Psalm of David 93 in Russian and Church Slavonic

Text of prayer Psalm 93

Today the prayer exists in two variations. In Church Slavonic it is read in churches during services. At home, in order to understand the meaning of the work, you are allowed to use a version of the text adapted to the Russian language.

In Church Slavonic with accents

In Russian

Publication by the successors of A.P. Lopukhin. Explanatory Bible. Interpretation of the Psalter

Psalm 93

[Psalm of David on the fourth day of the week]

According to the inscription, the psalm was sung on the fourth day of the week, that is, on Wednesday. The words of the Law of Moses, read before Josiah and the people, filled this pious king with a zealous desire to restore among his subjects a life in accordance with the commandments of the Lord, which had been rudely trampled and forgotten at this time. The unknown writer of this psalm is imbued with the same holy zeal, which is why he addresses the Jew with words of reproof and exhortation.

Arise, O Lord, to judge the wicked, who commit violence against the weak and helpless in the hope that the Lord does not see them (1-7). Such hope is ignorant: does God, who gave man sight, hearing and reason, not know the vain thoughts of the wicked and does not see their deeds (8-11)? Blessed is the one who listens to the reproof of the Lord, for this he will receive a reward, but the wicked will perish (12-13). If the people live in accordance with the law, they will not be rejected by the Lord, who loves righteousness (14-15). And in whom, besides the Lord, can one place hope? If it were not for Him, the persecuted righteous would have perished. As troubles increase, even the comforting promises of the Lord can strengthen the righteous (16-19). Where the Lord appears for protection, all those who oppose His law will disappear. In Him the righteous will find firm support, and He will destroy the wicked for their wickedness (20-23).

1 God of vengeance, Lord, God of vengeance, reveal Yourself!

1. The writer prays to the Lord to reveal himself before the wicked “The Lord will see him as God, and the God of Jacob will not know him.”

6-7. They commit violence against the poor and defenseless (“the widow and the stranger”), and they believe in their impunity, denying Divine omniscience and the action of His judgment on earth. They say, “The Lord will not see or know.”

The wicked here seem to know the law about widows and strangers, given through Moses, therefore by them we must understand not the pagan peoples who oppressed the Jews, as this place is sometimes interpreted and, on the basis of such an understanding, the psalm is attributed to the time of the onset of the Babylonian captivity, but the corrupted Jews who deliberately violated God's law. This wickedness was widespread and was the main evil that undermined the peace of the inner life of the Jewish people.

8 Come to your senses, you foolish people! When will you be smart, ignoramuses? 9 He who fills the ear will not hear? and the eye that formed will not see? 10 He who admonishes the nations will not he who teaches man understanding? 11 The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vanity.

8-11. The writer addresses such wicked people with a stern word of admonition. They expect impunity for their actions because they think that God will not see their actions. Such reasoning only shows their extreme ignorance. A person has vision, hearing and reason, which he uses as means and tools for understanding the world and according to the acquired knowledge he arranges his life and actions. If a person knows, sees and understands everything around him, then is it possible to think that the Lord, who gave him these means of knowledge, does not see and does not know what his creation is doing?

12 Blessed is the man whom You admonish, O Lord, and instruct with Your law, 13 to give him rest in the days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked!

12-13. The belief that the Lord sees and knows everything gives the writer confidence that the predominance of the wicked on earth is temporary, just as the suffering of the righteous is temporary, that disasters will come on earth as an expression of the wrath and judgment of God, and then the wicked will perish, and the righteous will be at peace, that is, rewarded by God.

14 For the Lord will not reject His people, nor forsake His inheritance. 15 For judgment will return to righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

15. “The court will return to the truth.” The meaning of judgment on earth is to preach the truth in its decisions and protect the innocent. Under the leadership of the wicked on earth, this meaning of judgment has been distorted: there is no truth in it. When the Lord comes, He will return to the court the trampled truth by punishing the wicked and establishing on earth the dominion of the pious, who will then become worthy judges and guides of it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity? 17 If the Lord had not been my helper, my soul would soon have entered a land of silence.

17. Using his example, the writer proves the manifestation of Divine action in the world: if the Lord had not helped him, he would have died long ago (“to enter the land of silence” - to descend into Sheol, that is, to die). Obviously, the writer was a zealous denouncer of the wicked, for which he caused constant persecution and attempts on his life on their part. He attributes his salvation from them to the direct protection of the Lord, which is for him actual proof that the Lord controls life and monitors its progress. If this is really so, then it is possible and certain that truth and true judgment, which he spoke about earlier, will be restored on earth (see Art. 15).

18 When I said, “My foot falters,” Thy mercy, O Lord, upheld me. 19 When my sorrows multiply in my heart, Your consolations delight my soul.

19. “Thy consolations delight my soul” - the promises given by God in the law that the wicked would certainly be punished and the righteous rewarded, served as reinforcement and encouragement to the writer during his intensified adversity.

He tries to instill this faith in the restoration of righteousness and justice on earth in others, when in subsequent verses he says that the Lord will destroy all who live in crime.

20 Will the seat of destroyers, plotting violence contrary to the law, stand near You? 21 They rush in crowds against the soul of the righteous and condemn innocent blood. 22 But the Lord is my defense, and my God is the rock of my refuge, 23 and the Lord our God will destroy them by their iniquity, and will destroy them by their wickedness.

When and why to read Psalm 93?

Some psalms require specific reading dates. For example, prayer 93 is read exclusively on Wednesdays. It is aimed at warding off damage, the evil eye and overly harmful enemies. If you have been unfairly offended, you can turn to prayer for God’s support. It is useful to read a prayer when there are people around you who, like madmen, do disgraceful things.

The chant is read in the church during the service. Centuries-old tradition has proven that the Church Slavonic language is perfect for singing such songs. It is loud and melodic, which creates the necessary atmosphere in the house of God. Reading at home is not forbidden; you can comprehend the meaning in Russian.

Candles, icons and a heart open to dialogue with the Lord are all you need for prayer.

The singer is unknown, but the song is still the same: that God will certainly reward all the proud for not bowing obediently before God and the Judge of all the earth, and not even planning for themselves to submit to the demands of the Almighty

93:3 How long, O Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph?

He who sings to God knows that the wicked will not be able to prosper in their wickedness forever: God’s decision to put an end to them will bring an end to their prosperity. However, he would like God to make such a decision quickly.

93:4 They spew out insolent speeches; all who practice iniquity are magnified;

He complains that the speeches of the wicked are impudent, they commit lawlessness with impunity, and therefore exalt their strength in their own eyes, as if no one could cope with them forever

93:5-7 They trample down Your people, O Lord, they oppress Your inheritance; 6 They kill the widow and the stranger, and they kill the orphans, 7 and they say, “The Lord will not see, and the God of Jacob will not know.”

The singer means everyone who oppresses God’s people, who tramples on the weak and defenseless, and at the same time they believe that the God of Israel does not see what they are doing, so cleverly they manage to hide all their crimes from Him. It is not that they do not believe in the existence of God, but they do not believe that He sees their destructive deeds.

93:8,9 Come to your senses, senseless people! When will you be smart, ignoramuses? 9 He who fills the ear will not hear? and the eye that formed will not see?

He is trying to reason with these wicked people. He knows for sure that the one who made the ear himself hears everything that happens on earth. He who invented the eye himself sees perfectly everything that happens on earth (if God had not seen and heard Himself, He could not have made His creations seeing and hearing, God would not have known at all that this was possible).

93:10 Will not He who admonishes the nations reprove, He who teaches man understanding?

The singer is confident that the One who admonishes all the peoples of the earth certainly has the ability to expose everything that is wrong, for He Himself knows how and what is right.

93:11,12 The Lord knows the thoughts of men that they are vain. 12 Blessed is the man whom You admonish, O Lord, and instruct in Your law,

God also knows that everything that a person thinks and dreams about is vain and brings neither him nor the universe any benefit.
And in human thoughts there is only emptiness instead of help for our neighbors, for only God gives useful knowledge to man and teaches him to think for the benefit of himself and God’s universe. 93:13 To give him rest in the days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked!
God teaches man so that he can live this life more or less calmly (the troubled days of this age), for God is waiting for the measure of the iniquities of the wicked to be filled, so that there will be something to repay them for justly. And now, while awaiting the measure of the overflowing of the cup of His patience, he who is admonished by God has the opportunity to live safely even among an ungodly generation.

93:14 For the Lord will not reject His people, nor forsake His inheritance.

For God cannot allow Himself to reject the generation of those who fear Him, but He cares for and instructs them. The singer, when he says this, most likely means Israel, which has found itself in yet another difficult situation.

93:15 For judgment will return to righteousness, and all the upright in heart will [follow] it.

He believes that God will return fair judgment and His righteousness to His people, and all God-fearing people will turn to this fair judgment

93:16 Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?

The singer knows that there is no one but God who would stand up for him against those who commit evil and do iniquity.

93:17 If the Lord had not been my helper, my soul would soon have entered the [land of] silence.

He is sure that if God did not instill hope in him and did not encourage him with Himself, then there would be no point in living with the singer and he would prefer to be carried away into the land of silence, to die, in other words. Without hope for a happy future in this century, it is difficult for a person to find meaning in order to hold on to this life. If you live like this, as this age forces you to do, it’s easier to die (enter the “land” of silence, the grave).

93:18,19 When I said, “My foot falters,” Thy mercy, O Lord, supported me. 19 When my sorrows multiply in my heart, Your consolations delight my soul.

A singer has moments of doubt and hesitation in life, but who doesn’t? All believers go through this. But those who have God go through all stages of life successfully, do not lose joy even in the most difficult moments of hesitation and doubt, for God supports His own and does not allow them to break down or lose their minds from the hopelessness of this age.

93:20,21 Will the seat of destroyers, plotting violence contrary to the law, stand near You? 21 They rush in crowds against the soul of the righteous and condemn innocent blood.

The singer reports that none of the destroyers of this age will be able to build their seat next to the God of Israel: although sitting with the mighty of this world is the limit of the dreams of all the wicked, they cannot become friends with the Almighty, and attempts are in vain.
All they can do is mock His righteous and condemn the innocent. 93:22,23 But the LORD is my defense, and my God is the stronghold of my refuge, 23 and he will turn their iniquity upon them, and by their wickedness he will destroy them; the LORD our God will destroy them.
However, the singer does not cease to hope that God will one day put an end to such injustice: when He waits until the cup of His patience is filled to the limit, then He will destroy all the evildoers from the face of the earth.

Interpretation

The author is beside himself with indignation. For him, the Lord is the main protector and helper in all matters. He needs to be loved and prayed for every day. But other Jews do not share his feelings. They turned away from God and began to live vicious lives.

With their unbelief they mock the power of the Almighty, who will soon bring down wrath on them. The author wishes only good things for his people, and therefore prays to the Creator that He would not be angry ahead of time and would allow the Jews to rethink their faith.

• Verse 1-3. The time has come for the cup of God's wrath to be filled. Now sinners will not be able to hide from His indignation. The crimes of the wicked will be punished to the full extent of a fair trial.
• Verse 4-7. Those who belittle faith and mock believers will suffer terrible punishment. Their pride closes their eyes, but the eyes of the Lord see everything, so the actions of the persecutors will be examined, and the punishment will be terrible.
• Verse 8-11. The author is amazed at the stupidity of his people. In their godlessness, people clearly began to go blind, believing that the Lord would not see their atrocities. But as history proves, there is nothing difficult for Him, how to distinguish a sinner from a righteous one. He sees everything and watches every person. Sinners are stupid, for Him to punish them is a mere trifle.
• Verse 12-15. The psalmist states that all righteous people must live in the Law. The Creator always protects his people and will never abandon them in a moment of need.
• Verse 16-19. Regardless of the situation, the Creator always comes to the call of a dying person. The author proves this by his example, when he, having been abandoned by everyone, found his own refuge under the wing of God.
• Verse 20-23. The central question of the entire narrative: will sinners continue to exist on earth? No. The Lord will crush them with his holy power, for a person must strive for purity of body and soul. Sinners don't understand this.

History of writing

David is considered to be the author of the psalm. The Jewish book of psalms presents this song as anonymous. The words of the Law of Moses filled the author with a zealous desire to restore among his subjects a life in accordance with the commandments of the Lord, which had been grossly trampled and forgotten by that time. The author addresses the Jews with words of reproof and exhortation, urging them to come to their senses.