Text of Psalm 107
It is not customary to read prayers in Russian during services in churches. Psalms and, in particular, the 107th, are no exception; they are sung in Church Slavonic. This version of the text is also actively used for private appeals to the Almighty by those laity who understand or study Old Church Slavonic. The rest, to analyze the content and meaning of the song, resort to reading a modern translation of the text.
With accents in Church Slavonic
In Russian
Text of prayer Psalm 107
In Church Slavonic
Song, psalm to David
1 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing and sing in my glory.
2 Arise my glory, arise psalms and harp, I will arise early.
3 Let us confess to You among the people, O Lord, I will sing to You among the nations.
4 For Thy mercy is great above the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds.
5 Ascend into heaven, O God, and throughout all the earth is your glory,
6 For let Thy beloved be delivered: save with Thy right hand and hear me.
7 God said in His holy things: I will be exalted and will divide Sikima, and will measure out the abundance of the villages.
8 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the intercession of my head, Judah is my king.
9 Moab is the bond of my hope; I will lay my boot on Idumea: the foreign women have submitted to me.
10 Who will bring me into the city of enclosure? Or who will guide me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, O God, who has rejected us? And will you not go forth, O God, in our power?
12 Give us help from sorrow, and human salvation is in vain.
13 In God we will create strength, and He will be destroyed by our enemies.
In Russian
Song-psalm of David.
1 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready, I will sing and make melody to my glory.
2 Awake, my glory, awaken, psalter and harp. I'll wake up at dawn!
3 I will praise You among the nations, O Lord, I will sing praises to You among the nations,
4 For great is Your mercy, above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the clouds.
5 Ascend into heaven, O God, and throughout all the earth is Your glory.
6 That Thy beloved may be delivered, save with Thy right hand and hear me.
7 God said in His sanctuary: “I will be exalted and will divide Shechem, and will measure out the valley of tents.
8 Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the defense of my head, Judah is my king;
9 Moab is the font of my hope; I will stretch out my sandals on Idumea; the foreigners have submitted to me.”
10 Who will take me to the fenced city, or who will bring me to Idumea?
11 Is it not you, O God, who has rejected us? And you, O God, will not go out among our armies.
12 Give us help in distress, and human salvation is in vain.
13 In God we will show strength, and He will count our enemies as nothing.
Interpretation
In the Orthodox world, the meaning of Psalm 107 is considered based on the works of St. Athanasius the Great, who lived on earth in 350 AD. A bishop from the Roman Empire believed that the text of this prayer contained a foreshadowing of the coming of the Almighty to the apostates.
- Verses 1 and 2: The author is confident that the glory of Israel came only because his soul was open to the Lord. It is also stated here that to Him he owes his triumph over his enemies, the Edomites.
- Verses 3 to 6: The Psalmist thanks the One Creator for answering his prayer and granting salvation to the Jews.
- Verses 7 to 13: the prophet says that everything that the Jews own, God will divide among the pagans. Here the lines about the division of Shechem, which belongs to the Gentiles, indicate the intention of the Most High to pass on the inheritance of Joseph to those who believe in Him more than others.
Psalm 107 read:
1 Song, psalm to David
2 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing and sing in my glory. 3 Arise my glory, arise to the psaltery and harp, I will arise early. 4 We will confess to You among the people, O Lord, I will sing to You among the people. 5 How great is Thy mercy above the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds. 6 Thou art ascended into heaven, O God, and Thy glory is throughout all the earth, 7 for Thy loved ones may be delivered: save with Thy right hand and hear me. 8 God said in His holy things: I will ascend and divide Sikima, and measure out the abundance of the villages. 9 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the intercession of my head, Judah is my king. 10 Moab is the heap of my hope; on Edom I will put my boot: the foreign women have submitted to me. 11 Who will bring me into the city of enclosure? Or who will guide me to Edom? 12 Is it not you, O God, who has rejected us? And will you not go out, O God, in our strength? 13 Give us help from tribulation, and human salvation is in vain. 14 In God we will create strength, and He will be destroyed by our enemies.
Handwritten Psalter followed with notes. Later insertion. Collection of handwritten books by Archimandrite. Amphilochia. XVI century https://lib-fond.ru
Explanation of Psalm 107.
Ps.107:1. Song. Psalm of David.
"Song of Psalm to David." And this psalm also foretells the return of the Jews and predicts the salvation of the pagans; It has great affinity with the fifty-sixth and fifty-ninth psalms.
Ps.107:2. My heart is ready, O God, [my heart is ready]; I will sing and make praise in my glory.
“My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing and sing in my glory.” We have already said before that the Prophet calls prophetic grace his “glory.” Taking advantage of the sweet singing of prophecy, he says, I will tell You, Master, that my heart is wide and ready to receive Your Divine grace.
Ps.107:3. Arise, psaltery and harp! I'll get up early.
Ps.107:4. I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to You among the nations.
“Arise my glory, arise the psaltery and the harp: I will arise early.” “Let us confess to You among the people, Lord, I will sing to You among the nations.” The Prophet calls himself a psalter and a harp: because the grace of the Spirit, like a musical instrument, spoke to them prophetic sweet singing. Therefore, having aroused himself to the Lord’s chant, he begins speaking again and makes a promise that this will happen early; because he will not alone then lift up the song, but with the multitudes of pagans and nations he will proclaim the Divine song. The word “early” indicates the incarnation of our God and Savior; because with His incarnation the light of truth shone, and in the whole universe, through the lips of all people, blessed David sang and hymned God’s blessings.
Ps.107:5. For Thy mercy is above the heavens, and Thy truth is unto the clouds.
“For Thy mercy is great above the heavens, and Thy truth unto the clouds.” The greatness of Your mercy exceeds the vaults of heaven; The rays of Your truth have penetrated everywhere. And we have already said that David calls the Prophets, Apostles and those worthy of the grace of teaching “clouds”; because they, like some clouds, bring spiritual irrigation to people; From them we learned true dogmas.
Ps.107:6. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be over all the earth.
“Ascend into heaven, O God, and Thy glory be throughout all the earth.” Blessed Habakkuk also said this: “The heavens have covered His virtue, and the earth is filled with His praises” (Hab. 3:3). Blessed David also said this in the eighth psalm: “O Lord our Lord, for Your name is wonderful throughout all the earth, for Your splendor is taken above the heavens” (Psalm 8:2). Therefore, “be exalted” means: show yourself exalted, above all, and let the whole earth know your glory.
Ps.107:7. So that Your beloved may be delivered: save with Your right hand and hear me.
“So that Thy beloved may be delivered, save with Thy right hand, and hear me.” The salvation of those who are worthy of Your assimilation will show all people Your power. Therefore, accept my prayer, and stretch out Your right hand. The Prophet calls good effectiveness “Right”.
Ps.107:8. God said in His sanctuary: I will triumph, I will divide Shechem and measure the valley of Succoth.
“God spoke in His Holy One,” that is, by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit.
“I will ascend and divide Sikima, and measure out the abundance of the villages.” What the Prophet asked for was done. Afterwards he said: “God ascend into heaven”; then the Master answers, saying: “I will ascend”; then he shows the method: “I will divide Sikima”; and this is the city primarily given to Joseph. But I will also “fill” the former desert, in which there were booths of shepherds, with inhabitants as before, and I will make sure that it will be divided among those who return.
Ps.107:9. Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, Ephraim is the fortress of my head, Judah is my scepter.
“Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim is the intercession of my head: Judah is my king.” Not only Manasseh, but also his country, I will appropriate for myself. For Gilead is the name of a place, and Manasseh is the name of a tribe. But I will also return Ephraim to his former power; I will also make Judah reign over all the tribes; because, upon returning from captivity, the tribes remained undivided, but Zerubbabel ruled over both. And in its own and true sense, the Lord Christ, descended from Judas in the flesh, reigns over all creation.
Ps.107:10. Moab is my washbasin, I will stretch out my boot on Edom, I will shout over the land of the Philistines.”
“Moab is the bond of my hope: on Idumea I will lay my boot: the foreign women have submitted to me.” I will give my people such strength that they will prevail over foreigners and will accept the Moabites and Edomites as subjects. But we explained this in more detail in Psalm fifty-nine.
Ps.107:11. Who will lead me into the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom?
Ps.107:12. Is it not You, O God, Who has rejected us and who do not go out, O God, with our armies?
“Who will lead me into the city of enclosure? or who will guide me to Edom? “Are you not the God who has rejected us?” The prophet, having predicted these blessings, being filled with delight, wants to see both the devastated city united and the Edomites enslaved by the Jews. But this, he says, no one else is able to grant except You alone, Who has now rejected us and commanded us to be in slavery.
“And God will not go forth in our strength? "And Symmachus translated this: and You, O God, did not precede us in our armies; because we have never been defeated, as soon as You were the leader and led the squad.
Ps.107:13. Give us help in cramped conditions, for human defense is vanity.
“Give us help from sorrow: and human salvation is in vain.” Therefore, stop sorrows, and give Thy help; because it is not possible to get this from anywhere else; all human assistance, without Your assistance, is vain and useless.
Ps.107:14. With God we will show strength: He will overthrow our enemies.
About “We will create strength in God: and He will destroy our enemies.” Therefore, we call on Your providence; With only Your providence for us, we will be able to overcome those who are hostile to us.
Reasons to Read Psalm 107
It is not entirely correct to divide everything conditionally and firmly differentiate. However, Psalm 107 is most applicable when:
