aka the Psalms Blog. A blog on Scripture in line with the "new exegetical movement" proposed by Pope Benedict XVI, with a particular focus on the psalms.
** Apologies to those who saw a note on the previous post suggesting I was ending the series at that point. I had inadvertently left comments from a previous draft there - the series will continue!**
The first verse of Psalm 133 can be interpreted either as a call to worship, or more generally, to live according to God's precepts.
1
V/NV
Ecce nunc benedícite Dóminum, * omnes servi Dómini
omnis, e, all,
each, every; subst., all men, all things, everything
servus –
servant;
DR
Behold now bless
the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
MD
Come now, bless the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord
B
Behold now, bless ye the Lord, all the servants of the
Lord
RSV
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
Cov
Behold now, praise the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord
K
Come, then, praise the Lord, all you that are the Lord’s
servants
Grail
O come, bless the Lord, all
you who serve the Lord,
Ecce can be translated here as either behold or perhaps 'come'.St Jerome suggests the latter interpretation, saying:
When one says ‘Come’ the invitation is just as definite as if one were pointing at you with his finger...
This is then, one last call to repentance, to ensuring we are on the right, and true path that reflects God's way.
Why the emphasis on now (nunc) though? Cassiodorus provides two explanations: the first being that only at this point, after we have advanced in virtue are we worthy to worship. He says:
Now is added because after the ascent of all these steps, only He who permitted such great progress deserved to be praised. There was first the fact that he had successfully made the ascent, and secondly that after this upward step he had no other to mount; the Lord is to be proclaimed with greater zeal when by His generosity He makes us untroubled.
The ‘servants of the Lord’ probably literally referred to priests and levites who exercized priestly functions in the Temple. But 'servant of the Lord’ has a much more general meaning as well, applied in the Old Testament to those entrusted with special missions (such as Moses) and in the New to all who truly follow Christ. The key point, the Fathers emphasise, is that we are not talking about just anyone here, but those who can rightfully claim the title title of servant of God. Theodoret of Cyrus, for example, comments that for those who have not yet attempted to make the ascent:
those who have been affected by the wounds of sin it is appropriate to weep, to lament, and to request the divine loving kindness.
Psalm 133: Compline daily; Gradual Psalm No 15
Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum
A gradual canticle
1 Ecce nunc benedícite Dóminum, * omnes servi Dómini
Behold now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
2 Qui statis in domo Dómini, * in átriis domus Dei nostri.
Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God
3 In nóctibus extóllite manus vestras in sancta, * et benedícite Dóminum.
In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless the Lord.
4 Benedícat te Dóminus ex Sion, * qui fecit cælum et terram.
May the Lord out of Sion bless you, he that made heaven and earth.
St Jerome, in his notes on the first of the Gradual Psalms says:
Let anyone who is still on the lowest step fix his gaze on the highest step, the fifteenth.
And I'm going to use that as my justification to jump to the last psalm of the group, Psalm 133, said at Compline each night in the Benedictine Office, next (though I will come back to the rest of the set after I have looked at this one).
The last of the psalms of ascent, Psalm 133 is very short. But it can be read quite a number of different ways, making it a very rich source indeed for our meditation.
Psalm 133: Compline daily; Gradual Psalm No 15
Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum
A gradual canticle
1 Ecce nunc benedícite Dóminum, * omnes servi Dómini
Behold now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
2 Qui statis in domo Dómini, * in átriis domus Dei nostri.
Who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God
3 In nóctibus extóllite manus vestras in sancta, * et benedícite Dóminum.
In the nights lift up your hands to the holy places, and bless the Lord.
4 Benedícat te Dóminus ex Sion, * qui fecit cælum et terram.
May the Lord out of Sion bless you, he that made heaven and earth.
The literal interpretation: worship in the night
The first interpretation focuses on the literal meaning of the words and their historical context.
If you read many modern commentaries, you will get variants on the idea that this verse is literally an invitation to worship God: in its original context, the pilgrims have finally arrived in Jerusalem, and enter the Temple in the evening. The pilgrims call out to the priests and Levites to obtain a blessing from them to mark the occasion (v1-3). The priests and Levites, then reply (v4).
In the context of its ancient Jewish Temple liturgy, some suggest that this psalm marks a kind of handover point: it would have been said as the laity left the inner Temple at night, with the priests remaining behind to keep the night vigil.
In the context of Compline, then. the psalm directs us to stand together one last time before he go to bed, to give thanks God for all the blessings we have received during the day, and asking him to bless our rest, symbolised by the night.
This literal explanation is fine as far as it goes, but there is, I think, much more spiritual juice to be extracted!
The citadel of virtue
The second interpretation focuses on the idea that this set of psalms represents our step by step progress in climbing the ladder of humility, and thus building a temple within ourselves, a 'citadel of virtue' as several of the Fathers, such as SS Ambrose, Cassian, Gregory and Bede put it.
St Augustine, for example, interprets the reference to the courts of the house of God as having achieved the enlargement of heart that St Benedict speaks of in his Rule as the measure of perfection:
Courts mean the wider spaces of a house. He who stands in the courts is not straitened, is not confined, in some fashion is enlarged. Remain in this enlargement, and you can love your enemy, because you love not things in which an enemy could straiten you. How can you be understood to stand in the courts? Stand in charity, and you stand in the courts. Breadth lies in charity, straitness in hatred.
It is only when we have reached this highest level of the ascent, when we can truly claim to be servants of God, witnessing to his goodness (blessing) through our good works, that we can truly worship him. We lift up our arms to the Lord, Cassiodorus says, 'by means of good works, so that the devil our foe may be overcome by the majesty of heaven'.
Indeed, several of the Fathers point to the story of Moses in the battle against Amalec (Exodus 11) in relation to the idea of lifting up our hands: when Moses arms were held aloft, the Israelites had the advantage, but if he let them down, they lost. This verse invites us to be co-workers with Christ, St Jerome, argues: by holding up our arms as Christ did on the Cross, we lend our aid in the battle for the world.
In the night then, we can pray freely as our Lord so often did, unencumbered by distractions, enjoying the peace that is the meaning of the word Sion, and that God confers on those who truly seek him. As St Jerome says:
Since now the brethren have come together as one [Ps 132], and the Church of the Lord has now assembled, what is the counsel of the last psalm? Come bless the Lord…because it is good and pleasant for brethren to dwell united, and together you have formed a community: Come, bless the Lord. Praise Christ now after His coming, for in Him you have come together; now bless Him in the last psalm of ascent, for you have gathered together on the summit of the virtues. Before you reached the top, the fifteenth step, you were not able to bless the Lord, but I say to you now, Come, bless the Lord.
The temple as a microcosm of heaven?
A third interpretation is that, consistent with the idea of the steps as a variant of Jacob's Ladder, in ascending into the inner courtyard, we have now metaphorically entered heaven.
St Jerome, for example suggests:
He who is on the fifteenth step is already in the vestibule of the temple..Consider for a moment how this earthly temple is a figure of the heavenly temple. 'For star differs from star in glory, so also with the resurrection of the dead'. Happy the man who has merited to be on the fifteenth step in the heavenly Jerusalem and in the temple! Because that height is so sublime, and is, I think, the place of the apostles and the holy martyrs...
At this happy level, God blesses us with his presence, allowing us into our permanent home, as St Robert Bellarmine puts it:
Now that you have been delivered from all temptations and persecutions, it is time for you to give your whole thoughts to praising God; and, therefore, "bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord," who now have nothing else to do, but to render him the tribute of everlasting praise and thanks.. you, who have now a permanent house, and no longer, like pilgrims, have to dwell in tents. And, in addition to the house you have, is "a court," so that you cannot but be supremely happy, having a house within, in which to behold God, and a court without, in which to behold his creatures.
In the night of this world
There is, however, a reminder built into this psalm that in reality we are not there quite yet, and that is in the reference to prayer in the night. St Jerome, for example, argues that night is a reference to this world:
This world is night; the future world is the true day…whether we will it or not, we are in the night; as long as we are in this world, we are in the hours of the night.
Accordingly, he warns us not to be complacent: those who seem to have attained the height of virtue can still fall, while those who have not yet even started on the ascent may yet have time to make it:
Just as is said to the sinner: 'Dust you are, and to dust you shall return,' so, likewise to the saint, heaven you are, and to heaven you will return...It behooves one who is of heaven not to feel secure, nor ought he who is of earth lose hope of life.
We have though, a helper in this task in Christ:
When Jacob was in flight from his brother...he placed a stone under his head...'He dreamed that a ladder was set up on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; angels were ascending and descending on it...Would you know that the stone that at Jacob's head was Christ, the cornerstone? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. That is the stone that is called Abenezer in the Book of Kings. That stone is Christ. The name Abenezer, moreover, means 'the Stone of Help'. (Jerome, Sermon 46, on Psalm 133)
Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm
NT references
Rev 19:5 (vs 2)
RB cursus
Compline daily
Monastic feasts etc
Gradual Psalms
AN 4874
Roman pre 1911
Compline daily
Responsories
-
Roman post 1911
1911-62: Sunday Compline .
1970:
Mass propers (EF)
Lent 4
OF V - 1
You can find the next post in this series on the Gradual Psalms here.
The final verse of Psalm 124 contrasts the fate of the treacherous, who will be punished by God, with the just, who will enjoy the peace of Christ, a very Benedictine objective.
5
V
Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum
operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.
NV
Declinantes autem per vias pravas adducet Dominus cum
operantibus iniquitatem. Pax super Israel!
JH
Qui autem declinant ad prauitates suas, deducet eos
Dominus cum his qui operantur iniquitatem. Pax super Israhel.
Text notes:‘Obligationes’ translates the Greek
meaning a knot tied tight, or a twisted cord, symbolizing snares and
treacheries, and in this context, Israelites who are dishonest. The Diurnal follows the Hebrew Masoretic Text
here instead of the Vulgate, which renders the verse as ‘they who turn aside
their twisted paths’. But the sense of
the verse is the same in both versions.
declino, avi, atum, are, to bend from the straight
path, to turn aside or away, depart from, go astray
autem, adversative
conj., but, on the contrary, however
obligatio,
onis, /. (obligo), lit., a
binding; fig., an entangling, ensnaring, bonds
adduco,
duxi, ductum, ere 3, to bring,
lead, or escort to
pax, pacis,peace,
blessings, prosperity, etc.
DR
But such as turn aside into
bonds, the Lord
shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: peace upon Israel.
Brenton
But them that turn aside to
crooked ways the Lord will lead away with the workers of iniquity: but peace
shall be upon Israel.
MD
But strayers on crooked
paths the Lord will snatch away like evil-doers. Peace upon Israel.
RSV
But those who turn aside
upon their crooked ways the LORD will lead away with evildoers! Peace be in Israel!
Knox
Feet that stray into false
paths the Lord will punish, as he punishes wrong-doers; but upon Israel there
shall be peace.
Cover
As for such as turn back unto their own wickedness,
the Lord shall lead them forth with the evil doers; but peace shall be upon
Israel.
Grail
but the crooked and those
who do evil, drive them away! On Israel, peace!
The most important part of this verse is the last, the focus on peace. Peace
in this context means first and foremost peace of soul, as the various
commentators point out. St John
Chrysostom for example notes that:
…the peace he speaks of here is
not that only which is perceptible, but also the peace which is more exalted
than that and from which it also comes, and he prays that the soul not rebel
against itself by introducing the conflict of passions.
St Augustine contrasts this happy state with that of those who refuse to believe, and choose instead to follow their own paths:
What then shall they have, who are righteous in
heart, and who turn not back? Let us now come to the heritage itself, brethren,
for we are sons. What shall we possess? What is our heritage? What is our
country: what is it called? Peace. In this we salute you, this we announce to
you, this the mountains receive, and the little hills receive as righteousness.
Peace is Christ: for He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken
down the middle wall of partition between us. Since we are sons, we shall have an inheritance. And what shall this
inheritance be called, but peace?
As for the wicked though, both within and outside of the Church:
And consider that they who love not peace are disinherited. Now they who divide unity, love not peace. Peace is the possession of the pious, the possession of heirs. And who are heirs? Sons....Since then Christ the Son of God is peace, He therefore came to gather together His own, and to separate them from the wicked. From what wicked men? From those who hate Jerusalem, who hate peace, who wish to tear unity asunder, who believe not peace, who preach a false peace to the people, and have it not. To whom answer is made, when they say, Peace be with you, And with your spirit: but they speak falsely, and they hear falsely. Unto whom do they say, Peace be with you? To those whom they separate from the peace of the whole earth. And unto whom is it said, And with your spirit? To those who embrace dissensions, and who hate peace. For if peace were in their spirit, would they not love unity, and leave dissensions? Speaking then false words, they hear false words.
He concludes with an injunction to us:
Let us speak true words, and hear true words. Let us be Israel, and let us embrace peace; for Jerusalem is a vision of peace, and we are Israel, and peace is upon Israel.
Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut
mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.
They that trust in theLordshall be asmountSion:
he shall not be moved for ever that dwells 2 inJerusalem.
2 Montes in circúitu ejus:
* et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.
Mountains are round about it: so
theLordis round about his people from
henceforth now and for ever.
3 Quia non relínquet Dóminus
virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad
iniquitátem manus suas.
3 For theLordwill not leave the rod of sinners
upon the lot of thejust: that
thejustmay not stretch forth their hands toiniquity.
4 Bénefac, Dómine,
bonis, * et rectis corde.
4 Dogood, OLord, to those that aregood, and to the upright of heart.
5 Declinántes autem
in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super
Israël.
5 But such as turn aside
into bonds, theLordshall lead out with the workers ofiniquity: peace uponIsrael.
You can find notes on the next Gradual Psalm, Psalm 125, here.
Quia (for) non (not) relínquet (he will leave) Dóminus (the Lord) virgam (the rod) peccatórum (of sinners) super (over) sortem (the fate) justórum Of the just): ut (that) non (not) exténdant (they stretch out) justi (the just) ad (to) iniquitátem (inquity) manus (the hand) suas (his).
quia, conj. for, because, that. truly, surely, indeed
relinquo, liqui, lictum, ere 3, to leave behind atdeath; to allow, suffer, permit
virga, ae, ., a rod, staff, scepter, a shepherd's crook.
peccator, oris, m. a sinner, transgressor; the wicked, the godless.
super, prep, with ace. And abl on, upon, over
sors, sortis, /. lot, fate, destiny
extendo, tendi, tentum, ere 3, to stretch out or forth; to extend, prolong, protract, continue;
justus, a, um a just man, the just.
iniquitas, atis, / iniquity, injustice, sin.
manus, us, /., hand
DR
For the Lord will not leave the
rod of sinners upon the lot of the just: that the just may not stretch
forth their hands to iniquity.
Brenton
For the Lord will not allow
the rod of sinners to be upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous
should stretch forth their hands to iniquity.
MD
The Lord will not let the
sinner’s rod weigh down on the lot of the just, lest the just extend their
hands to evildoing.
RSV
For the scepter of
wickedness shall not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth their hands to do wrong.
Knox
Domain of the just! No
longer shall godless men bear rule in it; else the just, too, might soil
their hands with guilt.
Cover
For the rod of the ungodly cometh not into the lot
of the righteous, lest the righteous put their hand unto wickedness.
Grail
For the scepter of the
wicked shall not rest over the land of the just for fear that the hands of
the just should turn to evil.
Cassiodorus explains the rod thus:
By rod is denoted the power of good and evil. In the good sense we have the words spoken of the Lord Saviour Himself: The Lord will send forth the rod of thy power out of Sion, and thou shalt rule in the midst of thy enemies. Moses too received a rod, with which he performed many miracles. In the bad sense it is given also to those who ever afflict the faithful with perverted zeal. Persecutors are a rod for martyrs; so too are masters angry with their households, as was Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar and the others who ruled with the harshest tyranny.”
For some periods of time, in other words, the psalmist
suggests that God may allow the wicked to prosper, and oppress the good. But he will never allow evil to continue
unchecked forever, lest the good succumb to temptation. Thus, evil men may run
the Church for a period and heresy may flourish, but eventually truth will be
restored; unjust societies may seem to flourish for a period, but their time
will end.
Benefac (do good), Domine (O Lord), bonis (to the good) et (and) rectis upright) corde (of heart).
benefacio, feci, factum, ere 3, to do well; to do good to, to
deal kindly with.
bonus, a,
um, good; morally good, upright
rectus, a, um,
part. adj. just, right, righteous,
upright. the just, just men, the good. steadfast, stable, steady.
cor, cordis,
n., the heart, regarded as the seat of the faculties, feelings, emotions,
passions; the mind, the soul.
DR
Do good, O Lord, to those that are
good, and to the
upright of heart.
Brenton
Do good, O Lord, to them that
are good, and to them that are upright in heart.
MD
Show Thy goodness Lord, to
the good, and to the upright of heart.
RSV
Do good, O LORD, to those
who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!
Knox
Deal kindly, Lord, with the
kindly, with the true-hearted.
Cover
Do well, O Lord, unto those that are good and true
of heart.
Grail
Do good, Lord, to those who
are good, to the upright of heart;
This verse is a reminder to us that our
God is a just God. It is often suggested
these days that God will forgive all, even those unrepentant in sin. Yet this is not what Scripture and Tradition
teaches. St Basil the Great commented:
God
is good, but he is also just, and it is the nature of the just to reward in
proportion to merit, as it is written: "Do good, O Lord, to those that
are good and to the upright of heart. But such as turn aside to their own
crooked ways, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity." He is
merciful, but he is also a judge, for "the Lord loves mercy and
judgment," says the psalmist.
St John Chrysostom takes the argument a step further, suggesting that virtue is straightforward, while vice is much more varied:
Now, here he names as
upright the sincere, the unaffected, those with nothing hidden or festering below
the surface. Uprightness is like that, you see, and it most of all God looks
for everywhere. Virtue is like that, something uncomplicated and simple, as in
consequence vice is complicated, varied, devious - as you can see in reality
itself. At any rate, people intent on deceiving and hatching plots - consider
how many schemes they put their hands to, the number of different wiles they
have need of, how many falsified stories, how much shrewdness. Those who speak
the truth, on the other hand, have need of no effort, no difficulty, no
hypocrisy, no scheming, nothing of that sort, as truth shines through of its
own accord. In other words, just as bodies that are deformed require artifice
on the outside and coverings to conceal the disfigurement of nature, whereas
natural beauty is conspicuous of its own making, so too is it possible to
discover falsehood and truth, vice and virtue.
Vulgate
Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Qui confídunt in Dómino, sicut mons Sion: * non commovébitur in ætérnum, qui hábitat in Jerúsalem.
They that trust in theLordshall be asmountSion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwells 2 inJerusalem.
2 Montes in circúitu ejus: * et Dóminus in circúitu pópuli sui, ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.
Mountains are round about it: so theLordis round about his people from henceforth now and for ever.
3 Quia non relínquet Dóminus virgam peccatórum super sortem justórum: * ut non exténdant justi ad iniquitátem manus suas.
3 For theLordwill not leave the rod of sinners upon the lot of thejust: that thejustmay not stretch forth their hands toiniquity.
4 Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.
4 Dogood, OLord, to those that aregood, and to the upright of heart.
5 Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.
5 But such as turn aside into bonds, theLordshall lead out with the workers ofiniquity: peace uponIsrael.
And you can find notes on the last verse of this psalm here.
