VATICAN CITY, MAR 10, 2004 (VIS) - During this Wednesday's general audience, celebrated in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope commented on Psalm 19, "Prayer for the victory of the King."
The Holy Father affirmed that this psalm is "a regal psalm of ancient Israel, proclaimed in the temple of Zion during a solemn rite. . It is easy to understand how the Christian tradition has turned this psalm into a hymn to Christ the King, the 'consecrated one', par excellence, the 'Messiah.' He enters the world without armies but with the strength of the Spirit and launches the definitive attack against evil and falsehood, against power and pride, against lies and selfishness."
"Prayer," he continued, "is profoundly characterized by the conviction that the Lord is the source of refuge: He grants the desire of the king and of the whole community which He is united to by the bond of the covenant. . The Word of God does not appear as an abstract message but as a voice that responds to the small and great miseries of humanity. Therefore, the psalm reflects the military language and the atmosphere that pervades Israel in times of war, conforming in this way to the sentiments of man in difficulty."
John Paul II indicated that the seventh verse, in contrast to previous verses "which express implicitly the petitions directed toward God, affirms the certainty of the answer that will be obtained: 'Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed, that he will answer him from his holy heaven'."
The psalm is also, he concluded, "an invitation to avoid the attraction of violence at all costs. The just person counteracts every form of evil with faith, benevolence, forgiveness, and peace."
AG/PSALM 19/. VIS 20040310 (290)
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