... 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,
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.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Give thanks to the Lord: for [He is] good,
because His mercy [is] eternal. Let Israel now say, that His mercy [is] eternal. Let the house of Aaron now say, that His
mercy [is] eternal. Let them now that fear the Lord say, that His mercy [is] eternal.
I called on the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me. [He set me] in a large place. The Lord [is] on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord takes my
part with those who help me. Therefore
shall I see [my desire] on those who
hate me. Better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
Better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
All nations circled about me; but in the
name of the LORD, I will destroy them. They circled
about me. Yes, they circled about me; but
in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. They circled about me like bees. They are quenched as the fire of thorns: for
in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. You have thrust sore at me that I might fall;
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord [is] my strength and song. [He]
is become my salvation. The voice of
rejoicing and salvation [is] in the
tabernacles of the righteous. The right
hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right
hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand
of the Lord does valiantly.
I shall not die, but live; and declare the
works of the Lord. The Lord has punished me sore; but He has not given me over to death;
Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go to them. I will praise the Lord. This [is the] gate of the Lord, which the
righteous shall enter. I will praise You:
for You have heard me. [You] are become my salvation. The stone [which] the builders refused, is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord’s
doing. It [is] marvelous in our eyes. This
[is] the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice
and be glad in it.[2]
Save now, I beseech You, Lord. Lord, I beseech You, send now prosperity. Blessed [is]
He Who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God [is] the Lord, Who has showed us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, to the horns of
the altar.
You [are]
my God. I will praise You. [You are]
my God. I will exalt You. Give thanks to the Lord: for [He is] good, for His
mercy [is] eternal.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] This
Psalm is one of the antiphonal Psalms that are built around the theme of God’s
eternal mercy; that mercy which we celebrate in the great hymn, Eternal Are Thy
Mercies, Lord. The other Psalms bearing
this theme are 106, 107, and 136. In this
paragraph, the call is given, introduced by “Give” or “Let”; the response is
always “His mercy [is]
eternal.”
In the second paragraph, we hear the call
introduced by “I”; the response is either “The Lord”
or “better”. Its main point is that in
contrast to Yahweh, man’s help as well as man’s malice are virtually nothing. Yahweh is the only reality that matters.
Now the call usually contains the word “circled”; while the
response is usually introduced with the adversative, “but”, once with “for”. The evil nations that surround Jesus on the
cross, are for the most part the tribes of Israel. The “name of the Lord” seen
in the help of the Father thwarts the cry, “crucify Him,” and raises Christ up
from the dead: for it is impossible that death could contain Him.
Here we may see the call “The Lord”, “The voice”, “The right”
(only the first time); the responses are “is become”, “in the”, and “The right”
(the last two times). The point is that
victory over sin and death only comes as the gift of God.
The outcome of eternal life is introduced by “I shall not die”, and “The Lord has punished
me”. We indicated the responses “and”,
and “but” by preceding them with “;”.
These words must be seen as the prayer of Jesus.
Now the calls and their responses become: “Open” followed by “I”,
“This” and “I”, “The stone” and “This is”, “This is” and “We will”. The prophetic nature of this Psalm is now
clearly revealed. The exhortation to
rejoice in the day, is not to have a good attitude about every day; but rather,
to rejoice in the specific day of Christ’s resurrection, which lifts the whole
world up as a joyous sacrificial gift to God the Father: our joy is in the
headstone establishment of Christ, which show that the building will surely
follow. The headstone is rejected; so
the building will be primarily gentile in nature, and not Israelite.
The shouts of Palm Sunday, “Hosanna” form the call, “Blessed”
the response; “God” the call, and “Bind” the response. The reference to the altar of burnt offering
in the sacrifice of the crucifixion of Christ is unmistakable.
The Psalm closes with the call “You”, and the responses “I”;
the call “Give thanks”, and the responses “for”. It is the crucifixion, resurrection,
ascension, and Pentecost which express the eternal mercy of this Psalm and for
which we must give thanks and praise.
Forgive us for taking liberties with the antiphonal rendering. We are sure that a skilled choir director could
have done a better job: but you get the picture, and can now make it
better. We look forward to seeing better
arrangements, and to hearing you sing.
[2]
Psalm 122:1
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