Salutation
... 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: Prayer to the Holy
Ghost
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.
A Prayer of David.
Hear [my] righteous [request],
Lord, Attend to my cry, Give ear to my prayer, [that is] not from feigned lips.
Let my sentence come forth from Your presence. Let Your eyes behold the things that are
equal.
You have proved my heart. You have visited [me] in the night. You have
tried me, [and] have found nothing.
I am purposed [that] my mouth shall not transgress, concerning the works of men;
by the word of Your lips I have kept [from]
the paths of the destroyer. Uphold my
goings in Your paths, [so that] my
footsteps do not slip. I have called on You,
for You will hear me, O God. Incline Your
ear to me, [and hear] my speech.
Show Your marvelous lovingkindness, You Who
saves by Your right hand those who put their trust [in You] from those who rise up [against
them]. Keep me as the apple of [Your]
eye, Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, my
deadly enemies, [who] circle about me.
They are enclosed in their own fat. With their mouth they speak proudly. They have now circled us in our steps. They have set their eyes crouching down to the
earth; like as a lion is greedy of its prey, and as it were a lion cub lurking
in secret places.
Arise, Lord. Disappoint him. Cast him down. Deliver my soul from the wicked, [Deliver] Your sword, from enemies [of] Your hand, Lord, from men of the world, [who
have] their portion in [this]
life, and whose belly You fill with Your hid [treasure]. They are satisfied
with children, and leave the rest of their [substance]
to their babes.
As for me, I will behold Your face in
righteousness. I shall be satisfied,
when I awake, with Your likeness.
________
If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] This
is a difficult Psalm to understand. Most
likely, David is still running from Saul, but he feels in this that God is
putting him to the test, that he is on trial before God. He cries out that he has given an honest
testimony and asks to be acquitted.
David makes his closing argument, and shows that God’s own
search has found him innocent. This can
only be true if David is dependent on a higher righteousness, the righteousness
of Christ within him. David is not
proclaiming his own self-righteousness here; but rather the sincerity of his
faith.
David does not say that his mouth did not transgress; he says
he “purposed”…. David does not confess
an empty faith, but a faith that strives for obedience by grace: he works hard
at being faithful. Nevertheless, it is
not his human works which enable him to make this claim, but God’s words, which
make him righteous. He does not fall
into sin, only because God has kept him from slipping. So, David formally asks God to hear his case
in court, because God hears prayer. God
does not hear claims of self-righteousness.
God hears prayer. We see David’s
great humility.
Now David makes his specific petition for deliverance from his
enemy. He specifically asks that this
deliverance would take the form of God’s great love, “Keep me
as the apple of [Your] eye.” “God
is good and the lover of mankind.” This
is where we find our right, our privilege to pray, in God’s goodness. “Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,” is
a request to be taken to God’s bosom on the mercy seat, safe and surrounded by
the wings of the mighty cherubim. David’s
enemies are pictured at a surrounding pack of hyenas or wolves, circling for
the kill, making him afraid for his life.
These wicked enemies are characterized as
being satisfied with their own prosperity, “They are enclosed in their own fat.” They are proud, their defiant cry is uttered
immediately before their attack, it is intended to terrify and immobilize the
victim, so he cannot flee. They are
crouched down, their eyes focused on the victim ready to pounce on their innocent
prey.
David asks that God would interrupt the hunt, and that his
whole person, not just his human spirit would be delivered. Why should Davis care that his earthly life
be also preserved? Heaven is a better
place. “Your sword” frequently refers to
God’s Word: David understands that God has unfinished tasks for him, he knows that
he is God’s sword bearer, he sees that he is living out steps that prepare the
way for Christ to come. The sword of God
must be delivered from the grasp of evil men: people who are never concerned
with anything more than the things of this world. These enemies are God’s enemies. David is not consumed with jihad, he is
engaged in spiritual warfare.
David is no earthling.
He cannot be satisfied with the things of this life: a full belly,
children, inheritances. Only one thing
satisfies David, the face of God. David
finds the righteousness he seeks and claims in the worship of God. David has been asleep. This was a nightmare. Yet, his awaking looks ahead to the resurrection
of Christ from the dead. The whole
nightmare is a picture of Christ’s trial and crucifixion. Now there is victory in His raising from the
dead.
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