Psalm of David 65 in Russian and Church Slavonic languages

Psalm 65 can be considered prophetic, as it predicts the salvation of the Jewish people and their exodus from Babylon, as well as the coming to earth of the Son of God, who will save any person who accepts him into his heart. Only then will true peace and prosperity come. In turn, King David calls on everyone to understand the truth about the power of the Lord and his gifts. The spirit of the prophet is strengthened in humility and grace, for he lived his life according to the laws of God, sometimes committed sin, but never turned away from the Almighty, for only he is able to cleanse from sin. Using the example of David, we see that God is not deaf to people’s prayers, he hears everything and reserves the right to freely help everyone who is firmly on the righteous path.

Text of prayer Psalm 65

The song is of great importance for an Orthodox person. The only question that remains is how to read it. There are two options: in Church Slavonic and Russian. The first version is read in church during a service; parishioners believe that such a reading will help a person connect with God. The second option is usually read at home, but allows you to get the meaning.

In Church Slavonic

In Russian

Christian Psalm 65: interpretation and text in Russian

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Despite the fact that there is no specific indication in the text of Psalm 65 that would give us an idea of ​​​​the time of its composition, most scholars share the opinion that this psalm was written after the victory of the Israeli army over the army of Sennacherib, and, accordingly, refers to the reign of the king Hezekiah. This assumption is based on the fact that Orthodox Psalm 65 is a call to all nations to glorify God for some great good deed, and, given how many disasters the army of Sennarah brought, its defeat could well be perceived by contemporaries as a great miracle of God.

When is it recommended to read the text of the prayer Psalm 65?

According to the interpretation, Psalm 65 in its first part contains a mention of the Jews crossing the Red Sea - an event that is still key in Jewish history. Particular attention should be paid to the phrase “If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me” - it focuses on the fact that prayer should be offered to God with a pure heart and a repentant mood. Reading and listening to Orthodox Psalm 65 online has long been accepted as a means of protecting one’s home and family from evil spirits.

Listen to the video of the Orthodox prayer Psalm 65 in Russian

Read the church text of Psalm 65 in Russian

To the head of the choir. Song. Shout to God, all the earth.

Sing the glory of His name, give glory, praise to Him. Tell God: how terrible You are in Your deeds! According to the abundance of Your power, Your enemies will submit to You. Let the whole earth worship You and sing to You, and sing to Your name, O Most High! Come and behold the works of God, who is terrible in his dealings with the sons of men. He turned the sea into dry land; We crossed the river in our feet, and there we rejoiced in Him. By His power He reigns forever; His eyes are on the nations, so that the rebels will not be exalted. Bless our God, O peoples, and proclaim His praise. He kept our soul alive and did not let our foot falter. You have tested us, O God, and refined us, as silver is refined. You have brought us into a net, you have put fetters on our loins, you have placed a man on our head. We entered fire and water, and You brought us to freedom. I will enter Your house with burnt offerings, I will pay You my vows that my mouth uttered and my tongue spoke in my tribulation. I will offer you fat burnt offerings with the incense of the fat of rams, I will sacrifice oxen and goats. Come, listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth and exalted Him with my tongue. If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me. But God heard and heeded the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who did not reject my prayer and did not turn His mercy away from me.

Church Slavonic text of Psalm 65 from the Psalter

Shout to the Lord, all the earth, sing to his name, give glory to his praise. Shout to God; how terrible are your deeds? in the abundance of your strength your enemies will lie to you. Let the whole earth bow down to you and sing to you, and sing to your name, O Most High. Come and see the works of God, since he is more terrible in counsel than the sons of men. Turn the sea into land, they will walk in the river with their feet; there we will rejoice in him, who rules over the world by his power; His eyes gaze upon tongues; Let those who are overly grieved not exalt themselves. Bless our God, O Gentiles, and let the voice of his praise be heard, who has laid down my soul in my belly and has not let my feet become troubled. As you have tempted us, O God, you have kindled us, as silver is liquified. He brought us into the net, he placed us in sorrow on our backbone. He raised these people to be our heads; passed through fire and water, and brought us to rest. I will go into your house with a burnt offering; I will offer you the prayers that my lips have spoken and my lips have spoken in my affliction. I will offer you fat burnt offerings with the censer, and rams and oxen with the goats. Come, hear, and I will tell you, all who fear God, create greatness for my soul. I cried out to him with my mouth, and lifted myself up under my tongue. If I see untruth in my heart, may the Lord not hear me. For this reason, God heard me and listened to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not left my prayer and mercy from me.

Interpretation

The psalm itself is conventionally divided into two parts. From about verses 1 to 9, David addresses the nations, and the remaining 10-20 to the Lord.

Verse 1-4. Here the prayer refers to all peoples who live in the territory of the event. Their attention is attracted by a prophet speaking about the power of the Most High.

Verse 5-7. The pagans live a wrong life, God's chosen people believe in the truth and therefore the Lord is on their side. David cites the achievements of the Jews in terms of crossing the Black Sea and Jordan, but is deeply outraged that these achievements are attributed to the pagans, among whom the Israelites lived. Loud is the prophet who exalts the Jews and humiliates the pagans.

Verse 8-9. The pagans who make gross mistakes do not know what they are doing. The Prophet points out their erroneous judgments and calls on them to believe in Him and honor the people with respect.

Verse 10-12. Walking according to the will of God, the people of Israel were not afraid of difficulties when great trouble befell the lands of their kingdom. When a powerful enemy came against him, the Jews were not embarrassed and gave a dangerous battle, knowing that the Lord would protect them and save them from harm. And even in moments of terrible danger, the people survived and preserved their heritage.

Verse 13-15. Deliverance was granted with great difficulty. In his prayer, the psalmist expresses his sincere desire to fulfill all his vows through a burnt offering. This way he can get to the city of God and receive His mercy.

Verse 16-20. Here comes the final part of the prayer, where the psalmist tells of the goodness with which his soul was filled. The author is sensitive to his own dialogue with God, who listens to people and grants them his protection.

History of writing

Most researchers share the opinion that Psalm 65 was written after the victory of the Israeli army over the army of Sennacherib, and, accordingly, refers to the reign of King Hezekiah. This assumption is based on the fact that Psalm 65 is a call to all nations to glorify God for some great good deed, and given how many disasters the army of Sennarah brought, its defeat could well be perceived by contemporaries as a great miracle of God.

David calls on the whole earth (humanity) to sing to the God of the universe, for there is no equal to Him in strength, power and justice, and therefore God is terrible for a man who commits outrages, and if not of his own free will, then admonished by the power of Jehovah, all His enemies will submit to Him in the end in the end. The whole earth will bow to the Lord of heaven and earth and will sing Him in their grateful hearts, and this will be right and fair.

65:5-8 Come and behold the works of God, who is terrible in his dealings with the sons of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land; We crossed the river in our feet, and there we rejoiced in Him. 7 By His power He rules forever; His eyes are on the nations, so that the rebels will not be exalted. 8 O peoples, bless our God and proclaim His praise.

David invites us to take a closer look at the works of God for the earth and for His people: His people crossed the sea and the majestic Jordan with their feet along the bottom.

65:9-12 He kept our soul alive and did not let our foot falter. 10 You have tested us, O God, and refined us, as silver is refined. 11 You brought us into a snare, you put fetters around our loins, 12 you put a man on our head. We entered fire and water, and You brought us to freedom.

The fact that God makes attempts to cleanse His people and preserve their lives in many troubles, often caused by human fault, is worthy of admiration and praise. And the fact that God wants to free man from this slave state of sinners through hardening and endurance in temptations is also worthy of admiration. For there is no other method to make us strong and resistant to destruction by sin.

65:13-15 I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, 14 which my mouth uttered and my tongue uttered in my tribulation. 15 I will offer you fat burnt offerings with the incense of the fat of rams, I will sacrifice oxen and goats.

David dreams of fulfilling at the first opportunity all his vows before God, which were given to Him in difficult moments and in search of help. David understands that even with a large number of sacrifices he will not be able to thank God for all His good deeds for man.

65:16,17 Come, listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell [you] what He has done for my soul. 17 I cried to Him with my mouth and exalted Him with my tongue.

Therefore, David also wants to tell about the good deeds of the Lord to all those who fear Him in order to strengthen their faith through his example of God’s help.

65:18 If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me.

An important principle is conveyed by David: God hears the prayers only of those who sincerely believe that they are doing the right thing (the heart does not see iniquity), according to God's principles. For if a person sees lawlessness in his heart, it means that he understands that he is doing something obscene and displeasing to God. God does not listen to such a person, and before he can turn to God, the lawlessness that his heart speaks about must be abandoned and stopped.

This means that if we understand that we are sinning ( we see lawlessness in our hearts) and pray to God, then prayer may be useless.

65:19,20 But God heard and heeded the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer and did not turn away His mercy from me.

But since God heard David and help came to him from God, David realized that there was no lawlessness in his deeds, otherwise God would not have responded to his call. And David is grateful to God that despite all his dissatisfaction with himself, God still did not reject him.

We read the Psalter. Psalm 65

Conversation with Archpriest Alexy Ladygin about the Psalter.
The 65th Psalm has the following prescription: at the end, the song of the psalm of resurrection. We have repeatedly said that when a psalm is written “to the end,” it means that at the end those prophecies about which the psalmist David speaks will be fulfilled. This psalm prophesies the emergence of the Jewish people from Babylonian captivity. Of course, he also prophesies that Christ will come and deliver everyone who accepts Him from captivity to the devil and the enemy of the human race.

“Shout to the Lord, all the earth, sing to His name, give glory to His praise.” The psalmist David calls for the whole earth to glorify the Lord. What does "shout" mean? Don't just glorify God silently in secret prayer in a small, quiet voice. To exclaim is to show the power of your voice. It manifests itself when a person shouts - for example, when a victory occurs (as happens in our city apartments, when we hear neighbors watching a football match rejoice if they score a goal). When a person screams loudly, an exclamation occurs. The psalmist David says here that the whole earth should glorify God not secretly, not in a quiet voice, but in a strong voice - the Lord is the Creator and Maker, He resurrected the human race from curse, sin and death, the Lord brought the Jewish people out of Babylonian captivity, and it is necessary to reward the worthy glory and praise to our Lord.

“Sing then to His name, give glory to His praise” - the psalmist calls on the whole earth to glorify the name of God. This prophecy was fulfilled when Christ came to earth, and the pagans accepted Christianity, and everyone began to glorify God. But how can we glorify God? Sing then to His name. “Demons will be destroyed because of My name.” The name of our Lord Jesus Christ has great significance and tremendous power - it defeats the enemy of the human race, defeats all evil, which is why the Holy Fathers teach us the Jesus Prayer - so that we turn to the Lord God more often and glorify the Lord through His name.

“Give glory to His praise” - glorification, glorification of the Lord: when a person glorifies God, he joins in with Divine grace. Such doxological prayer is not necessary for God - it is necessary for man himself, who through prayer enters into the glory that the Lord has and partakes of the grace that the Lord gives to the person who glorifies His name. Therefore, in akathist chants to one saint or another, we very often come across the words: “I will glorify the one who will glorify My name or the one who will pray and ask Me for help.” Here there is mutual intercession and mutual benefit. On the one hand, we glorify the Lord and exclaim about His name, we give His glory and praise throughout the whole earth and to all people, and on the other hand, we receive from God great mercy and the fulfillment of those petitions with which we turn to the Lord.

“Cry out to God: how terrible are Your works? In the multitude of Your strength Your enemies will lie to You.” “Shout to God” - glorify God and remember how great the Lord is: He works miracles and does the completely unusual with His Providence. When it was necessary to help the Jewish people, what happened to the Egyptian people, to the chosen people who came out of Egyptian captivity? These were truly amazing things. They are also called terrible deeds, because the Lord, through His Providence, reveals the most different things in our lives - we can be surprised at this, we can admire this, we can and should be afraid of this. “In the multitude of Your strength Your enemies will lie to You” - that is, some accepted Orthodoxy not out of love, but out of fear. What fear? Fear of secular power: the secular imperial power was Christian, adopted certain laws, and then both heretics and those who did not believe in God accepted Christ hypocritically. And during the times of the Jewish people, some Hellenes accepted the faith of the chosen people, but again not out of love for God, but in order to receive privileges and save their own lives. That’s why the psalmist David says so amazingly: “Cry out to God: How terrible are Your works? In the multitude of Your strength Your enemies will lie to You.” Of course, some will accept Christianity hypocritically. There should be no hypocrisy in our lives when we communicate with God; we must sincerely and purely present our own hearts to the Lord.

“Let all the earth worship You and sing to You, and sing to Your name, O Most High.” There is some repetition here, but this also needs to be talked about. After all, the psalmist David cries out: “Shout to the Lord, all the earth!”, and here already: “Let all the earth worship You.” Here is David’s prophecy that the whole earth will worship the Lord. Why bow? All pagan nations will accept Christ. The holy apostles dispersed to all ends, preaching the word of Divine truth, and the peoples began to accept Christ, accept holy Baptism and glorify the name of the Lord.

“Let him sing to Your name, O Most High” - glorifying Christ, we glorify the Father, because Christ Himself said: “He who knows Me, knows My Father also. Whoever has seen Me has seen My Father also.” Praise is very important: the psalmist looks into the future and speaks of amazing times when all the people will come and worship and sing to the Lord.

“Come and see the works of God, since he is more terrible in counsel than the sons of men.” Here the psalmist invites us to see how amazing the works that the Lord does are, how deep they are: so that each person, not by some invention, not by the mind of another, accepts faith, but by an intelligent, reasonable, heartfelt faith to accept Christ. Not because someone said it, but because I saw it myself. What did you see? “And you see the works of God, since he is terrible in counsel more than the sons of men”: the Lord works great miracles, they are aimed at making us see the power of God, so that our faith is firm and unshakable. What does the prophet David suggest to see?

“Turn the sea into dry land, they will walk in the river with their feet, and there we will rejoice in Him.” Very important words. In what advice is the Lord terrible? Again it talks about the Egyptian captivity, about how the people came out of Egyptian captivity, how Pharaoh chased after them and how the Lord performed a miracle, dividing the Red (Red) Sea into two halves and how the Jews walked on dry land across the sea. This is truly a great miracle, it is so unique and great that a person who has reason and can talk about these miracles is filled with faith.

What does it mean “they will walk in the river with their feet”? We know that the chosen people carried the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan, which is what is spoken of here, and through which they also passed “like dry land.” But the man from the new people who came to the Lord through Jesus Christ, who glorifies the Lord and follows Him, also has enormous power: they walked on the sea as if on dry land, and through the Jordan. The river was no longer divided, but the Venerable Mary of Egypt walked along the Jordan “like dry land.” The Lord works great miracles for His faithful, not just to perform a miracle, but so that subsequent generations will be strengthened in faith and virtuous life.

“He who rules over the world by His power. His eyes look upon the tongues; let not those who grieve be lifted up within themselves.” Who reigns over the centuries? Of course, here the psalmist David prophesies about Christ, Who rules over this life and rules over eternity and invites everyone into eternity. “His eyes gaze upon nations”—His eyes gaze upon the different nations that the Lord calls to Himself. And here it is said that many will come from those nations who were called pagans, who did not have the true knowledge of God. And the people who had this great gift, this great mercy, will be deprived of true knowledge of God, because they have repeatedly upset the Lord with their unbelief, betrayal of God, and transgression of the commandments. And the most terrible thing that this people did was that they did not accept Christ, thereby showing God the Father that they had not become the people who could enter eternal glory. Therefore, in the prophecy the psalmist calls his people those who grieve - those who bring grief to the Lord within themselves.

Here we can talk about our lives, which should be aimed at ensuring that we, too, do not upset the Lord with our actions, deeds, words, but follow Him: hypocrisy happens when a person seems to recognize the Church, wears a cross, but strives to live according to his own will, and does not do the will of the Heavenly Father. Or a person argues that he has his own understanding of the Church, his own understanding of the Holy Scriptures, that is, he adjusts everything to himself, the way he pleases. Then we, too, will be called a people who grieve the Lord, who do not see that the Lord can both show His mercy and punish, because all evil should not take root, but through patience should be eradicated from our lives.

“Bless our God, O Gentiles, and let the voice of His praise be heard.” When the great deeds done by the Lord are listed, the Power of God is shown, the prophet invites the pagan people to bless and glorify the Lord - so that, having accepted Christianity, they will certainly create a voice of His praise, glorifying their Creator and Creator with all their voices.

“Who put my soul in my belly and did not let my feet be troubled.” It says here that the Lord strengthens the life of everyone who maintains faith, does good deeds and strives to fulfill the commandments of God. The Lord does not allow such a person to “trouble my feet.” What does this mean? There is an expression - “legs don’t move.” But they don’t come only when we don’t have strength, strength, or health. When a person is cheerful, strong, strong, his legs move. In order not to find yourself in a position of illness or infirmity, you need to follow the Lord and do the will of God... “Who laid down my soul in my stomach and did not let my feet become troubled”: history shows us that Adam had such confusion. If he had not sinned, then what he and through him all of humanity experienced would not have happened. The Lord came and eradicated sin from among us, cleansed human flesh and gave us the opportunity to walk with straight, strong and strong feet.

“As you have tempted us, O God, you have kindled us, as silver is liquified. You brought us into the net, you laid sorrow on our backbone.” The Lord sends trials to man. Not only the person who commits sin, but also the righteous suffers all kinds of temptations. To one they are given to correct his life, to another - to strengthen him in virtue.

We know that if a person has not experienced temptations or gone through difficulties, then he can break down under trials that may arise in the last minutes of his life. But the one who has passed the test, temptation in his life, has already strengthened himself in virtue and can correct his life and at the same time not fall into the trials that will subsequently be revealed to him. He who has not gone through trials cannot imagine a virtuous life to God. Therefore, in the lives of many, many people there are trials that purify a person: just as silver is purified through fire from its impurities, so human life is purified and corrected through the trials that a person goes through.

We can give many examples of the lives of saints and reverend fathers who experienced many difficulties and temptations. Let's take, for example, the lives of St. Sergius of Radonezh, St. Seraphim of Sarov - it would seem that in their lives there was nothing for which they had to suffer. Usually, if we see a person who has some temptations or trials, we say that the Lord is sending him such a life and such difficulties for his sins. But why did the Lord send the Monk Seraphim of Sarov to be attacked by two robbers who beat him half to death: he barely reached his cell and was subsequently hunched over? Why did St. Sergius of Radonezh endure both reproach from the brethren and difficulties? More than once he had to leave the monastery in order to maintain peace. The Lord gives all this so that the saints can be strengthened in a virtuous and righteous life.

If the Lord gives someone trials for wrong actions in life, through these trials they are corrected and purified. Man also becomes a valuable metal, like silver, valuable for the Kingdom of Heaven.

“You brought us into the net, you laid sorrow on our backbone.” The psalmist goes on to say that the Lord gives various trials. He explains that all the sorrows or the snares that the enemy of the human race places on his path - he bears all this on his backbone. If we talk about the spine, that is, about our back, then the heaviest things were always carried on it: filled bags, rocker arms, bundles of hay, straw. When the Lord sends trials, it can be very difficult for a person to bear them on his back, but there is no need to give up anything, just accept everything with gratitude. And through this the Lord will give us both His mercy and joy, because He never leaves the one who endures everything with joy and without any grumbling.

“Thou hast raised up men upon our heads, thou hast passed through fire and water, and thou hast brought us to rest.” Previously, there was such a custom: when they defeated an enemy, they stepped on his head as a sign of victory over him. The Lord raised such people. He guides a person through fire and water. It is no coincidence that there is a proverb - “to go through fire, water, and copper pipes,” that is, to go through the great trials that the Lord sends. But then, as the psalmist says, “you brought us into rest,” that is, if you endure all this, the Lord sends you peace.

“I will go into Your house with a burnt offering; I will offer You the prayers that my lips have spoken and spoken with my mouth in my tribulation.” Which house? To the house of the Heavenly Father. If we are talking about the Jewish people, then they entered Jerusalem. If we talk about every Christian, then he will enter the house of the Heavenly Father, and “My Father has many mansions”: here we are talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, where the Lord invites every faithful Christian.

“I will offer you burnt offerings with the censer, and the rams and the oxen with the goats.” The psalmist speaks of the honesty with which the Jewish people should enter Jerusalem and offer fat sheep, oxen and goats - not lame, not dry, because the best should always be offered to God. It is no coincidence that there is a reproof that has entered even our modern life, when they say: “It is in You, O God, that I am not worth it.” And if we keep in mind our inner life, we must offer pure, bright prayers to God, not be distracted by external things that overcome us in this life, but internally focus on prayer when we offer a burnt offering, which means prayer to God.

“Come, hear, and I will tell you, all you who fear God, the greatness of my soul.” The psalmist again invites us to come, hear and see: it is repeated so that we are more attentive.

“I cried out to Him with my mouth and lifted myself up under my tongue.” With his lips he cried out to God. But at the same time, as the psalmist says, “if I see untruth in my heart, let the Lord not hear me” - if I turn to God with prayer, being in anger, then the Lord will not hear me, will not accept me.

But, David continues: “For this reason, God heard me and listened to the voice of my prayer.” God not only heard him, but also provided help: there was no inner malice behind him, and he always resorted to the Lord in prayer in purity and truth.

“Blessed be God, Who has not left my prayer and His mercy from me.” Here the psalmist again glorifies God for hearing pure prayers and showing such a person great mercy.

This is such an amazing psalm, dear brothers and sisters. I think that the consolation and, on the other hand, the direction of our prayer and spiritual life that you and I receive from this is useful for us.

Thank you for being together today, and, God willing, see you again!

Recorded by Ksenia Sosnovskaya