GENERAL AUDIENCE: PSALM IN HONOR OF DIVINE LAW

VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2001 (VIS) - In today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father spoke on Psalm 118, verses 145-152, "The promise to observe God's law."

John Paul II affirmed that this Psalm is a prayer composed in 22 stanzas, which correspond to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. It is a song in honor of divine law.

"Each of the 176 verses which make up this praise of the Torah, that is to say, the Law and the divine Word, contains at least one of the eight words with which the Torah itself is defined: law, word, testimony, judgement, saying, decree, precept, order. In this way divine revelation is celebrated, which is the unveiling of the mystery of God, but also a moral guide for the life of the faithful."

The Pope noted that "after a long night of waiting and of prayerful vigil in the temple, the believer is certain that the Lord will answer one who has spent the night praying, hoping, and meditating on the divine Word. Comforted by this knowledge ... he will no longer fear dangers. He knows that he will not be overcome by those who persecute him with evil purpose, because the Lord is near him."

"This stanza," the Holy Father concluded, "expresses an intense prayer: 'With my whole heart I cry; answer me O Lord! ... I rise before the dawn and cry for help; I hope in thy words'. ... At the same time, this stanza is also the exaltation of a certainty: we are not alone because God listens and intervenes."

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