To the head of the choir. When dawn appears. Psalm of David.
My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? The words of my cry are far from saving me. My God! I cry during the day, and You do not listen to me, at night, and there is no peace for me. But You, Holy One, live among the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them; They cried to You and were saved; They trusted in You and did not remain in shame.
I am a worm, not a man, reproached by people and contempted by the people. Everyone who sees me mocks me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him.”
But You brought me out of the womb, You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts. I was left to You from the womb; From my mother’s womb You are my God. Do not move away from me, for sorrow is close, but there is no helper.
Many bulls surrounded me; The fat ones of Bashan surrounded me and opened their mouths on me, like a lion hungry for prey and roaring.
I was poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melted in the midst of my insides. My strength has dried up like a shard; my tongue clung to my throat, and You brought me to the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded me, a crowd of evil ones has surrounded me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. One could count all my bones; and they look and make a spectacle out of me; They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing.
But You, Lord, do not move away from me; my strength! hasten to my aid; deliver my soul from the sword and my lonely from the dogs; save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns; when you hear, deliver me.
I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You. Those who fear the Lord! praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him, for He did not despise or disregard the sorrow of the sufferer, did not hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him.
In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him. Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tribes of the heathen will bow before You, for the Lord is the kingdom, and He is Ruler over the nations.
All the rich lands will eat and worship; All who go down into the dust and cannot save their lives will bow before Him. My descendants will serve Him, and will be called the Lord's forever: they will come and proclaim His righteousness to the people who are born, what the Lord has done.
Psalter. Psalm 21. — Irenaeus (Pikovsky) hieromonk
Approximate description of the lecture:
Psalm 21 is one of the most interesting and most important for Christians. The psalm is messianic, it is woven into the flesh and blood of Christian thought and spirituality, since its opening words “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? were among the last to speak on the lips of the Savior crucified on the cross.
The poet who wrote this psalm had the gift of words; his description of suffering touches the heart to the core. This lament is one of the most touching songs in the Psalter.
"My God! My God! [listen to me] why have you forsaken me? The words of my cry are far from saving me. (Ps. 21:2).
In the words of the title of the Hebrew text “at the dawn”, some researchers guess a hint of a melody, since next to it there is an instruction to “the leader of the choir.”
“To the head of the choir. When dawn appears. A Psalm of David” (Ps. 21:1).
However, in the Greek title of the text, instead of the expression “at the appearance of dawn,” we find the phrase (I will give my translation) “about help at dawn.” The Greek title can be interpreted as an indication of the long-awaited help, which, like the morning dawn, destroyed the darkness of the night, the sorrowful experiences of the psalmist, who felt himself already on the threshold of the end. In this case, it seems to me that the Greek spelling is perhaps more ancient and corresponds to the original content of this text.
This song first introduces us to the depths of suffering that led the author to complete despair (verses 2 to 22).
"My God! I cry during the day, and you do not listen to me, at night, and there is no rest for me” (Ps. 22:3).
Complaints alternate with requests. The psalmist describes the dark depths of his agony, his mood fluctuating restlessly between fear and a burning desire to find refuge in God. Then the author radically changes his tone and takes us to the heights of those feelings of gratitude that seize his soul in answer to answered prayer (verses 23-31). The train of thought becomes more orderly, the author calls to join his testimony of the goodness of God: not only the whole seed of Jacob calls those who fear the Lord (verses 23-27), but also the tribes of the pagans (verse 28-29), and even more, the passing generation and the future descendants (verses 30-31).
Between the two parts of the psalm, the answer to the request of the worshiper seems to elude. The enemies of the psalmist are written in colorful images, such as dogs, bulls, unicorns, lions, but it is difficult for us to guess where and how to draw a bridge between artistic images and real facts.
The psalm conveys not so much physical suffering as the suffering of the soul. The fundamental theme of the psalm, which connects both of its parts, is not so much reproach from people, but the experience of being abandoned by God.
The words “but You, Lord, do not depart from me; my strength! hasten to help me” (Ps. 21:20) are at the center of this psalm. The testimony of one of the community representatives that God has not forgotten and saved him is important for the entire congregation, and therefore the entire community glorifies this miracle. The psalm describes the experience of one person, a specific individual, but the testimony of a miracle that strengthened faith on the edge of the abyss was important for the entire congregation praying in the temple. Therefore, this psalm was sung during public worship.
In the first part of the psalm, prayer involves an internal dialogue between what we know about God and the state in which we now find ourselves. Our fears and requests are formed from this dialogue. This picture is clearly visible in the first section of the psalm (verses 2 to 22).
The psalmist’s personal suffering, his constant references to the pronouns “I,” “me,” “me,” alternate with appeals to God: “You,” “You,” “You.” The call to “do not depart from me” is repeated twice (in verses 12 and 20).
Verses 2-3 reveal an almost unbearable tension that tears at the heart. Shouting “Oh my God!” repeated three times. But this is the same God who, according to other texts of the Bible, does not abandon those who seek Him. On the one hand, salvation comes from the Lord: “May the Lord hear you in the day of sorrow, may the name of the God of Jacob protect you” (Ps. 19:2). On the other hand, there is a very specific feeling that the personal prayers of the author of the psalm are not heard. The psalmist cannot deny the real existence of God, but at the same time he does not want to come to terms with the fact that God is silent in response to tearful cries day and night.
“But You, O Holy One, live in the midst of the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them; They cried to You and were saved; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed” (Ps. 21:4-6).
The phrase “living in the midst of the praises of Israel” has no parallel in other places in the Old Testament. The prayers of past generations of patriarchs and prophets were heard. The words “they trusted in You, and You delivered” are repeated three times here. This adds to the psalmist's despair as he begins to wonder to himself, "Why doesn't God act now as He did before?" The same tension underlies the national lament in Psalm 43: “O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers told us of the work that You did in their days, even in the days of old. But now You have rejected and put us to shame, and You do not go out with our armies” (Ps. 43:2; Ps. 43:10).
Verses 7-9 give the first idea of the nature of the author’s spiritual torment:
“I am a worm, not a man, reproached by people and contempted by the people. Everyone who sees me mocks me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: “He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him” (Ps. 21:7-9).
The author describes himself as a worm, not a person. The word “worm” is used mockingly in relation to Job by one of the unfortunate man’s so-called friends. This kind of humiliation is used by the prophet Isaiah in describing Israel, trampled under the feet of more powerful empires. The psalmist feels crushed, helpless, surrounded by ridicule that seeks to undermine his faith and show its groundlessness.
“He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him” (Ps. 21:9).
Such ridicule is much more dangerous than physical violence against a believer, since it can sow seeds of doubt, as verses 10-12 show:
“But You brought me out of the womb, You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts. I was left to You from the womb; From my mother’s womb You are my God. Do not move away from me, for sorrow is near, but there is no helper” (Ps. 21:10-12).
Life itself is a gift from God. Here high theology finds expression in simple words. At the center of the good news of the prophet Isaiah, the idea of salvation is also expressed in the words “do not be afraid.” The Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, says to the sons of Jacob: “Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; You are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1). However, if the Lord treats a person as His child, like a mother treats her newborn baby, where is He, according to this psalm? Now is the moment of deepest need, “tribulation is near, but there is no helper” (Ps. 21:12). The psalmist cries for help as a baby cries to its mother: “Do not go far from me.” This concludes the first part of the psalm.
Verses 13-22 describe the psalmist's tragic situation.
“Many bulls surrounded me; The fat ones of Bashan surrounded me, they opened their mouth against me like a lion, hungry and roaring” (Ps. 21:13-14).
David was surrounded by a crowd of villains. Descriptions from the animal world make the picture more colorful and dramatic. The psalmist was surrounded by many strong, young Bashan bulls. Bashan is a fertile plateau east of the Jordan and covers the northern part of the present-day Dutch Heights. There are rich farmlands that produced wheat and pasture to feed cattle.
The prophet Amos at the same time sarcastically compared the spoiled beauties of Samaria with the heifers of Bashan. Some modern scholars believe that these Bashan cows are not just a metaphor for the uncivility and thick-skinnedness of the women of Samaria, but also a reference to those wives who worshiped the pagan goddess Ashtoreth.
The strength and vitality of the villains is compared not only to bulls, but also to a hungry and roaring lion. Such a lion is ready to pounce on its victim to satisfy its hunger. By the way, for the Apostle Paul, the roaring lion that wants to swallow him is the devil himself.
The third largest group of creatures are dogs.
“For dogs have surrounded me; a crowd of evildoers has surrounded me; they have pierced my hands and my feet” (Ps. 21:17).
Although behind the concept of “dog” is the most innocuous concept of “dog,” in the original Hebrew this word has the most neutral meaning. But, of course, in this context, we are not talking about harmless poodles. We are talking about some vultures, dogs that live in landfills and feed on carrion. This description of dogs is given by the prophet Elijah, who announces the future judgment of King Ahab and Jezebel. Dogs will eat Jezebel: “Whoever dies in Ahab’s city will be eaten by dogs, and whoever dies in the field will be pecked by the birds of the air” (1 Kings 21:24).
So, if bulls and lions are villains who are ready to trample and tear the psalmist to pieces, then dogs are the image of those who would like to profit from the corpse, to plunder everything that will remain after the death of the poet.
The frightening image of external threats is mixed with a description of the psalmist’s broken psychological state. The torment and exhaustion of the soul are poetically compared to different parts of the suffering body.
“I am poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melting in the midst of my insides. My strength has dried up like a shard; my tongue clung to my throat, and You brought me to the dust of death. One could count all my bones; and they look and make a spectacle out of me; They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing” (Ps. 21:15-16, 19).
The inability to gather one's courage is conveyed through the image of flowing water. Disorientation in thoughts is like disintegrating bones; fear is like melting wax. A clay shard burnt out in the sun becomes fragile - this is an image of the impoverishment of vitality. The text of the psalm tells us that the author already feels himself on the verge of death. However, the horror lies in the fact that he cannot simply die: the villains could simply kill him, but they make a spectacle out of his death.
A similar situation in the future was reflected in the death of Jesus Christ. Describing the behavior of the soldiers on Golgotha at the cross, the Apostle John notes: “That what was spoken in the Scripture might be fulfilled: They divided My garments among themselves, and cast lots for My clothing” (John 19:24). The requests of suffering people for a quick death also find echoes in the New Testament. In the face of the Son of God sitting on the throne, at that hour His opponents will begin to say to the mountains: “Fall on us!” and to the hills: “Cover us!” (Luke 23:30).
The first part of the psalm ends with a repeated reference to evildoers and their potential threats. There are such images as a sword, dogs, lions and buffaloes. Behind the sword there may be an image of a crowd; for the dogs, judging by the verse, there is loneliness; behind the lions is the image of teeth and the image of horns (reference to the buffalo).
“But You, Lord, do not depart from me; my strength! hasten to my aid; deliver my soul from the sword and my lonely from the dogs; save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns; when you hear, deliver me” (Ps. 21: 20-22).
The request is intensified in the last verses of the first part: “do not go away,” “hasten to the rescue,” “deliver,” “save,” “having heard.”
The theme of the psalm changes radically from verse 23, however, we do not see in the text what happened historically between these parts. There is no answer from God above, no encouraging word from the priest or temple prophet. But still, apparently, the painful questions asked in the first part of the verse found their answer. God no longer withdraws, does not hide His face, He is present and answers the call for help. Verses 23-32 speak about this.
“I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You. Those who fear the Lord! praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him, for He did not despise or disdain the sorrow of the sufferer, nor hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him” (Ps. 21:23-25).
All who revered David joined him in shouting thanks to God. Together with the psalmist, the entire congregation of God’s people sings “Hallelujah!”, that is, “we praise You, O God!” The phrase “great meeting” in this context speaks of public worship.
“In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him” (Ps. 21:26).
The poet's gratitude is expressed in vows that were closely associated with temple sacrifices. Such sacrifices, in the form of a meal, could be shared with the poor. Having experienced his own suffering, the psalmist became more sensitive to the needs of others no less vulnerable than himself. Reciprocating, they stood in line with the psalmist and together formed a choir of those seeking the Lord.
The verse of the 27th psalm in the Orthodox monastic environment eventually became a prayer before the evening meal.
“Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever!” (Ps. 21:27)
However, it would be a mistake to believe that the monks took the quote out of context that speaks of filling the belly. Rather, a brief quotation from an extensive psalm should have resembled the entire text, and emphasized that only those who seek God will be able to receive true satiety of earthly, and then heavenly spiritual food.
According to Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus, here we can see a certain prototype of spiritual teaching and the mysterious immortal supper of eating the Eucharist.
Verses 28-29 are addressed to the whole assembly of the people: not only a small circle of fellow tribesmen, but also the tribes of the pagans are invited to remember how the power of God was manifested in the weakness of the psalmist.
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the nations of the nations will bow down before You, for the Lord is the kingdom, and He is Ruler over the nations” (Ps. 21:28-29).
The last verses of the psalm cause debate among scholars. The traditional text in Russian reads: “All the fat lands will eat and bow down” (literally bow down to the ground). It seems that some “fat, fattened rich people” will participate in a single festive feast along with the poor from verse 27. However, in the context of the psalm this is controversial. In parallel with the poor, if you look at the parallels within the 29th and 30th verses, go those who seek the Lord; and in parallel with the fat ones of the earth - those descending into the grave. In an attempt to avoid this textual problem, some theologians try to correct the text itself. In particular, they put a period after the words “they will eat,” and then, by changing one letter in the original Hebrew, they turn “those who are fat in the earth” into “those who sleep in the earth”—those who sleep in the earth. This hypothesis is supported by some ancient manuscripts, but in this case we get an even more mysterious parallelism: God will be worshiped not only by those who descend into the dust and who cannot save their lives (that is, gradually dying old people), but also by those who have already died, “sleeping in the ground.” "will worship God. Such corrections should be treated with caution.
“All the rich earth will eat and worship; all those who go down into the dust and cannot save their lives will bow down before Him. (Ps. 21:30).
Psalm 21 is the sorrow of a person who experiences fear of persecution from enemies and, in the midst of suffering, does not see saving help from God. Jesus Christ found himself in a similar situation when He was taken into custody and handed over to crucifixion by those who hated Him. Having crucified, they divided the clothes, casting lots, those passing by slandered, nodding their heads: “He who destroys the temple and builds in three days! save yourself; if you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Trusted in God; Let him deliver Him now, if He pleases Him. For He said: I am the Son of God" (Matthew 27:40, 43)
At the same time, on the lips of the Savior, the verses of the psalm convey the same almost unbearable tension tearing apart the Son of Man: “My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46). The Son of Man, with an essentially divine nature, has constant communication with the Divine Father, and while His human nature at some point found itself surrounded by the darkness of evil, which seeks to frighten and alienate man from God.
The quotation from the first part of Psalm 21 shows that the authors of the Gospel saw how much this psalm reflects the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. The Gospel refers only to the first tragic part of the 21st Psalm; The story of salvation for the psalmist and for Jesus Christ, described in the second part of the psalm, turned out to be different in fact. The psalmist did not experience death; on the contrary, death for him would have been the final point of alienation from God, that is, a tragic ending. The psalmist was saved, which for him meant that he remained alive. Jesus Christ, on the contrary, was crucified and died on the cross. Salvation for Him was on the other side of death. Hence the different perceptions of salvation as such. If for the psalmist the result of salvation is the opportunity for descendants to “be born” and “proclaim” everything that the Lord has created, then for the Apostle Paul “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
It is unlikely that an Old Testament person could comprehend the meaning of the words of the expression “If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him” (Rom. 6:8), not knowing the mystery of the Resurrection of Christ.
Some words of joy from the second part of the 21st Psalm, in particular the quote: “I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You” (Ps. 21:23) are still reflected in the New Testament. For example, in the context of Hebrews: “For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of One; therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the church I will sing praises to You” (Heb. 2:11-12). Here we reflect on what is already happening about a new era and a new perception of the very nature of joy, which in a Christian context acquires meaning and salvation only in the light of the Resurrection of Christ.
So, we have looked at the Messianic psalm, throughout which there are quotations that are literally implanted in the flesh and blood of the Gospel narrative. One of the quotes is pronounced on the lips of the Savior at the moment of His crucifixion on the cross, the rest are the theology of the Gospel. Quotes from the psalm were reflected in the responses of the Evangelists to how they saw the embodiment of ancient prophecy in the person of Jesus Christ. Of course, the original historical context of this psalm is the torment of one specific person, who, perhaps, did not initially realize which part of this psalm would be reflected in the personality of Jesus Christ, although he was filled with the spirit. But what is important for us is that in the liturgical context this psalm begins to be sung during divine services long before Jesus Christ.
“[My] descendants will serve Him, and will be called the Lord’s forever: they will come and proclaim His righteousness to the people who are born, what the Lord has done” (Ps. 21:31-32).
This psalm, both for the people of antiquity and for us now, is some evidence that the number of ancient martyrs whom we sing and every year we honor their memory at the annual service is not as great as it seems at first glance, but their testimony of faith becomes normative, exemplary and constantly sung during divine services.
In the same way, here, the testimony of faith on the edge of unbelief (which is much more difficult than just torture and torture in the physical sense of the word) becomes normative and exemplary for the society of Israel in ancient times, and therefore this psalm was already used during worship services, when the Old Testament people they did not know the Lord.
But no matter how we try to interpret this psalm, it does not reveal to us the secret of the afterlife. But the mystery of the perception of salvation as the life of the future age is revealed in the New Testament. Only through the prism of the Resurrection of Christ do we acquire a completely different content of the concept of salvation: as hope, as hope and as the fulfillment of all joys in another age, in the hour when Jesus Christ reigns again in heaven and earth.
The role in Orthodox Christianity of the prophetic Psalm 21 from the book of Psalms
1 To the director of the choir. When dawn appears. Psalm of David.
2 My God! My God! Why have you left me? The words of my cry are far from saving me.
3 My God! I cry during the day, and You do not listen to me, at night, and I have no peace.
4 But You, O Holy One, live in the midst of the praises of Israel.
5 Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them;
6 They cried to You and were saved; They trusted in You and did not remain in shame.
7 But I am a worm, and not a man, reproached by men and despised by the people.
8 Everyone who sees me mocks me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads:
9 “He trusted in the Lord. Let him deliver him, let him save him, if he pleases him.”
10 But You brought me out of the womb, You placed hope in me at my mother’s breasts.
11 I was left to You from the womb; From my mother’s womb You are my God.
12 Do not move away from me, for sorrow is near and there is no helper.
13 Many bulls surrounded me; the fat Bashanites surrounded me,
14 They opened their mouth against me like a lion, hungry and roaring.
15 I am poured out like water; all my bones crumbled; my heart became like wax, melted in the midst of my insides.
16 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue stuck to my throat, and You brought me down to the dust of death.
17 For dogs have surrounded me; a crowd of evildoers has surrounded me; they have pierced my hands and my feet.
18 All my bones could be numbered; and they look and make a spectacle out of me;
19 They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing.
20 But You, Lord, do not depart from me; my strength! Hasten to my aid;
21 Deliver my soul from the sword and my lonely from the dogs;
22 Save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of the unicorns; when you hear, deliver me.
23 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You.
24 You who fear the Lord! Praise Him. All the seed of Jacob! Praise Him. Let all the seed of Israel revere Him,
25 For He did not despise or disdain the sorrow of the sufferer, nor hide His face from him, but heard him when he called to Him.
26 In You is my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows to those who fear Him.
27 Let the poor eat and be satisfied; let those who seek Him praise the Lord; May your hearts live forever!
28 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the nations of the nations will bow down before You,
29 For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He is Ruler over the nations.
30 All the rich lands will eat and worship; All who go down into the dust and cannot save their lives will bow before Him.
31 My descendants will serve Him and will be called the Lord’s forever;
32 They will come and proclaim His righteousness to the people who are born, what the Lord has done.
