Text of prayer Psalm 145
The song is performed in both Church Slavonic and Russian. In the first case, the prayer is read in the temple, during the service. At home, you are allowed to use a version of the chant adapted to the Russian language.
In Church Slavonic with accents
In Russian
Alleluia, Haggai and Zechariah (psalm) 145
The last six psalms, starting with this 145th, belong to the group of so-called “praise psalms,” which is why almost all of them begin with the words: Praise, O my soul, the Lord... Praise the Lord... Praise, O Jerusalem, the Lord
- and each of them is inscribed with the word
Alleluia
, which means: “Praise God.”
Some of them, like this 145th Psalm,
have the addition of the words
Haggai and Zechariah
Alleluia . This addition, according to the note of the blessed one. Theodoret, is not in the lists of either the ancient Jewish Psalter or the LXX interpreters, but it was included, as we noted above, in the preface to the explanation of Psalm 137, by later interpreters, for the purpose of showing that this psalm was beloved and very a song used during the ministry of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. All these six psalms are from the post-exilic period of the life of the Israeli people and are conveniently explained from the circumstances of the time of the priest Ezra and the ruler Nehemiah.
Ps.145:1-2 Praise the Lord, my soul: I will praise the Lord in my belly, I will sing to my God, who am below.
How well this beginning of the psalm resembles the similar beginning of other psalms with the words: “Bless the Lord, my soul” (Ps. 102–103). Although not the same person was the compiler of all these psalms, the spirit of zeal for the glory of God equally penetrated their soul and heart and aroused them to the praise and blessing of God. The same praise to the Lord with which this psalm begins was sung throughout the entire content of the previous (144th) psalm. Due to the nature of these psalms, St. John Chrysostom makes the following remark: “Where the prophet ended, he begins again: he ended in the previous psalm with praise, saying: My lips will utter the praise of the Lord; and here he begins again: Praise, my soul, the Lord
.
For this serves a lot to cleanse the soul, i.e. praise be to God. And he calls praise that which is made up of deeds, which is what Christ said: “Let your light so shine, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16); and Paul also: “Glorify God with your body and with your spirit” (1 Cor. 6:20). And then he says: but let’s see what it means: praise the Lord, my soul
.
We sing these words with David now, for although he is not here in body, he is in spirit, since the righteous are with us and sing together...” [7, p. 11:31]. From these laudatory appeals we see that the psalmist tried to constantly keep himself in a prayerful mood in order to always be ready to glorify God, both in the present life and especially in the future, where there will be no obstacles to this, why as in the previous one (144th ) in the psalm he said: “I will bless Thee every day” (v. 2), - so here he says: I sing to my God, I am Dondezh
, which he literally expressed in Psalm 103, verse 33, i.e. I will sing the praises of my God as long as I exist.
Ps.145:3-4 Do not trust in princes, in the sons of men, for in them there is no salvation. His spirit shall depart and return to his land: in that day all his thoughts shall perish.
The Jews who returned from the captivity of Babylonia attributed all the benefits of the freedom they received not so much to the benefactor of God as to the favor of the Persian kings and the goodwill of the regional commanders they appointed and, forgetting about God, they gave all the honor and glory to these leaders and placed all their hope in them in the construction of the walls of the city Jerusalem and the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Therefore, the psalmist, in these two verses and those that follow, inspires his compatriots that they are mistaken in giving honor and glory to princes and leaders, and that in vain they hope in these princes, people who are the same and as limited as themselves, people who for them, as sons of men, there is no salvation. “Do not trust,” he says, in princes, in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, and he returns to his land: on that day all his thoughts disappear” (translated from Hebrew). In almost the same expressions, he expresses his thoughts about the vain and vain hope in the princes and powerful people of this world in Psalm 117 (vv. 8-9). They are strong while they are alive and have the opportunity to take advantage of favorable circumstances. But as soon as the end of the life of one or another of them comes, then his spirit will reign and return
he puts his body
into his own land
, according to the creative definition that was spoken in paradise (see Gen. 3:19).
During the construction of the second temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of the destroyed walls of this city, among their leaders there were those ( princes
) who favored and assisted them in their enterprises, but there were also many who betrayed them and acted to their detriment, helping their enemies them, as the Samaritans were then, and through them other nations at war with them.
This gave the psalmist a reason to exhort his people to trust only in God, who gives life and sends death to man, along with which
all the thoughts
on the same day
(i.e., on the day of death) .
“For according to the unharnessing of the soul,” according to the blessed one. Theodoret, and the destruction of the body into dust, all dreaminess of thoughts suddenly turns out to be vanity. And some dream of superiors and powers, others, like sleepy dreams, see victories in battle. But, coming suddenly, death leaves this dream of thoughts without fulfillment” [7, p. 1133]. And according to the interpretation of Eusebius of Caesarea, “the words: his thoughts will perish
are spoken about thoughts relating to this age, such as: to buildings, to places, countries, and the like. All this, as soon as the soul leaves the body, will disappear from it and will not remember anything then, and it will not take care of it” [7, p. PZZ].
Ps.145:5-7 Blessed is the God of Jacob, whose helper is his trust in the Lord his God, who made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them: keeping the truth forever, bringing justice to the wronged, giving food to the hungry. The Lord will decide the chained ones.
Having found out that it is useless for a person to place his hope in a mortal man like himself, the psalmist comprehensively proves what a great good or happiness a person lies in if he hopes only in one God, the God Whom the Patriarch Jacob worshiped and Who was always a faithful Helper and a reliable patron of this patriarch and those of his descendants who did not forget the God of Israel. Calling him blessed
the one who
places his trust in the Lord his God
, the psalmist proves with various arguments and examples of the various blessings of God that man has no one else to rely on but God, that only God reigns forever and to Him alone belongs eternal praise.
Blessed
is the man who has
God as his assistant, who created heaven and earth, the sea and everything that is on them
, i.e.
in heaven and on earth and in the sea; That God who keeps the truth forever
, i.e.
faithful to all His promises; Which carries out judgment, protecting the offended
and punishing the offenders;
Who is so merciful and compassionate towards the needs of the hungry
that he satisfies all these needs, both material and spiritual,
by giving food to the hungry
;
Who frees
people not only
from
material shackles (
resolve shackled
), such as the chains and bonds of prison, but also from spiritual shackles, such as all the harmful passions that man, with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, gradually mortifies. And the prophet Jeremiah, in agreement with the psalmist, not only rewards those who trust in the Lord with the blessing of the Lord, saying: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord will be his hope,” but also threatens with curse those people who trust in a person, in such words: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and sets the flesh of his arm upon him, and his heart departs from the Lord” (Jer. 17:7,5). This remark from the darling will not be superfluous here. Theodoret: “With these words (v. 6) he briefly embraces all visible creation; for he not only mentioned the sky, the earth and the sea, but also what is in them and in the sky, angels and all the nature of the invisible, also the sun, the month and many stars; on land and in the sea people and various kinds are dumb. So great, he says, is the power of the Creator of all. From this you can conclude how great the difference is between the corruptible rulers and the Creator of all” [7, p. 1134].
Ps.145:8-10 The Lord makes wise the blind: the Lord raises up the downtrodden: the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects strangers, He will accept the orphan and the widow, and He will destroy the way of sinners. The Lord your God will reign forever in Zion, forever and ever.
And in these last verses, with various examples of God’s mercies and good deeds, the psalmist continues to clarify to His people the truth that everyone should hope not in a mortal man like himself, but in God, who makes the blind wise.
, i.e.
“The Lord opens the eyes of the blind” (translated from Hebrew). This is said not in the sense that the Lord gives sight to the blind with their bodily eyes, although this often happens, by the special mercy and grace of God, but this means that the Lord gives light to those who are in spiritual darkness, the light of faith and piety to those who are in the darkness of unbelief and wickedness. “In these words, according to the interpretation of the blessed one. Theodoret, the prophet psalmist predicts the good deeds accomplished by the Savior through His incarnation, which God foretold to everyone through Isaiah. For, having said: “I will give You as a light to the nations,” he added: “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out those who are bound by them and from prison those who sit in darkness”; and in another place: “Then the deaf words of the book will hear, and the eyes of the blind, covered with darkness and mist, will see” (Is. 42: 6–7) [7, p. 1134–1135]. Through sin and various sinful lusts, a person not only falls into spiritual darkness and blindness, but also receives various diseases and infirmities, so that he becomes like that gospel traveler who walked from Jerusalem to Jericho and, having been robbed and beaten by robbers, remained barely alive ( Luke 10:30). The prophet mentions unfortunates like him here in the words: The Lord raises up the downtrodden
.
Without losing sight of anyone through His fatherly care, the Lord especially favors the pious and righteous, about whom the prophet says: The Lord loves the righteous
.
By aliens
we mean strange people who came from a distant country and among the society of people who do not have close kinship or patrons;
and the name sire and widow
usually refers to homeless orphans and poor widows, who, due to their poverty and defenselessness, are dependent on others in everything.
The very, so to speak, social position of both places them in complete dependence on strong and rich people and forces them to rely
on these people, sometimes not impeccable in moral terms.
And it is to them, these strangers, that the prophet inspires them to never forget that the Lord protects the strangers, will receive the sire and the widow, and will destroy the way of sinners
.
The last words speak not about the sinners themselves, but
their
path about all their intentions and deeds, about all the undertakings and enterprises of sinners
, which the Lord does not bless with success, and they will perish, the same thing is said as in the last words of the first psalm: “And the way of the wicked will perish.”
The words of the last verse express a prophecy about Christ, the Son of God, and about His Church, which is called here Zion
.
The Lord Jesus Christ, after the fulfillment of times, will appear on earth, will establish His eternal Kingdom of grace and will reign: He will reign forever, your God, in Zion, for generations and generations.
History of writing
Researchers leave the authorship to King David, who describes not the happiest times in the life of the Jewish people. The prayer is dedicated to the return of the Israelis to their homeland. Many years ago, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and God's people were captured.
For the realities of that time, war was a way to find a place to live, and Palestine was famous for its abundant lands and favorable climate. And so, when they left the place of punishment, they arrived in Jerusalem and saw ruins in its place. And then David prayed to the Lord for the salvation of the souls of his people, who were left without a home and the holy grace of God. The psalm is considered a brief description of the events of the past time of the liberation of the Jews.
Explanation of Psalm 145.
"Hallelujah" In other lists the following is appended: “Haggai and Zechariah.” But I did not find this either in the Hebrew text, or in other translators, or in the Exaplah of the Seventy. This psalm also commands us to sing songs to the God of all; this also makes it possible to see the inscription; because “Alleluia,” as we have said more than once, is interpreted: praise God.
Ps.145:1. Praise the Lord, my soul.
"Praise the Lord, my soul." The grace of the Spirit commands us all to awaken ourselves to the praise of God.
Ps.145:2. I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing to my God as long as I exist.
“I will praise the Lord in my belly, I will sing to my God until I am.” In the sixth psalm the Prophet said: “For in death I will not remember You, but in hell who will confess to You” (Psalm 6:6)? Therefore, we learn to sing songs to God while we live, until we accept the end of our present life.
Ps.145:3. Do not trust in princes, in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
"Do not rely on princes." Good advice; because princes do not always rule, but their power is temporary, and not all princes respect justice. And if there were both; then we must keep in mind the frailty of nature. For the Prophet adds the following:
“For the sons of men, in them there is no salvation.” Look to nature, and do not rely on authority; because “man is like vanity” (Psalm 143:4); and: “man is like the grass of his days” (Psalm 103:15).
Ps.145:4. His spirit departs, and he returns to his land: on that day his thoughts perish.
“His spirit shall depart and return to his land.” The Prophet here calls the soul the spirit. When the soul departs, the body returns to what is akin to it, according to the Divine definition: “as you are earth, you will return to earth” (Genesis 3:19).
“On that day all his thoughts will perish.” After the separation of the soul from the body, and after the body is resolved into dust, the dreaming of thoughts turns out to be vain. The Lord taught us this in a parable. For imagining that the rich man, whose cornfield had been harvested, was plotting to destroy the barns and build a larger one, he added: “foolishly, this very night they will take your soul from you; )? And other people, some dream of commanding and ruling, others about acquiring fields and building houses, others imagine victories in war, others arrange the death of their enemies. But suddenly death comes, and the dream of thoughts remains unfulfilled. Thus, the Prophet, having shown the vanity of hope in people, proves the benefit of trusting in God.
Ps.145:5. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.
“Blessed is the God of Jacob who is his helper; his trust is in the Lord his God.” It was not without reason that the Prophet called the God of Jacob, but, reminding us of what kind of providence Jacob used, relying on God, how many and what fruits he reaped from this hope, he convinces us to hope in the God of Jacob, and calls him Lord and God, and both proclaims His power. Then he teaches us to cognize His goodness and power from the creation of creatures.
Ps.145:6. Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, forever faithful.
Ps.145:7. He who brings justice to the oppressed, who gives bread to the hungry. The Lord looses the prisoners.
Ps.145:8. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.
Ps.145:9. The Lord protects strangers, supports the orphan and the widow, and perverts the path of the wicked.
“He who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.” The Prophet briefly embraced in words all visible and invisible creation. He mentioned not only the sky, earth and sea, but also everything that is in them; and in heaven are Angels, and the nature of the invisible, and the sun, and the moon, and many stars; on earth and in the sea there are people and tribes of dumb people. Such is the power of the Creator of all things, says the Prophet. Therefore, look at the difference between princes, who are subject to corruption, and the Creator of all things. Thus, having shown that God is the Creator of all things, he shows that He provides for everything that He has created.
“Who keeps the truth forever”: “Who brings judgment to the offended: who gives food to the hungry.” For He who promised is not deceitful, loves the truth, fulfills his promises, protects the offended, judges truthfully, and gives to all who are hungry the food they need. After this, the Prophet also predicts the benefits provided by the incarnation of the Savior.
“The Lord will decide the bound:” “The Lord makes wise the blind: the Lord raises up the downtrodden.” This was foretold by the God of all through the mouth of the Prophet Isaiah. For, having said: “I have given you into the light of tongues,” he added: “Open the eyes of the blind, to bring them out of the chains that are bound, and from the prison house of those who sit in darkness” (Is. 42:6-7). And in another place he said on behalf of the Lord Christ: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; For the sake of My anointing, to bring My ambassador to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind” (Isa. 61:1). And in another place: then “the foolish words of the book will be heard, and those who are in darkness, and those who are in darkness, the eyes of the blind will see” (Isa. 29:18).
“The Lord loves the righteous”: “The Lord protects the strangers.” The Lord of all gives to everyone accordingly; and He rewards the righteous who love Him in the same way, and rewards them with fatherly and merciful love. And those who escaped the wickedness of their fathers and come to Him with faith are worthy of all protection and providence. For the Prophet calls strangers “strangers.” So Blessed Paul said that we were once “without Christ, alienated from the life of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope: but sometimes we were far off” and became “near” (Eph. 2:12-13).
“He will receive the orphan and the widow, and he will destroy the way of sinners.” The Prophet, from a general providence, turns his speech to particular cases, and says that the Ruler of all does not leave anyone without care for him, but deigns all zeal, even those deprived of human care for them, and destroys the intrigues arranged against them.
Ps.145:10. The Lord will reign forever, O thy God, O Zion, to generation and generation. Hallelujah.
“The Lord will reign forever, your God will reign in Zion forever and ever”; because the eternal power and the unceasing kingdom belongs to the One who is recognized as your God only, Zion.
Interpretation
The prayer carries great meaning, for the punishment of the Jews was over, and they were allowed to return to the foothills of their homeland. To understand the meaning in detail, it is recommended to analyze each verse of the psalm.
- Verse 1-2. The work begins with the praise of the Lord and his miracles. It is important for the author to stretch out his hands to the sky and praise the beloved God and his deeds.
- Verse 3-6. People are inherently weak. They are mortal, their faith may be shaken. They can find protection and support only in the service of the Lord. God, in turn, will never leave his slaves, guiding them along the true path with a firm hand.
- Verse 7-10. And although the Hand of the Lord punishes sinners, it also protects the righteous. It was the Creator who allowed the Jews to escape Babylonian slavery. It was he who gave them a chance to be reborn and atone for their past and future sins.
Who can be so willing to praise His God until death? Only the one who loves Him and appreciates everything He does for His people and for humanity as a whole.
145:3,4 Do not trust in princes, in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation. The whole world of this century is infected with the ability to hope that man is a creature so intelligent that he is able to solve any problems that arise. Therefore, many people place their hopes on the rulers of states who are trying to solve the multifaceted problems of humanity. However, the singer understands that these hopes are empty. Why? Because every person is short-lived, but problems are long-lasting:
4 His spirit departs, and he returns to his land: on that day his thoughts perish. This text shows that any ruler-prince is mortal and at any moment can return to his land, to his burial place, without having time to decide anything. Are we talking about the immortality of the soul here? About the fact that the body of a deceased prince is buried, and some internal substance in the form of a soul (or spirit) leaves the body and goes into the air? No. Because if this were so, the singer would not have sung about the disappearance of ALL THOUGHTS of the deceased, because those who believe in the immortality of the soul also believe in its rationality, in the fact that the soul, having left the body, continues supposedly to think (for this To continue living after death, you need to at least think). And if with the death of a person all of his rationality (mental activity) disappears, then what comes out of the person is not a rational soul flying away into immortality. Here we are talking about the spirit of life or the vital force that makes the heart beat and the entire human body function adequately.
145:5-7 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who created the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, who is ever faithful, 7 who brings justice to the oppressed, who gives bread to the hungry. The Lord releases the prisoners
So, if there is no hope in human princes, then who can help solve all the problems of humanity? Only the Lord has both the opportunity and the desire to do this, it is in him, in the God of Israel, and every person on Earth should trust.
145:8,9 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord protects the stranger, supports the fatherless and the widow, and perverts the way of the wicked.
God will certainly resolve in the future economic, social, and political problems related to spiritual and physical health, the environment, natural disasters, etc. and so on. - because he loves people and wants to see them happy. And besides, he will be able to do all this, being the Creator of the entire universe in principle.
145:10 The Lord will reign forever, O thy God, O Zion, to generation and generation. One day, humanity will be able to experience the era of God's rule over them (1 Cor. 15:28), and it will bring benefits to everyone who is worthy to reach this era. The Bible calls Zion the location of God: in Israel it was the city of Jerusalem (the temple with the Holy of Holies, in the New Testament it is the heavenly abode of God, the New heavenly “Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:2)
Hallelujah. "Praise Yag"
Psalm 148
1: Praise the Lord from heaven, praise Him in the highest. 2: Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His armies. 3: Praise Him, O sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light. 4: Praise Him, O heavens of heavens and waters that are above the heavens. 5: Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded, and they were created; 6: He set them for ever and ever; gave a statute that will not pass away. 7: Praise the Lord from the earth, you great fish and all the deeps, 8: fire and hail, snow and fog, the stormy wind that fulfills His word, 9: mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10: wild animals and every livestock, creeping things and winged birds, 11: kings of the earth and all nations, princes and all the judges of the earth, 12: young men and maidens, old men and youths 13: let them praise the name of the Lord, for His alone is exalted, His glory is on earth and in heaven. 14: He hath exalted the horn of his people, the glory of all his saints, the children of Israel, the people that are near unto him. Hallelujah.
Trust not in the sons of men, or Something about the “church of good people”
This topic for me began with a spontaneous conversation with an unfamiliar woman, a friend of my friend - it so happened that the three of us ended up at the same table in a cafe. The friend’s friend slammed her cup against the saucer and suddenly spoke nervously and passionately:
– Sveta told me about you that you are a very religious person. But for me the church is not the same as for you. Not like over there, under the golden domes. My church is different. I know a lot of good people. Some of them are Orthodox, go to church - I don’t mind if it helps a person! – and someone communicates with God differently. Some even call themselves non-believers. But they are all very good, kind, decent. And if there is a God, then, of course, they are His people! They help me live. They are my church! I am sure that what kind of person you are is more important to God than what church you go to or whether you go at all!
I envy people who know how to respond to such challenges right away... But something told me that the answer needed to be found, that I, it would seem, a churchgoer, needed an answer even more than this woman who was still far from the Church.
So, “the church of good people.” Who exactly is he, a good person?
Notice how often we argue about people, in the sense of specific personalities, historical or ordinary, non-famous. We argue fiercely and painfully, because every time it really hurts: “I assure you, N. was a wonderful person, kind, wise, he helped me a lot, I loved him very much...” - “And I ran into him once, and just in I was shocked by his behavior... What did he do with such and such?.. This, in your opinion, is not betrayal?! Yes, I know, I know that they don’t speak badly about the dead...”
In fact, there is nothing surprising in this dispute about a person who has already passed away. Those arguing were faced with different manifestations of the same personality - a truly extraordinary personality that aroused strong feelings among those around them. Another question is which ones. It turns out that not only light ones. Not only was this beautiful... a truly wonderful person.
By the way, I’m a wonderful person myself! For some of my friends. For example, for one old woman with a difficult fate. That's exactly what she calls me. Why? Because I call her about once a month, and visit her once every six months. For a person like her - humble, completely undemanding and grateful - this is quite enough. She has never seen the other side of me and does not know my negative manifestations. He doesn’t know how many people I’ve seriously spoiled the blood of in my time and what kind of trouble I’ve broken in my life. When I die, there will also be conflicting memories of me. I’m afraid it’s much more contradictory than the memory of the above-mentioned N. It’s really not customary to talk badly about the dead, and sometimes only this saves us from posthumous earthly judgment. But only us, the little ones, and this does not apply to those who move history.
...Here a man sits for the second day in the basement with his entire family, with small children and old people, and listens to how his house is crumbling under shells up there. And he curses those through whose fault (from his point of view, at least) this is happening. But each of these, so to speak, politicians is a good person for someone! Yes, after all, each of them has relatives, there are friends, there are those to whom he is dear, those whom he helped in some way... and each of these people, consciously or unconsciously, includes the politician cursed by other people in their warm community, in their own his “church of good people.”
Here is a rebellion, a revolution, a war... It turns out that there are a lot of people who are quite capable of doing all this!.. Well, did they disguise themselves until the fateful hour?
You can ask any of us a question: how many people in your circle of friends are capable of torturing, shooting, killing children and old people, burning and blowing up houses along with their residents? And any of us, having thought, will answer that, although among his acquaintances there are different, and by no means only nice, people, there are still no such people. So they don't exist at all? But then - rebellion, revolution, war, genocide, holocaust. It turns out that there are a lot of people who are quite capable of doing all this!.. Well, did they disguise themselves until the fateful hour? No, why, they just lived among people, in principle, not standing out in any way; they were considered quite acceptable, positive... and good people. And they were not only considered, but also good – in some of their manifestations. After all, there is no person who does not have something good in him. And there is no person in whom evil does not live. Hence the endless contradictory nature of human manifestations.
Remember the bright, good stories “The Blue Cup”, “Chuk and Gek”? During the Civil War, their author was... well, just unkind. It was impossible to remain kind during that war. He was very cruel, he, then still a youth, was stunned by the blood and impunity. Then, in all its horror, hopeless—because godless—repentance came. And he wrote in his diary: “I dreamed of people whom I killed as a child”...
That's the point: all the evil in the world, all its suffering - not from a handful of notorious, selected scoundrels, but from a mass of ordinary people, each of whom, perhaps, is beautiful in their own way. And in its own way it is terrible, because it is affected by sin - the root cause of the evil in which the world lies.
Peering at many of my friends and colleagues, I have more than once noticed one sad phenomenon. Sincere, bright faith in good people, in friendship and brotherhood, faith coming from youth, from bonfires and guitars, from “Let's join hands, friends...” and similar good romance - this faith often leads a person to severe disappointment in the past. dear people and in people in general, to despondency and bitterness. Initially convinced that his friends will always and everywhere, no matter what happens, will be with him, a person cannot survive their indifference, and even more so cannot forgive betrayal - real or, as often happens, imaginary, far-fetched. A disappointed person accumulates claims to others, like a hedgehog with needles, only the needles are double-edged; he becomes suspicious and extremely touchy. One fine day he looks back at his own path and sees only conflicts, disasters, dead ends. It seems that he does exist, he still has some friends, he seems to be meeting with them, making out with them, but what loneliness, how disappointing empty talk!.. And in family life it’s often the same. They both seem so good, he and she! But they failed to create a good family for their children. But once it seemed that “everything will work out for us,” there was even a song like that.
So it’s hardly worth building for yourself (that’s the point, just for yourself) a “church” of “good people.” (Some, by the way, if not a church, then at least a political party, tried to build themselves out of them. In the early 1990s, I remember, such a disheveled grandfather was running around Saratov, shouting that Russia urgently needed a “party of good people,” and proposed everyone should sign up for it... But this is by the way.)
The Church does not call a person good, it helps him see the evil in himself - sin - and moves him to repentance.
From the fictitious “Church of good people” let us turn to the real Church. She, mind you, does not divide people into good and bad: Christ did not order her to do this. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9:12) - this is how He answered those who were outraged by His communication with tax collectors and sinners. The Church does not call a person good, it helps him see the evil in himself - sin - and moves him to repentance. The Church does not seek support for itself in human “goodness.” “Do not trust in princes, in the sons of men” (Ps. 145: 3) - this is not only about good kings and great leaders! I heard these words in a new way - at a difficult moment in my life, being in a painful conflict with one person and hoping for the support of another. But it’s not in this hope that you need to look for inner support for yourself - that’s what I understood when I heard it - for the umpteenth time! - “Do not trust... in the sons of men.” The person you are counting on may behave completely differently than you want, and not because he is “so-and-so,” but simply because he is a person. And you will fall into despair if you counted only on him, without remembering God; if you internally accepted only one option for the development of events, not trusting God to choose.
Someone already thought that the text was written by a tired person who had forgotten how or was afraid to love and trust. However, I hope that this is not the case, and next I would like to say something about love. What to say about her, another reader wonders, hasn’t everything about her already been said? But that’s the trap: theoretically, we know all this, we remember, we read:
“By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35);
“I command you this, that you love one another” (John 15:17);
“If God so loved us, then we ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11)…
Finally, the famous one - “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then I am like ringing brass...” (1 Cor. 13: 1).
But why does all this so often slide on the surface of our consciousness... and remain a theory for us? Why do so many people suffer from a lack of love - even in the church environment? Why are conflicts so frequent in this environment, in the clergy, in church work, and sometimes whole wars break out? Why is it so difficult for a parish community to develop or sometimes not to develop at all - everyone looked and continues to look in their own direction?
Is it because, having come to the Church of Christ, we consciously or unconsciously continue to build for ourselves a “church of good people” and hope for the sons of men?
In human terms, this is so understandable! Many come to Church tired of inner loneliness; many hope to finally find in it that environment, that community of people that the soul has secretly longed for for many years. We are living people, we are drawn to warmth and are afraid of burning cold: we need support and suffer from any kind of suppression. We are vulnerable, and this is a characteristic feature of most of us - a vulnerable person will come to Church sooner than a “thick-skinned” one. We meet different people in the Church - and at least in our parish; We theoretically know that all of these are our brothers and sisters in Christ, moreover, we try to treat everyone as well as possible. But we don’t love everyone, but only those... with whom we feel good. Who is close to us, who warms us, supports us. That is, those very good people, whose warmth and support we console ourselves with... more than faith, yes. This is unconscious, it is at the level of feelings, deeper than consciousness, but it very often turns out to be true. And is this not why we are ready to fall into despair from collisions with that which does not support us, does not warm us, but quite the opposite? “In the Church - and why?.. After all, I came here to be saved...” From what? From human evil or from your own sin? It’s good if we ask ourselves this question in time.
The words of one of the prayers after reading the Psalter became a kind of test for me: “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.” Saying them, I understood that I had to pray now - and for that priest who - either from fatigue, or simply from a lack of love for people - was rude and irritable with me during one of my first confessions; and for that zealous parishioner from whom I got so much credit for wearing trousers, not in church, I emphasize, but in the rest of my life; and for that young deacon who, completely without any fault of mine, was rude to me... I must pray for them not through clenched teeth, as they say, but with all my heart, because they remember His name in truth, they made this choice, they became Orthodox Christians. Yes, their views in particulars may differ from mine; yes, I may someday suffer from their sinfulness; but what does this change in the main? And what's surprising about this? - they are all human... Besides, who knows - maybe tomorrow they will suffer from my sinfulness or my delusions...
The words of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt: “Dislike, enmity and hatred should not be known among Christians even by name. How can there be dislike between Christians?..” - touch everyone, but they can be repeated with resentment towards others who “did not provide” us with love, or they can be turned as a reproach to yourself: why can’t you love someone who wants the opposite of you, but you love only the one who wants the good?
Learn to love people the way the Lord loves us all: not because they are “good,” but because they were created by Him and responded to His call.
We probably do not find the strength within ourselves to overcome our human weakness and at least try to rebuild our attitude towards the people around us in the Church. In other words, to leave your “church of good people” to the Church of Christ. Start learning to love people the way He loves us all: not because they are “good,” but because they were created by Him and responded to His call. To love a person, not counting on the fact that this person will always be good for us in everything, to be ready to suffer from his sins or his errors - because we ourselves are sinners, and are subject to errors and all sorts of distortions: “... grant me to see my sins and do not condemn my brother.”
Descent of the Holy Spirit; XII century; Byzantium.
The paradox is that the above-described syndrome of disappointment in humanity does not threaten those who have a sober understanding of human sinfulness. Such a person is always ready to face it, and this readiness has nothing to do with distrust, suspicion, suspiciousness, or hardness of heart. On the contrary, Christian sobriety leads a person to love. Why? Because he has compassion for every sinner as a sinner; and because only when faced with human sin and evil do we discover the ability to love. But we are unlikely to succeed without Christ.
That person I was talking to in the cafe, a friend of a friend, - she, without knowing it, had echoed Viktor Frankl, the famous Austrian psychiatrist and psychotherapist who went through Nazi concentration camps and then developed the idea of saving a person through the meaning of existence. Frankl also did not reject religion, he treated it, one might say, approvingly, but he believed that “God, if He exists, is more important what kind of person you are than whether you believe in Him or not.” But with this approach, an abyss separates God from man: man becomes “good” himself, without Him, and God does not care whether man loves Him. Let's just compare this with the gospel: “I am the vine, and you are the branches; He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). If we accept this, we feel the living moisture flowing in our spiritual veins and understand that it flows “into eternal life” (John 4:14). The unreliable, transitory warmth of the “church of good people” is unlikely to replace it for us.
Psalm 146
1: Hallelujah. Praise the Lord, for it is good to sing to our God, for it is sweet—appropriate praise. 2: The Lord builds Jerusalem, gathers the exiles of Israel. 3: He heals the brokenhearted and heals their sorrows; 4: counts the number of stars; He calls them all by their names. 5: Great is our Lord, and great is His strength, and His understanding is immeasurable. 6: The Lord exalts the humble, but the wicked he brings down to the ground. 7: Sing one by one the praise of the Lord; sing to our God on the harp. 8: He covers the sky with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the mountains; 9: He gives food to the cattle and to the raven's chicks that call to Him. 10: He does not look upon the strength of the horse, nor does He delight in the speed of human feet, - 11: The Lord delights in those who fear Him, in those who trust in His mercy.
