Psalm 107: Overview

Psalm 107, said at Saturday Matins in the Benedictine Office, is entirely made up the verses of two others, with only minor differences in wording, viz Psalm 56 v8-12 = 107:1-5a, and Psalm 59: 6b-14 = 107:5b-14.

A composite psalm?

So is it merely merely derivative, or worth considering in its own right?

Unsurprisingly more than a few commentaries of the last two centuries haven't bothered providing a separate commentary on it.  But others, both old and new do see this as a genuinely distinctive work.

The New Jerome, for example, comments that:

"...Yet it is not simply a compilation of these two.  By skilful reuse of these earlier poems the psalmist creates a ps that speaks to the postexilic community." (p545)

And patristic era commentators took a similar view.  Cassiodorus, for example, saw great significance in the joining of the two psalms to create something new, the two sections of the psalms representing Christ speaking firstly in his human nature, and secondly in his divine.  He also suggested that the two parts showing how 'the action of the Lord made one Church of the two peoples'.

Praise and thanksgiving

St Alphonsus Liguori summarised the psalm as follows:

David consecrates this chant to giving thanks to God for his benefits, and to praying to him for victory over the Edomites. 

Cassiodorus provided a more expansive descriptionof the parts of the psalm:

As we have said, Christ the Lord speaks through the entire psalm.  In the first section, in His capacity as Man he addresses thanks of praise to the Father's glory, for by shouldering the wondrous secret of the passion He has risen into eternal glory.  In the second part He abases His humanity throughout, but also reveals the power of His majesty.  Thus you are to realise that there are two natures in the one Person of the Lord Christ.  It is not that Christ is split into two sons, as some people impiously maintain, but He speaks as one and the same Son of God now in the flesh which He assumed for us and now with the natures of God and man, and you will traverse the whole question without coming to grief.  As the Fathers briefly instruct us: "Allot the sufferings to the flesh, and the miracles to His divinity."

The text of the psalm

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum Psalmi, ipsi David.	A canticle of a psalm for David himself.
1 Parátum cor meum, Deus, parátum cor meum: * cantábo, et psallam in glória mea.	My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and will give praise, with my glory.
2 Exsúrge, glória mea, exsúrge, psaltérium et cíthara: * exsúrgam dilúculo.	3 Arise, my glory; arise, psaltery and harp: I will arise in the morning early.
3 Confitébor tibi in pópulis, Dómine: * et psallam tibi in natiónibus.	4 I will praise you, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing unto you among the nations.
4 Quia magna est super cælos misericórdia tua: * et usque ad nubes véritas tua:	5 For your mercy is great above the heavens: and your truth even unto the clouds.
5 Exaltáre super cælos, Deus, et super omnem terram glória tua: * ut liberéntur dilécti tui.	6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and your glory over all the earth: 7 That your beloved may be delivered.
6 Salvum fac déxtera tua, et exáudi me: * Deus locútus est in sancto suo:	Save with your right hand and hear me. 8 God has spoken in his holiness.
7 Exsultábo, et dívidam Síchimam: * et convállem tabernaculórum dimétiar.	I will rejoice, and I will divide Sichem and I will mete out the vale of tabernacles.
8 Meus est Gálaad, et meus est Manásses: * et Ephraim suscéptio cápitis mei.	9 Galaad is mine: and Manasses is mine and Ephraim the protection of my head.
9 Juda rex meus: * Moab lebes spei meæ.	Juda is my king: 10 Moab the pot of my hope
10 In Idumæam exténdam calceaméntum meum: * mihi alienígenæ amíci facti sunt	Over Edom I will stretch out my shoe: the aliens have become my friends.
11 Quis dedúcet me in civitátem munítam? * quis dedúcet me usque in Idumæam?	11 Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom?
12 Nonne tu, Deus, qui repulísti nos, * et non exíbis, Deus, in virtútibus nostris?	12 Will not you, O God, who have cast us off? And will not you, O God, go forth with our armies?
13 Da nobis auxílium de tribulatióne: * quia vana salus hóminis.	13 O grant us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
14 In Deo faciémus virtútem: * et ipse ad níhilum dedúcet inimícos nostros.	14 Through God we shall do mightily: and he will bring our enemies to nothing.

Pope John Paul II on the psalm

Pope John Paul II gave a General audience on the psalm in May 2003:

Psalm 108[107], which has just been presented to us, is part of the sequence of Psalms in theLiturgy of Lauds, the topic of our catechesis. It has a characteristic which at first sight is surprising:  it is merely composed of two pre-existing psalm fragments fused together, one from Psalm 57[56] (vv. 8-12) and the other from Psalm 60[59] (vv. 7-14). The first fragment is reminiscent of a hymn, the second seems to be a supplication but includes a divine oracle which instils serenity and trust in the person praying.

This fusion gives rise to a new prayer, and this fact provides us with a model. Actually, the Christian liturgy frequently combines different biblical passages, transforming them into a new text destined to illuminate new situations. Yet the link with the original source is preserved. In practice, Psalm 108[107] - (but it is not the only one; for further proof, see Psalm 144[143]) - shows that Israel, already in the Old Testament, was re-using and bringing up-to-date the Word of God revealed.

The Psalm resulting from this fusion is therefore something more than the mere combination or juxtaposition of two pre-existing passages. Instead of beginning with a humble plea like Psalm 57[56]: "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me" (v. 2), the new Psalm begins with a resolute announcement of praise to God: "My heart is steadfast, O God... I will sing praises..." (Ps 108 [107]: 2). This praise replaces the lament in the opening lines of another Psalm (cf. Ps 60[59]: 1-6), and thus becomes the basis of the following divine oracle (Ps 60[59]: 8-10 = Ps 108[107]: 8-10) and of the supplication that surrounds it (Ps 60[59]: 7, 11-14 = Ps 108[107]: 7, 11-14).

Hope and nightmare are blended to form the substance of the new prayer, the whole of which is intended to imbue confidence, even in the times of adversity which the entire community has experienced.

So the Psalm opens with a joyful hymn of praise. It is a morning song, accompanied by harp and lyre. (cf. Ps 108[107]: 3). The message is clear. At the centre it has the divine "love" and "faithfulness" (cf. v. 5): in Hebrew, hésed and 'emèt are typical words used to describe the loving fidelity of the Lord regarding the Covenant with his people. On the basis of this fidelity, the people are sure that God will never abandon them in the abyss of the void or of despair.

The Christian interpretation of this Psalm is particularly evocative. In v. 6, the Psalmist celebrates God's transcendent glory: "Be exalted (that is, "rise'), O God, above the heavens!". Commenting on this Psalm, Origen, the renowned third-century Christian writer, goes back to this sentence of Jesus: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (Jn 12: 32), referring to his crucifixion, whose result is described in the affirmation of the next verse: "that your beloved may be delivered" (Ps 108[107]: 7). Origin thus concludes: "What a marvellous meaning! The Lord was crucified and exalted so that his beloved might be delivered.... All we have asked for has come true: he has been lifted up and we have been delivered" (Origene-Gerolamo, 74 Omelie sul Libro dei Salmi, Milan 1993, p. 367).

Let us now move on to the second part of Psalm 108[107], a partial citation of Psalm 60[59], as has been said. In the midst of the anguish of Israel, who feels that God is absent and remote ("have you not rejected us, O God?": v. 12), is raised the voice of the oracle of the Lord which echoes in the temple (cf. vv. 8-10). In this revelation, God is presented as the judge and lord of all the holy land, from the city of Shechem to the Vale of Succoth beyond the Jordan, from the eastern regions of Gilead and Manasseh to the central-southern regions of Ephraim and Judah, reaching even to the subjugated but foreign territories of Moab, Edom and Philistia.

The divine lordship over the promised land is then proclaimed in colourful martial or juridical imagery. If the Lord reigns, there is nothing to fear: we are not tossed here and there by the evil forces of fate or chaos. Even in the darkest of moments there is always a superior plan that governs history.

This faith kindles the flame of hope. God, in any case, will point to a way out, that is, a "fortified city" set in the region of Edom. This means that despite their hardship and his silence, God will reveal himself anew to sustain and guide his people. Effective help can come from him alone, not from external military alliances, that is, the power of armies (cf. v. 13). Only with him will freedom be won, and we will do "valiantly" (v. 14).

With St Jerome, let us remember the last lesson of the Psalmist, interpreted in a Christian key: "No one must despair of this life. You have Christ, and you are still afraid? He will be our strength, our bread, our guide" (Breviarium in Psalmos, Ps CVII: PL 26, 1224).

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	-
RB cursus	Saturday Matins II, 5
Monastic/(Roman) feasts etc	Easter, Sacred Heart
Responsories	Epiphanytide Wed v2-3
Roman pre 1911	Saturday Matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Saturday Prime . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	PP20, AL (1)