... 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.
Psalm 112:1-10[1]
Praise the Lord.
Blessed [is] the man [who] fears
the Lord, [who] delights greatly
in His commandments. His seed shall be
mighty on earth.[2]
The generation of the upright shall be
blessed. Wealth and riches [shall be] in his house. His righteousness endures forever. To the upright there rises light in the
darkness. [He is] gracious, full of compassion, and righteous. A good man shows favor, and lends. He will guide his affairs with
discretion. Surely he shall not be moved
forever. The righteous shall be in
everlasting remembrance. He shall not be
afraid of evil tidings. His heart is
fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart [is] established. He shall
not be afraid, until he see [its desire]
on his enemies. He has dispersed. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn shall be exalted with honor.[3]
The wicked shall see, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt
away. The desire of the wicked shall
perish.[4]
[1]
The unnamed psalmist moves from the topic of the blessed man to the upright or
righteous man; and finally, to the wicked man.
The phrase, “His righteousness endures forever,” shows us clearly that
these first two are one and the same.
Less clear is that Jesus is the perfection of this blessed-righteous
man.
Nor is this the sort of self-righteousness that flows from
human works-righteousness: for the core of this righteousness is the fear of
the Lord. This fear, Jesus perfects, and then produces
in us. The lending spoken of, is really
giving: for nothing is expected in return.
Jesus freely gives His body and blood.
His only repayment is that we trust, love, and are grateful to Him for
His immeasurable gift.
It is this perfection in the crucifixion and resurrection that
results in Jesus coronation and seating on the throne of David (Acts
2:29-36). Jesus is the horn because He
is the King. We will be exalted with Him
and also reign with Him.
The wicked, who want Him dead, cannot stand or understand the fact
of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
Their rage is very self-destructive.
“Judas goes out and hangs himself.”
[2] The
nature of the consummated kingdom of God between the Advents is one of steady
growth (Daniel 2:34-35; 44-45; Philippians 2:5-11). In a world that has just passed the seven and
a quarter billion population mark (August, 2014), The Church claims about one
billion members. Since the promise of
God is certain, we may be sure that this growth continues during perilous
times, even when it appears that The Church is waning in this post-modern era. Indeed the open persecution of the post-modern age may prove to be the
final era of greatest Church growth: for it is persecution that calls forth the
most noble of Christian behavior.
[3] The
nature of the consummated kingdom of God between the Advents tends toward
kindness and prosperity. It is not that
being a Christian is about accruing wealth.
On the contrary, Christian life is about humility and humiliation: embracing
poverty, tribulation, and even crucifixion (Matthew 10:22-23; 16:24-28; Mark
8:34-38; Luke 9:23-27; Acts 7:54-56; 9:3-6; Philippians 1:29-30; 3:17-21; 2
Timothy 3:12; Revelation 1:10-11; all of Revelation). On the other hand, Christian life is about
giving, not getting; about building rather than about razing; and that tends
toward a prosperity shared by the whole world (1 Corinthians 5:3-17). I may not realize any gain in this life, but
my fellow men and women shall, if they come to believe.
[4] If
you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost,
share, or use any of them as you wish.
No rights are reserved. 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