Lyrics of the song Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me thy commandments, The host of angels were amazed
Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification. The angelic council was surprised, in vain it was imputed to You as the dead, but the mortal fortress, O Savior, was destroyed, and raised Adam with Himself, and freed all from hell. Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification. O disciples, you dissolve the message of peace with merciful tears; Shine in the tomb An angel spoke to the myrrh-bearing women: you see the tomb and understand: the Savior is risen from the tomb. Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification. Very early the myrrh-bearing women went to Thy tomb, weeping, but an Angel appeared to them and said: weeping is the time of the end, do not weep, but cry out the resurrection of the apostle. Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by thy justification. The myrrh-bearing women from the world came to Your tomb, O Savior, weeping, and the Angel spoke to them, saying: Why do you think with the living dead? For God has risen from the grave. Let us worship the Father and His Sons and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity in one being with the Seraphim calling: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, Lord. And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Having given birth to sin, the Virgin, Thou didst deliver Adam, and Thou didst give joy to Eve in sorrow; and having fallen from life to this, Thou didst direct from Thee the incarnate God and Man. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Translation: Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your commandments. The host of Angels were amazed to see You, Savior, numbered among the dead, but who destroyed the power of death, resurrected Adam with You and freed everyone from hell. Blessed are You, Lord, teach me Your commandments. Why do you, students, interfere with the myrrh with tears of compassion? The Angel shining in the tomb said to the myrrh-bearers: “Look at this tomb and know that the Savior has risen from the dead.” Blessed are You, Lord, teach me Your commandments. Early in the morning, the myrrh-bearing women hurried to Your tomb, weeping, but an Angel appeared before them and said: The time of weeping has passed, do not cry, but tell the apostles about the resurrection. Blessed are You, Lord, teach me Your commandments. The myrrh-bearing women who came in peace to Your tomb, Savior, wept, but the Angel said to them: Why do you number the living among the dead? For He, as God, rose from the dead. Let us worship the Father and His Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity in one being, crying with the Seraphim: Holy, Holy, Holy are You, Lord. Today and tomorrow and forever and ever. Having given birth to the giver of life, Virgin, You delivered Adam from sin; He gave Eve joy instead of grief; those who fell away from life were sent to it from You by the incarnate God and Man. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
And at the end of the abie:
Blessed art thou, O Lord, / teach me by thy justification.
You will find the face of the saints, the source of life and the door of heaven, / may I also find the path of repentance: / I am the lost sheep, / call to me, O Savior, and save me.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, / teach me by thy justification.
You preached the Lamb of God, / and slaughtered what was like lambs, / and became ageless and holy, / and passed away everlastingly. / Pray diligently, martyrs, / to grant us permission for our debts.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, / teach me by thy justification.
You who have walked the narrow and sorrowful path, / have all in life taken the cross like a yoke, / and you who have followed Me in faith, / come and enjoy, / what honors are in store for you, / and heavenly crowns.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, / teach me by thy justification.
I am the image of Your ineffable glory, / even though I bear the plagues of sins: / be generous with Your creation, O Lord, / and cleanse with Your compassion, / and grant me the desired fatherland, / paradise creating me as a resident.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, / teach me by thy justification.
Of old you created me from things that do not exist, / and honor your Divine image, / by transgressing the commandment, / returning me to the earth from which I was taken, / in the likeness of the hedgehog, you have built / the good of ancient times. be imagined by that.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, / teach me by thy justification.
Give rest, O God, to Thy servants, / and bring me to heaven, / where the faces of the saints, O Lord, / and righteous women shine like stars, / give rest to Thy departed servants, / despising all their sins .
Glory: Tri-radiant of the one Divinity, we piously sing crying out: / Holy art thou, Father without beginning, / Co-meaning Son, and Divine Soul: / enlighten us with faith who serve You, / and snatch up the eternal fire ́.
And now: Rejoice, Pure One, who gave birth to God in flesh for the salvation of all, / Through her the human race will find salvation: / May we find paradise through You, / Blessed Pure Mother of God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, thank you God. Three times.
Also litany:
Deacon: Let us pray again and again in peace to the Lord.
Lik: Lord, have mercy.
We also pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased servant of God [or the deceased servant of God], name, and for him [or her] to be forgiven for every sin, voluntary and involuntary.
Lik: Lord, have mercy.
For the Lord God will grant his [or her] soul that the righteous may rest.
Lik: Lord, have mercy.
We ask for the mercy of God, the Kingdom of Heaven and the forgiveness of his [or her] sins.
Lik: Grant it, Lord.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
Lik: Lord, have mercy.
The priest says this prayer:
God of spirits and all flesh, having trampled death and abolished the devil, and given life to the world: You, Lord, rest the soul of Your departed servant [or Your departed servant] Namely, in a bright place, in a green place, in a calm place, from where illness has escaped , sadness and sighing. Every sin committed by him [or her] in word, or deed, or thought, as a good God who loves mankind, forgives, as if there is no man who will live and not sin. For You are One besides sin, Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your word is truth.
Exclamation: For Thou art the resurrection and the life and rest of Thy fallen servant [or Thy fallen handmaid] named, Christ our God, and to Thee we ascribe glory, with Thy beginningless Father and the Most Holy and by Your good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever.
Lik: Amen.
And upon exclamation we sing the present troparia, tone 5:
Rest, our Savior, / with the righteous of Thy servant [or Thy handmaid], / and this [or this one] has settled in Thy courts, / as it is written: / despising, as good as it is, his [or her] sins / free and involuntary naya, / and everything is in knowledge and not in knowledge, Lover of mankind.
Glory, the end: And everything is in knowledge and not in knowledge, Lover of mankind.
And now, the Mother of God: From the Virgin you shone forth to the world, O Christ God, / and showed the sons of light to You, / have mercy on us.
Also, Psalm 50.
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 away my sin before me. I have sinned against You alone and have done evil before You, so that You may be justified in Your words and triumph over Your judgment. Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, you have loved the truth; You have shown me Your unknown and secret wisdom. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. There is joy and gladness in my ears; the bones of the humble will rejoice. Turn away Your face from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create a pure heart in me, 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 Lord’s Spirit. I will teach the wicked your way, and wickedness 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 desired sacrifices, you would have given them: you do not favor burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken 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 take pleasure in the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering; then they will place your calf on the altar.
Commentary on Psalm 119:64
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Commentary on Psalm 119:64 / Psalm 119:64
Psalm 119 verse 64 - synodal text:
The earth is full of Your mercy, O Lord; teach me Your statutes.
Athanasius the Great (~295−373)
Fill the earth with Thy mercy, O Lord; Teach me by Thy justification. Prophetically predicts the future that the whole earth will be filled with those who fear the Lord. And this will not be due to any other need, but according to Your mercy; for You Yourself will graciously do this, having given Yourself up to be a teacher of people.
Source: Commentary on the Psalms.
John Chrysostom (~347−407)
Fill the earth with Thy mercy, O Lord; teach me by Thy justification
On everyone, says the prophet, You abundantly pour out the sources of Your mercy: Your sun shines on the good and the evil, and the rain falls on the righteous and the unjust, and You do not burst into anger every day, but are patient with those who destroy other people’s marriages, and with those defiled by unjustly shed blood. , and to those who appropriate the property of others, and to those who defile their tongue with blasphemy, and to others who commit something lawless. Having such great love for mankind, honor him and me, O Lord, allowing me to understand Your justifications. The prophet Isaiah says something similar: “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord” (Is. 11:9). With the coming of our Christ to earth, indeed, all its borders were filled with His mercy and (all people) were taught by His disciples His justifications. These words also have another meaning, namely, that we all benefit from His mercy. Indeed, He will rain on the righteous and sinners, is patient with our sins and withholds His anger.
Source: Discourse on Psalm 118.
Feofan the Recluse (1815−1894)
Fill the earth with Thy mercy, O Lord; teach me by Thy justification
And the exploits that a zealot of goodness carries within himself, and the help that he receives from communication with God-fearing people, are in themselves only human tools and are effective only to the extent of human strength. If they are powerful in overcoming evil, it is because the Lord is pleased to apply His power to them. By attracting the grace of God, they dispel evil and strengthen them in goodness. That is why, with all of them, attentive faith does not stop at them, but, bypassing them, grief rises and, with all its labors and with all the help from others, expects help from there. This is what the prophet expresses in the words: Teach me by Thy justification. And I, he says, teach myself in spiritual and physical exploits, and others teach me both by word and by example, but both are not very reliable and not very successful. You Yourself, Lord, teach me everything, and show me what needs to be done, and give me the ability to do it, and give me the strength to do it. Just as a master who takes in an ignoramus and, having taught him, then sends him away as a complete expert in his skill, a real master, so You, Lord, take me and teach me the skill of doing good and pleasing You alone. This is what the prophet asks for! He bases his hope in begging the Lord and receiving what he asks for on the goodness of God alone. The whole earth, he says, is filled with Thy mercy, Lord; will I be the only one deprived of it? I hope, Lord, that You will not deprive me of Your mercy. I do not ask for wealth, not honor and glory, but I only seek - teach me how to please You, faithfully fulfilling all Your commandments. If You feed an unreasonable animal, will I doubt that You will also feed my soul, created by You in Your image and likeness? Fill the earth with Thy mercy, O Lord; teach me with Thy justification.
In the matter of spiritual success, this lack of reliance on oneself and others and the expectation of true help only from the Lord is a disposition of the first importance. He who begins to work for the Lord usually plans to do a lot himself, and does it; but this work does not extend beyond teaching oneself the external order of a pious life, and much, much more to restraining sinful movements in the soul, so much so, however, that they do not force their way into word and deed, such as, for example, anger. But we must also plant virtues in the heart, and for this we must remove passions from there; one must put the mind before the Lord and always remain with Him; one must become both spiritually and physically holy and immaculate in everything, as befits one who is preparing to receive the Kingdom of Heaven, where nothing unclean will enter. Who will bring all this into the soul? - No one like the Lord by His grace! He who diligently begins to work for the Lord will soon learn through experience that he is not satisfied with himself for anything. Further experiences confirm him more and more in this conviction, and the matter ends with complete devotion of himself and all his fate to the will of God, with a cry from the heart: weigh your destinies with them, save me! The words of the prophet have the same meaning.
Those experienced in this kind of work say: when passion is excited and thoughts confuse the soul, do not fight yourself, but call on the Lord for help, and He will protect you. This is how it happens. But as in one case, so in another, and in every case; both on one day and on all days, always and in everything, seek protection from the Lord, and He will not let your enemies offend you. This is how the fight against passions goes on. How are virtues rooted? I, says the apostle, planted, Apollos watered, and God increased. This is how it was with the Corinthians; This happens to everyone. Without Me, says the Lord, you cannot do anything. Therefore, there is nothing to undertake. Stand and cry: teach me by Your justification, O Lord.
Saint Ambrose writes: “For this reason, the prophet wants to be taught the justifications of God from the Lord Himself, because it is difficult to find on earth such a teacher who would manage to teach what he himself does not know. That is why, with an inner desire, he rushes to That teacher, Who alone is the true Teacher; and how can a person teach anything true when he himself is a lie? And righteously the Lord did not order anyone on earth to be called his teacher, because there is one true teacher for everyone. And how could David look for another teacher when he himself said about God: teach man understanding? God teaches and enlightens souls, pouring into them the light of knowledge when they seek Him and open the lips of their hearts to receive the lightness of heavenly grace. Seek and you will find; the door of Scripture, and it will be opened to you, but again by none other than God’s Word, about whom you read in the Apocalypse, that He, like a Lamb, opened the book sealed with seals.”
Source: Psalm one hundred and eighteen, interpreted by Bishop Theophan.
Theodoret of Cyrus (386/93−~457)
“Lord, fill the earth with Your mercy; teach me Your righteousness.” The Prophet says: You abundantly pour out springs of mercy on everyone; Your “sun” shines “on the evil and on the good”, you rain “on the righteous and the unjust” (Matthew 5:46), you do not bring wrath “every day” (Ps. 7:12), but you remain long-suffering even to those who undermine the mutual consent of spouses, are stained with unrighteous blood, or appropriate for themselves what does not belong to them, or defile the tongue with blasphemies, and dare to commit any other lawlessness. Therefore, having shown so much love for mankind, O Lord, grant me the same, granting me the knowledge of Your justifications.
What excuses are we asking for? Difficult places of the All-Night Vigil
Deacon Mikhail ASMUS, translator and teacher at PSTGU, analyzes several phrases from the beginning of the All-Night Vigil. Some of them seem quite simple, but they provide an opportunity to touch upon various issues of church life - for example, whether the most ordinary parishioner can sing along with the choir at a service.
"Rise up!"
"Get up!" - with these words the All-Night Vigil begins, because usually everyone came to the temple in advance and waited for the start of the service while sitting. The monastic charter assumes that each person has his own place in the temple. In Greek monasteries these are “stasidia”, special chairs with high backs and armrests. The statutory (i.e., complete, according to all the rules) service is quite long, and at certain moments a person in the stasidia can stand simply or with support on the armrests; half-sit on the raised seat (there is a special shelf there); finally, sit completely on the lowered seat (while reading kathismas, proverbs, teachings, etc.). The lack of seats is a distinctive feature of Russian churches.
The tongue of angels and the tongues of men
Every now and then during the service you can hear the Hebrew word “Alleluia”. It means in translation “praise God”: “allel - praise”, “Ya - God”. This is not a word in the language of angels, as is sometimes said in Sunday schools, but a completely human call to praise God just as the angels praise. This call appears frequently in the Book of Psalms. For some Psalms, mostly of laudatory content, this call became a refrain, because the Psalms are hymns. When translated into ancient Greek, the refrain “Alleluia” was left without translation, and in Christian worship it was generally extended to the entire Psalter. The reading and singing of any group of Psalms ends with a glorification of the Holy Trinity: “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen" and the chorus: "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia: glory to Thee, O God!" (three times).
Everyone sings!
What prayer is most often heard at worship services? "Lord have mercy!" It is included in the most popular, so to speak, element of worship - the litany ("litany" - a series of short prayer requests). The content of litany petitions touches on the most important aspects of the life of every Christian (peaceful life, forgiveness of sins, God’s gracious help). The enhanced (i.e., intensified) litany begins with the words “Rtsem all!” - “let's say everything!” This is a call to all those who pray. A deacon or priest pronounces some kind of petition, to which the singers, and ideally all the people, respond with the simplest prayer: this or “Lord, have mercy!” once, or “Lord, have mercy!” three times, or “Give it, Lord!” In response to the call to entrust oneself to God, people answer: “To you, Lord!”
In public worship everything is meant to be spoken aloud. The fact that some priestly prayers have become “secret”, that is, they are pronounced only by the priest and from them we hear only the final phrases, “exclams,” is a feature of the development of Christian worship, and not at all a law of the genre. Initially, these prayers were not created for silent pronunciation. Because prayer is either praise or request. When people gather together to pray, they praise together or ask for something together. During a general worship service, asking for something of your own, personal, which you do not want your neighbor to know about, is not entirely appropriate. Of course, when we remember our loved ones at the Liturgy, everyone remembers his own people close to him and prays for some of his needs, but these are moments specifically stipulated by the very rules of the Divine Service. There, for example, the priest has a note in the book: “... and remembers those whom he wants by name.” Or in response to the exclamation of the priest “First remember, Lord, the great lord and father of our Patriarch...” the people answer: “... and everyone and everything.” This refers to “all Christian men and women” for whom everyone present is currently praying. This is probably the only moment when the thoughts of those praying can diverge slightly in different directions, when everyone remembers their own private needs.
There is no prohibition on laity singing during services. Constantinople worship was organized in such a way as to attract people to singing as much as possible. In particular, the performance of the Psalms antiphonally, that is, with a chorus, is the invention of precisely this public, nationwide Christian worship.
Naturally, the more complex the musical repertoire is played in the temple, the more difficult it is for people to participate in communal singing. But performing the litanies, as a rule, is within the capabilities of any more or less literate person. If a person standing in a church is very ashamed of his voice or lack of hearing, then he can sing it very quietly, almost to himself, so as not to embarrass those standing next to him.
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, in his address to the Moscow clergy several years ago, called for nationwide singing to be introduced in parishes. And he even specifically indicated that it is very good if the Eucharistic canon at the Liturgy is sung by all the people.
Creator and creature
Every Saturday at Sunday Vespers we hear the great prokeimenon: “The Lord reigns, clothed with beauty... for He established the universe, which cannot move.” "Prokeimenon" is translated as "prominent, standing in front" and means the singing of a selected verse from a Psalm as a refrain to one or more verses of the same Psalm. We know several types of prokeimnas in worship, which are sung to different motives - in Church Slavonic, “glases”.
“He reigned, clothed himself, established” is the past tense of the Slavic language, which denotes an action completed in the past: “He reigned, He clothed himself, He established.” “Does not move” is the future tense. “That which does not move, that which does not move, will not change.” The universe “does not move,” since it will exist according to the law that the Lord created for it. There is no force in the Universe itself that would change the law of its existence. This is generally the meaning of the biblical attitude towards the world as the creation of God. The main antithesis of “The Creator and the Creature” is that the creature has no independence in determining its fate. And in this sense, man differs from all other creatures precisely by this god-like ability to independently determine his own life line, to choose the path to God or the path to destruction.
How can you learn to make excuses?
In the prayer “Vignify, O Lord,” sounded at the All-Night Vigil, there are the following words: “Teach me by Thy justification...” In modern language, the word “justification” has acquired a purely legal character: when there is some kind of suspicion and a person is freed from this suspicion, it means he is “justified.” But in the Slavic language the word “justification” corresponds to the Greek word “dikeoma”, which also means “righteousness” and “commandment of righteousness”. Righteousness is truth, rightness. The fact is that the Old Testament ideas about righteousness are strictly related to the Law of God, to the fulfillment of the Law. Naturally, a person who does what is right, in accordance with the Law of God, is called a righteous person. It is this rootedness in the Law of the Lord that is in this case the subject of prayer - the literal “teach me Your commandments about righteousness” means for us: “teach me rootedness in Your Law, teach me to do the right thing, as Your Divine Law prescribes” - the Law, of course , not the Old, but the New Gospel Law of love.
Drawings by Vera Makhankova
