Praying with the Psalms in Lent: 7 March 2022 (Psalms 16, 17, 18)

‘The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places …’ (Psalm 16: 6) … the former Cold War border separating Italy and Slovenia and dividing the town of Gorizia or Gorica (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Lent began last week on Ash Wednesday (2 March 2022), and yesterday was the First Sunday in Lent. Before today begins, I am taking some time early this morning for prayer, reflection and reading.

During Lent this year, in this Prayer Diary on my blog each morning, I am reflecting in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

Psalm 16:

Psalm 16 is described as ‘a mitkam of David’ or ‘a song of trust and security in God.’ This psalm may have been written the Persian period, after 539 BCE, and for phrases and concepts the author may have drawn on Jeremiah 23: 6, 33: 16; Deuteronomy 33: 12; and the Book of Ezra.

This is the psalm that is quoted throughout Saint Peter’s speech in the Acts of the Apostles. However, the verses in the NRSV and NRSVA translations of this psalm are significantly different from Saint Peter’s quotations from it in the Acts of the Apostles.

Why is this so?

Saint Peter is quoting from the Septuagint (LXX) or Greek translation of the Bible, which was then used throughout Greek-speaking Jewish communities in the Mediterranean world. This translation could be said to take liberties with the original Hebrew text.

In addition, we can imagine Saint Peter citing the psalm loosely, quoting it from memory when it would not be possible to read from a standard, printed version.

Verses 1-2 summarise the psalm, as the speaker seeks refuge in worship in the Temple, where he sees God as the supreme good.

He sees the members of the faithful community, ‘the holy ones,’ as models for living, and refuses to worship with those who choose pagan gods, and will not even associate with them. His fate and his future are in God’s hands.

The author compares his lot to that of a Levite. For the other 11 tribes, there were boundary lines between the tribal territories in Israel, but the Levites received no land. In a similar way, the psalmist’s chosen portion is God himself.

God gives him counsel, teaches him, guides him and gladdens his heart. Because God guides him, he will stray, but continue to follow godly ways. For these reasons, he does not fear death but can be filled with joy for evermore.

Psalm 17:

Psalm 17 is described as ‘a prayer of David.’ Verses 1-7 can be described as a prayer for God’s intervention on behalf of the righteous, and the concluding verse, verse 16, as a response of faith and hope.

The psalmist prays for deliverance from his accusers who behave deceitfully. May God show them that I am innocent. ‘Visit me by night,’ when I am asleep and defenceless. You will find me godly in action and word. I keep the Law and I have always been peaceful, unlike others. I have kept to God’s ways and never slipped. I am sure that God will hear me, and hear me now.

He asks God to show his love and mercy, already made known in God’s covenant with the people. Through his power, or with his right hand, God has saved those who seek refuge in God. The God who is asked to use his eyes to behold what is right (verse 2) is the God who will keep me as the apple of his eye (verse 8).

And so the psalmist is confident that he will see God’s face and find himself in the presence of God.

Psalm 18:

Psalm 18 is numbered as Psalm 17 in the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translations of the Bible. With 50 verses, this is the longest psalm in Book 1 of the Book of Psalms (Psalms 1-41).

This psalm is one of a number of psalms which refer to God as a ‘rock’ and a ‘fortress’. The Jerusalem Bible describes this psalm as ‘a triumphal ode combining a thanksgiving prayer … with a royal victory song, ending on a messianic note.’

Psalm 18 is almost identical to II Samuel 22, although verse 1 of the psalm, ‘I love you, O Lord, my strength,’ is not included in the version in II Samuel. Many commentators point out how this psalm borrows material from II Samuel 22, which may have been written by King David himself, with later additions by multiple editors adapting it for use in public worship.

Psalm 16 (NRSVA):

A Miktam of David.

1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.’

3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.

4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
their drink-offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.

11 You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

‘Guard me as the apple of the eye’ (Psalm 17: 8) … apples in the Orachard in Grantchester, near Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 17 (NRSVA):

A Prayer of David.

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;
give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
2 From you let my vindication come;
let your eyes see the right.

3 If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
my mouth does not transgress.
4 As for what others do, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.

6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me, hear my words.
7 Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O saviour of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.

8 Guard me as the apple of the eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They track me down; now they surround me;
they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.

13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them!
By your sword deliver my life from the wicked,
14 from mortals—by your hand, O Lord—
from mortals whose portion in life is in this world.
May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them;
may their children have more than enough;
may they leave something over to their little ones.

15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

‘By my God I can leap over a wall’ (Psalm 18: 29) … the walls of the Jewish Cemetery at Woodtown, Rathfarnham, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 18 (NRSVA):

To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
so I shall be saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
5 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

7 Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub, and flew;
he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering around him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
14 And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16 He reached down from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
and from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity;
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his ordinances were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself blameless;
26 with the pure you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
27 For you deliver a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 It is you who light my lamp;
the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 By you I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30 This God – his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

31 For who is God except the Lord?
And who is a rock besides our God?—
32 the God who girded me with strength,
and made my way safe.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a deer,
and set me secure on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand has supported me;
your help has made me great.
36 You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
38 I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43 You delivered me from strife with the peoples;
you made me head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
45 Foreigners lost heart,
and came trembling out of their strongholds.

46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation,
47 the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me;
48 who delivered me from my enemies;
indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;
you delivered me from the violent.

49 For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
50 Great triumphs he gives to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants for ever.

Today’s Prayer:

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary this morning (7 March 2022, Commonwealth Day) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ across the Commonwealth, a political association of 54 free and equal states across the world.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

‘My footsteps hold fast in the ways of your commandments’ (Psalm 17: 5) … footsteps in the sand at Ballybunion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Malta: a modern European state with a legacy of 8,000 years

Red pillar boxes on the streets of Valletta … Malta is comfortable with its British legacy (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Malta is an island republic in the Mediterranean, between Italy, Tunisia and Libya, and the tenth smallest and fourth most densely populated country in the world. Its capital Valletta, is the smallest capital city in the European Union, and Maltese and English are the official languages, although many people are also fluent in Italian.

Malta has been inhabited for about 8,000 years, and its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has given Malta strategic importance as a naval base. The Maltese islands have been ruled by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragon, the Knights of Saint John or Knights of Malta, Napoleonic France, and Britain.

Malta became a British colony in 1813, becoming an important base for British naval vessels and the headquarters of the British Mediterranean Fleet.

During World War II, Malta was an important Allied base for operations in North Africa and the Mediterranean and besieged by the Axis powers, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

The bravery of the Maltese people moved King George VI to award the George Cross on a collective basis on 15 April 1942.

Malta became an independent state in 1964, and became a republic in 1974. It remains a member of the Commonwealth and joined the European Union in 2004. But the red pillar boxes and telephone boxes everywhere show that Malta has no cultural problems about the British legacy and a depiction of the George Cross remains on the flag and the coat of arms of Malta.

The Grand Master’s Palace of Knights of Saint John … still used for Maltese state receptions (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

***

The most enduring presence on Malta has been the Knights Hospitaller or the Knights of Saint John, also known as the Knights of Malta. They ruled Malta from 1530, after they were forced by the advancing Ottoman Turks to abandon Rhodes and other islands in the east Mediterranean, until 1798, when they were expelled from Malta and Gozo by Napoleon.

The knights, led by their French-born Grand Master, Jean Parisot de Vallette, withstood the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. With the help of Spanish and Maltese forces, they repelled the Ottoman Turks.

After the siege, the knights stepped up the fortification of Malta, particularly in the inner-harbour area, built the new city of Valletta, named in honour of Valette and replacing the old capital of Mdina.

The bastions and watchtowers of Valletta retain the names of saints and the Grand Masters of the order, and many of the minor palaces of the knights, named after their different nationalities and languages, including Castille, Leon and Portugal, have survived for almost five centuries.

The Grand Master’s Palace is still used for state receptions. But, as a modern democracy, Malta also boasts interesting modern architecture, including the new Parliament on Freedom Square, designed by Rezo Piano, the Italian architect who also designed Europe’s tallest skyscraper, the Shard in London.

Saint John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, built by the Knights of Saint John (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Saint Paul’s shipwreck
and an Anglican cathedral

Perhaps the most visited church in Valletta is the Co-Cathedral of Saint John, with its masterpiece by Caravaggio depicting the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, the patron of the Knights of Saint John.

Throughout Malta, many churches are dedicated to Saint Paul, who was shipwrecked in Malta on his way from Caesarea to Rome as a prisoner. The town of Saint Paul’s Bay, about 16 km north-west of Valletta, recalls his shipwreck, recounted in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 27-28). on Saint Paul’s Islands near St Paul's Bay, on his voyage to Rome. Saint Paul’s stay is said to have laid the foundations of Christianity on the island.

Saint Luke recounts that Saint Paul’s ship was lost at sea for two weeks during winter storms. Eventually, the ship ran aground on the island of Malta and was dashed to pieces by the surf, but all of the occupants survived and made it to shore.

Saint Paul’s Island, an uninhabited, rocky islet at the entrance to Saint Paul’s Bay, is thought to be the site where of the shipwreck (Acts 27: 41). Saint Paul’s Shipwreck Church stands on the water’s edge in the town of Saint Paul’s Bay. The church is also known as Saint Paul’s Bonfire Church and commemorates the traditional site where the shipwreck survivors, including Saint Paul, swam ashore and a bonfire was built for them.

The Maltese Parliament on Freedom Square in Valletta, designed by the Italian architect Rezo Piano (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

***

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, commonly known as Saint Paul’s Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is the Roman Catholic cathedral in Mdina, the ancient capital of Malta. It was founded in the 12th century and remains the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, although since the 19th century it has shared this function with Saint John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

Saint Paul’s Pro-Cathedral in Independence Square, Valletta, officially the Pro-Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Paul, is an Anglican pro-cathedral of the Diocese in Europe, alongside the cathedrals in Gibraltar and Brussels.

The cathedral was commissioned by the Dowager Queen Adelaide during a visit to Malta in the 19th century, when she learned there was no place of Anglican worship on the island. Before her visit, Anglican services were held in a room in the Grand Master’s Palace.

Saint Paul’s was built on the site of the Auberge d’Allemagne, or the conventual home of the German Knights Hospitaller. The cathedral was designed by William Scamp and was built in 1839-1844.

The cathedral is a landmark in Valletta, thanks to its spire rising to a over 60 metres, and is clearly visible in the Marsamxett Harbour. The undercroft was used as an air raid shelter during World War II.

The cathedral suffered minor damage during World War II and the roof collapsed, but most of the structure remained intact. A project to restore Saint Paul’s Cathedral and the steeple was launched five years ago, with the aim of raising €3 million. When I visited the cathedral last week, much of the building was still covered in cladding and scaffolding.

Saint Paul’s Church above the Menqa or boat shelter at the harbour in Saint Paul’s Bay … the site of Saint Paul’s shipwreck (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Irish saints, governors
and burials in Valletta

It seems almost every second street in Valletta is named after a saint, including steep San Patriziziju or Saint Patrick Street. Most of those streets also have a church named after the saint. I could find no Saint Patrick’s Church, but I found two monuments on the bastions with interesting Irish connections.

The Hastings Gardens, on top of Saint Michael’s Bastion, are named after Francis Edward Rawdon-Hasting (1754-1826), 1st Marquis of Hastings and an Irish-born Governor of Malta.

Lord Hastings, who is buried in the gardens, was Governor-General of India in 1813-1823 and Governor of Malta in 1824-1826. Hastings was born at Moira, Co Down, the son of John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira and Lady Elizabeth Hastings, 13th Baroness Hastings. He was baptised in Saint Audoen’s Church, Dublin, on 2 January 1755, and grew up in Moira and in Dublin.

As an officer, he fought in the British army during the American War of Independence and raised a regiment, called the Volunteers of Ireland. He was MP for Randalstown, Co Antrim, in the Irish Parliament in 1781-1783. He was given the title of Baron Rawdon in 1783, succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Moira in 1793, and sat in the Irish House of Lords until the Act of Union.

It was rumoured briefly in 1797 that he would replace William Pitt as Prime Minister. In the Irish Parliament, he was identified with the Patriot party of Henry Grattan and Lord Charlemont, he appealed for parliamentary reform and Catholic Emancipation, and denounced government coercion before the 1798 Rising began. Wolfe Tone described him as ‘The Irish Lafayette,’ and he was a patron of the poet Thomas Moore.

Saint Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Valletta … Queen Adelaide laid the foundation stone in 1839 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)<

***

While Lord Moira was the Governor-General of India (1812-1821), he became the Marquess of Hastings in 1816. He was appointed Governor of Malta in 1824 but he died at sea off Naples in 1826 on his way home.

Lady Hastings returned his body to Malta, but had his right hand cut off and preserved. His body was then buried in a large marble sarcophagus in Hastings Gardens in Valletta. His right hand was eventually buried, clasped with hers, when she died.

Close to the Hastings Gardens is the unusual grave of Sir Robert Cavendish Spencer (1791-1830), a naval officer with Irish family links. He was a nephew of Lady Georgiana Spencer, and her husband William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, of Lismore Castle, Co Waterford. His brother-in-law, Lord George Quin, was MP for Kells (1776-1790) Longford (1794-1795) and Meath (1794-1795). Spencer’s brothers included George Spencer (1799-1864), known as Father Ignatius, a Passionist preacher throughout Ireland and Britain.

Spencer died on board HMS Madagascar off Alexandria on 4 November 1830, on his way back to London. His body was kept in quarantine at the Lazaretto on Manoel Island near Valletta for 40 days, and was then taken to Valletta, where he was buried on Saint Michael’s Bastion.

At the time, Spencer’s cousin, Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby (1783-1837) from Co Kilkenny, was Governor of Malta (1826-1836). Ponsonby’s Column was erected in his honour in Valletta in 1838, but was destroyed by lightning in 1864.

The grave and monument to Lord Hastings on the walls on Valletta … he was born in Moira, Co Down, and raised in Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

This feature was first published in March 2022 in the Church Review, the diocesan magazine of Dublin and Glendalough, pp 6-7