Psalter. Kathisma 16
KATHISMA SIXTH AND TEN.
Psalm 109.
Psalm to David.
1 The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I will make your enemies your footstool. 2 The Lord will send you a rod of power from Zion, and rule in the midst of your enemies. 3 It began with Thee in the day of Thy power, in the brightness of Thy saints, from the womb before the star I gave birth to Thee. 4 The Lord swears and will not repent: You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. 5 The Lord has broken the king at Your right hand in the day of His wrath. 6 He will judge the nations, he will bring about destruction, he will break in pieces the heads of many on the earth. 7 He drinks from the stream along the way, and for this reason he lifts up his head.
Psalm 110.
Alleluia.
1 I will confess to You, O Lord, with all my heart in the council of the righteous and the congregation. 2 Great is the work of the Lord, perfect in all His will. 3 Confession and splendor are His work, and His righteousness endureth for ever and ever. 4 He created His miracles in memory, the Lord is Merciful and Generous. 5 He will give food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever. 6 He will proclaim the strength of his works to his people, giving them the power of a tongue. 7 The works of His hands are truth and judgment, all His commandments are faithful, 8 established forever and ever, created in truth and righteousness. 9 He sent a message of deliverance to His people: His covenant for ever. Holy and awesome is His name. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and understanding is good for all who create. His praise endures forever.
Psalm 111.
Alleluia, Haggeevo and Zechariah.
1 Blessed is the man, fear the Lord; he will greatly delight in His commandments. 2 His seed will be strong in the earth, the family of the upright will be blessed: 3 glory and wealth will be in his house, and his righteousness will endure forever. 4 A light appears in the darkness for the upright, merciful and generous, and righteous. 5 It is a good man to be generous and give; he will order his words in judgment, for he will not move forever. 6 For an everlasting remembrance he will be righteous. 7 He will not fear evil from hearing, 8 his heart is ready to trust in the Lord. His heart being strengthened, it will not fear until it looks upon its enemies. 9 Spend upon the poor, that his righteousness shall endure forever, and his horn shall be exalted in glory. 10 The sinner will see and become angry, he will grind his teeth and melt, the desire of the sinner will perish.
Glory:
Psalm 112.
Alleluia.
1 O children, praise the Lord; praise the name of the Lord. 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever. 3 From the east of the sun to the west is the name of the Lord praised. 4 The Lord is high above all nations: his glory is above the heavens. 5 Who is the Lord our God? Living on high 6 and looking down on the lowly in heaven and on earth, 7 raising up the poor from the earth and lifting up the wretched from the rotting place, 8 making him a prince, with the princes of his people, 9 making him live in abundance. Bring the mother into the house for the children, I am having fun.
Psalm 113.
Alleluia.
1 When Israel came out from Egypt, to the house of Jacob a barbarian people, 2 Judah became His holiness, Israel His province. 3 The sea has seen and flown, the Jordan has returned, 4 the mountains leap up like rams, and the hills like lambs. 5 What is it, O sea, that you have run away? And to you, Jordan, how did you come back? 6 Are the mountains leaping like rams, and the hills like sheep? 7 At the presence of the Lord the earth moved, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turned the rock into a pool of water, and the unmovable into springs of water. 9 Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name, give glory to Your mercy and Your truth. 10 Let not the heathen cry, Where is their God? 11 But our God has done in heaven and on earth whatever He wills. 12 The idols of the tongue are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 13 They are tired and do not speak, they have eyes and do not see, 14 they have ears and do not hear, they have nostrils and do not smell, 15 they have hands and do not touch, they have no nose and do not walk, they do not shout. with your larynx. 16 Let those who do things, and all those who trust in her, be like them. 17 The house of Israel trusts in the Lord: they have a Helper and a Protector. 18 The house of Aaron trusted in the Lord: he is their Helper and Protector. 19 Those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord: they have a Helper and a Protector. 20 The Lord remembered us and blessed us to eat; He blessed the house of Israel to eat; He blessed the house of Aaron to eat; 21 He blessed those who fear the Lord to eat, the small ones with the great ones. 22 May the Lord deal with you, with you and with your sons. 23 Bless you to the Lord, who created heaven and earth. 24 Heaven is the heaven of the Lord, and the earth is given to the sons of man. 25 The dead will not praise You, O Lord, nor will all those who go down to hell, 26 but we who are alive will bless the Lord from now on and forever.
Psalm 114.
Alleluia.
1 I love that the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer, 2 that He incline His ear to me, and in my days I will call. 3 Mortal diseases came upon me, the troubles of hell came upon me, sorrow and sickness came upon me, and I called on the name of the Lord: 4 O Lord, deliver my soul. The Lord is merciful and righteous, and our God has mercy. 5 The Lord protect the children: humble yourself and save me. 6 Turn, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord is good to you. 7 For they will take away my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my nose from creeping. 8 I will please the Lord in the land of the living.
Glory:
Psalm 115.
Alleluia.
1 I believed, and I also spoke, and I greatly humbled myself. 2 But I said in my confusion: Every man is a lie. 3 What shall I render to the Lord for all that I have rendered? 4 I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, 5 I will offer my prayers to the Lord before all His people. 6 The death of His saints is honorable before the Lord. 7 O Lord, I am Your servant, I am Your servant and the son of Your handmaid; You have torn my bonds to pieces. 8 I will devour a sacrifice of praise for you, and in the name of the Lord I will call. 9 I will offer my prayers to the Lord before all His people, 10 in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of you, Jerusalem.
Psalm 116.
Alleluia.
1 Praise the Lord, all nations, praise Him, all people, 2 for His mercy is established upon us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Psalm 117.
Alleluia.
1 Confess to the Lord that He is good, for His mercy endures forever. 2 Let the house of Israel say, For He is good, for His mercy endures forever. 3 Let the house of Aaron say: For He is good, for His mercy endures forever. 4 Let all who fear the Lord say: For He is good, for His mercy endures forever. 5 Out of sorrow I called on the Lord, and heard me into space. 6 The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man does to me. 7 The Lord is my Helper, and I will look upon my enemies. 8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. 9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations have circumvented me, and in the name of the Lord they have resisted them; thorns, and in the name of the Lord I resisted them. 13 I have rejected the mouth, and the Lord has accepted me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my song, and He will be my salvation. 15 A voice of joy and salvation in the villages of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord create power. 16 The right hand of the Lord has exalted me; the right hand of the Lord has created power. 17 I will not die, but I will live, and I will tell the works of the Lord. 18 When the Lord punished me, He did not put me to death. 19 Open the gates of righteousness for me; let me go in and confess to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter into it. 21 We confess to You that You heard me, and You were my salvation. 22 The stone that was built carelessly, this became the head of the corner: 23 This came from the Lord, and is marvelous in our hands. 24 On this day which the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad. 25 O Lord, save, O Lord, hasten. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; let him bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 God is the Lord, and appear to us: make a feast in the frequenting ways of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will confess to You; You are my God, and I will exalt You. Let me confess to You that You heard me, and You were my salvation. 29 Confess to the Lord that He is good, for His mercy endures forever.
Glory:
According to the 16th kathisma, the Trisagion of Our Father: Also troparia, tone 1:
Peace awaits you, my soul, and the Judge wants to reprove your secret and fierce. Do not remain among those here, but precede the Judges crying: God, cleanse me and save me.
Glory: For I am afflicted with many sins and immeasurable wounds, O Savior, I pray to Thy compassion for sin, O Christ: visit the physician of the sick, and heal and save me.
And now: My soul, why are you living carelessly, being lazy? Why are you not concerned about the evil ones you have done in your life? Trying to correct yourself first, even the Lord will not shut the door for you. Mother of God, priests, fall down and cry: Hope of the hopeless, save me, who have sinned many things against You, Most Pure Lady.
Lord, have mercy (40) and prayer:
Holy Lord, living in the Highest, and with Your all-seeing eye look upon all creation, We bow to You, soul and body, and we pray to You, Holy of Holies: stretch out Your hand, invisible from the Holy One Thy dwelling place, and bless us all, and forgive us every sin, voluntary and involuntary, in word or deed. Grant us, Lord, tenderness, grant spiritual tears from the soul, for the cleansing of many of our sins, grant Your great mercy to Your world and to us, Your unworthy servants. For blessed and glorified is Your name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and to the ages of ages, amen.
Text of Psalm 16
Psalm 16 in the church is sung in Old Church Slavonic or, as it is also called, Church Slavonic. It is not prohibited to use such a text for personal prayer, but it must be well understood, which is why many believers prefer to read the song in Russian, in a modern translation.
With accents in Church Slavonic
In Russian
The meaning of Psalm 16
To deeply understand the meaning of the ancient work, Psalm 16 is analyzed carefully, studying the interpretation of its individual verses:
- Verse 1: The prophet, fleeing from enemies, with sincere and pure love for the Lord, turns to Him with a request to delve into his problems. David is right before God, he is not familiar with sinful feelings towards the persecutor and his entourage, his mind is cleared of evil thoughts. The words and thoughts of the future king are equally true.
- Verse 2: David entrusts his own destiny to the Almighty, he is confident that the One Creator will solve his problems fairly. By his example, he calls on Christians, no matter what difficult situation they find themselves in, to believe in the Lord and hope in his mercy.
- Verse 3: The author returns to the theme of the first verse, revealing it completely. His heart turned out to be tempted by the Lord, that is, God made him experienced by testing his servant. He gave the prophet a chance to take revenge on the persecutor. But there was no hatred in his heart to commit such an act. David did not allow the apostates to take Saul’s life when he was sleeping; he responded to evil with good. Modern Christians have to face such a choice, decide whether to succumb to fickle feelings or maintain spiritual purity, cherish its nobility. The choice for a righteous believer is obvious - like gold in a melt without unnecessary impurities, he must avoid temptation, be strong in the face of temptation. Such was David, who did not sin against the persecutor even with a word.
- Verses 5 and 6: The emphasis is on “perfecting God's commandments.” Arguing on this topic, David, realizing that it is difficult for a weak and infirm person to always stand firmly in the face of temptations, asks the Almighty for help. This help, in his opinion, should come through affirmation in the commandments, which are here called “paths.” This part of the work reminds the Orthodox that their prayers are not in vain if they rely on the most important pillars of the Gospel, without deviating from the path of salvation.
- Verse 7: Saul's deeds are revealed to David in a new light. He, according to him, did not act against him personally, but against the plan of the Lord.
- Verse 8: Discourse on the protection of the righteous by God, comparison with the pupil of the eye, protected by the eyelid, eyelashes and eyebrow.
- Verse 9: The author uses a bird comparison, which is common in Scripture. He speaks of the Lord's protection as the light and swift flapping of wings.
- Verses 10 to 12: The future king speaks of his enemies, who become more and more arrogant over time. In their arrogance, they are deprived of pity, forcing David to retreat further and further from his native lands, not wanting, like animals, to see and acknowledge the truth.
- Verses 13 and 14: The author prays to the Almighty to prohibit persecution, trusting Him to choose the method of restoring justice. At the same time, David asks the Lord not to take the lives of his enemies, but to separate them, dispel evil, and force them to surrender.
- Verse 15: The prophet knows that, unlike the apostates, he can retain hope in the blessedness of the Lord, that the Most High will welcome him with open arms when He appears in His glory.
