Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord!

Today let us continue our discussion of the Psalter and focus our attention on the 37th (38) psalm, ‘O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath.’ This deeply penitential psalm is the second in the series of the ‘Six Psalms.’ One can assume that this prayer was composed by the Holy Prophet King David at about the same time as he wrote the 3rd psalm, that is, when his son Absalom raised up in revolt against him. From the psalm itself we see that apart from his political and family problems, David was also suffering from some kind of ailment. The whole world was falling apart around him, he had no one to support him, and his health was failing. It is no wonder that this psalm has such a sorrowful character. Probably each of us has experienced moments when it seems that nothing is going as it should and there is little hope for a bright future, and therefore the words of the 37th psalm are especially powerful.

In this psalm Saint David amazes us with his meekness. He sees that his sins are the reason for all his problems and ailments. He writes: “There (is no rest) in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.” In another place, David says: “I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs” despite the fact that his enemies wished evil for him and spoke against him. For David it was better to hope on God’s help instead of defending himself with vain words. Is there not a lesson for us here?

The Holy Blessed Augustine in his explanation of this psalm understands the first lines “O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure” as referring not to the physical suffering of David, but to those tortures that David, as a murderer and fornicator, expected in the future life. In the 37th psalm he is as if saying: Lord, I have sinned to such an extent in my life that I am drowning in my sins. I know perfectly well that my worldly troubles are a consequence of my sinful life and therefore I accept them with meekness as a just punishment. Remember my earthly suffering, forgive me, and save me from eternal fire.

Dear brothers and Sisters, let us not forget this psalm, imbued with a sense of meekness and repentance, in difficult times. When everything goes wrong, it is natural for people to look for reasons for their misfortunes. Let us remember that the first and main cause of all that is bad in the world is sin and that none of us are sinless. Therefore, when life becomes difficult, the first thing that we should do is diligently look not at our neighbours, but at ourselves, repent from the depth of our heart, forgive those who sin against us, and act in all aspects with meekness. God willing, if we act in such a way, the Lord will forgive us, prepare for us a place in heaven, as well as lighten our earthly sorrows and grant us rest as was the case long ago with the Holy Prophet David.

priest Alexis