Interpretation and meaning in the life of believers of Psalm 21
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The Orthodox 21st Psalm of King David, from the point of view of interpreters, has a double meaning. Some researchers believe that it dates back to the time of the persecution of David by King Saul, others do not see enough grounds for such an opinion.
In the text of the Christian Psalm 21 we see a description of someone’s suffering, presumably David, who was weakened by reproaches and persecution. The author of psalm twenty-one appeals to God, lamenting his unbearable situation and asking why the Lord left the sufferer and when, by His will, He will make his difficult path easier. As an argument, the psalmist cites the words of other people who mock his faith in God, which does not weaken no matter what: “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him” (Ps. 21:9).
At the same time, the interpretation of Psalm 21 suggests that it is a messianic prophecy - and indeed, it is not difficult to notice that the text of David’s song amazingly describes the suffering of the crucified Jesus Christ. Starting with the first phrase: “My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 21:1), spoken by the Savior, and ending with the mockery of those around him, who laughed at the Crucified One and demanded that He come down from the cross if He was truly the Son of God. Listening and reading the Orthodox Psalm 21 is customary in order to protect housing from fires during attacks of depression.
Listen to the video of the Orthodox prayer Psalm 21 in Russian
Read the text of the prayer Psalm 21 from the Psalter in Russian
My God! My God! listen to me, why have you forsaken me? The words of my cry are far from saving me. My God! I cry during the day, and You do not listen to me, at night, and there is no peace for me. But You, O Holy One, live among the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them; They cried to You and were saved; They trusted in You and did not remain in shame. I am a worm, not a man, reproached by people and contempted by the people. Everyone who sees me mocks me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him.” But You brought me out of the womb, You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts. I was left to You from the womb; From my mother’s womb You are my God. Do not move away from me, for sorrow is close, but there is no helper. Many bulls surrounded me; The fat ones of Bashan surrounded me and opened their mouths on me, like a lion hungry for prey and roaring. I was poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melting in the midst of my insides. My strength has dried up like a shard; my tongue clung to my throat, and You brought me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me, a crowd of evil ones has surrounded me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. One could count all my bones; and they look and make a spectacle out of me; They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing. But You, Lord, do not move away from me; my strength! hasten to my aid; deliver my soul from the sword and my lonely from the dogs; save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns; when you hear, deliver me. I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You. Those who fear the Lord! praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him, for He did not despise or disdain the sorrow of the sufferer, did not hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him. In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him. Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes of the heathen will bow before You, for the Lord is the kingdom, and He is Ruler over the nations. All the rich lands will eat and worship; All who go down into the dust and cannot save their lives will bow before Him. My descendants will serve Him, and will be called the Lord's forever: they will come and proclaim His righteousness to the people who are born, what the Lord has done.
Text of Psalm 21 in Church Slavonic
To the head of the choir. When dawn appears. Psalm of David.
God, my God, consider me, where have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation is the word of my sins. My God, I will call in the days, and you will not hear, and in the night, and you will not be foolish. You live in the holy, praise of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you; you trusted, and I delivered you; I called to you and was saved; I trusted in you and was not ashamed. I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach of people and a humiliation of people. Everyone who saw me scolded, spoke with their lips, nodded their heads; I trusted in the Lord, that he might deliver him, that he might save him, as he willed him. Because you plucked me from the womb, my hope comes from my mother’s breast. I am committed to you from falsehood, from my mother’s womb, you are my God. Do not step away from me, as sorrow is near, as if you cannot help me. The many bullocks have taken possession of me, the fat youths have taken possession of me; He opened his mouth against me, like a lion who roars and roars. Like water is poured out, and all my bones are scattered; Let my heart melt like wax in the middle of my belly. Because my strength has become weaker, and my tongue has clung to my throat, and you have brought me into the dust of death. Because many psionic people have outwitted me, a host of evil ones have taken possession of me; plowed my hands and my nose. I have cut up all my bones; and they looked and despised me. I divided my garments for myself, and cast lots for my clothes. But you, Lord, do not remove your help from me; come to my intercession. Deliver my soul from the weapon, and my only begotten from the hand of the dog. Save me from the mouth of lions, and my humility from the horns of the unicorn. I will tell your name to my brothers, in the middle of the church I will sing to you. Ye who fear the Lord, praise him, all the seed of Jacob, glorify him, that all the seed of Israel may fear him; for do not despise, lower than the indignant prayer of a beggar, lower turn your face away from me, and when I call to him, he hears me. My praise comes from you, in the great church we will confess to you; I will offer my prayers before those who fear him. They will eat the squalor and be satisfied, and those who seek Him will praise the Lord; their hearts will live forever. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tongues of the fatherland will bow before him; For the kingdom of the Lord is the kingdom, and he has tongues. Eaten and bowed down to all the fat of the earth; before him all who descend into the earth will fall; and my soul lives for this. And my seed will work for him; He will announce the coming generation of the Lord; And his truth will be proclaimed to the people who are born, even as the Lord has created.
Psalm 21
Comment by Mikhail Zeleny
There are many places in the books of the Old Testament in which you can see prophecies about Christ, but 2 of them stand out in particular: the 21st Psalm and the 53rd chapter of the Book of Isaiah.
We can say about them that this is more than just a prophecy, in the words of the blessed one. Jerome of Stridon, this is “not so much a prophecy as a Gospel.” They seem to have been written at the foot of the Cross of the Lord, which gives reason to talk about one of them. But first I will make a few comments. First of all, why is Psalm 21 “as if written at the foot of the Cross”? Because his first words (this is the 2nd verse in the usual numbering, but in fact the 1st verse is, strictly speaking, not part of the psalm, but the title: instructions for singing), according to the narration of the evangelists Matthew and Mark, coincide with the words , which were spoken by Christ on the Cross before his death, and in other verses of the psalm we can see a number of details of the Crucifixion: in particular, verse 19 - “they divided my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothes” (or “divided my garments for themselves , and about my clothes metasha lot” in Slavic), - was fulfilled, as we know, literally, which was noted by all four evangelists.
Secondly, when we read the psalm, we will notice that its Church Slavonic and Russian translations in some places clearly differ in meaning (by the way, this is also true for other psalms, and indeed for the books of the Old Testament in general). What is this connected with?
The fact is that most of the books of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew, but their Church Slavonic translation was made not directly from it, but from an ancient (it was made before the birth of Christ) translation into Greek, called the translation of 70 interpreters, or Greek Septuagint. In this translation, in a number of places, there are discrepancies with the Hebrew text from which the most well-known Russian synodal translation was made.
The reason for these discrepancies is different: first of all, the fact is that in ancient times there could have been discrepancies in different copies of the Hebrew text of the Holy Scripture, its different editions and versions, and the version of the text with which the translation of the Seventy was made could have differed from the later one, which and reached us.
Somewhere translators not only translated the text, but interpreted it. Somewhere they could simply mistake one letter for a similar one, and the peculiarity of the Hebrew language is such that such a replacement often results in a completely different word with a different meaning instead of one (it must be said that sometimes such letter replacements could be done deliberately - strange as it may seem for us, this was one of the methods of interpreting the text in the then tradition). We won’t go into details, but you just need to know why this happens and not be surprised.
The next remark is, so to speak, of a methodological nature. There is such a way to interpret a whole series of psalms, which include the 21st, - to put them into the mouth of Christ, perceiving them as His words. This is exactly how such psalms are interpreted by many Holy Fathers, who adopted this approach from the New Testament, where there are a number of places in which the words of the psalm are interpreted as the words of Christ, for example, in the Gospel of John (2:17) after Christ expelled the “disciples” selling from the temple They remembered him, that it is written: Zeal for Thy house consumes Me ” - this is the verse of the 10th 68th Psalm. The same verse of the same psalm (its second hemistich), by the way, is used in a similar way by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans - “For Christ did not please Himself, but, as it is written: The slander of those who slandered You fell on Me " (and such places in the New There is a lot of testament). So, in the light of this worthy tradition, we will read the 21st Psalm as the words of Christ, especially since, as I have already said, its first words actually came from Christ’s lips.
And finally, although, as I said, it is theologically correct to understand the 21st Psalm as sounding from the lips of Christ, let us not forget about its direct historical meaning: Holy Scripture often has several plans - direct historical, prophetic, etc., and it is important to keep them all in mind for proper understanding.
Most likely, the 21st Psalm was written by the holy king and prophet David during one of those circumstances, of which there were very, very many in his life before his accession to the throne: he was in such a hopeless situation that death seemed inevitable, but unexpectedly God delivers him, for that David praises Him.
As stated in Lopukhin’s “Explanatory Bible,” 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 and his army were coming towards him. David's death seemed inevitable, but a rumor about an attack at that time on the southern borders of the Philistine state (1 Samuel 23:24-28) prompted Saul to come to the defense of the state, which saved David.
Now let's carefully read the psalm in three translations - Church Slavonic, Russian Synodal and in the translation of Pavel Aleksandrovich Yungerov, a remarkable Russian biblical scholar of the 19th - early 20th centuries. This translation is important because it was made from the Greek translation of the Seventy, i.e. from the same original as the Church Slavonic translation. Thus, Yungerov’s translation will help to better understand it, especially for those for whom the Slavic translation is not very clear.
Well, then we will try to analyze, if not the entire psalm, then at least some of its most significant verses. I’ll say right away that we won’t analyze the 1st verse: there is also a lot of interesting stuff there, but as I already mentioned, this is still a title, and the psalm itself begins with the 2nd verse.
My God! My God! listen to me, why have you forsaken me?
God, my God, take notice of me, where have you forsaken me?
God, my God, please me! Why have you left me?
As has already been said, we read these words from the evangelists Matthew and Mark when they talk about the Lord’s suffering on the cross: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Either, Or! Lama Savakhthani? that is: My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46), “At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Eloi! Eloi! lamma sabachthani? - which means: My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34).
In the historical aspect, this is the suffering cry of David, who found himself in a seemingly hopeless situation. The worst thing for him is that he feels abandoned by God. But how should this be understood Christologically? How can the Only Begotten Son of God say that He is forsaken by God? First of all, of course, as Euthymius Zigaben explains, these words do not mean that the Father was separated from the Son, but Christ utters these words due to the fear of death that He experienced by His human nature - we can know that this is so from His Gethsemane prayer: according to His humanity, Christ undoubtedly suffered both physically and mentally.
The second explanation is given by St. Athanasius the Great: Christ speaks these words on behalf of the entire human race - we were rejected and abandoned for the crime of Adam, and Christ, as our Intercessor and Mediator, begs the Father to turn His Face to us. It has already been said that the understanding of a number of psalms as the prayers of Christ is an ancient apostolic and patristic tradition, and the commentary of St. Athanasius reveals an important aspect: this is not just a personal prayer of Christ, but a prayer that He, as the High Priest of the New Testament, offers to the Father for all humanity.
The words of my cry are far from saving me. My God! I cry during the day, and You do not listen to me, at night, and there is no peace for me.
Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. My God, I will call in the days, and you will not hear, and in the night, and you will not be foolish.
The words of my sins remove me from salvation. My God! I cry day and night, and you do not hear, (although this) was not (was) madness to me.
Here we have a remarkable discrepancy between the Russian and Slavic translations: according to the first, the Psalmist simply cries out to God that the Lord does not hear him and does not send him salvation. This sounds quite natural from the lips of David, and, if we keep in mind what was just said, from the lips of Christ.
The words according to the Greek translation sound quite natural in David’s mouth (I remind you that the Slavic translation is based on it) - he repentantly sees the reason for what happened to him in his sins. But in the mouth of Christ these words sound, it would seem, at least strange: after all, He is sinless - how can He talk about His falls?
Let us remember the passage from Psalm 68, which has already been mentioned - “ the slander of those who slander You has fallen on Me .” Christ is the One who, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, “took upon Himself and bore our illnesses, […] was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities, […] and by His stripes we were healed” (Isaiah 53:4–5). The fall that Christ speaks of in the psalm is the sin of humanity, which the Sinless One was called to atone for by His suffering.
But You, O Holy One, live among the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them; They cried to You and were saved; They trusted in You and did not remain in shame. I am a worm, not a man, reproached by people and contempted by the people. Everyone who sees me mocks me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him.”
You live in the holy place, praise of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you: you trusted, and I delivered you: I called to you, and was saved: I trusted in you, and was not ashamed. I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach of men and a humiliation of people. Everyone who saw me mocked me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: I trust in the Lord, may he deliver him, may he save him, as he wills him.
You live in the holy, praise of Israel! Our fathers trusted in You, they trusted and You delivered them. They called to You and were saved, they trusted in You and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, not a man, a reproach among people and humiliation among the people. Everyone who saw me mocked me, nodded their heads, said with their lips: “He trusted in the Lord, let him deliver him, let him save him if he pleases.” "
In these verses 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, on the contrary, provokes mockery of his faith in God.
We see the contrast between the fact that in the past God saved the fathers who trusted in Him, that is, the previous generations of God’s chosen people, and the fact that David does not receive an answer to his cry and therefore compares himself to a worm trampled underfoot by everyone. His humiliated position is doubly difficult because those around him laugh at him, and not just at him, but what is even worse - at his trust in the Lord.
This is not just a contrast between God’s help to the fathers and the abandonment of the psalmist, but much more - the contrast between the praise of God and blasphemy against Him. The fathers, delivered by the Lord, sang Him for this and glorified His holiness - that is why God is called “living among the praises of Israel.” David's enemies, laughing at his hope in the Lord, thereby blaspheme Him.
And truly these slander fell on Christ - it is not surprising that the words of the psalm literally came true in the life of the Savior: “And those who passed by slandered Him, nodding their heads and saying: He who destroys the temple and builds it in three days! save yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. […] he saved others, but he cannot save himself; if He is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him; trusted in God; Let him deliver Him now, if He pleases Him. For He said, “I am the Son of God” (Matthew 27:39–40, 42–43).
The words “I am a worm, and not a man” would seem difficult to understand in the messianic sense as referring to Christ, but in fact, oddly enough, this is exactly the case: according to St. Maximus the Confessor, “Christ is called a worm because he wore flesh as a bait for demons, under which the oud of the Divinity was hidden.” It should be noted that such a metaphor is often used in hymnography - for example, see the troparion from the 7th song of the Sunday canon, 5th tone: “Thou shalt be clothed with flesh, as in the mouth of flattery; by Thy divine power thou hast cast down the serpent...”
Let us also pay attention to two features that we see in translations from Greek: firstly, it is said about God that He lives in His sanctuary (“holy” - in this case, in the literal sense, it is simply a synonym for the word “sanctuary”, i.e. . Temple). In general, this is simply the same thing said in other words as in the Russian translation: it is clear that in the Temple praise is given to God.
But it is possible to understand this even deeper - let us remember that in the Gospel Christ spoke about the “temple of His Body” (John 2:21), so we can see the following meaning here: The Holy One in whom God dwells is Christ, in whom, according to the words of St. . Paul, “all the fullness of Godhead dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9). Secondly, God is called “the praise of Israel,” which brings to mind other words of St. Paul - “he who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
But You brought me out of the womb, You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts. I was left to You from the womb; From my mother’s womb You are my God. Do not move away from me, for sorrow is close, but there is no helper.
Because you plucked me from the womb, my hope comes from my mother’s breast. I am committed to you from lies, from my mother’s womb, you are my God. Do not step away from me, as sorrow is near, as if you cannot help me.
But You brought me from the womb, my hope from my mother’s breasts. I have been committed to You from birth, from my mother’s womb. You are my God. Do not retreat from me, for sorrow is near, and I have no helper.
The psalmist says that he was devoted to the Lord from childhood, imbibing reverence and affection for Him, as they say, with his mother’s milk. And when there is no hope for man, for human help (“there is no helper”), he calls to his God, for, as it is said in another psalm (Ps 26:10), “my father and my mother have abandoned me, but the Lord will accept me.” " There is no longer any protection for him - only the Lord.
Let us also note that in the words “You took me out of the womb,” the Fathers see an indication of the seedless conception of Christ: “For God took one Christ out of Mary, but other people are not taken out, but come forth, as it is said: Esau went forth like a skin cosmat" (St. Athanasius the Great). And in the words “there is no helper” one can discern a prophecy that the disciples left Christ (Matthew 26:37, 56; Mark 14:33).
Many bulls surrounded me; The fat ones of Bashan surrounded me and opened their mouths on me, like a lion hungry for prey and roaring.
The many bullocks have devoured me, the fat youths have conquered me; they have opened their mouths against me, like a lion that roars and roars.
Many bulls surrounded me, fat oxen surrounded me. They opened their mouth against me like a lion snatching away (prey) and roaring.
The psalmist speaks of being surrounded by enemies (remember the historical context - David is locked between the desert and the mountains, and Saul is coming at him with an army). His enemies are as numerous and strong as the numerous and fat calves of Bashan (Bashan is a region on the banks of the Jordan, including the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon; it had rich pastures, and therefore the predominant occupation of its inhabitants was cattle breeding, especially a lot of cattle) . At the same time, they are as formidable to him as lions are to ordinary animals.
I was poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melting in the midst of my insides. My strength has dried up like a shard; my tongue clung to my throat, and You brought me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me, a crowd of evil ones has surrounded me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. One could count all my bones; and they look and make a spectacle out of me; They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing.
Like water poured out, and all my bones were scattered: my heart was melted like wax in the midst of my belly. Because my strength has become weaker, and my tongue has clung to my throat, and you have brought me into the dust of death. For the multitude of evil men have overcome me, and a host of wicked ones have overcome me: they have dug up my hands and my nose. You have cut up all my bones, but you look at me and despise me. I divided my garments for myself, and cast lots for my clothes.
I was poured out like water, and all my bones were scattered; my heart became like melting wax in the midst of my belly. My strength has dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue has stuck to my throat, and You have brought me down to the dust of death. They counted all my bones, and they themselves looked at me contemptuously. They divided my garments for themselves and cast lots for my clothing.
There is no hope. The psalmist already sees his inevitable defeat, which, if he remains alive and is captured, will be followed by a shameful execution. From the fear of this, he seemed to melt, lost his solidity: he was poured out like water, his heart melted like wax, his bones crumbled, his strength disappeared, like water dries up in a meager vessel when a potter burns it. He is so exhausted that he can no longer make a sound - “his tongue is stuck to his larynx.”
In these verses we see almost literally the details of the Savior’s suffering on the cross, therefore, in the Christian understanding, from ancient times they were considered prophetic:
poured out like water, all the bones scattered - the crucified man hung helplessly like a bag of bones, and streams of blood washed the cross;
the tongue stuck to the larynx - due to blood loss and heat, the man on the cross experienced extreme thirst (the Holy Fathers also attribute these words to the fact that Christ was silent before his accusers);
pierced arms and legs - as they say, “no comment”;
one could count all the bones - the ribs and other bones stood out from the stretching of the body and dehydration;
the dogs surrounded, a crowd of evil people surrounded, they looked and made a spectacle - see “And the people stood and looked. The leaders also mocked them, saying: He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ, God’s chosen one” (Luke 23:35);
they divide the vestments and cast lots for the clothes - literally what all four evangelists write about came true.
Matthew 27:35 And they that crucified him divided his garments, casting lots;
Mark 15:24 Those who crucified Him divided His garments, casting lots as to who should take what.
Luke 23:34 And Jesus said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided His garments by casting lots.
John 19:23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, a piece for each soldier, and a tunic; The tunic was not sewn, but entirely woven on top. 24So they said to each other, “Let us not rend it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it will be, so that what is said in the Scripture may be fulfilled: They divided my garments among themselves, and cast lots for my clothing.”
But You, Lord, do not move away from me; my strength! hasten to my aid; deliver my soul from the sword and my lonely from the dogs; save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns; when you hear, deliver me.
But you, Lord, do not remove your help from me: attend to my intercession. Deliver my soul from the weapon, and my only begotten from the hand of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my humility from the horn of the unicorn.
But You, Lord, do not remove Your help from me, hasten to my defense. Deliver my soul from the sword and my only begotten from the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns, the humble me.
David prays to God for salvation: save my lonely soul from the dogs, that is, me, lonely, deliver from enemies; “from the horns of unicorns” - from the horns of a unicorn, rhinoceros, with which David figuratively depicts the strength and cruelty of his enemies.
I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You.
I will tell your name to my brothers, in the middle of the church I will sing to you.
I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the church I will sing Your praises.
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.
From a Christological point of view, just as the first part of the psalm is a prophecy about the Passion of Christ, the second is about His resurrection and the fruits of the latter. The 24th verse of the psalm is quoted verbatim in the Epistle to the Hebrews in the place where the meaning of the incarnation of Christ and His Death on the Cross is revealed (Heb. 2:11-18).
For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from One; therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the church I will sing Your praises. And one more thing: I will trust in Him. And one more thing: here I am and the children whom God gave Me. And since children participate in flesh and blood, He also received them, in order by death to deprive him of the power of death, that is, the devil, and to deliver those who from the fear of death were subject to slavery throughout their lives.
This passage from the Epistle to the Hebrews can be considered a commentary both on this verse and on the entire laudatory ending of the psalm. Note that during the service it is played both on the Annunciation and on Great Friday at the 6th hour.
Those who fear the Lord! praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him, for He did not despise or disdain the sorrow of the sufferer, did not hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him. In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him.
Ye who fear the Lord, praise him, all the seed of Jacob, glorify him, that all the seed of Israel may fear him: for thou shalt not despise him, lower than the indignant prayer of the poor, nor turn thy face from me, and when thou hast called unto him, having heard me. My praise comes from you, in the great church we will confess to you: I will offer my prayers to those who fear him.
You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you seed of Jacob, glorify Him! May all the seed of Israel fear Him! For He did not despise or reject the prayer of the beggar, nor did He turn His face away from me, and when I cried to Him, He heard me. My praise comes from You: in a great assembly I will confess to You, I will fulfill my vows before those who fear Him.
The psalmist calls on “all the seed of Israel” to praise God for their deliverance. In the mouth of David, this would seem to be a rhetorical exaggeration, but not only that: David knew that he was chosen by God to lead Israel and liberate it, completing what was not completed in the era of Joshua and Judges. In light of this, it is understandable why he calls on all the People of God to praise God for their deliverance.
But, of course, David here is primarily a prototype of his great descendant - Christ, who by His death deprived the power of “he who had the power of death” and delivered the human race. Christ, as the High Priest, on behalf of all humanity, exalts praise to the Father for this liberation, calling on Israel according to the flesh, and all nations (“those who fear the Lord”), who are henceforth called to the Kingdom of the Lord, to join her.
Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever!
They will eat the squalor and be satisfied, and they who seek him will praise the Lord: their hearts will live forever and ever.
Let the poor eat and be satisfied, and let those who seek Him praise the Lord, and their hearts may live forever and ever.
The direct meaning of these words is this: in gratitude for his deliverance, David vows to the Lord to make a grateful sacrifice. The meat of the sacrifices was served at a meal in the name of the Lord. The psalmist invites all those who fear the Lord and seek Him to participate in this festive feast in order to share their joy with them.
It is clear that the meaning of these words is deeper than their direct meaning. Jewish tradition sees in them an indication of the Messianic meal - the feast that the Messiah will give after he comes and establishes the Kingdom of the Lord. All those who will inherit the Kingdom will take part in this feast. Such an understanding, as we will see, is not alien to Christianity.
It is interesting that the Jewish tradition, like the Christian one, considered the 22nd psalm to be messianic, but unlike the latter, only the final, laudatory part of the psalm: many rabbinic comments say that these words will be fulfilled “in the time of deliverance, in the days of the Messiah.” . This emphasis is explained by the fact that the idea of a suffering Messiah is not accepted by the Jews, and therefore it would be difficult for them to interpret the words about suffering in relation to Him.
In the Christian understanding, the Messianic feast, the “marriage supper of the Lamb,” as it is called in the Apocalypse, is the Eucharist: Christ, who endured suffering “even to death,” conquered death and calls to His Table all “those who seek the Lord,” so that, having been nourished by His Body and Blood, , they have partaken of eternal life. This is how the words of the psalm “their hearts will live forever and ever” are fulfilled.
The Eucharistic understanding of Psalm 21 provides a number of patristic comments. It also manifests itself in the fact that the 21st Psalm was often included in various editions of the Follow-up to Holy Communion - for example, in the one that is still used by the Old Believers (historically, there were different versions of this Follow-up, which could differ in the set of psalms, the text of prayers, etc. . – the text that is printed in modern prayer books is far from the only one).
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes of the heathen will bow before You, for the kingdom of the Lord is the Lord, and He is Ruler over the nations.
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tongues of the fatherland will bow before him: for the kingdom of the Lord is the kingdom of tongues.
All the ends of the earth will be remembered and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes of the nations will worship before Him. For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations.
The psalmist speaks of turning to God for the whole world: all nations will remember the help that the Lord provided to his righteous, and they will worship Him as the one, true God, which is as it should be, since the whole earth and all nations belong to the Lord alone.
Why is it said that the nations will “remember”? Because Adam and his descendants once knew God, but later humanity forgot Him, plunging into the darkness of pagan idolatry and polytheism. The Good News of Salvation in Christ should motivate them to remember what they have forgotten. However, in the Slavic translation, following the Greek, the accents are placed somewhat differently: the peoples turn to the Lord because He remembered them and called them to Himself. But these two understandings do not so much contradict each other as complement each other.
All the rich lands will eat and worship; All who go down into the dust and cannot save their lives will bow before Him.
All the fat of the earth ate and bowed down: before him all who descend into the earth will fall: and my soul lives for him.
All the rich lands will eat and worship; all who descend into the earth will fall down before Him, and my soul lives for Him.
This verse brings to mind the famous words of the Apostle Paul about Christ: “Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God.” God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11). The rich and glorious, who have believed in the Lord and have been enriched in piety and virtue, will eat and be satisfied with the benefits of the Divine meal that God has prepared for those who believe in Him.
[My] descendants will serve Him, and will be called the Lord's forever:
And my seed will work for him: to proclaim the coming generation of the Lord:
And my seed will serve Him: he will proclaim to the Lord the generation that is to come,
“Here I am and the children whom the Lord gave me,” says the prophet Isaiah. The psalmist David echoes him: “My descendants will serve Him, and will be called the Lord’s forever.” By this 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, that is, Christ, and through Him all who received Him by faith and to whom the right was given - “ to be children of God, who were born neither of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12, 13), that is, all Christians reborn by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the font of holy baptism.
They will come and proclaim His truth to the people who are born, what the Lord has done.
And his truth will be proclaimed to the people who are born, even as the Lord has created.
And His truth will be proclaimed to the people who are about to be born, whom the Lord has created.
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 have been and will always be read by people, thereby passing on knowledge from generation to generation about the great deeds of God. And, of course, what was said in relation to David is even more appropriate in relation to Christ, whose saving feat will be glorified in the Church from generation to generation until the end of time.
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Psalter. Kathisma 3
KATHISMA THE THIRD.
Psalm 17.
1 Finally, to the Lord’s youth David, even the word of the Lord sowed words of song, on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Sauli, and said:
2 I will love you, O Lord, my strength. 3 The Lord is my strength, and my refuge, and my Deliverer, my God, my Helper, and I trust in Him, my Defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my Advocate. 4 With praise I will call on the Lord and I will be saved from my enemies. 5 Mortal diseases have overcome me, and the floods of iniquity have crushed me, 6 the diseases of hell have overcome me, having preceded me to the snares of death. 7 And when I was in sorrow, I called on the Lord and cried to my God, hearing my voice from the temple of His Holy One, and my cry before Him would come into His ears. 8 And the earth moved and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains were shaken and moved, because God was angry with it. 9 The smoke of His wrath ascends, and the fire from His presence is kindled; coals are kindled from Him. 10 And bow the heavens, and those below, and the darkness under His feet. 11 And we mounted the Cherubim, and flew, flew on the wing of the wind. 12 And He placed His darkness around His village; the waters were dark in the clouds of the air. 13 From the shedding of clouds before Him came clouds, hail, and coals of fire. 14 And the Lord and the Most High will roar from Heaven and give His voice. 15 She sent down arrows and dispersed me, and multiplied lightnings and overwhelmed me. 16 And the springs of water were revealed, and the foundations of the world were revealed, because of Thy rebuke, O Lord, because of the inspiration of the spirit of Thy wrath. 17 She sent down from on high, and received me; they took me from many waters. 18 He will deliver me from my mighty enemies and from those who hate me, for she has become stronger than me. 19 Foretold me in the day of my bitterness, and the Lord was my confirmation. 20 And he will bring me out into the wideness; he will deliver me, as he willed me. 21 And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hand he will reward me. 22 Because I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not committed wickedness from my God. 23 For all His destiny is before me, and His righteousness does not depart from me. 24 And I will be blameless with Him, and I will be kept from my iniquity. 25 And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness and according to the purity of my hand in His sight. 26 You will be like a saint, and you will be innocent with an innocent man, 27 and you will be chosen with the chosen, and you will be corrupted with the obstinate. 28 For You have saved the humble people and humbled the eyes of the proud. 29 For You have enlightened my lamp, O Lord my God, You have enlightened my darkness. 30 For through You I will be delivered from temptation, and through My God I will pass over the wall. 31 My God, His way is blameless, the words of the Lord are kindled, He is the Protector of all those who trust in Him. 32 Who is God, other than the Lord? or who is God except our God? 33 God girdle me with strength, and make my way blameless. 34 Make my noses like trees, and place me on high. 35 Thou hast taught my hands to fight, and thou hast placed the bow of my arm in copper. 36 And You have given me the protection of salvation, and Your right hand will receive me, and Your punishment will correct me in the end, and Your punishment will teach me. 37 Thou hast enlarged my feet under me, and my feet are not faint. 38 My enemies will marry, and I will suffer, and will not return until they die. 39 I will offend them, and they will not be able to stand; they will fall under my feet. 40 And thou hast girded me with strength for battle; thou hast slept all that rise up against me under me. 41 And you gave me a backbone to my enemies, and you consumed those who hated me. 42 You cried, and did not save: to the Lord, and did not hear them. 43 And I will crumble like dust before the wind, like the clay of the paths I will wipe out. 44 Deliver me from the bickering of people, place me at the head of the nations. People who don’t know who work with us. 45 Listen to me by the ear of your ear. The sons of strangers lied to me. 46 The sons of strangers have vowed and are lame from their paths. 47 As the Lord lives, and blessed is God, and may the God of my salvation be exalted. 48 God grant me vengeance and subdue the people under me. 49 My deliverer from my wrathful enemies, lift me up from those who rise up against me, deliver me from the unrighteous man. 50 For this cause let us confess unto Thee in the midst, O Lord, and unto Thy name I sing: 51 Thou magnify the salvation of the king, and show mercy unto Thy Christ David, and unto his seed unto the ages.
Glory:
Psalm 18.
1 Finally, a psalm to David.
2 The heavens declare the glory of God, but the firmament declares the work of His hand. 3 Day of days the verb spits out, and night of night the mind speaks. 4 Speech is not worth, lower than words, whose voice is not heard. 5 Their words went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Set Your village in the sun, 6 and He, like the Bridegroom who proceeds from His palace, will rejoice, like the Giant who leads the way. 7 From the end of the heaven is His departure, and His meeting to the end of the heaven, and there is nothing that can hide His warmth. 8 The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making children wise. 9 The justifications of the Lord are right, gladdening the heart, the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes. 10 The fear of the Lord is pure; it endures forever: the destinies of the Lord are true, they are justified, 11 more desirable than gold, and more precious than stones, and sweeter than honey and honeycomb. 12 For Your servant keeps me, and I will always keep you; your reward will be great. 13 Who understands the Fall? Cleanse me from my secret things, 14 and from strangers, spare your servant; if they do not possess me, then I will be blameless and cleansed from great sin. 15 And the words of my mouth will be pleasing, and the teaching of my heart will be made before You, O Lord, my Helper and my Deliverer.
Psalm 19.
1 Finally, a psalm to David.
2 The Lord will hear you in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob will protect you. 3 Help will come from the Holy One, and help will come from Zion to protect you. 4 All your sacrifices will be remembered, and your burnt offerings will be full. 5 The Lord will give you according to your heart and fulfill all your counsel. 6 Let us rejoice in your salvation and be magnified in the name of the Lord our God. The Lord will fulfill all your requests. 7 Now I know that the Lord, having saved His Christ, will hear him from His Holy Heaven; salvation is in the power of His right hand. 8 These on chariots, and these on horses, we will call in the name of the Lord our God. 9 We slept and fell, but we rose and recovered. 10 Lord, save the king and hear us, so that we may call on you one day.
Psalm 20.
1 Psalm to David.
2 Lord, in Your power the king will rejoice, and in Your salvation he will rejoice greatly. 3 You gave him the desire of his heart, and you took away the desire of his mouth. 4 Because you preceded him with a gracious blessing, you placed a crown of honor on his head. 5 I asked You for food, and You gave it long life forever and ever. 6 Great is the glory of him through Your salvation; place glory and splendor on him. 7 For give him a blessing forever and ever, make him glad with Your face. 8 For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he is not moved. 9 Let Your hand be found against all Your enemies, Let Your right hand be found against all who hate You. 10 For thou hast laid them as a furnace of fire at the time of Thy face, the Lord will trample me with His wrath, and the fire will destroy them. 11 You will destroy their fruit from the ground, and their seed from the sons of men. 12 Because I have turned evil against You, having thought of counsels which they cannot form. 13 For I have laid the backbone, and prepared their faces for Thy abundance. 14 Be exalted, O Lord, in Thy power; let us sing and sing of Thy might.
Glory:
Psalm 21.
1 Finally, about the intercession of the morning, a psalm to David.
2 O God, my God, be aware of me, have you forsaken me in vain? Far from my salvation are the words of my falls. 3 My God, I will call in the days, and you will not hear, and in the night, and not in my madness. 4 But you live in the Holy One, praise to Israel. 5 Our fathers trusted in you, you trusted and delivered. 6 I called to You and was saved, I trusted in You and was not ashamed. 7 But I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach to men and a disgrace to men. 8 All who saw me mocked me, saying with their lips, and shaking their heads: 9 I trusted in the Lord, that he might deliver him, that he might save him, as he willed him. 10 Because You plucked me from the womb, my hope came from my mother’s suckling. 11 I am committed to You from lies, from my mother’s womb You are my God. 12 Do not depart from me, for sorrow is near, for there is no help for me. 13 Many calves have taken possession of me, and fat youths have taken possession of me. 14 He opened his mouth against me, like a lion that roars and roars. 15 Like water poured out, and all my bones crumbled, my heart became like wax, melting in the midst of my belly. 16 Because my strength has become weak, and my tongue cleaves to my throat, and you have brought me into the dust of death. 17 For a multitude of wicked men have overcome me, and a host of wicked ones have taken possession of me, and have crushed my hands and my nose. 18 You have cut up all my bones, but you look on and despise me. 19 I divided my garments for myself, and cast lots for my clothing. 20 But You, Lord, do not remove Your help from me; attend to my intercession. 21 Deliver my soul from the weapon, and my only begotten from the hand of the dog. 22 Save me from the mouth of lions and from the horn of the unicorn my humility. 23 I will tell your name to my brethren; in the midst of the church I will sing praises to you. 24 You who fear the Lord, praise Him, all the seed of Jacob, glorify Him, so that all the seed of Israel may fear Him. 25 For thou shalt not despise me, lower than the indignant prayer of a beggar, nor turn away His face from me, and when I have called to Him, having heard me. 26 From You is my praise; in the church we will greatly confess to You; I will offer my prayers before those who fear Him. 27 They will eat the squalor and be satisfied, and they who seek Him will praise the Lord; their hearts will live forever and ever. 28 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the nations of the land will worship before Him. 29 For the Lord is the kingdom, and He has tongues. 30 Having eaten and worshiped all the fatness of the earth, all who go down to the earth will fall before Him, and my soul lives for Him. 31 And my seed shall serve Him, and shall proclaim to the Lord the generation to come. 32 And His righteousness will be proclaimed to the people who are born, even as the Lord has created.
Psalm 22.
Psalm to David.
1 The Lord feeds me and deprives me of nothing. 2 In a green place, there you will settle me, on the water you will raise me in peace. 3 Convert my soul, guide me in the paths of righteousness, for your name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk into the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your club, that comfort me. 5 Thou hast prepared a table before me against those who were cold against me; thou hast anointed my head with oil, and Thy cup maketh me drunken, like a mighty power. 6 And Your mercy will marry me all the days of my life, and make me dwell in the house of the Lord for many days.
Psalm 23.
Psalm to David, one from the Sabbath.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness, the world, and all who live on it. 2 He founded food on the seas, and prepared food on the rivers. 3 Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? or who will stand in the place of His saints? 4 He is innocent in his hand and pure in heart, who does not take his soul in vain, and does not swear by his sincere flattery. 5 This one will receive blessings from the Lord, and alms from God his Savior. 6 This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. 7 Lift up the gates of your princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord is strong and strong, the Lord is strong in battle. 9 Lift up the gates of your princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.
Glory:
According to the 3rd kathisma, the Trisagion according to Our Father: Also troparia, tone 3:
Living on earth, my soul, repent: the dust in the grave does not sing, it does not take away sins. Cry out to Christ God: Knower of the heart, I have sinned, before even condemning me, have mercy on me.
How long, my soul, do you remain in sin? How long will you accept the change of repentance? Take in mind the coming judgment and cry out to the Lord: Know your heart, even if you have sinned, do not even condemn me, have mercy on me.
Glory: At the Last Judgment I am convicted without verbiage, I am condemned without witnesses, for the books of conscience are unbent, and hidden deeds are revealed. Before you test what I have done in this public disgrace, God, cleanse me and save me.
And now: the misunderstood and incomprehensible is, O Lord God-gracious, a terrible sacrament done for You: the incomprehensible thing, having conceived, You gave birth to flesh, overlaid with Your pure blood: His O Pure One, like Thy Son, pray to save all who sing Thee.
Lord, have mercy (40) and prayer:
Lord Almighty, Word of the Eternal Father, Self-perfect God Jesus Christ, mercy for the sake of Your unconditional mercy, never separate Your servants, but always rest in them Yay, 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, decorate my body with Your dispassion, pacify my thoughts and save my nose from creeping, and do not destroy me recklessly Take care of me, O Good Lord, but test me, O God, and understand 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 ascribe glory to You with Your Beginning Father and the Most Holy, and Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages, amen.
To the head of the choir. When dawn appears. Psalm of David.
My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? The words of my cry are far from saving me. My God! I cry during the day, and You do not listen to me, at night, and there is no peace for me. But You, Holy One, live among the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them; They cried to You and were saved; They trusted in You and did not remain in shame.
I am a worm, not a man, reproached by people and contempted by the people. Everyone who sees me mocks me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him.”
But You brought me out of the womb, You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts. I was left to You from the womb; From my mother’s womb You are my God. Do not move away from me, for sorrow is close, but there is no helper.
Many bulls surrounded me; The fat ones of Bashan surrounded me and opened their mouths on me, like a lion hungry for prey and roaring.
I was poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melted in the midst of my insides. My strength has dried up like a shard; my tongue clung to my throat, and You brought me to the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded me, a crowd of evil ones has surrounded me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. One could count all my bones; and they look and make a spectacle out of me; They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing.
But You, Lord, do not move away from me; my strength! hasten to my aid; deliver my soul from the sword and my lonely from the dogs; save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns; when you hear, deliver me.
I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You. Those who fear the Lord! praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him, for He did not despise or disregard the sorrow of the sufferer, did not hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him.
In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him. Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes of the heathen will bow before You, for the Lord is the kingdom, and He is Ruler over the nations.
All the rich lands will eat and worship; All who go down into the dust and cannot save their lives will bow before Him. My descendants will serve Him, and will be called the Lord's forever: they will come and proclaim His righteousness to the people who are born, what the Lord has done.
The role in Orthodox Christianity of the prophetic Psalm 21 from the book of Psalms
1 To the director of the choir. When dawn appears. Psalm of David.
2 My God! My God! Why have you left me? The words of my cry are far from saving me.
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.
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.”
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.
12 Do not move away from me, for sorrow is near and there is no helper.
13 Many bulls surrounded me; the fat Bashanites surrounded me,
14 They opened their mouth against me like a lion, hungry and roaring.
15 I am poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melted in the midst of my insides.
16 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue stuck to my throat, and You brought me down 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.
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.
23 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You.
24 You who fear the Lord! Praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! Praise Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him,
25 For He did not despise or disdain the sorrow of the sufferer, nor hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him.
26 In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him.
27 Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever!
28 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the nations of the nations will bow down before You,
29 For the kingdom is the Lord's, 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.
