On the Six Psalms of Matins

On the Six Psalms of Matins (Orthros)

The six psalms at Matins are read by a single reader while the congregation listens in quiet contemplation. The service rubrics call for the church lights to be dimmed during this time to aid concentration.These psalms are chanted meditatively and with full awareness that they are centered around Christ. 

The reading of the Hexapsalmos (Six Psalms) is a profound experience of confronting one’s sins and contemplating Christ in His Passion. There is deep sorrow expressed in these psalms, representing humanity’s suffering into which Christ voluntarily entered. Christ undertook His Passion and death voluntarily for our salvation and the psalms remind us of this ultimate act of self-emptying love. Though sorrowful, they also express man’s trust and salvation in God. In these psalms, the faithful stand in the dark, acknowledging their sins in a spirit of repentance and loving trust in God’s mercy.  Note: The respective psalms are made available after the commentary.

Psalm 3: O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me?

This psalm was composed while David sought refuge in the Judean wilderness after his son Absolam revolted against him. It is a powerful expression of confidence in the Lord as David faced his rebellious son with a weak and inadequate force. Chanting divine hymns and praises, he cries out to God with his whole heart, trusting in the Lord to lift him up and glorify him after his humiliation. And out of His holy mountain, that is, heaven, God hears David’s cries. David falls asleep and awakens, begging God to save him. Salvation is from the Lord; only through God’s power can David be saved. 

Prophetically, this psalm also applies to the person of Christ. Here, in the moving words of this psalm, we must concentrate our minds on the face of Christ, who suffered such agonies on our behalf. Like David, He is in the most grievous circumstances except this is on account of our sins and his enemies increase greatly, saying there is no salvation for Him in His God. He too is deserted by His friends. But the soul of the agonized Christ expresses the same faith and confidence in God. He cries out to the Father and immediately He is heard. He falls asleep on the Cross, awakens on the third day and is risen, glorified. 

This psalm is also applicable to the Church, who is the target of satan throughout history. Enemies both external and internal continually arise to oppress the Church, the very Body of Christ. Apostasy and revolt by heretics are continually afflicting the Church as the Dragon seeks to devour the faithful. Yet again, in our day, the enemies oppressing the Church have multiplied and the Church cries out to God in her services and in her prayerful hesychastic silence and God hears her cries. The Church fell asleep during the long Turkish captivity and the communist oppression, but she awoke and is unafraid, for the abiding Lord will sustain Her.

We must memorize and cherish this psalm, for in its divinely-inspired verses we draw strength and consolation in our personal affliction. In this toxic Western culture, there are many who afflict us in the pain and suffering of modern life; we are also afflicted with many forms of illness; and we must be mindful that, like David, we are afflicted mostly on account of our own sins. The words of this psalm teach us to endure affliction, to suffer with hope that God will sustain us and save us. As we contemplate these verses, may we be enlightened as to the benefit of our afflictions. May we learn to face them with loving trust in God. St. Paul instructs us that tribulation works patience. It is through many afflictions and our trust in God that we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. May our hearts be disposed to accept them and, like St. Paul, rejoice in our sufferings. Narrow is the gate and straight the way but “I will fear no evils, since Thou art with me.” May the words of this psalm strengthen us and by God’s grace, may we acquire courage, patience and fortitude.

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Psalm 37  O Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger…

The psalm recalls the agonies and afflictions of Christ, reminding us that it is through agonies and afflictions that we must enter the Kingdom of God. Most important here is to understand that we are the cause of Christ’s Passion; as our intercessor, He assumed our sins for which he suffered immeasurably on our behalf. I am a sinner burdened with a multitude of sins, on account of which He, the very Logos incarnate, is crucified. 

Let us contemplate some of the verses:

The “arrows stuck fast” recall the nails which fastened our Lord to the Cross. 

The “heavy burden” which has gone over the head of Christ is the “sin of the world" to which St John the Baptist refers.

“Troubled and utterly bowed down; all day mourning” - In His Passion, the Lord carries the heavy burden of the world’s sins on His shoulders;

“Afflicted and humbled exceedingly” - Our Savior was abused and humiliated by the hands of His enemies. 

“All my desire is before thee,” meaning the desire of Christ to save sinful man.

“My heart is troubled, my strength has failed me”; “My nearest kin stand afar off,” -  His friends and relatives, who stood afar off, are those mentioned by the Evangelist Luke.

“Like a deaf man I heard them not, and was as a speechless man that openeth not his mouth;” -  Our Lord did not reply to the false charges of the Scribes and the Pharisees. His silence here indicates His trust in the righteousness of His Father who hears the groaning of His heart. 

In beholding Christ’s Passion and death on the Cross, we are joined to Him by feelings of gratitude and devotion and love and the fervent desire to follow His commandments so that we may imitate Him and become like Him. We too must enter into God’s Sabbath through the same gateway, for there is no other way. Beholding Christ crucified, we must be crucified with HIm and die with Him the good death through which we rise to everlasting life.

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Psalm 62  O God, my God, unto Thee I rise early…

This psalm is  a model expression of trust in and love for God. In this psalm, we learn how we ought to love God with all our heart and with all our mind and to live in God by doing His will and meditating on the law of the Lord day and night. The tender love expressed here binds David’s soul to God. In these words, the entire soul rejoices and exults in being sheltered under the wings of God. In meditating on this psalm, we can learn what we ourselves ought to be like. Then we too shall be sheltered and shielded under the wings of God.

This Psalm too was composed In the Judean wilderness where David sought refuge, pursued by Saul. Having God as his only consolation, he turns to the Lord: 

“O God, my God, unto Thee I rise early at dawn.”  “At the dawn I meditated on Thee.” We too must rise early in the morning, immediately lifting our minds to God.  Our first thoughts should be to thank God for granting us another day and that He help us to keep it without sin. “My soul thirsts for Thee…”  “My flesh longed after Thee in a land barren and untrodden and unwatered.” We too must thirst for God, desiring Him above all else. The joy produced by this love is far better than pleasures and foods of the body. “With lips of rejoicing shall my mouth praise Thee.”  We too must praise the Lord with joyful chanting for His virtues, His abundant mercies.  May the Lord not deliver us into the hands of our enemy, Satan. “In the shelter of Thy wings will I rejoice.”“My soul has cleaved after Thee, Thy right hand has been quick to help me.”  Like David, we must fall in love with the Lord and follow Him. Then, like David, we can trust  that His right hand, His Spirit, will save us from dangers. 

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Psalm 87   O Lord God of my salvation, by day have I cried…

This psalm prophesied the prayer of Christ on the night of His death, expressing His sufferings to the God of our salvation. The Lord offered up petitions and supplications with a loud cry and tears to the One able to save Him from death.The contemplation of Christ suffering and praying is of immense benefit to our soul, especially when we remember that He endured these sufferings for our sake. 

”My life unto Hades has drawn near.”  His soul filled with troubles and the pain of his torment and His life drew near unto Hades; He is without friends.He is hung on the tree from the sixth to the ninth hour;  He tastes the bitter cup of death with respect to the flesh. “cut off from Thy hand,” by God’s hand meaning the Spirit of life.”  “They laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness and in the shadow of death.”  His body lay in the sepulcher and His soul descended into the lowest hades.

In this psalm, we are taught that we ought to have fortitude in the midst of sufferings and pray and invoke salvation from God, who for our own interest permits the evil one to tempt and to injure us. And to those who follow His commandments, Christ responds with mercy and righteousness. He rescues those who have the patience to endure to the end. “But as for me, unto Thee, O Lord, have I cried; and in the morning shall my prayer come before Thee.” “let my prayer come before Thee, bow down Thine ear unto my supplication.”

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Psalm 102 - Bless the Lord, O my soul…

This psalm is a prayer of thanksgiving wherein David blesses God for all the benefactions he has received from Him, in respect of soul as well as body. We ought to give thanks to God with all of the fabric of our being, all of the viscera of the body, for the very structure and arrangement of the body attests God’s wisdom and understanding. In blessing the Lord, we ought to remember all of God’s benefactions, so that we bless the Lord all the more gratefully. Prayerful, continual remembrance of God’s beneficence arouses the expression of gratitude.

Above all the many benefactions, we are grateful for the pardoning of all the iniquities of the soul and the healing of all spiritual diseases which are the consequences of our sins. Through the sacramental grace accompanying the flood of tears and heartfelt sighs that lead us to repentance and confession, the soul is purified and illumined. Our life is renewed like an eagle’s…one becomes wholly new and young again. It is significant here that David foresaw the mystery of the renewal of our nature in Christ. The distance of east from west intersecting the height of heaven above the earth forms the cross of Christ, by which our iniquities have been cleansed and God’s great mercy has been abundantly bestowed upon us. 

God granted salvation and adoption in Christ out of His goodness and philanthropy. He has overlooked our sins because He understands the weakness of our nature; he knows that he formed us from the dust of the ground. Man flourishes and withers just as the flower blooming in the field. The spirit of life enters and leaves in passing through the man of dust, who lives only as long as the spirit of life leaves him or passes out of him. But God’s mercy, granted through Christ to those who fear and love Him, endures forever. His righteousness endures for those who remember to keep His commandments.  

By “mercy of the Lord”  is meant the salvation and reformation in Christ of the “old” man His mercy renews the old man in soul and body, and makes him immortal. The man of dust becomes heavenly, wearing the image of the heavenly man. This immortality is not bestowed upon all men, but only on those who believe in Christ, who fear Him and are renewed in Him. Our chief benefaction is our adoption in Christ, by virtue of which we inherit all the good things of God.

By Heaven is meant the spiritual world of angels and by His “throne” the angelic battalion of Cherubim on which God sits. These angels, who fulfill His commandments and execute His orders immediately, continually bless the Lord, praising His holiness and all the divine virtues.  

May we be enlightened to see the many and great benefactions which God has bestowed upon us. 

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Psalm 142- O Lord, hear my prayer, give ear unto my supplication in Thy truth;...

In this psalm, David is praying while fleeing from danger and in great humiliation, petitioning God to hear him, but not to judge him according to the law. He confesses that he was defeated by the Devil, having fallen into the sins of adultery and murder.  Now David has been dethroned through the revolt of his son, Absalom. Hiding in caves and overwhelmed by lethargy, he is unable to provide for himself nor to perceive a solution to his situation. His heart troubled, David recalls the history of Israel  and meditates on all the works of God’s hand. Taking heart with renewed perspective, David looks to God. He begs God to show mercy and to make known to him the path he must take. He begs God to teach him to do His will, because he belongs to God as a slave to his master. “For in Thee do I trust.”  “...Cause me to know the way.O Lord, wherein I should walk.”  It is revealed to David that the good Spirit of God will guide him in the straight way which will lead to victory and salvation. He is permitted to live for the sake of the glory of God’s name and that God, righteous and merciful, will bring him out of every affliction and will destroy his enemies because David serves God faithfully.

Thus, David becomes to us an example of emulation whenever we find ourselves in desperation, danger and humiliation. The psalm teaches us how to pray to God and ask for help. The same enemy persecutes our soul and ensnares us in the lures of sin, leaving us in dark thoughts and spiritual fatigue, which we can escape by meditating on the works of God. Thereby, we come to understand the goodness of God and His boundless mercy. Like David, we call upon Him with faith and hope. God will make his mercy known to us in the morning and will guide us in the straight way.

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Psalm 3

O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me? Many rise up against me.

Many say unto my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God. 

But Thou, O Lord, art my helper, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy mountain.

I laid me down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord will help me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that set themselves against me round about.

Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for Thou hast smitten all who without cause are mine enemies; the teeth of sinners hast Thou broken.

Salvation is of the Lord, and Thy blessing is upon Thy people.

Psalm 37

O Lord, rebuke me not in Thine anger,

Nor chasten me in Thy wrath.

For Thine arrows are fastened in me and 

Thou hast laid Thy hand heavily upon me.

There is no healing in my flesh in the face of Thy wrath;

And there is no peace in my bones in the face of my sins.

For mine iniquities are risen higher than my head; as a heavy burden have they pressed heavily upon me.

My bruises are become noisome and corrupt in the face of my folly.

I have been wretched and utterly bowed down until the end; 

all the day long I went with downcast face.

For my loins are filled with mockings, and

There is no healing in my flesh.

I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly, I have roared from the groaning of my heart.

O Lord, before Thee is all my desire, and my groaning is not hid  from Thee.

My heart is troubled, my strength has failed me; and the light of mine eyes,

Even this is not with me.

My friends and my neighbors drew nigh over against me and stood,

And my nearest of kin stood afar off.

And they that sought after my soul used violence; and they that sought evils for me

Spake vain things, and craftiness all the day long did they meditate.

But as for me, like a deaf man I heard them not, and was as a speechless man that openeth not his mouth.

And I became as a man that heareth not, and that hath not in his mouth no reproofs.

For in Thee have I hoped, O Lord; Thou wilt hearken unto me, O Lord my God.

For I said: Let never mine enemies rejoice over me; yea, when my feet were shaken, those men spake boastful words against me.

For I am ready for scourges, and my sorrow is continually before me.

For I will declare mine iniquity, and I will take heed concerning my sin.

But mine enemies live and are made stronger thanI, and they that hated me unjustly are multiplied.

They that render me evil for good slandered me, because I pursued goodness.

Forsake me not, O Lord my God, depart not from me. 

Be attentive unto my help, O Lord of my salvation.

Psalm 62

O God, my God, unto Thee I rise early at dawn. My soul hath thirsted for Thee; 

how often hath my flesh longed after Thee in a land barren and untrodden and unwatered.

So in the sanctuary have I appeared before Thee 

to see Thy power and Thy glory.

For Thy mercy is better than lives; my lips shall praise Thee.

So shall I bless Thee in my life, and in Thy name will I lift up my hands.

As with marrow and fatness let my soul be filled, and with lips of rejoicing shall my mouth praise Thee.

If I remembered Thee on my bed, at the dawn I meditated on Thee.

For Thou art become my helper; 

in the shelter of Thy wings will I rejoice.

My soul hath cleaved after Thee, 

Thy right hand hath been quick to help me.

But as for these, in vain have they sought after my soul; they shall go into the nethermost parts of the earth, 

they shall be surrendered unto the edge of the sword; 

portions for foxes shall they be.

But the king shall be glad in God, 

everyone shall be praised that sweareth by Him; 

for the mouth of them is stopped that speak unjust things.

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Psalm 87

O Lord God of my salvation, by day have I cried and by night before Thee.

Let my prayer come before Thee, bow down Thine ear unto my supplication.

For filled with evils is my soul, and my life unto Hades hath drawn nigh.

I am counted with them that go down into the pit; I am become as a man without help, free among the dead.

Like the bodies of the slain that sleep in the grave, whom Thou rememberest no more, and they are cut off from Thy hand.

They laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Against me is Thine anger made strong, and all Thy billows hast Thou brought upon me.

Thou hast removed my friends afar from me; they have made me an abomination unto themselves.

I have been delivered up and have not come forth; mine eyes have grown weak from poverty.

I have cried unto Thee, O Lord, the whole day long; I have stretched out my hands unto Thee.

Nay, for the dead wilt Thou work wonders? Or shall physicians raise them up that they may give thanks unto Thee?

Nay, shall any in the grave tell of Thy mercy, and of Thy truth in that destruction?

Nay, shall Thy wonders be known in that darkness, and Thy righteousness in that land that is forgotten?

But as for me, unto Thee, O Lord, have I cried; and in the morning shall my prayer come before Thee.

Wherefore, O Lord, dost Thou cast off my soul and turnest Thy face away from me?

A poor man am I, and in troubles from my youth; yea, having been exalted, I was humbled and brought to distress.

Thy furies have passed upon me, and Thy terrors have sorely troubled me.

They came round about me like water, all the day long they compassed me about together.

Thou hast removed afar from me friend and neighbor, and mine acquaintances because of my misery.

Psalm 102

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all that he hath done for thee,

Who is gracious unto all thine iniquities, 

Who healeth all thine infirmities,

Who redeemeth thy life from corruption, 

Who crowns thee with mercy and compassion,

Who fulfills thy desire with good things; 

thy youth is renewed as the eagle’s.

The Lord performeth deeds of mercy, and 

executeth judgment for all them that are wronged.

He hath made His ways known unto Moses, 

unto the sons of Israel the things that He hath willed.

Compassionate and merciful is the Lord, 

long-suffering and plenteous in mercy; not unto the end will He be angered,

neither unto eternity will he be wroth.

Not according to our iniquities hath He dealt with us, 

neither according to our sins hath  He rewarded us.

For according to the height of heaven from the earth, 

the Lord hath made His mercy to prevail over them that fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us.

Like as a father hath  compassion upon his sons, 

so hath the Lord had compassion upon them that fear Him; 

for He knoweth whereof we are made, he hath remembered that we are dust.

As for man, his days are as the grass; as a flower of the field, 

so shall he blossom forth.

For when the wind is passed over it, then it shall be gone, and 

no longer will it know the place thereof.

But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity, 

even unto eternity, upon them that fear Him.

And His righteousness is upon sons of sons, 

upon them that keep His testament and remember His commandments to do them.

The Lord in Heaven hath prepared His throne, 

and His kingdom rules over all.

Bless the Lord, all ye His angels, mighty in strength, 

that perform His word, to hear the voice of His words.

Bless the Lord, all ye His hosts, His ministers that do His will.

Bless the Lord, all ye His works, 

in every place of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

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Psalm 142

O Lord, hear my prayer, give ear unto my supplication in Thy truth; 

hearken unto me in Thy righteousness.

And enter not into judgment with Thy servant, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified.

For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he has humbled my life down to the earth.

He hath sat me in darkness as those that have been long dead, 

and my spirit within me is become despondent; 

within me my heart is troubled. I remembered days of old, 

I meditated on all Thy works, I pondered on the creations of Thy hands.

I stretched forth my hands unto Thee; 

my soul thirsts after Thee like a waterless land.

Quickly hear me, O Lord; my spirit hath fainted away.

Turm ot Thy face away form me,

lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

Cause me to hear Thy mercy in the morning; 

for in Thee have I put my hope.

Cause me to know, O Lord, the way wherein I should walk; f

or unto Thee have I lifted up my soul.

Rescue me from mine enemies, O Lord; unto Thee ave I fled for refuge. 

Teach  me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God.

Thy good spirit shall lead me in the land of uprightness; 

for Thy Name’s sake, O Lord, shalt Thou quicken me.

In Thy righteousness shalt Thou bring my soul out of affliction, 

and in Thy mercy shalt Thou utterly destroy mine enemies.

And Thou shalt cut off all them that afflict my soul, for I am Thy servant.

End