“Have mercy on me, O God”: when and how to read Psalm 50

Prophet David from the prophetic rank. Approx. 1654 89 × 68 cm. Yaroslavl Historical, Architectural and Art Museum Reserve

What does Psalm 50 “give” to a person who reads it regularly? What do the phrases mean: “according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity” and “deliver me from bloodshed”; What is hyssop with which the worshiper asks to be sprinkled? Archpriest Georgy Gorodentsev explained everything spiritually important, curious and strange contained in the text of the psalm line by line and intelligibly.

Who wrote Psalm 50 and when?

This psalm was written by the prophet and psalmist David in the days when he was already established on the throne of the kingdom of Israel. At this time, the sorrows that he had previously had from King Saul became a thing of the past. And David, now a king himself, apparently relaxed in his spiritual life . Therefore, when he once climbed onto the roof of his Jerusalem palace and saw a naked woman bathing, instead of looking away and expelling the lustful thought from his heart, he sent a messenger to her. And even after learning that she was married to his own military leader Uriah, he still did not abandon his fornicating plan, which developed into adultery with Bathsheba (that was the name of this woman).

David and Bathsheba. Painting c. John the Baptist in Tolchkovo. Yaroslavl. 1694-1695

From this she conceived a child, and David, in order to hide his sin , summoned Uriah to Jerusalem. Who before that, as a military leader, fought on the borders of the kingdom with foreigners. However, he, like a real warrior, did not want to have a relationship with his wife during the war.

But David was unable to hide his adultery in such a way. To which he added an even more serious sin, ordering that Uriah, who had returned to war, be placed in the most dangerous place, and then retreat, leaving him alone against an entire army of enemies. And so Uriah died heroically on the battlefield, and the previously so righteous David added to the grave sin of adultery the even more grave sin of murder!

For this he was denounced by the prophet Nathan, sent by God. First, it was trivia, telling that two people lived in the same city: a rich one and a poor one. The first had many flocks of sheep and other domestic animals, but the second had only one little lamb, which he loved very much, and she was like a daughter to him. But when a stranger came to the rich man, for dinner he ordered not a sheep from his flock to be slaughtered, but a poor man’s sheep.

Prophet Nathan denounces David. Parisian Psalter

And when the king, outraged by this injustice, exclaimed that this rich man deserved death, Nathan said to him:

"You are that person."

And he pronounced before him a terrible prophecy from the Lord:

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “I have anointed you king over Israel and delivered you from the hand of Saul. I have given you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms. I have given you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this were not enough, I would give you even more. Why have you neglected the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife as your wife. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Therefore the sword will never depart from your house, since you despised Me and took the wife of the Hittite Uriah as your wife.”

(2 Kings 12: 7-10).

Psalm of David No. 50

Psalm 50 - text with emphasis and translation How Psalm 50 was written Explanation and brief interpretation of the psalm

PSALM 50 - TEXT WITH EMPHASIS AND TRANSLATION

Psalm No. 50 (with Glory) listen:

KATHISMA 7

Glory:

HOW PSALM 51 WAS WRITTEN AND WHAT IT MEANS

Psalm 50 is a very famous prayer of repentance. It was compiled by the prophet David, the creator of the psalms, after the prophet Nathan came to him and convicted him of a terrible sin - that because of his attraction to a woman he sent a man to certain death.

The events that preceded the writing of this psalm are described in the 2nd book of Kings (chapters 11 and 12). One day David saw a beautiful woman named Bathsheba and desired her as his wife. But at that time she was married to a man named Uriah, he was in the army of David that was fighting at that time. In the upcoming battle with the Ammonites, by order of David, Uriah was placed in the most dangerous place, where he was killed. Only David and the military commander to whom he gave such an order knew about this. After the death of Uriah, David married Bathsheba; this marriage did not seem strange to anyone; soon the king himself forgot about his sin. A year later, their son was born, and then the prophet Nathan appeared to David from God and in a conversation told a parable: In one city there lived a rich man who had large herds and a poor man who had only one sheep, which he loved and even fed from his own hands. One day a guest came to the rich man and he decided to treat him, but he did not want to stab his sheep and forcibly took the sheep from the poor man and treated his guest. After this story, Nathan asked:

“What judgment will you pronounce, O king, on this cruel rich man?”

In response, David said that of course death, and the poor man should be rewarded.

After these words, the prophet Nathan said that David pronounced this judgment for himself and conveyed to him what the Lord God said:

I made you king over Israel, delivered you from the hands of Saul, and gave his whole house and all his kingdom into your power. And if there was anything else you lacked, I would have given you everything according to your desire. What did you do? Despite all these good deeds of Mine, you despised the word of God, trampled His Law and committed the greatest crime: you killed Uriah the Hittite in order to take possession of his wife. Here is your punishment for this: your son by Bathsheba will die

The prophet's reproof awakened David from his sin; he realized his wrongdoing and desperately repented of it. We now know this repentance and prayer from God for mercy as the penitential psalm, which all Christians still pray daily.

EXPLANATION AND BRIEF INTERPRETATION OF PSALM 50

Ps.50:3 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Your mercies, blot out my iniquity. David, after being exposed by Nathan, realized with horror his sin and he begins his first words of repentance with a plea for mercy. From the Lord, David received the gift of prophecy and many other mercies; he, as a righteous man and the chosen one of God, is all the more aware of his guilt before God.

Ps.50:4-5 Above all, wash me from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin: for I know my iniquity, and I will take away my sin before me.

completely wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. This especially means here: “many times, many times.” Omyy means: “wash away, wash away.” David asks God to wash away from him the dirt that has blackened his soul. The sinner already knows from Nathan that the Lord had mercy and forgiven him, but this is not enough for him - he begs the All-Merciful God to wash away all the filth from himself. And not just once, but especially (many times) he would have washed him from iniquity and thus completely cleansed him from the sin of adultery and murder. Therefore, I pray to You, Almighty God, to wash me with Your grace: instead of water You have all-purifying grace, instead of blood from the sacrifice of offerings with which we cleanse our houses, You have the all-cleansing blood of Your Son, in whom I wait, in whom I believe, whose blood will wash away the sins of the whole world, You also have the Holy Spirit, the all-purifying One, You Yourself, in Your omnipotence, can cleanse me from my sin, therefore with bitter tears I pray to You: have mercy on me! Because I know my crimes, and my sin is constantly (bearing out) before me: that is why, O God, I pray to You. I always remember my sin, I see my lawless act with Bathsheba, in front of my gases all the time it is as if unfortunate Urius is standing, pierced by an arrow, I see how he cries out for revenge on me.

Ps.50:6 You alone have I sinned and done evil before You: so that You may be justified in Your words and overcome, so that You may never judge.

I have sinned against You, the One, and done evil before You, so that you may be justified in Your words and win if they enter into court with You. In his confession, David admits that he understands against whom he committed this sin, saying: It was against You alone, Lord, that I sinned and committed this evil against You. Every sinner, when he takes away from someone, for example, property, his honor, work or health, sins not only against this neighbor, but also against God and against himself. With these deeds he defiles his soul and body with envy, anger, fornication, malice and other vices. So David, having sinned against the Lord, sinned against Uriah, his wife and against himself, desecrating his soul. There was no human judgment over David, who was a king; no one on earth could demand justification from him, no one except the Judge alone. Therefore, David says: I have sinned against You alone, and before Your eyes I have done a great evil, which no one in the world except You can correct; but You are righteous in Your word (you are justified in all Your words) and pure in Your judgment. You have already pronounced judgment on me through Nathan the prophet. I deserve this punishment and I deserve even more punishment, so I see justice, truth in your words. You win, you will never judge, i.e. when You pronounce Your judgment on me.

Ps.50:7-8 Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, Thou hast loved the truth, Thou hast revealed to me Thy unknown and secret wisdom.

For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. For behold, You have loved the truth; You have revealed to me the hidden and secret things of Your wisdom. Confessing, David continues that he was conceived in his mother’s womb with iniquities, he was born in sin, i.e. from the very beginning of his life he was a sinner. He says: You are just and Your judgment is just, because You love the truth, but I have been a sinner since birth. I beg you for mercy and do not justify myself before you, but you yourself revealed to me the secret of original sin, destined for redemption by the blood of the Only Begotten Son of God. Why did you reveal it to me? Because You loved the truth, the unknown (not known to anyone) and You showed me the secret wisdom of Yours. In his last words, David says that, as a prophet, the eternal Divine secrets, hidden for ordinary people, were revealed to him (Rom. 14:24; Eph. 3:9).

Ps.50:9-10 Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Give joy and gladness to my hearing; humble bones will rejoice.

You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; wash me, and I will become whiter than snow; let me hear joy and gladness, and my weakened bones will rejoice. Hyssop is a spicy, fragrant plant that grows in the mountains and on old walls. It served as a symbol of cleansing; because of its cleansing properties, it was used for sprinkling the blood of the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:22), for cleansing lepers (Lev. 14: 4, 6, 52), in the preparation of water of cleansing, specially sanctified, and for sprinkling with this water (Num. 19:6, 9, 18). In the Old Testament rite of purification, the priest used the sprinkling of hyssop to cleanse someone who was considered unclean. In addition to this ritual, David also speaks about washing: wash me; and I will be whiter than snow, i.e. Wash me so that I am cleaner, whiter than snow. After his prayers, David would like to know that he is truly forgiven, that his sin is cleansed and his conscience would be calm: I know, as the prophet David says, that You, my God, can cleanse and wash away my sin, but how will I know about this? I can only know this when my soul feels inexplicable joy. Let me hear and feel this joy: give joy and joy to my hearing, i.e. rejoice and rejoice me with the news that You have cleansed my sin, and then even my very bones, now depressed (humble) by sin, will rejoice: the humble bones will rejoice.

Ps.50:11 Turn away Your face from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities.

Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. The sins of David’s vice are disgusting to God and therefore he begs the Lord not to look at them: turn Your face away from my sins, so that You will never see them, and cleanse all my iniquities, blot them out from Yours. eternal memory as if they had never existed at all, so that neither I nor anyone else could remember them.

Ps.50:12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew the Right Spirit within me. As long as the heart is blackened by sins, life will be difficult, and all efforts to correct it will be in vain, only minor changes are possible. Without God's help it is impossible to heal a sick soul and glue a heart broken by sins to pristine purity. And therefore, David prays not for renewal of the heart, but for the granting of purity of heart and the revival in his soul (in the womb) of the spirit of righteousness that he had before - he prays that the Lord will make a complete and complete correction of the abilities of his soul damaged by sin, mind, will and heart.

Ps.50:13-14 Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit.

Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Sovereign Spirit. David's predecessor on the throne, King Saul, was rejected by God and deprived of His support. And David understands that by his act he himself is worthy of the same sad fate, his sin can also entail this rejection, so the prophet begs: Lord my God! Do not reject me, do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me, as you took It from others who angered You with their iniquities. Do not reject me and do not take away the Holy Spirit, without which man is dead. The Lord, through the Holy Spirit, always helped David in all his affairs, without this help David is nothing and he clearly knows this. If You, Lord, return to me this Spirit, which left me from the moment of my iniquity, then at the same time you will return to me the joy of my salvation, I ask - confirm this Spirit in me, so that, as before, it would guide me, my heart , by will and word, would reign in my soul. The most important reward now for David is continued communication with the Holy Spirit.

Ps.50:15 I will teach the wicked your way, and the wicked will turn to you.

I will teach the wicked your ways, and the wicked will turn to you by their sin. David set a bad example for his subjects; he understood that everyone already knew about this offense and only by his example of a righteous life could he change their sinful way of thinking about themselves. He, as it were, takes sinners on bail before God and asks them to have mercy not only on himself, but also on them for their sinful thoughts. After all, they were tempted by the example of David, he himself asks for mercy on them and undertakes to help return sinners to the path of righteousness: I will teach the wicked in Your way, and the wicked (sinners) will turn to You. Those. when You, after cleansing me from sin, give me again the opportunity to live on the righteous path, then I myself will teach all sinners like me and show the righteous path. And then these wicked ones will follow my example and also turn to You with repentance.

Ps.50:16-17 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation: my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise.

Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, You will open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. And again David remembers his sin, and again prays for forgiveness of the sin of the innocently shed blood of Uriah. Anyone who knows about this can point David to this blood; he definitely needs to free himself from the heavy burden: Deliver me from blood, O God, God of my salvation, i.e. God, my Savior, wash away this crime (bloodshed) from me, and then: my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness, i.e. my tongue will express the joy of Your justification of me in this grave crime. After all, without God’s justification, David will not be able to praise the Lord: praise from the lips of a sinner is an insult to God, and therefore I do not dare to exalt You until you free my tongue by freeing me from blood (sin). Then open my lips, and my lips will joyfully proclaim Your praise.

Ps.50:18-19 For even if you had desired sacrifices, you would have given them; burnt offerings do not please you. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: a contrite and humble heart God will not despise.

For if You had desired sacrifice, I would have given it; you will not be pleased with burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. In the Old Testament Church, sacrifices from “clean” animals were accepted - bulls, cows, sheep, etc. The animal was brought to the altar of the temple, and the priests, with the help of the Levites, slaughtered the animal and shed the blood near the altar and on the floor in front of the sanctuary. Then the victim was burned in the fire. If the sacrifice was a cleansing one, the carcass was burned completely, this was called a burnt offering. And if some parts were burned, for example the heart or liver, then this was called a thanksgiving sacrifice, and some parts of the animal were given to the priest. This is what David says: If You, Lord, were pleased and needed sacrifices (as if You would have desired sacrifices), I would have brought them to You (I would have given them), but You do not want them (You do not favor burnt offerings). After all, we are talking about sacrifices in the form of animals. But in fact, God, first of all, needs heartfelt repentance and humility: a sacrifice (pleasing) to God is a broken spirit, i.e. spiritual contrition about the sins committed, because God does not reject only a humble and sincerely contrite person about his sins: God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. The Prophet David says that only material sacrifices, without the human soul of the one who makes them, are not needed by God. Nothing has changed today, even the largest and most expensive candle, lit without true love and faith, will not bring any benefit.

Ps.50:20-21 Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then you will be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the wave offering and the burnt offering: then they will lay the bullock on Your altar.

Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be erected; then You will graciously accept the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and burnt offerings, then they will lay bulls on Your altar. Please - means: “be kind, do good”; favor means the same thing as mercy. Next, David prays for the holy Mount Zion and for holy Jerusalem. He, as a prophet, knows that someday near this mountain the greatest sacrifice will be made, the Son of God will suffer for our sins, and Jerusalem itself will become the main city from which faith will begin to spread, where the Church will be born. Blagovolishi - “you will show favor, show attention, or accept with pleasure”; the sacrifice of righteousness means the same as the sacrifice of justification (sacrifice for sin); heaping offering and burnt offering are different types of sacrifices (more details in v. 18). The altar in the Old Testament Church was the name given to the altar on which sacrifices were made to God. When You have blessed Mount Zion with Your mercy, please Zion with Your favor, and when You have provided protection to Jerusalem, then You will be pleased (please the sacrifice of righteousness) sacrifices and burnt offerings offered in the temple; then they will bring not small animals of little value to the altar dedicated to You, but large bulls and bulls (then the bulls will be placed on Your altar), and all these sacrifices, as educational ones, will be pleasing to You for the sake of that great sacrifice for which the Lamb of God, Your Only Begotten Son, will give Himself here, in Jerusalem, for the sins of all of people.

The Church recommends this great prayer of repentance, the strongest of all the psalms, for daily reading. Using King David as an example, as someone who sinned and later repented of his sin, this psalm shows what love for God and for righteousness should be. Even after committing a grave sin, one must not despair; the most important thing in this case is repentance.

Having committed a grave sin and being punished by God for it, David deeply humbled himself and through this humility returned the love of God to himself. The fallen but risen David became more dear to God, became even more attached to Him with faith and love, having learned from experience that without the protection and protection of God, even the greatest righteous man can fall deeply. We are sinful people, and every great sin we have committed leads us rather to despair than to repentance. He who rarely sins deeply and quickly repents, and a person mired in sins, over time, as his sins increase, becomes more insensitive, unrepentant, and desperate. We see the first in the face of David. As soon as the prophet convicted him of a crime, David immediately surrendered to the deepest, bitter, extreme repentance. We see the second in general in public. How many people sin, how many they commit the most terrible crimes, but they try to hide their vices in their souls, they are not ashamed of their ugliness, they do not consider it necessary to repent, to repent sincerely and sincerely. We seriously offend God and grieve Him, but we consider words alone, a temporary visit to church, a cold and insensitive confession of sins sufficient for repentance. But for others, this type of repentance does not exist. Even death itself does not frighten us, it will not force us to bring true repentance - the kind of repentance that David brought. Let us use the example of David, the image of his repentance, so that we too may receive forgiveness for our sins, so that our souls may be white as snow, so that we too may receive the Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints.

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Why is it called repentant?

And in response to this denunciation and threatening prophecy, the holy King David showed his characteristic piety. After all, let us remember from the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition how the wicked kings dealt with such accusers?! At best, they subjected the prophets who threatened them to severe corporal punishment and imprisonment, and at worst, they executed them.

But this is not what the pious King David did. He humbly accepted this terrible prophecy. After him, in tears, ashes and sackcloth, he repented before God. The fruit of such tender poetic repentance was Psalm 50, which was then composed by the psalmist David.

For this, God reduced his punishment. So he avoided what he himself unwittingly predicted for himself, i.e. of death. But he did not escape this punishment completely. This is how his first son died from Bathsheba, then enmity began between his other sons, with one killing the other. When David forgave the murderer, he plotted against him and temporarily overthrew him from the throne. However, this rebellious son soon suffered a violent death.

Death of Absalom (German miniature, 14th century)

From this we, Orthodox Christians, can learn that with sincere repentance before God for our even grave sins, they are forgiven us and there will be no punishment for them in the afterlife. Like the psalmist David, who in due time (on the Resurrection of Christ) together with other Old Testament righteous people entered the Kingdom of Heaven.

But the punishment for these grave sins on earth and after our repentance is not completely canceled, but only diminished. As it was with King David in his earthly life

.

We can draw another edifying conclusion by observing in this entire biblical story the action of God’s Providence , which helps every good, and the evil that occurs through deviation from good, stops or directs to good consequences. The Lord did not stop David’s sin, for example, by striking him with illness or something else. But He directed this fall to good consequences, if only because the repentant king composed this penitential psalm to help all those who repent. And the wise Solomon was born to David from Bathsheba (cf. Matt. 1: 6).

Luca Giordano. The court of King Solomon, 17th century.

Main theme

Sincere repentance of a person who has gravely sinned, but who has realized his sin and repented of it, is the main theme of this psalm. So David, in some justification, refers to our common sinfulness passed down from our forefathers, i.e. to original sin. Although he understands that it is impossible for him to be justified at God’s court. But the sinner king sees his main hope and hope in the mercy of God. The only way through which he hopes to receive forgiveness.

Peculiarities

The main spiritual feature of Psalm 50 is that, being repentant, it represents that virtue which in Orthodox asceticism is called lamentation. grace lost due to sin and the wall that arose because of this between sinful man and God...

Interesting fact

Therefore, spiritually this psalm evokes sadness, unlike the vast majority of psalms, which, on the contrary, help to overcome sadness and despondency. The Holy Fathers advise reading the Psalter precisely during the attack of these last passions.

Only the sadness that is hidden in Psalm 51 is fundamentally different from that which is passion and with which we should fight. For the latter is sorrow for the world, and the first is sorrow for God. And as the Apostle Paul says:

“For Godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation, but worldly sorrow produces death.”

(2 Cor.7:10).

Accordingly, this spiritual difference between Psalm 50 and the rest looks so outwardly that, if we use musical concepts, it seems to sound “in minor,” when the rest of the psalms are “in major.”

Psalm 50 in Orthodox and Catholic worship

In Orthodox worship , this is the most frequently used psalm. It reads:

• in front of a row of canons;
• in the rite of confession;
• at matins;
• this is one of the three psalms of the third hour;
• as a secret prayer, it is read by the clergy at the liturgy before the Great Entrance

Two verses of this psalm are also recited by the priest at the Eucharistic Canon.

In Latin Rite Catholic worship, the first verses of Psalm 50 (Ps. 50:1–4) are read or sung:

• during the Sunday liturgy during the initial rites of the Mass;
• often they are combined with sprinkling parishioners with blessed water;
• sung between the first and second biblical readings;
• selected verses of the psalm are used as antiphons during Ash Wednesday services
• in the Liturgy of the Hours, the psalm is part of Matins, where it is read every Friday

The psalm is often used in individual prayer practice, especially during Lent.

Line by line interpretation of Psalm 50

Inscription of Psalm 50:

“In the end, a psalm to David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, when he went to Bathsheba, Uri’s wife.”

The meaning of this inscription is clear from the above. Convicted of his sin by the prophets Nathan, David wrote this repentant psalm.

1 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity.”

Any sinner, including King David, has no justification in himself. But he can only hope for the mercy and bounty of God.

2 “Wash me above all from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

For only God can wash away our iniquities and cleanse our sins through our repentance.

3 “For I know my iniquity, and bear away my sin before me.

4 I have sinned against You alone, and have done evil before You, so that You may be justified in Your words and overcome, and never judge You.”

David is aware of his sin and knows that he alone is to blame for it. Therefore, he is not going to justify himself and sue God, as many unrepentant sinners do, not knowing that the Lord will always defeat them at such a trial!

5 “Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins.”

David was born not from fornication, but from chaste parents who were legally married. Therefore, the lawlessness and sin in which he was born is original sin, transmitted from the first parents to all people.

6 “For Thou hast loved the truth, Thou hast revealed to me Thy unknown and secret wisdom.”

But despite the original sinfulness of man, the love of truth remained in him. And David, as a psalmist, was even more honored to know many of the mysteries of God.

7 “Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

Hyssop is a certain plant (which one is currently unknown) used in Old Testament worship. Usually, bunches of this plant, dipped in the blood of sacrificial animals, were sprinkled or anointed on people, as well as sacred objects, in the rite of consecration. This is what David asks in a figurative sense, asking the Lord to cleanse him from sin and make him whiter than snow.

8 “Give joy and gladness to my hearing; humble bones will rejoice.”

Here we are talking about spiritual hearing, i.e. the feeling of liberation from sin, which is given to every sincerely repentant sinner.

9 “Turn away Your face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquities.”

Repetition of previous requests. Repeating something useful is always useful in itself.

10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb.”

Our passions nest in the heart. Therefore, David asks the Lord to cleanse his heart from these passions, for only He can do this. And by this a person can justify before God, i.e. acquire in oneself the “spirit of rights.”

11 “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

Rejection of a person for sins from the face of God deprives such a rejected person of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Why does David ask the Lord not to take this grace away from him? Considering that he wrote this blessed psalm at the same time, one can understand that the Lord did not deprive Him of His grace.

12 “Reward me with the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit.”

The grace of God abiding in man is the guarantee of his salvation. This is what makes him master of passions. Why does David call the Holy Spirit the “Sovereign Spirit.”

13 “I will teach the wicked your way, and the wicked will turn to you.”

Like the psalmist and the king, i.e. the shepherd of many people, this grace of the Holy Spirit is necessary for David not only for personal salvation, but also for bringing others to salvation, even the lawless and wicked.

14 “Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness.”

Literally, David asks the Lord to forgive him his most serious sin - the lawless murder (shedding of blood) of Uriah. In a figurative sense, we Christians all sin before the Blood of Christ when, having received Holy Communion, we go to sin again. Therefore, reading this psalm, we ask you to save us from this and the punishment for it.

15 “Lord, you have opened my mouth, and my mouth will declare your praise.”

David, who repents, feels God's forgiveness. Therefore, He asks Him Himself to put worthy praise into the mouth of the psalmist.

16 “Even if you had desired sacrifices, you would have given burnt offerings, but you would not be pleased.” 17 A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a contrite and humble heart, God will not despise.”

David understands that the sacrifices of bulls and goats in themselves cannot be pleasing to God. But, as the Venerable Simeon the New Theologian says on this occasion, there are only two sacrifices pleasing to Him: the Sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross and the contrite and humble heart of a repentant person.

18 “Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. 19 Then you will be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the wave offering and the burnt offering: then they will lay the bullock on Your altar.”

In a literal sense, this meant the actual architectural and fortification creation of Jerusalem, which was rebuilt by David. As well as the future construction of the Jerusalem Temple, where the Old Testament sacrifice was offered to God.

Jerusalem Temple

In a figurative sense, we are talking about the future stay of a Christian in spiritual Jerusalem. And to his aforementioned sacrifice in the form of a contrite and humble spirit.

We read the Psalter. Psalm 50

Conversation with Archpriest Alexy Ladygin about the Psalter.
– Dear brothers and sisters, we will analyze one of the most famous and beloved psalms - the 50th, where the psalmist David brings repentance to God and teaches each of us correct repentance, correct prayer and correct communication with God. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity.” The psalmist David turns to God after committing a sin and after the prophet Nathan rebuked him. David strives to improve, sin torments him, and he turns with deep words to God so that the Lord would have mercy on him, so that he would forgive him according to his great, ineffable mercy, realizing that it is impossible to simply receive forgiveness for the iniquity that he committed.

“Wash me above all from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Several times the psalmist turns to God with words about lawlessness and sin. What is lawlessness? This is the untruth that he committed, this is a violation of the Law, and he calls this act both lawlessness and sin. It is from this that he asks the Lord to deliver him, so that He will have mercy on him and not remember his sin.

“For I know my iniquity and bear away my sin before me.” The psalmist David keeps sin before his eyes, it torments him, and asks the Lord to deliver him from sin, since it does not give him peace, does not give him the opportunity to purely communicate with God.

“I have sinned against You alone, and I have done evil before You, so that You may be justified in Your words and overcome, and never judge You.” The psalmist David realizes that he has committed a sin against God. As a king, he is not responsible to anyone for his actions, he is not accountable to his people for his actions, but he is, of course, responsible to God. God gave him the Holy Spirit, the special gift of prophecy and, despite the fact that he sinned, did not take this gift away from him. But if he does not repent, then in the future something will happen to him that will not only take away the grace of the Holy Spirit from him, but will also generally leave him without any care and concern on the part of God Himself. David wants to justify himself before God because he did not fulfill the words of God, and God has the right to judge him, because He gave him great gifts. And for these gifts he must be a model and an example, he must fulfill his word. What is the word of God? Of course, God's Law. But David did not fulfill it.

“Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins.” The psalmist seems to want to justify himself a little before God in the fact that he committed a sin not because he was bad or evil, not because he sought to direct his will towards evil, but because he is a weak person. And the weakness is not because he did not train himself in the feat of fasting, prayer and good deeds, but because human nature is weak, which we inherited after the Fall from the sinful Adam, who knew a woman. David commits this sin not because it is unnatural, but because it is a kind of attraction for the sake of the continuation of the human race, but he understands that he took a completely unrighteous path and therefore sinned. He inherited sin, which has been transmitted to man since the fall of Adam.

“For Thou hast loved the truth, Thou hast revealed to me Thy unknown and secret wisdom.” Of course, the psalmist David worries and says that he loved the truth given to him by God, but did not follow Him, and this is where the whole difficulty lies. And he did not appreciate the wisdom that the Lord revealed to him, and the gift that he gave, he fell into sin, but God does not take away this wisdom and this gift from him, but they can be taken away, because he fell into the filth of sin, and this prevents him from living.

And further the psalmist David asks God to deliver him from filth:

“Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Hyssop is an herb from which a tincture was made to wash away the filth of a leper so that infection would not come from him. And the psalmist David compares himself to a leper. That is, a person filled with sin is filled with spiritual leprosy. And he asks the Lord to heal him, to sprinkle him with hyssop, that is, to take away this sin from him, to completely heal his sinful wounds, so that his soul becomes bright and pure. And only then can he be filled with joy and joy.

“Give joy and gladness to my hearing; humble bones will rejoice.” Now he cannot rejoice while in sin, and he will be filled with joy only when the Lord delivers him from sin. What is the severity of sin? The psalmist says that this heaviness is so strong that “the bones of the humble will rejoice” (after being freed from sin). What are these humble bones? Who do not have the opportunity to do something freely. The Holy Fathers say that by “bones” here we must understand the whole body, the whole being of the psalmist David, he is really under the weight of this sin, he cannot straighten up, the bones are in constant tension. And the weight of sin is like a physical weight: if you put a huge load on a person, he will bend, he can barely move... When we have the weight of sin, we really experience a state of heaviness, not only spiritual, but also physical. And when a person confesses, how much relief he receives! He receives inner joy, not only peace, but also physical lightness.

One person told me that he came to the elder for confession and thought about how he could repent of his sins, expecting the elder’s strong reprimand. And when the elder accepted confession and lovingly healed all his wounds, he left the church and felt such physical lightness in himself that it was as if he was not walking on the earth, but above the earth. That is, his body became so lighter that it began to rise above the ground. Indeed, sin chains a person to the earth. And sometimes we, living on this earth, feel so dejected, heavy and think that we are in poor physical condition, that infirmity overwhelms us so much. In fact, this physical state originates from spiritual heaviness; sin chains us to the earth so much that we do not feel the lightness of our earthly life, the ease of perceiving this world.

“Turn away Your face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquities.” The psalmist David asks the Lord to cleanse him from sin so that the Lord does not turn away from him.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb.” What purity of heart does the psalmist David ask for? The Holy Fathers say very clearly what the heart is. In the Holy Scriptures, the heart is understood as the heart not only as an organ of the human body, but also the heart as the human soul. And here David, according to the interpretation of the holy fathers, asks that the Lord make his soul pure: “... and renew the spirit of justice in my womb.” Renew - breathe into me a new spirit, so that I become a new creature, a new person, in order to perform my further service. Here we can also talk about the prophecy where the psalmist says that a person receives such a state in the sacrament of Baptism - a person experiences a completely new feeling when he begins the sacrament of Baptism: he becomes a new creation, a child of God. And the Lord gives a new soul and renews a person’s spirit, giving him the Spirit of God.

“Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” David asks that God not turn His face away from him, that He deliver him from wickedness and vanity, that his mind return again to God.

“Reward me with the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Master Spirit” - give me, Lord, salvation, give me the grace of the Holy Spirit and give me the opportunity to overcome the passions that overcome me.

“I will teach the wicked Your way, and the wicked will turn to You.” Here, as the holy fathers note, the new time is fully spoken of, when the Lord “taught the lawless in Thy way.” Who are called lawless? Those who have not known the Law. This is a multitude of pagan people, already enlightened by the holy apostles with the light of Christ’s truth; they came to know God, the Law and began to live according to the Law of God. They then set an example for all other people. And “the wicked will turn to You.” The wicked are those who never knew God, who lived not according to the Law of God, but according to their own sinful truth. And then the Lord brought them to Himself, when they recognized Him, learned the Law, were enlightened by the light of Christ’s truth, having heard the preaching of the apostles.

“Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness.” The psalmist says that the Lord would deliver him from bloodshed... The Lord delivered him from sin and cleansed him from the innocent blood that he shed. And here also the holy fathers say that “deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation” - this is a request: deliver me from the actions of the enemy of the human race, from the devil. The Lord helps everyone who comes to His Church to get rid of them with His grace. There is no salvation outside the Church, but whoever knows God, who knows the truth, who turns his path to fulfilling the law of God, the Lord allows him to defeat the enemy of the human race.

“Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare your praise.” It says here that the Lord opens the mouth of the heart and outwardly a person can offer praise to God Himself. When can a person open his mouth? When he feels purity and truth behind him. And if he feels sin behind him, he cannot glorify God, turn to Him, thank God. And the psalmist says that only if the Lord cleanses him from this sin will he be able to glorify Him and talk about His great providence and great mercy.

“Even if you had wanted sacrifices, you would have given burnt offerings, but you would not have been pleased.” Again the psalmist David says that sacrifices are not pleasing to God - He does not seek animal sacrifices. He does not need this, God left this to man only so that he would not forget God, so that by some external actions his internal worship of God would be fueled and through external things he would come to internal service. David understands that sacrifice to God is external, and it cannot satisfy God in any way. David never neglected the sacrifice, but did not attach such importance to it as the scribes and Pharisees later did: if you made a sacrifice, it means you are already saved, it means you are doing everything correctly, according to the Law, and therefore you can claim a lot and the very mercy of God. David protects a person from this and warns him: this is not the most important thing, God needs something else. What does God need?

“The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a contrite and humble heart, God will not despise.” This is what God needs - our contrition, humility, repentance, this pleases Him. And if we perform external service to God through sacrifices, but do not work on ourselves, such a person is not pleasing to God. Only the one who brings Him repentance, asks Him for forgiveness of his sins, humbles himself before the right hand of God, puts humility at the forefront in communication with his loved ones, is ready to humbly accept what the Lord gives him, and is gratefully content with what is given to Him. . Everything else is pride; it not only brings no benefit, but plunges a person into great suffering.

“Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then you will be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the wave offering and the burnt offering: then they will lay the bullock on Your altar.” Here it is prophesied that the walls of Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and the psalmist asks that the Lord bless their restoration and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple after the Babylonian captivity. And he says that true sacrifices will be made here, because the Jews could only offer sacrifices to God in the Temple of Jerusalem. Nowhere else was it possible to offer a sacrifice to God for human sins. And to this day, the Jewish people cannot offer sacrifice to God, they do not have a true priesthood, there is no true repentance, since there is no temple.

But it is not only the construction of walls and the construction of the Jerusalem temple that is prophesied here. Here David prophesies that the Lord will give the opportunity to a new time, when God Himself will come to earth and take on human flesh and accomplish the work of salvation. And then the walls of Jerusalem will be built, then He will give a blessing to Zion, then many, many temples will be built. And these Jerusalem walls will become the pillars of the Church, the teachers of the Church - the saints, the shepherds of Christ, the holy apostles, who will not only spread the Divine teaching throughout the entire earth, but will also take care of the purity of preaching, the purity of faith. And in these temples the One Bloodless Sacrifice will be offered for the salvation of the world and all humanity.

The psalmist gives us a very beautiful psalm, this is the most beloved psalm by many, we have been reading it in the Church of Christ since ancient times. He has become close to pagans, Jews, and every Christian living today, for due to our weakness we very often fall into sins and commit untruths. The psalmist, through this psalm, gives us the path of correction, cleansing, repentance, and reconciliation with God. And this is very important for us: he points out that everyone is acceptable to God, God accepts every person from any nation.

And we must understand the amazing words: “I will teach the wicked in Your way.” That is, God gives the opportunity to know Him also to those people who did not know the way of God, who lived outside the Law of God - these are pagan peoples. But today we can say that hundreds and thousands of people live outside the Law of God, even those who received Baptism in childhood. They are also lawless until they come to know life in Christ and accept all the commandments given by the Lord. And when they accept, they will understand and realize, on the one hand, their sinful filth, but, on the other hand, they will already have a path to follow. Yes, they did not live in truth, they were like the pagans, they were lawless and unclean. “And the wicked will turn to You”: they were wicked, but they knew God and now have the opportunity to bring repentance to Him. And this will be a sacrifice to God. Which sacrifice is pure? How do we need to bring repentance to God? God needs to bring repentance through contrition and humility of one’s heart, through internal correction, through what is pleasing to God.

Presenter Alexey Ladygin, archpriest

Recorded by Elena Kuzoro

How to read correctly

It is necessary to read, like any psalm, slowly, measuredly, listening with mind and heart to what is being read. The peculiarity of the 50th Psalm is that the one who honors it should try to experience a deep feeling of repentance. We are all sinners, we just need to see and remember our sins. Then during this reading there will be repentance and repentance!

About the power of prayer

When reading the 50th Psalm, demons are driven away and passions subside for a while. But, of course, it greatly disposes us sinners to repentance, which in itself is very valuable!

In what cases is it read?

When it is read during worship, this was indicated above. In addition, it is in the morning prayers for every day. If sins overcome you, then you can read it much more often than once a day in the morning. For example, you can read forty times.

Why do they read 40 times in a row?

Because forty is considered a sacred number in asceticism. That is how many days the Lord, teaching us Christian asceticism, fasted in the desert. After which this number, meaning the completeness of the ascetic feat, entered our prayer routine.

How does reading Psalm 50 help?

In ascetic warfare with the flesh, the world and the devil, and also promotes our repentance.

Examples of appeal and assistance

Any Christian who brings true repentance brings it as it is written in Psalm 50. So the Venerable Mary of Egypt, although illiterate, repented and was saved, undoubtedly offering her “broken spirit, contrite and humble heart” as a favorable sacrifice to God. Well, then she, enlightened by the Holy Spirit in the desert, knew the Holy Scriptures by heart and quoted them, as Elder Zosima noted. Obviously, she also knew the 50th Psalm, praying with its help.

Holy Venerable Mary of Egypt

The same can be said about all Orthodox ascetics. Who not only brought repentance according to the canons of the 50th Psalm, but knew it by heart and prayed with its help.

Lay People's Life-Changing Prayer Experiences

Such were all saints, especially those who moved from great sins to even greater holiness. This is not only the Venerable Mary of Egypt , but also the repentant ancient persecutors of Christians, who themselves then became Christians and martyrs. And the first of them was Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul. These are robbers and harlots, who later became saints. And of course, in their daily prayer routine, the 50th psalm of repentance always came first!

Archpriest Georgy Gorodentsev

Interpretation of David's Psalm

The Psalm of David, inspired and sincere, was given by the Holy Spirit to a believer as an example of repentance for sins committed. The request for mercy sounds at the beginning of the prayer appeal. Many people say these words very often, but they are useless because they are not accompanied by sincere repentance. Only those who have felt their own sins in their soul and realized that they themselves cannot free themselves from painful and tormenting passions will receive forgiveness. It is at this moment that you can resort to this prayer in order to receive God's mercy.

When a person asks for the salvation of his soul, he must understand that, although the mercy of God is limitless, it also requires the direct participation of the person praying. That is, you need to sacrifice something for your salvation. Having repented of your sins, you need to fill your soul with sincere faith.

Awareness of one's own sins is an important condition for their forgiveness by the Lord. The memory of committed sins is always a warning and reminder, thereby preventing their repetition. Confession of sins is important; this confirms their awareness and repentance for them.

In a prayer of repentance, a person says that a person knows that he is born through sin. This is due to the fact that God initially did not provide for the birth of a person through marriage. But the act of Adam and Eve crossed out his intentions and since then all people are born in sins. But God does not accuse man of this sin, he simply confirms the iniquity of his first parents. Because they sinned, they lost eternal life and fell into corruption. As a result, children also began to be born corruptible, and sin became natural and natural for them. Therefore, we are inclined to sin, although our reason strives to fight evil and, with sincere faith, defeats it.

The prayer repeatedly focuses on asking the Lord to cleanse the soul from sins in order to have hope for the salvation of the soul after death. After cleansing, the soul should be filled with joy and joy. It will become easy for a person to live, since he will be sinless and begin to do good. That is why it is so important that the Lord turns away from all sins committed by man and realized by him.

The prayer of repentance affirms a person’s desire to draw closer to the Lord God, and this is possible when the good news of pardon and blessing comes. At such a moment, a person’s heart is filled with sincere love and faith. Purity of heart can only be achieved through the forgiveness of committed sins by the Almighty. A pure heart reflects the purity of the soul. This prayer phrase emphasizes a person’s desire to find meekness, humility, gullibility, simplicity and selflessness.

When saying a prayer, the praying person asks God not to turn his face away from him, that is, to hear the spoken words and believe in their sincerity. The believer awaits the grace of the Holy Spirit and confirmation of himself in the Name of God.

Listen to Psalm 50:

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Prayer

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy, and according to the multitude of your compassions, cleanse my iniquity.
Above all, wash me from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin; for I know my iniquity, and I will bear my sin before me. You alone have sinned and done evil before you; so that you may be justified in all your words and be victorious, never judge you. Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, you loved the truth, you showed me your unknown and secret wisdom. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. My hearing brings joy and joy; The humble bones will rejoice. Turn your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Reward me with the joy of your salvation and strengthen me with the sovereign spirit. I will teach the wicked your way, and the wicked will turn to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in your righteousness.

Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare your praise. As if you had wanted this sacrifice, you would have given it; You do not favor burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built; then be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering; Then they will place bullocks on your altar.”

Modern translation into Russian (Synodal)

Psalm 50

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Above all, wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity and bear away my sin before me. I have sinned against You alone, and I have created evil before You, so that You may be justified in Your words and overcome, never judge You. Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, Thou hast loved the truth, Thou hast revealed to me Thy unknown and secret wisdom. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Give joy and gladness to my hearing; humble bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Master’s Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your way, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. As if you had wanted sacrifices, you would have given burnt offerings, but you would not have been pleased. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a contrite and humble heart, God will not despise. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then you will be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the wave offering and the burnt offering, then they will lay the bullock on Your altar.

Glory:

Prayer

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity.
Wash me from my iniquity many times, and cleanse me from my sin. For I am aware of my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. You alone have I sinned and done evil before You, so that You will be righteous in Your judgments and will be victorious when You judge. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. But You loved the truth: You showed me the unknown and secret things of Your wisdom. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will become whiter than snow. You will bring joy and gladness to my ears: humble bones will rejoice.

Turn Your face away from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Sovereign Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your ways, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from (shedding) blood, O God, God of my salvation! My tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness.

God! Open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. If You wanted a sacrifice, I would give it, (but) You do not favor a burnt offering. A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then you will be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness, the wave offering, and the burnt offering; Then they will place bullocks on Your altar.

Psalm 50: text of prayer in Russian

As you know, it is very important to understand the spoken prayer text. Therefore, during morning prayer, Psalm 50 is recommended to be read in Russian.

It sounds like this:
“Have mercy on me, Lord Almighty, according to Your great wisdom and mercy, have mercy on me, a sinner and unworthy, according to the multitude of Your mercies and bounties.
 Forgive my sins. I repeatedly ask you to cleanse my soul from sins, for I am aware of the iniquities I have committed and sincerely repent of them. Lord, grant your great forgiveness. Fill my heart with purity and renew the spirit within me. Do not turn your face away from me, having heard my bold request. Grant me hope for the salvation of my soul and strengthen me with your sovereign spirit. Teach me to follow the righteous path and deliver me from torment, so that in my prayers I can glorify Your Holy Name forever and ever. For I know that it is not the sacrifice that you desire, which I am humbly ready to give, but that you favor me. Bless me Thy servant, O Lord. Amen".