Canticle of Anna (Hannah)

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout -
Hannah presenting her son Samuel to the priest Eli,
ca. 1665

The ferial canticle for Lauds on Wednesday comes from I Kings (aka 1 Sam 2) 2. 1-10, and its sentiments will sound very familiar, for Our Lady's Magnificat draws on it heavily.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
1 Exsultávit cor meum in Dómino: * et exaltátum est cornu meum in Deo meo.	My heart has rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God:
2  Dilatátum est os meum super inimícos meos: * quia lætáta sum in salutári tuo.	my mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have enjoyed in your salvation.
3 Non est sanctus, ut est Dóminus : neque enim est álius extra te, * et non est fortis sicut Deus noster.	2 There is none holy as the Lord is: for there is no other beside you, and there is none strong like our God.
4  Nolíte multiplicáre loqui sublímia, * gloriántes :	3 Do not multiply to speak lofty things, boasting:
5   Recédant vétera de ore vestro : quia Deus scientiárum, Dóminus est, * et ipsi præparántur cogitatiónes.	let old matters depart from your mouth: for the Lord is a God of all knowledge, and to him are thoughts prepared.
6  Arcus fórtium superátus est, * et infírmi accíncti sunt róbore.	4 The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength.
7  Repléti prius, pro pánibus se locavérunt: * et famélici saturáti sunt.	5 They that were full before, have hired out themselves for bread: and the hungry are filled,
8 Donec stérilis péperit plúrimos: * et quæ multos habébat fílios, infirmáta est.	so that the barren has borne many: and she that had many children is weakened.
9  Dóminus mortíficat et vivíficat: * dedúcit ad ínferos et redúcit.	6 The Lord kills and makes alive, he brings down to hell, and brings back again.
10 Dóminus páuperem facit et ditat, * humíliat et súblevat.	7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich, he humbles and he exalts:
11  Súscitat de púlvere egénum, *  et de stércore élevat páuperem :	8 He raises up the needy from the dust, and lifts up the poor from the dunghill:
12  Ut sédeat cum princípibus: * et sólium glóriæ téneat.	that he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory.
13  Dómini enim sunt cárdines terræ, * et pósuit super eos orbem.	For the poles of the earth are the Lord's, and upon them he has set the world.
14  Pedes sanctórum suórum servábit, et ímpii in ténebris conticéscent: * quia non in fortitúdine sua roborábitur vir.	9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; because no man shall prevail by his own strength.
15  Dóminum formidábunt adversárii ejus: * et super ipsos in cælis tonábit:	10 The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him: and upon them shall he thunder in the heavens
16  Dóminus judicábit fines terræ, et dabit impérium regi suo, * et sublimábit cornu Christi sui.	The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give empire to his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ.

This canticle can be read in a number of ways.

Model for prayer

Firstly, its author, Hannah (or Anna), can be seen as a model for persistent and humble prayer, and as a testament to the value of pilgrimages.

As 1 Samuel relates, each year as she and her husband visited the shrine of Heli she fasted and prayed, and her prayers were so loud and fervent that the priest thought her drunk.  Hannah's persistence, even in the face of ridicule by others, was often compared by the Fathers, to the example of the Publican and the Pharisee in the New Testament.

The barren made fruitful

Secondly, Hannah's prayer was answered in a way that represents one of God's providential interventions in history, many of which are recalled in the psalms of Wednesday's Office, wherein he acts to thwart men's pretty plans and hopes:

"Boast no more, boast no more; those lips must talk in another strain; the Lord is God all-knowing, and overrules the devices of men." (v3; Knox translation)

In particular, one of the recurring 'types' of the Old Testament is of the suffering barren woman, who, through God's miraculous intervention, is granted a son who is chosen over other elder children for great things in salvation history.

Hannah (the mother of the prophet Samuel), is one of these woman, along with Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel.  The Fathers, following St Paul's exposition in Galatians on Abraham's two sons, generally interpret these great reversals of fortune, these children 'born of the promise', as foreshadowing the New Testament, and the closing of the Old.

The election of the gentiles

Unsurprisingly, then, the ninth century monastic commentator Hrabanus Maurus sees this canticle as being sung on Wednesday, the day of the week associated with Judas' betrayal to the Council of Jewish leaders plotting to kill him, as signifying the expulsion of the Jews as God's chosen people, and the election of the Church of the gentiles in their place.  Virtually all of the Patristic commentaries note that the song is a prophesy that fits both King David and the Incarnation of Our Lord.  Pope John Paul II summarises it thus:

"The hymn of thanksgiving that sprang from the lips of the mother was to be taken up and expressed anew by another Mother, Mary, who while remaining a virgin conceived by the power of the Spirit of God. In fact, in the Magnificat of the Mother of Jesus we can perceive an echo of Anna's canticle which for this reason is known as "the Magnificat of the Old Testament". In fact, scholars note that the sacred author has placed on Anna's lips a sort of royal psalm laced with citations or allusions to other Psalms."

In this light, we can see it as a prayer of rejoicing at the coming birth of the Church as the body of Christ, as St Alphonse Liguori:

"Inspired by the Holy Ghost, Anna thanks God for having freed her from the reproach of sterility, and she predicts clearly the mystery of the Incarnation and the glories of the Church. There is no Christian that cannot use this canticle to thank God for all his benefits, and especially for the benefits of Redemption."

Introduction to Psalm 7

c1360
Speculum Humanae Salvationis,
Westfalen oder Köln,
ULB Darmstadt, Hs 2505, fol. 27r

I want to finish up, for the moment, this gap filling exercize on the Office of the Dead with introductory notes for the couple of psalms of that Office that I haven't previously posted on here at all, viz Psalms 7, 40, 41 and 64.  I'll come back with verse by verse notes on these later.  

Today, Psalm 7, which is also said on Tuesday at Prime in the Benedictine Office.

In the context of the Office of the Dead, Psalm 7 can, perhaps, be read above all as a prayer for final perseverance in the face of attack from the devil.

In the context of Tuesday Prime the three psalms set for the hour arguably form a triptych that looks at our response to God’s call: in particular, they focus on God’s gift to us of intellect and free will, and the consequences thereof, both positive and negative.

Psalm 7: Dómine, Deus meus, in te sperávi

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David, quem cantavit Domino pro verbis Chusi, filii Jemini.	The psalm of David, which he sung to the Lord, for the words of Chusi, the son of Jemini.
Dómine, Deus meus, in te sperávi : * salvum me fac ex ómnibus persequéntibus me, et líbera me.	Lord, my God, in you have I put my trust; save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.
2.  Nequándo rápiat ut leo ánimam meam, * dum non est qui rédimat, neque qui salvum fáciat.	Lest at any time he seize upon my soul like a lion, while there is no one to redeem me, nor to save.
3  Dómine, Deus meus, si feci istud. * si est iníquitas in mánibus meis :	O Lord, my God, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands
4  Si réddidi retribuéntibus mihi mala, * décidam mérito ab inimícis meis inánis.	If I have rendered to them that repaid me evils, let me deservedly fall empty before my enemies.
5  Persequátur inimícus ánimam meam, et comprehéndat, et concúlcet in terra vitam meam, * et glóriam meam in púlverem dedúcat.	Let the enemy pursue my soul, and take it, and tread down my life, on the earth, and bring down my glory to the dust.
6  Exsúrge, Dómine, in ira tua : * et exaltáre in fínibus inimicórum meórum.	Rise up, O Lord, in your anger: and be exalted in the borders of my enemies.
7  Et exsúrge, Dómine Deus meus, in præcépto quod mandásti : * et synagóga populórum circúmdabit te.	And arise, O Lord, my God, in the precept which you have commanded: And a congregation of people shall surround you.
8  Et propter hanc in altum regrédere : * Dóminus júdicat pópulos.	And for their sakes return on high. The Lord judges the people.
9  Júdica me, Dómine, secúndum justítiam meam, * et secúndum innocéntiam meam super me.	Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, and according to my innocence in me.
10  Consumétur nequítia peccatórum, et díriges justum, *  scrutans corda et renes Deus.	The wickedness of sinners shall be brought to nought; and you shall direct the just: the searcher of hearts and reins is God.
11 Justum adjutórium meum a Dómino, * qui salvos facit rectos corde.	Just is my help from the Lord; who saves the upright of heart
12  Deus judex justus, fortis, et pátiens : * numquid iráscitur per síngulos dies?	God is a just judge, strong and patient: is he angry every day?
13  Nisi convérsi fuéritis, gládium suum vibrábit : * arcum suum teténdit, et parávit illum.	Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword; he has bent his bow, and made it ready.
14  Et in eo parávit vasa mortis : * sagíttas suas ardéntibus effécit.	And in it he has prepared to instruments of death, he has made ready his arrows for them that burn.
15  Ecce partúriit injustítiam : * concépit dolórem, et péperit iniquitátem.	Behold he has been in labour with injustice: he has conceived sorrow, and brought forth iniquity.
16  Lacum apéruit, et effódit eum : * et íncidit in fóveam quam fecit.	He has opened a pit and dug it: and he is fallen into the hole he made.
17  Convertétur dolor ejus in caput ejus : * et in vérticem ipsíus iníquitas ejus descéndet.	His sorrow shall be turned on his own head: and his iniquity shall come down upon his crown.
18  Confitébor Dómino secúndum justítiam ejus : * et psallam nómini Dómini altíssimi.	I will give glory to the Lord according to his justice: and will sing to the name of the Lord the most high.

Scriptural context

Because the titles of the psalm given in the Septuagint ('The psalm of David, which he sung to the Lord, for the words of Chusi, the son of Jemini') and Hebrew Masoretic ('A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush the Benjaminite') texts differ, and are both in any case obscure, there are competing views as to which particular incident in King David’s life is referred to in this psalm.  The most likely reference seems to be to the rebellion of David’s son Absalom, aided by David’s trusted adviser Achitophel (Chusi .  Others however see it as a reference to Saul’s persecution of David much earlier in his career.

Either way, the psalm can be interpreted as presenting David as a ‘type’ of Our Lord, representing all who are calumniated and persecuted, including the Church itself.  The psalm is the plea of a man falsely accused and persecuted by a friend, and asks God to help him and to set things right.

The psalmist asks the Lord to attest to his innocence of the charges made against him, while speaking of his anguish at the attacks on his integrity.

The second half of the psalm sets out God’s role in rendering judgment: God knows what is in our hearts and minds; based on that, he saves the righteous and punishes the sinner.

In the Office of the Dead

The psalm's place in the Office of the Dead is surely due to its pleas for God’s redeeming power to be manifested, and emphasis on salvation through repentance.

The persecutors of the psalm can be read not just as people opposed to the psalmist, but also as referring to purely spiritual enemies, the temptations that we all face.  In particular, the image of the lion, who threatens to seize his soul (verse 2) is one that frequently is frequently used to refer to the devil (cf for example 1 Peter, used at Compline).

Similarly, the sword of justice (verse 13) symbolises the punishment at our deaths and at the final judgment, but which the psalmist points out can yet be avoided by repentance.

In the context of Tuesday Prime

Tuesday in the Benedictine Office is, I have argued elsewhere, is focused on the public ministry of Jesus, and particularly how his instruction and example can aid us in making progress in the pursuit of perfection, symbolised most obviously by the use of the Gradual psalms on this day.

This psalm sets out several important points to meditate on as we contemplate this ascent to the temple of heaven.

First, the psalm stresses his absolute trust and sense of dependence on God alone as the source of redemption and salvation.  The key takeout message is that instead of looking first to our own efforts to defeat attacks on us (whether from actual people, or in the form of temptations), we should rather ask God for help.

Secondly, St Benedict quotes verse 10 in his chapter on humility as a reminder that nothing can be hidden from God: God searches the ‘hearts and reins’ of a person, our hearts and minds; he knows all our inner thoughts.

Thirdly, the psalm reminds us that the struggle for perfection is not an easy one.  In this world, as we all know all too well, injustice frequently prevails, due to the effects of original sin and free will.  Those who do nothing wrong, nothing but stand up for the good, often face lies spread about them and other forms of persecution, as the lives of the saints.  Why does God allow this, allowing even his Son to be persecuted and die on the Cross?  The Church teaches that such events are the result of God allowing us to make our own decisions - to exercise our free will - about whether to do what is good, or to choose evil.  But we are also taught that even when we choose to do evil, God arranges events so as to bring good out of it.  Consider for example, St Benedict, who was forced to leave Subiaco due to the envy of a local priest.  Yet his move to Monte Cassino marked the start of a new missionary endeavour that was to have lasting consequences for Western civilization; and of course the Cross is the means of our redemption.

Fourthly we should be motivated by the fact that justice will ultimately prevail.  Those who suffer now from unfair attacks are able to bear it now secure in the knowledge that they will be rewarded in the next life; and because we know that in the end, God’s justice will catch up with the Hitler’s, Bin Laden’s and their petty imitators on a much smaller scale.  The psalmist makes the point that sin rebounds on the sinner one way or another (verse 16).

Finally we are enjoined to remember that mercy is always possible, at least as long as we live.  As in many psalms, the speaker asks God for vengeance on enemies.  This should not, however, be read too literally: what the psalmist actually wants, as he makes clear in the second half of the psalm, is for his persecutors to repent of their actions and be converted.  David says of himself in verse 4 that he actually tried to repay the evil done to him with good, as the Sermon the Mount urges Christians to do.  He also notes that God is patient (verse 12), and that although his punishments are prepared, they are conditional, applying only if the sinner rejects the chances God offers for conversion (verses 13-14).

St Alphonsus Liguori goes a step further, suggesting that the punishments David asks for in this context, are not eternal punishments but temporal ones, designed to persuade the sinner to change course before it is too late.  Some of the greatest sinners, after all, as St John Chrysostom points out in relation to the verse 12’s praise of God’s patience, strength and justness, have gone on to become the greatest saints.  And though David plead his innocence in this particular instance, he was certainly guilty of serious sins later on in his life!  All of us sin, all of us need to heed this call to conversion.

And it is to this call to strive to do better that the Psalm enjoins us.

Liturgical and Scriptural uses of the psalm

NT refs	Rev 2:23 (v10); Lk 13:3 (v13); James 1:15 (v15)
RB cursus	Tuesday Prime+2172 (12)
Monastic feasts etc	All Souls, Matins of Dead AN 2334 (2), 3875 (3), 2173 (9, 12), 4494 (11) 3530, 4831, 2172 (12)
Responsories	6490 (2) Holy Week Tues no 3-7747 (4, 8, 10)
Roman pre 1911	Sunday matins
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Sunday Compline. 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	Ember Sat Lent CO (2), Post Pentecost 2 (AL, 2), (CO,18) Post Pent. 3 (AL, 12) ? OF: (2-3), OF Triplex pg 185 Im Heart of Mary GR (18)

 

Introduction to Psalm 130

The second psalm of Tuesday Vespers in the Benedictine Rite is Psalm 130, Domine, non est exaltatum cor meum.

Psalm 130 (131)

Here is the text arranged as it is in the Office.  The verse numbers in the Douay-Rheims version show how it is divided in modern editions of Scripture.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum David.	A gradual canticle of David.
1 Dómine, non est exaltátum cor meum: * neque eláti sunt óculi mei.	1 Lord, my heart is not exalted: nor are my eyes lofty
2  Neque ambulávi in magnis: neque in mirabílibus super me.	Neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonderful things above me.
3  Si non humíliter sentiébam: * sed exaltávi ánimam meam.	2 If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul:
4  Sicut ablactátus est super matre sua: * ita retribútio in ánima mea.	As a child that is weaned is towards his mother, so reward in my soul
5  Speret Israël in Dómino: * ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum.	3 Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.

Scriptural and historical context

Psalm 130 is one of the shortest in the psalter at three verses.

St Alphonsus Liguori suggests that it is a response by David to accusations of pride from Saul and his followers, saying:

"David complains that Saul and his followers accuse him of being proud, and calls God to witness against this calumny."

Reading the psalm Christologically, we can see it as a portrait of Jesus' perfect humility, in his willingness to take human form and become a baby, totally dependent on his mother, humble himself and become obedient even unto death.

Humility and meekness

St Benedict uses this psalm in his discussion of the virtue of humility in Chapter 7 of his Rule:

Holy Scripture, brethren, cries out to us, saying, "Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11). In saying this it shows us that all exaltation is a kind of pride, against which the Prophet proves himself to be on guard when he says, "Lord, my heart is not exalted, nor are mine eyes lifted up; neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonders above me" But how has he acted? "Rather have I been of humble mind than exalting myself; as a weaned child on its mother's breast, so You solace my soul".

Unsurprisingly then, many writers have seen this psalm as above exemplifying monastic life.  Fr Pius Pasch's commentary on the Divine Office for example includes this comment:

"In this singing of this beautiful hymn with its unmistakably mystic character, picture some little convent in which consecrated souls serve our Lord humbly and joyfully.  Be thankful for the blessings of religious communities, and beg for more vocations."

Growth in the spiritual life

The psalm provides us with three images of humility.

The first is of a person who practices custody of the eyes, keeping his head bowed and eyes downcast pondering his sins and coming judgment (RB 7).  It is probably not accidental that St Benedict's twelfth degree of humility reflects the opening verse of the twelfth of the Gradual psalms!

The second image is of a person who does not 'walk' in things above him, that is, engage in pride arising from our words and actions.  Instead, the humble person recognises that, as St Benedict urges in his sixth and seventh degrees of humility, we regard ourselves as bad and unworthy workmen, of lower and of less account than all others.

The final image is of a child being weaned from its mother's breast.  Pope Benedict XVI comments on this:

"We have listened to only a few words, about 30 in the original Hebrew, of Psalm 131[130]. Yet they are intense words that convey a topic dear to all religious literature: spiritual childhood. Our thoughts turn spontaneously to St Thérèse of Lisieux, to her "Little Way", her "remaining little" in order to be held in Jesus' arms (cf. Story of a Soul, Manuscript "C", p. 208). Indeed, the clear-cut image of a mother and child in the middle of the Psalm is a sign of God's tender and maternal love, as the Prophet Hosea formerly expressed it: "When Israel was a child I loved him.... I drew [him] with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered [him] like one who raises an infant to his cheeks... I stooped to feed my child" (Hos 11: 1, 4). "

Scriptural and liturgical uses of the psalm

NT references	Mt 18:3 (v4)
RB cursus	Tuesday Vespers
Monastic feasts etc	Gradual Psalms AN 2361(1)
Responsories	-
Roman pre 1911	Wed V
Roman post 1911	1911-62: Wed V . 1970:
Mass propers (EF)	-

For notes on the individual verses of this psalm, continue on to here.

Psalm 129: Verse 7- 8

Michelangelo: Last Judgment

The closing verses of Psalm 129 deal with the promise of redemption, but remind us also of the need to fight the good fight until the end.

Verse notes

7	V/NV	Quia apud Dóminum misericórdia: * et copiósa apud eum redémptio.
	JH	quia apud Dominum misericordia, et multa apud eum redemptio.
		ὅτι παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ τὸ ἔλεος καὶ πολλὴ παρ' αὐτῷ λύτρωσις

Quia (for/because) apud (with) Dóminum (the Lord) misericórdia (mercy) et (and) copiósa (plentiful) apud (with) eum (him) redemptio (redemption)

misericordia, ae, f. (misericors), mercy, kindness, favor, compassion, loving-kindness.

copiosus, a, um (copia), plentiful, plenteous.

redemptio onis  buying back, ransoming, deliverance, redemption

DR	Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
Brenton	for with the Lord is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption
Cover	for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
KJV	Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD [there is] mercy, and with him [is] plenteous redemption.

The psalm ends on a high note, with the promise of God's mercy in sending us his only Son to redeeem us, as St Alphonse Liguori comments:

"The prophet points out here the foundation of all our hopes, namely, the blood of Jesus Christ by which he was to redeem the human race. He says: For mercy with God is infinite; and he is well able to redeem us by abundant help from our evils."

8	V/NV/JH	Et ipse rédimet Israël: * ex ómnibus iniquitátibus ejus.
		καὶ αὐτὸς λυτρώσεται τὸν Ισραηλ ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀνομιῶν αὐτοῦ

Et (and) ipse (he himself) rédimet (he will redeem) Israël ex (from) omnibus (all) iniquitátibus (sins/iniquities) ejus (its)

redimo emi emptum ere 3 to redeem, buy back, ransom, rescue, set free, save

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

DR	And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities
Brenton	And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities
Cover	And he shall redeem IsraeI from all his sins.
KJV	And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

The collective nature of our redemption is important here, for though the Church is holy, and offers the sacraments as a source of transforming grace for us, she is made up of sinners in constant need of reform and conversion, as the abuse scandals attest to all too well.  St Robert Bellarmine remind us that the struggle will not be over until our death as individuals, and the last day of the world in the case of the Church:

"This redemption has begun, and is going on, and will be completely accomplished on the last day, when we shall be delivered not only from our sins, but even from the punishment due to them, and from any danger of relapse..." 

Psalm 129: De Profundis

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Canticum graduum.	Canticum graduum.
De profúndis clamávi ad te, Dómine: * Dómine, exáudi vocem meam :	Out of the depths I have cried to you, O Lord:
2  Fiant aures tuæ intendéntes: * in vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
3  Si iniquitátes observáveris, Dómine: * Dómine, quis sustinébit?	3 If you, O Lord, will mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
4  Quia apud te propitiátio est: * et propter legem tuam sustínui te, Dómine.	4 For with you there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of your law, I have waited for you, O Lord.
5  Sustinuit ánima mea in verbo ejus: * sperávit ánima mea in Dómino.	My soul has relied on his word: 5 My soul has hoped in the Lord.
6  A custódia matutína usque ad noctem: * speret Israël in Dómino.	6 From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
7  Quia apud Dóminum misericórdia: * et copiósa apud eum redémptio.	7 Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
8  Et ipse rédimet Israël: * ex ómnibus iniquitátibus ejus.	8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities

And that completes this mini-series on Psalm 129.

For an introduction to the second psalm of Tuesday Vespers in the Benedictine Office, Psalm 130, continue on to here.

For a look at the next (and last) of the Seven Penitential Psalms, continue on to Psalm 142.