... 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).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Praise the Lord: for [it is] good to sing praises to our God,
for [it is] pleasant, praise is
comely. The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers
together the outcasts of Israel. He heals
the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by name. Great [is]
our Lord, and of great power. His
understanding [is] infinite. The Lord lifts up
the meek. He casts the wicked down to
the ground.
Sing to the Lord with
thanksgiving. Sing praise on the harp to
our God. You cover the heaven with
clouds. You prepare rain for the earth. You make grass grow on the mountains. He gives the beast its food, the young ravens,
which cry. He delights not in the
strength of the horse. He takes no
pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His
mercy.
Praise the Lord, O
Jerusalem. Praise your God, O Zion: for He
has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you. He makes peace [in] your borders, [and] fills
you with the finest of the wheat. He sends
forth His commandment [on] earth. His word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool. He scatters the hoarfrost like ashes. He casts forth His ice like morsels. Who can stand before His cold? He sends out His word, and melts them. He makes His wind blow, the waters flow. He shows His word to Jacob, His statutes and His
judgments to Israel. He has not dealt so
with any nation. [His] judgments, they have not known them.
Praise the Lord.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
any of them as you wish.
[1] Psalm
147 is anonymous. It is a song of praise
written in three stanzas and concluding with a final, “Praise
the Lord.” Each stanza has a litany of praises, which
are concluded with a thematic statement.
The litany of the first stanza focus on
the gathering of the people of God. In
Joseph’s dreams, the stars are his brothers; counting them speaks of their
gathering. The theme of the stanza is, “The Lord lifts up the meek. He casts
the wicked down to the ground.” The gathering
of the meek, includes the calling of the wicked to repentance: but if they
never repent it necessarily includes their rejection.
The litany of the second stanza focus
on the greatness of the providence of God for all the earth. The theme of the stanza is, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His
mercy.” This adds further substance to
the meaning of “the meek” in stanza one.
Meekness involves the fear of Yahweh, not of man, and the hope in Yahweh’s
mercy, which is a sure thing, but not to be taken for granted.
The litany of the third stanza shows
how this great providence results in the blessing of Jerusalem. We do not see the necessity of this promise
if earthly Jerusalem is not already in ruins.
We see this more as the promise of heavenly Jerusalem of which earthly
Jerusalem is a type. Since Revelation 21
speaks at length on the nature of this city and its descent to earth, it is not
unlikely that its future location will be Zion: but we cannot speak of these
things with great certainty. The flow of
waters seem to be a precursor of the river of New Jerusalem. The theme of the stanza is, “He shows His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to
Israel. 20 He has not dealt
so with any nation. [His] judgments, they have not known them.” This reminds us, as Paul also does, that
Israel still has a place in the heart and plans of God (Romans 9-11).
“Praise the Lord.”
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