Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Christ is Risen!

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, as well as with the continuing feast of Mid-Pentecost!

Last week we briefly discussed the 140th (141) psalm, ‘Lord I have cried,’ which is always sung at Vespers. Today, let’s consider the 141 (142) psalm, ‘I cried unto the Lord with my voice’, which, according to the liturgical rubrics, is sung at Vespers immediately after psalm 140. Usually in parish churches only the last verse, ‘Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me’ is sung, whilst the first part is omitted. (The translation we use in our parish renders this verse thus: ‘Bring my soul out of prison that I may confess Thy name. The righteous shall wait patiently for me until Thou shalt reward me.)

When we talked about the 103rd psalm, we noted that it, like many others, is sung with special refrains which are inserted between the verses. Psalm 141 is performed in a similar manner, but instead of a short refrain or troparion, a stikhira (a some what longer liturgical hymn dedicated to the Resurrection, a feast or one of the saints) is inserted between the verses.

The psalm ‘I cried unto the Lord with my voice’ is sufficiently simple and understandable. In it the Holy Prophet David, finding himself in the most severe danger, being persecuted by Saul, hiding in a cave, and having no one to support him, turns to the Lord in heartfelt prayer. You can read about how Saul’s persecution of David and the latter’s hiding in a cave in the 22nd chapter of 1 Samuel.

The Holy Prophet David found himself in especially difficult straits when he composed this very poignant prayer, but he was not the only one who experienced such troubles. Many have and continue to experience similar tragedies. Who out of us has not felt, at least at one time or another, that they have been totally abandoned and that they have absolutely no one to turn to for help? At such moments, we can join our voice to the voice of the psalmist and say: ‘Thou (o Lord) art my refuge … Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.’ May God hear our cry and deliver us from all that hampers us in our lives.

In conclusion let’s pay close attention to the final verse of psalm 141: ‘Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name.’ Are not these meek words of David wonderful? He is seeking a peaceful existence, freedom from enemies and dangers not so as to take pleasure in life, but so as to glorify the all-holy name of God. Let each of us act in like manner and pray that we are freed from dangers, so as to peacefully praise our Creator.

priest Alexis