114:1 I rejoice that the Lord heard my voice, my prayer; If the singer did not believe, he would not consider himself broken. And a believer always understands the danger of contrition from sinning. For a believer, there is no greater joy than knowing that God is close to him.
114:2 He has inclined His ear to me, and therefore I will call upon Him all my days.
And the fact that God heard him strengthened his desire to turn to God all the days of his life: if there is no response to prayers and requests, then the desire to pray may dry up over time, and the faith that God hears prayers disappears. And the answer strengthens faith and strengthens the desire to draw closer to God. Sometimes, of course, it takes a lot of effort to understand what and when God answers.
114:3 Mortal diseases have seized me, hellish torments have befallen me; I encountered cramped conditions and sorrow.
Before the singer’s prayer, he was overcome by mortal illnesses and hellish torments. Note that the singer experiences the torments of hell during his lifetime, and not after death. This means that he got into some major troubles, it wasn’t necessarily literal illnesses that tormented him, torments of conscience sometimes become the inferno of hell for the sinner - during his lifetime.
114:4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: Lord! deliver my soul. The singer did not become confused or lose heart in these moments, he turned to God for help by name - you never know who calls whom for help, but in order for Jehovah God to help, one must specifically call him.
And he asked for help to deliver his soul from hellish torment. And again, we note that during his life he asked for deliverance from torment for his soul, and not after death. This means that only a living person can feel the torment of his soul (himself, that is).
114:5,6 The Lord is merciful and righteous and our God is merciful. 6 The Lord protects the simple: I was weak, and He helped me. The singer knows that the Lord does not help everyone. And since he helped him, it means that in the eyes of God he turned out to be simple-minded. Otherwise, I would not have waited for help.
114:7 Return, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has blessed you. It does not mean that while the singer was in confusion, his soul flew out of him, and now it was time for it to return back to the singer’s body. No. This is just about the fact that the singer was very worried before praying to him, and when the Lord helped, it was time for him (his soul) to calm down again.
114:8 You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. As we see, it was not literal illnesses that tormented the singer, but spiritual and moral illnesses, if he says that he almost stumbled before God and fell in sin. There are tears and worries about this: not a single believer wants to fall before God and break his loyalty to Him.
114:9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Well, if God helped the singer rise to his feet and stand strong, then who else, if not Him, should he express gratitude to? The singer is determined to walk before God on the land of the living, which means there will be a time when not a single one of the dead will remain on earth, everyone will be alive.
Why read Psalm 114 to Orthodox believers
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The text of the Christian Psalm 114 represents the joyful exclamation of a person who received an answer from God to his prayer. The authorship of the psalm has not been established, nor have the circumstances that prompted the psalmist to write it, but from the content of the song it becomes clear that the reasons for its writing are deeply personal. The author praises the Lord, thanking Him for healing from fatal diseases, because of which he, obviously, had already begun to say goodbye to life.
Based on the interpretation of Psalm 114, the healing was so sudden and quick that the author could not resist praising, deciding to share his joy with all the people.
Text of the Orthodox Psalm 114 to help in distress
The text of Psalm 114, apparently, was intended to support the spiritual state of the Jews who returned from Babylonian slavery: with the words “The Lord protects the simple-minded: I was faint, and He helped me” (Ps. 113:6) he draws the attention of his fellow citizens to the fact that God exists He is especially kind to people who work for His glory and do not grumble because of hardships. This was the situation the Jews faced upon returning from captivity: a devastated land in need of restoration, and the subsequent hardships often plunged them into despondency. In the Orthodox tradition, reading, listening online and watching videos with the text of Psalm 114 is recommended for people in difficult financial conditions.
Listen to the video prayer Psalm 114 in modern Russian
Read the text of the prayer Psalm 114 in Russian
Hallelujah.
I rejoice that the Lord heard my voice, my prayer; He has inclined His ear to me, and therefore I will call upon Him all my days. Mortal diseases have seized me, hellish torments have befallen me; I encountered cramped conditions and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: Lord! deliver my soul. The Lord is merciful and righteous and our God is merciful. The Lord protects the simple-minded: I was exhausted, and He helped me. Return, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has blessed you. You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
Orthodox Psalter, text of Psalm 114 in Church Slavonic
I have loved that the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer; incline your ear to me; and in my days I will call. Mortal illnesses have beset me, the troubles of hell have come upon me; I found sorrow and illness and called on the name of the Lord; O Lord, deliver my soul; The Lord is merciful and righteous, and our God is merciful. God bless the babies; humble yourself and save me. Turn, my soul, to your peace, for the Lord is good to you; for my soul is taken away from death, my eyes from tears, and my nose from creeping. I will please the Lord in the land of the living.
Psalter with interpretations by A.P. Lopukhin Psalm 114 (Alleluia)
Synodal translation
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This psalm in the Hebrew Bible is joined by the next psalm of 70, Psalm 115, and thus from Psalm 116 in the Greek Bible, and in the Hebrew Bible 117, the previous count is restored one psalm forward.
The feeling of joy that is depicted in this and the next two (115–116) psalms shows that they were written after already receiving help from the Lord.
I rejoice because the Lord helps me when I cried out to Him under circumstances that were oppressive to me (1-4). The Lord is merciful and helps all those who are simple-minded before him (5–6). I am at peace because the Lord dried my tears and gave me during my lifetime to see the blessings He had sent down.
1. I rejoice that the Lord heard my voice and my prayer;
2. He has inclined His ear to me, and therefore I will call on Him all my days.
3. Mortal diseases seized me, hellish torments befell me; I encountered cramped conditions and sorrow.
4. Then I called on the name of the Lord: Lord! deliver my soul.
5. The Lord is merciful and righteous and our God is merciful.
6. God bless the simple-minded! I was exhausted, and He helped me.
6. The Lord “preserves the simple-minded” - i.e. those who simply and deeply, like children, believe in Him, or those who are helpless, like children, and therefore need protection from the outside. The Jews of that time, returning from captivity, were so simple-minded in faith and helpless as children, because they lived by faith and expectations of the fulfillment of the promises predicted by the prophets; they were also helpless, since they themselves, without any outside help and in poverty, had to begin again the structure of their land, both in political and religious, and in civil and economic relations.
7. Return, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has favored you.
7. “Return, my soul, to your rest” - the period of suffering and danger has passed, the time has come for contentment and a favorable course of life, since the Lord has “blessed.”
8. You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
9. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
9. “Walk in the presence of God” - serve Him with your life; in the “land of the living” in the land of the people of his people, now content and happy.
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Interpretation of Psalm 114
Having occupied this sacred enclosure of the martyrs in advance and since half the night you have propitiated the martyrs with the hymns of God, you have endured until this noon, awaiting my coming. Therefore, for you who prefer the honor of martyrs and the service of God to sleep and rest, your reward is ready. But if I have to justify myself in slowing down and in leaving you for a long time, I will tell you the reason for this. I have used all the time of this day to organize another, this equal, Church of God, separated from you by a considerable distance. So, since the Lord has granted me and them the ministry to fulfill, and your love cannot be deceived, then give thanks with me to the Benefactor, Who strengthens this visible weakness of my body with His invisible strength. But in order not to upset you, by keeping you for a long time, I will briefly talk from the psalm that I found you singing, and to the best of my ability, having nourished your souls with a word of consolation, I will let you go so that each of you can take care of your body.
What did you sing? The following: (1) I love that the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer . You cannot say to everyone: I have loved , but only to those who are already perfect, have come out of slavish fear and have accepted the spirit of sonhood. The word “loved” does not include who exactly he loved, but what is meant is: the God of all. For that which is most amiable in the proper sense is God, since by definition that which is most amiable is what everyone desires. And God is good, the first and most perfect of good.
So, I loved God Himself and joyfully accepted suffering for Him. The Prophet describes some kind of suffering a little lower: mortal illnesses, hellish troubles, sorrow and illness - all this seemed to him worthy of love for God and the hope of what is observed by those who have suffered for the sake of piety. I endured labors not against my will, not by force or under compulsion, says the Prophet, but with some kind of love and disposition I endured the labors, which is why I can say: For Your sake we are killed all day long (Ps. 43:23). And it seems that this is equivalent to the apostolic word and is said with the same disposition with which the Apostle says: who will separate us from the love of God; Is it tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or trouble, or a sword (Rom. 8:35)? So, I loved all this, knowing that I endure troubles for the sake of piety and have the Lord of all as my spectator and hero. For the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer . Likewise, each of us can fulfill the difficult things in the commandments when he opens his life to everyone, as if before an audience, before God.
(2) Incline Your ear to me . The Prophet said incline not so that you would form some sensual concept about God, as if He has ears and inclines them because of a quiet voice, as we do, bringing your hearing closer to those who speak weakly, in order to make out what is being said close up. On the contrary, he said incline to show his own weakness, that is, to condescend out of love for me, lying on the ground, like a philanthropic doctor, inclining his ear to a patient who, due to great exhaustion, cannot speak clearly, recognizes the needs of the suffering person up close.
So, incline Your ear to me . God's hearing does not need a voice for sensation. God knows how to recognize what is asked by his movements. Or don’t you hear that Moses, who says nothing, but prays to the Lord in his unspeakable groanings, was heard by the Lord, and He said to Moses: Why are you crying to Me (Exodus 14:15)? God knows how to hear righteous blood, which has no tongue, no voice piercing the air. The manifestation of righteous deeds before the Lord is a great voice.
And in my days I will call . We, having prayed for one day or one hour, and even then a little, having grieved over our sins, put aside care, as if we had already done something equal to our sinfulness. But the holy Prophet declares that he brings a confession commensurate with the entire time of his life. For he says: all days I will call . Then, so that you do not think that he called on God, because he was prosperous in this life and all his deeds were prosperous, he describes the greatness of the disasters in which he did not forget the name of God.
For he says: (3) Having overcome me with mortal illnesses, the troubles of hell have come upon me . The word illness in the Prophet's proper sense means ordinary pain during pregnancy, when the womb, oppressed by a burden, encourages the carried fetus to come out, and then the childbearing members, bent and strained during pregnancy, with concussions and compression of the veins, cause the most acute pain and severe pain to those giving birth. torment. He transferred this concept of diseases to mortal diseases that affect a living being during the separation of soul and body. I suffered, he says, not something quite tolerable, but I experienced even the most mortal illnesses and was brought to the danger of descending into hell. Did he endure this alone, which he boasts of, or did he often endure the same thing, but involuntarily, whereas what was forced does not deserve praise?
But look at the generosity of the ascetic. When, he says, mortal illnesses and the troubles of hell found me , then I not only did not fall under the weight of these temptations, but even voluntarily exposed myself to much more numerous temptations, as if I had voluntarily invented sorrow and illness for myself, and not against my will they comprehended me. Above he said: the troubles of hell came to me , but here: sorrow and illness came to me . Since in troubles I found myself unrelenting despite all the obsessions of the tempter, then, in order to show the abundance of love for God, I added sorrow to sorrow and illness to illness, not in the hope of resisting the sorrowful with my own strength, but because I called on the name of the Lord. Similar to this is what the Apostle said: In all these we overcome for the sake of those who love us (Rom. 8:37).
The winner is the one who relentlessly endures what happens out of necessity; The winner is the one who spontaneously incurs illness as proof of patience. Whoever has fallen into some mortal sin must say: He has taken upon me mortal diseases , for it is said: everyone who commits sin is born of the devil ( 1 John 3:8). When I was a worker of sin, says David, and when death carried me in her womb, then I was overcome by the troubles of hell. How did I heal myself? Because I have gained sorrow and the disease of repentance; invented for himself the torment of repentance, commensurate with the severity of sin, and thus dared to call on the name of the Lord. What did I say? (4) O Lord, deliver my soul , I am held captive. Give me a ransom and deliver my soul .
The Lord is merciful and righteous . Scripture everywhere connects truth with God’s mercy, teaching us that God’s mercy is not without judgment, and judgment is not without mercy. God, being merciful, with reasoning and measure shows mercy to the worthy, and judging, with mercy for our weakness, carries out judgment, punishing us more out of love for mankind, rather than for rewarding equals for equals. And our God has mercy . Mercy is pain for the oppressed beyond the measure of their guilt, felt by the compassionate. We have mercy on those who have fallen from great wealth into extreme poverty, who have gone from strong physical health to extreme exhaustion, who formerly delighted in the beauty and freshness of their bodies and are then damaged by disfiguring diseases. Since we were once glorious in the paradise state, and because of the fall we became inglorious and humiliated, our God has mercy , seeing what we were and what we have become. Therefore, He called on Adam with the voice of mercy, saying: Adam, where are you (Gen. 3:9)? For the Omniscient did not demand information, but wanted Adam to reflect on what he was and what he had become. Where are you , that is, what kind of fall did you undergo, being at such a height?
(5) The Lord bless the children: humble yourself and be saved . Whether we understand this in a natural sense, human nature could not exist if the children and infants themselves were not protected by the Lord. For how could they, carried in the mother’s womb, be nourished or have movement, spending their life in such a cramped room that is not convenient for handling, even in a dark and damp place, without being able to breathe or live human life, but like fish swimming in the humidity, if God’s protection did not support them? Then, how could they continue life, even for a short time, after going to a place that was unusual for them, and being cooled by the air after the warmth that was in their mother’s womb, if God had not saved them? So, the Lord protect the little ones: humble yourself and save me . Or you can understand these words this way: since I turned and became like a baby, accepted the Kingdom of Heaven like a child, and through gentleness brought myself to childish humility, then God bless the babies , as soon as I humbled myself, save me .
(6) Turn my soul to your rest, for the Lord has done good to you . The good ascetic offers himself a word of consolation, saying like Paul: I have fought the good fight, I have come to the end, I have kept the faith: and so the crown of righteousness will be kept for me (2 Tim. 4:7-8). The Prophet says the same thing to himself: since you have already passed through a sufficient course of this life, then finally return to your peace, for the Lord has done good to you . For eternal rest awaits those who have labored lawfully in this life - a rest not rewarded according to the merits of their works, but by the grace of the great-gifted God bestowed upon those who trust in Him. Then, without even talking about the blessings there, but proclaiming how he was freed from worldly worries, he thanks for this the Liberator of souls, who delivered him from the varied and difficult slavery of passions. How is this possible?
(7) For my soul is taken away from death, my eyes from tears, and my nose from creeping . Through comparison with the present state, it depicts future peace. Here, he says, he struck me down with mortal illness , and there (God) took my soul away from death ; here the eyes shed tears from sorrow, but there are no longer tears that would darken the eyes of those rejoicing in the beauty of the glory of God, for the Lord God will take away every tear from every face (Isa. 25:8); here there are many dangers of creeping, which is why Paul said: be sure to stand and be careful, lest you fall (1 Cor. 10:12), but there the feet stand firm, life is unchanging, there is no danger of being drawn into sin, because there is no carnal rebellion, nor the wife's collaboration in sin. In the resurrection there is neither male nor female, but there is some kind of single and uniform life for those who please their Master and for those living in the land of the living. This world itself is mortal, and serves as a dwelling for the dying. Since the composition of visible things is complex, and everything complex is usually destroyed, then we, who live in the world, as parts of the world, necessarily participate in the nature of the whole. Therefore, we humans die many times even before death separates the soul from the body.
And don’t let what was said seem strange to you; on the contrary, delve into the reality itself. Over the course of three weeks of years, a person usually experiences three changes and vicissitudes in age and lifestyle, and at the end of each week, a special limit encloses the past and clearly indicates the change. In the first week, childhood ends with tooth loss; the age of a youth capable of learning continues until adolescence; The young man, upon reaching his twenty-first year, as soon as his cheeks begin to be covered with the first down, disappears unnoticeably, changing from a young man to a husband. Therefore, when you see a husband in whom the gradual growth over the years has ceased, his reason has already become established and there is no trace of youth left, then don’t you conclude that the past has died in him? And again, the old man, having changed both in appearance and in his spiritual disposition, clearly becomes different from what he was before. Therefore, human life is usually filled with many deaths, not only during the transition from one age to another, but also during spiritual falls into sin. And where there is no physical or mental change, because neither the mind is mistaken, nor the disposition changes, and no circumstance disturbs the constancy and serenity of thoughts, there is a country of the truly living, always similar to themselves. In it, the Prophet promises to especially please the God of all, since nothing external will prevent him from fulfilling his intention to serve truly and equally honestly with the Angels. It is said: For those who strive, whether remaining in the body or departing from the body, He is well pleased to be (cf. 2 Cor. 5:9). This is the country of the living: in it there is no night, no sleep - the image of death, no food, no drink - these reinforcements of our weakness, no illness, no suffering, no medicine, no courts of justice, no trade, no arts, no money - this is the beginning of evil , a pretext for fighting, the root of enmity. This is a country of the living, not dying by sin, but living the true life in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen.
