Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feasts of the Resurrection of the Lord, the Ascension, the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, as well as that of the enlighteners of the Slavs, the Holy Equals-of-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius!

For many weeks we have been discussing the psalms that are sung at Vespers and have noticed that there is a whole series of them sung one after the other. The authors of these spiritual hymns beseech the Lord God to hear their prayers. The compilers of the liturgical rubrics wonderfully selected these psalms for evening worship. Remember that our liturgical day begins not in the morning, but in the evening. Is it not fitting that the first church service of a new day should begin with fervent prayer that the Lord hear our prayerful cry? This series of supplicatory evening psalms concludes with the 116th (117) psalm, ‘O praise the Lord, all ye nations.’ Today let’s briefly discuss this shortest of all the psalms.

Although psalm 116 is composed of only two verses, it is special and distinct for several reasons. First, we can take note that this hymn is not a prayer; its words are addressed not to God, but to people. It is also worth noting that these words are addressed not to the Jews, but to all the nations of the world, that is, to the pagans. The unnamed psalmist asks nothing and brings no complaints to God, but instead admonishes the gentiles to glorify God, “for His merciful kindness is great toward us.” The Holy Apostle Paul in the 15th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans uses a quote from this psalm as confirmation that our Lord and God Jesus came not only to save the Jews, but also to call all people into the saving fold of the Church.

Today, when we celebrate the memory of the Equals-of-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, it is very fitting that we remember the words of the 116th psalm, for these saints continued the missionary work of the Apostle Paul and with their translations facilitated the conversion of many Slavic peoples to Christ. Today we hear this psalm’s exhortation to lift up words of praise to God thanks to Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The psalms are close to our hearts because very many of them give voice to our most personal trials, but our human existence cannot be one unending cry to God for help. Sometimes we need to put aside our personal desires, remember what God has already granted us, and to glorify Him. The 116 psalm is a wonderful reminder of this.

priest Alexis