... 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).
To the chief Musician on Shoshannim–eduth, A
Psalm of Asaph.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Who leads
Joseph like a flock. Who dwells [between] the Cherubims. Shine forth.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your strength. Come save us.
Turn us again, O God. Cause
Your face to shine. We shall be saved.
Lord God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your
people? You feed them with the bread of
tears; and give them tears to drink in great measure. You make us a strife to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God of hosts. Cause Your face to shine. We shall be saved.
You have brought a vine from Egypt. You have cast out the heathen, and planted it. You prepared [room] before it, caused it to take deep root, and it filled the
land. The hills were covered with its
shadow, and its boughs [were like]
the good cedars. She sent out her boughs
to the sea, and her branches to the river.
Why have You broken down her hedges, so
that all who pass by the way pluck her? The
boar from the wood wastes it. The wild
beast of the field devours it. Return,
we beseech You, O God of hosts. Look
down from heaven. Behold. Visit this vine, the vineyard, which Your
right hand has planted, the branch You made strong for Yourself. [It is]
burned with fire. [It is] cut down. They perish
at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be on the Man of Your right
hand, on the Son of Man You made strong for Yourself. So, we will not go back from You. Make us alive. We will call on Your name. Turn us again, Lord God of hosts. Cause
Your face to shine. We shall be saved.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] Because
of Psalms like this, we believe that Asaph writes between 586 and 516 BC, from
somewhere in Israel-Judea, as he surveys the destruction of Jerusalem, and
everything else for miles around. His
Psalms do not show a glimpse of any return from Babylon. His Psalms do not show that he was among
those deported to Babylon. The Psalm
divides itself into three stanzas using the refrain, “Turn us
again, …. Cause Your face to shine. We shall be saved. The ellipsis grows in emotional intensity as
the Psalm progresses: “O God,” “O God of hosts,” “Lord God of hosts.” We have artificially
divided the last stanza into three parts, hoping to select groups by common subject
matter.
Asaph’s cry is to God the Shepherd, The Shining Glory, Who still
dwells between the Cherubims, even He has left for heaven. His cry is for all Israel. There is no such thing as the lost
tribes. When the Assyrians crushed and
dispersed the northern kingdom in 722 BC, a faithful remnant, all who wished
and were able, fled to Judea, to remain part of the worshipping people of God:
but now, corruption has overtaken them, even in Judea and in Jerusalem. Asaph’s specific prayer is that the nation
would receive the gift of repentance, by which they might be saved. God has turned His back on Israel-Judea.
Asaph now turns to the fact that Yahweh is justifiably angry
with His people, who are only starting to turn to Him because of their tearful
pain. Ironically, when they were
prosperous, they had time for idols, but not for Yahweh. Ironically, faith begins to grow and flourish
under punishment and suffering; it is the road of the cross that builds true
faith. They were mocked, as He was
mocked, as we are mocked; here is the narrow gate and difficult path we must
follow (Matthew 7:13-14). Our nation
needs the gift of repentance. Our world
needs the gift of repentance.
Asaph elaborates on the historic planting, growth, and prosperity
of Israel-Judah, for which there is no logical reason. Israel-Judah was never a great nation; they
fought among themselves, and divided in civil war. They were surrounded by great nations, any
one of which was strong enough to crush them physically. Their existence and their strength was due
only to the Presence of God’s Glory, dwelling among them. This is what they forgot, when they took
their eyes off of God, and became preoccupied with their own beauty.
Asaph continues with the obvious question in the hearts and minds
of those who have lost their senses, of those who have become preoccupied with
their own beauty, of those who rejoice in their own strength. Such nations, such a world has no idea why it
is being destroyed, why its original prosperity is being taken away. Each little comeback is met with the
proclamation of how strong they are. In
reality Israel-Judah was becoming weaker by the minute.
Asaph, on the other hand, is one who has regained his senses. As with the prodigal son, he realizes that
the promises made to David are eternal, they still stand; so he cries out for
the Son. Where is the King? Let the King arise at the Father’s right
hand. In Him we will repent and never
betray You again. In Him we will live
and learn to worship aright. Even so,
many are still turning away. “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)?” Or will the earth be like Jerusalem, in faithless
ruins, with only a few like Asaph, mourning the dead?
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