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.
The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the multitude of isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness [are] round about Him. Righteousness
and judgment [are] the dwelling of His
throne. A fire goes before Him, and burns
up His enemies round about. His
lightning lights the world. The earth
saw, and trembled. The hills melted like
wax at the presence of the Lord, at the
presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness.
All people see His Glory.
Confounded are all those who serve graven
images, that boast themselves of idols. Worship
Him, all gods. Zion heard, and was glad.
The daughters of Judah rejoiced because
of Your judgments, Lord: for You, Lord, [are] high above all the
earth. You are exalted far above all
gods.
You who love the Lord, hate evil. He preserves the
souls of His saints. He delivers them from
the hand of the wicked. Light is sown
for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O righteous.
Give thanks at the remembrance of His
holiness.
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If you have been
blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share
all of them.
[1] The
psalmist exclaims that Yahweh reigns.
This is the joyous shout of coronation.
The rejoicing of earth and islands may be literal. God is easily able to make stones cry
out. More likely, earth is a reference
to Israel (the holy land); while isles refers either to Israelites in exile or
to the gathering of the gentiles. In
either case, God’s reign extends to all the people of the earth, and all people
are invited to rejoice in His coronation.
Now God’s glory is described in very poetic terms. We ought not think of these things as
ordinary fire and lightning, for the Israelites did not see ordinary fire and
lightning. Rather they witnessed the
Glory of God destroy the Egyptians, lead them in the wilderness, display His
terrors at Sinai, and lead them into the promised land; talking all the way as
they went. Wax may be a reference to the
practice of covering pottery flaws with wax; it indicates that insincere
worship cannot survive in the presence of God’s righteousness. On the other hand, we ought not think of
these things as the embellished description of an earthly war lord, a tyrant,
either. The battle is not against flesh
and blood, but against spiritual wickedness.
The display of Glorious power emphasizes that this is about the
overthrow of Satan and his demonic hoards.
Sadly, humans get caught up in the things of demons, and are destroyed along
with them.
God’s Glory was not difficult to see at Sinai. In Solomon’s Temple, people came from all
over to meet the king who served such Glory.
The expression, “Worship Him, all gods” gives reference
to leaders and angels: for a god is one who grants requests. The common people are often eager to worship
Him: it is the leaders and the powerful who think of themselves as being above
such things. Again, Psalm 2 man be in
view. On the other hand, such displays
of Glory bring forth rejoicing among believers everywhere.
The psalmist concludes with an exhortation to
boldness. Neither disdain nor dislike
evil. No, a very strong word is
used. Hate it. Withstand it.
Speak openly against it. Strike
at evil wherever you find it. Stamp it
out. Do not be meekly led away in the
presence of evil. God will preserve you
and deliver you in your battle with evil.
You have been made into a bearer of light, live like it (Matthew 5:15). Rejoice, His holiness brings victory.
