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, to Jeduthun, A Psalm
of Asaph.
I cried to God with my voice, to God with
my voice. He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord. My sore ran in the night, and ceased not. My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled. I complained, My spirit was overwhelmed. Consider.
You hold my eyes waking. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years
of ancient times. I call to remembrance
my song in the night. I commune with my
own heart. My spirit made diligent
search.
Will the Lord cast off forever? Will He be favorable no more? Is His mercy clean gone forever? Does [His]
promise fail forever? Has God forgotten
to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His
tender mercies? Consider.
And I said, “This [is] my infirmity.” [I will remember] the years of the right
hand of the most High. I will remember
the works of the Lord. Surely, I will remember Your
wonders of old. I will meditate also on
all Your work, and talk of Your doings.
Your way, O God, [is] in the sanctuary. Who [is so] great a God as [our] God? You [are]
the God Who does wonders. You have
declared Your strength among the people.
You have with [Your] arm
redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Consider.
The waters saw You, O God. The waters saw You. They were afraid. The depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water. The skies let out a roar. Your arrows also went abroad. The voice of Your thunder [was] in the heaven. The lightning illumined the world. The earth trembled and shook. Your way [is]
in the sea. Your path [is] in the great waters. Your footsteps are not known. You led Your people like a flock by the hand
of Moses and Aaron.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] Jeduthun
could be a personal noun, or a musical instruction or tune. Asaph pours out the sorrows of a bitter and
broken heart. If he is also physically ill,
we do not know what malady struck him.
It may well be that his sorrow is so great it made him bodily sick.
Holding the eyes is the gesture of one who is weeping: Asaph somehow
knows that God shares his sorrow. In
despair, Asaph tries to remember the past, and put the shattered pieces of his
broken life back together. This is a
step we must all take when we are confronted with life crushing sorrow. We must try to understand the historical
causes to our suffering.
Now he spells out the specific questions that his grief
demands. What events in Asaph’s life
could possibly call forth such questions?
The destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity are the only events
we can recall, which would bring forth such heart-wrenching agony, such screams
of horror.
Asaph seeks comfort in the same place he sought understanding:
he remembers the good years of God.
Again, this is an essential step for us, as well. This is a life changing situation, but seen
against the overall perspective of God’s goodness, things cannot be nearly as
bad as they seem. Why not?
The answer comes from the sanctuary, not made with hands,
which cannot be destroyed. The earthly
temple, ark of the covenant, master copies of Scripture, Urim and Thummim may
all be immolated, gone forever: but they were never more than copies, symbols
of the heavenly realities of the same things, which can never be
destroyed. God’s omnipotent Glory still
rules over all, and even yet, redeems.
Now Asaph is able to remember the Exodus through his
tears. He understands in the greatness
of the mystery that a new Exodus, with a new Moses, and a new Aaron are
coming. He knows, from the character of
God, that the story isn’t over yet.
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