“For mercy comes from the Lord, and He will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.”

Do our offenses against God hurt us? Yes, to the extent of our love for Him! This is a natural law even in public relations. But when we feel this, “How can we look up to the heavens because of the multitude of our injustices? This is what King Manasseh confesses in his famous prayer: “For I have sinned more than the sand of the sea; my iniquities are multiplied, and I am not worthy to gaze and look up to the heavens because of the multitude of my iniquities. I am bent down with the multitude of chains that I may not lift up my head; and I have no rest, because I have provoked Your wrath, and have done evil in Your sight…” However, God in the Bible is the God of justice and the “God of forgiveness.” Therefore, commentators differ in naming the parable of the return of the prodigal son, as some prefer to call it the parable of the “compassionate” and forgiving father.

 (1) From the depths I cry out to you, O Lord.

What depths does the psalmist mean here? It could be the depths of the words themselves. This indicates the need for the mind to fully participate in prayer and to try to control it in the meanings of the words, so that our prayer is not merely from the lips without awareness or understanding. “He who does not meditate on the words of prayer will not obtain what he asks for, but the wrath of God will come upon him. Control your thoughts with the words with all your might, and strive lest your prayer become sin” (Basil the Great). This is what the Prophet David explained: “I see the Lord always before me; for he is at my right hand, and I shall not be moved.”(81)The attention of the heart and its ability to understand the meanings of the words of prayer and to meditate on them gradually fades in those who are accustomed to fast and thoughtless prayer without fervor. So that the saying of the Savior applies to them: “Seeing, they do not see; hearing, they do not understand.”(82)Every word in prayer is effective to the extent that we understand it. In this attempt, Paul’s words and Jesus’ words are interpreted together: “Pray without ceasing” and “Do not repeat your prayers in vain.”

The depths here, also after the depth of words, are the depths of the human heart. All our powers participate in prayer: “Love the Lord your God with all your mind, with all your understanding, with all your strength…”, that is, with all your being. When the depth of the heart (the whole heart) participates, then prayer becomes strong and fervent: “It is hard to take water from the mouth of one dying of thirst, and harder still to take prayer from the mouth of one filled with reverence, because prayer is beloved to him and is preferred to everything else” (John Climacus). “Do not be lukewarm, either cold or hot, lest I vomit you out of my mouth”(83).

Man dives into the depths of his heart, especially in moments of hardship, pain and trials that touch his entire being. But the heart that loves God has always been crucified with Christ and within it is always the struggle of suffering; the suffering of responsibility, the suffering of liberation from sin and weaknesses. Without suffering and heartache, the words of prayer are born from the mouth like a stillborn child!

Just as some people suffer from the hardships of life, so in the heart of the believer comes from the restless love and longing for the divine. “My soul thirsts for the living God,” “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God,” “With your longing wound our souls.” The wound generates fervent prayer from the depths. Contemplating God’s love versus contemplating our weakness and sins wounds our souls. This is what made the psalmist raise his voice to God asking for forgiveness, but with a “cry: ‘Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord.’”(84)“Just as a tree with deep roots in the ground is not affected by the changes of the winds, so the prayer of the believer from the depths is not cut off by worldly matters” (Chrysostom). The psalmist was pained by his sin, so he sighed from the depths in a cry to the living God.

Knowing sin as a deep inner pain does not mean simply acknowledging a general state of affairs in which we are: saying that we are selfish or arrogant or… Rather, it is a more precise knowledge of a specific state and fact that is an offense to our neighbor or to ourselves, and thus to God. It is “putting one’s hand on the wound,” and the beginning of a pledge to hate its causes and to abandon them. Without such knowledge, our confession does not come out as a cry from the heart.

(2) O Lord, hear my voice; let your ears be attentive to my voice.(85) Listening to my voice of supplication

Hope, God’s love for mankind and his forgiveness lead the psalmist to cry out with confidence: “Hear, O Lord” and give your ear to my supplication. “We learn two things from these words,” says Chrysostom: “Forgiveness does not come from God alone, unless we do what makes it possible. That is why the psalm first says: Out of the depths I cry to you, and then it says: Hear. Yes, it is the prayer with abundant tears that inclines God’s ear to our words.”

It is a cry of supplication that begs for God’s mercy. Here the psalmist, in his suffering from his sin, turns to God, and he has a feeling of unworthiness, so he knocks on the door of mercy. He is far in his life from God’s sight and hearing, so he calls out to Him: “Hear my supplication.”

(3) If you, O Lord, O Lord, were to mark sins, who would stand?

“For no one living is justified in your sight,” because there is no human being who lives and does not sin except you alone who are free from sin. And the Book of Proverbs says: “Who can boast of a pure heart, and who claims to be innocent of sins?”(86)Yes, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(87)It is a common condition of human beings that in their growth to the fullness of the stature of Christ they stop on the way to enjoy the desires of this world or they surrender in laziness to their weaknesses. And this Paul, who was not lazy for a moment, cries out: “For I feel nothing in myself (of shortcomings). Yet I am not justified in this.”(88)If God were to discipline us with his anger, no human being would have stood firm.(89).

The repetition of the word “Lord” is intended as a call on the one hand, but also as a comparison on the other hand, that we are human beings and He is the Lord! He alone is without sin and He alone is our refuge, because without Him we do not stand.

(4) Because forgiveness comes from you.(90)

Here the purpose of the psalmist’s cry becomes clear: it is a request for forgiveness. He was not asking for anything else because he was suffering first and foremost from his sin. Sin is the state in which we should not be, or feel it but do nothing. The psalmist awaits forgiveness because he has confessed his sin. He did not pay the price for it, but it is enough to confess it because forgiveness is from mercy and not from merit. The scholar Origen says, “The mercy, forgiveness, and pardon of God were revealed in his Son Jesus Christ.”(91)He is the one who reconciled us with the Father, bore our pains, and died for our transgressions. As the Apostle Paul says: “When we were still sinners and deserved condemnation, he redeemed us by his only Son. And there is no greater forgiveness than this!” God’s justice is his mercy, and his judgment is his forgiveness, but only for those who repent and are humble.

(5) For your name’s sake I waited patiently for you, O Lord.

Here the psalmist beseeches God by the glory and majesty of His name. The name of the Lord is very exalted and deserves all honor from all people. The name in the Bible does not mean a mere distinction or definition of a thing, but rather it means His very presence and summarizes His character. Therefore the designation was according to the essence or service of the thing named. The fame and glory of a man and the opposite of all that is attached to his name.(92)Mentioning God’s name is equivalent to mentioning His deeds. God’s great forgiveness and the return of the lost to the arms of his heavenly Father will make God’s name glorified. We have sinned, O Lord, out of weakness and we do sin, but we love Your name and do not want to offend it. Save me, O Lord, and forgive me so that Your name may be glorified in me. The majesty of Your name makes me await Your mercy. I have sinned, You glorify Your name in me by forgiving.

My soul was patient with your words

I meditate on your words, your covenants, and your providence, and my soul endures every hardship. “Your words stand firm forever”: you save the pious, the righteous, and the repentant.(93)“Heaven and earth will pass away, but not a single word of your word will pass away.” Your promises encourage me to be patient and draw me to repentance, because you do not want the sinner to die, but to return and live. “Your word is true; teach me, and I will understand your commandments” (Ps 118). On what words does the psalmist rely and trust, asks John Chrysostom? On the word of divine love for mankind and the providence that surpasses reason.

(6) My soul trusts in the Lord.

The believer trusts in the Lord, even if he trusts in others, in vehicles, money, and power… The word “hope” in the Old Testament does not mean mere dreams of the future, but is directly linked to the people’s faith that God is present in history and is active, saving and disciplining… He is a loving God who moves toward his beloved. That is, God protects and cares, and in times of distress we can truly turn to him. My soul trusted in the Lord, because he proved to be a protecting and caring truth, more certain than idols, money, and power…!

§ From the morning guard until night, from the morning guard

(7) Let Israel trust in the Lord.

The dawn guard is the last watch of the night.(94), that is, at “the break of dawn.” The night was divided into four quarters, each quarter lasting three hours. On this basis, the soldiers were assigned and changed their guards. The morning watch is the fourth before dawn, corresponding to the beginning of work and occupation. It is the time when man works and toils, faces or fears or believes. From the dawn of morning until night – throughout the day and the hours of life and work – the psalmist advises: Let Israel trust in the Lord.

Trusting in God means walking under His protection: “I have set the Lord at my right hand; I shall not be moved.” This constant divine presence throughout the day is based primarily on a firm faith in God’s love and care. “If a mother forgets her nursing child, God will not forget his people.” Trusting in God does not mean that we throw our affairs on God and become lazy, God forbid. Rather, it means that we live in awe of His presence, and that His “fear” lives within us. This fear is not a negative relationship between God and man, but rather a positive movement that reflects our commitment to His friendship and loyalty to His gifts and care. It is the fear of being denied His favor, and the trembling before the outpouring of grace and love.

§ For from the Lord is mercy and from Him is abundant salvation.(95)

We can rely on the loving God, because He is more merciful than a just judge of us, but His mercy is abundant. This mercy encourages us to confess and repent. He is a friend who does not abandon us even when we abandon Him. He does not hold us accountable for sin but always awaits our return. He is the God of compassion, the Father of mercies, and the God of our salvation.(96).

(8) And he will deliver Israel from all his sins.(97)

“Because the greatness of your love for mankind exceeds the multitude of my sins,” we say in the Matalibisi Prayer. God’s goal is our salvation, not our condemnation, and we acknowledge this from His history with us, our fathers, and our saints. Here the formula “saves” appears, the close and absolute image of God the Savior and Redeemer through rich mercy, not through our merits.

(80) Footnote related to the title: This psalm is recited as a stych for the Vespers (of the Comforter or Menaon) daily.

(81) Psalm 16, 8.

(82) Luke 8, 10.

(83) Rev 3:14-16.

(84) “The cry here is not the loudness of the voice but the fervor of prayer”: Chrysostom, [PG 22, 374].

(85) Athanasius the Great here interprets “your ears” as the angelic hosts that carry our supplications to God: [PG 27, 520].

(86) 20, 9.

(87) Rom 3:23.

(88) 1 Cor 4, 4.

(89) See: Rev 6, 17.

(90) See: Romans 3:25 and 1 John 2:2.

(91) See also: 2 Cor 5:19.

(92) 1 Sam 18, 30; 2 Sam 18, 22; 1 Kings 4, 31; Ps 72, 17.

(93) “God’s word here is his promises and his good covenant”: Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, [PG 80, 1901].

(94) See: Matthew 14:25 and Mark 6:48.

(95) See: Mark 2, 7.

(96) 1 Cor 1:30.

(97) Matthew 1:21; Titus 2:14; Rev 1:5; 1 Tim 2:6; Gal 3:13.