For the End; a psalm by David

I waited patiently for the Lord, and He heeded me; And He heard my supplication, And brought me up out of a miserable pit and from miry clay; And he established my feet on a rock and kept straight my steps.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God; Many will see and be afraid, and shall hope in the Lord.

Blessed is the man whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and who did not look into vanities and false frenzies. Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You performed, and in Your thoughts there is no one who shall be likened to You. I declared and said, “They are multiplied beyond number. Sacrifice and offering You did not will; But a body You prepared for me; a whole burnt offering and a sin offering You did not require.”

Then I said, “Behold, I come (it is written of me in the volume of the book);

I willed to do Your will, O my God, and Your law in the midst of my heart.” I proclaimed righteousness in the great church; Behold, I shall not restrain my lips,

Oh Lord, You know.

I did not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I declared Your truth and Your salvation; I did not hide Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.
O Lord, do not remove Your compassion from me;
May Your mercy and Your truth take hold of me continually.

For evils without number surround me; my transgressions overpowered me, and I could not see; they multiplied more than the hairs of my head, and my heart failed me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, give heed to help me.

May those who seek my soul to make away with it be disgraced and confounded together; May those who wish evil for me be turned back and disgraced; May those who say to me, “Well done! Well done!” Receive their shame immediately.
May all who seek You, O Lord, rejoice exceedingly, and be glad in You; and May those who love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified.” But I am poor and needy; the Lord will take care of me. You are my helper and my protector; O my God, do not delay.

Commentary from Orthodox Study Bible

“Ps 39 is a prophecy of the Incarnation. In His Incarnation, the Lord assumed a mortal body and a rational soul. But here the body is emphasized, because man’s body is mortal and subject to death and decay in the grave. So by His death in the body, Christ destroyed death, and by His Resurrection, He overcame the decay that held man’s body in the grave. He was able to do all this because of the two wills in His one Person. For He willed by human will and energy. And the phrase Your will shows that He possessed within himself the same will and energy as God the Father, because He is “one in essence” with him (Creed). Therefore, by means of His two wills and energies, He destroyed death and decay, and put a new song in the mouth of the Church.”

Comments

This psalm felt so comforting given everything going on now.

I am going to put it all out there—last week was the toughest week so far. I mean, I really battled sadness And anxiety.

Last week, I hosted my ex-husband, and actually During the time he was here to see his children, the whole gang actually had a pretty good time. It was more when he left and I was faced with being a single mom again being with three kids all the time for the foreseeable future that I felt a low like I haven’t in a really, really long time.

Here is how God showed up:

My parents dropped off pastries on my doorstep.

By the grace of God, my friend Kristi called and our kids were able to bike ride in the same general vicinity without actually being super close.

Then, my friend Cherry AND her daughter stopped by with pineapple cake. They dropped it off for us and we just waved with gratitude. They just happened to do this on the day my ex left.

We were able to play soccer with my understanding and kind boyfriend. We watched Horton Hears a Hoo, which talked about how every person matters. ❤️

The next day, my parents dropped off food on my doorstep (I had gotten groceries for them while my ex was here).

I saw coworkers and several students during a Zoom meeting.

My friend reached out and within two days, we were Zoom-ing about which verses we are going to study in the book of Ruth. I mean, if she was like, girl, let’s study Leviticus, I would be like yes, can we start tomorrow? That’s how much I needed to study the Word with other people.

I have been on my knees praying for God to help us with motivation. Today, God gave us two goals: one for Mitya (learn to read by September) and one for Andy (master the multiplication chart). These are goals the two boys are actually EXCITED about.

My friend Emily called and we talked through many things. What a blessing to have a wise, comforting friend! A person who understands me when I say please pray for me.

I pray that God gives my family the wisdom and determination to learn together. I pray we make more history videos. I started a YouTube channel. American Revolution is next. Please pray for us that we may finish the video and that the kids would enjoy the process.

And I pray for you. I pray for health for you. I pray that you come up with goals for yourself and your family that each person is EXCITED about. I pray that God comforts us and helps us not to worry. I pray that He overwhelms us with His love in this time of slowing down. I pray that God moves in miraculous ways. I pray for protection and blessing on you and your family. And I pray for peace for all of us.

Thank you, God, for myriad blessings!

Amen.