THE GLORIOUS PASSIONS OF CHRIST FROM PASSIONS TO GLORIES: For the Christians, this psalm is considered as “the Holy of Holies”. Our Savior used its first words in His prayer on the cross. In some detail, it tells us about the crucifixion, the resurrection, and establishes the spiritual kingdom of Christ among the Gentiles. In this psalm, we hear our Lord Jesus – through the mouth of the prophet David – sing the praise of passion, to turn our sufferings into praise! And according to St. Paul: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrew 12: 2) A MESSIANIC PSALM: The frame of this psalm is unique in its kind; seen by some as a lamentation of special strength; while by others as a combination of three separate psalms, or of two psalm at least: one a lamentation (verses 1 to 21); and the other a thanksgiving (22 to 31). These two psalms or divisions are distinguished from one another, as far as the psyche, thoughts, and style, of the psalmist are concerned. According to some scholars, these two divisions were separately written after the psalmist went through a bitter and horrible experience, then were combined together to be used in the temple worship. Then were interpreted together as a prophetic psalm bearing a Messianic conception. The fathers of the church see it as a Messianic psalm, which with harmony, parades the painful events of the crucifixion, side by side of the joyful events of the resurrection, and https://coptic-treasures.com/ the good news of preaching the gospel among the Gentiles, to establish the Church of Christ, His glorious kingdom. No Christian could read this psalm without an active and strong encounter of the crucifixion. “Prophecy”, is probably the only subject of this psalm (1 Peter 1: 10-11; Luke 24: 25, 26); It is counted as one of the most complete prophesies about Christ’s passion, humility, and His glorious, and limitless kingdom among the Gentiles. In the New Testament there are 13 quotations from this psalm, of which 9 in the episode of the crucifixion alone. The disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ used it as a material for preaching the message of salvation through the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of the Lord Christ. Despite his feeling of being completely isolated and deserted, yet the psalmist lived in a kingdom of peace. While suffering, you never find him even hinting to a certain sin, trying to proclaim his innocence, defending himself against vain accusations, nor spitting wrath against his enemies. You never find him directly mention his enemies, nor seeking a curse upon them, as it was common in most lamentations. THE TITLE: To the chief Musician, Set to ‘the deer of the dawn’. (Aijeleth Sahar). A psalm of David. What is the meaning of the expression: ‘the deer of the dawn’? 1- It likens the redeeming work of the Lord Christ (The passion and resurrection of the Holy One), to a wounded innocent deer, on which dawn comes with healing and release. So our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and was wounded on the cross, to proclaim His glory by resurrection at the dawn of Sunday… Our Christ is likened to “a young stag on the mountains of spices” (Song 8: 14); “as a loving deer and https://coptic-treasures.com/ a graceful doe” for all believers (Proverbs 5: 19); who utters nice talk like Naphtali, “the doe let loose” (Genesis 49: 21). 2- According to the old Jewish tradition, this expression refers to the ‘Shaknah’, namely, the glorious cloud that used to appear in the midst of the people of God. According to the tradition, the lamb was offered as a morning sacrifice, once the watcher, from the top of the temple, seeing the first rays of dawn, cries out, saying: [Behold, there shines the first rays of the day]. So is the shining of the holy redemption, realized through the passion of the Lord Christ, we see in this psalm. 3- According to others, this expression refers just to the tune used in praying with this psalm. The general Frame:: 1- The suffering Christ 1 - 21 2- The glorified Christ 22 – 31 1- THE SUFFERING CHRIST: (1 – 21) Here came a perfect narration of the horrible episode of crucifixion, completely and literally realized through the passion of the Lord Christ. a- The first words of the psalm came to proclaim the price paid for our redemption. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” (1) https://coptic-treasures.com/ Some may say that the first words of this psalm contradict themselves; as how could anyone say: “O My God”, to the God who has forsaken His servant?! … Yet, we do not usually feel forsaken by strangers, but we would rather have such a feeling toward those closest to us. It is a cry of despair, quoted from this psalm by our Lord on the cross, showing that He is experiencing what came in this psalm. Our Lord -- as a representative of humanity – was counted as forsaken by the Father for some time; “He became a curse for us” (Galatians 3: 13); “For He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5: 21); so that we would not be eternally forsaken by the Father; According to Isaiah: “For a mere moment, I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer” (Isaiah 54: 7). Our Savior partakes of our bitter experience; when we feel that God has forsaken us; He wrestles even to death to make out of Himself a bridge that leads us out of our tribulation, and sets us forth to the bosom of the Father. On the cross, He showed us how far we came to be from God, and how much we are separated from Him; He who is the Cause of our whole existence. These words brings us forth, face to face, into the depths of Christ’s unperceived work, He who bears our sins, and upon whom the iniquity of us all is put; Jesus, who, for our sake has become sin; and in submission, has placed Himself under the wrath of the Father, and His hate of sin; “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief” (Isaiah 53: 10). + Christ was not forsaken by the Father, nor from His deity, as some may think; Or He, fearful of passion, separated with His deity from His Manhood …; But as I already said, He was representing us in Himself, we, who were forsaken and despised; but now, the suffering of Him, of whom suffering is not befitting (according to His deity), resurrected and saved us. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Gregory the Nezianzen) + What does our Lord mean by saying that the Father has forsaken Him, when He Himself is God? …. Why did He use those words, unless we are in Him, as the church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1: 23). By saying: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He is drawing our attention, saying to us: ‘This psalm is written about Me’. (St. Augustine) + That prayer He uttered is not a prayer of a righteous man, but is befitting of Him who bore our sins…. He who so prays, is He who nails to the cross our old man, who did not even know why God has forsaken him. (St. Augustine) + When we are in the midst of tribulation, we assume that God has forsaken us. Being a Man, bearing my fears, He so prayed; He got depressed, He wept, … He so prayed, and was crucified. (St. Ambrose) + Christ cried out on the cross, to teach us that, up to His last breath, He honored His Father, and has never been against Him. (St. John Chrysostom) The crucified Savior, Himself, answered this question, by saying: “Your are Holy” (3). … The answer to our question is the https://coptic-treasures.com/ “divine Holiness”; For He had to pay the price of sin in full; the price which we cannot perceive. The Holiness of God reveals the vast difference between the greatness of God and us. Through the cross we came to be attached to God, who is unapproachable; having got the fellowship with the Son, who is our righteousness and holiness, and in whom we become saints. b- The psalm reveals the portrait of the cross with its sufferings and reproach. The psalmist says that his fathers trusted in the Lord (5, 6); but his case is hopeless, for he is “a worm, and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people” (5, 6). Those were the words uttered by the Lord Christ on the cross, He who became a reproach and despised by the people; in whose eyes, He was despised by God, like a worm trodden under feet. The Hebrew word for “worm” is used for a tiny insect (coccus), from which the scarlet or purple dye (used in the tabernacle of meeting) is extracted. The Lord Christ so died, that our sins that were like scarlet would become as white as snow. + “But I am a worm, and no man” … Now, I do not speak as Adam, but as Jesus Christ, I speak in my own name … I was born, bearing a body without human seed; so that, being a Man, I would be above men, and would submit the human pride through imitating my humility. + He said “no man”?... For He is God. … But why has He so humiliated Himself to say that He is a Worm?... Is it on account of that the worm can https://coptic-treasures.com/ asexually regenerate itself, as the Lord Christ was born by the Virgin St. Mary? … from a body without human seed? (St. Augustine) This verse was used by the scholar Tertullian in his debate against the followers of ‘Velentian’ who denied the Manhood of Christ, saying: [They deny the Manhood of Christ, He who proclaimed that “He is a worm, and no man”; and who was described by the prophet Isaiah as: “He has no form or comeliness, and when we see Him, there is no beauty, that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Isaiah 53: 2, 3)]. According to St. Basil the Great, the words of the psalmist: “I am a worm, and no man” are a call for humility; saying: [If it so happen that someone despised, and did not esteem you, just remember that you are created of dust (Genesis 3: 19)…. If he calls you lowly, and of no value, just say to yourself: ‘I am dust and ashes’, I am not greater than our father Abraham who so called himself (Genesis 18: 27); and say together with David: “I am a worm, and no man”]. In such humility, we may perceive the truth of our weakness; So that, by faith, we could enjoy the honor of our humble Christ, and be counted as children of God, honored even among the heavenly creatures. + “A reproach of men, and despised of the people” (6). My humility made me an object of reproach among men, who say with a spirit of scoffing and ridicule: “You are His disciple” (John 9: 28); by which they provoke the mob to despise me. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “All those who see Me laugh in scorn. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head” (7). Muting their hearts, they uttered only by their lips. (St. Augustine) Shooting out the lips, and shaking the head, imply scorn and ridicule (Matthew 27: 39; Mark 15: 29). They counted Him evil, a blasphemer against God, a breaker of the Sabbath, a drinker of wine, a false prophet, an enemy of Caesar, and an ally of the demons. + “But You are He who took Me out of the womb” (9); the psalmist refers to that the Lord was born without human seed from the womb and body of the Virgin Mary; a way of birth different from that by which men are regularly born through matrimony. (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) c- “For there is none to help” (11); “He has trodden the winepress alone” (Isaiah 63: 3) d- In this psalm, more than in any other psalm, His adversaries appear as the cause of His passions (6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18). The psalmist, in an allegoric way, describes His adversaries, and the wicked leaders of the Jews who persecuted the Lord Christ, as raging and roaring lions, and bulls; and those of lesser ranks, as dirty dogs, who did not cease to despise Him. The devil, the true enemy, is the lion: “Save Me from the lion’s mouth” (21). That dangerous adversary, who has the authority of death, was destroyed by death (1 Peter 5: 8; 2 Timothy 4: 17; Hebrew 2: 14). https://coptic-treasures.com/ + I, Myself, has been a prey of the lion, held and led to death by those crying out: “Crucify Hi, Crucify Him!” (John 19: 6). (St. Augustine) + “Many bulls have surrounded Me, strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me” (12). Those were the people and their strong leaders. (St. Augustine) He was surrounded by wild bulls of Bashan, a land famed for its fertile pastures and strong breeds of sheep and bulls (Deuteronomy 32: 14; Amos 4: 1). e- “You have brought Me to the dust of death” (15). The death He chose, was according to the will of the Father, as a work of obedience on His part. f- - This psalm describes the death of the Lord Christ on the cross, a way of execution not previously known by the Jews, but introduced by the Romans. Portraying for us that horrible way of death: -- He refers to the “darkness” (2), that covered the earth, at the time our Lord was crucified. -- “I am poured out like water” (14). … When the side of our Lord was stabbed, blood and water came out of the wound. -- “All my bones are out of joint” (14). Hanged on the cross, the Lord Christ’s muscles were strained, and His joints were dislocated. https://coptic-treasures.com/ + No words could describe how the body of the Lord Christ was stretched on the tree of the cross, more than the words: “I can count all My bones” (17). (St. Augustine) According to the scholar Origen, those “bones” symbolically refer to the disciples of the Lord Christ and the congregation of believers, who were scattered in weakness at the moments of the crucifixion; But, with the resurrection, they gathered together again as one body, of which not a single bone was broken. + “I can count all My bones” (17). Although His bones were not scattered, and not a single one was broken; Yet, as the resurrection of Christ, the whole Truth, was realized, the members of His body – the true believers -- who were at the time like dry bones, were gathered together, every bone got attached to another, were bound together, to reach the full measure of the stature of Christ; Then the members, although many, would become one body. (The scholar Origen) According to many fathers, the true believers – the bones of the Lord Christ – even if they become weak in he moments of tribulation and martyrdom, Yet the grace of God would support them, and no one of them would be broken. The bones of the Lord Christ, are our inner faith in Him. We often moan when the temptation gets stronger, and cry out from our depths: “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in https://coptic-treasures.com/ My soul? Having sorrow in my heart daily?” (Psalm 13: 1, 2). … But God will soon work in us by His grace; to make us cry out with the psalmist: “My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” (Psalm 13: 5); proclaiming that His bones in us would never be broken, even though they may get scattered for some time. g- “They pierced my hands and my feet” (16) + Having heard the prophecies concerning His death, you may ask: How about His crucifixion? … “They pierced my hands and my feet, I can count all My bones” (16), is a kind of death only realized through hanging on a tree, on a cross; (Pope St. Athanasius the apostolic) + “He was wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53: 5); “They pierced My hands and My feet” (16), “He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53: 5); to heal our wounds by His wounds, and to save us from reproach, by enduring it Himself. (St. Ambrose) h- “My heart is like wax, it has melted within Me” (14) His heart is His gospel; or rather His Wisdom treasured in the Holy Books which was before sealed shut, and not easily understood . But, once our Lord was crucified, the Holy Book melted like wax, and even the weak in the church could enter into its meanings. That is why “the veil of the temple was torn into two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27: 51), for what was concealed before has become manifest. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Augustine) “My heart is like wax”. It melted to have printed on it the image of God’s wrath on the sin borne by the Lord Christ for our sake. My heart melted, and I became like a dead man, to take away the hardness of the heart, and to grant it the softness of compassion. I- “My strength is dried up like potsherd” (15) J- “And My tongue clings to My jaws” (15) K- “They look and stare at Me” (17) L- “They divide My garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (18) + Now we know, and read in the gospels, how He suffered: … how His bones were counted and scattered; … how He was scoffed; …how His garments were divided, and for His clothing they cast lots; and how He was surrounded by men full of rage. (St. Augustine) As nakedness is a direct fruit of sin, Our Lord Jesus was bared naked when He was crucified, to cloth us with the garment of His righteousness, and to cover the shame of our own nakedness. “Deliver Me from the sword” (20): It is the flaming and turning around sword of the holy wrath of God. e- THE GLORIFIED CHRIST: (22 – 31) https://coptic-treasures.com/ This division constitutes two integrated songs of thanksgiving (22 – 26; 27 – 31). In the first, the psalmist glorifies the Lord, and calls the poor to partake of the sacrificial banquet (the sacrifice of praise). Whereas in the second, he prophesies the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. They both, at the same time reveal the extended life of the psalmist; as his lamentation turned into a prayer of thanksgiving among the great congregation of the “poor”…. They proclaim the power, glory, and joy, of the resurrection of Christ; as the dominion of the darkness is destroyed (1 – 21, the feast came; the joy prevailed, and the limitless kingdom is realized. As the first words of this lamentation (1) were used by the Lord Christ on the cross; those words of the song of conquest have been clearly referred to the Lord (Hebrew 2: 12) In this division, the psalmist refers to the satiety and the conquest granted by the Lord in His passion, through proclaiming His presence in the midst of His church, filled with joy and satiety: 1- The church was set by declaring “the name of God” (22). In His farewell prayer, our Savior said: “I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me, may be in them, and I in them” (John 17: 26). We recognized Him through His divine love on the cross. In all her worship, the work of the church is to enjoy the divine knowledge, and to give it to the believers. As an example, “baptism” is called “the Sacrament of enlightenment”; and in the Sacrament of the “Eucharist”, we gain a new practical knowledge. 2- Those invited (to the membership in the church of Christ0, enter into an intimate relationship with the Lord Christ, to be called “His brethren”. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “I shall declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the congregation I will praise You” (22) Although we found Him lonely on the cross, He is no more lonely, for He is now among His brethren. On the day of His resurrection, He gave the joyful message: “Go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and Your Father, and to My God and Your God” (John 20: 17). We hear Him address His disciples as His brethren, on His glorious day of resurrection, after passing through His passion. Having been sanctified by His salvation work (the passion of the cross), He is not ashamed, but is very pleased, to call us brethren (Hebrew 2: 11). + We are kinsmen of the Lord according to the flesh; Hence He says: “I shall declare Your name to My brethren” (Hebrew 2: 12; Psalm 22: 22). As the branches are one with the vine (the origin), and are from it (John 15: 1); So we are, as well, one body in harmony with the body of the Lord, “and of His fullness we have all received” (John 1: 16); And we have this body as the origin of our resurrection and salvation. (Pope St. Athanasius the apostolic) 3- This church is a congregation of joy, thanksgiving, and praise; We sing to the Father with the voice of Christ Himself, who dwells in our hearts; He who grants us a life of thanksgiving and praise; saying: “In the midst of the congregation I will praise You” (22). The Lord Christ, the subject of pleasure to the Father, who is pleased to hear His voice through His church. + With Joy, I shall declare Your glory in the midst of My church. https://coptic-treasures.com/ (St. Augustine) 4- The church is a congregation of love, on account of that its members are the brethren of the Lord Christ. At the same time, it is a congregation of those who fear the Lord (23). If the Lord Christ calls us His brethren, yet we count ourselves His servants. Love and fearing the Lord are integral in the life of believers; By them the believers are counted as the descendants of Jacob, the offspring of Israel (23); and on them will dwell the blessing of Abraham. 5- These holy brethren who have the love, together with the fear of the Lord, are committed to join the great congregation (25), namely, the (catholic church). Being the kingdom of God, it is befitting of the church to extend to the ends of the world (27, 28) Prophesying about the salvation of the Gentiles, the psalmist said: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You” (27). The ‘catholicity, as the topic of this psalm, is inspired from psalm 18: 44 in short, and from psalm 87 in more detail. + All the races of the world will worship Him within their hearts; for “the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations” (28); The kingdom is the Lord’s, and not of the proud man; “And He rules over the nations”. (St. Augustine) https://coptic-treasures.com/ The personal salvation: Salvation is presented to the whole world, to be enjoyed by every member of the church, as his personal salvation. + My soul, that despises the world, which seems like dead in the sight of man, will forget herself to live in Christ. (St. Augustine) 6- A church filled with satiety and joy: The Lord Christ – Head of the church – became poor for our sake, to grant us riches and peace. “The poor shall eat and be satisfied” (26). The poor in spirit will be rich with spiritual blessings, and the hungry will be satisfied with the goods, because the Lord Christ, Himself is their satiety. St. Clement of Alexandria sees in the verse: “Let your heart live forever” (26), that the secret of satiety and life, is the spiritual knowledge granted to us by the Lord Christ. + Those who truly seek Him, praising the Lord, will get full of knowledge, and their soul will live. The soul is symbolically called (heart) on account of that, in it is the ordinance of life. (St. Clement of Alexandria) 7- A holy church, proclaims the goodness of Christ in her life (31). 8- It is befitting of the church to live forever along the generations, “Let your heart live forever” (26). For, in the resurrected Christ Jesus, we shall never know death, but will live forever in Him, and partake of His glories. https://coptic-treasures.com/ Whenever we sing this psalm, we meditate in the passions and the resurrection of Christ, we share His crucifixion, and we reach the power and glory of His resurrection, as the source of our conquest over death, and our enjoyment of the heavenly glory.
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