Yesterday I started talking about the stanza of Psalm 118 (119) starting with the Hebrew letter zayin; today I want to focus in on a particular verse of that stanza, namely verse 54:
54 Cantabiles mihi erant justificationes tuæ in loco peregrinationis meæ.
Your justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage.
Both phrases of this verse are important: the first because it reminds us of the importance of song as prayer; the second because it reminds us once again that this life is but fleeting.
Life is a pilgrimage
Let’s focus on the second phrase of verse 53 first. Too often today, the mark of our Christianity is seen as our effect on this world. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be concerned about righting wrongs, helping the poor and so forth: of course we should.
But we should always remember that this world is peripheral, what really counts is the next. And if we remember that, our good works will be motivated first and foremost by spiritual zeal, the zeal for souls.
As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, a pure and generous love can be a wonderful witness to Christ. Yet we must always keep in mind as we carry out works of practical charity or engage on issues of justice that “Often the deepest cause of suffering is the very absence of God.”
Singing God’s praises
And music is one of the ways people down the centuries have made God's presence heard by many.
As well as reminding us that we stand before eternity, the image of the pilgrimage put before us here reinforces the idea of the first phrase that the best way of internalizing God’s law, his will for us, is to sing!
Many of the psalms contain references to them being sung; indeed many of the psalm titles contain what seem to be (now incomprehensible) instructions as to just how they should be sung.
The Church has long since developed its own solution to this, in the form of the Gregorian Chant proper to the Mass and Office. As Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium stated:
“The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.” (116)
It is one of those instructions of Vatican II that is pretty much totally ignored these days!
There are many reasons we should consider singing the psalms rather than just saying them.
First they were composed as songs, and I think convey more if they are sung. So if you are using this psalm as a Lenten penance, can I urge you to consider chanting the day’s verses rather than just reading them. You can sing it on just one note if necessary, or use a simple psalm tone if you are familiar with them. Try it and see the impact!
Secondly, singing helps make us more joyful in our prayer. Cassiodorus comments that “The phrase, fit for my song, suggests psalm-singing to be con¬ducted with great delight. As Paul has it: Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Singing always lightens labours, and does not allow weariness to creep into the mind consoled by the great sweetness of contemplation.”
Thirdly, the chant settings of the psalms found in the antiphons of the Office, the Mass propers and so forth provide us with an authentic interpretation of those verses, helping us to read them in the light of the tradition. Even if you aren’t familiar with the Latin, listening to the settings, will, I think, convey some of that context, helping us penetrate the meaning of the verses. So I would encourage you to listen to the recordings I’m providing along with each days notes!
Verse by verse commentary (continued)
54 Cantabiles mihi erant justificationes tuæ in loco peregrinationis meæ.
Your justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage.
Cantabiles mihi erant = Worthy of being sung to me they [your statutes] were
Cassiodorus comments that “The phrase, fit for my song, suggests psalm-singing to be conducted with great delight. As Paul has it: Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Singing always lightens labours, and does not allow weariness to creep into the mind consoled by the great sweetness of contemplation.”
cantabilis, e worthy of praise, worthy of being sung.
justificationes tuæ = your statutes
in loco peregrinationis meæ = in the place of my pilgrimage
Cassiodorus notes that this phrase “denotes this world in which all devoted to the Lord Christ are foreigners. We have been expelled in the person of Adam from our abode in paradise, and we have our lodging in this land because we do not possess the blessedness of that native land; so we are seen to be foreigners in this world.”
locus, i, m. a place.
peregrinatio, onis, f a pilgrimage, sojourning.
The neo-Vulgate changes the verse to something like ‘Your statutes have been made my songs in the place of my pilgrimage’.
55 Memor fui nocte nominis tui, Domine, et custodivi legem tuam.
In the night I have remembered your name, O Lord: and have kept your law.
Memor fui nocte nominis tui, Domine= I have been mindful of your name in the night, O Lord
Night here, St Augustine points out, can have several connotations: it can refer to our mortality; to sin and those who carry out evil under cover of darkness; and to this period in the history of creation when we remain still in darkness, waiting until the Lord comes again to bring full light to the world.
nox, noctis, f night.
nomen, mis, n. name; God himself; the perfections of God, His glory, majesty, wisdom, power, goodness
et custodivi legem tuam= and I have kept your law.
custodio, ivi or li, itum, ire to guard, watch, keep;to maintain, to hold steadfastly.
56 Hæc facta est mihi, quia justificationes tuas exquisivi.
This happened to me: because I sought after your justifications.
Hæc facta est mihi =This has happened/has fallen to me
What does 'this' refer to? The Fathers offer various suggestions. St Augusitne sees it as referring back to the night, and the gift the Christian has of seeing the truth despite the darkness that surrounds us in this world. Cassiodorus suggests adding ‘consolation’. Bellarmine’s view is: "This," that is to say, my having reflected on God's promises, and drawn so much hope from them, and the other advantages that followed, "happened to me, because I sought after thy justifications;" for the Prophet wishes, in this Psalm, which is entirely devoted to praising the law, to attribute everything to a diligent study and love of the law, that he may thus stimulate man to reflect on it, and to observe it.”
facio, feci, factum, ere 3, to make, do, cause, bring to pass
quia justificationes tuas exquisivi = because I have sought after your precepts.
exquiro quaesivi itum ere 3, to seek, seek after
54 Cantabiles mihi erant justificationes tuæ in loco peregrinationis meæ.
Your justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage.
Both phrases of this verse are important: the first because it reminds us of the importance of song as prayer; the second because it reminds us once again that this life is but fleeting.
Life is a pilgrimage
Let’s focus on the second phrase of verse 53 first. Too often today, the mark of our Christianity is seen as our effect on this world. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be concerned about righting wrongs, helping the poor and so forth: of course we should.
But we should always remember that this world is peripheral, what really counts is the next. And if we remember that, our good works will be motivated first and foremost by spiritual zeal, the zeal for souls.
As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, a pure and generous love can be a wonderful witness to Christ. Yet we must always keep in mind as we carry out works of practical charity or engage on issues of justice that “Often the deepest cause of suffering is the very absence of God.”
Singing God’s praises
And music is one of the ways people down the centuries have made God's presence heard by many.
As well as reminding us that we stand before eternity, the image of the pilgrimage put before us here reinforces the idea of the first phrase that the best way of internalizing God’s law, his will for us, is to sing!
Many of the psalms contain references to them being sung; indeed many of the psalm titles contain what seem to be (now incomprehensible) instructions as to just how they should be sung.
The Church has long since developed its own solution to this, in the form of the Gregorian Chant proper to the Mass and Office. As Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium stated:
“The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.” (116)
It is one of those instructions of Vatican II that is pretty much totally ignored these days!
There are many reasons we should consider singing the psalms rather than just saying them.
First they were composed as songs, and I think convey more if they are sung. So if you are using this psalm as a Lenten penance, can I urge you to consider chanting the day’s verses rather than just reading them. You can sing it on just one note if necessary, or use a simple psalm tone if you are familiar with them. Try it and see the impact!
Secondly, singing helps make us more joyful in our prayer. Cassiodorus comments that “The phrase, fit for my song, suggests psalm-singing to be con¬ducted with great delight. As Paul has it: Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Singing always lightens labours, and does not allow weariness to creep into the mind consoled by the great sweetness of contemplation.”
Thirdly, the chant settings of the psalms found in the antiphons of the Office, the Mass propers and so forth provide us with an authentic interpretation of those verses, helping us to read them in the light of the tradition. Even if you aren’t familiar with the Latin, listening to the settings, will, I think, convey some of that context, helping us penetrate the meaning of the verses. So I would encourage you to listen to the recordings I’m providing along with each days notes!
Verse by verse commentary (continued)
54 Cantabiles mihi erant justificationes tuæ in loco peregrinationis meæ.
Your justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage.
Cantabiles mihi erant = Worthy of being sung to me they [your statutes] were
Cassiodorus comments that “The phrase, fit for my song, suggests psalm-singing to be conducted with great delight. As Paul has it: Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. Singing always lightens labours, and does not allow weariness to creep into the mind consoled by the great sweetness of contemplation.”
cantabilis, e worthy of praise, worthy of being sung.
justificationes tuæ = your statutes
in loco peregrinationis meæ = in the place of my pilgrimage
Cassiodorus notes that this phrase “denotes this world in which all devoted to the Lord Christ are foreigners. We have been expelled in the person of Adam from our abode in paradise, and we have our lodging in this land because we do not possess the blessedness of that native land; so we are seen to be foreigners in this world.”
locus, i, m. a place.
peregrinatio, onis, f a pilgrimage, sojourning.
The neo-Vulgate changes the verse to something like ‘Your statutes have been made my songs in the place of my pilgrimage’.
55 Memor fui nocte nominis tui, Domine, et custodivi legem tuam.
In the night I have remembered your name, O Lord: and have kept your law.
Memor fui nocte nominis tui, Domine= I have been mindful of your name in the night, O Lord
Night here, St Augustine points out, can have several connotations: it can refer to our mortality; to sin and those who carry out evil under cover of darkness; and to this period in the history of creation when we remain still in darkness, waiting until the Lord comes again to bring full light to the world.
nox, noctis, f night.
nomen, mis, n. name; God himself; the perfections of God, His glory, majesty, wisdom, power, goodness
et custodivi legem tuam= and I have kept your law.
custodio, ivi or li, itum, ire to guard, watch, keep;to maintain, to hold steadfastly.
56 Hæc facta est mihi, quia justificationes tuas exquisivi.
This happened to me: because I sought after your justifications.
Hæc facta est mihi =This has happened/has fallen to me
What does 'this' refer to? The Fathers offer various suggestions. St Augusitne sees it as referring back to the night, and the gift the Christian has of seeing the truth despite the darkness that surrounds us in this world. Cassiodorus suggests adding ‘consolation’. Bellarmine’s view is: "This," that is to say, my having reflected on God's promises, and drawn so much hope from them, and the other advantages that followed, "happened to me, because I sought after thy justifications;" for the Prophet wishes, in this Psalm, which is entirely devoted to praising the law, to attribute everything to a diligent study and love of the law, that he may thus stimulate man to reflect on it, and to observe it.”
facio, feci, factum, ere 3, to make, do, cause, bring to pass
quia justificationes tuas exquisivi = because I have sought after your precepts.
exquiro quaesivi itum ere 3, to seek, seek after
PS I'm still fiddling with the format and content of these posts, so do let me know if you have any preferences!
And you can find the next part in this series here.
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