Psalm 147: Verse 2 - Rebuilding the walls and strengthening the gate

Speculum humanae salvationis c1450

The second verse of Psalm 147 is the first of a list of reasons why we should praise God.

  Notes on the text of the psalm

2	V	Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.
		ὅτι ἐνίσχυσεν τοὺς μοχλοὺς τῶν πυλῶν σου εὐλόγησεν τοὺς υἱούς σου ἐν σοί

The two key words here are conforto (avi, atum), to strengthen, make strong; to prevail; and sera (ae) a bar or bolt for fastening doors. 

Here is a word by word translation of it, following the Douay-Rheims text:

Quóniam (for) confortávit  (he has strengthened) seras (the bolts) portárum (of the gates) tuárum (your) gates benedíxit (he has blessed) fíliis (the children/sons) tuis(your) in te (within you).

Filiis could also reasonably be translated as inhabitants, I think; the sense is surely of the members of the Church as the children of God.

Selected English translations:

DR	Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you
Brenton	For he has strengthened the bars of thy gates; he has blessed thy children within thee.
MD	For he hath fastened the bars of thy gates, He hath blessed thy children within thee
RSV	For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your sons within you.
Cover	For he hath made fast the bars of thy gates, and hath blessed thy children within thee.

Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem 

The references to strengthening the bolts or bars on the gates here is generally thought to refer, in the literal, historical sense, to the process of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after the return of the Exiles, who lived in fear that their neighbours would once more tear down the city, as described in the book of Ezra (Ezra2:3).

But of course this verse also has several layers of allegorical meanings as well.  

Doctrine and the prophets

The first of these meanings sees the bars of the gates as standing for the prophets that prevent heresy from overcoming the Church:

We have spoken of the prophets as the gates of Sion, so since we know they are called that, let us see what the bars of the gates are. The prophets in truth are the gates of the Church; we cannot enter the Church except through them. Manichaeus tried to enter without the gates and could not. Marcion rejects the Old Testament, but without it, he has not been able to enter the New. We, on the other hand, accept the prophet-gates, and through them make our entrance. (St Jerome)

Similarly, the commentary of Pseudo-Athanasius written in the fifth or sixth centuries suggests that the gates stand for the Churches role as the guardian of orthodoxy:

....he strengthened the bars of the gates of Sion, which are the guardians of its doctrines that give entrance, so that there be no entrance through them for enemies. 

St John Chrysostom provides a more extended explanation of this meaning, explicitly talking about Our Lord's guarantee that the Church will not fall, even if it at times it seems that all is lost:

What is the meaning of he strengthened the bars! He established you in security, he is saying, he made you invincible...So what he means is this: he caused the growth, not of scattered or dispersed people but of those gathered together, even within you…. He fortified it more safely than Jerusalem, you see, se­curing it not with bars and gates but with the Cross and the proc­lamation of its peculiar power, by which he raised its rampart on all sides, saying, "The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." 

In the beginning, at any rate, all the kings and peoples and cities, hordes of demons and the devil's despotic rule itself, and many other things pitted themselves against the Church. Yet they were all brought to nothing and perished, whereas she grew and was raised to such heights that she surpassed the heavens themselves.

The growth of the Church and the closed gates and fortified walls

A second layer of meaning takes its cue from the idea that the barred and locked gates are clearly intended to defend those enclosed within its bounds, something that will not be fully realised until after the final judgment.  

St John Chrysostom, for example, explained that the blessing of the children referred to in the second part of the verse is the growth of the Church, effected through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and the grace he pours out on the world:  

As he said in the beginning, "In­crease, multiply and fill the earth," and the word traveled through all the earth, so later "Go, make disciples of all the nations," and "the Gospel will be preached in the whole world," and the com­mand took possession of the very ends of the world in a brief mo­ment of time. Hence he also said, "Unless the grain of wheat that falls onto the ground dies, it remains a single grain, whereas if it dies, it bears much fruit;" and again, "When I am lifted up, I shall draw all people to myself." In the beginning, then, from one they became many as the numbers increased by the law of nature, and so development occurred at a leisurely pace, whereas in the case of the apostles the numbers increased not by the law of nature but by grace. 

At times, the Church rightly closes its gates, and takes action against the enemy forces.

But at this stage of the Churches development, the gates will normally still be left open to many who will not pass the final test, as St Augustine explained: 

Observe, beloved. He bids Jerusalem when closed in to praise the Lord. We praise in unison now, we praise now; but it is amid offenses. Many where we wish not, enter in: many though we wish it not, go out: therefore offenses are frequent. And because iniquity has abounded, says the Truth, the love of many waxes cold because men come in whom we cannot discern, because men go out whom we cannot retain. 

Wherefore is this? Because not yet is there perfection, not yet is there the bliss that shall be. Wherefore is this? Because as yet it is the threshing-floor, not yet the garner.

Our challenge then, is to ensure we are amongst those permitted to dwell within forever, like the wise virgins (Mt 25:1-13), equipped with enough oil to last until the Lord comes again. 

The bolts of the gates are faith, hope and charity...

How then do we achieve this?  Arnobius Junior's commentary suggests that each individual can also be viewed as the city of Jerusalem, guarded by grace, provided we cultivate the virtues of faith, hope and charity:

He says: Praise him, because he strengthened the locks of your gates. You see then that, as we said above, it is our duty to lock the gates of the enemy those who make the attack, but it is for the Lord to strengthen the locks of the gates of Jerusalem. It is therefore a city Jerusalem, in which the prophets dwell, in which Christ preaches and exercises various virtues, in by which he suffers the cross; in which all kinds of accomplished virtue are. Who, therefore, has all these things within his soul day and night he meditates, having within him the prophets, Christ, and the apostles, he becomes a city of Jerusalem and closes it the gates of the enemy and his angels, and it is necessary to send the locks of faith closed at the entrances. For faith, hope, charity are three evenings sent against the devil, but faith fails and hope softens and charity grows cold, unless the holy spirits have been strengthened by the gift. 

 

Psalm 147 – Lauda Jerusalem 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.	Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise your God, O Sion.
2  Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.	Because he has strengthened the bolts of your gates, he has blessed your children within you
3  Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.	Who has placed peace in your borders: and fills you with the fat of corn.
4  Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.	Who sends forth his speech to the earth: his word runs swiftly.
5  Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.	Who gives snow like wool: scatters mists like ashes.
6  Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?	He sends his crystal like morsels: who shall stand before the face of his cold?
7  Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.	He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.
8  Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.	Who declares his word to Jacob: his justices and his judgments to Israel
9  Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.	He has not done in like manner to every nation: and his judgments he has not made manifest to them. Alleluia.