The Monday after Oculi Sunday
Posted on March 9, 2026 by under
Scripture: 2 Samuel 22:1-7 (NKJV)
22:1 Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 And he said:
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
3 “The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.
4 “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 “When the waves of death surrounded me, the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
6 “The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears.”
Devotion
“Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.”
We do well to look carefully at these words. David not only had to deal with his enemies, he also had to deal with harm from his own people, namely Saul. Likewise as Christians, we are sometimes hurt by our fellow Christians. While they (usually) are not out to kill us as was Saul with David, there are times we may feel “the sorrows of Sheol” surrounding us as a result of their actions.
So what can one do under these circumstances? The obvious first thing to do is pray as did David, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears.” The Lord our God listens to our every prayer. We may think that we need to be formal in addressing our prayers to God, but there are times when our prayer is short and sweet, “Lord, help me.” And yes, such a prayer is sweet to the ears of our Lord, for He never stops loving us! He listens to us because we are His precious children. When we are baptized into Christ, He sees in us only the goodness of His Only-begotten Son.
Collect: We beseech Thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of Thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty to be our defense against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Season of Lent
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
