APPLYING OUR HEARTS TO WISDOM AN EXPLORATION OF THE PSALTER Patristic Light on Psalm 104: Praise for the Goodness of God’s Creation Psalm 104 blesses God for the virtuosity of his creative providence, God’s first work in his unfolding revelation of self-disclosure. For several patristic writers, Psalm 104 provided scriptural warrant as a source for the goodness of Creation. V.K. McCarty [email protected] https://gts.academia.edu/VKMcCarty 1 Patristic Light on Psalm 104: Praise for the Goodness of God’s Creation by V.K. McCarty NE OF THE PRINCIPLE PSALMS for the Feast of Pentecost is Psalm 104.1 The whole Psalm, all thirty-seven verses of it, blesses God for the virtuosity of his creative providence and exhorts us to good stewardship of its riches. The creation of the cosmos is presented as God’s first work in his unfolding revelation of self-disclosure; and indeed, the tapestry of Psalm 104 can be seen woven in creative alignment with the basic chronology of the days of creation reported in Genesis 1, including many shared words in the Hebrew. The text amplifies in poetic detail aspects of the panorama of God’s Creation masterpiece as touchstones for the Psalmist’s praise, from the fabric of light with which God is appareled, to the release of sustaining spring waters, to the crafting and redemptive renewal of mankind. O Within the nuanced lyricism of the psalm, we find details narrated in the Genesis story dovetailing and mingling in parallel shards of poetic praise; therefore, “Psalm 104 must be reckoned as poetry of the highest level, unsurpassed in literature.”2 In the Orthodox Church, Psalm 104 has a prominent position, opening the service of Vespers, and since the traditional Christian worship cycle, like the Jewish tradition from which is arose, begins with this sunset service, it is for the Orthodox, “the first act of prayer in the new day,”3 rather in the same way that the Venite functions for Anglicans. More recent scholarship has demonstrated that, while Psalm 104 may not actually be dependent on Genesis 1, it probably began life as a liturgical hymn in the restored Jerusalem Temple.4 Additionally, it shows familiarity with the Egyptian creation text, “Hymn to Aten,” but not to the point of literary dependence.5 1 Although the Psalm is numbered 103 in the Septuagint Greek and the Vulgate Latin, it is numbered Psalm 104 throughout this work, following the Hebrew and the NRSV. This article is dedicated with gratitude to the priestly ministry of the Rev. William L. Ogburn, SCP, and the People of Saint Luke in the Fields, New York City. 2 Klaus Seybold, Introducing the Psalms (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1990), pg. 70. 3 Kallistos Ware, citing Alexander Schmemann, “Through Creation to the Creator,” in Toward an Ecology of Transformation: Orthodox Christian Perspectives on Environment, Nature, and Creation, John Chryssavgis, Bruce V. Foltz, eds. (New York: Fordham University Press, 2013), pg. 98. 4 Although some commentators, such as Dahood (Anchor Bible, vol. 2III, pg. 33), placed the origin of Psalm 104 in pre-exilic times, it is now generally held that “it represents a hymnic echo of the already developed teaching about creation.” Alfons Deissler, “The Theology of Psalm 104,” in Standing Before God: Studies on Prayer in Scriptures and in Tradition with Essays: In Honor of John M. Oesterreicher, Asher Kinkel, Lawrence Frizzell, eds. (New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1981), pg. 32. 5 With “the strong Egyptian influence in Israel during the time of David and Solomon, such connections are not nearly so puzzling, especially since the Hymn to Aten was written during the only period of monotheism in Egypt, a period that may have held fascination for the monotheistic writers in Israel.” Richard M. Davidson, “The Creation Theme in Psalm 104,” in The Genesis Creation Account and its Reverberations in the Old Testament, Gerald A. Klingbeil, ed. (Berrien Spring, MI: Andrews University Press, 2015), pg. 152. 2 S THE OPENING ACCLAMATION is heard, “Bless the Lord, O my soul,”6 there is a sublimely keen sense of the cloud of witnesses standing beside us in the spirit of our faith. The presence among us of the saints and patriarchs past add their patristic light to our prayer and praise. Thus, there is an underlying root of wisdom undeniably operating in Psalm 104 which links faithful worshippers with the teachings of the Early Fathers. That spark of wisdom provides us with a grateful awareness of the goodness of Creation assured by the Creator in the words of this ancient hymn. So certain were the Early Church Fathers of the central concept posited in Psalm 104—that Creation cannot be separated from the Creator—that they often deployed it as scriptural warrant, offering it as a source for the goodness of Creation in their writings. A sampling of them is included here to whet the spiritual appetite for more study. A So, for example, the ancient Syrian Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus (ca. 393-ca. 460 C.E.) reminds us that Psalm 104 is “the greatest index of God’s providence” in Scripture, for it “portrays the God of all to be both maker and governor of everything.”7 And Augustine of Hippo (354-430), the Doctor of Grace,8 observes how well a chanted Psalm touches the soul more profoundly than even reciting words. “How loudly I cried out to you, my God, as I read the Psalm, full of faith, an outburst of devotion with no room for a breath of pride. I was inflamed by it with love for you and fired to recite it to the whole world.”9 Part of the appeal of prayerful spirituality and the experience of liturgy is encountering personally the confident knowledge that the saints abide with us and continue to offer their support and wisdom in everyday life. Thus, in the verses of Psalm 104, we find ourselves joining with them in praising the wisdom and grace of the Creator. If any man wonder whether this pleasurable singing is indeed prayer, the Cappadocian Bishop Gregory of Nyssa (ca. 335-ca. 394) reminds us that “by means of these Psalms, we pass from inspired hymn-singing to the philosophy of the Churches. The Psalter has made living in accordance with virtue (kat’areten), along with the enigmatic teaching of the mysteries (ton mysterion ainigmatode didaskalian) about God, which are hard to understand, so pleasant and easy to accept.” So indeed, we are learning the teaching of God while under the spell of this beautiful Orthodox choral music. “The Psalms wonderfully show us the way to blessedness (makaria) by a systematic natural order, an impulse to the good (charin) followed by a study of the sublime, divine realities which enable us to possess the good.”10 Psalm 104 and the praise-psalms surrounding it, Gregory says, “lift the understanding of those of us ascending,” after which we are “brought to the height of the most sublime step of contemplation.” Meditating on the Psalm, even hearing the choir sing it on Sundays, “is bringing 6 Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted in the NRSV; The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version: with the Apocrypha; 4th edition, Michael D. Coogan, ed. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). 7 Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Psalms, 73-150 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2001), pg. 164. 8 Andrew Louth, “‘Heart of Pilgrimage:’ St. Augustine as Interpreter of the Psalms,” in Orthodox Readings of Augustine, G.E. Demacopoulos, A. Papanikolaou, eds. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2008), pg. 32. 9 Augustine, Confessions, 9.4.6. 10 Gregory of Nyssa’s Treatise on the Inscriptions of the Psalms, Ronald E. Heine, trans. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995), pg. 87 (PG 44.436-437). This is one of Gregory’s earliest compositions, dated to around 379. “We find here a seminal doctrine of epektasis, the stretching forward toward an ever-deepening awareness of God.” Casimir McCambley, Introduction, On the Inscriptions of the Psalms (Brookline, MA: Hellenic College Press, 2004), pg. 9. 3 us to the mountain peak and a recapitulation of human salvation.”11 Here, in the course of praying the Psalms, we can experience for ourselves how “music forms the very pattern both of the cosmos in general, and of human beings in particular…People take pleasure in the Psalms because harmonious singing puts us in harmony with the cosmos.”12 So that ultimately, by means of praying with the chanted Psalter during any service in the Prayer Book, goodness and beauty beget harmony and virtue. And for many, seeking the voice of Jesus Christ prefigured in this sacred liturgical text is our principle labor of love. Although Psalm 104 carries no inscription after its title in the Hebrew Bible, both the Septuagint and the Vulgate use “A Psalm of David” for it; probably as a consequence of the explicit double inclusio of “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” enclosing both the beginning and the end of Ps. 104 with Ps. 103, its psalm-neighbor which does carry the superscription “A Psalm of David” (mizmor ledavid, in the Hebrew). Gregory of Nyssa made much of this missing inscription, however: he attached special mystical meaning to Psalms for which the Hebrew Bible denied an inscription, but the Septuagint assigned one. Of Psalm 104 in particular, he says that the Psalmist “explicitly speaks of the only-begotten God, attributing to him the cause of the formation of the universe.” So, Gregory himself assigns Psalm 104 a special inscription: “Of David, at the coming to be of the world.”13 S URPRINGLY EARLY COMMENTATORS made efforts to reconcile the science of astronomy known at the time with the scriptural traditions of Creation described in Psalm 104. The Syrian monk-priest, John of Damascus (676-749) cited two scriptural descriptions for the creation of the heavens. One of them explains “the heavens to be in the form of a hemisphere, because the Psalmist David says, ‘Who stretches out the heavens like a tent’ (Ps. 104:2 Septuagint). Also, blessed Isaiah says, ‘Who establishes the heavens like a vault’ (Is. 40:22 Septuagint).” John does not choose between the two interpretations, resting content to assert that “whichever way it may be, all things have been made and established by the command of God and have their foundation in the divine will and desire.”14 Much earlier yet, Augustine, too, acknowledged the spherical shape of the cosmos. Not only did he think these two interpretations needed to be reconciled, but declared that “it is also necessary that both of the passages should not contradict the theories that may be supported by true evidence, by which heaven is said to be curved on all sides in the shape of a sphere, provided that this is proved.” Augustine explains how one can reconcile the literal meanings of these two passages with a spherical world. “If a vault can be not only curved but also flat,” he surmisees, “a skin surely can be stretched out not only on a flat plane, but also in a spherical shape. Thus, for instance, a leather bottle and an inflated ball are both made of skin.”15 Theodoret does not concern himself with these scientific issues, and says instead that the same verses (Ps. 104:2-3) “of course, indicate the invisible quality of the divine nature.”16 11 Gregory of Nyssa, Inscriptions, pg. 108 (PG44.466), describing the listener's experience of the Fourth Book of Psalms and the Fifth. 12 Hans Boersma, “The Church Fathers’ Spiritual Interpretation of the Psalms,” in Living Waters from Ancient Springs: Essays in Honor of Cornelis Van Dam, Jason Van Vliet, ed. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011), pg. 45. 13 Gregory of Nyssa, Inscriptions, pg. 157 (PG 44.536). 14 John of Damascus, Writings (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press,1958), pp. 212-213. 15 Augustine, The Literal Meaning of Genesis 1:59 (New York: Newman, 1982), pp. 133-134. 16 Theodoret, Comm. Ps. 104, 3. 4 HE QUESTION OF THE NATURE OF ANGELS, of God’s messengers, occupies Psalm 104:4, and the mind of several of the Fathers. “Take a close look at a branding iron,” Basil the Great (ca. 330-379), Gregory’s older brother, teaches his readers, “and the nature of angels’ holiness will become plainer: Remember that fire is required to heat it; yet, we would not claim that the branding iron (puros phlago) and the fire are the same substance. The angels are a similar case; they are essentially aerial spirits, composed of immaterial fire, as it is written, ‘He makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire’ (Ps 104:4). Angels exist in space, and when they are seen by those who are worthy, they assume (emphanizomenoi) an appropriate physical form. Holiness is not part of their essence; that is accomplished in them through communication with the Spirit. They keep their rank by persevering in goodness, by freely choosing to never abandon serving Him who is good by nature.”17 T Also explaining this verse, Gregory Nyssen observed that, “we have learned that the angels have no other occupation than praising God, and those who are perfect in virtue have no desire other than to prepare their life to be praise of God.”18 The author of the New Testament “Letter to the Hebrews,” on the other hand, uses Ps. 104:4 as a definitive statement about angels, so that a priority over them can be identified by the Son of God (Heb.1:7). With the heavens and the earth established, we hear the Psalmist stand back now and begin a grand ecological exhortation in prayer, in fulsome chords on the lips of the choir, praising elements of earthly Creation and God’s governance over them. The Lord’s environmental master-strategy for sustaining the earth provides care for all the inhabitants of Creation. This poetic version of the Creation story emphasizes a remarkably sensuous dimension to God’s mighty creative project, one in which animals are watered and fed, and birds “sing from the branches,” being satisfied (saba) (Ps. 104:11-12), and people are gladdened (samah) by bread and wine and oil and “food from the earth” (Ps. 104:14-15).19 Much depends, then, on water throughout Psalm 104; on God’s control of its primordial chaotic nature and its refreshing flow when organized in good order by the Creator.20 In fact, Psalm 104 reveals that the earth has been divinely wrapped like a garment in deep water (tehom) to sustain it (Ps. 104:6), in the same way that the ineffable Creator is wrapped like a garment in light (Ps. 104:2), drawing to mind the luminous image of late Summer aurora borealis. These twin images of God clothed in light and the earth wrapped in water reveal the work of the Creator in its awesome and sustaining wonder. Bishop Theodoret invokes the unique and compelling image of God controlling the chaos of stormy seas “as by a bridle,” since the waters rear up to the mountains and run back into the valleys, all by the power of his divine word. By his rebuke (geara), they rise up, reined in like a pet on a leash by the strength of his command.21 “It is natural to describe the human soul’s longing for God,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has said, “as a desperate ‘thirst’ for the thing it most needs. Every single evening, Orthodox Christians begin their worship by reciting the glorious Psalm of Creation which, just like the 17 Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit, quoted in Christopher A. Hall, Learning Theology with the Church Fathers (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002), pg. 114 (PG38.138A). 18 Gregory of Nyssa, Inscriptions, pg. 142 (PG 44.513). 19 Note the threefold use of “be glad” (samah), which after Ps. 104:15 will appear again in Ps.104:31 and Ps. 104:34. 20 Note especially God’s control and organization of the waters of the cosmos cited in Ps. 104:6-18, 25-26. 21 Theodoret, Comm. on Ps. 104, 6, pg. 164. 5 Creation Story in Genesis, seems to express the profound insight that maritime life proceeded and made possible the life that later emerged in dry land.”22 By the very rehearsal, then, in hymnic praise of the vastness and sheer beauty of God’s Creation, it is expected that mankind worshiping with this sacred text will be irresistibly persuaded to step up and make environmentally responsible choices. Psalm 104 is, on balance, as Paul Blowers has assessed, “the quintessential Psalm for the Creator’s assiduous care for his creation.”23 HEREFORE, “mankind as the ‘crown of creation’ should perceive themselves as divinely appointed to stewardship in the world. They are responsible for the further development of nature. This needs to occur in a dialogue with God and through an ongoing apprehension of the incomprehensible order of the creation.”24 The consequences of this divinely relegated responsibility are both inspiring and sobering to contemplate. “To intervene in the flow of water, the habitat of birds and animals, the topography of the earth, is to breach an intricate divine ecology into which human life is integrated.”25 T Yet, even amid the stern warning, there is encouragement and support for environmental wisdom at every turn. The Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Michael Curry declared, in a sermon preached at the National Cathedral which featured Psalm 104 among the Lections, that: “Our obligation to care for Creation is not some nice social program. It’s how we acknowledge that—yes!—this is truly God’s world.”26 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as well has said, “God’s unceasing love allows us only glimpses, to which we partially contribute when we abandon the abusive violation of nature and accept it as a divine gift of love, treating it reasonably, gratefully and fruitfully. To imagine a world that functions in beauty and harmony, balance and purpose, in accordance with the overflowing love of God, is to cry out in wonder with the Psalmist, “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all” (Ps. 104:25).27 The third Cappadocian Father, Gregory of Nazianzus, preaches about the glorious demonstration of the divine order crafted by the Creator: that nocturnal animals seek their prey by moonlight (yareah, in the Hebrew) and “people go out to their work” when the sun (semes) rises (Ps. 104:21-23); that “neither does one see dolphins ploughing nor the ox gliding the waves;” but it is the Order of God “that formed man as a rational animal from a mixture of rational and irrational elements, and bound dust to mind, and mind to spirit, in a mysterious and ineffable way.”28 Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, “The Sacred Power of Water,” in Cosmic Grace, Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of the Green Patriarch Bartholomew, John Chrysavvgis, ed., 2nd edition (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), pg. 344. 23 Paul M. Blowers, Drama of the Divine Economy: Creator and Creation in Early Christian Theology and Piety (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pg. 195. 24 Deissler, “Theology,” pp. 39-40. 25 James Luther May, Psalms IBC (Louisville, KY: John Knox, 1994), pg. 334. 26 Sermon by the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Michael Curry, preached at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., October 22, 2017. 27 Patriarch Bartholomew, “An Environmental Creed,” in Cosmic Grace, pg. 284. 28 Gregory Nazianzus, Oration 32.9, in Select Orations (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003), pg. 197. 22 6 I N THE CENTERPIECE OF THE PSALM, in its vortex at Ps. 104:25, Yahweh gazes in Wisdom (hockma) both backward and forward to his works (ma’asim), cited in 104:13 and 104:32; while we acknowledge in grateful prayer that mercy and forgiveness are inherent components of his manifold works as well. Gregory Nazianzus was persuaded that this Wisdom, in which mankind is made, meant that we are invested—each and every one of us—with “a particle of divinity (to Theotetos aeidios).”29 Gregory of Nyssa as well reflects on this passage: “I looked myself to see wisdom,” he says, “so that I might see precisely what I longed for. It is that wisdom which made all things; as the Psalmist says, ‘in wisdom you have made them all’ (Ps. 104:25). If, therefore, the work of that Wisdom, is immortality, blessedness of soul (tes psyches makaristes in the Greek), courage, justice, prudence, and every name and idea applied to virtue, then perhaps in consequence, we are being led on to the knowledge of good things” (tes gnosei ton agathon prosagometha).30 So, Gregory tucks this verse into a priestly Blessing in one of his letters,31 and finds in this continual acquiring and renewing of wisdom by the faithful in prayer the heart of his concept of progressive spiritual “ascents,” whereby those embodied with God’s living breath stretch forward by upward steps of renewal toward a life of virtue (Ps.104:30).32 Augustine as well preaches encouragement for the spiritual progress every one of the faithful; reminding us that we are, “still in our pilgrimage, gazing upon the whole of this world, upon people who on every side are running toward faith, fearing hell, despising death, loving eternal life, scorning the present, and filled with joy at such a spectacle; so that we say, ‘the earth is full of your creatures (Ps. 104:25).’”33 Augustine’s style of exegesis, as with many of the Fathers, often leans toward interpreting the meaning of Old Testament passages within the literal words as “mystically encrypted” (egkekrummene mystikos) toward presenting the Messiah to come, and heralding Christ. “All therefore you have made in Christ,” he exclaims, “the earth is full of the Creation of Christ. Whatever walks and crawls on the earth, whatever swims in the waters, the whole universe is the work of God.”34 Gregory Nazianzus, “Poemes Dogmatiques” 8 (PG37.452A). Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on Ecclesiastes: An English Version with Supporting Studies, Stuart G. Hall, ed. (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1993), pp. 355-356 (PG44.681A). 31 “May the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort, who disposes all things in wisdom (Ps. 104:25), visit you with his own grace and comfort you, working in you that which is well pleasing to him.” Gregory of Nyssa, Letter 17, Gregory of Nyssa: The Letters, Anna M. Silvas, ed. (Leiden: Brill, 2007), pg.162. 32 “Those who are progressing from strength to strength are disposed in their hearts for noble ascents. Whenever they lay hold of some good thought, they are led by it to a still loftier thought, which brings about for the soul an ascent on high. Thus, he who ever stretches forward shall never cease on the good road upward, being guided through lofty thoughts to the apprehension of transcendent realities.” Gregory of Nyssa, “Homily on the Sixth Psalm,” quoted in Nyssa: Letters, pg. 1. 33 Augustine, “Exposition on Psalm 104,” 32, available at: http://newadvent.org/fathers/1801104.htm . 34 Augustine, “Exposition on Ps. 104,” 31. Here, Augustine explains his exegetical strategy: “It has pleased God to hide his own wisdom in the figures of such things, not to take it away from earnest seekers, but to close it to them who care not, and open it to them that knock. It has also pleased him to exhort you, that in all these things which are said as of the bodily and visible creation, we may seek something spiritually hidden, in which when found we may rejoice (quo invento gaudeamus).” Augustine, “Exposition on Ps.104,” 11. 29 30 7 I N CONTRAST WITH CREATION ACCOUNTS from the Ancient Near East, rife with combat and conflict, Ps. 104 describes the power of the Israelite God creating with ease a world of exquisite order and beauty for his own pleasure; even playfully forming (yasar) the dreaded sea-monster, Leviathan, to sport (sahaq) in his waters (Ps. 104:25-27): whereas the neighboring cultural traditions held that the Leviathan’s menacing power rivaled the gods. Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria (296-373), on the other hand, uses this passage as cautionary advice for the faithful in an Easter Day Letter: “For the world is like the sea to us, my brethren. We float on this sea, as with the wind, through our own free will, and either under the pilotage of the Word, he enters into rest; or, laid hold by pleasure, he suffers shipwreck, and is in peril by storm.”35 As might be guessed, Augustine interprets that “by ships, we understand churches; they go among the storms, among the tempests of temptations, among the waves of the world. Let not the ships fear, when they can feel that Christ is their pilot. They will sail safely, they will reach their promised haven, they will be led to the land of rest.”36 In Psalm 104, there can be no doubt that we are clearly acknowledging our utter dependence on God, who not only opens his hand, so that we are “filled with good things” (Ps. 104:29), but also breathes into us the spirit of life. The heavens and the winds, the flames and the springs having been put in order, the birds and beasts created and sustained, Ps. 104:29-30 then presents God the Holy Spirit as the giver of the breath of life in wisdom. This breath, his ruah; so intimately is it the breath of God that when he withdraws it, the spirit returns to him, while we die and return to dust. Yet, by the very give and take of God’s breath, the earth is created (bara) and renewed (104:30-31). “Leading us on then, wisely and skillfully to virtue,” Basil preaches, “David made the departure from evil the beginning of good.” For after all, “who, indeed, can consider as an enemy him with whom he has uttered the same prayer of praise to God?”37 With each prayerful offering of Psalm 104, we are exhorted to continually care for the treasure of Creation, and its closing verses emphasize the assurance of God’s vigilant care and concern to sustain and renew all Creation. We praise God’s unique divine activity in embodying new creatures with his living breath (ruah), not only during the first creative act, but ever since, and even now, in the experience of praying Psalm 104. For in the ongoing miracle of creative work, God continues to renew (hadas) the face of the earth. Ps. 104:31-32 attests to the reciprocal rejoicing of God's creatures for their Creator and God’s own praise, taking joy in His works.38 35 Athanasius, Letter XIX, NPNF, 2nd series, vol. 4, pg. 547. Augustine, “Exposition on Ps. 104,” 34. As Augustine remarks, “Observe how numerous are the types of Christ! When these things are spoken figuratively; you may understand it to mean Him in every passage.” “Exposition on Ps. 104,” pp. 27-28. 37 Basil the Great, Homily 10, in Exegetical Homilies, (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1963), pp. 157, 152. 38 Thus, “in light of the use of the word ‘create’ (bara) in Psalm 104:30, with regard to God’s continued preservation of His creation, it is appropriate to speak of Psalm 104 as describing both the original creation (creatio prima) and the preservation of creation (creatio continua).” Richard M. Davidson, “The Creation Theme in Psalm 104,” in The Genesis Creation Account and its Reverberations in the Old Testament, Gerald A. Klingbeil, ed. (Berrien Spring, MI: Andrews University Press, 2015), pg. 157. 36 8 John of Damascus, at the climax of his magisterial Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, grounds his assurance of the Resurrection upon the foundation of these verses: “Nay, Scripture bears witness that there will be a resurrection of the body...David, sire of the Divine (ho Theopator), says to God, ‘When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.’ See how he speaks about bodies? Then he subjoins this, ‘When you send forth your Spirit, they are created: and you renew the face of the earth (anakainieis to prosopon tes ges) (Ps. 104:31-32).’”39And here, too, Augustine praises the original goodness of Creation in the love of its Creator, “He holds all things together by his majesty, and holds us by his goodness; how can he ever be shaken?”40 HE CLIMAX OF PSALM 104 heralds a future world without evil (Ps. 104:36). “This new world is not yet fully realized in fact, but it is ours already in hope (iam tenetur in spe, in the Latin); and in the strength of that hope, we sing, The earth is filled with your creative work.”41 This new world, however, promises to exclude the wicked. Theodoret, however, attempts to soften the Psalm’s condemnation of those who have fallen short of virtue, begging on behalf of sinners, that God is “not demanding that they perish, but is asking that they be changed,” and “redeployed.”42 Gregory of Nyssa, too, exclaims that “the final achievement of blessedness will occur in the eschatological unity of all creation in praising God, when all evil has perished.”43 Thus, Gregory sees our praise in Psalm-chanting as the ultimate soteriological exercise. T On balance, then, the verses of compelling imagery and ecstatic praise in Psalm 104 are a poignant reminder to all the faithful, but in particular, to those who are grieving, about the goodness of God abiding with us in the beauty of his Creation. We are encouraged and reminded that contemplation of this Psalm “fortifies our inquiry, for the One who has done everything well with wisdom (tou panta ev sophia poiountos) (Ps. 104:25) is able to bring good out of evil (dia tou kakouti ton agathon katergasasthai).”44 Augustine is certain in this hope. Whether we are singing the verses of Psalm 104 ourselves or listening in active prayer to the choir: “It is Christ who is singing this; it is the whole Christ (totus Christus)45 who sings, that is the head and his body. It is in his members to cleave to him through faith, through hope, and through love. You both sing in him and exult in him; because he works in you. For the time being, therefore, we sing in hope, all gathered together into one.”46 John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith Book IV, Chapter 27 “Concerning the Resurrection.” Available at: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33044.htm (PG94.1221B). Additionally, Theodoret points out two examples from the historical narrative in the Book of Kings (1 Kgs. 17:21 (LXX), 2 Kgs. 4:34-35) to support the psalmic description of God’s restoration of breath. Theodoret, Comm. Ps 104,14. 40 Augustine, Enarr. in Ps. Serm. 1.17 on Ps. 103(104):5 (CCSL 40:1489), trans. Maria Boulder WSA 3.19.132. 41 Augustine, Enar., 3.19.169. 42 Theodoret, Comm. Ps 104, 17. 43 Gregory, Inscriptions, pg. 43. 44 Gregory Nazianzus, “On the Death of Infants.” (PG 44:161-192) Jaeger, III, pg. 97. English translation, Catholic Church, International Theological Commission, vol.II available at: www.documentacatholicomnia.au 45 Tutus Christus, Augustine’s much-celebrated concept, is the mystery of Christ’s constant indwelling and solidarity within his ecclesial body, the Church. 46 Augustine, Erann. 100:3, quoted in Andrew Louth, “‘Heart in Pilgrimage:’ St. Augustine as Interpreter of the Psalms,” in Orthodox Readings of Augustine, G.E. Demacopoulos, A. Papanikolaou, eds. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2008), pg. 298. 39 9 Thus, in the mystery of this liturgical prayer, “it is Christ’s voice we hear in the Psalm, and part of what is meant by understanding the Psalm is learning how to join our voice to Christ’s.”47 In conclusion, then, the underlying wisdom knitted into Psalm 104 demands that it be not only proclaimed aloud in church services, but also contemplated spiritually and theologically, that it may ever renew us in our conviction as stewards of God’s creation. For “the divine author intends to convey eternal, spiritual truth,” compelling the faithful to “recognize the congruence between the harmonious singing of the Psalms, on the one hand, and the harmony of the cosmos and of the soul, on the other.”48 So that, by our praise, chanting “Alleluia,49 bless the Lord, O my soul,” we may live in harmony with the goodness of God’s created order. Second Sunday of Easter 2018, New York City. PSALM 104 Part 1 Antiphon Bless the LORD, O my soul; and bless his holy name for the beauty of Creation! 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; * O LORD my God, how excellent is your greatness! you are clothed with majesty and splendor. 2 You wrap yourself with light as with a cloak * and spread out the heavens like a curtain. 3 You lay the beams of your chambers in the waters above; * you make the clouds your chariot; you ride on the wings of the wind. Part 2 Antiphon: Bless the LORD, O my soul; renew the face of the earth with the life-giving water of your Word. 4 You make the winds your messengers * and flames of fire your servants. Louth, “Heart,” pg. 303. Boersma, “Interpretation,” pg. 55. 49 Alleluia is a mystical exhortation which awakens our hearing to the praise of God, so that ‘praise the Lord’ is the meaning.” Gregory, Inscriptions, McCambley, pg. 38. 47 48 10 5 You have set the earth upon its foundations, * so that it never shall move at any time. 6 You covered it with the Deep as with a mantle; * the waters stood higher than the mountains. 7 At your rebuke they fled; * at the voice of your thunder they hastened away. 8 They went up into the hills and down to the valleys beneath, * to the places you had appointed for them. 9 You set the limits that they should not pass; * they shall not again cover the earth. 10 You send the springs into the valleys; * they flow between the mountains. 11 All the beasts of the field drink their fill from them, * and the wild asses quench their thirst. 12 Beside them the birds of the air make their nests * and sing among the branches. 13 You water the mountains from your dwelling on high; * the earth is fully satisfied by the fruit of your works. Part 3 Antiphon: Bless the LORD, O my soul; you raise our thoughts to things unseen, you show us your power and your love. 14 You make grass grow for flocks and herds * and plants to serve mankind; 15 That they may bring forth food from the earth, * and wine to gladden our hearts, 16 Oil to make a cheerful countenance, * and bread to strengthen the heart. 17 The trees of the LORD are full of sap, * the cedars of Lebanon which he planted, 11 18 In which the birds build their nests, * and in whose tops the stork makes his dwelling. 19 The high hills are a refuge for the mountain goats, * and the stony cliffs for the rock badgers. 20 You appointed the moon to mark the seasons, * and the sun knows the time of its setting. 21 You make darkness that it may be night, * in which all the beasts of the forest prowl. 22 The lions roar after their prey * and seek their food from God. 23 The sun rises, and they slip away * and lay themselves down in their dens. 24 Man goes forth to his work * and to his labor until the evening. Part 4 Antiphon: Bless the LORD, O my soul; and receive our grateful praise for your mercy and your forgiveness. 25 O LORD, how manifold are your works! * in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 26 Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number, * creatures both small and great. 27 There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan, * which you have made for the sport of it. 28 All of them look to you * to give them their food in due season. 12 29 You give it to them; they gather it; * you open your hand, and they are filled with good things. 30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; * you take away their breath, and they die and return to their dust. Part 5 Antiphon Bless the LORD, O my soul; until heaven and earth resound with the song of Resurrection! 31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; * and so you renew the face of the earth. 32 May the glory of the LORD endure for ever; * may the LORD rejoice in all his works. 33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; * he touches the mountains and they smoke. 34 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; * I will praise my God while I have my being. 35 May these words of mine please him; * I will rejoice in the LORD. 36 Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, * and the wicked be no more. 37 Bless the LORD, O my soul. * Hallelujah! God of all light, life, and love, through the visible things of this world you raise our thoughts to things unseen, and show us your power and love. From your dwelling-place refresh our hearts and renew the face of the earth with the life-giving water of your Word, until the new heaven and the new earth resound with the song of Resurrection in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 13 Bibliography Primary Sources Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos vol. 5:1, Franco Gori, ed. (Wien: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2001). Athanasius, Letter XIX; Easter Day, Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 4, pp. 544-548. Basil of Caesarea, Exegetic Homilies, Agnes Clare Way, trans. (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1963). Gregory Nazianzus, “On the Death of Infants,” (PG 44:161-192) Jaeger, III, pg. 97. Partial English translation, Catholic Church, International Theological Commission, Vol.II available at: www.documentacatholicomnia.au (accessed 11/30/2017) Gregory of Nyssa, Homilies on Ecclesiastes: An English Version with Supporting Studies, Stuart G. Hall, ed. (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1993). Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 32, in Select Orations (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003). Gregory of Nyssa, “On the Death of Infants,” W. Jaeger et al., Gregorii Nysseni Opera, vol. 3 (Leiden, 1967), II:67–79. Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nyssa’s Treatise on the Inscriptions of the Psalms, Ronald E. Heine, trans. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1995). See also, On the Inscriptions of the Psalms, Casimir McCambley, trans. (Brookline, MA: Hellenic College Press, 2004). John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith Book IV, Chapter 27 “Concerning the Resurrection.” Available at: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33044.htm (accessed 11/30/2017) Theodoret of Cyrus, “Commentary on Psalm 104,” in Commentary on the Psalms, vol. 1, Psalms 1-72, Robert C. Hill, trans. (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000), pp. 161-170. Secondary Studies Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Cosmic Grace, Humble Prayer: The Ecological Vision of the Green Patriarch Barthlomew, John Chrysavvgis, ed., 2nd edition (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009). Paul M. Blowers, Drama of the Divine Economy: Creator and Creation in Early Christian Theology and Piety (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012). Hans Boersma, “The Church Fathers’ Spiritual Interpretation of the Psalms,” in Living Waters from Ancient Springs: Essays in Honor of Cornelis Van Dam, Jason Van Vliet, ed. (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001), pp. 41-55. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church of the United States, Sermon, National Cathedral, Washington D.C., October 22, 2017. 14 Brian E. Daley, “Is Patristic Exegesis Still Usable?: Reflections on Early Christian Interpretation of the Psalms,” in Communio 29 (2002), pp. 185-216. Richard M. Davidson, “The Creation Theme in Psalm 104,” in The Genesis Creation Account and its Reverberations in the Old Testament, Gerald A. Klingbeil, ed. (Berrien Spring, MI: Andrews University Press, 2015), pp. 149-188. Alfons Deissler, “The Theology of Psalm 104,” in Standing Before God: Studies on Prayer in Scriptures and in Tradition with Essays: In Honor of John M. Oesterreicher, Asher Kinkel, Lawrecne Frizzell, eds. (New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1981), pp. 31-40. Ronald E. Heine, “Exegesis and Theology in Gregory of Nyssa's Fifth Homily on Ecclesiastes,” in Homilies on Ecclesiastes: An English Version with Supporting Studies, Stuart George Hall, ed. (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1993), pp. 197-222. Andrew Louth, “‘Heart in Pilgrimage:’ St. Augustine as Interpreter of the Psalms,” in Orthodox Readings of Augustine, G.E. Demacopoulos, A. Papanikolaou, eds. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2008), pp. 291-304. Patrick D. Miller, The Way of the Lord: Essays in Old Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2004). Kallistos Ware, “Through Creation to the Creator,” in Toward an Ecology of Transformation: Orthodox Christian Perspectives on Environment, Nature, and Creation, John Chryssavgis, Bruce V. Foltz, eds. (New York: Fordham University Press, 2013), pp. 86-105. V.K. McCarty is a graduate cum laude of General Theological Seminary where she served as Acquisitions Librarian 2000-2015, as well as guest lecturer in Ascetical Theology, assistant marshal, and copy-editor. Recent published papers include: “Wisdom from the Desert for Spiritual Directors,” in Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction v.18, no.3 (2012); “Prisca: Fellow Tent-maker and Fellow Missionary of Paul,” in The International Congregational Journal v. 11, no. 2 (2012). For the Sophia Institute: “Beauty for the Rest of Us: Re-considering Gregory of Nyssa’s On Virginity,” in The Concept of Beauty in Patristic and Byzantine Theology, JA McGuckin, ed. (New York: Theotokos Press, 2012); “Phoebe as an Example of Female Authority Exercised in the Early Church,” in Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience (2011); “The Asceticism of the Deaconess Olympias,” in Orthodox Monasticism: Past & Present, JA McGuckin, ed. (2014); “Recipe for Reconciliation: Paul's Charge to Syntyche and Euodia” in Healing, Reconciliation & Forgiveness in Eastern Orthodox Perspectives (2015); and in Orthodoxy and the Sacred Arts, “Illuminating the Incarnation: The Life and Work of the Ninth-Century Hymnographer Kassia,” (New York: Theotokas Press, 2016). McCarty has served as Sub-deacon, precentor, litanist, and chief master of ceremonies at the Church of St. Ignatius of Antioch; as Director of Christian Formation at St. Paul’s, Chatham; as hospital chaplain at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Health Center 1988-1996; and as preacher at: St. Matthew’s, Paramus; St. Martin’s, Maywood; St. Peter’s, Rochelle Park; Church of the Atonement, Fairlawn; St. Philip’s, Harlem; St. Andrew & Holy Communion, South Orange; St. Peter’s, Chelsea; and at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, New York City. Her lecture series, “Women in the Ministry of Paul,” was presented at Saint Luke in the Fields, in New York City, during Fall 2017. [email protected] Academic writing available at: https://gts.academia.edu/VKMcCarty 15