Psalm 127 verse 2 - Labour now to build the Church

Labourers in the vineyard

The second verse of Psalm 127 takes to one of those key recurrent themes in St Benedict's Rule, namely the value of work.

The Rule famously makes an important place for manual work and work in service of the community.  But while St Benedict generally prescribes work as a remedy against idleness and boredom, it is 'the Work of God', the liturgy that builds up the Church, that takes pride of place in the Rule.

And the reference in the Prologue of the Rule to God calling for workers in his vineyard is surely linked in large part to this, given the connection between the hours at which the Master calls for workers, and the hours of the Office, a connection pointed out by St John Cassian.

The recitation of this verse on weekdays, then, can be seen as a reminder of this key aspect of the Benedictine charism.

2	V	Labóres mánuum tuárum quia manducábis: * beátus es, et bene tibi erit.
	NV	Labores manuum tuarum manducabis, beatus es, et bene tibi erit.
	JH	Laborem manuum tuarum cum comederis, beatus tu, et bene tibi erit.
		τοὺς πόνους τῶν καρπῶν σου φάγεσαι μακάριος εἶ καὶ καλῶς σοι ἔσται

  

Labóres (works/labours) mánuum (of the hands) tuárum (your) quia (which/for) manducábis (you will eat): * beátus (blessed) es (you are), et (and) bene (well) tibi (to you) erit (it will be).

  

labor, oris, m.,  work, labor, toil, effort; also the results of one's labor, produce, possessions, etc.

manus, us, /., the hand

manduco, avi, atum, are to eat.

bene, adv.  well; rightly, uprightly.

DR	For you shall eat the labours of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.
Brenton	Thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands: blessed art thou, and it shall be well with thee.
MD	Thou shalt enjoy what thy hands earned: blessed art thou, it shall be well with thee!
RSV	You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
Cover	For thou shalt eat the labours of thine hands; O well is thee, and happy shalt thou be.
Knox	Thyself shall eat what thy hands have toiled to win; blessed thou art; all good shall be thine.
Grail	By the labor of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper;

Living from our own work

At the literal level, the second verse of Psalm 127, which speaks of us being blessed by being able to live on the results of our own work, which can apply to all, but has a particular connotation for monastics, for St Benedict speaks early in the Rule of God calling us to be labourers in his vineyard, and later reminds his monks that:

 And if the circumstances of the place or their poverty should require that they themselves do the work of gathering the harvest, let them not be discontented; for then are they truly monastics when they live by the labor of their hands, as did our Fathers and the Apostles.

St Robert Bellarmine teaches us that it is appropriate for us to seek what is adequate and necessary, but we should reject riches:

Here we should reflect that the Prophet does not make happi­ness to consist in great riches, but in such as have been acquired by the labor of one's hands, and they are, generally speaking, moderate. Great riches either come by inheritance, or from plunder or usury, or some other bad source. St. Jerome quotes an old saying, and a true one, "The rich man is either a rogue or the heir of a rogue;"...Holy David then addresses not only the Jews, but all Christians, when he makes happiness to consist not in great riches, but in a sufficiency; the having wherewithal to live by one's just labor; and he censures two extremes — one, that of those who live on the others entirely; and the other, that of those who will not touch the labor of their hands, but, in a spirit of avarice, put it aside to increase their riches. 

But what about when we can't earn a living?  

We have to be careful about reading this verse too literally, however: God does not guarantee us properity in this life, as St Robert Bellarmine reminds us:

It may happen, however, that some "who fear God," and "walk in his ways," may not be able to eat of the "labors of their hands," and have to endure hunger and thirst, by reason of their having been despoiled, or defrauded of their labor; but that will not bar the promise made in this passage; for if God sometimes lets his friends down so low that they would be glad to satisfy the cravings of their hunger with the fragments that fall from the table of the rich, as was the case with Lazarus, he will certainly give them some­thing better, far better, instead; and that is joy from tribulation...This is peculiarly applicable to the pil­grims, who "rejoice in the tribulation" of want and difficulties; "for they know tribulation worketh patience, and patience trial, and trial hope, and hope confoundeth not, because the charity of God is poured out into our hearts."

 The promise of the verse, he argues, relates to the hereafter.

 The eternal fruits of our labour

Indeed, our true work in this world is not about earning the necessities of life, but rather the work of of building up the Church.  Cassiodorus for example says:

But by labours he wished to denote good works carried out in this world to yield a sweet banquet as the reward to come; for eating means being refreshed by some food, and rejoicing in its abundance. So these labours which consist of good works are apprehended at the resurrection when these words are heard: Come ye, blessed of my Fa­ther, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. A blessed banquet this, which is not digested by the stomach, but is maintained in eternity unconsumed.

Psalm 127

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Beáti omnes, qui timent Dóminum,* qui ámbulant in viis ejus.	Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.
2  Labóres mánuum tuárum quia manducábis: * beátus es, et bene tibi erit.	2 For you shall eat the labours of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.
3  Uxor tua sicut vitis abúndans: * in latéribus domus tuæ.	3 Your wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of your house.
4  Fílii tui sicut novéllæ olivárum: * in circúitu mensæ tuæ.	Your children as olive plants, round about your table.
5  Ecce sic benedicétur homo, * qui timet Dóminum.	4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord.
6  Benedícat tibi Dóminus ex Sion: *  et vídeas bona Jerúsalem ómnibus diébus vitæ tuæ.	5 May the Lord bless you out of Sion: and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
7  Et vídeas fílios filiórum tuórum: * pacem super Israël.	6 And may you see your children's children, peace upon Israel.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.

Psalm 127 verse 1 - Walking in the way of Christ

Morgan Library

The first verse of Psalm 127, as I noted in the introductory post, is something of a recapitulation of the key message of St Benedict's ladder of humility, reminding us also that we need both faith and good works. 

1	V	Beáti omnes, qui timent Dóminum,* qui ámbulant in viis ejus.
	NV JH	Beatus omnis, qui timet Dominum, qui ambulat in viis eius.
		μακάριοι πάντες οἱ φοβούμενοι τὸν κύριον οἱ πορευόμενοι ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ

  

Beáti (Blessed) omnes (all those), qui (who) timent (they fear) Dóminum (the Lord),* qui (who) ámbulant (walk) in viis (the ways) ejus (his).

beatus, a, um  happy, blessed ,fortunate.

omnis, e, all, each, every; subst., all men, all things, everything.

timeo, ui, ere 2 fear, be afraid of

ambulo, avi, atum, are  to walk

via, ae, a way, road, path, street ; fig., God's way; way of life, action, or conduct

DR	Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.
Brenton	Blessed are all they that fear the Lord; who walk in his ways
MD	Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.
RSV	Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
Cover	Blessed are all they that fear the Lord, and walk in his ways.
Knox	Blessed thou art, if thou dost fear the Lord, and follow his paths!
Grail	O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

Fear of the Lord

The opening phrase takes us back to the first step of humility (St Benedict's Rule chapter 7), fear of the Lord.  The psalm is not, I think, talking just of fear of hell here (though that is sufficient), but rather filial fear based on our acknowledgement that he is God.  Cassiodorus explains it as follows: 

In his first words he has distinguished fear of the Lord from the terror of this world. His words: Blessed are all they that fear the Lord, reveal that those who with troubled mind are apprehensive of the world's dangers in loss of temporal possessions are not blessed. These dangers make men wretched, torturing them with empty fear, so that they experience no growth but a diminution, no ascent but a headlong fall. By contrast, fear of the Lord is the offspring of love, is born of charity, is sprung from sweetness. What devoted fear, consoling the timorous, refreshing the afflicted, experiencing no absence of joy unless the benefit of such fear is laid aside!

Many or one?

The Vulgate puts ‘beatus’ (happy, blessed, fortunate) in the plural, implying many fear the Lord, and follow ‘the way’.  The version from the Hebrew however makes it singular rendering the translation of ‘omnis’ a little more complex.  The RSV preserves the sense quite well with ‘blessed is everyone, but other versions just ignore the ‘all’.  The logic of the latter translation is perhaps to match the next verse, which is in the singular, but St Augustine provides an interpretation that explains the reason for the distinction that is worth considering: 

He speaks to many; but since these many are one in Christ, in the next words he speaks in the singular: For you shall eat the labours of your fruits....When I speak of Christians in the plural, I understand one in the One Christ. You are therefore many, and you are one; we are many, and we are one. How are we many, and yet one? Because we cling unto Him whose members we are; and since our Head is in heaven, that His members may follow....Let us therefore so hear this Psalm, as considering it to be spoken of Christ: and all of us who cling unto the Body of Christ, and have been made members of Christ, walk in the ways of the Lord; and let us fear the Lord with a chaste fear, with a fear that abides forever....

Walking in the way

The second phrase, on walking in’ the way’ (the term the early Christians used to describe our faith) brings us back to the pilgrim theme of this set of psalms.  It is an important reminder that our faith is not true faith if it is not put into practice – even the devil, after all, believes in Christ, hence: 

Not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh justice, is acceptable to him. (Matthew 7:21)

 What is required then, Cassiodorus instructs us, is that we love God with all our heart and soul, and keep his commandments with devoted minds.  In fact St Hilary of Poitiers tells us, fear of the Lord and working in his ways is really the same thing: 

For us, fear of the Lord is a part of love; and its expression is the practice of perfect charity: obey the counsels of God, hold fast to his commandments, trust in his promises.

Psalm 127

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Beáti omnes, qui timent Dóminum,* qui ámbulant in viis ejus.	Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.
2  Labóres mánuum tuárum quia manducábis: * beátus es, et bene tibi erit.	2 For you shall eat the labours of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.
3  Uxor tua sicut vitis abúndans: * in latéribus domus tuæ.	3 Your wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of your house.
4  Fílii tui sicut novéllæ olivárum: * in circúitu mensæ tuæ.	Your children as olive plants, round about your table.
5  Ecce sic benedicétur homo, * qui timet Dóminum.	4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord.
6  Benedícat tibi Dóminus ex Sion: *  et vídeas bona Jerúsalem ómnibus diébus vitæ tuæ.	5 May the Lord bless you out of Sion: and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
7  Et vídeas fílios filiórum tuórum: * pacem super Israël.	6 And may you see your children's children, peace upon Israel.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

And for the next part in this series go here.

Introduction to Psalm 127

Today  I want to start on the last installment of my series on the Gradual Psalms, by starting to look at Psalm 127, the last psalm of None on weekdays in the Benedictine Office.

But as well as looking at the psalm itself, this also seems like an appropriate point to reflect on three of the reasons why I think St Benedict assigned the first nine of the Gradual psalms to Terce to None.


But first, read and listen to the psalm itself:

Psalm 127: Beati omnes

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.
1 Beáti omnes, qui timent Dóminum,* qui ámbulant in viis ejus.	Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in his ways.
2  Labóres mánuum tuárum quia manducábis: * beátus es, et bene tibi erit.	2 For you shall eat the labours of your hands: blessed are you, and it shall be well with you.
3  Uxor tua sicut vitis abúndans: * in latéribus domus tuæ.	3 Your wife as a fruitful vine, on the sides of your house.
4  Fílii tui sicut novéllæ olivárum: * in circúitu mensæ tuæ.	Your children as olive plants, round about your table.
5  Ecce sic benedicétur homo, * qui timet Dóminum.	4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord.
6  Benedícat tibi Dóminus ex Sion: *  et vídeas bona Jerúsalem ómnibus diébus vitæ tuæ.	5 May the Lord bless you out of Sion: and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
7  Et vídeas fílios filiórum tuórum: * pacem super Israël.	6 And may you see your children's children, peace upon Israel.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Literal and spiritual meanings

Psalm 127 is one of those psalms that it is important to read on several levels.

Taken literally, the psalm is often used at weddings, to point to the temporal blessings we might hope for, as St Aloysius Liguori commented:

The prophet announces to the Jews after their return from Babylon the blessings that they will receive from God if they keep his laws. These blessings are temporal; belong, properly speaking, to the just under the Old Law.

But it can also be interpreted as speaking of the Church as Christ's bride. As Fr Pius Pasch noted in his commentary on the breviary:

At the table of God, we are all his children: Christ is the Father, the Church is the Mother, and we Christians are the children. In the name of the Church we are thankful for all Eucharistic graces, and plead for further favours.

The most important meaning of the psalm, though, is surely eschatological, encouraging us in our spiritual ascent by reminding us that the peace and prosperity we seek is ultimately something that we individually, and the Church collectively, will only fully enjoy in heaven:

In the first limb the prophet recounts by certain allusions the blessings of those who fear God, so as to fire the spirits of the committed with the warmth of heaven's reward. In the second, he blesses them that they may gain eternal joys, so that none may be apprehensive of this sweetest of fears…We identify in this psalm the promises made to those who fear God, the rewards obtained by the person who with pure mind feels awe for the Lord. (Cassiodorus)

I will look at these three levels of the psalm in more detail as we go through the individual verses, but before we do that I think it is worthwhile seeing how this psalm fits into the set.

Christ's death on the cross

In the previous parts of this series I have argued that each of the first nine of the Gradual Psalms can be interpreted christologically to align with the traditional associations of the hours, hence St Benedict's decision to assign them to these hours. The first, Psalm 119, for example, can be read as referring to Christ's trial before Herod and Pilate on Good Friday.

None (the ninth hour) is traditionally associated with the death of Christ on the cross, and I think this psalm can perhaps be viewed as interpreting the blessings spoken of in the psalms as the grace that flows from the wounds in Christ's side. Indeed, the liturgy explicitly points us to this interpretation, using verse 4 of it as an antiphon at Vespers on the feast of Corpus Christ, and the whole psalm in Vespers of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is a reminder that Christ's death on the cross reopens the way to heaven.

The ladder of humility and fear of the Lord

The second key theme running through the Gradual Psalms that I think St Benedict is pointing us to is the link between the Gradual Psalms and the ladder of humility in Chapter 7 of the Rule.

The Gradual Psalms, you will recall, are traditionally associated with the fifteen steps from the lower to inner courtyard of Solomon's temple, and thus signify the ascent from earth to heaven (of which the temple is a microcosm), as Cassiodorus, for example, points out:

But I think that I should advise you that through the bounty of divine grace, fifteen steps are laid in these psalms to denote in various ways the saints' merits, just as there was the same number in the temple at Jerusalem, which we know was completed by Solomon. This was so that the present order of the psalms, prefigured in that building, should be seen to be foretold, for that earthly construction seemed to bear the likeness of the heavenly temple. (On Psalm 119)

As St Bede noted, though, St Benedict's take on this ascent of virtue is rather more specific:

Benedict, a father very reverend both in his name and in his life, realized that these steps especially consist in humility when, interpreting our journey to celestial things to be designated by the ladder shown to the Patriarch Jacob, by which angels ascended and descended, he distinguished in a very careful and pious examination the steps of the ladder itself as the increments and stages of good works that are performed through humility...(On Ezra and Nehemiah, trans deGregorio, pp171-2)

The key explicit link St Benedict makes in the Rule is to the twelfth psalm of the set (and not coincidentally, he has twelve steps in his ladder of humility). But the soul's progress from the first psalm of the set to this ninth can reasonably be interpreted, I think, as the progress within the first of the degrees, from servile fear, that is fear of punishment and hell, to filial fear, born of love.  The Prologue to the Rule, after all, tells us to 'hear what the Spirit says to the Churches, namely that 'I will teach you the fear of the Lord' (Ps 33).

Intriguingly, St Benedict's contemporary Cassiodorus makes exactly this contrast between the first of this group of psalms and this one:

But since we read: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, we must investigate why the prophet has decided that we must keep it in mind at this stage.

There are two fears which prick our hearts. The first is human fear, by which we are apprehensive of suffering physical hazards or losing worldly goods; this is clearly a temporary state, since we fear such things only as long as we dwell in the life of this world. But divine fear always mounts with us through all the advances which we make in this life.

Whereas we abandon worldly fear together with the world on the first step, divine fear remains ever with us, and is adapted as a most faithful companion throughout our ascent. As has already been said in Psalm 118: Pierce thou my flesh with thy fear, for I am afraid of thy judgments. So it is fitting that both on this step [Psalm 127] and everywhere we be instructed that fear of the Lord should be within us, for it is approved as our essential guardian.

Seek after peace and pursue it

The third key theme of this group of psalms that I want to highlight is the pursuit of peace. St Benedict, you will recall, instructs us using the words of Psalm 33 in the Prologue to the Rule, to 'seek after peace and pursue it', hence the motto of the Benedictine Order, PAX.

Accordingly, it seems to me that the choice of this set of nine psalms, where Psalms 121, 124 and 127 (ie the last psalm on Terce, Sext and None each day) each refer to the blessing of peace, is probably not a coincidence!

The search for peace is one of the key things that motivates the psalmist to start his journey, in Psalm 119:

6  Cum his, qui odérunt pacem, eram pacíficus: * cum loquébar illis, impugnábant me gratis.

7 With them that hated peace I was peaceable: when I spoke to them they fought against me without cause.

In Psalm 121, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and look forward to it, even though we have not yet achieved it:

6  Rogáte quæ ad pacem sunt Jerúsalem: * et abundántia diligéntibus te:	6 Pray for the things that are for the peace of Jerusalem: and abundance for them that love you.
7  Fiat pax in virtúte tua: * et abundántia in túrribus tuis.	7 Let peace be in your strength: and abundance in your towers
8  Propter fratres meos, et próximos meos, * loquébar pacem de te:	8 For the sake of my brethren, and of my neighbours, I spoke peace of you.
9  Propter domum Dómini, Dei nostri, * quæsívi bona tibi.	9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, I have sought good things for you.

In Psalm 124, the last psalm of Sext, we are urged to persevere with the promise of reward:

4  Bénefac, Dómine, bonis, * et rectis corde.	4 Do good, O Lord, to those that are good, and to the upright of heart.
5  Declinántes autem in obligatiónes addúcet Dóminus cum operántibus iniquitátem: * pax super Israël.	5 But such as turn aside into bonds, the Lord shall lead out with the workers of iniquity: peace upon Israel.

And now again in Psalm 127:

6  Benedícat tibi Dóminus ex Sion: *  et vídeas bona Jerúsalem ómnibus diébus vitæ tuæ.	5 May the Lord bless you out of Sion: and may you see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
7  Et vídeas fílios filiórum tuórum: * pacem super Israël.	6 And may you see your children's children, peace upon Israel.

In the next post I will look at verse 1 of Psalm 127 in more detail.

Gradual psalms masterpost

I plan to start posting notes on Psalm 127, the one Gradual Psalm I have not yet provided verse by verse notes on shortly, but I thought that in the meantime it would be useful to post a master list of links to notes on each of the psalms, as well as the assorted background material I have provided on them.

Background on the Gradual Psalms

(Introduction to 2017 Lenten series)

Introduction to the Gradual Psalms Pt 1 (Introduction and Overview)
Introduction to the Gradual Psalms Pt 2 (Texts of the psalms arranged for devotional use)

Conclusion to the 2017 series

The Gradual Psalms and the Triduum
A Good Friday Meditation on the Gradual Psalms
St Benedict and the Gradual Psalms

After thought

Bede and number symbolism in the Gradual Psalms

(2014 series introduction)

Introduction to the Gradual Psalms Part I - The texts
Introduction to the Gradual Psalms Pt 2 - Scriptural context
Introduction to the Gradual Psalms, Pt 3 (As a devotion)
Introduction to the Gradual Psalms Pt 4 (In the context of the Benedictine Office)

Notes on the Psalms

1.  Psalm 119: Ad Dominum Clamavi (Terce)

Psalm 119 Overview (2017)
Introduction to Psalm 119 (2014 version)
Psalm 119 in the context of the Office of the Dead
Psalm 119: Notes on the verses

2. Psalm 120: Levavi oculos meos in montes (Terce)

Psalm 120 overview
[Introduction to Psalm 120]
Psalm 120 in the context of the Office of the Dead
Psalm 120 vv 1-4
Psalm 120 vv 5-8

3.  Psalm 121: Laetatus sum (Terce)

Psalm 121 overview
[Introduction to Psalm 121]
Psalm 121 verses 1-3
Psalm 121 verses 4-6
Psalm 121 verses 7-9

4. Psalm 122 : Ad te lavavi (Sext)

Psalm 122 overview
[Introduction to Psalm 122]
Psalm 122 verses 1-3
Psalm 122 verses 4-5

5. Psalm 123: Nisi quia Dominus (Sext)

Psalm 123 overview
[Introduction to Psalm 123]
Psalm 123 v 1-2
Psalm 123 v 3-4
Psalm 123 v 5-8

6.  Psalm 124: Qui confidunt in Domino (Sext)

Psalm 124 overview
Psalm 124 v1
Psalm 124 verse 2
Psalm 124 verses 3-4
Psalm 124 verse 5

7. Psalm 125: In convertendo Dominus (None)

Introduction to Psalm 125
Ps 125 verse 1
Psalm 125 verse 2
Psalm 125 verses 3-4
Psalm 125 verse 5
Psalm 125 verse 6
Psalm 125 verse 7
Psalm 125 verse 8

8. Psalm 126: Nisi Dominus aedificaverit (None)

Pope Benedict XVI on Psalm 126
Introduction to Psalm 126
Psalm 126 verse 1
Psalm 126 verse 2
Psalm 126 verse 3
Psalm 126 verse 4
Psalm 126 verse 5
Psalm 126 verse 6

9. Psalm 127: Beati Omnes (None) 

Introduction to Psalm 127, pt 1
Psalm 127 v1 - Walking in the way of Christ
Psalm 127 v2 - Labour now to build the Church
Psalm 127 v3 - The church as the spouse 
Psalm 127 v4 - The bread of heaven and the oil of mercy
Psalm 127 v5 - Thus shall the man be blessed
Psalm 127 v6 - Peace and prosperity
Psalm 127 v7 - The peace for which we strive


10. Psalm 128: Saepe expugnaverunt me (Monday Vespers)

Introduction to Psalm 128 (Saepe expugnaverunt me) (2013)
Overview of Psalm 128 (2017)
Ps 128 v1-2
Psalm 128 v3
Psalm 128 v4
Ps 128 v5-6
Ps 128 v7

11.  Psalm 129: De Profundis (Tuesday Vespers)

Introduction to Psalm 129 (2017 updated version)
Introduction to Psalm 129
Ps 129 v 1-2
Ps 129 v3-5a
Ps 129 v5b-6
Ps 129 v7-8

12. Psalm 130: Domine non est exaltatum (Tuesday Vespers)

Introduction to Psalm 130 (2017 updated version)
Introduction to Psalm 130
Ps 130 v1-2
Ps 130 v3-5

13.  Psalm 131: Memento Domine (Tuesday Vespers)

Introduction to Psalm 131 (2017 updated version)
Introduction to Psalm 131
Ps 131 v1-2
Ps 131 v3-5
Ps 131 v 6-8
Ps 131 v 9-10
Ps 131 v11-13
Ps 131 v14-15
Ps 131 v 16
Ps 131 v17
Ps 131 v18-19

14. Psalm 132: Ecce quam bonum (Tuesday Vespers)

Introduction to Psalm 132 (updated 2017 version)
Introduction to Psalm 132
Psalm 132 v1-3a
Ps 131 v3b-4

15. Psalm 133: Ecce nunc (Compline)

Introduction to Psalm 133
Psalm 133 verse1
Psalm 133 verse 2
Psalm 133 verse 3
Psalm 133 verse 4

Christ is the gate: Psalm 126 v6

Source: http://www.holy-landpilgrimage.com/the-gates-of-jerusalem/

The final verse of Psalm 126 provides us with a beatitude:

6	V	Beátus vir qui implévit desidérium suum ex ipsis: * non confundétur cum loquétur inimícis suis in porta.
	NV	Beatus vir, qui implevit pharetram suam ex ipsis: non confundetur, cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.
	JH	Beatus uir qui impleuit pharetram suam ex ipsis : non confundentur, cum loquentur inimicis in porta.
		μακάριος ἄνθρωπος ὃς πληρώσει τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ καταισχυνθήσονται ὅταν λαλῶσι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς αὐτῶν ἐν πύλῃ

Beátus (happy) vir (the man) qui (who) implévit (he is filled) desidérium (the desire) suum (his) ex (from/with) ipsis (them): * non (not) confundétur (he will be confounded) cum (when) loquétur (he speaks) inimícis (the enemies) suis (his) in porta (the gate).

The Masoretic Text differs from the Vulgate again here, giving a אַשְׁפָּה (ashpah), or an arrow case or quiver (hence the Jerome from the Hebrew and neo-Vulgate pharetram here); by contrast the Greek implies desire for them (the children of the previous verse) rather than the realisation.

beatus, a, um  to bless, make happy), happy, blessed, fortunate.

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

impleo, plevi, pletum, ere 2  to fill, fill up, fill full;  to fill, to cover; to fill, satisfy.

desiderium, li, n.  desire, longing, wish, yearning

confundo, fiidi, fiisum, ere 3, to put or bring to shame, to discomfit.

loquor, locutus sum to speak, utter, tell

inimicus, i, m. (in and amicus), a foe, enemy
porta, ae, , a gate, city-gate

pharetra , ae, f., a quiver for holding arrows

DR	Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate
Brenton	Blessed is the man who shall satisfy his desire with them: they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak to their enemies in the gates.
MD	Blessed is the man that hath his quiver filled with them: he shall not be ashamed, when he speaketh with his enemies in the gate.
RSV	Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Cover	Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
Knox	Happy, whose quiver is well filled with these; their cause will not be set aside when they plead against their enemies at the gate.
Grail	O the happiness of the man who has filled his quiver with these arrows! He will have no cause for shame when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.

St John Chrysostom notes the existence of both text variants in his commentary and suggests that the significance of the quiver is that God will arm and aid the person who labours with and for him, equipping us to meet the enemy 'with great manly vigor, with splendid appearance, self-confident, in battle array, since in all these ways God demonstrates his support of them'.   He notes that:

The acme of good things, after all, and the pinnacle of blessedness is to be able finally to be set in order of battle with the Lord's help.  Hence at this point he also concluded his words, instructing everyone to seek out before everything else this proper order and be resplendent in it. Accordingly, let us also make it our endeavor, so that we may attain to the everlasting goods, thanks to the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be the glory for ages of ages.

St Augustine's commentary by contrast starts firmly from the Septuagint tradition, and points us to the message of Christ's death on the cross which this hour of the Office remembers.  It is not earthly fame that counts, not earthly rewards we should see, but rather we must seek to convert he suggests.  The starting point is to embrace our own cross he argues:

Well, my brethren, who fills his desire from them? Who loves not the world. He who is filled with the desire of the world, has no room for that to enter which they have preached. Pour forth what you carry, and become fit for that which you have not. That is, you desire riches: you can not fill your desire from them: you desire honours upon earth, you desire those things which God has given even unto beasts of burden, that is, temporal pleasure, bodily health, and the like; you will not fulfil your desire from them....

Speaking to enemies at the gate, he suggests, is not being ashamed to preach Christ:

If he be confident, let him speak in the gate; as it is said of Wisdom, She cries at the gates, at the entry of the city.  As long as they hold unto righteousness in innocency, they shall not be ashamed: this is to preach at the gate. And who is he who preaches at the gate? He who preaches in Christ; because Christ is the gate whereby we enter into that city. ...

Psalm 126: Nisi Dominus 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum Salomonis.	A gradual canticle of Solomon.
1.  Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum:*  in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam.	Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.
2.  Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem:* frustra vigilat qui custodit eam.	Unless the Lord keep the city, he watches in vain that keeps it.
3.  Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere:* surgite, postquam sederitis, qui manducatis panem doloris.	2 It is vain for you to rise before light, rise after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow.
4.  Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum:* ecce hereditas Domini, filii merces, fructus ventris.	When he shall give sleep to his beloved, 3 behold the inheritance of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
5.  Sicut sagittae in manu potentis:* ita filii excussorum.	4 As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
6.  Beatus vir, qui implevit desiderium suum ex ipsis:* non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.	5 Blessed is the man that has filled the desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate