Psalm 112
This short and clear psalm encourages true worshipers of God to praise God, especially for the fact that, being the Highest Being, he does not hesitate to bow his eyes to us from above and, moreover, to reward us with many good deeds
.
The name youths refers to God’s servants, who honor their Master with a pure heart: for there is no small similarity between servants and youths, so it is not without reason that servants are called youths, and youths servants. Servants are governed by masters, and youths or small children are governed by servants. Why does Blessed Paul appropriately say: at times the heir is young, and no one’s better is a slave
(Gal. 4:1).
So, the name of the youths reminds us that the servants of God must be simple-hearted, pure, and ready for all obedience to the Lord without contradiction: praise the youths of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord
.
Aki would say: you who are called servants of God, think about the majesty of your Master and praise His name with all your heart, just as He also says: Behold, now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
(Ps. 133:1).
And again: praise the name of the Lord, praise the servants of the Lord
(Ps. 134:1).
Here he shows the way in which the servants of God should praise the name of the Lord, and says that if we, creeping on the earth, cannot and do not know to praise Him by deed and as we should, then at least with a pure disposition of heart let us praise Him and unceasingly with Let us say by Job: Blessed be the name of the Lord from now to eternity.
.
In this verse and in the following, he offers the matter of God’s praise and says that opportunities to praise God are presented everywhere: since the whole world is filled with His great and wonderful works, which, being diligently discussed, do honor to the Artist. Why will our laziness be unpardonable if we do not proclaim the praises of God among ourselves: for from the east of the sun to the west
, that is, throughout the entire space of the world, from its beginning to its end, the name of the Lord is praised.
With these words he depicts that although there are many strong nations, great sovereigns and kings on earth, God is incomparably higher than all of them, and not only higher than nations and kings, but also higher than all the Angels who are in heaven, for His glory surpasses all heavens and living on them. Saint Chrysostom interprets these two verses about the spread of the preaching of the Gospel, through which it was achieved that the name of the Lord, which was known only in Judea, is now glorified from the east of the sun to the west, and thus the Lord has become high above all languages. However, in these words there is implied a hidden reproach related to the dishonor of the chosen people: for what could be more dishonest than, being obvious witnesses of God’s glory, to neglect those praises with which even the blind glorify God?
Here he praises God because of His wonderful goodness, which, being combined with such greatness, appears even more wonderful. The words mean that God, although in the majesty of His being lives on the highest, and surpasses everyone and everything, but by His mercy He is close even to the smallest things, and especially to meek people and those with a humble heart.
This he does equally both in heaven and on earth: for in heaven he despised the proud angels, but on earth he looked upon the humble, and raised them up to share in his glory. And again, on earth he despised the proud Pharaohs, Sauls and others like them, and looked at Moses and David, and at others humble and meek, and especially at the entire human race, humiliated by sin.
Here, from various changes that occur in the world, and are usually attributed to chance, the Prophet proves God's providence and says that various changes that happen beyond our expectations depend on the will of one God. For if the course of things were always the same, then worldly people would say that this is how nature works: but the change of things reminds us that hidden providence dominates the world. And since people do not heed this, for this reason the Prophet, in extraordinary adventures, commands us to be amazed at providence: for when shepherds and other most despicable people ascend to the thrones, our feelings are struck more strongly by this unexpected news. From here we see where the Prophet’s intention is heading. He could present to us the structure of heaven and earth, as he does in other places, but because of the ordinary course of nature our thoughts become blind, for this reason he says that in extraordinary things God’s hand is revealed more clearly. This miracle is even greater when it says that God raises low and despicable people not only to ordinary degrees of merit, but also makes them the rulers of His people.
Interpretation of Psalm 112
The psalmist calls on all the servants of the Lord to praise the name of Him who, being exalted both above the earth and above the heavens (verse 4), bends down to them, “abases” Himself (verse 6) in order to exalt “the poor and needy” (verse 7). In this description of the Lord the psalmist foreshadows kenosis. that is, Jesus Christ’s humiliation of Himself when He, having renounced His heavenly glory, comes to earth (Phil. 2:7).
Psalms 112-117 constitute the so-called hallel, or a collection of praise (“hallelujah”) psalms, which were sung both on the days of great religious holidays - Easter, on the feasts of Pentecost and Tabernacles, and on other holy days, for example, during divine services on the new moon . At Easter, Psalms 112-113 were sung before eating, and Psalms 114-117 - after eating it.
Ps. 112:1-3 . The psalm begins and ends with a word of praise and an appeal to it: Hallelujah. Praise...Hallelujah! But here only the servants of the Lord, that is, people who believe in Him and strive to live according to His will, are called to praise the Lord (His name with which all His Divine properties are associated). Only they - no matter where they lived (from sunrise to sunset - a symbol of the then known world) - are worthy of honoring and glorifying the name of the Lord.
Ps. 112:4-5 . The Lord who dwells on high is incomparable (Ps. 34:10; 70:19; 76:14; 88:7; Exod. 15:11; 2 Sam. 7:22). Here the concepts high and “height” are also used in the sense of His all-encompassing, unsurpassed power over the universe. Nothing that happens in the history of nations happens outside of His will or contrary to it.
Ps. 112:6-9 . The mentioned “high” and “height” mean, however (in the minds of the psalmist) the extreme remoteness of the Lord’s residence from the earth and the people living on it. Both the height of the sky above the earth and the height of the Creator’s position in relation to creation are immeasurable. But despite this “immeasurability,” the Lord, in His vigilant care for His creatures, bows to heaven and earth (i.e., leans toward them), observing everything that happens there (“looks at” them) so that in time provide assistance to the suffering and helpless.
From dust (dust... clay), that is, from extreme humiliation, the merciful Lord raises the poor to elevate him to the position of “princes” (verses 6-8). He does not do this with every “beggar,” but in those cases when this happens, the effect of His mercy is clear and tangible. In the context of the New Testament, the Lord's mercy takes on a spiritual meaning because through it, those who believe in the Lord receive a heavenly inheritance.
Since childbirth was given special importance in ancient Jewish society, as a second example of God's clear blessing (mercy), the psalmist cites His conversion of a barren woman into a happy mother; Several such cases are known from Old Testament history: Sarah, Rachel, Anna (mother of Samuel).
Psalter | Psalm 112
The entire series of subsequent psalms, starting from 112 and ending with 116, represents a coherent content and disclosure of the same theme, this is God’s guidance of the Jewish people, from which the writer draws strength and confidence, as well as his real prayer, to which he calls all the people , will be heard by the Lord and He will help them in these difficult circumstances (Ps. 112 and Ps. 113), which actually happened, which is why the author’s song turns into a hymn of praise and gratitude (Ps. 114-116). The content of the psalms indicated here is very suitable for the time after the return from Babylonian captivity, when the Jews began to build the second temple and here they encountered opposition from the Samaritans, who were intriguing before the Persian court. This intrigue was discovered and exposed, and the work of building the temple and restoring Jerusalem was over. That is why the first psalms, in accordance with the circumstances of their origin, are distinguished by their petitionary content, and the second, after removing obstacles, are already grateful, i.e., the time of writing the psalms must be attributed to the era of Nehemiah’s activity.
The one hundred and twelfth psalm among the Jews begins with the hallel (i.e., hallelujah psalms), which embraces Ps. 112-117 and was used during worship in the new moon. It was also used at the Passover Jewish supper, and was divided into two parts - the first (Ps. 112 and Ps. 113:1-8) at the beginning of the supper, and the second (Ps. 113:8-26; Ps. 114; Ps. 115 ; Ps. 116; Ps. 117) at the end of it.
Servants of the Lord, glorify His name always and throughout all the earth (1-3). The Lord rules over all nations. From heaven, the place of His dwelling, He looks down to earth to raise the poor from the dust and make him sit with princes, to give the barren one to rejoice over her children (4-9).
Ps.112:1. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
“Servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.” Only His servants, believers in Him and people who do His will are invited to honor and praise the Lord, since anyone else with their unclean lips only insults the Highest Family and is unworthy and cannot adequately praise Him.
Ps.112:4. The Lord is high above all nations; above the heavens is His glory.
The “height” of the Lord over all nations means His supremacy, power over the latter. Nothing in the history of life of these peoples can happen without His will.
Ps.112:5. Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high,
Ps.112:6. bows down to look at heaven and earth;
The Lord’s special habitat is the sky, which is distant from the earth at a distance immeasurable for man. As the sky is high above the earth, so immeasurably high is the Lord above all earthly things and man. However, the Lord does not leave the earth without His care; He “looks upon it. to earth” in order to send down various benefits to a weak and helpless person. This is an expression of His extraordinary mercy and love.
Ps.112:7. He raises the poor from the dust, he raises the needy from the clay,
Ps.112:8. to make him sit with the princes, with the princes of his people;
Ps.112:9. does he bring a barren woman into the home as a mother who rejoices over her children? Hallelujah!
The actions of Divine mercy are indicated: He exalts from insignificance (“dirtiness”) and places with princes, He gives children to the barren. Probably, here we mean not only special cases of such mercy of God shown over individual people, such as the healing of Job, the rise of David, Moses, Daniel, etc., or, for example, the resolution of the infertility of Sarah, Rachel, Anna, but this image is applicable to everything the Jewish people, at first insignificant and small in number, driven and slaughtered in Egypt, and then multiplied and became the owner of Palestine and had significant political weight in the eyes of the ancient pagan monarchies and peoples.
Source
The entire series of subsequent psalms, starting from 112 and ending with 116, represents a coherent content and disclosure of the same theme, this is God’s guidance of the Jewish people, from which the writer draws strength and confidence, as well as his real prayer, to which he calls all the people , will be heard by the Lord and He will help them in these difficult circumstances (and), which actually happened, which is why the author’s song turns into a hymn of praise and gratitude (). The content of the psalms indicated here is very suitable for the time after the return from Babylonian captivity, when the Jews began to build the second temple and here they encountered opposition from the Samaritans, who were intriguing before the Persian court. This intrigue was discovered and exposed, and the work of building the temple and restoring Jerusalem was over. That is why the first psalms, in accordance with the circumstances of their origin, are distinguished by their petitionary content, and the second, after removing obstacles, are already grateful, i.e., the time of writing the psalms must be attributed to the era of Nehemiah’s activity.
The one hundred and twelfth psalm among the Jews begins with the hallel (i.e., hallelujah psalms), which embraces and was used during worship in the new moon. It was also used at the Passover Jewish supper, and was divided into two parts - the first ( and ) at the beginning of the supper, and the second (; ; ; ; ) at the end of it.
Servants of the Lord, glorify His name always and throughout all the earth (1-3). The Lord rules over all nations. From heaven, the place of His dwelling, He looks down to earth to raise the poor from the dust and make him sit with princes, to give the barren one to rejoice over her children (4-9).
. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
“Servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.” Only His servants, believers in Him and people who do His will are invited to honor and praise the Lord, since anyone else with their unclean lips only insults the Highest Family and is unworthy and cannot adequately praise Him.
. The Lord is high above all nations; above the heavens is His glory.
The “height” of the Lord over all nations means His supremacy, power over the latter. Nothing in the history of life of these peoples can happen without His will.
. Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high,
. bows down to look at heaven and earth;
The Lord’s special habitat is the sky, which is distant from the earth at a distance immeasurable for man. As the sky is high above the earth, so immeasurably high is the Lord above all earthly things and man. However, the Lord does not leave the earth without His care; He “looks down... upon the earth” in order to bestow various blessings on weak and helpless people. This is an expression of His extraordinary mercy and love.
. He raises the poor from the dust, he raises the needy from the clay,
. to make him sit with the princes, with the princes of his people;
. does he bring a barren woman into the home as a mother who rejoices over her children? Hallelujah!
The actions of Divine mercy are indicated: He exalts from insignificance (“dirtiness”) and places with princes, gives children to the barren. Probably, here we mean not only special cases of such mercy of God shown over individual people, such as the healing of Job, the rise of David, Moses, Daniel, etc., or, for example, the resolution of the infertility of Sarah, Rachel, Anna, but this image is applicable to everything the Jewish people, at first insignificant and small in number, driven and slaughtered in Egypt, and then multiplied and became the owner of Palestine and had significant political weight in the eyes of the ancient pagan monarchies and peoples.
This psalm begins and ends with Hallelujah, for, like so many others, it is intended to promote the great and important work of glorifying God.
(I.) This psalm calls and encourages us to glorify God (v. 1-3).
(II) He also gives us a subject for praise and puts words in our mouths. In singing it, we must, with holy fear and love, give praise to God, 1. For exalting his glory and majesty (v. 4, 5).
(2.) For the condescension of his grace and mercy (v. 6-9), which are largely illustrative of each other, and for their proper influence upon us.
Verses 1-9
. This psalm:
I. Exhorts us to give glory to God, to give Him the glory worthy of His name.
1. This invitation is quite insistent: “Hallelujah; praise, praise the name of the Lord; Blessed be the name of the Lord; Let the name of the Lord be glorified, for it is worthy of glory” (vv. 1-3). These words imply, (1.) That it is a necessary and most excellent duty, which is peculiarly pleasing to God, and has a great place in religion.
(2) That it is a duty to which we must devote much time, which we must perform often and devote ourselves to it.
(3) That this is work that we often do not want to do, and in order to call and motivate us to it, we need commandment upon commandment and rule upon rule.
(4) He who glorifies God much will attract others to do it, because he knows how important this work is, and realizes how much he needs the help of others (there is enough work for all hearts, all hands, and in any case there will not be enough of them ), because he enjoys it and wants all his friends to share it.
2. This invitation is very persistent. Note:
(1.) Where God gets his praise from—his own people. They are the ones who are called to glorify God, since they will answer the call: “Praise ye, ye servants of the Lord...” They have the most reason to glorify Him, since the one who comes to Him as His servant knows Him best and has His favor more than others . Their duty is to glorify Him, it is the work required of them as His servants. It is an easy and pleasant work to speak well of their Master and honor Him to the best of their ability. If they don't do it, who will? Some believe that this refers to the Levites; even if this is so, then all Christians are a royal priesthood, taken for their own possession, that they might proclaim the praises of Him who called them (1 Pet. 2:9). Angels are the servants of the Lord; they do not need our calls to glorify God, but at the same time it is a great consolation for us to know that they glorify Him and glorify Him better than us.
(2.) From whom He should receive praise.
From all generations (v. 2) - from now on and forever. This cause must not die with us; let us do it in a better world, and let those who come after us do it here. May our descendants not degrade, and may God be glorified in all generations, and not just this one. We must bless the Lord in our time by saying with the psalmist, “Blessed be the name of the Lord today and always.”
From all corners of the earth - from sunrise to the west, that is, from all the places where people live. Let everyone who rejoices and enjoys the benefits of the rising sun (and such people really count on the sun going down) thank the Father of light for this light. Let the name of the Lord be glorified; let it be glorified by all nations, for in every place from west to east there are obvious evidences and fruits of His wisdom, power and mercy. One can only lament that such a huge part of humanity still does not know Him and gives others the glory that should belong to Him alone. But perhaps there is more implied in these verses; as the previous verse gave us a glimpse of the kingdom of glory, where the name of God shall be blessed forever (when time shall be no more, and glorification shall be a heavenly work), so this gives a glimpse of the kingdom of grace during his gospel dispensation. When the Church will not be limited to one Jewish people, but will be spread throughout the whole world, when spiritual incense will be offered to the name of God in every place (Mal. 1:11), then from the rising of the sun to the west the name of the Lord will be glorified by people in all countries.
II. These verses indicate what we should give God glory for.
1. Let us look with the eye of faith and see how high His glory is exalted in the highest world, and speak of it to exalt Him (v. 4, 5). In our praise we must exalt His name, for He is high and His name is high.
(1.) He is high above all nations, however magnificent their kings may be, and however numerous their people. We will not argue whether this statement is true of the kings of the earth: “Though they are greater than individuals, they are less significant than the whole people,” but this cannot be said about the King of kings. Gather all the nations together - and He will be above them. All nations are like a drop from a bucket and like a speck of dust before Him (Isa. 40:15,17). Let all nations think highly of God, since He is above them all.
(2.) He is higher than the heavens, the throne of his glory is in the highest heavens, and this should lift up our hearts as we praise him (Lam. 3:41). His glory is above the heavens, that is, above the angels. He is greater than them, since their glory is nothing compared to His glory. He is greater than what they do, for they carry out His instructions and do everything to please Him. He is greater than even their best words about Him. He is exalted above the blessings and praise that come not only from our lips, but also from theirs. And therefore we must ask with holy admiration: “Who is like the Lord our God? Who of all earthly lords and monarchs, of all the bright and blessed spirits on high, can compare with You? There is no one equal to Him, and no one dares to compare with Him. God must be glorified as infinitely great, extraordinary and incomparable, for He dwells on high and sees everything from above, controls everything and quite rightly attracts everyone to glorify Himself.
2. Let us look around us with an observant eye and see how great His mercy is in this lower world, and speak about it in order to exalt Him. He is the God who exalts himself to dwell, who humbles himself in heaven and on earth. Some believe that there is a transposition here - He exalts himself to dwell in heaven and humbles himself to look at the earth. But the meaning of this verse is quite simple. Notice that the psalm says that God exalts himself and humbles himself; He himself performs both these actions; since He is a self-existent Person, He is both the source of His glory and the source of His grace. God condescends and His grace is revealed:
(1) That He is interested in this lower world. His glory is above all nations and above the heavens, but at the same time He does not despise either one or the other. God is powerful, but at the same time he does not despise anyone (Job 36:5). He bows down (humbles himself, English trans. KJV) to look upon all His creatures, upon all His subjects, although He is infinitely higher than them. Considering the infinite perfection, sufficiency, and blessedness of the divine nature, we must recognize it as an act of the greatest condescension that God is pleased to receive into the attention of His eternal will and into the hands of His universal providence information about the host of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth (Dan. 4:32);
even in His lordship He humbles Himself.
He condescends to contemplate what is happening in heaven, to maintain their existence, to direct their movement and to receive the praise and services of the angels themselves, since He does not need them and does not receive benefits from them.
The Lord condescends even more to contemplate what is happening on earth, to visit the sons of men, to show attention to them, to command and manage their affairs, to note what they say and do. He does this so that he can fill the earth with mercy and thereby set an example of how to condescend to do good, pay attention and care for his subordinates. If God showed great condescension in contemplating heaven and earth, then how amazing was the condescension when the Son of God descended from heaven to earth, clothed in our nature, in order to be able to seek and save what was lost! For this purpose He undoubtedly humbled himself.
(2.) In the special favor which He sometimes shows towards the most insignificant and insignificant inhabitants of this despised lower world. He contemplates not only the great things happening on earth, but also the most insignificant ones, to which great people usually do not pay attention. He not only looks at them, but also performs miracles for them - something that surprises and comes out of the general sequence of providence and the chain of events. All this shows that the world is not governed by the course of nature, for in that case events would flow in one direction, but by the God of nature, who likes to do what we did not expect.
He who has long been neglected sometimes suddenly becomes a respected man (v. 7, 8): "He raises up the poor from the dust... to make him sit with princes."
First, in this way God sometimes exalts himself, his wisdom, power and dominion. When He needs to accomplish a great work, He chooses as the executor the one who is least suitable, whom others and He Himself consider least suitable for such an honorable work: God took Gideon when he was threshing grain on the threshing floor, Saul when he was looking for donkeys, and David, when he was a shepherd; the apostles, who had previously been fishermen, became fishers of men. The riches of the gospel are invested in earthly vessels, and weak and foolish men are chosen to preach it and to confound the wise and strong (1 Cor. 1:27,28), so that the excellence of the power comes from God, and all may see that the advancement comes from Him.
Secondly, this is how God sometimes rewards His people for outstanding piety and patience, who have been groaning for a long time under the weight of poverty and dishonor. When Joseph's virtue was tested and proclaimed, he rose from the dust of the prison and sat down with the princes. He who is wise will follow such turns of providence and thanks to them will understand the mercy of the Lord. Some believe that this verse speaks of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and not without reason, since through Him poor fallen man was raised from the dust (one of the Jewish rabbis believed that it speaks of the resurrection of the dead), yea, from the dunghill of sin, and he was seated with the princes, among the angels, with the princes of his people. Hannah sang about this (1 Samuel 2:6-8).
She who had been barren for a long time suddenly became a mother (v. 9). This verse regarding past events may refer to Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Hannah and Samson's mother, and in the future to Elizabeth. There have been many similar examples in history when God looked at the suffering of His slaves and removed blame from them. He brings a barren woman into the house as a mother - not only creates a family, but also thus gives the heads of the family a job. Note, He who has a family and the comforts of family must take care of it; bearing children and managing a home should go hand in hand (1 Timothy 5:14). When God brings a barren woman into the home as a mother, He expects her to oversee the management of her house (Prov. 31:27). This verse says that she will be a mother rejoicing over children, not only in a general sense, since the pain is forgotten because a person is born into the world, and this will be a special joy that is present where a child is born after long years of infertility (as in Luke 1:14), and therefore special thanksgiving must be present. Hallelujah - praise the Lord! At the same time, in this case, rejoice with trepidation, because although the grieving mother has become joyful, at the same time, the joyful mother can again become grieving if the children are taken away from her or become bitter towards her. Therefore these words may refer to the gospel Church among the Gentiles (the building of which is illustrated in this way: “Rejoice, O barren, unbearing ...”, Isa. 54:1 and Gal. 4:27), for which we, being sinners of the Gentiles and children of the forsaken, have reason to say: “Hallelujah - praise the Lord!”
Ps. 112
This psalm praises the greatness of the Lord in graciously meeting human needs.
Ps. 112, like Ps. 110 and 111, begins with the word “hallelujah”, i.e. “Praise the Lord” (“Hallelu yah”). It opens the so-called “Egyptian Hallel”, the performance of which was timed to coincide with the main holidays of the Jewish people: Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. Ps. 112-117 were sung at Easter, so it is quite possible that it was these that Jesus sang with His disciples on the last evening spent with them (Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26). In addition, it should be noted some similarities between Ps. 112 with a song of thanksgiving to Anna (1 Sam., ch. 2; especially v. 5 and “My soul magnifies the Lord” to Mary (Luke 1:46-55).
112:1 The servants of the Lord.
These words are addressed to the believers present at the service.
praise the name of the Lord.
See Ps. 8.2.
112:2 from now on and forever.
Those. at all times.
112:3 From the rising of the sun unto the west.
Those. all over the earth.
112:4 The Lord is high above all nations.
The psalmist asserts that the Lord is the God not only of the Israelites, but also of all other nations, and even moreover, the God of the entire universe.
112:5 Who is like the Lord...?
This question is rhetorical. It certainly assumes a single answer: “nobody.”
upholstered at height.
Just as a king is exalted above his people, God is exalted above the universe He created and subject to Him.
112:6 bows down.
God is immeasurably great, but in His greatness he does not forget about the world He created, interfering in the course of earthly affairs.
to look up to the sky.
Heaven in the Bible is often called the place of God. Here, however, the idea is emphasized that God is so great that even the heavens cannot contain Him (1 Kings 8:27).
112:7 poor... beggar.
Out of His great mercy, the Lord helps those who need His help.
112:9 He brings a barren woman into the home as a mother.
These words can be attributed to Anne and Mary (see Introduction: Characteristics and Themes).
This short psalm, like the previous, 111th, psalm, has the inscription Alleluia
(“praise God”), and also encourages faithful and true Worshipers of God to praise and glorify God. Our duty, as His humble and unworthy servants, requires that we, who live on earth and have always been blessed by Him, honor and glorify Him. Due to some similarity with the previous psalm, it completely goes to the state of the Jews upon their return from Babylonian captivity, when they once again, in the continuation of their history, actually came to know the universal dominion of the Lord over kingdoms and peoples (; ) and experienced the beneficial effect on themselves His industry is for deliverance from oppression and disaster.
Praise the Lord, fathers, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever.
The praise, or glorification, of the Lord is mentioned above, in the first lines of this psalm, as well as in other psalms. Who are the boys
who are called to the praise of the Lord?
By adolescents
here we do not mean children of middle age (10–15 years old), who belong to the age known as adolescence (“youths”).
In the Holy Scriptures and in the liturgical language of the Orthodox Church, slaves
(), or ministers in general, and, in particular, those three youths from the captives of the Jews who, having been thrown at the command of King Nebuchadnezzar into the fiery fire of the Babylonian furnace, were most often called youths. The angel of the Lord who was sent to them and watered them, not only did not suffer any harm, but also prompted the king and all the people to glorify the Lord God. Since then, the custom of glorifying the Lord God through the three Babylonian youths, who glorified Him in the “septenary of the kindled furnace,” entered into the Jewish Church, and from it into the New Testament Christian Church. All the liturgical hymns included in the morning service are dedicated to this glorification in our Holy Church, under the title of the 7th and 8th hymns of the morning canon, such as this one, for example: “The fiery furnace in Babylon sometimes divided the action, by God’s command the Chaldeans scorching, faithful and watering, singing: bless all the works of the Lord the Lord” (Octoechos. Tone 2. Week. Matins. Canon, song 8). And the Lord God Himself is glorified and the holy name of the Lord is inseparably glorified with Him, and not as the new false sages on Mount Athos are heretical, glorifying especially the Lord and especially the name of the Lord. This is how the great righteous people and saints glorified the Lord. His prophets.
Thus, the righteous and long-suffering Job, when he heard about all the terrible disasters that befell him, by God’s permission, not only did he not express a single word of murmur against God, but, blessing the name of the Lord, he fell to the ground, bowed to God and said: “Lord He gave and the Lord took away! Blessed be the name of the Lord forever" (). Daniel the prophet did the same when, after praying for the secret of the royal dream to be revealed to him, he received a
revelation of this secret from God, blessed the Heavenly God and said: “Blessed be the name of the Lord God from century to century” (). Many other righteous people did the same, and we should all do the same, recognizing ourselves as slaves and servants of the Lord God.
From the east of the sun to the west the name of the Lord is praised; the Lord is high above all languages: above the heavens is His glory.
Everywhere, says the prophet, throughout the entire expanse of the earthly world, from the place where the sun rises to its west, i.e. wherever it goes, the name of the Lord must be glorified, because everywhere there live different nations, ruled by great sovereigns and strong kings. “Praiseable,” says St. John Chrysostom, - the name of the Lord is no longer in Palestine and not in Judea only, but throughout the entire universe. And when did this come true, if not when our church began to flourish?” But no matter how great and strong these or other peoples inhabiting the earth are, no matter how numerous and glorious they are, the Lord God surpasses them in strength and power. He is incomparably higher than all of them, and not only higher than nations and kings, but also higher than all the angels who are in heaven, and His glory surpasses all the heavens and those who live in them, His glory is higher than the heavens
. According to the blzh. Theodoret, “and here these words mean that all nations have learned that there is the Most High and Creator of all and praised by the heavenly angels.”
Who is our Lord? Look upon the high and the lowly in heaven and on earth: lift up the poor from the earth, and lift up the wretched from the rot.
Here the psalmist makes a comparison, or, as it were, a correlation, of the Lord God of Israel with other deities recognized by people. Is there anyone, he says, in the world who is like Jehovah, ours, Who, having a residence on inaccessible heights, and surpassing everyone and everything in the greatness of His Creature, at the same time, by His ineffable mercy and goodness, was close and to everything that happens in heaven and on earth, even to insignificant objects, especially to people, meek and humble; Who, sitting on high, bows down to see the things that are in the heavens and on the earth? Who is like the Lord
Who
in heaven
humiliated the proud angels and Satan, and on earth looked upon the humble and righteous and raised them to share in His eternal glory, Who on earth despised the proud Pharaohs, Nebuchadnezzars and others like them, and looked upon Moses and David and other humble and meek, who raises the poor from the dust,
raises the needy
, such as the long-suffering Job?
earth and rot
and glorifies the power of God, which easily changes things into whatever He pleases, as the blessed one explains. Theodoret, “makes the poor and the insignificant rich and significant, and also makes the insignificant and the poor glorious and famous.”
Plant him with the princes, with the princes of his people: instilling barrenness in the house, the mother rejoices over the children.
These last verses continue the speech of the previous verses. The Lord God, who looks down upon the earth and its affairs, lifts up the poor and wretched from the earth and from poverty in order to make him a prince.
, i.e.
to equate him in dignity with princes and people of high rank. In general, this indicates the omnipresent and all-effective Providence of God in heaven and on earth. The providential hand of God is manifested in all human affairs. She supports the poor in misfortune and dishonor, in order to later show them a worthy example to people. These include: Moses, David, Daniel; in the New Testament: the apostles, disciples and many saints who appeared as messengers of the special benefits and mercy of the Lord. All this will be credited to them in the future life, when all the poor, all the unfortunate, oppressed in this world, for their faith in the Holy Gospel and for the love of Christ, will be brought to glory, which is expressed in figurative speech: make them princes of your people
.
And not only does he do many similar things, but the Lord also changes the very nature and laws of nature when His Divine Providence needs it, so that from a barren and childless wife he inhabits her house
and makes her a mother who
rejoices over her children
, i.e. makes her from a childless one to one with many children, as in the Old Testament he made Anna, the mother of Samuel, Rachel and many others. In the highest and spiritual sense, this legend must be attributed to the New Testament Church, gathered from pagans, which, after remaining barren for a long time, finally, in old age, produced many children, as St. the Apostle Paul, repeating the words of the prophet: “Rejoice, you barren, you who do not give birth, shout and cry, you who are not sick with the stomach, for many are more empty children than those who have husbands” (; ).
Interpretation of Psalm 112
The psalmist calls on all the servants of the Lord to praise the name of Him who, being exalted both above the earth and above the heavens (verse 4), bends down to them, “abases” Himself (verse 6) in order to exalt “the poor and needy” (verse 7). In this description of the Lord the psalmist foreshadows kenosis. that is, Jesus Christ’s humiliation of Himself when He, having renounced His heavenly glory, comes to earth (Phil. 2:7).
Psalms 112-117 constitute the so-called hallel, or a collection of praise (“hallelujah”) psalms, which were sung both on the days of great religious holidays - Easter, on the feasts of Pentecost and Tabernacles, and on other holy days, for example, during divine services on the new moon . At Easter, Psalms 112-113 were sung before eating, and Psalms 114-117 - after eating it.
Brief retelling and history of writing
A psalm of praise in which the author (his name is not known for certain) calls for the praise of God, and glorifies His majesty and care for people in difficult circumstances of life. The psalm is inscribed "Hallelujah" (Hebrew for "praise the Lord"), as are all psalms from 110 to 118 inclusive. Of these, psalms from 112 to 117 - the so-called “hallelujahs” - were used in the services of the Old Testament Jewish holiday “New Moon” (a symbolic dedication to God of the first day of the new month), as well as in the services of the Jewish Passover.
