The liturgical genius of St Benedict: Christ the fulfillment of the law**

Those who have been listening to Fr Cassian Folsom's series on Praying without Ceasing will know that one of his key themes has been the need to recover the reading of the psalms as the Fathers and St Benedict would have read them, above all, Christologically.   Fr Cassian has also drawn attention to the idea that St Benedict literally interprets the Office as being about Christ: put nothing before the work of God/Put nothing before Christ.

I came across a possible solution to something that has been puzzling me yesterday, and it is a nice example, I think, that takes what Fr Cassian has been talking about just a step further.  Accordingly, I thought I would share it partly by way of encouragement to catch up with his talks if you haven't already done so; partly as a taster for some broader research on the structure of the Office I hope to share here in due course; and also to stimulate your own meditations on the Office.

Any  comments on the plausibility or otherwise of my hypotheses below will be gratefully received on or offline.

The puzzle of Prime

One of the key features of the Benedictine Office, compared to the Roman Office that St Benedict took as his starting point, is the design of Prime.  In the old Roman Office, Prime to None were the same every day, featuring Psalm 118.  St Benedict instead varies the psalms for this hour every day, using Psalms 1-2, 6-19 and four stanzas of Psalm 118.

In many ways the use of these particular psalms is an odd one on the face of it, for instead of Sunday Matins starting the week with Psalm 1, it starts seemingly in the middle of things, with Psalm 20 (though as it turns out, that psalm is particularly apt to Sunday given that the Fathers saw it as pertaining to the Resurrection; and the likewise the psalms that follow).

Once one starts looking more closely though, there are in fact several reasons why St Benedict might have chosen to highlight these particular psalms.  Dom John Fortin pointed out some years back, for example, that they seem to echo some of the key themes in the Rule [1].

Christ the fulfillment of the law?

The particular feature of the Prime psalms that I've been interested in though, is their emphasis on the law. There are, in the psalter, three psalms that deal above all with the law, known as the three 'Torah psalms', namely Psalms 1, 18 (19) and 118 (119).  All three feature at Prime one day after another: Psalm 18, which features the line 'The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul' on Saturday (the old Sabbath); four stanzas of Psalm 118, the long hymn in praise of the law, on Sunday; and Psalm 1, 'Happy the man...who meditates on the law day and night', on Monday.

The threefold repetition is surely no accident, but rather symbolises the Trinity and perfection.

But what seemed particularly puzzling to me is why St Benedict arranges things so that this little trilogy starts on Saturday.  One possible answer is suggested, I think, by yesterday's Matins readings (for Thursday in the third week of Lent).

One of the most important themes of the Fathers was the idea of Christ as the fulfilment of the law.  A nice example of how this theme plays out in Patristic Scriptural exegesis is provided by St Ambrose's comments on why the first miracles recorded in St Luke's Gospel are of Christ healing on the Sabbath.  St Ambrose comments that:

"That the Lord began to heal on the Sabbath-day showeth in a figure how that the new creation beginneth where the old creation ended. 

It showeth, moreover, that the Son of God, Who is come not to destroy the law but to fulfil the law, is not under the law, but above the law.

Neither was it by the law, but by the Word, that the world was created, as it is written "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made."

The law, then, is not destroyed, but fulfilled, in the Redemption of fallen man. Whence also the Apostle saith: "Put off, concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

Our hymn of praise to the law at Prime then, starts, as St Ambrose suggests on the Sabbath, to symbolise that the new creation starts where the old ends.

It continues on the 'eighth day', that celebrates the Resurrection and our redemption.

And is repeated a third time on Monday, a day I suggest that St Benedict makes a celebration of the Incarnation (most of the psalms of Matins are clearly linked to this theme by the patristic commentaries, indeed virtually the whole of the Benedictus and Magnificat can be reconstructed from lines in these psalms; moreover, Psalm 2 at Prime gives us the Introit verse for the Midnight Mass of Christmas).

It is a nice tie in that seems to me to illustrate the deeply Christological approach that St Benedict took to the design of his Office.

Christ the King

Just to reinforce that point, I should note that St Benedict actually takes the repetition of ideas further than the idea of Christ as the fulfillment of the law, for it is not just the 'Torah' psalms themselves we should look at, but also the other psalms placed with them.

In particular, on both Saturday and Monday we are also presented, in the following psalm, with the image of Christ the victorious king.  Michael Barber, in his book Singing in the Reign [2], drew attention to the similarities in content between Psalms 1 and 2 (Monday), and Psalms 18 (19) and 19 (20) (Saturday):

"Psalm 19 [18] is unique because of  its strong emphasis on wisdom.  Its role may be better understood when examined in light of Psalm 20 [19].  Together these two psalms - situated at the centre of book I - mirror Psalms 1 and 2.  Psalm 19 exalts the law of the Lord, the source of wisdom: "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (v. 7).  Them Psalm 20 evokes Psalm 2, speaking of the Lord's deliverance of the Davidic king from his enemies, sending support from Zion.  Thus, as in Psalms 1 and 2, wisdom is connected with the victorious Davidic king."

A similar point can be made on the similarities in content between these two sets of psalms, and the first four stanzas of Psalm 118 St Benedict uses at Sunday Prime.  Both Sunday Prime and Monday, for example, begin with a beatitude, praise the importance of the law, call for or prophesy the destruction of enemies and point to the victory 'over princes' (Ps 2; Ps 118, esp 21-23).

There is also arguably a reason why St Benedict uses Psalm 118 at Sunday Prime rather than Saturday or Monday, for on Monday, the beatitude contained in Psalm 1 'Happy the Man' is singular, referring as St Augustine insists in his commentary, to Christ himself.  Psalm 118, on the other hand, opens with a plural beatitude (Happy those who...): for Christ has opened the way to many through his Resurrection.

This particular example of a key motif in the Benedictine Office is also strongly suggestive of the linkages between the organisation of the Benedictine Office and St Benedict's spirituality more generally.

The dominant image of Christ as King certainly seems to echo through the Rule of St Benedict, for the very opening lines of the Prologue invite the monk to enlist in the army of the true King, Christ, and its an image that is repeated several times through the Rule directly (eg 42.4; 61.10), as well as underpinning the directions on how to pray (Chapter 20) and how to welcome visitors (RB 53).  A similar point can be made about the association between the Rule and the law.

The spirituality of St Benedict's Office?

Is this all too much of a stretch?  Personally I think that this example serves to illustrate the importance of looking at the psalms the way St Benedict would have, in order to unpack the true depths of meaning of his Office, and has hopefully served as a taster for a more thorough reconsideration of the design of the Benedictine Office.

Most contemporary commentators on St Benedict's Office, it has to be said, have struggled to find any systematic thematic or programmatic intent in St Benedict's psalm selections [3].  The consensus view has long been that established by Dom Adalbert de Vogue back in the 1960s, to the effect that St Benedict's changes to the old Roman Psalter were essentially minor ones, aimed primarily at giving the hours from Prime to None a little more variety. [4]  Indeed, James McKinnon summarised the received view on St Benedict's reforms of the Office as follows:

"The process was clearly not one motivated by selecting thematically appropriate psalms.  There was a measure of that only at Lauds and Compline.  Rather, the process was, in Vogues words, a "mechanistic" one, "a matter of a very modest task of arithmetic."[5]

My view is though, that a careful look at the psalms read in the light of the Fathers, as well as close examination of what actually lies behind the liturgical provisions of the Rule, will lead to a rather different conclusion.

Far from being purely mechanistic, I think St Benedict's construction of his Office was a very deliberate work indeed, with his ordering of the psalter aimed at providing both horizontal and vertical unity to it, and reflects a deeply Christological theology.

I'm certainly not the first to suggest this: there have been a few lonely voices that have hints of a deeper spirituality behind St Benedict's design of his psalter, and my comments build on this work. [6]  One key recent contribution, I think, is that of ex-Trappist turned Orthodox scholar Patrick Reardon, who has pointed to the existence of a weekly cycle in both the Orthodox and Benedictine Offices, that runs from Wednesday to Sunday each week and echoes the events of Holy Week. [7]  This cycle, he suggests, starts on Wednesday, with the betrayal of Christ by Judas (reflected in the fact that this was traditionally a fast day in the Benedictine Rule), takes in the events of the Triduum, and ends on Sunday, with a weekly mini-Easter Day celebration of the Resurrection.  All the same, he argues that the Benedictine psalter's programmatic focus is relatively limited, particularly compared to the Orthodox version.

My own view is that closer examination reveals that St Benedict's program is actually much more far reaching.  The bottom line is that in my view, far from representing a purely mechanistic process of adaptation, St Benedict's Office arguably represents a very deliberate spiritual agenda indeed.

Such an agenda does not, of course, have to be understood explicitly in order to shape a particular spirituality: as the experience of the old and new rites of the Mass suggests, an implicit theology can be a surprisingly powerful force in shaping attitudes and understandings.

Prime is of course, one of those hours that no longer exists in the horariums of most modern monasteries.  Indeed, even many monasteries that still say the entire psalter each week have abolished the hour.

Accordingly, making explicit what is implicit in St Benedict's Office may help make the case for the recovery of St Benedict's Office as part of the patrimony of his Order, as well as stimulate our own meditations on the psalms, and enhance our understanding of the Office more generally.  Accordingly, I hope you have found this 'taster' of interest.

Footnotes

[1] John D Fortin, “The Presence of God: a linguistic and thematic link between the doctrinal and liturgical sections of the Rule of Saint Benedict”, Downside Review 117 (1999) 293-308.

[2] Michael Barber, Singing in the Reign The Psalms and the Liturgy of God's Kingdom (with an introduction by Scott Hahn), Emmaus Road Publishing, 2001; pp90.

[3]  The two standard histories of the Office in general, which draw together and provide references to most of the key research on the Benedictine Office are Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West The Origins of the Divine Office and its Meaning for Today, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, rev ed, 1993, and Paul F Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church A Study of the Origin and Early Development of the Divine Office, Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008 reprint.

[4] For the mainstream views of the Office within the Order, see Adalbert de Vogüé, OSB, The Rule of Saint Benedict A Doctrinal and Spiritual Commentary, trans John Baptist Hasbrouck, Cistercian Publications: Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1983, pp 127-163; Timothy Fry OSB, Imogene Baker OSB, Timothy Horner OSB, Augusta Raabe OSB and Mark Sheridan OSB editors.  RB 1980. The Rule of St Benedict in Latin and English with Notes. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1981; and Terrence G. Kardong, OSB, Benedict’s Rule. A Translation and Commentary. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996, pp209-217.

[5] James McKinnon, "The Origins of the Western Office", pp 63-73 in The Divine Office in the Middle Ages, Methodology and Source Studies, Regional Developments, Hagiography, Written in Honor of Professor Ruth Steiner, edited by Ruth Steiner, Margot Elsbeth Fassler, Rebecca Anne Baltzer, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000: 72.

[6] See for example Laszlo Dobszay,“Critical Reflections on the Bugnini Liturgy: The Divine Office”, 1983 PDF available from http://musicasacra.com/literature/

[7] Patrick Henry Reardon, Christ in the Psalms, Conciliar Press, revised 2011.  See especially pp 125-126; 181-182.  It should be noted that helpful as this book is, it needs to be treated with some care from a Catholic perspective.  I should also note that I've recently come across a reference to a book on the psalms of the Benedictine psalter by the German monk Georg Braulik, which from its blurb at least sounds promising in this context; my copy has yet to arrive however.

**Update: I've now got the Braulik book, and at first glance at least, though of academic interest at least (providing you can read German) it is less relevant than I had hoped, being concerned primarily with modern arrangements of the psalter rather than St Benedict's (though there is a chapter on the Sunday Office that may have some relevant material in it).


**Cross-posted from Saints Will Arise

Canticle for Our Lady: Sirach 39:17-21

la Vierge au buisson de roses Schongauer,
Gardner Museum

Over the last few Sundays I've been looking at the canticle used at Matins in the Benedictine Office.

Today being the feast of the Purification, the 1962 Monastic Breviary specifies the use of the Common of Our Lady.

Accordingly, the three canticles of the day are Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 39:17-21; Isaiah 61:1011, 62:1-3; and Isaiah 62:4-7.

Here is the text of the first one, from Sirach, with versification as used in the liturgy.

Common of Our Lady Canticle 1: Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 39:17-21

Canticum Ecclesiastici (39:17-21)

Obaudíte me, divíni fructus, * et quasi rosa plantáta super rivos aquárum fructificáte.	Hear me, ye divine offspring, and bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters.
Quasi Líbanus * odórem suavitátis habéte.	Give ye a sweet odour as frankincense.
Floréte flores, quasi lílium, et date odórem, † et frondéte in grátiam; et collaudáte cánticum, * et benedícite Dóminum in opéribus suis.	Send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell, and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in his works.
Date nómini eius magnificéntiam, † et confitémini illi in voce labiórum vestrórum, * et in cánticis labiórum, et cítharis;	Magnify his name, and give glory to him with the voice of your lips, and with the canticles of your mouths, and with harps;
Et sic dicétis in confessióne: * Opera Dómini univérsa bona valde.	And in praising him, you shall say in this manner: All the works of the Lord are exceeding good.
Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The imagery of roses and lilies (verses 1-3) have long been associated with Our Lady in iconography, presenting Our Lady as the fulfillment of this injunction.  Verses 4-5 clearly presage the Magnificat.

More generally, these verses can perhaps be seen as a call to imitate Our Lady in holiness and thanksgiving to God for his works of creation and salvation, hence its use for female saints more generally. Challoner for example comments that: "He speaks to the children of Israel, the people of God: whom he exhorts to bud forth and flourish with virtue."

Wednesday in the Benedictine Office

Duccio: The betrayal of Judas

Wednesday is, I think, a challenging day in the Benedictine Office.

There are a number of reasons for this.

First it is quite a long day - Vespers in particular is the longest of the week, at 69 verses all up.

Secondly, it contains some of the more challenging psalms of the psalter, particularly at Vespers, with assorted bits of smiting (in Psalms 134&135) and bashing of babies (Psalm 136, By the Rivers of Babylon), all normally sung to Tone 3 which I always find rather disconcertingly cloying given the words.

Above all, though, the psalms of the day dwell on themes that are deeply confronting and counter-cultural, even (perhaps especially) within contemporary Catholicism, including the reality of malice and betrayal; the closing off of the Old Testament and the election of the Church; and punishment for sin.

So it is a hard day, I think, for us to meditate on.  But an extremely necessary one.

We are all Judas's

The key theme of the day is, I think, man's malice, most particularly as manifested in the councils of the Jews plotting to kill Our Lord and the betrayal of Judas.

In the liturgy of Holy Week, Wednesday is called 'Spy Wednesday' because of its association with these events.  It was a fast day throughout the year for this reason, and St Benedict certainly follows this very ancient tradition in his own prescriptions on fasting, making Wednesday one of the two days a week with only one meal for most of the year.

Does he echo the theme liturgically however?

Contemporary Orthodox (and former Trappist) theologian Patrick Reardon certainly thinks so in the case of Lauds at least, arguing that:

“Wednesday’s relationship to the betrayal of Jesus seems to be the major reason that Psalm 63 (Hebrew 64) has been associated with that day for many centuries.  The Rule of St Benedict, in the sixth century, already testifies to what appears to have been the older custom of praying this psalm on Wednesday mornings at Matins.” (Christ in the Psalms, p125)

I agree, and think that the other psalms of the day can be prayed as a meditation on the rejection of Jesus by his own, and the consequences all this has had for salvation history.  And of course this meditation must be applied to our own lives and times as well, for in our day many once again reject the Gospel; for we are all Judas's, crucifying Jesus through our sins; and we must all decide whether to accept God's choice of us for his own.

The consequences of betrayal

One of those uncomfortable, unfashionable truths Wednesday's Office confronts us with is not just the reality of our own betrayals of God, the sins we all continue to commit that crucified Christ, but also the consequences of those choices.

Several of the psalms of the day deal with the punishments God meted out to his people as punishment for their sins.  The day opens, for example, at Matins, with Psalm 59, which describes a defeat suffered by the Israelites at the hands of the pagans because God is angry with them.

Indeed, the very opening verse of the first Nocturn at Matins sets the scene with these words: O God, you have cast us off, and have destroyed us; you have been angry...

The old and new covenants

The most immediate consequences of the rejection of God represented by Judas' betrayal though, was surely the fate of Jews of the time following their rejection of Christ.

The situation of modern Jews when it comes to the Church is sensitive territory these days, for many in the Church, swayed by the desire to promote inter-religious unity, advocate ideas that are at odds with both Scripture and tradition.  But the traditional view, which as Fr Hunwicke has recently carefully set out (do go read his series of posts on this subject) is not contradicted by Vatican II's teaching on the subject, is that because the Jews of his time mostly rejected Jesus as the Messiah, the old covenant is closed off: the Jews are no longer the chosen people, for they are displaced by the Church.

The Church is based on the faithful remnant of the Jewish people of course, consisting of the apostles and disciples and their subsequent converts.  But the Mosaic Covenant has been closed, and the Jewish people have been dispossessed just as the Canaanites were in their time, and their inheritance given to the new Israel, the Church, which is open to gentiles and Jews alike.

In fact Hbrabanus Maurus' early medieval monastic commentary on the Office Canticles reminds of us St Paul's discussion of those famously barren women of the Old Testament granted a child who is preferred over that of a hated rival as foreshadowing the closing off of the old covenant with the Jewish people, and the opening of the new to all nations (Galatians 4).  Maurus says:

“But on Wednesday the Canticle of Anna the prophetess is sung, in which the expulsion of the perfidious Jews is set out, and the election of the Church of the gentiles is demonstrated.” 

God's choices

The idea that God chooses individuals and peoples as his own, and intervenes in history to advance his plan for them is something our egalitarian, aggressively secularist, society tends to shy at, but is repeated over and over in today's psalms.

The sentiments of the canticle of Hannah, with her rejoicing at becoming pregnant at last and bearing a son meant for great things is clearly the direct source of many of the verses of Our Lady's Magnificat, her own song of exaltation at being chosen to be the Mother of God.

And the first two psalms of Vespers celebrate God's interventions to choose the Jewish people out of all the nations of the world, to bring them out of Egypt, and bring them into the Promised Land.  We can see them as foreshadowing the establishment of the Church.

A Redemption triptych?

In fact these two psalms of Vespers seem to me to form something of a deliberate triptych with the opening psalms of Vespers on Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday, Psalm 113  rehearses the parting of the Red Sea and Jordan as a type of our baptism, and the rejection of idolatry and election of Israel as a type of the Church.

On Tuesday, Psalm 129's concluding verse promises redemption through Christ.

Psalm 134 repeats Psalm 113's verses on the impotence of false idols, and takes us through the key events of salvation history.

Psalm 135 covers virtually identical ground, but concludes with a verse on God providing food to 'all flesh' that can be interpreted as the opening of the covenant to the gentiles.

They can also usefully provide a meditation for us on the nature of God, a theme continued in the opening psalm of Thursday (with Psalm 139 as a meditation on his omniscience and omnipotence).

Babylon or Jerusalem?

A key point to note is that Wednesday's psalms are strongly at odds with the modern idea that pretty much everyone will be saved, regardless of whether or not they have actually sought to follow Christ.  Rather, they contain a clear message: stay faithful to God, and he will aid you; reject him, and he will reject you.

The Prime psalms in particular point to the need for prayers and grace, for heroic perseverance at a time when heresy, indifference and atheism are rife.  Nowhere, though, is the choice that we must each make - between the city of God or the city of men - made clearer, perhaps, than in Psalm 136, By the rivers of Babylon, sung at Vespers.

Wednesday in the Office is, I think, something of a 'tough love' day, reminding us that just as evil men constantly circled around Jesus trying to trap him and find the moment to bring him down, so can we expect the same treatment.  Worse, we can all be tempted to utterly betray Christ through our sins.

This hard message is, though, always tempered by the constant reminder that repentance is always possible: God's punishments are meant to cause amendment.

Out of death comes life: the seed must die

A second thread to the day is, I think, that God intervenes in history in order to bring good out of evil: our sufferings are for a purpose, and have meaning.

In particular, the Wednesday Office reminds us, as part of the weekly cycle on the life of Christ, that what is to come - Jesus' suffering and death - was a necessary sacrifice, made to reopen to way the heaven for us.

Psalm 64, a harvest hymn said at Lauds, and Psalm 137, the closing psalm of Vespers both reflect this theme, with Psalm 64 telling us that the Lord has ‘visited the earth, and have plentifully watered it; you have many ways enriched it’, such that the streams are full, and everything is set for a ripe harvest, surely a fitting image for the day on which Scripture tells us that Christ spoke to his disciples of the necessity of the wheat seed dying so that the new harvest could be planted.

Our Lord on Spy Wednesday

Yet in many ways the overarching image for the day is provided, I think, by the last verses of the last psalm of Prime, which describes evil men circling, waiting for the moment to attack, just as they did Christ throughout his ministry, but most especially on that final Wednesday before the first Triduum.

In keeping with these challenging themes, Wednesday's variable psalms end on a somewhat ambivalent note, with the words of Psalm 137 echoing Psalm 23 (the Lord is my shepherd), in speaking of the trust we can all have in God when things look dire - but also, perhaps, foreshadowing the abandonment that Christ faced on the Cross:

"Though affliction surround my path, thou dost preserve me; it is thy power that confronts my enemies’ malice, thy right hand that rescues me. My purposes the Lord will yet speed; thy mercy, Lord, endures for ever, and wilt thou abandon us, the creatures of thy own hands?" (Knox translation)

THE PSALMS OF WEDNESDAY

Matins

(Note: Psalm 3 &Psalm 94 said daily)

Psalm 59
Psalm 60
Psalm 61
Psalm 65
Psalm 67 (divided)

Psalm 68 (divided) (in the context of Tenebrae)
Psalm 69 (Mass propers; in context of Tenebrae
Psalm 70 (in the context of Tenebrae)
Psalm 71 (in the context of Tenebrae)
Psalm 72 (in the context of Tenebrae)

Lauds

(Note: Psalms 66, 50 and 148-150 are said daily)

Introduction to Psalm 63 (Psalm 63 in the context of Tenebrae)
Introduction to Psalm 64

Canticle of Anna (Hannah) (1 Kings 2: 1-10)
or
Canticle of Judith (Judith 16: 15-21) (festal)

Prime

Introduction to Psalm 9 (Pt 2 aka Psalm 10)
Introduction to Psalm 10
Introduction to Psalm 11

Terce to None: as on Tuesday

Vespers

Introduction to Psalm 134 (with links to verse by verse notes)
Introduction to Psalm 135 (with links to verse by verse notes)
Introduction to Psalm 136 (with links to verse by verse notes)
Introduction to Psalm 137 (with links to verse by verse notes)

Compline: same psalms said daily: 4, 90, 133

Psalm 5: Verses 7b-9

As we enter the New Year, today's verses of Psalm 5 provide a suitable plea for mercy and guidance from God, reflected in the hymn Lead Me Lord.

Verse notes

7b: Ego autem in multitúdine misericórdiæ tuæ but I, in the abundance of your mercy

Ego (I) autem (but) in multitúdine (in the abundance) misericórdiæ (mercy) tuæ (your)

abominor, atus sum, ari  to abhor, loathe, detest.

multitudo, inis f,  a large number, multitude. abundance, greatness.  as an adjective, great, mighty

misericordia, ae, f  mercy, kindness, favor, compassion, loving-kindness.

The Fathers offer competing interpretations of this phrase.  St Augustine, for example, suggests it points to our entry into community of the Church or more particularly in the Benedictine context, the monastery: "perhaps he means in the multitude of perfected and blessed men, of whom that city shall consist, of which the Church is now in travail, and is bearing few by few."  Bellarmine provides it rather as a statement of our reliance on grace, rather than our own efforts: "...as much as to say, relying on thy great mercy, and not on my own strength, to avoid sin."

8. Introíbo in domum tuam: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum in timóre tuo.

I will come into your house; I will worship towards your holy temple, in your fear.

Introíbo (I will go in) in domum (into the house) tuam (your) adorábo (I will adore/worship) ad (at/to/towards) templum (the temple or tabernacle) sanctum (holy) tuum  (your) in timóre (in fear of) tuo (you)

There are several possible ways of interpreting ‘ad templum’.  The use of 'ad' suggests that the psalmist could be referring to the tabernacle, the arc kept in the tent or temporary housing it was lodged in at David's time, suggesting that the phrase be translated as I will worship near or towards your temple/tabernacle. 

introeo, ivi or ii, itum, ire, to go into, to enter.

domus, us, f. a house, structure; a house, abode, dwelling place; Temple; ;a race, people, nation; the priesthood.

adoro, avi, atum, are,  to worship, adore

templum, i, n.  the Sanctuary or new Tabernacle on Mount Sion; a temple-like structure; heaven; a palace.

sanctus, a, um,  holy.

timor, oris, m. fear; an object of fear.

St Augustine interprets the reference to worshipping near, rather than in, the temple or tabernacle as an acknowledgment that we are on the path, making progress towards perfection, but have not yet reached it.  In the New Testament context, one can see it as a reference to Christ in the tabernacle, for, as Cassiodorus points out: "The holy temple is the Lord Saviour's body which the Church rightly worships because through it she has merited veneration; for He said of His body Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up". The last phrase of the verse instructs us that to advance in charity, we must worship with a sense of holy fear.  As Chrysostom comments: "Not like many of those at prayer, scratching themselves, yawning, bored, he is saying, but in fear and trembling."

9. Dómine, deduc me in justítia tua: propter inimícos meos dírige in conspéctu tuo viam meam.

Conduct me, O Lord, in your justice: because of my enemies, direct my way in your sight.

Dómine (O Lord), deduc (lead) me (me) in justítia (in justice) tua (your) propter (on account of/because of) inimícos (the enemies) meos (my) dírige (direct/guide/make straight) in conspéctu (in yur sight/presence) tuo (your) viam (way) meam (my)

The Vulgate makes the first phrase ‘direct my way in your sight’; the Neo-Vulgate 'corrects' this to ‘direct in my presence your ways’.  There is an interesting debate behind this: Boylan, Bird and other twentieth century commentators assumed that the meo and tuam have been inadvertently reversed; and the New English Ttranslation of the Septuagint has adopted the NV reading.  Ladouceur noted, however, that the sense is similar and the original reading could be a deliberately parallel phrasing to the ‘deduc me’.

deduco, duxi ductum, ere 3, to lead or bring down;  guide, lead, conduct

justitia, ae, f justice, righteousness, innocence, piety, moral integrity

propter, on account of, by reason of, because of, from, for, for the sake of. therefore, on that account.

dirigo, rexi, rectum, ere 3  to direct, guide, set aright. (a) to prosper, to be established.

conspectus, us, m.  sight, presence;

via, ae, f a way, road, path, street. God's way, way of life,

There is a classic hymn based on this verse (joined to Psalm 4:8) by Samuel Wesley that can serve as our contemplation.  The lyrics are:  Lead me, Lord, lead me in thy righteousness; make thy way plain before my face. For it is thou, Lord, thou, Lord only, that makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 5: Verba mei auribus

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro ea quæ hæreditatem consequitur. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, for her that obtains the inheritance. A psalm for David.
1 Verba mea áuribus pércipe, Dómine, * intéllege clamórem meum.	Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry
2. Inténde voci oratiónis meæ: * Rex meus et Deus meus	Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God
3  Quóniam ad te orábo: * Dómine, mane exáudies vocem meam.	For to you will I pray: O Lord, in the morning you shall hear my voice
4  Mane astábo tibi et vidébo: * quóniam non Deus volens iniquitátem tu es.	In the morning I will stand before you, and I will see: because you are not a God that wills iniquity.
5  Neque habitábit juxta te malígnus: * neque permanébunt injústi ante óculos tuos.	Neither shall the wicked dwell near you: nor shall the unjust abide before your eyes.
6  Odísti omnes, qui operántur iniquitátem: * perdes omnes, qui loquúntur mendácium.	You hate all the workers of iniquity: you will destroy all that speak a lie
7  Virum sánguinum et dolósum abominábitur Dóminus: * ego autem in multitúdine misericórdiæ tuæ.	The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor.  But as for me in the multitude of your mercy,
8  Introíbo in domum tuam: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum in timóre tuo.	I will come into your house; I will worship towards your holy temple, in your fear.
9  Dómine, deduc me in justítia tua: * propter inimícos meos dírige in conspéctu tuo viam meam.	Conduct me, O Lord, in your justice: because of my enemies, direct my way in your sight.
10  Quóniam non est in ore eórum véritas: * cor eórum vanum est.	For there is no truth in their mouth: their heart is vain.
11  Sepúlcrum patens est guttur eórum, linguis suis dolóse agébant, * júdica illos, Deus.	Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God
12  Décidant a cogitatiónibus suis, secúndum multitúdinem impietátum eórum expélle eos, * quóniam irritavérunt te, Dómine.	Let them fall from their devices: according to the   multitude of their wickednesses cast them out: for they have provoked you, O Lord.
13  Et læténtur omnes, qui sperant in te, * in ætérnum exsultábunt: et habitábis in eis.	But let all them be glad that hope in you: they shall rejoice for ever, and you shall dwell in them.
14  Et gloriabúntur in te omnes, qui díligunt nomen tuum: * quóniam tu benedíces justo.	And all they that love your name shall glory in you. For you will bless the just.
15  Dómine, ut scuto bonæ voluntátis tuæ * coronásti nos.	O Lord, you have crowned us, as with a shield of   your good will.

You can find the next set of notes on this psalm here.

Psalm 5: verses 4b-7a

Psalm 5 is used in several different contexts in the Office, but the message of verses 4 to 7 is simple and important at all times: repent, and turn away from sin lest we perish.  A suitable message to ponder before the start of the New Year!

Verse by verse notes

The second section of Psalm 5 warns us of the necessity of conversion.

4b: Quóniam non Deus volens iniquitátem tu es because you are not a God that wills iniquity

5: Neque habitábit juxta te malígnus: neque permanébunt injústi ante óculos tuos.  Neither shall the wicked dwell near you: nor shall the unjust abide before your eyes.

4b: quóniam (because) non (not) Deus (God) volens  (wishing) iniquitátem (iniquity/wickedness) tu (you) es (you are) 5 Neque (neither) habitábit (he will live/dwell) juxta (near) te (you) malígnus (the wicked [man] neque (neither) permanébunt (they will endure/abide/remain) injústi (the unjust) ante (before) óculos (eyes) tuos (your)

Knox translates this rather poetically as: No evil thing claims thy divine assent; with thee baseness cannot dwell; nor rebellion hold its ground at thy coming. 

volo, volui, velle, to will, wish, desire; to have pleasure or delight in, to love, hold dear, desire

iniquitas, atis, f iniquity, injustice, sin.

juxta, prep, with acc, near, close to, at hand. according to; adv., near, close to, by the side of.

malignus, a, um adj.,evil, malicious, malignant; subst., malignus, i, m., an evil-doer, a malicious or wicked person

permaneo, mansi, mansum, ere 2, to remain, abide, continue, endure.

injustitia, ae, f (injustus), injustice, iniquity, sin..

What are we to meditate on during this early watch (of v4)?  

Surely the necessity of conversion.  

In this life, both good and evil flourish within the Church (and without it) and we are encouraged to love the sinner even while hating the sin, in the hope that the sinner will yet repent. Cassiodorus, for example, quotes Ezekiel as saying "On whatever day the wicked man turns from his wickedness, all his wickedness will be forgotten."  

All the same, the moment of judgment does ultimately come, for is perfect good and evil cannot co-exist with him.

6. Odísti omnes, qui operántur iniquitátem: perdes omnes, qui loquúntur mendácium. You hate all the workers of iniquity: you will destroy all that speak a lie

Odísti (you hate) omnes (all) qui (who) operántur (they have worked) iniquitátem (iniquity) perdes (you will destroy) omnes (all) qui (who) loquúntur (they have spoken) mendácium (a lie).

odi and odivi, odisse; other forms, odirem, odiens; to hate. 

operor, atus sum, are, to work, do, carry inot effect, cause, administer

perdo, didi, ditum, ere 3, to destroy.

loquor - to speak, talk, say, tell, mention, utter
mendacium, ii, n. a lie, lying, falsehood

There are two kinds of sins that are specifically mentioned here, as the object of God's hatred - evil actions, and pernicious lies.  For these sins, the consequence of God's justice is not just exclusion from his presence but also punishment.

7a: Virum sánguinum et dolósum abominábitur Dóminus: The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor.

Virum (the man) sánguinum (blood/bloody/bloodthirsty) et (and) dolósum (treacherous/deceitful) abominábitur  (he will detest/abhor) Dóminus (The Lord)

Vir sanguinum is a very literal reproduction of the Hebrew phrase, and means a bloodthirsty man, a man of bloody deeds.

vir, viri, m., a man, any human being

sanguis, mis, m., blood. .

dolosus, a, um  full of craft or guile, deceitful, treacherous; deceiving, lying.

The other category of sinner singled out here is those who live a lie - saying one thing, giving our commitment to it in words, but then maliciously or through sloth and neglect failing to follow through. St John Chrysostom warns us to be particularly on the look out for wolves in sheep's clothing: 

"He refers here to the murderer, the schemer, the fraud, the one who has one thing on his lips and other things in his heart, the one who is a wolf in sheep's clothing, than whom nothing could be worse. In other words, while measures could be taken against an enemy in the open, the one who conceals his wickedness and yet practices evil is not easily detected and commits many crimes. Hence Christ too bids us be on the alert when they come: "They come to you in sheep's cloth­ing, but inwardly they are rapacious wolves."

Psalm 5: Verba mei auribus

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro ea quæ hæreditatem consequitur. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, for her that obtains the inheritance. A psalm for David.
1 Verba mea áuribus pércipe, Dómine, * intéllege clamórem meum.	Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry
2. Inténde voci oratiónis meæ: * Rex meus et Deus meus	Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God
3  Quóniam ad te orábo: * Dómine, mane exáudies vocem meam.	For to you will I pray: O Lord, in the morning you shall hear my voice
4  Mane astábo tibi et vidébo: * quóniam non Deus volens iniquitátem tu es.	In the morning I will stand before you, and I will see: because you are not a God that wills iniquity.
5  Neque habitábit juxta te malígnus: * neque permanébunt injústi ante óculos tuos.	Neither shall the wicked dwell near you: nor shall the unjust abide before your eyes.
6  Odísti omnes, qui operántur iniquitátem: * perdes omnes, qui loquúntur mendácium.	You hate all the workers of iniquity: you will destroy all that speak a lie
7  Virum sánguinum et dolósum abominábitur Dóminus: * ego autem in multitúdine misericórdiæ tuæ.	The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor.  But as for me in the multitude of your mercy,
8  Introíbo in domum tuam: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum in timóre tuo.	I will come into your house; I will worship towards your holy temple, in your fear.
9  Dómine, deduc me in justítia tua: * propter inimícos meos dírige in conspéctu tuo viam meam.	Conduct me, O Lord, in your justice: because of my enemies, direct my way in your sight.
10  Quóniam non est in ore eórum véritas: * cor eórum vanum est.	For there is no truth in their mouth: their heart is vain.
11  Sepúlcrum patens est guttur eórum, linguis suis dolóse agébant, * júdica illos, Deus.	Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God
12  Décidant a cogitatiónibus suis, secúndum multitúdinem impietátum eórum expélle eos, * quóniam irritavérunt te, Dómine.	Let them fall from their devices: according to the   multitude of their wickednesses cast them out: for they have provoked you, O Lord.
13  Et læténtur omnes, qui sperant in te, * in ætérnum exsultábunt: et habitábis in eis.	But let all them be glad that hope in you: they shall rejoice for ever, and you shall dwell in them.
14  Et gloriabúntur in te omnes, qui díligunt nomen tuum: * quóniam tu benedíces justo.	And all they that love your name shall glory in you. For you will bless the just.
15  Dómine, ut scuto bonæ voluntátis tuæ * coronásti nos.	O Lord, you have crowned us, as with a shield of   your good will.

You can find the next set of verse by verse notes on the psalm here.

Psalm 5 and the Incarnation: verses 1-4a

Our Lady Gate of Dawn

I've separately provided an introduction to Psalm 5, so now a look at the psalm verse by verse.

The first few verses set the scene, explaining why this is a psalm suitable for celebrating the Incarnation, but yet also features in the Office of the Dead.

Verse by verse notes

1. Verba mea áuribus pércipe, Dómine, intéllege clamórem meum Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry

Verba (words) mea (my) áuribus (with ears) pércipe (hear), Dómine (O Lord) intéllege (listen/understand/consider) clamórem (the cry/prayer) meum (my).

auris, is, f  the ear.

percipio, cepi, ceptum, ere 3 to perceive;  Auribus percipe, hear, hearken, give ear to.

intelligo, lexi, lectum, ere 3  understand, give heed to something, to consider

clamor, oris, m. a cry, an earnest prayer for help. a cry of distress

Chrysostom sees this verse as the cry of prudent bride, the Church, to Christ the bridegroom; we can also view it as the call of the religious, the bride of Christ, to her husband for aid this day and henceforth, or the cry of the Christian to our heavenly Father, especially as we face death or danger.

The verse also provides a nice link to the contrasting ways of the wick depicted in the second psalm of Monday Lauds, Psalm 35, which includes the verse:

Verba oris ejus iniquitas, et dolus; noluit intelligere ut bene ageret.

The words of his mouth are iniquity and guile: he would not understand that he might do well.

2. Inténde voci oratiónis meæ: * rex meus et Deus meus Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God

Inténde (give heed) voci (to the voice) oratiónis (of the prayer) meæ (of my) rex (king) meus (my) et (and) Deus (God) meus (my)

intendo, tendi, tentum, ere 3,  stretch or bend a bow; direct one's steps, betake one's self; give heed to, pay attention to

vox, vocis, f, the voice of a person, or, the sound of an instrument, thunder. 

oratio, onis, f. prayer, supplication

rex, regis, m.  a king, ruler, lawgiver

St Benedict instructs to be humble when approaching God for help: If we wish to prefer a petition to men of high station, we do not presume to do it without humility and respect; how much more ought we to supplicate the Lord God of all things with all humility and pure devotion (RB 20).  

This verse, then, calling God not friend, but rather King and God, reminds us how to approach Christ with our supplications.  

In the context of recalling the Incarnation, these titles resonate with those listed by Isaiah in the Christmas Canticle extracted from Chapter 9: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Father to the world to come, Prince of peace.

3. Quóniam ad te orábo: * Dómine, mane exáudies vocem meam. For to you will I pray: O Lord, in the morning you shall hear my voice

Quóniam (for) ad (to) te (you) orábo (I will pray) Dómine (O Lord), mane (in the morning/early) exáudies (you will hear) vocem (the voice) meam (my)

oro, avi, atum, are to pray, supplicate, pray to, offer petition to.

mane, adv. (prop, an indecl. subst.), early, morning

exaudio, ivi, Itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer.

The person praying the Office will be reminded, here, of the absolute priority of the Opus Dei, the dedication of the first-fruits of the day to God in Matins and Lauds.  

St John Chrysostom warns: "Let those heed this who come to prayer only after countless activities. Not she, on the contrary: from the dawn of day she gave the first-fruits. "One must precede sunrise in giving you thanks," Scripture says, remember, "and entreat you before the dawning of the day."  

Similarly, St Thomas Aquinas sees in this verse the necessity of our preparation for the making of vows in prayer.

4a. Mane astábo tibi et vidébo: In the morning I will stand before you, and I will see

Mane (early/in the morning) astábo (I will stand) tibi (to you) et (and) vidébo (I will see/consider/keep watch) 

asto stand,  to stand at, by, or near; stand by the side of to help, to assist; to wait upon;  be, remain.

video, vidi, visum, ere 2,  to see, behold; consider; experience, undergo, suffer, realize; keep watch, look for, meditate on

volo, volui, velle, to will, wish, desire; to have pleasure or delight in, to love, hold dear, desire

iniquitas, atis, f iniquity, injustice, sin.

I noted above that the references to the early morning can be interpreted literally.  There is, however, a less literal meaning of morning here though that I think is also worth pondering, and that lies in the idea of the dawning of the age of the new heaven and new earth that will follow the final judgment.

The Old Testament is for us, a time when we as a people walked in darkness, as Isaiah points out in Chapter 9.  The Incarnation changes that, for Christ is the light of the world.  All the same, Christ's work in this world is not yet complete, and will not be until the Second Coming.  Accordingly, the age ushered in by the New Testament is, as Cardinal Ratzinger pointed out in his book The Spirit of the Liturgy, an inbetween time, a time of 'already and not yet' when darkness and light are intermingled, for the City of God is not here yet.

In this time, the liturgy, Pope Benedict argued, provides an image of what is yet to come, standing between shadow and reality.  And those who pray the Office - monks and nuns, above all - play a key role in keeping us fixed on that light.  They are those that keep watch, standing before God to dispel the darkness of the world.  Cassiodorus, for example, commented: 

"Hence one who prays in the morning is recognised as en­gaged in bright conversation, for we speak of morning when darkness is dispelled and the clear daylight gleams. The Church, which ac­knowledges that she has embraced the darkness of sinners, and that she is composed of the darkness of this world, rightly believes that she is heard when she bursts into the light of conversation with heaven. Moreover she repeated the word, morning, because she felt that through God's kindness her mind was inevitably shining whenever in her prayers she stood before God."

It is this verse, perhaps that makes this psalm particularly appropriate for Monday Lauds, a day when we particularly recall the Incarnation.  But its place in the Office of the Dead reflects the fact at the end of our lives everyone of us must face the light of the day, all of us must stand before God awaiting judgment.

Psalm 5: Verba mei auribus

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem, pro ea quæ hæreditatem consequitur. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, for her that obtains the inheritance. A psalm for David.
1 Verba mea áuribus pércipe, Dómine, * intéllege clamórem meum.	Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry
2. Inténde voci oratiónis meæ: * Rex meus et Deus meus	Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God
3  Quóniam ad te orábo: * Dómine, mane exáudies vocem meam.	For to you will I pray: O Lord, in the morning you shall hear my voice
4  Mane astábo tibi et vidébo: * quóniam non Deus volens iniquitátem tu es.	In the morning I will stand before you, and I will see: because you are not a God that wills iniquity.
5  Neque habitábit juxta te malígnus: * neque permanébunt injústi ante óculos tuos.	Neither shall the wicked dwell near you: nor shall the unjust abide before your eyes.
6  Odísti omnes, qui operántur iniquitátem: * perdes omnes, qui loquúntur mendácium.	You hate all the workers of iniquity: you will destroy all that speak a lie
7  Virum sánguinum et dolósum abominábitur Dóminus: * ego autem in multitúdine misericórdiæ tuæ.	The bloody and the deceitful man the Lord will abhor.  But as for me in the multitude of your mercy,
8  Introíbo in domum tuam: * adorábo ad templum sanctum tuum in timóre tuo.	I will come into your house; I will worship towards your holy temple, in your fear.
9  Dómine, deduc me in justítia tua: * propter inimícos meos dírige in conspéctu tuo viam meam.	Conduct me, O Lord, in your justice: because of my enemies, direct my way in your sight.
10  Quóniam non est in ore eórum véritas: * cor eórum vanum est.	For there is no truth in their mouth: their heart is vain.
11  Sepúlcrum patens est guttur eórum, linguis suis dolóse agébant, * júdica illos, Deus.	Their throat is an open sepulchre: they dealt deceitfully with their tongues: judge them, O God
12  Décidant a cogitatiónibus suis, secúndum multitúdinem impietátum eórum expélle eos, * quóniam irritavérunt te, Dómine.	Let them fall from their devices: according to the   multitude of their wickednesses cast them out: for they have provoked you, O Lord.
13  Et læténtur omnes, qui sperant in te, * in ætérnum exsultábunt: et habitábis in eis.	But let all them be glad that hope in you: they shall rejoice for ever, and you shall dwell in them.
14  Et gloriabúntur in te omnes, qui díligunt nomen tuum: * quóniam tu benedíces justo.	And all they that love your name shall glory in you. For you will bless the just.
15  Dómine, ut scuto bonæ voluntátis tuæ * coronásti nos.	O Lord, you have crowned us, as with a shield of   your good will.

You can find the next set of verse by verse notes on Psalm 5 here.