The benefits of reading the Psalter at home. Modern and ancient holy fathers on the benefits of reading the Psalter

Anna Georgievna, an admirer of St. Blessed Matrona, says: “My sister Natalya died, I buried her, and on the 40th day I saw my sister in a dream, and she told me: “You always scolded me for wasting a lot of time, I endlessly record the dead, record acquaintances and strangers. And when I went through the ordeals, I passed them like an arrow. Screams came from everywhere: “Lord, have mercy on Natalia, she remembered us!”

In the life of the resident of the Pskov-Pechersk Lavra, schema-higum. Savva (Ostapenko) (+1984), in his youth there was such a case: he was reading the Psalter for the dead and one day he fell asleep. And in a dream he sees that he is looking out the window, there are many people of different ages there, rejoicing, waving their hands, greeting. Then he realized that these were the dead who were thanking him for reading the Psalter for the dead.

St. Paul

“...Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:19-20)

Markel - monastery presbyter

Believe me, children, nothing outrages, disturbs, irritates, hurts, humiliates, insults and arms the demons and Satan himself, the culprit of evil, against us, as a constant exercise in psalmody. All Holy Scripture is useful, and reading it causes a lot of trouble for the demon, but nothing crushes him more than the Psalter. While practicing psalmody, we, on the one hand, offer a prayer to God: according to Thy great mercy and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, cleanse my iniquity (Ps. 50:3), also: do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take away Thy Holy Spirit from less (Ps. 50:13); do not reject me in my old age, when my strength fails, do not forsake me (Ps. 70:9).

On the other hand, we curse the demons: may God rise again and His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His presence (Ps. 67:2); in the same way: scatter the tongues, who want to fight (Ps. 67:31), or: I saw the wicked, exalting himself and towering like the cedars of Lebanon, and passed by, and behold, and sought, and his place was not found (Ps. 36 , 35-36); - also: let their sword enter into their hearts (Ps. 36:15) - or also: the pit of destruction, and the fossil, and it will fall into the pit that it has made. His illness will return to his head, and unrighteousness will come down to his top (Ps. 7: 16-17).

Venerable Arseny the Great

One monk asked the monk what he should do when, while reading the psalms, he did not understand their meaning. The saint replied that he should continue reading, because “the demons understand and flee.”

Venerable Ephraim the Syrian:

Let the psalm be continually in your mouth.

Where there is a psalm of contrition, there is God with the Angels.

The psalm is the joy of God-lovers: it drives away idle talk, stops laughter, reminds of judgment, arouses the soul to God, and unites with the Angels.

The psalm makes the holidays bright, it produces sorrow for God. The psalm also sheds tears from a heart of stone. The Psalm is the work of Angels, Heavenly residence, spiritual censer. Psalm - enlightenment of souls, sanctification of bodies.

Psalm - attracting Angelic help, a weapon against the fear of unnecessary things, peace from the daily labors, safety of babies, decoration for the elderly, comfort for the elderly, decent decoration for women.

Psalmody and prayer with humble thoughts elevate the mind above illicit passions and make the soul more courageous to desire Heavenly blessings.

Saint John Chrysostom:

He who sings psalms, even though he was extremely depraved, being ashamed of the psalm, curbs the power of voluptuousness, and, although he was burdened with countless vices and overcome by despondency, enjoying pleasure, he lightens his thoughts, inspires the mind and elevates the soul.

If you have fallen into temptation, you will find abundant consolation in the psalms; If you sin, you will find thousands of ready-made medicines here, whether you fall into poverty or into some kind of misfortune, (the psalms) will show you many havens.

Psalmody is always a triumph for those who rejoice, a consolation for those who are despondent... It tames passions like wild animals: it curbs intemperance, extinguishes injustice, supports the truth, casts down blasphemous plans [thoughts], kills shameful thoughts, proclaims the Divine law, preaches God, explains the faith, protects the mouth of heretics, builds the Church.

Saint Basil the Great:

The Book of Psalms ... is a common treasury of good teachings and carefully seeks out what is beneficial to everyone. She heals the old wounds of the soul, and gives quick healing to the recently wounded, and restores the painful, and supports the undamaged; in general, as much as possible, it destroys the passions that dominate souls in human life under different forms.

Psalm is the silence of the soul, the dispenser of peace. It softens the irritability of the soul and disciplines intemperance. He calms rebellious and disturbing thoughts. The psalm is a mediator of friendship, unity between distant people and reconciliation of those at war. For who can still consider as an enemy the one with whom he raises one voice to God? Therefore, psalmody gives us one of the greatest benefits - love, inventing corporate singing, instead of a knot to unity, and bringing people into one consonant face. The psalm is a refuge from demons, entry under the protection of Angels, a weapon in night insurance, peace from daytime labors, safety for infants, decoration in a blooming age, comfort for the elderly, the most decent decoration for wives.

The psalm will populate the deserts and make the market places chaste. For newcomers these are the beginnings of consolation, for those who are successful - an increase in knowledge, for the perfect - affirmation; this is the voice of the Church. He makes the festivities bright; it produces “sadness like for Bose.” For the psalm even compels tears from a stony heart. Psalm is the occupation of Angels, heavenly cohabitation, spiritual incense. This is a wise invention of the Teacher, who arranged for us to sing and learn useful things together...

What can’t you learn from the psalms?! Don’t you learn from here the greatness of courage, the severity of justice, the honesty of chastity, the perfection of prudence, the image of repentance, the measure of patience, and every kind of blessing you can name?! Here there is perfect theology, the prediction of the coming of Christ in the flesh, the threat of judgment, the hope of resurrection, the fear of punishment, the promise of glory, the revelation of the sacraments. Everything, as if in a great and common treasury, is collected in the Book of Psalms.

Blessed Augustine of Ipponsky

“The singing of Psalms decorates the soul, calls on angels to help, drives away demons, drives away darkness, makes a shrine. For a sinful person, this strengthens the mind, atones for sins: it is similar to alms to the saints. Adds faith, hope, love; how the sun enlightens, how water purifies, how fire scorches, how oil decorates; He puts the devil to shame, he shows God, he quenches the lusts of the body, and the oil of mercy is the lot of gladness, the chosen part of the angels: he drives away anger, he calms all rage, and he crushes anger, this is the unceasing praise of God...”

Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus

Whoever reads other holy books pronounces what is written in them not as his own words, but as the words of holy men or those about whom they speak. But whoever reads the psalms, he (amazing thing!) pronounces what is written as his own words, sings them as if they were written about him, reads and understands them as if they had been composed by him. For the one who sings them, the words of the psalms serve as a kind of mirror in which he sees the movements of his own soul and, conscious of them, pronounces the words themselves...

And so, child, a certain old man told me, holding the very book of Psalms in his hands, everyone who reads this book should accept with sincere disposition everything that is written in it by God’s inspiration. For I think that in the words of this book the whole life of a person, all his spiritual dispositions, all the movements of his thoughts are measured and described in words, and that, beyond what is depicted in the psalms, nothing more will be found in a person.

Does anyone need repentance and confession, has anyone experienced sorrow and temptation, has anyone been persecuted or been delivered from evil slander, is anyone sad and confused or is suffering some kind of suffering, or, conversely, does anyone see himself prospering and his enemy being overthrown? If anyone praises, gives thanks and glorifies God, for all such cases he will find instruction in the divine psalms. You just have to choose what is said in the psalms for each case - and read it as if it were written about the reader himself, bringing himself into a disposition that is consistent with what is written.” In all churches throughout the universe, David’s spiritual hymn enlightens the souls of the faithful,” (Commentary on 2 Samuel Question 43)

“This prophetic word even now teaches us, saying how it is fitting for everyone to ask and pray to God and the king, and teaches us, saying: “Inspire my words, Lord, understand my calling, listen to the voice of my prayer. This is instill, i.e. Let your ears be the words of my mouth, and mercifully hear my petition, and be willing to listen to my diligent prayer to the words, since I only know You as God and King” (Explanatory on Ps. 5)

St. Athanasius the Great

“in this book, all human life, mental dispositions, and movements of thoughts are measured and described in words, and beyond what is depicted in it nothing more will be found in a person.”

St. Ambrose of Milan

“In all Scripture the grace of God breathes, but in the sweet song of the psalms it breathes chiefly. History instructs, the law teaches, prophesies, foretells, moral teaching convinces, and the book of psalms convinces of all this and is the most complete physician of human salvation." "Interpretation of the 1st Psalm."

Venerable Spyridon and Nikodim of Pechersk

It is known that Blessed Spyridon carried water in his monastic robe during the fire. He knew the entire Psalter by heart and sang it all in a day during obediences in the prosphora.

Blessed John Vlasaty, the Merciful, Rostov

Living in humility, patience and unceasing prayer, he spiritually nourished many, including Blessed Irinarch, the recluse of Rostov († 1616; January 13/26). The blessed one always carried with him and read the Psalter.

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov

“..Fr. Seraphim always remembered the dead and commemorated them in his cell prayers according to the rules of the Orthodox Church..Fr. Seraphim told that 2 nuns, who were both abbess, died..The Lord revealed..(about them to St. Seraphim-L .S.) that they were tortured and then convicted, I prayed for three days, asking the Mother of God for them. The Lord, through the prayers of the Mother of God, had mercy on them...”

Venerable Parthenius of Kiev-Pechersk (+1855)

“..Reading the Psalter quenches the passions, and reading the Gospel burns up the thorns of our sins: for the word of God is a consuming fire. Once, over the course of 40 days, I was reading the Gospel about the salvation of one soul who had done good to me, and behold, in a dream I saw a field covered with thorns. Suddenly fire falls from heaven and burns up the thorns that covered the field, and the field remains clear. Perplexed about this vision, I hear a voice: thorns that covered the field, the sins of the soul that did you good; the fire that consumed him, the word of God is yours for nothing.”

Valaam Patericon

Hieroschemamon Ephraim told us what he had heard from the late elder Hieroschemamon. O. Alexy, who was a cell attendant for many years and a favorite student of Abbot Damaskin, the following event: “At the beginning of the management of the monastery by Abbot Damaskin, it was not the custom in our monastery to include deceased monks in the funeral synodics, but they usually commemorated the newly deceased for 40 days, and then each monk commemorated according to his zeal, as he wanted his fathers and brothers who died; and synodics, or, as we call them, memorial plaques, did not yet exist. Seeing such an omission, the prudent Father Damascene affirmed the laudable desire to establish a correct and constant commemoration of the Christians of his native monastery who have passed into eternity. First, he called the elders to discuss his undertaking and expressed to them, firstly, his regret about the lack of proper church commemoration of the dead of the brethren, and secondly, his desire to correct this. The elders approved of his reasonable desire and decided to immediately collect the names of all the deceased from the books of the office and establish a permanent church commemoration.

Soon after the early liturgy, a good custom began, which still exists today, to remember in the altar at the proskomedia, as well as behind the choir in the church and at the litany during the liturgy, to prayerfully remember the deceased brethren of the monastery and its ktitors. On these same days, a certain monk happened to rest in the Lord. Father Superior himself performed the funeral service for him and buried him. Several days passed. One day, somehow being in a state of prayer, the venerable old man Fr. The abbot is in his inner cell and sees a recently deceased monk quietly entering his cell. He entered the cell, crossed himself earnestly, and made three bows from the waist in front of the holy icons.

The abbot, although calmly, still looked with great amazement at the monk who appeared to him, clearly realizing that the one who had appeared was already dead and buried. Meanwhile, the deceased, turning to Fr. abbot and bowing to him, as was customary among us earlier - at his feet, he said: “Save, Lord, Father Fr. Abbot, that you have established that we, the departed brothers, should always be remembered in church, how dear and useful this is for us - it’s impossible to even tell you!” “Father I.,” exclaimed the Abbot, “you’re already dead!” “Yes, yes, father,” the monk who appeared calmly answered, “I am truly dead.” You yourself performed the funeral service and buried me.

So I came to you, sent from the Valaam fathers and brethren, who had already departed from this life, to thank you on their behalf for your prayer for us who have died. May the Lord reward you for this with His mercy!” Having said this, the monk bowed to the ground for the second time and just as quietly and quickly left his cell. Abbot Damascene told this event more than once to his loved ones. From this we can understand how dear and saving prayer is to departed brothers. (Valaam handwritten patericon, chapter 16)

Holy rights John of Kronstadt

David's inspired songs lead everyone to prayer, devotion to God, praise and thanksgiving to God for everything; they enlighten, nourish, delight and strengthen the souls of believers; they drive away invisible enemies, heal spiritual passions, teach them to love God and keep His commandments, pray for everyone and constantly ascend to God; and their sweetness, their benefit for the souls of the pious is innumerable...

Venerable Nikon (Belyaev) Optinsky

The Prophet King David sang his psalms while playing the psalter. This is a musical instrument that had ten strings. This is the historical meaning.

The spiritual, mysterious meaning of these words is this: the ten-string psalter is a person with his five external and five internal spiritual feelings, on which, as if on ten strings, a person should sing to the Lord, that is, conduct his life in accordance with the commandments of God, so that all behavior, all life was, as it were, a constant singing of the Divine. “I sing to my God until I am” (Ps. 103:33).

This is what the Optina elder Leo said when they asked him what he was doing, and at that time he was receiving the people: “I sing to my God, until I am.” And he could say so, for he, indeed, lived according to the holy commandments of God, his life was, indeed, true godly singing. This singing is spiritual life.

When the strings of a psalter are not tuned as they should, when they sound out of tune, discordant, it is impossible to play it. She cannot make harmonious sounds, she cannot produce the right song. So in a person, when his feelings are not brought into harmony and do not have a common consonant aspiration towards God, when a person still loves sin, or when sin against the will of a person rapes him, then he cannot emit the harmonious sounds of spiritual life, cannot fully with your life, with all your behavior, with all your feelings, sing the holy song, the Divine song. You need to force yourself to put yourself in order, you need to work hard for the sake of the Lord, endure all the hardships and inconveniences in the struggle with yourself, with your passions, for it is said: “By enduring the Lord, you listened to me and heard my prayer. And bring me up from the pit of passions and from the clay of the mire, and set me on the stones of my feet and straighten my steps: and put in my mouth a new song, a song to our God” (Ps. 39: 1-4). We must endure and wait for God's mercy.

When one learns to play the violin, then at first the player produces very unpleasant, irregular, sharp sounds, they are so unpleasant that it seems that he would run away wherever his eyes look from these sounds. But gradually a person gets used to it, learns to play, the sounds become more and more correct, and finally, the gentle beautiful sounds of wonderful music flow. Some people succeed faster, others take longer; sometimes, no matter how hard he tries, the player just doesn’t get it right; it always turns out differently than he would like. It takes patience.

So it is in spiritual life. A person wants one thing, but he does something completely different, not what he wants. His mind wants one thing, but his feelings demand another. And a person sees and feels painfully that this is not all right, he understands that he is not doing well, not as he should, he even becomes despondent, seeing that he is not succeeding in the fight against passions, that his spiritual life is not improving . But no, you don’t need to be discouraged, you need to endure... You need to patiently force yourself to do every virtue for the Lord’s sake, soberly monitor all your feelings, thoughts, deeds, you need to call upon the Lord God for help, you need to come to humility and realize that your actions are without the Divine a person will not have time to help. And when, finally, the vessel of a person’s soul and body is prepared, when the strings of his psalter are tuned in all humility, patience and piety... then the time will come and wonderful singing will be heard, and beautiful wondrous sounds of spiritual life will flow and “they will see many and fear and trust in the Lord "(Ps. 39:4), for from union with the Lord this indescribable singing results.

There is a piano standing, ready to play, its strings are taut, it is open... but silent. Why is she silent? - Because there is no player. Who is this player? This player is the Holy Spirit, as it is said: “Let us come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). The Holy Spirit will come and unite the feelings of soul and body cut by sin, and then man will begin to live in God and for God.

Father Barsanuphius told me the mysterious meaning of this psalm. I remember we had lunch with him. After lunch, Father went to the washstand, washed his mustache, took a towel and, wiping his mustache, said to me: “Father Nikolai, look at Zigaben’s interpretation of the words of the psalm: “In the ten-stringed psalter I sing to you.”

I read it and it contained a brief historical and mysterious interpretation. Father listened and said: “This has now been revealed to me.”

And then I thought: “Here is a man wiping his mustache after dinner, and spiritual secrets are being revealed to him. Such spiritual illumination happens to spiritually minded people who sing to God throughout their entire lives, regardless of time or situation, sometimes completely unexpectedly and not in prayer, but like Father Fr. Barsanuphius dined, and secrets were revealed to him. He apparently understood the deep mysterious meaning of both church prayers and St. Scriptures. “I heard, O Lord, the sight of Your sacrament, I understood Your works and glorified Your Divinity” (Irmos 8, chapter 4 hymn). Amen.

“My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I ​​will sing and sing in my glory, Arise my glory, arise psaltery and harp, I will arise early. Let us confess to You among the people, Lord, I will sing to You among the nations” (Ps. 56:8-10; 107:1-4).

These words were repeated several times by Elder Hieroschemamonk Anatoly (Zertsalov), the head of the Optina Hermitage Skete (+ 1894) before his death.

How much deep, mysterious meaning lies in these divinely inspired words of the Psalmist. You begin to reflect on this topic, and there is no end to the reflections: so immense, deep, is the wondrous content that lies in these words of the psalms.”

“A psalm,” says St. Basil the Great, “is the silence of the soul, the dispenser of peace. It softens the irritability of the soul and disciplines intemperance. He calms rebellious and disturbing thoughts. The psalm is a mediator of friendship, unity between distant people and reconciliation of those at war. For who can still consider as an enemy the one with whom he raises one voice to God? Therefore, psalmody gives us one of the greatest benefits - love.”

History of the composition and poetry of the Psalter

Psaltirion, in Greek, is a stringed musical instrument, accompanied by which in ancient times prayer chants addressed to God were sung, hence the name psalms, and their collection began to be called the Psalter. The psalms were combined into one book in the 5th century BC. This book in its Hebrew original is a collection of hymns of religious and lyrical content and mood, which were performed during worship in the ancient Jerusalem temple during the era of state independence of the Kingdom of Judah. Therefore, they became unusually widespread both in the pre-Christian era and especially during early Christianity.

The Psalter was translated into the Slavic language from Greek in the initial period of the development of writing in Rus' by Saints Cyril and Methodius - after all, without its text it was impossible to perform a single church service. Since even in the early Christian era the Psalter satisfied various needs, there were editions of this book, depending on its practical purpose. This is how the main types of psalter texts arose: the Psalter followed (or “with recitation”), used in church services, and the Psalter explanatory (with interpretations of the text compiled by Athanasius of Alexandria, Theodoret of Cyrrhus and other early Christian authors). In the first half of the 16th century. In Moscow, a new translation from Greek of the explanatory Psalter was made by Maximus the Greek (Trivolis).

The texts of the 150 psalms that make up the Psalter were translated from Hebrew into Greek along with other parts of the Septuagint (translation of the books of the Old Testament by seventy commentators). An additional psalm 151 was added to them, revealing the life of David, the king and poet, whose name is inscribed on a significant part of the psalms. Despite the fact that they are known under the name of David, there is no indication that they all belong to the king and the prophet. Saint Athanasius the Great believes that the inscriptions show who owns any psalm. David chose four captains of singers and two hundred and eighty-eight to serve them. Therefore, as can be seen from the inscriptions, the psalms of these four leaders are found. Thus, when it is said: a psalm to the sons of Korah, Etham, Asaph and Eman; this means that they sing the psalm. When it is said: a psalm of Asaph or Idithum, then it is shown that this psalm was spoken by Asaph or Idithum himself. If it is said: a psalm of David, it is shown that the speaker was David himself. When it is said: a psalm to David, it means that others are speaking about David.

In the Psalter of 150 psalms, part refers to the Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ; they are important in soteriological terms (soteriology is the doctrine of saving a person from sin). These psalms are called messianic (Messiah, from Hebrew, means Savior). There are messianic psalms in the literal and in the educational sense. The first ones talk about the coming Messiah - the Lord Jesus Christ. The latter tell about the persons and events of the Old Testament (King and Prophet David, King Solomon, etc.), prefiguring the New Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.

Already in the early Christian era, the Greek translation of the Psalter formed the basis of Christian liturgy and hymnology. As part of the so-called “daily” services (midnight office, matins, hours, vespers and compline) about 50 individual psalms are used. In the modern liturgical Charter of the Orthodox Church, it is customary to divide the Psalter for convenience when using it during worship and in the home (cell) rule into 20 sections - kathisma (kathisma), from the Greek. “kafiso” - “sitting”, each of which is divided into three “Glory”, or articles.

The psalms are full of genuine poetic feeling, preserved in their Slavic translation. They served as a source of inspiration for all Russian authors without exception until the 18th century. - from Metropolitan Hilarion and the authors of The Tale of Bygone Years to Lomonosov and Derzhavin, and even in the 19th - 20th centuries. echoes of the poetry of the psalms are heard in the poems of Pushkin, Lermontov, Yazykov, Fyodor Glinka, and Bunin.

The essence of the poetic structure of the psalms is the semantic and syntactic parallelism (direct or reverse) of each verse that makes them up. This poetic structure formed the basis of all ancient Eastern poetry, and then became leading both in Byzantine hymnology and in Slavic-Russian original poetry.

The Psalter served not only as a liturgical book, but also as the main textbook. According to it until the 19th century. inclusively taught to read and write, which is well known and which is once again proven by recently found letters on birch bark: one of them belongs to the Novgorod boy Onfim, who studied in the 13th century. and wrote out the text of the service of “Great Compline” on birch bark. All this invariably supported the popularity of the Psalter in medieval society, and therefore the number of ancient manuscripts of the Psalter is much larger than all other texts, and is second only to copies of the Gospel.

Traditions of reading the Psalms

In the ancient Church, during divine services, especially at Matins, after the psalms, which were sung standing, there were breaks for spiritual reflection on the sung psalms. During these reflections we sat. From such reflections arose chants called “sedals.” Subsequently, they began to sit while reading the psalms, and the name “kathisma” (that is, “sedalen”, “sedal”) was transferred to the psalms. In the Slavic Charter, the word “kathisma” is reserved for sections of the Psalter, and liturgical chants are called the Slavic word “sedalny”.

In church, psalms are read daily during all morning and evening services. The Psalter is read in its entirety during each week, that is, week, and during Great Lent - twice during the week.

The home prayer rule is in deep prayer connection with church services: morning cell prayer, starting a new day, precedes the service and internally prepares the believer for it, evening prayer, ending the day, as it were, ends the church service. If a believer has not been to church for worship, he can include psalms in his home rule. The number of psalms may vary depending on the intentions and capabilities of the believer. In any case, the fathers and devotees of the church invite the believer to read the psalms daily, considering piety and purity of heart to be an indispensable condition for the spiritual benefits of reading and studying the psalms. Reading the Psalter brings great consolation, for this reading is accepted as a propitiatory sacrifice for the cleansing of sins, both those read and those commemorated. As St. Basil the Great writes, “The Psalter... prays to God for the whole world.”

In many places there is a custom of asking clergy in monasteries and churches to read the Psalter for the departed or for health, which is combined with giving alms. But, as St. Athanasius (Sakharov) writes, it is much more useful if we read the Psalter ourselves, showing that we personally want to work, without replacing ourselves in this work with others. The feat of reading the Psalter will be a sacrifice to God not only for those commemorated, but also for those who bring it, who labor in reading it. Those who read the Psalter receive from the word of God both great consolation and great edification, which they are deprived of by entrusting this good deed to others, and most often themselves not even being present at it.

Readings of the Psalms by parishioners

The Psalter is a person’s appeal to God. It is called the “Book of Praises” or “Book of Prayers.” Therefore, the cathedral reading of the Psalter with general remembrance is a prayer rule for each day of Lent. There is a tradition of cathedral (temple) reading of the Psalter, usually during Lent. The number of those reading the Psalter is equal to the number of kathismas of the Psalter, and at the same time they read the entire Psalter in one day, and during fasting each reader reads the Psalter in full 1 or 2 times. For each glory, worshipers commemorate each other, as well as each other’s relatives and friends, the clergy - mentors and servants of the temple.

Such a cathedral reading of the psalter unites and unites people, strengthens them spiritually, and serves as a consolation in sorrows. “As the Psalms pray for the future, sigh for the present, repent for the past, rejoice over good deeds, remember the joy of the Heavenly Kingdom” (Augustine the Teacher).

Spiritual benefits of reading the Psalter

No book of prayer can compare with the Psalter because of its comprehensive nature. The Greek philosopher and monk Euthymius Zigabenus calls the Psalter “...a public hospital where every disease is cured. Moreover, the surprising thing is that her words are befitting of all people - a feature characteristic of this one book, which represents an abundance of all contemplation and rules of life, a public treasury of instructions, containing only what is useful.

Reading the psalms is a conversation with God, edification of the soul and maintaining the unbreakable memory of divine words. For beginners, learning is the very first and main instruction; for those who are successful in learning, it is an increase in knowledge; for those who are finishing, it is confirmation in the acquired knowledge. The psalm is an invincible shield, the best decoration for leaders and those under authority, for warriors and for people completely unfamiliar with the art of war, for the educated and uneducated, for hermits and for people taking part in state affairs, for priests and laymen, for those living on land and islanders, for farmers and sailors, for artisans and for those who do not know any craft at all, for men and women, for old men and young men, for people of every origin, age, position in the world, for people of every profession.

A psalm for a person is exactly the same as a breath of air, or the pouring of light, or the use of fire and water, or in general anything that is both necessary and useful for everyone. It is extremely surprising that those who work, without being distracted from their work by singing psalms, thereby alleviate its difficulty.”

“Here there is perfect theology, there is a prophecy about the coming of Christ in the flesh, there is a threat of God’s judgment. Here the hope of resurrection and the fear of torment are instilled. Here glory is promised, secrets are revealed.” Saint Basil the Great said all this about nothing other than the great, inexhaustible and universal treasury - the Psalter.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa:

“The psalms are so pleasant and sweet that not only perfect men, who have already purified their spiritual feelings, study them, but also wives assimilate them to themselves as their own property, and children find pleasure in them, as if in amusements, and for the weak they replace a rod and give them rest; those who are merry consider the singing of psalms to be a gift that belongs to them, just as those who are in a sad disposition, due to their circumstances, think that this book of Holy Scripture was given to them. People who travel and sail on the sea, who spend their lives sedentary at their occupations, in general, men and wives of any condition, healthy and sick, consider it a loss for themselves when they do not have the sublime teachings of David in their mouths. Even at feasts and wedding celebrations, those who are having fun take the Psalter as one of the accessories of fun, not to mention the sacred use of psalms at all-night services and their singing in church.”

Saint John Chrysostom:

“It is better for the sun to cease from its course than to abandon the Psalter. Well, it is useful to learn the psalm and read the Psalter diligently. All books are for our benefit and create sorrow for the demonic, but not like the Psalter: for this reason let us not be negligent.”

Saint Athanasius the Great:

“I think that in the words of this book the whole human life, the whole state of the soul, the whole movement of thought is measured and embraced, so that nothing more can be found in a person. Is it necessary to perform repentance and confession? Are you overwhelmed by sorrow and temptation? Are they persecuting you or plotting against you? Has despondency taken hold of you? Or, seeing yourself happy and your enemy humiliated, do you want to bring gratitude and praise to the Lord? Everyone can find guidance in the divine psalms. Let them read their words about each of these states, and every person will lift them up to the Lord, as if they were written about him.”

Saint Basil the Great:

“A psalm is a refuge from demons, entry under the protection of Angels, a weapon in night insurance, repose from daytime labors, safety for infants, adornment in a flourishing age, consolation for the elderly, the most decent decoration for wives.”
“Don’t let a single day go by without singing psalms. If you leave some need, having laid it down from now on, begin again in the morning, and do not stop for the sake of laziness... And if you correct what was spoken and learn the commandments of God, then the Lord will open your eyes and you will understand the wonders of His Law.”
Amen.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk:

“Take consolation from the holy psalms.”
“Indeed, where do we get consolation when, due to the influence of the enemy’s power, we feel completely abandoned, completely humiliated, completely insulted, completely defeated, completely doomed? Including from the psalms."

St. himself Tikhon knew the Psalter by heart and usually read or sang psalms on the way.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov:

“The Book of Psalms is the most sublime spiritual book. It describes in depth and detail the inner feat of a warrior of Christ. Transformative shadows and allegories are often used, giving the book mystery and darkness (there is a veil on it for a reason!). There is no need to take it literally: the literal understanding of Scripture kills the soul. Spiritual understanding is necessary: ​​it gives life, it puts you on right and holy paths.”

St. Gregory the Theologian:

“The Psalter is the bread of angels, by which souls who hunger for God are fed.”

St. Righteous John of Kronstadt:

“Where is now the reading in homes of the divinely inspired Psalter, which inspires such great faith in God, such strong trust in God in adversity, in illness, in troubles and sorrows, and such ardent love for God? Where is the reading of the inspired psalms, which was the favorite reading of our ancestors, not only ordinary ones, but the boyars and the princes themselves? It is not there: but in many there is no faith, Christian hope and love for God and neighbor, but there is unbelief, despair, hatred. There is no fiery prayer, no purity of morals, no spirit of contrition for sins and tenderness, no truth, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Most Christians are imbued with the spirit of the world, the spirit of magazines, newspapers and secular writers in general, who themselves are in turn imbued with a pagan, not Christian, spirit of denying the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and exalting themselves, their proud and pompous mind, the spirit of everyday vanity.

David's inspired songs lead everyone to prayer, devotion to God, praise and thanksgiving to God for everything; they enlighten, nourish, delight and strengthen the souls of believers; they drive away invisible enemies, heal spiritual passions, teach them to love God and keep His commandments, pray for everyone and constantly ascend to God; and their sweetness, their benefit for the souls of the pious is innumerable..."

St. Ambrose Optinsky:

“You will see from experience how great the power of the inspired psalm words is, which scorch and drive away mental enemies like flame. And prayer is always stronger with psalm words than with our own.”

St. Augustine:

“The love of psalmody gave birth to monasteries.”
“Singing psalms decorates the soul. He calls on angels for help, drives away demons, drives out darkness, makes holy things... he puts the devil to shame, he shows God... he crushes anger, there is unceasing praise from God. The singing of psalms is like honey!”

St. Ephraim the Syrian:

“The sharpest sword against the devil is a psalm in the mouth of a monk. Let the psalm be continually in your mouth.”

St. Neil of Sinai:

“Let a psalm of prayer be in your mouth, for the utterance of God’s name puts demons to flight.”

St. Parthenius of Kyiv:

“Reading the Psalter tames passions, and reading the Gospel burns up the thorns of our sins: for the Word of God is a consuming fire.”

St. Seraphim Sarovsky:

“Most of all, one should practice reading the New Testament and the Psalter... From this comes enlightenment in the mind, which is therefore changed by the Divine change.”
During his lifetime, Father Seraphim commanded the sisters of the Diveyevo community that he founded to read the Psalter day and night in church, to twelve sisters, changing every two hours, and to read aloud without fail throughout the year, except Easter.

St. Paisiy Svyatogorets:

“I consider the hour and a half during which I read the Psalter to be my real offering to the world. I look at everything else as entertainment: the unfortunate ones will come, tell me their pain, well, I’ll give them some advice. Therefore, I do not consider help as my own offering: prayer helps people. If I could devote all my time to prayer, I would help the world more.
Indeed, psalmody along with the Jesus Prayer helps a lot in such cases. It makes the soul tender, delights it, because constant sorrows and pains oppress the soul, and it grows cold.”

Schema-abbot Savva (Pskov-Pechersk):

“Reading the Psalter is necessary for the Jesus Prayer, the psalms and the Jesus Prayer are living water from one source: the Psalter supports the Jesus Prayer, like the walls of a temple support its roof.”
The elder loved the Psalter very much. At some point in his life, he experienced some difficulties: there was not enough time for everything, he felt weak and despondent. And then one day, in a subtle dream, the Most Holy Lady appeared to him and quietly said: “Child! But you must read the Psalter! This is your life!” And all the difficulties disappeared as if by hand. Since then, he never stopped reading the Psalter, and subsequently led the reading of the “Unsleeping Psalter” in the Pskov-Pechersk monastery.

Elder Jerome of Sanaxar:

“Where the Undying Psalter is read, it is like a pillar of fire reaching to the sky.”

Elder Arseny the Hesychast:

“All Holy Scripture is inspired by God, and we must read it all. From the Old Testament, special attention should be paid to the Psalms. This is a very powerful prayer."

ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF READING THE PSALMTER

During his lifetime, the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov commanded the sisters of the Diveyevo community he established to read the Psalter day and night. He ordered the Psalter to be read daily in church to the twelve sisters, changing every two hours, and to be read aloud without fail throughout the year, except Easter.

What was the reason for this? First of all, the monk wanted the sisters to imitate the ancient Christians, who read the Psalter all the time, from the least to the greatest, and constantly. Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: “The Psalms are so pleasant and sweet that not only perfect men who have already purified their spiritual feelings study them, but also wives assimilate them to themselves as their own property, and children find pleasure in them, as if in amusement, and for the weak they replace the rod and give them peace; those who are merry consider the singing of psalms to be a gift that belongs to them, just as those who are in a sad disposition, due to their circumstances, think that this book of the Holy Scriptures was given to them. People who travel and sail. along the sea, spending a sedentary life at their occupations, in general, men and wives of any condition, healthy and sick, consider it a loss for themselves when they do not have the sublime teachings of David in their mouths. Even at feasts and wedding celebrations, those who are having fun take the Psalter as one of the accessories of joy. , not to mention the sacred use of psalms at all-night services and their singing in church." This is the kind of love for the Psalter that the ancient Christians had for it, the monk wanted to put into the hearts of the Diveyevo sisters.

That is why the monk commanded the nuns to read the Psalter day and night, because reading the Psalter is very useful for a Christian. “The great John Chrysostom was asked by the brethren,” it is said in the preface to the Psalter: “Is it good to leave the Psalter?” He said: “It would be better for the sun to cease from its course than to leave the Psalter. Well, it is useful to learn the psalm and read the Psalter diligently. All books are for our benefit and create sorrow for the demonic, but not like the Psalter: for this reason let us not be negligent."

And further, in the legend of St. Augustine about the power of the psalms it is said: “The singing of psalms decorates the soul. He calls on angels for help, drives away demons, casts out darkness, makes holy things... he shames the devil, he shows God... he crushes anger, there is unceasing praise of God. The singing of psalms is like honey!”

All this, of course, the monk knew, and therefore he commanded the sisters to read the Psalter unceasingly.

It would be good for us, brothers, if we followed the commandment of the monk to constantly read the Psalter. Truly, it is very useful to learn psalms and to eat honey like singing them! In addition to the benefits that we have pointed out, the Psalter can be useful and beneficial for us in many other cases, if we are diligent in reading it. It represents an abundant source of moralizing rules and consolations for difficult and sorrowful circumstances of life. The Psalter is an excellent guide to arousing the spirit of prayer, to the outpouring of contrite prayer for one’s sins, to the exaltation of tender petitions for the sending of Heavenly help in the midst of the cramped circumstances of life, to thanking God for his blessings and glorifying His boundless perfections.

You see how much benefit a careful, constant and reverent reading of the Psalter can bring.

In view of all this, be diligent in reading it; be diligent as, in addition to St. Seraphim, Basil the Great also teaches, with whose words we conclude our word. “Do not wash,” he says, “leave not a single day without singing the psalms. If you leave some need, having laid it down from then, begin again in the morning, and do not stop for the sake of laziness... And if you correct what was spoken and learn the commandments of God, then the Lord will open your eyes yours and you will understand the wonders of His Law." Amen.

PRAYERS BEFORE STARTING READING THE PSALMTER Let it be reasonable, as befits an individual to sing the Psalter If the priest says: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. , have mercy