THEOSISAugustine of Hippo
The title of this eighty-seventh Psalm presents a new topic for examination: the expressions found within, which are meant for Melech, appear nowhere else. We have previously discussed the meanings of the terms Psalmus Cantici and Canticum Psalmi, while the phrase "sons of Corea" is frequently reiterated and often clarified. However, the subsequent wording in this title is quite uncommon. The term ‘Melech’ can be translated into Latin as ‘choir,’ as this aligns with the meaning of the Hebrew term ‘Melech.’ Here, the Lord’s Passion is anticipated. The apostle Peter affirms this, stating that Christ suffered for us, providing us with an example to follow in His footsteps (1 Peter 2:21). This reflects the essence of what it means to respond. Likewise, the apostle John asserts, As Christ laid down his life for us, so we must lay down our lives for one another (1 John 3:16), which also embodies that response. The choir symbolizes agreement rooted in love: thus, someone imitating the Lord’s Passion who offers their body to be burned without love does not participate in the choir's response and consequently, derives no benefit from it (1 Corinthians 13:3).
Furthermore, in Latin, the titles Precentor and Succentor denote the singer who initiates the melody and the one who follows. In this passion song, the chorus of martyrs trails Christ until the end of their heavenly glorification. It is chanted by the sons of Corea, representing those who imitate the Passion of Christ: just as Christ was crucified at Calvary, which translates the Hebrew word Cor (Matthew 27:33). The mention of Aman, an Israelite, also carries significance: the term is thought to mean “brother,” as Christ designates those who grasp the mystery of His Cross as His brethren, unashamed and willing to glorify Him, not for their own merits, but acknowledging His grace, allowing it to be said of them, Behold a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit (John 1:47), mirroring the Scripture's description of Israel as without guile (Genesis 25:27).
O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried out to You day and night (Psalm 86:1). Now, let us listen to Christ’s prophetic voice singing before us, calling for a response from His own choir, either through imitation or gratitude. Let my prayer rise before You; incline Your ear to my cry (Psalm 87:2). For our Lord prayed, not in divine form, but in the form of a servant; He suffered through this as well. He prayed during times of prosperity, the daytime, and in times of distress, referred to here as the night. The entrance of prayer into God’s presence signifies its reception, while the inclination of His ear represents compassionate acknowledgment of it, for God has no physical members like us. The passage, however, often reiterates itself.
For my soul is filled with troubles, and my life draws near to the grave (Psalm 86:3). Can we truly speak of the Soul of Christ as filled with troubles, knowing that passion only had power over His body? Thus, the soul can experience anguish independently of the body; however, without the soul, the body is lifeless. Must we not acknowledge that Christ’s Soul bore the weight of humanity’s afflictions, though not in sin? Another prophet remarks of Him that He bore our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4), and the Evangelist recounts that He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him to grieve deeply, stating that His soul was grieved to the point of death (Matthew 26:37-38). The author of this Psalm, foresightfully acknowledging this, expresses Christ's experience by declaring, My soul is full of afflictions, and my life approaches the grave. This conveys a similar thought when He states His soul is sorrowful unto death. These sentiments of human frailty our Lord took on Himself, embracing the entirety of human experience not out of necessity but through the voluntary exercise of His mercy, integrating Himself with the Church, which is His body, encompassing His holy and faithful disciples. If any of them endure hardships amidst human trials, they should not suppose themselves to be separated from His favor. The body, akin to a choir following its leader, learns that these woes are not sins but evidences of human frailty.
We see the apostle Paul, a key member of this body, confessing that his heart is weighed down with sorrow for his fellow Israelites, stating his continual grief (Romans 9:2). If we claim that our Lord also grieved for them as He faced His Passion—where they would bear the gravest guilt—we would not be mistaken. Ultimately, when Christ spoke on the Cross, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34), it resonates with this passage: I am counted among those who descend into the pit (Psalm 87:4), by those unaware of the gravity of their actions, envisioning Him as merely another man, stricken by want and mortality. The term "pit" signifies depths of despair or hell.
I am like a man without strength (Psalm 86:5). Through these words, the identity of our Lord is manifestly revealed: for who else is free among the dead but He who, though bearing the likeness of sinful flesh, remains wholly without sin among sinners (Romans 8:3)? Therefore, He is free among the dead, possessing the authority to yield His life and reclaim it; no man could seize it from Him, for He surrendered it by His own volition. He could restore His body, likened to the temple from which it would rise once destroyed, as He indicated (John 2:19). Though all abandoned Him on the verge of His Passion, He testifies that His Father did not forsake Him (John 8:29). Yet His adversaries, for whom He prayed, not realizing what they were doing, were perceived as helpless and broken, lying in the grave.
But He adds, “Whom You do not yet remember,” creating a distinction between Christ and all others who have died. Although wounded, and lying lifeless in the tomb (Matthew 27:50, 60), those ignorant of His nature saw Him as akin to others who died of their wounds and lay still in the grave, having not yet reached the hour of resurrection. Hence, Scriptures refer to the dead as sleeping, as a testament to their destined awakening, symbolizing resurrection to come. Yet He, who lay wounded in the tomb, arose on the third day, becoming like a solitary sparrow on the roof, signifying His position at the right hand of the Father in heaven; death shall no longer reign over Him (Romans 6:9). Thus, He stands in stark contrast to those whom God had not yet willed to resurrect, for that which occurred previously in the Head is reserved for the Body's culmination. It is noted that God remembers when He acts and appears to forget when He refrains from action; however, God, who is immutable, neither forgets nor remembers in the way we do.
The very individuals who perceive Him as helpless are described as cast away from Your hand, indicating that when I was rendered such by them, they, in turn, are abandoned from Your hand, those who regarded Him as without assistance are themselves bereft of Your aid. Another Psalm correlates this, stating they have dug a pit before me, leading to their own downfall (Psalm 7:15). I favor this interpretation over the notion that they are severed from Your hand while among those in the grave whom God has yet to consider since the righteous are included as well, for although God may not have remembered them yet, they are still called to resurrection, affirmed by the assertion that their souls are in the hands of God (Wisdom 3:1), implying they exist under the Most High's protection, abiding in His shadow.
They placed me in the lowest pit (Psalm 86:6), meaning the deepest sorrow. For the Greek translation states such. But what precisely denotes the lowest pit, except the most profound anguish, from which it is declared in another psalm, You have lifted me from the depths of despair? Plunged into darkness and under the shadow of death, they placed Him there, unknowingly honoring Him as they were ignorant of the one whom none of the rulers of this world recognized (1 Corinthians 2:8). The shadow of death may refer to the death of the body, or to those who traverse in darkness, enveloped by the shadow of death, as the light shines upon them (Isaiah 9:2). Their former state brought into light and life through faith signals this awareness, as they believed our Lord was a victim whom they numbered among those He came to aid, lest they fall into the same state.
Your indignation rests upon me (Psalm 87:7). Alternatively, as other translations suggest, Your wrath or Your fury: the Greek term θυμὸς carries various interpretations. In instances where Greek texts employ ὀργὴ, no translator hesitates to render it as ira in Latin; however, where the term is θυμὸς, many resist translating it as ira. Several esteemed Latin authors have used the term in their Greek philosophical translations. Moreover, I prefer the term indignation to rage, as its common usage in Latin does not typically refer to men. What does it imply when it states, Your wrath is upon me, if not the convictions of those who do not know the Lord of Glory (1 Corinthians 2:8), who assumed that God’s wrath stirred against Him whom they dared to crucify; not only to suffer death but also the contemptible death of the Cross? Therefore, the apostle emphasizes that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become the curse for us, as it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (Galatians 3:13). Consequently, in highlighting His utmost humility, He affirms, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, and added, even the death of the Cross (Philippians 2:8). For this same reasoning, I contend that the Psalm says, “All Your burdens Thou hast laid upon me.”
We encounter another psalm that shares, “All Your waves and surges have swept over me.” Therefore, the passage indicates something different: while all may have passed over me, here it declares all things have been brought upon me. Misfortunes may dissipate without truly impacting a person; like troubles that loom overhead, they may touch as waves do. Employing the term suspension implies these tribulations are not passing but denote suffering brought specifically upon me, heralding the forthcoming trials of His Passion as anticipated in prophecy.
You have removed my acquaintances from me (Psalm 86:8). If this references acquaintances whom He knew, it encompasses all men; for whom would He not recognize? Yet He designates acquaintances to those who truly comprehended Him at that moment; at least, to those who regarded Him as innocent, viewing Him merely as a man rather than fully God. He may call the righteous whom He regards as close, while declaring the wicked unknown, remarking of them at the end, I never knew you (Matthew 7:23). Moreover, they have made me a thing of horror to themselves might refer to those whom He deemed familiar beforehand— since they too felt revulsion towards that manner of death; yet it is more prudent to identify those as His persecutors. I was betrayed and could come forth no longer; was this not due to His disciples being absent while He faced trials internally (Matthew 26:56)? Or could we see a deeper significance in the words, I am unable to come out, implying I remained concealed in My secret counsel, not disclosing who I was? Hence, it follows: My eyes are dim with sorrow (Psalm 87:9).