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| Ms. Codex 1058 Glossed psalter University of Pennsylvania Library |
As I flagged on my post on the repeated psalms of the Office, I plan to provide some notes on Psalm 4, the first psalm of Compline in the Benedictine Office, here over the next few weeks.
November is the month when we particularly remember the dead, and so a particularly appropriate time to consider the psalms of Compline, since this hour treats sleep as a 'type' of death, inviting us to prepare for it by repenting of our sins and placing our trust in God.
Today, I will provide a general introduction to Psalm 4; subsequent posts will provide notes on each of the verses.
The psalm as a whole
The Latin of the psalm, along with the Douay-Rheims (Challoner) translation, is set out below. The two recordings that follow allow you to hear it as used in Compline first at a normal pace, and then sung quite slowly, in the context of Tenebrae (Matins and Lauds) of Holy Saturday.
Psalm 4: Cum invocarem
Vulgate
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Douay-Rheims
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In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David.
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Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.
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1 Cum invocárem exaudívit me deus justítiæ meæ: * in tribulatióne dilatásti mihi.
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When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, you have enlarged me.
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2 Miserére mei, * et exáudi oratiónem meam.
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Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.
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3 Filii hóminum, úsquequo gravi corde? * ut quid dilígitis vanitátem et quæritis mendácium?
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O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?
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4 Et scitóte quóniam mirificávit dóminus sanctum suum: * dóminus exáudiet me cum clamávero ad eum.
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Know also that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.
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5 Irascímini, et nolíte peccáre: * quæ dícitis in córdibus vestris, in cubílibus vestris compungímini.
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Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.
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6 Sacrificáte sacrifícium justítiæ, et speráte in dómino, * multi dicunt quis osténdit nobis bona?
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Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who shows us good things?
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7 Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, dómine: * dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.
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The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.
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8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.
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By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest
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9 In pace in idípsum * dórmiam et requiéscam;
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In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest
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10 Quóniam tu, dómine, singuláriter in spe * constituísti me.
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For you, O Lord, singularly have settled me in hope.
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The title of the psalm
It is useful, I think, to start with a look at the title of the psalm, In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David.
Most modern commentators reject the idea that either the numbers or titles of the psalms have any particular significance. Few view them as part of canonical Scripture, seeing them instead as rather prosaic performance notes, or (a)historical claims for their context.
The Fathers, however, took a very different view, often providing extended commentaries on both their literal and spiritual their meanings: indeed St Gregory of Nyssa composed an entire treatise devoted to the titles of the psalms.
These spiritual meanings are, I think, often quite important for us to consider if we wish to understand the way the psalms are used liturgically, since they can sometimes help explain why a particular psalm was allocated to a particular day of the week or hour.
In the case of Psalm 4, for example, the Fathers generally interpreted 'To the end' (in finem) as referring to the world to come after the last judgment, and linked this to the psalm's references to peaceful rest, and thus to sleep as a foreshadowing of death.
The sixth century commentator St Cassiodorus, for example, suggested:
End does not mean here the decline of some object but the perfection of rungs of the spirit; as Paul says: The end of the law is Christ, unto justice to everyone that believeth? Christ is the glorious perfection of all good things. So the words, Unto the end, remind us that they are to be related to the Lord Christ, or as some prefer, we are to believe that they refer to us: Among whom the end of the world is come, as Paul further says…The second part of the title, In carminibus can be translated as "with instruments," which some interpreted as symbolizing harmony of thought and action. Cassiodorus continued:
A psalm, as we said earlier, is a musical instrument whose sound issues from its top and by which the divine praises were sung. A canticle sounded forth heaven's praise through human voices. The two are seen to be joined here because at the sacred sacrifices they were sounded with harmonious notes both on musical instruments and with choruses of singers. So all these words remind us that this canticle will tell of the Lord Christ.The reference to it being a psalm of David can be interpreted both a claim as to authorship, but also as pointing to its Christological content, since David is a 'type' of Christ.
Psalm 4 in the Office
The psalm is almost certainly one of the 'customary' psalms referred to in the Rule of St Augustine as used before bed, by virtue of verse 5's call for repentance before sleep.
St Basil, for example, attested to its use in the context of preparation for sleep (along with Psalm 90, the second psalm of the hour), commenting:
When the day’s work is ended, thanksgiving should be offered for what has been granted us or for what we have done rightly therein and confession made of our omissions whether voluntary or involuntary, or of a secret fault, if we chance to have committed any in words or deeds, or in the heart itself; for by prayer we propitiate God for all our misdemeanors. The examination of our past actions is a great help toward not falling into like faults again; wherefore the Psalmist says: ‘the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.’ (Ps 4:5) Again, at nightfall, we must ask that our rest be sinless and untroubled by dreams....(The Long Rule)St Benedict's decision to use it daily surely reflects the psalm's role in his own formation as part of the customary psalms before bed, and from thence, to the way it nicely reinforces some key themes of his Rule.
It is important, I think, to appreciate that this psalm (along with Psalm 90 that follows it) is, in many respects, a partner to Psalm 3, the psalm that opens the day in the Benedictine Office each day.
In Psalm 4 we go to bed, and hope for the rest granted by God; in Psalm 3 we rise again each day with Christ.
In both, sleep is presented as a type of death; with the hope of rising to eternal life.
This tension between the call to rise now, and fight the good fight in the here and now, and our hope of eventual peace and rest plays out throughout the Rule, but is set up in the Prologue. The psalm also alludes to several other concepts which St Benedict particularly emphasizes in the Prologue to the Rule, such as enlargement of heart, the call to repentance, and our spiritual growth through perseverance in the face of difficulties.
Other liturgical uses of the psalm
Monastic: Compline, Holy Sat Tenebrae I, All Saints, Corpus Christi; Rom pre-1911: Compline; Roman 1911-62: Sunday Compline
Mass: Lent I Tues, CO (1)
Before we look at the individual verses in detail, it is worth getting a bit of an overview of the content of the psalm.
Our dependence on God (verses 1-2)
The opening verses of the psalm are a reminder of our total dependence on God's help and forgiveness, and of the need to cultivate the right dispositions in approaching him. It is deeply consonant with St Benedict's chapter on prayer in the Rule (RB 20), which reminds us of the chasm between us and God.
But this section of the psalm also points to the work God does within us as we progress in the spiritual life, 'enlarging [our hearts]' (v1) with grace so that we can 'run with unspeakable sweetness of love in the way of God's commandments'.
The call to repentance (verses 3-6a)
What do we have to do to achieve this? The answer, according to the next set of verses, is to respond to the call to repentance.
How long, the psalmist asks, will we persist in sin? In the Rule, St Benedict tells us that our lives have been extended specifically so that we can amend our ways, but we cannot afford to put off our repentance, since none of us know how long we have.
The psalm follows a logical progression in this section: first we hear God's reproach to his people, calling on us to repent (v3); then we are reminded that God will hear us when we call for his help, because through Christ we have the gift of grace (v4); we are then told to examine our consciences each night, repent our sins, and offer up to God our penances for them (verses 5-6).
The psalm also reminds us that righteous anger, directed at our own sins and those of others, has a proper role to play in the process of conversion.
God's gifts to those who serve him (verses 6a-8)
The next section of the psalm can be read two ways, both of which are valid interpretations,
One interpretation of this section sees the verses as contrasting the good things God offers us as our future reward over mere earthly pleasures.
The second, and better in my view, interpretation views it as exploring the rewards, the 'good things', God offers to those who serve him, those who repent from their sins and seek to offer him the sacrifice of justice.
The first reward, according to the Fathers, is the light of Christ saving us from the darkness, above all represented by the gift of baptism imprinted on our souls (v7).
The second is his grace through the sacraments: Verse 8's multiplication of grain, wine and oil can be interpreted as references to the Eucharist and Holy Unction.
Peace and our hope of heaven (verses 9-10)
The final verses of the psalm treat of what this process of repentance and the gift of grace wins us, namely an inner peace and joy (Verse 9) that allows us to sleep now, and face our death with equanimity, confident in our hope of heaven (verse 10).
The next post in the series provides notes on the Latin and meaning of verse 1 of Psalm 4.
Scriptural referneces and liturgical uses
NT References: Eph 4: 26;
Liturgical uses:
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RB:
Monastic:
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Compline
All Saints, Corpus Christi
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Maurist
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Sunday Compline
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Thesauris schemas
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A: Compline; B: Sunday Compline; C:
Monday Compline wk 2 ; D: Compline
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Brigittine
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Sunday Matins
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Ambrosian
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Monday Matins wk 1
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Roman
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Pre-1911: Compline. Post 1911: Sunday
Compline; Holy Sat Tenebrae 1970: Monday Lauds wk 1.
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Mass propers (EF)
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Lent I Tues, CO (1)
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SOURCES FOR THE NOTES
Notes on the Latin
Matthew Britt, Dictionary of the Psalter, originally printed 1928, Preserving Christian Publications 2007.
Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, accessed via Perseus Digital Library
David Ladouceur, The Latin Psalter Introduction, Selected Text and Commentary, Bristol Classical Press, 2005.
Commentaries of the Fathers, theologians and saints
St Aloysius Liguori, The Divine Office: Explanation of the Psalms and Canticles, 1882.
Arnobius junr, Commentary on the Psalms, Patrologia Latina, 53:327-568.
St Augustine, Enarrations on the Psalms, J.E. Tweed (trans), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 8. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
St Augustine, Confessions (Bk IX), J.G. Pilkington (trans), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
St Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms volume 1, P G Walsh (trans),Ancient Christian Writers vol 51, Paulist Press, 1990.
Gregory of Nyssa's Commentary on the Inscriptions of the Psalms. Introduction, Translation and Notes, Ronald E Heine (trans), Clarendon Press, 1995.
St Jerome, The Homilies of St Jerome, volume 1 (1-59 on the psalter), Sister Marie Liguori Ewald (trans), Fathers of the Church vol 18, Catholic University of America Press, 1964.
St John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms vol 1, Robert Charles Hill (trans), Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1998.
St Robert Bellarmine, A Commentary on the book of psalms, John O'Sullivan (trans), Loreto Publications, 1999.
Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Psalms, Robert C Hill (trans), Fathers of the Church vol 101, Catholic University of America Press, 2000.
St Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Psalms, Psalm 4 trans by Stephen Loughlin, Aquinas Translation Project.
Anthologies
Ancient Christina Commentaries on Scripture, Psalms 1-50, Craig A Blaising and Carmen S Hardin (eds), OT vol 7, 2008.
J. M. Neale, A Commentary on the Psalms from Primitive and Medieval Writers, Vol 1, 1869.
Modern commentaries
John Brook, The School of Prayer An Introduction to the Divine Office for all Christians, Liturgical Press, 1992.
The Navarre Bible, The Psalms and the Song of Solomon, Texts and Commentaries, Four Courts Press, 2003.
Patrick Henry Reardon, Christ in the Psalms, Conciliar Press, 2000.
Bruce K Waltke and James M Houston with Erika Moore, The Psalms as Christian Worship A Historical Commentary, William B Erdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
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