Salutation
... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy
Ghost
O
Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill
all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and
cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
Deliver me, Lord, from the
evil man. Preserve me from the violent
man, who imagines mischief in [his]
heart. They are gathered together [for] war continually. They have sharpened their tongues like a
serpent. Adders’ poison [is] under their lips. Consider.
Keep me, Lord, from the
hands of the wicked. Preserve me from
the violent man, who has purposed to overthrow my goings. The proud have hid a snare for me, and
cords. They have spread a net by the
wayside. They have set traps for me. Consider.
I said to the Lord, “You [are] my God.” Hear the voice of my supplication, Lord. O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in
the day of battle. Grant not, Lord, the desires of the wicked. Further
not his wicked device. They exalt
themselves. Consider.
The head of those who circle about me, let
the mischief of their own lips cover them.
Let burning coals fall on them. Let
them be cast in the fire, in deep pits, so that they rise not up again. Let not an evil speaker be established in the
earth. Evil shall hunt the violent man
to overthrow [him].
I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, the right of the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your
name. The upright shall dwell in Your
presence.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1]
David, like many of us, is often concerned with the problem of needing
deliverance from evil people, and evil situations. Most of us have had jobs and family
situations where we cried out for deliverance daily. This subject is so important that it is a major
topic in the Lord’s Prayer. The only difference
between evil people and evil situations is: in the first case you’ve identified
the person causing evil; in the second case that wicked person remains
hidden. Evil comes from an evil person,
either angel or human. The
characteristics of such an evil person are: violence, plotting (imagining
mischief), intent to start a fight (war), shrewd and poisonous speech. When your adversary spends half the day
whispering to the boss about your faults; when you are suddenly confronted;
when apology is demanded from you, and you don’t even understand what has
happened; this Psalm prepares you, and helps you know what has happened and what to do about it.
Having been delivered from the clutches of such evil, David
turns to the request that he would be kept free from the grip of such
wickedness. Have you ever been relieved
after being fired? You should feel sad,
broken, discouraged; instead you are filled with joy. Did your termination free you from the
clutches of wicked people? Now you know
why you are happy: the harsh burden of oppression was removed. David adds to the characteristics of evil
people: they intend to overthrow, they use snares, ropes, nets, and traps. All of these devices are intended to capture
and kill secretly, stealthily. There is
no intent here to correct a wrong, or even settle a score. The goal is to overthrow, to bring into a
state of subjection and slavery. The
wicked often hides behind platitudes, “We need to be accountable.” But the wicked are only accountable to
themselves. Such means are how
politicians increase their power, not by open debate, but by undermining their
opponents.
David’s solution is prayer.
The evil attack is aimed directly at the head. David recommends the helmet of salvation,
which is received in prayer (Ephesians 6:17).
We must trust God to protect us from such devious attacks.
David does not seek retaliation against such enemies. He pictures such a person or persons as a
wolf or pack of wolves circling, waiting for the kill. Instead David prays that they would receive
the exact outcome of their plots. We
would say “hoist with their own petard,” exploded by their own bomb. Completely fair and just punishment.
David has complete confidence that God’s system of justice
will vindicate him in the end, and he will be freed, finally, to thank and
dwell with God. We must not leave this
Psalm without noting that it is about Jesus, not about us. David, being a prophet, foresees the
intricate details of Christ’s battle against evil, culminating at the crucifixion. He sees the resurrection and Pentecost as
victory. David may not have understood
what he saw, but this Psalm makes no eternal sense, until we see Jesus in it.
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