Psalm 4 verse 8 - Wherein lies the good?

Verse 8 of Psalm 4 can be read as continuing the description of the good things God gives us: in the previous verse we were reminded of our baptism; here the reference is to the Eucharist and perhaps Holy Unction.  But it can also be interpreted as a reminder that ultimately the good lies in our future in heaven, and we shouldn't be satisfied to pursue purely earthly pleasures.

Understanding the Latin

The Vulgate of Verse 8 of Psalm 4 reads:

A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui multiplicáti sunt.

 The key vocabulary for the verse is:

fructus, us, m. fruit, produce; the fruit of the soil, trees; a reward; the fruit of the womb, children, posterity.

frumentum, i, n.  corn, wheat, rye, barley, etc. 

vinum, i, n. wine

oleum, ii, n.  oil, esp., olive-oil.

multiplico, avi, atum, are  to multiply, increase; to grow, flourish.

This is a difficult verse to translate, as its interpretation really depends on whether or not you link it to the preceding and following phrases.  A word by word version gives:

A (from) fructu (the fruit/produce) fruménti (of corn/grain), vini (of wine) et (and) ólei (of oil) sui (of their) multiplicáti sunt (they are multiplied)

The Douay-Rheims Challoner is fairly unhelpful in translating it as 'By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest', the last two words coming from the following verse in the liturgical division of the psalm.

Earthly riches vs true joy

One view of the verse is that it points to a contrast between earthly riches and carnal pleasures, and the true joy that is the gift of God.  This reading of the verse reflected in most of the modern translations, and is best captured by the Knox and Brenton translations (see below):

MD	Greater than the joy in rich harvests of corn and wine and oil
RSV	Than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Brenton	They have been satisfied with the fruit of their corn and wine and oil.
Knox	Never did rich harvests of corn and wine bring gladness like the gladness thou puttest into my heart
Grail	You have put into my heart a greater joy than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.

That is, either they (sinners) have been satisfied with carnal pleasures, while we (who trust in God) have true joy (Brenton, Grail); or the joy God gives is infinitely better than that derived from earthly pleasures (Knox, Monastic Diurnal).

In this reading of the text, multiplicati sunt refers back to the first phrase of the previous verse; that is, the joy of God is much greater than the pleasure from temporal things such as an abundance of food and wine.

St Alphonsus Liguori interprets the verse this way, suggesting that it teaches that while sinners will be given good things now, we can look forward to the joys of heaven:

I behold my enemies multiplying with the good things that they enjoy.

St Augustine similarly interprets the multiplicati as referring to the many (men) who pursue the pleasures of this world, and are as a result held back from acting rightly:

But men (who doubtless are many) who follow after things temporal, know not to say anything else, than, Who shows us good things? when the true and certain good within their very selves they cannot see....But those many, who say, Who shows us good things? and who see not that the kingdom of heaven is within them: these, from the time of His grain, of wine, and oil, are multiplied. For multiplication does not always betoken plentifulness, and not, generally, scantiness: when the soul, given up to temporal pleasures, burns ever with desire, and cannot be satisfied; and, distracted with manifold and anxious thought, is not permitted to see the simple good....Such is the soul of which it is said, For the corruptible body presses down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weighs down the mind that muses on many things. A soul like this, by the departure and succession of temporal goods, that is, from the time of His grain, wine, and oil, filled with numberless idle fancies, is so multiplied, that it cannot do that which is commanded, 

 God's blessings on us

The alternative reading of the verse though, is a more positive one, seeing it as a reminder of the blessings God gives us, above all in the Eucharist.

One of the antiphons for Matins of the feast of Corpus Christi (composed by St Thomas Aquinas), for example, links this verse very explicitly to the peace and rest mentioned later in the psalm:

A fructu fruménti et vini multiplicáti fidéles in pace Christi requiéscunt.

His faithful ones which are increased by the fruit of His corn and His wine do lay them down in peace and sleep in Christ.

Grain and wine, then are the elements needs for the  Eucharist, and oil for Holy Unction, relevant, as we shall see to the next verse.  This line of interpretation originates, I think, with St Augustine, who although providing the alternative reading above, also suggests that the great harvest can be seen as referring to Christ, given the sacral connotations of grain, wine and oil:

For the grain is God's: inasmuch as He is the living bread which came down from heaven…The wine too is God's: for, they shall be inebriated, he says, with the fatness of your house. The oil too is God's: of which it is said, You have fattened my head with oil... Think on the Lord in goodness, and in simplicity of heart seek Him. For this multiplicity is strongly opposed to that simplicity. And therefore leaving these, who are many, multiplied, that is, by the desire of things temporal, and who say, Who shows us good things? which are to be sought not with the eyes without, but with simplicity of heart within...

St John Chrysostom, though, takes an even more literal approach to the verse, seeing it as a simple reference to God's providential care for us, as well as to the inner joy we receive from God:

Now, in saying this, he touches on no small part of God's providence at this point, that which emerges in visible things. I mean, when he mentions grain and wine and oil, and the abundance of these things, he im­plies as well rain, and mildness of the seasons, the earth's conceiving and labouring and bearing, the flow of the air, the sun's course, phases of the moon, the galaxy of stars, summer and winter and autumn and spring, farming skills, advantages of implements, and the scores of other arts. 

You see, if all these did not work together, it would not be possible for fruit to ripen and come to maturity. So when he mentions grain and wine and oil, he provides the wise person with an occasion for proceeding in thought from the part to the whole, with the spreading out of the ocean of God's provi­dence that emerges in perceptible realities. 

This is the reason that Paul, too, in one place becomes eloquent when discoursing of God's providence, and treats of the subject in the words, "He gives show­ers and seasons of fruitfulness, filling us with nourishment and our hearts with joy." 

 St Robert Bellarmine also follows this line of interpretation:

Another argument from which men may understand that God is the author of all good, for it is he who, in the fitting time, multiplies the grain and produces the fruit, as St. Paul has it, Acts 14: "Nevertheless he left not himself without testimony, doing good from heaven, giving rains and fruitful seasons, fill­ing our hearts with food and gladness."

And St Cassiodorus links the blessings listed here to that bestowed on the Church more broadly:

She continues to number the blessings possessed by Christians. The gladness she mentions is not that which we express aloud by laughter. It is the gladness of upright faith which the Lord habitually bestows on a good conscience. We are truly glad when we rightly believe, and with the Lord's help live a life of trust­worthy companionship with each other. 

In the context of the Benedictine Office

Which reading is St Benedict implying here?

Personally I prefer the second reading, as it seems to provide some echoes for the end of the day to mirror the sentiments of Psalm 66, which opens the day hours at Lauds.

Like this psalm, Psalm 66 refers to the light of Christ's face:

66:1 Deus misereátur nostri, et benedícat nobis: * illúminet vultum suum super nos, et misereátur nostri.

May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may he cause the light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.

But where Psalm 66 requests this blessing, Psalm 4, at the close of the day, affirms that it has been given:

4:7 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.

And so too, both psalms refer to the blessing of creation that God confers on us:

66: 6-7  Confiteántur tibi pópuli, Deus, confiteántur tibi pópuli omnes: * terra dedit fructum suum.

Let the people, O God, confess to you: let all the people give praise to you: The earth has yielded her fruit.

4: 8 A fructu fruménti, vini et ólei sui * multiplicáti sunt.

By the fruit of their corn, their wine, and oil, they rest

We should humble ourselves before God, in other words, offer the sacrifice of justice that recognises and responds to God's great gifts to us, which include both the material things necessary for life, and above all gladness of heart that enables us to rest at peace in him, both each night, and eventually in heaven with him as part of the true harvest.

The psalm as a whole

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 the next part in this series, click here.