The Psalms: A Christian Prayer – “In David” or “In Christ”?
The Psalms: Jesus’ Prayer
Summary: The Psalms occupy a unique exegetical position within both Jewish and Christian prayer traditions. From a Christian prayer perspective the Psalms compel us to engage with the spiritual exegesis practiced by the New Testament authors and the early Church Fathers. This is a unique phenomenon among all Old Testament writings. This article is written from a Christian point of view.
In the Christian tradition, four crucial points about the Psalms often go unnoticed:
1. Our prayer life is fundamentally structured around the Psalms. Divine Office and Mass. Not only the Psalms are accepted as a Christian prayer but they are the main form of prayer. For instance the monastic Divine Office in the Coptic Church has all the 150 Psalms recited per day. The Benedictine originally had the 150 Psalms to be recited weekly. Many rites in the Church (Syriac Orthodox, Siromalabar, etc) took the liturgy of the Jewish Sabbath which contains the use of the Psalms to Praise God. There a heavy implicit and explicit acceptance of the Psalms by Christianity, from day one. This article is trying to draw all the challenges and richness contained in this unexpected choice.
2. The choice is unexpected because, historically, the Psalms originated in the Old Testament and are grounded in the First Covenant. Therefore, normally, not only they belong to this historical context but we may say also that they convey a belief system proper to the First Covenant. One woud have thought that with the New Covenant, the old way of praying (the Psalms), which carries the Old Covenant beleif system would be abandonned because of the Revelation of God’s Face made by Jesus which conflicts in many ways with the one of the Old Testament and with Moses Law.
3. From a Christian perspective, the Psalms contain elements that sometimes starkly contrast with the image of God as revealed by Jesus. While these elements reflect the faith of the First Covenant, and therefore seem to reinforce the above statement (see n°2), they present challenges to our understanding of God’s nature in the Christian context.
4. As a first approach, we may say that although authored by the same human hands (David and other authors), the Psalms seem to serve a dual purpose through the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit: they are a prayer for both the people of the First Covenant and the followers of the New Covenant in Christ.
“Dual purpose” doesn’t mean that the text is divisible in two distinct categories of passages: one for the use of the people of the First covenant and one for the use of the People of the New Covenant. This is not possible, it would break the unity of inspiration of the text by the human author, in its context. We need to preserve the unity of the text. In this sense the text of the 150 Psalms is not divisible in two categories or even layers. Only to a certain extent, the text seems that it has to be understood through two distinct lenses that represent divergent belief systems. Let us look from close.
In the Psalms we have non-explicit allusions to Christ, and we have explicit and univoque mentions of Christ: see when Jesus asks the Jews: “What does it mean when David says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’?”—refering to a well-known verse from Psalm 110:1 (Matthew 22:41-46 and Mark 12:35-37).
When the new Catholic Lectionary for the Paul VI Mass was conceived (published in December 1969) the difficult passages of the Psalms where avoided. The “cisors” of the Liturgist left them out. Only the “acceptable” passages for the Christian faith were kept. The liturgist didn’t want to shock the average unprepared faithful, who in his or her non-experiencend eye will be shocked by these passages if they were read/sand during the Mass. This attitude illustrates two aspects: 1- the choice of seeing overlaping passages which, despite their First Covenant context of inspiration, allow them to be used by Christians, 2- the desire to avoid the dificulty in many passages which are directly opposed the New Covenant’s Faith, because the solutions to these huge difficulties are not obvious, or because we forgot or neglected the Church Fathers way of understanding the Psalms as a Christian Prayer, as Jesus’ Prayer, with the solutions they found and offered us (see below).
If the passages from the Psalms are not distant from the Christian Creed (God’s holiness, Creation, praise, sin, etc which the two creeds share), the non-explicit passages about Christ, and non-shocking ones will be seen as having an overlaping or double use (by Jews and Christians) allowing Christians to pray them without necessarily undergoing a different interpretative approach. To a certain extent this is the common way many christians read and pray the Psalms (see the lectionalry choice above), but, they don’t pay attention to the fact that the overlaping use of the Psalms is in fact a temptation and a danger. It is a danger because we’re going to pass by a treasure, a mine of extraordinary wealth and won’t discover it and won’t benefit from it! In fact, the opening of the eyes and minds to the apparently neutral or acceptable passages of the Psalms by the Christian will be prevented. The mystical dimension of the Psalm, as Christ’s Prayer, will be missed.
Note: Some might argue: the Liturgist avoided also the violent passages from the other books of the Old Testament. Yes, this is true, but we all know that we don’t use these texts as direct guidance on how to behave. We don’t pray them as we do with the Psalms. In Christianity, the Psalms have a unique position, and a unique choice was made about them: we took them as they are, without changing anything, and adopted them as our Christian Prayer! Often we do not realise the huge implications of this choice. We made a soft choice to just take the bearable passages for our prayer, while in fact they are entirely taken on board by our faith. We are not aware enough (and this is the goal of this article) that the Psalms, as a Christian Prayer, force us to undergo a huge deep and spiritual change, which involves a spiritual experience of the opening of the mind. If we avoid this challenge we are diminishing Christian faith. Along this line, the choice of going back to how the Lectionary was in the early centuries, the choice of putting back in the first reading on sundays a reading from the Old Testament (an excellent but timid implementation, since we still avoid the difficilties) is pushing us to discover only a pale side of the spiritual experience of the opening of the mind. We should go further into the reintroduction of the Old Testament in the Lectionary, with the condition or rediscovering what was the daily bread of the Scriptures of the Church Fathers.
If the non-explicit passages about Christ are distant from the Christian Creed (violence, etc), since they are prayed by Christians, they will need to be read in a spiritual or mystical way (see below). In this sense the explicit univoque passages about Christ in the Psalms need to be considered as the door to the less explicit passages: they invite us to dive deeper in Christ, experience the opening of the mind and heart, and see new meanings which nourish our spiritual life and our prayer.
Note: Amongst the main mission of Exegesis is the effort to know the intention of the human author. Here is what Vatican II says about searching “out the intention of the sacred writers”: “However, since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words.” (Vat. II, Dei Verbum 12) In the case of the Psalms, we ask ourselves the following question: how can a single text, with one historical context, one human intention in the human author, offer two (ore more) such distinct readings?
Note: An alternative form of exegetical explanation, apart from the “two belief systems” method (see 4 above), is that from the very beginning of their inspiration, the authors of the Old Testament were prophetically shown the Messiah—His sufferings and His resurrection. This is why, in reference to Isaiah 53, St. John says in his Gospel that Isaiah wrote this because “he saw His glory” (John 12:41) -“glory” here alludes to the Passion. In other words, Isaiah was granted a profound theological vision of the Lord’s Passion, which he then conveyed in his writing. Faced with the disbelief of the Jews, St. John highlights the magnitude of the paradox by quoting Isaiah who wrote at the begining of his description of the Passion: “Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Is. 53:1) (see John 12:38). Also, the Lord in St. John says something about Abraham which could be interpreted in a similar way: “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” (John 8:56) This interpretation suggests that Jesus is referring to the fact that Abraham, in his lifetime, prophetically foresaw the coming of the Messiah and rejoiced in that hope. From a theological standpoint, this would align with the idea that Abraham, as a faithful servant of God, would have had some understanding of God’s plan of salvation, even if he did not see Jesus’ earthly life directly. In this sense, “seeing My day” would refer to Abraham’s anticipation of Christ’s coming, an understanding granted through God’s revelation. In this case, if we adopt this exegetiecal explanation, each and every Psalms was a vision of Christ given to David, so that all the Psalms were from the begining Jesus’ Prayer. This would go with: “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.“ (Luke 24:25-27) It was written about Him… So David is writing “about Jesus” and not about himself, he is not writing in a typological way which then we apply to Jesus afterward.
If we look carefully we can find not only two layers as stated above, one for the First Covenant and one for the New Covenant way of reading and praying the Psalms, we can find a intermediate layer (see below 2-) which in fact links the First and the New Covenant, as it leads the First Covenant to its completion and accomplishment in the New Covenant. Here are the three layers:
1- The Psalms are valid for the First Covenant and help its adherents pray
2- They are also prophetic, pointing toward the Messiah
3- They reflect the prayer life of Jesus and His Body, the Church. They are fulfilled in Christ, embodying His prayer.
As a matter of fact, the literal meaning of the Psalms serves as a foundation for our prayer as Christians. However, when applied within the New Covenant, the limitations of the literal text (see the obstacles mentioned below and also the different “creeds” OT/NT) force us to depart from its material meaning/literal and seek a spiritual meaning. If, as Christians, we engage with the Psalms solely on their literal level, we remain trapped within the framework of the First Covenant. It is true that some parts of the literal meaning of the Psalms can serve both Covenants, like creation for instance. But we shouldn’t separate elements of the “Creed” of the First Covenant (like creation) from the whole “Creed” of this same covenant (the whole system of belief). Therefore, even a subject like “creation” can have two frameworks, two understandings, two ends.
Old and New Covenant
The First Covenant, often associated with figures like Moses, David, and Solomon, and the New Covenant, established through Jesus Christ, reflect two distinct yet interconnected belief systems within the Judeo-Christian tradition. While both covenants share foundational elements—such as beliefs in Creation, the final resurrection, sin, faithfulness, the Old Testament, and the Psalms—their purposes, promises, and spiritual outcomes are notably different.
In the First Covenant, God’s relationship with His people is established through the laws given to Moses, the kingdom promised to David, and the wisdom imparted to Solomon. This covenant emphasises adherence to the law, rituals, and a communal identity centred on faithfulness to God’s commandments. The Old Testament provides a framework for this relationship, with the Psalms capturing the heartfelt prayers, worship, and struggles of a people striving to live in accordance with God’s will. The themes of sin and redemption are woven throughout this covenant, establishing a cycle of transgression, repentance, and forgiveness. Yet, the promise of eternal life and the fullness of salvation remain unfulfilled within this covenantal framework, pointing to something greater to come.
The New Covenant in Christ builds upon and transcends the First Covenant by fulfilling the promises foreshadowed within it. In Christ, believers are offered a profound transformation—a new life enabled through the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection usher in a covenant of grace, where salvation is not achieved through the law but through faith in Christ. This covenant brings a personal, transformative experience, inviting believers into a direct and intimate relationship with God. The presence of the Holy Spirit enables a continuous inner renewal, empowering believers to live out the virtues of Christ.
The New Covenant also introduces the idea of salvation as an accomplished and ongoing work. While the First Covenant prepares the way for this promise, the New Covenant actualizes it: through Jesus, salvation is now accessible, and eternal life is offered to all who believe. This fulfilment does not erase the importance of the Old Testament, the Psalms, or the foundational elements of Creation and faithfulness but reinterprets them in light of Christ’s redemptive work.
Thus, while the First Covenant lays the groundwork for understanding God’s expectations and character, the New Covenant completes this understanding, offering a pathway to eternal life, a transformed existence, and a relationship with God made new by the Holy Spirit. Through these two covenants, believers encounter the fullness of God’s plan—rooted in the Old, yet brought to completion in the New.
The Psalms, the Narrow Door of Enlightenment
From the beginning of the life of the Church the Psalms have been perceived as central in the eyes of the Apostles and of the writers of the New Testament. Upon reading the Gospels, one observes that the Psalter is by far the most frequently cited book of the Old Testament. It accounts for one-third of all biblical quotations. In the Gospels, especially in Saint Luke, quotations from the psalms appear mainly at key moments in the life of Jesus, serving as the book of his mission and his prayer. The psalms are so familiar to Jesus that they often seem like unconscious reminiscences. Jesus uses them with a depth and freedom that stand in stark contrast to the superficiality and literal rigidity of the scribes.
The Apostles noticed the Lord Praying the Psalms, they prayed them with Him. After the Resurrection, remembering all these moments they witnessed of the Lord praying the Psalm, the Holy Spirit made them understand that the Psalms are Jesus’ very Prayer and that they needed to be taken completely in the New Covenant, adopted totally as our Christian Prayer! What a striking decision! Today, we are still using the Psalms as the heart of our daily prayer.
Let us acknowledge that we must navigate through the narrow door of the Holy Spirit enlightenment to be enabled to see Jesus in the Psalms. Reading them merely as general prayers of faith could be offending to God, as it disregards the fullness of the New Covenant established in Christ. By failing to approach the Psalms through this lens, we risk slipping back into the mindset of the First Covenant—an offense that indicates a reliance on an outdated faith, vision, and goal.
These crucial realities often go unchallenged. In the new translations of the Lectionary (December 1969) and Breviary (1970), numerous Psalm passages have been omitted as a deliberate effort by liturgists to make the Psalms more accessible to average Christians while potentially avoiding the more complex or challenging aspects.
The transformative experiences of the mind’s opening—the Ephphata of Baptism—and the removal of the veil referred to by St. Paul necessitate a new understanding. Here is what St. Paul says: “But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Co 3:14-15) Furthermore, everything in the Old Testament was written for our instruction (see 1 Cor 10), and Isaiah 53 formed the heart of the kerygma for the Jews (as noted in Acts 8). These aspects illustrate a significant and often forgotten spiritual turning point.
Note: During the baptismal rite, the priest or deacon may perform the “Ephphata” rite, which involves touching the ears and mouth of the person being baptised. This gesture is inspired by Jesus’ healing of the deaf and mute man in Mark 7:34, where He says, “Ephphatha,” which means “Be opened.” In the current rite, the priest or deacon says: “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the mute speak. May He soon touch your ears to receive His word, and your mouth to proclaim His faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.” This brief prayer invites the person to be open to understanding and hearing God’s word and proclaiming it with their life, emphasising the spiritual openness to God that comes with the work of the Holy Spirit in baptism: a new capacity is given to the human being to discern and hear Jesus’ voice.
Certainly, we understand that Matthew wrote his Gospel for a Christian audience rooted in Jewish traditions, aiming to showcase Jesus as the true Moses (see Sermon on the Mount and also the 5 speeches of the Lord in the Gospel of St. Matthew, reminding us of the five books of the Pentateuch). Yet, we risk treating the Old Testament as merely a relic of the past, much like an artifact in a museum—symbolic but devoid of impact.
The Christian way of understanding the Psalms, this approach to Scripture represents a critical spiritual turning point integral to being Christian.
The Psalms lie at the core of our Christian prayer but present a challenge that demands an inner awakening. They serve as both an obstacle and an invitation to transition from the Old to the New Covenant, reshaping our understanding of God’s nature and will in the Psalms. They cannot simply be accepted at face value due to their distinct context in the First Covenant. To engage with them literally is impossible if we wish to make them our prayer.
Given their importance in our devotion, we must confront this issue. Otherwise, we unwittingly regress to the First Covenant, straying from the faith that the New Covenant embodies.
Typology is Today’s Experience
In St. Luke’s Gospel, the Lord explicitly mentions the Psalms in His address to the apostles: “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” (Luke 24:44-45). This indicates that understanding the Psalms in light of Christ is essential and it not a fanciful form of exegesis (the “typological” exegesis) which belonged to the past but a daily Christian experience of the Psalms and of the rest of the Old Testament.
“Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament. […] As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old […].” (CCC 129)
Indeed, while the Church has materially adopted the Psalms in the liturgy, it does so by experiencing them through enlightened lenses, seeing them as revelations of Christ. This adoption cannot occur without a transformative understanding facilitated by the Holy Spirit.
As we grapple with this new light, we should strive for an internal experience—a genuine illumination of the Holy Spirit in our lives, prayers, and relationship with Christ. The Psalms thereby compel us to confront the issue of exegesis directly, as they lie at the heart of Christian prayer. We are urged to pursue spiritual exegesis, uncovering Christ in these prayers. It is through faith in Him that we can genuinely pray the Psalms, guided by the teachings of the Fathers.
The Fathers of the Church teach us how to face the Psalms as our Christian Prayer. Think for instance of St. Augustine’s Commentary on the Psalms (a summit amongst the Fathers of the Church), and see all the different exegetical principles he uses without which they can’t really be the heart of our Christian prayer. Let us explore some of the exegetical principles St. Augustine implicitly uses when he reads, prays and comments the Psalms. It is a golden mine (see Reading list at the end of the article).
First Principle of Christian Exegesis of the Psalm
The Psalms are first and foremost Jesus’ Prayer. Jesus is the true David. When we read or pray the Psalms we hear Jesus’ voice. This requires a robust prayerful faith capable of hearing Jesus’ voice in the Psalms.
Note: Jesus prayed so that we might know how to pray. Christ sings first; it is up to us to respond. He has given a voice to his body. From Christ and his members comes a single prayer. The Psalms we pray God with God’s words. God teaches us what to say and how to say it. Prayer starts in God, in Jesus, and is given to us.
Second Principle of Exegesis
What doesn’t apply to Christ applies to his Body. We need to understand that the Christ we hear in the Psalms is the entire Christ, the whole Christ, the Head and the Body. So if Jesus says: forgive me for I have sinned, He, who never sinned, says to the Father in our name that He sinned, and is asking for us forgiveness: “Forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing”.
Example: Jesus the Psalmist asks for forgiveness for he has sinned. “I said, “Have mercy on me, LORD; heal me, for I have sinned against you.” (Ps 41:4) “1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. 5 Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 50:1-5)
As a consequence of this principle, the voice we hear in the Psalms is also Jesus Body’s voice, the Church.
Third Principle of Exegesis
When the literal meaning is incompatible with Christian Faith we need to find a deeper meaning.
Example: violence is incompatible with Christian Faith. A prayer like the following can’t be said about our enemies. We are called to pray for our enemies and to love them (Mt 5). How then can we read, understand and pray such passage:
“Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death. 21 Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways. 22The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan, I will bring them up from the depths of the sea, 23 that your foot may be dipped in the blood of your foes— the tongues of your dogs in the same.”” (Ps 68:20-23)
As we said we don’t have enemies. Our only enemy is Satan. Sin also is our enemy. Also any other thing in our life which displeases God can be taken as an “enemy”. also, any violence or call for violence that we can find in the Psalms can be seen as part of the passion and “jealousy” of God for us, excess of Love for us. like what Jesus says in the Gospel: “I desired of desire to eat this Passover with you” etc.
Fourth Principle of Exegesis
The Economy of the Incarnation Continues
When we pray the Psalms, the prayer of Jesus remains alive within us and is extended through time, as his Spirit prays in and through us. “The economy of Christian prayer extends the economy of the Incarnation, with the Spirit operating on both sides. The Spirit unites into one and the same prayer ecclesial prayer and mystical prayer, communal prayer and personal prayer, vocal prayer and silent prayer, because he is the Spirit of Jesus and the Spirit of the whole Christ, who bonds the head with the members. ‘The secret of Christian prayer is that it is everywhere and always the prayer of Christ, from whichever lips it springs forth and in whatever situation it rises. This is what makes it one and manifold, answered in advance and always pleading, already spoken and always yet to be spoken.’ (A.-M. Besnard, “Augustin, prier les psaumes”, Paris, 1963, p. 33)” (“Saint Augustin prie les Psaumes”, trad. A.-G. Hamman, Paris, 2003, p. 18)
Note: It is important to note how for the Fathers the Psalms evoke prayer. To speak of the Psalms or to speak of prayer is essentially the same. To chant the Psalms or to pray is one and the same.
Conclusion
The purpose of the Fathers’ commentaries was less to explain the Psalms in a literal sense than to provide a Christian interpretation so that the renewed Christian mystery might find its fullness by being fulfilled in the souls. Discovering the Christian Psalms allow our prayer to be directly nourished by the Holy Spirit. This turning point in exegesis, is a vital necessity for all the persons who pray with the Psalms.
Question: Do we face a similar predicament in other Old Testament texts?
Answer: I believe the Psalms uniquely compel us to seek a Christian interpretation. Their role in our prayer demands exegetical solutions that align with our faith in Christ. Unlike any other Old Testament texts, these Psalms push us toward a deeper understanding; the spiritual meaning is not simply optional or dismissible. Since praying the Hours (the Breviary) is essential—and includes the Psalms—finding a way to engage with them deeply is vital. This is not automatic; it is not inherently understood, and we must learn how to pray the Psalms in a manner consistent with our New Covenant faith.
The ‘Prosopological’ Method of Understanding the Psalms
In the exegetical methods mentioned above, we mentioned the “typological method or principle of exegesis. But there is another principle and method, used by the authors of the New Testament and by Fathers of the Church: the “Prosopological Method”. The ‘Prosopological Method’ is an exegetical method of reading and understanding the Psalms and some other passages from the Old Testament. ‘Prosopological’ is a word composed using ‘prosopon’, which means ‘person’ in Greek –in our case here the person meant is the one of the second Person of the Trinity Incarnate: Jesus Christ. Also, it is important to remember St. Paul’s teaching regarding Christ the Head of the Church and the latter being his body. In this sense when we talk about Jesus, the whole Jesus, we mean the Head and the Body.
The typological and prosopological methods of exegesis are both interpretative approaches used in biblical studies, yet they focus on different ways of understanding connections between the texts.
Typological Method of Exegesis
The typological method is based on the concept that certain events, persons, or institutions in the Old Testament (types) prefigure or foreshadow corresponding realities in the New Testament (antitypes). This approach sees the Bible as a unified narrative in which earlier elements point toward later fulfilments, especially in relation to Christ and the Church. For example: The sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22) is seen as a type of the sacrifice of Christ. The Passover lamb in the Exodus story is interpreted as a type of Christ, the Lamb of God, who sacrifices Himself for humanity.
Typology interprets historical events and figures as part of God’s providential plan, with a sense of continuity between the Old and New Testaments. This method is often seen in patristic and medieval exegesis, where Church Fathers and scholars like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas explored typological connections to reveal deeper meanings.
Prosopological Method of Exegesis
The prosopological method, on the other hand, focuses on identifying and interpreting the “speakers” or “persons” (Greek: *prosopon*, meaning “face” or “person”) within biblical texts. This method is particularly useful for passages where different voices are implied but not explicitly identified. It seeks to clarify who is speaking, to whom they are speaking, and in what context. This method has been notably applied to the Psalms and other poetic or prophetic texts where dialogue or shifts in speaker are not always clear.
For instance in Psalm 22, the prosopological approach might clarify that certain verses can be understood as the words of Christ in His suffering, and other parts might reflect the voice of the faithful Israelite or the voice of God in response. In Isaiah 53, prosopological exegesis might identify distinct voices within the passage to highlight shifts between the speaker, the suffering servant, and God. By attributing specific voices to the verses, the prosopological method provides a nuanced understanding of how different “characters” or perspectives come together to convey theological meanings. The main differences can be:
– Focus: Typology emphasises connections and foreshadowing between Old and New Testament events or figures, while prosopology focuses on identifying distinct voices within a single text.
– Purpose: Typology is used to reveal the deeper unity of Scripture, especially regarding Christological or ecclesial meanings; prosopology aims to clarify dialogue or speaker shifts to enhance interpretative accuracy.
– Application: Typology spans across the entire Bible to show historical and theological continuity, whereas prosopology is more specific to passages with ambiguous or layered speech.
In essence, typology deals with thematic and prophetic connections, while prosopology clarifies the internal dynamics of speech and perspective within a text. Both methods enrich our understanding of Scripture’s meaning and unity.
The Whole Christ, Head and Body
In his letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul deeply explores the fact that Christ is the head and the Church His body, using to express it the image of the profound union between Christ and believers. St. John Chrysostomos will say that the strongest bond which can exist is the one between Christ and his bride, the Church. “There is no relationship between a husband and wife so close as that between Christ and the Church, for He is the Head and we are the body. He has united us with Himself and incorporated us in His own flesh. This unity surpasses any other form of closeness.” (Homily 20 on Ephesians) “The bond between Christ and the Church is stronger than any other. Not even death can sever it, for He has bound her to Himself with a love that cannot be broken and has joined her in an unbreakable union, as with a bond of iron.” (Homily 12 on Ephesians) In this passage, Chrysostom meditates on the profound mystery of the union between Christ and His Church, a unity that he sees as surpassing even the closest human bonds, including marriage. He draws on Paul’s teaching that Christ is the head of the Church and emphasises that this spiritual union is deeper and more enduring than any earthly connection, as it involves both Christ’s sacrificial love and the Church’s intimate incorporation into His body.
In Ephesians 1:22-23, Paul describes how God exalted Christ over all things and appointed Him as head of the Church: “And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Here, Paul stresses Christ’s authority and His role in uniting and filling the Church, suggesting that the Church finds its fullness in Him. In Ephesians 4:15-16, Paul encourages believers to grow into maturity in Christ, who is the head, and emphasises the role of each member in the growth and unity of the body: “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” In Ephesians 5:23, discussing marriage, Paul refers to the relationship between Christ and the Church, reiterating Christ’s headship: “For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Saviour.” Here, Paul compares the relationship between husband and wife to that of Christ and the Church, showing that Christ’s headship is not only one of authority but also one of love and salvation. (See also: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Colossians 1:18; 2:19, Romans 12:4-5)
In these passages, Paul uses the body metaphor to convey both the hierarchical and organic mystical unity between Christ and the Church. Christ as the head implies leadership, source of life, and intimate connection, while the Church as the body suggests interdependence, unity, and growth towards maturity in Him.
The clear perception of the unity in the whole Christ, the reading of the Psalms by the fathers of the Church developed and deepened. The Psalms became the Church prayer.
Who is the Speaker?
This started by them asking various questions. A significant number of Psalms are presented as prayers in the first person. Who is this speaker? This question greatly preoccupied most exegetes of Antiquity. “Now, the application of this research method, which we shall call the prosopological method, appears to be closely linked, from an early stage and in a fundamental way, to the development of dogma. Already employed by Justin, Irenaeus, and Tertullian, […] it seems […] that it played a decisive role in Tertullian’s adoption of the term persona to articulate the Trinitarian dogma in response to Praxeas. Subsequently, […] the prosopological formula continued to serve, with remarkable consistency and fruitfulness, the transition from revealed data to dogmatic formulation. […] It was not exactly exegesis, or not merely exegesis. It was a biblical theology that was taking shape before our eyes.” (M.J. RONDEAU, Commentaires patristiques du psautier, t. I, p. 19.)
“The voice heard in the Psalms is the voice of the whole Christ—head and body, bridegroom and bride, two in one flesh, thus two in one voice: this is the fundamental theme of Augustine’s Enarrationes in Psalmos.” (RONDEAU, Commentaires patristiques du psautier, t. II, p. 365)
St. Augustine Commenting Psalm 37 (38), Paragraph 5(6)
“Nor is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.” It is often asked whose words these are; some understand them as Christ’s, due to certain statements here about Christ’s Passion, which we will soon discuss and acknowledge to refer to His Passion. But how could He, who was without sin, say, “There is no rest in my bones because of my sin”? If we claim these are not the words of Christ, then the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Ps. 22:1) would also not be His. For in that verse, we have, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” followed by, “The words of my offences are far from my help.” Just as here it says, “because of my sins,” there it says, “the words of my offences.” And if Christ is indeed without “sin” and without “offences,” we may question whether those words in the Psalm are His. Yet it would be extremely harsh and inconsistent to deny that this Psalm refers to Christ, where we see His Passion described as clearly as if it were read directly from the Gospel. For it says, “They divided My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing” (Ps. 22:18). Why should I mention that the first verse of that Psalm was spoken by the Lord Himself from the Cross, where He said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” What else could He mean to imply but that the whole of that Psalm concerns Him, as He, the Head of His Body, declared it in His own Person? When it goes on to say, “the words of my offences,” it is beyond doubt that these are Christ’s words. So where do these “sins” come from, if not from His Body, which is the Church? For both the Head and the Body of Christ are speaking.
Why do they speak as though they are one person? Because, as He said, “the two shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). “This,” says the Apostle, “is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church” (Eph. 5:32). Why should He not say “my sins,” when He said, “I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and you did not take Me in; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me” (Matt. 25:42-43)? Certainly, the Lord was not literally in prison. Why should He not speak in this way, to whom, when people asked, “When did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or in prison, and did not help You?” He replied that He spoke on behalf of His Body: “Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (Matt. 25:44-45). Why should He not say “because of my sins,” when He said to Saul, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” (Acts 9:4), though He Himself was in Heaven and was not being persecuted. But just as in that instance the Head spoke on behalf of the Body, so here too the Head speaks the words of the Body, while we hear the voice of the Head as well. Yet when you hear the voice of the Body, do not separate it from the Head; nor should you separate the Body when you hear the voice of the Head, because “they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Matt. 19:6).” (St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 37,6).
Reading
– “Essential Expositions of the Psalms by Saint Augustine” Selected and Introduced by Michael Cameron.
– “Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends” by Carmen Joy Imes.
– “St. Augustin: Exposition on the Book of Psalms”, Philip Chaff.
– “Saint Augustin Prier Dieu les psaumes”, Présentation du P. A Besnard, Paris, 1963.
– “Saint Augustin prie les Psaumes”, trad. A.-G. Hamman, Paris, 2003.
– H.J. Auf der MAUR, Das Psalmenverständnis des Ambrosius, Leiden, 1977.
– J. DELAMARE Saint Augustin explique les psaumes, in La vie spirituelle, février 1950, p. 115-136. La vie de prière à l’école de saint Augustin, in La vie spirituelle, mai 1952, p. 447-493.
– B. FISHER, Die Psalmen frömmigkeit der Märtyrerkirche, Fribourg, 1949 (trad. mise à jour: Le Christ dans les Psaumes. La dévotion aux Psaumes dans l’Eglise des martyrs, dans La Maison-Dieu, nE27, 1951, p. 86-109).
– N. J. GASTALDI, Hilario di poitiers. Exegeta del Salterio. Paris, Beauchesne, 1969.
– E. GOFFINET, L’utilisation d’Origène dans le Commentaire des Psaumes de Saint Hilaire de Poitiers, Louvain, 1956.
– Les Psaumes, prière du Christ, dans La prière des Heures, éd. Mgr Cassien et B. Botte (Lex orandi 35), Paris, 1963, p. 85-89.
– O. Linton, Interpretation of the Psalms in the Early Church, dans Studia Patristica IV= TU 79, Berlin, 1961, p. 143-56.
– Cl. Jean NESMY, La Tradition médite le Psautier chrétien, 3 vol., Paris, 1973-1976. Tous les psaumes commentés verset par verset par des citations de Pères, selon le procédé des Chaînes.
– M. J. RONDEAU, Les Commentaires patristiques du Psautier (3-5 siècles), OCA 219-220, 2 t.,Rome, 1982-1985.
– A. ROSE, Les Psaumes, voix du Christ et de l’Eglise. Paris, 1981.
– P. SALMON, L’office divin. Paris,1959, pp 99-134.
– F. VANDENBROUCKE, Le Psautier, prophétie ou prière du Christ? Questions liturgiques et paroissiales, 33, 1952, p. 149-161, 201-213.
– M. VINCENT, Saint Augustin maître de prière, d’après les Enarrationes in Psalmos, Paris, 1990.
– Zum Problem einer christlichen Interpretation der Psalmen, dans Theologische Revue, t. 67, 1971, col. 6-12.
– G. HUMEAU, Les plus belles homélies de saint Augustin sur les Psaumes, Paris, 1947.
– H. Urs von BALTHAZAR, Saint Augustin. Le visage de l’Eglise, Collection “Unam Sanctam”, nE31, Paris, 1958.