Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, the day of the memory of Saint Anthony the Roman, as well as with the first Sunday of the Dormition Fast!

Throughout the last several weeks we discussed the psalms that make up the ‘Six Psalms’ and noted that they should lead the listener to deep sorrow for his sins. Despite this, it is wrong to constantly be in a state of spiritual sorrow; one must also be joyful, for we have a firm hope that the Lord will forgive us and settle His faithful servants in the Heavenly Kingdom. This joyful state of being is wonderfully expressed in the 117th (118) psalm, ‘O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever,’ which is the basis for the liturgical hymn that follows after the ‘Six Psalms.’ Today let us focus our attention on this psalm.

According to some exegetes, the very festive general character of the psalm, along with individual verses, point to this psalm being composed by an unnamed author sometime after the Jews’ return from the Babylonian Captivity and the reestablishment of the Temple in Jerusalem. In this psalm the author admonishes all to glorify God, “for He is good: because His mercy endureth for ever.” He also emphasizes that there is nothing to fear, for God protects so much better than any people. The verses of this psalm are found not only in the Old but also in the New Testament, where it is quoted thirteen times. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, during the last days of His earthly life when engaging in discussions with the Jews in the Temple, cited the words of this psalm when He said: “Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” (Matthew 21: 42). Our Saviour applied these words to Himself, as if saying: I, although you Jews do not accept Me and make ready to kill Me on the cross, am the cornerstone of the New Testament, of the Holy Church, and of your salvation.

At matins after the ‘Six Psalms’, as well as at the moleben, we sing a special great prokimenon, ‘God is the Lord and has appeared unto us, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.’ (Remember that the Greek word prokimenon means ‘that which precedes’ and refers to the method used to sing the psalm, that is, before the beginning and then before each consecutive verse the refrain is sung). The refrain (God is the Lord…) of this prokimenon is composed of the 27th and 26th verses of the psalm we are discussing today. The verses are taken from other parts of the psalm. “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever” is from the first verse; “They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them” is from the 11th verse; “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” is from the 17th verse, and “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” is from the 22nd and 23rd verses. This wonderful, joyful hymn is like a counterweight to the sorrowful psalms of the ‘Six Psalms.’

All of the verses mentioned above, as is the case with practically all the other verses of this psalm, can be explained as applying to Jesus Christ. The verses of this prokimenon, if we read them as a prophecy about Christ can be understood thus:

The refrain and the first verse: Our God appeared to us not in an abstract way, but literally, for He became a real person and lived amongst us; therefore truly we should glorify Him.

The second verse: Although our enemy the devil surrounds us and leads us to sin, if we simply call on the name of our incarnate God in prayer, our enemy and our sin will be overthrown.

Third verse: I am a member of the body of our Christ, for I commune of His precious Body and precious Blood, and am joined to Him; therefore, since the Lord has resurrected from the dead, I have a firm hope that I will not die, but will continue to live even after my physical death and will eternally glorify my Creator.

Fourth verse: Although I continually sin and, in such a manner, turn away from my Lord, through repentance He becomes the cornerstone in my personal spiritual life and there is nothing more wonderful than this.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, in these first days of the Dormition Fast, let us make an effort to attend the evening church services. At these divine services let us endeavour to delve into the meaning of the words of the ‘Six Psalms’ so as to arouse within ourselves a deep feeling of repentance. Afterwards, let us sing the verses of the 117th psalm “God is the Lord…” and rejoice that our Creator became a man so as to destroy the sins of those who repent.

Priest Alexis