+ The peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. I wish to thank you my brethren for your support and all your generous contributions; truly they have helped us greatly in the service of the "Brethren of the Lord."

+ In the previous newsletter we began speaking of the second reward God grants to those who consider the poor and helpless: "the Lord will preserve him" (Ps. 41:2). We spoke of a spiritual symphony about God's preservation of the merciful and compassionate. The symphony, sung by the Holy Spirit on the tongue of David the King, was composed of seven segments. We will begin contemplating on the first segment where David sings: "You shall preserve me from trouble" (Ps. 32:7).

+ As our Lord said: "In the world you will have tribulation" (Jn. 16:33), but "[God] preserves the souls of His saints" (Ps. 97:10), and "The Lord preserves all who love Him" (Ps. 145:20). With His faithful heart and strong tower, the Lord preserves everyone who is compassionate to the poor. As Nahum the Prophet said: "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble" (Nahum 1:7). There are many examples of people whom God preserved from trouble. We now mention that of David the Prophet.

David the Prophet & King:

+ Our teacher David the Prophet had a tender heart towards the poor. He sings in Psalm 41: "Blessed is he who considers the poor. The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive" (1,2). All his life David experienced God's preservation from trouble. At the age of thirty, in his first year of reign as a king (cf. 2 Sam 5:4), he praised God saying: "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity" (2 Sam 4:9). Similarly in his last days he praised God saying: "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress" (1 Kings 1:29).

+ Did David actually experience the Lord's preservation all the days of his life? Did God preserve him from all troubles and tribulations? Let us examine what David sings in his psalms about Divine preservation:

"The Lord will be... a refuge in times of trouble." Ps. 9:9

"But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him." Ps. 37:39,40

"I will praise Your name O Lord for it is good. For He has delivered me out of all trouble." Ps. 45:6,7

"But I will sing of Your power; Yes I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble." Ps. 59:16

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me." Ps. 138:7

"Revive me, O Lord, for Your name's sake! For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble." Ps. 143:11

+ Truly O Lord... "You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with the songs of deliverance" (Ps. 32:7)... I will shout with praise all the days of my life saying: "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity" (2 Sam 4:9; cf. 1 Kings 1:29).

+ This is one example of God's preservation as highlighted in the first segment of the symphony. In the next newsletter God willing, we will give two other examples. May our Lord compensate you with the incorruptible instead of the corruptible, the heavenly instead of the earthly and the eternal instead of the temporal.

Bishop Youannes
General Bishop and Secretary of H.H. Pope Shenouda III