Scholarly Reflections
Daniélou, Jean, S.J. "Chapter Eighteen: The Ascension." The Bible and the Liturgy." Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1956, pp. 303-318.
The ascension, like the other celebrations of Christianity, was readily seen as both a recognition of something old and a prefiguring of something yet to come (Daniélou 1956, 303). Here the Psalms were frequently used, particularly three, which Daniélou treats in order.
Psalm 23 speaks of welcome to the King of Glory (Daniélou 1956, 304). The ascension of Christ and his reception back into the heavenly realms in glory was recognized by the earliest of the Fathers as a central sign of Christ's kingship. Irenaeus took the question of the Psalm, "Who is this king?" to be an angelic question, as they had known God the Son prior to his incarnation but wondered at his coming as a resurrected human (Daniélou 1956, 306). Numerous other Fathers carry on this theme of Christ appearing in a form unexpected by the angels.
Psalm 109 and its statements about the Messiah not being abandoned or suffering decay is anotehr passage frequently used in the context of the ascension (Daniélou 1956, 308). In particular the picture of Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father received attention from the Church Fathers. Daniélou particularly notes that the Fathers made significant connections between Psalm 109, 1 Corinthians 15, and many passages in Hebrews (Daniélou 1956, 310). A further important outworking of the ascension and the session of Christ is the sending of the Holy Spirit. Daniélou notes that this was, in the mind of the Fathers, directly related to world evangelism, as Jesus used this means to make witnesses to all nations (Daniélou 1956, 311).
Psalm 67 is also used in association with the Ascension. Applied to Jesus by Paul in Ephesians 4:7-11, it speaks of God's work of ascending and giving gifts (Daniélou 1956, 312). The theme of Christ conquering death and the devil, then ascending to give gifts to his followers became very common in partristic thought. Ideas of proper orientation in prayer and posture of looking for Christ's return were also linked to Psalm 67 (Daniélou 1956, 314).
Daniélou raises an important question, whether these interpretations of the Psalms are appropriate, since they diverge rather clearly from Judaic thought (Daniélou 1956, 315). He observes that the Christian tradition in antiquity always considered all the Psalms to be messianic in nature. For this reason, the liturgical use of those Psalms, though differing from Jewish understanding, was entirely consistent with Christian understanding. It also accords with the strongly typological interpretive processes of the time period (Daniélou 1956, 317). While more discussion is warranted, Daniélou considers the Fathers' work sound in this regard.