Perhaps one of the most beautiful symbolic ancient Christian drawings is the image of a deer rushing to a spring of water. The deer is a beautiful and fast animal that survives by killing and eating snakes. The snake's meat is heavy and tough, and this is what makes the deer quench with thirst in a "wild and waterless land." He goes looking for water in the desert. His soul and body long for water. The Christian's soul longs for the water of life in the world, just as the soul of a deer longs for water in the desert(26). This drawing is an ancient Christian metaphor for the soul's thirst for God.
The famous phrase, “O Lord, You created us to turn to You, and we will not find comfort except in You,” is a phrase around which many prayers revolve. It is a brief expression of human cries in innumerable terms. This is the joy that God brought to earth: He quenched man's thirst for Him. Humanity, like the prodigal son, has found its compassionate father, on whose chest it can lean, throw itself into its embrace, and place its hope in Him.
What distinguishes the Old Testament from the New Testament is that the first was a legal treaty, as there were duties between God and man. Perhaps in the minds of many, the prevailing idea was that the sacrifice and the living souls offered would buy divine approval, erase personal sins, and ultimately settle the legal relationship between man and God, thereby relieving the conscience. “Duty” and “its completion” became the nature of the relationship. While in the New Testament, the gift, that is, the unique gift, is that we have received the “gift of adoption” and are no longer slaves. This adoption does not only mean that God adopted us, that is, our pledge, but more deeply, that we have come to feel God the Father - “the Father” through his Son, “the Son.” In this way, the thirst of humanity searching for its compassionate, caring and shepherd heavenly Father was quenched.
But among the men of the Old Testament, some of them were unique in having the advantage of “jumping in time” from the relationship of the Old Testament to that in the New Testament. A leap from sacrifices and the law to buy consent to a relationship of filial love and plunging into the arms of the Heavenly Father like a child in his father’s arms. More than everyone else, David the Prophet distinguished himself among them, because he lived in the time of the Old Testament the life of relationship that is typical of the New Testament.
The phrases of the Prophet David, which come from a heart that cares about God and relies on Him, are considered the most beautiful Christian prayers ever. This is why we understand why his psalms are used extensively in our prayers, whether in collective prayers in the church or individually in the inner chamber.
Reading the Psalms is a spiritual exercise that helps a person wherever he is. It is a fervent prayer. Monks read the entire Book of Psalms once a week during dawn and sunset prayers. In addition, the basic structure of all daily prayers is largely composed of these psalms. Psalms are prayers that move the hardest heart and bring life to any soul dead by the cares and desires of the world.
This psalm is the third of the six wonderful magic psalms. We will stop at it for a moment and try to delve into its meanings. Perhaps this will help us repeat it not verbally, but also heartily and mentally. The Apostolic Orders, Chrysostom, and Athanasius the Great command that no morning should pass without us praying this psalm. This psalm was included in the morning prayer from an early age in the Church.
The title of the psalm is: “For David in the Judean Desert.” We know that the Book of Psalms (150 Psalms) is called the Book of David the Prophet, but the author of all the Psalms is not only David. It is called this metaphorically because David is the writer of most of his psalms. The reference to the place, and therefore the circumstance in which David was when he chanted these heartfelt cries, is an observation worth making.
David was found in the wilderness on the run and was being pursued. We know from his life that he fled twice under threat of death, once from King Saul before he became king.(27)Once again, after his kingship, he was forced to leave the throne to his son Absalom and flee to the wilderness(28). In one of these two circumstances, this psalm came out of David’s heart, full of suffering, but at the same time hope in God.
The strange and wonderful thing about this psalm is that, while David was persecuted and in great danger, he did not feel sorry for God, and even at the beginning he did not pay attention to his danger, but he longed for the temple from the wilderness far away from him. The groans of his heart came out as a sacrifice of praise and not earthly requests. His sighs from the depths were burning with love and asking to meet God. His exhalations were expressions of confidence and reliance on God. Therefore, he is full of trust in God, full of hope, and has no fear for his fate or from his enemies, “for God is his God”!
Saint Athanasius the Great says that this prayer is not only for a circumstance like David’s and not for a situation like his when he was persecuted, but rather the prayer of every heart thirsty for God and for His grace in all life’s circumstances. Whenever circumstances force us to be far from collective prayer and worship, we can raise this prayer. Whenever we find ourselves in distress and persecution, we can pray these living exhalations to lift us from fear and despair to the sweetness of hope and give us his “peace” that he left and is leaving for us.
(1) O God, my God, I seek you
Who among us, when faced with distress, illness, or distress, cries out: “Oh God”? We - the believers of this age - are people afflicted with “excessive rationalism,” which in other words means a lack of faith. When one of us is exposed to a situation, immediately before he thinks of God, he thinks of his “wisdom” or ways to get out of his distress, or he thinks and shouts: “Oh so-and-so!” But God is absent and far from our lives. Do we feel that God is our refuge, especially when there are no solutions and all means fail? Do we shout, “Oh God,” or do we use reason and mediate? Relying on God does not mean abolishing reason, but rather the wisdom of recognizing God’s superior ability over reason. We have reason, and this is good, but we little believe that everything is from and for God, and this is bad. I control my mind not to dispense with God, but because He commanded me to extend my hand first so that He can lift me out of my distress, to prove through serious effort that I am willing to get out of my distress, whatever it may be, and that my trust is in Him and not in my wisdom!
Here David adds his word “divine” as if he were reminding God of his own; With his son and his servant. As the hymns say, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have put our trust in you. We are your people, and we are all the work of your hands, and in your name we call.” Will you leave your own and your people who trust in you?
Here, the “Ya” that speaks in “my God” is not only a reminder of God’s servant, but the servant’s dedication of himself and himself to his God. “You are our God and we do not know anyone else.” You are mine in the sense that you are “my portion,” “my portion,” and my goal, and no one but you interests me. Oh God, “My God” is a phrase that specializes and unites with God like a child with its father. Every human being has a father and every human being has a God. Lust, empty glory, or anything else can become gods, but as for me, “God” is my God. My specialty is the sheep of his pasture, which I acquired from my appropriate life and conduct. Because, as that terrible declaration says in the service of the Divine Mass: “Make us worthy, O Lord, to call upon You, Father, without being condemned.” Devoting myself to God and feeling Him as my God is judgment when the desired life does not accompany it. Specialization means abandoning many relationships and choosing those relationships that make me a property of God and thus make God my property, my share, my purpose, and my goal. Thus, everyone who prays with David shouts, O God, my God, that is, O my desire and my goal. Your satisfaction is sufficient for me even if I lose the whole world. It is enough for me to “stand before you and see me” even if everyone forgets me.
“Here I create…”; God's love and passion did not let David sleep. “He slept, but his heart was awake.” Whoever loves something deeply, this love prompts him early in the morning to leave the bed and go to what he wants. We often get up early and stay up late, but for whom? To God, David the Prophet became the first to rise up. His love and desire filled him, and satiety from sleep was no longer acceptable... This is also the case with every lover of God. Isaiah himself used to go early in the night to God to meditate on His decrees, because His commands are a light on earth.(29).
§ My soul thirsts for you, just as my body longs for you
“My soul thirsts for you” like a deer for water. They are profound expressions of love. Thirst expresses an inner flame. The tampon is the deep center of man, upon which he bends and suffers. The mother feels her son have a lump from her stomach or a piece of her liver. Thirst is the most powerful feeling. Not only did David's soul yearn, but it also thirsted and wanted to extinguish that flame. Thus, the true praying person thirsts for prayer. Prayer is not an obligation. In order to know whether we are praying or not, we have to ask ourselves whether prayer is a “duty” or a “need” for us. Do we pray because we are “thirsty” and need prayer as well as water?
When we feel intense psychological feelings, they often reflect on the body. A happy or frightening sight, some surprise...all of them are reflected in the body itself. That is why David cries out, not only has my soul thirsted for you, but also, “my body longs for you.” Your love is hidden in my bones and flesh. My body longed for you, and it also began to seek you. There are no harsher expressions. The whole entity seeks you, O God, my God. These are the words of David the Prophet(30)“My soul longs for your salvation, and I wait for your words,” and “how I love your law, all day long it is my meditation.”
This is what our saints and fathers teach us, that God should be our focus throughout the day and the beginning of our day, that is, that He should be the center of our attention and our first concern. In fact, it is a sacrifice acceptable to God for a person to offer the first fruits of his day to Him, but at the same time it is a guarantee, strength, and a conscious departure for the person himself. Thus, we offer prayer the best moments of the day, not the time wasted. This is confirmed by great hermits such as Mark the Hermit and Nilus the Recluse. Saint Basil the Great says that we must devote the time of dawn to prayer “so that the first movements of the soul may be toward God.” Here David expresses the intensity of his longing for God by saying, “How much he yearned…” He melted with a longing for God and did not know how to describe or define it. This persecuted, fleeing, tired, thirsty, hiding and hungry person... is strange! Because his soul thirsts not for water, and his body does not ask for anything else, but rather asks for God and God alone.
But the deepest expression of David’s thirst, and the thirst of every believer, is made clear by the following verse: “In a land that was wild and untraveled and depleted of water.” This is how David was, and we also live in a world in which God is a stranger. That is why this world has become a barren, barren “wilderness.” The world is full of people, and people crowd each other, but they are like shadows. They do not pay attention to each other, and none of us feels that another person is near us. The most crowded communities are actually “lonely.” Uniqueness - unfortunately - is the character of life in the most civilized societies. As companies increase, selfishness increases and friendships disintegrate. There is still no water of life in these societies... Our world offers seas of pleasures, but man is never satisfied with such salty water.
(2) Thus I appeared to you in the sanctuary, so that I might behold your power and glory
"thus"! Yes, here David jumps and skips centuries; He immediately jumps to the New Testament while he is far away. He is estranged from Jerusalem and the temple of worship, yet he is brought before God by faith and desire. The Jews saw God only in the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle inside the Temple. If time and space separated David from the tabernacle, it will not separate him from God. He is present intellectually and mentally before God. It is “speaking and rational worship.” If he is unable to come physically to the temple and the holy temple, then his spirit flies from his place of exile and exile and comes with faith and longing to the interior of the tabernacle and truly beholds the glory of God. It is said that when King David fled, his followers, the Levites and priests, carried the tent with the Ark of the Covenant (the glory of God) inside it and followed him, but he ordered them to return with the ark to the temple, so that they would not risk the tent with him during his exile and exile.(31)To this tent, David’s spirit flies on the wings of powerful prayer, living faith, and fervent longing.
In the face of the world's weakness, humiliation, and emptiness, God's power emerges and His glory rises. The barren, wild land is barren, with no joy, no water, and no praise. But the sanctuary to which our souls fly is full of power and glory. “The Lord is my strength, my steadfastness, my refuge, and my strength.”
Divine glory and power give the sad, exiled and persecuted David joy and hope. The power of God expels all fear from the heart.
(3) Because your mercy is more precious than animals, my lips praise you
Whenever a Jew entered the temple, he had to enter with something, an animal, to offer it and buy with its blood forgiveness or God’s approval... But David discovered what Paul had forcefully declared after him: that God’s mercy cannot be bought with the blood of calves or bulls. God's mercy is much more precious. Those offerings are symbols. If a person offered everything he possessed, all his days and all his life, the price of that would not be equivalent to anything of the value of God’s mercy. God's mercy is always free. Our offerings are not a price equivalent to salvation, but rather “what we are able to do” and what God requires of us. Because God does not ask for a price, but He asks for the “heart”: “My son, give me your heart,” and the sacrifice, with its materials, is proof of the movement of the heart. But when the heart is offered without a sacrifice, the offering is complete because “a sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit, but a humble and humble heart will not be rejected by God.” Therefore: “My lips praise you,” and the mercy of peace is the sacrifice of praise.
(4) Thus I bless you in my life, and in your name I lift up my hands
Thus I bless you.. How? Without sacrifices with praising lips, on the one hand, and that is why he continues: In your name I raise my hands in fervent prayer. This is how I bless you: “In my life,” that is, throughout my life: “I will praise the Lord in my life and sing praises to my God as long as I exist.” This is also repeated by the Prophet David in the Vespers Psalm. My whole life will be a praise and the time of my life is for prayer and praise. However, Saint Cyril points out that the word “in my life” does not refer only to the period, but rather to the method. A pure and appropriate life is the true praise. We will not praise sacrifices and we will not slaughter sheep, but we will die every day for righteousness and “this is how” we praise Him.
“And in your name I lift up my hands”: These customs and external movements in prayer were from ancient times. External movements help a lot in prayer. That is why the Prophet says in another place, “I have stretched out my hands to you.”
Most of us think that the participation of the body in worship, such as prostrations, raising hands, standing, and kneeling, are movements for the advanced. But the truth is the opposite. The saints and advanced people do not need these aids and means. A saint can pray in nature, but I really need the temple, the iconostasis, candles and incense. Despite all this, I remain distracted, reading and not praying. The saint, while conversing with you, prays, works and prays. As for me, the beginner, I must be alone and resort to helpful circumstances. A saint and a spiritually advanced person does not need prostration as much as I do. The same applies to all matters of external worship, including the temple, incense, and raising of hands. These external movements are reflected in the inner heart. All of these are done in the name of the Lord. That is, to the Lord, for His sake, and in seeking Him. The name of God in the book means His person and presence.
(5) Then my soul will be filled with fat and fat, and with joyful lips my mouth will praise you.
“The words of the Lord are sweet and pure.” Whoever raises his hands and calls on the name of the Lord will surely have the Lord pour out his condolences on him. That is why the words of the Lord are sweeter than honey to the throat of the Prophet David. Just as the body is satisfied when it enjoys fat and fat, so the soul is filled with comfort and comfort from grace in prayer. The mouth begins to praise, not as a duty or as a result of fatigue, but as a result of joy. That is why the prophet says: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” Praising God has become the sweetest work and most delicious occupation for the soul. We often stand to pray with negligent hands and a hesitant stance, so we do not taste the taste of prayer, and this becomes heavy on us, and duty pushes us to it. The pause remains like a barren desert. But when we raise our hands as a “sacrifice of praise” and fervently, the repetition of prayer becomes sweet. That is why many of those who repeat the “Jesus Prayer” we see many times repeating this prayer with the phrase: “O sweet name…”. The name of Jesus becomes sweet in their hearts. Like honey in the throat. Prayer passes the stage of duty and reaches the heart that enjoys it and seeks it, so it flows through it and lives by it. From what is in the heart, the tongue overflows and the mouth speaks.
(6) If I mention you on my bed, I will rave about you during dawn
In the minor sleep prayer, we ask in the last verse: “Grant us, O God, a watchful mind, a pure thought, an awake heart, and a light sleep... and wake us up at the time of prayer, steadfast in your commandments. Grant us words of your glorification throughout the night...” In fact, if one of us sleeps over the memory of something that he loves or that bothers him...it affects him, so he wakes up prematurely while remembering this same thing, sleeps on it, and this thing wakes him up in the morning, and perhaps prematurely.
The words of the Lord were very sweet to the Prophet’s heart, which is why he mentioned them on his bed before going to sleep, and he meditated on them throughout the night. That's why he says I'm asleep but my heart is awake. We know that advanced hermits also repeated the Jesus Prayer during their sleep. The name of the Lord and His remembrance are so delicious that it awakens the Prophet. He falls asleep remembering Him and wakes up with magic in his memory.
Indeed, it is a wonderful thing to sleep with prayer with its peace and for it to awaken us with its joy. Instead of sleeping hard with our anxiety and waking up worrying about our difficulties and fears. I will remember you, O Lord, on my bed, and come to me so that I may rejoice in you first at dawn.
(7) Because you have become my help, and I will be covered by the shadow of your wings
Every human being depends on something, or on another human being. As for David, he knows well that God is his help. The wings are a symbol of God's care and compassion. This image was used by Christ himself when he wept over Jerusalem: “How many times have I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” The Psalms repeat this image many times, as the wing is a loving covering. God is caring and managing, meaning that He is very loving and compassionate. That is why two Cherubim angels were placed on the Ark of the Covenant, and with their wings they covered the Ark, symbolizing God’s care and protection. Faith in God and His providence immediately gives us warmth, peace, and reassurance, even if we are in the midst of the harshest adversities.
(8) My soul has clung to you, and your right hand has supported me
Just as a child, feeling his weakness, grabs his mother’s eyelashes, follows behind her and clings to them, and then feels reassured, happy, and confident. This is how our soul clings to God in prayer. God extends His right hand and truly supports us in every hardship. The Prophet’s soul was attached to God, and God did not disappoint him and extended his right hand, his high forearm, and his strength, and supported his weak son in distress. Beautiful are the Prophet’s expressions. He presents images that contain experience and hope. He placed his trust in God, and God was not stingy with him.
(9) But those who seek My life in vain will enter into the depths of the earth
Now, after conversing with God, raising prayers to Him, and casting hope upon Him, the Prophet David turns, and his soul is filled with fat, confidence, and hope, and fear no longer has a place in him. He turns to his problems, to his enemies, who are much stronger than him. He is fleeing without weapons, and they are following him with soldiers and weapons. But the Lord has covered him, and therefore he is confident, not according to reason, but with the eye of faith, that his enemies will enter the depths of the earth. how? Logic does not know this and cannot explain it, but faith in God confirms it.
Thus the Prophet, because he was righteous in regard to his life and there was nothing to torment his conscience, had faith that they would seek his soul in vain, they would not find anything and would not achieve their evil goals, because the Lord preserves his righteous man. A righteous life gives evidence of God and trust in Him.
(10) And they will be delivered into the hands of swords, and will be food for foxes
Even if David was not armed and there was no soldier beside him, God will arrange things in such a way that his enemies will die a most horrific death and be defeated most severely. They will be pushed. He does not know how, but he is sure. They will be forced to be killed by the sword, and their end will be the most horrific. After they are killed, no one will collect their bodies. Foxes will come and eat their meat. This picture is a picture of the most horrific defeat, as the corpses remain in the arena after the battle and none of the defeated returns to collect the bodies of his companions. Their end will be a fate for the foxes.
(11) But the king delights in God and praises everyone who swears in his name, because the mouths of those who speak unrighteous have been stopped.
This is how David concludes his song and prayer during this tribulation, with feelings of victory and confidence in the Lord’s help. This is the lot of sinners who seek Him in vain. For he (the king) will be pleased with God, and God will relieve him of his distress and save him from his dangers. Of course, God will not abandon the true king, His servant David who fled, and He will raise the status of those who call upon His name and honor Him. Things will be fixed and their order will return to its true state. Darkness will be defeated, the banner of truth will be erected high, and peace will prevail in the hearts of the righteous and the followers of the true king. God does not leave us in distress unless He has provided a way out for us, says Saint Isaac the Syrian. In every hardship, we must believe that God will provide the appropriate solution for ourselves after this test.
Yes, the king, his followers, and everyone who swears by his name will rejoice, not because his enemies have been defeated or defeated. It is clear here who David’s enemies are and why he will rejoice over the defeat of his enemies! His enemies are the enemies of God and the blasphemers of His holy name. This is what is explained by the phrase: “For the mouths of those who speak unjustly have been stopped.” David's joy is the establishment of truth, the elevation of the name of the Lord high, and the restoration of the dignity of his true king. The matter here is more about championing the truth than personal interest or destiny.
Yes, fervent prayer filled with hope and reliance on God alone gives us confidence that in every hardship the mouths of the believers will praise and be filled with fat and fat, while the mouths of the oppressors and the spiritual and physical enemies will be silent, Amen.
(25) Footnote related to the title: This psalm is recited in the evening prayer.
(26) See: Psalm 142, 6.
(27) 1 Kings 23, 26.
(28) 2 Kings 15, 17.
(29) Isaiah 26, 9.
(30) Psalm 118, 81.
(31) 2 Kings 15, 25.