Psalm of David 126: The Lord's Inheritance

In the book of Psalms, each chapter is unique. This is a separate poetic work, filled with deep philosophical and religious meaning. Psalm 126 is part of a whole galaxy (from 119 to 133), united by a common theme - they are called songs of ascension. Many composers have written music to this text, although it is quite short and contains only five lines. In what cases is this biblical chapter read, what thoughts did the author want to share? Find out from the article.

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Interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. Commentaries on Ps. 126:3

Behold, the son's heritage of the Lord, the reward of the fruit of the womb

See Commentary on Ps. 126:2

Behold, the son's heritage of the Lord, the reward of the fruit of the womb

What is the connection of speech here? Great and inseparable from the previous one. The meaning of these words is as follows: if God does not give His help, then everything is in vain; and when He gives His help, then sleep will be pleasant, then there will be peace, and life free from dangers and filled with peace.

So, when God gives them sleep, when He calms them, when He repels the attackers, then they will not only build a city, not only preserve it, but will also receive much greater benefits; they will be the fathers of many children, God will give them many more children. . ”

What does it mean? As a reward, he says, they will receive many children. Although it is a work of nature, when God gives His help, then it will be more successful, because it also needs help from above, with it Jerusalem will be filled with many inhabitants.

Conversations on the Psalms. On Psalm 126.

Behold, the son's heritage of the Lord, the reward of the fruit of the womb

The words: “This is the heritage of the Lord: children; the reward from Him is the fruit of the womb” - literally refer, as it is said, to childbearing, which the holy Psalmist mentioned, since among the Jews it was considered the most desired good. In a spiritual sense, the womb means the heart.

And the reward of the fruit of the womb is sonship, which is given to those who guard their hearts from everything displeasing to God, praying: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb” (Ps. 50:12); and constantly resorting to the One about whom it is said (Ps. 109:3-4): “From the womb before the morning star I gave birth to Thee.

The Lord swears and will not repent.”

PSALMS. PSALM 122-132

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Song of Ascension.

1 I lift up my eyes to You, O One who dwells in heaven!

2 Behold, as the eyes of servants are on the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a servant are on the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us.

3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we are filled enough with contempt;

4 Our soul is filled with reproach from the proud and humiliation from the proud.

Psalm 123

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Song of Ascension. David.

1 If the Lord had not been with us, let Israel say,

2 If the Lord had not been with us when the people rose up against us,

3 Then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us;

4 The waters would drown us, the flood would pass over our souls;

5 Stormy waters would pass over our soul.

6 Blessed be the Lord, who did not give us as prey to their teeth!

7 Our soul is delivered like a bird from the snare of those who catch it: the snare is broken, and we are delivered.

8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who created heaven and earth.

Psalm 124

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Song of Ascension.

1 He who trusts in the Lord, like Mount Zion, will not be removed; he abides forever.

2 The mountains are around Jerusalem, and the Lord is around his people from now on and forever.

3 For [the Lord] will not leave the rod of the wicked over the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out their hands to iniquity.

4 Do good, O Lord, to the good and upright in their hearts;

5 But as for those who turn to their crooked ways, may the Lord cause them to walk with the workers of iniquity. Peace on Israel!

Psalm 125

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Song of Ascension.

1 When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were as if we were dreaming:

2 Then our mouth was full of joy, and our tongue was full of singing; Then they said among the nations: “The Lord has done great things for them!”

3 The Lord did great things for us; we rejoiced.

4 Bring back, O Lord, our captives like streams at noonday.

5 Those who sow in tears will reap with joy.

6 He who bears seeds weeping will return with joy, bearing his sheaves.

Psalm 126

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Song of Ascension. Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; If the Lord does not guard the city, the watchman watches in vain.

2 In vain do you rise early, sit up late, eat the bread of sorrow, while He gives sleep to His beloved.

3 This is the heritage of the Lord: children; the reward from Him is the fruit of the womb.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are young sons.

5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! They will not be left in shame when they speak to their enemies at the gates.

Psalm 127

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Song of Ascension.

1 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord and walks in His ways!

2 You will eat from the labor of your hands: blessed are you, and good to you!

3 Your wife is like a fruitful vine in your house; Your sons are like olive branches around your table:

4 So will the man who fears the Lord be blessed!

5 The Lord will bless you from Zion, and you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life;

6 You will see your sons' sons. Peace on Israel!

Interpretation of the text of Psalm 126 as a prophecy from the Lord to His inheritance

Pravoslavie.Guru > Literature > Interpretation of the text of Psalm 126 as the Lord's inheritance

The one hundred and twenty-sixth Psalm was created seven generations after the reign of Solomon, but authorship is attributed to him.

Important

How to figure this out? In the title of the psalm, consisting of two sentences, we partially find the answer, the rest of the solution is in the text.

The Russian Orthodox Church reads a text translated from the Septuagint into Church Slavonic. In our consideration we will use the Russian version.

Song of Ascension. Solomon

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; If the Lord does not guard the city, the watchman watches in vain.
It is in vain that you rise early, sit up late, eat the bread of sorrow, while He gives sleep to His beloved.
This is the inheritance from the Lord: children; the reward from Him is the fruit of the womb.
Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are young sons. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! They will not be left in shame when they speak to the enemies at the gates.”

Psalm 126 - interpretation of the title

The first half of the title (Song of Ascent) suggests that Psalm 126 was read and sung by people during the festive procession up the hills to pray to the Jerusalem Temple. The Mount of the Lord - one of the names of this place - is visible from afar, and the pilgrims, as soon as they saw it somewhere on the horizon, already began to pray and praise God with psalms. The repertoire, under the general title “Song of Ascension,” included psalms 119 – 133 (four of them are prayer)
Note: “Solomon” appears only in the psalm we are considering, and its peculiarity is that this song is dedicated to the event of the restoration of the temple upon the return of the Jews from captivity. The “House of God” (House of Prayer) built by Solomon was plundered and destroyed, and - after some time - the king of Persia decided to rebuild it, for which he released the slaves, sending them to build the temple (Ezra 1:2, 2 Chronicles 36:22) . Thus, Psalm 126 is deservedly named after the founder of the sanctuary of God on Mount Zion, where the people cried out to the Lord in prayer.
Another simple version of the name of the psalm is expressed by some theologians. The text of the psalm itself is filled with the idea of human relationships that directly depend on the Blessing of God and a prayerful relationship with Him. The manner of describing such a difficult topic coincides with those stories in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes from Solomon. In the Book of Ecclesiastes we read about human happiness, which depends not on the will of man, but on God's providence. In parables, Solomon gradually reveals in short sayings the teaching about the wisdom and insight of God.

Psalm 126 - prophecy

Construction took place in difficult conditions . Often work was suspended, encountering many pitfalls of envy and enmity, so trust in God in prayers played a decisive role here. When hope was placed more on one's own efforts than on God's favor, then problems arose: despondency, fears, worries about the future.

The psalm was intended to encourage and teach people about God's guidance, recalling the prophetic Scriptures speaking about this period: the sin of the people, then captivity, then liberation, the building of Samaria, Jerusalem, the restoration of the temple. This was spoken about by many prophets, and the author of Psalm 126 sang the prophecy of Jeremiah in poetic form and in a brief summary. Read (!) (Jerem 31,32).

Prophet Jeremiah on the New Testament

Jeremiah witnessed two stages of the captivity of the Jews - the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. He carried this pain in his heart, praying for his people, and received comfort from God in a dream.

A complete picture of the deliverance of both kingdoms emerged.

Moreover, he was shown the future of a united people living in the New Testament, and not the kind of covenant (old) that they inherited from Abraham and then violated.

Through the psalm, God reminds His people - the “Virgin of Israel” - of His eternal love for them, calling them Beloved. He promises to bring them closer, for no one can approach God on his own.

History of creation

The psalm is included in the so-called Song of Ascension - a collection of psalms that were sung during the festive ascent to the Jerusalem Temple for sacrifice.

At the beginning of the song there is a postscript “Solomon”, which speaks not about the authorship of this king, but about the time period. Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed and looted during the time when the Jews were taken into captivity. Several decades later, they returned to Israel and restored the temple.

Song 126 was written during the restoration period, and King Solomon had nothing to do with its writing.

About other psalms of David:

Psalm 38
Psalm 25
Psalm 10

This song also reflects the author's attitude towards human relationships. The construction and restoration of the sanctuary was carried out by ordinary people who were no strangers to passions and strife, so work was often suspended. People could only trust in the Lord and ask Him for help and mercy.

The psalm was created to encourage and teach the people about God's leading, bringing the people's thoughts back to the many prophecies about Israel's sin, captivity and deliverance. It is essentially a poetic retelling of Jeremiah's prophecy about the fall and restoration of Israel.

David - King Psalmist

Psalm of David 126: The Lord's Inheritance – Prayers

In the book of Psalms, each chapter is unique. This is a separate poetic work, filled with deep philosophical and religious meaning.

Psalm 126 is part of a whole galaxy (from 119 to 133), united by a common theme - they are called songs of ascension. Many composers have written music to this text, although it is quite short and contains only five lines.

In what cases is this biblical chapter read, what thoughts did the author want to share? Find out from the article.

Psalm 126 - text in Russian

Song of Degrees	Song of the Steps.
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. If the Lord does not preserve the city, its strictness will be in vain.	1 If the Lord does not build the house, the builders have labored in vain; If the Lord does not preserve the city, the watchman has watched in vain.
2 It is in vain for you to have learned in vain; you will rise up gray, eating the bread of sickness, when He gives sleep to His beloved.	2 It is in vain for you to greet the dawn, to rise after sitting, to eat the bread of sorrow, when He gives His beloved sleep.
3 Behold the heritage of the Lord's sons, the reward of the fruit of the womb.	3 Behold, the inheritance of the Lord is sons, the reward is the fruit of the womb.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man, like sons who have been shaken off.	4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the sons of exiles.
5 Blessed is he who gets his desire from them. They will not be ashamed when they speak against their enemy in the gates.	5 Blessed is he who fulfills his desire through them: they will not be ashamed when they speak to their enemies in the gates.

Historical information

If this is not your first time encountering this topic, then of course you know that the author of most texts from the Psalter is King David. But in this case his son, Solomon, is indicated.

However, many researchers are inclined to think that he was only the addressee to whom the psalmist’s thoughts turned.

Moreover, in the second part of the work we are talking about the fact that a father can be proud of his young sons.

Psalm 126 has a fairly clear general meaning, which is already included in the first lines:

any business that people begin will be in vain if God does not bless it;
children, especially sons, are not only a source of pride, but also a reward from the heavenly Lord;
when the time of testing comes, those who have been faithful to the Lord will be able to easily defend themselves from their enemies.

The Greek translation from which the Church Slavonic was made is distinguished by a number of inaccuracies. For example, the fourth line talks about sons born in youth (and not sons expelled).

Interpretation of Psalm 126

If you read these verses in Church Slavonic, it will be quite difficult to immediately understand what they are talking about. The meaning is much clearer if you take the work in Russian. Although in this case the translations will differ.

We have already talked about one discrepancy, there is another. We are talking about the second stanza. It talks about how futile the efforts of those who try to earn a living by devoting all their free time to work are.

In contrast to the disembodied vanity of those whose hearts do not know God, the faithful are brought to whom everything that is necessary is given easily. This is not surprising: when something is blessed by the Lord, then everything goes like clockwork, and His servants do not need anything. But in the second part of the stanza, the translations of Psalm 126 diverge:

one (particularly Slavic) says that the Lord sends a dream to his beloved children;
in others (German, for example) it is said that God gives what is needed while his children sleep peacefully - that is, they do not care about anything at all.

More correct translations can be found among Protestants, for example, Martin Luther. He did it not from the Greek, but from the Hebrew original.

In any undertaking, be it building a temple or taking care of one’s own well-being, a person will fail if the Lord does not bless him. Researchers believe that the Jews chanted Psalm 126 while they were building the second Temple in Jerusalem. Faith in God supported them in this difficult task. Firm confidence in His help is expressed in biblical lines.

Ps.126:1,2. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Song of the Steppes

The Apostle says: I kill and enslave my body

(1 Cor. 9:27). When you feel that the body rebels against the spirit and hinders you in the spiritual pursuits of piety, when the devil, touching the fattened flesh, arouses inappropriate thoughts - then you must use asceticism, fasting and intense prayer.

And I don’t want to tell you at all that there is no need for a feat, but I only wanted to warn you against immoderation and arrogance, to protect you from the fast that St. the apostle calls it bodily training or exercise. Whoever limits fasting to external abstinence alone, without exercising the soul together in spiritual virtues, fasting can only serve to satiate the flesh or spiritual pride; it should not kill the body, but mortify passions; immoderate and untimely fasting entails two very dangerous consequences: either the body itself falls under its burden and life is exhausted before the heart is cleansed and the soul is ripe for eternal bliss, or an unreasonable ascetic, having exhausted his strength, indulges in carelessness and the opposite life; then the word of the Gospel comes true with him: and the tree seems to have

will be taken away from him (Luke 19:26).
We must work with all our might in the field of salvation, but we should not rely on our labors, we should not think that we have done everything for salvation or even done anything if we maintain fasting, abstinence and do not omit prayer. God acts, both as he wants and as he does: our job is to work and humble ourselves. Unless the Lord builds, he who builds labors in vain.
The structure of our salvation is not at all like the building of man. In human strength there is neither the foundation on which this inner house could be created, nor the warmth with which it would be warmed. For the foundation is Christ, and just as the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to rely on the foundation of the salvation of all mankind, descended into the immeasurable depth of humility, so we can lay the cornerstone of our salvation in no other way than through deep humility, consequently, destroying in ourselves all arrogance. The warmth with which the inner building of the soul is warmed is love, and love again is not the work of an earthly man, it is poured into us by the Holy Spirit. Consequently, it is again acquired by humility; for God gives grace to the humble.

Finally, if you want, then the very blueprint according to which a spiritual house is built is not at all similar to those according to which earthly houses are built. According to earthly drawings, the houses being built have many doors and windows, and therefore, living in them, we see and hear a lot, which we would not want to see and hear. And in ancient times there was a house that was built according to the instructions of God; it had one door and one window facing heaven. No doubt you understand that I am talking about the ark. Why did the Lord God only give a hole for light to heaven? Maybe because the ark was floating in water, and if there was a hole in the walls, the water would have drowned it? This is true. But doesn’t a spiritual person, in real life, also rush among the waves of worldly vanities, everyday worries and various sinful impressions, like an ark among a flood? But this also shows that our soul must continually ascend to heaven. Our eyes are to the Lord

, says St.
prophet. I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, but from here my help will come
(Ps. 120:1).
And what again gives us a lesson is that just as in building an inner house, with all our intense work, we must only trust in the Lord God, so in maintaining it we must constantly call on His help. Watch
, says the Savior,
and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune
(Mark 14:36).

Pray without ceasing

(1 Thess. 5:16), this is what St. teaches. Apostle, do not take your eyes off heaven for a single minute, constantly keep yourself at the foot of the throne of God through prayer. As long as you are on earth, you walk through a quagmire; one minute of self-forgetfulness - you will fall into the depths, and the waves of sin will carry you away. There were great ascetics, but the devil in a very short time stole from them the fruits of many years of labor and exploits, because they relied on themselves and broke off their prayer union with the Source of grace, Jesus Christ. Don’t you remember the wise saying of the great Anthony? Not far from his desert there was one ascetic, not yet advanced in years, he had great gifts of grace, the people glorified him; They told Anthony about him. This monk, the wise old man answered, is a ship loaded with expensive talents, but it seems that this ship will not reach the pier. Indeed, after some time the talented monk fell with a strong fall; in this state, he asked the elder to pray that he would be given ten days to repent, but ten days had not passed, and he was already in eternity.

Self-confidence is so dangerous, so one must constantly humble oneself before God, work with all zeal in the field of salvation and recognize oneself as an inexorable slave. It is difficult for a person who has relied heavily on himself for his salvation to rebel. Having suffered a fall or stumbling, which cannot be avoided in real life, he indulges in impatience, painful melancholy and incurable illness, because he thought a lot about his strengths and turned out to be powerless than a baby. In this case, this is not the state of a Christian, who in the matter of salvation recognizes himself as insignificant and trusts in the sole grace of God. He falls, but is not crushed, for he constantly carries within himself the thought that he was conceived and born in lawlessness; feels that from his own strength there is nothing more to expect than falls and stumbling. And just as, standing right, he humbly trusted in the Lord, so, having encountered a stumbling block, with even greater humility and with great hope he cries out to Him for forgiveness and is soon healed. Do not grieve unreasonably and immoderately over the greatest sins before God,

this is what St. teaches. Demetrius (ABC Spirit. Book 1), impatient sorrow for sin, sorrow combined with zeal, is a matter of self-love: a Christian, having been exposed to sin, confesses it to the Lord with tender tears and will soon calm himself with hope in the merits of Christ the Savior. They will not be equal, says St. Demetrius, our sins are in the abyss of God’s bounty, who will save us with his mercy. To this, in a spiritual sense, we can add the words of the prophet: he gave sleep to his beloved. The prophet knows that both those who love the Lord and those who are beloved by the Lord cannot pass without stumbling in this life; however, even after stumbling, and even falling, they do not give in to painful despair, but, having washed away the sin with repentance, again enjoy peace of mind, which was violated by sin.

However, it does not follow from this that life should be spent in idleness and carelessness. Man is born to work, but the work must be moderate. That is, out of ambition or self-interest, there is no need to indulge in work that is beyond our strength, exhaust the body and deprive oneself of the rest necessary for human nature. Work must be combined with submission to the destinies of God. Look at the farmer: he sheds a lot of sweat over the field, but the fruit is not in his hands, but in the hands of God; He works a lot, but even accepts small rewards with humility and does not complain about God. Likewise, in every task one must work diligently, and what the fruit of labor will be is the work of God.

Finally, I repeat, one should not avoid work and indulge in carelessness and idleness, but must beware of arrogant and unauthorized work. Everyone has work given from God; It is through this labor that the Kingdom of Heaven must be earned. The Wise One points to this in the book of Ecclesiastes. I saw good things, there was plenty to eat, there was plenty to eat and drink, and I saw goodness in all my labor, which I would have worked under the sun, on the number of days of my life, which God gave him to eat, as this is part of him

(Ecc.5:17).
Finally, work must be aimed at the glory of God, and its fruit must also be dedicated to the glory of God. Because both work and fruit are the gift of God, according to the same Wise One. To every man, to whom God has given wealth, and property, and power, He will give him food from it, and his share, and to rejoice in his labor.
This is the gift of God (Eccl. 5:18). However, again we should not assume that the joy that work will bring us, or the fruits of our labor, consists only of eating and drinking. The holy writer wants to depict contentment and tranquility in life. The gift of God must be dedicated to the glory of God. There is no better way to rejoice in labor than by consuming the fruits of labor according to God’s commandment. Indeed, what could be more pleasant than the pleasure when, with the fruits of our labors, we console and reassure elderly parents, alleviate the poverty of the orphans, and help the needy. This is the most noble fruit that we can receive from our labors, fruit that is both pleasing to the Lord and nutritious for ourselves. Because here he consoles us, and in the future life he prepares for us blissful rest and the sweetest food at the triumph of the Flightless Lamb. Amen.

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