Psalm 4 - verse 5: On rash and righteous anger

Verse 5 of Psalm 4 is a call to repentance: night is a time to ponder our personal darkness, and make up our minds to change for the better.

Understanding the Latin

The Vulgate gives the verse as:

Irascímini, et nolíte peccáre: quæ dícitis in córdibus vestris, in cubílibus vestris compungímini

The key words for the verse are:

irascor, iratus sum, irasci , to be angry or wrathful.

nolo, nolui, nolle  to be unwilling, not to wish, to refuse. 

pecco, avi, atum, are, to sin; to sin against, with dat.

dico, dixi, dictum, ere 3, to say, speak;  to sing;  in the sense of to think, plan, desire; to praise.

cor, cordis, n., the heart, regarded as the seat of the faculties, feelings, emotions, passions; the mind, the soul.

cubile, is, n. a bed, couch.

compungo, punxi, punctum, ere 3,  to prick; fig., to wound, hurt; in passive, to feel compunction, sorrow, regret, or remorse, to repent. 

A word by word translation might be:

Irascímini (be angry [at yourself]), et (and) nolíte (be unwilling) peccáre (to sin): * quæ (that which/ what) dícitis (you say) in córdibus (in the heart) vestris (your), in cubílibus (in the beds) vestris (your) compungímini (be sorry/repent)

The literal meaning

The selection of English translations below suggest that the literal meaning of the verse is ambiguous: is it saying, 'when angry don't translate your anger into sinful action', as the Monastic Diurnal's translation suggests; or is it a call to righteous anger, aimed at stirring up our consciences?

 

Douay Rheims	Be angry, and sin not: the things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds.
Monastic Diurnal	When roused to anger, sin not: what you scheme in your hearts, deplore upon your beds.
RSV	Be angry, but sin not; commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
Brenton	Be ye angry, and sin not; feel compunction upon your beds for what ye say in your hearts.
Coverdale	Stand in awe, and sin not; commune with your own heart, and in your chamber, and be still.
Knox	Tremble, and sin no more; take thought, as you lie awake, in the silence of your hearts.
Grail	Fear him; do not sin: ponder on your bed and be still.

 In fact the Fathers make clear that both meanings are possible.

Self-control

Anger can of course be a sin, but the point is not to avoid it altogether, but rather to control it appropriately, according to  St Cassiodorus:

The anger which does not effect its indignation is pardonable; in the words of Scripture: He that conquers his anger is better than he that taketh a city.  So the injunction to control it is appended, so that if we are already angry we do not sin through impulsive rashness. Because of human frailty we cannot govern our hot emotions, but with the help of God's grace we contain them with the discipline of reason.

This line of interpretation fits well with St Paul's use of the verse in Ephesians:

Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (4:25-27)

 Anger as a tool in the spiritual life

But in the context of the psalm, the more obvious interpretation goes to the positive uses of anger.  St John Chrysostom, for example, argues that righteous anger as a positive, a way of directing our minds to genuine repentance:

He does not dismiss anger, note, for it is useful, nor does he eliminate wrath, this too proving helpful, after all, in dealing with wrongdoers and the negligent…In other words, it is alright to be angry for good rea­son, as Paul too was angry with Elymas, and Peter with Sapphira...

St Augustine gave a vivid application of this line of interpretation of the verse in his Confessions:

And how was I moved, O my God, who had now learned to be angry with myself for the things past, so that in the future I might not sin! Yea, to be justly angry; for that it was not another nature of the race of darkness which sinned for me, as they affirm it to be who are not angry with themselves, and who treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and of the revelation of Your righteous judgment.

St Benedict instructs us to take a similar approach in the concluding section of the chapter of the Rule on humility:

[the monk] should always have his head bowed and his eyes downcast, pondering always the guilt of his sins, and considering that he is about to be brought before the dread judgement seat of God. 

St Cassiodorus adds:

What is repentance but being angry with oneself, so that one is aghast at one's deeds, and seeks self-torture so that the angry Judge may not afflict us instead?

In the silence of our bedrooms

The particular appropriateness of the night for the renewal of our commitment to continual repentance through anger at ourselves is set out by St Robert Bellarmine:

St. Basil tells us that anger was implanted in us by God, to be a source of merit. "The things you say in your hearts, be sorry for them upon your beds;" that is to say, in the dead hour of night, when you shall be alone in your bedchamber, free from all cares; then turn over all your shortcomings, and in God's presence be sorry for them, imitat­ing the example of David himself, who in Psalm 6 says, "Every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears," thus carrying out the advice he gave to others.

The Holy Ghost having severely reproved and admon­ished mankind, and advised them to repent, tells them now what they ought to do, and instructs them to have a holy hor­ror of sin, to resist their evil desires, and, by such means, to avoid sin; and, should they happen to fall, at once to be sorry and contrite; and not to stop at the doing no harm, but to go fur­ther, by offering the sacrifice of justice in doing good. "Be angry, and sin not;" that is to say, when your wicked and rebellious temper, the top and bottom of all our sins, stirs us up, let your anger vent itself on your own poor corrupt self; contend with it, so that you shall not fall into sin. 

The call to anger here is not to shouting or violent gestures, but rather to inner compunction.  St Cyprian, for example, points us to the example Hannah (Anna), the mother of Samuel:

And this Hannah in the first book of Kings, who was a type of the Church, maintains and observes, in that she prayed to God not with clamorous petition, but silently and modestly, within the very recesses of her heart. She spoke with hidden prayer, but with manifest faith. She spoke not with her voice, but with her heart, because she knew that thus God hears; and she effectually obtained what she sought, because she asked it with belief. Divine Scripture asserts this, when it says, “She spake in her heart, and her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; and God did hear her.” We read also in the Psalms, “Speak in your hearts, and in your beds, and be ye pierced.” The Holy Spirit, moreover, suggests these same things by Jeremiah, and teaches, saying, “But in the heart ought God to be adored by thee.” On the Lord’s Prayer, c242

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.

You can find the next part in the series here.