Habakkuk and Easter In the festive Paschal service, during which the congregation is captivated in the joy of Christ’s resurrection, we hear an interesting reference to the Old Testament. The fourth ode in the paschal canon of St John of Damascus tells us that the Prophet Habakkuk foretold of the Incarnation and the triumph of the Son of God. This arises in the third chapter of his Old Testament book, being the Hymn of Habakkuk. Habakkuk wrote that God ‘will be revealed when the time comes’, being in Christ’s incarnation where he took on flesh and sanctified humanity. We then [...]

  Psalm 81 (82) 1 God stood in the assembly of gods; He judges in the midst of gods, saying, 2 “How long will you judge unjustly, And favour the persons of sinners?” 3 Judge an orphan and a poor man; Justify a humble and poor man; 4 Rescue a poor and needy man; Deliver them from a sinner's hand. 5 They do not know nor understand; They carry on in darkness; All the foundations of the earth shall be shaken. 6 I said, “You are gods, And you are all sons of the Most High. 7 But you die [...]

Psalm 62:2   “O God, my God, I rise early to be with You; My soul thirsts for You. How often my flesh thirsts for You In a desolate, impassable, and waterless land.” «Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Θεός μου, πρὸς σὲ ὀρθρίζω· ἐδίψησέ σε ἡ ψυχή μου, ποσαπλῶς σοι ἡ σάρξ μου ἐν γῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἀβάτῳ καὶ ἀνύδρῳ». This Psalm was written by the Prophet and King David when he was in the wilderness of Judea, when he was fleeing from the persecution of Saul. It is striking that David, in a time of such great difficulty, found it possible [...]

Psalm 33 (34)   Psalm 33 (34) is a psalm of thanksgiving sung by King David when he fled from the court of Abimelech of Geth (also known as Achous the Philistine). David had come to Abimelech’s court when he fled from the madness of Saul. However, when he saw those around Abimelech looking at him and whispering, he feigned insanity and was dismissed by Abimelech. In this way, according to St Nicodemus the Hagiorite, David escaped certain death and was thankful to God. Despite his ingenious escape, David remembered that it was God who was ultimately responsible for it. [...]

Psalm 140 In his Letter to Marcellinus, St Athanasius states that within the Psalter you will find “all the movements of your soul, all its changes, its ups and downs, its failures and recoveries.” How blessed then are we that the Orthodox Church has enriched its services by use of the psalter. The vespers service in particular includes the chanting of psalm 140 in its entirety. It begins with the pleading words “Lord, I have cried out to you, hear me. Receive the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you”, and is chanted according to the tone [...]