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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Psalm 26:1-12

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.

Psalm 26:1-12[i]

[A Psalm] of David.

Judge me, Lord: for I have walked in my integrity. I have trusted also in the Lord. I shall not slide. Examine me, Lord, Prove me. Try my reins and my heart: for Your lovingkindness [is] before my eyes. I have walked in Your truth. I have not sat with vain persons, Nor will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; [I] will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocence. So will I circle Your altar, Lord: so that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and count all Your wondrous works.

Lord, I have loved the dwelling of Your house, the place where Your Glory dwells. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men, in whose hands [is] mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.

But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. Redeem me, and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place. In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

[i] This Psalm is reminiscent of the wise man who built upon the rock. Such righteousness is not built by works: for David begs to be examined and tried; it rests on God's lovingkindness and God's wondrous works which are found in the most holy place, the oracle, where the Shekinah Glory of God resides and speaks to king and priest. It is only because God gathers that David is not counted as unrighteous; in this grace of redemption, David finds integrity and stability, the ability to bless the LORD with the people of God. David also looks forward to the work of Christ, his Greatest Son, Who is the Shekinah Glory of God and Who will accomplish all these things for him.

Psalm 25:1-22

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 25:1-22

[A Psalm] of David.

To You, Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You. Let me not be ashamed, Let not my enemies triumph over me. Yes, let none that wait on You be ashamed. Let them be ashamed who transgress without cause. Show me Your ways, Lord. Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth, and teach me: for You [are] the God of my salvation. On You I wait all the day. Remember, Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses: for they [are] ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions. According to Your mercy remember me for Your goodness’ sake, Lord.

Good and upright [is] the Lord. Therefore He will teach sinners in the way. The meek will He guide in judgment. The meek will He teach His way. All the paths of the Lord [are] mercy and truth to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

For Your name’s sake, Lord, pardon my iniquity: for it [is] great.

What man [is] he who fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way [that] He shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease. His seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord [is] with those who fear Him. He will show them His covenant. My eyes [are] ever to the Lord: for He shall pluck my feet from the net.

Turn to me, and have mercy on me: for I [am] desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged. Bring me out of my distresses. Look on my affliction and my pain. Forgive all my sins. Consider my enemies: for they are many. They hate me with cruel hatred. Keep my soul, and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed: for I put my trust in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me: for I wait on You.

Redeem Israel, O God, from all his troubles.

________

We are often ashamed before God because of our sin. This is a good and helpful affliction. Being ashamed before the world is a different matter: it brings with it the frustration that we have let God down; and the kingdom might be shamed or even fail because of our sin. The psalmist learns that he is not that big; but God is very great: He is also merciful and good. We learn the hard way that our sins do not rock the kingdom of God.

God, on the other hand, is good and upright; He teaches and guides sinners. This is especially true today in the gift of the Holy Ghost, Who is available as a gift to all who dwell on earth. Because of the Holy Ghost it is possible for us to keep God's covenant and testimonies: we can even ask for and expect to receive forgiveness for our sins. Moreover, we receive abundant "secret" blessings, and we are free to cry out to God for deliverance from all our afflictions.

God's forgiveness triumphs over all our shame, and affliction. Israel and The Church are redeemed "by the blood of the everlasting covenant."

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Psalm 12:1-8

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 12:1-8[i]

To the Chief Musician on Sheminith, A Psalm of David.

Help, Lord: for the godly man ceases. The faithful fail from among the children of men.

They speak vanity every one with his neighbor. With flattering lips [and] a double heart, they speak.

The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, [and] the tongue that speaks proud things: who have said, “With our tongue will we prevail. Our lips [are] our own. Who [is] lord over us?”

For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, says the Lord. I will set [him] in safety [from him who] puffs at him. The words of the Lord [are] pure words, silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. You shall keep them, Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

[i] Wicked political administrations are nothing new. David contended with many of them: the Philistines, Saul, men in his own service, even a son. David sees himself as a poor man: poor, but godly and faithful. David knows that he and his throne only exist and are purified because God keeps them. Even so, our lives and successes only exist and are purified because God keeps them. The wicked are still with us.

Psalm 11:1-7

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 11:1-7[i]

To the Chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David.

In the Lord I put my trust. Why do you say to my soul, “Flee [as] a bird to your mountain?” for, lo, the wicked bend [their] bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, so that they may secretly shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The Lord [is] in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne [is] in heaven. His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord tries the righteous. But the wicked and he who loves violence His soul hates. On the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest. [This shall be] the portion of their cup: for the righteous Lord loves righteousness. His countenance beholds the upright.

[i] David raises questions about wicked activity around him, threatening his life and foundations: his enemies want him to fly away. David remembers that all his foundations are in God. Here we see that David's understanding of God's throne and temple is greater than any place on earth. When David was a little boy, the sin of Israel had resulted in God’s Self-willed exile together with His throne among the Philistines: God simply got fed-up, and left the Israelites to their own corrupt devices. David lived to see God return to Jerusalem, with His throne (the Ark or the Covenant), to Zion, to live in a tent. Solomon would build the first temple. Nevertheless, David always understood that these temporal things were merely ways for the invisible God to make Himself known to the world. The presence of God in flaming-smoking Glory, riding on and speaking from the Ark, were never more than pictures of a greater reality. God is everywhere, but He is rarely audible or visible. Now we hear and see Him in Jesus, His eternal Son. Now we hear and see Him by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Psalm 10:1-18

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 10:1-18[i]

Why do You stand at a distance, Lord? Will You hide in times of trouble?

The wicked in pride persecutes the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined: for the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and blesses the covetous, [whom] the Lord abhors. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek. God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous. Your judgments [are] far above, out of his sight. [As for] all his enemies, he puffs at them. He has said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for [I shall] never [be] in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud. Under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity. He sits in the lurking places of the villages. In the secret places he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the poor. He lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den. He lies in wait to catch the poor. He catches the poor, when he draws him to his net. He crouches, [and] humbles himself, so that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides His face. He will never see.”

Arise, Lord. O God, lift up Your hand. Forget not the humble.

Why does the wicked scorn God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require [it].”

You have seen: for You behold mischief and spite, to retaliate with Your hand. The poor commits himself to You. You are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and the evil. Seek out his wickedness [until] You find none.

The Lord [is] King forever and ever. The heathen are perished from His land. Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear, to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

[i] The wicked believe that they have the upper hand because they have power to oppress, to bind (wo)men in slavery, to defy God's Law. They redefine sin and excuse it; but they have no real love for the sinner, and they don't know how to forgive. They murder and think they have done God a favor; they pervert the sacrament of marriage and call it love. They are deceived. God hates oppression, God loathes every form of slavery, and will blot it out.

Psalm 9:1-20

Salutation

O Heavenly King: Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Psalm 9:1-20[i]

To the Chief Musician on Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.

I will praise [You], Lord, with my whole heart. I will show forth all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You. I will sing praise to Your name, O most High. When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at Your presence: for You have maintained my right and my cause. You sat on the throne judging right. You have rebuked the heathen. You have destroyed the wicked. You have put out their name forever and ever.

O enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end. You have destroyed cities. Their memorial is perished with them.

But the Lord shall endure forever. He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You: for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in Zion. Declare among the people His doings. When He makes inquisition for blood, He remembers them. He forgets not the cry of the humble. Have mercy on me, Lord. Consider my trouble from those who hate me. Who lifts me up from the gates of death: so that I may show forth all Your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion. I will rejoice in Your salvation. The heathen are sunk down in the pit they made. In the net,[ii] which they hid, is their own foot taken. The Lord is known [by] the judgment He executes. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Consider.

The wicked shall be turned to hell, all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten. The expectation of the poor shall [not] perish forever. Arise, Lord. Let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, Lord: [so that] the nations may know themselves [to be but] men. Consider.

[i] Inquisition for blood: the search for murderers, haters of the Decalogue, the Law of God. Inquisition for blood, my enemies, the heathen, the wicked all designate the same group of people: these are not people far off who have never heard the Gospel. David's principle enemies were Jews, Israelites, and Hagarenes: close cousins who grew up with the Gospel, and yet despised it. Today, God's principal enemies do not all come from outside of churches or Christian societies. Someone has sowed tares with the wheat.

Muthlabben: an unidentified word. It may mean white (laben) death (muth) or things of (muthlab???) a son (ben). The Psalm may focus on David's grief over the death of Bathsheba's child, or over Absalom's death. David lost four sons as punishments for the murder of Uriah, and his enemies may have used any or all of these tragedies as occasions to rise up against David. Note that these deaths are not punishments for the children: they are punishments only for David. As soon as David knows of the death of Bathsheba's child he stops mourning, because he knows that the child is at peace with God. When Absalom dies, David continues in mourning, probably because he known what judgment Absalom deserves.

All of this is prophetic of the enemies of Christ, of Judas and the rest, almost all of whom were from Judah, Israel, and the Hagarenes. Christ's enemies have stormed and invaded our churches.

[ii] The retiarius cannot possibly represent the origins of net fighting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retiarius. Relatively little is known about nets as weapons: probably because they are overlooked, thought to be inferior or effeminate, not even thought of as weapons. The Roman retiarius is obviously patterned after a fishing model, as he is equipped with a trident, rather than a spear. However, nets were also used for hunting as an aggressive weapon that was cast over the prey, as a lining for traps, as a foot snare hidden on the ground, as a device for scaling walls, and as an instrument of restraint and transport. Since, the manifold handiness of the net is so easy to grasp, it’s absurd not to suppose that most of these uses are as old as the net itself, surely almost as old as man. Any net fisher or hunter, being set upon by a dangerous adversary, would immediately grasp the closest thing at hand to defend himself. Escaping with his life, he would immediately fathom the necessity of developing and improving new combat skills with the net. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope.

Monday, December 9, 2013

A Story for Christmas

I weary of the endless fiscal fantasies of fat fairies shilling for filthy rich toy factories.

I long to hear of the simple truth of a poor village priest in an era when a window was a hole in the wall. In such a bygone era, very rich people covered their windows with oiled parchment or vellum. Poor people had only open holes to let light into the room: perhaps a bit of rag or sackcloth provided some privacy.

One such family was reduced to such poverty that they were about to sell their daughters into prostitution. It was an era that knew little of mercy. Prostitution would save the daughters from starvation and nakedness. The rest of the family might benefit, or might be left to fend for themselves. Who knows what might have become of them?

Our poor village priest scraped together a few coins, a silver or two, perhaps even a gold, from some unknown source. This pittance was carefully tied in a sack, and in the middle of the night was pitched through the open window of our poverty stricken family. They were spared from prostitution and starvation.

Evidently, such missions to the poor were the regular concern of our poor village priest, he is reported to have done this at least twice, no one knows for sure.

Eventually, somebody figured out this terrible crime, a senseless act of random kindness. The culprit was discovered.

As the years passed, the historical story was embellished. The truth was diminished, then destroyed by this embellishment. Today, nobody remembers our poor village priest. All we think about is a fat fairy driving hypersonic reindeer. We will not be hoping for a few crumbs of bread to fend off death. We will be hoping for a lavish display of riches that would shame a fourth century king.

A few crumbs of bread, and clothing made of rags is the reality of Christmas.

This poor village priest is Saint Nicholas.