VINDICATE ME, O MY LORD As we said, psalms 42 and 43 represent one cry-out by the prophet David, which he gave to the children of Korah to put in tunes. In psalm 42, he talks about the past and the presence; whereas in psalm 43, he talks about the future. It is a two-faced lamentation: a bitter face, and a joyful one. Seeing the sufferings waiting for him, yet not without glories, this psalm expresses the fellowship of passion together with the Lord Christ, and the experience of the glory and gladness of His resurrection. The fathers present to us three interpretations of this psalm: 1- This psalm represents a proclamation by those returning from the Babylonian captivity. peaking in the singular tense; either on account of that those returning represent one people; or that they were few in number … Either way, their souls exulted with God’s light and truth, once they joyfully set forth toward the mountain of God, longing to enjoy the holy altar, and singing with the harp of the Spirit. 2- According to the scholar Origen, and to St. Athanasius, it is a psalm of the Lord Christ, suffering from the oppression of the Jews, the non-righteous nation; and from the betrayal of Judas, the deceitful and unjust disciple… Having borne our sins, He came to be as though forsaken by God the Father; suffering in the garden from intense sorrow; having received our bitter cup! … By the cross, He brought us forth into the unique divine altar; and granted us the joy and praise instead of moaning and sorrow. 3- According to St. Augustine, this psalm is a talk coming out of the human soul, complaining of two things: the sin as an inner enemy, and the wicked as outer ones. Yet, having found God, her Savior, who lifts her up to His church, His holy mountain, and His house; to find in His atoning sacrifice, and in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, what would restore her youth, she rejoices and exults, to present by her whole being a symphony of love, instead of the intense sorrow and bitterness. https://coptic-treasures.com/ The title: In the Hebrew version, there is no title for this psalm, probably on account of that it is considered as a consummation of the last one. According to the Septuagint version its title came as “A psalm of David”; While in the Syrian version, it came as: “A palm of David when Jonathan told him that King Saul intends to have him killed”. The general frame: 1- Vindicate me, O my Lord 1 -- 2 2- The enjoyment of the house of salvation 3 -- 4 3- God, the Savior of my face 5 1- VINDICATE ME, O MY LORD: (1) “Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man” (1) It is an inexpressible exalted comfort, to be capable of asking God to vindicate us; for His judgment is true, impartial, not according to appearances, but to the heart. Whoever delivers his way to God with a good conscience, would have nothing to fear. For, as the righteous cannot use deceit and injustice, the weapons used by the wicked against them, their only resort is, therefore, God, who, if on their side, no real harm will dwell upon them. + I do not fear Your judgment; for I know Your mercy. He cries out: “Vindicate me, O God”. Now, being a sojourner, You do not separate my place from that of the wicked;… I have to live together with the “tares” until the time of the harvest; … You do not separate between the rain which come over me from that which come over them; But, in Your judgment, You discern between the believer and the non-believer…. We may be equally weak, but our consciences are not the same; We may equally suffer, but our longings are not similar. The longing of the wicked is perishable; but that of the righteous could be doubtful if it was not God, Himself who gives the promise. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Augustine) According to father Onesimus of Jerusalem, the talk here probably represents a cry-out by a righteous man like Daniel in the bitterness of captivity; when no one could save him or his people except God alone; when he found himself surrounded by the wicked, in a heathen nation that has no knowledge of the righteousness of God; where everyone is “deceitful and unjust”. According to the scholar Origen, on the other hand, this talk is by our Lord Jesus Christ, asking for judgment between Him and the Jews, whom He calls “an ungodly nation”, on the one hand, and a “deceitful and unjust man”, namely, Judas who delivered Him, on the other. Anyway, this talk also apply to the church, the body of the suffering Christ. For, the way He was attacked by His own, and betrayed by His disciple who ate , every member of His body is similarly treated; and in them the saying is realized: “Man’s foes will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10: 36) Let us, therefore cry-out to God, when our enemies are stirred up against us, being sure that we are His children for whom He cares; We are referred to Him, and He refers Himself to us, being our God. “For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because the oppression of the enemy?” (2) The psalmist cries out to the Lord, being his personal God and his strength. If all have forsaken him, or have become his oppressors, God alone remains attached to him; Hence, he dares to cries out: “Why have You cast me off? Why have You forsaken me?”; I have the right to resort to You, and to admonish You …. Do not leave me in my sorrow! + I go sorrowful; the enemy disturbs me by daily temptations; whether by an unclean love, or by unwarranted fear; hence my soul, in sorrow, asks God: “Why?”. + Why do you say: “Why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning?” … Knowing that iniquity is the cause of sorrow; let righteousness be the cause of your gladness. https://coptic-treasures.com/ + You complain that the enemy afflicts you; This may be true; But it is you who gave him the chance to do so! + Now, there is an open race before you; Choose the race of wisdom; Join your King; and close the door before the tyrant’s face. (St. Augustine) It is to be noticed that the psalmist, even in his complaint to God against the enemy, says: “Why do I go mourning?”, and not, [Why am I surrounded in sorrow?] For the children of God never stand still, even when surrounded by tribulations on all sides, but they “go” steadily along the royal path. Tribulation motivates the true believer to work diligently, and even to run, in order to reach the higher reward. When the whole world stood against St. Athanasius the apostolic, he did not slow down in his strife, but, trusting in God his Savior he said: [And I am against the whole world]. And St. Monica did not stop praying, in spite of the resistance of her husband, her mother-in-law, and her children, even her servants… and, by her persistent spiritual strife, she presented to us St. Augustine, the fruit of her tears. 2- THE ENJOYMENT OF THE HOUSE OF SALVATION: (3 – 4) Having cried out to the Lord, His God, Savior, and strength, proclaiming that he will keep walking along the royal path, in spite of the sorrows surrounding him, and the continuous troubles brought on him by his enemies, the psalmist, now, seeks from the Lord to send him His Light, to lead him to His church, being His holy house, the house of salvation. “Oh, send Your light and Your truth; Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill, and to Your tabernacle. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy” (3, 4) https://coptic-treasures.com/ a- Who is the Light and the Truth who lead me, and bring me up to reach the top of God’s holy hill, but the Lord Christ, who is “the Light of the World”, and “the Truth”.? … According to many fathers, the Light is love, and the darkness is hatred; The Lord Christ, the Light and the Truth, grants us the true spirit of love, to save us from the darkness of this world, and to carry us up to the light of His heavens. We cannot enter into the membership of the church, as members of the body of Christ, unless we accept the union with Christ, the Head; to have Him as the Light, the Truth, and the Love. + This Light and that Truth, are actually two faces of the same coin. For, what is the Light of God but His Truth? And what is the Truth of God but His Light?... The Person of the One Christ is both; For according to Him: “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (John 12: 46); and, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14: 6). He, Himself, is the “Light”, and “the Truth”. Let Him come, vindicate us against an ungodly nation; and save us from someone deceitful and unjust. Let Him come to separate the wheat from the tares; and at the time of the harvest, send His angels to gather from His kingdom every evildoer, and cast him in the fire of Hades; while gathering the wheat together in His storehouse. (St. Augustine) According to father Onesimus, bishop of Jerusalem: [By saying “The Light”, the prophet means (the Joy); For the tribulation and sorrow are darkness to the heart. He means to say to the Lord: ‘Send Your true joy, and Your help, to bring me up to Mount Zion and to Your house, namely to Your holy sanctuary. This is the supplication of the captives in Babylon, seeking freedom from captivity. Whereas St. Athanasius the apostolic, says that this is the supplication of the prophets to God the Father, to send His only begotten https://coptic-treasures.com/ Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who says: “I am the Light of the World”, He who leads us high to heaven, and up to the heavenly places. And according to the scholar Origen, The “holy hill of God” is His kingdom; whereas His “tabernacles” are the houses of the saints, as, according to our Lord, glory be to Him: “In My Father’s house are many mansions” )John 14: 2) b- If in his sorrow, the psalmist says: “Why do I go mourning?”; he does not only continue to walk along the royal path, but he seeks the divine help and intervention to “go up”… That is the work of the Lord Christ (the Instructor), who grants us His Holy Spirit, to bring us up to His holy hill, and to His tabernacle; Namely, to the divine presence (the holy hill), and into the fellowship of the saints, being the dwelling of God among His people. According to some, mentioning “God’s holy hill”, and, “His tabernacles”, indicate that the author could not be before David, or after Solomon. For before the prophet David, there was no knowledge of “God’s holy hill”; and after Solomon, there was no tabernacle, for the temple was already built… As to the “tabernacles” in pleural, in the time of the prophet David there were two tabernacles for the divine worship: one in Zion, as frequently mentioned in the Holy Book; and another at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16: 37 – 39). Anyway, the fathers did not separate our love for God from our appreciation of His house. Even in the West, some scholars warn against disregarding the bond with the house of the Lord… One of them says: [Whoever has no love for the house of God is ungodly], and another says: [Those led by the Lord, are led to His holy hill, and to His tabernacles; Whereas those who pretend to be led by the Holy Spirit, while disregarding the church, the house of God, will go backward, for they disobey the written commandments, deceiving themselves]. + His holy hill is His holy church, that mountain, according to the prophet Daniel, which was a very small rock that grew to cover the face of the earth, and destroyed all the kingdom of the earth. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Whoever is out of this mountain, would not hope for the eternal life; For many diligently strive in their prayers for diverse reasons, Yet they are committed not to rejoice in this endeavor, for even the demons were diligent, as well, in seeking to go and enter into the swines (Luke 8). Let us strive to reach the eternal life, and by such longing, we can say: “Send Your Light and Your Truth” (3). + The “tabernacle” is for the nomads, and for those in a situation of war; Hence, hearing of “a tabernacle”, we should perceive a situation of war, and be alert against the enemy. (St. Augustine) c- The house of God is called (the house of salvation), on account of that it is set upon the sacrifice of the cross, being the secret of the reconciliation with God, and the enjoyment of union with Him. Hence, the sight of the psalmist was directed toward the altar, when he says: “I will go to the altar of God; to God, my exceeding joy” (4). Talking about the altar that appears in the temple, we also refer to another altar set in our souls; yet (not another), for it is one with it. + The soul of every good man is nothing but an altar, up from which the sweet fragrance of incense ascends by Truth and spirit; namely, by prayers with a pure conscience. In short we may say that all Christians strive to set altars and statutes (like the Cherubim); which are not without life or feelings, but capable of receiving the Spirit of God. (The scholar Origen) https://coptic-treasures.com/ + Spiritually, we understand that “faith” is the inner altar of the temple of God; which the seen temple symbolizes. Every gift we present to God, whether prophecy, teaching, prayer, praise, songs of praise, or any other spiritual gift of the mind, will not be received by God, unless they are presented with true faith; to be securely bound to that altar; for then, our words would come out pure without blemish. (St. Augustine) + The heavenly altar, set among us here, is the gathering together of those who have dedicated their life to prayer; to have one voice and one mind. (St. Clement of Alexandria) According to St. Agnatius of Antioch, the church is the place of the sacrifice (Thysiasterion); as he wrote in his epistles, on his way to martyrdom. He identified the church as being life together with the slain Lord Christ, enjoying the “Eucharist” -- the body and blood of the Lord; the gift of the altar to the believers. And there, he is setting forth to deliver his life a sacrifice of love on the altar of God through martyrdom. The church is actually the “Golgotha”, proclaiming the mutual love between God and man; in which the unique atonement sacrifice of Christ is proclaimed on the holy altar; and in which the believer longs to die all day long for the sake of His slain beloved One. That is what St. Augustine expressed, saying: [It is the catholic sacrifice, offered by the Lord, the Higher Priest, He who delivered Himself with passion for our sake, to make out of us a body for such a great Head. That is the sacrifice of the Christians, by which all come to be one unique body in Christ Jesus. That is what the church sanctifies through the sacrament of the altar. For, while lifting the offerings up to God, she presents herself an offering to Him …] https://coptic-treasures.com/ He says as well: [In heaven there is a certain unseen altar, to which no wicked can approach … What kind of sacrifice is offered there? Whoever enters there, is himself, presented as a burnt offering] d- Entering into the house of salvation, the psalmist sings, saying: “… to God, an exceeding joy (to my youth) – (according to the Arabic version)” (4). He turned into a young man, exultant in spirit, whom time cannot bring forth to helpless old age; nor the bitter events can make him lose the joy of youth. According to St. Augustine, we, in this world, are as though in a sorrowful condition of old age; But God works in us to bring us forth into joyful everlasting renewal, where we hear the words of the Lord, saying: “Behold, I make everything new” (Revelation 21: 5). We experience the joy of youth through the renewal of nature which we gained in the water of baptism by the Holy Spirit who renews our youth like an eagle’s; and stays working in us, granting us a continuous renewal through the perpetual repentance, and the fellowship of life with God; where we take off the works of the old man, and put on the works of the new man, according to the words of the apostle, saying: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5: 17). 3- GOD, THE SAVIOR OF MY FACE: (5) Having enjoyed salvation through the church of Christ, the place of the sacrifice, and the house of salvation, the psalmist sings for joy, saying: “And on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God” (5, 6) https://coptic-treasures.com/ a- Entering into the church, the psalmist finds what is public, belongs personally to Him -- The Lord, God of the whole church, is His personal God … Hence he repeats the expression “God, my God”. And, according to St. John Chrysostom: [Out of his strong love, he considers what is public, as his own; the way the prophets used to do every now and then]. b- The captive Jews refused to play their praises to the Lord on musical instruments, as a sign of their sorrow, anticipating their return to Jerusalem, the joyful city of God; as according to the psalm: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there, those who carried us away captive required of us a song, and those who plundered us required of us mirth, saying: ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion’. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 136 (137): 1 – 4). Playing for the Lord on the harp, therefore means the return to Jerusalem, where the believers sing their praises with the joy of the heart. The harp, as we already said, refers to the body of the believer, when he delivers it into the hands of the Holy Spirit to play on its strings a praise of love and holiness, to have all his members, senses, feelings, and all his energies, testify to God’s work and righteousness. According to St. Augustine, it is befitting of us to play on the harp, by our obedience to the commandments, and our endurance of sufferings; …. For by that we praise God. Finally, enjoying the gifts of God, his Savior, the psalmist demands from his soul, not to stay cast down, nor mourning, but to lift her face up to behold the face of God; … to encounter her Savior Groom, to dwell together with Him in His heavens, as though in His everlasting sanctuary. ----------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM PSALM 43 https://coptic-treasures.com/ IN THE HOUSE OF SALVATION + When everyone stand against me; I see You, O my Savior, open Your stabbed side for me; And bring me forth into the secrets of Your love; And count me worthy of dwelling together with You in Your sanctuary; + Let the devil do whatever he can; For I, though filled with sorrow, Yet in You, I become exultant; When You lift me up to Your house; And bring me forth to Your altar; While I count myself unworthy to suffer for Your sake. + Having offered Yourself a sacrifice of love as an atonement for my sins; Receive my life a burnt offering for Your sake; + In Your house, I enjoy Your divine altar I have communion of Your body and blood shed for my sake; Set Your altar in my depths; And smell my worship a fragrant incense rising up to Your heavens; + Why would my soul moan within me; When You long to see me; And to carry me by Your Holy Spirit up to Your heavens? + Glory be to You, O my beloved; For I anticipate the day I encounter You; When I see You face to face; and enjoy the fellowship of Your glories.
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