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HG Bishop Youssef

Introduction

00:00

  • Title: "To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
    • The author is King David
    • It's directed to the Chief Musician
      • Some suppose this to be the Lord Jesus Christ
      • Other suppose it to be one of the leaders of the musicians in the time of David like Asaph or Heman
    • Song is the older term of a "hymn" which was intended to be sung in public worship
      • Isaiah 30:29
      • Amos 8:3
  • Structure:
    • Prayer
    • Description of God
    • Praise to God
  • Time:
    • We don't know when, but because of its thankfulness and praise connected to flocks and grain, many think it was composed for a harvest festival (e.g. Feast of Tabernacles)
    • Some think it's composed at the time of bringing the Ark of God back to Zion
  • Themes:
    • Importance of giving thanks and being grateful to God all the time
    • God is our Redeemer, Creator, Provider
  • Liturgical Use:
    • First two verses are used on the Feasts of the Cross and Hosanna Sunday
    • "Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed"
    • Because through the Cross, the Lord opened the door to all who believe in Him to praise Him because they are saved
  • Outline:
    • v1-4: Praise be to the Redeemer
    • v5-8: Praise be to the Creator
    • v9-14: Praise be to God for Prosperity (i.e. the Provider)
The Redeemer

03:50

1 Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the vow shall be performed.

  • Praise rightfully belongs to God in Zion
  • Zion represents the Church: We come to the Church to praise the Lord
  • Zion is the Mountain on which Jerusalem was built. Sometimes it can refer to the city itself. Zion is also the location of the Temple. So the people thought that Zion is the place where God dwells (because the Temple where they worship God, is in Zion)
  • The Church is waiting for the believers to come, to praise the Lord
  • When God comes to His dwelling place, He would be received with praise
    • Like how we receive our father the Bishop with praises Ⲕⲥⲙⲁⲣⲱⲟⲩⲧ
    • The Bishop is the icon of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we receive him with the praise to God Ⲕⲥⲙⲁⲣⲱⲟⲩⲧ
  • St Augustine
    • He considers the Psalm as referring to the captives of Babylon
    • Either to dwell in Jerusalem ("peace") or Babylon ("confusion")

2 O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.

4 Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.

The Creator

5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.

The Provider

35:00

9 You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

  • King David praises God for His bountiful providence with respect to the harvest
    • God's providence in providing for the billions of people in the world with sustenance
    • God punished Adam by cursing the ground, but God in His great mercy, though He cursed the grown, has consistently brought forth rain to water the ridges, settle, the furrows and make it soft with showers and bless its growth
  • The "earth" means ALL the nations, not just Israel
    • The psalmist presents a portrayal of how God, in His care for all humanity, visits the earth from one end to the other end. God seems to come down that He may attend to the needs of the earth, survey the condition of all things, arrange for the welfare of the world which He has made, and supply the needs of those whom He has created, who dwell upon the earth
    • This may apply to the Church in Gospel times (remember the good ground of the parable of the Sower)
  • The river of God
    • The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament
  • Water its ridges and settle its furrows
    • When rain comes down on the ridges, it levels the land. Humility.
    • The furrows are raised to match the land - the humble are raised.

11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.

  • You crown the year with Your goodness
    • God, with His goodness, enriches and adorns all the seasons of the year with their proper fruits and blessings
    • The Church sings this verse in the liturgy of the Coptic New Year, declaring God's favor and goodness - He who fills the Church with His goodness.
    • According to Origen, the year crowned with God's goodness is the year of the Incarnation as in Luke 4 and Isaiah 61 - "the acceptable year of the Lord"
  • Your paths drip with abundance
    • Wherever God goes or works, everything goes well and is healthy
    • He bestows significant blessing 
    • His paths shine after Him

12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.


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