Introduction to Psalm 139

Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Psalm 139 is said on Thursdays in the Benedictine Office, a placement particularly appropriate given that the persecution and suffering of the speaker in the psalm have long been viewed as a prophesy referring to Christ, hence its use in Vespers for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Vespers on Thursday in the Benedictine Office

There are, I think, strong connections between all of the psalms set for Thursday Vespers in the Benedictine Office.

The first half of the hour is taken up with Psalm 138, a meditation on the omniscience and omnipotence of God.  Its most obvious interpretation is as a meditation on the human and divine natures of Christ, particularly in the context of the agony in the garden.  The following psalms too, can readily be interpreted as applying to Christ, and particularly his persecution, trials and passion.

But its ideas flow into the other two psalms of the hour, I think, in the form of instruction for us, in Psalms 139 and 140, on how we as limited humans can obtain and retain the small knowledge (relative to that of God) we need, to find and stay on the path that God has set out for us, in order to become saints, and thus reach heaven.

Psalm 138, for example, reminds us that our entire existence is dependent on God's action:

13   Quia tu possedisti renes meos; suscepisti me de utero matris meæ.

For it was you that created me, and have protected me from my mother's womb.

It goes on to point out that we can only know a tiny fraction of what God does (v6): we can see some of his work's and praise him for them (v14); we can seek to know the correct path to take.  But because we are limited, imperfect beings (v16), we can easily be deluded, and so need God to teach us and correct us when we go astray:

23 Proba me, Deus, et scito cor meum; interroga me, et cognosce semitas meas.	23 Examine  me, O God, and know my heart: examine me, and know my paths.
24 Et vide si via iniquitatis in me est, et deduc me in via æterna.	24 And see if there be in me the way of iniquity: and lead me in the eternal way.

In Psalm 139 the key obstacle we face is the malice of others; in order to overcome this, we need the help of grace.  In Psalm 140, the focus shifts to what should be our own proper actions, aided by grace.  

The text of Psalm 139

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

The psalm title

The literal, historical interpretation of the psalm as a reference to the sufferings of King David are generally referenced in post -Trent commentaries, such as that of St Alphonsus Liguori:

David implores help from God against Saul, and against those that spoke calumniously of him to that prince. 

St Cassiodorus (c485-585), however, explained the relevance of the title of the psalm christologically:

Unto the end denotes the Lord Christ; as Paul says: For the end of the law is Christ, unto justice to everyone that believeth.' Let us lift up our hearts to Him with all our strength, for in this psalm as by the voice of a herald we are forewarned that He comes as a Judge, fearful and almighty but also devoted and the object of great longing.

The voice of the Christ

The Christological explanation of the psalm is reflected in its use in the liturgies of Passiontide, Holy Week, and feasts relating to the Passion.

It is an interpretation of it that goes back at least to St Hilary of Poitiers (310-367), who argued that verses 2-6 can be interpreted as the plotting of the Jewish authorities; while the reference to the hand of the unjust man refers to Judas.

NT references	Romans 3:13, Jas 3:8 (3)
RB cursus	Thursday Vespers+AN 1197 (2)
Monastic feasts etc	Triduum Vespers; Comm. of Passion, Five Wounds, Seven Dolours (Vespers) AN 1199(5), 3535 (14)
Roman pre 1911	Friday Vespers
Responsories	Passion wk Tues v2 (207) 6666, 6671, 7203 (alt verse for Ne avertas) (2);
Brigittine	Wednesday Vespers
Maurist	Friday Vespers
Thesauris schemas	A: Thurs Vespers; B: Tuesday Vespers; C: Tuesday Sext wk 1; D: Thursday Matins wk 2
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Friday Vespers  . 1970: Friday wk 4 little hour omit vv. 10-12
Mass propers (EF)	Holy Tues, OF (4); Good Friday TR (1-10, 14).

The voice of the Church

The psalm can also, though, be interpreted as speaking of the ongoing struggle of the Church against those seeking to subvert it from within and without, as Cassiodorus, for example, explained:

Holy Church speaks throughout the psalm. In the first section she entreats the Lord that He may deign to free her from the wicked devil who seeks to undermine the devotion of the faithful people with many deceits and traps. In the second, she begs not to be consigned to that most evil tempter, now that she is certainly delivered from bitter dangers by His protection. In the third, she says that vengeance at the future judgment will visit those who afflict His poor with senseless disturbances.

St Benedict's use of the psalm

The psalm is also cited in the Benedictine Rule in relation to the ninth degree of humility:

The ninth degree of humility is that a monk restrain his tongue and keep silence,  not speaking until he is questioned.  For the Scripture shows  that "in much speaking there is no escape from sin" (Prov. 10:19) and that "the talkative man is not stable on the earth" (Ps. 139:12).

The text of the psalm

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And you can find the next part in this series, providing detailed notes on verse 1 of the Psalm, here.