Psalm 16 - why they read it, text in Russian, interpretation

The Psalter is remarkable because in it you can find examples of many life situations. The author of Psalm 16 offers prayers to God during a time of persecution. A characteristic feature of the prayer is that the person saying it is completely confident that he is right. He is in danger, he is threatened by enemies, but still finds reliable refuge - the Lord Himself, whose righteousness is beyond doubt. Therefore, not everyone will dare to talk with the Creator the way David did.

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Circumstances of writing the psalm

King David did not immediately become a rich and famous ruler. At first, he was an ordinary shepherd who did not even think about claiming power. The history of his life, including his accession to the throne, can be traced, in particular, through the psalms. Most of them he wrote himself, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And although the texts were compiled in response to very specific life circumstances, Psalm 16 is filled with such deep meaning that it remains relevant in any time.

David was the youngest of eight children and tended sheep. But even in this traditional occupation he was able to prove himself as an extraordinary person. Seeing a wild beast, he did not run, but boldly entered into battle and won, protecting the cattle. Such devotion gave him an excellent reputation. In those days, livestock was expensive, so people highly valued shepherds who preserved the property entrusted to them.

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The young shepherd had a pleasant appearance, he was strong, spoke well and was a skilled musician. After all, the psalter is nothing more than a stringed instrument. Therefore, David is often depicted precisely while chanting prayers, which he himself composed. The first king of Israel, Saul, provoked the wrath of God by being disobedient, stubborn, and harsh. The Lord made young David his chosen one, which he announced to him through the prophet Samuel.

Saul, who at first became very attached to the young man, soon became a sworn enemy, since he saw him as a rival.

• Twice Saul tried to kill David, after which he was forced to flee.
• The Lord guided the actions of His chosen one, sending him revelations.
• Together with his followers, the young man found refuge with his former enemies. The king of the Philistines donated an entire city to the disgraced young man.

Saul was stubborn, so he pursued his opponent for a long time, although he repeatedly tried to make it clear that he did not want to take power from him by force. It was during this period that David turned to God in prayer.

Text of Psalm 16 in Russian

1 Hear, O Lord, [my] truth, listen to my cry, accept my prayer from the lips of the untruthful.

2 Let judgment come to me from Your presence; let Thy eyes look upon righteousness.

3 You tried my heart, you visited me by night, you tempted me and found nothing; My lips do not depart from my thoughts.

4 In the affairs of men, according to the word of Your mouth, I have kept myself from the ways of the oppressor.

5 Establish my steps in Your ways, so that my feet do not falter.

6 I cry to You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, hear my words.

7 Show Your wondrous mercy, O Savior of those who trust [in You] from those who resist Your right hand.

8 Guard me like the apple of your eye; shelter me in the shadow of your wings

9 From the presence of the wicked who attack me, from the enemies of my soul who surround me:

10 They are wrapped up in their fat, they speak arrogantly with their lips.

11 They surround us now at every step we take; they fixed their eyes to cast me down to the ground;

12 They are like a lion thirsty for prey, like a skim sitting in hidden places.

13 Arise, O Lord, warn them, bring them down. Deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword,

14 from men by Thy hand, O Lord, from the people of the world, whose portion is in this life, whose bellies Thou fillest from Thy treasuries; their sons are satisfied and will leave the remainder to their children.

15 But I will look upon Your face in righteousness; Having awakened, I will be satisfied with Your image.

Interpretation of the Psalm

The psalmist considers the Lord to be his only defense, whom he calls to speak in his defense and judge. Each verse of the psalm is an appeal to the Almighty:

• The first verse contains the expression “my righteousness,” i.e. justice and my innocence before You. The author says that there is no guilt on him and he says this honestly, without any lies;
• In the second verse, the author asks for God's judgment on this entire situation—he asks God to be his advocate. The author suffers undeservedly and wants God to bring His judgment on all participants, since he understands that only God’s judgment is fair;
• In verses 3-4 the singer talks about his experiences. “Visited...at night” i.e. in the disasters that people experience. At the same time, the author claims that he remained faithful to God and is also devoted. He says that in “human affairs”, i.e. in his attachments to earthly things, he was guided by God’s commandments, listening to “the word of Your mouth.” David immediately explains that he “protected... from the oppressor” - he monitored his actions and tried not to offend his neighbor without reason. This applies both to everyday life and to the attitude towards the king - David never hurt Saul, although he could have;
• In verses 5-7, David asks the Lord not to leave him unprotected, to allow His servant to be strengthened. The expression “wonderful mercy” here can be seen as a request to perform a miraculous deliverance from enemies;
• In verse 10 the author describes his enemies, those who harmed him and attempted to kill him. They were distinguished by complete contentment, i.e. they lived richly and did not deny themselves anything. They were proud and arrogant;
• In verses 11-12 the psalmist describes enemies. They appear before the reader as evil and cruel, looking for ways to destroy David. This is a reference to Saul's numerous assassination attempts on his warrior, open and secret;

  
  Psalm 16 is read for protection from ill-wishers

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• Verses 13-15 are an open appeal to God for help. David calls on God to stand on his side, to protect him from attacks and unjust oppression. The expression “from the people of the world, whose lot is in this life” shows that David’s enemies seek only earthly things, but do not pay attention to heavenly things. Despite the wealth of his enemies, the author believes that only God can deliver him and grant him strength and mercy.

Important! The entire psalm is the psalmist's express hope in God. He understands that only the Almighty can save him from troubles and persecution, and grant him a quiet and serene life.

Interpretation of Psalm 16

For the first acquaintance, it is better to take the Bible in Russian. Church Slavonic can be difficult to understand without special training. It is also better to read one of the explanations of Psalm 16, compiled by the church fathers - John Chrysostom, Athanasius the Great, etc. Let us consider the meaning of this chapter of the book of Psalms in more detail.

• In form, this is a direct appeal from David to the Lord. In it he complains about his enemies, from whom he asks for protection.
• The psalmist draws special attention to the fact that he did not commit a sin, did not try to “sit on” Saul. After all, the Lord himself chose David; he did not dream about it.
• The first king of the Jews here appears as an evil wicked man who not only innocently persecutes David, but also goes against the will of God.

David is not at all trying to flaunt his righteousness or put pressure on the Creator. He begs Him to listen carefully to His arguments. Here, believers are given an example of how requests should be made. The petitioner talks about how he felt. His words are full of sincerity, free from any pretense and deceit.

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The one who prays does not rely on human judgment. No, he resorts to the One who possesses the highest justice - the king of heaven, the Creator of the visible and invisible world. Saul and his followers treated David unfairly. Psalm 16 expresses confidence that the Lord sees everyone for who they really are. The great king appears as a deceiver, the humble shepherd as the future leader of Israel, the ancestor of the family from which Jesus Christ will come.

Kathisma 3 Psalm 21

Psalm 21

“On the intercession of the morning” - (according to the Slavic text) the inscription, understood in the literal sense, indicates the pleading content of the psalm about the “morning”, possibly first aid.
This inscription is also understood in the sense of indicating the time of the liturgical performance - in the morning, to which the Hebrew also responds. inscription - when dawn appears. (There is a translation - “about the morning deer”, i.e., the motive of the vocal performance should be similar to the motive of the song beginning with the words “morning doe”). David portrays his situation as hopeless: he becomes the subject of ridicule and is in humiliation (3-9); his enemies are numerous and strong (13-14); they are “evil,” wicked, but David is lonely (22), so he considers his death inevitable and foresees how he will be executed by crucifixion (17-19). In this psalm, David nowhere speaks of his guilt before God, and therefore his suffering, despite its undeservedness, is especially difficult. Such a hopeless situation for David dates back to the time of Saul, when he was surrounded on one side by mountains and on the other by desert, and Saul with an army was coming towards him. It was in the Mahon desert. David's death seemed inevitable, but a rumor about an attack at that time on the southern borders of the Philistine state (1 Samuel XXIII: 24-28) prompted Saul to come to the defense of the state, which saved David.

My God! Why have you left me? (2-3). I will still call on You (4-6). I am in contempt among the people: everyone mocks me (7-10). My hope is only in You, my Creator, to whom I have been attached since childhood. Do not move away from me, but protect me from enemies who are ready to crucify me, abandoned by everyone (11-23). I bless You, Lord, for your protection. Let all who seek Him praise Him! His name will become great among all nations and will be sung throughout the whole world (34-32).

1 To the director of the choir. When dawn appears. Psalm of David. 2 My God! My God! [listen to me] why have you forsaken me? The words of my cry are far from saving me.

2. David points out the hopelessness of his situation in this case. According to human understanding and the consistent course of events, David’s death seemed inevitable, why did he have states when he saw himself completely abandoned by God, as a result of which he cried out: “Why have you forsaken me?”

This state of near despair did not last long. David goes on to say that “such words,” words of “cry” close to despair, are sinful, since they show wavering faith in a person; As a result of this discovered lack of faith in God, man does not deserve the salvation for which he prays to God.

3 My God! I cry during the day, and You do not listen to me, at night, and I have no peace. 4 But You, O Holy One, live in the midst of the praises of Israel. 5 Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them; 6 They cried to You and were saved; They trusted in You and did not remain in shame.

3-6. But this state of lack of faith, as we said, was an expression of a temporary loss of spirit from the difficult conditions in which David was placed. He condemns himself for this cowardice and then prays to God: I will call on you day and night, that is, constantly; I do this, although I do not immediately see Your help ( “You do not listen to me”

) and I don’t consider such constant and apparently fruitless prayer to be unnecessary and unreasonable.
What convinces me of this, firstly, is that “You, the Holy One, live among the praises of Israel
,” i.e., You are holy, and therefore You are the patron and protector of holiness, righteousness, innocence, in general, for which You are constantly rewarded Israel's praises.
As a Saint, You will not leave the innocent me without protection. The meaning of these words is that David justifies the vigilance of his prayer to God and faith in His protection by the undeservedness of real disasters and His justice, which will not allow the death of the righteous; secondly, historical facts from the life of Jews. people: when the latter cried out to God in distress, He provided them with His protection. The history of the Jews is replete with such facts. The words of v. 2, expressing in David the feeling of being abandoned by God, were literally subsequently repeated by Jesus Christ on the cross (Matthew XXVII:46; Mark XV:34). Just as David further expressed complete faith in
God and, therefore, devotion to His will, so Jesus Christ revealed the same submission on the cross to the will of the Father when He said:
Father, into your hands I commit My spirit
(Luke XXIII:46).

7 But I am a worm, and not a man, reproached by men and despised by the people. 8 Everyone who sees me mocks me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: 9 “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him.”

7-9. In all subsequent contents up to Art. 24. David portrays the severity of his situation. They mock him as an opponent of the king; he is defenseless and weak, like a worm that can be easily crushed. But David’s helplessness not only does not evoke a natural feeling of compassion in anyone, but even causes mockery of his faith in God. David was subjected to the same humiliation as Christ when, hanging on the cross and turning to God, he uttered his dying cry: “Either, Or, Lama Savahvani,” to which those around him on the cross responded with incredulous and mocking curiosity (Matthew XXVII: 41-50 ).

10 But You brought me out of the womb, You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts. 11 I was left to You from the womb; From my mother’s womb You are my God.

10-11. The words of these verses explain why the Lord is the only source of hope and hope for David. "You brought me out of the womb"

, that is, I was born according to Your special favor;
I owed my birth, the beginning of life to You; “You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts”
—I was raised by my mother in affection for You. Probably, David’s mother, when she was still feeding him with her breast, spoke to him about God and, together with his mother’s milk, he accepted high concepts about Him, reverence and devotion to Him. The more ancient a person’s certain attachments are, the deeper and stronger they are; embedded in David from childhood and strengthened in him by subsequent facts of his life, they became the indestructible heritage of his spiritual life and consciousness.

12 Do not move away from me, for sorrow is near and there is no helper. 13 Many bulls surrounded me; the fat ones of Bashan surrounded me, 14 they opened their mouths on me, like

a lion hungry for prey and roaring.

12-14. God's help is more necessary for David the closer and more formidable the danger. David has no defender anywhere, but his enemies are as numerous and as secure in their well-being as the bulls of Bashan are numerous and well-fed, at the same time they are also formidable towards him, like lions for ordinary animals. Vasan had rich pastures, and therefore the predominant occupation of its inhabitants was cattle breeding, especially a lot of cattle. David's strength was exhausted and disappeared, like water spilled on dry ground is swallowed up without a trace; “the bones in him,” as the harder part of the human body, and therefore a symbol of his strength, crumbled, i.e. persistent persecution on the part of Saul, forcing David to constantly flee, exhausted the latter so much that he no longer found the strength in himself continue this flight. “His heart” melted like “wax”; he lost courage at the sight of the hopelessness of his situation, like a figure made of wax turns into a shapeless mass from the action of fire; his strength was gone, like water dries up in a meager vessel when a potter burns it; his "tongue stuck to his larynx", an indication of the exhaustion of his strength. His situation is so hopeless that he considers himself already on the edge of the grave (“in the dust of death”).

15 I am poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melting in the midst of my insides. 16 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue clung to my throat, and You brought me to the dust of death. 17 For dogs have surrounded me; a crowd of evildoers has surrounded me; they have pierced my hands and my feet. 18 All my bones could be numbered; and they look and make a spectacle out of me; 19 They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing.

17-19. David calls his enemies “dogs” and “a crowd of evil ones,” indicating both their large number and their moral insignificance. They are crafty, false, incapable of acting in the name of any higher ideal and truth, but in the name of personal gain, leaning in the direction of strength and benefit; they also deserve contempt as "dogs", dogs, which were considered by the Jews to be despised animals.

David's danger is so great, and, apparently, his death is so inevitable that he already imagines the picture of his execution. He, as a state criminal who attempted royal power, as an enemy of the sovereign, should be subjected to the most cruel and shameful execution by crucifixion. David already sees blood flowing from his wound; on his body, due to the stretching of his muscles, the bones stood out especially clearly, so that they could be counted. Although this suffering from muscle strain was terrible in duration and the pain associated with it, his enemies looked at his suffering with disdain, without sympathy. Everything he was wearing, his dress, was divided into equal parts; "They cast lots for my clothing"

, probably about the outer one, about the tunic, which was not sewn, but woven whole and made of thinner material. The sufferings depicted by David in the entire content of the psalm, especially in these verses, were fulfilled with all completeness and accuracy in Christ, as all the evangelists testify to (Matthew XXVII:35; Mark XV:24; Luke XXIII:34; John XIX:23). What David experienced in his imagination, what was the property of his thought, found complete, outwardly factual expression in the actual suffering of the Messiah.

20 But You, Lord, do not depart from me; my strength! hasten to my aid; 21 Deliver my soul from the sword and my lonely from the dogs; 22 Save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns; when you hear, deliver me

me.
23 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You.
20-23. In view of the inevitability of such a fate, if enemies captured David, the latter prays to God for salvation: “save”
“my lonely”
soul “from the dogs,” that is, deliver me, lonely, from enemies;
“from the horns of unicorns”
- from the horns of a unicorn, a rhinoceros, with which David figuratively depicts the strength and cruelty of his enemies.
For his salvation, David promises to sing to God “in the midst of the meeting
,” that is, publicly, in poetic songs, he will praise God as the only protector of every suffering righteous person.

24 You who fear the Lord! praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him,

From 24 Art. the content of the psalm changes: previously it was mournful and petitionary, but now it is grateful and laudatory. One might think that the second part of the psalm was written by David at the end of the persecution.

25 For He did not despise or disdain the sorrow of the sufferer, He did not hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him.

24-25. In view of the extraordinary nature of disasters and salvation from them, David invites him to praise God and all Jews for the fact that the Lord heard the prayer of the “suffering”

, an insignificant and weak person in his strength.

26 In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him.

26. “In You is my praise in the great congregation”

. The protection that the Lord gave to David is a source of praise from God before the people's assembly. This is David’s fulfillment of the vow that he made in a moment of danger (v. 23).

27 Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever!

27. David’s salvation serves as evidence that all the poor will find protection in God: He will give them what they need for life, He will always nourish them, so we need to revere and honor Him. In this verse, St. The fathers see an indication of the sacrament of the Eucharist because here eating some kind of meal from God has eternal life as its consequence, a property that ordinary food cannot have. By meal, therefore, we do not mean ordinary food or a meal, but the partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, which gives eternal life to those who partake worthily.

28 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the nations of the nations will worship before You, 29 for the Lord is the kingdom, and He is Ruler over the nations. 30 All the rich lands will eat and worship; All who go down into the dust and cannot save their lives will bow before Him. 31 [My] descendants will serve Him, and will be called the Lord's forever: 32 They will come and proclaim His righteousness to the people who are born, what the Lord has done.

28-32. David speaks of turning to God of the whole world: all nations will remember the help that the Lord provided to his righteous and will worship Him as the one, true God, which is as it should be, since the whole earth and all nations belong only to the Lord; recognition of this inalienable right of His by the pagan peoples is only a matter of time. David even paints a picture of all nations turning to God. When "all the rich lands"

, all the mighty on earth - the rulers of the nations will worship Him: in general, all mortals
“who descend into the dust”
, they will revere Him, to whom I, says David, live with my soul, am bound with my whole being. My descendants will serve the Lord. By offspring we cannot mean the ordinary descendants of David, who were not always faithful to God, but the seed that came from him according to the Divine promise, i.e., the Messiah. The favors shown to David by God will be preserved in the memory of subsequent generations of people; each of them will glorify God and proclaim the deeds that He has done among people, protecting the righteous and punishing the wicked. This prediction of David has already come true and will come true: his songs, as well as the history of the life of the Jews and all their sacred books in general, have been and will always be read by people, thereby passing on knowledge from generation to generation about the great deeds of God.

In the first part of the psalm, we have already seen that everything that David experienced during the persecution from Saul found a complete and exact repetition and expression in the life of the Messiah Christ, and therefore this part should be called representative. In the second part of the psalm, David paints a picture of a universal appeal to God of all peoples. This last became possible only from the Messianic times, when the preaching of the teachings of Christ spread among all countries and peoples. As a prediction in word about future events of the messianic period, this part of the psalm is prophetic.

How to talk to God correctly

The future king in this text gives an excellent example of how to talk with heaven. First, you need to analyze your own life. David, when composing Psalm 16, was fully confident that he had behaved correctly. Even in his thoughts he did not hold anything against his opponent, but only fulfilled the will of God.

• In verse 3, the author says that God tested him and found no sins or unrighteous deeds;
• Verse 4 tells us to watch what comes out of people's lips, because words can be the source of unrighteous deeds;
• In verse 5 he instructs that one should always walk according to the commandments, that is, walk in the ways of God.

Next comes the denunciation of the persecutors. Although they are noble and rich, David hopes that the Lord will hear and be fair. After all, real righteousness does not depend on the opinion of society, worldly fame, awards, etc. God's recognition cannot be bought with money. The author of Psalm 16 is confident that the dispassionate judge will carry out His judgment in ways that are available only to the Lord of heaven.

The future great king shows a wonderful example of humility and faith. Even finding himself in the middle of the desert, surrounded by strong enemies, he does not lose confidence that God will not forget him. In the final verse, David says that he will not follow the example of the wicked, but will fulfill the commandments and do righteous deeds.

• Psalm 103 - text in Russian, interpretation;
• Look here Psalm 34 - text in Russian;
• Psalm 67 - text in Russian: https://bogolub.info/psalom-67/.

Psalms

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE EDITOR ABOUT THE NUMBERING OF PSALMES

The Restorative Translation of the Old Testament, including the book of Psalms, is a translation from the currently generally accepted original Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the Stuttgart Hebrew Bible (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, revised edition 1990). The numbering of each psalm in the Restoration Translation, as in most translations of the Bible, corresponds to the numbering in the Hebrew text, in contrast to the Russian Synodal Translation, which, when numbering the psalms, follows the text of the Septuagint - the Greek translation of the Old Testament, made in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. The verse numbering within each psalm in the Restoration Version corresponds to the English edition of the Restoration Version of the Bible. At the end of this edition of the Book of Psalms there are tables showing the relationship between the numbering of psalms and verses in the Restoration Translation and the Synodal Translation, with the help of which the reader, if necessary, can easily find the number of the desired psalm and verse in each of these two translations.

How to use the table

1. Find the line with the original number of the psalm and (if necessary) verse in the left column.

2. Go on the same line to the right column, determine the corresponding psalm number, and then the verse number.

Examples:

Restorative → Synodal

So that for Ps. 46:4

in the Recovery Translation, to find the corresponding verse in the Synodal Translation, you need to:

1. Find the line with the original psalm number in the left column:
   

   With. 44 - 49

   Ps. - 1: st. + 1

2. Go on the same line to the right column, where you need:
   determine the corresponding psalm number: Ps. 46 - 1 = 45

   Ps. 44 - 49

   Ps. - 1 : art. + 1

3. determine the corresponding verse number: art. 4 + 1 = 5
   

   Ps. 44 - 49

   Ps. - 1: st. + 1

The verse you are looking for in the Synodal translation: Ps. 45:5

Synodal → Restorative

So that for Ps. 9:24

in the Synodal translation, to find the corresponding verse in the Recovery translation, you need to:

1. Find the line with the original psalm number in the left column:
   

   Ps. 9: art. 22—39

   Ps. 10: st. — 21

2. Go on the same line to the right column, where you need:
   determine the corresponding psalm number: Ps. 10

   Ps. 9: art. 22—39

   Ps. 10 : st. — 21

3. determine the corresponding verse number: art. 24 – 21 = 3
   

   Ps. 9: art. 22—39

   Ps. 10: st. — 21

The verse you are looking for in the Recovery Version is Ps. 10:3

Restorative → Synodal

Synodal → Restorative