... 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.
A Psalm of David.
The Lord [is] My shepherd. I shall not want. He makes Me lie down in green pastures. He leads Me beside the still waters. He restores My soul. He leads Me in the paths of righteousness for His
name’s sake.[2]
Yes, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You [are] with Me. Your rod and Your
staff comfort Me. You prepare a table
before Me in the presence of My enemies. You Christen My head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow Me all
the days of My life. I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever.[3]
[1] Everyone’s
favorite Psalm opens with the remembrance of Yahweh’s great shepherding
leadership. All of life hangs on this
marvelous providence, which supplies everything necessary for both the material
(human body or flesh) and the immaterial (the human spirit) aspect of man. Yahweh focuses great attention on keeping the
image of God in man alive.
We are less surprised then, when we learn from David that this
same attention for the image of God in man continues after bodily, physical
death. Death is that great specter which
haunts us all. We would do well to ask, “What
will happen to our souls, when we can no longer cling to God in faith?” Faith grows dim, hope fades. We find the answer to the terrors of death in
the death of Christ: for David is writing about Christ’s three day burial in
the tomb. Jesus fears no evil in “the valley of the shadow of death” because the same relationship
with Father Yahweh that sustained Him in life, now sustains Him in death. We are in Him, and in Him we are also led
through the valley. Our human frailty
thinks too much of how tightly we cling to God.
Like little children we grasp our earthly father’s hand with such
tenacity that we nearly wring his fingers off, yet we forget. Yahweh’s great shepherding ministry is
not dependent on our clinging to Him, although that is not a bad thing to do,
but rather in His clinging to us. We are
children, we get distracted, we let go.
God never lets go; the Father’s Faithful shepherding in Jesus, the Good
Shepherd, never fails, not even as we weaken in death. After death, we have new life, and a new
home.
[2] The
first paragraph centers on the relationship of Yahweh, He with I or me. The second paragraph changes the verbal focus
from the third person to the more intimate second person; the relationship of
Yahweh, You with me or I. In neither case
is my relationship with Yahweh ever in view; but always His relationship with
me.
[3] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost or share any of them as you wish.
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