... 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).
A Psalm of David.
I will sing of mercy and judgment. I will sing to You, Lord. I will behave myself wisely
in a perfect way. When will You come to
me? I will walk within my house with a
perfect heart. I will set no wicked
thing before my eyes. I hate the work of
those who turn aside: [it] shall not cling
to me. A forward heart shall depart from
me. I will not know a wicked [person].
I will him cut off, who secretly slanders his neighbor. I will not suffer him who has a high look and
a proud heart.
My eyes [are] on the faithful of the land, so that they may dwell with Me. He who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve Me. He who works deceit shall not dwell within my
house. He who counts lies shall not
tarry in my sight.
I will early destroy all the wicked of the
land: so that I may cut off all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1]
Saul had surrounded himself with evil counselors: men like Doeg (Psalm 52), the
tribe of the Ziphims or Ziphites (Psalm 54), and others. We do not believe that the placement of Psalm
53, between Doeg and the Ziphites is accidental: for all of them were unbelievers. Saul had done many wrong, but forgivable things. However, when it came to the will of God
concerning Amalek, he failed. Amalek, as
well as its king, Agag, is the epitome of all that evil: God cannot deliver
from the evil, by tolerating evil. This
Psalm is not about the cruel and vicious slaughter of many people: it is about
maintaining the holiness of God’s kingdom.
David understands this and sings his vow to hallow God’s name.
David’s vow requires all the elements of mercy, judgment,
wisdom, a single hearted walk, pure eyes, without waffling or wandering, and emphatically,
especially humility. The phrase, “When will You come to me?” seems out of place, until we consider
that David is incapable of achieving any of these qualities by himself. Only as God is with him, can the name of God
be truly hallowed. David will be able to
surround himself with faithful believers because God does the sorting. Even so, David will have his Ahithophel, and
Jesus will have His Judas. The highest
form of pride is secret slander.
David delights in faithful believers and vows
to fill the land with them, separating them from deceivers and liars. Is he remembering Doeg, as he sings?
David concludes his song by vowing to destroy wickedness,
which is equivalent to eliminating idolatry, malice toward God, and cruelty,
malice toward man. His vow embraces an
affirmation of the Decalogue. The
centerpiece of the Decalogue is the perfect Son, Who flawlessly honors both
Father and mother. David understands
that he is the icon of that Son; as also are we. In Christ, we become the perfect Son. There is no place in Christ for any sin: sin
must be blotted out. We look for that
glorious day, when we will never sin again.
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