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 on Neginoth, A Psalm
[or] Song of Asaph.
God [is]
known in Judah. His name [is] great in Israel. His tabernacle is also in Salem. His dwelling place [is] in Zion. There He broke
the arrows of the bow, the shield, the sword, and the battle. Consider.
You [are]
more glorious [and] excellent than
the mountains of prey. The stouthearted
are spoiled. They have slept their
sleep. None of the men of might have
found their hands. At Your rebuke, O God
of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast in a dead sleep. You, [even]
You, [are] to be feared. Who may stand in Your sight when once You are
angry? You caused judgment to be heard
from heaven. The earth feared, and was
still, when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Consider.
Surely the fury of man shall praise
You. The remainder of fury shall You
restrain. Vow, and pay to the Lord your God. Let all that be
round about Him bring presents to Him Who ought to be feared. He shall cut off the spirit of princes. [He is]
terrifying to the kings of the earth.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1]
Asaph, probably writes after 586, after the destruction of Jerusalem. His Psalms sometimes mourn the fall of Judah
to the Babylonians. Here he may be
remembering the defeat of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19; 2
Chronicles 32). Whether the annihilation
of Sennacherib’s hoards or the destruction of Jerusalem is in view,
Asaph draws attention to basic facts about the Living God. If earthy Israel, Salem, and Zion are laid
waste; heavenly Israel, Jerusalem, and Zion yet thrive. Nothing of eternal significance has been
lost. It is God Who determines the
outcomes of battle and causes wars to cease.
The battle is broken at heavenly Zion; the field of conflict is merely
the outcome. We should pause to consider
this last sentence more fully. God
intends to destroy mankind’s ability to wage war. Perhaps, we should take the point, and
realize that we are doing evil with our wars, we are not doing good.
Asaph now details how God spoils great armies and great
nations. Everything stems from God’s
excellent Glory. Because of God’s
invincible Glory: the courageous are spoiled; the watchmen sleep; strong
soldiers grope for their weapons (hands are equivalent to arms) in vain;
charioteers and their horses also sleep.
God must be feared for life to continue.
No one is able to withstand Him.
Judgment comes from heavenly, not from earthly Zion. Earth, a possible reference to Judah, has the
sense to be afraid and silent. God does
judge. He saves. The meek are His particular interest. Are we meek?
Or are we puffed full of pride?
God knows how to turn human fury into praise; He knows how to
restrain human fury, so that it is made harmless. Our response is obvious; sensible people turn
and worship God Who is worthy of our worship (Revelation 5). Asaph concludes with a reference to Psalm
2. Powerful enemies have come against
us, besieged us, sacked our cities and our places of worship; we are betrayed
from within and without, spies and traitors infiltrate our temples and
churches. Nothing, Nothing, Nothing has
changed in the kingdom of heaven. God’s
will cannot be delayed or deterred.
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