Psalm 59 (58):1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Thus, the directive "corrupt not" holds profound significance and prophecy; the Jews of that time urged Pilate to change the inscription to reflect what Jesus claimed about Himself rather than what was written. They argued that this title proclaimed His kingship over them. Pilate responded, "What I have written, I have written," which remained unaltered. This Psalm is not unique in its clear inscription; many others similarly herald the Passion of the Lord. Therefore, let us recognize the Lord's suffering within this text, allowing both Christ, the Head, and the Body to convey its message. We ought to continually draw from the words of Christ found in the Psalms, focusing not only on the Head—the sole mediator between God and humanity, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5)—but also embracing the entirety of Christ, the Head and the Body, as one cohesive entity. As stated by the Apostle Paul, “But ye are the Body of Christ and members” (1 Cor. 12:27). Thus, if He is the Head, we constitute the Body; the whole Christ encompasses both.

At times, we may encounter phrases unsuitable for the Head, and if we fail to relate them to the Body, it can create confusion; conversely, there are words apt for the Body even as Christ speaks through them. We need not fear misinterpretation here, for what is discerned aligns quickly with the Head, even if it may seem unrelated to the Body. Consider this passage: "When Saul sent and guarded his house to slay him." Though it does not directly reference the Cross, it relates to the Passion of the Lord. For Christ was crucified, died, and was buried. The tomb, akin to a house, was under guard as the Jewish authorities stationed soldiers at Christ's tomb (Matt. 27:66). Scripture recounts Saul's efforts to protect his house against David (1 Sam. 19:11). Just as Saul ultimately failed in his attempt to kill David, the Jewish leadership could not secure testimony from the guards that held greater weight than that of the vigilant Apostles. The guards were instructed to claim they had been paid to say that while they slept, His disciples stole Him away.

Observe how His adversaries, in the guise of Saul, presented false witness against the truth and resurrection of Christ. Question the sleeping guards, those uninformed witnesses—how could they reveal what transpired in the tomb? If they were indeed asleep, how could they know anything? And if they were not, why did they not apprehend the supposed thieves? Consequently, the narrative prompts our inquiry.

In the aftermath of this treachery, the blessed David composed a psalm, not focusing on the immediate events but rather prophesying future occurrences, illuminated by the Spirit of God and foreseeing the wrath of the Jewish people directed toward our Lord. The Jews had stationed guards at the tomb of the Lord, and although they discovered the burial cloths by morning, the dead body was nowhere to be found, for He had risen, vanquishing the dominion of death. Thus, David, reflecting on the wrongs done to him and anticipating the greater suffering that the God of Israel, who is of David's lineage, would endure at the hands of the Jews, also prophesies the gathering of the Gentiles and the dispersion of the Jewish people.

Furthermore, the addition "To David in the pillar with an inscription" indicates that this psalm serves as a memorial of the events he faced at that time.

In 1 Samuel, it recounts that Saul attempted to strike David; however, this occurred not during a shared meal but while David played music, and Saul was tormented by an evil spirit. It states that an evil spirit from God troubled Saul, and as David played his harp, Saul held a spear. Saul then aimed to hit David with the spear, but David evaded him, causing the spear to strike the wall (1 Sam. 19:10). Gregory of Nyssa interprets this account allegorically, highlighting its prophetic nature concerning Christ's vigilance. David serves as a type of Christ, the anointed one who embodies the essence of anointing. The harp, played by David, symbolizes the earthly body of the Lord, and the melodies represent the Word that became flesh, whose mission was to dismantle the chaos stemming from demons, thereby stripping them of their power over the nations.

The king, afflicted by demons, experiences a release from these spirits through the sacred music played on the instrument, while the spear, resembling a tree with iron at its end, strikes the wall instead. The wall symbolizes the physical realm, through which we understand the corporeal nature, linking to the tree of the cross and iron implements. David, as the anointed and sovereign, suffers not from this ordeal, for the divine essence is impervious to the cross and nails. Regarding Michal, being the daughter of Saul and married to David, we find no cause for surprise given the following understanding.

It is established that death was not of God's doing; rather, the evil one became death's progenitor, having chosen to forsake life. Death, introduced through the envy of the devil, held dominion from Adam to the Law, as a consequence of sin. According to the Apostle's teachings, sin should no longer dominate us as we inhabit mortal bodies. Therefore, the one who bore death for humanity enters the abode of Michal, whose name signifies a kingdom, reflective of the reign of sin within our nature prior to this time. In his arrival, he departs through a window, symbolizing a return to the light of the One who revealed Himself amidst darkness and shadows (i.e., Christ).

In the tomb, the vacant spaces of His resting place are noted; those who sought the Lord discovered that the grave was empty of His body and only the burial linens remained. Thus, what served as David's bier is seen as foreshadowing the resurrection of the Lord, through which the true eradication of death is accomplished. The goat's liver that Michal placed upon the bed and the empty coffin of David, a customary act in those days to ward off death, signifies the blood of the Lord. The absence of blood in the struck wall—representing the body—ensures the significance of the blood, by which we are redeemed, is upheld. Hence, within the sacrificial act for the liberation of humanity from death through the resurrection of the Lord, as evidenced by the empty tomb, there is an abundant representation of blood.