Psalm 39 (38):12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

You may long for children, yet their coming into the world is uncertain, and even if they do arrive, their survival is not guaranteed; if they live, will they support you or forsake you? In all pursuits, uncertainty prevails; only death stands as a definite truth. If poverty is your circumstance, the transition to wealth is uncertain; knowledge may elude you, and health may seem distant if you are unwell. You enter this world with the certainty of death, yet the timing of that death remains beyond your knowledge. Everything else is shrouded in uncertainty, with death being the sole assurance, yet not its precise timing. This inevitability, which humans instinctively seek to evade, remains inescapable: all who live are troubled in vain.

Hence, the Lord declares regarding sinners, My Spirit shall not abide in them for ever, for they are flesh; and in another scripture, it is stated, The heart of this people is hardened. Thus, Jeremiah first perceived the almond rod, then the boiling pot, so that his soul might be cleansed at the beginning of his ministry, allowing divine grace to replace absent sin. But why did he first see the rod, then the pot? Those who remain uncorrected by the rod are cast into the pot to be burnt and purified. Similarly, the prophet Ezekiel is instructed, Take for yourself a frying pan..., to remove the iniquities of the house of Israel, and they shall wither in their sins. In another passage from the same book, the Lord states, But I will make a great fire, and I will add wood and build it up, so that the meat may boil and the broth evaporate. These verses signify that the approaching fire dries the souls of those unfaithful to God, stripping them of vitality and spiritual looseness. The souls of the unfaithful are likewise placed in the frying pan so that the flesh of sin, which cloaks the strength of the soul and mind, may be consumed, as the deceptions of passions soak the soul. Thus, frying pans await us! Perhaps St. Ambrose was the first to interpret Ezekiel's words in this manner, connecting them with the fate of the unrighteous after death and vividly depicting the torments of hell. Therefore, on this earth, let us strive to refine our hearts, shedding the callousness and indulgence of fleshly desires; this discipline will be borne by those who have lived in luxury and, according to Jewish tradition, deemed it better to indulge in vices than pursue virtuous deeds. Jacob grew fat and indulged. And he went off to play. The patriarch Jacob represents the entirety of the Jewish nation. And this frivolity led him away from the truth of faith towards the sin of disbelief. Paul rightly disciplined his body so that we might not nourish the flesh of sin. Indulging in luxury makes us slaves to sin, while exercising moderation makes us servants of righteousness. When we sin, it is our choice, not an inherent flaw.

Instead of engaging in fruitless and trivial discussions, let us be cautious of being perceived as weaving a web, for iniquities lack eternal significance. So, if you see someone striving to accumulate wealth, power, or honor, remind him of Isaiah’s words: They weave a web everywhere, whose life span is one day. A web cannot endure and quickly falls apart; thus, all the efforts of such a person are futile, as they are not built on a solid foundation but are instead suspended in emptiness. For the faithful follower of Christ, comfort and indulgence do not serve him well; those who don fine garments dwell in royal palaces. All the miserly consider themselves wise and industrious. Who is more skilled and diligent than a spider, tirelessly working night and day to craft its web without wasting resources? Yet all its efforts are in vain. Likewise, any individual who has not established their work on Christ labors in vain, as the collapse of their toil entangles them like a spider’s web.

The deteriorating state of the sinful soul is evident, as these words reveal their hearts have become hardened. Like a spider's web that has thinned, the soul may be cloaked with a delicate veneer that does not harm the essence of a fragile existence, yet it undermines the purity of life, analogous to a spider’s silk that diminishes all earthly endeavors.

For one who is poised to transcend this earthly nature, striving towards a higher and lighter existence, when the last trumpet resounds, they will find themselves buoyant rather than burdened and will rise to meet the Lord in the air without being weighed down by earthly ties. In summary, these reflections suggest that when a sinner genuinely seeks repentance, they experience a multitude of internal reproaches, driven by their conscience over their transgressions, rendering them as frail as a spider's web. The spider, skilled in its weaving, produces this delicate fabric.

Origen remarks that while the sinful soul expands, it is virtue that diminishes it, purifying the soul of all corporeal heaviness. Therefore, it is God's work to refine the soul. What the sinner crafts is likened to a spider's web, whether intricate or simple, as stated in Isaiah: "A spider's cloth is woven" (Isaiah 59:5). The Lord thins every sinful soul through trials, as it is through such testing that He cleanses them of the weight of sin. The spider embodies subtlety, particularly in its legs, which serve the purpose of spinning its fine web. In this way, sin renders the soul coarse, while suffering and trials serve to refine it further. Again, this emphasizes the concept of human frailty for greater emphasis—the message being that every individual worries in vain.

Such wounds can manifest as blindness, hardness of heart, mental dullness, and the condemnation to eternal damnation.

David goes on to explain his fervent desire for God to relieve him of his wounds, acknowledging that he has witnessed firsthand, both in himself and others, how intolerable such afflictions can be. Regarding his own experience, he asserts: By the strength of Your hand I have vanished, meaning that he has learned from personal experience the weight and severity of God's hand, nearly perishing when rebuked by the Lord's fury. This was evident in David’s own life when, as a consequence of his sin of adultery, he fell into the grievous sin of murder and descended into such profound blindness that he failed to recognize his dire state, effectively the death of his soul. There is no harsher consequence than when one transgression is punished by another, which the Apostle Paul elucidates in Romans 1:21, 26, 28. Additionally, Blessed Augustine supports this notion in Book 5 concerning Julian.

He also mentions other sinners who suffer from God’s severe correction: in the reproof of iniquity You have chastised man, and You have consumed his soul like a spider. Through this statement, David indicates that God frequently punishes a sinner in His wrath for both past and present transgressions, ensuring the soul perishes like a spider, which toils to weave nets for catching flies, ultimately fading away and disappearing. Just as earthly individuals labor tirelessly for temporary gains, wearing themselves thin in the process, their souls also dry up and become devoid of the life-giving moisture of God's grace, causing them to neglect their salvation and lower their desires for true well-being. Observing this barren state of the soul, David, in Psalm 62:6, longs for spiritual sustenance, pleading, May my soul be filled with fat and sweetness. He reiterates the earlier sentiment, declaring, Every man fretteth in vain, reminding us that people exert effort without purpose in their pursuit of fleeting treasures, much like a spider, depleting their souls. What would it profit a man if he gains the entire world, yet his own soul is forfeited (Matthew 16:26)?