Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord and the fore-feast of the Nativity of the Most-Holy Mother of God, as well as with the Sunday before the Elevation of the Cross!

Today let us continue our discussion of the Laudate psalms and briefly discuss the 150th psalm ‘Praise God in his sanctuary.’ This psalm is always sung in its entirety at the end of matins. More often than not stikhira, that is, liturgical hymns dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ, to one of the other feastdays, or to one of the saints, are inserted between each verse.

The author of this hymn continues the theme of the two proceeding psalms and calls his listeners to glorify the Lord with various types of musical instruments. The psalm ends with a direct exhortation: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord!” This hymn can naturally be understood in a literal sense. The Jews in the Temple in Jerusalem really did accompany their singing of the psalms with musical instruments. You can read about this in the 15th chapter of the First Book of Chronicles. Of course, we can also understand these words figuratively. Blessed Augustine notes that timbrels (a type of drum) were made of skins which were stretched on a frame or resonator, while the strings of musical instruments are made of stretched-out sinew. Both of these images remind us of our Lord Jesus Christ, who stretched out His Most-Pure hands on the life-giving Cross. Through His deep meekness, which was manifested most brightly on the Cross, the Saviour freed mankind from sin and opened a path into the Kingdom of Heaven. Although a path to eternity is open to all people, not all will enter, for we are called to praise the Lord “with the timbrel and dance… with stringed instruments and organs,” that is, to reflect in our lives the meekness and humility of our crucified Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, we repeatedly noted, throughout the past months, that the psalms reflect all aspects of human existence; both our most sorrowful as well as most joyful feelings are expressed in them. Perhaps it is not by chance that the Psalter concludes with the words: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord,” for we are created for the glorification of God, regardless of whether we live out our earthly life in happiness or in sorrows. Unfortunately, human history shows that there has never been a time when humans have been completely happy. There have always been and always will be wars and illnesses, and only in Christ is there true happiness. For this reason, let us endeavour to emulate His meekness and humility so as to commune with Him and inherit a place in the heavenly choir, where His most-holy name is glorified without end.

Priest Alexis