The Vespers of Tuesday
The readings of this hour speak of:
The Last Call of God to all mankind by repentance (prophecies).
And rewarding the ones who accepted the call (Psalm).
And the punishment of those who rejected it (the gospel).
Prophecies
The first prophecy (Exodus 19: 1-9)
This prophecy begins with the divine call to keep the commandment in order to truly become His people and His own:
“and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:…..Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; “
The second prophecy (Job 23: 2 – 24: 1)- etc
This prophecy explains how the righteous accepted God’s discipline, and how the wicked deviated and God punished them.
“I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me.Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me.There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.”
About the wicked
“And whatever His soul desires, that He does…. The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.
For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow.
“But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life.”
The third prophecy (Hosea 4: 1-8)
This prophecy brings the divine judgment of all the people and their leaders for the absence of knowledge of God, truth and mercy.
” For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed….My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me;”
Psalm (Ps 120:2,6,7)
This psalm proclaims the protection, care and salvation of God for His children:
“Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips And from a deceitful tongue.My soul has dwelt too long With one who hates peace. I am for peace; But when I speak, they are for war.”
The link between the psalm and the Gospel (Father Luke cedarus) [2]
Deliver my soul, O Lord
Just as the Lord’s body was subjected to excruciating sufferings until there was no strength left in it … so was Himself subjected to sufferings until death “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” (Matt 26: 38). During the gospel chapter, the Lord’s soul suffered greatly and said, as he said in the garden later, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me”.. “Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips”.
The lips of the Pharisees greatly oppressed the Lord .. They said to him, ‘ Where is your father?’ The Jews said He would kill Himself! And then they came back, and they said to him, ‘ who are you?’ Who do you make yourself And again they said to him, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.” “He has a demon in Him” “” He is deranged.”
Just as the whips hurt the Lord’s body, so did these lips hurt Himself… just as the Lord endured the injustice of the wicked and the smacking, so also he endured cursing and threats from the unjust lips and from the cruel tongue.
they are for war
All the Lord’s sufferings were free, because He is holy, without blemish and without evil. Which of you convicts Me of sin? (John 8: 46). And His Divine word was pure, “there is no deceit in His mouth,” and they wanted to catch Him with a word, but forbid Him to sin.
The Gospel (John 8:21- 29)
The gospel closes with a final warning for non-repentance that man will seek God and not find Him (after the door is closed and the opportunities for repentance are over) because of the insistence on sin and non-repentance.
“Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come…..Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
And His cross will testify to them that they rejected Him and did not accept His salvation:
“Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, “
The third hour of Tuesday
The readings of this hour speak of “the afterlife, the end and fate
“He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end” (the prophecy of the Exodus)
“Stick to Him and do not turn away from Him in order to grow in your afterlife” (the prophecy of Joshua ben Sirach).
” Not one stone shall be left upon another,” (the gospel)
Prophecy
The first prophecy (Deut 8: 11)-etc
This prophecy shows how the end of chastenings for His children will be for the good of them in the end, but if they do not accept God’s warnings and His commandment, the end will be judgment and destruction:
” He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end–
Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.
As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish,”
The second prophecy (Sirach 2: 1 – 9)
This experience speaks of the pious, fearful and servants of the Lord, how they hope for eternal life and wait for God’s mercy, accepting all tribulations from His divine hand to purify them like gold:
“My son, if you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Stick to it and do not turn away from it in order to discipline you and try you and then improve you in the end… for gold is anointed with fire and the Chosen of people in the furnace of humiliation .O, those who fear the Lord believe in Him, so that your reward is not wasted and O, those who fear the Lord hope goodness, eternal life and mercy.”
The third prophecy (Job 27: 1 – 20; and 28: 1, 2)
This prophecy talks about the suddenness of the end and how the wicked were surprised:
“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty:….
He builds his house like a moth, Like a booth which a watchman makes.
The rich man will lie down, But not be gathered up; He opens his eyes, And he is no more.”
The fourth prophecy (1 Kings 19: 9-14)
This prophecy compares the coming of the Lord for the salvation of mankind with His coming for the sake of judgment, therefore:
If He comes to judge the world, there will be an earthquake, fire, and a strong wind (Joel 2 :10,11)
But His coming for the salvation of mankind was a gentle breeze (Matthew 12: 10):
“The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”
Psalm (Ps 119: 154, 155)
“Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Your word.
Salvation is far from the wicked, For they do not seek Your statutes.”
The psalm shows:
The reason for the righteous’s survival is to stick to His word..
And the reason for the judgment of the Wicked is the underestimation of His rights.
And the second part is where the psalm proclaims the joy of salvation.
The link between the psalm and the Gospel (Luke cedarus shirts)[3]
“Plead my cause
The Lord stood before Jerusalem which refused to accept His salvation and despised His love, the attitude of a supplicant, saying: ‘how many times have I wanted to gather your children?’!… But she refused “ ” you did not want,” and nothing is more cruel than to despise the love of the Lord and refuse His call… so the Lord from Jerusalem stopped in the position of the oppressed complainant who has a claim on Jerusalem, saying: Judge my judgment. As Isaiah said in the Old Days, “Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.” (Isaiah 5: 3).
The Lord has condemned the refusing city to become desolate and abandoned, a house without an inhabitant “your house will be left to you desolation”. The Lord chose Zion and pleased her as a dwelling for Him, but she rejected her bridegroom and despised the love of Her lover, so what would be her punishment?
Salvation is far from the wicked,
The Lord Jesus came to ask and save sinners, and ?He does not want the death of a sinner, and He wants everyone to be saved, so how can salvation be away from sinners?!.
Jesus was in the House of Simon the Pharisee, sitting next to him, but Simon was very far from Him, Judas was a disciple of the Lord, but he was far from Salvation.
For they do not seek Your statutes.
How can you believe as you accept each other’s glory from each other?. Thus, souls who reject the divine truth throw themselves away from the salvation of the Lord.
The gospel (Matthew 23: 37-24: 1, 2)
The gospel concludes with the Lord’s constant attempts with His people and their leaders, their constant rejection, their condemnation and the ruin of the place of their pride and glory, and this is what happened less than forty years later
” This generation will by no means pass away ” by Titus, the Roman commander, and the whole of Jerusalem was ruined:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate.”
The sixth hour of Tuesday
These readings speak of:
The son who is The Judge of the world. (The first prophecy).
And the truth that we proclaim (the second prophecy).
And our Holy (the third prophecy).
And we were saved (Psalm).
And our constant light (the gospel).
Prophecy
The first prophecy (Ezekiel 21: 3-13)
The prophecy begins by drawing a picture of the judgment, its cause and the danger of underestimating it and not being humble in preparation for it:
“Therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north,… Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes.”
The second prophecy (Sirach 4: 23-5: 1, 2)
This prophecy speaks of the danger of not declaring the truth and testifying to it, and the most dangerous is to resist it out of shame or fear of people:
“Do not resist the truth and be ashamed of your ignorance do not be ashamed to confess your sins… strive for the truth to the death so that God will fight for you”.
The third prophecy (Isaiah 1:1 – 9)
The prophecy here comes as a complement to the first prophecy, which said that the sins of the people are from south to the north, but here He says that the sins are from below to above and the judgment is coming and it is delayed by the rest:
“But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”
They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel,
The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it,.. Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.”
Psalm (Ps 18: 17,48)
“He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.
He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.”
The prophecy here explains that God is He who saves His children from adversity and tribulations،
Perhaps these verses explain the great number of oppressors and persecutors, as it was the case with the Lamb of God, from the enemies, the Romans, who rose against Him, like the Jews , from the unjust man, who is Judah, and from the strong enemies; the Romans as well.
The link between the psalm and the Gospel (Father Luke cedarus) [4]
My strong enemies
This is how the psalm calls the groups of Pharisees who stood before Christ enemies because they hated the light (Christ) and submitted to the spirit of the evil enemy (the spirit of darkness), and they speak to the Lord with power and violence… they are strong in their hour and the power of darkness, but they are very weak before the divine light.
Those who rise against me, those who hated me
Light disgraces their evil deeds.Therefore, falsehood hates the truth, the world hates believers, evil hates peace, and uncleanness hates purity… The Lord reveals to us the secret of victory and triumph which is in the union with Him, “I have conquered the world” and the man who lives in the power of Christ overcomes the impotent enemies.. He overcomes lust, lies and malice… and only in Christ does the soul discovers the weakness of the most formidable enemies.
From those who hated me
The psalm refers to what is stated in the Gospel of this hour: “no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.” (John 8: 20) .
The Gospel (John 8 :12-20)– etc
The gospel closes with the son of God our light in the world, who gives us the light of life:
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The ninth hour on Tuesday
In these readings comes the end, the end of the Earth and everything on it, standing before the throne of God and the chair of judgment:
It begins with the flood as a kind of end in surprise (Genesis).
And how to prepare for it with wisdom (Proverbs of Solomon).
And clear prophecies about his second coming (Ezekiel and Daniel).
And the cry of the soul at death, lest the Demons gloat over it (Psalm).
And the signs of the end (gospel).
Prophecy
The first prophecy (Genesis 6: 5)- etc., (ch 7, ch 8, ch 9: 1– 6)
This story tells of the corruption of human nature by sin and the increase of evil to the point that God exterminates every living being for the sake of a new beginning and we see here an end followed by another beginning and a new promise:
”Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually….
So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, ……
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
As God recommended to Noah to make an ark that was an example of the body of the Word that would save mankind in the fullness of time from the flood of sin, evil and the power of Satan, its dimensions were three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. That is, its length is six times as wide and ten times as deep, and these are the dimensions of the human body in the perfection of his manhood, his length is six times as wide and ten times as deep (abdomen), that is, the Ark in its dimensions symbolized the body of the Word,
The Lord also commanded him to have the door of the ark on its side, the one through which those who survived the flood entered and left, a reference to the side of the crucified Jesus and His divine wounds, which renewed human nature and became atonement for the sins of the whole world.
In this sense, St. Augustine says:
[The Ark is undoubtedly a symbol of the city of God in its journey through history.. It is a symbol of the church, which was saved by the wood on which was hung“ Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2: 5).
The measurements of the ark: length,height and width mean the human body of huan, so “the Incarnate Word” came in it as if it were a prophecy of His coming. We recall that the length of the normal body from the head to the feet is 6 times the width from side to side, and 10 times the thickness from the back to the chest… So the ark dimensions were 300 cubits long, 50 wide, and 30 high.
As for the door on the side, it certainly refers to the open wound where the Crucified was stabbed with a spear in His side, it is the door through which those who come to Him enter, in the sense that believers enter the church through the sacraments stemming from this wound.
He ordered that the Ark be erected from square plates – a symbol of the four: that is, constancy in the sacred life that resembles a cube where it stands firmly, however it is placed.
In this way all the details of the formation of the Ark are symbols of aspects in the church].[5]
The Holy Fathers explain how the church is a ship of salvation from judgment, as mentioned by Father Matthias Nasr:
[The Ark symbolizes the church, which is resisting the waves of turmoil and trials, and the Lord at His long-suffering seems to be asleep until the last moment, and when He is awakened by the prayers of the Saints, He silences the world and restores peace to His children. (Saint Cyril the great).
Salvation also came in the days of Noah by the wood and water, and there is the beginning of a new creation, as they say ,as they say, the Holy Spirit descended on the real Noah ; the Creator of the new creation when the only spiritual dove descended on Him at the time of His baptism. It also shows us that he is the very one, and by means of the wood of the cross He gives salvation to believers, as it is also he who at the evening time by His death endowed the world with the grace of salvation, and it was found in the mind of God before creation and for the sake of which He created the world. (Saint Cyril of Jerusalem)
The Crow was sent from the Ark and did not return, after which the Dove declared peace to the Earth, so in the baptism of the church the devil who refers to the crow is expelled and the Dove (Holy Spirit) declares peace to our Earth. (Saint Jerome)
Noah in the ark had placed the beast at the bottom of it, and he made the bird in the middle of it, and ,like God, he was in the above. And the people of Mount Sinai were left at the bottom of it, the priests in its circle, Aaron in its center, Moses at its top and the One whose glory is in its dome. The mystery of the parts of the paradise of life has been represented by God in the Ark and on Mount Sinai, so by installing itn it is an image for us of the example of paradise with its height, splendor, goodness and types, it is the port of all treasures, like the example of the church. (Mar Ephraim the Syriac)] [6]
But on the other side comes the famous question :
Where is God’s tenderness, mercy and love for humanity in the story of the flood?.. And, perhaps, this question always comes up when disasters happen to humans.
The strange thing is St. Peter’s saying about what happened in the flood “when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah,” (1 Peter 3:20), and if we know that the construction of the Ark took about a hundred years, we understand the meaning of the word God’s longsuffering,
But someone might say, ‘ Why did God destroy people even after a hundred years?’
The response here comes from the liturgy, from the evening litany of the Holy Pascha :
O you who saved your righteous servant Noah and saved him from the flood, along with his sons and their women, as well as clean and unclean animals, for the sake of renewing the Earth again, we ask you, Lord, listen to us and have mercy.
What we as humans call mortality was actually a renewal of the Earth. After the increase and aggravation of evil among people, and the corruption of the Earth by the actions of humans, and the rejection of God’s repeated call to repent year after year, up to a hundred years, the bleeding of evil had to be stopped out of pity on the Earth:
“and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;( 2 Peter 2 :5)
Perhaps I am not exaggerating if I say that God did not pity mankind for mankind’s sake, and He did not pity the Earth for the Earth’s sake, in the sense that if God had left the world without a flood, mankind would have destroyed themselves by themselves and no flesh remained, even Noah himself and his family.
The victims of the Second World War are about sixty million people!!, And what if Hitler won and the annihilation of mankind continued with their own hands?
And how beautiful the interpretation of the Holy Fathers (Saints Athanasius, Cyril and Hieronymus) of the biblical text is
( 1 Peter 3:19) concerning the preaching of spirits in prison is that it concerned the people of Noah’s day, who found water around them from every side and cried out to God with remorse and repentance, and God accepted their cry and repentance.[7]
That is, the flood in the end was (so to speak) the way God used for their salvation, and not for their annihilation! And, perhaps, this is the meaning of the saying of the book “and I put for judgment – judgment in another translation – means hope” (Isaiah 28: 61) according to the Coptic translation of the text).
As we see-on the other hand-that we are now living in the story of the flood of this ephemeral world (as we pray in the requests for Holy Pascha), in the sense that whoever rejects the ark of salvation, which is the church and lives outside it, does not realize that he is immersed in the flood of the world. The difference between the days of Noah and our days is the physical death of human beings. But now their death is spiritual, psychological and social, and what we see now of drugs, prostitution and injustice leads to the loss of the meaning of scrificing love, family and giving, and self-deification, meaning so value and identity are lost, and man descends from vacuum to vacuum, and perhaps this is the meaning of this biblical text today,
The salvation that the church proclaims is Noah’s preaching to the world, the blessing of those who respond and survive, and the great sorrow for those who resist and refuse and drown themselves in the flood of the world.
The second prophecy (The Proverbs 9: 1 – 11)
This prophecy proclaims to the church the ark of salvation from the flood of the world with its seven sacraments and its satisfying holy table:
” Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also furnished her table.”
The prophecy also declares how to prepare for the end with wisdom and the fear of God, and how to live our years on earth with divine understanding and knowledge instead of the ignorance that the wicked live:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you.”
The third prophecy (Isaiah 40: 9) – etc
And here comes the third prophecy after the first and the renewal of humanity by the flood, which made an end to evil and corruption, and the second prophecy refers to the hypostasis of the Son (wisdom) and the need for Him for a new life. And we see in the third prophecy here the fulfillment of this need by the end of the corruption of human nature in the fullness of time through the incarnation of the Word and the revelation of the Fatherhood of God the father and His care in Christ for the souls of the New Testament:
“O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.
He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.”
The fourth prophecy (Daniel 7: 9 – 15)
In this prophecy Daniel the prophet saw two visions:
The first one talks about the end of the world, the end of the powers of humans, evil and standing before the throne of God for judgment:
“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.
I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.”
And the second vision speaks of the incarnation of the Word, and perhaps what the Prophet saw here is as if he was looking from heaven at the time of the Lord’s bodily ascension to heaven to stand before God the father, announcing that through His redemption, salvation, resurrection and ascension that redemption was completed. So He restored to humanity the authority,power,glory and kingdom.Therefore, this salvation was revealed to all nations that believed in Him and came in the person of the Magi to worship Him:
“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.”
The fifth prophecy (The Proverbs 8: 1 – 12)
The prophecies conclude with the call to accept the son;the Word (wisdom) , who is better than all the world and more guaranteed to man throughout his life in the love of God:
“For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And find out knowledge and discretion.”
Psalm (Ps 25: 1, 2)
Therefore, the soul cries out in this psalm, lest the enemy, Satan, gloat over it and that God may preserve it forever without shame:
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.”
The link between the psalm and the Gospel (Luke cedarus shirts)[8]
To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
Here the psalm speaks on behalf of the community of believers working the will of the Savior who have thrown their hope on Him, and asks the Father not to disappoint their hope in salvation, and not to gloat about their enemies. The psalm expresses the state of uplifting oneself in prayer.
Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.
Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
The enemies laugh at the soul that repents of the cross (many are led astray) if they tell you that here he is in the wilderness, do not go out… do not believe every soul… this indicates that the soul that is fortified and bound by the church becomes safe from falling into deviations of faith outside the church. The enemies laugh when they think that they have won when they hand over the children of God to the tribulation, but their laughter does not last long. “woe to you, you laughers now”.
Finally, it points out that the shame of destruction is the lot of the wicked, the sons of the murderers of the prophets.
The gospel (Matthew 24: 3-35)
Then the Gospel comes with the signs of the end from:
The many wars between states ” for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom “
Natural disasters are”earthquakes, famines, epidemics”.
And the tribulations of believers, “and you shall be hated by all nations for my name’s sake”.
And false prophets and Christs “and many false prophets arise”.
False signs and wonders “for false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders”.
And the signs are in nature itself “immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened,and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from heaven”
To the coming of the son of man in his glory “and they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”.
The eleventh hour of Tuesday
The readings of this hour come to show the reward of the righteous and the judgment of the wicked, so we see the eternal light of God who:
heals all our pains (Isaiah’s prophecy).
illuminates our life on Earth (the proverbs of Solomon).
And rewards His faithful servants and for works of love (gospel).
Prophecy
The first prophecy (Isiaah 30: 25)- etc
This prophecy speaks of the richness of God’s compensation for His suffering children with His eternal light, which will heal all pains and aches:
“Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound. His lips are full of indignation”
And if the words of His lips are Glory to the righteous, but at the same time they are horror for the wicked:
“The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm,”
The second prophecy (Proverbs 6: 23,27)- etc
This prophecy also shows the importance and blessings of the words of His lips:
“For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,”
And how sin hurts its doer in the end:
“Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, And his feet not be seared?”
Psalm 45:9,41:1)
” Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”
Here comes God’s reward for those who served their brethern and gave to the poor, the needy and the destitute, so that they deserved to be saved from judgment “on the bad day”, that is, the day of fear and terror.
As our father Tadros Jacob Malti points to Psalm 40, Psalm 41 as they refer to the sufferings of Christ ,glory be to Him:
[The two Psalms are prophetic, they talk about the resistance of the wicked to Christ, His sufferings, His victory. Jesus referred to this psalm (41) as a prophecy of Judas ‘ betrayal of Him (John 13: 18), as referred to by St. Peter (Acts 1: 16)].[9]
The link between the psalm and the Gospel (Father Luke cedarus)[10]
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever
Not only to the day of judgment, but also yesterday, today and forever, even if you have been put a little lower than the angels, but the Angels serve you since eternity and serve you in the days of maqking yourself of no reputation, and your miraculous descent into temptation on the mountain..
The Angels began to serve Him, and in the garden an angel appeared to Him from heaven who strengthens Him and says to him: you have power and glory, and he serves you in your glory, in judgment He sends His angels … He sits on the chair of His glory and all the holy angels around Him, serve him forever and ever.
And if you talk to your disciples about the throne of your glory, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, for you are the one sitting on the Cherubim, and you are the one who is in heaven all the time, and you are the one who said: “Heaven is my throne”, and if you sit on the ground in the midst of the disciples, the Earth is your foothold.
Testimony to Israel …
These rising tribes are testifying to the New Israel .. For the salvation that Christ did on the cross and testified against the world, the pure ones testified against the uncleanness of the world, and the hermits testified against those who were tempted and attracted by the world with its joys and pleasures
They confess to the name of the Lord …
This is the praise of the elect who testified to the Lord before the world .. Their testimony remains until the coming of the Lord Jesus and they confess in His name that He is righteous and that His mercy is forever.
The gospel (Matthew 25: 14) – etc, 26: 1, 2)
Here comes the reward for the slaves, that is, the servants and shepherds for their honesty and diligence, so they deserve heavenly joy that surpasses all human conceptions:
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’
His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
The punishment comes to those who buried their talents in the matters of the Earth, its conflicts and temptations, they did not have fruit in their ministry, and they were not satisfied with this, but blamed their master and used many excuses to escape from their responsibilities:
“But his lord answered and said to him ,”You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.
So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest… And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.”
And the outer darkness here is compared to the divine light that the righteous receive, which came in the prophecies of this night.
Reward also comes to all believers for acts of love, no matter how simple:
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink… Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?… And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
.Here the connection is also clear with the eleventh hour Psalm and beatification for those who understand about the poor and the needy.
It also inflicts punishment for callousness of the heart and closing the bowels towards the needy and the suffering:
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;”