Psalm 4 verse 10 - Set apart by God and united in Christ

The final verse of Psalm 4 focuses on our hope of heaven.

Looking at the Latin

The Vulgate reads:

Quóniam tu, Dómine, singuláriter in spe constituísti me.

The key words are:

singulariter, adv.  alone, only, separately, apart. 

constituo, stitiii, stltutum, ere 3  to set, place, put, appoint; o make, create; build, found; devise, design; fix, mark out.

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

Accordingly a word by word translations rendering is:

Quóniam (For) tu (you), Dómine (O Lord), singuláriter (alone or separately/apart) in spe (hope) constituísti (you have set me) me.

The key ambiguity in the text is who is being referred to in 'singulariter'.

One interpretation is that it refers to God, enjoining us to put our trust in him alone, so that the RSV gives it as 'for thou alone, O LORD, makest me dwell in safety'.

The alternative reading though, is that it refers to the speaker, and points to the idea that separation from, or protection from the ills of  the world is the path for salvation.

Hope and safety

This verse builds on the previous one, pointing us to our hope.

Hope of what?

The Fathers generally answer, inner peace and tranquility, either in this world or the next.

Theodoret of Cyr, for example commented:

In other words, since I have dismissed all panic and disturbance of mind and have gained relief from them, and have instructed others in reading your wonderful providence in these things, I await death in the hope of resurrection. 

He called death sleep in this verse, note. Now, it was quite appropriate for him to relate hope to the thought of death after treating of Providence. You see, many people who in this present life fall on hard times and suffer injustice at the hands of their associates come to an end of their days without gaining any relief; so mighty David teaches them not to be annoyed, for the reason that death brings with it hope, and after death the recompense will be made.  

We can achieve this peace by putting our trust in God alone, rather than in man.  St Robert Bellarmine, for example, links the verse to the idea of sleep as a reminder of death:

Thus the just man, the friend of God, dwells in divine hope alone, as he would in a fortified house, doing what in him lies for this world as well as for the next, not confiding in his own strength nor in any­thing created, but in God alone, and, therefore, is not confounded, but securely sleeps, and will sleep with equal securi­ty in the world to come.

Set apart for God

Yet many of the older commentaries adopt a different interpretation, also focusing on the building of strong communities of virtue in this world, epitomised by the monastery.  This line of interpretation of the verse sees 'singulariter' as referring to the psalmist, not God: the speaker is 'set apart' from the 'many' who pursue only the pleasures of the flesh in the earlier verses.

St John Chrysostom, for example, pointed to numerous Scriptural injunctions to avoid the company of those who might lead us astray, and urges us instead to seek out the company of the virtuous, uniting ourselves with them in Christ:

There is no problem so great, you see, which is not ren­dered easy through hope in the esteem to be enjoyed from God....Separated from the wicked. In other words, to maintain this peace with you, he says, I live secure, keeping my distance from corrupt people.

 St Augustine takes a similar line, linking this separation from the world to the remnant that constitutes the Church will attain heaven:

And well does he say, in singleness. For this may refer in opposition to those many, who being multiplied from the time of His grain, of wine, and oil, say, Who shows us good things? For this multiplicity perishes, and singleness is observed among the saints: of whom it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, and of the multitude of them that believed, there was one soul, and one heart.  In singleness, then, and simplicity, removed, that is, from the multitude and crowd of things, that are born and die, we ought to be lovers of eternity, and unity, if we desire to cleave to the one God and our Lord.

Psalm 4: Cum invocarem

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, in carminibus. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, in verses. A psalm for David.
1 Cum invocárem exaudívit me deus justítiæ meæ: * in tribulatióne dilatásti mihi.	When I called upon him, the God of my justice heard me: when I was in distress, you have enlarged me.
2 Miserére mei, * et exáudi oratiónem meam.	Have mercy on me: and hear my prayer.
3 Filii hóminum, úsquequo gravi corde? *  ut quid dilígitis vanitátem et quæritis mendácium?	O you sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity, and seek after lying?
4 Et scitóte quóniam mirificávit dóminus sanctum suum: * dóminus exáudiet me cum clamávero ad eum.	Know also that the Lord has made his holy one wonderful: the Lord will hear me when I shall cry unto him.
5 Irascímini, et nolíte peccáre: * quæ dícitis in córdibus vestris, in cubílibus vestris compungímini.	Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.
6 Sacrificáte sacrifícium justítiæ, et speráte in dómino, * multi dicunt quis osténdit nobis bona?	Offer up the sacrifice of justice, and trust in the Lord: many say, Who shows us good things?
7 Signátum est super nos lumen vultus tui, dómine: * dedísti lætítiam in corde meo.	The light of your countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us: you have given gladness in my heart.
8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.	By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest
9 In pace in idípsum * dórmiam et requiéscam;	In peace in the self same I will sleep, and I will rest
10 Quóniam tu, Dómine, singuláriter in spe * constituísti me.	For you, O Lord, singularly have settled me in hope.

And for some concluding reflections on this psalm, go here.