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, A Psalm of David.
In You, Lord, I put my
trust. Let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be my strong rock, for a house of defense to
save me: for You [are] my rock and my
fortress. Therefore, for Your name’s
sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me from
the net that they have laid secretly for me: for You [are] my strength. Into Your
hands I commit My spirit. You have
redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
I have hated those who regard lying
vanities. I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice
in Your mercy: for You have considered my trouble. You have known my soul in adversity; and have
not shut me up to the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large room.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in trouble. My eye
is consumed with grief, [yes], my
soul and my belly: for my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity, My
bones are consumed. I was a reproach
among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to my
acquaintance. Those who saw me without,
fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead
man out of mind. I am like a broken
vessel: for I have heard the slander of many. Fear [was]
on every side: while they took counsel together against me, They devised to
take away my life.
But I trusted in You, Lord. I said, “You [are] my God.” My times [are]
in Your hand. Deliver me from the hand
of my enemies, from those who persecute me.
Make Your face shine on Your servant. Save me for Your mercies’ sake. Let me not be ashamed, Lord: for I have called on You. Let
the wicked be ashamed, Let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence, which
speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
How great [is] Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, [which] You have wrought for those who
trust in You before the sons of men! You
shall hide them in the secret of Your presence from the pride of man. You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
from the strife of tongues.
Blessed [be] the Lord: for He has showed me His marvelous
kindness in a strong city: for I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your
eyes.” Nevertheless, You heard the voice
of my supplications when I cried to You.
Love the Lord, all His
saints. The Lord preserves the faithful, and plentifully rewards the proud doer. Be of good courage, He shall strengthen your
heart, all you who hope in the Lord.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] David
examines the proper object of faith, and notes that only God is to be trusted. David is not using the word, trust, the way
we use it today, he is not speaking about doubting other’s words, or suspecting
every act. David is speaking about the
fact that God is the concrete reality in his life. We tend to think of God as, “out there
somewhere.” For David, God is his constant
companion; the first one consulted, and usually the last, on any issue. Prayer was not something David did; it was
his life. This is what is different
about David. The Israelites often forgot
to pray, and consequently, were always in hot water: kind of like us. David rarely forgot to pray, as the Psalms
attest.
As a result, David relied on God to get him out of trouble: we
remember that David had more trouble than most.
God was worthy of that trust and rewarded David with the gift of freedom
among mankind.
Now David is in a fresh trouble. We do not know exactly what this particular
trouble is. Perhaps David is grieving the
animosity of the Philistines (1 Samuel 27), about the time when Samuel died. Perhaps David is grieving because Joab murdered
Abner (2 Samuel 3); this prevented reconciliation between the Israel and Judah
tribes, and resulted in seven years of strife.
Perhaps David is grieving over Absalom’s revolt (2 Samuel 15-17)
In spite of trouble, David trusts in God. He knows that His status in life depends on
God’s timing, not his own effort.
Accordingly, David orders his prayer aright, he waits for God’s
action, rather than taking matters in his own hands. How often we err when we do things our
way. How often we sin with the words, “I’m
going to fix this. I’m going to do something
about it.” Instead, David prays for God’s
blessing: especially in putting the wicked to shame, and the liars to silence.
God is good, and that goodness is what protects from human
pride and strife. Self-willed human
vengeance offers no protection whatsoever from such pride and strife.
David notes that he has found refuge in a strong city. Perhaps he remembers that Saul stopped
chasing him when he was with Achish at Gath.
Finally, David has an exhortation for us, trust God to “strengthen your heart.” If
the issue is zeal for God and His kingdom, we must fight, as with David and
Goliath. If the issue is protection of
the weak and helpless, we must fight. If
the issue is saving our own necks, our own skins, we stand down. In every case we remain constant in prayer,
because we cannot find the right direction without God’s guiding hand. The Holy Ghost will guide us into all truth,
this is concrete reality.
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