... 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.
To the Chief Musician, [A
Psalm] of David.
In the Lord I put my
trust.
Why do you say to my soul, “Flee [as] a bird to your mountain?” for, lo,
the wicked bend [their] bow; they
make ready their arrow on the string: so that they may secretly shoot at the
upright in heart.
If the foundations are destroyed, what can
the righteous do?
The Lord [is] in His holy temple. The Lord’s throne [is] in heaven. His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children
of men. The Lord tries the righteous. But the
wicked and he who loves violence His soul hates. On the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and
brimstone, and a horrible tempest. [This shall be] the portion of their cup:
for the righteous Lord loves righteousness. His
countenance beholds the upright.[2]
[1] David
raises questions about wicked activity around him, threatening his life and
foundations: his enemies want him to fly away.
David remembers that all his foundations are in God. Here we see that David's understanding of
God's throne and temple is greater than any place on earth. When David was a little boy, the sin of
Israel had resulted in God’s Self-willed exile together with His throne among
the Philistines: God simply got fed-up, and left the Israelites to their own
corrupt devices. David lived to see God
return to Jerusalem, with His throne (the Ark of the Covenant), to Zion, to
live in a tent. Solomon would build the
first temple. Nevertheless, David always
understood that these temporal things were merely ways for the invisible God to
make Himself known to the world. The Presence
of God in flaming-smoking Glory, riding on and speaking from the Ark, were
never more than pictures of a greater reality.
God is everywhere, but He is rarely audible or visible. Now we hear and see Him in Jesus, His eternal
Son. Now we hear and see Him by the
power of the Holy Ghost.
David begins with his declaration of faith.
Since David has such confidence in Yahweh, why is he always
running to hide? David’s mountain is
most likely Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where the Ark of the Covenant resided in a
tent. Is David afraid to face conflict?
Part of the answer to these questions is that Yahweh, Whose
Presence is enthroned on the Ark of the Covenant at Zion is the Foundation Stone,
the One Who determines the outcome of every earthly conflict. It is not that David is afraid to face
conflict; but rather, that David is unwilling to enter into conflict without
doing it God’s way. It is necessary for the
prince to consult the King before the prince swings into action. David is not free to act unilaterally,
without God’s explicit authority. For
David to act unilaterally is to undermine his own foundation stone, his relationship
with Yahweh. While Yahweh cannot be
undermined, David can cause himself great harm by acting before or even without
prayer. Our action when not preceded by
prayer, is one of the great causes of our failure. The question, “what can the
righteous do?” is answered by the introductory declaration of faith, “Trust in
Yahweh.”
David concludes with several observations about Yahweh that
provide further explanation for the importance of these things. The temple and throne of Yahweh is really heavenly,
not earthly: Zion and the Ark are merely icons of a greater living
reality. Yahweh has all mankind, even
the righteous, on trial, and examines all human behavior: we are responsible
for what we do. Yahweh separates the
righteous from the wicked with the execution of His judgment. “Yahweh loves righteousness” and smiles (His
countenance) upon those who honor it.
Within the context of this Psalm, such righteousness consists of seeking
Yahweh’s direction in prayer, before taking action. In the larger context of the whole Psalter,
such righteousness consists of loving the Law (Torah), and in seeking the mercy
and power of God to obey that Law.
[2] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by
Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or ND. They are designed and intended for your free
participation. They were freely
received, and are freely given. No other
permission is required for their use.
No comments:
Post a Comment