Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord!

Last week we discussed the especially sorrowful 37th (38) psalm. Today let us focus our attention on the 62nd psalm, ‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee,’ which is read immediately after the 37th during the ‘Six Psalms’ at matins. As is the case with the 3rd and 37th psalms, we can assume that the holy psalmist David composed this hymn while his rebelling son Absalom was occupying Jerusalem, and the king and his very small group of followers were wandering in the desert. Naturally, in such conditions, far from the comforts of the city and of home, difficulties arose. The most pressing problem in the desert is, without a doubt, the lack of water, but David does not pray about this, nor about a return to the comforts of his palace. For him, the main issue is the separation from the Temple and the divine services; therefore in his prayer he says that his soul thirsteth “to see (God’s) power and… glory,… as (He had) seen (Him) in the sanctuary.” David notes that God’s lovingkindness is better than life, that is, better than earthly good things. Throughout the whole psalm, the Lord God is glorified, His protection of David, who is under “the shadow of (God’s) wings,” is highlighted, faith in the assurance that enemies will be defeated is also accented, and therefore the author insists that his “soul followeth hard after” God.

This psalm, which is full of hope for God’s help and which also so beautifully expresses the deep love and fidelity that the author has for God, is wonderfully suited for Matins. In it we read the words: “O God,… early will I seek thee” as well as “I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.” In another place it is written: “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.” If in this psalm David prays not for earthly, but for spiritual gladness, we must understand these words in a figurative sense. Marrow and fatness are not earthly, tasty, fatty foods, but rich spiritual nourishment which fills the human soul that thirsts for God. Of course, the most filling spiritual foods are the Mysteries of the Holy Church. Marrow we can understand as Communion of Christ’s Mysteries and fatness as the Mystery of Repentance.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, all week we spend engrossed in the cares of the world. We go to work, run errands to stores, prepare meals for ourselves and our families, drive children here and there, and perhaps have no time for that which is most important – a deep communion with God. Our thirsting souls are as if “in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” The Holy Prophet of God David’s most ardent desire was to commune with the Lord in the Temple, but he was unable to do so because his enemies had occupied Jerusalem. We do not have this problem. The church is accessible to each of us, not only on Sundays, but on other days as well. Therefore let us endeavour to come here more often so as to quench our spiritual thirst.

Priest Alexis