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EECOPTIC ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE
Lord, How?Contemplations on Psalm III
BYH.H. Pope Shenouda III
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Title : Lord, How - Contemplations on Psalm IllAuthor : H.H. Pope Shenouda Ill.Translated by: Mrs. Wedad AbbasRevised by : Dr. Angeile Botros Samaan Professor of
English Literature. (Cairo University).Edition :The First - August 1989Printing :Nubar Printing House - CairoLegal Deposit No.:5418 1989.Revised : COEPA - 1997
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H.H. Pope Shenouda III, 117th Pope ofAlexandria and the See of St. Mark
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PREFACE
The Lord gave me an opportunity to contemplate on thePsalms through my lectures late 1968, 1969 and also at othertimes.
I contemplated on this Psalm, “Lord, how they haveincreased who trouble me!" on Friday, 18 April 1968 at St.Mark Church - Azbakia. It is one of the Psalms of theMatins (Morning Prayer).
I choose some Psalms, which are easy to memorize, tocontemplate on before those general lectures.
I hope, beloved reader, to publish those contemplations insmall books. I have already published my contemplation onPsalm 19 (20), “May the Lord answer you in the day oftrouble”, which is the first Psalm of the third hour prayer. I alsopublished contemplations on three Psalms of vespers (theeleventh hour prayer), and I hope God may help me proceedwith the rest of this collection...
Remember me in your prayers.
H.H. Pope Shenouda Ill
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Psalm III
“Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!”
Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!Many are they who rise up against me.Many are they who say of me,"There is no help for him in God." (Selah)But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,My glory and the One who lifts up my head.I cried to the Lord with my voice,And He heard me from His holy hill. (Selah)I lay down and slept;I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.I will not be afraid of ten thousands of peopleWho have set themselves against me all around.Arise, O Lord;Save me, O my God!For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.Salvation belongs to the Lord.Your blessing is upon Your people. (Selah)
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INTRODUCTION
David in this Psalm blames God saying, "Lord, how?”. It is aPsalm of complaint as he says, "How they have increased whotrouble me!. Many are they who say of me, there is no help forhim in God” - It is also an appeal for help, "Arise, O Lord,save me, O my God". Faith is evident in this Psalm for he says,"I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have setthemselves against me all around”. David in this prayer speaksof his spiritual experience saying, "I cried unto the Lord withmy voice, and He heard me from His holy hill". This Psalmshows also confidence and trust in God for David says,"Salvation belongs to the Lord, Your blessing is upon Yourpeople”. He recalls his memories before God and says, "ForYou have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone, You havebroken the teeth of the ungodly”. Though David begins hisPsalm with complaint, blame and appeal for help, he ends withpraise and exultation (Selah) as he remembers God's work forhim.
This Psalm is suitable for anyone who is in troublebecause of enemies and those who are subject to spiritualwars.
It is also a prophecy about the Lord Jesus Christ, Hissuffering, death and resurrection.
Let us now contemplate on this Psalm verse by verse withrespect to its spiritual application to the human soul. It beginswith:
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Lord, how?
He blames God. Lord how? How does all this come uponme? How does this happen, in Your existence?
Many people get angry and resentful if you ask them why theybehave towards you in such a way; but when we ask God,"why?" He accepts it with an open-heart.
Many people troubled David the prophet, but he did notblame them; he blamed God Himself.
O Lord, why do I face such trouble? Why have they increasedwho trouble me? Are not all of them in Your grasp? Are Younot the Almighty? Why do You allow all this in spite of mybeing under Your protection and care?
David blames God:
How often does David blame God! It is something distinctivein his Psalms.
1- For example, the similarity in the way he speaks in Psalm 10,
"Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hideYourself in times of trouble?” (Ps. 10:1)
If we say these words to one of our friends, he will not bearthem! But God accepts such words and David His servant daredto say, "O Lord, how?"
David goes on blaming God, "The wicked in his pridepersecutes the poor; and blesses the covetous, whom the Lordabhors. God is not in all his thoughts”. Then David says"Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget thehumble.” Why do you hide, Lord, in times of trouble? Arise,
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work, save your flock. Why do you let them say there is noGod! or say; “There is no help for him in God"! "LORD, Youhave heard the desire of the humble" (Ps. 10:17).
He Talks To God Frankly And Blames Him.
Why do we seek You in time of trouble but do not find You?It is as if You are standing afar off, and we are not Yourchildren? God accepts such words, although He does work butwe do not see it.
2 - David says "O Lord, how" in (Ps. 44) where he also depictshis troubles and blames the Lord, "But you have cast off andput us to shame” and proceeds in the same Psalm (Psalm 44:12)saying,
"You sell Your people for naught, And are not enriched byselling them.”
“ My dishonour is continually before me, and the shame ofmy face has covered me; Because of the voice of him whoreproaches and reviles, because of the enemy and the avenger”(Ps. 44:15,16). Then David concludes saying,
"Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise, do not cast usoff forever. Why do You hide Your face, and forget ouraffliction and our oppression?" (Ps. 44:23,24).
David opens his heart before God and depicts his feelingshonestly. He does not fabricate words.
When he gives thanks, he does so from all his heart with joyand when he is in trouble, he blames God. In both cases Goddoes not get angry at his frankness nor at his reproach. TheLord Jesus Christ - glory be to Him - even says of David'sPsalms "David in the spirit call Him Lord” (Matt. 22:43).
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David's blame shows God's love and forbearance on onehand and David's boldness and familiarity on the other.
3 - In Psalm 74 David addresses God by saying, "O God, whyhave You cast us forever, why does Your anger smoke againstthe sheep of Your pasture? O God, how long will the adversaryreproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever? Whydo You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?” (Ps. 74:1,10,11). Then he says,
"Oh, do not deliver the life of Your turtledove to the wildbeast” (Ps. 74:19)
He concludes by saying, "Arise, O God, plead Your owncause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches you daily."He considers the reproach of the foolish directed against GodHimself, because if God rises and saves His people, the foolishwill not behave in that manner.
4 - In Psalm 79, David blames the Lord saying, "O God, thenations have come into Your inheritance, Your holy temple theyhave defiled" (Ps. 79:1) and, "How long, Lord? Will You beangry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?…. Oh, do notremember former iniquities against us!” (Ps. 79:5,8). Then hesays,
"Why should the nations say, where is their God?" (Ps.79:10)
Here David does not only blame God for thetransgressions and reproach of the nations, but he alsoblames God for His anger.
Had not You Lord, been angry with us and forsaken us, theheathen would not have behaved like that against us. Why thendo You rage? And why does your anger continue? "Help us, O
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God of our salvation for the glory of Your name.…. we Yourpeople and sheep of Your pasture" (Ps. 79:9,13).
5 -The same reproachful words are repeated in Psalm 80 and 88where David says, "O Lord God of hosts, how long will You beangry against the prayer of Your people?” Then he blamesHim,
"You have fed them with the bread of tears; and given themtears to drink in great measure”.
"You have made us a strife to our neighbours: and ourenemies laugh among themselves" (Ps. 80:4-6). Then heconcludes the Psalm saying, "Return... look down fromheaven... cause Your to face shine and we shall be saved!”
6 - David blames the Lord also in Psalm. 88,
"Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hideYour face from me?”(Ps. 88:14).
This Psalm in particular is full of reproach as David addressesthe Lord, "Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You haveafflicted me with all Your waves" (Ps. 88:7), "You have putaway my acquaintances far from me;... My eye wastes awaybecause of affliction, Lord, I have called daily upon You, Ihave stretched out my hands to You. Will You work wondersfor the dead? Lord, why do You cast off...?”
7 - How often David blames God in his Psalms, it cannot becounted. But I wish to conclude the quotations from David with(Ps. 89),
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“How long, Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? WillYour wrath burn like fire? Lord, where are Your formerloving kindness ... ?" (Ps. 89:46, 49).
This reminds us also of what David says in (Ps. 90:13,15),"Return, O Lord, how long?... Make us glad according to thedays in which You have afflicted us, the years in which wehave seen evil”.
This reproach, so frank, and the words, "Lord, how?" are notconfined only to David's Psalms but they exist in other Books ofthe Holy Bible and are uttered by many prophets and holymen...
The Reproach Of Other Holy Men:
1 - Hearken to Jeremiah the prophet blaming God and sayingalso, "Why?” "Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead withYou; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgements. Why doesthe way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who dealso treacherously?" (Jer. 12:1)
I wonder how dust and ashes argue with God concerning Hisjudgements and inquire, “Why?” Truly says St. Paul theapostle, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom andknowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements, andHis ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of theLord? Or who has become His counsellor?" (Rom. 11:33,34).
However, Jeremiah the prophet addresses the Lord, "Letme talk with You about Your judgements!”
O Lord, it is something I cannot understand, somethingstrange to leave the wicked prosper like that, "You have plantedthem, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear
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fruit... How long will the land mourn, and the herbs of everyfield wither,… for the wickedness of those who dwell there?”(Jer. 12:2,4).
O Lord, why do You let all this happen? Why do thewicked prosper? Where is Your justice? Where is Yourgoodness?
Answer me, give me an explanation, explain to me Yourjudgements, "Teach me Your judgements... teach me Yourstatutes... Open my eyes, that I may behold..." (Ps.119) I wantto understand as far as my mind can, "Why does the way of thewicked prosper..?"
The Lord accepts such reproach calmly and explains that thewicked are like smoke which rises up but then fades away andvanishes, "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall be nomore: Indeed you will look carefully for his place, But it shallbe no more….. the wicked shall perish... they shall vanish...into smoke they shall vanish away." (Ps.37:10,20).
God, the unbounded and incomprehensible opens Hisheart and responds to His children when they ask, "Why?"
2 - The same question is asked by the virgin of the canticle:
She blames the Lord whom she loves saying, "Tell me, O youwhom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make itrest... Why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks ofyour companions?" (Song. 1:7). The Lord is not annoyed withher words but says to her, "if you do not in the footsteps of theflock"... follow the steps of the holy people...
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3 - Another person who is frank in blaming God is Job theRighteous...
He blames the Lord with amazing boldness and says over andover, “Why?” as in (Job 7:11, 12,16,) "... I will complain in thebitterness of my soul. Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, that You seta guard over me?” If any one of us says to a friend, "Leaveme alone” perhaps he will not bear it. Yet, Job says this to GodHimself and continues his reproach, “How long? Will You notlook away from me. And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?"(Job 7:19). Then, he goes on, "Have I sinned; What have Idone to You, O watcher of men?"
"Why have You set me as Your target. So that I am a burdento myself? Why then do You not pardon my transgression, andtake away my iniquity?" (Job 7:20,21).
Who can say such words to any person! However, Job blamesGod with much more reproach. He says,
"Do not condemn me; Show me why You contend withme!" (Job 10:2)
"I am afraid of all my sufferings, I know that You will nothold me innocent. If I am condemned, why then do I labour invain? If I wash myself with snow water, and cleanse my handswith soap; Yet You will plunge me into the pit, and my ownclothes will abhor me" (Job 9:28-30).
Do you think God gets angry at such reproach? Nay.
At the end of the Book, when Job's three friends rebuked himand vexed his bitter soul with false accusations, God said tothem, "... for you have not spoken of Me what is right as Myservant Job has” (Job 42:7).
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God Likes Us To Reproach Him:
Believe me, had not there been in this third Psalm exceptthe words, "Lord, how?", they would have been sufficient ascomforting words that teach us to blame God...
See how Job the Just addresses God, "Withdraw Your handfar from me: and let not the dread of You make me afraid.Then call, and I will answer.. Make me know my transgressionand my sin. Why do You hide Your face, and regard me as Yourenemy? Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? and willYou pursue dry stubble?” (Job 13:21-25).
However, our good God does not get annoyed with Job'sreproach.
Nor does He consider arguing insulting to His status. Nay,God likes us to talk and argue with Him. He becomes glad andhappy for this because reproach shows love and intimacy.
Sometimes, God gives us a chance to blame Him:
He did so with our father Abraham. When He discussed withhim the matter of destroying Sodom and Abraham replied,"Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?... farbe it from You… Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"(Gen. 18:23-25).
God did the same with Moses the prophet when He ragedagainst the people and decided to destroy them because theyworshipped the molten calf. God talked to Moses concerningthis but Moses blamed God in the same words, "Lord, how?"and said, "Why does Your wrath burn hot against Your peoplewhom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with greatpower..? ... Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, “Hebrought them out, to harm them to kill them in the mountains...
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Turn from Your fierce wrath and relent from this harm to Yourpeople" (Ex. 32:11,12).
Holy people argue with God and moreover:
God calls for such argument saying, "Come now, and letus reason together”, says the Lord, “Though your sins arelike scarlet, they shall be as white as snow... " (Isa.1:18).
Those who flee from the presence of God evidently have nolove or hope. Adam fled from the presence of God and hid infear, but God called upon him to inquire and talk to him. Jonahalso fled from the presence of the Lord but God called uponhim, talked to him and rebuked him explaining to him the matterand convincing him. (Jonah 4).
It is allowed then to say to God, "Lord, how?" as David didin the third Psalm.
The occasion on which this Psalm is said.
In fact, brethren, when David the prophet sang this Psalm, hewas passing through a psychological and family crisis besidesthe trouble which threatened his kingdom and perhaps his lifetoo.
He wrote this Psalm when he was escaping from his sonAbsalom who revolted against him and wanted to takepossession of the kingdom.
The divine inspiration depicts this story in the Holy Bible ineffective words, "So David went up by the ascent of the Mountof Olives and wept as he went up, and had his head covered,and he went barefoot. And all the people who were with himcovered their heads and went up, weeping as they went up.” (2Sam.15:30).
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David was informed that his counsellor Ahithophel - with allhis resourcefulness and knowledge of David's methods - tookpart in the conspiracy with Absalom. Shimei the son of Geratoo, came out to David on the way and cursed him and caststones at him saying, "Come out, come out, you bloodthirstyman, you rogue.” (2 Sam.16:5-7), and, "… for the people withAbsalom continually increased in number " (2 Sam.15:12).
Absalom and all the people came to Jerusalem and accordingto the counsel of Ahithophel, "Absalom went in to his father'sconcubines in the sight of all Israel."(2 Sam.16:15,22).Thuswere they increased who troubled David and many were thosewho revolted against him and betrayed him, so he sang,
"Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!"
They have increased who trouble me "Many are they who riseup against me" or as the poet says when the multitude ofafflictions trouble him,
(Had it been for one affliction, I would have endured; butthere are a second and a third).
Why Lord, are all these afflictions? Why do you leave yourservant in such troubles and to those who set themselves againsthim all around?
As for Absalom in particular, David did not do him anywrong but he was led by his own treachery in spite of hisbeing David's son! Why then, O Lord?
How did all those who cried out shouts of joy at the time ofvictory, change and join a treacherous son, knowing well thathe was betraying his father?
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David complained to God, the Almighty, who is able to turnevil into good, in whose hands is the life of Absalom,Ahithophel, Shimei the son of Gera and the lives of all thepeople.
David was not confined to troubles in distress and sorrow,instead, he put them aside and sought God’s help throughhis prayers.
His troubles made him seek the Lord and say:"O Lord, how do you permit all this to take place in your
hearing and sight?"
To you, Lord, I complain; for You alone are able to give mecomfort and power and can save me from this tribulation.Complaining to other than God is humiliating as the commonsaying goes. Whenever I talk to You, I find comfort. I feelcontent trusting your work and intervention, in my life. OnYour kind breast I will lean, and ask You "Why? or “how doesthis happen?".
If I ask anyone, "Why do you trouble me?" they will scornme and sneer at me.
Shimei the son of Gera did so, though I said nothing to him.He rejoiced against me saying, "Come out, come out, youbloodthirsty man… the Lord has brought upon you all theblood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned...So now you are caught in your own evil..." (2 Sam.16:7,8).
This trouble which I am suffering from, may be due to mysins.
Now, I remember, Lord, when You sent me Nathan theprophet with a message from You saying, "Why have youdespised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight?
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You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and havetaken his wife to be your wife... Now therefore the sword shallnever depart from your house... your neighbour.. shall lie withyour wives in the sight of this sun... before all Israel.” (2Sam.12:9-12). Now, do you know why are they increased thattrouble you?
However, David, in spite of his sin, remembers also thewords of Nathan the prophet to him, "The Lord has alsoput away your sin; you shall not die.” (2 Sam. 12:13)
The Lord has put away sin and put it on the Lamb who takesaway the sin of the whole world (John 1:29). David knowsGod's kind heart as God Himself says, "He has not dealt withus according to our sins; nor punished us according to ouriniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, sogreat is His mercy toward those that fear Him. As far as theeast is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressionsfrom us" (Ps.103:10-12). So, David addresses the Lord in hisPsalms saying,
"Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, For they are from of old. Do not remember thesins of my youth, nor my transgressions " (Ps. 25:6,7)
O Lord, do You still remember for me this sin? We havediscussed it and I repented, and according to Your faithful truepromise You have put it away. As for me, because of this sin,"... all night I make my bed to swim; I drench my couch withmy tears" (Ps.6:6). How then Lord, You remember myiniquities? "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, whocould stand? But there is forgiveness with You...” (Ps.130:3,4)"Do not enter into judgement with Your servant: For in Yoursight no one living is righteous" (Ps.143:2)
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True Lord, they are increased that trouble me; butcertainly You are not among those, because You are mycomfort and salvation.
Thus, in the depth of my troubles, I hold my harp and sing thisPsalm. Indeed, "is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms"(James 5:13), but I, in the midst of my deep tribulation sing toYou because my pleasure is in You.
I do not account these tribulations as punishment for mebut I consider them something which brings me closer toYou.
As for my sin, You have forgiven it. However, if You considerthese earthly punishments of some benefit to me, I shall acceptthem with thanks. But, have compassion upon Your son as Iasked for my son, "Deal gently for my sake with the youngman, Absalom" (2 Sam.18:5) In spite of his treachery and all hisfaults... So I inquired, "How they have increased who troubleme? Many are they who rise up against me”(Ps 3:1).
In fact, not all tribulations are due to sins.
The friends of Job the righteous wronged him and vexed himby saying that he was tempted because of his sins (Job 4:7,8).God reproved them for this because they have not spoken ofHim what was right (Job 42:7).
The disciples thought the man born blind was born with thisdisability due to the sins of his parents. The Lord answeredthem, "Neither this man, nor his parents sinned, but that theworks of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3).
St. Athanasius the Apostolic suffered much though he wasrighteous and St. Paul the apostle suffered also and describedhis suffering in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians (2 Cor.2)
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The Holy Bible says too, "Many are the afflictions of therighteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all”(Ps.34:19). It is even said of the Lord Jesus Christ the mostHoly that He was, "A Man of sorrows and acquainted withgrief" (Isa.53:3).
Though some of David's troubles were not due to his sin,other tribulations were.
He suffered many troubles in his life, from Saul the king at atime when David was deeply attached to God and had the Spiritof the Lord. As for the present troubles, though the Lordwarned him against some of them as in 2 Sam.12, yet he did notimagine the affliction would be so severe and that those whotroubled him would be so increased. So, he blamed the Lordsaying: Lord, how they have increased who trouble me, Manyare they who rise up against me”.
Afflictions accompanied David in his righteousness and inhis sins.
Afflictions did not leave him at all, since his youth. Hedescribes the details of such afflictions in his Psalms. Then hefinds the matter has become too serious, so he cries out to theLord,
"Many are they who rise up against me"
He explained the word "Many" by "Ten thousands of people,who have set themselves against me all around" (Ps. 3:6). OLord, how do You allow so many people to rise up against me?have I sinned? I have confessed that. Even before this sin alsomany have troubled me, "Many a time they have afflicted mefrom my youth" (Ps. 129:1) and moreover "they that hate mewithout a cause are more than the hairs of my head.” (Ps.
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69:4), "They surrounded me,. they surrounded me about likebees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns" (Ps. 118:11,12).
It is a great comfort for us to see a great prophet likeDavid suffer from many people.
A greater comfort is to see him delivered from all suchtroubles and not a hair of his head fell but his soul has escapedas a bird from the snare of the fowlers (Ps. 124:7). Blessed bethe Lord who has not given him as a prey to their teeth. Indeed,"... we must, through many tribulations enter into the kingdomof God" (Acts 14:22).
See, how many tribulations Joseph the righteous sufferedfrom!
Many have risen up against him, even his brothers. He wascast into a pit, sold as a servant, the wife of his master rose upagainst him and accused him falsely though he was innocent.Potiphar also resisted him and put him in prison (Gen. 39;17,20). I wonder if Joseph has said the same words "Lord, howthey have increased that trouble me?!”
Usually, a believer is surrounded by troubles andafflictions...
We must enter through the narrow gate and follow the straightpath always bearing our own cross and going forth unto theLord outside the camp bearing His reproach (Heb. 13:13). TheLord did not conceal from us such troubles but said expressly, "in the world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).
However, where afflictions exist, there is God the Saviour.
There is the divine help which gives comfort and salvation.The Holy Bible did not only say, "Many are the afflictions of
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the righteous", but said directly after that, "but the Lorddelivers him out of them all", and did not only say, "in theworld you will have tribulation” but said also, "But be of goodcheer, I have overcome the world". I remember a time whenbirds were of great danger to the provisions of themonastery. They swallowed up crops and fruit greedily... Iasked the fathers when I was coming down from the monasteryif they wanted me to bring anything for them with me, and oneof the old fathers answered, "We want a trap to catch the birds”I said, I shall bring it but I shall teach the bird a Psalm." Thefather inquired, "Which Psalm will you teach the bird?" Ianswered, Psalm 124 which says, "Our soul has escaped as abird from the snare of the fowlers, the snare is broken, and wehave escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who madeheaven and earth”. Yea, the snares are set in the way ofbelievers, but there exists also God's help”.
The danger which threatened David was merely thatmany rose up against him.
The fact that the words refer to "How have they increasedwho trouble me” can be endured, and also the fact that, "Manyare they who rise up against me". But the thing which cannotbe endured is, "Many are they who say of me, there is no helpfor him in God ... !”
There is no help for him in God:
David knows well that it is God who saved him from all hisprevious troubles and from all the dangers, which surroundedhim. God saved him from the paw of the lion and the bear whenthey took a sheep of his flock and saved him from Goliath. So,he addressed king Saul, "The Lord who delivered me out from
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paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear, He will deliverme from the hand of this Philistine". (1 Sam. 17:37).
The words, "Salvation belongs to the Lord", or, "Thebattle is the Lord's" are very familiar on the lips of Davidand in his Psalms.
He says to Goliath, "The battle is the Lord’s and He will giveyou into our hands" (1 Sam.17:47). He says also, "You come tome with a sword, and with a spear and with a javelin. But Icome to you in the name of the Lord of hosts... This day willthe Lord deliver you into my hand..." (1 Sam.17:45, 46).
David says the same thing concerning his enemies, "Theysurrounded me about like bees... For in the name of the Lord Iwill destroy them. You pushed me violently that I might fall:but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength, and song,and He has become my salvation” (Ps. 118:12-14).
As God was the cause of salvation of David from the lionand the bear, He saved him also from king Saul.
How many times Saul wanted to kill David, and how manytimes he pursued David from one wilderness to another and theLord saved him. Thus, David said to Saul, "Let the Lord judgebetween me and you" (1 Sam. 24:12,15); and when Saul fell inthe hands of David, he said to him, “The Lord delivered youinto my hand today, but I would not stretch out my handagainst the Lord's anointed. And, indeed, as your life wasvalued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued muchin the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of alltribulation." (1 Sam. 26:23, 24).
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Since God delivers him out of all afflictions, how seriousare the words of gloating that there is no help for him inGod!
They frighten him with this dreadful matter: that there is nohelp for him in God. Not only one person utters such words butas David cries out in his prayer complaining. "Many are theywho say of me: there is no help for him in God!”
He tells the Lord what people say, but he does not believethat at all.
His experience with the loving God, who helps, delivers andsaves; and the life of faith which he leads besides God'spromises to him... all this makes him not believe their gloating.It may seem that God has delayed or that His help has not yetcome..! but it certainly will come even in the small hours.
God will never forsake him. It is impossible. Salvation willcome.. it is certain... no matter how long it may take.
They say of my soul, "There is no help for him in God. Theysay so because they are enemies and malevolent, rejoicing atmy troubles, at the treachery of Absalom, Ahithophel and atthe curses of Shimei the son of Gera. They rejoice because Icame out of Jerusalem bare-footed and weeping... they rathersay such words because they do not know God, nor His love forme nor His relationship with me!”
Thus, David said after these words, 'Selah' which means amusic pause.
He says to the musical band that accompany him whilesinging, "Stop here, in order to contemplate this matter and letus change the time or even change that which the enemies and
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malevolent say... stop here because I do not accept suchwords".
It is the first time in which the word ‘Selah’ comes inDavid's Psalms.
This word did not come in the first or the second Psalm butcame for the first time in the third Psalm. It is included 74 timesin David's Psalms and shows a musical pause in order to changethe tune or perhaps to introduce a new theme or view... Davidperhaps intends by it to say also, "Stop, you; musicians for Ishall talk with God instead of talking with people I want to tellHim about that which people say..."
Truly, Lord, I have sinned, against You, "and done thisevil in Your sight." (Ps. 51:4); but You will never forsakeme.
If all people forsake me, You will not; and if no one comes tosave me, this will not trouble me nor make me astonished.Suffice it that - You - do not forsake me, for salvation is Yours.However sinful I may be, "He has not dealt with us after oursins” I cannot believe that You see me in trouble and do notcare! for I am Your servant and the son of Your maidservant(Ps.116:16). Whenever I sin, Your hand is upon me and notYour rod. Though many rise up against me and wish I weredead, ”Though I walk through the valley of the shadow ofdeath, I will fear no evil: for You are with me" (Ps 23)..."Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shallnot fear, though war should rise against me, in this I will beconfident" (Ps. 27:3).
The words, "There is no help for him in God" are of thedevil, intended to make one suspect God's help.
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It is the devil who put such lies and feigning on their lips toreduce my faith and my trust in Your love and help, to lead meto despair, submission and to make people doubt God's help toHis children. However, I shall never get desperate of waitingfor Your help.
I am still waiting for Your help in confidence and faith nomatter how long it may take.
"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do tome? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore Ishall see my desire upon those who hate me" (Ps.118:6,7). Withsuch confidence, I wait for the Lord, I wait for Him more thanthose who watch for the morning (Ps. 130:6).
Though God sometimes punishes, He is compassionate inHis punishment.
So, "Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for Hismercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man"(2 Sam. 24:14). It is He who does not break a bruised reed orquench a smoking flax (Matt. 12:20), who wounds and Hishands make whole (Job 5:18).
The words, “There is no help for him in God” remind meof the cruel words uttered by Job’s friends.
How painful they were for a bitter soul and how hurting for arighteous person; but God rebuked them (Job 42:7) and at thesame time, "The Lord restored Job’s losses" (Job 42:10)because God does not forsake His children. Thus, "We areperplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken,struck down but not destroyed” (2 Cor. 4:8,9). Let people thensay whatever they want... and let them try the weapons ofgloating and suspicion.
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As for me, Lord, I know who You are:
You are a shield for me, my glory and the One who liftsup my head.
You, O Lord, Art A Shield For Me:
I imagine some of those who hear David are amazed. Theyexclaim, "What do you see, you poor man? A shield for me! Myglory! The one who lifts up my head! How do you say thisthough you came out bare-footed and weeping and all whocame out with you wept too!! Your friend Hushai the Architecame out to meet you with his coat torn and dust on his head”(2 Sam. 15:32)! Where is glory and victory in that? Here isShimei the son of Gera cursing you saying, "Come out, youbloodthirsty man, you rogue!” In spite of this, you say to yourfriends in humility, “... let him curse because the Lord has saidto him, ‘Curse David…’. It may be that the Lord will look onmy affliction." (2 Sam. 16:5-12). Do you say after all this, "Myglory and the one who lifts up my head!”
However, David said these words with the spirit of faithnot looking at his present condition but unto the cominghelp of the Lord. He was not living the present afflictionbut the future joy putting in his heart, 'The evidence ofthings not seen" (Heb. 11:1).
In spite of the bitterness of his affliction, he saw God'ssalvation in front of him even before it came. This is the virtueof hope which knows no affliction nor despair. This is not onlyhope but also, "The substance of things hoped for" (Heb. 11:1),through which a believer proceeds to say with the apostle,"Rejoicing in hope" (Rom. 12:12).
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Troubles exist, but God exists too. Faith in God and Hiswork overcomes troubles so we do not see them but seeGod's work, so we rejoice and praise it in our Psalms.
Thus, we say in the depth of troubles, "You, O Lord, are ashield for me; my glory and my pride”. You, Lord, are theAlmighty. You do not forsake the universe which You createdbut look after it. You see all that happens on earth and set upjustice among people as Your prophet Malachi said, "The Lordlistened, and heard them; So a book of remembrance waswritten before Him." (Mal. 3:16).
Perhaps You did not see Absalom, Shimei and Ahithophel!Nay, but You saw them and saw their conceit, revolt andtreachery. You saw my oppression and humility and behold, Ihear Your voice saying, "For the oppression of the poor, forthe sighing of the needy, now will I arise, says the Lord, I willset him in the safety for which he yearns” (Ps. 12).
David is fully aware of this, so he says on many occasions,"God is a shield for me" (Ps. 3:3); (see also Psalms 18:20, 7:10,28:7 and 59:11) a shield that protects against blows of theenemies, a shield or an armour against all the arrows of kingSaul and even against "The fiery darts of the wicked" (Eph.6:16). Yea, it is God who lets not, "The scepter of the wicked…rest upon the lot of the righteous" (Ps. 125:3).
He is the God of the poor, the weak and the helplessagainst those who are more powerful than them.
We address Him in the Divine Liturgy, "You are the hope ofthose who have no hope and the aid of those who are helpless.You are the comforter of the weak-hearted and the refuge ofthe troubled”. Also David the prophet says to Him, "All my
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bones shall say, “Lord, who is like You, Delivering the poorfrom him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needyfrom him who plunders him?" (Ps. 35:10).
So, we find the strong depend on themselves, but the weakcry unto God.
David did not cry unto God when he was aware of his powerand ability to strike Nabal of Carmel (1 Sam. 25:13-22) butcried unto God when he felt helpless before Saul and Absalombecause of their power on the one hand and on the other handbecause Saul was the Lord's anointed and Absalom was David'sown son. So, he was unable to strike them due to causes withinhimself and also because they did not care for any act due totheir low spiritual condition. Thus, he cried unto God, "Howdoes this happen? How they have increased who trouble me!".
Indeed, as long as a person feels weak before God, hedeserves His Divine help.
It is God's concern to preach good tidings unto the meek; andto bind up the broken hearted (Is 61:1), and as the Lord hassaid about His sheep, "I will feed My flock, and I will makethem lie down…I will bind up the broken, and strengthen whatwas sick..." (Ez. 34:15,16). Here, David was that broken andsick sheep, not the great king sitting on the throne but therejected king flying away from his enemies.
A strong person is more liable to fall than any otherperson probably because of his pride and self-conceit!
And, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spiritbefore a fall" (Prov. 16:18).
Strong persons are not on guard because of extreme vanity intheir power, and fall because they are not cautious. Besides,
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due to their self-confidence, they do not feel in need of anexternal power" so they do not pray for help, and being awayfrom the act of Grace, they fall. Thus, it is said of sin, "… Andall who were slain by her were strong men" (Prov. 7:26).
David prayed to the Lord to save him from theoppressors.
He used to say: “Save me, O God, by your name, forstrangers have risen up against me, and oppressors (in anothertranslation (the strong), and in a third one (the Ruthless) whichmeans void of compassion who have no mercy nor compassionhave sought my life; they have not set God before them" (Ps.54:1,3).
So were the strong that rose up against David: the lion and thebear, Goliath, Saul and Absalom; all of them, "have not set Godbefore them". David experienced how God gave him victoryover all those and he said, "You are a shield for me; My gloryand the One who lifts up my head", "You were an armour and ashield for me against all the darts of my enemies " So, Daviddid not kill Saul, nor Absalom but the Lord delivered him fromthem because the battle is the Lord's.
True are the words of Moses the prophet, "Do not be afraid.Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He willaccomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you seetoday, you shall see again no more forever.. The LORD willfight for you, and you shall hold your peace (Ex. 14:13, 14).
As for David, the Lord was not merely a shield for him and anarmour against any attacks, but He was moreover as Davidsays, "My glory and the One who lifts up my head"
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My Glory and the lifter up of my head:
So, the Lord says of him in the Psalm, "Because he has set hislove upon Me, therefore I will deliver him: I will set him onhigh, because he has known My name I will be with him introuble; I will deliver him, and honour him" (Ps. 91:14, 15).He did not only say, "I will deliver him" but also said directlyafter it, "I will set him on high" - not only, "in trouble will Ideliver him", but also what is more, "I will honour him" andthat is what happened with David.
The Lord delivered him from Goliath the valiant, and onthat occasion, honoured him and lifted up his head.
So, women came out singing and dancing with tambourines;with joy saying, "Saul has slain his thousands, and David histen thousands" (1 Sam. 18:6,7).David was made leader of themen of war and won the love of all the people. Prince Jonathanput on David his clothes, his sword, his bow and his girdle.Afterwards, David could marry Michal, the king’s daughter, andGod helped him to win in other battles (1 Sam. 19). It is evensaid of him, "David behaved more wisely than all the servantsof Saul; so that his name became highly esteemed" (1 Sam.18.30).
The Lord did not only delivered him from king Saul, butalso glorified him and lifted up his head.
King Saul who was seeking David's life died and so Davidgot rid of all Saul's attempts to kill him. Upon Saul's death,God set up David on the king's throne, "And the men ofJudah came and there they anointed David king over the houseof Judah" (2 Sam. 2:4), and, "David grew stronger andstronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker" (2
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Sam. 3:1), The Lord delivered him from Abner the captain ofSaul's host as he died (2 Sam. 3:30), "Then all the tribes ofIsrael came to David at Hebron, and spoke, saying, “Indeedwe are your bone and your flesh, and they anointed David kingover Israel" (2 Sam. 5:1,3) and the matter was settled for himas king over all the people, so God lifted up his head.
David remembered all this when Absalom rose up against himand the memories gave him comfort within, so he said: I criedunto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of Hisholy hill.
Undoubtedly, the heart is comforted and faith is strengthenedwhenever one remembers God's previous loving kindness, andhow He heard one’s previous prayers; one feels God's love andwork for him and say to oneself, "God, who heard in the past,will hear now and at all times" So, we say in the DivineLiturgy, "You who has blessed at past times, now also dobless".
God's salvation of David was the story of his whole life.Whenever he remembered the particulars of his life, heremembered the Lord's salvation.
So, we find in the Holy Bible a very comforting verse dictatedby the divine inspiration, "And the Lord preserved Davidwherever he went" (2 Sam. 8:6).
David could not forget such salvation in the midst of hisafflictions, nor can the church forget it.
History is long, full of lovely memories. He who saved fromthe hands of Niron, saved also from Diocletian, from Irianus thegovernor of lnsena and from many others afterwards, "Noweapon formed against you (God's children) shall prosper" (Is
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54:17). These memories give comfort to a heart which criesout unto God irrespective of the hardships. A person remembersthe words of the Lord concerning Zerubbabel when the templewas being rebuilt, "'Who are you, O great mountain? BeforeZerubbabel you shall become a plain! " (Zech. 4:7).
Many times David cried unto God and God heard him. Daviddid not forget this but remembered it and was comforted. Hedid not lead an easy life but walked in a way surrounded byafflictions and troubles and the Lord saved him and granted himwhat he prayed for. So, he said, "Many are the afflictions of therighteous: but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guardsall his bones: not one of them is broken" (Ps. 34:19, 20).
A person's experience with God encourages him at thetime of affliction. Here, David remembers his experiences.
"I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out ofHis holy hill". The word "cried". indicates deep prayer andurgent need. It indicates also the severe condition in which hewas. David's Psalms are full of his cries unto the Lord and youcan follow this up in his other Psalms. These cries exist also inJonah's prayer out of the fish's belly. He was actually in a crisiswhich needed cries, so, he said to the Lord, "Out of the belly ofSheol I cried, And You heard my voice. " (Jonah 2:2). He criedout and the Lord heard, "And the Lord spoke to the fish, and itvomited Jonah onto dry land" (Jonah 2:10).
A person raises his prayers unto the Holies of God.
So, David says here, "He heard me out of His holy hill" andsays in (Ps. 20:6), "Now I know that the Lord saves Hisanointed. He will answer him from His holy heaven.” Thus, it
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is supposed that we ask holy things or at least things whichconform with God's will.
David proceeds telling his experiences with God;
I laid down and slept; I awoke:
How amazing it is that David lies down and sleeps in spite ofthe many who trouble him and the ten thousand who setthemselves against him. The normal thing is that sleep quits himin the middle of such troubles and outer threats. Hearken towhat the divine inspiration says about King Darius when he castDaniel into the lion’s den: "Now the king went to his palace,and spent the night fasting, … and his sleep went from him"(Dan. 6:18)
However, in spite of these afflictions, a person sleeps whenhis heart is full of faith and peace.
With such faith and peace, Peter the apostle slept in prisonguarded by four squads of soldiers and knowing that Herodethe king intended to bring him forth to the Jews after Easter (afew days later) to be killed (Acts 12:3,4). He did not sleep adisturbed sleep but slept so heavily that the angel who came torescue him struck him on the side (Acts 12:7). Thus David laydown and slept.
Afflictions were pressing from without, but did not enterinto his soul to disturb him or hinder his sleep.
Thus, David was able to sleep, not in unawareness or death,but in confidence feeling that he was sleeping in God's kindbosom. Absalom with his army were pursuing him and he sleptin the wilderness leaving the Lord to protect and guard him.
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David in his sleep was more peaceful than Absalom whowas conceited with his power; so he said, "I lay down andslept".
When contemplating this verse - in particular with you, Iremember the evening of Good Friday at the time of (Burial)when we remember the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ and readthe Psalms.
We pray this Psalm till the words, "I lay down and slept"which refer to the death of Christ. Then, we stop and donot proceed with the rest of the Psalm; and in the prayersof Easter Eve we complete the Psalm beginning with "Iawoke" which refer to the resurrection of the Lord JesusChrist.
Sleep, sometimes, symbolises death as when the Lord wasspeaking about the death of Lazarus, He said to His holydisciples, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wakehim up.” (John 11:11), He was referring symbolically to thedeath of Lazarus, and meant by the words, "I go, that I maywake him" that He would raise him from the dead. Here, thesame meaning applies to the words, "I lay down and slept, Iawoke" which refers to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This interpretation shows us three trends in interpreting thisPsalm and contemplating on it:
Three interpretations of this Psalm:
1 - The first trend concerns King David, his troubles andtribulations as we explained on the preceding pages.
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2 - The second trend concerns the Lord Jesus Christ - glory beto Him - as we indicated when applying the verse, "I lay downand slept, I awoke,” to the death and resurrection of the LordJesus Christ. This trend is evident in the rituals of Good Friday,and it is also the trend which St. Augustine followed wheninterpreting many Psalms.
3 - The third trend is spiritual and applies to everyone in hispersonal life. We shall deal with this trend on the followingpages, if God wills.
The interpretation concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 - Let us start from the beginning of the Psalm where the Lordsays to the Father, "Lord, how they have increased who troubleme! Many are they that rise up against me!" How could allthose rise up against me: the scribes, pharisees, sadducees, theelders, the priests and chief priests, even the multitudes whomHe served! Indeed it is an amazing matter.
2 - It is amazing also that they think that I want to get rid of thecross (Matt. 27:42) and say; "There is no help for him in God"!".. let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him"(Matt. 27:49). They mocked Him saying, “"If You are theChrist, save Yourself and us." (Luke 23:39), and considered Hisdeath the end for Him and that He will have no salvation.
3 - But You Lord, are a shield for Me, My supporter, My gloryand the lifter of my head. In the crucifixion and the resurrectionthe Son was glorified. When He came to Calvary, He said,"Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Sonalso may glorify You " (John 17:1). He saw Himself glorified inHis cross; the glory of love and sacrifice, the glory of destroyingthe devil’s state and purchasing the whole creation with His
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precious Blood, the glory of the kingdom which He was toestablish with His blood and the glory of redemption andatonement. Such glory would lift up His head as the saviour ofthe whole world through his death because through His deathHe would tread death and Satan who brought death unto theworld. Such was the glory that the Son would bruise the headof the serpent on His cross. As for the glory of the resurrection,it is evident to all.
4 - "I lay down and slept. I awoke". I did not die that deathwhich they thought would be the end, for My soul is immortal.In divinity I am alive, I do not die. However, this death is onlylike sleep from which I awoke by the resurrection. Truly, thesoul was separated from the body to satisfy divine justice, but itreturned to the body in the glory of the resurrection by which ittrod death forever.
5 - Thus, "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people whohave set themselves against me all around", those who criedout "Crucify him, crucify him", for most of them will return tome repenting and join the faith. None of those has any authorityover me for I lay down my life by my own will "…I lay downMy life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, butI lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I havepower to take it again" (John 10:17,18).
Spiritual Contemplation For Any Person:
1 -A person may either apply these verses to himself withrespect to his problems and troubles and in the case of increasedenemies or surrounding him.2 - He may profit from them spiritually and call the Lord askingHis help in his spiritual wars saying, "How they have increased
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who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. ":Wars of thoughts, of the senses, of the emotions and lusts ofheart, wars of the devils, stumbling blocks and tongue faults.
3 - All these pressing wars, gloat in my failure and fight me withdespair saying, "There is no help for him in God" as if the Lordhas forsaken me and His Grace left me delivering me intoperdition.
4 - But You, Lord, with Your kind heart, will not leave me inmy sinful state. You are a shield for me, and my supporter.Certainly, You will lift me up from my fall and restore me untomy former rank. You will wash me and I shall be whiter thansnow and restore unto me the joy of Your salvation. You willlift up my head and restore unto me my former image and I shallbe glorified in You.
5 -That was what You have done with Jerusalem the sinner in(Ezek. 16:6-14), "And when I passed by you and saw youstruggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood,`Live!' Yes, I said to you in your blood, `Live!' "I made youthrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, andbecame very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hairgrew, but you were naked and bare. "When I passed by youagain and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time oflove; so I spread My wing over you and covered yournakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into acovenant with you, and you became Mine," says the Lord God."Then I washed you in water;(in baptism)… and I anointed youwith oil. (the anointment of the Holy Chrism)… "I clothed youin embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin;(Justification of the holy person)…and a beautiful crown onyour head… You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to
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royalty. "Your fame went out among the nations because ofyour beauty, for it was perfect through My splendour which Ihad bestowed on you…”
6 - Thus, a sinner finds that God lifts his head and puts abeautiful crown upon his head.
This happens when God cleans and purifies him of all hisfilthiness as He promised also in Ezek. 36:25-27, "Then I willsprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean; from allyour filthiness.... I give you a new heart and put a new spiritwithin you: and I will take the heart of stone out of your fleshand give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within youand cause you to walk in My statutes…
O Lord, all this you do for a sinner...
7 - Indeed, Lord, Ye are a shield for me, my glory and theOne who lifts up my head. They are liars who say to me,"There is no help for him in God.'
Though I fall, I shall - with Your help - repent. I experiencedthis in my life for many times, "I lay down and slept, I awoke"because You Lord support me in all my weakness. Many times Islackened in my spiritual course but then came a spiritual wakein which I heard the apostle saying,
8 - "Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christwill give you light" (Eph. 5:14)
9 -I thank God that I awoke and that sleep was only casual inmy life and Grace which guards, did not quit me. Thus, inwhatever spiritual wars the enemy fights me, "I will not beafraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselvesagainst me all around". God is more powerful than all of them.
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Suffice me that I cry unto God as I did many times before, AndHe heard me out of His holy hill".
10 - In this way, a person goes on contemplating this Psalmwith respect to his afflictions and enemies or with respect to hissins.
11 -This Psalm may be said by the Church being thecongregation of believers and the Body of Christ.
Thus contemplation on this Psalm extends and does not stopat a certain trend. St. Augustine at the beginning of hisinterpretation, concentrated on the Lord Jesus Christ, thenapplied it to the church and then to the ordinary person.
David the symbol of Christ:
1 - David was betrayed by Absalom, and the Lord JesusChrist was betrayed by Judas and the people cried out,"'Crucify him, crucify him".
2 - David cried out, "Many are they who rise up against me",and many rose up against the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 - David did not resist Absalom who betrayed him but said tothe leader of his army, "Deal gently for my sake with the youngman Absalom" (2 Sam. 18:5); and when Absalom died, Davidwas sorry for him and wept saying, " O my son Absalom --myson, my son Absalom --if only I had died in your place! " (2Sam. 18:23).
The word "Absalom" means the peace of the father because itconsists of two syllables: Ab (father), and Salom (peace), forthough Absalom resisted his father, the father did not resist himbut rather was peaceful towards him in spite of his revolt.
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4 - As for the Lord Jesus Christ, He died for the people andasked forgiveness for those who crucified Him, "Father, forgivethem; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Thus,though people resisted Christ, He was peaceful towards themand warned Judas many times revealing to him the results of hiswrongdoing.
5 - David seemed weak at the beginning of this rebellion againsthim, and wondered how they were increased that trouble him.But at the end he conquered and God saved him from all hisenemies, and some of those enemies even returned to him inloyalty.
Likewise, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared weak on the cross infront of people and they mocked Him saying, "He saved others;Himself He cannot save" (Mark 15:31). Yet, he conquered atlast, by the resurrection and many of those who took part in Hiscrucifixion believed in Him. Thus He saved the whole world.
Let us proceed with our contemplation on this Psalm. Davidsays: “I will not be afraid".
"I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, who have setthemselves against me all around".
God's children do not fear at all no matter how the enemyencompasses them. They feel God's existence with them andthis casts away every fear.
God Himself says to His children, "Fear not” . He said to ourfather Abraham, "Fear not, Abram: I am your shield" (Gen.15:1); and said to Joshua the son of Nun, "Be strong and ofgood courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lordyour God is with you wherever you go", " No man shall be ableto stand before you all the days of your life" (Josh. 1:9,5). To
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Paul the Apostle He said, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and donot keep silent: For I am with you, and no one will attack youto hurt you...” (Acts 18:9,10).
Many times God has said to His children, “Fear not" He saidto His disciples, "Do not fear those who kill the body..." (Matt.10:28), and assured them, "But the very hairs of your head areall numbered".
Only those who do not feel God's existence in their livesmay fear, or those whose sins separate them from God andconsequently are deprived of help and protecting power.
As for David, he was completely aware of the deep relationbetween himself and God, so he was not afraid but laid downand slept in peace in spite of troubles and Absalom's armyrevolting against him. He slept confident that God is watchfulfor his safety and angels sing to him, "... He who keeps you willnot slumber.. neither slumber nor sleep... The Lord shallpreserve you from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul. The Lordshall preserve your going out and your coming in... " (Ps. 121).Thus, David sleeps in peace, not afraid, leaving his safety in thehands of the watchful God and says moreover,
"'Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil. for you are with me"' (Ps. 23).
Likewise, Daniel was not afraid when he was cast in the lions'den, nor the three lads were afraid when cast into the firefurnace. The martyrs also were not afraid while they were ledunto death or while facing all kinds of suffering... David was notafraid of Absalom's uprising against him but said, "The Lord ismy light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is thestrength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps. 27:1). If
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you ask David, "Why are you not afraid, ye great prophet?" hewill answer you "because of experience", "Because ofexperience, of what?" "When the wicked came against me to eatup my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell". So,"though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall notfear; though war should rise against me, in this I will beconfident" (Ps. 27:2,3).
"They have bowed down and fallen: but we have risen andstand upright" (Ps. 20:8).
It is David's experience in life, his experience of God's workfor him and with him, his experience of God hearing his prayersand of God's mercies which never quit him. Let his enemies dowhatever they want, and let people set themselves against himall around, suffice it to destroy them that he says, “Arise, OLord; save me, O my God:
David was not afraid but was entirely aware of the danger so,"David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem,“Arise, and let us flee, or else we shall not escape fromAbsalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly..."(2 Sam. 15:14). He said so because danger was surroundinghim and them, "... for the people with Absolom continuallyincreased in number " (2 Sam.15:12).
However, danger occupied only his mind not his heartmaking him to fear.
He was aware of the danger but was not alarmed, for he sawthat the solution was to resort to God alone who is able to save;so he said, "Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God...”
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He did not allow dangers to encompass him but asked God tointerfere. He did not face troubles alone but cast them uponGod to face them and deliver him out of them.
It is good for a person to know that he cannot save himselfbut it is God who saves him.
This is usually obvious in David's Psalms, as he says forexample, "Help, Lord,. for the godly man cease; for thefaithful disapear from among the sons of men" (Ps. 12:1),"Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Yourstrength" (Ps. 54:1), "Now I know that the Lord save Hisanointed" (Ps. 20:6), "Preserve me, O God, for in You I put mytrust" (Ps. 16: 1), “For you are the God of my salvation; onYou I wait all the day" (Ps. 25:5), and, "The Lord is my lightand my salvation; whom shall I fear?" (Ps. 27:1). Time islacking to mention all the examples in this respect.
As David says here, "Arise, O Lord; save me" he says also atthe end of the Psalm, "Salvation belongs to the Lord" (Ps. 3:8).
David experienced that salvation is the act of the Lord and notdependence on a human arm. He experienced this in his fightwith Goliath where he said, "This day the Lord will deliver youinto my hand" (1 Sam. 17:46), and said also on the sameoccasion, "...for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give youinto our hands" (1 Sam. 17:47). He meant to say here thatsalvation belonged to the Lord.
Indeed, salvation belongs to the Lord, “ for nothing restrainsthe Lord from saving by many or by few" (1 Sam. 14:6).
Here, David says in the Psalm, "Arise, O Lord”
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These words are repeated in his Psalms and in the Holy Bibleas a whole. We quote them in the Holy Liturgy, "Rise, O Lord!Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You fleebefore You" (Num. 10:35).
The Lord answers, "Now I will arise, says the Lord; I will sethim in the safety for which he yearns” (Ps. 12:5), and Davidsings, "Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let thosealso who hate Him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, sodrive them away" (Ps. 68:1).
It is not something new Lord, for Your mercies are extendedeveryday and Your salvation is seen every moment.
For Thou hast smitten all mine enemies.
"For thou has smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone;thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly".
So many were those who rose up against David without acause, that he said once,
"Those who hate me without a cause are more than thehairs of my head.” (Ps. 69:4).
He did not make an offence which made king Saul hate him.The only cause for such hatred was that David behaved morewisely than all the others (1 Sam 18:29,30).
Absalom also hated him without a cause for David did him noevil; but Absalom's lust for dignity and rule made him in warwith his father.
David did not do anything wrong to Shimei the son of Geraand Ahithophel, nothing but the treachery within their hearts.Likewise was Judas towards the Lord Jesus Christ who chosehim among His disciples and gave him the box, sent him to
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serve and gave him power to do miracles. Even at the lastsupper, Judas was sitting near the Lord dipping his hand withthe Lord in the same dish (Matt. 26:23). However, thetreachery in Judas' heart led him to betray the Lord.
Those who hate without a cause are oppressors and theLord revenges on them for the oppressed.
For the Lord says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says theLord" (Rom. 12:19). Thus, God smote Pharaoh with variousblows because he afflicted the people and persecuted themwithout a cause. He smote also the men of Sodom withblindness when they tried to do wrong to the two guests of Lotthe righteous (Gen. 19:11). The Lord smote all those whopersecuted the church; some with madness and some diedbecause they persecuted the church without a cause... He smoteArius and he died because he became an enemy of the churchwithout a cause.
Thus, David remembers all the events that he passed throughhow the Lord smote Saul, Abner, and the Amalekites when theyinvaded Zikiag and burnt it unjustly with fire (1 Sam. 30). So,David sang to the Lord, "You have struck all my enemies .... ;You have broken the teeth of the ungodly” (Ps. 3).
You have broken the teeth of the ungodly:
Sinners are like fierce beasts which want to devour God'schildren. So, the Lord once compared them to ravenous wolves(Matt. 7:15). and St. Paul the apostle said about them, "savagewolves... not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29). He also gave anexample of this, "I have fought with beasts at Ephesus" (1 Cor.15:32). St. Peter the apostle also said, "Be sober, be vigilant,because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring
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lion, seeking whom he can devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). Thus, theremust have been divine help to protect from the teeth of suchbeasts.
In another Psalm, David says, "Blessed be the Lord, whohas not given us as prey to their teeth” (Ps. 124:6) and in thepresent Psalm, he addresses the Lord, "You have broken theteeth of the ungodly” (Ps. 3).
Our delivery from the teeth of the ungodly so as not to fallprey to them is only a preliminary salvation; only a step untodelivery but the devouring teeth still exist. Here, theexperienced prophet tells us about a more effective and savingact by God that is "breaking the teeth of the ungodly" so thatthey might no longer have power to devour. It is an ultimatedelivery through destroying the enemy completely. Truly,blessed be the Lord's Name.
David says this with the spirit of faith at the same time inwhich he says, ",Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God". Heasks for salvation and sees it with the eye of faith.
Salvation is the story of his relation to God all his life as if hesays with Zacharias the priest, "That we should be saved fromour enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us" (Luke1:71). A salvation which the Lord gives, salvation from Goliaththe foreigner and Saul the malevolent with his darts andconspiracies, salvation from Ahithophel the treacherous andAbsalom the undutiful son.
Arise, O Lord, save openly, for salvation belongs to theLord.
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It is something which belongs to the Lord and we depend onHim concerning it completely remembering all His previousloving kindnesses towards us.
This may be said also by any person who is in trouble orovercome by a certain sin.
O Lord, I did my best but still fall due to the myriads of lustsand stumbling blocks rising up against me all around which areabout to become fixed habits or part of my nature corrupting it.Yet, I trust in You because You can break the teeth of thedevils and the ungodly who hate me without a cause and saveme from them; so I cry out with David, "Salvation belongs untothe Lord".
The Church says so also; in all its troubles.
Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God: for Thou hast smitten allmy enemies. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing isupon Your people.
Your blessing is upon Your people;
You save and bless, You save us from negativism andafflictions, and bless us with every spiritual blessing from highabove. This is the positive factor in salvation.
In the salvation granted by God, He does not only save usfrom the original sin and the actual sins but He also grants usthe blessings of the New Testament via sonship, rebirth, HolyUnction of the Holy Ghost, and all the holy sacraments; so aswe may rejoice with David saying, "Your blessing is upon Yourpeople...”
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God's blessing is upon His people, not upon strangers.
Those who benefit from the salvation of the Lord and saysalvation belongs to the Lord, who become branches in the TrueVineyard and its juice flows in them so they give fruit andbecome living organs in it. Those only enjoy the blessing of theLord in their lives, in their ministry and in all their works andthey say, "Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing is uponyour people".
This blessing has been intended by God for the worldsince the beginning.
God blessed Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:28), gave them theblessing of fruitfulness, multiplication and authority. He blessedNoah and his sons (Gen 9:1) when He recreated earth, and gavethem the same blessing which He gave Adam and Eve. Godalso blessed our father Abraham and made his name great andmade him a blessing so that those who blessed him might beblessed and in him all families of the earth would be blessed(Gen. 12:2,3). Such blessings were told to all the people uponmount Gerizim (Deut. 27:12).
Blessing became the utmost thing a person may seek andit carried within it everything else.
Solomon the Wise said in this respect, "The blessing of theLord, makes one rich..." (Prov. 10:22). But whoever has noblessing, his life becomes completely empty and he fails ineverything.
So, the Psalm ends with the blessing to show that David hasattained all that he wished for.
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So are David's Psalms:
How wonderful David the prophet is in his Psalms! and howwonderful his Psalms are! How they begin and how they end!
He begins this Psalm with complaint and reproach. Complaintof the increase of those who trouble him, who rise up againsthim and who lead him into despair saying, "There is no help forhim in God..." He ends the Psalm with the blessing andsalvation of the Lord insisting that the Lord is his supporter andsaviour against his enemies.
The turning point in the Psalm from affliction to salvationlies in the words of the psalmist, "I cried to the Lord with myvoice, and He heard me from His holy hill."
The Lord interfered and the problem ends and the direction ofevents change so the person praying becomes not afraid of themyriads of people setting against him all around.
Indeed, a person becomes tired most when he deals with hisproblems alone and does not call upon God to interfere anddeliver him from them.
David's Psalms give us deep comfort concerning all ourtroubles whether spiritual or social.
Take for example the sixth Psalm, "O Lord, rebuke me not inYour anger". It begins with David moaning and saying “mybones are troubled, my soul is also greatly troubled..." Thencomes the turning point at the end of the Psalm, "Depart fromme, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard thevoice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; theLord will receive my prayer".
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May we sing the Psalms with the same spirit and say to theLord with David, "You have turned for me my mourning intodancing... I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up"(Ps. 30:11, 1).
Thank God
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O LORD, DO NOT REBUKE ME IN YOUR ANGER… Contemplations on Psalm 6 Author: His Holiness Pope Shenouda III Print: 3rd, 2003 ISBN: 5345-26-X Translation: Fr Macarius Wahba Diocese of Melbourne November 14, 2005 34th Enthronement Anniversary of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III INTRODUCTION The sixth Psalm is from the Morning Hour Psalms. It is also from the Psalms of repentance, like Psalm 50(51). It is also a cry to God, from a person in trouble, like Psalm 12(13) “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” and like Psalm 3 “Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!” It is suitable to a person who is in tribulation from his enemies, and to a person who is in spiritual toil from sin and from Satan… He expresses the emotions that pass through the hearts of many, asking for mercy from God. The Church took great care with this Psalm, repeating it in some of the prayers of the Agbia: In the Morning Prayer, in the Veil Prayer for the monks and in the Midnight Prayer… It is also from the Psalms that start with explaining the toil and trouble of the oppressing enemies, but it ends with joy. The person praying feels that, during his prayer, God has received and accepted it; which calls for joy and praise. In this, it resembles Psalm 3 and also Psalm 12 – the same spirit the same answer. I delivered these contemplations in this Psalm late in 1968, in the Friday night meetings. The contemplations remained in audio cassettes till God willed that it be published after 27 years, and reach your hands, dear reader. It is one of the Psalms that was the subject of our contemplations at that time. We have published part of it, and I hope that the rest is on its way to you, with God’s will. Pope Shenouda III April 1995
O Lord, Do Not Rebuke me in Your Anger (Psalm 6) O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled; but You, O Lord… how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for your mercies’ sake! For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks? I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows old because of all my enemies. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Let my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly. Alleluia.
O Lord, Do Not Rebuke me in Your Anger Do Not Rebuke me in Your Anger This Psalm is one of the well known Psalms of repentance. And because of the care that the church gives to it, she has placed it in the Morning Prayer, Midnight Prayer and in the Prayer of the Veil that the monks pray. At the start of this Psalm, David says: “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.” Here, he confesses his sin and confesses that he is worthy of rebuke and chastening, but he asks that this is not done in a harsh way. He says to the Lord “do not rebuke me in Your anger;” for he is a weak person, not able to bear the anger of God… if You chasten me Lord in Your anger, You might annihilate nor keep me. This same meaning was said by Jeremiah the prophet: “O Lord, correct me, but with justice; not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.” (Jeremiah 10:24) He does not excuse himself from rebuke, but he says “do not rebuke me in Your anger,” for “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) When the Lord was fiercely angry at the sins of people, He drowned the world with the flood. Then He returned and had compassion, and placed a sign, so that He will not destroy all flesh again upon the earth (Genesis 9:15). Then He was angry and burned the city of Sodom (Genesis 19). The Lord was angry with Pharaoh and drowned him and all his soldiers in the Red Sea (Exodus 14:28) And the Lord was angry with Korah, Dathan and Abiram, so the earth swallowed them up while alive (Numbers 16:32).
† † † And we sin every day, and maybe our sins are like the sins of these people. And we cry to the Lord and say: Do not rebuke us in Your anger. Lord, if You deal with us in Your anger, then no one will be saved. We pray to the Lord in the prayers of the Great Lent and say “If You deal with us, O Lord, justly, we will find no excuse.” Therefore David says to the Lord “do not rebuke me in Your anger.” Rebuke has its blessings, and we can benefit from it. But Lord, do not rebuke in Your anger, nor in Your hot displeasure.
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We have an amazing example of the Lord Jesus Christ rebuking Peter the Apostle, who denied, cursed and blasphemed; saying about the Lord ‘I do not know the Man.’ But the Lord rebuked him lightly and calmly, not in anger nor in hot displeasure. He said to him “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these? ...Feed My lambs… Tend My sheep.” He repeated the question three times (John 21: 15-17). He did not publicly remind him of his denials and sins… He did not hurt him or embarrass him. God does not wound the feelings of people, nor hurt their hearts. Except in extreme necessity, He is exactly like the kind physician, who in all care heals the sick person, not in harshness or in displeasure.
† † † God does not rebuke many of the sins… For example, Abraham the Patriarch, said about Sarah that she is his sister, so that Abimelech, king of Gerar, took her for himself… (Genesis 20:2). What is the rebuke that he received from the Lord? The Lord rebuked Abimelech and did not rebuke Abraham; although it is true that Abraham received rebuke from Abimelech who said to him “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” (Genesis 20:9) But God did not say anything to him; it is enough what he had received. The human being is the only one who increases rebuke. “He who increases rebuke destroys himself,” like the wise man said. He also loses his friends, which is what happens practically in life. Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger… Rebuke me as You rebuked Peter. And if the matter requires anger, then do not let Your anger last forever. We pray to God and say “Take away Your anger from us.” David follows his prayer and says: Nor chasten me in Your hot Displeasure Chasten me O Lord… For what father does not chasten his son?! … And those who do not accept chastening are illegitimate and not sons (Hebrews 12:8). Chasten me for chastening is for my benefit, and I deserve it, for I have committed what rightly deserves chastising and more. But do not chastise me in Your hot displeasure, but chastise me according to what I can bear. Your chastisement, O Lord, I will accept gratefully. Have Mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak “Have mercy” is the most common expression used in the church and her prayers. There is not one prayer in the Matins Raising of Incense, nor in the Vesper Raising of
Incense or in the Psalms that does not have the expression “have mercy.” And we repeat it many times when we say “kerieleyson.” Have Mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak … And also because Your heart is so great that it accommodates every sin… no matter its type.
† † † Have mercy on me, O Lord, for if You do not have mercy on me, then no one else will have mercy on me except You. If Your heart has been shut, then I will not find another heart. Your mercy is the cover behind which I hide so that my sins are not manifest. Your mercy is the foundation of redemption… It is the foundation of salvation.
† † † Have mercy on me, O Lord, means change my sins to be upon the head of Christ. And this great sacrificed Saviour, will wipe my sins by His precious Blood. If David said “have mercy on me” before the redemption, having great hope that this redemption will happen, then we have a greater hope after redemption has been accomplished… Therefore Lord, count me amongst those for whose sake You have shed Your Blood. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled…
† † † There is a great difference between the harsh David and the weak David. Between David who girded his sword, and asking his servants to also gird their swords, to go and kill Nabal the Carmelite for not giving him anything on the day of shearing his sheep (I Samuel 25:13, 22). He said very harsh words, which made Abigail come quickly to rescue the situation. All this was in his harshness, and God rewarded him in the temptation. Then David sinned, and was contrite and repented, drenching his couch with his tears. And this great king, this great leader and great prophet knew that it is possible to have inside him a weak heart that can desire and fall. Thus he was contrite and said have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak. I am not David, who in great strength was able to kill Goliath… And I am not David who threatened Nabal the Carmelite. Now I am the weak man before You… So have mercy upon me, O Lord.
God with the weak The Lord always has mercy upon the weak. As for the great, harsh, rough and violent person; he is far from the mercy of God. Our God is the God of the weak… “God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” (I Corinthians 1:27) The strong person relies on his strength. As for the weak person, he is the one next to whom God stands.
† † † Even the strong ones that God chose, they stood before Him as if weak, each one of them saying ‘Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.’ Take an example that shows us the importance of feeling weak: Elijah, the great prophet who was rough. He once commanded that fire come from Heaven and consume the fifty (II Kings 1:10). Elijah seized the prophets of Baal, who numbered four hundred and fifty, and executed them (I Kings 18:40). As if God was saying to Elijah: This rough way may bother you, My son… What did God do? He permitted that Queen Jezebel threaten Elijah, who feared and went to the wilderness. God met him there and said to him “what are you doing here, Elijah?” So he said to Him in fear, they have “… killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (I Kings 19:14) Finally, you are able to fear, O Elijah…!!
† † † God allows even the valiant men to sometimes fear or be weak, because He desires the lowly and contrite heart… The person, who stands as a weak person before God, is the one who is able to stand in strength before people… As for those who feel in themselves that they are valiant, God distances Himself from them.
† † † There are verses about this topic in the Book of Isaiah the prophet, chapter 2. He says: “For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up – and it shall be brought low – upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan; upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall… The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day…” (Isaiah 2:12-17)
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The valiant men who are proud of their strength, authority and harshness… each of them sees that he can strike and subject others, and they can punish and over-power. Is this person not fearful of the verse that says “for the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty… The loftiness of men shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day…” words that have depth and meaning… This lofty and haughty person must be lowly before God and say to Him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak… You might be a high tower in your job… You might be a cedar of Lebanon before people, but you must be humble and say: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. For the Lord is able to crush the cedar of Lebanon, and able to cut the oaks of Bashan, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day…
† † † Reality, my brethren, is that when we follow the dealings of the Lord Christ with people, we find that He was very compassionate and very kind upon the weak and lowly, and very strict in dealing with the harsh. Christ has never stood against a weak person. He used to gather the weak, protect them and have compassion upon them.
† † † The woman caught in adultery; He rescued her and said to her “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) It suffices what she has received of subjection and embarrassment. As for the harsh people who exposed her and dragged her to judgment, He wrote for them their sins on the ground, and said to them “he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7) They started to be ashamed and left, one after the other. Why did they leave in shame? For the Lord fulfilled the same verse “… the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low…” As if He is saying to them “lower your heads somewhat and enough haughtiness. You are also sinners under judgment…! Enough running after stoning this woman or anyone else…Each one of you is in need of saying: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.
† † † If you want God to have mercy on you for you are weak, have mercy on the weak. You say to Him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. He answers you: Where is this weakness? Is in this haughtiness and greatness weakness?! Is in this superiority weakness?... When you are weak, then I will have mercy on you… Can anyone say: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am valiant!? Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am righteous!? No, for this attitude does not help in your asking for mercy from God.
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David was subject before God, as if he was saying: I am not the valiant person who has killed Goliath, but I am the weak person who has been killed by the sin with Bathsheba. And it killed the purity in him, although God later returned to him the joy of His salvation.
† † † The Lord Christ was compassionate with the sinners and tax-collectors. He was compassionate with the woman who washed His feet with her tears more than the Pharisee who was righteous in his own eyes, and who judged her in his mind. God did not rebuke her upon one sin, instead He mentioned her love and contrite state and said to her your sins are forgiven. As for the proud Pharisee, the Lord revealed to him that this sinful woman was better than him (Luke 7:36-48). Therefore, there is no need for superiority. It would have been preferable to say, as in the Psalm, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.” As he was not weak at that time, the Lord rebuked him, and said to him “I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet… You gave Me no kiss… You did not anoint My head with oil.” You did not perform any of the hospitable or loving duties, and all your work was to judge in your heart. Therefore “the loftiness of man shall be bowed down and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”
† † † The Lord Christ was compassionate with the tax-collector who confessed his sin and asked for mercy for his soul, more than the Pharisee who stood in pride of his virtues in his prayers. The tax-collector left justified more than that Pharisee (Luke 18:9-14).
† † † The Lord Christ was also compassionate with the gentiles, Samaritans and the man born blind who they cast out of the synagogue. He met him and revealed Himself to him, and invited him to the faith (John 9:35-38). As for those who are harsh, the Lord leaves them till they cease their harshness, trying to guide them. He rebuked the priests and elders, and likewise the scribes and Pharisees, for they were very harsh in their strictness. He also rebuked them for their roughness, saying to them: “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” – “… and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice
and mercy and faith.” (Matthew 23:13, 23) He also rebuked them for their harshness, for they killed the prophets (Matthew 23:31). He thus rebuked them “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” (Matthew 23:4)
† † † But are these heavy commandments not Your commandments, O Lord? He says: No, for my commandments are not burdensome (I John 5:3)… “For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30) I do not place heavy burdens upon people … “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12) Therefore, there is no need for it at present.
† † † Likewise were also the Apostles of the Lord, in His style. When they met together in their council at Jerusalem for the sake of accepting the gentiles, they said “… we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.” (Acts 15:19, 20, 28) And Paul the Apostle, who is kind and does not also want to burden the people says “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it…” (I Corinthians 3:1-2)
† † † The Lord chose the weak Jacob over the harsh Esau; and He chose the weak Joseph, who had his brothers conspire against him and sold him as a slave. He chose Jacob who used to cry out to Him and say “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant… Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.” (Genesis 32:10-11) And thus it was God that said “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” (Romans 9:13) And it was said to his mother before they were born that “the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23; Romans 9:12)
† † † The Lord was with the young Joseph, whom his brothers cast into the pit then sold him to the Ishmaelite (Genesis 37:20, 29). And He was with the weak Joseph in the scheme he faced with Potiphar’s wife, and was falsely imprisoned for (Genesis 39:19, 20)… Joseph was lifted by the Lord and
made a father to Pharaoh, an overseer to his entire household and in charge of all the land of Egypt (Genesis 45:8). Thus God made him victorious over his weak brothers who sold him, and made them come and kneel before him (Genesis 43:26, 28).
† † † And God stood with the weak Moses. Moses who had a heavy tongue and could not speak, God stood with him against the great Pharaoh and gave him victory over Pharaoh. It was Moses who said to God “I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant…” (Exodus 4:10)… ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)… “How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” (Exodus 6:12) This humble and lowly Moses, about whom the Bible said “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.” (Numbers 12:3) This Moses, God said to him “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh …” (Exodus 7:1) That is, as a master to him. About Aaron his brother, He said to him “Now you shall speak to him and put words in his mouth… And he himself be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.” (Exodus 4:15, 16) That is, he is the source of inspiration that he inspires him with what to say of words. It was even so that God was with Moses against his brother Aaron and sister Miriam, for what they said about him after his marriage to the Ethiopian woman. So the Lord defended him and said about him that “he is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly…” (Numbers 12:7) And He struck Miriam with leprosy for she spoke to him…
† † † Who amongst the people, can place in the two plates of the scale, the weak Moses and the fierce Pharaoh?! And say, who amongst these two, shall win?! Pharaoh, in the beginning stages, used his authority and fierceness as he liked. He subjected the people, till Moses intervened for their sake. In pride, Pharaoh said “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, not will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) As for the end: The weak, calm and humble Moses was victorious over the proud Pharaoh.
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It was the same with the three kind youth, whom they carried in all harshness and cast them bound into the fire. The Lord was with these weak ones in the fire, and not one hair of their heads was burned, and even the smell of the fire did not come upon them. Instead the flames of the raging fire burned the harsh people who cast them there… When they brought them out, Nebuchadnezzar said “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His angel and delivered His servants…” Then the king promoted them in the province of Babylon (Daniel 3:28, 30).
† † † Likewise the Lord rescued the weak Daniel who was cast into the lion’s den by the harsh people who plotted against him. As for those who accused him falsely, Darius the king ordered that they “…cast them into the den of lions-them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they even came to the bottom of the den.” (Daniel 6:20-24)
† † † God also was with the weak and young David, when he stood before the great man Goliath. This giant, when he saw David, despised him and made fun of him, considering him as a child. As for David, he was placing the pebble in the sling, and every drop of his blood crying out to God with the expression “Have mercy on me O Lord, for I am weak.” God was with his weakness and gave him victory over Goliath, for the battle is the Lord’s as David said. He also said to Goliath “…I came to you in the name of the Lord of hosts…This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand…” (I Samuel 17:45-47)
† † † Saint Anthony the Great used the word “weak” When the devils attacked him in the wilderness, he said to them: “You are strong, what do you desire from me who is weak?... I am weaker than being able to fight the least of you.” When they read these prayers that are full of humility, they disappeared like smoke, but in the Saint’s depth was the expression “Have mercy on me O Lord for I am weak.”
† † † O Lord, I am weak before You. And I am weak before Satan, who is “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Peter 5:8) But my strength is in You “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” (Psalm 18:14)
I am also weak before myself. Therefore, I continually seek Your help. And I am weak before people, before “…oppressors (who) have sought after my life; they have not set God before them.” (Psalm 54:3)
† † † Therefore, let each one of you my brethren be on guard, if he finds himself in a position of strength or in a state of harshness. Or even in a state of feeling proud, as if saying: I will work; I will chastise; I will give them a lesson. Take care my brother if you have been handed authority. Be on guard for yourself… Be on guard from yourself. Reject the youth of power, authority and harshness. But in your prayer say: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. Do not put anyone’s fate in my hand nor put my own fate into anyone’s hand. Do not give any person the power with which to step on me, I say: Lord, do not give me power with which I step upon another. Continually grant me that I can be victimized and not the victimizer, to be crucified and not the crucifier, to be defeated and not the victorious. It is then that You will be with me. Do not grant me to be victorious over people, but to be victorious over myself before You. Let each one fear power, pride and greatness, for “the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up- and it shall be brought low…”
† † † Before us is the example of Sennacherib King of Assyria. He was very proud of his strength, and sent people to threaten Hezekiah King of Judah with all pride. What can Hezekiah do before this very great army, and before the threats of Sennacherib? Hezekiah felt his weakness, tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord…and he prayed to Him saying: open Your eyes, O Lord, and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib…Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand (II Kings 19:1-9). And Hezekiah sent messengers to Isaiah, the Lord’s prophet; and the feelings of Hezekiah were saying: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak… Thus was the word of Isaiah the prophet to Sennacherib saying “Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.” (II Kings 19:22)…”And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were corpses-all dead.” (II Kings 19:35) After Sennacherib retuned to Nineveh, his children struck him with the sword and he died.
† † † All these weak people stood before God, chanting with the saying of the Psalm: “All my bones shall say, “Lord, who is like You, delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?” (Psalm 35:10) This is because the weak, poor and needy say from their depths: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.” As for the strong, they are weak. Even sin does not control except the strong. Thus, the Bible says about sin “For she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men.” (Proverbs 7:26) Amongst the examples of the strong, is the one who is not on guard from sin, and says: This is not for me this sin. It is simple, fighting the beginners! As for the weak, he is on guard from it and says: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. This is the one who is saved…
† † † There is an expression that I once wrote in my notes. It is: Satan said to God: Leave for me the strong, for I will look after them. As for the weak, these I fear. For they know their weakness. They fight me with Your strength, and over-power me. The weak one is he who cries out to You saying at all times; Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak… This one I have no control over… For every time he cries out, You come and stand by him and fight for him and therefore I cannot conquer him.
† † † David was always crying out to the Lord to protect him from the strong. So he says “Save me, O God, by Your name…for strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors have sought after my life…” (Psalm 54:1-2) I have nothing before me, except to say: “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.”…This is because the Lord is more mighty than all the strong. God is against the strong who have pride in their strength, or those who feel that they are strong, or those who rely on their strength.
† † † Look at what the Lord says in the Book of Amos: “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.” (Amos 2:9)
It is not logical that God will search for the poor to destroy them, but He will destroy those who are elevated with their status to heaven. When the temple was being built, Zerubbabel was in need of help from God. This Divine help came to him in the Book of Zechariah the prophet saying: “Not by my might nor my power, but by My spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” “Who are You, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!” (Zechariah 4:6) It is from the Lord of hosts that strength comes to the weak person. Thus the righteous Job says to God “How have you helped him who is without power? How have you saved the arm that has no strength?” (Job 26:2)
† † † In your prayers, my blessed son, when you arrive at the expression “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak,” enter into the depth of your soul and crush the idols that are set up in the temple of your soul. The first idol you should crush is your ego…your great and strong and mighty ego in your eyes, which is beautiful in your eyes, which is able to be elevated and is able to direct and you carry out it’s direction; which can also strike and over-power…Crush your ego…crush it… When your ego changes to dust and ashes, then God will stand by your side. And when God stands by your side, whisper in His ear with this beautiful praise “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.” The Example of Job Job, the great prophet, when he was proud of his righteousness and greatness, he was cast into trials and strikes…when he chanted and said: “Oh, that I were as in months past…when my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me! When I went out to the gate by the city, when I took my seat in the open square…The voice of nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. When the ear heard, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw, then it approved me…I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.” (Job 29:1-4) And also in his pride of strength and righteousness, he said “I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth.” (Job 29:17)… He was repeating the expression “I, I,…”
† † † When Job was saying these expressions, the Lord rebuked him, for “he was righteous in his own eyes.” (Job 32:1, 38:2)
But finally, he rejected himself and said to the Lord “Therefore, I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6)…When he reached dust and ashes, then the Lord lifted from him the temptation… “And the Lord restored Job’s losses…Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10) For when he reached dust and ashes, he reached, at the same time, to the saying of David: “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.” In times of old, he had honour and greatness. In this, he said “The young men saw me and hid, and the aged arose and stood; the princes refrained from talking, and put their hand on their mouth.” (Job 29:8-9) But now, he is dust and ashes…he finally arrived to his truth.
† † † My advice to every person: Forget your strength and forget the pride that you are in, or that you desire. If you are given authority, then do not use it…I mean do not use it in a way that will elevate yourself. Do not over-power others… Do not place anyone under your feet… Do not boast above anyone. Do not attempt to always be victorious or win at all times or reveal in every circumstance your personality and strength… Do not crush anyone… But instead be humble before everyone, and before God say what David said: “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.” The Weakness of David and His Oppression In reality, David the prophet, in his Psalms, spoke frequently about his weakness and oppression; and especially before the strength of his enemies and their power… Not only did he do this in Psalm 6, but in many other Psalms also. In the last Psalm of the Psalms of the Morning Hour Prayer, he says: “For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me dwell in darkness, like those who have long been dead… Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; in You I take shelter… For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.” (Psalm 143) He does not stand before God as a powerful person who is victorious over his enemies, instead as a weak person facing the danger of his enemies- his enemies who persecuted him, oppressed him and made him dwell in darkness like those who have long been dead.
† † † Then what do you benefit from these Psalms? How do you practice them in your life? And in what way? And what do you mean by the word ‘your enemies’?
As for its application in dealings with people, your enemies are foes and opposition, or in your spiritual life, your enemies are the devils, thoughts and desires. The opposition, the opposing of all good, has persecuted my soul. His war against me has been long…he has subjected me in falling into sin and with my inability to fight him. He has made me dwell in darkness, and darkness is the life of sin, being far from the true light. This is what people loved, more then the light, “because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) and those who live in this darkness, at their end they will “be cast out into outer darkness,” (Matthew 8:12) where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:30) This is the spiritual death (Luke 15:24; Revelation 3:1) which leads to the eternal death. It is the fate of those who sit in darkness, being like dead to the end of ages.
† † † This is how David spoke about the might of his enemies who subjected him. In Psalm 20, he says about them “some trust in chariots and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”…I am not like those mighty ones, the owners of chariots – as was Pharaoh with his chariots – but I will be edified in the name of the Lord, just like I stood before Goliath in the name of the Lord of hosts (I Samuel 17:45).
† † † In the first Psalm of the Psalms of the Sixth Hour, we say with David “Hear my prayer, O God…For strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors have sought after my life; they have not set God before them.” (Psalm 54) These are strangers to the Kingdom, and oppressors equipped with all the weaponry of the opposition of good. They sought after my life to destroy it; they have not set You before them. But as for me, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 16:8) Before the might of my enemies I will place before it the might of God.
† † † David follows on about the might of his enemies, in the second Psalm of the Psalms of the Sixth Hour Prayer, by saying “God shall send forth His mercy and His truth. My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men who are set on fire.” (Psalm 57)… God saved his soul from amongst the lions while he lies down in fear and apprehension… He continues on in the same Psalm and says “…Whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword… they have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me; into the midst of it they themselves have fallen.”
Whenever I remember the might of my enemies, O Lord, and their plot against me, I also remember with this Your interfering to rescue me. I will forget their teeth with which they spoke against me, in the fierce manner of a sharp sword. And I will forget the net that they have prepared before me with which they desire to capture me with. And I will forget the pit that they have dug before me to fall into… I will only remember Your mercy that made them fall into the traps they set for me…
† † † David explains the extent of the harshness and how they have surrounded him like fire, so he says in Psalm 118 (from the Psalms of the Sunset Prayer): “They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me… They surrounded me like bees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns…” What was your situation, O David, before all this danger? He says “You pushed me violently, that I might fall, but the Lord helped me…” “The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.” “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” I will not talk about my weakness, nor about their strength, but about the work of the Lord with His rescue and His salvation.
† † † And so David concludes his words about the strength of his enemies and their harsh attacks upon him with this beautiful song: “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” We remember this deep expression in its beauty and sing it during Holy Week, remembering all what the Lord Christ faced of passion and tribulations. This became for us strength and salvation, with which we praise the Lord with, for He is our strength and salvation.
† † † We also remember a Psalm of David, also from the Psalms of the Sunset Prayer, in which he says “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us.” (Psalm 124:2-3)… Was it to this extent that you were weak before them, O David? And to this extent they were stronger than you?!
He answers “Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth”… Were they like devouring beasts then?! Yes, but the Lord interfered “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth…” It is as if David is saying: Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak. I am like a small weak bird that falls into the snare of the fowlers. If Your mercy does not encompass me, I will fall into their hands. One fowler can beat me, then how much more a number of fowlers!!
† † † He also says to the Lord in a Psalm from the Psalms of the Prayer before Sleeping: “I cry out to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord I make my supplication… I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me. Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul. I cried out to You, O Lord…” (Psalm 142)
† † † This prayer is a cry of a soul in distress. Before it is the snare of the enemy, and there is no escape and no one asks about it. The only help is God. Therefore the road of the Saints is not easy. It is a difficult road and the door is narrow; along with the attacks of the enemy and the multitude of offences, troubles and grief. This David cries to the Lord in the same Psalm saying “Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.” Here he confesses his weakness and that his enemies are stronger. Therefore he says I have cried to You O Lord. He and I will cry and say: Have mercy on me O Lord for I am weak…
† † † God had anointed him as a king, but the kingdom was not authority, greatness and honour, but “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19) David did well with all these tribulations that surrounded him from all sides. He also did well with the multitude of enemies in his life. So he said: Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head.” (Psalm 69:4)
† † † Did the matter stop at the hatred of those to you, and their ill-feelings towards you? No, but their hatred extended to attacks. Thus he said:
“The plowers plowed on my back; they have made their furrows long.” (Psalm 129) This is David, who stands before God as a weak person. His enemies were more proud than him… he is not like them in their strength… and their number was greater than the hairs of his head. They persecuted him and extended their iniquity. It has been a long time that they have plowed on his back… Truly, he stands before God as a weak person asking His help and saying to Him “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.”
† † † While he was under the persecution of these sinners against him, he has complete faith, by experience, that God will save him from them and over-power them. So he says: “The Lord is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.” He also says “For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous…” (Psalm 125) they can be subjected to the strikes of this scepter from the wicked, but it shall not rest upon them. That is, the matter will not continue like this, for the Lord will eventually intervene, and take away this scepter.
† † † But when will the Lord take it away? He may leave it for a long time, including the bitter pain that comes from those sinners who have prolonged their iniquity, till David complains and says, “When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?...” … “My eyes fail from searching Your word, saying, “When will You comfort me?”” (Psalm 119); till he cries out and says: “They almost made an end of me on earth…” (Psalm 119:87) And in another translation “In a short while, they would have consumed me upon earth…” This is David, who used to say in the Psalm “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.”
† † † And you, what contemplations take place in your mind, in regards to what David says about his weakness in the Psalms? You can, in your spiritual wars, keep crying to God about the might of the evil spirits that have prolonged their iniquity against you… The army of Satan who have persecuted you without a cause, prolonged their iniquity and almost made an end of you on earth… Cry out because of the harsh and pressing
thoughts that desire your fall, and seek your soul to destroy it… Say in this situation “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.” Whether you are fought by a sin, which you cannot resist… or if you are in trouble, which you are unable to escape from… In both cases, say with David “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.”
† † † David, after the great sin that he fell in (II Samuel 11), felt his weakness even more. At first, it was said about him that he was “a mighty man of valor.” (I Samuel 16:18) And the women sang to him with dancing, with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments, saying, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (I Samuel 18:6-7)… But now, he is not defeated by thousands or ten thousands, but by one woman, and he fell into sin and was subjected… In fact, just as sin subjected him, we can likewise say that he also benefited from this subjection. Thus, we see him say, in the great Psalm, “it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.” (Psalm 119:71) What is the spiritual good that he gained? Above all, he started to feel that he is weak, and this is a beautiful type of humility of the soul. Thus he says in his sixth Psalm “Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak.” I am weak and in need of mercy from God. My Soul also is Greatly Troubled And what does he say after that? He says: “O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled.” He started to feel that he is sick, physically and spiritually, for sin and its results has its effects on both the body and the spirit. With regards to the body, he says: “…for my bones are troubled…” If the body shivers, this would be a simple matter. But for the strong and hard bones to be troubled- the whole skeletal structure- this indicates that his whole body is on the verge of being lost… And not only his body, but he says “My soul is greatly troubled”
† † † The troublesome soul was compensation and reverse reaction to the pleasure of sin that his soul gained from sin… Sin is not a mere satisfaction for the desire of the body, but it has its harsh reverse action on the soul later, when the conscience that was asleep awakens and when Nathan the prophet says to him “You are the man!... Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight?... However, because by this deed
you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme…” (II Samuel 12:7-14) And thus when he comprehended the depth of the sin, his soul started to cry… he even says “I am weary with my groaning…” How Long? He did not suffice with this, but in the depth of the trouble of his soul, he said to the Lord: “But You, O Lord - how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!” This expression “save me” indicates that he is, in his own viewpoint, dead… Of course, by this he means the moral death and the spiritual death. As the father said at the return of his lost son “…for this my son was dead and is alive again….” (Luke 15:24) And as the Lord said to the Angel of the Church of Sardis “…that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” (Revelation 3:1) Therefore David explains himself as being weak, sick, his bones are troubled and agitated, disturbed, distressed, weeping and dead…
† † † God left him till his cup was full and he was finished, and his soul was subjected. Finally, his eyes were open and the cover before him was removed. He felt the truth about himself- that he is nothing before himself… He saw himself weak, sick and in need of the mercy of God… His circumstances have now changed… The cover has been removed from the valiant man… “If they are weighed on the scales, they are altogether lighter than vapour.” (Psalm 62:9) Where is the great valiant man?! A mere look that he cast upon his neighbour from his roof (II Samuel 11:2), and his whole structure collapsed. Truly, the person is nothing …“certainly every man at his best state is but vapour…” (Psalm 39:5, 11)… Just looks only…
† † † Where is that valiant man, the man of war?! Where is the man of the flute and harp?! The lute that he played, and Saul would calm down after being taken by an evil spirit?! Where is the man of prayers, that from his prayers of the Psalms we still learn?! Where… Where…? What is left of him is troubled bones, a distressed soul and a voice crying to God and saying: “But You, O Lord- how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me!”… Till when will I remain in this inner toil and this engulfing grief? Till when will I have this faint- heartedness and feel this shame?! The memories of sin disturb me… Till when will You leave me like this? Return, O Lord, and deliver me. Grant me the joy of Your salvation… “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” … “Oh, save me for Your mercies sake!”
† † †
“My soul also is greatly troubled.” That is, he lost his inner peace. For sin can never have peace with it… “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”” (Isaiah 48:22) Where are your praises and songs David?! Where is your wonderful harp?... “We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it… How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?!” (Psalm 137:2,4) …Sin has made me in a state of foreigner-ship from God…
† † † “My soul also is greatly troubled.” Truly, the pain of the soul is more difficult than the pain of the flesh. Therefore, he says to the Lord “Return, O Lord, deliver me!” You return to me, if I am not able to return to You… And deliver me, for my deliverance is in Your hand only… You are the only one who can comfort me. For I know well that “against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.” So save me for Your mercies’ sake. David, by reaching the humility of the soul, has by this, reached God.
† † † He stood before God and spoke to Him frankly and explained to Him his state after the sin, and sought His mercy. He said to Him “But You, O Lord, how long?” I have fallen Lord, but You… Where are You? “My enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”” (Psalm 42:10) No matter how far I go from You, do not go far from me Lord. No matter how weak I am, You are the One who supports my weakness. And if I have fallen, You are the One who raised me from my fall. And if sin has destroyed me, return and save me for Your mercies’ sake. Let it be according to Your mercy, O Lord, and not according to my sins.
† † † We can enter into David’s heart and imagine his feelings… Here, he did not say “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1) Nor did he say “Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1) …Instead, in this Psalm, he says “…how long…” Then he is quiet!! He was overcome and could not continue the expression… You, O Lord, understand what I mean… What I expect from You Lord is that You intervene. Do not leave me.
Do not leave me to my weak soul, nor leave me to my strong enemies. And do not leave me to my troubled bones, nor to my distressed soul. He says to Him “…how long?” For it has been a long time and the matter is heavy. David felt the need for God.
† † † The truth is that God sometimes answers quickly, and sometimes delays! He has His wisdom in answering quickly, and His wisdom in delaying. With regards to answering quickly, He gives us an amazing example in Isaiah 65:24, where the Lord says “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer it…” Truly this is amazing. But it is not strange that God gives many times before we ask. And He says “…and while they are still speaking…,” that is, before they finish what they are saying, that I will hear them… For I hear what is in the heart, before the tongue utters it…
† † † Maybe, O Lord, You answer this quickly to the righteous who have not sinned to You, or to those who have not angered You with their deeds. But as for me, I am not one of those. I am ashamed to lift my face to You. Therefore, my bones are troubled and my soul is distressed greatly… This is why You have been patient with me. But how long, O Lord? Maybe there is in your eyes David some tears stored there that I want to squeeze out. Maybe there are some groans that you have not yet uttered… Maybe there is some contrition that you need for your repentance to be complete. This is why I am patient with you… Patient till you say “All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears…” How long, O Lord? For how long will I continue being oppressed from my enemies attacks (Psalm 42:9). From the oppression of those who grieve me saying “There is no help for him in God.” (Psalm 3) …Maybe the reason is you David.
† † † God always intervenes in the appropriate time. We might think that He has delayed and the matter is not as such. Return, O Lord, deliver me! Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Since he is asking the Lord to return, it means that he feels that he is alone. He feels that God is far from him, He has departed from him, and he has become a foreigner to God. And that God is not working with him. Thus he says: Return, O Lord, deliver me! Let my troubled bones remain so, for it is not the flesh that troubles me. It is my soul that is exceedingly distressed… Give it some peace… some comfort, and do not leave my soul in its distressed state. In the trial of the righteous Job, You gave permission to Satan to strike his body, but You forbade him with regards to Job’s soul so as not to touch it… (Job 2:6). And my soul is greatly distressed… Return, O Lord, deliver me!
† † † He feels alone and as a stranger with God. It is as if he is saying: Where is Your first love O Lord? Where is Your comfort of old? Where is Your face? Why have You turned Your face away from me and I have become distressed? Maybe this is also what Job felt at the time of his oppression. So he said: “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness… when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent… When my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!” (Job 29:2-6) Thus David says: Return, O Lord. Return to Your relationship with me, like in the days when You chose me from amongst my brothers. And You sent Samuel the Prophet to pour upon me the oil of anointment and Your Holy Spirit came upon me (I Samuel 16:13)…And now return, deliver me and save me…
† † † Now and again, he says: “O Lord”… For if he resorts to anyone else, he will not find help, comfort nor hope. This was David’s style always. He says in another Psalm “The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalm 118:7-9)
† † † He says to the Lord “…save me.” Why? He says: “For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks.”
Oh, save me for Your Mercies Sake! Oh save me for Your mercies’ sake… Yes, for Your mercies’ sake, and not because of my worthiness, nor for my repentance, or prayer, or tears. Save me for Your mercies’ sake, because You are compassionate and kind. It is a strong excuse to which David holds onto strongly - that is, the mercy of God… If David had held onto the worthiness of his repentance, then God would have said to him: You do not deserve anything. For your sin is directed against God, and with this, it is unlimited, and no matter how much you repent, your repentance is limited… Instead, when he holds onto God’s mercy, God’s mercy is great, and David knows this very well. For when he was given a choice between three punishments, after he sinned and numbered the people, David said “Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” (II Samuel 24:14)
† † † He says to Him: And You, O Lord till when? He has repeated the word “Lord” many times in this Psalm: He says: “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger...” “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak.” “O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.” “But You, O Lord-how long?” And at end of the Psalm, he says “For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer...” Seven times in this Psalm that is only ten verses. Truly that “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:19) God always intervenes in the appropriate time. We might think that he delays, but the matter is not like that. We might think that God has forgotten us, or that He has hidden Himself from us, and the heart cries out saying “Make haste to help me...” (Psalm 70:1,5) what we see as delay, is merely awaiting for the appropriate time to work for our sake.
The people groaned from the yoke of slavery, God saw this and was compassionate. But He was patient and said I will not deliver you yet… Why? For “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:16) The cup of wrath is not yet complete against your enemies. The time will come when I scatter them before you, and this for them will be right and worthy. Then “all things work together for good to those who love God...” (Romans 8:28)
† † † We say to Him: And You, O Lord, till when? And we have complete trust that He will come… Even if it’s in the fourth watch of the night (Matthew 14:25) or even if it’s the fourth day after the death of Lazarus (John 11:17), He will come... He will “come quickly!” (Revelation 3:11) Therefore “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14) Not with a restless soul, but be of good courage. Be firm and strengthened with faith.
† † † David follows on in his Psalm by saying to the Lord: For in Death there is no Remembrance of You Amidst sin and toil, he started to remember death. No doubt that the remembrance of death is beneficial…. He wants to be assured that the Lord has revived him spiritually before he dies. Many people say that they want to die. But the important thing is that the person is assured of his eternal fate before he dies. Is the person sure of himself, that if he dies, where will he go?!
† † † Who is the one who desires death? It is the person who can say with Saint Paul the Apostle: “…having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” (Philippians 1:23) He knows that after death he will be with Christ. He will be with Him in paradise (Luke 23:43). Therefore, he sees this is far better. As for David, he still feared death. This is why he says: “For in death there is no remembrance of You; in the grave who will give You thanks?” I want to remember You now, and give You thanks now, before I die. With regards to the expression “...in the grave who will give You thanks…,” what is meant is those who are dead in sins…
About this, the Apostle said “And you…who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked…” (Ephesians 2:1-2) Therefore David says: Save me… For in death there is no remembrance of You. Grant me that I be alive in You, that is, save me from death, the death of sin, and from the sin that has, as its wages, death. (Revelation 6:23). If I become alive in You, then I will live forever, for in death there is no remembrance of You. Those who are dead in sins do not remember You here on earth, for there are other matters that occupy them from You. And also, when they go to Hades, they will not give thanks to You.
† † † Here, we can mention types of death. Firstly, the death of the body, which is the separation of the body from the soul. Secondly, there is the moral death, which is the loss of the Divine image, the loss of the spiritual nature that distinguishes the children of God from the people of the world. About these, the apostles said “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest…” (1 John 3:10) Thirdly, the spiritual death, which is the separation of the spirit from God. This is what was meant by the Apostles in the expression “…dead in trespasses and sins…” (Ephesians 2:1,5) Fourthly, the eternal death or eternal destruction, about which the Lord said in regards to the fate of the evil “...these will go away into everlasting punishment…” (Matthew 25:46) This is the casting into the lake of fire and brim-stone (Revelation 20:10) ... “into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:30)
† † † * The ones who end up with the eternal death are those about whom the Lord said “...you will die in your sin, where I go you cannot come.” (John 8:21) They do not remember God, nor give thanks to Him. They are in outer darkness, outside the fellowship of God and His saints, being in the lake of fire and brimstone. * And those who are in the moral death, or in the spiritual death, also do not remember God nor give thanks to Him, for they are in the life of sin. They have before them a chance for repentance, while they are on earth. If they repent, then the saying of the father is suitable to them “…for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found…” (Luke 15:24) Repentance, to them, is considered as a resurrection from the dead, the death of sin.
* As for the death of the body, depending on its type, is the connection with God. If the person dies in the state of sin, then this expression is suited to him “For in death there is no remembrance of You…”
† † † But for the person who dies in his righteousness, then the prayers of the church for him are suitable, saying to the Lord: “For there is no death for Your servants, but a departure.” Those, in their death, remember God and give thanks to Him. For they are with Him in paradise, then in the Kingdom. Those, of course, after death, praise God and give thanks to Him in spirit, which is alive after death. As for the body, it changes to dust. In these dead bodies, there is no praise to God, except after the Resurrection, when they will arise as spiritual heavenly bodies (1 Corinthians 15:44, 49). Then they will remember God and give thanks to Him after they are united with their spirits.
† † † This bodily death, in righteousness, is praised by the Apostle. About it, he says “…For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) He also says “…knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:6-8) He is pleased in death, being absent from the body, and being present with the Lord. As for you, in your prayers, try to reach fellowship with God, before you die.
† † † After David mentions death, and how those who are dead do not remember God nor give thanks to Him, he says to the Lord: I am Weary with my Groaning “I am weary with my groaning; all night I make my bed swim…” He groans with difficulty, for practically, the one who groans much becomes weary after a time of groaning, and is unable to continue to bear it… It was once said about David and his companions, that when the Amalekites burned the city of Ziklog and they took captive the women as well as the men and children… that David and his men “lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.” (I Samuel 30:4)… A harsh expression…
Truly, the person can cry and increase in their crying, till a time comes when he is weary from crying, and has no more power to cry!! This is what David did… he was groaning over his sins, till he became weary from his groaning. He remembered his desire and his adultery. He remembered how he plotted against Uriah the Hittite to go to his home, to cover his own sin, and how this man was more noble and better than him (2Samuel 11:10-11). He also remembered how he plotted to kill Uriah in the war, so that he will not know what happened… and he did actually kill him. He also remembered that he did not care in causing the death of Uriah, and even sent to Joab, the commander of the army saying to him “Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another.” (1Samuel 11:25) David’s Weeping David wept, but he did not weep seeking forgiveness, but after he received forgiveness! He offered repentance and repentance forgives the sin. But this forgiveness does not cancel that the sin has been carried out and the matter was done, for it has its spiritual effect on the person, who cannot ignore it… With regards to David, he received forgiveness for his sin previously, when Nathan the prophet explained to him the depth of the sin, so David said “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” (2Samuel 12:13) That is, He has transferred it to the account of Christ who will blot it out with His Blood, and you will be forgiven, and you shall not die. Therefore, why did David weep? He wept in grief and because of the effect, for he has come down to the level, to do all that he did… He grieved because he angered God. And also because he grieved the Holy Spirit who came upon him the day he was anointed… He also grieved because he lost his sublimity and purity, and lost his righteousness, chastity and cleanliness. He lost his noble nature and his spiritual position was lowered… With regards to the forgiveness, his sin was forgiven. But inside himself there was a voice saying: How can you do all this?! Where was my mind? And where was my conscience?! Thus his sin was always before him (Psalm 51), never leaving his sight or memory, always reminding him that he lost his divine image that he had; and that he did not keep the honour of the anointing that he received from the Holy Spirit. Thus his bones are troubled and his soul also is greatly troubled.
† † † He says: “All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.” And why does he make his bed swim every night, and not by day?
By day, he is busy with many matters… He is busy with the kingly duties, the army and judiciary, in dealing with people and with those who oppose him. He is busy with the pressures of the kingdom and does not have time to cry over his sins… and maybe this does not even cross his mind… But by night, when he retreats with himself far from the circle of work, and when he is alone, he gives an account of himself, remembering his sins and weeping…
† † † So he says “All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears…” If he had said I make my covers swim with my tears, then the matter would be acceptable, but he says I make my bed swim… I drench my couch. This indicates the excessive crying that does not cease, which does not only wet the covers, but his couch and makes his bed swim with tears…it is unusual crying, tears that have no peace and do not have limits… Every detail of his sin needs crying, and upon his couch, his sin is always before him (Psalm 51).
† † † Yes, this is the weeping David during his nights, who says: “Weeping may endure for a night…” (Psalm 30:5) It is a calm period that he spends with himself, far from being busy with work and commitments… he prays and contemplates… he remembers his sins and weeps. When you remember the weeping of David, ask yourself: Do I weep over my sins, like he wept?!
† † † Afterwards, he also says: “My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows old because of all my enemies.” In other translations “…because of the sadness…” And the meaning is the same: whether it is sadness over his state, or anger against himself, or the anger of God, because of all this his eye wastes. It is because of the grief and crying and the anger inside him at what he did of sins that his eye wastes and has become old before its time… Tears Many are the stories about tears in the lives of saints.
Saint Arsanious the Great lost his eye lashes from excessive crying. This great Saint used to soak the psalms with his tears. He used to place a towel upon his knees as he did his work to catch the tears. Saint Arsanious was a man of prayer, spending the whole night in prayer. He stood to pray when the sun was setting, and continued to pray till it appears before him again. Despite this, he used to weep…
† † † And we sin numerous sins that cannot be counted, without weeping. I am afraid that we have lost weeping over our sins, because we are busy with the sins of others and not our sins. Or we have lost weeping for our sins because we are occupied with committing other sins. Weeping is a big topic that I cannot possibly try to cover here…
† † † The important thing is that I want to tell you a fact which is David Wept Greatly David was a person who wept a lot. He says “For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.” (Psalm 102:9) That is, when he holds a glass to drink, his tears fall into the glass as he drinks, so his drink is mingled with tears… How great is his sensitivity!! And we drink sin like water and forget. David, because of his great tears, says to the Lord “Put my tears into Your bottle.” (Psalm 56:8) And he also says: “My tears have been my food day and night.” (Psalm 42:3) In his fasting also, he wept and said “When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting…” (Psalm 69:10) He weeps before God and says to Him “…give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You.” (Psalm39:12) …David wept because he said “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” (Psalm 126:5)
† † † David continued to weep over his sin all his life and never ceased from weeping… Do you know when he stopped weeping? This happened when he stood on the edge of eternity, on the edge of death.
It was then that he said “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with You. For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.” (Psalm 116:7-8) Return, O my soul to your rest after you have toiled in groaning and suffered from tears, and your eyes have grown old from grief and sorrow.
† † † Saint Arsanious also used to weep till death… In the hour of his death, he was shaken. His disciples said to him: Even you, our father, are afraid?! He said to them: The awesomeness of this hour has accompanied me since I entered monasticism… And one of the saints said: I fear three matters: From the hour of death when my soul departs from my body… From the hour of standing before the throne of the Just Judge… And from the hour of my judgment…
† † † Tears are a must, for they purify the soul and wash it from sin. Look at what David, the great prophet says: My eyes are weary from weeping, that is, they are exhausted… And the Lord, in the Book of Joel the prophet, says “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” (Joel 2:12) Have we wept for our weaknesses and falls? And we pray in the Midnight Prayer and each of us says “Give me, Lord, fountains of many tears as You did in the past to the sinful woman…” (Luke 7:38)
† † † I do not want to lengthen the contemplation in the matter of tears, for I have published a book for you about tears which you can refer to… The Answer Let us return to the Psalm of David (Psalm 6), and say that when he arrived to tears, the Lord lifted away the grief from him. The end of the Psalm is completely different to its beginning. Having felt the answer, he says: “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.”
† † †
Maybe those workers of iniquity are those who gloated at him in his fall, having seen some of the punishment of God to him, and thought he is rejected by Him!! Or maybe what is meant by workers of iniquity are the thoughts that bring grief or helplessness. With regards to us, when we say this in our prayers, by the workers of iniquity, we mean all thoughts of sin that fight us. Depart from me, for the answer is the Lord has heard my supplication, when I said to Him “But You, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, deliver me!”
† † † “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,” means two things. Firstly, that since God has heard my prayer; He has cast them away from me. Secondly, it means the refusal of the praying person of these thoughts that bring iniquity, which fight him and make his soul greatly troubled. David, while praying, felt the work of God for his sake… He felt that God heard his prayer and answered him, while he was still praying… The light of hope entered his heart, so the cloud of grief dissipated, and the workers of iniquity no longer had power in fighting him. Instead, he gained an authority by which he can cast them away from himself, and say to them: Depart from me… not by my own strength, but through God who has heard the voice of my supplication and accepted my prayer. This is to Whom I say: Arise O Lord God and let Your enemies be dispersed, and let all those who despise Your Holy name flee before Your face. His repentance was not only made complete by weeping, but also by being away from the workers of iniquity and casting them away. Through repentance and God’s acceptance of his prayer, he regained his inner peace.
† † † He says: For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. His tears have a voice. Thus he says in another place “Attend (listen) to my tears.” …Truly, tears speak a language far superior than any words, which is more effective and convincing. “The Lord will receive my prayer.” This prayer entered into God’s heart, and He accepted it. David believed that it has been accepted- he felt this. So his tears changed to joy, and his contrition to rejoicing.
He fought with God, and took from Him what he wanted… In the beginning of the Psalm, he was saying “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.” At the end of the Psalm, he says “The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.” …Here is the comfort and rest. Let all my Enemies be Ashamed We see him concluding his Psalm with these expressions: “Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly. Alleluia.” Whether they are internal or external enemies, You have shamed them. His acceptance of my prayer and His answering of my supplications… all this is evidence of His acceptance and pleasure of David. Therefore, let them be ashamed and turned back. Maybe also this carries the answer to a prayer which he said in another Psalm: “Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed.” (Psalm 68:17) And in his Psalm 6, he does not mean by shame his adversaries only, but he says all my enemies. For he said in another Psalm “Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” ” (Psalm 3) …All those who gloat and are malignant, let them be ashamed… very quickly, and let them be turned back and greatly troubled… As for me, I will rejoice in the Lord… In the Lord who has shown me a sign for good. In the Lord who has heard the voice of my weeping and received my prayer. Blessed are you David for this joy and happiness. Truly, it is as you have said: “The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous…” (Psalm 118:15) Alleluia David concludes his Psalm with the word “Alleluia.” It is an expression meaning happiness in the Lord or rejoicing in the Lord. Many of the Psalms of David are concluded with this. Even the well known Psalm of repentance, Psalm 50, is also concluded with the expression “Alleluia.” It is amazing that the Psalm “do not rebuke me”, the Psalm in which he drenches his couch with his
tears, is also concluded with the expression “Alleluia.” It is the same with Psalm 3 “how they have increased who trouble me,” and Psalm 13 “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?” …All the Psalms of the Morning Prayer… Truly, David starts his prayer with grief, and then concludes it with happiness and rejoicing. It is like what the Bible says, “The end of a thing is better than its beginning.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8)… For in the beginning, we present our problems to God. And the end carries the solution of God to these problems… Thus David started while troubled saying “My soul also is greatly troubled…” and ends with happiness and rejoicing …It is a lesson for us all. INDEX Introduction Do not Rebuke me in Your Anger Nor chasten me in Your Hot Displeasure Have Mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak The Example of Job David’s Weakness and Contrition My Soul Also is Greatly Troubled O Lord – How Long?
Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, Save me for Your Mercy’s Sake! For in Death there is no Remembrance of You I am Weary with my Groaning David’s Weeping David Wept Greatly The Answer Let all my Enemies be Ashamed Alleluia In this Book In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen, This book is a part of the contemplations in the Psalms, some of which we have published. It is a Psalm from the Psalms of the Morning Prayer. It is also a prayer in the Prayer of the Veil and in the First service of the Midnight Prayer. It is one of the most important Psalms of repentance. It is a type in which there is a mixture of tears and repentance with Divine comfort, and feeling the answer. Therefore it finishes with happiness and rejoicing.
It is a Psalm that we with everyone can learn and pray with it. Till we meet in another book of contemplations in some of the Psalms of the Morning Prayer. Pope Shenouda III
May the Lord Answer you… Contemplations on Psalm 19(20) (First Psalm in Third Hour Prayer) 6th Print 1992 Translated Melbourne March 2006 By: His Holiness Pope Shenouda III Introduction I was traveling to London in late January 1969 to solve a problem with one of the servants, when I was a Bishop for Education. And this Psalm traveled with me… It was a source of contemplations for me in the plane, England, Cairo, and in Germany when I passed through there on my return. Then these contemplations were delivered in the Grand Cathedral over three sessions, besides the main spiritual lecture. This was on Friday 26 February, 5 March and 12 March 1969. After this, I delivered Contemplations on Psalm 22(23) “The Lord is my Shepherd,” the second Psalm in the Third Hour. Finally, God has allowed these contemplations to be published. I place them before you, to be with you in your private prayers and while you pray the Psalms of the Third Hour. Pope Shenouda III Psalm Nineteen “20” May the Lord answer you May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion; May He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call. Alleluia. The Psalm “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble,” is one of the comforting Psalms that fills the heart with hope and makes you feel that God is with you. All These Chant To You Imagine that there is an angel from heaven, speaking to you and saying: May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. Listen to this expression from the mouth of your guardian angel… Imagine David the prophet, while he is in the Paradise of joy, sending you a special message, saying to you: Do not fear or worry in all your tribulations, may the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. Imagine this comforting expression coming to you from God, from the mouth of any person sent from heaven. Or that it is an expression coming to you from the spirits of the Saints. Imagine that the Holy Bible itself is saying to you: May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble… In the midst of your toils, in the midst of the troubles of life around you, God looks to you, and sees, and answers… Consider this Psalm to be a message of peace to you from the Church. A message of comfort from the Church to you. A message that calms you and gives joy to your heart. Imagine that one of the fathers, the Priests, prays on your head this blessing “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.” Feel that it is a promise from God directed to you during prayer, as an expression of comfort, hope and encouragement. A true and faithful promise from the promises of God. In it, the Divine Inspiration says to you “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” Or at least you may comfort yourself saying to yourself and to your heart that awaits help “May the Lord answer you.”… This is exactly what David the prophet did when he spoke to himself and said: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God… Say this Psalm with all faith, and with it, encourage yourself at the time of tribulation, so that you do not lose hope, be upset or suffer. Feel that just as the expressions of this Psalm were fulfilled in the past, that they will also be fulfilled today and always, and with every believer in his tribulation… You can also pray this Psalm for the sake of your beloved ones… You can pray it for other people… If you know that a person is in trouble, stand before God, as if you are directing these words to the person in trouble, and say to him “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.”…It is an expression of prayer for every troubled soul, asking help for it from the Lord.
May the Lord answer your prayer, your fasting, your offerings, your subjection… Just like He answered the prayers, fastings and subjection of the Ninevites; and just as He answered the prayers, fastings and subjection of Esther and her people… And the examples are many. Your tears before God are reserved and kept in a bottle with him and will not return empty, but the Lord will answer just as he answered the tears of Monica, the mother of Augustine and just as He answered the tears of Hannah and her vow and granted her a son, Samuel. Therefore, be assured that God does not change. So just as He treated those, He will treat you also. Trust in His mercy, compassion and love, and you will see amazing things from Him. If God answers at all times, then how much more during trouble, when the person is in need and has no help. This is why the Church prays for all those who are in trouble. She prays for those who are in prisons or dungeons, and those who are in exile or captivity, or those who are held in bitter bondage… And she prays for every troubled soul, for the sick and for the travelers… She prays for the fainthearted and for those in the storm so the Lord will be a comfort to the first and harbor for the latter. And she prays for the paralytic and those cast out, and for those who have no one to remember them. She says to the Lord, “the hope of those who have no hope and the help of those who have no helper.” She says to every troubled person the expression of the Psalm “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble…” It is a Psalm from David, and a Psalm for David. Some of the writers comment that it is a song for the king as he goes out to battle. The priests sang this Psalm to him. The people also chant it to him as a blessing from them all to the king, or as a prayer for the Lord to be with him, answer him and grant him victory… You also are a king, and have battles… You reign over this thought, heart, soul, emotions, time and life. And in all these you have battles and trouble… It is beautiful to see the people praying for the king, and the Church continually does this by prayers for the leaders. And Paul the Apostle calls for prayer for all those who are in a position of responsibility (I Timothy 2:2). So they say to him “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.”… In the Day of Trouble When we say in our prayers “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble,” we are admitting that trouble or troubles exist.
The life of believers and saints is not always easy, nor always happy, joyous or calm! No, it’s actually the opposite. In this life, there are trials and problems… It is like what the Bible says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (II Timothy 3:12) And the Lord called us to enter from the narrow gate, walk the difficult road, and said to us “In the world you will have tribulation…” (John 16:33) But in the midst of tribulation, there is a comforting word which is “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you…” A person might say: Is it suitable for me, as a spiritual person, to seek God in the day of trouble and tribulation. Does this not imply that if there was no trouble or tribulation, that I would not have sought God?! In the relationship between me and God, there must be a relationship of love, and not a relationship of asking at the time of trouble! The answer is that this is a very high standard that we cannot conclude that everyone has reached, whereas being religious is for all levels of people, and not only for the educated elite. Despite this, if the spiritual person falls into trouble, then from whom shall he ask? Is it not from God?! The relationship of love does not disallow requesting. The son requests from his father who loves him. And the Lord Himself said “Seek and you shall find.” With regards to trouble, He also said “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15) And all the Saints sought after the Lord in their troubles, and the Lord answered them. It is not strange for the spiritual person to ask. The Lord Christ even rebuked His saintly disciples for not asking by saying to them “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24) God answers us at the time of tribulation. But what is God’s stand from tribulations coming upon His children? God does not forbid tribulations from His children, nor temptation or adversary. Instead He gives victory over tribulations, and grants forbearance and solution… God does not spoil His children by keeping temptations and tribulations away from them. Instead He allows these and grants with these, comfort, patience and help. And in the depth of trouble, the angel places his hand upon the shoulder of the believer saying to him: Do not fear my beloved, this trouble will not be victorious over you, but “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble…” God will listen to your prayer, He will hear the beats of your heart. He knows your toil more than you do, and will answer you. Let us not forget also that trials and tribulations have their benefits…
Imagine, my beloved brethren, that the great Saint Abba Paula the First Hermit, has, in the Paradise of the Fathers, one expression only, and this saying is: “Whoever flees from tribulation, flees from God.” For he flees from the virtues that God desires to grant him through the tribulation. Therefore do not ask from the Lord to lift away the tribulation from you, but ask to receive its blessings. Ask from Him to make the tribulation end with good, and in it to give you patience and strength as well as the benefit that His wisdom intends from the tribulation. In reality, you do not know what is of benefit to you; for the tribulation to be lifted or to remain… This makes us ask: What is meant by the words “May the Lord answer you?” Meaning of ‘May the Lord Answer you’ “May the Lord answer you” means that He will do good for you… He will solve your problems and arrange all your matters. He will grant what suits you, whether what suits you is what you asked, or is different in some aspects, or the complete opposite… What does this mean? It means that you must remember this spiritual principle: God grants you what is for your good, and not what you ask, unless what you ask is for your good… This is because many times you ask for what does not benefit you… If you seek the kingdom of God, then the Lord will answer you without doubt, for this kingdom coincides with the will of God and is beneficial for you. I say this for many have requests that have no relationship with the kingdom, that might be detrimental to them or might even be against the will of God. We shall give examples of this… Paul the Apostle asked that the Lord takes away from him the thorn given to him in the flesh (II Corinthians 12:7-9). So the Lord gave him what benefited him and not what he asked for. It was more beneficial for the thorn to remain, lest he is exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations. If the Lord rescued him from that thorn, then this would not have been to his benefit spiritually… At one time, a monk fell into severe trouble, and he continued to pray that the Lord lift away this war. Because of his persistence, the Lord lifted away the battle from him. Then he started to fall and be engulfed in vanity and false glory. He went to his spiritual father and told him his story. He said to him “Go, my son, and ask from the Lord to return the trial to you. But to grant you, with the trial, help and strength to be victorious, for trials are beneficial to the person…” Therefore, the expression “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble” does not always mean for the trouble to cease…
The Lord’s answer is not unlimited according to our request, otherwise it would mean that we can direct the Divine will according to our whims!! In actual fact, if you want the Lord to answer you, then you must ask well and your request be according to His will. Our teacher James the Apostle says: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3) Even in our daily life and in our relationships with people, many times we ask for matters thinking they are beneficial while they are detrimental. I will give you some examples: * Your tooth might bother you and cause you great pain that you are unable to bear. You go to the physician, while you are in extreme pain, and say “Please pull out this tooth for it’s very painful”… But the wise physician might not answer your request, and prefers not to pull the tooth out. All he might do is clean it and fill it and by this alleviates your pain and rescues the tooth as well. By this, he did you more good than you requested, and you leave very grateful despite that he did not do what you requested… It would have been better that you ask the physician to comfort you from the pain you have without telling him the way and the method. But to leave the matter to his wisdom and he can arrange the matter with care and love, while you are submitting to the work of his care?! * Another example: You might have a burn, so you go to the doctor and say to him: “Please put ointment on this burn and bandage it.” But the doctor might see that it is better to leave the burnt area unwrapped… Will you complain that the doctor did not answer your request?! No, he did answer but with wisdom. You are not the one who directs him to the solution but he is the one who directs you… Likewise with God: You ask of Him something, and with all mercy and love he answers you, but in a way that He sees and in a time that His wisdom establishes. He knows what is for your good. Every time you make a request, He says to you: I have heard your request and I will give to you, but leave me to arrange it… Therefore, be assured, be patient and do not force your knowledge upon God. Do not request a matter and insist on the way and time and enter into details!! Do not be restless, for God will answer you in the day of trouble, but in His way and not yours, unless your way is His way.,, * Another example is the wrong requests, and these come from Saints!! Abraham the patriarch did not lose hope that he would receive offspring from Sarah. He asked from the Lord saying “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You.” (Genesis 17:18) Abraham, the father of fathers and prophets, requested something against the will of God…! Thus God did not answer his request and answered him saying “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son… I will establish My covenant with him”… God answered Abraham’s request with regards
to granting him an offspring, blessing his offspring and granting him the covenant and promises… but not in the manner that Abraham suggested… * Also Jonah the prophet, who asked from the Lord a wrong request, and He did not answer him! Jonah called for the destruction of Nineveh, and they repented and God accepted their repentance and they were not destroyed. Jonah was grieved for his words were unfulfilled, and he asked from the Lord saying “Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” (Jonah 4:3) Jonah repeated this request again in 4:8. God did not accept Jonah’s request, and his life was not taken from him, for it was not for his good to leave the world in this state of resentment, gloominess, and self-centeredness, rejecting God’s will and grief over the salvation of people!! Although God did not accept the literal request of Jonah, in reality, He answered the true request he had in the depth of his soul… The expression “take my life from me” means “I am grieved and want You to make up with me.” And this is what God actually did, and did not accept literally his wrong request that he made in a state of gloominess… So do not be upset if you request something from God and feel that He did not answer. Maybe its answer is in its non-acceptance… * We can add to the examples of Abraham and Jonah the example of Paul the Apostle, when he asked the Lord to remove the thorn that was given to him in the flesh… * In the same way, you might ask from the Lord to heal a sick person, and the person is not healed but dies. Do not be grieved and think that the Lord did not answer you in the day of trouble! Maybe many angels are holding crowns and are awaiting the exit of his soul from this vain world, to lead it to paradise. And you, by your prayers, want to keep this sick person tied to the world!! And just as God and the angels rejoiced at the departure of this sick person to paradise, for “this is far better,” (Philippians 1:24) this person’s soul also rejoiced at leaving the body. He found the place he went to much more sublime and glorious, and rested for eternity from the pains of the flesh… At the same time, the souls of the righteous also rejoiced at receiving him, and congratulated him for completing his struggle on earth. Amongst all this rejoicing, you remained sad for your prayers were not answered!! It was actually answered by not being accepted… You must believe that God is more compassionate upon us than we are upon ourselves, and that He is aware of what is for our good… Many times, the compassion in our hearts is earthly compassion and is relative to humanity, which differs greatly to Divine relativity that is deep in its love and wisdom… I wish that all of our requests that we ask God, would be in agreement to God’s good will. I also wish that we do not trust our human understanding greatly. For every time that we see our
requests not being answered, let us comprehend that behind this is Divine wisdom, that if we don’t understand now, we shall later… The Holy Bible is full of examples of God’s answer in the day of trouble. Amongst these, we can mention the following: Daniel when he was cast into the lions’ den. The three young youths when they were cast into the fiery furnace. Jonah, when he was in the belly of the whale, and prayed to the Lord. Moses and the people when they were before the Red Sea, and the enemy behind them. Esther when she was going to meet King Ahasuerus. Elijah the prophet, during the famine, and when he was exiled by Jezzabel. David the prophet when he was being pursued by King Saul seeking his life. The righteous Joseph in the pit, in the trial and in prison. Peter the Apostle when he was in prison awaiting his fate. There are many other examples that cannot be counted, and in which the saying of the Psalm “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble” is verified… Many also are the examples in history and the lives of individuals. It is hard to count them, but we can mention the following amongst them: Saint Athanasius the Apostolic as he fled and hid for the faith, or as he stood before the council convened by the Arians in Tyre to judge him when they falsely accused him of many matters and presented false witnesses… Or Saint Alexandros Patriarch of Constantinople who was ordered by the Emperor to accept Arius in the communion of the church. So he and some of the saints spent the night in prayer… And Arius died that night, when his entrails were poured out in a public lavatory… The Lord answered in the day of trouble. The examples in this area require a separate book in which someone can collect the stories of God’s acceptance in the history of the Church, or in the stories of the Saints, or in the life of individuals from the people; and it can be a book of comfort and strengthening of faith… May the Lord Answer You The Lord is the One who answers you, and not human strength.
David the Prophet realized this truth and said “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Psalm 117:8-9) He concentrated on the Lord by saying “The Lord is my strength… The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted.” (Psalm 117:14, 15, 16) The Lord is the One who answers, helps and rescues. Therefore the Bible said: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength… (Jeremiah 17:5) If you stand alone in all your troubles, and if your friends and loved ones leave you, do not be upset… “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.” Our father Abraham, when the Lord delayed in answering him, resorted to ways like with Hagar (Genesis 16) and Keturah (Genesis 25); and he did not benefit from all these human ways. And the righteous Joseph, while in prison, resorted to help from the cup-bearer and asked him to mention him before Pharaoh (Genesis 40:14). The Bible says that he forgot Joseph (Genesis 40:23). The answer is from the Lord, and only from the Lord… In the Lord’s answer to you at the time of trouble, we remember two matters: (a) Ask for what suits the will of God so He can answer you. (b) Remember examples from the Lord’s answers to His children so you can trust and be comforted. Meaning of Time of Trouble It is possible that the time of trouble is the time of trial, pain or the hour of temptation… And it’s possible that the day of trouble is the day of death… And it’s possible that the time of trouble is the hour of standing before the Just Judge on the day of judgment. In your trouble, the Lord will remember you, especially if there is no solution. As matters become complex, and it appears that there is no way out, the Lord will look upon you and show that He has many solutions. David the prophet experienced this trouble and said: “I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me… In the way in which I walk they have secretly set a snare for me. Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul. I cried out to You, O Lord: I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low…”” (Psalm 42:2-6) The expression “trouble” entails all the wars of Satan and the evil people:
The Church summarizes it in her saying: “All envy, temptation, all the work of Satan, the counsel of wicked men and the rising up of enemies, hidden and manifest, take away from us, and from all Your people…” The strikes of Satan are uncountable, he is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8). He strikes from the right and from the left. He tempts the body with desires as he tempts the mind with thoughts. He fights the spirit with blasphemy and doubts and he fights with harshness and without mercy. In all his wars, the Church stands by each child from her children, whispering in his ear “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.” Likewise with the plots and counsel that arise against people. That from which David cried out saying: “Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.”” (Psalm 3:1-2) In all this, he hears this comforting expression “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble,” so David answers “… the Lord sustained me… I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” The time of trouble can also be the hour of the spirit leaving the body… and what trouble?! At the hour of the spirit leaving the body, one might say “Lord have mercy, Lord forgive, Lord absolve, Lord pardon…” His fate will be settled, and the period of his test has ended. Therefore he says this prayer from his whole heart, from his depth, with all honesty and all repentance… and the Lord answers in the day of his trouble. And there is one who asks the same and is not answered, for it is not a new request, not from the heart and not from repentance. And God knows well that if the life of this one is extended on earth, he will remain in his sins… And it is possible that the day of trouble is the day of battle with sin… The day in which trouble comes from within, and not from without, from your thought, from your heart, from your senses, from your desires, from your nature… Or it might come to you from within and without together: From outside as wars and offences, and from within through invitation and acceptance; or from within through weakness, submission and lack of power to resist… The day of trouble might be the day of your arrogance or pride in yourself, or the day of your doubts, or the day of your lukewarmness… It is a difficult day spiritually… In all this you need help from above, you need grace to support you and you need power from the Holy Spirit. You need the prayer of the Saints to support you in your struggle and fight, so that you are able to resist till bloodshed, fighting against the sin (Hebrews 12:4), knowing that you do not fight alone, but the Lord is with you in the day of your trouble, so that you do not fall… It is possible that this expression can be understood in another way…
For the expression “the day of your trouble” can mean the whole life if it’s all pain. It was said about the Lord Christ Himself that He is “A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3) “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Verse 4) Troubles have never left Him. Anyhow, no matter the type of trouble or how long it lasts, ask from the Lord and He will answer you in the day of trouble. With regards to the Lord and His feelings that are full of compassion towards humanity, how beautiful is the saying of the Bible: “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them…” (Isaiah 63:9) Points about Acceptance of Requests 1- The first advice we offer you, so that you reach acceptance, is: Work towards what helps this acceptance, for without doubt, you have a role to play. Do not sleep closing your eyes then cry out saying “Oh Lord answer.” Instead work with God, for yourself, so you can fulfill the answer… You might ask from the Lord and be upset with the Lord, and the reason is you, that you have not worked with Him… The Lord’s acceptance to you does not mean that you become lazy and slothful… Therefore struggle and toil and expend all that you can. Work with God, join in with the Holy Spirit and submit your whole will. And remember the saying of the Bible: “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully…” (Jeremiah 48:10) Therefore in some cases, non-acceptance is not caused by God, but by us. We are the ones that cause our fall into trouble through our wrong actions. And we are the ones that cause this non-acceptance by not putting our hands with God in the work to come out of this trouble. We were not strong in heart, steadfast in faith nor active in the Divine work. We could not keep watch with Him for one hour, nor cast our nets into the depth as He commanded, nor be with Him under the cloud, nor mark the lentils of our doors with the Blood of the Passover as He commanded, nor have we put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6). 2- Maybe the answer sometimes requires patience and waiting on the Lord… It’s possible that God has appointed a time to answer, according to His wisdom, and His hour has not yet come. We must be patient, but without restlessness, tribulation or hopelessness. But according to what David the prophet said “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14) He explained his personal experience
in this and said “My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning…” (Psalm 130:6) The Lord will answer, but in the fullness of time. He answered our father Abraham, but after some time, during which Abram was fought with hopelessness, so he took Hagar, and Sarah laughed in her heart because of how the promise of the Lord could be fulfilled (Genesis 18:12). But the promise of the Lord was fulfilled despite the length of time. We also notice that the children that God allowed to be born after a period of barrenness and after a long wait for the Lord to answer, were all very kind: whether it was Isaac who carried the wood of the offering, or Samuel who anointed kings with ointment, or John the Baptist who was the greatest among those born of women, or the righteous Joseph who is an example of purity and success, who also took two tribes, double his brothers… Be assured that the prayer you offer is kept with God and will not be lost. It is stored with Him and He will fulfill it as long as it coincides with His will, but in good time. It is exactly like a seed that you put in the ground, and remains for days, weeks or even months, without finding anything that sprouts upon the face of the earth. But it has not died, it is stored in a safe place, awaiting the work of plants and the season of sprouting. Its time of growth might be lengthy, like the palm tree seed for example (the pip of dates). It might remain a number of months under the ground, after which you will see like a small blade above the ground, which is the start of the palm tree that is to rise above the ground. Therefore, it is good to place the seed in the ground and do not worry about the time of its appearance, and do not hurry it… Likewise also in your prayer and its answer. Your prayer has been heard by God, it is in His thought and heart as well as in His will. Therefore leave it and do not worry about its acceptance. It is enough that it has entered into the presence of God. It is sufficient for you that God has heard it. About this matter alone, David used to sometimes pray and say “Hear my prayer O Lord”… “Let my prayer come before You.” As long as the Lord has heard the prayer, then be assured. 3- The matter therefore requires faith that if God hears, He will answer. David the prophet was confident in this matter, having faith in the answer while he is still praying. In the sixth Psalm, he starts his prayer by saying “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled.” But at the end of his prayer, he says “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.” (Psalm 6) He trusted, as he prayed, that his prayer is heard and accepted. Therefore he rebuked his enemies who gloated at him. In his trust of the answer, he used to say “I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.” (Psalm 3:4) I wish that you can repeat this verse of the Psalm to give you comfort.
Thus David did not speak to God only, instead he spoke and he heard His voice, that is, he heard the voice of His answer… by faith. Look at what he said: “I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly.” (Psalm 85:8) Many are the examples that the Psalms carry about this spiritual experience in the Lord’s answer, and in the trust that the praying person has in this answer. Now is not the time to list these examples, so let us turn to another point… 4- Many are the cases in which the Lord answers without our asking. God, as a Father, knows the needs of His children. He knows their troubles and its difficulties as well as their need for salvation. Therefore He answers to the trouble they are in, and not only to the prayer offered for the trouble. He sent Moses the prophet to save His people enslaved by Pharaoh, without these people asking for salvation from slavery… The wages of the laborers that were kept back by fraud cry out to God before the cries of the reapers (James 5:4). And even if the reapers do not cry out, then the injustice itself will rise up to God “Who executes justice for the oppressed,” (Psalm 146:5) even without crying out to Him. The Lord brings justice upon the earth, and sets the balance amongst people, and does not expect from them to offer complaints… He knows… There are even troubles that the Lord rescues you from without you even knowing it. They were plotted against you, and the Lord looked from His heaven, and spoiled the plan of your enemies without you knowing it, and also without you praying. Therefore, the Lord answers your needs before He answers your prayers. He knows your needs, and grants you without you asking. Just like the father does with his little children, who do not know how to ask. The Psalm says “The Lord preserves the simple.” (Psalm 116:6) It is just like what the faithful shepherd does with the lost sheep. He searches for it, rescues it from what it’s in, and returns it to the flock without it asking. Its mere state requires a response… With the same situation, God responds to the state of the earth. He brings down to it from heaven what it needs of rain and shines upon it what it requires of light and heat, without the earth asking. 5- The type of answer to trouble differs with God from one case to the other: There are cases to which God responds with an immediate answer, in the same instance of the request. There are cases with which delay is not suitable, as in the case of Peter when he fell into the water, and as in the cases of the three young men in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions’ den, parting of the Red Sea, and striking of the rock to gush out water.
There are other cases that take some time, like leaving Jonah in the belly of the whale for three days and like in bringing rain from heaven in the seventh prayer of Elijah the prophet, and not from the first prayer- this example teaches us perseverance in prayer. There are many other examples that take a long time and that teach patience, like the response to Abraham in giving him an offspring from Sarah. This is with regards to time. There is also a difference with regards to the type of the Lord’s acceptance of prayers, and this matter depends on the wisdom of the Lord and His outlook on matters… What else?... 6- There is a response, through which the Lord means to grant a crown to the person praying. Or for the Lord to grant him glories from this trouble, as the Lord did with the martyrs, confessors and heroes of the faith. So the expression “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble” means that the Lord will glorify you in the trouble and accept you before Him as an offering… the offering that is placed on the fire, and the fire keeps on working in it, till it rises to the Lord as a good aroma, and God will smell it in acceptance (Leviticus 1, 6). Like a quantity of incense placed in the censor, while the incense submits to it, till it is changed to a sweet aroma, rising to the Lord, and remains bearing the trouble till its last grain, to the last breath. Here, the grains of incense never object to the fire; and if one grain goes far away, we bring it to the coals with the spoon to burn, for its glory is in its burning. This is its message, to offer itself as a sweet aroma in the Church, and to rise upwards. And the Lord’s response to it means its acceptance as an offering, acceptance as a sweet aroma, and its acceptance as being worthy of the prepared crowns and glories. This is an example of great Saints of a particular type, and not for all… The Lord’s acceptance to the martyrs on the day of their trouble, was not to rescue them from martyrdom, but to give them patience in pain and strength to complete it so they can receive the glory prepared for them. Just as they suffered with Him, they will also be glorified with Him. The Lord Christ, while on the Cross in the day of His trouble, was accepted by the Father not in rescuing Him from the Cross, like how some who were gathered cried out, but in the acceptance of receiving Him as a Sacrifice of Love, as redemption for the sins of the world, and in glorifying Him as the Redeemer who redeemed the whole world. This is why the Lord, on His way to Golgotha, said: “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (John 17:5) In every trouble, the Lord responds in a way that suits His wisdom and love. And as long as the Lord responds to you, then do not worry or be restless...
Let your heart be full of peace and rejoice in your prayer. Imagine that David the Prophet places his hand on your shoulder, while you pray the Psalms of the Third Hour, and whispers in your ear saying “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble.” And you, with all joy and assurance, say blessed are You, O Lord in all Your good promises and in all Your faithful and true promises. I, O Lord, will hold onto this expression every time I fall into trouble, and I will reason with You through it… You did say “let us reason together…” (Isaiah 1:18)… So let it be. You promised that You will answer in the day of trouble, and Your promise is true and faithful. I will hold to Your promise with all my faith, assurance and trust in You as a Philanthropic God and as a God who, when He promises, will fulfill… The Psalm says “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” What are the depths of this second part: The Name of the God of Jacob Defend you You are in a spiritual warfare, and the Bible says to you “may the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” What is meant by the expression “defend you?” This does not mean that He will continually defend you from your enemies, those who oppose you or those who persecute you, hidden or seen. It is possible that He will defend you against yourself. He can give you victory over the beast hiding inside you. To make you victorious over your nature, over your soul and over your outbursts, whether you have fear or hopelessness, boredom and non-steadfastness, restlessness, envy, arrogance, pride or jealousy… He will give victory to your spirit over your body, and your mind over your whims. To make the wisdom in you victorious over the outbursts, and the sacrifice in you victorious over the ego. It is not merely a victory over people, for the Bible says “… he who rules his spirit (is better) than he who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32) He will give you victory over all the desires that are offered to you, like the desires of sin that were offered to the righteous Joseph; or the desires of position, wealth, haughtiness, or worldly glory that were offered to the martyrs and confessors. Also He will give you victory in the area of fear. The Lord will make your heart a strong fortress. As He said in His promise to Jeremiah the prophet when he feared his enemies that were more haughty: “For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land… They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:18, 19) Or like what the Lord said to Saint Paul the Apostle “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you or hurt you.” (Acts 18:9, 10)
If there is a promise from God that He will give a person victory, then even if the whole world arises against him, then he is assured. In this regard, David the prophet says “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?... Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:1, 3) The Lord is with His children, answering them, saving them from every trouble and giving them victory “For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous…” (Psalm 125:3) This does not mean that He will totally wipe out pain from them, for pain has its blessings, but He will eventually give them victory, after they bear it for His name’s sake. He will allow the scepter to come upon them, but He will not allow it to “rest”. He will allow pain, but He will not allow defeat. Strikes might befall them, and if they receive them with courage, forbearance and patience, then they will be victorious eventually… Like what has happened in the ages of martyrdom. The Church went through the oceans of pain, blood and torture, and she was victorious at the end. Neither swords, prisons or doubts were able to prevail over her. Satan takes his chance and tempts the children of God, and uses all his weaponry. But the Lord puts a limit on him, and judges over all his works. In this David the prophet says: “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth… yet they have not prevailed against me… The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long. The Lord is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.” (Psalm 129:2-3)… That is, He breaks their hurt, so that they do not remain enemies forever… “May the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” May he defend you in your spiritual wars and in your troubles. This war might be from one side only… They may “fight against you,” (Jeremiah 1:19) without you fighting against them, but they will not prevail against you… As David said “They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me… they surrounded me like bees; they were quenched like a fire of thorns…” (Psalm 118:11, 12) What was the result? He says, “You pushed me violently, that I might fall, but the Lord helped me… The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.” (Psalm 118:13, 16) By defense here, it is not meant the destruction of your enemies, but most likely it means being saved from your enemies, and escaping from their snares that are set for you. In this, David the prophet says “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us… Then they would have swallowed us alive… Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth… Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 124:2, 3, 6, 7)
The children of God never attack anyone. The one who offers the other cheek, and walks the second mile, can never attack another. Therefore the defense that is meant by the Psalm is the victory in wars and attacks that come from others, and the Lord saves His children from them. Also, this victory was tried by our fathers the Anchorites and hermits in the desert. They lived in almost complete isolation, in the wilderness, deserts, and holes of the mountains. With this, they were exposed to severe wars from the devils, as in what happened to Saint Anthony for example. He faced wars in doubts, fear, horrific sights and sometimes by being hurt. He faced wars in his thoughts and offences. Some of the hermits were fought by false scenes and revelations, by dreams from the devils, alongside wars of boredom, envy and sadness as well as wars of pride… In all this, the saying of the Psalm “may the name of the God of Jacob defend you” rang in their ears. “Defend you” is because God does not want defeat for His children… God wants you to always be victorious and triumphant… Some understand humility in a wrong way, thinking that the humble person must always be defeated! No, the humble person is the victorious person. And every time he is victorious, he does not shine by his victory, nor is puffed up, nor is his soul proud on the inside; and it’s possible that he might be defeated from his enemies according to the outward appearance, but he is victorious internally. God always wants to lead us “in triumph.” (II Corinthians 2:14) He desires that we struggle always in our spiritual lives and to be victorious. Therefore, the saints who have perfected the faith, and struggled well upon the earth, and left in righteousness to their place of rest in paradise, are called “The Victorious Church”. As for us who are still on earth, we are called “The Struggling Church.” If we attain victory in our struggles, then we will be joined to the choirs of “The Victorious Church,” whose victory is the name of the God of Jacob. This victory, or this triumph, is a distinguished term in the Book of Revelation: Many are the promises that God has granted to the seven Churches for the victorious: * To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life. * He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. * He who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name will be written which no one knows except he who receives it. * He who overcomes… I will give power over the nations – He shall rule them with a rod of iron… and I will give him the morning star. * He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
* He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem… * To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His Throne. They are rewards for those who overcome, even the whole of heaven is the dwelling place for those who overcome, who are victorious over Satan, the world, materialistic matters, the flesh and the ego. This is what the Spirit says to the Churches, and He who has ears to hear, let him hear… God desires that you are always victorious, continually triumphant. The Apostle says “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) Victory is a characteristic of the children of God, and the Book of Revelation explained how these have overcome the great dragon, that serpent of old. Saint John says “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren… And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death…” (Revelation 12:10, 11) Therefore, overcoming is not by their strength, but by the blood of the Lamb. True, it is as the Psalm says “may the name of the God of Jacob defend you…” It is not the might of the believer who fights, but the power of God that works with him and in him. We find this matter very clear in the story of David and Goliath. David said to him “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts.” …“This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand.” … “That all the earth may know that there is a God.” … “For the battle is the Lord’s.” (I Samuel 12:45-47) As long as the battle is the Lord’s, then the sword and spear will not give you victory. The name of the God of Jacob will give you victory. And if God gives you victory, then live triumphantly, rich by His power, grace and the work of His Spirit. So live strongly and do not weaken. This power and this victory were mentioned by Saint John the Apostle when he wrote to the young men saying “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.” (I John 2:14) It is the strength of God that gives the believer victory in his battles. Therefore Saint John also says to his children “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (I John 4:4)
He who is in you is the Spirit of God who works with you. He is the name of God by whom you were called. He is the power from high, for “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8) Therefore when you pray the expression of the Psalm “May the name of the God of Jacob defend you,” it’s as if you are also praying and saying: Grant me, O Lord, this power by Whom I will be victorious. Work in me and with me, O Lord. As you overcame the world, overcome it another time in my life. It was said about You “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah… has prevailed.” Do not let the world become victorious and take one of Your children, that is, myself. Instead, You overcame the world, and save me, so that I rejoice in the saying of the Psalm “may the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” It is a Psalm that fills the heart with zeal and hope. If you pray it with depth, it will lift you up and will never make you submit to sin, nor have the spirit of failure. And in every type of struggle that you have, the spirit of failure will not engulf you, instead the spirit of hope and trust in God’s help comes to you. This trust will also be given by you to those around you, even for the feeble knees and weak hands; and for the smoking flax and bruised reed. You will say to each of those souls “May the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” What is important in victory is that it is a true victory… Cain was able to strike Abel, kill him, and get rid of him, his righteousness and God’s acceptance of him. Was Cain really victorious over Abel, or was he truly defeated?! Cain was badly defeated before the sin of envy and jealousy, before the sin of anger and hatred, and before the sin of cruelty, harshness, enmity and murder. He was unable to gain the virtue of love, and could not overcome the sin that lies at the door, that ruled over him. This made him lose his righteousness and his brother as well as God’s love and acceptance. It made him fearful and a fugitive, restless in soul…! Is this victory?! Without doubt, no. Therefore we must understand victory in its correct meaning, and must not rejoice except in true victory. The true victory is to be victorious over sin… victorious over Satan. To be victorious inside yourself firstly… To be victorious over your longings, lusts and desires. To be victorious over being rough, which fights you and compels you into carelessness with others. To be victorious over greediness, the self and love of yourself. To be victorious over the world, materialism and the flesh… This is the victory that God wants for you… And if you are victorious internally, then the whole world cannot overcome you, for the pure heart is an unconquerable fortress. The world might fight you, but will not overpower you, for true defeat is that on the inside. If your inside is whole, pure and connected to God, then “no one will attack you to hurt you.” (Acts 18:10) “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you,” (Jeremiah 1:19) for the Lord will lead you in the procession of His victory… the name of the God of Jacob will defend you. And victory, my brethren, brings joy and comforts the conscience…
With it, the person forgets all his toil. And there is joy in heaven for the person who is victorious over himself, with one who repents. The lost son, when he returned to himself and analyzed himself, was victorious over the vanity that lived in him for awhile. He returned to his father who said “we should make merry and be glad…” This joy was revealed in heaven, so that the heavenly would share with the earthly… And you, my brother, when you are victorious, remember that the victory does not come back to you; it does not come back to your intention and strength of will, but to God who works in them. Therefore, the One who makes you victorious is the God of Jacob. But why did the Divine Inspiration say the God of “Jacob” specifically? Why was it not said, for example, the God of Isaac or the God of Noah?... The word “Jacob” points to a deep spiritual meaning, which encourages us… Our father Jacob was a weak and simple person, and the might against him was great. He was a humble, kind-hearted man, before him stood the harshness and inhumanity that was inside his brother Esau, who insisted saying “I will kill my brother Jacob.” (Genesis 27:41) Against him also was the deception of his uncle Laban, who married him to Leah instead of Rachel, changed his wages ten times, and pursued him even when he left his home… Jacob was weak and fearful when he wanted to meet Esau. He was afraid that Esau might strike him, his wives and his children when he divided them into three groups, each group coming and kneeling before Esau and appeasing him with a soft word. Jacob himself knelt down seven times before he drew near to his brother, saying “… to find favor in the sight of my lord.” (Genesis 33:8) He prayed to God before this meeting saying: “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well…’” (Genesis 32:11, 12) Therefore, the God of Jacob is the God of the weak who are unable to defend themselves. God of the meek who stand before the mighty who are proud of their strength. God of the bird, before who the snare of the fowler has been set. God of our father Anthony, upon who the devils attacked, so he said to them in humility “I am weak to fight the least of you.” It is very good that Saint David the prophet remembered our father Jacob who fled from a strength harsher than him, seeking the mercies of God, and obeying the advice of Saint Rebekah his mother who said to him “… flee to my brother Laban… stay with him… until your brother’s fury turns away, until your brother’s anger turns away from you…” (Genesis 27:43, 44, 45) This is the example that stood before David in his Psalm. He did not seek the mercy of the God of Samson, who by his strength was able to defeat a city, despite that his strength was also from God… Instead he placed before himself the weak Jacob who has no power nor sword except prayer.
Jacob, despite his weakness, was able to fight with God, and did not leave Him till he received a blessing from Him (Genesis 32:26), and it was said that he struggled with God and men and overcame (Genesis 32:28). Jacob, who in his weakness, had revelations, promises and spiritual experiences, and said “For I have seen God face to face…” (Genesis 32:30) With this revelation, promises and experiences, the power of God was what made his weakness victorious. The promises of God comforted him in all his troubles, thus, it was good what the Divine Inspiration said to David “May the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” May the God of this person who did not know how to defend himself defend you and He defended him in all cases… He defended him from Laban and from Esau, as He defended him also in the case of his son Joseph, and he finally saw him and rejoiced in him. The God of the poor and weak will give you victory if you stand before Him in weakness like they did... It is therefore so beautiful that the Church, in the Midnight Prayer, intercedes through the Priest for the sake of “the weak and incapable, and those who have no one to remember them.” The God of the person who was sick and lay beside the pool for 38 years, not having a person to put him in the pool, so the Lord Himself came, healed him and raised him, give you victory… May the God of Jacob, who is kind and calm, who carries no sword to defend himself, but waits for the salvation of the Lord “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace,” (Exodus 14:14) give you victory. Maybe because of Jacob’s meekness, God loved him, even before he was born (Romans 9:11-13). He loved him among “whom He foreknew.” (Romans 8:29) And thus “God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…” (I Corinthians 1:27) He was able to give victory to these weak, not only as He gave victory to Jacob, but also He gave victory to the Apostles, those poor fishermen, who were afraid and hid in the upper room. He gave them strength to spread the word of faith that was resisted by the Roman authority, the philosophical schools and the Jewish leaders. Struggle with this loving God, just as our father Jacob struggled with Him. Hold onto Him and take from Him blessing and grace, just as our father Jacob also did. And also take from Him Divine promises… Then you will see how the Lord will answer you in the day of trouble, and the name of the God of Jacob will defend you. He will give you victory in troubles, that is, he will not leave the trouble to attack you alone. For He will be with you during the trouble. God will enter the situation and will not leave you alone, making Himself a party in the situation. Whoever attacks you will be as if attacking God Himself. Therefore it was said “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them.” (Isaiah 63:9) Whoever persecutes you will be as if directing the persecution
to God. Thus the Lord said to Saul of Tarsus “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me…” (Acts 9:4) He considered that whatever is directed to His children is directed to Himself personally… As He said to them “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me.” (Luke 10:16) If your passion is a fellowship in His passion, then He will look at your passion as if it is His own passion. He is the One who came to carry our pain and not only our sins (Isaiah 53:4), He will never leave those who are suffering, but will stand by them and support them. He calls each person who is in trouble, to come to Him and find rest. He said to all “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Therefore hold onto His true promise and come to Him to give you rest. He gives comfort to the heavy laden, even to those who do not come to Him, He is compassionate to them when He sees their burdens. Was He not compassionate, when He saw the people “weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) God does not abandon people in their troubles… From the outside, He will not leave you to the problem; and on the inside, He will not leave you to the feeling of abandonment. The mere feeling that God is not with you in trouble, is a deeper trouble than all that bothers you. Therefore, God makes a balance between the trouble on the outside and the peace He gives you by His help or promises. By His mercy, He will undo your trouble, will never add to your troubles, nor take a negative stand against you… We will give you some examples from the Bible: * The sinful woman who was caught in adultery. Without doubt, on the outside she suffered severe trouble through judgment, embarrassment, humiliation, harshness from those who brought her to Him, and their threats to her in sentencing her to death and fulfilling the law literally with her… But the Lord did not join with those harsh people, and did not judge with their judgment. Instead, He shamed those who judged her, and put them under the same judgment, saving her from them and so they left her. Then He said to the woman “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) He did this and saved her, without her asking. Therefore the expression “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble,” carries the meaning He will answer to your needs, and not only answer your prayers… God only knows that you are in need of help, so He offers it to you, whether you ask or not. There are problems that are coming at you and you do not know, and therefore do not ask, but God answers not only your prayers, but also answers the situation as He knows it well and the way to solve it. * Also the weeping woman who wet His feet with her tears in the house of Simon the Pharisee. The Pharisee objected and judged her in his heart and considered her mere touches to the feet of Christ as bold and sinful. As for the Lord, He defended her and explained to the Pharisee that this woman has virtues that surpass the Pharisee…
* This example reminds us of the story of the Shunamite woman. When her son died, she hurried to the man of God Elisha to help her and she held his feet. So his disciple Gehazi rebuked her and desired to send her away. Elisha the prophet stopped him and defended the woman saying “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress.” (II Kings 4:27) He was patient with the woman till he heard her complaint, and went with her to raise her son. If Elisha the prophet was this gentle and kind of heart, then how much more God Himself?! The best times that God is with you are the times of trouble. The time that you need Him, and which you say to Him “There is no supporter in our tribulations and adversities, but You.” At this time, you will find God near you… Either to strengthen you and save you, or either to comfort you and give you patience to bear it. And in your patience there is victory, as an introduction to the final victory that the Lord sees. Making you victorious does not mean to place your enemies under your feet, but to place them inside your heart… So that peace exists between you and them, or to give you grace in their eyes, or that He makes them leave you in peace… At least so that you do not receive any harm from them… The way God gives you victory differs in its types… He might allow one of the angels, or a spirit from the spirit of the saints to enter your situation, or even send a saint to save you, whether in a visible or invisible way. A miracle might happen, and God might intervene in a way that glorifies His name. This victory might also appear to be very natural, but God’s hand appears in it very clearly. He might give you victory inside yourself, by changing your thoughts and feelings, or by making peace fill your heart… What is important is that the name of the God of Jacob will give you victory. Let us contemplate here on the power of the name of God: Name of the God of Jacob The name of God has its power, awesomeness and great ability. Thus the wise man said: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) If you remember this verse, and continually keep it in your mind, then undoubtedly it will propel you to make the name of the Lord always on your tongue; and take from its power a help that will be with you in every trouble. Thus the Psalmist, in the second Psalm of the Sunset Prayer (Psalm 118) says: “All the nations surrounded me… they surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.” (Verses 10, 11) Truly the name of the Lord is powerful, to the extent that the devils are terrified from it. Because of their fear, they come out from people. The disciples returned to the Lord with joy saying: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” (Luke 10:17)
Because of the power of the name of the Lord, even upon the lips of those who are not saved, some of them they say to the Lord on the last day “… have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” (Matthew 7:22) Here, the power of the Lord’s name appears. Thus we see the Psalmist, in first Psalm of the Sixth Hour, say: “Save me, O God, by Your name.” (Psalm 54:1) The name of the Lord has power for salvation, for it casts out demons. And in the story of the servant girl in Phillipi, who was possessed with a spirit of divination, and how Saint Paul the Apostle cast it out of her, the Bible says that Paul “turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And he came out that very hour.” (Acts 16:18) And in the name of the Lord also, the saints performed miracles. We see this matter clearly in the story of the healing of the lame man asking for alms at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful. Saint Peter had no money to give him, so he said to the lame man “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk… So he, leaping up, stood and walked…” (Acts 3:6, 8) In the name of the Lord the miracle was performed. And the examples are many… Therefore keep the name of the Lord upon your tongue always, so that the Lord will give you strength and comfort. We suffer in our lives if we are far from the name of the Lord, and consequently by being far from feeling His presence with us and His work for us. Thus David says: “Oh, how I love Your name, O Lord. It is my meditation all the day.” (Psalm 119) He meditates on the name of the Lord all day and feels joyful and that the Lord is with him; and that the Lord will defend him in the day of trouble, and give him victory. How does this happen?... The Psalm says: May He Send you Help from the Sanctuary, and Strengthen you out of Zion He will send you help… He will send who will rescue you and not leave you alone. This is why we remember this Divine help, in the beginning of The Thanksgiving Prayer, by saying “Let us give thanks to the beneficient and merciful God… for He has helped us.” It is continual help, that we remember every day and every hour. God will send you help, for He knows Your weakness and your circumstances.
He knows Your problems and your needs. He follows your wars with Satan, your relationships with people, and the feelings of your inner self. He comprehends well the state that you are in, from every angle, all the complications that come before you and the rising up of enemies, hidden and manifest. He listens to your prayers and hears your groans and sees the bitterness of your soul… As long as God knows all that surrounds you, then be assured… Undoubtedly He will send to you the solution, and will send to you help, as a compassionate God and a loving Father to His children; for this is His work as a Good Shepherd who looks after His flock. However, some might not rely on God, and resort to human strength to come out of their trouble, or resort to human help. Sometimes, human help is not void of sins and wrongs… In your trouble, help might come to you from the people of the world. They might have pity on you and want your comfort from your troubles, no matter the means. Maybe some will try to solve your problem by a lie, a plot or by human cleverness! He might say to you that this problem can be solved with a bribe, or an untruthful word, or with a false witness… Many are the human solutions. In all this, you do not feel that you have come out of your trouble in a holy way. As for God, He will send you help in a holy way. The ways of God are Divine, all pure and blessed, opposite to the ways of the world that bother the conscience. Many are the wrong plots and wrong advice that might bring a quick result, but does not suit the Divine will. We will mention some examples. Ahab the king received help from Jezebel, that was the cause of his destruction. Ahab desired to possess the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, and when Naboth refused to give the inheritance of his fathers, Ahab entered into a problem with himself. He could not stop his desire to possess this field. When his wife Jezebel saw him in his trouble, she offered help and intelligence: He can accuse accuse Naboth the Jezreelite with blasphemy, bring false witnesses upon him, judge him and kill him, then inherit his land. And this advice brought the required result, and Ahab inherited the land. But the voice of God came to him saying: “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.” (I Kings 21:19) The advice of Jezebel, that she thought was help to her husband, was the cause of his destruction, for its source was not the Lord, and was not help from the sanctuary. In the same way was the advice that Balaam offered to Balak, and the advice that Ahithophel was about to give to Absalom to destroy David. In your troubles, it is very easy for Satan to offer you help. And the Psalm calls you to solve your problems only upon God’s hands, and from His sanctuary and in a pure way even if it’s delayed a little while.
It is very easy for Satan, when he sees you in trouble, to volunteer to offer you help, and will suggest to you solutions. Like when he saw the Lord Christ hungry after His long fast upon the mountain, so Satan came to offer help “command that these stones become bread.” (Matthew 4:3)… You can gain the whole world with bread, and they will follow You. And You can spread Your teachings with authority, with the temptation of the kingdom. You can have this with glamorous miracles by casting Yourself from the mountain and the angels will carry You, and people will see this and follow You… In all this, there is no redemption nor carrying the sins of the people… And the Lord Christ rejected this help and considered it a temptation from Satan, for it does not agree with the will of the Father, and it is not from Him nor from His sanctuary. A help from His sanctuary makes you feel that God’s hand is there in it, and it might come in a way that you do not expect at all. You will feel that God will “strengthen you out of Zion.” And Zion is the city of the great king, the city of David, the symbol of God’s reign and a symbol for blessing. So the expression “strengthen you out of Zion” means out of His king-ship, His kingdom, His strength, His blessing and His righteousness. In a way that makes you feel the hand of God has entered into the situation, and it is what has solved the problem. I will give you a practical example, a story which happened 15 years ago: One of the Metropolitans did not have a place for the diocese, and he lived in two rooms adjacent to the Church. It was natural and very important and vital for the service to build a diocese. So he struggled to collect money and buy a house to build a diocese. But the house had tenants in it, and it was not easy to evacuate them from the house. He also didn’t have enough money to demolish the house and rebuild it according to what is required. And how can he obtain a permit to demolish when the house is not old or subject to falling? And where would he get a permit to build? The Metropolitan had no option except to pray and leave the matter to God, for he cannot do anything. And the hand of God started to work. The house was overlooking the road opposite to the train tracks, and the council wanted to expand the road and beautify it for it was at the entrance of the city. The expansion of the street meant the demolition of part of the house bought by the Metropolitan and also the evacuation of its dwellers. Thus the problem of the tenants and the demolition was solved. With the expansion of the street and the council taking a part of the land belonging to the diocese, the Metropolitan was re-compensated with money to help him build. And because the council wanted to expand the road the road and beautify it quickly, they offered all that was required to the owner with regards to permits for building and buying the materials as well as offering them loans as well. And the monetary problem was solved… The diocese was built and all obstacles were resolved, and the hand of God intervened in a way that the Metropolitan would not have thought of. In a few short months, the Metropolitan sat in his new diocese without it costing much. Truly: May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion. As soon as God starts to solve the problem, the blessing comes.
And you will find that “all things work together for good to those who love God…” (Romans 8:28) God is able to bring “out of the strong… something sweet.” (Judges 14:14) He can change the problems to solutions. May you take this verse “May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion,” as a source of spiritual contemplation in regards to personal human experiences, and what you know of stories from people that you know or stories that you read about the saints or from Church history. I wish that you would send me this information, in an envelope titled “May He send you help from the sanctuary.” If you know of any true story, send it in detail. With this, we can publish a book on the topic of “May He send you help from the sanctuary.” I know a lot in this field, but time is passing by in contemplation of only two verses from this Psalm, and I do not know how or when it will end. Therefore, I ask you that you allow me to pass quickly to the other points… In many instances, the person finds all the doors closed except for one only that is open… And it appears that God’s hand has opened it, God’s hand, “He who opens and no one shuts…” (Revelation 3:7) And as God has opened this door, this does not mean that He will send an angel or one of the saints for this purpose… No, He might use any normal person. What is important is that God’s will is fulfilled, and God’s help comes, and that you feel that God’s hand is working with you and that He has sent you help from His sanctuary, from His heaven and from His throne… The people of the world are not used to attributing to God the help that comes to them or to others! They attribute it to natural matters. As for the expression ‘hand of God,’ they do not understand it or use it. As for you who lives in the faith, and trust that God manages your life, then the help that comes to you, you attribute it to God, and particularly the one that is connected with this one door that is open… You might be unsettled because of a problem, and you have taken a thousand precautions for it, then you find it is solved in a way you never would have thought of, so you feel the hand of God, and feel that God answered you in the day of trouble… “May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion.” But what else? May He Remember all your Offerings, and Accept your Burnt Sacrifice All the offerings and sacrifices that you have offered to God previously, He will remember them for you in the day of trouble. God does not forget the cold cup of water, nor forgets the two mites of the widow, or the small portion of flour that the widow of Zarephath of Sidon offered to Elijah.
Every good work you do is kept safely with God, written in the Book of Life. Do not think that He will forget any toil you do for His sake, or His Church or His saints, or for any poor and needy person. He says to you “you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40) He remembers all your offerings, and says to you “I know your works, your labor, your patience… and have labored for my name’s sake and have not become weary.” (Revelation 2:2, 3) God is not unjust to forget the labor of love (Hebrews 6:10). Every labor of love that you do before the Lord, is a sacrifice of love and not forgotten before Him. God does not forget one tear drop that you have shed before Him, but are put into His bottle (Psalm 56:8) He does not forget one step that you have taken towards the Church, or in a visitation, or to solve a problem. He does not forget the smile that you have smiled in the face of a depressed person, or a word of comfort that you said to comfort a grieved person. All the good that you do is stored there with Him, kept and treasured. He will remember all this for you in the day of trouble. Every love and compassion you offer people is kept safe before God, and in the day of your trouble, His promise moves and works for your sake. God can never forget your labor, love, service and your past help to others. Did not the Bible say “their works follow them?” (Revelation 14:13) Therefore your good works will follow you. Not only at the time of death that their “works follow them,” but also at the time of trouble. Every good work that you have done, will intercede for you in the day of your trouble. God said “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)… Therefore the mercy that you offered in the past, will intercede for you in the day you need mercy. And if in the tribulation of others, you helped in solving their trouble, then God will remember this for you in the day of your trouble and send you help from His sanctuary, and remember all your offerings. Poor is the person who does not offer good to anyone in his life. And even poorer is the person who has treated another with harshness and roughness. He will find before him the verse that says “…with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Matthew 7:2) Likewise with the person who takes a negative stand in regards to the pain of others, as if it’s not his responsibility, or that the matter does not concern him! Before this person, the saying of the Divine Inspiration, in the Book of Proverbs (21:13) stands: “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.” If this is the case, then let us increase the work of good and mercy, and give of it to all who are in need, so that when we stand before God, it intercedes for us in the day of trouble, knowing that the wages of every good work is not lost, whether in heaven or on earth. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58)
Don’t you dare to trust the general saying which says “the white coin comes in handy for the black day!” No, nothing will help you except the mercies of God who will remember all your offerings. Where are your offerings and sacrifices then so that God will remember them for you in that day? If you have not started in doing good, then start from now… And God will remember your offerings, not only at the time of trouble, but He will remember them also with regards to your family and your loved ones. Like what He did with Solomon, for the sake of David his father. So he said “Nevertheless, I will not do it (tear the kingdom away) in your days, for the sake of your father David.” (I Kings 11:12) He also gave him a tribe for the sake of David… The good that David did in his life and the mercy with which he had upon the house of Saul, was all remembered by God, and He had mercy on Solomon the son of David… This is why we sometimes hear those who say: May God keep this person safe because of the good that his father does… Because of the offerings of the fathers, God had mercy on their children. God remembers the offerings of our fathers the saints, and has mercy on us because of them. And thus we say in our prayers “… do not deprive us of Your mercy for the sake of Your beloved Abraham, Your servant Isaac and Israel Your saint.” (segments of the Ninth Hour Prayer) Many are the sayings of God in the Bible “For the sake of Abraham My servant”… “For the sake of David My servant”… What Abraham and David did had its effects which remain over the ages. We have lived in a good world because of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Lord remembered their offerings and sacrifices, and kept us safe because of them. He does not forget the labor of our fathers the saints, and continues to protect us for the sake of the fathers. Likewise, what you offer of offerings and sacrifices will have its effect for generations. And the Lord will remember all your offerings and sacrifices for you, your children, and their children… But what is the difference between offerings and sacrifices? The sacrifice is everything that was slaughtered for the Lord. And the offering is also a sacrifice. But what is the difference? The difference is that in some sacrifices, the priest ate from it, or the person presenting it. And from others, the friends of the person presenting it ate from it (like in the peace sacrifice). With the sin sacrifice, for example, the person presenting it receives forgiveness (according to symbolism). And the peace sacrifice is a sign of joy that covers all. As for the offering, it was to please God, a pleasant aroma to the Lord (Leviticus 1). Therefore it was the altar alone and the fire of God alone. No one can eat of it. The fire keeps consuming it till it becomes ashes, a sign that God’s justice has taken its rights from sin. The sin of man had two results: angering God’s heart, whom we have broken His commandments; and the destruction of the person who sinned. And the offering was symbolic of appeasing God, and the sacrifice of sin was symbolic of saving the person from his sins. And the Lord Christ fulfilled both roles together upon the Cross.
And here, in the expressions of the Psalm, what do we understand? Your offerings are all that you do to please the heart of God alone; and your sacrifices are all the good you do for others and for the salvation of your soul. All this is remembered by God for you in the day of your trouble… He remembers all of it… He remembers what you offer of tithes, first-fruits, vows, coverings, reading books, oil and altar utensils. And what you offer of money or sacrifices that you have promised for Saint’s feasts. So he remembers every act of righteousness that you do unto others. He also remembers the spiritual sacrifices… As the Psalmist says in the Psalm “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 141:2) It is possible that your sacrifices and offerings are especially yourself, as the Apostle says “I beseech you therefore, brethren… that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1) As for the spiritual sacrifices, the Bible says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” (Psalm 51:17) God will remember all your sacrifices, whether spiritual or materialistic, or by intention. Just as He remembers your prayers (from the spiritual sacrifices), your tithes and vows (from the materialistic sacrifices), He will also remember your holy intention and desire to give. Thus the Priest prays in the Litany of Oblations so that God remembers “those in abundance or those in scarcity, hidden or manifest.” What also? He says to the Lord “Those who desire to offer to You but have none…” As for you, when you arrive to this expression in the Psalm: Be contrite in soul, and say: Lord, where are my sacrifices and offerings? I have not offered You anything till now… Our father Abraham offered his only son, and the widow offered from her needs. But as for me, what have I offered? Nothing… Be aware not to mention anything, like the Pharisee did, lest Satan of the vain glory steal it from you. And if you remember in your mind something that you have offered, say to the Lord: And this is not from me, but “from Your hand,” and everything is for God, from God and given to God… Here we mention a beautiful expression of the Psalm that has its depth, which is: And Accept Your Burnt Sacrifice [In the Arabic Translation: Fatted Sacrifice] That is, God considers it a worthy sacrifice, looking at it more highly than it deserves.
No matter how small is the amount you offer (in your own sight or in the sight of others), God will consider it more highly, more than what should be offered, just as He did with regards to the two mites of the widow, the tears of the sinful woman who wet His feet and the contrite comment that the Canaanite woman said. The Lord praised all these before everyone, and considered their sacrifice very precious… The Lord values greatly the work of His children and magnifies it and magnifies them because of it, to the extent that He remembers the cold cup of water that is not laborious. It is like the general saying “An onion of the beloved is a lamb.” God does this in His dealings with us… God does not only not forget the work of good that we do, but also praises it, magnifies it and gives it value. How deep is the Lord’s love and His compassion. Be assured that in the last day, God will be the One who mostly defends your good deeds, values them and magnifies them… Therefore, do not boast vainly, nor mention your good deeds before Him or before others. Instead forget them so that God will remember them for you, in the day of your trouble and in the last day, all that you have forgotten of good deeds that you did. God will greatly value what the Church has offered to Him from human examples: * Look at Jonah for example: God considered him a great prophet, and made for him a book in the Holy Bible in his name… Despite that Jonah disobeyed the Lord and fled to Tarshish and the boat was struck because of him. He grieved till death when the Ninevites were saved at his calling, for his word was unfulfilled nor carried out, and he said “It is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord rebuked him saying “Is it right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 4:1-4) Despite this, the Lord praised this great evangelist and said that the Ninevites repented because of Jonah’s call. And the Lord magnified the call of Jonah which he did after disobedience and fleeing, which were not remembered against him. And when he was in the belly of the whale, he prayed and was answered… * And the righteous Job: How the Lord magnified this offering, and said about him twice “… there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man…” (Job 1:8, 2:3) Despite that Job cursed his day (Job 3) and contended greatly with the Lord, to the extent that he said to Him “Show me why You contend with me. Does it seem good to You that You should oppress… Although you know that I am not wicked, and there is no one who can deliver from Your hand…Cease! Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort…” (Job 10:2, 3, 7, 20) Despite this, God did not relent from praising Job, to the extent that, after all this contention and even more, He said to Job’s three friends “… you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant
Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” (Job 42:7-8) * Jacob the Patriarch: Despite that he deceived his father Isaac, and that he refused to give food to his hungry brother unless he sells his birth-right, and despite his fears… the Lord magnified this offering. And He appeared to Jacob more than once, blessed him, gave him victory, granted him the promises and came from his offspring… If God therefore honors the Saints, then we must honor them also. We must not despise the sacrifices of others, when God magnifies them… I wish that we respect every good work that any person does and praise him and encourage him, no matter how small it may seem, for this is God’s way, who honors the sacrifices… Saint Bishoy used to fast for days at a time, and one time for twenty one days. He saw a young man beginning his monastic life who fasted for only one day and was unable to bear this and walked with shaking legs. So he asked God concerning him and the Lord said “His reward is like yours exactly, for if he had received the same grace that you have received, he would have fasted for 21 days like yourself…” And thus God magnified the sacrifice of this young beginner and considered it like the sacrifices of the great Saint Bishoy. How amazingly kind God is… He remembers all your offerings and accepts your burnt sacrifices. And what else? May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose… According to all that is in your heart and thoughts, the Lord will grant it to you! This is the greatest request a person can make, and more powerful than he expects. But is this matter open totally, or does it have conditions? Let us see… May the Lord grant you according to your heart’s desire on the condition that your heart with God is undefiled. It is not logical if your heart is full of sinful desires and defiled emotions and then the Lord will grant you according to your heart’s desire!! And also it is not logical that the Lord fulfills all your purpose, if your purpose is sinful and does not coincide with God’s will or His good management!! God will grant you according to your heart’s desire if you are seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness. But if your heart is attached to worldly or materialistic matters or to sin, then the blessing that this Psalm says here is far from you, and God will not grant you according to your heart’s desire… Therefore your heart must be pure, and then the Lord will grant you according to your heart’s desire. May the words of this Psalm be an invitation to purity of heart.
In your pure requests, hold onto this verse as a promise from God’s promises, and contend with it. Say to Him: Grant me, O Lord, according to my heart, for You have so promised, as long as my heart loves You; and fulfill my purpose as long as it is according to Your purpose, otherwise, may it be Your will. In any case, it is a comforting expression, when the Spirit says to the person who is praying while in trouble: May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. This expression was heard by Hannah, Samuel’s mother, while she was barren and she prayed weeping and fasting and bitter in soul. So Eli the priest said to her “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” (I Samuel 1:17) So she left comforted, and believed in the word, leaving her grief and breaking her fast by eating. It is a word of comfort and it is so beautiful to say it to everyone who is in trouble. It would be so beautiful if the Priest would pray this upon the head of the person who comes to him seeking God’s mercies. He can pray this aloud so it is heard and the person is comforted… It is a comforting expression, but in order for you to be truly comforted, listen to this advice: Next to the expression “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose,” put the following verse from the Bible: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) If you love God from all your heart, and love His ways and commandments, then God will grant you according to your heart’s desire, and God will be dwelling in your heart. But if your heart is far from God, and if you ask of Him something wrong or something not according to the Lord’s will, then the angels will pray for you so that God will enlighten your wisdom and make you understand His ways. And as the wise man said “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Truly this Psalm asks for you so that God will “fulfill all purpose,” but next to it we add the saying of the Bible “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel – that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21) The expression “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,” reminds us of the Lord Christ’s saying to His Saintly Disciples: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7) Therefore this abiding in the Lord and in His commandments is a condition for the answer. The person, while abiding in the Lord, does not ask except for what pleases the Lord… Therefore it is an invitation for us to purify our hearts before prayer, so that we do not ask except for what pleases God, and the Lord will grant us according to our hearts. It is a promise from God, which also requires faith in our hearts. And as the Bible says, “…all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)
With this faith we pray, and with it we benefit from the prayer in the Psalm. They are comforting words, which have their effect in David’s believing heart, and so he said: We Will Rejoice in Your Salvation, and in the Name of our God we will set up our Banners This means that we confess to You and thank You. We admit Your goodness, comfort, compassion and kind work with us. David heard the promises of the Lord, and believed them and therefore began to be thankful about them. He thanks the Lord for what He will do, as if He has already done it… We will rejoice in Your salvation… As long as You said that You will send help from Your sanctuary and strengthen us from Zion, then it is good for me to rejoice in this salvation, thank You for it and say “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2) What is so nice about David is that in the depth of his belief in the answer, and his assurance of this answer, he changes the prayer into thanksgiving, as if everything has been fulfilled… He asks, and in faith feels that God has granted him what he asked for. So he thanks Him in the same prayer of request. Many of David’s Psalms are of this type… In the Sixth Psalm for example, he starts by saying “O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger…Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak…Return, O Lord, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!” Then he feels the acceptance of his prayer and says at the end of the Psalm “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer…” He is of the type of our father Jacob who held onto the Lord and would not leave Him till He blessed him and gave him what he requested. And when his heart is comforted, David says to Him “we will rejoice in Your salvation…” We confess that You have saved us, comforted our hearts and mended our broken spirits as well as saving us from our problems. Here we see David not sufficing with thanksgiving for salvation, but extends beyond this by saying: And in the Name of our God we will set up our Banners! He sought salvation, and by faith felt that he received this salvation, and this is why he went further…to increase and growth and said “in the name of our God, we will set up our banners!” One of the reasons why David was so assured of this was that the name of God was upon his lips all the time.
In the beginning of the Psalm, he comforted himself by saying “May the name of the God of Jacob defend you,” and here he says “And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!” After this, he says “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Truly, the name of the Lord makes the person feel that there is strength next to him, which defends and saves, and therefore they are assured… He trusts that this is not only from the negative side when he is rescued from his troubles, but also from the positive side that he will set up our banners, meaning to increase. He repeats this concept of increasing twice in the same Psalm… I wish, that in your prayers, you would remember this increase, and take an account of yourself. You are not only required to live the life of virtuousness, but to also grow in it; to increase in the fruit of the Spirit; to increase in your love of God and people. And as you grow in holiness, you also grow in humility, and say “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12) And if you do not have this growth, then rebuke yourself for this and struggle with all your might, and with the work of grace in you to keep on “reaching forward to those things which are ahead,” (Philippians 3:13) according to the saying of the Apostle. And if you are unable to grow, then at least stay where you are and keep what you have; and be aware not to go backward, and leave your first love… David, who said “in the name of our God we will set up our banners!” knew well that this growth also needs Divine help, and therefore said: May the Lord Fulfill all your Petitions He now shifts from the past and present, and enters into expectations of the future; and his aspirations for the future that he has placed into God’s hand… God is the One who gives… He shall give to all. Just as He gave him a part of his heart’s request, and promised him salvation, He will continue the rest for him so that he receives all that he has asked of God. And here appears the overflow and completeness of the gift. Sometimes God grants us all that we ask at once, according to His richness, abundance, hospitality and love. And sometimes He gives us a little at a time, so that we keep our connection to Him and continue in asking. And every time the heart receives something from God, we say to Him “May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.” You might ask for repentance from God, and He will grant you this, while the angels pray saying “May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.” Repentance is not everything … there is purity and holiness. And in holiness, you will also hear “May the Lord fulfill all your petitions,” for the road is still long before you; for you are requested to be perfect “Be perfect just your Father in heaven in
perfect.” And perfection has no limits, thus you continue in asking, and the Lord fulfills all your petitions. David did not only ask for salvation, but also for growth – growth that leads to perfection. He said in his heart about this request for growth (or his heart said to himself): “May the Lord fulfill your petitions.” In the flood of joy in the Lord’s promises, he said: Now I Know that the Lord Saves His Anointed; He will Answer Him from His Holy Heaven “Now I know” … Now, during prayer, while he is standing there asking… He knew while he was standing praying, that the Lord has saved him, saved his anointed, and answered him. Thus he admitted before God in His salvation. We might ask: How did David know about this answer? Maybe he felt it in his heart. Maybe he knew it by faith. Or maybe God, who accepted this, made him feel the answer. Maybe God inspired him with it and made him understand it… Or that David had his “senses exercised,” (Hebrews 5:14) to see what is not seen, or by faith which is “the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) This makes us feel that prayer is not merely words, but hearing as well. You talk to God in your prayer, then by your heart, not your ears, you hear His voice answering. Our Saint David was trained in hearing. Thus he says in one of his Psalms “I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people…” (Psalm 85:8) Maybe this hearing requires patience in prayer… Unfortunately, one might speak to the Lord in his prayer, then leaves quickly before he hears what the Lord God says… God might speak, but not everyone who has ears to hear, hears… Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed. The word anointed has three meanings: 1- The anointed of the Lord, that is, those who are anointed for the Lord’s service, like some of the kings for example. And David was anointed for the Lord, anointed by Samuel the Prophet with the holy oil (I Samuel 16). 2- The Christ … the Lord Christ. Of course, He is distinguished from the other anointed ones. The Divine inspiration, in the Book of Isaiah, said about Him “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted…” (Isaiah 61:1) The Lord Christ was anointed as a King, Prophet and Priest. It was
said that He has been anointed with the “oil of gladness more than Your companions.” (Hebrews 1:9) 3- Every Christian person that has been anointed with the Holy Chrism and has become holy for the Lord and a dwelling place for His Holy Spirit. From the spiritual side, and not from the literal side, he has become anointed for the Lord. You can take the expression of the Psalm upon yourself, the “Lord saves his anointed,” that is, the one who He has anointed with the Chrism after coming out of the Baptism, is His… Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed, that is, has been offered salvation. He will answer him from His holy heaven. The One who answers is He “who abides in the highest and looks upon the lowly” … the One who looks to the work of His hands, and “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap.” (I Samuel 2:8; Psalm 113:7) He always saves, for He desires that all are saved… The Psalmist comprehended this truth and said “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise, says the Lord; I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” [grant salvation openly] (Psalm 12:5) He is in His heaven, but He is not far from us… “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) He answers them from His holy heaven – this heaven that all look to when they say “Our Father who art in heaven.” And how does He answer them? The Psalmist says: With the Saving Strength of His Right Hand He is the Mighty and Powerful God, who conquers in battles, saves with strength. Thus the praying person says to Him, in one of the Psalms of the Third Hour Prayer, “Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty.” (Psalm 45:3) This is why we always sing with the Might of God who is able to do all things. In the Trisagion we say “Holy God, Holy Almighty…” We rely on this might of God, by which we are victorious. We say “with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27) But the strength of God is for salvation with regards to His children… He is not like the people of the world who use strength for fear or destruction; instead His strength is for salvation. With this strength, He parted the Red Sea, and saved from slavery a contrite people. And with this strength, He shut the mouths of the lions in the den and saved Daniel. With this strength, He rebuked the sea and its waves were calm and saved His disciples’ boat from the storm… I need time to present the examples of the strength of the Lord in His salvation, when He saved with fortified hands. This salvation, with regards to the children of God, might be to strike their oppressors, like when the Lord struck Amalek and the army of Sennacherib to save… As for David, he speaks about the strength of God with regards to himself: With saving strength…
He attributes salvation to the Lord’s right, to His mighty hand. He is therefore confessing the Lord’s rescue of him and says in Psalm 118: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord…” (Psalm 118:15-17) The hand of the Lord intervenes in the situation with might, and causes salvation with strength which is the strength of His right’s salvation. David sees the power of the enemy clearly before him, but also sees the right of the Lord and says: Some Trust in Chariots, and Some in Horses “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” What is the power of chariots and horses before the name of the Lord?! Nothing at all. This reminds us of David’s saying to Goliath the giant “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts.” (I Samuel 17:45) Yes, what is the value of these weapons – the sword, spear and javelin before the name of the Lord of hosts, and the strength of His right’s salvation?! Gehazi, the disciple of Elisha, was afraid when he saw “horses and chariots and a great army” surrounding the city. But the great prophet comforted his disciple by his saying “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed… Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (II Kings 6:14-17) It is the holy power that the Lord sent for protection, having sent help from His sanctuary. David, the experienced man, did not fear the horses and chariots of the enemy. The horses and chariots might be symbolic of Satan and all his power. For our enemies, the demons, are strong. Satan is like a roaring lion and wants to devour whoever he can. He is powerful and harsh. In the story of the righteous Job, he brought down fire that burned the cattle and children, and a strong wind that destroyed the corners of the house and it fell (Job 1). He is an angel who has lost his purity but has not lost his strength. And in the last days, he will “exalt and magnify himself above every god” (Daniel 11:36)… “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders…” (II Thessalonians 2:9) But we look to all the power of the devils and say “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Some fear chariots and horses for the name of the Lord is not with them. They stand alone in battle, and do not take the name of the Lord with them. But the Bible teaches us that Joshua was fighting and Moses was lifting up his hands to God praying. And Joshua won
the battle with the power of these two uplifted hands, for by them, God entered the arena of the war “for the battle is the Lord’s.” (I Samuel 17:47) We cannot look at the power of the enemy and forget the power of God. Do not look only at Goliath without remembering the name of the Lord of hosts. Do not look at the Red Sea and forget the staff of Moses. And do not think of the desolate wilderness without contemplating the cloud that covers you by day and pillar of fire that guides you by night. Do not be horrified by the den full of hungry lions, but contemplate the angel of God as he shuts the mouths of the lions. When the Psalm says “The floods have lifted up their voice,” it says immediately after this “The Lord on high is mightier…” (Psalm 93) Elisha the prophet continues to pray his famous prayer: Open O Lord, the eyes of the young man to see that those who are with us – that is, the angels – are more… And Moses the prophet continues to stand with his staff, saying to the fearful, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord… The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:14) Those who do not possess horses or chariots, possess the name of the Lord. The Lord who “has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” (I Corinthians 1:27) He chose the smooth stone of David to shame with it the sword and javelin of Goliath. He chose the uneducated fishermen to share by them the wisdom and philosophy of the Gentiles… Remember that your strength is not in horses or chariots, but in God Himself. Therefore, always say with the Psalmist: My strength and my praise is the Lord who has become my salvation. What was the strength of Saint Mark when he entered to preach in the land of Egypt?! Many were the horses and chariots that arose against him: Before him, he had the god of Pharaonic Egypt with the leadership of Ra, the Greek gods that came in the days of Alexander and Ptolemy – their greatest god being Zeus and the Roman gods that came in the days of Octavian Caesar and their greatest was Jupiter… And there was the widespread of Judaism in all the suburbs of Alexandria. Also before Saint Mark stood the paganistic philosophy, and the power of their philosophy and persuasion, the pagan school of Alexandria and the library of Alexandria that had hundreds of thousands of books… There was also the Roman authority with its strength, harshness and protection of paganism… So true, some trust in chariots and some in horses… Despite this, Saint Mark fulfilled his message and spread the word, and stood saying “But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Another example is Jeremiah the prophet, whom the Lord sent, despite his young age, to witness to the truth before “the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.” (Jeremiah 1:18) They would fight against him and he will stand before them. They will be with chariots O Lord, and the others will be with horses, and I do not know how to speak for I
am a youth (Jeremiah 1:6). But the Lord said to him “Do not say ‘I am a youth’… Do not be afraid of their faces… For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land…” (Jeremiah 1) Thus Jeremiah witnessed to the Lord while before him was the expression “But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” You also, do not be afraid of the strength of the enemy, for the Lord will support you. If the devils see you terrified, they will attack you and know that you have fallen as a snare to their teeth. But if they see you strong in heart, they will fear the faith in you and the power of God that is with you. With this strength, and with this faith, you shall be victorious and say: They have Bowed Down and Fallen; But we have Risen and Stand Upright Truly “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you.” The strange thing is that David says these words while standing praying and asking. But through his deep faith is being answered, he sees the request fulfilled before himself, having great faith in God’s work. So he does not speak about what is to happen in future tense, but in past tense, as if it has already happened! And the expression “But we have risen and stand upright” means that previously we were fallen… That is, the situation is reversed. We, who were fallen, have risen. As for the enemies who were victorious at first they have bowed down and fallen… This is the style of life, which God’s children live. At first, they may be met with wars, tribulations and offenses, and taste pain, tribulation and trouble; and even sometimes fall, for “a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again.” (Proverbs 24:16) And as David the prophet said “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth… Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth… The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.” Yet he comments about this by saying “Yet they have not prevailed against me.” (Psalm 129) What is important at the end is the end of the believer’s war with the enemy of good. In this, the Bible says “… considering the outcome of their conduct.” (Hebrews 13:7) Do not look at the beginning of the problem, but at its end. Do not look at the shame of Golgotha and lose hope, but look at the end… to the glories of the resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and the Second Coming upon the clouds with strength and great glory.
Every time a problem meets you, say “God exists,” and say “It will eventually finish.” The problem will not continue forever. It has a time frame in which it will finish… The pains of the righteous Job, despite its harshness, ended when the time came “And the Lord restored Job’s losses…” (Job 42:10) And he said “But we have risen and stand upright.” Your enemies who have bowed down and fallen are the devils, who are envious of all God’s grace to you, and come to you with chariots and horses to make you fall. But the Bible says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Luke 10:18) You can take the expression “have bowed down and fallen” also about problems and troubles. All the problems that surround you have fallen and finished. The Lord has solved them, and you have risen and stand upright. You have risen from under this heavy yoke, that has bent your back and you have stood upright finally when you have responded to your Beloved who says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) All this was seen by the Psalmist, by faith, while he prayed. Then he turned to reality and said: Save, Lord! May the King Answer us when we Call We see Your salvation, believe in it, and thank you for it… This does not stop us from praying for its fulfillment practically, to change from faith to something seen. This is why we remind You O Lord with what we said previously “Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call,” and “it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13) These are some of the contemplations on Psalm “May the Lord answer you…” Its topic is lengthy, and we can finish it in contemplations of other Psalms, with the will of God. This Psalm: A Psalm of request, blessing and comfort. The Bible offers it to everyone who is in tribulation or trouble. In it, the Psalm says to this person: May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble. It is also a Psalm full of faith, in which the request is changed to thanksgiving, in trust in the work of the Lord and His answers. May you read it, keep it by heart, pray it and comfort others with it. Pope Shenouda III
