Behold the power of God in the Psalms!

The future proves the past.

Psalm 50:

The Acceptable Sacrifice

A Psalm of Asaph.

50 The Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines forth.

3 Our God comes, he does not keep silence,

before him is a devouring fire,

round about him a mighty tempest.

4 He calls to the heavens above

and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,

who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

6 The heavens declare his righteousness,

for God himself is judge! Selah

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak,

O Israel, I will testify against you.

I am God, your God.

8 I do not reprove you for your sacrifices;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

9 I will accept no bull from your house,

nor he-goat from your folds.

10 For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11 I know all the birds of the air,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;

for the world and all that is in it is mine.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls,

or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

and pay your vows to the Most High;

15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

16 But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes,

or take my covenant on your lips?

17 For you hate discipline,

and you cast my words behind you.

18 If you see a thief, you are a friend of his;

and you keep company with adulterers.

19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and your tongue frames deceit.

20 You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

21 These things you have done and I have been silent;

you thought that I was one like yourself.

But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.

22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,

lest I rend, and there be none to deliver!

23 He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me;

to him who orders his way aright

I will show the salvation of God!”

Behold the power of God in the Psalms!

The future proves the past.

Psalm 35:

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

A Psalm of David.

35 Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;

fight against those who fight against me!

2 Take hold of shield and buckler,

and rise for my help!

3 Draw the spear and javelin

against my pursuers!

Say to my soul,

“I am your deliverance!”

4 Let them be put to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life!

Let them be turned back and confounded

who devise evil against me!

5 Let them be like chaff before the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them on!

6 Let their way be dark and slippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

7 For without cause they hid their net for me;

without cause they dug a pit for my life.

8 Let ruin come upon them unawares!

And let the net which they hid ensnare them;

let them fall therein to ruin!

9 Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,

exulting in his deliverance.

10 All my bones shall say,

“O Lord, who is like thee,

thou who deliverest the weak

from him who is too strong for him,

the weak and needy from him who despoils him?”

11 Malicious witnesses rise up;

they ask me of things that I know not.

12 They requite me evil for good;

my soul is forlorn.

13 But I, when they were sick—

I wore sackcloth,

I afflicted myself with fasting.

I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,

14 as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;

I went about as one who laments his mother,

bowed down and in mourning.

15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,

they gathered together against me;

cripples whom I knew not

slandered me without ceasing;

16 they impiously mocked more and more,

gnashing at me with their teeth.

17 How long, O Lord, wilt thou look on?

Rescue me from their ravages,

my life from the lions!

18 Then I will thank thee in the great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise thee.

19 Let not those rejoice over me

who are wrongfully my foes,

and let not those wink the eye

who hate me without cause.

20 For they do not speak peace,

but against those who are quiet in the land

they conceive words of deceit.

21 They open wide their mouths against me;

they say, “Aha, Aha!

our eyes have seen it!”

22 Thou hast seen, O Lord; be not silent!

O Lord, be not far from me!

23 Bestir thyself, and awake for my right,

for my cause, my God and my Lord!

24 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God, according to thy righteousness;

and let them not rejoice over me!

25 Let them not say to themselves,

“Aha, we have our heart’s desire!”

Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

26 Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether

who rejoice at my calamity!

Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor

who magnify themselves against me!

27 Let those who desire my vindication

shout for joy and be glad,

and say evermore,

“Great is the Lord,

who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

28 Then my tongue shall tell of thy righteousness

and of thy praise all the day long.

>>5812994

Triggered much? Two finger triggers?

>>5813219

What is the significance of Christ's hand gesture (thumb and two fingers up, two fingers down) in Christian art?Author Name

Answered by: Madeline,

An Expert in the Art History - General Category

This gesture, in which his first two fingers and his thumb are extended and his third and fourth finger are closed, is among the most frequently occurring of Christ's hand gestures in Christian art. It emerged as a sign of benediction (or blessing) in early Christian and Byzantine art, and its use continued through the Medieval period, and into the Renaissance.

The sign is most frequently seen in iconographic images of Christ, which appeared in churches in the Early Byzantine and Medieval periods in the form of mosaics, stained glass windows, relief sculptures, and paintings. One of the most common of such images is the Christ Pantocrator (or Christ Almighty), which depicts Christ, usually isolated against a golden background, with his head encircled by a halo, his left arm hugging the gospels to his chest and his right hand raised in the sign of benediction. It is important to note that this gesture is always made with the right hand, as this is the hand with which one blesses, according to Christian doctrine.

The sign was originally derived from a symbol used in Roman art to indicate speaking, and first gained popularity as a Christian symbol shortly after Constantine's issue of the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, allowing Christians to practice their religion freely, without the threat of persecution. Indeed, Constantine himself converted to Christianity, and Christian art flourished. In early images of Christ, one can see an early manifestation of the sign of benediction in which the thumb is closed over the palm, rather than open. As Christian art evolved, symbols, including Christ's hand gestures, took on deeper significance. With the thumb opened, the three open digits came to represent the Trinity (The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), while the two closed represented the dual nature of Christ as both man and God.

When the Church split early in the second century AD, the symbol for blessing used by the two newly-formed churches likewise split. The Greek Orthodox church began to make use of a symbol derived from a common abbreviation of the Greek version of Christ's name. In this manifestation of the sign of blessing, the first finger is held erect, representing an 'I'; the second is bent in the shape of a 'C'; the thumb and third finger cross to form an 'X'; and the pinky, like the second finger, curves into a 'C'. Thus, the five digits together spell out "IC XC" an abbreviation of the Greek name of Jesus Christ, taken from the first and last letters of both parts of his name. The Roman Catholic Church, meanwhile, maintained the use of the three open digits and two closed (now so familiar to Westerners). The early sign, in which the thumb is closed, had by this time faded almost completely.

With the onset of the Renaissance in Western Europe, the sign of benediction became less common in Christian art, due primarily to the shift away from iconographic images of Christ-as-Savior towards more naturalistic depictions, emphasizing the human in Christ over the God. Unlike the highly stylized, reverence-inspiring images of old, Renaissance art presented a more realistic image of Christ as he would have appeared to those who saw him in the flesh. He was more likely to be painted in the humiliation of betrayal, or the agony of death, than in the glory of Christ Pantocrator.

Still, the gesture does occasionally appear; though void of the characteristic rigidity of earlier icons, it takes on a rather casual feel, more akin to a guy flashing a "peace" sign than to The Savior bestowing his blessing.

Hope that helps.

God Bless!