Psalms 16, 18 & 116: Christ’s Deliverance from Hell by His Resurrection

PsAlms 16, 18 & 116: CHRist'S DeliVeRaNce fROM Hell By HiS ReSuRRecTiON

A Commentary On The Psalms - by S.G. Preston

“For You will not leave My soul in Hell, neither will you allow your Holy One to experience corruption.” -Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27

“He (David) foreseeing this, prophesied about the resurrection of Christ; that His soul was not left in Hell, neither did His flesh experience corruption.” -Acts 2:31

On the 4tH - MORNiNG PRAYeR: PSALM 16

Michaelangelo’s statue of David in Florence, Italy. David’s Tomb in Jerusalem, Israel.

PSALM 16

Words in Italics are quoted in the New Testament.

(Every word of Psalm 16 is Christ Himself speaking and praying.)

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(On the 4th – Morning Prayer: Psalm 16)

Theme: Christ Speaks and Prays About His Resurrection (Verses 10-11)

A Miktam (“Golden Song”) of David

1 “Preserve me, O God, for in You I put My trust.

²I have said to the LORD, ‘You are My LORD,

My goodness is not needed by You,

³but by the saints that are on the earth.’

They are His willing ones.

In them is all My delight.

⁴Sorrows shall be multiplied to those

who run after other gods;

their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,

or even speak their names with My lips.

⁵The LORD is the portion of My inheritance,

and of My cup. You preserve

what You have given Me.

⁶The boundary lines have fallen to Me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.

⁷I will praise the LORD, who has given Me counsel. My heart also instructs Me

during the night.

⁸I have kept My eyes always upon the LORD. Because He is at My right hand,

I shall not be overcome.

⁹Therefore My heart is glad,

and My tongue rejoices. My flesh also

shall rest in hope.

¹⁰‘For You will not leave My soul in Hell;

neither will You allow Your Holy One

to experience corruption.

¹¹You will show Me the path of life:

in Your presence is fullness of joy.

At Your right hand are pleasures

forever.'”

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ACTS of the APOSTLES (2:22-31)

²²You men of Israel, hear these words:

Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did through Him in the midst of you,

as you yourselves also know;

²³He, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God,

you have taken,

and by wicked hands

have crucified and slain;

²⁴who God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death:

because it was not possible that

He should be held by it.

²⁵For David prophesied

concerning Him:

“I have kept My eyes always upon the LORD. Because He is at My right hand,

I shall not be overcome.

²⁶Therefore My heart is glad,

and My tongue rejoices.

My flesh also shall rest in hope.

²⁷For You will not leave My soul in Hell, neither will You allow Your Holy One

to experience corruption.

²⁸You will show Me the path of life;

in Your presence is fullness of joy.“

²⁹Men and brethren, let me freely speak to you of the patriarch David,

that he is both dead and buried,

and his tomb is with us to this day.

³⁰Therefore being a prophet,

and knowing that God had sworn

with an oath to him,

that from his own descendants, according to the flesh,

God would raise up Christ

to sit upon His throne.

³¹David, foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of Christ, prophesying that His soul was not left in Hell, neither did His flesh experience corruption.

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The APOSTLe's CReeD

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried.

He descended into Hell.

On the third day He rose again; He ascended into Heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He shall return to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

“When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive,

and gave gifts to mankind.

Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first

into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same who also ascended up

far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.”

-Ephesians 4:8-10

"MeRe CHRiSTiANiTY"

BELIEF COMMON TO NEARLY ALL CHRISTIANS AT ALL TIMES

We describe our ministry as a “mere Christianity” Christian ministry

because we follow C.S. Lewis’ practice as he explained it in his book,

Mere Christianity:

“Ever since I became a Christian, I have thought that the best, perhaps the only, service I could do for my unbelieving neighbours was to explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times.”

This belief includes Christ’s descent into Hell, which was part of the price Christ paid, with His death by crucifixion on the Cross, to redeem all who receive Him as Lord and Savior, from the eternal separation from God that we would otherwise experience for our sins.

This particular teaching is not one of those that are essential to Salvation, but it is good to know the full extent of the price Christ paid to redeem us.

Martin Luther, in his Easter sermon at Torgau, in April of 1533, talked about Christ’s quoting Psalm 16:10 with reference to Christ:

“For You will not leave My soul in Hell. . . ”

Eastern Orthodox commemorate Christ’s descent into Hell in a special Church Service every year. Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and most other Protestant Churches, accept The Apostle’s Creed, a summary of basic essential Scriptures from the Bible

which includes:

“He descended into Hell. On the third day He rose again;

He ascended into Heaven.”

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BELIEFS IN THE THE EARLY CHURCH & IN THE PSALMS

The Church Fathers (the title of respect given to those recognized as great Teachers in the Early Church), including St. Irenaeus and St. Augustine, taught Christ’s descent into Hell.

I continually study to try to understand the Psalms as much as I am able to, and I would also like to be aware of everything Christ has done for me.

I recommend reading all of Psalm 18 (posted below), which we will be examining closely, to see its verses in their proper context — in fact, I recommend reading all of Psalms 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 116

together at the same time, and for the same reason.

They all speak about Christ’s death and Resurrection.

Our Lord taught about two parts of Sheol, the abode of the dead,

and Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31.

I have posted this section of Scripture below.

Christ visited both parts in His descent to Sheol. These were the “Abraham’s Side” or “Paradise” part (but to cover that would be an entire separate Bible study!), and the “place of torment” part, which we will be looking at next.

Since the time 2,000 years ago, when Christ offered His precious Blood to pay the price of our sins, when we leave this world we know that we will now enter directly into the presence of God. As the Apostle Paul taught:

^“Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home

in the body, we are absent from the Lord: for we walk by faith, not by sight.

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body,

and to be present with the Lord.”

-2 Corinthians 5:6-8

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LAZARUS & THE RICH MAN

(Christ’s words recorded in Luke Chapter 16):

“There was a certain rich man, whio was clothed in purple and fine linen, and dined sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores, who desired to be fed

with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table:

moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

It came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side: the rich man also died, and was buried;

and in Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment,

and saw Abraham in the distance, and Lazarus beside him.

And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus,

that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue;

for I am tormented in this flame.’

But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime

received good things, and Lazarus evil things;

but now he is comforted, and you are tormented.

And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed:

so that these who would pass from here to you cannot;

neither can those pass to us, who would come to us from there.’

Then he said, ‘I beseech you, father Abraham, that you would send him to my father’s house. For I have five brothers; that he may testify to them,

lest they also arrive in this place of torment.’

Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’

And he answered, ‘No, father Abraham;

but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent.’

And Abraham said to him, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, even if one rose from the dead.'”

-Luke 16:19-26

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THE SCRIPTURES EXPLAINED BY CHRIST

The Early Church received its teaching directly from the Apostles,

who had received their understanding of the Scriptures interpreted and explained to them directly by Christ:

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself.”

-Luke 24:27

“We have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith.”

-St. Irenaeus (c. 200 A.D.) Against Heresies

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.” -St. Augustine (c. 400 A.D.)

There are currently many different interpretations of the time Christ’s body lay in the tomb. One researcher claims to have recorded 183 different interpretations. Most are of relatively recent origin;

almost all from just the last 150 years.

As I tried to understand the Psalms better, verse by verse, I saw that what has been generally held and taught by almost all Christians throughout history is the same as what is found taught in Scripture.

I begin my Daily Hour of Prayer every day by praying 5 Psalms (see our webpages: One Daily Hour of Prayer in the Prayer Category, and also our Daily Psalm Chart: Pray 5 Psalms a Day – All 150 Each Month,

in the God’s Word Category).

For my own prayer use I have designated Themes for all of the Psalms,

to help me remember the main teaching of each.

The Theme I have chosen for Psalm 18 is:

CHRiST'S DeliVeRANCe fROM Hell BY HiS ReSURReCTiON

CHRIST’S DESCENT TO SHEOL

Psalm 18:4-6 informs us of Christ’s descent to Sheol’s “place of torment”:

“The sorrows of death surrounded Me. Floods of the ungodly were overwhelming Me. The sorrows of Hell encircled Me. The snares of death intercepted Me. In My distress I called out to the LORD; I cried out to My God. He heard My voice from His Temple, and My cry came before Him,

even into His ears.”

“He reached down from on high, He took hold of Me, He drew Me out of many waters. He delivered Me from My powerful enemy, and from all those who hated Me, for they were too strong for Me.

They intercepted Me in the Day of My Affliction, but the LORD was My support. He brought Me out into a large open place of safety.

He delivered Me, because He delighted in Me.”

This is a key Messianic verse in a Messianic Psalm. It is recorded in Psalm 22 that it was quoted by some who were mocking Christ at His crucifixion.

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CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION

“He trusted on the LORD that He would deliver Him:

let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him.”

–Psalm 22:8

The mockers of Christ at His crucifixion were well aware that this verse referred to the Messiah, and used it as “proof” that Christ, who they knew had claimed to be the Messiah, could not in fact be the Anointed One.

But Christ was not praying to be delivered from the Cross. He was praying to be delivered from separation from the Father.

Psalm 18:19, “He delivered Me, because He delighted in Me.” is the record of the answer to that prayer:

Christ’s deliverance from Hell by His Resurrection.

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THE SINLESSNESS OF CHRIST

We know that it is Christ who is speaking, because verses 17-24 record:

“The LORD has dealt with Me in accordance with My righteousness.

In accordance with the cleanness of My hands, He has rewarded Me.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

All His judgments were before Me.

I did not put His statutes away from Me.

I was also upright before Him. I kept Myself from sin.

Therefore, the LORD has rewarded Me in accordance with My righteousness;

in accordance with the cleanness of My hands in His sight.”

Christ is the only one who ever lived a life with no sin

and could make all of these claims — certainly not David!

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THE SACRIFICES OF CHRIST

“They intercepted Me in the Day of My Affliction,

but the LORD was My support.”

-Psalm 18:18

The related Theme of Psalm 20 is: “Christ’s Sacrifice and Victory.”

Psalm 20:1-3 states: “The LORD hear You in the Day of Affliction.

The name of the God of Jacob defend You; send You help from the Sanctuary, and strengthen You from Zion. May He remember all Your offerings,

and accept Your blood sacrifice. Selah.”

Psalm 20, verse 3: “Your offerings” Literally: those Temple offerings that did not involve the shedding of blood, as with grain offerings, etc.

This refers to all that Christ offered through

His sinless life of obedience and holiness.

“Your blood sacrifice” Literally: burnt offering.

Burnt offerings were those sacrifices that involved the shedding of blood, and refers here to Christ’s ultimate sacrifice:

shedding of His own blood for the salvation of the world.

Psalm 20, verse 6: “Now I know that the LORD delivers and gives victory to His Messiah. He will answer His Anointed One from the Heaven of His holiness, with the saving strength of His right hand.”

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CHRiST'S DAY Of AffLiCTiON

The term, Day of Affliction, used in both Psalm 18:19 and in Psalm 20:1, is the day Christ was crucified. According to Jewish practice, each day was considered to begin at sunset of the evening before.

This Day of My Affliction therefore also included Judas’ betrayal, Christ’s arrest in Gethsemane, His trials by the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate, His receiving the 40 lashes, and culminated in Christ’s separation from the Father, death on the Cross, and descent into Hell.

Let’s look again at how this term, Day of My Affliction,

is used in Psalm 18:1-4…

“The sorrows of death surrounded Me.

Floods of the ungodly were overwhelming Me.

The sorrows of Hell encircled Me.

The snares of death intercepted Me.

In My distress I called out to the LORD; I cried out to My God.

He heard My voice from His Temple, and My cry came before Him,

even into His ears.”

“He reached down from on high, He took hold of Me,

He drew Me out of many waters. He delivered Me from My powerful enemy, and from all those who hated Me, for they were too strong for Me.

They intercepted Me in the Day of My Affliction, but the LORD was My support. He brought Me out into a large open place of safety.

He delivered Me, because He delighted in Me.”

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“By which also He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the Ark was being prepared, in which few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”

-1 Peter 3:19-20

^“For this cause was the Gospel proclaimed also to those that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”

-1 Peter 4:6

I have posted the verses above because they are additional verses that confirm Christ’s descent to Sheol, the abode of the dead. As to their complete interpretation, Martin Luther, once said of 1 Peter 3:19-20…

“…a wonderful text is this,

and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the Testament,

so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.”

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SePARATiON fROM The fATHeR

THE PRAYER OF JONAH

Psalm 18 is also recorded in 2 Samuel, Chapter 22.

Christ’s experiences, prophetically revealed in Psalm 18, were prophetically paralleled by Jonah’s experiences, recorded in Jonah 2:2-7…

^“And said, ‘I cried out, by reason of my affliction, to the LORD,

and He heard me; out of the belly of Hell I called, and You heard my voice.

For You had cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas;

and the floods surrounded me all around;

all Your waves passed over me.’

Then I said, ‘I am cast out of Your sight;

yet I will look again toward Your holy Temple.

The waters surrounded me all around, even to the soul.

The depths closed about me;

the weeds were wrapped around my head.

I went down to the bottom of the mountains;

the Earth with her bars was around me forever:

yet You have brought up my life from corruption,

O LORD my God.

When my soul fainted within me,

I remembered the LORD:

and my prayer came to You,

into Your holy Temple.'”

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THE SIGN OF JONAH

^“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying,

‘Teacher, we would see a sign from You.’

But He answered them:

‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the Sign of the prophet Jonah.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment against this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold: a greater than Jonah is here.'”

–Matthew 12:38-41

The Sign of Jonah is Christ’s Resurrection.

Psalm 18 contains David’s prophetic description of Christ’s deliverance from Hell (or Gehenna, or Hades, or Sheol, if you prefer): the part of Sheol, the abode of the dead, that is a place of separation from the Father.

Christ, Himself without sin, took our sins upon Himself, and took our place; experiencing Hell, experiencing separation from the Father;

paying for us the price of our sins.

Christ taught about this place of torment, of separation from the Father, when speaking of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31.

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THE PRAYER OF CHRIST

In Psalm 18:4-6 (quoted above) we learned that Christ cried out to the Father in prayer from Hell. I repeat:

“The sorrows of death surrounded Me.

Floods of the ungodly were overwhelming Me. The sorrows of Hell encircled Me. The snares of death intercepted Me. In My distress I called out to the LORD; I cried out to My God. He heard My voice from His Temple,

and My cry came before Him, even into His ears.”

CHRIST’S RESURRECTION

“He reached down from on high, He took hold of Me, He drew Me out of many waters. He delivered Me from My powerful enemy, and from all those who hated Me, for they were too strong for Me.

They intercepted Me in the Day of My Affliction, but the LORD was My support. He brought Me out into a large open place of safety.

He delivered Me, because He delighted in Me.”

The Temple referred to here is God’s Temple in Heaven, that Moses had been told by God to copy for the design of the Tabernacle. The Temple in Jerusalem had yet to be built by David’s son, Solomon.

When we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name (by the Holy Spirit), we have direct access to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through Christ our Intercessor, in Heaven, in the place where God dwells (of course, God is also simultaneously omnipresent throughout the entire Universe).

“Having therefore, brothers and sisters,

boldness to enter into the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.”

-Hebrews 10:19

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

-Hebrews 4:16

“By a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us,

through the veil, that is to say, His flesh…”

-Hebrews 10:20

“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them.”

-Hebrews 7:25

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THE PROPHECY OF CHRIST”S CRUCIFIXION

Psalm 22 is a prophecy of some of Christ’s thoughts and words on the Cross. Its fulfillment is recorded in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”

-Psalm 22:1, Mark 15:34, Matthew 27:46

Psalm 22 is a prophetic description of the crucifixion of Christ,

recorded by King David, who lived c. 1,000 B.C.

Crucifixion was a Roman, not a Jewish method of execution.

The Romans did not use it until the end of the first century B.C.

The first known use of crucifixion was by the Persian Emperor Darius in 519 B.C., 500 years after Psalm 22 was written. Christ’s crucifixion is recorded in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 22, and John 19. Christ’s death is also described in Isaiah 52:23-53:12. Isaiah lived c. 700 B.C.

Psalm 22:19-21 may be additional words of this same prayer:

“Be not far from Me, O LORD, O My Strength, hurry to help Me.

Deliver My soul from the sword; My precious life from the power of the dogs. Save Me from the lion’s mouth, even as you have delivered Me

from the horns of the rhinoceros.”

As I have pointed out earlier, I see Christ praying not for deliverance from the Cross, but for deliverance from separation from the Father. A prayer that was answered with His Resurrection.

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AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: old things have passed away. Behold: all things have become new.

And all things are from God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their sins to them;

and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,

as though God were making His appeal to you through us:

we implore you on Christ’s behalf, to be reconciled to God.

For God has made Him to be sin for us, He who knew no sin;

that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

-2 Corinthians 5:17-21

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LIKE CHRIST, GOD WILL RAISE US UP ALSO

“Come, and let Us return to the LORD: for He has torn, and He will heal Us; He has stricken, and He will bind Us up. After two days He will revive Us: on the third day He will raise Us up, and We shall live in His sight.”

-Hosea 6:1-2

“I am He that lives, and was dead; and behold: I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of Hell and of Death.”

-Revelation 1:18

“…and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection,

and went into the holy city, and were seen by many.”

-Matthew 27:52

“When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive…”

-Ephesians 4:8

“And God has both raised up the Lord,

and will also raise up us by His own power…”

-1 Corinthians 6:14

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ON THe 4tH - NOON PRAYeR: PSALM 18

(Words in Italics are quoted in the New Testament.

Words of Christ are shown in Red.)

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(On the 4th – Noon Prayer: Psalm 18)

Theme: Christ’s Deliverance From Hell By His Resurrection (Verses 4-24,43-45)

To the Director of Music: a Psalm of David, the Servant of the LORD;

who spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

And he said:

¹I love You, O Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my Rock of refuge, my fortress, and my deliverer.

He is my God, my Rock of strength; I will put My trust in Him.

(Quoted in Hebrews 2:13)

He is my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

³I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and He shall deliver me from my enemies.

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⁴“The sorrows of death surrounded Me,

and the floods of the ungodly were overwhelming Me.

⁵The sorrows of Hell encircled Me. The snares of death intercepted Me.

⁶In my distress I called out to the Lord; I cried out to My God. He heard My voice from His Temple, and My cry came before Him, even into His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of the hills moved and were shaken, because of His wrath.

⁸Smoke rose up from His nostrils, and a consuming fire blazed from His mouth; coals were kindled by it.

⁹He bent the heavens like a drawn bow, and descended. Darkness was beneath His feet.

¹⁰He rode upon a cherub, and did fly.

Yes, He flew upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His secret place.

His pavilion around Him was dark waters

and thick clouds of the sky.

¹²From the brightness before His presence,

the thick clouds were swept away.

Hail stones and burning coals rained down.

¹³The LORD thundered in the heavens;

the voice of the Highest was deafening.

¹⁴He shot His arrows, and scattered the ungodly.

He sent His lightning, and routed the enemy.

¹⁵Then the valleys of the ocean floor were seen,

and the foundations of the Earth were opened and revealed;

at Your rebuke, O LORD,

at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high.

He took hold of Me,

He drew Me out of many waters.

¹⁷He delivered Me from my powerful enemy,

and from all those who hated Me,

for they were too strong for Me.

¹⁸They intercepted Me in the Day of My Affliction:

but the LORD was My support.

¹⁹He brought Me out into a large, open place of safety.

He delivered Me, because He delighted in Me.

²⁰The LORD has dealt with Me in accordance with My righteousness.

In accordance with the cleanness of My hands, He has rewarded Me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD,

and have not wickedly departed from My God.

²²All His judgments were before Me.

I did not put His statutes away from Me.

²³I was also upright before Him.

I kept Myself from sin.

²⁴Therefore the LORD has rewarded Me in accordance with My righteousness; in accordance with the cleanness of My hands in His sight.”

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²⁵With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful.

With the upright, You wilt show Yourself upright.

²⁶With the pure, You will show Yourself pure.

But with the deceptive, You will show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You will deliver the humble,

but will bring down those with proud looks.

²⁸You will light my candle.

The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

²⁹With Your help, I have run through a troop.

With the help of my God, I have leaped over a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect.

The word of the LORD is proven.

He is a shield to all those that trust in Him.

³¹For who is God except the LORD?

Or who is a Rock, except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strength,

and makes my way perfect.

³³He makes my feet as fast as deer’s feet.

He sets me upon the high places.

³⁴He teaches my hands to war,

and makes my arms strong enough

to draw a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me the shield of Your salvation.

Your right hand has upheld me.

Your kind favor has made me great.

³⁶You have enlarged the steps beneath me,

so that my feet did not slip.

³⁷I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them.

I did not turn back until they were destroyed.

³⁸I have wounded them,

so that they were unable to rise.

They have fallen beneath my feet.

³⁹For You have armed me with strength for the battle.

You have subdued under me, those that rose up against me.

⁴⁰You have given me the necks of my enemies,

so that I might destroy those who hate me.

⁴¹They cried out, but there was no one to deliver them;

even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

⁴²Then I beat them as small as the dust in the wind.

I cast them out like the dirt in the streets.

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⁴³You have delivered Me from strife with the people.

You have made Me the head of the nations.

A people who I have not known, shall serve Me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear of Me, they shall obey Me.

The strangers shall submit themselves to Me.

⁴⁵Any resistance in their hearts shall quickly fade away.

Trembling, they shall come to Me from their fortified places.

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⁴⁶The LORD lives! All praise to my Rock!

Let the God of my salvation be exalted!

⁴⁷It is God who avenges me,

and subdues the people under me.

^48.He delivers me from my enemies.

Yes, You lift me above those that rise up against me.

You have delivered me from the violent person.

⁴⁹Therefore I will give thanks to You,

O LORD, among the nations,

and sing praise to Your name.

⁵⁰He gives great salvation to His king,

and shows unfailing love to His Messiah;

to David, and to his Offspring forever.

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On the 23rd - Morning Prayer PSALM 116: 1-4, 12-13, 16-17

PSALM 116

(Verses 1-4,12-13,16-17)

On the 23rd – Morning Prayer

Theme: A Prayer of Christ Giving Thanks for His Resurrection.

A Hallel Psalm.

Background: The Hallel Psalms (or: Lesser Hallel) are Psalms 113-118, which are recited together to this day at every joyous Jewish festival. Hallel is Hebrew for praise. Christ and His Disciples would have sung these Psalms during their last Passover observance, at The Last Supper.

The Greater Hallel is Psalm 136, and is recited during Passover

after the Lesser Hallel.

The Daily Hallel are Psalms 146-150, and are prayed daily in Hebrew by Orthodox Jews. They are also sung daily during the morning

Orthros Service in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

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1 I love the LORD, because He has listened to My voice

and heard My supplications.

2 Because He has turned His ear toward Me,

I will call out to Him as long as I live.

3 The sorrows of death encircled Me,

and the pains of Hell got hold of Me.

I found trouble and sorrow.

4 Then I called upon the name of the LORD:

“O LORD, I beseech You, deliver My soul.”

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12 What shall I give to the LORD

in return for all His benefits to Me?

13 I will take the Cup of Salvation,

and call upon the name of the LORD.

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16 O LORD, truly I am Your servant…

I am Your servant and the son of Your handmaiden;

You have released My bonds.

17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and will call upon the name of the LORD.

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Verse 10a: “I believed, and therefore I have spoken.”

is quoted by the Apostle Paul —

“We, having the same spirit of faith, in accordance with what is written:

‘I believed, and therefore I have spoken.’

We also believe, and therefore speak; knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus shall also raise us up through Jesus,

and shall present us with you.”

-2 Corinthians 4:13

Verse 12 Asks:

what will we give back to the LORD for all He has done for us?

12 What shall I give to the LORD in return for all His benefits to Me?

Verse 13 Answers (with reference to us):

that we receive Christ and pray.

13 I will take the Cup of Salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

This verse answers (with reference to Christ):

“And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying,

‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me:

nevertheless not as I will, but as You will'”

-Matthew 26:39

Verse 17 Continues answering:

that we should give thanks and pray.

17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and will call upon the name of the LORD.

Hebrews Chapter 13 states it this way:

“Through Christ therefore let us offer

this sacrifice of praise to God continually;

that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.”

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Verse 13…

13 I will take the Cup of Salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

…is the part of the Passover Seder (Service) where Christ took the cup of wine reserved for Elijah. At every Passover Seder still to this day, the door is left open and a cup of wine filled for Elijah, in the hope that he will arrive and announce the arrival of the Messiah.

“But I say to you, that Elijah has already arrived,

and they did not recognize him,

but have done to him whatever they wanted.

In the same way,

the Son of Man shall also suffer from them.

Then the Disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.”

-Matthew 17:12-13

With the Cup of Elijah, Christ instituted the Christian Communion Service.

The Cup of Salvation refers to the shedding of Christ’s Blood on the Cross, and subsequent offering of it before God’s throne in Heaven.

This Cup of Salvation finds its representation and memorial in

Christ’s institution of Communion.

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From our PrayerFoundation Worship Service

(Part 2, The Liturgy of the Eucharist):

COMMUNION

A Pure Offering

Officiant: The Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the Feast,

with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

(1 Corinthians 5:7-8)

All: From the rising of the sun to its setting,

God’s name shall be great among the nations;

and in every place,

incense shall be offered to His name,

and a pure offering.

(Malachi 1:11)

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The Bread of Life

Officiant: And Jesus said to them: “I am the Bread of Life: those that come to Me shall never hunger; and those that believe in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

All: The cup of blessing that we bless,

is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?

The bread that we break,

is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

Because there is One Bread,

we who are many are One Body,

for we all share that One Bread.

(1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

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Words of Institution

Officiant: The Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed,

took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said: