Category Archives: A Lamp for Today

Psalm 140 (MT141); Numbers 16; 2 Cor 5:21-6:1; Romans 5:1-2, 1 Thess 5:23-4 The first of the four “lamp-lighting” Psalms of Vespers has been prayed in the evening for about three millennia, since the time of King David, to whom Psalm 140/141 is ascribed. Because its context in the evening is clear from the firstContinue reading “Light from the Psalter 3: Lamplight Lifting of the Hands”

Psalms 1-3; 2 Samuel (2 Kingdoms)15-18 In the first session of this series on the Psalms, we began with Psalm 103/104, the first Psalm recited for Saturday Great Vespers, seeing ourselves in that blessed place with God as, resting, He surveys and is pleased with all that He has created.  The next selection from theContinue reading “Light from the Psalter 2: Blessed is the Man!”

PSALM 103 (LXX); Hebrews 12:18-24; Exodus 24; Genesis 1; 1 Corinthians 15 Every week, beginning with sundown on Saturday, we recite Psalms with the Church, and so are illumined by God.  Great Vespers begins with the astonishing psalm of creation (Psalm 103 LXX/104 Hebrew text), by which we stand, as it were, alongside God duringContinue reading “Light from the Psalter 1: It is Very Good!”

Song of Simeon/Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32); Genesis 26:26-30; 2 Samuel (Kingdoms) 20:41-42; Isaiah 54:10;  Nehemiah 8:3. “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples— a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for theContinue reading “Light from the Canticles 12: Departing in Peace”

Luke 1:68-79; Genesis 12:1-3; Gen 22:16-17; Psalm 18/LXX 17:3; 2 Samuel/Kingdoms 7:1-17; 2 Samuel/Kingdoms 22:3; Isaiah 9:2, Malachi 3:1; 4:2-5 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spokeContinue reading “Light from the Canticles 11: Horn, House, Oath, and Dayspring”

Canticle 9, first part (Luke 1:46-55); 1 Sam 2:1-10; 2 Cor 10:15; Gen 22:17-18 The first part of canticle 9, called the Magnificat, has been beloved for centuries.  It is the song of rejoicing and triumph of our Mother, and stands in an initial place of Luke’s Gospel, as well as studding our worship services.Continue reading “Light from the Canticles 10: Magnifying the Savior”

Canticle 8 (Dan 3:57-88 LXX) Last time we considered Old Testament Canticle Seven, with its vulnerable and striking confession of Azariah, with the story of how he and his friends are cast into the furnace, and with the beginning of the song of the Three Youths.  Their song opens, as we saw, with the sightContinue reading “Light from the Canticles 9: Sing and Exalt Him Throughout All the Ages!”

Canticle 7 (Dan 3:25-56); 2 King 19:15-20:6; Genesis 22:15-18 The seventh and eighth Biblical canticles, comprising the confession of Azariah and the song of his three friends in the fiery furnace, are everywhere present in holy week.  Indeed, their exhortation to “praise the Lord and highly exalt Him forever” finds its way into the mouthContinue reading “Light from the Canticles Episode 8: Azariah’s Confession and the Beginning of the Song”

Jonah 2:2-9; Matt 12:39-41; Job 41; Psalm 104/LXX 103:26; Psalm 139/LXX 138: 8-12; Psalm 148:7 The song of Jonah, Old Testament Canticle 6, is notable for its poignancy and substance.  Jonah gives voice to the desolation of those who know themselves to be at the brink of death, crying out to the Lord from theContinue reading “Light from the Canticles 7: Jonah’s Cry from the Depths”

Isaiah 26:9-20; Psalm 119; Romans 8:22-39; 2 Peter 1:19 The fifth Biblical Ode, taken from the song in Isaiah 26:9-20, is both challenging, and encouraging.  It begins practically, with a description of human vigilance before God, and ends pragmatically, with a reminder that human beings are given by the LORD a time of rest, forContinue reading “Light from the Canticles 6: Hosea’s Yearning and Hope”