Tag Archives: Spiritual Psalter

A Confession of Redemption and a Prayer for the Church

Posted on by

May Thy compassion be praised, O Christ our King, O Son of God worshipped by all! Thouart our King, Thou art our God, Thou art the author of our life and our great hope.

With one soul do both the heavenly hosts and the ranks below praise Thee and sing unto Thee a song of thanks, for Thou Who wast concealed hast in the last days appeared in the flesh of us mortals.

When Thy compassion was aroused and when it pleased Thy love to do so, Thou didst come for our redemption and liberate our race.

Thou didst cure our afflictions, cleanse our sins and, according to Thy Compassion, Thou didst raise those who were dead.

Thou didst establish on earth the holy Church in the image of the heavenly kingdom: Thou didst build her with love, establish her with compassion, and

Thou didst spiritually betroth Thyself to her, and gain her by Thy suffering.
But the hater of mankind, in his shameless impudence, attacks her in the person of her servers.

O Lord, do not leave Thy holy Church without Thy care, that the promise that Thou didst utter concerning her invincibility may not be shown false.

Do not let her majestic beauty be disfigured or her wealth be stolen.

Fulfill Thy promise that Thou didst make to Peter; seal Thy words with deeds.

Fortify her gates, strengthen her bars, exalt her horn, raise up her head.

Bless her sons, preserve her children, give peace to her priests and subdue those who wish her evil.

May Thy peace dwell in her and drive away from her all evil schisms.

Grant that we may lead a calm, peaceful life in fear of Thee.

May we maintain our faith with great confidence and perfect love.

May our life be pleasing to Thee and may we find compassion in Thee in the day of reckoning.

May we ceaselessly bring praise to Thee, O Lord, and to Thy Father and to the Holy Spirit.

‘Psalm’ 86, from ‘A Spiritual Psalter, or Reflections on God Excerpted by Bishop Theophan the Recluse from the works of our Holy Father Ephraim the Syrian.

Icon of Christ ‘The King of Kings and Great High Priest’ by the hand of Konstantin Antonov, cell of Hieromonk Mark.

For Untroubled Sleep

Posted on by

Grant me, O Lord, both in wakefulness to stand pure before Thee, my Redeemer, and in slumber to partake of sleep without sin.

If in wakefulness I commit transgressions, may I be cleansed by Thy grace, O Lord. And if I sin while asleep, may Thy loving-kindness be unto me purification.

With the cross of Thy humility, make my sleep untroubled, preserve me from the iniquitous dreams of sleep and from the impure conjurings of the imagination. Grant that I might spend the whole night in peaceful sleep and that evil and deleterious thoughts might not take possession of me.

With Thy life-creating Body, of which I have partaken, preserve me from impure lust, that I might lie down and fall asleep in peace. May Thy Blood protect me. And grant my soul, that is Thine image, the freedom that is proper to Thine image. And my Thy right arm shelter my body that was made by Thy hands.

Encircle me with the wall of Thy compassions like a defensive shield. And when my body rests and sleeps, may Thy goodness be my guard, that the Evil One might not approach my bed. By the protection of the Mother who bore Thee, by the sacrifice that Thou hast offered for all men, I beseech Thee: drive away Satan, that he might no trouble me.

In me, O Lord, fulfill Thy promise and preserve my life by Thy Cross. I shall praise Thee when I awake for showing me who am miserable Thy love. May both those who sleep, resting in peace, and those who abide in wakefulness, girded by Thine armor, give praise to Thee, O Preserver Who livest eternally and Who hast aroused me to sing Thy glory.

‘Psalm’ 82, from “A Spiritual Psalter, or Reflections on God”, excerpted by Bishop Theophan the Recluse from the works of our Holy Father Ephraim the Syrian

Heal Me O Lord, and Thereby Shame the Enemy

Posted on by

O Lord! Show me Thy great lovingkindness and give me relief from the persecutions of the destroyer, for he has covered me with sores and he stands and mocks me.

As Thou didst tame the sea with one word from Thy lips when the disciples awakened Thee, so also hearken unto my groans and cries and tame the waves of the passions that move within me, aroused in my soul by the enemy of my salvation.

As the woman with an issue of blood was healed by merely touching the hem of Thy garment and straightway her blood ceased to flow, so also may my soul from which the enemy ceaselessly draws streams of sinful thoughts be healed by touching Thee just once through faith, O Physician of souls and bodies.

Demonstrate the healing power of faith in Thee, O Healer of all sicknesses, in the healing of my members which the enemy has covered with sores. Make my sores sores no longer and instead cover them with virtues, that the enemy who has rejoiced at my ruin might then be ashamed.

O sinless Lamb, slaughtered for the salvation of the world and Creator of heaven and earth. Thy slave whom thou hast saved and given cause to rejoice shall ever praise Thy grace.

‘Psalm’ 78, from “A Spiritual Psalter, or Reflections on God”, excerpted by Bishop Theophan the Recluse from the works of our Holy Father Ephraim the Syrian