The 'monastic' last psalms of Vespers: Psalm 137 on Wednesdays

One of the key themes in St Benedict's Rule is of course, the Work of God, the Divine Office, and the ministerial responsibilities of the monk in saying it.

Psalm 137, the last psalm of Vespers on Wednesdays is centred on that task. 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Ipsi David.	For David himself.
Confitébor tibi, Dómine, in toto corde meo: * quóniam audísti verba oris mei.	I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart: for you have heard the words of my mouth.
2  In conspéctu Angelórum psallam tibi: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum, et confitébor nómini tuo.	I will sing praise to you in the sight of the angels: I will worship towards your holy temple, and I will give glory to your name.
3  Super misericórdia tua, et veritáte tua: * quóniam magnificásti super omne, nomen sanctum tuum.	For your mercy, and for your truth: for you have magnified your holy name above all.
4  In quacúmque die invocávero te, exáudi me: * multiplicábis in ánima mea virtútem.	3 In what day soever I shall call upon you, hear me: you shall multiply strength in my soul.
5  Confiteántur tibi, Dómine, omnes reges terræ: * quia audiérunt ómnia verba oris tui.	4 May all the kings of the earth give glory to you: for they have heard all the words of your mouth.
6  Et cantent in viis Dómini: * quóniam magna est glória Dómini.	5 And let them sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.
7  Quóniam excélsus Dóminus, et humília réspicit: * et alta a longe cognóscit.	6 For the Lord is high, and looks on the low: and the high he knows afar off.
8  Si ambulávero in médio tribulatiónis, vivificábis me: * et super iram inimicórum meórum extendísti manum tuam, et salvum me fecit déxtera tua.	7 If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, you will quicken me: and you have stretched forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies: and your right hand has saved me.
9  Dóminus retríbuet pro me: * Dómine, misericórdia tua in sæculum: ópera mánuum tuárum ne despícias.	8 The Lord will repay for me: your mercy, O Lord endures for ever: O despise not the works of your hands.

 Psalm 137's monastic context is made clear by St Benedict's use of the psalm in Chapter 19 of the Rule, in the context of the Office where he says:

We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that "the eyes of the Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place" (Prov. 15:3). But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God.  To that end let us be mindful always of the Prophet's words, "Serve the Lord in fear" (Ps. 2:11)  and again "Sing praises wisely" and "In the sight of the Angels I will sing praise to You" (Ps. 137:1). Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in sight of the Godhead and of His Angels,  and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way  that our mind may be in harmony with our voice. 

Temple liturgy

St Augustine's commentary in the psalm makes it clear that the Office is a participation in the divine liturgy of the eternal Temple: 

Not before men will I sing, but before the Angels. My song is my joy; but my joy in things below is before men, my joy in things above before the Angels...What holy Temple? That where we shall dwell, where we shall worship... Our heart is pregnant and comes to the birth, and seeks where it may bring forth. What is the place where God is to be worshipped?...The Temple of God is holy, says the Apostle, which Temple you are.  But assuredly, as is manifest, God dwells in the Angels. Therefore when our joy, being in spiritual things, not in earthly, takes up a song to God, to sing before the Angels, that very assembly of Angels is the Temple of God, we worship toward God's Temple. 

There is a Church below, there is a Church above also; the Church below, in all the faithful; the Church above, in all the Angels. But the God of Angels came down to the Church below, and Angels ministered to Him on earth, while He ministered to us; for, I came not, says He, to be ministered unto, but to minister...The Lord of Angels died for man. Therefore, I will worship toward Your holy Temple; I mean, not the temple made with hands, but that which You have made for Yourself.

The last psalms of Vespers: Psalm 132 on Tuesdays

This week, by way of a wrap of this Lent series of psalm notes, I want, this week, to come back to a point I made much earlier concerning the the selection of the last psalm of each day at Vespers.

All of these, I want to suggest, all have a focus on aspects of the monastic vocation, but each of which also have broader implications for all of us, as we prepare for Easter.

I want to start with the most explicit connection between the monastic life and the last psalms of the hour, which is Psalm 132 said on Tuesday, whose opening words about brethren living in unity have long been interpreted as referring to the monastic life.

Psalm 132

Here is the text of the psalm:

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum David.	A gradual canticle of David.
Ecce quam bonum, et quam jucúndum * habitáre fratres in unum.	Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity:
2  Sicut unguéntum in cápite, * quod descéndit in barbam, barbam Aaron.	Like the precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron,
3  Quod descéndit in oram vestiménti ejus: * sicut ros Hermon, qui descéndit in montem Sion.	which ran down to the skirt of his garment: As the dew of Hermon, which descends upon mount Sion.
4  Quóniam illic mandávit Dóminus benedictiónem, * et vitam usque in sæculum	For there the Lord has commanded blessing, and life for evermore.

The early church in Jerusalem as the model for monks

St Augustine in his Enarration on the Psalm, explains that the psalm is the very origin of the name for monks, from the Greek monos, or one:

For these same words of the Psalter, this sweet sound, that honeyed melody, as well of the mind as of the hymn, did even beget the Monasteries. By this sound were stirred up the brethren who longed to dwell together. This verse was their trumpet. It sounded through the whole earth, and they who had been divided, were gathered together. The summons of God, the summons of the Holy Spirit, the summons of the Prophets, were not heard in Judah, yet were heard through the whole world. They were deaf to that sound, amid whom it was sung; they were found with their ears open, of whom it was said, They shall see him, who were not told of him; they shall understand who heard not. 

...From the words of this Psalm was taken the name of Monks, that no one may reproach you who are Catholics by reason of the name...Since the Psalm says, Behold, how good and how pleasant is it, that brethren should dwell together in one, why then should we not call Monks so? For Monos is one. Not one in any manner, for a man in a crowd is one, but though he can be called one along with others, he cannot be Monos, that is, alone, for Monos means one alone. They then who thus live together as to make one man, so that they really possess what is written, one mind and one heart...,

He goes on to point to the model of the Jerusalem community described in Acts as the key model, a model also reflected in St Benedict's Rule.  The first Jewish converts, St Augustine explains:

they first dwelt together in unity; who sold all they had, and laid the price of their goods at the Apostles' feet, as is read in the Acts of the Apostles.  And distribution was made to each one as he had need, and none called anything his own, but they had all things common. And what is together in unity? They had, he says, one mind and one heart God-wards. So they were the first who heard, Behold how good and how pleasant is it, that brethren dwell together. They were the first to hear, but heard it not alone.

Oblates and others as dwellers in unity

We do not have to limit the meaning of the verse only to monks however, as St Cassiodorus' commentary on the psalm explains, arguing that 'to dwell in unity means maintaining the right path doctrinally and in doing good works:

...the dwelling which the Lord seeks, not that of an enclosing wall uniting our bodies, but that which joins together our souls in an alliance of piety.. His expression, brethren in unity, denotes those established under the one Father in the comradeship of faith, possessing as the Acts of the Apostles has it: One heart and one soul. Yet those too who wander through desert wastes dwell in unity, for though they seem to be separated physically, they are known to be undivided in the harmony of faith. 

May we all be unified in faith and good works this Easter.

Psalm 141:10 - Awaiting the Resurrection

The final verse of Psalm 141 can be interpreted as a commentary on the promise of the Resurrection to come.

Text notes 

10	V	Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.
	NV	Educ de custodia animam meam ad confitendum nomini tuo; me circumdabunt iusti, cum retribueris mihi ”.
	R	Educ de carcere animam meam ad confitendum nomini tuo me expectant iusti donec retribuas mihi.
	JH	Educ de carcere animam meam, ut confiteatur nomini tuo: me expectant iusti, cum retribueris mihi.
		ἐξάγαγε ἐκ φυλακῆς τὴν ψυχήν μου τοῦ ἐξομολογήσασθαι τῷ ὀνόματί σου κύριε ἐμὲ ὑπομενοῦσιν δίκαιοι ἕως οὗ ἀνταποδῷς μοι

 Word by word

Educ (lead/bring forth) de (from) custodia (prison/custody) animam (soul) meam (my) ad (to) confitendum (the praising) nomini (of the name) tuo (to your); me exspectant (they wait for) justi (the just) donec (until) retribuas (you repay/reward) mihi (to me).

 Note that the neo-Vulgate has circumdabunt (they have surrounded) instead of expectant, in order to follow the Masoretic Text version of the verse; the Septuagint here arguably follows the Aramaic connotations of the verb.  As will be seen from the notes below, the Septuagint/Vulgate version fits the Christological interpretation of the text rather better.

educo, duxi, ductum, ere 3 to lead out or forth to bring or draw forth.

custodia, ae, f custody, i.e., a prison.

confiteor, fessus sum, eri 2  to praise, give thanks; to confess, acknowledge one's guilt.

exspecto, avi, atum, are, to wait for a person or thing, to await, trust; to look for, expect.

justus, a, um   just; a just man, the just

donec, conj., till, until

retribuo, tribui, tributum, ere 3, to repay, requite, reward, recompense, render; deal bountifully with

DR	Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.
Brenton	Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to thy name, O Lord; the righteous shall wait for me, until thou recompense me.
MD	Lead forth my soul from prison that I may praise Thy Name, the just await me in hope, till Thou rewardest me
RSV	Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to thy name! The righteous will surround me; for thou wilt deal bountifully with me.
Cover	Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks unto thy Name—which thing if thou wilt grant me, then shall the righteous resort unto my company.
Knox	What thanks, then, will I give to thy name, honest hearts all about me, rejoicing to see thy favour restored!
Grail	Bring my soul out of this prison and then I shall praise your name. Around me the just will assemble because of your goodness to me.

Looking to the Resurrection

In its historical context, this verse can be read as a final plea: the enemy are camped just outside the cave, positively knocking on the door as it were.  

But David's ability to extricate himself from this situation is a mere foreshadowing of  the true meaning, of Christ asking, as St Jerome puts it, to be freed from 'the prison of this body...The apostles wait for me, until I shall rise again from the dead.'

The prison of this world

The prison referred to here can have several meanings including the troubles inflicted on us by our enemies, a desire to be freed from the corruption of the flesh; from the constraints imposed on us by this world, where what we see is but a shadow of the true reality.

St Augustine, for example, commented:

To some then it has seemed that the cave and prison are this world; and this the Church prays, that it may be brought out of prison, that is, from this world, from under the sun, where all is vanity. Beyond this world then God promises that we shall be in some sort of rest; therefore perhaps do we cry concerning this place, Bring my soul out of prison... 

A name above any other

The last part of the verse refers to Christ's exaltation through the Resurrection, as St Cassiodorus point out:

This is the confession foretold concerning the Lord’s resurrection. When all the apostles were thrown into turmoil by Christ’s death, they waited for just the moment when they could acknowledge the glory of the promised resurrection, and strengthen the hearts of all who were fearful. Observe the words: Until thou reward me, for the glory of the resurrection was nothing other than the reward for the most blessed passion. Paul says of this reward: For which cause God has exalted him, and has given him a name which is above all names: that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of God the Father. The word until denotes the period of three days, after which the devotion of the just rejoiced at His resurrection.

 A call to humility

St Cassiodorus provides a nice reflection on which to conclude our consideration of the psalm:

Now let us ponder, if we can harness some insight, the clemency of our Lord, which both redeemed us from the enemy and unceasingly teaches us not to be taken captive again.

He makes His rule our teaching for each day, for the purpose of His deigning to humble himself was so that we should not in the slightest degree aspire to the devil's spirit of pride. In that pride lies the fall, in humility there is always the way upwards; pride is the seed-bed of death, humility the preliminary to eternal life. So let us entreat the almighty Son that as He has accorded us a wholesome example of prayer, He may mercifully bestow on us the outcome of this most holy imitation.

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.

Psalm 141:9 - When the forces ranged against us are too strong

 

 Text notes and translations

9	V/NV	Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.
	R	Libera me a persequentibus me quoniam confortati sunt super me.
	JH	Libera me a persequentibus, quoniam confortati sunt super me.
		ῥῦσαί με ἐκ τῶν καταδιωκόντων με ὅτι ἐκραταιώθησαν ὑπὲρ ἐμέ

 Word by word:

Libera (free/deliver) me (me) a (from) persequentibus (persecuting/those who persecute) me, quia (because) confortati sunt (they are made strong) super (over) me.

libero, avi, atum, are (to free, set free, deliver, very common.

persequor, secutus sum, sequi to pursue, follow perseveringly, follow after/hard upon, persecute.

conforto, avi, atum, are to strengthen, make strong :as passive: to be strengthened, to be powerful, great, mighty.

DR	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Brenton	deliver me from them that persecute me; for they are stronger than I.
MD	Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me
RSV	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are too strong for me!
Cover	O deliver me from my persecutors; for they are too strong for me.
Knox	Rescue me from persecutors who are too strong for me; restore liberty to a captive soul.
Grail	Rescue me from those who pursue me for they are stronger than I.

On the divinity of Christ

This verse of Psalm 141 can be readily interpreted in the context of Christ's prayer on the cross, as St Cassiodorus points out, and his words then are for our benefit:

When he says deliver me, he is not demonstrating the weakness of his own divinity, but revealing the love of the Father; for although he had the power, as he says, to lay down his life and to take it up again, he fittingly showed honour to his father’s majesty in order to represent us, maintaining the reverence of a beloved son, in whom the Father was well pleased. 

He goes on: 

In the Gospel he says Father, glorify me.  He also cries out from the cross: O God, my God, look upon me, why has though forsaken me?  This was to reveal clearly the lowliness of the flesh...

 Who do we need to be delivered from?

But it is also, of course, a model of prayer for us, in the face of overwhelming enemies, whether they be the rich and powerful of this world, our own weaknesses, or the devil, as St Augustine instructs:

Are merely men our enemies? We have other enemies, invisible, who persecute us in another way. Man persecutes, that he may slay the body; another persecutes, that he ensnare the soul. There are then other enemies of ours too, from whom we ought to pray God to deliver us, lest they lead us astray, either by crushing us with troubles of this world, or alluring us by its enticements.

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.

Psalm 141:8 - Obedience even unto death

Colmar - Unterlinden Museum -
Altarpiece  Martin Schongauer & Atelier, ca 1480

Verse 8 of Psalm 141 paints a picture of someone at the end of their tether, alone, and totally humiliated.  But that very humiliation, and resultant humility, becomes the basis for his plea for help.

 Text notes

8	V/NV	Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.
	R	Intende in orationem meam quia humiliatus sum nimis
	JH	Ausculta deprecationem meam, quoniam infirmatus sum nimis:
		πρόσχεςπρὸς τὴν δέησίν μου ὅτι ἐταπεινώθην σφόδρα

 Word by word:

Intende (give heed/attend) ad (to) deprecationem (entreaty/supplication/prayer) meam (my), quia (because) humiliatus sum (I have been humbled.brought low) nimis (exceedingly/very)

intendo, tendi, tentum, ere 3 to give heed to, pay attention to; to regard, look upon

deprecatio -onis f prayer, supplication, entreaty.

humilio, avi, atum, are  to humble, bring low.

nimis, adv., exceedingly, greatly, beyond measure. 

DR	Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
Brenton	Attend to my supplication, for I am brought very low
MD	Give heed to my entreaty, for I am exceedingly humbled
RSV	Give heed to my cry; for I am brought very low!
Cover	Consider my complaint; for I am brought very low
Knox	Listen, then, to my plea; thou seest me all defenceless.
Grail	Listen, then, to my cry for I am in the depths of distress.

Humility and humiliation

The commentators are divided on this verse, as to whether being brought very low means being at the end of our tether, exhausted, depressed and afflicted; or a mind humbled by the realisation of his sins.

The two are connected of course: when circumstances, such as persecution bring us down, we can accept this and take the opportunity to reflect, realise our faults, and repent them.

St Augustine puts it this way:

Humbled by persecutors, humbled in confession. He humbles himself out of the sight of man: he is humbled by enemies in their sight. Therefore is he lifted up by Him both visibly and invisibly

But it is not automatic that humiliation leads to a humbled mind, as St Jerome points out:

Unless a man has been humbled, the Lord does not grant him gracious hearing. What avail for salvation are words of prayer when the man who utters them is stiff-necked with pride – if we really understand that the Lord says: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

Christ's humility

Our model here is of course Christ, as St Cassiodorus explains:

He did well to say: I am bought very low, for as Paul puts it, He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found at a man. In addition, he was certainly humbled further when he became obedient unto death even to death on the cross.  If the wondrous height of his divinity had not bent low in the true body which he assumed, how could he have been crucified for the salvation of all, when he orders heaven and earth with astounding power?

Psalm 141 (142): Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Intellectus David, cum esset in spelunca, oratio	Of understanding for David, A prayer when he was in the cave.
1 Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * voce mea ad dóminum deprecátus sum.	2 I cried to the Lord with my voice: with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.
2. Effúndo in conspéctu ejus oratiónem meam, * et tribulatiónem meam ante ipsum pronúntio	3 In his sight I pour out my prayer, and before him I declare my trouble:
3. In deficiéndo ex me spíritum meum: * et tu cognovísti sémitas meas.	4 When my spirit failed me, then you knew my paths.
4  In via hac, qua ambulábam, * abscondérunt láqueum mihi.	In this way wherein I walked, they have hidden a snare for me.
5 Considerábam ad déxteram, et vidébam: * et non erat qui cognósceret me.	5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, and there was no one that would know me.
6. Périit fuga a me: * et non est qui requírat ánimam meam.	Flight has failed me: and there is no one that has regard to my soul.
7. Clamávi ad te, Dómine, * dixi: Tu es spes mea, pórtio mea in terra vivéntium.	6 I cried to you, O Lord: I said: You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living.
8.  Inténde ad deprecatiónem meam: * quia humiliátus sum nimis.	7 Attend to my supplication: for I am brought very low.
9.  Líbera me a persequéntibus me: * quia confortáti sunt super me.	Deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
10 Educ de custódia ánimam meam ad confiténdum nómini tuo: me exspéctant justi, donec retríbuas mihi.	8 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the just wait for me, until you reward me.