The quintessential psalm of the Passion is of course Psalm 21, not least because it was the start of the set of psalms Christ recited while on the Cross.
In the Benedictine Office it is the second psalm of Matins on Sundays: the first psalm of that hour recalls the Last Supper; the second the Passion.
Psalm 85 and Friday Matins
On ferial Fridays, however, the Office also recalls the Passion, not least through its opening psalm, Psalm 85, which is used on the feast of the Sacred Heart for that reason.
St Cassiodorus, in his commentary on the psalm, interpreted it as the prayer of Christ on the Cross:
Let us ponder the humility of the prayer poured out to the Father by the Lord Saviour in His passion. He was wholly without sin, but in representing our weakness He asked to be delivered from the dangers of this world. So men's rashness should blush to be arrogant, for they have no doubt of their guilt. Christ prayed for His enemies, and patiently accepted death, whereas we wish to avenge our injuries if attacked by the comments of detractors. May He who afforded an example grant the gift of patience, so that by following His footsteps we may be able to avoid the errors which bring death.
St Alphonsus Liguori took the same view. The psalmist, he said,
...initiates us into the sentiments that filled the soul of Jesus Christ during his Passion, and he prophesies the conversion of the Gentiles.
Psalm 85: Friday matins I, 1
Vulgate | Douay-Rheims |
Oratio ipsi David. | A prayer for David himself. |
Inclína, Dómine, aurem tuam, et exáudi me : * quóniam inops, et pauper sum ego. | Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am needy and poor. |
2 Custódi ánimam meam, quóniam sanctus sum : * salvum fac servum tuum, Deus meus, sperántem in te. | 2 Preserve my soul, for I am holy: save your servant, O my God, that trusts in you. |
3 Miserére mei, Dómine, quóniam ad te clamávi tota die : * lætífica ánimam servi tui, quóniam ad te, Dómine, ánimam meam levávi. | 3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I have cried to you all the day. 4 Give joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul. |
4 Quóniam tu, Dómine, suávis et mitis : * et multæ misericórdiæ ómnibus invocántibus te. | 5 For you, O Lord, are sweet and mild: and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon you. |
5 Auribus pércipe, Dómine, oratiónem meam : * et inténde voci deprecatiónis meæ. | 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer: and attend to the voice of my petition |
6 In die tribulatiónis meæ clamávi ad te : * quia exaudísti me. | 7 I have called upon you in the day of my trouble: because you have heard me. |
7 Non est símilis tui in diis, Dómine : * et non est secúndum ópera tua. | 8 There is none among the gods like unto you, O Lord: and there is none according to your works. |
8 Omnes gentes quascúmque fecísti, vénient, et adorábunt coram te, Dómine : * et glorificábunt nomen tuum. | 9 All the nations you have made shall come and adore before you, O Lord: and they shall glorify your name. |
9 Quóniam magnus es tu, et fáciens mirabília : * tu es Deus solus. | 10 For you are great and do wonderful things: you are God alone. |
10 Deduc me, Dómine, in via tua, et ingrédiar in veritáte tua : * lætétur cor meum ut tímeat nomen tuum. | 11 Conduct me, O Lord, in your way, and I will walk in your truth: let my heart rejoice that it may fear your name. |
11 Confitébor tibi, Dómine, Deus meus, in toto corde meo, * et glorificábo nomen tuum in ætérnum. | 12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name for ever: |
12 Quia misericórdia tua magna est super me : * et eruísti ánimam meam ex inférno inferióri. | 13 For your mercy is great towards me: and you have delivered my soul out of the lower hell. |
13 Deus iníqui insurrexérunt super me, et synagóga poténtium quæsiérunt ánimam meam : * et non proposuérunt te in conspéctu suo. | 14 O God, the wicked are risen up against me, and the assembly of the mighty have sought my soul: and they have not set you before their eyes. |
14 Et tu, Dómine, Deus miserátor et miséricors, * pátiens, et multæ misericórdiæ, et verax. | 15 And you, O Lord, are a God of compassion, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and true. |
15 Réspice in me, et miserére mei, * da impérium tuum púero tuo : et salvum fac fílium ancíllæ tuæ. | 16 O look upon me, and have mercy on me: give your command to your servant, and save the son of your handmaid. |
16 Fac mecum signum in bonum, ut vídeant qui odérunt me, et confundántur : * quóniam tu, Dómine, adjuvísti me, et consolátus es me. | 17 Show me a token for good: that they who hate me may see, and be confounded, because you, O Lord, have helped me and have comforted me. |
Several of the other psalms of Friday Matins are similarly pertinent to the events of Good Friday: Psalm 93 is used at Good Friday Tenebrae for this reason, while Psalms 86, 88, 92, 96, 96 and 100 are all relevant to its themes.
Friday Lauds
As for Thursday, the Friday canticle, from Habbakuk, has clearly been selected for its appropriateness to the day, as it has long been interpreted as referring to the Passion.
One of the longstanding puzzles of the Benedictine Office, though is why the two variable psalms of the day vary from those in the Roman secular Office.
St Benedict, of course, specifically stated that he was using the variable psalms of the ancient Roman Office of his time, viz Psalms 75 and 91. The Roman Office as it has come down to us though, has only one variable psalm each day not two, and for Friday it is Psalm 142, which is used on Saturday in the Benedictine Office.
The most obvious explanation (albeit contra the liturgists), is that the Lauds psalm allocation changed after St Benedict's time, most likely as part of St Gregory the Great's 'strengthening' of the antiphoner (as the Liber Pontificalis describes it); presumably in fact code for shifting the Roman Office to an entirely fixed weekly psalm cursus.
The rationale for the older psalm selection is surely straightforward: Psalm 75's verse 'terra tremuit' surely refers to the earthquake that occurred at Christ's death on the cross, while Psalm 91 was the psalm used at the sabbath sacrifice in Jewish tradition.
Prime
It is notable too, that Prime on Friday is similarly strongly connected to the Passion.
It opens with Psalm 15, which both SS Peter and Paul used in sermons reported in Acts (Chapter 2&13) to speak about Christ’s crucifixion, descent into hell, and resurrection.
Psalm 16 is the intense prayer of the just man facing death, with verse 13 speaking of someone captured by his enemies and about to be killed.
And the final psalm of the hour, the first half of Psalm 17, is generally interpreted as witnessing to Christ as the perfect sacrifice by virtue of his obedience. The centrepiece of this part of the psalm is a dramatic theophany, a storm that shakes the earth with God’s anger, echoing the ‘terra tremuit’ verse in Psalm 75 at Lauds.
Vespers
Earlier this Lent I provided notes on the first psalm of Friday Vespers, which has long been interpreted as relating to the themes of this day.
The hour ends though, on a note of triumph, singing of the Kingship of Christ both witnessed to on the cross, and central to his descent into Hades.
As we contemplate the Passion today, then, let us also look forward to his glorious Resurrection. Resurrection.
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