in need and in need of help, to spend several hours in pious pursuits, at home or at a service, with an ever-ready readiness to help those in need - all these are the ways of divine meetings, on from which a person receives joy, spiritual pleasure and satisfaction of his spirit. At the same time, says the prophet, as I consider the ways of Divine revelations - which gives me considerable pleasure - I reflect on Your commandments ( I will mock Your commandments) and I look to Your ways. Such reflection on the commandments of God, through constant deepening of my thoughts in them, will bring me closer to God and give me the opportunity to know them more accurately. And when will I achieve such knowledge, when I will understand the ways Yours then I will learn from Your justifications. In a word I'll learn(Greek, from - to reflect, to deepen, to delve into, to edify), as applied to our text, it is instilled to memorize passages of Holy Scripture from memory and to repeat what was memorized at one time, as was the custom both among the Jews and in the ancient Christian Church , and as the prophet says here: I will not forget Your words.

THIRD IMPOSSIBILITY (vv. 17-24).

17. Reward Your servant: live me, and I will keep Your words.
18. Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of Your law.
19. I am a stranger on earth: do not hide Your commandments from me.
20. My soul love to desire Your destiny at all times.
21. Thou hast rebuked the proud: curse the one who turns away from Thy commandments.
22. Take away from me diarrhea and humiliation, as I have witnessed Your demands.
23. For the princes sat down and slandered me, and Your servant mocked Your justifications:
24. For Thy testimonies are my teaching, and Thy justifications advise me.

Third letter of the Hebrew alphabet gimel Means: camel. The camel is the hardiest beast of burden. In this respect, workers on the path of the commandments are likened to him, while they have not yet entered into the taste of holy life. The prophet depicts such a state in real osmia, which therefore can be entitled “On the difficulties encountered on the good path, internal and external, or on the difficult conditions experienced at the same time.”

Art. 17 and 18. Word repay here does not contain the concept of retribution or reward for something, but simply expresses a request for the gift or return of what was there but lost. The prophet here depicts a soul that was revived by the grace of baptism, but then seemed to freeze from voluntary and involuntary falls, and no spiritual life is visible in it, although consciousness with freedom, the hidden action of conscience, remains on the side of the spirit. They, these powers of the soul, confess themselves servants of the Lord. And this inner fidelity to the Lord gives them the boldness to cry out to God: Reward..., revive..., - and have hope that it will revive. This state of, as it were, death of the soul is otherwise called a state of insensibility. What to do in such a state? To endure and pray, confessing your weakness and calling on the grace of God. And I will keep Your words... And then he does not stop preserving them, but heartlessly, like a machine: like a machine, he stands in prayer, like a machine, he fulfills other works of the commandments. This is where patience is especially required: do not deviate from the established order in any way: be patient and pray! The consciousness of mortification, or insensibility, combined with patience and prayer, raises the soul to the consciousness of blindness and oblivion. A person realizes that he is blinded either in relation to himself, or in relation to others, or in relation to the current course of things, and remains with preconceived notions until he sees that in reality it is not as it seemed to him, that the truth is hidden from him, that he has forgotten a lot, and then, taught by experience and not trusting his speculation, he sincerely and with heartache prays to the Giver of light. Open my eyes...- let me see the truth about Myself, about others and about everything around me. Whoever has his eyes open sees his surroundings as they are. Whoever has open intelligent eyes sees God and the divine order of things, understands what it is and what it requires of us. This is what the prophet means when he says: and I will understand the wonders of Your law. Besides all this, the prophet sees difficulty for himself in following the law of God and in the fact that he finds himself alien(vv. 19 and 20) on the ground: I am a stranger on earth, he says. Each of us should carry this thought in our hearts. "I don't have it here abiding city, my fatherland is not here; I’m here for a while - nothing more than a wanderer and an alien. That's why I need guidance. You alone, Lord, know everything: do not hide from me how I should act better, what Your will is for me, do not hide Your commandments from me. Love my soul, desire Your destiny, and according to the translation from the Hebrew: “my soul was tired of the desire for Your judgments,” that is, my spirit burns with an incessant desire to be correct before You at all times, and they, the above-mentioned unkind states of ignorance and oblivion, and petrified insensibility, are like blows that strike the sometimes spiritual forces, and these latter refuse to act according to the demands of the spirit. When a feeling is struck, then a state of insensibility appears; when the mind is struck, then it either becomes blind or is forgotten; when the will is defeated, then a person falls into a state of disintegration and immobility in deeds, according to the demands of the spirit. That’s why everyone should pray, “Lord, deliver me from all ignorance and oblivion, and petrified insensibility”*. And when the Lord, by His grace, gives us the opportunity to “make a good beginning,” then we must keep in mind and not forget that for those who begin to succeed, the most dangerous enemy is conceit and pride, in connection with the condemnation and contempt of others. Good is so attractive and valuable in the eyes of the soul that having noticed only the beginnings of it in itself, it no longer knows its limits, and this only shows its inexperience and poverty, and is soon convicted of this by the righteous judgment of God. The Lord is near and admonishes us. That's why he says: You forbade the proud that is, he said, “don’t be proud,” and he said it with reprimand, with a definition of severe punishment. Here, however, we are talking not so much about the internal temptation of pride or conceit that comes from oneself, but about the external one that comes from proud people. Then the order in this misery will be as follows: the first four verses will talk about internal obstacles to prosperity, and the last four (21-24) will talk about external obstacles to such prosperity, the source of which is the pride of the sons of this world, looking with contempt at the humble zealots of the truth of God . Here are the words: you forbade, - in accordance with the following word: take it away, - you need to read: “forbid the proud,” - all those who are subject to curse for deviating from the commandments ( cursed is he who deviates from the commandments) Yours, both those who are conceited and those who harm workers in the cause of God. Forbid the proud, and take away from me reproach and humiliation which they subject me to, because I keep Your testimonies ( as I seek Your testimonies). Although I hope and pray that You will not leave my patience and labors unrewarded (Matthew 5:1 N2), you will see diarrhea and humiliation to which I am subjected proud, although I know that very many saints, and You yourself, Lord, the Leader of our salvation, have gone through this path of reproach and humiliation, but since I also know that through this “the name of God is blasphemed among the pagans” (Rom. 2:24 ; Isa. 52:5), then I pray: Remove diarrhea and humiliation. And if only these heavy reproaches and humiliations, “he would have endured the slaughter” (Ps 54:13)! But the proud despisers were not content with that. For the princes are gray and slander me. Wanting to give their slander and villainy the appearance of truth, they collect slander. This is how they collected false testimony against Christ the Savior. What should those who are threatened by something like this do? Here's what Your servant, says the prophet, mocking at Your justifications. Now he no longer prays: take it away, or disgust me, - but in his heart he gave himself up as a sacrifice to capricious malice and, not paying attention to it, does his job, diligently examines God’s justifications in order to fulfill them more accurately. This is how it is for everyone to act: let evil be angry, and you do your own thing: “Fear God and keep His commandments” (Eccl. 12:13). But a Christian, delving into God’s justifications, finds there something more, compared to the Old Testament, namely, a commandment about love for enemies. The commandment to love enemies is not as others say. “I don’t wish him harm and I don’t do it, I just can’t see him*, but you need to love according to all the properties of the feeling of love. Whoever, delving into the justification of God, attacks this feeling will draw from it such complacency that will drive away all bitterness of hostility , so that there will be no trace of her. We see examples of this in many martyrs. They have happened at all times, and if we look around, we will see them now. Immediately (v. 24) the prophet sets forth the reason why, when he sees, that his enemies weave slander to harm him, goes deeper into God’s justifications: for Your testimonies are my teaching, and my advice is Your justification. This is my rule, he says, to learn from Your word and seek advice there. Need I say that a better course of action cannot be imagined? In both internal and external difficulties, go to the word of God: it will lead you onto a bright and spacious road, teaching you how to safely circumvent the difficulties you encounter. The word of God also contains hidden healing against the internal, above-mentioned, defeats of blindness, oblivion, insensibility, negligence or laziness. And to notice them, to suggest that they are in the soul, is given by the word of God, and then it will help you get out of these bad states both by the power of its influence and by the necessary instructions. Likewise, in all external obstacles to the path of God, it also gives the ability to know how to be and what to do. That’s why those who devote some time every day to reading Divine Scripture, illuminated by attentive prayer, do so well! And without noticing it themselves, they are being created and tuned into Godly action!

25. My soul cleaves to the earth: live me according to Your word.
26. Thou hast declared my ways, and Thou hast heard me: teach me by Thy justification.
27. Let me understand the way of Your justifications, and I will mock at Your wonders.
28. My soul slumbers from despondency: strengthen me in Your words.
29. Leave the path of unrighteousness from me and have mercy on me with Your law.
30. I have chosen the path of truth and have not forgotten Your destiny.
31. I cleave to Thy testimony, O Lord, do not put me to shame.
32. The path of Your commandments flowed when You enlarged my heart.

This fourth misconception is characterized by the letter Dalet, What means door. When pronouncing this word, those touching church hymns naturally come to mind, in which the expressions are used: “doors of repentance, doors of salvation, doors of mercy,” etc. There are many degrees in the matter of spiritual life, and each degree here has, as it were, its own door. The first of them is the door from a sinful life, and then the door to entering the right path. They are apparently so inseparable that the exit from one life and the entry into another takes place through the same door, but in fact they are separated from each other, and sometimes by a very large distance. There is a gap between them that must be walked carefully, like a dark corridor. These three points are explained in real osmism. Door of repentance - verses 25-27; the intermediate passage is verses 28 and 29, and the door to the right life is verses 30-32.

In the essence of a person there is an abbreviated combination of two worlds: the material and the spiritual, the heavenly and the earthly, and therefore he is a being consisting of spirit, soul and body. The life that a person usually spends, representing something in between the life, on the one hand, of a spirit, an unearthly being, and on the other, the life of animals, is a life that is for the most part abnormal, damaged by original sin, and varies from person to person, depending on on the degree of mental and moral development of each individual person. The norm of human life is life in God in the spirit, which also attracts the life of the soul and body. In the spirit of man is the image of God. It is evidenced by the action of the fear of God and conscience and dissatisfaction with anything earthly. These are the requirements of spiritual life. They are fulfilled by the actions of the soul and body, and when they are fulfilled, then a person with all his nature ascends to God-likeness, and when they are not fulfilled, then the soul-physicality takes over, and the demands of the spirit weaken, and weaken to the point that they seem to completely freeze, and the person it becomes as if he is not a person, as if the life in him is just bodily. How the spirit then awakens is the mystery of God. But, having awakened, he victoriously raises his voice and consciously declares that until now, being under the yoke of the soul-body, he was not what a person should be. Hence the cry: “Alas! clinging to the earth my soul". By earth the prophet means everything material and bodily life itself, disobedient to the demands of the spirit. And this very cry is the cry of a person who has realized his distance from God and brings repentance. Having realized his unnatural clinging to the earth, the spirit of man cries out to God: live me. If you move away from me, then I will not be saved: I am close to destruction and death. But You Yourself spoke through the prophet: “I do not want the sinner to die, but to be converted... and I live to be him” (Ezek. 33:11), and therefore I ask and implore You, Lord: live me according to Your word. Such a prayer of a sinner, clinging to the earth and realizing that his true good lies in “cleaving to God” (Ps. 72.28), is not left without a gracious influence. A sinner excited by grace longs for a God-pleasing, pure life; for this purpose, having reviewed all his indecencies, he mourns them in his heart and with contrition confesses to the God-appointed decider of moral bonds, setting a firm intention to walk unswervingly in the commandments of God. Under the influence of permission, the grace of God visits the heart that was empty due to sin, and spiritual life comes to life. All these changes, or turns, in the spirit of the penitent are depicted by the prophet in the present (26th) verse. I announced my path that means I confessed my sins; and You, Lord, have heard me, those. accepted my confession and forgave me all my sins - teach me now by Your justification, - show me exactly what to do so as not to fall into error, and I, having accepted Your gracious help, am ready to learn. And in the next verse (27) he strengthens this prayer with a new request to show him the very path of justification, i.e. in order to be able to distinguish good from evil and expose apparent good, under which evil is often hidden, to know the order in which the affairs of spiritual life should be conducted. Because some things are appropriate in worldly cohabitation, others in a world-denying life, others in new beginnings, others in prosperity, others in community life, and others in solitude. Everything has its time and place. By the word I will mock, many interpreters mean: I will conduct lengthy conversations about the wonders of Your mercy and truth. St. Athanasius writes: “Having acquired an understanding of the mysteries contained in Your justifications, and the ability to follow their path, I will be able to talk and talk about the miracles of these justifications.”

Thus, the prophet’s desire for the path of the Divine excuses reaches the goal; by the grace of God he revives; and although he had not yet established himself on this path, he entered on it and got the opportunity to reflect and talk about the miracles of God. And despite all this, the worker still has to experience a lot. On this path, he usually encounters two main blows: the first is a weakening of moral energy, the second is a strong pressure of wrong movements within and unkind irritations from without. The first of these is spoken of in verse 28, under the name despondency, about the second - in the next verse.

Dejection is boredom at work. When it attacks, things are sluggish. While he is away, everything is done willingly, the job gets done and the time behind the job is not noticed. But when despondency sets in, the doer begins to look around and either does it or stops, and so you want to quit the job as soon as possible. This happens in everyday life, and it also happens in spiritual life. There is no desire to stand in church, or to pray to God at home, or to read, or to correct ordinary good deeds. The worker begins to get bored with all this, and therefore does it as if he is not doing it, and there is no use in doing it. He is exactly half asleep, whose work is falling out of his hands. This state is depicted by the prophet with the words: My soul slumbers from despondency. Dozing There is only a cessation of doing, and not bad doing, but it itself is bad. It is bad as a stop, since we are obliged to constantly move forward, bad even in that which borders on bad action. One who has dozed off may fall and break, may be captured by the enemy and suffer wounds and defeats, even fatal ones. How to be in this bad state? First, pray; secondly, to remain firmly in established routines and started affairs, even though the taste for them has disappeared; thirdly, to reflect on the wondrous ways of God revealed in the word of God. All these methods are contained in the prayer of the prophet: confirm me in Your words. So, first of all, pray. When you pray, do not lag behind anything you have done before. In both cases, deepen your God-minded reflection on the wondrous ways of God. So he prays: Leave the path of untruth from me. What is this the path of untruth? These are passionate movements aroused in the soul that lead to all untruth and sin. They clung to, clung to the soul; he asks to tear them away from her and throw them far away: let them be outside, and not inside, so that one can pass through them without feeling any harm, just as someone who has no predisposition to it does not feel harm from an infectious disease. Leave the path of untruth to cancellation- means the same thing as “remove from me the path of lies” (translated from Hebrew), or, what is the same, the path of sin. Together with the prophet, each of us must pray to God: leave the path of unrighteousness from me and have mercy on me by Your law, translated from Hebrew: “And grant me Thy law.” The last words mean the same thing as “bless me with such and such a thing, or give me such and such a thing as a blessing.” And the following prayer will come out: show me mercy by granting Your law; purge wrong movements from the heart, and in their place write there, impress, introduce Your law so that it penetrates my entire composition, governs all the movements of my forces - and I, realizing this, could unflatteringly (sincerely - Ed.) confess the law of my God is in my heart.

So the door from sinful life has been passed, and the intermediate distance from this door to the door of entering the right path has been passed. That's what it is the path of truth(v. 30). Everyone who lives and acts already has his own path, but not everyone has the true path. And the Savior distinguished between two paths: “broad” and “narrow,” and assessed them according to the end to which one and the other lead. What's for us the path of truth! Life according to the Gospel, in the spirit of the Christian faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ is both the truth and the way. Follow the Lord Christ, and you will walk the path of truth. But make sure that it is the deed itself, and not just the name. “Not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven; but do the will of My Father” (Matthew 7:21). I will follow the path of truth, - I chose with all my will, all my will is in him, and it no longer barks (does not hesitate. - Ed.) it here and there. Until the acquisition of goodness, until the dominance within the light of truth, the will still continues to double. In every task at hand, the conscience, already enlightened and enlivened by the light of the Gospel and grace, indicates a God-pleasing way of acting, but you feel that you do not know where proposals are coming from that are completely opposite to it and someone enters into an argument with the conscience. But when this passes, everything unclean will evaporate, self-indulgence will fade away, passions will fall silent, then there is no longer division, then every good deed that presents itself is willed with all the fullness of the will. This is what the prophet remembers, apparently with spiritual joy and joy. And I have not forgotten Your destiny. “I have deigned,” says Blessed Augustine, “the path of truth, according to which I will not forget my mother-in-law, and Thy destiny, so that my mother-in-law will not be forgotten.” But what are these fate? The entire course of God’s judgments, or the determinations about us of God’s providential will, from the moment from which it was pleasing to God to reveal them, to the point at which one enters with consciousness into full contemplation of them, without excluding from this circle what he sees accomplished on to ourselves, in other words, the entire economy of the salvation of our race and the salvation of the one who says this. All this as a whole is so crowded in his consciousness that he forget can't do that. Just as he remembers God and himself in Him, so he remembers the fate of God. “They,” says St. Anthimus, “do not leave his thoughts, they always revolve before the eyes of his mind” (7, p. 117). Previous: as you please, with this: don't forget, - consists of a direct connection, as a necessary consequence, in the spirit of moral necessity. He who enters into the knowledge of the destinies of God is convinced with irresistible evidence that everything is built according to the will of God, and that this will, as it laid down, so be it: no one and nothing can greatly change or cancel it. This is how the heart is torn away from sin, but it does not happen alone: ​​it is always accompanied by sticking to the opposite of good. They go together, and as strong as one is, the other becomes stronger. The heart cannot be without affection - such is its nature. I cleave to Thy testimony, O Lord, do not disgrace me, - the prophet cries and thereby expresses unshakable trust in the mercy of God on the day of Judgment. I'm stuck on dates(revelations) Yours, Lord, loved them and am sure that I won't be ashamed. Such hope is an integral part of the spirit of the one being saved. Without it, the spirit of salvation cannot begin, much less continue. And so, when the worker broke all connection with sin and clung to the revelations of the Lord, then he could boldly say that he had entered the path of the commandments, and not only entered, but also walked along this path: The path of Your commandments is the same. And he didn’t just go, but ran (Greek) along the path of the commandments, he went unhindered and quickly. The reason for the rapidity along the path of the commandments is the gracious expansion of the heart: when you enlarged my heart. Here there is a mutual relationship between freedom and grace in the human soul. The grace of God enters inside and dwells in a person, but does not exert its full effect, does not manifest itself to the consciousness of the person being saved, until his heart is cleansed, although primarily through its own action, but as a result of the efforts of the person himself. Then “a pure heart is created, and a right spirit is renewed in the womb” of the one being saved (see Ps. 50:12). The Holy Fathers extensively depict these two simultaneous phenomena in spiritual life. St. Hilary writes: “Everything is going well with the prophet. First he said: leave the path of untruth, Then: the path of truth as I please; Further: cling to Your testimony; now ends: the path of Your commandments is flowing, when you enlarged my heart. This was achieved gradually. All the previous things were done so that we could freely follow the path of God’s commandments. But the path leading to the stomach, and cramped, And regrettable: cramped because they need to walk with all attention and caution, deplorable because there is a lot of sorrow and hardship. But how can the prophet boast that he ran this way? Not by itself, he says, but Tekokh, when you enlarged my heart. He freely followed the path of the Lord after he began to be wide-hearted; Not before was he able to indulge in the way he had first become a spacious dwelling worthy of God.”

33. Lay down for me, O Lord, the way of Your justifications, and I will seek and take away.
34. Give me understanding, and I will try Your law and keep it with all my heart.
35. Guide me on the path of Your commandments, as I have desired.
36. Incline my heart to Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
37. Turn away my eyes from seeing vanity; live me in Your way.
38. Make Thy servant fear Thy word.
39. Take away my reproach, the hedgehog of the nepschevah: for Thy judgments are good.
40. Behold, I have desired Your commandments: live me in Your righteousness.

The fifth homage is characterized by the letter ge, What means: Here. In the written out eight verses of the psalm, the prophet intends to definitely indicate and express what the whole matter of a saving, God-pleasing life consists of. Here it is especially clearly and persistently instilled that only the mutual combination of human freedom and the grace of God gives a true, prosperous life. The first thing the prophet asks here is expressed in the words: Lay down for me, O Lord, the way of Your justifications.(v. 33), that is, imprint on my conscience, teach, definitely indicate what I should do, so as not to be lost in guessing, but to see everything clearly. He says the same thing in other psalms: “Ordain me, O Lord, in Thy way” and 1), “Teach me, O Lord, in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth” (85:11). Blzh. Theodoret writes: “Always, says the prophet, I need Thy illumination and law, in order to know the path of Thy justifications and to walk along it unhindered.” When such clear vision of the law is given, then it is natural for the one who seeks to please God to seek nothing more than its fulfillment at all times ( I'll take it out), and in all cases where the opportunity arises, attach it. The Prophet adds: and I will exact and take away; Only I will have the care and effort to satisfy the law. But what does it mean I'll take it out? Will there be no end to the search? I will take it out - all the time we live here, for until then there has been only success, and there the one who has succeeded well here is completed and imprinted. Further (v. 34), the prophet asks admonition from above and makes a promise try the law of the Lord and keep it with all your heart . But what exactly does the prophet ask him to understand and what does he promise to experience? According to the explanation of St. Hilaria, this is a “spiritual sign of everything legalized. As, for example, six working days resemble the six days of creation, and the seventh is the day of rest, God’s rest after the creation of the world, as if the new month’s festival prefigures in a mirror the eternal celebration of new life in heaven, so that to understand and everything else: what the seven-year and fifty-year jubilee means, what is circumcision, what is unleavened bread, what is the Passover, what is the promised land itself... All this asks to understand, promising that, having understood this, he will delve deeper into what is understood by research, and by going deeper, he will treasure treasure this and treasure it with all your heart." Thus delving deeper into the law, assimilating its spiritual understanding, “a true lover of the law finally reaches, in the words of St. Augustine, the heights of a holy and God-pleasing life, in which he loves God with all his heart, with all his soul and with all his thoughts, and his neighbor as himself, and this is the whole law and the prophets." Christianity also has an external rank; without it, a person cannot exist. But in Christianity it has a completely different meaning than in the Old Testament dispensation of faith. Everything there is punctually inscribed with the finger of God, and anyone who deviates from the inscriptions, even if they determine only the appearance, has sinned. The Church of Christ was not given such a mark, but was given the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, who himself developed and clothed himself in all the wondrous splendor of the church order. In this rite, as it has come down to us, we are brought up and we kindle in ourselves the spirit of life. All the power is in this spirit. Since he is not in motion, that is, when we move only in the well-ordered order of the Church, then we are in no way different from the Jews, circumcised without circumcision of the heart, who cleansed the “outer glass” (see Matt. 23:25), without caring about inner purity, with their lips saying: “Lord, Lord!”, but in their hearts pursuing their own egoistic goals. The Jew made the prescribed sacrifice and went home calmly. What is the difference from him who, for example, having stood through an outward church service with vain and passionate thoughts, returns home calmly, with the confidence that he has done the right thing and, moreover, so regularly that nothing more is required of him? Nothing, this is a real Jew in spirit. On the same line with them stands the one who in the house rereads the prescribed prayers and makes a count of bows, not caring about the prayerful structure of the mind and heart, and however, having corrected this matter of piety, keeps in mind and heart that there is no longer any guilt, and all that remains is to wait for the crown of truth. The same price applies to all good deeds that do not come from the spirit of life, but are done ex officio, being caused by external, so to speak, conscience, and accompanied by the same self-confidence that, as a result of them, we are right, and there is nothing more to be exacted from us. After everything that has been asked so far, it would seem that the holy prophet has nothing to ask from the Lord God, but he, as if not yet satisfied, continues to ask (v. 35): Instructing you on the path of Your commandments, as I desire. The last prayer places the seeker in the hands of a man-loving God, who only waits for the whole person to surrender to Him, in order to act in him without hindrance, both internally and externally. Why did St. prophet: Guide me on the path of the commandments? Because along the path it is called a narrow path, not a wide path, but this is the path of the commandments. The path that leads to the stomach is narrow and sad (see Matthew 7:13-14), but this path is none other than the path of the commandments. St. Hilary writes: " Path(Greek) there is a worn, frequent path. The chosen people began to walk in the commandments of God from the beginning of the century. Abel walked this path; Seth walked along it; walking along it, Enoch pleased God, Noah was honored to be saved from the flood; Melchizedek was honored to bless the father of believers and become a prototype of Christ; Abraham became a friend of God; Isaac is the heir of great promises; Jacob - Israel, the bearer of the aspirations of tongues, Job triumphed over the enemy."

The next three verses (36, 37 and 38) correspond to the previous three in this homage. There - (v. 33) Lay down the law..., I will exact it, here (v. 36) grant that I may not seek anything else but You and Your law. There - (v. 34) give it some sense..., I'll save it, here - (v. 37) make my heart delight only in Your law, and not turn to anything in which human vanity is accustomed to find delight. There - (v. 35) instruct..., delight, here - (v. 38) place Thy fear in me as my mentor and guardian of my good will. Here, in verse 36, the prophet prays: “Grant me, O Lord, while remaining faithful to Your law, not to have anything selfish in mind, let me love Your law not only when I am content, but even though You have taken away everything with me, let my heart be inclined to Thy one law, for the sake of Thy good will in it.” St. Ambrose, when explaining this, gives the following lesson: “Oh, if only we, imitating the prayer of the saint, would pray for the same thing for which he prayed! What is the benefit of praying to God, so that He would turn the heart away from selfishness and night to worry about profits? Let us make sure that the soul sympathizes with what we pray for with the tongue. The Lord looks at where the heart is inclined." The following should be noted about the correspondence between verses 34 and 37: there (v. 34) the prophet asks for the gift of understanding to study the law, here (v. 37) - so that the eyes of the mind do not turn away from vanities ( don't see the fuss), that is, in order not to be occupied with the mind in thinking about temporary things, do, as he says, so that I am completely immersed in Your law. On Your way, that is, when I walk in Your way, I keep Your law, live me, preserve, renew, reinforce. Bustle- this is everything that is invented and done not out of need and benefit, but to please one’s feelings and one’s lust. The world is chock full of such things and customs. Who lives among this: everything is spinning, unable to come to its senses, everyone is chasing something. In this regard, bustle means: hustle and bustle is useless, without benefit. Prophet prays turn away your eyes him from such bustle, because she, with all her emptiness, is attractive: just look - she will attract and pull, don’t be careful - she will captivate and pull away. Even when fulfilling the law, following the path of God's commandments, one can be carried away by vanity, fulfilling this or that in the law for human glory, for the sake of which some people did other and great things, for which they were much praised by the people, while others were called great, but sought this glory is not from God, but from people, and having received it, they received their reward, the vain - vain. Desiring to turn the eyes of His disciples away from this vanity, the Lord inspires them not to do any good deeds, “so that men may be seen,” otherwise they will not receive a reward from the Heavenly Father, and all their virtue will lead to vain glory (Matthew 6:1-4). Having protected his love for the commandments of God both from selfishness (v. 3b) and from vanity (v. 37), the prophet further (v. 38) prays to the Lord God to protect her further with His fear: Make Thy servant fear Thy word.. Word here it means the same as law and commandments. Put their into fear- means to protect the strength of their obligation in conscience with the fear of God, so that a person always, as soon as he recognizes the will of God in one thing or another, will certainly strive to fulfill it, despite any sacrifices, guided solely by filial fear. Just as in the previous two verses (36 and 37) one can see an indication of the goals that one should have when doing good, so the same can be seen in this verse. The prophet asks God to teach him and dispose his heart to do everything out of pleasing Him alone, to do good not only out of a sense of duty, not just according to the requirement of the moral dignity of a rational being, but especially because this is the will of God, holy and pleasing. Any inconsistency with the will of God brings upon a person vilification, reflecting on which or fearing it, the prophet asks (in v. 39): Take away my reproach, the hedgehog of the nepschevah: for Thy judgments are good. Nepshchevy- from not to eat(Greek - suspicari, existimare, believe, think, suspect, or also: Greek - to be afraid, to be wary). About a person who has done something bad in civil and family life, they usually say: “He hit himself in the dirt with his face,” just as a sinner hits himself with his face in the spiritual realm before the all-seeing God, before the angels and saints, before his conscience, before everything, finally, the world of goodness and light. The sinner who comes to consciousness first of all sees in himself this shame of sin, regrets and is annoyed with himself, and strives to quickly get rid of such ag. vilification, that’s why he cries: take away my reproach so that there would not be a trace of this accusatory shame of sin on me. Don’t just forgive, he says, but cleanse it essentially, tear it off and throw it away, so that I can remain in pure nature, as You originally created me, in Your image, without the attachment of these vermin of sin: with which I have clung to myself. Take away the reproach that is nepschevah; netsevati- means, as stated above, to think, to believe; and the thought comes out like this: although I don’t see any obvious sins in myself, I can’t think that I’m sinless. Sinful shame may be deeper within me than my consciousness. Believing that this is so, I pray: cleanse me from this shame, invisible to me. May be, nepszczewah, according to St. Ambrose, therefore, “was planning,” and the prophet prays: take away the sin that I conceived, or which I delighted in in my heart and thought, but which I did not commit in deed. And the prophet bases this prayer, like all his other prayers, solely on the goodness of God, which he immediately confesses, for Your destinies are good. To a person who fell into sins after baptism, the Lord God, in His goodness, gave a means to get rid of them through repentance. Why be afraid to confess or tell your sins? What to fear open reproach yours before Him, courts Whom benefits? That’s all the prophet wanted to express in this misery, and he concluded it with these words: Behold, I have desired Your commandment- V live me in Thy righteousness. So I expressed, as if the prophet were speaking, everything that I would like in the matter of spiritual life leading to salvation. Grant, O Lord, and You also grant me that which depends on Your grace - revive me how Thy truth was meant to revive us; admonish, arouse sympathy and energy, give strength and patience to continuously and successfully follow the path of life that pleases You. Whatever fruit of spiritual life you seek, seek - seek with all your might, but do not expect fruit from your search and your efforts, but cast your sorrow on the Lord, “and trust in Him, and He will do it” (Ps. 37:5). Pray: I wish, I seek, but live me by Your righteousness. The Lord determined: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And this law is fulfilled in spiritual life with precision, not deviating even a hair from the definite.

SIXTH THOUGHT (VERS. 41-48).

41. And may Thy mercy, O Lord, come upon me, according to Thy word:
42. And I answer those who reproach my word, because I have trusted in Your words.
43. And do not take away from my lips the words that are truly true, for I have trusted in Your judgment.
44. And I will keep Your law forever and ever.
45. And I walked in breadth, because I sought Your commandments.
46. ​​And the words about Your testimonies before the kings and do not be ashamed:
47. And I learned in Your commandments, which I loved dearly.
48. And I lifted up my hands to Thy commandments, which I loved, and mocked at Thy justifications.

All eight of these verses begin with the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet - wav, What means - hook. The hook, or anchor, by which a boat standing on the shore of a river or sea is fastened, is an image of hope, which is also the image adopted by the Apostle Paul (Heb. 6.19). This is how the compiler of Psalm 119 understood this word and gave it the same spiritual meaning, and therefore he collected under the letter Vav those verses that all speak about hope. Since in the last verse of the previous homage the prophet expressed a prayer to God, combined with devotion to the will of God, which constitutes the soul of hope, so here; Without interrupting the connection with the previous one, he held a conversation about the same thing through all mystification. And first of all, he asks the Lord God salvation your soul, as the greatest God's mercy, - asks with the addition of words: according to Your word(v. 41). Since the immutable promises of God are scattered throughout the entire space of the word of God, the prophet, as if relying on them as the strongest support, very often uses this expression - according to Your word. Expressing the same word of hope in the next verse, he says, when they begin to reproach me for the strict and exact fulfillment of Your law, despite the hardships to which I am subjected as a result, then I will answer them: like I trust in words Yours (v. 42), - because I have placed my trust in the promises of God, and therefore I am confident that I will receive everything that I seek and strive for. It is clearly said to me: “Blessed are you, when they reproach you and despise you and say all kinds of evil things against you, lying, for my sake: rejoice and be glad, for your reward is much for the devils” (Matthew 5:11-12). This is what inspired the saints. martyrs, entering into the feat of martyrdom, if not confident in the immutability of these words of God? Along with this confidence, another thought comes into the soul of the one being reviled: when You, Lord, show me mercy and save me before everyone’s eyes, then I will have something to answer to those who reproach me, to justify my trust in You. Obvious help will stop the lips of those who reproach him who trusts in the promises of God. Further, putting himself in a state where he may lose his word of defense against vilifying, he prays again : And do not take away from my lips the words that are truly true, because I trusted in Your judgment(v. 43). Those. I beg You, Lord, that the word of truth with which I could answer those who reproach me will not be taken away from me; don't deprive me of this favors, but if it becomes necessary to take it away, this word, then take it away enough to test only me, and not enough, not quite, not at the end. Here the prophet indicates another point of support for his hope, namely: destinies of God, adding to his prayer the words: as I trust in Your destiny. And under destinies He understands those judgments of God that He not only pronounced, but also carried out. To these he could include all those who came before him and were, of course, well known to him (Ps. 17:23): how Noah and his family were saved from the flood, how Abraham and the patriarchs were blessed, how Egypt was punished, and the people God was saved, how this people were led to the Promised Land among the mercies and punishments of God, how they were settled in the Promised Land, and so on. With God, everything, both in the structure of the great world and in the arrangement of the fate of every little person, is wisely determined by measure, weight and number. And how this is - our minds cannot comprehend! “The destinies of God are a great abyss” (Ps. 35:7). How much consolation there is in this and how much the hope of the one who has reached such a conviction is strengthened! Blzh. Augustine under destinies kindling hope, here he means precisely the fate of each person. I trust in Your destiny, i.e. Your judgments, with which You correct and punish me, not only do not take away my hope, but also elevate it, for “the Lord loves him and punishes him: but he beats every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6). After this, the prophet has no choice but to proclaim with all sincerity and decisiveness: and I will keep Your law forever and ever(v. 44), i.e. I will keep Your law always and in everything, both in this life and in eternity! This prophet's determination to keep the law of God is broad and comprehensive. I will keep Your law, i.e. always, at all times and in all cases and circumstances of life. And not only in this temporary life did he decide to keep the law, but also in the century of the century, i.e. throughout the endless life of the next century. Blessed Theodoret and Augustine explain how this will be accomplished in the next century. The first one writes: "in words in the century of the century The prophet made clear the future life, in which everyone will be given pure and complete observance of the laws of God."

Art. 46. He who has entered the breadth of the commandments and justifications of the law of the Lord, at the same time, finds himself at such an unattainable moral height that he fearlessly expresses the testimony of Divine truth before the mighty of the world, even before kings, and therefore says about himself: and speaking about Your testimonies before the kings, and not being ashamed. Our interpreters all stand with attention, at this verse, in the picture of the martyrs. St. Athanasius writes: “such was Paul, such was Peter, such was the face of the apostles and martyrs.” St. Ambrose says: “It is fitting for such a word to come from the mouth of every martyr who, having been called before the judgment seat, wasn't ashamed, when princes and judges reviled him for his faith in the Crucified One, but on the contrary, he counted the cross of Christ for his glory, and with heavenly testimonies he proved that in the cross there is salvation for the world." St. Hilary goes back to the source of this word: "The duty of an enlarged heart is to pour out abundantly from themselves the words of divine teaching. Preachers of the truth should be guided not only by the example of the prophet, but also by the words of the Lord, Who commanded those who know it to preach it everywhere, encouraging them: do not be afraid."

Art. 47. Having entered the breadth of the commandments, the prophet renounced in his heart everything worldly, earthly, vain, and was occupied only with the commandments of God, those. He cared only about how best to understand them and how best to fulfill them. He says, and have learned in Thy commandments, which I have loved dearly. The prophet followed what our Lord Jesus Christ taught, i.e. sought first of all the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and he looked at everything else, at all earthly and worldly concerns, as those that would be fulfilled by themselves for those who seek the Kingdom of God. Studying the law of God, as the only important subject in the circle of all everyday concerns, he was deeply convinced that only one thing man needs, exactly what the Savior Christ spoke about to the much-concerned Martha, as “the only thing needed,” meaning by this one thing nothing more than listening to the word of God and teaching in the commandments of God - the very activities and concerns that the prophet speaks about here: I love you so much, and about which the Savior spoke. “Mary has chosen the good part, lest it be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42).

Art. 48. Having expressed his utmost love for the commandments of God, the prophet, as if still not satisfied, adds to everything he said: and I lifted up my hands to Thy commandments, which I loved, and mocked at Thy justifications, or, as we read from the translation from the Hebrew: “I will stretch out my hands to Your commandments, which I have loved, and meditate on Your statutes,” when, that is, I will have a patient and unchanging persistence in good deeds, despite any obstacles . Raising hands to the commandments- the same as laying his hand on the ralo*, according to the word of the Savior (Luke 9.62). Just as this latter only successfully cultivates the land when he does not look back and does not stare from side to side, but draws furrow after furrow, despite the fact that it is difficult and the sweat is pouring, so the worker who has raised his hands to the commandments can only succeed in fulfilling them, when he is armed with patience and will not spare any labor or be afraid of obstacles. The same idea is expressed in the word mocked(Greek: I will ponder, - “I will occupy my mind”, so to speak), i.e. bowed down to the justifications and commandments of God, patiently continued in doing good. What produces such constancy and firmness? Love, which “no longer falls away” (1 Cor. 13:8). But before love comes, how should we inspire ourselves, and how do workers really get inspired? Nothing other than hope. They hope to make it in time and work hard. So, all this mischief begins with a speech about trust in the mercy of God and ends with words affirming hope and patience.

SEVENTH THOUGHT (VERS. 49-56).

49. Remember Your words to Your servant, whose hope You have given to me.
50. Comfort me then in my humility, for Your word lives on me.
51. Pride is a lawbreaker to the extreme: but I have not deviated from Your law.
52. I have remembered Your judgments from time immemorial, O Lord, and have been comforted.
53. I have received sorrow from sinners who forsake Thy law.
54. Peta beahu for me Your justification at the place of my coming.
55. I have remembered Your name in the night, O Lord, and kept Your law.
56. This came to me as the justification of Your demands.

This mischief goes under the letter zait, What means; olive. Olive is the name given to the tree from which oil is made, and oil serves as a symbol of God’s mercy and all that is comforting and healing. Not a single object from the material world is, perhaps, applied in the word of God so often and variedly to objects of the spiritual world as oil. It is used as the "oil of gladness" (Ps. 44:8; Heb. 1:9), as a symbol of consecration to the service of God (Ex. 30:30) and to the royal service (1 Sam. 15:1); in other cases it serves one of the objects of sacrifice (Lev. 7:10; 6:15) or an expression of piety (Eccl. 7:2) and prayerful or liturgical peace (in the liturgy: “mercy of peace”), as well as a sign of healing (Is. 1:6 ) and light (Exodus 27:20), the very rite of anointing with oil serves as a symbol of spiritual teaching and inner enlightenment (1 John 2:27), etc.

Art. 49 and 50. In this misery, the prophet expounds sayings that express what his soul grieved about and in which he found consolation for it. He is worried about the slowness of the fulfillment of God’s promises, and he calls out to God: Remember Your words to Your servant, whose hope You have given me, - then various humbling circumstances of life disturb him, and he says more calmly: So console me in my humility, for Your word lives on me. Words of the Lord, on which the prophet placed his comforting hopes and hopes - these were the promises for which he now asks remember, I cannot remember, because, of course, there was something in the current circumstances of his life that did not correspond to the expectations aroused by the words of the Lord, or because at that time he felt the need for the consolation and mercy of God. The promises promised all mercy, and therefore the prophet says: remember what you said, and grant at least a small part of what you promised, because, especially now, I feel the need. In a word remember only the desire of the person praying to receive what is promised is expressed, and not that something is offered to God, as if it had fallen out of His memory. According to the translation from the Hebrew: “Remember the word to Your servant, in which You commanded me to trust.” And this hope which you gave me gave me great things comfort. Although I received from You, Lord, great and important promises and kept my hope in them, in my life I encountered such humbling, humiliating and spirit-killing circumstances that struck my soul with grief, and only in Your word did I find consolation and revival: For as Thy word liveth me. Exactly this hope, generated in me by Your word, comforted and it calmed me so much that if any disaster or danger befell me, the hope of death, a serious illness, or loss of property, or persecution, or anything else that people thought was serious, then hope was my consolation. Under humbling St. Ambrose also understands something else, namely, internal temptations from sin and the devil, with which one must fight, in the hope of victory by the power of the Lord’s grace. “During the time of our humility, our comforter is hope. The time of humility of our soul, I consider the time of temptation. It is in these temptations that the soul lives by the word of God. It is the vital essence of our soul, by which it is nourished, restored and governed.”

Art. 51 and 52. Of the circumstances of life that bring sorrow and especially have a humbling and deadly effect on our spiritual state, the prophet singles out those that come from proud despisers of the law, blaspheming the law, mocking its executors and leading everyone astray from the proper path, and at the same time he distinguishes himself from among these proud lawbreakers. That's what he says. Pride is a lawbreaker to the extreme: but I have not deviated from Your law.. In this verse, the prophet, on the one hand, pointed to proud lawbreakers, not only breaking the law to the extreme, but also rebelling against him, despising, hating and arming himself against him with his evil word, and on the other hand, the firmness and constancy of his character with which he armed himself against the detractors of the law. But this firmness did not exclude heart disease. Where did he find healing oil for such a heart wound? In remembrance of the judgments of God. Here is a lesson for us how to act when around us there are not only criminals of the law, but also despisers and slanderers of it. Let them! You remain firm - you won’t talk everyone down and won’t convince everyone. There is a Judge of all in heaven, who sees how they rebel against His commands, and will be able to give everyone their due. I have remembered Your destiny from all eternity, O Lord, and have been comforted. This verse complements the previous one. I remembered, Lord, as if he were saying so, Your righteous judgments, revealed by You from the beginning of the world, how You honor and glorify those who suffer for virtue, as You dishonor and put to shame those who are full of happiness with sin, and with this remembrance comforted in my sorrows and sufferings, in the face of the proud detractors of Your law. “Having brought to my mind,” explains Blessed Theodoret, “what happened to Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, how they were allowed to fall into various temptations, and how You subsequently made them glorious and famous, I I found sufficient consolation in this." “The proud,” writes St. Ambrose, “with their attacks on the law shook my devotion to the law, but I remembered Your judgments and, consoled by them, returned to my former convictions and decisions.”

Art. 53 and 54. The proliferation of wickedness and widespread corruption is a new source of sorrow for the prophet! In front he pointed to the outstanding individuals from this circle, to the proud despisers of the law, mocking and attacking, and now he designates the entire continuous mass of those sinning without the fear of God and the fear of His judgment, although they do not attack, but by their appearance and shamelessness they confuse the pious heart. Sorrow takes me away from the sinner who forsake Your law. In this verse he speaks only of sorrow because of sinners, but in the next he indicates where his consolation in such sorrow came from. Peta byahu to me Your justifications at the place of my coming, i.e. (translated from Hebrew) “Thy statutes were my songs in the place of my wanderings.” Putting these words in relation to the previous one, we see that sadness was expressed there, and a source of consolation is indicated here. He seems to be saying this: sin and wickedness, which multiplied around me, plunged my soul into sadness; and I, delving into Your justifications, warmed my heart with love for them, and thereby drove away the gloomy mood in myself and the harmful influence that the sinfulness that surrounds us usually leaves in the soul. Place of arrival- this is real life. The feeling “that we are strangers and strangers on earth” (Heb. 11:13) is common to all sincerely God-fearing people. For the prophet, it was elevated by the fact that in those around him he did not see any agreement with the mood of his heart. They planned and did one thing, and he did something completely different, and therefore was a stranger between them. A different spirit of life was at work in him, not from this world. And just as in the spring, when awakened new life embraces someone who has emerged into the open air from a stuffy home, a song involuntarily erupts to express the joy of life, so sang and the prophet, when in excuses the heavenly elements, dear to his spirit, embraced him. With this he consoled himself and drove away the bad spirit that had come over him from the sinful world. “But God’s justifications,” as explained by St. Hilary, “cannot be sung by those who have not renounced all earthly concerns. Therefore, the prophet added: at the place of my coming. Here we are strangers, but God has his own. That is why the apostle says that in the house of God, by calling to faith, we are no longer strangers and strangers, but fellow citizens of the saints and householders of God (Eph. 2:19), and he who is of the household of God has already left the world, he who moves in heavenly things, the wanderer on earth who sings has put aside all the burdensome worries or calculations that squeeze the heart.”

Art. 55 and 56. The Old Testament preacher expressed the essence of the entire law of God in such brief words: “Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is all for man” (Eccl. 12:13). Remembering the same law of God and maintaining due attention to the most holy name of the Lord, the prophet-composer of this psalm says: I will remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law. And not at night only, but at all times the prophet, of course, remembered and glorified the name of the Lord, but at night, as he says so, when everything around me plunged into deep silence, when my soul was free from the oppression of external impressions, I remembered the name Yours, I realized more vividly that You are the Creator, the Provider, and the merciful and righteous Rewarder, in whose hand everything is, therefore, me and my soul. Having remembered this, I was inspired with greater determination keep Your law. It often happened that troubles, disasters, misfortunes and all kinds of failures cast darkness over my soul and wavered my loyalty to Thy law, but, having remembered at the same time in night your name and realizing that everything is from You and everything is being built for my good, I calmed down and remained faithful to Your law. Thus, with the words of this verse, the prophet inspires that constant remembrance of God, not only during the day, but also at night, is the source of all consolation and complete strength of moral character, always faithful to God. The constant memory of God and the keeping of His law was for the prophet the reason that he sought the justifications, or statutes of the Lord, which he expressed in the following verse: This will come to me, as I seek Your justifications; those. “It (the law) has become mine, for I keep Your commandments” (translated from Hebrew). Obviously, it was nothing else but the remembrance of God that made him seek God's justification. He who seeks life according to God’s justifications cannot do without remembering God, for every commandment that he is required to fulfill is God’s commandment, and he must fulfill them constantly, since all our deeds and relationships are surrounded by commandments.

EIGHTH CASE (V. 57-64).

57. Thou art my part, O Lord: I have decided to preserve Thy law.
58. I prayed to Your face with all my heart: have mercy on me according to Your word.
59. I have thought about Your ways and returned my nose to Your witness.
60. Let us prepare ourselves and not be dismayed to keep Your commandments.
61. The sinner has already committed himself to me, and has not forgotten Your law.
62. At midnight I rose to confess to You about the destinies of Your righteousness.
63. I am a partaker of all those who fear You and keep Your commandments.
64. Fill the earth with Thy mercy, O Lord: teach me by Thy justification.

In the eighth verse, all verses begin with the letter het, What means sin. The reason for all the sayings of this osmosis is the sinful life of people. But the prophet is not talking here about sin itself, but about how a sinful person, having realized his sinful state, tries to free himself from it, to break free from the bonds of sin, and what techniques are used on his part in order to stay on the good path. He has to decide: either stop sinning, or, postponing repentance, walk again in the same path of sin, and so he decides - to keep the law (v. 57). Further (in v. 58) he brings repentance and asks for mercy. But now, repentance has been brought, and remission of sins has been received, what to do next? We need to think about the new life both in general and in particular, to bring it under the commandments of God - to return it your feet for the meetings of God(v. 59). And it's all done. All the envisaged obstacles to a new life were then thought out, and readiness to overcome them (v. 60). The most dangerous thing, says the prophet, were sinful habits and various connections with sinners like me, which could shake my intention to keep the commandments, but I had already decided do not forget Your law, O Lord(v. 61). Thus, all ties with sin are severed. But the temptations are not yet over: in order to strengthen himself in goodness and stock up on strength to resist evil, the prophet uses the following three powerful techniques for this: night vigils (v. 62), communication in word and prayer with God-fearing people (63) and especially tradition yourself by the mercy of God (v. 64).

Art. 57. People choose for themselves various objects in which they hope to find satisfaction of their desires and to which they then devote all their activities and all their time; whether they find what they are looking for - they themselves know better. But those who, bypassing everything, place their final good in God alone, really find it in Him, since nothing can give contentment to our spirit except God: such is the property of our spirit, which received its origin from God. And so, when a person, like our psalmist, through the constant seeking of justifications, or Divine statutes, constantly practicing in the word of God and thereby attracting the grace of God to himself, completely submits to their beneficial influence, then, firmly deciding to live according to their instructions, he turns away from all previous hobbies and speaks in the depths of his soul; You are my part, Lord. From now on, everything will go away, You alone will I seek, You alone will strive. Reh preserve Your law. Hitherto I have wandered along the paths of sin, now I set a firm intention to keep Your law, Lord, so that, having pleased You, I may gain You and in You I may find complete peace in my heart. Hence You are my part, and Your law- the rule of my life! Such a decisive moment is the first, main and imprecise impulse from the realm of sin. After him, everything else comes, although not difficult, but not without success. Man has already set his foot firmly on the promised land.

Art. 58. Anyone who has already decided to leave the path of sin and has chosen the legal path of the commandments as the path of his life, hopes only for prayer; Hoping that the Lord will not reject his prayer, he turns with all his heart to the face of God and asks for mercy, about which the prophet says: I prayed to Your face with all my heart. All repentant feelings, one after another, revolve in his soul: then shame that he was so humiliated by sin, then self-reproach that he could have but did not want to, then contrition that he offended such a merciful God, then fear: what if In fact, God will reject his repentance, then - again trustworthiness, that He who did not spare His Son for our salvation - how can He not give the forgiveness asked for in the presence of Him, the All-Seeing?! All such feelings keep the worshiper in a tense state, and he painfully and with a contrite heart cries out: have mercy on me according to your word! Have mercy in accordance with what is said and written in Your law.

Art. 59 and 60. Here the prophet speaks about the ways God's, according to which he must direct his life. Thank God, we don’t need to think about how we should live so that we no longer offend God with our deeds. We have the Gospel, we have the apostolic writings and the writings of the prophets. Extensively depicted everywhere God's ways, the paths He Himself determined for us. Think about the ways of God and pay special attention to dates The Lord’s things are still necessary, and thus the one who listens to them sets firm rules for himself: occupy yourself only with God and divine things, direct all undertakings and enterprises only to ensure that more good comes from them for the glory of God, do not look for other joys and pleasures, except those who are about the Lord. Collect all this and the like and direct your life so that it all follows the testimonies of God. Living and acting according to these rules, the prophet says that he was already ready for all this: Let us prepare ourselves and not be embarrassed to keep Your commandments.; according to translation from Hebrew: “I hastened and did not delay to keep Your commandments,” i.e. I was no longer embarrassed by the severity and difficulty of these commandments, which they portray as careless and lazy. The Prophet prepared himself and was not embarrassed, but always kept the commandments of God, which certain meetings obliged him to fulfill. Some things aroused anger, but he was not angry, others aroused lust, but he did not lust, some led to condemnation, but he did not condemn, others led to envy, but he did not envy, others made him vain, but he was not vain, but humbled himself. So in any case, whatever commandment I came across on the path of life, I fulfilled it, and always accurately and correctly, because I had prepared for all this.

Art. 61. The sinner has already committed himself to me, and has not forgotten Your law. Snake, from already(Greek, Lat. ftinis - rope), means: bundles, ropes that bind certain objects, hence - in the moral meaning: attachments, habits; in a figurative sense - networks. Words: already a sinner has committed himself to me, according to the explanation of the bl. Theodoret, mean: “ropes” with which the sinner felt himself tied after turning from sin to virtue, this is either connections with sinners - sinful partnership, or his sinful habits, habits, which really are the ropes that bind every sinner tightly. It is most difficult to break both, even when they are torn, this difficulty does not decrease, because when meeting either with previous circumstances or persons, a storm of memories rises in the soul, and the heart responds to them sympathetically. Then they obscure with themselves, like fog or a cloud of dust, the bright face of the law, and transform their ugliness into tempting beauty. Despite this, I, says the prophet, did not forget Your law, I did not allow them to overshadow it in my consciousness.

Art. 62,63 and 64. With the sayings of these verses, the prophet indicates what techniques he used in order to more easily break away from the bonds of sin, and first of all he says that he midnight, when sleep was especially depressing and burdensome, he used to get up to pray and praise God, and he did this, of course, in order to counteract the machinations of evil spirits, who especially at night fight against people, encouraging some to think and imagine evil deeds , others - to the very sins. According to St. Ambrose, “it is not enough to pray during the day; you need to get up both at night and at midnight. The Lord Himself spent the nights in prayer, so that by His example he could excite you to prayer. The prophet said before: I will remember Your name in the night(v. 55), and now he says: Midnight rises, - to teach you not only at night, but also at midnight to get up for prayer. You can remember God at night and not get up, you can get up and not go to prayer, but he says: he got up at midnight and began to confess to God in prayer." In the next verse, the prophet points to close communication with people who fear God and keep His commandments, as a particularly powerful means of resisting sin and establishing oneself on the path of piety. Previously, sinful connections with sinners were presented as the strongest rope leading to sin, but now, in contrast to this, pious communication with God-fearing and virtuous people is proposed. In midnight in prayer the prophet combined all the labors undertaken by man for the benefit of good in himself, in his own person; in communication with afraid God and keeping the commandments He combines everything that we can use to victory over evil from others walking the same path with us, meaning here mutual conversation, brotherly advice or the commandment of elders and mutual love. Becoming in all these ways communicant with other zealots of goodness, the ascetic becomes as strong as they are all together, and God is in their midst. Having pointed out his nightly feats of prayer and his close communication with people who fear God and keep the commandments of God, the prophet, as it were, is not content with this, in order to recognize himself as worthy of God’s mercy, which the earth is full, and therefore adds to everything that has been said, so that the Lord does not deprive him of this favors. He seems to say this: I do not ask for wealth, not for honor and glory, but I seek only to teach me how to please You, faithfully fulfilling all Your commandments: Teach me by Thy justification.

NINTH DEATH (REV. 65-72).

65. Thou hast done kindness to Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word:
66. Teach me kindness and punishment and reason, as in Your commandments of faith.
67. Before we even humble ourselves, I have sinned: for this reason I have preserved Your word.
68. Thou art good, O Lord: and by Thy goodness teach me by Thy justification.
69. The iniquity of the proud has multiplied against me: but with all my heart I will try Your commandments.
70. Their hearts are as if they were milky: but I have learned Your law.
71. It is good for me, for Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn by Thy justification.
72. The law of Your mouth is good to me more than thousands of gold and silver.

The ninth misunderstanding goes under the letter tet, What means: shaving. With a word shaving, or dirt, connects, first of all, the concept of an unimportant, insignificant, one might say derogatory object. So, they often say: this is a completely dirty business. But there are also healing muds in nature; and the Lord Jesus Christ, “having made clay from spitting,” anointed the eyes of the blind man with it and gave him sight. This means that by using simple clay, the Lord performed a miracle. The same shaving, i.e. earth mixed with liquid in the hands of a craftsman produces various products in production. The word “mud” was used in a similar meaning by the Apostle Paul: “Or should the wretch in the earth not have the power, from the same confusion to create a vessel for honor, but not for honor?” (Rom. 9:21) Just as a craftsman makes vessels by subjecting clay to various operations, so the Lord forms the soul, subjecting it to various influences, internal and external. These educational means in the hands of the Lord are spiritual - grace and the word of God (vv. 65, 66), - and external, according to God's dispensation - a sorrowful or happy life (vv. 67, 68), - and, by God's permission, attacks people who do not fear God (vv. 69, 70). Having indicated this, the prophet, as it were, summarizes the result of educational Divine actions and indicates how successful that action is (vv. 71,72). He briefly touched on the spiritual impact on the soul, but reveals more about how the Lord, through the external participation of those who resort to Him, contributes to their internal success.

Art. 65 and 66. In the person of a man converted by the grace of God from sin to virtue, the prophet seems to say this: I have known by experience goodness Yours, Lord, and now, entering into a new order of life and remembering my previous life and everything about how this entry into a new life worked out, I can’t say anything else except that Thou hast done goodness, O Lord, with Thy servant; I would have perished, but Your grace awakened me from carelessness, enlightened my blindness, and brought me out of the pit of passions and from the mud of sinful mire (see Ps. 39:3). Glory to Your long-suffering, O Lord, who did not destroy me during my sinful ugliness! You have created goodness, O Lord, with me according to Your word. For what reason? words? But here’s why: “As I live, says the Lord, I do not want the death of the sinner, but to turn the wicked from his way, and live to be him” (Ezek. 33:11). Isn't this the goodness of God? Without such a strong promise, the enemy would have managed to blind everyone and plunge them into despair. Remembering this, the prophet confesses that The Lord did goodness to His servant according to His word, quite in accordance with what he promised. To this confession of the goodness of the Lord the prophet adds a prayer about teaching him. You called me, he says, out of sin onto the path of Your commandments; I believed that there really was no other path except the path of Your commandments, and I entered on it. Complete the work of Your goodness, teach me how to go this way, teach me goodness. “He prays,” says Blessed Augustine, “that God may inspire love for good, sweet, willing, or, to put it more directly, that love for God and for God’s sake love for one’s neighbor may be granted from God.” Teach punishment. Unpunished people are the same as untaught people, which means they are unreasonable people. Therefore, punishment is the rationality of action or the ability to act appropriately, practical wisdom. Teach me reason, that is, the conduct of the sacraments of faith. Just as the rising sun illuminates everything on earth and makes the entire atmosphere bright, so the knowledge of the Divine illuminates the entire area of ​​the mind and makes everything that exists and happens clearly bright. Such lordship gives you a taste of the joy of life, drives away sleepyheads and encourages you to do business and work. Faith imparts light to reason if it is drawn from the Word of God and grafted by the grace of God into the heart of one who turns everything he knows into action. Moreover, spiritual life cannot be learned unless one approaches it with full faith that these are the commandments of God, that they go to God and lead to the inheritance of eternal bliss, which faith was expressed by the prophet in the words: as according to Thy commandment of faith.

Art. 67 and 68. With the same faith, turning to his past, the prophet depicts him first under the yoke of sorrowful, difficult circumstances that contributed to his admonition and turning to the word of God (v. 67), and then in the state of a man, sought by the goodness of God and through this again and even more taught the justifications of God (v. 68). According to the translation of both verses from Hebrew, this passage reads like this: “Before I suffered, I erred, but now I keep Your word. You are good and beneficent—teach me Your statutes.” St. Athanasius of Alexandria, on behalf of the prophet, in explanation of this says: “Having been given over to troubles for the previous sins I had committed, I was brought to humility, having endured this according to the righteous judgment of God. Therefore, having undergone healing, I ask you to teach me and bring me to knowledge that the humility to which I have been reduced serves for my benefit and admonition." Hence, to everyone who is humbled by circumstances, this is a lesson: do not be ashamed to admit your guilt and correct yourself, and then vomit so as not to sin again. The Prophet here points out how sorrows and hardships turn to the path of virtue. And experiences that this really happens are everywhere, although not always. So, for one, sorrows are understandable, but for another they can embitter. Such a person would rather be brought to his senses by unexpected happiness than by any losses. The prophet takes such and such a person here, and, as if fearing that a blow from above might soon follow, he prays: do not punish, but, For You are Good, teach me Your goodness! And this is how the Lord acts, not because he has the power and strength to change the fate of people, but because it is best to act this way for themselves, for their ultimate goals. And since the Lord leads to goodness with happiness, the prayer is very appropriate: By Thy goodness, O Lord, teach me by Thy justification.

Art. 69 and 70. In both of these verses, the prophet testifies to how human nonsense contributes to the moral perfection of a person who remembers the commandments of God, and to the resulting beneficial consequences for him. In the hands of God and all these lies ( the lies of the proud) are turned into tools for educating a person and teaching him goodness. The Savior said to St. to the apostles that He would take them out of the world, and that for this the world would hate them. If, He says, you were of the world, then the world would love you as its own offspring, but now, since I have taken you out of the world, the world will not cease to hate you (John 15:19). This is how it always happens: whether a zealot for pleasing God comes into contact with the people of this age or not, the mere knowledge that he is such turns away those who live in self-pleasing from him. And this is understandable - he denounces them with himself. They cannot deny that they themselves should be the same as him, but they cannot stand it when they are reminded of this. Without guilt, a guilty, God-fearing person is showered with reproaches, lies, insults, and insults from all sides. He cannot help but see this and, although he endures it complacently, he righteously testifies before God that multiplied on it, and is multiplied more and more not true human Why do you endure sorrows, says St. Apostle Peter, do not grieve over this, just take care of one thing, so that it is not through any fault of yours (1 Peter 4:12-15). The prophet calls here proud generally living in oblivion of God, not wanting to know the commandments of God, but at the same time the powerful of the earth, holding some kind of power in their hands, or noble and rich. And in ordinary sinners, even in a bad external situation, pride is the main cause of sin, and even more so among those who for some reason are higher than others. A person becomes arrogant and forgets God and begins to despise His law. Then, he no longer likes all God-fearing people and strict followers of God’s commandments. But no matter how angry they are, I will try Your commandments with all my heart; I will explore and delve deeper into the meaning of Your commandments in order to understand them in the entire breadth of Your will expressed in them, without cutting them off or shortening them, only because I encounter obstacles, and that this is disgusting to the sons of the age. And what happened then multiplying untruths by the proud and from fidelity to the commandments a God-fearing man? Those hearts became hardened or thickened, but this one was fully taught the law of God. Their hearts are as wet as milk; I have learned Your law. Get tired of your heart, hardened like cheese. Milk, having thickened and hardened, becomes cheese: so the heart of the proud, soft by nature, becomes hard from untruth. “They stretched out their pride to such an extent,” says St. Athanasius, “that their hearts became like cheese.” “This is similar,” writes Blessed Theodoret, “to the prophetic saying: “The heart of these people is clouded, and their ears are hard to hear and their eyes are closed” (Isa. bl. O), and it is also similar to what is said about Pharaoh in the book of Exodus "Harden Pharaoh's heart" (8:19). That is why the prophet says: they have a stubborn heart, and they themselves have turned its softness into roughness, just as they thicken and stifle milk; and I melted, learning Thy law" [b, p. 588]. "The heart of the saints, says St. Athanasius, - refined, but the heart of the proud is thickened."

Art. 71 and 72. Just as someone who has successfully completed a course of study in any institution expresses heartfelt gratitude to those who taught him, so the prophet, who has gone through God’s school of moral training through the sorrows of life and human misdeeds, considers himself happy and thanks God, who introduced him to this sorrowful path of learning and led him through it with success. When he says: I'll learn, - this does not indicate God’s goal in his humility, but testifies to its achievement. His thought is this: the Lord brought me into this school to teach me, I took this course, and now, thank God, I am taught: otherwise I would not have learned. And the one who has passed this school of tests is purified, like gold in a crucible, and shines with the lightness of a God-loving disposition, humility, contrition, meekness, righteousness, mercy, purity, peacefulness and peacemaking. He is one of those to whom St. testifies. Apostle: “Those who are Christ’s are the flesh, crucified with passions and lusts: against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:23-24), because it (the law) is not prescribed to them from the outside, but appears within them, established in their hearts . They seem to become close to him and prepare a home for him within themselves. The law is the expression of the will of God. If everything inside is full of law, it means that the will of God is complete, the Divine element is accepted inside and merged with the whole being of man. He serves as a guide for moving into God, and prepares a worthy home for him. And the inquisitive God dwells, and where God is, there is everything desired and most desired. Why did the Lord say: “Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8) - they will see it not outside, in front of themselves, but within themselves, at home. This blessedness gives the law, which is why the prophet says about it: The law of Your mouth is good to me more than a thousand gold and silver. Under the words gold and silver here all the blessings of this world are presented, and in a word thousands their number is expressed as countless. Collect, he says, countless blessings of the world; they are all nothing to me, compared with the law of the mouth of God.

Statement of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the illegal invasion of the Patriarchate of Constantinople into the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church September 14, 2018 18:10 The statement was adopted at an extraordinary meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on September 14, 2018 (journal No. 69). The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church received with deep regret and sorrow the statement of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople on the appointment of its “exarchs” to Kyiv. This decision was made without the consent of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine - the only canonical head of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It is a gross violation of church law, an invasion of one Local Church into the territory of another. Moreover, the Patriarchate of Constantinople positions the appointment of “exarchs” as a stage in the implementation of the plan to grant “autocephaly” to Ukraine, which, according to its statements, is irreversible and will be completed. In an effort to substantiate the claims of the Throne of Constantinople to resume jurisdiction over the Kyiv Metropolis, representatives of the Phanar claim that the Kiev Metropolis was never transferred to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Such statements are untrue and completely contradict historical facts. The first department of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Kiev Metropolis, for centuries formed a single whole with it, despite the political and historical adversities that sometimes dissolved the unity of the Russian Church. The Patriarchate of Constantinople, whose jurisdiction initially included the Russian Orthodox Church, until the middle of the 15th century consistently defended its unity, which was subsequently reflected in the title of the Kyiv metropolitans - “all Rus'”. And even after the actual transfer of the primate see from Kyiv to Vladimir, and then to Moscow, the metropolitans of all Rus' continued to be called Kyiv. The temporary division of the unified metropolis of All Rus' into two parts is associated with the sad consequences of the Ferrara-Florence Council and the beginning of the union with Rome, which the Church of Constantinople initially accepted, and the Russian Church immediately rejected. In 1448, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church, without the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who at that time was in union, installed Saint Jonah as metropolitan. Since that time, the Russian Orthodox Church has maintained its autocephalous existence. However, ten years later, in 1458, the former Patriarch of Constantinople Gregory Mamma, who was in the union and was in Rome, ordained an independent metropolitan for Kiev - the Uniate Gregory Bolgarin, subordinating to him the territories that now form part of Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia . By the decision of the Council of Constantinople in 1593 with the participation of all four Eastern Patriarchs, the Moscow Metropolis was elevated to the status of a Patriarchate. This Patriarchate united all Russian lands, as evidenced by a letter from Patriarch Paisius of Constantinople to Patriarch Nikon of Moscow dated 1654, in which the latter is called “Patriarch of Moscow, Great and Little Rus'.” The reunification of the Kyiv Metropolis with the Russian Church took place in 1686. A corresponding act was issued regarding this, signed by Patriarch Dionysius IV of Constantinople and members of his Synod. There is not a word in the document about the temporary nature of the transfer of the metropolis, which is what the hierarchs of Constantinople are now talking about without reason. There are no statements about the temporary transfer of the Kyiv Metropolis in the texts of two other letters of Patriarch Dionysius dated 1686 - in the name of the Moscow Tsars, and in the name of the Metropolitan of Kyiv. On the contrary, in the letter of Patriarch Dionysius to the Moscow Tsars in 1686, it is said about the subordination of all Kiev metropolitans to Patriarch Joachim of Moscow and his successors, “those who are now and according to him will recognize the oldest and future Patriarch of Moscow, as he was consecrated by him.” The interpretation by representatives of the Church of Constantinople of the meaning of the mentioned documents of 1686 does not find the slightest justification in their texts. Until the 20th century, not a single Local Orthodox Church, including the Constantinople Church, challenged the jurisdiction of the Russian Church over the Kyiv Metropolis. The first attempt to challenge this jurisdiction was connected with the granting of autocephaly by the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Polish Orthodox Church, which at that time had an autonomous status within the Russian Orthodox Church. In the Tomos on the autocephaly of the Polish Church of 1924, unrecognized by the Russian Church, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, without any justification, stated: “The initial fall from our Throne of the Kiev Metropolis and the Orthodox Churches of Lithuania and Poland dependent on it and their annexation to the Holy Church of Moscow was not carried out in accordance with the canonical resolutions." Unfortunately, this is just one of the facts of the invasion of the Patriarchate of Constantinople into the canonical limits of the Russian Church in the 1920s and 1930s. At the very time when the Russian Church was subjected to atheistic persecution of unprecedented cruelty, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, without its knowledge or consent, took uncanonical steps in relation to the autonomous Churches that were part of it on the territory of the young states formed on the borders of the former Russian Empire: in 1923 it transformed the autonomous Churches on the territory of Estonia and Finland into their own metropolises, in 1924 granted autocephaly to the Polish Orthodox Church1, and in 1936 declared its jurisdiction in Latvia. In addition, in 1931, Constantinople included Russian emigrant parishes in Western Europe into its jurisdiction without the consent of the Russian Orthodox Church, transforming them into its own temporary exarchate. The participation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in attempts to depose the saint and confessor Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Tikhon, who was canonically elected in 1917, turned out to be especially unsightly. These attempts were made by atheist authorities in the 1920s, artificially creating a renovationist, modernist schism in the Russian Church to undermine the authority of the Orthodox Church among believers, “Sovietize” the Church and its gradual destruction. In the 1920s, renovationists actively contributed to the arrests of the Orthodox episcopate and clergy, wrote denunciations against them and seized their churches. Patriarch Gregory VII of Constantinople openly supported the renovationists. His official representative in Moscow, Archimandrite Vasily (Dimopulo), was present at the Renovationist pseudo-councils, and in 1924, Patriarch Gregory himself turned to Saint Tikhon with a call to renounce the Patriarchate. In the same 1924, the renovationists published extracts from the minutes of the meetings of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which they received from Archimandrite Vasily (Dimopulo). According to an extract dated May 6, 1924, Patriarch Gregory VII, “at the invitation of the church circles of the Russian population,” accepted the proposed task of pacifying the unrest and disagreements that had recently occurred in the local fraternal church, appointing a special patriarchal commission for this purpose. The “church circles of the Russian population” mentioned in the protocols did not represent the martyred Russian Church, which was then suffering cruel persecution from the godless authorities, but schismatic groups that collaborated with this very government and actively supported the persecution of the Holy Patriarch Tikhon organized by it. The same Archimandrite Vasily (Dimopulo) openly spoke about the reasons why the Church of Constantinople supported the renovationist schism, taking the side of the communist regime in the fight against the Russian Church, in his appeal on behalf of “the entire Constantinople proletariat,” addressed to one of the high ranks of the godless government: “Having defeated its enemies, conquered all obstacles, and strengthened itself, Soviet Russia can now respond to the requests of the proletariat of the Middle East, who are benevolent towards it, and even more win over it. It is in your hands... to make the name of Soviet Russia even more popular in the East than it was before, and I warmly ask you to render the Patriarchate of Constantinople a great service, as a strong and strong government of a powerful power, especially since the Ecumenical Patriarch, recognized in the East as the head of everything Orthodox people, clearly showed by his actions his disposition towards Soviet power, which he recognized.” In another letter to the same Soviet official, Archimandrite Vasily explained what “service” he had in mind - the return of a building that belonged to the Constantinople courtyard in Moscow, the income from which had previously been annually transferred to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Having learned about the decision of Constantinople to send a “patriarchal commission” within the Russian Church, its only legitimate Head, Patriarch of All-Russia Tikhon, expressed a strong protest in connection with the uncanonical actions of his brother. His words, spoken almost a hundred years ago, still ring true today: “We were quite embarrassed and surprised that the representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the head of the Church of Constantinople, without any prior communication with Us, as the legal representative and head of the entire Russian Orthodox Church , interferes in the internal life and affairs of the autocephalous Russian Church... Any sending of any commission without communication with Me, as the only legitimate and Orthodox First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, without My knowledge is not legal, will not be accepted by the Russian Orthodox people and will not bring peace, but even greater turmoil and schism in the life of the already long-suffering Russian Orthodox Church.” Circumstances of the time prevented the sending of this commission to Moscow. Her arrival would mean not just interference, but a direct invasion into the affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is currently taking place. At the cost of the blood of many thousands of new martyrs, the Russian Church survived in those years, striving to cover with love this sad page of its relations with the Church of Constantinople. However, in the 1990s, during a period of new trials of the Russian Church associated with deep geopolitical upheavals, the unbrotherly behavior of the Church of Constantinople again fully manifested itself. In particular, despite the fact that in 1978 Patriarch Demetrius of Constantinople declared the Tomos of 1923 on the transfer of the Estonian Orthodox Church to the jurisdiction of Constantinople to be no longer valid, in 1996 the Patriarchate of Constantinople anticanonically extended its jurisdiction to Estonia, in connection with which the Moscow Patriarchate was forced to temporarily break off Eucharistic communion with him. During the same period, the first attempts were made by the Patriarchate of Constantinople to intervene in Ukrainian church affairs. In 1995, Ukrainian schismatic communities in the United States and diaspora countries were accepted into the jurisdiction of Constantinople. In the same year, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople made a written promise to Patriarch Alexy that the adopted communities would not “cooperate or have communication with other Ukrainian schismatic groups.” Assurances that representatives of the Ukrainian episcopate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople would not come into contact and co-serve with schismatics were not fulfilled. The Patriarchate of Constantinople did not take measures to strengthen their canonical consciousness and was drawn into the anti-canonical process of legalizing the schism in Ukraine by creating a parallel church structure and granting it autocephalous status. The position on the issue of autocephaly, which is now being voiced by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, completely contradicts the agreed position of all Local Orthodox Churches, developed as a result of difficult discussions in the framework of preparation for the Holy and Great Council and recorded in the document “Autocephaly and the method of its proclamation”, which was signed by representatives all Local Churches, including the Church of Constantinople. In the absence of an official request for autocephaly from the episcopate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew accepted the request coming from the Ukrainian government and schismatics, which completely contradicts his own position, which he held until recently and which he has repeatedly stated, including publicly. In particular, in January 2001, in an interview with the Greek newspaper Nea Hellas, he said: “Autocephaly and autonomy are granted to the entire Church by the decision of the Ecumenical Council. Since for various reasons it is impossible to convene an Ecumenical Council, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the coordinator of all Orthodox Churches, grants autocephaly or autonomy, provided that they approve it.” Behind the latest unilateral actions and statements of Patriarch Bartholomew are ecclesiological ideas alien to Orthodoxy. Recently, speaking before a meeting of hierarchs of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Patriarch Bartholomew asserted that “Orthodoxy cannot exist without the Ecumenical Patriarchate,” that “for Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Patriarchate serves as the leaven that “leaves the whole dough” (Gal. 5:9) of the Church and history.” . It is difficult to evaluate these statements as anything other than an attempt to rebuild Orthodox ecclesiology according to the Roman Catholic model. The recent decision of the Holy Synod of the Church of Constantinople on the permissibility of remarriage for clergy caused particular sorrow in the Russian Orthodox Church. This decision is a violation of the Holy Canons (17 canons of the Apostles, 3 canons of the Trullo Council, 1 canon of the Neocaesarea Council, 12 canons of St. Basil the Great), tramples pan-Orthodox consent and is in fact a rejection of the results of the Cretan Council of 2016, the recognition of which the Patriarchate of Constantinople is so actively seeking from the rest of the Local Churches. In attempts to assert its non-existent and never-existent powers in the Orthodox Church, the Patriarchate of Constantinople is currently interfering in church life in Ukraine. In their statements, the hierarchs of the Church of Constantinople allow themselves to call Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine “anti-canonical” on the grounds that he does not commemorate the Patriarch of Constantinople. Meanwhile, earlier at the Meeting of Primates of Local Churches in Chambesy in January 2016, Patriarch Bartholomew publicly called Metropolitan Onuphry the only canonical Primate of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. At the same time, the Primate of the Church of Constantinople promised that neither during the Council of Crete nor after it would any efforts be made to legalize the schism or unilaterally grant someone autocephaly. It is with regret that we have to admit that this promise has now been broken. Unilateral, anti-canonical actions of the Throne of Constantinople on the territory of Ukraine, carried out in complete disregard of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, are direct support of the Ukrainian schism. Among the multi-million flock of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it is extremely tempting that the Patriarchate of Constantinople, considering itself the Mother Church of the Ukrainian Church, gives its daughter a stone instead of bread and a snake instead of fish (Luke 11:11). The deep concern of the Russian Orthodox Church about the erroneous and distorted understanding of the Church of Constantinople about what is happening in Ukraine was personally conveyed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Patriarch Bartholomew on August 31, 2018. However, as subsequent events showed, the voice of the Russian Church was not heard even a week after the meeting The Patriarchate of Constantinople published an anti-canonical decision to appoint its “exarchs” to Kiev. In a critical situation, when the Constantinople side practically refused to resolve the issue through dialogue, the Moscow Patriarchate is forced to suspend the prayerful commemoration of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople during the divine service and, with deep regret, suspend concelebration with the hierarchs of the Constantinople Patriarchate, as well as interrupt the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Episcopal Assemblies, as well as in theological dialogues, multilateral commissions and all other structures chaired or co-chaired by representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. If the anti-canonical activities of the Patriarchate of Constantinople continue on the territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, we will be forced to completely break off Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Full responsibility for the tragic consequences of this division will fall personally on Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the bishops who support him. Realizing that what is happening poses a danger to the entire world Orthodoxy, we turn in this difficult hour for support to the Local Autocephalous Churches, we call on the Primates of the Churches to understand our common responsibility for the fate of world Orthodoxy and to initiate a fraternal pan-Orthodox discussion of the church situation in Ukraine. We appeal to the entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church with a call to fervent prayer for the preservation of the unity of Holy Orthodoxy. *** 1 - Driven by a sincere desire to support Orthodoxy, which is in the minority and sometimes in a rather difficult situation, the Moscow Patriarchate, for its part, granted autocephalous rights to the Orthodox Church in Poland in 1948 and confirmed the autonomous status of the Orthodox Church in Finland, granted by His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon in 1921, having agreed in 1957 to consign to oblivion all canonical disputes and misunderstandings between the Finnish Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, to recognize the Finnish Archdiocese in its existing status and to transfer the New Valaam Monastery to its jurisdiction, after which prayerful and canonical communion was restored.

17 kathisma occupies a special place among all the kathismas of the Psalter. It depicts the blessedness of those who walked in the law of the Lord (that is, the blessedness of righteous people who tried to live according to the commandments of God).

Kathisma 17 consists of only one psalm - the one hundred and eighteenth - the largest psalm in the entire Psalter and the largest chapter of the Bible in general. Included in many church services. Recommended by the holy fathers for daily private reading.

The reason for such close attention of church songwriters to this kathisma is, apparently, its deep content and great artistic value. Bishop Theophan of Tambov interpreted the content of Psalm 118 as follows:

“Each verse is a prayer, but everything is about one thing - about fulfilling the law of the Lord. The soul, realizing that salvation is only in God, through the fulfillment of His holy will, talks with God, begging Him to enlighten, admonish, strengthen, deliver from internal temptations and external troubles, restore from falls, deliver from enemies, in a word - to grant it, His mercy, to be pleasing to Him."

In the original Hebrew, Psalm 119 is divided into 22 eight-verses, each of which begins with a corresponding letter of the Hebrew alphabet: in the first eight-verse, all verses begin with aleph, in the second - with bet, etc. In the Jewish tradition, for this reason, Psalm 118 is called the “great alphabet.”

In the Septuagint, this alphabetical structure of the psalm is not transmitted, with the exception of the preservation in many manuscripts of a breakdown into stanzas, each of which is headed by the corresponding letter of the Hebrew letter.

The history of writing the 17th Kathisma

According to the most popular version, the compiler could have been King David, who lived at the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. According to supporters of this theory, the authorship of King David is indicated by the word “Blessed,” which begins Psalm 118 and with which, according to Jewish tradition, the legendary ruler of Israel began the most important psalms for himself.

However, numerous references in the psalm to lawbreakers and the hostile situation that developed around the psalmist may indicate a later time when Psalm 118 was written - at the turn of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e., during the Babylonian captivity or under Ezra and Nehemiah.

Why do believers read the 17th Kathisma?

According to a long-standing tradition, the 17th Kathisma is usually read by the relatives and friends of the deceased on the third, ninth and fortieth day after the death of a person. Kathisma is considered a very powerful prayer for the dead, capable of asking the Lord for forgiveness for a sinner. Hence its other name - funeral.

Many relatives and friends of the deceased, citing the fact that they do not have time or do not have the Psalter, or do not know how to read in Church Slavonic, entrust this reading to others (readers) for a fee or other remuneration. But the prayer will be stronger, sincere, purer if a relative or close person to the deceased himself asks God for mercy on the deceased.

In addition to the practice of reading on strictly defined days, a number of believers also use another practice: reading the 17th kathisma as part of the daily prayer rule. Kathisma is considered “a fairly clear teaching about the purpose of earthly existence, the immortality of the human soul and reward after death.”

How to correctly read kathisma 17 in private

17 kathisma is so different from other kathismas of the Psalter that there are even special rules for its reading, which, however, are unknown to most believers.

So, after verses 1, 2, 12, 22, 25, 29, 37, 58, 66, 72, 73, 88, 93, it is customary to read “Remember, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant.” And after verse 94, 107, 114. 121, 131, 132, 133,142, 153, 159, 163, 170, 176 “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant.”

Verses 92 and 93, as well as 175 and 176 are read three times.

After the troparions prescribed after reading the kathisma, the troparia for the blameless or the troparia for the repose are read:

You have found the holy face of the source of life and the door of heaven, so that I may find the path of repentance, I am the lost sheep, call me, O Savior, and save me.

Chorus:

The Lamb of God preached and was slain like lambs, and passed away to an ageless, holy, and everlasting life: You diligently pray for him, martyrs, to grant us permission for our debts.

Chorus: Blessed are You, Lord! teach me Your statutes.

Having walked the narrow and sorrowful path, having carried the cross like a yoke in life and having followed Me by faith, come and enjoy the honors and heavenly crowns that are in store for you.

Chorus: Blessed are You, Lord! teach me Your statutes.

The image is of Your ineffable glory, even if I bear the ulcers of sins, spare Your creation, Master, and cleanse with Your compassion, and grant me the desired Fatherland, creating me again as an inhabitant of paradise.

Chorus: Blessed are You, Lord! teach me Your statutes.

In ancient times, from those who created me and honored me in Your Divine image, but by transgression of the commandment, having returned me to the earth, I was taken from it, but raised in the likeness of the hedgehog, to be recreated with ancient goodness.

Chorus: Chorus: Blessed are You, Lord! teach me Your statutes.

Give rest, O God, to Thy servant and place him in paradise, where the faces of the saints, O Lord, and the righteous women shine like lights, give rest to Thy departed servant, despising all his sins.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Tri-radiant One of the Divinity, we piously sing crying out: Holy art thou, Father without beginning, Co-originating Son and Divine Soul, enlighten us, who serve Thee with faith, and snatch up the eternal fire.

And now, and ever, and unto ages of ages

Rejoice, Pure One, who gave birth to God in the flesh for the salvation of all, through whom the human race will find salvation. May we find heaven through you, Pure and Blessed Mother of God!

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God (three times).

Then the prayer prescribed at the end of kathisma. And “Following the departure of the soul from the body.”

Read kathisma 17 in Russian

Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.

(Three times)

Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us; Perplexed by any answer, we offer this prayer to You as the Master of sin: have mercy on us.

The honor of Thy prophet, O Lord, is a triumph, the heavens of the Church are shown, with men the angels rejoice: through his prayers, O Christ God, direct our belly in peace, that we may sing Thee: Alleluia.

And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

My many and many sins, Mother of God, I have come running to You, O Pure One, demanding salvation: visit my weak soul, and pray to Your Son and our God to grant me forgiveness for the cruel deeds, O Blessed One.

Lord have mercy. (Forty times and bows according to strength)

Come, let us worship our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow)

Blessed be the blameless one in the way that walks in the law of the Lord.

Blessed are those who experience His witness; they will seek Him with all their hearts,

He who does no iniquity walks in His ways.

Thou hast commanded that Thy commandments should be kept strictly.

So that my ways may be corrected, preserve Your justifications.

Then I will not be ashamed to always look upon all Your commandments.

Let us confess to You in the righteousness of our hearts, and let us always learn the destinies of Your righteousness.

I will keep Your excuses: do not leave me to the bitter end.

How will the youngest one correct his path? Always keep Your words.

With all my heart I seek You, do not turn me away from Your commandments.

I hide Your words in my heart, lest I sin against You.

Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification.

My mouth proclaimed all the destinies of Your mouth.

On the path of Thy testimonies we have enjoyed ourselves, as in all riches.

I will mock Your commandments, and understand Your ways.

I will learn from Your justifications; I will not forget Your words.

Reward Your servant: live me, and I will keep Your words.

Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of Your law.

I am a stranger on earth: do not hide Your commandments from me.

My soul love to desire Your destiny at all times.

Thou hast rebuked the proud: curses are those who turn away from Thy commandments.

Take away from me diarrhea and humiliation, as I have sought Your testimonies.

For the princes are gray and slander me, and Thy servant mocks Thy justifications.

For Thy testimonies are my teaching, and Thy counsels my justifications.

Cling to the earth, my soul, live according to Your word.

Thou hast declared my ways, and Thou hast heard me: teach me by Thy justification.

Let me understand the path of Your justifications, and I will mock at Your wonders.

My soul has fallen asleep from despondency, strengthen me in Your words.

Leave the path of unrighteousness from me, and have mercy on me with Your law.

I have chosen the path of truth, and I have not forgotten Your destiny.

I cleave to Thy testimony, O Lord, do not disgrace me.

The path of Your commandments flowed when You enlarged my heart.

Lay down for me, O Lord, the way of Your justifications, and I will seek and take away.

Give me understanding, and I will try Your law, and I will keep it with all my heart.

Guide me on the path of Your commandments, as I have desired.

Incline my heart to Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

Turn away my eyes from seeing vanity; live me in Your way.

Make Thy servant Thy word to fear.

Take away my reproach, the hedgehog, for Thy fate is good.

Behold, I have desired Your commandment, live me in Your righteousness.

And may Thy mercy come upon me, O Lord, Thy salvation according to Thy word,

And I answer those who reproach my word, because I have trusted in Your words.

And do not take away from my lips the words that are truly true, for I trusted in Your fate.

And I will keep Your law forever and ever.

And I walked in breadth, because I sought Your commandments,

and speak of Your testimonies before the kings, and do not be ashamed.

And I learned in Your commandments, which I loved dearly:

and I lifted up my hands to Thy commandments, which I loved, and mocked at Thy justifications.

Remember Thy words to Thy servant, whose hope Thou hast given me.

So console me in my humility, for Your word lives on me.

Pride has transgressed the law to the extreme, but we have not deviated from Your law.

I have remembered Your destiny from eternity, O Lord, and have been comforted.

I have received sorrow from sinners who forsake Thy law.

Peta beat me to Your justifications at the place of my coming.

I will remember Your name in the night, O Lord, and keep Your law.

This will come to me, as I seek justification for Your demands.

Thou art my part, O Lord: I have decided to preserve Thy law.

I prayed to Your face with all my heart: have mercy on me according to Your word.

I have thought about Your ways, and returned my nose to Your witness.

Let us prepare ourselves and not be embarrassed to keep Your commandments.

The sinner has already committed himself to me, and has not forgotten Your law.

At midnight I rose to confess to You about the destinies of Your righteousness.

I am a partaker of all those who fear You and keep Your commandments.

Fill the earth with Thy mercy, O Lord; teach me with Thy justification.

Thou hast done kindness to Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word.

Teach me kindness and punishment and reason, as in Thy commandments of faith.

Before we even humble ourselves, I have sinned, for this reason I have preserved Your word.

Thou art good, O Lord, and by Thy goodness teach me by Thy justification.

The iniquity of the proud has multiplied against me, but with all my heart I will test Your commandments.

Their hearts are as soft as milk, but they have learned Your law.

It is good for me, for Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn by Thy justification.

The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

(Thrice)

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life of your departed servant, our brother (name), and since He is Good and Lover of Mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forgive and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Your eternal good things, prepared for those who love You: even if you sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God in the Trinity of the glorified faith, and the Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until your last breath of confession. Be merciful to the same, and faith, even in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as you are Generous, give rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Thy hands create me and create me; give me understanding and I will learn your commandments.

Those who fear You will see me and rejoice, because they trust in Your words.

I understood, Lord, that Thy destiny is true, and Thou hast truly humbled me.

Be Thy mercy, may Thy servant comfort me according to Thy word.

May Thy bounties come to me, and I will live, for Thy law is my teaching.

Let pride be ashamed, for I have committed unrighteousness against me; but I will mock Your commandments.

May those who fear You and those who see Your testimonies convert me.

May my heart be blameless in Your justifications, so that I will not be ashamed.

My soul disappears for Your salvation, I trust in Your words.

My eyes have disappeared into Your word, saying: When will You comfort me?

Once upon a time, like fur on the throne, I have not forgotten Your justifications.

How long is the day of Your servant? When will you bring judgment on me from those who persecute me?

The lawbreakers have told me mockery, but not like Thy law, O Lord.

All Your commandments are true; Having persecuted me unrighteously, help me.

I have not yet died on earth, and I have not forsaken Your commandments.

Live for me according to Your mercy, and I will preserve the information of Your mouth.

For ever, O Lord, Your word remains in Heaven.

Thy truth forever and ever. You founded the earth and it remains.

The day endures by Thy commandment: for all kinds of work are done by Thee.

As if it were not for Your law, my teaching, then I would have perished in my humility.

I will never forget Your justifications, for You have revived me in them.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. (Thrice)

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

I am Yours, save me: for I seek Your justification.

Waiting for a sinner to destroy me, I understood Your testimony.

I have seen the end of every death; Your commandment is wide.

Since I have loved Your law, O Lord, I have my teaching all day long.

Thou hast made me wiser than my enemy through Thy commandment, even as I am forever.

More than all those who taught me, I understood that Your testimonies are my teaching.

Moreover, the elder understood that I have sought Your commandments.

I have forbidden my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Thy words.

I have not deviated from Your judgments, as You have laid down laws for me.

How sweet is Your word to my throat: more than honey to my mouth.

I understood from Your commandments: for this reason I hated every way of unrighteousness.

The lamp of my feet is Your law, I am the light of my paths.

I swore and set them to preserve the fate of Your righteousness.

Humble yourself to the core, Lord, live me according to Your word.

Grant me the freedom of my lips, O Lord, and teach me Your destinies.

I will take my soul into Your hand, and I will not forget Your law.

The sinners have laid a net for me, and from Your commandments they will not go astray.

I have inherited Your testimonies forever, for the joy of my heart is the essence.

Incline my heart, create Your justifications forever for reward.

I have hated the lawbreakers, but I have loved Your law.

You are my Helper and My Protector, I trust in Your words.

Turn away from me, you wicked ones, and I will test the commandments of my God.

Intercede for me according to Your word, and I will live, and do not disgrace me because of my hope.

Help me, and I will be saved, and I will learn from Your justifications.

Thou hast brought to naught all those who depart from Thy justifications, for their thoughts are unrighteous.

You who transgress against all the sinners of the earth, for this reason I have loved Your testimony.

Nail my flesh with Thy fear: for I am afraid of Thy judgments.

Having done justice and justice, do not betray me to those who offend me.

Consider Thy servant for good, so that pride does not slander me.

My eyes perish for Thy salvation and for the word of Thy righteousness:

deal with Thy servant according to Thy mercy, and teach me by Thy justification.

I am Thy servant: give me understanding, and I will hear Thy testimony.

It is time for the Lord to do: I have destroyed Your law.

For this reason I have loved Your commandments more than gold and topaz.

For this reason, I was guided by all Your commandments, and I hated every path of unrighteousness.

Wonderful is Thy testimony: for this reason I am tested, my soul.

The manifestation of Your words enlightens and instructs little ones.

My mouth was opened, and my spirit was drawn, as I commanded Thy desires.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. (Thrice)

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Remember, O Lord, our God, in the faith and hope of the life of Thy eternally departed servant, our brother (name), and as the Good and Lover of mankind, forgiving sins and consuming iniquities, weaken, forsake and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Your eternal good things, prepared for those who love You: even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Your God in the Trinity of the glorified faith, and the Unity in the Trinity and Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until his last breath of confession. Be merciful to the same, and faith, even in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as you are Generous, give rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Look upon me and have mercy on me, according to the judgment of those who love Your name.

Direct my steps according to Thy word, and let not all iniquity possess me.

Deliver me from human slander, and I will keep Your commandments.

Make Thy face shine upon Thy servant, and teach me Thy justification.

My eyes have seen the coming of the waters: I have not yet kept Thy law.

Thou art righteous, Lord, and Thy judges rule.

Thou hast commanded the truth of Thy testimony, and the truth greatly.

Thy jealousy has consumed me; for I have forgotten Thy words.

Thy word is kindled with great heat, and Thy servant is loved.

I am the youngest and humbled: I have not forgotten Your justifications.

Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your law is truth.

Sorrows and needs have found me: Your commandments are my teaching.

The truth of Your testimony endures forever: give me understanding, and I will live.

I cried with all my heart, hear me, O Lord, I will seek Your justification.

I called upon You, save me, and I will preserve Your testimonies.

I preceded you in hopelessness and cried out, trusting in Your words.

Prepare my eyes for the morning, to learn from Your words.

Hear my voice, O Lord, according to Thy mercy: live for me according to Thy destiny.

He who persecutes me with iniquity has drawn near; but I have departed from Your law.

Thou art near, O Lord, and all Thy ways are the truth.

From the beginning I knew from Your testimonies that I founded the age.

See my humility and forgive me, for I have not forgotten Your law.

Judge my judgment, and deliver me: live me by Thy word.

Salvation is far from the sinner, for they have not sought Your justifications.

Thy bounty is many, O Lord, live me according to Thy destiny.

There are many who drive me out and afflict me: I have not turned away from Your testimonies.

I have seen those who do not understand and have ceased to say: for I have not kept Your words.

See that I have loved Your commandments: Lord, live for me according to Your mercy.

The beginning of Thy words is truth, and the whole destiny of Thy righteousness endures forever.

The princes have driven me to hell: and because of Thy words my heart feared.

I will rejoice in Your words, for I have gained much gain.

I have hated and detested injustice: but I have loved Your law.

During the seventh day we praise Thee about the destinies of Thy righteousness.

There is peace for many who love Your law, and there is no temptation for them.

I have longed for Your salvation, O Lord, and I have loved Your commandments.

Preserve Your testimonies, my soul, and I will love you dearly.

I will keep Your commandments and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You, O Lord.

Let my prayer draw near before You, O Lord: give me understanding according to Your word.

May my petition come before You, O Lord; deliver me according to Your word.

My lips will burst forth with song, when Thou teachest me Thy justification.

My tongue proclaims Your words, for all Your commandments are true.

May Thy hand be to save me, as I have willed Thy commandments.

I have desired Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my teaching.

My soul will live and praise Thee: and Thy destinies will help me.

I have gone astray, like a lost sheep: seek Thy servant, for I have not forgotten Thy commandments.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, thank you God. (Thrice)

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities;

Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Those who have sinned against You, O Savior, like the prodigal son: accept me, Father, who repents, and have mercy on me, O God.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I call to You, Christ the Savior, with the publican’s voice: cleanse me as she did, and have mercy on me, O God.

And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Mother of God, do not despise me, demanding Your intercession: for my soul trusts in You, and have mercy on me.

Lord have mercy. (40 times)

Sovereign Lord Almighty and Creator of all, the Father of generosity and mercy, God, who created man from the earth, and showed him in Your image and likeness, so that Your magnificent name may be glorified on earth, and it was uprooted by the transgression of Your commandments, and again created for the better him in Thy Christ and raised to Heaven: I thank Thee, for Thou hast increased Thy greatness upon me, and Thou hast not betrayed me to the end as my enemy, to tear me out to those who seek me into the abyss of hell, and left me below to perish through my iniquities. Now, O most merciful and loving Lord, do not want the death of a sinner, but expect and accept conversion: Who have corrected the downtrodden, who have healed the contrite, turn me to repentance, and correct the overthrown, and heal the contrite: remember Thy mercies, and even Thy incomprehensible ones from all eternity goodness and my immeasurable forget the iniquities that I have committed in deed, word, and thought: resolve the blindness of my heart, and give me tears of tenderness to cleanse the filth of my thoughts. Hear, O Lord, listen, O Lover of mankind, cleanse, O Compassionate One, and free my accursed soul from the torment of the reigning passions within me. And let no one contain me from sin: let the demon fighter be able to attack me, let him lead me lower to his desire, but by Thy sovereign hand, his dominion, snatching me away, Thou reign in me, Good and Humane-loving Lord, and of all Thy being and life I do the rest according to Your good will. And grant me with the indescribable goodness of my heart, cleansing of my heart, guarding my lips, rightness of actions, humble wisdom, peace of thoughts, silence of my spiritual strength, spiritual joy, true love, long-suffering, kindness, meekness, unfeigned faith, self-control, and fill me with all good fruits. Your Holy Spirit. And do not bring me to the end of my days, delight my uncorrected and unprepared soul below: but complete me with Your perfection, and thus bring me to the present life, as if I had unchecked the beginnings and powers of darkness, I will see by Your grace and I, unapproachable to Your glory, unspeakable kindness, with all Your saints, in whom Thy all-honorable and magnificent name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, is sanctified and glorified, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Listen to kathisma 17 in Russian

Holy Fathers on the 17th Kathisma

Many holy fathers consider the 17th kathisma to be the most important kathisma of the entire Psalter.

Blessed Augustine said that all the psalms are like stars scattered across the sky, and the 17th kathisma is the sun, shedding abundant light at noon. Struck by the depth of this psalm, for a long time he could not begin to interpret it.

Schema-Archimandrite of the St. Nicholas Monastery Ioannikiy wrote that by reading the 17th kathisma you can atone for your sins and the sins of your relatives to the seventh generation and admonished: “Be sure to read the 17th kathisma on Friday evening. Read the 17th kathisma for the deceased every day. Pray for the Kingdom of Heaven."

Schema-nun Antonia (Anastasia Yakovlevna Kaveshnikova) also spoke about the daily reading of the 17th kathisma: “The seventeenth kathisma is the basis of the Psalter, it must be read in its entirety, it is indivisible... Remember the seventeenth kathisma! So that the seventeenth kathisma be read every day! You won’t be able to read it in the evening, which means during the day, on the road, anywhere, but the seventeenth kathisma must be read daily. This is your spiritual savings book, this is your capital for your sins. At the ordeals, the seventeenth kathisma will already be in defense for you.”

17 kathismas as part of divine services

Unlike all other kathismas, the seventeenth Psalter is read at services every day. On weekdays it is read at the Midnight Office. On Saturday and Sunday - at Matins: in the first case - in conjunction with kathisma 16, in the second - with 2 and 3. The reading on Saturday of 16 and 17 kathismas, instead of those prescribed by the Charter 19 and 20, is due to the fact that one of the topics Saturday is the commemoration of the dead.

In addition to reading at Matins and Midnight Office, the 17th kathisma is read at funeral services - at any rite of burial (monastic, lay, priestly, infant), and can be read at funeral services.

17th Kathisma (memorial), read on days of special remembrance of the dead (read daily for 40 days after death)
The meaning of the 17th Kathisma
During the entire forty days after the death of a person, his family and friends must read the Psalter. How many kathismas per day depends on the time and energy of the readers, but reading must certainly be daily. When the entire Psalter has been read, it is read first. Just don’t forget that after each “Glory...” you need to read a prayer request for the remembrance of the deceased (from “Following the departure of the soul from the body”).
Prayer request for the deceased
Remember, O Lord, our God, in the faith and hope of the life of Thy eternally departed servant, our brother (name), and as the Good and Lover of mankind, forgiving sins and consuming iniquities, weaken, forsake and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Thy eternal good things prepared for those who love Thee: even if Thou sin, yet do not depart from Thee, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Thy God in the Trinity of the glorified faith, and the One in the Trinity and Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until his last breath of confession. Be merciful to the same, and faith, even in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as you are Generous, give rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
According to the 17th Kathisma:
Trisagion, according to Our Father...
And troparia, tone 2
Those who have sinned against You, O Savior, like the prodigal son: accept me, Father, who repents, and have mercy on me, O God.
Glory: I call to You, Christ the Savior, with the publican’s voice: cleanse me as she did, and have mercy on me, O God.
And now: Mother of God, do not despise me, demanding Your intercession: for my soul trusts in You, and have mercy on me.
Lord, have mercy (40 times).

Options for praying according to the Psalter for the repose
Sometimes for a one-time, but strong, that is, tangible for the deceased, mention, there is a tradition (and for good reason) to read from the entire book one kathisma, which, as was realized through rich church experience, is most suitable for expressing the feelings and moods of the deceased himself.
Such a kathisma, unique and most extraordinary, beautiful not only in its content, but also in artistic expression and language, this is the 17th kathisma. It is one of not only the most beautiful, but also one of the longest in the entire text of the book. The one who reads this chapter gets the opportunity to truly, albeit relatively briefly, remember the dear deceased, to work for him (to bring God not only a word, but also an action, work), and the person praying himself receives great benefit from this for his soul.

The Psalter consists of 20 sections - kathisma, each of which is divided into three “Glories”. Before reading the first kathisma, the pre-initial prayers are said before starting the reading of the Psalter. At the end of the reading of the Psalter, prayers are said after reading several kathismas or the entire Psalter. The reading of each kathisma begins with a prayer:
Prayers before reading the Psalter
Verbs with tenderness: Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.
Trisagion


Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity

Lord have mercy. (three times)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord's Prayer

Tropari
Have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us, bewildered by any answer, we offer this prayer to You as the Master of sin: have mercy on us.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: The honor of Thy prophet, O Lord, is a triumph, Heaven shows the Church, the Angels rejoice with men. By your prayers, O Christ God, guide our belly in peace, so that we may sing to You: Alleluia.
And now, and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen: My many and many sins, Mother of God, have come to You, O Pure One, demanding salvation: visit my weak soul and pray to Your Son and our God to grant me forgiveness for the evil deeds, O Blessed One.
Lord have mercy, 40 times. And bow down, so powerfully.
The same prayer to the Holy Life-Giving Trinity: All-holy Trinity, God and Creator of the whole world, hasten and direct my heart, begin with reason and finish the good works of these God-inspired books, even the Holy Spirit will vomit the lips of David, which I now want to say, I, unworthy, meaning my own ignorance, falling down, I pray to Thee, and ask You for help: Lord, guide my mind and confirm my heart, not about the words of the lips of this cold, but about the mind of those who say, rejoice, and prepare to do good deeds, even as I learn, and I say: yes Enlightened by good deeds, at the judgment of the right hand of Your land I will be a partaker with all Your chosen ones. And now, Vladyka, bless, and, sighing from my heart, I will sing with my tongue, saying to my face: Come, let us worship our King God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God.
Just wait a little, until all your feelings calm down. Then make the beginning not quickly, without laziness, with tenderness and a contrite heart. Rtsy quietly and intelligently, with attention, and not struggling, as the verb is understood with the mind.
Come, let us worship our King God.
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God.
Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God.
When reading the kathisma for each “Glory” the following is said:
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God! (three times)

Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life, Thy servant [or: Thy handmaid], our brother [or: our sister] [name], who reposed (before the 40th day from the day of death - “newly reposed”), and who is Good and Lover of Mankind , forgive sins and consume untruths, weaken, forsake and forgive all his [or: her] sins, voluntary and involuntary, deliver him [or: yu] eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him [or: her] communion and eternal pleasure Your good things, prepared for those who love You: even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God glorify You in the Trinity, faith, and the Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even to its last sighs of confession.
In the same way, be merciful to him [or: to that] and have faith in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints as You give generous rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
And now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Then the reading of the psalms of kathisma continues.
At the end of the kathisma it reads:
Trisagion
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Read three times, with the sign of the cross and bow from the waist.)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy. (three times)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Troparia deceased
From the spirits of the righteous who have passed away, give rest to the soul of Your servant, O Savior, preserving it in the blessed life that belongs to You, O Lover of Mankind.
In Thy chamber, O Lord: where all Thy saints rest, give rest also to the soul of Thy servant, for Thou art the only Lover of mankind.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
You are God, Who descended into hell and loosed the bonds of the bound, May You Himself and the soul of Your servant give rest.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
One Pure and Immaculate Virgin, who gave birth to God without a seed, pray for the salvation of his soul.
Then the prayer prescribed at the end of kathisma is read:
According to the 1st kathisma
Master Almighty, Incomprehensible, the beginning of light and the supreme power, like the Hypostatic Word of the Father and the One-Powered Emitter of Your Spirit: merciful for the sake of mercy and ineffable goodness, not despising human nature, the darkness of sin contained, but the Divine lights of Your sacred teachings, the law and prophets shining to the world, follow and let us, O God, grant us, in a vigilant and sober heart, to pass through the whole night of this present life, awaiting the coming of Thy Son and God. ours, the judge of all, let us not recline and sleep, but be awake and lifted up in the doing of Thy commandments, and let us find ourselves in His joy, where those who celebrate the unceasing voice and the ineffable sweetness of those who behold Your face, the unspeakable kindness. For You are a Good and Lover of Mankind, and we send glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen.
According to the 2nd kathisma
Master Almighty, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Only Begotten Son, grant unto me an undefiled body, a pure heart, a vigorous mind, an unlost mind, the influx of the Holy Spirit, to the acquisition and contentment of the truth in Thy Christ: with Him is due to Thee glory, honor and worship, with the Holy Spirit now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
According to the 3rd kathisma
Lord Almighty, Word of the Eternal Father, Self-perfect God Jesus Christ, for the sake of Thy unconditional mercy, do not part from Thy servants, but rest ever in them, do not forsake me, Thy servant, O All-Holy King, but give me, unworthy, the joy of Thy salvation and enlighten my mind with the light of the knowledge of Your Gospel, bind my soul to the love of Your Cross, adorn my body with Your dispassion, calm my thoughts and keep my nose from creeping, and do not destroy me with my iniquities, Good Lord, but tempt me, O God, and enlighten my heart mine, test me and guide me in my paths, and see if the path of iniquity is in me, and turn me away from it, and guide me on the eternal path. For You are the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and we send up glory to You with Your Beginning Father and the Most Holy, and Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
According to the 4th kathisma
To You, Lord, the only Good and Unmemorable Evil One, I confess my sins, I fall down crying to You, unworthy: I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned and am not worthy to look up to the heights of heaven from the multitude of my untruths. But, my Lord, Lord, grant me tears of compunction, the only Blessed and Merciful One, for with them I beg You to be cleansed before the end from all sin: for it is a terrible and menacing place for the Imam to pass through, our bodies being separated, and a multitude of dark and inhuman demons will bury me, and no one can help or deliver. Thus I bow down to Your goodness, do not betray those who offend me, below let my enemies boast about me, Good Lord, below let them say: you came into our hands, and you are betrayed to us. Neither, Lord, do not forget Your bounties and do not repay me for my iniquity, and do not turn Your face away from me: but You, Lord, punish me, both with mercy and bounty. Let my enemy not rejoice over me, but extinguish his reproaches against me and abolish all his actions, and give me a reproachful path to You, Good Lord: even though I have sinned, I have not resorted to another doctor, and I have not stretched my hand to a foreign god. , do not reject my prayer, but hear me with Your goodness and strengthen my heart with Your fear, and may Your grace be upon me, Lord, like fire that burns up unclean thoughts in me. For you are, Lord, light, more than any light; joy, more than any joy; peace, more than any peace; true life and salvation that endures forever and ever, Amen.
According to the 5th Kathisma
Righteous and Praiseworthy God, Great and Mighty God, Eternal God, hear the prayer of a sinful man at this hour: hear me, who promised to hear those who call on You in truth, and do not hate me, having unclean lips and containing sins, the hope of all the ends of the earth and those who wander. far away. Take the weapon and the shield and rise up to help me: pour out the sword and make a stand against those who persecute me. Ban the unclean spirit from the face of my madness, and let the spirit of hatred and resentment, the spirit of envy and flattery, the spirit of fear and despondency, the spirit of pride and all other malice be separated from my thoughts; and may all kindling and movement of my flesh, caused by the devil’s action, be extinguished, and may my soul and body and spirit be enlightened by the light of Your Divine knowledge: may I, through the multitude of Your bounty, achieve the union of faith, in a perfect husband, according to the measure of my age, and glorify with the Angels and by all Your saints, Your most honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen.
According to the 6th Kathisma
We thank Thee, Lord our God, for all Thy good deeds, even from the first age to the present in us, the unworthy, the former, those known and unknown, those manifested and unmanifested, those who were in deed, and in a word: having loved us as He loved the Only Begotten You are willing to give your Son to us. Make us worthy of Your love. Grant wisdom with Your word and inhale strength from Your power with Your fear, and whatever we want or don’t want to sin, forgive, and not impute, and preserve our holy soul, and present it to Your Throne, having a clear conscience, and the end is worthy of Your love for mankind. And remember, O Lord, all who call upon Thy name in truth: remember all who desire good or evil against us: for all are men, and every man is in vain. We also pray to You, Lord: grant us Your great mercy.
According to the 7th Kathisma
Lord, my God, as you are Good and Lover of Mankind, you have done many mercies with me, even more than you expected, and what will I repay to your goodness, my Lord, Lord? I thank Your much-sung name, I thank Your inscrutable kindness towards me, I thank Your unconditional long-suffering. And from now on, intercede, and help me, and cover me, Master, from everyone who has no one to sin before You: for You weigh my favored nature, You weigh my madness, You weigh what I have done, even in knowledge and not in knowledge, even voluntary and involuntary, even in the night and in the days, and in the mind, and thoughts, for God is good and a lover of mankind, cleanse me with the dew of Thy mercy, Most Good Lord, and save us for the sake of Thy holy name, in the image of destinies. For You are Light and Truth and Life, and to You we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.
According to the 8th Kathisma
Lord, Generous and Merciful, Long-suffering and Many-merciful, inspire prayer and listen to the voice of my prayer: create a sign for good with me, guide me on Your path, to walk in Your truth, make my heart glad, in fear of Your Holy Name, who art Thou before great. , and work miracles. You are the One God, and there is no one like You in God, O Lord, Mighty in mercy, and Good in strength, to help and comfort, and to save all who trust in Your name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever forever and ever, amen.
According to the 9th Kathisma
Master Lord, our God, who is the only ailment of my soul that is accursed and knows how to sow healing, heal you as if you were weighed, for the sake of the multitude of your mercy and your generosity, since there is no plaster to apply to it from my deeds, lower than oil, lower than duty, but you who have come call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance, have mercy, be generous, forgive me, tear up the handwriting of many of my and cold deeds and guide me on Thy right path, so that, walking in Thy truth, I will be able to avoid the arrows of the evil one and I will appear uncondemned before Thy terrible throne , glorifying and singing Your Most Holy Name forever, amen.
According to the 10th Kathisma
Lord our God, Rich in mercy and Incomprehensible in generosity, One by nature Sinless, and for our sakes except for sin, having been a Man, hear this painful prayer of mine at this hour, for I am poor and wretched because of good deeds, and my heart is troubled within me. For you weigh, the Highest King, Lord of heaven and earth, for all my youth I lived in sins and followed the lusts of my flesh, all the laughter was a demon, all the devil followed, I will take out in the time of pleasures wallow, darkened by thoughts from infancy, even Until now, I never wanted to do Your holy will, but I was captivated by the passions that plagued me, I was filled with laughter and reproach by the demon, not even thinking in my mind like the unbearable anger of a hedgehog at the sinners of Your rebuke, and the lying fiery Gehenna. As if from here I fell into despair, and as though I had no feeling of conversion, I was empty and naked from Your friendship. What kind of sin have you not committed? What deed has the demon not done? What cold and prodigal deed have you not accomplished with advantage and diligence? The mind has been desecrated by the memories of the flesh, the body has been desecrated by the confusion, the spirit has been desecrated by the connexion, I have loved all the pleasures of my damned flesh to serve and work with sin. And who else will not weep for me, the accursed one? Who will not weep for me, condemned? I am the only one, O Lord, who has provoked Your wrath, I am the only one who has kindled Your anger against me, I am the only one who has created evil before You, having surpassed and conquered all sinners from the ages, who have sinned incomparably and unforgivenly. But since you are the Most Merciful, the Compassionate One, the Lover of Mankind, and waiting for human conversion, I bring myself before Thy terrible and unbearable judgment, and as if I touched Your most pure feet, I cry to Thee from the depths of my soul: cleanse, Lord, forgive, Benefactor, have mercy on my infirmity. , bow to my bewilderment, listen to my prayer and do not silence my tears, accept me who repents, and convert the erring one, who turns around and prays, forgive me. You have not ordained repentance for the righteous, you have not ordained forgiveness for those who do not sin, but you have ordained repentance for me, a sinner, for the same things I have done in Your indignation; Heavenly, from the severity of my sins we dance. Enlighten the eyes of my heart and give me tenderness for repentance, and contrition of heart for correction, so that with good hope and true assurance I will go to the world there, praising and blessing I will take out Your all-holy name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever, amen.
According to the 11th Kathisma
Shine in our hearts, O Lord who loves mankind, of Your imperishable knowledge of God, and open our mental eyes, in the understanding of Your gospel sermons, put fear in us and in Your blessed commandments, so that all carnal lusts may be overcome, we will pass through spiritual life, all that is for Your good pleasure. both wise and active. For You are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, O Christ God, and we send up glory to You, with Your Originless Father and Your All-Holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen.
According to the 12th Kathisma
Lord my God, One Good and Humane, One Merciful and Meek, One True and Righteous, One Generous and Merciful our God: may Thy power come upon me, Thy sinful and indecent servant, and may He strengthen my temple with the Gospel of Thy Divine teaching, Master and O Lover of Mankind, O Lover of Bliss, O Lover of Compassion, enlighten my wombs and all souls with Thy will. Cleanse me from all malice and sin: keep me undefiled and blameless from every inspiration and action of the devil, and grant me, according to Your goodness, Your understanding, Your wisdom, and in Your desires to live, To fear Your fear, to do what is pleasing to You until my last sighs, because by Your inscrutable mercy You have preserved my body and soul, and my mind and thoughts, and have not been tempted by any opposing network of the temple. My Lord, Lord, cover me with Your compassion, and do not forsake me, a sinner, and an unclean, and an unworthy servant of Yours: for You are my Protector, Lord, and I sing about You, and we send up glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy One. To the Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen.
According to the 13th Kathisma
Holy Lord, Who liveth in the highest, and with Thy all-seeing eye look down upon all creation. We bow our necks to You, soul and body, and we pray to You, Holy of Holies: stretch out Your invisible hand from Your holy dwelling, and bless us all: and if we have sinned against You, willingly or unwillingly, for God is Good and Lover of Mankind, forgive us, and grant us peace and blessings. Yours. For it is Thine to have mercy and to save, our God, and to Thee we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen.
According to the 14th Kathisma
We thank Thee, O Lord God of our salvation, for Thou hast done everything for the good deeds of our life, for Thou hast given us rest in the past night time, and raised us up from our beds, and placed us in the worship of Thy honorable and glorious name. We also pray to You, Lord: give us grace and strength, so that we may be worthy of You to sing wisely and pray unceasingly: and I will look to You, the Savior and Benefactor of our souls, with fear and trembling, our salvation working. Hear now and have mercy, O Compassionate One, on us: crush under our feet the invisible warriors and enemies: accept according to the strength of our thanksgiving: give us grace and strength to open our mouths, and teach us by Your justification. As if we would not pray as we should, except You, Lord, guide us with Your Holy Spirit. If you have sinned even before the present hour, in word, or deed, or thought, willfully or involuntarily, relax, forgive, forgive. If you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, who will stand? For You have purification, You have deliverance. You are the only Holy One, the Mighty Helper, and the Protector of our life, and we bless You forever, amen.
According to the 15th Kathisma
Master Lord Jesus Christ, You are my Helper, I am in Your hands, help me, do not leave me to sin against You, for I am lost, do not leave me to follow the will of my flesh, do not despise me, Lord, for I am weak. You weigh what is useful to me, do not leave me to perish in my sins, do not forsake me, Lord, do not depart from me, as I have come running to You, teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Heal my soul, as those who have sinned by You, save me for the sake of Your mercy, as before You we are all who suffer, and I have no other refuge but You, Lord. Let all those who rise up against me and seek my soul be ashamed to consume it, for You are the only Mighty One, O Lord, in all, and Yours is the glory forever and ever, Amen.
According to the 16th Kathisma
Holy Lord, Living in the Highest, and with Your all-seeing eye look upon all creation, We bow to You, soul and body, and we pray to You, Holy of Holies: stretch out Your invisible hand from Your holy dwelling, and bless us all, and forgive us every sin, voluntary and involuntary, in word or deed. Grant us, Lord, tenderness, grant spiritual tears from the soul, for the cleansing of many of our sins, grant Thy great mercy to Thy world and to us, Thy unworthy servants. For blessed and glorified is Your name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen.
According to the 17th Kathisma
Master, Lord Almighty and Creator of all, the Father of generosity and mercy, God, who created man from the earth, and showed him in Your image and likeness, so that Your magnificent name may be glorified on earth, and it was uprooted by the transgression of Your commandments, and again created for the best him in Thy Christ, and raised up to Heaven: I thank Thee, for Thou hast increased Thy greatness upon me, and Thou hast not betrayed me to the end as my enemy, to cast me out into the abyss of hell by those who seek me, and left me below to perish through my iniquities. Now, O most merciful and most merciful Lord, do not want the death of a sinner, but wait for conversion, and accept: correct the downtrodden, heal the contrite, turn me to repentance, and correct the overthrown, and heal the contrite: remember Thy mercies, and even Thy since the ages incomprehensible goodness and my immeasurable forget the iniquities that I have committed in deed, word, and thought: resolve the blindness of my heart, and give me tears of tenderness to cleanse the filth of my thoughts. Hear, O Lord, listen, O Lover of mankind, cleanse, O Compassionate One, and free my accursed soul from the torment of the reigning passions within me. And let no one keep me from sin, let the demon fighter be able to attack me, let him lead me to his desire, but by Thy mighty hand, having snatched me away from His dominion, Thou reign in me, O Good and Humane-loving Lord, and of all Thy being, and May I live otherwise according to Your good will. And grant me with the indescribable goodness of my heart, purification of the heart, guarding of the mouth, rightness of actions, humble wisdom, peace of thoughts, silence of my spiritual strength, spiritual joy, true love, long-suffering, kindness, meekness, unfeigned faith, self-control, and fill me with all good fruits, by the gift of Your Holy Spirit. And do not bring me to the end of my days, delight my uncorrected and unprepared soul below, but complete me with Your perfection, and thus bring me to the present life, as if I had passed through the beginnings and powers of darkness without restraint, by Your grace I will see and I, unapproachable to Your glory, unspeakable kindness, with all Your saints, in them be sanctified, and glorified is Your all-honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen.
According to the 18th Kathisma
Lord, do not reprove me with Your wrath; do not punish me with Your wrath. Master Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner, a beggar, a naked, lazy, careless, backbiting, accursed, fornicator, adulterer, malak, sodomite, filthy, prodigal, ungrateful, unmerciful, cruel, drunkard, seared with conscience, impersonal naked , daring, unrequited, unworthy of Your love for mankind, and worthy of all torment, and Gehenna, and torment. And not for the sake of my many sins, do you inflict torment on the Redeemer; but have mercy on me, for I am weak, both in soul, and in flesh, and in mind, and in thought, and through your destinies save me, Thy unworthy servant, through the prayers of our Most Pure Lady Theotokos, and of all the saints who have pleased You from the ages: for blessed art Thou in forever and ever, amen.
According to the 19th Kathisma
Master Christ God, Who healed my passions with Your Passion and healed my ulcers with Your ulcers, grant to me, who have sinned much against You, tears of tenderness, dissolve my body from the smell of Your life-giving Body, and delight my soul with Your Honest Blood from sorrow, with which I was given a drink by the enemy. . Raise my mind to You, which has been drawn down below, and lift me from the abyss of destruction, as I am not the imam of repentance, not the imam of tenderness, not the imam of comforting tears, leading children to their inheritance. My mind has been darkened by worldly passions, I cannot look to You in illness, I cannot warm myself with tears, even love for You, but, Master Lord Jesus Christ, Treasure of the Good, grant me complete repentance, and a heart laboring to seek Yours, grant me grace Yours, and renew in me the eyes of Your image. Forsaken Thee, do not forsake me, go out to seek me, lead me to Thy pasture, and number me among the sheep of Thy chosen flock, educate me with them from the grain of Thy Divine mysteries, through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all Thy saints, amen.
According to the 20th Kathisma
Lord Jesus Christ my God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and forgive me, Thy unworthy servant, for those who have sinned throughout my whole life, and even to this day, and even if I have sinned like a man, my voluntary and involuntary sins, in deed and word, I think with my mind and thoughts, with admiration and inattention, and much of my laziness and negligence. If I have sworn by Your name, or have sworn falsely, or have blasphemed my thoughts, or have reproached anyone, or slandered, or been saddened, or in wicked anger, or stolen, or committed fornication, or lied, or secretly poisoned, or a friend approached me and despised him, or my brother who was insulted and bitter, or who stood by me in prayer and psalmody, my wicked mind went around the crafty one, or I enjoyed myself more than foolishly, or I laughed madly, or I spoke blasphemously, or I was vain, or proud, or I saw vain kindness and was deceived by it. , or ridiculous mocked me. If I was negligent in my prayers, or did not keep the commandments of my spiritual father, or idle talk, or did other evil things, I remember all these deeds, which I remember below. Have mercy, O Lord, and forgive me everything, so that I may sleep and rest in peace, singing, blessing, and glorifying Thee, with Thy Beginning Father and with Thy Most Holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Since ancient times, in the Orthodox Church there has been a pious custom of reading the Psalter for the departed by the believers themselves. The Book of Psalms of the Prophet King David is part of the Old Testament and consists of 150 psalms. Not a single church service is complete without reading psalms; psalms are our prayers in sorrow, in disasters, in repentance, in joy, in thanksgiving to the Lord. The Psalter is divided into 20 parts, called kathismas. Kathisma, in turn, consists of three parts (three “Glories”), and each of these parts ends with the reading of the prayer “Glory to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen. Alleluia (3 times)." Psalms - a separately published Book of Psalms, along with prayers and instructions, can also be purchased at the temple. Such a reading will be in observance of an ancient, widespread church tradition.

During the entire forty days after the death of a person, his family and friends must read the Psalter. How many kathismas per day depends on the time and energy of the readers, but reading must certainly be daily. When the entire Psalter has been read, it is read first. Just don’t forget that after each “Glory...” you need to read a prayer request for the remembrance of the deceased (from “Following the departure of the soul from the body”). Many relatives and friends of the deceased, citing the fact that they do not have time or do not have the Psalter, or do not know how to read in Church Slavonic, entrust this reading to others (readers) for a fee or other remuneration. But the prayer will be stronger, sincere, purer if a relative or close person to the deceased himself asks God for mercy on the deceased.

On the third, ninth, and fortieth days one should read the 17th kathisma according to the deceased.

This kathisma depicts the bliss of those who walked in the law of the Lord, i.e. the bliss of righteous people who tried to live according to the commandments of God.

The meaning and significance of Psalm 118 are revealed in verse 19: “I am a stranger (stranger) on earth: do not hide Your commandments from me.” Explanatory Bible ed. A.P. Lopukhina gives this verse the following explanation: “Life on earth is a wandering, a journey made by a person to reach his fatherland and permanent, eternal residence. Obviously, the latter is not on earth, but beyond the grave. If so, then earthly life must be prepared to the afterlife and to it can only be led by an unmistakably chosen path on earth. How and where to find the last one? This path is indicated in the commandments of the Law. Whoever does not follow them is mistaken and will not reach the afterlife, that is, the afterlife, as a reward for the labors incurred to achieve it. Here is a fairly clear teaching about the purpose of earthly existence, the immortality of the human soul and reward after death."