The title of this psalm is concise in wording yet profound in its mysteries. It references David confronting Goliath, a significant event from our ancestors' history that you, dear ones, can recall from Scripture. David gathered five stones in his pouch but only needed to throw one. Five books were chosen, yet unity triumphed. Consequently, after being struck down, David used the enemy's sword to behead him. Thus, our David, too, struck the devil using the very weapon meant for harm. When his mighty men, empowered by him and moved to faith, turned their tongues against the adversary, they too severed Goliath's head with his own sword.
Blessed be the Lord my God, who trains my hands for warfare and my fingers for combat, as Psalm 143:1 declares. These words resonate with us as the body of Christ. There appears to be redundancy in saying our hands are for battle and our fingers for war, yet is there a distinction? Indeed, both hands and fingers engage in work. We often confuse fingers for hands, recognizing that fingers represent various actions within a unified purpose. This is the grace! As the apostle expresses, some are designated for certain tasks and others for different ones; there is a diversity of functions, yet all operate through the same Spirit, the essence of unity. With these fingers, therefore, the Body of Christ wages war, embarking on the battlefield. Through acts of mercy, we overcome our foes, which are possible only through the mercy we receive from the Holy Spirit. He teaches our hands for battle and our fingers for warfare. To Him we proclaim: My mercy, from whom we have also become merciful; for judgment without mercy shall be for those who have not shown mercy, as stated in James 2:13.
My mercy and my refuge, my Preserver and my Deliverer echo Psalm 142:2. This warrior exerts great effort, and his flesh resists his spirit. Hold firmly to what you possess, and then you will attain fully what you seek when death is vanquished in victory, as noted in 1 Corinthians 15:54. Your mortal body will be transformed into a glorified state, elevated to a heavenly existence. There exists life and good days when the spirit faces no opposition, where it is said, not 'Fight,' but 'Rejoice.' But who among us desires such days? Naturally, everyone responds affirmatively. Yet observe what follows. I see you laboring; I recognize your struggles and dangers: listen closely. Depart from evil and do good; do not let the poor weep beneath you so that the poor may rejoice through you. What reward awaits you now in battle? Seek peace and pursue it. Know and declare: My Grace, my Refuge, my Guardian, my Deliverer, my Defender – my Guardian to prevent my fall; my Deliverer to prevent my despair; my Defender to shield me from harm. In all these struggles and challenges, I place my trust in Him who brings my people under my charge. Behold, our Head speaks to us.
Lord, what is man that You have made Yourself known to him? Psalm 142:3 embodies an all-encompassing acknowledgment that You have revealed Yourself to him, as well as the son of man whom You cherish. You regard him with such significance, assigning him great worth. The measure of this value lies in the sacrifice of Your only Son. God values humanity in a way that surpasses any earthly valuation; unlike one who pays more for a horse than for a slave, God has demonstrated His high regard for you. Consider how precious you are: if God is for us, who can stand against us? And how great is His valuation reflected in the non-spared Son! How could He not graciously give us all things along with Him? Romans 8:31-32. Who sustains the warrior? What has He prepared for the overcomer?
Man is fleeting as vanity; his days vanish like a shadow, as Psalm 142:4 proclaims. What then is vanity? It is the passage of time. This is contrasted with Truth, which remains steadfast and eternal. For this Truth is also part of His creation. As it is written, God has filled the Earth with His goodness, according to Sirach 16:29. What significance do earthly matters hold in the light of this? All things here are temporal and fleeting, especially when evaluated against that Truth which declares, I am that I am, as stated in Exodus 3:14. All temporal matters fade as quickly as a breath upon the wind. Why elaborate beyond what the apostle James has said in a bid to humble the proud: "What is your life?" It is a vapor that appears for a moment and then vanishes, as noted in James 4:14. Therefore, let your work by night be one of good deeds, crying out to God before the day of joy arrives, lest the day of sorrow comes first. Observe how securely you labor, as you are not abandoned by Him whom you seek, so that your Father who sees in secret may reward you openly, as Matthew 6:4 affirms.
O Lord, bow down Your heavens and come down; touch the mountains so that they may smoke, as Psalm 143:5 says. Flash Your lightnings, and You will scatter them; release Your arrows, and You will bring them to disgrace. Extend Your hand from above and rescue me, draw me out of the depths of many waters, as stated in Psalm 143:7. The Body of Christ, humble David, graced by God, relying on Him, cries out for divine assistance. What does it mean for the heavens to bow down? The apostles exemplified humility. These heavens declare God's glory. Although it is stated that there is no speech or language, all hear their voices, etc. When these heavens proclaimed their message across the earth and performed wonders while the Lord moved among them with awe-inspiring commands, it was believed that gods descended from the heavens to men. Some Gentiles even desired to offer sacrifices, mistaking them for deities. Yet, they offered worship to the Lord Jesus Christ, humbling themselves to exalt God, as the heavens bowed so that God might descend.
Touch the mountains, and they shall rise in smoke. Until touched, the mountains are full of self-importance; they are about to proclaim, You are great, O Lord, and indeed, You are the Most High over all the earth.
However, there are conspirators gathering against the Lord and His Christ. They conspire and unite in their efforts. Lighten Your lightnings, and You will scatter them. Increase Your miracles, and their schemes will be thwarted. Release Your arrows, and You will strike them down. Let the ailing be afflicted so that, through their wounds, they might attain healing and declare, now in the Church, the Body of Christ, I am wounded by love. Extend Your Hand from on high. How does the Body of Christ achieve victory? Through heavenly assistance. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, as 1 Thessalonians 4:16 proclaims, being the Savior of the body, the Hand of God. What does it mean to come out of many waters? It refers to being drawn from various nations. What nations? Those unacquainted with the faith, attacking us from the outside or laying traps from within. Draw me out of the many waters in which You have chastened me, which have engulfed me, that I may be purified from my filth. These waters symbolize contradiction, as seen in Numbers 20:13.
Consider the hand of those strangers whose tongues have spoken vanity, as Psalm 142:8 indicates. If you, brethren, were not gathered here for this divine proclamation through the Word of God, would you not be inundated with vanity? Whose lips utter vanity: when will those who speak emptiness hear the truths you profess? Their right hands represent wrongdoing. Why engage with them, holding your shepherd’s pouch filled with five stones? Allow me to illustrate: the same law represented by the five stones also signifies something greater. I will sing a new song to You, O God, as Psalm 143:9 declares. This is a new song of grace, a new song reflecting a new creation, a new song arising from the New Testament. Yet do not think that grace negates the law; rather, on a ten-stringed instrument I will sing to You. Based on the law of the Ten Commandments, in this very principle I can rejoice in You, able to sing a new song, for love fulfills the law, as described in Romans 13:10. Yet those who lack love may possess a psalm, but they cannot sing. Contradiction cannot mute my psalmody.
He who grants salvation to kings, who rescues David His servant, as stated in Psalm 143:10. You know who David is; be as David yourself. From where does He redeem David His servant? Where is Christ redeemed from? Where does He redeem the Body of Christ? From the blade of malice; deliver me from its grasp. Merely saying ‘from the blade’ is insufficient; he adds ‘of malice.’ Truly, a sword may come with good intentions. What does it mean to wield a sword of good intentions? This is the sword of which the Lord says, I have not come to bring peace but a sword, as found in Matthew 10:34. For He intended to separate believers from non-believers, sons from fathers, and break other unholy ties. However, this sword serves to divide the sick from the healthy among Christ's members. The sword of good intention is sharp on both edges, wyielding truths both old and new, recalling the past while promising the future. This contrasts with the sword of malice, which perpetuates vanity, while the sword of good intention speaks truth. Indeed, the sons of men wield their teeth like spears and arrows; their tongues wield sharp blades. Rescue me from this sword, as Psalm 142:11 implores. Take me out of the hand of those estranged from You, whose lips have spoken vanity, just as before. Additionally, their right hand continues to embody wickedness, as he previously remarked about the many waters.
Like a young vine firmly planted in its youth, whose sons bring praise, as Psalm 142:12 suggests. He desires to reveal their blessings. Notice, children of light, citizens of this world: take heed, members of the Body of Christ, regarding those he categorizes as strangers, the children of strangers, and the waters representing contradiction, all bearing malice. Notice carefully, for amidst them lies peril, where your fleshly desires wrestle against their tongues, the very tongues held by the enemy, with whom he contests, as stated in Ephesians 6:12. The vanity they speak and the wickedness of their right hand can be overwhelming. Their daughters are garbed and adorned like the temple. Their granaries are plentiful, overflowing treasures; their sheep thrive and multiply in the streets of Psalm 143:13; their cattle grow robust; their barriers remain intact, their pathways unobstructed, and there is no outcry in their streets, as Psalm 142:14 observes. Isn't this a glimpse of happiness? I inquire on behalf of the sons of the kingdom of heaven, the heirs of eternal resurrection, the unified Body of Christ, the members of Christ, the temple of God. Is it not blessed to have secure sons, beautiful daughters, ample provisions, thriving livestock, no collapse, I say, no walls, not even fences, no tumult in the streets, but rather tranquility, peace, abundance in their homes and cities? Is this not a state of bliss? Or must the righteous refrain from it? Surely, you can observe how the homes of the righteous brim with such blessings and happiness. Did not Abraham's household overflow with gold, silver, children, servants, livestock? What say we? Is that not happiness? Yet, it remains on the left hand. What of the left? It pertains to the temporal, mortal, and corporeal. I do not wish you to evade it, but rather to contemplate its fleeting nature compared to the eternal.
For what lies on the right? God, eternity, the everlasting years of God, which will not fade away, concerning which it is stated, Your years will not come to an end. There must be a right hand, a longing within us. Use the left for temporal matters; let us earnestly strive for the eternal. When wealth increases, do not let your heart be drawn to it.
THEOSIS