The Assurance of God’s Saving Work
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
May He send you help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen you out of Zion;
May He remember all your offerings,
And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And fulfill all your purpose.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.
Save, Lord!
May the King answer us when we call.
"May God answer you in your day of trouble." In one interpretation, Midrash Tehillim draws an analogy between the God-Israel relationship and the relationship of a mother and daughter who, though they have quarreled, are still so deeply connected that when the daughter cries out in labor, her mother -- even if her mother is in heaven, e.g. the world to come -- cries out along with her. "The suffering of my daughter is my suffering," the mother says. How wondrous that the sages could understand God as our Mother, who endures the birth-pangs of our transformation along with us!
The "time of trouble" at the beginning of the psalm and the "day when we call" at the end of the psalm can both be understood as the day of labor and delivery. The rabbis further note that this psalm has nine verses (if you ignore the superscription, "for the leader: a psalm of David"), and these nine verses can be likened to the nine months of pregnancy.
In A Time to Be Born: Customs and Folklore of Jewish Birth, Michele Klein notes that Jews have recited psalms to ease delivery since the gaonic period and that psalm 20 has been frequently used in this way. In the fourteenth century there was a custom of a "helper" reciting this psalm while the woman in labor focused her thoughts on a certain name of God, a procedure repeated nine times. Starting in the seventeenth century there are records of a practice in which the reader engaged in kabbalistic letter-permutations of the divine Name each time it appears in this psalm -- the reader, of course, being the woman's husband who was probably outside the delivery room, since women of that era would not have known these practices (and, I'm guessing, women in any era would find that kind of finicky letter permutation practice challenging during contractions!)
And the Zohar notes that there are 70 words in psalm 20, which (in that text's understanding) correspond to the seventy cries of the laboring woman. (Seventy cries, eh? I'll have to bear that in mind.)
Of the secondary texts I studied, my favorite is the passage from Midrash Tehillim, which oscillates between reading the "time of trouble" as a reference to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (a moment of communal crisis) and as a reference to every woman's experience in labor (a moment of individual or personal crisis.) I like that these interpretations coexist.
In A Time to Be Born: Customs and Folklore of Jewish Birth, Michele Klein notes that Jews have recited psalms to ease delivery since the gaonic period and that psalm 20 has been frequently used in this way. In the fourteenth century there was a custom of a "helper" reciting this psalm while the woman in labor focused her thoughts on a certain name of God, a procedure repeated nine times. Starting in the seventeenth century there are records of a practice in which the reader engaged in kabbalistic letter-permutations of the divine Name each time it appears in this psalm -- the reader, of course, being the woman's husband who was probably outside the delivery room, since women of that era would not have known these practices (and, I'm guessing, women in any era would find that kind of finicky letter permutation practice challenging during contractions!)
And the Zohar notes that there are 70 words in psalm 20, which (in that text's understanding) correspond to the seventy cries of the laboring woman. (Seventy cries, eh? I'll have to bear that in mind.)
Of the secondary texts I studied, my favorite is the passage from Midrash Tehillim, which oscillates between reading the "time of trouble" as a reference to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (a moment of communal crisis) and as a reference to every woman's experience in labor (a moment of individual or personal crisis.) I like that these interpretations coexist.
And, of course, from this vantage I can see that the (painful and traumatic) destruction of the Temple was also the birth-pangs of a new paradigm of Judaism...just as I can imagine that once I make it through the physical and emotional rigors of labor and delivery, something miraculous and new will emerge in my own life. There's light at the end of the tunnel, and there's comfort in knowing that wherever we are -- physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually -- God is there with us, and will be there when we reach the other side.
It's hard to know how much of this learning will stick with me when I am in the extraordinary space/time of the delivery room, but I'm grateful to have had the chance to delve into this learning as I prepare to give birth. ~Velveteen Rabbi
Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for your angels that you have assigned to our children. You have given your angels charge over them, to keep them in all their ways. We reverence you and acknowledge you as our Lord and Savior. Thank you for the angel of the LORD who encamps all around our children and delivers them from perilous situations. We bless our children that they may be powerful in the land, and fulfill their divine destiny.
We proclaim that our children are a heritage and a reward from you. We ask you, Father, draw them to repentance with your goodness, and give them as an inheritance to the Lord Jesus Christ. He shed his blood for them that they might be saved, and your arm is not shortened that you cannot save. Holy Spirit, we ask you to convince and convict them of sin, righteousness and judgment.
May our sons and daughters repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. According to your promise we are asking you to pour your Spirit and your blessings on our children. Our sons and daughters shall prophecy; our young men shall see visions.
Lord, you chose our children before the foundation of the world and called them in their youth. Our children are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation. They are your own special people. Father, confirm your word and hallow your name in the lives of our children for your glory and honor. Amen
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