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.
[A Psalm] of
David.
The Lord [is] my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord [is] the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, my enemies
and my foes, came on me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should besiege
me, my heart shall not fear. Though war
should rise against me, in this I [am]
confident. One [thing] have I desired of the Lord, that will
I seek after. That I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple: for in the time of trouble He
shall hide me in His pavilion. In the
secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me.
He shall set me up on a rock. Now shall my head be
lifted up above my enemies round about me.
Therefore, will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing, Yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Hear, Lord, [when] I cry with my
voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer
me. [When You said], “Seek My face.” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, will I seek.” Hide not Your face from
me. Put not Your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Leave me not, nor forsake me, O God of my
salvation. When my father and my mother
forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach me Your way, Lord, Lead me in a plain path, because of my enemies. Deliver me not over to the
will of my enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as
breathe out cruelty.
[I had fainted], unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, He
shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I
say, on the Lord.
[i]
David understands his own suffering as he prophetically observes it through the
persecution and suffering of his great Son, Jesus. We take these words for granted, but in
David's day the ark of God was in exile among the Philistines. That wasn't much comfort to the Philistines:
for the Glory of God that rode on the ark was a constant source of
trouble. The Philistines expected a
fetish, like their own idols. They did
not expect to deal with the Living God, Who knocked down their idols and struck
the people with diseases, so that they might repent.
David received the return of the ark with great turmoil: it
cost several lives, he had no place to put it, there was no grand temple, and
the tabernacle of Moses had crumbled to dust at Shiloh. With great difficulty and personal expense,
David acquired the top of the mountain, Sion, and set up a temporary tent for
God's Glory to reside in, with His principal piece of furniture, the ark.
David loved to walk around this ark praying. He would rather be in this tent talking with
the Glory of God than be in his own house.
He would just sit in silence and stare at the beauty of God's Glory and
dream of the day when he would live forever in His presence. All the power of David's kingdom derived from
this Glory. In this humble tent, before
the ark, in the presence of God’s Glory, David loved to sing. We take these words for granted. Jesus is this Glory.
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