Psalm 69 (68):3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Could it be that the clay itself embodies no substance? Then where am I anchored? Is Christ so entrenched? Or was He indeed bound, as the book of Job states, the earth being delivered into the hands of the wicked? (Job 9:24) Was He confined in the body because He could be captured and even faced crucifixion? For if He had not been nailed, He would not have been crucified. So from where does this absence of substance arise? Is it not the case that clay is indeed a substance? However, we must seek to comprehend, if possible, what constitutes substance and what does not, beginning with an understanding of what substance is. Even wealth is referred to as substance, as we often say: he possesses substance, and it has diminished in substance... God is a form of substance, for that which is not substance amounts to nothing at all. To possess substance means to exist as something. Thus, in the universal faith against the malignancies of some heretics, we assert that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit share one substance. What does it mean to have one substance? For instance, if the Father is likened to gold, then the Son is likewise gold, and the Holy Spirit as well. What is true of the Father, as He is God, is equally true of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet, when He is identified as the Father, it is not an inherent quality, but a designation relating to the Son; by Himself, He is addressed as God. Hence, being God, He is substance. Consequently, the Son, by virtue of this same substance, also is, undoubtedly, God. Nevertheless, He is called Father, since this title does not denote essence but refers to the Son; we do not say that the Son is the Father, as we say that the Son is God. When you inquire about the Father, our response is God. When asking about the nature of the Father and the Son, we say, God—not gods, but God. We respond differently than we would with humans: when you ask who Abraham's father is, we say man; his essence serves as the answer, and when you inquire about his son Isaac, we likewise say man; for Abraham and Isaac share the same essence: when you ask regarding Abraham and Isaac, we respond not man but men. This is not the case with divine matters. In this context, the unity of substance is so profound that it allows for equality, but denies plurality. Thus, if it is told to you that when I say the Son is the same as the Father, for the Son is also the Father; respond with regard to the substance I mentioned, affirming that the Son is the same as the Father, and not based on terminology applicable to some other context. For in reference to Himself, He is God, and to the Father, He is Son. Likewise, the Father, in relation to Himself, is God, and in relation to the Son, is called Father. The Father, as referenced with respect to the Son, is not the Son; the Son, as referenced with respect to the Father, is not the Father: what is denominated the Father regarding Himself, and the Son regarding Himself, remains as both the Father and the Son, that is, God. What then is the absence of substance? With this interpretation of substance, how can we further comprehend the Psalm passage, ‘I dwell in the clay of the abyss, and there is no substance’? God created man (Gen. 1:27). He established substance; oh, if man would persevere in what God intended him to be! Had man remained in the form God crafted, he would not have fallen into the grasp of the one whom God begot. Moreover, due to iniquity, man separated himself from the very substance from which he was made. (Gen. 3:6) For iniquity itself does not constitute a substance; it is not the nature that God created but the distortion that man instituted. The Son of God entered into the clay of the abyss and was established there; yet this was not the essence He was anchored to, for it was in their iniquities that He became bound. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made (John 1:3). All creation was fashioned by Him, but iniquity was not formed by Him, for it is non-existent. By Him, those substances that exalt Him were created. The entirety of creation that brings glory to God is epitomized by the three youths in the furnace, with hymns ascending from earth to heaven or from heaven to earth in praise of God. Not that all these entities possess a point of praise; rather, everything deemed worthy of admiration elicits praise, and the heart that reflects on creation overflows with a hymn to the Creator. All created things render praise to God, but only what God has brought forth. Did you not notice in this hymn that covetousness also praises God? There too, the serpent gives praise, but greed does not. For there all creeping creatures are named for the glory of God; all creeping creatures are so named, yet there are no vices identified. For vices lie outside of ourselves, borne of our own will; they are not substances. It was among these that the Lord was present when He faced persecution: in the vices of the Jews, not in the essence of humans, whom He Himself made. I plunged into the depths of the sea, and the storm engulfed me. By the grace of Him who descended into the depths of the sea, able to be swallowed by a great fish, but who was cast out on the third day (Matt. 12:40), He entered into the depths of the sea, into which we were thrown, into which we suffered shipwreck; He Himself came there, and the tempest caused Him to submerge. For there, He bore the waves—those very people; the tempests, the human cries calling out, ‘Crucify, crucify’ (John 19:6). Although Pilate proclaimed, I find no fault in this man, their voices prevailed, calling out, Crucify, crucify. The storm intensified until He sank, having entered the depths of the sea. And the Lord experienced in the hands of the Jews that which He did not endure while walking upon the waters (Matthew 14:25), which he not only did not suffer Himself but also prevented Peter from enduring.

Didymus observes that those who plead for transgressors before the king take on their plight, and the saints, interceding for others, proclaim, “We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wrong.” Hence, is it not true that the Saviour, in His immense compassion, serves as an intercessor for all humanity, even though He, in His divine nature, is the source of all blessings? I have descended into the depths of the sea, and the storm has overwhelmed me. This verse, alongside the previous ones, conveys the same message: I am submerged in afflictions and trials, which I describe with various terms—such as waters that wash over a person, a murky bog that offers no foundation, the depths of the sea representative of their sharpness and bitterness, and finally, a tempest due to their force and ferocity. According to Gregory the Theologian and Basil, in a broad sense, the sea in Scripture symbolizes the world and the entirety of human existence, filled with instability and bitterness. I believe the remarkable David intended to convey this, urging us towards the truth of confession by likening this restless, passion-driven existence to waters that inundate the soul, the depths of the sea, and storms. Theodoret notes that he enriches his language with varied similes, as he struggles to find a fitting analogy for profound sorrows. Athanasius states that this reflects the plight of human nature, which, having succumbed to sin, has been cast into death and the abyss of hell, represented by the deep mire and the depths of the sea in his words.

The Jews scorned Christ, challenging Him with the question, “By what authority do you do these things?” The Savior’s disciples recalled these words from the psalm when He cast out the merchants from the temple in Jerusalem with great authority (John 2:17). The Apostle Paul attributes the following remarks about reproach to Christ, indicating that He did not seek to please Himself but rather honored the Father, bearing the reproaches of those who scorned God the Father (Rom. 15:1-3) (Theodoret). This prophecy found fulfillment throughout Judea, as evidenced by the words of the Savior, who proclaimed to the Jews, “Your house is left to you empty” (Matt. 23:38). Jerusalem, where the perpetrators of the Savior's death resided, is referred to in terms of courtyards and homes, particularly their dwellings. Following the catastrophic destruction by Titus and Vespasian, both Jerusalem and Judea were left desolate. Their city experienced devastation due to their cattle-like nature, as the court serves as a place for livestock. The very site of Judas's residence has now been transformed into a refuse area (Athanasius, Didymus).