... 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).
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, [A Psalm] of David.
Give ear to my prayer, O God. Hide not Yourself from my supplication. Attend to me, and hear me. I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise: because
of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they
cast iniquity on me. In fury they hate
me.
My heart is sore pained within me. The terrors of death are fallen on me. Fearfulness and trembling are come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me. Then I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! [Then]
would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, [then] would I wander far off, [and] remain in the wilderness.” Consider.
“I would hasten my escape from the windy storm [and] tempest.”
Destroy, Lord. Divide their tongues: for I have seen violence
and strife in the city. Day and night,
they go about it on its walls. Mischief
also and sorrow [are] in its heart. Wickedness [is] in its heart. Deceit and
guile depart not from her streets: for [it
was] not an enemy [who]
reproached me. Then I could have borne [it]. Nor [was
it] he who hated me [who] magnified
[himself] against me. Then I would have hid myself from him. But [it
was] you, a man my equal, my guide, and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, [and] walked to the house of God in
company. Let death seize on them, Let
them go down alive to hell: for wickedness [is]
in their dwellings, among them.
As for me, I will call on God. The Lord shall save
me. Evening, morning, and noon, will I
pray, and cry aloud. He shall hear my
voice. He has delivered my soul in peace
from the battle against me: for there were many with me. God shall hear, and afflict them, even He Who
abides of old. Consider.
Because they have no repentance, therefore
they do not fear God. He has put forth
his hands against such as be at peace with him. He has broken His covenant. [The
words] of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war [was] in his heart. His words were softer than oil, Yet [were] they drawn swords.
Cast your burden on the Lord, He shall sustain you. He
shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
But You, O God, shall bring them down to
the pit of destruction. Bloody and
deceitful men shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
________
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blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] David
introduces his prayer formally. He is in
considerable anguish over what his enemies say, how they oppress, that they
accuse him of sin, and hate him furiously.
This seems to fit Absalom’s rebellion best.
David is so troubled by this event that he even thinks in
terms of escapism. Indeed, he did flee
from both Saul and Absalom; but, now he just wants to hide. He likens his very real danger to a tempest:
we might say tornado.
However, this tempest is of the tongue. Secret plotting was whispered around the
city, stirring up trouble. This came
from a trusted friend or friends, a frenemy; we suspect Ahithophel, the
treacherous advisor who turned against him, who committed suicide when he was
caught, very much like Judas did one thousand years later (2 Samuel 17:23). Absalom was also involved in conspiracy; but
it was Ahithophel who was the traitor.
David finds solace and deliverance in thrice daily prayer. When we are deeply troubled, we need not be
ashamed that we cannot let it go; it consumes our thoughts around the
clock. There are many with him, as when
he fled from Absalom with a sizable army; when he fled from Saul, he had only a
little band. Nevertheless, he finds his
peace in God; his prayer is as much for the protection of his army, as for any
protection he might get from them. Their
success in battle depended on David’s prayer.
Now David describes his adversaries as covenant breakers: not
only breaching the covenant with God, for David is God’s chosen; but also breaching
the covenant with David, because David expects loyalty from his advisors. Likewise, Judas breaks covenant both with the
Father and with His Christ. These were
glib men, fast talkers, skilled in flattery, but behind the fair speech were
swords ready to plot and urge murder.
David’s constant solution is faith, “Cast your
burden on the Lord, He shall sustain you. He
shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” What immortal words!
Finally, David predicts the utter downfall of both Ahithophel
and Judas.
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