Psalm 22 (21):16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

My vigor has withered like broken pottery. My strength has faded through My suffering, but not like straw; it is akin to a shard that hardens when placed in the flames. My tongue is clinging to My palate. The ones who were meant to hear My words have internalized My teachings. You have brought me down to the mortal condition of death. To the unrighteous, who are destined for judgment, whom the wind carries off like chaff from the ground, You have brought me low.

My strength is feeble, and my tongue clings to my throat. This signifies His thirst upon the honorable cross, where He requested a drink and was given a small amount of bile. He expresses, “And My tongue shall cleave to My throat.” By God’s grace, He experienced death for all humanity; yet He did not succumb to death itself, but rather to the mortal aspect of death. Christ was lowered, “because His soul did not remain in hell, nor did His flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31).

All of this transpired during a period of intense suffering; for the heart melted with fear like wax in flame (Psalm 21:15), and the strength no longer had its usual power. Indeed, even the tongue fell silent. The holy Gospel writers tell us that the individual who faced relentless questioning offered no response. Following his suffering, he was laid to rest in the grave, which the Prophet described as the finger of death, since those destined for burial are enveloped as if by a finger.

The vigor of my body has diminished completely. It has faded due to the intense heat of sorrow and anguish, for all its moisture has dried up. My tongue is lodged in my throat. This prophecy was realized when false witnesses testified against Jesus, and He chose to remain silent; or it was fulfilled when He experienced thirst on the cross, yet no one was available to relieve His suffering with water. Into the grave, which symbolizes death, You have brought me down. This grave represents the place where the physical remains of the deceased are transformed into dust; thus, into this grave You have led me, seeking the salvation of humanity.

Ancient Prophecies You may be familiar with the Psalm that states: And into the dust of death thou hast brought me down. Additionally, in the prophecy of Jacob recorded in Scripture, it is written: He bowed down, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness: who shall lift him up? (Gen. 49:9). A similar phrase is found in the book of Numbers: He bowed down, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness: who shall lift him up? (Num. 24:9).

What remains of a tile when exposed to flames, if not mere soft earth? The heat transforms it into something solid. Similarly, the fortitude of His humanity was refined ‘like a tile’ in the fire of suffering, leading to the endurance of incorruption.

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The woman ignited the lampstand (Luke 15:8), for the Wisdom of God was revealed to humanity. The lampstand symbolizes the illumination within frail flesh, and that light represents the Divine Incarnation among us. Wisdom herself speaks of this very frailty of her flesh: ‘My strength is akin to this frailty.’ As the tile becomes robust in the fire, so too was her strength solidified like a tile, for she empowered the accepted flesh toward the glory of the resurrection through the trials of suffering.

The resilience of the body is derived from the strength provided by our veins and bones. This is echoed in the phrase: My tongue shall cleave to my throat. It is understood that not only do the vital energies diminish under overwhelming grief, but the very blood itself nearly congeals. In light of this, He expresses: ‘Into the thick of death thou hast reduced me,’ indicating that He had despaired of maintaining His life and was on the brink of the tomb.

Certainly, the stronghold represents a type of Jew, as the people of God are referred to, but this stronghold symbolizes disbelief in Christ the Lord, akin to shingles lacking the life-giving moisture of holy baptism. The tongue, which is the larynx, denotes that Christ the Redeemer remained silent in response to Pilate's inquiry (John 19:9). You have brought Me deep into the shadows of death, as Pilate believed that the man Christ the Lord was lifeless and declared regarding His demise, ‘I have the power to crucify Thee’ (John 19:10). The ungodly Jews are mistaken in their attempt to reduce the immortal Lord to mere earthly insignificance (Theodoret, Jerome).