You, in Your divine presence, bestow every virtue and impart knowledge, humbling all who stand against righteousness and revealing the ignorance of malevolent spirits that attempt to assail those who revere You.
The words of Athanasius remind us that with our hope anchored in God, our adversaries will appear insignificant. This serves as the historical interpretation of this psalm. However, we can also relate it to Christians who were once enslaved by demons. You have, O God, denied us before we embraced the faith and permitted us to face destruction through conflict and afflictions, displaying Your wrath towards us for not recognizing You, our Creator. Yet You have shown mercy upon us, misled by the devil. You shook the earth and disoriented it when You, as a man residing on earth, proclaimed the gospel of Your kingdom; Your actions and teachings brought both confusion and fear to everyone on the planet.
Therefore, heal the afflictions and wounds of their souls, for they are excessive. You have revealed through the Gospel the difficult path, a narrow and arduous journey, imparting the wine of contrition—the preaching of the Gospel, described as wine for its ability to uplift the heart, and as the wine of contrition that leads those who partake in it to repentance. To those who revere You, You have given a sign: the seal of baptism and the image of the life-giving cross, that through them they may be shielded from the arrows of demons.
The phrase “God spoke in His holiness” can be understood as referring to Christ, affirming His divine nature. When You declare, "I will rejoice and divide Shechem," it symbolizes giving what belonged to the Jews to the Christian people, enlarging the inheritance of the settlements for them; for all the lands of the Jews were eventually claimed by Christians due to the Jewish unbelief, who erected churches in their territories. The statements "My Gilead" and "My Manasseh" are expressed by Christ Himself, illustrating His kinship in human nature and demonstrating His bond with these figures. Alternatively, it can be interpreted that Christ embraces the Israelite believers as His own because of their faith in Him.
The “shoes of His Godhead,” as explained by Saint Basil, denote the divine, incarnate flesh that the Lord used to reach diverse peoples, guiding them to knowledge and faith in God. Consequently, the prophet David, seeking to visually perceive what he understood spiritually, asks: "Who will guide me to the city of the Christians?" This signifies entry into the church, fortified by the blood of Christ, baptism, the cross, and the support of angels and teachers, and filled with every virtue. Or, "Who will show me the path to the land of the unbelieving nations, that I may witness their conversion?" Who but You, O God, who have cast out the Christ-rejecting Jews who are of my lineage? The subsequent words are voiced on behalf of the faithful, similarly to the previous interpretations shared.
THEOSIS