“BEHOLD, I COME, TO DO YOUR WILL, O MY GOD” In psalms 37 and 38, the prophet David talks about waiting for the Lord; having suffered much from king Saul, Absalom, and the betrayal of Ahithophel, etc; Now, having enjoyed salvation after so long suffering, particularly on the hands of his rebellious son Absalom, his lamentations turned into praises of thanksgiving, he presents by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This praise of thanksgiving is counted as a Messianic psalm, for it concentrates on the Person of the Lord Christ and His salvation work. The epistle to the Hebrews testifies that the Lord Christ is the Talker here, presenting His experiences, and Himself, being the One who came to consummate the will of the Father; and who descended to Hades, to the depth of the mire of the pit, bearing the sins of His people; presenting thanksgiving for His resurrection; and a new praise, to be sung by His people whom He has saved and rescued. This psalm is counted of the most magnificent of psalms, to be connected to the psalm of the glorious passions (Psalm 22), connected in turn to the praise of the resurrection. The prophet David wrote this psalm after the rebellion of his son Absalom, hidden under the appearances of religion, and of offering sacrifices (2 Samuel 7-12). Then, it was gradually used in the liturgical service (the general worship). The general frame: https://coptic-treasures.com/ 1- A praise for the conquest of Christ 1 -- 5 2- The obedient Servant and His sacrifice 9 -- 13 3- His enemies and His saints 14 – 17 1- A PRAISE FOR THE CONQUEST OF CHRIST: (1 – 5) This psalm presents to us the experience of the prophet David in offering a new praise to God who saved him “out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay”. What is new here is not the words, as much as it is the perception of the heart of an almost captivation by death, if it was not for the intervention of God his Savior. We know nothing about what “the horrible pit, and the miry clay” mean, whether the psalmist was suffering from a serious illness that almost brought his life to an end, or from a particular sin that almost destroyed his depths, or from the bitterness caused by the rebellion of his own son Abasalom, and the betrayal of certain of his men? … The same as we know nothing about “the thorn in the flesh” that affected the apostle Paul’s life.(2 Corinthians 12: 9). All we know is that bitter sufferings precede the gladness of salvation, and singing the new praise. . “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry” (1, 2) The psalmist probably intends to say that, having fallen under sufferings and tribulations, from which no man could save him, nor he has any desire for man’s intervention thereof, he patiently waited, anticipating with faith the hand of God “who bruises, but He binds up” (Job 5: 18), crushes and heals; he knows how to anticipate, however long it will take; for he trusts in the wisdom and might of God his Savior; who knows how, and when to responds to the prayer. … God will save him, and in His salvation, the one who suffers will enjoy what is greater than being saved, namely, he will enjoy God’s care for him, and His dwelling in his life, which is the greatest gift that https://coptic-treasures.com/ the believer could get; enjoying, not only the salvation, but the Savior; not only the gifts, but the Giver of the gifts Himself. The Lord Christ presents Himself as an example of waiting for the Father, of delivering His will in His hands; whether in the garden of Gethsemane, or during the trial. He, the worshiped God prays as we do, cries out as we do, and seeks from the Father to consummate His will in Him, although it is one with His own will. … He waits as though He needs help; He who carries all by His might; All on our behalf, working to our account, in our name, and as a role model for us; according to the words of the apostle Paul: “Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear” (Hebrew 5: 7). He teaches us how to conquer amid our sufferings, and in our spiritual struggle, to get the glorious victories. He waited for the Father; In His trial, He did not bear an attitude of anger, nor uttered words of threat or grumbling; but as a silent Lamb He endured, anticipating the proclamation of His glorious resurrection. + I have patiently waited for the promise, presented, not by a mortal who may deceive and be deceived; I anticipated comfort, not from a mortal who may be destroyed by his own sorrows before giving comfort. … Let us wail and weep together; let us patiently wait together; and let us, as well, pray together. Let us understand it as such, that He promised us everything, yet He has not yet granted us to possess anything. He is the responsible promise-Giver; the faithful Grantor; Yet, you are committed to show seriousness in what you are promised; and if you are weak, or you were of the little ones, seek the promise of His mercy. (St. Augustine) https://coptic-treasures.com/ “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit; out of the miry clay” (2) Amid his sufferings, the psalmist felt as though he is in a horrible pit, covered with miry clay; from which, whenever he tries to lift his foot up, he would go deeper and deeper; and that there is no one to save nor to help. In this he reminds us of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38), who was cast in the pit because of his testimony to the truth. The pit, being very deep for anyone to lift us up, the need is for the hand of the incarnate Son of God, who, alone, can descend down to us, to save us from the pit of sin, the dominion of death, and the depths of Hades, by the work of His salvation. The deeper the pit, the greater will be the power of the work of salvation, the magnitude of our joy, and of our praise foe conquest. + What is this horrible pit?! It is the depth of iniquity, of the desires of the body; for that is the meaning of the expression “the miry clay”….. From where shall I bring you up? From the depth about which you cried out in another psalm, saying:: “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord” (Psalm 130: 1).. Once the wicked reaches the depth of evil, he would be despised, and would go down to new depths; for, instead of confessing his sins, he attempts to justify them. (St. Augustine) If sin brings us down to bitter depths, the hand of God our Savior will strongly lift us up to bear us in Him “the Rock of ages”. “He set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (2) https://coptic-treasures.com/ The “Rock” is our Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 10: 4). He who descended to Hades, not on account of a sin He has committed, but because “the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53: 6); and carried us from Hades in Him, being “the Rock’, and “the Way”. On Him we lean, and in Him we hide, so as not to plunge into the miry clay; but to have our feet, so strongly set, and our steps, so securely established; that In the light of the living faith we would walk, and strife with steady steps. + “He set my feet upon a rock; and established my steps”. Now, this “Rock” is Christ, We are on the Rock, and our steps are according to an ordinance and a system, to be sure of continuing our walk, and grow more and more. + He came to have the faith “the Rock” that was not his before, and the hope he had not. Now, he walks in Christ, he who used before to follow the vanity of the devil. Hence he says: “He set my feet upon a rock; and established my steps”. (St. Augustine) + The temporal things are like water, like the flood that swiftly runs; he says: “The water have come up to my neck” (Psalm 69: 1); Whereas the spiritual things are like a rock; he says: “He set my feet upon a rock”, to keep the “miry clay” away from them. (St. John Chrysostom) + We understand this “Rock” to be our Lord, He who is the “Light”, the “Truth”, the “Non-corruption” and the “Righteousness”, and who paves the spiritual way; Whoever does not divert from this way, will perpetually keep his steps free from the uncleanness of the mire of evil pleasures. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Gregory, bishop of Nyssa). “He has put a new song in my mouth – praise to our God. Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord” (3) Trusting in the Lord Christ, the Rock, as a foundation of His faith and his new life, and experiencing the resurrected life that conquers sin and death, the believer’s mouth opens up to sing a new song, the song of conquest, befitting of our new man; he would experience the mercies of God, new every day. + Being a new man, let him be conformed,… let him sing the new song, …let him love the new things by which he himself becomes new. + Who could be as old as God, the eternal, the Being before all things, who has no beginning nor end?! Yet He becomes new to you, once you return to Him; Sojourning from him, you became (old; as it is written: “(My eyes) grow old because of my enemies” (Psalm 6: 7)…. Praising our God, the praise itself will liberate us. (St. Augustine) Being “brought up from the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, to set his feet upon a rock (3), man’s tongue will exult with praise, to draw many to the life of faith, life of the fear of the Lord, and trust in Him. “Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord” (3). This applies to the Lord Christ who descended to Hades, resurrected, and proclaimed the song of praise of conquest over death, drawing many to faith in Him. Entering into faith with fear; consummating their salvation in fear and trembling, and perceive the secret of the cross with https://coptic-treasures.com/ awe, they trust in the grace of the Lord that grants salvation. + Who is He, who is talking in this psalm? It is the Lord Christ, in the name of His members: “He has put a new song in my mouth; … Many will see it and fear”; … Following Christ Himself, they will see, on one side a narrow way, and on another side a wide-open way. (St. Augustine) “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (4) Receiving the Lord Christ as our Way, we go through the narrow way of the cross, and enjoy the blessed way. We do not put our hope in the vain temporal vanities, and the false deceptions of the world, but in the name of the resurrected crucified Lord. + Behold, there is the wide way in which you will find pleasure; which will lead to death; multitudes fill it; of those who desire to get from the hands of God, mortal honors, and everything, but God Himself. As for you, forget about everything else;… Remember God Himself! “Forget those things which are behind, and reach forward to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3: 14). Let God be your hope, Let Him lead you until the end. Let Him be your hope, For He who created everything is better than all things; … He who created every beautiful things, is more beautiful than all beauties; … He who created every strong thing, is stronger than all; … He who brought into existence everything great, is Himself the Greatest of all. For you, He will be everything you love. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Learn how to love the Creator through His creation, through His work! Do not allow creatures to take hold of your feelings; and make you lose the Creator, Himself! “Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust; does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies”. (St. Augustine) + Having experienced the shining glimpses, serious to man, David said: “blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust”; for such a man does not care for the vain and foolish things, as long as he perpetually strive for the sake of Christ, continuously look forward toward Christ by his inner eyes; Hence David returned to God, saying: “I do not turn aside to lies”. The Cirque is “lies”, for it is useless!; Horse racing is “lies”, for it is contrary to care for salvation; Theater is “lies”! And according to Solomon the Sage: “All is vanity”,(Ecclesiastes 1: 2); everything in the world. It is thus befitting of him who desires salvation, to lift himself above the world, to seek the world which is with God; to flee from this world, and depart from earth. Hence, wishing to approach the Father, the Lord Christ said to His disciples: “Arise; let us go from here” (John 14: 31). (St. Ambrose) The psalmist made the Lord his trust! … Notice that the Holy Book does not separate between the Lord and His name. When Manoah’ (father of Samson) asked the Lord, “What is Your name?”, the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask My name, it is too https://coptic-treasures.com/ wonderful” (Judges 13: 18); And in Isaiah it is said: “His name will be called wonderful, … Mighty God” (Isaiah 9: 6). “God is wonderful, and does wonderful things” (Psalm 72: 18; 77: 11); and so is His name. The Holy Book talks to us about the following activities of God’s name: 1- “Where two or three are gathered together in God’s name, He will be there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18: 20). 2- We are baptized in His name for the remission of sins (Acts 2: 38); to enjoy sonship to God. 3- “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18: 10). David perceived the power of that name when he confronted the mighty Goliath, and 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” (1 Samuel 17: 45); And he also says: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124: 8) 4- By the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we do wonders and miracles (Acts 4: 29, 30; Acts 3: 12-16; 3: 6). 5- “In the name of the Lord, we cast out demons” (Mark 16: 17). Finally, the name of the Lord, being “the Truth”, He who makes the Lord his trust, does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (4); Namely, he will not put his hope in the rich, the great, or those of authority in this world. Putting his hope in the name of the Lord, and not in the names of men, man will enjoy the amazing work of God in his life, to say: “You are multiplied, O Lord my God, Your wondrous deeds and Your thoughts toward us, none can compare with You Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted” (5) https://coptic-treasures.com/ Even if men, truthfully and faithfully, give us help, they present what they have got of vain temporal things; Whereas the Lord presents many amazing things through His exalted wisdom proclaimed in the cross; He presents salvation from sin, liberation from the devil, justification, sanctification, and son-ship to God, and an eternal glory. … He presents a long list of the wonders of His exalted love, that reveals to us His divine thoughts toward us. He says: “Your thoughts toward us, none can compare with You” (5); for the Lord presented the amazing thoughts of the cross; which is “to the Jews, a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1: 23).. + These are the incomparable wondrous deeds and thoughts of God;…. Let the busybody forsake their busyness, and join us in searching for what could be more exalted and higher; or of more benefit; which, if perceived, they would be exultant for joy. (St. Augustine) Talking of God’s wondrous deeds in the life of men, the psalmist says: “Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they could be more than can be counted” (5). The secrets of God’s wondrous deeds are greater than to be perceived by our brain, uttered by our tongue, nor counted in practical actuality. Commenting on the expression: “more than can be counted” (5), St. Augustine says that the amazing work of the cross caused many to join the Higher Jerusalem to enjoy the divine glories … who are known to God and counted by Him. Yet, the church in the world embraces together with them a multitude of those who have the appearance of faith, namely, the nonpractical faith; “who are more than could be counted”. https://coptic-treasures.com/ + Notice the wondrous deeds of God: There are those who could be counted, and those who are more than could be counted. There is a definite count of those who belong to the Higher Jerusalem; for “the Lord knows those who are His” (2 Timothy 2: 19); He knows the Christians who fear Him, who have faith in Him, who keep His commandments, who walk along His ways, who keep themselves from iniquities, and who, if they fall, would confess their sins; those “could be counted”. (St. Augustine) + “Those who could be counted” are those designated to reign together with Christ…. Many “more than could be counted” can enter the church; but cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. + Do not marvel at the great number of (bad) Christians who fill the church, who have communion of the altar; who would loudly commend the bishop or the priest, when they give a sermon concerning good behavior; those who are previously prophesied by the psalm, saying: “Were I to proclaim or tell of them, they could be more than can be counted” (5). They can attend with us in the present church; but they will not be able to stay with us in the congregation of the saints after the resurrection. (St. Augustine) 2- THE OBEDIENT SERVANT AND HIS SACRIFICE: (6 – 13) Having talked about the multitude of wondrous deeds of God, distinct in the work of redemption, the psalmist set forth to the cross to search for its secrets, to see the unique sacrifice that surpassed all the sacrifices of the old covenant. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; but my ears You have opened (You have given me a body); Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, ‘Here I am; In the scroll of the Book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; and Your law is within my heart’” (6 – 8) What did the psalmist see in the sacrifice of the crucified Christ? 1- God does not desire sacrifices, offerings or burnt offerings; whose only value is set in one thing, namely, to be a preparation for the cross, being a symbol of it; Beyond this symbol, God dies not desire them; Hence he says: “You have given me a body”; For by the incarnation, He entered the way of the cross. + The true sacrifice was recognized by the believers of the old covenant; revealed to them through symbols. Those have practiced rites that bore a symbol of the truth to come. … Many of them understood its meaning; but more did not. They used to slay the lamb, and eat the unleavened bread. … “Indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5: 7). In the sacrifice of Christ, I recognize the slain lamb. (St. Augustine) + Knowing that, by disregarding the righteousness, they refrain from loving God, God declared that “He has no delight in all sacrifices and burnt offerings, as in obeying the voice of the Lord; Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15: 22). And David also says: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; (You have given me a body); Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require” (6). Teaching them that God desires obedience, that brings them more https://coptic-treasures.com/ security than the sacrifices and burnt offerings, which benefit them nothing concerning the righteousness; -- he utters a prophecy about the new covenant at the same time. Talking more clearly about these issues, psalm 50 (51) says: “You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart – these O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51: 17). Requiring nothing of the sort, God says: “I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds; for every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?” (Psalm 50: 9), etc. … And to give comfort to man, who may probably think that God rejects all these things in anger, God adds: “Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50: 14, 15). + The ministry of shadows and symbols were no more accepted, on account of that they were offered without fruit, if compared to the sweet fragrance of the spirituals. (St. Erinaos) + While the blood offerings were no more well received, the sweet fragrance of the spiritual worship was well received by God. Those that man would not be able to offer, unless he first has faith in Christ, as is testified by the blessed Paul who says: “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrew 11: 6). https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Cyril the Great) + He delivered Himself to death -- death of the curse -- to wipe out the curse of the law. He chose to deliver Himself to God the Father, so that – by the sacrifice of Himself, delivered by His own will – the curse would be taken away, that which was caused by the inability of the animal sacrifice to continue its job, being consumed by their death. It was referred to those sacrifices in psalm 6 …, namely, offering them to God the Father, who rejected the sacrifices of the law, accepting instead the sacrifice of the body of His own Son; referred to by the blessed Paul, saying: “For this He did once for all when He offered up Himself” (Hebrew 7: 27); redeeming the entire mankind by His salvation, by the sacrifice of that holy and perfect delivered body. (St. Hilary, bishop of Poitier) 2- According to the Hebrew text it came as: “My ears You have opened” (6). In the Book of Exodus 21: 1 – 6, concerning the Hebrew servant who, by his own free will, desires to serve his master and his family all the years of his life; that his master would pierce his ear with an awl, as a sign of his acceptance of complete obedience to them with a spirit of love, and not of servitude, and to his longing to serve them forever. … That was a symbol of the Lord Christ who came to serve, and not to be served, who becoame a Servant, rendered the Father complete obedience, and delivered Himself for the sake of the church He loves… We, as well, who unite in Him as members of His body, carrying the spirit of deliverance and of obedience, will have the pierced (circumcised) ears instead of the disobedience (See Jeremiah 6: 10). https://coptic-treasures.com/ Showing His perfect obedience, the Lord Christ says: “Here I am” (7), proclaiming His optional submission, as He has come to the world to realize what the animal sacrifices have symbolized. He has come to realize the salvation of man, By saying: “In the scroll of a book it is written of Me; I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart” (7, 8), He proclaims that what He did is a realization of the eternal divine plan, that was written in the book of the Old Testament; He came in obedience of God the Father, with gladness and delight. + Notice how, by Himself, He does the will of God the Father …. It is written at the beginning of the book of Psalms: “His delight is in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1: 2). (St. Augustine) 3- He did it with delight; saying: “I delight to do Your will, O My God” (8); as He said to His disciples: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me” (John 4: 34). as He proclaimed in the garden of Gethsemane: “Not as I will but as You will” (John 26: 39); And as St. Paul the apostle said: “For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrew 12: 2). The secret of His delight is that He is the Word of God who proclaims the will of God; for His will and that of the Father are one. Saying: Your law is within My heart” means that He is the incarnate Word of God; and the Word would never separate from the Manhood.. We, as well, receiving the incarnate Word of God in our life, the commandment (the law of God) would come to be in us, to live it, and to do the will of God by our own free will, with true delight. 4- The good news proclaimed by the slain crucified: https://coptic-treasures.com/ “I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness” (9) By the cross, the Lord Christ preached the exalted love of God to all mankind, not by mere human words, but by His shed blood. The prophets have previously preached the coming of the Savior Messiah; Now He came, by Himself, to speak the word of preaching ; according to the apostle: “God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrew 1: 1). He preached us by His cross, proclaiming the realization of the divine justice; or the fulfillment of the divine justice to our account, and to present His righteousness, as righteousness to us. By the cross, the slain Lord Christ became the only Preacher who speaks through His church and ministers, to draw by His Holy Spirit every soul to the joyful good news of the gospel. The Hebrew word (basar) came to mean (joyful news), carrying the same foundation of the word “gospel;”. 5- By His practical preaching, He drew members of His church from the Gentiles, as a great congregation to enjoy the words of His love which He keeps from none; saying: “In the great congregation, indeed, I do not restrain my lips” (9) What are the lips of the Lord Christ which He does not restrain, but His justice and mercy. As by the word of the cross, which He has practically uttered, the divine justice encountered mercy in an amazing harmony. https://coptic-treasures.com/ He did not restrain His lips, having spoken publicly through being publicly crucified outside the camp, as testified by the multitude who came to Jerusalem from all over the world to celebrate the feast of Passover; as well as by the Roman soldiers … No one can give an excuse of his ignorance of the cross. + “He has proclaimed the good news of righteousness to the great congregation” (10). Now, He addresses His members, exhorting them to do what He Himself has already done: As He preached, we have to preach; … As He suffered, Let us also suffer together with Him; … And as He was glorified, We shall be likewise glorified with Him (Romans 7: 18). He preached among all nations; Why?, … For He is the seed of Abraham “in whom all nations are blessed” (Genesis 22: 8). And why among all nations?;… “Their line has gone out through all the earth” (Psalm 19: 4) “In the great congregation, indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know (my righteousness)” (9) I do not restrain my lips to utter; Yes indeed, my words are heard by the ears of all men; but It is You who teach my heart; … For preaching are not confined to lips alone; lest it would be said about us: “Whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works” (Matthew 23: 3); and: “Inasmuch as these people draw near to Me with their mouths, and honor Me with their lips , but have removed their hearts far from Me” (Isaiah 29: 13).. Do you present a heard confession by your lips; Approach Him likewise by your hearts. “I have not hidden Your righteousness (truth) within my heart” (10) https://coptic-treasures.com/ By “righteousness” he means (faith), for “The just shall live by faith” (Romans1: 17). (During persecution), the Christian would never say in his heart: [Indeed I believe in Christ; yet I do not declare what I believe to my persecutors who are stirred up against me; … God knows how I believe in the Truth within the depths of my heart; and He knows that I do not deny Him] “I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation” (10) I declared Your Christ before all. How could Christ be your “Truth”?.... He says: ‘I am the Truth” (John 14: 9). How could Christ be your “salvation”?. … When Simon the elder recognized the infant Jesus on His mother’s arms in the temple, he said: “My eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2: 30). “I have not concealed Your loving kindness (mercy) and Your truth from the great congregation” (10) I wish we do not conceal God’s loving kindness and truth. Do you wish to hear what is God’s mercy? Forsake your sins, so God would forgive them. Do you wish to hear what is God’s truth? Hold fast to righteousness; then your righteousness would be crowned. Now, “mercy” will be declared to you; but “truth” will be declared later; For God would not be merciful without being just; Nor He would be just without being merciful. “Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord” (11) https://coptic-treasures.com/ Look on Your wounded members! … Through the unity of the catholic church, look on Your suffering members; Look on those burdened with the sins of negligence; Do not withhold Your tender mercies from them. Speaking of the incarnate Word of God who came declaring salvation by His cross, drawing the nations to enjoy the blessings of the amazing redemption, He intended to make the believers bear His features, in particular His practical love. It is befitting of us, as members of His body, to preach by, and with Him, by the lips, as well as by the heart; to testify to Him by our tongue, as well as by our behavior and inner intentions. … It is befitting of us not to fear testifying to the Lord Christ, the Savior, publicly proclaimed by our lips; and seen in our life. Our Christ came to declare the divine mercy and truth. By the cross we enjoyed the perfection of God’s love and mercy; and His justice as realized in His perfection; Here, by repentance, we enjoy His tender mercies in the worthiness of the blood that fulfilled the truth or justice; And on the day of His ultimate coming the divine justice will be realized , when everyone will be rewarded according to his works; to enjoy the fellowship of His glories, hiding in Him, and in His cross, the grantor of life. I wish His mercy and truth would never separate from our inner eyes, to ignite the fire of His love in us, and to nail His fear in us; to love Him like children with full daring, yet without disregarding His fatherhood; and to fear Him as a Judge, who search the heart and mind, without disregarding the work of His grace in us. The way our Christ testified to the mercy and truth of God the Father; let us partake of His same two features, by bearing, the spirit of the true https://coptic-treasures.com/ love, with no slothfulness, and the spirit of truth with no violence; I wish our love bears seriousness. and our seriousness bears compassion. If our Christ delivered Himself a sacrifice of obedience to God the Father, and of love to mankind, bearing our evils and iniquities in His body, to realize the mercy and the justice; On our side, we should confess our innumerable sins, surrounding us on all sides, which deprived us of our insight, and caused our heart to fail us; and we became like dead. In other words, the more we perceive the ugliness and bitterness of our sins, the more we would experience by faith, the sweetness and possibilities of the cross. “For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me; so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs on my head; therefore my heart fails me” (12) Perceiving that evils surrounded his life, and caused his heart, namely, his insight to fail him, the psalmist could no more enjoy beholding God, the fellowship of the heavenly creatures, and the experience of the heavenly life. + “For innumerable evils have surrounded me”. Who can count his own sins, and those of the others? They are a heavy burden on him who says: “Cleanse me from secret faults; keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins” (psalm 19: 12) “My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up”. Because of his innumerable sins, his eyes are denied beholding the light; and he is not able to lift his wounded heart up to God; his heart has to heal first, for the eyes to be able to see.. 3- HIS ENEMIES AND HIS SAINTS: (14 – 17) https://coptic-treasures.com/ This division includes an analogy between the oppressors of the children of God, and those longing for salvation; namely, between the enemies of God and His saints. Seeing that his sins and those of the others have surrounded him, and made him lose his insight, and caused his heart to fail him, the psalmist cries out to God his Savior, saying: “Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me” (13) Commenting on this cry-out, St. Augustine says: [It is as though the psalmist says, together with the leper: “If You are willing, You can make me clean” (Matthew 8: 2); Be pleased, O Lord, to look at the repentant suffering members of Your body, that still anticipate with hope the work of the scalpel of the divine Surgeon]. Asking God for the sake of those who intend to destroy his salvation, to scatter their evil counsel, and wicked intentions. He says: “ “Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who seek to destroy my life” (14) He moans, not because of those who intend to confiscate his possessions, or even his throne, nor those who distort his reputation, or seek to have him killed; but he moans for the sake of those who intend to destroy his soul, namely, his salvation. We can also say that these are the words uttered by the suffering Lord Christ, when, in the garden of Gethsemane, He sought from God the Father, if possible, not to be relieved of the passion, but to let it pass from Him. … As to His crucifiers, used by the devil as his tools, https://coptic-treasures.com/ “Who seek to destroy my life, let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor” (14) This is actually what happened, when they came to arrest the Lord Christ in the garden; and He said: “I am He”, “they drew back and fell to the ground” (John 18: 8). His crucifiers who ridiculed and scoffed Him, did not perceive that by His cross, “He has disarmed principalities and powers, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2: 15); by which the prophecy was realized, saying: “Let them be appalled because of their shame, who say to me, ‘Aha, aha’” (15) The wicked who ridicule the salvation of the Lord, will be appalled; Whereas those who seek the Lord and His salvation, will rejoice and be glad, and will glorify the Lord who cares for the poor and the needy.. “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, ‘The Lord be magnified’”. But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God” (16, 17) Seeing how he reached a pitiful condition; and how he came to be poor and needy, the psalmist found in God a Helper of the poor and the needy, And in his tribulation, he experienced the following blessings: 1- The inner exultation, and the true joy; which he enjoyed together with all those who seek the Lord, namely, those who joined him in praying to God to save him. If the wicked ridiculed him, saying: ‘Aha, aha’, namely, with a spirit of gloating, they said: [Well, he deserves what came upon him], the godly, on the other hand, https://coptic-treasures.com/ pray with, and for his sake; and rejoice when they see God glorified in him; The former seek to destroy his life (14), while the later seek the salvation of his soul (16). 2- The tribulation presented a golden chance for the psalmist and his godly friends, to learn how to resort to God alone, and how to seek Him with the spirit of contrition. 3- The ignition of the heart with the love of salvation. 4- The opening of his and their tongues with unceasing praise, magnifying the Lord. + “Let such as love Your salvation say continually, ‘the Lord be magnified’” (16). Seeing how I am glorified in You, “He who glorifies, let him glorify in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1: 31). + Even though the sinner becomes righteous, “Give glory to Him who justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4: 5). Let the sinner give glory to Him who calls to forgiveness; And let him who walks in the way of righteousness, praise and glorify Him who called him to get the crown. “Let the Lord be continually glorified by those who love His salvation”. 5- Feeling poverty and need for the Savior; the psalmist says: “I am poor and needy, and yet the Lord thinks upon me” (17) + All what you have, and what you will have in the future are the possession of Christ; … So what are you, but poor and needy? + What poverty greater and more sanctified than for man to know that he is helpless to fend for himself, that every moment of his life, is set upon the divine care; to continually confess his need for the Lord; and to cry out to https://coptic-treasures.com/ him on a daily basis, saying: ”I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinks upon me”. There is thus a great difference between the wicked who seek the destruction of souls, and be ashamed; and the godly men who give support to every soul to be saved, and be filled with the divine blessings; And, seeking from God to transfigured among His people, they cry out, saying: “Do not delay, O my God” (17). --------------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 40 “NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE” + How sweet are You, O Savior; and how sweet are Your works in me; You have lifted me up from the pit of sin; And carried me in You, O the Rock of ages; You have turned my sorrow into joy; and my lamentations into new praise. + You, the eternal, came to me in the fullness of days; You granted me the new man, according to Your image; You gave me the new life in You; You opened up my mouth to sing the new praise; Your mercies will endure every morning, until I pass over to You. + How amazing are Your innumerable works; By the cross You gave me every satisfaction, riches, and spiritual beauty; You brought my heart forth to Your heavens; And You used me to testify to the works of Your love. https://coptic-treasures.com/ + How amazing are Your works, O divine Word; In obedience You delivered Your own will in the hands of the Father; Carry me in You, to be counted obedient, as well; You delivered Your body a sacrifice of obedience and love; Receive my body a living sacrifice. + Your cross drew many by the language of love and obedience; Teach me to partake of Your cross to make me enjoy the power of Your resurrection.
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