Approved for publication by the Publications Board of the Russian Orthodox Church PB 11-116-1697
Priest Daniel Sysoev С 95 Explanation of Selected Psalms. In Four Parts. Part 3: Another World. — New Jersey, Daniel Sysoev Inc, 2018. — 128 pp. ISBN 978-5-4279-0071-6
Explanation of psalms 109, 116, and 145. This book examines the issues of the laws of the spiritual world, the mission of Christ, praise of God and His eternal glory, conciliarity of the Church, the mafia of this world, the truth of Orthodoxy, and how to treat the imprisoned and refugees. “The Psalter is suitable for any good work. If you wish to learn the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, the Psalter will impart them to you. All dogma is contained in the Psalter.” —Saint Basil the Great
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© Daniel Sysoev Inc, 2018 © Yulia Sysoeva, 2018
CONTENTS THE ETERNAL PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK Explanation of Psalm 109 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Born in the Underworld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The Meaning of “Sit Thou at My Right Hand” . . . . 11 The Mafia of this World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Sceptre of Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Ruling in the Midst of Enemies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Splendour of the Saints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 An Eternal Priest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 A Judge among the Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Born that He Might Die. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 HOW TO PRAISE GOD Explanation of Psalm 116 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Gentile Culture and Customs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Way Out and the Laudation of the Gentiles . . . The Meaning of the Term “Catholic Church”. . . . . The Hateful Discord of this World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Time has Come for Mercy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What is Truth?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41 50 54 59 66 68
CONTACT WITH OTHER WORLDS Explanation of Psalm 145 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Praise Ye Him That Is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Three Kinds of Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 On Hope in God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Contents
Why is Orthodoxy Still Here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Appealing to the Name of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 How God Frees Prisoners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Is Escape from Hades Possible? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 On How to Treat Refugees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 The End of Earthly History. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
THE ETERNAL PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK
Explanation of Psalm 109 If we pray with attention at the morning, evening, and nighttime services for the Nativity, we will notice that, in addition to the prophecies concerning the birth of Christ in the flesh, our services allot considerable space to the eternal begetting of God the Son. What is the reason for this? Why does the Church find it necessary to emphasize the eternal existence of God the Son prior to creation? The fact is that in Orthodox theology there is a direct link between Christ’s begetting from the Father without a mother before time began and His birth from the Virgin Mary without a father in time. What is this link? For example, people often ask, “Why did God the Son become incarnate, and not God the Father?” On this basis some even claim that the Son is inferior to the Father. This is naturally untrue, because the Son is equal to the Father in all things. Nevertheless, the question arises: why was it the Son Who took flesh? According to the teaching of the Church, if the Father had been begotten this would have disrupted the personal, hypostatic properties of 5
The Eternal Priest after the Order of Melchizedek
the Persons of the Holy Trinity. The hypostatic property of God the Father is unbegottenness, and if He had been begotten this would have been a distortion of the hypostatic properties. It is God the Son Who is begotten, for in eternity also He is begotten of the Father. His begetting, however, is not tied to our temporal existence. If there were no world God would be triune nonetheless. The inner life of God is in no way bound to the world. The world could have been created or it could never have come to be—this is the free desire of God. He however always has been, is, and will be a Trinity, because such is His nature, and this is how He exists. Here we cannot even say that the Father begat the Son voluntarily or involuntarily. The question of volition does not even arise. God simply exists eternally. All this is emphasized in Psalm 109. In a sense this psalm is one of the most important. The Lord Himself quotes it in the New Testament, when He asks the Pharisees, What think ye of Christ? whose son is He? They say unto Him, The son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool? If David then call Him Lord, how is He his son? (Mt. 22:42–45). Inter6
Priest Daniel Sysoev
Explanation of Selected Psalms In Four Parts Part 3 Another World
Translator Priest Nathan Williams Layout Olga Bochkova Cover and Design Igor Ermolaev
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