Psalm 143:1-12 rA

... 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).

Psalm 143:1-12[1]

A Psalm of David.

Hear my prayer, Lord.  Give ear to my supplication.  In Your faithfulness answer me, in Your righteousness….  Enter not in judgment with Your servant: for in Your sight shall no man living be justified: for the enemy has persecuted my soul.  He has struck down my life to the ground.  He has made me dwell in darkness, as those who have been long dead.  Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me.  My heart is desolate within me.  I remember the days of old.  I meditate on all Your works.  I meditate on the work of Your hands.  I stretch forth my hands to You.  My soul [thirsts] for You, as thirsty land.  Consider.

Hear me speedily, Lord.  My spirit fails.  Hide not Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit.[2]  Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning: for in You I trust.  Cause me to know the way where I should walk: for I lift up my soul to You.  Deliver me, Lord, from my enemies.  I flee to You to hide me.

Teach me to do Your will:[3] for You [are] my God.  Your spirit [is] good.  Lead me to the land of uprightness.  Make me alive, Lord, for Your name’s sake.  For Your righteousness’ sake, bring my soul out of trouble.  And of Your mercy cut off my enemies.  Destroy all those who afflict my soul: for I [am] Your servant.[4]

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[1] David prays in deep distress.  Nowadays, we are so concerned about being positive, that we have denied ourselves emotions like distress: when distress comes we cannot cope, we often cannot even pray.  We are told to have nothing to do with negative people; consequently we develop false ideas about life.  What we really need is Truth.  Sometimes the Truth hurts.  David is not afraid to explore the full gamut of his emotions in his prayers.  Distress is one of them.  It’s okay to feel distress.  Pray about it.  David is not suffering from delusional paranoia; there really was a madman chasing him around in the wilderness, trying to kill him: some days the fatigue and fear got to him.  Perhaps this is the day that he longed for a drink from the well of Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:13-17), which is associated with David’s dying prayers (2 Samuel 23:1-7), which would explain why these Psalms, that seem to be out of place, are located here.

David is failing, and as he faces death, he continues to look for God’s deliverance.  He does not want to die like those who are simply thrown in the grave.  David knows that there is more than the grave; he longs and prays to find his hiding place in God, looking at God’s face.

David is realistically humble; he knows that none of the good things of life come from the self.  He can never be so smart, so strong, so wise that he doesn’t need God’s incessant teaching, God’s unfailing leadership.  Today that leadership is promised in the gift of the Holy Ghost, Who is freely given to all who ask in sincerity and truth.  David sees a new land, “the land of uprightness,” a place where he is no longer hunted like an animal, is he looking to heaven?  He sees a new life, is he thinking of the resurrection from the dead?  He seeks a place without trouble, without enemies, without affliction, is he putting his hope in God’s eternal Sabbath rest?  Because David is God’s servant, he finds all these things in God’s righteousness.

[2] A whole essay could be written about the many Bible passages, which show that Jesus Christ did descend into Hell, “trampling down death by death, and bestowing life on those in the tombs.”  As historic fact there was a partial bodily resurrection immediately after the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection (Matthew 27:52-53).

The icon “Descent into Hell” is one representation of this Biblical truth (http://orthodoxwiki.org/Resurrection.

[3] For David, this is a plea to be directly instructed by God in obedience to Torah.  David understood that such obedience was the gracious gift of Yahweh, to be received in works of faith, hope, and love.

[4] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  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.

Psalm 69:1-36

... 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 69:1-36[1]

To the chief Musician on Shoshannim, [A Psalm] of David.

Save me, O God: for the waters are come in to [my] soul.  I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing.  I am come to deep waters, where the floods overflow me.  I am weary of my crying.  My throat is parched.  My eyes fail, while I wait for my God.

Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head.  Those who would destroy me, my wrongful enemies, are mighty.  Then I restored, what I took not away.

O God, You know my foolishness.  My sins are not hid from You.  O Lord God of hosts, let not those who wait on You be ashamed for my sake.  Let not those who seek You be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel: because, I have borne reproach for Your sake.  Shame has covered my face.  I am become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s children: for the zeal of Your house has eaten Me up.[2]  The reproaches of those who reproached You are fallen on Me.

When I wept, [and punished] my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.  I made sackcloth also my garment.  I became a proverb to them.  Those who sit in the gate speak against me.  I [was] the song of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer [is] to You, Lord, [in] an acceptable time.  O God, in the fullness of Your mercy hear me, in the truth of Your salvation.  Deliver me from the mire.  Let me not sink.  Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and from the deep waters.  Let not the floodwaters overflow me.  Nor let the deep swallow me up.  Let not the pit shut her mouth on me.  Hear me, Lord: for Your lovingkindness [is] good.  Turn to me according to the fullness of Your tender mercies.  Hide not Your face from Your servant: for I am in trouble.  Hear me speedily.  Draw near to my soul.  Redeem it.  Deliver me because of my enemies.

You have known my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor.  My adversaries [are] all before You.  Reproach has broken my heart.  I am full of heaviness.  I looked [for some] to take pity, but [there was] no one; and for comforters, but I found no one.  They gave Me also gall[3] for My food.  In My thirst they gave Me vinegar[4] to drink.

Let their table become a snare before them.  [Let that which should have been] for [their] welfare, [become] a trap.  Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not.  Make their loins continually shake.  Pour out Your indignation on them.  Let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.  Let their dwelling be desolate.  Let no one dwell in their tents: for they persecute [Him] Whom You have struck.  They talk to the grief of those whom You have wounded.  Add iniquity to their iniquity.  Let them not come to Your righteousness.  Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

But I [am] poor and sorrowful.  Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.  I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.  [This] also shall please the Lord better than an ox [or] bull that has horns and hoofs.

The humble shall see, [and] be glad.  Your heart shall live that seek God: for the Lord hears the poor, and despises not His prisoners.

Let the heaven and earth praise Him, the seas, and everything that moves in them: for God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah.  That they may dwell there, and have it in possession.  The seed also of His servants shall inherit it.  Those who love His name shall dwell in them.[5]

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[1] Psalm 69 is a prophetic Psalm for Holy Week.

The introductory plea fits best against the crucifixion, which causes asphyxiation not unlike drowning.  The screams of pain result in a hoarse and parched throat, followed by delirium.

The multitude demanding crucifixion is large.  Jesus gives life to the ungrateful multitude: the very thing they stole from Him; the very thing He never took from anyone.  Jesus is innocent of the inevitable deaths of mankind.

“The foolishness of God is wiser than men (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).”  It seems foolish to us that Jesus, the sinless lamb should take up and carry our sins for us, which Jesus did for the Father’s sake.  It seems foolish to us that Jesus, the spotless lamb should be alienated from the house of Israel because of this.  The flashback to the temple cleansing shows the reason for the Crucifixion (John 2:17).

David prophesies the mocking of Christ, which David describes as a drunken brawl.  It is not surprising that even tough Roman soldiers would have to get “liquored up” to face something as gory as a crucifixion.

David sees Jesus looking to the Father.  Prayer is Jesus’ constant companionship with the Father.  The acceptable time is throughout His life, but especially in Gethsemane and on the cross.

Jesus has a ruptured heart, death approaches swiftly.

David applies the results of Christ’s Passover and Crucifixion to unrepentant Israelites.  As Christ’s eyes failed, loins shook, He suffered indignation; even so, the unrepentant will face blindness, trembling, indignation … and blotting out of the book of life.

The purpose of bloody sacrifice has ended.  With the dawn of the Resurrection from the dead comes only joy, praise, and thanksgiving.

What the Israelites rejected will be seen by all the poor of the earth.

This is a Cosmic event.  The entire Universe praises God with the Resurrection, Ascension, and Enthronement of Jesus on the throne of David (Acts 2:30-31; Revelation 4).  While this is a heavenly event, there is a hint left that the Israelites and Jews will one day repent as well (Romans 10-11).  Nevertheless, the seed is Christianity.

[2] This relates to the temple cleansing reported in Matthew 21:12-17; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-48; and John 2:3-17.  The difference in time between the Psalm, the synoptic Gospels, and John is more apparent than real.  The purpose of the temple cleansing is to show that the cleansing of God will come as a result of Jesus death, and resurrection; this cleansing will also bring healing to all who believe in Christ.  The Psalm is written from the perspective of the Crucifixion, and flashes back to the temple cleansing to disclose the purpose of the Crucifixion.  The synoptic Gospels present the historical perspective.  John is focused on Holy Week: half of John’s Gospel is devoted to the upper room discourse.  John wishes to provide details of the meaning of the Crucifixion events beginning with Palm Sunday, so the historic sequence is identical to the synoptic Gospels.  John’s theme is the free life brought about by the work of Christ in bringing lives of freedom from sin by His death on the cross and by His resurrection (John 8:36; 10:10; 20:31).  John 2:17 is one of John’s thematic statements.  The seeming historic narrative of John, consists of flashbacks and logical insertions that develop and illustrate John’s theme of free life in Christ.  The opposing theme is remaining in the slavery of sin.

[3] Possibly simply bitter herbs such as those eaten at Passover, the opposite taste of vinegar.  Or equally possible, an opiate or poison (hemlock or wormwood) intended to lessen pain.  If to hasten death, because of the Passover; but postponing death was the more usual point of the crucifixion spectacle.  The Roman’s did this for its public display and entertainment value.

[4] Vinegar, possibly alcoholic vinegar, to quench the thirst, allowing load groans and screams to continue.  If the victim fell silent the spectacle would be over: the twofold objective of entertaining the crowd, while at the same time warning them of the fruit of crime against Rome would be over.

[5] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.  No rights are reserved.  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.

Psalm 91:1-16

... 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 91:1-16[1]

He who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God.  I will trust in Him.”

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the noisome pestilence.  He shall cover you with His feathers.  You shall trust under His wings.  His truth [is your] shield and buckler.  You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flies by day;[2] [nor] for the pestilence [that] stalks in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wastes at noonday.  A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand.  It shall not come near you.  Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, my refuge, the most High, your dwelling.  There shall no evil befall You.  Nor shall any plague come near Your dwelling: For He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You in all Your ways.  They shall bear You up in [their] hands, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.  You shall tread on the lion and adder.  The young lion and the dragon You shall trample underfoot.

Because He has set His love on Me.  Therefore, I will deliver Him.  I will set Him on high, because He has known My name.  He shall call on Me.  I will answer Him.  I [will be] with Him in trouble.  I will deliver Him, and honor Him.  I will satisfy Him with long life, and show Him My salvation.[3]

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[1] This Psalm is frequently cited as the guarantee of a Christian’s survival in combat, which is not what this Psalm teaches at all.  This Psalm is exclusively prophetic of The Temptation of Christ in Matthew 4:6; 4:11 and records details of intimate conversation between Jesus Christ and the Father.  The lengthy title itself indicates what applications may be made for those who are in Christ.  “He who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty,” whether in life or in death.  Millions of martyrs, especially the Crucifixion of Christ, testify that Christianity is no amulet or talisman to ward off death.  On the contrary, becoming a Christian is a guarantee of persecution and death.  What this Psalm promises is life in resurrection, and no other.

Jesus salutes His Father, Yahweh, in much the same way as champions or gladiators addressed their king before combat.  “We who are about to die, salute you.”  “My refuge and my fortress, my God.  I will trust in Him.”

The next paragraph shows why Jesus, and we in Him, should set aside fear in battle.  Jesus finds His all sufficient protection in Yahweh’s most holy place in heaven, where the ever attendant Cherubim and Seraphim conduct Him through death to the resurrection.  It is not in battle where we are secure, but under His wings, covered with angelic feathers.  Only Jesus is truly invincible, “trampling down death by death.”

Now that the principle of resurrection is established the specific application to Jesus’ battle with Satan is spelled out in greater detail.  “He shall give His angels charge over You….”  Satan is to be defeated, “trampled underfoot.”

In the closing address, Yahweh the Father addresses, Jesus, God the Son.  The Crucifixion and Resurrection are the final battle.  We live in the aftermath of victory.  He is risen!  The Holy Ghost leads us in the mop-up operation, as we look to the glorious consummation proclamation.  He has returned!

[2] Very possibly a reference to the death of Ahab foretold in 1 Kings 22 (see especially verse 34).  The idea would be that Jesus would not be judged as wicked Ahab was judged, by a randomly launched arrow.  It does not indicate that Jesus would not die at the deliberately launched plot of the wicked Jews and Romans.

[3] 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.

Psalm 24:1-10

... 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 24:1-10[1]

A Psalm of David.

The earth [is] the Lord’s, and the fullness of it; the world, and those who dwell in it: for He has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  Who shall stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  This [is] the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O [God of] Jacob.  Consider.

Lift up your heads, O gates.  Be lifted up, O everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in.  Who [is] this King of Glory?  The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O gates.  Even lift [them] up, O everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in.  Who is this King of Glory?  The Lord of hosts, He [is] the King of Glory.  Consider.[2]

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[1] Psalm 24 is the Psalm of the Resurrection.  Since God, the Son created the world and all that it contains it is impossible for death to contain Him.  The only reason it was possible for Him to die at all was that He added to Himself a compete human nature.

Now He has raised to take His place in the heavenly holy oracle, as King of all, Lord of Lords.

With great joy the gates of heaven are twice commanded to open, not because the gate keepers are hard of hearing, but because of the great emphatic joy of the occasion.  Think in terms of loud shouting, “Lift up your heads, O gates.”  Jesus is pictured as the great battle champion He is.  His weapon, the cross (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32).  “He trampled death by death.”

[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.

Mark 9:17-31

... 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.

Mark 9:17-31

And one of the multitude answered and said, “Master, I have brought my son to you: for he has a dumb spirit.  Wherever[1] [the spirit] seizes him and tears him, he foams, gnashes with his teeth, and passes out.  I asked your disciples to cast out [the spirit]; but they could not….”

He answers him, and says, “O faithless[2] generation, How long shall I be with you?  How long shall I suffer you?  Bring him to me.”

They brought [the boy] to [Jesus]; as soon as He saw him[3], immediately the spirit tore him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.  So, [Jesus] asked his father, “How long ago is it since this [first] came to him?”  And he said, “Since childhood.  Often it has cast him into the fire, and into the water, to destroy him: but if you can[4] do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.”

Jesus said to him, “If you can[5] believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”[6]

Immediately the child’s father cried out, and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying to him, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter into him no more.  And the spirit cried, rent him violently, came out of him, and he was [left] as one dead: insomuch that many said, “He is dead!”  But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

Later, when He came to the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could not we cast him out?”[7]

He said to them, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”[8]

And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and He would not that any man should know it: for He taught His disciples, and said to them, “The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after He is killed, He shall rise the third day.”[9]

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[1] Wherever in preference to whenever, because where he fell when he passed out was of critical importance.

[2] Vocative: the crux of the problem is directed to the father, who is told that he is a member of a generation that has no faith.  This may be also obliquely directed at the disciples, who may be members of the same faithless generation.

[3] The antecedents are unclear.  Whether Jesus saw the boy or whether the boy, and hence the demon, saw Jesus is not a grave difficulty.  The incident is illustrative, so its present cause and timing is incidental to the point of the pending miracle, which is about faith, not about the demon’s particular current activity.

[4] If: the father, lacking faith does not understand the problem; he thinks he has come to a great spiritual healer, who can magically make his child well.  The father does not realize that he has come to God, Who alone is able to heal, and had he come to God sooner, he might not have endured such enduring agony.  Such is the nature of prayer: God expects us to pray; prayer is the signal indication of our genuine faith.

[5] If: a powerful play on words; the issue is not whether Jesus is able to heal; but does the father have enough faith to bother with prayer?

[6] The father does not believe.  Had he believed he would not have waited until now to bring his concern to God in prayer.

[7] Even the disciples have come to believe that this is some sort of magical power that resided with them.  They did not understand the gift of God.

[8] Jesus’ lesson is about faith.  Our society wants to make faith into something we conjure up: faith in faith.  You are not healed because your faith is not strong enough.  That almost looks like the point Jesus makes.  However, faith is not some magical talisman, a rabbit’s foot or genie’s lamp we can rub, whenever we don’t have what we think we want.  Faith involves real substance and real evidence (Hebrews 11:1-3).  What is lacking in this picture of faith is evidence and substance.  No sooner has the father asked for help that Jesus criticizes him and the generation around him for their lack of faith.

In Jewish society that would involve temple attendance three times a year, regular synagogue worship, the morning and evening prayers, fasting twice a week.  It is not that these things were to be done in drudgery, as the Pharisees did them: by regulation.  These things were the privileges of being a Jew, the response of gratitude, offered up in joy and love.  Such joy and love expressed in free and willing worship was intended to lift up the entire world to God, calling all to repentance and faith.

This incident indicates that few of this generation including the disciples and the father knew much about God’s spiritual relationship with them.  When the disciples ask, they learn that their faith is lacking in fasting and prayer.  The Jews were supposed to be experts at fasting and prayer, yet there is little evidence that they knew much about either: “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”  We recall that on another occasion, the disciples had to ask Jesus how to pray (Luke 11:1).  They were anything but experts on the subject: prayer is something that priests and Pharisees do.

Jesus answer seems harsh until we realize that the Old Testament is packed full of lessons in prayer, fasting, and how to worship the Living God.  Neither the father nor the disciples had remembered why they were Jews.  Because of this, the disciples were sent out to them as “the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6).”  The problem is that this generation wanted faith without putting any sweat into it, a sort of faith without works.  It just doesn’t work that way.

[9] We might ask, What does this have to do with the previous lesson.  Jesus uses the previous lesson as a teaching opportunity.  The defeat of Satan is accomplished by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.  No amount of faith or works can measure up to these great accomplishments.  Our task as faithful disciples is to publish these great accomplishments by our joyous and loving worship.  That is the beginning and the ending of my Christian life in Christ.  This defines me as a person.  I am a baptized Christian, a member of the body of Christ; as a member of His body, I naturally participate in it.  That is what faith is and does.  Faith fasts and prays.  Faith enters into spiritual warfare.