Psalm 141:8 - Obedience even unto death

Colmar - Unterlinden Museum -
Altarpiece  Martin Schongauer & Atelier, ca 1480

Verse 8 of Psalm 141 paints a picture of someone at the end of their tether, alone, and totally humiliated.  But that very humiliation, and resultant humility, becomes the basis for his plea for help.

 Text notes

8	V/NV	Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.
	R	Intende in orationem meam quia humiliatus sum nimis
	JH	Ausculta deprecationem meam, quoniam infirmatus sum nimis:
		πρόσχεςπρὸς τὴν δέησίν μου ὅτι ἐταπεινώθην σφόδρα

 Word by word:

Intende (give heed/attend) ad (to) deprecationem (entreaty/supplication/prayer) meam (my), quia (because) humiliatus sum (I have been humbled.brought low) nimis (exceedingly/very)

intendo, tendi, tentum, ere 3 to give heed to, pay attention to; to regard, look upon

deprecatio -onis f prayer, supplication, entreaty.

humilio, avi, atum, are  to humble, bring low.

nimis, adv., exceedingly, greatly, beyond measure. 

DR	Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
Brenton	Attend to my supplication, for I am brought very low
MD	Give heed to my entreaty, for I am exceedingly humbled
RSV	Give heed to my cry; for I am brought very low!
Cover	Consider my complaint; for I am brought very low
Knox	Listen, then, to my plea; thou seest me all defenceless.
Grail	Listen, then, to my cry for I am in the depths of distress.

Humility and humiliation

The commentators are divided on this verse, as to whether being brought very low means being at the end of our tether, exhausted, depressed and afflicted; or a mind humbled by the realisation of his sins.

The two are connected of course: when circumstances, such as persecution bring us down, we can accept this and take the opportunity to reflect, realise our faults, and repent them.

St Augustine puts it this way:

Humbled by persecutors, humbled in confession. He humbles himself out of the sight of man: he is humbled by enemies in their sight. Therefore is he lifted up by Him both visibly and invisibly

But it is not automatic that humiliation leads to a humbled mind, as St Jerome points out:

Unless a man has been humbled, the Lord does not grant him gracious hearing. What avail for salvation are words of prayer when the man who utters them is stiff-necked with pride – if we really understand that the Lord says: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

Christ's humility

Our model here is of course Christ, as St Cassiodorus explains:

He did well to say: I am bought very low, for as Paul puts it, He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found at a man. In addition, he was certainly humbled further when he became obedient unto death even to death on the cross.  If the wondrous height of his divinity had not bent low in the true body which he assumed, how could he have been crucified for the salvation of all, when he orders heaven and earth with astounding power?

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.

Psalm 141:7 - Our treasure is in heaven

 

Frescos by Fra Angelico in San Marco, Florence 

 Text notes

7	V	Clamavi ad te, domine, * dixi: tu es spes mea, portio mea in terra viventium.
	NV	Clamavi ad te, Domine; dixi: “ Tu es refugium meum, portio mea in terra viventium.
	R	Clamavi ad te Domine dixi tu es spes mea portio mea in terra viventium
	JH	Clamavi ad te, Domine; dixi, Tu es spes mea, pars mea in terra viventium.
		ἐκέκραξα πρὸς σέ κύριε εἶπα σὺ εἶ ἡ ἐλπίς μου μερίς μου ἐν γῇ ζώντων

Word by word 

Clamavi (I have cried out) ad te (to you), Domine (O Lord); dixi (I said): Tu (you) es (you are) spes (hope) mea (my), portio (inheritance/the portion/lot) mea (my) in terra (in the land) viventium (of the living) 

Portio, or portion means inheritance

clamo, avi, atum, are to call, cry out; to call to or upon for aid.

spes, spei, f.,  hope; the object of hope; the thing hoped for;  one who or that which furnishes ground for trust, confidence

portio, onis, f, portion, lot.

vivo, vixi, victum, ere 3  to live, to have life, be alive

DR	I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
Brenton	I cried unto thee, O Lord, and said, Thou art my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
MD	I cry to Thee O Lord, and say Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living
RSV	I cry to thee, O LORD; I say, Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
Cover	I cried unto thee, O Lord, and said, Thou art my hope, and my portion in the land of the living.
Knox	To thee, Lord, I cry, claiming thee for my only refuge, all that is left me in this world of living men.
Grail	I cry to you, O Lord. I have said: "You are my refuge all I have in the land of the living."

Nothing is impossible to God

The first part of the psalm provides a model for us in terms of total trust in God, as St John Chrysostom urges:

Do you note alertness of spirit? Far from the problems overwhelming him, they instead gave him wings, and being in difficulties he knew the invincible hand and all-powerful force, and the easy exit from impossible situations...all humans means have proved futile, he is saying and the storm so far exceeds all assistance as to be beyond all measures for surviving shipwreck.  Yet even if this is beyond hope in human estimation, and we are sinking, nevertheless everything is easy for you; hence let us continue to hope and not grow faint…

The promise of paradise

The hope we should have, St Cassiodorus, instructs is of heaven, which is the land of the living:

He comes to the second section, in which he begs to escape from the ambush of his enemies so that the hearts of the faithful may rejoice at the gift of his resurrection.  He cried, setting his hope in the Lord, when he said, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit….The particular proof of this is the passage in which he said to the thief as he hung on the cross, Amen I say to you, this day though wilt be with me in Paradise., for Paradise is the land of the living which only the blessed will happily enter to live there for untroubled eternity. 

And there our inheritance is Christ himself.

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.

Psalm 141: 6 - When to flee and when to accept martyrdom

 

attributed to Girolamo Muziano,
The Met

St Jerome sees verse 6 of Psalm 141 as a reference to Christ's arrest, and the calls of the crowd for his death: 

I have lost all means of escape’: when he was apprehended by the Jews. ‘There is no one who cares for my life’, Indeed, they were all shouting: Crucify him, crucify him.

Text notes

6	V/NV	Periit fuga a me: * et non est qui requirat animam meam.
	R	periit fuga a me et non est qui requirat animam meam
	JH	Periit fuga a me; non est qui quaerat animam meam.
		ἀπώλετοφυγὴ ἀ{P'} ἐμοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐκζητῶν τὴν ψυχήν μου

 Word by word:

periit (it has perished/been lost) fuga (flight/refuge) a me (by me), et (and) non (not) est (there is) qui (who) requirat (cares for) animam (the soul) meam (mine) 

pereo, li, ltum, ire, to perish, come to naught, be lost; to stray, be lost

fuga, ae f flight, a means of escape, a place of refuge

requiro, qulsivi, quisitum, ere 3  to care for, have regard for, take an interest in.

pereo, li, itum, ire, to perish, come to naught, be lost; to stray, be lost

fuga, ae,

requiro, quisivi, quisitum, ere 3  to care for, have regard for, take an interest in.

DR	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
Brenton	refuge failed me; and there was none that cared for my soul.
MD	A way of escape faileth me, and no one hath regard for my life
RSV	no refuge remains to me, no man cares for me.
Cover	I had no place to flee unto, and no man cared for my soul.
Knox	all hope of escape is cut off from me, none is concerned for my safety.
Grail	I have no means of escape, not one who cares for my soul.

When to flee and when to stand 

 

In the story of King David that the psalm title refers to, David had first attempted to escape from Saul, for, as St Augustine points out, it is generally perfectly legitimate to attempt to flee from danger:

For in body it is lawful to flee; it is allowed, it is permitted; for the Lord says, When they persecute you in one city, flee to another. 

Despite his efforts to hide, though, David found himself out of options, trapped in the cave, completely surrounded with no real choice but to face up to his enemy.

In the case of Christ, however, we know of course that he could have escaped his arrest and all that followed, but chose not to in order to save mankind.  The decision on whether to flee or stand firm, St Augustine explains, depends entirely on our motives:

But it makes a difference why he flees not; whether because he is hemmed in, because he is caught, or because he is brave. For both from him that is caught flight has perished, and from him that is brave flight has perished. What flight then is to be avoided? What flight shall we allow to perish from us? That whereof the Lord speaks in the Gospel, The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, when he sees the wolf coming, flees. When he sees the ravager, why flees he? Because he cares not for the sheep.

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.

Psalm 141:5 - The denial of Peter

In the previous verse, the psalmist tells of the snares and traps being laid for him.  Here, he looks for help, but found none, a verse that has long been interpreted as the abandonment and denial of Christ by his disciples.

 Text notes

5	V/NV	Considerabam ad dexteram, et videbam: * et non erat qui cognosceret me.
	R	Considerabam a dextris et videbam et non erat qui agnosceret me.
	JH	Custodem quia adhuc oratio ambulo: respice ad dexteram, et vide quia non sit qui cognoscat me:
		κατενόουν εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ καὶ ἐπέβλεπονὅτι οὐκ ἦν ὁ ἐπιγινώσκων με

Word by word 

Considerabam ( looked) ad dexteram (to the right hand), et (and) videbam (I was watching), et (and) non (not) erat (he was) qui (who) cognosceret (he would know) me (me)

Key vocabulary

considero, avi, atum, are, to look at closely, observe, contemplate; to lie in wait for, to watch for with hostile intent.

dexter, tera, terum; the right hand.

video, vidi, visum, ere 2,  to see, behold; consider; experience, undergo, suffer, realize; keep watch, look for, meditate on

cognosco, gnovi, gnitum, ere 3, to know, see, learn, perceive, be come acquainted with. 

Selected English translations

DR	I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
Brenton	I looked on my right hand, and behold, for there was none that noticed me
MD	I look to the right to see, but there is none that taketh note of me
RSV	I look to the right and watch, but there is none who takes notice of me;
Cover	I looked also upon my right hand, and saw there was no man that would know me.
Knox	I look to the right of me, and find none to take my part;
Grail	Look on my right and see: there is no one who takes my part.

Looking to the right

The right side was traditionally the place of a friend or bodyguard; in court the place of the witnesses for the defense.

St Augustine draws out the implied distinction:

If, in bearing, you seek the praise of men, you have regarded the left: if, in bearing, you seek the promises of God, you have regarded the right hand. 

The lack of anyone there paints a picture of the isolation and alienation that can come at times of persecution, when even those on our side fade away out of fear, as St John Chrysostom points out:

Here he shows the extent of the disaster, the increasing problems and plots of the enemies, how they approached and came nearer, intending to trip him up; and what in fact was worse, that not only were any assistants or allies not at hand, but they did not even recognize him.  This is the extent of isolation, this height of alienation; it is true of few people, after all, to be at hand and give assistance, especially when disaster entails risk….

The Passion

 As St Jerome points out, though, the verse most obviously applies to Christ's abandonment by his disciples:

If we construe the psalm in the name of Our Lord, it is the Lord himself who is saying: All my disciples abandoned me and fled.  One only remained, Peter who had promised: ‘Even if I should have to die with thee, I will not deny thee,’ yet he is the one who denied his Lord.  Because Peter repented, however, the Lord said: I look to the right to him, and I did not look to the left. 

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.