Psalm of David 96 in Russian and Church Slavonic languages

Each hymn that makes up the Psalter has its own meaning in the Old Testament tradition. For example, Psalm 96 refers to songs of enthronement, where God and His deeds are glorified. As the Creator of everything and everyone, he has the right to this entire world. But people who do not believe in God create idols for themselves and move away from Him. The author calls on these false gods to appear before the Almighty and recognize him as the strongest. After all, only He can dispel the darkness, and only He can make all people happy.

Text of prayer Psalm 96

The psalm is perfect for reading it in Church Slavonic in order to feel the whole atmosphere of communication with God. But if you just want to understand its content, it is recommended to turn to the version translated into Russian.

In Church Slavonic with accents

In Russian

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice, let the many islands rejoice.

Clouds and darkness surround Him: Truth and fate are the correction of His throne.

Fire will come before Him and will burn His enemies around.

Lightning illuminated His universe: I saw and the earth moved.

The mountains melted like wax from the face of the Lord, from the face of the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens declared His righteousness: And all men saw His glory.

Let all those who worship idols, those who boast about their idols, be ashamed: Worship Him, all His angels.

Hearing and rejoicing, Zion rejoiced, And the daughters of Judah rejoiced at Thy destinies, O Lord: For Thou art the Lord highest above all the earth, Thou art greatly exalted above all gods.

Those who love the Lord, hate evil: The Lord protects the souls of His saints, I will deliver the sinners from the hand.

Light comes to the righteous, And joy to the upright in heart.

Rejoice righteously in the Lord, And confess the memory of His holiness.

In Russian. An educational text for understanding unfamiliar words and expressions of the Church Slavonic language.

The joyful song of the king and prophet David about the glory of the Lord our God

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The Lord reigns: let the earth rejoice; May the many islands rejoice.

Cloud and darkness surround Him; Truth and judgment are the foundation of His throne.

Fire comes before Him and burns His enemies around.

His lightning illuminates the world; The earth sees and trembles.

The mountains melt like wax from the face of the Lord, from the face of the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens declare His righteousness, And all nations see His glory.

Let all those who serve idols be ashamed, Who boast about their idols. Bow down before Him, all His angels.

Zion hears and rejoices, And the daughters of Judah rejoice For the sake of Your judgments, O Lord, For You, O Lord, are high above all the earth, Exalted above the idols of the earth.

Lovers of the Lord, hate evil! He guards the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Light shines on the righteous, And joy on the upright in heart.

Rejoice, O righteous ones, in the Lord and glorify the memory of His holiness.

PRAYER RULE FOR COMMUNION (sample of preparation during the week):

Monday

(according to secular style - on Sunday evening after Little Compline): Canon of Repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tuesday

: Canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos.

Wednesday

: Canon to the Guardian Angel.

Thursday

: Canon to Saint John the Baptist.

Friday

: Canon, Akathist or prayers to your patron saint, whose name you bear.

Saturday

: To the Sweetest Jesus.

Sunday

: the first (evening) part of the procession to Holy Communion. The second (morning) part of the sequence is read after the 1st hour.

Attendance at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday is a MANDATORY and IMMEDIATE rule for an Orthodox believer, as is the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. An exception to this RULE is possible only due to a serious or contagious illness, as well as in the event of a natural or social disaster, when it is impossible to get to church.

Note: in this prayer rule and the attached Orthodox calendar, the beginning of a new day is considered to be 18:00.

When and why do we read Psalm 96?

Prayer is a natural need of the human soul, which wants to gain the protection and support of the Almighty. Psalm 96 can be an excellent protection against magical influence from the outside. The Lord's protection is strong, alien magic is weak and useless compared to His power. If a believer worships Him, then dark magic can never destroy him. The author is confident that few people still know about God. But as soon as the rumor about Him spreads throughout the entire earth, the time of happiness and prosperity will come.

The prayer is also read as a way to scare away sinners and atheists. The wrath of God will burn their mortal coils, and their souls will be judged with righteous judgment. No one can hide from God's justice.

Those in power often suffer from their pride. It destroys their souls, making them vulnerable to the wiles of the devil. The Lord will heal them if they need it. The idolaters will be cast down.

Psalm 96 chapter 5 verse

In words: cloud and darkness

, according to the interpretation of the bl.
Theodoret, respectfully points out the incomprehensibility and invisibility of the Divine nature. Just as one cannot see what is covered by clouds and darkness, so one cannot see God in His being [6, p. 462], and therefore the holy evangelist John says: “No one has ever seen God”
(18 No one has ever seen God; the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed. John 1:18).
But these same clouds and darkness are reminiscent of the One who, even on Mount Sinai, showed His appearance at the giving of the Law (see 22 These words the Lord spoke to all your congregation on the mountain from the midst of fire, clouds and darkness [and storm] with a loud voice, and more did not speak, but wrote them on two tablets of stone, and gave them to me (Deut. 5:22) to the Jewish people. This Lord God, Who reigns, although invisible, as surrounded by a cloud and darkness, but His inherent actions of power and power are always visible: they are the truth and destiny of the correction of His throne, or, as translated from Hebrew: “goodness and justice the foundation His throne”
, and as it is expressed in another psalm (15 Justice and righteousness are the foundation of Thy throne; mercy and truth go before Thy face. Ps. 89:15).
Thus, here (in v. 2), firstly, it speaks of the invisibility of God’s being, as if hiding Him for us, under cloud and darkness, and, secondly, of the eternal power of His “Deity, which, according to in the words of the apostle, “we are seen through the things that are made”
(20 For His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, have been visible from the foundation of the world through the things that have been made, so that they are not visible. Rom. 1:20).
And then there is a clear hint of the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, which He demonstrated in His coming to earth and in the founding of His Church, when He reigned and carried out His righteous judgment, by which He defeated the tormentor of the devil in order to free those in His power from him. . And then, in the following verses (3-4), clear indications are made of the signs of the second coming of Christ, for the world Judgment. Having mentioned truth and judgment as the best accessories of the Kingdom (throne) of God, the prophet further says that when the time of general Judgment comes, fire will come before Him and will burn His enemies around. Almost the same thing was revealed in a vision to the prophet Daniel, who says: “A river of fire flowed before Him.
” 7:10).
“By His divine power He will burn up every evil and resistant action,” says St. Athanasius of Alexandria [3. With. 316]. According to the blzh. Theodoret, “and the Lord Himself likened His coming to lightning”
(27 for just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man; Matt. 24:27) [6, p.
463]. “For as lightning,” He said, “comes from the east and is visible to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” And St. Athanasius says: “St. The apostles and evangelists of Christ are lightning and like light they illuminated the heavenly places” [3, p. 316]. They, as partakers of the light of Christ, themselves shone in the world and became light for it, as Christ Himself called them: “You are the light of the world”
(14 You are the light of the world. A city standing on the top of a mountain cannot be hidden. Matt. 5 :14). The radiance of this light could not help but be seen by the earth with all those living on it: the earth saw and moved, i.e. People living on earth saw the apostle-preachers of the new beneficial teaching, and were moved with joy; a movement took place among people from error to truth, and from the darkness of idolatry to the light of true faith. The actions of the invisible power of God were further expressed by the psalmist (in v. 5) under the visible image of mountains of wax and fire. According to the explanation of the same fathers (Theodoret and Athanasius), mountains here mean opposing forces, which, just as wax is destroyed when approaching fire, disappear and melt (as wax melted from the face of the Lord, from the face of the Lord of all the earth). The same thing is also expressed in Psalm 67, verse 3, where “the enemies of the Lord,” i.e. demons and the people who serve them “disappear” from “the face of God, like wax from the face of fire.”

Interpretation

Just reading the chant is not enough. To fully understand its meaning, one must look at each verse individually. The author encourages us to understand ourselves. To whom is our soul open? Idols or God? What do we want from this life? Do we commit good or sinful deeds? All these questions can be answered in this Psalm.

• Verse 2-7. The author describes the Lord as something great and inviolable. His power is great, and therefore he is the only fair judge. He can see the souls of people, distinguish the righteous from the sinners. His power will soon be recognized by all nations. The psalmist calls on all people to accept Him into their hearts and comprehend the wonders of the Most High. He also calls on all those in authority to recognize God and accept His gifts. Otherwise. The Last Judgment, which will occur in due time, will fairly judge all who were faithful to Him and who abandoned Him. Sinners will not be able to enter the Kingdom of God, but righteous people will find the long-awaited mercy of the Lord and His blessing.
• Verse 8-9. The joy of the Jews has no end. After all, they were lucky enough to feel His help when the people languished in suffering and asked for mercy. In ancient times, Jerusalem was called Zion, and other cities of the Kingdom of Judah were called “daughters”.
• Verse 10-12. In the final part, the author reminds that the strength of the Jewish people lies in the love of the Lord. It is impossible to imagine how a mother would not love her child. So the Almighty protects the Israelis from troubles and adversity. His punishments are sometimes cruel, but the highest justice requires it. Being blessed, the Jews will find long-awaited protection and will never forget the benefits of the Creator, who stands above the earthly “gods” - the rulers of those in power.

Kathisma 13 Psalm 96

Psalm 96

[Psalm of David, when his land was settled]
Psalm 96 bears great similarity to Ps 94 and 95 both in content and in the tone of presentation, full of enthusiastic praise to God. Its similarity with the contents of the book. the prophet Isaiah, indicates his dependence on the first and determines the time of origin of the psalm no earlier than the writing of the last part of it by the prophet. Since it does not talk about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, it was written before the time of the Babylonian captivity. The psalm is full of solemn rejoicing, an upsurge of religious feeling, which speaks for the corresponding joyful facts from the religious life of the people. Such a time was the reign of Josiah, who restored true worship, and the inscription “about the dispensation of the earth” can be understood as a religious dispensation, not a political one.

The Lord is the king of the whole world. May all nations rejoice. Around Him there is darkness; truth is the foundation of His throne (1-2). He will destroy all his enemies; the whole earth will tremble before Him (3-5). The heavens proclaim His righteousness, visible to all nations (5-7). The Jewish people rejoice in the greatness of the Lord above all gods (8-9). Everyone should love God, since He is the source of all good (10-12).

1 The Lord reigns: let the earth rejoice; let the numerous islands rejoice.

1. The Lord is king over all the gods and the whole world. Not only the Jews should rejoice in this, but also the “islands,” all the pagan peoples often designated by this image.

2 Cloud and darkness are around Him; righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne. 3 Fire goes before Him and burns His enemies around. 4 His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens declare His righteousness, and all nations see His glory. 7 Let all those who serve idols, those who boast in idols, be put to shame. Bow down before Him, all you gods.

2-7. Description of the extraordinary greatness of the Lord. "Clouds and darkness are all around Him." He lives in clouds and clouds, ordinary images of the appearance of God to ancient man, indicating the incomprehensibility of His being; “righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne” - justice and determination are the basis of His power (“throne”), i.e., at the foundation of His domination lies due to each retribution, which is strictly defined and cannot be o - fire has the property of destroying everything, at the same time it is also a symbol of purification, i.e. the Lord will destroy all his enemies, but only those who deserve it, will destroy everything unclean, contrary to Him. One of the manifestations of such power and the judgment of God over his opponents is lightning and a thunderstorm, from which the earth shook. The mountains melted from Him, probably meaning strong streams of rain from the mountain, carrying away many stones. - “All nations see His glory” - the phenomenon of a thunderstorm, as an expression of Divine Justice (“the heavens proclaim His righteousness”) was known to all people. These phenomena clearly demonstrated the omnipotence of God and His dignity; idols are insignificant before Him, which is why the writer invites all nations to recognize and confess only the One God Jehovah. The writer invites gods along with people to worship the One God. By gods are meant kings and princes of nations. At 70, Angels are invited to worship. Since angels, as disembodied beings, constantly and invisibly always serve God and worship Him, then by the worship that the psalmist speaks of, we must understand visible worship, before the whole world, and this will only happen at the Last Judgment. Hence, this place of the psalm, as understood by its writer, expands its meaning, acquiring a prophetic character: the power of God over the world, manifested in thunderstorms, contains a prototype of the general judgment of God over the whole world and all His opponents.

8 Zion hears and rejoices, and the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, O Lord, 9 For You, O Lord, are high above all the earth, exalted above all gods.

8-9. Such a miraculous manifestation of Divine help to the Jews, revealed in the formidable phenomena of nature over their pagan enemies, as evidenced by their history, by granting them victory, filled all of Zion with extraordinary joy, in which the girls also took part by composing and singing songs of praise and gratitude. (By Zion one can also mean Jerusalem, and by daughters - other cities of Palestine, i.e. there was universal joy).

10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He guards the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 11 Light shines on the righteous, and joy on the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice, ye righteous, in the Lord, and glorify the memory of His holiness.

10-12. From these facts of Divine protection, the writer of the psalm makes a corresponding moral teaching: all the righteous (perhaps here we mean only Jews, as at that time the only people who preserved the true knowledge of God) must love God, be faithful to Him, since this is the guarantee of their happiness (“light shines"); the described cases of miraculous help, as monuments of Divine holiness (“memory of the shrine”) and the insignificance of idols, should be glorified (“glorify”).

It is obvious that reading under Josiah the history of the Jewish people, full of facts of the miraculous leadership and protection of them by God, filled the writer with an enthusiastic feeling of reverence and gave content to this psalm.