Psalm 17 (16):10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They were enveloped in unrefined joy, which soon turned into a yearning filled with spite. Their words were laced with arrogance. Thus, they expressed their arrogance by proclaiming, ‘Hail, O King of the Jews’ (Matthew 27:29), along with other phrases of a similar nature.

My foes have taken hold of my spirit; their lips are sealed, and their mouths utter arrogance. While some interpret 'tuk' as indicating success and physical well-being, I perceive that the Prophet refers instead to a mindset of kindness and fraternal love. This illustrates the coherence of his words, for he declares that after dismissing all natural compassion and allowing no space for humane intentions, they speak with prideful contempt, laying traps and schemes against me.

The prophet refers to his soul, employing a part to signify the whole. They overran him, encircling him on all sides, casting their nets in secretive places. They enclosed their tuk, or fat, which symbolizes the heart and inner being, as there is typically a significant amount of fat surrounding these areas. Thus, he expresses that they have confined within themselves all the compassion for me, the one who suffers, which originates from the heart and the innermost parts of a person. Some, however, interpret fat as wealth and well-being, suggesting that David's adversaries have hoarded these elements within themselves, ensuring that they never escape their grasp and remain eternally theirs. Their mouths spoke with arrogance, boasting that they were poised to capture me, declaring that I could not evade their grasp and that I had no other refuge for help.

This stands as the fourth and final point that the prophet raises against the cruelty of his adversaries. He notes that his foes not only wrong him but also seek to take his very life, as indicated by the phrase, "My soul is possessed." He continues, "They have shut their doors." In sacred language, to shut up carries the connotation of barrenness, akin to the closure of the womb, reflecting a lack of compassion. This aligns with the words of the holy Apostle John, who stated, "whoever has the riches of this world and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his womb from these things, how can any of God's favor abide in him" (1 John 3:17)?

The adversaries, the Jewish leaders, regarded Christ as just a man deserving of crucifixion. They suppressed their resentment, refusing to exchange it for compassion, and instead intensified their fury, striking Christ the Lord and deriding Him with the words, ‘Hail, O King of the Jews’ (John 19:3).

In contrast, it is evident that when the prophet refers to the "tukkah," he is speaking of the heart. The idea is straightforward: the evildoer closes his heart to the pleas of the suffering, only to intimidate them with his arrogance. The Holy Scripture at times employs terms that indicate the moral decay and insensitivity of the heart, such as "otolste" or "odebele" (Isaiah 7:10). In this instance, the prophet observes the callousness of the people of Israel, who refuse both instruction and the miraculous works of Christ; he declares that their hearts are hardened. David, in another passage (Psalms 118:70), compares such hearts to spoiled milk or milk that has soured into cheese. This analogy holds meaning: milk is fluid, while cheese is dense and solid.