Friday, May 30, 2014

Psalm 121:1-8


... 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 121:1-8[1]

A Song of Ascent.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from where my help comes.

My help [comes] from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer your foot to be moved.  He Who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He Who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord [is] your keeper.  The Lord [is] your shade on your right hand.

The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil.  He shall preserve your soul.

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forever.[2]



[1] This beautiful antiphonal Psalm joyously anticipates the coming of Jesus Christ to save His people.  We have emphasized the separation of calls from responses by indentation.
The singers see the king commanding His power of creation from the hilltops.  He is sleepless in His protection of His nation, the true Israel of God.  As with the Shekinah for Moses and the people in the wilderness, He is their light by night and their shade by day.  He will come to protect and preserve them eternally.  In the heavenly city there will be no night (Revelation 22:5).
We may visualize groups of singers singing these lines back and forth between them: as they make the climb from Jericho to Jerusalem; as they mount the steps of the second temple; as they congregate for worship.  Every church should have two choirs, so they can duplicate this joyous throng.
[2] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or ND.  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.

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